Chapter 144
Fifteen days.
It was an unbelievable time frame.
Right now, the plan to get through this forest was at least one year, at most three.
And no matter if Kim YuWon, the celebrity of the lower floors, joined forces, it was impossible to shorten that time frame to just fifteen days.
“Looks like you don’t know our situation here that well.”
Walloc, the knight in charge of the 3rd division of the pioneers, laughed rather than becoming annoyed. He was going to just let it slip as a suggestion by someone who didn’t really know the situation.
“If you really are the Kim YuWon we’ve heard about, I’m truly thankful for your help, but this isn’t something that can be done that easily.”
Right now, the number of Rankers among the pioneers was about ten. Even Walloc, the captain of this division, was a player who had climbed quite high, above the 60th Floor.
So it was impossible for Kim YuWon to finish this in 15 days when the pioneers were looking at a minimum of one year.
“If you’re thinking of helping us because you think it’s easy, it’ll be better for you to give up now. It won’t take fifteen days but at least a year, or even more than that…”
“When do we start?”
Walloc thought YuWon wasn’t listening to him at all.
He furrowed his brows and shook his head.
In any case, Kim YuWon would still be of great help in the development here. There was no reason to refuse.
“If this really is a test, then take out your player kit and another way to prove your identity. It is a bit strange that you appeared here when you should be in Camelot right now. And we will start…” Walloc looked around at the other soldiers who had equipped themselves, “…today.”
* * *
There was nothing special to prepare to join the pioneers. YuWon was always prepared to fight anyways. Although there may have been more important things to do, that wasn’t his concern.
‘How long will this take?’
The pioneers would set out after lunch break.
After being assigned lodging after his identity was confirmed, YuWon pulled out the food and drinks stored in his inventory and ate a simple meal. And after lunch was over…
Step—
“We’re finally starting again.”
Walloc walked towards the forest and let out a nervous breath.
The undeveloped areas of the 25th Floor.
Although expanding the world was an honorable act that one could take pride in, he could never get used to the nerves even after all this time.
“Will you really be alright?” Walloc asked YuWon who had just recently joined the group.
Neither a knight nor a soldier but as a mercenary, YuWon had taken it upon himself to take the foremost position in the pioneering party.
“I’ll be fine.”
YuWon’s position was the most dangerous of the pioneers’ formation. Maybe he had taken that spot because he was that impatient.
Walloc felt a little uneasy.
‘I hope we don’t have any accidents.’
YuWon was a player with a promising future. Although Walloc himself had failed at becoming a Ranker, from what he heard from the rumors, YuWon would certainly become a Ranker. No, if he put in the effort, it was definitely possible for YuWon to become a High-Ranker.
“Then, let’s move.”
Dong—!
At Walloc’s command, the bell was rung, and the departure was made known.
Step—
Just as expected, YuWon seemed to have been waiting because he moved first.
Bzzt—
‘Just in time.’
After laying down for five days, his condition felt pretty good. No, it felt even better than before. It felt as if he could start flying right there and then.
‘I still have some energy left.’
It had only been a few hours since he had woken up from his coma, but he felt like his body was full of energy.
There was only one reason. It was because of his increase in stats.
Bzzt—
Electricity flowed out of YuWon’s body. It caused a prickling sensation.
“Uh…?
“Uh, huh?”
The soldiers who had been following stepped back in confusion so that they wouldn’t get swept up by the electricity.
Walloc became flustered and shouted, “What are you doing right now?!”
Although he definitely heard him, YuWon didn’t answer. His eyes only looked forward.
‘So it feels like this.’
Lightning-attribute mana was definitely not common. As a type of mana that was rare even among Rankers, the Ranker representative of lightning was Zeus.
Just looking at its power, it was one of the strongest attribute types.
And currently, Yuwon’s Arcane Power stat had increased by three up to 105.
YuWon felt his power and stretched his hand forward.
At YuWon’s strange actions, Walloc asked, “I asked what you—”
Boom—
He flinched.
Footsteps could be heard among the black, rotten trees. Eyes could sometimes be seen between the trunks.
“Grrrrr—”
“Kyaaaah—!”
A boundary was forming at the edge of the forest, warning them not to come closer.
Only then did Walloc remember—right now, they were the invaders.
“Is this your first time being a pioneer?” Yuwon asked as electricity erupted from his body.
Bzzt—
Walloc flinched in surprise.
YuWon had hit the mark. Walloc usually stayed inside Camelot. This was his first time, and he had joined as a commanding officer of this pioneering party.
“A moment of hesitation or panic will lead your party to death. That is why the commander must never falter.”
One couldn’t think of Britain’s knights as just normal players or Rankers. They were the ones who fought systematically and as a group more than any other force in the Tower. That was why in large scale battles, they were able to perform better than the sum of their individual skills.
That was true even in their fight against the Outer Gods.
But it would be quite problematic if they showed signs of panic at that time like they did now.
Hearing YuWon’s advice, Walloc felt ashamed and lowered his head.
“…Sorry.”
YuWon nodded as his response to the apology.
Step—
One step, two steps forward.
After leaving the group, he approached the many eyes that flashed in the forest.
“Wait, if you move alone…” Walloc stopped himself from saying he shouldn’t go by himself.
Bzzzt—
The electricity flowing across YuWon’s body became stronger.
If before it was difficult to stand next to him, now it felt like you couldn’t even approach him. The density of mana flowing in YuWon’s body had become overwhelming.
‘It’s just as I heard… No, maybe even beyond that.’
Walloc had thought that YuWon, who wasn’t even a Ranker, standing at the front would be dangerous. But that wasn’t it at all.
This much was enough. The level and purity of mana flowing out of YuWon’s body was on a different level than those seen of the average 25th-Floor player.
