Chapter 290: The Ranker of Rapid Fire (2)
—
“Y-you are…!?”
Aidan’s pupils quaked with shock.
He had heard the name countless times, but never did he imagine meeting the person in the flesh.
And in a raid where he was the commander, no less.
“My name is Kang Jinhyuk. You are the raid members of the Titan Guild, correct?”
Jinhyuk introduced himself briefly.
“Y-yes, that’s right. I am Aidan, the commander.”
“Wow. Wow…! Oh my goodness. I-I’m Mei Ling. I am the main dealer of the raid.”
Mei Ling was also taken aback, stuttering as she spoke.
Her fidgety demeanor, as if meeting a famous celebrity, was quite impressive.
“Kang Jinhyuk…?”
“Isn’t he that Ranker from Korea? Look, Jack. That player is Kang Jinhyuk.”
“I know. It’s all over the news; it’d be strange not to know.”
“They say even the masters of the giant guilds step back for him. I’ve never seen Aidan so intimidated.”
The murmurs among the raid members grew louder.
“What brings you here? I was sure we left a flag indicating our guild was clearing this site.”
“I saw the flag too. However, something unusual is happening inside the ruins, and I had to intervene.”
“Unusual, you say?”
“Aidan, didn’t you notice? The beasts in the ruins are incredibly tough to deal with.”
“Y-yes. I did think something was off…”
Got him.
Jinhyuk’s lips curled into a smile.
“I believe someone has interfered. It doesn’t make sense otherwise.”
“Are you suggesting the demons are up to something?”
Aidan quickly pinpointed the culprits.
They were the only ones who would have a reason to do such a thing.
“That’s right.”
– Actually, it’s an upper-level administrator’s test.
“Whoever it is must be a very evil and selfish person. To raise the difficulty of conquering the floor boss, which is crucial for humanity’s future, for their own gain.”
– The mastermind is me.
Since he couldn’t reveal the truth, he had to blame the demons hiding somewhere in the tower.
“So the demons are involved in the ruins. That’s why you said it was unusual.”
“Yes. If we’re not careful, we could be wiped out.”
More precisely, it was because he had to face the boss alone that it was a problem.
Everyone’s eyes turned to Aidan.
A decision that could lead to the worst possible outcome of annihilation.
After a brief hesitation, Aidan made up his mind.
“Understood. The difficulty of the ruins has indeed increased abnormally, and since Player Kang Jinhyuk is also warning us of the danger, I can’t be stubborn any longer.”
Oh.
This is unexpected.
He gave up surprisingly easily?
“A wise choice…”
“But.”
Aidan added.
“Please allow us to hunt at least one named monster, even if not the boss.”
Aidan wanted a justification.
If the Titan Guild contributed to dealing with a named monster in a ruin that the top Ranker declared dangerous…
It wouldn’t be a failed raid.
Rather, it would be a meaningful achievement despite the dire circumstances.
Aidan had proposed the best deal he could.
‘Although I roam freely, I’ve essentially stepped on someone else’s territory.’
The ownership of ruins and dungeons is now recognized globally.
Each guild had claimed numerous dungeons in the tower. They bought and sold those rights.
“Very well. That much should be fine.”
Jinhyuk nodded.
As long as it wasn’t the boss, it didn’t matter.
He also wanted to establish a friendly relationship with at least one large guild.
—
With Jinhyuk joining, the raid’s formation was reorganized.
“We’ll clear the way to the named monster. Player Kang Jinhyuk, please conserve your magic for when it’s needed.”
“What? No, that’s not necessary…”
“No, we must at least earn our keep.”
Aidan insisted firmly.
Their refusal to freeload was quite commendable.
The sense of responsibility was also impressive.
On the other hand…
“Ha. Seriously, Aidan? Why are you bowing and scraping? We can handle this ourselves.”
A man with a red tattoo on his face sneered, looking displeased.
The aura he emitted was not inferior to Aidan’s or Mei Ling’s.
Another S-rank.
And a man with a very unusual kind of magic.
“Watch your mouth. I’m the commander.”
“Yes, yes. I just don’t understand why you’re groveling when we’re both S-rank.”
The man continued to mock.
“Apologies. That guy just became an S-rank and is still full of hot air. I’ll give him a good talking-to later.”
“It’s fine. Well, reaching S-rank does warrant some confidence.”
“Thank you for understanding.”
Soon, the raid started descending through the cave.
Mei Ling, who had been trying to muster the courage to talk, approached quickly.
“Though we are far below Player Kang Jinhyuk, please don’t worry too much. We are one of the Titan Guild’s main raiding teams for ruins.”
“One of the raiding teams, meaning there are more to follow?”
“Yes. If we, the vanguard, reached the midpoint and set up a base camp, three more teams would join… Though this time, we’re only aiming for the named monster.”
Aidan, Mei Ling, and the man with the red tattoo who had spoken rudely before.
With three S-ranks, they had more than enough strength for a vanguard.
And to think three more teams would join later…
The sheer number of rankers the large guilds possessed was astounding.
Just then.
Mei Ling’s expression changed dramatically.
“Everyone, prepare yourselves! They’re coming!”
As if her body moved on its own, Mei Ling thrust her staff forward, gathering magic.
