Chapter 66: Meteor (2)
“Guild Master. The sky is…”
Park Sung Hyuk did not respond to Hong Ga Eun’s words.
No, it would be more accurate to say he couldn’t.
Just as the sky began to darken, suddenly, from within the darkness, a golden light started to stream forth.
Was this a sign of good fortune, or an omen of disaster?
‘That area was definitely supposed to be managed by Uprising.’
It was clear that something had happened there.
The reason why Diarside had warned against entering the dungeon might be related to this occurrence.
‘What on earth is it?’
Even when he had asked his Deity Tír, there was no response.
After all, Tír’s Observer wasn’t with him at the moment.
It was undoubtedly watching the situation unfold in that place.
To have gone there, leaving his avatar behind, must mean that something monumental was taking place there.
“Gi, Guild Master!”
“There’s no need to shout so loudly, Ga Eun. I’m watching too.”
“It’s not that… Something is falling.”
Ga Eun’s finger was pointing to the sky, above the clouds where light was emerging.
It was directed towards the sky where stars twinkle.
“That is…”
Park Sung Hyuk had once seen a meteor.
A meteor streaking across the night sky.
And now, what he saw was clearer than any meteor he had ever witnessed before.
The meteor, trailing a long golden tail, was piercing through the darkness as it plummeted towards the ground.
Falling towards a dungeon occupied by the Uprising Guild.
***
Antares was currently at a loss for words.
The fact that he had been dragged around by a mere aggro was absurd, but the sensation felt above his head was utterly ridiculous, surpassing all astonishment.
‘Calling upon Libra, this mad woman!’
No one present there could use Libra.
The reason was simple – ‘Divinity’ was too scarce.
There are three main ways a player can obtain divinity.
Not as someone’s underling, but by killing an already existing constellation.
Or without being someone’s underling, by achieving a great feat that could only be found in legends.
Both of these conditions were virtually impossible.
The third was to become a proxy and receive the power of a deity, but even that was not easy.
With hardly any gods choosing proxies, and even if one were to be chosen, without the necessary talent or strength to accept it, it was impossible.
This was also one of the reasons why Sehan, in a past life, had not become a proxy despite the ‘Witch’s’ request.
At the time of the Witch’s request, Sehan lacked the power to handle the status of proxy.
Had he possessed a strong willpower, he might have endured, but Sehan then was mentally wrecked and had no capacity to bear the proxy status.
Later, when it became possible, the thought of the beings that would appear after making a contract with the Witch was worrisome, so he didn’t pursue it.
‘Summoning the Libra when no one can hold it? Wait a moment.’
Sensing the power of Libra falling from the sky, Antares was shocked.
Because it was plummeting towards this place at tremendous speed.
「Could it be, Astraea…!!」
The moment Antares screamed as if crying out, the Libra crashed through the dungeon wall and fell.
Kwaang!!
The impact of Libra’s fall destroyed the dungeon, emitting an enormous shock that reverberated throughout the entire structure.
Antares himself, hiding on the ground, was turned over by the impact and forced to ascend.
Normally, a dungeon couldn’t be destroyed like this, but if it were one of the twelve Zodiac constellations, it would be a different story.
Just appearing was enough to completely demolish the dungeon.
‘Now is the time!’
Sehan stood up despite his tingling body and rushed forward.
Had it not been for the Proof of Transcendence, he would have lost consciousness due to the impact of Libra’s fall.
He protected himself with a shield coated with orichalcum, healed the damage he received with regeneration and Heavenly Punishment Star during his rush forward.
‘That is Libra.’
This was only the second time he had seen it in person.
When he had seen it in a previous life, Libra was not in the form of scales but a sword.
However, the form of Libra briefly glimmered and then turned into a handful of light that disappeared.
In the corner of his vision, he saw the fallen Luke.
He must have lost consciousness from the shock of summoning Libra. But that was fine. Luke had done all he had to do.
“Haap!”
Sehan grabbed the end of the tail of Antares, who had been launched into the air, before he could hit the ground again, and with all his might, he twisted the direction mid-air.
Turning the giant’s body in the air to fall upside down.
Kwaang!!
「You cur!」
Antares, who had fallen upside down, attempted to flip his body right-side up, but before he could, Sehan, who had quickly pulled out a spear from his inventory, stabbed it into Antares’ joint. The long spear lodged in the joint prevented Antares from moving properly.
“Kugh!”
With a screeching sound, the bent spear was pressed down with effort, and on his right arm, he equipped the Pile Bunker.
It was an enhanced version of the Pile Bunker he had previously made, using the bone of a celestial being.
