Side Story Chapter 91 - Capture the Relic (2)

"The power of a Titan is in this thing?"

Oh Kang-Woo dumbfoundedly lifted the sculpture that looked like a dol hareubang. No one would think something like this would contain such unfathomable power.

He narrowed his eyes and asked, "Is it... the power of Akart?"

[I am not sure yet, but I am sure it is the power of a Titan.]

'Come to think of it, the Players are going crazy over the relics because...'

Kang-Woo turned to Cha Yeon-Joo and asked, "Yeon-Joo. You said this relic levels Players up, right?"

"Yeah, at least that's what I was told. You know that Players usually can't level up further after reaching a level cap until something triggers a break in that cap, right?"

"Yeah."

'Though it was so long ago, I don't remember that well.'

"But if they absorb the mana or whatever kind of power is infused in these relics, they can ignore that cap and level up."

"..."

"It's not just for leveling up. Some permanently boost one's stats and others allow Players to awaken new Traits."

"No wonder they're going crazy over it."

The reward was far better than simple monster hunting.

"And the weapon and armor-type relics are so overpowered that they leave most Legendary-grade equipment in the dust."

"..."

Such effects would be impossible if not for the powers of a Titan infused in them. Kang-Woo examined the sculpture intently and fell into thought.

"But these relics don't all have the same effects, right?" Kang-Woo asked.

"Of course not."

"Then how do you distinguish which is good?"

"Oh, I heard there's a way to check." Yeon-Joo took the relic from Kang-Woo. "Just appraise the item like you're opening a status window."

Riiing!

[????????????????????????]

[★★]

"You see the stars under the broken characters, right?"

"Yeah."

"This is its rank. It's apparently called a two-star relic."

"And the higher the better?"

"Yeah. The highest that's been discovered is a seven-star relic."

It was similar to the apostles' ranking system on the other Earth.

"How good is a seven-star relic?" Kang-Woo asked.

"The bastards at Valhalla are keeping it so under wraps that no one knows."

Valhalla was also one of the top five guilds in the world like Red Rose.

"Seven-star relics give one power on par with Upper Intermediate-rank Deific Essence," answered Lilith, who had been listening leisurely, as she put one leg over the other.

Yeon-Joo stared at her in surprise. "How do you know that, unnie?"

"Fufu. I don't run an intelligence organization for nothing. Getting information from inside Valhalla is a piece of cake."

"Holy shit. My members couldn't find anything even after painstaking research."

"Just to let you know, I also know everything going on in your guild, Yeon-Joo. Hoho. You've been quite busy for a while but things have been getting some time to spare, right?"

"Wha—"

Yeon-Joo's mouth was left agape in disbelief. Not many could escape from Lilith's eyes other than beings like Akart's retainers who could assimilate with light to move around.

"In any case, you're saying high-ranking relics can grant Deific Essence, right?" Kang-Woo asked with shining eyes.

'Then if I gather those relics...'

He faintly smiled, remembering the spinning roulette.

"Eve, can you extract the Titan's power from these relics too?"

[Yes! The retention rate of these relics is far higher than the necklaces from last time, so I should be able to extract much more energy!]

[?*.?(ˊ?ˋ)?.*?]

Eve sent an emoticon full of confidence with shining effects. Kang-Woo clenched his fists.

"Trait gacha!!"

'I got a mid Trait like Astral Projection last time, but this time...'

"ABYSS WATCHER!!!"

He could get his SSS-rank Trait or possibly something even greater.

"What? Abyss what?" asked Yeon-Joo, startled by Kang-Woo's sudden cheering.

Han Seol-Ah and Lilith were also staring at him incomprehensibly.

"Hehehehehe," Kang-Woo chuckled, paying them no mind.

He was already tingling with excitement thinking about the Trait gacha like a compulsive gambler.

'If I'm especially lucky, I might be able to get an EX-rank Trait!'

Even Kang-Woo couldn't help but drool at the thought of getting an EX-rank Trait despite already possessing the unfathomable power that was the Demonic Sea.

'The Miracle Trait that Seol-Ah used to resurrect Balrog was also EX-rank.'

Considering that, he needed to get one of the same rank no matter what.

'Though I bet the chances are low as fuck!!'

Kang-Woo recalled what Eve had said to him.

"I need to be... more desperate."

He needed to believe that it would come to him.

"What?" Yeon-Joo asked.

"I'll get it!! I'll get it this time for sure!!!"

"Get what?"

"Yeon-Joo!!! You believe your oppa, don't you?!!"

"For fuck's sake, did you take a bullet to the head? What the fuck have you been talking about since earlier?!"

"Just believe! Believe me just one more time!!!"

'Just one more pull! This'll be the last one, I swear!!!'

***

It was chaos.

"Hey! Stop pushing!!!"

"Move, you sons of bitches!!"

"The fuck are you on about?! I was first!"

"We're not in a fucking amusement park! There's no such thing as first come first served here!"

People were pushing and cursing at each other.

"Motherfucker!"

"Wanna go, huh?!"

"Yeah, let's fucking go!"

"Fucking bring it!!"

Bash!!

The two Players who were making a scene began to fight each other.

"Fucking hell," Kang-Woo muttered as he witnessed the hellscape on par with the Nine Hells. "What a goddamn shitshow."

"I've heard the rumors, but this is pretty bad."

"E-Everyone here is a Player, aren't they?"

"Hohoho. This reminds me of Hell."

