"The power of a Titan is in this thing?"
Oh Kang-Woo dumbfoundedly lifted the sculpture that looked like a dol hareubang. No one would think something like this would contain such unfathomable power.
He narrowed his eyes and asked, "Is itā¦ the power of Akart?"
[I am not sure yet, but I am sure it is the power of a Titan.]
āCome to think of it, the Players are going crazy over the relics becauseā¦ā
Kang-Woo turned to Cha Yeon-Joo and asked, "Yeon-Joo. You said this relic levels Players up, right?"
"Yeah, at least thatās what I was told. You know that Players usually canāt level up further after reaching a level cap until something triggers a break in that cap, right?"
"Yeah."
āThough it was so long ago, I donāt remember that well.ā
"But if they absorb the mana or whatever kind of power is infused in these relics, they can ignore that cap and level up.""..."
"Itās not just for leveling up. Some permanently boost oneās stats and others allow Players to awaken new Traits."
"No wonder theyāre going crazy over it."
The reward was far better than simple monster hunting.
"And the weapon and armor-type relics are so overpowered that they leave most Legendary-grade equipment in the dust."
"..."
Such effects would be impossible if not for the powers of a Titan infused in them. Kang-Woo examined the sculpture intently and fell into thought.
"But these relics donāt all have the same effects, right?" Kang-Woo asked.
"Of course not."
"Then how do you distinguish which is good?"
"Oh, I heard thereās a way to check." Yeon-Joo took the relic from Kang-Woo. "Just appraise the item like youāre opening a status window."
Riiing!
[š¦š„š£š¤š¦š„š£š¤š¦š„š£š¤]
[ā ā ]
"You see the stars under the broken characters, right?"
"Yeah."
"This is its rank. Itās apparently called a two-star relic."
"And the higher the better?"
"Yeah. The highest thatās been discovered is a seven-star relic."
It was similar to the apostlesā ranking system on the other Earth.
"How good is a seven-star relic?" Kang-Woo asked.
"The bastards at Valhalla are keeping it so under wraps that no one knows."
Valhalla was also one of the top five guilds in the world like Red Rose.
"Seven-star relics give one power on par with Upper Intermediate-rank Deific Essence," answered Lilith, who had been listening leisurely, as she put one leg over the other.
Yeon-Joo stared at her in surprise. "How do you know that, unnie?"
"Fufu. I donāt run an intelligence organization for nothing. Getting information from inside Valhalla is a piece of cake."
"Holy shit. My members couldnāt find anything even after painstaking research."
"Just to let you know, I also know everything going on in your guild, Yeon-Joo. Hoho. Youāve been quite busy for a while but things have been getting some time to spare, right?"
"Whaā"
Yeon-Jooās mouth was left agape in disbelief. Not many could escape from Lilithās eyes other than beings like Akartās retainers who could assimilate with light to move around.
"In any case, youāre saying high-ranking relics can grant Deific Essence, right?" Kang-Woo asked with shining eyes.
āThen if I gather those relicsā¦ā
He faintly smiled, remembering the spinning roulette.
"Eve, can you extract the Titanās power from these relics too?"
[Yes! The retention rate of these relics is far higher than the necklaces from last time, so I should be able to extract much more energy!]
[ā§*.ā(ĖįØĖ)ā.*ā§]
Eve sent an emoticon full of confidence with shining effects. Kang-Woo clenched his fists.
"Trait gacha!!"
āI got a mid Trait like Astral Projection last time, but this timeā¦ā
"ABYSS WATCHER!!!"
He could get his SSS-rank Trait or possibly something even greater.
"What? Abyss what?" asked Yeon-Joo, startled by Kang-Wooās sudden cheering.
Han Seol-Ah and Lilith were also staring at him incomprehensibly.
"Hehehehehe," Kang-Woo chuckled, paying them no mind.
He was already tingling with excitement thinking about the Trait gacha like a compulsive gambler.
āIf Iām especially lucky, I might be able to get an EX-rank Trait!ā
Even Kang-Woo couldnāt help but drool at the thought of getting an EX-rank Trait despite already possessing the unfathomable power that was the Demonic Sea.
āThe Miracle Trait that Seol-Ah used to resurrect Balrog was also EX-rank.ā
Considering that, he needed to get one of the same rank no matter what.
āThough I bet the chances are low as fuck!!ā
Kang-Woo recalled what Eve had said to him.
"I need to beā¦ more desperate."
He needed to believe that it would come to him.
"What?" Yeon-Joo asked.
"Iāll get it!! Iāll get it this time for sure!!!"
"Get what?"
"Yeon-Joo!!! You believe your oppa, donāt you?!!"
"For fuckās sake, did you take a bullet to the head? What the fuck have you been talking about since earlier?!"
"Just believe! Believe me just one more time!!!"
āJust one more pull! Thisāll be the last one, I swear!!!ā
It was chaos.
"Hey! Stop pushing!!!"
"Move, you sons of bitches!!"
"The fuck are you on about?! I was first!"
"Weāre not in a fucking amusement park! Thereās no such thing as first come first served here!"
People were pushing and cursing at each other.
"Motherfucker!"
"Wanna go, huh?!"
"Yeah, letās fucking go!"
"Fucking bring it!!"
Bash!!
The two Players who were making a scene began to fight each other.
"Fucking hell," Kang-Woo muttered as he witnessed the hellscape on par with the Nine Hells. "What a goddamn shitshow."
"Iāve heard the rumors, but this is pretty bad."
"E-Everyone here is a Player, arenāt they?"
"Hohoho. This reminds me of Hell."
