Chapter 195: Gremory’s Trial

Black Mage Ali was a ranker, first in the Local Mage Rankings. He was currently exploring a dungeon after receiving the quest, ‘The Liberation of the Cursed Hero’. The quest was ranked ‘SSS’, a level that was completely different from regular quests. Although the rewards were generous, the quest was truly hard to clear. In fact, there were already quite a few people who received SSS-ranked quests, however, none of them had succeeded in clearing them.

If Ali successfully cleared this SSS-ranked quest with a very high score, he would be able to trigger a system. The system was none other than the ‘Hall of Kings’ system. Once ‘Hall of Kings’ was activated and released, players from all over the world would be notified. It would be a glorious and enormous achievement for Ali. In fact, it was much more than that.

‘Players that clear an SSS-ranked quest with a high enough score to trigger the Hall of Kings will be given immense rewards.’

An enormous reward. A typical example was the ‘demigod’. It was a name that players made up. The god class players were trying their hardest to create ‘god’ ranked artifacts. However, not a single person had successfully completed one yet. On the other hand, there were those who had successfully mastered and created demigod skills and artifacts. However, these people could only be counted on one hand, to be exact, on three fingers. The demigod artifacts were originally ‘legendary’ ranked artifacts. However, the power of these artifacts far exceeded the other legendary artifacts, so the players dubbed them as ‘demigod artifacts’, or in the case of skills, ‘demigod skill books’.

‘And that thing right now...!’

It was a huge opportunity for Black Mage Ali. However, it had become apparent to Ali that this SSS-ranked dungeon was very difficult to clear. Even though Black Mage Ali was the top mage in the country, he still struggled due to the difficulty of the dungeon. After all, the mobs had a high level of magical defense. After struggling against many twists and turns, he successfully arrived in front of the final boss room.

At that moment, the notifications rang in Ali’s ears.

[The Cursed Hero has appeared.]

A single man walked out from the shadows. His figure was extremely daunting and muscular, especially with the thick club in his hand.

‘It seems like the theme is Heracles.’

The dungeon was called ‘The Tomb of the Cursed Hero’, so it was only natural that a hero would appear in the final boss room. Just like that, the fierce battle between the cursed hero and Black Mage Ali began.

As a high-leveled mage, Black Mage Ali had stored one Seventh Tier Magic, two Sixth Tier Magic, and five Fifth Tier Magic in his wand. If others were to know of this fact, they would definitely be shocked. With those magic stored in his wand, Black Mage Ali confidently strode into this dungeon and explored this place. Besides, the higher the level of the mage, the shorter their casting time. Any high-leveled mage could even instantly cast a Third Tier Magic and below.

“Fireball.”

Because of his high INT and WIS, the size of Ali’s fireball was three times larger than a normal fireball. This huge fireball flew straight towards the cursed hero.

Slam!

However, what was surprising was the fact that the fireball disappeared easily after being hit by the hero’s club.

‘Shit...!’

Ali’s face distorted.

Bang, bang, bang!

The hero ran towards him.

“Fire Storm!”

“Fire Wall!”

Crackle!

A huge barrier made of flames appeared, blocking the path towards Ali, while a huge fire tornado swirled around him and grew larger.

Shwaaaak!

The raging flames devoured and engulfed the area. However, a huge hand stretched out right in front of the flame barrier that was protecting Ali, as if it was nothing.

“Blink.”

Tap!

Ali increased the distance between them in an instant, cold sweat drenching his back.

‘As expected, this is not easy either. But I have to succeed! The Hall of Kings...!’

So far, there have only been nine names listed in the Hall of Kings. Among those nine, three were achieved by a single anonymous person only known by the name ‘Kenra’. The remaining six had been named and hailed as a King once. However, one thing was for sure, each and every single one of them had now become representatives of their own countries. And disappointing as it was, there was not a single Korean player in the Hall of Kings.

Ali’s gaze turned cold as the flames in his heart blazed strongly. As a citizen of this country and someone who had always looked up to those in high places, Ali wanted to be listed in the Hall of Kings.

Puhaaaak!

Puhwaaaaa!

Puhaaaaaaaa!

Dozens of magic formed around him.

