[You have changed the damage display setting from off to on.]
Divine Customization.
It’s a special power that can be custom-made for only one person.
This time, Hyun-soo was the first subject.
‘Although it’s only the best-grade orichalcum obtained today.’
Hyun-soo had been thinking for a long time.
When it comes time to make a sword just for him, what kind of sword would be the most efficient for him now?
A power that allows for area attacks with 600% additional damage?
Or the power to deliver a powerful blow to a single target?
‘Both are wrong.’
This is the correct answer derived by a genius blacksmith after long consideration.
The Supreme Blade enhanced by 401%.
The base attack power of this sword exceeds 600, while the average sword attack power worn by users in the 300 level range is in the 300s.
Hyun-soo smiles confidently looking at the King of the Labyrinth.
“Ghost Step.”
Finally, Hyun-soo, wielding the 401% enhanced sword, folds space as he moves.
He strikes the foe in front of him with all his might.
Crrraaash-!
“Kraaaaaaak!”
[You inflicted 17,933 damage.]
Hyun-soo has also watched many videos of Ares high-ranker users.
Their damage, with the display turned on, typically shows about 10,000 per normal hit.
Hyun-soo’s damage now far surpasses theirs.
He promptly attacks exactly two spots in succession.
Crrrrash-
[You inflicted 16,356 damage.]
[You inflicted 17,316 damage.]
The King of the Labyrinth.
He experienced an intensity of pain like never before, his eyes rolling back.
The monster’s HP has dropped below 80%.
And another skill added to Hyun-soo’s calculations.
[Art of the Sword]
[This skill ignores the restriction that critical hits cannot occur during wide-range or consecutive attacks.]
Ghost Step is a skill that attacks enemies a significant number of times in a moment.
However, critical damage did not occur during that time.
But that little skill embedded in the Supreme Blade twists that rule.
[A critical hit occurs.]
[You inflicted 23,413 damage.]
A single hit drops the monster’s HP by 8%.
Considering that a boss monster’s total HP is several times higher than that of regular monsters at the same level, this is significant.
Once more.
[A critical hit occurs.]
[You inflicted 24,546 damage.]
And once again.
[A critical hit occurs.]
[You inflicted 24,313 damage.]
“Kraaaaaaak!”
The King of the Labyrinth’s head goes white. His previous thought of them just being nuisances changes.
Fear emerges with each connection.
Fear.
Yet, within that fear.
The attacks whirl from every direction.
7th, 8th times.
[A critical hit occurs.]
[You inflicted 25,413 damage.]
[You inflicted 17,313 damage.]
9th, 10th times.
Crack
Thud-!
[A critical hit occurs.]
[You inflicted 23,413 damage…]
11th, 12th times.
[You inflicted 17,413 damage…]
[A critical hit…]
[You inflicted 22,031 damage.]
Craaash-
Ghost Step is activated for 1.4 seconds.
The King of the Labyrinth, still not recovered from the 3-second stun of the pulling skill, shivers.
It’s HP. This single activation of the skill has dropped it below 32%.
However, the terrified King of the Labyrinth is pleased to realize he has survived.
Now he can be torn to death.
“Kraaaaaaak!”
[King’s Roar]
[HP recovers by 20%.]
[For 1 minute, all speeds of the King of the Labyrinth increase by 1.5 times.]
Moving like a flash, the monster quickly reaches in front of Hyun-soo.
[The Claw of the Wolf]
He ruthlessly slams his hands down onto Hyun-soo’s chest.
Quack, quack, quack-!
Hyun-soo’s armor shatters as blood spurts out.
The ferocious King of the Labyrinth wanted to return the pain he had suffered.
Indeed, just as he had experienced moments ago, the enemy’s HP rapidly decreased.
“Kheuk!”
A bright light formed around the enemy as he staggered back.
[You are currently holding Asunium.]
The King of the Labyrinth, his eyes flashing, charges towards his thoroughly tattered foe.
He strikes down once more with all his might on the enemy’s chest.
“…Keuhuk!”
He controls the movement by placing his arms over the shoulders of the retreating foe.
Crrrrrack-!
