Chapter 221: Rewards of Overcoming Trials

Episode 221

Yoo Jun-ho and Team Leader Hong Yeon-seok watched the exit portal slowly opening.

As if on cue, they both turned to look at each other,

their eyes meeting in a silent exchange.

‘The exit portal opening means that Sariel, the final boss, has been defeated.’

‘And if someone managed to infiltrate and defeat the final boss of a high-level dungeon like the 45th floor, it could only be…’

They both came to the same conclusion.

‘Kim Jinsung!’

Without a word, they both dashed towards the dimensional rift.

Team Leader Lee Chung-hoon, the Team 6 Leader, was caught off guard by their sudden action.

“Wait! Everyone, follow the Vice Master!”

“Don’t follow me!!”

Yoo Jun-ho, who had reached the portal first, stopped Lee Chung-hoon, who was about to follow him with all his subordinates.

“Stay outside and keep watch! The infiltrators might try to escape!”

“Understood!”

As soon as he heard the reply, he entered the portal with Team Leader Hong.

Lee Chung-hoon watched them disappear and then instructed his subordinates,

“Raise the alert level to ‘Red’, the highest level! Activate all available surveillance measures! Inform the entrance portal as well!”

“Yes, sir!”

While his subordinates scrambled to follow his orders, he channeled his Mana.

A third eye appeared on his forehead, its red pupil scanning the surroundings.

He had activated his signature surveillance ability, ‘Three Eyes’.

* * *

And there was a woman who was watching their every move…

“…They noticed us.”

It was Hong Hyeonjin.

“They’ve deployed more personnel than usual for surveillance. I think they somehow figured out that we were here before we defeated the boss and sent reinforcements.”

She continued speaking, her eyes glued to a pair of binoculars.

They were on the rooftop of a building in the Green Zone,

dozens of kilometers away from the 45th floor of the Trial Tower they had just escaped from.

It was a distance impossible to see with the naked eye, unless you were using high-tech equipment like the binoculars she was currently using.

“Team Leader Hong.”

“Yes. If they entered the dungeon, they must have come here looking for Jinsung.”

“If the Vice Master, Yoo Jun-ho, is personally involved, that’s the only possible explanation.”

She lowered the binoculars and turned to look at Kim Jinsung.

He was staring at the exit portal,

without any equipment.

‘He can see it with his naked eyes…’

He had even seen Yoo Jun-ho and Team Leader Hong entering the portal. She hadn’t seen it, even with the binoculars.

‘Just how strong is he… Hmm?’

She was once again amazed by his power when she sensed someone approaching and turned around.

A well-built middle-aged man in a black suit was entering the rooftop.

He bowed respectfully to her, his black sunglasses hiding his eyes.

“Are you alright, Miss?”

“I told you to call me Master.”

“Ah, I apologize. Master.”

She shook her head, watching him correct himself.

She understood why he was doing it.

He had been her bodyguard since she was born, watching her grow up, practically a family member.

‘But it’s embarrassing to be called ‘Miss’ in front of my business partner…’

“Really… Introduce yourself. This is Kim Jinsung, the leader of Ukobachi. And this is…”

“Nice to meet you, Chief Bodyguard Son Dong-gun.”

Kim Jinsung extended his hand, and Son Dong-gun shook it.

“You know my name.”

“Of course I do.”

Just two years ago, Hong Hyeonjin and Son Dong-gun were figures that a mere high school student like Kim Jinsung couldn’t even dream of meeting.

They were role models for aspiring hunters, more famous than most celebrities in Korea.

‘My life has changed drastically in such a short time.’

He chuckled inwardly, realizing his current status.

“It seems you cleared the dungeon. I can sense a significant change in your energy, Master,” Son Dong-gun said, looking at them.

“Is it that noticeable?”

“Yes. I was quite surprised, even though I tried not to show it.”

She smiled brightly at his sincere answer.

It was the same charming smile that had captivated countless men in Korea.

“It’s a natural outcome. We cleared the 45th floor, after all,” she said, a hint of pride in her voice.

A notification window appeared in the corner of her vision.

You have overcome all the trials of the 45th floor.

All those who overcome the trials will receive rewards, and the value of the rewards will vary depending on their contribution.

You have single-handedly achieved a contribution rate of 51% in overcoming this trial.

As a reward for your outstanding performance, you will receive the ‘Blessing of Archangel Sariel’ for one week.

