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Chapter 114: Twenty Fourth Level, Guides Of Sin (3)
The approaching presence caused Taesan to lift his head.
āHello?ā
āHeās younger than I thought.ā
āAppearances donāt mean much, butā¦ he does look young. Barely twenty, maybe?ā
The Guides of Sin assessed Taesan with a relaxed attitude.
Taesan counted their number.
After the four, no one else was visible.
āJust four of you?ā
He thought all the guides of the third hierarchy would come.
Considering that Taesan had defeated Jagan when he was on the second hierarchy and that Horian was also dead, it would have been the right decision for them all to come. But just four?
[They’ve been stuck here for decades. Maybe in the pastā¦ but now their strength has all faded.]
āI thought everyone would comeā¦ does it not matter?ā
Whether there were many or few, it didnāt matter to him. The woman awkwardly waved her hand.
āUmā¦ hero. Hello?ā
[Pleasant, but we aren’t supposed to greet, are we?]
āYeah, youāre right.ā
The eyes of the awkwardly smiling guides started to sink.
In an instant, the atmosphere became tense. Taesan drew his sword.
[You have activated Reconnaissance.]
ļ¼»Hajing Royaļ¼½
ļ¼»Level: 65ļ¼½
ļ¼»HP: 3165ļ¼½
ļ¼»Equipped Weapon: Spearļ¼½
ļ¼»The Subjugatedļ¼½
A man with brown hair and an Arabic appearance, holding a trident, was staring at Taesan.
ļ¼»Baben Ruataļ¼½
ļ¼»Level: 65ļ¼½
ļ¼»HP: 2995ļ¼½
ļ¼»Equipped Weapon: Daggerļ¼½
ļ¼»The Subjugatedļ¼½
A man in black attire clinging to his whole body, not holding any weapon. He looked like a rogue.
ļ¼»Arinesia Clieusļ¼½
ļ¼»HP: 2350ļ¼½
ļ¼»Equipped Weapon: Staffļ¼½
ļ¼»The Subjugatedļ¼½
The only woman among them. With her long blue hair and holding a staff, she looked like a mage.
ļ¼»Casianļ¼½
ļ¼»HP: 2991ļ¼½
ļ¼»Equipped Weapon: Bowļ¼½
ļ¼»The Subjugatedļ¼½
And lastly, an archer.
Roles were clearly distributed. Taesan shrugged his shoulders, activating his whole bodyās muscles and beginning the awakening of his mind.
āNo need for lengthy talk, right?ā
āOf course.ā
With the reply, Taesan stepped forward.
[You have activated Walking the Wind Path of the Deer.]
[You have activated Acceleration.]
It was an incredibly fast speed. They were startled by the approach that greatly exceeded their expectations.
However, they were adventurers on the 30th floor. They quickly started responding. The mage shook her staff.
[Arinesia has activated Madness.]
[No judgment needed!]
āWhat, what?ā
The madness was repelled. Casian shot his bow. It was a speed and power suitable for the 30th floor.
Taesan didnāt dodge but manipulated the wind. The gathered wind altered the trajectory of the arrow. The arrow didnāt even graze him and passed by.
āTsk!ā
Clang!
Hajingās spear and Taesanās sword collided. Hajing was horrified by the force felt from across the spear.
āHeās stronger than me!ā
Taesan had superior stats. Hajing had strengthened himself to the limit on the 30th floor and naturally believed he would have the upper hand, but this belief created a gap in his movements.
Blue flames rose on Taesanās sword. It slid past Hajingās spear and pierced his chest.
[Hajing received 226 damage.]
āHold on!ā
āWhat damage is this!ā
The rest of them didnāt just watch. The mage was chanting a spell, the archer was drawing his bow, and the rogue was trying to stab Taesan in the back with a dagger.
[You have activated Decarabia’s Distorted Life.]
And then, roots surged in. The guides hastily ceased their attacks and distanced themselves from the sweeping black energy of vegetation.
āA forbidden spell!ā
āHeās not a demonā¦!ā
Crack.
