***
***
Seong Jihan had always harbored some suspicions.
Ariel, who had transformed into a shadow sword, seemed to know too much about the Shadow Queen and the internal affairs to just be a Shadow Elf.
Seong Jihan asked her straightforwardly.
“Are you the Shadow Queen?”
[…No.]
“But how can you be so sure the queen would give up a finger?”
[A finger to a Shadow Elf is really nothing serious; it regenerates quickly. As a loyal servant of the Queen, she will definitely listen to me if I speak.]
“Is a finger of no great value to a Shadow Elf?”
When Seong Jihan looked toward Artemus with this question, he replied.
[Shadow Elves, being a derivation of Elves, do have excellent regenerative abilities. But even for the Queen, obtaining the essence of shadow energy through a finger wouldn’t be without cost. We need more than just a shell. It must contain the essence of shadow energy.]
“So that’s what you’re saying?”
[…The Queen has taken a great interest in you and Eclipse. Such an investment is certainly within her means. And I really am not the Shadow Queen!]
“Hmm…”
Seong Jihan looked suspiciously at his left hand but decided to let it go for now, considering the vigorous denials.
“Let’s just watch and see, ‘Your Majesty’.”
[Ha… That’s so unfair. I would actually prefer to be the Queen! Why would the Queen herself be inside such a sword?]
“Exactly. Why are you in there, Your Majesty?”
[I told you, I’m not!]
Ariel reacted, jumping.
Seong Jihan chuckled, then spoke to Artemus.
“I’ll try to acquire the Queen’s finger.”
[Really? If that’s fulfilled, I can indeed enhance the sword.]
“Got it.”
[Then, the negotiation is concluded.]
Flash! Flash!
With an eruption of light from Artemus’s body, he shrunk rapidly.
A small, palm-sized white horn materialized in front of Seong Jihan.
[Once you obtain the stone, blow this horn. I will invite you to my forge.]
“Good. And about your light energy. That’s quite peculiar – any way to obtain it?”
[…Ha! Greedy one, aren’t you? My forge overflows with what you refer to as ‘light energy.’ Just bring me the crystal. I don’t mind if you take some.]
“Hmm, for now…”
[Then, we shall meet again.]
Clunk! Clunk!
With those final words, Artemus disassembled and disappeared from the mid boss room in an instant.
‘He left quickly.’
The peculiar light power he had encountered for the first time. Although it was worth analyzing, the opponent retreated without looking back as soon as the negotiation was completed. Perhaps he was anxious about having the light power stolen if he stayed longer.
‘I’ll have to get the crystal.’
As Seong Jihan thought this,
Rumble…
[Is this where the diamonds are!]
[Difficult, they say? We’re ready for it!]
The door to the mid boss room opened, and extraterrestrial visitors began to arrive again.
I’ll have to finish the game at first place.
“Let’s go. ‘Your Majesty’.”
[…Ha. Call me as you wish.]
In his place, Saint drew Eclipse and stood his ground.
Swish!
Then, the invaders split up simultaneously.
-As expected, with one strike…
-Artemus held out well.
-And the guests now feel even weaker, don’t they?
-For real, only the weak ones are coming now.
It seemed that in the middle of the game, powerful races had invaded.
But as Seong Jihan consistently delivered one-hit kills, only the weak ones dared to invade as the game approached its end.
And as these enemies, too, were swept away in one strike.
-Wow, no more guests coming…
-Artemus and the score are starting to get closer, 2,000 points narrowed down
-Earlier, killing Artemus’s dwarves didn’t count towards the score.
-Is it because the combined robot is the main body? Too bad.
Seong Jihan’s mid-boss room was now completely deserted.
‘It’s fortunate that today is the last day.’
If he hadn’t attracted aggro with the diamond in the early-mid game, he might have allowed a comeback towards the end.
[Special Dungeon, ‘Boss Election’ is now closed.]
[Player ‘Seong Jihan’ secures the 1st place in the Boss Election.]
With a gap of 15,000 points, Seong Jihanwas able to conclude the game on the last day.
* * *
[For the next month, player ‘Seong Jihan’ will randomly appear as a Hidden Boss in the Diamond League dungeon maps.]
[The player is in hideout state.]
[Hidden Boss’s name is displayed as ??]
Following this, Seong Jihan was given the status window of a Hidden Boss.
[Hidden Boss: Seong Jihan]
[Trait: One-shot Kill]
[Skills Used: Total Annihilation Horizontal Sweep, Myriad Ghost Sealing Gods, Crimson thunder cannon]
[Attack Power: EX]
[Defense Power: A]
[Vitality: F]
[Difficulty Level: Highest]
[Boss Information: A supernova that entered Space 4 immediately after the tutorial ended. Possessing overwhelming attack power that can behead all opponents in a single strike. Although his HP is weak due to the limitations of a lower-tier race, it is not a significant problem as he does not allow opponents to attack him.]
