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Chapter 41 – Demon Lord's Castle (8)
Sangjin laughed as he thought of the conversation he had with Hansoo before they got separated in the first tutorial area.
Sangjin made an astonished expression as he swung his sword.
At first he wasn't sure.
Since nothing had happened despite it being 3 days since he started waiting here while hunting.
But they had really come.
And in a very weird way too.
'Is it teleportation?'
Sangjin didn't really know about that but he believed in the words of Hansoo.
'It's probably that psychic power again. And it seems like I won't have to worry about whether I should kill them from the way they're talking.'
He didn't know their identities but everyone here had to die with one order from that guy over there.
Sangjin started to hack crazily at the clansmen who had appeared in front of him in a mess.
Ssssgggk
"Kuaaaak!"
"Ahhk!"
'Well… though there's a lot of them, they're a total mess.'
And the might of the skill
'It might've been a little hard without this.'
A large amount of runes, skills and artifacts dropped every time he slashed.
These were people of the strongest special forces and Lords with expensive artifacts.
It was reasonable for them to drop a lot.
Sangjin used a moment of carelessness to slash one and then stole the weapon of another only to swing it around crazily.
"This crazy bastard! Who are… kuuk!"
"Talk too much."
Guktae tried to run backwards but his head was cut off in the end.
'It seems like a few things these guys drop seem more valuable than the others.'
Sangjin shrugged his shoulders as he looked at them.
He wasn't really tempted.
Since the Shadow Technique was a great gift by itself.
'But he had told me to keep these things. Let's see. Since they came before the
Sangjin smiled at the shadows swaying around him and then disappeared into the dark forest after picking up all the artifacts and runes.
.........…
Kudududk
"Dammit! Keep the formation!"
"Fuckers! If you want to live then hold on more! Hold onto another 5 minutes!"
The people had cleared up and were chopping apart the undead crazily.
And the two clans were throwing attacks ruthlessly around Hansoo.
Their numbers had decreased rapidly in a short time and only 600 were left.
'Dammit… Is it almost done now?'
Taejin took a deep breath as he thought of what happened earlier while grinding his teeth.
Right after Guktae went up.
People's symbols disappeared and the control over them had disappeared.
And the chaos that had come after.
It wasn't that the people turned into emotionless puppets after receiving the symbol.
It's just that they would act normally and only when they receive an order from the Lords would they move to follow the orders the best they could.
They had known the current situation clearly and had realized what they needed to do in order to survive as soon as the symbol disappeared.
They started to struggle in order to buy time while creating distance between them and the Demon Lord.
Taejin had wondered what this scene was at first.
'Did Guktae kill them all? Then… Why did he take them up?'
There were tons of things that were unclear but this wasn't the important part.
Hansoo, Yerin and Taejin started to repair the formations quickly.
And they had reached the current situation.
About 400 people were chopping apart the undead crazily and Yerin and Taejin's clans were assaulting the Demon Lord whom Hansoo had tied up.
The two clans were fighting much better than he expected.
The two clans were made of special forces who had filled up the spots after they had sent out part of the normal clansmen.
A decision which was made due to the dire situation.
If the special forces didn't participate in the fight then they would all die.
They had slowly increased to number around 130 but Guktae's special forces had left and a few had died so the remaining 100 had been absorbed into Yerin and Taejin's clans.
In a normal situation they had to receive the symbol with an agreement from both sides.
And the special forces were actually reluctant to join the clans.
Since they will be ordered around by others and will have to fight against the Demon Lord.
If only Hansoo didn't speak to them:
<…>
15 minutes was enough time for that thing to smash apart the remaining 600 people.
So the special forces received the symbols almost by forcing themselves.
Since they realized that there was no other way.
And as Hansoo and the two clan Lords blocked off the Demon Lord completely, the remaining non-clansmen started to fight against the undeads.
They couldn't run away anyway and fighting undeads was much less of a burden.
With the two thoughts of it being doable and there being no other choice, the people started to fight much more actively in the front.
Kududuk.
Udududk.
"Hold the line for a little longer!"
Taejin shouted urgently as he looked at the almost-killed Demon Lord.
It was much easier to fight since the Clan Lords saving their own bodies had disappeared and their special forces were now under them.
While Hansoo was pulling the Demon Lord's aggro and suppressing it, the 100 special forces controlled by the Clan Lords were assaulting it with attacks.
If they continue at this pace for 10 more minutes then they could kill it without problems.
But Taejin's mind was urgent.
Since 10 minutes was too long of a time.
'Dammit… the Crystal will open up soon.'
The only reason why they were able to focus on the fight with the Demon Lord was because the non-clansmen were blocking off the undead that the Demon Lord summoned.
What would the non-clansmen do when the crystal opened up?
Would they simply go
They will all run away while they are fighting against the Demon Lord.
They couldn't back off before they could kill the Demon Lord anyway.
Hansoo and the two special forces were in a balance with the Demon Lord so if one of them were to back off then the remaining two will suffer greatly.
They would get picked off one at a time then.
And the others will all escape during that time.
At this moment a giant ray of light shone in the distance.
'Fuck. If it's going to open at least open quietly.'
A light had come out from the Crystal which was so large that wherever one was in the island they could see it and know the portal opened.
And at the same time the Crystal that was embedded on the ground floated up as a black hole, which could be identified as a portal with a glance, opened up in the center of the Crystal.
The people who had seen the hole stopped.
They glanced at each other and then started to madly charge towards the Crystal.
"Fuck! Don't Block it!"
"Daaammitt! I'm going up!"
Chaos.
Casualties were occurring during this time but the people were heading towards the Crystal fervently anyway.
'Dammit…'
As the non-clansmen stopped focusing on the undead, the remaining undead started to slowly gather around the Demon Lord.
"Dammit… do we really have to kill that thing? Let's get out!"
Hansoo shook his head at Taejin's words.
If they leave recklessly in such a situation then they would receive a huge amount of casualties.
If they run towards the Crystal then the Demon Lord would chase them and kill off everyone who was focused on running away.
It needed to be finished off now.
Hansoo chuckled as he saw them.
Taejin sighed roughly as he saw this.
"Dammit… Then take the Demon Lord in front of the crystal! Wouldn't the non-clansmen have to fight against the Undead then?"
If their escape route was blocked then they would come to their senses and attack the undead again.
But Taejin soon realized that such a thing would be hard to accomplish.
It would take too long to drag the Demon Lord in front of the Crystal in the distance with no casualties.
And on the other hand if they were to bring the Demon Lord in front of the Crystal before the non-clansmen left then the amount of casualties would become huge.
If too many of the Special Forces die then the Demon Lord would become too hard to kill even if the undead problem was gone.
Hansoo laughed at these words.
Since he never thought such a thing wouldn't happen.
It isn't possible to bring the Demon Lord in front of the Crystal.
But the opposite was possible.
"Wait for a moment."
Hansoo, who had thought of the words of Eres, grabbed onto the scythe part of
Papapapak.
Endless amounts of daggers were thrown out of Hansoo's hands and Hansoo jumped from dagger to dagger as he charged towards the Crystal.
The undead tried to attack from below but the height at which Hansoo was running was too high.
And soon he arrived at the Crystal and then started to tie up the Crystal with the chain after laughing at the people running towards it.
"Uhh….Uhhhh? What are you doing!"
"Hey!!"
Hansoo spoke as he looked at them:
"Let's combine our strengths guys."
As soon as his words ended the Demon Lord shook his body with an enraged scream.
Kuuaaaangg!
And then the Crystal, which was floating in the air, started to get pulled by the immeasurable amount of force and started to fly off.
If the Crystal was embedded on the ground then the chain would've snapped.
Since the Demon Lord's strength was that fearsome.
But the chains didn't snap because the Crystal was floating in the air and the Crystal, which could not resist the strength of the Demon Lord, flew towards it.
Kuuuung
'It's hard. It won't break with this much then. I wonder if I can take it closer.'
Maybe it was due to the fact that it could transport more people, the Crystal in the Demon Lord's Castle was much sturdier than the Crystal at the Castle.
Hansoo followed behind it as he pushed it.
And when the Crystal neared the battlefield he untied the chain around the Crystal.
Hansoo laughed because if you take into account the Crystal's hardness then it was safe from destruction from the Demon Lord but it was in a location where one could not recklessly run into the portal.