While they were adjusting, Taesan continued to pressure Hajing.
Hajing wasnāt just taking it. He activated his skills and tried to escape the crisis with his spear techniques.
But all of it was blocked.
The skills were neutralized by Taesanās slight movements, and the spear techniques were penetrated by the Stormscar Sword. In an instant, over half of his energy was drained.
āDo something!ā
āEasier said than done!ā
[You have activated Frost Arrow.]
[You have activated Blazing Orb.]
While pressing Hajing, Taesan continued to pressure the other three with magic, dark magic, and elemental skills. Arinesia cried out in frustration as the attacks came flying at the exact time when they tried to do something.
āDoes he have eyes on his back or what!ā
Taesanās field of vision was nearly 100%.
In fact, there was practically no blind spot. For them, who only had 40, 50% proficiency, it was a level of freedom that was hard to understand.
Taesan swung his sword harshly, and the force violently shook Hajingās spear. Taesan then thrust his sword.
āAh.ā
The spear flew into the sky. Taesanās sword pierced through Hajingās chest.
āAh, aahā¦ā
[You have defeated Hajing Roya.]
āDarn it!ā
Arinesia clenched her teeth and waved her hand. Her mana drained out rapidly, and a spell materialized.
[Arinesia has activated Storm Arrow.]
Clink clink clink!
The wind split, creating a massive arrow. Taesan, who deflected the arrow, maintained his posture.
āItās strong.ā
It was one of the strongest magics he had ever seen.
It looked powerful enough to drain hundreds of health points if it hit properly.
[Intermediate Magic… It’s usable if you’re on the 30th floor.]
Arinesia glared sharply at Taesan as she waved her hand.
The arrow was fired. It filled the room, leaving no place to dodge.
And he had no intention to dodge either.
[You have activated Forced Duel. For 10 seconds, no one except Baben Ruata can deal damage to you.]
The arrow, connecting with Taesan, exploded. It lost its magic and dispersed in every direction.
āWhat, what?ā
Without understanding what had happened, Taesan charged towards them.
The Guides of Sin.
They were not weak. If the strength of the four was combined properly, they could easily pressure Taesan.
However, their coordination was very poor, and they were not prepared. free(w)ebnovel.com
The rogue couldnāt target Taesanās back, and the archer couldnāt pressure him at all. Due to constant restrictions, the mage couldnāt materialize any magic.
Even the late materialized magic lost its meaning due to Forced Duel.
They probably never coordinated with each other. It was natural since there was no enemy to fight together.
Even if their coordination was perfect, nothing would change.
Forced Duel that prevented anyone other than the target from intervening.
As long as he had it, outnumbering Taesan had no meaning.
And this was the result.
āCough.ā
āThat was somewhat annoying.ā
The chest of the last remaining guide was pierced. He tried to escape in every way possible but couldnāt hide from Taesanās eyes. The light disappeared from the rogueās eyes.
[You have defeated Baben Ruata.]
[Your level has increased.]
[Your Soul Ascension has activated. Agility permanently increased by 36. Strength permanently increased by 21. Intelligence permanently increased by 19. Health permanently increased by 100.]
[You have acquired the special activation skill [Stealth].]
Having defeated the four guides, his level increased by 4. His stats increased more, and he also acquired two skills.
āStatus window.ā
[Kang Taesan]
[Level: 62]
[Shield: 329/329]
[Health: 3830/3830]
[Mana: 716/716]
[Magic: 44/44]
[Strength: 1246]
[Intelligence: 915]
[Agility: 1102]
[Attack Power + 145]
[Defense + 172]
[Subject is in the best condition.]
All stats had increased by about 100. He gained levels equivalent to passing through two floors by just defeating the four guides.
And there were also skills.
[Special Activation Skill: Stealth]
[Mana Consumption: 20]
[Proficiency: 1%]
[It hides the body. It conceals the presence. It’s still very immature.]
It was the activation skill version of invisibility. Judging by the similar description, it seemed the effects werenāt much different either.
Perhaps it was a skill used by those who couldnāt learn magic. It didnāt mean much, but it wasnāt bad either.
