Chapter 100: Grey Temple (4)

Solo Max-Level Newbie Chapter 100: Grey Temple (4)

Screech!

The shield forged from iron sliced through as though it were mere paper when it came into contact with the flame compressed to the extreme.

"A shield imbued with magic power shattered in one hit..."

"Aaaaah! What is this, some kind of laser?!"

It was just as they had said.

The stream of fire was not for burning, but for cutting.

The problem was the sheer number of these streams - there were hundreds of them.

Moreover, the streams of fire simultaneously closed in from all directions, making avoidance seem nearly impossible.

'What, what the heck is going on here!'

Takeshi looked at Jinhyuk with panic in his eyes.

After all, it had been Jinhyuk who confidently said that going left was the right answer.

Hoping fervently that this deadly trap was nothing more than a performance—something that could definitely be overcome.

However, Jinhyuk subtly avoided Takeshi's gaze.

"Hmph. Whoever it was, they really dragged the raid team to hell. Isn't it usually the raid leader's fault when something like this happens?"

His tactful shifting of blame almost seemed natural.

He'd been had.

Takeshi felt the shock as if he'd been hit in the head with a hammer.

But there was no time for regret.

"We need to dodge this somehow!"

Not block it, but dodge it.

The shield of a tanker failing to withstand meant that no one here could block the streams of fire.

"Damn it!"

"Everyone, run!"

Players from the Samurai Guild quickly took flight.

Ankles and knees; waist and neck—they sweated profusely as they frantically moved to survive the relentless, murderous traps.

'Newbies these days...'

With a small chuckle, Jinhyuk pulled a black scroll from his spatial inventory.

He then unsealed the inscriptions within it.

Wooooong!

[A Barrier Master's first class change quest has begun.]

In order to become a Barrier Master...

There was a lengthy explanation full of various details, but Jinhyuk skipped the status window as if he didn't need to see it.

Since he knew what to do, there was no reason to read through the explanation.

'For the class change, manifesting a fragment of a barrier is as easy as eating a pie in bed.'

Jinhyuk focused magic on the tips of his fingers.

Crackle!

White sparks emerged.

Soon after, a grand and elaborate sigil appeared in the air.

It was a barrier inscribed with runes.

[A barrier 'Inadequate Physical Barrier' has been activated!]

[You have achieved the first condition of the class change quest!]

The term 'inadequate' may have been attached, but the barrier spread out in a form that quite looked the part.

'Before the class change, this is the limit.'

To class change into a Barrier Master, one would typically have to hole up in the library on the first floor of the tower for at least six months mastering the basic runes.

Certainly, much more time was needed to utilize barriers in combat.

And even Jinhyuk, who had immersed himself in the game, took five years to master the final hurdle—the ancient runes.

'It definitely isn't an easy field.'

It's not without reason that it's considered an unpopular profession.

After all, if someone enters virtual reality to escape reality, nobody enjoys spending their time in a library studying day and night.

"Kang Jinhyuk, what on earth is this...?"

"Is that magic?"

"No, it's different. I've never seen those characters before?"

Lee Youngkwon and the other players were astonished by the sudden appearance of the runes.

While they had seen barriers activated through skills occasionally, they had never before witnessed a genuine barrier brought forth by formal runes.

However, their amazement did not last long.

Because the streams of fire had already surged close to them.

"We can't face that with skills or abilities. We need to move too."

Lee Youngkwon threw his shield and armor to the ground to lighten his load.

But then...

"It's fine. Just stay still."

Jinhyuk folded his arms comfortably, looking on as the cubic barrier enveloped the players.

"Stay still, you say? What do you mean by that?"

Lee Youngkwon asked in return, but Jinhyuk merely smiled meaningfully.

And in that instant.

Kaboom, kaboom, kaboom!

The flames hit the barrier.

"Ugh!"

"Aaaaargh!"

The players screamed, thinking their bodies would be severed along with the barrier.

But then...

"Huh?"

"What? It's perfectly fine?"

Not a single scratch appeared on the surface of the barrier.

Not just that—it was much more profound.

The streams of fire stuttered on the surface of the barrier and began heading in the opposite direction: towards the still leaping players of the Samurai Guild.

"Ah, sorry! Looks like one more is headed that way."

Jinhyuk offered his apologies with a slight hand gesture.

"This can't be..."

A quake shook within Lee Youngkwon's pupils.

The others watching were similarly shocked.

"To reflect it back..."

"I can't believe it. To think there would be players with reflector-type skills."

"Indeed... S-rank is on a different level."

They had heard through various videos just how great Jinhyuk was.

Korea's 16th S-rank ranker.

Chun Yuseong, known as Sword Ghost, and the master of the Black Cloud Guild, Hong Deokpyo, were crushed underfoot by this monster.

The pioneer who had first conquered the 4th and 5th floors.

The list of accomplishments was impressive enough to drop jaws.

But seeing it with their own eyes was a completely different genre of story compared to what they had heard or seen in videos.

Thump! Thump! Thump!

Everyone's hearts pounded rapidly.

The sense of security they felt by being with a top-ranker.

In front of the barrier, it may have been a holocaust, but they did not feel the least bit threatened.

But then, at that moment.

"Shall we get going?"

Jinhyuk moved.

He was about to step outside the barrier.

"Gasp!?"

"Kang Jinhyuk! Wait a moment!"

"Yes?"

"The traps haven't finished yet."

"That's right. It's dangerous to go out now."

With urgent voices, Lee Youngkwon pointed outside with his fingers.