"No free rides. Work your worth."
Hansoo ended his words and then charged towards the Demon Lord again and the faces of the non-clansmen who were heading towards the Crystal turned dark.
Since it looked like they would get swept up if they tried to go for the Crystal.
No, the people fighting there wouldn't allow them to do so in the first place.
Taejin sighed as he looked at this scene.
Since now it looked like they could kill the Demon Lord.
'We're finally going up. Did Hansoo say he was going to the Island of the Tower?'
Wherever they went they were able to leave this damnable Central Island.
Taejin stared at Hansoo but then threw away unnecessary thoughts as he focused at the Demon Lord in front of him.
............
"Hmm… Guktae died."
As one guy muttered while sitting on top of a giant beast, the woman next to him smirked as she spoke:
"I told you already. Don't place your trust in such half-wits."
Why would they sent a guy like him when they had plenty of people with ability?
"No. He did a good job. Far beyond what I had told him."
Guktae had done more than he asked.
Only an unexpected event occurred at the last second.
"Heh?"
While the woman made an expression of curiosity, the guy, Wongyung, laughed as he shook his head.
"It's nothing. We'll meet eventually. Let's not worry about it and focus on what we were doing."
'Are Hansoo and that masked guy related in some way?'
Lord Wongyung mumbled inwardly but then shook his head.
Guktae did tell him that the location which one arrived at using the Mini Crystal was fixed.
But how would Hansoo know the location of such a place and send somebody of his own there.
There was no possibility of such a thing.
If Wongyung had such an information then he would also have done that.
'Well. It doesn't matter.'
He didn't know about the guy with the strange mask but he would soon meet that Hansoo guy.
"Let's prepare ourselves."
The woman who was standing next to Wongyung nodded and then shouted loudly:
"Surround this area and prepare your skills! And then hide! Until they all cross over!"
Wongyung's clan which was made of 100 people.
They only had 85 currently because 15 were somewhere else but their battle power was much greater than normal clans.
Since while the others were killing beasts in a fair manner, these guys were killing people and had stolen their artifacts and runes.
And the people who come up from below would be a huge mess.
They couldn't lose such a great opportunity.
'I wasn't like this originally… it seems like I've changed after I've gotten the Symbol.'
The woman finished her thoughts as she asked Wongyung:
"Anyway, did you say that they would come this way if you wait here?"
"At least the people coming up from the Central Island will?"
It seemed like the Warp gates to the Tower was different for every island below and were spread around the Tower Island.
But if his calculations were correct then the Warp gate which connected with the Central Island below was this one.
Since it looked like the Warp gates were set up so the path was a straight line from the Island of the Tower to the other island.
Others were like that too.
Not everyone will come here but there'll be quite a number who will.
Since going through the Island of the Tower was the most efficient according to the Islands Map.
'Tsk. If he had taken care of everything below then I wouldn't have to do such a thing…'
He wanted to kill them off one by one by waiting in front of the portal but then if a clansman came up the others below would know of it and everyone would stop coming up.
It had become much more tedious because two Lords had survived.
They had to wait as much as they could and then kill them off when enough people grouped up.
'Well… I can't kill them all but…'
It wasn't bad for something you could gain by waiting a little bit.
They just needed to kill as many as they can and then go into the Tower.
Since there will be plenty of chances.
'I'm not sure how many will come up but… hurry and come. It'll be nice if that Hansoo guy is there too.'
Wongyung laughed coldly.
Chapter 42 – Tower (1)
Kurururu
Taejin sighed as he looked at the shredded corpse of the Demon Lord.
'We finally killed it one way or another.'
Another chaotic situation would've occurred if runes came out so he was worried but no runes came out thankfully.
The undead all turned into dust and flew away after the Demon Lord died and the people who were up against the Undead all crashed down.
'Around… 500 people? A lot survived.'
If you take into account the event in the middle and when everyone ran trying to save their lives, quite a lot survived.
'Tsk.'
He didn't like the non-clansmen over there but the fact that random lives had not been lost was not bad.
At that moment he could see Hansoo, who was searching around the Demon Lord's corpse, approaching him with a complex expression.
Taejin made an expression of confusion as he looked at him.
"What's wrong?"
Then Taejin looked at the bloody red marble in his hands.
...........
[Kang Hansoo] Strength (Colorless): 20.8%
Stamina (Colorless): 21.1%
Agility (Colorless):16.7%
Perception (Colorless): 17.7%
Mana (Colorless): 15.7%
Magic (Colorless): 15.7%
Physical Resistance (Colorless): 15.7%
Magic Resistance (Colorless): 15.7%
'It's not bad.'
Hansoo nodded.
If you take into account the fact that he had raised Nurmaha's ring by feeding it runes then it was a number which wasn't bad for a month's work.
The normal runes were prepared for the tutorial stage from the start so they rose fast but increasing the experience on colorless runes was not easy.
Making one of the runes into a red rune within the three months of the tutorial was a great feat.
Because having one red rune meant that you are a
And the Demonic Jade Crystal in his hands had a close relationship with these runes.
It increases all of your runes into 99.99% the second you eat it.
An amazing hack of an item.
The difference between 99.99% and 0.01% was like heaven and earth even if they were the same colorless runes.
And that was why raising the experience was hard also.
But of course there are shortcomings with it too.
First, it only lasted a single day.
And the second fault on it was a bit more extreme.
After that day all the runes will drop to 0.01% and he needed to start all over from there.
It was most similar to a forbidden medicine that exploded your potential like those from old martial hero stories.
And because of this he couldn't use it randomly.
Only 1 chance at using this item.
The Final Dungeon, and from there, the third gateway.
'Turn all my runes into red runes… then use it.'
This is the most efficient way to use it.
Only colorless runes and normal runes came out in the 2nd stage of the tutorial.
And because of this the perfect situation one could be in is getting 8 red runes at 0.01%.
Basically becoming an
But that was still a bit lacking.
And that was why this thing was needed.
If he uses this then he will become a
And there aren't any risks either.
Since he started at the 0.01% anyway, he will just be going back to where he was.
'I must save it until then.'
There was no need to focus on raising the runes.
Since there was another plan for that.
He needed to focus on other things before that.
Like this Demonic Jade Crystal.
'Just gaining this in the Central Island means success.'
And it was even better since he had gained the Dekrados set.
But there was still another problem.
Hansoo put away the Demonic Jade Crystal as he spoke to Taejin and Yerin.
"We hunted together but only this came out. I really need this. I can't share it with you but I can give you anything else we gained from the hunts so speak out what you want. Both of you."
He needed to distribute things fairly.
He couldn't give away this item but he also couldn't ignore the two clans who had hunted the Demon Lord together with him.
Taejin and Yerin looked at each other for a while and then chuckled.
"Just take it. We would've all died without you anyway. We even gained more special forces thanks to you."
A few of their clansmen had died but their overall strength had increased by far.
Since they had filled 50 of the 100 people limit with special forces.
"Mmm…"
Hansoo pondered for a moment and then spoke to the both of them:
"What are your plans from here onwards?"
Taejin and Yerin said very simply:
"Go to the Tower."
Hansoo shook his head at those words.
He wasn't sure if the Dark Mad Lord was going to wait in front of the entrance above.
'But that guy probably knows about the situation in the Central Island.'
He should also know that Guktae had died.
Which means that he could assume that a lot of people from here would survive and come up.
He might've prepared something or he might not have but he couldn't ignore the dangers due to unexpected chances.
Since he will be an entirely different existence from the previous clans.
Full frontal fights would not be easy.
'Let's see… I cannot let them do something good for him.'
Hansoo looked around at his surroundings.
.........….
"… Nobody's coming?"
Changhee, who was standing next to Wongyung, asked.
'Is there a possibility where this guy is wrong.'
He could make mistakes because he was a human but it was rather wondrous since they had never seen him make a mistake.
Before Changhee could finish her thoughts, a single person appeared from the giant circle in front of them.
But Changhee clicked her tongue.
Since it was a familiar face.
'Dislikeable guy.'
That guy over there was hard to trust because his attitude changed back and forth too fast.
'Well. That was probably why he acted as the person close to Hansoo.'
Changhee spoke out to the guy who had just come up, Hyunwoo, as she looked at him.