[Defeat Reward: 5 Stat Diamonds]
‘Only three skills, huh? Maybe because those are the ones used in dungeons.’
Probably because most enemies were finished off with Total Annihilation Horizontal Sweep.
And if any stronger came along, I used Crimson thunder cannon or pulled them in with Myriad Ghost Sealing Gods to inspect them.
The Hidden Boss Seong Jihan’s known skills were limited to these three.
‘Attack power EX is expected… but vitality of F, that’s a bit harsh.’
Since many alien races could quickly regenerate even severed limbs and appendages, Seong Jihan, as a human, was harshly graded on vitality.
Perhaps the A-level defense power was due to being able to use Myriad Ghost Sealing Gods defensively as well.
‘But with such a good defeat reward, he might attract a lot of enemies.’
Seong Jihan, who had lured enemies with stat diamonds, would now have his Hidden Boss avatar provide amazing rewards upon being defeated.
Even with sinking will at the sight of Attack Power EX.
The sight of stat diamonds was bound to rekindle the conquest spirit again.
‘Now this guy will earn me experience points and GP.’
Hidden because of the Hideout, his face covered by a black shadow.
For the next month, Seong Jihan’s avatar would deliver rewards.
Then.
[You’ve broken the Special Dungeon’s historical score records.]
[You can further strengthen the Hidden Boss.]
Perhaps because of the record-breaking score Seong Jihan earned, An option popped up, allowing for additional enhancement of the boss.
[Enhance Hidden Boss stats]
[Increase Hidden Boss appearance rate]
Two simple options were presented before him.
‘Obviously, the latter.’ Seong Jihan instantly chose to increase the appearance rate.
A Hidden Boss with Attack Power EX.
Becoming stronger might discourage players from challenging.
It’s better to appear frequently in dungeons and defeat more challengers, earning experience points and GP for Seong Jihan.
[The Hidden Boss ‘Seong Jihan’ is enhanced….]
[A Hidden Boss ‘Seong Jihan’ will now appear more frequently in the BattleNet of many races.]
The Hidden Boss was enhanced as per Seong Jihan’s will.
Though the rewards didn’t end there.
[A special reward from Hell Devil Palace will be given. You can choose one of the following items.]
[Rare Stat ‘Hellfire’ (Owned)]
[Hell Devil Palace Crystal]
[High Demon’s Armor]
‘Special rewards… nothing of too much use.’ If Seong Jihan hadn’t received the crystal-related request from Artemus, he would have been forced to choose the High Demon’s armor among the three.
Of course, this armor, with an SS grade, didn’t look bad,
But for Seong Jihan, who usually didn’t wear armor, it wasn’t an enticing option.
As he went to choose the crystal from Hell Devil Palace,
[The manager of Hell Devil Palace, ‘Succubus Queen’, shows deep interest in the player.]
[She adds ‘Palace of Pleasure Invitation’ to the Hell Devil Palace reward with her authority.]
‘Palace of Pleasure Invitation’ was added to the bottom of the special rewards list.
Unlike the other items, this one was highlighted in shiny gold.
‘I don’t need this.’
However, Seong Jihan ignored this and immediately selected the crystal from Hell Devil Palace.
[You have acquired the Hell Devil Palace Crystal.]
More than the invitation to the Palace of Pleasure, upgrading the weapon was the priority.
[You have cleared an Epic Quest.]
[You have earned 10,000,000 achievement points.]
[You have obtained a treasure chest from Hell Devil Palace.]
After selecting the special reward, an Epic Quest reward was also given.
‘Truly a windfall of rewards.’
After gratefully accepting the achievement points, Seong Jihan opened the treasure chest from Hell Devil Palace.
Then,
[You have received the ‘Palace of Pleasure Invitation’.]
“Ha.”
The reward he had just ignored popped out of the treasure chest.
Was this some prank by the Succubus Queen?
“An invitation to the Palace of Pleasure, huh… Just my bad luck to get something like this.”
Should I just tear it up?
As Seong Jihan was seriously considering this,
[Invitation to the Palace of Pleasure? Master, That’s very valuable.]
“Really?”
[Yes. The Pleasure Palace… a place where the pleasures of the entire universe are concentrated. It’s a place where even the major forces in the universe can’t go easily. If you put it up for auction, it will sell for a high price.]
“Oh…”
Ariel quickly provided him with information upon hearing this.
“You sure know a lot, ‘Your Majesty’.”
