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Chapter 184: Heavenly City (3)
“What a strange place.”
“Huh?”
He said to Amteron, who was tilting his head.
“The Heavenly City, I mean. Just by the name, I thought it would be a nice place.”
Wasn’t it supposed to be a refuge and a place of learning?
But the current situation was the opposite.
It was like a bunch of high-level players rushing in and oppressing a newbie.
Amteron grinned at that.
One would think this is some kind of heaven?
As someone in a high position, he knew the true nature of the Heavenly City.
The law of the jungle.
Nothing more, nothing less.
“Oppression? Someone might misunderstand, friend. Just think of it as guidance.”
“Guidance?”
“Think about it. Every time you go to the next district, won’t this happen?”
“Probably.”
“Of course. Someone with your skills will be coveted by everyone. But if you join our Hamorn Guild? You can just focus on growing without any worries. How great is that?”
Amteron then narrowed his eyes and said,
“You need a change of perspective, friend. If you agree, we’re always ready to be friendly.”
With that, Amteron glanced at his guild members.
Crack.
Crackle.
The werewolf started cracking his knuckles, the troll swung his mace, and the goblin aimed his crossbow.
“Doesn’t seem very friendly.”
“Ah, your eyes are just too fierce. I’ll ask you. Will you join us, Hamorn?”
[Would you like to join the Hamorn Guild?]
A message popped up.
After a brief moment of consideration, Kim Minwoo smiled and said,
“What’s your rank?”
“Our guild’s rank?”
“Yes.”
“Second. Not low at all.”
“Then you must know a lot.”
“Of course, a lot.”
Amteron replied with pride.
He was a newbie.
A newbie in need of information.
Being second, they must know a lot.
No more words were needed.
He stretched out his hand.
Merhen and Cedric appeared, surrounded by thousands of undead.
At that moment,
A white aura began to rise from the Hamorn Guild members.
[Entering combat mode!]
“As expected. Actions speak louder than words. Prepare to face the consequences!”
Amteron, drawing his sword, charged.
***
Amteron was brimming with confidence.
Clearing the deadly difficulty was no small feat.
He wasn’t underestimating the power of the newcomer.
The guy must be skilled.
But, in the grand scheme of things, he was just a newbie in the Heavenly City.
And one of the biggest advantages of the deadly difficulty was…
‘We can strike first without consequences.’
Fighting within the city was strictly prohibited.
Throwing the first punch?
One had to be prepared for immense penalties.
In severe cases, one could even be permanently banned from the Heavenly City.
But it was different when the opponent was on the deadly difficulty.
They could be attacked at any time without any penalty.
In fact, not only were there no penalties…
[Combat mode activated!]
[All stats increased by 50%!]
[Skill range increased by 30%!]
[Item abilities…]
All sorts of buffs were added as a bonus. That’s why newbies with the deadly difficulty were nothing more than delicious prey.
And, crucially…
‘We need to break them in.’
Did the deadly difficulty only have drawbacks?
Absolutely not.
It gave powerful buffs to the enemy.
In other words, the rewards were also much greater. The growth rate was much faster than other difficulties.
If left alone, who knows when they might surpass them?
That’s why they wanted to fight.
Because as time passed, they would become unmanageable. The guild members’ eyes were filled with confidence.
‘Just a newbie who just arrived.’
The entry requirement was level 300.
On the other hand, they were veterans who had honed their skills here.
Their average level exceeded 700.
Summoning thousands of summons was unexpected, but there was a way to deal with it.
‘Just take out the summoner!’
“Haaaa!”
Amteron swung his greatsword at the skeletons blocking his path.
Mana surged over the gleaming blade. His eyes, looking at the undead horde, gleamed sharply.
Amteron was confident.
His level alone exceeded 1,100.
He was a whopping Diamond rank.
He was not only among the top 1% of skilled players but had also been here for 12 years.
He was a veteran who could take the trainee exam and move on to District 8 whenever he wanted.
The reason he hadn’t moved on was that someone needed to manage District 9.