"Didn't you say you had a friend called Taehee?"
Hyunwoo shrugged his shoulders.
"She was just for cover anyway. What's there to call a friend when we had only seen each other a few times. She died on the way."
"…"
While Changhee was clicking her tongue, Wongyung asked Hyunwoo while staring at him:
"But it seems you're alone. Did the rest die?"
Hyunwoo shook his head at Wongyung's words.
"Nope. Exactly 531 people survied."
"… But none of them came to the Island of the Tower?"
It might've been different if they had all died but for that much to survive and not come to the Island of the Tower.
The Island of the Tower was a very alluring location.
Hyunwoo sighed at those words.
"That guy fucked it all up at the last moment."
Then Hyunwoo thought of the words which Hansoo had said to the people at the last moment.
"… No one would come if they hear that. But is there really a chance for nobody to come like this?"
The thing about a person's greed is that it usually did not work out the way they wanted but for none of the 500 plus people to have come.
Hyunwoo added a few more words at that:
"It's because they all know what happens if they ignore his words now. He's really a talented fellow."
"…"
Wongyung clicked his tongue inwardly.
The people who had survived there would probably be much stronger than the ones who had gone through other islands.
This was the perfect chance since they would be a mess from fighting the Demon Lord and the undead.
'Well. If it didn't work then there's nothing I can do about that.'
If Hyunwoo spoke out then he would only arouse suspicions.
"Did you check where the Hansoo guy went?"
Hyunwoo shook his head.
"I don't know about that but I did see him going into the Crystal."
Wongyung shrugged his shoulders as he rose from this seat.
"Well, that's enough then. Since we did everything we needed to do here, let's go into the Tower."
Hyunwoo asked at these words:
"Doesn't your heart ache? We got nothing out of the Central Island in conclusion."
Wongyung spoke as he laughed.
"What's there to have a heartache over. It was one failure out of many. And we killed a lot of the Lords too."
"…"
"And according to my senses… the thing we'll gain from the Tower will be much greater."
The Islands Map never lied.
The thing they would gain from the Tower would be much sweeter than the thing they would gain from the Central Island and wouldn't be comparable in terms of quantity and quality.
'Hansoo that guy… I'm disappointed.'
He didn't know about others but he felt like that guy would come up at least.
But for him to dodge him like this.
'There probably won't be much difference huh.'
That guy probably didn't know since he hadn't gotten to the Island of the Tower yet but everyone eventually gathered to the tower and there would be more instances where they would collide.
Meeting him then will just be the end of it.
'Though we won't meet for a while… I should at least give warnings. But this guy… why doesn't he have any distinctive features?'
Wongyung sent a message to the 15 people in other places.
Wongyung, who had sent messages to the people all around, shrugged as he spoke.
"Let's go."
At those words a large amount of people started to walk slowly towards a location.
Towards the giant black tower that pierces the skies in the center of the island.
.........…..
A long while after the circle shone as it spat out another person.
Hansoo, who had come out of the circle, checked his surroundings.
Clear signs of people.
It was definite that a clan was waiting for people here.
Hansoo smirked as he looked at these.
'I knew this would happen.'
The Dark Mad Lord always liked to be doing something so he wasn't good at waiting.
A very diligent guy from a point of view.
Though the fact that he was working diligently on crazy things was the regrettable part.
He had used Arankal's bracelet to pretend entering the crystal and then waited nearby while hiding.
Though they could've spotted him if they looked hard enough, they probably didn't expect him to do such a thing in a situation where they were trying to get into the portal.
He had fooled that Hyunwoo guy like that.
'Who would get fooled if you stick around like that at all times…'
While that guy was looking around at him he was doing the same.
The result was that he was very suspicious.
It might've been different if he didn't know about the Dark Mad Lord.
But that wasn't the case.
Anyways, Hansoo had waited until everybody left, healed his body completely which was exhausted from fighting the Demon Lord and then came through the Crystal.
Since this amount of time would've been enough for them to have left.
'It's too tedious to go around.'
Hansoo then looked towards the Tower in the distance.
The final level as well as the stage of the second tutorial.
The
And like branches of a tree, black bridges from the tower extended to connect to those islands.
If you were to start at the island where the tower was standing then you could sweep up from below but even if you were to start at the nearby islands you would eventually go into the Tower.
This was why he pondered going to other islands but then he might not be able to gain what he wanted.
Since if he went to other islands he will start at a different floor and not on the first floor.
'Let's start.'
He was going to prepare faithfully for the Final Dungeon.
Since this was his 1st target.
And the Dark Mad Lord was going to be included within it.
Hansoo grinned as he organized his gear.
'I'm not sure if that Hyunwoo guy remembered my physical traits well or not.'
Hansoo pushed down the Justice of Dekrados deep within his thigh.
At the same time he shortened the length of the chain on Judgement of Dekrados as much as he could, wrapped it around his waist once, fixed it firmly onto his back and then covered it with his cape.
And soon it was almost like the two weapons disappeared.
Hansoo then proceeded to grab onto a sword he had picked up randomly before coming in here.
A decent level Podao that a dead adventurer was holding onto.
Hansoo's image instantly turned into a mediocre level which you could find anywhere.
Well Hansoo's image wasn't what caught the eye in the first place.
But this wasn't enough.
Hansoo quickly moved out.
Since there was a place he agreed to meet that guy.
After a while a very familiar face came into view.
"Hey. Hansoo!"
Hansoo laughed as he spoke.
"Thanks."
Sangjin grinned.
"It's a win-win. Anyways… here it is."
Sangjin handed over a small earring.
An artifact which Hansoo had asked for him to get along with the
It absorbed the user's mana constantly as it changed the user's appearance.
To one of the seven which was saved onto it.
'Saved some time thanks to him.'
Hansoo put on the earring on his hand.
And as he inserted mana onto it his face changed.
No, not only his face but his whole body made crackling sound as it changed.
Sangjin made a scared expression as he looked at this.
"Is it okay for you to do this?"
Sangjin had actually used this before.
Since it was much more charming than the mask.
But this wasn't something where one could change their face however they wanted.
It was something which changed their whole body onto one of the seven saved images.
Of course the battle power decreased and Sangjin, who had realized this, gave up using it and put on the mask.
But Hansoo shook his head.
"This is good enough."
He needed to do at least this much. He couldn't fool the enemy just because he had changed the face a little bit.
Since the adventurer's perception was too high for that.
Since that was basically covering one's nose with a biscuit and then saying that they have disguised themselves.
They would be found out by other adventurers who had memorized the shape of their entire body.
He needed to change his whole body structure as so.
'It does decrease my battle power but this is enough.'
This wasn't the important part.
Hansoo made an expression so cold that it was fearsome.
'Everyone should remember me to some degree by now.'
The 500 people of the Central Island remember him.
The clansmen of the Dark Mad Lord remember him.
Rumors about him would be spread far and wide.
He does not kill people.
He sticks by the rules.
He tries to fight in the front and also tries to save as many people as he can.
This much was enough for him to create an image.
'Eres. This should be enough.'
And now it was time for him to keep Keldian's last will.
'Dark Mad Lord. Until I come find you… keep doing well.'
Hansoo laughed coldly at the tower in the distance.
Chapter 43 – Tower (2)
Hansoo who had sent off Sangjin looked at the tower in the distance as he got lost in thought.
'It's seems like I will need to play hide and seek. He's a real talent huh.'
Hansoo clicked his tongue.
They could choose because the structure of the tower was unique.
To either move in small groups or in large groups.
And a fitting difficulty and reward is prepared from that.
Normal clan lords would try to move by combining all their forces.
Since they had done so until now and since it was safer this way.
But this guy was different.
With such thoughts he splits up his clansmen and then mixes them in between other adventurers.
A method that was possible because he was confident in each individual member's abilities and because they could communicate with each other no matter where they were in the tower.
It would actually be eye catching if they were to move in groups but moving in small killer squads allowed them for them to pretend they're normal adventurers between other people and then wipe them off during decisive moments.
People who had died from the Dark Mad Lord's small killer squads had numbered over a thousand in the past and these killer squads had monopolized around 1000 people's worth of artifacts and runes and had reached a point where they could openly massacre people and no one could do anything to them.
Since they were all separated he had to find and kill them off one by one as he climbed.
