BXBX NOVEL Chapter 220 – The Tortoise and the Hare (1)
Chapter 220 – The Tortoise and the Hare (1)
Translator: Seven
Editor: Ana_Banana
The world went wild because of the confrontation between Isaac Ivanov and Johann Georg, calling it the ‘match of the century’.
And the arguments were just as fierce as the enthusiasm.
There were fierce debates about the fairness of the confrontation.
-Isaac Ivanov’s team has two people while Johann Georg has eleven, don’t they? That’s so unfair!
?In that case, is the number of legendary items that Isaac Ivanov has fair? Aren’t just the number of legendary rings on his hands are more than the number of legendary items people have.
?Johann Georg can get legendary items! You don’t even need legendary items if your skills are good enough!
?If that’s the logic, then if you’re unhappy Johann Georg has a team of eleven people, Isaac Ivanov should also get a team of eleven people.
Of course, those weren’t the largest debates.
-So who do you think will win?
-It depends, who do you think can clear the dungeons faster?
Who would be the winner of the match?
-Of course it’d be Isaac Ivanov!
-Definitely. Isaac Ivanov is the best player who can clear any dungeon.
-Is there any idiots who think it’s possible for Isaac Ivanov to lose?
-I’ve already bet my entire fortune on Isaac Ivanov!
In terms of percentage, the number of people who expected Isaac Ivanov to win was incredibly high.
This was a judgement based on the things Isaac Ivanov has done so far.
After all, wasn’t Isaac Ivanov the only person who was qualified to become a Savior after Lee Se-jun?
But the number of people who believed Isaac Ivanov would win the fight wasn’t overwhelming.
-If it was a competition about perfectly attacking a dungeon then Isaac Ivanov would definitely win, but Johann Georg is the one that holds the current record for fastest 5 Floor dungeon attack.
-That’s right! Johann Georg is the record holder for the time attack. This time they will be attacking three dungeons in a row. Johann Georg has already shown us that he can clear three dungeons in 72 days.
-Is that so special? I don’t think Isaac Ivanov has a 100 percent chance of winning in dungeons with unknown variables.
Many people still believed that Johann Georg had a high chance of winning.
-We have to keep the recent blank space in Isaac Ivanov’s activities.
-Looking at Isaac Ivanov’s actions so far, there is no way he was silent for nothing.
-Wasn’t there a rumor that he took a break because of an injury?
-There’s a rumor that he’s still injured now.
Moreover, the rumors that arose because of Isaac Ivanov’s mysterious hiatus worked in Johann Georg’s favor.
Of course, this was only because they didn’t know that Isaac Ivanov had actually cleared a 6 Floor dungeon in that time.
In that sense, only the Lightning King and the members of Thunderbird who knew what Isaac Ivanov had been doing during his hiatus could accurately predict the outcome.
“Johann Georg has a slightly better chance.”
And the Lightning King believed that the winner would be Johann Georg.
“Not Isaac Ivanov?”
Shakira, who was shocked and confused by that unexpected conclusion, couldn’t help but ask.
The Lightning King calmly explained.
“If the competition was to clear a 6 Floor dungeon, Isaac Ivanov would win without a doubt. However, attacking 5 Floor dungeons, and three of them consecutively at that, are completely different. Just like the way a marathon and a 100m sprint are different.”
He clearly said that Johann Georg would win.
But Shakira couldn’t easily accept that.
“But it’s Isaac Ivanov, isn’t it? He is…”
She knew that Isaac Ivanov was a ridiculously overpowered monster.
A monster that defied common sense.
“He’s a monster.”
The Lightning King didn’t intend to deny that fact either.
“He’s a monster on the same level as the Messiah Guild’s Lee Se-jun.”
Moreover, he believed that Isaac Ivanov’s presence and abilities were comparable to those of Lee Se-jun.
That was the reason.
“The problem is that Lee Se-jun is the one supporting Johann Georg.”
Johann Georg was backed by the Messiah Guild, which belonged to Lee Se-jun.
