Chapter 57: The Secret of the Ancient Temple (1)
The Martial Alliance Leader's office—same as any other day.
Jegal-un stepped inside, and the moment he laid eyes on Dan Jung-seon, his whole body gave a startled flinch.
The man who always wore a kind expression had his eyes wide open and blazing.
Jegal-un carefully set one foot forward and asked.
"……What is that terrifying look on your face for? Anyone watching would think the Orthodox-Demonic Great War had broken out."
"You'd be making the exact same face if you got liquidated too."
"Pardon? Liquidated? Did you go gambling somewhere or something?"
"Gambling? Yes, you could call it that."
Dan Jung-seon let out a long, heavy sigh.
At that straightforward admission, Jegal-un was genuinely taken aback.
Is this really the Alliance Leader I know? Gambling, all of a sudden?
He hadn't reached the Transcendence Realm—but the depth of insight he carried was not far below it.
Swordsmanship and martial arts powerful enough to live up to his title: God of Martial Arts.
Dan Jung-seon was the kind of man for whom "detached from the mundane world" felt like an understatement.
So just what on earth had happened to change him so utterly in a single day?
Thud.
Jegal-un set his stack of documents on the desk and glanced sidelong at the monitor.
The screen Dan Jung-seon was boring holes into with his gaze was black.
Or more precisely—it displayed the text 'Not currently live.' right in the center.
I'm not sure what happened, but it looks like he was planning to heal his heart by watching the Iron Blood Witch's stream.
He was curious, but didn't particularly pry.
That was the proper respect—as a strategist, and as a comrade of decades.
Just as he was about to slip back outside so the man could have some time to himself—
"It's on!"
Dan Jung-seon suddenly hit the refresh button at the speed of light.
After a brief loading screen, what appeared was not the Iron Blood Witch's stream, but Mu-yeong's.
Jegal-un was called a genius born of the heavens himself—yet right now, he couldn't make heads or tails of the situation.
"Alliance Leader, what is this……"
"I went and bet everything on the Lizardman under 2 minutes 20 seconds yesterday and lost my entire fortune, didn't I? If I want to recover even a single point, I need to watch the stream every second I can. This stuff is precious—it only goes up by 10 points every 5 minutes!"
Crack.
A vein instantly shot up Jegal-un's forehead.
Gripping his throbbing head, he began to spell out what he had understood, word by deliberate word.
"So. You. Are. Saying. You were making that serious face over a measly scrap of data?"
"It is not a measly scrap of data! This is my pride!"
"How is this in any way your pri—!"
Ding!
An unusually loud notification tone cut through their exchange.
The nickname that had sent a private chat message was one he recognized well.
[Shaolin Temple Captain]: It appears the Alliance Leader has also come to mine points. I lost everything yesterday, but today will be different.
[Shaolin Temple Captain]: For the record, I have 320 points, so you would do well to be on edge.
Jegal-un's respect for the Five Pinnacle Masters dropped another notch.
.
.
.
.
That very evening, the same day the contract had been signed.
With everything perfectly prepared, Mu-yeong turned on the stream right on time.
—It's on!!
—Muhamuha
—Heyheyhey
—What's the stream title today though?
—What's going on? An ad all of a sudden?
—Got an ad deal? Damn
[Ad] Monster World—Stone Golem Hunt
"As you can see from the title, I received an ad from the Monster World developers. It seems they were quite impressed by the gameplay footage up till now."
—Ohhhhhhhhh
—You're getting ads already?
—For real?
—Big-time newbie, unbelievable
—Honestly, if Mu-yeong doesn't get them, who would lol
—Rl Mu-yeong not getting them would be the weird thing lmao
"Just because it's an ad doesn't mean anything changes. I'll simply be hunting the Stone Golem as planned."
—Stone Golem death sentence lol
—Pre-announcing a murder, wild
—You actually hunting it today?
—How you gonna kill a Stone Golem at level 20 lmaooo
—If you do it I'll actually give out subscription passes lol
The hunt of the Special Boss he'd been advertising for a while.
Whether word had gotten around, the viewer count had shot up noticeably.
2,100 in 3 minutes. By the time I'm in the game, it'll probably be at 5,000.
Far higher than usual.
Any other day might have been fine, but today of all days he had to show his very best.
The special conditions of the ad deal aside—the level of attention alone was in a different league.
He'd been advertising all over the place that he'd be hunting the Stone Golem at level 20—what if he got knocked out in one hit, or failed to put on a decent showing?
Disappointed viewers would mass-exodus, obviously, and it would naturally spiral into a major incident where even the big donors made their escape.
That was the one thing he absolutely couldn't afford.
As Mu-yeong was slowly warming up, a familiar nickname popped up.
['Dan Jung-seon' has donated 100,000 Won.]
—By any chance, are you thinking of opening a bet on whether or not you kill the Stone Golem?
"Ah, Alliance Leader. Good to have you. Of course I'll be holding a bet."
['Shaolin Temple Captain' has donated 100,001 Won.]
—Take your time getting to the boss, would you. I need to build up some points.
"From what I've heard, the boss doesn't show up right away. As we wander around here and there, there should be plenty of time."
He'd learned something from watching those two all this while.
They were the type to place bets over the most trivial of things and go at each other's pride.
All it took was a gentle nudge, and they were as good as a money-printing machine.
Rushing over the moment the stream went live—that much was obvious.
Mu-yeong laughed inwardly and dropped his next line.
"Once Yu Ye-rin arrives, we'll head into Monster World. Please wait just a little longer."
—Okayokay
—Hope she gets here soon
—She's getting dolled up right now lmaooo
—Oh is that it? lmao
—If she's putting herself together what can you do oo
He spent a little time chatting idly like that to pass the time.
Then, out of nowhere, a donation came in that completely clashed with the mood.