The power of deployment had been further amplified by using magic stones.
Added to that, the damage from Proof of Transcendence’s power being effective against celestial beings meant that it was entirely possible to blow off Antares’ head.
Click.
“It’s over.”
His trembling arm was aimed at Antares’ jaw.
The cold touch on the underside of the jaw froze Antares’ body.
The black-clothed Sehan looked like Death itself.
‘Dangerous!’
He instinctively felt it.
If that were discharged, even he would be in peril.
Even if, by luck, he did not die, the subsequent attacks would surely be lethal.
‘Antares, dying to a player progressing through just the fifth main quest?’
That couldn’t happen! Absolutely not!
But he couldn’t escape the pressure of the enemy’s grip.
The spear stuck in the joint prevented him from properly flipping his body over.
Death.
The clearly approaching fear engulfed Antares’ mind.
Boom!
As the weighty sound of the explosion of the Pile Bunker echoed, what had been launched appeared in slow motion to Antares.
Just as it was about to penetrate Antares’ jaw, something unexpected happened.
Antares disappeared just before the Pile Bunker could pierce him.
Kwaang!!
Scowling at the Pile Bunker impaled in the dungeon wall, Sehan clicked his tongue.
The figure of Antares, whom he had just overpowered, was nowhere to be found.
The bent spear and the ruin’s debris were evidence that Antares had been there a moment ago.
“So that’s how it is.”
If a Zodiac like Antares were to die, it would be a far greater incident than the death of Carrion Crow’s Caras. Thus, they had to summon him before death no matter what.
‘It must be the Publisher who made Antares disappear.’
Since GM Akartas was currently in penance, the Publisher was the only one who could intervene.
This was possible because Antares was a ‘temporary’ participant.
Since he wasn’t part of the original roster and only joined temporarily, they could promptly summon him back.
After he put the Pile Bunker into his inventory, Sehan sighed lightly.
It was natural to feel regretful about losing the chance to kill Antares.
In addition, the reward he would have received for defeating Antares had also vanished.
“But I haven’t gained nothing.”
This incident involved the Publisher intervening forcibly.
As such, ‘the system’ would not let it slide.
If a powerful being is defeated within the game, a proper reward must be given.
And, as expected, shortly after waiting, a pleasant notification rang out.
[You have pushed the Zodiac Scorpio, Antares, to the brink of death!]
[You have acquired the achievement ‘Scorpio Hunter’.]
[As compensation for the interference, you have been given an ‘A-grade Skill Selection Card’.]
“Wow.”
It was a generous reward, even exceeding his expectations.
He could overlook the achievement, but an A-grade Skill Selection Card?
‘Well, at least there’s something for rolling through the mud.’
It would have been better to kill Antares right there, but the reward was still tempting.
The A-grade Skill Selection Card was indeed good, but he still felt it paled in comparison to the divinity or skill he would have received by defeating Antares.
“Huh?”
Sehan suddenly realized something odd about the place where Libra had fallen.
Beneath the shattered ground flowed a massive surge of magic.
This dungeon’s monsters, stronger than in other dungeons, had held such powerful magic stones for this reason.
Affected by Libra’s fall, it had formed a single conglomerate.
The magic forces that had flowed through the ley lines had become a vein of ore.
“So much Esther…”
A metal bearing the name of ‘star.’
Though it was commonly used as a woman’s name, the metal was also called Esther.
The metal of the stars, Esther.
Its strength was on par with mithril but possessed exceptional magic resistance and the best magical conductivity.
What’s more, it exhibited great power when mixed with other metals to form alloys.
As Esther, akin to magical metal, did not nullify the advantages of other metals but rather added its own power to them.
Rarer than orichalcum and harder to find than adamantium.
Only powerful star-bearing places could yield this metal.
Sehan himself had not expected to come across such a vast amount of Esther artificially.
“With this, I’ve probably at least broken even.”
A-grade Skill and a vast quantity of Esther. With this, he could say his efforts had been properly rewarded,
even if the result had come by chance.
“The problem now is…”
Sehan looked around him.
The half-collapsed dungeon was slowly regenerating.
Amidst the debris, Luke and Jisoo, both unconscious, were visible.
‘Probably due to witnessing a powerful divinity up close.’
Luke had likely exhausted himself just by summoning Libra.
Jisoo had either fainted from the shock or fallen unconscious due to the impact.
“Now the question is how to get them out of here.”
No doubt players who had sensed the incident were crowding outside the dungeon.
By the time he engraved the dungeon and exited, there would be a scene to behold.
