Chapter 43: The Sword Saint’s 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, you’re 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 I’ve 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. You’re 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 word—empathy. I believe you’ve now properly learned how it feels to be pursued by leeches.”

“Seriously… You’re going straight to hell when you die.”

“Uh, that’s 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 didn’t contact me just to swear at me, right? What do you want?”

If he wanted revenge over the minions’ matter, we wouldn’t be having this conversation.

He would’ve 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. Let’s 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?”

“That’s exactly why they’re 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 wasn’t 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 haven’t 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 Yuseong’s voice dropped low.

Something felt off.

“Why do I get the feeling something bad will happen?”

Jinhyuk rubbed his temples hard.

“Don’t tell me… you want to fight me?”

“You falling is the only reason I climb the tower. If it’s 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, that’s it, right? That nominating right or whatever?”

“Of course, you could refuse. People might brand you a coward, but if you don’t care about that, then it’s fine.”

“Then I’ll 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 can’t refuse.”

Cheon Yuseong took out a black ticket from his pocket.

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

“What’s 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 Yuseong’s words, Jinhyuk’s eyes narrowed.

Obviously, for a reason.

An invitation to an auction held by the Black Market wasn’t 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 wasn’t well known.

Yet here it was.

‘That’s an excessively tempting bait you’ve 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 don’t win?”

“Don’t worry. It won’t happen.”

Cheon Yuseong pocketed the ticket again.

Then he added one more thing.

“Come in top condition. I don’t 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 couldn’t 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 he’d 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.

Jinhyuk’s gaze moved back to the stats.

‘I’ll need to evenly raise the stats I haven’t invested in.’

Specialization wasn’t bad, but to adapt to various environments, the other stats needed to meet a minimum threshold.

Especially as the tower’s 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.

‘I’ll 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.

It’s 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 wasn’t 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. He’s 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, I’d have cursed them out, but given this player’s track record, he might actually be able to do it.

-Seized By SongGain For Two Weeks: I agree. Can’t help but trust him for some reason.

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

-Hulk Smash: 222222

-LittleThunderSquirrels: 33333

The public’s 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 video’s 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 that’s 50 million coins.

With a 90% fee deducted, he’d 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 wasn’t anything comparable in Korea.

Even overseas players popular with fans couldn’t 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’ Association’s main gate.

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

What’s with his outfit for a duel today? He couldn’t possibly have confused a fight with a dance, could he?

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

“You’re late.”

Cheon Yuseong squinted at him.

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

“Late? There’s still one minute to the scheduled time.”

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

‘He’s 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 Yuseong’s disappointment, the gap hadn’t 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.