Chapter 93

Chapter 92. The Jar That Eats Filth

“What... what is this...”

The High Priest staggered and took a step back.

“He was... dead. But he’s alive. Dead, but definitely dead.”

Andrea was equally flustered.

On the other hand,

Jinhyuk calmly rubbed his shoulder and waist.

“Phew. I’ve crossed halfway over the Jordan, and my back is all stiff.”

There were flower fields, and beautiful women singing to make him fall over. He almost followed them.

Fortunately, the song was from the Greek era; if it had been a trot, he would have been carried away and followed along.

'The Demon King’s curse is gone with this.'

Jinhyuk nodded in satisfaction.

From the moment he met the Demon King and received the hidden quest,

to wasting the High Priest’s holy relic and using the ‘Blessing of the Stars’ to lift the curse from the Demon King,

everything went according to plan.

'The timing for the magic book’s casting was perfect.'

He couldn’t use any more unique abilities or skills.

But it didn’t matter.

The High Priest, who had also used up his holy relic, was in the same boat.

'He’s practically a puppet now.'

The arena owner was skilled with various weapons,

and the mine owner was incredibly strong.

In contrast, the High Priest used his holy relic to cast powerful spells,

but with all his mana drained, his own strength was insignificant.

“You! What are you? How...!”

The High Priest couldn’t continue.

“Why? Is it your first time seeing someone come back from the dead?”

“Of course it is!”

“What kind of High Priest can’t even resurrect? You might as well believe in me.”

'The Old School Cult.'

Believing in it might make you a bit crazy, but you can survive for a long time. Plus, you occasionally come back to life and shoot lasers from your eyes. How about it? Interested?

“Stop barking!”

The High Priest cursed and picked up a crude surgical knife from the table.

This must be a refusal.

“You’ll regret it.”

Jinhyuk smirked and lowered his stance.

Swish!

A dagger with a red glow was already in his right hand.

Clang!

The surgical knife and dagger crossed.

Jinhyuk deflected the attack aimed at his heart and immediately targeted the High Priest’s thigh.

Thud!

It hit.

The dagger pierced quite deep.

“Gah!”

The High Priest screamed in pain.

I told you, you’d regret it.

From the moment the guy who was just holding the weight from behind stepped to the front, the outcome of this fight was already decided.

Well, there was one thing.

The High Priest had a way to turn this situation around.

Of course.

‘But that’s what I want too.’

Jinhyuk looked back and forth between the High Priest and the jar.

Isn’t it time to make a gamble?

You know better than anyone that if this continues, you’ll die.

Jinhyuk continued to provoke his opponent, gradually cornering him.

Now you have to choose. Will you wither away, or...

“Damn it.”

Finally, the High Priest made his decision.

[The High Priest on the 5th floor activates Level 10 ‘Sacrifice of the Offering’!]

Something resembling a human hand shot out from the High Priest’s heart.

A disturbing shape made of smoke.

“If my mana is insufficient... I’ll just replenish it!”

That’s right.

Using his followers as sacrifices to replenish the holy relic’s mana.

This was the High Priest’s last hidden card.

Swoosh!

The hand flew at a rapid speed.

Andrea, who had never been in a fight, naturally had no chance to react.

“A...”

Andrea looked down at her chest with trembling eyes.

Thump! Thump! Thump!

A hand was gripping her heart.

The smoke grew even thicker.

“Offer your mana. Miserable servant!”

Even a small amount of mana would be a significant variable in a situation where both sides were out of mana.

But.

“Petria de Am...”

The runic language for absorbing mana burst out of her mouth.

“Petria de Amerios. Theos fa verisio.”

Another familiar voice interrupted.

It was Jinhyuk.

“...!?”

The High Priest quickly turned his head.

He almost bit his tongue from the shock, but that wasn’t the time to worry about it.

“How... how do you know the runic language...”

“Ancient runic language? It’s basic. These days, everyone speaks at least three languages, right?”

The harder part was predicting which spell to cast just from the initial mouth shape among countless incantations.

The High Priest wouldn’t have time to think about that.

He would now pay the price for not preempting the spell.

Rumble!

The ‘Jar That Eats Filth’ began to vibrate violently.

To devour the target as commanded by the caster.

“Eek!”

The High Priest turned around.

Unlike before, he threw away all his dignity and tried to run with all his might.

But the black hands that shot out from the jar were much faster.

Crack!

The hands firmly grabbed the High Priest’s body.

His head, cheeks, waist, shoulders, and finally his legs. It was a perfect capture.

“No, no! No!”

The High Priest struggled wildly.

Scratching the floor with his nails and kicking the table and floor. He tried to escape somehow.

Of course, it was all in vain.

The hands had never missed their target.

Crack!

Ten lines of claw marks extended across the stone floor.

And with that,

“Gah!”

The High Priest’s body was completely swallowed by the jar.

Crunch!

Crunch!

Crunch!

The sound of bones and flesh being mercilessly crushed followed.

For someone who had lived as the Demon King’s right-hand man, commanding countless followers, it was a terribly tragic end.

Or, considering he had burned people alive, it might have been too easy a death.

The pain would have lasted no more than 30 seconds.

Jinhyuk watched the High Priest’s final moments with cold eyes.

Then, as if remembering something, he turned his head.

There, Andrea was still half-dazed.

“D-Did I... survive?”

“You know the answer, why ask?”

“But...”

Andrea, with eyes wide like a rabbit, caressed her body.