“Hmm…”
Sehan intently gazed at the hole in the dungeon created by Libra’s fall.
“Should I try flying there?”
There was a new skill attached to the Mantle of the Dark Night that he could use.
***
In front of Gwanghwamun Square.
More players than usual filled Gwanghwamun, in anticipation of the final announcement of the dungeon race.
“Surely first place will be that guild, right?”
“Probably…”
Before, names like Uprising, Pianhua, or Genesis would have been mentioned.
But not anymore.
One guild, rising to the top from the second week, dominated the players’ discussions.
A guild surrounded by numerous rumors.
Seemingly composed of only a small number of members, but no player could dismiss them.
That was because if you heard the rumors circulating in the dungeon race, some were frankly unbelievable.
Such as a star falling from the sky.
Or a man with black wings soaring up from where the star fell.
Predicting the future.
Killing everyone who made a deal with the devil.
And so on, with a mix of absurd and surprisingly realistic rumors.
As a result, confusion about Diarside was inevitable.
“Damn bastards.”
A player dressed in dark navy cursed under his breath.
He wore a small muffler around his neck to hide the specific mark of the waning moon beneath it.
Recently, members of the Waning Moon Guild had one particular order.
Never show the mark of the Waning Moon.
And to avoid wearing black.
The reason related to the rumors circulating about Diarside.
Those of them, or rather one woman among them, hunted down members of the Waning Moon relentlessly.
They never left anyone alive, forcing the Waning Moon, boasting to embody evil, to retreat.
‘A venomous woman.’
It seemed more like she had made a contract with a devil, not them.
Wearing black, she would first suspect them of affiliation, and in the underworld, including the Waning Moon, black clothing had become almost a taboo.
As a result, suspicions arose that perhaps Diarside was the one in a contract with a devil.
Due to a blond player within Diarside and the strong denial by Uprising’s Guild Master Kang Tae Sung that he was absolutely not a demon’s proxy, these controversies quickly disappeared.
“They’re up, they’re up!”
With a player’s shout, the rankings were displayed on a large screen.
Third place was Uprising. Second place, Genesis.
And as first place was revealed, a chorus of admiration echoed around Gwanghwamun Square.
As the players anticipated, that guild had seized first place.
1st place, Diarside.
At that moment, those five letters etched clearly into the minds of all players in Seoul.
Chapter 66: Meteor (2)
“Guild Master. The sky is…”
Park Sung Hyuk did not respond to Hong Ga Eun’s words.
No, it would be more accurate to say he couldn’t.
Just as the sky began to darken, suddenly, from within the darkness, a golden light started to stream forth.
Was this a sign of good fortune, or an omen of disaster?
‘That area was definitely supposed to be managed by Uprising.’
It was clear that something had happened there.
The reason why Diarside had warned against entering the dungeon might be related to this occurrence.
‘What on earth is it?’
Even when he had asked his Deity Tír, there was no response.
After all, Tír’s Observer wasn’t with him at the moment.
It was undoubtedly watching the situation unfold in that place.
To have gone there, leaving his avatar behind, must mean that something monumental was taking place there.
“Gi, Guild Master!”
“There’s no need to shout so loudly, Ga Eun. I’m watching too.”
“It’s not that… Something is falling.”
Ga Eun’s finger was pointing to the sky, above the clouds where light was emerging.
It was directed towards the sky where stars twinkle.
“That is…”
Park Sung Hyuk had once seen a meteor.
A meteor streaking across the night sky.
And now, what he saw was clearer than any meteor he had ever witnessed before.
The meteor, trailing a long golden tail, was piercing through the darkness as it plummeted towards the ground.
Falling towards a dungeon occupied by the Uprising Guild.
***
Antares was currently at a loss for words.
The fact that he had been dragged around by a mere aggro was absurd, but the sensation felt above his head was utterly ridiculous, surpassing all astonishment.
‘Calling upon Libra, this mad woman!’
No one present there could use Libra.
The reason was simple – ‘Divinity’ was too scarce.
There are three main ways a player can obtain divinity.
Not as someone’s underling, but by killing an already existing constellation.
Or without being someone’s underling, by achieving a great feat that could only be found in legends.
Both of these conditions were virtually impossible.
The third was to become a proxy and receive the power of a deity, but even that was not easy.
With hardly any gods choosing proxies, and even if one were to be chosen, without the necessary talent or strength to accept it, it was impossible.
This was also one of the reasons why Sehan, in a past life, had not become a proxy despite the ‘Witch’s’ request.
At the time of the Witch’s request, Sehan lacked the power to handle the status of proxy.
