Episode 255: Vlog Daily Life in Europe (2)

Crrrack!

Space tinged with purple hues appeared as the dimensional rift split open, revealing the gateway to Amulam’s private storage.

‘Is it time to choose?’

If I use the seal here in the 40s, I’ll be able to access every sacred relic that Amulam utilized. However, if I force items from the upper floors to manifest on a lower floor or outside the tower, I can only take one sacred relic with me.

‘The rest would be destroyed as compensation.’

It meant I had to decide whether to use the best items now or to wait and use everything later.

Jinhyuk’s lips curled into a smile.

‘Of course, I won’t give up a single thing.’ Why should I sacrifice one for the other? Why not summon one relic here and make good use of it, and then use the rest later in the 40s?

The foolish vampires trusted the system absolutely and couldn’t even imagine there might be another way. But, even the most perfect-looking systems had flaws.

Fatal fl ones, at that.

[Your unique ability, Triple Magic – ‘Infinity Magic’ is activated.]

Ancient runes formed a magic circle around Jinhyuk.

One, two, three.

Three magic circles, each emitting red, blue, and green light, appeared.

[Your unique ability ‘Hemo-Magic’ blossoms.]

A swirling light with a strange glimmer appeared above the red circle.

I then overlaid a ‘Mental Barrier’ on the hemo-magic on the green circle, covering it like a package, to ensure the energy of the hemo-magic lasted as long as possible.

Finally.

[Lv13 ‘Glacial Sculpture’ is activated.]

I began to encase the decoy I’d formed in ice. Cold mist rose along the blue circle, and the ice took on the shape of a sword.

The ‘Mental Barrier’ and ‘Glacial Sculpture’ allowed only the dense magical energy of the hemo-magic to penetrate, faithfully reproducing the distinct scent of vampires while filtering out any other magic.

“Huuh.”

Jinhyuk let out a long sigh. He had focused so intently on his meticulously calculated work that he hadn’t even noticed the sweat trickling down his forehead.

But, finally, it was done.

‘This should fool the system at least once.’

By the time the system sensed something amiss and attempted to correct the error, my objectives would already be met.

Now, which item should I swap?

Jinhyuk scanned the items in the rift; a ring, a necklace, a rapier, an old book, and the picture in the frame.

I was familiar with the first three, but the latter two items were new to me.

‘It would be nice if I could check and choose, but it’s a pity that’s not an option.’

Merely activating my Skill, ‘The Eyes of Gluttony’, would be considered making a choice, so I had to rely solely on luck and intuition.

Choosing known items with confirmed stats and performance was obviously the safe bet. At least that would ensure minimum value for using the seal.

But then…

“…!?”

Something caught my eye.

The painted scene in the frame, specifically some text in one corner of the image, attracted my attention. It was written in a far more complex and enigmatic multiple-layered structure than any ancient runes I knew.

It was the ‘Lost Language.’

And upon closer inspection, the landscape within the painting seemed strangely familiar, not just from my imagination, but depicting a real location.

‘…It’s no ordinary painting.’

No, it was closer to a map.

A map indicating the location of the lost language I had been looking for, one of the tower’s secrets.

There was no need for further deliberation.

I swapped the ice decoy for the painting.

Wooong!

The system emitted a strange humming noise, but only briefly.

[You’ve acquired the masterpiece ‘Where Silence Seeps’.]

[Where Silence Seeps]

Acquisition Difficulty: Incalculable

Description: A painting owned by Amulam de Decascus, the Patriarch of the Decascus family. It’s a landscape of a part of the tower, but the exact location it depicts has not been disclosed. Only those with a specific ability will be able to comprehend the true value of this painting.

The fact that only those with a specific ability would appreciate its value meant…

I had to have the ability to interpret the runes.

Specifically, to know it was the lost language. Although, with the multitude of layered runes, it was impossible to discern precisely what the characters meant.

‘Fire.’

Part of the runes definitively indicated this.

Logically, it’s insane to set fire to a painting. That must have been their wager.

‘After all, there’s no fool who’d burn such a valuable item.’

Jinhyuk concentrated magical energy at his fingertips.

Whoosh!

The primordial flame nibbled at the corner of the picture.

And in that moment, the painting’s scene began to transform.

The sunlit forest and plains vanished, replaced by a location where twelve black pillars stood tall.

‘…This place.’

It was a location even Jinhyuk recognized.

***

Thirty minutes later.

Jinhyuk gathered the scattered party members together.

“From now on, Yeonhwa and Taemin will face a simple test. Nothing fancy, just spar with the opponents I point out.”

“One for each of us?”

“No, you two need to team up. You’ve been syncing up all this time, right?”

I needed to check how much they had grown thus far, since they would play a crucial part in climbing the tower.

I also intended to produce a promotional video for my corporation.

‘As the power has grown to a mid-size, we need a main video and a website to match it.’

That’s right.

Corporate propaganda.

In reality, that was the real crux of it.

We had a brilliant location sponsored and a dazzling cast. The production cost was covered by passion pay, so it couldn’t get any better.

Most importantly, all the people here had no idea they were starring in a company promo video.

Of course, they would eventually realize they had been exploited, but by then, they’d have been cast deep into a hellish pit.

“Are you sure this will work? It’ll be tough against just one of us.”

“Hyung. You shouldn’t underestimate us like before. Yeonhwa noona and I have conquered double digits in mazes together.”

Yoo Yeonhwa and Lee Taemin confidently stepped forward.

Indeed… Their presence felt completely different from before.

I remember watching videos on the Tower of Trials community of the ‘Strongest Duo,’ where they ranked high. Comments praising the Korean high level players lined up in droves.

