Episode 41: Episode 8 Update (2)
[The Unknown Adventurer Expresses Regret for Tower of Strife Incident, Declares Temporary Withdrawal]
Through Ascend Management, Oh Hyun-woo released a statement to the press, announcing a pause in his adventurer activities and halting strategy video releases.
- He’s withdrawing, but why stop the guides? I was enjoying them ;;
└ Obviously, the strategy leeches threw a fit.
└ What if he just got scared and bailed?
└ A guy who soloed Floor 100 bailing? Then Earth’s doomed.
└ Ugh, Unknown Adventurer fanboys are all here. The resources from Floor 100 are gone now.
└ So, what’s your floor? Ever gotten 100’s resources? And where’s the proof he caused it?
└ It vanished right after he cleared it, duh. Other countries milked Floor 100, but we’re stuck sucking our thumbs. Doesn’t that piss you off?
The community was split—gratitude for his guides versus rage over losing the top hunting ground.
This worried Son Tae-ha, Ascend’s representative.
“Hyun-woo-nim, are you sure about this?”
“Well, what can I do? If public opinion’s bad, you bow your head. And it’s true Floor 100 vanished after my clear.”
Despite Son Tae-ha’s concerns, Hyun-woo seemed unfazed—almost like he was enjoying it.
‘Should I ask?’
Son Tae-ha was dying to know what happened on Floor 100.
Did Hyun-woo really cause its deletion? If so, what did he do?
He hesitated but stayed silent.
The contract was clear: no questions about strategies beyond what’s provided.
He wrote that clause himself.
“Then, is there anything we can do to help?”
“Just take a break for now. If you insist on working, do what a management company does.”
“You mean…”
“Yeah. I’m preparing to start a guild. I want trustworthy people.”
This meant recruiting adventurers for Ascend.
Guild content required manpower for exclusive items, making participation essential.
“I’ll look into existing adventurers.”
“No. I don’t need them. Preferably people unfamiliar with Legend Seven.”
“Like In-soo?”
“Exactly. I’ll handle interviews myself.”
“Understood. I’ll prepare accordingly.”
Son Tae-ha didn’t question Hyun-woo’s plans.
He’d proven his capabilities beyond doubt.
“Are you visiting In-soo now?”
“Yeah. I’ve neglected him too long.”
“Alright. I’ll compile the list you requested.”
“Thanks.”
***
Deathside Guild’s meeting room.
Korea’s major guilds gathered, faces grim, discussing the inevitable: the Unknown Adventurer and Ascend Management.
Deathside’s guild master, Sun Sung-tae, spoke.
“As you know, Episode 8 updates tomorrow.”
New episodes were critical—fresh opportunities for all adventurers.
Losing Floor 100 was unfortunate, but the new content softened the blow.
“I want to dive into raid right after the update. You all agree, but it won’t be easy.”
At Sun Sung-tae’s words, some guild masters exchanged glances.
Park Hee-young, master of the 16th-ranked Sunlight guild, spoke up.
“Are you saying you want priority in the first raid?”
“Priority? Watch your words.”
“Huh?”
“Noblesse oblige. Strong guilds sacrifice as the vanguard.”
“What does that mean…?”
Some guild masters scoffed.
His intent to monopolize first clear rewards was transparent.
“If you’re unhappy, leave. But you won’t join the raid until it’s safe.”
“You’re controlling access?”
“Control? It’s ensuring safety. Safety.”
Lower-ranked guild masters’ faces soured.
Failing Floor 100, yet acting superior?
But Sun Sung-tae was observing them as much as they were him.
‘Look at their faces. They think they’re different.’
Even lower-ranked, these guilds were invited for a reason—they’d climbed by trampling and controlling weaker ones.
Hypocritical to mock him while forgetting their own misdeeds.
Besides, he had justification.
“I heard some guilds contacted Ascend.”
“…”
“But the Unknown Adventurer’s gone quiet, feeling responsible. Why? He’s scared. He doesn’t know how to tackle the new episode.”
No one spoke.
They knew even the adventurer who conquered the Tower faced an unprecedented challenge in Episode 8.
“So, while he’s silent, this is our chance. Unite our strength, regain public trust!”
‘Pour all your resources into supporting the raid team.’
He didn’t say it outright, but his intent was clear.
Something was off.
By now, the other guilds should’ve reacted—agreement, approval, anything.
But no one spoke.
They were all glancing at someone else.
Then—
Creak.
Radiance Guild Master Yoon Hae-joon stood.
“If that’s all you have to say, we’ll take our leave.”
“The meeting’s not over!”
“Let’s be clear. This isn’t a meeting—it’s a threat.”
“What?”
“Don’t invite Radiance to these in the future.”
“You sure you can handle that? Radiance will be excluded from the vanguard!”
“We’ll see if it goes as you think.”
As Yoon Hae-joon spoke, over half the guild masters stood up.
“Good luck ‘controlling’ things with a half-baked alliance. And thanks for playing leader—it must’ve been tough wearing a crown too big for you.”
Yoon Hae-joon left, followed by the standing guild masters.
Those remaining started exchanging uneasy glances.
Sun Sung-tae gritted his teeth.
‘Think you’re the only ones who can act out? You’ll regret this choice.’
***
The chance to screw over Deathside was right around the corner.
《5 minutes, 32 seconds until Episode 8 update completion.》
Today, with the update imminent, major guilds had already headed to Inje County.
“We’re near the birch forest in Inje County. As you can see, the tall trees around are rotting…”
I was curious about the update’s form—and whether certain figures would appear.
‘Eldiran.’
The Elf King. A being incapable of human emotions.
Perhaps his long life dulled him to death, fear, joy, or sorrow—a robotic figure.
Maybe that’s why he became king, unswayed by emotions.
‘If he shows up, Hertia’s going to lose it.’
Eldiran’s father, the previous Elf King, sacrificed Hertia’s child.
When Hertia killed him, Eldiran, who had evacuated, survived, ascended the throne, and became an NPC aiding adventurers to rebuild the elf faction.
‘Some hope the elves will stay allies…’
Unlikely.
Episode subtitles always point to the main enemy.
‘If he’s an enemy, it’ll be tough.’
In Legend Seven’s game days, certain event battles granted buffs from friendly NPCs.
In Episode 1, Eldiran’s Blessing reduced all damage to allies by 30%.
Facing such a grand mage, the vanguard’s strength is woefully inadequate.
《Episode 8 Return of the Elf Legion update completed.》
A massive magic circle appeared above Inje County’s birch forest, and a towering structure began to rise.
“A Tower! A new Tower is rising!”
“Wait, it’s not just the Tower! A massive fortress is appearing in front!”
A fortress before the Tower.
I couldn’t help but laugh.
‘This’ll be a grind.’
It’s a test—a trial to prove you’re worthy of entering the Tower.
I knew this from an early game update preview with similar content.
Sure enough, as the elf fortress fully materialized:
《Elf Tower update completed.》
《Elf Fortress update completed.》
《To enter the Elf Tower, you must first clear the Elf Fortress.》
《Failure to clear the Elf Fortress within the time limit will trigger a dungeon break.》
《Eldiran’s Bane effect reduces all summons’ base stats by 30%.》
Seeing the Eldiran’s Bane debuff, I smirked.
How many adventurers could withstand that?
‘Doesn’t matter to me, though.’
I’ll just make a strategy.
《Time remaining to clear Elf Fortress: 167:59:58》
The fortress’s arrival.
Eldiran’s emergence.
And the start of Episode 8’s tutorial.