《Max Talent Player》 Chapter 1 - Prologue Chapter 1: Prologue Kim Kangchul, the PR department head for the Korean Players Association, let out a sigh. ¡®Looks like you were very unlucky this time, Mr. Kim Hyukjin.¡¯ There was no other way to put it. Looking at the free government-sponsored ¡®Player aptitude test results¡¯, he let out a sigh. _____________ Name: Kim Hyukjin Talent Plates: ¡õ¡ö¡ö¡ö¡ö ¡­¡­ ¡ö¡ö¡ö¡ö¡ö Talent Type: Cannot be determined _____________ Here, the ¡®¡õ¡¯ indicated active talent plates. ¡®¡ö¡¯ were inactive plates. Talent plates were pretty similar to growth plates for bones. Much like how growth plates determined how tall someone would become, talent plates determined one¡¯s aptitude. The more talent plates a Player had, the higher their chances were of having their talent bloom. ¡®So this was the test result five years ago.¡¯ He got into his car, having decided on personally delivering the result to the involved party. This was the last gesture of goodwill he could perform. As a matter of fact, if this testee had been born in a different era, he would have definitely succeeded at becoming an amazing Player. He had an internationally unprecedented 67 talent plates, after all. ¡®If you take into account the fact that Korea¡¯s talent test can only measure up to 67 plates¡­¡¯ It was possible he had far more plates than that. To put it in words, this man was a natural genius. It was to the point that the chairman of the Players Association, Shin Hyungseok, looked at the results and groaned. ¡°Ah¡­ How did we only just find this person?¡± It was more of an enraged exclamation than a groan. Why did they only just now discover such a person? In all actuality, he wasn¡¯t actually discovered just now. This man with an unbelievable number of talent plates was found five years ago. ¡®He was a genius, a total genius¡­ There¡¯s no point in talking about it now, though.¡¯ Through some awful luck, this man took the test at the same time as the youngest grandson of Sungshin, Korea¡¯s greatest chaebol family. That was five years ago. The test results weren¡¯t seen by Kim Hyukjin, the test taker himself, but by the youngest member of Sungshin, Song Jinchul. Sungshin checked all test results before any agency could. It was illogical, but that was the custom. TN: A chaebol is a large industrial conglomerate in South Korea controlled by one person or one family, through family members controlling companies and subsidiaries under them. Think old money. Sungshin is a parody of the chaebol company Samsung. Back then, Song Jinchul said this: ¡ª 67 talent plates? Talk about bullshit. Song Jinchul had 44 talent plates. It was quite an outstanding amount of talent, but the chaebol¡¯s youngest still felt bad. ¡ª Don¡¯t let this piece of trash do anything. At that time, Kim Kangchul inwardly lamented, ¡®This moron will once again¡­¡¯ A person with incredible aptitude that could be Korea¡¯s, no, the world¡¯s greatest Player would be left to rot. For a brief moment, he thought it was unfair. It was unfair, but nothing could be done about it. ¡®Is this supposed to make sense?¡¯ He shook his head. It didn¡¯t make sense. But it did. This was Korea¡ªno, in other words, this was the Republic of Sungshin. It was a place where this kind of nonsensical thing happened every once in a while, so he decided to just accept it. ¡®You were unlucky, Mr. Kim Hyukjin. Your opponent is Song Jinchul.¡¯ Song Jinchul was the youngest grandson of the Sungshin family. Kim Hyukjin was an ordinary, perhaps slightly underprivileged, citizen with nothing. From the start, their circumstances of birth were different. Because they were born in different circumstances, there was no other way to put it than ¡®you were unlucky¡¯. The results had already been determined five years ago. But recently, he was re-examined under the pretext of a reinspection. Done for free, like an act of benevolence. It definitely wasn¡¯t benevolence, but to check his talent plates. ¡®Only one talent plate is still active.¡¯ Kim Hyukjin was thirty years old. In the latter half of your twenties, your talent plates rapidly close off. It was confirmed that all of his talent plates were closed off. It wouldn¡¯t be a lie to say that he was talentless. As the last act of his conscience, Kim Kangchul went to Kim Hyukjin¡¯s semi-basement room and personally handed him his results. ¡°I¡¯m sorry to be the bearer of bad news. We performed your re-examination, but it was determined that you had no talent.¡± Inwardly he thought, ¡®I¡¯m sorry.¡¯ This ¡®dead genius¡¯ happened to anger Song Jinchul. Kim Kangchul gave him a box of luxury drinks as a measure of consolation and apology. Call him a hypocrite, but this was the best he could do. ¡°I heard you were studying to take the civil servant exam. Stay strong.¡± ¡°Thank you.¡± Again, he thought to himself, ¡°You won¡¯t¡­ ever pass the exam.¡± Because he angered Song Jinchul, of all people. There was no grandiose reason why he never passed the exam despite getting high marks for three years. It could all be boiled down to one phrase. ¡°You. Were. Unlucky. Mr. Kim Hyukjin.¡± In many ways, including being born in Korea. A semi-basement room. In the past, it was a place where my family welcomed me home, but now, no one was left. It was dark. It attracted humidity. I had become used to this. The test result I received from Kim Kangchul was short and simple. [No Talent.] I didn¡¯t really expect anything else. In the first place, I only went to get re-tested because they told me they would do it for free. I looked at the paper again. [No Talent.] I simply chuckled. If I had any talent, I would¡¯ve already awakened as a Player, gotten chosen by a ¡®Guardian¡¯, and be living an extravagant lifestyle. ¡®Let¡¯s focus on studying instead.¡¯ I entertained my vain hope for only a brief moment, only a few seconds. In any case, as a 30-year-old, I was too old to start Playing. At the latest, it was the norm to start Playing in your early 20s. ¡®Yep, I have to work hard.¡¯ I couldn¡¯t think of anything else I could do other than work hard. I had no talent, no connections, and no money. I had already failed the civil servant exam three times. Five years ago, my mother passed away from illness. My older sister said she would take care of me, went to work at a semiconductor factory, and developed leukemia. ¡®Work hard¡­¡¯ Somehow, the words ¡®no talent¡¯ stung a little more today than usual. Was I lacking in effort, or talent? Or maybe I was lacking in both? Was it my fault that I was living like this, or society¡¯s fault? I laid down on the bed. ¡°The world sure is a bitch.¡± Everything felt like my fault. Because I wasn¡¯t good at studying. Because I couldn¡¯t earn a lot of money. Because I didn¡¯t have rich parents. Because I didn¡¯t put in the effort. Because I didn¡¯t overcome the competition. Because I didn¡¯t have any talent as a Player. I looked at the one photo I had left of my mother on my desk. On her final night, she said to me: ¡°I¡¯m sorry I wanted to be your mother.¡± The mother in the photo was smiling, like she was telling me, the only person left in the family, that everything would be fine. ¡®Don¡¯t worry, mom. I¡¯ll live well. I¡¯m still doing alright.¡¯ It was the night of April 26, 2028. The day drew to a close with an especially humid evening, without knowing that tomorrow, a completely different day would begin. ____ Chapter 2 - Nameless Observer Chapter 2: Nameless Observer April 27, 2028. As usual, I headed to the study room with my book bag in hand. Even if we lived in an era where game concepts like ¡®dungeons¡¯ and ¡®fields¡¯ were the norm and people were running wild with their new careers as ¡®players¡¯, it was all a world completely detached from me. ¡®I should just study hard.¡¯ Earning my keep as a civil servant was perfectly fine for an incredibly ordinary person like me. And to become a civil servant, I had to study. ¡°Ugh, it¡¯s cold.¡± It was 5:20 in the morning. The early morning breeze from a spring not yet touched by summer was especially chilly today. As if they hadn¡¯t expected the cold, the people who had woken up at 5 am fastened their lapels as they strode towards their destination. The study room was located in Jongno, about five bus stops away. Looking at the electronic display, the 702A bus was going to arrive in two minutes. ¡®But something feels off¡­¡¯ It wasn¡¯t like I was deliberately looking at my surroundings, but something felt different from usual. If someone asked me what was wrong, I wouldn¡¯t be able to give an exact answer, but in any case, something was strangely different today. ¡®Come to think of it.¡¯ The bus stop¡¯s billboard was featuring makeup being sold by ¡®Pink Velvet¡¯, an idol group that had enjoyed their heydays in the past. ¡®Did they get back together?¡¯ I wouldn¡¯t know, since I hadn¡¯t been watching TV lately. Of all the idol groups, Pink Velvet was probably old enough to almost be considered ancients from the previous generation. ¡®It¡¯s been ten years, but they look exactly the same.¡¯ Their faces were exactly the same as I remembered them being ten years ago. I had heard the expression that celebrities have ¡®preservative complexions¡¯ many times before, but this made me wonder if they were actually slathering preservatives all over themselves. Their faces hadn¡¯t changed even a little bit. I rummaged through my bag. ¡®Where¡¯s the study sheet¡­ Ah, here it is.¡¯ _____________ Ten years ago. Jongno. The beginning of the Cataclysm. _____________ I read through the notepad in my hand again and again. Modern history was the most important subject in the current civil servant exam, and these notes organized the approximate timeline of the ¡®Ten Years¡¯ History¡¯. The bus arrived. Its doors opened and I climbed up the stairs. [The Tutorial began with the Primordial Fog.] This bus was going to Jongno, the same place that was at the center of the Cataclysm ten years ago. [Out of 150,000 people, around 145,000 died.] While I was focusing on my notes, I started hearing murmurs. ¡°Huh? What¡¯s with the sudden fog?¡± ¡°What?¡± ¡°You can¡¯t see a thing out there.¡± My concentration broke when a bunch of people started making a fuss about something. I looked around, wondering what was going on. ¡®Huh?¡¯ For a moment, I was struck speechless. ¡®What¡­ is this?¡¯ Was it fog? ¡®I can hardly see anything out there.¡¯ It was the first time I had seen fog so thick in downtown Seoul. The Primordial Fog from ten years ago might have been this dense, maybe? ¡®The fog is too thick.¡¯ I really couldn¡¯t see a single inch in front of me. Suddenly, I remembered the notes I just read. _____________ Ten years ago. Jongno. The beginning of the Cataclysm. The Tutorial began with the Primordial Fog. _____________ The bus slowed down considerably since the driver couldn¡¯t see the cars a few meters ahead. The fog was so dense a traffic accident could happen at any time. ¡®A smell¡­?¡¯ I could smell something weird. It was a bit like a sewer, or if someone let a particularly smelly one rip. It was enough to make me nauseous. I wanted to plug my nose, but endured it. ¡®A sewer smell?¡¯ I looked back down at my study sheet. _____________ With a disgusting sewer smell¡ª _____________ Beep¡ª! Beep¡ª! My phone was ringing. An emergency alert had been sent. The contents were approximately: [Seoul Jongno district. Thick fog in the area. High risk of traffic accidents.] I couldn¡¯t peel my eyes away from the study sheet. _____________ ¡ªand the issuing of an emergency alert to the Seoul area¡­ _____________ I instantly came to my senses. I looked at my surroundings again. Jongno. A rotten sewer smell. Thick fog. An emergency text. It felt like I¡¯d seen this all before. Was it from a movie? Or a novel? I was getting goosebumps on my arms. No. It wasn¡¯t from a movie or a novel. It wasn¡¯t, but this was a scene that I was definitely familiar with. ¡®No way.¡¯ My body began to shiver. My thoughts were turning blank. ¡®No. It can¡¯t be.¡¯ I looked back at the study sheet. At the very bottom of the notepad I was holding was information that I had organized. _____________ April 27, 2018. The Cataclysm began with the thick fog that had covered the Jongno/Gwanghwamun districts. _____________ My limbs were shaking. The other people were still saying things like ¡°What¡¯s going on?¡± or ¡°I¡¯ve never seen fog like this before¡± in fascination. But if this was the ¡®Cataclysm¡¯ I knew, it was definitely not something to be sitting around being amazed about. ¡®This¡­ makes no sense.¡¯ I couldn¡¯t believe it. ¡®Am I dreaming?¡¯ There was no other option than to explain it as a dream. I had no idea why the events from the first part of the ¡®Ten Years¡¯ History¡¯ were suddenly happening right before my eyes. It was baffling. Why? How? How come? How could any of this be explained? ¡®Wh-What date¡­ What date is it?¡¯ I needed to sort things out. ¡®My phone. Right, l-let¡¯s look at my phone.¡¯ I glanced at my cell phone, hastily checking the date. ¡®April 27th.¡¯ I couldn¡¯t help but be flabbergasted. ¡°Heuk!¡± I gasped unconsciously. ¡®2018?¡¯ I definitely left my house when it was 2028, and was on my way to Jongno in 2028. I definitely rode the bus. But the date on my cellphone was definitely saying that it was ¡®2018¡¯. Since when did it start saying that? I had no idea. At some point, the phone in my hand changed to the ¡®S8¡¯ phone model that I was using back in 2018. But it wasn¡¯t the time to be thinking about why this was the case. ¡®I¡¯m going to go insane.¡¯ It wasn¡¯t enough to just say that I was going to go insane. I was having one of those so-called mental breakdowns. ¡®I¡¯m really ten years in the past?¡¯ It seemed like the me of ten years ago went onto the Jongno-route bus of ten years ago. I didn¡¯t, no, couldn¡¯t, know why, but that was the conclusion I came to. It was absurd, but that was the conclusion I reached. ¡®This is insane¡­!¡¯ My heart was pounding like crazy. Something unbelievable had happened. I was really going to lose it. I left the house like usual, and walked to the study room like usual. So how could I suddenly be ten years in the past? What kind of crazy situation was this? Faced with such an incomprehensible phenomenon, my head was pounding and throbbing. ¡®If I really went back in time to 2018¡­¡¯ If by some chance, I was going to Jongno on April 27¡­ ¡®Shit¡­!¡¯ If I wasn¡¯t careful, I could die. April 27, 2018: That was the day that marked the beginning of the Cataclysm. 150,000 people died during the first week, the period called the ¡®Open Beta¡¯ or the ¡®Tutorial¡¯. Only 5,000 survived. The survival rate was absolutely brutal. ¡®Proportionally, that¡¯s only 3 percent.¡¯ 97 percent died and 3 percent survived¡ªthat was the Jongno of 2018. I decided to try and calm down for now. ¡®If I don¡¯t get it together, I¡¯ll die.¡¯ I couldn¡¯t die so pathetically. I decided I would think about why all of this had happened to me later. Because if this was the Jongno of 2018, there was a 97 percent chance I would die. When I reached that point in my thoughts, an alert appeared. This was pretty much a confirmation. ¡®Even the alert happened.¡¯ Whatever the reason may be, I had to acknowledge that I had returned to the past. Sitting on the bus seat, I organized my thoughts. My limbs were shaking, but I tried to stay as composed as possible. I knew the future. In fact, I knew it very well, because I had been memorizing the events of the past ten years for the past three years. ¡®You have to calm down. Calm down, Kim Hyukjin.¡¯ Biting my lips hard, I closed my eyes for just a moment. I had to brace myself. As soon as the fog cleared, I would be seeing hell. I would see pools of blood and people being eaten alive by goblins. Many people might have already died. To be honest, I was scared and afraid. ¡®Right. Even so, I have an advantage. I have to believe that. Shit. Shit. Shit.¡¯ I have a huge advantage. I can do it. I can do it. I can survive. I braced myself by repeating this several times. ¡®For now¡­ let¡¯s focus on surviving.¡¯ I can do it. I can survive. If I really did return to the past, I could save my mother who we couldn¡¯t afford treatment for, and my sister wouldn¡¯t have to quit school to work at a factory to pay for my education. My sister, who developed leukemia while working at a semiconductor factory to try and take care of me¡­ This time, I had the chance to be the one helping her. ¡®I just have to do it.¡¯ Although I only ever experienced dungeons in VR, I had read Tutorial strategy guides a thousand times over, and watched Youtube videos on the subject ten thousand times over. There were countless dungeons that emulated the Jongno of ten years ago, and strategy guides showing the contents of those dungeons were widespread all over the market. I was one of the people memorizing all of that information by rote. ¡®I will definitely survive.¡¯ I had to check to be sure, but if I had actually gone into the past, my mother would still be alive, and my sister wouldn¡¯t be working at the semiconductor factory yet. At the very least, I could undo a large number of things that had gone wrong in my life. It could be that this was an opportunity. ¡®I have to live.¡¯ Still sitting, I took a deep breath. I closed my eyes and organized my thoughts on the current situation. What did I have to do to live through this? What did I have to do from here on out? My limbs were shaking, but I made an effort to keep as calm as possible. ¡®I can do this.¡¯ My will to survive was stronger than the shock I was feeling at the occurrence of this improbable situation. ¡®The Primordial Fog. And the 1st wave of goblin attacks.¡¯ How should I get through the goblin attack? My talent diagnosis showed me that it was close to ¡®zero¡¯. What could someone with as little talent to be a Player as I do to survive? ¡®There were definitely people without talent who lived through this before.¡¯ How did they survive? The survival rate was 3 percent. I had to be in that 3 percent. I took another deep breath and sketched out an approximate plan of what I had to do in my head. ¡®The Tutorial. Since I¡¯m inside the bus right now, a conditional safe zone will probably be announced.¡¯ I laid out the actions I was going to take, piece by piece. I was surprised at how good my concentration was. It seemed that my desire to live was stronger than I thought. I was a lot more composed and quick to adapt than I thought I could be. So composed that it was almost unbelievable that I was someone who had an evaluation of [No Talent]. Suddenly, another message appeared. In a very short amount of time, I had planned many things in my mind, detailing ways I could raise my survival rate by even a small amount, but I never considered the following message. [The ¡®Nameless Observer¡¯ is carefully watching your actions.] [The ¡®Nameless Observer¡¯ has begun to take an interest in you.] My thoughts ground to a halt for a split second. ¡®The Nameless Observer¡­?¡¯ A Guardian had started taking interest in me. ¡®But I heard that Guardians put an utmost importance on talent.¡¯ They even had nicknames like ¡®talent leeches¡¯. Didn¡¯t Guardians hunt for talented Players early on so that they could invest in them? They were known for treating talentless people as less than human. So why were they interested in me? That wasn¡¯t the end of the incomprehensible messages. ____ Chapter 3 Max Talent Player Chapter 3: Nameless Observer (2) Ten years ago, the ¡®System¡¯ spread across the world, starting from Korea. This phenomenon breathed new life into our civilization and gave birth to countless celebrities, like the Tutorial Ender ¡®Fist King¡¯ So Yoohyun and the ¡®Flame Lord¡¯ Choi Sung-gu. Behind every famous Player was a ¡®Guardian¡¯. Not much was known about ¡®Guardians¡¯, just that they supported Players or requested something from them. Some Guardians made their Players strong, while others led their players to ruin. Guardians were regarded as beings who ¡®observed¡¯ our Playing. ¡®I¡¯ve never heard of the ¡®Nameless Observer.¡¯ I didn¡¯t know a thing about the Nameless Observer. It seemed he was a Guardian who revealed himself at the beginning of the Playing. Considering that he wasn¡¯t famous, the ¡®nameless¡¯ moniker suited him well. [The ¡®Nameless Observer¡¯ wishes to bestow upon you an ¡®Open Beta Bonus¡¯.] [You have received an ¡®Open Beta Bonus¡¯.] ¡®Suddenly?¡¯ I didn¡¯t even do anything, but I was given a bonus. Usually, you had to do something to a Guardian¡¯s liking in order to receive such a thing. ¡®Whatever. For now, it must be a good thing.¡¯ It was known that the world¡¯s countless rankers received the ¡®Open Beta Bonus¡¯. You could call it a sort of extra boon for the advance party that began first. ¡®A 3 percent chance. This is a gift for surviving those odds.¡¯ It was easier to think about it that way. Regardless of the reasoning as to why this Guardian was eyeing a talentless Player like myself, there was no downside to it. [Due to the Open Beta Advantage, you have received ¡®Calm Observer¡¯s Eye¡¯.] [¡®Calm Observer¡¯s Eye¡¯ has taken effect.] My wildly thumping heart began to settle down. ¡®Huh¡­?¡¯ My chest felt as hot as ever, but it felt like my head was cooling down, and much of my fear was subsiding. ¡®What a strange feeling.¡¯ It felt like I was standing at the eye of a fierce battlefield. ¡®This is the power of the system.¡¯ I was scared, but also excited. Everything around me felt muted. Even though my surroundings were ringing with cries like ¡®What¡¯s going on?¡¯, it felt like those noises were getting naturally filtered away. ¡®Calm Observer¡¯s Eye, huh.¡¯ That was a befitting title. It almost felt like I was watching over the situation with a third-person view. [The Tutorial is beginning.] [Conditional Safe Zones will be announced.] ¡®It¡¯s really starting.¡¯ In the end, I heard a notice that the ¡®Tutorial¡¯ was starting. [10] The bus was stuck in place, perhaps because an accident had occurred. ¡°To all passengers, I apologize. There is no way I can drive in this situation. I will open the door, so if anyone is willing to walk, please do so.¡± This level of fog could be regarded as a natural disaster. The cars were completely unable to budge. ¡°Shit! What a way to start the day!¡± Two men wearing aviator-style glasses walked towards the exit. It seemed they hadn¡¯t received the ¡®Tutorial Notice¡¯, which meant they hadn¡¯t been selected as Players. The timer counted down. I couldn¡¯t just do nothing. I knew all too well what was about to happen. I jumped up and yelled at the two men. ¡°Don¡¯t move!¡± And then, I shouted at the bus driver, ¡°Close the door right now!¡± ¡°W-What?¡± ¡°Close it right now!¡± Startled by the strength of my demand, the driver reflexively closed the door. Although I felt a little sorry for the driver, ten seconds was not enough time to explain everything. I then directed a loud voice to the eight or so people on the bus. ¡°Don¡¯t speak, don¡¯t move, don¡¯t even keep your eyes open. Just remain still.¡± I spoke quickly, unsure if my words would have any effect. To them, I probably looked like a psycho, but I decided to give it my best. ¡°From now on, something unbelievable will happen. Everyone here could die. So please do your best to survive. First of all, staying still is your ticket to survival.¡± That was the best I could do. There was no more time. I couldn¡¯t risk causing a panic. I had done everything I could. The clock ticked on. The events I had only seen in history books and textbooks unfolded before my eyes. [The Tutorial Quest is beginning.] [ The ¡®Intermediate Administrator¡¯ is appearing.] The space near the driver¡¯s seat in the bus began to distort, and something took form from within. ¡®The Intermediate Administrator.¡¯ That was their official name, but the name most commonly used to describe them was ¡®Streamer¡¯, beings that acted as intermediaries between the ¡®Guardians¡¯ observing us and the ¡®Players¡¯. The crowd¡¯s first reaction was to be unsettled by the human-like shape coming from the distortion, and their second was to be astonished by that being¡¯s incredible beauty. ¡®Because most female Streamers are beautiful.¡¯ The Streamer who appeared before us could be said to be so beautiful that she could contend for the top position among other Streamers. With her unnaturally silky silver hair and porcelain white skin, she transcended beauty into pure nobility, and the pair of white wings behind her back almost made her look like a real angel. ¡®She really is extremely beautiful.¡¯ I wasn¡¯t that drawn in. However, one guy on the bus was unable to take his eyes off her, his expression screaming that he had never seen such a beautiful woman in his life. ¡°Wow¡­¡± I saw him swallow his drool. ¡®There¡¯s more to them than their beautiful appearance.¡¯ I didn¡¯t know about this Streamer, but Streamers never stayed friendly to Players forever. They were obsessed with how they could connect Players and Guardians and how they could earn more ¡®COIN¡¯. Not all of them were that way, but most of them were. The woman began to speak. ¡°My name is Senia. Everyone here will be participating in the Tutorial Quest.¡± [Survive the Tutorial Field for seven days.] [You cannot leave the Tutorial Field.] [Subsequent difficulty will be determined by the number of survivors.] Senia. A Streamer of such beauty should be memorable, but I had no recollection of her. I guessed she was one of the Streamers from very, very early on in the Tutorial. After all, I knew the famous Streamers in the future. ¡°W-What? Do you know what¡¯s going on? Could it be that you¡¯re filming a movie here?¡± ¡°¡­¡± Senia stared at the man who initiated a conversation with her, her expression utterly unchanged. ¡°All you must do is use your abilities to the utmost to survive.¡± ¡°And what¡¯s that supposed to mean?!¡± It would be best if he behaved himself. Our level was a pathetic 1, definitely not a position where one could be careless with a Streamer. Thankfully, this Streamer didn¡¯t seem violent. If he¡¯d been unlucky, that man would have been a corpse by now. Entries like [An Intermediate Administrator who introduced themselves as ¡®Leitra¡¯ cut anyone who asked them a question in half, saying ¡®I don¡¯t recall permitting questions?¡¯] showed up frequently in people¡¯s narratives later. Personally, I wasn¡¯t very interested in Streamers, despite their otherworldly appearance. I didn¡¯t trust Streamers on a fundamental level, and that was because most of them only thought of us as their method of income. ¡®Most of all¡­¡¯ I wanted to live. I peered through the window, finding everything still blanketed by thick fog. ¡®The Primordial Fog.¡¯ This fog muffled sounds. According to the ¡®Fist King¡¯ So Yoohyun, the Tutorial Ender and later someone who became world-famous as a ranker, the fog inhibited sounds and simultaneously made you lose your sense of direction. ¡®A trap that commonly appears in many other dungeons.¡¯ Before the great explorer ¡®Jackson¡¯ identified a method of dispelling this fog, the ¡®Primordial Fog¡¯ was one of the most annoying traps. ¡®Such thing appeared in a tutorial¡­¡¯ It was different from what we typically associated as a tutorial. The purpose of a tutorial was to help adjust a new player to a game. In essence, it was there to help. However, the real-life Tutorial was different. Ten years later, people believed that the true essence of the ¡®Tutorial¡¯ was this: ¡®An opening act shown to the Guardians.¡¯ This place, Jongno¡¯s Tutorial Field, was the opening act shown to the higher beings reducing mankind to players inside a game so they could watch ¡®from above¡¯, the ¡®Guardians¡¯ that absolutely needed to be struck down one day. Suddenly, a man next to me screamed. He must have seen something outside the window. ¡°H-H-Holy shit!¡± My eyes opened, and I bit my lips. ¡®It has begun.¡¯ I could easily figure out why the man screamed. The windshield at the front of the bus was painted with a few lines of fresh red streaks. That was blood. Something covered in blood had crashed onto the windshield before falling to the ground. ¡°H-Heok¡­!¡± ¡°W-What¡¯s going on?¡± ¡°W-What was that just now? That¡¯s blood, isn¡¯t it?!¡± In the meantime, Streamer Senia had disappeared. It seemed she was hustling from place to place around the Tutorial Field, striving to draw the attention of the Guardians. I also hadn¡¯t seen what hit the windshield. It could¡¯ve been a severed arm or leg, or even a head. ¡®Even after I told them to remain still.¡¯ But I understood that it was easier said than done. Who in their right mind would be able to stay calm if someone¡¯s cut-up corpse flew over and struck the windshield of the bus they were in? They might have heard my warning to ¡®stay still¡¯, but how could they possibly adhere to that? ¡®Stay calm.¡¯ The notification appeared as my heart became a little calmer. Due to the Open Beta Bonus, I was able to keep my cool. I continued to sketch out the situation in my head. ¡®The enemies that are coming now are goblins.¡¯ The first monster to appear was the ¡®goblin¡¯, a small green humanoid monster. They were only 80-100 cm in size, but they were far stronger than an average male adult and more agile. Their distinctive features were their pointy ears and long tongues. ¡®Monsters with sickening hobbies.¡¯ They had a sickening taste for dismembering humans. They were probably enjoying that hobby to their utmost outside, slaughtering the weak humans coming face to face with monsters for the first time. [The Goblin Legion is starting to get excited.] [The 1st wave of goblin attacks is beginning.] [The Goblin Legion has begun to invade Jongno.] Thump! Thump! Thump! I could hear them. It was very faint, but my ears were even able to pick up a peculiar kind of laughter that went kikik, kikikik, kikik! I was very familiar with that sound¡ªI had heard it often on Youtube. ¡®Goblin sounds.¡¯ The thumping noises were probably from them clambering onto cars and stomping on them. Another notification popped up. Following the start of the Tutorial, even more information flooded into my head. Things like how to use the ¡®Status Window¡¯ to check my stats and how to open my inventory slotted into place in my head like they belonged there. I opened up my Status Window as naturally as a person who had been Playing for a long time. Strangely enough, everything was too easy, like I was someone who already knew how to do this. ¡®Status Window.¡¯ All I could do as of now was to find out exactly about myself. I had to use this precious time wisely. I opened up my Status Window. There, something unbelievable was on display. ____ ____ Chapter 4 Max Talent Player Chapter 4: The Lion King¡¯s Proposal I closed my eyes, concentrating on the hologram window that only I could see. Even with my eyes closed, I could clearly see the window. I looked at it again with my full attention, but the Status Window was as unbelievable as ever. [Status Window] Name: Kim Hyukjin (Player) Level: 1 Title: ¨C Strength: 10 Intelligence: 12 Agility: 11 Perception: 11 Constitution: 10 Willpower: 13 (+30) ¡®These are my stats?¡¯ They were higher than expected. ¡®What¡¯s going on?¡¯ No, they were way too high. ¡®Why¡¯re they so high?¡¯ Those numbers didn¡¯t make any sense. ¡®Fist King So Yoohyun¡¯s stats at the time of the tutorial were somewhere around an average of 9.¡¯ The strongest Player in the world¡¯s starting stats were around 9, but my stats were obviously around 11. So what did that mean? Even the lowest stats, Strength and Constitution, were set at a whopping 10, higher than the average of the Tutorial Ender, the Fist King. ¡®And my Willpower is 43¡­?¡¯ Considering that ¡®(+30)¡¯ was tagged on, I guessed that this was the temporarily increased value from ¡®Calm Observer¡¯s Eye¡¯. It wasn¡¯t the sort of value a level 1 Player should have, something you should never even have the chance to see during the Tutorial. Even without the ¡®Calm Observer¡¯s Eye¡¯ buff, a starting Willpower stat of 13 was incredibly high. ¡®My Intelligence was this high?¡¯ The higher your starting stats, the more advantageous it was in the System. In essence, that was the domain of Intelligence. Level ups were the domain of manual labor and effort, but the growth that came with each level up was the domain of Intelligence and Perception. ¡®I really don¡¯t get it.¡¯ It was just yesterday that I received a ¡®No Talent¡¯ evaluation. [No Talent.] It was clearly written on the paper. ¡®Did something change when I returned to the past?¡¯ I didn¡¯t know. It was still hard to say. For now, I knew that my starting stats were higher than the Fist King¡¯s, which meant my chances of surviving had dramatically increased. ¡®Taking into consideration the fact that each point of starting stats makes a big difference¡­ I¡¯m in a really advantageous position.¡¯ Just then¡ª Thump! Thump! The inside of the bus began to shake. I didn¡¯t open my eyes. ¡®They¡¯ve got clubs.¡¯ The bus was a conditional Safe Zone. As long as we didn¡¯t excite the goblins, it would be safe. For now. I heard the voices of the men. ¡°H-Holy shit¡­!¡± ¡°The hell is that?¡± How many of the eight people here could survive? I cracked open my eyes, taking a very small, very faint look. ¡®One person?¡¯ Or maybe two? ¡®It could even¡­ be none.¡¯ Through the windows of the bus, I could see green monsters jumping outside. The goblins were only about one meter tall, but they could leap over two meters in the air. They battered the windows with their clubs, and the glass began to crack. ¡®Stay calm.¡¯ Maybe thanks to ¡®Calm Observer¡¯s Eye¡¯, I was able to examine the situation far more calmly than expected. Crack! The window finally shattered. Soon, the goblins would stream in. I quietly glanced at my watch. ¡®The bus earned us five minutes.¡¯ This time was the reason I didn¡¯t let the bus driver open the door. Just five minutes. I thought it would be good if I had just five minutes more. ¡°F-F-Fuck off, you monsters!¡± ¡°Uwahhh!¡± I closed my eyes again. ¡®I guess staying still isn¡¯t something you can do by just being told.¡¯ It was simple if you imagined that a one-meter cockroach was walking around in front of you. The goblin right there was far bigger than one meter and was even armed, and it was a creature that relished killing. Anyone who didn¡¯t freak out just because they were told to stay still was out of the norm. I squeezed my eyes shut and bit my lips. ¡®It would be better not to look.¡¯ My starting stats might be high, but I wasn¡¯t strong enough to face a goblin swarm. I could picture the situation without seeing it. The guys had probably already perished to the crude hands of the goblins. It was possible they had been ripped to pieces. A disgusting smell wafted over me. It was the goblins¡¯ body odor. I heard footsteps, and the voices of the monsters. Kikik! Kikikikik! Kikikik! I also heard the screams of the woman in the rearmost seat, an ear-splitting cry. ¡°H-Help! Help! Kyaaak!¡± Something splattered onto me. Something hot ran down my cheek. I had the feeling that the liquid was red. ¡®This is¡­ blood.¡¯ It seemed one of the goblins even had a sword, evidenced by the sharp sound of flesh being sliced. That bloody, wet sound was so revolting I never wanted to hear it again. Even with the assistance of Calm Observer¡¯s Eye, it was so terrible that I struggled to hold on. My limbs were trembling, but I stayed as calm as possible. If I crumbled or panicked here, I would die just like the others. I recalled the picture of my mom, the one who had consoled me yesterday. Don¡¯t worry. I¡¯ll live well. I¡¯ll do my best. That¡¯s what I resolved to do last night. ¡®I want to live.¡¯ Kiik? The sound came from right next to my ear. The goblins came close to me, the sole survivor. Something cold touched my shoulder. ¡®Might be a palm¡­¡¯ It felt like one, a small palm. The palm of a green-skinned monster touched my shoulder. Fascinated by me, the creature pressed its nose on my cheek and sniffed. The rank breath of the goblin clambering on my body was truly disgusting. I supposed my nausea. ¡®Dammit.¡¯ Not a single scream could be heard. Everyone here had probably died. I didn¡¯t have the strength to protect them, and they didn¡¯t have the strength to protect themselves. ¡®This is terrible.¡¯ They began to grope my body. One of them licked my shin with its long tongue. I could feel my pants eroding a little because of its acidic saliva. Some even poked my cheeks with claws that must be incredibly dirty, as if playing with a toy. ¡®I only need to hold out for five more minutes.¡¯ A total of ten minutes. I needed to hold out without making a sound for just ten minutes. After that, I would be in the clear for a moment. That was a fact well-documented in Fist King So Yoohyun¡¯s memoir and a strategy I had seen many times on Youtube. Each and every second felt so very long. The goblins using me as a jungle gym felt like giant cockroaches crawling on my body. After what felt like an eternity, I heard another notice. * * * * * * [The ¡®Courageous Lion King¡¯ has begun to take an interest in you.] [The ¡®Courageous Lion King¡¯ wishes to give you a chance.] Yet another Guardian had become interested in me, which now made a whopping two Guardians. One was the ¡®Nameless Observer¡¯, and the other was the ¡®Courageous Lion King¡¯. The ¡®Courageous Lion King¡¯ was also a Guardian I already knew. [The ¡®Courageous Lion King¡¯ wishes to bestow you an Open Beta Advantage.] [The ¡®Courageous Lion King¡¯ has gifted you ¡®High Strength Elixir¡¯.] [The ¡®Courageous Lion King¡¯ looks forward to your ¡®courage¡¯.] I wasn¡¯t happy about it. ¡®The Courageous Lion King.¡¯ The notoriety of this Guardian was particularly high, even among the many Guardians. The ¡®Courageous Lion King¡¯ was very famous as a Guardian that imposed reckless courage, challenge-seeking, and useless zeal on Players, whether that meant Players died or not. He was a wicked Guardian who cared not a whit for the pain of a Player in a dangerous situation. The only thing that mattered to him was that Players had ¡®courage¡¯ and ¡®challenged¡¯ hardship head-on. It didn¡¯t matter to him if that challenge resulted in death¡ªHe was a perverted bastard who simply enjoyed the process. ¡®If I were to act courageously here¡­¡¯ I would be eaten alive by the goblin swarm surrounding me. In order to survive, I had to clearly differentiate when to be brave and when not to be, and right now, it was the latter. ¡®You dirty goblin bastards.¡¯ I upped my concentration. While these goblins were crawling over my body, running their dirty tongues over me and prodding me all over with their dirty fingers, I had to focus on something else, or I would go insane. ¡®Focus.¡¯ Kikik! Kikik! Kiiik? One of the goblins licked my ear. At that moment, my focus cracked. I felt every hair on my body stand on end. My ear stung immensely from the acid in their saliva. It felt like my ear was melting. ¡®Argh¡­!¡¯ [The gifted ¡®High Strength Elixir¡¯ has arrived.] [For the duration of the Tutorial, gifted items will be automatically sent to your Inventory.] [Would you like to access your Inventory?] I bit down hard on my lower lip in order to keep myself from making a sound. Any movement or sound would be fatal right now. The moment I moved or made a sound, the conditional Safe Zone would shatter, and I would meet the same fate as the eight other people on this bus. I knew exactly how to access my Inventory. ¡®Inventory.¡¯ You just had to think it in your head. My eyes were closed, but the Inventory hologram was clearly displayed before me. It wasn¡¯t something you saw with the physical eye, but a perception fed to the brain to make it appear as if you were looking at it with your eyes. [High Strength Elixir] The Courageous Lion King¡¯s gift. An Open Beta Bonus, it will take effect for ten minutes. Temporarily increases Strength by 6. ¡®Plus 6?¡¯ You gained 2 bonus stats with each level up. I heard you could gain more bonus stats by satisfying special conditions, but in any case, the base number you got was two. ¡®If I use this¡­¡¯ I made the mental calculation. ¡®It¡¯d be like leveling up three times.¡¯ My current level was 1. If my Strength was increased by 6, it would be like me being level 4 after only raising my Strength stat with every level. ¡®My starting stats are way higher than normal Players.¡¯ Players of the highest level averaged around 9 for starting stats, and I had an even higher average. With that in mind, while I was under the effect of this potion, I figured I would be something like a level 5 or 6 Player. ¡®Goblins can normally be hunted at around level 6.¡¯ The ¡®Courageous Lion King¡¯ most likely gifted me the ¡®High Strength Elixir¡¯ after taking this into consideration. It might have been that he wanted to see the flailing of a pathetic level 1 Player, a struggle that lasted ten minutes. ¡®You perverted bastard.¡¯ I really didn¡¯t like the Courageous Lion King. However, there was another item in my Inventory, one of the items distributed to all Players at random, aka a starter item. [Rusted Iron Sword] An iron sword covered in rust. You shouldn¡¯t expect much killing power from it. Attack Power: 2~5 It was an extremely shabby item, but it was still much better than nothing. If I used the High Strength Elixir and the Rusted Iron Sword, I might be able to hunt goblins. But as I had repeatedly emphasized, this wasn¡¯t the time to fight. I could not hunt the goblin swarms on my own. ¡®If I wait a little longer, the goblin¡¯s attack will stop for a moment.¡¯ I didn¡¯t know exactly how long, but it was probably something like two or three minutes longer. Afterwards, the goblins would disappear. If the Fist King So Yoohyun¡¯s records were correct, at least. As if to prod me onwards, I heard another notice. I did my best to ignore the notice. It was true that catching the eye of a Guardian was a favorable thing for a Player. But you couldn¡¯t survive if you always acted according to the desires of a Guardian. That much was an established fact. Taking what should be taken and refusing what should be refused was the right call. When I stayed motionless, my eyes still closed, another notice rang in my ear. That was the moment where things began to derail. That moment. Various thoughts whirled in my head. The disposition of the Courage Lion King. The nature of the Tutorial Field. The potential trades a Guardian could request from an Intermediate Administrator. Like a puzzle coming together, all the pieces connected one by one in the head of me, Kim Hyukjin. ¡®Piecing everything together¡­¡¯ I knew what kind of picture the Courageous Lion King wanted to see. ____ ____ Chapter 5 Max Talent Player Chapter 5: The Lion King¡¯s Proposal (2) The space distorted, and a female Streamer, Senia, appeared from within. She was a terribly beautiful Streamer, but she didn¡¯t look beautiful at all to me. ¡°The Tutorial Field will be altered according to the suggestion of the Courageous Lion King.¡± ¡°¡­¡± These kinds of events happened sometimes. A Guardian could use their special authority to make slight alterations. I knew what the Lion King would propose. ¡®I hoped this wouldn¡¯t happen.¡¯ I bit my lip a little. ¡®He will definitely try to induce me to fight.¡¯ I was sure of it. ¡®The best method at his disposal is to destroy the conditional Safe Zone.¡¯ Guardians were limited in how they could engage with Players. They could do things like support a Player or sponsor them with COIN, but there were many restrictions on direct interference with Playing. But this was still within their limits. They could still ask an Intermediate Administrator to destroy a conditional Safe Zone. ¡°The trade has been concluded. According to the request of the Courageous Lion King, the conditional Safe Zone will be abolished in thirty seconds.¡± She unblinkingly spoke such words with complete indifference, despite knowing all too well that I could not handle a goblin swarm with my current strength. ¡®I know you¡¯re aware of that fact and more. I know about this world very well.¡¯ It was possible that I knew more about the world than Senia. The Kim Hyukjin who became a Playing nerd over the three years of test prep was not to be underestimated. I said, ¡°If a Guardian forcefully alters the scenario, shouldn¡¯t there be a corresponding reward for the Player?¡± ¡°¡­¡± Senia simply stared at me with her emotionless face. I couldn¡¯t read her expression, but it looked like she was saying that the complaints of a level 1 insect mattered not a whit to her. She also wasn¡¯t very ruffled by my talking down on her. ¡°The Laws cannot be ignored, especially if it is related to my life or death. You cannot ignore the Commandments.¡± I heard a notice. [The ¡®Nameless Observer¡¯ expresses their surprise.] [The ¡®Courageous Lion King¡¯ is silent.] ¡°Did you just say Commandments?¡± ¡°That¡¯s right. Commandments.¡± In this System, there were rules, aka Commandments, that pervaded the entirety of the System. ¡°How do you know about the Commandments?¡± ¡°Is that important?¡± How could that be important when I was at the fork between life and death? ¡°I¡¯m sure you know that a Player doesn¡¯t have to concretely explain their Playing methods, right?¡± ¡°¡­¡± Senia didn¡¯t say anything. Streamers were generally talkative, but this one seemed a little different. ¡®The reason why such a beautiful person didn¡¯t become well-known¡­ must be linked to that frustratingly tight-lipped nature.¡¯ I glanced at the time. Ten seconds had already passed. ¡°I¡¯ve lost out on Safe Zone time talking to you, the Intermediate Administrator. My reward?¡± ¡°In accordance with the Commandments, I will increase the Safe Zone time. The Safe Zone will remain in effect for ten seconds after your conversation with me ends.¡± That was excellent. That was exactly what I wanted. The 1st wave of goblin attacks would end very soon. I only had to hold out for a little longer. The Courageous Lion King tried to start some nonsense, but it didn¡¯t matter¡ªthe time was passing all the same. I spoke again, ¡°This is a scenario alteration linked to my life or death. I think an appropriate reward is in order. Am I wrong?¡± ¡°¡­¡± ¡°Let me ask again. Am I wrong?¡± ¡°¡­¡± I guessed she was rather flustered. A level 1 piece of trash was speaking to a Streamer with such impoliteness, yet there was no justification for punishment. That was because my argument was related to the ¡®Laws¡¯, or ¡®Commandments¡¯ that were only discovered seven years in the future. ¡®She might be happy right now.¡¯ My actions right now were definitely eye-catching and likely to draw the interest of many Guardians, so it could very well be that this Streamer was inwardly delighted by my actions. ¡°¡­¡± After a short moment, she said, ¡°Player Kim Hyukjin. Your words are correct.¡± As she said that, an item was sent into my Inventory. [Quality Lubricant] Good quality lubrication oil. It can sharpen the blade of an item with an edge, or be applied on a part that requires lubrication. It is characterized by its tremendous slickness. ¡®The scenario alteration reward is only this?¡¯ My face twisted into a slight frown. It seemed a bit weak for a reward. Still, a reward was a reward, and I had dragged out the time for as long as possible while talking to the Streamer, the Intermediate Administrator. That was a very valid way to think about it. ¡®Lion King. You idiot.¡¯ The Lion King actually ended up helping me. Thanks to him, I was able to drag out plenty of time, and do it safely. I¡¯m sure nobody expected a level 1 Player to bring up the ¡®Commandments¡¯ in a little trick to drag out the time. Of course, that applied to me as well. Such a method only occurred to me on the fly. [The 1st wave of goblin attacks is over.] [The ¡®Courageous Lion King¡¯ is deeply disappointed.] I secretly breathed a sigh of relief. ¡®I survived the 1st wave.¡¯ I couldn¡¯t be sure, but the damned Courageous Lion King was probably scratching his ass like a dog with hemorrhoids. Why? Because the goblins were going to disappear now from this field. Kikik? Kikik! Kiiik! The goblins began to move. They had come like the rising tide, and now, they were disappearing like receding waters. ¡®This is my chance.¡¯ I jumped to my feet. The Streamer Senia leveled her gaze on my every movement, neither helping nor interfering. Seeing as she hadn¡¯t yet disappeared, it seemed she had a certain degree of interest in me. I headed for the bus exit. ¡®Urgh¡­¡¯ A gruesome hell was laid out before me. There was hardly an intact body to be found. Up until a few moments ago, it was the inside of an all-too-ordinary bus commonly seen on the morning commute, but now, seven corpses were scattered about, some ripped to pieces and some missing parts. ¡®Eughh.¡¯ Bile rose in my throat. It was terrible. I didn¡¯t want to look anymore. It felt like the splayed out man, whose arm was caught on the seat, was staring at me with his open, glassy eyes, like he would rise in the next moment and chase me. ¡®Come to your senses.¡¯ I had to keep it together. This was the Tutorial Field, a place with an official survival rate of just 3 percent. ¡®I have to hold out for one week.¡¯ One week¡ªthat was how long I had to endure. I had ridden this bus day after day for three years and frequently went through this area. At the very least, I knew exactly where the streetside convenience stores were. ¡®The fog¡¯s grown thicker.¡¯ After pushing open the bus door, I descended. The disgusting sewer smell together with the intense reek of blood crashed into me. I was actually glad the fog was there. If I had seen this place in the bright light of day with a clear line of sight, I might have gone insane. ¡®First of all, I need water and food.¡¯ It was nearly impossible to survive without drinking for seven days. The convenience store was my first destination. I had a total of ten minutes. ¡®Let¡¯s go.¡¯ Oddly enough, I moved as naturally as a person who had Played before, like someone who had done this many times. Even up until that point, I hadn¡¯t really realized how high my Intelligence was. * * * * * * My surroundings looked very hazy. I saw cars amidst the metallic bloody stench, and bodies made into a mess of bright red blood were scattered along the pathway. From the midst of that devastation came the voices of survivors. Inside the fog, eyesight and hearing were greatly inhibited. ¡®Considering we¡¯re in the fog¡­ quite a few people survived the 1st wave of goblin attacks.¡¯ I started running towards the convenience store. They said your sense of direction would pretty much disappear in this fog, and that seemed about right. I glanced back at the blue bus; After just a few steps, it was barely visible. I ran with the bus at my back. ¡®This is the right way.¡¯ If I went this way, there would be a convenience store not far from here. I ran forward, relying on my senses. A distance that had to be less than 300 meters felt so inexplicably long. I found out for the first time that I valued ¡®life¡¯ so fiercely. But as I ran, my foot hit something, most likely a person. ¡®Is it another body?¡¯ But no, it wasn¡¯t a body. Under my foot¡­ lay a person who was not yet a corpse. A sobbing voice sounded in my ears. ¡°H-Help me. Please. Please save me.¡± It was a young girl in her early teens. Paralyzed with fear, the child was laying on the ground covering her head, trembling. She raised her head and stared at me with the gaze of a child looking at an adult, a gaze yearning for help. I suddenly heard the sound of something being sliced. At that moment, I could only flinch in alarm. ¡®There¡¯s a goblin here?¡¯ I hadn¡¯t seen it because of the fog, but there was still a goblin here. ¡®Even though the 1st wave of the goblin attacks is over?¡¯ According to countless records and VR dungeon simulations, the goblins should be completely gone. That was the established theory, and none of the many guides described anything like this. In other words, this goblin was a ¡®variable¡¯. Kikik. Kikikik! It was about fifty centimetres tall. ¡®It¡¯s not an adult?¡¯ It wasn¡¯t an adult goblin, but a young one. Even so, it apparently knew a measure of the disgusting goblin tastes, because it was hard at work slicing the girl¡¯s ankles with the dagger in its hand. Slice, slice¡ªcame the gruesome sound. Faced with such a situation, I struggled to make a choice. ¡®Do I run?¡¯ To run, or not to run? To run, or not to run? ¡®I do think I can defeat a baby goblin, at least.¡¯ It varied per person, but the universal recommended level for hunting a goblin was around 5. The one in front of me wasn¡¯t a real goblin, but a baby one. For me, with the starting stats of a top-level Player, a baby goblin should be manageable, at least if I were given a little time. I heard the sobbing voice again. ¡°Heuk heuk. Please, help me, help me. Please, please, save me. I wanna see my mommy.¡± I bit my lips. It was possible I might lose my sense of direction completely if I stopped to help this girl. That meant I could be exposed to the 2nd wave with no defenses. ¡°P-Please. Save me.¡± While I was in the middle of struggling to decide what to do, I suddenly realized one strange point. ¡®Come to think of it¡­¡¯ Goosebumps rose on my arms. ¡®I don¡¯t see any blood. At all.¡¯ This girl¡­ wasn¡¯t even screaming in pain. She wasn¡¯t screaming in pain, just crying out in shock. It might be a baby goblin, but there was still a dagger in its hands. It was using the blade to hack away at this schoolgirl¡¯s ankles. It seemed the baby goblin was completely absorbed with the task of cutting the girl¡¯s ankles. ¡®She hasn¡¯t taken any damage.¡¯ Had this schoolgirl also received an Open Beta Bonus? She might have received something that could protect her body. ¡®But even if that¡¯s the case¡­ How could a girl this young have¡­?¡¯ At best, she was a middle school student. It was known that ¡®talent plates¡¯ typically opened up the most from one¡¯s late teens to early 20s, meaning this girl in her early teens hadn¡¯t even properly opened up yet. ¡®She¡¯s blocking that dagger without any armor, with just the abilities of her bare body.¡¯ That would be impossible, even for the Fist King So Yoohyun at level 1. This girl didn¡¯t even know about her own condition right now. She merely felt a sharp sensation at her ankles with some slicing noises. In her state of panic, she didn¡¯t even realize that she was still perfectly fine. ¡®Is this¡­ the talent I¡¯ve only heard about?¡¯ What would happen if she were given a chance to really grow? And if he could make her an ally? Or even if he could just make her indebted to him for saving her life? ¡®In the worst case scenario, she could¡­¡¯ There probably wouldn¡¯t be many opportunities like that, but this girl¡¯s ¡®resilience¡¯ could be a huge help to me in the worst case scenario. She was orders of magnitude different from a guy like me who had received a ¡®No Talent¡¯ evaluation because I had no talent plates. ¡®There¡¯s no time.¡¯ The 2nd wave of attacks would soon begin. Having followed me, Senia said, ¡°Even though it is a baby goblin, it would be very difficult for someone with level 1 abilities to defeat.¡¯ Senia had apparently recognized me as ¡®good quality content¡¯. It seemed she had at least judged that it would be a waste to let me die here. I had to make a decision. ¡®I will¡­!¡¯ ____ ____ Chapter 6 Max Talent Player Chapter 6: Level 8 in Practice I knew the strategies for clearing the Tutorial very well. No, not just the Tutorial, but all the events that would happen afterwards. After all, that was what I had memorized by rote for three years. ¡®I know about this field better than anyone.¡¯ I didn¡¯t have the time, the leisure, or the money. Although hobbies were a luxury for me, I still had one. There was just one thing I had enjoyed, and that was sitting in front of the 10-year-old computer in my half-basement room and watching Youtube videos with the resolution fully turned down. ¡®When it comes to the theory, I¡¯m way more knowledgeable than most Players.¡¯ I had no talent. That was the evaluation I received. In a world of Players where talent was valued over all else, ¡®No Talent¡¯ meant you couldn¡¯t rise to the top on effort alone. The talentless me simply browsed Youtube dungeon strategy videos several times over, dreaming of a reality that couldn¡¯t be. [Even though it is a baby goblin, it would be very difficult for someone with level 1 abilities to defeat it.] Those words were meaningless to me. Fighting it head on would be difficult, but I knew its weakness. ¡®A goblin¡¯s weakness.¡¯ As expected of a low-rank monster, goblins had one weakness that could be easily exploited. Kikik! Kikikikik! The baby goblin was still focusing on cutting the young girl¡¯s ankles. ¡®The back of the neck.¡¯ I breathed out. ¡®The center of the back of the neck.¡¯ In the center, there was a large black dot. That was a fatal weak point where a good hit could cause instant death to the goblin. Actually, as long as you knew its weakness, a goblin was an easy monster to conquer. It was just that they tended to move in swarms, the numbers being problematic. ¡®Inventory.¡¯ For a moment, it seemed as if a faint light was coming from my hand, and then an item appeared in my grip. To me, it wasn¡¯t that shocking a sight. I stealthily walked to the back of the baby goblin. ¡®I¡¯ll pierce it.¡¯ I was someone who had struggled to kill a single big cockroach before this. I bit my lips hard. I had to completely resolve myself. ¡®Die!¡¯ Holding the Rusted Iron Sword, I plunged the blade into the back of the baby goblin¡¯s neck. Squelch! From the tip of the blade, to the hilt of the sword, to my hand, I felt the chilling sensation of piercing through flesh. ¡®I-I did it.¡¯ I killed it in one blow. Splurt! Blood splattered, and a part of it landed on my clothes, but I paid it no heed. I didn¡¯t have the time for that. [You have killed a baby goblin.] [EXP acquired.] It wasn¡¯t visible to the eye, but I was able to confirm that I had received EXP. It was a feeling that automatically appeared in my head. A third of the EXP bar filled up. ¡®I really killed it.¡¯ And in one blow. Yes, it was only a baby goblin, and yes, I knew the strategy, but that I was able to kill it in one blow could only be described as having good luck. ¡®I was lucky.¡¯ It was really not easy for a total beginner, no matter how high their starting stats, to kill a monster in one hit. ¡®Wait¡­ Was it really lucky?¡¯ I couldn¡¯t be sure. Such a situation could only be described as lucky, but¡­ ¡®Why is it so easy?¡¯ Somehow, it was too easy. It was a little iffy to say it boiled down ¡®being lucky¡¯. My hand went through the motions as if familiar with them, like I had been Playing since long ago. It seemed this situation was unexpected for Streamer Senia as well. Her mouth moved almost imperceptibly, and she spoke in a low voice. She was probably narrating the scene to the Guardians. [A level 1 Player has killed a baby goblin with just one attack.] She was speaking calmly, but the tips of Senia¡¯s wings were trembling. It was one of the characteristics of angel Streamers. Whenever there was a disturbance in their emotions, the tips of their wings would tremble. I decided to handle the important matters in front of me first. ¡°Get up.¡± The girl¡¯s eyes lacked focus. ¡°Get a hold of yourself. If you lose track of me, I¡¯ll leave you behind.¡± Those words must have had an effect, because the teenager snapped to her senses. ¡°I-I¡¯m coming.¡± I walked ahead of her. There wasn¡¯t much time. Not long from now, the 2nd wave of attacks would begin. * * * * * * I entered the convenience store. Glancing behind me, I saw that the girl was trailing closely in a half-conscious state. I closed the door. Senia was standing amidst the goblin swarm, looking noble as she stood there all alone while describing the scenery around her. Perhaps she had set me as her main target, because she didn¡¯t stray far from me. ¡°No matter what happens from now on, don¡¯t open this door.¡± ¡°¡­¡± ¡°Understood?¡± I understood the girl had been in huge shock, but I had no intention of entertaining excessive childishness. Because this was the Tutorial Field, where 14,500 out of 15,000 people perished, and because I wouldn¡¯t do something so foolish as surrendering my life in order to take care of one kid. ¡°Answer me. Do you understand?¡± The girl nodded. ¡°No matter who comes, even if they ask you to open it, you must never, ever open the door.¡± ¡°I-I understand. I promise.¡± The girl was completely taken over by fear. To her, I was probably simultaneously her life¡¯s savior and a monstrous man who had stabbed a terrifying green beast to death. Her fear was understandable. [The 2nd wave of goblin attacks will soon begin.] [The establishment of Safe Zones is beginning.] I asked, ¡°You hear the notices too, right?¡± ¡°N-Notices?¡± ¡°The voice you hear in your head.¡± ¡°Ah¡ª¡± It seemed this girl had thought of this sound not as a ¡®notice¡¯, but something like an ¡®auditory hallucination¡¯. ¡°What did you hear?¡± ¡°Soon¡­ an attack will be starting. And that Safe Zones are being established¡­¡± ¡°Where, exactly?¡± ¡°T-The school and convenience store, the hospital¡­ they¡¯ve been established as Safe Zones.¡± ¡°That¡¯s right.¡± My guess that this girl had awakened as a Player was correct. ¡®So she heard the hospital.¡¯ People with a normal amount of talent would only hear up to the ¡®convenience store¡¯. People with more outstanding talent would hear the ¡®hospital¡¯ as well. That was what was known. ¡®But wait, didn¡¯t I hear the hospital too?¡¯ But I even heard an additional notice. I stared at the girl. ¡®I don¡¯t think she heard that?¡¯ She hadn¡¯t said anything afterwards, so it seemed she hadn¡¯t heard ¡®2nd floor of the D-Tower parking lot¡¯. ¡®What¡¯s going on?¡¯ I felt a bit of panic. There was another Safe Zone other than the hospital? That was something I hadn¡¯t known at all. Such a Safe Zone didn¡¯t show up even in the memoir of the Tutorial Ender, Fist King So Yoohyun. None of the past Players had said anything about there being another Safe Zone in the Tutorial. ¡®And it¡¯s the D-Tower parking lot of all places?¡¯ Was there always a Safe Zone in the central field of the Tutorial, the ¡®D-Tower¡¯? If there was, it wasn¡¯t widespread knowledge. [The establishment of Safe Zones has concluded.] [The 2nd wave of goblin attacks is beginning.] I had to steel myself. Soon, hell would break loose. Those who hadn¡¯t found a Safe Zone, those who hadn¡¯t gone into the buildings fast enough, they would all die. ¡°Don¡¯t open the door, ever. Actually, don¡¯t even look in the direction of the door and sit down with your back to it.¡± This place was an established Safe Zone. It was impossible to forcibly break in. Breaking the glass door to come in was also impossible, for monsters and people alike. Only a Player or monster of a rank that exceeded the establishment parameters could break in. ¡®There¡¯s no one like that in the Tutorial.¡¯ The moment the door was opened from within, the Safe Zone would be deactivated, and I would have no choice but to greet a gruesome death. The world outside the window was ghastly. Laying here and there were corpses. It was as if the city had been painted with crimson red paint. There were pieces of people, not mannequins, scattered about, and the road was absolute pandemonium. ¡°O-O-Open the door! I said open the door!¡± ¡°Open up! Open the door. I¡¯m begging you!¡± People, a lot of people, banged on the door of the convenience store. I didn¡¯t open it. ¡®Dammit.¡¯ I bit my lips and clenched my fists. ¡®This is¡­ truly painful.¡¯ Outside, goblins were forming swarms. People gathered in small groups to put up a resistance, but as expected, they couldn¡¯t deal with those numbers. I could only watch from this spot¡ªa safe place¡ªas people died and were eaten alive. ¡®Dammit!!¡¯ I didn¡¯t turn away from any of it. I had to watch. ¡®I¡¯ll¡­ remember it all.¡¯ One day, I would fuck over the System and the Guardians that created this situation and were watching this hell like they were enjoying a game. ¡®This moment, this scene. I won¡¯t forget it.¡¯ I looked harder. ¡®Never. I¡¯ll never forget.¡¯ * * * A day passed. The girl¡¯s name was Kang Sunhwa. She was in her first year of middle school. At first, she was frozen in fear, but she recovered fairly quickly¡ªher mental fortitude was stronger than expected. It was a relief that she got a hold of herself quickly. ¡°Um¡­ may I call you oppa?¡± TN: Oppa is a familiar term used by girls for an older man. I gave a slight nod. Oppa was correct, because mister wasn¡¯t quite right. My mental age aside, I had returned to twenty years of age. With a six year difference between us, oppa was about right. After around six hours since the beginning of the 2nd wave, it became rather quiet. By which I meant, there weren¡¯t that many living people nearby. ¡°Thank you. For saving me. I haven¡¯t thanked you properly yet. I was just so scared¡­¡¯ Looking at the way her eyes reddened while speaking, it seemed she hadn¡¯t quite gotten over her shock. Yes. That was normal. But still, it was pretty impressive. She looked pretty calm¡ªat least on the outside. ¡°I¡¯m so glad I met you, oppa.¡± ¡°¡­¡± ¡°Thank you so much.¡± ¡°¡­¡± The conversation became rather one-sided. ¡°Please don¡¯t throw me away. I¡¯m a really good girl. I¡¯m good at washing dishes, cleaning, and tidying my clothes.¡± ¡°¡­Oh. That so?¡± For words spoken by a 14-year-old, they were a bit strange. I was surprised she suddenly asked me not to throw her away. People didn¡¯t usually say things like that, even with the situation being the way it was, right? Was it because she was that scared of being abandoned? I didn¡¯t know how to respond. It was true that I saved this girl, but it was also a calculated move, not out of the sheer kindness of my heart. ¡°That¡¯s enough with the thanks. We don¡¯t know if either of us will survive to the end anyway.¡± ¡°Still¡­¡± ¡°If necessary, I will use you as bait and make a run for it.¡± Sunhwa¡¯s face darkened. I decided to give it to her straight. Another six hours passed. In the meantime, Sunhwa had apparently gotten more familiar with me. ¡°I think I can survive if I¡¯m with oppa. Though I¡¯m just as scared as before¡­¡± She attempted a fairly bright smile, trying to put on a brave front. ¡®She¡¯s cute.¡¯ It was pretty cute. There wasn¡¯t much meaning behind it, just that she was cute. Obviously, it was absolutely not as a man to woman sense. How should I say it? She was kinda like a niece. ¡°Oppa looks very strong.¡± ¡°If I were strong, I would have gone out there and killed them all.¡± I pointed out the window. Outside the Safe Zone, goblins were staring at us, snickering and slamming their clubs into the window. Almost as if we were animals trapped in a zoo. With a shriek, Sunhwa scrambled backwards on her butt and hid behind me. She had a really small build. ¡°O-Oppa, aren¡¯t you scared? ¡°Who knows?¡± I was scared. But more pressing than my fear was my anger, the helplessness of not being able to do anything. That was more present in my mind. ¡®After the 2nd wave of attacks¡­¡¯ Until the end of the goblins¡¯ 2nd wave of attacks, it was all about staying hidden. But once the 2nd wave ended, things would change a little. ¡°I might not be able to protect you for the seven days of the Tutorial.¡± ¡°¡­¡± ¡°And I can¡¯t take complete responsibility for you, either.¡± Looking after myself was hard enough. ¡°However, I won¡¯t leave you here if nothing happens, so get some rest.¡± Sunhwa stared at me with eyes full of tears. It seemed she thought I would leave her and go if she fell asleep. ¡°Hey. I won¡¯t. Unless it¡¯s a situation where my life¡¯s in danger, I won¡¯t throw you away, so trust me and go to sleep.¡± ¡°You really won¡¯t? I can trust you, right?¡± She was rather scared of being abandoned. I said, as if annoyed, ¡°Just trust me. Even if you don¡¯t, what can you do?¡± ¡°T-That¡¯s true,¡± Sunhwa said, looking defeated. ¡°So get some rest for now. You¡¯ll need your energy.¡± ¡°Got it. I¡¯ll do as you say.¡± After the 2nd wave of attacks, I would have to walk through the road littered with corpses. My destination would be the crux of clearing the Tutorial, which coincidentally happened to be the ¡®Gwanghwamun D-Tower¡¯, the location of the established Safe Zone that no one else had heard of. ____ ____ Chapter 7 Max Talent Player Chapter 7: Level 8 in Practice (2) I put food and water into my Inventory and left. Having no proper means of transportation, we would have to walk all the way from the store to the D-Tower. ¡°Doing alright?¡± A response came from behind me. ¡°I¡¯m alright.¡± They must have been brutal sights, difficult for a 14-year-old to handle, but Sunhwa looked fairly calm. ¡®How could she be alright?¡¯ There was no way she was. If I listened carefully, I could hear something like sniffling and sobbing behind me. I didn¡¯t check to see, but she was probably crying. There was no way she¡¯d seen anything like this before. ¡®I wonder if this is what a city on the verge of ruin, no¡­ an already ruined city feels like.¡¯ It felt like the entirety of Jongno had become a ghost town. ¡®I wonder if there are even 10,000 people still alive by now.¡¯ That was my best guess, but in all actuality, the number wasn¡¯t the important thing right now. ¡®I can¡¯t see any people.¡¯ There were corpses, not people, lining the road. Inside a car, sitting in the driver¡¯s seat, was a headless¡­ I made myself stop there. ¡°Keep your eyes on the ground. Be sure to tell me if you see any jelly-like thing crawling around.¡± On the way to D-Tower, we had to hunt. Our primary goal was ¡®slimes¡¯. As ¡®neutral¡¯ monsters, they didn¡¯t attack unless attacked first. Their levels were marked as ¡®-¡¯. They were the safest monsters, ones that even a 10-year-old child could kill. ¡°Oppa, there¡¯s one over there.¡± I also spotted the jelly-shaped monster crawling out from under a car. Sure enough, it had no levels and was marked with a ¡®-¡¯. I approached the slime and swung my sword. As could be expected from its jelly shape, there was a sloshing sensation, but the damage was properly inflicted. They weren¡¯t hard to kill. [EXP acquired.] [3 Coins acquired.] ¡°It disappeared.¡± ¡°Yeah. They¡¯re really weak monsters. Let¡¯s go. We have to keep killing them while we walk.¡± Here as well, I could feel it. ¡®Why¡¯s it so easy?¡¯ No matter how weak a monster it was, it felt way too easy. I had felt this from the start, but it felt like I had always been Playing. ¡®This Rusted Iron Sword¡­¡¯ Did I maybe use it in my dreams? Even if I did, for a weapon I¡¯d never used before, it felt extremely familiar in my hand, almost as if I had trained with it for a long time. ¡°Keep a good eye out for them.¡± ¡°Got it. I¡¯ll try to find them.¡± Sunhwa did the best she could. Here, in this place littered with corpses, this gruesome place stained by pools of blood, she was adapting far better than I had expected. ¡°Oppa. There¡¯s one here!¡± Her ability to find the monsters alone seemed far better than mine. ¡°Oppa, over here.¡± After hunting about five slimes, I heard the level up notice. [Level increased.] [Current level: 2] [2 bonus stats acquired.] [1 random bonus stat acquired.] Sunhwa stared at me in fascination. ¡°Oppa, your body was shining just now. How come?¡± ¡°I leveled up.¡± ¡°Leveled up?¡± She seemed amazed by leveling up. ¡°Yeah. You level up when you kill monsters. And when you level up, you become stronger.¡± ¡°Ah¡­ I see.¡± After a pause, ¡°I also want to work hard to level up and become like oppa.¡± Sunhwa¡¯s face was still full of curiosity, but perhaps because she didn¡¯t want to annoy me, she didn¡¯t pester me with more questions. I caught a few more slimes. [Level increased.] [Current level: 3] [2 bonus stats acquired.] [1 random bonus stat acquired.] Once again, I noticed that something was strange. ¡®It¡¯s weird.¡¯ For some reason, I had the feeling I was leveling up too quickly. ¡®Is it different when you Play in person?¡¯ The only Playing I had experienced was in VR, like VR videos on Youtube and VR experiences like ¡®virtual dungeons¡¯, and the rote memorization of strategy guides through textbooks. That was the limit of my Playing. ¡®In person, it actually feels like I¡¯m leveling up really fast.¡¯ That wasn¡¯t all. ¡®I¡¯ve already gotten 2 random bonus stats.¡¯ Random bonus stats weren¡¯t usually given that frequently. That applied in the Tutorial Arena as well. ¡®The Fist King¡­ So Yoohyun also said he hadn¡¯t seen random bonus stats that often.¡¯ Even the pride of Korea, the named Player So Yoohyun who ranked within the top 10 in Korea when it came to talent, said it had been difficult for him to get bonus stats. But I had already earned two, and I was only at level 3. I suddenly thought back to the evaluation results. [No Talent.] A few days ago, those two words had stung particularly badly. I sorted the thoughts in my head. ¡®Did I gain talent I didn¡¯t have in the process of returning to the past?¡¯ If that wasn¡¯t it¡­ ¡®An early bloomer Player who sees explosive growth only in the beginning.¡¯ That seemed like the most likely option. There were a lot of them in Korea as well. Countless Players had appeared like meteors and had faded just as quickly. Many Players, called ¡®Rising Stars¡¯ or ¡®Super Rookies¡¯, made their names with their explosive speed of level ups and incredible skills in the lower levels, but were unable to pass the middle levels and faded into obscurity. ¡®That I¡¯m an early bloomer is the most likely possibility.¡¯ I decided to think of it like that. I had to approach it this way so I wouldn¡¯t be disappointed later. I¡¯d look only a few steps ahead, not a few miles. ¡®For now, it¡¯s advantageous for me.¡¯ Someone who had nothing, absolutely jack, returned to the past and somehow survived the 1st and 2nd goblin waves, and even drew the attention of Guardians. Even assuming I was an early bloomer, I was already level 3. ¡®The goal is to survive, and then¡­¡¯ I came up with a goal. ¡®$1 million.¡¯ That was my goal. Even an early bloomer Player could earn $1 million without much difficulty. With that much money, I would be able to get treatment for my mom. In three years, the ¡®illness curing potion¡¯ would be put on the market. ¡®Let¡¯s not look too far ahead.¡¯ I did want to strike down the Guardians, but that was too far in the future. I might even be an early bloomer Player. For now, my goal was to survive, and then, earn $1 million. I could think of what came afterwards later. [Level increased.] [Current level: 5] I got bonus stats and random stats yet again. Before I knew it, I was level 5. I immediately sent Sunhwa a ¡®party invite¡¯. Sunhwa was shocked and asked, ¡°What¡¯s this?¡± But she accepted the party invite before long. [The ¡®Nameless Observer¡¯ is observing you with interest.] [The ¡®Nameless Observer¡¯ is showing great interest in you.] I didn¡¯t hear any notices from the ¡®Courageous Lion King¡¯. As we continued to walk to D-Tower, the girl trailing behind me said, ¡°Thank you.¡± ¡°For what?¡± ¡°I¡¯ll do my best. I¡¯ll be of help to oppa.¡± What was she on about all of a sudden again? I was about to say I¡¯d leave her behind if she wasn¡¯t helpful when she continued speaking. ¡°So¡­ Please don¡¯t throw me away.¡± Again? I really couldn¡¯t understand why she was always begging not to be abandoned. ¡°Please don¡¯t give up on me. I¡¯ll really do my best.¡± I did feel a little bad for her. What would drive such a young girl to say something like this? But I kept up a hard front and said, ¡°Show me with your actions and not your words.¡± It might¡¯ve seemed cold, but I rationally laid out the reality. Half-assed sympathy or kindness would only harm the child. ¡°If I don¡¯t need you, I will throw you away without hesitation.¡± It was hard enough to take care of myself. My leveling speed was much faster than expected and I had already gotten four random bonus stats, but that was nothing. When I hunted the monster waiting on the 1st floor of the D-Tower, there was no guarantee I could protect Sunhwa. ¡®To begin with¡­ It was weird I¡¯d be protecting anyone.¡¯ What could a level 5 Player do? The path ahead was something you walked on your own. In any case, it seemed like my words had gotten through to Sunhwa. But then, Sunhwa said, ¡°Isn¡¯t that¡­ a different monster?¡± * * * * * * In the Gwanghwamun area, in front of the Statue of Admiral Yi Sun-sin, were different monsters that weren¡¯t slimes. ¡®City foxes.¡¯ Their levels were ¡®2¡¯ or ¡®3¡¯. They weren¡¯t difficult monsters to kill. But killing them felt way harder than slimes. It was because I wasn¡¯t used to killing living beings yet. ¡®Even though the goblins are dead.¡¯ The overall grey, fox-shaped monsters were ¡®passive¡¯ monsters. If you didn¡¯t mess with them, they were neutral, but they would aggro the moment you attacked. Attacking one would draw others towards you. ¡®Hm?¡¯ But when Sunhwa said ¡°Taunt,¡± a ¡®!!!¡¯ mark appeared above the heads of the city foxes, and they came running towards Sunhwa. The city foxes wildly bit at Sunhwa¡¯s body. I was shocked. ¡®AOE aggro?¡¯ They were just low-level monsters at level 2 or 3, and Sunhwa was only level 3, but she was able to achieve an AOE aggro of this level. It looked like she had taunted all of the city foxes in the area, which looked to be about 14 foxes. ¡®She¡¯s not taking any damage.¡¯ I wasn¡¯t sitting around, sucking my thumb, either. Most animal monsters had the neck as the weak spot. I was able to hunt the city foxes without difficulty. Leveling with slimes was difficult now, but when I killed the city foxes, my EXP shot up. [EXP acquired.] [7 Coins acquired.] [Level increased.] [Current level: 8] All of my fatigue disappeared with the level ups. That was a special characteristic of level ups¡ªwhen you rose one level, all of your fatigue would fly away, and you would return to your best condition. ¡®My leveling speed is way faster than I thought.¡¯ I was already level 8. If things had gone as I expected¡ªeducated guess from countless strats¡ªI would be around level 5 by now. I thought I would just be getting to the Party System, but I was already level 8. It might seem as though level 5 and 8 weren¡¯t that different, but that was absolutely not the case. ¡®4 level ups vs. 7. In terms of speed, it¡¯s nearly twice as fast.¡¯ Going from level 4 to 8 was way harder than going from 1 to 4. With that in mind, I was leveling up at more than double the speed. Far faster than expected. ¡®This is a crazy leveling speed.¡¯ It was so fast it was absurd. The Guardians seemed to think the same, because Senia, who had been wandering around, approached me. She captured the scene of me leveling up and asked, ¡°Player Kim Hyukjin, what is your current level?¡± ¡°¡­¡± I thought for a moment. Should I tell her, or not? There were advantages to both options. I decided to tell her, for now. ¡°Level 8.¡± ¡°¡­¡± Senia¡¯s wingtips trembled again. ¡°There¡¯s no mistake that you¡¯re level 8?¡± ¡°You can scan me if you want.¡± Senia stared at me in disbelief for a while. After a long moment, she opened her mouth again. ¡°¡­You really are level 8.¡± She didn¡¯t show it, but she seemed shocked. There was no doubt; My leveling speed was out of the ordinary. It wasn¡¯t just my imagination. [The ¡®Nameless Observer¡¯ expresses their surprise at your leveling speed.] [A large number of anonymous Guardians are amazed.] After checking my level, Senia returned to her usual half-transparent state. ¡®My leveling speed must definitely be really damn fast.¡¯ Sunhwa and I hunted a little longer in the vicinity. [You have killed a city fox.] [EXP acquired.] [7 Coins acquired.] My EXP rose until I was on the verge of hitting level 9. In the Tutorial Arena, the max level was 10. ¡®Soon, I¡¯ll be level 9.¡¯ I decided to stop hunting now. After all, my objective was the ¡®D-Tower¡¯. More specifically, the 1st floor of the D-Tower. If I could clear that floor well, I would gain a ton of bonuses and pretty much become the face of Players worldwide. ¡®If I can just do that part well¡­¡¯ Earning $1 million afterwards would be no problem, even if I were an early bloomer. Sunhwa and I arrived at the D-Tower. There were multiple entrances. ¡®This one.¡¯ I chose the one without monsters. I heard a notice. [The necessary level to enter the Tutorial Dungeon, D-Tower, is 5.] [Will you enter the Tutorial Dungeon, D-Tower?] ¡®YES.¡¯ I selected yes. The revolving door began to slowly move, as if inviting me to come inside. Sunhwa clutched a part of my clothes behind me, a little scared. ¡°You remember what we have to do when we¡¯re inside, right?¡± ¡°Yes.¡± Sunhwa¡¯s voice trembled a little. I knew that, but I didn¡¯t show it on my face, because although Sunhwa wasn¡¯t trying to act spoiled, I had no intention of humoring her, even if she was. For a brief moment, I checked my stats. [Status Window] Name: Kim Hyukjin (Player) Level: 8 Title: ¨C Strength: 14 Intelligence: 14 Agility: 14 Perception: 14 Constitution: 14 Willpower: 13 (+30) Bonus stats: 0 Random stats: 4 Undistributed stats: 4 According to the Rankers, it was best to raise your stats evenly in the beginning. That was the established theory. ¡®Are these really the stats of a level 8?¡¯ It was completely different from other level 8s in my memory. It gave me confidence. ¡°Let¡¯s go.¡± I went ahead first. The half-transparent Senia followed me. ¡®Carelessness is death.¡¯ This was undoubtedly a dangerous place for someone at my level, a place that could become one¡¯s grave if they entered without knowing the strategy, and in just one hit. I reviewed the strategy one more time in my head. And then, I entered the Tutorial Dungeon. ____ ____ Chapter 8 Max Talent Player Chapter 8: D-Tower 1st Floor On the 1st floor of the D-Tower, I could see the escalator going to the second floor and a few ¡®city foxes¡¯ and ¡®goblins¡¯ nearby. It might be a Tutorial, but a dungeon was a dungeon. ¡°They¡¯ll be at least one level higher than the monsters outside.¡± Sure enough: The city foxes and goblins were 1-2 levels higher. Some were even 3 levels higher. Like I had arranged in advance, I disbanded the party with Sunhwa. In other words, we weren¡¯t sharing EXP. ¡°Start with all the goblins you can see.¡± If you didn¡¯t touch the foxes, they wouldn¡¯t turn hostile. In higher level dungeons, all the monsters were hostile. But this was the Tutorial Dungeon. This Tutorial might not seem like a tutorial at all, but there was no denying it was easier than a higher level dungeon. Sunhwa did way better than I expected. ¡®As expected¡­ must be the effect of the talent.¡¯ There was a time when she was scared shitless by a baby goblin, but after just four days together, Sunhwa was hunting adult goblins just fine. ¡®She¡¯s killing them well, even though she¡¯s only level 6.¡¯ A level 6 Player was making quick work of a level 8 goblin. This had to be the effect of talent. ¡°Take a break after taking care of that goblin.¡± ¡°Got it.¡± Sunhwa got rid of the last remaining goblin. For reference, the item she had equipped was ¡®Worn Iron Gauntlets¡¯. Sunhwa clobbered the goblin with her fists, all while precisely striking the weak point I¡¯d told her about. ¡®She¡¯s doing really well.¡¯ The goblins¡¯ attacks didn¡¯t register on Sunhwa at all, almost as if she had some kind of special skill or special constitution. Turning to me, she asked, ¡°Did I do well?¡± ¡°Nope. Did you think so?¡± Sunhwa shook her head. ¡°I think I¡¯m way worse compared to you, oppa.¡± Huh. ¡®Actually, that¡¯s true, isn¡¯t it?¡¯ To be honest, the Playing of this child I considered a genius didn¡¯t look all that impressive to me. Was it because she was young or because I was underestimating her? ¡®But why am I so good at this?¡¯ I didn¡¯t know why. In any case, there was no mistake¡ªso far, I was Playing even better than Sunhwa. So much so that I had the very rational question of ¡®Am I a genius?¡¯ ¡°The miniboss will spawn soon.¡± ¡°Yes.¡± The miniboss, the ¡®Goblin Soldier¡¯, would soon appear. The Goblin Soldier¡¯s level would be displayed as ¡®?¡¯, as it would be a much higher level than me. The estimated level was roughly 13. Mine was currently 8. ¡®I can do this.¡¯ That was already proven through countless clears. I had seen the VR dungeon Play many times. Of course, that was an artificial VR dungeon based on the recollections of the ¡®Fist King So Yoohyun¡¯ and other survivors, but clearing the 1st floor was possible from level 8. ¡®No, you have to be level 8 for it to be possible.¡¯ After hunting all of the goblins and city foxes here, the miniboss, the ¡®Goblin Soldier¡¯, would spawn. ¡°Good to go again, right?¡± ¡°Yes. I think I¡¯ve recovered my stamina as well.¡± ¡°Then catch the rest of them.¡± When the rest were killed, the ¡®Goblin Soldier¡¯ would appear, and we would form the party again before that. ¡°Run back here right away afterwards.¡± Here, near the ATM. I reminded her again. ¡°Got it.¡± Sunhwa carried out my orders to a T. She killed the rest of the monsters, and in doing so, she hit level 7. ¡°Oppa, I got them all.¡± ¡°I know. Run back here.¡± Sunhwa ran over, and the two of us hid ourselves behind the ATM on the 1st floor. We were squeezed in together as much as possible. It was a good thing Sunhwa had a small build. I said quietly, ¡°Lower your head.¡± Just then, the entirety of the field momentarily turned grey, almost like someone had pressed the pause button in a game. * * * * * * ¡®Isn¡¯t this a Pause?¡¯ Intermediate Administrators could briefly suspend a field with their individual authorities or with an ¡®item¡¯. ¡®But this item costs a pretty penny.¡¯ I didn¡¯t know exactly how much, but I heard you had to invest quite a lot of Coins in it. It was a kind of power used by Streamers when they wanted to interfere with a Player, during which the video transmission to the Guardians was turned off. [A Pause has taken effect.] [The ¡®Nameless Observer¡¯ expresses intense curiosity.] [The ¡®Courageous Lion King¡¯ has begun to take an interest again.] [Anonymous Guardians have begun to clamor.] ¡°Player Kim Hyukjin. Are you in your right mind?¡± ¡°What do you mean?¡± Senia stared at me expressionlessly. Her eyes lacked emotion, but they were rather intense. ¡°You have acted as if you know everything. Is this situation also one that you have intended?¡± ¡°Yeah.¡± ¡°I don¡¯t know what kind of ability you have, but if you have such a power, why in the world are you doing such a foolish thing?¡± ¡°Again, what do you mean?¡± After staring at me for a moment, Senia slowly continued. ¡°The Goblin Soldier is level 13. It¡¯s also receiving a boss monster stat buff. It is not a creature you can defeat right now. Much less with only two people.¡± What the heck? Was this woman always so talkative? ¡°So you¡¯re saying you would rather not see me die, hm?¡± ¡°¡­¡± The reason was obvious. ¡®Because I¡¯m a Player who can provide the material to create a hit.¡¯ It was because I made good quality content. If I had to guess, I had to be the person carrying out the most unique Playing out of the countless Players out there, unless there was another regressor who had memorized every Play by heart like I had. A Player like me was material, content, that a Streamer would be hard-pressed to find again. ¡°By the way, Senia. Your way of talking is insufferable.¡± ¡°¡­ Are you insulting me?¡± ¡°Let me give you a tip.¡± I knew about the Streamers of the future. I knew about many Intermediate Administrators, as well as many Streamers on Youtube. I knew how they ticked, and even had a rough understanding of how to become a famous Streamer. An expressionless Streamer who spoke with this little eloquence and only had looks going for her wouldn¡¯t be able to survive the fierce competition. ¡°When the pause ends, make a big fuss. No, wait. Making a fuss would be difficult with your personality. Just explain that it¡¯s a monster I could never possibly catch. That¡¯s the truth, after all.¡± This was going slightly off-topic, but Senia was truly beautiful. So beautiful, in fact, that the thought periodically invaded my mind despite not being the time or place. ¡®If she wasn¡¯t able to become famous later despite being this beautiful¡­¡¯ It meant she had been eliminated, unable to survive the competition between the Streamers. ¡°Do some directing.¡± ¡°¡­¡± Senia continued to stare at me with the same expressionless face as before. She didn¡¯t respond, but seeing as her wingtips were trembling, it did seem that my words had caused a ripple in her heart. ¡°Then, I¡¯ll successfully kill the monster without dying.¡± ¡°You¡­ will kill the Goblin Soldier?¡± ¡°Yeah. The Goblin Soldier.¡± ¡°You are incapable of doing so. It is impossible.¡± ¡°So watch. Watch how I kill it. Isn¡¯t it some great hit material? A real scrub of a Player destroying a frickin¡¯ Tutorial Dungeon miniboss.¡± ¡°¡­¡± The more Guardians watching, the better. Famous Streamers were sure to attract famous Guardians, because such Guardians were unstinting in their support to Streamers and Players. ¡°Make a deal with me.¡± Before I could say anything, Senia quickly interjected. ¡°Player Kim Hyukjin. Your impudence has gone too far. You are level 8. There is a limit to how much disrespect I can tolerate.¡± As expected, an Intermediate Administrator was an Intermediate Administrator, through and through. She was someone who could kill me anytime for any offense. Unless it was related to the ¡®Commandments¡¯, it was no big issue for an Administrator to kill me. She could have probably split my body into two with a single lift of her finger. I said, ¡°If you had wanted to kill me, you would have done so already.¡± ¡°¡­¡± ¡°But you even used your Pause power to stop me, didn¡¯t you? Could you really bear to kill me? Isn¡¯t that power very expensive?¡± ¡°¡­¡± Senia¡¯s wingtips trembled once again. I was sure of it. This woman might be a skilled Administrator, but she was an inept talker. She must have been eliminated from the Streamer competition because she was so inarticulate and only had a pretty face. ¡°I, a level 8 Player with no real skills, will defeat the miniboss. The Guardians might even strip naked in utter excitement. And you could instantly become an Administrator producing quality content.¡± ¡°¡­¡± ¡°It¡¯s not a loss for you, am I right?¡± In the end, Senia asked, ¡°What are your trade conditions?¡± ¡°For now, what do you think about discussing it after I kill the miniboss? I think the pause time is almost over.¡± For the first time since meeting me, Senia betrayed a small frown on her face. For the first time since meeting me, there was a change in her expression. It was as if she were asking, ¡®How in the world do you know all of this?¡¯ Naturally, I wouldn¡¯t answer her question, and there was no need to do so. ¡°I understand. I will watch. Keep this in mind. The Goblin Soldier¡­ is something you could never defeat with your current power.¡± At that instant, the ¡®Pause¡¯ ended. The monochrome world returned to normal, the momentarily paused time beginning to tick once more. [All of the field¡¯s monsters have been eliminated.] [The conditions to spawn the miniboss ¡®Goblin Soldier¡¯ have been fulfilled.] [The miniboss ¡®Goblin Soldier¡¯ is spawning.] ¡®It¡¯s coming.¡¯ Currently, I was next to the ATM, crouching there with Sunhwa halfway in my arms. Cold sweat ran down my back. I spoke confidently to Senia, but couldn¡¯t help but be nervous. [The ¡®Goblin Soldier¡¯ has spawned.] [A miniboss zone has been declared.] The miniboss, the Goblin Soldier, appeared. Soon, it would look around, seeing corpses in the vicinity. ¡®It¡¯ll be enraged.¡¯ And I was right. And then, the enraged Goblin Soldier would use its most threatening attack as soon as it appeared. Spear Throw¡ªits most dangerous ability. That was an attack I couldn¡¯t take on with my current abilities, an attack that would instantly kill me if it hit me full-on. Kikikik! The Goblin Soldier¡¯s scream made a shiver run down my spine. Schwip¨C! There was a whistle in the air. It was hard to put it in words, but it felt like something terrifying was approaching. ¡®It¡¯s coming.¡¯ A thud! rang out as the Goblin Soldier¡¯s spear punched through the ATM. Something sharp was protruding a bit a little above where I was crouching. Drip. Sweat ran down my brow. I¡¯d only seen the clears; doing it in person was incredibly spine-tingling. ¡®First hurdle, done.¡¯ The Goblin Soldier¡¯s most threatening attack was neutralized. The very moment it appeared, it would fiercely hurl a spear towards the Players. This attack was the most terrifying one, which was why we hid, using the ATM as a shield. [The ¡®Nameless Observer¡¯ is astonished by your wits.] [Anonymous Guardians are tuning into Channel #19207 in great numbers.] [The ¡®Nameless Guardian¡¯ has sent you a 50 Coin sponsorship.] I wasn¡¯t able to pay attention to the notices. ¡®Hiding next to the ATM was the most effective move in the clears.¡¯ If a Player moved elsewhere, the Goblin Soldier would move as well, coming closer and then throwing its spear. ¡®This is the perfect distance for making that bastard throw its spear without moving.¡¯ The place that could also provide cover at the same time was next to the ATM. This hunting spot, determined to be the optimum location through VR dungeons, was the perfect place for blocking the most dangerous attack. I snuck a glance at the half-transparent Senia. ¡®Watch carefully.¡¯ Watch how a lousy level 8 Player kills a miniboss monster. ____ ____ Chapter 9 Max Talent Player Chapter 9: D-Tower 1st Floor (2) Kang Sunhwa trembled like a leaf. ¡®I-It went through the ATM.¡¯ The spear stuck out from the ATM. What would have happened if she had taken such a hit face-on? ¡®I-I would have been skewered.¡¯ She might have died in an instant. ¡®How is he planning on catching such a monster?¡¯ She was scared. She wanted to turn and flee, right now. She wanted to cry, but she resisted. ¡®I have to be helpful.¡¯ Otherwise, she could be abandoned, and she didn¡¯t want that. [I¡¯ll be back after just 100 days and nights. Promise. You¡¯ll be good, won¡¯t you, my daughter?] Her mom abandoned her with those words. After 100 days passed, 200, even 300, her mom didn¡¯t come back. When Sunhwa turned ten, she realized then that she had been abandoned. She was abandoned by her mom and grew up in the orphanage. That feeling¡­ She hated and feared it so much. Even more than the Goblin Soldier. She reviewed each and every thing Kim Hyukjin had said, balling her fists. ¡®I can do this!¡¯ Sunhwa jumped out from behind the ATM. ¡®Just like what oppa said.¡¯ Like Kim Hyukjin said, the monsters in the vicinity had been revived. ¡°Taunt!¡± Sunhwa used her skill, ¡®Taunt¡¯, and ¡®!!!¡¯ marks appeared over the heads of the city foxes and goblins that had been revived with the appearance of the miniboss monster. It was an indication that she had properly drawn their aggro. ¡®I have to do well.¡¯ Some distance away, she saw a goblin around 180 centimetres in size, far bigger and bulkier in appearance than regular goblins. ¡®Because oppa is facing that monster.¡¯ The monsters rushed in. But she wasn¡¯t scared. She already knew from experience that even if they bit, attacked, and struck her, it wouldn¡¯t hurt. Putting as little force as possible in her fists, she hit the goblins and city foxes. ¡®That¡¯s enough. I have to stop here.¡¯ The HP of the monsters had been reduced to around 10%. Keeping them at that level, Sunhwa waited, periodically using ¡®Taunt¡¯ to keep that ¡®!!!¡¯ over their heads. Surrounded by monsters, Sunhwa stared at Kim Hyukjin. He was panting hard, looking exhausted to the point of collapsing at any moment. ¡®Please¡­!¡¯ Sunhwa put her hands together and prayed. She prayed they would be able to survive. * * * Kim Hyukjin caught his breath, thinking, ¡®The feeling of pressure is insane.¡¯ It was bigger than an average adult man. With a little exaggeration, even the muscles were like Hulk¡¯s. It was nothing compared to the monster on the 2nd Floor, but right now, it looked extremely imposing to him. He thought he had grown rather used to that existence called a ¡®monster¡¯, but this monster overturned those thoughts. It was getting a miniboss stat buff, but still, he was floored by the power of a level 13 monster. He couldn¡¯t even imagine how intimidating high level bosses would be. ¡®The thing I have to watch out for is that spear attack.¡¯ It wasn¡¯t a high level monster. It was different from a regular level 13 because of the inherent boss mob stat buff, but it still had a very simple attack pattern. A stabbing attack, and a swing from top to bottom. Those were the only two attacks. The ¡®Goblin Soldier¡¯ quickly closed in on Hyukjin. ¡®Here it comes!¡¯ Hyukjin gripped the Rusted Iron Sword. ¡®Will he stab, or will he swing?¡¯ He raised his focus to the max. ¡®It¡¯s a swing.¡¯ He saw it. He saw that the Goblin Soldier was preparing to swing its spear from top to bottom. He evaded slightly to the side, rushing towards the goblin and swinging the Rusted Iron Sword at the same time. He sliced at the Goblin Soldier¡¯s side. But because his attack power was too low, he wasn¡¯t able to deal an effective blow. It only served to enrage the Goblin Soldier. Kikikikik! Making a sound far louder than a regular goblin, the miniboss swung its spear down on Hyukjin, at a speed that looked extremely fast in Hyukjin¡¯s eyes. It was fast, but not unexpected. Kim Hyukjin swung his iron sword to deftly parry the Goblin Soldier¡¯s strike. The half-transparent Senia focused on that scene. She could see the Guardians making a huge fuss. Senia almost smiled for the first time ever. They didn¡¯t reveal their ¡®True Names¡¯, but the Guardians joined her channel all the same. Her boring, unpopular channel. However, she did not smile. Ever since she was a child, she had been taught that ¡®the act of showing one¡¯s emotions¡¯ was vulgar. She did become an Intermediate Administrator, but she jumped into this job determined not to become vulgar. Various anonymous Guardians peppered her with questions. [Are you sure he¡¯s really level 8?] [A level 8 Player is truly raiding the Tutorial Dungeon¡¯s miniboss?] Senia nodded to show her assent. It was true. He avoided the ¡®Initial Strike¡¯ that would cause certain death to a level 8 Player by cleverly using some cover and was fighting the Goblin Soldier. It was unbelievable, but that was the truth. She had never seen a Player like him in any dimension before, at least not in the Tutorial. She wondered what kind of stats he must have to be able to execute such movements. The anonymous Guardians, aka the ¡®Rabble¡¯, were clamoring in disbelief. [Those aren¡¯t the movements of a level 8 though?] [How can a level 8 move in that manner?] [He didn¡¯t lie about his level?] The Rabble fussed to their content, and the Guardians who had revealed their ¡®True Names¡¯ were keeping an eye on the situation, their eyes glued to the level 8 Player¡¯s incredible Playing. Senia was the same. At this point, even Senia was curious. Yet another Player without much presence caught her eyes. Her name was Kang Sunhwa, an Awakened of the tanker class. She stood still, surrounded by monsters. Just then, Kim Hyukjin yelled, looking so incredibly exhausted it seemed he could faint at any moment. ¡°Now! Kill them!¡± Senia instantly realized what Kim Hyukjin was trying to do. Sunhwa killed the city foxes. [EXP acquired.] [7 Coins acquired.] As someone in the same party as Kang Sunhwa, Kim Hyukjin¡¯s level went up. [Level increased.] [Current level: 9] With the level up, his condition recovered. Hyukjin felt refreshed. Moments ago, he was gasping for breath and felt like he could drop dead from exhaustion, but now, he was fine. He purposely timed and planned his EXP like this, so he could level up when needed. ¡°Take the monsters and get some distance between us. The monsters will keep reviving, so kill as many as you can, until I give you the signal to stop.¡± * * * * * * After saying that, I engaged with the Goblin Soldier again. Now level 9, I was a little stronger, and a little more used to the Goblin Soldier. Our battle went on for a long thirty minutes. I stuck to the Goblin Soldier like a burr, avoiding critical injuries and occasionally attacking. Time and time again, I aimed for the nape, the common weakness of all goblins. Meanwhile, Sunhwa continuously killed monsters. [You have killed a goblin.] [You have killed a city fox.] [You have killed a goblin.] [You have killed a city fox.] We were in the same party, so my EXP continuously rose as well. I managed my stamina, constantly checking my EXP bar. ¡®Soon¡­ I¡¯ll get another level up.¡¯ Kikik! Kikikikikik! Enraged by the annoyance before it, the Goblin Soldier once again swung its spear from top to bottom. I finished my instantaneous calculation. ¡®I¡¯ll let that one hit me.¡¯ I decided to sacrifice my left shoulder. I would use my shoulder to aim for the miniboss¡¯ throat, all for the chance of inflicting a deeper blow. ¡®Argh!¡¯ The spear plunged into my shoulder. A shoulder-rending agony assailed me, but I held on. ¡®And strike.¡¯ I timed it to the millisecond. For that moment, and that moment alone, I forgot I was someone judged to have [No Talent]. It felt as if everything were clear in my eyes, and my entire being was focused on this situation alone. With exactly the right timing, I surged towards the Goblin Soldier. Right at the moment Sunhwa killed a city fox. [Level increased.] [Current level: 10] The pain disappeared, and my body returned to normal. I was aiming for this moment. Vigor circulated throughout my entire body as I jabbed the Rusted Iron Sword at the Goblin Soldier¡¯s neck before immediately getting behind it. ¡®I can see it!¡¯ I saw the weak spot on the back of the neck, a black dot. That dot seemed large in my eyes. ¡°Ahhhhhh!¡± I thrust the Rusted Iron Sword in with all my strength. ¡®Is it over?¡¯¡¯ At that moment: It had reached the end of its durability. As the sword was destroyed, the Goblin Soldier¡¯s body began to tip forward. ¡®It¡¯s over.¡¯ I finally killed it. The miniboss, the Goblin Soldier. [You have killed the miniboss monster ¡®Goblin Soldier¡¯.] [Congratulations.] [You are the first to have hunted a ¡®miniboss monster¡¯.] Countless notices flooded in. [EXP acquired.] [The level cap of the Tutorial Field is 10.] [The minimum number of people required for the Tutorial Dungeon miniboss monster raid has been set to 5.] [The system has recognized your raid as a Solo Play.] [The Tutorial Field¡¯s level cap has been lifted.] And then: [Leveling up is possible.] [Current level: 10] [A Hidden Piece qualification condition has been fulfilled.] I was instantly stunned into speechlessness. ¡®I can level up?¡¯ The Tutorial Field was capped at level 10. But that level restriction was lifted, and I even fulfilled a ¡®Hidden Piece qualification condition¡¯. I didn¡¯t know what was going on. That wasn¡¯t all. Senia swiftly snagged the body of the Goblin Soldier, and a yellow light radiated from the Goblin Soldier¡¯s body before disappearing. Then, she approached me and handed something to me. ¡°This is the reward item for hunting the miniboss.¡± I was given an ¡®Iron Sword¡¯ to replace the ¡®Rusted Iron Sword¡¯. It had twice the attack power. A sound rang in my head. Senia seemed rather surprised, too, seeing as she blatantly asked for a private chat. This conversation wouldn¡¯t be heard by the Guardians. Sunhwa wouldn¡¯t hear it, either. It was a conversation between Player and Intermediate Administrator, just the two of us. ¡®Accept.¡¯ Senia asked me a question expressionlessly. [Did you hunt the miniboss by timing the level up precisely? All while managing your stamina?] [I told you I would show you. I¡¯d show you me killing the miniboss.] [It was not a Play that someone of your level could show. Do you have a True Name?] A True Name? What in the world was that? I certainly didn¡¯t have anything like that. All I knew was the strategy from the future. However, I didn¡¯t go out of my way to correct her misunderstanding. Even though I didn¡¯t know what a True Name was, there was no big need for me to correct her. [Don¡¯t forget that you agreed to make a deal with me.] [¡­] Was it talent? Was it luck? Or was it something else? I thought I could hear Senia¡¯s voice, but then the private chat ended. ¡®The level 10 cap has been lifted from the Tutorial Field. I also got a new item and even drew admiration from a Guardian.¡¯ Did¡­ I really have [No Talent]? I realized while fighting the Goblin Soldier, but there was no way I was talentless. On the contrary, my talent was immense. I didn¡¯t know what my limits were, but for now, according to what I knew, I had a level of talent unprecedented in the history of the past. It was a bit embarrassing for me to say it, but I ended up wondering if this level of talent was close to ¡®transcendent¡¯. ¡®I even got a sponsorship.¡¯ I didn¡¯t notice it before, because I was focusing so intensely, but I had received a ¡®sponsorship.¡¯ It was probably an unprecedented record in the Tutorial Field. It was a very, no, incredibly, smooth start. Under the assumption that I didn¡¯t go up to ¡®Floor 2¡¯, at least. However, the notices didn¡¯t stop there. What? I flinched. ____ ____ Chapter 10 Max Talent Player Chapter 10: The Tutorial¡¯s Hidden Piece I flinched. ¡®The Lady of the Scales?¡¯ Her name alone wasn¡¯t all that impressive. But I was already well-aware of what kind of Guardian the ¡®Lady of the Scales¡¯ was. ¡®She¡¯s the Guardian of the Typhoon, Jo Sunghyun.¡¯ He was one of the 8 Players who represented Korea, and she was a Guardian who prioritized ¡®fairness¡¯ above all and liked Players capable of ¡®doing acts of good¡¯. ¡®Her personality is close to lawful good.¡¯ Unlike the ¡®Courageous Lion King¡¯, who could care less about whether his sponsored Players died or not, the ¡®Lady of the Scales¡¯ was a stern upholder of justice and prioritized the wellbeing of her Players. ¡®She also gives appropriate compensation, and is one of the Guardians who gives extremely reliable support.¡¯ That the Lady of the Scales had me in her sights was nothing but welcomed news. ¡®Fairness, justice, sacrifice, and commitment. The Lady of the Scales is a Guardian who reacts primarily to such things.¡¯ I glanced at Sunhwa behind me. It was commonly said that the Guardians were looking down ¡®from above¡¯. ¡®From up there, it must have looked like I was protecting Sunhwa.¡¯ That was my best guess. In any case, it was good. Someone who was told they had [No Talent] like me already had the interest of three Guardians, and the fact I had secured myself a special privilege meant I had made huge strides. ¡°Oppa, what do we do now?¡± My previous plans changed a little. ¡®Originally¡­ we were going to leave and hide in the nearby Safety Zone, waiting for the Fist King So Yoohyun to come and kill that thing on the 2nd floor, but¡­¡¯ After killing the Goblin Soldier on the 1st floor, large-scale onslaughts like the goblin attack would end. That meant safety would be pretty much guaranteed afterwards. That¡¯s why I rushed to kill the Goblin Soldier. ¡®For now, we¡¯re safe.¡¯ If I killed that guy on the 2nd floor of the D-Tower, I would get the title of ¡®Tutorial Ender¡¯, but I didn¡¯t hope for that much. ¡®Let¡¯s make full use of the Tutorial Field¡¯s special characteristics.¡¯ I zeroed in on my goal, a goal right in front of my eyes. I would earn $1 million. ¡®And then¡­¡¯ To be honest, I wanted to look further ahead. Like anyone else, I wanted to succeed and live well. I wanted to live happily with my family and do everything I wanted. It was too early to jump to conclusions, but currently, I suspected that my talent was very nearly ¡®transcendent¡¯. And I¡­ didn¡¯t want to let a talent like this go to waste. I no longer wanted to be a burden on my family and study for ages to become a civil servant. Turning to Sunhwa, I said, ¡°We¡¯re going to go hunt the monsters outside the D-Tower. As many as we can.¡± ¡°The city foxes?¡± ¡°No.¡± If we went a bit towards the Cheonggyecheon district, we would run into ¡®city wolves¡¯ instead of ¡®city foxes¡¯. They were pack monsters that were far more ferocious. Even so, they were only slightly higher in level than goblins. ¡°Their levels are around 7. They sometimes have alphas, and those guys are around level 9. The two of us can hunt them no problem.¡± ¡°Where did you learn that?¡± ¡°I know everything.¡± ¡°I knew it.¡± Sunhwa didn¡¯t harbor any suspicion. Her eyes showed absolute trust in me. I purposefully didn¡¯t continue to press Senia about the ¡®deal¡¯. She hadn¡¯t mentioned it. I gave a thin smile. ¡®Alright then, let¡¯s dance. Push and pull.¡¯ In this dance of pushing and pulling, it wasn¡¯t a bad thing to see who would end up on top¡ªthe Streamer who had absolutely nothing going for her besides her appearance vs. the regressor whose future was shining brightly? It was painfully obvious who had the upper hand, so I wasn¡¯t in a rush. ¡®The person who gets impatient first loses.¡¯ * * * * * * Sunhwa was a truly talented tanker. Awoooooooo¨C! The city wolves called their comrades. ¡°Taunt!¡± Not a single wolf slipped past, all of them charging straight for Sunhwa, and in the meantime, I defeated the wolves from behind. After a few fights, it seemed that ¡®club¡¯-type weapons were more effective than ¡®bladed¡¯ ones, so I hunted them using the ¡®Wooden Club¡¯ that dropped from the wolves. [EXP acquired.] [8 Coins acquired.] After hunting for about one hour, we rested in a nearby convenience store before continuing. [Level increased.] [Current level: 11] Finally, my level went up. ¡®I really did become level 11.¡¯ I broke the level cap of 10. That it was at all possible to reach level 11 in the Tutorial Field was something that even I, a rote memorizer of the Ten Years¡¯ History, hadn¡¯t known at all. I guessed even the Fist King So Yoohyun didn¡¯t know it. The notices continued. [Congratulations!] [You are the first to have reached level 11.] [Your achievement has been recognized.] [You have been granted the title ¡®The First Pioneer¡¯.] I could only doubt my ears. ¡®A title?¡¯ There were ¡®titles¡¯ in the System. The abilities of Players could vary immensely due to titles. It could be called a benefit that bestowed special parameters. ¡®There¡¯s a title in the Tutorial Field? Other than Tutorial Ender?¡¯ I¡¯d never heard or seen of such a thing. A ¡®title¡¯ could only be gained at around level 30, and even then it wasn¡¯t guaranteed. I killed the Tutorial Field¡¯s miniboss monster, the ¡®Goblin Soldier¡¯, and still didn¡¯t get a title. So I was stunned I got a title just by reaching level 11. ¡°Did you get a title?¡± God, she scared me. Senia suddenly appeared behind me. Though her face was expressionless, the tips of her wings were trembling. The Guardians might even be clamoring ¡°Tell us what kind of title he got! Find that out!¡± ¡°I did get a title.¡± ¡°What kind of title?¡± Senia asked with an impressive nonchalance, but her expression was extremely stiff. She¡¯d always had an expressionless face, but right now, it was looking kind of robotic. ¡°Not telling.¡± ¡°¡­¡± If the Player didn¡¯t want to disclose, they had no obligation to. Titles couldn¡¯t even be scanned. I decided to check it out first. [The First Pioneer] A glorious title given to one who pioneered a new domain. Sunhwa tugged on my clothes. ¡°Oppa? Are you alright?¡± ¡°It¡¯s nothing.¡± I had fallen into a daze without realizing it. [The ¡®Nameless Observer¡¯ is terribly curious about your reward.] [The ¡®Lady of the Scales¡¯ is curious about your reward.] It looked like the Guardians had no idea what I had just received. There was no need to expose everything to the Guardians. I had to hide an appropriate amount, choosing and picking what I would reveal. ¡®I can¡¯t believe it¡¯s a 20% buff to EXP.¡¯ A boost that big made it a title of the highest level. In particular, an experience buff in the beginning would have a huge butterfly effect that would aid me later, because it would help me get firsts in everything. ¡®If I can keep developing like this¡­¡¯ I could really become a Ranker. Wealth. Glory. Power. All of those things could become mine. And even if it wasn¡¯t as grand as those things, I could definitely succeed enough to feed and clothe my family very well. ¡®No.¡¯ Before, in order to succeed, the only option was to study like all the others to become a civil servant. But now, it was different. I could forge a different path from the past. I said to Sunhwa, ¡°Let¡¯s keep hunting. We¡¯ll level up for another two days or so.¡± * * * ¡°Hiya!¡± Yoohyun punched. Arf! The city wolf yelped. [Level increased.] [Current level: 8] Yoohyun rubbed his nose. The people behind him cheered. ¡°In one hit again?¡± ¡°What is he, One Punch Man?¡± ¡°Even a level 8 monster is no big deal, huh?¡± The city wolves were wolves in name, but they seemed weaker than stray mutts. So Yoohyun had realized many things over the last five days. He leveled up faster than others. He was stronger than others. He didn¡¯t know why, but it was true. There were hardly any monsters that could survive his one and only skill, ¡®Power Fist¡¯. As a result, quite a lot of people trailed behind So Yoohyun. Those people thought they¡¯d grabbed a real lifeline. Roughly ten people were following him. ¡°You¡¯re indeed incredible.¡± ¡°Do you think so?¡± ¡°Of course. So Yoohyun is the strongest on the Tutorial Field, no?¡± ¡°Pshaw. I¡¯m not that great.¡± Everyone could see it. Even though he was saying ¡®not at all!¡¯ and acting humble, So Yoohyun¡¯s earlobes were a bit red. He was definitely a bit embarrassed right now. At first sight, he looked like a regular ol¡¯ moron, but his body was quivering with muscles that were anything but ordinary. However, at that moment, So Yoohyun saw someone in the distance. ¡°Huh?¡± In the vicinity of Cheonggyecheon, where they were, he saw another team hunting ¡®city wolves¡¯, made up of a young man and girl. The child was taking the tanker role, while the man was handling the DPS. ¡°There are more survivors!¡± So Yoohyun swiftly strode that way. ¡°Hello!¡± Having just finished hunting the city wolves, Kim Hyukjin stared at So Yoohyun. He was able to recognize the man instantly. ¡®The Fist King¡¯. It was the Fist King So Yoohyun. Hyukjin was meeting him in person. Many people were following So Yoohyun¡ªit seemed he had rescued them all, unlike Hyukjin, who had turned away many people. ¡®I can¡¯t believe I¡¯m seeing the Fist King in person.¡¯ He was one of the eight most famous Players in Korea. He looked to be about 190 centimetres tall and had a very bulky physique, but his eyes looked very honest and simple. The dark circles under his eyes gave him a big panda image. After a short conversation, So Yoohyun made a proposal. ¡°Would you like to work with us? Survivors should clump together, right? What do you think?¡± Kim Hyukjin looked So Yoohyun straight in the eyes. ¡®If everything goes the way I saw in the past¡­¡¯ All of the people behind him would die. The only person who survived hunting that thing on the 2nd floor of Gwanghwamun D-Tower was So Yoohyun. According to So Yoohyun¡¯s reminiscing, he said the thing he regretted most was taking those people to the 2nd floor of D-Tower. ¡°No thanks.¡± Hyukjin refused So Yoohyun¡¯s offer. He had no intention of hunting that thing. It was far more dangerous than the Goblin Soldier, and there was a high chance he would die. This was such a rare chance. He couldn¡¯t let it go to waste in vain. Continuing, Hyukjin said, ¡°I heard the Tutorial Field will end after surviving for seven days.¡± His #1 goal was to earn $1 million, and for that reason, he had to survive the Tutorial Field. There was no need to face excessive danger in order to defeat the Tutorial Field¡¯s boss monster. The moment he killed the Goblin Soldier, the ¡®attacks¡¯ or ¡®waves¡¯ ceased for good, which meant there was absolutely no need to flirt with death. ¡°Mm. No helping it then,¡± said So Yoohyun. Yoohyun didn¡¯t dwell on it or insist. His personality had always been like that. No matter what happened, he simply accepted it for what it was. However, the people following him thought that Kim Hyukjin was a little rude. ¡®He must not know So Yoohyun¡¯s strength yet¡­¡¯ ¡®Tsk, tsk. He just kicked away a good offer with his own two feet.¡¯ It looked like the pair was pretty skilled themselves, but they didn¡¯t think they had anything on So Yoohyun, who had the power to kill a city wolf in one hit. ¡®Can¡¯t be helped. He¡¯s simply throwing away his own fortune.¡¯ They didn¡¯t openly show their discomfort on their faces, but it was palpable to Kim Hyukjin. He said, ¡°Survive. I wish you good fortune. If you meet a truly powerful monster and are in a truly hopeless situation¡­ Aim for the left eye.¡± So Yoohyun would walk his path, and he would walk his. He just had to think about how to get out of here in one piece. History would continue on its path. And within that prescribed path, Kim Hyukjin would secure as much profit as he could. He continued to hunt wolf packs. [¡®Mutant Wolf¡¯s Fang¡¯ acquired.] [Level increased.] [Current level: 12] With the ¡®First Pioneer¡¯ title EXP buff in addition to his original leveling speed, he leveled up much faster than expected. Even though he was killing ¡®city wolves¡¯ that were relatively weak, his EXP was going up nicely. As time went on, he learned some tricks to hunting and was able to hunt faster than the wolves respawned. ¡®We¡¯ve caught all the wolves in this area.¡¯ The wolves had run dry. But just then, he heard a notice. [You have hunted 500 ¡®city wolves¡¯.] [Checking the Hidden Piece conditions.] [A Hidden Piece qualification condition has been fulfilled.] ¡®A Hidden Piece qualification condition?