From Today, I'm a Player

Chapter 73: Heaven Lake Pt. 3

Time passed quickly for Lee Jun-Kyeong and his party as they hunted with excellent efficiency. Whenever Lee Jun-Kyeong and Jeong In-Chang rested, the princess and Hyeon-Mu rushed to continue the hunt as if they were competing with each other for some odd reason.

“Goongje!”

Lee Jun-Kyeong encouraged his Familiar, “Don’t get beat by the ogre!” After their short break, there were the sounds of things being pierced and flesh breaking, and, eventually, rising screams as well.

Thud!

Pierce!

“Graah…”

The gate’s monsters grew stronger as they advanced into the depths. Unlike when they began, the main monsters they had to deal with now were fire ogres and hell dogs.

“Goongj…”

However, it seemed as though their progression was becoming more smooth. The princess was an ogre mage. Among the ranks of the ogre-type monsters, it was at the top of the list. The other ogres were often intimidated by the princess and the aura of fear that it radiated. They froze involuntarily and ended up being helplessly swept away by Lee Jun-Kyeong's spear and Jeong In-Chang's greatsword.

“Grr…”

The hell dogs were much larger than the flamedogs. In addition, it may have been because the intelligence of their species had improved, but they seemed intimidated. Thus, their strength was stifled by the strength of their opponents.

Pierce!

They, too, ended up becoming victims of Lee Jun-Kyeong's spear and Jeong In-Chang's greatsword. As the corpses piled up, the party continued to grow stronger. But, of course, Lee Jun-Kyeong showed the most spectacular growth out of all of them.

Jeong In-Chang exclaimed in admiration, “Your Sponsor seems really impressive, Mr. Lee.”

He then asked, “How much is your Sponsor supporting you that you can grow this much so quickly, Mr. Lee? If your Sponsor also sponsored me, Mr. Lee, then I probably would have gotten stronger too…?”

He was speaking like this because he didn’t know the truth.

“From my perspective, <The Prince on a White Horse> is much richer,” Lee Jun-Kyeong quipped.

Jeong In-Chang had received a lot of direct support, while Lee Jun-Kyeong had only been given the special ability Player from <The Sky of the Apocalypse>. He was simply leveling up by hunting monsters and gaining experience points.

Of course, that didn’t mean that he wasn’t receiving anything at all from his Sponsor.

[<The Sky of the Apocalypse> snorts in offense.]

[<The Sky of the Apocalypse> reveals its majesty and...]

[Your stats have increased slightly.]

He had been granted a small amount of sponsorship.

[<The Prince on a White Horse> hides a smile…]

[<The Sky of the Apocalypse> glares at someone.]

[<The Prince on a White Horse> quickly wipes away all emotion and looks away.]

"Ha…"

Lee Jun-Kyeong massaged his temples at the incoming messages.

“Hehe. As expected, your Sponsor really is impressive.”

As if Jeong In-Chang had heard the messages, he looked over with his eyes shining even more. Thinking that further explanation was a waste of time, Lee Jun-Kyeong wiped the blood off Muspel's Spear and sat down.

"Let’s take a short break."

Having said that, Lee Jun-Kyeong handed Jeong In-Chang some jerky.

"Are you meditating again?" the other man asked.

While he ate, Lee Jun-Kyeong cultivated his mana stream. This place was nothing more than a gathering place of the enormous mana of Mt. Baekdu. The flow of mana was clearly visible.

[The proficiency of the mana stream increases rapidly.]

His proficiency increased the more he concentrated on circulating it. This was the best place for Lee Jun-Kyeong, who wanted to get stronger.

"How strong do you think the boss would be?" Jeong In-Chang asked as he ate jerky.

Lee Jun-Kyeong answered with his eyes closed, “As long as we deal with the monsters that live here, it can still weaken a bit.”

“Are you saying that the monsters in a gate are related in some way to its boss?” Jeong In-Chang asked.

Lee Jun-Kyeong nodded. “That is correct with regards to this gate. There were originally no monsters here. It’s just that the boss had vomited up what it had eaten outside, and it had become stronger as a result of them.”

"…"

Jeong In-Chang couldn’t help but wonder again just how the hell did Lee Jun-Kyeong know these facts? He didn’t want to hear someone calling him an idiot again, so he just sat quietly, eating the jerky.

[The proficiency of the mana stream increases.]

As time passed, Lee Jun-Kyeong was getting stronger. Muspel’s Spear was lying on the ground next to him, and it was trembling. It, too, was growing stronger by consuming the endless flames in the environment around them.

‘Muspel’s Spear…’

He had to make sure that the spear wouldn’t grow faster than he would. But, as Park Jae-Hyun had said earlier, his weapon had changed. It was no longer just a growth-type item.

He felt as though, more and more, that it might become a demonic spear.

