Chapter 146

“…Hmm?”

In Delilah’s hologram room, someone muttered.

“Why is Joo Donghoon wandering off alone? He’s completely separated from his team. What’s he going to do if he gets eliminated like this…?”

“You’ve been watching him this whole time and you still don’t get it? There are two kinds of people in this world you never need to worry about. Do you know who they are?”

Someone else snapped back.

“Worrying about celebrities, and worrying about Joo Donghoon. Just stop worrying and enjoy the show.”

At the same time, they couldn’t hide their amazement.

“Just look at those Shepherds. Did you ever see anything like that back in your day? The deeper he goes, the more new species pop up. Ooh! It’s mind-boggling, isn’t it? That one’s insanely fast, right?”

“Of course. We can see them now because we’ve advanced, but back when we were participants, we probably couldn’t have seen them even if we tried.”

“That’s what I’m saying. That’s why Joo Donghoon is so incredible. Hahaha! This is fun. So fun! It’s so thrilling I can’t take my eyes off it!”

The nine examiners sat in a row in the hologram room, eyes wide and glued to the screen.

Their expressions were completely different from before.

If the mood had once been leisurely spectating with the occasional bit of small talk, now they were locked onto Joo Donghoon, as if determined not to miss a single moment.

And they were watching with genuine fascination.

“Kuh! So this is what Theme 4 was like. Back in my day, I just focused on defense with the mindset of enduring no matter what…”

“This batch definitely has an advantage, doesn’t it? They’ve got more team members.”

In Theme 3, the number of team members didn’t matter much.

All that mattered was whether one person could endure—and that was that.

If anything, having more people was a disadvantage.

In a relatively small space, their paths could tangle and get in each other’s way.

But from Theme 4 onward, the more teammates you had, the better.

Since points rose with the number of enemies you caught, wasn’t it simply more profitable to have even one more person catching them?

“But this batch’s advantage isn’t just the headcount.”

“Then what is it?”

“Look at them one by one. They get overshadowed by Joo Donghoon, but if the rest of them were in any other batch, they’d all be standouts.”

“True. The records set by Vladimir or Zhang Wei were no joke either. This batch is seriously insane.”

Chatter, chatter.

Every conversation circled back to Joo Donghoon and this batch.

On the electronic display to the left:

[1st ‘Crazy’, 120,500 points.]

[2nd ‘Magic Swordsman’, 100,300 points.]

[3rd ‘Rider’, 96,000 points.]

[4th ‘Lions’, 95,500 points.]

[5th ‘Mudskippers’, 91,700 points.]

……

But no one paid the display any attention.

‘It’s meaningless now. The Dragon Slayer team will take first place anyway.’

‘First place is guaranteed. The real question is how brutally they’ll run away with it. They’ll break 200,000 points, right? Maybe even 300,000?’

Anticipation had taken root.

The anticipation that Joo Donghoon would mercilessly shatter every existing record.

And so, even their betting changed.

“Alright, alright. Let’s do it again. I’m setting the over/under at 300,000. Anyone in?”

“Over/under? Hmm. 300,000. That’s a perfectly balanced line.”

They were betting on score now, not rank.

Crackle!

As Floa watched them, electricity danced over her body.

‘This is seriously insane. Joo Donghoon.’

All nine examiners.

And not just any examiners—rankers, all within the top 100 worldwide.

All of them were tacitly agreeing on the same thing.

That Joo Donghoon would set an all-time record.

‘Honestly, it’s only natural.’

From Theme 1 to Theme 3, Joo Donghoon had obliterated the very framework of the trials on his way up.

He captured the ‘Toxin Mist.’

He killed the Dragon of Greed, Aranvalon.

He was the first to reach the 5th stage.

“Hoo.”

Goosebumps rose over Floa’s skin.

Because what he had done was, simply put, absurd.

Even if those who had already become rankers were to participate in the trials again, they would never achieve results like that.

‘Especially the dragon…’

He had crossed a line.

A dragon was something none of the examiners here could catch, even if they combined their strength.

No matter what trick he’d used, looking only at the outcome…

‘A god.’

Floa trembled.

‘Ah. He is a god.’

She was shouting before she even realized it.

She was becoming a disciple of Joo Donghoon.

Bzzzt!

The electricity crackling over her body intensified.

‘Indeed. He’s a bastard worthy of becoming the master of this Thunderstrike!’

The bet she’d made with him.

The slave bet.

At some point, Floa was mentally surrendering to Joo Donghoon.

And she—

“Hey, me! I’m betting everything on over 300,000!”

Believed in her master.

—

I pulled my spear back.

After switching to a sword better suited for mobility, I tensed my thighs.

‘Right.’

So an incredible monster is watching me right now?

To borrow the Elder’s words, a monster I couldn’t catch even if I died and came back?

Taat!

I kicked off the ground and started running.

‘Left, 30 degrees. 500 meters.’

I ran, engraving the route the Elder had told me into my mind.

Grrrrowl! Yip!

Startled by my sudden sprint, the Shepherds tried to block my path, but—

“My lord, please leave this to us.”

“May our master achieve what he desires…!”

Sunny and Eldrin, responding to my will, intercepted them.

“Thank you.”

Thanks to them, I broke away cleanly and kept running.

Until my thighs burned.

I sprinted at full speed, like my heart might burst.

Grrrrr!

Awooo!

Low growls and howls rose from all around.

‘Another Shepherd?’

No time to think. No time to fight.

I just ran.