¡¯ That was the same notice I heard on the 1st floor of the D-Tower. ¡®Isn¡¯t that the notice I heard after killing the Goblin Soldier?¡¯ He didn¡¯t know what it was back then, but it was written here. Kim Hyukjin achieved three conditions no one had achieved before. Notices that had never existed in the past continued to ring out. ____ ____ Chapter 11 Max Talent Player Chapter 11: The Tutorial¡¯s Hidden Piece (2) Was there always a Hidden Piece in the Tutorial Field? Not that I was aware of. Even the man who had taken the lead in clearing the Tutorial Field, So Yoohyun, hadn¡¯t said anything about a Hidden Piece, nor had any other survivor. In other words, I was the first person to discover it. ¡®It¡¯s not necessarily something to be happy about.¡¯ The Hidden Piece reward was sure to be big. But it came with just as much liability for risk. Moreover, this ¡®Hidden Piece¡¯ wasn¡¯t something I knew about, so it was an unknown risk. The notices continued. [The King of the Wolves, a lycanthrope, has appeared.] ¡®What?¡¯ I urgently yanked Sunhwa¡¯s hand. ¡°Sunhwa. Run!¡± ¡°What?¡± Sunhwa was taken aback, but she nodded, starting to run, as if determined not to lose track of me. The bodies of ¡®city wolves¡¯ were littered all around it. That was probably the reason for the lycanthrope¡¯s rage. ¡®Why is a lycanthrope showing up in a Tutorial Field?!¡¯ The lycanthrope, simply put, was a humanoid wolf that ran around on two feet. Its level was normally around the 20~25 range. It wasn¡¯t a monster that should appear in the Tutorial. In terms of just physical ability, it was toe-to-toe with the monster on the 2nd floor of the D-Tower. Actually, just looking at the attack power, there was a chance it was even more powerful than him. ¡®Dammit.¡¯ With just Sunhwa and I, we couldn¡¯t defeat the lycanthrope. ¡°Sunhwa. You hide behind that car over there.¡± ¡°What about you?¡± ¡°Hurry!¡± I pushed Sunhwa away, eyeing the distance. Whether it was survival instinct or a rational thought process doing whatever it had to do to survive, I couldn¡¯t say. I finished making my decision. ¡®It¡¯s all or nothing.¡¯ The lycanthrope was fast. ¡®In any case, I can¡¯t run.¡¯ The lycanthrope was already looking this way, meaning it had already targeted us. Even if I ran with all my might, I would probably be caught in five seconds. Hiding behind the car I pointed out, Sunhwa trembled. ¡®Sunhwa won¡¯t be able to defend herself from the attack of an animal-type monster over level 20 yet.¡¯ The lycanthrope¡¯s teeth and claws were sharp, incomparable to the knives of a baby goblin. I took a deep breath. [Your heartbeat is rising excessively.] [¡®Calm Observer¡¯s Eye¡¯ is taking effect.] Calm Observer¡¯s Eye kicked in as usual. ¡®Control the mind.¡¯ Stay calm, I urged myself. I took in another big breath, then used one of the items in my Inventory. [High Strength Elixir] The Courageous Lion King¡¯s gift. An Open Beta Bonus, it will take effect for ten minutes. Temporarily increases Strength by 6. The effect of the High Strength Elixir was like 3 level ups. ¡°Come at me, you shitty dog!¡± I couldn¡¯t defeat it with the High Strength Elixir alone. I was well aware of that, but it wasn¡¯t as if the situation was completely hopeless. * * * A distance away, Kang Sunhwa could only watch the wolf-human through the car window in horror. ¡®It¡¯s so different.¡¯ So much that it felt like a creature in a completely different dimension from all the other monsters she had seen so far. She clearly saw red letters above the lycanthrope¡¯s head. Even its name looked extremely dangerous. It was like the System was screaming at her that he was a monster she couldn¡¯t yet face. ¡®Oppa¡­!¡¯ She didn¡¯t have a clue about what he was planning to do. ¡®I beg you. I beg you, God. Please, help us.¡¯ Even though her mom had abandoned her and run away, Sunhwa still wanted to see her. She wanted to live. ¡®I¡¯ll be good. I¡¯ll study hard.¡¯ But just then, she heard Kim Hyukjin yell something. ¡°Come at me, you shitty dog!¡± It was as if the sky darkened. Whatever oppa was thinking, that shout at least succeeded spectacularly in irritating the lycanthrope more than any effect of Sunhwa¡¯s ¡®Taunt¡¯ skill could. Awoooooooo¨C! The lycanthrope howled. [Howl has taken physical effect.] [The abnormal status Paralyzation has taken effect.] Kang Sunhwa fell to her knees with a thump. She trembled, and her teeth clattered together, completely at the mercy of the lycanthrope¡¯s howl. The lycanthrope went from two legs to all four and began to run like a wolf. * * * * * * ¡®It¡¯s too fast!¡¯ The 2-meter large, muscular monster sprang forward, instantaneously drawing near. I felt sweat run down my back. ¡®How can it be so fast despite being so big?¡¯ I had seen it often on Youtube, but seeing it on the screen and experiencing it in person were two different things. I counted in my head. ¡®3.¡¯ The lycanthrope was right in front of me, just five meters away, a distance so short it could be traversed in the blink of an eye. ¡®2.¡¯ The lycanthrope¡¯s golden eyes glowed brightly. They were the eyes of a predator eyeing its prey, and those glowing orbs were fixed directly on me. ¡®1.¡¯ I clenched my fists hard. ¡®Now.¡¯ The lycanthrope jumped into the air. I instantly rolled forward, just one rotation. I only imagined the movement, but my body followed through more fluidly than expected. Meanwhile, the lycanthrope was high in the air. ¡®Its first attack is always a jump.¡¯ I made use of that habit. A few seconds was a short period, but I used every second. ¡®And then¡ª¡¯ As if planning on making use of explosive strength, the lycanthrope¡¯s leg muscles expanded. I saw it all in my mind. The lycanthrope would shoot forward towards me as soon as it landed. ¡®Now!¡¯ I took out the item in my Inventory. ¡®Aim for where those feet shadows are forming.¡¯ My eyes flicked towards that spot, every movement as natural as if I had experienced and learned all of this before. Then, I raised the reward I had coerced from Senia. [Quality Lubricant] Good quality lubrication oil. It can sharpen the blade of an item with an edge, or be applied to a part that requires lubrication. I splashed the lubricant on the ground, and in the very next moment, the lycanthrope landed. ¡®Now!¡¯ I threw myself at the lycanthrope, pushing the beast with all of my strength. Sliiiide! It slid backwards, losing its balance, and fell into the Cheonggyecheon River. ¡®I-I did it!¡¯ This was the Cheonggyecheon district. ¡®He¡¯s in.¡¯ And the lycanthrope fell into the river flowing through it. Aroo? The lycanthrope proceeded to produce sounds that didn¡¯t match its threatening aura, yelping like a drowning puppy. The ¡®Great Explorer Jackson¡¯ said the following about this method: ¡°Any low-level Players who attempt this method might need to be prepared to lose their life. However, this is also the only method that would, if successfully done, allow a low-level Player to kill a lycanthrope.¡± ¡®It really worked?¡¯ The only method available to me was to dunk the lycanthrope into water. Method aside, I successfully achieved that. It had only been made possible by the geographical location, Cheonggyecheon, the ¡®Quality Lubricant¡¯ item, and perfect timing. ¡®I really¡­ did it.¡¯ It was simply unbelievable. Even I, myself, was stunned. I carried it out on the small possibility it might work, but it actually did. In all actuality, a war between logic and instinct had raged within me just now. My logic said, ¡®You¡¯ll never win¡¯, but my instinct said, ¡®You can win¡¯. ¡®It was definitely dangerous, but¡­¡¯ Strangely enough¡­ ¡®It was easier than expected.¡¯ If you broke it down, drowning the lycanthrope was absolutely not easy to do. Everything had to line up perfectly in order for it to work. Even a well-trained Player would be hard-pressed to break the lycanthrope¡¯s balance and push it into the river with such precise timing. The gap between my logic and instinct was simply too big. Strangely, it felt far too easy compared to the difficulty. ¡°O-Oppa. Are you alright?¡± Sunhwa approached me, looking down upon hearing the yelping from the water. ¡°I-Is that the lycanthrope?¡± It was indeed the lycanthrope, but it had become so much smaller, smaller than a city wolf. It was like a puppy. I walked down the bank and killed the lycanthrope as easily as if I were facing a city wolf. Weakened and turned tiny by the water, the lycanthrope was a breeze to kill, and I finished it off with his Iron Sword. It couldn¡¯t even move, much less resist. ¡®I really killed it.¡¯ I killed a lycanthrope, a monster over twice my level. ¡®I saw it.¡¯ Everything had played out before me, showing me exactly how I should move. It was as natural as if someone were showing me, as natural as breathing. After killing it, I was absolutely certain. ¡®I¡¯m sure of it. This is the influence of talent.¡¯ Talent, that innate value that one was born with and could not be attained by any amount of effort. I had it, although I still couldn¡¯t rule out the possibility that I might be an early bloomer Player. ¡®In any case, I survived.¡¯ I had certainly escaped the jaws of death. Sunhwa came closer and expressed her admiration. ¡°Oppa. You didn¡¯t do any kind of martial arts before, right?¡± I hadn¡¯t had time for something like that. ¡°It was like a movie or something. How did you pull that off?¡± ¡°Did I look a bit cool?¡± ¡°Not just a bit, a lot cool.¡± Sunhwa looked more excited than the person who dealt the finishing blow. She was like, ¡°You went whee¡± and then ¡°kasham¡± and then ¡°whoosh!¡± ¡®This is reality.¡¯ It wasn¡¯t a dream. I, an eternal civil servant student, killed a lycanthrope. With my own two hands. My level instantly went up. [You have killed a ¡®lycanthrope¡¯.] [Level increased.] [30 Coins acquired.] [Current level: 13] ¡®A level up, already?¡¯ It didn¡¯t end there. [Level increased.] [Current level: 14] [Level increased.] [Current level: 15] I went up a whopping three levels in one go. [You have successfully hunted the Hidden Piece monster, ¡®lycanthrope¡¯.] [You are bestowed the Hidden Piece reward, the ¡®Excellent Hunter¡¯ title.] Even before Hyukjin could check his new title properly, yet another notice came in. That meant the jerk was still in Senia¡¯s channel. I laughed inwardly. It looked like the Courageous Lion King was still gawking at me. However, the notices of other Guardians came in as well. [The ¡®Nameless Observer¡¯ is shocked by your combat sense.] [The ¡®Nameless Observer¡¯ hopes to sponsor you.] [+1200 Coin] The Nameless Observer sent in 1200 Coins, and¡ª [The ¡®Lady of the Scales¡¯ is in awe of your spirit of sacrifice.] [The ¡®Lady of the Scales¡¯ hopes to sponsor you.] [+700 Coin] ¡ªthe Lady of the Scales sent in 700 Coins. By spirit of sacrifice, she probably was referring to how it ended up looking like I protected Sunhwa with my life on the line. It was a bit off the mark, but who cared? As long as the result was good, it was fine. In any case, I acquired 1,900 Coins in a matter of moments. ¡®1900 Coins¡­!¡¯ Currently, the Tutorial was still underway. Before the battle, I was only level 13 and had about 6,000 Coins. But with the gifts from the Guardians, I got a lump sum of 1,900 Coins in one fell swoop. ¡®Which means, my Coins amount to¡­¡¯ I booted up my Inventory Window and looked at the number at the very bottom. I had earned nearly 8,000 Coins, and all in the Tutorial. I was now level 15, with almost eight grand in Coins. I achieved something that no theory or strategy ten years in the future had ever imagined. ¡®Plus.¡¯ That wasn¡¯t all. Something truly important was next. ____ ____ Chapter 12 Max Talent Player Chapter 12: D-Tower 2nd Floor ¡®Level 15.¡¯ From level 15 onwards, it was possible to use the ¡®Item Shop¡¯. Sure enough, I got a notice telling me that. [You can now use the Item Shop.] [The Item Shop is Tutorial-Grade.] [The Tutorial-Grade Item Shop can be used through an ¡®Intermediate Administrator¡¯.] Intermediate Administrator was System lingo for what we called Streamer, so Senia. She had been continuously trailing me, observing me the whole time, just as I wanted. It was because I made for pretty great quality material. ¡°Senia.¡± Senia appeared, seemingly knowing why I called her. ¡°I will give you an explanation of the Item Shop.¡± Originally, the Shop hadn¡¯t been opened in the Tutorial, so even though I was already very familiar with it, I decided to listen to Senia¡¯s explanation anyway. ¡°We are currently in the Tutorial Field. The Item Shop¡¯s grade has been set to ¡®Tutorial¡¯, and as such, only four items can be purchased.¡± There wasn¡¯t anything all that special in her explanation. I opened up the Item Shop. [Item Shop ¨C Tutorial-Grade] Like Senia said, the Tutorial-grade Item Shop had a lot of limitations. ¡®There are only four things I can buy, but¡­¡¯ In the Tutorial, this was already plenty. Plus, I had 8,000 Coins in my possession. ¡°I ask Player Kim Hyukjin once again. Do you really not have a True Name?¡± ¡°You don¡¯t need to know.¡± I didn¡¯t even know what a True Name was. At my response, Senia¡¯s wings trembled again. She was as expressionless as ever, but when she spoke to me again, her voice was at least half a pitch higher. ¡°I am not very curious about it either.¡± It looked like she was lying through her teeth and was actually very curious, but I didn¡¯t pay much attention to her. I looked once again in the direction the Fist King, So Yoohyun, and the others had gone. At the end of that path was the D-Tower. ¡®If I have these¡­¡¯ With the potions, it was doable. I didn¡¯t have to use the level up trick like I did when hunting the miniboss, the Goblin Soldier, because I could definitely handle it by using the Constitution and Cure Potions. ¡°Player Kim Hyukjin.¡± ¡°What?¡± ¡°You haven¡¯t checked the Excellent Hunter title.¡± There could only be one reason why she was saying such a thing. She wanted to make it public to the Guardians. She wanted to tell them the Player she was broadcasting earned this and that kind of title, by doing A, B, C. I was sure the Guardians were also on the edge of their seats. ¡°Yeah. I¡¯ll check it now.¡± ¡°Will you check the Excellent Hunter title?¡± ¡°But I¡¯ll do it on my own.¡± ¡°¡­¡± Senia¡¯s face was as flat as usual. ¡°You don¡¯t look so happy? Did you think I would open up a public window and let you take a look?¡± ¡°As I have emphasized time and time again, I am not curious about you in the least.¡± After saying so, Senia returned to her opaque state, as if to say she wouldn¡¯t meddle with me anymore. ¡®She¡¯s a total newb.¡¯ I saw how cleverly the Streamers handled Rankers ten years later, and in my eyes, Senia seemed like a true beginner of beginners. In other words¡­ ¡®She¡¯s easy for me to handle.¡¯ It was good for me. To become an ¡®amazing Player¡¯, it would be best not to publicize my information to the Guardians too much. It was most advantageous for the Player to maintain a certain level of mystery. That would stimulate the curiosity of the Guardians, and it was my job right now to slowly sate their desire. ¡®Let¡¯s see here.¡¯ What kind of title did I get from killing the Hidden Monster, a lycanthrope, that appeared on the Hidden Field? Normally, it was an impossible monster for someone of my level to hunt. I turned my attention to checking what kind of reward I had received from it. ¡®Check.¡¯ I opened the title description. [Excellent Hunter] A special title only given on the Tutorial Field. Applies only to creatures recognized by the System as ¡®non-sentient beings¡¯. ¡®Non-sentient beings means¡­¡¯ That would include the lycanthrope I had just hunted, the city wolves, the city foxes, and other monsters of that nature. Goblins probably fell under the umbrella as well. It applied to most low-level monsters. ¡®It¡¯ll definitely be good in the lower-level period.¡¯ Most sentient monsters were high-level and tricky to fight. That meant it would be a long time before I came in contact with them, and in the lower-level period, this title would be extremely useful. ¡®Can¡¯t believe I got two titles in the Tutorial.¡¯ It was a boon I hadn¡¯t even dreamt of. That was something no one in the past had ever achieved. Even the Fist King So Yoohyun only ever got the ¡®Tutorial Ender¡¯ title. ¡®I even got a skill.¡¯ The skill came with an additional effect. ¡®A low chance to ignore the prey¡¯s unique trait.¡¯ This was pretty good in its own way, too, though it was unfortunate it was only a ¡®low chance¡¯. Whenever a monster had some kind of unique defense ability, I could pierce through it. After hunting the lycanthrope, I was lost in thought for a moment. It was obscured by buildings, but it felt like I could see it clearly¡ªthe D-Tower. ¡°Sunhwa.¡± ¡°Yes?¡± ¡°We¡¯re going to D-Tower.¡± ¡°That¡¯s the place where we killed the Goblin Soldier, right? The Tutorial Dungeon.¡± ¡°Yes.¡± To be precise, we were heading to the 2nd floor of the D-Tower. So Yoohyun and his group had likely already gone that way. By now¡­ ¡®They¡¯re probably looking around the 1st floor.¡¯ I didn¡¯t think they had gone up to the 2nd floor yet. ¡°Oppa, are you thinking about the 2nd floor over there?¡± ¡°Yeah.¡± ¡°You said it was extremely dangerous.¡± That was definitely true. That thing on the 2nd floor wasn¡¯t something that could be hunted by normal means. Even the Fist King So Yoohyun said later that going in there was the thing he regretted most. ¡°Think about when we first met.¡± The very first time we had met, this child was hardly a match for a baby goblin. All she could do was beg for help, shaking in fear. ¡°It hasn¡¯t even been one week, but what do you think will happen if you meet a baby goblin now?¡± Even if a goblin swarm were to appear, with this kid¡¯s physical ability, she would be fine. Sunhwa quickly picked up on what I was trying to say. ¡°That oppa has become that much stronger? Way more than you expected?¡± ¡°¡­¡± I didn¡¯t respond. At that, Sunhwa crossed her arms and nodded, her expression incredibly serious. Then, she mumbled like a sage who had uncovered all of the hidden truths and principles of the world. ¡°Figures, oppa is an outstanding ultra genius, after all.¡± ¡°Right. I¡¯m also a little confused.¡± By my original standards, Sunhwa was the real genius, but it seemed like I was even more of a genius than her. Or rather, considering the current situation, that was a fact. I thought of the D-Tower, the 2nd floor. ¡®There¡¯s no chance of winning with a direct confrontation.¡¯ But there were also no tricks that worked on it, like with the lycanthrope. It was actually a very tricky opponent. That was why I wanted to avoid it, if at all possible, but the situation had changed. I knew that monster very well, and I came to the conclusion that with my current skills, I could definitely kill it. ¡®I have a plan.¡¯ I outlined the plan from start to finish in my head. It would be a lie to say it wouldn¡¯t be dangerous, but¡­ ¡®I can definitely do it.¡¯ I could do it. I had the confidence to make it happen. ¡®No. I want to make it happen.¡¯ The desire to accomplish and succeed was growing and swirling within my chest, a feeling that was almost a first for me in my entire life. During my days as a civil servant student, I didn¡¯t feel anything like this. One thing was for sure¡ªthe current me was different from the past me. ¡°You don¡¯t have to come if you don¡¯t want to. Go to a Safe Zone and hide.¡± If everything went as planned, as I imagined, I would go far beyond simply surviving the Tutorial and would be able to gain something far greater. How many times had I seized such opportunities in my life? Never. I hadn¡¯t had any opportunities. My mom passed early, my sister became sick with leukemia, and I was stuck being a civil servant. But now, it was time for me to seize my chance. * * * * * * So Yoohyun¡¯s group entered the D-Tower and heard the notice saying it was the Tutorial Dungeon. At the word ¡®dungeon¡¯, So Yoohyun brought his guard up. ¡°What¡¯s going on? There¡¯s nothing here?¡± ¡°Yeah, I was nervous for nothing.¡± They flattered themselves for having adapted fairly well to the System. ¡°But it¡¯s a tutorial anyway, right? How strong could something possibly be?¡± Meanwhile, So Yoohyun discovered something. ¡®That¡¯s¡­¡¯ He approached an ATM. The ATM screen had been completely torn apart. It looked like something with tremendous torque had punched through it. ¡®What the heck could it have been? I haven¡¯t seen such destructive force outside.¡¯ Goosebumps rose on his arms. That was how terrifying the destructive force appeared to be. ¡®Not even I could have survived that.¡¯ So Yoohyun had a hunch. ¡®Someone¡­ was already here.¡¯ He believed someone had come here, cleared it, and left. At least the 1st floor, that is. ¡®Who could it have been?¡¯ For some reason, one person appeared in his mind. He recalled that man with the powerful presence, the man who had been with the young girl. Why that was the case, he didn¡¯t know, but that was the face that came to mind. That very ordinary-looking person had left a strong impression on Yoohyun. Just then, someone shouted, ¡°Over here! You can click the escalator over here!¡± It was like an RPG game. It went without saying that it wasn¡¯t like moving your mouse to actually click on a button. Looking at the escalator with your eyes was enough to know that it was a clickable ¡®object¡¯. [Escalator Going to the 2nd Floor] An escalator going to the Main Field of D-Tower, the 2nd Floor. Can transport fifteen people at once. Cooldown: Twenty minutes Several people buzzed in excitement. ¡°What should we do? Should we try going up to the 2nd floor?¡± These people had already felt that Playing was rather fun. In other words, they were people with the right personality to become ¡®Rankers¡¯. Someone who didn¡¯t think Playing was fun could not become a Ranker. After all, thinking of Playing in that way was a type of talent in itself. They felt themselves grow hot with excitement. ¡°Won¡¯t it be dangerous?¡± ¡°Other than the 1st and 2nd waves, it wasn¡¯t that dangerous.¡± ¡°But it¡¯s still a dungeon¡­ and the Tutorial Field will end in a little bit. I have the feeling we shouldn¡¯t overdo it¡­¡± So Yoohyun fell into deep contemplation. ¡®Do we have to go up?¡¯ If surviving was his goal, then it would probably be fine to stay here. Did they really have to raid the 2nd floor? It also seemed like monsters didn¡¯t really respawn here, making it a comparatively safe place. ¡°What do you think, Mr. So Yoohyun?¡± Just then, he heard a notice. For some unknown reason, the contents of the quest were altered. [The contents of the Tutorial Quest have been altered.] [If Players fail to clear the Tutorial Dungeon, all people within the Tutorial Field will die.] This was a ¡®Tutorial Field-wide notice¡¯. The answer was predetermined. So Yoohyun made his decision. ¡°We¡¯re going in.¡± ¡°Sounds good. Well, with you around, everything¡¯ll die in one hit.¡± Everyone other than So Yoohyun was full of confidence. They activated the escalator heading to the 2nd floor. Completely unaware of what was waiting for them, they teleported to the ¡®Tutorial Dungeon 2nd Floor Raid¡¯ that the Fist King So Yoohyun would later consider his ¡®greatest regret¡¯. * * * A few minutes prior We saw the D-Tower in the distance. ¡°We ended up coming back,¡± she said. Kang Sunhwa had followed before, saying, ¡°I just want to Play. I think I can be of help, too.¡± She didn¡¯t have the pros and cons calculations or complicated thoughts adults commonly entertained. She simply followed, all for the vague reason that she might be helpful. ¡°Yeah.¡± I hadn¡¯t expected we¡¯d be coming back here, either. Gwanghwamun D-Tower, the place with the miniboss monster, the Goblin Soldier. We had come back. We heard a notice, a field-wide notice that rang out in the entirety of the Tutorial Field. [The contents of the Tutorial Quest have been altered.] [Please clear the Tutorial Dungeon.] [If Players fail to clear the Tutorial Dungeon, all people within the Tutorial Field will die.] Such a notice hadn¡¯t existed in the history I had studied. It was devastating. If the Tutorial Dungeon wasn¡¯t cleared, all 150,000 people on the field would die. I didn¡¯t panic. ¡®The quest is different.¡¯ The situation had changed. However¡ª ¡®Me being here is also different.¡¯ Two people who hadn¡¯t existed in the events from ten years ago were here. I didn¡¯t feel all that bothered by the fact the quest had changed. As sudden as it was, I accepted it without a fuss. Two people who hadn¡¯t existed here ten years ago, me and Kang Sunhwa, entered the Tutorial Dungeon. ____ ____ Chapter 13 Max Talent Player Chapter 13: D-Tower 2nd Floor (2) Sung Minchul considered meeting So Yoohyun to be his life¡¯s greatest fortune. In his eyes, So Yoohyun had an enormous talent for ¡®Playing¡¯. To put it in other words, he was a genius. [Let me help you. Come with me.] The sight of the good natured-looking Yoohyun saving him from getting eaten by a goblin was still vivid in his mind. Among the Players, So Yoohyun was simply overwhelming. If he stayed with this person, he would probably be able to, at the very least, survive this ¡®strange phenomenon¡¯. Sung Minchul didn¡¯t doubt for a moment that this ¡®Tutorial Field¡¯ was a field set up for So Yoohyun. However, the situation changed a little. Not far away, he saw a green mass of muscle, named a ¡®Magic Troll¡¯. Its name was red, and its level wasn¡¯t even indicated. Uohhhhhh! The magic troll swung its huge fist. ¡°Argh!¡± So Yoohyun tried to block it, but the situation wasn¡¯t looking too good. From the way his left arm dangled afterwards, it looked like his shoulder was dislocated. ¡°Hah! Haah! Haah!¡± So Yoohyun looked exhausted. Sung Minchul barely managed to sit up, blood dripping from his mouth. Next to him were people who had died in one hit of that fist. Whether they had fainted, or died, he wasn¡¯t sure, but they were most likely dead. He didn¡¯t have the luxury of checking. In any case, the only people who still had their heads on straight were Minchul himself and So Yoohyun. Minchul wiped the blood from his lips with his sleeve. ¡°Dammit¡­¡± He had a feeling¡­ that he would die here. If, by some chance, someone were to get out of this place alive, it wouldn¡¯t be him. It wasn¡¯t as if he didn¡¯t consider running away, but¡­ [The Boss Zone has not been deactivated.] [Fleeing the Boss Zone is only possible for ten seconds after entry.] [You cannot flee.] He couldn¡¯t flee. ¡®I might¡­ die here.¡¯ No, there was a high chance he would die here. ¡®I¡¯m going to die.¡¯ Fear swelled within him. He truly regretted his bravado before coming to the 2nd floor. So Yoohyun¡¯s right fist glowed blue. ¡°Aahhhhhh!¡± He punched out, hitting the green monster, the ¡®troll¡¯, squarely in the side. That fist that had smashed every monster up until now had no effect this time. There was a resounding impact, but the troll merely frowned a little. ¡®Dammit!¡¯ Even So Yoohyun felt like he was fighting a massive wall. But just then, he heard another notice. [New Players are entering.] [There is no maximum Player limit.] [Fleeing the Boss Zone is only possible for ten seconds after entry.] Minchul and Yoohyun turned to look at the escalator at the same time. Minchul cried out, ¡°Run!¡± Ten seconds. They only had ten seconds left. ¡°You can still run within ten seconds!¡± If they didn¡¯t go back on the escalator within ten seconds, they would be trapped here. He saw a young girl, a child in her early teens at best. Suddenly, tears welled up in his eyes. ¡®Mina.¡¯ He had a daughter exactly around that age. She had just become a middle school student. His daughter¡¯s face came to mind and seemed to overlap with the face of the girl he saw. It would be great if that child didn¡¯t die, he thought. She¡¯s not my daughter, but it would be great if she lived. It would be great if she didn¡¯t come here. Because if she did, the only thing that awaited her was a brutal death. ¡°This guy can never, ever be killed, so hurry and get out of here!¡± Whether they heard his words or not, the two people walked over from the escalator not far into the distance. ¡°Please! Please, run. Can¡¯t you hear me? Don¡¯t you see this crazy monster?!¡± He had walked over here just as gallantly, thinking that no matter how strong the monster might look, it was still the Tutorial Field, a tutorial, and they had So Yoohyun. Because he was with a person who had been born to Play. That conceit had been shattered in just one minute. It was obvious that the same would happen to the newcomers. ¡°Don¡¯t be reckless and go back! It¡¯s too dangerous!¡± Please go back. Don¡¯t come to this harsh place and die. Crash! The sound of impact rang out. It was the sound of So Yoohyun getting hit. Taking the troll¡¯s fist to his head, Yoohyun fainted. Meanwhile, Kim Hyukjin came ever closer. * * * * * * ¡°I told you to aim for the left eye, didn¡¯t I?¡± Kim Hyukjin walked towards the troll, not too fast or too suddenly. Though the troll was that large, it was as fast as a lithe tiger. He walked slowly on purpose, judging it wouldn¡¯t be good to draw aggro while he still didn¡¯t have a good grasp on the situation. While he was walking, he heard a shout that was nearly a scream, but he ignored it. After coming closer, he saw the troll¡¯s information in his mind. The name was written in red, indicating that it was absolutely not a monster Hyukjin could easily kill. In fact, it was likely a very difficult opponent. A little ways to the side, he saw So Yoohyun lying unconscious after getting hit in the head. ¡®It¡¯s a monster that can go up against the Fist King So Yoohyun.¡¯ The troll was a monster with incredibly good vitality. It was also extremely resilient. Moreover, it happened to have a particularly high resistance to ¡®fist attacks¡¯. With the addition of the boss monster stat buff, the troll was definitely a tricky opponent, a boss monster that required you to stack on continuous damage with frontal methods. [The ¡®Nameless Observer¡¯ is watching you.] [The ¡®Lady of the Scales¡¯ is watching you.] It seemed even the Guardians thought the current Kim Hyukjin couldn¡¯t kill the troll. However, he didn¡¯t run. Instead, he continued to advance. The notices continued to stream in. [The ¡®Nameless Observer¡¯ has high hopes for you.] [The ¡®Lady of the Scales¡¯ marvels at your heroic appearance.] The Nameless Observer seemed to want to observe how Hyukjin would kill the troll, while the Lady of the Scales was more interested in how he would save the survivors here. The two Guardians wanted slightly different things, but in any case, there was no mistake that Hyukjin had to defeat the troll. He pulled out the ¡®Iron Sword¡¯ and checked his ¡®slots¡¯. ¡®I memorized how to use them.¡¯ If he used the slots, he didn¡¯t have to physically drink the potions. Items moved to his slots could be used immediately simply by willing it. It was like a keyboard shortcut in a game. ¡®I¡¯m all ready to go.¡¯ He was scared. Originally, he would have never come into this place. But now, he had the ¡®Item Shop¡¯. He had potions. ¡®Besides its enormous resilience, its actual attack power isn¡¯t that high.¡¯ The fact most of So Yoohyun¡¯s group was still alive was proof of that. They were scattered on the ground, almost all of them unconscious. It lacked the intelligence to check whether the people were dead or not. The troll could be defined as such: a dumb monster with strong resilience and constitution. Kim Hyukjin said, ¡°Sunhwa. Those people aren¡¯t dead yet. They¡¯re not corpses.¡± ¡°Huh?¡± Sunhwa flinched in surprise. Her face flushed a bit. ¡°I-I didn¡¯t think they were dead. Really. I wasn¡¯t thinking bad thoughts.¡± ¡°That¡¯s not what I mean. Put this in their mouths.¡± He handed her recovery potions, which he had stocked up from the Item Shop. With these, they would be out of the woods for the time being. It was the final act of conscience he could offer after having turned away from so many people. He didn¡¯t intend to die for them, but he could still save them from dying. ¡®This is all I can do for them.¡¯ Getting out of here alive was their responsibility. ¡°If they happen to regain consciousness, be sure to tell them not to move and just stay still. Tell them not to attack,¡± he added. ¡°Got it.¡± After Kim Hyukjin thought he had done everything he could, he looked forward again. The monster that looked like the Hulk stared in Hyukjin¡¯s direction. ¡®The Fist King of the past managed to kill something like this.¡¯ Of course, there were differences from the past and now. Other than So Yoohyun, everyone here had died. There was also a high chance that Yoohyun had been the one who had hunted the miniboss, the Goblin Soldier. ¡®As a result, the Tutorial¡¯s Fist King has become as much weaker as I have grown stronger.¡¯ Which meant¡ª ¡®His current skills are lacking.¡¯ Yoohyun was still unconscious. Hyukjin walked close, but not close enough to greatly provoke the troll. ¡®It has great resilience and moves quickly, but its attacking speed is slow.¡¯ There wasn¡¯t any real strat. You had to slowly, steadily pile on the damage over a long period of time. That meant the challenger had to last a long time, too, something that was possible with potions. Thud! Thud! Thud! Thud! The mass of muscle began to stomp its way over. It was fast. Whoosh! Within mere moments, a huge fist came swinging his way. However, Hyukjin could follow that fist clearly with his eyes. He couldn¡¯t quite read the next movement or perfectly track its path, but¡­ ¡®I can see the trajectory.¡¯ At the very least, at this moment, he could see exactly how that fist would swing. ¡®Duck my head.¡¯ Whoosh¨C! The magic troll¡¯s fist swept past the hairs on his head. As expected of its enormous size, the attack carried a certain degree of strength, but that meant nothing if it didn¡¯t land. Hyukjin thrust his sword into the troll¡¯s abdomen. ¡®It¡¯s not hitting.¡¯ Just like how Hyukjin had read the troll¡¯s movements, the troll had read his as well. Their speeds were evenly matched, victor or loser not apparent to the eye. With the buff of the ¡®Excellent Hunter¡¯ title, their speeds were equal. ¡®Okay.¡¯ He opened his Status Window. [Status Window] Name: Kim Hyukjin (Player) Level: 15 Title: [Excellent Hunter] [First Pioneer] Strength: 17 Intelligence: 17 Agility: 17 Perception: 17 Constitution: 17 Willpower: 17 (+30) Bonus stats: 2 Random stats: 4 Undistributed stats: 6 He was level 15. Thanks to getting random stats for whatever reason, his stats were a far cry from a regular level 15 Player. A regular Player would have stats like these at level 20. ¡®6 undistributed stats.¡¯ When fighting the lycanthrope, he had used the ¡®High Strength Elixir¡¯. Back then, he physically experienced how big an effect ¡®+6¡¯ had. ¡®Put them all in Agility.¡¯ The troll had high resilience, but its ¡®defense¡¯ wasn¡¯t actually so high that it couldn¡¯t take damage. [Agility increased.] ¡­ ¡­ [Agility increased.] Adding +6 to Agility, his current Agility was 23. As his Agility stat shot up, he felt his body grow lighter. He could see the troll¡¯s movements more precisely, and with his increased speed, Hyukjin began to gain the upper hand. Uooogh! The troll swung its fists. Hyukjin dodged and struck repeatedly, hunting the troll while continuously avoiding close calls. From afar, Sung Minchul stared in a daze. ¡®Even So Yoohyun was at its mercy, but¡­¡¯ A single person was fighting a monster that not just So Yoohyun, but all fifteen people who had come here, hadn¡¯t been able to touch. Though the fight looked so dicey it seemed as if the Player could be blown away at any moment, he was hunting the troll. ¡®He¡¯s soloing it?¡¯ There¡¯s always someone better. That was what people said. Watching the scene before him now, Sung Minchul felt it was true. ¡®How can he be like that?¡¯ They had been Playing for the same amount of time, so how could that man handle such a monster on his own? ¡®Is he¡­ the real genius?¡¯ His talent was so overwhelming it made even So Yoohyun, someone Minchul had thought of as a genius, look like an ordinary Joe. A cr¨¨me de la cr¨¨me level of talent that relegated geniuses to normalcy. A kind of skill reaching a different world, a domain that couldn¡¯t be approached by any amount of effort. Minchul felt that the man he saw had that kind of talent, skill, and something more. At that moment, that was how the situation played out for Sung Minchul. One hour passed with him watching in awe. * * * Blood flowed from the troll¡¯s left eye. I breathed raggedly. ¡°Haah¡­! Haah¡­!¡± The troll was estimated to be level 25. With the boss monster stat buff, the constitution of the ¡®magic troll¡¯ was beyond imagination. Despite that, I didn¡¯t feel all that desperate. ¡®I can do this.¡¯ While fighting the magic troll, I felt it again. The magic troll wasn¡¯t an impossible foe to hunt. For Players of the Tutorial level, it was considered as a foe that couldn¡¯t be soloed, but that wasn¡¯t true. ¡®I can definitely kill it.¡¯ I could kill it normally, without any tricks. As I fought, I could certainly feel that I was most likely a genius. [Low Constitution Potion has been used.] [Low Constitution Potion has been used.] Of course, I hadn¡¯t gotten to this point on talent and strategies alone. There was definitely some item abuse going on. ¡®Potion abuse¡¯, to be exact. I was only managing by chugging two potions in one go, but without potions, I would have really fallen over. But now, the end was nearing. Perhaps because they were suffering under the special ability of the ¡®magic troll¡¯, the people seemed to have no intention of stirring. They had been unconscious for one hour. If they at least woke up, if So Yoohyun at least woke up, he could help out a little, but it didn¡¯t matter¡ªit was almost over. The troll was as exhausted as I was. The troll could no longer regenerate. That was the result of one hour of bloody fighting. Another ten minutes ticked past, and then I clenched the hilt of my sword. ¡®The final blow comes later.¡¯ I had to wait. Right now, I had to bide my time. A little later, every piece of the puzzle would come together. The time was coming for me to put the final stroke on the picture. But just then, a kink occurred in my plans. ____ ____ Chapter 14 Max Talent Player Chapter 14: This is When I¡¯m the Cheapest ¡®Gotta take my time with the final blow.¡¯ I had to take my time killing the troll. According to the strategies I had seen, a delay of at least fifteen minutes was necessary. Otherwise, yet another change would occur in the troll. ¡®Let¡¯s put in one more hit and then wait.¡¯ My Iron Sword was about to hit the troll¡¯s left eye, when¡ª I instantly stilled, but it was already too late to draw back my sword. The tip of the Iron Sword went into the troll¡¯s left eye. [The ¡®Courageous Lion King¡¯ has gifted you ¡®Superb Superhuman Strength¡¯, and it has taken effect.] [Due to ¡®Superb Superhuman Strength¡¯, the attack power of this attack has increased by 100%.] I instantly came to a conclusion. ¡®Dammit.¡¯ There was no doubt that the damned Courageous Lion King had been waiting for this moment. He was probably snickering, [Now. Show me your courage.] If one day, I had the chance to beat a Guardian to death, that Guardian would be my first target. ¡®It¡¯s too late.¡¯ What I had intended on being a light hit had become a finishing blow. I had dealt too powerful an attack without a delay. Now, the troll¡¯s counterattack would begin. Even before I retracted my sword, I made a decision. ¡®I have to run.¡¯ Plunge! The Iron Sword plunged into the magic troll¡¯s left eye. Ting! And then, an arrow flew out of nowhere and embedded itself in the middle of the magic troll¡¯s forehead along with a triumphant ¡°I did it!¡± * * * One of the guys that had been unconscious near the troll had fired an arrow. His name was Jang Hyunsoo. He had received a bow as his random weapon and was a pretty good hand at it. Actually, it had been quite a while since he regained consciousness. ¡°If you come to, don¡¯t do anything and just stay still. That¡¯s what oppa said.¡± Jang Hyunsoo had heard those words. He had remained lying down in fear, because if he accidentally drew the troll¡¯s aggro, he would die. After praying for what seemed like an eternity for that man to somehow kill the troll, he opened his eyes to discover a shocking scene. ¡®What the hell? Holy shit. It¡¯s almost dead.¡¯ A monster that even So Yoohyun couldn¡¯t kill was almost hunted by a man who didn¡¯t look all that special. Hyunsoo hadn¡¯t even imagined that there was a Player stronger than So Yoohyun. ¡®It¡¯s really almost over?¡¯ Once this troll fell, the Tutorial would end. Once his desire to survive was satisfied, a different kind of greed began to bud within him. ¡®If I put in the finishing blow¡­!¡¯ There would be a lot of rewards for simply dealing the finishing hit. Even though he couldn¡¯t grab all the rewards, he thought he would be able to get at least half. ¡®I don¡¯t really need to stay still¡­ just because that little girl told me to, right?¡¯ He could just say he hadn¡¯t heard her. Or he could just say he helped that man with no consideration for his own life because it looked dangerous. There were plenty of excuses or justifications he could use. He let his arrow fly. The big troll made a large target, and he was lucky this time, managing to plant the arrow precisely in the middle of the troll¡¯s forehead. ¡®It¡¯s a success!¡¯ He successfully dealt the final blow. The troll staggered. It seemed as though the Tutorial¡¯s boss monster, the ¡®magic troll¡¯, would disappear like that. ¡®I was the one who killed the boss monster! I killed it!¡¯ It was possible he might become stronger than So Yoohyun. His heart began to thump. ¡®Reward! What¡¯s the reward?!¡¯ A smile floated unbidden to his lips at the thought of the reward. He felt like he was getting a reward that matched all of his struggles up to this point. He had killed a boss monster. Kim Hyukjin, who had run over, asked him a question. ¡°Why did you do that?¡± The final blow wasn¡¯t the end. This man had made a mistake just now. ¡°I think you must have dealt the final blow just now.¡± A change occurred in the magic troll. At the same time, notices began to stream in. ¡°If you want to live, run. I can¡¯t save you.¡± The magic troll¡¯s gaze turned to Jang Hyunsoo. Unlike what the Courageous Lion King had planned, Hyunsoo was the one who drew the aggro. * * * * * * Kang Sunhwa fed people Constitution Pots as she glanced stealthily at Kim Hyukjin, who was breathing hard as he fought the magic troll for over an hour. ¡®It¡¯s been over one hour.¡¯ Over that time, Sunhwa had continued to pour potions into people¡¯s mouths, never forgetting to warn them. ¡®Fortunately, I don¡¯t think anyone died.¡¯ There was only one person left. ¡®That¡¯s the last person I have to feed.¡¯ Moving carefully, she headed to the remaining person, So Yoohyun. She straightened the unconscious man on the ground and tilted open his mouth, then began to pour in a potion. [The ¡®Lady of the Scales¡¯ is delighted by your act of good.] [The ¡®Lady of the Scales¡¯ wishes to gift you a Tutorial Bonus.] [The ¡®Lady of the Scales¡¯ has gifted you the Tutorial skill ¡®Platinum Shield¡¯.] Sunhwa fed So Yoohyun, a man of the same age as Kim Hyukjin, a second potion. She didn¡¯t have the time to check the skill at all. ¡°Mister, wake up.¡± At long last, So Yoohyun began to regain consciousness like the others. * * * There was a reason why I wanted to take my time dealing the final blow. If you killed the magic troll in one hit, it would go into a ¡®berserker state¡¯, a state of ultimate agitation. That monster wasn¡¯t something the current me could defeat, no matter how hard I struggled. It was a monster that had to be killed slowly, leaving plenty of time in between blows. Kuaaaagghhh! The magic troll¡¯s green skin began to turn red, and sinew bulged out all over its body. [The rationality of the boss, the Magic Troll, is starting to numb.] [The boss, the Magic Troll, is going into a berserker state.] [With the loss of the boss monster¡¯s rationality, the Boss Monster Zone will be deactivated.] I spoke quickly. ¡°Sunhwa.¡± ¡°Yes?¡± ¡°Run.¡± And then, I ran ahead of her. Kuaaaagghhh! The magic troll started running towards the archer who had dealt it the final blow. ¡®I can¡¯t tell whether this is good or bad luck.¡¯ I really couldn¡¯t tell, and I didn¡¯t have the leisure to contemplate it. I didn¡¯t even look behind me. The berserk troll could kill with a touch. The reddened troll grabbed the archer by the ankles and lifted him upside down. ¡°U-Uaaaaaghhhhh!¡± And then, the troll slammed him down again and again to the left and right. Thud! Thud! With each thump, the archer¡¯s screams became weaker and weaker. I could tell without even looking. The sounds told me everything. ¡®That has to be¡­ instant death.¡¯ There wasn¡¯t even time to light a candle, to pray for the man¡¯s departed soul. The berserk troll¡¯s movements were even faster than the lycanthrope¡¯s. I swiftly activated the escalator prompt. [Escalator Going to the 1st Floor] An escalator going to the Miniboss Field of D-Tower, the 1st Floor. Can transport fifteen people at once. Cooldown: The descending escalator has no cooldown. ¡°Hurry and run!¡± I used the escalator to move to the 1st floor. The Boss Monster Zone had been deactivated and no longer restricted the use of the escalator. For now, I had to escape, no matter what. I wasn¡¯t able to pay any attention to the people collapsed on the 2nd floor, and I didn¡¯t know what was going on up there. I simply prayed that they would survive on their own. I slightly bit my lips. ¡®A variable.¡¯ I had failed to account for possible variables. Only a god could know everything. This was a learning experience. I had learned my lesson, so in the future, I would include variables like this into my calculations. The scheming of Guardians, their enjoyment, all of it had to be included in my future raids and calculations. I really learned my lesson. ¡°O-Oppa, what happened?¡± ¡°Dunno, run.¡± There was no time to explain. We had to run and see. I didn¡¯t know how this guy¡¯s D-Tower was structured, but it didn¡¯t look like the escalator continued running down to other floors. The elevator to go down was a bit far away. ¡®No.¡¯ That wasn¡¯t a real elevator. There happened to be one on the 1st floor, but it wasn¡¯t possible to prompt an explanation window. It didn¡¯t work. Right now, we weren¡¯t safe. There was no knowing when that crazy troll would come down and bash in my head. ¡°Over there. Let¡¯s go down the stairs.¡± My eyes fell on the stairs. ¡°We just have to reach the 2nd floor underground.¡± Sunhwa worked hard to follow me. I opened the emergency door and ran down the emergency stairs, heading for the 2nd underground floor. It was the ¡®Additional Safe Zone¡¯ only I had heard of, the ¡®D-Tower underground 2nd floor parking lot¡¯. But as we ran, the thud thud thud thud! of massive footsteps came from above. It almost sounded like a dinosaur. ¡®Shit!¡¯ How was a creature two meters in size with that kind of bulk able to move so fast? It almost felt like an earthquake was shaking the stairs. ¡®We have to run faster.¡¯ Apparently, it had finished its business on the 2nd floor, because it made a beeline for me. Currently, I was on the 1st underground floor. I dragged Sunhwa along. Sunhwa had extremely good resilience, but her constitution itself wasn¡¯t that great. ¡°Run faster!¡± I gripped Sunhwa¡¯s thin wrist hard in one hand, starting to drag her down the stairs. She was tripping, but there was no time to pay any attention to that. ¡®She won¡¯t be hurt by this.¡¯ Her body had been completely unhurt by a goblin¡¯s dagger. Even if I roughly towed her along, she wouldn¡¯t get any big injuries, just a few scratches, at the most. Ending up with a few scratches was way better than getting smashed to pieces by a berserking troll. Hah! Hah! Hah! I gasped for air. Thud! Thud! Thud! Thud! The troll¡¯s footsteps sounded closer and closer, until I could even hear the growl of its breathing. ¡®Why¡¯s the 2nd underground floor so far?!¡¯ I saw a sign saying we were heading towards the 2nd underground floor. I ran with all my strength towards that destination, the Safe Zone. And then, I saw the door going into the 2nd underground floor. It was a fire door, the type that could be opened by pushing the bar. I slammed my weight into it to open it, and as I did so, the magic troll was right on our tail. ¡°O-Oppa!¡± The berserking troll with only the whites of its eyes visible punched out. Crash! ¡®Shit.¡¯ With the sound of an exploding bomb, the fire door crumpled like a piece of paper. I had survived by swiftly ducking, but if that fist had hit me, I would have flown to the heavens. My hair stood on end. ¡®Why the hell are there two layers of fire doors?!¡¯ We had to open another one to go inside. Only then could we enter the 2nd underground floor parking lot. Somehow, the fire door felt impossibly heavy today. I pushed it open. I felt a shiver run down my back and knew. The troll was readying its fist again behind us. I couldn¡¯t describe it exactly, but I somehow knew. The back of my head was tingling. ¡®Definitely.¡¯ Somehow, somehow, I felt it. I saw it, even without seeing it. The trajectory of its fist, and the end of its trajectory, were outlined in my head. [The System has recognized a critical situation.] [Confirming that the situation aligns with the Tutorial Field Boss Monster¡¯s ¡®Unique Situation¡¯ and a ¡®Special Encounter¡¯.] [Forcibly awakening your dormant talent, the ¡®Innate Ability¡¯ engraved in your body.] Special encounter. Dormant talent. Innate ability. I didn¡¯t hear any of it. I had no time to pay attention to that notice. However, ¡®Sixth Sense¡¯ vividly sketched out what was happening behind me in my head. I could see, without looking. The troll¡¯s swinging fist, where that fist would land, how fast it would travel¡ªeverything was naturally laid out before me. How I should act to avoid that fist, what kind of movement I should show, it was all clear to me, as if I were someone who had been trained to perfection. The outcomes of ten different actions were all instantly sketched out in my head. And the result of that calculation was clear. ¡®I can¡¯t dodge.¡¯ There was absolutely nowhere to evade. No matter how I moved, no matter how I dodged, no matter how I blocked, the result of each and every action was my death. I had a feeling. ¡®I¡¯m gonna die.¡¯ The fear of death filled my head to the brim¡­ for one moment. For a very short millisecond, what felt like a long time to me, my innate ability, ¡®Sixth Sense¡¯, loudly proclaimed my death. But then, a miracle occurred. ____ ____ Chapter 15 Max Talent Player Chapter 15: This is When I¡¯m the Cheapest (2) Kang Sunhwa could definitely feel it. ¡®If I take that hit instead, I¡¯ll die.¡¯ The chances of that happening were high. She didn¡¯t have Kim Hyukjin¡¯s ¡®Sixth Sense¡¯, but she was indeed a talent worthy of being called a ¡®genius¡¯. She could at least feel very clearly that if she took that attack, she could die. ¡®I have to block it.¡¯ She didn¡¯t think about it for long. She merely thought that she could lose her life, not what would happen if she didn¡¯t or what she could gain by doing such a thing. She had to block it. If she didn¡¯t, Kim Hyukjin¡¯s head would be bashed in. ¡®I¡¯m going to block it!¡¯ It wasn¡¯t a calculated action. She didn¡¯t stop to weigh the pros and cons. She was simply going to block it. ¡®I will!¡¯ At that moment, all she thought about was protecting Hyukjin. And so, she extended her hand. Clang! A clang as loud as two hollow aluminum baseball bats colliding burst out. It was the sound of the troll¡¯s meaty fist glancing off Kang Sunhwa¡¯s thin arm. [¡®Platinum Shield¡¯ has detected an ¡®excessive physical force¡¯.] [The skill Platinum Shield has evenly distributed the impact.] Sunhwa blocked the magic troll¡¯s fist with her thin arm. To be exact, she slightly redirected the fist¡¯s ¡®trajectory¡¯. She lost consciousness before she could even scream. Hyukjin didn¡¯t look behind him to see what happened. He had no time to do so. He just ran, hauling Sunhwa along while clenching his teeth. * * * ¡®Sunhwa used a new ability.¡¯ I didn¡¯t know what it was, but it seemed like a Tutorial bonus, as well as a skill she hadn¡¯t used before. [You have escaped the ¡®crisis of death¡¯ while ¡®Sixth Sense¡¯ was in an active state.] [You have overcome the ¡®death sentence¡¯ of ¡®Sixth Sense¡¯.] [A condition for the fusion of ¡®Sixth Sense¡¯ has been fulfilled.] Even amidst my desperate scramble to flee, I came to a conclusion. ¡®It must be one of the beginner skills given by the Lady of the Scales.¡¯ The Lady of the Scales happened to be watching the Intermediate Administrator ¡®Senia¡¯s¡¯ channel. That meant she was watching this scene just like the others. From that, I could guess what kind of ability had just blocked the magic troll¡¯s attack. ¡®Platinum Shield.¡¯ Kang Sunhwa had protected him by using Platinum Shield. ¡®For a regular Player, even if they used Platinum Shield¡­ no matter where they were hit, it would be instant death.¡¯ It was because it was Sunhwa. Because it was Sunhwa, a girl whose talent for tanking exceeded genius. She was still at an age where her ¡®talent plates¡¯ had probably not yet bloomed, and yet despite that, she managed to block the magic troll¡¯s attack. This could only be seen as a miracle achieved by Sunhwa¡¯s talent. ¡®We¡¯re almost at the Safe Zone!¡¯ The archer Player¡¯s helpful but also not helpful kill steal earned me some time, and Sunhwa¡¯s Platinum Shield earned me some more. To me, all of this was a miracle, a miracle that allowed me to leap over the Lion King¡¯s evil scheme. I displayed a burst of superhuman strength, dragging Sunhwa along. ¡®We just have to get past that glass door.¡¯ Once we were past the glass door, it would be the ¡®parking lot¡¯ field, a place that was still valid as a Safe Zone. That was the Safe Zone only I had heard about. I hurled myself forward, Sunhwa in my embrace. The glass shattered, and I rolled on the ground, holding onto Sunhwa. Kuooooogh! As if blocked by a transparent wall, the troll was unable to come in. Infuriated, it battered the invisible wall with its fists like crazy, but it wasn¡¯t at the level of a ruthless monster that could break through a Safe Zone setting. ¡°Hey, Sunhwa! Get a hold of yourself. Kang Sunhwa!¡± Her arm was limp. She had taken on that crazy troll¡¯s destructive force with such a slender arm. It appeared the shock of impact had traveled up her shoulder into her insides. ¡°Hey!¡± I tried putting a potion into her mouth, but it was no use. She remained in a state of just barely breathing. Kuoooooogh! The magic troll continued to batter the barrier. The look in its eyes was like blazing flames. ¡®It¡¯ll die in a few minutes.¡¯ I bit my lips. The monster had about ? of its HP left. A berserking magic troll would be able to release tremendous power, but it wouldn¡¯t be able to handle that power for long and would die. The more intensely it moved, the faster its HP would drain. ¡°Dammit.¡± Sunhwa was still as unconscious as ever. Through Sixth Sense, the exact trajectory had been drawn out in my head. I had perceived it mentally, but my body simply hadn¡¯t been able to react. Sunhwa hadn¡¯t been a factor in that trajectory¡ªshe had forcibly butted in, slightly redirecting the troll¡¯s fist. Thanks to that, I had survived and Kang Sunhwa ended up on the verge of death. She had put out her arm for my sake. I glared at the berserking magic troll. ¡®You piece of shit.¡¯ The magic troll¡¯s HP was nearly completely drained. To the very end, it burned the flame of its lifeforce with frenzied rage. Oooooooooghh! With a terrible shriek, the troll rampaged outside the Safe Zone it could not trespass. And then, it bravely died a natural death. [The berserk Magic Troll has died.] [The Player closest to the Magic Troll under level 20 within the same Field will be recognized as the hunter.] There was no way a Player under level 20 could possibly kill a berserking magic troll. As long as you could survive purely out of luck, the System would recognize you as killing the magic troll. In the past, that person was probably So Yoohyun. Senia appeared. ¡°Player Kim Hyukjin. You have been recognized as the Player who hunted the magic troll.¡± ¡°¡­¡± I didn¡¯t feel very happy. Without realizing it, I glared at Senia. The Streamer Senia, and the Guardians who turned the world like this so they could watch for their amusement, they were all on the same side. At the same time, field-wide notices rang out. [In accordance with the death of the Tutorial Field Boss Monster, the Tutorial Field will be deactivated.] [The Tutorial Quest has been cleared.] [Subsequent difficulty will be determined by the number of Tutorial Field survivors.] [Checking the number of Tutorial Field survivors.] I didn¡¯t know if that number was important, but it was the #1 recurring question in the civil servant exam. I knew exactly what that number was. ¡®5087 people.¡¯ [The number of survivors is 5087.] [The difficulty has been set to ¡®Low¡¯.] I heard the number while cradling the unconscious Sunhwa. ¡®It¡¯s the same.¡¯ To my surprise, it was exactly the same as the past. I had survived, and although she was unconscious, so had Sunhwa. That meant there should at least be two more survivors. But the number of survivors was exactly the same, down to the last digit. [Initiating the Tutorial rewards calculation.] [The general system reward, as well as the individual rewards sent through Intermediate Administrators, will be distributed to each Player.] I administered emergency treatment, feeding Sunhwa healing potions so that she could hold onto the ember of life for just a few seconds longer. ¡®I can save her.¡¯ I could do it. I had to. [As a general reward, all survivors have been given a ¡®Player Qualification¡¯.] [1,000 Coins acquired.] [¡®Beginner Armor Set¡¯ acquired.] [The level cap is lifted.] The general rewards were given out, but I didn¡¯t pay much attention to those notices. Right now, the collapsed Sunhwa required my attention more. My mind whirled, drawing out the next events and how exactly I could save Sunhwa. [In accordance with the successful clear of the Tutorial Field, the ¡®Tutorial Ender¡¯ title will be given.] [The ¡®Tutorial Ender¡¯ is a title given to the surviving Player remaining in the ¡®D-Tower 2nd Floor¡¯, the Tutorial Main Field.] [The ¡®Tutorial Ender¡¯ title has been given to ¡®Player So Yoohyun¡¯.] [Player So Yoohyun has been registered in the ¡®Hall of Fame¡¯.] I already knew this would happen. I knew how to get the Tutorial Ender title. I had planned on not making the troll berserk by slowly shaving away at it until it died, but my plans had gone slightly awry. However, I didn¡¯t regret not getting the title. ¡®On the 2nd floor of the D-Tower¡­ the only survivor is So Yoohyun.¡¯ Everyone else had died, even the man who had yelled at me to run away. ¡®It¡¯s the same as the past.¡¯ That was okay. ¡°Senia. We agreed to make a deal, didn¡¯t we?¡± We hadn¡¯t negotiated the deal yet. After killing the miniboss monster, the Goblin Soldier, the deal had been delayed. But now, I intended on settling it. * * * * * * I said, ¡°I¡¯m sure many prominent Guardians have entered your channel. They must also be paying attention to you, the one who snagged a mutant Player like me.¡± Aside from the Nameless Observer, a Guardian even I didn¡¯t know. ¡°The Lady of the Scales. The Courageous Lion King. The two of them alone are Guardians with plenty of capital.¡± What¡¯s more¡ª ¡°The Nameless Observer personally sponsored me with more Coins than the Lady of the Scales.¡± Senia was probably well aware of that. ¡°¡­¡± ¡°From the very start, I have proven my value.¡± Senia didn¡¯t say anything. She had no choice but to acknowledge my words as the truth. No one, not even So Yoohyun, who had gotten the Tutorial Ender title, had been able to show a Play as exciting as mine. ¡°Even an Intermediate Administrator as talentless as you should be able to survive¡­ if you have good quality content.¡± ¡°¡­Though I do not agree with your evaluation of me as talentless, I do acknowledge that I need good quality content to survive.¡± Senia stared at me with her usual expressionless face. ¡°The Tutorial Field has ended, and the opening act is finished. Now, the true Tutorial mode will begin. Correct?¡± ¡°Yes.¡± Senia was unperturbed. Although this was something no regular Player should know, and I had been acting like I had a strategy guide on hand, she didn¡¯t show much reaction. ¡°I want you to raise the grade of my Item Shop. Right now. The Tutorial is over, so I don¡¯t think it¡¯s an excessive request.¡± After a short moment of silence, Senia said, ¡°I do not think that is a very sensible method. You have proven your worth. You have the right to demand more from me. Also, the Item Shop¡ª¡± ¡°Will naturally have its restrictions lifted with time?¡± ¡°Yes. It is a problem that time will solve.¡± Currently, it was restricted to the ¡®Tutorial-grade¡¯. However, with the passage of time, the Item Shop¡¯s grade would naturally rise. In my eyes, I saw the barely breathing Sunhwa. ¡°I will buy that time.¡± The Tutorial Field had been deactivated. As such, changing the Item Shop¡¯s grade from ¡®Tutorial¡¯ to ¡®Beginner¡¯ with the authority of an Intermediate Administrator wasn¡¯t all that hard. ¡®The reason I want to save Sunhwa is¡­¡¯ Because she had an unprecedented talent for tanking? Or because she was a jewel in the rough with incredible hidden potential? No, my reason for saving her was nothing that grand. Right now, it was ¡®because I want to save her¡¯. Sunhwa would have done the same for me, without any calculations of profit and loss. I faced Senia. ¡°I¡¯ll make an exclusive contract with you. For one year, no other Intermediate Administrator will be able to observe me. The Guardians will only be able to watch me through you, no matter what.¡± Senia¡¯s eyes grew wide. Of course she did, since I had already offered a ¡®Player-Intermediate Administrator exclusive contract¡¯ as a card. ¡°Player Kim Hyukjin. Just exactly how much do you know?¡± ¡°That¡¯s not important. What¡¯s important is¡ª¡± Senia¡¯s wingtips trembled. ¡°That I have caught the attention of many Guardians. That I¡¯m the only Player to have already received thousands of Coins. And that I¡¯m a Ranker who lifted the Tutorial Field¡¯s level cap ahead of time. I¡¯m sure the rumors will spread amongst the Intermediate Administrators as well.¡± ¡°¡­¡± ¡°Remember this.¡± ¡°¡­¡± ¡°Right now. This is when I¡¯m the cheapest.¡± I hammered in the final nail. ¡°If you don¡¯t take me up now, there will be no next time.¡± I was confident, confident that Senia would have no other choice than to accept my proposal. Sure enough, I heard a notice. ____ ____ Chapter 16 Max Talent Player Chapter 16: Innate Ability Awakening Like Hyukjin expected, Senia had no choice but to accept his proposal. For Senia, it was a very sweet deal. [Your Item Shop¡¯s grade is increasing.] [The Item Shop¡¯s grade has been increased to ¡®Beginner¡¯.] She added an explanation. ¡°A lower grade Item Shop can be accessed at any time.¡± That meant Hyukjin could open the ¡®Tutorial-grade¡¯ Item Shop whenever he wanted, though there probably wouldn¡¯t be any need to. ¡°The Item Shop has several different cate¡ª¡± ¡°The Potion/Return Scroll category of the Item Shop. Open it.¡± For a moment, Senia nearly became flustered. She hadn¡¯t even finished her explanation, but this Player already knew. As expected, he wasn¡¯t an ordinary Player. She didn¡¯t ask again, but she didn¡¯t rule out the possibility that he was some kind of ¡®higher existence¡¯ she didn¡¯t know about. She politely responded, ¡°Understood. I will open up the Potion/Return Scroll category of the Beginner Item Shop.¡± [Item Shop ¨C Beginner-grade ¨C Potions & Return Scrolls] Cure and healing potions were slightly different. Cure potions were for treating illnesses, poisons, and ¡®abnormal statuses¡¯, whereas healing potions treated ¡®physical injuries¡¯. [1 Cure Potion purchased.] [1 Healing Potion purchased.] Hyukjin began to carefully pour them one by one into Sunhwa¡¯s mouth. ¡®Please.¡¯ Wake up. ¡®The beginner potion¡­ will be more than enough.¡¯ With a beginner potion, it should be possible for her to make a full recovery. ¡®Wake up! Please.¡¯ The berserker-mode magic troll was a powerful monster, but it was still a ¡®Tutorial¡¯-level monster, and the item Hyukjin was using now was one grade higher, a ¡®Beginner¡¯-level item. [10 Cure Potions purchased.] [-4000 Coins] [10 Healing Potions purchased.] [-4000 Coins] He only had 1,000 Coins left, but he didn¡¯t regret their loss. ¡®Please.¡¯ He continued to pour them into her mouth. ¡®Wake up.¡¯ After using around five potions, Sunhwa finally woke up. ¡°Are you okay?¡± It was a relief. It was truly, truly, a relief. ¡®If not for Sunhwa¡­¡¯ If Sunhwa hadn¡¯t absorbed the hit for him, Hyukjin¡¯s head might have been crushed by now. No, it would have been crushed. The detailed imagery he¡¯d gotten from Sixth Sense had drawn out his death all too clearly. He was alive thanks to Sunhwa. Also, before she took the blow, Sunhwa must have already known. ¡®That she could die from blocking it.¡¯ Despite realizing that, she still extended her arm without a single second of hesitation, reaching for a fist swung by a monster over 2 meters large. ¡®I owe her my life.¡¯ Also, Hyukjin was certain now¡ªhis talent was absolutely anything but ordinary. He hadn¡¯t seen it with his eyes, but he was able to see the movements of a higher-level monster, almost like he had a new ¡®eye¡¯. Only then did he remember the notices that had flashed past. ¡®Innate ability¡­ I had something like that?¡¯ Innate ability referred to the ¡®natural-born ability¡¯ each Player¡¯s body had. Hyukjin had completely memorized the definition of the term. ¡®Innate ability awakens in special circumstances and is latent within each Player.¡¯ This was literally the influence of ¡®talent¡¯. Despite having received an evaluation of [No Talent], the innate ability ¡®Sixth Sense¡¯ activated within Hyukjin. Sunhwa¡¯s voice interrupted his thoughts. ¡°I¡¯m¡­ alive?¡± ¡°Yeah. You, you¡¯re quite something, y¡¯know?¡± He spoke as calmly as possible, as if nothing was wrong. That way, he could reduce the shock this little kid had to suffer, if only a little. ¡°I¡¯m¡­ alive.¡± Sunhwa got up. She thought she would die right then and there, but she was alive. She saw the empty potion bottles strewn around her and could imagine just how she was brought back from the jaws of death. ¡°But you said you¡¯d throw me away if I became a burden.¡± ¡°You¡¯re barely past burden status. It was a shame to leave you behind.¡± Sunhwa gave him a bright smile, unbefitting of someone who had just come back from death. ¡°I¡­ wasn¡¯t abandoned.¡± Whether she was happy about that, or happy about coming back to life, she couldn¡¯t tell. Her eyes were slightly wet with tears. Hyukjin, who wasn¡¯t used to situations like this and didn¡¯t even know what to make of Sunhwa¡¯s tears, awkwardly looked away and turned towards Senia, who was still watching in the same place as before. The most urgent fires had been put out. Now, it was time to get what he was owed. ¡°Alright, then, list out the rewards now. The individual rewards are still left, right?¡± He clearly remembered Senia saying, ¡°Player Kim Hyukjin. You have been recognized as the Player who hunted the magic troll,¡± earlier. The System notice had been: He hadn¡¯t forgotten that. The reason Senia was still unable to leave was because she had to give out the ¡®individual rewards¡¯. ¡®Even though So Yoohyun was registered in the Hall of Fame, I might be the one getting the bulk of the rewards.¡¯ That was probably the case. ¡°I will begin distributing the individual rewards,¡± Senia said. Before receiving the rewards, Hyukjin said one more thing. ¡°About you raising the Item Shop grade for me¡­¡± ¡°What about it?¡± ¡°You know we didn¡¯t write a contract, right?¡± ¡°¡­¡± She had raised the Item Shop grade without writing up a contract. They had only made a verbal agreement, but in all actuality, a verbal contract had no meaning. ¡°T-That¡¯s¡­!¡± Everything needed to be proven in ¡®documents¡¯. Having made such a basic mistake, Senia¡¯s face stiffened, and the now-conscious Sunhwa was able to see that Hyukjin was laughing as wickedly as the devil himself. * * * * * * When we first entered the 2nd floor of the D-Tower, I was level 15. Struggling to maintain as much composure as possible, Senia gritted out, ¡°You have been given 3 level up points.¡± Simply put, I was getting 3 level ups. They took effect immediately. [Status Window] Name: Kim Hyukjin (Player) Level: 18 Title: [First Pioneer] [Excellent Player] Innate ability: [Sixth Sense] Strength: 17 Intelligence: 17 Agility: 23 Perception: 17 Constitution: 17 Willpower: 17 (+30) Bonus stats: 6 Random stats: 3 Undistributed stats: 9 My ¡®innate ability¡¯ had been added to the status window. ¡®My current level is 18.¡¯ Considering that the Tutorial¡¯s level cap was 10, a level of 18 was something a new Player who had just finished the Tutorial Field could never hope to reach. In addition, I also received another three ¡®random stats¡¯. Even though they were supposed to be difficult to get, I had gotten them continuously. ¡®I¡¯m¡­¡¯ By now, I was really sure of it. ¡®Really a genius.¡¯ The only problem was that I didn¡¯t know how long this genius would last. There had been a lot of Players who only burned brightly in the beginner period. They were called ¡®Rising Stars¡¯ or ¡®Super Rookies¡¯, but they quickly faded from the public eye. It felt a little too early for me to be happy about being a genius. ¡°Also, the Excellent Hunter title has been upgraded.¡± Originally, it was ¡®Excellent Hunter¡¯, but it was upgraded to ¡®Excellent Player¡¯. [Excellent Player] A title that is only granted in the Tutorial Field and can only be upgraded after hunting the Tutorial Field¡¯s Boss Monster. Applies to all ¡®hunted prey¡¯. The title effects were so astonishing that even I couldn¡¯t help but be shocked. ¡®A title like this was given not in some A-rank or higher dungeon, but¡­ the Tutorial?¡¯ Additional damage. Increased movement speed. Ability to ignore unique traits. Increased EXP gain. A special skill. Each and every one of them were gems. ¡®Even though this is the very beginning¡­?¡¯ On top of the +10% EXP gain from this title, the title effect of ¡®First Pioneer¡¯ was also in effect. [The First Pioneer] A glorious title given to one who pioneered a new domain. That meant I could level up 30% faster than others. Leveling up faster on its own wasn¡¯t necessarily a good thing. But the faster you leveled up, the faster you would grow, which meant you would be able to take firsts in everything. ¡®I know the future.¡¯ I had the strategy guide in my head. Between the ability to take firsts and the knowledge to make that happen, I had everything. ¡®Who would have known that something like this was hidden in the Tutorial?¡¯ To be honest, it didn¡¯t seem like the Tutorial was made for someone to gain these things. After all, to begin with, a low-level Player couldn¡¯t hunt a ¡®lycanthrope¡¯. It was impossible without resorting to tricks. So this stream of events was already impossible from that point onwards, at least originally. Three level ups, plus nine random stats. On top of that, a title upgrade. And that wasn¡¯t the end of the rewards. That alone could certainly be called a ¡®jackpot¡¯, but there was more. ¡®This is the real jackpot.¡¯ I recalled the new ¡®individual reward¡¯ I had just gotten. Earlier, back when I was in danger of dying to the magic troll and Sixth Sense was urgently activated, I heard this: [You have overcome the ¡®death sentence¡¯ of ¡®Sixth Sense¡¯.] [A condition for the fusion of ¡®Sixth Sense¡¯ has been fulfilled.] My innate ability, Sixth Sense, had undoubtedly warned me of death. No, it foresaw my death. But thanks to Sunhwa stepping in unexpectedly, I survived. I had received two Open Beta Bonuses. One was the ¡®High Strength Elixir¡¯ I used when fighting the Lycanthrope, which I got from the ¡®Courageous Lion King¡¯. The other was the ¡®Calm Observer¡¯s Eye¡¯ that was with me nearly from the very start of the Tutorial, given by the ¡®Nameless Observer¡¯. [High Strength Elixir.] [Calm Observer¡¯s Eye.] The High Strength Elixir was already used up, so only ¡®Calm Observer¡¯s Eye¡¯ was left. Calm Observer¡¯s Eye could be fused with Sixth Sense. I had heard of ¡®fusion¡¯ before, but this only applied to Rankers of the highest level and wasn¡¯t something normal people knew much about. It was the sort of information you could maybe dig up by doing a lot of civil servant studying. ¡®So fusion also existed in the Tutorial.¡¯ I had the thought that there might actually be a lot of secrets the populace didn¡¯t know about hidden within the Tutorial. I approved it. My heart began to race, and it felt like hot blood came rushing out from within my heart to shoot vitality all throughout my body. With a little exaggeration, it felt like steam was rising from my body. [¡®Sixth Sense¡¯ and ¡®Calm Observer¡¯s Eye¡¯ have begun to fuse.] [The fusion process is accompanied by extreme pain.] [If you are unable to endure the pain, you will die.] At that moment, agony assaulted my heart. ¡°Argh!¡± This fucking System. It should have told me this in advance. ¡°O-Oppa, what¡¯s wrong?¡± I collapsed, clutching my chest. I¡¯d never felt pain like this before. I didn¡¯t know exactly how to describe it, but it felt like my heart was boiling up, like each and every drop of blood in my body was boiling. I writhed, enduring the terrible feeling of my body being burned, like something enormous was piercing through my insides. ¡°UAAAGHHHH!¡± My body screamed, heedless of what my mind willed. It hurt. It really fucking hurt. It was difficult to explain beyond ¡®it hurt¡¯, but the pain was so great I would rather die. It felt like something snapped, and I had no memory of what happened afterwards, which meant I probably lost consciousness. While unconscious, I faintly felt like I heard the words ¡®Fusion successful¡¯, though it was like hearing something in a dream. In any case, I had the feeling I heard those words, but I didn¡¯t exactly remember. The moment I regained consciousness, I was greeted with a reality that was difficult to believe. ¡®No way¡ª!¡¯ ____ ____ Chapter 17 Max Talent Player Chapter 17: Innate Ability Awakening (2) I faintly heard some notices. [Innate Ability ¡®Eye of Perception¡¯ has awakened.] I began to see the world around me again, and I also heard notices. It seemed, without a doubt, that I was alive. My ears picked up a voice. ¡°What was a fellow who went to study doing instead of studying?¡± That truly blunt voice¡­ was my older sister¡¯s, the same idiotic sister of mine who worked herself ragged in a superconductor factory trying to support me and ended up developing leukemia. ¡°Noona¡­?¡± TN: Noona is a familiar term used by a male to refer to an older female. My sister whipped around. As usual, she was the epitome of bluntness. ¡°It¡¯s fine as long as you¡¯re not dead.¡± And then, she left the hospital room. I focused on the sounds around me, and as if to prove that clearing the Tutorial wasn¡¯t a dream, I clearly heard a notice. ¡®Innate ability. Eye of Perception.¡¯ ¡®Calm Observer¡¯s Eye¡¯ and ¡®Sixth Sense¡¯ fused and were reborn into a new ability called ¡®Eye of Perception¡¯. I had the feeling it was the biggest boon I¡¯d gotten from the Tutorial Field. ¡®Eye of Perception is¡­¡¯ I hadn¡¯t heard of it ten years ago. There was no ¡®Eye of Perception¡¯ among the prominent Rankers and the countless innate abilities they boasted. The innate ability latent within my body had awakened. ¡®First of all, I think it¡¯s enhancing my senses to their limits.¡¯ I could hear every minute sound from outside the hospital room. They were really tiny sounds, but my ears picked them up. That had to be the power of ¡®Eye of Perception¡¯. I focused and listened. ¡°Shoulda just gone and died if he was gonna die. Why make a person worry?¡± someone said, before crying in full force. Outside the room door, my older sister was crouching and crying. It seemed she had left quickly on purpose so she could hide her crying face. She was making muffled uwahh, uwahhhh sounds, but the sobs went from rather pitiable to bordering on funny. I could only guess she was crying with tears and snot all over her face. ¡®Noona. Sorry, but¡­ I can hear everything.¡¯ Thanks to Eye of Perception, I could hear every single thing. But the fascination about the fact I could hear such a minute sound came second. For some reason, my eyes began to redden. After hearing my sister¡¯s sharp voice, it finally struck me. ¡®She¡¯s really alive.¡¯ I had returned to the past, with my knowledge of the future intact, plus an innate ability of the highest level called ¡®Eye of Perception¡¯. Enhancing my senses wasn¡¯t the only thing ¡®Eye of Perception¡¯ could do. [Non-Awakened] Name: Kim Ahyoung Age: 24 State: Relieved / Happy / Worried Disposition: Self-Sacrificing / Brusque / Loving Summary: Devoted tsundere The summary seemed a little strange, but it wasn¡¯t really wrong. Devoted tsundere¡­ was right, after all. ¡®Noona. You don¡¯t have to go to the superconductor factory anymore.¡¯ No, it wasn¡¯t that she didn¡¯t have to go, but that I wouldn¡¯t let her go. Supporting her foolish little brother¡­ was something she didn¡¯t have to do anymore. ¡®I¡¯ll make it so you can live in comfort.¡¯ I couldn¡¯t be a hundred percent sure, but there was no doubt that my talent wasn¡¯t the same as before. I saw with my own eyes that I had talent and skills even greater than So Yoohyun¡¯s. As long as nothing happened, as long as there weren¡¯t any unexpected variables, there was a high chance that I could even become a Ranker. If that happened, our family would certainly be able to live well, without worries. I filled my lungs, then belted out, ¡°Noona! Buy me a lot of honey! I want to eat honey! A ton of it!¡± My sister, crying outside, muttered, ¡°What¡¯s that idiot going on about¡­?¡± She got to her feet. Eye of Perception captured every sound she made. ¡°Honey my ass. Does he wanna get beat up with honey, seriously.¡± She walked off, probably to buy me honey. I said I wanted to eat a lot of it, so she would probably go all out buying it. I heard the sound of someone other than my sister sobbing. ¡°Mom.¡± That one word made my eyes well with tears, too. ¡°Don¡¯t cry. Your son isn¡¯t dead.¡± Mom wasn¡¯t able to stop her tears. Even though I was a son without a single redeeming feature, an eternal civil servant student, I was still her son. My mom wasn¡¯t the only one next to my bed. There was also the kid who had helped me to the very end and called emergency services for me as soon as the Tutorial Field dissipated, Kang Sunhwa. ¡°Oppaaaaaaaa!!!¡± Crying loudly, Sunhwa came bounding over to me as I laid on the hospital bed. She squeezed me tightly with her small body, which I found rather uncomfortable. ¡°Oi, oi, hurry and get off me.¡± ¡°I¡¯m so glad. I thought you died.¡± I snorted to myself, looking at the girl who had no intention of getting off me. Telling her to get off just made her stick even closer. She must have really thought that I had died, and that must have scared her. We¡¯d only known each other for a few days, but she was already this fond of me. ¡®Though, well, we did save each other¡¯s lives.¡¯ As far as relationships went, ours was indeed rather special. We¡¯d gone through life and death together, so it wasn¡¯t surprising we¡¯d be fond of each other. Of course, I wasn¡¯t seeing her as a woman or anything like that. It was more like looking at a dear niece. ¡°Hey, you smell like sweat.¡± Only then did the clingy Sunhwa scramble backwards. I felt like I could breathe again. ¡°I-I-I showered yesterday!¡± ¡°But you still smell?¡± ¡°I-I-I don¡¯t smell, okay?!¡± ¡°Eww, the smell.¡± I squeezed my nose shut. Sunhwa¡¯s face reddened, and she bolted out the door that my sister had left through. ¡®In any case¡­¡¯ However things turned out, I had returned to the past. Here, in this place that had become my ¡®reality¡¯, my mom was here, and so was my sister. There was also Sunhwa, who had saved my life and had likewise been saved by me. ¡®This time¡­¡¯ I would live well. * * * * * * So Yoohyun, who received the ¡®Tutorial Ender¡¯ title and was registered in the ¡®Hall of Fame¡¯, became a famous figure overnight. He appeared multiple times on TV and was even called the Tutorial¡¯s Strongest. He was introduced as the most talented man in Korea. ¨CThat¡¯s not true. I was simply lucky. So Yoohyun replied with those words. Everyone thought he was just being modest, but So Yoohyun was dead serious. ¡®The true Tutorial Ender isn¡¯t me.¡¯ The moment his consciousness began to trickle back, he saw the back of two people. One young girl, and one man. His eyesight was fuzzy, so he didn¡¯t get a clear look, but he was sure of it in his mind. ¡®It¡¯s the man I saw in Cheonggyecheon.¡¯ There was no doubt. It was that man. ¡®Come to think of it, what was his name again?¡¯ They hadn¡¯t exchanged names. ¡®Did that man¡­ die?¡¯ That man had come up to the 2nd floor of the Gwanghwamun D-Tower and tried to save the others, ultimately saving only Yoohyun before fleeing. The magic troll had gone off in hot pursuit. Yoohyun didn¡¯t think there was much of a chance he¡¯d survived. To the press, he said the following: ¨CThere was a true hero in the Tutorial. I simply benefited from his kindness. Yoohyun only said that much, no more and no less. He judged that if that man was alive, he would show himself on his own initiative. It could be disrespectful to run his mouth off when that person hadn¡¯t stepped forward yet. ¡®Could he be alive?¡¯ Of course, he didn¡¯t know if that hero was alive, or if he was dead. ¡®If he¡¯s alive¡­¡¯ If he was alive, then he was Yoohyun¡¯s life savior. Yoohyun owed that man his life, owed that man a favor that he absolutely had to repay. ¡°I hope you¡¯re alive, somewhere,¡± thought Yoohyun from the bottom of his heart. He hoped there would be a chance for him to repay the favor. * * * One month passed. ¡®Slimes¡¯, neutral monsters that even civilians could kill if they put their minds to it, were a common sight along the road. It became daily life for local kids to play around with slimes. Within one month, the world became prepared to accept the existence of monsters, and concepts like ¡®Player¡¯ and ¡®Playing¡¯ began to take root. ¡®Difficulty: low.¡± For the time being, it would be safe¡­ other than the ¡®dungeons¡¯ or ¡®gates¡¯. At most, only monsters like ¡®city foxes¡¯ or ¡®city wolves¡¯ would show up. That being said, even city foxes and city wolves could be pretty dangerous for civilians. ¨CTwo injuries and one death have come about from city wolves¡­ Incidents caused by city foxes or city wolves occurred nearly every day. They were conditionally passive monsters, so they wouldn¡¯t attack if they weren¡¯t messed with, but people dying or getting injured because they provoked them for no good reason was commonplace. ¨CThe authorities immediately sent police to suppress the city wolves¡­ Foxes and wolves didn¡¯t have ¡®shields¡¯ because they were such elementary monsters. ¡®In time, monsters that can¡¯t be killed with scientific technology will start showing up.¡¯ That would happen in one year. By then, the Players Association would be established, Players would have formed guilds among themselves, and the world would be more or less used to the ¡®System¡¯. From that point on, the world would begin to change again, little by little. ¡®Until that happens, I¡¯ll make full preparations.¡¯ I would use my knowledge of the future to the fullest, in order to live differently from the past. To live not as an eternal civil servant student, but as an upright and successful person. Today¡¯s date was the 7th of June. ¡®Seoul Station.¡¯ I took Sunhwa with me to Seoul Station. It was around 6 in the evening. Because people were getting off work and heading home, Seoul Station was extremely crowded. ¡®Seoul Station, Exit 2.¡¯ Here, a small gate would form, a gate connected to the ¡®Seoul Station Dungeon¡¯. The grade would be indicated as ¡®¡ª¡¯. In other words, it had no grade. For convenience¡¯s sake, I called it a beginner dungeon. People began to murmur. ¡°Huh? What¡¯s that?¡± Some people even screamed. No wonder, because near Exit 2, something akin to a blackish red shimmer began to spread out in the air. The gate was around 2 meters large, at most¡ªit wasn¡¯t a very big one. People kept their distance from it. ¡°Monsters won¡¯t pop out, will they?¡± People hadn¡¯t yet forgotten that day in Jongno, the fateful beginning of the Cataclysm. It was the site of a terrible disaster where only 5,000 out of 150,000 people survived. Normal life was just beginning to resume, but another strange thing appeared before they could even fully get past the trauma of that day. It was only natural they would be apprehensive. ¡®But the world will change too much for you to be surprised by something like this.¡¯ These people would also have to adapt in the future, to the new System and the new world. Those who weren¡¯t able to adapt would be eliminated. Just like me in the past. ¡°Let¡¯s go.¡± I headed towards the gate with Sunhwa. The gate was clickable. [Seoul Station Dungeon Gate] The gate to Seoul Station Dungeon. There was no particular explanation. Perhaps because a gate had appeared, I heard the sirens of police cars coming from afar. The police were probably coming over to check the situation. ¡®It¡¯ll be troublesome if the police come.¡¯ It would be best to go in quickly. [Only Players can utilize the gate.] [At least seven Players are recommended for this dungeon.] [Required level: 10] Both Sunhwa and I were Players, and we were over level 10. ¡®We¡¯re going in.¡¯ I moved a few steps forward, and then, the world around me changed. [You have entered Seoul Station Dungeon.] [Channel #19207 has been opened.] [Guardians have begun to enter.] There, I was greeted with a familiar face, an Intermediate Administrator so beautiful it couldn¡¯t be put into words, with a pair of wings behind her back. It was, in our world¡¯s terms, Streamer Senia. With an expressionless face, Senia said, ¡°At least seven Players are recommended for this dungeon.¡± I ignored her, starting to walk forward. ¡°Player Kim Hyukjin. I offer this warning as an Intermediate Administrator. At least seven Players should enter. Do not leave the Safe Zone.¡± ¡°How come?¡± ¡°Tackling this dungeon with two people is dangerous.¡± ¡°¡­¡± ¡°The manual encourages this dungeon be Played by at least seven Players.¡± ¡°¡­¡± For a very brief moment, I waited. During this time, there were probably many Guardians streaming into Senia¡¯s Channel #19207. ¡®This should be long enough.¡¯ After waiting a moment, I spoke to Senia. Or rather, I spoke to the Guardians watching down on us for their amusement. ¡°I said it before, didn¡¯t I?¡± ¡°Said what?¡± ¡°That I would show you how I Play.¡± If that was the way one had to adapt to this world, if that was the path to my success¡­ ¡®I¡¯ll show you.¡¯ I walked forward. ¡®How I adapt to this world.¡¯ At the same time, I heard a new notice. ____ ____ Chapter 18 Max Talent Player Chapter 18: Nightmare The Lady of the Scales, the Nameless Observer, and now the ¡®Whispering Devil¡¯, had an interest in me. ¡®Who is it?¡¯ It wasn¡¯t a name I remembered, but somehow, I had a bad feeling I couldn¡¯t quite explain. ¡®Whatever.¡¯ It wasn¡¯t like I knew all the Guardians, anyway. For now, drawing the attention of a Guardian could be seen as a pretty good thing. Whether or not it could be of profit to me depended on how I controlled them and how I acted. ¡®A lot of Guardians must have joined the stream.¡¯ Countless anonymous Guardians had to be watching Channel #19207. Since Sunhwa and I were the only Players that had entered the Seoul Station Dungeon, the spotlight had nowhere to go but on us. Information began to flood into me via Eye of Perception. The world was sketched out in detail in my head, like I was seeing it without my eyes. ¡°This is¡­ a dungeon?¡± Sunhwa asked hesitantly. The Seoul Station Dungeon was generally dark. It gave off the feeling of a dark cave. It was considerably humid, rather chilly, and water dripped from the ceiling. I nodded. ¡®It¡¯s just like what I saw on Youtube.¡¯ In the future, this dungeon would become the place countless Players would frequent to accumulate experience, a ¡®Tutorial Dungeon¡¯ in the true sense of the phrase. I fixed my eyes on Sunhwa. [Player] Name: Kang Sunhwa Age: 14 Level: 15 Class: ¨C Guardian: ¨C State: Lonely / Fearful / Trusting / Reliant Disposition: Neutral / Curious Summary: Slight Brother Complex I grinned. ¡®She¡¯s already level 15?¡¯ I thought there might be a somewhat weird trait in there, but I decided to ignore it. Somehow, both my sister and Sunhwa seemed to have something abnormal in their ¡®summary¡¯. ¡®With a level like that, she did great leveling up.¡¯ The fact she had raised her level to 15 despite there only being monsters like slimes, city foxes, and city wolves in Korea meant that she had worked pretty hard to progress her Playing. It was impressive she could raise her level that much by grinding low-level monsters. I said to Sunhwa, ¡°You remember everything I told you before, right?¡± She nodded. I took the lead and began to walk forward. Streamer Senia followed in a half-transparent state. Her flat expression couldn¡¯t be read, but she certainly looked unsatisfied. It seemed she was worried her ¡®good quality content¡¯¡ªme¡ªwould kick the bucket here. ¡®She¡¯s not worrying about me.¡¯ I didn¡¯t delude myself. ¡®She¡¯s worrying about the product that is me.¡¯ There was no need to bother about Senia. In any case, I had no intention of dying. All I was thinking about was how I could sell the product that was me better. ¡®Seven forked pathways.¡¯ When you turned into each forked path, that path would be activated. The Seoul Station Dungeon was a dungeon with a set ¡®aggregate difficulty¡¯. When all seven split paths were activated, the degree of danger would also be divided into seven. Put simply, if you divided a difficulty of ¡®7¡¯ among ¡®7 people¡¯ with ¡®7 paths¡¯, each path would only have a difficulty of ¡®1¡¯. ¡®In the opposite case, if you only choose one path¡­¡¯ The difficulty of ¡®7¡¯ would be concentrated on one path. That was how it would normally be¡­ if you Played the dungeon the regular way. However, the Seoul Station Dungeon had been cleared by countless Players, and even the Hidden Piece lurking within had been publicized. ¡°Oppa. I see the forked pathways there.¡± I saw the seven caves. They looked like snakes opening their jaws wide. ¡°Wait here.¡± [The ¡®Lady of the Scales¡¯ is watching over you with interest.] [The ¡®Whispering Devil¡¯ expresses intense interest in you.] [The ¡®Nameless Observer¡¯ is earnestly observing you.] I went into the first cave to the very left. When I did so, a golden magic array appeared on the cave floor. [Seoul Station Dungeon 1st Forked Path, ¡®Nepalas¡¯ Path¡¯, has been activated.] Then, I immediately left, doing the same with the other paths. [Seoul Station Dungeon 2nd Forked Path, ¡®Dyugo¡¯s Path¡¯, has been activated.] [Seoul Station Dungeon 3rd Forked Path, ¡®Delansha¡¯s Path¡¯, has been activated.] ¡­ ¡­ [Seoul Station Dungeon 7th Forked Path, ¡®Lakitula¡¯s Path¡¯, has been activated.] I activated every path. That was all I needed to do. There was more to dungeon clearing than forging straight ahead. You had to sometimes advance, sometimes retreat, and when necessary, roll to the side. It was possible to freely enter and leave the forked pathways. There was also no condition saying that all paths had to be ¡®simultaneously cleared¡¯. A clear like this, where each path was tackled one by one, was also just as valid. Now, the difficulty of each path was set to ¡®1¡¯. I walked to the 1st Forked Path, ¡®Nepalas¡¯ Path¡¯, and stood in front of it. ¡°Let¡¯s go.¡± * * * * * * So Yoohyun had the hunch that this thing called ¡®Playing¡¯ was not a one-time event. The Tutorial Field appeared, and ¡®Intermediate Administrators¡¯ and ¡®Guardians¡¯ showed up in the world, as well as monsters. He made the bold decision to quit his job at the financial company where he had just been hired. He did so in order to devote himself to ¡®Playing¡¯. Some people ridiculed his decision, many of them cursing him for giving up on a stable and high-paying job. However, So Yoohyun could imagine the future ahead. ¡®As I thought¡­ it¡¯ll keep going.¡¯ If weak monsters existed, then so did strong ones. Strong monsters would drop better items. Right now, just catching slimes, city foxes, and city wolves would drop things like ¡®Iron Swords¡¯ and ¡®Low Constitution Potions¡¯. ¡®Even just those things have a pretty good effect.¡¯ Monster drops were of great use in real life. For example, the ¡®Low Constitution Potion¡¯ boasted far better efficacy than most drugs used for surgeries. If such a strong item was dropped from a shoddy monster under level 10, what kinds of things would come from even stronger monsters? Of course, far better things would drop from them. The world was faced with change, and Yoohyun decided to step in time with that change, to quickly adapt. That was his decision. ¡®That¡¯s a dungeon.¡¯ At Seoul Station Exit 2, there was a dungeon. The Intermediate Administrator who focused their streaming on Yoohyun, ¡®Neptune¡¯, snickered. ¡°You need at least seven people for that one. Mm. There are already two people inside, so only four more people need to come.¡± A few Players approached. They appeared to be survivors from the Tutorial Field. In the one month that had passed, several pieces of information were spread across the world. This information was relayed by the ¡®Intermediate Administrators¡¯. [Monsters will break free from collapsed dungeons.] [That is called a ¡®Dungeon Break¡¯.] [The people who can clear dungeons are ¡®those who have Player Qualifications¡¯.] Policemen had begun to seal off Seoul Station Exit 2. Sealing it off was expected, since it wasn¡¯t yet known whether the gate was dangerous or not. That was for the safety of the populace. Someone walked towards the police. Their feet floated about 30 centimetres off the floor. They were walking, but not on the ground. They were definitely not human. ¡°Jeez. How annoying,¡± muttered that blue-skinned being with a horn on his head as he approached the police. ¡°Are you guys gonna take responsibility for my daily keep? Why¡¯re you blocking my stream, huh?¡± He lifted a policeman by the throat. ¡°G-Gugh! L-Let him go!¡± One of his fellow policemen whipped out a taser gun. ¡°I-If you don¡¯t let go, I¡¯ll fire at once!¡± The ¡®strange being¡¯ grinned in response, then rotated his neck twice in a grotesque fashion to stare at the policeman. ¡°Try it.¡± And then, the neck of the policeman in his hands broke with a crack, dying immediately. The people crowding around screamed as they began to run. ¡°You insects are seriously noisy.¡± Red marbles were formed at the tip of his finger, and they scattered into the air. The marbles ricocheted like bouncy balls, and wherever they touched, flames sprouted. ¡°So what I¡¯m saying is, why butt in where you don¡¯t belong? You insects.¡± The policeman who had taken out his taser gun was no exception. His body was set ablaze, and he rolled around on the ground, screaming for mercy. Seoul Station Exit 2 became true pandemonium. Several dozen people at the very least were burned to a crisp on the spot, and countless more fled while pushing and trampling each other in a frenzy. In very little time, only Players and Intermediate Administrators were left in the vicinity. ¡°Now, then. Why don¡¯t you start Playing now, you Player bastards?¡± So Yoohyun did not flee. He was someone who had survived Jongno¡¯s Cataclysm. He was used to chaos of this degree. He secretly clenched his fists hard. He knew that Intermediate Administrator¡¯s name¡ªit was ¡®Chris¡¯. He also knew the name of the Player Chris was with. ¡®Seo Joohwan.¡¯ They had met briefly in the Tutorial Field. Seo Joohwan was hunting a goblin, and Yoohyun realized then that the man was insane. He still vividly remembered Joohwan¡¯s look of relishing killing and cackling while covered in blood. It could be said that Seo Joohwan and Chris were a well-matched Player and Intermediate Administrator pair. Joohwan made a gesture of greeting with his eyes. ¡°Didn¡¯t think I¡¯d meet you here, Mr. Tutorial Ender.¡± Everyone who followed Yoohyun in the Tutorial Field had died. However, five of the people who had followed Joohwan had survived. A total of seven Players had gathered in front of the gate. A man behind Joohwan shrugged and said, ¡°He¡¯s the Tutorial Ender, after all. He must have smelled the money. Because dungeons and monsters will change the world in the future.¡± ¡°¡­¡± Policemen and civilians had died here, but the Players were not greatly shaken. This was a world they had already experienced. They had also been a part of the event where 14,000 people had died. Yoohyun thought for a moment. His Intermediate Administrator, ¡®Neptune¡¯, had also recommended going in with seven people. ¡®Do I have no choice?¡¯ He didn¡¯t really want to mesh with these people, but he didn¡¯t have a choice. They were survivors of the Tutorial Field and held quite a lot of strength. They would definitely be of help in clearing the dungeon. Steeling himself, he said, ¡°Let¡¯s make a party and go inside.¡± * * * Kang Sunhwa was still not as used to Playing as Kim Hyukjin. ¡°O-Oppa. They¡¯re too big. Aren¡¯t they too strong?¡± ¡°Don¡¯t worry. They only look strong on the outside.¡± What they were referring to was a completely black ¡®cow¡¯-shaped monster. The black yak was an animal monster with a large body and great strength. It had a habit of running forward and plowing into its opponent when excited, and that attack was so powerful it could kill higher-level Players in mere moments. Mooooooooo!!! Three black yaks charged towards Hyukjin. After dodging slightly to the side, he sliced off the horn of a black yak with his Iron Sword. At the same time, he ran up the side of the cave and got onto another black yak¡¯s back. Moooooo! The black yak fiercely resisted, but Hyukjin didn¡¯t fall off. Squeezing with both legs, he raised his sword and plunged it down. Splurt¨C! The Iron Sword went straight into the top of the black yak¡¯s head. It collapsed with a thump, and Hyukjin sliced off its horn. ¡°Wha¡ª?¡± Shock flashed through Sunhwa¡¯s eyes. ¡®T-Two in one go.¡¯ Each and every movement Hyukjin made was as fluid as one smooth motion. Two black yaks fell over on the spot. After jumping lightly off the corpse of the black yak he had so swiftly dispatched, Hyukjin shot forward towards the one that had stopped in place after its charge, his movements as swift as an arrow. Slice. Another horn was cut off. [You have killed Black Yaks.] [EXP acquired.] [12 Coins acquired.] Sunhwa said to Hyukjin sourly, ¡°Oppa. Um¡­ About those movements you made just now.¡± They were a bit strange. ¡°Is that something everyone can do?¡± ¡°What do you mean?¡± ¡°I felt it while Playing outside, but I¡¯ve never seen anyone move like you, oppa. I also saw Tutorial survivors, and¡­ there¡¯s no one like oppa.¡± ¡°That so?¡± Hyukjin had seen a lot of Players on Youtube, so he didn¡¯t think too hard about it. Everyone out there right now were low-level Players who hadn¡¯t even advanced yet anyway. Of course a low-level couldn¡¯t move that well. He had seen the future, so he considered his movements to be just so-so. ¡°How in the world are you doing that?¡± Sunhwa saw it with her own two eyes, but it didn¡¯t seem real. He was¡­ almost like a beast born to Play. That¡¯s how it looked to the 14-year-old Kang Sunhwa. ¡°Hm, I guess¡­¡± Hyukjin glanced at Senia. He knew his words would be streamed to the Guardians, too. ¡°You just have to work hard.¡± ¡°Work hard?¡± ¡°Yeah. As hard as your desire not to regret it. Putting your all in every moment.¡± Hyukjin¡¯s words were sincere. He no longer wanted to regret anything. He wanted to live differently this time. He was undoubtedly speaking from his heart, but a flicker of doubt appeared in Sunhwa¡¯s eyes for the first time. Was hard work really enough? To be able to move like oppa? [The ¡®Nameless Observer¡¯ is silent.] [The ¡®Lady of the Scales¡¯ is satisfied with your response.] [The ¡®Whispering Devil¡¯ is disgusted by your response.] The young, 14-year-old Sunhwa balled her fists. She doubted Hyukjin for a moment, but she still trusted him wholeheartedly on a fundamental level. ¡®I will also¡­!¡¯ She thought Hyukjin had to be putting in an incredible amount of effort somewhere out of her sight. She felt the ¡®weight of an adult¡¯ from his words just now. As hard as your desire not to regret it. Those words felt heavy to her, and she felt just as much trust as the weight of those words. ¡®I¡¯ll work hard.¡¯ Something like vague optimism, the hope that she could become like her oppa if she worked hard sprouted within her. She dreamt. The two of them continued to hunt, and after a while, Hyukjin smiled widely. ¡®It finally came out.¡¯ Something dropped, and that ¡®thing¡¯ was a sparkling item. It was the item Hyukjin had been looking for. ¡°Oppa, what¡¯s that?¡± ____ ____ Chapter 19 Max Talent Player Chapter 19: Nightmare (2) This place, the first forked path, was called ¡®Nepalas¡¯ Path¡¯. In the Tutorial Dungeon¡¯s setting, ¡®Nepalas¡¯ was the name of one of the first gods, and a ¡®ring¡¯ previously cherished by that god dropped in the first forked path. It had a random chance to drop. If you were lucky, it could drop after one kill, but it could also take a long time. ¡®In any case, the total time it takes to collect all seven items is about the same.¡¯ If it took a long time in the 1st forked path, it would take comparatively less time in the 2nd. ¡®This one was¡­ average, I guess?¡¯ It didn¡¯t feel particularly slow or fast. Now that we had the ring, we were finished here. I turned without hesitation. ¡°Oppa. There are more black yaks in the corner over there¡­ We don¡¯t have to hunt them?¡± ¡°Nope. Black yaks don¡¯t give much EXP.¡± The greatest efficiency in the least amount of time¡ªthat was the basic principle of Playing. Black yaks weren¡¯t all that cost-effective. They weren¡¯t very difficult to kill, but the EXP they gave was too low compared to the time it took. ¡°Let¡¯s go. We¡¯re going to the 2nd path.¡± The order wasn¡¯t really set in stone, but there was an implicit clearing method that Players agreed on. Countless people had cleared the ¡®Seoul Station Dungeon¡¯, and a strategy had formed naturally according to their experiences. Normally, when soloing this dungeon, you went in order from path 1 to 7. We left the first path and went into the second. * * * So Yoohyun and Seo Joohwan¡¯s group entered the 1st forked path. Joohwan made a sound of admiration. ¡°Wowie¡­¡± There were black yak bodies everywhere. Seeing as only their horns were sliced off, it seemed their horns were their weak spot. There were a ton of dead black yaks, at least thirty of them. ¡°It looks like someone has already passed through this place,¡± someone remarked. ¡°All the way down¡­ Oh, there are some black yaks over there.¡± There were still black yaks left. What did that mean? ¡°I don¡¯t see any dead Players. That¡¯s gotta mean they ran away.¡± As far as they knew, only two Players had entered ahead of them. It wasn¡¯t strange that they had fled after hunting this many black yaks; it was possible they had run low on stamina. ¡°They definitely ran away,¡± said Joohwan with certainty. ¡°How about kicking things off by killing those guys to stretch our bodies a little?¡± The group began to fight in their own way. * * * * * * They kept hunting ¡®black yaks¡¯ in the 2nd path as well. In ¡®Dyugo¡¯s Path¡¯, the item ¡®Dyugo¡¯s Necklace¡¯ dropped. Hyukjin shrugged. ¡®We had good luck this time.¡¯ They only had to kill four black yaks before the item dropped. Sunhwa had picked up on his intent, and upon seeing him pick up the item, she quipped, ¡°Are we going to the 3rd path now?¡± Killing black yaks wasn¡¯t the important thing. Getting those items was what was important. She gained an understanding regarding ¡®key items¡¯. ¡°Let¡¯s go.¡± Slightly different monsters appeared on Delansha¡¯s Path. They looked basically the same as black yaks, but they were purple in color. These ¡®purple yaks¡¯ were about 1-2 levels higher than black yaks. ¡°Sunhwa. You take the lead.¡± ¡°M-Me?¡± ¡°Yeah.¡± Sunhwa inched forward. Hyukjin walked behind the petite girl. Just then, something came hurtling their way. ¡°Kyaa!¡± Something crashed into Sunhwa¡¯s forehead with a clack before falling to the ground. ¡°It¡¯s alright. You won¡¯t die.¡± ¡°W-What was that just now?¡± ¡°A horn.¡± ¡°A horn?¡± ¡°Yeah. A horn shot by a purple yak. They¡¯re basically ranged attackers.¡± That was why he put Sunhwa in the front. ¡°You¡¯re sturdier than me, so it¡¯s better for you to get hit than me.¡± ¡°O-Oppa! Kyak!¡± ¡°Don¡¯t worry. See, you¡¯re not dying.¡± It was true. The purple yak horns couldn¡¯t damage Sunhwa at all. More ¡®purple yak¡¯ horns came shooting towards them. Still not completely used to Playing, Sunhwa screamed every time, even though there was zero impact to her body. After a while, the two of them heard a notice. [You have killed Purple Yaks.] [EXP acquired.] [13 Coins acquired.] Sunhwa was somewhat slack-jawed. She simply stood and took some hits, but the purple yak croaked all on its own. Without understanding the reason, she continued walking forward and spotted the ¡®purple yak¡¯ bodies on the ground. ¡°These guys die after shooting their horns twice.¡± Realization dawned on Sunhwa. ¡°E-Even so, did you just use me as a shield?¡± ¡°Yeah. You¡¯re a tank, aren¡¯t you?¡± ¡°S-Still.¡± ¡°Well, even if you die, it¡¯s you who¡¯s kicking the bucket and not me, so whatever,¡± Hyukjin said, cracking a joking smile. ¡°Right then. Go forth, my amazing Miss Tank.¡± To Players, things like age or gender weren¡¯t important. Only their class, stats, Guardian, and skills were important. Sunhwa had far more ¡®tanking ability¡¯ than Hyukjin. If each Player had a ¡®total score¡¯, his number would be far higher, but she would have the higher score when it came to ¡®damage tanking ability¡¯. Surprisingly, Sunhwa seemed to be moved by his offhand comment. ¡°I¡¯m amazing?¡± ¡°More than expected, I guess?¡± She looked happy for a moment, but her expression soon turned strange as she mumbled, ¡°It¡¯s true I¡¯m a tanker, but¡­¡± She really wasn¡¯t used to it. This oppa who used her, a 14-year-old, very petite kid, as a shield¡­ could she really believe in him? Of course, she did believe him. She did, but still, something about it made her feel a little unsure. Hyukjin chuckled. ¡°Get your head on straight. You¡¯re not just a 14-year-old kid. This is a dungeon, and you¡¯re a Player.¡± When Playing, everyone had to do what they were good at. He didn¡¯t put Sunhwa in the front just because he didn¡¯t want to get hit by purple yak horns. He had recognized Sunhwa¡¯s talent early on, and as long as he didn¡¯t intend on throwing her away and would continue to walk forward with her in the future, she had to get used to experiences like this. Hyukjin spoke jokingly in order to help her relax, but this was absolutely not a joke. In fact, making her take the lead like this was also a good thing for Sunhwa¡¯s growth. ¡®I may know all the strategies, but there¡¯s no doubt about it. Playing is dangerous.¡¯ With the danger came a need for everyone to be faithful to their own roles. Rather, they had to be good at their roles. That was the correct thing to say. ¡®Delansha¡¯s Bracelet¡¯ was the item that dropped from the 3rd forked path, ¡®Delansha¡¯s Path¡¯. They had collected the items from three out of the seven paths. ¡°We¡¯re just leaving the rest of the purple yaks, right?¡± ¡°Yeah.¡± ¡°It seems like the purple yaks give a lot of EXP, though¡­¡± ¡°I know.¡± Purple yaks were certainly foes that gave a lot of EXP. With a good tank like Sunhwa around, killing them was also easy. ¡°Is there¡­ a reason why you¡¯re leaving them?¡± That went without saying. ¡°Do you think we¡¯re the only ones who came in here?¡± Sunhwa didn¡¯t understand what those words meant. In her eyes, Hyukjin was an ¡®adult¡¯ who knew a great many things, and she thought it was only natural for her not to understand all the words of an adult. Hyukjin shrugged and walked back. ¡°We have to leave those guys here to slow down the small fry.¡± Because if the past repeated itself, Seo Joohwan had definitely entered the dungeon. * * * So Yoohyun and Seo Joohwan¡¯s group killed all of the black yaks in the 1st fork. ¡°There¡¯s nothing special around.¡± Kim Hyukjin had already acquired ¡®Nepalas¡¯ Ring¡¯. The only reward that could be gained now from the 1st forked path were the EXP and Coins gained from hunting ¡®black yaks¡¯. Joohwan scowled. ¡°They¡¯ve got frickin¡¯ good defense, but give shit EXP.¡± Yoohyun nodded. The cost-effectiveness of black yaks was the worst. ¡°If we hadn¡¯t known that the horns were their weak spot, we might have had a really tough time.¡± ¡°Still, as expected of the Tutorial Ender, you¡¯re indeed outrageous. If someone like me were to get hit by that fist of yours, they¡¯d die in one hit,¡± said Joohwan, making idle chatter. ¡°I think we¡¯ve killed everything here, so shall we go to another path?¡± Not a single person even thought of trying the kind of Playing Hyukjin had shown, where he was basically ¡®soloing¡¯. After all, they had seen the horrors of Jongno not too long ago. Because they remembered the Tutorial Field, where 145,000 out of 150,000 had perished, neither Yoohyun nor Joohwan were able to consider moving on their own. There weren¡¯t many bodies in the 2nd fork, only four. The fact there were some dead monsters meant that someone had hunted here, but there were still many living black yaks. However, there was no Player body. It was at this point that Yoohyun began to feel that something was a little strange. ¡®What is it?¡¯ Did the Player who was in the 1st path go into the 2nd one before running again? It was difficult to figure out. While he was thinking, Joohwan said, ¡°For now, let¡¯s catch ¡®em.¡± They caught all the black yaks remaining in the 2nd pathway. Meanwhile, unbeknownst to them, Hyukjin acquired the ¡®Athenia¡¯s Necklace¡¯ from the 4th fork, ¡®Athenia¡¯s Path¡¯, and the ¡®Zenith¡¯s Cudgel¡¯ from the 5th fork, ¡®Zenith¡¯s Path¡¯. When Hyukjin and Sunhwa were in the 6th path, Yoohyun and Joohwan¡¯s party went into the 3rd. There, both Yoohyun and Joohwan finally caught on. ¡°They didn¡¯t run away; they left them,¡± said Joohwan, scowling. ¡°I think so as well.¡± ¡°There must be key items for clearing the dungeon.¡± Joohwan felt slightly incensed. He couldn¡¯t be sure whether the mystery Player left the monsters here on purpose or not, but he felt a spike of irritation knowing that there was someone stepping far ahead of him. ¡®Who the hell is it?¡¯ He was with the Tutorial Ender, So Yoohyun, so who would dare to step ahead? While leaving only small fry for them to deal with, no less. Yoohyun looked serious. ¡°Let¡¯s just leave the monsters and go to the other paths.¡± While they were discussing, Hyukjin got the ¡®Victoria¡¯s Shield¡¯ from the 6th path. Yoohyun and Joohwan¡¯s party followed right on his heels. In the end, they all came face to face in the 7th forked path. * * * Even before we entered the 7th forked path, I knew other people would come looking for us. ¡®That was slower than I expected.¡¯ To be honest, I thought we would meet at around the 6th path, but they were a little slower. They were certainly still beginner Players. ¡®Figures. From their point of view, this is all completely new to them.¡¯ They were different from me, who had the strategy guides memorized by heart. I¡¯d seen the Seoul Station Dungeon strategy video on Youtube probably close to thirty times. From the very beginning, our starting points were different. Sunhwa and I met the other Players in the 7th fork. ¡®Fist King So Yoohyun.¡¯ I immediately activated Eye of Perception. [Player] Name: So Yoohyun Age: 20 Level: 17 Class: ¨C Guardian: ¨C State: Gladness / Surprise Disposition: Neutral / Just / Generous / Narrow-minded Summary: Debt-Repaying Magpie His level was 17, a very outstanding number. There was something other than his level that shocked me. ¡®What¡¯s with his disposition?¡¯ Neutral and just were fine, but¡­ ¡®How can he be both generous and narrow-minded at the same time?¡¯ Was Eye of Perception broken? The results were clear, but I didn¡¯t quite understand. I didn¡¯t actually think Eye of Perception¡¯s analysis was wrong. It must be that when it came to some things, So Yoohyun could be very generous, and in others, narrow-minded. His summary was ¡®Debt-Repaying Magpie¡¯, in reference to the Korean folktale of the magpie that gave its life to repay its debt to the farmer who saved its chicks. It wasn¡¯t a bad summary. ¡®So Yoohyun isn¡¯t the important one right now.¡¯ That man who had a strange smile on his lips while looking at me, I knew him. ¡®He still looks young, but¡­¡¯ He was as young as the Fist King. [Player] Name: Seo Joohwan Age: 21 Level: 16 Class: ¨C Guardian: ¨C State: Lust / Displeasure Disposition: Evil / Violent / Fake Summary: Violent Pedophile We were still in the early stages of Playing, but even though he had just come out of the Tutorial Field, in my eyes, he looked rotten to the core. ¡®So we meet here.¡¯ I had expected it. ¡®Seo Joohwan.¡¯ Later, there would be a massive organization called ¡®Nightmare¡¯. It went by the alias ¡®Demon King Army¡¯. Seo Joohwan would be one of the famous lieutenants of that Demon King Army. ¡®What a disgusting summary.¡¯ He was the first ¡®evil¡¯ alignment Player I was meeting, though he hadn¡¯t completely blackened yet. Even so, I needed to exercise utmost caution when dealing with him. ¡®If Seo Joohwan moves as I expect¡­¡¯ It could just so happen that today, I would have to fight him to the death. I had already foreseen this situation and had come prepared. ¡®If we truly end up fighting¡­ the one who will put their life on the line won¡¯t be me, but you, Seo Joohwan.¡¯ Just then, I saw him opening his mouth. His first words were rather unexpected. ____ ____ Chapter 20 Max Talent Player Chapter 20: Mandra The Demon King Army. The brutal atrocities they committed were indescribable. This was slightly off topic, but the eight Heroes representing Korea earned their hero titles while confronting the Demon King Army. Most of their heroic tales originated from battles against the Demon King Army. ¡®In other words, the Demon King Army is strong enough to resist and fight those heroes.¡¯ In any case, it was valid to say that having become a lieutenant of the Demon King Army, he¡¯d run the gamut of all sorts of despicable deeds, though that hadn¡¯t happened yet. ¡°Hello! Didn¡¯t think there was a senior here.¡± Seo Joohwan made a rather polite bow. It was unexpected, but I understood after a beat. ¡®Fake¡¯ was unmistakably mixed into his disposition. He greeted me with a good-natured expression, but I was determined not to let my guard down. ¡°On the way to the 7th fork, we saw that the monsters had already been killed. Was that you, senior?¡± ¡°Yes.¡± I looked at So Yoohyun. He was blinking at me in a daze, obviously very surprised. ¡°¡­You were al¡ª¡± I cut him off. ¡°Nice to meet you. You must be So Yoohyun, the Tutorial Ender. I saw you on TV.¡± ¡°Uh¡­ I¡­ Ah¡­ Yes. I mean, yes, thank you. You¡¯re too kind. I¡¯m truly humbled and don¡¯t know what to say.¡± After floundering for a short moment at my ¡®nice to meet you¡¯, Yoohyun promptly expressed his modesty. It seemed he really meant it when he said ¡®you¡¯re too kind¡¯. However, the look in his eyes towards me spoke volumes. They were filled with goodwill. I could feel through Eye of Perception that his look went beyond goodwill, almost into adoration. Those were Yoohyun¡¯s sincere feelings. The ¡®Debt-Repaying Magpie¡¯ summary truly suited him to a T. ¡°We¡¯ve come as support,¡± Seo Joohwan said. ¡°Let¡¯s work together.¡± I stared at Seo Joohwan. ¡°I wonder about that. You¡¯ve seen the other paths already, I¡¯m sure?¡± Sunhwa and I had cleared most of the monsters in the forks. We had left the rest of the monsters simply because we didn¡¯t need them. Seo Joohwan was struck speechless for a moment. ¡°¡­That¡¯s true. You¡¯re doing perfectly fine on your own already.¡± ¡°Yes.¡± ¡°But couldn¡¯t you achieve a slightly more desirable clear with our help? This place isn¡¯t a dungeon with a set owner, anyway.¡± He was being roundabout, but what he was implying was, ¡®You¡¯re not the owner either, so you can¡¯t refuse us¡¯. ¡®Right, Seo Joohwan was one of the first people to assert that dungeons had owners,¡¯ I thought. Later dungeons fell under the possession of individual guilds. They taxed things like the items and Coins that were obtained from the dungeons at their own discretion, solely on the basis that they owned the dungeon. Later on, wars were even waged for dungeons. The Demon King Army committed murder for them without reserve. ¡°I think it will be fine if everyone Plays on their own. However, there¡¯s an item I¡¯m looking for. The Guardians said they wanted it.