Solo Max-Level Newbie
chapter-258

Chapter 258: The Witch of Lamentation (2)

With a clang, the thrown fang spun through the air and finally embedded itself into the ground.

“kreee….”

The Gate Guardians protecting the Witch of Lamentation.

Among them, the Reaper blocking the shortest route was a named monster befitting the nickname of “Death.”

Suddenly, the air changed drastically.

Just as an arm was raised above the shoulder.

[The Gate Guardian ‘Reaper’ has activated the skill ‘Scythe of Death’!]

Buzz!

Soon after, the scythe swept horizontally through the air.

No, to say it swept was just a means of expression.

The scythe, leaving no trace, made it impossible to read its trajectory.

It was the very attack that had bisected countless bodies of the raid team.

But.

Jinhyuk already had a massive greatsword in his hand.

The greatsword of the Berserker.

Just as massive as its name suggested, the heavy greatsword appeared.

Boom!

The collision between the scythe and greatsword resounded with a heavy impact.

“kree…?”

A different tone of voice emerged from Reaper’s mouth.

It was to be expected.

The skill, Scythe of Death, was designed for a one-hit kill.

But now the all-encompassing scythe for the first time had failed in its role.

“Too slow.”

Jinhyuk swung the Berserker’s greatsword and deflected the scythe.

Clang!

It wasn’t about reaction, but the result of learning.

The subtle vibrations in the air and the flow of mana from the eyepatch, down to the minute movements of the muscles gripping the scythe’s handle.

There were countless ways to standardize patterns.

“kraaaaa!”

Immediately, a furious rage erupted.

This time, the scythe whipped through the air like a storm.

[Reaper activates the unique ability ‘Dance of Death’!]

Head, shoulders, arms. Abdomen. Legs.

It was truly an indiscriminate barrage intent on ravaging Jinhyuk’s entire body.

The wind pressure from the passing scythe alone was enough to slice through the stones on the ground like paper.

Boom!

Clash!

But Jinhyuk, by contrast, was swinging his greatsword a half-beat faster, deflecting all incoming attacks with seeming knowledge of where each would land.

“I told you.”

The corners of Jinhyuk’s mouth rose.

“It’s slow.”

That’s when.

Itaemin and Youyeonhwa, who had been watching, exhaled exclamations.

Of course, the exclamations were of a slightly different nature than expected.

“Wow. It’s my first time seeing someone say that line, bro.”

“Oppa, this isn’t a game time. Plus, the viewers are watching, aren’t they?”

Was that really a line to be said by someone who used the nickname Fire Fist of Bulkwangdong, a fire-starter?

Others might not know, but you two of all people shouldn’t act like that.

Special1: Ah. ‘Slow, indeed.’ Even in swinging the scythe.

kdb: Is this the dissonance between edited and live broadcasts? ㅗㅜㅑ My hands and feet are tingling with responsibility!

sod: Anti-magic power deficiency! Anti-magic power deficiency! The vanguard can no longer hold out….

Kim Kyung-soo: Static! This is the rear guard. Only those with strong anti-magic power are advised to climb.

Jelly: Hoehoeho. BB Baby-chan can’t hold out and will have to leave.

Lee Seung-jun: Now I see why they only upload edited versions. They erase all this later on, right?

Saeyounghunhwan: Don’t be too hard on them. I’m sure there’s a reason for their actions.

Jinwook: ———That’s, hmm. They got shredded.

Park Youngbae: Info) A grim reaper corresponds to the one who carries the souls to the afterlife when people die. ‘When a person in the living world dies, the grim reaper from the underworld visits the deceased’s house to snatch their soul… (ellipsis).

Comments from the viewers seemed to pierce through to their ears.

But, it couldn’t be helped.

To defeat the Gate Guardian… no, to conquer this relic, it was necessary to understand the characteristics of those creatures.

[Excessive confidence is poison, but not for the master of this relic. The Witch of Lamentation’s abode, the relic known as ‘The Tomb of Antichrist’, is a vast temple, created in the image of sin. ‘Reaper’, one of the Gate Guardians at the entrance, is charged with the deadly sin of ‘Pride’.]

The despicable acts and despair of the seven deadly sins, known as the diseases of the tower, were so awe-inspiring that she herself wanted to create apostles in their likeness, didn’t she?

The Gate Guardians here are imitations created by the Witch of Lamentation, who once met the ‘Seven Deadly Sins’ and sought to worship them.

And.

The Reaper before them is the very first of these apostles.

Pride.

The one who deceives opponents, holding unwavering confidence in victory in any situation.