Then…

“Andria.”

Jinhyuk called out to Andria next to him.

“Me?”

“Yes. Feel free to use the ‘Fox Bead.’”

“…Okay, I’ll try.”

Andria nodded.

[Andria has used the mythical beast transformation ‘Nine-tailed Fox’!]

Swoosh…

Nine magnificent tails aflame ignited from her back.

Pointed ears sprouted atop her head, and her pupils turned a yellowish hue.

This was going to be a hit.

I could sense the views skyrocketing already.

Meanwhile…

“… Taemin.”

“Uh. I see why Hyung said we should team up.”

The smile vanished from the faces of Yoo Yeonhwa and Lee Taemin.

Instinctively, they realized their numerical advantage of two did not guarantee victory.

Kukukuku!

A clear and pure magical power began to condense around Yoo Yeonhwa’s arms and legs.

Refined Taechunghwarang martial technique’s spirit soon formed completely.

A close-combat martial artist.

Boom!

Yoo Yeonhwa kicked the ground and charged forward.

[Lee Taemin activates his unique ability ‘Machine Lord’ – ‘Apocalypse Guardian’!]

Lee Taemin also used his ability.

Clang!

A silver armor enveloped his entire body.

Hmm.

Jinhyuk’s eyes narrowed.

Taemin had significantly honed his Machine Lord ability compared to when he relied primarily on drones and turrets. The new form allowed the caster to engage directly in combat, akin to the Titans seen in the Empire.

‘Taemin has been practicing a lot with his Machine Lord ability.’

This was getting more interesting by the minute.

Just add some epic BGM and a decent narration, and the prologue video would be perfect.

Jinhyuk recorded every moment without missing a beat.

***

Several hours later, an absurd scene unfolded in the Rosenberg mansion’s garden.

“I, the last sword of the High-Level Corporation, the Sword Saint Cheon. Yu. Seong, …… am flat broke! This damn! Why should I have to do such a thing?”

Cheon Yu Seong threw his sword away, his chest heaving with rage.

So unprofessional.

“You know, the scene of you drawing your sword really clicks with the audience. Just nail the vibes, drop your voice, and the views will skyrocket to heaven.”

“Don’t joke. In the end, it’s all just to your benefit, and there’s no reason for me to embarrass myself like this.”

Cheon Yu Seong firmly drew a line.

Hmm…

“Can’t be helped. Wolyeong. You take on the Sword Saint role.”

“Me, my lord?”

“Yes. Honestly, in terms of skill or looks, you’re second to none. Actually, you might even be better than him?”

Jinhyuk glanced over at Cheon Yu Seong, who had turned ashen, evidently fuming with anger.

“I’m… outclassed?”

“Officially, that would be the case. This video is also to establish the ranks within our company. Wolyeong will take on the Sword Saint and you… you can play passing executioner number three or something.”

A role that involved being struck from a distance and dying as the hero swings his sword; an extra among extras appearing for perhaps a second on screen.

“Ugh! Move aside. I’ll do it.”

Cheon Yu Seong grabbed the sword again.

Exactly as expected.

It was rumored that the upcoming semester in Korean universities would start soon, and even Cheon Yu Seong would want to avoid being introduced as executioner number three before his medical school peers.

Just then.

Jinhyuk’s gaze shifted elsewhere.

There, Golden Wheat and the elementals were posing in a disciplined line.

“Earth.”

“Fire…”

“Wiind…”

“Waateer…”

Their exhausted voices lacked any strength.

After all, they were on their 78th take of the Elemental Special Forces & Ancient Species Flight Collaboration video. The repeated NGs had led to black smoke instead of flames emerging from the Salamander’s mouth, and the Gnome was covered in moist mud rather than dry, crumbly earth.

Despite that.

“No, that’s not it. More passion, more power. Let’s do it again. You know, like an explosion of fireworks, yet majestic and grand. And beautiful, splendid, too. Right? You get the feel I’m talking about?”

Jinhyuk clapped, encouraging them for the 79th shoot.

Unable to bear it anymore, Sylphide stepped forward as a representative.

“Master, we feel like we’re going to die. Even elementals require a 50-hour workweek with a 10-minute break after an hour’s work.”

“Tired, huh?”

“That’s right.”

“I recall someone else uttering that very sentiment an hour ago. Aren’t you curious why you haven’t seen Undine around?”

Jinhyuk smiled lightly.

The water elemental, Undine.

Now that he mentioned it, one of the Elemental Four was missing.

“Ma-master. Where is Undine? She’s taking a comfortable rest, right?”

“Well, what to say…”

“Answer, Master. Where is Undine right now!”

“She loudly declared she’d rather die than do this any longer.”

Being a water elemental, she had wanted to rest leisurely in flowing water.

So I let her rest.

Right in the lake over there.

However, the surface of the usually tranquil lake began to boil with harsh waves.

“Master. Why are there waves in the lake?”

Salamander flicked its tongue nervously.

“Well, I released some ‘Blood Piranhas’ there during feeding time.”

A specialty of the tower, the Blood Piranha grows more robust the more it moves due to its tough flesh. And Undine was probably playing tag with them right now.

“Screech…!”

“Master! Undine’s scream… did I just hear it?”

“You’re mistaken. Undine is resting quite comfortably. Of course, if you’re curious just how comfortable she is, I can let you join her.”

“…”

“I do love filming. My dream has always been to become a superstar of the Spirit realm.”

“Me too, me too!”

“Hehe. I can’t wait to shoot again.”

The elementals no longer had complaints.

They began debating fervently on how to perfect their poses and scenes while streaming cold sweat.