['Bing Ye-hwa' has donated 1,000 Won.]
—Mu-yeong, I challenge you to a Sparring Match.
—The heck is this
—Is this guy insane? lol
—Instant mood killer right here
—Get out
—All kinds of weirdos crawling in lmao
……Don't tell me that's the person who sent that prank email yesterday?
Not just sending an email—but showing up mid-live to drop a donation too.
Mu-yeong gave it a simple ignore and moved on.
But the aggro wasn't so easy to shake.
['Bing Ye-hwa' has donated 10,000 Won.]
—Mu-yeong, I challenge you to a Sparring Match.
Except now the amount had grown.
—Some new concept character? lol
—First time seeing someone show up trying to throw down with Mu-yeong lmaooo
—Rl so bizarre lol
—Still donating though lol
—Ten thousand won is respectable
"The ten thousand is appreciated, but I'd appreciate you cutting the aggro. Do it one more time and it's a ban."
—Damn
—Hard response lol
—That's exactly what you do with aggro
—Rl if you're gonna keep at it at least bring 50,000 won lol
['Bing Ye-hwa' has donated 50,000 Won.]
—Last time today. I challenge you to a Sparring Match.
"……It's 50,000, so I'll let it slide just this once."
Whatever this was about, aggro that came with money was welcome.
.
.
.
.
About 20 minutes later.
Mu-yeong and Yu Ye-rin, who had purchased the supplies they needed from around the village, gathered in one spot.
"Yu Ye-rin, are you done with preparations?"
"Yes! I've got everything finished perfectly."
"Then let's do one final check before heading out."
Mu-yeong ran his eyes over his belongings one by one.
Equipment matching his level, bought with money accumulated from the Lizardman subjugation Repeatable Quest.
[Well-Sharpened Steel Sword]
Durability (80/80)
Far sturdier than the one received as a level 10 beginner's gift.
With this, even attacks loaded with internal energy should hold out quite well.
He studied the sharp blade and then slid it back into its scabbard.
—Now go up to any guard
—Ask them about the village legend and they'll give you a quest
—Think they'd actually give it to a level 20 though?
—Rl if they don't laugh you out at least that'd be something lol
Just then, 3 soldiers carrying spears passed by ahead.
The moment he stepped toward them, they saw Mu-yeong's face and broke into wide smiles.
"Oh! Who's this! If it isn't the famous Lizardman Slayer!"
"The village has gotten so much safer thanks to you! Truly, we're grateful!"
"And those noisy cries in the night—completely gone! Hahaha!"
—?
—What the lmaooo
—They're really happy to see him??
—Were these guys always this smiley?
—To me they always had that blank business-like tone, what gives?
—You think a guy who killed 500 of them in under an hour looks the same as you to them?
—He cut down on all the work the guards had to do, of course they're welcoming him lmao
After a brief wave of laughter had passed, Mu-yeong asked the soldier at the front.
"Would you happen to be able to tell me about the village legend?"
"Ah, looks like you've heard of it too. The secret temple buried deep in the rocky mountain to the west, that is."
"The secret temple……. I've only heard rumors."
"Five years ago it was, I think—an ancient temple was discovered, one that no one could tell how old it was. Everyone rushed over like they'd found treasure or something. But—!"
Thud!
He drove the butt of his spear into the ground.
His expression was one of pure terror.
"There was a Guardian. And not just any Guardian—a 5-meter Golem with an entire body made of stone!"
Ding!
[Special Quest: The Secret of the Ancient Temple]
A mysterious temple was discovered to the west of Stone Heart Village.
What emerged from within was not treasure or ancient knowledge, but a massive Golem standing guard over the ruins.
Defeat the Guardian and unravel its secret! Stone Golem (0/1)
—Wow but they actually give this to a level 20 lmaooo
—Probably because he's famous oo
—My friend went there at like level 25 and just got laughed at lmaooo
—Rl apparently if you look weak at a glance they just refuse
—They don't wanna add to the body count lol
"I'll go ahead and handle it."
"Be careful. That thing is incomparably stronger than any Lizardman. Word is—even a spear thrust doesn't leave so much as a scratch."
"Much appreciated."
Having received the quest, Mu-yeong set off with Yu Ye-rin.
Walking westward, he asked.
"But the quest description says to unravel the secrets of the ruins—is taking down just the one Golem really the end of it? Something feels like it's missing a piece."
"Once you beat the Golem you can enter the passage in the back. But apparently there's something that looks like a door, and no matter what you try, it won't open."
—oo nobody's opened it yet up to now
—Honestly feels like the developers just haven't implemented it
—It's only been 3 months since the game launched so it's possible
—But for a Special Boss it's kind of a letdown lol
—Rl lol
A door, huh.
Mu-yeong quietly touched the talisman hanging around his neck.
The thing the Beginner Village chief had given him as a symbol of good luck.
Hmmmm.
It had been perfectly still all this time—but the closer he drew to the temple, the more it began to tremble ever so faintly.
As though resonating with something.
Could it be……a linked quest or something?
A plausible hypothesis—but he didn't voice it aloud.
It might be getting his hopes up for nothing.
Still, with a thin thread of anticipation guiding him forward—a moment later, the earth suddenly trembled and surged upward with a rumble.
"Already appearing? We haven't even caught a glimpse of the temple yet."
"No! These are regular monsters that guard the path!"
Before Yu Ye-rin's words had even finished, three massive figures appeared before them.
Around 3 meters tall, their bodies composed of squared-off clumps of mud—above their heads was written:
[LV28: Mud Golem]
"28, is it. Nothing to worry about."
Shing!
Mu-yeong immediately drew his sword and pointed it at two of them in turn.
"I'll handle 2. Yu Ye-rin, you take the one on the right."
"Yes sir!"