Chapter 286. The Approaching Seat of Destruction
Whoosh!
A strange heat flickered where the goblin fire had been.
That unsettling magic.
Now that it had fully formed, its true nature was revealed.
[‘Eyes of Gluttony’ discerns the target.]
[‘Inexpressible Ember’ burns.]
‘So that’s what it was.’
Jinhyuk clenched his teeth.
The ‘Inexpressible Ember’ was a flame frequently used by that goat on the 50th floor of the Tower.
And the fact that it was here…
It meant that the goat had descended to Murim at some point.
‘There’s only one reason Murim is still intact despite such an extraordinary being descending.’
Now, Jinhyuk understood why the Heavenly Demon had gone into seclusion.
And why he hadn’t shown himself even after the seclusion ended.
He wanted to come out, but he couldn’t.
Because he had suffered a grievous injury from fighting the goat.
Though he had anticipated that Yaksha wouldn’t be the end of the linked quest…
‘The scale was much larger than I had imagined.’
High-ranking vampires, upper-level administrator Hastings, and even beings from the 50th floor.
It was clear how the snowball started by the goblin fire had rolled.
Jinhyuk’s gaze turned to the sky.
In the past, when he played the Tower of Trials, there had been events of this nature.
The ember was literally a remaining fire.
Before the fire completely extinguishes, those beings from the 50th floor will come again.
Down the Tower.
And soon.
Though he didn’t know exactly where,
wherever they descended,
that place would turn into hell.
Four days had passed since the incident in the Hell Prison concluded.
Due to this event, the entire Heavenly Demon Cult was in an uproar.
Yaksha, who had been imprisoned in the Hell Prison, had run amok, and to stop him, the Ghostblade Squad, including their leader, was completely wiped out.
Additionally, they lost Dokgoryong, one of the top ten masters, suffering immeasurable damage.
The only survivor was Chae Hong Ah.
But even she was in a coma from a blow to the back of her head, making it impossible to question her about the details.
In the end, the only testimonies left were from Jinhyuk and the others.
Though, to be precise, it was a story skewed in their favor.
“The high-ranking members of the cult have either died or fallen into a coma. Yet, the Master of Five Poisons and his disciple are completely unharmed.”
“So what?”
“Doesn’t it seem suspicious to anyone? The situation conveniently works in their favor.”
“You were the one who suggested imprisoning Yaksha. You were also the one who proposed using goblins in the Hell Prison.”
The Dark Emperor crossed his arms, displaying his displeasure.
His bulging muscles alone exuded a tremendous sense of intimidation.
However, Sama Ja was not intimidated in the slightest.
“The goblins were for the training of our cult members.”
“Is that so? To me, it seemed like someone was using them to brainwash Yaksha.”
“Haha. Your imagination runs wild. How could mere goblins brainwash Yaksha?”
Sama Ja replied without changing his expression.
“Even if it were possible, Yaksha is dead, so we can’t ask him now.”
“Well said. In our cult, we don’t need insignificant evidence or witnesses. We judge and punish based on what we see. Isn’t that how the Heavenly Demon Cult operates?”
“…”
“So, don’t suspect my innocent disciple without solid proof. Unless you’ve seen it with your own eyes.”
“You seem very fond of your disciple, Master of Five Poisons. Enough to risk everything for him.”
“Of course.”
The Dark Emperor walked past Sama Ja, crossing the Heavenly Demon Hall.
Their gazes intersected.
Both knew who was responsible.
They both understood what had transpired internally and how it had concluded.
Yet, neither voiced their thoughts.
There was no need; they knew it all too well.
“I lost the first move. But remember this, the game has only just begun.”
“You’d better have a more meticulous plan. Especially since I’ll crush your skull if you try any tricks in front of me.”
“That…sounds thrilling.”
Their conversation ended there.
As soon as the Dark Emperor stepped out of the Heavenly Demon Hall, Baek Sa, who had been waiting, immediately followed.
“Master. All the tasks you ordered have been completed. However, I tried to assign guards to your disciple, but he was nowhere to be found…”
They had searched the entire Ten Thousand Mountains but couldn’t find him.
“He left the Tower, so there’s no need to assign guards.”
“Left the Tower?”
“Yes. He said he wanted to clear his head.”
——————————————————
Name: Kang Jinhyuk
Gender: Male
Age: 27
Level: 108
Strength 101 Agility 39 Stamina 49 Magic 273 Gap 100 Luck 10 Adaptive 78 Spiritual Power 71.38
Stat Points: 24
Coins: 6,151,339
Class: Rune Interpreter
Unique Abilities: ‘Fusion,’ ‘Grave of Swords,’ ‘Blessing of the Stars,’ ‘Judgment of Anubis,’ ‘Blood Demonic Qi,’ ‘Mandala,’ ‘One-Second Invincibility,’ ‘Thousand Poisons,’ ‘White Beast,’ ‘Shared Fortune,’ ‘Sanctuary of the Sun,’ ‘Black Heavenly Demon Art,’ ‘Triple Magic,’ ‘Giant’s Strike,’ ‘Breath of Fire Dragon,’ ‘High-Speed Sword,’ ‘Tombgrave’s Right Arm,’ ‘Berserker,’ ‘Domain of Wind,’ ‘Shadow Assassination,’ ‘Blood Explosion,’ ‘Black Tear,’ ‘Tombgrave’s Leg,’ ‘Demonic Strength’
Skills: Converted to ‘Stored’ state due to the large number.
Barriers: Converted to ‘Stored’ state due to the large number learned.
——————————————————
Defeating Yaksha had raised his level by eight.
Due to the fierce battle, his Spiritual Power stat had also increased by 20.
‘This time, I should balance my stats.’
There were ways to further increase his Magic stat.
So now it was time to invest in the stats he hadn’t focused on.