There was no need to look out for his image because he had transformed himself, but he hadn't done this to just kill normal adventurers to turn them into runes.
He had changed in order to get as close as he could to the Dark Mad Lord, who knows of his appearance, to cut off his neck in a single swipe.
'It won't take that long.'
Hansoo thought of this and that and laughed coldly as he slowly walked towards the tower.
After a long walk the people inside the Tower greeted Hansoo.
"A newcomer has come. I'm called Suhan. What about you?"
Hansoo made a befuddled expression at the words of the man in the front.
'Ah. I have to choose a name.'
Since he was a different person he had to make a separate name.
Since he wasn't Kang Hansoo anymore.
Hansoo laughed as he spoke his name.
"My name is…"
.........…
"Is that the tower…"
Chulman frowned as he looked at the giant tower in the distance.
How hard had it been getting to this point.
Chulman looked around him cautiously as he walked.
At the same time he glanced at the giant tower in front of his eyes.
Giant Tower.
Many entrances existed in all directions but not many differences could be seen.
'… Do I just need to go in?'
Chulam chose one of them and then headed in carefully.
The passageway was long which was befitting of the giant tower.
As he followed the tunnel in, a giant circular plaza came out.
'…This is?'
Chulman checked his surroundings instinctively.
Hundreds of entrances had surrounded the plaza and a few of them already had closed doors.
And above the entrance there were various numbers.
Some said 1 and others said 50.
Some big ones even said 80.
Similarities between them was that to the inside of the entrance was not a passageway but rather a small room.
'What is this…'
But that wasn't the only peculiar part.
People who had grouped up in the corner.
'9 people.'
It was only 9 but he couldn't let his guards drop.
Whilst Chulman was on guard the guy in the very front spoke out as he looked at him.
"Don't be so anxious. We're meeting each other for the first time here too."
"…?"
The others couldn't drop their guards but had their curiosity perked at these words.
What was the reason for 9 strangers to group up.
And the fact that 9 people were mixed into the group was also strange.
"Why are you gathered so?"
The man who was standing in the front, Suhan, replied at Chulman's words.
"I'm called Suhan, well… since you're alone I can guess to some extent. There's really nobody you can trust huh?"
Chulman frowned at these words.
Correct.
He had felt this while going up the other islands.
That there was really nobody he could trust.
No, this damnable fairy had made it so.
He didn't resent it.
They only had one life, who in the world would give up their life for somebody else.
Since he was like that too.
Suhan smiled as he looked at Chulman.
"But what do we do. It seems we have to group up again no matter what. You're the tenth person. It said we needed one more person."
"?"
While Chulman was making a confused expression, the fairy appeared in the sky.
"I welcome you to the tower. Heehee. This is a land of opportunity. Of course everywhere in the tutorial is like that but this place is even more so."
And at that moment a small map had appeared within Chulman's hands.
'This is…'
Information about the hundreds of doors nearby was written on it.
<2 Man Room: Arunan's Crown, Kokulka's Elixir> (Closed)
…
<9 Man Room: Seven Stripe Cape, Karun's Doll…>(Closed)
<10 Man Room: Roropin's Sharp Hook, Circlet of Kiladerape…>
…
<47 Man Room: Kelpin's Sub Equipment, Sword of Akin…>
…
<80 Man Room: Divine Wrath, Sword of Lightning…>(Closed)
<80 Man Room: King's Sword…>(Closed)
By pressing it he could even read descriptions about the options on these.
'… King's Sword? Diving Wrath? They even give this? Isn't this a bit too much.'
While Chuman made a flustered expression the fairy smiled as it spoke.
"This is a friendly care for you guys. You've seen instances of people moving in large groups in the islands below right?"
Chulman nodded his head.
'Damn… that's really out of the norm. How do you want us to go against such things.'
Clan Lord.
Their psychic power was fascinating itself but it was also very superior.
50 to 100 people moved about in groups, how did they expect them to win against that.
He had gone through two islands on the way here and one of them had a Lord on the island.
It was an island that could hold 100 people but the whole time while he was there the island was basically controlled by the Lord who lead 50 people.
"I was watching from above but phew. How would the people traveling alone live from such sorrows? So we prepared this for you. This way you won't be in a disadvantage because you lack numbers right?"
He realized it then.
What the 2 Man Room and 3 Man Rooms meant.
A game which could be played with 2 people, a game which could be played with 3 people.
'Clearly… if you were to do this then the chances of going against clans go down substantially.'
It seemed like large rooms such as 80 Man Rooms were rooms that clans had targeted and entered.
Since it was that dangerous but had enormous rewards to go with it.
The 2 Man Rooms or 3 Man Rooms seemed like they were all closed due to people coming ahead but rooms such as 10 man rooms were still left.
'This is what they meant when they said when they were waiting for me.'
They wanted to go into the 10 Man Room but they couldn't because 1 was lacking.
But Chulman looked at the fairy with an extremely suspicious expression.
'These flies are friendly huh?'
How could they be.
But at that moment he heard Suhan's voice calling at him.
"There's no point of pondering over it. Since the lowest one right now is the 10 man Room."
"…"
As if the people ahead of them had similar thoughts, all the 2 Man to 9 Man Rooms were long closed.
'Well… Since they could enter by gathering for a small time it would've been filled up quickly.'
He was alone.
The 10 Man Room was the least burdensome.
If he missed this chance and were to enter a 11 Man Room with a group of 3-4 people then it would be extremely hard on him.
'There's no way that it wouldn't have set something up.'
Chulman nodded his head as he went into the room which had <10> written on the entrance along with the nine people.
As 10 people got into the room the doors made a grinding noise as they closed.
Kuguguguuung.
And soon the small room with 10 people moved about aggressively as it started to dig deep into the tower.
............…
Kyaaaaak!
Kudududk.
Chulman cut off the neck of the Beast which was charging at him.
The beast which had the shape of a red ant spat out a rune after having its head cut off by Chulman's black medium sized Greatsword.
'Let's see. Did he say we should get the things from whatever we killed ourselves?'
He didn't drop his guard against the nine of them even whilst he was hunting.
At the same time he was inspecting them the whole time.
'First… it seems like these guys know how to play as a team.'
Maybe it was because they were cautious of each other or they had decided that it wasn't the time for them to fight each other but a clear rule was set between the 10 of them.
The two basic rules which said that they had to fight in the front and distribution of runes and artifacts were according to their contributions.
'As I expected… there's a difference in levels.'
The three which were composed of two men including Suhan and a female were really strong.
Since it looked like the 7 others could not beat these three.
'That guy called Youngjae is strong too…'
The four including himself were at a decent level.
There were three of them who were weaker than him.
'Thankfully there isn't anyone who wants to take over because they're strong… and the girls are fighting well too.'
Being a female did not mean they were weak.
No, the fact that their poisonous aura could be felt at every swing of their sword showed how hard it was to get to this point.
But then a thought came up in Chulman's head.
'… This is too simple.'
Of course he didn't mean the difficulty itself was hard.
Since if it was that easy then it wouldn't have taken them a while day to get here.
Just like the name of the 10 Man Room, the difficulty was set so 10 people needed to work well with each other in order to clear it.
It would've been hard on them if they had 8 or 9.
The difficulty played a huge role to the fact that they were all keeping by the rules while advancing forward.
If it was too hard or too easy then the relationship between the people would be much worse than it is now.
Since a person would have separate thoughts when they were in dire situations or had leisure.
But because of this they felt much more at ease.
'The fairy didn't set anything up?'
While Chulman was surprised Suhan swung his sword while shouting energetically.
"It seems like all ten of us could survive this way? Let's stay strong!"
Chulman nodded at these words.
'Yeah. Let's first focus on advancing forward.'
Who would enjoy killing and stealing things from them.
If they could combine their forces then doing so was the best.
They would all become zealous since their lives were on stake.
And have their own circumstances.
Just like him.
'Damn… I'm not sure if I can find Suhee.'
Chulman grinded his teeth.
He had to survive and find his daughter who he had separated from during the ticket stealing wars.
His daugher Suhee and him, the two of them weren't strong enough to gather three ticket so they had to get a third random member and go up with three tickets.
Since they would've lost their tickets and died there if they had remained a bit longer.
It had been a month since he had been separated with Suhee.
Insecurities rose up from deep within but he couldn't do anything.
