Tae-hoon, Hye-ji, Han-ul.
Having been critically wounded twice each by the ferocious Labyrinth King, their HP had fallen below 30%.
Even as they faced the endlessly surging lycans, they were worried about each other.
“We can hold on for a minute,” they were confident.
But Hyun-soo went alone to confront the ferocious Labyrinth King, who was around level 380.
It was an exceedingly dangerous endeavor.
Then…
Boom
Crash
Thud-
Thump thump
Thud
Whack!
[A critical hit occurs.]
[24,546 damage inflicted.]
[Another critical hit…]
[24,313 damage inflicted.]
[16,356 damage…]
[Another critical hit…]
[24,313 damage…]
[25,518 damage inflicted.]
The three watched him in awe.
In 1.4 seconds, he moved, creating twelve afterimages.
He moved again, almost swallowed by the enraged Labyrinth King.
Only about 8 seconds had passed.
Despite their own dire situation, they were mesmerized, unable to take their eyes off him.
“What did we just see?”
“Who exactly is Hyun-soo?”
“He’s insane.”
When they came to their senses, they realized that they were cornered by about 150 remaining lycans.
Tae-hoon, who was at the forefront, was torn apart by the lycans, Han-ul was straining in a power struggle, and Hye-ji was shooting arrows relentlessly from a kneeling position.
[The ferocious Labyrinth King has been hunted.]
[The buff effect from the ferocious Labyrinth King is now removed.]
An unbelievable tale.
At that moment, a lycan targeted Tae-hoon’s neck.
Growl-!
Just then.
Swoosh-
A sword falling from the sky split the lycan in two.
Flutter-
Hyun-soo, with his coat billowing, stands before them, facing the approaching lycans.
Shrieking-
The clear, ringing sound of the sword echoed in everyone’s ears.
Hearing that beautiful melody, Tae-hoon, Hye-ji, and Han-ul thought:
“We are not afraid.”
The primal fear that had engulfed them receded.
As Hyun-soo, with his blood-soaked hair and fluttering coat, drew his sword.
[Sword’s Cry]
[Inflicts indiscriminate slashing at 190% additional damage to all recognized enemies.]
[Even if not directly slashed, anything within a 20m radius is cut, ignoring all defenses.]
Slash slash slash-!
401% sword attack power enhanced, along with the basic application of 190% additional attack power from the Sword’s Cry.
Ignoring all defenses added.
As if being chased by a horde of zombies, about 70 remaining lycans faced astonishing numbers above them.
[A critical hit occurs.]
[30,146 damage inflicted.]
[Another critical hit…]
[31,313 damage inflicted.]
[21,356 damage…]
[Another critical hit…]
[34,313 damage…]
[25,518 damage…]
[Damage…]
[Damage…]
About 70 lycans turned to ash.
And then they realized why they were not afraid.
“Let’s go.”
The charisma he possessed.
The power he had to lead people.
The will to keep moving forward, never giving up in a moment of crisis.
‘The ability of an artifact that only he could create…’
All these things instilled in them the infinite courage that they could achieve anything as long as they were with him.
Hyun-soo moved first.
Crash-
Those who had fallen followed him and stood up.
[Elapsed time 8 minutes 11 seconds.]
[Elapsed time 8 minutes 12 seconds.]
They too wanted to prove that they were strong.
‘We are not the cursed trio.’
‘We used to wake up at 4 AM every day and run for gold.’
‘We will be the best here too…!’
At that moment, they didn’t know, and Lee Se-jin knew, the true value was revealed.
Ding!
[Hidden Piece. The Most Brilliant Strength completed.]
[You have demonstrated the greatest strength among those of similar levels and normal classes.]
[The system judges that the source of this power comes from pure skill and experience.]
Ding!
[You can change your job to the Hidden Class, Iron Blood Knight.]
[You can change your job to the Hidden Class, Iron Blood Archer.]
[You can change your job to the Hidden Class, Iron Blood Fighter.]
Everyone agreed, and a red mist rose from the bodies of the three.
Han-ul.
