Namgung Jin
Namgung Jin
After finishing my 1:1 conversation with Cheong Wol-hwa, I asked Rubyel.
"Rubyel-ssi. If I fight a Transcendent, could I win?"
"Transcendent? What kind of bullshit is that? How could you possibly beat a Transcendent?"
"That's what I thought, right?"
"You probably couldn't even beat a Semi-Transcendent. Why are you suddenly asking about a Transcendent?"
Come to think of it, I remembered the fact that there are no secrets in this Hero Party.
Plus, since it would come out later when I go to the Arena with Sirien, I answered honestly.
"Well, you see......"
I told her about sparring with a person named Jin Cheong-un from Channel 1 and causing him to fall into Simma.
And about how I ended up sparring with a Transcendent to resolve that Simma.
"Simma? What's that?"
"They say it's like a sickness of the heart."
At my answer, Rubyel laughed as if it were ridiculous.
"Funny. It's purely because he's pathetic. Why are you helping him with that?"
Rubyel raised her eyebrows aggressively at the fact that I was helping.
It was understandable, as this matter really had no benefit for me and was purely to help Jin Cheong-un.
"And a Transcendent? Is there a Transcendent in Channel 1?"
"I think so."
"To think they're on the verge of destruction even with a Transcendent."
Rubyel muttered as if it were hard to believe.
Honestly, I couldn't guess how strong a Transcendent was.
'But looking at Rubyel's reaction, it seems they might be absurdly strong.'
Thinking that, I also asked about Semi-Transcendent and Transcendent.
"Is the difference between a Semi-Transcendent and a Transcendent severe?"
"It's the difference between a mortal and an immortal. The difference between a human and a demigod? Wouldn't it obviously be severe?"
Hearing her answer, I could tell that Rubyel didn't know much either.
Since there wasn't even a Semi-Transcendent in Channel 2, let alone a Transcendent, that might have been expected.
"Anyway, tell them you can't do it, even now. What kind of sparring is that?"
"They said they'd subdue me without a single scratch, so I'm just going to try it."
"Without a scratch? If they're a real Transcendent, it's not impossible, but......"
While Rubyel was saying that, Sirien also showed interest.
"Castaway. Then can I fight a Transcendent today?"
"I'm doing them a favor, so if you ask the same way, wouldn't they?"
In short, it meant she could fight a Transcendent.
"Really? Awesome!"
Sirien was happy just at the fact that she would fight a Transcendent, but honestly, I didn't understand it.
'Why does she like it when she just gets hit all the time?'
I thought it would be much better to fight people like Jin Cheong-un instead.
It was because I thought people of similar skill levels should fight to be helpful to each other.
'Though it seems the person involved likes it.'
Anyway, we progressed through the Labyrinth quite a bit and reached the edge of the 14th floor.
As we descended to the 14th floor of the Labyrinth, the frequency of encountering monsters increased quite a bit, but there were no problems yet.
'Originally, the four of us had progressed to the 23rd floor, after all.'
Now, the number of people had increased to 8, including me.
Not only that, but our combat power had increased to some extent, so there was no way problems would arise on just the 14th floor.
'Maybe we'll go down to the 15th-16th floors tomorrow.'
Anyway, after progressing to the 14th floor and finishing simple preparations for camping, I decided to use the Arena.
It goes without saying, but Sirien had been stuck to my side for a while, ready to go in at any moment.
"Then I'm going to the Arena."
"Yeah, yeah."
Entering the Arena.
After entering the Arena, I summoned the people from Channel 1, including Sirien.
The opponent has accepted the Arena match invitation.
Phat—
Soon, Sirien and many people from Channel 1 entered, and among them was one person I hadn't seen before.
'Is that person Cheong Wol-hwa's grandfather?'
He looked to be in his 40s, so he didn't look like that at all.
However, considering the opponent was a Transcendent, his apparent age might be different.
'Because the Great Witch Moriana said so.'
Along with that thought, the middle-aged man slowly turned his head and made eye contact with me.
Just by making eye contact, I felt a strange sense of pressure, and at that moment, the middle-aged man moved first.
"Are you the one called Castaway, young hero?"
"Huh? Yes. That's right."
"I see. Thank you for the food, various support, and for telling us how to use the Gallery."
Perhaps to express his gratitude, the middle-aged man said that and then introduced himself.
"I am Namgung Jin, the former Supreme Patriarch of the Namgung Clan. Currently, I am unintentionally holding the position of General Alliance Leader."
"Uh......"
Should I introduce myself too?
