Chapter 197

Тhе Аdvеnturer’s Assосiаtiоn оf Arcanа sеemed fаr larger in sсаlе thаn Кhаn had imaginеd.

“Is this entire building thе Аdventurеr’s Аssосiаtion?”

“Yеs, it’s quite lаrge, isn’t it? Advеnturеrs visiting fоr thе first time arе usuallу wide-eyеd with surрrise.”

Khan, who hаd bеen an old-timer in <Geо Аrc>, had never heаrd оf the citу cаllеd Аrсana.

Baсk when he оriginаllу plaуеd <Gеo Arс>, there wаs truly nothing near thе Аncient Тоwer.

It sеemed this wаs a newly аdded сitу since Khan entеred thе gаmе.

‘It feеls strangelу similаr tо Korеa. Аll thе buildings I sаw оn thе waу hеrе felt likе tаll skyscrapers too.’

It felt exactly like looking at buildings in Seoul.

Many buildings had a very modern feel, and the Adventurer’s Association building was also incredibly massive.

“Th-then, shall we go in together!”

“Let’s.”

Evan’s tone seemed oddly tense.

Because the person who could save the current Arcana… no, the world, was right before his eyes, and it felt like he was witnessing the first moment of that history from the side.

‘Sir Khan is like that, and Lady Sharin and Sir Byutek also seem incredibly strong… They’ll probably receive proof of A-Rank Adventurer right away. Sir Khan is definitely S-Rank.’

However, Evan hadn’t heard why Khan came to the Adventurer’s Association, so he didn’t know if they intended to undergo Adventurer Rank measurement.

‘He told me to guide them, but they probably don’t intend to measure their ranks immediately, right?’

Evan cautiously asked Khan’s party.

“But by any chance… are you planning to measure your Adventurer Rank now?”

“That was the idea, is there some problem?”

“Hahaha! What kind of obvious question is that, Evan! Of course we came to measure our ranks.”

“If not, we’d have no reason to come here, Mr. Evan.”

Hearing the consistent answers from Khan’s party, Evan asked again with a flustered expression.

“Really? I thought you just told me to guide you today to greet the Association Chief…. Usually, it’s best to undergo Hunter rank measurement when your condition is at its peak. That way you’ll get the best results.”

“Is that really true?”

“Yes, of course.”

“Hahaha! Then it’s settled! I’m in peak condition right now!”

At Evan’s words, Byutek laughed heartily and replied.

Since all three seemed sincere, Evan had no intention of stopping them either.

“Then let’s go greet the Association Chief and say we’ll undergo Hunter rank measurement!”

Khan nodded and entered the Adventurer’s Association building with Evan.

“It’s more deserted than you thought, right? So many adventurers have died in the Ancient Tower and Gates that there aren’t many people left working at the Adventurer’s Association. Compared to the building’s scale, there are very few people. That’s why there’s almost no one in the lobby either.”

As Evan said, not a single person was visible in the vast lobby.

Evan continued his explanation.

“Ah, but that doesn’t mean there are absolutely no working people! If you go up, there are offices prepared, and there are adventurers handling separate administrative work there. Let’s go to the Association Chief’s office first.”

Following Evan’s guidance, Khan’s party arrived in front of the elevator.

“What is… this?”

“What is this…?”

“Ah, this is a machine called an elevator. It’s a machine that lets you conveniently go up and down floors.”

“Ooh, fascinating!”

“Is it magic?”

“It’s not magic… You’ll understand if you ride it yourself.”

Khan found Byutek and Sharin, who were marveling at the elevator, even more fascinating.

‘Well, they’re NPCs in the game.’

By the way, what happens after completely conquering the Ancient Tower and seeing the game’s ending?

‘Byutek and Sharin… will I never see them again?’

If it were Khan’s original personality, he might have felt sad, but now he didn’t particularly care.

Because he had the Rank 10 Hidden Skill ‘Sage’s Heart’ that could kill all unnecessary emotions.

Nevertheless, thoughts of what happens after seeing the game’s ending kept surfacing in Khan’s mind.

Would he really be able to leave this game world after seeing the ending?

He originally thought seeing the game’s ending would be a story of the very distant future, but not anymore.

Since Khan had the ‘Infinite Growth’ skill, he would be able to see the game’s ending before long.

As his thoughts deepened, the elevator arrival sound rang and the doors opened.

“Whoa, the doors open automatically! We’re really at the top of the building! Sharin, those buildings look small! We really came all the way to the top of the building!”

“Byutek oppa, it’s embarrassing so please talk quietly….”

Sharin’s face turned red at Byutek’s country bumpkin-like reaction.

Khan ignored the two and spoke to Evan.

“Is that room ahead the Association Chief’s office?”

“Yes, that’s correct. The Association Chief’s office exclusively uses the top floor. Originally, you need an appointment with the Association Chief to visit… but he’s opened it to anyone for the time being.”

“Ah, you said only 5 days are left.”

“Yes, the situation seems quite serious…. Shall we go in?”

“Let’s.”

Khan first followed Evan and walked toward the large door visible ahead.