He could only search fervently.
Swinging the sword about crazily, the location of their goals could be seen.
A clearly different place in comparison to the jungle-like environment around them.
Chulman sighed a breath of relief.
"It seems like we're almost there, Old man."
Chulman looked to the side towards where the voice came from.
A girl who was swinging the sword diligently besides him.
One of the three weakest people.
'Did she say she was Minhee. Hoo…Suhee is just about that age too.'
Chulman sighed.
Because thoughts of Suhee sprang up again by looking at her.
"Yeah. But it's good because evil people don't exist here."
Minhee shook her head as she spoke.
"You don't know by looking at them from the outside."
"…"
Chulman grinded his teeth.
It was just as she said.
There might be somebody who was looking for a decisive moment.
'And… will it finish like this?'
There might not be any evil people.
But when a situation changes, the people turning evil wasn't even a big deal.
Chulman, who had been lost in thought, flinched as he looked at the location where they had arrived at.
'… There isn't just one door.'
The doors which were laid in front of them weren't just one.
Exactly 10 doors for 10 people.
'This doesn't feel good.'
Chulman and the others frowned.
Chapter 44 – Tower (3)
At that moment the fairy appeared above everyone's head.
'…'
While Chulman frowned, the fairy quickly started to babble:
"Hello everyone. Congratulations on clearing a room. Heehee. It was decent enough for 10 people to clear right?".
Everyone unconsciously nodded at these words.
It took about a day for them to get through one room.
And runes had come out too.
The fairy spoke as it looked at these people.
"Well it's exactly at the difficulty for 10 people. But isn't the reward a bit too lacking for a day's worth of work?"
Everybody flinched.
'Looking at it again….'
They had ignored it because they were hunting the beasts whilst being on guard with the nearby people but it seems like the beasts they had killed had not dropped a single artifact.
'This is a bit troublesome.'
Artifacts and skills were important beyond anything else.
Runes did not create a substantial gap and even if there was a gap it was still possible to catch up to it.
But a good artifact or a skill was different.
Chulman had an incident where he collided against somebody of similar skill level as him.
A guy who tried to rape a woman.
Thoughts of his daughter enraged him and made him collide against him.
Of course he had calculated that the guy would realize their skill levels and then refrain from colliding against each other.
But this was a misconception.
They were at similar levels in terms of strength but a huge difference was made at a decisive moment due to their artifacts.
He had almost died because his sword had broken apart after colliding against that guy's sword a few times.
If you take into account the fact that the difficulty of the Tower would continue to increase then the level of one's artifacts could not stay stationary.
The fairy smiled while looking at the people trapped in their thoughts.
"Come on everybody. We aren't that heartless. We've prepared it right here! Since it has taken around one day the rewards should be around this much right?"
The fairy pointed towards the entrance.
The people who saw this stopped for a moment.
Artifacts were placed in front of the 10 doors.
Artifacts that were listed under the 10 Man Room on the map.
…
Chulman asked the fairy:
"Do we just need to take one of them then?"
Ten people. Ten doors. 10 variety of artifacts.
It was quite an obvious choice.
The fairy grinned at these words.
"How could that be. Only one out of those 10 doors will open."
"…One? Then ten people would go through one door but only one artifact will be given?"
The fairy smiled as it spoke again.
"Could you first check the standards of those artifacts?"
Everyone pulled out their maps as they started to check the options of the artifacts.
And then flinched.
'… Why is there so much difference?'
And 10 of them existed too.
On the other hand, the single
An overwhelming difference in power.
The fairy laughed as it saw this.
"The figure listed in front of the door isn't a number. It is something that tells you about how many could survive. The number of people leaving this room alive hangs on your decisions. Heehee."
"…"
"It's not bad to choose the 10th door and leave together in a nice manner with Haul's Gloves. Though I wouldn't recommend it due to the structure of the tower."
"Fuck…"
It wasn't just a problem of this moment.
He would just be dead meat if he was to take the Haul's glove and was to face a crossroad of choice like this and meet somebody who had killed off the other nine and had gotten something like the hook.
Chulman cursed out loud as he gripped the sword in his hands.
The moment they started to move away from each other Suhan shouted out.
"Wait! Come to your senses! Isn't it a safer choice to get through the next level together as ten!"
Everyone flinched at these words.
Of course it was logically better to have nine comrades than a single weapon like that.
And even more so if you take into account that you were the one who might die during the fight.
The fairy smiled.
"I don't know. Heehee. Is it okay for you guys to be at such a leisure when this is just a start? After this room…"
Suhan aggressively glared at the fairy as he shouted.
"Shut up."
"…"
Everyone flinched as they got away from Suhan.
'That guy. What are his thoughts. To go up against the fairy…'
Chulman looked at Suhan with a worrying expression.
He felt bad for him because though guy's personality was pretty good, he was about to get killed by the fairy.
But the fairy didn't act out and instead made an amused expression as it spoke:
"What an aggressive man. Can I really not speak about it then?"
But then a man in the corner spoke out.
"No. Please continue. I must hear this out."
The man looked at Suhan as he spoke.
"You shut up instead. Shouldn't we at least hear what is about to come. If you aren't going to take care of all our lives then don't cut off important intel. Do you want to die or something."
"… This bitch."
Suhan glared at the man but he could not swing his sword.
Because that guy was one of the three strongest along with Suhan.
If they fight here then they would be helping them to choose the eighth room.
The fairy continued to talk.
"It might not be bad to go along with ten people but you will cross against the people of other rooms. Though the number of people you would get tangled up with depends on the room."
Everyone became serious at these words.
If they choose Haul's glove then all ten of them could survive.
But going together at this moment did not guarantee them going together next round.
'No. It'll be good if we don't become enemies then.'
This was proven by previous experiences.
And what if the people they meet in the next room had also been in a 10 Man Room but chose the 3rd or 4th door?
What if they were from a 40 Man Room and had chosen the 10th door?
If you start at similar starting points then the level of artifacts was the most important part.
If they head off like this then they have to go against people who are armed with much more powerful artifacts.
"…"
Everyone's expressions turned cold.
A definite decision to increase their chance of survival in this damnable structure.
Keep on choosing the low-numbered door and arm themselves.
It might be hard in the beginning but once they grasp the advantage the gap will continue to increase.
But even though everyone had such thoughts they couldn't move thoughtlessly.
Since there was no guarantee that they would be part of the winning side even if they felt greedy.
Suhan spoke cautiously whilst looking at everyone:
"Wait! If we fight here then we might receive injuries and get hurt! If we go into the next room in such a situation then it'll still be dangerous! It's just better to go as ten…"
"Oh. All your injuries would get healed as soon as you go through the door. We should at least give that much as service when you fought so hard to take over. Heehee. Having a limb cut off is okay too so fight well."
"This damnable…"
While Suhan was flustered from the fairy's words, Youngjae looked at Suhan for a moment and then smirked.
"Why are you trying so hard to survive all together. Quite a funny guy."
"What?"
Before Youngjae's words ended, a woman started to walk towards Youngjae's side.
Suhan narrows his eyes.
Mijee.
One of the three strongest along with Youngjae.
"What is…"
"I just like the idea on this side. Let's do it simply. Those who want to be with us stick here. We can organize it roughly. Even if it isn't the 1st or 2nd room hmm… 4? 5th room sounds good?"
'Damnit… it seemed like they were talking quite a bit on the way here…'
Chulman grinded his teeth as he looked at Youngjae and Mijee.
They didn't predict things up to this point but had shared some part of their thoughts.
Suhan grinded his teeth and shouted at the scene in front of him:
"You crazy bastards! Why are you doing this when we can end it without fighting…"
Youngjae laughed.
"We could end it without fighting. But it seems like if we were to do so here then we would get eaten by those who had fought and won. That's what I've had to go through."
"Fuck…"
While Suhan grinded his teeth, Youngjae clicked his tongue inwardly.
"It's going to take all day."
As soon as his words ended, Youngjae rushed out and swung his sword around him.
Kwadududk.
Ududuk.
"Kuaaaak!"
Chulman, who had been off guard, had his wrist cut off.
He had tried to dodge backwards because he wasn't that dull but his wrist had flown off because there was a bit too much difference from the start.
Everyone who had seen this started to crazily head behind Suhan.
They had all realized.