¡± I sold off the Guardians. [The ¡®Nameless Observer¡¯ expresses their misgivings.] [The ¡®Lady of the Scales¡¯ expresses her disappointment.] [The ¡®Whispering Devil¡¯ is happy.] The Guardians didn¡¯t really like it when their names were used in vain. However, I had no choice. I couldn¡¯t just carelessly give off the ¡®I know everything¡¯ feeling. This was the easiest road available to me. ¡®Is the Whispering Devil a pervert?¡¯ I did something Guardians usually didn¡¯t like, but the Whispering Devil was happy about it. ¡°I¡¯d also gladly Play with everyone. But I would like to ask that if an item bearing the name of this path, Lakitula, appears, that you concede it to me. Of course, I will fully compensate you.¡± So Yoohyun and Seo Joohwan seemed interested in the item I was looking for. Joohwan asked, ¡°An item bearing the name Lakitula? Did other items like that appear in the other paths, as well?¡± I expected a conversation like this to come about even before coming here. It was all a part of the picture I was drawing. There was no need to lie, and even if I did, it would be quickly exposed at the next checkpoint. There was no real reason to lie. ¡°Yes, there were. I¡¯m working on a quest to gather the seven items.¡± ¡°There was a quest like that? We didn¡¯t get that.¡± Because I had already predicted such a situation, my response was also prepared in advance. ¡°It is a quest given to the first person who enters.¡± ¡°Aha.¡± Seo Joohwan seemed convinced. ¡°I think the item won¡¯t be of much use to you even if you get it. They don¡¯t really have any good effects. None of them are better than shop credit.¡± These guys had passed level 15, so they could also use the Item Shop. ¡°If someone else ends up obtaining that item, I will buy it from them at a higher price than what is offered in the shop.¡± * * * * * * On the 7th fork, ¡®Lakitula¡¯s Path¡¯, black and purple yaks appeared together. So Yoohyun extended his fist with a loud, rousing shout. ¡°Hiyaa!¡± One black yak fell over. ¡°Taunt!¡± ¡®!!!¡¯ marks appeared over the purple yaks¡¯ heads, indicating that their aggro had been properly pulled. Two purple yaks fired their horns, and while they were doing so, Seo Joohwan and the three members of his group quickly approached the purple yaks and killed them. As she watched, Kang Sunhwa felt a little odd. ¡®Those people are survivors of the Tutorial¡­¡¯ There was another man. ¡®And that mister using his fists is the Tutorial Ender, right? That super famous guy.¡¯ There was no doubt he was currently the most famous Player in the world. ¡®So why¡­¡¯ She might just be imagining it¡­ ¡®How come¡­¡¯ She didn¡¯t know exactly why, but¡­ ¡®They look so weak?¡¯ Somehow, she got the feeling that they were weak. After a moment of contemplation, Sunhwa realized the reason. ¡®It¡¯s because I¡¯m comparing them to oppa.¡¯ Be it Mr. So Yoohyun, the Tutorial Ender, or that nimble-looking Mr. Seo Joohwan, both of them had quick and concise movements, but¡ª ¡®Compared to Hyukjin oppa¡­¡¯ She couldn¡¯t help but think that they fell far short. But something else was strange, and it was that Hyukjin wasn¡¯t showing his full prowess. ¡®Oppa¡¯s movements have gotten much slower and cruder than before.¡¯ Sunhwa couldn¡¯t be sure whether he was doing it on purpose, or if he was just tired. In any case, as it was right now, Hyukjin, Yoohyun, and Joohwan all looked to have about the same level of skill, though their Playing styles were a bit different. What was significant was the fact that only 14-year-old Kang Sunhwa was able to precisely compare their movements. However, Sunhwa herself did not think of that as an impressive feat. She wasn¡¯t even cognizant of what she was doing. * * * The person who acquired the item was none other than Seo Joohwan. ¡°I got the item.¡± ¡°I see.¡± ¡°It¡¯s the Lakutula¡¯s Earrings. It has no defense or durability, so it¡¯s nearly about to fall apart. It¡¯s also got no special effects. You really want to buy this?¡± ¡°Yes. It¡¯s a quest item, after all.¡± Joohwan nodded. ¡°I¡¯ll just give it to you, then. Take it as a sign of my goodwill to you, senior,¡± he said with a smile. It was a friendly smile, but I didn¡¯t really like it. I activated Eye of Perception again. Disposition: Evil / Violent / Fake Summary: Violent Pedophile This was definitely not goodwill. He might call it goodwill now, but I didn¡¯t want to accept it at all. ¡°I appreciate the thought, but I won¡¯t accept goodwill without good reason. Your intent is enough for me.¡± ¡°Oh, come on, senior. Why so rigid? And if I won¡¯t sell it?¡± For a moment, Seo Joohwan¡¯s eyes subtly changed. They quickly returned to normal, but I didn¡¯t miss the change. He had clearly thought that Hyukjin and Sunhwa were extremely strong at first. ¡®But he probably felt that we weren¡¯t much after actually fighting together.¡¯ I purposely didn¡¯t show my full strength, matching my skill level to Yoohyun and Joohwan, and that had quickly drawn out Joohwan¡¯s true colors. He was still calling me ¡®senior¡¯ and acting polite, but I could faintly feel venomous fangs hidden behind his smiling fa?ade. ¡®Because you have a talent more specialized to hunting Players than hunting monsters.¡¯ After a beat, Seo Joohwan laughed with a ¡®haha¡¯. ¡°Just kidding, just kidding. It¡¯s useless to me anyway. I¡¯ll sell it for just 500 Coins.¡± To get 500 Coins, you had to kill a staggering forty black yaks. For reference, the ¡®Beginner Iron Sword¡¯ in the Item Shop cost 500 Coins. The ¡®Lakitula¡¯s Earrings¡¯ could probably be sold in the Shop for about 15 Coins at most. It was neither expensive nor cheap, but somewhere vaguely in between. ¡°Alright.¡± The trade system could not be used inside dungeons. As such, I took out 500 Coins from my Inventory, and Seo Joohwan passed over the ¡®Lakitula¡¯s Earrings¡¯ like a trade in real life. With that, the trade was complete. I stowed away the item. ¡°Let¡¯s move.¡± The group led by So Yoohyun and Seo Joohwan ended up being led by me, a change that occurred all too naturally. * * * I went through the 7th fork with So Yoohyun and Seo Joohwan. ¡®After this, we¡¯ll reach the Statue of Mandra.¡¯ When we reached the end of the 7th fork, a clearing appeared. In the underground cavern, I spotted a stone statue some distance away. The stone statue¡¯s eyes flashed open. Frightened, Sunhwa clutched the hem of my clothes. An androgynous voice that was neither female nor male echoed through the cavern. I walked towards the statue bearing the ¡®Mandra¡¯ name. [One without qualifications. You shan¡¯t escape punishment.] The cavern began to quake, making it feel like something dangerous was about to happen. Pebbles fell from the ceiling. ¡°I have come to prove my qualifications.¡± The Seoul Station Dungeon was a ¡®beginner¡¯ dungeon. It didn¡¯t involve complicated, bizarre tricks or solutions. All you had to do was clear it straight and simple with a frontal assault. [Prove your qualifications.] A red light shot out from the Statue of Mandra like a laser pointer and focused on my chest. If I messed up here, my heart would be penetrated and I would die. Before coming into the Seoul Station Dungeon, I reviewed the process again and again, coming here only after running at least a hundred simulations in my head to avoid making any mistakes. ¡®In order.¡¯ Any mistake would be my death. Before the strategy was discovered, within the scope of the beginner grade, the Seoul Station Dungeon was considered to be nearly impossible to clear. ¡®I¡¯ll die if I make a mistake.¡¯ But I made no mistakes. I thought of the order once again in my mind. 1st. Nepalas¡¯ Path. 2nd. Dyugo¡¯s Path. ¡­ ¡­ 7th. Lakitula¡¯s Path. You had to put the items on the Statue of Mandra in order. An inventory window appeared before my eyes, probably visible only to me. Just like when a Player equipped an item, I had to drag items with my eyes into that inventory window. ¡®As I thought, it¡¯s the same.¡¯ It was exactly the same as what I had seen in Youtube videos. I went through seven prompts. [Transfer Nepalas¡¯ Ring? Y/N] ¡­ ¡­ [Transfer Lakitula¡¯s Earrings? Y/N] I answered ¡®Y¡¯ to all seven prompts. The items were equipped on the ¡®Statue of Mandra¡¯, one after another. Then, the red light coming from the statue¡¯s eyes disappeared, and the tremors shaking the cavern subsided as well. [You have proven your qualifications.] [Speaker. Your name is?] The question I had been waiting for so eagerly appeared at last. ¡®Finally.¡¯ I had gathered the seven items in order to be asked this question. ¡°My name is¡­¡± I wasn¡¯t going to say Kim Hyukjin, my real name. If I said my name, I would get an ordinary reward. I decided to give the answer that Mandra wanted to hear. I would be the first to use the ultimate clearing method that had been discovered by the Great Explorer, ¡®Jackson¡¯. ____ ____ Chapter 21 Max Talent Player Chapter 21: Mandra (2) The Great Explorer, ¡®Jackson¡¯, was known to have cleared the ¡®Seoul Station Dungeon¡¯ at least 300 times. He said this about the dungeon: [In Latin, mandra means stable.] Jackson interpreted the name ¡®Mandra¡¯ as stable or barn, and was said to have tried various answers based on his interpretation. Finally, I found the correct clearing method for the Seoul Station Dungeon. Simply saying your name would give you so-so rewards, exactly the right kind of items for a beginner dungeon. Of course, they weren¡¯t bad. However, they didn¡¯t quite deserve to be called a ¡®Hidden Piece¡¯. ¡°My name is¡­¡± Jackson¡¯s strategy guide was like a rulebook for beginners, and I had memorized it from cover to end. He had said it like this: [The correct answer is Rancher.] ¡°Your master, the one who has granted you new life. I am Rancher.¡± ¡°¡­¡± The Mandra Statue began to shake. Finding my response curious, Seo Joohwan and So Yoohyun were unable to tear their eyes away from me. The statue had asked me for my name, but I had answered in English as ¡®Rancher¡¯. The Great Explorer Jackson¡¯s strategy was indeed correct. I heard a notice. [You have found the ¡®correct answer¡¯.] [You have fulfilled the Hidden Piece.] Notices from Guardians flooded in at the same time. [The ¡®Nameless Observer¡¯ tilts their head.] [The ¡®Lady of the Scales¡¯ is surprised.] [The ¡®Whispering Devil¡¯ is feeling great interest.] Yes, that was only natural. I could guess that the Guardians were getting just as heated as I was. They viewed Playing as their one and only amusement and stimulant. For them, I would become an incredible stimulant. I was aware of that fact, and would use it properly to my advantage. Golden light began to emerge from Mandra¡¯s body. A hologram appeared before my eyes, visible only to me. There were three choices listed on it. [Choose a Reward] I already knew these choices would appear. In the meantime, Seo Joohwan asked, ¡°It seems you¡¯ve been given something special¡­ We should wait, right?¡± ¡°I would be grateful if you would wait a moment. I think one minute will suffice.¡± While I had been distracted, Eye of Perception had picked up something nasty. Seo Joohwan¡¯s lecherous gaze had repeatedly landed on Sunhwa. He wouldn¡¯t actually do anything, but that disgusting gaze was unpleasant. However, I didn¡¯t show my disgust outwardly. After all, nothing good would come from revealing to the world that I could read someone¡¯s emotions, disposition, and special traits. I picked a reward without hesitation. ¡°I¡¯ll take the gloves.¡± Mandra nodded. I already knew the effects, but I still checked the gloves. [Mandra¡¯s Gloves] Mandra¡¯s Gloves have a special effect. They have a special resistance to ¡®poison¡¯ and will protect the wearer from countless infectious diseases. Defense: 2 Effects: Poison resistance +3 The notices came in. [You have passed ¡®Mandra¡¯s Test¡¯.] [The ¡®Plaza of Mandra¡¯ has been cleared.] [The next scenario quest, ¡®Two Forked Paths¡¯, will proceed.] A quest was issued. [Two Forked Paths] The final crossroad of the Seoul Station Dungeon. Find the appropriate clear conditions to complete the Seoul Station Dungeon. If you cannot clear the dungeon, a Dungeon Break will occur. At least one Player must enter each passage. Not far in the distance, I saw two forked pathways. The ¡®Seoul Station Dungeon¡¯ was a dungeon that had a fundamentally forked structure. The difficulty of both paths were about the same. Seo Joohwan was the first to speak. ¡°I analyzed the best way to proceed, and¡­¡± I could feel a repulsive nastiness coming from him via Eye of Perception. His obscene gaze towards Sunhwa was extremely unpleasant. ¡°As you all know, I am the type of DPS who moves quickly to strike weak points. It¡¯s a class that can perform very well in combination with a reliable tank, like Miss Sunhwa.¡± Joohwan continued, ¡°I think that it would be good to form a team with me, Sunhwa, and two people from my group. The other pathway can be handled by Yoohyun-nim, Hyukjin-nim, and the other person from my group. The balance should be right that way.¡± TN: -nim is a formal honorific to express respect. On the outside, he made it seem like he was paying heed to balance. However, I had no intention of letting Sunhwa go. At least, not to a sickening bastard with a summary of ¡®Violent Pedophile¡¯. ¡°No,¡± I responded flatly. Seo Joohwan didn¡¯t look all that surprised. ¡°Please tell me why.¡± ¡°Sunhwa is like a little sister to me. In fact, my mother is considering adopting her. I will act with Sunhwa.¡± I was curious as to how Seo Joohwan, a lieutenant of the Demon King Army I knew from the past, would respond. ¡°Even though I conceded the item to you with good grace¡­ Won¡¯t it be bad from an efficiency standpoint?¡± ¡°Efficiency? From the start, I was planning on clearing this dungeon with just me and Sunhwa.¡± ¡°And you think it¡¯s possible with just the two of you? Even the Intermediate Administrators recommended seven Players. Think carefully.¡± His eyes weren¡¯t good-natured anymore. It couldn¡¯t quite be called openly rude, but there was no real goodwill to be found, either. The look in his eyes had changed from before. ¡°If I had thought it impossible, I wouldn¡¯t have come in.¡± ¡°You sure have a great deal of confidence.¡± I could feel Joohwan¡¯s emotions. Whenever someone felt intense emotions, Eye of Perception picked it up without fail. If I were to put it into words, he was cursing me as a ¡®irritating son of a bitch¡¯ right now. ¡°It seems you have met a Guardian who is providing you a lot of information and benefits.¡± ¡°Well, something like that.¡± I didn¡¯t get a scrap of information from the Guardians, but it was a decent reason to convince Seo Joohwan, who promptly grinned. ¡°If you have received information from a Guardian¡­ That must effectively mean that Miss Sunhwa and Hyukjin-nim¡­ are capable of clearing this dungeon with the two of you, correct?¡± It was effectively correct. Sunhwa and I could clear this dungeon on our own. I saw Joohwan¡¯s eyes sparkle, and I knew the reason why. ¡®You think you and I are on the same level?¡¯ He probably thought so. I had hidden my skills in order to make him think that. ¡®That¡¯s why you¡¯ll probably assume that if I can clear it, you can clear it too.¡¯ It wasn¡¯t strange that he would misunderstand. From the start, I had saved my strength in order to make him think that. I wanted to see just how he would react now. ¡°Then, how would you like to proceed, senior? Since you were planning on clearing the dungeon with Sunhwa as a pair¡­ Will just the two of you go into one pathway?¡± he asked. He continued a moment later, ¡°But if you do that, we¡¯ll be too unbalanced, so¡­ Let¡¯s do it like this, instead. How about our group moving as one unit and Yoohyun-nim going to the other side?¡± He gave a cunning smile. I checked his disposition again with Eye of Perception, clearly seeing one word on the list. Perhaps noticing that the mood had turned a little strange, So Yoohyun intervened. ¡°That sounds good. I will move to the other party.¡± And so, the parties were divvied up¡ªme, Sunhwa, and Yoohyun in one team, Joohwan and the three Players he led in the other. Their side only had damage dealers. Seo Joohwan headed to the right forked pathway first. ¡°Well then, I wish you the best of luck.¡± * * * * * * I went into the left fork. As soon as we separated from Joohwan¡¯s group, So Yoohyun spoke up. ¡°You seemed very unhappy.¡± From Yoohyun¡¯s point of view, it was probably strange that I blatantly made things difficult for Seo Joohwan. I had never really shown him any goodwill, even though he hadn¡¯t shown any reason to deserve such cold treatment. ¡°Yes. I don¡¯t really like that kind of person.¡± ¡°¡­¡± I decided not to say too much. I wouldn¡¯t say that the man would become a named Player of an organization called ¡®Nightmare¡¯ in the future, or that his current dominant disposition was ¡®fake¡¯, or that his summary was ¡®pedophile¡¯. Nor would I tell him that he hadn¡¯t noticed, but that bastard had been looking at Sunhwa with a dirty gaze. There was no need to say those things, and I had no reason to convince him of anything. Notices came in. [You have entered the first forked path.] [Please reach the end of the path.] [There will be a ¡®clue to the clear¡¯ at the end of the path.] The notices aside, Yoohyun easily accepted my half-assed explanation of ¡®I just don¡¯t like him¡¯. ¡°That¡¯s fair.¡± And then, he suddenly reached out and grabbed my hand. I almost shook him off by instinct. I didn¡¯t have a perverted disposition like Seo Joohwan, and I didn¡¯t swing that way either. Simply put, a man¡¯s hand? No thanks. I very nearly attacked him. ¡°You are the person who saved me, correct?¡± ¡°¡­¡± ¡°I am sure I saw you in the D-Tower¡¯s 2nd floor. The two heroes who left with the magic troll.¡± Hm. He seemed to be remembering things a little strangely. It wasn¡¯t that we left with the magic troll. We had fled for our lives from the magic troll. ¡°All of my teammates died there¡­ but I survived. I owe you my life.¡± Oh. Hm. So, um. That¡¯s¡­ Is that how it was? ¡°You are my hero.¡± ¡°¡­¡± ¡°Please give me a chance to repay you. I¡¯m very good at repaying favors.¡± I had no idea how to respond. I desperately wanted to tear my hand away, but it was a little tricky to do so with those big, glistening eyes shining at me. This was the reason why I couldn¡¯t really shake off his hand: I didn¡¯t go out of my way to activate Eye of Perception, but I could very clearly feel what kinds of emotions this person had towards me. So Yoohyun¡­ was being completely sincere. Sincerity was overflowing from every pore of his body. ¡°If it is alright with you, may I call you hyungnim?¡± TN: Hyungnim is a respectful form of hyung, used by a male to refer to an older male. ¡°But we¡¯re the same age?¡± ¡°That doesn¡¯t matter, does it? You are my life¡¯s savior.¡± I scratched my head. This thing called Eye of Perception was really nice and all, but it was pointlessly sensitive and forced me to understand a person¡¯s inner feelings far too well. So Yoohyun¡¯s sincerity was relayed to me loud and clear through Eye of Perception. Was this guy always so simple and honest? ¡°Well¡­ do as you please.¡± ¡°Please speak casually to me, hyungnim.¡± ¡°¡­¡± Sunhwa smiled, as if finding the situation very amusing. ¡°But you know, Hyukjin oppa is oppa. And Yoohyun mister is a mister. So if mister¡¯s hyung is oppa, then what should I call you?¡± After contemplating on her lonesome, Sunhwa also came to a conclusion on her own, and very quickly. ¡°Mister is still mister. And oppa is oppa. That settles it.¡± Yoohyun¡¯s brow wrinkled a little at being called a ¡®mister¡¯, but he didn¡¯t show his feelings openly. ¡°But¡­ it feels like you are staying here on purpose. Am I correct?¡± This man, So Yoohyun, was pretty quick on the uptake. ¡°You are correct.¡± ¡°Come now, hyungnim. Like I said, please speak casually.¡± ¡°¡­¡± I nodded. Fine, okay. It shouldn¡¯t be a bad thing to have the future Fist King as my little brother. It wasn¡¯t like I forced him or anything. This was what he wanted, so there wasn¡¯t any reason to refuse, was there? ¡°Yeah,¡± I repeated, more casually this time. ¡°Why? Is there some genuine secret I don¡¯t know about?¡± ¡°You¡¯ll find out if we wait here a little.¡± Yoohyun didn¡¯t question me, and neither did Sunhwa. Waiting at the Safe Zone without leaving was a strange thing to do, but the two of them waited patiently. After about ten minutes, we heard a notice. [A new Player is entering.] [The Safe Zone will be deactivated, as the limit of five Players has been exceeded.] There was only one reason why I had waited without expending my stamina. It was because I predicted that the others would enter our path, though I hoped my prediction wouldn¡¯t come true. ¡°Did they already clear the other path, hyungnim?¡± I knew Seo Joohwan would come here. I also knew he would stab me in the back. I knew he had a summary of ¡®Violent Pedophile¡¯, and that his disgusting gaze had been straying towards Sunhwa. And I knew one last thing. That the current Seo Joohwan was no match for me. ____ ____ Chapter 22 Max Talent Player Chapter 22: Second Innate Ability I stared at Seo Joohwan and his group of three, numbering four in total. He said to me, ¡°You don¡¯t seem all that surprised?¡± His way of speech had suddenly become very casual. I, of course, responded in the same manner. ¡°I had a vague idea of what you would do. Though I didn¡¯t think you¡¯d really go for it.¡± ¡°Really?¡± He smirked. ¡°Then we can cut the useless chatter.¡± He took out his weapon, the ¡®dagger¡¯. He had come here determined. ¡°There¡¯s no video surveillance here and no police to protect you, as I¡¯m sure you¡¯re well aware.¡± Of course I was. There were tons of cases where people went into dungeons and their bodies could not even be found. Murders occurred frequently within. Later on, the Players Association would be established and there would be implicit promises and rules between Players, but that was a thing of the future. ¡°Your reason for doing this?¡± ¡°I just find you really annoying. You¡¯re real irritating, see?¡± Seo Joohwan stared at me in distaste before adding one more thing. ¡°But if you give me that girl, I¡¯ll let you go this time.¡± Seo Joohwan turned to Yoohyun and offered him the proposal as well. ¡°How about it, Yoohyun? All you have to do is give me that girl and this situation can be settled nice and neatly.¡± Sunhwa clutched the hem of my clothes. I could feel how small her hand was, just how small a 14-year-old girl just barely out of elementary school was. ¡°I just don¡¯t understand why you¡¯re asking for Sunhwa,¡± I said. Actually, I knew the truth. His summary had laid his nature bare. In other words, he was a psychopath. I stared at the man. Right now, the Seo Joohwan in my eyes didn¡¯t look that strong. ¡°You said it. There are no surveillance cameras here.¡± That also applies to you, you psychopath. He snickered. ¡°What? You can¡¯t be thinking of fighting us, right? I¡¯m sure Yoohyun will be neutral. You think you and that tiny little girl will be a match for us four?¡± I was so dumbfounded I had to laugh. What in the world had him so confident that Yoohyun would be neutral? Yoohyun also clarified. ¡°But I¡¯m on hyungnim¡¯s side?¡± he said, his raised fists making him seem like a cow determined to butt heads with Seo Joohwan. That didn¡¯t seem to faze our opponent much. ¡°Well, whatever. I¡¯ve already seen the full extent of your skills.¡± His eyes grew serious. ¡°I¡¯ll give you one last chance.¡± Eye of Perception relayed an electrifying sensation to me. It was as if a sharp blade were pricking my body. I had learned this feeling through Eye of Perception. ¡®Murderous intent.¡¯ It was his bloodthirst, his desire to kill someone. That man was serious right now. He spoke, as if giving a final warning. ¡°We¡¯re about tied when it comes to hunting monsters. But I¡ª¡± Knowing what he was about to say, I cut in. ¡°Have an ability specialized for PVP.¡± ¡°¡­¡± Joohwan was briefly taken aback, having had the words taken from his mouth. However, he quickly recovered his relaxed air. ¡°You¡¯re well-informed.¡± I smiled. ¡°Have you learned Shadow Ambush, at least?¡± ¡°¡­¡± He probably hadn¡¯t yet. He hadn¡¯t even advanced to a class. From his reaction, I could tell he hadn¡¯t learned any techniques like ¡®Shadow Ambush¡¯. If so, I wasn¡¯t all that worried. ¡°Let me ask you one more time.¡± ¡°Feel free.¡± ¡°If I don¡¯t give you Sunhwa, you really intend on killing us?¡± Seo Joohwan grinned. ¡°I told you already. There¡¯s no surveillance here. This is really your last chance. Decide. Whether you¡¯ll all die, or just give that girl to me.¡± Because there were no police here, no laws. Because this was a dungeon. ¡®That¡¯s right. That¡¯s the sort of place this is.¡¯ I hadn¡¯t forgotten. I hadn¡¯t experienced it before in the past, but the dungeons during the beginning period were all lawless zones. ¡°How about it? Decided in your heart?¡± ¡°My answer to you is¡­¡± This. I shot towards Seo Joohwan first, bending slightly for a takedown tackle. ¡®He¡¯ll dodge.¡¯ I could see his movements as clearly as day. His trajectory, and how he would move, they were all drawn out in my head. ¡°You crazy bastard¡ª!¡± The long-ranged DPS nocked an arrow at me, an action that was not lost on me. My Eye of Perception that had absorbed Sixth Sense completely read his movements. ¡°Slow.¡± From the beginning, Joohwan wasn¡¯t my objective. My target was the irritating long-ranged DPS, Go Janghan. ¡®I hoped I wouldn¡¯t have to use it, but¡­¡¯ I twisted in place and used the ¡®thing¡¯ I had prepared in Janghan¡¯s direction. * * * * * * So Yoohyun was instantly stunned. ¡®Huh?¡¯ It was already surprising that Kim Hyukjin had predicted all of this, but more surprising was that his movements were completely different from before. ¡®He was hiding his full strength?¡¯ That was the only explanation. Hyukjin¡¯s movements were incredibly clean. Yoohyun had always been well-versed in various martial arts, and in his eyes, Hyukjin¡¯s movements just now looked like they had come from a long-time wrestler. ¡®He purposely¡­ didn¡¯t show all of his strength,¡¯ Yoohyun realized. Hyukjin had done so exactly for a situation like this. That one movement just now had proven it without a trace of doubt. Yoohyun also steeled himself to fight. It was all or nothing. ¡°You assholes.¡± He started running towards one Player. Just then, Kang Sunhwa jumped in. Clang! A loud clang echoed out. Sunhwa had blocked Joohwan¡¯s dagger attack, protecting Yoohyun. ¡°Thanks.¡± This child who was only 14, a kid whose talent plates hadn¡¯t even fully opened up yet, had read the attack of a man specialized in surprise attacks. White light gathered in Yoohyun¡¯s fist. He landed his fist squarely in the abdomen of a Player. ¡°Gugh!¡± The Player curled like a shrimp. At the same time, Kim Hyukjin approached and scattered something sweet-smelling. Hyukjin was sure of it. ¡®We can beat them.¡¯ The other side had underestimated them too much. ¡®No, we will beat them.¡¯ Yoohyun moved far better and faster than he expected. Sunhwa¡¯s sense for combat was second to none. She was completely different from the scared and cowering girl she had been moments before. ¡®The moment the battle started, Sunhwa completely changed.¡¯ Sunhwa blocked a whopping three of Seo Joohwan¡¯s rather tricky attacks, even though she was breathing hard and trembling because she had used ¡®Platinum Shield¡¯ many times in succession. Hyukjin poured honey water over Seo Joohwan, like he had already done with Go Janghan. That was the honey his sister had bought for him. He had diluted it into honey water. ¡°The fuck are you doing?!¡± Seo Joohwan had the feeling that things were not going as planned. Both Yoohyun and Sunhwa were far stronger than he expected. He thought they¡¯d be able to overwhelm the three of them, but his group was the one getting overwhelmed. ¡®No, the problem isn¡¯t Yoohyun or Sunhwa.¡¯ It wasn¡¯t them. The person completely responsible for this situation was Kim Hyukjin. His movements were difficult to chase. As if he were using some kind of special footwork, Hyukjin attacked them while nimbly dodging. ¡®Just how fucking high is his Agility?!¡¯ Joohwan had invested a ton of his points into Agility. But Hyukjin was still faster. The rat weaved in and out, breaking their center of gravity. There were also Yoohyun¡¯s powerful blows to contend with, and Sunhwa blocked their occasional attacks. ¡®Fuck!¡¯ That bastard. He had to catch that bastard. As long as they could do something about Hyukjin, everything would work out. He thought Yoohyun would be the biggest problem, but it was actually Hyukjin. Joohwan¡¯s entire body felt sticky. His hair and clothes were a mess of sweat and honey water. ¡®Is he trying to rile us up?¡¯ Hyukjin could have easily gone for a fatal blow, but he didn¡¯t use any weapons and simply poured honey water on them. Booooom¨C! Booooom¨C! He started to hear loud booms coming from deeper along the pathway. * * * ¡°Get down!¡± At my shout, Yoohyun and Sunhwa immediately ducked. When we first came in here, I had told them in advance: [On the off chance that something happens, if I tell you to get down, get down no matter what¡¯s going on. Got it?] Both Yoohyun and Sunhwa got down immediately, as did I. A swarm of bees rushed past our heads. They were far bigger than regular bees, even bigger than the Asian giant hornets that were frequently called the scariest bees. Their individual levels weren¡¯t that high, but there were thousands of them in a swarm. Without a fire mage, it was better to not even consider trying to kill them. ¡°W-What the fuck?!?¡± The screams began. Buzzing Bees were very sensitive to sweet smells. ¡°U-Uaaaghhhhh!¡± ¡°S-Save meeee!¡± ¡°P-Please save me!¡± And they had a habit of drinking Players¡¯ blood. ¡°I-I beg you¡­! ¡°Save¡­¡± ¡°No¡­¡± Covered from head to toe in thousands of Buzzing Bees, the screams of the four Players sticky with honey water became quieter and quieter. Hundreds of Buzzing Bees that had become bloated from drinking too much blood had fallen to the ground, along with four Players who had become as desiccated as mummies. ¡®It¡¯s over.¡¯ Eye of Perception couldn¡¯t sense anything from them anymore. There was no trace of life. Now, they could no longer be considered living. ¡®They died.¡¯ Technically, I was the one who killed them. ¡®I don¡¯t¡­ feel as much as I thought I would.¡¯ I was more emotionless than I expected. Even though I had just committed murder, I didn¡¯t feel much guilt or pangs of conscience, nor was I nauseated or scared by the sight of those mummified bodies. I was so calm I was a little scared of myself. I cast one last glance at Seo Joohwan, whose body had become mummified. ¡®You brought this on yourself.¡¯ If you were resolved to kill someone, you had to be resolved to meet your own death. The bodies were sucked dry of their blood. The Buzzing Bees scattered on the ground, round as balloons with blood. I had created this situation, almost like a conductor directing an orchestra. The reactions of the Guardians were mixed. [The ¡®Lady of the Scales¡¯ is greatly disappointed in you.] [The ¡®Nameless Observer¡¯ is silent.] [The ¡®Whispering Devil¡¯ claps his hands in glee.] Standing behind me, Yoohyun and Sunhwa held their silence for a moment. After all, what had just happened before them was not something they had seen in their everyday life. The calmest person here wasn¡¯t the future Fist King So Yoohyun, but actually me, Kim Hyukjin. The same Kim Hyukjin who had received a [No Talent] evaluation. I heard some notices. [A special situation has been exposed.] [The System has recognized the situation as a PK (Player Kill).] [Forcibly awakening your dormant Innate Ability due to your first PK.] I had already heard a notice like this before. Back when we were running from the magic troll, there was a notice like this. That was when I awakened my innate ability ¡®Sixth Sense¡¯, and that Sixth Sense had been fused into the ¡®Eye of Perception¡¯ I currently possessed. ¡®I had another innate ability?¡¯ Most Players only got one innate ability, and it was orthodox for it to unlock at around level 60. Fast Players would get it at around level 40. But I already had two of them. ¡®Huh?¡¯ And to my surprise, that innate ability¡­ was one I was already very familiar with. ____ ____ Chapter 23 Max Talent Player Chapter 23: Second Innate Ability (2) There were more notices. [The Innate Ability ¡®Eye for an Eye, Tooth for a Tooth¡¯ has been awakened.] [Check the Innate Ability?] ¡®Eye for an Eye, Tooth for a Tooth¡¯ was among the relatively common innate abilities. However, there was a class Player who had won her fame with this ability as a foundation. ¡®Sword Empress Shin Yeonseo.¡¯ The Sword Empress never revealed the name of her innate ability exactly as ¡®Eye for an Eye, Tooth for a Tooth¡¯. ¡®Hers was probably an innate ability of a higher grade.¡¯ The innate ability of the Sword Empress ten years later was thought to be ¡®Hammurabi¡¯. Of course, that was just a guess¡ªit wasn¡¯t confirmed by the Sword Empress herself. ¡®In any case, they¡¯re the same in essence. There¡¯s a high chance this is the ability the Sword Empress started with.¡¯ The Sword Empress¡¯ raiding capabilities were very outstanding, but her PVPing ability was even better than that. There were rumors on the Internet that the Fist King So Yoohyun and the Flame Lord Choi Sung-gu had lost in 1:1 PVP to the Sword Empress. ¡®I think she had a tie with the Typhoon, Jo Sunghyun, right?¡¯ It was said that the Sword Empress had the higher skills, but Jo Sunghyun had the advantage in playstyle. The people in question didn¡¯t state it outright, but it was something known by most people who had an interest in ¡®Playing¡¯ or civil service students studying for the civil servant exam that had new questions every iteration based on the history the current figures wrote. [Status Window] Name: Kim Hyukjin (Player) Level: 18 Title: [First Pioneer] [Excellent Player] Innate Ability: [Eye of Perception] [Eye for an Eye, Tooth for a Tooth] Strength: 17 Intelligence: 17 Agility: 23 Perception: 17 Constitution: 17 Willpower: 17 (+30) Bonus stats: 6 Random stats: 3 Undistributed stats: 9 I clicked the innate ability. [Eye for an Eye, Tooth for a Tooth] It¡¯s only right to return what is dealt to you, even more so if it¡¯s revenge. This Innate Ability triggers when you are ¡®dealt a preemptive attack by a Player¡¯. However, if you remain passive after receiving a preemptive attack, all buffs will take effect as debuffs. 1. Attack power +7% 2. Attack speed +7% 3. Critical chance +7% 4. MP consumption -7% ¡®You¡¯ll become even stronger against a Player who attacks you first.¡¯ Considering this was still the early stage, this ability was almost a cheat. ¡®Is it okay for someone to get something like this in the early stage?¡¯ This meant there was a far higher possibility for its growth. Things like titles were also easier to upgrade the sooner they were given. With that in mind, I really wasn¡¯t sure if it was okay for me to get something like this in the ¡®Seoul Station Dungeon¡¯, a mere ¡®beginner¡¯ dungeon and essentially the ¡®first dungeon¡¯ outside of the Tutorial. ¡®But wait, actually¡­ innate abilities are kind of like a talent my body was originally born with.¡¯ The only issue was whether you could awaken them or not. In other words, these two innate abilities were abilities I always had within me. Just then, another notice interrupted my thoughts. However, it wasn¡¯t a simple chat. * * * Senia reached out first and requested a chat with Kim Hyukjin. She was so curious that she really couldn¡¯t hold back. To be more precise, it was the Guardians who were curious, especially the ¡®Lady of the Scales¡¯ who had expressed great disappointment in Hyukjin. ¡°A Pause has taken effect. Nobody else here can hear this conversation. Player Kim Hyukjin. This is a conversation between the two of us.¡± Senia said it like it was just a chat between the two of them, but Hyukjin already knew. ¡®The Guardians must be listening, too.¡¯ It wasn¡¯t a chat between him and Senia. If it was, they would be talking with an actual ¡®whisper¡¯. In other words, this conversation right now was a ¡®Player Video¡¯ being shown to the Guardians. Hyukjin had picked up on that quickly, unbeknownst to Senia. She said, ¡°There was a flash of light just now. What was it?¡± Hyukjin looked around. Everything had become black and white¡ªthe world was on ¡®PAUSE¡¯. ¡®I¡¯m surprised she went for a pause.¡¯ It was rare for an Intermediate Administrator to independently come out and use their ¡®pause authority¡¯ during a dungeon play. In most cases, that meant some Guardian¡ªone with quite a lot of financial power¡ªhad requested a pause. ¡®If a Guardian stepped in¡­¡¯ That meant the Guardians were going crazy with curiosity. ¡®There was a flash of light like I got something, after all.¡¯ It wasn¡¯t time for a level up yet, so there was no reason for there to be a flash of light. I was well aware of that. ¡®They¡¯re probably making a fuss at her to find out what it is.¡¯ After all, these damned Guardians were completely unable to resist their curiosity. I could see it in my head. Right now, I was merely a thing of amusement for the Guardians as a ¡®Player¡¯, but actually, I was the one who could make them antsy. If I played my cards right in the future, I could even lead the Guardians by the nose. It wasn¡¯t possible right at this instant, but I could already see that possibility. ¡°I got an emergency quest.¡± ¡°¡­¡± As an Intermediate Administrator, Senia was aware that Hyukjin¡¯s words were a lie. At the very least, information related to ¡®quests¡¯ were shared to Intermediate Administrators. ¡°If I were to summarize the quest¡­ Kill those who are trying to kill me. Only, I couldn¡¯t kill them directly.¡± Senia didn¡¯t say anything, maintaining her usual expressionless face. She simply listened. ¡®A definite lie. What is this Player thinking?¡¯ Hyukjin was an incomprehensible Player who couldn¡¯t be predicted at all. Even Senia was curious about what words would come from the mouth of this strange Player who was only level 18. ¡®Does he know¡­ that these words are being relayed to the Guardians?¡¯ They were in a pause state right now. She hadn¡¯t told him that the Guardians were listening in, but could it be that he knew? ¡°Please continue,¡± Senia said. * * * * * * ¡°If I were to summarize the quest¡­ Kill those who are trying to kill me. Only, I couldn¡¯t kill them directly.¡± The reason why I said this was because I was conscious of the ¡®Lady of the Scales¡¯ listening in. I¡¯d heard earlier that the Lady of the Scales was greatly disappointed. ¡®I killed someone, so she probably wasn¡¯t happy about that.¡¯ To say it in extremes, the Lady of the Scales was a Guardian with a very ¡®moralfag¡¯ personality. It wasn¡¯t strange that she was disappointed in me, since regardless of the situation as a whole, I did end up killing them. This was why absolute good types were exhausting to deal with. ¡°That yellow light was the indicator for getting the quest reward.¡± I stilled for a moment, examining Senia¡¯s expression. What were the Guardians saying? But Senia was as expressionless as ever, and I wasn¡¯t able to glean any hints from her expression. ¡°As the quest reward, I got an innate ability awakening.¡± I decided to tell the truth on this. ¡°Eye for an Eye, Tooth for a Tooth. It¡¯s an innate ability where I must attack back if someone attacks me first or directs ill will towards me. If I don¡¯t do anything after getting hit¡­ I¡¯ll have a seizure as a side effect. If you want, you can scan it.¡± This much explanation was probably enough to appease the Lady of the Scales a little, too. I was simply following the rules of the System. A Player is an existence bound to scenarios and quests. That was, in effect, an ¡®Absolute Law¡¯. ¡®It¡¯s about time for the Lady of the Scales to bite.¡¯ This time, I received a real whisper, a voice only I could hear. Even the Guardians couldn¡¯t hear it. This Streamer¡­ still had a long way to go. I could tell she was a beginner simply from the way she blatantly whispered to me. It was true that I got an innate ability called ¡®Eye for an Eye, Tooth for a Tooth¡¯. Senia continued talking to me in a businesslike tone. How very cute. I grinned, but only inwardly. I couldn¡¯t show the Guardians my expression. The fact she had aided and abetted my lie meant we were in the same boat. It was a relief she wasn¡¯t glib-tongued or talkative. She didn¡¯t talk much, so there should be less of a chance for her to slip up. ¡®It¡¯s actually better than being talkative.¡¯ Her talent as a Streamer was at the bottom of the barrel, but it didn¡¯t matter¡ªshe could still survive if she had quality content that could cover for her lack of talent, and then some. I said a few more things aloud. If a whisper went on for too long, the Guardians would definitely think something was up, though this blockheaded Streamer didn¡¯t even know that. ¡°I don¡¯t feel good about it,¡± I said, making a dark expression. ¡°I was also an ordinary person until very recently, and leading someone to their death like this is scary and terrifying. I feel that way, even now.¡± Lady of the Scales, are you listening? I didn¡¯t want to have to say this much, but I had no choice. ¡°But I¡¯m even more fearful of someone precious to me getting hurt. I would rather become a murderer¡­ than let something terrible happen to a child who sacrificed her life for me.¡± This was the final nail in the coffin. ¡°Because that is what I consider to be the greatest justice I can carry out.¡± I finally heard a notice. [The ¡®Lady of the Scales¡¯¡¯s misunderstanding has been resolved.] [The ¡®Lady of the Scales¡¯ acknowledges the ¡®Absolute Law¡¯.] [The ¡®Lady of the Scales¡¯ understands your true heart.] The lovely notices continued. [The ¡®Lady of the Scales¡¯ has gifted you 300 Coins.] [The ¡®Lady of the Scales¡¯ is seriously considering bestowing a ¡®large gift¡¯.] [The ¡®Lady of the Scales¡¯ decides to postpone the ¡®large gift¡¯.] Ah. The result fell a little short of the mark. If possible, I would have liked to make her feel a bit sorrier and direct the play a bit more dramatically so that she wouldn¡¯t just consider, but actually ¡®bestow¡¯. ¡®Well in any case, I¡¯ve acquired the possibility of getting a large gift from her.¡¯ You couldn¡¯t expect too much with the first swing. ¡®The pause will end soon.¡¯ Shortly afterwards, the pause ended. * * * So Yoohyun was a future Ranker. He was someone who would rise to the position of ¡®Fist King¡¯ even without my help or meddling. Naturally, he was a Player of overwhelming talent, and so I thought he would quickly become accustomed to death. ¡°I would have done the same. Even death was too good for them. Hyungnim, don¡¯t be too torn up about them for no reason.¡± I expected this response from him. However, Sunhwa¡¯s reaction was unexpected. She was unexpectedly extremely calm, and was unmoved by the indirect murder I had committed. ¡°It was really scary, but those were bad people.¡± She didn¡¯t go so far as to say ¡°good riddance¡±, but it didn¡¯t look like Sunhwa was all that fazed by their deaths. The phrase ¡®influence of talent¡¯ was a very famous set of words that described why someone could adapt so quickly in a situation like this. ¡®Hm?¡¯ Come to think of it¡­ ¡®The person most unfeeling about this situation¡­ is me.¡¯ I had just essentially killed Seo Joohwan¡¯s group with my own hands, but despite that, I suffered absolutely zero mental shock. On the contrary, I was calm enough to use the situation to soothe the Lady of the Scales and paint the situation I wanted. It was enough to make me wonder if I was a psychopath. ¡®Though they were trash who deserved to die.¡¯ In any case, it was surprising to me that I could be so aloof to someone¡¯s death. ¡°I trust you, oppa.¡± I picked up on an intense emotion via ¡®Eye of Perception¡¯. Under my direction, Yoohyun and Sunhwa hunted the ¡®Buzzing Bees¡¯ littered on the ground with reddened bodies and bulging bellies. You couldn¡¯t even really call it hunting. You just had to nudge them and they would explode with a pop! It was a side effect of having sucked too much human blood. We didn¡¯t get any notable items. [Acquired Buzzing Bee¡¯s Stinger.] ¡­ ¡­ [Acquired Buzzing Bee¡¯s Stinger.] The most we got were Buzzing Bee Stingers. The monsters also didn¡¯t give much EXP. We hunted all of the Buzzing Bees we could see. The time had come to advance. ¡°Let¡¯s go.¡± At the end of this path was a ¡®crystal¡¯, a crystal that would allow us to clear the ¡®Seoul Station Dungeon¡¯. There was one in this path, and one in the path that Joohwan had gone to. Once we got both, we could achieve what I wanted. We continued forward, hunting the Black Yaks and Purple Yaks along the path. [Acquired Black Yak¡¯s Lean Meat.] [Acquired Black Yak¡¯s Lean Meat.] Yoohyun and Sunhwa showed a fairly impressive Play. ¡°Oppa, over there.¡± I saw a crystal exuding purple light floating in the air, around thirty centimetres in size. Just then, a notice came in. An ominous purple energy began to spread from the crystal like a fog. It was a vicious poisonous gas. ____ ____ Chapter 24 Max Talent Player Chapter 24: Korean Father It was definitely not a meaningless warning. ¡®It¡¯s dangerous to approach without any sort of defenses.¡¯ In the initial stage of the Seoul Station Dungeon, countless Players lost their lives to that poisonous gas, not knowing the method to counter it. ¡°Oppa¡ª!¡± Despite having become accustomed to Goblins and relatively normal monsters like City Wolves, it seemed Sunhwa still hadn¡¯t gotten used to these kinds of special effects. ¡°I¡¯m scared,¡± she murmured, standing behind me. Yoohyun didn¡¯t show it, but he also looked tense. ¡°Both of you, stay back.¡± The speed of the diffusion itself wasn¡¯t fast. It was fine as long as you didn¡¯t breathe it in. We were still okay, since we were far away. ¡°What about you, oppa?¡± ¡°I have to get rid of that.¡± ¡°¡­¡± Sunhwa¡¯s eyes were round with worry. ¡°It¡¯ll be fine. Don¡¯t worry.¡± It wasn¡¯t like I didn¡¯t feel any nerves. Even though I knew the strategy from beginning to end, even though I knew how to get rid of that poisonous gas, I would still die if I messed up. I strode towards the crystal. ¡®Around here, I guess.¡¯ I drew in a big breath. Having become a Player, I could now hold my breath far longer than a regular person. My eyes were fixed on the crystal exuding the poisonous smoke. ¡®Here I go.¡¯ I inspected the item one last time, the Hidden Piece item I got from Mandra. [Mandra¡¯s Gloves] Mandra¡¯s Gloves have a special effect. They have a special resistance to ¡®poison¡¯ and will protect the wearer from countless infectious diseases. Defense: 2 Effects: Poison resistance +3 A poison resistance of +3 couldn¡¯t block all poisons. The closer I got to the crystal, the more my skin began to sting. [Resisting the poisonous smoke of the ¡®Seoul Station Crystal¡¯.] [Eye of Perception detects danger.] I sensed the danger slightly more concretely through Eye of Perception. If I kept going forward like this, I would get poisoned and die. After some time, my skin would rot and fester. ¡®Poison resistance +3¡¯ alone wasn¡¯t enough to completely resist this crystal¡¯s poisonous smoke. And this was something I already knew. I continued to approach the crystal, holding my breath as best I could. ¡®Senia must know.¡¯ She had to know that I, someone who didn¡¯t have full poison resistance, wouldn¡¯t be unscathed from approaching the crystal simply on the merit of the ¡®Mandra¡¯s Gloves¡¯. ¡®And the Guardians must be focusing, too.¡¯ Senia and the Guardians, both of them were likely focusing on my Playing. They wanted to see. They wanted to see if a mere level 18 Player could truly clear this place on his own. For Guardians with names like ¡®Whispering Devil¡¯, they might even want to see me die a miserable death. ¡®I¡¯ll show you.¡¯ The Playing you guys want. ¡®Inventory.¡¯ I opened up my Inventory, then pulled out an item. It was the item we had acquired earlier, ¡®Buzzing Bee¡¯s Stinger¡¯. It was a monster that gave little EXP and not many Coins. Despite that, we worked hard to hunt them, not missing out on a single one. [The crystal¡¯s poison has begun to seep into your body.] [Resisting the poison.] ¡®It¡¯s hard to keep my eyes open.¡¯ Thanks to my stats being far higher than the regular Player, my poison resistance was likely higher than the average Player. ¡®I¡¯m also at my limit for holding my breath.¡¯ I had reached the crystal, but the poisonous smoke was so thick I could hardly see in front of myself. Actually, I really couldn¡¯t see anything. The smoke was just too thick. ¡®Where is it?¡¯ Eye of Perception did me the useless favor of drawing out the future in great detail. If time went on like this, I would die. ¡®Gugh¡­!¡¯ I tried my best to hold my breath, but it wasn¡¯t perfect. I felt the poison seeping up into my nostrils, and the feeling of my skin burning. I already knew that. ¡®Where is it?!¡¯ I couldn¡¯t keep my eyes open anymore. Intense pain began to hit me. Despite the pain, I desperately groped for the crystal. ¡®Here!¡¯ In the end, Eye of Perception didn¡¯t fail me. I was able to grab the crystal. ¡®Quick¡­!¡¯ The very same instant I got the crystal, I crushed the ¡®Buzzing Bee¡¯s Stinger¡¯ in my hand. A black fluid burst out of the needle-like stinger. Quite a lot of fluid flowed out from such a small stinger and fell onto the crystal. Szzz¨C! Smoke rose from the crystal. [The toxicity of the ¡®Seoul Station Crystal¡¯ is being neutralized.] [The toxicity of the ¡®Seoul Station Crystal¡¯ is being neutralized.] I crushed more Buzzing Bee¡¯s Stingers and smeared their fluid on the crystal. Every time I did so, smoke billowed up and I got notices saying the toxicity of the ¡®Seoul Station Crystal¡¯ was being weakened. I heard Sunhwa¡¯s voice, saying one honest and simple word. ¡°Holy¡­¡± The purple smoke thinned, little by little. ¡°Gugh¡­ gugh¡­!¡± I stared at my arm. It had turned purple and looked fairly poisoned. ¡®It wasn¡¯t as easy as I thought.¡¯ My physical sight had been rendered nearly completely unusable. As a result, I wasn¡¯t able to find the crystal right away. ¡®In any case, I did it.¡¯ It wasn¡¯t perfect, but I achieved it nevertheless. At just level 18, I managed to destroy the crystal of the ¡®Seoul Station Dungeon¡¯, something that had produced countless victims in the past. [Acquired the ¡®Seoul Station Crystal¡¯.] [You have fulfilled ? of the clear conditions.] Before I knew it, the smoke had completely disappeared. [The ¡®Nameless Observer¡¯ observes you with deep interest.] [The ¡®Whispering Devil¡¯ is disappointed.] The Whispering Devil definitely wanted to see me die from poison, it seemed. Yoohyun approached me. ¡°Hyungnim, how did you do it? I couldn¡¯t see very well because of the smoke.¡± ¡°We got the Buzzing Bee¡¯s Stingers earlier, remember? I neutralized the poison smoke with that.¡± ¡°How did you know you could neutralize the smoke with that?¡± ¡°The item description says it neutralizes poison.¡± There was no need to twist myself in knots to explain. The Guardians were watching, and I didn¡¯t need to boast about my Playing. ¡°Then did you think of this Play after seeing just that one description?¡± ¡°Yeah.¡± It wasn¡¯t something I¡¯d thought of. It was the Great Explorer, the mighty Jackson. Yoohyun was silent. Somehow, it felt like his state was becoming similar to Sunhwa¡¯s, but that wasn¡¯t important. I acquired the crystal. After doing it once, it would be a little easier to get the other crystal. ¡°Let¡¯s go.¡± * * * * * * The party went into the path that Seo Joohwan had gone into first. Their way through was almost the same, and so was the difficulty. They then reached the vicinity of the crystal and heard the notice once again. It was a repetition of the same trick. To some extent, the ¡®Seoul Station Dungeon¡¯ was a beginner dungeon and didn¡¯t have a complicated or difficult clearing method. As long as you knew the strategy, it had a very high clearing chance and the death chance was also very low. Like before, Eye of Perception sent Hyukjin warning signals. However, Hyukjin was able to acquire the crystal with slightly more ease than before. Senia streamed Hyukjin¡¯s Play in silence. ¡®He has¡­ already grown.¡¯ The way he nullified the Seoul Station crystal¡¯s poisonous smoke earlier was already surprising, but after doing it just once, his movements were much more natural than before. ¡®Earlier, he was definitely in a really dangerous spot.¡¯ The poisonous smoke was so thick that he wasn¡¯t able to find the crystal properly. If he didn¡¯t have Eye of Perception, Kim Hyukjin might have even died in the first forked pathway. ¡®But this time¡­¡¯ Last time, his arm had gone purple, but this time, there wasn¡¯t a trace of purple anywhere, meaning he hadn¡¯t taken any damage from the poisonous gas. [The ¡®Nameless Observer¡¯ is in awe of the speed of your growth.] [The ¡®Lady of the Scales¡¯ is surprised by your growth.] [The ¡®Courageous Lion King¡¯ has begun to take an interest again in your talent.] The Guardians were also in awe of Hyukjin¡¯s current speed of growth. They were watching his Playing from a 3rd person view. They could make far more objective estimates of his Playing. ¡®Player Kim Hyukjin. Are you conscious of what kind of Playing you are doing right now?¡¯ What in the world was this Player? Her common sense could not make sense of it. There wasn¡¯t even any need for her to make any commentary. Even at this very moment, prominent Guardians were entering her channel, simply based on the fact that she had ¡®good quality content¡¯. Not just Rabble, but yet another Guardian who revealed their ¡®True Name¡¯ entered her channel. Senia simply continued to stream Hyukjin¡¯s Playing, watching in silence as Hyukjin obtained the crystal. [Acquired the ¡®Seoul Station Crystal¡¯.] [You have fulfilled the clear conditions for the ¡®Seoul Station Dungeon¡¯.] Some unfortunate dungeons could only be cleared by completely destroying the crystal at the end, and the crystal possessed incredible defense. Fortunately, the Seoul Station Dungeon didn¡¯t require such a thing. [Clear complete.] [The ¡®Seoul Station Dungeon¡¯ has been cleared.] [The ¡®Dungeon Break¡¯ of the ¡®Seoul Station Dungeon¡¯ has been sealed.] Senia, who had been streaming while semi-transparent, revealed herself. So Yoohyun¡¯s jaw dropped upon seeing her. ¡®My god¡­¡¯ Her appearance was beyond anything he¡¯d ever seen. It was like a noble angel had descended from the heavens. Even her expressionlessness was beautiful. It went past beauty into something more noble. ¡®She¡¯s¡­ Hyungnim¡¯s Intermediate Administrator?¡¯ He almost drooled. How could she be so beautiful? Yoohyun found himself amazed by how Hyukjin could remain unmoved even while looking at such an incredible beauty. ¡®Just what in the world did this hyungnim do in the past?¡¯ Yoohyun was curious as to what hyungnim¡¯s background could possibly be. ¡®I¡¯m sure I¡¯ll slowly find out.¡¯ He decided not to approach too abruptly. He already owed Hyukjin his life. Yoohyun resolved to repay his debt to that person slowly, very slowly, in his own way. Senia opened her mouth. ¡°I will proceed with the rewards.¡± ¡°You being here to give the rewards¡­ must mean there¡¯s something special.¡± Normally, when a dungeon was cleared, the dungeon itself would give the rewards. That was how it normally was. The fact an Intermediate Administrator personally appeared to deliver the reward meant they had used some item or authority. ¡®I think there¡¯ll be a level up point, as a fundamental reward.¡¯ Senia nodded. ¡°Yes. I will distribute level up points to all members of the group that cleared the Seoul Station Dungeon.¡± That was a very unsurprising reward, an all-too-ordinary compensation. ¡®What I want is¡­¡¯ There was something else that Hyukjin wanted. His true goal for clearing this dungeon was something else. It was the first step and the starting line for his plan. ¡®She¡¯ll probably give me a choice.¡¯ Hyukjin silently waited¡ªno good came from being hasty. At last, Senia continued. ¡°For showing an astonishing Play, a choice will be offered to Player Kim Hyukjin.¡± ____ ____ Chapter 25 Max Talent Player Chapter 25: Korean Father (2) ¡°A choice will be offered to Player Kim Hyukjin.¡± I already knew what the Seoul Station Dungeon¡¯s first clear reward was. ¡®Number one is gold.¡¯ Actual wealth would be given. I even knew exactly how much it was in grams. It was a regular exam question. ¡®3.75 kg.¡¯ In grams, that was a whopping 3,750. I knew why it was that number, too. That number was necessary in story dungeons that progressed the story, not just one-time dungeons. It would be used later. ¡®But right now, it¡¯s meaningless to me.¡¯ Of course, it was true that my heart was racing. Nearly 4 kg of gold had a value of 200 million won, or approximately $200k. As was befitting of a ¡®number¡¯ related to a later scenario, Senia personally read out the number. ¡°You can acquire a pouch filled with 3.75 kg of gold.¡± A hologram appeared before my eyes. It was visible only to me. I was given a choice, to take the gold or not. An ordinary person would probably choose the gold without looking back. ¡®200 million won.¡¯ It was a quantity I¡¯d never had in my life¡ªno, never even seen. On the TV or the Internet, everyone and their mother was a wealthy person with millions and owned buildings worth hundreds of millions. But me? Much less millions, I didn¡¯t even have a few thousand. For me, even a few dollars was money I was loath to part with. ¡®But where this gold came from is uncertain.¡¯ The ¡®System¡¯ hadn¡¯t properly taken root in society yet. If someone came out with a lump of gold of uncertain origin they picked up somewhere, it would be difficult to properly prove its worth. ¡®It would already be a relief if it didn¡¯t get taken by the state.¡¯ The Players Association would be established, and the big corporations would start dipping their feet into the Player world with Sungshin at their lead. After that, related legislation would start to be enacted. In the early stages of Playing, as unreasonable as it was, many Players were forced to donate their rewards to the state, as ¡®taxes¡¯. ¡®What was it again? ¡®Goods that came from an unknown world are dangerous, so they will be confiscated¡¯ or something like that.¡¯ The country seized the pouch, armed with such ridiculous nonsense and even justifying themselves by calling it ¡®taxes¡¯. It was complete hogwash according to the common sense of ten years later, but that was how it was right now, during the early stage of Playing. ¡®So the gold is a no-go.¡¯ It was an attractive reward, but I suppressed my greed. ¡°And the other choice?¡± ¡°The other choice is a Recovery Elixir.¡± Another hologram appeared. [Choose a reward] 1. Pouch of Gold (3.75 kg gold) 2. Recovery Elixir It was exactly as I remembered. Originally, Seo Joohwan was the person who got this dungeon¡¯s first reward, but he was no longer standing in this position. ¡®The future has changed.¡¯ It had changed, but many things had also stayed the same. The rewards were the same. If that was the case, then my decision was also set. ¡°I choose the type B Recovery Elixir.¡± ¡°There is no knowing what kind of item the type B Recovery Elixir is. If your luck is bad, it could be something truly useless. I do not recommend it at all.¡± It was basically a gacha. Any ¡®healing medication¡¯ that fell within the ¡®recovery¡¯ category could come out. Worst case, it could even be medication to treat athlete¡¯s foot or cold medicine. ¡°I¡­¡± ¡°Will you change your choice?¡± But I already knew what the type B Recovery Elixir marked as ¡®?¡¯ was. ¡°Still choose type B.¡± [The ¡®Nameless Observer¡¯ is curious about your choice.] [The ¡®Lady of the Scales¡¯ expresses doubt at your choice.] [The ¡®Whispering Devil¡¯ finds your choice amusing.] They had to be very curious. If I didn¡¯t know what Seo Joohwan had done, if I didn¡¯t know the future, I wouldn¡¯t have chosen to gamble over the gold. As for my teammates, Yoohyun acquired ¡®Iron Gauntlets¡¯ with ¡®Agility +1¡¯ and Sunhwa got a headband with ¡®Constitution +2¡¯. ¡®They¡¯re pretty good.¡¯ Beginner grade items with stats as effects were pretty effective, after all. In any case, the Seoul Station Dungeon was cleared. I had also definitely heard the notice saying so. Now, the Seoul Station Dungeon was in no danger of ¡®breaking¡¯. That was a big relief. In the past, Players were unable to stop the Seoul Station Dungeon from breaking. Dungeon breaks occurred three times, and as a result, thousands of casualties came about. ¡®Approximately 2300 deaths and 800 seriously injured.¡¯ The number of slightly injured people couldn¡¯t even be counted. I was actively changing the future, the future I knew. I didn¡¯t know how long my knowledge would apply. If I were to allow things to continue the way I knew, I might have had to turn a blind eye to the dungeon break. However¡ª ¡®If I did that, I wouldn¡¯t even be human.¡¯ I wasn¡¯t some impressive hero or saint, but I thought it would be too cowardly not to stop a tragedy I could easily prevent. I had already experienced the Cataclysm of April 27th, 2028, in Jongno. Countless people had died before my eyes. If I could prevent more deaths, it was only right to do so. I didn¡¯t have any grandiose goals or desires to be a hero. ¡®I just¡­¡¯ My goal for this life was simple. I wanted to live like a real person. Like a real person, with a little more happiness. In the Tutorial Field, I had to turn away from many people in order to live, and I wanted to live without doing that as much as humanly possible. [A level up point has been used.] [Current level: 19] A notice came in at the same time as my level up. * * * * * * So Yoohyun asked me for my number, which I simply gave. ¡°I¡¯m happy I got hyungnim¡¯s number.¡± I had no idea why he was so happy about it, but whatever. We exchanged numbers. ¡°Great. Hyungnim, have a safe trip back!¡± As a Player, the most famous person was So Yoohyun. He would probably be the subject of the media¡¯s attention, and I told him to go along with it so that history would flow as close to the future I knew as possible. That way, I could make use of all the things I knew. ¡®I didn¡¯t exist in that future.¡¯ But now, I did. I didn¡¯t know how or what this huge variable would change. Preventing the dungeon break was the right thing to do, but there was no need to change things beyond what was necessary. Plus, I still lacked the strength to protect myself. The Great Explorer, ¡®Jackson¡¯ said it like this: a hidden sword is more frightening than a visible one. Until I had the means to be able to prove myself beyond reasonable doubt, I would hide myself, at least from the media. There was one person I did have to prove my worth to. I walked in plain sight towards a certain building. ¡®The Sungshin headquarters.¡¯ It was a massive 92-floor building in Gangnam. This was what Seo Joohwan had done in the past. He ran to the Sungshin headquarters and yelled ¡®I can treat the President!¡¯ And as surprising as it was, Seo Joohwan was indeed able to meet the President of the Sungshin Group. Though, well, I didn¡¯t know I would end up meeting that spoiled brat here. ¡°Ah, fuck, what the hell.¡± What happened was this: I ended up getting into the same section of the revolving door with this kid¡ªhe looked like a middle school student. That appeared to greatly displease him. He blatantly blocked his nose with a silk handkerchief, as if not wanting to breathe in the same air as me. When we got into the headquarters building, he grabbed a man who happened to be passing by and impolitely flapped his mouth. They were quite a distance away from me, but I could still hear everything. ¡°What¡¯s with that dirty guy? Who the hell comes here looking so piss-poor? This is Sungshin¡¯s headquarters, dammit.¡± He was wearing what appeared to be the uniform of a prestigious private elementary school, and it looked like silk. Even his uniform looked good and utterly exuded glamor. ¡°If I didn¡¯t have my Herm¨¨s handkerchief, I wouldn¡¯t have been able to breathe.¡± Ah. That handkerchief was that Herm¨¨s or whatever brand name. I chuckled to myself, actually more dumbfounded than angry. Did that kid really have any idea what he was saying? ¡®Song Jinchul.¡¯ This no-good ass of the chaebol family was very famous. ¡®Goodness, so he was like that from a young age.¡¯ He would later go on to cause small and big scandals alike due to alcohol and women. He was from the chaebol third generation that was often said to be problematic. More specifically, he was the youngest grandson of a chaebol family. What was it again? He kept pushing back the talent plates examination that could be done at 14, saying it was fine, and finally did it at 19, or something like that. ¡®I think I heard he had like 44 talent plates.¡¯ When he finally had the exam done, it was about the time for his talent plates to close, but he still had a whole 44 plates. The world was truly unfair. Someone like me had ¡®No Talent¡¯ and was someone who didn¡¯t have talent even though I desperately wanted it, yet this guy had a whopping 44 talent plates even though he loudly protested, saying it was a pain. Song Jinchul spoke to the middle-aged man bowing and scraping in front of him. ¡°Is he a janitor? Tell him to go around with something decent. Dude¡¯s so frickin¡¯ unfashionable it¡¯s disgusting. How can a person wear absolute cheap shit from top to bottom like that? It¡¯s so nasty to breathe the same air.¡± He was definitely saying those words about me. To be fair, he wasn¡¯t wrong¡ªI had neither expensive clothes nor shoes. I did my best to be cleanly dressed, but in the eyes of a chaebol family¡¯s youngest grandson, it looked like I was wearing cheap shit. I figured that was just how it was. Compared to the future Song Jinchul, the current Song Jinchul simply seemed cute. The man bowed deeply. ¡°Understood, Young Master. I will be sure to give him a firm warning. I deeply apologize for making you feel uncomfortable. We will be more careful going forward.¡± ¡°That¡¯s right. Take care of these things better, hear?¡± ¡°I will be doubly sure to keep that in mind.¡± In the meantime, I checked Jinchul¡¯s information once. [Non-Awakened] Name: Song Jinchul Age: 14 State: Calm / Conceited / Disdainful Disposition: Arrogant / Destructive / Selfish Summary: Self-Proclaimed Chosen One As I thought, his name was Song Jinchul. Maybe because his grandpa was in the office, he was in a calm state. His disposition was arrogant and destructive, and his summary was set as ¡®Self-Proclaimed Chosen One¡¯. ¡®He¡¯s the same age as Sunhwa.¡¯ So to summarize the year 1 middle school student Song Jinchul, he was a self-proclaimed chosen one who was arrogant, destructive, and selfish, to boot. ¡®Let¡¯s not bother with him.¡¯ What I had to pay attention to wasn¡¯t the young Jinchul. I did want to squash the sucker¡¯s nose in once if I had the chance one day, but it wasn¡¯t the kid I should be cursing, but the chaebol second generation that had raised him to be that way. What kinds of things had this young 14-year-old seen and learned to be like that? This wasn¡¯t the kid¡¯s fault, but the fault of the adults. Jinchul went up in the elevator, and the middle-aged man who had been bowing to him walked towards me. ¡°How may I help you?¡± ¡°I can treat the President¡¯s illness.¡± Seo Joohwan had apparently said the same thing. The man¡¯s face went hard upon hearing me. ¡°There have already been over ten people who have come here claiming that.¡± ¡°But no one managed to actually do it, right?¡± After all, the President¡¯s illness was none other than male-pattern baldness. The name of the ¡®Type B Recovery Elixir¡¯ I picked was actually ¡®Extremely Effective Hair Growth Solution¡¯. ¡°The President is a strict person. Can you take responsibility for your words, sir?¡± He was totally looking at me like I was a scammer. There wasn¡¯t a trace of faith in his eyes. That was only natural. Over ten people had already done something similar. Despite that, seeing as he was still taking me upstairs, the Sungshin President was apparently rather desperate. ¡°Allow me to guide you there. Please follow me.¡± He turned briskly and walked away. His back, which had bent so severely towards Song Jinchul, didn¡¯t look very happy. I could see the wrinkly back of the middle-aged man¡¯s hand. There was a big wedding ring on his left hand. Of course this man didn¡¯t want to bow and scrape and hear curses from a mere 14-year-old fledgling, either. It was all in order to live as a father in Korea. That was why he endured this humiliation. It wasn¡¯t right, but everyone lived like that, as wretched as it was. ¡®Fight on.¡¯ I got into the elevator with the man. I didn¡¯t know if the President had given the order to let me up, but I was taken directly to his office. Knock, knock. ¡°President. I have brought a guest.¡± I went inside, coming face to face with the first generation president of the Sungshin Group, Song Kiyoung. He started with nothing and turned Sungshin into the massive company it was now. He was a self-made businessman who established the number one company in Korea. Later, he would play a leading role in the creation of the Players Association and become the first generation Players Association Chairman. ¡°Nice to meet you. I am Song Kiyoung.¡± And when I saw him, I was greeted with a slightly unexpected situation. ¡®Huh? What?¡¯ ____ ____ Chapter 26 Max Talent Player Chapter 26: Flash Gate ¨C Underground Tunnel Many people described Song Kiyoung as a ¡®scary person¡¯. Apparently, if this person was in front of you, you¡¯d find yourself nervous and scared, or something like that. It was public knowledge that he had a strange ability to make people tense. I felt like I had an inkling as to why. ¡®Song Kiyoung was a Player, too.¡¯ It was something no one had known. After all, President Song hadn¡¯t revealed it. Although he had awakened as a Player, he didn¡¯t do any Playing. [Player] Name: Song Kiyoung Age: 68 Level: 11 Class: ¨C Guardian: ¨C Innate Ability: [Charisma] [Pressure] State: Hope / Doubt / Fatigue Disposition: Progressive / Neutral Summary: Through Eye of Perception, I was able to discover something interesting. ¡®Charisma? Pressure?¡¯ My current level was 19, and President Song¡¯s was 11. Perhaps because there was a big level difference between us, I could even see his innate abilities. He was only level 11. It was very curious that President Song had already awakened his ¡®innate ability¡¯ when we had just gotten through the Tutorial and he hadn¡¯t even Played. ¡®And he¡¯s even got two.¡¯ As expected, a dragon was a dragon. ¡°This is the cure.¡± I extended the ¡®Type B Recovery Elixir¡¯. ¡°I am a Player. I believe you need no explanation on what a Player is.¡± ¡°I see.¡± The man on the sofa fixed his piercing gaze on the ¡®Type B Recovery Elixir¡¯ I presented. ¡°It should be possible to activate the item description. If the President has awakened as a Player, that is.¡± ¡°I am not a Player.¡± Right¡­ Not a Player, right. ¡°In that case, I will explain the effects for you.¡± The ¡®Type B Recovery Elixir¡¯ was, by all accounts, a hair growth solution. It could make hair grow lushly on your head. Seo Joohwan used this to get a billion won, aka $1 million, from Song Kiyoung. His summary said it all. This person was generous. If you gave him something he wanted, he would give an appropriate reward in full. ¡°Simply ingesting it will make your hair grow.¡± ¡°How much growth?¡± ¡°Certainly as much as you want.¡± Song Kiyoung glanced at me. [Eye of Perception detects an Innate Ability.] [The Innate Ability ¡®Charisma¡¯ is active.] I could feel the President¡¯s intensity through Eye of Perception. ¡®My heart feels a bit itchy.¡¯ I didn¡¯t feel scared or fearful like people described. ¡®Come to think of it, I think I heard your heart¡¯s supposed to feel electrifyingly tingly when you talk to Song Kiyoung.¡¯ He had an innate ability called ¡®Charisma¡¯, but he was only level 11. I wasn¡¯t all that intimidated. I at least knew that this effect was the power of his innate ability. ¡°I do not tell lies. And I¡¯m not so bold as to lie to the president of Sungshin.¡± I looked straight into President Song¡¯s eyes. After a moment, he chuckled. ¡°It seems to me that your assertion that you are not bold is a lie. I feel like it has been a truly long time since I¡¯ve seen someone be so confident in front of me.¡± The way President Song looked at me changed a little. It was a minute change, but I could definitely feel it. ¡°What is it that you desire?¡± he asked directly. I didn¡¯t intend on asking for pure cash. ¡°I would like one condo and a little money.¡± A normal person might have yelled ¡®You must be nuts!¡¯, but not Song Kiyoung. ¡°A condo and money?¡± ¡°In a newly constructed apartment complex located near the Digital Media City. A condo costs about 900 million won.¡± ¡°A condo, huh?¡± Song Kiyoung looked me straight in the eye. [Eye of Perception detects an Innate Ability.] [Detecting the Innate Ability ¡®Pressure¡¯.] I received a notice from Eye of Perception. A sense of oppression pressed down on me, and it became a little difficult to breathe. I confirmed the true nature of the innate ability called ¡®Pressure¡¯. ¡®It feels¡­ like I¡¯m wearing a slightly thick face mask?¡¯ It was exactly around that level. ¡®It¡¯s nothing much.¡¯ To be honest, the effect was so light it was almost laughable. It made sense¡ªI was nearly twice his level. ¡°I¡¯m clear on the condo. How much money do you want?¡± The condo¡¯s market price was around 900 million won, or around $900,000. Seo Joohwan received 1 billion won, $1 million, in cash for this elixir. I didn¡¯t complicate things. ¡°I would like 100 million won.¡± Song Kiyoung continued to stare at me, almost as if probing my intent. It wasn¡¯t just a simple stare. He used his abilities as a Player on me for a good ten minutes. Time passed in silence. ¡°It seems you¡¯re not lying.¡± Song Kiyoung stood up. ¡°Very well. I will try believing you once.¡± The president of Sungshin, who seemed unaware that ¡®Pressure¡¯ didn¡¯t affect me at all, continued with a warning. ¡°We¡¯ll write the contract immediately. But if your words are a lie, then you will have to pay the price for robbing me of an entire forty minutes of my time.¡± I nodded. I wasn¡¯t all that scared of his warning¡ªI was already very accustomed to the ¡®new technology¡¯ of the System. Feeling relaxed, I added something I almost forgot to say. ¡°I would like the world not to know of me. I don¡¯t want any attention.¡± I chose a different path from Seo Joohwan, who had decorated the newspaper headlines. ¡°Alright.¡± That left just one more thing to say. ¡°One more thing.¡± * * * * * * I left Sungshin¡¯s headquarters with a light heart. ¡®I thought I¡¯d be super nervous, but¡­¡¯ I had swung through the meeting with far more leisure than expected. The past me probably wouldn¡¯t have even been able to meet the man¡¯s eyes, but Hyukjin the regressor was different. Now, the aura exuded by the Sungshin President wasn¡¯t anything much. ¡®The trade is complete.¡¯ The name of the apartment I asked for was ¡®DMC Riverview Xi¡¯. Later, when the Korean Players Association sprang up in the vicinity, the value of this cream of the crop apartment would skyrocket. It would be the safest place in the country, an apartment building that would become a landmark in Korea. I didn¡¯t ask for this place just because of the price jump or the money. ¡®And if I need money in three years, I can sell it then.¡¯ In three years, the Players Association would already be mostly established, and the DMC Riverview Xi condo would be a nest egg I could cash in at any time. I might not have gotten cash from the President, but this condo was basically the same as getting cash. ¡®I¡¯ll need a billion won in three years.¡¯ My final bastion was prepared. I now had a property I could convert into cash at any time. ¡®More than anything¡­¡¯ Our family no longer needed to squeeze together in a half-underground room. My older sister, who¡¯d been getting up at the break of dawn to support me, could have her own room now. My mom¡¯s lifelong wish was to live in a real apartment once. I would finally be able to realize her wish. ¡®We¡¯ll have a home to call our own.¡¯ We had been anxious that we might be kicked out of even that tiny half-subterranean room because of the possibility that every two years, the rent would increase, but now, that was a worry of the past. Because in my hand right now was the contract. The president of Sungshin had been truly amazed. ¡°I can¡¯t believe it. Is this¡­ the new technology?¡± He was no longer bald. He was frozen in front of the mirror for a long time. He called up his secretary on the spot and had him find out about the DMC Riverview Xi. For the president of Sungshin, buying a single condo was no big deal. ¡°Of course. I agree to all of those contract conditions. Secretary Kim! Come into the bathroom.¡± Everything was handled with lightning speed. There happened to be an empty condo for sale, and Secretary Kim was able to purchase it right away. ¡°Ah. And about that child named Kang Sunhwa. If she wants it, assist in her adoption to a woman named Lee Soohyun. Ensure there are no setbacks.¡± Like a true magnanimous person, President Song settled everything quickly. My mom kept saying she wanted Sunhwa to live with us, so I asked him to help in the adoption proceedings. For my mom, for Sunhwa, and for me. ¡®Going into dungeons later will be way easier if we¡¯re brother and sister, too.¡¯ She was a genius among geniuses whose talent plates hadn¡¯t even fully opened yet. Keeping Sunhwa by my side had many plusses for me as well. More than anything, it was true that I wanted to protect her. ¡®I¡¯m sure Sungshin has realized the potential of new technology now, too.¡¯ I had to keep the general flow of the timeline the same. Due to Seo Joohwan, ¡®Sungshin¡¯ became very interested in the ¡®new technology¡¯. Under President Song¡¯s lead, Sungshin provided active support to ¡®Players¡¯ and unfurled business ventures related to ¡®Players¡¯, all because President Song had the chance to experience the marvels of the new technology for himself. ¡®They¡¯ll move quickly now.¡¯ It was the same as the past. Things had progressed like that in the past, too. In the same big events, I would do the best I could. Not long afterwards, I got a text. I could hardly believe it. In my hand, I held the condo ownership contract, and in my bank account, was 100 million won, or $100k. It was difficult to believe this was reality. It really didn¡¯t feel real. Still marveling, I walked quite a distance until I reached Hongje-dong, a neighborhood in Seoul. I waited about fifteen minutes in front of a certain building. ¡°Noona. You¡¯re off work?¡± The ultimate boss of tsunderes, my older sister, stared at me up and down like she was looking at a ghost. ¡°¡­What do you want?¡± ¡°I just dropped by somewhere and was going home, and it coincided with you getting off work, so I wanted to go home with you.¡± ¡°¡­¡± My sister didn¡¯t really respond. She acted as if I were a huge pain in the ass, turning around and walking to the bus stop, her attitude utterly frosty. ¡®She¡¯d probably wanna die if she knew I was reading her mood, right?¡¯ I inwardly grinned. ¡®What¡¯s with the relief?¡¯ I guessed it was a residual emotion from the relief of my being alive, because I had been one of the few to come back alive from the ¡®Cataclysm¡¯. ¡°The bus is here.¡± The two of us got on the bus, and Eye of Perception immediately picked up on the gazes of people. Actually, even before I had Eye of Perception, I had been keenly aware of people¡¯s looks. My sister was someone who could draw the eyes of everyone in the room despite not having a trace of makeup on her face. My sister and I didn¡¯t pay much attention to those gazes. ¡°Noona. How about we move?¡± ¡°Got a lotta money?¡± ¡°Yeah. About 100 million won.¡± ¡°You drunk? Wake up.¡± ¡°I¡¯m serious though?¡± ¡°¡­¡± My sister clearly dismissed my words as pure nonsense. She didn¡¯t even bother responding and just stared fixedly out the window. I knew, of course, that my sister wanted to move. She wanted to move out of the house where cockroaches came skittering out with every thump. She just didn¡¯t show it. Like the brother and sister we were, we didn¡¯t talk. My sister just kept looking out the window, and so did I. It was totally fine even if we didn¡¯t talk. The silence wasn¡¯t awkward between us. ¡®She¡¯d probably faint if she knew this paper in my hand is the new condo contract.¡¯ And if she also found out there was 100 million won in my bank account? I felt happy just imagining her reaction. ¡°Noona.¡± ¡°What?¡± ¡°I¡¯ll make it so we can move to a nice place.¡± ¡°¡­¡± My sister continued to look out the window. ¡°Let¡¯s live¡­ in a good place from now on. I¡¯ll make it so you can also quit your job.¡± You don¡¯t have to get something like leukemia in the future. You don¡¯t have to work at a factory because we have no money. ¡°Today, let¡¯s go with mom and¡­¡± I was about to propose going out to eat with the family, but at that moment, I found myself unable to continue. ¡®Huh?¡¯ I saw something outside the window. A golden light was shimmering next to a roadside tree. It didn¡¯t look like the people passing by could see it. That was only natural¡ªafter all, they weren¡¯t Players. That light could only be seen by Players. ¡®A flash gate?¡¯ The Seoul Station Dungeon had just been cleared. Did a flash gate form in Hongje-dong at this time before? I combed through my memories and had a very faint recollection of something. ¡®Yes. There was one.¡¯ It wasn¡¯t considered important on the civil servant exam, simply and briefly described as a gate in the early stage that was cleared by the Sword Empress. The weak golden light shimmering next to the tree, and the woman standing in front of it¡­ I knew her. ¡°Noona. There¡¯s something urgent I have to do, so I¡¯m getting off first.¡± The strongest juggernaut of PVP, a Player so strong you would have nothing to fear from if you were on the same side as her. The Slayer of Two Faces. I had found the Sword Empress Shin Yeonseo, along with a very small flash gate. ____ ____ Chapter 27 Max Talent Player Chapter 27: Flash Gate ¨C Underground Tunnel (2) My sister also got off the bus with me. ¡°You¡¯re also getting off, noona?¡± ¡°Ya. Might as well get some exercise. I¡¯ll walk.¡± ¡°Got it.¡± Noona walked off, and I quickly strode off towards Shin Yeonseo. ¡®She does look pretty young.¡¯ The woman I was looking at now was very different from the Shin Yeonseo during the peak of her activity, in 2028. Other than the fact that she had a cute and pretty appearance that would draw attention in any crowd, the 20-year-old Sword Empress didn¡¯t look all that special. ¡®A tennis skirt?¡¯ She was dressed up pretty adorably, to the degree that I couldn¡¯t even imagine the Sword Empress of 2028 wearing such a thing. She was wearing a light yellow, short sleeved t-shirt with a heart on it and a white tennis skirt, as well as an ivory reusable bag like any other university student. ¡®She¡¯s cute.¡¯ We were the same age, but she looked two or three years younger than me. The Sword Empress who had taken the battlefield by storm in that famous ¡®Battle of the Maldives¡¯ was not here. [Player] Name: Shin Yeonseo Age: 20 Level: 19 Class: ¨C Guardian: ¨C Innate Ability: [Single Hit Finisher] State: Curious / Fearful / Having fun Disposition: Inquisitive / Daring / Positive Summary: Pure, Easily Lovestruck Girl with Two Faces ¡®She¡¯s outstanding.¡¯ She was already level 19 and even had an innate ability. ¡®As if anyone would accuse you of not being a top-class talent.¡¯ Her speed of growth matched Fist King So Yoohyun¡¯s. There was no doubt, ¡®Playing¡¯ required talent. You couldn¡¯t stand at the top with effort alone. Even from the low-level period, there was already such a glaring difference between her and ordinary Players. Her level was proof enough of that. ¡®Her summary¡¯s confusing.¡¯ A pure, easily lovestruck girl with two faces? I was a little confused because the word was hardly used in 2028, but I remembered the meaning. Basically, it was ¡®a person who falls in love easily¡¯, or something like that. I heard Shin Yeonseo¡¯s voice. ¡°Is it okay to go in?¡± She appeared to be contemplating whether to go in or not. It looked like she was talking to someone, so I assumed she was talking to an ¡®Intermediate Administrator¡¯ I couldn¡¯t see. ¡®This is a gate the Sword Empress cleared.¡¯ Flash gates had similar traits to dungeons. If they weren¡¯t cleared in time, the gate would collapse, and monsters would come spilling out. ¡®Well, I¡¯m sure it won¡¯t be that hard.¡¯ I had already cleared the ¡®Seoul Station Dungeon¡¯. A gate was easier compared to a dungeon. That was the established theory, at least. The interior structure was comparatively simple, and the clear conditions weren¡¯t all that complicated. I took the initiative to start a conversation with her. ¡°Are you thinking about going inside?¡± ¡°H-Hello!¡± Shin Yeonseo looked very lively. As she dipped in a bow to greet me, her hair swished. We¡¯d only exchanged one greeting, but she gave me the feeling of being very outgoing. ¡°Um¡­ Do you know much about this thing?¡± ¡°This is called a gate. If it isn¡¯t cleared in time, monsters will come out of it.¡± ¡°I did hear that from the Intermediate Administrator, but¡­ do you think it¡¯s really true?¡± It was. Originally, the ¡®Seoul Station Dungeon¡¯ also ended up breaking a few times. It simply didn¡¯t this time because I cleared it in one shot. But regardless, there would be breaks elsewhere. ¡®As time passes, gates will break out here and there.¡¯ I couldn¡¯t cover all the gates and dungeons on my own. Shin Yeonseo asked, ¡°What is your level?¡± I shrugged. This was before the ¡®Ranking Board¡¯ went up. ¡®Oh, right.¡¯ That reminded me, I had to change my settings in advance before the Ranking Board went up. If I didn¡¯t, it would become possible to read my info. ¡®Settings.¡¯ ¡®Info sharing off.¡¯ For now, I was someone who hadn¡¯t existed in the past. Since I didn¡¯t know what kind of butterfly effects my presence would have, I changed my info settings to private. At least for now. ¡°19,¡± I said. ¡°Really?¡± Shin Yeonseo¡¯s eyes went round. Her diverse and ever-changing expressions, along with her blinking eyes, made her look like a bunny. ¡°The Intermediate Administrator said my level up speed is incredibly fast and she said I might be the fastest one¡­¡± ¡°What¡¯s your level?¡± ¡°I¡¯m also 19! Wow. There¡¯s another person like me, huh? Awesome!¡± She was praising herself without any sense of pretense, so I couldn¡¯t really dislike her for it. ¡°In any case, I¡¯m planning on going in.¡± ¡°W-Will it be alright?¡± This woman was not yet the Sword Empress, but an ordinary university student. ¡®You betcha.¡¯ The past records said that Shin Yeonseo cleared this gate on her own. It wouldn¡¯t be that hard. ¡°I think so, yes. Even a dungeon was cleared.¡± ¡°B-But that was because the Tutorial Ender was there¡­¡± Miss, even that amazing Tutorial Ender So Yoohyun would be no match for you in one on one. I almost wanted to tell her that. It felt weird to see Shin Yeonseo the Sword Empress being all nervous about a gate in a beginner zone. ¡°We could go in as a party, then.¡± Just then, Senia showed herself. It seemed she had gotten the news from Yeonseo¡¯s Streamer that I was Playing. ¡°You¡¯re late.¡± ¡°¡­¡± I had purposely waited a little. Since I was going to Play anyway, I might as well get the eyes of the Guardians on me and get sponsorships, right? ¡®And we¡¯ve got two Streamers here, too.¡¯ I could only see Senia, but the Sword Empress¡¯ Streamer was definitely here as well. Her Streamer, ¡®Roa¡¯, was poised to be an extremely famous Streamer. She was sponsored by many influential Guardians. In other words, it was possible I could catch the eye of a few of the Guardians who had supported the Sword Empress in the past. ¡°Woah. Oppa. You speak down to your Intermediate Administrator?¡± ¡°¡­¡± ¡°That¡¯s awesome.¡± Excuse me, we¡¯re the same age, so why am I your oppa? You¡¯re calling me oppa without even asking my age, miss. ¡°I¡¯m 20.¡± Of course, I had the mentality of a 30-year-old uncle on the inside, but it didn¡¯t change the fact that right now, I was 20. ¡°Oh, really? I thought you were definitely older than me.¡± She broke out into a big grin, giving me the smiling eyes that had condemned countless men to a fate as ¡®Sword Empress crushers¡¯. Seeing it in person made me think she really was worth crushing on. Looking at that radiant, sunny smile made the world seem so much brighter. At least, that was how she looked on the outside. ¡®Is that why she¡¯s got [Two Faces]¡­?¡¯ The normal Sword Empress vs. the Sword Empress in battle. It was said that the two were completely different people. I didn¡¯t know since I¡¯d never seen her fight, but looking at her summary, it seemed she really did have something like a dual personality. After finding out that we were the same age, Yeonseo became a little more proactive. ¡°I¡¯ll send you a party invite! I also wanted to go in.¡± * * * * * * Kim Ahyoung got off the bus. She went into a nearby convenience store, buying some chocolate and putting it in her bag. ¡°Huh¡­?¡± For a moment, she felt her vision dim. She reached out her hand on the spot. Because not far from her, her little brother who¡¯d been talking to some woman was suddenly sucked into the tree by the roadside. Thud! She dropped her bag. ¡®No.¡¯ She remembered. The Jongno of April 28, 2018. Her little brother miraculously came back from there alive, and afterwards, the world turned strange. Monsters appeared, as well as Intermediate Administrators who killed people. It seemed her little brother was getting sucked into some weird place again. Ahyoung ran to the roadside, standing at the place where she had last seen him. ¡®Where¡­ did you go?¡¯ Stop joking and come out, she pleaded. Her heart dropped and grew cold. He had suddenly disappeared again. For Kim Ahyoung, who didn¡¯t know anything, this was a natural reaction. She felt her mind grow blank with panic. For that one week while her brother was missing, for those seven days of the Tutorial, she hadn¡¯t been able to swallow a single proper spoonful of rice. ¡°Where the hell did you go, you crazy bastard?!¡± Her back to the tree, Ahyoung slumped to the ground, as if losing all strength. Her body felt completely limp. She mumbled in a daze, ¡°I¡¯ll kill you when you get back.¡± She couldn¡¯t think. She just sat there. ¡°I won¡¯t give you any chocolate, dammit. You little bastard.¡± She had just bought the chocolate her brother liked, planning to toss it onto his blanket. But now, she didn¡¯t want to give it to him anymore. She tried calling his phone a few times, but she only heard a message saying, ¡®Your call cannot be connected¡¯. ¡®Please. Please, let nothing happen.¡¯ Ahyoung cried while leaning on the tree. Time passed. Meanwhile, Kim Hyukjin, who possessed a transcendent level of sense for ¡®Playing¡¯ but was otherwise not all too meticulous, went into the gate with Shin Yeonseo. ¡°I think a gate is far simpler in structure than a dungeon,¡± he said. He was talking to Yeonseo, but at the same time, he was also saying it to the Guardians who were watching. Yeonseo smiled brightly. ¡°We¡¯re the same age, so how about dropping the formalities?¡± ¡°¡­¡± Hyukjin turned to stare at her, and her earlobes became slightly red. She gave a faint laugh of embarrassment. Many people described her smile as a ¡®cheat-level smile¡¯, and Hyukjin was able to feel that with his own eyes. ¡°Hello?¡± ¡°Regarding dropping the formalities, I¡¯ll consider it if we get out of here alive first.¡± Yeonseo¡¯s expression became a little stiff at that. Jongno had been a terrifying place for her as well. She was able to adapt quickly to Playing thanks to her outstanding talent, but it wasn¡¯t like she had completely shed her fear from that time yet. She would need a little more time to completely adapt. It wasn¡¯t that she was lacking in any way, it was just that Kim Hyukjin was unique and strange. Meanwhile, Yeonseo¡¯s Intermediate Administrator, Roa, sent a whisper to Senia. It was currently the early stage of Playing. The competition between Streamers hadn¡¯t gone into full swing yet, but the veiled fight between the Streamers to acquire quality content was well underway. In fact, Senia was the more curious one here. How in the world did Kim Hyukjin know the difference between a gate and dungeon? She had never told him. It seemed Roa had gotten the whiff of ¡®something big¡¯. Senia stared at Roa. She was as expressionless as ever, but Roa was able to read ¡®confidence¡¯ from Senia¡¯s face, a faint confidence within that expressionlessness. It came off looking like a sort of sense of superiority, and the fact that it was indeed superiority was proven by Senia¡¯s next words. Roa stared slack-jawed at Senia. An exclusive contract could only be made with three Players total. Roa was shocked. Senia had already used one of her three chances. Roa also got a whiff of something extraordinary from that Player, but it was still too early to come to a hasty conclusion. Senia ended the conversation there. Several Guardians also jumped from Roa¡¯s channel to Senia¡¯s. That meant the Guardians also had an interest in ¡®Player Kim Hyukjin¡¯. Meanwhile, Hyukjin continued to walk. ¡°The Safe Zone goes up to this green line.¡± ¡°Yessir, Safe Zone, roger that.¡± Yeonseo nodded, acting like an elementary school student learning something fun. Hyukjin walked past the green line. [Leaving the Safe Zone.] [You have entered the Flash Gate ¨C ¡®Underground Tunnel¡¯.] This gate¡¯s name¡­ ¡®Is Underground Tunnel.¡¯ It didn¡¯t look that dangerous. ¡®I should check once.¡¯ He glanced behind him. The door they had come in through was still there. ¡®Because it¡¯s not escape locked.¡¯ If things got dangerous, they could still escape. The gate didn¡¯t seem to have a very high difficulty. This field called ¡®Underground Tunnel¡¯ took the shape of a big clearing. With that notice, various spots in the clearing began to shimmer. ¡®Huh?¡¯ But something unexpected showed up. ¡®Those things come out here?¡¯ ____ ____ Chapter 28 Max Talent Player Chapter 28: Flash Gate ¨C Underground Tunnel (3) I was progressing well. Way better than I thought. After all, I could feel that even the Sword Empress, the ¡®strongest in 1 vs 1 PVP¡¯, was weaker than me, at least right now. I was progressing well, but it was still true that I hadn¡¯t gotten out of the ¡®beginner¡¯ level yet. ¡®You have to reach level 30 to stand at the real starting line.¡¯ Real ¡®Playing¡¯ could be seen to start from level 40 and onward, at least according to the standards of the future. ¡®Leveling from 30 to 40¡­ isn¡¯t easy.¡¯ At level 30, there weren¡¯t that many monsters good for leveling, and fast level ups were difficult. From that point, leveling demanded continuous grinding. ¡®Lycanthropes that are on the high EXP side¡­ have way too low cost-effectiveness.¡¯ Unless there was something like a creek nearby, Lycanthropes were difficult to kill. People with a lot of money actually just went around with fire trucks and hunted them, but even that wasn¡¯t all that effective. Lycanthropes were only level 25. They didn¡¯t merit such exaggerated tactics in the level 30s. ¡®But¡­ it¡¯s a different story if I have these guys.¡¯ I saw the monsters in front of me. Three of them were huddled together. They were huge rabbit-type monsters. The two male Monster Rabbits were level 18, and the female Monster Rabbit was level 20. Yeonseo said to me, ¡°One of them is coming up as red. Is it like a boss monster?¡± Her level was 19. It appeared she wasn¡¯t able to check the level of the level 20 female Monster Rabbit. ¡°They don¡¯t look all that strong¡­¡± mumbled Yeonseo to herself. She was right. They weren¡¯t very strong monsters. It didn¡¯t always apply, but normally, a monster¡¯s ¡®strength¡¯ tended to be reflected to a certain degree in their ¡®appearance¡¯. Most rabbit-type monsters were weak. They might have become huge, but they were still confined to the constraints of the ¡®rabbit¡¯ category. ¡®Might be different if they were Demon Realm Rabbits.¡¯ A bunny inhabiting a field set as a different dimension entirely might be different, but these guys were still rabbits, even if they had ¡®monster¡¯ attached to their name. ¡®The problem is that they¡¯re really tough to catch.¡¯ They had a habit of running away when they sensed danger. That was fine, but the problem was that they were so fast it was difficult to catch them. Because they fled through underground tunnels, unless you had an earth-attribute Player, these monsters were practically impossible to catch. I looked closely at Shin Yeonseo. ¡®She cleared this gate on her own.¡¯ That meant she had a method to catch these monsters. ¡®But I¡¯m sure she just cleared it.¡¯ Simply clearing this gate was meaningless. I had to catch as many of those ¡®Monster Rabbits¡¯ as possible. They were monsters that were absolutely necessary for later Playing, for level 30-40 Playing. ¡®I never thought I¡¯d end up meeting them here.¡¯ I felt my mood go up, and I wasn¡¯t the only one feeling happy. ¡°How about it? Shall we try catching them? It looks fun.¡± She seemed a little excited. Her cheeks had become ruddy, but her cuteness wasn¡¯t the only thing I noticed. ¡®So the Sword Empress was always this way, starting from the low levels.¡¯ This, too, was the influence of talent¡ªthat she felt ¡®curiosity¡¯, not fear, towards a new monster. She might look cute, but there was surely an incredible battle instinct lurking within. The whole person changed as soon as there was a sword in her hand. Some people even gave her the nickname ¡®Rakshasa¡¯, aka demon. ¡°Sounds good to me,¡± I said before giving an explanation. ¡°Rabbits usually have a tendency to run away when they¡¯re in danger. It would be best to kill them in one shot if possible. Do you think you can do it?¡± For example, with your innate ability ¡®Single Hit Finisher¡¯. Yeonseo innocently thumped her chest. ¡°Of course! I even have a skill that kills in one blow.¡± The two of us hunted the Monster Rabbits. Killing them in itself wasn¡¯t hard. The only attacks they had were kicking with their hind legs or biting with their fangs, so they weren¡¯t all that dangerous. ¡°Now.¡± That instant, Yeonseo¡¯s sword glowed blue. For a very brief moment, it looked like her body whooshed backwards. Swoosh¨C! The whistle of air being sliced rang out. A straight trajectory of blue light was traced in the air. ¡®It¡¯s fast.¡¯ Her movements were fast. For the briefest moment, Yeonseo¡¯s body had shot backwards like a bullet, like her sword was almost a spear. ¡®That¡¯s the Sword Empress¡¯ innate ability, Single Hit Finisher.¡¯ It was already astonishing that she¡¯d already awakened an ¡®innate ability¡¯ at level 19, but it was also surprising that she could use it so well. [You killed a Monster Rabbit.] [EXP acquired.] [26 Coins acquired.] One Monster Rabbit died, and the other two fled. I ¡®clicked¡¯ the Monster Rabbit¡¯s body. It was a bit of a shame. Monster Rabbits dropped ¡®lifesteal items¡¯, and at a very high rate. Lifestealer items were absolutely necessary in order to quickly get through the level 30-40 stretch that was called the ¡®1st Hellish Hurdle¡¯. ¡°Aw. They all ran away.¡± Shin Yeonseo looked like she sincerely found it regretful. Here, I could feel it again, that this girl was really born to be a Player, that she truly enjoyed this. That was why she was later given the grandiose nickname of ¡®Sword Empress¡¯. * * * * * * ¡°They¡¯ll respawn quickly, I¡¯m sure.¡± ¡°But, um, Mr. Hyukjin? Hyukjin? Ah, whatever. Let¡¯s just drop the formalities. Whatever. I¡¯m just gonna be casual with you. We¡¯re like friend-age. It¡¯s actually hella embarrassing to speak politely when we¡¯re the same age,¡± she mumbled quickly to herself before simply deciding to drop the formalities. ¡°Did you always know about this place? Have you been here before?¡± Hyukjin also naturally dropped the formalities. It wasn¡¯t all that important to him. ¡°It¡¯s my first time, though?¡± That was the truth. It was just that he knew most of the strategies of the future. ¡°Really? It¡¯s your first time?¡± ¡°¡­¡± Yeonseo¡¯s eyes grew wide. It was hard to believe this woman and the woman who unleashed Single Hit Finisher on a Monster Rabbit just now was the same person. ¡°But how can you be so calm? To me, it looked like you already knew a lot about this place.¡± ¡°That¡¯s¡­¡± The air began to shimmer again, right on cue. It saved me from talking, since Monster Rabbits appeared again. ¡°Let¡¯s keep catching these guys.¡± ¡°Got it.¡± Yeonseo seemed to subconsciously trust me quite a lot. She followed my lead without protest. The two of us continued to hunt Monster Rabbits. [You killed a Monster Rabbit.] [EXP acquired.] [25 Coins acquired.] After we hunted around eight of them, an item dropped. [Quality Iron Sword] An iron sword that has likely been made by a fairly high-level craftsman. It has excellent durability and attack power. Grade: Normal Attack Power: 7-18 Durability: 300/300 Dammit. Something like this was meaningless. It was pretty decent for a beginner item and even had a durability meter, but I didn¡¯t need something like this. ¡°Mm.¡± But I pretended to be troubled. There was one item, but two people. ¡°You have it,¡± I said, as if doing her a kindness. ¡°Really?¡± ¡°Yeah. It looks like you¡¯re better at the sword than me.¡± ¡°¡­¡± For a moment, Yeonseo looked like she was wondering if it was really okay, but then she nodded. ¡°Got it. I¡¯ll take it with gratitude! In exchange, I¡¯ll definitely give you the next item that comes out.¡± She grinned, as if thinking she owed me one. That smile¡­ was certainly pretty. Yeah, I thought. You take that trash loot. I¡¯ll take the lifesteal item, thanks. [Legolas¡¯ Ring] A ring made by refining a ¡®topaz¡¯ that holds a mysterious power. Defense: 1 Effect: 2% attack damage HP absorption. It finally showed up. Yeonseo didn¡¯t recognize this item¡¯s value. ¡°Ehhh, it¡¯s only 2%?¡± It was indeed only 2%. But it was possible to equip a total of ten rings, and it was even possible to strengthen them as long as you could satisfy the conditions. Yeonseo, who didn¡¯t know that, looked apologetically at me. ¡°Feels like only I got a good item.¡± ¡°We¡¯re gonna keep hunting monsters anyway, so it¡¯s fine.¡± A long time passed. I didn¡¯t measure exactly how long, but at least five hours passed of doing the same thing. Apparently, the Guardians didn¡¯t find our Playing very fun. [The ¡®Courageous Lion King¡¯ is bored.] [The ¡®Nameless Observer¡¯ has stopped observing.] [The ¡®Lady of the Scales¡¯ finds the actions of the Players odd.] Normally, I would try to keep their interest up, but not right now. The frustration and repetition now would actually come back as intense gratification later. In that time, I acquired a whopping eight Legolas¡¯ Rings. My heart thumped. The only issue was that Yeonseo became a little uneasy. ¡°But¡­ isn¡¯t it taking too long? I feel like we¡¯ve been doing the same thing for too long. We¡¯ll be able to get out of here, right?¡± If I kept too tight of a lid on the information, Yeonseo¡¯s unease would hit a peak. The two of us were a team. There was no need to put a damper on the team¡¯s morale. ¡°I¡¯ve already found a way to go out.¡± ¡°Hm? How?¡± Her eyes grew round again. She looked up at me with such surprise that even her lips turned into an ¡°O¡±. I really didn¡¯t understand how the gap between when she had her sword and didn¡¯t could be so big. I wasn¡¯t so sure about the ¡®easily lovestruck¡¯ part, but the ¡®two faces¡¯ part was definitely right. ¡°Over there.¡± I pointed some distance away at a certain spot. It was dark. ¡°I don¡¯t see anything.¡± ¡°A Clear Crystal has formed there.¡± Like I expected, it wasn¡¯t a high difficulty gate. After killing a certain number of Monster Rabbits, a ¡®Clear Crystal¡¯ would form. If that crystal was destroyed, the gate would be cleared, as simple as that. ¡°A Clear Crystal?¡± ¡°We can get out if we destroy that.¡± ¡°Aha. Then you dragged it out on purpose, huh?¡± That was the moment Yeonseo seemed to have realized something. That in the beginner period, lifesteal items only dropped from these rabbits. Yeonseo stared absentmindedly at me. I could feel goodwill from her through Eye of Perception. And then, she said something I¡¯d never even considered. ¡°Is it because you¡¯re interested in me?¡± She said it cheekily, but why did her ears redden? She should decide whether she was going to be cheeky or embarrassed, and not mix the two of them. What kind of answer did she want to hear? I was saved by the clock when a notice came in. I was a bit sorry to hear it, but I was still able to acquire nine ¡®Legolas¡¯ Rings¡¯. [Monsters will not respawn.] [The Clear Crystal will be forcefully destroyed.] [¡®Flash Gate ¨C Underground Tunnel¡¯ has been cleared.] When a ¡®gate¡¯ closed once, it wouldn¡¯t open ever again. That was another trait that differentiated gates from ¡®dungeons¡¯, which remained in place. It had grown very dark outside. It looked like it was dawn. ¡®A lot of time has passed.¡¯ At that moment, Eye of Perception picked up on two things. ¡®Huh?¡¯ One was my sister¡¯s presence. My head whipped around, and I saw my sister, who was slumped on the ground with swollen eyes. I also felt another presence. ¡®Ah, fuck. What is it this time?¡¯ The next moment, the world changed. ____ ____ Chapter 29 Max Talent Player Chapter 29: Duel with the Sword Empress ¡®Ah, fuck. What is it this time?¡¯ I couldn¡¯t see my sister anymore. The view around me was similar¡ªempty cars, shops without any people, roadside tree my sister had been at. ¡®If the field¡¯s the same but there¡¯s no people, it can only be¡­¡¯ I knew what this field was. ¡®A PVP zone.¡¯ PVP meant ¡®Player vs. Player¡¯. And a PVP zone referred to a space where duels between Players took place. ¡®The one who created this¡­ is the Sword Empress¡¯ Streamer.¡¯ The Guardians watching over the Sword Empress probably put the Streamer up to it. And I knew who the Sword Empress¡¯ Guardian was. ¡®The True Master of the Heavenly Demonic Mountain.¡¯ He was the true master, the true owner, of the Heavenly Demonic Mountain. He was one of the few Guardians who revealed their identity of their own accord. The Sword Empress¡¯ Guardian. Heavenly Demon. He, who revealed himself as the ¡®Lord of the Heavenly Demonic Cult, was famous as a Guardian with an extremely belligerent disposition. ¡®A courage-lover who likes flattery.¡¯ However, he wasn¡¯t as reckless as the Lion King. ¡®One who enjoys personally meddling in the System.¡¯ Of course, that also meant he had the strength to do so. ¡®A Guardian that doesn¡¯t skimp on sponsorships to both Players and Streamers.¡¯ There was no doubt that he was the one who interfered. ¡®I think he issued a quest to Yeonseo to have a go at me.¡¯ I finished evaluating the situation. ¡®Even in the worst case scenario, I won¡¯t die.¡¯ I had already escaped death in the Tutorial Field, the Cataclysm of Jongno. Compared to there, a PVP zone was basically heaven. It would still hurt if you were hit and you¡¯d still bleed if you were pierced, but even in the worst situation, you wouldn¡¯t die. This place was a completely different dimension. ¡®A special field where you revive, even if you die.¡¯ ¡®Roa¡¯, Yeonseo¡¯s Streamer, who would make it big as a Streamer in the future, appeared before us. ¡°At the request of the Guardians, specifically the True Master of the Heavenly Demonic Mountain, a PVP zone has been opened.¡± At a glance, her image was similar to Shin Yeonseo. She was just 150 centimetres. She was extremely short, but her race called her a ¡®giant¡¯, or something like that. Roa was from the pixie race, and there were four pairs of transparent wings on her back. Whenever her wings fluttered, sparkly powder fell to the ground. Roa was very different from Senia. She knew how to make use of the situation. She energetically streamed the field to the Guardians. ¡°A genius who has caught the eye of the True Master of the Heavenly Demonic Mountain, versus a Player of unknown identity who has a strangely outstanding amount of knowledge and intuition. How will a battle between them go?¡± I chuckled. On the contrary, Senia, the Streamer who had made an exclusive contract with me, was absolutely silent, even though such stoicism would make her really unpopular. But actually, I preferred this kind of Streamer, one who lacked both talent and skill. ¡®Because she has no choice but to need me.¡¯ Yeonseo looked at me. ¡°Sorry. I got a quest, so. But I¡¯m told you won¡¯t die, even if you get stabbed. Don¡¯t worry!¡± ¡°I know. This is a PVP zone, after all.¡± ¡°You know this, too? This is my first time seeing it.¡± ¡°I just didn¡¯t think a PVP zone would be opened when the Guardian selections haven¡¯t even happened.¡± ¡°Guardian selections? What¡¯s that?¡± ¡°There¡¯s something like that.¡± Guardians, you heard that, right? I know about the Guardian selections, guys. [The ¡®Lady of the Scales¡¯ expresses her surprise.] [The ¡®Whispering Devil¡¯ is unable to repress his astonishment.] [The ¡®Courageous Lion King¡¯ snorts.] [The ¡®Nameless Observer¡¯ is silent.] Yeonseo pulled out the sword I conceded to her earlier and raised it. ¡°But Hyukjin. You let me have this sword earlier, right?¡± ¡°I did.¡± ¡°You gave it to me, saying you thought I was better at the sword than you.¡± I did, and those words weren¡¯t wrong. The moment I finished figuring out the situation, I had been thinking nonstop about how I should face the Sword Empress. Yeonseo was good at the sword, even now, when she was just a ¡®beginner¡¯. At the very least, if you just looked at our ¡®techniques for handling the sword¡¯, Yeonseo was several steps ahead of me. That was my honest judgment. ¡°But personally, I think you¡¯re no slouch yourself.¡± ¡°¡­¡± How could that be the case? To begin with, the Tutorial Field was the first place where I ever picked up a sword. ¡°How to say it¡­? You don¡¯t feel like someone who¡¯s learned the sword.¡± ¡°¡­¡± ¡°This is just my feeling, but it was kind of like seeing a genius. You¡¯re swinging by instinct without having formally learnt, but you¡¯re pretty much a technique genius.¡± ¡°That so?¡± I was realizing that myself, but hearing it from the Sword Empress¡¯ lips gave me a weird feeling. I also took out my ¡®Iron Sword¡¯. Then, I opened my Status Window. Ever since level 18, I had been steadily piling up my stat points. [Status Window] Name: Kim Hyukjin (Player) Level: 24 Title: [First Pioneer] [Excellent Player] Innate Ability: [Eye of Perception] [Eye for an Eye, Tooth for a Tooth] Strength: 17 Intelligence: 17 Agility: 23 Perception: 17 Constitution: 17 Willpower: 17(+30) Bonus stats: 18 Random stats: 13 Undistributed stats: 31 I was level 24. A relevant fact I should mention was that I had 3 unused random stats when I was level 18. From level 18 to 24, over the course of 6 level ups, I got a whopping 10 random stats. From my knowledge, that was an absolutely unprecedented random stat acquisition rate. ¡®Even if I¡¯m an early blooming genius¡­ In any case, I¡¯m a genius.¡¯ That was an undeniable fact. Numbers didn¡¯t lie. Shin Yeonseo¡¯s level was also a number. Just looking at the numbers, the level difference between us was 5. And earlier, I had seen her Playing firsthand. ¡®If I want to draw out a perfect picture¡­ it¡¯d be best to invest generously.¡¯ [Strength +5] [Intelligence +5] [Agility +5] [Perception +5] [Constitution +5] I boldly invested 25 stats in one go. My performance would be very different from before. Strength: 22 Intelligence: 22 Agility: 28 Perception: 22 Constitution: 22 Willpower: 17(+30) Bonus stats: 0 Random stats: 6 Undistributed stats: 6 ¡®Yeonseo is fast.¡¯ It might be that I had to raise my Agility more in order to beat Yeonseo. For now, I left 6 stats undistributed. ¡®Her fundamental techniques and skills are better.¡¯ And my physical stats were better. ¡®Guess this is a fight between a woman with good techniques and a man with good physical parameters.¡¯ The fun thing was that I wasn¡¯t that scared of PVPing with Yeonseo. There was definitely the chance I could lose, but on the flip side, I also felt like I could win. While this PVP process was underway, it would be best if I took every action available to me. ¡°True Master of the Heavenly Demonic Mountain. It appears the noble Guardian is one who encourages betrayal, without any sort of justification, seeing as you have issued a quest to have an ally betray the person they had fought with, the person they had entrusted their back to.¡± Before the battle started, Roa approached me. She had picked up the smell of content. ¡°Did you just mention the True Master of the Heavenly Demonic Mountain by name? How did you know?¡± ¡°You said it, didn¡¯t you? That it was the True Master of the Heavenly Demonic Mountain.¡± ¡°Aha.¡± This pixie, who was considered a huge giant for their race, Roa, looked like her eyes were positively sparkling. The reason why she was dragging out the beginning of the battle was probably to see how the ¡®True Master of the Heavenly Demonic Mountain¡¯ would react. ¡®If it¡¯s the True Master of the Heavenly Demonic Mountain I know¡­¡¯ This Guardian had freely asserted his identity as the Lord of the Million Heavenly Demonic Cult. He was a demon among demons who dominated the heavens with overwhelming strength as his foundation, a hero who pursued simple strength while disdaining injustice and cowardliness. ¡®A disposition that disdains betraying someone¡¯s trust.¡¯ Still, he was on the rather simple side when it came to his fundamental disposition. ¡®So I¡¯m sure he just got ahead of himself because of the fun in front of his nose.¡¯ In any case, to them, our Playing was merely an ¡®amusement¡¯, a ¡®game¡¯. It was difficult to really argue about faith or trust with them. However, the situation would change if you called out a being in the middle of this amusement by name. ¡®Even if it¡¯s only out of pride, they can¡¯t defy their own standards and rules.¡¯ So, what will you do, oh True Master of the Heavenly Demonic Mountain? ¡®To make this duel fair and even, he¡¯ll either strengthen me or weaken Yeonseo.¡¯ However¡ª ¡®Weakening Yeonseo doesn¡¯t suit the True Master¡¯s disposition, so he¡¯ll strengthen me.¡¯ I fit all the puzzle pieces together. ¡®As far as they know, Yeonseo and I are the same level.¡¯ If our levels were the same, in order to have a fair and even duel, he would have to give me some sort of buff on the techniques side of things. [The True Master of the Heavenly Demonic Mountain wishes to bestow on you a temporary skill.] [You have been given the temporary skill ¡®Single Hit Finisher¡¯.] [The temporary skill can only be used within the PVP zone.] I almost laughed in spite of myself. ¡®He really did it.¡¯ I simply made a deduction based on the True Master of the Heavenly Demonic Mountain¡¯s disposition, but that deduction hit the bullseye. It was essentially like I had a strategy guide in my hand. ¡®Her Single Hit Finisher and my Single Hit Finisher, they¡¯re the same.¡¯ I wasn¡¯t very scared of the battle with the Sword Empress Shin Yeonseo, the woman who was called the Ruler of the Sword. It was a PVP zone where no one would die, anyway. ¡°Well, then, shall we have some fun?¡± * * * * * * ¡°I won¡¯t hold back.¡± Yeonseo leveled her sword at Hyukjin. The moment she had her sword in her grip, the look in her eyes changed. The difference when she was holding her sword and when she wasn¡¯t was obvious. That was the trait that defined the Sword Empress, the martial spirit acknowledged by the Heavenly Demon who was the true master of the Heavenly Demonic Mountain. A genius of PVP with a natural-born talent for the sword¡ªthat was Hyukjin¡¯s evaluation of Shin Yeonseo. ¡®My whole body is tingling.¡¯ He could feel it through Eye of Perception. Yeonseo¡¯s aura was fierce. She was facing him with the intent to kill him. In other words, this feeling was bloodthirst, an intense energy seldom felt from a low-level Player not even at level 20. However, Hyukjin was not cowed by Yeonseo¡¯s aura. His ¡®Eye of Perception¡¯ was an innate ability with a base function of ¡®Calm Observer¡¯s Eye¡¯, a catalyst that could maintain a cool head in any situation and allow him to take a step back to look at the situation objectively. ¡®Eye of Perception¡¯ was very helpful in allowing Hyukjin to maintain his composure. ¡®She¡¯s coming.¡¯ Shin Yeonseo slightly lowered her body. Every movement of her body, her aura, her flow, he saw all of it. ¡®Here. To the left.¡¯ Hyukjin took one step back and swung his Iron Sword, defending to the left. At this moment, he didn¡¯t see anything else. Here, there were only Yeonseo and him, him and Yeonseo. Only the two of them existed. Clang! Sword clashed on sword. ¡®With a little less strength.¡¯ There was no need to expose all his cards. In terms of physical stats, Hyukjin was head and shoulders ahead. However, he didn¡¯t show that. To Yeonseo, the two of them were equally matched in strength. Her attack flowed organically, almost like a living snake. ¡®The trajectory is going for my side.¡¯ But he had already seen through her with Eye of Perception. ¡®But her real target is my throat.¡¯ That blade seemingly coming for his side would instantly switch its trajectory and aim for his throat. He read that naturally, with ease. This was, by all accounts, the influence of combat sense. It was a sense for instinctively reading the opponent¡¯s movements. Even so, there was no gap in Shin Yeonseo¡¯s attacks. ¡®I can¡¯t see a way to counterattack.