Chapter 117
The air in the workshop didn’t cool down because the roaring flames of the forge were burned from a special type of tree.
The conversation continued in the heat of the shop.
“Why did you come here?”
Hephaestus glared at the man who was in front of him.
The “Great Sage, Heaven’s Equal.” A very well known High-Ranker. Someone that was comparable to the “Big Three” gods of Olympus.
But for someone like him to make an appearance at the 1st Floor, this wasn’t an ordinary occurrence.
“Now that I see you properly, it looks like this isn’t your real body.”
“If my real body were here, the Administrator wouldn’t stay still.”
Hearing Son OhGong’s reply, Hephaestus nodded his head.
The Administrators paid close attention to High-Rankers within the top 100 in the rankings. It would be fine if they were on the higher floors, but if someone like that came down to a lower floor, and the lowest floor at that, it was only natural that the Administrator would need to pay even closer attention.
“And my main body has something to do right now.”
“Alright.”
“What’s that reaction? Aren’t you curious?”
“Why would I be? You’re probably messing around with the guys from Heavenly Realm again.”
“Well, something like that.”
Their encounters with Son OhGong were famous.
The great guild, Heavenly Realm.
The one that was fighting a solo war against them was Son OhGong. The nickname of “Great Sage, Heaven’s Equal” was derived from this.
“Are you using that weapon I made you well?”
“No, I threw it away.”
“Threw it away?”
“I found something even better.”
“Who made it?”
“I don’t know. It was something the Dragon King had, but apparently it’s not even a weapon to begin with.”
“It’s not a weapon? What is it then?”
“Dunno. I didn’t ask.”
To use something that wasn’t a weapon as a weapon… Hephaestus found this situation strange, but as he took a closer look at Son OhGong, he could see a long, thin staff attached to his back.
‘Is that it?’
Looking at it from here, it didn’t look too impressive. It was as thin as a finger, and the length was only about a meter. Even if it was an amazing item, its base length and width were too lacking.
‘Who the hell made it?’ he thought. Then he said, “But why are you here?”
Although he couldn’t say he was friends with Song OhGong, it wasn’t like they had a bad relationship either.
If it was anyone else, Hephaestus might have suspected that they came here as a proxy of Olympus after receiving their orders, but Son OhGong was different.
Known by Hephaestus and the various worlds, Son OhGong wasn’t someone who would lower himself below anyone.
“I’m looking for someone.”
“Someone?”
“Kim YuWon. Do you know him?”
Hearing a familiar name, Hephaestus’s expression wavered for a second.
And Son OhGong didn’t miss the subtle change.
“So you do.”
“I don’t.”
Smile—
The edge of Son OhGong’s lips curled upwards. His black eyes suddenly changed to a different color.
[Golden Cinder Eyes]
“Lies won’t work on me.”
One burned brightly, and the other sparkled with a golden shine.
Hephaestus faced Son OhGong’s two eyes and asked him, “Are those the famous Golden Cinder Eyes?”
“Its powers are a bit lacking since it’s from a clone.”
“The eyes that can see through lies and pierce the truth…”
A fake laugh leaked out of Hephaestus’s mouth.
Just how would he escape those eyes? At least right now, he didn’t have the power to do that. Although he was facing a clone, it was still Son OhGong.
‘Looks like I won’t even be able to lie like this.’
However…
“I don’t know.”
Hephaestus’s answer didn’t change.
“You don’t know?”
“That’s right.”
“You do know.”
“I said I don’t. How many times do I need to repeat myself?”
“Hmm…”
Son OhGong scratched his head. He scratched his head so hard that multiple strands of hair fell out.
Hephaestus didn’t avert his eyes from Son OhGong’s and stared at him straight on.
“Ahjussi. I really don’t want to do this, but if you don’t tell me, you might die.”
Fwooosh—
The [Golden Cinder Eyes] stared at Hephaestus.
The eyes that could see through all things. Those eyes could pierce the truth and were said to be able to see the past and future. Even if it was currently from a clone, Son OhGong would definitely know that Hephaestus was lying.
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“Then should I lie and say I do know something I don’t?” Hephaestus crossed his arms and widened his stance as if telling him to strike his belly. “I. Do. Not. Know.”
After climbing past the 20th Floor, one becomes a relatively serious player. This was well known in the Tower. They say one couldn’t call people under the 20th Floor players and that the real magic of the Tower could only be experienced after climbing past the 20th Floor.
In truth, the difference between players who did and did not climb the 20th Floor was massive because the players who had passed the 20th Floor, also called the second wall, had at least one skill that they were known for.
But just as there existed High-Rankers above normal Rankers who had finished climbing the Tower, it was natural for famous players to exist within the ranks of the lower floors. And naturally, the best among them was…
“Is Kim YuWon not coming to this test either?”…Kim YuWon.
Even though it hadn’t even been a year since he entered the Tower, his name was etched into the minds of many players.
The winner of the Grand Martial Arts Tournament. The super rookie that set new records on all floors.
He, while climbing the Tower at an incredible speed, had stopped at some point and wasn’t taking the tests at all.
“Probably. It’s already been over three months since he stopped.”
“Did he decide to settle here?”
“If I was like him, I would’ve at least tried to become a Ranker.”
“Well, if you become a Ranker, living life becomes easier, and you get to do anything you want.”
“If he climbed up with those grades, wouldn’t he have acquired a ton of points as well? It’s understandable if he wants to live comfortably like this.”
YuWon’s name was tossed around many times as the players gathered at the testing area chatted.
