Chapter 57: The End of the Third Floor, The Heartless Army (3)

Chapter 57: The End of the Third Floor, The Heartless Army (3)

"Black leaves?" The Tree-Ent stammered out its words. An unexpected term had been brought into the conversation. Viewers watching the stream were just as flustered.

-Hardtack is the future: What? Weren't there only three kinds of leaves that could be obtained as rewards? What in the world are black leaves?

-Twitch Viewer Above Jobless: Judging by the Tree-Ent's reaction, could it be some kind of hidden reward?

-Pizza Sweet and Sour Pork is Awesome: Wow, how does he know about that? There was no mention of this even in community forums.

-New Yorker in Seoul: If it's a legendary veteran, it makes sense they'd have information others don't.

-Hardtack is the future: Does it really? Why would such a seasoned player be playing solo? They should be affiliated with some large guild.

-New Yorker in Seoul: Why not? There's that one player who is not affiliated with anyone and always goes solo.

-Twitch Viewer Above Jobless: Surely not.

-Pizza Sweet and Sour Pork is Awesome: Uh...?!

Yes, there was indeed one. The strongest player who had cleared the hallways alone while wearing a mask. However, accepting that possibility was not easy, as memories of being deceived by thousands of imposters loomed large. Still, what if it were true? If, against all odds, they had found themselves on that player's channel?

-New Yorker in Seoul: Above all, if it's not him, none of this makes sense. If he knows everything about the Tower, including the hidden rewards, how many such people would there be in the world?

If someone knows this much about the Tower, then...

Surely it must be.

Doubt soon turned into certainty.

-Pizza Sweet and Sour Pork is Awesome: Hoooooly? Is it really the real deal?

-Twitch Viewer Above Jobless: Wooow, brother Unknown! I'm really a fan! I've been rewatching your corridor strategy videos 12 times a day.

-Hardtack is the future: I'm going to pay my respects after taking off my pants.

The chat window had turned upside down.

But Jinhyuk brushed off the frantic chats with disinterest. He had expected this kind of reaction.

"How do you know about the black leaf?"

"It's not important how I know. Just hand it over."

"But... that leaf!"

The Tree-Ent's voice grew desperate. The black leaf with its 'decay' effect. To create the black leaf, however, all other leaves must be dried up and killed. Meaning it would never again be able to challenge players with riddles.

"Stop with the groveling excuses now. You said it yourself. You would give anything you had," Jinhyuk reminded the Tree-Ent. Had it forgotten the grand promises it made about the honor of spirits and its vows?

Oh, surely not.

After making such a loud declaration, it wouldn't go back on its word.

"...Please, I beg of you. Just not that. In return, if there's anything else, I'll offer it."

"I don't need anything else. All I want is the black leaf."

Since he was live streaming, soon everyone would learn about the various leaves. Eventually, as time went on and more information spread about the Tower, others would manage to pass the quiz.

'I can't just leave it at that.'

Even later on, he couldn't allow anyone else to obtain an autumn leaf imbued with attribute magic.

'If I don't use an item, no one else should be able to either.'

That was the only fair and correct play.

Jinhyuk extended his palm. There was no room for compromise.

Finally.

Pffft...

The colorful foliage that had enveloped the Tree-Ent's head all turned black.

[You have answered all three questions posed by the Tree-Ent!]

[You have acquired black leaves (×1280)!]

[Black Leaf]

Acquisition difficulty: AAA

Effect: When used on weapons or armor, grants a special 'decay' effect (inflicts additional damage equivalent to 1% of the target's total health every 3 minutes on being hit). The caster does not take any damage, and the decay effect only applies to enemies.]

Great.

He finally had all the pieces of the puzzle.

"..."

Jinhyuk turned away from the Tree-Ent that seemed to have aged a thousand years and headed towards the temple.

***

The temple had an ancient, solemn atmosphere. Jinhyuk chose the east entrance out of the four directions available.

-Hardtack is the future: The east side is dangerous. Isn't that where the difficulty is notoriously extreme?

-Twitch Viewer Above Jobless: Yeah, yeah. You could at least get a glimpse of a four-story pagoda through the other entrances, but the east is hellish right from the start.

-Pizza Sweet and Sour Pork is Awesome: Why did he deliberately choose the hardest one?

- 건빵이_미래다: 동쪽은 위험한데. 여기가 가장 난이도 극악 아님?

- 백수_위에_트수: ㅇㅇㅇ. 다른 입구는 그나마 4층짜리 석탑까지라도 구경할 수 있는데, 동쪽은 입구부터 지옥임.

- 피자탕수육_존맛탱: 왜 일부러 가장 어려운 걸 고른 거지?

There was a simple reason for choosing the most difficult path.

'Because it's the most fun.'

He had frequented this route the most. After countless trials, his body memorized it even though he was tired of it, learning the exact way to reach the boss. Jinhyuk pulled out a dagger tinged with a crimson hue. Simultaneously.

Kukukukuku!

The decorative poles at both sides of the entrance began to tremble violently. They were reacting to the intruder, activating their defense mechanisms.

"Grooooo!"

"Grrrrr..."

The statues lining the walls began to move just then. Stone statues about 1 meter tall with bodies made entirely of rock, they turned to face Jinhyuk.

-Hardtack is the future: Damn it, they really did come out. Those darn statues.

-Twitch Viewer Above Jobless: You really have to struggle to destroy the life stones.

