Episode 68
068. Dungeon Rush
[You have chosen ‘Open’.]
[From now on, the Giants’ City will be eternally remembered by players.]
[The qualifier ‘Forgotten’ is removed.]
[Your great feat is broadcast to all servers.]
[World Message]
[Player Golden Hands has conquered the hidden ancient dungeon ‘Giants’ City’ for the first time!]
[The dungeon is now open to all players.]
[Fame increased by 1,000!]
Once again, a World Message rose, and the name ‘Golden Hands’ was clearly emblazoned upon it. Once for acquiring ancient materials, and now again. Two consecutive World Messages. Repinet was a crucible of excitement.
Like oil poured on a campfire, the communities and chat channels across all servers began to explode. The hottest among them was undoubtedly the official Korean server community, ‘Repinet’.
[Title: Did you guys just see the World Message? Is this for real? ㄷㄷㄷ]
Author: Lepionji Parkryeong
Content:
No way, I almost died just now from surprise while hunting orcs. Golden hands? That hammer-wielding guy caused another uproar? First conquest of a hidden ancient dungeon? Does that even make sense? And even opening the dungeon for everyone? Seriously insane…
└ [Yep]: I heard it too. What on earth is going on?
└ [Fake Detector]: The admin’s son theory again…
└ [Golden hands]: Our man did it again! Golden hands! Golden hands! Golden hands!
└ [HammerWarriorRising]: Wow, but why didn’t he stream such jackpot content? Is he sane? Hogging all this prime entertainment for himself?
└ [Ttukbaegi Collector]: For real lol, if it were me, I’d have streamed it from start to finish. Would’ve hit millions of viewers.
└ [Anon]: Right. Is this guy really just playing for fun? Does he even think about making money?
└ [Lepioneer’sGhost]: Well, he did do a guide stream. That’s something, right?
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[Title: My mom is asking who golden hand is… How famous is this guy gonna get?]
[Title: Guys, I switched to ‘Hammer Warrior’ because of golden hand… Why is my stone pot breaking?]
[Title: Honestly, with his current status, who has more influence: Kang Moo-jin vs Geuson? (Vote included)]
[Title: But seriously, what I’m curious about. Does golden hand even sleep and game? Is he maybe an AI?]
[Title: Rare item prices are tanking because of ‘Giants’ City’… golden hand butterfly effect is insane! ㄷㄷ]
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Repinet was utter chaos. Admiration for golden hand’s feat and suspicion about his identity were mixed, threatening to paralyze the forums.
Separately, players began flocking en masse to the newly opened ‘Giants’ City’.
It was a gold rush—no, a dungeon rush of players. A newly opened dungeon was bound to have hidden items or newly generated loot. So, players started rushing toward ‘Giants’ City’ like madmen.
Moreover, the appropriate level for the ‘Giants’ City’ that golden hand’s opened was a 5-person party of level 50 or above. This was the mid-range section in terms of level distribution—the range where most players in 《Lepione》 were concentrated. In other words, it had become the optimal hunting ground for players whose levels had stagnated.
[Title: (Breaking News) Situation at the Giants’ City entrance.mp4]
Author: DungeonExplorationTeam1
Content:
Guys, I just filmed the ‘Giants’ City’ entrance and came back. First of all, the atmosphere is overwhelming. The giant statues are no joke in size. And those who went in say… it’s on the level of an EXP event. It’s like golden hand paved the way and just threw it to us to feast on. Just bright bright bright…
└ Insane! Look at that EXP gain rate! If you camp here, you could easily gain at least 10 levels!
└ Wow, but the mobs are tough as hell? Without the guide, it’s instant death. golden hand didn’t do that guide stream for nothing.
└ Going back to binge golden hand guide stream. That guy is truly a god.
└ Hey, but it’s hard even following the guide. golden hand control was insane. Was that real, moving that flashily with a hammer?
└ golden hand! golden hand! golden hand! I switched to Hammer Warrior because of golden hand! Take responsibility!
The dungeon entrance was packed with players celebrating golden hand feat, and his guide stream once again climbed the charts, setting new viewership records. However, golden hand, at the center of all this commotion, was no longer there.
While the world was buzzing with talk of golden hand, the man himself at the center of the uproar, unaware of it all, was simply preparing for his next step.
[Panteria Guild, North American Branch]
Crunch-!
“Damn it!”