The reason the raid teams had never been able to breach Reaper was because they were overwhelmed in their first battle.

‘The ominously appearing figure and the long scythe are all devices meant to serve that effect.’

If you’re intimidated even once, you’ll fall prey to the far-reaching debuff skill, reducing all stats and abilities by 30%.

However.

Conversely, if one knows all this and prepares, one could be free from the effects of the wide-ranging debuff skill.

Of course, it presupposed that one had the skills to back it up.

[‘Reaper’s area debuff skill ‘Contempt for the Weak’ has been lifted.]

Good.

The passive for the area debuff skill ‘Contempt for the Weak’ has disappeared.

It was thanks to not yielding to the opponent’s momentum for a duration of 3 minutes.

‘The reaction from the viewers is good….’

Now it’s time to press down on the offensive.

To incite enthusiasm for this raid from everyone.

＊＊＊

Shortly thereafter, the rankers from the three major guilds who entered the relic had to admit all their expected outcomes had been shattered.

“How is this possible…”

“For heaven’s sake.”

“How could he alone…”

Their pupils shuddered.

It couldn’t be helped.

That monstrosity was there, single-handedly smashing the grim reaper they had struggled so much against.

-mzs: Is this really a human’s movement? No matter how I look at it, it feels like cheating.

-ankim: Who ever said Jinhyuk was human?

-Won Jun-ho: I asked someone in the bigger guilds, and they all said they were defeated by that Reaper guy.

-Anonymous: Wow. So, all the top rankers from the major guilds combined are no match for Jinhyuk alone?

-hyu: Even Nirasha, Maria, and Park Jung-jin are named figures, but they’d have a hard time against Jinhyuk, right?

-Hwang Jae-won: Let’s hurry and donate those coins.

[RetiredGuy chat user donated 1,000 coins. – Heh, go buy some bread with it.]

[indolence chat user donated 800 coins. – Grab a milk too.]

-Choi Seung-ri: Ah. ㅠㅠ. If I knew it was a live broadcast, I’d have saved some. I already donated elsewhere.

-hal: Same here. Please leave an announcement in advance next time!

-uau: Truly amazing skills that render one speechless. He’s practically playing with them.

-I Love Kids: At this point, the grim reaper is starting to look pitiful.

-Aaak: This is why I only watch Jinhyuk’s videos. ㅋㅋㅋ.

Comments from the frenzied viewers.

Already, various communities and ViewTube were abuzz as Jinhyuk’s live broadcast soared up the real-time rankings.

Boom!

Fast.

The great, heavy sword seemed unaffected by any mass.

What’s more astonishing was not being overwhelmed by speed, but how a new sword technique was created through speed.

Reaper, too, was fighting with all its might, but the balance had long been tipped.

One clash, one clash.

With each crossing of the sword and scythe, Reaper’s body crumbled more significantly.

It was almost over.

The outcome was approaching.

And to prove it.

Crunch!

A gaping hole emerged in Reaper’s body with the third sword strike.

“Kreaaaa!!!”

A tearful roar marked Reaper’s last death throes.

With a bang.

Reaper’s body vanished into a wisp of smoke.

A far too empty demise for a grim reaper who had tormented players so much.

“It’s possible, then.”

Nirasha bit her lower lip as she watched Jinhyuk.

She had acutely felt how powerful he was in the underground tomb of the empire, but now, after her secondary awakening, she thought she could manage if she fought him again.

However.

‘Is it possible?’

There was no certainty. If she were to fight that human now, could she confidently win?

With a new mandala from her secondary awakening… Nirasha could also surpass her limits, but….

‘Would that make us only just about even after fighting with my life on the line?’

The thought of having to go that far to become equal was an unbearable reality to accept.

At that moment.

Jinhyuk brushed the dust off his greatsword.

“Hmm.”

He nodded as if to say that it wasn’t so bad and then turned to face the players who had gathered.

Players lost in the aftermath finally snapped back to reality as Jinhyuk approached them.

“It’s been a while since I last saw you, Player Gang Jinhyuk.”

Maria was the first to speak.

Since they met at the masked ball, she was the most familiar face among those present.

Come to think of it, it should be time for her to undergo her second awakening by now….

I’m curious if she has replicated the highest-grade fire spells, Hellfire.

“Nice to meet you. I’m Park Jung-jin of Dangun Guild.”

Park Jung-jin introduced himself as well.

These two were relatively friendly at least.

“I’m not usually one to meddle in others’ meals, but when I heard more and more victims are suffering, I felt unavoidably compelled to intervene.”