Bang, bang, bang, bang, bang, bang, bang, bang, bang, bang, bang, bang!

Half an hour later, Ali finally won this arduous battle, his body staggering from exhaustion.

‘Please, please...’ ?Ali desperately begged, hoping for a good outcome.

‘Please let me be in the Hall of Kings!’

At that moment, the notifications rang.

[You have completed the Hidden Quest: Liberation of the Cursed Hero.]

[Your rewards will be given based on your score.]

[You have gained 2,000,000 EXP.]

[You have acquired the Robe of the Cursed Hero.]

[You have acquired the Skillbook: Diss]

[You have acquired the ore: Cartinium.]

[The Episode Quest: Hero’s Will has been created.]

“...Goddamnit!” Ali shouted, face filled with disappointment. He had failed to be admitted into the Hall of Kings. Even though he was disappointed, he knew the reason why he failed.

‘I’m short of mana.’

Short of mana, in other words, his MP was not enough. If other players knew of his MP, they would consider it an enormous amount. However, he still felt that it was still lacking. The MP was usually filled through natural recovery, or through the use of potions. However, the cooldown after using a mana potion was much longer than when using a STM potion. In addition, natural recovery was also slow since it was a step-by-step process.

‘What if my MP was already high to begin with before I entered the dungeon? I would have cleared it faster with stronger, and more powerful, magic.’

Ali felt regret at failing to reach the Hall of Kings. However, he did not dwell too long on it. The only thing that he could do was sigh at the regrettable fact. Not long after, the smile was back on his face. After all, the artifact and the skill book were more than enough rewards for him.

The skill, Diss could summon a giant spear from the sky to attack the enemy. It could easily penetrate through the tanker’s defenses and deal a lot of damage all in one attack. What was even better was the robe. It was a legendary artifact! That was not all, there was even an episode quest and an ore among his rewards.

‘What’s this?’

All of the information in the Episode Quest was listed as ‘???’, and even the Demon World’s ore was described as ‘unknown ore with unknown use’. While expressing his doubt and confusion, another thought formed in Ali’s head.

‘I should first increase my mana.’

There was something that he had heard before.

‘The thousand-year-old ginseng. Rumor as it that eating one would allow the consumer to get a 1.5x increase in their mana, right?’

***

[You have completed the first trial.]

[Would you like to challenge more trials?]

Minhyuk nodded to answer the notifications.

“Yes.”

[You have accumulated 200,000 EXP.]

[The Demon World’s Grilled Black Pork Belly will be saved.]

[Gremory’s Second Trial will now begin.]

[For the Second Trial, you can proceed together with the player and the vassal that you brought with you. To complete the trial, you need to clear the dungeon in front of you.]

[Sword God Valen, together with two of his squad members, will enter a different dungeon.]

[The trial will fail if you spend more than 20 minutes to clear your dungeon than the time Sword God Valen and his squad members took to clear their dungeon.]

[If you successfully overcome the trial, you will be able to acquire the Demon World’s Cooking Ingredient ‘Demon King’s Largehead Hairtail’.]

[However, please take note that if the trial fails, then all of the rewards that have been listed and accumulated will disappear.]

[You are required to either overcome the trial, or reach the end of the hidden temple, to receive the rewards that you have earned.]

‘Wow…!’

Minhyuk was in awe. As soon as he read the notifications, he could tell that the ingredients that he could get from these trials were ingredients that were famous in ‘Jeju Island’. Especially the Largehead Hairtail! If he placed the plump, steaming flesh on top of a spoonful of hot rice and placed it in his mouth, he would be able to taste the savoriness and sweetness of the fresh fish! It would definitely bring a smile to anyone’s face!

Valen, who was thinking about passing on his sword skill to Minhyuk, was left stunned when he saw the latter gulping down his saliva. He thought,?‘...It must be difficult.’

Up until now, he thought that they would be able to overcome the trial because of Minhyuk’s performance earlier. However, when he saw the vassal and the player who would join Minhyuk, he felt that they would fail.

“Hiyaaa. This bread is really delicious!”

“Bread addict. Are you eating another piece of bread?”

