Translator: HunterW
Editor: RED
Nine days later…
“Tomorrow’s the last day, Jiwon oppa.”
“Yeah, time sure flew, didn’t it?”
“Thanks, oppa. You got us to first place.”
“Don’t worry about it. You guys helped me out a lot, too.”
“And…” Haein trailed off. I turned to face her. “Thanks for getting my brother back on his feet.”
“Oh… that.”
Haein softly laughed. “Did you know? After three years of not paying attention to him, my brother went up to his only son and apologized while crying. Do you know how I felt when I saw that?” Haein’s eyes were beginning to well up with tears.
I could tell she wasn’t sad, though. She was grinning from cheek to cheek. I could sort of tell what she meant.
“Oh, that’s right. You probably don’t know this, but when you called a fortnight ago, my brother ran off.”
“He did that?” Now that I thought about it, the whole time I was with the Sunbin Guild, I hadn’t seen any sign of Song Haechang anywhere.
“Yup. He said that he was going to focus on training during the meantime and went off to the mid-grade dungeon in Mongolia. But I’m sure he was just embarrassed.”
“Is he still using a broadsword?”
“Nope. He jumped into the Sea of Reset and for some reason, decided to become an Ice Mage.”
“Really? That’s a relief.”
-Well, I guess it’s good that he took my advice to heart.-
I sat back on my sofa and sipped my coffee in the moonlight, as I listened to Haein talk about this and that.
Late that night, I received a call from Lagus.
“I did offer to help…”
“Hahaha. It’s the thought that counts.”
We had kept in touch every now and then. I had offered to help the Ravi Guild with the Time Attack quest, but Lagus turned me down. He said that the Ravi Guild was focusing its entire attention and resources on the Vaishyas and Shudras, and that they didn’t have time for any side projects. In my opinion, at least participating in the quest wasn’t a bad idea, but I wasn’t going to change his mind.
“Then, I’ll continue to wish you the best of luck.”
“Thank you.”
—
The next day…
==[Time Attack will end in 1 hour.
All records registered on display boards will be final once the quest ends.
Please register better times you have recorded before time runs out.
Once the quest ends, all one-man and sixteen-man entry passes in inventories will be removed.]==
“It’s the end.”
“So it seems.”
The Sunbin and Myth Guild officers and I gathered in the conference room to celebrate. We were keeping an eye on the display boards in case somehow someone managed to get better times than us, but we weren’t too worried about it. There was no way anyone could beat us. We spent the next hour leisurely talking about this and that until the message appeared.
==[Time Attack quest is now over.
All records registered on display boards are now final. Rewards will be distributed according to rankings.]==
==[One- man dungeon rankings
SSS Rank: 00:49:32 – Lee Jiwon (Deva)
F- Rank: 02:09:56 – Mellow (Deity)
F- Rank: 02:14:33 – Yoana Momon (Deity)
:
31. F- Rank: 02:39:17 – Gar Gran (Deva)
: ]==
==[Sixteen-man dungeon rankings
SSS Rank: 02:31:44 – Sunbin Guild
SSS Rank: 02:13:57 – Myth Guild
E Rank: 04:57:17 – D. Nerv
:
27. F- Rank: 05:44:43 – Cheng Long Guild
: ]==
“YES!”
“We got SSS Rank!”
“Mr. Lee, thank you so much!”
“This was all thanks to Master Lee!”
“It was my pleasure.”
—
The Gnosis Guild’s headquarters…
“So, in the end, it was all thanks to Lee Jiwon.”
“Just as we expected.”
“All that time and effort wasted, just like that.” The Gnosis Guild tirelessly gathered intel on the dungeons, but once the Sunbin and Myth Guilds took first and second place, no one bought anymore intel. There was no way anyone could beat them.
—
The Cheng Long Guild’s headquarters…
The Cheng Long Guild had given up on the Time Attack quest even though they held first place for the longest time during the month. There was no way they could ever beat the Sunbin Guild’s record, and it just served to wound their pride.
