Monopolizing Skills to the 666th Floor - Chapter 49

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This chapter was translated by Lunox Team. To support us and help keep this series going, visit our website: LunoxScans.com
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Skill Devouring to the 666th Floor Episode 049

49. Administrator of Transcendence Net

Transcendence Net has invisible experience points.

When these experience points reach a certain level, administrator privileges are granted.

‘In other words, you can become a manager.’

I had been writing strategy guides from the beginning with the purpose of becoming a manager.

The view counts of my posts were converted into experience points, becoming nourishment for my path to managership.

And those efforts finally bore fruit.

[Manager privileges are being granted to the user.]

You’re probably curious at this point.

What does a manager do?

What’s good about becoming a manager?

‘You gain various privileges.’

For example, blocking specific users from posting, or deleting other people’s posts.

You can do things that others can’t.

‘You take charge of managing Transcendence Net.’

But when people hear this story, they inevitably ask.

Do you get paid for managing?

‘No, you don’t get a single penny.’

Then, is there at least something that helps with growth?

‘There’s absolutely nothing like that.’

Then, what’s good about it? But there are some advantages.

‘You can control Transcendence Net. For example, like this.’

I registered all the posts I had written so far as global announcements.

[The post has been changed to an announcement.]

[Announcements are displayed at the top of bulletin boards worldwide.]

My posts, which had been limited to Korea, began to be exposed globally.

Floors 2-9 strategy guide.

Floors 10-19 strategy guide.

Floors 20-29 strategy guide.

And even the ViewTube promotional post.

‘This is what proper promotion looks like.’

The growth of my ViewTube channel was just beginning.

[You have entered Labyrinth Underground 25th Floor.]

《Type: Survival》

《Condition: Within 1 hour time limit》

《Mission: Survive from monsters.》

[You cannot exit until the mission is cleared.]

Joshua had smoothly cleared up to Floor 24 so far.

But Floor 25 had a different atmosphere.

“Ugh, it’s already hot.”

Having to endure an hour in this hot and humid Volcanic Zone.

He’d barely entered and already felt like giving up.

“Come at me, whatever you are. I’ll take you all on.”

Originally, survival missions can be cleared just by running away and avoiding.

But Joshua absolutely never ran away.

He defeated as many monsters as possible as they came.

It wasn’t just to collect Magic Stones.

‘The experience I’m gaining now will eventually become my flesh and blood.’

True to his Special Forces background.

He sought to accumulate as much combat experience as possible.

His duels with Amon had the same intention.

He aimed for his own growth.

“Here it comes.”

A monster revealed itself rolling from the distance.

“Kururururu!”

It looked like a Ball Bug and was difficult to attack because it constantly rolled around.

However.

‘I have Time Regression.’

Using the time-reversing skill to avoid dangerous moments.

Slash!

Precisely cutting through what appeared to be the soft flesh.

Thud!

I was able to cut it in half.

‘The key is catching them when they’re stopped.’

When they were rolling around, my blade wouldn’t penetrate, but when they stopped, it was this easy.

‘Now I need to recycle this guy to fight.’

I used the skill [Soul Summoning] sponsored by the God of the Underworld on the Ball Bug’s corpse.

Whoosh.

The Ball Bug’s soul emerged and stood before Joshua.

It was a useful skill that allowed me to use it as a summon for a short time.

After using the skill to catch several more, I also discovered its fatal weakness.

‘It can’t find me when I’m jumping.’

That meant it had narrow vision or detected heat.

Joshua utilized this point to continue attacking while jumping, making it much easier to defeat them.

While hunting diligently like this.

[You have defeated 100 Dark Rollers.]

[Hidden Event: Giant Dark Roller appears.]

An unexpected event was triggered.

‘Giant Dark Roller? Is it a boss mob?’

Soon, a Dark Roller of enormous size appeared, true to its name.

Anyone could see this wasn’t something that appeared to be defeated.

I absolutely had to avoid it.

But.

