Chapter 185: I’m on a Different Team

Episode 185

Guardians.

They were common entities found in the Tower of Trials. In fact, except for the angel bosses, almost all enemies could be considered Guardians.

‘I thought Guardians would be monstrous creatures with massive bodies…’

That was Kim Jinsung’s misconception.

“Die!”

“You shall not take another step towards the Goddess!”

The Guardians, who were charging towards Kim Jinsung and his party with incredible speed, shouting relentlessly, were…

Humans.

Moreover,

**Boom!**

‘Whoa.’

They were Awakened beings with unique abilities, just like regular hunters.

‘This is no different from a clan battle.’

Kim Jinsung was reminded of the time he had fought in a team battle against the Slaughterhouse Clan as a member of Boko Haram.

Back then, countless enemy hunters had charged towards him, and

**Slash! Slash! Slash!**

Their heads had all been sent flying by his sword.

But there was a difference.

‘They don’t seem to be real humans.’

Unlike in reality, the necks of the fallen enemies were spewing light instead of blood.

It was the same phenomenon he had witnessed when he severed Melahel’s right arm.

‘The status window confirms they’re not human.’

He checked the status window that had appeared before him.

▶ You have defeated a monster.

▶ Acquired 150 Beast Karma Points.

▶ You have already acquired the opponent monster’s trait ‘Heavenly Fanatic’.

‘The status window I’ve seen since I Awakened has never referred to humans as monsters.’

Humans were always classified as either ‘evil’ or ‘not evil’.

But that wasn’t important to Kim Jinsung.

‘As long as I can accumulate a lot of Beast Karma Points, it’s all good.’

Whether they were monsters or humans, they were just a means to an end for him if they didn’t possess any new abilities he could absorb.

**Slash! Slash! Slash! Slash! Slash!**

His sword sliced through the necks of countless Guardians.

By imbuing his sword with wind energy with each swing, he could cut down a wider range of enemies more efficiently.

“Waaaaah!”

“For the Goddess!”

But no matter how many he cut down, the number of Guardians seemed endless.

Kim Jinsung smirked at the sight of the enemies charging towards him like fanatics.

‘At this rate, I might even be able to break through 50,000 points before I encounter Melahel again.’

He swung his sword relentlessly, watching the Beast Karma Points accumulate rapidly.

**Boom! Boom! Boom!**

Explosions echoed from beside him.

It was Juan.

Every time a deafening boom erupted from his palm, numerous Guardians in front of him vanished as if they had been obliterated.

‘This is my home ground!’

Juan was elated, easily taking down the Guardians, who were made of light, using his Heavenly Energy.

He was currently the second-fastest at defeating Guardians, after Kim Jinsung, thanks to the environment that perfectly suited his unique abilities.

After Juan, the fastest participants were

**Slash! Slash! Slash!**

Gian, who was dodging all the Guardians’ attacks in his ‘Ghost Form’ while landing all his own attacks.

**Thud! Thud! Thud! Thud!**

Dante, who was firing Genocide Arrows to take down Guardians from afar while also engaging in close combat.

And Hans, who was firing bullets that created poison swamps, melting away numerous Guardians within their range.

But none of them were a serious threat to Juan, compared to Luca.

“Haaaaah!”

**Boom!**

Luca, transformed into a giant, slammed his fist into the Guardians in front of him.

Juan saw multiple Guardians vanish instantly upon being hit by his fist.

**Thud!**

Luca’s massive leg shot out in a front kick, sending numerous Guardians flying back as they vanished.

‘Damn it, that ability is seriously broken.’

Juan glared at Luca with wary eyes.

He had anticipated that the gigantification ability would be incredibly effective in large-scale battles.

But seeing it in action was unbelievable.

‘It seems like he’s taken down almost as many Guardians as me…’

**Boom!**

More Guardians vanished as they were struck by Luca’s fist.

But Juan didn’t panic.

‘I’ll have the upper hand in the long run. I’m barely using any Mana to defeat the Guardians, but he’s not.’

He saw Luca take a Mana potion from his waist and gulp it down.

It was already the second time he had seen him do that. Juan, on the other hand, hadn’t used a single Mana potion yet.

It was clear that the gigantification skill consumed a lot of Mana.

‘I don’t have to worry about Luca surpassing me in terms of Mana consumption. The problem is Alopsky…’

His gaze shifted towards the front.

Alopsky was effortlessly cutting down the Guardians, without using a single Mana potion.