[Strength increased from 101 to 109.]
[Agility increased from 39 to 47.]
[Stamina increased from 49 to 57.]
A bright light spread softly.
Good. Next…
It was time to check the rewards.
Realizing that the 50th-floor entities had interfered had fulfilled the conditions.
[First linked quest completed.]
[Materials you can choose from are listed in order of grade.]
This allowed him to choose any material item available in the Coin Exchange. Anything he wanted, without restrictions.
Jinhyuk’s eyes narrowed.
‘Choosing just one feels like torture.’
To be honest, there were countless tempting options.
‘Dragon Heart,’ ‘Cogwheel of the Colossus,’ ‘Essence of the Spirit King,’ and more. Just thinking of these brought dozens of items to mind.
Adding treasures from demon kings or administrators and materials from high-ranking monsters, the possible choices expanded to hundreds.
But he could only choose one.
‘Dragon Heart or materials from the Spirit World take a long time to show their full effect. On the other hand, materials from demons can be prepared in a day.’
Something usable immediately…
Or something that could be beneficial in the future.
The decision didn’t take long.
“I choose ‘Rotting Heart.’”
Without the present, there is no future.
Jinhyuk held a purple-glowing gem in his hand.
A treasure crafted by Beriel.
The core material required for crafting an item of the ‘purple’ grade.
‘Finally, I can create a purple-grade item.’
As soon as he made his choice, another status window appeared.
Ding!
[Second linked quest has arrived.]
‘Seat of Destruction’
Details: Beings bringing the Tower’s destruction will descend below. Minimize the damage and survive.
Reward: Unknown (will vary based on damage levels).
An event quest of the worst kind, one that could obliterate an entire region.
The first scenario of destruction had begun.
‘…’
The sun was warm.
People on the streets were enjoying their weekend after a busy week.
‘Everyone seems so peaceful.’
Jinhyuk, sitting on a bench, watched the people.
Thanks to the activities of various guilds and players within the Tower, ordinary citizens could live their daily lives.
The Awakener Association seemed to be working hard to ensure people could continue their routines.
To maintain such a harmonious society without noticeable disruptions.
‘I heard that Awakeners with wide-area mental abilities play a significant role.’
Mental abilities, huh. If he could copy those…
Jinhyuk, lost in thought, shook his head.
This was a sweet respite after a fierce battle.
With more troublesome tasks ahead, he didn’t want to worry about Awakeners or players right now.
After distributing his stats and receiving the linked quest, he planned to relax thoroughly for at least a day.
Yes. That was the plan…
“What are you doing sitting there idly? Hurry up and look at the 176th outfit I’ve chosen. Ahem. How does it look?”
Alice spun around in place.
The problem was getting caught by this clingy vampire.
Alice placed yet another outfit on the already mountain-high pile of shopping bags.
A traditional Korean ‘hanbok’ rental service in Bukchon Hanok Village.
With a white and pink outfit and a jade hairpin, it created a rather exotic appearance.
‘Hmm.’
An exclamation escaped Jinhyuk’s lips.
Who knew she could look so elegant.
The term “harmony between East and West” seemed fitting here.
“It looks good, but you know it’s a rental, right? You’ll have to pay if you damage it.”
“It’s fine.”
“It’s not fine.”
“I bought them all.”
“Not fine… What? All of them? Everything?”
“Yes, I bought every last one. There’s nothing I can’t buy with my resources. I even tried to buy this village, but the lord living here kicked me out. Does he even know who I am?”
That must mean she was kicked out of the local district office.
Hopefully, she didn’t go to the mayor.
‘…’
For some reason, his head started to hurt.
No wonder no one was renting hanboks.
Since Alice bought them all, naturally, everyone else left empty-handed.
“And look at this. It’s called cotton candy. It’s my first time seeing such a strange-tasting cloud. Want some? If you ask nicely, I might share one with you.”
“You can have it. Eat as much as you want until it comes out of your ears.”
Jinhyuk shook his head.
However.
“Seeing Lady Alice enjoying it makes me want to try one too. I would be very grateful if you could share one with me.”
Surprisingly, Wolyoung accepted Alice’s offer.
“You’ve been very polite to Alice recently. Did she hit you?”
“That’s not it.”
“Then?”
“Isn’t Lady Alice important to you, my lord? I’m treating her accordingly.”
Important, huh…
Well, she is a valuable and important high-grade resource.
Such a superb labor force would be hard to find even in the entire Tower.
At that moment.
“Thanks to sister Alice, I get to try on the clothes from where Jinhyuk lives. Hehe.”
“They’re warm and soft. I like them too. I’ve seen them a lot in dramas, but it’s my first time wearing them.”
Andrea and Teresa also appeared, each in different styles of hanbok.
A fluffy fox and a pure-looking saint combination.
I should record this and sell it for a high price.
“You even called Teresa. Are you just sitting there directing people to come and go?”
A scholar in a traditional hat showed up.
“Not a damned Confucian… it’s Yoosung. Wow. You look good. Like a Sungkyunkwan scholar.”
He would be a Joseon official if not for the fact that he kills kings if he doesn’t like them.
Yi Bangwon should have met this guy at Seonjukkyo instead of Jeong Mong-ju.
“Don’t talk nonsense. Just tell me why you gathered all of us. I left important work in Murim to come here. Surely it’s not just for this?”
He seemed to be enjoying it quite a bit though…
He even bought a fan, so complaining doesn’t sound convincing.
Well…
“I didn’t call you to play.”
The previously light atmosphere turned heavy.
“Looks like there’s something. Speak up.”
At Chun Yoosung’s question, Jinhyuk slowly opened his mouth.
“I need everyone’s help.”
To prevent the impending destruction.
No, to survive the impending destruction.
Everyone must risk their lives.