‘If I defeat that… it would definitely give me something incredible, right?’

Risk comes with rewards.

Joshua decided to face the Giant Dark Roller.

“Kururururururu!”

I was surprised by its enormous size, but I wasn’t afraid.

‘If I use all the skills I have, it’s definitely worth trying.’

I used summons as bait to find openings.

Then when it got dangerous, I’d reverse time with Time Regression.

Finally, I used a skill called Power of Reversal to lower its stats and exploit its weakness.

As a result.

[You have defeated the Giant Dark Roller.]

[You receive ‘Orb of Darkness (D)’ as a reward.]

‘Orb of Darkness?’

An unusual item appeared.

Looking at the description, it was an item that allowed access to the Dimensional Shop?

‘Dimensional Shop… should I try using it right away?’

No.

It would be better to ask Amon about it later.

He might know something about this item.

I postponed using it and returned to Earth.

Afterward, I habitually accessed Transcendence Net to gather information…

‘Huh? An announcement?’

I noticed a pinned announcement at the top.

‘Wait, the author is Amon?’

But it was written in English, not Korean.

The title was 【Releasing Floor 30-39 Strategy Guide. This time it’s a video.】

‘A video?’

He said he’d upload the Floor 30 strategy guide soon.

He really posted it as promised.

But the method was extraordinary.

‘An announcement… this is the first time I’ve seen something like this.’

Did Amon have the authority to write announcements?

Just in case, I checked the Korean board and found the same post.

All other country boards were the same too.

‘It was automatically translated into each country’s language and posted as an announcement? What kind of situation is this…’

I was curious about what happened and tried to text Tae Seong, but…

‘Oh, it’s dawn in Korea right now, isn’t it?’

I decided to wait.

Until morning came.

When I woke up in the morning, there was a text message.

The sender was Joshua.

[Good morning, Tae Seong. I have something I’m curious about and wanted to ask. Please text me if you have time!]

What could he be curious about to send a text this early in the morning?

I became curious myself and sent a reply.

Then he actually called me.

―Tae Seong, are you awake?

“Yes. What’s the matter?”

―Well, I was looking at Transcendence Net yesterday. I saw a notice you posted.

“Oh, that? Did it show up on the United States board too?”

―Of course. It was pinned right at the top as a notice.

It would be.

Not just the United States, but the whole world would have seen the notice.

“Why do you ask?”

―That… did you really write that post? It was so unusual that it went up as a notice.

“Yes, I really wrote that post. I’m also the one who posted it as a notice.”

―What?

There was no reason to lie to Joshua.

I wanted to build trust with him, and besides, only one person gets selected as a Transcendence Net manager.

There was no worry about my position being taken.

“I somehow became a manager. I don’t know why though.”

―Ma, manager?

“I gained the ability to manage posts.”

―So, so… you’re saying you became an administrator of Transcendence Net?

“You could say that.”

―Wow…!

The post registered as a notice was proof of that.

Joshua couldn’t hide his amazement over the phone.

“Did you contact me just to ask about that?”

―Ah! There’s something else besides that.

“What is it?”

―I recently cleared Floor 25, and I got an item. Do you know anything about it?

An item? Could it be?

―It’s called ‘Orb of Darkness’, and it can apparently open the Dimensional Shop… I was wondering if you might know about this item, Tae Seong.

As expected.

Just as I hoped, Joshua had defeated the Giant Dark Roller by himself.

What happened in the past was being recreated.

“That’s a really hard item to get, how did you manage to obtain it?”

―You knew about it?

“Yes. You got it by defeating the Giant Dark Roller, right?”

―That’s right.

“I didn’t tell you about the event because I was worried it might be dangerous… but as expected, Joshua is amazing. You’re truly the strongest person I trust.”

I praised him sincerely.

Did that make him feel good?

―Heh, hehe.

I heard faint laughter over the phone.

But soon he seemed to face reality.

―A, ahem… Thank you. I didn’t know you would evaluate me so highly.

