Chapter 183 : Unmeasurable – (1)
Chapter 183: Unmeasurable – (1)
Swaaaah.
In front of the shower where water hot enough to make her body feel feverish poured down.
Do Kyunghye stood for a long time with her eyes closed, letting the cascading stream hit her entire body.
Usually, when she entered the bathroom, she would simply wash up quickly and leave without wasting any time.
But today, she had lost track of time, deep in thought while shampooing her hair.
“That notorious Gate…”
The memory was still vivid in her mind, as if it had just happened.
Even with her eyes closed, the brilliant and spectacular scene felt real.
Before Sanghyun’s perfect coordination, Gatullis died without even getting a proper move in.
A lucky strike?
It wasn’t a ploy that could be belittled with such words.
It was a flawlessly designed and well-executed masterpiece created by Sanghyun from beginning to end.
Boss monsters dying in a single blow was more common than one might think.
That’s because in dungeons without level restrictions, high-level players could enter and easily conquer them.
It was also a strategy often used by players farming for Artifacts.
They would enter dungeons significantly below their level and repeatedly hunt in a steady and safe manner.
In the process, they would hope for a high-grade Artifact to drop from the boss monster with some probability.
Since this method was quite popular, many boss monsters ended up becoming little more than combat strength measuring devices.
However, this Gate was different.
Above all, during multiple attempts and investigations, the average level of the Gate was measured to be 275.
What did that mean?
It meant that four players at level 275 could clear it reliably.
Three would be cutting it close, and two would practically be considered impossible. That’s the implication of the average level.
Yet defying that classification, Sanghyun cleared it with just two.
And even more impressively, he finished off Gatullis — who had been untouched due to the high difficulty — in a single blow.
What did that signify?
‘At least 550.’
It meant that Sanghyun’s potential and strength were on par with a level 550 player.
Typically, a player of that level could one-shot a boss monster like Gatullis.
Spatial distortion was a skill that required extremely meticulous control and a sophisticated setup.
And Sanghyun, on his very first try, perfectly and cleanly snatched Gatullis’s life away.
“Terrifying.”
She genuinely thought so.
Not because Sanghyun himself was frightening, but because no matter what she imagined, he always exceeded it — in ability, power, and even potential.
She had seen many renowned players on the Sword Demon–Sword God team led by her brother, Do Kyungsoo.
All of them had the skills to place in the top ten no matter which guild they joined, and their potential was likewise astounding. Both Kyunghye and Kyungsoo had been amazed repeatedly.
But Sanghyun… from the start, he was on a whole other level, so distant and far above them.
“I don’t belong.”
She truly believed that.
Sanghyun’s skills were far too advanced to be alongside her.
Hoping to be with him in any way, she thought, was a tremendous presumption.
It would be obvious that she’d become nothing more than a burden that suppressed and held back his potential.
“Heh, I won’t forget.”
A faint smile curled on her lips.
She had grown much closer to Sanghyun lately.
And she had been thrilled to finally meet a player partner she truly liked after a long time.
But ultimately, she realized — he belonged somewhere bigger than the world she lived in.
It was a wistful smile from someone who understood.
Someone she wanted to be with, but could never hold on to — someone far too distant. That was Sanghyun.
At the same time.
“It was solid.”
Just as Kyunghye had recalled Sanghyun’s battle and admired the depth of his tactics.
Sanghyun, too, was meticulously reviewing the entire battle that had taken place at the Gate today.
It was an old habit of his.
In the early days of his past life as a player, he hadn’t had such a habit at all.
He simply fought however the situation unfolded, lost, got frustrated, and became angry.
He blindly tried to imitate whoever was popular, copying their attack patterns and techniques.
The result was disastrous.
Skill born of imitation lacked creativity, and he was completely unable to deal with various variables.
Since his actions lacked thought, he couldn’t correct or refine anything.
Battle was—
A field where countless dots and lines, planes and ideas, intertwined in countless forms.
Trying to handle it with just a few memorized patterns or shallow understanding simply didn’t work.
After that realization, Sanghyun began to review even the most minor spar or training session without fail.
If he felt he might forget something, he would record it on video to revisit and reflect later.
As a result, by the time Sanghyun reached his 20th year as a player in his previous life—
No matter what situation he faced, he could remain completely unshaken.
“……”
Rewards were laid out before him.
Magic stones and Artifacts obtained from Gatullis.
They were clearly valuable loot gained from a boss monster.
Yet, there was a reason he hadn’t bothered to check them yet.
It just didn’t feel like he’d worked hard to earn them. He simply didn’t feel like checking them right away.
“A sign of the times, huh.”
A hollow laugh escaped him.
To think the day would come when even loot from a boss monster would feel underwhelming.
But that feeling wasn’t out of arrogance or conceit.
It was simply because he had become stronger.
That was all.