Thinking about how Jin Cheong-un had rambled on with introductions before, I probably should.
"My name is Kim Min-ho...... but please call me Castaway. I currently serve as the Gallery Integrated Channel Manager."
"Excuse me, but could you tell me what an Integrated Channel Manager is?"
"I just manage the Gallery. To go a bit further, the goal is to escape destruction."
Then, the middle-aged man who introduced himself as Namgung Jin nodded as if he liked it.
"A good goal."
Aside from that, Namgung Jin's way of speaking was burdensome.
"If it's alright with you, you can speak comfortably."
"Hm?"
Namgung Jin looked at me as if it were unexpected, not knowing I would say such a thing, then soon accepted it.
"I will. Anyway, thank you for accepting my unreasonable request today."
"You mean the sparring? I don't know if it will be helpful, though."
"He's a pathetic fellow, but since we're desperate for even one person right now, there was no other way."
It seemed to mean that people who can fight are rare in Channel 1.
Furthermore, looking at Jin Cheong-un's condition, there was a possibility that he wouldn't be able to resist the Old God's voice and would turn into a monster.
'Is he trying to resolve the Simma because it'd be a shame for him to turn into a monster?'
Even thinking about it again, I don't know if my sparring with Namgung Jin is the solution, but I decided to try it for now.
'By the way, Jin Cheong-un.......'
I turned my head for a moment and saw Jin Cheong-un standing blankly to one side with half-dead eyes.
Thinking about how he even managed to get into the Arena, I averted my gaze from Jin Cheong-un and said to Namgung Jin.
"Can we spar now?"
"It doesn't matter as long as you're ready, young hero. However."
After answering, Namgung Jin looked at Sirien, who was positioned next to me.
When I also turned my head to look at Sirien, she was watching Namgung Jin with eyes burning with fighting spirit.
"Unlike you, young hero, this young lady has eyes that want to fight me right away."
"That's true. If it's alright, could you spar with Sirien-ssi later too?"
When I asked about the sparring, Namgung Jin nodded as if it were nothing difficult, as expected.
"Since I asked first, it's only right that I grant your request as well. I will spar with her."
"Yes. Then let's start."
I put some distance between myself and Namgung Jin, then took out my weapons from the inventory.
The opponent was a Transcendent, so I thought it would end in an instant and approached the sparring with a relatively light heart.
"Ah. I'll say this in advance, but please give it your all."
At that moment, Namgung Jin told me to fight with all my might.
'My all, huh.......'
Thinking about the future Labyrinth, it might be a good experience.
I had exerted my all in the sparring with Jin Cheong-un too, but it ended before I could do anything.
'But if I'm facing Namgung Jin, I'll be able to find out how far I can go.'
Thinking that, I lifted all the weapons I took out of the inventory with Telekinesis.
Just like with Jin Cheong-un, it was four Taehwa 9-Style weapons, two Thunder Bolts, and one Monster Claw.
'And I'll make sure the rest of the weapons can be taken out at any time.'
Finally, I activated the Nano Suit.
"Combat mode change."
Phat—
At the same time, the clothes I was wearing wrapped around my entire body.
It must have been a strange sight to the people from Channel 1, as Namgung Jin also looked at me with surprised eyes.
"It seems you have many strange talents, young hero."
"I received them all from different channels."
Quite coincidentally, none of the powers I was using right now were from Channel 2.
'Thinking about it, Channel 2 really is poor.'
Thinking that far, I immediately requested a match.
The opponent has accepted the match.
As soon as the match was confirmed, I pulled the triggers of the Taehwa 9-Style with Telekinesis.
Then, I changed the Thunder Bolts to level 5, their maximum output, and laid the Monster Claw horizontally so it could slash at any time.
"Hmm."
Seureung—
As soon as the match started, Namgung Jin slowly drew his sword and still just stood in place.
'Is he waiting to see me attack first?'
Come to think of it, this isn't a sparring match to win against each other.
Since it's a sparring match to show Jin Cheong-un, who is suffering from Simma, standing still was understandable.
Papapapapat!!—
Afterward, beams of light fired from the four Taehwa 9-Style weapons aimed at Namgung Jin.
Along with that, to my eyes, Namgung Jin's arm holding the sword looked like it disappeared for a moment.
'Did he parry them?'
The bullets fired from the Taehwa 9-Style were at least several hundred.
It was unbelievable that he had parried hundreds of bullets in an instant, but for now, there wasn't a single scratch on Namgung Jin's body.
'Is this a Transcendent?'