-Pizza Sweet and Sour Pork is Awesome: Since they're only the size of a fingernail and keep moving inside the body, it's impossible to find them unless you completely smash the statue to bits.

That was precisely why the statues were so troublesome. They had to destroy the life stones, but not only was the location of the stones unknown, they also kept moving. Moreover, both the attack strength and movement speed of the statues were frighteningly fast and precise.

Seven statues circled Jinhyuk, clenching their fists as they closed in.

Kwoong!

Bang!

The sound of cutting through the wind signaled the commencement of the battle. The statues closed the gap in an instant.

'Here they come.'

Jinhyuk limbered up his arms and legs fluidly. To break the well-orchestrated formation, he needed to disrupt their rhythm.

First, to the right. An attack aimed high was simple and direct but had formidable destructive power that could not be ignored. This had to be dodged. Jinhyuk lowered his center of gravity. Whoosh!

Almost simultaneously with the punch cutting through the air, a kick aimed at his waist followed. A precise, gutsy second strike lacked might but had to be blocked.

Kaaaang!

Jinhyuk held his dagger up to meet the attack head-on. Knowing what needed to be dodged and what could be blocked, he began to find the moment when his opponent's rhythm would collapse amidst the storm of strikes.

-Hardtack is the future: He dodged all of it. Insane moves.

-Twitch Viewer Above Jobless: At this rate, it seems like he memorized all the patterns.

-New Yorker in Seoul: This is clearly on a different level than the attention-seekers claiming to be pros.

-Pizza Sweet and Sour Pork is Awesome: 5252, I believed in you!

If it continued like this, passing through the east gate's entrance seemed possible. Alone, he might take a long time to destroy the life stone, but the mere success of this feat would be incredible.

However, the scene that followed left the viewers speechless.

-Hardtack is the future: Is this... for real?

-Twitch Viewer Above Jobless: Isn't there a replay function here?

-Pizza Sweet and Sour Pork is Awesome: What did I just witness?

The movements of the statues came to a halt, and like puppets with severed strings, they crumbled into pieces. This only happened when — the life stones were destroyed.

Crunch.

Jinhyuk pulled the dagger out from the shoulder of the statue, revealing the bisected life stone.

'The life stones have a tendency to hide on the opposite side from where they attack.'

If they strike with the right arm, the life stone moves to the left arm; if they attack with the right leg, it shifts to the left leg. It was their instinct to hide their weaknesses. And their precise location was determined by the subtle tremors in the stone and the ridiculously accumulated experiences.

'The hardship from before wasn't a waste of time.'

A smile broke across Jinhyuk's face. Thanks to his past efforts, the battle he expected to last at least an hour if not less had ended in just three minutes.

***

[Current Viewer Count: 38,350]

In less than 30 minutes since the broadcast started, over 38,000 viewers had gathered. The rate of increase was staggering. Considering it was his first broadcast, it was even more significant.

-Elite Gamer Identifier: The more I watch, the more chills I get. Could he really succeed even in the boss fight?

-Twitch Viewer Above Jobless: It's possible. As soon as I started watching this guy's stream, I just trusted and watched.

-dead998: Pfft, like he could solo clear what even elite raid groups from large guilds have failed? Raids are specifically designed to overcome the limitations of solo play, after all.

-BigPie: I agree with that. Roles like tank, damage dealer, aggro, healer, etc., are defined for a reason.

-Life at Deadline: Agreed. Plus, the named monsters haven't even shown up yet.

The chat was filled with a mix of hopeful expectations and sceptical disbelief.

Then.

"It doesn't concern me whether you believe it or not, but could you quiet down if you're going to keep babbling nonsense?" Jinhyuk scratched his head in annoyance.

-BigPie: Huh? Was that directed at us?

-Silly Curry Flavored Poop: Nah, no way. He wouldn't say that to a viewer without losing his mind, right?

-Good at Controlling Anger: Right. He'd know if he ignored his viewers, his subscriber count would plummet.

"Yes, I was talking to you."

Just watch quietly.

He had no plans to cater to viewers' feelings.

"You are free to leave or watch. But remember this: the owner of this channel is me, not you," Jinhyuk continued.

There are always those players—ones who do everything to please viewers for more views, turning themselves into docile sheep. Sure, their view counts rise as they cater to every whim. But if you're dragged around too much, you lose the ability to do what you actually want.

'Idiots.'

If the main point gets reversed, no matter how high the view count, it's pointless. Jinhyuk planned to run his channel in a completely different way—with expertise only a seasoned player would have and overwhelming skill. If he could back these up...

'There's no need to be swayed by viewers.'

If he could provide a distinctive, high-quality content unlike anyone else, viewers would naturally keep coming.

'Keeping the concept is much more important.'

Yes, that was precisely the essence 'Unknown' the player should maintain. And just as Jinhyuk anticipated—

-Kang Hodu: This guy really nailed his concept LOL.

-Life at Deadline: So cool and chic. Is this his "do it my way" style?

-Twitch Viewer Above Jobless: Normally, I'd be annoyed, but I'm not. What's with that? Am I a masochist?

-Coffin Dance: Please, torment me more.

-New Yorker in Seoul: Honestly, it's refreshing and better since he dares to stand up for himself.

Viewers felt an odd charm for a capable and brusque player.

And right when the chat was buzzing frantically...

'What's this...?'

Jinhyuk sensed something.