Objectively speaking, Alopsky had probably defeated more Guardians alone than the other nine participants combined, including Juan.

His performance was that dominant.

‘…But it’s alright. I’m planning to get rid of him with an ‘accident’ before we enter the temple.’

Juan was certain that Alopsky hadn’t noticed the murderous intent he had briefly directed at him.

* * *

[It’s been over two hours since the third round started. We’re nearing the halfway point, right?]

[We’re approaching the latter half of the dungeon. The participants are fighting even harder, knowing that.]

[Let’s take a look at the current rankings, including the interim scores from the evaluation team.]

※ Current Rankings

1st: Team 6 (-)

2nd: Team 4 (-)

3rd: Team 5 (-)

4th: Team 1 (↑3)

5th: Team 2 (↑3)

6th: Team 3 (↑3)

7th: Team 7 (↓3)

8th: Team 8 (↓3)

9th: Team 9 (-)

10th: Team 10 (-)

[Ah! The rankings of the Team 1, 2, and 3 members have gone up significantly! Their performance has been noticeable throughout the third round, and it’s reflected in the rankings.]

[But the problem is that they still haven’t surpassed Dante and Hans from Teams 4 and 5, let alone Alopsky.]

[That’s because those two have also been performing well, haven’t they?]

[That’s right. I personally predict that Juan and Luca from Teams 1 and 2 will climb to second and third place by the time they reach the temple at the end of the dungeon.]

[So you’re saying Alopsky will maintain his first-place position?]

[It seems likely. He’s still performing better than Juan and Luca.

In my opinion, unless Juan or Luca pulls off an incredible feat, like defeating the final boss alone, a comeback seems difficult.]

[I see… Oh, as we speak, the participants have entered a cave leading underground.]

As Thomas said, the participants were seen entering the cave entrance on the broadcast.

Daniel commented,

[This cave leads directly to the temple. The lower-ranked participants need to earn as many points as possible in this cave.]

[That’s right. There’s a fork in the road in this cave where they have to split into two teams, right?]

[Yes. It’s a test of their teamwork. I’m looking forward to seeing who will earn the most points here.]

* * *

“…A fork in the road.”

Juan and the other participants were standing at the fork in the road that the commentators had mentioned.

Juan looked at the two cave entrances and said,

“As you can see, it’s designed for five people to enter each cave.”

Indeed, there were magic circles at the end of both caves, each with ten footprint-shaped indentations.

It was a mechanism that activated the magic circle when five people stepped on the indentations with both feet.

“And the right cave is combat-focused, while the left cave is mostly puzzle-based.”

Juan pointed at the inscriptions above the caves.

The right cave had ‘Warriors’ Proving Grounds’ inscribed above it, while the left cave had ‘Strategists’ Proving Grounds’.

“In other words, we need to choose the strongest among us and send them to the right cave.”

He looked at the participants and called out,

“First, me, Luca, Alopsky, and Gian will definitely go to the right cave. The remaining one…”

He looked at Dante and Hans, seemingly lost in thought.

“It would normally be Dante or Hans, but you two are the smartest among us, right?”

“That’s right. Especially Hans, he’s a Harvard graduate.”

Luca chimed in.

“Then you two go to the left, and anyone else can come here. Honestly, the four of us are more than enough to clear the right cave. We have Alopsky… right?”

He looked at Kim Jinsung as he asked.

Kim Jinsung didn’t answer and felt a sense of suspicion.

‘Why is he suddenly acknowledging me?’

Juan had been wary of him and kept his distance since the first round.

Just a minute ago, he had been trying to steal the kills from him during the fight against the Guardians.

‘This is suspicious…’

“Hey, Chano. You come with us. Your bulletproof ability will be more helpful.”

Juan called out to Chano, the newbie from Team 10.

Kim Jinsung felt even more suspicious as he saw Chano running towards them.

‘Wouldn’t the Team 8 member with the ‘Tree of Life’ skill be more useful?’

It made more sense to bring the Team 8 member, who could summon the Tree of Life, which provided HP and MP recovery as well as stat buffs, as a support.

‘Now that I think about it, everyone except me is from the Blue Team from the second round.’

It was incredibly suspicious that Juan was bringing Chano, who wouldn’t be of much help, instead of the Team 8 member.

“Alright, let’s head to our respective caves. We’ll meet at the exit later.”

Juan said and turned towards the right cave.

The others followed him, and

“…”

Kim Jinsung, with a dubious expression, followed them as the last one.