Chapter 4
Squeak!
Jinhyuk slightly cut the tip of his finger with a knife.
Drops of blood quickly formed.
Had it been a day earlier, this would have been nothing more than ‘a red liquid flowing through the body.’
But now, it’s different.
Blood imbued with magic is a medium that brings various spells and magic to reality.
‘It’s been quite a while since I’ve cast a spell to warp space.’
Though it wasn’t an official spell used within the tower, it wasn’t easy to activate either.
Jinhyuk placed his finger over the paper.
…Swoosh!
dētórquĕo.
The Latin written in blood emitted a faint light.
‘Alright, that’s done.’
Next was the east entrance.
Jinhyuk prepared the incantations to create barriers at the four directions of the National Museum.
After finishing with the northern entrance as well.
Whooosh!
A transparent barrier enveloped the entire museum.
[A barrier ‘Imperfect Dimensional Severance’ is activated!] [Your vision will be distorted.] [Noise will be reduced by 70%.]
If the materials had been better, the adjective ‘imperfect’ could have been omitted. With materials bought from the supermarket and blood with a thin concentration of magic, this was the limit.
‘Still, this isn’t too bad.’
After distorting the vision and reducing the noise.
At least, it should prevent the unfortunate event of the police coming.
Jinhyuk stood up and stretched his arms and legs.
‘Now that I think about it, it reminds me of the old days.’
The first time he came to the museum without casting a barrier, it was chaos.
Dozens of police cars and even helicopters, and a bounty event for three weeks, it was a nightmare he couldn’t forget even if he wanted to.
‘I hope others haven’t forgotten about that time either…’
Well.
We’ll have to see for ourselves.
[You have entered the event area.]
As soon as he entered, a strong smell of blood hit his nose.
‘As expected…’
He had anticipated this.
The world had changed, so the people must have changed as well.
But.
The gap between expectation and reality was more than he thought.
He saw a security guard lying on the floor.
Judging by the blood, there was no way he could survive.
‘There’s a guest who arrived earlier.’
He wasn’t alone.
The wounds on the body were caused by at least three types of weapons.
And what they were aiming for was.
The relics stored in the medieval section.
Specifically, everyone breaking in here was after that map.
The Daedongyeojido.
A map compiled and published by the geographer Kim Jeong-ho.
Of course, the intruders weren’t interested in the geography of the eight provinces of Korea.
A map infused with magic contained information about the Tower of Trials, and that’s why everyone wanted it.
Imagine.
Where what mazes and relics are located.
What items and monsters can be found, who wouldn’t covet such information?
Although it only contained information up to the 10th floor, it was more than enough to ignite everyone’s greed.
Jinhyuk’s lips curved upwards.
Right.
Everyone would only covet that.
‘They have no idea that the truly important relics are hidden in the mud.’
Thud! Thwack!
Crunch!
“Aaargh!”
“You son of a bitch!”
“Let go! This is mine. Mine!”
Screams and shouts intertwined.
Outside the shattered display cases, relics that had endured the passage of time were scattered about.
At that moment.
“Stop right there. Stop riiight now!”
A man in a black suit raised his voice.
A muscular man in his early 30s with a crew cut.
“Anyone who moves from now on will die by my hand.”
A textbook threat followed.
Needless to say, it didn’t work at all.
“Talking crap.”
“There’s not a single person here who’s scared of that kind of talk.”
“If you so much as wiggle a toe, I’ll smash your skull.”
People around him brandished their weapons.
As if they were ready to commit murder for the relics.
“……I. I’m Oh Hyuk-seok from the Yongdu gang.”
Although organized crime had almost disappeared in Korea, there was no one who hadn’t heard of the Yongdu gang.
However.
“Hahaha! Gangsters, he says. Scary, scary. Is that so?”
“A gangster’s belly can’t stop a knife, can it?”
The mocking responses didn’t stop.
“Well, it looks like talking won’t work.”
Oh Hyuk-seok clenched his fist.
Then.
Crack!
Cracks formed on his arms.
A unique ability that made his body as hard as rock.
‘Petrification.’
It was then that the smiles vanished from the faces of those who had been jeering.
“Already obtained a unique ability?”
“Damn, that’s dangerous…”
Everyone hesitated, stepping back.
A unique ability could only be awakened through a special ordeal, and it was clear that no ordinary weapon could leave a scratch on it.
The atmosphere shifted decidedly in one direction.
“The map is mine.”
Oh Hyuk-seok scanned the crowd, as if staking his claim.
But then.
“Heh, I can’t quite agree with that.”
An elderly man, looking quite out of place, stepped forward from the back.
Oh Hyuk-seok’s forehead bulged with veins.
“Hey, old man, did you not see what just happened?”
“Not an old man, but Min Jung-woo. It means to live with righteousness and brotherhood, you know.”
“Who’s asking for introductions? Read the room and scram. Or I might twist that dried-up neck of yours like a chicken’s.”
“Ah, these young ones have such sharp tongues. Tsk, tsk.”
Min Jung-woo clicked his tongue in apparent distaste.
But that was only for a moment.
The following words carried a heavy threat, devoid of any earlier bitterness.
“Now, I wonder, will you manage to break my neck before I turn you into a lump of coal?”
Whoosh!
A fist-sized ball of fire danced on Min Jung-woo’s palm.
A unique ability to manipulate the element of fire.
“Magic…?”
Yes, that was indeed magic.
Oh Hyuk-seok’s pupils dilated, but before he could react,
The fireball launched by Min Jung-woo engulfed him entirely.
Boom! Boom! Boom!
“Aaargh!”
Oh Hyuk-seok twisted his body in agony.