¡¯ In that brief moment, Hyukjin jumped backwards, almost like he was pulled by a magnet. It was a fluid, natural movement that widened the distance to a point where sword and sword could no longer touch. Yeonseo asked, ¡°You haven¡¯t learned swordsmanship, have you?¡± To Yeonseo, it felt like their physical abilities were equally matched. However, her sword technique was far superior. If so, she should be overwhelming him. That was how it should be, but she hadn¡¯t been able to land a single real blow. ¡®To make such a result, it must be¡­¡¯ It could only be explained by one thing. ¡®The difference in sense.¡¯ Or the difference in their talent. Yeonseo judged that this result could only be categorized as those two things. ¡°I¡¯ll be getting serious now, too.¡± ¡°You weren¡¯t serious before?¡± ¡°To be honest, I was feeling a bit apologetic. It might be a PVP zone, but it still hurts and is scary to get stabbed.¡± Such an expression probably didn¡¯t suit the situation, but Yeonseo smiled brightly. Her eyes narrowed. At least right now, Yeonseo saw Kim Hyukjin as her rival. At least in this moment, he was an opponent she wanted to overcome without fail. She recognized that. Hyukjin adjusted his sword position. ¡®How in the world can a fierceness like that come from an appearance like that?¡¯ He still had a hard time believing that such an aura could come from such a cute and adorable appearance. Hyukjin found himself relaxing a little more. ¡®Now, I¡¯ve got the advantage.¡¯ It seemed she had judged that their physical abilities were similar, and she would come in with an attack befitting that evaluation. Hyukjin¡¯s prediction was right on the mark. Clang! Clang! Clang! Their swords clashed. The distance between their swords widened and decreased as they fought a battle that could hardly be called a battle between regular people. Although there were no flashy skills, martial arts, or foot techniques, it was, without a doubt, a battle of a level that was a rare sight in the ¡®beginner¡¯ stage. Both Hyukjin and Yeonseo panted raggedly. Neither of them had been able to land a lethal hit. Hyukjin had been slashed twice in the sides, Yeonseo twice in her left arm. Neither of them had injuries that would impede fighting. As the battle continued, Yeonseo had a feeling. ¡®It¡¯s my victory.¡¯ At this very moment, her desire to win was set ablaze. She did not want to lose. She wanted to win. The driving force that had resulted in her growth into the Sword Empress, her desire to win, was endlessly spurring her on. Her eyes fixed themselves on Hyukjin¡¯s throat. ¡®Now!¡¯ She grasped a chance that wouldn¡¯t come again¡ªan opening. She had moved nonstop and had struck with her sword all this time for this one opening. For this moment, she had saved Single Hit Finisher. She could see an opening, and she aimed precisely for it. Her experience so far told her. This fight was her win. ¡®Huh¡­?¡¯ But just then, a situation so very different from Yeonseo¡¯s expectations occurred. A situation so very different from her expectations, but was exactly in line with the picture Hyukjin had drawn. ____ ____ Chapter 30 Max Talent Player Chapter 30: Duel with the Sword Empress (2) Hyukjin had been painting a picture the entire time. In this fight of sword vs. sword, where the odds were stacked against him, he made it this far by making up for his relative lack of technical ability with his advantage in physical stats. He held back, leaving the slightest amount of give. ¡®Now.¡¯ Exactly at that moment, he moved faster than Shin Yeonseo. He lowered his body and charged forward as if going for a tackle, like he was using a wrestling move on her. From Yeonseo¡¯s point of view, it looked like Hyukjin suddenly disappeared from sight. ¡®Fast¡ª!¡¯ His movements were completely different from before, far faster. There was only one explanation for this. ¡®He was hiding his strength?¡¯ She was doing her utmost, but Hyukjin apparently hadn¡¯t been as transparent. It seemed that he had been saving his strength, waiting for this moment. ¡®He got me.¡¯ Yeonseo was unable to redirect her sword. Single Hit Finisher, an innate ability bearing the meaning of ¡®killing the opponent without fail in one attack¡¯. It was a high-speed attack that pierced one spot with incisiveness and alacrity. But her attack did not land. Her sword, which had struck forward, aiming for Hyukjin¡¯s throat, ended up embedding itself in the roadside tree. That was exactly what Hyukjin wanted. Though theirs was a battle of sword vs. sword, Hyukjin knew how to use the objects in his surroundings to his advantage. While fighting Yeonseo, he had been inching closer and closer to the tree, all in order to paint this picture, in order to have a fight that wasn¡¯t a duel. ¡®Single Hit Finisher is fast.¡¯ It was fast and precise. As long as the opponent moved within the predicted range, the skill could pierce the designated target with precision. ¡®It also has high killing power.¡¯ It meant that you had to attack with a great deal of weight behind the blow. ¡®So when it fails, the risk is as high as its speed and strength.¡¯ When it hit the mark, it would likely be a fatal blow, but if it failed to hit, it left a large margin for getting counterattacked. As fast and large as the movement was, it would take time to regain balance. In a case like this, with Yeonseo using the skill only to have it end with her sword lodged in a tree, she was completely vulnerable to a counterattack. Hyukjin¡¯s eyes clearly saw a spot. He pinpointed a gap in the defenses of the future Sword Empress, Shin Yeonseo. ¡®Now it¡¯s my turn.¡¯ Single Hit Finisher¡ªa high-speed attack and the innate ability the Heavenly Demon who was the True Master of the Heavenly Demonic Mountain had allowed him to temporarily use. The target was one hair in front of Yeonseo¡¯s throat. ¡°Kyaaa! Mommy!¡± This woman might have the qualities to become the Sword Empress, but as of now, she still didn¡¯t have much real battle experience. Yeonseo fell backwards onto her butt. Hyukjin grinned. ¡°It¡¯s my win, right?¡± ¡°¡­¡± Yeonseo reddened. She was embarrassed by the way she¡¯d whined when she was unable to dislodge her sword from the tree, and also embarrassed by the way she¡¯d fallen onto her butt just now. ¡°¡­Yeah.¡± Yeonseo knew as well as he did. If Hyukjin had truly struck her with the blade, she would have died, no two ways around it. It might be fine to die since it was a PVP zone, but no human could truly be free from a fear of death. ¡°I lost.¡± [Player Shin Yeonseo has acknowledged defeat.] [You have won a victory in the first PVP zone, the first PVP battle.] ¡°Man, if our Mrs. Han Myunghye had seen me just now, she would¡¯ve been shocked, huh? I haven¡¯t called for my mommy since elementary school,¡± Yeonseo mumbled to herself in embarrassment. Hyukjin didn¡¯t hear her muttering. He tilted his head. ¡®The first PVP zone, first PVP battle?¡¯ Was there always a notice like this? ¡®No, there wasn¡¯t.¡¯ April 28, 2028. The notepad that had always been in his hand had been placed carefully in his Inventory. Whenever he had the time, he carefully looked through the notepad and organized the events of the future, making a new strategy guide. But in his notes, there was nothing related to ¡®the first victory of the first PVP zone¡¯. Hyukjin helped Yeonseo to her feet. ¡®There¡¯s¡­ a high chance it was originally Yeonseo who had the first victory.¡¯ He came to that conclusion quickly. The Sword Empress had never been defeated by anyone other than Jo Sunghyun the Typhoon in a 1 vs. 1 PVP. She most likely received some kind of special bonus from the first PVP battle. ¡®And she kept it a secret from the world.¡¯ ¡°Thanks. But man, you¡¯re really strong. You haven¡¯t formally learned the sword either, right?¡± ¡°¡­¡± ¡°How can someone who hasn¡¯t learnt be like this? And you hid your strength in the middle on purpose, right? Your last movement was completely different. I feel like you got a real one over on me.¡± Yeonseo¡¯s mumbling didn¡¯t reach Hyukjin¡¯s ears. ¡®Another title?¡¯ He got yet another title, something even rankers would seldom get. ¡®First Adversary.¡¯ This was probably the title the Sword Empress was supposed to have gotten. [First Adversary] A title given to the Player who won in the first battle between Players. The ¡®Adversary¡¯ holds a considerably advantageous high ground in battles with Players. Attack speed: +7% Movement speed: +4% Special Skill: Can use Flash Step. Hyukjin was sure of it. Flash Step, of all things, had appeared. It was a skill of an entirely different nature from other instantaneous movement magic-based spells like ¡®Blink¡¯ or ¡®Warp¡¯. With absolutely zero use or flow of mana, it could allow you to change positions instantly, before your opponent could even notice what was happening. This formidable lightness technique, that had allowed the Sword Empress to shine radiantly in 1 vs. 1 PVP, this skill called Flash Step, was relegated to Hyukjin. ¡®A skill the Sword Empress should have originally gotten¡­¡¯ He saw Yeonseo, who had already shaken off all her embarrassment and had a faint smile on her lips. Looking at that nearly completely innocent smile, his emotions were a little complicated. ¡®I got, instead.¡¯ Thanks to his knowledge of the future, he ended up getting an ability that the Sword Empress was supposed to get. ¡®I¡¯m not sorry.¡¯ He wasn¡¯t completely at ease, but that didn¡¯t mean he was extremely troubled, either. The Sword Empress was doing her best, and likewise, he, Kim Hyukjin, was doing his best to Play, using everything within his capacity. They had both done their best, so they would each take responsibility for the result. It was a simple, clear-cut principle. Hyukjin¡¯s victory also surprised the Guardians. [The ¡®Nameless Observer¡¯ expresses their surprise.] [The ¡®Nameless Observer¡¯ has sent you a Coin sponsorship.] [+400 Coins] The Nameless Observer sent me yet another sponsorship. By chivalrous spirit, she was likely referring to the fact that I didn¡¯t kill Yeonseo. ¡®If you¡¯re awed, you should at least give some Coins.¡¯ I heard that she was so very generous to one of the 8 Heroes representing Korea, Jo Sunghyun the Typhoon, but to me, she only expressed her admiration without opening her purse. [The ¡®True Master of the Heavenly Demonic Mountain¡¯ has begun to pay attention to you.] It felt fun to Hyukjin. ¡®A whopping four Guardians have begun to send messages to me.¡¯ The number of Guardians who could send messages to a single Player was limited to five. No one knew the exact details, but it was said that the Guardians also competed amongst themselves in order to squeeze into those five slots. ¡®Getting into the first four slots also takes a huge amount of Coins.¡¯ Not every detail of the System was known. However, one thing they did know was that Guardians also had to compete in order to send messages. In other words, even among the Guardians who ¡®revealed their names¡¯, message-sending Guardians were the ¡®real deal¡¯. ¡®Just one more, and all five slots will be filled.¡¯ But the notices continued. It was almost a little absurd, even. How much did he have to compete among the Guardians in order to send that message? Thinking about it like that, it really was laughable. ¡®Even though there¡¯s no doubt that he doesn¡¯t like me.¡¯ But even so, he was unable to take his eyes off Hyukjin. Despite falling slightly short compared to famous Guardians like the ¡®Lady of the Scales¡¯ and the ¡®True Master of the Heavenly Demonic Mountain¡¯, seeing as he continued to persist in sending messages¡­ ¡®Is he a tsundere?¡¯ His flip flopping made me feel like there was some sort of love-hate relationship here. ¡°What are you thinking about so hard?¡± asked Yeonseo, peering at Hyukjin. ¡°The PVP zone is supposed to be disabled after three minutes.¡± ¡°Ah.¡± Right, Yeonseo was in front of him. He had been so focused on various things that he forgot about Yeonseo. ¡°Um¡­ hey.¡± Yeonseo¡¯s cheeks reddened a little. Hyukjin¡¯s Eye of Perception picked up on a strange emotion from her. ¡®What¡¯s going on?¡¯ It was hard to describe in exact words, but this slightly itchy feeling of some sort, emotion of some sort, came sweeping towards him via Eye of Perception like a spring wind. ¡°Tell me your phone number.¡± ¡°Why?¡± ¡°Well, um¡­ It¡¯ll be convenient to party up if I get to know a Player of your level in advance¡­ Ah. So what I mean by party is, you know. That thing. Uh. Not the kind of party where you drink, but that System-made party¡­ that is¡­¡± After rambling for a bit, she finally straightened. ¡°Just give me your number, okay?¡± She decided to simply go for it. ¡°I¡¯ve taken a liking to you, alright?¡± She bit her lips a little, and as she looked up at Hyukjin with something like expectation in her eyes, her face appeared as pink as a peach. Her voice became a little smaller. ¡°Give me your number already.¡± * * * * * * I was forced to experience a fierce beating. After the PVP zone dissipated, my eyes were greeted with the sight of my older sister and her swollen eyes. The beating she unleashed was pretty damn painful, even for an Awakened person like me. Eye of Perception sent me danger signals, but I didn¡¯t avoid her fists. ¡®Looks like she worried a lot.¡¯ She had even called the police, but they told her there was no use, or something to that effect. This ¡®Playing¡¯ thing happening now was an incomprehensible and mysterious phenomenon. Not even the police could do a thing about the Streamers, and they couldn¡¯t even keep up with all the calls related to gates or Players. It was just too early in the game for that. ¡®The only thing noona could do was simply wait here.¡¯ If I knew this would happen, I would have come after giving her a detailed explanation, at least. She had waited in a daze outside for nearly seven hours. She only regained her composure after a long time. ¡°I told you to not worry. I won¡¯t die before letting my family live in comfort.¡± ¡°¡­¡± Inside the taxi, my sister absentmindedly gazed out the window, almost as if saying, ¡®I never worried about a fool like you¡¯. When we were almost home, she pushed something towards me. ¡°Take it or leave it; I don¡¯t care.¡± It was chocolate, the Ghana chocolates I liked. I picked it up. The feelings and sincerity of my sister who worked three shifts in the factory to support me, growing sick with leukemia in the process, were in this pack of chocolates. That was how it felt to me. ¡®Noona, I¡¯ll do my best.¡¯ The debts of the past, I would repay them all. We had a house, as well as money. ¡®It¡¯ll take about three days to sort things out for moving.¡¯ I guessed that our new nest would be ready for move-in in three days. Our current hole in the ground, a place that was hot in the summer and cold in the winter, a place where bugs came skittering away as soon as the lights went on, the day would come when we would be able to say this place was a memory, an experience. One day passed, and the media exploded with articles. ¡ªGlobal Conglomerate Sungshin expands into ¡®New Technology Business¡¯. Sungshin announced that they would be concentrating on ¡®Playing¡¯. They named the items acquired from Playing ¡®new technology¡¯ and revealed that they would devote their full energy into this ¡®new technology business¡¯. Not long after this announcement, ¡®Tutorial Fields¡¯ appeared all over the world. I knew. ¡®Globally, at least 20 million people will die.¡¯ This was something I could do nothing about. I was neither a hero nor a god. I could not save them. I wasn¡¯t even able to save the people right in front of me, the people on the D-Tower 2nd floor. This was a flow of events I could do nothing about. ¡®Sungshin¡¯s vigorous involvement, and the transition of the world into Tutorial mode.¡¯ The world was proceeding exactly as I knew. One day passed. I stumbled upon a ¡®mini gate¡¯ that formed near my house, where I found ¡®baby orcs¡¯. Their level was about 15. They weren¡¯t full-growns, but I still needed to face them seriously. ¡®Not too far in the future, I will have to kill orcs.¡¯ And not just one, but a great number of them. Another day passed. [Level increased.] [Current level: 25] [2 bonus stats acquired.] [1 random stat acquired.] ¡®Level 25.¡¯ I reached level 25. This was the number one thing I¡¯d been waiting for. Before a Player reached the 30-40 stretch, the level up period from hell, level 25 was the first ¡®turning point¡¯ of that Player. ¡®I should be getting a notice now.¡¯ I waited for the level 25 notice. ¡®Huh?¡¯ But something was a little strange. ____ ____ Chapter 31 Max Talent Player Chapter 31: Six-Tailed Fox Level 25, the first turning point a Player faced. The reason it was called ¡®the first turning point¡¯ was precisely because of ¡®advancement¡¯. When Players reached level 25, they were given a choice to advance to a class. Normally, it was the biggest turning point before level 40. ¡®How come I¡¯m not getting a notice?¡¯ Normally, you¡¯d get a list of choices without delay. The ¡®first advancement¡¯ was set to several basic choices. ¡®Usually, it¡¯s tank or damage dealer, plus a few miscellaneous classes.¡¯ Miscellaneous classes referred to the ¡®non-combat¡¯ classes. Choices like explorer or blacksmith definitely existed. It was just that no one chose them. The first advancement was exactly as it sounded¡ªthe first class change. It played the role of determining the body¡¯s ¡®direction¡¯. ¡®In the early Play period, everyone always advanced at level 25.¡¯ But as time passed and strategies were published, people no longer chose to do their first advancement at level 25. ¡®Level 30. That¡¯s the real advancement point.¡¯ I would wait for that point. So to me, level ¡®25¡¯ itself wasn¡¯t all that important. However, I should have still heard the ¡®advancement is possible¡¯ notice. How come I didn¡¯t? ¡®Did something go wrong?¡¯ I got a call from Sunhwa. ¡ªI went to D-Tower like you told me to, but¡­ it¡¯s just a normal building? That meant it still looked like the normal ¡®D-Tower¡¯, having fulfilled its purpose as the Tutorial Dungeon. ¡ªGot it. I hung up. The D-Tower was still the same as before, and I didn¡¯t get the advancement notice. I was able to draw a conclusion. ¡®It hasn¡¯t been updated yet.¡¯ In conclusion¡ª ¡®I leveled up too fast.¡¯ It seemed that I had leveled up faster than the System had expected, so the advancement system hadn¡¯t been patched in yet. No wonder. The other countries had just barely started their ¡®Tutorial Quests¡¯ now. ¡®This is correct. It¡¯s correct that the update hasn¡¯t happened yet.¡¯ My level was 25. I relaxed a little after figuring out the situation. Nothing would change from the past. When I thought back, I remembered that in the early Play period, the person with the fastest level ups had been the Tutorial Ender. The Tutorial Ender, So Yoohyun, who would later be called the Fist King. I guessed that his level was currently somewhere in the early 20s. ¡®So Yoohyun was probably the first to get the first advancement notice, too.¡¯ Thinking about the timeline according to his level up speed would be easiest. ¡®I can just check, can¡¯t I?¡¯ I sent Yoohyun a call. ¨CHyungnim! My level is 22. I¡¯ve been doing my best to hunt, but it¡¯s really slow-going. Yoohyun was level 22. That was certainly an extremely fast leveling speed. It was just slow compared to me. ¡®Then for now, advancement is on hold.¡¯ I decided to busy myself with other matters and organize my thoughts until the Tutorial Dungeon ¡®D-Tower¡¯ turned into the ¡®Tutorial Building¡¯, until a new system called NPCs took effect. ¡®Inventory.¡¯ In my Inventory was the compiled ¡®summary¡¯ I had brought with me from 2028. I didn¡¯t know why I had it, or why I had returned to the past. I didn¡¯t know those things, but it was okay. To me, right now, the reason wasn¡¯t important. [May 11, 2018. The beginning of the Cataclysm on a worldwide scale.] Today was June 13. [June 16, 2018. Gates/dungeons appear simultaneously in Korea.] Soon, ¡®beginner¡¯ or ¡®tutorial¡¯ level gates and dungeons would be simultaneously generated all over the country. ¡®Thinking about it like that, my leveling speed is really fucking fast.¡¯ It wasn¡¯t just my level up speed. I got extra random stats whenever I leveled up. That meant I¡¯d gotten way more stat points than regular Players of the same level. ¡®There are three more days until the 16th of June.¡¯ What could I do during these three days? The new house was nearly ready for moving in. Tomorrow, our family would be able to move to our new home. I was itchy to find out how happy my mom and sister would be after finding out. My mom¡¯s lifelong wish had been to live in a real apartment, after all. ¡®Okay.¡¯ I decided what I would do today. The goal for today was ¡®Mt. Inwang¡¯. * * * * * * At the foot of Mt. Inwang, in the early evening of a weekday, I saw quite a lot of climbers. ¡°Oppa. Why are we here?¡± ¡°There¡¯ll be a monster somewhere around here.¡± ¡°A monster?¡± Some distance away, I saw a monster getting trampled under the climbers¡¯ feet. It was a Slime. ¡°Like that Slime?¡± ¡°You can¡¯t really call that thing a monster.¡± Slimes were only technically monsters by classification. Even civilians who weren¡¯t Players could easily kill them. Slimes were simply a tool to get people accustomed to ¡®Playing¡¯, to get them used to destroying something. ¡°Then what? Is there something else here?¡± ¡°Yeah.¡± I knew. There was definitely a ¡®Lycanthrope¡¯ living here, somewhere on this mountain. There hadn¡¯t been any victims yet, but someone would die here¡­ at the Lycanthrope¡¯s claws. ¡°A Lycanthrope.¡± ¡°Ehh?!¡± Sunhwa stumbled back one step. ¡°A-A Lycanthrope?¡± It was a monster we had already seen. The Lycanthrope was a bipedal, walking wolf-type monster. The Lycanthrope we¡¯d seen on the Tutorial Field was the essence of fear itself, at least to Sunhwa. ¡°W-We¡¯re going to kill that?¡± ¡°We have to.¡± ¡°O-Oppa. Please reconsider.¡± I could understand why Sunhwa was so frightened. How scared must she have been back then? The fear engraved in her head must still be very present. ¡°I¡¯m level 25 now.¡± ¡°What? Already?? I¡¯m only at 21.¡± It was actually shocking. She was in her early teens, so her ¡®talent plates¡¯ shouldn¡¯t be completely open yet. For her to have almost the same level as So Yoohyun at her age was insane. Her talent hadn¡¯t even bloomed yet. If this young child was this incredible, just how crazy would she be when all her talent plates opened? It was a bit iffy coming from my level 25 mouth, but this kid really was a ¡®damn genius¡¯. In any case, Sunhwa and I started going up Mt. Inwang. I tried to remember the newspaper article. ¡®They said six people died gruesome deaths on the trail.¡¯ One of the six had captured the ¡®Lycanthrope¡¯ on her phone camera. A military unit was dispatched to hunt down the Lycanthrope, and they managed to succeed because Lycanthropes could be hunted with modern weapons. ¡®But it was a real mess.¡¯ It felt really different. I had only come in contact with the incident through a newspaper article, and back then, I simply thought that it was a terrifying creature. But now, I was climbing Mt. Inwang to kill that very creature. The sun crept down, the sky dimming. ¡®They said it was around the halfway point.¡¯ Once you hit level 20, even a child would have the physical abilities of most adult men, or better. Sunhwa didn¡¯t struggle much. ¡°Oppa, will a monster really show up here?¡± The only monsters we could see were slimes. Even the commonly seen city foxes were nowhere to be spotted, and there weren¡¯t any rabbit monsters. It was so peaceful I started to wonder if this was all in vain. ¡°It¡¯s possible we might not find it today.¡± It could go either way. I hadn¡¯t been thinking that we would find the Lycanthrope in just one day. However¡ª ¡®Ah.¡¯ I felt something through my constantly active ¡®Eye of Perception¡¯. ¡®Bloodlust.¡¯ I didn¡¯t see the source of the bloodlust. We were on a steep slope, with a not-too-thick forest on both sides. Nearby, a few climbers were chattering jovially as they descended the mountain. ¡®In the newspaper article¡­¡¯ The situation had been described with comparatively greater detail. I was almost fascinated by my ability to remember all of that now. I didn¡¯t know why I could remember it. Was it because I was a genius? ¡®Old schoolmates in their 40s experienced an unlucky mishap while descending the mountain.¡¯ I didn¡¯t come here because I wanted to save them. Incidents like this would occur in tandem all over the country anyway, and I couldn¡¯t save them all. This might make me seem a little violent and cold-hearted, but I came here in order to test my current strength. I wanted to see if the level 25 me could face a level 25-ish Lycanthrope head-on. ¡®Where is it?¡¯ I definitely felt its bloodthirst, that feeling of a savage beast eyeing its prey. ¡®Eye of Perception¡¯, the far more developed version of ¡®Sixth Sense¡¯, heightened every sense of my body to the utmost. ¡®Where is it?¡¯ Before long, I was able to find it. ¡®There¡­!¡¯ * * * Han Myunghye, who was 43 years old this year, climbed down Mt. Inwang while chattering with her old school buddies, who she hadn¡¯t seen in a while. ¡°They say events like Jongno have happened all over the world.¡± ¡°Haa. How terrifying. Don¡¯t talk about it. I don¡¯t even wanna think about it.¡± Out of 150,000 people, just 5,000 managed to survive Jongno. That was, in every sense of the word, a calamity and a disaster. ¡°I hear those Intermediate Administrators or whatever monsters are killing people at random, and not even the police can do anything about them?¡± Han Myunghye shook her head. She had many worries these days, too. Her daughter awakened as a Player, or something of the sort, and insisted that Playing was fun. She tried to scold her daughter to not say such crazy nonsense, but the child didn¡¯t want to listen to her. ¡°Yeah. Those Intermediate Administrators? I hear those guys are real monsters, too.¡± ¡°Not even guns work on them. They appear and disappear suddenly, so¡­ there¡¯s nothing we can do about them.¡± The world had changed too much these days. Ever since the ¡®Cataclysm¡¯, it felt like Earth had become a completely different world. ¡°We¡¯ve lived fifty years, but who would¡¯ve known that something like this would happen?¡± ¡°Seriously.¡± ¡°But I hear the items those monsters drop are being sold off at a pretty high price?¡± ¡°That, you know, Sungshin President described them as new technology.¡± New technology. Monsters. Tutorial. To them, the terms were far too unfamiliar. Even slimes were fascinating to them, despite having seen them many times. ¡°And these squishy things have appeared on the ground, too.¡± But just then, they saw someone running over. ¡°H-Huhh?¡± Han Myunghye was startled out of her wits. It was almost like some crazy person was charging towards them. ¡°K-Kyaaaa!¡± She screamed, falling backwards to the ground. Some crazy person was running over with a huge knife in hand, after all. Myunghye¡¯s school buddies also screamed. One of them even fled without a single look back, and the three remaining women screamed in place. ¡®I-I have to call the police!¡¯ But her body was frozen. She couldn¡¯t move¡ªshe was just too shocked. What kind of bolt from the blue was this? How could there be a sudden suspicious man with a knife here? ¡°Please stay still. Don¡¯t make pointless noise. It¡¯ll stimulate it.¡± Hyukjin gestured towards his mouth with his index finger. Myunghye shut her mouth, but the three women around her continued to shriek, apparently caught in a panic. They could do nothing but scream. ¡°T-T-T-T-That is¡ª!¡± Behind the collapsed Myunghye, something enormous appeared. Grrrrrrr¨C! It was a lifeform of a kind they had never seen in their lives, a monster with golden eyes and saliva dripping from its sharp fangs. It was a level 24 Lycanthrope. Hyukjin reached out with his left hand, grabbed the slumped Han Myunghye, and dragged her behind him. ¡®Before, I could only use petty tricks¡­¡¯ How would it be this time, now that he was a level 25 Player? Just how well could he really hunt this level 24 Lycanthrope? ¡®I¡¯m curious.¡¯ He readjusted his grip on the ¡®Iron Sword¡¯. But just then, Eye of Perception picked up on ¡®bloodlust¡¯. ¡®This feeling.¡¯ It was the same bloodlust he had felt earlier. Now that he could see the beast with his own eyes, he knew. The bloodlust from earlier¡­ wasn¡¯t coming from this Lycanthrope. The source of the bloodthirst he¡¯d felt through Eye of Perception was from something ¡®else¡¯, something giving off an energy more refined than the Lycanthrope. ____ ____ Chapter 32 Max Talent Player Chapter 32: Six-Tailed Fox (2) It wasn¡¯t just the Lycanthrope. ¡®Where is it?¡¯ I felt it. ¡®Behind me!¡¯ There was a creature giving off even fiercer bloodlust than the Lycanthrope before my eyes. I heard a piercing scream. ¡°Kyaaaaaa!¡± One of the three women who had fallen over was attacked by the Lycanthrope, her arm torn off by its brute, monstrous strength. Spurt! Hot blood gushed from the gaping wound. Hyukjin didn¡¯t pay much attention to that. Rather, he wasn¡¯t able to. The moment he let himself get distracted by the Lycanthrope, that still unidentified ¡®something¡¯ would stick a dagger in his back. ¡®I¡¯ll kill it. Now.¡¯ It seemed to think that it was perfectly concealed. In all truth, I couldn¡¯t see it with my eyes. But my eye that wasn¡¯t an eye, the evolved form of Sixth Sense in my head, Eye of Perception, picked up on its position. Despite being level 25, I had abilities that far exceeded a regular level 25 Player. Excellent Player afforded me great advantages in ¡®monster hunting¡¯, with its damage increase and increased movement speed. Each and every effect was a rare gem. But right now, I needed ¡®First Adversary¡¯. Eye of Perception pinpointed ¡®its¡¯ location, but there was no point in simply figuring out where it was. In the end, I would have to catch its movements myself. Flash Step, the Sword Empress¡¯ iconic movement skill and a high-speed lightness technique that could allow one to reach the designated position instantaneously, without any readying or change in posture. The foot technique that made the former Sword Empress shine so radiantly was reborn because of me. It felt like the world instantly moved far away, like my body was getting sucked somewhere. Like my body was being shrunk by a vacuum cleaner or some powerful force. However, I didn¡¯t panic. My body reacted naturally, as if this feeling were familiar to it. ¡®Here.¡¯ I used one lightness technique over another. Immediately after using a foot technique that gave me a movement speed that couldn¡¯t even be imagined for a level 25 Player, I swapped the titles again in what was called ¡®switching¡¯. [The title ¡®Excellent Player¡¯ is taking effect.] [Additional damage +20%] [Movement speed +10%] The moment my body reached its location using Flash Step, I swapped the title effects, a feat that demanded precise combat sense. I managed the switch in a span of time so short it could be counted in ¡®seconds¡¯. It was so fast that one would never be able to say this was the sense of a level 25 Player. On top of that¡ª I used a title skill, not a regular attack¡ª¡®Excellent Strike¡¯. I struck out with the Iron Sword. Starting from Flash Step and ending with Excellent Strike, my attack could almost be called instantaneous. Spuuurt! My sword struck flesh. I couldn¡¯t see it properly; I couldn¡¯t properly activate Eye of Perception. But I did see one name: ¡®Six-Tailed Fox?¡¯ It was a ¡®spirit-type monster¡¯ with six tails. Six-Tailed Foxes were skilled in stealth and sneak attacks and were capable of using a smidgen of ¡®spiritual arts¡¯. ¡®A Six-Tailed Fox is already appearing?¡¯ I already knew about Six-Tailed Foxes, including how to hunt one. The problem was that it wasn¡¯t the right time for a Six-Tailed Fox to show up yet¡ªit was too early. Six-Tailed Foxes fell under the ¡®spirit¡¯ classification, and these ¡®spirit-type¡¯ monsters were slightly trickier to face than other monsters of the same level. ¡®And it already fled.¡¯ Only the Lycanthrope was left. * * * * * * One woman¡¯s arm was ripped off, and a fountain of blood arced through the air. Sunhwa did not close her eyes. ¡®Oppa would¡­¡¯ To Sunhwa, Kim Hyukjin wasn¡¯t just ¡®some oppa¡¯ she knew. He wasn¡¯t someone she liked as someone of the opposite sex, wasn¡¯t the target of her love. No, he was closer to ¡®the target of her awe¡¯, a realm far removed from those things. And in this moment, the only thought in her head was this: What would oppa do? ¡°Taunt!¡± ¡®!!!¡¯ marks appeared above the Lycanthrope¡¯s head. It craned its head towards the sky and howled. Awoooooooo¨C! She had experienced this howl before. Back then, Sunhwa was hidden behind a car, unable to do anything. Her body and legs had trembled unstoppably, completely frozen by the abnormal status ¡®paralyzation¡¯. ¡®It¡¯s different this time!¡¯ Sunhwa opened her eyes wide. In the Tutorial Field, in Jongno, the Lycanthrope they met was like fear itself¡ªbut not anymore. If the relationship between the Lycanthrope back then and her was like predator and prey¡ª ¡®Now, I¡¯m going to be the one who¡¯ll hunt you!¡¯ ¡ªnow, their positions were swapped. The System, the levels, and all the growth that came with those things had strengthened and trained Sunhwa. Gau! Gau! Gau! Uttering something akin to the barks of a dog, the Lycanthrope rushed forward, showing its sharp claws. Swiiiiiipe¨C! It slashed its sharp claws at Sunhwa¡¯s throat with the whistle of air being sliced. Sunhwa did not fear it. She did not falter a single step. Rather, she moved forward half a step, assuming balance. Putting force right into her toes and tightening her abdomen, she lowered her center of gravity. The moment she used her skill, she snatched up the Lycanthrope¡¯s wrist. ¡®Urgh¡­!¡¯ Her wrists were numb. ¡®Platinum Shield¡¯ did dissipate a great deal of the impact, but the Lycanthrope¡¯s full power still exceeded her expectations. ¡®I blocked it.¡¯ Even so, she had changed greatly from the past. Sunhwa had a good understanding of what her role was, of what she had to do. ¡®I won¡¯t let you go!¡¯ She grabbed it hard, not letting the Lycanthrope wriggle free from her grasp. In her small hand, using her thin wrist, she grabbed the much stronger-looking Lycanthrope¡¯s wrist and restrained the beast. Grrrrrrrr! The Lycanthrope opened its jaws wide, exposing a red mouth and enormous teeth. It gave off a fierce aura, like it was going to rip Sunhwa to pieces right this instant. In the meantime, Hyukjin quickly drew near. ¡°Bark some more, you shitty dog.¡± Spuuuurt! He plunged the ¡®Iron Sword¡¯ deep into its wide-open mouth. Hyukjin¡¯s ¡®Iron Sword¡¯ went through the monster¡¯s mouth and out the back of its head. Blood surged out of the Lycanthrope¡¯s snout, showering Hyukjin from head to toe. Sunhwa punched out. Bam! There was a resounding thud. Her small fist had landed precisely in the Lycanthrope¡¯s abdomen. [You have killed a Lycanthrope.] [EXP acquired.] [30 Coins acquired.] The predator of the Tutorial Field, the King of the Wolves and the Hidden Piece, the Lycanthrope, was no longer a match for Hyukjin and Sunhwa. Hyukjin had already wiped away his sweat. ¡®That was easier than I thought.¡¯ Killing the Lycanthrope was far easier than he had anticipated. If there hadn¡¯t been an unexpected Six-Tailed Fox, they would have probably been able to hunt it down without any damage. Unfortunately, one person died to the Lycanthrope, her body missing an arm. ¡®Rest¡­ in peace.¡¯ The two survivors were trembling nonstop. ¡°D-D-D-D-Don¡¯t come any closer¡­!¡± ¡°M-Monster¡­!¡± The two of them weren¡¯t in their right mind. Hyukjin had no intention of blaming them. Their reaction was normal. A 2-meter large wolf monster suddenly showed up before their eyes, and there was an even greater monster that had stabbed that wolf monster to death. Hyukjin didn¡¯t really curse them or resent them. When it came down to it, he and Sunhwa were indeed their saviors, but it was difficult to expect such gratitude from them. Because they really weren¡¯t in their right mind right now. ¡°¡­¡± If things had gone like in the past, they would have died. But they had lived. ¡®A difficult life in the mire is better than one in the clouds.¡¯ They would likely have to live with a great deal of trauma and fear, but that was still better than dying, wasn¡¯t it? Their lives were their own to live. However, there was still one questionable loose end. ¡®A Six-Tailed Fox, huh¡­¡¯ According to the government notice he remembered, they succeeded in killing the culprit behind the incident, the ¡®Lycanthrope¡¯. They had paraded that feat extensively, garnering praise from the populace. ¡®Was there no Six-Tailed Fox back then?¡¯ This was just Hyukjin¡¯s hunch, but¡­ ¡®No. It was there at that time, too.¡¯ He had no proof. He just felt that was the case. ¡®It was there, but¡­ they probably didn¡¯t manage to kill it.¡¯ ¡®Spirit-type monsters¡¯ were, after all, extremely tricky to kill with modern technology. Moreover, it was a fox-type monster particularly specialized in escape. At the level of a Six-Tailed Fox, there was a very high chance that they had failed to kill it and it escaped. Immediately after the ¡®Lycanthrope¡¯ incident on Mt. Inwang, there was a grotesque series of events that had become famous all over the world. ¡®The serial killings in the vicinity of Mt. Inwang.¡¯ He recalled the gruesome incidents. ¡®The victims¡¯ bellies were cut open, and all their guts were gone.¡¯ Both details were characteristic of Six-Tailed Foxes. It was a horrific monster that lusted for the guts of humans. There was no doubt about that, but the government announced that they were the horrible and perverted acts of a serial killer. They even caught the perpetrator. Hyukjin recalled a ¡®conspiracy¡¯. The perpetrator had claimed that he was wrongly accused time and time again, before finally committing suicide because he felt so wronged. Hyukjin was sure of it. ¡®The government¡¯s announcement at that time must have been a lie.¡¯ Because the acts were so gruesome, if there was no criminal to act as a scapegoat, the arrow of blame might have headed to the government or the police. ¡®I¡¯ll kill the Six-Tailed Fox.¡¯ It was injured and had likely been unable to escape far. Hyukjin promptly decided to catch it. A Six-Tailed Fox wasn¡¯t in his original plans, but with it, his plans would be pushed closer to ¡®completion¡¯. ¡®If I¡¯m lucky¡­ I might be able to get a [Fox Tail].¡¯ At that moment, his Eye of Perception captured something. It was faint, but he heard a scream further down the mountain. Hyukjin moved first, followed by Sunhwa. He didn¡¯t explain to her what he was doing, but Sunhwa naturally followed his lead. Despite being only 14 years old, her sense and perceptiveness were first-rate. Hyukjin didn¡¯t push himself to an excessive speed. ¡®Control my breathing.¡¯ He couldn¡¯t wear himself out too much. If his stamina was worn out, he wouldn¡¯t be able to hunt the spirit, and he might be the one on the losing side. It wouldn¡¯t do to hurry in this situation. ¡®The one woman who fled earlier.¡¯ The wounded Six-Tailed Fox was likely aiming for that woman. Thinking back, he remembered that the Six-Tailed Fox¡¯s escape route was in this direction. It wanted to gorge itself on human guts to recover. The scream coming from some distance down the mountain was likely from that hapless woman. Hyukjin felt the bloody aura he¡¯d felt earlier. This time as well, it was the same kind of bloodthirst. Because Eye of Perception had captured it once, the feeling was relayed to him in sharper clarity. ¡®It¡¯s an extremely voracious monster.¡¯ Plus, it was wounded, so that voracious appetite would be even more explosive. Whenever it was eating something, it saw nothing else. As such, when hunting Six-Tailed Foxes, the innards of young calves were used to make a trap. ¡®I see it.¡¯ There it was¡ªthe Six-Tailed Fox. Under its six swishing tails and furry body was a person. He heard screams of ¡°S-Save me!¡± ¡®Am I too late?¡¯ No, he wasn¡¯t too late. Eye of Perception captured something new, something that couldn¡¯t quite be called a ¡®variable¡¯. ¡®I¡­ knew it.¡¯ Hyukjin had already been expecting this. ____ ____ Chapter 33 Max Talent Player Chapter 33: Display of the Guardians Six-Tailed Fox. This spirit monster with six tails used special skills called spiritual arts or Taoist magic. In all actuality, it was because the Six-Tailed Fox was categorized as a spirit monster that its skills were called that, but it was perfectly fine to just call them skills. The Six-Tailed Fox¡¯s skill, Doppelg?nger, allowed it to divide its body into two separate entities. ¡®That one¡¯s a fake.¡¯ The clone had a physical form, but ¡®that thing¡¯ that was created as a doppelg?nger was weaker than the true body. If it had been the true body, the woman pressed underneath it would have already died. Her stomach had been slashed and blood was seeping out, but that level of injury was a blessing. ¡®If it were the real one, it would¡¯ve already gobbled everything up.¡¯ She would¡¯ve been far beyond Hyukjin¡¯s help. ¡®Where¡¯s the true body?¡¯ Hyukjin honed Eye of Perception to the max. He didn¡¯t even hear a notice like ¡®Eye of Perception has been activated¡¯. One month had already passed since he first gained the ability. No one had taught him how to use it, and he never learned how best to use it. But Hyukjin naturally, so very naturally, became familiar with Eye of Perception¡¯s use. Just like how a baby didn¡¯t need to be taught how to breathe, it was the same with Hyukjin and Eye of Perception. ¡®The true body.¡¯ Hyukjin¡¯s innate ability heightened his senses to the greatest degree, and that same ability thoroughly swept through the surrounding area. ¡®Found it.¡¯ At Hyukjin¡¯s 11 o¡¯clock, sitting in a tree, was the Six-Tailed Fox, the color of its body cleverly changed to match the color of the branches and leaves. Most spirit monsters protected themselves with this kind of ¡®camouflage¡¯. It wasn¡¯t anything special. ¡°Sunhwa. Aggro it,¡± Hyukjin said to the girl next to him. For now, he acted as if he hadn¡¯t noticed the true body. Six-Tailed Foxes had an uncanny sense for running away, so if the true body figured out its cover was blown, it would immediately flee. ¡°Got it.¡± Sunhwa used her skill right away. The Six-Tailed Fox¡¯s clone was chomping at the stomach of the woman underneath it. Green ¡®!!!¡¯ marks appeared above its head. The ¡®!!!¡¯ marks turned yellow. Sunhwa used Taunt one more time. Finally, the ¡®!!!¡¯ marks turned red, indicating that Sunhwa had completely drawn its aggro. With Eye of Perception active, Hyukjin watched the true body¡¯s movements. ¡®Come. Even the true body in the distance nearly got aggroed.¡¯ By Hyukjin¡¯s evaluation, Sunhwa¡¯s aggroing ability was so outstanding that no one of the same level could hold a candle to her. A Player in their early level 20s who could successfully draw the aggro of a Six-Tailed Fox with ¡®prey¡¯ in front of it? ¡®I can¡¯t remember anyone who could do that.¡¯ As expected, Sunhwa was¡­ ¡®A damn genius.¡¯ In any case, the aggro was properly applied, and the Six-Tailed Fox¡¯s clone with the red ¡®!!!¡¯ over its head charged towards Sunhwa. The true body¡¯s level was 27, but the clone¡¯s level was set to 22. Both the true body and clone had physical form, but a decrease in ability was an unavoidable side effect. The Six-Tailed Fox opened its jaw full of sharp teeth wide as it bit Sunhwa¡¯s throat. Cruuuunch¨C! The clone¡¯s teeth were unable to pierce through Sunhwa¡¯s neck. Meanwhile, Hyukjin finished his calculations. ¡®The true body¡­ has no intention of coming here.¡¯ If they attacked the clone too fiercely, the true body would unconditionally flee. That left only one option¡ªhe had to catch the true body. ¡®My 11 o¡¯clock. About thirteen meters away.¡¯ Eye of Perception pinpointed the Six-Tailed Fox¡¯s location, but he had no way to drag it down or hunt it right now. ¡®Or wait.¡¯ Upon second thought, there was a way to kill it. Like a long-term Player, Hyukjin opened the Item Shop with practiced ease and selected the sub-category he wanted. ¡®Weapons & Armor.¡¯ [Item Shop ¨C Beginner-grade ¨C Weapons & Armor] ¡­ ¡­ They weren¡¯t in a dungeon or a gate, but a regular ¡®field¡¯. There was no restriction on shop use. [Beginner Dagger purchased.] [-260 Coins] [Beginner Dagger purchased.] [-260 Coins] The Iron Sword disappeared from Hyukjin¡¯s hand and was replaced by a ¡®Beginner Dagger¡¯. He would throw this dagger to kill the true body hidden in the tree. ¡®I¡¯ve never done it before, but¡­¡¯ Somehow, he was full of confidence. He¡¯d never thrown a dagger before, and never hunted anything like this, yet the evolved form of Sixth Sense, Eye of Perception, was drawing out Hyukjin¡¯s success. It outlined exactly how he should throw the dagger and the exact trajectory it would follow. ¡®If I throw this¡­¡¯ The question wasn¡¯t will it hit? ¡®I can hit it.¡¯ It was an instinctive feeling. [The ¡®Courageous Lion King¡¯ shows interest in your throwing ability.] [The ¡®Nameless Observer¡¯ observes you.] [The ¡®True Master of the Heavenly Demonic Mountain¡¯ sneers at you.] His intention indeed merited ridicule. After all, Hyukjin had no System skill whatsoever, and certainly nothing like Knife Throwing. ¡®Here I go.¡¯ He didn¡¯t think about it for too long. He simply threw the dagger, unassisted by any kind of skill. Hyukjin threw the dagger, relying purely on his physical ability. Fwip! The dagger left Hyukjin¡¯s hand and whistled forward like an arrow. And shortly afterwards¡ª Thud! A thump came from afar. Something fell from the tree. Hyukjin ran to his 11 o¡¯clock, and as he did so, the clone Sunhwa had been fighting grew faint before disappearing. ¡°Oppa?¡± Sunhwa exclaimed, staring at Hyukjin as he ran past. His movements were extremely fast. Sunhwa followed his path to the base of the tree, where she saw a fox with a dagger planted precisely in the middle of its forehead. Blood was flowing freely from its forehead, and the fox was convulsing with occasional twitches. ¡®Wha¡ª?¡¯ Seeing it now, the situation became clear to her. ¡®He threw a dagger and hit it?¡¯ That was absolutely no small distance. ¡®From here, to there??¡¯ But he had hit it, and squarely in the middle of the head. ¡®Did oppa have a throwing skill?¡¯ She didn¡¯t think so. Sunhwa dazedly saw that Hyukjin had already re-equipped his Iron Sword. He swung his sword at the Six-Tailed Fox standing briefly stunned at the base of the tree, precisely slitting its throat open. Hyukjin¡¯s movements weren¡¯t very flashy. They were clean. Thump. The fox¡¯s head fell to the ground. [You have killed a Six-Tailed Fox.] [EXP acquired.] [30 Coins acquired.] A ray of blue light shone from Hyukjin¡¯s body. [Congratulations.] [Your level has increased!] [Current level: 26] Hyukjin himself was a little bewildered. ¡®It really worked?¡¯ Before throwing the dagger, he was sure it would hit, but seeing it really become reality was a strange feeling. [The ¡®Courageous Lion King¡¯ is pleased by your dagger throwing ability.] [The ¡®True Master of the Heavenly Demonic Mountain¡¯ is flabbergasted.] Hyukjin tapped the body of the ¡®Six-Tailed Fox¡¯, and a yellow light flashed from its body. An item dropped onto the ground. ¡®Oh.¡¯ It was only a slim possibility, but he really did get it. Later, he¡¯d be able to make good use of it in the Shot Table Dungeon. He was packing it away when Senia appeared. ¡°Player Kim Hyukjin. What is your level?¡± * * * * * * I didn¡¯t answer Senia¡¯s question. I was sure she was curious about my level. The Guardians were probably itching to know as well. ¡°Scan me.¡± Shortly afterwards, Senia¡¯s wingtips trembled. ¡°You¡¯re level 26.¡± I shrugged. Her words weren¡¯t said to me, but for the benefit of the Guardians. Sure enough, a stream of notices showed the Guardians were shocked by my leveling speed. [The ¡®Nameless Observer¡¯ finds your leveling speed intriguing.] [The ¡®Courageous Lion King¡¯ feels pride in your leveling speed.] [The ¡®True Master of the Heavenly Demonic Mountain¡¯ feels a sense of kinship with your leveling speed.] ¡®That¡¯s right. Enjoy yourselves to your heart¡¯s content and be intrigued. Because I can be your ¡®good quality content¡¯ anytime.¡¯ ¡®Don¡¯t think about something like that. The Courageous Lion King¡¯ is crazy enough for me.¡¯ Hm? ¡®Complain?¡¯ I thought about what kind of complaint it might be. The Streamer Senia opened her mouth, but I couldn¡¯t hear her voice. She was most likely conversing with the Guardians. ¡®What the Lady of the Scales could be complaining about in this situation has to be¡­¡¯ It was obvious. ¡®I¡¯m level 26. But I haven¡¯t advanced yet.¡¯ I hadn¡¯t had my first advancement yet. The Guardians knew that when Players hit level 25, they were supposed to advance. ¡®That the System update hasn¡¯t happened yet is one thing, but¡­¡¯ I hummed to myself. ¡®The problem is that Senia didn¡¯t make any notice about it to me.¡¯ I became level 26 without getting a notice from her. The Lady of the Scales prioritized fairness above all. Her complaint was probably something along those lines. ¡®This is gonna be troublesome.¡¯ So I approached Senia. The Lady of the Scales was an extremely famous and powerful Guardian. She was an upper being so powerful she could easily bury a new Streamer like Senia six feet under. ¡®I also need Senia.¡¯ Where else would I find such an inarticulate and lousy Streamer? A Streamer like her was the easiest to take advantage of. I sent Senia a whisper request. Although she was expressionless, considering the intensity of her wingtip trembling, she was apparently having quite the mental breakdown. I whispered to Senia. ¨CYou¡¯re in trouble because of the advancement notice, yeah? Unable to pay much attention to me, Senia continued to mumble. ¨CI¡¯ll tell them that I already got the advancement notice and I¡¯m waiting to advance when I reach level 30. Only then did Senia turn to stare at me. Her eyes were trembling ever so slightly, but I could see countless questions within them, almost like she was asking, ¡®Just who are you?¡¯ Of course, I had no intention of answering that. ¡®You and I are already in the same boat,¡¯ I thought. ¡®You¡¯ve just got to believe me. What other choice do you have?¡¯ And it wasn¡¯t going to be for free. ¨C3,000 Coins. To get 3,000 Coins, you¡¯d have to kill a whopping 100 Six-Tailed Foxes that gave 30 Coins each. ¨C¡­ ¨CIf you don¡¯t want to, forget it. The Lady of the Scales¡¯ temper has got to be something else, but oh well. Do your best to figure it out. I turned without reluctance. I heard Senia¡¯s voice. Naturally, it was a whisper only I could hear. ¨CHow about 2,000 Coins? ¨C3,000. ¨C2,200. I shook my head. She was the one in the frying pan, not me. ¨C3,000. ¨C¡­ She had to have made at least 5,000 Coins while streaming me as her content. Since it seemed she wasn¡¯t grasping the gravity of her situation, I said a bit more. ¨CSenia. You¡¯re getting pressure from the Lady of the Scales right now, right? The Lady of the Scales is fundamentally a Guardian who¡¯s capable of acknowledging her own mistake. As long as I put in a good word for you, the Lady of the Scales will probably apologize to you, you know? She¡¯ll send at least a few thousand Coins. Actually, I didn¡¯t know whether the Lady of the Scales would send that much or not, but it didn¡¯t matter. It wasn¡¯t my problem. ¨CHow about 2,700? ¨C3,000. Senia¡¯s wingtips trembled once again. ¨CI agree to 3,000. Senia was a nearly expressionless rock, but somehow, I had the impression she was speaking through gritted teeth. ¨CSend the contract. I¡¯ll sign it. A contract was sent to my Inventory, meaning our deal was a success. Feigning total ignorance, I said, ¡°Oh, right. I¡¯m gonna advance when I reach level 30, Senia. So don¡¯t nag me about it.¡± Even if the situation hadn¡¯t been like this, I had been planning on saying this anyway. I said them to the Guardians, making it clear that I would advance at level 30. ¡®Level 30.¡¯ That was the one and only time when a Player could stand above the Guardians¡ªthe time when the Player selected their Guardian. The flurry of unexpected messages that came next took me by surprise. ____ ____ Chapter 34 Max Talent Player Chapter 34: Display of the Guardians (2) Notices came in. [The ¡®Nameless Observer¡¯ thinks very highly of your prudence and composure.] [The ¡®Nameless Observer¡¯ is steadily observing you.] The Nameless Observer aside, notices from the Courageous Lion King came as well. [The ¡®Courageous Lion King¡¯ is reevaluating you.] [The ¡®Courageous Lion King¡¯ has become much more amicable towards you.] [The ¡®Courageous Lion King¡¯ shows great favor towards your hidden courage and spirit.] Just what did I do to get this courage-lover to suddenly change his evaluation of me? Great deal of goodwill? So suddenly? He wasn¡¯t the only one sending notices. [The ¡®Lady of the Scales¡¯ harbors great goodwill towards you.] [The ¡®Lady of the Scales¡¯ shows great favor towards your chivalry and sense of justice.] [The ¡®Lady of the Scales¡¯ wishes to gift you the ¡®Aten Sword¡¯.] The Aten Sword? ¡®Isn¡¯t that the sword the Typhoon, Jo Sunghyun, used in the beginning?¡¯ The grade of the item was a staggering ¡®Rare¡¯. At the very least, the sword¡¯s attack power was very nearly the best you could get in the ¡®beginner period¡¯. It did have the weakness of low durability, but even so, it was an item of a prowess far above my current level. ¡®Why this?¡¯ It wasn¡¯t just the Lady of the Scales. [The ¡®Whispering Devil¡¯ wishes to nurture you.] [The ¡®Whispering Devil¡¯ shows a great favor towards your craftiness and resourcefulness.] [The ¡®Whispering Devil¡¯ wishes to gift you ¡®Devil¡¯s Fruit¡¯.] This time, even the Devil¡¯s Fruit made an appearance. ¡®A fruit that forcefully advances you into the evil-alignment faction.¡¯ Players in the evil faction enjoyed fast growth and were very strong. Up until the middle period, most of the people who could be called ¡®masters¡¯ had evil-alignment classes. If I were to use the ¡®Devil¡¯s Fruit¡¯ right now, I would instantly become the top-level ranker. ¡®But I¡¯m already the top-level ranker anyway.¡¯ Other nations were just starting the Tutorial, and I most likely had the highest level in Korea. The ¡®Devil¡¯s Fruit¡¯ came with disadvantages that were as big as its advantages. After a certain point, further growth was difficult, and in the worst case scenario, you would be swallowed by ¡®demonic energy¡¯ and lose all reason. ¡®One misstep, and you¡¯ll become a berserker.¡¯ The only person who overcame that and climbed to the top was the Demon King himself, Kang Sun-il. In any case, I had an idea as to why these Guardians were suddenly wanting to send me gifts. ¡®Could it be¡­¡¯ Actually, I already knew. It was just that I needed a little time to be sure. ¡®That they¡¯re trying to brown-nose me before the Guardian selection?¡¯ I couldn¡¯t believe it, but that was how it was. I would pick my Guardian when I reached level 30. The Guardians were always reigning high ¡®up there¡¯, but for the Guardian selection, and the Guardian selection alone, they were at the mercy of the Player. ¡®That¡¯s what it is.¡¯ So basically, the Guardians were preening their feathers, saying: Look, I¡¯m this great of a Guardian. But I found it a little absurd. I was just one person, but a whole range of descriptions were tacked onto me. Prudence, composure, courage, sense of justice, chivalry, craftiness, the whole gamut. These guys clearly only saw what they wanted to see. Finally, even the Guardian of the Sword Empress began to come forward. [The ¡®True Master of the Heavenly Demonic Mountain¡¯ wishes to make you a priest.] [The ¡®True Master of the Heavenly Demonic Mountain¡¯ wishes to pass down the ¡®Heavenly Demonic Art¡¯ to you.] The Nameless Observer. The Courageous Lion King. The Lady of the Scales. The Whispering Devil. And now, even the True Master of the Heavenly Demonic Mountain. I wasn¡¯t even level 30 yet, but there was a frenzied rush to recruit me. Compared to the rest, the notices from the ¡®Nameless Observer¡¯, who had observed me ever since the Tutorial, were a little shabby. They only said they were continuing to observe me. Senia said to me, ¡°The Guardian Lady of the Scales has gifted me a ¡®pause¡¯ authority. As Player Kim Hyukjin knows, pause authorities are extremely expensive.¡± The world turned gray. The only spots of color were me and Senia. I took this as the Lady of the Scales acknowledging her mistake. ¡®A pause authority. It¡¯s not just a reconciliation gift.¡¯ Why did the ¡®Lady of the Scales¡¯ gift Senia a ¡®pause¡¯ at exactly this time? To let me and Senia talk comfortably? It couldn¡¯t be just that. ¡®She¡¯s showing off her wealth.¡¯ Simply put, she was saying: I have a lot of money; I have a lot of Coins. So when you reach level 30, pick me. ¡®In all honesty, the Lady of the Scales is a Guardian who gives really generous support.¡¯ I was left contemplating for a moment. ¡®At least in the early period, there¡¯s no mistake that my talent is remarkable.¡¯ I had met both the Fist King and the Sword Empress, but no one had greater talent than me. At least in the current period, my talent was the most outstanding, and the same went for my knowledge. ¡®That must be why the Guardians are competing amongst each other like this.¡¯ It was all in order to nurture the Players who would become their avatars or incarnations. I had no right to converse with the Guardians in person. You could say I was a character in a game. The Guardians and I could only communicate through the Streamer Senia. ¡°Senia. You know all the proposals I got, right?¡± ¡°Yes.¡± I could see her wingtips trembling again. My Eye of Perception picked up on a touch of Senia¡¯s emotions. Normally, it would be impossible for someone at my level to read the emotions of an ¡®Intermediate Administrator¡¯. The fact I could perceive them right now could only mean one thing. ¡®Even though she looks calm on the outside¡­ she¡¯s just that agitated on the inside.¡¯ This was what winning the lottery had to feel like. Right now, Guardians who had revealed their names, aka influential Guardians, were tripping over each other to reveal that they wanted to give gifts to the Player she had an exclusive contract with. The more Guardians like that there were, the more successful of a Streamer Senia would become. ¡°I am¡­ very grateful for the Guardians¡¯ offers.¡± Truthfully, I wasn¡¯t that grateful. According to what we learned over ten years, mankind was simply ¡®entertainment¡¯, nothing more and nothing less. Even ¡®absolute good¡¯ alignment Guardians were just exercising the influence of good within the ¡®fun¡¯; they didn¡¯t treat humans like real individuals. Whatever the actual truth was, that was how mankind had interpreted the Guardians. ¡°But right now, I can¡¯t accept any of them.¡± This was an important moment. Guardians had a more petty side to them than one might expect, so many of them disliked it when a mere ¡®character¡¯ in a simple amusement rejected their offer. ¡°I dare not accept the offer of just one Guardian.¡± Right now, in this very moment, it was the time for me to lower myself and be as humble as possible. ¡°And I dare not accept the offers of all of them.¡± Those gifts weren¡¯t just ¡®good will¡¯ or ¡®good intentions¡¯. They were wordless messages telling me to choose them when I reached level 30. So what would happen if I accepted their presents and didn¡¯t choose them? ¡®I¡¯d be failing to draw the big picture.¡¯ Now that I had returned to the past, I wanted to draw a big picture. I wanted to look a little further ahead. No matter what happened, I wanted to achieve my dreams and succeed. I too was born as a man, as a proud Korean, and I didn¡¯t want to live hand in hand with poverty any longer. To make that happen, I needed to look slightly further ahead and be more careful. ¡®Right now¡­ I¡¯ll bow my head.¡¯ There were differences depending on their dispositions, but as a whole, Guardians tended to prefer Players who were deferential to them. For most cases, my current actions were the right call. The Guardians retracted their ¡®gifting intentions¡¯. I grinned inwardly. Depending on what I did, what actions I took, I could serve the Guardians like they were my masters, or turn them into total pushovers. ¡®Just like how you guys are watching me like your personal jester for entertainment¡­¡¯ I would turn them into pushovers. ¡®I¡¯ll make full use of you.¡¯ Like boiling a frog, very, very slowly, little by little. Especially that courage-lover. I was determined to make the Lion King go bankrupt, without fail. Even now, thinking about the time I almost died in the magic troll raid gave me a spike of rage. Senia¡¯s voice interrupted my thoughts. ¡°The pause will soon end.¡± With that, the pause ended. * * * * * * After hunting the Six-Tailed Fox, the two of us started heading home. In one day, my home would change¡ªwe¡¯d be moving to the apartment my mom had always dreamt of. While on the road, I got a call. It was from Shin Yeonseo. ¨CThat was you, right? ¨CWhat? ¨CYou killed a monster at Mt. Inwang, yeah? What the heck? The incident hadn¡¯t gotten in the media and wasn¡¯t at all publicized. I had no idea how she found out so soon and called me. ¨CYeah. That was me. And then, out of nowhere¡ª ¨CThanks. After talking with her a little, I found out that she wasn¡¯t joking. When I nabbed the win in the PVP battle we had, Yeonseo had said something after yelping, ¡°Mommy!¡± [Man, if our Mrs. Han Myunghye had seen me just now, she would¡¯ve been shocked, huh? I haven¡¯t called for my mommy since elementary school.] One of the women Sunhwa and I had saved today was named ¡®Han Myunghye¡¯. In other words, the person we saved today on Mt. Inwang was the mother of the future Sword Empress, Shin Yeonseo. ¡®I can¡¯t tell¡­ if this is a good or bad thing for Yeonseo.¡¯ If Yeonseo¡¯s mom, Han Myunghye, had died today? ¡®She would¡¯ve been burning for revenge.¡¯ The Sword Empress had once said that the driving force for her growth was ¡®anger¡¯ or ¡®desire for revenge¡¯. Back then, I didn¡¯t know exactly why that was the case, because she never publicized her personal matters, but it turned out that way back in the beginning, one of the victims of the tragedy of Mt. Inwang was the Sword Empress¡¯ mother. ¡®But now, her mom is alive.¡¯ Did that mean the Sword Empress¡¯ growth would be stalled? Because her driving force was gone? Was I changing the future a lot right now? I didn¡¯t know. I couldn¡¯t know. But I didn¡¯t regret my actions. I couldn¡¯t save everyone, and there was no need to give up on my gains purely to save people, but it was only right to save the people I could save in front of me. I did the right thing. ¨CThanks. I¡¯ll be sure to repay this favor. Those were the same words I¡¯d heard multiple times from So Yoohyun. Somehow, Yeonseo and Yoohyun overlapped in my mind. ¨CWhat favor? I just happened to be there by coincidence. ¨CI believe that there¡¯s no such thing as coincidence. It¡¯s merely that the inevitable strings of fate move us, and we call that coincidence. What kind of nonsense was she going on about now? ¨CI¡¯ve decided. I¡¯ll attend to you well. And then, the call ended. I could guarantee it¡ªthis girl just said what was on her mind without realizing it. Attend? I was so dumbfounded that I had to laugh. The kid walking next to me, Sunhwa, tilted her head at me. ¡°Oppa. Why¡¯re you laughing like you just heard something ridiculous?¡± ¡°It¡¯s nunya business.¡± ¡°Tch, you should tell me.¡± Yep. The future Sword Empress just said she wants to attend to me. But she probably didn¡¯t know what that word really meant. Attend. The heavily implied meaning was a woman assisting a man¡­ with that. ¡®Whatever, I inadvertently have her owing me now.¡¯ It was fine. A lot had already changed from the past. I got an apartment in my name and had $100,000 in my bank account. The future Fist King and Sword Empress had a great deal of goodwill towards me. And also, by my side was Sunhwa, a tank of perhaps even greater talent than them. So much had changed. One day passed. The Mt. Inwang incident was treated as important news in the media, with headlines like: ¨CThe high-level monster that appeared on Mt. Inwang. ¨COne hiker dead, two injured with varying degrees of severity. ¨CThe hero of Mt. Inwang is? It was publicized that new monsters of a completely different class from slimes had appeared, and one of those monsters killed someone. One person bled a great deal from a gash in their stomach and underwent surgery after being transferred to the hospital, but there was no danger to their life. I received a call from Yoohyun. ¨CHyungnim! The hero of Mt. Inwang, is it you? I was about to call Yoohyun anyway. My level was 26. I had to raise it to level 30, and up until level 30, it was really helpful to have help from a party. Or rather, a party was absolutely necessary. ¨CCut the chatter and come out to meet me. I didn¡¯t say much, but Yoohyun seemed sure that I was the hero of Mt. Inwang. ¨CI knew it was you. The true hero of this era is you, is it not? He sure was good at blathering all by himself. ¨CI admire you, hyungnim. I called Yeonseo and Yoohyun to meet at a caf¨¦ in downtown Seoul. Of course, Sunhwa was there, too. When we were seated, I said, ¡°There¡¯s someplace I need to go.¡± Playing was, of course, accompanied by danger, and that applied to geniuses, too. In order to go higher than others, faster than others, of course everyone would take risks. It was the same right now. I couldn¡¯t do it alone. I needed their help. ¡°We¡¯re going¡­¡± I told them our destination. ____ ____ Chapter 35 Max Talent Player Chapter 35: Turtle Nest Just as I expected, Yoohyun¡¯s big, calf-like eyes grew wide. ¡°¡­What?¡± His massive arm moved, his bulging muscles squirming. He was sticking his pinky into his ear to scratch an itch, and the veins standing out on his biceps were like frickin¡¯ earthworms. There was no doubt about it. They were overwhelming muscles. As far as outside appearances went, this guy was undoubtedly the (future) Fist King. Yeonseo, who looked almost like a kid next to Yoohyun, stared blankly at me. ¡°Are you serious right now?¡± At about 160 centimetres, she had a cute appearance that didn¡¯t suit the Sword Empress moniker. She poked my side and laughed with a ¡°Come on! You¡¯re joking, right?¡± ¡°I¡¯m not joking.¡± I really wasn¡¯t. I meant every word. Yeonseo blinked at me, dumbfounded. She kind of gave me the impression of a chipmunk. ¡°So let me get this straight. You¡¯ll pay for our flight tickets and accommodations, so let¡¯s go on a vacation to Japan? Tomorrow?¡± ¡°¡­¡± When did I ever say we were going on a vacation? ¡°Get your head on straight. We¡¯re not going on a vacation. We¡¯re going to do a raid.¡± ¡°Ah, yeah. Right. Sorry. Thought it was a vacation.¡± I definitely said raid, but I guess she interpreted it as a vacation since it would require a flight on an airplane. It would apparently be Yeonseo¡¯s first flight, or something like that. ¡°But we¡¯re not that close, are we? Not enough to stay out overnight and go on a trip together,¡± she said. ¡°It¡¯s fine if you don¡¯t want to.¡± ¡°Jeez, why so harsh? It¡¯s not that I don¡¯t want to.¡± She seemed a bit troubled. ¡°If I skip class again, I¡¯ll get an F¡­¡± Ah. The current Sword Empress was just an ordinary university student. The sight of the future Sword Empress being troubled over an F was almost fascinating to me. She was thinking about it really seriously. Eye of Perception was telling me as much. It was obvious even to Eye of Perception, which only picked out the most salient states. ¡°Ahh! Whatever. I¡¯ll just think about it like a date. I¡¯m coming, too.¡± Actually, I thought Yeonseo would refuse. I might have saved her mom before, but we weren¡¯t all that close, and it wasn¡¯t like we were in an intimate relationship. Even so, she said she would come. I was going to go to Osaka even without her, but this was better. ¡®It¡¯s much better if Yeonseo comes along.¡¯ After Yeonseo agreed to come, Yoohyun pounded his chest a couple of times with those bulky arms of his. He was like a human gorilla. ¡°I¡¯ll go wherever hyungnim goes, no matter where! Even if that place is Japan!¡± To be more precise, it was Osaka, Japan. It wasn¡¯t possible to go to Tokyo at the moment because the Tutorial was still in progress there. ¡°I already owe you my life. Where wouldn¡¯t I dare to go for you? I might hate Japan, but I¡¯ll go anyway.¡± It didn¡¯t look like Yoohyun went through much mental calculation or anything. He didn¡¯t ask what would happen if he came or what was there and simply gave me his answer first. ¡°If you¡¯re a man, once you give your word, that¡¯s that, right?¡± I remembered his summary. Before, I only focused on the ¡®Debt-Repaying¡¯ part, but now, I was starting to understand why the ¡®Magpie¡¯ part was so apt. Magpies are birds, and birds aren¡¯t that smart. There was a reason why Eye of Perception referred to magpies, a type of bird. The Fist King ten years later seemed to have become smarter after rolling with the punches for a decade, but the current Yoohyun was the epitome of simplicity and honesty. ¡®That¡¯s not a bad thing.¡¯ Though simple and honest, this ¡®Debt-Repaying Magpie¡¯ put an immensely high value on loyalty. The way he was right now, he would probably even sacrifice his life for me. Sunhwa asked, ¡°Oppa, what about me?¡± Sunhwa, who was clutching a corner of my clothes, seemed to be saying, ¡°I want to go too.¡± ¡°I¡¯ll take care of your paperwork. If you don¡¯t want to go, tell me.¡± Like it or not, she was now my little sister. With President Song Kiyoung¡¯s assistance, everything sorted itself out with lightning speed, almost like popping a bag of popcorn with a lightning bolt. This was the power of a chaebol. In any case, Sunhwa was now legally 100% my little sister, and her name was even changed to ¡®Kim Sunhwa¡¯. ¡°No! I want to go! A lot! I¡¯ve never gone on a plane before!¡± With that, our party was set. The future Fist King, the future Sword Empress. Me, the person familiar with the strategy. And finally, our little tank, who I felt was even more talented than the Fist King or Sword Empress. ¡®With this combo¡­ It¡¯s got to be the strongest for the beginner level.¡¯ Yoohyun was a tank/DPS. Yeonseo was a DPS. Sunhwa was a tank. ¡®And me?¡¯ What was I? It was a bit hard to say. I was also a tank/DPS, but¡­ It didn¡¯t feel quite right to just put it as that. ¡®Whatever.¡¯ That wasn¡¯t important. The important thing was that our party was formed and we¡¯d be going to Osaka tomorrow. * * * * * * My sister¡¯s reaction was exactly as I expected. ¡°¡­¡± She didn¡¯t let much of her feelings show, simply staring at me once with a curt expression. Then, she asked, ¡°The hell is this?¡± ¡°Our house.¡± ¡°So, I¡¯m asking, the hell is this?¡± ¡°The house where we¡¯ll be living.¡± ¡°Explain.¡± For now, my sister didn¡¯t seem too happy. It was a natural reaction. I suddenly brought her to a 110 m2 newly built apartment in downtown Seoul, something ordinary folks could hardly dream of, so she was more taken aback and fearful than happy. She was worrying about whether I did something bad, or what in the world I did to get this. Her suspicion and fear was all too natural and reasonable. ¡°I won something like the lottery.¡± ¡°¡­Lottery?¡± It would take a long time to explain, and I couldn¡¯t explain everything in detail anyway. I also had no real desire to do so. The Playing I was going to keep doing was dangerous, no two ways around it, and both my mom and sister would worry greatly about me if they knew. I didn¡¯t really want to worry them. ¡°Noona. Listen. I¡¯ve become a Player, and I¡¯m now enjoying first-mover advantages. I recently met with the president of Sungshin and got a sponsorship.¡± I gave her a bare-bones explanation. ¡°So I bought a house. Mom, you, and me. Sunhwa getting adopted as a daughter of our family was also super easy thanks to this.¡± ¡°¡­¡± ¡°Don¡¯t worry. I won¡¯t do anything really dangerous. You know me, noona. I¡¯m a wuss.¡± Though I did kill a lycanthrope and a magic troll in the Tutorial, cleared the Seoul Station Dungeon and a gate, and was leaving the country to go to Osaka tomorrow. Ah, right. I also caught a six-tailed fox. All of those things screamed Danger with a capital D, but I said it was safe. ¡°The world is changing quickly, and I¡¯m adapting to it.¡± There was no need for my mom and sister to adapt. They could live as they always had. They just had to keep going, staying safe. I would do all the adapting. I alone was more than enough. ¡°I¡¯m adapting really well, you know?¡± The former civil service student was gone. I was combing through strats hundreds¡ªeven thousands¡ªof times a day, making plans for the future. And with every passing day, I was making those plans a reality. Because I didn¡¯t want to be filtered out by natural selection like last time, I was spending every second like it was precious and doing my best. This time, I was determined to live well. ¡°So don¡¯t worry. This is a house I purchased through totally reasonable and not dangerous means by enjoying my first-mover advantage. Noona, explain it to mom for me later.¡± My sister¡¯s ¡®state¡¯ changed a little. Relief was added, and she became a little more relaxed. For today, that was enough. ¡°Noona. Trust me. I don¡¯t do bullshit things.¡± I asked her to explain things to mom for me. My mom was a woman of many worries. She wouldn¡¯t accept things as easily as my sister, and it would take time to explain every little thing. I grinned. ¡°I¡¯m getting on an early morning flight to go on a trip to Japan. With my friends. I¡¯ve won the lottery, so I¡¯m gonna go enjoy it once.¡± * * * Our destination was Osaka. In order to get to Osaka, our plane landed in the ¡®Kansai International Airport¡¯. ¡°Awesome. Awesome. Freaking awesome.¡± Yeonseo, who was donning a light and fluttery sky-blue dress, kept spewing out ¡®awesome¡¯, her face full of excitement. There was no need for her to be tense yet, so I just let her be. ¡°It¡¯s my first time ever going on an airplane, and it¡¯s not even to Jeju Island, but over frickin¡¯ seas. And for free.¡± She raised her thumb at me. ¡°Our magnanimous Mr. Hyukjin is covering all our costs. Are you actually a chaebol? I¡¯ve never heard or seen of this. Usually, you¡¯re supposed to carefully plan a vacation several months in advance while saving up before you go.¡± ¡°My god, you have a lot to say.¡± ¡°Anyhoo, thanks. I don¡¯t know you all that well yet, but I¡¯ll definitely buy you a meal.¡± A meal? She would be doing quite a bit more than that. I didn¡¯t tell her yet. There was no point in telling her¡ªshe just had to experience it first-hand. We took the bus all the way to the ¡®Nanba Terminal¡¯. It was called the Nanba Terminal or Nanba Station, but despite being a station, it was a place for buses to go in and out, not a subway. ¡®The place where the Nanba Terminal Dungeon will form.¡¯ I hadn¡¯t decided yet whether I would come back here to clear that dungeon or not. It was still a minimum of one year in the future, after all. Nevertheless, it was good to learn the layout of this area in advance. I¡¯d seen it many times on Youtube, but seeing it in person was a different experience. It was especially important to take note of ¡®means of transportation¡¯ like the stairs, escalators, elevators, and ¡®cover¡¯ where you could hide. It was also good to visually confirm areas (spots) where you could run to in case of emergency. ¡®I think I¡¯ve got a pretty good grasp of it now.¡¯ I made a point of coming here to walk around in order to engrave this place in my mind. ¡®Though well, there¡¯s nothing special yet.¡¯ I took the kids on a trip around the Nanba area, absorbing information the entire time. Now that we were in Osaka, it was time to start getting a little more serious. ¡°Let me remind you once again that we¡¯re not here to play.¡± When the dungeon was first generated here in Nanba Terminal, 300 people died. That was what Playing was like. Not just one, or maybe two victims, but hundreds, sometimes thousands, could be slaughtered in one fell swoop. In just Jongno alone, a staggering 145,000 people had died. ¡°We¡¯re going to the hotel to rest a little, and then we¡¯ll go to Dotonbori.¡± Dotonbori. You could think of it as Japan¡¯s version of Korea¡¯s Myeongdong. It was a bustling place with all sorts of restaurants and shops. It was essentially the main street of Osaka. Running along the main street was a canal far bigger than Seoul¡¯s Cheonggyecheon, but still too small to be called a real river. At that, Yeonseo started to become a little tense. ¡°¡­A gate will form in Dotonbori, right?¡± Yes. I didn¡¯t know exactly where, but there was no mistake. A gate would be generated there, almost at the same time Japan¡¯s Tutorial ended. ¡®If you look at the time at which the gate broke¡­ It either formed right after the Tutorial, or¡­ formed even before the Tutorial was cleared.¡¯ Originally, this gate wasn¡¯t successfully cleared. After a certain amount of time, it ¡®broke¡¯. From the gate spilled out ¡®Gold Turtles¡¯ that dragged over 100 people into the water and ruthlessly devoured them. ¡®If possible, I want to find the gate and clear it.¡¯ And if that was impossible¡­ ¡®We have to catch them, even if we have to do it outside the gate.¡¯ Gold Turtles. Like their name suggested, they were creatures that dropped a huge amount of Coins, creatures I absolutely needed to kill. On the first day, we weren¡¯t able to find any particular things of note in Dotonbori. The second day was the same. We didn¡¯t gain much. However, there was a big change in Japan. On the second day, the ¡®Tutorial Field¡¯ in ¡®Tokyo¡¯ was cleared, and the Tutorial Ender of Japan, ¡®Seijuro¡¯, was born. ¨CThe survival rate has been tallied at around 33%¡­ Far more people survived in Japan¡¯s Tutorial than in Korea¡¯s. Most of the advanced countries were familiar with Korea¡¯s situation in advance, and they had made some preparations, just in case. Soon, the world¡¯s Tutorial would come to an end. Everyone would enter ¡®beginner¡¯ fields. The levels of Players would surpass 30, going past the beginner period into level 40. When that happened, Playing in the true sense of the word would begin. The second day was as fruitless as the first. But on the third day, while we were combing through the Dotonbori region like before, we suddenly heard a voice. ¡°I¡¯ll start off by telling you in advance that you are the only ones who can see me.¡± ____ ____ Chapter 36 Max Talent Player Chapter 36: Turtle Nest (2) ¡°I¡¯ll start off by telling you in advance that you are the only ones who can see me.¡± Turning around, they saw the Streamer Senia who had an exclusive contract with Hyukjin. She was as expressionless as ever, and it was impossible to tell what she was thinking. ¡®Once the proficiency of Eye of Perception gets higher, I¡¯ll probably be able to read Senia¡¯s state.¡¯ It was still a long way in the future, but Hyukjin was sure it was possible. In any case, it wasn¡¯t hard to guess why Senia made a personal appearance right now. ¡®She must be curious as to why we came to Japan, and why we¡¯ve specifically been going around like this in Dotonbori for the past few days.¡¯ A Streamer had the role of transmitting and relaying coverage of Playing to the Guardians. ¡®She¡¯ll want to explain to the Guardians.¡¯ Explanations like ¡®he¡¯s doing this and this kind of Playing here for this and that reason¡¯. ¡°Why are you in Japan?¡± ¡°Vacation.¡± ¡°The composition of your group is too unordinary to see this as a simple vacation.¡± Hyukjin also acknowledged the truth behind her words, but that didn¡¯t matter. ¡°Do I have to reveal my personal matters to you? Business is business, and personal life is personal life. Even Players certainly have something called a private life. I¡¯d bet the Guardians also respect that?¡± The channel was likely already open. He waited for a Guardian to back up his words. For example, someone like the Lady of the Scales. Sure enough, the Lady of the Scales backed Hyukjin up. Hyukjin very nearly scowled. Every time he said something undeniably right, this guy just had to show his hate. ¡®Maybe he¡¯s just a hater. For someone who¡¯s only sponsored me once, he¡¯s sure got a lot of nerve.¡¯ Hyukjin crossed his arms. ¡°Why? Is there something related to Playing here?¡± ¡°¡­¡± Yep, caught red-handed. ¡°¡­In accordance with the Commandments, an Intermediate Administrator is forbidden from personally interfering in Playing or acting in a way that leaks information.¡± ¡°But you can give information in the form of a quest.¡± ¡°¡­¡± Senia closed her mouth. That alone was a big clue for Hyukjin. ¡®So it¡¯s correct that a gate will form here.¡¯ If he had to find the gate anyway, it would be better to get a ¡®quest¡¯ and look for it rather than going in blind. That would help in finding it, too. He could also get a quest reward just for finding the gate, so it¡¯d be like killing two birds with one stone. ¡®Though that wasn¡¯t in my plan.¡¯ But that was fine. The greatest efficiency in the least amount of time¡ªthat was the fundamental principle of Playing, wasn¡¯t it? Hyukjin knew. ¡®If I say something like this¡­ then the small fry will make a fuss.¡¯ He knew the insignificant Guardians who hadn¡¯t revealed their names¡ªsimply put, the peanut gallery¡ªwould be making a big fuss in Senia¡¯s channel. Hyukjin was right on the mark. [That¡¯s right. Let¡¯s give out a quest.] [The Japan Tutorial is also over, so let¡¯s give out a quest to mix things up.] [Quest! Quest! Intermediate, give him a quest!] [Is there any billionaire here who would do the kindness of issuing a quest to that Player?] Senia stared at Kim Hyukjin. Actually, she had been observing Hyukjin for several hours with the channel closed. After several hours of watching, she concluded that there was no way Hyukjin was here for a vacation. From his Playing, he was definitely searching for something. And then, he suddenly riled up the Guardians by mentioning a quest, which the Guardians fell for¡ªhook, line, and sinker. ¡®Could it be¡­ that this was what he intended?¡¯ Surely not. It was unlikely that his actions were so calculated. All things considered, he was still a Player in the beginner period, and he didn¡¯t seem to have had a ¡®True Name Awakening¡¯. How could a new Player possibly manipulate the Guardians like that? ¡®It couldn¡¯t have been intentional¡­¡¯ There was no way. No matter how shabby the Guardian, as long as they wanted to, it was no difficult feat to squash one measly Player, though it did take a lot of Coins. How could a Player dare to play tricks on such powerful beings? A Player who didn¡¯t know that fact wouldn¡¯t be able to do such a thing, and a Player who did know wouldn¡¯t dare to do such a thing. ¡®There¡¯s no way, but I think it was intentional.¡¯ The possibility was very high. Logically, it shouldn¡¯t be the case, but Senia¡¯s eyes and intuition were telling her that this Player, Kim Hyukjin, intentionally created this situation. The Player she was doubting, Hyukjin, was just as aware. He knew it was absolutely a dangerous thing to scheme with the Guardians as his opponents, to manipulate them. You could say it was like treading a tightrope. ¡®But it¡¯ll take more than this to kill me.¡¯ And one day, the roles would be reversed. Because the Guardians were many, but he was just one person. There were many Guardians who could replace another Guardian¡¯s spot, but there was no Player who could replace him. He would make it so that he was irreplaceable. Senia calmly opened her mouth, forming silent words that Players couldn¡¯t hear in a ¡®Guardian¨CIntermediate Administrator¡¯ conversation. ¡°I have the authority to issue a quest, but I lack the Coins for one.¡± She was perfectly calm about it and only spoke the truth without expecting much. A stream of administrator messages instantly flooded her. [The ¡®Whispering Devil¡¯ wishes to issue a quest.] [The ¡®Lady of the Scales¡¯ wishes to issue a quest.] [The ¡®Courageous Lion King¡¯ wishes to issue a quest.] [The ¡®True Master of the Heavenly Demonic Mountain¡¯ wishes to issue a quest.] A whopping four Guardians requested a quest. Senia was rendered speechless for a while. It took a lot for Guardians to open their purses, but they were clamoring over something as minor as a ¡®quest bestowal¡¯. And they weren¡¯t even small fries, but four¡ªfour!¡ªGuardians who had ¡®True Names¡¯. That just meant they were watching Kim Hyukjin¡¯s Playing that seriously. But just then, another message popped up. [The ¡®Nameless Observer¡¯ has sent you a 3,000 Coin sponsorship.] [The ¡®Nameless Observer¡¯ wishes to issue a quest.] With that, the Nameless Observer became the quest giver. The other Guardians fell quiet. As such, the quest was given in Senia¡¯s name. * * * * * * Senia issued our party a quest. [The quest ¡®Turtle Nest¡¯ has been triggered.] [Clear the ¡®Turtle Nest¡¯.] I found it a little odd. ¡®Senia herself issued the quest?¡¯ By the standards of the future, she was a Streamer who wouldn¡¯t be able to survive. In other words, she lacked the funds. She had even sacrificed 3,000 Coins to me, so she shouldn¡¯t have any leeway to issue a quest. ¡®An Intermediate Administrator¡¯s quest¡­¡¯ Was she overflowing with Coins? ¡®I thought one of the Guardians would issue it.¡¯ I couldn¡¯t read anything from Senia¡¯s expression. It did look like she had a chat with the Guardians opened and was talking to them, but it was hard to discern everything from just that. Yeonseo murmured as if amazed, ¡°It¡¯s a quest.¡± [Quest ¨C Turtle Nest] Traces of a suspicious gate have been discovered somewhere in Dotonbori. Find and destroy the Turtle Nest. ¡°Looks like there really is a gate somewhere around here.¡± ¡°Then did you think there wouldn¡¯t be one?¡± I could feel that Senia was concentrating on our conversation. She had to be extremely curious. Why I formed a party and came to Japan, and Dotonbori in Osaka of all places, how I knew, she had to be curious about it all. ¡°But you know, it¡¯s really amazing. You seem like a genius, or maybe like you have some kind of special ability.¡± I just chuckled. I could only laugh when faced with this Sword Empress in her pure days who was sincerely amazed. I never knew that one of the 8 Heroes who would lead the future, the Sword Empress who confronted the Demon King, was ever this pure and innocent. ¡°Why¡¯re you laughing?¡± ¡°Just ¡®cause.¡± ¡°Be honest, you thought I was cute, right?¡± ¡°You crazy? Do you not know what cute is?¡± ¡°But really, how did you know to come here? I¡¯m like seriously curious.¡± Even though I was talking to Yeonseo, I was still keenly cognizant of Senia. My brain was whirling, thinking about how best I should answer. ¡°I had a dream.¡± ¡°A dream?¡± Senia¡¯s wingtips fluttered. Yes, a dream. This was a good answer. I decided to elaborate a little. ¡°Something like a precognitive dream.¡± ¡°P-Precognitive dream? That kind of stuff really exists?¡± ¡°There are Players, there are monsters, and there are dungeons, so do you think precognitive dreams are out of bounds?¡± ¡°T-That¡¯s true, I guess.¡± Of course, I hadn¡¯t had one. Seeing as Senia was talking to the Guardians again, it looked like she had begun to fall for it. After all, there really were Players who awakened an innate ability called ¡®Precognitive Dream¡¯. It was also a somewhat more common ability than one might expect. After walking for a bit, Sunhwa tugged my sleeve. ¡°Oppa, I¡¯m hungry.¡± ¡°That so?¡± It was indeed about time to eat. We¡¯d all become Players, but after walking all day long, it was natural that Sunhwa would become hungry and tired. I decided to stop for a meal. ¡°Is there anything you want to eat?¡± ¡°Can I really say what I want to eat?¡± It wasn¡¯t a big deal or anything, but Sunhwa only answered after squirming for a while, like she wasn¡¯t used to such kindness. ¡°I want to eat gyukatsu.¡± * * * Hm. How to explain this. ¡°Kyaaaaaaa!¡± People were screaming as they scrambled out. I could see a Japanese sign in front of me, and even though I couldn¡¯t read it because it was in Japanese, the picture was definitely ¡®gyukatsu¡¯. We came here to eat gyukatsu because Sunhwa said that¡¯s what she wanted, but it turned out that people were screaming as they fled from that very gyukatsu restaurant. ¡°D-Do you think it¡¯s okay to go inside, hyungnim?¡± Yoohyun appeared a little frightened, which didn¡¯t match his enormous bulk in the least. It almost looked like his big, sturdy muscles were shriveling a tiny bit. ¡°Let¡¯s go.¡± I walked into the gyukatsu restaurant. Everyone had left, leaving the restaurant completely deserted. Inside, I saw something that looked like a black hole. It was possible to click it. ¡°We found¡­ it?¡± said Yeonseo, rather bitterly. My feelings mirrored her own. We came because Sunhwa said she wanted to eat gyukatsu, and it just so happened that a gate opened here, as if to mock our efforts for the past three days. ¡®It must be a coincidence, right?¡¯ It was probably just a coincidence, but why¡­ did I get the feeling it wasn¡¯t? Still, it was more appropriate and simple to pass it off as a coincidence for now. ¡°Are we going in, hyungnim?¡± ¡°Yeah. Sunhwa, you take the lead.¡± Yoohyun and Yeonseo were clearly not yet used to pushing a young girl to the front, but they didn¡¯t contradict me. We had to get used to this. Even that strong-looking body of Yoohyun¡¯s wasn¡¯t as sturdy as Sunhwa¡¯s. We couldn¡¯t let ourselves be misled by outer appearances. Sunhwa was also used to my methods by now. To be more precise, she was faithful to her role. ¡°Got it.¡± Once a gate was cleared, it would normally disappear. Before I regressed, the ¡®Turtle Nest¡¯ was originally a gate that had broken, and because of that, there was no strategy for it. In other words, we would have to clear this gate without a strategy guide. Even so, I had plenty of confidence. Japan had just barely cleared their Tutorial. At most, the gate wouldn¡¯t exceed ¡®beginner¡¯ grade. And we were a party of four people who could be called top rankers in the beginner grade. ¡®It¡¯s dark.¡¯ The whole place was dark. Although the day and night cycle didn¡¯t apply to gates, to put it in terms of the time of day, it wasn¡¯t nighttime, but sometime around evening, the point at which it starts getting dark. ¡®A swamp?¡¯ It was humid. The field was a large swamp, with mud at our feet and reeds and other unknown grasses growing here and there. There were also pools scattered about, with lotus flowers blooming on the surface. It was the first gate I was challenging without the strategy. ¡®Let¡¯s start by figuring out the geographic features.¡¯ That was gate clearing 101. Ascertain the geographic features. Figure out the traps, the Safe Zone, and the monsters. Getting information was the first step. ¡®Huh?¡¯ But someone had beaten us to it and was already inside. That someone approached us and asked, ¡°Just what the hell are you guys?¡± That someone¡­ had completely slipped past Eye of Perception¡¯s radar. Chapter 37 Max Talent Player Chapter 37: Pull it Together Already ¡°Just what the hell are you guys?¡± I could see them with my eyes, but Eye of Perception couldn¡¯t pick up on them. That meant they were a lifeform with far greater ability than me, an existence I couldn¡¯t figure out with my level of strength. I already knew what such a being was. Even Senia, who I spoke to ¡®as if¡¯ I were careless of her status, was naturally far stronger than me. It was the same for the tiny pixie who addressed us. ¡®A Streamer.¡¯ I knew this Streamer¡¯s identity. She was the Intermediate Administrator whose fame would spread wide and far in the future, one of the top three famous Streamers in Japan. ¡®The pixie Celine.¡¯ She was only about as big as my finger. She had yellow hair. Looking at just her face, she gave off the feeling of ¡®Tinkerbell¡¯ from the fairytales, but her stomach was round and protruding. There was another name that was often used to refer to the obese pixie Celine. Like famous Players, she was a Streamer with a nickname. ¡®Rising Star Excavator.¡¯ Celine had uncovered many genius-level Players. She had such a knack for it that there was a popular saying that those in Japan who were picked by her had at least a 50% chance of success. Before I could respond to her, Senia stepped forward first. I was the Player she had signed an exclusive contract with, her source of ¡®quality content¡¯. She was taking initiative to exclude any possibility of Celine harming me, which made this a conversation between Streamers. We couldn¡¯t butt in. ¡®If Celine is here, that means¡­¡¯ It could only mean one thing. ¡®There should be a Player here, too.¡¯ She had to be streaming someone, but I couldn¡¯t detect that Player. I had no idea where they were. They might even be in stealth mode using a ¡®bonus¡¯ they got from a Guardian. ¡®Is there a Player who already awakened and came here¡­ In Japan, where they just finished the Tutorial?¡¯ I didn¡¯t know, and I couldn¡¯t know. As far as my experience from the past went, the ¡®Turtle Nest¡¯ definitely broke. That meant it hadn¡¯t been cleared. If things followed the path of history, that meant the Player who came in here had died. ¡®Even if they already awakened, they¡¯re low-level anyway.¡¯ While I was sorting out my thoughts, Celine and Senia¡¯s conversation seemed to have wrapped up. Celine snickered as she addressed us again. ¡°In my eyes, there¡¯s something about you guys. I get the whiff of something.¡± She stroked her protruding belly. ¡°That¡¯s what my belly is telling me. There¡¯s something special about you guys. Like the smell of an old veteran, perhaps?¡± Celine¡¯s eyes narrowed, almost as if she were searching us. ¡°My, oh my. I get the strong feeling I chose the wrong server.¡± Rubbing her nose regretfully, she fluttered in place, sparkling powder falling from her tiny wings. Then, she muttered all to herself, ¡°It¡¯s a bit late, but maybe I should switch to the Korean server¡­?¡± She pointed at me with her small hand. ¡°You. Especially you. There¡¯s something about you. I get the feeling there¡¯s something huge about you. Though I don¡¯t know what that is.¡± Then, she turned and fluttered away like a butterfly, becoming smaller and smaller. ¡°I think we¡¯ll see each other often.¡± * * * * * * We searched our surroundings thoroughly. The swamp had sludgy mud, thickets of plants that could be either weed or thatch, and small crabs or insects I couldn¡¯t identify crawling at our feet. After around one hour, Yeonseo asked me, ¡°Will the Clear Crystal even show up if we just look around like this?¡± It was important to look for the Clear Crystal. To clear a gate, you either had to destroy the ¡®Clear Crystal¡¯ or hunt the ¡®boss monster¡¯. Normally, you had to do one of the two. ¡°Who knows? I don¡¯t know the strategy either. We have to try to find something that might be a clue, no matter what that might be.¡± It wasn¡¯t a lie. I knew there were definitely ¡®Gold Turtles¡¯ somewhere here, but I didn¡¯t know where. Seeing as the name of this place was ¡®Turtle Nest¡¯, the gate clearly had a close connection to ¡®Gold Turtles¡¯. ¡®It¡¯s too inefficient for us to all move in a group.¡¯ ¡°Let¡¯s split up into pairs.¡± Yeonseo stared at me with a ¡®huh?¡¯, and Sunhwa tugged the hem of my clothes a little. It seemed she was reluctant to be apart from me. It was an obvious show of childishness. I didn¡¯t react to each and every one of her little actions. ¡®Because this shouldn¡¯t be that dangerous of a gate.¡¯ It had appeared in a country that had just finished their Tutorial. It should be a gate that matched Japan¡¯s current level. ¡®Gold Turtles¡¯ themselves were also not very dangerous. Basically, it shouldn¡¯t be as dangerous as Sunhwa felt it was. ¡°It¡¯s more efficient to move separately.¡± Yeonseo gave me a doubtful look. ¡°In such a big place? What if we can¡¯t find each other again? Our smartphones have no reception here. What if we get lost?¡± ¡°Buy a Gate Map from the Item Shop.¡± ¡°Eh? Something like that exists?¡± Of course. Though unfortunately, it cost 1,000 Coins. ¡°What? But you know this thing costs 1,000 Coins?¡± ¡°Should be cheaper than your life.¡± Yeonseo looked on the verge of tears. ¡°I just barely saved up 1,000 Coins¡­¡± The mighty future Sword Empress whined, crying crocodile tears. Future Sword Empress she might be, but a low-level beginner was exactly that¡ªa beginner. Of course, I had no intention of entertaining her whining. Yoohyun resolutely said, ¡°If hyungnim says to do it, I gotta do it.¡± He immediately purchased the Gate Map. I also opened the Item Shop. [You have purchased a Gate Map.] [-1,000 Coins] Gate Maps were ¡®minimaps¡¯ that could be used within a gate. You could check the location of party members in real time and also send a signal on the minimap when necessary. ¡°The way to use it should be provided.¡± The activation word was ¡®Gate Map¡¯. ¡°In case you¡¯re in a dangerous situation or need help, or need to communicate something, you can send a signal through the minimap.¡± I gave a quick demonstration. The Gate Map opened up in front of me like a hologram. Our locations were marked with ¡®red dots¡¯. ¡°If you¡¯re not in danger, but need to send an alert, use yellow.¡± A yellow light flashed at my location. ¡°If you¡¯re in danger, red.¡± This time, a red light flashed. ¡°Pay constant attention to the Gate Map while you¡¯re going around. And be careful to not make too much noise, since you might pull unexpected aggro or something. The signals will alternate between yellow and red. Everyone clear?¡± After trying it a few times, Yoohyun and Yeonseo quickly got the hang of using it. The same went for Sunhwa. ¡°Yes, hyungnim. I¡¯ll go with Yeonseo.¡± We split up and started looking for something that might serve as a clue. * * * Yoohyun¡¯s Intermediate Administrator, Neptune, was forced to come to terms with an unbelievable situation. ¡®Guardians who didn¡¯t reveal their names¡¯ were definitely rabble. They were commonly referred to as ¡®beggars¡¯ among the Streamers, but they were certainly important all the same. There had to be many of these ¡®beggars¡¯ in order to increase Guardian viewer count, which then increased an Intermediate Administrator¡¯s rank, allowing them to draw in more Guardians. ¡®My channel¡­¡¯ Wasn¡¯t just a little emptier than usual, but¡­ ¡®Is way emptier than usual.¡¯ How could this be? [The ¡®Constellation of the Red Wish¡¯ has left.] [The ¡®Master of the Whirlwind¡¯ has left.] Even two Guardians who had revealed their True Names left his channel. ¡®There¡¯s even Shin Yeonseo here!¡¯ Shin Yeonseo was an outstandingly talented Player, a promising Player who had caught the attention of important Guardians like the ¡®True Master of the Heavenly Demonic Mountain¡¯. Even though there were two talents here, nearly half of his viewers had left. There was one reason for it. ¡®There¡¯s no mistake. They¡¯ve flocked to Senia.¡¯ So Yoohyun was definitely ¡®quality content¡¯. But Senia had ¡®quality content¡¯ even better than that, and the Guardians had apparently entered Senia¡¯s channel in great numbers. Neptune began to do his role as an Intermediate Administrator, using his characteristic way of speech. ¡°Great Guardians, don¡¯t you think Player Kim Hyukjin is simply too strange? Do you think Senia explained the Gate Map to him in advance? He seemed too familiar with it.¡± Kim Hyukjin already had an ¡®exclusive contract¡¯ with Senia. He could only be closely observed through Senia. Right now, it was necessary to stir up ¡®intrigue¡¯ that had no basis in reality. ¡°In order to relieve your curiosity, I will try making a formal appeal. I get the feeling that he¡¯s using a bug somehow. I will look into it.¡± * * * So Yoohyun cleared the reed forest as he walked. ¡°Careful, careful.¡± Hyukjin had told him to constantly watch his feet, since there could be pits of water in the ground. In swamps like these, there were usually quagmires. That¡¯s why they moved in pairs¡ªone person in front, one in the back. In case the person in the front fell into a bog, the person in the back could fish them out. ¡°Isn¡¯t that a monster over there?¡± There was something moving slowly within the thicket. ¡°It¡¯s only level 11. Do we kill it?¡± ¡°Let¡¯s send a yellow signal to hyungnim first.¡± When they slowly got closer, they saw a turtle with a yellow shell. It was about the same size as a ¡®city fox¡¯. For a turtle, it was really big. Very slowly, they approached the Gold Turtle. However, the Gold Turtle seemed to be an extremely sensitive monster. ¡°Hey, Muscles. It¡¯s hiding in its shell. What do we do?¡± ¡°Dunno. Should I beat it up?¡± ¡°I think there¡¯s a bog up ahead. It¡¯s better to be a bit careful about it.¡± After sending a signal through the ¡®Gate Map¡¯, the two of them decided to just observe. They were currently inside a gate. There was no knowing what might happen. They decided to wait for a moment until Hyukjin arrived. When a little time had passed, someone appeared from within the reed thicket. ¡°Is it you, hyungn¡ª Ah, it¡¯s not. Who is this dude? You. Player?¡± He looked like a Japanese person. It was the Japanese Player being streamed by the Streamer who had a knack for uncovering rising stars, ¡®Celine¡¯. Yoohyun and the Japanese person communicated using hand gestures and broken English. ¡°Um, so. That thing. That¡¯s. You hunting?¡± Yoohyun was trying to ask if the other person was hunting that, and the Japanese person seemed to understand. He shook his head. ¡°No. Monster. Defense. Very, very strong.¡± He was probably saying that the monster¡¯s defensive strength was very high. The Japanese person took something out of his Inventory. Seeing that, Yoohyun¡¯s eyes grew wide, as did Yeonseo¡¯s. ¡°What the heck, is this guy some kind of fisherman?¡± Inside the Japanese person¡¯s Inventory was a net-like item, and captured within that net were ten or so ¡®Gold Turtles¡¯. The problem was that all of them were hiding in their yellow shells. Yeonseo had caught the drift. ¡°So basically¡­ he caught them, but their defense is too high for him to kill them. So he¡¯s just collecting them. In any case, it doesn¡¯t seem like they¡¯re strong monsters.¡± As far as monsters went, the only ones they could see here were those Gold Turtles, which could mean that the Gold Turtles were the key to clearing this gate. There was a high chance of that, but as beginner Players, Yoohyun and Yeonseo hadn¡¯t quite realized that yet. ¡°When¡¯s Hyukjin coming?¡± It seemed they would see a way to resolve this only if Hyukjin came. The reed thicket shook, and the three Players felt someone approaching. But just then, the Japanese person screamed and buckled. ¡°Gyaaagh! N-Nandayo! (W-What the!)¡± While screaming, he flailed and caught Yeonseo¡¯s ankle. Yeonseo instantly had the feeling of being sucked forward. As she staggered, she caught sight of something. ¡®W-What¡¯s that?!¡¯ There was something completely different in shape than a turtle. The monster sprang out of the bog and chomped down on the Japanese person¡¯s leg, dragging him back into the bog. Before long, the bog was red with the blood pouring out of the Japanese person¡¯s body. ¡°T-Tasukete! (Save me!)¡± He flailed, trying not to get sucked in. He put every ounce of his strength into the hand clutching Yeonseo¡¯s ankle. Yeonseo had a hunch. If things went on like this¡­ ¡®I-I¡¯ll get sucked in, too.¡¯ His determination to live, his craving for life, all of it drew forth ¡®dormant strength¡¯. Strength far greater than what he could normally muster concentrated in the Japanese Player¡¯s right hand. Some Guardian might have even gifted him something like ¡®grip strength for desperate struggling¡¯. ¡®W-What do I do?¡¯ Yeonseo, who was still much closer to being a regular person than a Player, was unable to handle this unforeseen accident. Yoohyun was the same. Both of them had genius-level talent, but they were still regular people who had lived twenty ordinary years of life. They panicked, their minds going blank, and that left them completely unable to react. The Japanese man¡¯s body was already chest-deep within the bog, which was a complete sea of blood. Desperation was stark on his face. His craving for ¡®life¡¯ was written in bold letters in his eyes, as it would be for most people. ¡°Tasukete! (Save me!)¡± Yeonseo¡¯s body reeled and swayed. Yoohyun, who was standing behind her, grabbed her arm. However, the strength dragging Yeonseo into the bog was stronger than his strength to resist. For a moment, Yeonseo was completely unable to act. ¡®Huh¡­ huh?¡¯ If things went on like this, it was nearly certain that her body would be dragged into the swamp. And just as she was dazedly thinking that, Hyukjin appeared. ____ ____ Chapter 38 Max Talent Player Chapter 38: Pull it Together Already (2) As soon as he saw a yellow signal on the Gate Map, Hyukjin moved in that direction. When that signal turned red, Hyukjin saw it. ¡®That¡¯s¡­¡¯ He couldn¡¯t get a proper look at it because of its long, protruding snout. He didn¡¯t see its name or description, and he couldn¡¯t read its exact information through Eye of Perception. However, that long, protruding snout, the sharp teeth, its hunting method of dragging prey into the swamp¡­ Hyukjin was very familiar with this monster. ¡®A Swamp Alligator.¡¯ This monster with the straightforward name, the Swamp Alligator, was about level 17. The monster¡¯s true abilities themselves weren¡¯t that strong. The problem was that this place was a ¡®swamp¡¯. ¡®An alligator in a bog¡­ has the strength of a level 25 monster at least.¡± No, it might even be higher than that. They were very tricky to hunt. In order to catch one within a bog, your attack had to punch through the bog. Normally, they were hunted by long-ranged Players with longspears, bows, or ammunition weapons. ¡®And you have to be very high-level.¡¯ The bog protected it. Not only was the alligator not visible inside the bog, but it also took an attack with great piercing power to hit it. It was a monster with the exact opposite trait as a lycanthrope¡ªweak on land, but in water or when it was in a bog, it became extremely strong and difficult to face. ¡°Sunhwa, take your time following,¡± Hyukjin said. The moment he saw that snout, that bloody bog, Hyukjin instinctively realized what he had to do. He still didn¡¯t have any real experience doing this, and he had never done it personally. All he knew were the countless pieces of knowledge and strategies from the future. However, he moved naturally, as if that knowledge were already engraved in his body. Flash Step. The peerless, lightness technique that the ¡®Sword Empress¡¯ he knew had used. Hyukjin¡¯s body instantly disappeared and reappeared directly in front of the bloody bog, right between Yeonseo and the man being sucked in. There, he swung his sword. Crrgk¨C! Something was sliced. At the same time, Yeonseo screamed. ¡°Kyaaaa!¡± * * * Yeonseo didn¡¯t see Hyukjin coming. She wasn¡¯t even able to determine where or when he appeared. That was because his special skill, ¡®Flash Step¡¯, allowed him to move freely to any point within the skill¡¯s range without any sound or trace. ¡®W-What?¡¯ The moment Hyukjin appeared, he swung his sword. Yeonseo looked down and saw it¡ª A severed, masterless wrist, still clutching her ankle. ¡®H-H-He cut it.¡¯ Blood surged out of the severed wrist like a red fountain. That fountain of blood covered Yeonseo, and the hand that had gripped Yeonseo¡¯s ankle with desperate strength fell to the ground, twitching before falling still. The ¡°Kyaaaa¡± scream that had disappeared into silence now felt like an auditory hallucination. A lot of blood splashed onto Hyukjin¡¯s body as well. He quickly ascertained the situation. ¡®He was able to grab Yeonseo¡¯s ankle this hard with just one hand?¡¯ That was impossible. ¡®A Guardian¡¯s ruse.¡¯ Some Guardian probably bestowed some kind of bonus in order to see an amusing spectacle. Hyukjin bit his lips. As one might expect, he was ill at ease. He had just cut off the hand of a person who had been alive until just now. He¡¯d made the decision quickly, but it wasn¡¯t like carrying it out was easy. The Guardians sent messages in response to the situation. [The ¡®Nameless Observer¡¯ continues to observe.] [The ¡®Whispering Devil¡¯ is happy.] [The ¡®True Master of the Heavenly Demonic Mountain¡¯ claps his hands.] [The ¡®Lady of the Scales¡¯ is silent.] However, Hyukjin decided not to show his emotions. He turned to Yeonseo. ¡°Pull it together already, will you? Why did you scream? What were you going to do if there was a monster sensitive to sound?¡± ¡°B-But¡­¡± ¡°If you had gotten dragged in, you would have also died.¡± The future Sword Empress, Yeonseo, hadn¡¯t yet shed her civilian shell. It wasn¡¯t like Hyukjin didn¡¯t understand that, but it was simply too dangerous. Yeonseo bit her lips, thinking, ¡®I¡­¡¯ Her mind had gone blank. She couldn¡¯t think. While she was floundering, Hyukjin had appeared and sliced off the Japanese man¡¯s hand, and thanks to that, she was able to survive. She stared at the bog, which had become a sea of blood. Even without seeing it, she knew. The Japanese Player was dead. ¡®Scary.¡¯ For the briefest moment, she thought that it was scary. She bit her lips again. ¡®No. It¡¯s not scary.¡¯ To be exact, it wasn¡¯t scary, but too unfamiliar. Blood. Corpses. Monsters. People dying. It was all still unfamiliar. ¡°¡­¡± For a long time, Yeonseo was unable to say anything. She finally opened her mouth. ¡°¡­Sorry.¡± She was born with outstanding talent and qualities. It was just that they hadn¡¯t bloomed yet. She didn¡¯t have any thoughts of quitting Playing. Rather, she wanted to Play. Even if it was very dangerous, right now, her interest in ¡®Playing¡¯ in itself was growing. ¡°I was so shocked I couldn¡¯t think of anything.¡± ¡°You have nothing to apologize for,¡± Hyukjin grunted resolutely. ¡°Just don¡¯t forget that if you hadn¡¯t been lucky, there wouldn¡¯t have been a next time.¡± His words were true. Even for the amazing Sword Empress, if her heart was pierced or her neck sliced, she would die. If she¡¯d been dragged into the quagmire like the man just now, she would be long dead by now. If she had been unlucky, Yeonseo wouldn¡¯t be standing here. She nodded. She understood what Hyukjin was saying. She couldn¡¯t define what he did as ¡®correct¡¯, but at the very least, she knew it was thanks to his actions that she survived. ¡®He¡¯s right.¡¯ She learned something by looking at Hyukjin. It was hard to put into words, but it felt like she broke a wall. She learned firsthand that this was how you were supposed to Play. She felt like she learned a great deal about something she couldn¡¯t quite explain. ¡°¡­Thank you. For saving me.¡± * * * * * * The quagmire that had sucked in the Japanese Player quickly absorbed everything, even the blood the man had spilled, becoming a bog so ordinary that nothing seemed to have happened. ¡°Hyungnim, why are we still waiting here?¡± asked Yoohyun. ¡°We have to kill it.¡± ¡°That¡­ alligator-like monster?¡± I nodded. We couldn¡¯t dive into the bog. That would maybe be possible only if there were a rather outstanding elementalist or magician here. ¡°How do we kill it?¡± ¡°Once it finishes its meal¡­ it¡¯ll be drowsy.¡± My heart felt heavy. ¡®Finishing its meal¡¯ was basically the same thing as saying that it had eaten the Player. Regardless, after filling its stomach, the monster would emerge from the bog. Swamp Alligators liked to take naps on land. Sunhwa peered doubtfully at the bog. ¡°Does that mean the monster will take a nap or something?¡± ¡°Don¡¯t you think there¡¯s a possibility that might happen?¡± It wasn¡¯t a possibility, but a sure thing. The monster would soon surface. ¡°It¡¯d be great if that did happen, by some chance. I get the feeling I saw something like this in a dream. For now, let¡¯s wait.¡± My party members looked at me with dubious expressions, shooting me looks that clearly wondered whether the alligator would truly surface, but I didn¡¯t relieve their doubts. There was no way to explain, anyway. The Streamer who couldn¡¯t violate my exclusive contract with Senia, Celine, was observing from a distance, and Senia was also waiting in silence. ¡®They must think that I¡¯m a Precognitive Dream user.¡¯ Playing wasn¡¯t done alone, in a vacuum. I had to use the situation I was given to the utmost. I just had to give a justification for my actions. ¡°My Precognitive Dream isn¡¯t complete. I can¡¯t see everything. But I know its habits, at least.¡± That implied that I hadn¡¯t been able to foresee the Japanese Player¡¯s death. ¡®The Lady of the Scales should be convinced with this.¡¯ It was fine as long as she wasn¡¯t disappointed and was just silent. The Lady of the Scales had to know that my actions were the best I could have done in that situation. She had to know that it was better for one person to die rather than two. ¡°Huh? Hyungnim! I see bubbles.¡± ¡°Take a few steps back.¡± A monster with a bloodied snout came out of the water. Its name was, as expected, ¡®Swamp Alligator¡¯. Level 18. On land, this thing was simply a level 18 prey. As if it couldn¡¯t be bothered with the likes of us, the beast heaved itself further onto land before curling up and falling asleep. Yoohyun raised his fists. ¡°I will go beat it to death.¡± His fists glowed with a faint blue light. He was a Player who had just reached his early level 20s, but¡ª ¡®He can already put mana in his fists?¡¯ The Fist King was indeed the Fist King. Most Players would have to get through the beginner period in order to replicate the feat. Yeonseo stopped him. ¡°No. I¡¯ll kill it.¡± My Eye of Perception captured Yeonseo¡¯s state. She was definitely enraged, but cool-headed at the same time. Basically, she was in a state of cold rage. I could see that her eyes were filled with intense murderous intent. ¡®She¡¯s already grown one stage higher.¡¯ Intense murderous intent billowed out from her. Once she surpassed this stage, she would learn how to hide her bloodlust, but she wasn¡¯t there yet. In any case, she had shed her civilian shell much more than before. Her near-death experience had pushed her growth. ¡°Yeonseo. You do it. The weak points of most animal-type monsters are their heads.¡± For most of them, the middle of the forehead was one of their vulnerable spots. ¡°Got it.¡± With her sword drawn, Yeonseo¡¯s very aura was like a well-honed blade. She gave off the feeling of a sword. I knew this state very well. She had already reached the so-called ¡®one with the sword¡¯ realm. ¡®It¡¯s said to be the basic quality of Rankers who use the sword.¡¯ It might even be that she had grown even faster than in the past. Yeonseo composed her breathing. In just one strike. Quickly. Her movements were fast and precise, aiming unerringly for the middle of the forehead, exactly one point. She quickly and powerfully pierced that spot. On top of EXP and Coins, an item dropped. Yeonseo picked it up and showed it to me. [Swamp Alligator Claw ¨C Quest Item] The claw of a Swamp Alligator. Present it to an Intermediate Administrator to receive a quest. ¡°I think it would be best if you gave this to Senia,¡± said Yeonseo, offering me the claw. ¡°¡­¡± I didn¡¯t refuse. The rule was that the person who acquired the item, Yeonseo, should personally go and receive the quest. It was a fixed fact that the quest recipient would get the lion¡¯s share of the rewards. Yeonseo probably knew that as well as I did. But even so, she conceded the right to me, and I accepted it. I wasn¡¯t running a charity here. ¡°Senia. Here. Quest item.¡± Senia issued me a quest. The quest wasn¡¯t all that complicated. We needed to acquire 5 ¡®Swamp Alligator Claws¡¯. The current progress was [1/5]. ¡®We¡¯ve already got one.¡¯ We only needed to get four more. ¡°Oppa,¡± Sunhwa said. ¡°Can we really get five of these? I can¡¯t figure out how to hunt them.¡± In all actuality, we had no way to hunt Swamp Alligators if they didn¡¯t come out of the bog. In the end, we had to drag them onto land somehow. Yeonseo also looked deeply troubled by the conundrum. ¡°Without a sacrifice¡­ we can¡¯t drag them out.¡± The monsters only came onto land to nap when their bellies were full. ¡°Can we really¡­ clear this quest?¡± We had two quests. The first was ¡®Turtle Nest¡¯, and the second was ¡®Swamp Alligator Claw Acquisition¡¯. If we cleared the second, the first would be almost automatically cleared. ¡°We can do it,¡± I said. ¡°How?¡± The emotion I could feel from Yeonseo via Eye of Perception was ¡®fear¡¯. It was fear towards me. I knew where that fear came from. She was likely scared that I might throw the others as sacrifices to catch the alligators. I chuckled. Did she see me as some kind of monster? ¡°Like this.¡± I decided to show them the method. ____ ____ Chapter 39 Max Talent Player Chapter 39: Random Coin Box ¡°Like this.¡± I pulled out the ¡®Beginner Longspear¡¯ I¡¯d purchased from the Item Shop, as well as another item. [Black Yak¡¯s Lean Meat] Very juicy meat. A food ingredient that can make the eater extremely full even with a very small amount. It was the Black Yak¡¯s Lean Meat I¡¯d acquired in ¡®Seoul Station Dungeon¡¯, where I¡¯d met Seo Joohwan. I never knew I would end up using this item I had stored in my Inventory here. ¡®I was planning on using it at some point.¡¯ But I didn¡¯t think that time would come so soon. The Black Yak¡¯s Lean Meat was a big chunk of meat. I skewered two chunks of it at the end of the spear. ¡°Starting now, we¡¯ll look for bogs.