Chapter 27 – Corridor Of The Fallen’s Master (1)

“It is funny. Even if the True Ancestor had come here personally, I wouldn’t have thought about it, but you’re saying this as just one of the blood races?”

Song Cheon-hwa growled towards Belus.

The damage would be quite significant, but if the situation was like this, it would be the same as giving up on the raid.

This meant that there was no fight with the True Ancestor.

But this one had thought foolishly to ask them to go inside the enemy’s base.

From Song Cheon-hwa’s point of view, it wasn’t too early.

“Hmm. Do you really think so? Are you saying that I am not good enough?”

“Of course. At most, the monster will be level 50. I have hunted those several times already.”

A True Ancestor’s normal level would be over 500.

However, members of the blood race that followed it would have to be lower than that.

50 or maybe 60 at most?

It was true that they were strong, but it was possible to hunt them down with perfect positioning.

‘This is definitely information officially released on the bulletin board of Tower of Trials management in the past.’

Song Cheon took a confident pose.

“Haha! As expected! I didn’t know humans are so bound by the level frame.”

Belus let out a smirk. And at that moment.

Psss!

A red spark lit up the sky, and the air around them changed rapidly.

At the same time, the smile disappeared from Belus’ lips.

“How dare inferior humans who don’t even know me… look down on me?”

[Belus activates Lv11′ Blood Bind’!]
As the skill activated, blood began to appear. Thousands of blood drops, each the size of a child’s fist, engulfed the tankers instantly.

“Kuak!”

“Ugh! What is this?”

“Dispel! Dispel quickly!”

The panicked tankers shouted.

Even those wearing items that increased their magic resistance weren’t able to move their bodies.

However, before Dispel could be used, Belus clenched his open palm.

Pupuk!

Kwang!

Crack!

“Kuak!”

“Ack!”

Tremendous pressure shattered the armor around a tank.

There was no need to even imagine what happened to the person inside. A fountain of blood gushed out.

“You bastards! Do you think I would stand still and wait for you to heal? Move now!”

Song Cheon-hwa ordered an attack.

“Shit! Run!”

“You have to kill it before the next magic gets activated!”

The close-range damage dealers quickly swarmed forward. They aimed for the opponent’s blind spots as they utilized a siege formation.

Most of their attacks were blocked by a shield made of blood, but…

Puak!

A few succeeded in piercing Belus’ body with their swords and spears.

Drops of blood began to drip down those few blades.

But that was all.

Belus didn’t even bother raising an eyebrow.

“It is disappointing. At the very least, you should have put holy water on your weapons before attacking.”

That would have brought an ending.

Bubble!

The bodies of the damage dealers surrounding Belus were swallowed by the fistfuls of blood. Crushed pieces of meat fell to the ground.

Their attacks didn’t work.

On the other hand, the opponent’s attack was powerful enough to overwhelm them.

“H-How does a blood race vampire have…”

Song Cheon-hwa mumbled in disbelief.

A thought then crossed his mind. This was just the power of one subordinate.

Then how strong was the one who led this monster?

He couldn’t imagine it. Even if you gathered up all of the top players attacking the 3rd-floor boss.

He wouldn’t be sure a raid made of those people would succeed.

“…”

Song Cheon-hwa put on his shield. He had to live. He had to survive to deliver this news outside.

“Will you surrender?”

“Before that, let me ask one thing.”

“It is a question… good. Come, tell me.”

“Why take us?”

For Belus, annihilating the raid wouldn’t be a difficult thing. It would take less than an hour if he put his mind to it.

But why do such a troublesome thing?

“To use you as bait.”

“Bait?”

“There is a human our master is interested in, and one of them knows to use divine power. So we decided to use a simple way.”

That was… Teresa, he was talking about Teresa.

Why for her?

The situation felt hopeless to Song Cheon-hwa, who began searching for a way out.

‘If it is Teresa, a paladin…’

Maybe there was a chance. It wasn’t about winning by fighting. It was about living and getting out of this place.

His worries didn’t last long.

“… I get it. We will follow.”

Song Chen-hwa nodded.

Then stabbed himself in the palm with his thumb.

[Emergency call scroll has been activated]
[The designated target ‘Teresa de Laurentia.’]
A blue status window flickered. She was the only one he could believe in.

Please…

He hoped all of this information would be relayed to her.

—

True Ancestor, Elise von Ataraxia.

She was one of the strongest beings in the Tower of Trials.

No, she was strong. Because she broke the taboo of the clan, she was corrupted.

As a result, she was exiled to the lowest floor of the tower.

That was why the name of the ruins was the Corridor of the Fallen.

In a sense, it was a royal palace located within the abyss, inhabited only by Elise and a small number of her followers.

‘A story unknown to the world.’

Jin-hyuk opened his eyes, and a status window appeared in front of him

A moment ago, a personal invitation had come along with a personal quest.

[The Master of the Corridor invites you.]
[If you want to save the players and porters of the raid, please come to the innermost room.]
[Difficulty: None
Reward: Meeting with the Master of the Corridor
Description: If you accept the quest, all the monsters, and traps in the last room will be halted.]
“What… what do we do?”

