<h4>Side Story Chapter 91 - Capture the Relic (2)</h4>
"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 it... the power of Akart?"
[I am not sure yet, but I am sure it is the power of a Titan.]
<i>''Come to think of it, the yers are going crazy over the relics because...''</i>
Kang-Woo turned to Cha Yeon-Joo and asked, "Yeon-Joo. You said this relic levels yers up, right?"
"Yeah, at least that''s what I was told. You know that yers usually can''t level up further after reaching a level cap until something triggers a break in that cap, right?"
"Yeah."
<i>''Though it was so long ago, I don''t remember that well.''</i>
"But if they absorb the mana or whatever kind of power is infused in these relics, they can ignore that cap and level up."
"..."
"It''s not just for leveling up. Some permanently boost one''s stats and others allow yers to awaken new Traits."
"No wonder they''re 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 don''t all have the same effects, right?" Kang-Woo asked.
"Of course not."
"Then how do you distinguish which is good?"
"Oh, I heard there''s a way to check." Yeon-Joo took the relic from Kang-Woo. "Just appraise the item like you''re opening a status window."
Riiing!
[????????????????????????]
[★★]
"You see the stars under the broken characters, right?"
"Yeah."
"This is its rank. It''s apparently called a two-star relic."
"And the higher the better?"
"Yeah. The highest that''s been discovered is a seven-star relic."
It was simr to the apostles'' ranking system on the other Earth.
"How good is a seven-star relic?" Kang-Woo asked.
"The bastards at Valha are keeping it so under wraps that no one knows."
Valha 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 don''t run an intelligence organization for nothing. Getting information from inside Valha is a piece of cake."
"Holy shit. My members couldn''t find anything even after painstaking research."
"Just to let you know, I also know everything going on in your guild, Yeon-Joo. Hoho. You''ve been quite busy for a while but things have been getting some time to spare, right?"
"Wha—"
Yeon-Joo''s mouth was left agape in disbelief. Not many could escape from Lilith''s eyes other than beings like Akart''s retainers who could assimte with light to move around.
"In any case, you''re saying high-ranking relics can grant Deific Essence, right?" Kang-Woo asked with shining eyes.
<i>''Then if I gather those relics...''</i>
He faintly smiled, remembering the spinning roulette.
"Eve, can you extract the Titan''s power from these relics too?"
[Yes! The retention rate of these relics is far higher than the nes fromst time, so I should be able to extract much more energy!]
[?*.?(ˊ?ˋ)?.*?]
Eve sent an emoticon full of confidence with shining effects. Kang-Woo clenched his fists.
"Trait gacha!!"
''I got a mid Trait like Astral Projectionst time, but this time...''
"ABYSS WATCHER!!!"
He could get his SSS-rank Trait or possibly something even greater.
"What? Abyss what?" asked Yeon-Joo, startled by Kang-Woo''s sudden cheering.
Han Seol-Ah and Lilith were also staring at him iprehensibly.
"Hehehehehe," Kang-Woo chuckled, paying them no mind.
He was already tingling with excitement thinking about the Trait gacha like apulsive gambler.
<i>''If I''m especially lucky, I might be able to get an EX-rank Trait!''</i>
Even Kang-Woo couldn''t help but drool at the thought of getting an EX-rank Trait despite already possessing the unfathomable power that was the Demonic Sea.
<i>''The Miracle Trait that Seol-Ah used to resurrect Balrog was also EX-rank.''</i>
Considering that, he needed to get one of the same rank no matter what.
<i>''Though I bet the chances are low as fuck!!''</i>
Kang-Woo recalled what Eve had said to him.
"I need to be... more desperate."
He needed to believe that it woulde to him.
"What?" Yeon-Joo asked.
"I''ll get it!! I''ll get it this time for sure!!!"
"Get what?"
"Yeon-Joo!!! You believe your oppa, don''t you?!!"
"For fuck''s 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!!!"
<i>''Just one more pull! This''ll be thest one, I swear!!!''</i>
***
It was chaos.
"Hey! Stop pushing!!!"
"Move, you sons of bitches!!"
"The fuck are you on about?! I was first!"
"We''re not in a fucking amusement park! There''s no such thing as firste first served here!"
