Solo Max-Level Newbie - Chapter 351: Old Guard (2)

Boom!

The giant body of the antlion collapsed.

With a thunderous roar, sand scattered in all directions.

The named monster, which hadn’t budged at all, fell to just two arrows.

‘Those guys…’

Jinhyuk narrowed his eyes.

They were definitely the ones he encountered on the 50th floor.

Their name was surely…

‘The Old Guard.’

They weren’t on the level of deities, but they were rankers who could be considered ‘heroes.’

Like Theseus of Greece or Cheok Jun-Gyeong of Korea. They were beings whose ranks had risen due to their numerous recognized achievements.

‘So the 50th floor was connected to this after all.’

The fact that Nyarlathotep’s elite guard, who could freely roam the floors of the Tower, had come here meant that they were extremely wary of all the crowns gathering.

“Are you the one called Kang Jinhyuk?”

The largest man spoke up.

The other three were formidable, but this one possessed an entirely different level of magic power.

He was the leader.

“Yeah, I’m Kang Jinhyuk. And you are?”

“We are the Old Guard. Guardians of the Tower’s balance… or so we say.”

Guardians of balance, my foot.

They were just cleaners who handled the dirty work for the higher-ups.

“Wow, you guys sure have a grand title. So, why are Earth Defense Force types like you looking for me?”

“I know you’re after the crown.”

Srrrng!

The greatsword on the man’s back was drawn.

The blade was over 2 meters long, and just brushing against it would be enough to tear someone apart, not just cut them.

“So, you don’t want any competition?”

“I like to keep things clean. Sorry, but you’ll have to die here.”

A chilling intent spread through the air.

Four residents of the hero class.

And they specialized in taking down opponents stronger than themselves.

‘I’ll have to shake things up a bit here.’

He needed to create a disturbance, even a small one, to increase his chances.

Jinhyuk’s lips curled into a faint smile.

“If we’re talking about a giant who wields a greatsword among the Old Guard, you’d be ‘Hound,’ right? It’s all good, but isn’t it a bit much to act so tough when you’re not even the top? At best, you’re ranked 4th, not 1st.”

A casual comment.

But the meaning behind it was far from light.

“…!”

“…?”

“W-What…?”

The pupils of the three men and women shook violently.

“How… how do you know my name?”

Even Hound, who was addressed directly, faltered, his sword trembling.

The Old Guard, Nyarlathotep’s elite force, was one of the most secretive organizations within the Tower.

Even the administrators didn’t know the full details of its members.

Yet a mere player…

A newbie who hadn’t even been in the Tower for three years, how could he possibly…?

The only explanation was that someone had told him about the Old Guard.

But.

‘For him to know even my rank doesn’t make sense.’

The ranking was information known only to Nyarlathotep.

Only one being knew such details.

Hound’s composure was now deeply shaken.

And that slight gap…

Jinhyuk didn’t miss it.

With a confident stride.

Tap.

Using [Sword Demon’s Thousand Shadows], he accelerated.

Jinhyuk’s body shot toward the opposite exit in an instant.

His plan was to use the confusion to escape through the only exit.

“Where do you think you’re going!”

Hound, a split second too late in regaining his composure, shouted.

At the same time—

Shooosh… Boom!

Three beams of light pierced the air.

The man with the longbow already had another arrow nocked, as if he had been waiting.

“As long as I’m here, not even an ant can escape.”

‘Blackrock.’

An Old Guard member, and one of the top ten archers in the entire Tower.

Even Artemis or Hercules of Olympus would struggle to outmatch this monster.

“I’ve run into quite the troublesome hunter.”

If that guy was seriously aiming at him, running down the main corridor would be suicide.

Jinhyuk immediately changed direction.

He darted into a narrower, more cramped cave.

Thus.

His body disappeared completely into the dark passageway.

“We’ve cornered him.”

“Yeah. Now that he’s entered that path, it’s over.”

“He’ll soon realize that he’s run into a dead end after all that running.”

At first glance, it seemed like another exit, but that passage led nowhere.

“Capture him alive. We need to find out where he got his information.”

“Understood.”

“Okay.”

“Finally, a hunt after so long. This should be fun.”

With Hound’s order, the pursuit began.

＊＊＊

Jinhyuk picked up speed as he entered the passage.

‘They must be feeling pretty confident, thinking they’ve driven me into a dead-end. They probably assume I don’t know the geography of this place.’

However.

They’d soon realize just how wrong they were.

Jinhyuk was more than prepared to punish them for daring to play cat-and-mouse with the Tower’s most seasoned player.

But before that…

Jinhyuk quickly activated his personal status window.

[Real-time trading requires a fee of 1,000,000 coins. Would you like to proceed? Y/N]

“I’ll pay.”

The coins were a waste, but there was no other choice.

To deal with these guys, he needed certain materials in addition to his own abilities.

Originally, he had planned to gather them over time, but since the situation had changed, he had to adapt.

[Waiting for the other party to accept.]

Brrrring… Brrrring…

The connection tone rang several times.

And then, at that very moment—

Ding!