Contrary to the cheering atmosphere on the Korean server’s Repinet, a man was scowling—Cain, the master of the Panpheria Guild.
The high-quality wooden table shattered under Cain’s fist. His face was flushed red with anger, his bloodshot eyes glaring at the World Message on the monitor as if to devour it.
[Player golden hands has acquired ‘Ancient Giant’s Heartstone’!]
[Player golden hands has acquired ‘Fragment of the Seal’s Chains’!]
“That bastard… Is he mocking me?”
Cain couldn’t contain his rising fury. A few days prior, he had approached Geumson politely through Mirae Group, suggesting a trade for the ‘Ancient Void Iron Ore’ while hinting at a massive reward.
But the response was a cold refusal. And not just that, the absurd excuse that he had used it all to enhance his personal equipment.
That alone had been a blow to his pride enough to drive him mad, and now a World Message had exploded, brazenly announcing that he had monopolized two more Ancient-grade materials. This felt like a clear provocation and deception to Cain.
“Master Cain, please calm down. An emotional response will be of no help.”
Strategic analyst Megan doused his anger with her ice-cold voice. She nonchalantly kicked aside the shattered table debris and displayed new data on the hologram screen.
“On the contrary, the situation is turning in our favor.”
“Favor? Are you joking now! We have no way to defeat the Lich King, what…?”
“Look.”
What Megan displayed was information about the ‘Ancient Giant’s Heartstone’ and the ‘Fragment of the Seal’s Chains’. However, something was odd. No matter how powerful Panteria’s information network was, less than 10 minutes had passed since the World Message appeared. Yet, Megan had naturally obtained detailed information on those items. And Cain, too, seemed to trust her information as a given.
[Ancient Giant’s Heartstone]
Grade: Ancient
Description: A stone condensed with the power of an Ancient Giant. Possesses immense weight and density, containing the energy of the earth.
[Fragment of the Seal’s Chains]
Grade: Ancient
Description: A fragment of the magical chains that once sealed the Giant King Kronos. Imbued with powerful energy that suppresses and distorts all magical power.
Cain, having confirmed the details, felt greed flash in his eyes. He instinctively realized—with those two materials, he could sufficiently tackle the ‘Lich King’.
“‘Ancient Giant’s Heartstone’ to enhance my weapon, and ‘Fragment of the Seal’s Chains’ to seal the Lich King’s barrier?”
“Yes, correct.”
“If that’s possible… I could even solo it?”
The Ancient Void Iron Ore was also optimal for countering the Lich King. But the Ancient materials Geumson now possessed seemed perfectly tailored to snipe the Lich King. Moreover, there was an additional material suitable for enhancing Cain’s own weapon.
A calmer Cain. He was no longer angry. Instead, he licked his lips like a hungry predator with prey in sight.
“Right… Those must become mine. Without fail!”
“However, a simple trade proposal like before won’t work. We can’t trust Mirae Group either… And above all, we haven’t properly grasped the true intentions of the player named golden hand.”
“Then what do you suggest?”
“I will go personally.”
Megan stated decisively. There wasn’t a shred of hesitation in her blue eyes.
“I will go to Korea and meet him directly. Whether it’s money, honor, or whatever else he desires—I will stake everything Panteria can offer to persuade him.”
“You? Going personally? That’s a bit…”
“They won’t know anything about me in Korea, so what does it matter?”
Cain looked at her for a moment, seeming to ponder. But the conclusion was already decided. He believed that Megan would undoubtedly deliver results.
“Fine. I grant you full authority. Use whatever means necessary to get those materials into our hands. If that bastard refuses again…”
A murderous glint flashed in Cain’s eyes.
“Then we’ll have no choice but to take them by force.”
Without a word, Megan gave a slight bow and left the conference room. Dozens, hundreds of negotiation scenarios were already unfolding in her mind. However, golden hand felt more troublesome than any entrepreneur or politician she had ever dealt with.
‘What does he want?’
The opponent was an ordinary young man from South Korea. That made him harder to predict and thus, an even more intriguing quarry.
Pshhhh-
The capsule door opened as golden hand returned to reality. Stretching his stiff body, he grabbed a cold can of beer from the fridge and downed it in one go.
Gulp-
Letting out a refreshing belch despite the throat-tearing pain, Geumson recalled his memories from the ‘Forgotten Giants’ City’.
‘I did struggle… but I gained a lot, so it’s fine, right?’
