Chapter 49 - Subjugation (4)
[ You have cleared the ‘First Trial’ floor. ]
<Tally>
[ Hidden Ending: Guardian of Sheep ]
[ You did not cling to the reward before you and upheld justice based on morality. ]
[ By unlocking the hidden ending, 1 ‘Alteration Point’ is awarded. Additional rewards are given. ]
[ You have achieved the Achievement: <Shepherd>. The reward is enhanced. ]
I rubbed the bridge of my nose as I looked at the windows popping up in front of me.
Floors with trials, unlike other floors, did not give Conquest Tokens separately. Instead, they compensated for it with a bombing of rewards.
Just the fact that this 'Tally' window appeared separately was proof of that.
On other floors, when the floor master was hunted, the token would just drop immediately and various rewards would pop out, but here, there was a separate 'giving time' allocated.
And my strategy for clearing this floor was excellent, even by a veteran's standards.
The clear speed, the method. It was clean from any perspective.
In that respect.
[ The clear rank for this quest is determined to be EX. ]
[ A reward voucher is awarded. ]
It was only natural for something like this to drop.
I pressed the glittering golden text to check the contents of the reward voucher.
In the game, rewards were given by choosing one from several options laid out.
And that system didn't seem to be much different this time.
[ Unique Material Item Package ]
[ Rare Grade Skill Selection Voucher ]
[ 20x Mysterious Tomes, 20x Immortal Elixirs ]
[ Item Enhancement Guarantee Voucher]
.
.
.
There were at least 20 options lined up, but what I would choose was already decided.
A Rare Grade Skill Selection Voucher or an Item Enhancement Guarantee Voucher were certainly tempting, but there was something else I could use more efficiently right now.
I selected the Unique Material Item Package at the very top.
It was probably a collection of various rare metals that could be obtained in the game.
If I synthesized these with the rare grade material item I obtained after catching the Dryad... I should be able to get a pretty good item.
It wasn't for nothing that I had obtained access to the ‘Workshop’ from Kim Jae-han before.
“...What. What just happened?”
As I was checking the rewards pouring in with a pleased smile, a dazed voice came from the side.
It was the Blue Wolf that had just been devoured by Yelena.
“What do you mean, what happened.”
I snorted and pointed to Yelena, who was stretched out in front of us, with my chin.
“She's down, you're alive. I told you this would happen, didn't I?”
“No, I'm asking how on earth you did that...?”
Well, if it's good, it's good, why ask so much.
But it wasn't a question I couldn't answer.
I chuckled and placed the object I was carrying on my back in front of him.
This thing.
Normally, it was an item whose clues you couldn't even get until much later, let alone on the 11th floor.
Overall, it was just a large cylindrical object with complex diagrams and characters engraved all over it.
At first glance, it might just look like a religious symbol.
But if you looked closely with a scan, the situation changed a little.
[ Ebon Scale (Replica) / Grade: ??? ]
[ A sculpture covered in unknown characters. It is imbued with a powerful spell, strong enough to be called a miracle, but its origin is unknown from anywhere.]
[ Unique Ability: Judgment ]
[ Inflicts fixed damage proportional to the accumulated Evil Deed Index (Karma) of all targets within range. The effect is stronger if the target is of a high religious or magical standing. ]
Just reading the explanation might make one feel a bit uncertain, but any user who had actually played the game would immediately know how insane this was.
Since it was fixed damage, you didn't have to worry about defense type, there was no separate casting time, and there were no preconditions to inflict damage.
In other words, once it was activated, it would just mess up all the bad guys in range, no questions asked.
“This...”
And as if it had read that nature, being a Divine Beast, the Blue Wolf looked at me with a face that looked like its soul was about to leave its body.
A look that asked where on earth I got something like this.
“...”
Of course, I had no intention of answering.
That was also the case for the one who would appear before my eyes now.
-!
The dazed Blue Wolf flinched in surprise and turned its head, feeling an intense wave of mana.
In that direction, space was twisting and tearing, and someone was revealing themselves from within.
Even the Climber Association could use artifacts to use transfer gates inside the Tower, but the ‘portal’ that had just opened was of a fundamentally different nature.
Unlike a transfer gate, which merely transports people, that was a bizarre technique that literally twisted and tore ‘dimensions’.
There were only a few in the entire game who could do this.
For example.
Unless it was someone on the level of the ‘Guardian’ who managed the entire Tower.
“...”
A bluish spiritual body emerged from the space and glared at me.
Interpreting the emotions in its gaze, they would be vigilance, suspicion, bewilderment, things like that.
Considering the power of the Guardian's main body, it would be no trouble for her to tear me to shreds even with a greatly limited spiritual body, but I didn't feel a shred of crisis.
This one didn't come here with hostility towards me in the first place.
“...That thing.”
As proof, it pointed to the object the Blue Wolf was examining.