That they would all die if this was to continue.
That guy was a maniac.
"You bastard!"
The opponent was two.
But it was two of the three strongest people here.
'Damn… and that guy was hiding his true strength.'
Chulman grinded his teeth as he looked at Youngjae.
He had known that he was strong but for him to be this strong.
One could see how much muscle they had by looking but there was no way to find out about the number of runes they had before they get into a full head on clash.
If one were to hide their skills like that then there was no way to know.
They would not be an opponent if they didn't group up with Suhan as the center.
Youngjae smirked as he saw this.
"Damn. It's the opposite effect. I had done it to get you guys to this side. Then there's only two people along with this lady?"
It was a very disadvantageous situation from one point of view but Youngjae didn't show it as he charged towards Suhan.
And a sword fight had occurred after the other people had also charged in.
"This bitch! Die."
"You fucker! Getting blinded by the artifact!"
Youngjae and Mijee were strong but Suhan was not a pushover either and they also had an advantage in numbers.
And everyone, excluding Chulman who was rendered unable to fight, started to send off a bloodthirsty aura from all around.
No. There was still another person who was not involved in the sword fight.
"Hey Minhee…"
"U…uuu….."
The child who had barely held a sword up against the beasts was scared out of her wits and could not get near as the people started to clash with each other.
Chulman who had been clutching onto his wrist looked at her with a sad expression.
Words of her having to help out had came up to his throat.
But he couldn't say so after seeing a child who was so scared.
'Damn…Youngjae this bastard…'
Chulman tried to heal his wrist with all his strength but it seemed like he won't be able to for a while because the ligaments in both of his hands had been cut off.
And soon after the fight had ended.
"Kuuu…"
"Kuuk…"
The result was that Youngjae and Mijee had won.
The skills which Youngjae had hidden was really much higher than the norm.
They had both become bloody but the others could not even stand and were all rolling about the floor with painful expressions.
Mijee grinned as she looked at that Youngjae.
"Hoo… you fight well. But why didn't you try to kill any of them? Is there a reason?"
Everyone had fallen to the ground but none had died.
Of course they had their wrists cut off and had suffered extreme injuries so they were unable to fight but they were still alive.
Youngjae laughed as he spoke.
"There's a reason for this. Anyhow…"
At that moment Youngjae's expression froze frightfully.
And then he pushed Mijee away.
"What are you…"
And in the spot where Mijee had fallen from, a sword had flown past it with extreme speed.
And the sword continued to swing as it stabbed Youngjae.
Mijee was able to dodge barely but still had a deep wound on her shoulder and Youngjae's abdomen was punctured from that.
"Kuuuk…"
Youngjae mumbled at the handle of the sword which had gone through him.
A speed which was not even comparable to the fight before.
Youngjae coughed out some blood as he looked at Minhee who had thrown the sword.
"You… your skills… why did you stand still if you were this good?"
Minhee laughed coldly as she answered:
"No reason for me to act out when you are doing the work I was going to do for me. It's a first meeting somebody crazier than me."
Minhee laughed as she sent Wongyung a message.
She had been looking for a chance but it was quite burdensome because the three were quite strong.
And this was why she was going to look out for chances for a while.
In order to aim for their backs when an even more dangerous situation occurred.
The fairy had set it up but she had clicked her tongue and given up.
Because it didn't seem like a fight would happen.
But then that Youngjae guy started to fight with them.
'I've blown my nose without even touching it.' (*Note: Korean saying meaning "Something was done without me having to do anything")
This was why greedy people were good.
It was hard to go against ten people even for them.
But there was a reason why they had gone in one to two at a time.
Since there was no need for them to fight them all alone.
Things became really easy if one or two people like him existed.
While Minhee was laughing quietly, Youngjae mumbled coldly in front of Minhee.
"You guys really have too much patience. For you guys to come out only when I do this."
He had always felt it but the problem with these guys was the fact that they had too much patience.
That was why they would only come out when one had set up everything.
It was going to be even more dangerous from now on, it'll be troublesome if he proceeded without taking care of such things.
'Tsk. Though it'll heal… it hurts like hell.'
As soon as the room opened everybody would get healed.
Of course there's nothing they could do about the ones who were dead.
"What?"
Even before Minhee could react, a dagger which had come out from around the thigh pierced Minhee's chest.
'It's the second floor now. Let's see each other soon.'
He would just kill off small fry like these on the way.
The real goal is the guy whom he would meet on the third floor.
Hansoo laughed coldly as he thought of the
Chapter 45 – Tower (4)
Everyone made a confused expression.
'What is going on…'
But Chulman just sighed.
What was the point of thinking such things.
They were going to die soon anyway.
It didn't matter whether he died from Minhee's hands or Youngjae's hands.
At that instant, something flew over at a very fast speed as it smashed his head.
Puuk!
'Dammit…'
Chulman fell unconscious as he felt his senses fade away.
Youngjae, who had gotten the 8 others unconscious by throwing the daggers, walked up and chose the 9th room.
Suuuururk.
As he chose the
Hansoo chuckled at the people laid around on the ground with all their injuries healed and then started to loosen up his body.
'Though they're a bit strong… one is easy enough'.
The underlings of the Dark Mad Lord are strong.
Since they had not only monopolized the runes of others, but skills and artifacts as well.
But that differed from person to person.
And one person could be taken care of simply by releasing the hidden strength.
If it doesn't work out then he could just take a blade, kill them off and just heal afterwards.
Since that was his battle style anyway.
'Which means… this girl's artifacts are mine.'
Hansoo chuckled.
There was no need to run around from place to place in order to gather artifacts in the Tower.
Since the underlings of the Dark Mad Lord will make their way to him by themselves.
Simple.
They will set some things up and bring artifacts up with them.
And he just needed to cut off their heads and take those.
Hansoo took the runes and artifacts that came out from her body and then showed a conspicuous color as he saw an item.
'Seven Stripe Cape… to wear something like this.'
Hansoo made a slightly astonished expression.
If she had activated this and fought then it would really have been annoying.
An amazing cape that increased the defense against seven different kinds of weapons.
'It was hard enough fighting without the powerful artifacts but this is great.'
This was a huge help in his situation where his stats had decreased and where he could not use the Dekrados set.
And even more so if you take into account of the fact that he would fight against other humans more often.
The underlings of Dark Mad Lord will suspect him with it but they won't be able to confirm.
Since it isn't the only one of its kind despite it being hard to obtain.
Hansoo who had prepared some things started to ponder about his future plans.
'There's two stages left.'
If he goes through two more things then all the preparations for entering the Final Dungeon will be done.
The first one of those.
All the artifacts that are currently equipped on him are colorless ones.
Including the Seven Stripe Cape and the Dekrados Set.
But his runes will become red during the Final Dungeon.
And of course he could only fight the enemy if he prepares red gear.
'But that's impossible.'
It was quite obvious actually.
How would he gain red gear in the colorless stage?
To do that he needed to gain a growing artifact like Nurmaha's ring and then feed it with a lot of runes to make it red.
It would impossible to cover his body with such artifacts.
But the thing that made it possible was the weaker version of the Philosopher's Stone.
If you turn it into powder and then apply it, the quality of the energy a weapon could absorb increases by one level.
Though it's not like a new skill is unlocked like with the growing artifacts, the simple fact of it being able to absorb the red energy and not the colorless energy was still a huge improvement.
'Though there's a time limit… it's good enough.'
If you take into account of the size of that Philosopher's stone then he could probably turn all his gear into red artifacts while he is inside the Final Dungeon.
'I'm going to the room of the Treasure Hunt.'
This was a hidden piece which could be obtained in the 50 Man Room of the 2nd floor, at the
If you go to the 2nd floor from the 1st then another circular plaza appears and one would get into a group there again.
As Hansoo moved, his whole body made crunching sounds as it changed again.
Soon Youngjae had disappeared and a completely different Hansoo had appeared.
He had knocked the others unconscious because of this.
'I can't get found out yet.'
Minhee had died in a single strike.
Even if the messaging system existed, it was impossible to send the message about something happening suddenly.
But unexpected events still happen.
In order to accomplish the final level properly he couldn't get found out by the clansmen of the Dark Mad Lord yet.
'Let's see… What should my name be this time?'
Hansoo pondered for a moment and then made a simple decision.