“Johann Georg is the hunting dog the Messiah Guild raised to hunt Isaac Ivanov. And now the time to hunt has arrived. Do you think the Messiah Guild would let the dog go off the leash without any support in this kind of situation? They might not want to, but the Messiah Guild has to support Johann Georg.”
After saying that, the Lightning King rubbed his temples.
“On the other hand, Isaac Ivanov can’t take a dead man with him on such an official stage.”
“Ah!”
Only then did Shakira realise what the Lightning King meant.
“Isn’t that bad?”
Then she became concerned.
“If Isaac Ivanov is defeated…”
It wouldn’t be good if Isaac Ivanov, who was backed by the Lightning King was defeated by Johann Georg, who was backed by the Messiah Guild.
The Lightning King responded without a change in expression.
“It doesn’t matter if he wins or loses. In fact, it would be even better if Isaac Ivanov lost.”
Rather than not changing his expression, his face seemed to say he didn’t care whether Isaac Ivanov lost or not.
“And if Johann Georg, who is competing against Isaac Ivanov dies, it would be the best.”
After saying that, a small smile came to his lips.
With that smile, he made a prophecy.
“Something will happen that will surprise the world sooner or later.”
And his prophecy became a reality.
…
From Kim Woo-jin’s perspective, calling the year 2029 the ‘end of a century’ was not an exaggeration.
At that point, there were only two options in the world, which had already crumbled to the point of ruin.
Whether you listen to the Messiah Guild or not?
With those two choices, living as a player in this world was not easy.
Even entering a dungeon gate was not a simple task.
It was normal to have to face numerous obstacles before one could enter a dungeon gate.
In some cases, players were forced to enter dungeon gates when others failed to clear them.
It was also not rare to encounter an enemy attack while entering a dungeon.
‘That was why Johann Georg was such a thorn.’
The King of Undead!
That was the reason why he became a monster that even the Messiah Guild was unable to contain.
‘Because he could clear dungeons by himself.’
He was able to attack dungeons by himself with the help of his mighty undead army.
‘Thanks to the Lich and Death Knight.’
Especially the legions centered around the two ridiculously powerful monsters, the Lich and Death Knight.
‘Thanks to that he didn’t even have to choose dungeons.’
He didn’t even check what dungeon it was until after he’d entered it.
Parties that targeted dungeons usually wanted to balance physical and magical damage, that was the reason why the number of members in parties were so high.
But the King of Undead was able to do it all by himself.
The Death Knight had physical attacks and the Lich had magical attacks, and with the help of these two monsters, Johann Georg was able to clear dungeons perfectly.
But now, one of those two pieces had fallen into Kim Woo-jin’s hands.
[Summon Lich]
– Conditions: Emissary of the Underworld.
– Required level: 180
– Effect: Summon a Wizard who can’t die by offering one hundred monsters as sacrifice.
‘Of those, the Lich is in my hands.’
Summon Lich!
‘Now, the only thing left is the Death Knight, but…’
The only thing was for Kim Woo-jin to obtain was the Death Knight.
Of course, those who knew Kim Woo-jin’s true capabilities would ask themselves one question.
The Hunting Dog Kim Woo-jin or the Death Knight, who was better?
Of course, the answer was obvious.
‘I could use the Death Knight to cover me.’
That was the reason.
[You have cleared the dungeon.]
[The dungeon gate opens.]
‘Lee Se-jun will notice me now.’
Kim Woo-jin decided to start sprinting at full speed from now on.
…
When it was decided that the confrontation of the century would take place in Korea, the next thing people asked about were the judges.
Who could guarantee fairness in this confrontation?
The answer was simple.
-If it’s Korea then it should definitely be the Messiah Guild.
-There’s no one we can trust more than the Messiah Guild.
-Who would doubt the Messiah Guild’s judgement?
The Messiah Guild!
The world did not doubt them, believing that there could be no fairer judgement, and the Messiah Guild was more than willing to answer the world’s call.
“I brought coffee.”
“Thanks.”