He cleared his throat and thanked me.

I didn’t spare my advice either.

“As someone who got it first, let me tell you – don’t use that item yet.”

―Is there a reason I shouldn’t use it yet?

“Yes. It’s a one-time use item, and it’s really hard to obtain. Even now that I’ve reached the 66th Floor, the Orb of Darkness has only appeared once.”

―Ah…

“You might not be able to use it when you really need it, so just keep it for now. Still, since you got it early, you’ll continue receiving additional rewards called credits. Use it when you’ve accumulated enough credits.”

―Understood, Tae Seong. I’ll do as you say.

Joshua accepted my words without a hint of doubt.

I could feel his blind trust.

‘Actually, there’s nothing better than buying a Withered Branch and evolving it. But…’

Even so, it would only reach the first evolution as a Lustrous Branch.

The Transformation Branch is a weapon that only one person can possess.

Therefore, a second evolution like mine is impossible.

‘Besides, Joshua doesn’t even need a Lustrous Branch.’

The Lustrous Branch is a consumable item that restores durability.

It wouldn’t be much help to Joshua, who doesn’t even have proper equipment.

‘Rather than getting one branch and being unable to use the shop until the 160th Floor, it’s much better to accumulate credits and buy proper items.’

After ending the call, I fell into thought.

‘I wish I had more reliable companions like Joshua.’

From Labyrinth 70th Floor to 79th Floor, raid missions await.

Here, Apostles must form teams to conquer bosses.

It’s a section with correspondingly high difficulty.

‘But I don’t need that. I’m more than capable of handling bosses alone.’

In the past, we formed raid parties with the Twelve Apostles, but solo clearing was possible if you had the ability.

‘Back then, Joshua conquered bosses alone. The rest moved in teams.’

That was the norm.

However, the situation now is a bit different from then.

‘I have to take Joshua’s place. In other words, I need a team excluding myself.’

I can just go in alone, but what about the others?

Someday they’ll reach the 70th Floor and do raid missions, but what if they’re not prepared?

‘There would be casualties from the boss’s powerful strength.’

Such a thing must be prevented at all costs.

Because they’re people I care about.

‘They’re not the type to stop conquering the Labyrinth just because I tell them not to…’

In the end, to minimize damage to team members, a stable raid party composition is essential.

‘I’ve already decided on several people as team member candidates. Though I do need additional people.’

Currently, 10 people are under surveillance with Parasite.

Recently I enhanced the skill by +1, increasing it to 11 people, so one spot is vacant.

‘Who should I add to the surveillance list?’

First, I closed my eyes and checked the people on the surveillance list one by one.

One of my morning routines.

While doing so, one person caught my attention.

It was the celebrity I saw at the Hongik University Station gathering recently.

‘Her name was Han So Ra, right?’

Checking her conversations and location, she appears to be in China.

‘Wait. I think there was a major incident involving a Korean celebrity in China…’

The memory was hazily coming and going.

What’s needed at times like this?

Thud!

Sitting cross-legged and meditating.

Clear Mind Like Still Water should help revive the memory.

‘Let me concentrate. I need to recall that incident.’

Suddenly, one incident flashed through my mind.

I caught it without missing it.

Then the memory appeared as clearly as if it happened yesterday.

‘Ah! I remembered.’

The Shenzhen Massacre.

It was a tragic incident where dozens of people lost their lives to an Apostle in Shenzhen, China.

A Korean celebrity got caught up in that incident and died, making it briefly an issue in Korea too.

‘Come to think of it… this timing matches exactly, doesn’t it?’

Not only does the timing match, but the celebrity I’m monitoring is in China too?

‘It might be dangerous. The perpetrator of the Shenzhen incident was none other than Liu Weihao.’

I immediately booked the fastest flight ticket.

And I also decided who to fill the remaining Parasite slot with.

‘A wild colt needs to be bridled.’

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This chapter was translated by Lunox Team. To support us and help keep this series going, visit our website: LunoxScans.com
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