Chapter 109 – Tanker Recruitment ‘Climbing The Tower Of Trials’ (2)

The person who exited the car was…

Long, blonde hair which reached her waist and blue eyes. She was like a goddess from myth who had descended down.

“Oh my…”

“Gulp.”

The appearance of the beautiful and innocent girl seemed to have aroused everyone’s interest.

Their eyes trembled in shock. It was inevitable.

“The Saint of Amsterdam!”

“Oh my god…”

“A European ranker has made a surprise visit to Korea?”

A level of recognition that was incomparable to the players of the Chinese guilds.

Teresa, who was counted as one of the top 100 players in the world, was in Korea.

“W-what could she have come for?”

“Do you have any acquaintances in Korea?’

At the various questions from the reporters, Teresa carefully replied.

“Ah… that. I came to see Player Kang Jin-hyuk. I heard he was here.”

The sudden visit itself was newsworthy, but now she mentioned that she had come here to meet Kang Jin-hyuk?

This was something that teased the interest of everyone here.

Because this was a unique piece of news.

“Then, you came all the way here just for that?”

“Yes. That is right.”

“You must have had a hard time on the flight. May I ask what kind of relationship you have with Kang Jin-hyuk?”

Teresa paused at that sensitive question. She thought carefully for a moment before saying.

“In any circumstances. A friend I should always trust… yes.”

And then she smiled.

This wasn’t a lie. There were no add-ons or exaggerations.

Teresa trusted him purely.

On the other hand, the other reporters surrounded an old man with a strong body.

A person who never should have been here.

A martial artist whose condition had been so vague that many thought he might have died.

Yoo Chun-young.

“I thought you were suffering from an incurable disease and receiving treatment. Have you recovered, sir?”

“Is Sir Yoo with Kang Jin-hyuk? Please. Just answer one thing!”

Everyone was interested.

It was a situation where every reporter was desperate to get even the tiniest bit of information for their own scoop.

Hong Deok-pyo looked like he’d had dirt shoved into his face. In an instant, no one seemingly cared about him or the three Chinese players.

It felt like the reporters wouldn’t even look at him even if he stripped down to his underwear or got hit by a car.

“Player Kang Jin-hyuk is a benefactor who saved my life. I owe him a debt that I couldn’t repay even if I would have to spend the rest of my life trying to.”

Yoo Chun-young gave a simple reply.

The strongest martial artist in Korea. Until the Tower appeared in the real world, many people would speak of this man as the most famous artist in the world.

Runaway Magic had been thought to be incurable, but Kang Jin-hyuk was the person who cured it.

There was a huge commotion.

“J-Just… who is Kang Jin-hyuk!’

“I thought he was just good at fighting. He knows about medicine too?”

“They said that the top 100 rankings would come out this month. Now that I see this, I trust he will be there.”

“Does it matter how the top 100 are? Can there be anyone better than Kang Jin-hyuk now? It is impossible to compare his achievements with other players.”

This was an objective fact, and their praise was not just because he was Korean.

They wouldn’t dare to speak recklessly as he was a public figure. At the same time, however, the reporters were sure that Kang Jin-hyuk was different from the other players.

Finally, another group of reporters raised their mics at the third person who had come.

A man in a black suit, who was extraordinarily handsome with his cold image.

Chun Yuseong.

“I will ask just one thing. Obviously, I heard that you threw away the invitations from all the guilds in Korea, so why answer the call of Kang Jin-hyuk?”

Right.

Chung Yuseong was someone who climbed the Tower and cleared dungeons and labyrinths with his skills alone.

Many guilds were ready to give him a blank check and had made numerous calls to recruit him.

But not once had he replied to any of them.

It was as if he ignored the existence of any contracts he didn’t care about.

And such an iron-willed person came to meet Kang Jin-hyuk.

“Are you and Kang Jin-hyuk colleagues?”

There was no other way to explain this.

However, Chun Yuseong frowned at the question.

Kuku…!

He clenched his hand into a fist.

Flinch.

Surprised, the reporters took a step back.

“Not my colleague.”

A strong refusal.

What followed was a statement of both love and hatred.

“He is a rival I need to defeat one day.”

His reason for climbing the Tower. The reason behind his desire to grow and clench his fist.

For Chun Yuseong, who had won everything up until then, Jin-hyuk was a wall he wanted to tear down with all his will.

And…

Jin-hyuk watched all of this from the side.

‘Um.’

Not bad.

Just as he thought, there was nothing more amazing than getting all the best pieces in one place.

He wanted to bring Elise out too.

However, if he did that, then all of the raid teams would be sent to try to take her out, and the place would turn into a sea of fire. So, with that in mind, he decided to let the pleasant atmosphere stay.

“H-how can this…”

Tremble.

Hong Deok-pyo stuttered at the sight.

This was a stage he had prepared to take down Jin-hyuk, but…

Such unexpected people were taking his side.

The reporters also called Kang Jin-hyuk the best player and raised his value.

The People’s Republic Guild looked like a laughing stock now.

This meant that he had drawn the worst card.

The Chinese players he had brought here would also be further embarrassed.

“… he is a bigger man than I thought.”