¡± The monsters lived in bogs. If we found them on land, we could hunt them right away, and if they were submerged, we just had to drag them out. ¡°Ah. So we¡¯ll be luring them out with this.¡± I nodded. ¡°Alligator fishing. Your first time, right?¡± Of course, it was a first for me, too. [The ¡®Nameless Observer¡¯ is observing you.] [The ¡®Whispering Devil¡¯ is amused by your petty tricks.] The other Guardians didn¡¯t send notices. It seemed they intended on watching me a little longer. After some time, we cleared the reed thicket and discovered a large stretch of bog almost completely made up of muddy water. It was almost closer to being a pond. I submerged the spear with the Black Yak¡¯s Lean Meat in the water and swished it around. There was no need for any elaborate fishing technique or anything like that. ¡®Have a bite.¡¯ If there was an alligator in this water, it would probably eat the meat. As long as it ate the meat, it would come onto land due to the special trait of the Black Yak¡¯s Lean Meat. ¡®When¡­ will you come out.¡¯ ¡°Can you really catch an alligator like this?¡± asked Yeonseo. It did look slapdash in my eyes, too. The Beginner Longspear from the Item Shop could only be so good, and I¡¯d just slapped a few pieces of Black Yak¡¯s Lean Meat on there. Who would believe that you could catch an alligator with just this? ¡°As long as there¡¯s one in here. Don¡¯t let your guard down. There¡¯s no knowing when it¡¯ll jump out and bite our ankles.¡± On the very off chance that happened¡­ ¡°Cut off your ankle. That¡¯s the only way to survive.¡± I focused my attention on the water, watching the bog that was somewhere between a swamp and a muddy pond. ¡®There¡¯s one in here.¡¯ I could feel it. I couldn¡¯t see it with my eyes, but there was definitely one in there. Through Eye of Perception¡¯s faithful information relay, I felt the energy of the alligator we¡¯d seen earlier. ¡®Come.¡¯ I felt it coming closer and closer, and I readied myself, not lowering my guard. ¡®So it doesn¡¯t bite me.¡¯ I swished the longspear, standing as far away as possible from the bog so that the alligator wouldn¡¯t bite me instead of the meat. ¡®Bite.¡¯ It came closer. The speed at which it traveled up the water was greater than I imagined. That was its special trait. I felt a slight vibration at the tip of the spear. The alligator was apparently giving it a taste. ¡®Bite.¡¯ And then, there was a splash of water. Like what had happened to the Japanese Player, the alligator surged out of the water before returning to the depths. ¡®It ate it!¡¯ The alligator ate the Black Yak¡¯s Lean Meat. ¡°Now, we just have to wait.¡¯ It was just two chunks, but the alligator would probably feel more full than if it had eaten a human. It might taste like shit, but the ¡®Black Yak¡¯s Lean Meat¡¯ was a wildly popular dieting food. Sure enough, the full alligator crawled onto land to take a nap, and I was able to kill it without a hitch. [Swamp Alligator has been killed.] [Swamp Alligator Claw 2/5] Yeonseo blinked at me. ¡°This is the first time I¡¯ve seen a monster get caught like this. How in the world did you come up with this?¡± ¡°Just randomly.¡± I suddenly had a certain thought. ¡®If I hadn¡¯t known this method, what would it have been like?¡¯ This method was something everyone in the future knew about. But what if I weren¡¯t a regressor and were in the same position as Shin Yeonseo? And if I could use the Item Shop and already had the Black Yak¡¯s Lean Meat with me? ¡®I would have probably¡­ figured out that these monsters came up for naps when that Player died.¡¯ Even if I hadn¡¯t known the strategy from the future, I might have still been able to come up with this method. Even without the strategy, I got the sense that I would have been able to figure it out anyway. ¡®This gate is actually one I have no information about.¡¯ It was still just a beginner gate, but technically speaking, I was also just a beginner level Player, wasn¡¯t I? ¡®It¡¯s easier than I thought.¡¯ Even though I was challenging this gate without the strategy, I was clearing it extremely smoothly. [Swamp Alligator has been killed.] [Swamp Alligator Claw 3/5] [Swamp Alligator Claw 4/5] [Swamp Alligator Claw 5/5] In the end, I gathered all five Swamp Alligator Claws and gave them to Senia, who took them and stood in speechless silence for a while. ¡°What? Is there a mistake somewhere?¡± ¡°No, but¡­¡± ¡°Then?¡± ¡°¡­It¡¯s nothing.¡± In any case, the quest was cleared. [The ¡®Swamp Alligator Claw Acquisition¡¯ quest has been cleared.] [Receiving quest rewards.] Since the quest was issued by an Intermediate Administrator, I also received the rewards for clearing it from Senia. ¡°This is the quest clear reward.¡± It was an item. [Map of the Turtle Nest] A map of the Turtle Nest. It marks the primary features of the Turtle Nest. I got a map item. Seeing as how the map was given out so easily, this was indeed a low-level period gate. ¡®A map, huh?¡¯ With this map, you could say this raid was pretty much over. Having the map was no different from starting a raid knowing almost everything about the gate. ¡®Let¡¯s take a look.¡¯ I looked over the map. ¡®The habitat of the Swamp Alligators is marked¡­ This must be the actual turtle nest.¡¯ I noticed a certain spot. There was a high chance the Clear Crystal would be there. My shoulders felt quite a bit lighter. ¡°Let¡¯s go.¡± * * * * * * Senia stared at Hyukjin¡¯s back as he walked in the front. He looked considerably at ease from the back, like he had become far more relaxed after getting the map. ¡®Do you know¡­ just what you have done?¡¯ The Guardians were going wild right now. [The ¡®Wanderer of the Milky Way¡¯ reveals their True Name and joins the chat.] [The ¡®Eye of the Abyss¡¯ reveals their True Name and joins the chat.] Two Guardians revealed their names. The act of doing so meant they would take action in earnest. It was known that it took a staggering fee of 1,000,000,000 Coins for a Guardian to reveal their True Name. As such, Guardians who paid the fee to do so were, at the very least, not insignificant rabble. Of course, there were still way more Guardians who didn¡¯t reveal their True Names. Like always, their responses dominated the chat. ¨CWhat is he? ¨CWasn¡¯t this gate originally supposed to break? It¡¯ll get cleared if this goes on! ¨CIsn¡¯t the first scenario of the Japanese server bound to get messed up at this rate? ¨CShouldn¡¯t the difficulty be higher for a Player of that level? The clear was nearly set in stone. Japan¡¯s first scenario quest was botched. Of course, Kim Hyukjin didn¡¯t use any illegal methods in the process. Rather, he only used the best methods available to him. ¡®Two Guardians revealed their names, and the Japanese server¡¯s scenario has gone off the rails at the first station.¡¯ She peered again at Kim Hyukjin¡¯s back some distance away. ¡®Just what are you?¡¯ She had scanned him last time. He didn¡¯t have anything like a ¡®True Name¡¯. He was really a ¡®human¡¯. He claimed to have the Precognitive Dream ability, but Senia didn¡¯t think he could tow along the situation like this with that alone. ¡®It might be that¡­ the difficulty has to be readjusted.¡¯ Because of just one person. No, because of the party that person led, the difficulty of the whole world might have to be readjusted. She decided to watch him a little longer. * * * I discovered a cave. It wasn¡¯t hard, since I had a map. ¡®They¡¯re not here.¡¯ I couldn¡¯t see any Gold Turtles. It wasn¡¯t hard to figure out why. ¡°The Japanese man from earlier must have found this place first.¡± That was likely why he had so many Gold Turtles with him. He was unable to hunt the Gold Turtles hiding inside their shells, so he just carried them along in nets. ¡°There are a total of three caves.¡± We combed through this one, but there was no ¡®Clear Crystal¡¯. Since the Japanese Player had died, if the Clear Crystal had been in his Inventory, it would have respawned here. That meant it wasn¡¯t here. ¡°We¡¯ll go through all three of them.¡± The next cave was inhabited by Gold Turtles. There was a fairly large pond right next to the cave. ¡°Yoohyun, Yeonseo. You two make sure they don¡¯t escape into the water.¡± Each and every one of them dropped a large number of Coins. That number was nothing to scoff at. If you were lucky, they could even drop Random Coin Boxes. ¡°We can¡¯t get them if they go into the water.¡± ¡°Got it, hyungnim! Leave it to me!¡± ¡°Okay, I¡¯ll earn my keep.¡± The two of them blocked off the path from the cave to the pool. Upon spotting us, the Gold Turtles instantly shrank into their shells, which made them super easy to hunt. To be exact, we stuffed them all into nets, like the Japanese Player had done. ¡°We¡¯re not going to kill them?¡± ¡°We¡¯ll do it all in one go later.¡± ¡°Why not do it right now?¡± ¡°Cause when all is said and done, AOE hunting¡¯s the best, you know?¡± Gathering them in one place and killing them was the most efficient. Yoohyun expressed his admiration with light claps of his hands. ¡°I see. This is also a kind of AOE farm! Didn¡¯t think we¡¯d AOE farm like this.¡± The Clear Crystal wasn¡¯t in the second cave, either. We arrived at the third cave, which was inhabited by quite a lot of Gold Turtles, too. We were able to catch them without any difficulty. Since the grade of the gate wasn¡¯t that high, the Clear Crystal was also not very difficult to find. ¡°Oppa. The Crystal is over there.¡± Once we destroyed that sparkling purple crystal, this gate would be cleared. ¡°What should we do? Destroy it?¡± ¡°No.¡± First, we would finish hunting. I poured out all the Gold Turtles hiding in their shells in one spot. I didn¡¯t count their exact numbers, but there were around sixty of them. ¡®We should be getting a notice around now.¡¯ This strategy would become very famous later on. When hunting Gold Turtles, gather as many of them as you can in one spot. It was so effective that there were even Gold Turtle farms and slaughterhouses. ¡®You¡¯re supposed to have a minimum of forty, right? I think I remember the name being Gold Turtle¡¯s Collective Spirit.¡¯ Though it was technically a ¡°hidden¡± piece, this was a strategy everyone and their mother knew about in the future. [For 30 minutes, the drop rate of Random Coin Boxes is increased by 10%.] [For 30 minutes, the Coin acquisition is increased by 10%.] The least amount of effort for the greatest efficiency. This strategy accomplished that perfectly. No matter how you sliced it, this raid could be considered a huge success. It was indeed an impressively big success. The Coins I acquired here would serve as paint that would allow me to draw the picture I wanted far more vividly and surely than before. ¡®Well then, shall we get cracking?¡¯ But just then, I saw a yellow ¡®!!!¡¯ pop up. ¡®An important notice indication suddenly popped up?¡¯ ____ ____ Chapter 40 Max Talent Player Chapter 40: Random Coin Box (2) That was a hidden piece just about everyone with knowledge from the future would know of. But the next notice wasn¡¯t. ¡®The first?¡¯ I was the ¡®first¡¯ to discover this hidden piece. Come to think of it, the first discoverer was never revealed. As time went on, someone discovered the hidden piece, and it was used like a kind of public resource. I saw a yellow ¡®!!!¡¯. ¡®An exclamation point notice¡­¡¯ It was an important notice that only I could see. I checked its contents. [There is a title that can be connected to the first discovery of the Hidden Piece ¡®Gold Turtle¡¯s Collective Spirit¡¯.] [The title that can be connected is ¡®First Pioneer¡¯.] I now knew why the Player who satisfied the first discovery of ¡®Gold Turtle¡¯s Collective Spirit¡¯ never appeared before. ¡®You have to satisfy both conditions together.¡¯ The first discovery, as well as First Pioneer. This situation would only be triggered if you did and had both. I was given an unexpected scenario. Maybe because we were in the ¡®beginner period¡¯, the System was thankfully very helpful. ¡®Detailed explanation.¡¯ If a Player with the [First Pioneer] title is the first to discover a [Hidden Piece], it is possible to trigger a linked scenario. Linked scenarios can be triggered three times. I focused on the hidden boss monster, the ¡®Poison Gold Turtle¡¯. That was a monster with a level in the early to mid-30s. ¡®If it gets a boss monster stat buff on top of that¡­ It¡¯ll have the strength of at least a level 35 monster.¡¯ In addition, the ¡®poison¡¯ attribute Poison Gold Turtle was very tricky to hunt due to its very high physical defense and propensity to spew poison at attackers. Only a Player with high poison resistance could think of hunting one. ¡®I¡­¡¯ I had to make a decision. ¡®¡­will give up on this one.¡¯ I didn¡¯t think about it for too long. Commencing a linked scenario using the ¡®First Pioneer¡¯ title was limited to three times. ¡®The risk is bigger than the benefit.¡¯ It was true that I had ¡®Mandra¡¯s Gloves¡¯, an item with a ¡®poison resistance¡¯ that was nearly impossible to get in the beginner levels, but there was no real need to run the risk. I might have taken the gamble if there¡¯d been a lot to gain from killing the Poison Gold Turtle, but that wasn¡¯t the case. ¡®NO.¡¯ The linked scenario commencement was canceled. ¡°Whatcha doing?¡± asked Yeonseo, puzzled by my pause. ¡°I was just checking something real quick.¡± ¡°I heard a notice, too. The drop rate of something and the Coin acquisition is greatly increased, or something like that.¡± Yeonseo took the initiative to draw the line. ¡°I¡¯m satisfied enough with the good experience I gained from this raid. I won¡¯t be greedy for the Coins. You guys divvy it up amongst yourselves. I learnt a lot from you today, and owe you my life again¡­¡± Like usual, the swordless Yeonseo grinned cutely. ¡°And I guess this counts as a date.¡± I had no idea how this was anything close to a date, but in any case, Yeonseo conceded everything to the rest of us. ¡°Hyungnim. I came here to help you anyway. I never wanted a reward.¡± ¡°¡­¡± I was silent for a moment. ¡®What¡¯s important is how many Coins come out of the Random Coin Boxes, if we get any.¡¯ This hadn¡¯t been in my original plan, but we had managed to come this far. Thanks to this successful raid, I would be much closer to getting ¡®that thing¡¯ I¡¯d been thinking about. As long as Lady Luck gave me her blessing, I could even get ¡®that thing¡¯ right away. ¡°I¡¯ll also do as you tell me to, oppa,¡± said Sunhwa. It looked like Sunhwa, like the other two, didn¡¯t want much. She had complete trust and faith in me, and simply enjoyed doing something with me. She wasn¡¯t greedy for the Coins. ¡®For now¡­ let¡¯s get some Coins.¡¯ I didn¡¯t want to completely monopolize the rewards. I wasn¡¯t the only one who had worked hard. All of us had gotten this far together. ¡®Of course, I do have priority.¡¯ Since the MVP of this Play was me, I definitely had priority. However, there was no need to be greedier than necessary right now. As long as these turtles yielded an amount that could satisfy me, I would give the others the rest. ¡®These guys also need to get rewards to get motivation.¡¯ I would probably keep this party together for the time being. Somehow, I became the party leader. From the viewpoint of a party leader, party members being motivated was incredibly important. ¡®It¡¯s only natural you¡¯d have no enthusiasm if you worked to the bone and even worked overtime only to get miniscule rewards.¡¯ Stick and carrot. A leader had to manage the party by utilizing both elements in appropriate measure. ¡°We¡¯ll be getting Coins starting now.¡± I made the baseline crystal clear, a concrete and clearly tangible base. ¡°I¡¯ll take up to 70k Coins.¡± Their eyes grew wide. That was only natural. 70k Coins. When I got big sponsorships from Guardians before, that only added up to 8k Coins. Even killing the level 25 lycanthrope yielded a scant 30 Coins. So for us, 70k Coins was a fortune we could hardly even fathom. Yeonseo laughed in amusement. There was no malice in her laugh. Her eyes curved into crescents. ¡°Thanks. I¡¯ll happily accept.¡± Her laugh seemed to say ¡®70k Coins, there¡¯s no way there¡¯ll be more than that, anyway¡¯. I still couldn¡¯t understand why I could feel strong ¡®goodwill¡¯ from her. I had no idea what part of my words would make her feel goodwill towards me. In any case, I decided to start the Gold Turtle hunt. ¡°Anyone happen to have a big, blunt weapon?¡± ¡°Hm? Hyungnim, I¡¯ve got a [Large Hammer]!¡± ¡°Give it to me for a moment.¡± The Large Hammer was about the same size as a warhammer. It was indeed a weapon for beginners, but no one used it. It was too heavy, making it nearly impossible to hit monsters. It was also difficult to swing it properly. But if the opponent was as still as a fencepost, like these turtles, it wasn¡¯t a difficult weapon to use. ¡®Alrighty, let¡¯s give it a swing, shall we?¡¯ I swung down the Large Hammer. * * * * * * Whumpf¨C! The sound the weapon made as it traveled through the air was as hefty as its size. Hyukjin heard notices. [Gold Turtle has been killed.] [EXP acquired.] [241 Coins acquired.] For a mid-10 level monster, it dropped a huge amount of coins. Whumpf¨C! The hammer landed squarely in the middle of the shell. Crack¨C! A loud impact struck the eardrums, like steel clashing against steel. Crack¨C! Crack¨C! Crack¨C! Hyukjin continued to swing the ¡®Large Hammer¡¯. [301 Coins acquired.] [99 Coins acquired.] Though all the turtles were around the same level, they dropped a varying amount of Coins. [119 Coins acquired.] [167 Coins acquired.] [222 Coins acquired.] Yeonseo gulped her drool. ¡°My god¡­¡± Yoohyun simply stared at Hyukjin, his calf-like eyes dazedly blinking. He heard Yeonseo whisper something next to him. ¡°What¡­ is he?¡± Yoohyun didn¡¯t know, either. ¡°Could¡­ it be that he¡¯s some¡­ I dunno, higher-level class that¡¯s specialized in handling blunt weapons?¡± Yoohyun had never thought there would be anyone who could use the ¡®Large Hammer¡¯ so well. When it came to strength, Yoohyun thought he wouldn¡¯t lose to anyone, but somehow, he got the feeling he would lose to Hyukjin in an armwrestling match. How in the world could such a slender body produce such strength? The realization that he had become a Player swept through Yoohyun again. ¡°I think hyungnim¡¯s Strength stat is super high.¡± ¡°But he¡¯s also faster than me?¡± ¡°Then his Agility must also be higher than yours.¡± ¡°How can his Strength be higher than yours and his Agility higher than mine? Even considering he¡¯s a higher level than us¡­¡± ¡°¡­¡± Yoohyun wasn¡¯t sure. Sunhwa, who had been listening quietly from the side, gave them the correct answer. ¡°Unnie, mister. Don¡¯t judge a book by its cover.¡± TN: Unnie is a familiar term for sister, used by a girl to refer to an older girl. ¡°¡­¡± ¡°¡­¡± In the eyes of the natural-born tank Kim Sunhwa, Hyukjin¡¯s movements didn¡¯t boil down to just ordinary ¡®swinging¡¯. ¡°If stats could represent technique, they would¡¯ve probably been extremely high.¡± Yeonseo agreed. ¡°You¡¯re right. He¡¯s not just wildly swinging the hammer. He¡¯s precisely aiming for the center of the shell and making the impact register fully right now.¡± Even for the great Kim Hyukjin, he wasn¡¯t able to kill the Gold Turtles in one hit. He had to attack each one at least four times. ¡°He¡¯s hitting almost the exact same place at set intervals.¡± Set intervals, sending set vibrations through the shell. Hyukjin was stacking them up, amplifying each hit. Before she knew it, Yeonseo was thoroughly observing Hyukjin with the same eyes she had when she was holding her sword. She knew what his movements were. ¡°Resonance.¡± Resonance, the phenomenon of sharply increased amplitude on a vibrating object. It was an amplification effect that occurred when the frequency of a periodically applied force became close to the intrinsic frequency of the object. Yeonseo continued speaking as if bewitched. ¡°He¡¯s creating massive shock waves inside the shell in order to maximize the destructive power.¡± It didn¡¯t look like he was using a skill, nor did it look like this was a trained movement. ¡®He¡¯s doing that¡­ by instinct alone?¡¯ * * * While I was engrossed in hunting the Gold Turtles, I discovered something. ¡®Finally.¡¯ ¡®Please, let it be seven of them.¡¯ There was a higher chance to get them. As long as seven of them dropped, it was enough. As long as I gathered seven, I could trigger a new hidden piece. [Random Coin Box acquired.] [Random Coin Box acquired.] Around two hours passed, after which I had a total of six boxes. There was only one Gold Turtle left. Just one more box, and I would have seven. ¡®Please!¡¯ [Random Coin Box acquired.] ¡®Seven¡­! Got ¡®em.¡¯ My whole body was drenched in sweat. ¡®Finally¡­¡¯ I was satisfied. Seven Random Coin Boxes had dropped. That meant I had reached my first goal. I paused to take some deep breaths to regulate my ragged breathing and also used a Constitution potion. I took one of the towels in my Inventory out to wipe my sweat. It was almost like I¡¯d taken a shower in sweat. ¡°Is¡­ your body made of steel or something?¡± Yeonseo asked. ¡°How can you swing that big thing for two hours straight?¡± ¡°I drank a lot of Constitution potions.¡± ¡°Even so. Are you really human, dude?¡± It wasn¡¯t that I wasn¡¯t exhausted. After swinging a hammer for two hours, my waist and shoulders felt like they were about to break. ¡®But it¡¯s alright.¡¯ This feeling of having worked hard, of drawing out my future and reaping rewards in the process, it wasn¡¯t a bad feeling. Every muscle on my body was screaming in exhaustion, but that fatigue wasn¡¯t unpleasant to me. ¡®Seven Random Coin Boxes.¡¯ On top of that, I had acquired a whopping 20k Coins already. I was already ? of the way to my goal of 70k Coins. Things were going far more smoothly than expected. ¡°Hyungnim. Should we destroy the Crystal and leave the gate?¡± ¡°No.¡± There was still something to do. We had to crack open the Random Boxes. I clicked the ¡®Random Coin Boxes¡¯ in my Inventory. ¡®Will 50k Coins come out of the Random Coin Boxes?¡¯ I didn¡¯t know. I had to crack them open to find out. They were random, after all. The first Random Coin Box¡ª [Open the Random Coin Box?] [6,400 Coins acquired.] The second¡ª [Open the Random Coin Box?] [1,400 Coins acquired.] 1,400 Coins. With two boxes, I got 7,800 Coins. That added up roughly to 30k Coins, leaving 40k Coins to the goal. ¡®Five Random Coin Boxes left.¡¯ Would 40k Coins come out of the boxes? It would have to be an average of 8,000 Coins per box. I had the feeling fewer Coins were coming out than expected. ¡®Is my luck kinda bad?¡¯ The third Random Coin Box¡ª I scowled. 70 Coins? It was the worst of the worst. With this, I became a little more certain of it. I didn¡¯t have very good luck. The fourth Random Coin Box was decent, at least. In a stroke of shit luck, the fifth was [700 Coins acquired], and the sixth was [2,000 Coins acquired]. As a result, I had about 40k Coins. Unfortunately, it didn¡¯t look like I¡¯d be able to scrape together a surplus I could share with the others. I doubted that 30k Coins would come out of one box. ¡®But it¡¯s okay.¡¯ This was the seventh. When I opened the seventh Random Coin Box, a new notice would definitely be announced, as long as it was the same as the past I remembered. ¡®Please.¡¯ Please be the same as the past, please. I finally heard the notice I had been waiting for. ____ ____ Chapter 41 Max Talent Player Chapter 41: Speak, Pygmy [You have opened seven Random Coin Boxes in succession.] The seventh Random Coin Box was triggered. To my relief, it was as I remembered. ¡®I guess I really did return to the past.¡¯ The realization washed over me anew. It was currently the early stage of the Tutorial, so ten years before the year I had lived in. Before my regression, hidden pieces were thought of as commonplace. Things considered so very natural ten years later were so very new right now, ten years prior. This ¡®Challenge to the Jackpot¡¯ was something everyone in the future knew about. The notices continued. [You are the ¡®first¡¯ to have fulfilled the conditions for ¡®Challenge to the Jackpot¡¯.] [There is a title that can be connected to the first discovery of the Hidden Piece ¡®Challenge to the Jackpot¡¯.] When I discovered ¡®Gold Turtle¡¯s Collective Spirit¡¯ earlier, I didn¡¯t connect my title because there hadn¡¯t been much merit in doing so. ¡®But this time?¡¯ I pulled up the detailed explanation. If a Player with the [First Pioneer] title is the first to discover a [Hidden Piece], it is possible to trigger a linked scenario. Linked scenarios can be triggered three times. ¡®Double Coin Box?¡¯ A Double Coin Box was a box that would give me the amount of Coins I had right now, doubling my total Coins. ¡®I have around 40k Coins.¡¯ So if I opened the Double Coin Box, I would be able to acquire 40k Coins. ¡®That would make 80k Coins.¡¯ My goal was 70k Coins, so that would leave a whole extra 10k. While I was standing there, thinking, the Guardians sent notices, apparently feeling antsy. [The ¡®Nameless Observer¡¯ observes your actions.] [The ¡®Whispering Devil¡¯ is curious.] [The ¡®Lady of the Scales¡¯ focuses on you.] [The ¡®True Master of the Heavenly Demonic Mountain¡¯ feels impatient.] [The ¡®Courageous Lion King¡¯ strikes his chest.] Of course they were curious as to why I didn¡¯t crack open the seventh box right away. ¡°Senia, share the reward I got.¡± I publicized my reward to the Guardians. Should I change the Random Coin Box to a Double Coin Box, or not? I was showing my actions to the Guardians right now, showing them exactly what I would do. ¡°Guys. I¡¯m in a place right now where I can get a Double Coin Box.¡± Blinking, Yeonseo asked, ¡°What¡¯s that? Gonna give it to me?¡± She almost looked like a squirrel wanting an acorn. I knew she was just joking, so I ignored the second part of her words with ease. ¡°It¡¯s a box that doubles the number of Coins you have when you get it.¡± ¡°Aha. Then can¡¯t you wait to get it when you have more Coins? It would be more profitable to get that when you have more money, right?¡± As expected of Yeonseo¡ªshe hit the bullseye. I was thankful she was so smart. Lady of the Scales, are you listening? ¡°Yeah. That¡¯s true in theory. But it doesn¡¯t work with Coins gained through trades.¡± In other words, there was no point in getting all their Coins and then obtaining the Double Coin Box. ¡°And also, this is a place where all of us worked hard together and cleared together, right? We¡¯re all party members who¡¯ve fought with our backs to each other.¡± ¡°H-Huh? I¡­ guess?¡± Yeonseo glanced at me doubtfully. If I had to hazard a guess, she was probably thinking along the lines of ¡®What¡¯s up with him all of a sudden? Did he eat something strange?¡¯ I fully understood her feelings. Even I felt awkward saying such words. ¡°It¡¯s my belief that there should be a fair distribution of rewards here. That¡¯s what¡¯s right.¡± ¡°¡­¡± Unable to adapt to my sudden change of tune, Yeonseo simply stared, almost like a fearful squirrel. ¡°So I¡¯m gonna get the box now. If I do that, I can give you guys at least 3,000 Coins each.¡± I would easily reach my goal of 70k Coins, leaving me a surplus of about 3,000 Coins to give to the others. ¡®It¡¯s a lot of money for beginners.¡¯ It was an amount that could buy fairly good items in the beginner grade, as well as potions, which could be called a Player¡¯s second life. Considering that ordinary Guardians gave sponsorships of 10 Coins or 300 Coins at most, 3,000 was no paltry sum. [The ¡®Lady of the Scales¡¯ is impressed by your character.] [The ¡®Whispering Devil¡¯ detests you.] Senia appeared. ¡°First Pioneer can only be connected to hidden pieces three times. Will you still use it?¡± ¡°Yeah. That¡¯s what¡¯s fair.¡± Actually, I wasn¡¯t doing this to be fair, but because I needed 70k Coins right now. ¡®What I need right now is 70k Coins.¡¯ These 70k Coins would take me to a far higher place, at least according to the strategy in my memory. ¡®It¡¯s originally a strategy that can only be done by silver spoons.¡¯ Who in their right mind would invest 70k Coins in a beginner? This strategy was only possible for truly high-level Players or children from chaebol families. It wasn¡¯t something ordinary working class people could even dream of. ¡®Plus¡­ there¡¯ll be the gate clear reward, as well as the quest clear reward.¡¯ And not only that, but as long as things went well, there was a possibility that the ¡®Lady of the Scales¡¯ would give me a generous sponsorship. The picture was drawn in its entirety. This time, I chose ¡®YES¡¯. [The connection between the title effect and Hidden Piece has been completed.] [Random Coin Box has been switched to Double Coin Box.] I immediately opened the Double Coin Box. [Current held Coins: 43,219 Coins] [You have opened a Double Coin Box.] [43,219 Coins acquired.] My Coins were instantly doubled, meaning I currently had 86,438 Coins. ¡°I¡¯ll distribute 3,000 Coins each to you guys. Thanks for your hard work.¡± When I did so, I got a notice. It was a little feeble. Compared to the Lady of the Scales¡¯ fame, it was indeed too feeble a reward, though it was better than nothing. ¡°Hyungnim. Should I destroy this thing now?¡± Yoohyun had a purple crystal, the Clear Crystal of the Turtle Nest, in his meaty, pot lid-sized hand. I nodded. He let go of the crystal, and it floated in midair. ¡°Uryah!¡± He punched out, and after a few attacks, the crystal shattered. [The Gate ¡®Turtle Nest¡¯ has been cleared.] [Distributing Gate Clear rewards.] [All Players are given +500 Coins.] [All Players are given ¡®Beginner Tower Return Scroll¡¯.] I was surprised to see a Beginner Tower Return Scroll in the rewards. It was an item that was usually given after clearing a gate. ¡°We¡¯re gonna use the Beginner Tower Return Scroll. Use it right away without saving it.¡± This wasn¡¯t a very high difficulty gate. We only took the roundabout way of getting Coins, but we could have cleared it as soon as we found the crystal. The gate¡¯s overall difficulty was low, so the rewards were also not very high. In any case, I never expected much from the gate clear rewards to begin with. ¡®If there¡¯s a Beginner Tower Return Scroll, that means¡­¡¯ It essentially meant that the Beginner Tower had formed while we were in the Japanese gate. The notices continued. That was the quest Senia had issued us. She approached us, then spoke while looking at me. ¡°I will now deliver the rewards for clearing the Turtle Nest.¡± I didn¡¯t expect much. ¡°¡­¡± ¡°What are you waiting for? We have to use the Return Scroll before we get kicked out, so spit it out.¡± When we left, we would probably be swarmed by police or reporters. I wanted to avoid such a tiresome thing, if possible. It would be much more convenient to go straight to the Beginner Tower. Senia handed me a pouch. ¡°Hm?¡± By all appearances, it looked like a pouch filled with Coins. ¡°What¡¯s this?¡± ¡°Please take a look.¡± I took the pouch from her and got Coins. The heck was this? ¡°¡­¡± ¡°¡­¡± A moment of silence fell between Senia and me. The gate clear reward was a paltry 500 Coins, but the reward for a quest issued by an Intermediate Administrator was 7,000 Coins? ¡®This isn¡¯t¡­ I had a hunch. About the Turtle Nest clear quest. ¡®A quest issued by an Intermediate Administrator.¡¯ It was obvious by looking at the attitude of this easily handled newbie Streamer. This was a quest she had been asked to issue as a proxy, and similarly, these rewards were given by someone else. And that someone did not reveal their identity. ¡®Who is it, then?¡¯ I had no idea. Was there ever a Guardian who would give 7,000 Coins for a beginner gate? ¡®Could it be the Demon King¡¯s Guardian?¡¯ Only someone of his level would do such a thing. ¡®Or¡­ they¡¯d have to be someone on the level of the Herdsman of Las Vegas.¡¯ But the ¡®Herdsman of Las Vegas¡¯ had to be watching the US server right now, so it couldn¡¯t be him. ¡®Who could it be?¡¯ I could only guess. If it was the Lady of the Scales, she would have personally issued the quest with her name on it. Something was strange about this. I was happy, but it was strange. There was no further information I could glean about the current situation. ¡®Who could it have possibly been?¡¯ I pulled my thoughts away from the big question with effort. ¡°All of you, use the return scroll we got as a reward. At least if you want to avoid something troublesome.¡± * * * * * * I was struck with a moment of dizziness, and it felt like I was getting sucked somewhere. When I recovered my senses, I was suddenly standing somewhere completely different. I looked around. ¡®So the Beginner Tower really opened.¡¯ I could see people with their names written above their heads. They weren¡¯t actual people, but NPCs. They only existed in special places and were like artificial intelligences. You could think of them as NPCs in a game. ¡®Aria of the Potion Store. Charles of the Weapon Store.¡¯ They were all familiar names. The NPCs managed stores that sold better quality items than the weapons you could get from the System shop. If you had enough intimacy with the NPCs, they sometimes sold hidden items as well. ¡®We¡¯ve really arrived.¡¯ D-Tower. This place, the former Tutorial Dungeon, was now the ¡®Beginner Tower¡¯. Looking around with wide eyes, Yeonseo grabbed my sleeve and shook it. ¡°My god, is this real life? Weren¡¯t we in Japan just now?¡± ¡°¡­¡± ¡°Isn¡¯t this D-Tower? It is, right? I¡¯m not dreaming, right?¡± The 1st floor of D-Tower had changed. The original shops had all disappeared, as well as the ATM Sunhwa and I had used to block the Goblin Soldier¡¯s spear. The whole floor had been completely transformed. Yeonseo¡¯s mouth was wide open. ¡°Holy cow¡­¡± This was a world where monsters appeared, over 140,000 people died, and gates and dungeons existed, so what was all this fuss about return scrolls about? ¡°Amazing. So frickin¡¯ amazing. Amaaaaaazing!¡± Her excited appearance was a little cute, but it was a bit irritating that she was grabbing my sleeve while jumping around. I shook her off. ¡°That¡¯s rude, treating me like I¡¯m dust or something,¡± Yeonseo muttered, pursing her lips. ¡°Thanks for your hard work. You guys go do what you have to do now. In a few days, I¡¯ll contact you again, so Yoohyun and Yeonseo, you go clear just 25 rounds of the Seoul Station Dungeon.¡± ¡°Understood, hyungnim!¡± ¡°Got it. We just have to do 25 rounds, right?¡± In the meantime, Players who had recognized Yoohyun started to come this way. ¡°Huh? Isn¡¯t that So Yoohyun?¡± ¡°Really? The Tutorial Ender?¡± Everyone¡¯s interest in our sudden appearance quickly focused on Yoohyun. I was glad about it¡ªhe could take all the interest. I was pretty impatient right now. The Beginner Tower had formed, and I had my advancement and Guardian Selection in front of me. ¡®Before that¡­¡¯ I walked forward to carry out the strategy that only chaebols could do. ¡°Oppa. What should I do?¡± ¡°You go home and rest. I¡¯ll be back at night.¡± ¡°What are you gonna do, oppa? Can¡¯t I come with you? I¡¯m good at tanking, right?¡± Just then, I recalled her summary. The ¡®brother¡¯ in there couldn¡¯t be referring to me, right? ¡°Go home.¡± ¡°¡­Okay.¡± ¡°I¡¯ll get ice cream on the way home.¡± ¡°Really?¡± Sunhwa smiled brightly, like she had never been pouting. The happiness I could feel from her through Eye of Perception told me she really loved ice cream. After a few steps, I saw the escalator that, unlike before, now had zero cooldown and required a usage fee. [Escalator Going to the 2nd Floor] The escalator going to the 2nd floor of the Beginner Tower. 15 people can teleport at the same time. Currently, there is nothing on the 2nd floor. Cooldown: ¨C Required Coins: 100 Coins I got on the escalator. Senia, who hadn¡¯t closed her channel yet, followed me. She probably thought my actions right now were a waste of money. ¡°You think my actions are a waste of money, right?¡± ¡°Yes. There is currently nothing on the 2nd floor.¡± Your attention, please, Guardians. Allow me to show you what I¡¯m going to do here. ____ ____ Chapter 42 Max Talent Player Chapter 42: Speak, Pygmy (2) I knew as well as anyone that there was nothing on the 2nd floor. ¡®But the fact the 2nd floor has been opened¡­¡¯ Meant that someone had opened the 2nd floor. I knew who the first person to open the 2nd floor was. The Demon King¡ªthe Player Seo Joohwan had served, whose identity had still not been discovered after ten years. No one knew if he was even Korean, only that he started Playing in Korea and later became the leader of the ¡®Demon King Army¡¯, aka ¡®Nightmare¡¯. ¡®Not much is known about the Demon King.¡¯ It was known that he had the capability to easily face the 8 Heroes all on his own, and he was always involved, in one way or another, in wars, gate breaks, and big incidents like large-scale massacres. ¡®One thing that is known¡­ is that he was the very first person to open the 2nd floor of the Beginner Tower.¡¯ The bonus he received from doing so was also public knowledge. ¡®The first three Players to enter are given a bonus.¡¯ It could be that the Demon King was still somewhere on the 2nd floor. When that possibility occurred to me, my heart began to thump. What did the current Demon King look like? I already considered Yoohyun and Yeonseo as genius enough, but the supreme commander of the Demon King Army far outstripped them. Could it be that he really was on the 2nd floor? ¡®Could it be¡­ that I¡¯m stronger than the current Demon King?¡¯ Suddenly, Eye of Perception picked up on something, a feeling different from usual. It felt like something heavy was going over my eyelids. [A powerful presence has been detected.] [Eye of Perception has been temporarily disabled.] ¡®My eyes¡­ hurt.¡¯ I closed my eyes. Or rather, my eyes closed involuntarily. ¡®I feel like I saw someone just now.¡¯ What I remembered was only a black afterimage, the mere feeling that a black fog appeared before my eyes before disappearing. If not for Eye of Perception being ¡®disabled¡¯, I would have thought that I had only imagined it. But I could tell. ¡®I came face to face with someone just now.¡¯ It was just my hunch, but I had the feeling that ¡®someone¡¯ might be the Demon King. I didn¡¯t know who the Demon King was, but what I did know was that he definitely existed in this world, somewhere. If that pressure I felt just now really was from the Demon King, then¡­? ¡®If we faced off, what would happen?¡¯ I didn¡¯t know yet. While a thousand thoughts went through my head, the status abnormality faded. ¡®Will I ever end up confronting the Demon King?¡¯ That didn¡¯t have to happen. Even if we never met, I could live perfectly well. ¡®Let¡¯s think about it later.¡¯ I decided to focus on what I could do right now. I went up to the 2nd floor with the escalator. * * * [You have entered the Beginner Tower 2nd Floor.] The 2nd floor of the D-Tower, which was now the Beginner Tower, was once the place where I fought the magic troll. But now, there was nothing. It was just a dark and empty lot. Even though it wasn¡¯t underground, the air was humid and damp. The whole place gave off the impression of an empty underground parking lot. ¡®Item Shop.¡¯ [Item Shop ¨C Beginner ¨C Potions & Return Scrolls] Currently, I was on the ¡®Potions & Return Scrolls¡¯ tab. That wasn¡¯t important. The important thing was that right now, I was on the 2nd floor of the Beginner Tower. ¡°I wish to open the Hidden Item Shop.¡± ¡°¡­¡± The Streamer Senia stared blankly at me. ¡°The¡­ Hidden Item Shop?¡± She was staring at me with no expression, but the tips of her wings were trembling. Though she appeared expressionless on the outside, it seemed she was extremely flustered on the inside. My Eye of Perception couldn¡¯t read Senia¡¯s state yet, but despite that, it was as clear as day to me. ¡°Looks like you¡¯re very taken aback.¡± That my low-proficiency Eye of Perception could read her shock indicated the degree of her emotional upheaval, the degree to which her emotions were showing. ¡°Look carefully through the manual.¡± Such cases, where Players shared tips and strategies amongst each other and knew something the Intermediate Administrator in charge of them didn¡¯t, happened occasionally. I understood. Senia was a beginner. It was because she was a beginner that it was easy for me to manipulate her. But as easy to manipulate she might be, she also had disadvantages like this. ¡°¡­¡± Several Guardians seemed to find the time it took for her to read the manual boring. [The ¡®Nameless Observer¡¯ is observing.] [The ¡®Lady of the Scales¡¯ is waiting.] [The ¡®Courageous Lion King¡¯ is impatient.] I was idly wondering when that courage-lover would leave this channel when Senia opened her mouth again, five minutes later. ¡°A Hidden Item Shop exists.¡± Yes, and it could only be accessed here. It required 50k Coins to open, an impossible hurdle for a real beginner. It was out of the question for a beginner to have 50k Coins. ¡°It requires¡­ 50k Coins.¡± ¡°Those 50k Coins, I¡¯ll give them.¡± [You have requested the opening of the Hidden Item Shop.] [Opening the Hidden Item Shop requires 50k Coins.] [Will you open the Hidden Item Shop?] [The Hidden Item Shop can be accessed for 60 seconds.] [All items in the Hidden Item Shop are limited to 1 in stock.] Before you could even peruse the items, it required 50k Coins simply to open the shop for a pathetic 60 seconds. As long as you didn¡¯t have bricks for brains or had a crazy amount of money rotting in the bank, not going ahead with such a cost was the right call. In addition, there was only one of each item. Even if the item I wanted was there, it was over if someone had already purchased it. [Opening the Hidden Item Shop.] [The Hidden Item Shop has been opened.] In addition to this, the bonus for the first three was applied. [You have succeeded in being the second to open the Hidden Item Shop.] [You are given an opening bonus.] [The opening bonus ¡®Bargain Sale¡¯ is taking effect.] The Bargain Sale took effect, halving the prices of the items. [Hidden Item Shop ¨C Beginner ¨C Assist Scrolls] The shop was beginner grade, and within the Assist Scroll tab, there were only three items that could be purchased. This was what I had thought long and hard about. ¡°High Advancement Assist Scroll.¡± [Purchase the High Advancement Assist Scroll?] [20,000 Coins will be used.] My original plan was to have 70,000 Coins. Thanks to reaping an unexpectedly large harvest from the ¡®Turtle Nest¡¯, I still had 13,000 Coins left, even after purchasing the ¡®High Advancement Assist Scroll¡¯. ¡®I have more left over than expected.¡¯ I felt like I¡¯d profited greatly somehow, seeing as I had 13k Coins left over when I had expected 0. There was no time to look through the other tabs. Sixty seconds had passed in a flash. [High Advancement Assist Scroll] A scroll enchanted with magic that assists in advancement. Has a high chance to increase the grade of the ¡®class¡¯ the Player advances to. Used: 0/1 After confirming the item, I shared all of the information to my Intermediate Administrator, Senia, telling everyone that I had just purchased a ¡®High Advancement Assist Scroll¡¯. In other words, I was considering ¡®advancement¡¯. ¡°My level is currently 26. As you know, it¡¯s about time for me to start considering my advancement, right?¡± I said last time that I would advance at level 30. ¡®That¡¯s why I¡¯m trying to Play with a slightly more advantageous method.¡¯ There was, of course, a method behind the madness. When I reached level 30, it would be time to choose the Guardian I would contract with. Through this contract, a close relationship would be established between me and the Guardian, and I would be able to receive a great deal of support from this Guardian. ¡°Though you said you would be waiting last time¡­ What is your reasoning for waiting? That Players advance at level 25 is a universal process. Just what kind of belief is behind your actions?¡± I grinned on purpose, knowing that many Guardians had their eyes on me. ¡°A feeling? Or maybe a dream?¡± If Players advanced through their Guardians, they could get a class of at least rare grade. ¡®For them, hypotheticals aren¡¯t important, anyway.¡¯ To the Guardians, things like how I knew all of this, or whether it really was a feeling or a dream, weren¡¯t very important to them. What was important was how fun and enjoyable a Play I could show them could be. That was what mattered to them. ¡®That¡¯s why¡ª¡¯ The Guardians would overlook my current actions. But just then, I heard a notice. * * * * * * [The Intermediate Administrator Neptune¡¯s ¡®Bug Investigation Request¡¯ has been received.] In this dark place where only Senia and I were standing, someone else appeared. ¡®The Intermediate Administrator Neptune.¡¯ He was a pygmy with skin somewhere between green and emerald. The one-eyed Streamer was So Yoohyun¡¯s Intermediate Administrator. ¡°It really is too strange. Don¡¯t you think so too, great Guardians? This Player, something¡¯s fishy about him for sure. Even for a Precognitive Dream user, this is simply too much. There¡¯s a high chance of a System bug or error. That¡¯s why I have submitted an Investigation Request. Oi. Is your name Kim Hyukjin?¡± Staring at me, Neptune continued talking with an overbearing attitude. ¡°Come closer.¡± A feeling similar to what I felt in front of the escalator earlier washed over me. [Eye of Perception is temporarily disabled.] [Intermediate Administrator Neptune¡¯s coercion is activating.] [The ¡®Forced Submission¡¯ power of the Intermediate Administrator Neptune is taking effect.] I was forced to walk to Neptune, regardless of my will. Thud. And then, I knelt. Like the name ¡®Forced Submission¡¯ implied, it was a humiliating power. ¡®Senia, you dunce. Say something, goddammit.¡¯ Senia wasn¡¯t able to say anything to Neptune. As one would expect from a real beginner Streamer, she couldn¡¯t handle Neptune¡¯s unexpected actions. ¡®That¡¯s why she¡¯ll be eliminated.¡¯ She was being suppressed by Neptune¡¯s aura. He likely held a far higher rank than her in the Streamer world. ¡®You won¡¯t survive like this, Senia.¡¯ I decided to speak for her. ¡°Feel free to scan me.¡± I didn¡¯t do anything that was forbidden by the System. To begin with, there was no way a Player barely in their mid-level 20s could use the ¡®bugs¡¯ that would appear only five years from now. Neptune had to know this fact very well. This was what was commonly called ¡®stirring the pot¡¯, or ¡®aggroing¡¯. ¡®Probably to promote his channel.¡¯ Since he couldn¡¯t independently stream me, he was slandering with me, the center of attention for the Guardians right now, as his target. You could think of it as something like marketing buzz. ¡®And the current me is an easy opponent.¡¯ I was way weaker than him. That was an undeniable fact. ¡°But.¡± If marketing buzz was what he wanted, and he was trying to use me for his own gain, then he should have looked a little more into the person he was trying to use. ¡°What is your reasoning for accusing me of using a bug? How do you plan on paying the price for threatening and treating a completely innocent Player like a criminal?¡± I might be kneeling under the effects of Neptune¡¯s power, but I was confident I could overcome this situation ¡®better¡¯ than anyone else. There was no need to cower. I already knew about Neptune, as well as why he was doing this. On top of that, I even knew Neptune¡¯s weakness. I said one more thing. ¡°Speak, pygmy.¡± ____ ____ Chapter 43 Max Talent Player Chapter 43: Shot Table Dungeon ¡°Pygmy.¡± The moment I uttered that word, I coughed violently, feeling intense pain. It was like someone had rammed into my solar plexus. ¡®Gugh!¡¯ It was difficult to breathe. Kneeling on the ground, I could do nothing else but clutch my stomach. ¡®That¡¯s right. Get worked up.¡¯ Neptune was definitely a Streamer of a race called the ¡®pygmies¡¯. Everyone acknowledged that. Even the Guardians watching right now used that term. But Neptune really disliked the ¡®pygmy¡¯ appellation. ¡®Whether you dislike it or not, I¡¯m not the one who attacked you first.¡¯ Neptune came closer. ¡°I dare you to keep mouthing off, you lowly little shit.¡± ¡°¡­¡± ¡°Go on, bark. I¡¯ll end your miserable life for you.¡± It was difficult to talk. A heavy pressure was crushing me. Fear that I might even die at this rate began to swell within me. ¡®No, he can¡¯t kill me.¡¯ A tremendous amount of bloodlust needled my skin. If Eye of Perception hadn¡¯t been temporarily disabled, that bloodlust might have given me vivid images of my head being cut off. Just like the last time I was here on the 2nd floor of D-Tower, when I was getting attacked by the Magic Troll. ¡°I said, bark.¡± I raised my head with difficulty. He couldn¡¯t kill me anyway. Right now, many Guardians were focusing on me, and I had even received sponsorships from many of them. If he were to kill me here, he would become the enemy of the Guardians who had sponsored me. ¡®You can¡¯t kill me.¡¯ I was the one in the right. ¡°I only talked down to you because you did so to me first. I only put up an appropriate resistance because you threatened me with a wrongful method first. I only called you pygmy because your race is pygmy. Just what did I do to suffer this kind of treatment?¡± If you were ignorant, you couldn¡¯t fight back. If you knew nothing, you could only become a victim. But I knew. I knew that my words were in line with the ¡®Commandments¡¯ in this System. My actions weren¡¯t just ¡®self-defense¡¯, but straight-out ¡®justified¡¯. ¡°At this point in time, I shouldn¡¯t be a criminal yet. Is it right for the strong to persecute the weak without justified reason? To persecute a Player doing a justified Play?¡± [The ¡®Lady of the Scales¡¯ deeply sympathizes with your words.] [The ¡®Lady of the Scales¡¯ applies the special power ¡®Innocent Until Proven Guilty¡¯.] The pressure crushing me disappeared, and I was able to breathe again. That was only natural¡ªa Guardian¡¯s power was far higher in authority than a Streamer¡¯s. [The ¡®True Master of the Heavenly Demonic Mountain¡¯ nods.] [The ¡®True Master of the Heavenly Demonic Mountain¡¯ has contempt for cowards.] [The ¡®True Master of the Heavenly Demonic Mountain¡¯ applies the special power ¡®Strong to the Strong, Weak to the Weak¡¯.] Be strong to the strong, and weak to the weak. It was a buff that amplified my strength when facing a strong opponent. The True Master of the Heavenly Demonic Mountain followed on the heels of the Lady of the Scales to take my side. They probably took my side for different reasons, but they were both helping me all the same. Neptune¡¯s face filled with visible bewilderment. With my increased parameters from ¡®Strong to the Strong, Weak to the Weak¡¯, I could now read Neptune¡¯s information. [Intermediate Administrator] Name: Neptune (Pygmy) Age: 9 State: Bewilderment / Shock / Panic Disposition: Headstrong / Competitive Summary: Very Competitive Pygmy I tried taking a look at Senia¡¯s info as well while my abilities were boosted, but it failed. Apparently, the ¡®Strong to the Strong, Weak to the Weak¡¯ power the True Master granted me only worked on Neptune. ¡®Right now, I feel like I wouldn¡¯t lose in a 1 on 1 against Neptune, but¡­¡¯ A Player directly fighting a Streamer wasn¡¯t very desirable. The Guardians didn¡¯t really welcome that, unless they were courage-lovers like the Courageous Lion King. ¡°It seems the Guardians think the same as me.¡± Right on cue, a notice came in. [System Scan Result: No bug values have been discovered.] [System Scan Result: No illegitimate methods have been used.] I came this far using my knowledge of the future and by putting my life on the line. This was merely the starting line, but it was absolutely not the case that I got this far with zero effort. Starting with the lycanthrope, I had been Playing with my life on the razor¡¯s edge. ¡°It¡¯s fine to accuse me. That¡¯s well within your right. But you forcibly persecuted me without any proof whatsoever simply based on your conviction, for the sole reason that I am weaker than you.¡± ¡°¡­¡± Neptune was unable to muster a response. It was because of his competitiveness and headstrong personality that he was unable to apologize to me right now. ¡°If I hadn¡¯t been able to speak up for myself earlier because I was scared of you¡­ this situation would have gone your way.¡± It was because I formally raised an objection, because I rightfully spoke up, that the situation turned out like this. If I hadn¡¯t done anything, I would have become a literal punching bag. ¡°Don¡¯t you think it¡¯s cowardly?¡± ¡°¡­¡± Neptune bit his lips. From the way he tightly clenched his fists, it seemed he was very enraged. He still didn¡¯t want to acknowledge his fault, but Guardians stronger than him were watching, so he wasn¡¯t able to say anything. ¡®I didn¡¯t lose in a battle of wills.¡¯ This was actually an unexpected win, seeing as I could direct the situation to my benefit. ¡°Apologize.¡± ¡°Why?¡± ¡°Because you were in the wrong.¡± ¡°You¡¯re also¡­!¡± He was about to say something like ¡°you¡¯re also in the wrong¡±, but stopped short because he had no rationale for such an accusation. I saw him wracking his brains, but I didn¡¯t give him the tiniest bit of ammunition to work with. I may have called him ¡®pygmy¡¯ in order to provoke him, but that wasn¡¯t actually a mistake. It wasn¡¯t derogatory¡ªI just called him pygmy because he was from the pygmy race. Just like how calling a human a human wasn¡¯t an expletive, this was the same logic. ¡°¡­rry.¡± I heard him say something very quietly. I scowled. ¡°What did you say?¡± ¡°I said, ¡­rry.¡± Neptune¡¯s greenish-blue face turned bright red. ¡°I said, I¡¯m¡­ sorry!¡± Only then did I nod. An apology was an apology. ¡°You should give a token of your apology.¡± Basically, cough something up. I couldn¡¯t let a perfectly good opportunity to carry out some lawful extortion slip through my fingers. * * * * * * After having Neptune close his channel, I got him to write a memorandum that he wouldn¡¯t attack me. That was a possibility, after all. Not just that, but I also got a ¡®Pygmy¡¯s Ring¡¯ from him. [Pygmy¡¯s Ring] A ring made by a pygmy blacksmith. Grade: Rare Durability: 50/50 Effect: +5 fire resistance Equip restriction: Level 20 He probably gave me the most useless thing in his possession, but even this was a real boon at my current level. Its grade was even ¡®rare¡¯, one step over ¡®common¡¯. Considering that most beginners weren¡¯t able to invest in accessories, this ring could be called quite a big harvest. I went back home. Sunhwa was the first to run over and greet me. The savory smell of soybean paste stew wafted in the house. ¡°¡­¡± My sister glanced furtively at me when I walked into the living room. Her feelings were as clear as day from her state, but her speech was the epitome of bluntness. ¡°Mom¡¯s coming back home soon too. Mom said she already ate, so eat, or don¡¯t, I don¡¯t care.¡± From her attitude, it was like she was trying to say ¡®Who cares if you eat or not, I made it for Sunhwa and me anyway¡¯, but the four sets of utensils on the table were very telling. ¡®Ah. Is that why there was ¡®expectant¡¯ in her status window?¡¯ I washed my hands and sat down at the table. ¡°Thanks for the food, noona.¡± ¡°¡­¡± It looked like I¡¯d have to make a big ado about this stew being super delicious. Come to think of it, before, my sister hardly ever cooked. After I came back from the Tutorial Field alive, she had apparently changed a lot as well. She was even cooking, something she¡¯d never done before. ¡°But noona, what¡¯s the big occasion? Why¡¯re you cooking and all?¡± ¡°I didn¡¯t do it for you. It¡¯s just that the kitchen is so big, so I just gave it a try. It¡¯s a waste to let that kitchen rot.¡± Ah, uh-huh. Her state was too transparent for that to fly. It was obvious that she was devoting every ounce of her concentration onto my spoon. ¡®It¡¯s not tasty.¡¯ It was pretty much her first soybean paste stew ever. Being tasty would be more unusual. However, I lied through my teeth. ¡°It¡¯s good, noona. Where did you learn to cook, noona? Why¡¯s it so tasty?¡± ¡°Shut up, I know it¡¯s not good.¡± It was fun to watch her state change by the minute. And this ¡®embarrassed¡¯ part was particularly amusing. I wouldn¡¯t have been able to tell had I not been looking for it, but her ears were ever so slightly red. Her expression was a block of ice, but her ears were red. ¡®I should feign ignorance.¡¯ The quick-witted Sunhwa also professed the stew¡¯s deliciousness as she chattered, and when our meal was almost over, Mom came home. She had a few pieces of bread in her hand, and I was suddenly struck with the feeling that today¡¯s meal was extremely joyful. ¡°Ahyoung made a stew? Goodness!¡± Mom was surprised, too. ¡°Just ¡®cause. The kitchen¡¯s too pretty, so I just gave it a try.¡± Mom slapped my sister¡¯s butt, saying, ¡®Well done! Our Ahyoung¡¯s ready to get married now¡¯. I sat at the table and savored this feeling of leisure. My sister was here, and so was Mom. It wasn¡¯t very tasty, but we had this warm soybean paste stew, too. There was bread and milk in Mom¡¯s hand, and now, Sunhwa was here as well. ¡®They¡¯re all very small pleasures, but¡­ it feels great.¡¯ Would it be too much of an exaggeration to call this happiness? ¡®I have to protect it.¡¯ Be it this happiness, or this leisure, or these small pleasures. No matter what it was, I would protect this way of life, and achieve greater success while doing so. Because now, I could do the things I hadn¡¯t been able to do in the past and had the ability to draw out my own future. I went to my room and reviewed my plans again and again, something I¡¯d done every day since returning to the past. To prevent any possibility of information leak, the notebook I¡¯d regressed with was safely stored in my Inventory. ¡®Next¡­¡¯ The next step could be summed up as two plans. ¡®This is better, but¡­¡¯ Gates were appearing all over the world, along with dungeons of an even higher difficulty. At the same time, ¡®breaks¡¯ were also occurring, and people were slowly getting used to such phenomena. ¡®Let¡¯s think about it a little more.¡¯ I had to extract the greatest efficiency from the least amount of time. I went onto the Internet and pulled up the newly started ¡®Real Player¡¯ forum. This place, the beginnings of the future full-fledged ¡®Real Player¡¯ website, was currently a gathering place for Players, as well as a place for exchanging information. I could even see quite a few threads like ¡®LF Raid Party Members¡¯ here. ¡®Even though¡­ there¡¯s no structure or rules yet.¡¯ Even so, mankind was slowly adjusting to this world. ¡®Will I find what I¡¯m looking for?¡¯ After around 10 minutes, I found a certain post. The title was very closely related to one of my two plans. ¡®Could this be¡­?¡¯ I looked at the poster¡¯s name. If my prediction was correct, then the poster was definitely someone I knew. [Poster: JayangdongFireMaster] ¡®As I thought.¡¯ JayangdongFireMaster was the nickname of Choi Sung-gu. Even though his nickname was a little silly, his later moniker wasn¡¯t silly in the least. His moniker was Flame Lord. ¡®Found you, Choi Sung-gu.¡¯ I clicked on the post. ____ ____ Chapter 44 Max Talent Player Chapter 44: Shot Table Dungeon (2) The title was ordinary. ¨CLF players to challenge the Shot Table dungeon with. In these times, with the world of Players being created day by day, posts seeking party members weren¡¯t all that unusual. I checked the poster again. [Poster: JayangdongFireMaster] The Flame Lord Choi Sung-gu had finally made his appearance. I read the post¡¯s contents. ¨CLF players to challenge the Shot Table dungeon with. The intermediate administrator recommended going in with at least 3 players. Just to be perfectly clear, this is a dungeon, not a gate. Everyone knows that dungeons are the higher forms of gates, right? I am recruiting people to clear the dungeon with. Only people level 20 and up are welcome. Things like items and coins will be shared evenly. I am a magician of the fire attribute, and I¡¯d like to work with a tank who can protect me. We can discuss the details in person. Oh, right. You can only go inside the dungeon if you make a party with me. It was a post written however the author wanted, without any structure or rules. It wasn¡¯t even that eye-catching. ¡®Normally, you don¡¯t publicize the dungeon¡¯s name or location.¡¯ Currently, Players were intimidated by the big word that was ¡®dungeon¡¯ and avoided dungeon clearing, but later, it would be a completely different story. Although dungeons were dangerous places, they were also ¡®treasure troves of new technology¡¯ that could completely turn your life around. ¡®Casualties are happening every day in the Seoul Station Dungeon.¡¯ I had already cleared the Seoul Station Dungeon, and as a result, there was no dungeon break. Even so, people continued to die while attempting to clear it. ¡®The Shot Table Dungeon, huh.¡¯ It was the very first dungeon the Flame Lord Choi Sung-gu cleared. There wasn¡¯t much information about it. ¡®An event dungeon that disappears after getting cleared.¡¯ Unlike the Seoul Station Dungeon, which remained in place even after being cleared, the Shot Table Dungeon was a one-time dungeon that would permanently disappear once it was cleared. I wrote a comment. ¨CI¡¯d like to help with the raid. I¡¯m a level 25 tank. Whether I sent him a DM or wrote a comment, it didn¡¯t matter¡ªhe would contact me back. After all, there weren¡¯t many Players trying to recklessly clear dungeons right now. After writing the comment, I headed to the Seoul Station Dungeon with Sunhwa. * * * Before we arrived at the Seoul Station Dungeon, Senia appeared. Her creepily accurate timing made me wonder if she was observing me at all times. ¡®Whatever, I needed to talk to her anyway.¡¯ ¡°When we go into the dungeon, stand behind me,¡± I said to her. ¡°Player Kim Hyukjin. Are you giving me a command right now?¡± What the heck? Did she get lectured by other Streamers to not get led around the nose by a Player? Why was she being so petulant all of a sudden? ¡°You couldn¡¯t say anything to Neptune, who was persecuting me in defiance of the Commandments, but you sure have a lot to say to me.¡± Senia¡¯s wingtips trembled. This was no new revelation, but it occurred to me again that this Streamer was truly easy to handle. If her skill was even 1% of her beauty, she would have probably been a famous Streamer in the past. She even let her emotions get the better of her, making her lose the timing to say something. I seized the initiative to say something first. ¡°It¡¯s related to Playing. You¡¯ll see that my request isn¡¯t unjustified at the dungeon entrance.¡± ¡°¡­¡± Senia stood behind me with an expressionless face. The Seoul Station 2nd Exit, which had now become the entrance to a dungeon, was being guarded by two policemen. ¡°Identification, please.¡± I didn¡¯t commit a crime and placidly handed over my ID card. ¡°And the lady next to you?¡± ¡°She¡¯s my younger sister. She doesn¡¯t have her ID card because she¡¯s still a minor.¡± ¡°Hm. Are you Players?¡± ¡°Yes. Our levels are in the early 20s.¡± The city¡¯s response was still too sloppy. The person who checked my details wasn¡¯t even a Player, but a regular policeman. It was obvious that the policeman was tense. There was one reason why this person was so tense. It was because Senia was standing behind me. Even though my dedicated Streamer, Senia, didn¡¯t do awful things like putting holes in people¡¯s heads, slicing open their necks, or cutting them into two, to this policeman, she was definitely a terrifying existence. ¡®Guns don¡¯t work on them, they appear freely, unconstrained by the laws of time and space, and they are strange, otherworldly beings with the power to cut a person in half with one wave of their hand.¡¯ That was the way the policeman saw ¡®Intermediate Administrators¡¯. That¡¯s why the policeman didn¡¯t give us much trouble. One misstep, and his head could go flying. ¡°Please enter.¡± [This dungeon has already been cleared.] [Will you enter the Seoul Station Dungeon?] Of course. However, I wanted to clear it as a separate instance. I turned to Senia. ¡°Requesting an Independent Play. That¡¯s possible, right?¡± ¡°¡­¡± After a moment of speechlessness, Senia finally opened her mouth. ¡°¡­It¡¯s possible, but¡­¡± I saw bite her lips ever so slightly. ¡®You must be curious, too.¡¯ She must be very curious as to how I knew this kind of information, how a Player who had cleared the Seoul Station just once could possibly know about ¡®Independent Play¡¯. ¡®The more curiosity and interest there is towards me, the better.¡¯ [It is possible to request an ¡®Independent Play¡¯ of an already cleared dungeon.] [Would you like to submit an ¡®Independent Play Request¡¯?] [Your ¡®Independent Play Request¡¯ has been accepted.] An Independent Play was exactly as it sounded¡ªPlayers would clear the dungeon with only the group they entered with, in a separate instance from the Players who had already gone inside. Only the space itself was different. The contents were the same. The two of us went through the dungeon the same way we did the first time. We saw Mandra. ¡°The correct answer is Rancher.¡± [You have found the ¡®correct answer¡¯.] [You have fulfilled the Hidden Piece.] [Choose a Reward] The ¡®Mandra¡¯s Gloves¡¯ I had already gotten weren¡¯t included in the list of choices. The Seoul Station Dungeon was a beginner dungeon, but it gave items with special resistance effects. [Mandra¡¯s Cuirass] Mandra¡¯s Cuirass has a special effect. It has a special resistance to ¡®fire¡¯ and will protect the wearer from countless debuffs. Defense: 7 Effects: Fire resistance +3 After acquiring the cuirass, we cleared the Seoul Station Dungeon with the same method as before. [You have cleared the Seoul Station Dungeon.] [EXP acquired.] [350 Coins acquired.] [¡®Black Yak¡¯s Lean Meat¡¯ acquired.] There was no special reward like last time. We were only given Coins and ¡®Black Yak¡¯s Lean Meat¡¯ for clearing the dungeon. I hadn¡¯t expected any special rewards to begin with. ¡°Oppa, can we go in again?¡± ¡°Yeah. We¡¯ll do it four more times.¡± ¡°Four times? Why? You said we only had to get the three items, right?¡± ¡°You don¡¯t want any?¡± ¡°¡­Ah!¡± Sunhwa¡¯s eyes grew wide. ¡°I can also get them?¡± She smiled brightly. Apparently, it hadn¡¯t even occurred to her that she might get items of her own. ¡°Makes it easier to use you.¡± ¡°Oppa really is the only one who¡¯s got my best interests in mind!¡± I gave her a slight noogie. ¡°Don¡¯t stealthily drop the formalities. If I had married early, I could¡¯ve had a daughter your age.¡± ¡°Tch, we¡¯re only six years apart.¡± I just chuckled. The way she rubbed her head, even though it didn¡¯t hurt at all¡ªshe was a genius tanker, after all¡ªmade her look like a little kid. ¡°Let¡¯s go in.¡± We went into the Seoul Station Dungeon again. It was time to get the Mandra¡¯s Greatsword. Mandra¡¯s Greatsword has a special effect. It has a greater attack power against ¡®earth¡¯ attribute creatures. Attack Power: 18-22 Effects: Sunhwa and I finished four rounds of ¡®Independent Play¡¯, and by the end of it, we had two gloves, two cuirasses, and two greatswords. As if she were extremely tired, Sunhwa moaned, ¡°Oppa, you¡¯re not a machine, are you?¡± ¡°Don¡¯t whine.¡± She was probably tired, but she wasn¡¯t at her limit. She was just acting like a spoiled child right now, and I had no intention of humoring her. Regardless of her cuteness, humoring her at this point in time would interfere with her growth. ¡°You haven¡¯t reached your limit yet.¡± I was telling her not to let herself feel tired with just this. In the future, a tiny bit of carelessness could lead to her losing her head. Even I, someone who knew the strategies of the future like the back of my hand, couldn¡¯t afford to be too lax. Sometime during our clears, I had received a DM from the Flame Lord Choi Sung-gu. * * * * * * I set up a meeting with Choi Sung-gu. ¨CLet¡¯s meet at Konkuk University Station. He was definitely an interesting guy. Despite not knowing what the inside of the ¡®Shot Table Dungeon¡¯ looked like¡­ ¨CThe more members there are for the clear, the fewer the rewards for each person. I¡¯ve gone in and run back out a few times, and I think three people will be enough. If it really doesn¡¯t work out, we can just leave again. That was his reasoning for insisting on going in with the minimum number members, three. In front of Konkuk University Station, I saw a man wearing glasses. ¡®So he was skinny ten years ago.¡¯ Ten years later, the Flame Lord would be much fatter. Choi Sung-gu, prior to his weight gain, was a rather nimble-looking, ordinary man. I read his information, or rather, tried to. [Player] Name: Choi Sung-gu ¡°Argh.¡± Intense pain assaulted my eyes, almost driving me to my knees. ¡°Oppa, what¡¯s wrong?¡± [The ¡®Giant of the Sunset¡¯ is invoking their innate power.] [You cannot examine ¡®Choi Sung-gu¡¯ with Eye of Perception.] The eye-splitting pain suddenly faded. ¡°I¡¯m alright. Think something got into my eye.¡± I couldn¡¯t read Sung-gu¡¯s status. ¡®Even though he shouldn¡¯t be level 30 yet?¡¯ And even if he was, even if he had picked a Guardian, no one should be interfering this directly so soon. ¡®¡­Something¡¯s fishy.¡¯ I didn¡¯t know what it was, but there had to be a reason why the ¡®Giant of the Sunset¡¯ blocked my innate ability. ¡®Damn, things would¡¯ve been better for me if I knew why.¡¯ For now, I didn¡¯t express my feelings. As Sunhwa and I walked up, Choi Sung-gu looked askew at me. ¡°C¡¯mon man, even if we¡¯re Playing and all, isn¡¯t it a bit much to bring such a young girl into this?¡± ¡°¡­¡± Yes, I knew. This man, Choi Sung-gu, had a weakness for kids, and not in a dirty sense like with Seo Joohwan. ¡°Don¡¯t you know that kids are precious treasures who should be protected?¡± ¡°I¡¯m not a kid; I¡¯m a young adult.¡± ¡°Doesn¡¯t matter, in my eyes, you¡¯re a kid. Kids and fried chicken have to be protected.¡± The future Flame Lord Choi Sung-gu, and the ¡®Giant of the Sunset¡¯ who was hiding something. My meeting with the two of them, and our upcoming challenge of the ¡®Shot Table Dungeon¡¯ together. ¡®How interesting.¡¯ It was said that the Flame Lord had a significant enlightenment in the Shot Table Dungeon and underwent a great awakening to later become famous as the ¡®Flame Lord¡¯. ¡®What¡­ will you show me here?¡¯ I decided to see for myself just what kind of awakening he would show me here. ¡®And if need be¡­¡¯ It was possible that I might gain the ability that Sung-gu should have gotten, just like the Sword Empress¡¯ ¡®Flash Step¡¯. ¡°You said you¡¯ve already gone in and come out a few times.¡± The Shot Table Dungeon was a dungeon you could freely enter and leave. ¡®I don¡¯t remember anything about that, though.¡¯ It was suspicious. It was suspicious that the ¡®Giant of the Sunset¡¯ was being overprotective about him, and suspicious that the Shot Table Dungeon was apparently a dungeon you could enter and leave freely, something that hadn¡¯t been known in the past. Something was being hidden here. In any case, Sung-gu went on to say that he had challenged the ¡®Shot Table Dungeon¡¯, failed, and ran away a few times. He said there was a monster that was too powerful at the 2nd gateway. ¡°What comes out at the 2nd gateway?¡± ¡°¡­¡± Sung-gu was silent for a moment. ¡°It¡¯s¡­¡± I listened to what he had to say. He did his best to describe it. Even though the description itself was total shit, I was able to deduce what it was. ¡®It can¡¯t be.¡¯ The monster Sung-gu was describing¡­ ¡®That¡¯s showing up already?¡¯ That monster was one I knew. ____ ____ Chapter 45 Max Talent Player Chapter 45: Cross the Ravine of Fire The world I had studied was close to the ¡®regular world¡¯. World history, the general outline of Korean history, knowing the key elements of a few important events, that sort of thing. Universal elements the vast majority of Players had to know. ¡®But there must be a Ranker world for Rankers.¡¯ Apparently, that fact applied even now, during the ¡®beginner¡¯ period. What Sung-gu described was a monster that took the form of a large horse, a red steed with a mane and tail made of flames. Wherever its hooves touched, flames would burst forth, dealing fire damage. ¡®Has a level of around 32. A Flame Horse.¡¯ The Flame Horse was an animal-type monster usually around level 32. It took the shape of an animal and was simultaneously a spirit-type monster, just like the six-tailed fox. ¡®I don¡¯t think the former Choi Sung-gu revealed the fact that there was a Flame Horse here.¡¯ Of course, there was the world of top Rankers that I didn¡¯t know about. ¡®Then how come the former Sung-gu hid the fact he met a Flame Horse in this dungeon?¡¯ I didn¡¯t know if it was simply because there was no need for him to say so, or because there was a specific reason why he wasn¡¯t supposed to reveal it. Sung-gu shook his head back and forth. ¡°Haah. Thank god that monster lets you go if it thinks you¡¯re weaker than it. If not for that, I would¡¯ve prolly been reduced to ash by now.¡± To summarize Sung-gu¡¯s words¡ª ¡°If someone¡¯ll take on its attack instead of me, I¡¯ll give it a thrashing. Huhuhu.¡± Flame Horses were offensive powerhouses, but they had weak defense. Because they were animal-type creatures, they had a glaring weak spot¡ªtheir heads. So basically, Sung-gu was saying, ¡°You get hit instead of me, and I¡¯ll attack.¡± ¡°It seems you¡¯ve had some amount of success fighting it already.¡± ¡°Yes. Even on my own, I was able to get it to bleed once.¡± That¡¯s why he was able to get out of there alive. If the Flame Horse¡¯s blood fell under 20%, he wouldn¡¯t have even been able to flee. ¡®I never thought a Flame Horse would ever show up in a beginner dungeon.¡¯ After hearing about the Flame Horse, I understood. ¡®That¡¯s why it¡¯s a dungeon you can freely enter and leave.¡¯ It was because the fundamental difficulty was too high. Players were allowed to run away in order to balance the difficulty. Flame Horses were monsters that were inherently lenient to the weak. If you turned tail and ran, they wouldn¡¯t give chase. They would simply look on with the attitude of the strong. ¡°That means you certainly haven¡¯t progressed to the next gateway, then,¡± I said. ¡°Yes. There wouldn¡¯t be an even stronger guy at the next gateway, right?¡± Yeah, there probably would be. This called for a little preparation. ¡°Please wait a moment. I need to take care of something real quick.¡± ¡°Eh? So suddenly?¡± We didn¡¯t nail down a time for the raid, anyway. Sunhwa and I merely had our first meeting with Choi Sung-gu. Though, well, the person in question seemed to have thought that we would be going straight into the dungeon. ¡°What do you need to do so suddenly?¡± ¡°Unexpected poo.¡± Sung-gu nodded sagely. ¡°I get it.¡± He sent me a look of encouragement. At the same time, I also felt jealousy from him. Because he was being protected by the ¡®Giant of the Sunset¡¯, I couldn¡¯t read his exact state, but I did feel a powerful emotion from him. ¡®He¡¯s sincerely jealous?¡¯ Sung-gu said to me, ¡°Stay strong. Best of luck. I¡¯m cheering you on. Man, I¡¯m jealous.¡± Suddenly, I remembered a line in an article saying that for a while, Choi Sung-gu had suffered from severe constipation. * * * We met up with Sung-gu again. ¡°Shit. That frickin¡¯ flamin¡¯ donkey. It¡¯s too strong.¡± He was right. The Flame Horse was too powerful a monster for us to defeat right now. For one, it was over level 30. It was correct that the beast was difficult to kill. The inside of the dungeon was, as per usual, like an underground cavern. ¡°Once we pass this part, we¡¯ll reach the 1st gate. I killed a Goblin Soldier there, along with a few black cow-looking guys.¡± By black cow, he was probably referring to Black Yaks. ¡®As expected of a one-time dungeon, the monsters don¡¯t respawn.¡¯ Killed monsters either didn¡¯t respawn, or had an extremely long respawn time. We encountered a forked path once. ¡°This path is a dead end, and if we keep going on this one, that monster will show up.¡± ¡°You said the field changes, right?¡± ¡°Yes. It changes to a, what¡¯s it called, a grassland.¡± The field would change to a place perfectly suited for a Flame Horse to romp around, an expansive grassland. On such terrain, the ¡®Fire Walls¡¯ the monster put up would be very powerful. ¡°The jerk spews fire, so you have to be careful. If you get hit by that, it¡¯s game over.¡± He glanced at Sunhwa. ¡°Man, it still bothers me. Making a young lass like her do the tanking is a bit¡­¡± After mumbling to himself for a while, he shrugged. ¡°Well, it¡¯s fine since I¡¯m not the one getting hit, I guess¡­¡± Even though he was saying it didn¡¯t matter since he wasn¡¯t the one getting hit, there was still a glimmer of worry in his eyes. Sung-gu pleaded for the umpteenth time, ¡°If you end up needing to bounce, you gotta say so before you book it, alright? So I can book it, too. Got it?¡± ¡°Got it.¡± Sunhwa looked a bit done with Choi Sung-gu now. Just then, the field changed. A green grassland stretched out in front of us. A warm sun hung in the sky that was high above us. It almost felt like we were on a Mongolian grassland. ¡°Jesus, fuck. Gave me a scare.¡± And just three meters in front of us was the Flame Horse. I observed it with interest. It was a monster I already knew, but it was my first time seeing it in person. ¡®It¡¯s higher than normal Flame Horses?¡¯ They were usually around level 32, but this one was 3 levels higher. Also, even though it was quite a bit higher than me, I could still see its level. ¡®It¡¯s not normal.¡¯ There was no doubt. Something was hidden in this dungeon. Everything was pointing towards that, starting from being freely excitable to the strange actions of the ¡®Giant of the Sunset¡¯. Sung-gu seemed a little nervous. ¡°When shall we attack?¡± The Flame Horse was looking this way almost like a ruler, like the strong staring down at the weak from above. If my Eye of Perception proficiency had been a little higher, I would have been able to see more detailed information about the Flame Horse, but¡­ At least for now, the Flame Horse lined up with what I had studied. ¡®It¡¯s a neutral monster, alright.¡¯ I took one step. The Flame Horse¡¯s gaze followed me. ¡°Sunhwa and I will do the tanking.¡± It was alright to leave the damage dealing to Sung-gu, at least until it was at half HP. Since he had a few rounds of experience, he should be able to manage that easily. Sunhwa followed me in taking one step forward. ¡°Sunhwa. You must always be sure to block the flames it spews from its mouth with your shield. That means avoid direct contact. Are we clear?¡± ¡°Got it.¡± Sunhwa¡¯s body would automatically protect her from any other attacks. ¡°Sung-gu, please make your preparations as well.¡± Sung-gu clenched his fist hard. The flames flickering around his fist showed that he had already awakened his ¡®attribute ability¡¯. ¡®As expected. The ability to wield flame.¡¯ He had already awakened the power of the fire attribute. He might have even advanced already. ¡®He fought well, considering he got to half HP with the same attribute.¡¯ ¡°For now, it¡¯s most wary of me,¡± I said. ¡°I¡¯ll take the front.¡± I bought a shield from the Item Shop. It was my first time actually tanking. It wasn¡¯t as if I wasn¡¯t nervous being pinned by that monster¡¯s gaze. ¡°Sunhwa, you get behind it. Watch out for its kicks.¡± ¡°Okay.¡± Sunhwa moved forward. The Flame Horse continued to stand in place and stare at us. ¡°Sung-gu, please attack the side. The goal is to bring its HP down to 40%.¡± I continued, ¡°If you happen to have a buff that increases crit chance, be sure to use it.¡± ¡°Mm? A buff that increases crit chance?¡± Sung-gu scratched the back of his neck. ¡°How¡¯d you know? I do have a skill like that.¡± ¡°Because crits are super effective against animal-type monsters.¡± I didn¡¯t give him more details. I turned my attention to the Flame Horse, approaching it first. Now, it was right in front of me. Level 35. One wrong hit, and I could kick the bucket. The fire ball it spewed from its mouth was particularly dangerous¡ªtaking a frontal hit from that was basically almost impossible to recover from. With the shield in one hand, I took out a dagger with the other. ¡®I¡¯ll aim for the middle of the forehead.¡¯ I wasn¡¯t thinking about landing a fatal blow with this. If I could hit it, that was great, and if I couldn¡¯t, then it couldn¡¯t be helped. Fwip¨C! I hurled the dagger. Although I had never learned knife throwing, I did my best to make use of the experience I had throwing the dagger that one time. Neeeeeeeeeeigh!! The Flame Horse screamed, rearing and flailing its front legs, reaching a whopping four meters in height. My dagger had struck it right in the middle of the forehead. But unfortunately, I was apparently unlucky, because it didn¡¯t register as a crit. The HP went down by a bit, and that was all. I hadn¡¯t expected much, anyway. ¡®The battle starts now.¡¯ My first battle in this place, which was hiding something, began. * * * * * * Choi Sung-gu felt his confidence grow. ¡®Gosh, the two of them are doing great, huh?¡¯ The aggro didn¡¯t jump to him a single time. The Flame Horse was fighting back in a rampage, but it only attacked Kim Hyukjin or Kim Sunhwa. ¡®A fireball!¡¯ The Flame Horse suddenly whipped its head around and fired a fireball. Sunhwa turned her body slightly to the side and blocked the flames with her shield, like she had anticipated the attack. ¡®She bounced it off by changing its trajectory.¡¯ She blocked it in the way that put the least amount of strain on her body. ¡®This brother and sister duo is seriously great.¡¯ Flames flickered around Sung-gu¡¯s fist. While the Flame Horse had its attention on Hyukjin and Sunhwa, Sung-gu planted his fist in the monster¡¯s ribs. [¡®Fatal Flames¡¯ is taking effect.] [+3% crit chance] They had accumulated a staggering +33% crit chance, and they had already shaved off at least 30% of its HP. ¡®This is going way more smoothly than I expected.¡¯ The Flame Horse¡¯s movements were swift and dangerous, but Hyukjin and Sunhwa¡¯s timely aggro switching and blocking were able to contain it. [¡®Fatal Flames¡¯ is taking effect.] [+3% crit chance] [+36% accumulated crit chance] Only Sung-gu could hear the game notices. Hyukjin couldn¡¯t hear the notices, but he could still guess. ¡®He¡¯s stacking up Fatal Flames.¡¯ Hyukjin made a calculation with Sung-gu¡¯s current level in mind. ¡®The accumulated crit chance should be around 35%.¡¯ He was almost exactly right, despite not hearing the notices. It was like he was taught by someone, even though that was far from the case. ¡®An additional 35% crit chance.¡¯ Plus its fatal weakness of being a beast-type monster. ¡®It also has some prominent weak points, like the middle of the forehead and heart, the neck, and the spine.¡¯ There was already a dagger embedded in its forehead. In its current state, the chance to land a crit on the Flame Horse was even greater. ¡®Now¡¯s the time.¡¯ Hyukjin shouted, ¡°Sunhwa! Get close to it! Towards its side.¡± She understood immediately. If you approached it in a straight line, there was a high chance you¡¯d get kicked. ¡°Got it!¡± Sunhwa closed in rapidly, making a big motion like she was going to swing her shield. The Flame Horse responded to that movement, turning as fast as Sunhwa, and backed away a little, intending on defending against her attack. Hyukjin had learned the Flame Horse¡¯s habits from fighting it. He judged the distance and waited. ¡®Now.¡¯ Stowing away the shield, he pulled out his sword, taking advantage of the brief moment the Flame Horse¡¯s gaze was away from him. [Using the special skill Flash Step.] He reappeared above the Flame Horse, landing on its back. Because its mane was made of flames, it was rather hot. Mandra¡¯s Cuirass, an item with a +3 fire resistance, gave Hyukjin the strength to endure. ¡®If this guy¡¯s master shows up, it¡¯ll be way too tiresome.¡¯ It wouldn¡¯t just be tiresome¡ªthe ones to die would probably be them. Hyukjin saw the back of its neck. Spurt! He plunged into the back of the monster¡¯s neck, not with a regular attack, but with a special skill granted by a title. The tip of his sword went through its neck. ¡®It¡¯s not over yet.¡¯ It hadn¡¯t been a crit. With some luck, he could have landed a crit with this attack, but he hadn¡¯t had high expectations for getting a crit with just this. Neeeeeeeeigh! The Flame Horse¡¯s HP began to rapidly drop. The flames of the spirit-type Flame Horse, which had special abilities, started becoming even more fierce. It was about to call its master. ¡®Now,¡¯ Hyukjin thought, pulling out yet another thing from his Inventory. Seeing that, Sung-gu¡¯s eyes grew wide. ¡®Da fuq? Are you for real?¡¯ ____ ____ Chapter 46 Max Talent Player Chapter 46: Cross the Ravine of Fire (2) Choi Sung-gu¡¯s eyes grew wide. ¡®Da fuq? Are you for real?¡¯ The thing that came out of Hyukjin¡¯s Inventory wasn¡¯t an item from the System. ¡®A fire extinguisher?¡¯ The thing in Hyukjin¡¯s hand was definitely a fire extinguisher. It was a convenient spraying type of extinguisher. Sung-gu had seen it before in Internet advertisements. It was purported to extinguish fires much more effectively than regular extinguishers, or something like that. ¡°Eh?¡± But what surprised Sung-gu even more was that not just Hyukjin, but also Sunhwa, pulled out fire extinguishers. And she was even dual wielding them! Sung-gu was stunned. ¡°Hey! How come I¡¯m the only one who doesn¡¯t have one?!¡± Looking at them now, these two had clearly prepared this in advance. They had planned this together. Szzzzzzzzz¨C! With the spraying sound, the blazing flames on the Flame Horse¡¯s body were quickly being extinguished. Neeeeeeeigh! The Flame Horse galloped about, emitting a piercing noise that was either a scream or a whinny¡ªit was impossible to tell. ¡°Why am I the only one left out?!¡± Choi Sung-gu muttered to himself, wondering if he should go and pee on it, at least, while backing off a little. He did complain that they were leaving him out, but in any case, the key members of the raid right now were Hyukjin and Sunhwa. They both had one in each hand. A total of four fire extinguishers were fully performing their roles. ¡®The places where that horse walked always went up in flames, but now¡­¡¯ Those flames became incredibly annoying traps. But now, they were getting put out. The flames were almost completely gone. ¡®Should¡¯ve used the fire extinguishers sooner, then.¡¯ Or wait. ¡®If they¡¯d used them at the beginning, it probably wouldn¡¯t have worked.¡¯ He wasn¡¯t exactly sure, but it seemed to Sung-gu that this Hyukjin fellow used the fire extinguishers at the right time and chance, aiming for the timing where the item(?) that was the fire extinguisher could shine the brightest. ¡®Looks like the flames are pretty much extinguished.¡¯ He was almost fascinated by the sight of Hyukjin clinging onto the rampaging horse without falling off. Did he learn horseback riding somewhere? It couldn¡¯t be that he was staying on with his leg strength alone. Sung-gu stealthily approached. Having gotten close, Sung-gu enveloped his fist in flames and struck the Flame Horse¡¯s side. Pow! A loud impact rang out. At the same time, Hyukjin pulled his sword out of the Flame Horse¡¯s neck. Fwish! And then, his sword drew a big arc. The Flame Horse¡¯s head was cut off. It fell onto the ground with a plop. [Flame Horse has been killed.] [EXP acquired.] [22 Coins acquired.] Hyukjin jumped off the collapsing horse¡¯s back, then shot Sung-gu a grin. ¡°You backed off and returned with very good timing.¡± Sung-gu¡¯s fist had landed with perfect timing. Thanks to that, Hyukjin was able to cut off the monster¡¯s head with a little more ease. ¡°Hmph. I¡¯m in a really bad mood right now, so don¡¯t talk to me.¡± ¡°Like seriously, why¡¯d you guys leave me out? I¡¯m good at using fire extinguishers too. Shwa, shwa. When I was a kid, I wanted to be a fireman.¡± Hyukjin was so dumbfounded he had to laugh. Even though Sung-gu was complaining, he seemed to be happy to have finally killed the Flame Horse that had stymied his progress. ¡°Oppa, an item dropped!¡± Sunhwa said excitedly. ¡°An item?¡± Hyukjin examined the item. Its name was ¡®Essence of Flame¡¯. ¡®Eh?¡¯ It was already strange enough that there was suddenly a ¡®Flame Horse¡¯ here, but that Flame Horse dropped an ¡®Essence of Flame¡¯. ¡®An Essence of Flame drops from a frickin¡¯ Flame Horse?¡¯ Essence of Flame wasn¡¯t a beginner period item. There was a place in the Philippines famous for dropping Essence of Flames, the ¡®White Beach Dungeon¡¯ on Boracay Island. ¡®To clear that dungeon, you need at least ten level 50 Players.¡¯ Meaning, this really wasn¡¯t an item that should show up in the beginner period, at least. ¡®So why? Why¡¯d it show up here?¡¯ Hyukjin bent to pick up the ¡®Essence of Flame¡¯ that was giving off a yellow light. [Essence of Flame] An awakening material that awakens one¡¯s fire attribute magic power. When ingested by a Player with fire affinity, all their fire attribute abilities will increase. Level requirement: 20 Ingestion condition: Must have a contract with a special Guardian After reading the item description, Hyukjin was sure of it. ¡®The Shot Table Dungeon is a dungeon made by the Giant of the Sunset to awaken Choi Sung-gu.¡¯ The original level requirement of the ¡®Essence of Flame¡¯ was 40. It varied depending on the grade of the essence, but it was normally around 40. ¡®The level requirement is 20, plus there¡¯s an ingestion condition that usually isn¡¯t there.¡¯ This item didn¡¯t normally have an extra ingestion condition. If a Player without fire affinity ingested it, their other abilities would be weakened as a side effect. In other words, only people with the appropriate constitution should consume the ¡®Essence of Flame¡¯, and it wasn¡¯t that great of an item for people like Hyukjin who didn¡¯t have an affinity to a specific attribute. Hyukjin recalled the notices he had heard earlier. [The ¡®Giant of the Sunset¡¯ is invoking their innate power.] [You cannot examine ¡®Choi Sung-gu¡¯ with Eye of Perception.] The Giant of the Sunset was blatantly aiding a Player here. This was a place he had prepared and given to Choi Sung-gu. ¡®If I were to eat this thing here¡­¡¯ I would 100% become the Giant of the Sunset¡¯s enemy. That was not a desirable development. ¡°What¡¯s that item you just got?¡± asked Sung-gu. ¡°Essence of Flame. When eaten by a Player with a constitution that matches the fire attribute, this awakening material will enhance their fire abilities.¡± ¡°Huh? I¡¯m exactly that, a Player suited to the flame attribute.¡± His ¡®huhuhu¡¯-ing made him look like he was gleefully saying ¡®that thing¡¯s mine!¡¯ Hyukjin said, ¡°I think this could fetch an incredibly high price if it were sold later. What do you think about splitting the earnings?¡± ¡°¡­¡± Sung-gu flinched. ¡°R-R-Right, it can be sold, huh.¡± That was what was fair. It was only one item and couldn¡¯t be split. Hyukjin continued to examine Sung-gu. It didn¡¯t seem like he was hearing anything special from the Guardians, particularly from the Giant of the Sunset. ¡®In the past, Choi Sung-gu cleared this place alone.¡¯ There was a high chance he¡¯d absorbed the Essence of Flame here. ¡®The fact there¡¯s a Flame Horse at the 2nd Gateway means there might be even stronger foes at the later gateways.¡¯ If that was true, it was possible Sung-gu, who had the Giant of the Sunset¡¯s direct protection, would need to play a prominent role. ¡°But I think it would be best if you were to eat this now, Sung-gu.¡± Beaming from ear to ear, Sung-gu took the item. Despite taking it with a whoop of ¡®Yas, it¡¯s mine!¡¯, he wasn¡¯t actually able to ingest it. He was all smiles on the outside, but was apparently feeling a great deal of pressure on the inside. ¡°Wait. Um. I should really eat this?¡± He looked like he would gulp it down right away just moments ago, but was hesitating now that he had to take the plunge. ¡°I think you¡¯re the Player with the highest fire affinity.¡± ¡°I should really eat it?¡± ¡°Yes.¡± Sung-gu stopped short of eating it several times, hesitating. Everyone had worked hard together, so it was only right to share the reward, no? ¡°But.. why give it to me? You could eat it too, Hyukjin. To be honest, you¡¯re the one who had the biggest influence on this raid.¡± Hyukjin thought for a moment. The Giant of the Sunset was sure to be watching at this very moment. ¡°Take a look at the item description.¡± ¡°Name, Essence of Flame. An awakening material that¡­¡± He read out the description. ¡°¡­It requires the protection of the Giant of the Sunset.¡± Hyukjin almost laughed out of speechlessness. ¡®The description changed from when I had it?¡¯ When Hyukjin had it, it definitely said ¡®Must have a contract with a special Guardian¡¯, but when the ownership changed to Sung-gu, the description explicitly said ¡®Must have the protection of the Giant of the Sunset¡¯. ¡®I¡¯m sure of it now.¡¯ This place was a dungeon belonging to Choi Sung-gu, made for Choi Sung-gu, and made because of Choi Sung-gu. The ¡®Giant of the Sunset¡¯ had used his power to make that happen. The Guardian had probably invested an astoundingly huge amount of Coins. Very rarely, there were Guardians like this¡ªGuardians crazy about a Player, ones that poured everything they had on us Players who were called their avatars or incarnations. ¡®If I had eaten it, I would¡¯ve had a seizure.¡¯ Hyukjin would have suffered a pretty big side effect, since he hadn¡¯t satisfied the actual condition. ¡°I have never heard the name ¡®Giant of the Sunset¡¯.¡± ¡°Really? I hear it every day.¡± ¡°Then that must mean you have been chosen by that Guardian. Don¡¯t get hung up on what that means and just ingest the item for now.¡± Sung-gu scratched his head, clearly bothered by his conscience. Hyukjin smiled. ¡°Please don¡¯t let it bother you too much. If you really feel that way, let¡¯s do it like this. We¡¯ll have dibs on the next reward that comes out. Of course, I¡¯m not saying we¡¯ll get it no matter what. We¡¯ll still need to discuss it first. That¡¯s enough, right?¡± Only then did Sung-gu nod. ¡°That¡¯ll make me feel a bit better. I¡¯ll eat this then, alright?¡± Hyukjin nodded, feeling satisfied too. This place was a training center made by the ¡®Giant of the Sunset¡¯ to awaken Choi Sung-gu by investing a ton of Coins. There was no knowing what kind of wonderful goodies might be hidden inside. Hyukjin¡¯s words just now spoken were addressed to the Giant of the Sunset rather than Sung-gu. Since he had said this well in advance, he had a justification now. ¡®And Sung-gu himself said he would concede ownership.¡¯ The Giant of the Sunset had no grounds to protest anymore. With a small investment of around five minutes, Hyukjin had secured definite justification. * * * * * * Sung-gu ingested the Essence of Flame. Other than a brief moment where his body was covered in flames, there was no obvious, visible change. Our group moved onwards, finding a ¡®portal¡¯ at one side of the grassland. It was a magic circle, like a gate that would teleport us to a different place. We were able to reach the next gateway through the portal. [Entering the ¡®3rd Gateway¡¯ within the ¡®Shot Table Dungeon¡¯.] [You have entered the ¡®Ravine of Fire¡¯.] Some distance away, I could see a valley. It was exactly as its name suggested¡ªa ravine where fire flowed instead of water. It almost looked like a river of lava. The air was blistering hot. Sweat began to bead on my forehead. ¡®It¡¯s hot.¡¯ It wasn¡¯t just a normal level of hot. It was hot. The ravine flowing with fire was exuding a great deal of ¡®heat energy¡¯. The gap between the ravine stretched about seven meters. We had to cross that, but there was no bridge to be seen. Meaning, we had to go through the flames. Sunhwa tugged my arm. ¡°Oppa, the portal¡¯s disappearing.¡± [Satisfy the clear condition for the 3rd Gateway, the ¡®Ravine of Fire¡¯.] [If you do not satisfy the clear condition, you cannot leave.] My brows furrowed. ¡®Clear?¡¯ We were given a System quest. [Cross the Ravine of Fire] On the other side of the Ravine of Fire is a land of riches and wealth. It is known that there is ¡®Kuntan¡¯ there. Please cross the Ravine of Fire. Sung-gu¡¯s expression turned serious. ¡°I think I can cross it, but¡­¡± Naturally. He was a Player¡ªone who would later be called the Flame Lord¡ªwith an affinity to fire, had just ingested an ¡®Essence of Flame¡¯, and was under the protection of the ¡®Giant of the Sunset¡¯ who had undoubtedly designed this dungeon. ¡°I have a feeling. I can definitely cross that.¡± Of course he could. I didn¡¯t contradict him. After all, I had already judged that this ¡®Ravine of Fire¡¯ was something created to allow Sung-gu to absorb that ¡®heat energy¡¯ to begin with. ¡°Do you think you two can cross it?¡± Sung-gu asked. ¡°Not sure.¡± It wouldn¡¯t be easy. The ravine had a width of seven meters and a depth of approximately seventy centimetres. If Sunhwa and I went in unprepared, we would certainly die. ¡®The Giant of the Sunset¡­ doesn¡¯t want there to be any survivors other than Choi Sung-gu.¡¯ This place was made for Sung-gu, and Sung-gu alone. ¡®With this degree of difficulty, I think it¡¯s the highest difficulty a beginner grade dungeon can go¡­¡¯ No matter how many more Coins were put in, the difficulty couldn¡¯t be raised any higher. ¡®In other words, this is the stretch of the dungeon with the highest difficulty.¡¯ How they would go through this highest difficulty stretch was the issue at hand. And fortunately, I knew the method to resolve this issue. But just then, Sung-gu said something I hadn¡¯t expected. ¡°Ah, but you know¡­¡± ____ ____ Chapter 47 Max Talent Player Chapter 47: Giant of the Sunset ¡°Ah, fuck it. A man¡¯s got to have some pride. There¡¯s no way I¡¯m going alone,¡± Sung-gu said. ¡°¡­¡± What the heck was with this guy? I was about to tell him to go alone, but he preempted me, as if he had an Eye of Perception and had read my mind. ¡°Sung-gu. Please listen to me carefully.¡± This is a place made by the ¡®Giant of the Sunset¡¯ for you. That Guardian has gone all-in for you and dislikes other people. ¡®And telling us to cross that ravine is like telling us to die.¡¯ For now, it would be best to separate from Sung-gu and come up with a strategy. If we were with Sung-gu, the Giant of the Sunset who was only looking out for Sung-gu would find some way to kill us, in order to make it so that the rest of the rewards would go to Sung-gu alone. ¡°I believe you have a very high fire affinity, and you have even eaten the Essence of Flame.¡± The original level restriction for Essence of Flame was 40. ¡°Also, there¡¯s a high chance you even have a special skill that increases your resistance to fire.¡± Everyone knew that no fire on earth could harm the Flame Lord. ¡°Just as you said earlier, you can cross that ravine with no problems.¡± ¡°Yes. ¡®Cause I¡¯m a genius. I can cross it,¡± Sung-gu said, cutting me off. ¡°But still, how could I possibly go on alone, leaving you two behind? I have some pride. I won¡¯t do that.¡± The tight line of his lips seemed to express his powerful resolve. ¡®He¡¯s being sincere.¡¯ He was sincerely refusing to cross. ¡®But that¡¯s not actually helping me¡­¡¯ You¡¯ve gotta go ahead and clear this place on your own, dude. Sunhwa and I are probably blocked from entering the rest of the dungeon anyway, and the Giant of the Sunset will make it so you can clear this place no matter what. ¡°Sung-gu.¡± I stared at Sung-gu. I was grateful for his intent. If it were me, I might have made a different choice. In truth, I didn¡¯t open the convenience store door in the Tutorial Field in order to guarantee my own survival. I put my life before all others. I didn¡¯t think that was wrong or bad. It was just that Sung-gu was a little unique. ¡°Sunhwa and I can¡¯t cross that anyway. We would burn to death trying.¡± ¡°That¡¯s why we need to figure out a way.¡± There was already a method. It was just that I didn¡¯t want to be noticed by the ¡®Giant of the Sunset¡¯. ¡°No, I think it would be better for you to go through alone.¡± ¡°And what I¡¯m saying is, I¡¯m absolutely opposed to that!¡± ¡°I¡¯m not telling you to abandon us. I¡¯m asking you to quickly clear this place before something happens while we wait here. As quickly as possible.¡± ¡°¡­¡± Choi Sung-gu¡¯s eyes widened. ¡°¡­What?¡± ¡°You¡¯ve even eaten the Essence of Flame and have the protection of a special Guardian. In your current state, you will be able to clear this dungeon.¡± ¡°But, but still¡­¡± Sung-gu wasn¡¯t an idiot. He was one of the 8 Heroes representing Korea. At first, he stubbornly rejected my proposal, but before long, he understood what I was getting at. ¡°Ah, dammit. Alright.¡± Sung-gu¡¯s face twisted into a scowl. ¡°Then I¡¯ll go clear this reaaaal quick, so just wait a sec.¡± What little I could read from Sung-gu¡¯s status with Eye of Perception changed slightly. State: Apologetic / Determined / Fired Up Summary: Emotionally Moved Champion Sung-gu walked towards the Ravine of Fire. For some reason, his back gave me the impression that he was deeply moved. ¡°Thanks for making the correct judgment in this situation. And for not being greedy about the item and giving it to me. This is what Playing is. This is how Playing should be done. Thanks for teaching me that.¡± Ah. Was this why he was touched? ¡°I will definitely clear this goddamned place and save you. You guys stay right here and wait for me.¡± Um¡­ this isn¡¯t really a ¡®goddamned place¡¯. It was made for you, Mr. Emotionally Moved Champion. Sung-gu crossed the Ravine of Fire first. ¡®Phew.¡¯ I was relieved. The Giant of the Sunset would now focus his attention solely on Sung-gu, which meant it was now time for us to take the next step. * * * * * * Sunhwa and I talked a little. What we said wasn¡¯t all that important. Just ¡®will it be okay?¡¯ and ¡®let¡¯s hope so¡¯, ¡®all we can do is wait here¡¯. Stuff like that. This little conversation was just to divert attention, to fool the ¡®Giant of the Sunset¡¯ in case he was in Senia¡¯s channel. As I chatted with Sunhwa, I bought a ¡®Whisper Stone¡¯ from the Item Shop. It was an item that would allow me to have a private conversation with a Streamer, an Intermediate Administrator. [Sending the Intermediate Administrator Senia a whisper request.] [The Intermediate Administrator Senia has accepted your whisper request.] No, you idiot. You¡¯re a fucking beginner. Listen to your oppa. It wasn¡¯t that hard to coax Senia. It was a little tricky to carry on a voiced conversation with Sunhwa while whispering Senia, but this too, was manageable. Senia didn¡¯t respond. She simply stared at me, as if to tell me to go on. It seemed she was already half-convinced. It really was a breeze to coax beginner Streamers ten years ago. This wasn¡¯t a lie. [The ¡®Nameless Observer¡¯ closely observes you.] [The ¡®Lady of the Scales¡¯ cannot wait to see how you will overcome the difficulty in question.] [The ¡®Courageous Lion King¡¯ recommends that you challenge the Ravine of Fire.] [The ¡®Whispering Devil¡¯ is bored.] A whopping four Guardians who had revealed their names were watching me. The ones that hadn¡¯t revealed their names were probably kicking up a fuss altogether. In all truth, this technique was one that future Streamers often utilized, because it was more effective than showing the same material, creating the same pattern all the time. Of course it was. In the end, Senia accepted my proposal. See? She was planning on accepting it from the start. Senia asked one more thing, as if to satisfy her curiosity. Speaking and whispering at the same time was confusing and tricky at first, but I quickly got the hang of it. I could do it because it wasn¡¯t all that hard once I tried it. Come to think of it, I couldn¡¯t quite remember any Players in the future who could do both simultaneously. Or was I mistaken? * * * The channel was closed. Now, there were no Guardians who could watch me. ¡®Senia also looks super curious.¡¯ She was probably very curious about how I would go across the Ravine of Fire. Even after getting her to close her channel, the trials didn¡¯t end there. [The Ravine of Fire does not tolerate living beings.] [The Ravine of Fire is moving to swallow all life.] From that, I knew. ¡®The Giant of the Sunset is trying to make sure we¡¯re dead.¡¯ Even if he couldn¡¯t see, he wasn¡¯t one to let things slip his grasp. He was one thorough bastard. You could see that from the way he designed things to kill us no matter what. ¡°Senia. Don¡¯t worry too much. We were planning on crossing it anyway.¡± ¡°¡­¡± The Ravine of Fire was getting closer? All the better. I was intending on going through it anyway, without catching the attention of the Giant of the Sunset. I moved towards the ravine. Since it was coming my way, my relative speed would actually increase. ¡®Maybe I need to thank him instead. Haha.¡¯ ¡°Sunhwa. It could get a little hot.¡± That being said, this kid had a body of stone. She wouldn¡¯t be greatly injured. ¡°Got it. I trust you, oppa.¡± I picked up Sunhwa. Even though she was in her first year of middle school, she was so petite that she could pass for an elementary school student. She wasn¡¯t very heavy. ¡®Hoo.¡¯ This wasn¡¯t something I¡¯d ever done before. ¡®Didn¡¯t think I¡¯d be using Flash Step while holding someone.¡¯ It wouldn¡¯t be easy. That Ravine of Fire was a trap put down by the Giant of Sunset to roast us to a crisp. The air was getting hotter and hotter. The Ravine of Fire was truly moving towards us. ¡®The Sword Empress used Flash Step like this before, too.¡¯ Flash Step was different from a magician¡¯s Warp. Warp didn¡¯t have ¡®continuity¡¯. It was teleportation between one point to another, with no in-between. But Flash Step moved via a ¡®line¡¯. Your body moved quickly in order to go from one point to another, so quickly the opponent couldn¡¯t react. ¡®To put it another way, we have to go through those flames anyway.¡¯ If I was using Warp, those flames wouldn¡¯t touch us, but with Flash Step, they would graze us for just a split second. My heart thumped. I was intending on crossing it quickly with this Flash Step skill, but I would be doing it with Sunhwa in my arms. If I messed up, one of us could be seriously injured or even die. The bright-red flames whirled and whipped. Even the Flame Lord Choi Sung-gu had gone through it, screaming, ¡°Ow! Fuck! Fucking hell, it¡¯s hot! Fuckity fuck, it¡¯s hotttt!¡± while downing potions like a madman. I stopped right in front of the ravine. ¡®It¡¯s outrageously hot.¡¯ One tiny step, and my legs would come into direct contact with those flames. Sweat poured like rain from Sunhwa¡¯s body as well, and her face was wet with sweat. This degree of heat should be painful, but she didn¡¯t voice a single complaint. ¡®Hoo.¡¯ From here on out, it would be the real deal. It wasn¡¯t possible to cross this thing with Flash Step alone. If we went through as we were now, those fierce flames would swallow us alive. [Fox Tail] A Six-Tailed Fox¡¯s tail. It¡¯s said that the Six-Tailed Fox uses the strength from this tail to carry out its spiritual arts, and if used by someone else, the Six-Tailed Fox¡¯s tail will lose its strength and be destroyed. Uses: 0/1 I had a ¡®Fox Tail¡¯ from a previous fight. Of the three options, I would be using the first. Foxfire. It would make a very small field. Its range was about thirty centimetres around the ground I was standing on. ¡®Hoo.¡¯ I took a deep breath. A distance of seven meters. I couldn¡¯t mess up. ¡®Here I go.¡¯ I tensed my legs and slightly lowered my waist in preparation to jump. Flash Step could be used even without a preparation stance, but it should still be slightly more favorable to take a stance beforehand. I drew out the motion in my head. ¡®The other side of the Ravine of Fire, past the surging flames.¡¯ I had already used Eye of Perception to see how Choi Sung-gu got to the other side, which wasn¡¯t visible. I hadn¡¯t been able to see how much he had to walk with my eyes, but I did see it with Eye of Perception. [Use Fox Tail?] [Generating ¡®Foxfire¡¯.] [You are within the domain of ¡®Foxfire¡¯.] [Your fire affinity and resistance have dramatically increased.] I used the Fox Tail. Then, I used the Sword Empress¡¯ skill, Flash Step, immediately afterwards. I surged forward with Sunhwa in my arms. The moment I did so, I felt flames far hotter than I¡¯d imagined enveloping my body. I clenched my teeth. ¡®Without fail¡­ we will cross¡­! Giant of the Sunset, you biased asshole. I won¡¯t die here! ____ ____ Chapter 48 Max Talent Player Chapter 48: Giant of the Sunset (2) Hyukjin used the foot technique for the instantaneous, swift movement that the former Sword Empress used. ¡®It¡¯s hot.¡¯ For a moment, he almost dropped Sunhwa. It felt like the flames were eating him alive, like he had jumped into a blazing blast furnace. Intense fear of being burned into nothingness and the thought of melting away if he stayed for a moment longer in those flames assailed him. [You have been exposed to intense heat energy.] [The durability of Pygmy¡¯s Ring has begun to rapidly fall.] [Mandra¡¯s Cuirass has been destroyed.] The cuirass with fire resistance was destroyed. Not just Hyukjin¡¯s, but also the one Sunhwa was wearing crumbled apart, never to be repaired again. Hyukjin sucked in ragged breaths. [Pygmy¡¯s Ring has been destroyed.] A whopping rare-grade item was destroyed. Although they were in the flames for a very short moment, the ring was obliterated. Even so, they somehow barely made it. ¡°Are you¡­ okay?¡± Sunhwa nodded. Hyukjin put her down onto the ground. Both of them looked terrible. The ends of their hair were singed off, and they had scorch marks all over. The only relief was that at least the scorch marks covered their bare bodies. ¡°Open the Item Shop and buy something to put on. It¡¯s fine if it¡¯s cheap.¡± ¡°¡­¡± Whether it was because of the heat exuded by the Ravine of Fire, or because she was embarrassed, Sunhwa¡¯s face was as red as a tomato. Hyukjin turned around and dodged her eyes out of pointless embarrassment. ¡°Sorry.¡± She was at a very sensitive age, and all of her clothes had been unintentionally burnt up. Hyukjin also bought beginner leather clothing from the Item Shop and put them on. Wearing them posed no inconvenience¡ªone click, and they were automatically put on his body, almost like a game. ¡®I did see this sort of thing often on Youtube¡­¡¯ During a raid, a Player¡¯s clothes were often the first to take the fall instead of their body. That was why some Rankers put on an inner layer of clothes with a focus on extremely high durability regardless of their defense in order to avoid being exposed. Tanks were especially prone to doing so. ¡®For me, well¡­ It¡¯s alright.¡¯ Hyukjin didn¡¯t see Sunhwa as a woman. In his eyes, only mentally ill people like Seo Joohwan would see Sunhwa as a woman. So he wasn¡¯t all that concerned by the fact that he inadvertently flashed his naked body. He was simply a little concerned that he had made all her clothes burn up when she was at a very sensitive age. ¡®She needs to get used to situations like this, too.¡¯ If Sunhwa was going to walk the path of a tank, this sort of thing would happen. After a moment, Sunhwa spoke up. ¡°No, if not for oppa, I would have burned to death over there.¡± It wasn¡¯t that she was completely unabashed. Hyukjin might be a person she trusted and relied on, but it was still embarrassing and awkward. However, her relief at having gone through those flames mostly intact was greater than her embarrassment. ¡°Yeah.¡± Hyukjin didn¡¯t say much, either. To be more precise, he couldn¡¯t. It was because the notices had continued even before he bought new clothes and put them on. ¡®That¡¯s right.¡¯ Earlier, when he instantly accelerated to an incredible speed using Flash Step, he¡¯d heard a notice. He hadn¡¯t heard it properly because the heat was so suffocating and intense, but when he thought back to it, he was able to remember the notice. It didn¡¯t boil down to simply ¡®affecting¡¯ his body. [You have succeeded in going through the ¡®Ravine of Fire¡¯.] [All those who go through the ¡®Ravine of Fire¡¯ are granted a title.] [You have been granted the title ¡®Person of Fire¡¯.] ¡®Person of Fire¡¯? [Person of Fire] A title that increases one¡¯s fire affinity and resistance a considerable amount. Hyukjin got a sense for what kind of title ¡®Person of Fire¡¯ was. Ten years later, one of the Flame Lord Choi Sung-gu¡¯s titles was ¡®Immortal Vulcan¡¯. This ¡®Person of Fire¡¯ title would probably become ¡®Immortal Vulcan¡¯ after a few evolutions. ¡®Sung-gu must have gotten this title here, too.¡¯ Actually, it was a title only Sung-gu was supposed to get. After all, if things had gone according to the Giant of the Sunset¡¯s plans, we would have been long reduced to ashes in the Ravine of Fire. ¡°Oppa, I got a title, too.¡± ¡°I know. You got Person of Fire, right?¡± ¡°Yes.¡± Sunhwa looked really happy that she got a title. ¡°Happy?¡± Sunhwa nodded. ¡°To be honest, I was really scared earlier.¡± ¡°Of what?¡± ¡°I thought the flames would swallow me alive.¡± ¡°Your body¡¯s sturdier than mine. Even I was fine, so it goes without saying that you¡¯d be fine.¡± That was a certainty. I had the help of ¡®Pygmy¡¯s Ring¡¯. Sunhwa had gone through without that, wearing only Mandra¡¯s Cuirass. ¡°My brain knows that, but I don¡¯t think my heart is able to accept it yet.¡± Hyukjin chuckled. That was only natural. Sunhwa was keeping up with him, but she was still undoubtedly a beginner Player. Only two months had passed since the Cataclysm. ¡®I¡¯ve done all I can now.¡¯ All that was left was to wait. They had to wait until Choi Sung-gu, the one under the Giant of the Sunset¡¯s protection, cleared the dungeon. ¡°We¡¯re gonna stay right here.¡± ¡°Here?¡± Hyukjin whispered to Sunhwa in a voice so quiet that Senia wouldn¡¯t be able to hear. ¡°Because the Giant of the Sunset might try to kill us again if he discovers we¡¯re still alive.¡± The sole monopolizer of this dungeon¡¯s treasures had to be Choi Sung-gu. That was the reason this dungeon existed. That¡¯s why he had asked Senia to pause her stream. Sunhwa nodded in understanding. ¡®Choi Sung-gu will definitely clear this dungeon.¡¯ He just didn¡¯t know how much time Sung-gu would need. In any case, Sung-gu would be able to do it. Hyukjin decided not to worry about it. * * * We crossed the Ravine of Fire and earned the ¡®Person of Fire¡¯ title. I tried to stay as relaxed as possible¡ªnothing good would come from being impatient here. Sunhwa seemed very tense, so I chatted with her to try to ease her nerves. ¡°What do you wanna do when we get out?¡± ¡°Mm.¡± As she hummed in contemplation, Sunhwa looked like she had let go of the nerves you couldn¡¯t help but feel in a dungeon. I could feel it through Eye of Perception. ¡°I want to eat.¡± ¡°Eat? What do you wanna eat?¡± ¡°Mm.¡± Sunhwa thought seriously for a long while again. To this 14-year-old middle school student, the question of what she would eat was apparently a very serious matter. ¡°Tonkatsu! I wanna eat tonkatsu!¡± ¡°Ah, tonkatsu.¡± Sunhwa¡¯s expression brightened as she exclaimed, as if she were a little happier by simply thinking about tonkatsu. ¡°Yeah. Tonkatsu¡¯s tasty.¡± Then, she asked, ¡°If I go with you, can I eat it without getting in trouble?¡± ¡°In trouble? Why?¡± After hearing what she had to say, I was taken aback. Sunhwa said she had gotten an allowance at the orphanage. Of course, it wasn¡¯t much. She¡¯d gotten a really tiny amount from the education program in order to get a sense of economics. She told me she had patiently saved up penny by penny before going to a nearby snack stand. ¡°A poor brat like you wants to eat tonkatsu? No chance in hell,¡± some grandpa said, punishing her and making her really scared, even though the tonkatsu at the snack stand had only cost six bucks. My heart ached. I could see my former self in her. ¡°Let¡¯s go eat tonkatsu.¡± Back before I returned to this year, I had mumbled something while laying on my bed after realizing once again that life was not easy. ¡°The world sure is a bitch.¡± Afterwards, I fell asleep. Similar to how the world had seemed so cruel to me, it might have been a scary place for Sunhwa. I thought once again that I didn¡¯t want to live like that ever again. Time passed. It wasn¡¯t a short amount of time, something around six hours. I was fine, but Sunhwa endured the time with a patience that didn¡¯t suit her fourteen years of age, and at long last, the dungeon was cleared. [The ¡®Shot Table Dungeon¡¯ has been cleared.] [Distributing the ¡®Shot Table Dungeon¡¯ clear rewards.] Naturally, the lion¡¯s share of the rewards would go to Sung-gu. Sunhwa and I would get a set portion, but I didn¡¯t expect much. [150 Coins acquired.] [EXP acquired.] My level also went up. [Level increased.] [Current level: 27] [¡®1/3 Map Fragment¡¯ acquired.] * * * * * * We left the Shot Table Dungeon. There weren¡¯t policemen waiting on the other side like with the Seoul Station Dungeon. I heard a voice. ¡°Thank fucking god!¡± It was a naked man. ¡°You¡¯re alive!¡± He pulled me into his arms. It had happened so suddenly that I hadn¡¯t been able to dodge. ¡°Put some¡­ clothes on, will you?¡± ¡°You¡¯re alive. It took so long that I worried you might have died!¡± Tears poured out of Sung-gu¡¯s eyes. ¡°You did well. You did really well to live. If you two had died, I was planning on just ending it.¡± ¡°¡­¡± Eye of Perception told me he was serious. ¡°Thank you for surviving!