Chapter 98 – Gray Temple (2)

A sword cut across a face with a sharp sound.

Players with Japanese swords wrapped around their waists and colorful tattoos all over their bodies caught his eye.

What was this?

He didn’t even have to check. It was obvious where all these guys came from.

‘Samurai Guild…’

Jin-hyuk wrinkled his forehead.

He could guess why they had come here and why Kim Gitae was angry.

It was then that the voices of two groups could be heard.

“This is a dungeon we own. I hope you haven’t forgotten it?”

“I know that, but as Captain Kim knows, you always fail each time you challenge it, right? Wouldn’t it be better to hand it out to those who can attack it instead of holding onto it this hard?”

A man with a beard and sunglasses spoke in reply.

The words were said politely, but the intent was conveyed quite clearly.

Grunt!

Kim Gitae gritted his teeth, unable to object to it.

They had failed this raid multiple times while the Samurai Guild had been experiencing incredible growth recently.

But…

“Um. It is strange.”

Jin-hyuk scratched his head and interrupted the conversation, making everyone turn towards him.

“He… is?”

“Ah, Kang Jin-hyuk. The ranker from Korea!”

“Is it possible that he has something to do with the Fathers of Fighting?”

“This isn’t good…”

He could hear their small whispers as Sunglasses decided to take the lead.

“This is another surprise. But, what is strange?”

“I heard it. Didn’t you say they repeatedly failed due to a lack of power?”

“I did say it. Of course, I feel bad saying it, but it is the reality.”

Well, he was trying to look good in his own way. He didn’t think that the Medusa could be defeated with this Japanese guild’s power.

Even if their whole group was put together, they wouldn’t be half as strong as Chun Yuseong or Teresa.

“Ah! I understand if your hope for the future is to become a beautiful stone statue. Do you know of the Medusa in there? You will be a great collection to her.”

Jin-hyuk smiled brightly.

“A-are you saying we lack skills? Do you mean that?”

“It isn’t that you are lacking, but you just aren’t that great.”

What they lacked was common sense. That meant that they shouldn’t be acting like this.

“No-not great?”

“Damn it, did he just say that?”

At Jin-hyuk’s words, the people of the Samurai Guild were severely disturbed.

“Kuak.”

“As expected!”

On the other side, the Fathers of Fighting were happy with this outcome.

“You will regret saying that. No matter how great you think. In Japan, a player climbed up to the 30th floor in the game. And unlike you, he is the ‘real’ veteran.”

Sunglasses spoke with a cold tone.

“He’s been to the 30th floor?”

“Right. The middle section of the Tower no one has ever been to. That was experienced by him. Based on his knowledge and experience, we will be the first to conquer the Tower. No one else but Japan!”

Sunglasses spread his arm wide.

With pride in having information about the future.

Naturally, he couldn’t hide his excitement, but…

Jin-hyuk just clicked his tongue.

‘Nonsense.’

He didn’t see the shadow of a player since passing the 20th floor in the past. Suddenly a veteran who had climbed up to the 30th floor popped up?

In Japan, at that?

That’s impossible.

‘Still, seeing that he is confident, he seems to believe it…’

That would mean someone was messing around with Sunglasses, making Jin-hyuk smile.

‘How dare you lie in front of me?’

He didn’t know how the Samurai Guild got caught in all this, but…

‘You chose the wrong opponent.’

Jin-hyuk glanced at the players with the Eye of Gluttony.

Several status windows appeared.

‘Not him. This guy is…’

Not a single one stood out.

Just as he thought about how unremarkable they all were, he suddenly stopped his gaze.

—

Name: Yamamoto Takeshi
Gender: Male
Age: 25
Level: 27
Strength 16 Agility 26 Stamina 23 Magic 32
Stat Points: 0
Coins: 25,853
Occupation: Onmyoji
Unique Ability: Half Vision of the Future
Skills: Lv6 False Prophecy, Lv5 Insignificant Sympathy, Lv5 Yin and Yang Changes, Lv5 Devour
—

This one.

Now he could deduce what happened. The power to see half of the future, a power to glimpse the floors above.

Although it was just half of the future, things would still be helpful, and that information was being used.

No matter how small or useless it was, everyone would appreciate it.

In any case, being able to predict the future that others don’t know of was an attractive skill.

But…

This only applied to those who didn’t know what was at the top.

Seeing things in the Tower that they didn’t know about and experiencing are two different matters.

‘This is going to be fun.’

Jin-hyuk looked at Takeshi and smiled.

The Hope of Japan.

A hidden card newly recruited by the Samurai Guild.

One of the top 100 in the world.

These were titles that Takeshi would get in the future because of his ability to see the future.

‘No one knows that the abilities have flaws too.’

He might be able to get the attention of higher guilds by giving plausible information and pretending to be a veteran who has been to a high rank in the Tower.

Takeshi was sure of this.

And that had actually paid off too.

He entered the best guild in Japan, the Samurai Guild.

Takeshi didn’t back down.