[Basic Magic: Wind Explosion]
[Mana Consumption: 9]
[Proficiency: 1%] šš»š®š®š¬š®šš·šøšš®šµ.ššøš¶
[Causes an explosion of wind.]
A very simple description. The effect was as simple as the description. Taesan raised his finger.
[You have activated Wind Explosion.]
Boom!
Wind exploded right in front of Taesan. It harshly slapped his face and tried to push him back.
The power itself wasnāt very impressive, but like the lightning, it had no delay and wasnāt confined to Taesanās surroundings. It was quite usable in restricting the opponentās actions or blocking projectiles.
āSo when are they coming?ā
These four werenāt the end. If the ghost was right, there were about five more left.
[Wellā¦ I don’t think they are coming.]
The ghost mumbled in an ambiguous tone.
āThey are dead.ā
In the silence, a manās voice echoed. The flames in all four jewels in front of him had extinguished.
āā¦ All four of them?ā
āYes.ā
With a voice like a groan, the manager spoke.
āAllā¦ are dead.ā
āSo quickly? It hasnāt even been two hours yet!ā
Someone denied it and shouted.
āEven if they couldnāt win, they could have escaped! Donāt lie!ā
āI thought so, too. Thatās why I sent them.ā
The difference in equipment was absolute. However excellent the adventurer were, they were adventurers from the 24th floor. To break through those with equipment from the 30th floor would take a considerable amount of time. He believed they could escape without much difficulty, even if a problem arose.
āButā¦ they are all dead.ā
Silence fell again.
The manager hesitantly opened his mouth.
āDo we have to go down and fight too?ā
āā¦ Thatās not a tempting suggestion. He killed four in just two hours. I donāt think it will be different with six.ā
A woman who had regained her composure mumbled. It wasnāt a wrong judgment, but it wasnāt the right one either.
āIf that demon was hereā¦ā
The demon who had left the third tier a while ago.
The guide who had received permission from the executives to enter the deep levels. They were the guides permitted to places where others werenāt.
Initially, they had felt jealousy and envy. They wanted to see with their own eyes what was different. However, they realized this in the short time spent together.
That demon was monstrously strong. Despite being on the same floor, they were completely no match for him.
He could have been a match for the intruder. But the manager shook his head.
āHe already went down. And he said he wouldnāt come back. Itās a pointless imagination.ā
āThen what should we doā¦ā
They couldnāt decide and were confused. Somehow, the manager came up with an idea and spoke.
āLetās wait for now. Heās still on the 24th floor.ā
Their location was the 30th floor. It would take time for him to come down. A man frowned.
āGive him time to get stronger?ā
āOur chances of winning are low anyway. So, we should give time and communicate below.ā
āā¦So we are waiting until the absent executives return.ā
At the dismal decision, they all groaned.
It sounded grand, but the conclusion was simple. They couldnāt beat the adventurer of the 24th floor, so they hoped the executives would come back soon.
If their prayer succeeded, they could survive; if it failed, they would die.
Their abilities couldnāt influence this choice at all.
āBut we have no other means.ā
The manager spoke as if making a final plea. The others also agreed in silence.
āSo, the conclusion is rough. Letās communicate and then run. We endure somehow until the executives get better.ā
āā¦ā¦This sucks.ā
Someone muttered grimly. They all gave bitter laughs.
Taesan, who was resting against the wall, muttered.
āThey are not coming.ā
He waited about two hours. It was enough time for them to realize the anomaly and come down, but there was no sign of them.
āYour prediction was right.ā
[The Guides are the ones with broken spirits. So, they are cowards, and they procrastinate. Still disappointing.]
The ghost muttered in a contemptuous tone.
[They probably decided to wait until the executives came back. Whether it is wise or foolishā¦]
āIt doesnāt matter either way.ā
It didnāt matter even if the executives came down. He was prepared for them.
āButā¦ It seems I need to give it a bit of time.ā
[Huh? Why?]
āA quest has appeared.ā
Taesan looked into the void.
The quest window stated another return to Earth.