Chapter 37 of 100

Chapter 37

8 min read2,057 words

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Transcendence

"Will Randolph be first in the next main quest as well?"

On top of a building in Gangnam.

At the headquarters of the newly established Hero Union, someone suddenly spoke up.

But this question was what all players were curious about.

Would Randolph, presumed to be Phantom, be able to take first place in the fifth main quest as well?

Phantom, the legend and peak of his gaming days.

His knowledge might surpass that of all players combined.

However, those who were knowledgeable about 'mysteries' were skeptical of the outcome.

"It's possible, but unlikely."

"Originally, mysteries are just for show."

For show.

The general consensus is that mysteries, aside from being flashy, have little practical utility.

"Perhaps if it's a 'Dominant' level mystery, there might be a chance."

"True. The mysteries possessed by the rulers of major cities are top-tier and have significant effects."

"Now that Randolph has completed the fourth main quest, will he become the ruler of a city? Even Transcenders find it difficult to conquer a city."

"It might be possible if he had a faction to push through and secure a city early on. But Phantom doesn't have a faction, does he?"

The reason for being confident that Randolph won't take first place.

To obtain a top-tier mystery, one must either be a formidable powerhouse or have a faction.

By conquering a city through a faction and becoming its ruler, one can obtain the 'City Ruler' mystery.

The 'City Ruler' mystery is one of the most powerful mysteries.

But Phantom doesn't have a faction.

He's a solo player.

Having always acted alone, it's impossible for him to obtain a mystery this way.

Then, is Randolph a powerhouse on par with a Transcender?

'He's not that strong.'

Of course not.

Phantom has only been summoned as a player for a short time.

While he might have secured first place in the first four main quests through knowledge and skill, obtaining a top-tier mystery is a different matter entirely.

"Even if he becomes a city ruler somehow..."

"Hmm. It would be difficult to break Master's record."

Master has the largest faction among players.

He has been active secretly for three years and now runs the 'Interdimensional Community,' attracting worldwide attention.

Officially, there are slightly over fifty players working with Master, but it's said that their unofficial numbers exceed a hundred.

While Gracia speaks of 'justice' and tries to practice it to some extent, Master is also known for quietly eliminating anyone who isn't his ally.

He also runs a hit squad and is ruthless when it comes to interests.

"Even if there are many rumors among players, Master is still the owner of 'Rundella'..."

"By the way, why does the owner of Rundella have a different mystery from the owners of other cities?"

"Rundella is a ruin city. It's different from ordinary cities."

The mystery Master obtained when he became the owner of Rundella is different from those of other city owners.

That's why Master firmly holds the top spot in the fifth main quest.

His record is still overwhelmingly dominant.

"Second place is 50 points behind, so that's it."

Everyone nodded.

No matter how legendary Phantom is, it will be difficult for him to achieve first place in this quest.

"Hmm. It might be better to quickly move past this quest."

"Still, being Phantom, he'll probably try to make it into the top ranks."

At that moment.

"What's this? Why isn't the Golden Ratio Shop opening?"

A union member frowned and spoke.

The Golden Ratio Shop not opening?

What kind of nonsense is this?

"Huh? It's not opening for me either?"

"Wait, why isn't it opening?"

"Wait. The Secret Auction House isn't opening either?"

"Others?"

"Others... they don't seem to be opening either."

But it wasn't just the Golden Ratio Shop.

All shops obtained through interests were not opening.

It was as if they had been forcibly closed.

If one person experienced this, it might be a coincidence, but over ten union members gathered here were all experiencing the same phenomenon.

"Try contacting players in other regions."

"I'm trying, but they're all unreachable?"

"What about players overseas?"

"Same thing."

"Strange. Sometimes it happens, but all shops not opening at once..."

Everyone furrowed their brows simultaneously.

Something is happening.

Something they don't know about, in a place they don't know.

"...... What's going on right now?"

I am currently being observed.

By the thrones of the Hall of Citizens.

While it's not bad to attract attention as someone who can increase the reward level of quests, it seems they are enjoying my suffering.

All the thrones.

"Damn, caw! Void type, caw!"

I am being chased.

By ten thousand skeleton soldiers.

It looks similar to the first trial, but there's a significant difference.

All the skeleton soldiers possess the 'Void' attribute.

The hidden attribute that grants opposing elemental properties.

Sssss!

Zzzzzz!

Have you ever seen arrows of light raining from the sky?

Tens of thousands of arrows are falling like rain, aiming to kill me.

The skeleton soldiers, despite being skeletons, are using light-elemental skills.

<'Skeleton Soldier' level is equal to the challenger's level.>

<'Skeleton Soldier' gains opposing elemental properties due to 'Void'.>

Additional information as I progress to the next stage.

The ten thousand skeleton soldiers now possess the Void attribute.

At first glance, it might not seem like much, but this is a significant 'something' that cannot be overlooked.

Void grants opposing elemental properties, meaning it eliminates weaknesses.

While the carrion crows I control have a curse attribute, I possess the Void hidden attribute, but my skills don't have this characteristic.

The carrion crows I summoned were instantly decapitated by the arrows of light.

'Wait. Why am I running?'

But as I ran, a sense of confusion arose.

After all, don't I possess the Giant's Magic Resistance?