Although it was a title that was both terrifying and fear-inducing, Lee Jun-Kyeong smirked at the thought.

***

[<The Sky of the Apocalypse> looks at you with its eyes shining.]

The further they went down, the more messages he got from his Sponsor.

<The Sky of the Apocalypse>, that punk, was watching him closely.

It was acting differently from its usual conduct. <The Sky of the Apocalypse> had been like the old man in the back room, someone who occasionally watched to see if his grandchildren were doing well. However, now, it was watching Lee Jun-Kyeong like a parent who followed him to sports day.

Things had changed, and at the center of it all, it started from when they had entered the gate.

It wasn’t simply because his Sponsor was watching him. Instead, he had a feeling that his Sponsor was only watching him because he had entered this particular gate. Somehow, it was as if his Sponsor could feel it or maybe it even knew what would happen here.

Lee Jun-Kyeong had thought of a question.

‘<The Sky of the Apocalypse> was the one who sent me back into the past.’

He definitely remembered it. When he and the book had been pierced by Heimdall’s sword, there was a voice heralding the fulfillment of the contract.

It had been the <The Sky of the Apocalypse>.

Furthermore, according to the contract, it had been the one who had sent him back to the past, to the Age of Heroes, where the Demon King had existed.

Then, Lee Jun-Kyeong had a question.

‘Is this bastard…’

Was the Sponsor sponsoring him <The Sky of the Apocalypse> from the future? Or was it the <The Sky of the Apocalypse> from the past?

Or, if neither option was right, then was time meaningless to the Sponsors?

Sponsors were also called transcendents. Their exact identities would stay hidden until much later, so it seemed as though it would be possible for them to manipulate time, which was something that even the Hunters, who would later be claimed as gods, couldn’t do and wouldn’t be bound by it.

After all, <The Sky of the Apocalypse> had even sent him back to the past.

But what he couldn’t be certain about were the other Sponsors.

Even when he considered the next closest Sponsor, <The Prince on a White Horse>, it seemed to be the same <The Prince on a White Horse> that had lived in this era in the past.

As for <The Sky of the Apocalypse>...

[<The Sky of the Apocalypse> is scratching its cheek as if it’s embarrassed.]

‘What in the…’

He wondered what he was supposed to take from that sort of a reaction.

“Ha…”

“Groar!!”

Eventually, Lee Jun-Kyeong let out a long, endless sigh. Then, the trolls rushed at him, so Lee Jun-Kyeong moved mechanically and slaughtered them.

[Your level has risen.]

Finally, he had leveled up, but there were still enemies around them, so Lee Jun-Kyeong didn’t check the status window immediately. It wasn’t until after he finished cleaning up the monsters alongside Jeong In-Chang that he was able to open it and check the level-up notification window.

'Status window.'

Although he had decided to stay away from checking his status window, as his level speed had severely slowed, it wasn’t a bad thing to check it during these rare occasions. A blue window quickly appeared.

[Lee Jun-Kyeong]

[Special Ability: Player]

[Sponsor: <Sky of the Apocalypse>]

[Level: 54, Strength: 158, Agility: 171, Stamina: 167, Mana: 199]

[Authorities: Reign of Fire Lv 9]

[Familiars: Hyeon-Mu (growth phase), A Skull that Contains Souls (disabled)]

His status window had clearly changed from before, and as for the skills, they had all gone up about a level or two. Because mana stream originally had a terrible growth rate, its level was still one, even though his proficiency had risen quickly.

‘My mana seems to have already hit the wall.’

His mana had stopped at 199.

It was a number that had grown rapidly due to his mana stream. His obviously superior mana value as compared to his other stats most likely wouldn’t rise any further unless he made a breakthrough in the mana stream or found some other methods.

It had reached the wall. As his level rose, the other stats could rise, but his mana would only rise marginally. Most likely, it probably wouldn’t even increase. Since he had much higher stats than he should have at his level, either his level had to increase to match the stats to some extent, or he would have to increase the level of the mana stream itself.

Once the stat value of the mana exceeded 200, it would begin to rise normally again. Therefore, Lee Jun-Kyeong had to hurry up and cultivate his mana stream.

Furthermore, he was confused by another part of his status window.

‘Growth Phase?’

The brat had grown up by a level and gained subordinates in the form of skeletons, and its growth could be seen through the change in its body.

‘But this is the first time I’ve seen something like this.’

Lee Jun-Kyeong tilted his head in thought. Even if he asked Hyeon-Mu, there was no way it would know the answer either. So he moved on.

The final thing that drew his attention was his Authority, Reign of Fire.

‘It seems that this has also hit a wall.’

The tens digit of an Authority didn’t change easily, as the ability of an Authority was already so great. In fact, if the tens digit was modified, it would become qualitatively different from what it was before.

