Monster Heavenly King - Chapter 162



Only Noblemtl

162. Steel Guild (8)

Hyunseong and Kangcheol head inside the castle after taking down Jeong Inwoong.

However, the blood demons that greeted them from inside were no longer visible.

Hyunseong gritted his teeth as he walked through the empty castle.

“Isn’t the last name… a bit… not really… really big?”

The number of people here probably doesn’t exceed a hundred at most.

In contrast, the castle was so large that it could accommodate at least a thousand people.

It’s not far behind the orc fortresses I’ve seen in the past.

-Even though there are a lot of people out there, it’s still spacious.

‘If there were enough people to fill this place, the Flame Guild would have been first.’

-There are no visible signs of life. Wouldn’t it take at least 10 years just to make something like this?

“Oh, is this a fixed dungeon too?”

-Come to think of it, I think I heard there was some kind of castle in the Seolsan area.

I thought it was something the Flame Guild had made themselves since they were using it as a camp, but it seems like they were clearing a fixed dungeon and using it as a camp.

If his guess was true, it could explain the overly broad spectrum of saints compared to the number of people.

Since there was no particular sign of life, Hyunseong leisurely strolled through the wide castle and asked Kangcheol.

“What kind of guy is the Flame Guild Leader?”

“He is my friend.”

“No, I know that. There must be other things you know. You said you were an old friend.”

“Well, there are some things here and there.”

Kangcheol stroked the beard on his chin and began to recall past events.

The first time we met was when I was in elementary school.

As usual, the kids became friends over something trivial.

The relationship started when he first spoke to her because their names both had the word ‘iron’ in them.

“We’ve been together ever since.”

Not only middle school and high school, but even college and the military.

They were truly soul mates.

One day, as they were growing old, the two of them woke up when a labyrinth appeared.

“Actually, I didn’t think I would wake up and go straight to the labyrinth.”

As they mainly use their bodies, most of the people who work as Awakened are young.

Even if you were in your 40s, it would be hard to find someone higher than you, but Kang Cheol and Im Cheol-hwan were higher than you.

“Was it about half a year before we jumped into the labyrinth conquest?”

It started when I was seduced by the words of an Awakened person who said that he had regained his youthful body due to the influence of the system.

In fact, as I continued to conquer the area, my body, which had been getting older and rusty here and there, began to become healthy again.

Feeling as if they had been rejuvenated to their youth, Kang Cheol and Im Cheol-hwan began to work on conquering the labyrinth.

“Before I knew it, I had caught up with the Awakened ones on the front lines.”

Kangcheol thought the party would continue like that, but trouble arose on the third floor.

Unlike the 2nd floor, the 3rd floor is a level where each monster is strong.

Most Awakened players were having a hard time clearing the stage due to the vertically increasing difficulty, and the same was true for the Steel Party.

“We kept trying, but eventually, Cheol-Hwan and the other party members said they had reached their limit and wanted to leave the party.”

Since then, instead of seeking a new party, Kangcheol created a guild.

That’s the Steel Guild.

One day, while leading and growing the guild, the Flame Guild suddenly appeared like a comet.

When I first heard about it, I thought it was just a new guild…

“The guild leader there was Im Cheol-hwan. At first I thought they were different people with the same name…”

His friend Lim Cheol-hwan was right.

I don’t know how it happened, but he had grown beyond the level where he was blocked on the third floor to become an Awakened who could not fall behind even on the front lines.

“After that, we wanted to party up again and conquer the area, but we were both busy with our guilds so we couldn’t do that.”

Anyway, even though Im Cheol-hwan suddenly became stronger and was the subject of much gossip, Kang-cheol sincerely congratulated his friend rather than doubting his friend’s sudden growth.

“At that time, I just thought that he had awakened good characteristics like me.”

However, looking at the current situation, I couldn’t help but suspect that it might not be the case.

Hyunseong, who had been quietly listening to Kangcheol’s words, gritted his teeth and spoke.

“No, not that kind of past story.”

“huh?”

“How does your friend fight? What are his special traits?”

“… … ”

I asked him because I was curious about what kind of guy he was, and he suddenly started talking about his past.

Even from the story we just heard, all we could learn was Kang Cheol’s past, and not much about Im Cheol-hwan.

“I need to know some information since I might have to fight from now on. I’ll write about that in my autobiography later.”

“Hey, these days, young people are so emotionally drained. I heard that adults are a bit nostalgic. Is that the popular T-shirt thing?”

“…? What is that?”

“I don’t know. I was trying to get to know my grandchildren better by learning about the latest trends, and that’s when I heard about it.”

While we were talking like that, Seol-ah’s voice was suddenly heard.

-wait for a sec.

‘what’s the matter?’

Hyunseong stands tall, stops walking, and looks down at Seol-ah.

Kangcheol tilted his head in confusion, but Hyunseong gestured for him to wait.

Seol-ah tries using magic again to see if something is wrong.

But, she rang the bell with the same result.

-The tracking magic has been cut off.

‘It’s broken? Who untied it?’

-That could be the case, but…

There are two ways to break the tracking spell.

One is to notice and dispel the tracking magic.

but,

‘Isn’t that hard?’