Jeon Young-soo, a player from the Messiah Guild, was drinking coffee outside of a dungeon gate located in Deogyang-gu, Goyang-si, Gyeonggi-do. (TL: I honestly am never sure whether to actually put ‘province, city, district’ or ‘do, si, gu’. I always end up pondering for a few minutes)
“I never thought I would be standing outside of a 5 Floor dungeon drinking coffee like this.”
In addition, Jeon Young-soo was a pretty talented player.
“Right, the only time Jeon Young-soo-nim is in front of a 5 Floor dungeon gate is when you’re about to attack it.”
“That’s right.”
Jeon Young-soo was level 156, and he was quite experienced when it came to attacking 5 Floor dungeons.
He had cleared 5 Floor dungeons not once, but four times.
Up to that point, he had only stood in front of dungeon gates like this one was when he was prepared to risk his life.
Therefore, the experience of standing in front of a 5 Floor dungeon gate while drinking coffee was quite special.
“How long would it take Jeon Young-soo-nim to clear it?”
Then the person who brought the coffee posed a question.
It was natural to want to hear the opinion of someone who was experienced with 5 Floor dungeons when the debate over the winner of the competition was still quite fierce.
Jeon Young-soo answered without any hesitation or need for calculation as though he was used to this type of question.
“Well… neither of them have average skills, so it wouldn’t take more than a month. It depends on the situation. I believe they will be finished in at least 22 days, and at most 26 days.”
“Isn’t 21 days the record?”
“It’s the record, but it’s not easy to beat. Just like the record for 100m sprint isn’t broken in every Olympic games.”
“Then how amazing is it to clear a dungeon in 22 days?”
“My fastest time was 32 days, and that was only because of a stroke of luck on the fifth floor.”
Jeon Young-soo clicked his tongue before continuing.
“But to do it in 22 days… that would mean I had to clear each floor two days faster.”
“Amazing.”
Looking at the dungeon gate, Jeon Young-soo’s gaze became cold.
‘That’s why I’m here.’
In fact, it was obvious that the Messiah Guild didn’t need to send someone as strong as Jeon Young-soo to be a judge. After all, no matter how one looked at it, it was a waste.
There were many personnel in the Messiah Guild who could replace Jeon Young-soo.
Nevertheless, the reason they sent him was simple.
‘Isaac Ivanov, I will understand your level more clearly.’
It was to better understand Isaac Ivanov’s abilities.
Of course, the best way to do so was to enter the dungeon with him, but it was also possible to measure his skills to an extent by observing his appearance upon leaving the dungeon.
Moreover, in the case of this dungeon challenge, it was a time attack.
This meant that they were sprinting to complete the dungeon as quickly as they could.
In other words, there was no better stage to gain an understanding of his power.
It was possible to have a relatively good understanding of the opponent by how long it took them to clear the dungeon and how they looked upon exiting the dungeon.
‘Because that way we can send an assassin capable of killing you.’
The Messiah Guild intended to use this information to get rid of Isaac Ivanov.
‘Park Shin-hye has already made a decision.
This was the decision of none other than Park Shin-hye.
In addition, Jeon Young-soo had a guess.
‘And if we do decide to hunt Isaac Ivanov, I will probably be on that team.’
Because it was Park Shin-hye herself who had given him the surveillance order.
‘I didn’t expect to have another opportunity as a hunting dog.’
Jeon Young-soo had once been a hunting dog who had removed obstacles that got in the way of the Messiah Guild.
The person who brought him coffee then spoke again.
“Then there is still some time, it’s only been almost 15 days.”
It was at that moment.
Just as Jeon Young-soo was about to agree that they had about a week left, the dungeon gate started rippling.
And Jeon Young-soo and the other man could not help but stiffen when they saw that.
It wasn’t just their bodies that were stiff.
“Huh?”
“Huh?”
After making that short sound, they were longer able to even breathe loudly. And that was a sound that had been made subconsciously.
It was the words of a man wearing a skull mask that broke them out of their stupor.
“How long were we?”
Jeon Young-soo replied subconsciously.
“14 days…”
It was a moment when he’d witnessed something ridiculous.