Eliminated or not, I was going to see the face of the bastard watching me.

‘Besides…’

I already knew.

At this rate, it would end after I caught two or three more Shepherds.

If that was the case, wasn’t it better to at least try something reckless?

Rumble!

That was when a pure white flash exploded in front of me.

Along with the vibration, an immense force surged closer.

“Heup!”

I twisted my trajectory instantly and spun to the side.

Kwaaang!

Debris erupted from the floor in every direction.

Dark dust billowed up.

“You brat. Looks like those guys are flustered too. They’re popping out all jumbled up.”

‘Jumbled up?’

“If it was supposed to feel like you were facing two or three per stage, that rhythm’s gone now. It means they don’t want you ignoring them and pushing deeper.”

Kwang! Kwaaang!

“Keoheok!”

Something slammed into my side with brutal force.

I was sent rolling with a tremendous impact.

It was so fast I couldn’t even see it.

“This is the price for ignoring the stages.”

The Elder grinned.

As if he’d already predicted my elimination.

“……”

I didn’t stop.

Even as I rolled, I found my balance—and used the momentum to launch back into a sprint.

‘Stay calm.’

From here on out, I was stepping into a realm beyond my limits.

It was natural for attacks I couldn’t see to land, and it wouldn’t be strange for enemies to be everywhere.

“Heh heh. You persistent bastard. To the right again. 60 degrees this time. 400 meters.”

‘Thank you.’

I closed the distance.

As it shrank, the air grew heavier too.

Shadows thickened in every direction.

‘Those are all Shepherds, right?’

“Yep. All mutts.”

Something smashed into the ground right behind where I’d been running.

“Keuk!”

The sudden shockwave stole the balance from my feet.

My body staggered.

“You punk. Remember the previous Theme.”

‘The previous Theme?’

“Yes. Above the scorching lava. That chaotically shifting floor.”

‘Ah.’

“Compared to that, isn’t this floor basically normal?”

You’re right.

The floor was normal.

The problem was the bastards attacking me weren’t.

Rumble!

The vibrations intensified.

I ignored them and charged forward.

Again and again, I drove my legs.

My mind kept working, but my balance and reaction speed had already stepped beyond the human realm.

The 4th stage of Theme 3—transcending one’s limits.

I’d cleared that.

A mere tremor like this wasn’t enough to stop me.

If I get hit?

I take it.

If I fall?

I get back up.

Pain is something I’m used to anyway.

A few seconds passed like that.

“You brat, I don’t know why you’re pushing this far, but hang in there a little longer. Only 100 meters.”

“Huuak! Huak!”

From the direction the Elder indicated, something flooded into my vision.

Whoooosh!

A wave of energy began overflowing.

Deep darkness spread across the floor.

“It’s shadows in every direction. You’ve basically crawled into the tiger’s maw. You sure you’ll be okay?”

At that moment—

Tuk!

The attacks stopped.

The Shepherds—those wildly colored beasts that had been swarming me—halted, then pulled back.

The ground stopped shaking as well.

“Heh heh. It’s finally coming.”

Kugugu…

And then—

From the direction the Elder had pointed, something began to emerge.

Whoooosh!

Shadows writhed like living things.

Five meters?

No—at least ten meters tall.

A massive figure took shape.

‘What… it was that big?’

Its form was clearly that of a Shepherd.

But could something like that even be called a Shepherd?

Normally, we called things like that beasts.

Monsters.

Ssssh!

The moment it appeared, every Shepherd in the area bowed its head.

As if greeting their king.

[The Shadow Shepherd King is staring at you.]

[The shadow of the abyss ensnares your movements.]

[Movement speed is reduced by 30%.]

‘King…’

I stared with a bitter expression.

I’m a king too, and you’re a king as well?

Putting that aside—

I was already dying of exhaustion, and now I get a speed debuff.

‘You’re telling me to die.’

That’s what this was.

No different from telling me to get eliminated.

‘Should I try something?’

The giant being loomed before my eyes.

Beneath it, countless Shepherds bowed in reverence.

The only way to deal with something like that was—

Call an Essence?

‘Essence of Fire-nim? Or… Essence of Water-ssi?’

Biting my lip, I called to the Essences in my mind.

But no matter how many times I called, there was no response.

Not even an acknowledgement.

‘Essence of Water-nim? Please answer. If you answer, I’ll treat you fairly again.’

[The Essence of Water says you’re being loud.]

[The Essence of Water says that no matter how annoying that bastard, the Essence of Fire, is, it doesn’t want to talk to someone who can’t even handle a bug… no, a speck of dust like that. It says it’s beneath its dignity.]

“……”

Essence of Water.

From now on, you’re not the Essence of Water.

You’re the Essence of Sass.

‘Anyway.’

What was certain was that the Essences didn’t want to get involved.

If so, should I summon the remaining bones?

It was while I was weighing that—

“Don’t bother.”

The Elder muttered.

“There’s no need to try anything, you brat.”

“Pardon?”

“It’s just as I said. There’s no need to fight. If that Mutt King—or whatever you want to call it—wanted to eliminate you, it would’ve finished you off before it even revealed itself.”

“Ah.”

So that’s how it is?

Now that I think about it, he’s right.

For something that’s supposedly absurdly strong—

For the so-called king of assassination to reveal itself on purpose…

That meant there was another reason.

“Go on. Look.”

The Elder spoke with a faint smile.

“Doesn’t it look like it has something to say to you?”

(T/N : Are we getting an assassin type Skeleton now?)