Its entire attention seemed to be focused there, and although no words were spoken, the Blue Wolf flinched and handed over the object.
It seemed to have been overwhelmed just by looking at the obviously extraordinary being.
Well, a wise decision.
“...”
The Guardian, who had been looking over the object with a deep frown, soon separated the wick that served as its core from inside.
It was an object made by processing one of the items I had beaten out of Adelbach before.
And as she examined it, the Guardian's expression grew progressively stiffer.
The mana imbued within it had already been depleted from using the Ebon Scale's unique effect, but that wasn't what this one was looking at.
She must be strongly questioning the fact that I had perfectly replicated the 'design' of this item.
“You.”
Finally, it turned its head towards me and spoke.
“This, how did you make it?”
“Not even introducing yourself and getting straight to the point?”
When I retorted like that, the Guardian's expression crumpled even more.
It was clearly a sign telling me not to act like this when we both knew everything.
“As long as you hold this item, there's no way you don't know about me. This... is one of the core artifacts of the ‘Round Table’.”
Right. I knew who used this in the original story.
In the first place, among the many late-game cheat items I knew, the main reason I made the Ebon Scale was to attract this one's attention.
“There's no such thing as a free lunch in this world. If you want to know, pay the price.”
When I replied like that, the Guardian snorted as if in disbelief.
“Are you trying to negotiate with me now? With the Guardian of the Tower?”
With those words, the space around it began to writhe.
Well, from this one's perspective, it was understandable to be dumbfounded.
Considering its power, position, and authority, a human like me would look like nothing more than an insect.
If I crossed the line a little more, those things would immediately grind me up.
But I wouldn't have drawn this one out if I thought it would come to that in the first place.
Because I was holding a negotiation card that was guaranteed to work.
“I have information about the Platinum Knight.”
As soon as it heard that name, the Guardian's expression twisted.
“How... do you know that name?”
What was there in this game that I didn't know?
I chuckled, thinking that.
The Platinum Knight.
A member of the ‘Round Table’ and also the user of the original Ebon Scale.
A human who held a meaning so important that this one could never overlook.
“If you want to know, sit at the negotiation table, Guardian.”
In other words.
This was a hostage too powerful to refuse.
“...”
Watching the Guardian's expression harden even more, I cheered inwardly.
The words that would be exchanged in this place.
Would bring a huge change to the entire ‘Main Scenario’.
***
“Kim Gyu-sik!”
Seo Hye-in was shouting from a distance as she ran over.
“What on earth happened?!”
To Seo Hye-in who asked that, I pointed to Elena, who was lying there like a piece of charcoal, instead of answering.
“You asked me to fix her manners. So I fixed them.”
“...”
Seo Hye-in looked back and forth between me and Yelena, who was stretched out on the ground, with a speechless expression.
My goodness.
Unlike her younger sister, this one seemed to be slow in adapting to the situation.
If it were Seo Ah-in, she would have just accepted it, thinking, ‘Well, that's just how this person is...’
“So, by the way.”
However, this moment of her being dumbfounded was the perfect time to push my business through.
I poured out all the clean-up tasks to the bewildered Seo Hye-in.
Handing over the custody of Yelena, who was somehow still breathing, being a Divine Beast, and the aftercare for the Climbers who would be released from her control and return to normal, etcetera, etcetera.
From my perspective, they were all tedious chores, but hearing this, Seo Hye-in's expression became even more bewildered.
“B-but. Isn't all of that your achievement, Kim Gyu-sik? It's not right for you to pass it all to me!”
“...Not right?”
“It's not right! You have a duty to be praised and recognized for your achievements by more people, Kim Gyu-sik!”
No.
You can say it's strange, but there's no need to refuse it while getting angry.
I let out a deep sigh and continued.
“No. From my perspective, it's better if you do this, Seo Hye-in.”
“What?”
“There's something I need to take care of after this.”
And in that event, it was far more advantageous for Seo Hye-in's reputation to rise, who could provide backing, rather than my own.
Because what would happen next was something that could only be solved by running an ‘organization’.
“Our guild will soon have some collaborations with the Hunting Alliance.”
When I said that, a light of realization flashed across Seo Hye-in's expression.
“...In that case. Are you saying that I should secure a firm position within the guild, and then you'll ask for help...?”
“It's nice that you understand quickly.”
I said that and rolled a shining ring in my palm.
It was one of the cards I got from 'negotiating' with the Guardian just now.
[ Jewel of Ruin / Grade: ??? ]
[ ??? ]
Despite the ominous name, nothing was written, but there was no need to be disappointed at all.
This was one of the most insane cheat items in the game if certain conditions were met.
And that.
Was deeply related to our ‘Guild Leader’ who was hiding her identity.
“...”
Come to think of it, did I make such a promise to Seo Ah-in when I first joined the guild?
That within a year, I would make the guild I was in one that no one could ignore.
That promise.
From now on, I would probably keep it for sure.