[Base sword attack power increases by 20%, cutting power by 40%, and critical hit chance by 20%.]
[The Iron Blood Knight is special.]
[Achieving Grand Sword Mastery at the highest level, Lv.9, will unlock Grand Sword Mastery.]
Hye-ji.
[Base bow attack power increases by 20%, penetration by 40%, and accuracy by 20%.]
[Achieving Grand Bow Mastery at the highest level, Lv.9, will unlock Grand Bow Mastery.]
Tae-hoon.
[Base kick attack power increases by 20%, destructive power by 40%, and vital point critical strike power by 20%.]
[Achieving Grand Kick Mastery at the highest level, Lv.9, will unlock Grand Kick Mastery.]
The Hidden Class, Iron Blood, was something all three acquired together.
‘This class is tailor-made for us.’
There was no unlocking of flashy or impressive skills.
‘For us, who have overwhelmingly more skill than others, the mere increase in basic attack power is unimaginable.’
Soon, the three began to demonstrate their true worth.
Boom-!
Where Tae-hoon had to strike a lycan at least 11 times to hunt one.
Now, just 8 strikes were enough.
Screech-!
Hye-ji’s performance was also dazzling.
The synergy created by her agility, skill, and increased penetration was beyond common sense.
Swoosh, thud, pfft, pffft-!
Han-ul was moving swiftly and skillfully among the lycans.
Wherever his sword passed, lycans fell down one after another.
The three were certain.
There was no one at their level who could defeat them now.
‘Maybe we could even compete against high-rankers.’
Unknowingly, their gaze fell behind a man.
Suddenly, he had turned the last remaining lycan into ashes.
And the three were stunned by the elapsed time that appeared before their eyes.
‘How can these figures be…?’
The sudden awakening of the three.
It was the result they had created, and Hyun-soo was the primary contributor from the beginning.
‘If Hyun-soo hadn’t hunted the Labyrinth King alone, none of this would have happened.’
They all watched Hyun-soo’s back as he took heavy breaths after slaying the last lycan.
Then, the three exchanged looks.
They nodded, having made a decision.
Just as Hye-ji was about to approach the impressive man.
Thump-
Hyun-soo suddenly collapsed.
“Hyun-soo?”
“Are you okay?”
Hyun-soo, who had just shown charisma like no other, lay there with an embarrassed expression and said,
“I’m kind of like the unfortunate male lead.”
“???”
“I tend to collapse quite often.”
The three couldn’t help but laugh.
***
[You have hunted the ferocious Labyrinth King.]
[You have gained 516,862 experience points.]
[You have leveled up.]
[You have leveled up.]
[You have leveled up.]
[Level up…]
[You have gained 161,803 gold.]
After hunting the Labyrinth King, Hyun-soo managed to level up 5 times.
Using the still-raging power of the sword from the brief 10 seconds it took to hunt the Labyrinth King, he executed Sword’s Cry to rescue Han-ul, Tae-hoon, and Hye-ji.
Then he immediately hunted down the remaining lycans.
Then came an astonishing notification.
[Something special is happening to party member Han-ul.]
[Something special is happening to party member Hye-ji.]
[Something special is happening to party member Tae-hoon.]
Hyun-soo paused and looked back at them.
He realized they had awakened to new classes.
Hyun-soo was genuinely happy.
He understood their struggles.
He harbored this desire,
‘I want to be with them.’
Yet, he first attended to the task at hand.
When he felled the last lycan, Hyun-soo’s face contorted.
He felt dizzy.
‘Ah, not again…’
Hyun-soo collapsed like a flounder, powerless to move.
As he explained that he often experienced this, they burst out laughing.
“How should I recommend it…?”
Hyun-soo was thinking about how to suggest joining the guild.
Recruiting them, who had become even stronger, would greatly strengthen the Guild Bright Future.
Then, he saw Hye-ji looking down at him as he lay collapsed.
Brown bobbed hair and brown eyes.
Her fair skin and height of 160 cm.
She, who was undoubtedly beautiful, chuckled and playfully said,
“I’m a fan.”