Wai Chung fumed as he stared at the display boards. “The Sunbin Guild robbed us at the King-Emperor’s Tomb and now they rob us again! Fucking Dongyi bastards!”
Wai Chung threw the bottle of liquor that he was holding at a wall. “Lee Jiwon! It’s all his fault!”
—
The San Tuan Guild’s headquarters…
“Holy shit… did you see the records?” Toh asked Wanhu.
“Of course I saw them. I’m actually afraid how high Lee Jiwon will end up.”
“We really woke the beast.”
“That we did. And we even invited that beast into our living room, like idiots.”
—
The Sahtashwi Guild, the Behi-Kinat Guild and all other guilds and mortals around the world were talking about Lee Jiwon. In the end, it was Lee Jiwon who took everything from the Time Attack quest. The Sunbin and Myth Guilds may have ranked first and second for the sixteen-man dungeons, but that was all thanks to Lee Jiwon. There was no one who didn’t know that.
And so, while the month-long Time Attack quest had come to an end, Lee Jiwon’s name continued to soar.
—
While we were congratulating and thanking each other, another message appeared before us.
==[You have placed first for the one-man dungeon Time Attack.
With a time of 49 minutes and 32 seconds, you have reached SSS Rank and have proved to everyone the extent of your abilities. As you have gathered 784,900 points, 78% of the one-man dungeon rewards will be given to Lee Jiwon.
1 Rank 8+ random chest.
900 extra Stat points.
1 extra Skill Point.
295,000,000 golden rings.]==
==[Please acquire your rewards when you turn in your quest at a Store’s quest board.]==
I smiled as I read through the messages. I did want the Random Skill more, but I was happy with this, as well.
-If I’m getting 78% of the rewards, then I should be getting that too, right?-
I followed everyone else out of the building and we all headed for Store 72 to accept our rewards. Once that was done, I returned to the room I was staying in. The others were too busy checking out their rewards to notice I had slipped away.
“Okay. As long as I get at least a Rank 9 item, I won’t be sad about not getting a skill chest.” I took calming breaths as I stroked the top of the Random Chest. “I don’t even expect to get a Rank 10 item. A Rank 9 will be enough! Come on! Come on!” I carefully opened the Chest.
“Holy shit?” Inside was an item, shining in a bright, purple light. “Item check!”
==[Ring of Infinite Space (Rank 10)
This is a ring that belonged to _ _ _, the controller of time and space. _ _ _ confined three continents and twenty-one kingdoms in the Ring of Infinite Space for the sole reason that he did not like them.
And thus, angered by _ _ _’s actions, the entire northeastern continent declared _ _ _ as his own sovereign state, gathered an army of one million strong and declared war upon _ _ _.
Two years and one hundred twenty-seven days later, the war ended with the alliance’s victory. Thirty thousand soldiers remained ,and those soldiers brought the Ring of Infinite Space to a legendary blacksmith to destroy it. However, it was impossible to fully destroy the Ring, and so thirty other famed craftsmen were gathered and together with the blacksmith, broke the Ring into pieces.
Splintering the Ring was enough to lessen its power.
(This item is restorable, but only those with at least the title of Master will be able to restore it, little by little. Each piece will be destroyed as the Ring is restored and all missing effects will reappear and restore their original values.)
Restored: 8.1/100
All Stats increased by 100 points
Space can be infinitely extended, depending on the wearer’s ability. However, there is currently a limit, as the Ring is still mostly destroyed. (Current Space: 100 x 100 x 100 meters.)
Space can be accessed via Enter and Exit commands.
Durability: 17,000/17,000
DEF 1, MDEF 1]==
“What! Huh? Uh…” My expressions kept changing as I read through the item description.
“At least a Master? Where am I supposed to find a person like that, and why will it only restore little by little?”
The single best crafted item was the Rank 7 Stop Watching Me and that was made by a Journeyman craftsman.
