Chapter 89: Hot Pick #1

[The game will now end.]

“Ugh, I'm dead tired...”

As soon as Levan gave up the challenge and exited the Tower, he logged out immediately.

Even though his character was fully healed when leaving the Tower, the player’s mental fatigue didn’t go away.

So he logged out.

The best way to recover mental fatigue was offline, after all.

Sungwoo, stepping out of the capsule, threw himself onto the bed and muttered,

“Shouldn’t have shown off...”

He’d let his guard down because of the Black Goblin.

The Black Goblin’s arrows had been so weak, he thought the Goblin Leader would be just as easy—what a mistake that was.

Goblin Leader.

The head honcho really was on another level.

The guy was, in every sense, the master of that floor.

Just like the Master Orc, his normal attacks ignored defense—but Sungwoo had forgotten that for a moment.

“Shouldn’t have gotten drunk on defense... Sigh, let’s look on the bright side. At least I gathered all the data.”

If there was one saving grace, it was that by fighting so desperately, he’d managed to gather almost all the combat data on the guy.

So for the next attempt, he’d hold back the bravado and put on an ‘overwhelming’ display.

Sungwoo let out a sigh and stood up.

‘It should be about time for the video to be up, right?’

He sat down at his computer and opened Wartube.

Then, he went to his own channel to check out the newly uploaded videos.

“Oh, there it is.”

There were two new uploads.

One was an edited highlight from yesterday’s live auction stream.

And the other...

“The birth of... a legend?”

What a cryptic, dramatic title.

For a moment, Sungwoo thought he’d clicked the wrong channel.

But this was definitely his channel. Even the thumbnail was nothing but black with ‘The Birth of a Legend’ written in a formal, old-school font.

‘What... is this?’

Such a solemn title.

For some reason, that made him more hesitant to click.

But curiosity won out, and Sungwoo clicked on the thumbnail. Instantly—

-SHUUUUAAA!

The video began with a majestic BGM.

Between sweeping orchestral music, a golden box appeared.

No—what looked like a box was actually a cube.

The cube began to rotate on its own, then, like the Showbox logo, its lid popped open and a calm yet dignified narrator began to speak.

Once upon a time, there was a mage named Rubix.

“Huh...?”

Rubix.

A familiar name.

After watching for a bit longer, Sungwoo finally realized what this video was.

“A mad movie? About my class...?”

So that’s why it was called ‘The Birth of a Legend’.

The newly uploaded video was an introduction to the legendary class, ‘War Mage.’

He wondered where they got the info on the class—it turned out to be extracted from conversations between Sungwoo and Rubix.

And the video quality was really good.

No—more than just good, it was eye-catching for anyone.

Because the subject matter was a legendary class that had never been revealed before.

For a while, the video explained what a War Mage was and what their mission entailed. In the final moments, the golden cube opened and Levan, reborn as a War Mage, appeared in close-up before the video ended.

Just over seven minutes long.

When the video ended, goosebumps rose along Sungwoo’s arm.

“That was insane...”

This was what an open world was all about.

When Sungwoo had changed classes to War Mage, it hadn’t really felt special at the time—but seeing it presented like this, it felt like something totally new.

After the video, Sungwoo’s eyes naturally drifted to the view count.

“Fo-Four hundred thousand?”

It had been less than an hour since the video was uploaded.

And already, it had broken four hundred thousand views.

‘No way?’

Thinking it couldn’t be, he checked the official site.

Sure enough, his class video was trending on the Hot Pick list.

“Amazing, just amazing...”

He used to read the Hot Pick like the morning news, but now there were already several posts related to him there....

He should be getting used to it by now, but Hot Pick still felt surreal.

Sungwoo began scrolling through the comments under the Hot Pick and the channel video.

-Wow... so War Mage doesn’t even use mana to cast spells?

-So all you have to do is pump strength?

-Legendary class, as expected.

-Do you have to be Admiral Yi Sun-sin in your past life to get legendary? LMAO.

-This is sick...

-Now I see why he fought like a warrior.

-But isn’t it weird how few spells the mage has? LOL.

-Mage (Physical).

-Energy Bolt (Physical).

-Meteor (Physical).

-LMAO is this Physics 101 or something?

He’d been planning to upload the 2nd floor of the Tower and use it to finally explain his channel’s concept.

But after reading the comments, it seemed like no explanation was needed.

‘Isn’t that better?’

He actually thought it was for the best.

There’s nothing worse than a joke that needs explaining.

For a while, Sungwoo read the comments, letting them soothe his battered mind.

After getting enough rest, Sungwoo called Bae Hyunwoo.

“Yes, Sungwoo.”

Hyunwoo’s clear voice came through the phone—somehow sounding full of confidence.

So Sungwoo responded cheerfully.

“Hello, Manager. I just watched the video and had to call.”

“Oh, you saw it? I put a lot of effort into that one.”