“Hmm. This is unexpected.”

A familiar voice rang out along with a small video.

Rick Hennessy.

The owner of a top-tier merchant guild and a mid-level manager of the Tower appeared.

“Hmm. I was just about to turn in for the night. What brings you to contact me at such a late hour?”

“Sorry to interrupt your rest. This is a bit urgent.”

“Haha. What can I do to help?”

Rick burst into a hearty laugh, still wearing his usual friendly expression.

“I’m being chased by some troublesome guys. I need a few items to deal with them.”

“If you’re being chased, then these pursuers must be quite something.”

“They’re Nyarlathotep’s elite guard. They call themselves the ‘Old Guard.’ Do you know of them?”

There was a brief 0.1-second pause at Jinhyuk’s words.

But only for a moment.

“Never heard of them. Even the administrators have limited information on that level.”

“Of course, I understand. No worries. The items I need are what I wanted to talk to you about.”

“Go ahead.”

Rick slowly stood up.

Through the status window, an enormous selection of items appeared.

Rare treasures that were difficult to even catch a glimpse of.

“I need…”

Jinhyuk began to speak.

＊＊＊

“He went this way. The distance is about 500 meters. He’s moving slower than I expected.”

Blackrock gauged the distance between them and their target.

“It’s strange. I thought he’d be at the end of the tunnel by now.”

Hound also carefully examined the tracks left on the ground.

He had passed through here less than a minute ago.

Given the specs of their target, this didn’t make sense.

“Looks like he’s up to something. He might be stalling for time. If you leave it to me, I can go ahead and handle him alone.”

The woman with short hair—no, Selly, ranked 27th in the Old Guard—offered to pursue quickly.

But.

“No.”

Hound sensed something off about Jinhyuk’s actions.

“I’ve heard this guy has been through quite a few rough situations. If a slippery character like that is deliberately slowing down, there must be a reason he wants us to follow.”

“Are you saying it’s a trap?”

“Yes. And it seems he already knows this is a dead end.”

The choice of a dead-end wasn’t just to escape being cornered.

“Interesting.”

A grin spread across Hound’s face.

He had expected this to be a simple hunt.

But now, it seemed this mission was going to be much more entertaining.

“Don’t miss even the smallest detail.”

Four shadows immediately darted into the cave.

How much time had passed?

“Captain.”

“Yeah…”

Hound spotted runes etched on the ground.

Hidden cleverly among the rocks and sand.

But they couldn’t escape the sharp eyes of Blackrock, the ranger.

“It’s a barrier. And a rather high-level one at that.”

Five stars… no, it might even be six or higher.

‘To create a barrier of this level in such a short time…’

This prey was no ordinary one.

‘In most cases, the hunter would become the hunted.’

However.

That was only in most cases.

Not this time.

Swoosh!

Hound slashed through the core of the barrier’s runes with his greatsword.

Not a single mistake. It was a flawlessly precise strike.

As long as they responded cautiously, there would be no unforeseen variables.

“Keep moving.”

Hound took the lead.

Though they encountered various traps along the way, they were not enough to deceive the Old Guard.

Bang!

Boom!

The carefully crafted traps were all neutralized.

Barriers, spells, and even extremely rare items were rendered useless.

And so, they reached the final area.

Jinhyuk stood there alone, all his plans having failed.

“Impressive. To be honest, if it weren’t for us, your plan would have worked.”

Hound offered genuine praise.

“As expected of the Old Guard. I didn’t think you’d make it here without a single scratch. Thanks to that, everything I spent a fortune on has become worthless.”

“I like how quickly you gave up. Now, why don’t you tell us how you know about us?”

“Huh? Why should I do that?”

“You’ve used up all your cards. Unless you want a painful death, I suggest you open your mouth.”

Hound pointed his greatsword at Jinhyuk’s limbs, as if warning that he would slice them off one by one.

However.

Even under such a deadly threat, Jinhyuk simply shrugged nonchalantly.

“Oh… did you think that was all I had?”

If that’s what they thought, they were in for a rude awakening.

Because their expectations were about to be utterly shattered.

“The earlier stuff? That was just a warm-up.”

It had all been to mislead and provide them with a false reason.

The real game was just beginning.

[‘The Mirror That Breaks Boundaries’ and ‘Rivens’ 11 Gems’ resonate!]

[‘The Cord That Connects Faith’ is activated!]

Eight out of the 11 gems Jinhyuk had bought from Rick were used for this spell.

Wuuuuuung!

With a brilliant flash of light.

The entire view changed.

‘Sand Dunes of the Sun.’

The majestic scenery of the place where the crown was believed to be buried appeared.

“This place is…”

Hound tightened his grip on his greatsword.

And before them…

Figures fully prepared for battle were waiting.

[Unique abilities…]

Each of their abilities blossomed.

[‘Song of the Sword’ is activated!]

[‘Blessing of the Stars’ is activated!]

[‘Doll Play’ is activated!]

[‘Whispers of the Forest’ is activated!]

“Now, let’s have a proper fight. Fair and square, with the numbers even.”

Jinhyuk smiled brightly.