The Veteran Player Already Knows

Chapter 141 - Climax (1)

"Nice to see you."

As I waved at the Knight of the Southern Yellow, whose expression was thoroughly rotten, his face began to exude an even darker aura.

When I also gave a slight wave to Adelbach, who was beside him, she too turned her head with a bluish face.

It was a reaction that said she never wanted to see me again.

Hmm, for some reason, the members of the Round Table all seem to have a colorful range of facial expressions.

"It's rarer to find someone involved with you who isn't like that, you know."

I let Seo Ah-in's sulky mumble from the side go in one ear and out the other.

Well, anyway.

The reason this guy was standing quietly in front of me, even after he had personally created that enormous storm just a moment ago to crush me, was clear.

"Reward."

At the very least, it was certainly a matter I could bring up with a bright smile.

"...What?"

"It's your freedom as the supervisor to slam a 'disaster' like this on a guy who has conquered a zone, but instead, if the conqueror overcomes that disaster, you're supposed to provide a reward, right?"

I dropped the informal speech early on.

No matter how much of a hard time this guy was giving me, it was clear that this was ultimately an ordeal being conducted under the 'precepts' of the Tower.

In other words, having overcome all the trials given according to the established rules, I was now clearly in the position of power.

"So, hand it over. The reward."

The Knight of the Southern Yellow glared at me with a fearsome gaze. The mana in the surroundings fluctuated violently. Come to think of it, wasn't it like this when I met Evangeline too?

"Huh? You're not going to comply?"

"..."

Of course, the reaction that followed was also the same as back then. It was a carbon copy, right down to him gritting his teeth but having no choice but to follow my words.

Hmm, this felt good.

"...Very well. I shall grant you a reward."

"Whoa there. Hold on. Where do you think you're trying to pull a fast one?"

"...Excuse me?"

"The reward isn't something you 'give,' it's something I 'choose.' Am I wrong?"

The Knight of the Southern Yellow flinched and looked at me.

His expression asked how on earth I knew about such a system of the 'precepts,' but listen here, buddy.

I wonder if this guy knew that he was called a 'golden pretty-boy' and that users had figured out his 'methods' countless times.

As a fervent fanboy of the Guardian, if this guy was designated as the judge of the ordeal, he would obstruct players who were having various events with the Guardian in all sorts of ways.

And for a gamer who had delved to the extreme of a single work, turning the tables on someone trying to screw them over was practically a virtue.

In that respect, in a situation like this, there were numerous ways I could rig the game to be incredibly advantageous for me.

For example.

"The 'disaster' you just slammed into me. That's originally a Phase 3 gimmick, right?"

I continued, smiling brightly at the Knight of the Southern Yellow, who still had a sour expression on his face.

"Do the same thing to everyone else in the other zones, not just me."

A look of realization flickered across the guy's face.

Though he quickly composed himself and opened his mouth again.

"...Taking an action that will have a significant impact on the entire ordeal is a bit difficult."

"Don't be ridiculous. Among the rewards that the first conqueror to face a disaster can choose, there's 'Disaster Scattering,' isn't there?"

The guy's expression twisted even more.

You didn't know I knew about that too, did you?

"...The point cost will be absurd."

"Yeah. I have a lot of points."

Well, it would cost a lot if I scattered it across the entire floor, not just one or two places.

But it wasn't for nothing that I had been holding the number one spot until now.

In the meantime, I had also diligently farmed for points using the soldiers. And I had also collected all the special privileges.

The story was that I had probably accumulated enough to use them here.

Indeed, after confirming that I had enough points to demand what I had said, a sense of urgency began to appear on the Knight of the Southern Yellow's face.

"But, if you do that, the balance of the entire ordeal will collapse-"

"Hey."

I cut off the guy who was about to blather on.

"Do you really think that makes sense?"

"..."

"Then what does that make me, who took a direct hit from it?"

The sound of teeth grinding ferociously came from the Knight of the Southern Yellow's mouth again.

Well, this guy probably intended to gradually strengthen the disaster from the bottom up as per the 'original' gimmick, once I was crushed by the storm he created without being able to respond.

But no chance.

As long as I had overcome this unscathed, he would have nothing to say even if I demanded this.

"Slamming a disaster of absurd power from the very beginning, trying to gloss over the reward ambiguously, pretending you can't do something you clearly can..."

I continued with a smirk.

"Pathetic, really."

"...!"

"I think the Guardian of the Tower would probably think the same as me."

"You vermin-like ba...!"

"Hm? Are you angry? A little more and you might just swing?"

As I said that, I leaned in with a grin towards the Knight of the Southern Yellow, whose eyes were bloodshot.

"Go on, try it. If you're confident you can take responsibility."

You can't do anything even when you're that angry, can you?

After all, a Knight of the Round Table directly attacking a Climber was one of the most severe violations of the precepts, resulting in the heaviest punishment.

Next, seeing the Knight of the Southern Yellow trembling with a nearly blackened face, Seo Ah-in sighed and looked up at the sky.

"...Why is my trauma resurfacing?"

Right.

Why on earth was yours resurfacing?

"...Well, anyway."

Hurry up and send the disaster.

With that, I would bring this ordeal to its climax.

"What? Phase 3 just started not long ago, though?"

That was true.

But.

For a top-tier veteran, the term 'Time Attack' was practically like a hometown friend.

"We've dragged this on for a long time, so we should end it quickly."