District 9, the gathering place for newbies.
A place where talented individuals are always pouring in, ready to be recruited.
‘I’ll show you the difference in skill!’
He was not someone who should be stuck in District 9.
With a swing of his sword, a massive wave of mana surged forth.
Its size was large enough to engulf hundreds of skeletons.
Clatter!
The skeletons raised their heads in a daze at the sight of the enormous mana wave.
Even though they were undead with faint emotions of fear, they couldn’t help but feel dread at this moment.
Then,
Flap!
One of the skeletons spread its massive dragon wings. A crimson aura gathered on its bony spear.
The skeleton, soaring at tremendous speed, thrust its spear with all its might.
Flash!
The red aura pierced through, creating a giant hole in the wave.
‘What?’
Before Amteron could react, the skeleton closed the distance and stabbed with its spear. Amteron quickly swung his greatsword.
Clang!
The greatsword and spear clashed violently.
Amteron’s hands and feet became disoriented by the trajectory of the spear aiming for his vital points.
“Damn it…!”
He was shocked.
It didn’t matter what he added or subtracted.
It was just a skeleton.
But a mere skeleton was pushing him back.
Even with all the buffs he had received!
The bad news didn’t end there.
Hamorn’s elite guild members.
They were also struggling. They were being hunted down by the undead swarming from all directions. In situations like this, the mages should have been able to provide support, but the mages who could use area-of-effect attacks were also powerless.
They were rolling on the floor, spitting blood.
‘This can’t be happening!’
It really couldn’t be happening.
How could a necromancer’s summons be so strong that they could push back his guild members?
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—Did you really want to defeat my master with just that much?
Amteron’s eyes turned fierce at the sight of Cedric’s cold sneer.
“It doesn’t seem like just any ordinary summon. You, what’s your name?”
—Cedric.
“Alright, I’ll remember that.”
Amteron’s body, grinding his teeth, glowed white.
[Amteron uses ‘Heavenly Projection’!]
“Let’s play a little more seriously!”
Whoosh!
Cedric hurriedly raised his spear to block the greatsword swung at an even faster speed.
Bang!
Cedric was instantly slammed into the wall.
Seeing this, Kim Minwoo’s eyes lit up.
“Oh.”
What kind of skill is that?
It was intriguing.
***
Amteron, the leader of the District 9’s Hamorn Guild.
He had a feeling that he might have something up his sleeve.
After all, he was a guy who strutted around the Heavenly City with some authority.
Seeing him suddenly unleash superhuman strength in the one-sided battle against Cedric confirmed it.
‘Interesting.’
It wasn’t just Amteron whose body started glowing white.
His guild members also began to display superhuman strength, like monsters released from their seals.
Even the skeletons, moving organically through the Heart of the Legion, were being blown away by that power.
‘Well, it’s not surprising.’
Even if they assisted in my movements as he intended, they were bound to be useless against overwhelming speed and power.
He looked at Merhen.
The mages of the Hamorn Guild were still struggling.
The only difference from before was that previously, they would cough up blood and collapse at the slightest touch.
Now, with their bodies glowing white, they only stumbled a bit before falling.
“How is it?”
—They seem a little less stupid?
“Oh, is that so?”
Kim Minwoo looked at Merhen with a slightly surprised expression.
From Merhen’s perspective, ‘less stupid’ was close to high praise.
—Yes. Their control over magic has become cleaner than before. Of course, it’s still not great.
“Seems like a decent skill, right?”
—It would be good if Minwoo could get it.
Of course, it would be good.
As for how to get it…
‘He’ll probably know.’
He saw Amteron pushing Cedric hard.
He had gotten much stronger than before, but…
‘It doesn’t matter.’
He could also exert his power if he wanted to.
He drew his Shadow Sword and approached him.
Amteron, who had been rampaging, sneered.
“What are you doing?”
“What am I doing? I’m going to fight. Why are you bothering my summon?”
“You’re crazy.”
A necromancer approaching with a sword?
It was like begging to be killed.
Of course, he had no intention of killing him.
