Chapter 65: One-Man Army (1)

Chapter 65. One-Man Army (1)

Jinhyuk nodded in satisfaction.

"Thanks for sharing all this useful information. It has been a great help."

He had acquired information that would be crucial for strategizing.

Questions that he had were also somewhat resolved.

"Can I go now, then?"

Melena asked with a desperate expression.

"No."

"But, you said you would let me live... you promised to let me go if I told you everything I knew!"

"Don't worry. I'll keep my promise."

Now that she had proven useful, there was no intention of killing her carelessly.

Why would he dispose of such a valuable asset after a single use?

It could continue to be beneficial in the future.

"However, you will need to make one more promise."

"A promise?"

"Yes, a promise."

Not a verbal promise, nor the pinky promises children make, but a real one.

An oath etched into the soul is the true essence of a promise.

[Lv3 'Brand of Soul Binding' has been activated!]

The tips of Jinhyuk's fingers glowed brightly.

"From now on, you must unconditionally obey me. If you think of betraying me, you'll find it would have been better to die, so choose wisely."

Die or obey.

Those were the only options.

And Melena chose...

"I don't want to die."

She chose survival.

***

After an arduous first night, dawn arrived with a warm sun illuminating the campsite.

"Ugh..."

Jinhyuk stretched and rose from his bed, greeting the refreshing morning.

It felt as though all the fatigue had been washed away.

Everything had gone smoother than expected the previous night, and with a hearty dose of nutrition, he felt in peak condition.

'I won't have any problems even if I fight with all my strength now.'

The final boss raid was going to be a frantic battle incomparable to any before.

'More akin to war than battle.'

Jinhyuk calmly re-evaluated the overall strategy for the upcoming raid in his mind.

Naturally, even the smallest mistakes were unacceptable.

Therefore, Jinhyuk had meticulously planned for complex scenarios, optimum movements, and variables that could break any assumptions.

He had prepared for every possibility.

After a few minutes passed,

Jinhyuk finally opened his eyes that had been closed in concentration.

Now, in his hand, held the key acquired from Cheonjugwan-eum (Thousand-Handed Kannon).

Ah. Before calling the boss, just a moment.

'I almost forgot.'

There was something he had to do.

Jinhyuk activated the 'Broadcast System.'

[Welcome to 'Channel Unknown.']

[Please select the category you wish to view.]

Various categories were listed before him.

Right now, he needed to post an 'Announcement.'

[I will not stream the boss raid. I'll upload an edited guide video later, so watch it only if you're interested.]

A brief two-line notice was updated.

'There's no need to stream the boss fight live since I've already drawn enough attention with the first broadcast.'

The goal was to increase the number of views for his videos and build awareness for the 'Unknown' channel.

He wasn't about to provide a weakness to the boss by chattering away with viewers during the live broadcast.

Less than a minute after the video update, dozens of comments were posted.

It seemed there were quite a few people eagerly waiting.

-Ishtellar: Wow, look at the announcement. He was about to start streaming, and now he switches to a video abruptly?

-Nutella Jjajang: Moreover, he presumes he will succeed? What if he fails and dies, leaving such a notice?

-Jobless Weight: He must be confident. Those who missed the streaming, just stay put. If you do, you'll at least get by.

-Pizzatangsuyuk is so tasty: Yep. These waters are completely different from what you old fish are used to.

-Highschooler's Nation: Is it really that grand?

-Veteran Gamer's Shack: I saw a bit yesterday, and, man, our 'Unknown' bro was pure Dubai oil.

-Diablo3 Reminisce: Agreed. It was almost like causing production team baldness. He succeeded where large guild raid parties stumbled.

-MadMovie: Hmm, I smell kimchi stew here, but no matter how strong he gets, he can't face an army of tens of thousands alone, right?

-Young Spirit Enthusiast: I'm looking forward to seeing how he will defeat the boss.

A mix of skeptical voices and those willing to wait spurred a heated debate, and the channel's forum began to buzz.

'I should pay a bit more attention to the production as well.'

While the success of the raid was a given, to also succeed in viewership, he had to consider the script, the camera angles, and even the actors on stage.

And of course,

Jinhyuk had already conceived of the perfect way to satisfy all those elements.

'Now, let's get started.'

Jinhyuk extended his hand toward the void in front of him, clutching the key.

An empty airspace.

But as soon as the key touched a certain point in the void space.

Clang!

The sound of interlocking iron rang out.

['The Key of the Statues' is reacting!]

[A host from the third floor responds to your call!]

As the red status window appeared,

Rumble, rumble, rumble!

A colossal gate began to emerge before him.

Compared to when Cheonjugwan-eum appeared, this gate was an even more overwhelming presence.

"Wow..."

An exclamation escaped Jinhyuk's lips.

It was immense both in width, crossing bamboo forests with no visible end, and in height, seemingly reaching the clouds and swallowing the sky.