¡± He had truly been worried for us. Senia¡¯s stream was off, but Sung-gu¡¯s currently invisible Streamer was apparently still streaming. I heard some notices. [The ¡®Giant of the Sunset¡¯ is astonished.] [The ¡®Whispering Devil¡¯ is happy.] [The ¡®Boundary of Blue Light¡¯ has begun to pay attention to you.] A new Guardian who had revealed their name in the channel of Sung-gu¡¯s Streamer began to take note of me. It wasn¡¯t a name I remembered. They didn¡¯t seem to be a very famous Guardian, but I was still happy. This was how a Player got their name out. ¡®He must have already known as soon as the map was split into three parts. That we were alive.¡¯ But the Giant could only be astonished after confirming it for himself. ¡®Biased asshole.¡¯ If the Courageous Lion King was a courage-lover, then the Giant of the Sunset was a jerk who loved playing favorites. While I was thinking that, Sung-gu extended a ¡®magic tome¡¯ to me. ¡°Here. Take it.¡± ¡°¡­What?¡± ¡°When I got the Essence of Flame, I said so, didn¡¯t I? That I would give you the next item.¡± Looking at his expression, which seemed to be loudly proclaiming, ¡®I¡¯m a guy who always keeps his promises!¡¯ I couldn¡¯t help but laugh in amazement. ¡°That¡¯s why you want to give this to me?¡± ¡°Of course.¡± I was able to click the magic tome¡¯s name. The Vulcan Body Tome. Even in the world ten years from now, this magic tome was so rare it had only been found ten times. Every single person who acquired this tome became one of the top Rankers in the world, and Choi Sung-gu was among them. ¡°A promise is a promise!¡± Sung-gu puffed out his chest, looking proud of the very fact that he was giving this to me. It seemed he thought that this was what a person should naturally do. ¡°¡­¡± I deliberated for a moment. Should I take it, or not? ¡®If I take it¡­¡¯ The Flame Lord would probably disappear from this world. The changes Choi Sung-gu formerly brought about would never happen. ¡®I don¡¯t fear changing the future.¡¯ I didn¡¯t fear that in itself. There was a problem that was more pressing than that. [The ¡®Giant of the Sunset¡¯ is watching you.] [The ¡®Giant of the Sunset¡¯ is monitoring you.] A certain biased asshole was watching me, and not in the good sense. This Guardian had tried to block any Player other than Choi Sung-gu from getting rewards. So what would happen if I continued to defy his will and accepted that magic tome? ¡®He¡¯ll probably go into Senia¡¯s channel and try to kill me, no matter how.¡¯ Simply put, I would be put on a Guardian¡¯s hit list, one strong enough to raise the future Flame Lord. Getting on the wrong side of a Guardian that powerful could make life very hairy. ¡®Annoying bastard.¡¯ I already had a courage-lover to deal with, and now this biased asshole. One day, I would definitely make these two pay, no matter what I had to do. ¡®Instead of taking that right away¡­¡¯ I decided to draw a slightly bigger picture and future. Instead of going for a small profit now, I would wait to reap a bigger profit a little further down the line. Because as long as I had the ¡®1/3 Map Fragment¡¯, it was possible to change the person in the driver¡¯s seat from the Giant of the Sunset to me. ¡°Sung-gu. Allow me to make a proposal.¡± Alright then, shall we draw? ____ ____ Chapter 49 Max Talent Player Chapter 49: A Real Party I had received a 1/3 Map Fragment. Ultimately, it meant that the other 2/3s would be necessary in order to clear whatever dungeon or gate was coming after the ¡®Shot Table Dungeon¡¯. Choi Sung-gu had to do it with us. ¡®I¡¯m sure the Giant of the Sunset knows that, too.¡¯ He was probably in quite the shock up there. The dungeon was one he prepared for Choi Sung-gu¡¯s sole enjoyment, but two sudden variables showed up in the form of Sunhwa and me and took a bigger portion of the reward than Sung-gu. ¡®Even though he¡¯s super biased¡­ he still can¡¯t ignore the order itself. Isn¡¯t that right? Biased asshole.¡¯ The System had its own set of rules. That¡¯s why the Giant of the Sunset was going through the trouble of fostering Sung-gu through the gateway that was a ¡®dungeon¡¯. Without his direct interference, he prescribed a set of trials and issued rewards only when those trials were properly surmounted. ¡®Maybe it¡¯d be different if he were as reckless and brash as the Demon King¡¯s Guardian.¡¯ If he were on the level of the Demon King¡¯s un-named Guardian, he might¡¯ve been able to ignore things like order or rules altogether. It was known that the Demon King¡¯s Guardian was more powerful and had more authority than any other Guardian in the world. That Guardian didn¡¯t even bother to give things through dungeons; They just rained down rewards indiscriminately. At least, that was how the rumors went. ¡®In any case.¡¯ I decided to make a mutual contract with Choi Sung-gu, and I had to get Sung-gu to go into it 100% voluntarily. ¡°I have special eyes.¡± It wasn¡¯t a total lie that I was deceiving him. I used a clever combination of truth and lies to lead him into doing what I wanted. ¡°The Vulcan Body Tome is an item that you need far more than I do. So I think it would be best for you to use this.¡± ¡°Ah. Like I said, that¡¯s not what¡¯s important here. I¡¯m saying you absolutely need to have this, y¡¯know? I won¡¯t be able to sleep at night otherwise!¡± Yes, I understand. So listen to me, please. ¡°That¡¯s why I want to do this thing called a contract with you. Of course, you can refuse if you don¡¯t want to.¡± There were now NPCs on the 1st floor of the Gwanghwamun D-Tower, including NPCs that would oversee contracts. They were called ¡®notary NPCs¡¯. ¡°¡­A contract like this.¡± Choi Sung-gu scowled. ¡°I¡¯ve got some pride, y¡¯know. What¡¯s a measly 3%? I¡¯ll give you 30% like a real man.¡± ¡°¡­¡± The details of the contract weren¡¯t anything special. It was a contract stating that for the next ten years, 30% of all profits earned by Choi Sung-gu would go to me. ¡®Players, as well as the new tech market, will grow rapidly.¡¯ And the profits the Flame Lord Choi Sung-gu would earn would be beyond imagination. Even 3% of that would be a staggering amount. ¡°No, 3% is enough.¡± It was better not to do it at all than to be too greedy. Plus, the Giant of the Sunset wouldn¡¯t be too reluctant about 3%. ¡®The Giant of the Sunset doesn¡¯t ignore the rules. Rather, he puts high value on order and justification.¡¯ Knowing that, what would happen if I conceded the ¡®Vulcan Body Tome¡¯, a magic tome of a grade that could never exist in the beginner period, and for a contract that asked for just 3% of Sung-gu¡¯s profits? ¡®Even the Giant of the Sunset would be convinced.¡¯ I had created a scenario where he would have no choice but to be convinced, even if he didn¡¯t want to be. We would go and draw up a contract notarized by a notary NPC and even make a ¡®party contract¡¯ of sorts saying that Choi Sung-gu voluntarily wanted to dungeon Play with me. ¡®He won¡¯t try to kill us anymore.¡¯ No, he couldn¡¯t. That meant that the door was open to jumping into the Flame Lord Choi Sung-gu¡¯s personal scenarios, as well as taking a cut of whatever information and rewards came his way in the future. ¡®Nice.¡¯ We headed to the D-Tower¡¯s 1st floor, where we received a notarization from the notary NPC ¡®Senna¡¯. The woman in her early 30s wearing a black suit and black high heels stared at us strangely. Giving Sung-gu a weird look, she said, ¡°Hm. It looks to me that you really like the other person. A 3% share. An ally declaration. And it looks like you even want to do personal scenarios together.¡± Those were the terms of the contract. We wrote it up like that on purpose. This contract showed that Choi Sung-gu was ¡®voluntarily¡¯ working with me. On the other hand, nothing about it showed that I was doing anything for him. I simply conceded the ¡®Vulcan Body Tome¡¯ he got without any fanfare. ¡°Very well. The contract has been implemented. When it is registered in the System, it will cost 1,000 Coins. Who will pay the fee? The payer will be listed as such on the contract as well.¡± Choi Sung-gu¡¯s hand shot up. ¡°Me, me! I¡¯ll do it!¡± He put on an air of mock severity as he looked at me. ¡°Splitting the bill, I don¡¯t like that kind of stuff. This one¡¯s absolutely on me.¡± ¡­I had no intention of paying for it anyway, but I was still thankful. See you in ten days, friend. * * * * * * Sunhwa and I took a taxi. Yes, even someone like me was able to ride a taxi now. During my civil service student days, I only ever rode the bus. Taxis were an extremely expensive method of transportation for my station, and there was of course no occasion that demanded riding one. It was pretty nice to ride one, though. There was no harassment from others, and the air conditioner was cool. We decided to go to a tonkatsu restaurant in Sinchon. On our way there, I saw the Sinchon Hyundai Department Store and the connected U-Plex building. ¡®That¡¯ll also become a dungeon.¡¯ That building would be the location for the formation of a dungeon with a whopping seven floors. But the current Sinchon was overflowing with vitality. Many people who looked like university students arranged to meet there and filled the street with liveliness. ¡®The U-Plex Dungeon.¡¯ It was a place I absolutely needed to clear. ¡®I should go and get used to the layout a few times before the dungeon appears.¡¯ We arrived at the tonkatsu restaurant. ¡°Uwah!¡± Sunhwa reacted like a starstruck kid. Her wide eyes were full of happiness. She drooled at the sight of the freshly fried tonkatsu. Her summary even changed. ¡®What¡¯s with these summaries all the time?¡¯ Last time, it was Slight Brother Complex, and this time, it was Tonkatsu-Enamored Little Sister. There were all sorts of words you could attach to ¡®Tonkatsu-Enamored¡¯, like middle school student, human, or gourmet, but seeing as it just had to be ¡®little sister¡¯, it seemed Sunhwa herself was really clinging to the position of ¡®little sister¡¯. ¡®It does look good.¡¯ The tonkatsu was piping hot. The crispy fried coating over the appropriately thick meat was shining. ¡°It¡¯s so tasty. It¡¯s really, really tasty.¡± I felt my mood improve a little. Sunhwa was sincerely happy right now, all because of one tonkatsu. It wasn¡¯t all that bad to see her happy face. ¡°A poor brat like you wants to eat tonkatsu? No chance in hell.¡± She didn¡¯t have to hear words like that anymore. ¡°The world sure is a bitch.¡± I didn¡¯t have to think those kinds of thoughts anymore. ¡°Is it good?¡± ¡°Yes!¡± I tousled her head once. For some reason, I just wanted to do it all of a sudden. Sunhwa stared at me for a moment like she didn¡¯t dislike it before breaking into a happy grin. ¡°You¡¯re that happy?¡± ¡°I am. It¡¯s good. I¡¯m so happy.¡± On our way home, Sunhwa gave me a confession that wasn¡¯t a confession with a reddened face. ¡°Thank you.¡± ¡°For what?¡± ¡°It feels like I have a family now.¡± It wasn¡¯t just a feeling, but a reality. Legally, we were family, and I thought of Sunhwa as family, too. This was a child who had put her life on the line for me. It might even be that we were more of a family than some other regular families. ¡°We¡¯re family.¡± Sunhwa smiled brightly at that. Her eyes were glistening a little with tears, but I pretended not to notice. ¡°I¡¯ll do my best in everything, without being a bother.¡± I gave her the lightest noogie. ¡°No need for that. It¡¯s not like you¡¯re employed or anything.¡± Because that wasn¡¯t what family was. It wasn¡¯t that you had to work hard and do well in everything to be loved and cherished. You didn¡¯t have to be successful to receive love. That was what I thought. For me, a failure who hadn¡¯t accomplished anything, my mom and sister sacrificed themselves. They loved me. Through them, I learned what love and devotion was. ¡®Though I won¡¯t be able to match them in that regard¡­¡¯ Even so, since I was alive, I wanted to live like a real person. ¡°You don¡¯t need to do well in everything.¡± ¡°¡­Thanks for saying so.¡± I grinned. ¡°Just one thing. Take the hits for me. Turns out getting hit by monsters is pretty painful.¡± ¡°I-I will.¡± ¡°What¡¯s wrong? Did your expression just get darker just now?¡± ¡°I-It didn¡¯t, okay?¡± ¡°In that case, take a lot of hits for me. Got it?¡± ¡°¡­¡± Haha. It didn¡¯t matter one whit that she looked like a small and young little sister on the outside. Since she could tank better than me, she obviously had to take the hits, even if it did hurt to get hit. ¡°Well, it¡¯s fine ¡®cause I¡¯m not the one getting hit anyway.¡± ¡°¡­¡± I grinned as brightly as Sunhwa had when she was eating tonkatsu earlier. ¡°Let¡¯s go home.¡± * * * June 23, 2018. ¡®In two weeks, a dungeon will appear in the Peace Park in Paju, Seoul.¡¯ It was the hardest dungeon in the beginner grade, far more difficult than the Seoul Station Dungeon. It had produced countless casualties. ¡®And five days after that¡­ Choi Sung-gu¡¯s personal scenario dungeon will begin.¡¯ Every single day, I thought about and planned out the things I had to do, because now, I was the architect of my life. ¡®I have to clear the Peace Park, without fail.¡¯ But not yet. Countless casualties would arise, but I didn¡¯t have the strength to prevent that. I had to be at least level 30 to be able to clear it. I looked through the news. A few incidents caught my eye. [Launch of the Players Association] With the conglomerate Sungshin¡¯s powerful support, the ¡®Players Association¡¯ was established. Mankind was becoming just a little more used to this changed world. [CEO Song Kiyoung elected to be the 1st Chairman of the Players Association] The president of Sungshin, Song Kiyoung, was elected as the 1st chairman of the Players Association. There were a few more incidents. [The ¡®Lion¡¯s Roar¡¯ Guild officially registers as a guild in the Players Association] [The ¡®White Butterfly¡¯ Guild officially registers as a guild in the Players Association] White Butterfly had already registered, too. For reference, White Butterfly was the guild led by the future Sword Empress Shin Yeonseo. This was all stuff I knew. I had changed a few things in between, but history was flowing the way I remembered. ¡®And even in this very moment, the Demon King¡¯s out there somewhere, growing stronger.¡¯ No one knew who the Demon King was. I was still unable to make a decision. If the only thing I was concerned about was my own welfare, I didn¡¯t have to butt heads with the Demon King. The 8 Heroes of Korea chose to oppose the Demon King, and two of them perished at the Demon King¡¯s hands. I shook my head. ¡®Let¡¯s not think too far ahead.¡¯ For now, I would focus on the happiness right in front of me, like Sunhwa being happy over tonkatsu. In order to focus on the happiness right in front of me, I needed to stick to the things I had to do. Sunhwa and I continued to run through the Seoul Station Dungeon. We did Independent Play and earned a lot of EXP through continuous grinding. ¡®One more clear, and it¡¯ll be our 30th.¡¯ We finally reached it. [You have cleared the Seoul Station Dungeon 30 times.] [You have fulfilled the Hidden Piece ¡®30 Seoul Station Dungeon Clears¡¯.] Good. This was why I had gone through the Seoul Station Dungeon over and over again, to get this hidden piece. This hidden piece was, like some of the others, pretty much public knowledge. ¡®But¡ª¡¯ It would be different for me. I predicted that I would get another notice. ¡®As expected.¡¯ My prediction was correct. More notices that weren¡¯t just about the hidden piece started to come in. ____ ____ Chapter 50 Max Talent Player Chapter 50: A Real Party (2) They were the notices I¡¯d predicted. [There is a title that can be connected to the first discovery of the Hidden Piece ¡®30 Seoul Station Dungeon Clears¡¯.] [The title that can be connected is ¡®First Pioneer¡¯.] This was why I intentionally told So Yoohyun and Shin Yeonseo to only clear 25 rounds of the dungeon. Sharing the hidden piece was fine and all, but the ¡®first¡¯ had to be me. I went on to see what kind of scenario it was this time. If a Player with the [First Pioneer] title is the first to discover a [Hidden Piece], it is possible to trigger a linked scenario. Linked scenarios can be triggered three times. I fell into a moment of deliberation. ¡®If it was only a marked increase in rewards¡­¡¯ Then I would have used one of my two remaining title effects, because the oft-mentioned reward from the ¡®Seoul Station Dungeon Hidden Field¡¯ was something I absolutely needed. If there was a marked increase of that reward, it would definitely be a big help to me. ¡®But the difficulty goes up as well.¡¯ What should I do? It was time to make my decision. ¡®The party would be me and Sunhwa, Yoohyun and Yeonseo.¡¯ The original difficulty was about the level at which this party of four could clear it. That was my objective assessment. A level at which we could clear it with everyone surviving. In other words, it wouldn¡¯t be easy. ¡®More than that would be greed.¡¯ I decisively gave up on linking the title. ¡®Normally, this hidden field is supposed to appear much later.¡¯ In the history before my regression, this hidden field appeared when the average level of regular Players, not Rankers, was 30. Considering that regular Players were between level 15-20 currently, its appearance had been greatly accelerated in the timeline. The levels of those of us who could be called Rankers were in their mid-to-late 20s. ¡®By the standards of 2018, the hidden field was conquered when the Rankers¡¯ levels were in their mid 30s.¡¯ At first, Players had struggled a great deal. Only later, when the strategy had been figured out, did the clear rate become much higher. ¡®At our current level¡­ This is perfect.¡¯ Greed could invite disaster. ¡°Oppa, are we going in again?¡± asked Sunhwa. ¡°No. We need to rest a bit.¡± Her face brightened at that. It seemed the continuous runs had taken their toll on her stamina. Potions could recover one¡¯s actual stamina, but she had to have considerable mental fatigue. ¡®It¡¯s normal for your eyes to hurt and ache from just looking at your phone or computer for a long time, so¡­¡¯ We had been in a dungeon, where you had to maintain a state of tension that looking at a phone couldn¡¯t even compare to. It was only natural to feel tired as time went on. To put it in other terms, you¡¯d lose your steam. ¡°Yeonseo and Yoohyun will also do their 30th clear soon. Sunhwa, you heard the notice too, yeah? About the hidden piece.¡± ¡°I did. Ah. So that¡¯s why you told Mister Yoohyun and unnie to clear it 25 times.¡± ¡°Yeah.¡± With Yeonseo¡¯s personality, if she were told to do it 25 times, she¡¯d probably do it around 28 times. And my prediction was right on the money. Yeonseo was currently on her 29th clear, and Yoohyun on his 28th. Another day passed. Yeonseo and Yoohyun both fulfilled the hidden piece. We gathered again in front of the Seoul Station Dungeon. I believed that with this combination of four Players, the hidden field was definitely possible. [Enter the Seoul Station Dungeon?] [The special condition ¡®30 Seoul Station Dungeon Clears¡¯ has been satisfied.] [It is possible to trigger the hidden scenario and proceed to the ¡®Seoul Station Dungeon Underground 2nd Floor¡¯.] [Proceed to the ¡®Seoul Station Dungeon 2nd Underground Floor¡¯?] I turned to the others. ¡°Everyone, move to the 2nd underground floor. There might not be a safe zone, so stay on your guard.¡± It wasn¡¯t a ¡®might not¡¯, but a certainty¡ªthere was no safe zone. There was also a high chance we would be attacked as soon as we ported in. ¡°Sunhwa, don¡¯t forget what I told you.¡± ¡°Yep, got it.¡± We did the final inspection. As long as we weren¡¯t careless, we would be able to get through this without serious injury. Like I remembered, the attack started right away. * * * * * * Song Kiyoung, the first chairman of the Korean Players Association, as well as the president of the leading conglomerate, Sungshin, took the report he was handed. ¡°So the Seoul Station Dungeon has been cleared almost thirty times.¡± ¡°Yes, sir. Some time has passed since the start of the police records, so¡­ it might have even been cleared more than thirty times.¡± ¡°More than thirty times, you say¡­¡± President Song Kiyoung¡¯s eyes were serious. ¡°And his clear speed compared to other Players?¡± ¡°He is so fast it is beyond comparison. I believe he has a special strategy.¡± ¡°As we thought.¡± Name: Kim Hyukjin; age: 20 years old. Despite his young age, the young fellow hadn¡¯t been cowed in the least by Kiyoung¡¯s ¡®Charisma¡¯ and ¡®Pressure¡¯ and had left a very unique impression on Kiyoung. ¡°His party members are the Tutorial Ender So Yoohyun, a young woman named Shin Yeonseo, and a child named Kim Sunhwa.¡± ¡°I remember her.¡± He had put in a special word and assisted in her adoption. ¡°The world has changed rapidly. We must walk in time with those changes.¡± If they didn¡¯t, they would be eliminated. Several advanced countries like the United States and Japan had already permitted Players to possess personal defense weapons. They were places where Playing using guns was possible. Naturally, their leveling speed was faster than the leveling speed of Players in Korea. ¡®The United States is said to have already reached an average level of 20.¡¯ Even though Korea had started first, there was a big difference in their average level, and that gap would continue to grow. ¡®And Japan has a similar speed.¡¯ Even China was the same. Their speed of growth made him feel a slight sense of crisis. Players, new tech¡­ He didn¡¯t know how such things would change the world. Though he didn¡¯t know that, a sense of crisis that knew they couldn¡¯t afford to fall behind was welling up within him. ¡°Approach Kim Hyukjin.¡± If it were Sungshin, they should be able to give him a huge amount of support. ¡°Are you telling me to scout him, sir?¡± The President was suggesting they scout Kim Hyukjin for the guild Sungshin was preparing and planning. ¡®Taeguk Shield¡¯. TN: Taeguk is the symbol used for the Korean national flag and means ¡®the supreme ultimate¡¯ or the ¡®great duality¡¯. ¡°What kind of position are you considering, sir?¡± The assistant probed the President¡¯s intentions. The Player Kim Hyukjin was definitely out of the ordinary. There was something about him. The mere fact that he was a cohort of So Yoohyun was enough to prove that. In addition, he had also sold the ¡®hair growth solution¡¯ that was ¡®new tech¡¯ to the President for a huge profit. ¡®He will need to give him a middle manager position at the very least,¡¯ thought the assistant. So Yoohyun would probably be given the deputy position, and Sungshin would recruit a few Players who were distinguishing themselves. The guildmaster role would probably be given to the President¡¯s eldest grandson, ¡®Song Jinseok¡¯. ¡°Offer him the guildmaster position.¡± ¡°¡­Pardon? B-But¡­¡± This was a guild receiving the powerful support of a conglomerate. The assistant thought it was only right for the guildmaster of such a guild to be Song Jinseok. The annual salary alone would be in the hundreds of thousands. He didn¡¯t think that the value of new tech and Kim Hyukjin were that much. ¡°What? You think the guildmaster position is excessive?¡± ¡°To be honest, yes.¡± Song Kiyoung shook his head. ¡°No.¡± It wasn¡¯t excessive. Kiyoung was sure of it. New tech was the future. And Kim Hyukjin had the potential to become the Player representing all of Korea at the center of the storm. ¡°It¡¯s not excessive at all. In fact, the opportunity itself may disappear altogether with time.¡± He was confident in his eye for people, his capability to differentiate a jewel from a stone. Song Kiyoung believed he had that ability. And he judged Kim Hyukjin to be a jewel among jewels. It was just that he hadn¡¯t started to shine yet. ¡°I¡¯m trusting you to relay my thoughts to him faithfully.¡± ¡°Yes, sir. For Kim Hyukjin, it will be a big honor.¡± ¡°Go.¡± ¡°Yes, President.¡± In the solitude of his CEO office, Kiyoung sat on his chair and visualized the future. ¡®If we can obtain Kim Hyukjin and wield him at will¡­¡¯ If the future he was imagining was correct¡­ ¡®If we can raise Taeguk Shield really well¡­¡¯ Then Sungshin would be able to take one step forward. No, it would be able to jump ten steps forward. ¡®Kim Hyukjin.¡¯ He couldn¡¯t forget the look in that young man¡¯s eyes. He could forge him into an excellent blade. ¡®Work for Sungshin.¡¯ The one doing the honing would be him, the president of Sungshin. He was confident he could bring Hyukjin under his banner and raise him into a faithful dog for Sungshin. That was what he had always done, and that was what he was sure he could continue doing. ¡®I¡¯ll let you become my hunting dog.¡¯ * * * As soon as they entered, Sunhwa used her skill. She had already heard the general strategy from Hyukjin, who had purposely picked a time when the Intermediate Administrator (Streamer) wasn¡¯t there to explain it to her. Because she trusted and relied on him completely, Sunhwa didn¡¯t pay much attention to the fact that Hyukjin knew this sort of stuff. Like the natural-born tank that she was, she could sense that she had successfully pulled the aggro even without seeing the ¡®!!!¡¯ marks. She figured out where the attack would come by feeling. This was, in every sense of the word, the influence of ¡®genius¡¯. Her Platinum Shield had grown a little. It now took the fairly tangible ¡®shield¡¯ shape. Holding up her golden circular shield that glowed white, she blocked something. ¡®Urgh¡­!¡¯ Sunhwa felt quite a lot of pain in her shoulders. Plop! Something fell to the ground. With her sword aloft, Yeonseo went and checked what it was. ¡°An arrow?¡± The 2nd underground floor of the Seoul Station Dungeon was a cave-type dungeon. Rough breathing noises were coming from some distance ahead in the cave. ¡®There¡¯s more than just a couple,¡¯ thought Yeonseo. She didn¡¯t have a skill like Hyukjin¡¯s ¡®Eye of Perception¡¯, but she knew there were living beings of some sort in the far corner. In a small voice, Hyukjin said, ¡°There¡¯s a monster capable of long-ranged attacks.¡± He knew what this monster¡¯s identity was. ¡®Orc Archer.¡¯ Actually, ¡®Orcs¡¯ were the starting point for true monsters. That was because from Orcs onward, monsters had a strong resistance to modern weapons. It was difficult to face an Orc with guns or knives that weren¡¯t items. Of course, it was a different story if you had something like a machine gun, but in any case, from Orcs onward, it was real monster territory. ¡®No matter what normal people do, they can¡¯t win.¡¯ Even with the strongest monster in the Tutorial, the ¡®Lycanthrope¡¯, it was possible for a regular person to prevail if they had the strategy and modern weapons. But not with an Orc. It was impossible for a regular person to kill it with ordinary weapons. Notices came in. [You are given the 1st flash quest.] [Hunt the Orc Archer first.] ¡®This is a kind of tip.¡¯ Though it came in the form of a quest, the notice was basically a tip telling challengers that you had to hunt the Orc Archer first in order to clear this place. Since it was a tip, there would probably be no rewards for the quest. ¡®I see¡­ the Orcs.¡¯ They were about 170 centimetres tall and had muscles on par with Yoohyun¡¯s, grotesquely twisted faces, protruding fangs, and monstrously large mouths, from which disgusting smelling saliva dripped profusely. ¡°Chwik¨C! Chwiiik¨C!¡± They could hear the sound of the monsters¡¯ rough breathing, as well as footsteps coming from a distance away. Yoohyun¡¯s brows furrowed. ¡°They¡¯re real¡­ monsters, hyungnim. Are we really going to square off with them right away?¡± ¡°No.¡± In the meantime, Sunhwa had blocked another arrow using ¡®Platinum Shield¡¯. Her arms were trembling. Hyukjin had realized that. ¡®Two more is her limit.¡¯ She couldn¡¯t keep blocking the arrows. ¡°Chwik¨C! Chwiiiiiiiiiik¨C!¡± The footsteps drew nearer, and the Orcs became visible from within the darkness. It wasn¡¯t just one or two Orcs. There were close to ten of them. The closer they came, the greater the stench of their breath became, to the point that it was painful to breathe. And then, they saw two red Orcs. One of them was nocking another arrow. ¡®!!!¡¯ marks were above its head. Its target was Sunhwa. ¡®Let Sunhwa take one more, and then.¡¯ There was no room for mistakes. If Hyukjin slipped up, one of their crew could die. ¡°Sunhwa. Block that one¡¯s arrow. And Yeonseo, follow me. Stay within three footsteps of me.¡± ¡°What are you planning on doing?¡± ¡°No time to explain.¡± He purposely didn¡¯t explain to Yeonseo. There was a reason for it. ¡®From now on.¡¯ They had to move organically, each person faithfully carrying out their role. If they didn¡¯t, they could all be wiped out. That was the level of danger this place posed. But you could also think about it in the reverse. ¡®We¡¯ll move as a real party.¡¯ If they moved as a real party, smoothly and organically, they could kill the Orcs without taking any damage. Hyukjin was sure of it. He made a conscious decision to believe they could do it. ¡®We can do it.¡¯ Ready, set¡ª The Orc Archer fired. Go! Hyukjin surged forward. ____ ____ Chapter 51 Max Talent Player Chapter 51: Yeonseo¡¯s Awakening Exactly when the Orc Archer fired its arrow, a path appeared through the regular Orcs protecting the Orc Archer for the slightest moment. In soccer terms, it was a very brief moment where a player could dribble straight through the defense for the goal. ¡®Here I go.¡¯ Hyukjin shot forward. He didn¡¯t attempt an instantaneous approach like Flash Step. Whoosh! He felt an Orc¡¯s iron club swing towards him. It wasn¡¯t able to hit him. The Orc swung into the empty air where he had just been. ¡®From here, to the left.¡¯ The current Kim Hyukjin wasn¡¯t using anything like a ¡®movement skill¡¯ or a ¡®foot technique¡¯. His movements right now were driven purely by his physical ability and reflexes. He ducked a little. Whoosh! Another iron club split the air above his head. The Orcs didn¡¯t stand idly by. ¡°Chwik! Chwiiiiiik!¡± Ever so often, there were intelligent ones who could speak the human language. ¡°Chwik! Eat! Eat¡­ him! Chwiiiik!¡± Orcs of this level could only utter words like ¡®eat¡¯, ¡®hit¡¯, or ¡®kill¡¯, but they were still creatures capable of a slight degree of communication. ¡°Chwiiiiik! Eat!¡± At one Orc¡¯s shout, the other Orcs¡¯ gazes zoomed in on Hyukjin. They didn¡¯t really have a ¡®top dog¡¯, but they were aware that chasing prey while communicating was much more advantageous than playing on their own. Yeonseo, who was scrambling to follow Hyukjin, thought she was going to die. ¡®W-What the hell?!¡¯ There wasn¡¯t even time for her to scream. She urgently bent at the waist. After bending with a slightly awkward movement, she hurled herself forward. Whoosh! A metal club embedded with sharp thorns cut through the air. ¡®If that¡¯d hit me¡­ I would¡¯ve died.¡¯ And even if she didn¡¯t, it would have given her a fairly big wound. And if she was injured in the midst of this Orc horde? It would be a death sentence. ¡®Dammit!¡¯ In Yeonseo¡¯s eyes, Hyukjin was dodging like a slippery snake. He slipped through the horde with ease, finding the gaps between the Orcs like a phantom. ¡®The Orcs¡¯ reaction speed¡­ is at least half a beat slower than him!¡¯ She couldn¡¯t tell whether the Orcs were slow or Hyukjin was fast, but the result was that they couldn¡¯t hit him. Their reactions were half a beat too slow, and consequently, the attacks rained down on Yeonseo behind him. Her current attainment in the Heavenly Demonic Flying Step was 1. She was merely beginning to toddle, but the Heavenly Demonic Flying Step was a movement art granted to her by the True Master of the Heavenly Demonic Mountain himself. ¡®He¡¯s going left.¡¯ Which meant¡ª ¡®I need to go right here.¡¯ Only then would an organic movement be possible. She was beginning to see paths that she hadn¡¯t seen before using the Heavenly Demonic Flying Step. Hyukjin¡¯s Eye of Perception caught Yeonseo¡¯s movements. ¡®She¡¯s finally started to move properly,¡¯ he thought. Orcs weren¡¯t very fast monsters. He had predicted that if he dove into their ranks, they would undoubtedly attack him half a beat slower. And Yeonseo immediately dodged those attacks, making it so that their paths of movement would collide and tangle. ¡®Yeonseo¡­ is more than capable of confusing the Orcs.¡¯ While the two of them were charging in, one of the Orc Archers nocked an arrow. Hyukjin could read the arrow¡¯s destination. ¡®Not me.¡¯ It was also not Yeonseo, who was running around in the Orc horde. ¡®Sunhwa. You¡¯re doing well.¡¯ He could only guess that Sunhwa was having a tough time. She was taking on successive attacks from two Orc Archers, after all. Her arms might even break. But that was fine¡ªit was better for her bones to break than to die. When Hyukjin jumped into this pack, he was also resolved to get a few broken bones somewhere. ¡®But it¡¯s¡­ easier than I expected.¡¯ He could see the paths far more easily than expected. He didn¡¯t know whether it was because of Eye of Perception or his instincts, but the way the Orcs would move, the way they would swing, how they would try to surround him, all of it was sketched out in precise clarity in his head without having to think. ¡®Did it.¡¯ He had managed to approach the Orc Archer. Compared to regular Orcs, Orc Archers had much lower defense. An unprotected Archer was the perfect prey. ¡®I¡¯m killing it.¡¯ Hyukjin thrust his sword into the Orc¡¯s abdomen. Squeaaaaaal! A strangled scream came bursting out. The Orc Archer dropped the bow and bent in agony. ¡°Back of the head! Pierce it!¡± Hyukjin¡¯s attack power was insufficient to kill it in one blow. But it was alright, because to his right, Yeonseo was quickly coming in from a different path. Yeonseo leapt weightlessly into the air. ¡°Haaaah!¡± From top to bottom, her sword went in. Spluuuurt! The tip of the sharp sword punched through the Orc Archer¡¯s helm. Thudunk! The Orc Archer¡¯s body crumpled. Yeonseo¡¯s sword went through the back of the Orc Archer¡¯s head and into the ground. ¡°Okay! Got it!¡± Yeonseo heard a notice. [Orc Archer has been killed.] [EXP acquired.] [31 Coins acquired.] At exactly the same time, Hyukjin kicked Yeonseo away. Rather than saying he kicked her, he pushed her away with his foot with enough force for her to roll several times on the ground. ¡°Get it together! You wanna die after killing one?¡± At the place where Yeonseo had just been standing, an Orc had swung its club. If Hyukjin hadn¡¯t kicked her out of the way, Yeonseo¡¯s head would have been crushed. ¡®One more arrow.¡¯ Sunhwa could only endure one more Orc Archer attack. ¡®I¡¯ll kill him while Sunhwa¡¯s got its aggro.¡¯ The reason why he and Yeonseo were able to dive into the Orc horde, the reason why they could dodge and move freely through the monsters, was because the Orc Archers were only aiming for Sunhwa. Hyukjin was aware of that fact. ¡®We can do it.¡¯ The Orcs were slower and Yeonseo was faster than he anticipated. He thought he would have to sacrifice his left arm or so, but it didn¡¯t look like that would be necessary. ¡®Move¡­!¡¯ Drawing in a fairly ragged breath, Hyukjin charged towards the other Orc Archer. * * * * * * Hyukjin and Yeonseo hunted the remaining Orc Archer. [Orc Archer has been killed.] [EXP acquired.] [31 Coins acquired.] At the same time, a notice came in. [The clear conditions for the 1st quest have been satisfied.] [The path to the next gateway will be opened.] [Destroy the Clear Crystal of the 1st Gateway.] Ruuuumble! One side of the wall crumbled down, exposing a cave. The Clear Crystal was definitely within. Yoohyun had the hunch that the time for him to play his part had come. ¡®I just have to avoid fatal blows.¡¯ The aggro was currently being pulled by Sunhwa, Hyukjin, and Yeonseo. ¡®Slowly. Without hurrying.¡¯ If he moved too quickly, the aggro would bounce to him. ¡®One or two is fine.¡¯ He wouldn¡¯t fight them himself. The moment he did so, the others would swarm towards him. ¡°Chwiiik!¡± He felt one of the Orcs approaching him. ¡®Soon. It¡¯ll swing.¡¯ That club, he would take it on, letting it land at the place where it would hurt the least. He had to keep his right arm intact just in case. ¡®Sacrifice my left arm.¡¯ Yoohyun clenched his teeth hard, then blocked the club with his left shoulder. ¡®Gugh!¡¯ Incredible pain assaulted him. It felt like his shoulder was breaking. Even so, he forged onwards. ¡®Did it.¡¯ For a very short period after an Orc attacked, it couldn¡¯t move. After taking one attack, Yoohyun was able to enter the cave with a few more steps. The Orcs no longer chased him. His decision-making had been good, and so had his luck. He saw a crystal exuding purple light in the depths of the cave. ¡®My right arm is still perfectly fine!¡¯ He punched the crystal with his right fist. After a few successive attacks, the Clear Crystal began to crack. Thud! Thud! Thud! His fist slammed into the crystal. Hyukjin heard that notice as well. Yoohyun had done his part very well, even without instruction. ¡®I knew he¡¯d be able to do well even without being taught what to do.¡¯ Hyukjin hadn¡¯t given a detailed explanation on purpose¡ªthere was no need to make it too obvious that he knew this place already. How Yoohyun would act had been a part of Hyukjin¡¯s calculations. ¡®A destroyed shoulder can be quickly healed with potions.¡¯ Yoohyun would be fine. ¡°Chwik! Chwiiiik¨C!¡± The grunting Orcs stiffened in place. Krrrgk¨Ckrrrgk¨C! They began to turn into stone. From the soles of their feet to their heads, they all became stone. Yeonseo¡¯s heart finally settled again. ¡°Phew. A little later, I would¡¯ve gotten hit.¡± Yeonseo crouched a little and slipped out from under the club that had become stone. As soon as she was out, she apologized to Hyukjin. ¡°Sorry. For being too excited earlier.¡± ¡°¡­¡± Hyukjin didn¡¯t respond. The thought that even the Sword Empress made mistakes like that in her beginner days was fresh to him. He had never thought the Sword Empress would ever let her guard down for one moment to celebrate killing an Orc Archer and nearly take a fatal blow. ¡°If you¡¯d been hit back then, I would have been in danger, too. Do you realize that?¡± Without Yeonseo¡¯s assistance, it wouldn¡¯t have just been difficult to weave through the Orc horde, it would have been close to impossible to punch through the throng and kill the remaining Orc Archer. ¡®But wait, would it have really been impossible?¡¯ Before coming in, he had thought that would be impossible. But after running around in the Orc horde in the flesh¡­ ¡®It might have been possible.¡¯ The Orcs were slower than he expected. It was true that their attacks were dangerous, but not if you didn¡¯t get hit. Nevertheless, he put on a harsh front. Playing wasn¡¯t a joke or a game. It was an incredibly dangerous act with your life on the line. ¡°If you¡¯re going to Play like that, go home.¡± ¡°¡­¡± ¡°Don¡¯t you know that one action of yours can endanger the rest of the party?¡± Yeonseo didn¡¯t retort back. Her shoulders slumped. ¡°I know. I¡¯m sorry. I¡¯ll be more careful.¡± While they were talking, Yoohyun came over and started destroying the Orcs that had become statues. Blunt weapons or fist attacks were most effective against petrified monsters. Yoohyun was doing his role well. At that sight, Yeonseo clenched her fists hard. ¡®Only I did poorly here.¡¯ Even the young Sunhwa carried out her task well, and the big Yoohyun did what he was supposed to do. That went without saying for Hyukjin. ¡®I can¡¯t go on like this.¡¯ It wasn¡¯t like she had some clear goal. Rather, she was crushed by the pressure she felt when she realized that everyone here could have died because of one mistake from her. She was incredibly scared when she thought of that possibility. ¡®Get your head on straight, Yeonseo.¡¯ The moment monsters appeared and the world changed, Yeonseo made a vow. A vow to safeguard at least her family and friends from danger. To protect the people who were precious to her without fail. That was what she swore. ¡®I¡¯ll do well.¡¯ A small drop created a big ripple in her heart. If her heart was a lake, then a large wave was beginning to spread out on the surface of the water. ¡®I have to become stronger.¡¯ She absolutely had to become stronger. She couldn¡¯t become a burden. At least right now, at this very moment, the moment when she made a mistake, a burning desire to ¡®become stronger¡¯ took root in her heart. That wish blazed brightly within her. She ended up comparing herself to Hyukjin. ¡®At least as much as Hyukjin.¡¯ Strong enough that she wouldn¡¯t be a burden. Strong enough to repay her debt to him for saving her mom. She had to at least become that strong. At the same time, she heard a stream of notices. [The ¡®True Master of the Heavenly Demonic Mountain¡¯ has perceived your burning desire.] [The ¡®True Master of the Heavenly Demonic Mountain¡¯ responds to your burning desire.] [The ¡®True Master of the Heavenly Demonic Mountain¡¯ extends a hand to you.] Yeonseo wasn¡¯t the only one hearing the special notices. ¡°¡­¡± Hyukjin, who was about to scold Yeonseo further, was stunned into speechlessness. On the 2nd underground floor of the Seoul Station Dungeon, yet another new notice rang in Hyukjin¡¯s ears, a notice that hadn¡¯t existed in previous raids. ¡®This sort of thing¡­ was possible?¡¯ ____ ____ Chapter 52 Max Talent Player Chapter 52: Yeonseo¡¯s Awakening (2) Notices came in. [The ¡®True Master of the Heavenly Demonic Mountain¡¯ extends a hand to you.] [The ¡®True Master of the Heavenly Demonic Mountain¡¯ wishes to offer you a special proposal.] The True Master of the Heavenly Demonic Mountain, the Sword Empress Shin Yeonseo¡¯s reliable Guardian. This Guardian went so far as to use the adjective ¡®special¡¯ to offer me a proposal. ¡®What could it be?¡¯ [The ¡®True Master of the Heavenly Demonic Mountain¡¯ offers you the ¡®Heavenly Demon¡¯ title.] [If you accept the title, your advancement will automatically occur.] I could only doubt my ears. ¡®Advancement due to a title?¡¯ Advancement through a contract with a Guardian typically happened at level 30. I wasn¡¯t level 30 yet, but the True Master wanted to make me ¡®advance¡¯ using a ¡®title effect¡¯ as a bypass? ¡®And it¡¯s a title with a Guardian¡¯s name in it.¡¯ That implied a lot. ¡®A Guardian who thinks he¡¯s the best in the world and is very weak to praise and flattery.¡¯ That was the evaluation the world had of the ¡®True Master of the Heavenly Demonic Mountain¡¯, though of course no one dared to say that outright. ¡®But seeing as a Guardian like that wants to bestow a title with his name in it using an expedient, it must be an incredible title.¡¯ It could even be¡­ ¡®A title that the former Sword Empress got.¡¯ Since it was a title given in the beginner period, it was definitely capable of growth. The higher one¡¯s attainment, the stronger the title¡¯s effects would become. Simply put, he was bragging that the ¡®Heavenly Demon¡¯ title was a really amazing title. ¡®I think this is probably a special title granted to only one person¡­¡¯ Then what would happen to the Sword Empress? ¡®Do I take it, or not?¡¯ It might be an unfortunate development for Yeonseo, but it could also be a truly huge opportunity for me. The True Master of the Heavenly Demonic Mountain was trying to persuade me to advance, shouting ¡®I am my own Lord throughout heaven and earth¡¯ and offering me a title bearing his name. Of course it was a good thing for me. ¡®Since he even ignored the level 30 advancement rule and went this far, he¡¯s certainly a powerful Guardian.¡¯ There was no doubt about that. It was such a big opportunity for me that I had to seriously contemplate whether I should accept it or not. ¡®No.¡¯ I couldn¡¯t accept it. ¡®The Sword Empress Shin Yeonseo.¡¯ The Sword Empress I knew was truly strong. She was said to be the strongest in 1 vs. 1 PVP. But even so, her limitations were clear. ¡®Only by gathering all 8 Heroes of Korea were they able to confront the Demon King and his army.¡¯ If the ¡®Demon King¡¯ was the object of comparison, then the class the Sword Empress had possessed definitely had its limitations. ¡®Since I¡¯ve somehow returned to the past¡­¡¯ I had to become someone greater than the Sword Empress. I was given this chance, so I decided to do my utmost. I didn¡¯t want to limit myself to being a ¡®Sword Emperor¡¯ or ¡®the strongest in 1 vs. 1 PVP¡¯. I made my decision. ¡®The True Master of the Heavenly Demonic Mountain¡­¡¯ Wasn¡¯t that petty of a Guardian. Meaning, even if I rejected his active offer of sponsorship, he wouldn¡¯t harangue me afterwards. ¡®I refuse.¡¯ Notices came in instantly. [The ¡®True Master of the Heavenly Demonic Mountain¡¯ is greatly disappointed.] [The ¡®True Master of the Heavenly Demonic Mountain¡¯ feels great regret.] Thankfully, his reaction stopped at disappointment. Petty Guardians sometimes went and declared a Player as their ¡®enemy¡¯. When they did so, there was probably an accompanying notice saying that the Guardian was ¡®greatly enraged¡¯. ¡°Yeonseo, didn¡¯t you also get a notice?¡± I said intentionally. ¡°Yeah, I did. You got one too?¡± She was really naive. A seasoned Player would have hidden such an occurrence from me. What kind of contract a Guardian had offered her, what kind of title or abilities they were Playing with, all of that was a kind of strategic asset. ¡®She¡¯s so naive.¡¯ The Sword Empress in her beginner days was extremely naive. Even without psychological warfare or trades, she blathered a stream of information on her own initiative. ¡°It said he responds to my burning desire.¡± ¡°Burning desire?¡± ¡°Yeah. I¡­¡± After a moment of silence, she continued. ¡°¡­want to get stronger.¡± So she was saying she had a burning desire to get stronger. I understood that desire, because even I wanted to get stronger, right this moment. Later on, people judged ¡®burning desire to become stronger¡¯ in itself as a part of one¡¯s talent. ¡®Of course the future Sword Empress would want to become stronger.¡¯ The ¡®True Master of the Heavenly Demonic Mountain¡¯ had reacted to that desire. ¡°The True Master of the Heavenly Demonic Mountain offered me an advancement.¡± ¡°I thought he would.¡± ¡°Eh? Really? You predicted this? How did you know? Did you also get a notice?¡± Of course I hadn¡¯t predicted it¡ªthis girl was just coming to her own conclusions. Everything she said were things that others wouldn¡¯t have ever known if she hadn¡¯t said them herself. ¡®So she definitely got an advancement notice.¡¯ The Heavenly Demon had offered advancement to two people simultaneously, and before level 30. He certainly seemed powerful. ¡®He offered me the Heavenly Demon title, but¡­¡¯ There was a high chance that it was a unique title, which meant that it was highly likely the True Master offered Yeonseo a title of a lower grade. ¡®That won¡¯t do.¡¯ Yeonseo was a teammate I would be working with hand in hand. She might be inexperienced and unreliable right now, but there was a big chance she would become one of the heroes representing Korea. ¡®How can I manipulate the True Master of the Heavenly Demonic Mountain?¡¯ I couldn¡¯t lie. Spouting obvious lies to Guardians was a suicidal act. ¡®I have to make him give her the Heavenly Demon title.¡¯ After thinking, I said, ¡°He gave me very good advancement conditions, too. But I rejected it.¡± ¡°Eh? Why? Why? Is this actually not a good thing? Should I not agree to this?¡± Thankfully, it didn¡¯t look like she chose ¡®YES¡¯ yet. ¡°I thought it was really good. It¡¯s not? Tell me.¡± Mmhm. I didn¡¯t know what exactly she was offered, but it couldn¡¯t be as good as Heavenly Demon. ¡°Of course it¡¯s really good.¡± ¡°Then why didn¡¯t you accept?¡± ¡°Because I¡¯ve got a relatively clear idea of what my playstyle is.¡± My playstyle was currently something close to an all-rounder Player. I could go into most classes. But out of all those classes, the one that could fully bring out all of my strength right now was a class similar to a ¡®sovereign¡¯. ¡°Using my knowledge and intuition to make party Playing go smoothly.¡± ¡°¡­Really?¡± Yeonseo¡¯s expression was one of slight doubt. It was understandable, since I had gone for the Orc Archer with more efficient movements than her. * * * * * * ¡°Just now, without you, Sunhwa, or Yoohyun, I wouldn¡¯t have been able to clear this place.¡± It wasn¡¯t a lie. The True Master of the Heavenly Demonic Mountain was probably listening seriously to my words as well. ¡°In other words, I have an aptitude for determining the traits and uses of each Player and putting each Player in the right place.¡± ¡°So you¡¯re saying you¡¯re more suited to be a leader, yeah?¡± Yeonseo nodded in understanding. ¡°Yeah, I did think that while seeing you Play. You move like someone who knows all the strats.¡± ¡°There¡¯s no way that could be true, right?¡± Except there was. I knew all the strategies. But even if I didn¡¯t, it almost felt like I knew them instinctively. Somehow, it felt like I had that kind of talent. Doing this here, and that there, that intuition came to me automatically, though I didn¡¯t know if it was because of my talent or because of Eye of Perception. ¡®Since Eye of Perception is an innate ability, can you call it talent?¡¯ Well, whatever. ¡°You can just think of it as a special talent of mine. The ability to determine a person¡¯s abilities and direct them appropriately.¡± ¡°I think I get what you¡¯re saying. I definitely feel like the path is clear when I move according to your words.¡± ¡°I probably have a better understanding of you than you yourself.¡± It wasn¡¯t a lie. After all, this girl had no idea that she had the qualities to become the future Sword Empress. ¡°You do?¡± ¡°At least in swordsmanship, your dormant potential is way higher than mine.¡± ¡°Really? You think so?¡± I didn¡¯t know whether that was true or not, but it was hardly a blatant lie. It also sounded quite truthful. ¡°I trust my eyes.¡± ¡°Hm. I see.¡± You listening, True Master? This conversation is actually not between me and Yeonseo, but me and you. Are you really going to leave such a big treasure? ¡°Yeah. It¡¯s hard to describe it in detail. It¡¯s something that only the special eyes I have can pick up on. If I hadn¡¯t been observing you right here in person, I wouldn¡¯t have been able to see your dormant potential.¡± Basically, I was saying, ¡®You Guardians watching from above probably can¡¯t see this girl¡¯s true value¡¯. ¡°You were observing me that closely?¡± Why was her face getting all red for no good reason? ¡°Yeah. Because your dormant potential is huge.¡± ¡°I didn¡¯t know you thought so highly of me.¡± Wait a sec, what was she expecting here? Why was ¡®expectant¡¯ in her state? I really couldn¡¯t figure out what Yeonseo was thinking. Was I unable to understand the 20-year-old Yeonseo because I was a 30-year-old bachelor on the inside? ¡°You really mean it?¡± ¡°Yeah. I think that the things I can do well and the things you can do well are different.¡± ¡°Hm, hm.¡± Yeonseo seemed a little happier than before. The carrot had to taste all the better after getting the stick. ¡°That¡¯s why I thought that the honorable title the True Master of the Heavenly Demonic Mountain was offering me would suit you better.¡± An honorable title. Hey, Heavenly Demon. I really want that title too, dearest True Master. But sigh, there¡¯s no helping it. It¡¯ll suit this girl better, you know? You¡¯ll want to give it to her, you know? She¡¯ll be better than me, you know? She¡¯s a real genius. ¡°That¡¯s why I refused. Because I judged that you could make that honorable title shine more than me.¡± As I expected, the True Master of the Heavenly Demonic Mountain was paying close attention to my words. [The ¡®True Master of the Heavenly Demonic Mountain¡¯ is pleased by your words.] [The ¡®True Master of the Heavenly Demonic Mountain¡¯ praises your insight.] [The ¡®True Master of the Heavenly Demonic Mountain¡¯ praises you.] I decided to give a little more lip service. ¡°If you were to become the exclusive holder of the title that I almost got, I¡¯m sure you could make that title shine brighter than anyone. It¡¯s my belief that you could even become the most famous Player in the world.¡± Yeonseo¡¯s eyes grew wide. ¡°Really?¡± ¡°Of course. Because a great Guardian like the True Master of the Heavenly Demonic Mountain offered an advancement through a title in person.¡± True Master, you¡¯re listening, right? And all the other Guardians, you¡¯re listening, yeah? Can¡¯t you see that the ¡®True Master of the Heavenly Demonic Mountain¡¯ just used a trick to try and recruit us? You guys should step it up. ¡®The other Guardians will definitely take action now.¡¯ That was why I intentionally uttered ¡®advancement through a title¡¯. ¡®With this, he¡¯ll have no choice but to give Yeonseo the Heavenly Demon title.¡¯ Since it was already exposed that he had played a cowardly(?) trick, if he didn¡¯t settle this properly, Guardians like the ¡®Lady of the Scales¡¯, who valued justice and impartiality, would strongly complain. ¡®I saved his face, justified my reason for refusing, told him she has a huge amount of dormant potential, and plus, his back is to the wall.¡¯ In the end, the True Master of the Heavenly Demonic Mountain would grant Yeonseo the ¡®Heavenly Demon¡¯ title. Sure enough¡ª ¡°Hyukjin. I¡¯ve advanced.¡± Just in case this silly girl blathered more personal information, I blocked her mouth with my hand. ¡°There¡¯s no need to give every little detail about your personal information. Even to me or your party members.¡± ¡°¡­¡± ¡°Got it? If you understand, I¡¯m taking my hand off, alright?¡± Yeonseo nodded, and her state was updated. It became even more incomprehensible. Where in the world was she getting this ¡®aflutter¡¯ feeling from? [The valid time of the 1st Gateway has run out.] [You will be automatically sent to the 2nd Gateway.] When we were sent to the 2nd Gateway, I found myself in a completely different ¡®2nd Gateway¡¯ than the one I remembered. ¡®Goddammit¡­¡¯ I had a feeling I knew what this was. ¡®Why is this happening now?¡¯ ____ ____ Chapter 53 Max Talent Player Chapter 53: Great Orc Warrior [Entering the 2nd Gateway, ¡®Village of the Orc Warrior¡¯.] That much was fine, but¡ª [The 2nd Gateway¡¯s scenario, ¡®Village of the Orc Warrior¡¯, has been partially altered.] The scenario was suddenly altered, and I knew why. ¡®This is conclusive proof that the True Master gave Yeonseo the Heavenly Demon title.¡¯ Nothing in life was 100% good. He had forcefully given Yeonseo something so good that it changed the contents of the gateway. It was only natural that there would be a counterreaction. ¡®The True Master didn¡¯t break the rules.¡¯ When a Guardian actively interfered with a Player¡¯s Playing in such a manner, something would happen to counterbalance it. The True Master likely knew that as well. ¡®What changed, and how?¡¯ Whatever it was, it was definitely not a good thing for us. As long as we destroyed the crystal, the ¡®Orc Warrior¡¯ that was this gateway¡¯s boss monster would turn into stone. But now, that would no longer happen. This alone dramatically increased the difficulty. And it didn¡¯t end there. [The grade increase restriction of the ¡®Orc Warrior¡¯ in the 2nd Gateway scenario has been removed.] [You are given the 2nd Gateway¡¯s scenario quest, ¡®Kill the Orc Warrior¡¯.] The Orc Warrior was a monster that would grow stronger the longer you fought it. Since we were in a beginner-grade area, its growth was limited to ¡®Advanced Orc Warrior¡¯. ¡®If the grade increase restriction has been removed¡­ that means it can become an Orc Warrior of a higher grade.¡¯ I mentally sifted through a lot of information. ¡®With the conditions of this place, it can¡¯t evolve all the way into a High Orc.¡¯ To begin with, High Orcs and regular Orcs were like apples and oranges¡ªthey were on completely different levels. If a High Orc showed up here, we would all be annihilated, 100%, no question about it. ¡®If I connect the 2nd Gateway¡¯s perk and the current situation¡­¡¯ Then it was possible to deduce a rough estimate of how strong the Orc Warrior could become. ¡®It¡¯ll evolve to a Great Orc Warrior.¡¯ Starting from the Great Orc Warrior, there was a wide variation in the levels of individual monsters of the same species, but they were typically around level 37. The higher level ones were even level 40. Such an opponent was, of course, impossible for us to face with our current strength. ¡®Dammit.¡¯ The scenario hadn¡¯t started in full force yet. We were currently in the safe zone, but even this safe zone would soon disappear. ¡®What do we do?¡¯ I had to think and figure out a strategy to clear this place. ¡®Is there¡­ nothing we can do?¡¯ Right at this moment, it seemed like there was no way forward. We were in the 2nd Gateway, called the ¡®Village of the Orc Warrior¡¯. It was a grassland field, and I could see tents built in a messy cluster in the distance. It was more likely that the orcs had picked them up and were using tents that someone had made rather than making the tents themselves. Metal stakes of various lengths were scattered on the ground around us. [The 2nd Gateway scenario quest, ¡®Kill the Orc Warrior¡¯, has begun.] [If you are unable to destroy the 3 Crystals within the set time, Orc Archers will spawn.] [Remaining time¨C 10:00] This was the original content of the 2nd Gateway. I already knew where all of the crystals were. ¡®If we can¡¯t break three crystals within 10 minutes, three Orc Archers will spawn.¡¯ I bent to pick up a few stakes. ¡®A key item.¡¯ These stakes looked unrelated, but they were definitely items you could acquire, important items. Yeonseo asked, ¡°Boss. What do we do? Should we start by splitting up and looking for the crystals?¡± I nodded. ¡°You saw the way the Orcs moved earlier, right?¡± ¡°Yeah. I think I can dodge them. Some way or another.¡± I had to think hard for a moment. I already knew where the crystals were. The Orcs were still in their tents and hadn¡¯t shown themselves yet, but normal Orcs would soon swarm. ¡®If there¡¯s an Orc horde with Orc Archers in it¡­ and an Orc Warrior shows up on top of that, clearing this will be impossible.¡¯ We absolutely needed to block the appearance of Orc Archers, even if we took some damage to achieve it. I had to calculate my actions well. It would be troublesome if it looked like I obviously knew where the crystals were on the stream. ¡®In that case¡­¡¯ I would use the most basic method, looking for them one by one. ¡°You see that tent in the distance with the flag flying high? We¡¯ll search with that point as the center.¡± ¡°Got it.¡± ¡°Start at the very right from that point and look for the crystals while moving towards the center.¡± ¡°And don¡¯t fight the Orcs?¡± ¡°Yeah. Avoid contact as much as possible. The crystals come first and foremost.¡± ¡°Righto.¡± Yeonseo set off first. A hazy black energy was wisping off her legs, as if she were using a special movement technique. ¡®It¡¯s probably the Heavenly Demonic Flying Step.¡¯ There was a high chance it was the 1st stage of the Heavenly Demonic Flying Step. ¡°Sunhwa and Yoohyun, you two take the other side. Move from the very left towards the middle together.¡± They immediately understood. Yoohyun had slightly lower agility and speed. That meant he couldn¡¯t swiftly weave through the enemies like Yeonseo. They would have to take on a few attacks, which Sunhwa would block. ¡°Okay.¡± ¡°Understood, hyungnim.¡± With this method, we would be able to destroy two crystals within ten minutes, no problem. ¡®I have to break the last one, but¡­¡¯ That last crystal was inside the central tent. The problem was that the ¡®Orc Warrior¡¯ was surely sleeping within that tent. ¡®If I go inside, it¡¯ll probably start attacking.¡¯ Originally, I was planning on having Yeonseo pull the aggro while I went in to destroy the crystal, and that would be a wrap. ¡®Because as long as we destroy the crystal, the Orc Warrior would turn into stone.¡¯ But now, that benefit was gone. We were now in a situation where we had to kill the Orc Warrior anyway. I was still unsure. Could we really kill it? ¡®If we can¡¯t, then I just have to make it happen.¡¯ My head couldn¡¯t come up with a method to kill it, but when I actually went into the central tent and had a look for myself, I had a flash of inspiration. ¡®We can do it.¡¯ I heard two notices. [1 Crystal has been destroyed.] [Destroy the Crystals: ? complete.] ¡®Must be Yeonseo.¡¯ Yeonseo would join me soon. Yoohyun and Sunhwa would take a little longer. Yeonseo came running over with a slightly brighter expression. ¡°I destroyed a crystal. The Orcs were chasing me, but looks like they gave up in the end.¡± Orcs were slow. They couldn¡¯t keep up with Yeonseo. As long as the aggro was weak, they would stop chasing her once she got a certain distance away from them. ¡°Well done.¡± ¡°Did I really do good?¡± ¡°Yeah.¡± I examined the inside of the tent very carefully, finding a purple crystal and a snoring ¡®Orc Warrior¡¯. There were also regular Orcs napping around the Orc Warrior. I explained the method I came up with to Yeonseo. ¡°Listen up.¡± * * * * * * A cloud of dust was being kicked up. An Orc horde came running this way. ¡°Chwik¨C! Chwiiiiiik¨C!¡± Unlike Yeonseo, who had properly shaken off the Orcs, Yoohyun and Sunhwa had a good ten or so Orcs hot on their tails. Yeonseo wasn¡¯t surprised. That was because she had already heard this would happen from Hyukjin. ¡°Those two will definitely pull Orcs this way. They¡¯re not as fast as you, after all.¡± Hyukjin shouted, ¡°Yoohyun, Sunhwa. Just get in the Orc horde and keep their aggro on you!¡± To make it easy for each party member to understand, I instructed them separately. ¡°In the meantime, Yeonseo, you attack them one by one. Keep the aggro on Sunhwa!¡± Yoohyun and Sunhwa understood exactly what they had to do. ¡°I think we have to keep moving together, Mister.¡± ¡°Okay.¡± Otherwise, both of them would die. They had to work together. That was the only way they could survive while effectively stirring up the Orc horde. As they did so, Yeonseo started attacking them one by one. Her movements were indeed swift and precise. Splurt! Yeonseo¡¯s sword pierced an Orc¡¯s throat, severing what would be the carotid artery for a human. Blood gushed out of the Orc¡¯s neck. ¡®I did it.¡¯ Her goal was not this Orc¡¯s death. She carried out Hyukjin¡¯s orders to the letter. ¡°When you attack the Orcs, killing them isn¡¯t the goal. Make them bleed.¡± ¡®Next!¡¯ A wound of this level was more than enough. With a strike 1.2x faster than a regular attack, Yeonseo¡¯s sword pierced another Orc¡¯s neck, causing another stream of blood to fountain out. Yeonseo was covered in the spray as well. As she stood there, covered in dark red blood, she almost looked like a yaksha from hell. ¡®Next.¡¯ Three, four, five Orcs. She aimed for the same spot every time, and successfully struck the same spot every time. ¡°Hah¡­ hah¡­¡± Little by little, her breath became labored. Even though she wasn¡¯t completely killing them and was only wounding them, fighting a whopping five Orcs at once was no easy feat. Sunhwa jumped in front of her. ¡°Unnie! Watch out!¡± Clang! With a loud clang, Sunhwa heard a ¡®cra-crack!¡¯ sound from within her body. ¡°Urgh¡­!¡± Her left arm hung limply. Her body was unable to handle the impact, and her shoulder was in pieces. While that was going on outside, Hyukjin approached the crystal. ¡®Getting to it immediately will be tough.¡¯ The chaos outside was rousing the sleeping Orcs. The Orc Warrior opened its eyes as well. ¡®I can¡¯t make a straight line to the crystal.¡¯ He couldn¡¯t see a route there. From now on, Hyukjin would have to fight the Orcs and ¡®Orc Warrior¡¯ simultaneously, with no hope of support or help. ¡®I have to kill them.¡¯ Even if he broke the crystal, they would remain alive. ¡®Starting with this guy.¡¯ He lowered his body a little and approached one Orc with a speed that matched Yeonseo¡¯s while she was using ¡®Heavenly Demonic Flying Step¡¯. Then, his sharp blade aimed for the Orc¡¯s throat with a precision that rivaled Yeonseo¡¯s. ¡°Chwiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiik!!¡± Blood surged out of the Orc¡¯s neck as it screamed. Hyukjin jumped back immediately after leaving the big wound. He couldn¡¯t brute force it and charge straight in. A single mistake could be the difference between life and death. If he were to take a blow from the Orc Warrior¡¯s huge club right now¡­ ¡®Would I even be able to survive one hit?¡¯ Even that was uncertain. If he was unlucky and was injured, he would be surrounded by the Orcs in seconds. He could easily become the hunted instead of the hunter. Hyukjin filled his lungs and yelled, ¡°Come in!¡± Yeonseo, Yoohyun, and Sunhwa, who had been fighting the Orcs near the tent, immediately ran inside. The injured Orcs thumped and clunked in after them. In mere moments, the ¡®Orc Warrior¡¯s tent¡¯ was thrown into total chaos. ¡°Chwik¨Cchwiiik!¡± ¡°Chwiiik! Chwik! Chwik!¡± It wasn¡¯t that wide of a space, and nearly ten Orcs crammed themselves in. The Orcs¡¯ characteristic rotten stench and metallic reek of blood filled the space. In just moments, the inside of the tent was hot with fervor. And then, something shocking began to happen. Yeonseo¡¯s jaw dropped. ¡®Hyukjin¡¯s words¡­ were true!¡¯ ____ ____ Chapter 54 Max Talent Player Chapter 54: Great Orc Warrior (2) The Orc Warrior stood up, its nostrils flaring. Its body was nearly twice the size of regular Orcs. ¡°Chwik?¡± It smelled like something delicious¡­ the smell of blood. ¡°Chwiiiiiiiik!!¡± The Orc Warrior¡¯s eyes turned red. It didn¡¯t see that the ones bleeding were fellow Orcs and became completely intoxicated by the smell of blood. Hyukjin confirmed that the Orc Warrior¡¯s eyes had changed. ¡®It worked.¡¯ The Orc Warrior was weak to the smell of blood. With this much, it would instantly go completely bonkers. Now, it would start hunting its allies like a train running off its tracks. Cruuuunch! The Orc Warrior ripped off an Orc¡¯s arm and chomped it down whole, crunching down on bone. ¡°Squeaaaaaaaal!¡± Its hapless victim squealed. The Orc Warrior grabbed it at the waist and began to consume it, chomping and munching from the head down. Completely intoxicated by the smell of blood, the Orc Warrior became even more fevered. Delicious things! Delicious things! Delicious things! Only one thought, ¡®prey¡¯, dominated the Orc Warrior¡¯s instincts. The Orc Warrior roared, dark red blood flying out of its mouth. The Orcs began to flee in terror. ¡°Chwiiiiiik!¡± A notice came in at the same time. Hyukjin grinned. ¡®There it is. Orc Fear.¡¯ Actually, this wasn¡¯t an Orc Warrior-exclusive innate ability. It was a technique most ¡®boss monsters¡¯ had. ¡®Normally, it¡¯s an ability that freezes Players or makes them unable to flee.¡¯ But not right now. ¡®Right now, it¡¯s to prevent the escape of its delicious prey, the Orcs.¡¯ This ¡®Orc Fear¡¯ wasn¡¯t aimed at them, the Players, but at the fleeing Orcs. As a result, Hyukjin and the others weren¡¯t greatly affected. ¡®And¡­ the Orc Warrior isn¡¯t a super high level boss monster.¡¯ He didn¡¯t know for sure, but he believed it was very unlikely that the Orc Warrior would use its fear move again. It probably had an extremely long cooldown. With the really high ranked monsters, they would fire fear at random and make things difficult for Players. But not the Orc Warrior. ¡®The cooldown being extremely long basically means that its innate ability has been used up.¡¯ In that case, it would be much easier to face from now on. ¡°Squeaaaaaal!¡± The Orcs became sacrifices to the Orc Warrior. The great beast chomped down Orcs as soon as it could grab them, as if the word ¡®satiety¡¯ did not exist in its book. Breathing hard, Yeonseo asked Hyukjin, ¡°Can we really leave it be? Even though its body got bigger?¡± It was already a hulking lump, but it became even bigger. ¡°Hyungnim. The definition of its muscles has become crazy high. I think it¡¯s gotten a lot stronger.¡± Hyukjin nodded. ¡°Fighting one Advanced Orc Warrior is better¡­ than fighting the Orc Warrior and its horde of Orcs. At least for us.¡± The choice he had made was to fight one general rather than hundreds of soldiers. That was Hyukjin¡¯s choice¡ªto fight one strong being rather than a multitude of weak ones. ¡®This method is our path to survival.¡¯ He also knew its limits. It couldn¡¯t grow all the way to a High Orc anyway. If it stopped here, that would be great, but even if it grew a little more, it would stop at a ¡®Great Orc Warrior¡¯. ¡®It¡¯s going to be dangerous anyway, so¡­ it¡¯d be fine to evolve into a Great Orc Warrior, at least¡­¡¯ The perceived difficulty would be similar. Both the Advanced and Great Orc Warrior were monsters that he and his party members couldn¡¯t defeat at their current level without knowing the strategy, anyway. Both of them were strong. The perceived difficulty would be similar, but the quality of the items they dropped would be completely different. Since things had come to this, Hyukjin thought it would be good if it evolved into a Great Orc Warrior. Cruuuuunch! The now Advanced Orc Warrior was in a frenzy to murder and consume its allies. It ate yet another Orc, bones and all. It didn¡¯t show the slightest interest in the Players, Hyukjin and his party members. That was because the delicious scent¡ªthe smell of blood¡ªwas exceedingly weak on them. ¡°Squeaaaaaaaal!¡± Inside the tent, the last Orc disappeared inside the Advanced Orc Warrior¡¯s belly. It finally seemed full. Only then did the Great Orc Warrior begin to have an interest in the Players. [Kill the Great Orc Warrior] Kill the Great Orc Warrior. You cannot kill the Great Orc Warrior with your current abilities alone. However, the Courageous Lion King will watch over your courage and guts. Quest reward: Special ability ¡®Mettle¡¯ It wasn¡¯t a quest given to just Hyukjin. Yoohyun, Yeonseo, and Sunhwa got it as well. ¡®Mettle.¡¯ Mettle: A person¡¯s grit and resilience in dealing with difficulties, no matter what they were. ¡®This¡­ came out here?¡¯ There were a great number of ways you could acquire this ability. Hyukjin had also written up a plan to acquire Mettle, because it was one of the key abilities for Rankers. If you had Mettle, your resistance to mental attacks became much higher, and it would negate a good portion of boss monster fears. ¡®¡­I have to do it.¡¯ It was unexpected, but he was happy about it. ¡®How unusual that the damned courage-lover is being helpful for once.¡¯ In any case, he could earn Mettle with this. ¡®As long as I can kill that monster, that is.¡¯ Raids were always one or the other. It came down to whether the foe died, or you did. Whether the monster died, or the Player did. It would only end with one or the other. ¡®It¡¯s big.¡¯ It was about 3 meters tall, so enormous that it made even the giant Yoohyun look small. Yoohyun and Yeonseo stood on either side of Hyukjin, and Sunhwa stood right in front of him. ¡°Boss. Hyukjin. This¡­ is gonna be fine, right?¡± ¡°¡­¡± Hyukjin didn¡¯t know. ¡°We have to hope that our plan worked.¡± If it didn¡¯t? Then they would die here. There was no other way. In this scenario, which had changed because of the ¡®True Master of the Heavenly Demonic Mountain¡¯, there was no other way for them to survive. * * * * * * Yeonseo regripped her sword. A bead of sweat ran down her forehead, traveling over her cheeks and down her nape. She stared at the ¡®Great Orc Warrior¡¯ with a piercing intensity. It wasn¡¯t making any real movements yet. This was the calm before the storm, the moment before two forces collided. Thump! Thump! Her heart trembled. Yeonseo kept her nerves stretched taut. ¡®At least¡­¡¯ The good thing was that the current situation was perfectly in line with what Hyukjin had schemed. ¡®Hyukjin created this situation.¡¯ This was definitely the desired outcome of Hyukjin¡¯s tactic. Hyukjin said, ¡°I¡¯m going in.¡± ¡°Oppa. Won¡¯t it be better for me to go in? I¡¯m sturdier.¡± Hyukjin chuckled. ¡°Being sturdy means nothing. One hit, and it¡¯ll be over, anyway. The level indication shows up as question marks to me.¡± The Great Orc Warrior¡¯s level was around 37. Sunhwa as she was now would not be able to block a single hit from such a monster. ¡°So it¡¯s better for me to go, since I have a slight chance of being able to dodge.¡± Hyukjin moved forward. ¡®Did it really¡­ work?¡¯ Seeing as the Great Orc Warrior hadn¡¯t moved this whole time, it did look like their plan worked, somewhat. ¡®It ate a lot in a hurry, so its stomach must be very bloated.¡¯ And most likely¡­ ¡®The Mutant Wolf¡¯s Fang should have taken effect.¡¯ The Mutant Wolf¡¯s Fang was an item Hyukjin had steadily collected ever since the Tutorial. It was also essentially the first item he acquired in the Tutorial Field. [Mutant Wolf¡¯s Fang] The fang of the poisonous Mutant Wolf. It possesses a fatal ¡®paralyzation poison¡¯. The Orc Warrior had swallowed the Orcs whole. Hyukjin knew that it would do so in advance and had embedded ¡®Mutant Wolf¡¯s Fangs¡¯ all over on the Orcs¡¯ bodies. The reason why they left the Orcs alive, why they pulled them all the way into the tent, and why they made the Orc Warrior eat the Orcs was all for this outcome. ¡°Hyungnim. Will that really have an effect?¡± ¡®A few wouldn¡¯t have made any difference.¡¯ He drew even closer to the Great Orc Warrior. ¡®But this guy swallowed at least seventy fangs.¡¯ He didn¡¯t expect the fangs to be able to completely paralyze the monster. Mutant Wolf¡¯s Fangs were unable to completely paralyze a Great Orc Warrior, of all things. ¡®But¡ª¡¯ They could greatly slow down the monster¡¯s movements. Hyukjin slightly lowered his center of gravity. The Great Orc Warrior saw a Player coming near it. For some reason, its body felt sluggish, but it was fine. That puny human was nothing¡ªone bite, and it would be over. The Great Orc Warrior did not feel much danger. Hyukjin used the special skill ¡®Flash Step¡¯ by title switching. The monster ahead would be unable to react to his speed. Whoosh¨C! The Great Orc Warrior swung its massive, 1-meter large club. ¡®It¡¯s faster than I thought.¡¯ The Great Orc Warrior reacted a little to Flash Step. It was definitely a high-level monster. ¡®But this much, I can manage.¡¯ It was only a little faster than he expected, not something he couldn¡¯t handle. Hyukjin whipped around to the back of the Great Orc Warrior using Flash Step. ¡°Yeonseo!¡± Giving a signal to Yeonseo, Hyukjin swung his sword at the Achilles tendon of the Great Orc Warrior. The monster raised its left foot, as if it had eyes on the back of its head. Then, it whirled rapidly around. Despite suffering from the effects of paralyzation poison, it evaded Hyukjin¡¯s attack very easily. In the meantime, Yeonseo used Heavenly Demonic Flying Step to get close. ¡®That guy is aiming for Hyukjin.¡¯ Its back was unguarded. ¡®My goal is the ribs.¡¯ She couldn¡¯t deal a fatal blow in one hit. They had to pare down the monster¡¯s health little by little. ¡®Here I go!¡¯ But just then, the Great Orc Warrior swung down its arm. Clang! Its arm blocked Yeonseo¡¯s sword. Even though it wasn¡¯t wearing armor, the sound was like steel meeting steel. ¡®How can its body be so sturdy?¡¯ That meant at Yeonseo¡¯s current level and attack power, she was unable to penetrate the monster¡¯s skin, especially the tough skin of its arm. Hyukjin saw it all. ¡®The look in its eyes has changed.¡¯ Those were not the eyes of prey being hunted. The beast in front was full of confidence. The Great Orc Warrior was convinced that it was the predator here. Even though its body didn¡¯t move as it wanted, it could catch and swallow these measly humans no problem. Those were the thoughts Hyukjin saw in its eyes. ¡®The eyes of a predator.¡¯ He had been waiting for this very moment. They would only have one chance. In order to come this far, he had designed and painted the situation stroke by stroke. ¡®Now.¡¯ The opportunity had come. Hyukjin moved, determined to make a miracle happen. ____ ____ Chapter 55 Max Talent Player Chapter 55: Great Orc Warrior (3) The Great Orc Warrior was convinced it was the predator here. It filled its lungs, preparing to let out a bellow full of confidence. ¡°GUROAAAAR!¡± It roared, opening its jaws wide. These tiny humans. Even if they came in a swarm, it would not fear them in the least. It wondered how delicious human meat was, if it could become even stronger by eating humans. Its thoughts were dominated by such instincts. But then¡ª Spluuurt! Hyukjin¡¯s sword pierced through the Great Orc Warrior¡¯s mouth. ¡°SQUEAAAAAAAAAAAAAL!¡± The moment it roared¡ªthat was the moment Hyukjin had been aiming for. The Great Orc Warrior¡¯s skin was tough. Even its eyes were sturdy. The mouth was very nearly the sole vulnerable spot of such a sturdy monster. ¡®Now. The inside of the mouth!¡¯ It was a fleeting moment, but Hyukjin didn¡¯t let it slip through his fingers. ¡°SQUEAAAAL!¡± With a sword lodged in its mouth, the Great Orc Warrior screamed as it crouched. Hyukjin¡¯s attack didn¡¯t end there. ¡®I have to see it through.¡¯ The Great Orc Warrior¡¯s right fist came flying at him, but Hyukjin dodged it with ease. The force behind the punch was great enough to kill him instantly, but only if it hit him. Hyukjin took out the item he¡¯d picked up earlier. He drove the ¡®Steel Spike¡¯ upright at a 90 degree angle in the beast¡¯s mouth. ¡®Now, it won¡¯t be able to close its mouth¡­!¡¯ He had utilized the strategy to the utmost, not missing the tiny opening he was given. He took a step back. ¡°Yoohyun!¡± Yoohyun swiftly ran over. The Great Orc Warrior had fallen to its knees. It was clawing desperately at its face, but the pain was too great for it to grab the sword lodged deep inside. It flailed in pain, unable to do anything. ¡°Aim for the temples.¡± The Great Orc Warrior on its knees was at a height where Yoohyun¡¯s fists could easily reach its head. ¡°Yes, hyungnim!¡± Yoohyun approached quickly. He used his left foot as a central axis and pivoted his hips. A right fist loaded with all the force of Yoohyun¡¯s weight slammed into the Great Orc Warrior¡¯s temple. Bam! A resounding boom burst out. Yoohyun¡¯s fist landed precisely on the Great Orc Warrior¡¯s temple. Staying in place, Yoohyun threw his left fist with his weight behind it. A left hook after a right hook. Yoohyun¡¯s sturdy legs allowed him to perfectly keep his balance. The momentarily incapacitated Great Orc Warrior was no different from a sandbag to him. The Great Orc Warrior¡¯s upper body swayed. ¡°Hyungnim! Can I attack its jaw?¡± ¡°As long as you don¡¯t dislodge the stake.¡± ¡°Understood.¡± Yoohyun grabbed the Great Orc Warrior¡¯s head with both hands and thrust his knee into its chin. The knee kick planted perpendicular to the ground didn¡¯t dislodge the stake. Rather, it pushed the stake further into the monster¡¯s gums, fixing it more firmly in place. ¡®It went through¡­!¡¯ Normally, the Great Orc Warrior would counterattack or block, but not right now. First of all, it was under the paralyzing poison of ¡®Mutant Wolf¡¯s Fang¡¯, and secondly, it had suffered an attack to a vulnerable part of its body¡ªthe mouth. The current Great Orc Warrior was not the usual Great Orc Warrior. It was far weaker. Yeonseo came in as well. Yeonseo had also determined that the Great Orc Warrior¡¯s weakness was the inside of its mouth. She aimed at a point directly inside the mouth, and her sword pierced its mark. After around five minutes, the Great Orc Warrior finally collapsed limply to the ground. Splurt! Hyukjin buried his sword into the back of the Great Orc Warrior¡¯s head. [Great Orc Warrior has been killed.] [EXP acquired.] [50 Coins acquired.] He was able to get an item from the Great Orc Warrior¡¯s body. [Great Orc Warrior¡¯s Molar] A long molar of the Great Orc Warrior. It is imbued with the Great Orc Warrior¡¯s strength. If processed in a special way and ingested, you will be able to acquire a special power. No other items were dropped. [The 2nd Gateway scenario quest, ¡®Kill the Orc Warrior¡¯, has been cleared.] [Distributing the ¡®Kill the Orc Warrior¡¯ quest clear rewards.] [¡®Great Orc Warrior¡¯s Iron Armor¡¯ has been acquired.] [¡®Great Orc Warrior¡¯s Leather Shoes¡¯ has been acquired.] Hyukjin craned his ears at the notices. ¡®The Great Orc Warrior set¡­ is pretty valuable, even in the middle period.¡¯ He was given iron armor and one pair of leather shoes. Currently, considering it was the beginner period, where most Players hadn¡¯t even advanced properly yet, he had gotten extremely good items. ¡®It should be really helpful in the level 30 period.¡¯ But it didn¡¯t end there. The rewards for killing the Great Orc Warrior, a nearly impossible, highly difficult foe to defeat if not for Hyukjin¡¯s quick thinking, were absolutely not small. [Mettle] ¡®Mettle¡¯ is the aura of a ruler and the higher form of ¡®Pressure¡¯. It induces instinctive fear and awe in those who are of a lower level than the user. Unlike an ¡®innate ability¡¯, which was a dormant power within a Player, a ¡®special ability¡¯ was a new power granted to a Player by an external force. Among those ¡®special abilities¡¯, Hyukjin acquired ¡®Mettle¡¯. ¡®Ah, so this is the higher form of Pressure.¡¯ ¡®Pressure¡¯ was the ability the President of Sungshin, Song Kiyoung, had used. Now, Hyukjin had the higher version of it, Mettle. But just then, he heard another notice. * * * * * * For a moment, I could only doubt my ears. ¡®The Herdsman of Las Vegas?¡¯ Even among Guardians, he was an extremely famous one. He was the Guardian of ¡®Michelle¡¯, one of America¡¯s top Rankers. Her nickname was ¡®Pyramid¡¯, or more precisely, ¡®Gold Pyramid¡¯. ¡®Michelle¡¯s Guardian is watching me?¡¯ The Herdsman of Las Vegas was a Guardian who placed a great deal of importance on ¡®effective team plays¡¯ and ¡®teamwork¡¯. Michelle was a Player optimized for that. ¡®The queen at the top of countless sovereign class Players.¡¯ Each and every one of the Players under Michelle¡¯s banner, the so-called ¡®Michelle Division¡¯, were national powerhouses of the highest level. The sovereign they followed was Michelle, and the Guardian Michelle made a contract with was the ¡®Herdsman of Las Vegas¡¯. ¡®I thought he would be in the US server?¡¯ He was watching the Korean server instead of the US one? This was certainly unprecedented. ¡®The only person who successfully contracted with the Herdsman of Las Vegas was Michelle¡­¡¯ A Guardian who had given almost exclusive support to Michelle and based his operations in the US server suddenly started to watch me. However, it didn¡¯t end at simply ¡®watching¡¯. He kicked things off with a very generous sponsorship. With that, I was able to acquire the Great Orc Warrior¡¯s armor, shoes, and pants. ¡°Did anyone else get a notice from a Guardian called the Herdsman of Las Vegas?¡± I asked. Everyone shook their heads. The Herdsman of Las Vegas was only interested in me. [The clear condition has been fulfilled as a result of clearing the scenario quest.] [Hunt the remaining Orcs.] Originally, the 2nd Gateway in the 2nd underground floor of the Seoul Station Dungeon would be finished once you destroyed the three crystals and smashed the petrified Orcs. But now, we had to kill all the living Orcs. The difficulty itself was far higher. However, they weren¡¯t Orc Warriors, but regular Orcs, and terrified ones, at that. It wasn¡¯t difficult to hunt them down. [Orc has been killed.] [EXP acquired.] [Level increased.] [Current level: 29] We went around the dungeon for about one hour. ¡°Squeaal!¡± And then, we succeeded in killing the last Orc. [You have cleared the Seoul Station Dungeon 2nd Underground Floor.] [300 Coins acquired.] [Dungeon title ¡®Conqueror of the Seoul Station Dungeon¡¯ acquired.] [Leaving the dungeon in 30 seconds.] Dungeon titles were different from regular titles. Dungeon titles were special titles that only applied within the dungeon where it was acquired. Normally, they weren¡¯t that useful. ¡®Having it is still better than nothing, though.¡¯ Sunhwa smiled wide. ¡°We cleared it!¡± Her brightly smiling face looked really cute. I wondered if this is how it would feel if I had a daughter later. Everyone relished the joy of the clear. Yeonseo went into a big stretch. ¡°I¡¯ll need to sleep for about three days when we get out.¡± While she was stretching, something caught my eye. ¡®Huh?¡¯ Over there, near the tent of the Great Orc Warrior, I saw a door in the air. ¡°What¡¯s that door?¡± Yeonseo turned. ¡°I don¡¯t see anything?¡± Sunhwa also tilted her head. ¡°What? Is there something there?¡± Yoohyun was the same. ¡°There¡¯s nothing there, hyungnim!¡± I was sure of it. Only I could see that door. I had never heard of any kind of ¡®door¡¯ within this hidden piece, the Seoul Station Dungeon 2nd Underground Floor, not even in the exploration logs of the Great Explorer ¡®Jackson¡¯. A door only I could see. What did it mean? I had never experienced a phenomenon like this in the flesh. During the Tutorial, I had heard a special notice that no one else had heard. ¡®An unfair notice¡­ determined by talent.¡¯ That was what I was seeing right now. ¡®It¡¯s because of that notice that I attempted the D-Tower 2nd Floor.¡¯ It was because I heard that extra safe zone notice that I was able to come back alive from the Tutorial. A door visible only to me¡­ I made a decision. ¡°There¡¯s a door only I can see. I think it¡¯s a special hidden piece,¡± I said quickly. ¡°So you guys go out first. I¡¯ll come out after clearing it.¡± The clock kept ticking down. There was no time to spare. I immediately used ¡®Flash Step¡¯ with title switching and reached the door instantaneously. Voices came from behind me. ¡°Hey! Boss! What is it? What¡¯s going on!¡± ¡°Hyungnim!¡± ¡°Oppa!¡± I wasn¡¯t able to explain any more. My hand touched the door. [You have discovered a Special Hidden Piece, ¡®Forest of Unknowns¡¯.] [Entering the ¡®Forest of Unknowns¡¯.] ____ ____ Chapter 56 Max Talent Player Chapter 56: The Herdsman of Las Vegas Senia¡¯s wings trembled. She was maintaining an expressionless face, but inside, she was greatly shocked. ¡®Are you telling me there was a special hidden piece here?¡¯ That was something even she, an Intermediate Administrator, didn¡¯t know about. She had never thought that such a hidden piece would exist in what was merely the beginner period, not even a higher level period. A special hidden piece. It was the sort of thing the Guardians, as addicted to spectating as they were, went crazy over. The messages of Guardians reacting and entering her channel hit her almost like a deluge. [Anonymous Guardians are entering Channel #19207 in great numbers.] [The ¡®Herdsman of Las Vegas¡¯ has sent a subscription contract request to Channel #19207.] [The ¡®True Master of the Heavenly Demonic Mountain¡¯ has sent the Intermediate Administrator a 200 Coin sponsorship.] ¡­ [The ¡®Lady of the Scales¡¯ has sent the Intermediate Administrator a 120 Coin sponsorship.] The stream of notices continued without end. A whopping ¡®special hidden piece¡¯ that no one had anticipated in the beginner period was discovered. And that was being streamed exclusively by Senia. The Guardians were not stingy with their sponsorships to such a commendable(?) Intermediate Administrator. Of the guardians who had just come in and didn¡¯t know yet what was going on, the anonymous Guardians shot out a barrage of questions. ¨CWhat in the world is this? ¨CIsn¡¯t this the beginner period? A special hidden piece actually existed? ¨CCould it be a special area made by some respected Guardian? ¨CCan someone explain this to me please? The ¡®True Name Guardians¡¯ who, unlike such rabble, could be called the real Guardians, watched the situation in silence. They might be staying quiet, but it was a definite fact that they, too, were on the edge of their seats. Senia was bewildered. ¡®This is the strength of good quality content.¡¯ Actually, she knew. She knew she wasn¡¯t good at talking, that she couldn¡¯t make things fun like the other Intermediate Administrators, and that she couldn¡¯t accommodate the Guardians¡¯ tastes very well. The only advantage she had was her appearance, which could contend for the top ranks even among Intermediate Administrators in beauty. ¡®But beauty alone¡­ isn¡¯t enough for me to survive.¡¯ That was something Senia knew keenly, as well. But now, there was already a Guardian wanting to ¡®subscribe¡¯, and countless Guardians were showering her with Coins. There were also many Guardians who didn¡¯t go into the channels of other Intermediate Administrators and stayed exclusively in hers, Channel #19207. Standing in front of the door going into the ¡®Forest of Unknowns¡¯, Senia stared at Kim Hyukjin. His movements held no trace of hesitation or delay. To Hyukjin, it was definitely uncharted territory, but he didn¡¯t look fearful in the least. ¡®Player Kim Hyukjin.¡¯ Just like Hyukjin had guaranteed, he certainly proved his worth as ¡®quality content¡¯. If not for him, Senia would have probably not even made it this far. [The ¡®Courageous Lion King¡¯ has sent a subscription contract request to Channel #19207.] [A great number of anonymous Guardians have become excited.] [A great number of anonymous Guardians are unable to take their eyes off Player Kim Hyukjin.] She looked at Hyukjin once again. She, like the Guardians, was unable to take her eyes off him. ¡®Please don¡¯t die.¡¯ Senia was suddenly taken aback, greatly startled by her own emotions. ¡®No. I was just mistaken for a moment.¡¯ She unconsciously shook her head, and three times at that. ¡®This emotion isn¡¯t me worrying about Player Kim Hyukjin.¡¯ She, Senia, did not stoop to the likes of worrying. Such an emotion was worthless. She had no emotions. She was convinced of that. So the thought that had just run through her mind was absolutely not worry. ¡®This is merely uneasiness about what I would do if something happened to my quality content.¡¯ Though no one was listening, she thought that to herself. ¡®Because it would be difficult to find such quality content again.¡¯ While she was thinking, Hyukjin entered the ¡®Forest of Unknowns¡¯, and she followed, still amazed that he had discovered such a thing. The field changed. She saw an extremely dense forest, which suited the area¡¯s name perfectly. [You have entered the ¡®Forest of Unknowns¡¯.] [Issuing a clear quest.] [Find the master of the ¡®Forest of Unknowns¡¯ and converse with them.] A clear quest was issued. Hyukjin had to find the master of the forest. Senia cast her senses far into the distance. ¡®It¡¯s large.¡¯ It was a massive forest the likes of which could not exist in the beginner period. The size of this one forest was almost on par with the size of all of Seoul. ¡®I can hardly believe he was given a quest to find the master of such an enormous forest. Is this really a hidden piece that can be cleared?¡¯ There was no knowing where he could be, or who the master of the forest was. This was really a quest with a lot of legwork. She heard his voice. ¡°This¡­ If things go wrong, I could die of hunger. Even though I¡¯m almost level 30 now.¡± ¡°¡­¡± Senia didn¡¯t respond. Hyukjin¡¯s words weren¡¯t wrong. It was possible he could starve. This place was so large, and he hadn¡¯t brought any provisions. * * * I anticipated a response to my meaningful words. This was a place that the Guardians would go crazy for, a so-called special hidden piece. There probably weren¡¯t many Guardians who wanted a super rookie like me to perish out of hunger in such a place. ¡®My level is 29. The Guardian selection time is coming up.¡¯ So what will you do, Guardians? What kind of card will you offer me? In mere moments, the notices rushed in. [The ¡®Herdsman of Las Vegas¡¯ lends you a ¡®Magic Camping Set¡¯.] [The ¡®Lady of the Scales¡¯ lends you ¡®Magic Spring Water¡¯.] [The ¡®True Master of the Heavenly Demonic Mountain¡¯ lends you the ¡®Heavenly Demonic Breathing Art¡¯.] [The ¡®Courageous Lion King¡¯ lends you a ¡®Magic Campfire¡¯.] [The ¡®Nameless Observer¡¯ temporarily increases the grade of your ¡®Eye of Perception¡¯.] Though I was the one who wanted this to happen, even I was struck speechless. ¡®What the hell is this?¡¯ The number of Guardians who could send messages at the same time was limited to five. Therefore, the previous stream of messages meant that all five slots were filled up to send me aid. ¡®Magic Camping Set, Magic Spring Water, Heavenly Demonic Breathing Art, increase in Eye of Perception¡¯s grade, Magic Campfire?¡¯ A Magic Camping Set was basically some simple cooking tools and equipment for camping bundled as a set. Senia approached me. ¡°I will begin explaining the items. The Magic Camping Set is¡­¡± I knew everything even without her explanation. ¡®Magic Camping Set. Even though it looks shabby, it¡¯s a camping set that costs over $30k.¡¯ This set of items was something future Rankers possessed at least one of and wasn¡¯t something that should appear in the beginner level period. With this, I could even establish a safe zone, though it would be weak. ¡°Also, the Magic Spring Water is¡­¡± ¡°Drinking water.¡± ¡°¡­Correct.¡± In an extended dungeon exploration, this ¡®Magic Spring Water¡¯ was even more important than the Magic Camping Set. You could get at least 1,000 liters of fresh drinking water from it. ¡°Moving on, the Heavenly Demonic Breathing Art is a special skill temporarily granted by the True Master of the Heavenly Demonic Mountain that¡­¡± It was a skill that the Sword Empress would get in the future. You could think of it like a cure-all that instantly restored your fatigue. Even though it counted as a crucial ability of the Sword Empress, I would be able to use it, at least temporarily. ¡°The Magic Campfire is¡­¡± As one might expect, it was an enchanted campfire that could be turned on and off repeatedly. It was thought to be able to stay lit for at least 3,000 hours, could not be extinguished by rain, and also had a great effect in keeping monsters away. ¡°Player Kim Hyukjin. Are you listening to me?¡± My eyes whipped to Senia. Was it my imagination, or did she raise her voice just now? ¡®Is she mad because I ignored her words?¡¯ But the feelings I could pick up from her with Eye of Perception were a little strange. ¡®I don¡¯t think it¡¯s simple anger.¡¯ I couldn¡¯t say what exactly she was feeling. For now, I increased the grade of Eye of Perception with the help of the ¡®Nameless Observer¡¯. * * * * * * Afterwards, I was able to perceive Senia¡¯s emotions in greater detail. Things that I hadn¡¯t seen before were revealed to my eyes. [Intermediate Administrator] Name: Senia Age: 332 Level: ? Race: Angel Subscriber Guardians: [Courageous Lion King], [Herdsman of Las Vegas], +1 State: Neutral / Observing / Facade Summary: Woman Denying Her Feelings ¡®Something¡¯s a little weird about her state and summary.¡¯ Neutral and observing were fine, but what was with facade? And the summary was ¡®Woman Denying Her Feelings¡¯. ¡®It¡¯s not even Angel Denying Her Feelings, but woman?¡¯ Was she bound by some kind of taboo where she had no choice but to deny her feelings? ¡®It would have been nice to be able to see more detailed information.¡¯ What I found funny was that the ¡®Courageous Lion King¡¯ and the ¡®Herdsman of Las Vegas¡¯ were subscribed to Senia. ¡®They sure did it fast.¡¯ There was also a +1 next to their names, but I didn¡¯t know who it was. ¡®In Eye of Perception¡­¡¯ Strangely enough, I got the feeling that a little ¡®worry¡¯ was mixed into Senia¡¯s emotions. However, that feeling disappeared before long. ¡®I must be mistaken.¡¯ An Intermediate Administrator would never worry about a mere Player. Streamers and Players had a you-use-me, I-use-you relationship. In other words, a business relationship. It was hard to imagine that she would worry about me when I was only a business partner. Senia reiterated, ¡°Player Kim Hyukjin. I asked if you were listening to me or not.¡± ¡°I heard it all, don¡¯t worry.¡± Surprisingly, Senia¡¯s face reddened. Her wingtips trembled visibly. ¡°I do not lower myself to ¡®worry¡¯. Don¡¯t be mistaken. Player Kim Hyukjin.¡± ¡°¡­¡± That kind of reaction made me think she really did worry about me. But Senia continued, and I shelved that thought. ¡°With my authority as an Intermediate Administrator, I will issue a quest.¡± In order to make the content more fun, an Intermediate Administrator could issue a quest that wouldn¡¯t alter the scenario. It wasn¡¯t that unusual an occurrence. But¡­ the quest was a little strange. No, it was very strange. ¡°¡­Is this a real quest?¡± ¡°Yes. There is no doubt.¡± Repeat After Me. It was self-explanatory. [Repeat After Me] A quest from the Intermediate Administrator Senia. Explain all the information Senia gave you in detail. Quest reward: 300 Coins Giving me this kind of joke quest, was she really worried about me? Was she purposefully trying to confirm that I knew everything? Even at the cost of her precious Coins? ¡®Well, it¡¯s easy enough.¡¯ ¡°First of all, a Magic Camping Set is¡­¡± I already knew all there was to know about these items. ¡°And the Magic Campfire¡­ on and off repeatedly.¡± When I finished explaining all the items, I got a quest clear notice. From that, I noticed something odd. It was only one small oddity, but it didn¡¯t evade me. ¡®What the heck?¡¯ ____ ____ Chapter 57 Max Talent Player Chapter 57: Herdsman of Las Vegas (2) I was able to earn 300 Coins from this joke of a quest. But that wasn¡¯t the important thing. ¡®I didn¡¯t say anything about Eye of Perception¡­¡¯ I hadn¡¯t said anything about Eye of Perception¡¯s grade increase, but the quest was cleared anyway. ¡®What does this mean?¡¯ It meant¡­ that Senia didn¡¯t know about the gift the Nameless Observer gave me. ¡®But why?¡¯ I had no idea. ¡®Is that really how it is?¡¯ I was probably correct. Senia didn¡¯t know that my Eye of Perception¡¯s grade was temporarily increased. ¡°Satisfied? I memorized it perfectly, right?¡± ¡°You did. But Player Kim Hyukjin needs to listen more carefully to my explanation. It could be directly tied to your survival.¡± ¡°Isn¡¯t it fine since I memorized it?¡± ¡°¡­Yes, but¡ª¡± It wasn¡¯t good to talk to a Streamer for too long. A chat between a Player and Streamer wasn¡¯t what the Guardians wanted to see. What they wanted to see was how I would clear this ¡®special hidden piece¡¯. ¡®Though, for someone like the Whispering Devil, I¡¯m sure they¡¯d like to see me suffer and suffer some more.¡¯ In any case, I moved forward. I could tell from Eye of Perception that the scale of this forest was enormous, so large that it was difficult to determine exactly how far it extended. ¡®It¡¯ll take a while.¡¯ Everything else wouldn¡¯t be much of a problem, but I was a little worried about my mom and older sister. ¡®But nothing will come out of worrying now.¡¯ This was a path I chose to walk. There were no take backs, and there was no path back, anyway. ¡®The clue is to find the master of the forest.¡¯ That was my only hint. ¡®It¡¯s evening right now.¡¯ The ¡®flow of time¡¯ existed in this hidden piece. The sun was setting, which meant that side was to the west. ¡®Without a dungeon compass, that¡¯s the only way for me to tell the direction.¡¯ According to the wisdom of the Great Explorer Jackson, when you didn¡¯t know where to go, it was most favorable to walk to the ¡®west¡¯. There wasn¡¯t any law behind it, but in his experience, west was best. ¡®It shouldn¡¯t be a high difficulty dungeon that changes directions on its own.¡¯ I decided to begin my survey after setting a point of reference. A day passed in that manner. * * * Using the camping tools the Guardians provided, I set up my campsite. The effect notifications of the Magic Campfire and Magic Camping Set came in. [A Safe Zone has been established.] [The Safe Zone will be marked in green.] I was inwardly satisfied. ¡®This is on the big side, too.¡¯ I was able to set up a safe zone 5 meters large in diameter, fairly large for a safe zone. When inside, I wouldn¡¯t be attacked by monsters. ¡®It¡¯s still the beginner period, after all.¡¯ Among the monsters in the beginner period, there weren¡¯t any crazy ones that could destroy a safe zone parameter and barge inside. ¡®And if there is¡­¡¯ Safe zone or not, I would die anyway. I hoped there wasn¡¯t a monster like that, but if there was, it was game over for me. Otherwise, this safe zone was extremely useful. ¡°Player Kim Hyukjin. What have you discovered while investigating this place?¡± I could tell. This wasn¡¯t her own question; she was just the mouthpiece. ¡®A Guardian¡¯s question.¡¯ The process of exploration itself wasn¡¯t that fun or exciting. Right now, I had to collect clues and clear the quest. I couldn¡¯t make the entire process interesting. Sometime along the way, there would be Guardians who would stop watching me. ¡®I should explain the most essential things.¡¯ I understood this System well, and I was determined to use that knowledge to the utmost. ¡°First of all, this is a forest field.¡± That was all too obvious. ¡°While surveying today, I saw about three different sets of claw marks. They were gouged on tree trunks.¡± I was faithful to the basics that the Great Explorer Jackson wrote in his basic strategy guide. My focus was on figuring out what kind of monsters existed in the dungeon, what their habits were, what the terrain was, that kind of basic information. ¡°Looking at the height at which the claw marks were gouged and their size, there¡¯s a high chance that they belong to a cat-like beast monster.¡± ¡°¡­¡± Senia listened to me in silence. With the upgraded Eye of Perception, I could read Senia¡¯s emotions a little. Even though she didn¡¯t express it on her face, she was currently impressed. The Guardians were probably in the same boat, because by their standards, I was a beginner who hadn¡¯t even had his advancement yet. ¡°There¡¯s a high chance the beasts have individual territories. Considering that I didn¡¯t see any traces of fighting, they avoid fighting amongst each other. That means there¡¯s no fighting between them at all.¡± ¡°What use is that to Player Kim Hyukjin?¡± ¡°If I move along the borders of their territories, where one monster¡¯s territory meets another, I can minimize the chance of getting attacked by them.¡± ¡°¡­¡± ¡°Also, nocturnal birds of prey are flying around at night.¡± They moved at night. They weren¡¯t so strong they could punch through my safe zone, but they were still pretty dangerous monsters. ¡®Like the Red-Eyed Owl.¡¯ The Red-Eyed Owl was only level 29, but it was a ¡®bird¡¯ type monster. It also had better eyesight at night than me, so it would be much more difficult to face than regular level 29 monsters. ¡°Which has to mean there are creatures out there for those monsters to hunt.¡± If there was a predator, there was prey. That was normally the case. Dungeons were places ruled by the law of the jungle. ¡°Strangely enough, I don¡¯t see traces of prey. So what does that mean?¡± I didn¡¯t know, either. But something was definitely strange. ¡°¡­¡± Senia didn¡¯t respond. [The ¡®True Master of the Heavenly Demonic Mountain¡¯ feels great interest in your exploration.] [The ¡®Whispering Devil¡¯ finds your Playing fun.] [The ¡®Courageous Lion King¡¯ is bored.] [The ¡®Lady of the Scales¡¯ expresses her admiration at your composure.] [The ¡®Nameless Observer¡¯ observes you without pause.] * * * * * * Another day passed. I wasn¡¯t able to discover anything more. ¡®Let¡¯s not be impatient.¡¯ It was only the third day. Dangerous dungeons often took several months to clear. ¡®I¡¯m strangely calm.¡¯ Actually, if you were in an unfamiliar, potentially dangerous place for three days all alone, it was probably normal to be scared. And yet¡­ ¡®Weirdly enough, I¡¯m not.¡¯ I had no choice but to honestly acknowledge my feelings. ¡®No.¡¯ It wasn¡¯t just that I wasn¡¯t scared. To be perfectly honest¡ª ¡®I¡¯m having fun.¡¯ Right now, I was having a great deal of fun Playing. Feeling that Playing was fun was certainly influenced by one¡¯s talent. That was how many people had put it. ¡®I just have to hope I¡¯m not an early bloomer.¡¯ Whether I was an early blooming Player or not would be determined by whether I could break through level 40. Normally, early bloomers stalled at around level 30-40. On my fourth day of exploration, I stumbled upon a burnt-down village. [Entering the ¡®Razed Village of Forest Dwellers¡¯.] [Entering a ¡®Safe Zone¡¯.] In this ¡®Razed Village of Forest Dwellers¡¯ within the special hidden field, the ¡®Forest of Unknowns¡¯, there were only scorched frames left of most of the houses. It was a designated safe zone. ¡®Will there be a clue here?¡¯ I didn¡¯t know. I would only know by digging around. If there was something I could ¡®click¡¯, then I would be able to obtain a clue. ¡®This house is pretty intact.¡¯ One of the houses was still standing. Even though it was a roughly made wooden house, it still looked like a ¡®house¡¯. I went inside. ¡®Huh?¡¯ I instantly turned, taking out a sword from my Inventory. ¡®What was that just now?¡¯ It was undoubtedly a safe zone, but I felt something strange. It was very minute, but there was definitely something there. ¡®Eye of Perception¡­ is telling me.¡¯ I could feel a gaze on me. ¡®Something¡¯s out there.¡¯ But I couldn¡¯t figure out what that thing was. Something was watching me. I was barely able to capture its presence with my upgraded Eye of Perception. If I hadn¡¯t gotten the upgrade, I wouldn¡¯t have been able to feel it at all. ¡®Even though this is a safe zone.¡¯ It seemed I had to keep my guard up. I had a bad feeling, somehow. ¡®That¡¯s clickable.¡¯ I saw a scorched set of drawers that was clickable. When I clicked it with my gaze, the drawer automatically opened, revealing a letter within. I examined the letter. Dear Old Man Lepry, This is a letter sent from the westernmost village Dott to the easternmost village Dante. Old Man Lepry. It¡¯s already over for us. The Master of the Forest is enraged. They have unleashed their fury on us. There is no way for us to avoid their wrath. I hope that you¡­ I couldn¡¯t read the rest because the letter was partly burnt. ¡®So the setting is that the Master of the Forest is enraged, and because of that, this place was burnt down?¡¯ That was definitely a plausible setting. I had to use this letter as a launchpad to find more clues and meet that Master of the Forest. ¡®The letter says this is the westernmost village, Dott.¡¯ Which meant that if I moved eastward, I would find a village to the far east. ¡°What do you intend on doing? Will you go eastward?¡± ¡°No.¡± The letter said this was the westernmost village. There was a high chance that I was almost at the western end of this ¡®Forest of Unknowns¡¯. It could be helpful to know what was at the end of this field. ¡°I¡¯ll explore the west side a little more before moving east. That could very well be the more efficient strategy.¡± ¡°Understood.¡± I wasn¡¯t able to get any additional information from the ¡®Razed Village of Forest Dwellers¡¯. I headed west some more. At some point, I was blocked by a transparent wall. The field, a dense forest, continued before my eyes. But I couldn¡¯t go past this wall. ¡®There¡¯s a chance this is the end of the field.¡¯ Or¡ª ¡®It could also be set to become traversable only after satisfying a special condition.¡¯ I thought that the latter was more likely, because I could physically see more of the field. ¡®Not much came of that.¡¯ Now that I had checked, I had to turn to the east. A dungeon clear carried out without knowing the strategy was a little boring. Like I first expected, the beast monsters had some sort of agreement and didn¡¯t leave their territories, and as a result, I was able to explore without getting attacked. ¡®There might be something if I go to the east.¡¯ It might be a little boring, but it couldn¡¯t be helped. For the Guardians, this might just be a game or amusement, but for me, this was a matter of life and death. Even when challenging the unknown, it was best to do it as safely as possible. ¡®That faint gaze I felt in the village¡­¡¯ Very occasionally, I felt that gaze again. Something I couldn¡¯t identify in the least was watching me. It didn¡¯t look like they were going to attack me right away, but it weighed heavily on me and was part of why I couldn¡¯t be careless here. But just then, I heard a new notice. This notice ushered the scenario into a new phase. ____ ____ Chapter 58 Max Talent Player Chapter 58: Elf in the Well I knew about the Herdsman of Las Vegas. Other than being the Guardian of Michelle, the ¡®Gold Pyramid¡¯, the Herdsman of Las Vegas was a Guardian who greatly enjoyed ¡®gambling¡¯. ¡®I heard he made a lot of cracked wagers.¡¯ Attractive proposals that a Player would be hard-pressed to resist. ¡®But the only one who survived that wager and succeeded¡­ was Michelle.¡¯ That was why his only ¡®successful¡¯ contractee was Michelle. ¡®It will definitely be an appealing, hard-to-resist proposal.¡¯ That proposal unfolded. Such a massive quantity of Coins would make even a dead man perk up. Guardian sponsorships were limited to 100, 200, or maybe 300 Coins, at most. But now, he was offering a whopping 100,000 Coins. In the Player world, it was pretty much like a lottery jackpot. Upon closer inspection, it was actually a little fraudulent. He only waved the sweet reward I would get upon succeeding and didn¡¯t tell me what the penalty would be if I failed. You¡¯d be setting yourself up for bankruptcy if you were blinded by that 100,000 Coin sum. ¡°Senia. What happens if I fail this quest?¡± ¡°I will share the quest information at the Player¡¯s request.¡± For some reason, I had the feeling that Senia was a little relieved. ¡°If you cannot clear within three days¡­¡± Senia¡¯s wingtips trembled, something that seemed to happen an awful lot these days. ¡®What¡¯s making her act like that?¡¯ I wondered what was making her so shocked. ¡°Then when it becomes time to choose a Guardian, you must unconditionally choose the ¡®Herdsman of Las Vegas¡¯ as your contracted Guardian.¡± For a moment, I was also rendered speechless. ¡®That¡¯s the penalty? Just that?¡¯ A staggering 100,000 Coins was on the line. ¡®The penalty is only that?¡¯ It was an enormous reward that could never have existed in the beginner period, and even if it did, it probably shouldn¡¯t. But the penalty was merely ¡®choose me¡¯. ¡®Actually, someone on the level of the Herdsman of Las Vegas¡­ wouldn¡¯t be a bad choice.¡¯ He was the Guardian of that famous Gold Pyramid, Michelle, wasn¡¯t he? A Guardian like the ¡®Herdsman of Las Vegas¡¯ would cement a foundation that would potentially allow me to grow into the world¡¯s top Ranker. The scale of the current gamble was proof of that. He was a dependable Guardian who was willing to throw himself into developing a Player once he made up his mind to do so. ¡®Three days.¡¯ ¡°Player Kim Hyukjin, will you accept the quest?¡± asked Senia. I contemplated for a moment. ¡®The Herdsman of Las Vegas.¡¯ He was a Guardian who didn¡¯t skimp on supporting the Player he treasured. I thought about it a little more. But even after thinking about it some more, my answer was the same. ¡°No. I cannot accept this quest.¡± The Herdsman of Las Vegas didn¡¯t express disappointment, only his curiosity. He was definitely no petty bastard. As expressionless as ever, Senia said, ¡°May I ask why?¡± Because the Herdsman of Las Vegas was a Guardian who loved gambling to an excessive degree. Michelle was lucky enough to succeed such a gamble, but I wasn¡¯t the type to enjoy gambling. ¡®More than anything, I¡­¡¯ Had no need to gamble. With my knowledge of the future, I was able to ¡®invest¡¯ in the unlikely. But when it came to things that weren¡¯t just unlikely, but almost impossible, there was no need to ¡®gamble¡¯ on that low, low chance of things working out. ¡®It¡¯s more than enough to just invest.¡¯ With that in mind, taking on a high risk, high return gamble wasn¡¯t very wise. So the question was, how should I put it? I had to express my thoughts in a way that least offended a so-called named Guardian like the Herdsman of Las Vegas. At the same time, I had to be able to win over other Guardians who were currently watching this all unfold very intently. ¡°Placing a bet is something one does when you have a chance of victory.¡± ¡°Was the proposal made by the Herdsman of Las Vegas one that was impossible to complete?¡± ¡°No. That¡¯s not the case.¡± Clearing within three days? It was possible. ¡°But I can¡¯t orchestrate the probability. At least not in the current field.¡± I still lacked too much information. ¡°I want to be the one who orchestrates the probability and makes a situation where I can win. Only idiots would let themselves be blinded by the tantalizing reward and bet without any information.¡± It was the kind of disposition the Herdsman of Las Vegas liked. Michelle had also said something like this. Gambling was a fight of probability, but she, the Player, would create that probability so that she would have a slightly higher chance to succeed. She said people who bet without preparation were idiots. ¡°That¡¯s why I refused. A gamble entrusted to luck alone is no different from throwing the game.¡± I didn¡¯t know if that answer would satisfy the Herdsman. Notices came in. [The ¡®Herdsman of Las Vegas¡¯ is satisfied by your response.] [The ¡®Herdsman of Las Vegas¡¯ respects your thinking.] Other notices came in as well. Even though they saw the same situation and heard the same things, the reactions of the Guardians were mixed. I could understand why they would ridicule me. I was still only level 29. To them, I was like a flickering candlelight they could extinguish with a single puff of their lips. Someone so weak refused the proposal of the Herdsman of Las Vegas of all Guardians, saying they would bet while orchestrating the probability. They were big words spoken with a great deal of bravado. ¡®Laugh all you want.¡¯ The day when the Guardians could no longer ridicule me would come. I would see to that. * * * * * * I moved east. Starting from the westernmost village, which the letter had called ¡®Dott¡¯, I went to ¡®Dante¡¯ in the east. While doing so, I had to prepare food. Splurt! I jumped on the back of a wild boar as big as me and thrust my dagger. Squeaaaaal! The boar¡¯s name was ¡®Fanged Boar¡¯. It was about level 25, but it had a pretty volatile temperament. [Fanged Boar has been killed.] [EXP acquired.] [17 Coins acquired.] It gave way less Coins than other monsters of the same level, but it had its own virtues that made it worth killing. I had to admit it was a little strange. I had never heard of Fanged Boars dropping ¡®Fruit Bundles¡¯. Normally, they didn¡¯t. ¡®Maybe it¡¯s a hidden piece put in to allow a Player to survive?¡¯ I brushed it aside for now, but it was a bit strange. In any case, I hunted a few more Fanged Boars. In the process, I was able to procure a little more information. ¡®They¡¯re not wary of their surroundings.¡¯ Normally, ¡®Fanged Boars¡¯ were monsters that were watchful of their surroundings, especially if there were ¡®beast monsters¡¯ in the vicinity. ¡®From the traces left on the trees, there are definitely beast monsters around here.¡¯ But despite that, these boars weren¡¯t wary. That meant the beast monsters were weak, or that they didn¡¯t attack Fanged Boars. ¡®Those traces are definitely¡­ from a Red Tiger. There are Red Tigers around, but they don¡¯t attack the Fanged Boars?¡¯ That was indeed very peculiar. The weird gaze I could feel with Eye of Perception also bothered me. It could even be that the ¡®Master of the Forest¡¯ was watching me right now. ¡®That¡¯s¡­¡¯ There was no doubt about it. As I was walking along the forest floor, I discovered a trap made of rope, a snare designed to catch animals using a rope and net. It was enchanted with very basic ¡®capture magic¡¯. ¡®What?¡¯ In this field, in which a very small village of forest dwellers existed, there was an artifact? And an enchanted artifact, no less? They used an artifact to hunt animals? As basic as the magic was, enchanted items were expensive. It was absolutely not an item a tiny village in a forest would use. ¡®Something¡¯s going on.¡¯ As I thought, there was more to this place than the eye suggested. I couldn¡¯t say what exactly it was, but it was definitely strange. There was a high chance I was missing something right now. I stowed the snare in my Inventory. Then, I continued to move east, and eventually, I found the easternmost village, ¡®Dante¡¯. The same notices I had heard in the westernmost village came in. [Entering the ¡®Razed Village 2 of Forest Dwellers¡¯.] [Entering a ¡®Safe Zone¡¯.] I combed through the village. Like the other village, there was a fairly intact shack with a clickable set of drawers inside. When I opened it, I found a piece of paper with words on it, just like before. This is a letter sent from the easternmost village Dante to the westernmost village Dott. Old Man Dudia. We need a sacrifice. The Master of the Forest demanded an offering from us. But you know as well as me. The restriction of this forest. So I am very troubled. Oh, right. The offering for the Master of the Forest is¡­ ¡®The restriction of the forest?¡¯ I had no idea what that could be. ¡®An offering for the Master of the Forest¡­¡¯ What I could be sure of was that this place had some kind of restriction, had a ¡®Master of the Forest¡¯, and the villagers needed an ¡®offering¡¯ for the Master of the Forest. ¡®If you can¡¯t make an offering to the Master of the Forest¡­¡¯ It might be that I would also be annihilated, like these villagers. Then where in the world was I supposed to find the Master of the Forest? I left the shack and walked around the village. In this village reduced to ruins, there were only burned down shacks¡­ ¡­and a well in the center of the village. ¡®Huh?¡¯ Eye of Perception told me that something was in the well. I approached it. The inside was dark, and I couldn¡¯t see anything. ¡®Someone¡¯s inside.