Chapter 58

Chapter 57. The End of the Third Floor, The Army Without Hearts (3)

"Wh-what do you mean, black leaves?"

The Faceless Tree stammered.

It was because of the unexpected word that had popped out.

The viewers watching were equally flustered.

-ToastIsTheFuture: What? Weren't there only three types of leaves you could get as rewards? What's a black leaf?

-IdleAboveTroll: From the look of it, the Faceless Tree is surprised, so it must be some hidden reward.

-PizzaTangSuyuk: Wow, how does he know about this? There were no such stories in the community.

-NewYoungYeonhwan: If he's a veteran player, it makes sense that he knows information others don't.

-ToastIsTheFuture: Does it? Why would a veteran player solo? He's probably part of a large guild.

-NewYoungYeonhwan: Why not? There are some who aren't part of any guild and solo.

-IdleAboveTroll: No way.

-PizzaTangSuyuk: Oh...!?

Indeed, there was one person.

The strongest player who had cleared the corridor alone, wearing a mask.

But it was hard to accept this possibility right away.

Because he had been tricked by so many fake players before.

But what if it was true?

What if he had really broken through that extremely low probability and come to this player's channel?

-NewYoungYeonhwan: If not, this situation doesn't make sense.

Knowing everything about the tower and even knowing all the hidden rewards?

How many people like that could there be in the world?

If someone knew this much about the tower...

It was certain.

Doubt soon turned into certainty.

-PizzaTangSuyuk: What? Really?

-IdleAboveTroll: Oh my god. I'm a real fan of Unknown! I've watched the corridor strategy video 12 times a day.

-ToastIsTheFuture: First, I'll take off my pants and give a proper greeting.

The chat window had completely changed.

But Jinhyuk brushed off the agitated comments with a wave of his hand.

He had already known this reaction would come.

"How do you know about the black leaves?"

"Whether I know or not isn't important. Just hand them over."

"But... that!"

The Faceless Tree's voice became urgent.

The black leaves had a 'Corruption' effect.

However, to create black leaves, all the other leaves had to be dried and killed.

This meant that the player could no longer give quizzes to other players.

"Don't start making excuses now. You said it yourself. You would give me whatever I wanted."

Did you already forget the grand promises you made about the honor of the spirits and keeping your word?

No way.

You wouldn't go back on your word after making such a big claim.

"Ugh. Please, just not that. In exchange, I'll do anything else."

"I don't need anything else. I want the black leaves."

Since he was live streaming, everyone would soon know about the various leaves.

As more information about the tower spread over time, someone would eventually pass the quiz.

'I can't just let that happen.'

He couldn't allow anyone else to obtain the maple leaves with elemental magic.

'If I don't use an item, no one else should be able to use it either.'

That was the most normal and correct way to play.

Jinhyuk extended his palm.

There was no room for compromise.

In the end.

Sssss...

The colorful maple leaves covering the Faceless Tree's head turned black and burned away.

[You have answered all three questions from the Faceless Tree!]

[You have obtained 1280 Black Leaves!]

[Black Leaf]

Acquisition Difficulty: AAA

Description: When used on weapons or armor, it grants a special 'Corruption' effect (inflicts 1% of the target's total HP as additional damage every 3 minutes when hit). The caster is unaffected, and the corruption effect only applies to enemies.]

Good.

Finally, he had gathered all the pieces of the puzzle.

"..."

Jinhyuk turned his body towards the temple, leaving behind the Faceless Tree, who looked a thousand years older.

***

The temple, which retained an ancient atmosphere.

Jinhyuk chose the eastern entrance among the four entrances.

-ToastIsTheFuture: The east is dangerous. Isn't this the most difficult?

-IdleAboveTroll: Yeah. The other entrances at least let you see a four-story stone pagoda, but the east is hell from the start.

-PizzaTangSuyuk: Why did he choose the hardest one?

The reason he chose the hardest one?

There wasn't much to it.

'Because the east is the most interesting.'

That's why he had used this route the most.

Hundreds, thousands, countless times, he had challenged it, and eventually, his body remembered how to reach the boss.

Jinhyuk pulled out a dagger with a reddish glow.

At the same time.

Rumble!

The totem poles on both sides of the entrance began to shake violently.

They were activating the defense mechanism in response to the intruder.

"Rrrrr!"

"Grrrr..."

The stone statues lining the walls moved at that moment.

One-meter-tall stone statues made entirely of rock turned to look at Jinhyuk.

-ToastIsTheFuture: Damn, they're here. Those damn stone statues.

-IdleAboveTroll: Destroying the life stones is really tough.

-PizzaTangSuyuk: They're only the size of a fingernail, and they keep moving inside the body, so it's impossible to find them unless you completely destroy the statue.

The reason the stone statues were difficult was precisely this.

To destroy the life stones, but the life stones were not only hidden but also kept moving.

Moreover, the stone statues' attack power and movement speed were incredibly fast and precise.