“Teresa and Yoo Chun-young… and Chun Yuseong. Only those known to be the most impossible to cast are here.”

“…”

In front of them, the Chinese side’s appeal would fade.

There was no greatness in being an S-rank here.

Had he known that the hurdle would be of this level, he would have brought more people.

‘No.’

The man who was the leader shook his head.

‘Unless our guild master comes in person, nothing would change here.’

Their purpose in coming here had been to inspire and change the image of Chinese guilds. They would also get coins from the Black Cloud Guild as a bonus.

Everything had turned to nothing because of one person.

“Well, this is quite a fun event.”

Jin-hyuk shrugged his shoulders at the four of them.

There was no denying that the three people on his side are currently the most important players in Korea.

But…

“If you are going to brag about personal connections… shouldn’t it be like this?”

They should have realized that bragging was also an art.

One storm had passed.

Hong Deok-pyo, completely lost in thought, gave up appearing on the program.

The players from the Chinese side who came with him also left the stage.

Well, that was the wise thing to do

If they appeared on TV like this, it would be an unfortunate situation for them.

‘This is why watching a guy who gets his confidence crushed is fun.’

That was why he didn’t think he was just a simple veteran.

He was so used to being sadistic and crushing people that he was never put in such situations.

At that moment.

“What are you liking so much that you are smiling like that?”

Chun Yuseong, who was watching him from the side, clicked his tongue.

“Uh?”

“Forget it. It is obvious even if you don’t answer. At least you were enjoying the frustration of Hong Deok-pyo or something, right?”

Was there no filter option on this guy’s tongue?

It was like his brain and mouth all operated in one route.

“Thank you for coming this far. But I hope you don’t speak about my hobbies.”

“Want me to not mess with you? Considering that the officetel I lived in got destroyed thanks to you, don’t you think you can give me that consideration?”

“Officetel… you mean the house you lived in?”

Jin-hyuk tilted his head and then realized why.

Ah… right.

Come to think of it, he had mentioned that Unknown’s identity was Chun Yuseong on the 5th floor.

It was someone else’s business afterward, so he forgot about it.

Ahem!

Was that a prickling on his conscience? Jin-hyuk cleared his voice.

“I could only believe in you. Not even a single hit must have touched a great swordsman like you.”

“… this is a thought which comes to my mind, but I don’t think that you will get out of this with your clever thoughts.”

“I will take that as a compliment. Rather. How was it?”

“What do you mean?”

“The ones sent from the Demonic Human Association. This time, they seemed quite determined, so I sent them to you. Tell me what it is like to deal with them.”

At these words, Chung Yuseong stopped.

Was he having bad thoughts? His expression darkened.

“It was a guy called Gawain.”

Ho.

A name belonging to a Knight of the Round Table.

In other words, one of their central people went directly.

“It seems like he was annoying to deal with?”

“Yes.”

The opponent must have been strong, considering how much he was grunting.

But…

“That is all.”

Chun Yuseong looked at Jin-hyuk with strange eyes.

An intruder had broken into his home and was strong enough that he might have been risking his life, but…

What was it?

That opponent didn’t feel strong compared to Jin-hyuk.

No matter how much he tried, he always felt hopeless in front of Jin-hyuk.

So, Chun Yuseong felt convinced.

‘As I thought… there is no one stronger than this guy.’

No matter how much support a ranker received from a guild, or even if a boss monster that went beyond common sense existed in the Tower.

They would not even be a match for Jin-hyuk.

So.

‘One day, I will still defeat you and take the top place.’

He had already tasted defeat 138 times, but the one who wins last gets the last laugh.

Chun Yuseong continued to develop a new dream while falling into the illusion that he could win.

As their conversation ended, Jin-hyuk went over to the other two.

“It is fine. At the time of the raid on the ruins, I promised to be on broadcast, so I came here.”

“Haha. I am of the same mind as Miss Teresa. In my heart, I wanted to bring all my disciples too, but you were stubborn only to ask for me alone.”

All of them were people who felt grateful to Jin-hyuk.

This was why good and important people should be treated properly. Even if they could not help right away, they could be of help in the future.

At that moment.

“You can come up to the set now.”

Kim Daun told them.

The time had come.

The broadcast began.

But…

‘W-what is this?’

‘Damn it. We are ruined!’

Choi Hee-jae and Kim Daun, who were in charge of the program, were sweating.

They couldn’t help it.

It was always challenging to bring in prominent rankers. This was because they never came and gave straightforward content.

“That… Player Kang Jin-hyuk? Could you tell me about how you cleared the labyrinth?”

“Well. There was nothing great about it. All we had to do was play hard to catch the bull and eat tasteless mushrooms.”

“I-is that all?”

“Yes.”

Jin-hyuk nodded with an innocent face.

The female host tried to lead the conversation, but his answer was short for each question.

“The 3rd-floor dungeon…”

“Just avoid them all.”

“And the 4th floor.”

“That too is to avoid them all.”

“And the 5th floor?”

“I worked hard in avoiding them all.”

No, really.

What was this?

In the first place, no one attacked the Tower of Trials because they liked it. All Jin-hyuk gave them were methods on how to attack the dungeons.