Chapter 289: Chapter 286: The Approach of Doomsday’s Seat

Fwooosh!

A strange heat shimmered where the goblin’s fire had been left.

That disconcerting magical energy.

Now that it had fully manifested its color, its true identity was starkly revealed.

[‘The Eye of Gluttony’ has insight into the target.]

[‘The Indescribable Ember’ is ablaze.]

‘So that’s what happened.’

Jinhyuk clenched his teeth.

‘The Indescribable Ember’ is a flame fondly used by the goat guy on the 50th floor of the tower.

And its presence here means…

He must have come down to Murim at some point.

‘There’s only one reason Murim has remained unscathed despite such an aberrant being descending.’

I now understand why Cheonma had entered seclusion.

And why he has not emerged now that his seclusion has ended.

He can’t come out, even if he wants to.

He must have been gravely wounded in the fight with the goat guy.

I thought there would be more to this quest chain than just the yaksha, but…

‘Turns out the scale was much grander than I expected.’

Family-level vampires, the high-ranking officer Hasting, and the entity from the 50th floor.

It’s clear how this snowball, started by the goblin fires, has rolled.

Jinhyuk’s gaze drifted upward.

Back when he used to play the Tower of Ordeals, there was a similar event of this kind.

The ember is literally what remains of the fire.

Before the fire goes out completely, those from the 50th floor will ascend again.

Down to the bottom of the tower.

And that will happen soon.

No one can tell precisely where,

But wherever they descend,

That area will turn into hell.

＊＊＊

Four days had passed since the incident in the Brain Prison ended.

The incident had the entire Cheonma Sin Church upside down.

The yaksha had not only rampaged while trapped in the Brain Prison, but the entire Brain Sect, including its leader, had been annihilated trying to stop it.

One of the top ten martial artists, Dokgo Ryong, had also been lost, resulting in unspeakable damage.

The only survivor, Chae Hong-ah, had fallen into a coma due to a blow to the back of the head, making her unable to recount the events.

All that remained was the testimony of Jinhyuk and the others.

To be exact, a story that was conveniently fabricated.

“All the experts of the church are either dead or critically injured. But you and your disciple are unharmed.”

“So?”

“Doesn’t it look suspicious to anyone? The situation has conveniently turned in your favor.”

“It was you who said we needed to contain the yaksha. And also you who decided to let the goblins loose in the Brain Prison.”

Amhwang clenched his arms across his chest, an uncomfortable expression on his face.

Just his presence was emitting an incredible pressure, perhaps because of his bursting muscles.

However, Sama Ja stood his ground, unaffected by that force.

“The goblins were for the training of our disciples.”

“Is that so? To me, it seemed like someone was trying to brainwash the yaksha using them.”

“Ha, you’re overly paranoid, Uhwobeop. How could one brainwash the yaksha using mere goblins?”

Sama Ja replied without changing his expression.

“Even if it were possible, the yaksha is dead now, so there’s no one left to ask.”

“Good point. Indeed, our church doesn’t need worthless evidence or witnesses. We see with our own eyes and punish accordingly. Isn’t that how the Cheonma Sin Church operates?”

“…”

“Thus, don’t rashly suspect my innocent disciple. Not unless you’ve seen it with your own two eyes.”

“…It seems Uhwobeop is extremely protective of his disciple. Enough to wager everything on them.”

“Of course.”

Amhwang brushed past Sama Ja, striding across Cheonmajon.

Their eyes met.

Both knew who the culprit was.

They knew what had happened inside, and how it ended.

Yet they did not voice their inner thoughts.

There was no need for words when they understood each other so well.

“I may have lost the opening round, but remember this—it’s good advice. The grand game has just begun.”

“I’ll need to be more meticulous in my approach—especially if you perform any tricks before me, or I’ll crush your skull.”

“That… I look forward to it.”

The conversation ended there.

As soon as Amhwang stepped outside Cheonmajon, Baeksa immediately followed him.

“Sovereign. I have handled everything you asked. However, about assigning a guard for your disciple… I can’t seem to find them anywhere.”

