Published at 6th of December 2020 03:57:21 PM
Chapter 343.
Chapter 343 . End of the Challenge
Kang Oh's method of hunting the Death Eagles, or luring them into the harpoon trap, proved to be extremely effective . But it wasn't perfect; there was no guarantee that it'd work every single time .
Sometimes, the Death Eagles would realize that it was a trap and return to their nests . Kang Oh tried luring them in a few more times, but they wouldn't fall for it .
'Oh well . '
He had no choice but to fight them head-on .
"Tasha!"
Kang Oh transformed into the Red Demon, rose into the air, and fought the giant-winged Death Eagles in the sky . Since he could only fly for so long, Kang Oh would use Darkness Chain when his time was up and hop from eagle to eagle .
"Uhaht!"
To an outsider, it would look like Kang Oh was performing extremely dangerous stunts . They wouldn't be wrong . However, he couldn't take down the Death Eagles without taking this kind of risk .
Stab!
Kang Oh clung onto a Death Eagle and aimed at its wings . If he took out its wings, then it would plummet to the ground and take a huge amount of damage .
"Haa, haa!"
Of course, making a monster as powerful as a Death Eagle fall to the ground wasn't as easy as it sounded . Moreover, Death Eagles were capable of flying with only one good wing, so he needed to damage both of them .
When he fought wyverns in the past, Kang Oh had done something similar, but it was about three or four times harder to get the Death Eagles to fall .
Even so, Kang Oh could it!
"Die!"
The Death Eagles began to fall one by one . Of course, Kang Oh didn't remain unscathed . There was no way it'd be easy to fight off the Death Eagles, which were renowned for their high combat ability and flight!
[Warning: HP is below 20% . ]
[Restore your HP!]
His HP was quickly depleted!
"Uhaaahk!"
He somehow managed to maintain his remaining HP while moving across the Death Eagles and stubbornly swinging his sword .
The smallest mistake would result in a game over! If the Death Eagles landed a solid hit or he fell to the ground, he'd die .
This extreme life-or-death situation maxed out his concentration . He didn't make a single mistake .
Ultimately . . .
Kang Oh stood amidst black feathers and sprawled eagle corpses . Victory was his!
[Warning: 5% HP remaining . ]
[Please restore your HP!]
Kang Oh pulled a health potion from his belt . However, this was his last one .
"Tch . "
He'd definitely bought enough health potions before entering the Tower of Trials . Where had they all gone?
Kang Oh didn't even use them most of the time, thinking they were a waste of money . However, he was forced to drink health potions here . That's just how high the difficulty level was .
Gulp .
He drank his last health potion and then headed for another group of eagles .
Would he be able to clear this floor? And if he did, how far would he manage to go?
* * *
"It's over," Yoon Mi said .
The competition was indeed over . She saw the last remaining contestant use a return scroll .
"Tell our contestants that we'll have a shoot in three days," Jin Cheol said .
"Yes . "
First Hunter's production crew immediately scheduled the shoot . They would announce the winner, reward them, and reveal the next monster there .
Three days later . . .
Seong Gook and the contestants were inside the brightly lit studio .
"Hello, viewers! My name is Seong Gook . As always, our hunters are here with us today!" Seong Gook pointed at the contestants .
Jae Woo's face was covered by a helmet from the nose up . Marco was still good-looking, while Strong Punch was as intimidating as ever, despite how polite he was . Lastly, Snow Flower was completely dolled up, yet gave off a cool impression .
"Our hunters went up the Tower of Trials this time . Whoever got the highest will win a prize of 200 million won ($200,000 USD) . Did you all make it very far?"
Their reactions varied . Marco looked extremely confident, and Strong Punch also smiled faintly . Snow Flower was expressionless, but Seong Gook noticed the creases in her forehead . Jae Woo didn't really react . His face was half covered by the helmet, and his lips were, as always, set in a thin line .
"Based on your expressions, it looks like Mr . Marco will be 1st," Seong Gook said .
"I did my best, and I believe I had a good showing," Marco replied confidently .
"Now, let's see! Did Mr . Marco . . . win? I'm sure many of you are curious how this challenge played out . I am too . So let's not beat around the bush and reveal the results!"
Seong Gook kept the show moving along .
"Please take a look at the screen . "
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The huge monitor turned on .
"Let's start with last place . It's none other than Ms . Snow Flower . "
Snow Flower appeared on the screen with a '49th Floor - Clear' next to her name . She had failed to defeat the 50th floor boss, the Doppelganger .
"Aah . People had such high hopes for Ms . Snow Flower, since she killed the Spider Queen, Benolov . Unfortunately, she ended in last place . " Seong Gook groaned, and Snow Flower slightly bit her lip .
"What happened, Ms . Snow Flower?"
"I wasn't good enough . That's all," Snow Flower curtly replied .
"Mm . There are still two more opportunities for you to win! Good luck!" Seong Gook clenched his fist . "Then let's take a look at 3rd place . In 3rd place, we have . . . "
A new name appeared on the TV .
"Sword Mercenaries' Strong Punch!"
"Huh?" Strong Punch looked shocked .
'I'm third?' He hadn't expected this at all . That didn't make any sense . He'd cleared the 56th floor, after all .
He'd even managed to surpass the Mercenary King's previous record; when he was still a Towergoer, the Mercenary King had gotten to the 55th floor . Of course, the Mercenary King had set this record a month ago .