Hyun-soo gave a wry smile.
He had once jokingly said this to cheer them up when they were feeling down.
And then he had asked for an autograph.
“Oh, then autogr…”
As Hyun-soo started fumbling in his pocket.
“Please let me join your guild.”
Hyun-soo stopped.
Tae-hoon naturally helped Hyun-soo to his feet.
Getting up, Hyun-soo could see the three smiling stylishly.
Just as much as he wanted them, they wanted him too.
“Anytime.”
[Hye-ji has joined Guild Bright Future.]
[Tae-hoon has joined Guild Bright Future.]
[Han-ul has joined Guild Bright Future.]
It was the moment when a genius blacksmith gained three other geniuses.
Rumble-
The dungeon vibrated.
[You have cleared the True Ferocious Labyrinth.]
[Clear time is being recorded.]
The hearts of the four of them were trembling.
The astonishing figures already apparent before their eyes.
‘We really did something great.’
‘This is us, world!’
They laughed out loud.
[Elapsed time 10 minutes 1 second.]
And then the added specialness.
[Surprise Quest: King of the Ferocious Labyrinth and Lycans completed]
The reward was simple.
[Reduce the record by 20%.]
[Total elapsed time changes from 10 minutes 1 second to 8 minutes.]
[Ranking updated.]
[Ferocious Labyrinth Time Attack Dungeon World Rankings.]
[1st place South Korea 8 minutes.]
[2nd place USA 11 minutes 11 seconds.]
[3rd place…]
[4th place…]
[…]
[…]
“Wow!”
“We did it!”
“This is crazy!”
The three realized that the world would no longer call them the cursed trio.
[The Ferocious Labyrinth Time Attack Dungeon is now concluded.]
[You have recorded 1st place.]
With this, a valuable prize of one hundred million won each fell into their laps.
Then.
[You have broken the 10-minute record.]
[An amazing achievement.]
[The Ferocious Labyrinth recognizes you for setting a record that no one else could break.]
[The Blessing of the Labyrinth descends.]
[All stats increase by 2%.]
[Experience and artifact drop rates double for one month.]
The four were amazed.
It was indeed a tremendous reward.
Especially for them, now surpassing level 300, a percentage-based reward was significant.
Just for Hyun-soo alone, this resulted in an increase of over 50 stats.
And Hyun-soo knew.
‘The rewards I’m due haven’t ended yet.’
***
Breaking news, breaking news, breaking news!
Endless news and articles poured out across countries worldwide.
[South Korea Team. Achieves an 8-minute record. A new legend is born.]
[Global experts. 8 minutes. An unbelievable record, receiving high praise.]
[With the recruitment of the current blacksmith Hyun, their ranking changes. Users worldwide are paying attention to Hyun’s Forge.]
[US user Will holds a press conference to issue an apology. Will states that Korea’s recent record will go down in history.]
[Why the sudden change in Will’s reaction?]
[Netizens speculate that Will is trying to escape criticism by changing his tune to praise. However, netizens are cold even to his high praise.]
[Will has kicked a huge goal. The subscriber count for Hyun’s Forge spikes even more following Will’s praise…]
[Comments from world high-rankers become a hot topic. If servers were integrated, they would head straight to Hyun’s Forge.]
At that time.
Nel was looking at a computer screen.
Real-time search rankings on the portal site Naver.
1st place Hyun’s Forge
2nd place Ferocious Labyrinth
3rd place…
Hyun’s Forge was climbing the rankings on all portal search sites.
Click.
Entering the auction site, Nel clicked on Hyun’s Forge and chuckled.
[An increase in subscribers causes a temporary error.]
[Please try again later.]
‘The impact is much greater than when he crafted the legend above legends…’
Truly, even Nel couldn’t comprehend the extent.
At least a day would pass before the results could be confirmed.
The last time Hyun’s Forge was checked, it was 7th place with 1.73 million subscribers.
‘I’m curious.’
Nel smiled.
‘Whether it can surpass the third-place wall.’
And…
‘How far Hyun-soo will climb.’
This would soon be known.
Cliche Novel 