Teresa glanced at Jin-hyuk.

She was bound by contract, so she had to go and help them. Meanwhile, Jin-hyuk was just a normal porter.

She couldn’t just wait here. But he could just escape when the rescue teams came later and broke through the guardian.

Jin-hyuk shrugged.

“Well. What should be done?”

“Uh?”

“I don’t want to take the risk, but I can go with you if you ask earnestly.”

“Ask… earnestly?”

“Well. You just need to think about something. Actually, I heard that the subscriber base is quite strong there?”

Jin-hyuk then rounded his fingers.

He knew that she knew everything, so why bother acting innocent?

Not money, but coins!

If she could give him her coins, he would think about it.

“Such a bad aftertaste. Aren’t you also aiming to go for the boss?”

Chun Yuseong, who heard this, clicked his tongue.

“Ah. Yes. That is that, and this is this. I am not trying to force her or anything. She has her own options, right? Besides, aren’t you supposed to leave the ruins?”

“Yes. The purpose of coming here has failed.”

“Then go quietly. Don’t go around spoiling my deals.”

Jin-hyuk waved his hand.

Then, Chun Yuseong made an even more pathetic expression.

“…. Sometimes I feel it. I wonder if I can become strong by acting vicious like you.”

This brat!

“Phew enough. Don’t talk anymore.”

Talking with him was the worst. And he wasn’t wrong either.

Jin-hyuk sighed and looked at Teresa.

“So. What will you do?”

“If I give you coins… will you rescue the raid team with me?”

“I cannot promise much, but I will ensure you don’t feel like you wasted 10,000 coins here.”

10,000 coins?

Such an absurd amount to even request.

Those who collected 10,000 coins by this point would kill the guy at that offer. But if it meant the rescue of the raid team, then it would be the right amount to pay.

However, there was one thing that bothered her…

“Aren’t you afraid, Mr. Jin-hyuk?”

This wasn’t a normal raid anymore. Now they will have to face a top-level boss. All the relics they had would be useless now.

Yet…

“Well. Should I be afraid?”

Jin-hyuk smiled casually.

A smile as if he knew what the outcome would be.

“…”

Teresa pursed her lips. That was a statement closer to arrogance than confidence.

But why?

Ba-dump! Ba-dump!

Her heart was beating with strange anticipation. Now she had to choose.

Follow with rational thinking or… trust her intuition?

“I will be heading out now. I think breaking through the guardian will take quite some time.”

Chun Yuseong turned around with his sword sheathed.

“Ah. One thing.”

He paused for a moment as if he was trying to remember and said,

“If you are having a hard time deciding, listen to this.”

He looked back at Jin-hyuk with a displeased expression.

“I do not know if he can defeat the True Ancestor.”

Since he was a third party here, he wasn’t sure of a guaranteed win.

“But.”

Because he had already fought with Jin-hyuk too many times, he knew his opponent much better than anyone.

He knew one thing

“If that guy cannot defeat that monster, no one can.”

That was the man’s past. The player who would become the future swordsman had recognized him.

Who was the best player in the Tower right now? This idiot.

And if he could be commissioned for only 10,000 coins, it was like making a losing business flourish.

“Of course, the decision is yours.”

Chun Yuseong mumbled and moved.

“… thanks for the advice.”

Teresa nodded her head. And, as if determined, she moved slightly towards Jin-hyuk.

“I will make the contract. Please fight alongside me.”

[You have accepted the quest (2/2 people)]
[Monsters are sleeping]
[The traps will stop working]
Kukuku!

Various traps and monsters in the ruins all went silent. Thanks to this, their path ahead would be smooth.

And because it was a free pass, several weeks of work were turned into a few hours’ walk.

[Magic increased by +12]
Jin-hyuk slowly absorbed the Frozen Tears, which Teresa had helped thaw.

[Frozen Tears]
Acquisition Difficulty: SS
Absorbable Magic: 100
Description: This is the essence that can be obtained from the ‘End of the World’ on the 7th floor of the Tower of Trials. It greatly increases magic when absorbed, but if it doesn’t go through a specific refining process, it inflicts fatal wounds on the user.]
‘… so nice.’

12 stat points.

In terms of levels, it was the equivalent of 4 level-ups.

Jin-hyuk felt a change in the magic that he was absorbing bow. When he had activated Sword Grave, it had been so painful that it felt like his body was ripping itself apart from the inside.

Now the pain eased a little.

That was why everyone wanted magic.

‘The total amount is 100, so if that can be fully absorbed…’

He could freely use the abilities and skills of other rankers as well as the Sword Grave and Blessing of the Star.

‘The thawing provided by Teresa is limited to 12, so for the time being, I need to be satisfied with this.’

12, 18, 30, 40.

A total of 4 steps.

The amount the body could absorb varied depending on the skill used to alleviate the cold. This meant he would need a person with higher-level skills or a special item to grow further.

‘Well, I can think about it at a later time.’

Right now, he had to focus on what was in front of him.

Countless challenges and failures. And the end was nearing.

No matter how he thought about it, there was only one way to defeat Elise.

And it wasn’t an easy path. But he would have to break through it.

Not much time left.

The passage began to get wider and wider.