※ Blessing of Archangel Sariel: Increases all stats by 10 times and increases HP and MP recovery rate by 50 times. All attacks will be imbued with ‘Heavenly Energy’ while the blessing is active.

(Attacks imbued with Heavenly Energy deal double damage to beings with Demonic Energy.)

“It’s all thanks to Jinsung.”

She gave him all the credit for clearing the 45th floor of the Trial Tower.

“Knowing that Jinsung was behind me, I felt at ease and was able to fight better than usual.”

“That’s good to hear.”

He replied nonchalantly and changed the subject.

Her performance in the 45th floor dungeon wasn’t important right now.

“Your task now is to gather the new clans as quickly as possible, using the power of Sariel’s blessing.

I can guarantee that there are very few hunters from other continents who can defeat you with Sariel’s blessing.”

She nodded, feeling the immense power of the buff coursing through her body.

“I understand why you wanted to clear the 45th floor dungeon first. I feel like I can even overpower the Masters of the new clans with my current strength.”

He simply nodded in response.

* * *

There were two types of dungeons in the New Continent: ‘Demon World Dungeons’, which descended into the earth, and ‘Trial Towers’, which ascended into the sky.

Demon World Dungeons were similar to typical dungeons found in other continents. But Trial Towers were unique to the New Continent.

Naturally, the rewards were different.

Unlike typical dungeons, where you could obtain leather, organs, Mana stones, and other materials by dissecting defeated monsters, there were no such spoils in Trial Towers.

The main reason was that the guardians, the monsters of Trial Towers, disintegrated upon death.

But if you reached the end of a floor and defeated the boss, you would receive a temporary buff related to the Heavenly Realm, like Hong Hyeonjin had just received.

The quality of the buff was far superior to the buffs that ordinary hunters possessed.

There was no ability user in the world who could bestow a buff as powerful as the ‘Blessing of Archangel Sariel’ that she had just received.

That was why clans with some power always tried to acquire both Demon World Dungeons and Trial Towers.

Demon World Dungeons were for income, and Trial Towers were for buffs.

Naturally, all the Major Clans in the Center Zone possessed at least one Trial Tower above floor 40.

Like the 45th floor dungeon of the Korean Clan that Kim Jinsung and Hong Hyeonjin had just cleared.

* * *

“You should go now.”

Kim Jinsung dismissed Hong Hyeonjin and Son Dong-gun.

“You’ll be pressed for time if you want to meet all the Masters of the clans that have entered the ports.”

She nodded and said,

“Then I’ll be going. I’ll contact you at the number you gave me.”

“Alright.”

“Then… Oh.”

She stopped and asked,

“What are the chances of the Korean Clan finding out that we were here?”

He answered confidently,

“Less than 1%. If we had used a dimensional rift, they might have been able to calculate our coordinates from the traces we left behind.

But we used ‘Dimensional Teleportation’.”

He continued,

“It’s a new technology I recently developed. Even if they find traces, they won’t be able to calculate our coordinates.”

“You mean the technology to calculate coordinates from teleportation traces hasn’t been developed yet.”

“That’s right.”

* * *

His prediction was correct.

“It’s definitely a teleportation trace…”

Yoo Jun-ho and Team Leader Hong were crouching near the temple inside the 45th floor dungeon, their faces grim.

“The problem is that we can’t calculate the coordinates. Our detectors are useless, and even my unique ability can’t pinpoint their location.”

Yoo Jun-ho, who had been closing his eyes, opened them.

“There’s only one explanation. They traveled to another dimension.”

“…Teleported to another dimension?”

“It sounds impossible, but it’s possible if it’s Kim Jinsung. Especially after he defeated Graham, a dimensional ability user.”

“Ah…!”

Team Leader Hong nodded in realization, remembering that Kim Jinsung was an absorption ability user.

“So, there’s no way to find out where they went?”

“Not ‘now’.”

“…?”

Team Leader Hong looked at him, intrigued by his cryptic answer.

“As you know, there’s something in our clan who specializes in calculating coordinates.”

He frowned, racking his brain.

But he couldn’t think of anyone.

‘There’s no one in our clan who’s better at calculating coordinates than the Vice Master… Wait, ‘something’?’

He repeated the word ‘something’ in his mind and suddenly realized the answer.

He gasped in horror.

“…Y-you mean, Allobon…!”

—