When a strong person solved an easy problem, there was no reason to feel particularly happy about it.
And at that moment.
A message came from Shin Taeri.
It wasn’t unusual for her to contact him, but it felt oddly unexpected for it to happen today.
“Yes, Ms. Taeri.”
<Mr. Sanghyun. You don’t accept mail to your house or unidentified personal messages, right?>
“Yes. I’ve made that publicly known, and since I get a lot of contacts, I usually don’t check them unless absolutely necessary.”
<You’ve received a piece of mail. It’s odd that it wasn’t sent to your sponsor company.>
Sanghyun thought, Here it comes.
There was only one type of mail Shin Taeri would find noteworthy. An invitation.
He already knew about it from Park Jungmin, so it wasn’t surprising.
“Is it an invitation?”
<That’s right. You really don’t have to participate. This whole thing started because of Mystery’s bizarre hobby in the first place.>
“No, I plan to participate.”
<The matchups are entirely up to Mystery, too. It’s common for them to arrange unfair brackets. Just to watch someone die.>
“I’ve seen the previous invitations and matchups Mystery has sent. The so-called big names are always the ones at a disadvantage.”
<Exactly.>
“But for me right now, it feels a bit early. So I thought about it—why was the invitation suddenly sent to me?”
<Do you have any suspicions?>
“Someone has a connection to Mystery and deliberately set this up to draw me out.”
<Then isn’t that even more reason to avoid it?>
“No. I’m taking this chance to see who’s behind it. It’s a burden I’ll have to shake off eventually anyway.”
Sanghyun spoke calmly.
He had a good guess.
Someone who saw him as a thorn in their side.
Or someone who believed he had close ties to the Eden Guild.
In other words, players from factions that stood directly opposed to Eden—like the Sun or Jeongpoong Guilds.
<If this is about honor or how people see you, don’t worry. It’s only temporary.>
Just like Shin Taeri said, the invitations sent by Mystery were directly tied to a player’s pride.
If someone declined, that information was posted on Mystery’s official website.
And then, gossip-based media would immediately pounce, branding the rejecting player as a coward.
They would even write fiction, claiming that the player had fled after learning who their opponent would be, citing unknown sources.
It was utter nonsense—but the problem was, the public, who were obsessed with every move of famous players, believed it.
So many ended up participating against their will, just to protect their careers and reputations.
“My thoughts are the opposite.”
Sanghyun smiled.
He didn’t know who his opponent was yet. But since they’d set the stage this way, that person would have no choice but to show up too.
It was a definite opportunity.
If he overwhelmed that person, it would be burned into the memories of all those who’d been looking down on him.
Isn’t one real scene seen with your own eyes more powerful than a hundred unverified rumors?
Sanghyun believed this was that opportunity.
<Are you really okay with this?>
“Of course. I’ll go pick up the invitation myself. It’s a rare piece of paper—I should treasure it.”
<I’ll come over instead.>
“No, I’ll go.”
<I also have something I want to say to you in person. Let me come. Please just relax.>
“Hmm, alright then.”
The call ended.
Mystery’s invitation.
And the shadowy presence behind it, targeting him.
In a way, he thought it was for the best.
With Han Hyunjeong helping to prepare his overseas debut, this invitation and the upcoming battle would be the perfect stage.
In fact, there had been countless cases where a player rose to fame through a duel or real battle sparked by Mystery’s invitation.
Take Sword God So Hyeongjun, for example—he was a star born of one such invitation.
The added popularity from his good looks, much like Sanghyun, was just a bonus.
“It’s unfortunate, but I guess it’s time to start creating some distance from the connections I’ve built.”
He thought about the people he knew.
Ham Jiyeon, whom he first met at Hyunjeong Market, and unexpectedly had the chance to grow closer to.
The pizza shop construction next to her orphanage was proceeding steadily, even at this moment.
He felt it was only natural to gift her this much, considering how much she sacrificed for the children.
“Kim Miso seems to be doing well.”
Sanghyun tapped open the photo Kim Miso had sent him via message not long ago.
Her once fair skin was now tanned a deep bronze.
It was unfamiliar, yet all the more admirable as a mark of her effort.
“As for Kyunghye, I’m sure she’ll handle things well on her own. Then I guess I just have to do my part.”
Sanghyun chuckled.
Most likely, the battle from this invitation would be his final event in Korea.
After that, a few days passed.
While Han Hyunjeong was fiercely pursuing his overseas expansion at the corporate sponsor level—
Sanghyun, who had accepted the invitation, received notice that his first matchup had been confirmed.
It was an official message delivered via Mystery’s verified channel and contact number.
“Ma Dongho, huh.”
He had suspected it, but the mastermind was closer than expected.
Ma Dongho. Known as the fourth-ranking member of the Sun Guild, he was a tank swordsman rumored to be even tougher than Jo Jinho.