“Was there ever a Master?” I don’t think I ever heard of anyone called a Master Craftsman in my past life. There was a chance that I just didn’t know, but either way, a Master should appear eventually. If I had to, I would even fund a Journeyman craftsman to get them to Master rank. I would have to, as this ring was obviously powerful. That was one reason I wasn’t really happy with it. I would probably end up in debt trying to complete it.
“No! It’s still a Rank 10. And this Space effect is…” I struggled for a second to imagine how big the Space was at 100 meters cubed.
“A…anyway, it’s probably as big as a track field!” That was more than enough. I could fit a house, a car, and a motorcycle if I wanted to.
“Hmm…could I go inside, too?” I was curious. “Enter.”
==[The wearer of the Ring of Infinite Space cannot enter.]==
“Dang it.” If I could, then I would have my own ‘little’ safe space.
“Well, if it doesn’t work, I shouldn’t worry about it,” I said to myself, as I stared at the Ring with longing. One day, I’d make sure its true form saw the light of day again.
As I turned my attention to my Stat points and Skill Point to figure out what to do with them, a few people came knocking at my door. It was Song Daechul and others from the Sunbin Guild.
“Thank you, Jiwon.”
“It was my pleasure, sir. I think I’ve received enough thanks now.”
“Hahaha. Still, take them. We still can’t thank you enough.”
“I understand.”
“Anyway, I wanted to reward you for getting the Sunbin Guild to first place.”
Both I and the Sunbin Guild knew that even though they reached first place, no one would really be talking about them. People would likely be saying that they got there only because of me and that it wasn’t a true competition.
“Bwahaha! That matters little. It just proves that you and the Sunbin Guild are good friends. That’s enough for me. Don’t worry about what other people say,” Song Daechul said, as if he knew what I was thinking. “Your role this past month has been significant. I want to reward you for everything you’ve done for us. If there’s anything at all you want from us, just say it; it’s yours.”
“I want only one thing.”
“What is it?”
“The last time I came you gave me the King-Emperor’s Helm.”
“I did.”
“I want to return it to you and take the Mantle instead.”
“Done,” Song Daechul replied straight away.
“Thank you.”
“But, I’ll just give it you.”
“Sir?”
“I don’t want to exchange it with the Helm. Keep them both. It’s my thanks for everything you’ve done.”
That would mean the Sunbin Guild would have nothing from the Tomb. “You don’t have to…”
“I don’t want to hear it. You know, I’ve found many reasons to smile these days. Do you know why?”
“Why is that, sir?”
“Because you brought my grandson back to his senses. He’s almost back to his old self now.”
“…” Song Daechul was beaming at me, and I could see that he was genuinely happy.
At his order, the Mantle was handed over to me. To be honest, it was hard to accept it. Even if the Sunbin Guild had its own reward from the Time Attack quest and even if I helped them a lot, a Rank 9 item wasn’t worth it.
“We’re going to have a dinner party tonight. You’ll come, won’t you?”
“Of course I should.” I smiled back at the older man. Well, if he really wanted to give it to me, I had no choice but to take it. It just meant that was how far he and the Sunbin Guild would go for me, regardless of the reason.
—
“It’s alright.” I was talking with Shin and Ebonene. They wanted to reward me as well, since the Myth Guild had received pretty nice rewards, but I turned them down. The Sunbin Guild could afford to, but the Myth Guild could not. I didn’t want to take any more from them.
“But still…”
“Really, it’s quite alright.” The Myth Guild did not have a single Rank 8 item. They already handed it over to me before in the form of the Bracelet of Eternal Fire. They hadn’t been able to find another one after three Khufu dungeon raids, but then again, they could have been lying. I had no way to confirm it, but it didn’t matter. If they said they didn’t find one, they didn’t find one.
“Then, take this at least.” Shin took something out even though I kept turning her down.
“This is…”
“We don’t have any Rank 8 items we can give you. This is the best we can do for you.” Shin handed over seven items that each increased my unassigned Stat points by 100. “We have our own reputation, you know. I won’t accept no for these.”
“I understand.” I graciously accepted her gifts.
I spent the rest of the day having fun with both guilds. I don’t remember the last time I had that much fun with other people.
