Chapter 134

The field was generated. A road stretched out in a straight line in front of me, the path made of rough white stones. I could activate a description for the road.

[King's Road]

The path of a king. Only one with the qualification of a king may walk upon it.

The path made of white stones stretched out in the empty darkness that surrounded it. I walked up to it.

'King's Road.'

But I was no 'king'. In order to be recognized as a 'king' here, you needed a title with 'king' in it. Such a title would only appear in the far-off future. In any case, I didn't fit the bill now.

What should you do if there was a path for a king, but you weren't a king?

'You just have to go on a different path that's not for a king.'

I lifted my foot and stepped onto the darkness next to the road. It looked like a deep abyss, but my foot touched solid ground.

Each step I took was accompanied by the sound of my footsteps.

'What a fascinating feeling.'

It felt like I was walking on empty air. The way forward looked like a dark nothingness, but strangely enough, I could walk on it.

'What a relief that I know the strat.'

The Gwanghwamun Dungeon was the dungeon you absolutely had to get through in order to quickly punch through the 30-40 phase, to the point that countless foreign Players came to Korea to challenge the Gwanghwamun Dungeon in order to efficiently pass the beginner period.

Many years later, the Great Explorer Jackson said this:

–It appears that humans have a tendency to take the well-established path. That may be why countless Players who challenged the Gwanghwamun Dungeon walked the 'King's Road'.

Walking the King's Road didn't make it impossible to clear the Gwanghwamun Dungeon. The difficulty would just increase exponentially. After all, one who wasn't a king had walked the path of a king.

–It's different if you have a king title, but of course, the great majority of Players, including myself, do not have a king title.

As such, they had to go on a path that wasn't the King's Road.

–If you do not have a king title, you should walk along the darkness next to the King's Road.

If you thought about it, it was simple. It looked like there was no path there, but there was. And that was the path I chose.

[The 'Whispering Devil' is regretful.]

[The 'Nameless Observer' is observing.]

I was paying close attention to which Guardians were sending me messages. There was likely a pool of Guardians competing to send me messages. Depending on who messaged me, my strategy and scenario would partially change.

[The 'Conductor of Sound' holds your prudence in high regard.]

As expected, the Conductor of Sound started taking an interest in my actions. Good. This was the best scenario I had hoped for. If the Conductor of Sound showed their interest, the White Hunter would surely follow suit.

'Come.'

Sure enough—

[The 'White Hunter' is impressed by your clearing technique.]

The Conductor of Sound and White Hunter took the plate. With the mere selection of a path, a whopping four Guardians sent me notices.

'Too bad it's not five.'

Still, this was a very good start. I continued walking along the darkness next to the King's Road, following it closely. There were no monsters nearby. As long as you didn't go onto the King's Road, there weren't any tricks to watch out for. This place was literally just fulfilling the role of the 'entrance'.

I kept walking.

'I see it.'

I began to see a red lion statue and a blue lion statue. They were about five meters in size, situated on each side of the King's Road. Lava was flowing from the red lion statue's mouth, while water was flowing from the blue lion statue's mouth.

'Millennium Lava and Millennium Ice Water.'

They were supposed to be lava and water that had existed for a thousand years.

[Millennium Lava]

Lava that has flowed for a thousand years. Has a temperature of 1000 degrees.

Can be collected using a special method.

[Millennium Ice Water]

Ice water that has flowed for a thousand years. Has a temperature of -1000 degrees.

Can be collected using a special method.

The lava was an incredible 1000 degrees, and the water was -1000 degrees. This was off topic, but the discovery of these fountains created a huge furor in the scientific community.

–The thermodynamic minimum temperature is absolute zero, -273 degrees. -1000 degrees is something that cannot exist and cannot be defined.

In all actuality, the fact that the water was -1000 degrees already meant it wasn't water. But that 'ice water' was flowing in a liquid state. It was impossible to scientifically explain to begin with.