There, the players from the Samurai Guild were miserably dying.

Despite making desperate efforts to dodge the unforgiving streams of fire from all directions, it seemed difficult to hold out for long.

Oh, that's what this was about.

"Well, I'm really good at timing, so you don't need to worry. Plus, if I dodge that thing 300 times in a row without a scratch, it gives an item."

[Blazing Flame], that is.

An item that would come in handy later on.

A pretty high-grade luxury right there...

Who would dare to take up the challenge with me?

Jinhyuk smiled slyly as he looked around.

"It's alright..."

"Please collect a lot, Kang Jinhyuk."

"We'll just watch from here, definitely."

No one stepped up for the hidden item.

Newbies these days just lack grit.

Crack!

Jinhyuk stretched his joints casually and stepped out of the barrier.

Dozens of streams of fire crowded in, but to a veteran with all of their patterns memorized, it was nothing more than adorable.

To the rhythm of the fast-paced music playing in his head.

'Judge, drop the beat!'

And now Jinhyuk began to move for real.

'Left three times, right three times. Next, I have to jump forward 1 meter and roll, right?'

Spaces just big enough for one person to barely pass through appeared.

Next, he had to pass through that space.

A single mistake would spell instant death.

Yet, no normal human signs of tension could be found on Jinhyuk's face.

***

"Haha... I'm really at a loss for words."

Lee Youngkwon muttered with a hollow expression.

Although he too had proven his worth in the arena on the 5th floor and received immense expectations from various media outlets.

'It's beyond imagination.'

Measure-like movements, confidence that could be felt even from afar, and above all, the attitude of enjoying the situation.

He didn't feel like he could ever surpass him in any field.

'This is why Team Leader Kim Gitae said we should willingly give up despite the losses.'

Indeed, Lee Youngkwon had received a piece of advice before coming here.

The advice was to give up on all possible gains that the Fight Club Guild could obtain from this raid.

Initially, Kim Gitae also wanted to arrange conditions in favor of the guild, but he later decided to look towards a bigger future.

It was a hard story to swallow.

Rewards, honor, exclusivity.

How could anyone accept that Korea's second-largest super guild should forgo all of that?

There might be cases where a conglomerate is greedy, but none where it gives up its advantages, right?

But the reason for this...

'The executives were wise.'

Lee Youngkwon was able to realize this profoundly at this very moment.

***

The streams of fire subsided after more than 30 minutes.

'A reward always comes after a good sweat.'

Jinhyuk fiddled with a strangely shaped red jewel.

It was the [Blazing Flame].

'Everything is going smoothly.'

Everything was proceeding as planned.

If only Medusa could be dealt with, then all the materials needed to create 'that item' would be collected.

The goal was not far off.

But then.

'How many survived, I wonder?'

Storing the item in his spatial inventory, Jinhyuk now turned his gaze toward the Samurai Guild.

"Heuk! Heuk! Heuk!"

"My... my arm! I can't find my arm!"

"Aaaagh! Yoshida is dead!"

"Damn it! First, assess the injured and the dead! Stop whining and get moving!"

As expected, the situation was not good.

None of those who had entered so confidently remained unscathed.

Only Takeshi, who had been desperately protected by the excellent skills of Maeda, was left with minor injuries.

Watching a house on fire is the most amusing activity, especially when it's the house of someone you despise.

"Please accept my condolences. Unfortunately, the barrier could only hold about 30 people, so I couldn't let more of you in."

Jinhyuk approached the Samurai Guild with words of shallow sympathy.

"You... you darned wretch!"

Maeda sprang up.

Perhaps it was because his eyebrows were singed by the heat, but a burnt smell was spreading.

"What?"

"Don't you play dumb with that innocent look, spouting 'what?' as if it's nonsense! If none of the Koreans are hurt, it means you knew about these traps and were prepared! Am I wrong?"

"We had a rough idea, but does it really matter?"

"Does it matter? You say that now...!"

"Come on. We kindly agreed to your insistence on joining the raid in your exclusive labyrinth. Plus, your guy who's an oldbie or something on the 30th floor was delighted about riding the bus until he fell off a cliff and got crushed. How is that our fault?"

"Shut up! Even if all of that's true, you didn't help while we were dying right before your eyes. Only garbage wouldn't show any compassion. Don't you have even a shred of sympathy?!"

Sympathy, my foot.

There's a limit to cheeky behavior. Being able to spout nonsense like this is almost a talent in itself.

Well.

I can understand it.

"After all, eating too much radiation can mess with your head."

Movies might have you believe that getting hit with gamma rays and binging on plutonium turns you into a superhero.

But in reality, if you're lucky, you just get baldness, and usually, you end up with leukemia—a miserable ending.

Life must be tough, huh?

"What?"

Shocked by the comment, Maeda was momentarily lost for words.

He spent a few seconds reassessing if he had heard the statement correctly.

"You dare utter such words. Have you gone mad? Don't you realize this could turn into a diplomatic issue!"

"Diplomatic issue?"

Jinhyuk's eyebrows twisted into a look of disbelief.

He seemed to be seriously misunderstanding something.

"I'm not a politician."

Diplomacy and the likes were concerns for the big shots, not something he needed to care about.

Finally.

"You shouldn't speak carelessly to me. You see, not all the traps here have ended."

Jinhyuk spoke coldly.

Simultaneously.

Kukukukuku!

The dispersed streams of fire began to converge once more.

In a single blink, the flames that had been layered upon each other had now taken on a single form.

"Shiiiiik!"

Into the form of a massive serpent made of flames.