Chapter 43: The Sword Saints Proposal (1)

[Cheon Yuseong has requested a video call.]

[Will you accept?]

A familiar name flashed on the screen.

Jinhyuk dragged the call notification on the display.

Wow, youre alive?

Those minions must have been tough

It seems the Sword Saint was a cut above the rest.

You damn brat! Do you have any idea how much trouble Ive been through because of you? Battling those leech-like creeps without a wink of sleep!

Cheon Yuseong raised his voice.

I know. But, you know, I did all that for you. Youre good in many ways, but you lack experience in one-on-one combat.

What are you even saying!

Plus, I wanted to teach you a wordempathy. I believe youve now properly learned how it feels to be pursued by leeches.

Seriously Youre going straight to hell when you die.

Uh, thats hard to deny.

If we split things between good and evil, I would likely be closer to evil.

If I had to choose between heaven and hell, hell seems like it might be more fun.

Anyway.

You didnt contact me just to swear at me, right? What do you want?

If he wanted revenge over the minions matter, we wouldnt be having this conversation.

He wouldve come looking for me, sword swinging.

Having fought over a hundred times in several years, Jinhyuk understood Cheon Yuseong better than anyone.

You catch on fast. Actually, I have a proposal for you.

Did you bring up the minions first just to bait me into not being able to refuse your proposal?

Think whatever you want.

Fine. Lets hear it.

Jinhyuk nodded.

Then, Cheon Yuseong began to speak.

In one hour, there is an event at the Awakeners Association. Players who are rated AA grade or higher, including myself, have agreed to hold a Martial Arts Assembly.

This is

Martial Arts Assembly?

The times are indeed interesting. We keep failing to conquer the bosses, and the Association is hosting a Martial Arts Assembly?

Thats exactly why theyre hosting it.

What?

People are anxious due to the consecutive failures, and the credibility of the Association and guilds is on the line. They want to show how strong and reliable players are through this Martial Arts Assembly.

Hmm. That does make sense.

An exhibition of colorful and versatile players duels.

Monster-hunting raids were common on ViewTube, but opportunities to watch player versus player combat were rare.

Indeed, it wasnt a bad way to relieve the mounting tension.

Much like how Roman emperors satisfied the masses through the Colosseum.

Well, okay.

I get the intent.

But what does that have to do with me? I havent been rated AA grade or higher.

The winner of the Martial Arts Assembly gets to choose one of two privileges. They can either select a replica of a holy artifact from the National Central Museum or

Cheon Yuseongs voice dropped low.

Something felt off.

Why do I get the feeling something bad will happen?

Jinhyuk rubbed his temples hard.

Dont tell me you want to fight me?

You falling is the only reason I climb the tower. If its in front of everyone, even better.

Wow. Just as expected from someone obsessed with combat.

His wish really packs a punch.

Maybe the true middle school syndrome lay with him.

But if I refuse, thats it, right? That nominating right or whatever?

Of course, you could refuse. People might brand you a coward, but if you dont care about that, then its fine.

Then Ill just refuse. I dislike hassle more than any label.

Luckily, there seemed to be an escape hatch.

Jinhyuk let out a sigh of relief when

No, you cant refuse.

Cheon Yuseong took out a black ticket from his pocket.

The ticket looked extraordinary with golden letters and a hologram embedded in it.

Whats that?

An invitation from the Black Market. It allows you to participate in an auction being held at midnight tomorrow in Las Vegas, USA.

!?

At Cheon Yuseongs words, Jinhyuks eyes narrowed.

Obviously, for a reason.

An invitation to an auction held by the Black Market wasnt something you could get just because you wanted it. There were rumors that it required passing through some incredibly stringent conditions, but the exact method of obtaining one wasnt well known.

Yet here it was.

Thats an excessively tempting bait youve brought.

Unlike the coin exchange that players could use, this auction used cash as its main currency, making it an attractive opportunity for those with a lot of money.

The auctioned items must be worthwhile, too.

With three days until his next assault on the fourth floor, he needed items.

An auction could provide far better resources than what he could otherwise obtain.

So, I get the ticket for free if I dont win?

Dont worry. It wont happen.

Cheon Yuseong pocketed the ticket again.

Then he added one more thing.

Come in top condition. I dont want to hear excuses about being tired and losing.

The video call ended there.

Cheon Yuseong left with words befitting his nature.

Exiting the first underground floor and heading to the Awakeners Association, Jinhyuk finalized things he couldnt do while underground.

Name: Kang Jinhyuk

Gender: Male

Age: 27

Level: 19

Strength 8 Agility 8 Stamina 8 Magical Power 41 Sense 100 Luck 10 Adaptability 10

Available Stat Points: 54

Available Coins: 2740

Job: None.