Even searching the entire Mount Sipmandae yielded no results.

“No need for a guard outside the tower.”

“Outside the tower?”

“Yes. They said they… needed to cool their head.”

＊＊＊

Name: Kang Jinhyuk

Gender: Male

Age: 27

Level: 108

Strength: 101 Agility: 39 Vitality: 49 Magic Power: 273 Gap: 100 Luck: 10 Adaptable: 78 Pneuma: 71.38

Available Stat Points: 24

Coins: 6,151,339

Class: Rune Scholar

Unique Abilities: ‘Fusion’, ‘Sword Grave’, ‘Star’s Blessing’, ‘Anubis’s Judgment’, ‘Blood Demonic Qi’, ‘Mandala’, ‘1-Second Invincibility’, ‘Thousand Poisons’, ‘White Tiger’, ‘Felicity Sharing’, ‘Domain of the Sun’, ‘Black Celestial Demon Emperor’s Qi’, ‘Triple Magic’, ‘Titan’s Strike’, ‘Dragon’s Breath’, ‘High-Speed Sword’, ‘Tombgrave’s Right Arm’, ‘Berserker’, ‘Domain of Wind’, ‘Shadow Extreme Kill’, ‘Blood Explosion’, ‘Black Tears’, ‘Tombgrave’s Leg’, ‘Might of Surpassing Strength’

Skills: Due to the large number of skills, they have been ‘folded’.

Barriers: Due to the large number of learned barriers, they have been ‘folded’.

After defeating the yaksha, I gained 8 levels.

The battle had been fierce, so my pneuma stats increased by 20.

‘This time I need to balance things out.’

There’s a way to raise my magic power stats more.

So for now, it’s time to develop the stats I haven’t invested in.

[Your Strength increases from 101 to 109.]

[Your Agility increases from 39 to 47.]

[Your Vitality increases from 49 to 57.]

A soft glow spread around him.

Good. Next is…

Time to check out the much-anticipated rewards.

Having learned that the entities from the 50th floor had intervened, the condition had been met.

[You have completed the first linked quest.]

[The list of materials you may choose from is displayed in order of higher grade.]

This allows me to choose one of the material items from the coin exchange. Whatever I want, no restrictions.

Jinhyuk’s eyes narrowed.

‘It’s really torture to choose just one.’

Honestly, the desirable ones could flatten a truck.

‘Dragon Heart’, ‘Giant Soldier’s Gear’, ‘Spirit King’s Essence’… just the items that come to mind number in the dozens.

Add the treasures of the demon kings and administrators of the demonic worlds, as well as the materials from high-level monsters, and the number of choices multiplies into the hundreds.

But I can only choose one.

‘Dragon Heart or materials from the spirit world take too long to yield real efficiency. Meanwhile, demon materials can be prepared in just a day.’

Now or later.

Should I pick something usable immediately…

Or plan for the future?

The choice was not difficult.

“I choose the ‘Decaying Heart’.”

There’s no future without the present.

Jinhyuk grabbed a gem that glowed purple in his hand.

An artifact created by Berial.

A core ingredient needed to create a ‘purple’ grade item.

‘I can finally craft a purple grade item.’

No sooner had he made his pick than another message window appeared.

Ding!

[A second linked quest has arrived.]

‘Doomsday’s Seat’

Objective: An entity bringing about the tower’s destruction descends below. Minimize the damage and survive.

Reward: Unknown (To be adjusted according to the level of damage).

The worst event quest that could wipe out a region had begun.

And so, the first scenario of doomsday had started.

‘…’

The sun was warm.

As Jinhyuk sat on a bench, he watched the people bustling about, enjoying the rare weekend leisurely after their busy lives.

‘Everyone is so peaceful.’

With various guilds and players active in the tower, ordinary citizens could continue to live their lives.

It seemed the Awakened Association was doing their best to ensure people could maintain their daily routines unimpeded.

It made sense, given the seamless integration into society.

