Chapter 78 Mythic Beasts (1) (1/2)
“Ohyohyo. Not only did he awake the Despair of the Black King, but he was also rewarded with Aegis. He is such an unpredictable player!”
Yvlke smiled cheerfully as he watched Yeon-woo disappear into the portal.
From the tutorial to Beginner Zone, Yeon-woo’s feat of clearing everything as a solo player had been great entertainment for him, not to mention the fun of earning extra money.
“It seems like The Tower’s system has begun to take notice of you, Yeon-woo Cha.”
For a second, his voice was imbued with unusual seriousness.
“By the way, who was the next part’s general Guardian… Laplace, wasn’t it?”
Yvlke’s two large fangs could be seen over his thick lips as he broke into a wide grin.
“I wonder how he’ll react. He acts quite annoying when he finds something interesting.”
Yvlke’s eyes glowed as he stared into the gradually fading portal.
* * *
“The Hoarder?”
Bahal paused and turned to look at the leader of Flame Beast. Flame Beat’s entire unit following behind him halted in unison.
“Yes. From the first to the tenth floor, all the previous records in the Beginner Zone have been surpassed by him.”
Bahal brought his hands to his front and tapped the air a couple of times.
Then, a window suddenly popped up in front of him.
[1st-floor ranking]
1. Unknown (9,345 Points)
2. Jeong-woo Cah (6,566 Points)
2. Edora (6,556 Points)
4. Phante (2,210 Points)
···
[2nd-floor ranking]
1. Unknown (31,008 Points)
2. Phante (7,299 Points)
3. Jeong-woo Cah (6,900 Points)
···
[3rd-floor ranking]
1. Unknown (18,115 Points)
2. Jeong-woo Cah (11,331 Points)
···
“Oh?”
The moment he saw the word ‘Unknown’ on the list, he knew it was Yeon-woo.
Among all the novices who had appeared recently, he was the only one who could pull off this kind of achievement.
“What an interesting friend he is.”
Bahal skimmed through the rest of the rankings with a huge smile.
He knew that Yeon-woo was up to something big the moment he first saw him, but this was even bigger than he expected.
Jeong-woo’s records were made possible because he had assistance from his team, Arthia.
But Yeon-woo’s were different. His records were set all by himself.
Thanks to this, more attention was going to be drawn to him now.
Bahal thought to himself that it had been a good move to visit him before the other clans could snatch him.
“But isn’t it frustrating?”
The leader suddenly asked Bahal.
Bahal tilted his head.
“Hmm? What is?”
“I’m talking about the records. Though they’re named after Jeong-woo, they also belong to you too.”
Figuring out his intention, Bahal let out a chuckle.
“I thought I had already passed your test, didn’t I?”
“Oh, I’m sorry, but don’t get me wrong. This is just a personal question.”
But Bahal only asked back with a snort.
“Hmph! Our queen’s dearest henchman asking a personal question to me… You think I’d fall for that?”
The leader silently lowered his head in answer.
Bahal closed the ranking window and started answering as he stroked his chin.
“Well, it’d be a lie to say it isn’t. Because no matter what I do, it is an undeniable truth that I was once part of Arthia, and that record is a remnant of my past. Who’d like having their remnants erased?”
“….”
Just then, the leader looked at Bahal questioningly but soon erased the doubt after hearing his next word.
“But what’s past is past. I’ll have to let go of it in order to advance. What matters to me right now…”
A sly grin crept over Bahal’s face.
“Is how to make this novice ours.”
“….”
“I do think he’ll be ours eventually… But we can’t wait forever for him to decide, now can we? If he won’t join us, then we’ll have to destroy him, just like we did to them….”
Though Bahal had put it vaguely, the leader understood who he was referring to.
‘Just like Arthia.’
Either they had to have it, or it had to be destroyed. No other result was allowed.
“…So, did that answer satisfy you?”
Bahal looked at the leader with a smile.
The leader nodded calmly.
“Seems like I got a passing mark.”
“You did talk too much unnecessary stuff. You’d better be careful next time.”
“Haha! I thought I had earned some trust, but it seems our queen still doubts me. By the way.”
Bahal came to a sudden stop. They were in front of a steep cliff.
“Are we in the right place?”
“The coordinates say we are.”
“So this Cheonghwado’s doghole. They’ve been pretending to be so high and noble, acting as if they have nothing to hide, but look what they have here. Haha!”
Bahal slowly moved to the edge of the cliff.
Below his feet, he could see a forest full of trees.
The entire forest was serene and desolate, perhaps due to its location being far from the Outer District.
Bahal began to circulate mana into his eyes, staring at a certain point inside the forest. Then, his eyes caught a strange structure covered in camouflage.
There were five players patrolling around the altar-like structure. He also found a blue portal at the center of it.
‘That must be the portal that leads to Arangdan.’
Bahal chuckled as he continued to check the portal.
‘I don’t know what were you trying to hide by opening a portal in such a remote place, but you really haven’t changed a bit, Leonte. It’s too sloppy.’
Bahal turned to look at the leader.
“It’s about time now. Let’s get ready.”
“Roger.”
The leader raised his hand. Flame Beast then scattered across the cliff and lowered their postures.
Their plan was to ambush Leonte upon his appearance. According to the information they had acquired, Leonte was going to pass through this portal in an hour or two.
And when the reported time drew near, the still surface of the portal suddenly started to ripple. It was a sign that someone was coming through the portal.