Cheolkeok cheolkeok—
Following that, the Taehwa 9-Style only made the sound of pulling empty triggers, as if it had poured out all its bullets.
At that, I quickly refilled the Taehwa 9-Style's bullets through [Resource Recharge] and thrust forward my melee weapons.
"Come to think of it, they say weapons return to normal even if they break here, is that true?"
"Huh? Yes. I've checked a few times."
"That's fortunate."
As soon as Namgung Jin said that.
Seogeok—
'Huh?'
Even though I was clearly far away, my Taehwa 9-Style was cut in two.
I don't know what on earth happened, but if this were a real battle, it would be a situation where I'd need to [Product Repair] immediately.
'But since it's a match right now.'
When it ends, the cut-in-two Taehwa 9-Style will return to normal.
So, not worried, I moved the Monster Claw and the two Thunder Bolts all at once and swung them.
Seogeok—
But this time too, the Thunder Bolts only resulted in being cut in two, just like the Taehwa 9-Style.
Unexpectedly, the Monster Claw wasn't cut in two, and perhaps Namgung Jin couldn't do anything about this Monster Claw either, as he blocked it with his sword.
Chaeng!—
"That's an extraordinary weapon."
The Monster Claw was enough to cut through Labyrinth walls like soft tofu, but Namgung Jin's sword was an exception, as it didn't even get cut.
'But with the power of my Telekinesis.'
Even if I just push it with a force of a whopping 2.6 tons......
Seuk—
The moment I thought that, Namgung Jin smoothly swept my Monster Claw upward.
Then he rushed at me at a fairly high speed, and I don't know if Namgung Jin was controlling his speed, but I could definitely see it.
'Or it could be because of the Nano Suit I'm wearing.'
Anyway, I dropped all the weapons with my remaining Telekinetic hands and swung my fist at the rushing Namgung Jin.
"Not bad."
Namgung Jin left the word "not bad," perhaps a compliment regarding my response, and then swung his sword once more.
Seogeok—
Then I felt the sensation of my seven Telekinetic hands being cut, and I could tell they were disappearing soon.
It was as if they vanished the moment they were cut by Namgung Jin's sword, and because of that, all my means of attack disappeared.
"......."
Afterward, Namgung Jin's sword naturally stopped while aiming at my throat.
Since it was a situation where the outcome was clear to anyone, I immediately admitted defeat.
"I lost."
The match has ended.
Following that, as the match ended, my weapons that had been cut in two also returned to normal.
Furthermore, just as Cheong Wol-hwa said, Namgung Jin subdued me without leaving a single scratch, and I inwardly thought he was amazing.
'Transcendentals really are strong.'
Also, it didn't seem like Namgung Jin had fought with all his might.
I think if he had set his mind to it, he could have won as soon as it started.
"Looking at it, it seems you haven't learned martial arts at all, am I right?"
"Yes. There is no martial arts in the other world."
"Plus, you use a strange technique with hand shapes."
Namgung Jin thought for a moment and then made a suggestion to me.
"Would you be interested in learning martial arts?"
"......Martial arts?"
"If you learn just a little bit about how to use a sword and your fists, you'll become much stronger than you are now."
The words that I would become much stronger than now were tempting, but there was one problem.
"Doesn't it take quite a while to learn martial arts?"
"If you learn it formally, that would be the case. But if you learn it with the energy of your hand shapes, it won't take long."
By the energy of hand shapes, it seemed he meant my Telekinesis.
Furthermore, seeing as he told me to learn it with Telekinesis, it seemed he also recognized the power contained within the Telekinesis.
'Holding the Monster Claw with a force of 2.6 tons.'
"And if I swing that Monster Claw with swordsmanship?"
'That seems pretty good, right?'
Whatever it was, it didn't seem like a loss.
"Yes. If it's alright with you, I'll learn it."
"You thought well."
Namgung Jin also smiled slightly and praised my decision.
'Ah, right.'
At that moment, I remembered the question I was going to ask the person from Channel 1, and while I was at it, I asked Namgung Jin.
"Do you happen to know who a person named Yeon Wol-rin is?"
Yeon Wol-rin was the temporary manager of Channel 1.
Although it seemed she hadn't even been active in the Gallery since she hadn't even set a nickname.
"Yeon Wol-rin?"
Namgung Jin, hearing the name Yeon Wol-rin again, stiffened his expression for a moment and asked me.
"How do you know the name of the Sun and Moon Cult's leader?"
"......?"
"Sun and Moon Cult?"