Chapter 32

Chapter 32: Exploiting Contribution Points

Four arms made of mana suddenly sprouted from Asura's sides.

Each hand held a sword.

"Ohhh! There it is!"

"Lord Asura's secret technique! Six Swords of Asura!"

Six Swords of Asura.

A technique that overwhelmed enemies with six swords attacking relentlessly.

Whenever Asura unleashed it, monsters and Hunters alike fell like leaves in a storm, even when they attacked him in groups.

"Grrrrr..."

Yaksha's entire body turned red.

His muscles swelled.

His fangs lengthened, and a pair of horns emerged from his forehead.

"Lord Yaksha's Yaksha Transformation! I never thought I'd see it here!"

"Whenever Lord Yaksha attacks someone in that form, he absorbs huge amounts of blood!"

"In other words, Lord Yaksha is practically immortal while transformed!"

Neither Asura nor Yaksha had chosen their nicknames for no reason.

So both of them transform into monsters or something? There really are all kinds of abilities.

Hyunwoo briefly found himself staring at the two terrifying S-rank Hunters.

But only briefly.

So that Hunter named Asura was S-rank.

Asura's back before transforming looked familiar.

Looks like he's a High-Rank NCO now.

The important thing was that Hyunwoo had landed the finishing blow on Asura right after he became a Third-Class Officer.

Even while glancing at their battle, Hyunwoo never stopped collecting Contribution Points.

Slice!

[Mid-Rank NCO defeated.]

[Consecutive Kill Bonus!]

[Contribution Points x7,200 acquired.]

He couldn't afford to waste the consecutive-kill bonus either.

Who knows when I'll get another opportunity like this? Better gather as much as possible.

Once Asura and Yaksha started fighting seriously, Hyunwoo's hunting became even easier.

More Hunters stopped fighting and became absorbed in watching the duel.

It was incredibly rare to see Asura and Yaksha fight with all their abilities at full power.

BOOM!

Their collision was far more violent than before.

Each aimed for the other's vital points.

Neither bothered much with defense.

Asura's six swords carved countless wounds into Yaksha.

Yaksha attacked Asura while absorbing his blood and regenerating his own injuries.

Then, finally...

Stab!

This time, Yaksha's claws tore through Asura's body.

"How..."

Asura disappeared into dust before he could finish.

The longer the battle dragged on, the greater Yaksha's advantage became thanks to his regenerative ability.

"Haa... haa..."

Yaksha breathed heavily as he lowered his arms.

Then...

Ding!

[Promoted to Third-Class Officer.]

"...!"

Yaksha's eyes widened.

Finally!

He had completely avenged his previous defeat.

He had crushed Asura after forcing him to reveal his full strength.

And now he stood above him as a Third-Class Officer.

If that wasn't a complete victory, what was?

"RAAAAAAAAAAAAH!"

Yaksha roared toward the sky.

"YAAAAAAAAAAH!"

"Long live Lord Yaksha!"

"Japan's first Third-Class Officer!"

His Guild members erupted into cheers.

Shouts echoed throughout the battlefield.

It was a glorious moment for the Yaksha Guild.

Fwish!

"...?"

A thin line of blood appeared on the cheek of a nearby Yaksha Guild member.

"What just passed by?"

The thing that had "passed by" appeared directly behind Yaksha.

"Huh? Who's that?"

The moment someone said those words...

Slice!

"Ugh?"

Yaksha let out a final cry as his body began scattering into dust.

"Huh? W-What just happened?"

"Lord Yaksha?"

The confused Guild members looked around.

Nobody understood what had happened.

And amid that confusion...

Fwish! Slice!

"Aaagh!"

Another one vanished.

Before anyone could even say that one person had disappeared, several more were gone.

"A-Assassin!"

"Assassin? Weren't they on our side?"

Yaksha Guild members carrying NCO tags and above began silently disappearing one by one.

"I-I don't know! I can't see anything!"

Fear instantly swallowed the battlefield.

It didn't take long for them to realize that the mysterious Assassin they had believed was an ally was now hunting them.

"Everyone, run!"

Too late.

[High-Rank NCO defeated.]

[Consecutive Kill Bonus!]

[Contribution Points x14,400 acquired.]

Hyunwoo simply erased the Hunters he could see.

Starting with those carrying the highest ranks.

These guys have absolutely no resistance to Assassins.

Even though Japan was supposedly the homeland of ninjas.

Korea wasn't much different, though.

Hyunwoo thought he understood why.

From the perspective of an MMORPG expert like me...

Clearing floors above 50 required cooperation with others.

Assassins specialize in acting alone.

Naturally, they wouldn't have been welcomed in regular Tower raid parties.

Assassins would gradually fall behind.

Thinking about it, the Hunter who had left him Shadow Dagger hadn't been famous at all despite being S-rank.

That was probably why Hyunwoo couldn't even remember his name.

But things are different now.

In PvP, where being able to attack first and avoiding death were both critical...

Assassins had a major advantage.

In other words...

The Tower belongs to Assassins now.

Of course, most Assassins could never do what Hyunwoo did.

The secret behind the speed at which he accumulated Contribution Points was the utility and mobility provided by his Gate ability.

The advantages of an Assassin and the versatility of Gate Keeper created perfect synergy.

The result was...

[Available Contribution Points: 2,069,468]

[Total Contribution Points: 4,001,370]

[Current Rank: Second-Class Officer]

One million points left until First-Class Officer.

Night had already fallen.

