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Chapter 26 — Underworld (1)
Chapter 26 — Underworld (1)
Chapter 26: Underworld (1)
A mountain with swirling snow.
Tens of white troll corpses were scattered along the side of the mountain.
The gruesome scene revealed that these corpses were smashed to pieces.
There was a man in between these corpses.
Ice trolls were ranked high among the middle ranked monsters.
Tens of these trolls, which most strong fighters wouldn’t even fight one alone, were cleaned out solely by the man who sat down and mumbled.
“Troll King b*tch, only good at running away while causing trouble.”
Troll King!
The King of Trolls who was incomparable to regular trolls.
There were even rumors that he was so gigantic that ogres avoided him.
But, this man talked about the Troll King lightly as if he was talking about his neighbor’s dog.
However, he had to qualification to do so.
The Fighting King Lucien.
He was the wild man who was known as the person closest to humanity’s top 10.
He didn’t join a guild or clan and only acted by himself.
However, no group attempted to recruit this man.
His fighting style was the embodiment of craziness. He wouldn’t discriminate between friend or foe and would smash everyone.
He was quite a ways apart from being helpful in group battles.
Usually, due to his unstable state, he was banned from entering all ‘cities’, however that didn’t worry him at all as he was originally a wild man living by himself.
“There are tons of bastards to catch, but this Troll King is being a pain. Ha, fucking bastard.”
He had come all this way to complete a certain trial.
Wiiiiing!
Just then, his Status Viewer rang suddenly.
As Lucien wrinkled his forehead to look, renewed information appeared.
“Hmm? The record of the tower has been broken?”
Just like his name, the Fighting King, Lucien has left countless record on Solomon’s Hall of Fame.
However, there weren’t many cases of his records being broken.
Of course, even if they were, he didn’t care all that much. There were all bastards anyways.
However… he couldn’t help, but widen his eyes when he looked at the renewed record.
“400 people? Just what kind of bastard is he?”
The name that appeared was ‘No-name’.
It meant he purposely hid his name.
This happened before not too long ago.
He was notified when the killing record at the temple was broken.
Even at that time, No-name took first place.
It was highly likely they were the same person.
“It’s been a long time since I’ve seen a bastard who seems crazier than me.”
Lucien knew that he himself wasn’t normal.
But, this person was even more absurd.
Lucien’s record was 111 people, but this bastard’s record was 400.
Even demonstrating his cleverness by cold-heartedly hiding his name.
‘Hyah!’
Just who was it?
His curiosity was aroused.
“He’ll soon go through the gate at the temple and arrive at a Great City. Should I go watch?”
Although there was an important trial, Lucien was a person who would only follow his heart.
If he became curious, he had to immediately satisfy it.
Even though he was hiding himself, a crazy man would always recognize his kind.
Perhaps he would be the only one to find the true identity of that person.
Although he was banned from entering Great Cities… Lucien shrugged his shoulders.
He was the Fighting King.
He was one of the few who held the title of a king.
And there was no one who could block a king’s path.
*
Muyoung wasn’t the only one to exit the tower.
Flutter!
After blowing air out of its mouth, the Hell Horse broadly spread its wings and flew up to the sky.
Muyoung didn’t really care.
It would probably loiter around his surroundings while keeping an eye on him.
If not, it wouldn’t be able to come promptly if Muyoung was in danger.
‘The Lunatic Sovereign’s set, huh.”
Although he was preoccupied with the Hellhorse, the three equipment he received in the tower were equally important.
However, he would have never thought that the Lunatic Sovereign would be a set.
Moreover, he was able to receive all three set pieces in the tower.
It seemed like he was rewarded a piece after killing 200, 250 and 300 people.
‘If you gather items that are part of a set, you will receive an effect greater than its rank.’
Normally, only items used by legendary figures were judged to be a ‘set’. It meant that it was that much rarer and harder to find.
It was the type of equipment he would have never been able to receive at the temple.
As he carefully gazed at the equipment, related information appeared.
Name: Lunatic Sovereign’s Ring
Rank: A
Classification: Equipment
Durability: 25, 000
Effect: All stats +4, when close to death, you will become a ‘Lunatic Warrior’ by consuming stamina.
Name: Lunatic Sovereign’s Helmet
Rank: B++
Classification: Equipment
Durability: 25, 000
Effect: All stats +3, Stamina +5
Name: Lunatic Sovereign’s Cape
Rank: B++
Classification: Equipment
Durability: 25, 000
Effect: All stats +3, Stamina +5
*Set effect (3/3): All stats +5, You do not consume stamina as a ‘Lunatic Warrior’.
Ha!
Muyoung blinked.
Each equipment increased all of his stats.
‘All stats’ had the very important property of even increasing new created stats.
Equipment that had this property were considered to be in the top among their ranks.
But, if he was to add the values together, it was an increase of 15. Stamina was even increased by a further 10.
This was better than combining a few A ranked equipment.
It was safe to say it was strongest equipment he could receive at the Blue Temple.
‘It seems like this effect was the reason why Ben ran amok.’
Ben the Slaughterer.
He had another name besides being a human butcher.
Lunatic Warrior.
Just like the name, he would become a crazy warrior.
Although it stated that it would give a continuous effect while consuming the user’s stamina, the user’s mind would also be affected. So the user had to be careful when using items with these kinds of effects or skills.
Those that had weak willpower would be consumed.
Especially since this would only take effect when the user had taken a fatal blow, he had to be even more careful.
Didn’t Ben the Slaughterer eventually become half-crazy after becoming the Lunatic Warrior?
‘Reversing the tables in one shot.’
Although he eventually brought his own end through the consumption of stamina, due to his transformation as the Lunatic Warrior, Muyoung experienced a life-threatening crisis during his assassination attempt.