Anyhow, he'd gotten to the 57th floor . There, he'd struggled against Giants that were over level 500, and was forced to retreat .
'And I'm still third?' Strong Punch stared at Marco and Kang Oh . 'How far did they get?', his gaze seemingly said .
"Ah, that's quite unfortunate," Seong Gook said .
"Excuse me?"
'What do you mean?'
"You and 1st place were very close . It was the difference of a single floor . "
"So first place cleared the 57th floor and reached the 58th floor . "
"That's right . "
"Who is it?" Strong Punch instinctively asked .
"Who will be awarded 200 million won? Will it be Mr . Kang Oh or Mr . Marco? I'm sure you're all curious by now . The 1st place winner is . . . " Seong Gook let it stew, and everyone waited for him to reveal the results .
"1st place is none other than . . . " He exaggeratingly pointed at one of the contestants .
Pop!
It sounded like firecrackers had gone off, and then Seong Gook's voice rang out .
"Blue Sky's Great Explorer, Mr . Marco!"
"Yeah!" Marco happily clenched both his fists, stood up, and raised his arms into the air .
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"Mr . Marco and his teammates overcame the giant, complex mazes, defeated the 57th floor Giants, and reached the 58th floor . A truly amazing feat," Seong Gook said .
Clap, clap, clap!
Everyone began applauding him .
"However, we have another surprise for you . You're not the only one who achieved this tremendous feat!"
For a second there, Marco didn't understand what he was saying . 'What are you talking about?'
Seong Gook continued, "I would expect nothing less from the Numbers! The Predator! Mr . Kang Oh cleared the 57th floor by himself, and also reached the 58th floor!"
Then, Marco turned his head and stared at Kang Oh . 'Y-You too?'
"Tch . " Once everyone stared at him, Kang Oh clicked his tongue . 'I should've gone up another floor . '
Their records were the same . In other words, they were both in first place . Obviously, the reward would be divided in half . That didn't feel right . He should've taken it all for himself!
But it couldn't be helped . He'd managed to kill the 57th floor's Giants, and then moved onto the 58th floor . Once he was there, however, he faced Giants made of diamond .
They were huge, had immense physical strength, and had defense that rivaled Teyno's . Thus, he tried to kill them using Ubist, which could ignore a monster's defense, but he ultimately failed . It would've been different had he been able to use Gluttony . . .
"The third reward will be split between Mr . Kang Oh and Mr . Marco!" Seong Gook declared .
As always, Park Jin Cheol came out with two 007 bags filled with money .
"Good job . As expected of Blue Sky . It was amazing to see you clear those mazes . Please work hard in the remaining challenges too," Jin Cheol passed Marco the money bag and said .
Marco looked disappointed, as he could somehow feel how much lighter the bag was than normal .
Then, Jin Cheol approached Jae Woo .
"This is your second time winning . As expected of you, Mr . Kang Oh . " He gave him a thumbs up with his off-hand .
"100 million won ($100,000 USD), right?"
"Yes, that's right . "
"Tch . " Jae Woo clicked his tongue in disappointment .
"You still have two more chances . " Jin Cheol smiled .
Jae Woo nodded his head and accepted the bag .
"We have bodyguards on standby . You also have a ride waiting for you . Please use them if you wish . "
Jin Cheol introduced the bodyguards that were off to the side . With this, the award ceremony had come to an end .
"Now then, let's speak with Mr . Marco and Mr . Kang Oh, who both won the 1st place prize . "
Seong Gook began asking Marco question after question, and Marco answered each question earnestly without losing the smile on his handsome face .
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"Was the hardest opponent you faced the 58th floor Diamond Giants?"
"No . We just didn't have enough time to fight the Diamond Giants . I feel like the Death Eagles were actually harder to beat than the upper floor giants . They kept bombarding us from above while we went through the maze . "
On the contrary, Kang Oh's responses weren't very sincere .
"What monster was the hardest for you?"
"The Diamond Giant . "
"Why is that?"
"They wouldn't go down no matter how many times I hit them . "
"How did you prepare for the Tower of Trials?"
"The same as always . "
But everyone just accepted it, assuming it was just his personality .
"Understood, Mr . Kang Oh . Thank you for your insincere comments . With this, we're done discussing the Tower of Trials . And now it's time to . . . "
Seong Gook waited, and then said, "Reveal the fourth monster . Everyone, please take a look at the screen!"
Drum roll!
The monitor showed a video that the production crew had prepared, accompanied by a strong beat . It showed a bizarre, spooky forest filled with dead, dried out trees . The mist shrouded the forest underneath the light of the moon, which only made it spookier .
"Hurry up!"
"Heok, heok!"
People rushed out of the deep darkness and thick mist . It looked like something was chasing them .
Then, something pounced on them . It was a beast with shimmering silver fur . The beast was about 3 meters large and looked like a wolf, but its legs were much longer than the average wolf, and its mouth was smaller too .
"Shit!"
They stopped running and pointed their weapons at the beast . However, the wolf instantly disappeared from sight .
A short while later . . .
"Keheok!"
"Ugh!"
Swish, swish .
It seemed like something had passed them, but it couldn't be seen by the naked eye . However, red shards of light burst from the players' bodies and they died .
"Diak," Kang Oh softly muttered .
Their next opponent was Swift Diak, considered to be the fastest beast in all of Arth .