Chapter 71 The first floor (3) (1/2)

[You have entered Obelisk.]

[You will soon be summoned to the first floor’s waiting zone. The first floor’s trial will begin once there are enough players.]

As Yeon-woo walked through the passage, the surrounding area began to change. And before he knew it, he found himself in what appeared to be a spacious meeting hall.

The hall was entirely made out of white marble. There was a chandelier hanging down from the ceiling, illuminating the whole area with soft ambient light, and other pieces of furniture like fluffy couches conveniently placed at each corner.

Two long corridors full of doors along their walls were lying at two opposite ends of the hall.

‘So this is the waiting zone.’

There are lots of players that set up their bases and form villages on the 11th floor and above, where long-term missions begin.

However, below the 11th floor, the missions only start once there are enough players, so there is a waiting zone on each of the floors.

Though they are just places where players stay before the trials start, the waiting zone on the first floor is one of the most important places for players.

Because it is the first and the last place where players can rest without any worries or danger.

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Not just that, the area is also full of conveniences of all sorts.

Players can rest, meditate and even do some training if they want. Sometimes, the mysterious merchant appears and sells basic items in the waiting zone.

The place that players must visit before carrying out the trials given by The Tower, also called ‘Missions’ by the system.

The waiting area was already packed with players. There were some who were making friends with other players, and some who were making deals.

Just inside the meeting hall, there were roughly 50 players gathered

“They’re here.”

“Yup, there they are again.

A sudden silence fell over the boisterous hall.

All the players were looking in his direction with vicious looks in their eyes.

Yeon-woo tilted his head slightly, wondering what was this about.

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These players were all strangers to Yeon-woo. He couldn’t understand why every one of them was looking at him with such hateful eyes.

But soon, he realized their gazes weren’t focused on him.

‘They are looking at these two.’

However, Phante and Edora didn’t care one bit about their glares.

“Let’s see what we’ve got here. I think it was somewhere around here.”

“Don’t even think about drinking again. Don’t you remember the mess you made last time?”

“Hehe. I’ll just drink a glass or two. Is that okay?”

“No.”

Phante rummaged through a shelf looking for leftover alcohol, and Edora tried to stop him but soon gave up and sat down in a corner and began reading her book.

It was as if the two were isolated from this whole area full of players.

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‘Right. That’s just how they are.’

Yeon-woo remembered that these two were originally the first and second ranks in the tutorial.

The royal blood of the One-horned tribe.

They were the ‘chosen ones’. They had learned various martial arts and trained both physically and mentally from an early age.

To other normal players, it was as if there was an invisible wall between them. They couldn’t even think of getting close to them.

And while he was lost in thought, Yeon-woo noticed people looking at him with similar eyes.

“That’s him, right?”

“Yes. He’s the Hoarder.”

“God damn it. It’s a lost cause from the start.”

“Maybe we could get a free ride.”

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“You think they’re just gonna stand and watch us do that?”

The news of Yeon-woo’s participation in the upcoming round seemed to have spread among players on the lower floors.

Yeon-woo thought it was rather good for him. Because he wasn’t going to make friends with them.

In fact, he didn’t want to make friends with anyone in The Tower. Even Phante and Edora’s company wasn’t in his plans.

As he had told them outside, Yeon-woo was going to leave them behind if they got in his way.

He had only one plan in his mind.

Speed running.

‘My goal is to clear the first ten floors within ten days, no, nine days. That’s easier said than done.’

That was the only way he could acquire Hades’ Key.

In addition, there was another secret hidden inside the Beginner’s Zone.

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‘I also have to find the keys hidden on each floor.’

One from the tutorial. One after clearing the Beginner’s Zone.

There were still 10 keys remaining to complete the key to the Olympus’ Treasury.

All of those ten key were hidden as hidden pieces on each of the floors of Beginner’s Zone. Sometimes as a hidden quest, sometimes hidden somewhere unexpected.

In other words, Yeon-woo had to go through a double whammy of clearing ten trials in quick succession and looking for ten hidden pieces at the same time.

‘If I remember correctly, the key hidden on the first floor was Hera’s Key.’

After recalling the method to acquire Hera’s Key, Yeon-woo rubbed his eyes from the sudden headache.

‘I feel tired already just by thinking of it.’

Yeon-woo cursed at the Guardians for designing hidden pieces with such an outrageous difficulty as he sat down and closed his eyes.

*Woong*

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As he sank in meditation, he focused on the movement of the mana flowing inside his Mana Circuit.

Contrary to his earlier thoughts, he had never considered failure. Because he had all the stats and skills he had built up so far and various artifacts that would aid him in combat.

And above all, he had Gyges’ Eyes.

The mana circulated faster inside his body.

* * *

“Welcome, players. My name is Aaron, I am the Guardian that will be guiding through the first floor’s trial.”

Unlike Yvlke, the Guardian of this floor was a tall, pale-skinned man with a pair of fangs sticking out from behind his red lips.

‘He’s a Vampire.’

Yeon-woo wondered whether all Guardians had appearances of different monsters.

In his sharp tuxedo, just like Yvlke’s, The Vampire gracefully greeted the players .

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Four days had already passed since Yeon-woo entered The Tower, before the Guardian showed up.

Thankfully, each player was given a room to stay in during the time they had to spend waiting.