Her face showed more curiosity about how she survived than the fact that she had survived.

“Don’t you feel something strange? Lighter than usual? Or overflowing with strength?”

“Huh? Oh, now that you mention it... it’s like I’ve woken up from a deep sleep, full of vitality.”

‘As expected, this is how it works.’

The High Priest was dead, but the message that the 5th floor had been conquered hadn’t appeared yet.

Of course not.

The boss of the mental ward was still alive.

‘The holy relic must have chosen a new master during the activation of the ‘Sacrifice of the Offering’ while the High Priest was dying.’

In other words,

the new boss monster of the mental ward was now Andrea.

‘It’s time for her to realize it.’

Just as he thought that,

“Ah...!”

A short exclamation escaped Andrea’s lips.

She had realized what the vitality and strength she was feeling were due to, thanks to the tower’s system.

The inheritance effect.

The moment a new owner of the mental ward was born.

And.

The owner was.

‘Will only obey me.’

Jinhyuk’s lips curled upward.

All players would think that the only way to advance to the next floor was to kill the boss and conquer the floor.

‘I’m different.’

The Old School doesn’t follow the rules.

If there was a greater benefit and thrill, he wouldn’t hesitate, regardless of the method.

That was how the Old School climbed the tower.

That was why the Old School could see the top of the tower.

“You said earlier that you were betrayed by those you cherished the most and abandoned here.”

“Yes, I definitely said that.”

“That time is over. At least on the 5th floor, no one will treat you carelessly.”

No longer a follower living a life like a fly, but a ruler of a floor with immense magical power and numerous subordinates.

That was the position Andrea would live in from now on.

“So from now on, try to live with a smile.”

“Thank you. Really...”

Andrea’s eyes welled up.

All the pain and suffering she had endured seemed to pass by in an instant.

Even if she couldn’t betray him due to the ‘Soul Brand’,

well,

even if that weren’t the case, Andrea wouldn’t betray him.

The person who had given her freedom and a new life was him.

Still, it was best to be sure.

“I don’t like empty words of gratitude...”

Jinhyuk left his sentence hanging, as if waiting for something.

Then,

Andrea wiped her tears with her sleeve.

Her determined eyes met Jinhyuk’s.

She had made her decision.

How she would live from now on.

“My name is Andrea. I am the owner of this ward.”

Andrea respectfully knelt on one knee.

“I, along with all the beings in this ward, will follow you, and I will fulfill whatever you demand, even if it means defying the rulers of the upper floors.”

And she bowed deeply with sincerity.

[The boss monster ‘Andrea’ of the 5th floor ‘Mental Ward’ has sworn allegiance.]

[The ‘Mine’ and ‘Arena’ have been liberated.]

[The 6th floor of the Tower of Trials is now open!]

[Time remaining until the next floor is conquered: 89D 23h:59m:59s]

[Level up.]

[Level up.]

[Level up.]

The levels increased with the opening of the floor.

The status window appeared one after another.

‘The power of the 5th floor will be useful in the distant future.’

Considering the future, securing allies from the lower floors was a necessary task.

This time, Jinhyuk’s gaze turned downward.

Toward the rewards, the flower of the raid.

[You have received the loyalty of a boss monster for the first time.]

[You have obtained the special item ‘Mirror of the Boundary (Overrank)’.]

This is incredible...

Jinhyuk’s eyes narrowed.

Another incredible thing had appeared.

***

The conquest of the 5th floor.

The world rejoiced once again at this fact.

The main character who conquered the tower this time was also the Korean ranker, Kang Jinhyuk.

-Takoyaki: Seriously. At this point, shouldn’t the presidents of each country give him an award?

-Black Dragon in the Right Hand: No, he should take the president’s position. Why would he need an award? Just let him eat the soup.

-IndexTM: I can’t wait to see the strategy video. I’m so curious how he cleared it. Of course, it will probably be an edited version.

In the heated atmosphere,

a video filled with everyone’s expectations was updated.

[The Administrator Flees in Front of Me]

The provocative title made the Tower of Trials community hotter than ever.

The video started playing.

Jinhyuk and the ‘Path of Choice’ appeared on the screen.

A place notorious for its tight time limit and hellish difficulty.

But in front of the Old School, all of that crumbled meaninglessly.

As if he didn’t even need to hear the hints, Jinhyuk broke through the gates in an instant.

It was an absurd scene, even to watch.

It was absurd in reality too.

In the end, the Administrator fled.

Filled with self-loathing rather than anger.

-Index: Haha, really? The Administrator actually fled?

-Old School Identifier: Wow, how rotten must someone be to make that possible?

-Desk with Toilet Paper: Looking at all the Old School players who can’t even make a sound, it seems like he’s the only one.

-New Young Hero: Well, the academic consensus is that Kang Jinhyuk is on his second life.

-Living Room Kim: Just his second life? That’s more like his 999th. Of course, I couldn’t do it even with infinite coins.

-Vietnamese Unemployed: Wow. He’s a player you can always count on. His gameplay is so smooth. It’s like he’s not even trying!

-Choi Woojin: I’m one of the players who survived in that mental ward. I thought there was no answer other than death in that terrible hell, but thanks to Player Kang Jinhyuk, we all survived. Thank you so much. Really.

The explosive reaction continued well into the night and deep into the morning.

At the same time, a meme began to spread on the internet.

Above the players, there are the Old School.

Above the Old School, there are oil and fossils.

And finally, there is Jinhyuk watching their antics.