Until now, I had been crouching a bit too much for a top-tier veteran.

Now was the time to run straight to the climax.

***

Damian Lancester wiped the blood off his sword with a satisfied smile.

"...Good."

He muttered, not blinking an eye as he looked at the corpses strewn about nearby.

Whether it was a fellow Climber or a native who had attacked him, he had flayed them all without discrimination. It was much more efficient and faster this way.

Of course, it was nearly impossible to form an 'army' efficiently this way, but it was still possible to form a certain level of a military force using the functions embedded in each zone's crystal.

He smirked as he looked at the 'undead' lined up near him. They were made by haphazardly piecing together the corpses he had killed so far, but they were surprisingly useful.

They were sturdy and killed well. As long as they had that much, the rest, like dignity or ethics, didn't matter.

That was the way he had been taught since he was young in the Lancester family.

[1st - Damian Lancester, Total Conquest 48%]

[2nd - Kim Gyu-sik, Total Conquest 35%]

And just then, seeing the updated rankings on the leaderboard in the sky, an even colder smile graced his face.

Yes, this was how it should have been from the start.

His place was at the top, and the place for other vermin was below him.

This was the natural order of how everything should be—

"...Hmm?"

Suddenly, Damian's eyebrows twitched as he sensed the surrounding mana fluctuating with terrifying intensity.

His highly developed senses immediately recognized that this phenomenon was not simple and sent him a warning.

[ Protecting Half-moon ]

And over the subsequent defensive spell.

A heavenly disaster fell.

"What...!"

The sky, the ground, all around.

Were swept away by the wind.

It wasn't a phenomenon that should simply be called a 'disaster,' but a wind of such a level that it twisted and split the very ground, sweeping away the entire world that entered his vision.

[ Protecting Half-moon ]

[ Protecting Half-moon ]

[ Protecting... ]

He squeezed out his mana to the last drop to weave a few more defensive spells.

It was an expression of a sense of crisis that if he stayed as he was, even he might be swept away and die.

If Damian Lancester of all people was in that state, there was no way the 'military force' he had put together could be safe.

Everything he had built up on this floor was swept away by the storm that seemed to tear the world apart.

In just a few seconds, without a trace.

"...Tsk!"

He clicked his tongue with a face full of annoyance.

Well, it was a waste, but it didn't matter.

Even a disaster like that, as long as it was part of the ordeal, probably couldn't destroy the mana crystal.

And as long as the conquered zones remained, he could rebuild a military force of this size in an instant with the points he had accumulated by killing others.

But.

[ The Conqueror ‘Kim Gyu-sik’ has occupied the ‘Antlion's Nest’ zone. ]

[ The Conqueror ‘Kim Gyu-sik’ has occupied the ‘Swamp’ zone. ]

[ The Conqueror ‘Kim Gyu-sik’ has occupied the ‘Thorn Path’ zone... ]

"What...!"

Damian's eyes widened as he confirmed the text continuously appearing on the leaderboard, faintly visible through the winds.

More than anything, his sensitive perception confirmed that this storm was raging over almost the entire floor.

And yet, conquest was continuing in this situation?

"...Huh?"

And then.

Through the dust cloud raised by the storm, Damian's superhuman vision caught sight of someone's figure in the far distance.

It was a distance of at least a few kilometers, but his vision, insanely amplified by mana, could still clearly identify who the opponent was.

It was a man walking leisurely, as if he were out on a picnic.

And as soon as he recognized who it was, Damian's expression turned demonic.

"Kim Gyu-sik...!"

Kim Gyu-sik, walking in light attire befitting his messy gait, soon placed his hand on a nearby mana crystal.

[ The Conqueror ‘Kim Gyu-sik’ has occupied the ‘Oasis’ zone. ]

"..."

It was strange.

If he alone could walk on his own two feet in a situation where everyone else was being swept away by the storm, it was understandable that his conquest speed was fast.

It would be a matter of simply crossing the no-man's land and placing his hand on the crystal.

But, how on earth was that 'possible'?

That question was answered shortly after.

As a huge storm approached Kim Gyu-sik, he drew the wooden sword he was wearing with a slow motion and swung it once.

And, before Lancester could even understand what on earth that was.

The storm.

Split.

"..."

The storm that even the world's strongest, Lancester, couldn't control his body in and was busy being tossed about.

That guy had erased it with a single sword strike.

Once again.

What he couldn't do, that guy had done.

"...! Guuuuh-!"

Damian gnashed his teeth so violently that blood spurted from his gums.

That son of a bitch.

That trash!

How dare he, get ahead of me, of me!

As he stared in that direction with bloodshot eyes.

Kim Gyu-sik turned to look this way.

As if he knew from the beginning that he was being watched.

His mouth opened slowly.

"Idiot."

"..."

While Damian felt a sensation like a blood vessel in his head bursting, Kim Gyu-sik turned his back and disappeared again with a leisurely gait.

And subsequently, a line was updated on the leaderboard.

[ The total conquest of the Conqueror ‘Kim Gyu-sik’ has exceeded 50%. ]

[ The ordeal enters the final phase. We wish all conquerors the best of luck. ]

In other words.

This time too, that man had snatched the first place from him.

Similar to when he was deceived before.

Thoroughly toyed with.

Without being able to do anything.

"----------!!!!!!!!!!"

A sound like a beast roaring burst out ominously through the storm that seemed to erase everything around it.