[The Mouth of the Wolf]
[Instantly tears apart the limbs.]
Drooling, his mouth tries to chew and swallow Hyun-soo’s head.
“…Kkkkkkk!”
The King of the Labyrinth laughs.
He knows that the mysterious power of humans has a time limit, and the enemy can no longer use that power he had just before.
After scoffing, he plans to chew thoroughly on his head.
He will inflict even greater pain on his companions.
And in this situation of despair…
[…is now available.]
Another power that Hyun-soo had embedded in the Supreme Blade stirred.
***
CEO’s Office.
Lee Se-jin, the CEO, sat in front of a monitor watching the Hidden Piece activate in the ferocious Labyrinth.
For three years, Korean users have remained outside the top ten.
Of course, Se-jin, being Korean himself, shouldn’t be biased, but he was curious about the outcome for another reason.
“…In the end, the US players couldn’t break the 10-minute barrier.”
And that had been an insurmountable barrier for anyone over the past three years.
Se-jin, who planned and developed the game Ares, believed,
“Balance is crucial.”
However, for the 0.1%.
For those who created it, sometimes that balance should not be applied.
That’s why this Supreme Blade ultimately ignored those constraints.
Of course, it was a decision made under the judgment of the supercomputer Ares.
But Se-jin would have made the same decision.
Those who accomplish such great feats deserve corresponding rewards.
‘The publicly known reward for first place in the Ferocious Labyrinth is 400 million Korean won.’
But there exists a real reward that no one knows about.
It is the Blessing of the Labyrinth.
Blessings can be bestowed by named NPCs, commanders, lords, or kings—many special beings can grant them.
Hyun-soo has received a few so far.
But the Blessing of the Labyrinth was different.
‘Much superior, and far more significant.’
And watching the monitor, Se-jin genuinely marveled.
“Users Han-ul, Tae-hoon, and Hye-ji are diamonds.”
Even if hidden within hard stone, their true value isn’t diminished.
With just the artifacts Hyun-soo handed them, they have already far exceeded conventional expectations.
Furthermore.
[Users Han-ul, Hye-ji, and Tae-hoon have exceeded the limits for their level range.]
[27% remains to the target.]
The reason for Se-jin’s pure admiration.
‘Finally, it’s time for the diamonds to emerge from the stone.’
Se-jin knew that eventually it would come.
Even if users taunted them for days on end as the cursed trio.
“They must have known, too.”
Eventually, they would demonstrate tremendous power.
And this target limit being exceeded applied because they showed unbelievable strength to the monsters.
Also, since the three always stuck together, a synergistic teamwork effect occurred and was simultaneously applied to all three.
Of course, Hyun-soo was the one who opened that door.
However, if they fail to surpass this target, it resets to zero, and they must aim for it again later.
And soon, Se-jin stood up abruptly.
“Is there a reason for every skill?”
Watching the skill called Berserk Sword, Se-jin thought it was due to the limitations of ‘Emergency Creation.’
Because it’s created in a short time through Emergency Creation, it fails to create a proper and excellent skill.
But then, astonished by Hyun-soo wielding a sword with 401% damage using Ghost Step, he realized that was not the end.
‘The thing needed to break the 10-minute barrier…’
It is determined by hunting the King of the Ferocious Labyrinth as quickly as possible.
The US players also lost the most time to the King of the Ferocious Labyrinth.
Yet, the King of the Labyrinth’s HP eventually recovered to 50%.
“Even if you use Sword’s Cry.”
Even deploying Sword’s Cry cannot produce a drastic power like Ghost Step.
And seeing the King of the Labyrinth baring his teeth to bite Hyun-soo, Lee Se-jin felt distressed.
“Everything eventually resets to zero…”
Currently, their clearing speed was overwhelmingly surpassing that of the US players.
However, the moment user Hyun-soo dies, everything falls apart, and it’s as if it all goes back to zero.
Lee Se-jin made a face of regret.
Yet, strangely enough.
In the monitor, user Hyun-soo’s eyes were still firm and shining sharply.
That’s when Lee Se-jin heard an unbelievable notification.
[Skill is activated once again for user Hyun-soo.]
