Chapter 65

Episode 14 – Master of the Throne (2)

The pages of Ways of Destruction flashed in my head . A light streamed through my head and the strings of light started to line up . They were the text of Ways of Survival .

[Heok…?]

Kim Yushin discovered something was wrong and his presence became noticeably thinner . The old fox noticed quickly .

[The echo of the constellation connected through Echo of the Stars has disappeared . ]

At the last moment, Kim Yushin’s astounded voice was heard .

[What are you…?]

Then Kim Yushin was gone .

I was surprised as well . I expected it to be possible with Fourth Wall, but I didn’t think the Ganpyeongui connection to the constellation could be broken so easily .

The encounter in the Theater Dungeon was a hint . The Fourth Wall had destroyed the theatre master the moment he tried to look inside my head .

I was hoping the same thing would happen to the constellation but Kim Yushin noticed quickly and ran away .

[The constellation ‘King Heungmu the Great’ has doubts about your existence . ]

[The constellation ‘King Heungmu the Great’ will be watching you closely in the future . ]

In any case, I was still being followed by the old geezer .

“…Are you okay?”

“Yes . I’m fine . But…”

What was this? I looked up and found that my limbs were tied up with magic power . It was a chrysalis-like appearance . Yoo Sangah’s face was completely red .

“That… I couldn’t run away but I couldn’t let you attack me . ”

I roughly understood what was going on . She used Binding Thread on me during that short interval . I thought she was frozen with surprise but she was actually using a skill .

“Your improvisation is amazing . ”

“…I’m sorry . ”

“It is a compliment . If I start acting strange in the future, act like you did now . ”

“I-I will release you!”

Yoo Sangah looked embarrassed but I was serious . It was my mistake when I thought of her as an ordinary office worker .

I looked back and saw Min Jiwon looking between me and Yoo Sangah with curious eyes . “Well…it turned out like this . I came to help only to end up being helped . ”

I nodded . “We will be enemies the next time we meet . ”

“…Why don’t you join us now? It is a common proceeding in dramas . ”

“This isn’t a drama . ”

“My friend! Make friends with faith . It is the banner of our Hwarang . ” Min Jiwon said with a smile before moving away .

Could she be a good king? I don’t know . Perhaps even the King of Beauty didn’t know .

“We will go as well . Lee Sungkook-ssi! Come on . ”

Lee Sungkook emerged from behind the building with Lee Gilyoung . This bastard, when did he hide in such a place?

I took my companions and started to move north .

The place that Kim Yushin’s Gather the Hwarang swept through was devastated .

The armed forces of the small kings were lying all over the place . This was the dignity of a proper constellation . Kim Yushin was a cowardly but useful constellation .

I picked up three flags and built up my achievements .

[Your brown flag has absorbed the cumulative achievements of the brown flag . ]

[Your brown flag has evolved into a purple flag . ]

[You are able to use the perks of the purple flag . ]

Indeed, the best thing was to grow without a fight . I looked around and saw that most flags had already been collected .

From the purple flag onwards, the achievement values of the flag wouldn’t rise well . In other words, it was useless to grab a small king from now on .

“Jung Minseob-ssi, are you there?”

The next moment, Jung Minseob appeared out of thin air . The Recluse’s Cloak that I handed him in advance was covering his body . Jung Minseob’s mission was to scout the National Palace Museum .

“How many have gone inside so far?”

“A total of nine kings have entered, including the Tyrant King and True Reader . ”

Nine . It was a reasonable number .

“What are the flag types?”

“There are seven purple and two brown flags . In particular, there are two with really a really deep purple colour . ”

“I guess they are the Tyrant and True Reader . ”

“That’s right . ”

Jung Minseob, wasn’t his talent quite useful?

I opened my mouth . “This time, I will only go with Yoo Sangah-ssi and Gilyoung . Both of you wait outside . Stay hidden using the cloak . ”

“…Will it be okay?”

“Yes, I only need three people right now . ”

“I will enter if you call us . ”

I appreciated the thought but it would just be a disruption . It was because the current Seoul Palace Museum was a dungeon .

[A new hidden scenario has arrived!]

+

[Hidden Scenario – Artifact Trials]

Category: Hidden

Difficulty: F ~ A+

Clear Conditions: Clear the right ‘artifact dungeon’ with the proper personnel .

Time Limit: None

Compensation: 500 ~ 5,000 coins

Failure: Death

+

A white marble lobby appeared before us as we entered the museum . There were no signs of anyone else in the lobby .

Yoo Sangah spoke in a soft voice .

“I can’t like culture now without feeling scared . There was the previous theatre and now this museum…”

“Hyung, are we going to get the legendary sword?”

“No, not right now . ”

Of course, I could find the Four Yin Demonic Beheading Sword in this dungeon . That’s why I sowed the information .