His abilities were impressive enough to be coveted. With his abilities, the deadly difficulty buff, and the added information and support from Hamorn?
He had a high chance of being active not only in District 9 but also in the higher districts.
If he could scout such talent and send them up, he would receive a suitable reward.
‘Subduing him comes first.’
Amteron’s figure blurred.
He approached Kim Minwoo from behind and swung his greatsword at his arm.
It’s not like he couldn’t reattach an arm if he cut it off, right?
That should be enough of a lesson.
Just then,
Kim Minwoo’s figure sank.
Along with Hayang’s assimilation.
[Using Shadow Movement (SS)…]
He utilized the ability attached to the Shadow Sword. No matter how brightly the body glowed, shadows existed everywhere.
Kim Minwoo, rising from Amteron’s shadow, thrust his sword.
“Hmph!”
Amteron, quickly turning and blocking, tried to counterattack.
But his figure stumbled.
A mound of earth, rising from the ground, had grabbed his arms and legs tightly. On top of that, Cedric’s spear was thrusting towards him.
Crack!
Amteron tore through the magic holding his limbs with immense force and blocked the spear. His hands and feet moved frantically.
As a veteran of District 9, Amteron had vast combat experience.
Being ganged up on?
Of course, he had experienced it hundreds of times.
But…
‘What is this?’
This was the first time he had ever experienced such precise teamwork.
The mage restrained him.
Cedric and Kim Minwoo took advantage of the opening.
Up to this point, it was the standard textbook teamwork.
The problem was that overlapping attacks started to pile up.
In just five minutes, his greatsword was in tatters.
This meant one thing. Kim Minwoo’s close combat skills were overwhelmingly superior to his own!
Otherwise, there was no way he could have controlled his actions like this.
“What is this…!”
“Coming to your senses?”
As he said, his senses snapped back.
He wasn’t just a powerful necromancer.
‘Rather…’
This guy was better with a sword.
Even his equipment seemed far superior to his own.
The damage from his swordsmanship was beyond imagination for someone he had treated as just a necromancer.
He looked at his greatsword.
A dangerous sound, as if it would break at any moment, was emanating from it.
Amteron’s eyes widened.
If his weapon broke here?
He would have no chance of winning.
He couldn’t win in a bare-handed fight against this opponent.
‘Even with Heavenly Projection?’
Even after receiving the deadly difficulty buff and then another buff on top of that?
It was shocking.
His guild members were also subdued with swords at their necks.
There was no chance of winning.
A sword was now at his throat.
Green blood dripped down.
“Ugh…”
To think he would be defeated so pathetically.
It was an unimaginable scenario.
“Who… who are you…?”
Fear filled his eyes.
He knew that Kim Minwoo had cleared the higher difficulty. He also knew that he was bound to be much stronger than others at the same level.
But this was beyond imagination.
‘The Seven Lords…’
The seven rulers who governed the Heavenly City.
They too had shown tremendous prowess in the past as trainees.
They were said to be different from the start.
The seven were monstrous beings who had shaken the order of the city.
Why?
Why did the names of the Seven Lords come to mind when he looked at this necromancer?
‘I lost.’
It was absurd, but that was the outcome. He had been crushed by a newbie who had just arrived in the Heavenly City.
The result would be death.
As Amteron closed his eyes, seemingly giving up everything,
“Should I spare you?”
The words that reached his ears interrupted his thoughts.
“…Spare me?”
“Your words are a bit short.”
“…Are you saying… you’ll spare me?”
“I have a lot of questions.”
A second-ranked guild should know a lot.
They were useful.
At least until he heard all the information.
Amteron’s eyes shook violently at those words.
After a brief moment of hesitation,
Thud!
He knelt.
“If you spare me, I will pledge my loyalty to you.”
The law of the jungle.
It had long been revealed who was the weak and who was the strong.
[Quest cleared.]
[You have refused recruitment and subdued the leader of the District 9’s Hamorn Guild.]
[You have been awarded Merit Points as a reward!]
A message popped up in front of Kim Minwoo.
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