–We needed to correct our views. That water wasn't flowing at the scientifically established -1000 degrees, but the -1000 degrees set by the System. It is impossible to prescribe the Celsius system of measurement we use to the water with our current scientific knowledge.

The scientific dispute aside, its System setting was 'water'. 'New culture' couldn't be explained by science to begin with. All that was important to me was that this mysterious 'water' would play a critical role later.

I walked to the lion statues.

[Observing with Observer's Eye.]

The King's Road ended. From here, it wasn't the King's Road, but a regular path.

'Starting here…'

I walked onto the path linked to the King's Road. If I had messed up, I would get a notice that I had stepped onto the King's Road.

'Not hearing a notice.'

To my relief, I hadn't stepped on the King's Road. I stopped in front of the lion statues on either side of the path.

[Red Lion Statue]

[Blue Lion Statue]

It wouldn't be clickable without any reason. The Millennium Lava and Millennium Ice Water wouldn't be here for no reason. Even though they couldn't be used now, they would definitely come into play later.

'Yep, it's collectable. Though I can't get it right now.'

I observed the statues for a long time.

[The 'Nameless Observer' is observing you.]

I would whip countless Guardians into a frenzy here. In the past, my actions incited the Courageous Lion King to attempt the crazy act of descending on a beginner Player in a wild rush of bad temper. That was just how much I stimulated the Courageous Lion King.

This was the stage where I would once again do that to the Guardians. I would get them crazy about me in this scenario crafted by me.

'Despite that, the Guardian I have to pay the most attention to is the Nameless Guardian.'

They were a Guardian I hadn't known about when I regressed from the future. But they were the Guardian who exerted the greatest influence on me, as well as a Guardian with enough power to stay abreast of the competition to almost always squeeze into the five slots.

'I'll observe.'

I knew all the strategies of this dungeon. A huge amount of information had been shared on Youtube, and this hurdle was one that countless Players had overcome. In terms of theory, I knew this place like the back of my hand. But I still took the time to carefully observe. The Observer class was one that could see what others missed and feel what others couldn't.

'What the Nameless Observer wants to see from me…'

That was clear: they wanted to see me gain something through observation. To seek and contemplate the truth. The Nameless Observer would enjoy all such actions.

[Observing with Observer's Eye.]

It didn't matter what kind of result my observation produced. To the Nameless Observer, the act of observing was of the utmost importance. I intentionally mumbled aloud, "I can't see the way."

The conclusion I reached through observation was that I could not currently collect this Millennium Lava or Ice Water. Even though that was already something I knew, it was worth confirming.

I could hardly collect thousand degree lava or minus one thousand degree ice water with my bare hands. I continued mumbling to myself.

"I can't get it for now, so let's just move on. I need to find the path."

I fixed my eyes on the area where the heat energy from the Red Lion Statue and the cold energy from the Blue Lion Statue were coming together, creating a harmony of yin and yang. It couldn't be confirmed with the physical eye, but I was able to detect the point of convergence with Observer's Eye.

The space was about half a meter wide. It was, so to speak, the Safe Zone, the buffer zone where you could pass through without feeling the influence of the heat and cold energy.

There was no need to show the Guardians a scene of hesitation.

'After finishing careful observation, it's time for a decisive Play.'

It was pointless to frustrate them by dithering and dallying. It was important to strike a balance between satisfying the Guardians who valued prudence and satisfying those who valued decisiveness.

What I found amusing was that I could instinctively walk that tightrope. It just came to me unbidden. If someone asked me, 'How do you strike that balance?' I would have only been able to tell them, 'I could just do it when I tried.'

Step by step, I moved forward.

The heat energy of the Red Lion Statue.

The cold energy of the Blue Lion Statue.

[Entering the Path of Harmony, where heat energy and cold energy converge in harmony past the King's Road.]

I passed the Millennium Lava and Millennium Ice Water and went inside. A bright red door greeted me like a snake opening its jaws wide.