'Let's do Chungjae.'
Hansoo chuckled as he started to walk into the darkness quickly.
............…
Kududududu
The giant room which was filled by 50 people started to move with a small noise.
These were all people who had accomplished the room on the 1st floor.
It had taken a whole extra day to collect 50 people.
These people were mostly not part of any clans.
It was actually quite reasonable since most clans had gone up to the 2nd floor right away from the start.
Since most people here were people who had come up after clearing the mission on the 1st floor.
'Those guys have come too.'
Hansoo laughed inwardly as he looked at Suhan and the others who were looking around the room.
They were confused because the person who had come up before had disappeared.
'Well. They would probably think that I went into a different room.'
There were other rooms than this one on the 2nd floor.
They would probably think that he had gone into one of those while they were unconscious.
While they were thinking about this and that, the fairy's voice resonated throughout the room clearly:
"The thing you guys will do this time is the Treasure Hunt!"
"…"
"The rule is very simple. You just need to search through all of the limited space here and find the treasure!"
Everyone frowned as they looked at the map and the view they could see outside of the room.
'… It's too wide.'
Though it was of limited space, the size of the Treasure Hunting area was almost half the size of Yeouido. (Yeouido is about 3 km²)
A bit too big for 50 people to roam around in.
"You just need to find this."
While they were having numerous thoughts, a small spherical marble appeared in front of their eyes.
A pretty normal marble, though it did shine.
As everyone made strange expressions the fairy laughed as it spoke:
"The treasure itself isn't an artifact but rather an exchange ticket. If you bring this to the center then I'll exchange it for you. Since there's a lot of different articles it'll be fun pondering over it too. I'll show it to you in advance."
Artifacts were shown row by rows in front of their eyes.
It seemed like they varied from number 1 to 50.
1 artifact on number 1.
And 50 of the same artifact on the 50th number.
It was an obvious thought but it seemed like that the lesser the number the more precious it was.
Everyone looked at the 50th one.
The artifact which you could gain 50 of was just a bit better than the weapons they were holding.
A useful artifcat but not really at the level of being eye-catching.
"As you see it the 50th one is… well, still useful. Though it's not as good as the 1st one. Which artifact you would exchange for is up to you."
Everyone's gaze had already been focused on the 1st item even without the words of the Fairy.
An item which boosted Charisma, Charm, Luck by 15 and the 8 base stats by 5% too.
The other options were amazing too.
If you take into account that runes would be very hard to gain from now on, the price of this item was not even comparable to the other ones.
Even if it wasn't the 1st item, items up to number 10 were pretty amazing and items up to 30 were items that were a bit hard to gain by hunting.
"Only when you bring the Treasure and exchange for the price in the center the door to the next room will open. No one can leave before that."
Not being able to leave was something they had already heard.
They had come in here after taking that into account.
The situation wouldn't be different in other rooms as well so it was just better to start as soon as possible when 50 people had gathered.
And who knows?
They might find the treasure if they're lucky.
"Then let's start! Heehee."
With those final words the room clunked and stopped.
And a giant jungle had appeared in front of them.
'Hmm…'
The people glanced at each other and then separated into the giant jungle.
Being in a team was not always the best option in such a place.
Actually it might be harder to find if you are grouped.
But just before everyone was apart to separate, the fairy's voice resonated throughout the air.
And then the images of the protectors appeared in air.
All 128 of them.
Everyone saw this and then frowned their faces.
'Fuck. It's not something I can kill alone…'
They realized instantly.
Though they had gotten quite a bit of skills and runes, it was not something they could solve with just that much.
It was at the level where they at least needed about 5 people to hunt it down safely.
The people who were dispersing flinched.
Since they did not have any confidence in fighting those things alone.
But there was no need for all 50 of them to group up.
One person shouted loudly in the center.
"Is there anybody who would go with me?"
Everyone started to size each other up as they started to group up in tens or so.
The good thing about this treasure hunt was that multiple people could share the result.
Since they couldn't do anything alone, it was better to group up and act together.
There were actually a few people who weren't interested in the treasure among the crowd.
Since it seemed like it was better to hunt for runes in the time where they would fight to earn some crappy thing.
'And as I heard the explanation earlier, it seems like normal beasts gave artifacts too.'
It seemed like that the beasts were pretty good in giving out runes and artifacts in this place.
Which means the artifacts around the level of those in 40 to 50th spot were faster to earn through hunting.
At that moment a voice was heard in the air.
"…"
It meant that no matter how strong they were they would all get massacred if one crazy guy exchanged the treasure for only one artifact and left this place.
Everyone's expressions turned hard.
.........….
Wongyung nodded at the clansman's words.
"Then… we should start too."
"Uuuuaaak!"
Wongyung laughed in joy whilst looking at the room which was already in chaos as he moved his steps.
Chapter 46 – Tower (5)
While everyone was being cautious of each other and mumbling about, Chulman cursed out loud.
"Damnable bitch of a fairy…"
2 weeks.
If they don't find the treasure within 2 weeks then they would all die.
Since no one will have the prize they needed to exchange the treasure for in their hands.
And 2 weeks, or 14 days, was definitely not a lot of time in order to kill all 128 of them.
If they're unlucky then the last protector might give the treasure too.
Since the fairy would do things even worse than that.
It seems like around 10 people were needed for them to get through the protector and gain the treasure without any casualties.
Which means they needed to at least hunt 2 protectors a day with 5 teams of 10 people.
If you take into account the time needed to rest after a hunt, 50 people had to hunt non-stop in order to kill all the protectors.
Since the dungeon with the protector they saw from the images the fairy projected did not seem easy at all.
At that moment a person in the very corner of the 50 shouted out loud.
"Let's hunt by dividing into 5 teams of 10. One team can account for 2 protectors a day."
Everyone turned towards him at these words.
'Those guys are…'
All 50 of them weren't that simple.
But these guys were eye- catching even with just a glance.
One of the two most dangerous households.
'…A clan. And only 10?'
It wasn't that they walked around with the words of 'Clan' written on their foreheads but there was a huge difference in the actions between clansmen and non-clansmen.
Because non-clansmen would constantly be stealing glances at each other while clansmen are only looking out.
The unique thing about these guys though was the fact that they only had a very small amount.
'Only ten….'
A miserable size compared to other clans.
It was reasonable for them to not go to the second floor right away and start at the 1st floor and even participate in the treasure hunt with such size.
Though no one could understand why they only had 10.
'They're still dangerous.'
Suhan mumbled inwardly.
Since there is a clear difference between clansmen and non-clansmen even if their numbers are the same.
At that moment another voice was heard from the corner.
"I agree. 10 people will take care of 2 a day. This seems like the right choice. If you aren't able to follow then compensate for it."
One of the other two teams that caught the eyes.
They didn't look like the clans here but something else caught the eyes.
They were all holding a precious-looking artifact.
'…Did they kill off the rest in a 30 man room and come up.'
Their aura alone was mighty.
Whatever happened, as the 20 people who looked like the strongest of the 50 agreed, the others fussed around as they nodded their heads.
They didn't like following those people's orders but the fact that they would all die if they did not find the Treasure was right.
They needed to think about it after they find it.
Since the fight will be from that point on.
If they conflict with each other and don't find the treasure then it'll just simply be a massacre.
About 10 people got into teams and then disappeared in multiple directions.
And Hansoo also watched the people dispersing and then walked towards the dungeon of the Protector.
'I will accomplish the hidden piece first.'
The hidden piece he had as the goal was
The requirements were very simple.
There were marbles behind the protector.
128 in total since there were 128 of them.
Only one of the marbles was a shining marble and the ones who didn't shine were normal marbles.
If you collect 32 of them then they will trade it for the Philosopher's stone.
Kangtae had accomplished this in the past.
Something he had gotten while collecting them just in case.
'It's easier to be alone in order to accomplish it in a short amount of time'
Though it was easy when said, the difficulty of the dungeon of the Protectors wasn't that easy.
He will only be able to collect 32 if he releases the transformation and use his true body to progress quickly.
Hansoo quickly threw his body towards one of the dungeons of the protectors.
............
The people who had accomplished the dungeon made a tired expression as they heard the noise resonating throughout the island.
People cursed out loud.
"What is this. They don't give out anything…. despite it being so hard"
There were quite a bit of beasts on the way.