Had he possessed a strong willpower, he might have endured, but Sehan then was mentally wrecked and had no capacity to bear the proxy status.
Later, when it became possible, the thought of the beings that would appear after making a contract with the Witch was worrisome, so he didn’t pursue it.
‘Summoning the Libra when no one can hold it? Wait a moment.’
Sensing the power of Libra falling from the sky, Antares was shocked.
Because it was plummeting towards this place at tremendous speed.
「Could it be, Astraea…!!」
The moment Antares screamed as if crying out, the Libra crashed through the dungeon wall and fell.
Kwaang!!
The impact of Libra’s fall destroyed the dungeon, emitting an enormous shock that reverberated throughout the entire structure.
Antares himself, hiding on the ground, was turned over by the impact and forced to ascend.
Normally, a dungeon couldn’t be destroyed like this, but if it were one of the twelve Zodiac constellations, it would be a different story.
Just appearing was enough to completely demolish the dungeon.
‘Now is the time!’
Sehan stood up despite his tingling body and rushed forward.
Had it not been for the Proof of Transcendence, he would have lost consciousness due to the impact of Libra’s fall.
He protected himself with a shield coated with orichalcum, healed the damage he received with regeneration and Heavenly Punishment Star during his rush forward.
‘That is Libra.’
This was only the second time he had seen it in person.
When he had seen it in a previous life, Libra was not in the form of scales but a sword.
However, the form of Libra briefly glimmered and then turned into a handful of light that disappeared.
In the corner of his vision, he saw the fallen Luke.
He must have lost consciousness from the shock of summoning Libra. But that was fine. Luke had done all he had to do.
“Haap!”
Sehan grabbed the end of the tail of Antares, who had been launched into the air, before he could hit the ground again, and with all his might, he twisted the direction mid-air.
Turning the giant’s body in the air to fall upside down.
Kwaang!!
「You cur!」
Antares, who had fallen upside down, attempted to flip his body right-side up, but before he could, Sehan, who had quickly pulled out a spear from his inventory, stabbed it into Antares’ joint. The long spear lodged in the joint prevented Antares from moving properly.
“Kugh!”
With a screeching sound, the bent spear was pressed down with effort, and on his right arm, he equipped the Pile Bunker.
It was an enhanced version of the Pile Bunker he had previously made, using the bone of a celestial being.
The power of deployment had been further amplified by using magic stones.
Added to that, the damage from Proof of Transcendence’s power being effective against celestial beings meant that it was entirely possible to blow off Antares’ head.
Click.
“It’s over.”
His trembling arm was aimed at Antares’ jaw.
The cold touch on the underside of the jaw froze Antares’ body.
The black-clothed Sehan looked like Death itself.
‘Dangerous!’
He instinctively felt it.
If that were discharged, even he would be in peril.
Even if, by luck, he did not die, the subsequent attacks would surely be lethal.
‘Antares, dying to a player progressing through just the fifth main quest?’
That couldn’t happen! Absolutely not!
But he couldn’t escape the pressure of the enemy’s grip.
The spear stuck in the joint prevented him from properly flipping his body over.
Death.
The clearly approaching fear engulfed Antares’ mind.
Boom!
As the weighty sound of the explosion of the Pile Bunker echoed, what had been launched appeared in slow motion to Antares.
Just as it was about to penetrate Antares’ jaw, something unexpected happened.
Antares disappeared just before the Pile Bunker could pierce him.
Kwaang!!
Scowling at the Pile Bunker impaled in the dungeon wall, Sehan clicked his tongue.
The figure of Antares, whom he had just overpowered, was nowhere to be found.
The bent spear and the ruin’s debris were evidence that Antares had been there a moment ago.
“So that’s how it is.”
If a Zodiac like Antares were to die, it would be a far greater incident than the death of Carrion Crow’s Caras. Thus, they had to summon him before death no matter what.
‘It must be the Publisher who made Antares disappear.’
Since GM Akartas was currently in penance, the Publisher was the only one who could intervene.
This was possible because Antares was a ‘temporary’ participant.
Since he wasn’t part of the original roster and only joined temporarily, they could promptly summon him back.
After he put the Pile Bunker into his inventory, Sehan sighed lightly.
It was natural to feel regretful about losing the chance to kill Antares.
In addition, the reward he would have received for defeating Antares had also vanished.
“But I haven’t gained nothing.”
This incident involved the Publisher intervening forcibly.
As such, ‘the system’ would not let it slide.
If a powerful being is defeated within the game, a proper reward must be given.
And, as expected, shortly after waiting, a pleasant notification rang out.