Walloc was soon confident that even if an accident did occur, YuWon wouldn’t die that easily.
Right now, he felt anticipation rather than worry.
‘Will he really be like in the rumors?’
Bzzt—
Electric mana gathered in YuWon’s palms, and coalesced.
At that moment…
[‘Fragment of Lightning Bolt’ reacts with ‘Kyneē.’]
[‘Divine Dark Crystal’ reacts to ‘Fragment of Lightning Bolt.’]
Fwaaaaaah—!
The ball of lightning gathered in his hand turned black.
Dark-attribute mana and lightning-attribute mana had combined.
“What…”
Walloc’s eyes went wide with shock at seeing the two different types of mana combining together.
He could understand a change in the mana’s attribute. That was something most players who climb the Tower could accomplish.
But handling two different types and even combining them was a completely different matter.
‘That level of control is hard for most Rankers to even attempt…’
Bzzzt—
The electricity flowing around YuWon’s hand started to form into a shape.
He had heard about it before.
The High-Ranker that was acknowledged as the “King of Olympus” and self-anointed the ruler of the entire Tower, one of the Rankers who existed on the highest floors of the Tower, used a power that looked similar to this.
The Ruler of the Skies.
The one who stood on the clouds in the sky and threw down bolts, punishing the earth below.
The God of Lightning, Zeus.
The thing in YuWon’s hand was similar to that.
“One, two…”
YuWon’s stance was just like that of someone throwing a javelin or long spear.
The black lightning bolt left his hand.
“Three.”
And then…
Flash—!
The black electric current flashed in the direction of the forest and scorched everyone’s eyes.
Rumble—!
And not too far away, there was an electric explosion.
C-Crack—
Crunch—!
The trees of the forest all crumbled in an instant and went up in flames. The electric mana spread through it fiercely, and its range increased to outside the forest.
“…!”
“Th-That’s insane!”
“Dodge!”
Walloc pulled out his sword and exuded mana in front of himself to lessen the damage. The skill was that powerful even though he wasn’t in its target area.
‘A Ranker? He wasn’t Kim YuWon?’
No, there was no way. He had checked the permitted floor number on his player kit, and it even matched the face that appeared in the Grand Martial Arts Tournament.
The one in front of him was definitely Kim YuWon. But…
‘Is this really a player on the 25th Floor?’
He had heard a lot of stories about “the strongest player.” Walloc had thought that it was an exaggerated descriptor.
There were many rulers that had climbed the Tower while obtaining lots of achievements, including “The Great Sage, Heaven’s Equal” who had defeated a Ranker even when he was a player… But calling a rookie who hadn’t even climbed to the half-way point the strongest was too much of an exaggeration.
But looking at this now, he felt that maybe the stories weren’t doing him enough justice.
“What are you doing?”
Looking at the soldiers who had taken a step back, YuWon gestured to the wide-open path and spoke.
“Let’s go.”
Walloc was baffled by what he said and muttered internally, ‘It’s because of you.’
* * *
Translator - Jreaming
Proofreader - BringTheRayn
* * *
It had been three days since the World Development started.
YuWon continued along with the pioneers and focused on making a path.
Rumble—!
YuWon threw another lightning bolt.
The loud thunder drowned out the screams of the monsters. The mana that escaped his body created enormous explosions as they left his fingertips.
‘It’s electrifying.’
These past few days, he felt that he had been flying high for the first time in a while.
An Arcane Power stat of 105.
He’d been able to escape that stuffy feeling after exceeding the three digit mark, but compared to before he returned, the mana was just like a handful of sand.
But as expected, he could feel the differences in the individual increases in the stat after exceeding triple digits.
It had been a while since he’d had fun moving around like this.
Bzzzt—
The 「Fragment of Lightning Bolt」 that took shape in his palm. The time it took to create one shot wasn’t that long.
‘Is it about 30 seconds still?’
YuWon thought back to Zeus’s [Lightning Bolt.] That incomprehensible power that had the strength to completely obliterate an entire city.
This was a skill that was created by thinking about that. But its strength was still unbelievably lacking, and it took too long to create as well.
‘This is good for practice.’
The forest, the target of the development, didn’t seem to end no matter how hard YuWon expended his strength.
Rumble—!
After throwing another lightning bolt, YuWon started to make the next one.
And Walloc, who had been watching all this, continued to have a flustered expression on his face.
‘He’s truly like a monster.’
Although it looked like he couldn’t use it too quickly, the lightning bolts YuWon was throwing were more powerful than any skill Walloc had seen before.
Actually, it wasn’t just him—the other soldiers and knights were also glancing at YuWon. But…
‘Still, this speed is nowhere fast enough to finish in fifteen days.’
No matter how impressive it was, it was impossible to accomplish what YuWon had stated at the start. Although he was skilled, some things were truly impossible.
But then…
Swooop—
A shadow covered his body.
“Kaaahk—!”
A huge black snake appeared out of nowhere and lunged to swallow Walloc’s head.
He had been spectating YuWon as he was fighting, but he put strength into the hand holding his sword.
The huge snake that was dozens of meters long bared its large fangs and swiftly moved.
But then…
Shwoop—
A man in a black outfit who he hadn’t seen before appeared, flying in front of Walloc and punching the snake with an uppercut.
Crack—!
“…?”
The snake was flung into the air.
Walloc had been ready to swing his sword, but now he just made a confused face.
The man wore an outfit he hadn’t seen before. Although he couldn’t tell who this person was, it was certain that he wasn’t from Britain.
“Who are you?”
At Walloc’s question, the man turned his head.
How old was this guy?
One thing was certain. As he had been climbing the Tower for a long time, Walloc could tell this person was a Ranker.
And in the next moment, the man who had sent the huge snake flying with just his fist opened his mouth.
“Where is the Vice-Lord?”
