Strike 147

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In one dungeon, the faces of three men and women were grim.

[Ferocious Labyrinth Time Attack Dungeon World Ranking.]

[1st Place United States 15 minutes 53 seconds.]

[2nd Place China 16 minutes 41 seconds.]

[3rd Place……]

[……]

[……]

[15th Place South Korea 25 minutes 58 seconds.]

The essence of a time attack dungeon lies in how quickly one can clear the dungeon.

Naturally, setting a new record brings excellent rewards.

And the Ferocious Labyrinth was a place specially utilized for such time attack dungeons.

Currently, before server integration,

Users from various countries felt a competitive desire to test themselves against users from other nations.

This Ferocious Labyrinth appeared to satisfy that urge, updating records worldwide.

This event-style Ferocious Labyrinth time attack is held over a fixed period.

Naturally, users from Korea also participated.

The Ferocious Labyrinth opened about a month ago, and teams of four users could enter at any time.

Initially, a massive number of users entered and challenged it, but not anymore.

“The gap is too big. There’s less than a week left until the time attack dungeon closes…”

This was because the gap between Korea’s records and those of other countries was too vast.

Agreeing with Han-ul, who was in his early to mid-20s, the others nodded.

“It’s shocking that there’s such a big difference even among users of similar levels…”

The gap between 15th place Korea and 1st place USA was over 10 minutes.

There is an entry limit for the time attack dungeon.

Between levels 290 to 310.

This meant that users of similar levels were participating.

Of course, those who teamed up just for fun sometimes took up to an hour.

The currently listed ranks were all of the highest caliber users within that level range.

The gap between these top users was a staggering 10 minutes.

“We only have five more chances to enter. We need to be careful.”

Moreover, you can’t just keep entering randomly.

There were a total of 10 possible entries.

And the number of entries goes according to the party member who has participated the most.

“If we mess up, we’ll become a laughingstock…”

Tae-hoon, the martial artist, commented, causing the others to sigh.

These three had been friends for a long time and had special backgrounds.

[Han-ul Lv.306]

[Hye-ji Lv.303]

[Tae-hoon Lv.301]

The fact was that these three were Olympic medalists.

Han-ul was a gold medalist in kendo, which had been added as an Olympic sport.

Hye-ji was an archery gold medalist.

Tae-hoon was a taekwondo gold medalist.

That’s why they chose careers that suited their backgrounds.

Han-ul was a swordsman, Hye-ji an archer, and Tae-hoon a martial artist.

“How did we end up like this…”

To Han-ul’s remark, Tae-hoon chuckled dryly.

“Because we’re the ‘Unlucky Trio’, that’s why.”

The three were literally unlucky.

Usually, good skills would unlock hidden or legendary classes, but they had never even received such a common quest.

Of course, their performance in hunting grounds was spectacular.

They were overwhelmingly strong compared to others at their level.

Additionally, they had a fair amount of money, so they all equipped themselves with good items.

As a result, they hunted in higher-level hunting grounds than their own level.

“Ugh, how did we all die in the hunting ground and drop our main weapons…!”

The problem was that a boss monster suddenly appeared there, causing three of them to log out and drop their main weapons.

Even if they tried to repurchase them, artifacts with such power were hard to find.

Currently, Ares could not keep up with the demand.

Even if they had money, they couldn’t get good items.

“Maybe the fact that we didn’t join a guild is part of the reason.”

The other two agreed with Hye-ji’s statement.

Of course, they had received numerous offers.

The problem was that most of them intended to exploit the three commercially, so they decided to play as a trio instead of joining a guild.

The downside was that they couldn’t receive any support.

“American players are backed by the world’s number one guild. They’re all decked out in amazing items, plus they have hidden or legendary classes.”

Guild support was greater than they thought.

Additionally, there was another reason they couldn’t close the gap in time.

“Why does every person we encounter act like a troll…?”

The Ferocious Labyrinth required four people to enter.

They kept forming parties and entering the dungeon.

But there was always one person who trolled until now.

Or, if they were ordinary players, they couldn’t keep up with them.

“Could it be the cursed debuff of the three of us?”

“Hmm…”

The three of them groaned lightly.

Anyway, they now needed one person to attack this dungeon with them.

“Let’s be very selective this time. There are too many fools just aiming for the prize.”

The first-place prize for this Ferocious Labyrinth was a whopping 400 million won.

Each person would get 100 million won.

But because it was the first-place prize, there weren’t many applicants, and those who did were odd.

“Should we offer something else? Initially, people showed interest, but now no one cares.”

Most had given up because the gap with first place was too large.

Hye-ji pondered and came up with an idea.

“What about Orichalcum?”

At her words, Tae-hoon took out Orichalcum from his inventory.

“You want to offer this precious thing?”

The Orichalcum they possessed wasn’t just a legendary mineral.

It was top-grade Orichalcum.

They obtained it after clearing a hidden quest.

“Anyway, we can’t use it ourselves.”

The problem was that the required level to use this top-grade Orichalcum was 400.

Even if they gave it to a blacksmith, they said it was a material they couldn’t use.

Of course, they could use it if they waited 1-2 years for the level restriction to be lifted, but that was too far off.

“Let’s offer exactly half.”