[You have pushed the Zodiac Scorpio, Antares, to the brink of death!]
[You have acquired the achievement ‘Scorpio Hunter’.]
[As compensation for the interference, you have been given an ‘A-grade Skill Selection Card’.]
“Wow.”
It was a generous reward, even exceeding his expectations.
He could overlook the achievement, but an A-grade Skill Selection Card?
‘Well, at least there’s something for rolling through the mud.’
It would have been better to kill Antares right there, but the reward was still tempting.
The A-grade Skill Selection Card was indeed good, but he still felt it paled in comparison to the divinity or skill he would have received by defeating Antares.
“Huh?”
Sehan suddenly realized something odd about the place where Libra had fallen.
Beneath the shattered ground flowed a massive surge of magic.
This dungeon’s monsters, stronger than in other dungeons, had held such powerful magic stones for this reason.
Affected by Libra’s fall, it had formed a single conglomerate.
The magic forces that had flowed through the ley lines had become a vein of ore.
“So much Esther…”
A metal bearing the name of ‘star.’
Though it was commonly used as a woman’s name, the metal was also called Esther.
The metal of the stars, Esther.
Its strength was on par with mithril but possessed exceptional magic resistance and the best magical conductivity.
What’s more, it exhibited great power when mixed with other metals to form alloys.
As Esther, akin to magical metal, did not nullify the advantages of other metals but rather added its own power to them.
Rarer than orichalcum and harder to find than adamantium.
Only powerful star-bearing places could yield this metal.
Sehan himself had not expected to come across such a vast amount of Esther artificially.
“With this, I’ve probably at least broken even.”
A-grade Skill and a vast quantity of Esther. With this, he could say his efforts had been properly rewarded,
even if the result had come by chance.
“The problem now is…”
Sehan looked around him.
The half-collapsed dungeon was slowly regenerating.
Amidst the debris, Luke and Jisoo, both unconscious, were visible.
‘Probably due to witnessing a powerful divinity up close.’
Luke had likely exhausted himself just by summoning Libra.
Jisoo had either fainted from the shock or fallen unconscious due to the impact.
“Now the question is how to get them out of here.”
No doubt players who had sensed the incident were crowding outside the dungeon.
By the time he engraved the dungeon and exited, there would be a scene to behold.
“Hmm…”
Sehan intently gazed at the hole in the dungeon created by Libra’s fall.
“Should I try flying there?”
There was a new skill attached to the Mantle of the Dark Night that he could use.
***
In front of Gwanghwamun Square.
More players than usual filled Gwanghwamun, in anticipation of the final announcement of the dungeon race.
“Surely first place will be that guild, right?”
“Probably…”
Before, names like Uprising, Pianhua, or Genesis would have been mentioned.
But not anymore.
One guild, rising to the top from the second week, dominated the players’ discussions.
A guild surrounded by numerous rumors.
Seemingly composed of only a small number of members, but no player could dismiss them.
That was because if you heard the rumors circulating in the dungeon race, some were frankly unbelievable.
Such as a star falling from the sky.
Or a man with black wings soaring up from where the star fell.
Predicting the future.
Killing everyone who made a deal with the devil.
And so on, with a mix of absurd and surprisingly realistic rumors.
As a result, confusion about Diarside was inevitable.
“Damn bastards.”
A player dressed in dark navy cursed under his breath.
He wore a small muffler around his neck to hide the specific mark of the waning moon beneath it.
Recently, members of the Waning Moon Guild had one particular order.
Never show the mark of the Waning Moon.
And to avoid wearing black.
The reason related to the rumors circulating about Diarside.
Those of them, or rather one woman among them, hunted down members of the Waning Moon relentlessly.
They never left anyone alive, forcing the Waning Moon, boasting to embody evil, to retreat.
‘A venomous woman.’
It seemed more like she had made a contract with a devil, not them.
Wearing black, she would first suspect them of affiliation, and in the underworld, including the Waning Moon, black clothing had become almost a taboo.
As a result, suspicions arose that perhaps Diarside was the one in a contract with a devil.
Due to a blond player within Diarside and the strong denial by Uprising’s Guild Master Kang Tae Sung that he was absolutely not a demon’s proxy, these controversies quickly disappeared.
“They’re up, they’re up!”
With a player’s shout, the rankings were displayed on a large screen.
Third place was Uprising. Second place, Genesis.
And as first place was revealed, a chorus of admiration echoed around Gwanghwamun Square.
As the players anticipated, that guild had seized first place.
1st place, Diarside.
At that moment, those five letters etched clearly into the minds of all players in Seoul.
