Chapter 244
Chapter 244
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>Translator: penny
>Chapter: 244
>Chapter Title: Into the Forgotten King's Temple
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>“......Kaiser? What are you doing here?”
“What do you mean? I triggered the world quest, so of course I’m here.”
“That’s not what I meant, you punk.”
Do-hyun chuckled at Ast’s bewildered expression.
He could roughly guess what he meant.
It was the look that said he’d been hiding somewhere until now and only just showed up...
“I had my reasons.”
“......That’s it?”
Ast let out a hollow laugh as he watched Do-hyun shrug leisurely.
He glanced up at the countdown out of the corner of his eye, as if saying there was no time.
[5…….]
[4…….]
Leaving the baffled Ast behind, Do-hyun calmly surveyed his surroundings.
Famous figures whose names alone would ring a bell stood in abundance. And surrounding them were countless players.
Half of them had their eyes fixed on that monster, while the other half focused on Ast and Do-hyun.
“Look at all those stares. Feels like we’re monkeys in a zoo. From the looks of it, you guys gave up on raiding the king?”
“......Not exactly. I was just about to head in and take it on.”
“That’s a silver lining in this mess, but step aside. I’ll handle it.”
“......You’ve got a way in?”
Do-hyun glanced at Ast in response to his question.
He wasn’t objectively certain that he was stronger than Ast right now.
He’d grown rapidly after meeting the Guardian, but even he didn’t know exactly how strong he’d become.
‘For an old-timer who doesn’t know I’ve powered up, it must sound like total nonsense.’
Yet Ast wasn’t dismissing it as bullshit. He was asking sincerely.
Ever since they’d pulled off a few impossible feats together, the old man had always been like that.
Even while shaking his head, he’d believe Do-hyun if he said he could do it.
And in moments like this, Do-hyun had just one thing to say.
“What, you think I’m Kkukku? Charging in without a plan?”
“Pfft. Heh... Fair enough.”
“Don’t worry, I won’t make you pop a calming pill, old-timer.”
“Calming pill? I’m pretty young despite how I look. Why won’t you believe me?”
“Who’d believe that looking at your face, old man?”
That was that.
Ast burst into hearty laughter and stepped aside without pressing further.
[3…….]
[2…….]
“Go get ‘em.”
“Yeah.”
As he lightly raised a hand behind him in farewell to Ast, Do-hyun paused at the entrance.
Then, as if it had just occurred to him, he tossed out a casual remark.
“Don’t waste your strength. Save it.”
“? What? Why...”
Ast’s face filled with question marks as he asked back, but he got no reply.
[1…….]
[Kaiser has entered the Forgotten King’s Temple.]
With those words, Do-hyun had already stepped inside.
[The recreation rate has reached 100%, lifting the seal.]
[The recreation rate reached 100% before all the Giant Catastrophe’s eyes opened.]
[Half of the Catastrophe’s eyes have closed. If the player who entered the temple dies, all eyes will open.]
[Warning! If the Giant Catastrophe is not defeated within 24 hours, the World Quest will fail.]
[If the World Quest fails, all the Forgotten Tomb’s catastrophes will occur randomly across the continent.]
“Look at those messages. Brutal stuff.”
“......He’ll be okay, right?”
The same warning messages popped up in front of every player, cluttering their vision.
Thanks to that, the attention focused on Kaiser vanished in an instant.
No, it didn’t just vanish—plenty even sneered.
“Kaiser popping up out of nowhere was a shock.”
“Unexpected, but... he’s overreaching this time.”
“Even the Top 10 Guilds said it’s impossible flat-out. Where’s his confidence coming from?”
“Kaiser’s amazing, sure, but not right now. Hell, he’d get obliterated fighting Arthur at this point, and he’s challenging this?”
“People who keep winning nonstop lose their judgment eventually.”
The Top 10 Guilds were no different.
After staring at the entrance to the temple where Kaiser had entered for a while, they soon smirked.
It was a reaction of ridicule.
“What an entertaining show.”
“Well... half the eyes closed thanks to him, so it’s good for us, right? All the boss kill credit comes our way.”
“Who cares about the eyes closing? They’ll open again if Kaiser dies anyway.”
“Oh, yeah, true.”
To them, Kaiser was already a dead man.
The thought that he’d take on the Forgotten King never crossed their minds. They weren’t holding out even a shred of hope.
It was only natural, given his track record so far and what Arthur had told them directly.
“If you’re done gawking, focus up. Time for the raid.”
“Got it.”
“Everyone remember the strategy? Hold your positions. Let’s go.”
As if hearing their words...
------!!!
The Top 10 Guilds and countless high rankers formed up at the perfect timing, facing the bellowing Giant Catastrophe.
Thousands of high rankers surrounded the Catastrophe.
And behind them, a formation of over ten thousand guild members and officers encircling it.
Despite the overwhelming numbers, the Catastrophe’s sheer size made it look like an army of ants besieging a massive boulder.
“Tanks, forward!!”
Click, click, click, click, click.
But in the end, it was just a monster.
No matter the size difference, as long as it was a living creature and not an actual rock, it would die if bitten enough times.
And they weren’t ordinary ants.
They were elite ants equipped with special abilities.
They were the hunters, and preparations were complete.
“Good, tanks have aggro locked. Rear guard, unleash hell!!”
“Wooooaaahhh!!!”
The Top 10 Guild masters taking command.
At the lead, Leon’s master, Leon, gave the order, and the rear mages and ranged DPS unleashed a barrage.
The Catastrophe raid had begun.
* * *
[You have entered the Forgotten King’s Temple.]
[The Forgotten King is in Phase 2.]
[Be cautious in battle.]
