Chapter 95: How a Veteran Levels Up (Part 2)

Chapter 95: How a Veteran Levels Up (Part 2)

There were five days left until Kim Ki-tae would recruit players for the labyrinth.

During that time, Jinhyuk attended various concerts and sought out Michelin-starred restaurants as arranged by Kim Hee-woong.

He found himself at the Chopin International Piano Competition.

A piano competition held once every five years, it was one of the top three musical competitions in the world where contestants competed with pieces by Chopin alone.

Thanks to his S-rank status, Jinhyuk easily secured a seat and became engrossed in the performance of a male pianist in his early twenties.

How much time had passed?

The climax of the performance started to dwindle, and the pianist's hands finally lifted from the piano keys.

The performance was over.

'I'm no expert in music... but this was truly thrilling.'

It was a realm completely different from battle.

The beautiful and dazzling melodies could indeed be described as a world sublimated into art.

Feeling a shiver, Jinhyuk brushed his chest.

"Phew..."

It was sensational.

It felt like having watched a whole movie.

He still felt the lingering sensation throughout his body.

'It took a fair amount of time, but I've achieved my goal.'

Now he had been to all the possible competitions and concerts.

At the same time.

[You have listened to a masterpiece that has defined an era.]

[You have completed 'Visiting 7 Concerts'.]

[You have completed the 'Visit to the Beethoven Museum'.]

Several status windows appeared before him.

'Good.'

The corners of Jinhyuk's lips curled up.

[Conditions have been met.]

[You have successfully copied the skill 'Absolute Pitch (F)'.]

[You have successfully copied the skill 'Understanding Musical Instruments (F)'.]

The acquired skills were all F-rank.

But Jinhyuk wasn't the sort to be satisfied with just that.

He could combine lower-ranked skills,

to create a higher-dimension skill.

That was why he had chosen the unique ability of 'Fusion'.

"I'll fuse Star's Blessing with Understanding Musical Instruments."

Jinhyuk immediately used his 'Fusion' skill.

[Skill 'Star's Blessing' and 'Understanding Musical Instruments' are fusing.]

[Fusion successful.]

[You have acquired the skill 'Heavenly Melody'.]

[Heavenly Melody]

Acquisition Difficulty: B

Description: The Goddess of Music 'Bestia' valued harmony and peace above all and believed that, despite the harshness of the world, music could act as a medium to break down barriers. This ability is imbued with her wish.

[Copied skills will be stored in 'World's Memory'.]

It wasn't for lack of something to do that he had come here.

He was gathering non-combat abilities.

To acquire additional powers needed to climb the tower in the future.

That's why he was investing his precious time.

'Next up is cooking.'

Before heading to the Elven Forest, two tasks remained.

All that was left now was to learn cooking.

Jinhyuk scanned through the list of reservations confirmed at Michelin 3-star restaurants.

[To copy the skill 'Master of the Royal Kitchen' you must meet the following conditions:]

[1. Eat a course meal in a Michelin 3-star or higher restaurant (7/10 times)]

[2. Watch the process of a chef preparing a meal (3/5 times)]

[3. Attempt cooking different types of dishes (25/30 times)]

Since he had been feasting intermittently while attending concerts, he wasn't far from meeting the conditions.

'I should be able to finish everything today and return to Korea.'

In other words.

The time to ascend to the 6th floor was drawing near.

***

At the penthouse on the top floor of the CITIC Tower in Beijing, China,

as fitting for the skyscraper, several men and women had gathered.

These were the rankers belonging to the largest guild in China, the Zhonghua Guild.

"Damn it! To have the first clear stolen from us again. What a disgrace! Didn't we say with certainty that we could clear the 5th floor before anyone else?"

A burly man with bushy beard roared.

Indeed, the preparations had been perfect.

They had mobilized both veteran players who had previously cleared the 5th floor and the rankers in a massive effort.

In addition, they were ready with a 'Orange' grade sacred artifact prepared within the guild itself, so being confident in achieving the first clear was completely justified.

But.

The Zhonghua Guild had failed to be the first to conquer the 5th floor.

Despite investing so much effort and resources.

Moreover, more than half of them were still struggling to escape from the mines or the gladiatorial arena.

"It's not that we were unprepared. It's just that the guy named Kang Jinhyuk killed the boss at an abnormal speed."

Kang Jinhyuk.

At the mention of that name, everyone's face was etched with anger.

"The talk below is all about that guy. I happened to overhear someone saying that humanity's only hope is him, spouting such nonsense. Of course, I immediately cut that person's throat."

"It might be premature, but we might have to consider the possibility of defectors as well."

"How long had that Kang Jinhyuk been rotting in the tower to climb it so quickly? And he did it all alone, without any external support..."

"He must have been at it for a long time. He might've even gone up past the 20th floor."

The 20th floor.

A mysterious realm that none present had seen.

"Could it be..."

"There's a madman who's gone beyond the 20th floor in that insane game?"

"That's ridiculous! Even China, with over 500 million players, abandoned it. How could such a guy exist in a country that could barely scrape together 50 million if they combined their entire population!"