“Absolutely. I’ve still got goosebumps on my arms! There really are a lot of talented people in Open World. How do you guys make it look so cool?”

“Not bad, right? I think it’s time to really get the channel going. For that, we needed a solid explanation of the War Mage class, so I put a lot of work in.”

“I’m totally satisfied. If you keep up this level of quality, I can just focus on gaming without any worries. By the way, I just cleared the Tower’s 2nd floor a moment ago.”

“Oh, already? So... did you get a good read on things?”

“Yeah. Since the floor boss likes to change things up, I ran into him pretty quickly after I started.”

“How did it go?”

“Long story short, I did win... but I think I’ll have to record the video again.”

“Why’s that?”

“My finished robe was sturdier than I expected, so I got a little cocky. I showed off to the boss and ended up struggling way more than I needed to.”

“Ah... so you won in a bit of a mess?”

“Yeah. No matter how well you edit this one, I don’t think the ‘OP character’ vibe will come through, so I’ll just record a fresh run. Besides, I’ve already learned all the boss’s attack patterns.”

“If the guy on the scene says so, that’s how it is. But this time, make sure... you know what I mean?”

“Don’t worry. I’ve already gathered plenty of data. I just called while I was on break to say the video was awesome.”

“Haha, that’s good to hear. In that case, I’ll be counting on you.”

“Sure thing. I’ll send the new video today.”

That was the end of the call.

Finishing the call, Sungwoo psyched himself up and climbed back into the capsule.

“Alright! Let’s do this!”

---

[Connecting to Warlord.]

[May you shine as a hero in the great war.]

[Starting your Warlord play session.]

Levan logged back in.

He opened his eyes in an inn near the Tower.

As soon as he woke up, Levan went straight to the auction house.

He purchased the items he’d been planning to buy, then started preparing for the challenge.

‘This should be enough.’

Preparation was complete.

All that was left was to take on what would be the final challenge, and do it in style.

Ready, Levan stood up and reached for the door.

But just as his hand touched the knob, he suddenly remembered the existence of the 2nd floor ticket.

“Oh, right, I had this. Check options.”

[2nd Floor Ticket]

-Rarity: Unique, Bound.

-Restriction: Levan only.

-Option

When using this ticket, you can meet the owner of the 2nd floor of the Infinite Tower immediately, regardless of any conditions.

The 2nd Floor Ticket was for Levan alone, and its option was as simple as its name.

But he wasn’t sure what exactly “immediate meeting” on the ticket meant.

‘Does it teleport me?’

That would be great.

If so, he wouldn’t have to bother heading all the way to where Dekarn was.

Levan decided not to overthink it. He could only use the item now anyway, so he might as well try it.

[Do you want to use the 2nd Floor Ticket?]

[The 2nd Floor Ticket is a consumable and will disappear completely upon use.]

[If you wish to use the 2nd Floor Ticket, please tear it.]

A system notification popped up in front of him.

Still no explanation of what “immediate meeting” meant.

So he just tore the ticket.

Riiip!

[Transferring to the Infinite Tower.]

FLASH!

As if lightning had struck, his vision flashed for a moment, and suddenly Levan found himself in the dark chamber unique to the Infinite Tower.

“Jackpot.”

He couldn’t believe it—it really was a teleportation ticket.

Levan nodded at the unexpected convenience. And just then—

[Boss monster is being summoned.]

[Damage sensitivity is being recalibrated.]

The 2nd floor’s owner, the Goblin Leader, appeared. And then, in quick succession—

[The achievement ‘First Victor’ is applied.]

[All stats increase by 20%.]

A bonus only given to the first victor—the 20% stat boost—was applied to Levan.

“That’s it.”

He felt power surge through his body from the bonus.

Feeling strength well up inside, Levan thought,

‘If only I had a buff skill like this all the time.’

He did have a skill called ‘Battlebrew’ that boosted his stats by 10%.

But Battlebrew required drinking alcohol, and if he got drunk, his stats actually went down, so he couldn’t really use it when it counted.

Just then, Levan heard a sharp whistling sound by his ear.

As soon as he heard it, he reflexively twisted his body. A short dagger whisked past his eyes.

It was a dagger thrown by the Goblin Leader.

「Grrrr...!」

Through the dark shadows, the Goblin Leader appeared, looking for all the world like a Native Chief.

But for some reason, the Goblin Leader seemed especially angry today.

No—he was definitely angry.

The Goblin Leader growled,

「Grr! You! I will never forgive you!」

“What’s up with him? Why’s he so pissed off by himself?”

「Kyaaaaa!!」

No reply.

The Goblin Leader, having declared war all by himself, suddenly let out a high-pitched shriek close to an ultrasonic wail.

[The Goblin Leader is enraged.]

[All of the Goblin Leader’s stats increase by 20%.]

“Huh?”

The Goblin Leader’s sudden outrage.

It was, in fact, the prelude to the start of phase 2.

(End of Serialization) The Mage Doesn't Hide His Power