Even if I were hit directly, wouldn't I be able to negate the skill's damage?

Even tens of thousands of arrows, but they are just low-level 'Arrows of Light' skills.

The attacks from level 4 skeleton soldiers don't carry much magical power.

'... The Giant's Magic Resistance blocks magic, not physical phenomena created by magic.'

I suddenly realized.

If I were hit directly by those tens of thousands of arrows, my body would be shattered.

Not by the Arrows of Light, but by the physical force.

Using a skill means adding physical force to magic.

The Giant's Magic Resistance negates the magical impact but not the physical phenomena created by tens of thousands of Arrows of Light.

Therefore, if I stand still, my body will be torn to pieces.

So, how do I break this situation?

'Skeleton soldiers are simple. They are pouring everything into killing me.'

Skeleton soldiers have low intelligence.

They are frantically firing Arrows of Light to kill me.

Even though I was hit a few times, the damage wasn't significant.

Then.

'If I deplete all their magic, that's it.'

No matter how much they possess the Void attribute, their magic isn't infinite.

'Just level 4.'

How much magic can a mere level 4 skeleton soldier have?

Assuming the maximum magic points at level 4 is 40, the limit would be about 20 Arrows of Light.

'Twenty thousand Arrows of Light.'

Conversely, if I can deplete 200,000 Arrows of Light, they will be no different from ordinary skeleton soldiers.

However, I can't deplete 200,000 arrows just by running.

I would die before that.

'All skeleton soldiers are aware of me. They don't use skills within 10.45 meters, but they start firing Arrows of Light when the distance exceeds that.'

I have already lured their attention.

While running, I calculated their exact detection range.

10 meters 45 centimeters.

If the distance exceeds exactly that, the skeleton soldiers start firing Arrows of Light.

Conversely, if the distance exceeds 50 meters, they don't use skills.

Because the range of the arrows is just below that.

To make 10,000 skeletons fire Arrows of Light simultaneously, I need to maintain a distance of 10.45 meters and pull them all within 50 meters.

But such a terrain doesn't exist.

'They are simple.'

As simple as a game.

I need to exploit this.

'The center of the horde.'

The most certain way to meet the conditions is the center of the horde.

If I jump into the death zone where tens of thousands of arrows rain down, I can deplete all the arrows.

It's something even a strong hearted person wouldn't do.

But it's fine.

I don't plan to walk there.

"Carry me, caw!"

The seven newly summoned carrion crows clutched my body with their talons and flapped their wings.

Then my body floated into the air.

Now, all that's left is to use the distance I calculated while running.

"Stop, caw!"

I boldly flew into the midst of the skeleton soldiers and stopped at about 49.8 meters.

The skeleton soldiers aimed at me in the sky.

Sssss!

Sssssssssss!

"Go higher, caw!"

I ascended beyond the 50-meter range of the Arrows of Light.

The arrows fired by the skeleton soldiers lost their power just before reaching me and evaporated.

This is it.

This distance.

I repeatedly engaged in a subtle tug-of-war with the skeleton soldiers.

As a result, the number of skeleton soldiers depleting their magic and becoming idle increased.

'If the skeleton soldiers were at a higher level, this method would be impossible.'

A higher level means higher magic and skill levels.

The range of the Arrows of Light they could fire infinitely could be hundreds or thousands of meters.

They might even use skills far superior to Arrows of Light.

'No matter how I think about it, this trial isn't meant to be broken.'

To break the mythic mystery's seal, two conditions are necessary.

One is that, like me, the required experience is insanely high, so killing monsters of the same level won't result in a level-up.

The other is being incredibly strong for the level.

In addition, courage to not back down, quick situational judgment, and a high level of game understanding are required, but how many beings can possess all of these comprehensively?

'Only I can break it.'

No matter how I think about it, it's only me.

Even if I had challenged the mystery's seal at levels 7 or 8, it would have been impossible.

Is this called good fortune?

"Second round, caw!"

Looking at the idle ones who had depleted all their magic, I jumped into the center of the horde.

Caw!

The carrion crows ravage the skeleton soldiers.

They continue to multiply, merge, and grow, overwhelming the skeleton soldiers.

And I deliberately dealt with the skeleton soldiers slowly.

Because it became clear.

'I need to max out my skill levels first.'

Before moving to the next stage, I need to max out my skill levels.

<'Art of Corpses' skill has reached the maximum level (10Lv).>

<'Art of Corpses' skill transcends to 'Master of Corpse Art (1Lv)'.>

<'Carrion Crow Summoning' skill has reached the maximum level (10Lv).>

<'Carrion Crow Summoning' skill transcends to 'Advanced Carrion Crow Summoning (1Lv)'.>

Skill transcendence!

Skills can transcend when they reach level 10, not just through simple proficiency.

If I were an ordinary carrion crow, this phenomenon wouldn't have occurred, but I am the king of carrion crows.

It's natural for connected and transcended skills to exist.

Perhaps because of the war with ten thousand Void-attribute skeleton soldiers.

After Overlord, the mystery 'Apex of Void' appeared.

Moreover, it's ultimate mythic. I've never seen such a grade before.

It's definitely a higher-level mystery than Overlord.

However, it's too early to be satisfied here.

I have a sense of this trial now.

... Let's see this through to the end.