Hyunwoo returned home and calculated his gains.

It took me almost a week to reach Third-Class Officer in Korea.

But after going to Japan, he had earned three million points in only two days.

Was it because Japan had a larger population?

That was part of it.

But there was a more important reason.

This is a system where whoever gets ahead first keeps winning.

The more Tower Knights equipment he completed...

The faster he earned Contribution Points.

Therefore...

[Contribution Point Shop]

I'll get even farther ahead.

Then he paused.

Wait.

The moment he opened the Contribution Point Shop, he realized he was facing a major life decision.

Knight Team Leader or Knight Unit Leader.

That is the question.

Anyone else might call it a luxurious problem.

But Hyunwoo was serious.

Obviously, Knight Unit Leader equipment is stronger.

But he also wanted the Knight Team Leader title.

After agonizing for a full thirty minutes...

Let's collect the Knight Team Leader title.

Its performance was more than enough for now anyway.

I only need six more pieces.

[Contribution Points x200,000 consumed.]

[Tower Knights Knight Team Leader's Bracelet acquired.]

That completed his accessories.

"Give me all the armor pieces too."

Chest Armor.

Leg Armor.

Gloves.

Boots.

Helmet.

The average price of each armor piece was 280,000 Contribution Points.

Since he owned the lower-tier versions, he received a discount and paid 224,000 each.

[Contribution Points x1,120,000 consumed.]

"The accessories perform better, but the armor costs more. Damn it."

Watching his Contribution Points vanish so quickly made his stomach hurt.

Still a million times better than losing them by dying.

He comforted himself with that thought and calculated his upgraded stats.

He still had around 740,000 points remaining, but he planned to save those for Knight Captain equipment.

All five armor pieces were upgraded from Squad Leader to Knight Team Leader.

Each armor piece added another 5% damage reduction from fellow humans.

The bracelet gave another +5% damage dealt and +5% damage reduction.

And completing ten pieces activated the Badge's full set bonus, granting another +5% to both.

Total additional damage dealt: +10%.

Total damage reduction: +35%.

And then...

[Title acquired: "First Tower Knights Knight Team Leader!"]

[Damage dealt to fellow humans increased by 10%.]

[Damage received from fellow humans decreased by 10%.]

Adding up all the Tower Knights equipment and title bonuses...

Damage dealt to fellow humans: +120%.

Damage received from fellow humans: -115%.

"That's insane...!"

In theory, he could fight two Hunters of equal strength simultaneously and still have the advantage.

Of course, actual combat had countless variables.

But numerically, that was the result.

"Damage dealt and damage reduction are calculated against each other, right?"

[Correct.]

He had asked that before, but wanted to confirm.

For example, if Hyunwoo dealt +120% damage and attacked someone with 50% damage reduction, his final bonus damage would be 70%.

The higher the number, the better. No exceptions.

By now, NCO-ranked Hunters probably had most of the Squad Leader equipment.

So even if Hyunwoo's damage reduction exceeded 100%, it still mattered.

"Then what happens if the final damage reduction reaches exactly one hundred percent? Does the attack literally deal no damage?"

It was the first time he'd asked that question.

[Correct.]

"Wow."

He was genuinely impressed.

"Then what if my damage reduction goes above one hundred percent?"

He assumed it would simply remain capped at 100%.

But the answer was completely different.

[If damage reduction from fellow humans exceeds 100%, the amount exceeding 100% is reflected back to the attacker as damage.]

"What? You mean reflected damage?"

[Correct.]

"Whoa."

That was huge.

I want to test it.

His body practically tingled with excitement.

But...

Fifteen percent reflected damage feels a little weak.

Thirty percent would be better.

If I become a First-Class Officer?

Once he purchased the Knight Captain's Cloak, his damage reduction would reach exactly 130%.

"Where can I earn Contribution Points most efficiently right now? Open a Gate there."

[Searching for conditions matching the user's request...]

Hyunwoo waited.

"Where is it?"

[Search complete.]

Tower of Fate - China, Floor 25.

A vast desert.

Hundreds of people had gathered in the middle of the cold, dark desert.

Their arms and legs were shackled.

Their faces were covered with masks.

"Stand in a line!"

A Chinese Communist Party official wearing a red armband shouted at the prisoners.

"Step forward."

One frightened prisoner obeyed and took a step.

He stopped in front of a Chinese Hunter wearing Tower Knights Squad Leader equipment.

"You are serving the motherland. Every time you die, your prison sentence will be reduced! Begin!"

At the official's order, the Chinese Hunter swiftly stabbed the prisoner in the neck.

Stab!

"Ugh!"

Blood sprayed from the prisoner's neck as he collapsed.

People killed by another person inside the Tower were revived, but the pain was real.

The prisoner writhed in agony as he died.

"Urgh..."

Eventually his struggling stopped.

[Contribution Points x100 acquired.]

A message appeared before the Chinese Hunter.

[Promoted to High-Rank NCO.]

The Party official patted the Hunter's shoulder.

"Congratulations on your promotion to High-Rank NCO, Hunter Wang Feng."

"Thank you! I will dedicate my body and soul to serving the motherland!"

"As you should. Hahaha! You will be stationed near the Yalu River to keep Korea, which is eyeing North Korea, in check. And..."

The process repeated until every Hunter gathered there had become a [High-Rank NCO].

Nearly one hundred Hunters had been promoted through this operation.

And one man had been quietly watching the entire thing.

These lunatics.

They're actually doing this.