“While you thrust your spoon deep into someone else’s meal, you sure talk a good game. This is our preemptively secured relic. If you want to raid, go find another place.”

Murderous intent flared in Nirasha’s eyes.

Well, we’re not exactly on chatting terms anyway.

We only drew our swords to take each other’s lives until just recently.

But, does Nirasha know?

It’s already too late, no matter what she says.

-Noname: Did she just say something to Jinhyuk?

-HelloHello: Oh, wow. Gangdara Guild. I’ve been viewing them favorably due to their rapid growth, but this is disappointing.

-AEng: I’ll screenshot this and post it on communities. Seems like they’re willing to disregard the future of humanity due to their ego.

-Kang Han-seong: There’s only two months left, right? If they fail, will the three major guilds take responsibility?

-qpq: Unsubscribe time.

-peter: I’m never eating curry again. Ptooey.

-AnnEmbry: Monopolies truly cross the line.

-108: If there was a chance, I’d understand, but apparently they’ve been failing continuously.

-SoThat’sIt: I came after exams and have only seen something I shouldn’t.

Do you know what the most important aspect of politicking is?

‘Making allies for yourself.’

No matter how much nonsense someone spews, or how unreasonable they are, the more people clap for them, the more weight their words carry.

Even lies become coated in a guise of truth with the power of public opinion.

“Let me ask you again.”

Jinhyuk smiled faintly.

“Do you truly wish for me to take my hands off this?”

He planned to let them make the decision.

Of course, there was only one option to choose from.

＊＊＊

In the end, Nirasha had no choice but to grudgingly accept Jinhyuk in the team.

With hundreds of thousands of viewers watching, stirring up trouble would have brought with it an unstoppable backlash.

Once the situation settled down, Jinhyuk found a quiet spot to give his final farewell to the viewers.

“Well, I’ll be concluding the broadcast here. I’m not sure when the next live broadcast will be, but I hope I’ll have the chance to meet you again.”

-Hyun: Ah, why aren’t you continuing to broadcast the boss battle? There’d be so many willing to donate.

-Squirrel: He needs to concentrate for the battle, let’s be understanding. Don’t pressure him too much.

-TooReal: It’s truly Jinhyuk’s goodbye for now.

-Cheonri: I can’t even plead because the timing of the ending is just too impeccable.

-gur: Bro. Update at least one video a day, please. The upload interval is just too long.

-Quack: Nothing can be done. Just make sure to upload videos to ViewTube.

-Lee Eun-seob: Yup, yup. Subscribed and waiting around the clock.

-plo: Bye bye, see you next time, Jinhyuk oppa.

-app: Yes. ‘Til next dangle.

-ild: Always cheering for you, so stay strong!

-Go Yeong-jun: I’m keeping my breath held until you return. Hup!

Viewers expressed their regret and left one by one.

[The broadcasting system has been turned off.]

The chat window darkened as everyone departed.

But, Jinhyuk stayed rooted in the same spot.

Instead…

He muttered towards the empty air.

“I’m curious. There’s something I really want to ask you, so I’d appreciate it if you didn’t pretend not to know… We’re all tired of the acting by now.”

An irreversible question.

But then.

-Saeyounghunhwan: Hmm? Are you calling me? Oh. Looks like I’m the only one left in the chat.

One viewer responded.

A strange situation.

The broadcasting system had already been turned off for some time.

Suspicion turned to certainty.

Or perhaps, it was something he suspected for a long time, just hesitating to confront the reality.

Saeyounghunhwan.

When that person first joined the broadcast, someone asked them why they chose that username.

To the question, they replied, “It means ‘a new hero is always welcome’.”

“But did you know? At that time, I was masquerading anonymously behind a mask.”

The first broadcast activated during the raid of a thousand-eyed Avalokitesvara.

Surely, the broadcast began and ended with a mask on.

But from that day until now.

Saeyounghunhwan always commented as if they equated himself with the Unknown.

In every video, they left deep, piercing comments unlike the other viewers.

It wasn’t just idle chatter and joy over a player’s actions….

Yes.

It was as if they were seeing right through to my essence.

A god?

Impossible.

It was not a task befitting mere gods.

Even they had not seen the summit of the tower and were bound by the laws of the tower – just beings of higher rank.

More importantly, there was no reason for gods to take interest in the fledglings who had just entered the tower.

Then there could be only one answer.

“You, who created this game….”

Jinhyuk stopped speaking midsentence.

“Let me correct that. Are you the one who created this world?”