Unique Abilities: Fusion, Tomb of Swords, Blessing of the Stars, Judgment of Anubis

Skills: Lv4 Elemental Fire, Lv3 Eye of Truth, Lv3 Sympathy, Lv3 Soul of Engraving, Lv3 Poison Eater, Lv3 Shallow Breath, Lv1 Ice Sculpting, Lv1 Daylight

54 points

Having these numbers made it all feel real.

The extent of wild hunting hed done in a day was substantial.

Moreover, his mouth curled upward as he read through the dense list of unique abilities and skills.

Especially the newly acquired Ice Sculpting, Daylight, and Judgment of Anubis held boundless potential for future use.

Crazy.

It was crazy how his progress was incomparable to others.

Jinhyuks gaze moved back to the stats.

Ill need to evenly raise the stats I havent invested in.

Specialization wasnt bad, but to adapt to various environments, the other stats needed to meet a minimum threshold.

Especially as the towers challenges became more erratic with climate and monsters on higher floors.

[Strength increases from 8 16.]

[Agility increases from 8 16.]

[Stamina increases from 8 16.]

He invested eight points into each of the three stats.

And then

Jinhyuk picked up a stone from the ground and lightly exerted force.

Snap.

The stone broke into two.

His grip strength had clearly improved. With increased agility, his whole body felt more finely tuned.

Ill have to wait to see the stamina changes during prolonged combat.

As he thought this over, an alert popped up.

[Congratulations! Your video has been selected as a HOT issue.]

A golden status window appeared before him.

Oh.

Its catching on already?

He expected it would take more time, but considering the content, it seems the news spread much faster.

Jinhyuk quickly clicked on the video.

It showed him with a mask, along with Patrick, Theresa, and other top guild members.

Of course, the video was edited to omit the minions.

The goal wasnt to tarnish the guilds image, after all.

And without resorting to that kind of baiting, the response was already explosive.

-Helin cries: To face a boss solo, without pay, is this real?

-NoShirtJustPants: Wow. Thought he was just insanely skilled, but his personality is amazing too.

-Become the Righteous: So cool. Hes taking a risk for the sake of others, out of pure concern.

-kd1004: Rankers watching, you see this? Learn something. This is noblesse oblige.

-YasuoIsScience: But is a solo boss conquest even possible?

-BluffDetector: If someone else said this, Id have cursed them out, but given this players track record, he might actually be able to do it.

-Seized By SongGain For Two Weeks: I agree. Cant help but trust him for some reason.

-Dimian Peter: Bro. Show your face just once. Seriously, Ill only boost your video views from now on.

-Hulk Smash: 222222

-LittleThunderSquirrels: 33333

The publics reaction was as expected.

A mysterious player everyone was curious about confidently announced a boss conquest, heating up the atmosphere.

Backing up that buzz, the videos views had already skyrocketed.

[Views: 50,536,988]

Considering that non-tower residents could watch the video only once a day, 50 million views were a staggering figure.

100 coins were given for every 10,000 views, so thats 50 million coins.

With a 90% fee deducted, hed receive 5 million coins.

If not for that insane clause taking 90 percent, I would have earned 50 million coins

It was regrettable but inevitable.

The rules applied equally to all players worldwide.

Still, 5 million coins is quite an amount.

There wasnt anything comparable in Korea.

Even overseas players popular with fans couldnt amass even 10,000 coins.

Even heavy users who upload videos daily barely got a thousand views per video, at best.

Safekeeping the coins for now.

Having collected the earnings after fees, Jinhyuk stopped walking.

In the midst of settling various matters, he had arrived at his destination.

At the Awakeners Associations main gate.

Cheon Yuseong, dressed in a black suit, was visible.

Whats with his outfit for a duel today? He couldnt possibly have confused a fight with a dance, could he?

As Jinhyuk shook his head, Cheon Yuseong also spotted him.

Youre late.

Cheon Yuseong squinted at him.

His face was filled with irritation, as if he had been waiting a long time.

Late? Theres still one minute to the scheduled time.

Jinhyuk shrugged as he scanned Cheon Yuseong from head to toe.

Hes become much stronger since the last time we met at the ruins.

His energy was finely honed, his physique robust.

It was no wonder he wanted a rematch, thinking he might win this time.

But to Cheon Yuseongs disappointment, the gap hadnt narrowed at all.

In fact, the distance between them had grown even wider.

How pitiful is this?

No matter how much time they spend or how hard they both tried, the outcome never changed.

The difference in the quality of information they each possessed was staggering.

Then, at that moment

What the hell? Are you Cheon Yuseong, that nobody? He looks skinnier than I thought. Pathetic.

A muscular man wearing a suit that seemed about to burst approached. A familiar tattoo adorned his neck.

Huh.

Jinhyuk let out a quiet exclamation.

This looked like it was going to be quite an interesting show.