As Seol-ah has said repeatedly, magic has not yet properly taken hold in this world.

It was hard to believe that there would be anyone skilled enough to detect and dispel her tracking magic.

‘What’s the second way?’

-When the subject dies.

Seol-ah pauses for a moment to answer her own question.

‘He died? He was alive until just now?’

-uh.

‘…There is definitely something going on.’

It’s not like a guy who was fine without a single wound until he came in here would suddenly die or something.

Hyunseong increases his speed because he feels something ominous.

Soon after, he reached the door where the tracking magic was cut off along with the steel.

“I think the leader of the Fire Guild is here.”

“… How scary.”

Kangcheol had a nervous expression.

The overwhelming energy felt even outside the door made my skin tingle.

I put my hand on the door decorated with ornate reliefs and pushed, and it began to open with a heavy sound.

Kuguguggung.

The door opened and what came into view was a magnificent medieval audience room that looked like something straight out of a movie.

However, Kangcheol frowned when he saw the audience room.

Red liquid spilling everywhere.

“Blood, huh?”

The pungent smell of blood.

Among the scattered blood, you could occasionally see something that was once a human part.

A sight that seemed to overshadow the magnificent and beautiful throne room with horror.

There was one Awakened person sitting on a chair at the end of the audience room.

“I thought it was noisy outside, it was you, Cheol.”

Even to Hyunseong who was seeing Im Cheol-hwan for the first time, his appearance did not look normal.

His hair was disheveled, his eyes were bloodshot, and the veins running from his neck to his face were prominent.

Kang Chul opens his mouth after looking at his friend for a while.

“It looks like you’ve been looking at me for a while now.”

“Hehe, do I look funny?”

“…What on earth have you done?”

“It’s just that I got annoyed by the guys who kept nagging at me. I guess I’ve gotten old recently, so it’s become hard for me to control my temper.”

“…Your personality has changed.”

“Changed? No, this was my original personality.”

“It wasn’t like that in the old days.”

“It was the old days… Well, it wasn’t like this in the old days. Just following you was too much. I didn’t have the luxury of looking elsewhere.”

Lim Cheol-hwan continued talking to himself like that.

“Steel, my friend. Whether it’s studying, sports, or connections, you’re ahead of me in everything.”

Lim Cheol-hwan worked tirelessly to catch up with him.

But when he thought he had gotten ahead, Kangcheol was already far ahead of him.

In this way, Im Cheol-hwan lived his entire life as the number two man, hidden in his shadow.

“So I was happy when the system awakened.”

I wondered if this might have given me, who had been left behind my entire life, a new opportunity to surpass steel.

Unlike Kang Cheol, who initially showed no interest in the labyrinth, Im Cheol-hwan became interested in the labyrinth as soon as it appeared and began to explore it whenever he had time.

“And then you started showing interest in mazes.”

Since he started first, he thought that this time he would be behind him.

However, the reality was different from expectations.

Despite starting late, Kang Cheol not only caught up with Im Cheol-hwan, but soon overtook him.

In the end, Im Cheol-hwan realized that nothing in his life could beat Kang Cheol.

“… So that’s why you said you were leaving the party then?”

“okay.”

“This is the first time I’ve heard of this story.”

“Because I said it for the first time today.”

“Why didn’t you tell me before?”

“If I told you? Would I be able to defeat you if I told you? All I would gain from it would be your pity.”

“… … ”

Kangcheol couldn’t bring himself to say no.

If I had known that fact, I would have taken care to help him win.

That kind of victory was not what Lim Cheol-hwan wanted.

“So that’s why I was trying to die somewhere in the labyrinth.”

It’s the same now, but even back then, it was common for people to die in the labyrinth.

Even if one more person disappears, no one will care.

With that thought in mind, I was about to die fighting a monster somewhere.

but,

“That’s when I met him.”

Not dead.

No, it would be more accurate to say that he couldn’t die.

The last of the last.

Because I got one more chance.

“Gaining strength in the face of death. Is this what you call fate?”

“Gaining power has nothing to do with this situation.”

Kang Chul mutters while looking at the blood spilling around him.

However, Im Cheol-hwan opened his mouth in a calm voice.

“All power has a price.”

“Is this the price you pay for gaining power?”

“Yeah. I just feel like killing people. Sometimes I want to eat them too. Nothing much, right?”

Kangcheol seemed quite shocked by his friend’s remarks, which he said as if nothing had happened.

“You wanted to beat me that badly?”

“Yes, because that was my lifelong wish.”

A win.

There was a sound of something breaking somewhere.

A very small voice was heard from Im Cheol-hwan.

Steel took out a huge scythe.

“Then I should treat you like an old friend.”

“Kuuuu, that’s how you become steel.”

Thud.

Lim Cheol-hwan’s body began to swell.

His skin began to turn red and his muscles began to swell as if they were going to burst.

Crunch! Bang!

The armor that was supposed to block even the monsters’ attacks on the 6th floor burst like a water balloon.

Lim Cheol-hwan transformed into a giant over 2 meters tall in an instant.

He opened his mouth with a smile as if he had been waiting for this moment.

“Go.”