Even when he was inflicted with tens of fatal wounds, he would try to take Muyoung down with him until the very end.
He seemed invulnerable and the reason for that was this ring.
Muyoung didn’t hesitate as he equipped all three items he had in his hands.
Finally, his whole body was filled with strength.
His vision became wider and his senses became more sensitive.
Burning excitement.
He felt like he could do anything.
‘Two rings left.’
The Lunatic Sovereign’s Ring was necessary for obtaining the S ranked weapon, ‘Diabolos’.
And the key to that was made up of three rings in total.
‘Oris’s Throne Ring and Hamel’s Rune Ring. I will definitely find them.’
He knew where the other two were.
Although it would take some time, he planned to take both rings for himself.
To see the changes in his abilities, Muyoung turned his Status Viewer.
Achievement Effect à Gremory’s Anguish (A, +3 to all abilities)
Class Effect à Death Lord (Lord Class, Ruler of Death)
Stats à
Strength 64 (38 + 26) Agility 59 (41 + 18)
Stamina 66 (38 + 28) Intelligence 35 (17 + 18)
Wisdom 35 (17 + 18) Fighting Aura 40 (22 + 18)
Magic Resistance 28 (10 +18)
Special Note: Fighting Aura has been awakened.
Equipped and Invoked Equipment: Anguish (Strength +5), Herculean Strength Leather Armor (Strength +3), Lunatic Sovereign’s Set (All Stats +15, Stamina +10)
These were not the stats a beginner with less than a month of experience at the temple could possess.
No matter how quickly your stats increased, most would have to train for 1 or 2 years to be able to barely reach this threshold.
Although it had a lot to do with his equipment, nothing was achievable without effort. His equipment could definitely be considered as Muyoung’s ‘strength’.
“Hyungnim! You’ve come out!”
He saw many people near the temple entrance.
Including Kim Taehwan, Kang Baeksoo and Bae Suzy, about fifteen people were grouped together.
They were a mess as if they had just finished hunting in the forest.
It was because they had captured a boar and collected a few different kinds of medicinal herbs.
“You look awful.”
“Hyungnim became more stylish.”
Taehwan admired after approaching and glancing at Muyoung’s outfit.
The equipment from the Lunatic Sovereign were all blood-red. Especially the helmet which would cover his face and had wing-like ornaments on either side would catch people’s attention.
‘I have to make them into talismans and use them when I need them.”
When they go through the gates, there was nothing good in catching people’s attention when they arrive at a ‘Great City’ in the Underworld.
Although it was a huge event with the arrival of tens of thousands of people, the Lunatic Sovereign’s set had an especially eye-catching color and shape.
‘To find the one who entered the Hall of Fame, there will be guilds and clans intensely looking for me.’
It was an obvious sequence of events.
It wasn’t like Muyoung only broke one or two records in Solomon’s Hall of Fame.
If he was to wear the Lunatic Sovereign’s equipment, it was inevitable that he would place at the top of the list of suspects.
Muyoung silently looked at the people around him.
‘I guess I have to use a camouflage tactic.’
He would conceal himself and draw attention to the others.
Muyoung nodded his head and said.
“I have something to tell you all.”
*
Sizzle sizzle!
The captured boar was placed above a campfire and roasted with some herbs.
Once people gathered around him, Muyoung started to talk.
“In two days, a door will open.”
Baeksoo became surprised as he asked.
“A door? Wi-will that door lead us back to our old world?”
“No. It will lead us to a much more hellish place.”
“Sorry…? Then can’t we choose not to enter?”
“Do you know the reason why there are a set amount of monsters that enter the temple every day?”
“I don’t know.”
“It’s because there is an invisible barrier. And in two days, that barrier will dissipate. There will be thousands of monsters frequenting the temple every day.”
If that was the case, no one would be able to resist.
There was no other choice, but to enter the gates.
Everyone’s eyes were filled with shock.
No one had heard of this until now.
Since he never felt the need to tell them, Muyoung hadn’t told them until now.
“When you go through the gates, you will meet a countless number of people. It’s better if you think of everyone you meet as your enemy. As the weak will be hunted immediately.”
Every month, at most tens of thousands of people would pass through the gates.
However, the population of the Underworld was limited. In such an infertile land, there was no way to sustain everyone.
It inevitably led to ‘pruning’.
Although there were people who thought to just leave it as it was, the influential monsters wished that all cases were under their control.
That was the reason why they accepted the necessary and threw out the rest.
Although the situation wasn’t funny, the Underworld was made up of this extreme environment.
“If you don’t want to die, follow me. We’ll gather equipment in the forest.”
He determined that if the average level of equipment was to rise, his existence would be slightly more hidden and that there could be other uses as well.
After all, they would end up moving in groups once they passed through the gates. Although Muyoung could display the strength of several groups, he would gain too much attention.
Muyoung was planning to display an adequate amount of strength before escaping the Great City.
“Didn’t you say that the door would open in two days? I don’t know if we will have enough time.”
This time, it was Taehwan who asked.
Muyoung nodded his head.
Suitable equipment was scattered in the forest.
With the Hunting Map, there was no need to worry about getting lost and low-ranked monsters were no longer Muyoung’s match.
Also, everyone else had developed to a state where they were able to hunt.
“Two days are enough.”
Muyoung coolly answered.
Two days were more than enough.
If they moved like he did with Merlin and hunted nonstop without even a second of rest, they would be able to equip everyone with suitable equipment.
Hunting for only two days was as simple as breathing to Muyoung.
On the other hand, it was going to be a hellish march for everyone else…
“We will follow you.”
The title of the group leader was passed from Taehwan to Muyoung.
It was because they had recognized through past experiences that it was best to listen to Muyoung when it came to survival.