“Alright.”

“First, let’s put out the immediate fire.”

After agreeing, Hye-ji posted a message in the party recruitment window.

As time passed, Hye-ji had a puzzled expression.

“No applications, why…?”

The three of them were puzzled.

Of course, there were many contacts from nobodies.

But no one with a recognizable name was applying.

After some more time had passed.

“This person…”

Hye-ji had a surprised expression.

“Who is it?”

She chuckled as she spoke.

“Do you know Hyun, the blacksmith?”

A name of the hottest person recently was mentioned.

***

After finishing a video shoot, Hyun-soo was looking around the recovering Ballas territory.

At that moment.

“Hyun-soo!”

Nel rushed over in a hurry.

Her usual calm demeanor made this appearance unusual.

“What’s the matter?”

“There is a place called the Ferocious Labyrinth Time Attack Dungeon…”

Nel explained it to him.

“They’re offering a mineral that I think is essential for you right now, Hyun-soo.”

“A mineral?”

“Yes, please check it out.”

[We are recruiting one person to clear the Ferocious Labyrinth Time Attack Dungeon with us. If you help us rank within the top 5, we will give you the mineral. Unfortunately, it’s only enough to make one sword.]

(Top-grade Orichalcum)

Grade: Legendary

Restriction: Level 400+ Blacksmith

Difficulty: Top-grade

Special Ability

· When creating arrows, penetration increases by 121%.

· Strength and agility increase by up to 36%.

· Attack speed increases by up to 70%.

· The probability of landing a critical hit increases by 40%.

· Durability increases to infinity.

Description: Orichalcum is a legendary mineral. It is lighter than any other mineral and is much stronger, making it almost indestructible. Compared to the lowest grade orichalcum, only about 1/100 can be obtained.

“…Wow.”

Hyun-soo was genuinely amazed.

Orichalcum.

Hyun-soo had once acquired this orichalcum before.

It was from this mineral that the ‘Orichalcum Arrow’ was born.

However, the orichalcum he had at that time was of the lowest grade.

But top-grade orichalcum was at least 1.5 times better than the lowest grade.

“To think that the same mineral could be so much better…”

He suddenly realized how big the gap between the lowest and top grades was.

“The competition must be fierce, right?”

“No, the competition won’t be high.”

Nel shook her head coolly.

“From what I see, the only person who can handle this top-grade orichalcum the best is Hyun-soo.”

Of course, even so, its value is significant.

But why is that?

“Can you see the name of the party recruitment?”

“Hye-ji? That name sounds familiar.”

“That’s the gold medalist Hye-ji.”

Hyun-soo was unavoidably surprised as Nel explained the current situation.

“15th place?”

“Yes, they are undoubtedly talented, but they are also called the ‘Cursed Trio.’ They are just too unlucky…”

She explained the critical reason.

“Netizens think this is the time to criticize them. Top-grade orichalcum is extremely rare, but you can only obtain it if you place in the top five, so joining that party means sharing that risk.”

Hyun-soo understood that.

But Hyun-soo had already made his decision.

To him, this mineral was the best, unlike for the others.

“I’ve set another new goal for myself recently.”

A goal?

Nel thought it might be about becoming a king.

But Hyun-soo just smiled slightly.

“I’ve decided I want to be at the pinnacle of users.”

Nel looked surprised.

The old Hyun-soo, who just played the game to survive, was nowhere to be seen.

“I know I’m not ready to dream that big yet. But there’s one thing I’m sure of. I may not be at the pinnacle of users yet…”

Soon, Nel was amazed by his words.

“A user who possesses the weapon of the pinnacle can be.”

The reason for Nel’s admiration.

‘Come to think of it, Hyun-soo is using a weapon he made himself.’

Literally, the weapon of the pinnacle.

Chills ran down Nel’s spine.

‘A weapon of his own, crafted with the finest mineral and by the finest blacksmith.’

It wasn’t a dream.

Soon, Nel and Hyun-soo exchanged a few words.

“Fortunately, there’s still a spot available. We need to hurry.”

Hyun-soo immediately set off.

His heart pounded as he moved swiftly.

***

“Let’s not be rude.”

Hye-ji’s words were met with agreement from the other two.

Blacksmith Hyun.

The hottest name of late was coming to this place.

What was surprising was that this enigmatic figure was going to reveal himself.

The admonition not to be rude meant not to disparage his appearance.

Rumors abounded about Hyun being veiled, with many saying he was an extremely unattractive man in his fifties.

Isn’t that so?

Everyone wants to become a star.

The trio believed the rumor too, and in the game Ares, where one’s appearance couldn’t be changed much, many users suffered disadvantages or were ignored because of their looks.

Then, a user mounted on a giant black horse appeared.

This was near the party recruitment area of the Ferocious Labyrinth.

“What’s that?”

Women users glanced at the man dismounting the horse.

Male users also admired him.

A brown coat, rare in the game Ares.

Moreover, his impressive physique and handsome face covered him.

Watching his extraordinary artifacts, one might think he was an unofficial ranker.

‘Why would someone like him be around the level 300 hunting grounds?’

Soon, he approached them and greeted them.

“Hello, I’m Blacksmith Hyun.” 

The three were wide-eyed in astonishment.

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