‘I heard some Awakened with mass psychic abilities are playing a big part in it.’

Mental abilities. If I could copy those…

Jinhyuk shook his head, emerging from his reverie.

He was enjoying a dearly deserved break after a fierce battle.

He didn’t want to worry about Awakeners or players on top of all the headache-inducing issues already facing him.

Now that he had distributed his stats and accepted the linked quest, he planned to thoroughly relax—at least for today.

That was the plan…

“What are you staring at so blankly? Come on, see the 176th outfit I’ve picked. Ahem. How is it?”

Ellis spun around in her attire.

If it hadn’t been for this leech-like vampire sticking to him, things would be fine.

Ellis added another outfit to the mountain of shopping bags.

The iconic ‘Hanbok Rental’ service of Bukchon Hanok Village.

Dressed in a white and pink hanbok with an ornate hairpin, she looked quite exotic.

‘Hmm.’

An exclamation of admiration slipped from Jinhyuk’s lips.

Who knew she could look so elegant?

This might be what they mean by a harmonious blend of East and West.

“That’s all fine, but you do know those are rental clothes, right? You can’t just wear them any old way—if anything’s damaged, you have to pay for it.”

“It’s fine.”

“It’s not fine.”

“I’ve already bought them all.”

“It’s not fine—wait, you mean all of them? Every single one?”

“Yes, everything down to the last piece. There’s nothing I cannot afford with my wealth. I even tried to buy this village because I liked it, but the so-called lord of the village threw me out. How dare he not know who I am.”

That must have meant getting thrown out of the city office.

I just hope she didn’t end up bothering the mayor.

“…”

My head suddenly starts to throb.

Now it makes sense why there are no other customers renting hanbok.

She bought them all, naturally leaving everyone else with nothing.

“And this, look. It’s called cotton candy; I never knew such a miraculous tasting cloud existed until now. How about it? Want some? If you ask desperately, I might share one with you.”

“Just eat as much as you want—till you’ve got cotton candy coming out of your ears.”

Jinhyuk waved off the offer.

But then.

“Seeing Mistress Ellis eat so delectably, I find myself longing to taste one too. I would be truly grateful if you shared with your servant.”

Unexpectedly, Wolyeong accepted Ellis’s offer.

“Lately, you’ve been unusually polite towards Ellis. You haven’t been hit by her recently, have you?”

“That’s not the case.”

“Then what?”

“Mistress Ellis is someone the master values deeply, is she not? I am only behaving as befits such esteem.”

Valuing dearly, huh…

Indeed, she is a precious and important resource.

A workforce this excellent would be hard to find even across the entire tower.

Right then.

“It’s good to wear clothes from where Jinhyuk lives thanks to you, Sister. Hehe.”

“They’re warm and cozy, I really like them. It’s my first time wearing one even though I’ve seen it a lot in dramas.”

Andria and Teresa have also shown up, each in a different concept of hanbok.

A fluffy fox and a pure-looking saint.

This needs to be recorded for a nice sell.

“Teresa came too? Are you commanding people to come and go while seated there?”

A scholar wearing a gat also appeared.

“Scr… ah, it’s Yuseong, not scruffy. Wow, it suits you well. Thought you were an actual Sungkyunkwan scholar.”

Apart from the desire to kill kings who displease him, he looks exactly like a Joseon bureaucrat.

History would have been better off if Lee Bang-won had met him at Seonjuk Bridge instead of Jeong Mong-ju.

“Stop talking nonsense. Tell us why you’ve summoned us all. We’ve all left urgent matters in Murim to come here; don’t tell me it’s for something like this?”

Despite the protests, Yuseong seems to be enjoying himself—owning a fan and all.

Well…

“It’s not just for leisure.”

The atmosphere, once buoyant, solemnly shifted.

“There seems to be something on your mind. Let’s hear it.”

In response to Cheon Yuseong’s question, Jinhyuk slowly spoke up.

“I need everyone’s strength.”

To ward off the looming destruction,

Or rather, to survive from doomsday,

Everyone would have to risk their lives.