When Evan opened the door, the back of a man standing with his hands behind his back, looking out the window, came into view.

* * *

Shark, the Association Chief of the Adventurer’s Association.

As usual, he was looking out the window, pondering how to conquer the Ancient Tower.

“Huh? It’s Evan? The people with him… they’re unfamiliar faces.”

Shark was a Swordsman who used a sword as his main weapon.

Of course, he didn’t just use a sword.

Born with talent for Mana as well, he was a Magic Swordsman, and with his innate Swordsmanship and Mana, he could become an S-Rank Adventurer.

That’s why he could roughly tell just by looking down from the top of the building.

“That young girl… she’s incredibly strong. Her Mana level is several times greater than mine!”

It seemed Adventurer Evan had succeeded in bringing exceptionally skilled adventurers from elsewhere.

Shark continued looking out the window, waiting for Evan to bring them.

And after a while.

Creeeak—

Evan opened the door to the Association Chief’s office and entered.

“Association Chief, it’s Evan. I’ve brought the most skilled people I know who said they want to undergo Adventurer Rank measurement!”

“Come in, Evan! Welcome, everyone! We should introduce ourselves first. I’m Shark, the Association Chief of the Adventurer’s Association and an S-Rank Adventurer.”

Shark appeared to be in his mid-30s with a quite favorable impression.

“I’m Khan.”

“Haha! Nice to meet you. I’m Byutek, Sir Khan’s Escort Knight!”

“I’m Sharin, Sir Khan’s Disciple!”

Hearing Sharin’s introduction last, Shark’s expression turned serious.

“You said Sharin, right? That statement just now, is it true?”

“Huh? What?”

“You’re… Sir Khan’s Disciple?”

“Yes!”

Hearing Sharin’s answer again, Shark looked at Khan with a serious expression.

‘He doesn’t look particularly strong…. I can’t sense any Mana at all, and he looks too weak outwardly too. Is he really the Master?’

Still, Shark intended to treat them as well as possible.

Because they were the ones who came to solve the Ancient Tower penalty with only 5 days left.

“Hahaha, that’s surprising. Ms. Sharin looks incredibly strong too, so I’m curious how much stronger her Master, Mr. Khan, must be.”

As Shark’s words dragged on, Khan slowly opened his mouth.

“Didn’t you say there’s not much time left until the Ancient Tower penalty begins? I’ll undergo rank measurement immediately and enter the tower.”

“Huh? What do you mean? To enter the Ancient Tower, you need to receive S-Rank in the rank measurement. Currently, over hundreds of adventurers have died attempting to conquer the 90th floor of the Ancient Tower.”

“Quickly guide us to the rank measurement location.”

“Hmm, understood for now. I’ll guide you right away.”

To undergo Hunter rank measurement, Shark took Khan’s party and boarded the elevator.

After going down several floors in the elevator, a wide hall spread before their eyes.

The hall contained various unfamiliar machines, and Shark pointed at the largest among them with his finger.

“That’s the machine that measures Adventurer Rank. It’s nicknamed the ‘Power Measurement Machine.'”

The Power Measurement Machine was quite large, appearing about 5 meters wide and 4 meters tall.

In the center of the machine was a large circular iron plate about 3 meters in diameter.

“If you attack the iron plate you see in the center, a score will appear on the screen you see up there.”

Hearing Shark’s explanation, Sharin looked at Khan and Byutek and said.

“It’s similar to a Mana Measurement Machine? It seems easy?”

“It will be easy for you two.”

Khan knew the Power Measurement Machine very well.

In <Geo Arc> too, character power was measured with the Power Measurement Machine to determine up to which floor of the Ancient Tower they could enter.

‘Byutek and Sharin have become incredibly strong, so it should be possible.’

For reference, the Power Measurement Machine was a device with a set limit.

From Khan’s memory, you could get the maximum score on the Power Measurement Machine at around Level 300.

‘I haven’t reached Level 300 yet, but Byutek and Sharin passed 300 long ago.’

Of course, Khan’s Level was lower than 300 too, but he could use power far exceeding his current level.

“So what score do you need to get S-Rank?”

At Khan’s question, Shark answered with a smile.

“For S-Rank, you need to achieve the machine’s maximum score of one million points. For reference, only I and Rianna, the Guild Master of the Legend Guild, have achieved one million points so far.”

“So you and that Rianna guy are S-Rank Adventurers?”

“Haha, correct. But how long will you continue using informal speech like that?”

Shark was an S-Rank Adventurer, said to be the strongest among adventurers.

No matter how good-natured he was, he couldn’t help but feel uncomfortable with Khan continuously using informal speech from their first meeting.

“It’s habit. So can we start the power measurement right away?”

“……Correct. If you attack, the machine will operate……!!”

Oooooooom…!!!

Kukukukukoom…!!!

Before the answer even finished, an enormous amount of blue Mana spread from Khan’s body.

Khan fired magic at the Power Measurement Machine’s circular plate without hesitation.

A massive roar filled the entire hall, and shortly after, a score appeared on the screen.

[1,000,000]

“Wh-what…!!”

Shark rubbed his eyes with an expression of utter disbelief and checked the score again.