Three months wasn’t that long of a time. There were many cases where a player would stay years at a time on a single floor because they couldn’t climb to the next floor or for other reasons.
However, for a player of Kim YuWon’s caliber, the story was different.
“I heard he died?”
“Really? I did hear that his relationship with Olympus wasn’t good.”
“Isn’t that just a rumor? I heard he’s friends with Hargaan.”
“Really?”
As a lot of rumors started to come out…
“That’s the end of that. We should just focus on our test now. If we fail this time, we don’t even have enough points to try again.”
“Yes.”
“Alright.”
The team leader said their piece, and the team members all stopped gossiping and started to focus.
‘Kim YuWon, Kim YuWon, huh…’
The team leader who was leading the five man team, the elf Reinhar, was looking around his surroundings.
An underground cave a little taller than 100 meters. There were luminous stones embedded in the roof of the cave. Thanks to this, it wasn’t too difficult to see.
‘If possible, I don’t want that guy here.’
It was natural for one to not want a competitor. On top of that, if they were a skilled person like Kim YuWon, it was even more obvious. However, it was natural for one to always feel uneasy about it.
“Who’s talking about me?” A brutal voice spoke. “You want to die?”
Reinhar turned his head. In that spot, a player was staring down at them with crossed arms.
‘“Talking about me?”’
He was unsure of what they meant. But then he saw the clothes worn by the player.
A red cloak.
That was definitely the 「Pyromancy Robe.」
“N-No way…”
“Kim YuWon?”
“What? Really?”
The players were all startled, and they began stepping away from the man.
The man’s lip curled into a smile.
“pu***es.”
“Are you… really Kim YuWon?”
Hearing Reinhar’s question, the man’s eyes narrowed.
“What are you trying to say?”
Shwaaa—
Chilling mana spread out from YuWon’s body.
Feeling the killing intent that was suffocating his body and piercing his skin, Reinhar evaded his eyes.
“I-It’s nothing.”
He was no average genius. With an astounding mana stat, YuWon’s mana alone was enough to choke other people.
On top of that, the 「Pyromancy Robe」 was a luxury item that cost over 500,000 points. It was definitely an item too expensive to be used by an ordinary player.
It was also the item that Kim YuWon used in the Grand Martial Arts tournament, and so it was like his symbol.
‘It’s certain.’
Gulp—
Reinhar moved back with the other players and glanced at YuWon once in a while.
‘Kim YuWon has started his climb up the Tower again.’
A tiger had appeared in the midst of sheep.
* * *
The players who were waiting all shut their mouths silently. It was because of the appearance of a tiger named Kim YuWon.
It was a situation where if they somehow caught his attention and angered him, their heads would fly before the test could even begin.
And so, time passed.
[The test of the 21st Floor is starting.]
[The Crystal has been created.]
[Defend the Crystal from the waves of enemies.]
[‘Doppelgangers’ exist within the team.]
[The number of Doppelgangers is not known, and if the number of players becomes 0 or the Crystal is destroyed, you will fail the test.]
[Doppelgangers can destroy the Crystal.]
[Find and eliminate the Doppelgangers.]
[The test will end when all the Doppelgangers are eliminated.]
In the center of the cave…
Creak—
A large blue crystal, about one meter tall in size, appeared while shining a bright light. This was the mechanism that would be the central focus of this test, the Crystal.
‘Doppelgangers?’
Reinhar turned to his left and right as he looked at the people near him.
The other players were doing the same.
In an instant, they were all wary of each other and checking for anyone suspicious.
‘Are Doppelgangers already mixed into this group?’
If that was the case, they couldn’t know who was a Doppelganger and who was a real player. Doppelgangers mimicked the appearances of people and even absorbed their memories. It was an impossible task to just try to sense them out.
“This is quite complicated.”
“You can’t tell who’s a Doppelganger or not like this…”
The number of players gathered was about a hundred. Among them, not one stepped up first.
Silence reigned for a while. But then…
“Retards.”
Flinch—
The quiet voice that pierced through the crowd gathered everyone’s attention.
The player in the 「Pyromancy Robe,」 Kim YuWon, had opened his mouth.
“You can’t do anything because you got scared of a test like this? Just staying silent like dumb idiots.”
“Wh-What…”
“Shush. Hold back.”
Although a few players showed dissent at YuWon’s attack, they didn’t step forward and stayed silent.
YuWon clicked his tongue and continued to talk. “Since it’s already hard for me to clear the quest myself this time, please at least don’t drag me down. And the Doppelgangers…”
Kim YuWon turned his head to the side.
At that moment…
Shck—
The sword he pulled out instantly created a flash of light and decapitated the man standing beside him.
Crunch—
Splat—
The fallen head turned viscous and started to melt after hitting the ground.
The players nearby were all startled and shouted.
“The f*ck?!”
“M-Monster?”
Doppelganger. Monsters that didn’t have a form of their own and lived out their lives stealing others’ existences.
Kim YuWon had found out one of them in an instant and slashed them.
“While the test is going, I’ll find the Doppelgangers.”
With those words, Kim YuWon sheathed his sword.
Right now, he couldn’t see any other Doppelgangers, and monsters hadn’t appeared yet either.
“Woah…”
“He’s actually so cool…”
Envy, respect, jealousy, and fear were all present in their eyes. These mixed feelings were all poured out to Kim YuWon through their gazes.
YuWon’s skill was as they had heard, which he showed as he cut off the head of the Doppelganger in a single slash.
However, among them…
“Interesting.”
One person was looking at Kim YuWon, amused.
“This test will be interesting.”