Instead, he proudly said he had gone up until the 30th floor. At the same time, he told a story about the Tower that no one knew about.

Of course, some details were wrong, but Takeshi could gain the Samurai Guild’s trust by guessing some hidden information from within the Tower.

‘Even if they knew I lied, we would be far too deep to abandon me.’

And what about when he got caught? Then all it took was to make the lie a reality.

He would get stronger if he received support at the guild level. Of course, his ability would grow quickly, and he would become a ranker who could see the entire future.

‘Right. What is so great about rankers? They too must have been weak at first.’

If the Samurai Guild pushed all the way to the top, then what was there to be afraid of?

Items, experience, and rankers.

He could get them all. However, his winning streak was coming to a halt.

At the arrival of a person called Kang Jin-hyuk.

‘… what?’

Takeshi gulped.

There were dozens of players around him, excluding himself.

However, Jin-hyuk ignored the others and even had a twisted smile as if he knew everything.

This was bad.

Takeshi had been perfectly hidden until now, but a feeling of insecurity began to fill him as an unknown feeling fell on his body.

At that moment.

“Oh. It is a veteran who climbed to the 30th floor. So amazing. Even the various media and communities had little information and only knew up to around the 10th floor.”

Jin-hyuk said.

“I think you realize it now. Do you get the situation now?”

Sunglasses made a proud face.

“Now. Now it makes sense. If there is such a person, then I think it is right to promote it on a global level.”

“Puaahah! Right. Is there a guy among the Korean players we could talk to?”

“It is nothing. So, let’s move. We will follow.”

Jin-hyuk took a step back.

“It makes things easy.”

“They said he is a ranker, but I guess a real veteran can make anyone piss their pants.”

“After all, Korea is just a shadow of Japan.”

Thirty Japanese players took the lead.

But just one of them.

“…”

As Takeshi felt like he had been caught, he couldn’t move forward…

But it was only for a moment.

Soon after, all players from the Samurai Guild entered the Labyrinth.

And the Fathers of Fighting guild members were shocked.

“K-Kang Jin-hyuk?”

“Are you saying you want to go with them?”

Kim Gitae and Lee Young-kwon were shocked as Jin-hyuk nodded his head.

He then posed a question.

“If we hadn’t let them back then, would Mr. Kim Gitae have prevented them from entering the labyrinth?”

“O-of course. We would have stopped them.”

“Then those people would be alive and breathing. That cannot be allowed.”

“Uh…?’

Both of them looked shocked as they realized what Jin-hyuk meant.

“Like I said. With their skills, they cannot survive.”

How could they believe in a fake veteran and try to deal with the Medusa?

They probably didn’t even have a plan, right? Their entire guild just believed in Takeshi.

Conversely, the guy believed in the guild. They would just hold on to each other as they dropped into hell.

It was enough for them to stand back and watch the Japanese die.

Because the fools ahead had their heads filled with pride.

“At first, I would send them in with nice words.”

It wasn’t like he was pushing them into a trap. No matter how hated people were, death wasn’t the way out.

But…

“If you don’t realize the situation and put your spoon in another person’s rice bowl… it means you should pay the right price for it.”

A cold voice. The smile and obedient figure had vanished.

Fathers of Fighting and Samurai.

A total of 62 raiders entered the labyrinth.

[You have entered the labyrinth ‘Gray Temple (Medusa’s hideout)’]
With a brief warning, their vision darkened and then brightened.

Jin-hyuk looked around.

Flames were gushing through the cracks. Various buildings and columns that were reminiscent of Ancient Greece lined the sides.

The most striking figures were the stone statues of people who had been transformed.

“First… These are the players who have challenged this labyrinth.”

“Shit. This is terrible. Is there no way to revert them?”

“No, and we turn the same if we make eye contact.”

Petrification, which was a top skill, could not be undone once it was activated. It wasn’t for no reason that many players had become decorations here.

“Don’t worry. I already have a plan.”

Sunglasses raised the shield he held. It was an essential item to attack this labyrinth.

The relic’ Shield of Perseus’.

Right.

He was so confident of this raid because he held a mythical item in addition to the veteran Takeshi.

However, Jin-hyuk, who watched this, held back a laugh.

‘Did he believe in that and come here?’

In any case, there were always those who thought they could become a celebrity with just one item.

Like inventing a program like Bill Gates.

Or creating the symbol of an iPhone by looking at a half-eaten apple.

‘No matter how good a relic is, if the person handling it is bad, it won’t work.’

Of course, it would work for a low-level raid.

At least in the difficult ruins or labyrinths of the Tower of Trials, those words do not apply. A tie-in item was only an auxiliary tool, not a solution.

‘You work hard in the front, and I will take it easy from behind.’

Jin-hyuk was happily envisioning it.

But at that moment.

Woong!

Suddenly, his subspace shook.

‘This?’

Jin-hyuk looked inside and noticed the black scroll he received from the priest was reacting to something.

At the same time.

[The condition has been satisfied.]
[The second perk for ‘First to Conquer the Tower’ has come]
A golden status window appeared in front of him.