Then, the sounds resonated.

Thump! Thump! Thump! Thump! Thump! Thump!

An enormous number of statues started to appear beyond the gate.

A force counting 30,000.

Most were 1-meter-class soldiers clad in heavy armor, but there were also midsize ones over 10 meters tall and large ones reaching 50 meters.

Among these statues, the most ornately carved one was in the center.

That must be the master of the third floor.

Precisely speaking, the one yawning on top of that statue.

"Hmm. You came alone this time?"

A familiar voice came from the top of the statue.

Zzzzt!

Jinhyuk's skin tingled with goosebumps.

Indeed.

'Is this the power of a boss monster?'

The boss monster of the third floor originally had relatively weak magic power.

This was due to the massive number of minions it controlled, dissipating its power.

Nevertheless, the overwhelming feeling crushing down on his entire body proved it was indeed a boss.

Jinhyuk activated 'Gluttonous Eyes' to scan the opponent.

However,

[Due to extreme level difference with the target, the status window cannot be viewed.]

The response was that reading was impossible.

But then,

[Your Luck and Adaptive stats have negated the level difference.]

[You can now see through the target's status window.]

His stats had come into play.

'The Luck stat which failed against Cheonjugwan-eum worked this time!'

Jinhyuk silently cheered.

Name: Mu-Hon

Gender: Unknown

Age: Unknown

Level: 105

Strength: 72 Agility: 101 Endurance: 79 Magic Power: 93 Karma: 128

Unique Ability: The Heartless Army

Skills: Lv17 'Thousand Grasp Control', Lv15 'Unified Command', Lv14 'Weakness Scan', Lv14 'Military Strategy'

[Copy Condition: Since the level of Mandala is below 15, copying Mu-Hon's unique abilities or skills is not possible.]

Level 105...

Apparently, plenty of guild raiding groups must have met their demise to increase its level so high.

Considering that normally it would take at least a year for this guy's level to reach into the hundreds.

'So that's why it was so confident.'

Annoyingly pompous for a mere third-floor boss, prouder than the dragons residing on higher levels.

But it's not a bad thing.

'On the contrary... it's a better situation for creating complacency.'

Even if the level has increased and victories accumulated...

'The insecurity coming from not being strong remains unchanged.'

It seems no being is perfect - even they possess at least one flaw to exploit.

"Personally, I believe a true monarch leads from the front in battle rather than hiding behind others."

"Such foolishness leads to wars concluding meaninglessly. When a commander at the front falls, the troops following him are annihilated. Do you not even understand such a fundamental principle?"

That's not wrong either.

Except...

"If you fight at the front and don't die, isn't that all you need?"

Why does everyone assume you must die if you take the lead?

There's no better way to boost overall morale than this, provided there's sufficient strength to back it up.

"...Absurd. You're saying you have the power to do that?"

"Yes, of course."

If it were not possible, he wouldn't even be here.

He wouldn't have collected resources for victory through great ordeal and effort.

Jinhyuk slowly contained his magic power.

"It seems you're quite confident in your ability to command troops in battle... I happen to quite like large-scale fights too."

Let's put it to the test then.

For one to prove themselves right, the other must fall.

With those closing words, Jinhyuk summoned a peculiar-looking chessboard from his spatial inventory.

['The Original Chessboard' is activated!]

Sssss...

Blue lines began to draw across the ground, forming a square checkerboard.

It was working properly.

Then...

Jinhyuk took out the sculptures given to him by Lee Yoori.

Thousands of marble chess pieces appeared, not as toys for board games, but as works of art, each carved and inscribed with runes by the summoner Lee Yoori.

Each chess piece would now serve as one soldier.

"Hmm, an interesting idea. Certainly, with that method, you could at least play a war game alone."

Mu-Hon appeared intrigued by the chess pieces scattered across the chessboard.

However, after a moment's surprise, a scornful comment followed.

"And with those little things, what do you plan to do exactly?"

"Just wait and see. I'm not done yet."

He didn't need to snap at him; soon enough, Jinhyuk would force him to silence.

Jinhyuk then brought out the last item to complete the setup.

An item obtained by toying with Anubis on the first floor of the Tower of Ordeals.

['Growth Pill' consumed!]

The growth pill, collected in large quantities, began to seep into the chess pieces.

Subsequently,

Boom, boom, boom!

The pieces, barely 10 cm tall, started growing rapidly.

2-meter-tall knights, bishops, and rooks lined the horizon, while heavily armored pawns with spears formed tight formations.

No longer toys, but a legion in its own right, who could mock such a force?

Finally realizing the severity of the situation, the smile on Mu-Hon's face vanished.

Clench!

Mu-Hon gritted his teeth.

"...You."

The nuisance he thought was just an annoying fly.

He believed he could easily crush a mere human with a simple gesture.

But not anymore.

What once was a insignificant human had now morphed into an indomitable opponent commanding a formidable force.