Rumble!
“Kieee!”
“Keek!”
Sharp cries echoed through the dark passage.
Strong magic touched the skin.
[Mei Ling casts Lv17 ‘Chain Lightning’!]
Mei Ling cast an electric spell.
Simultaneously.
Swish!
Sizzle!
Bugs with red exoskeletons crawled along the walls of the passage.
Seventeen in total.
But none of them were to be underestimated.
Zap!
Beads of lightning formed, and yellow sparks flew.
Boom!
Lightning pierced one bug and then connected to the next.
It was a powerful electric spell capable of charring the insides, but…
“Kieee!”
“Keek!”
It only slowed them down for a moment.
The bugs were still intact.
“How…!?”
Mei Ling murmured in disbelief.
However, with Jinhyuk’s ‘Eyes of Gluttony,’ he could clearly see.
Their charred insides were regenerating rapidly.
“Prepare the next casting! We’ll hold them off!”
It was the tankers’ turn now.
[Aidan activates the unique ability ‘Vanguard’s Promise’!]
[Physical and magical defenses increase by 100% for 3 minutes!]
[The monsters’ aggro focuses on the tankers!]
Aidan slammed his battle axe into the ground.
Boom!
The bugs, which had been aiming for Mei Ling and the dealers, immediately turned towards Aidan and the tankers.
Sharp claws clashed with giant shields and heavy maces.
“Manage aggro! Keep the cycle of heals going!”
The battle raged intensely.
A moment’s carelessness could lead to death.
Precise coordination and dazzling area damage unfolded.
Especially the sight of Mei Ling binding over ten bugs and Aidan smashing them with his battle axe was awe-inspiring.
However.
‘This will take all day.’
To Jinhyuk, all of this seemed slow.
It wasn’t that the Titan Guild’s rankers weren’t S-rank material.
It’s just…
In terms of efficiency, their method was very poor.
When dealing with bugs that had regeneration abilities, precision strikes were needed, not area damage.
More importantly, were they facing such strong enemies?
Even as S-rank, their level seemed too low.
‘If I decide to…’
Jinhyuk moved.
“We can handle this ourselves…”
Aidan hastily spoke up.
They had already seized the momentum.
With just a bit more effort, they could break through.
“It’s fine. We don’t have much time.”
Though none of the raid members noticed yet, more bugs were swarming down the passage.
And at the end was the named monster, the butterfly.
Jinhyuk pulled out Kruger from the shimmering space.
Two silver-plated pistols smoothly emerged.
“A gun? Player Kang Jinhyuk, your weapon is a gun?”
Mei Ling’s eyes widened.
She naturally expected him to use a sword, but instead, a completely unexpected weapon appeared.
And it was the firearm, considered the worst in the Tower of Trials.
“Haha! Using that kind of weapon and claiming to be the strongest ranker? What a joke!”
The man with the red tattoo scoffed.
And that sneer…
“Gasp? Huh?”
…quickly turned to astonishment at the following scene.
Bang! Bang! Bang!
Bullets rained down.
By changing his internal attributes, Jinhyuk created bullets.
Then he infused them with ‘Blessing of the Stars’ and ‘Daylight.’
White streaks of light filled the air.
One bug per second.
The bugs that had been regenerating almost instantly from the deluge of attacks were obliterated without a sound.
“A gun… can be used like that in close combat?”
There were no words to describe it other than perfect.
Destruction and precision.
Moreover, close combat using the blades attached to the guns, moving at speeds almost impossible to track with the naked eye.
It took less than 30 seconds to annihilate the bugs.
Considering the raid team had struggled for over five minutes, it was a staggering feat.
“Oh my god…”
“So there’s a difference even among S-ranks.”
“Not just a difference. He’s a complete monster.”
“Just having him join makes the hunt this easy.”
“This is incredible.”
The raid’s morale skyrocketed.
Of course, not everyone felt that way.
“Damn it. A close-combat class should at least do that much. Why is everyone making a fuss? Hey. Go collect the magic stones. The porters can’t come down here, so hurry up!”
The tattooed man started venting his frustration on others.
“Y-yes. Yes! Understood.”
A female player of the lowest rank, panicking, began scavenging through the corpses.
As always, the saying that there’s always one oddball in a group of twenty was true.
“Stop. We don’t have time to collect magic stones.”
“Huh?”
At Jinhyuk’s intervention, the woman struggling to pull out magic stones from the corpses paused.
“More bugs will swarm us soon. They’ll be stronger and more numerous.”
“No way…”
“Stop fussing and just collect them. If bugs come, as a noble class, I’ll block them all myself.”
“Block them yourself? You?”
“Yes. Listen up. I am Johansen, one of the two Spirit Summoners of the Titan Guild.”
“Oh.”
His confidence was understandable.
Having changed to one of the rarest hidden classes in the world, it was natural for his ego to be sky-high.
“Now, behold the power of my spirit beast.”
Johansen infused his magic.
Then.
A small fire lizard spirit appeared.
“Kyaho!”
Its tongue flickered with small flames.
“A fire spirit.”
“Haha. At least your eyes are working.”
A fire spirit, huh.
Heh.
…Cute.
“Salamander.”
Jinhyuk murmured towards the empty air.