Yeon-Joo, Seol-Ah, and Lilith gave their thoughts as they witnessed the chaos. Kang-Woo quickly flew to Egypt as soon as he heard the news about the relics before other Players could take them all, taking his three lovers who were with him at the time. It had been a while since he formed a party with just them.
"Good thing we didnāt take Echidna with us," Kang-Woo expressed.
Echidna did not follow them because she needed to stream.
"Holy crap, are we in a warzone or something?" Yeon-Joo shook her head with her mouth agape.
Thousands of Players of various ethnicities, nationalities, genders, and ages were fighting to enter a pyramid.
"A-Are the relics worth this much?" Seol-Ah asked in confusion as she looked at Kang-Woo.
"I mean, I donāt blame them considering how valuable the relics are."
To Players, oneās level was an absolute indicator of oneās strength since leveling came with boosts in stats and new Trait skills. Even if the relics werenāt used to level up, the power infused in the equipment-type relics far surpassed that of Legendary-grade equipment.
āOf course, theyād go crazy over them.ā
Even if the Player didnāt want to use it, they could easily be sold for billions if they were sold.
"At least it hasnāt turned into a slaughterhouseā¦"
Players were still holding on to their sense of reason. None of them who were fighting were taking out their weapons, likely because they knew the situation would become uncontrollable if they started killing each other. They stuck to fighting with their fists.
āBut itās a shitshow nonetheless.ā
Kang-Woo shook his head.
Yeon-Joo sighed and clicked her head, saying, "Seeing this, Iām glad I didnāt send any of my members here. It wouldāve been a mess if they came here."
Things would undoubtedly get worse if a member of Red Rose were to join the fray.
"But why isnāt the crowd getting smaller?" Yeon-Joo wondered.
Seol-Ah agreed. "Thatās what I was thinking. I wonder if something happened?"
There was a massive wave of Players but people around the entrance were not moving. Kang-Woo and the others stepped back from the crowd and observed the entrance.
Bash! Punch!
"No one may enter the Gate without permission."
"Kurgh!"
They saw Players getting beaten up and pushed away from the entrance.
"Who the hell are those guys?" Kang-Woo wondered.
A group of people wearing silver armor straight out of a Middle Ages fantasy novel was attacking people trying to enter the Gate and pushing them back. There were about two hundred of them, which was far less than the number of Players gathered at the pyramid entrance, but each of them was far stronger than the average Player.
"Huh? Those guys are from Valhalla!" said Yeon-Joo, noticing the symbol of crossed swords on the shoulder plate of the Playersā silver armor.
"Valhalla has no right to block the entrance!"
"Heās right! Itās illegal for anyone but Guardians to regulate Gate entry!"
The Players shouted complaints at the Valhalla members blocking the Gate entrance. The Players in silver armor grimaced as the Players continued to swarm the entrance.
"Did you not hear us saying you may not enter?!"
Bash! Crack!
"Kurgh!"
"Argh!!! M-My leg!!"
"Urgh!"
The Players swarming the entrance were beaten up and pushed back by the Valhalla members again.
"Nghā¦"
The Players glanced at each other and began stepping away from the entrance, intimidated by the Valhalla members. They could easily defeat the Valhalla members if the thousands of them worked together but there was no way Players blinded by greed for the relics would work together.
"Any other complaints?"
A large man who seemed to be of high rank among the Valhalla members glared intimidatingly at the Players. The Players flinched and stepped away.
"W-Weāll be reporting this to Guardians!"
"Damn scumbags!"
Players were only timidly cursing at the Valhalla membersā no one was willing to fight them.
"Wow, what a performance theyāre putting on." Kang-Woo chuckled as he witnessed the scene. "Letās head inside."
"What about Valhalla? Are you gonna beat them all up?" asked Yeon-Joo with a frown. "Thatās gonna turn out badly down the road."
Valhalla was one of the largest guilds in the world and had dozens of affiliate guilds under their wing. Kang-Woo could easily deal with the members blocking the Gate but he and his group would have to deal with all sorts of trouble with them while searching for the relics.
Lilith crossed her arms and suggested, "How about we use our positions as Guardians members?"
As the Players mentioned, no one but Guardians was allowed to regulate Gate entry. They would have no choice but to disperse if it was used to pressure them.
"But if we do that, weāll get an earful from sister-in-law once it deals a massive blow to our finances."
Valhalla, like other major guilds, supported Guardians with funding and high-level Players. They might cut off their support if Guardians members threatened them.
āWe have to keep good hold of our piggy bank.ā
Guardians used an astronomical amount of money to run. There was no need to go out of their way to sever their relationship with one of their piggy banks.
"Then what do you suggest?" Lilith asked.
"Not sure." Kang-Woo thought about a way to get past the Valhalla members without causing unnecessary trouble with them. "Mmmā¦ we need some decent scapegoats."
Kang-Woo looked around for people suitable for the role.
"For fuckās sake, this is the problem with major guilds. We came all this way for nothingā¦ Huh? Whatās this?"
"Dayum, what a sight!"
A group of nasty-looking Players smiled wickedly as they stared at Kang-Wooās group. To be more specific, they were staring at Lilith, Seol-Ah, and Yeon-Joo.
"Hehehe. Looks like the treasure wasnāt in the Gate but out here."
"Hey, pretty ladies~ why donāt you hang out with us~?"
The men approached the group with lecherous smiles, drooling as they stared at the three women. Kang-Woo smiled widely as he stared at the men coming their way.
"Found them."
āForget same-day delivery. Get ready for same-minute delivery.ā