Seven stone statues surrounded Jinhyuk.

They clenched their fists and gradually tightened the encirclement.

Boom!

Crash!

The battle began with the sound of the wind being split.

The stone statues quickly closed the distance.

'They're coming.'

Jinhyuk loosened his limbs.

To break the carefully arranged formation, he needed to disrupt their breathing.

First, the right side.

The attack aimed at the upper body was simple and straightforward but possessed a destructive force that couldn't be ignored.

He had to dodge this.

Jinhyuk lowered his center of gravity.

Whoosh!

Almost simultaneously with the punch slicing through the air.

This time, a kick aimed at his waist came.

The second strike was precise and caught him off guard, but it was less powerful.

Clang!

Jinhyuk held his dagger vertically to block the attack.

He distinguished what to dodge and what to block.

In the midst of the storm of continuous attacks, Jinhyuk slowly began to find the moment when his opponent's breathing would falter.

-ToastIsTheFuture: Wow, he's dodging all of that. His movements are insane.

-IdleAboveTroll: At this level, he must have memorized almost all the patterns.

-NewYoungYeonhwan: As expected, he's on a different level from the veterans who just draw attention.

-PizzaTangSuyuk: 5252, I trusted you!

If this continued, it might be possible to break through the entrance of the eastern gate.

Of course, it would take a long time to destroy the life stones alone.

But the fact that he could succeed was an unbelievable achievement.

However.

The next scene left the viewers speechless.

-ToastIsTheFuture: Is this... real?

-IdleAboveTroll: There's no replay function here, right?

-PizzaTangSuyuk: What did I just see?

The movement of the stone statues stopped.

They immediately collapsed like puppets with their strings cut.

This could only happen in one case.

When the life stones were destroyed.

Crack.

Jinhyuk pulled his dagger out from the shoulder of the stone statue.

A split life stone was visible.

'Life stones have the property of moving in the opposite direction of the attack.'

If the right arm attacks, it moves to the left arm; if the right leg attacks, it moves to the left leg.

It was probably an instinct to hide the weakness.

And he found the exact position through the subtle shaking of the stone and his accumulated experience.

'The hard work I did in the past was not a waste of time.'

The corners of Jinhyuk's mouth turned upward.

Thanks to this, the battle that he had expected to take at least an hour was over.

In just three minutes.

***

[Current number of viewers: 38,350]

In less than 30 minutes since the broadcast started, 38,000 viewers had gathered.

It was an incredibly fast speed.

Especially considering it was his first broadcast.

-VeteranPlayerDetector: The more I watch, the more I get goosebumps. He might even succeed in the boss battle.

-IdleAboveTroll: It's possible. I started watching as soon as I turned on the stream, and I just trust him.

-dead998: No way. Clearing it solo when even elite raid teams from large guilds failed? Raids were created to overcome the weaknesses of solo play.

-BigPie: I agree. The roles of tank, damage dealer, aggro, healer, etc., aren't divided for no reason.

-EndOfLife: Yeah, and named monsters haven't even appeared yet.

Hopeful expectations and pessimistic opinions crossed each other.

Then.

"Whether you believe me or not, I don't care, but I wish you'd stop chattering so much. It's annoying."

Jinhyuk scratched his head, annoyed.

-BigPie: What? Did he just say that to us?

-NGMCarrot: No way. He wouldn't say that to viewers unless he was out of his mind.

-AngerControl: Yeah, he knows that ignoring viewers will make him lose subscribers.

"I'm talking to you guys."

Just watch quietly.

I don't care about your feelings.

"If you want to leave, go ahead. If you want to watch, watch. But remember one thing: the owner of this channel is me, not you."

There are players who do everything to please viewers to increase views.

They try to fulfill every request and cater to every whim, turning themselves into meek lambs.

Of course, views do increase.

Since they fulfill everything the viewers want, it's inevitable.

But.

If you keep being dragged around like that, you can't do what you want.

'Stupid guys.'

If the roles are reversed, high views are meaningless.

Jinhyuk intended to run his channel in a completely different way from those suckers.

The veteran player's knowledge of strategies and.

Overwhelming skill.

If these two things were solid...

'You don't have to be dragged around by viewers.'

If you provide high-quality content that differentiates you from others, viewers will naturally stick around.

'Maintaining the concept is much more important.'

Yes, that was the core that the player 'Unknown' should have.

And as Jinhyuk had predicted.

-StrongGuy: This guy has a strong concept lol.

-EndOfLife: Wow, he's so cool. Is this the 'My Way' style?

-IdleAboveTroll: Normally, I should be annoyed, but I'm not. What is this? Am I a freak?

-CoffinSong: Breathe harder. Make me suffer more.

-NewYoungYeonhwan: Honestly, he has the right to be proud. I actually find it refreshing.

The viewers felt a strange charm from the capable and prickly player.

But just as the chat window was scrolling rapidly.

'This...?'

Jinhyuk's senses picked up something.