“Save me, please! I beg you!”
His arms were covered in rock, but the rest of his body, made of tender flesh and blood, offered no protection.
Petrification did him no good.
The scream didn’t last long.
Only a charred lump of coal remained, amidst a smoky stench.
“Wow, fire magic really is something. Good thing we teamed up.”
A short-haired woman beside Min Jung-woo whistled softly.
“Yoo Ri. Leave the rest to me.”
“Don’t worry. I’ll handle anyone who interferes.”
Yoo Ri placed a black statue on the ground.
Boom! Boom! Boom!
The statue began to grow into a giant form.
A jackal-headed figure with a human body, the ‘Incarnation of Anubis’ from the Egyptian special exhibition.
“Growl…”
The Incarnation of Anubis thrust its spear forward.
“Anyone who moves now will be considered an enemy. Got it? I’ll chew you up starting with your head.”
Yoo Ri smiled thinly.
The presence of a 2-meter-tall monster made everyone too scared to even think of moving.
Moreover, there were two Awakened beings, not just one.
A mage and a summoner.
Tough nuts to crack.
“Damn it.”
“So many high-level players here. They’re all Awakened.”
“Forget the map. Take it all. Just take it!”
Nobody dared to move.
To move meant to invite death.
But then.
Step.
Someone boldly walked through the frozen crowd.
Crunch. Crunch.
The sound of stepping on glass echoed unusually loudly.
“Hey. The guy who lost his mind. Do I look like I’m joking to you?”
Yoo Ri’s expression turned cold.
“Growl!”
The jackal’s legs tensed, ready to leap at her command.
Yet, the man ignored Yoo Ri’s warning completely.
“Geez. What a mess. Don’t these people have any basic respect for these fine arts?”
Jinhyuk picked up a painting from the floor.
He dusted off the dirt and glass shards with his hands.
“Good thing it’s not torn.”
If it had been more damaged, it wouldn’t have been usable.
“Didn’t you hear? If you move… you die!”
Yoo Ri shouted just then.
At the same time.
Whoosh!
The Incarnation of Anubis threw its spear with a swing back.
A javelin throw.
The terrifying sound of cutting through the air resounded.
On a straight trajectory, making its speed feel much faster.
But just before the spear could pierce its target,
Boom!
Jinhyuk knocked the incoming spear aside with his fist.
The spear spun in the air before crashing to the ground.
“Crazy!”
“Wha- What did that guy just do?”
“He knocked aside the spear. No, does that even make sense? Instead of dodging?”
“It was a solid metal spear… Shouldn’t his fist be shattered by now?”
The onlookers were astounded.
‘They don’t know how high my stats are, so they’re bound to react like that.’
Even a player who ate the fruit of the Mangrove tree could only increase their stats by three at most.
On the other hand, Jinhyuk had allocated a whopping 12 stats.
“What do we do now? Your doggy, its only weapon, has just been wasted.”
Jinhyuk shrugged nonchalantly at Yoo Ri.
“Who said that? That I only had one statue?”
Yoo Ri pulled out four more statues from her handbag.
This girl, how much had she stolen from the Egyptian exhibition?
As if she owned the artifacts that were temporarily lent for exhibition from another country.
“You’re going to get scolded by the Pharaoh for this.”
“Is this the time to be cracking jokes?”
It wasn’t a joke, though.
Seriously, if you misuse artifacts from Egyptian mythology, you might get cursed.
The kind that’s a real pain to break.
[The replica of ‘Incarnation of Anubis’ awakens!]
Boom! Boom! Boom!
“Growl…”
“Roar!”
“Grunt!”
“Gruff! Gruff! Gruff!”
Four more ‘Incarnations of Anubis’ appeared, each armed with swords and shields, spears, halberds, and maces, baring their large teeth.
“How about now? Still feel like laughing?”
Yoo Ri looked proudly at her summoned creatures, arrayed on either side.
“Pretty impressive. Honestly, I’m a bit surprised.”
Even with a modest amount of magic power, being able to maintain five at once was no small feat.
Including the magic-using old man from before, it seemed there were quite a few players around who had shed their newbie status.
“Only a bit surprised?”
Yoo Ri’s eyebrows twitched.
“Yeah, somewhere between ‘a bit’ and ‘very slightly.'”
“Don’t try to act tough. I know you’re just looking for a way to escape.”
“Does it seem that way?”
Well, words alone might give that impression.
In that case.
Let’s show them.
Whether it’s bluffing or not.
Jinhyuk spread out the paper
.
[The replica of ‘Pine Tree and Tiger’ is imbued with magic.] [The ruler of the mountain manifests!]
Era: Joseon
Creator: Unknown
All that was known was it depicted one of the most feared beings of its time.
“Roarrrrrrr!”
The tiger that emerged from the paper roared ferociously, shaking the air around it.
Boom!
Its massive frame, over 3 meters tall, muscles rippling, and eyes glowing a fierce yellow, radiated an indescribable sense of majesty and terror.
“Impossible… This can’t be.”
Yoo Ri stuttered in disbelief.
It wasn’t just a simple manifestation. The essence, the source, was summoned into existence.
Although there had been various methods of using relics revealed, utilizing them in such a way, to summon the original spirit, was unheard of.
And the magic power.
Zap!
It prickled the skin with its intensity, far denser than anything they had encountered.
It was not just a giant version of the stone statue. This painting contained the full might of a spiritual tiger that once ruled over mountains.
Though outnumbered five to one,
‘There’s… no chance.’
The thought of winning didn’t even cross her mind.
“A jackal from the desert has no business challenging the lord of the mountains.”
Jinhyuk gently stroked the tiger’s forehead.