¡¯ They were barely breathing, their presence so faint that they could die at any moment. ¡®It¡¯s probably not a Player.¡¯ Which meant it was an NPC. An NPC that might give me a huge hint to clearing this place. ¡®I have to take them out.¡¯ According to what I felt through Eye of Perception, the person inside the well was one hair away from death. There was no time to waste. ¡®I can do it.¡¯ My careful exploration on the way here was a big help. I thought this rope trap enchanted with capture magic was strange. For such an out-of-place object to exist here meant that it would be helpful in clearing the dungeon. It was good I¡¯d surveyed my surroundings thoroughly, even though that was a little more time-consuming. I tossed the enchanted snare into the well. I hauled up the snare. Eye of Perception told me it was unmistakably a person. Before long, I saw her¡ª a woman with extremely long hair and clothing that had become rags. She was markedly emaciated, like she hadn¡¯t eaten in a long time. For now, I poured a Constitution Potion and Cure Potion into her mouth. ____ ____ Chapter 59 Max Talent Player Chapter 59: Elf in the Well (2) The woman who absorbed the potion recovered her vitality remarkably quickly. Her emaciated body of just skin and bones suddenly grew flesh at a speed at which ¡®growing¡¯ really was the right word to describe it. Her crumbly, dull hair completely fell out, replaced in moments by glossy, green-colored hair. As she regained consciousness, a breeze carrying a refreshing arboreal scent blew over. ¡®She¡¯s an elf?¡¯ In conclusion, the woman I saved was an ¡®elf¡¯. ¡®The elves¡­¡¯ They were a race with exceptional curing and recovery abilities, one that loved nature and had very beautiful appearances. Among their kind, ¡®Oak Elves¡¯ were famous for adhering to unconditional ¡®nonviolence¡¯. ¡®Later, there¡¯ll be people who abuse that trait of theirs.¡¯ For example, people like that notorious slave trader ¡®Seo Jun¡¯. In any case, I had just saved an elf. I had seen them often on Youtube, as their beauty was renowned and there were a lot of streamers who exclusively filmed elves. ¡®Seeing one in person¡­¡¯ The phrase ¡®jaw-dropping beauty¡¯ seemed a little exaggerated to me. ¡®Is it because Senia is next to me?¡¯ I couldn¡¯t see her right now, but maybe I wasn¡¯t that blown away by the elf¡¯s beauty because I was already used to Senia¡¯s appearance. It kind of just felt like my mind recognized the elf as an incredible beauty, but that was it. Just ¡®ah, she¡¯s super pretty¡¯. Thanks to Eye of Perception¡¯s temporary upgrade, I was able to read the elf¡¯s status. [NPC] Name: Lindia Age: 91 Level: ? Race: Oak Elf State: Confused / Hungry / Scared Summary: Confused Pacifist ¡°Thank you for saving me.¡± That was how our conversation began. As per usual, conversations with NPCs who gave quests or clues began with greetings. Afterwards, you¡¯d get into the nitty gritty, like asking them why they were here or if they knew something that could be of help. It was pretty much an official format, so I was able to speak to her without much difficulty. ¡°You seem to be a resident of this village. And it seems¡­ that you have suffered the wrath of the Master of the Forest.¡± She nodded. She said that she fled the Master of the Forest by jumping into the well and was barely able to survive. We talked for a while, and in the end, the answer was this. ¡°You make an offering to the Master of the Forest.¡± ¡°An offering?¡± ¡°Yes.¡± It had to be the same offering that showed up in the letter. ¡°What needs to be offered?¡± ¡°Well¡­¡± Lindia looked embarrassed. ¡°You don¡¯t know what the offering is, I see.¡± ¡°Yes. I really cannot figure out what it could be. If I knew¡­ I would have offered it at the altar to the south¡­¡± I at least found out that there was an altar to the south. ¡°I will soon return to nature¡¯s embrace.¡± ¡°¡­¡± In our words, so human words, she was saying she would die. From what Lindia was saying, she hadn¡¯t completely recovered, but had regained her strength for a brief moment. ¡°Is that so?¡± ¡°Yes. I will return to the embrace of the Great Mother who gave birth to me. Do not be alarmed. I will turn to dust and become nutrients for the oaks.¡± The sight of the elf clasping her hands at her chest was the very picture of a goddess who loved the forest. ¡°I see.¡± However, there was more to this woman than her goddess-like exterior suggested. The forest scent tickling my nose wasn¡¯t as fresh-smelling as before. ¡°But you know,¡± I started to say. I became certain of it after talking to the elf. ¡°Can you really return to the oaks?¡± I said one more thing. ¡°You fake.¡± * * * * * * From the very first moment I entered this forest, the ¡®Forest of Unknowns¡¯, there was something off about it. ¡®There are traces of predators, yet no traces of prey being caught.¡¯ The boars also acted like they had never been hunted before. ¡®And they don¡¯t fight for territory like beast monsters usually do.¡¯ Also, I could hear nocturnal birds of prey at night, but there weren¡¯t actually any monsters that they could catch. Something was weird about this ecosystem. ¡®And¡­ Fanged Boars don¡¯t drop Fruit Bundles out of nowhere.¡¯ That wasn¡¯t all. ¡®There¡¯s even an enchanted artifact in a place like this.¡¯ The System tended to put quite a lot of importance on fundamental ¡®settings¡¯ and ¡®realistic situations¡¯. Of course, there were also scenarios that were random and came out of left field, but those wouldn¡¯t appear in the ¡®beginner period¡¯. ¡®And there¡¯s an elf here?¡¯ It was true that an elf¡¯s ability to recover was unrivaled, but even an elf couldn¡¯t recover so quickly from just a ¡®beginner¡¯ recovery potion. ¡°Well, let¡¯s just let a hundred inconsistencies slide and say there¡¯s really an elf here.¡± However¡ª ¡°Why did you say you were a resident of this village?¡± Elves didn¡¯t harm trees. They lived for the trees and would never even dream of putting a saw to a tree. So if elves were to live in this village, there shouldn¡¯t be any huts. But this village had huts. That was why I purposefully asked her if she was ¡®a resident of this village¡¯. ¡°Can an elf build and live in a hut?¡± From the first point to the last, it was all strange. If you looked at it closely, there were many inconsistencies, ones that strayed far, far away from a realistic situation. I stared at the elf, who was turning to dust and disappearing. Lindia the elf looked at me with an expression of utter confusion. ¡°I have no idea what you are talking about.¡± Then, she pleaded, ¡°Make an offering to the Master of the Forest. The altar is to the far south.¡± From her expression and attitude, she looked sincere. ¡®She probably is¡­ sincere.¡¯ She was probably set to be that way. Lindia was an NPC created to relay this information. In other words, she wasn¡¯t a real ¡®Oak Elf¡¯, but a fake created in a form that was suitably appropriate for this special hidden field, the ¡®Forest of Unknowns¡¯. ¡®What I read with Eye of Perception¡­ was probably just Lindia¡¯s set values.¡¯ Lindia, who believed she was an elf, turned to dust and disappeared. I chuckled. ¡°It¡¯s true that Oak Elves turn to dust and disappear.¡± But the execution was a little sloppy. ¡°A green-colored wind is supposed to blow at the same time.¡± I turned around and tried looking around me, but I didn¡¯t find anything. Eye of Perception didn¡¯t pick up anything, either. ¡°It¡¯s strange.¡± I¡¯d been in a forest the entire time. ¡°Why was there a burst of forest scent just because an elf regained consciousness?¡± Elves didn¡¯t generate bursts of forest scent. It was just that their bodies carried the strong scent of the forest in which they lived. Focusing on the details, something was definitely off. ¡°Doesn¡¯t it feel way too deliberate?¡± I assembled all the pieces of the puzzle. The field I was standing in right now, this ¡®Forest of Unknowns¡¯, was a fake. It was a fake world sloppily created by someone¡¯s hand. A fake created with little attention to detail by someone who had only experienced the world through books. ¡°That feeling of someone staring at me all this time¡­¡± That, too, could be explained. If this was an artificially created fake field, there had to be someone managing it, and that someone had to be the person staring at me. ¡°It bothers me.¡± [You have recognized the ¡®magic effect¡¯ of the ¡®Forest of Unknowns¡¯.] [¡®Eye of Perception¡¯ has begun to resist the ¡®magic effect¡¯.] I was suddenly struck with the feeling that all the strength was leaving my body. ¡®If they can make a fake of such enormous scale, then¡­¡¯ Such a feat would require a huge amount of magic power. That meant that whoever it was that made this fake world, they weren¡¯t an easy opponent. ¡°Ugh¡­!¡± I hastily used the recovery potion I¡¯d bound to a slot. It felt like every drop of energy in my body was being sucked away. My head began to throb with a terrible headache. [¡®Eye of Perception¡¯ has begun to determine the truth.] [¡®Eye of Perception¡¯ has begun to gaze at a distortion.] ¡°Gugh!¡± Blood surged from my mouth. It felt like I lacked the strength to break this special space. ¡®No.¡¯ I could do it. There were many things I wanted to do. I was going to live proudly, with my head held up high. I wouldn¡¯t fall down here to something of this level. It felt like my eyes would burst, like every blood vessel was popping. I could tell. ¡®If I¡¯m unable to break this fake right now¡­ I will die.¡¯ There was another possibility. ¡®Or I¡¯ll have to live like this fake elf, believing the fake is real in this fake world.¡¯ I might even become an NPC who would give a fake quest to the next Player who stumbled upon this place. I couldn¡¯t let that happen. I had to live in the real world, not a fake one. ¡®Break it¡­!¡¯ I clenched my teeth. ¡®Even this fake has to have its limit.¡¯ The person who created this place probably didn¡¯t want to expose their limits. That was why they put ¡®easternmost¡¯ and ¡®westernmost¡¯ on the letters. It was to discourage anyone from going any further, where they would see the end of the field. ¡®They¡¯re definitely listening to my words.¡¯ Making them falter, no matter how little, was good for me. My eyes felt like they were exploding, my head felt like it would crack open and my whole body felt like it was crumbling apart, but I endured the intense pain and smiled, looking as relaxed as possible. ¡°This fake of yours that has such an obvious limit, I will break it for you right now.¡± [¡®Eye of Perception¡¯ has begun to crush the ¡®magic effect¡¯.] [The condition to destroy the ¡®Forest of Unknowns¡¯ has been satisfied.] [The ¡®Forest of Unknowns¡¯ has begun to be destroyed.] I lost consciousness. * * * After who knows how long, I opened my eyes. ¡®I¡¯m alive.¡¯ It looked like I was still in the ¡®Forest of Unknowns¡¯. However, I could feel it with certainty. ¡®The range has become much, much smaller.¡¯ Originally, this forest was so enormous and wide that Eye of Perception couldn¡¯t even tell me how large it was. But now, it was as small as the Village of Forest Dwellers. It felt like a garden cultivated to look like a very small forest. Eye of Perception picked up something¡¯s presence. It wasn¡¯t a person. ¡®There¡¯s something there.¡¯ However, I didn¡¯t pay attention to whatever it was right away. There was something more important I had to do. ¡°I destroyed the fake.¡± Honestly, it had been pretty dicey for me, but in any case, I destroyed it. ¡°But you know¡­¡± You¡¯re listening, right? Master of the Forest. ¡°No matter how you think about it, you shouldn¡¯t be able to make such a huge field with your true ability alone.¡± If they were capable of that, they would have made the field with greater attention to detail. This was merely a shoddy imitation. ¡°Which means¡­¡± It wouldn¡¯t take long to explore this small space. ¡°You must have gotten help from something.¡± For example¡ª ¡°Like an artifact that can dramatically increase your magic power.¡± Items like that were sold at extremely high prices. Actually, they were so rare they weren¡¯t even sold on the market. When they did occasionally pop up, they were artifacts that could only be used one or two times at most. ¡°I wonder where such an artifact might be?¡± It was said that misfortune often turns into a blessing. After figuring out everything about this field, I could see what it was that I had to get here. I also knew it was an extremely valuable treasure, one that truly befitted a special hidden field found in a hidden field. ¡°But huh, I can see it very clearly, you know?¡± I moved forward. As I did so, ¡®it¡¯ appeared. ____ ____ Chapter 60 Max Talent Player Chapter 60: The Final Puzzle There was a website where countless people, starting with the Great Explorer Jackson, shared information they possessed. It was called ¡®Playpedia¡¯, and it was an open-collaboration encyclopedia site like Wikipedia. The habits and unique traits of each monster were naturally important subject matter for civil service students to study, and that was also a field I had a personal interest in. The ¡®Thin Hobgoblin¡¯ is a spirit monster that is capable of growth. This growth-type monster that has only been found a few times across all the servers experiences a total of three stages of evolution. Three stages of evolution: Thin Hobgoblin. Chubby Hobgoblin. And finally, Fat Hobgoblin. This monster with three evolution stages was considered fairly important. ¡®It appeared a total of four times, and only in Italy.¡¯ The ¡®Fat Hobgoblin¡¯ appeared for the first time in Italy, where 400 people were eaten by it. The Fat Hobgoblin¡¯s second name was ¡®Maneating Hobgoblin¡¯. At the first and second stages, it is simply a ¡®slightly dangerous¡¯ monster that enjoys playing pranks. It is skilled at apparition or illusion magic. In addition, it excels at creating spatial distortions and likes to harass Players. The monster that appeared before my eyes was a ¡®Thin Hobgoblin¡¯. Once its true form is discovered, the Thin Hobgoblin is not all that difficult to defeat. And that was because¡ª ¡®When it panics, its intelligence drops to that of a young child¡¯s.¡¯ They were skilled in apparition or illusion magic and had an uncanny ability to create spatial distortions. When I first realized that this place was a ¡®fake¡¯, the first monster that came to mind was this ¡®Thin Hobgoblin¡¯. ¡®Even for a special hidden piece, a Fat Hobgoblin wouldn¡¯t show up.¡¯ Special hidden piece or not, this dungeon was still generated from the beginner-grade Seoul Station Dungeon. If a Fat Hobgoblin showed up here, I would have to find some way to escape, strategies or whatever be damned, because that would be the only way I could survive. ¡®No. I would die without even being able to escape.¡¯ Such a monster was impossible to oppose with my current abilities. However, the monster that appeared before my eyes was a ¡®Thin Hobgoblin¡¯, a humanoid monster with blue skin. It was generally thin, but had a protruding belly like ET. ¡®That tiny horn on its head is the weak point.¡¯ It had a head of dry and brittle, brown hair. Underneath was one big eye. It didn¡¯t have a nose or ears, but had a mouth even bigger than its single eye. ¡®The average level is around 31.¡¯ Even considering that this was a hidden field, its level shouldn¡¯t exceed 35. My current level was 29, and I had far better stats than other Players. It wouldn¡¯t be hard to fight a single Thin Hobgoblin. I just had to watch out for one attack. The Thin Hobgoblin that had revealed itself yelled, ¡°Don¡¯t lie!¡± I grinned. ¡°What are you saying I lied about?¡± ¡°There¡¯s no way a mere human can figure out where my treasure is.¡± The treasure the hobgoblin was referring to was a ¡®mana crystal¡¯. The one this Thin Hobgoblin was using was specifically an ¡®amplification mana crystal¡¯. ¡°Hmm. Is that really so?¡± I took one step closer to the Thin Hobgoblin. As expected for a monster that could talk, I was able to read its state with Eye of Perception. When Thin Hobgoblins panicked, they would become as smart as a young kid. This one was still immature and far from becoming a Fat Hobgoblin. If I couldn¡¯t face an opponent this easy, I would be putting the regressor name to shame. ¡°But it¡¯s very clear to my eyes.¡± I pointed in the direction of the Thin Hobgoblin. ¡°N-No! It can¡¯t be.¡± The hobgoblin stumbled three steps backwards. I took one step forward, but the hobgoblin didn¡¯t move. It screamed frantically at me. ¡°You lying conman! If you come any closer, I¡¯ll cut out your tongue!¡± Thanks to its actions, I figured it out. ¡®So that¡¯s where the mana crystal is.¡¯ For a Thin Hobgoblin to make a field of such scale, one as big as the ¡®Forest of Unknowns¡¯, it would require a very high-quality ¡®mana crystal¡¯. Finding the location where it was hidden was, of course, impossible with my abilities alone. Even though my Eye of Perception was upgraded, it couldn¡¯t detect the exact location. Thin Hobgoblins tend to have an obsession over things they consider their treasures. Sometimes, that can be a worthless piece of shit, and sometimes, it can be a truly valuable gem. The Player must judge which of the two the ¡®treasure¡¯ is based on the situation. And I had made my judgment¡ªthere, right under the hobgoblin¡¯s feet, was an ¡®amplification mana crystal¡¯. ¡°Of course I don¡¯t know.¡± ¡°I-I knew it!¡± At that moment, I used the naive hobgoblin¡¯s relief as an opening to use Flash Step. There was no way a hobgoblin that wasn¡¯t even a Chubby Hobgoblin would be able to read Flash Step¡¯s movements. ¡®I can see it.¡¯ I saw its little horn. That was the monster¡¯s weak point. I couldn¡¯t be slow to attack. If it detected danger, the hobgoblin would hide its horn under its skin, making it harder to defeat. ¡°H-Huh?¡± I saw the Thin Hobgoblin¡¯s body instantly stiffen. Its muscles went rigid, freezing the hobgoblin in place for the slightest moment. As fleeting as the moment was, it was more than enough time for me. Holding the dagger well-suited for quick attacks, I made a powerful vertical stab. An additional 20% damage, plus¡ª This time, I was lucky and landed a critical hit. The Thin Hobgoblin and I weren¡¯t that far apart in level. If you took my stats into consideration, you could even say I was stronger than the Thin Hobgoblin. ¡®On top of that, I hit a weak point.¡¯ And it was even a critical hit. ¡°Uwagh!¡± With a short cry, the Thin Hobgoblin fell onto its butt and jumped back onto its feet. ¡°Y-You fucking dickhead!!!¡± squealed the Thin Hobgoblin. This. I just had to get past this crisis. The Thin Hobgoblin was probably channeling the mana crystal right now. It would be difficult for me to handle a blast from an amplification mana crystal capable of creating a field of this size. ¡®I have to believe in it. The Great Orc Warrior set.¡¯ I had three Great Orc Warrior items on me. [Great Orc Warrior¡¯s Iron Armor.] [Great Orc Warrior¡¯s Leather Shoes.] [Great Orc Warrior¡¯s Leather Pants.] Of course, I had them all equipped, which triggered a ¡®partial set effect¡¯. A huge club was formed above my head. ¡®It¡¯s huge¡­!¡¯ It looked to be at least five meters large. This huge club was the lethal move the Thin Hobgoblin could use only one time. ¡°Vroom, vroom! Hobgoblin Club!¡± The shadow of the hobgoblin club covered my head. ¡®I can¡¯t dodge anyway.¡¯ It was a special attack I couldn¡¯t dodge with my current physical abilities. Even if I tried, I would still get hit. I had no choice but to defend. ¡®While getting hit¡­ I¡¯ll also attack.¡¯ I would believe in the power of the Great Orc Warrior set while unleashing a blow of my own, something like cutting off an arm to save the body. ¡®It¡¯s coming down¡­!¡¯ I clenched my teeth. It was possible there would be some momentary pain. Thud! From my head to my toes, I felt a massive impact. [Registering unmanageable damage.] [Damage is negated once per day.] There was an impact, but I didn¡¯t take any damage from it. I just recognized mentally that I was attacked. ¡®If you use a technique this big¡­ you¡¯ll leave an opening.¡¯ I wouldn¡¯t miss it. I switched from my dagger to the sword. For this humanoid monster, even though their horn was their biggest weak point, the throat and heart were also significant weak points. ¡®The heart.¡¯ It wasn¡¯t hard to hunt a Hobgoblin that had lost its cool. * * * * * * [Thin Hobgoblin has been killed.] [EXP acquired.] [42 Coins acquired.] Since I killed a hobgoblin, I was hoping that something like a Spirit Art Club, a pretty pricey item, would drop. ¡®Darn, it didn¡¯t drop.¡¯ Unfortunately, it didn¡¯t drop. The notices continued. [The ¡®Forest of Unknowns¡¯ distortion has been recognized.] [The hobgoblin controlling the ¡®Forest of Unknowns¡¯ distortion has been eliminated.] [The clear condition of the ¡®Forest of Unknowns¡¯ has been satisfied.] I satisfied the clear conditions of the special hidden piece generated within the Seoul Station Dungeon¡¯s hidden piece. ¡®I can¡¯t be sent outside.¡¯ Since I cleared the ¡®Forest of Unknowns¡¯, I would be kicked out of this place after the rewards were distributed. ¡®I have to find the mana crystal.¡¯ I pushed aside the hobgoblin¡¯s body and set to digging. The Item Shop had most things, but strangely enough, it didn¡¯t sell a shovel. In the end, I had to dig with my hands. Once the rewards were fully distributed, I would be sent out. ¡®Before that happens, quick!¡¯ An amplification mana crystal that could create a field of this scale would be worth at least $10 million in just three years. I had to find it. My hands didn¡¯t stop moving. It would¡¯ve been really nice if I had a digging skill or something like that. [500 Coins acquired.] [1 level up point acquired.] [One new trait for ¡®Eye of Perception¡¯ has been added.] [¡®Hobgoblin Perfume¡¯ acquired.] I was so busy looking for the mana crystal that would become $10 million in three years that my ears didn¡¯t even register the notices. ¡®Where is it?¡¯ Even after digging what appeared to be twenty centimetres into the ground with my bare hands, I couldn¡¯t see it. ¡®It shouldn¡¯t be buried any deeper than this.¡¯ If the mana crystal was buried too deep, its power would be greatly weakened. No matter how outstanding the amplification mana crystal was, the hobgoblin wouldn¡¯t have buried it this deep. ¡®I messed up somewhere.¡¯ Digging any further was a wasted effort. The tips of my fingers were bleeding, but I didn¡¯t give a damn. I straightened, looking around. ¡®What am I missing?¡¯ And then, I realized something. ¡®It definitely said the clear conditions were satisfied¡­ yet I¡¯m still in the dungeon.¡¯ There wasn¡¯t even a remaining time indicator. That meant there had to be something else here. ¡®An exitless dungeon?¡¯ A dungeon without an exit, one you couldn¡¯t leave even after satisfying the clear conditions. There was no way such a ridiculously difficult dungeon would have appeared already. I had to believe that. ¡®Exitless dungeons¡­ could only be forcibly pried open by magic class Rankers seven years later.¡¯ If this place really was an exitless dungeon, I would either die of starvation, loneliness, or wait for seven years. In any case, it would definitely be a shit situation. ¡®What am I missing?¡¯ There had to be something. ¡°Huh?¡± Some distance in front of me, I saw something on the ground. ¡°What¡¯s that?¡± Something very small with four limbs was standing on the ground like a person and staring at me. ¡®A squirrel?¡¯ It was a squirrel, but the expression on its face was almost humanlike. The squirrel was looking at me with what I could swear was a pompous expression, laughing at me like a human. ¡®Was there ever¡­ a squirrel like that?¡¯ It didn¡¯t appear to be a monster, at least, and it was obviously not an NPC. Even for a person who had knowledge of the future, this squirrel was an unfamiliar existence. ¡®Seeing as Senia hasn¡¯t appeared, it¡¯s not a bug.¡¯ The squirrel stood on two legs and held out an arm(?) to me, wearing an expression of ¡®I get it, so hand it over¡¯. ¡®Is it asking me to give it something?¡¯ The squirrel spread out its other palm. When it did so, a huge mana crystal the size of a watermelon appeared over its tiny palm. ¡®The squirrel¡¯s using magic?¡¯ It had an Inventory, or was using summoning magic. Or maybe it had something like its own innate squirrel ability. It was definitely no ordinary squirrel. It finally struck me. ¡®That is¡­ the final puzzle of this place.¡¯ And I had the feeling I could solve that puzzle. ____ ____ Chapter 61 Max Talent Player Chapter 61: The Final Puzzle (2) ¡®That is¡­ the final puzzle of this place.¡¯ I walked to the magic-using, anything-but-ordinary squirrel. It didn¡¯t run away and simply watched me come with a self-confident expression. ¡°You want to make a trade with me, right?¡± The squirrel appeared to understand me. It nodded. Even I had no idea what this squirrel was. However, there was no mistake that it wanted to trade with me. ¡®Rather than giving it what it wants right away¡­¡¯ Lighting a slight fire up its butt wasn¡¯t too bad an idea. ¡°Could this be what you want?¡± The item I pulled out was none other than ¡®Black Yak¡¯s Lean Meat¡¯. The squirrel stomped in place in anger. Of course, it was a squirrel, so its stomps didn¡¯t produce any vibrations whatsoever. I heard a notice. Well, look who we have here. ¡®Looks like a lot of Guardians who would normally be in the Italian server are pretty interested.¡¯ The Merchant of Venice was a very prominent Guardian from Italy, the Guardian of a Player called the ¡®Queen of Water¡¯, Elliana. ¡®The Merchant of Venice, huh.¡¯ I studied civil service, so I knew more about domestic Guardians than foreign ones. However, I still knew the basic disposition and traits of foreign server Guardians. ¡®He¡¯s probably watching to see how I can work this trade in my favor.¡¯ The ¡®Merchant of Venice¡¯ was a Guardian who believed that being a successful negotiator and bargainer was a kind of achievement. The Queen of Water Elliana was not only an outstanding magician, but also a genius at commerce. It was often said as a joke that she held 30% of Italy¡¯s GDP. ¡®The Merchant of Venice made an appearance at the negotiation table that held a mere squirrel.¡¯ The special hidden field in the Seoul Station Dungeon 2nd underground floor was indeed a very unique place. ¡°Then is it maybe¡­ this?¡± I pulled out the ¡®Hobgoblin Perfume¡¯ I just acquired, something completely useless for a squirrel. The squirrel shook its head roughly. It raised a cotton ball fist, upon which a yellow number popped up next to it. ¡®1?¡¯ It was trying to express itself with magic. The number one. It was probably saying that this was my last chance. I grinned. ¡°Ah¡­ I honestly think this is a loss for me.¡± I dithered and dallied. The yellow number next to the squirrel¡¯s fist grew bigger. [1!] It was like the squirrel was yelling, ¡®This is your last chance! Your last, I said! Hurry! Hurry and gimme what I want!¡¯ From the way it folded its arms and huffed at me, I apparently had something it really, really wanted. ¡°Think about it. You¡¯ve gotta admit, it was really difficult for me to get something this special.¡± I picked up a strawberry from the Fruit Bundle safely stored in my Inventory. The squirrel¡¯s eyes widened. The number changed from ¡®1¡¯ to ¡®!¡¯. For most monsters, a ¡®!¡¯ meant that you had properly pulled their aggro. ¡°Ah. I really hate to let this stuff go, since it¡¯s so good. And I can¡¯t even eat the thing you¡¯re offering, let¡¯s be honest.¡± ¡°This is also really delicious¡­¡± The squirrel hopped in place. The yellow ¡®!¡¯ mark changed to a red ¡®!!¡¯. Its eyes were glued to the fruits in my hands. Where the fruits went, the squirrel¡¯s gaze dazedly followed. ¡°But if you really want them¡­ guess I have no choice. Wanna trade?¡± The squirrel nodded vigorously. It was rubbing its palms. The self-confidence and arrogance I¡¯d seen at first was gone. ¡°Can¡¯t be helped, I guess. Alright. Let¡¯s trade.¡± It was a ridiculous trade, but one that couldn¡¯t be seen as just ridiculous. ¡®There¡¯s definitely¡­ something about this place.¡¯ It wasn¡¯t like the ¡®Shot Table Dungeon¡¯ the Giant of the Sunset created to nurture Choi Sung-gu. It wasn¡¯t a place made by some Guardian by investing Coins, but a real hidden field existing within the System itself. ¡®A Thin Hobgoblin coincidentally made Fruit Bundles¡­ in a place like this?¡¯ Fanged Boars dropped ¡®Fruit Bundles¡¯, which had made me a little more sure that this was a fabricated space. ¡®Was that really a coincidence?¡¯ There was a very high chance it wasn¡¯t. Disguising the Fruit Bundles as a ¡®mistake¡¯ of the Thin Hobgoblin was a deliberate, intricate trick played by the System. If I hadn¡¯t acquired this Fruit Bundle or had already eaten it, it was possible I wouldn¡¯t be having this trade with the squirrel right now. ¡®If I wasn¡¯t able to trade with the squirrel¡­ I probably wouldn¡¯t have been able to get out of here.¡¯ The chance of that was very high. ¡®I hope that this is the key to the exit.¡¯ I heard a notice. A trade window opened up. ¡®Eh?¡¯ It was my first time seeing a squirrel that could activate a trade window. To be fair, it was also my first time seeing a squirrel that could use magic, so this much was par for the course. [Trade complete.] [¡®Amplification Mana Crystal¡¯ acquired.] The trade was completed nice and sure with a trade window. [Amplification Mana Crystal] A mana crystal that amplifies magic power. Grade: Unique Amplification value: ? Remaining uses: 2/3 The amplification value was marked as ¡®?¡¯, which meant it was an item of a level that I couldn¡¯t fully grasp at my current level. ¡®It also has two uses left.¡¯ I obtained an item that would be worth $10 million in three years. My goal for three years later was originally $1 million, but now, I had $10 million. The Merchant of Venice seemed satisfied by my trade as well. [The ¡®Merchant of Venice¡¯ is greatly satisfied by your trade.] [The ¡®Merchant of Venice¡¯ has decided to watch your progress.] On top of that, they gave me a special item. * * * * * * Senia, who had been watching from start to finish, let out a long breath. ¡®He finally¡­ did it.¡¯ She thought that Kim Hyukjin would be able to do it somehow, and he really did it. The Guardians were seriously making a ton of noise right now. The Guardians who had revealed their True Names were doing their best to maintain their silence, but they had no intention of leaving her channel, and the anonymous Guardians were sending so many messages it was hard to read them all. ¨CIsn¡¯t he level 29 right now? ¨CHe¡¯s 29, but I think he got a level up point? ¨CWhat? Then he¡¯s level 30? It was an issue of huge importance for the Guardians in the Korean server. Level 30. The point at which a Player chose their exclusive Guardian. Even out of all the Players in Korea, Hyukjin¡¯s Playing was obviously exceptional. He was showing them a Play that was impossible to replace, a Play of a completely different level. ¨CWe¡¯ll only know the exact details after the Intermediate Administrator checks. ¨CHurry and tell us what exactly his rewards are! While the rabble were making a fuss, the ¡®Herdsman of Las Vegas¡¯ sent Senia a 1,000 Coin sponsorship. He was demanding one thing from her¡ªhe wanted her to publicize what rewards Hyukjin got. [The ¡®Herdsman of Las Vegas¡¯ has sent the Intermediate Administrator a 1,000 Coin sponsorship.] [The ¡®Herdsman of Las Vegas¡¯ has gifted the Intermediate Administrator a ¡®Pause¡¯.] Thanks to that, Senia was once again able to use the pricey ¡®Pause¡¯. ¡°Player Kim Hyukjin. May I ask a few questions?¡± * * * When the world turned black and white, I already guessed what Senia would do. It was obvious she was using a ¡®Pause authority¡¯ to ask me what rewards I got, so I already had an answer prepared. ¡°You¡¯re going to ask about the rewards I got, yes?¡± ¡°¡­Yes.¡± I shrugged. There wasn¡¯t much to hide right now. Or actually, this was a moment where I couldn¡¯t hide things. ¡°First of all, as you probably know, I got one level up point.¡± My level right now was 29, so with this, I would become level 30. ¡®The Guardians must be¡­ going wild right now.¡¯ There were quite a few Guardians who had made both overt and covert attempts to recruit me. In the current situation, I was a one-of-a-kind, limited edition. There were Guardians to replace Guardians, but no Player that could replace me. For now, I moved to a different topic to amp up the anticipation a little. ¡°A new trait was added to Eye of Perception. I¡¯ll briefly set information about Eye of Perception to public. You can also scan me if you want.¡± [Eye of Perception] The new trait I gained from clearing the ¡®Forest of Unknowns¡¯ was the final bullet point, resistance towards illusory attacks or apparition magic. That alone was already more than sufficient a reward, because it was also something I could make good use of later in the ¡®Gwanghwamun Dungeon¡¯. ¡°On top of that, I got a mana crystal.¡¯ I shared the information about the mana crystal. Senia¡¯s wingtips trembled. It was possible she could see the ¡®amplification value¡¯ that was marked as a ¡®?¡¯ for me. ¡®Looking at her reaction, it must be an incredible item after all.¡¯ It would take at least three years for the world to become aware of this crystal¡¯s true value. This thing was like a surefire winning lottery ticket. ¡°Also, I got Hobgoblin Perfume.¡± [Hobgoblin Perfume] A perfume hobgoblins apply when playing tricks. It enables a special ¡®Stealth¡¯. However, overly large movements will cancel the spirit art. Effect: Transparency spirit art Uses: 1 This Hobgoblin Perfume, one of the items that would later undergo stringent management by authorities because it could be used for crime, was another of my gains today. On top of that¡ª ¡°The Merchant of Venice also gifted me a special item.¡± I intentionally publicized this as well. [Forced Exchange Scroll] When a Trade Window is active, this scroll can forcibly complete the exchange. If someone put an expensive item into the trade window by accident, I could use this item to forcibly steal the item. To be honest, I wasn¡¯t really the type who liked these kinds of items. It was¡ªhow should I put it?¡ªthe minimum amount of decency left in me. However, I mentioned this item because I was about to level up. Because I was getting to level 30, the point at which I would choose my Guardian. ¡®Now, then. You all heard that, didn¡¯t you, Guardians?¡¯ The Merchant of Venice gifted me a special scroll like the ¡®Forced Exchange Scroll¡¯, even though he only started watching me today. ¡°Well, then¡­¡± I had drawn things out long enough. I¡¯d probably excited a lot of people with this. I could only guess how many Guardians were gathered in Senia¡¯s channel. ¡°Shall we level up?¡± Just as I said that, something strange started happening to Senia. ____ ____ Chapter 62 Max Talent Player Chapter 62: Five Notes Something strange started happening to Senia. ¡®Huh? No way, that¡¯s¡ª!¡¯ I knew what was happening. Bzzt¨C bzzzzzt¨C! There was a buzzing noise as Senia¡¯s body began to twist and distort. Parts of her body faded and reappeared repeatedly. ¡®It¡¯s server overload.¡¯ Senia¡¯s body became more and more faint. ¡°Player Kim Hyukjin¡­!¡± Senia was urgently trying to say something to me, but then her body completely disappeared from sight. The Intermediate Administrator who had been exclusively streaming me, Senia, disappeared. ¡®She was kicked out by server overload¡­¡¯ There was one thing I could be sure about. This moment, the moment I turned level 30, was being watched by countless Guardians. ¡®It¡¯s not common for five Guardians to compete to send messages to begin with.¡¯ Whether it be six or ten Guardians that were interested, the number that could directly send messages to me was limited to five. The fact that all five slots were filled meant that at least five Guardians might be sending messages to me very soon. ¡®Senia must not have an advanced enough System to handle an excessive number of Guardians yet.¡¯ It was a little tricky to explain, but if I put it in human terms, it was like not having enough server capacity. I heard that professional human streamers used extremely high spec computers for smoother broadcasting. Intermediate Administrators were the same. ¡®She wasn¡¯t able to handle the deluge of Guardians and was kicked out.¡¯ Streamers getting kicked out like this happened in several very famous incidents. ¡®It also happened in the Battle of the Maldives that Yeonseo played a big role in.¡¯ It wasn¡¯t a super common occurrence, but also not super rare. ¡®I need some time.¡¯ It went without being said that I wouldn¡¯t choose my Guardian right now. That was extremely good content for me, as well. I decided to put it off for the time being, since it would take a little time for Senia to recover her System and get back online. I could also guess what she was trying to shout at me earlier before she blinked out. ¡®She was probably panicking out of worry that I might choose my Guardian without her there.¡¯ I chuckled. ¡®Was she so worried that she might lose her quality content?¡¯ Senia and I had a you-use-me, I-use-you relationship. Such a relationship where the Player and Intermediate Administrator sought to profit off of each other wasn¡¯t all that unusual. I didn¡¯t believe the horseshit rumor that there were Streamers out there who were devoted to their Players. Nothing changed the fact that they were streaming Plays with our lives as collateral and fulfilling their greed. In the Tutorial, some of them also killed multiple people who hadn¡¯t been able to adapt to the Tutorial. ¡®A you-use-me, I-use-you relationship is perfect.¡¯ It wasn¡¯t bad¡ªafter all, I could use Senia more than she could use me. I emerged from my thoughts and looked around. ¡®The Pause has been canceled.¡¯ Notices came in at the same time. [¡®Amplification Mana Crystal¡¯ acquired.] [The Special Hidden Field ¡®Forest of Unknowns¡¯ has been completely cleared.] [The exit for the Special Hidden Field ¡®Forest of Unknowns¡¯ is being created.] I saw the squirrel in front of me. In no time at all, it had apparently filled its cheeks into big, round balls. A [!] mark appeared over the squirrel¡¯s head. ¡°Coming with?¡± The squirrel pompously puffed out its chest, like it was saying, ¡®That¡¯s right, listen to me and follow me!¡¯ Its walking speed wasn¡¯t that fast. Seeing it saunter towards the exit, I unconsciously mumbled, ¡°How amusing.¡± The squirrel stopped in place. The way a [?] appeared above its head was a little cute. ¡°Just what are you, really?¡± It wasn¡¯t a monster, nor was it an NPC. It was a squirrel that understood human speech and could even use what I assumed was magic. ¡°How can your cheeks be so full?¡± Another few question marks appeared. This time, there were three of them. [???] The squirrel tilted its neck, scratching its cheek like it didn¡¯t understand what I was talking about. ¡°Well, whatever.¡± I didn¡¯t think I could get more out of it with further questioning. I decided to stop with this. ¡®Everything was paused until just now.¡¯ During a Pause, other than Senia and me, everything turned to black and white and the world was temporarily put on hold. That was the kind of authority that had been used. ¡®Up until the Pause, the squirrel¡¯s cheeks were flat.¡¯ But after the Pause ended, its cheeks were round and full. ¡®Which means, it wasn¡¯t affected by the Pause.¡¯ It wasn¡¯t affected by the Pause and filled its cheeks with the fruits I had given it. I had no idea what this little rascal was. Exclamation marks appeared over the squirrel¡¯s head. [!!!] It had discovered the ¡®Warp Crystal¡¯ that would take us to the exit. [Exit] The Warp Crystal that links the ¡®Forest of Unknowns¡¯ to Seoul Station Exit 2. When destroyed, you will leave the ¡®Forest of Unknowns¡¯. It wasn¡¯t all that hard to destroy the Warp Crystal. [Leaving the ¡®Forest of Unknowns¡¯.] [Porting to Seoul Station Exit 2.] I was ready to use an item as soon as I was warped to Seoul Station Exit 2 to avoid any possible nuisances, like reporters mobbing me, or someone trying to inquire about my identity. ¡®Huh?¡¯ But there was no need to warp. ¡®It feels¡­ kinda like things have come under control.¡¯ I didn¡¯t get that feeling of confusion and messiness from before. The person managing the Players in the ¡®Seoul Station Exit 2¡¯ was no longer a policeman. There¡¯d been a big change. * * * * * * I could only be shocked. ¡®It¡¯s been¡­ three months?¡¯ When I checked my phone, which was starting to get reception again, I saw that it was already September. It was far hotter than the time when the Tutorial Field first appeared. ¡®It¡¯s become insanely hot.¡¯ I took a look at the news through my phone and found out that a record-breaking heat wave had begun. It was the worst heat wave ever measured. ¡®Three months¡­¡¯ That in itself was shocking, but my headache was just beginning. There was a mountain of missed calls logged in my phone. [Noona] [Mom] [Choi Sung-gu] [Noona] [Mom] ¡­ [Shin Yeonseo] [So Yoohyun] [Noona] A feeling more terrifying than what I felt when I killed the Lycanthrope or went through the insane Magic Troll hunt during the Tutorial traveled down my spine. Cold sweat beaded on my forehead. I couldn¡¯t help but laugh. ¡°Haha¡­¡± I started walking home. ¡°I should probably¡­ call, right?¡± I might give my mom a heart attack if I called right now, so I decided to call my sister first. ¡°Uh¡­ noona?¡± ¨C ¡­ I couldn¡¯t hear her voice. The call simply ended with a beep. I scratched my head sheepishly. ¡°Mm.¡± My sister didn¡¯t end the call just now out of anger. I could say that with 120% certainty. ¡®Guess she burst out into tears.¡¯ There was no doubt about it; she started sobbing and didn¡¯t want me to hear, so she quickly ended the call. I also got a call from Yeonseo just then, right on cue. She hit me with a flood of words. ¨CHuh? What the? You actually picked up? What happened? You¡¯re alive, right? ¡°Of course.¡± ¨CHoly, shit. It took you three months to clear that place? Holy shit. That¡¯s nuts. But anyway, anyway! What a relief that you¡¯re alive! I was a little worried, you know! A-Anyway! I have something super important to tell you, so let¡¯s meet up asap when you¡¯ve got the time! Apparently, Yoohyun was with Yeonseo. I didn¡¯t see it happen, but it seemed he had ripped the phone out of Yeonseo¡¯s hands. In the background, I heard shrieks of ¡°Hey! That¡¯s my phone! Give it back! If a muscleman like you is so rough with it, it¡¯ll break!¡± ¨CH-Hyungnim! May I inquire if your body is in good health? ¡°¡­¡± Just where did he learn that weird way of speech from? ¡°I¡¯m fine, yeah.¡± ¨CHyungniiiiiiiiiiiiiiiim!!! I also heard Yeonseo¡¯s voice. ¨CHey! Muscle pig! Tears are enough! Why¡¯re you putting your snot all over my phone! So fucking dirty! For the people of this changed world, three months was apparently a very long time. In any case, I ended up returning to the world after three months. I went home by taxi to the DMC Riverview Xi, our new home where Mom, my sister, and Sunhwa were at. ¡°¡­Hm?¡± My family was in better condition than I thought. Of course, everyone¡¯s eyes were red and swollen from crying, but they were relatively fine, to the point that I wondered if their attention had been diverted to something else. ¡°What the?¡± Why was that here? ¡°Oppa!¡± Sunhwa came running. The way she dashed over and jumped into my arms was kind of like a puppy greeting their owner. My sister was pointedly avoiding my gaze. Mom came to the front door and greeted me. ¡°What a relief that you¡¯re alright, Hyukjin.¡± ¡°Of course I am.¡± Her eyes reddened a little, but it wasn¡¯t the soap opera I was dreading. ¡°Why is this guy here?¡± A yellow exclamation point appeared above its head. [!] This brat, this unidentifiable squirrel, showed up along with my family. Sunhwa picked it up and put it on her palm. ¡°Oppa. This little guy is super cute.¡± When I looked closer, I saw that things like sunflower seeds were scattered across the table. They had been purchased to feed this squirrel. ¡°We named him Darongi!¡± ¡°¡­Darongi?¡± For whatever reason, the squirrel on Sunhwa¡¯s palm once again put on pompous airs and puffed out its chest. Unlike when I was in the ¡®Forest of Unknowns¡¯, I could see its information a little with Eye of Perception. [Phantom Thief Squirrel] Name: ¨C (must be named) Age: 7 Level: ? Innate ability: [Pickup] [Pathfinding] [Gnawing] [Theft] [Subspace] [Big Belly] [Hole Digging] [Stealth] [Master Selection] State: Joyful / Full / Lazy Disposition: Confident / Insatiable / Intimate Summary: Gluttonous Theft Genius ¡®Why does a fricking squirrel have so many innate abilities?¡¯ Even the genius Yeonseo and Yoohyun had one or two innate abilities, at most. But this little guy already had nine. You had to wonder what kind of squirrel it was. Notices came in. [¡®Phantom Thief Squirrel¡¯ wishes to select a master.] [As a basic condition, the ¡®Conqueror of the Seoul Station Dungeon¡¯ title is required.] [Become the master of the ¡®Phantom Thief Squirrel¡¯?] [If you accept, the ¡®Conqueror of the Seoul Station Dungeon¡¯ title will be changed to ¡®Phantom Thief Squirrel¡¯s Master¡¯.] It looked like the innate ability ¡®Master Selection¡¯ was triggering here. ¡®The reason I¡¯m able to see this guy¡¯s state right now with Eye of Perception might even be¡­¡¯ It might be because the squirrel had permitted it. It seemed the squirrel felt a great deal of closeness with me. ¡®For now, I¡¯ll accept it.¡¯ [You have become the master of the ¡®Phantom Thief Squirrel¡¯.] [The title ¡®Conqueror of the Seoul Station Dungeon¡¯ has been erased.] [The title ¡®Phantom Thief Squirrel¡¯s Master¡¯ has been generated.] Just by becoming its master, I got a new title. [Phantom Thief Squirrel¡¯s Master] The title granted to the master of the Phantom Thief Squirrel. The title bearer can give a name to the Phantom Thief Squirrel, and the named Phantom Thief Squirrel will be loyal to its master for a lifetime. The name was already decided, wasn¡¯t it? From the way the little guy¡¯s head whipped around every time Sunhwa called out ¡°Darongi¡±, it apparently liked the name. As strange as this turn of events was, I became Darongi¡¯s master. It was thanks to Darongi that my mom, sister, and Sunhwa¡¯s attention was diverted, and I was safely(?) able to reunite with my family after three months of absence. ¡®Let¡¯s see what happened¡­ during those months.¡¯ It was three months during a time of upheaval, plenty of time for a lot to happen. However, the world began to change to black and white, as if a ¡®Pause authority¡¯ had been triggered. ____ ____ Chapter 63 Max Talent Player Chapter 63: Five Notes (2) It looked like a Pause. ¡®It¡¯s not that it looks like a Pause, but that¡­¡¯ It actually was a Pause. ¡®Even though I¡¯m not in a dungeon but in a neutral field¡­¡¯ It wasn¡¯t common for a ¡®Pause¡¯ to take effect during everyday life. First and foremost, this ¡®Pause authority¡¯ was known to be an extremely expensive authority, one that both Guardians and Streamers couldn¡¯t squander. So I was surprised that a ¡®Pause¡¯ state was triggered by using such an authority. ¡°Senia. What¡¯s going on?¡± When I turned around, Senia was there. ¡®She really¡­ would have become a huge success if she was a little more eloquent.¡¯ I thought I¡¯d become accustomed to her appearance from seeing her so many times, but no. I had never seen anyone as beautiful as Senia. The strange aura and feeling of grace she exuded didn¡¯t feel like they were a part of the mortal world. This angel Streamer was a better fit for the word ¡®beautiful¡¯ than any other person I¡¯d ever seen. ¡®Well, it has nothing to do with me.¡¯ I knew she was pretty, but her beauty didn¡¯t have much to do with me. Whether my Streamer was pretty or not was no concern of mine. The reason I made a contract with Senia was because she was easy to manipulate. And of course, Senia had recognized that I was good quality content. ¡°Player Kim Hyukjin.¡± I already knew what Senia would say. She was going to ask if I had chosen my Guardian. ¡®Her channel is closed right now.¡¯ She wasn¡¯t streaming me to the Guardians. ¡®She¡¯s scared shitless that I might¡¯ve chosen my Guardian already.¡¯ I couldn¡¯t say for sure, but there was a high chance I was the Player receiving the most attention in the beginner period. Such a Player reached level 30, which meant the time to select a Guardian had come. Of course such an event would inevitably draw a great deal of focus and interest from the Guardians. ¡°Have you selected a Guardian?¡± ¡°Yeah, of course.¡± Of course I didn¡¯t. ¡°¡­¡± Senia¡¯s wingtips trembled. ¡°¡­Why did you choose your Guardian without the Intermediate Administrator around?¡± ¡°I didn¡¯t hear any notices saying the Intermediate Administrator had to be present for me to pick my Guardian.¡± Senia¡¯s face reddened a little. She looked a little mad. ¡®I just wanted to see how she would react, but¡­¡¯ As expected, my prediction was correct. ¡®She¡¯s mad?¡¯ For a Streamer as stoic as her, the fact I could visibly see that she was angry meant she was extremely enraged. ¡°Player Kim Hyukjin is very intelligent. So why did you use a moment while I wasn¡¯t streaming to continue Playing? And something as important as the Guardian selection?¡± ¡°¡­¡± I felt pressure from her, a formless energy pressing me down. It felt similar to the ¡®fear¡¯ ability used by boss monsters. Right now, Senia was agitated. ¡°Answer me. Allow me to inform you that I may make an extreme choice depending on your answer.¡± Technically speaking, Senia had no grounds to be angry. If I had chosen my Guardian at level 30, that was my natural right. ¡®So for her to become that mad despite that¡­¡¯ Why was she able to get angry without just cause? ¡®It¡¯s because she looks down on me.¡¯ I had ten years of experience that others lacked. Right now, those ten years were a valuable wealth of experience you couldn¡¯t buy with any amount of money. I knew what a great number of Intermediate Administrators thought of Players and how they treated them. ¡®Well, Senia¡¯s still on the easygoing side.¡¯ It was only because Senia was Senia that she was able to grit out such a polite warning. A nasty-tempered Intermediate Administrator might have threatened me while throwing in f-bombs. There really were a lot of Intermediate Administrators like that. ¡®In any case, it¡¯s because she sees me as a way to make money.¡¯ That was why she reacted like this. I didn¡¯t dislike it. To begin with, Senia and I needed each other and were using each other. So I had to make my position more clear and define our relationship in black and white. That was what I, at this point in time, decided was necessary. I chuckled. It was a very deliberate laugh. ¡°To borrow your words, I am very intelligent.¡± Up until now, I had resolved many difficult situations. I also brought a conflict with another Intermediate Administrator, Neptune, to a good resolution. Senia had seen all of it from start to finish. ¡°But I really can¡¯t figure out what the extreme choice you mention could be.¡± ¡°Player Kim Hyukjin and I have signed an exclusive contract. I have given up on a great deal of profit to exclusively stream you.¡± ¡°That¡¯s because each and every action of mine is profitable for you. Don¡¯t try to make it sound like you¡¯ve sacrificed a lot for my sake.¡± ¡°¡­¡± Senia, you beginner Streamer. Haah. Looking at this pretty woman who was reduced to speechlessness with a few words actually made me feel a little regret. She was such a rookie that it wouldn¡¯t be odd for her to be eliminated from the competition between Streamers. ¡°And say things right. You¡¯ve given up on a great deal of profit?¡± I snorted again with an intentional sneer, as if to tell her not to say BS. ¡°You don¡¯t remember your channel getting overloaded?¡± ¡°¡­¡± ¡°Your personal server wasn¡¯t able to handle the sudden influx of Guardians.¡± ¡°That¡¯s¡­¡± ¡°Was it because you were good at talking? Because you made things fun? Because you yourself make good content?¡± No, that wasn¡¯t it at all. The answer was already determined. It was because I was good quality content. ¡°You yourself know that¡¯s not the case. You¡¯ve experienced a flood of Guardians so intense your personal server couldn¡¯t handle it and you¡¯re still able to say you gave up on profit? Do you have any conscience?¡± ¡°¡­¡± I didn¡¯t think I would already be carrying out the ¡®Intermediate Administrator Domestication¡¯ that was still a good five years in the making. Several Rankers said that this process was absolutely necessary. If you didn¡¯t make the hierarchy between you and your Intermediate Administrator black and white, many cases of getting dragged along at the Intermediate Administrator¡¯s behest would occur later down the line. ¡®There were a lot of cases of that, yeah.¡¯ An Intermediate Administrator had one goal. Coins. That was their first and last goal. They weren¡¯t all that interested in something as insignificant as a Player¡¯s wellbeing. Their eyes were fixed only on whether a Player could make money or not. The more time went on, the more intense the streaming war between the Intermediate Administrators became, the more apparent that fact would become. ¡°You and I have an exclusive contract, and we¡¯re in a business relationship. You recognize that, yes?¡± ¡°¡­Yes.¡± Senia was still kind and pure for a Streamer. After all, there were a lot of Streamers who stubbornly shouted, ¡°Sue me!¡± and refused to listen. At the very least, it was possible to talk to Senia. ¡°But in such a situation, you spoke like you were threatening me.¡± Up until now, most beginner Players were scared of Intermediate Administrators. That was because most Intermediate Administrators were far more powerful than Players. Because Players didn¡¯t fully understand this System, they couldn¡¯t make real complaints to their Intermediate Administrators. ¡®But not me.¡¯ I continued with a serious expression. ¡°If you use coercive force on me or vent your unjustified rage on me one more time¡­¡± I gave it right back to her. ¡°Keep in mind that I¡¯m the one who might make an extreme choice.¡± ¡°¡­¡± I put the final nail in the coffin. ¡°There are no Players to replace me, but there are many Intermediate Administrators who can replace you. Intermediate Administrators who would pay the huge contract violation fee for me.¡± * * * * * * [Channel #19207 has been opened.] Channel #19207 was the channel run by the angel Intermediate Administrator Senia, a Streamer who was focusing her attention on a single Player. Senia spoke. ¡°A Pause is currently in effect. I would like to express my sincere thanks to the certain Guardian who gave me the Pause authority.¡± She didn¡¯t reveal who that ¡®certain Guardian¡¯ was. ¡°Player Kim Hyukjin will now begin his Guardian selection.¡± Guardian selection, and the 1st advancement that would come alongside it. This was the turning point for a Player that occurred when they reached level 30. I heard a stream of notices. [Level increased.] [Current level: 30] They were all notices I knew about. [The number of direct messages you can receive from Guardians is limited to five.] [Choosing the Guardians that can send you a direct message.] ¡®It¡¯s¡­ taking a while.¡¯ It was just a guess, but the Guardians were probably fighting tooth and nail right now in order to secure the right to send me a direct message. Basically, in order to ¡®contact¡¯ me. [A note has arrived.] [A note has arrived.] [A note has arrived.] [A note has arrived.] [A note has arrived.] Hyukjin trembled unconsciously. ¡®I immediately got five notes.¡¯ Could this really be called luck? ¡®No. This is absolutely not luck.¡¯ Luck alone could not produce such a result. It was hard work in addition to luck, with a heaping spoonful of talent on top. By now, I was sure of it. I had enough talent to make the average genius look like an ordinary Joe. I just didn¡¯t know how long this talent would last, or what my limit of growth was. ¡®Five.¡¯ The past me wouldn¡¯t have even imagined this would happen. ¡®There are plenty of Players who can¡¯t even get contacted by one Guardian.¡¯ But I received a whopping five messages. ¡®From what I know¡­¡¯ I combed through my memories. It wasn¡¯t a topic my civil service studying had covered thoroughly. You couldn¡¯t know how many contacts a Player received unless they revealed it themselves, so it was hard to tell exactly. ¡®But from what is known, four was the highest.¡¯ There hadn¡¯t been any Players¡ªat least from what I knew¡ªwho had received notes from five Guardians. ¡®Check the notes.¡¯ I checked the names of the Guardians who won the battle and were able to send notes to me. [A note from the ¡®True Master of the Heavenly Demonic Mountain¡¯ has arrived.] [A note from the ¡®Herdsman of Las Vegas¡¯ has arrived.] [A note from the ¡®Lady of the Scales¡¯ has arrived.] [A note from the ¡®Whispering Devil¡¯ has arrived.] [A note from the ¡®Merchant of Venice¡¯ has arrived.] Two Guardians who were very famous in the Korean server, one who was extremely famous in the Italian server, and one who was immensely famous in the US server. And then, there was one Guardian even I didn¡¯t know that much about. ¡®Five?¡¯ But it was a little unexpected. ¡®It¡¯s a little weird.¡¯ The Guardian I had been expecting didn¡¯t send a message. ¡®This choice¡­ wasn¡¯t in the picture I was drawing.¡¯ I didn¡¯t think that Guardian would be eliminated from the competition. The Guardian I was thinking about was none other than the ¡®Nameless Observer¡¯. ¡®Did the Nameless Observer¡­ not choose me?¡¯ That could be the case. Because if the Nameless Observer didn¡¯t choose me, I wouldn¡¯t be able to hear the notice about it. ¡®For now¡­ let¡¯s check the messages one by one.¡¯ They were all famous Guardians. I was confident that no matter who I chose, I had a promising future ahead of me. ¡®As long as I¡¯m not an early bloomer.¡¯ It all hinged on me being a ¡®true genius¡¯ with no early growth limit. After reading the notes, I thought long and hard. I thought over and over about which of the five Guardians who had sent messages to me I would choose. After a long period of time, Senia asked, ¡°Which Guardian will you set as your contracted Guardian?¡± ____ ____ Chapter 64 Chapter 64: 1st Advancement ¡°Which Guardian will you set as your contracted Guardian?¡± I already decided on the answer to Senia¡¯s question. It was a decision I had made a very long time ago, ever since I decided I wanted to live like a real person and resolved myself to living more successfully. From that moment on, I made preparations for this choice. I remembered very clearly. When I was sitting in the conditional safe zone that was the bus, I heard Guardian notices for the first time. [The ¡®Nameless Observer¡¯ is carefully watching your actions.] [The ¡®Nameless Observer¡¯ has begun to take an interest in you.] That time was still vivid in my mind. The 1st wave of Goblin attacks began with the Primordial Fog, and all of the other people on the bus died. That was when the ¡®Nameless Observer¡¯ granted me a bonus. [¡®Calm Observer¡¯s Eye¡¯ has taken effect.] You could say that was the moment my Playing began. The Calm Observer¡¯s Eye I got back then fused with Sixth Sense to become the Eye of Perception I had now. ¡®But¡­¡¯ The important thing was this. ¡®Back then, Senia wasn¡¯t in the bus.¡¯ Not just Senia, but no other Intermediate Administrators had existed in the world at the time. I could say that for sure because after I was bestowed an Open Beta Bonus from the Nameless Observer, I received a notice like this: And only then did I receive the following notices: [ The ¡®Intermediate Administrator¡¯ is appearing.] The Intermediate Administrators began to show up only then. ¡®In other words, the Nameless Observer was watching the situation even before the Streamers were streaming.¡¯ No Guardian, no matter who, could observe Players without a Streamer. That was a widely accepted theory. According to what I knew, that was how it was. But the ¡®Nameless Observer¡¯ was an existence that completely flipped that theory on its head. Senia asked again. ¡°Player Kim Hyukjin. Which Guardian will you set as your contracted Guardian?¡± ¡°¡­¡± So why did the Nameless Guardian not send me a message? Were they really pushed out by the other Guardians? [Herdsman of Las Vegas] [Lady of the Scales] [Whispering Devil] [Merchant of Venice] I opened the notes, which only I could see. ¡®The True Master of the Heavenly Demonic Mountain.¡¯ The note held things I already knew the gist of. He started by praising himself as the strongest heavenly demon in the world and the true master of the Heavenly Demonic Mountain, and that he would turn me into the most outstanding martial artist alive, or something of that nature. ¡®They¡¯re all amazing Guardians, it¡¯s true.¡¯ Even though I didn¡¯t know the Whispering Devil that well. ¡®But¡­¡¯ I still couldn¡¯t understand. ¡®Why did the Nameless Observer not send one?¡¯ I remembered another clue. [7,000 Coins acquired.] I was sure of it. I knew that quest wasn¡¯t issued by an Intermediate Administrator. ¡®The quest was cleverly disguised to look like a quest issued by an Intermediate Administrator.¡¯ But that, too, was ridiculous. Because to describe it in our terms, Guardians were ¡®attention whores¡¯. When they sponsored Players and Streamers, they received a great deal of attention. The more skilled Streamers actually gently coaxed Guardians into giving them a ton of sponsorships. ¡®If there¡¯s really any Guardian who isn¡¯t like that¡­¡¯ I judged it was the Nameless Guardian. After all, the adjective in their name was ¡®nameless¡¯. From every angle, it looked like ¡®anonymity¡¯ was this Nameless Guardian¡¯s fundamental attribute. While I was thinking, I also checked the note I got from the ¡®Whispering Devil¡¯ again. I will be straightforward. I will make you into the Demon King. If you choose me as your contracted Guardian, you can become the Demon King. Think long and hard. The note made me sure of it. ¡®This guy¡¯s a total scammer.¡¯ He wasn¡¯t called the ¡®Whispering Devil¡¯ for nothing. Demon King? His whole argument fell apart at Demon King. If this guy was really the Demon King¡¯s Guardian, I would probably be somewhere in the level 40s by now. Nothing was known about the Demon King¡¯s Guardian, but the Demon King had to be out there somewhere. ¡®You can¡¯t believe everything a Guardian says.¡¯ You couldn¡¯t believe things that weren¡¯t explicitly stated. Unless they stated things clearly, like saying they would grant some skill or title, such vague words were merely empty promises. To put it simply, a scam. With the notes floating in front of me in the air, I read through them again and again. ¡®I do have to choose someone¡­¡¯ I needed a contracted Guardian to grow far more efficiently. The more they had to give, the more of a pushover Guardian they were, the better it was for me. In exchange for the fun I would give them, they would sponsor me. ¡®But what is it?¡¯ I had the niggling feeling that something other was between the notes. ¡®How should I put it?¡¯ It was a strange feeling, like there was something I shouldn¡¯t miss between the notes. It was like there was an unwritten message among them, but it was something that couldn¡¯t be seen with the eyes. ¡®I should put more focus on Eye of Perception.¡¯ I looked through the notes not with my physical eyes, but with Eye of Perception. I just had a feeling that was what I should do. Senia asked once again, ¡°Player Kim Hyukjin. Have you made a decision?¡± ¡°No.¡± I shook my head. ¡°Each and every one of them are such great Guardians that I really don¡¯t know how an ant like me would dare make a decision.¡± Sure enough, the notices came in with lightning speed. [The ¡®Lady of the Scales¡¯ is feigning modesty.] [The ¡®Herdsman of Las Vegas¡¯ is earnestly waiting.] [The ¡®Merchant of Venice¡¯ nods at your composure.] [The ¡®Whispering Devil¡¯ detests you.] Countless Guardians were watching right now. But it wasn¡¯t right for me to make my choice here and now. I didn¡¯t know why; I just felt it. ¡®Eye of Perception.¡¯ This niggling feeling of something else, this feeling like I was missing something¡­ ¡®Show me something¡­ whatever it is. I captured a sort of hazy shimmer between the notes. ¡®There¡¯s something¡­ there.¡¯ I was sure of it. ¡®There.¡¯ I focused. I focused with everything I had. And then, a notice came in. [Eye of Perception¡¯s proficiency: 2] The proficiency that hadn¡¯t gone up the whole time finally increased, and with it, I was able to see something new. With the increase in proficiency, Eye of Perception picked up yet another note. ¡®There it is¡­!¡¯ My heart began to thump. ¡®The max is originally five Guardians.¡¯ For ten years following the beginning of Playing, countless people rose to the position of Rankers and became famous across the world. But not a single one of those Rankers was ¡®chosen by six Guardians¡¯. I didn¡¯t know how it was for the Demon King, but officially, five was the max. ¡®But¡­ I got six.¡¯ Moreover, one of them was a hidden note, a special note I wouldn¡¯t have seen if Eye of Perception¡¯s proficiency hadn¡¯t gone up. ¡®It¡¯s all good now.¡¯ My answer was decided from the very beginning. ¡°I¡­¡± My choice was the ¡®Nameless Guardian¡¯. * * * * * * Each of the Guardians who weren¡¯t selected sent messages, saying they were disappointed, or detested me, or that they honored my choice. But I didn¡¯t really pay much attention to the messages. They were thirsty for good quality content, so as long as I Played properly, they would never be able to discard me. If they liked my Playing, then that was that¡ªtheir fundamental characters would never allow them to hate me. ¡®The truly important thing is¡­¡¯ That I made my contract. [The ¡®Nameless Observer¡¯ has been set as Player Kim Hyukjin¡¯s contracted Guardian.] [A new class will be set in accordance with the contract with the ¡®Nameless Observer¡¯.] I¡¯d been waiting for this. I wondered what class the ¡®Nameless Observer¡¯ would give me. It didn¡¯t look like a very good class. A class that is characterized by observing all things. No matter what happens, the Onlooker sees watching in the background without stepping forward as a virtue and simply stays one step removed from all things. Detailed explanation The description was nothing special. From the description alone, there was no trashier class than this. I didn¡¯t even activate the detailed explanation, because I never intended on accepting this class. ¡®I believe in you, Nameless Observer.¡¯ I had taken a gamble of sorts with this choice, a gamble I judged had a very high chance of success. ¡®Even if I had chosen someone other than you, I would have been able to live a perfectly satisfactory life.¡¯ There was no doubt about that. By my former standards, I¡¯d already succeeded plenty. I even had a mana crystal that would fetch $10 million in three years. ¡®However¡­¡¯ It was because I couldn¡¯t be satisfied with that, because I wanted to go even higher, that I took this gamble. That was why I went all in. Everything I did was for this moment. This was an item that only one lucky person could purchase. The items in the Hidden Item Shop were limited to one in stock. I was only able to purchase this by killing Gold Turtles and satisfying the Hidden Piece linked to them to get a ton of Coins. ¡®It was all for this moment.¡¯ Opening the shop had cost 50k Coins, and purchasing had required 40k. When using this ridiculously pricey item, you had to do it boldly. It wasn¡¯t a low scroll, or a medium scroll, but a high one. I didn¡¯t know how much it could increase the grade of my class. It was random. ¡®Please, get upgraded just one more time.¡¯ I put my hands together and prayed. Normally, ¡®High Advancement Assist Scrolls¡¯ would make your class jump in grade twice or thrice. ¡®Please¡­!¡¯ But I didn¡¯t hear any additional notices. ¡®Once?¡¯ It was over with this? ¡®Even though it¡¯s a High Advancement Assist Scroll?¡¯ I¡¯d been blessed by RNG all this time, but this time, it failed me. ¡®Ah¡­ is this the end?¡¯ Even the name didn¡¯t look all that impressive. ¡®Observer. Observer, you say¡­¡¯ I¡¯d never heard of a class like this. I prided myself on knowing about quite a lot of hidden classes, but it was a completely new class to me. ¡®It at least has the Guardian¡¯s name in it, but¡­¡¯ It was based on the Guardian¡¯s name, but the name alone didn¡¯t give it much merit. The milk had already been spilled. Refusing the class granted by the Guardian at this point wasn¡¯t a good choice. It could spoil the mood of the contract bearer, aka the Nameless Observer, from the very first day of our contract. The dice were tossed and I was the one who had planned this, anyway. I couldn¡¯t do something foolish here and destroy it. ¡®It can¡¯t be helped.¡¯ Though it was a shame, I had no choice but to accept. [The Player¡¯s information is being updated.] [The update will take a slight amount of time.] I opened up the explanation about ¡®Observer¡¯ right away. A class that is entitled to observe the world in its entirety. Observe all things in-depth. You will see a new pathDetailed explanation The description was at least a bit better than ¡®Onlooker¡¯, because at least there was a hopeful message of ¡®you will see a new path¡¯ at the end. ¡®I¡¯ll need a little more time to fully adapt after the update is finished.¡¯ I opened up the detailed explanation. When I saw what was written, my mouth dropped. ¡®This is¡­ the Observer class?¡¯ Chapter 65 Max Talent Player Chapter 65: 1st Advancement (2) ¡®This is¡­ the Observer class?¡¯ It was a completely new class to me, one that no one had Played during ten years of Playing. I opened up the detailed explanation. [Detailed Explanation] ¡®Observer¡­¡¯ Did ¡®must maintain the position of an observer¡¯ mean that I had to sit back and only observe? I had to look into it a bit more. ¡®Direct hunting¡­¡¯ I applied what I knew. ¡®Direct hunting¡¯ basically meant that I would be cutting down at least 50% of the monster¡¯s HP. ¡®And if I make the final blow, the item drop rate is 0%.¡¯ The class was just as the name described. ¡®It really is an observer¡­¡¯ Up until now, there didn¡¯t seem to be many positives, despite this being a special class I acquired by using a High Advancement Assist Scroll. ¡®No. That can¡¯t be.¡¯ There were definitely classes out there that looked unimpressive on the outside but were capable of enormous power. Observer had to be one of those classes. I didn¡¯t have concrete evidence for this conviction; it was simply a feeling I had from the Playing I¡¯d done so far, something like the oft-mentioned ¡®intuition¡¯. ¡®Let¡¯s check the class-exclusive skills.¡¯ I could read the detailed explanations of both skills. [Detailed Explanation] It increased the EXP gain when Playing in a party and created a field linked to ¡®Observer¡¯s Eye¡¯. That meant I had to find out what Observer¡¯s Eye was. [Detailed Explanation] I was speechless for a moment. ¡®At least right now¡­ it¡¯s terrible.¡¯ I couldn¡¯t call this ¡®awesome!¡¯ right now. It didn¡¯t even have a class-exclusive attack or defense skill that were so common. Plus, I would actually get no EXP if I hunted a monster directly. But there was a silver lining, and that was the ¡®Observer¡¯s Eye¡¯ that appeared to be the core of the Observer class. ¡®To summarize¡­¡¯ I felt like I knew what kind of class Observer was. It was a class where you carefully observed a certain target. The target of observation had to be within the ¡®Observer¡¯s Domain¡¯, and I would use ¡®Observer¡¯s Eye¡¯ to examine them. ¡®I think it means I can then copy the abilities of the target being observed.¡¯ The current proficiency was 1. The higher the proficiency became, the more abilities I would be able to unlock. ¡®Not just abilities, but even their titles.¡¯ Even if I didn¡¯t go out and earn titles of my own, once Observer¡¯s Eye grew in proficiency, I would eventually be able to use the titles of others. ¡®And later on¡­¡¯ I could even share my abilities with others. ¡®I¡¯d be able to see a Fist King using Single Hit Finisher.¡¯ The class had an intermediary playstyle that would allow me to share the abilities of those within my domain, giving the right ability to the right person. At the moment, that was what I had figured out about the ¡®Observer¡¯ class. ¡®Or for example, Yeonseo using Platinum Shield.¡¯ Of course, I didn¡¯t expect it to be an omnipotent skill. I wouldn¡¯t be able to arbitrate everything like I wanted. ¡®But¡­¡¯ The profit I¡¯d be able to earn by sharing a useful skill or innate ability at the perfect time was likely something I couldn¡¯t even imagine. ¡®To make that happen, I need to make sure my party members have excellent abilities to begin with.¡¯ That condition was already partially fulfilled. Kim Sunhwa. So Yoohyun. Shin Yeonseo. These three alone were party members who were top of the line no matter where they went, and they all wanted to party with me. I purposefully said aloud, ¡°The problem is¡­ leveling up.¡± I was now level 30. The stretch between level 30 and 40 was called the Hell Phase. Mindlessly trying to push through the level 30-40 period was a fool¡¯s errand. Of course, it was something that could be settled with hard work, but it would take at least five years to get through this stretch with effort alone. ¡®Let¡¯s think about it slowly.¡¯ This class called Observer was one with very obvious pros and cons. ¡®A class that can¡¯t shine in the beginning.¡¯ But later? ¡®Its value will be unlimited.¡¯ Looking at it now, that future was a bit far-off. How exhausting was it to get less EXP from killing monsters? How was I supposed to get through the Hell Phase? ¡®But¡­¡¯ Strangely enough, I was starting to feel confident that I could do it. I couldn¡¯t express exactly why that was. ¡®I think I can do it.¡¯ I felt like I could do it. Or rather, to be more precise¡ª ¡®Feels kinda like it fits me perfectly¡­?¡¯ I didn¡¯t know why, but a sense of inexplicable confidence that I had gotten a class that fitted me like a glove was blooming within me. ¡®For now, let¡¯s give it a shot.¡¯ I said aloud, ¡°I thank the Nameless Observer for giving me such a good opportunity.¡± But when I spoke, an interference I¡¯d never even imagined occurred. When I said ¡®Nameless Observer¡¯, it came out as wordless buzzing. ¡®Wha¡ª?¡¯ It seemed the Nameless Observer didn¡¯t want to reveal that they were my contracted Guardian. ¡®That¡¯s why they¡¯re nameless.¡¯ There was also a condition like the following in order to use ¡®Observer¡¯s Eye¡¯: At least from what I could tell right now, it seemed the Nameless Observer was fundamentally the type of Guardian who didn¡¯t like to reveal themselves to the public. Matching a Guardian¡¯s disposition was also important. ¡°In order to carry out your will and not disappoint all the esteemed Guardians, I vow to do my utmost to Play.¡± Those words were a sort of pretense that was cemented over a long period of time. The great majority of Guardians liked to hear words like that during a Player¡¯s advancement. I didn¡¯t get any real notices, but I was sure that many Guardians were finding me laudable right now. The world began to regain its color. * * * * * * I was lying on my bed. I got the ¡®Observer¡¯ class, and there were a lot of things I had to do moving forward. I also recalled the threat my sister gave me earlier. ¨CPull something like this again, and¡­ I¡¯ll kill you. Her words were pretty savage, but her expression made it seem like she was on the verge of tears, so I just said ¡®ok¡¯. I said I was sorry for being late, but my sister just whirled around and went into her room. It was the same as when she ended the call. Apparently, she really hated showing me her tears. Really, she was such a softie at heart. ¡°Oi. What¡¯ve you been chomping on this whole time?¡± The squirrel that got a name from me, ¡®Darongi¡¯, was clinging to the ceiling. To my fascination, he was able to scuttle about perfectly fine while upside down, like a frickin¡¯ cockroach. A [!] appeared over his head. I didn¡¯t know what it was, but it seemed my older sister or Sunhwa gave him some dried fruits or something. Startled by my words, Darongi jumped down from the ceiling onto my stomach. Then, he covered his mouth and looked around warily, almost like he was guarding against someone stealing his food. ¡°No one¡¯s taking it from you. Would anyone take something you¡¯ve been eating?¡± As if reassured by those words, Darongi nodded and snuggled up to my side. A [??] mark appeared above his head, and after burying himself between my arm and ribs, he proceeded to fall asleep. [zzZ] [zzZ] [zzZ] The snoozing marks kept popping up, and honestly, it was a bit cute. Knock knock. The person who knocked and came in was Sunhwa. Wearing loose pajamas, she was petite and cute today as well. Sometimes, it was hard to tell whether she was an elementary schooler or a middle schooler. Though to be fair, being in your first year of middle school wasn¡¯t that far off from being an elementary school student. ¡®Is it ¡®cause we overcame the crisis of death together?¡¯ I felt myself growing fond of her, and every time I saw her, I had the feeling of wanting to protect her somehow, like it was good that she became my little sister. ¡°Oppa. I got a call from Yeonseo unnie.¡± ¡°Why didn¡¯t she call me directly?¡± ¡°She said you wouldn¡¯t pick up¡­¡± Oh right, I had my phone on mute. When I checked my phone, I found a whopping seven missed calls. ¡°Does Yeonseo unnie like you, oppa?¡± ¡°What¡¯s this about all of a sudden?¡± ¡°It seemed like she was too obsessed with you.¡± ¡°She must have something important to say.¡± Come to think of it, before I chose my class, Yeonseo did say she had something important to talk about. ¡°Anyway, I don¡¯t accept it yet. Even though Yeonseo unnie is pretty¡­!¡± She said some nonsense, and then I saw: She went from a ¡®Weak Brother Complex¡¯ to a ¡®Slight Brother Complex¡¯. Should I be calling this¡­ progress? TN: Previously, I had her at ¡®slight¡¯ brother complex, but weak was the more accurate word, so it has been changed. ¡®Well¡­ it¡¯s puberty.¡¯ With time, her brother complex would probably fade on its own. I didn¡¯t think about it that hard. I called Yeonseo, who yelled at me as soon as she picked up. ¨CHey! Why¡¯d you pick up so late! ¡°My phone was on mute. What¡¯s up?¡± ¨CCan¡¯t you be a bit better at picking up? ¡°I¡¯m ending the call if you have nothing to say.¡± ¨CW-What? W-Wait a sec! I do have something important to say. I listened in amusement. Yeonseo was the one who needed to say something, not me. ¡°What is it?¡± ¨CSo basically¡­ Yeonseo began to talk. After hearing what she had to say, I had a hard time saying it was (in my opinion) all that important. ¡®That¡¯s right. It¡¯s about the time¡­ when the Players Association starts becoming more active.¡¯ 3 months had already passed since I went into the ¡®Forest of Unknowns¡¯. It was about time for the Players Association to start taking an active role. They were convening Players from all over the country and giving them ¡®Player Licenses¡¯, and soon, they would start assigning ¡®ranks¡¯. ¡®Various rules. Tacit agreements. The distribution of items or profit. Big guilds sponsored by conglomerates.¡¯ This was a time when such things were starting to get hammered out. Mankind was becoming more prepared to accept new tech a little more proactively. ¨CThe 1st Player Convention is happening tomorrow afternoon. We should be able to gain a lot of information there, don¡¯t you think? They say there¡¯ll be a lot of open positions in big guilds. You can even get contracted with a conglomerate and get a high annual salary! You¡¯re going tomorrow too, right? Come to think of it, it was already almost September 13. The 1st Player Convention was the first convention within Korea. Just as I was about to respond, Darongi sprang upright like a meerkat. I thought he was repositioning himself, but he then jumped off the bed and ran off. At the same time, I heard the doorbell go off. I knew that at some point, someone would come to our house. Actually, I knew it would happen before the ¡®Player Convention¡¯. ¡°Hey. Wait a bit. Someone came over, I¡¯ll call you back.¡± I hung up the call with Yeonseo. ¡®That person is¡­!¡¯ This was something I had long-since predicted, but I didn¡¯t know it would be the person who I now saw at our door. ____ ____ Chapter 66 Max Talent Player Chapter 66: 1st Players Convention September 13. The day of the 1st Players Convention. It was the first formal gathering of Players held by the ¡®Korean Players Association¡¯ established with Sungshin¡¯s massive support. You could call it a symbolic event. ¡®The president of Sungshin knows me.¡¯ I could guess he had done a lot of background research on me. I knew that, and it was also something I had induced. ¡®That¡¯s why I knew he would make contact with me, but¡­¡¯ I just didn¡¯t know the person who would come would be ¡®Kim Kangchul¡¯. I still remembered all too clearly. On the night of April 26, 2028, he was the person who came to my door and personally delivered my results. ¨CNo Talent. He said the following: ¨C¡°I¡¯m sorry to be the bearer of bad news. We performed your re-examination, but it was determined that you had no talent.¡± Giving me a slightly pitying look, he told me to study hard for my civil service exam and gave me a box of luxury drinks. ¡®But the Players Association in its early days was almost like a subsidiary of Sungshin¡­¡¯ After some time passed, the Players Association became independent from Sungshin, becoming a government-affiliated institution. It was the majority opinion that a single company could not monopolize the enormous value that ¡®Players¡¯ and ¡®new tech¡¯ held. As such, a new Players Association was established with the same name as a government agency through talks with Sungshin. ¡®Kim Kangchul was the Head of Personnel of the Players Association back then.¡¯ Something was a little weird. ¡®It was announced that civil service employees with career experience were picked out specially to hold positions in the Players Association.¡¯ A position in the Players Association gave better annual salary and treatment than other civil service jobs. In any case, you were supposed to be from civil service to get a Players Association position. ¡®But at this point in time, Kim Kangchul is a team leader in Sungshin?¡¯ The public was told that civil service employees with experience were picked out for positions in the Players Association, but a person working as a current employee of the conglomerate Sungshin became the Head of Personnel in the Players Association ten years later? ¡®It doesn¡¯t add up.¡¯ Kim Kangchul came to see me. That fact alone was enough for me to come to a conclusion. ¡®It was all a big fat lie.¡¯ Both the current Players Association and the one ten years later were under Sungshin¡¯s control. It was like people said; there really was no one you could trust but yourself. ¡°Hello, I am Team Leader Kim Kangchul.¡± Right now, he called himself the leader of the newly created ¡®Player Scouting Team¡¯. He also said he was part of the ¡®New Tech Division¡¯, or something like that. I checked his information. [Non-Awakened] Name: Kim Kangchul Age: 38 State: Curious / Dubious / Confident / Fascinated Disposition: Ordinary / Ambitious / Full of Drive Summary: ¡®Curious, dubious, fascinated, huh.¡¯ He was definitely curious about me. ¡®An ordinary person hungry for success.¡¯ According to his summary, for now, he didn¡¯t seem like a bad person. I also didn¡¯t remember him having committed any evil acts. ¡®Also, he¡¯s the pillar of the household.¡¯ He was one of countless Korean breadwinners working hard to provide for their family. The man who gave me a great amount of information with his appearance alone had something very shocking to say. ¡°¡­And so, the President would like to offer you the guildmaster position of Taeguk Shield.¡± He offered me the guildmaster position of ¡®Taeguk Shield¡¯, of all guilds. In the early days of Playing, Taeguk Shield was a guild that experienced a crazy amount of growth thanks to being carried by Sungshin. ¡°He must have had a very good impression of me.¡± ¡°Yes, he did. He thinks very highly of you.¡± According to the current standards, the proposal itself wasn¡¯t bad. ¡°He has offered you an annual salary of $200k. The terms regarding item and Coin acquisition are written in detail in the contract.¡± Only then did I realize why Kim Kangchul was feeling confident. He came offering a staggering $200k annual salary. Even by the standards of ten years later, even if you passed the civil service exam, your initial salary would begin at $30k. The salary he was offering was almost a whopping 7x the civil servant salary, and this was just the initial pay. ¡°Of course, benefits are also included, and even though it is a little tricky to give you exact numbers now, the rate of salary increase will be very high.¡± Continuing, Kim Kangchul said, ¡°I can tell you right now that such an outstanding offer is the first and last of its kind. What would you like to do?¡± ¡°Do I have to make a decision right now?¡± ¡°No. However, we would like you to make a decision as fast as possible.¡± Team Leader Kim Kangchul seemed to have thought I would accept the offer, no questions asked. To be fair, for the standards of ordinary folk, the conditions were indeed incredible. People hadn¡¯t quite figured out what ¡®new tech¡¯ really was yet, so a $200k annual salary was ahead of its time. Before leaving, he informed me that a gathering of Players was being held tomorrow and gave me an invitation ticket. With that, my meeting with Kim Kangchul ended. ¡°Goodbye. I will contact you shortly.¡± After seeing Kim Kangchul off, I chuckled. ¡®Just $200k?¡¯ Kim Kangchul aside, I was sure that Song Kiyoung had already seen the value of ¡®new tech¡¯. And yet, $200k was all he could offer. There was probably no malice in it, but it felt like he was taking me a little too lightly. ¡®Though, well, I wouldn¡¯t have accepted even if it were $2 million and not $200k.¡¯ I already had an ¡®Amplification Mana Crystal¡¯ in my possession, an object that would command a $10 million price tag in three years. Actually, it wasn¡¯t a matter of money. My decision also had to do with my class, as well as my contracted Guardian. ¡®The Nameless Guardian¡­ doesn¡¯t want me to do things in the limelight.¡¯ I didn¡¯t know what the ¡®Nameless Guardian¡¯ wanted from me. But for now, I knew they wanted me in the back rather than the front, to Play while maintaining the position of an ¡®observer¡¯. ¡®For now, I¡¯ll go along with that.¡¯ The guildmaster of ¡®Taeguk Shield¡¯ would command a great deal of authority, but the position would also come with many responsibilities. I would be tied to Sungshin. It might help with the things I was trying to achieve, but it was more likely that the position would hinder me. ¡®I¡¯m going to Play at my pace, my way.¡¯ I decided to participate in the 1st Players Convention tomorrow. I already knew what would happen. I would also be able to meet the Typhoon, Jo Sunghyun, at the convention. ¡®If things go like in the past¡­ I¡¯ll also be able to decide exactly how to proceed with my Playing.¡¯ I started preparing for tomorrow. * * * * * * ¡°Senia. Senia. Senia. Senia. Senia.¡± No matter how much I called her, she didn¡¯t answer. The darned angel wasn¡¯t streaming me at the moment, it seemed. There was something I absolutely had to tell her before going to the convention, but I couldn¡¯t reach her. I had no choice but to make an appointment with Yeonseo, since Yeonseo said she was with her Streamer, Roa. ¡®In that respect, Senia should learn a little from Roa.¡¯ Roa was marvelously diligent. It wasn¡¯t like Yeonseo was doing a dungeon clear or anything, but Roa was still streaming her. It¡¯s because Roa was so earnest that she was successful later. It was 11 p.m. We agreed to meet in front of Hongdae University Station, Exit 9. Even though it was pretty late and it was Wednesday night, the place was bustling. But among the crowd, one person was radiating an obviously overwhelming presence. ¡°Hyuuuuungnimmmmm!¡± That person was So Yoohyun. With his nearly 2-meter tall massive frame and biceps the size of an average adult¡¯s head, the sight of him barreling towards me was almost like a furious wild boar¡¯s charge. ¡®Ah, shit.¡¯ Getting a bad feeling that he would pull me into a crushing bear hug, I dodged him ever so slightly. Though I managed to barely avoid him, I ended up in another minefield. ¡°I thought you died!¡± I dodged Yoohyun, but Yeonseo appeared out of nowhere next to him. She had come up to me extremely quickly, so I guessed she used ¡®Heavenly Demonic Flying Step¡¯. As true as it was that I¡¯d had my guard down, she found an opening all too easily. Simply put, I was hugged by Yeonseo. Against my will. ¡°¡­Oi. Not letting go?¡± ¡°I was super worried, okay? I thought you died. Do you know how nervous you made me by being unreachable for three months?¡± And then, she broke into a bright grin, like she could finally feel relief after physically confirming I was alright. I felt extremely strong feelings from her. Hold on, we were honestly not that close. We weren¡¯t even lovers, nor were we blood-related. Why in the world was she so happy? But I was certain that Yeonseo¡¯s feelings weren¡¯t a pretense or a lie. What I was feeling through Eye of Perception was her sincerity. Her sincerity¡­ wasn¡¯t all that bad. ¡®Feels strange.¡¯ I never would have thought that there would be people other than my family who would be so happy about my life or death. ¡®She¡¯s already gone up to level 32?¡¯ She made it to level 32 without any strats, increasing her level twice in three months. Two level ups in the Hell Phase in just three months was actually a lot, since the stretch between level 30-40 was extremely difficult to break through. ¡®Yoohyun is also level 32.¡¯ Geniuses were certainly geniuses, alright. Sunhwa was also level 31. All three of them would be able to level up much faster if they used the strategy with me. ¡®But first, I have to get through tomorrow well.¡¯ At around 11 p.m. at night, we went to a small bar near Hongdae. The time I spent with Yoohyun and Yeonseo wasn¡¯t that bad. No, it wasn¡¯t just ¡®not bad¡¯, but enjoyable. ¡®It feels pretty great.¡¯ I hadn¡¯t been able to enjoy this kind of leisure before. Yeonseo, whose face was a little red from drinking beer, laughed from the belly. ¡°Ah, I dunno. It just happened, ok!¡± They were telling me about when Yoohyun fell flat on his face, and both of them looked truly happy. I didn¡¯t have to look with Eye of Perception. Even with my bare eyes, they looked really happy. ¡®This is nice.¡¯ It wasn¡¯t anything special, just a casual drink with friends. This trivial and ordinary experience was completely new to me. ¡°Hold on, hyungnim. It wasn¡¯t like that. There just so happened to be a slippery trap right there¡­¡± After some time, Senia finally showed up. Seeing as Yeonseo and Yoohyun didn¡¯t react, she set it so that only I could see her. ¡®Roa is probably working hard to stream, even now.¡¯ It seemed Senia came over after seeing that. Take notes from Roa. The more diverse your content, the better. There are definitely viewers out there who want to see not just bloody Playing, but also this sort of trivial everyday life. Watch and learn, Senia. Yeonseo waved at us. ¡°You don¡¯t have to drop me off! See you tomorrow!¡± The sight of her walking off humming to herself in perfectly good cheer was a bit cute, but it didn¡¯t even occur to me that she would need to be dropped off. Even though this was a beginner Shin Yeonseo, Shin Yeonseo was still Shin Yeonseo. What could possibly endanger her? ¡°Hyungnim! See you tomorrow!¡± ¡°See you tomorrow.¡± I turned around. Senia was there. Actually, the reason why I met up with Yeonseo was to call Senia. Now that the fun times were over, it was time to get down to business. ¡°Senia.¡± From here on out, this was the real issue at hand. ¡°Listen carefully. Tomorrow, I¡¯m going to participate in the formal convention hosted by the Players Association.¡± Just as our business talk began, Senia opened her mouth. ¡°Player Kim Hyukjin.¡± Senia brought up something I hadn¡¯t even hoped to hear from her, in very commendable fashion. ____ ____ Chapter 67 Max Talent Player Chapter 67: 1st Players Convention (2) I put my phone to my ear. Of course, there wasn¡¯t anyone on the line. Other people couldn¡¯t see Senia right now. If I spoke to the empty air, people would think I was insane, so I pretended to be on a call while I walked home. Senia spoke first. ¡°Allow me to notify you that my channel is currently closed.¡± In other words, the Guardians weren¡¯t watching us right now. It appeared that Senia had taken my earlier words to heart. Always showing the same stuff with the same method would reduce both the excitement and the enjoyment. Streaming to the Guardians with a slightly more diverse, slightly different pattern was the job of a Streamer and a sign of their skill. ¡°It sounds to me that you want to coordinate with me for the event tomorrow.¡± ¡°I am simply considering more diverse directing methods.¡± That¡¯s right. That was the way. ¡®For now, just tickle the Guardians¡¯ curiosity.¡¯ The Players Convention was a ¡®man-made gathering¡¯ being held in the Korean server for the first time. It was a different sort of spectacle from System-made Playing. There had to be quite a lot of Guardians who wanted to see it, and it would be even better if there were some kind of conflict or dispute thrown in. ¡®She stopped filming, huh.¡¯ Among Streamers, this move was called ¡®Sudden Cut¡¯ or ¡®Sudden Cliffhanger¡¯, but those terms weren¡¯t yet established. ¡®After exciting their curiosity, she¡¯ll start streaming again tomorrow.¡¯ Moreover, there were probably a few things she wanted to consult me about right now, which was something I wanted to do as well. ¡®Senia, you¡¯ve really grown.¡¯ It felt like just yesterday she was frozen and helpless against the Streamer Neptune, but she was picking things up quickly. At this rate, she would probably be able to earn her keep pretty well. ¡°Did you meet with Player Yeonseo in order to call me?¡± ¡°Correct. Because Yeonseo was with Roa.¡± Senia had become a lot smarter. She was even able to figure out why I met up with Yeonseo. ¡°There must be a reason why.¡± I nodded. ¡°As you know, tomorrow¡¯s the Player Convention. This isn¡¯t a scenario set by the System, but a choice humans have made in response to the new world.¡± With that, our conversation continued for about one hour. ¡°Understood, even though what you say is far too detailed, even for something you have deduced through Precognitive Dream.¡± Senia looked a little doubtful. Over one hour of conversation, I gave Senia a lot of tips. I told her in advance what would happen tomorrow and what she had to do. ¡°Look a little further ahead, not just at the here and now. It¡¯s best to use your combined experience of various situations to predict what will happen before they happen. Don¡¯t you think you¡¯ll be able to make good quality content that way?¡± ¡°¡­¡± Senia seemed to be struck speechless. In any case, our conversation wrapped up nicely. All that was left was for Senia to do her job as a Streamer, and for me to do mine as a Player. We reached my house, the DMC Riverview Xi. One way or another, Senia kind of ended up bringing me home. ¡°¡­Understood. I shall wait and see if the scenario Player Kim Hyukjin predicts is correct.¡± Her words carried a slight edge of warning, perhaps because I had talked to her in such a lecturing tone. It was reasonable for her to feel displeasure. But what could she do? She might have improved a little, but she was still a newbie Streamer. From the viewpoint of someone who had ten years of experience, she was far too shabby a Streamer. There was so much she had to learn. ¡°You seem a little doubtful.¡± With a grin, I provoked her. ¡°Wanna bet?¡± ¡°¡­¡± ¡°If you¡¯re scared, forget it.¡± ¡°Are you provoking me right now?¡± Yeah, I am. ¡°Think of it however you please.¡± After thinking for a long time, Senia said, ¡°What will be the conditions of the bet?¡± As expected of our angel Senia, she was really easy to bait. ¡°Open the intermediate-grade Item Shop for me.¡± That was obviously not possible. I was still only level 30. To open the intermediate-grade Item Shop, you had to be over level 40. Even I knew it wasn¡¯t possible. ¡°That is an excessive demand. It is impossible.¡± ¡°Then how about one time?¡± ¡°¡­¡± I proposed something entirely excessive at first, then followed it with a more practical condition. ¡°That¡¯s¡­¡± ¡°Forget it if you don¡¯t want to.¡± ¡°¡­I accept.¡± That¡¯s right, of course you would. I knew you would accept. ¡°What do you want?¡± I asked. ¡°I will tell you that if I win the bet.¡± I almost snorted. Guess I didn¡¯t need to hear what it was, since I would be winning anyway. I went up the elevator, which reached the 10th floor. Ding! ¨CThe door is opening. Number 1004. Our house. The place where Mom, Noona, and Sunhwa were waiting. I suddenly felt happier. It was like I was slowly getting a grasp on my future. It was a feeling I hadn¡¯t been able to experience before. A sense of achievement, a desire to challenge the trials ahead, and¡­ the happiness of coming back home. Every time I saw our house, all of the changes that had occurred struck me anew. ¡®Let¡¯s do our best tomorrow, Senia.¡¯ * * * * * * The Players Association made under Sungshin¡¯s lead was in the DMC, the ¡®Digital Media City¡¯. It was within walking distance of our house. ¡®As expected, the Association was put here.¡¯ Later on, even once the Association became a government institution, the building was still in the same spot. ¡®It¡¯s a government institution in name, but there were a lot of rumors that it was actually a tool of Sungshin.¡¯ I was able to verify that those rumors were true after seeing Kim Kangchul. It didn¡¯t have that much to do with me, but it did make me a little bitter. The phrase ¡®Republic of Sungshin¡¯ didn¡¯t exist for nothing. ¡®That means they¡¯ll probably do rank measurements today, too.¡¯ The ranks would be evaluated with a method that was absurd by future standards. It was fine to see the ¡®Player ranks¡¯ determined now as completely meaningless. ¡®The concept of ¡®talent plates¡¯ hasn¡¯t been established yet.¡¯ There was no concept of talent plates, or magic, for that matter. The ranks would be set by evaluating physical factors. For example, things like running or grip strength. They would measure Player ability with the same methods used to evaluate athletes, a ridiculous method according to future standards. ¡°Yes. I do not wish to receive a rank evaluation.¡± ¡°A rank evaluation can be very favorable for the Player. Many avenues will be opened up to you if you gain a high rank. Even if you get a low rank, it won¡¯t be of any harm to you.¡± ¡°It¡¯s fine.¡± ¡°If you do not want to go through the rank evaluation, are you okay with being given an F-rank for the time being?¡± ¡°Yes, that¡¯s fine.¡± What use was there in getting a rank that would be obsolete soon anyway? I didn¡¯t come here to submit myself to long-distance running or push ups. ¡°Hyungnim! I got an A!¡± ¡°Me too!¡± Like the Fist King and Sword Empress they were, Yoohyun and Yeonseo received A¡¯s from the very beginning. Seriously, people who could succeed in whatever they did sure were on a different level. Sunhwa also went through the rank evaluation with them, but she got a C. It was 2:20 p.m. The convention would start at 3 p.m. The Main Hall on the 12th floor was already bustling. The four of us went down to the cafe on the 1st floor to wait. ¡°It¡¯s alright, it¡¯s alright.¡± I patted the sullen Sunhwa. Figures, how would they even evaluate her tanking qualities, anyway? They could hardly stab her arm with a knife or take a hammer to her head. Such a result was inevitable. ¡°It¡¯s alright, C is better than my F.¡± I didn¡¯t say that it was because F was the rank given if you refused the evaluation, but it still wasn¡¯t a lie. What kind of score would I get? ¡®I think I¡¯d also get an A.¡¯ I wasn¡¯t sure, and I didn¡¯t have that much interest in a rank evaluation done with a completely meaningless method. ¡°Really? Oppa got an F?¡± Yeonseo and Yoohyun¡¯s eyes widened as well. ¡°Come on, that¡¯s ridiculous. You, an F?¡± ¡°That¡¯s ridiculous, hyungnim!¡± Of course it was. I chuckled in spite of myself. ¡°You¡¯re right, it¡¯s ridiculous. Because they used a ridiculous evaluation method, only the Players in combat classes will have gotten a high rank.¡± Apparently greatly comforted by my words, Sunhwa slurped the chocolate shake we¡¯d ordered with enthusiasm, as if she could forget the shock of getting a C-rank with the taste of chocolate. Yeonseo grinned widely. ¡°That¡¯s true. Well, nothing more needs to be said if you got an F. The rank measuring method is a hundred percent wrong. A monster like Kim Hyukjin getting an F? Gosh darnit. Here I was, getting all happy for nothing that I got an A.¡± ¡°Seriously, hyungnim. This rank has zero meaning.¡± While we were waiting on the 1st floor, I constantly checked the Players coming through. One of the Players I saw was a man with a huge physique no inferior to Yoohyun, and a flashy tattoo covering his right arm. His whole aura was screaming, ¡®Mess with me and you¡¯ll get hurt¡¯. ¡®The Brown Bear, Kim Taechun.¡± His current level was 28. ¡®What a funny summary.¡¯ He was one of the ¡®starting pieces¡¯ for what would be happening today. ¡®Where¡¯s Jo Sunghyun?¡¯ I kept looking, but I didn¡¯t see him. Instead of Jo Sunghyun, someone ran helter-skelter through the 1st floor. ¡°Uwah! I was almost late!¡± After seeing us, he immediately ran our way. His breathlessness made him seem a little out of shape. ¡°Goodness, look who it is. Isn¡¯t this our mighty hero who was unreachable for three months?¡± Choi Sung-gu also joined the fray. From what I heard, Sung-gu also got much closer to the others, or something like that. Sunhwa had introduced him, and they had gone through the Seoul Station Dungeon a few times together. They¡¯d also cleared a few gates together. ¡°Can I kiss you to celebrate your safe return? Wh-whoa there. Alright, sorry, sorry. C¡¯mon man, do you really need to give me the death stare?¡± It seemed Sung-gu was still under the protection of the Giant of the Sunset. I couldn¡¯t read his information with Eye of Perception. However, since he had used the ¡®Vulcan Body Tome¡¯, had the ¡®Person of Fire¡¯ title, and three months passed, with his degree of talent, he had probably grown quite a lot. And my prediction was correct¡ªhe said he was level 31. He was indeed high level. It was now 2:40 p.m. Sung-gu said, ¡°I¡¯m already late, so I think I won¡¯t be able to get the rank evaluation. Was it on the 12th floor? Let¡¯s go!¡± ¡°Wait.¡± As I thought, what I remembered was correct. ¡®Jo Sunghyun.¡¯ That person was coming in. The young man coming through the 1st floor revolving door was tall and had a slender frame. He was wearing a school uniform and looked to be a high school student. ¡®His current age¡­ is 18.¡¯ His talent plates wouldn¡¯t be completely open yet. Of course, he wasn¡¯t the ¡®Typhoon¡¯ he would be in the future. ¡®Current time, 2:45 p.m.¡¯ It was about time for Senia to show herself. Sure enough, just like we arranged ahead of time, Senia appeared. The caf¨¦ on the 1st floor, 2:45 p.m. The high schooler ¡®Jo Sunghyun¡¯ who had just come into the 1st floor. And Kim Taechun, the self-styled predator lurking around in search of prey. ¡®Let¡¯s watch for a bit, shall we?¡¯ Just then, I heard a notice. [The ¡®Nameless Guardian¡¯ has sent you a 300 Coin sponsorship.] My ¡®act of watching¡¯ was interpreted by the Nameless Guardian as ¡®observing¡¯. Well, it was all good, since it meant the Guardian I had a direct contract with was looking at me in a good light. After all, I would have to keep the contract with this Guardian until at least level 50. As I watched, I sensed it. ¡®It¡¯s starting.¡¯ Right here and now, the Typhoon would be making his first move. ____ ____ Chapter 68 Chapter 68: 1st Players Convention (3) I tried remembering everything I knew about the Typhoon, Jo Sunghyun. ¡®Someone who defeated the Sword Empress Shin Yeonseo in a one-on-one¡­ and the only formal magic class Player.¡¯ As his name suggested, Sunghyun was a mage who used wind. ¡®His talent plates haven¡¯t completely opened yet, and¡­¡¯ In the early days of Playing, it was inevitable that magic classes were overshadowed by close-combat classes. Mages were very weak in the early period, and their starting difficulty was extremely high. But if they succeeded and made it big, they had incredible killing power and destructive force. ¡®At least in the beginning, he¡¯s no match for Kim Taechun.¡¯ Before I regressed, it was commonly known that Taechun purposefully picked a fight with Sunghyun at this time. Taechun never said from his own mouth why, but people were pretty sure that was the case. ¡®There¡¯s a high chance it¡¯s a quest from the courage-lover.¡¯ The Brown Bear Kim Taechun¡¯s contracted guardian was none other than the ¡®Courageous Lion King¡¯. As one might expect from the Courageous Lion King¡¯s personality, he often issued quests that went along the lines of ¡®Show your courage¡¯, and Taechun carried out such quests faithfully. He also had an aptitude for it. ¡®Just as planned, I will make Sunghyun my ally.¡¯ Only then could I safely get through this day and make things happen the way I wanted. While I was thinking, I briefly met Taechun in the eyes. I couldn¡¯t suppress a smirk. Weak hostility, huh. He wasn¡¯t at the point of being able to exude bloodthirst yet. At most, he could only let out ¡®hostility¡¯. ¡®I¡¯ve been caught on your radar, you say?¡¯ Right now, what Taechun wanted was to be in the position of a predator who could show their courage. That meant his victim couldn¡¯t be much weaker than him, nor could they be much stronger. ¡®If he looked at me¡­ that means I look like the best target out of our party, I suppose.¡¯ Good, that was excellent. ¡®For now, Yeonseo¡¯s been underestimated.¡¯ Yeonseo was too delicate a girl¡­ at least on the outside. ¡®Needless to say, Sunhwa has been as well.¡¯ In all actuality, gender or age weren¡¯t all that big an issue when it came to Playing, as long as you were in your early 20s or younger, since all your talent plates would be open at that point. However, the current Taechun wouldn¡¯t think that way, so the potential targets were narrowed down to Yoohyun, Sung-gu, and me. ¡®And out of the three of us, I look like the easiest target.¡¯ Eye of Perception made me very certain of that. He hadn¡¯t picked a fight with me, but if Sunghyun hadn¡¯t shown up right at this moment, he would have jumped at any opportunity to make trouble with me. That self-proclaimed predator had found his prey, a perfect prey called Jo Sunghyun. * * * Even as Senia streamed the situation unfolding before her, she found it difficult to believe. She recalled what Hyukjin had said to her last night. ¨CSuppose there¡¯s a guy who wants to draw attention. The easiest way to do so is to fight someone. It¡¯s simple and easy to make that happen, and it¡¯s the sort of material that Guardians like. That, Senia could agree with. There were always one or two Players like that, after all. ¨CIf they pick a fight with someone, the target won¡¯t be too strong or too weak. Senia was seeing that with her own two eyes right now. The Player called Kim Taechun purposefully picked a fight with the Player called Jo Sunghyun. ¡°Oi. If you hit someone, you should apologize.¡± ¨CAnd suppose again that Choi Sung-gu was watching; he wouldn¡¯t be able to let it go. He¡¯s got a pretty strong sense of justice, as well as a fiery temperament. Senia continued to stream the situation. After glaring at Kim Taechun, Jo Sunghyun simply turned around. Taechun yelled, ¡°Oi, you little shit. Stop right there.¡± ¨CThen in the end, Sung-gu and that person would clash. The situation you have cooked up is quite detailed. The longer you spend describing this situation, the less likely it¡¯ll happen. And yet, Sung-gu really did step forward. ¡°Hey! What are you doing with this kid!¡± ¨CIt¡¯s a really good situation, don¡¯t you think? The sort of situation Guardians will also find amusing. ¨CIs it not a product of excessive imagination? Even for a Precognitive Dream user, Senia thought it was too fictitious. ¨CYou already agreed to make the bet, so hear me out all the way. ¨CGo ahead. I will listen. And how were things turning out? It was all happening like Hyukjin said yesterday. ¨CIf it gets to that point, the picture will almost be complete. Taechun would pick a fight with Sunghyun, and Sung-gu would jump in the middle, unable to simply watch. ¨CThen what¡¯ll happen next is the guy¡¯s Streamer will get involved. Their Player made the opportunity, so the Intermediate Administrator has to fan the flames, right? ¨C¡­ ¨CIf I were an Intermediate Administrator, I would absolutely open a PVP zone. Sure enough¡ª With that appeared a humanoid figure with the head of a rhinoceros. Senia¡¯s wingtips trembled. Even though she was streaming, she couldn¡¯t take her eyes off Kim Hyukjin. Hyukjin knew that Percy would declare a PVP zone. In a PVP zone, you couldn¡¯t die, even if you were killed. It was a field with a built-in ¡®revival¡¯ function. [In the current field, pain will be registered.] [When the PVP request is made and accepted, the PVP match will begin.] ¡®Of the types of PVP fields, pain exists in this one.¡¯ This was a field where pain could be felt. You wouldn¡¯t die, but you would feel the pain of death in its totality. ¡°Why¡¯re you messing with the Player I¡¯m streaming, huh?¡± Percy didn¡¯t have much respect for humans. He only saw them as ways to make money. ¡°Trash like you needs to be swept away.¡± The current Sung-gu was no match for Percy. To spur on this situation, Percy would leave Sung-gu half dead, clearing the way for Taechun to show as much courage as he wanted to the terrified Players. ¡®So now¡ª¡¯ Hyukjin glanced behind him, urging Senia to make her entrance. ¡°Intermediate Administrator Percy. It appears that you are about to use coercive force on a Player. Am I correct?¡± ¡°And who the hell are you?¡± Percy spat onto the ground. Szzzz¨C! His green saliva steamed on the ground. The Players gathered nearby whispered amongst each other. ¡°Wh-What¡¯s happening?¡± ¡°Shh. Be quiet. You could get killed if an Intermediate Administrator looks at you wrong.¡± ¡°Shh, shh. Let¡¯s just watch from afar.¡± Senia was not shaken. She continued to speak, uncowed. ¡°I, too, know the unwritten law that Intermediate Administrators should not greatly interfere in each other¡¯s matters.¡± ¡°Then what¡¯s with this ridiculous interference?! Move aside. I need to proceed with my content.¡± ¡°However, this is an issue related to the absolute Commandments of the System. Why are you trying to use coercive force on a Player without justified reason?¡± Hyukjin found himself smiling. It looked like Senia regretted not having been able to say anything in front of Neptune last time. She had learned and grown quite a lot. As a Streamer, she was still a greenling, but it did feel like she went up quite a few levels. ¡°Is that something you need to know?¡± ¡°Yes. Player Choi Sung-gu is one of the Players I am focusing on.¡± ¡°¡­¡± Hyukjin didn¡¯t know how long Senia had been focusing on Sung-gu, but Percy would have no comeback for that. Well done, Senia. Senia would block any Intermediate Administrator interference. The PVP zone was established, and Percy wouldn¡¯t be able to jump forward and usher things along. That was Senia¡¯s role¡ªto make sure that thugs like Percy wouldn¡¯t be able to screw around. The Guardians were probably watching this situation, too. ¡®The Courageous Lion King must be watching right now.¡¯ Now then. The picture was all finished. The Courageous Lion King was a courage-addled courage-lover who wanted to see the ¡®courage¡¯ of Players. Thanks to Senia stepping forward, Percy could no longer give the situation a strong push. In such a situation, I knew what the Courageous Lion King would do. ¡®He¡¯ll definitely give Taechun a quest, telling him to fight with me, since the PVP zone is already established and it¡¯s a good opportunity.¡¯ The ¡®Courageous Lion King¡¯ was egging Taechun on to fight me, offering the weaker Player some kind of support at the same time. Senia¡¯s wingtips trembled nonstop. Everything was happening so precisely according to Hyukjin¡¯s words that she would believe it if someone told her he had written the plot. ¨CWhen that happens, Taechun will be impatient to have a PVP match with me. Player Kim Taechun first started by picking a fight with Jo Sunghyun, then Choi Sung-gu. With all these eyes around them, it wouldn¡¯t be easy to make trouble with him, someone just sitting quietly on the sidelines. ¨CSo then, Percy will switch his focus to you, since he needs to get me involved somehow. In fact, Senia hadn¡¯t put much importance on Hyukjin¡¯s words yesterday. Even if he was a Precognitive Dream user, she thought he wouldn¡¯t be able to see in such detail. The only thing she was concerned about was what she should demand when she won the bet. ¡°Then is that Choi Sung-gu guy your exclusively contracted Player?¡± ¡°That is not the case.¡± ¡°Who¡¯s your exclusively contracted Player then?¡± ¡°My exclusively contracted Player is¡­¡± Senia¡¯s gaze moved towards Hyukjin. She didn¡¯t state him by name, but her look was answer enough. ¨CAfterwards, he¡¯ll request a PVP match with me. Kim Taechun grinned, rubbing his tattooed arms. He had the habit of doing that when he was getting ready for a fight. In the meantime, Percy said to Senia, ¡°Fine, then. It can¡¯t be helped since you¡¯re bringing up the Commandments and all. As this guy¡¯s exclusively contracted Intermediate Administrator, I request a PVP match with your exclusively contracted Player.¡± Senia was silent for a moment. ¨CWhat do you think? Of my hypothesis? She recalled how Hyukjin said those words last night, grinning. She nearly got goosebumps. ¡°What¡¯s wrong? Scared? Scared your Player will die miserably in front of all the Guardians? Huh?¡± Percy snickered. Senia wasn¡¯t affected much by his sneering. ¡®From the beginning¡­ to the end.¡¯ To Senia, it felt¡­ like Hyukjin had predicted¡ªno, designed¡ª this situation from beginning to end. It was a little terrifying now. ¡®Everything is happening as Player Kim Hyukjin predicted.¡¯ How could this be? It felt to her that everything was in the palm of Hyukjin¡¯s hand. ¡®He read the situation in this much detail¡­ based merely on the preposition that there¡¯ll be a crazy Player and a crazy Intermediate Administrator here today.¡¯ Kim Hyukjin was still weak. But his insight alone was unmatched. Senia had always known this, but she could be 100% sure of it today. ¡®In the entire world, throughout all of history, there¡¯s no Player with such a talent.¡¯ Hyukjin was a genius among geniuses. She could only acknowledge that he was a genius who went far beyond the realm of geniuses. Did Percy and Taechun have any idea that their actions were all in line with Hyukjin¡¯s blueprint and picture? Yesterday, Hyukjin said the following to her: ¨CIf something like that happens¡­ this is what you need to do. Senia decided to act exactly as Hyukjin said. Chapter 69 Chapter 69: 1st Players Convention (4) Yesterday, Hyukjin said the following: ¨CRefuse him. It¡¯s fine if it makes me look a little cowardly. I¡¯m not a direct combat class, anyway. ¨C¡­What? ¨CWhat? It¡¯s true. I¡¯m not a combat class. It wasn¡¯t a lie. He really wasn¡¯t a direct combat class¡­ even though he did win a 1-on-1 PVP match against Shin Yeonseo. In any case, it was technically true that he wasn¡¯t a direct combat class. ¨CBut if someone like that really shows up¡­ He¡¯ll probably keep pestering endlessly for a PVP match, and a lot of Guardians will agree with that. PVP is content that Guardians go wild for. If that happened, the mood would make it tough to completely refuse a PVP. ¨CSo make someone other than me fight in the PVP. Hyukjin knew the best person for that¡ªthe future Sword Empress, the strongest Player in 1-on-1 duels, Shin Yeonseo. ¨CYeonseo would be a good fit. ¨C¡­I understand. If the situation truly occurs like Player Kim Hyukjin says, I will act like you have said. And after saying that, Senia continued. ¨C¡­Very well. I¡¯ll wait and see if Player Kim Hyukjin¡¯s excessively detailed scenario will actually happen. They even made a bet. ¨CIf things happen like you say, I will open the intermediate-grade Item Shop one time for you. But it actually happened. With one mistake, a massive pile of Coins flew away. Senia resolved to never make a bet with Hyukjin ever again. ¡°I refuse the PVP match. My exclusively contracted Player is a non-combat class. He is not suited for a 1-on-1 PVP match.¡± Senia spoke quickly, seizing the initiative in the conversation with Percy. ¡°However, I will select a teammate who can carry out the match in his stead, if she agrees.¡± As soon as Yeonseo heard ¡®she¡¯, she jumped forward. ¡°Me! Me! Me-me-me-me!¡± Yeonseo actually thought she wouldn¡¯t have the chance, since she figured Hyukjin would take care of it. However, Hyukjin was ruled out of the PVP with the ridiculous reason of ¡®he¡¯s not a combat class¡¯, and now, she held the dice. Hyukjin took a look at Yeonseo¡¯s summary. Hyukjin almost tilted his neck in spite of himself. ¡®Something about this summary is weird again¡­?