Upon entering the king’s temple, Do-hyun was greeted by three messages and the sight of a black temple cracked and shattered in places.
‘That’s the Forgotten King in his youth......’
And atop it stood the Forgotten King himself.
His face was identical to the Guardian’s—so much so that one might think this was what the Guardian looked like when young.
Unlike the aged and sickly Guardian, however, his massive build and solidly packed muscles exuded raw power.
But he was hunched over, standing at a slant like a zombie, charred in spots and splattered with blood, which made him even more unsettling.
[Saliva...... particles......]
Jihad frowned as his eyes met the slowly raising king’s.
It wasn’t because of the king’s ferocious gaze.
‘Ugh, look at all that blood splattered everywhere. Gross.’
‘Lizariza......’
Even in the black temple, the sea of blood was so prominent it showed at a glance how many had died here.
If the dead had been players, there’d be no corpses, but since they were NPCs, countless bodies would have littered the place.
That said, it wasn’t entirely devoid of traces of life.
‘There are two fingers severed over there. Looks like the Forgotten King’s fingers.’
‘Yeah.’
Two fingers lay detached in the distance.
Since they hadn’t vanished, they had to be the Forgotten King’s, just as Charlie said.
‘Probably tried to sever his wrist but failed. Means the fight was that tough.’
Even Arthur had only managed to cut off fingers...
He’d expected as much, but this wouldn’t be easy.
[Forgotten King]
-Title: Self-Exploder with the Abyss, King Who Lost His Ego
-Type: Human
-Traits: Northern Lion’s Swordsmanship, Supreme Realm, Lost Ego, Combat Instinct, Keen Senses, Lost Beliefs, Executioner
-Description: The one who self-destructed with the untouchable Abyss and was buried beneath the underground.
In the process, his existence was consumed, causing him to lose his beliefs and be forgotten.
Having once reached the Supreme Realm, he still wields immense power even without ego or beliefs.
Awakening his ego might reveal something.
-Phase 2 activated, regaining 50% of his prime strength.
-Lost Ego trait causes loss of ego, affecting swordsmanship.
-Lost Beliefs trait causes loss of beliefs, causing debuffs.
‘......Brutal.’
Even just the visible info was horrifying.
‘Seven traits...... Two look like debuffs, so effectively five.’
The silver lining was that Phase 2 was probably the end.
The Lion King’s spirit had said the complete Forgotten King would have 50% of his prime power.
But that also meant fighting the final boss mode from the start.
In that case.
[Thousand Changes transforms into the ‘White Lion’s Snowflower Sword’.]
Gripping Thousand Changes tightly, Do-hyun cautiously met the Forgotten King’s eyes.
Step, step......
Thud.
The slowly approaching Forgotten King halted his steps.
Do-hyun swallowed hard under the king’s unwavering gaze on the sword.
‘Does he recognize it?’
As the Guardian had said, the king might recognize the White Lion’s Snowflower Sword—his gaze lingered on it for a while.
Seeing the possibility, Do-hyun activated his swordsmanship to drive it home.
[True White Lion’s Song activates.]
Cold energy seeped from the white blade, whipping up a fierce blizzard.
Atop the blizzard dominating the space, the White Lion descended lightly.
Unlike before, when it was merely fierce, now it stood serene.
The perfected True White Lion’s Song responding to Do-hyun’s will.
[......!]
The Forgotten King’s eyes widened slightly.
Just as hope flickered in Do-hyun’s eyes at the possibility...
Grk, gruk......
With eerie sounds, tendons bulged on the Forgotten King’s body as strength surged into his hand.
The energy spreading through him soon dyed his eyes red.
His face flushed crimson and purple, like a figure from ancient myths.
[Danger...... dangerous...... kill...... killer...... must execute evil...... Kr, kuaaaah!!]
Then the king bellowed, shaking the entire temple.
[The Forgotten King recalls fragments of horrific memories.]
[The Forgotten King rages.]
[Trait: Combat Instinct activates.]
[Trait: Executioner activates.]
Amid the quaking temple and flurry of messages, Do-hyun could only feel baffled.
“......Hey, I thought he’d recognize it.”
Yeah, he recognized it.
Not that it snapped him back to his senses—it just pissed him off.
For a fleeting moment, he felt absurd and self-loathing for grinding so hard to perfect the True White Lion’s Song for this.
“Sigh. Yeah, figures. When have things ever gone easy for me?”
Letting out a sigh, Do-hyun regripped Thousand Changes and called out.
“Jihad, Charlie.”
-Roger!
-Yes, my lord.
-Liza? Liza!
“Yeah, Eliza, you too.”
The guardians responded instantly and moved swiftly.
Charlie to Do-hyun’s side, Eliza atop Charlie, and finally Jihad behind them both.
Formation set, Charlie drew his sword, and Eliza mumbled as she prepared to shoot webs.
[Guardian ‘Jihad Black’ summons undead.]
[Legion Control treats them all as a single entity.]
[Over 50% of the legion’s undead are classified as lower city monsters. Mana consumption reduced.]
Groooar— Groooar—
Jihad’s undead legion, now sixteen strong after a sharp increase.
[Legion Leader ‘Pain’ appears.]
Tap...... tap......
And finally, Legion Leader Pain.
Do-hyun cast Dark Shroud on all of them and himself, then activated Sword Aura and Striking.
[Thunder Dragon Descent activates.]
Kwaaaang—!
A lightning dragon crashed down upon them.
Crackling with sparks, Do-hyun—now tinged blue from head to toe—changed his gaze.
“We’re going all-out from the start.”
With that, Do-hyun kicked off the ground, followed by the undead legion and guardians.
The clash between the Forgotten King and the legion began.