Yeon-Joo, Seol-Ah, and Lilith gave their thoughts as they witnessed the chaos. Kang-Woo quickly flew to Egypt as soon as he heard the news about the relics before other Players could take them all, taking his three lovers who were with him at the time. It had been a while since he formed a party with just them.

"Good thing we didn't take Echidna with us," Kang-Woo expressed.

Echidna did not follow them because she needed to stream.

"Holy crap, are we in a warzone or something?" Yeon-Joo shook her head with her mouth agape.

Thousands of Players of various ethnicities, nationalities, genders, and ages were fighting to enter a pyramid.

"A-Are the relics worth this much?" Seol-Ah asked in confusion as she looked at Kang-Woo.

"I mean, I don't blame them considering how valuable the relics are."

To Players, one's level was an absolute indicator of one's strength since leveling came with boosts in stats and new Trait skills. Even if the relics weren't used to level up, the power infused in the equipment-type relics far surpassed that of Legendary-grade equipment.

'Of course, they'd go crazy over them.'

Even if the Player didn't want to use it, they could easily be sold for billions if they were sold.

"At least it hasn't turned into a slaughterhouse..."

Players were still holding on to their sense of reason. None of them who were fighting were taking out their weapons, likely because they knew the situation would become uncontrollable if they started killing each other. They stuck to fighting with their fists.

'But it's a shitshow nonetheless.'

Kang-Woo shook his head.

Yeon-Joo sighed and clicked her head, saying, "Seeing this, I'm glad I didn't send any of my members here. It would've been a mess if they came here."

Things would undoubtedly get worse if a member of Red Rose were to join the fray.

"But why isn't the crowd getting smaller?" Yeon-Joo wondered.

Seol-Ah agreed. "That's what I was thinking. I wonder if something happened?"

There was a massive wave of Players but people around the entrance were not moving. Kang-Woo and the others stepped back from the crowd and observed the entrance.

Bash! Punch!

"No one may enter the Gate without permission."

"Kurgh!"

They saw Players getting beaten up and pushed away from the entrance.

"Who the hell are those guys?" Kang-Woo wondered.

A group of people wearing silver armor straight out of a Middle Ages fantasy novel was attacking people trying to enter the Gate and pushing them back. There were about two hundred of them, which was far less than the number of Players gathered at the pyramid entrance, but each of them was far stronger than the average Player.

"Huh? Those guys are from Valhalla!" said Yeon-Joo, noticing the symbol of crossed swords on the shoulder plate of the Players' silver armor.

"Valhalla has no right to block the entrance!"

"He's right! It's illegal for anyone but Guardians to regulate Gate entry!"

The Players shouted complaints at the Valhalla members blocking the Gate entrance. The Players in silver armor grimaced as the Players continued to swarm the entrance.

"Did you not hear us saying you may not enter?!"

Bash! Crack!

"Kurgh!"

"Argh!!! M-My leg!!"

"Urgh!"

The Players swarming the entrance were beaten up and pushed back by the Valhalla members again.

"Ngh..."

The Players glanced at each other and began stepping away from the entrance, intimidated by the Valhalla members. They could easily defeat the Valhalla members if the thousands of them worked together but there was no way Players blinded by greed for the relics would work together.

"Any other complaints?"

A large man who seemed to be of high rank among the Valhalla members glared intimidatingly at the Players. The Players flinched and stepped away.

"W-We'll be reporting this to Guardians!"

"Damn scumbags!"

Players were only timidly cursing at the Valhalla members— no one was willing to fight them.

"Wow, what a performance they're putting on." Kang-Woo chuckled as he witnessed the scene. "Let's head inside."

"What about Valhalla? Are you gonna beat them all up?" asked Yeon-Joo with a frown. "That's gonna turn out badly down the road."

Valhalla was one of the largest guilds in the world and had dozens of affiliate guilds under their wing. Kang-Woo could easily deal with the members blocking the Gate but he and his group would have to deal with all sorts of trouble with them while searching for the relics.

Lilith crossed her arms and suggested, "How about we use our positions as Guardians members?"

As the Players mentioned, no one but Guardians was allowed to regulate Gate entry. They would have no choice but to disperse if it was used to pressure them.

"But if we do that, we'll get an earful from sister-in-law once it deals a massive blow to our finances."

Valhalla, like other major guilds, supported Guardians with funding and high-level Players. They might cut off their support if Guardians members threatened them.

'We have to keep good hold of our piggy bank.'

Guardians used an astronomical amount of money to run. There was no need to go out of their way to sever their relationship with one of their piggy banks.

"Then what do you suggest?" Lilith asked.

"Not sure." Kang-Woo thought about a way to get past the Valhalla members without causing unnecessary trouble with them. "Mmm... we need some decent scapegoats."

Kang-Woo looked around for people suitable for the role.

"For fuck's sake, this is the problem with major guilds. We came all this way for nothing... Huh? What's this?"

"Dayum, what a sight!"

A group of nasty-looking Players smiled wickedly as they stared at Kang-Woo's group. To be more specific, they were staring at Lilith, Seol-Ah, and Yeon-Joo.

𝗳𝚛𝚎𝚎𝘄𝕖𝕓𝕟𝕠𝚟𝚎𝕝.𝗰𝕠𝐦

"Hehehe. Looks like the treasure wasn't in the Gate but out here."

"Hey, pretty ladies~ why don't you hang out with us~?"

The men approached the group with lecherous smiles, drooling as they stared at the three women. Kang-Woo smiled widely as he stared at the men coming their way.

"Found them."

'Forget same-day delivery. Get ready for same-minute delivery.'