Everyone vehemently denied the possibility.

After all, China was considered the center of the world, and they believed it was only China that could lay eyes on the tower's summit.

Thus, they called themselves 'Zhonghua', brimming with pride.

But no matter how hard they tried to conceal it,

They began to realize for themselves.

That there existed a veteran in this tower that they had completely underestimated.

And this veteran was more of a threat on his own than the entire guild could ever muster.

Then, an awkward silence ensued until the moment was disrupted.

Thud!

The doors parted on both sides, and a man appeared.

A handsome man dressed in exquisite silk, he stood out.

All eyes turned to the newcomer.

"Lord Namgung Chun!"

"Have you finished the discussions with the Wulin side?"

The master of the Zhonghua Guild and the strongest player in China.

Namgung Chun.

That was the name this man went by.

"Yes... for the most part, it's wrapped up."

Namgung Chun walked across the room with an air of dissatisfaction.

Each step he took filled the room with an icy chill as if they were in a freezer.

Gulp.

Sounds of people swallowing dryly were heard everywhere.

Naturally, no one dared to question why Namgung Chun was displeased.

Casually taking the main seat which was left open for him, Namgung Chun began to speak again.

"Who's in charge of the 5th floor?"

"Me... but, Lord Namgung Chun! This time, I assure you... "

The bearded man hurriedly started to make excuses.

Unfortunately, his pitiful reasoning was cut short before it could finish.

"...cough?"

Whoosh!

His split upper body sprayed blood like a fountain.

"Someone who can't even handle such a trivial task does not deserve to ascend with me."

Namgung Chun's sword had already swept horizontally across without warning, too quick for the eye to see or the mind to realize.

After flicking the blood from his sword, Namgung Chun's gaze turned to the rankers.

"I have to go to the 5th floor of the tower to carry out the tasks given by the Wulin. The main assault team also has duties to fulfill with me."

He called out to his main assault team.

The assault team leaders, upon making eye contact, bowed their heads.

"What shall we do about the 6th floor?"

"I'll permit three S-rank members along with one assault team to the elves. Those selected will take the elves as prisoners and burn the forest down to the ground. You have ten days."

His dropped command was the eradication of an entire floor.

There was no room for debate.

No questions either.

Their only path to survival was to carry out the orders.

"We understand."

"We won't disappoint you this time."

***

Having completed all his business in Europe, Jinhyuk headed straight for the tower.

There was one more day left before his appointment with Kim Ki-tae, and he wanted to become familiar with the elves in the meantime.

'They live deep inside the forest, making them difficult to encounter.'

Elves, as a species, were like that.

Creatures of beautiful appearance who loved nature more than anyone else but, strangely, were rather xenophobic towards other races.

In short. They were difficult to interact with, even more so to converse with.

However, that applied to average players.

'I'm different.'

He knew exactly where the elves lived,

which fruit trees they preferred,

and even what to do to gain their favor.

Just as he allowed himself a quirky smile, Jinhyuk suddenly shivered from a flashback.

'Speaking of which, I had quite the series of events trying to get friendly with them...'

He remembered the time he offered the herbivorous elves precious chicken, leading to a chase by the entire tribe.

The fear of getting caught in that chase, since a death meant no reconnection for 48 hours, had him playing a 17-hour long game of tag in the forest.

'Well, that was my mistake.'

Offering meat to elves...

He should have given them something inoffensive like sunflower seeds to avoid their fury.

But that wasn't the worst of it.

The most terrifying memory was fixed at 11:43:15 PM on October 17th - a date and time he couldn't forget.

'I'll never forget that day.'

Why else would he remember it so precisely?

Jinhyuk bit his lower lip.

After several attempts, Jinhyuk almost managed to befriend the elves, which led to an invitation to their village.

Coincidentally, his visit aligned with the elves' once-a-year festival.

In a space where the beautiful night sky and firefly lanterns mingled, the place was fragrant with exquisite fruits and drinks, reminiscent of a paradisiacal peach garden.

The atmosphere was exquisite until they asked if he could play an instrument.

The only instrument Jinhyuk had ever touched was back in elementary school music classes, which he usually slept through.

Ultimately, he used the 'Coin Exchange' to purchase the only thing he could play - a recorder.

Ignoring rhythm and pitch, Jinhyuk played the immortal tune 'My heart will go on', with a voice amplification spell to ensure all the elves could hear it.

And that...

Was his fatal mistake.

"Ahhh!"

"Stop, stop! Please, just stop!"

"This is devil's work! A demon has descended here!"

"The forest... The forest is angry! Trees are dying!"

"The fairies are leaving too."

He could almost still hear the screams of the elves.

'Naturally, the reward for my dedicated performance was dire.'

He thought he had channeled Leonardo DiCaprio, capturing the grandeur and passion of Titanic.

However, the reality was far from it.

Permanent banishment.

The charge was inflicting irreparable harm on the souls of the elves and the forest's spirits.

'This time... it will be different.'

He was fully prepared to make amends for that humiliation.

Whooom!

As his vision darkened, Jinhyuk entered the 6th floor of the trial tower.