People were pushing and cursing at each other.
"Motherfucker!"
"Wanna go, huh?!"
"Yeah, let''s fucking go!"
"Fucking bring it!!"
<i>Bash!!</i>
The two yers 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."
"I''ve heard the rumors, but this is pretty bad."
"E-Everyone here is a yer, aren''t 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 yers 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 didn''t 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 yers 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 don''t me them considering how valuable the relics are."
To yers, one''s level was an absolute indicator of one''s strength since leveling came with boosts in stats and new Trait skills. Even if the relics weren''t used to level up, the power infused in the equipment-type relics far surpassed that of Legendary-grade equipment.
<i>''Of course, they''d go crazy over them.''</i>
Even if the yer didn''t want to use it, they could easily be sold for billions if they were sold.
"At least it hasn''t turned into a ughterhouse..."
yers 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 be uncontroble if they started killing each other. They stuck to fighting with their fists.
<i>''But it''s a shitshow nheless.''</i>
Kang-Woo shook his head.
Yeon-Joo sighed and clicked her head, saying, "Seeing this, I''m d I didn''t send any of my members here. It would''ve 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 isn''t the crowd getting smaller?" Yeon-Joo wondered.
Seol-Ah agreed. "That''s what I was thinking. I wonder if something happened?"
There was a massive wave of yers but people around the entrance were not moving. Kang-Woo and the others stepped back from the crowd and observed the entrance.
<i>Bash! Punch!</i>
"No one may enter the Gate without permission."
"Kurgh!"
They saw yers 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 yers gathered at the pyramid entrance, but each of them was far stronger than the average yer.
"Huh? Those guys are from Valha!" said Yeon-Joo, noticing the symbol of crossed swords on the shoulder te of the yers'' silver armor.
"Valha has no right to block the entrance!"
"He''s right! It''s illegal for anyone but Guardians to regte Gate entry!"
The yers shoutedints at the Valha members blocking the Gate entrance. The yers in silver armor grimaced as the yers continued to swarm the entrance.
"Did you not hear us saying you may not enter?!"
<i>Bash! Crack!</i>
"Kurgh!"
"Argh!!! M-My leg!!"
"Urgh!"
The yers swarming the entrance were beaten up and pushed back by the Valha members again.
"Ngh..."
The yers nced at each other and began stepping away from the entrance, intimidated by the Valha members. They could easily defeat the Valha members if the thousands of them worked together but there was no way yers blinded by greed for the relics would work together.
"Any otherints?"
Arge man who seemed to be of high rank among the Valha members red intimidatingly at the yers. The yers flinched and stepped away.
"W-We''ll be reporting this to Guardians!"
"Damn scumbags!"
yers were only timidly cursing at the Valha members— no one was willing to fight them.
"Wow, what a performance they''re putting on." Kang-Woo chuckled as he witnessed the scene. "Let''s head inside."
"What about Valha? Are you gonna beat them all up?" asked Yeon-Joo with a frown. "That''s gonna turn out badly down the road."
Valha was one of thergest 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 yers mentioned, no one but Guardians was allowed to regte Gate entry. They would have no choice but to disperse if it was used to pressure them.
"But if we do that, we''ll get an earful from sister-inw once it deals a massive blow to our finances."
Valha, like other major guilds, supported Guardians with funding and high-level yers. They might cut off their support if Guardians members threatened them.
<i>''We have to keep good hold of our piggy bank.''</i>
Guardians used an astronomical amount of money to run. There was no need to go out of their way to sever their rtionship 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 Valha members without causing unnecessary trouble with them. "Mmm... we need some decent scapegoats."
Kang-Woo looked around for people suitable for the role.
"For fuck''s sake, this is the problem with major guilds. We came all this way for nothing... Huh? What''s this?"
"Dayum, what a sight!"
A group of nasty-looking yers smiled wickedly as they stared at Kang-Woo''s group. To be more specific, they were staring at Lilith, Seol-Ah, and Yeon-Joo.
"Hehehe. Looks like the treasure wasn''t in the Gate but out here."
"Hey, prettydies~ why don''t 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 mening their way.
"Found them."
<i>''Forget same-day delivery. Get ready for same-minute delivery.''</i>