It could also be described as an evolution of the Authority. However, the Sponsors were notorious for not easily offering Heroes anything about the development of their Authorities.

Of course, a Hero could raise them on their own.

While Lee Jun-Kyeong was a special case, an Authority was one of the few things a Hunter could cultivate on their own. Naturally, the difficulty of raising the level of an Authority was incomparably difficult for a Hunter as compared to Lee Jun-Kyeong, as the average Hunter didn’t have the Player’s characteristics.

Once he had finished looking through his status window, he moved on.

‘Muspel’s Spear.’

Lee Jun-Kyeong lifted Muspel's Spear with a light heart and opened its information window.

[Muspel's Spear (Dragon’s Bloodstone) (Lv. 5)]

- Legendary, Demonic Spear (incomplete)

1. Increases the power of Reign of Fire.

2. Fire resistance has increased by 60%.

3. The weapon will grow as it is exposed to fire.

4. Muspel’s Spear will return to the user’s hand when mana is sufficient. (Mana cost increases as distance increases.)

5. The larger the size of the dragon’s bloodstone, the higher the stats.

6. This spear is transforming into a demonic spear. This change may be affected by the user’s attributes.

Compared to how much its appearance changed, its information window was relatively untouched. The only parts that had changed were the level and stats and the addition of one line.

A demonic spear, and on top of that, to think it would absorb his attributes.

‘A demonic spear consumes a target weaker than itself.’

There was still something to be worried about. However, if a person subdued a demonic spear and became its true master, that user would gain even greater power. It was simple.

High risk.

High reward.

Of course, Lee Jun-Kyeong wasn’t worried. It wasn’t as if he didn’t have any intentions of taking on risks.

He swung the spear in his hand lightly. A blade of flame shot forward, drawing a long trajectory. Accompanying it was the death cry of a hell dog.

“Grahh!”

“It seems there is still one left?” Jeong In-Chang questioned.

He responded blithely, “Yes. It was a punk that knew how to hide its mana.”

Lee Jun-Kyeong slowly picked up Muspel’s Spear, which had grown strong enough to kill the monsters in this area even through their considerable fire resistance, and walked forward.

He added, “Spoon, we’ll be facing the boss.”

“...”

Even if he hadn’t said anything, Jeong In-Chang was already feeling it.

There was a huge mana lurking in front of them.

“Understood.”

Jeong In-Chang swallowed his saliva nervously again. Another large fight was standing in front of him

Lee Jun-Kyeong heard a message from his Sponsor again.

[<The Sky of the Apocalypse> is watching you curiously.]

***

"Sangun."

While Lee Jun-Kyeong and his party were advancing into the depths of Heaven Lake, all the people of Heaven Lake Village had gathered around the shore to watch the entrance to the depths. Furthermore, their head, the village chief Ungnyeo, was with Sangun.

–Why are you calling me?

"How is your body?"

Ungnyeo's voice as she asked was infinitely warm and compassionate.

–It is the same as before.

“Looks like those brats have to succeed.”

Sangun was still dying. Not only was he protecting Mt. Baekdu and Heaven Lake Village, but he also was using his strength to bolster the seal against the intruders. As a result, his lifespan was decreasing at every moment.

Moreover, it must have been difficult for Sangun to have earned this strength.

Although Sangun was a Yeongsu, it was still, in fact, a beast. Although its existence had changed when it had gained a Sponsor, it was still difficult for it to use all of its strength into Mt. Baekdu.

On top of all of that, there was something else. She asked, “Sangun, when do you think I will regain my strength?”

Initially, the power of Mt Baekdu was something Ungnyeo should have taken charge of. However, Sangun had felt sorry for Ungnyeo, who was dying while bearing such great power, and shared the burden with the woman.

That was how Ungnyeo was treated and why Sangun was dying from that huge source of mana.

–Don’t speak rubbish.

Sangun snorted and turned its head. Ungnyeo put her hand on Sangun’s nose and said, “They are strong, but… those intruders are much stronger than that. So why did you send them into Heaven Lake, Sangun?”

Similar to Jeong In-Chang, Ungnyeo also had not heard about what had occurred between Sangun and Lee Jun-Kyeong. Therefore, she was asking about it now.

–Hmm…

Sangun looked at Ungnyeo with its huge eyes and replied carefully.

–It wasn’t that I was looking at him. I was looking at what stood behind him.

As a Yeongsu, Sangun was able to see things that most humans couldn’t. In particular, it was one of the few beasts that had developed a vision-related ability and even had a Sponsor.

–The intruder and that man have the same things behind them.

Sangun had seen it.

Something dark and yet darker still.

There was something behind them, and it was something that could never be mixed with the world.

1. There is a discrepancy in the status window. In Chapter 51, the Mana stat was at 120(200), but here it says 199. This seems to have been an error by the author in Chapter 51, as the 199 value is important here.