They had given quite a bit of runes and artifacts for the 10 people to share.
As if they were telling them to hunt them instead of going to the dungeons of the protectors.
But then they won't be able to finish the 2 dungeons the team needed to accomplish a day.
And that was the reason why everyone proceeded towards the dungeon even while they were smacking their lips.
They had some expectations actually.
So many runes and artifacts were dropped but the dungeon of the Protector was said to be even harder.
It was obvious that they expected an even greater amount of rewards.
But the result was only a huge amount of disappointment.
They had broken through the dungeon after a long time but the amount of dropped runes and artifacts were minimal.
And they so were hard that it was hard for them to accomplish two a day if they wanted to do it without taking any injuries.
If this was the case then they could only focus on killing the dungeons of the protectors.
"Damm… but there's nothing we can do. We all die if we don't find the treasure."
"Yeah true…"
If they were unlucky then the treasure will come out when they hunt the 128th protector.
If they aren't able to find the treasure while leisuring about then they won't even be able to get the reward.
They would just all die.
"Ugh. Let's go."
While they were complaining and spitting words out one at a time, one of the people walking in the front turned around and spoke.
"Can I say something?"
Everyone looked at the person standing in the front.
"Well, to introduce myself simply I am called Chulman. But the name isn't important… there's just something I want to tell you."
As everyone's eyes focused, Chulman opened his mouth:
"Let's think. Even if we were to find this treasure could we take this to the altar safely? And is there a meaning even if we were to take it there?"
Everyone made a skeptical expression.
They didn't speak out but they knew.
They were confident in themselves but two teams out of the five, who had gone a different way, were at a different level.
If they were to move about in teams of 10 and find the treasure and those guys decide to take them away forcibly then they would only get it stolen from them.
And the few hundreds meters of the area around the altar were barren so it wasn't even possible to sneak up there.
And as the fairy spoke before, the news of the treasure being found will be spread all around .
Even if they wanted to exchange the treasure for rewards, they will only get suppressed by the people who would rush their way there.
Since they needed to go to the altar where the fairy is in order to exchange the treasure for the reward.
Or, they might have everything stolen even if they got there safely and exchanged the treasure for the rewards.
There was no rule saying that every artifact had to be distributed evenly even if they chose to exchange for 50 of them.
If they steal it all then nothing is left in their hands.
Chulman spoke out as he looked at the people mumbling about.
"Do you all understand? This is a tactic that can only be accomplished if we work together but if we stay like this as the weaker ones then we may all just die. Though it's important to find the treasure, we must take into account of the aftermath after finding the treasure."
They needed to go through three stages in order to survive in this place.
Obtain the treasure.
Get the treasure to the altar and exchange it for the reward.
Take the reward and walk out.
The requirements were already set.
If your battle strength is weak then you would lose your head even before you got to the altar where the fairy was.
And even if you were able to get to the Altar safely, you won't be able to choose the number of the reward.
Since people would be charging at them in order to take the limited rewards from all around.
There's no way that those guys will let them go since they will just die if they don't acquire those.
In order for the people with low battle powers to survive, they needed to exchange it for 50 of Kurutan's Bludgeon to fit the number of people and spread it all around.
'No… you can still die with that if you are unlucky.'
Since there was no guarantee that each person will get one of the 50 Kurutan's Bludgeons.
If you are weak then you might just die from the acts of evil people.
Since they can steal it for fun and go out with it.
But if your battle power is sufficient?
There wasn't even a need to look for the treasure.
'Since they can just steal it from the guys who come to the altar in the center after finding it.'
The aftermath of them finding the treasure was more important for them to survive.
Chulman raised his spirits as he saw the people get shaken and continued to speak.
"Of course everyone needs to combine their strengths in order to find the treasure. But does everyone need to try to hard to find the treasure? It's hard for us to get through two dungeons in a day but the teams we saw earlier can even clear 4 in a day. Though casualties may increase."
Everyone nodded.
Since those people were at a different level from them.
It was possible for them to clear four in a day if they hurried.
Though casualties will happen one by one.
Chulman nodded as he spoke.
"Those guys will clear the protector's dungeons much faster than us. What do you think those guys will do after they accomplish their quota?"
"Of course they will…"
Everyone expressions turned solemn.
They didn't have any leisure but those strong guys had to leisure to even hunt.
Their gaps will increase even more.
"It isn't the time for us to search fervently. We just need to pray that one of the two strongest households don't find it fast. Since only then would they hurry and search for the treasure by sacrificing bits of their strengths at a time. And during that time, we must get stronger. In order to prepare for the aftermath of them finding the treasure."
They were weak.
It would just become even more dangerous for them if they find the treasure like this.
But if they were to do the following then the distance in the gap will become shorter which means that they will be able to ensure their own safety to some point even after they find the treasure.
"But… isn't there a possibility for them to chase us down and vent their anger on us?"
Though the island was wide, they could still find each other if they set their minds to it.
Though they won't meet each other while they fight, if there isn't any announcements of dungeons being cleared then they will come and find them.
Chulman shook his head as he spoke.
"How would they know who did and who didn't when there's five teams."
Everyone nodded.
If they lie and act normally then they would be able to get through it.
"And by the time they find out and come to us, we'll have become quite formidable as well. If we clash then they also would get injuries and won't be able to clear the dungeons of the protectors, would they be able to fight us in such a situation?"
Everyone's expressions turned cold.
Correct.
It was not time for them to let their guards down.
The aftermath of finding the treasure was more important than actually finding it.
If they have weak battle powers then they won't be able to escape their fate of their game being stolen after their hunt.
The point was that it didn't matter who tried harder.
It was who is stronger.
The people who had heard Chulman's words nodded with a frozen expression and then changed their direction towards the hunting grounds from the direction to the dungeon.
Chulman also clenched his teeth as he advanced forward.
'I must survive in order to find Suhee.'
He couldn't let his life be in the hands of the strong.
There will be no point of shouting about for fairness when you didn't have the strength to even ensure your own rights.
Chulman slowly walked forward with clenched teeth.
.........…..
Kudududuk
"Hooh."
Hansoo stretched his body as he looked at the back of the protector that he had smashed.
'It's more convenient to move about alone as I thought'.
His battle power will decrease if he were to act with others because he won't be able to release his transformation.
The fairy's voice resonated all around as Hansoo touched the marble he had attained after killing the protector.
'It's a blank as I expected.'
A marble which did not give off light.
But this was actually more important for Hansoo than the actual treasure.
As Hansoo touched it, it got absorbed like a rune into his left wrist and turned into a symbol.
'It's the fourth one.'
If this pace was to continue then collecting 32 in 2 weeks wouldn't be hard.
Since he will be able to get through about four in a day if he didn't go overboard.
But on the other hand, it was hard for him to do more than four.
Since going overboard meant that the strength he had remaining to use the next day will decrease.
They might really not be able to find the treasure if the other's don't crush through the dungeons well.
'Then it'll be a massacre'.
One day had passed.
Logically speaking 14 fireworks should've been made combined with his since they had decided that they will do two per five teams for 10.
But the actual number was only 10.
Which meant that somebody didn't accomplish their quota.
And the time between each firework was getting longer and longer.
Which meant that they were getting lazier.
They are definitely being lazier and have more leisure since 10 was being filled up without them hunting for themselves.
'Hmm… these actions are obvious.'
This place would be very easy to clear as 50 people of a clan but getting massacred wasn't that hard when 50 different people with different thoughts and strengths gathered.
'It's time for me to move.'
Solving the situation in this place was actually quite simple.
It didn't matter whether there was an underling of the Dark Lord's or not.
He just needed to turn into his real self and crush them all.
He was more specialized in catching people than beasts anyway.
The beasts could take quite a hit but the people here will puke out blood just from the dagger he threw, because of their limited health.
There was no way for the people here to beat him who had the Seven Stripe Cape and the Dekrados Set.
Then he would tell them to kill the protectors of their quota.
Then he just needed to take the treasure to the altar, from whoever found it, and that'll be the end of it.
'But… then the earring is a little bit regrettable.'
He hadn't transformed to kill off a few tadpoles.
And there was no problem even if he didn't release his transformation.
Since he had already found someone to act on his behalf a long time ago.
Hansoo disappeared after activating Arankal's Bracelet.