Lee Se-jin marveled purely.
“His plan for the Supreme Blade was perfect.”
It was chilling.
And Lee Se-jin watched the monitor intently with his fists clenched.
***
As mentioned, Hyun-soo’s Supreme Blade was a piece long planned.
[You are currently holding Asunium.]
[HP has dropped below 10%.]
[HP will recover up to 15%.]
Crrraaack-!
Looking back at the King of the Labyrinth with its mouth wide open.
Han-ul, Hye-ji, and Tae-hoon are surrounded by lycans and dying, yet they call out to him.
“Hyun-soo…!”
“Are you alright!?”
“Damn!”
Everything Hyun-soo had said to them was sincere.
“I want to show them.”
That he worked as hard and had the skills as much as they, who were loved by everyone.
He also wanted to win.
If he kills the creature, Hyun-soo’s Forge will be proven globally once again, and Hyun-soo will be able to leap forward once more.
“Activate… activate…”
Finally, Hyun-soo’s last resort comes to mind.
[Once Again]
[Activates with a 40% chance when HP drops below 10%.]
[Resets the cooldown of recently used skills.]
[Even If It Breaks]
[You have found a breakthrough in a critical moment.]
[Sword’s attack power of Berserk Sword increases by 10%.]
He moves again.
Ghost Step.
“Woooooo!”
Swoooosh-
Staring at the shocked King of the Labyrinth.
Just like Hye-ji, who once shot arrows at a perfect score on a TV screen.
Like Tae-hoon, who instantly knocked down his opponent with a kick.
Like Han-ul, who beat his opponents with his sword a few times, although he can’t show this moment to the world right now.
However.
[Recording in progress.]
Someday, his story will go out to the world.
[You inflicted 16,356 damage.]
[You inflicted 17,316 damage.]
[A critical hit occurs.]
[You inflicted 23,413 damage.]
[A critical hit occurs.]
[You inflicted 24,546 damage.]
[A critical hit…]
[You inflicted 24,313 damage.]
[You inflicted 16,356 damage…]
[A critical hit…]
[You inflicted 24,313 damage…]
[You inflicted 25,518 damage…]
The story of a blacksmith who wanted to live.
Puuk-!
[A critical hit occurs.]
[You inflicted 25,140 damage.]
Many will see it.
[You have hunted the King of the Ferocious Labyrinth.]
Just a paragraph, yet it’s a story that will amaze everyone.
***
In a five-star hotel suite in Washington, D.C.
Will, the most prominent player from the Black Skull, sips his whiskey and says,
“That’s not going to happen, you know that.”
His dungeon-crawling partner agreed.
“Indeed, breaking our record is impossible, especially by Korea of all places. But you know what, Will?”
“What?”
“If Korea does catch up to us, it means we’ve basically given them wings.”
“Puhahaha.”
Both the speaker and Will ended up laughing.
And then his teammate asked.
“Why did you react that way? The higher-ups could make an issue of this.”
Will smirked at the comment.
“Am I supposed to be bothered by mentioning users from such a small country?”
It was a statement of utmost arrogance.
Furthermore, Will held supremacist beliefs.
“How dare they even mention Korea.”
Will said this and chuckled.
Then.
From the TV, the anchor’s voice emerged.
[Breaking news. The rankings for the Ferocious Labyrinth Time Attack have been updated, placing Korea in 1st place…]
“…?”
Will, like any renowned player, had the gaming broadcast channel on, and his face stiffened.
Then.
Ring-ring-ring-
Will got a foreboding feeling.
It was Neville, the guild master of Black Skull.
– Will, you need to see for yourself what you’ve done. You are hereby permanently expelled from our Black Skull guild, and you will be held accountable for the trouble you’ve caused.
– Prepare for the penalties for breach of contract on the advertisements you starred in, and various other commitments.
Will was stunned.
After the call ended, he hurried to the TV.
“What, how many minutes could the record possibly be…?”
Soon, the rankings for this iteration of the Ferocious Labyrinth Time Attack Dungeon appeared on the TV.
“Insane…!”
His face contorted.
The TV displayed an unbelievable record.
Cliche Novel 