[…Should I just stay quiet from now on?]
“Got it. I won’t call you ‘Your Majesty’ again.”
I’ll leave this whole ‘Your Majesty’ treatment for later.
With that thought, Seong Jihan searched the price of the Palace of Pleasure Invitations on the BattleNet auction house.
The price that came up was.
“…100 billion GP?”
The figure far exceeded his expectations.
“Why is it so expensive?”
[Even with 100 billion GP, it’s still relatively cheap. Perhaps some of the major figures addicted to the Pleasure Palace went bankrupt.]
“And this is considered cheap?”
[Indeed. It could have been a big problem if you had torn it, right?]
Seong Jihan nodded in agreement.
100 billion GP for such an item.
The universe is indeed vast.
As Seong Jihan listed the item at that price,
“Wow, it sold immediately.”
In an instant, a tremendous amount of 100 billion GP came in, excluding the fees.
‘Now I really don’t have to worry about money.’
Although he had already reached a certain level of affluence regarding his wealth, with an additional 100 billion GP, he no longer needed to concern himself with finances.
‘If there’s anything to buy at Artemus’s blacksmith, I should use this money.’
With that thought, Seong Jihan asked Ariel.
“When can I get the Queen’s finger?”
[First, log out. Only then can I contact the Queen.]
Your Majesty will contact herself?
Seong Jihan wanted to blurt that out, but considering he had just earned 100 billion GP, he decided to hold back and endure a few more days.
After all, the invitation almost faced a disastrous fate of being torn apart; he could delay addressing the Queen with her title.
With that conclusion, Seong Jihan finished his time in the Special Dungeon map.
[For the next month, a hidden boss will appear in the dungeon maps.]
From then on, the world would witness the arrival of the hidden boss, Seong Jihan.
* * *
-Wow… our party got wiped out again…
-Why… is even the NPC so strong?
-I wish Seong Jihan wouldn’t appear! Why does this Hidden Boss show up so frequently!
Seong Jihan, with the title of a hidden boss, kept popping up like crazy.
Ever since Seong Jihan entered the special dungeon map, The Diamond League players on Earth were experiencing a kind of epidemic.
The title ‘Hidden Boss’ was an understatement as Seong Jihan just kept popping up unexpectedly.
Every time he swung his sword, players attempting to conquer the dungeon were all mercilessly cut down.
“Uncle… I just got killed by you.”
Meanwhile, Yoon Seah, who had logged out of BattleNet, glared at Seong Jihan fiercely.
“Why are you so strong, seriously?”
“Well… should have just stayed in the veil of void.”
“I can’t just stay there forever. I stepped out, only to be slashed across by a sword.”
“Sorry about that. But think of it this way—I gave Uncle experience points and GP. It should be somewhat comforting, right?”
“That’s not at all comforting.”
While saying this, Yoon Seah checked the Diamond Leaguers’ forum.
Everyone was complaining that their levels dropped because of the hidden boss, Seong Jihan.
“But it seems there are still some who want to defeat you, they’re even creating strategies.”
“The benefits of stat diamonds are just too good. Hmm. But… Can I defeat myself?”
“Ooh. Maybe you can since you’re the original. Still, team up with me!”
If she could secure a diamond reward from her uncle, that would be perfect.
Seong Jihan promptly tried to party up with Yoon Seah and play the game, but…
[If player ‘Seong Jihan’ is in your team, you will not encounter Hidden Boss ‘Seong Jihan’.]
Unfortunately, the BattleNet system prevented that attempt.
“Too bad. I wanted to fight myself once.”
Reading the message, Seong Jihan disbanded the party.
“Since you’re playing, why not play together?”
“I’m waiting for Ariel to bring the Shadow Queen’s finger so we can go to the forge.”
“Ah, Uncle. If there’s a good bow, buy it for me. Hehe.”
“Sure. I’ll look around and buy one for you.”
With the 100 billion GP earned, buying a bow for Yoon Seah was absolutely manageable.
When Seong Jihan readily agreed,
Ding-dong! Ding-dong!
The wall-mounted tablet rang with the bell sound.
[Master! Please, I need to see your face! There’s a pile of guild work that needs to be sorted out!]
Ding-dong! Ding-dong! Ding-dong!
As the guild master Lee Hayeon frantically pressed the bell,
Her face was racked with fatigue.
“Hmm… I left the work to her. What else needs to be sorted out?”
“Uncle… Hayeon Unnie is going crazy from the workload, she’s on the verge of almost quitting.”
“Really?”
Lee Hayeon quitting would be problematic.
Seong Jihan quickly rose from the couch.
“Alright. I’ll head down to the guild.”
***
***