[Entering the 'Gyeonghoeru Pavilion'.]

If I had walked the King's Road, I would have entered the 'Geunjeongjeon Hall' instead of the Gyeonghoeru Pavilion. Going into the Geunjeongjeon Hall field at my current skill level would mean certain death.

TN: Both the Gyeonghoeru and the Geunjeongjeon are parts of the Gyeongbokgung Palace.

I walked into the Gyeonghoeru Pavilion.

It wasn't the real Gyeonghoeru. It was just a new field borrowing the name of the historical building I knew. However, it did bear similarities to the Gyeonghoeru inside the Gyeongbokgung.

'It's ringed by a pond.'

It was a palace built atop a pond. The building was far bigger than the original Gyeonghoeru. I didn't know the exact dimensions, but it was probably about the size of a soccer field.

Floating on the pond was a large sailboat.

'At this size, it's more of a lake than a pond…'

I'd seen this field many times through a screen, but seeing it with my own eyes was a different experience altogether. The lake was so big you could see the horizon. The water wasn't clear—it was incredibly murky, and I couldn't see the bottom.

I occasionally glimpsed fish coming to the surface, creating bubbles. They were one meter long and had very sharp teeth. The name of the monster was 'Carnivore Mermaid', and they were around level 30.

[The Safe Zone is being deactivated.]

I finished checking out the field and moved to the center of the pavilion.

'If I fall into the water, I'll die.'

I had to watch my step. The Carnivore Mermaids weren't incredibly high level, but as fish monsters, they were very difficult for me to hunt. Moreover, they would swarm at the smell of blood.

[In 10 seconds, the 'Gyeonghoeru Scenario' will begin.]

I had prepared for a long time for this moment. I acquired 'Legolas' Rings' and also fused one into my body. Not just that, but I also had 'Noah's Helm' ready.

'My preparations are thorough.'

Now, all that was left was to make use of those preparations to achieve the result I wanted.

[3]

[2]

[1]

[The 'Gyeonghoeru Scenario' has been opened.]

[The 'Gyeonghoeru Scenario - Polluted Banquet Hall' is beginning.]

This scenario-driven dungeon, the Gwanghwamun Dungeon, began in earnest. Several shimmering spots appeared all over the pavilion, obvious enough to be visible to the naked eye.

'There's a lot of them.'

Each of the many shimmers would spawn a monster. One by one, the monsters appeared.

Polluted Lifeform LVL 33

'Zombies.'

Although they were called 'Polluted Lifeforms', they were basically zombies. They dragged their arms and legs as they limped towards me, showing their hostility while red saliva dripped from their mouths. They weren't all that fast.

'There's too many.' This wasn't the Gwanghwamun Dungeon I knew. 'It's changed a little.'

200 Polluted Lifeforms were supposed to spawn here. But it was obvious at a glance that this wasn't just 200.

'There's at least 300.'

Zombies continued to emerge through ripples in space. A disgusting stench filled the air.

'Too many.'

There were more than I expected. This was definitely a variable. But even so, I needed to clear this place perfectly.

Isabel's ego happened to activate just then.

(Are you nuts? Why did you come here alone?)

Was I imagining it, or was Isabel's acerbic voice tinged with worry, as faint as it was?

(Are you trying to turn me into a widow?! Are you crazy? How do you plan on handling this many monsters at your level?)

Everything was okay. I became sure of it from Isabel's reaction.

'If Isabel feels this way, the Guardians must be feeling the same.'

They should know as well as I that this dungeon wasn't a place I should have entered by myself. But on the other hand, they would be filled with anticipation. How would a level 32 'Observer' clear a place that could only be cleared with 'brute force'? It could even be that someone out there was watching just to see how I would survive. However, what I wanted wasn't just to survive, but to clear.

The method for a level 32 Observer to clear the Gyeonghoeru… that was what I would be showing the Guardians.

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