[Please select the type of dungeon you want to enter . ]

* Single player dungeon – Nagak (Large seashell played as a horn in Korean traditional music)

* Three person dungeon – Acupuncture Copper Man

* Five person dungeon – Dongui Bogam (Korean book compiled by a royal physician, considered as one of the classics of Oriental medicine)

* Seven person dungeon – Dragon Jar

However, the dungeon with the Four Yin Demonic Beheading Sword couldn’t be entered in a normal manner . It was because the dungeon was only accessible using the Sang Pyong Tong Bo coin which was given as a reward when clearing a dungeon .

I will choose the three person dungeon, the Acupuncture Copper Man . ”

[You have entered the three person dungeon . ]

Lee Gilyoung looked a bit disappointed . He had been expecting to get a great artifact .

“Gilyoung . An artifact isn’t about the outward appearance . ”

“…Huh?”

“There are many impressive looking things that have no substance . ”

The Four Yin Demonic Beheading Sword was one such item . Rather, the good things in this dungeon could be obtained from the commonplace dungeons .

An example was the skill that could be obtained the Acupuncture Copper Man dungeon .

Yoo Sangah was amazed and surprised as soon as we entered the dungeon .

“…There are other people besides us . ”

Intermittent screams could be heard from the dungeon .

“Uwaaaaack! Go away!”

It was a monster in human form with a matte colour . The three person dungeon was filled with these copper people .

It was the 7th grade species, the Acupuncture Copper Man .

After a certain amount of time, these guys would self-proliferate unless the method to attack them was known . The Acupuncture Copper Man didn’t suffer because they had a strong body, no internal organs and no neural networks .

“Aaaah! Save me!”

Some of the incarnations’ swords cut at copper men but they didn’t receive much damage . Rather, they pulled the incarnations’ bodies down .

The body of a man in his 50s was torn to pieces in the hands of the copper men .

“…Dokja-ssi, how do we deal with these guys? They don’t receive damage at all . ”

Yoo Sangah and Lee Gilyoung aimed their weapons or skills at the incoming copper men but there was hardly any effect .

Sometimes Lee Gilyoung’s blunt attack would damage them but he didn’t have any idea of what he did .

“Look at their bodies . ”

The monsters that appeared in the ‘artifacts trials’ were based on relics kept in Seoul Palace Museum .

For example, the monsters in the one player dungeon was literally a musical instrument made of a seashell and as for the Dongui Bogam five person dungeon… there was no need to explain anything . It was the same for the Acupuncture Copper Man in the three person dungeon .

Yoo Sangah stared closely at a copper man and opened her mouth .

“Is there something etched on the body?”

“That’s right . ”

In fact, the Acupuncture Copper Man was a relic that displayed 354 acupuncture points on the human body, including the front, back, arms, legs and head .

It was an artifact used to study acupuncture in the Joseon Dynasty .

[Blade of Faith is activated!]

I stabbed one of the acupuncture points on the copper man . Then I twisted it and the body scattered into powder . It was a meaningless end for a 7th grade reproduction species .

[You have hunted the first Acupuncture Copper Man!]

“If you look closely, the colour for each acupuncture point was subtly different . Some are devoid of blood and some are deadly . Some of the points… there is a different effect every time an acupuncture point is hit . ”

“Ah…!”

The important thing was to find the acupuncture point that didn’t break the flow .

I demonstrated a few times and Lee Gilyoung and Yoo Sangah got the knack for it very quickly .

Lee Gilyoung used Diverse Communication to shock the points with small insects, while Yoo Sangah applied Binding Thread . I honestly admired what I saw .

These two people, they really had excellent growth .

[Your party is the first to hunt 100 Acupuncture Copper Men!]

[You have cleared the three person dungeon . ]

[Four Sang Pyong Tong Bo coins are obtained as a basic reward . ]

[The exclusive skill ‘Hit a Pressure Point’ has been acquired . ]

I got the skill I aimed for .

Hit a Pressure Point . It was a unique technique to use the pressure points to subdue the enemy . It was an essential skill for me to maintain the ‘King of No Killing . ’

Yoo Sangah looked at the Sang Pyong Tong Bo coins curiously and muttered, “Can we buy something with this?”

“It can be exchanged for coins or a dungeon ticket . ”

“Then…”

“Of course, we will use it for the dungeon admission ticket . Now we have three of them . Let’s obtain 10 of them . ”

“10? Wait a minute, Dokja-ssi…?”

“We will enter the hidden dungeon where we can get the Four Yin Demonic Beheading Sword . ”

Yoo Sangah asked with surprise .

“But didn’t you say we wouldn’t get the Four Yin Demonic Beheading Sword?”

“We aren’t going after the Four Yin Demonic Beheading Sword . ”

We were going to ‘hunt’ the kings .