Valen shook his head after seeing Kaistra eat his bread happily together with Grandpa Ben. Of course, he thought that they were also a member of Minhyuk’s ‘optimized party’, but they still seemed unready for battle.

Then, the two people who would accompany Valen to attack the dungeon appeared. They were two of the squad members whom he personally led before. They were less capable in fighting compared to Valen. After all, Valen boasted enough power that was worthy of the title ‘Sword God’. This was also the reason why his squad members were not able to show much of their prowess. However, even if it was only Valen who had entered the dungeon, his dungeon clearing time would still be extremely short.

‘The trial is mainly concerned about choosing ‘him’. That’s why I can’t slack off just because it’s Minhyuk,’?Valen thought. He vowed to do his best to clear this dungeon quickly.

Then, the two teams walked towards their respective dungeon entrance.

“My Lord, let’s have one more shot before going inside.”

“Bread’s delicious!”

Then, Valen thought,?‘They don’t have any signs of nervousness at all. Sigh.’

Valen sighed as he entered the dungeon. Then, he began to move forward as Level 350 monsters began to flock in front of them.

'Map to the Hidden Temple' could only be unsealed once the player reached Level 340, that was why the mobs that existed in this place were between Level 340-500.

“Flutter. Wind.”

Shwaaaaaaaaaaaa!

A slight wind started to blow around Valen’s body. Then, it began to grow in intensity, as it started to flutter and blow fiercely, before flying straight towards the incoming monsters.

Chik, chik, chik, chik, chik, chik!

Bang, bang, bang, bang, bang, bang, bang, bang!

The strong wind blew away everything that was in front of them. Even the mobs that were blocking the way were torn to pieces.

Plop, plop, plop, plop, plop!

Everywhere the wind blew, the monsters died quickly without much resistance. Then, Valen and his party reached the final boss room.

Shwaaa!

Inside the boss room, Valen was able to hunt and kill the boss monster in just under three minutes. He thought,?‘The total time was about 20 minutes.’

In other words, Minhyuk, together with the other player and his vassal, would need to clear their dungeon within 40 minutes to pass the trial. Then, Valen and his squad members slowly walked out of the dungeon. As soon as they got out of the dungeon, he could not help but tilt his head in surprise.

“...What’s happening?”

Right outside the dungeon, the three people were sitting around. They looked like they did not even leave their places earlier.

“Wow. Minhyuk. Chocolate cake paired with americano is so delicious!”

“Kaistra, you finally know the greatness of this combination!”

“Hohoho. Our bread addict finally knows the taste of coffee!”

Valen’s brows furrowed. He thought,?‘Don’t tell me?’

He thought that perhaps Minhyuk knew that they would lose, so they did not go inside.

‘Is Minhyuk that weak? He won’t even try knowing that they would lose? Is it because he now know that I’m the Sword God, that was why they gave up even before it started?’

Valen felt immense disappointment. Was it alright for the three of them to just sit and play tea time just because they could not challenge it?

Valen could see that Gremory was also there. However, he was overcome with so much anger and disappointment that he could not stop himself from speaking out. In his rage, he even failed to realize that Gremory’s pupils were shaking.

“Minhyuk.”

“Yes, Instructor!”

“I’m so disappointed in you, boy!”

“...Huh?”

“How can a man like you not even try?! Weren’t you the one who was smiling brightly while striking on scarecrows just to get ten loaves of bread? My goodness! You know that you’re going to lose so you didn't even try?! You have betrayed my expectations, boy!”

“What are you saying...?”

“You did not even go inside the dungeon to try?! Why did you just sit here and chat with them? Huh?!!!!”

Minhyuk tilted his head in confusion when he heard his words. He hurried to explain, “But, we went inside and got outside, Instructor!”

Valen looked at him incredulously.

‘What kind of nonsense are you saying? You went in and got out?’

This meant that they cleared it faster than him. Valen thought that Minhyuk was lying through his teeth and his anger rose to the top of his head. He roared, “If your words are true, then you will be the instructor from now on, I will be the trainee!!!!!”

At that moment, Gremory slowly turned her head. The tremble in her voice was unmistakable as she said, “Val…Valen...”

“...”

The fuming Valen turned his head to look at her. Then, she said, “...They really cleared the dungeon ahead of you.”