¡¯ A swordsman aspiring to become a wife. Something about it was a little weird. Wife? Did that mean there was a husband somewhere? Somehow, all the summaries of the people around him were strange. That aside, just as he expected, Yeonseo was full of fighting spirit at the moment. ¡®Because Yeonseo is a Player who enjoys 1-on-1 PVP.¡¯ She was the type of Player who really enjoyed 1-on-1 PVP, to the point that it wasn¡¯t an exaggeration to say that the future Sword Empress grew strong through PVP. ¡°You heard her, right?¡± Hyukjin took a step back, and Yeonseo took a confident step forward. ¡°Nice, I was itching for some PVP.¡± Yeonseo rolled her neck and shoulders, loosening her muscles. Her ¡®hehe¡¯ing appearance made her look every bit a kind and cute university student. However, the moment she grasped her sword, her aura would completely change. Hyukjin knew that very well. ¡®Two-faced swordsman.¡¯ Yeonseo, whose growth was accelerated by Playing with him, was a Player contracted with the ¡®True Master of the Heavenly Demonic Mountain¡¯, one who had already reached the realm of being one with the sword. Kim Taechun gave a dumbfounded laugh. ¡°Men are hiding behind a woman, huh? Can you guys still call yourselves men? You¡¯re nothing but dogs, you fucking trash.¡± And so, the PVP match between Yeonseo and Taechun began, and the result was obvious. As soon as the match started, Yeonseo moved rapidly, stopping in front of Taechun. ¡°What the heck, so boring. Why¡¯s this dude so weak?¡± The tip of Yeonseo¡¯s sword rested on Taechun¡¯s throat. If she thrust forward with a little strength, his neck would be severed. It looked like the match would end that way. I hadn¡¯t just predicted ¡®today¡¯. I drew out today¡¯s situation, and I understood exactly what I had to do within that canvas. ¡®Observer¡¯s Eye.¡¯ There was no better opportunity to practice using Observer¡¯s Eye to ascertain the situation. Having decided to give myself more time to research more about the Observer class, I read this PVP match precisely. ¡®Over in one. Taechun does look a little unreconciled.¡¯ Although Taechun looked very unreconciled with the result, there were actually a lot of nuances in Yeonseo¡¯s movement. ¡®Though you¡¯d need the eye to see it.¡¯ The current Taechun probably wasn¡¯t able to read the entirety of Yeonseo¡¯s movement. For him, things simply ended with a cry of alarm, and she was there. ¡®This is Observer¡¯s Eye.¡¯ I could perceive Yeonseo¡¯s movements more precisely than when I looked with my physical eyes. With a little exaggeration, it felt as if I could even see the movement of each of her muscles under her clothes. When she twisted, I saw the rotation start from the bottoms of her feet and go up her legs into her body. ¡®As expected¡­ It¡¯s not a simple eye for observing alone.¡¯ She twisted to dodge Taechun¡¯s large axe. Then, she activated her footwork technique, and ¡®Observer¡¯s Eye¡¯ read the technique in detail. ¡®A distance at which Taechun¡¯s axe won¡¯t reach. The angle at which he cannot swing. She aimed precisely for his blind spot and narrowed the distance.¡¯ Yeonseo was at least one step ahead of Taechun in this close-combat fight, and I saw it all. ¡®I can see the flow of mana.¡¯ My proficiency was only 1, so I couldn¡¯t see it precisely, but I could feel the rough strokes¡ªhow it was flowing, what kind of mana was moving, and how it was affecting the body. This was the power of ¡®Observer¡¯s Eye¡¯. Through it, I was able to see something I¡¯d read about in textbooks more clearly. ¡®If I get used to this and my proficiency goes up¡­!¡¯ Not right now, but in the future, I would definitely be able to use the ability. From the ¡®observing¡¯ I was doing now, I was able to grasp my own abilities a little more concretely. Taechun didn¡¯t look all that frightened of the sword resting on his throat. ¡°It¡¯s not over, you know?¡± He moved the huge axe in his right hand to his left and swung it with all his strength. ¡°You have to kill your opponent to end it, you arrogant bitch!¡± I chuckled. ¡®You think Yeonseo didn¡¯t expect that?¡¯ I had already seen it with Observer¡¯s Eye. The weak mana flowing in Yeonseo¡¯s body was already heading towards her legs, meaning she had prepared to dodge in advance. ¡®She¡¯s still the future Sword Empress.¡¯ She did lose to Jo Sunghyun because of the bad matchup once, but she was still destined to become the strongest PVPer in both name and reality in the Korean server. ¡®Hold on a sec.¡¯ Something suddenly occurred to me. ¡®From here, in the position of an observer, I can see it well, but¡­¡¯ Normally, it was easy to see things when you took a step back. You might not be able to play soccer, but you could easily offer advice while watching from afar. ¡®If I were really in the thick of it, would I be able to see other Players¡¯ movements like just now? If I could know in advance that mana was concentrating in someone¡¯s legs¡­¡¯ Then that would mean I could move while predicting the opponent¡¯s movements, no? I would be able to react knowing how exactly they would move. ¡®Even if it¡¯s not a Player¡­¡¯ It would be the same if the opponent were a monster. If I had eyes that could read the movements of muscles, the flow of mana, it meant I could assume a far more advantageous position in battle. The more experienced I became, the more marvelous the power of ¡®Observer¡¯s Eye¡¯ seemed to become. ¡®It¡¯s already this good¡­ even though the proficiency is only 1?¡¯ I felt my heart thudding hard. If the proficiency went up a lot, I would be able to go much higher, even higher than I thought. ¡°This guy¡¯s no good.¡± Yeonseo¡¯s sword plunged into the middle of Taechun¡¯s forehead. ¡°GAAAAAAGH!¡± he screamed. Taechun died on the spot. The shocking sight stunned everyone to silence, which was quickly broken by the shutters of the journalists who had gotten in on the action. ¡°S-Sir. Can we really broadcast this? It¡¯s a murder.¡± ¡°For now, keep shooting. Did you get it? Answer me!¡± A few Players began to whisper as well. ¡°Isn¡¯t this murder?¡± But then, they witnessed a miracle. Kim Taechun¡¯s body looked like it was becoming dust and disappearing, and at the same time, the body began to glow and became sparkling particles of light. Those particles began to reform into a whole, healthy body. ¡°A-Amazing!¡± ¡°H-H-He came back to life!¡± Camera flashes went off nonstop. The likes of the ¡®Players Convention¡¯ wasn¡¯t important right now. Everyone had just witnessed the miraculous sight of someone dying and being revived in a PVP match. ¡°Wh-What I¡¯m seeing right now is the truth, right?¡± ¡°No way, no way.¡± ¡°What do you mean, no way? There are monsters, Streamers, and the world has changed. This is the world after the Cataclysm.¡± While the crowd was murmuring in awe, I heard a different notice. If I hunted directly, I couldn¡¯t get EXP. But it also meant that even if I didn¡¯t do anything and just sat around, my EXP would rise. [Detailed Explanation] EXP +50% for party Play. Add onto that the title I already had, ¡®First Pioneer¡¯, with its +20% EXP effect, and I had a +70% EXP boost in total. The System apparently recognized this as a party Play. Every time a party Play was recognized, I would get about 20% additional EXP. ¡®It¡¯s 20% additional EXP because the EXP is shared half and half with Yeonseo.¡¯ For example, if we worked together in a party to kill a monster with 100 EXP, killing it would give us 120 EXP. If we had both contributed the same amount, that 120 EXP would be divided in half, with each person getting 60 EXP. ¡®If I get the additional 70% bonus here¡­¡¯ I would get an extra 42 EXP of that 60, which added up to 102 EXP. To sum it up in simple terms, I¡¯m actually getting more than if I PVPed on my own? And it didn¡¯t just apply to PVP. When hunting, when clearing dungeons, it would be the same. Simply put, just watching from the back would net me the same reward as engaging in back-breaking labor in the front. ¡®Isn¡¯t this¡­ amazing?¡¯ This seemed to be the true value of the ¡®Observer¡¯ class. ¡®Is this really okay?¡¯ It was kind of like stealing nearly half of Yeonseo¡¯s EXP even though I didn¡¯t lift a finger. Just as my thoughts were going that way, I heard someone clapping. ¡°Goodness, how very impressive. The beautiful lady over there, you¡¯re at an incredible level, aren¡¯t you? You were a marvel to behold.¡± Someone who wasn¡¯t a part of the picture I¡¯d been drawing suddenly showed up, and the situation began to move in a way I hadn¡¯t predicted. ¡®Huh?¡¯ Looking down, I saw [!!!] marks appear over Darongi¡¯s head. ____ Chapter 70 Chapter 70: 1st Players Convention (5) I didn¡¯t know this person would show up here, but he was a Player I knew. [Player] Name: Gu Sungmin Age: 31 Level: 19 Class: Coin Thief Innate ability: [Wallet Perception] State: Excited / Expectant / Nervous Disposition: Selfish / Quick-witted / Bold Summary: Promising Thief Thirsty for Coins It was Gu Sungmin, a Coin-specializing thief who¡¯d gone around swindling beginner Players out of Coins in the early days of Playing. I remembered him as the most famous thief Player in the early period. ¡®And he¡¯s got an innate ability of his own, too.¡¯ That was why he was able to rob so many Players of their money. ¡®Wallet Perception, huh.¡¯ From the looks of it, he could roughly see how many Coins were in a Player¡¯s inventory. Since this was the early period of Playing, he might not know the exact figure, but he could probably determine who in the room had the greatest number of Coins. ¡®Currently, the person with the most Coins is¡­¡¯ There was a good chance it was me, since I had about 13,000 Coins at the moment. Sure enough, Gu Sungmin¡¯s gaze flitted to me. He wasn¡¯t staring at me, but he was definitely keeping me in sight. Sungmin drew the attention of the crowd with his characteristic sly laugh and exaggerated clapping. ¡°It¡¯s not just your face that is beautiful, but also your skills.¡± He came closer. ¡®Hrmmm?¡¯ Many early Players experienced the strange phenomenon of the Coins in their Inventory suddenly dropping to 0. If Gu Sungmin hadn¡¯t done the braindead act of revealing that he was a thief Player, those Coin losses might have remained a mystery for an eternity. ¡®He often bragged about all the foreign cars he had, and then¡­¡¯ He made a drunk post on Instagram detailing exactly how he earned his money. ¡®Looks like he¡¯s trying to draw attention, come to me, and take my Coins.¡¯ I saw his movements precisely. His mouth was busy with other things and he appeared to be paying attention solely to Yeonseo, but I could still see it. Just like how I could read Yeonseo¡¯s ¡®sword path¡¯, somehow, I was simply able to see his intentions. ¡®But how come he can¡¯t see Darongi?¡¯ [!!!] marks clearly appeared over Darongi¡¯s head, but Gu Sungmin didn¡¯t seem to have much interest in Darongi. To be more exact, it didn¡¯t look like he could see Darongi. ¡®I think it¡¯s because of his innate ability.¡¯ For a frickin¡¯ squirrel, he had an incredible amount of innate abilities. Come to think of it, Darongi¡¯s summary was nothing to scoff at, either. A promising thief met a theft genius. Darongi stared at me, the [!!!] marks shining red above his head. He seemed to want something from me, like he was asking, ¡®If I bring you a ton of Coins, what¡¯ll you give me?¡¯ We couldn¡¯t converse, but we could communicate well enough. ¡°Fruit Bundle.¡± Two words, and Darongi was off, moving as swiftly as an arrow. [Coins have been acquired.] [Using the innate ability Subspace.] [Coins have been stored in the ¡®Subspace¡¯.] Gu Sungmin didn¡¯t notice Darongi at all. ¡°Are you fellows her party members?¡± In the meantime, the obviously defeated Kim Taechun stealthily snuck away. Gu Sungmin was drawing the crowd¡¯s attention away, so he left without another word. [Eye of Perception grasps the use of an innate ability.] I continued to stay where I was. I knew what he was trying to do. When I looked with Observer¡¯s Eye, I could see that a bunch of mana was gathered around Gu Sungmin¡¯s hand¡ªhe seemed to be in the process of taking my Coins. I opened my Inventory to find that my Coins were slowly decreasing in amount. ¡®Wow.¡¯ What a fun ability. To think he could really suck Coins from others, and even from a target that was over ten levels higher than him. He was indeed a promising thief. ¡°My friend is an incredibly competent journalist¡­ Would you be willing to do an interview with us?¡± ¡°What? N-No. Um, that¡¯s¡­¡± Yeonseo reddened. In the meantime, Darongi jumped onto Sungmin¡¯s shoulder with ¡®Stealth¡¯ activated and stared at me with [!!!] over his head. When I gave him a nod, Darongi snorted and waited, like he was shouting, ¡®Watch, I¡¯m this awesome!¡¯ ¡°This is my business card. I really would like to interview you. Please contact me.¡± The whole time, my Coins continued to dwindle. When the number hit 0, Darongi took action with terrifyingly impeccable timing like the theft genius he was. [Coins have been acquired.] [Using the innate ability Subspace.] [Coins have been stored in the ¡®Subspace¡¯.] A [?] popped up above Darongi¡¯s head. It was a message I could click. There really was no shortage of fascinating things when it came to this fellow. [Currently, there are ¡®47,000 Coins¡¯ in Darongi¡¯s Subspace.] I almost laughed, dumbfounded. Just by sitting around, I was about to come into possession of 47k Coins. All it took to replicate this was to go to the store and buy a bunch of snacks that squirrels liked. -13,000 became +47,000 in mere moments. I obtained a whopping 34,000 while sitting down. ¡®Hah.¡¯ Making money sure was easy. Thinking of how I got just 17 Coins from killing a level 25 Fanged Boar, this was one crazy amount of Coins to get in one go. ¡®And it looks like this guy doesn¡¯t even realize he¡¯s lost all the money in his Inventory.¡¯ He gave a very polite farewell, like he had finished everything he needed to do here. ¡°I will get in contact with you at a later time.¡± And then, he turned and left, which made me certain of it. ¡®He really doesn¡¯t know?¡¯ Even though he was sure to have checked his Inventory? ¡®Wow.¡¯ Darongi, this little squirrel, was the real deal. ¡®He really is a theft genius.¡¯ I didn¡¯t know for sure, but I guessed that Darongi secretly put fake Coins into Gu Sungmin¡¯s Inventory to fool him, if only temporarily. There was no other explanation. In any case, I rubbed the top of Darongi¡¯s head with my finger after he returned to my shoulder. The boastful Darongi purred like a cat, enjoying the petting with [??] marks. ¡°Just wait a little. I¡¯ll buy you a ton of the snacks you like.¡± ¡°Hm? Boss, what are you saying? Why¡¯re you talking about snacks all of a sudden?¡± ¡°No, it¡¯s nothing.¡± Come to think of it, Yeonseo couldn¡¯t see Darongi, either. This little rascal had a real convenient ability. ¡°Hey, this kid says his name is Jo Sunghyun. He said thanks to me, so I told him to say thanks to you.¡± ¡°¡­¡± The Typhoon Jo Sunghyun was the type of Player who didn¡¯t forget grudges, but also remembered favors even more clearly, to the point that he got the absolute good ¡®Lady of the Scales¡¯ as his contracted Guardian. [Player] Name: Jo Sunghyun Age: 18 Level: 30 Class: Child of Wind Guardian: Lady of the Scales Innate ability: [Standstill] State: Gratitude / Closeness / Rage Disposition: Just / Strong Pride / Unyielding Spirit Summary: Not-Yet-Mature Incarnation of Hammurabi His talent plates weren¡¯t completely open, but he was already level 30, and he had one innate ability. ¡®As expected of Jo Sunghyun.¡¯ It was the same as the past. He made a contract with the Lady of the Scales. Jo Sunghyun bowed to me, saying, ¡°Thank you.¡± ¡°It¡¯s nothing to be thankful about. That person earlier wasn¡¯t acting like a real adult.¡± The Jo Sunghyun I knew from the future always said, ¡°If an adult cannot act like an adult, they¡¯re not a real adult.¡± As was par for the course for a Player contracted with the Lady of the Scales, he was one of the Players who put great importance on ¡®justice¡¯ and ¡®principles¡¯, a Player who lived by the principle of ¡®an eye for an eye, tooth for a tooth¡¯. ¡°If a person cannot act like a person, I will not treat them like one.¡± His mentality was probably the same right now. Even when he was appointed as one of Korea¡¯s 8 Heroes, he spoke politely, even to little kids. ¡®If Sunghyun¡¯s disposition is like that¡­ it¡¯s probably best to speak politely to him.¡¯ In any case, we exchanged proper greetings. Thanks to Taechun and Percy¡¯s brilliant role(?), I was able to leave a good impression on Sunghyun. With that, the first step was done. It wasn¡¯t my intention, but I also got a bunch of Coins as a bonus. It would make the next steps a lot easier. ¡®Alright, next is¡­¡¯ Looking at Sunghyun, I said, ¡°You are a magician class, correct?¡± ¡°How do you know that¡­?¡± ¡°The way you moved when that large man was picking a fight didn¡¯t strike me as a combat class.¡± ¡°¡­Ah.¡± ¡°You are not a combat class, but it looked to me that you were mentally prepared to some degree for a fight. From your body movements, you were ready to jump back and widen the distance.¡± More than anything¡ª ¡°There was a weak wind in the room.¡± * * * * * * ¡°There was a weak wind in the room.¡± At those words, Yoohyun exclaimed in admiration, ¡°Hyungnim, just when did you pick up all that?¡± ¡°Dammit, any way you slice it, this guy¡¯s really a genius. When did you see all that? I was just spacing out.¡± Yeonseo elbowed Yoohyun and Sung-gu in the ribs. ¡°Darn it, shut up, you two. You have to let him say these things so we can learn. Let¡¯s just pay attention.¡± The journalists were clicking their shutters nonstop, broadcasting the current situation, but Yeonseo didn¡¯t pay any attention to the outsiders and focused on Hyukjin¡¯s words. ¡°Which means, you¡¯re a combat class who doesn¡¯t use weapons or fights with your fists and feet, one who uses wind.¡± There was only one class like that. ¡°You must be a combat magician, one specializing in wind.¡± ¡°¡­¡± Like a Player in the early period, Jo Sunghyun naively nodded. ¡°Impressive.¡± He looked calm on the outside as he nodded, but Sunghyun was feeling greatly shocked on the inside. It surprised him that there were adults who would step up in such a situation, and that there was a Player who could guess his class from a few tiny movements. Of course, it wasn¡¯t just a guess. Hyukjin was looking at Sunghyun¡¯s class very clearly. For his 1st advancement, he got the Child of Wind class. That wasn¡¯t a class name Hyukjin remembered, but it wasn¡¯t hard to figure out that it was the 1st class of the future ¡®Typhoon¡¯. As he exchanged greetings with Sunghyun, Hyukjin checked the time. ¡®Almost 2.¡¯ Everything was settled with very appropriate timing. The Players Convention would soon begin. ¡®This is where it really begins.¡¯ For now, Hyukjin succeeded in bringing Sunghyun to his side, though it was hard to call him 100% an ¡®ally¡¯. But anyway, the first step was successfully taken. In the event that would happen today, Jo Sunghyun could essentially be called a ¡®key person¡¯, and Hyukjin managed to make positive contact with that key person. It was all within his plan. ¡°Would you like to come up with us? The convention is in the 12th floor¡¯s main hall.¡± ¡°Thank you.¡± We got onto the elevator. 1F, 2F, 3F¡­ The elevator moved quickly. ¨CArriving on the 12th floor. ¨CThe elevator doors are opening. ¡®The time right now¡­¡¯ Hyukjin glanced at the clock on his phone. ¡®It¡¯s 2:03.¡¯ He took a step forward. ¡®The notice is coming.¡¯ If things went the same as he remembered, there would definitely be one. This was the place the Typhoon later said was responsible for his awakening. I stepped into the site of the 1st Players Convention, as well as the flash gate ¡®Hill of Blowing Wind¡¯. ¡®We¡¯ll probably get a quest.¡¯ During the 1st Players Convention, at least half of the participants died. Right here. ¡®If I can save them¡­ I will.¡¯ Hyukjin thought back to the Tutorial Field, the convenience store safe zone. He could still vividly see the countless people who had died in front of him, separated by glass. If possible, he wanted to minimize the damage. As much as he could. ¡®While also awakening Jo Sunghyun.¡¯ And along with those two goals, he would also obtain ¡®that¡¯. ¡®I have to get it¡­ without fail.¡¯ In no time at all, the field changed, and he began to see countless people on the new field. ¡®Let¡¯s do this.¡¯ ____ Chapter 71 Chapter 71: Hill of Blowing Wind I couldn¡¯t stop what was bound to happen. ¡®Even if it didn¡¯t happen today¡­¡¯ It would definitely happen eventually. A Players Convention would be scheduled one day, and during it, an ¡®event¡¯ would certainly occur. Since that was the case, I decided it was best for me to use the knowledge I had and the factors I was capable of controlling to do my best. ¡®I¡¯m going in.¡¯ The field was a large hill. I looked around, seeing a crowd of Players that hadn¡¯t yet figured out what was happening. ¡®Even without knowledge of the future¡­ if you step back a little and think, it¡¯s natural for something like this to happen.¡¯ This was a place full of Players in their beginning days, and most of the ones chosen in one way or another were here. With Streamers and Guardians alike watching, of course it would be a big event. It was the first gathering of Players independent of the ¡®System¡¯. It would be fun if ¡®something¡¯ happened during it, no? ¡®Like what the Giant of the Sunset did.¡¯ The Giant of the Sunset made the ¡®Shot Table Dungeon¡¯ for Choi Sung-gu. The Guardian likely had to invest a massive amount of Coins to make it happen, all for his own amusement and pleasure. In other words, a Guardian¡¯s extravagance. There were many Guardians who could afford such extravagance. ¡®They can easily make one flash gate.¡¯ Actually, there was no way to check if it was a gate artificially made by a Guardian. I simply estimated that there was a high chance it was. ¡®Broken pillars.¡¯ There were marble pillars broken at various heights. In the past, Jo Sunghyun once revealed the following: ¨CThere were eighteen broken pillars there. As I was looking at the pillars, people discovered that Yoohyun had entered. Yoohyun had made several appearances on TV, so he was already famous. ¡°Huh? Isn¡¯t that the Tutorial Ender?¡± ¡°It-It¡¯s So Yoohyun!¡± Yoohyun instantly became the focus of the attention of the disoriented Players who were running around in confusion. ¡®Still, it¡¯s much more disappointing than I thought.¡¯ It might be the early days of Playing, and only the 4th month since the Cataclysm, but this was too severe. ¡®It¡¯s already been three minutes since they came in.¡¯ They were still running pell-mell. I didn¡¯t really see any Players who were trying to ascertain the terrain. Of course, the few Players I¡¯d nurtured were already calmly inspecting the surroundings and moving towards clearing the flash gate, but¡ª ¡®I don¡¯t see any Players with leadership.¡¯ In most cases, and especially for a gate or dungeon where large numbers of Players could join at the same time, it was nearly impossible to achieve a solo clear, even if you knew the strategy. ¡®I guess I can¡¯t expect too much from the early period, but still¡­¡¯ I would have still liked to see a few people come forward and round up the Players, dividing people into various roles based on each person¡¯s traits and class. There was a stark absence of a leader, aka a sovereign. That was the biggest problem these guys were facing right now. ¡°Yoohyun. You take the public leader role.¡± ¡°Wh-What?¡± ¡°Why? Never did it before?¡± During the three months while I was in the ¡®Forest of Unknowns¡¯, Yoohyun must have grown in his own way. As was befitting for the ¡®Tutorial Ender¡¯, he must have experienced being a leader several times, too. At a time like this, his Tutorial Ender fame would be very compelling. ¡°Th-That¡¯s not the case, but¡­ How could I dare to when¡­¡± Basically, he was trying to say he couldn¡¯t dare take such a role when his mighty hyungnim was here. ¡°I¡¯m not famous. Do you think those guys will listen to me?¡± The look in Yoohyun¡¯s hesitant eyes changed a little. Like the phrase ¡®clothes make the man¡¯, the position you found yourself in changed how you behaved. When Yoohyun considered commanding those people, his aura changed under the weight of the responsibility. ¡°There¡¯s something off about this wind.¡± ¡°Huh?¡± ¡°It¡¯s weak, but the wind has mana in it. It feels different from a natural wind. If, by any chance, the wind starts blowing hard¡­ tell everyone to get flat onto the ground. Multiple times. You can warn them multiple times. Because the wind uphill seems off, too.¡± This was all I could do right now. ¡°¡­Understood, hyungnim.¡± I didn¡¯t think I could save everyone here. Even if I said that ¡®this and this is going to happen, so everyone listen to me,¡¯ it¡¯d already be a blessing if I weren¡¯t treated like a total lunatic. ¡®I can¡¯t save everyone.¡¯ Someone, or some people, would definitely die. I would just do everything within my power. A bleak wind blew in along with the notice. Many hero stories or promotional videos had been filmed based on what Jo Sunghyun said, and I remembered them all very clearly. ¨CA weak wind began to blow. Following that, specter monsters appeared all over the place. As you know, they were neutral monsters¡ªWraiths. A slightly somber wind. ¡®Specter monsters, Wraiths.¡¯ Their average level was around 20. The specter monsters floating around looked like large seagulls. Other than the fact that physical attacks had no effect on them, they weren¡¯t very strong monsters. ¡°It-It¡¯s monsters.¡± A few people even attempted to attack them. ¡°The attacks aren¡¯t doing anything!¡± ¡°We can¡¯t attack them!¡± One of the large seagull-shaped monsters went from flying slowly to opening its wings wide and wrapping a Player within them. It then pecked the Player¡¯s head with its beak. ¡°A-AAAGHH!¡± screamed the Player. ¡®Does it hurt that bad?¡¯ No, it shouldn¡¯t hurt that much. It was painful, yes, but the Wraith¡¯s attack shouldn¡¯t be that terrible¡ªit wasn¡¯t that strong of a monster. ¡®This is pathetic.¡¯ I might¡­ have messed up a bit. I had cleared the ¡®Seoul Station Dungeon¡¯, which was supposed to break a few times, too quickly. The Players might have lost one of the ways in which they could become stronger. I heard a loud shout. ¡°ORYAAA!!!¡± It reminded me of a record someone had written. ¨CThere was the sound of someone shouting ¡°Orya¡±. It was Kim Taechun, who is now called the ¡®Brown Bear¡¯. He had just won an overwhelming victory in a PVP match against Jo Sunghyun and was full of confidence. It only took him eighty seconds to destroy one of the pillars with his huge axe. There were eighteen broken pillars here. Every time one of the pillars was destroyed, there would be a slight change. A notice with large arrows appeared over the entire field. I quietly prepared myself. A strong wind would soon blow over the field, so strong you could hardly stay upright. ¨CWind began to blow. The Players had a hard time staying upright. We realized then that the arrows were showing the direction of the wind. Before long, the wind picked up, starting to blow hard. I had to take care of my party members. ¡°Everyone, get flat onto the floor.¡± The wind was buffeting us so hard it was hard to remain standing. ¡®This isn¡¯t enough to send anyone flying.¡¯ It was true that it was a very strong wind, but everyone gathered here were Players. They could resist a breeze of this level. However, it was good to respond with extra care, since there was no knowing when a ¡®whirlwind¡¯ would strike. Every time a pillar was broken, a strong wind with a different trajectory would blow. ¡®When some pillars are destroyed, the Central Pillar will appear.¡¯ When Jo Sunghyun was reminiscing about this time, he said¡ª ¨CWhen we had destroyed seven pillars, a huge pillar appeared. Its name was the ¡®Central Pillar¡¯, and on top of it, there was a clue for the clear. In any case, we had to destroy at least seven pillars. ¨CThinking back on it now, I think the ideal clear method might have been to destroy just twelve or thirteen pillars. The more pillars were destroyed, the stronger the wind would become, and the more ferocious the Wraiths would become. New monsters would also appear, and countless people might lose their lives. ¡®Though the Central Pillar gets lower the more pillars are destroyed¡­¡¯ Only one pillar had been destroyed so far. A strong wind was blowing, but the Wraiths were still weak. ¡®And they¡¯re still neutral monsters.¡¯ Kim Taechun shrugged, looking completely confident. Raising his voice, he shouted, ¡°Seeing as the broken pillars are attackable, I think we need to do something about them!¡± As if to show off his courage, he swung his axe and started hacking away at another pillar. The pillars could be attacked. After hearing that, the other Players began to destroy the pillars using their own individual ways. I turned to Sung-gu. ¡°You hunt as many of the Wraiths as you can with magic.¡± ¡°M-Me?¡± Sung-gu trembled. ¡°Ah, fuck. I¡¯m scared of ghosts.¡± But apparently, he must have known it wasn¡¯t the time to joke around, because after one full-body shudder, Sung-gu headed towards the area where the Wraiths were gathered. ¡°Sunhwa, go support him.¡± ¡°Got it.¡± Sunhwa followed Sung-gu. Yeonseo asked, ¡°What about me? What should I do?¡± ¡°Destroy pillars along with Yoohyun. Don¡¯t overdo it.¡± I gave a little more advice. ¡°Go at it gently, while keeping an eye on your stamina. Other monsters might show up, after all. You¡¯ve got the most agility, so if something unexpected happens, stick to me.¡± ¡°Okidoki, gotcha.¡± Yeonseo smiled brightly. ¡°It really is nice to Play with you. It¡¯s reassuring.¡± ¡°¡­¡± ¡°It kinda feels like you concretely draw out what I have to do. As expected of our boss!¡± After giving me a big thumbs up, Yeonseo used Heavenly Demonic Flying Step to move to the pillars. Here and there, pillars were being destroyed. In the meantime, the ¡®Tutorial Ender¡¯ So Yoohyun took the temporary ¡®party leader¡¯ role under the recommendation of the other Players. Yoohyun said some pretty smart stuff. ¡°Let¡¯s not destroy all of them at once,¡± he said to the listening crowd. ¡°We need to see what changes occur whenever we destroy a pillar.¡± * * * * * * Jo Sunghyun, who had been silent up until now, finally came up to me and spoke. ¡°¡­What¡­¡± He hesitated a little. ¡°What¡­ should I do?¡± That¡¯s right. I knew he would be like this. Sunghyun couldn¡¯t be forced to do something or be pulled along at someone else¡¯s pace. You had to make him move of his own will. That was my evaluation of him, and he was acting exactly as I expected. ¡°Mm.¡± I did have him hooked, but I couldn¡¯t be too hasty. ¡°For now, how about you join our party? The others just now are party members who¡¯ve been with me from the start.¡± ¡°Sounds good.¡± Sunghyun entered our party. ¡®You are the core key of this raid.¡¯ The Central Pillar couldn¡¯t be cleared without Sunghyun¡¯s ability. According to what I knew, we needed his innate ability ¡®Standstill¡¯. And if he was willing to help me, we could clear this gate a little more safely and quickly. ¡°Please hunt Wraiths with Sung-gu, keeping an eye on your stamina. I¡¯d like you not to overdo it and just approach it like stretching your muscles. Take all the items that drop.¡± For now, it was important that he learned how to cooperate with Sung-gu. That would be the key to the clear. I believed that they would do well without me laying out every detail. Both of them were geniuses, and it wasn¡¯t something I could influence with my words. ¡°Can I¡­¡± Once again, Sunghyun hesitated for a long time. ¡°Can I call you hyung?¡± His voice was trembling a little, and I couldn¡¯t figure out why he was so nervous about something like this. I almost snorted at the sight of the future Typhoon acting like this. ¡°You can do so if you want. I don¡¯t think our ages are that different, anyway.¡± ¡°Hyung, please feel free to speak casually.¡± Jo Sunghyun was famous for not opening his heart easily to others, but apparently, the teenage Sunghyun was still pretty amenable. It seemed like he had accepted me. ¡°If monsters other than Wraiths happen to appear, bring everyone back to me. Sung-gu and Sunhwa should understand if you tell them that.¡± ¡°I understand.¡± Sunghyun joined up with Sung-gu and Sunhwa. ¡®Alright then¡­ Guess I should go to Yoohyun¡¯s side, too.¡¯ Just then, another pillar was broken. Yoohyun bellowed, ¡°Halt!¡± It was too much to expect perfect order or anything like that. Only after several others repeated the command did all the Players stop moving. By future standards, it was truly nothing short of deplorable. With the arrows, began another bout of wind. ¡®The wind has definitely gotten stronger.¡¯ Hearing shouts of ¡®Get down!¡¯ from a few quick-witted people and Yoohyun, the Players got flat onto the ground. As they did so, the Wraiths¡ªunaffected by the wind¡ªattacked the Players. ¡®Sunhwa¡­ should be fine.¡¯ Most of the aggro was being drawn by Sung-gu, Sunghyun, and Sunhwa. They were also not taking much damage from the Wraiths. It was thanks to them that the Players on this side could focus on destroying the pillars without paying much attention to the Wraiths. The third pillar was destroyed. Yoohyun shouted, ¡°Everyone, get flat on the ground!¡± Most Players were now used to the routine and went straight down. But a few people didn¡¯t follow his instructions. ¡°It¡¯s not that bad. It was okay even standing up.¡± ¡°Why does he keep telling us to get down and all?¡± ¡°It seems a little excessive to me¡­¡± In terms of percentages, 90% of the Players followed Yoohyun¡¯s instruction, and the remaining 10% didn¡¯t. For the next pillar¡ªthe fourth¡ªthe number of Players who stayed standing increased a little, perhaps because they had realized that they wouldn¡¯t get hurt even if they stayed standing. ¡°See? It¡¯s fine even if you don¡¯t get down.¡± ¡°Ah, jeez. That was a waste of strength earlier.¡± There were even people who blatantly complained. That much was enough to make Yoohyun feel bad, but he faithfully carried out my words to keep getting down, since the wind was getting stronger. He kept repeating the same things, saying that by getting down, we could markedly reduce the effect of the wind. ¡°Something¡¯s off about this wind. I would be grateful if you were to please listen to me!¡± He kept saying that, but Yoohyun had no power, nor did he have the ability to force them. Several Players refused to listen to him. Kim Taechun, who had lost the initiative due to Yoohyun, even overtly ridiculed him. ¡°What¡¯s got you so scared that you¡¯re trembling like a little bitch? Come now, let¡¯s just destroy all the pillars. Are you men, or are you boys?¡± Several people agreed with him. I simply watched. I was no Superman and I had no power to forcefully command them. More than anything, I was not a saint. They were choosing to be reckless. I¡¯d done what I could through Yoohyun. The fifth pillar, then the sixth, were destroyed. The number of arrows increased from 7 to 10. This time, a powerful gust blew in, almost like a tornado. It was a ¡®whirlwind¡¯. ¡°Uwaaaaaaaaahh!¡± Someone lifted into the air, sent flying high by the wind. I squeezed my eyes shut, already aware of what would happen. The three Players in the air were cut into pieces. Drip, splat, splatter. Chunks of human flesh fell to the ground, along with blood rain. If you were lifted into the air, that was what would happen to you. I felt my head becoming ice cold. Perhaps it was the effect of the ¡®Calm Observer¡¯s Eye¡¯ bundled into my ¡®Eye of Perception¡¯, but I was much calmer than when the Tutorial happened. ¡®From here on out¡­ the real clearing begins.¡¯ With the three deaths, a distortion appeared in the field. Although I knew it would happen, I was also able to feel it instinctively. ¡®And now, that monster will appear.¡¯ I knew that it wasn¡¯t the time for me to be taking the position of an ¡®observer¡¯. ¡®I¡¯m going.¡¯ Right now, I absolutely had to move. ____ Chapter 72 Chapter 72: Hill of Blowing Wind (2) Hyukjin was the first to move. ¡®I¡¯m going.¡¯ His gaze was pointed towards Sung-gu, or more precisely, a black haze to the right of Sung-gu. Yeonseo saw him move. ¡®Huh?¡¯ The wind was abating, but it was still dangerous to move quickly. ¨CIf something unexpected happens, stick to me. She remembered those words. Just moments ago, three Players had been pulled into the air and killed. ¡®If Hyukjin is moving like that¡­¡¯ It meant there was definitely an important reason for him to do so. ¡®I have to go, too.¡¯ Matching the timing, Yeonseo followed him. With the help of her movement skill, she quickly reached Hyukjin. Because he was moving with physical ability alone, she was faster than him. During the three months while Hyukjin was in the ¡®Forest of Unknowns¡¯, Yeonseo had grown a lot. Her burning desire to catch up to him, no, to become stronger than him, made her strong. Hyukjin pointed at the black haze, and Yeonseo understood what he meant. ¡°Okidoki,¡± she said, using Heavenly Demonic Flying Step to rapidly move to the haze. Less than two seconds afterwards, Hyukjin also got within range and thrust his sword into the haze. Yeonseo heard a notice. [EXP acquired.] [55 Coins acquired.] It varied between monsters, but when killing level 30 monsters, you could get approximately 40 Coins. ¡®55 Coins?¡¯ She didn¡¯t even get a proper look at the monster, yet she obtained a whopping 55 Coins. That was even more Coins than when they killed the Great Orc Warrior. ¡®What did we just kill?¡¯ Yeonseo was sure of it. If she hadn¡¯t worked with Hyukjin to kill this monster just now, an incredibly dangerous creature would have emerged. ¡°Looks like they¡¯re at their weakest when they¡¯re in their haze form,¡± Yeonseo said. ¡°¡­¡± ¡°And our boss realized that in advance.¡± Hyukjin nodded. ¨CDevil Wraith. With our skills at the time, we couldn¡¯t kill it. As you all know, the Devil Wraith is a monster that concealed itself on its own after killing ten people. The Devil Wraith was the product of the specter monster Wraith taking actual ¡®form¡¯ into a new monster. Its entire body was black, and it looked like a seagull the size of an eagle. ¨CAs everyone here knows, the only way to kill it is to strike before it has completely taken form. Once it emerged, the Devil Wraith would continue to move until it killed ten people. ¡®A monster we can¡¯t kill with our current skills.¡¯ That meant ten random people would be sacrificed. We had to kill it before it took complete form. ¡®The EXP¡­ has been reduced.¡¯ I attacked it directly, abandoning the observer position. Still, I knew it was a much better choice than seeing ten people die. [The ¡®Lady of the Scales¡¯ is surprised by your discernment.] [The ¡®Whispering Devil¡¯ finds it regretful.] [The ¡®Nameless Observer¡¯ continues to observe.] Hyukjin directly hunted the ¡®Devil Wraith¡¯, and as such, he didn¡¯t get EXP or Coins. Only Yeonseo got rewards. However, Hyukjin was a little shocked. ¡®How¡­ should I interpret this?¡¯ For a kill to count as him directly killing it, he had to do at least 50% of the damage to the monster. ¡®So I did over 50% of the damage?¡¯ Did he get a lucky crit? Did he really deal more damage than Yeonseo, even though she was sure to have used Single Hit Finisher? It was hard for him to understand. He was forced to interpret the situation as him having done more damage than the Sword Empress whose level was higher than his. In any case, the atmosphere had turned on a dime. ¡®Because of what just happened¡­ they¡¯re finally thinking straight.¡¯ Three people died. The Players seemed to have gotten a bit more serious. Most of them were focused on destroying the rest of the pillars rather than getting distracted by what was happening over here. ¡®Good, that¡¯s a bit better.¡¯ There were definitely Players who were interested in what was happening on this side, but for now, they appeared to be focusing on their task. ¡®Currently, there are four groups.¡¯ The Players were currently raiding this gate in four groups: Players who were destroying the pillars, Players fighting the Wraiths, and Hyukjin and Yeonseo, who just killed the Devil Wraith. The last group was non-combat Players who were unable to do any of those things. ¡®The 7th pillar is falling.¡¯ The 7th pillar collapsed, and at the same time, a change occurred in the field. All of the Players got a quest notice. [Quest: Find the ¡®Offering Box¡¯.] [The ¡®Offering Box¡¯ is located on the top of the ¡®Central Pillar¡¯.] The faces of the Players brightened. They got a clue to the clear¡ªthe Offering Box, and the top of the Central Pillar. Kim Taechun yelled out in excitement, ¡°I was the one who found the clue!¡± His contribution in destroying the pillars was obviously unrivaled. As he swung his massive blunt weapon, an axe with great destructive force, he looked like a warrior born to fight. The situation was very favorable for Taechun. Blunt weapons had a great deal of attack power, but they were slow and it was hard to land a hit. That¡¯s why they could only be used with footwork techniques or skills that increased attack speed. However, such assist skills weren¡¯t necessary against pillars that didn¡¯t move. ¡°Oryaaa!¡± The work on the 8th pillar began. The situation cast Players of the same type as Taechun in a good light. ¡°C¡¯mon, let¡¯s do this!¡± The Players went at the pillars with greater intensity. There were a total of eighteen pillars here. Since a clue appeared after destroying seven pillars, they wanted to keep going in the same manner. Standing a little distance away from the pillars, Hyukjin spoke, his gaze pointed towards Sung-gu, Sunghyun, and Sunhwa. ¡°I¡¯m seeing a change in the mana around the Wraiths.¡± ¡°Shit, are they gonna become even scarier?¡± ¡°I don¡¯t know for sure. But the flow of mana surrounding the Wraiths has changed. It¡¯s probably one of two things. Either the Wraiths themselves will change to a different form, or different monsters will appear.¡± ¡°Got it. I¡¯ll be mentally prepared.¡± ¨CWhen the 7th pillar was broken, the Central Pillar appeared. We thought of that as a clue to the clear. It gave us hope. But then, we were forced to fight a terrible battle of life or death. Because the Wraiths disappeared and were replaced by Ghosts. Wraiths were specter monsters that came in the form of seagulls. Ghosts were human-shaped monsters made of black smoke. In regards to the Ghosts, Jo Sunghyun said this: ¨CThey were skilled in both close and ranged attacks and had a paralyzation ability, making them extremely tricky to face. Their appearance marked the beginning of hell. They could fire black, concentrated marbles of mana from their fingertips, and not only did this cause damage, but it also had a special ¡®paralyzation effect¡¯ that rendered you unable to move. ¨CThe wind in the latter half was so strong you couldn¡¯t endure it without getting down. The paralyzed Players were unable to get down, so¡­ The paralyzation itself wasn¡¯t all that scary. What was scary was that you wouldn¡¯t be able to get down if you were affected. If you couldn¡¯t get flat on the ground, the wind would send you flying into the air, and if that happened, you would meet a gruesome end, just like the three Players moments ago. The wind would tear you to pieces in midair. ¡®They¡¯ll start showing up here and there.¡¯ * * * * * Just then, one of the Players shouted, ¡°Watch out! A monster that can paralyze has shown up! If you get hit by that, it¡¯s over for you!¡± Hyukjin looked in the direction of the pillars. The speaker was mixed into the crowd, so he couldn¡¯t figure out who it was. However, he now knew that someone among the Players had the ability to immediately determine monster abilities. ¡®It¡¯s probably Han Seokmin.¡¯ If his guess was right, that Player was Han Seokmin, one of the important figures of ¡®Taeguk Shield¡¯, the big guild propelled by Sungshin. So Han Seokmin was here, too. ¡®Doesn¡¯t look like he can see weak points yet.¡¯ He was a Player with the special ability to determine the traits and weak points of monsters, but it didn¡¯t look like he could see the weak points yet. Human-shaped monsters made of black smoke began to appear. They weren¡¯t affected by the wind here. Their red eyes glowed brightly. ¡®They¡¯ll attack soon.¡¯ Hyukjin turned back to his teammates. ¡°You must absolutely avoid getting hit by the paralyzing poison.¡± Everyone had to be on their guard. The Ghosts extended their hands. ¡®Condensed mana¡¯ the size of marbles would now come shooting from those fingertips. The spheres weren¡¯t all that fast. With a little determination, you could dodge them. However¡ª You had to check the wind arrows. The trajectory of the marbles changed according to the intensity and direction of the wind. The other people aside, Hyukjin had to quickly share what he knew and had figured out to his party members first. ¡°Be sure to check the intensity and direction of the wind. They¡¯ll influence the ranged attack.¡± The wind intensity and direction changed constantly. The field¡¯s overall difficulty was quickly rising. ¡®That probably means I¡¯ve drawn the aggro.¡¯ Eye of Perception didn¡¯t betray Hyukjin. ¡®That one.¡¯ One of the Ghosts was aiming at Hyukjin. It was the fastest Ghost, apparently the strongest of the six that had appeared in various places around the field. Hyukjin focused on his senses. ¡®I can dodge.¡¯ He saw it. Black, marble-sized spheres came flying towards him. They appeared to be flying in a straight line, and there were a staggering ten of them, aiming straight at him and him alone. He checked the wind once more. He had to dodge with that direction in mind. ¡®I can¡¯t make too big of a movement.¡¯ His mind honed to peak concentration. He saw nothing else in his surroundings¡ªjust him, the Ghost, and those black spheres. ¡®If I make too large a movement, the others will target me.¡¯ He had to avoid the Ghost¡¯s attack with the smallest movement possible, the most efficient way. ¡®I can¡­ see the trajectory.¡¯ The path Hyukjin drew out in his head and the trajectory ¡®Observer¡¯s Eye¡¯ showed him were exactly the same. ¡®Half a step to the right.¡¯ He didn¡¯t move much, just half a step. He had to show his party members. He wanted to show them with his body how they should move. The black spheres shot towards him like an arrow, as if to pierce his body. At that moment, Sunhwa flinched. ¡°Op-Oppa!¡± she nearly shouted. In her eyes, Hyukjin was in great danger. It looked as if he would be struck right this instant by those spheres. He only took half a step to the side, and for the slightest moment, it seemed as if time stopped. Swoosh¨C! The Ghost¡¯s attack didn¡¯t hit him, the black spheres barely whizzing past his body. The smallest movement, the greatest efficiency. The way he dodged was seen by all of his party members. They were all geniuses. Sung-gu nodded, thinking, ¡®So that¡¯s how you do it.¡¯ Yeonseo, Yoohyun, Sunhwa, and Sunghyun read Hyukjin¡¯s intent as well. He had just taught them with his body. He showed them that this is what they should do, that there was no better method than this. It was literally a living lecture. In the meantime, screams came from the area where the pillars were. ¡°I-I-I-I can¡¯t move!¡± ¡°W-Wait! Stop! Don¡¯t destroy the pillar!¡± People screamed, but it was too late. The 8th pillar was destroyed. It wasn¡¯t done on purpose. It was simply terrible timing. The four paralyzed Players blanched in horror. ¡°N-N-No¡ª!¡± Yoohyun instantly tackled one of them, bringing the paralyzed man forcefully to the ground. One of them was fortunate, fortunate that Yoohyun happened to be standing next to him. ¡°A-AAAAAAH!¡± The other three faced the same terrible fate as the earlier Players. They were lifted into the air and brutally killed. Body parts fell to the ground, a fountain of blood bursting in the air, scattered everywhere by the strong wind. The Players were instantly rendered speechless. ¡°¡­¡± Because of a timing mistake, another three people died. Kim Taechun growled, ¡°Which son of a bitch destroyed the pillar with that timing?¡± It was almost as if he¡¯d become the true leader here. He roared in rage, acting like he was the arbitrator of this place. ¡°Who the hell was it?!¡± For him, this was a good opportunity to show his strength. Using Heavenly Demonic Flying Step, Yeonseo quickly swept past him. ¡°This isn¡¯t the time for it, in my opinion. Not gonna kill the Ghosts?¡± After using its ranged attack, a little of the ¡®black smoke¡¯ that made up the Ghost dissipated. It obviously looked weakened. Yeonseo focused on the ¡®red eyes¡¯. She didn¡¯t know if the eyes were a weak point, but they looked like it. ¡®The red eyes.¡¯ She decided to thrust her sword at that point. Her intuition told her that she couldn¡¯t kill it in one hit. The wind would continue to blow, and she couldn¡¯t kill the Ghost with one hit. She had to whittle it down slowly. Yoohyun also grasped what he had to do and moved towards another Ghost. Yeonseo, Yoohyun, and Sung-gu. The three of them started hunting the Ghosts, and other Players began to hunt the Ghosts around them as well. If they didn¡¯t kill the Ghosts, they would be the ones to die. Most of the Players saw this: However, they had no other choice, because it was kill or be killed. While they were fighting, Hyukjin stood next to Sunhwa and activated Observer¡¯s Eye. ¡®The 8th pillar was destroyed.¡¯ That meant from here on out, the key item could appear. ¡®I have to find it.¡¯ His party members were doing the best they could in their individual roles. Regardless of how other people saw it, the true leader was Hyukjin. And as the leader, as the person responsible for these people, he already knew exactly what he had to do. ¡®Find it¡­!¡¯ The description of Observer¡¯s Eye was ¡®eyes that can read the flow of nature¡¯. From the locations where the Ghosts appeared to the places where the Wraiths first showed up, he pieced together all of the information and examined the field anew with Observer¡¯s Eye. ¡®I must¡­ find it.¡¯ ____ Chapter 73 - Hill of Blowing Wind (3) Chapter 73: Hill of Blowing Wind (3) ¨CThe pillars of the Ruined Temple were a clue for the clear. The pillars could be destroyed. Every time these special pillars were destroyed, the field would change a little. Those changes weren¡¯t limited to gusts of wind or monsters being spawned. ¡®Inside the pillars, there should be two randomly generated clear-necessary items¡­¡± So how¡­ did they end up in Darongi¡¯s Inventory? The cheeky squirrel was staring at me, [!!!] and [???] marks alternating over his head. ¡°You¡­¡± Darongi huffed from his nose, as if to shout, ¡°State a trade condition that¡¯ll satisfy me, Master!¡± ¡°One Fruit Bundle, plus ten minutes of belly tickling.¡± Darongi wavered for a moment. [!!!] He really liked having his belly tickled. ¡°But hmph, that¡¯s not enough for me! I¡¯m the one who impressed the Merchant of Venice,¡± he seemed to say with his eyes. I laid down an even better trade condition. ¡°I¡¯ll also pet your head.¡± [!!!] Darongi continued to huff, wavering on the fence. ¡°Fifteen minutes.¡± In the end, Darongi opened his heart to me, apparently accepting my trade conditions. [You can now access his Inventory.] I opened Darongi¡¯s Inventory. Inside were two items. Shoes imbued with the blessing of wind. Dramatically increases one¡¯s affinity with the wind element, bestowing a synergistic effect when using wind attribute foot techniques or movement skills. However, a full pair of two shoes must be worn for that function to apply. Attribute: Wind Grade: Rare Level Restriction: 25 Equip Restriction: Wind-attribute class The other item was of course ¡®Wind Shoes 2/2¡¯, meaning Darongi had a full pair. He had somehow managed to snag both shoes. ¡®Just where the heck did you get these?¡¯ As if he read my mind, Darongi opened his mouth wide¡ªthough it was still tiny¡ªand showed off his front teeth. ¡®Did you gnaw a hole into the pillars to get them?¡¯ Darongi puffed out his chest and beat his cotton-ball fist into his chest with pride. [¡î¡ï¡î¡ï] A strange set of marks appeared over his head, which I interpreted to roughly mean, ¡°I¡¯m this awesome, see?¡± This fellow sure was full of amusing surprises. ¡®The future has changed once again.¡¯ Everywhere I went, history changed. In the past, the Players here were unable to show a united front. The reason was simple; it was because this item was divided into two parts. ¡®Two different Players got one part each of this item.¡¯ One was picked up by Jo Sunghyun, and the other was picked up by some other Player. As the description made clear, this item would only work if it was worn as a united pair. ¡®After many twists and turns, Sunghyun finally managed to get both parts, but the process took quite a long time.¡¯ It was a rare grade item. If I¡¯d been one of the people to get a part of this item in the past, even I might have found it difficult to hand it over to Sunghyun. Sunghyun said this: ¨CIn the meantime, many more Players died. Things might have been different if we¡¯d had an outstanding leader at the time, but¡­ it was still too early back then. Did that mean I was an outstanding leader, then? ¡®I¡¯m not too sure about that.¡¯ At the very least, I knew what I had to do right now. What I did now would determine the number of survivors from this field and the rewards we would reap at the end. [The ¡®Lady of the Scales¡¯ wonders how you will act.] [The ¡®Merchant of Venice¡¯ is curious about the details of the exchange.] [The ¡®Whispering Devil¡¯ would like to see a slightly more exciting scene.] As always, the Guardians were watching us. They also seemed curious as to what I would do. ¡®Okay.¡¯ Currently, the wind was blowing hard. I laid flat on the ground. ¡°Senia. You didn¡¯t forget your bet with me, right?¡± ¡°¡­I have not.¡± After saying that, Senia¡¯s mouth moved silently. I couldn¡¯t hear what she was saying, so she was probably giving the Guardians some background info, like what kind of bet we made and how I won, which entitled me to a one-time opening of the ¡®intermediate-grade¡¯ Item Shop. ¡°Open it for me now.¡± ¡°I will open the Item Shop for you. However, I can only do it one time.¡± ¡°I know.¡± Senia was implicitly asking me if I was really going to open the store in such an unsafe place. It would be best to make the most out of the opportunity and peruse the shop in a peaceful place. In all actuality, that was indeed the better call. However, this was no ordinary situation. [It has not been opened through legitimate means.] [As a penalty, the price of all goods within the ¡®Intermediate-grade¡¯ Item Shop will be multiplied by 10.] It felt like someone whacked me in the head with a hammer. ¡®10x?¡¯ I expected some sort of penalty to apply, since this wasn¡¯t just jumping from the Tutorial to the Beginner Item Shop, but from the Beginner to the Intermediate Shop. I did think there would be a side effect¡­ ¡®But 10x?¡¯ This was a total, fucking rip-off. ¡®Dammit.¡¯ However, I had no other choice but to think of this as an investment for the future. ¡®Enhancement category.¡¯ [Item Shop ¨C Intermediate-grade ¨C Enhancement] For a moment, I was speechless. ¡®One Low Enhancement Crystal costs 20k. An Element Affinity Powder costs 10k.¡¯ Enhancing the ¡®Wind Shoes¡¯ I effortlessly snagged thanks to Darongi required two Enhancement Crystals and one Element Affinity Powder. ¡®50k Coins¡­?¡¯ I hesitated for a moment. Currently, I only had 47,000 Coins. ¡®If I hadn¡¯t encountered the promising thief guy¡­ this strategy would have been far out of my reach.¡¯ I had to acknowledge this as my mistake. As expected, the System wasn¡¯t as easy to navigate as I hoped. This time, I was able to scrape by thanks to fate and luck. It was merely a so-called ¡®curious coincidence¡¯. ¡®There¡¯s no guarantee that I¡¯ll continue to have this kind of luck.¡¯ That meant I had to plan while thinking of the slightly worse scenarios, as well as the worst-case scenarios. My mistake turned into a learning experience. ¡®But I¡¯m still 3,000 Coins short.¡¯ What method would allow me to get 3,000k Coins right now? I could call everyone and get Coins from them, but that didn¡¯t seem all that easy. They were all focused on faithfully carrying out their roles. They were destroying pillars, hunting Ghosts, and staying on their toes for any Devil Wraiths that might appear. The others didn¡¯t have any time to spare, either. ¡®I need at least 50,000 Coins.¡¯ Just then, my Eye of Perception sensed something. * * ** * * The promising thief, Gu Sungmin, was enraged when he found out that all of his Coins had vanished. He realized that there was a thief out there with more outstanding skills than his own. ¡®I can¡¯t go back like this!¡¯ He felt too wronged to go back empty-handed. It was fine for him to steal, but getting stolen from was unforgivable. ¡®Just who the hell was it?!¡¯ He had no idea, but it was fine. Wanting to make up for his losses, he went up to the 12th floor. There had to be a lot of Players there, after all. He was determined to undertake the slight risk and empty all their pockets. But it really wasn¡¯t his day, and he suddenly ended up in a flash gate called the ¡®Hill of Blowing Wind¡¯. ¡®Fine, this is better anyway!¡¯ Using the chaos to his advantage, it was a very good opportunity for him to steal coins while pretending to break pillars. [+1,600 Coins] Darn, a paltry 1,600 Coins? These Players were supposed to be famous and all, but they were all broke as hell. [+900 Coins.] Regardless, he was raking the Coins in. While the Players had their full attention on raiding the gate, he worked hard to steal Coins. Sungmin got flat on the ground. As long as he did as So Yoohyun said, there wasn¡¯t any risk of death, for the time being. A few super speedy Players were also fighting those terrifying monsters called Ghosts for them. All he had to do was to keep pretending he was breaking pillars while leeching Coins. ¡®What if they can¡¯t buy potions because of me?¡¯ Potions were crucial in raids. It was no exaggeration to call a potion a second life. ¡®Ah fuck, whatever. That¡¯s none of my concern, is it?¡¯ His precious, precious money was more important right now. Other guys hitting the bucket was actually no concern of his, was it? That was just their luck. [+4,300 Coins] That should bring his total count to 23,500 Coins. Feeling proud, he went to check his Coins. Gu Sungmin was floored. He accidently ended up shouting in rage. ¡°Dammitttt, what the fuck?!¡± That number should be 23,500, so WHY?! How?! Why was it 0? Fuming, he looked around. One of these fuckers definitely stole his money. He would have his revenge! ¡­Or, that¡¯s what he thought, but not a single person had a lot of Coins. It was like something out of the twilight zone. While Gu Sungmin wasn¡¯t watching, a piece of history was unfolding in one part of the field. * * * [!!!] I clicked on Darongi¡¯s status, and an explanation window popped up. [Intoxicated by his own greatness, Darongi is in a very good mood.] The present Darongi gave me because he was in a good mood was¡­ [Held Coins: 71,500 Coins] Even I was a little flabbergasted. I got a whopping 71,500 Coins without lifting a finger. The System imposed a huge penalty on the Intermediate-grade Item Shop for opening it through less than legitimate means, but I was able to somehow jump straight over the hurdle. This genius squirrel did it again. [-20,000 Coins] [Low Enhancement Crystal purchased.] [-20,000 Coins] [Element Affinity Powder purchased.] [-10,000 Coins] My insides were twisting and churning, but this was an investment, an investment. I didn¡¯t spend a long time agonizing about it. I had to move things along quickly. ¡°Senia. Starting now, I¡¯m going to do item enhancement.¡± Enhancement was content that Guardians liked to watch. There were definitely Guardians who went wild for this kind of stuff. I had heard a notice from this Guardian once in the past, saying that the Barrier of Blue Light was paying attention to me. Afterwards, I didn¡¯t get any more notices, so I forgot about them. ¡®The Barrier of Blue Light¡­ was still watching Senia¡¯s channel, huh.¡¯ In any case, I was thankful. Now, I could fully focus on the enhancement. [2 Enhancement Crystals and 1 pouch of Element Affinity Powder are required for the enhancement.] [The success rate will be determined by the Player¡¯s talent and competence.] Every Player said that enhancement was one field where talent was king. In other things, you could somehow fudge the rates to at least average with effort, but not in enhancement. It was all down to RNG and talent, as well as money. The notices continued. ¡®Wha¡­?¡¯ ____ Chapter 74 - Hill of Blowing Wind (4) Chapter 74: Hill of Blowing Wind (4) There were slight differences based on Player talent, but normally, the first enhancement had a success rate of around 90%. With ¡®Element Affinity Powder¡¯ mixed in, it was close to 100%. Only when a Player had atrocious luck and basically 0 talent was there a very tiny chance for the first enhancement to fail. For a moment, I doubted my ears. ¡®120%?¡¯ 100 was already 100, so what the heck was 120? ¡®Come to think of it¡­¡¯ In the past, the German craftsman called the Master of Enhancement, Lukas, once said that enhancement was not just a fight of the numbers 1 to 100. He said that there was a far higher and more beautiful world beyond that. ¡®Is this what he meant?¡¯ 120%. What did that mean? [Element Affinity Powder increases success rate by 10%.] [+1 enhancement success rate: 130%] [The attribute of the current field has a high affinity to the object being enhanced.] [Field affinity increases success rate by 10%.] [+1 enhancement success rate: 140%] I thought that 100, 130, and 140 were all the same, anyway, but it didn¡¯t seem to be the case. If that was true, there shouldn¡¯t be any reason for the System to go out of its way to state that the success rate was 140%. There had to be something different about it for sure. ¡®What could it be?¡¯ The notices continued. [Congratulations!] [The enhancement was successful!] [Wind Shoes have been enhanced to Wind Shoes +1.] For a brief moment, I saw it. ¡®This was¡­ a blue enhancement?¡¯ I mentally reeled. ¡®Ah. This is what it is!¡¯ It was known that the people who were called ¡®Masters¡¯ in the past did enhancements using a specific method. They had distribution channels and connections all over the world and shared tips and tricks only among their exclusive ranks. Their special ability to make outstanding items was so coveted it was no exaggeration to say that they were raking in all of the world¡¯s money. ¡®The color of the item name¡­ is blue.¡¯ With the enhancement, the previously white item name turned blue. ¡®Above blue is purple. Above purple is brown. Above brown¡­¡¯ Was the legendary black grade, which could only be found a few times in the entire world. ¡®It was definitely said that you need an extremely special method¡­¡¯ I hadn¡¯t done all that much just now. I did buy the materials at a ridiculously high price because of the penalty, but that couldn¡¯t be helped. I didn¡¯t use any of those special enhancement methods the ¡®Masters¡¯ were said to have used, nor did I have a specific enhancement skill. ¡®But I was still able to make a blue item?¡¯ What in the world? ¡®I didn¡¯t do anything all that special.¡¯ Could it be that I had an incredible talent for enhancement? I was able to pull off a blue enhancement without any skills or innate abilities. It varied between items, but I think I remembered people saying that a +1 blue item was typically about the same level as a +2 white item. ¡®Let¡¯s think about it later.¡¯ For now, it was more important to clear this gate and get out. [Wind Shoes +1] Shoes imbued with the blessing of wind. Dramatically increases one¡¯s affinity with the wind element, bestowing a synergistic effect when using wind attribute foot techniques or movement skills. However, a full pair of two shoes must be worn for that function to apply. Attribute: Wind Agility +2 Grade: Rare Level Restriction: 25 Special Skill: Can use ¡®Imaginary Running Start¡¯. Equip Restriction: Wind-attribute class One enhancement, and the item gained an agility stat boost along with a special skill. Of course, its affinity to wind must have also become higher. [Imaginary Running Start] A running start refers to the act of running a set distance in order to increase one¡¯s jumping force. The special skill imbued in the Wind Shoes, ¡®Imaginary Running Start¡¯, allows the wearer to achieve the maximum jumping force without running a set distance. Synergizes extremely well with ¡®Standstill¡¯. ¡®Think I get it.¡¯ In order to jump high or far, you needed a running start. Obviously, you could jump further if you jumped from a run rather than a stationary position. This ¡®Imaginary Running Start¡¯ was essentially a special skill that could remove the need for such a running start¡ªit drew out the wearer¡¯s maximum jumping force without any preparatory movements. ¡®Depending on how it¡¯s used¡­ its value is infinite.¡¯ This was clearly a stroke of luck. Incredible fortune. Just as I was thinking that, I felt one of the Ghosts aiming for Jo Sunghyun. Black spheres had already been fired. ¡®Sunghyun¡­ can¡¯t dodge.¡¯ There was no one else who would take the hit for him. Eye of Perception was telling me that the only person who could act was me. ¡®Will he be okay if he gets hit by that?¡¯ I wasn¡¯t sure. He might be fine, or he might not. If he was affected by the paralyzation poison, I could forcefully push him to the ground. ¡®But.¡¯ I decided to make a slightly more drastic investment this time. ¡®I¡¯ll take the hit for him.¡¯ I made the decision in a split second. As soon as I saw the black spheres, as soon as the Ghost attacked Sunghyun, I moved. ¡®Guess I should take some insurance.¡¯ ¡°Yeonseo!¡± I shouted loudly. I felt her turn to look at me. That was more than enough¡ªshe was a Player with enough insight to figure out my intent. She would come running over with Heavenly Demonic Flying Step. I pushed Sunghyun. ¡°Watch out!¡± Five of the black spheres launched by the Ghost struck my body. ¡®Gugh¡­!¡¯ One of them hit my eye, another one my forehead. A third ball struck my stomach. They were all dangerous places. No matter how weak the attack, getting attacked in such vital points was bound to cause great damage. [The durability of Great Orc Warrior¡¯s Iron Armor has sharply decreased.] [The durability of Great Orc Warrior¡¯s Leather Shoes has sharply decreased.] [The durability of Great Orc Warrior¡¯s Leather Pants has sharply decreased.] Yeonseo had come in a flash. ¡°Hyukjin, are you alright?¡± ¡°Yeah. Somehow.¡± ¡°Thankfully, you¡¯re not paralyzed?¡± ¡°Yeah.¡± I didn¡¯t get it either. I did believe in the Great Orc Warrior set. Even if you were hit in unguarded weak points, this world¡¯s items were capable of greatly decreasing the damage taken. And if it was really dicey, the ¡®Partial Set Effect¡¯ would kick in. ¡®But who would have thought I wouldn¡¯t even be affected by the paralysis?¡¯ It seemed that Lady Luck was gracing me in many ways today. If that wasn¡¯t it, then my poison resistance was higher than I thought. In the meantime, Kim Taechun destroyed the tenth pillar. There would be another gust of wind. ¡°Get down,¡± I said. ¡°Yup.¡± Sunghyun also got down. While on the ground, he slowly crawled my way. ¡°Thank you.¡± Getting thanked was fine and all, but I found it a little peculiar that Sunghyun¡¯s eyes were slightly misted with tears. ¡®Huh?¡¯ I could feel his gaze. It wasn¡¯t just a gaze of gratitude. His summary also changed a little. Jo Sunghyun always said that an adult had to act like an adult to be an adult. ¡®He seems¡­¡¯ Even without Eye of Perception, I could kinda figure it out from his expression alone. ¡®Super moved right now?¡¯ * * * Jo Sunghyun felt it¡ªit wouldn¡¯t be good if he got hit by those balls. He knew that, but his body was unable to react. His body wasn¡¯t capable of keeping up with his thoughts yet, and he didn¡¯t have a class specialized in physical ability to begin with. ¡®Oh-Oh no.¡¯ He recognized that he was in danger, but there was nothing he could do. A gruesome future started sketching itself out in his head. But then, the hyung he met earlier, the hyung who called himself Kim Hyukjin, helped him. Perhaps from his haste to jump in, he got hit by the spheres in his vital points. ¡®¡­¡¯ At that moment, Sunghyun was moved. He never thought that someone would throw themselves into danger for his sake. After receiving Sunghyun¡¯s thanks, Hyukjin said, ¡°It¡¯s way better for me to get hit than you.¡± ¡°¡­You were a tank?¡± ¡°Well, no. Not really.¡± Hyukjin was about to say ¡°I¡¯m overgeared¡±, but he swallowed the words. Right now, Jo Sunghyun was extremely touched. Hyukjin wasn¡¯t even a tank. He wasn¡¯t a tank, yet he still threw himself into harm¡¯s way. ¡°This person put his life on the line,¡± thought Sunghyun. That was a slight misunderstanding, but in any case, Sunghyun currently believed he owed Hyukjin for saving his life and that he had met a real adult. ¡°¡­I will repay this debt until I die.¡± ¡°No need to die,¡± Hyukjin said with a smile. ¡°See that Central Pillar over there?¡± ¡°Yes. We have to get the Offering Box from there.¡± ¡°It¡¯s a fact that every time the small pillars are destroyed, the Central Pillar gets lower.¡± That was why Kim Taechun and the other Players were breaking the pillars right now. ¡°However, with every pillar that is broken, the difficulty will also rise.¡± As a result, if possible, it would be best to clear the gate now. ¡°You should see a weak current of wind in a spiral shape around the Central Pillar. Take a close look.¡± ¡°¡­¡± Sunghyun peered at the Central Pillar, heightening his mana perception as much as possible. ¡®There really¡­ is one?¡¯ He didn¡¯t realize all this time, but after taking a closer look, there really was a current. ¡°Now, take this.¡± ¡°¡­Huh?¡± He got an item, a rare-grade item. It was a precious item he¡¯d never heard of, one that even had an agility stat boost. ¡°Y-You¡¯re giving this to me?¡± ¡°No, I¡¯m letting you borrow it.¡± Once again, Sunghyun was moved. ¡®How can he trust me¡­?¡¯ How could this hyung trust him enough to lend him an item like this? ¡®And why? Just what does he see in me?¡¯ He hadn¡¯t done anything to help Hyukjin, but Hyukjin was lending him such a precious item, as if saving his life wasn¡¯t enough. ¡°You don¡¯t need to be that moved. This is a place of life and death. I¡¯m just trying to use the method that can achieve a slightly more efficient clear.¡± Sunghyun nodded. He was sure of it. Kim Hyukjin was a ¡®real adult¡¯. As an 18-year-old youth, his sensitivity for such things was massively heightened. ¡°What do I have to do?¡± * * * Like a true observer, I gave Sunghyun the information I had obtained through observation and told the boy what he needed to do in rather concrete detail. ¡°You can do it, right?¡± ¡°I will try.¡± ¡°It might be dangerous.¡± ¡°I know.¡± ¡°You have to ride the current well. The moment you slip out of that current, you¡¯ll get swept into the gusts.¡± It might be dangerous. No, it was definitely dangerous. ¡®But you pulled it off in the past.¡¯ Even with just the base, unenhanced Wind Shoes, Jo Sunghyun cleared this gate. At least half of the Players died, but he cleared it all the same. He would be able to do it this time, too. I stared at the Central Pillar. Captured by Observer¡¯s Eye was a stream of wind-attribute mana flowing faintly in a spiral around the Central Pillar. ¡®He¡¯ll ride that current up.¡¯ That current would protect Sunghyun from the strong winds blowing in this field. As long as he could ride that current without falling out, he¡¯d be able to get all the way to the top without being influenced by the other wind. ¡®Jo Sunghyun¡­ can do it.¡¯ Sunghyun began to run. In my eyes, the kid was indeed full of talent. ¡®He¡¯s got exactly the right route.¡¯ Sunghyun had a precise eye for the flow. He started climbing up the current, looking as if he were stepping on empty air, almost as if there were an invisible spiral staircase. ¡®He¡¯s doing great.¡¯ The kid was doing much better than I expected. Was it thanks to the Wind Shoes enhanced into a +1 blue item? In any case, Sunghyun was climbing up the Central Pillar in his own way. ¡®Alright. Now¡­¡¯ It was time for me to do what I had to do, because starting now, the situation would change yet again. I approached Yoohyun, taking care not to walk too fast, going at a speed that wouldn¡¯t catch the eye. ¡°Yoohyun. Listen to me while you attack. Be discreet.¡± While punching the 10th pillar, Yoohyun answered in a small voice, ¡°Yes, hyungnim.¡± ¡°See Sunghyun starting to go up the Central Pillar over there?¡± Yoohyun nodded after looking from the corners of his eyes. He was a little surprised, but he didn¡¯t show it too much. ¡°There¡¯s going to be a change.¡± It wasn¡¯t a System induced change. Some new quest wasn¡¯t going to be issued. This was just my prediction based on the current situation. I gave him only one order. ¡°If anyone acts up, beat them up. ¡®Til they¡¯re on death¡¯s door.¡± ¡°On death¡¯s door?¡± ¡°Yeah. Don¡¯t ask, don¡¯t argue, just smash.¡± Sure enough, Kim Taechun suddenly shouted in rage. ¡°HEY, YOU SON OF A BITCH!¡± His gaze was pointed towards the kid climbing the Central Pillar. ¡°What kinda shit are you trying to pull on your own?! Why¡¯re you taking action without any orders, you little shit!!!¡± Having received an order from me, Yoohyun moved towards the man loudly displaying his courage. ____ Chapter 75 - The Offering Box Chapter 75: The Offering Box ¡°What kinda shit are you trying to pull on your own?! Why¡¯re you taking action without any orders, you little shit!!!¡± He was being an embarrassment. That was exactly how I saw it¡ªwhat Kim Taechun was doing right now wasn¡¯t ¡®leading¡¯. He was simply embarrassing himself. The situation was favorable for Taechun, so he was showing off his power by whacking the stationary pillars with his slow but destructive weapon, making large, flashy movements that looked impressive but wouldn¡¯t be at all effective in a real battle. ¡®Actually, Yoohyun¡¯s dealt more damage.¡¯ It was just that Yoohyun was using his fists and had slightly more efficient and simple movements that weren¡¯t obvious to the eye. Taechun was merely a grandstander reveling in the attention right now. What kind of insight did he have to give the orders around here? ¡°Shut up, friend.¡± Having gotten in range, Yoohyun swung his fists without any notice. ¡®Whoa.¡¯ Honestly, I was surprised. ¡®They did say there were times when Yoohyun was a real hardass, but it¡¯s my first time seeing it.¡¯ People said that he was normally an extremely mild-tempered and kind guy, but in certain special situations, he¡¯d show unmatched decisiveness and swiftness of action. I guessed now was one of those moments. Pow! Pow! Pow! Before Yoohyun¡¯s merciless fists, Taechun wasn¡¯t able to show a single ounce of his courage. ¡°Y-Y-You son of a bitch!¡± Taechun swung his axe wide. Whoompf! His axe did have a great deal of destructive force, but it was simply too slow. ¡°What¡¯re you doing?¡± Simply by taking one very, very casual step backwards, Yoohyun rendered Taechun¡¯s axe attack ineffective. ¡®I can¡­ see it again.¡¯ I saw strength gathering on Yoohyun¡¯s heels. What I saw with Observer¡¯s Eye was rather different from seeing with my physical eyes. ¡®He¡¯ll definitely step in now.¡¯ I could see how he would go in, how he would attack. ¡®Aiming for the abdomen.¡¯ Yoohyun extended his right fist, exactly as I¡¯d seen with my Observer¡¯s Eye. Then, he attacked the place I¡¯d eyed, the spot right underneath the solar plexus. ¡®Afterwards, he¡¯ll immediately grab the back of the neck¡­¡¯ I read Yoohyun¡¯s movements. ¡®And strike with his knee.¡¯ Yoohyun was going to use one of his skills, ¡®Beginner Knee Kick¡¯. I could see the flow of mana, like Observer¡¯s Eye was showing me how the mana moved when Beginner Knee Kick was used. Crack! As his knee connected, the loud crack of breaking bone rang out. After taking a Beginner Knee Kick to the jaw, Taechun blacked out on the spot. No matter how great he thought he was, the extremely spirited Kim Taechun was helpless in front of So Yoohyun. The Players breaking the pillars halted for a moment. ¡°Wh-What the¡ª?¡± ¡°What¡¯s going on all of a sudden?¡± But no one was able to stop Yoohyun. They simply watched the one-sided beating from afar. ¡°Wh-Why¡¯s he getting hit?¡± ¡°He¡¯s¡­ getting beaten up pretty badly¡­?¡± ¡°C-Could it be a quest?¡± Unless it was a quest, why would Kim Taechun get beaten so mercilessly? The guy was even knocked unconscious, as if a simple beating wasn¡¯t enough. Yoohyun scratched his head, returning to his usual kind, gentle herbivore look. ¡°Didn¡¯t think he¡¯d pass out, but oh well.¡± With a good-natured smile, Yoohyun returned to the pillars. ¡°Well then, let¡¯s leave that guy be and do what we have to do, fellows.¡± Even I was a little dumbfounded. Yoohyun was the real ¡®two-faced¡¯ person here, not Yeonseo. The faces of the Players hardened over. Not a single one of them dared to protest. From this, I learned one thing. ¡®Rational persuasion based on logic and reasoning¡­¡¯ What would have happened if Yoohyun had tried to do that, instead? ¡®It would have wasted a ton of time, and someone would¡¯ve definitely tried to interfere with Sunghyun in that time.¡¯ Kim Taechun¡¯s influence had been extremely strong. If he tried to pull down Sunghyun for whatever reason, a few Players would have been influenced by him. What Yoohyun did was very efficient. ¡®Beating first and asking later¡­¡¯ It wasn¡¯t exactly what I had envisioned, but I found my lips quirking into a smile. ¡®Is sometimes a pretty good choice, huh?¡¯ Rational persuasion was, of course, the best, but there were certainly situations where it wasn¡¯t possible. In such cases, subduing the opposition with violence and strength wasn¡¯t too bad an option. I learned something new again. In front of Yoohyun¡¯s overwhelming force, all the Players were as meek and calm as lambs. ¡®Gu Sungmin¡¯s as busy as ever.¡¯ The man was busily stealing Coins. I was surprised he was still going at it in a situation like this. ¡®Well, he¡¯s just Playing in his own way.¡¯ Just like how combat Players focused on killing monsters in combat, Gu Sungmin was also simply Playing in his own way. That was how I decided to look at it. ¡®Then I need to Play my way, too.¡¯ Thanks to Gu Sungmin¡¯s contribution, the completion of my scenario became much more likely, since I would need a lot of Coins today. I glanced at Darongi. [!] He didn¡¯t move. It wasn¡¯t hard for me to figure out why. ¡°Ah, does he not have that many Coins?¡± From Darongi¡¯s lack of enthusiasm, Gu Sungmin apparently didn¡¯t have that many Coins in his Inventory. The cunning squirrel was probably planning on stealing them later, once they¡¯d been gathered into a tidy pile. Looking at Darongi¡¯s expression, I said, ¡°What? Is he too amateur hour for you?¡± Darongi nodded. In the eyes of a theft genius, a promising thief¡¯s movements were far too pathetic. ¡°But you¡¯ll still go for me later, right?¡± I needed Coins¡ªI would need a lot of Coins in the next part. The enhancement took too many Coins, but thankfully, I had Darongi. The 11th pillar was destroyed. A powerful gust of wind rushed in again. Laying flat on the ground, I craned my head up, wondering if Sunghyun was doing well. ¡®He is.¡¯ He was moving up the weak mana current. When I focused my gaze on him, I was able to see his movements with far greater clarity. ¡®Now. Right now.¡¯ The timing I saw was the same as the timing Sunghyun saw. He jumped high into the air, using the special ability of the Wind Shoes, ¡®Imaginary Running Start¡¯. Down here, an incredibly strong wind was blowing, but the mana of the Central Pillar was protecting Sunghyun from its influence. He was so high that clouds were obscuring him and I could no longer see his path. ¡®He¡¯ll get to the top soon.¡¯ The wind abated a little. There were no victims from the 11th pillar¡¯s destruction. Everyone got flat on the ground to avoid the wind, and it looked like most of the Players had gotten used to the Ghosts and Wraiths. The Players now were a lot different from the Players that first came in. Even if someone was hit by a Ghost¡¯s projectile, the others would push them to the ground while someone would go out to fight the Ghost. * * * ¡®Things¡­ are progressing pretty well.¡¯ My initial disappointment faded a little. Time passed, and I eventually saw Sunghyun climbing back down from high above. He had something on his back, like he was shouldering a backpack. ¡®The Offering Box.¡¯ The crux of the clear, the end-all and be-all of the key items, the Offering Box, was coming down. ¡®We¡¯re now on the 12th pillar.¡¯ It would soon break. This was the perfect time to clear. If we broke too many pillars, the field¡¯s difficulty would get too high, and if we broke too few, it would be too difficult to get up the Central Pillar. ¡°Sung-gu.¡± ¡°Yeah, what?¡± ¡°What does your long-ranged attack look like?¡± ¡°About 50 meters, at most? It¡¯s pretty accurate, too. But it does lack a bit of power.¡± That was enough. ¡°There¡¯s a high chance that monsters will spawn near the Central Pillar.¡± ¡°Monsters?¡± Sung-gu scowled. His expression said something like, ¡°The Wraiths and Ghosts are already enough to handle, but there are gonna be more?¡± ¡°What kind of monsters?¡± ¡°Not sure. If this is a gate artificially made for someone¡¯s amusement¡­¡± There was a high chance it was. However, I didn¡¯t outright say that it was made by the Guardians. ¡°If it were me, I would throw in some flying monsters about now.¡± Sung-gu¡¯s mouth opened in a big O. He pointed upwards. ¡°Just what¡­ are you? You¡¯re a fuckin¡¯ boss.¡± There were two flying monsters in the sky. They had the bodies of a bird, but their faces were rather human-like. They were birds with the approximate resemblance of a human face, one that looked like it was clumsily sculpted out of mud. ¡®Inmyeonjo.¡¯ Of these mythological creatures, these two were low-grade Inmyeonjo. The higher in rank an Inmyeonjo became, the more human-like its face became. ¡°If I had designed this gate, there¡¯s a very high chance I would have interfered with Sunghyun.¡± ¡°Then I just have to cover him, right?¡± ¡°Right.¡± ¡°Dayum. Your insight¡¯s hot shit, that¡¯s for sure.¡± Standing some distance away, Yoohyun had also spotted the Inmyeonjo. I saw him stealing a glance at me. It seemed that he guessed something was happening from me talking to Sung-gu. In very commendable fashion, he took initiative to yell, ¡°Those of you who can support the Player coming down over there with the Offering Box, cover him!¡± However, I knew it was pointless. There wouldn¡¯t be many Players who would do as Yoohyun said. ¡®They¡¯ll be too afraid of pulling the aggro.¡¯ It was absolutely not a low-level monster. The top Rankers like Yoohyun were currently level 32. For the majority of the Players here, the level of the Inmyeonjo would appear as a red ¡®?¡¯ It was only natural that they would be scared. Sung-gu rushed towards the Central Pillar. Of course, I did so as well. ¡®To prepare for any unexpected circumstances.¡¯ It was right for me to keep my distance as an observer as much as possible, and I did intend on doing that for the time being, but it was always possible a situation might arise where I would need to act. Sung-gu used a skill. ¡®It¡¯s probably¡­ Fire Arrow.¡¯ He didn¡¯t seem all that concerned by the possibility of drawing the monster¡¯s aggro. Sunhwa had joined us, sticking close to Sung-gu¡¯s side. She was taking action on her own, without needing me to explain the details. An arrow made of fire landed directly on the wing of one of the two Inmyeonjo that had appeared. Sung-gu said to me, ¡°The goal isn¡¯t to kill them anyway, right?¡± ¡°Right.¡± The goal right now was to protect Sunghyun, not hunt the monsters. ¡°The cooltime on this skill is short, so I¡¯ll keep giving cover fire. If I pull the aggro, Sunhwa, help me out a bit.¡± Sung-gu used another Fire Arrow. Jo Sunghyun continued to clamber down along the Central Pillar¡¯s mana, not very bothered by the Inmyeonjo that had spawned right in front of him. ¡®He¡¯ll be down s¡ª¡¯ At that moment, I saw something. Something was crawling up the pillar from the ground, a monster about 2 meters large with the shape of a lizard. It was a lizard that could open its mouth incredibly wide. The monster was crawling rapidly up the Central Pillar, opening its mouth wide as if to swallow Sunghyun alive. ¡®That thing itself won¡¯t be a problem.¡¯ But if Sunghyun were to slip out of the mana current because of it? ¡®He¡¯d die.¡¯ And I couldn¡¯t let that happen. I approached the Central Pillar quickly, then began to climb it. Even though I couldn¡¯t go all that high, I could certainly catch up to the lizard. I launched myself at it, tightly grasping its slender body with my legs. Then, I raised my dagger and stabbed it in the crown of its head. Thankfully, this lizard monster¡¯s skin was extremely thin, and it wasn¡¯t a monster with very high defense. Splurt! Splurt! Splurt! Splurt! My hand went down multiple times, green blood pouring out the entire time. Szzzzzz¨C! The acidic monster blood landed on my body, but I didn¡¯t flinch. Right now, I was wearing ¡®Great Orc Warrior¡¯ armor, which was used all throughout the mid-game. While I was doing that, Sunghyun passed me and continued down. Sunghyun seemed to know exactly what he needed to do, too. In the end, his two feet touched the ground. [EXP is decreased.] [Items will not be dropped.] That was fine. A reduction in EXP was an acceptable loss right now. It stung a little, but it was a loss I could swallow. But just then, I got notices. [The ¡®Lady of the Scales¡¯ gives you a sponsorship of 300 Coins.] [The ¡®Nameless Observer¡¯ continues to observe.] There was even another kind of notice. [The ¡®Barrier of Blue Light¡¯ states their strong will to sponsor you.] ¡®What?¡¯ Helping was helping, and sponsoring was sponsoring, so what was ¡®stating their strong will to sponsor¡¯ all about? Were they just expressing aloud their desire to help me? I didn¡¯t know what they would give me. For now, I decided to focus on what was more important and clear this place. ¡®So now¡­ the Offering Box¡¯s influence will kick in.¡¯ A notice confirmed my thoughts. Chapter 76 - The Offering Box (2) Chapter 76: The Offering Box (2) The Offering Box reached the ground. [The ¡®Offering Box¡¯ holy relic is beginning to assert its influence.] [The ¡®Offering Box¡¯ holy relic calms the wind blowing in the ¡®Hill of Blowing Wind¡¯.] [The ¡®Offering Box¡¯ holy relic heals all who are injured.] [The ¡®Offering Box¡¯ holy relic eliminates all monsters.] [The ¡®Offering Box¡¯ holy relic releases its pheromones.] Thanks to the Offering Box¡¯s effects, the wind disappeared, as did the monsters. All injuries were treated. But the battle was just beginning. We weren¡¯t out of the woods yet. Of course, Kim Taechun was among those who got up. He sniffed the air once like a dog, and his head slowly swiveled to Yoohyun. And then, he said something I never would have guessed. ¡°That was a sexy punch. Hit me again, muscle daddy.¡± The look of shock on Yoohyun¡¯s face was probably mirrored by my own. ¡°What the fuck?¡± he muttered. That was all the time he had before Taechun started charging towards him, roaring like an actual brown bear. ¡°LET ME FEEL THE COMMUNION OF OUR MUSCLES!¡± screamed Taechun. ¡°Come! Become one with me!¡± I thought back to the last notice from the Offering Box. Regarding these pheromones, Yoohyun said this. ¨CWhat happened when the Offering Box reached the ground¡­ is something I have blotted out of my memory. Knowing this, I remained in the current of wind after defeating the Bigmouth Lizard, ready to bolt. It was a good call, because the next person to move was Yeonseo. ¡°Waifu!¡± she shouted, looking up at me as I floated next to the pillar. ¡°WAIFU! The urge is too intense to control! I need you!¡± ¡®Who¡¯s your waifu?!¡¯ I thought to myself, grimacing and trying not to panic. Thirty minutes. The pheromones of the Offering Box lasted just thirty minutes. That was how long I had to hold out. But why was she coming for me? Was it because I was her ¡®boss¡¯? ¡°Waifuuuuuu!¡± Yeonseo shouted, jumping up the current of wind. As expected of the future Sword Empress, she had sensed it, too. From the speed of her advance, she seemed to be using Heavenly Demonic Flying Step. Shuddering, I readied myself, heightening Observer¡¯s Eye to catch her every movement. ¡°Love love Yeonseo embraaaace!¡± she cried out, jumping towards me with her arms outstretched. I instantly skirted past her and continued down the pillar, running like my life depended on it. Unfortunately, what awaited me below was more hell. ¡°FUCKING HELL, you¡¯re so damn hot!¡± shouted Sung-gu, his eyes bloodshot. He tore through his shirt, baring his chest to the world. ¡°Come, have some of this Vulcan god bod!¡± I didn¡¯t expect him to come after me too, but I was ready. I instantly put away my dagger and whipped out a fire extinguisher from my Inventory, pointing the nozzle at the half-naked Sung-gu and pulling the trigger. Sensing with Observer¡¯s Eye that Yeonseo was about to reach me, I swiveled and sprayed her down too, hoping both of them would calm down. To my despair, it only temporarily extinguished their flames of uncontrolled, pheromone-fueled passion, and another one joined the fray. ¡°FRIEEEED CHIIIIIIICKENNNNNN!¡± Sunhwa was running towards me, drool flying behind her. What? Fried chicken? I wasn¡¯t even the Colonel! Did I look like a giant drumstick right now? Surrounded on all sides, I had no choice but to scream, ¡°Senia!¡± But there, too, was a problem. ¡°Player Kim Hyukjin,¡± the angel said, coming out of her transparent state, her face distinctly flushed. Her wings were trembling so much they were having a downright seizure. ¡°What¡­ what¡­¡± What¡¯s what?! Help me! ¡°What¡­ is this wetness¡­ down there?¡± And with that, I knew she was dangerous, too. Coughing, Yeonseo glared at her competitors, her face as white as mochi. ¡°I called dibs on him first! You guys get your own dom daddy!¡± ¡°Fried¡­ chicken¡­¡± ¡°Hot DAYUM, hit me with more of your white stuff!¡± ¡°Niagara¡­ Falls¡­ between the legs¡­¡± ¡°Hyungnim! Help! He won¡¯t stop chasing meeeee!¡± ¡°AHOOGA AHOOGAA!¡± It was utter mayhem. The other Players weren¡¯t unaffected, either. Some of them were even grinding against the pillars, while others were engaging in¡­ unspeakable non-PG acts with one another. The air itself pressed against us, thick and gooey somehow. The members of my team stalked forward, lunging with their arms outstretched. I weaved around them, stepping away and ready to use any skill to evade their attacks. Sunhwa rushed towards me, hands opening and closing like fingers of a perverted old man. ¡°Fried chicken chicken chicken chicken. FRIED CHIIIICKEEEEEEEN.¡± I whirled around, but that path was also cut off. ¡°It¡¯s time to tango with the tigress,¡± Yeonseo said, licking her lips. Out of nowhere, a gust of wind blew through the group. Sunghyun appeared before me, his eyes flashing with¡­ something akin to a twosome between righteousness and desire. Before I could see his summary, he picked me up and bolted away from the claws of hell threatening to drag me into depravity. ¡°Oppa-ang,¡± he said, voice sickeningly sweet. ¡°Don¡¯t~you~worry. I¡¯m here to save you.¡± A quick glance at his summary had me clawing for escape. The pheromones hadn¡¯t spared this one either. [The ¡®Nameless Observer¡¯ is observing carefully.] [The ¡®Whispering Devil¡¯ sends you the Kama Sutra.] [The ¡®Lady of the Scales¡¯ unleashes her inner fujoshi.] [The ¡®Courageous Lion King¡¯ huffs and unzips.] [The ¡®True Master of the Heavenly Demonic Mountain¡¯ says a true man does not reject hungry advances.] And to make things worse, there was an audience of thirsty voyeurs up there. I could feel it. The absolute greatest test of my talent so far. Could I escape with my virginal extract unsullied? Or would I become¡­ a Max Lovers Player? While Sunghyun and I were whooshing through the air, I heard a notice that would determine the fate of this world. ____ Chapter 77 - Tomb of the Wind Warrior Chapter 77: Tomb of the Wind Warrior ¡®If someone who was already specialized in the wind element were to use this¡­ someone like Jo Sunghyun¡­¡¯ That effect would be indescribable, like making a genius to trump all geniuses. Just as I was thinking that, I saw something. Something was sticking out of Sunghyun¡¯s back. ¡°You¡­ what¡¯s that?¡± When I looked closer, I realized what ¡®that¡¯ was. ¡®A candle.¡¯ Specifically¡ª ¡®A Bluelight Candle.¡¯ It was called a ¡®Bluelight Candle¡¯. Like the name suggested, the candle was burning with a blue flame. ¡®When the light is extinguished, a new field will be opened.¡¯ This class of items was called ¡®random artifacts¡¯ because you never knew when or where they would appear. One kind of random artifact, candles, had two different types¡ªRedlight Candles, and Bluelight Candles. Yeonseo also went up to Sunghyun, saying, ¡°What¡¯s with this candle-like thing on your back? It¡¯s blue.¡± Next to her, Sunhwa also stared at the light with fascination. ¡°Amazing. The candle is attached to your back. Do you think it would go out if I blew on it? I wanna try.¡± The way her eyes sparkled was really cute. It struck me a lot these days, but I was truly glad she became my sister. Her cuteness blessed me every day. ¡°You can¡¯t blow it out.¡± ¡°Got it.¡± Despite being at a rebellious age, she was very obedient. Turning to me, Sunghyun asked, ¡°Do you¡­ happen to know what this is?¡± ¡°Nope.¡± I pretended to just be observing. ¡®If it¡¯s blown out too quickly, the difficulty will be too high.¡¯ By the same token, if the flame went out completely because it was blown out too late, the candle would disappear. We had to blow it out before the wick completely burned up. ¡°Dayum, this is one fascinating flame. I¡¯m amazing when it comes to fire, you know.¡± Thanks to the Vulcan Body Tome, Choi Sung-gu¡¯s dormant potential for the fire element was second to none. He seemed to find the ¡®candlelight¡¯ very fascinating. ¡°I think something new will happen if this is blown out?¡± He was pretty much right on the money. ¡°But I get the feeling that it shouldn¡¯t be blown out too quickly.¡± From the way he guessed it with one glance, a genius was indeed a genius. Sung-gu¡¯s gaze turned to me. ¡°What¡¯ll we do?¡± * * * ¡°What¡¯ll we do?¡± With that one question, Jo Sunghyun became absolutely sure of something. The true leader of this group was Kim Hyukjin. He was a little confused. Honestly, he hadn¡¯t thought there would be someone who would be above the Tutorial Ender. He had also seen Shin Yeonseo¡¯s movements earlier, and they were simply incredible. ¡®If I were to face her¡­¡¯ He would lose, no doubt about it. She was amazing, as was Kim Sunhwa, who had a ridiculous tanking ability. And of course, there was Choi Sung-gu, whose fire magic was obviously the most outstanding out of all the magicians here. But all of them were waiting for Hyukjin¡¯s words and judgment, like it was natural. ¡®That must mean that Hyukjin hyung is just that amazing.¡¯ It was so very natural, the way Sung-gu asked for Hyukjin¡¯s opinion. When he saw it, Sunghyun felt a feeling akin to longing surge up within him. ¡®I want to learn.¡¯ * * * Unbeknownst to him, his feelings and gaze had already been picked up by my Eye of Perception. I had achieved my goal in coming here¡ªacquiring Jo Sunghyun¡¯s trust. ¡®The candle¡­ offers greater reward than risk.¡¯ It was even a Bluelight Candle. There was a high chance for a bigger reward. ¡®Also, whoever blows out the Bluelight Candle can pick the Players who will participate.¡¯ It was decided. If it was low risk, high return, giving it a go was the only answer, at least in my opinion. [The ¡®Nameless Observer¡¯ is watching you.] [The ¡®Lady of the Scales¡¯ is waiting for your choice.] [The ¡®Courageous Lion King¡¯ is impatient.] [The ¡®Barrier of Blue Light¡¯ regards your prudence in high esteem.] [The ¡®Whispering Devil¡¯ is bored.] I waited a little longer. ¡®I have to get the timing right.¡¯ I had to wait for the point where the wick was almost completely burned out. 0.5 seconds could very well make a huge difference in the difficulty. It was random. ¡®Now¡­!¡¯ I blew on the ¡®Bluelight Candle¡¯. Hoo¨C! The moment I blew, the light went out, and a notice immediately rang out. [The ¡®Bluelight Candle¡¯ has gone out.] [Perfect timing!] [The timing could not be any better.] I got the feeling I heard fanfare. [The perfect timing greatly decreases the difficulty.] [The perfect timing greatly increases the rewards.] I also heard the party selection notice. I picked right away. Jo Sunghyun, Choi Sung-gu, So Yoohyun, Kim Sunhwa, Shin Yeonseo, and finally, Kim Hyukjin. ¡®Was¡­ this made for me? Or is it because my timing was so spot on?¡¯ I couldn¡¯t be sure, but how was it possible that even the max party limit was perfect for us? In any case, it was a good thing. The wind, a refreshing breeze, began to blow again. It blew gently in whimsical directions. At the same time, the stream of notices continued. * * * * * * Our surroundings were quiet. A gloomy fog had settled over the dark scenery, giving off the feeling of a poorly maintained cemetery or an abandoned field. Occasionally, there was the raucous cawing of a crow. ¡°Eugh, fuck. I¡¯m scared.¡± Sung-gu grabbed my right arm. ¡°Hy-Hyungnim. I don¡¯t like this,¡± said Yoohyun, clutching my left arm. Then, he shivered all over, squealing, ¡°A-Ahhh! It-It¡¯s a mouse! A mouse! I hate mice!¡± He was half clinging to me, and trust me, I was over it. ¡°If the two of you don¡¯t get off right now, I¡¯ll kill you right here and now.¡± It might be different if it were Yeonseo or Sunhwa, but what were these guys who were bigger than me doing? ¡®Well, it doesn¡¯t seem like they¡¯re actually terrified.¡¯ Sung-gu¡¯s state was: And Yoohyun¡¯s was: Since fascination and determination were there, they would do just fine if we had to keep Playing. Just then, I picked up something with Eye of Perception. ¡°On your toes, everyone.¡± It was a Bluelight Candle, and I extinguished it at the perfect timing. The difficulty shouldn¡¯t be terribly high, but we couldn¡¯t be careless. The ground shook. A slight distance away, a tomb began to emerge from the ground. From it, I felt something familiar. ¡®This feeling is¡­¡¯ It felt like something I¡¯d already experienced before, a monster that I had already fought before. ¡®Great Orc Warrior?¡¯ A Great Orc Warrior was getting to its feet. Next to it, other tombs were coming up as well, but¡­ ¡®They¡¯re just for show.¡¯ Nothing would come out of them. The difficulty was greatly reduced. If my guess was right, it should have originally been a Great Orc Warrior plus an Orc Archer and maybe one or two regular Orcs to support the Orc Archer. Weirdly enough, I just knew that. ¡®I can see it.¡¯ Even without seeing it happen, I could envision what this place¡¯s difficulty should have originally been, and how it would have progressed. ¡®Two Orc Archers. One regular Orc. And a Great Orc Warrior.¡¯ That¡¯s what we would have been up against, and if that had really happened, it might have been a little tough for us at our current level¡­ but not impossible. If we had moved well as an organic team, that was a challenge we could have definitely managed, though it would have been quite tricky if there were three or four Orcs guarding the Orc Archers. Yeonseo pulled out her sword. ¡°I get what this is about.¡± Yeonseo seemed to have sensed it, too. She knew that we had to fight the Great Orc Warrior, a monster we had fought in the past. ¡°Hyukjin, you still have one of the steel stakes we used last time, right?¡± How admirable. She remembered the strategy. ¡°Yeah, I do.¡± Just then, I heard a notice. [The ¡®Herdsman of Las Vegas¡¯ offers a new quest.] [The ¡®Herdsman of Las Vegas¡¯ shares the details of the new quest.] [In accordance with the request of the ¡®Herdsman of Las Vegas¡¯, a ¡®Pause¡¯ takes effect.] The Herdsman of Las Vegas, who relished gambling, offered me a quest. A note was in my Inventory. 100,000 Coins was a given, but what really caught my eye was the U-Plex Dungeon First Entry Rights. It had to refer to the U-Plex next to the Hyundai Department Store in Sinchon, the Seoul district Sunhwa and I went around last time. I would obtain the right to enter that dungeon even though it wasn¡¯t even formally open yet. ¡®Does that mean it¡¯ll open to us, first?¡¯ It was never revealed in the past how that dungeon opened up. ¡®That¡¯s somewhere I absolutely have to go.¡¯ Plus, I would get Great Orc Warrior¡¯s Gloves. For a wearer of the partial set like myself, it was truly a tantalizing offer. This fellow, the Herdsman of Las Vegas, didn¡¯t put up a bad offer. Yoohyun asked, ¡°Hyungnim, what should we do about this?¡± The fact that we could all talk to each other in the Paused field meant that my party members also got the same proposal. It wouldn¡¯t just be an additional two Orcs, but five. And they wouldn¡¯t be regular Orcs, but ones that would be closely guarding the two Orc Archers. ¡®Clearing that difficulty the way we are right now is impossible.¡¯ The one who made this proposal was none other than the Herdsman of Las Vegas. ¡®The Herdsman of Las Vegas¡¯s proposal is pretty much a gamble.¡¯ It was a dangerous but simultaneously attractive gamble. The Gold Pyramid Michelle successfully won all her gambles with the Herdsman of Las Vegas and once stood at the peak of the sovereign-class Players. Which meant¡­ if I could win this Guardian¡¯s bets, that was also possible for me. ¡®But it bothers me that all party members would die if we fail the quest¡­¡¯ This time, Yeonseo spoke up. ¡°Boss. I think it would be good to accept this offer.¡± ¡°How come?¡± ¡°Because I think we can definitely clear it?¡± But what in the world was her summary all about? The strange summary aside, I had to make a decision as their leader. To be honest, I was thinking along the same lines as Yeonseo. A slight risk for a huge reward. ¡®I¡¯ll¡­ take a closer look.¡¯ Since we were in a Pause anyway, I examined the field again and again with Observer¡¯s Eye. This was a matter where our lives were on the line. If my observations and intuition were wrong, then everyone would be in danger. If it was going to be too dangerous, staying out of it was the right thing to do. Because if we died, everything would be over. ¡®Originally, clearing would be impossible.¡¯ But for some reason, there was confidence bubbling within me, confidence that we could do this. I had to make a decision. ¡°Sunghyun.¡± ¡°Yes?¡± This kid was the still-unripe Incarnation of Hammurabi. He would repay a favor with a favor twice over, and a grudge with a grudge ten times over. That was the Typhoon¡¯s ironclad rule. ¡°I¡¯ll let you hold onto this.¡± We couldn¡¯t accept the Herdsman of Las Vegas¡¯ offer at our current level. It would be too dangerous if we did that. ¡®But if we did it with a Venti Body Tomed Sunghyun¡­¡¯ It was more than doable. Not only would we be able to get out of here alive, but we would also be able to gain a hefty reward. ¡°¡­Huh?¡± ¡°I¡¯m not giving it to you. I¡¯m letting you borrow it.¡± I handed over the Venti Body Tome. ¡°Th-This is¡­¡± Sunghyun wouldn¡¯t realize the exact value of this item. However, he should be able to tell that it was incredibly good, and he¡¯d realize that even more after he experienced its effects. ¡°Repay a favor with a favor. I¡¯m giving this to you because I think this item is better suited to you than to me.¡± ¡°¡­¡± ¡°So that we can survive this.¡± ¡°¡­I understand.¡± Sunghyun didn¡¯t refuse as vehemently as Sung-gu. It wasn¡¯t that hard to get him to accept. ¡°Use it right away. It¡¯ll likely cause a big change in your body. It was the same for Sung-gu.¡± ¡°¡­¡± If a genius of the wind element was boosted by the ¡®Venti Body Tome¡¯, they¡¯d become a genius exceeding geniuses. ¡°¡­I¡¯m not sure this is okay.¡± ¡°It¡¯s okay. You can just repay me back twofold.¡± ¡°¡­I don¡¯t understand what you see in me to be this generous.¡± ¡°Hm, potential?¡± ¡°¡­¡± It was obvious to everyone that Sunghyun was deeply moved. In any case, this was good. To clear this place safely, Sunghyun¡¯s ¡®awakening¡¯ was necessary. ¡®The Herdsman of Las Vegas¡­ balanced the proposal with our strength.¡¯ He set the difficulty so that we would barely be able to clear it, making it just hard enough that a mistake would spell our death. I was sure he set it to around that level, and it was exactly the sort of thing the expert gambler the Herdsman of Las Vegas would do. ¡®But he didn¡¯t know I had the Venti Body Tome.¡¯ I hadn¡¯t publicized it. ¡®If we have Sunghyun with the effects of the Venti Body Tome applied¡­¡¯ Then the balance the Herdsman of Las Vegas envisioned would completely fall apart. The scales of the gamble would tip our way. ¡°Thank you. I will do my best to live up to your expectations.¡± Sunghyun¡¯s words were full of sincerity. ¡®That¡¯s right, repay this favor twofold,¡¯ I thought with satisfaction. ¡®Because although I¡¯m not doing this just for you or investing only in you, a favor¡¯s a favor.¡¯ ¡°I will use it right now.¡± ¡°Go ahead.¡± Sunghyun used the ¡®Venti Body Tome¡¯. A strong wind enveloped Sunghyun and whirled around with him in the center. The tempestuously raging wind was absorbed by his body. That alone changed his aura. The process took about one minute. ¡®We¡¯re ready.¡¯ There was about one minute before the Pause ended. The preparations were finished. ¡®So there¡¯s only one thing left to do.¡¯ ¡°Senia,¡± I said. ¡°I want to convey a proposal to the Herdsman of Las Vegas.¡± Like they said, strike while the iron was hot. After hearing what I said, Senia, who had been streaming us in her transparent state, urgently sent me a whisper request. ¨CPlayer Kim Hyukjin. Are you out of your mind? Don¡¯t worry, Senia. My mind is perfectly sound, and I¡¯m confident I can create a far more favorable picture and situation. ¨CDid you forget what I said before? ¨CWhat are you talking about? The Herdsman of Las Vegas opened the doors to this stage. That was it¡ªhe only opened the doors. From here on out, I would be the one to set the stage. ____ Chapter 78 - Tomb of the Wind Warrior (2) Chapter 78: Tomb of the Wind Warrior (2) In the past, when the Herdsman of Las Vegas proposed a gamble with me, I refused. Back then, I said this: ¨CI want to be the one who orchestrates the probability and makes a situation where I can win. Only idiots would let themselves be blinded by the tantalizing reward and bet without any information. ¨CThat¡¯s why I refused. A gamble entrusted to luck alone is no different from throwing the game. That was the answer I came up with after using all of the knowledge at my disposal and thoroughly analyzing the disposition of the Guardian that made the proposal. Naturally, it was well received. The Herdsman of Las Vegas sent me signals that he respected my thoughts and was satisfied with them. There was also a notice like this: Many of the same Guardians were probably watching me through Senia right now. Back then, they must have ridiculed me a great deal. ¡°I want to make a counter proposal. A kind of bet. I¡¯d like you to convey my intent to the Herdsman of Las Vegas.¡± To that, Senia responded like this: ¨CPlayer Kim Hyukjin. Are you out of your mind? Of course, my mind was perfectly sound. ¨CDid you forget what I said before? ¨CWhat are you talking about? ¨CI don¡¯t do luck-based gambles. I will orchestrate the chances and set the board. ¨CBut even so, what qualifies you to make a counter proposal to a Guardian? ¨CWhy not? Is there any law saying I can¡¯t? Is that forbidden in the Commandments? Senia was speechless. It was natural, since there was no notion of this in Senia¡¯s mind. It was because I knew that the peak of sovereign classes, the Gold Pyramid Michelle, had made bets and counter proposals with the Herdsman of Las Vegas for many years that I could brazenly offer a counter proposal. ¡®The Herdsman of Las Vegas¡­ actually likes these kinds of counter proposals and bets more.¡¯ It was different for every Guardian. You couldn¡¯t make a counter proposal to a Guardian who was arrogant and looked down on Players as trash¡ªthey might label you as impudent. ¡®But not the Herdsman of Las Vegas.¡¯ Senia¡¯s worries were indeed unfounded. ¡®See? I said you didn¡¯t need to worry, Miss Beginner Streamer. Matching your response to the other party¡¯s disposition is Playing 101.¡¯ Senia¡¯s wingtips trembled. She was wearing a mask of expressionlessness, but I could see traces of shock, and she was saying something I couldn¡¯t hear. She was probably explaining something to the Guardians. As expected of the famous Gold Pyramid¡¯s Guardian, he very generously used another Pause, even though it was said to be an extremely expensive authority. [The Pause has been prolonged.] [2 minutes have been added to the Pause.] With that, I had a total of three minutes. I got a whisper from Senia. ¨CDo not underestimate the Guardians. I knew that. If he didn¡¯t like my proposal, I would be greatly penalized for the offensive crime of deceiving the Herdsman of Las Vegas. ¡®I know that, too.¡¯ There was no such thing as perfect. I was expanding and manipulating this board, but I couldn¡¯t control everything and have things go exactly as I wanted. I wasn¡¯t a god. ¡®But the return is far greater than the risk.¡¯ This sort of thing was called an investment. When the rewards I could expect were far greater than the risks I had to undertake, it was my belief that I should boldly advance. Because I resolved myself to live differently from the past. Because I decided to be the one to make my own path. I began to speak. ¡°According to what I have determined with my humble abilities, I believe that in this place, the Tomb of the Wind Warrior, a Great Orc Warrior, two Orc Archers, and one Orc will appear.¡± I didn¡¯t see it with my eyes, but my guess was likely spot-on. If we accepted the ¡®Secret Within the Tomb of the Wind Warrior¡¯, an additional five Orcs would spawn, which would make a total of six regular Orcs. ¡°The Herdsman of Las Vegas has not concretely stated the terms of the new quest.¡± Sometimes, there were quests like this, insidious ones where the end goal was left up to interpretation. Such quests were undesirable. Quests with concrete tasks, like ¡®Hunt the Great Orc Warrior!¡¯ or ¡®Destroy the Clear Crystal!¡¯ were good quests. ¡®The Herdsman of Las Vegas tested me with this proposal.¡¯ He wanted to see if I was truly a Player worth his attention. There was no doubt that he had been curious to see if I was a Player he should sponsor. ¡°As such, I would like to ask that the quest terms be concretely stated, and at the same time¡­¡± With this, I should have secured an easy pass for the Herdsman of Las Vegas¡¯s test. Considering his disposition, this answer should score a hundred points in his book. ¡°I would like to propose those concrete terms as a counter proposal.¡± Senia¡¯s wings continued to tremble. Her impudent(?) Player dared to make bets and counter proposals with a Guardian, so she, a powerless beginner Streamer, was unsurprisingly nervous. She seemed way more nervous than me, the person involved. She really had to grow a spine. ¡°I will make an offering using proof that we have hunted the Great Orc Warrior.¡± * * * Jo Sunghyun did his best to not miss a single word Hyukjin said. ¡®He¡¯s making a deal not just on the level of Intermediate Administrators, but¡­ on the Guardian level.¡¯ It was a Playing method he¡¯d never even considered. ¡®Today¡­ I¡¯m really learning a lot.¡¯ It felt like a new world opened up to him, like he received enlightenment. Not only that, but even his body changed. His affinity with the wind attribute dramatically increased, and he felt abundant mana, as well as the confidence to be able to achieve all things related to the wind. ¡®This is the Venti Body Tome.¡¯ The person who gave him such an incredible item was Kim Hyukjin. Just who was this person? He became curious, and beyond that, he was awed. ¡®In the end, he successfully made the deal.¡¯ Sunghyun didn¡¯t quite get it. ¡®Proof that we have hunted the Great Orc Warrior.¡¯ Just what could that be? Did something drop if you hunted a Great Orc Warrior? Did they just have to offer that? Like how they put Coins into the Offering Box? ¡®No idea.¡¯ He didn¡¯t get it, but the quest was about to begin. Hyukjin turned to his party members. ¡°The quest is starting.¡± They heard a notice. Thanks to Hyukjin¡¯s efforts, they could now read the quest details. [Secret Within the Tomb of the Wind Warrior] A Great Orc Warrior has been set as the guardian monster protecting the ¡®Tomb of the Wind Warrior¡¯. In order to find out the secret within the tomb, acquire the ¡®token¡¯ that proves you have hunted the ¡®Great Orc Warrior¡¯. The Paused field returned to life and began to move again. Tombs began to surge up, and the monsters began to appear. Shin Yeonseo was a bundle of nerves. ¡®Just what the heck is this boss guy thinking?¡¯ Rather than a regular hunt, they had to offer the proof of the hunt. If they failed, all of them would die. ¡®What¡¯re we gonna do if nothing drops?¡¯ They needed a ¡®token¡¯ proving that they hunted the Great Orc Warrior. She had no idea what that could be, but what if it didn¡¯t drop? Even if they barely managed to hunt the Great Orc Warrior, if that didn¡¯t show up, then they would fail the quest, right? ¡®Ah, fudge.¡¯ Whatever. Yeonseo still trusted Hyukjin. Now wasn¡¯t the time to be quibbling over what was right or wrong. They had to join forces to clear this quest. ¡°Boss guy. Should I harass the monsters while Sunhwa pulls the aggro like last time?¡± ¡°¡­¡± However, Hyukjin did not respond. ¡°Boss?¡± ¡°¡­¡± In the meantime, the Great Orc Warrior emerged completely, along with the Orc Archers and regular Orcs. The pressure they put out was incredibly intense. Sunhwa swallowed nervously as well. She had seen them before, but she still found monsters scary. They were all gross and too large. ¡®Do I just need to pull the aggro like last time?¡¯ Her target would be the Orc Archers. She just needed to block their attacks. ¡®If I hunt the regular Orcs and buy time with Sung-gu mister, Sunghyun oppa, and Yoohyun mister¡­¡¯ Then Yeonseo unnie and Hyukjin oppa would be able to hunt the Great Orc Warrior together in the meantime. Hyukjin didn¡¯t tell her what to do, but she was able to come up with a plan. ¡®But¡­¡¯ To Sunhwa, it looked a little dicey. It wouldn¡¯t be easy. She judged that hunting that many monsters with a Great Orc Warrior of all things thrown into the mix with their current party and abilities¡­ would be very difficult. ¡®What in the world could oppa be thinking?¡¯ * * * I waited a little longer, until the Great Orc Warrior and the Orcs fully discovered our presence and were directing hostility towards us. ¡®By now, there should be plenty of attention on us.¡¯ Countless Guardians had to be curious as to how we would clear this difficult quest. That was enough. ¡°Senia. Here.¡± Getting down to one knee, I held out an item to Senia with two hands. My posture was reverent, as if I were offering something. I already had proof that we hunted the Great Orc Warrior. [Great Orc Warrior¡¯s Molar] A long molar of the Great Orc Warrior. It is imbued with the Great Orc Warrior¡¯s strength. If processed in a special way and ingested, you will be able to acquire a special power. Senia took the item with a sour expression. She might look expressionless to others, but I could see she was wearing a bitter expression. It was written pretty clearly over her face. ¡°What? Is there any problem?¡± ¡°Well¡­ no.¡± I tsked inwardly. Other people aside, Senia should already know I had acquired the ¡®Great Orc Warrior¡¯s Molar¡¯. ¡®When I got the Great Orc Warrior¡¯s Molar, the Herdsman of Las Vegas wasn¡¯t watching me yet.¡¯ To be more precise, it was after we killed the Great Orc Warrior and got all the rewards that the ¡®Herdsman of Las Vegas¡¯ started to watch me. The timing simply aligned like that, and that was why I made a bet like this. [The quest clear condition has been satisfied.] [A portion of the ¡®Secret Within the Tomb of the Wind Warrior¡¯ has been cleared.] [The approval of the ¡®Herdsman of Las Vegas¡¯ is necessary for the complete clear of the ¡®Secret Within the Tomb of the Wind Warrior¡¯.] Looked like that would take some time. The monsters stopped in place. My party members stared at me in total shock. They must have been racking their brains to figure out what to do, but the quest was partially cleared out of nowhere. [The ¡®Whispering Devil¡¯ is delighted.] [The ¡®Courageous Lion King¡¯ is greatly disappointed.] [The ¡®Nameless Observer¡¯ continues to observe.] This time, I was the one to send Senia a whisper request. ¨CWhat are you doing? ¨CWhat do you mean? ¨CI¡¯ve set the stage. I pulled a fast one on the Herdsman of Las Vegas just now, and a lot of Guardians must be watching. The Herdsman of Las Vegas wouldn¡¯t be displeased. I was sure of it. He would definitely just think that my hand of cards was better than his. That was confirmed by the notice I heard next. [The ¡®Herdsman of Las Vegas¡¯ is impressed by your hand.] [The ¡®Herdsman of Las Vegas¡¯ is debating whether he should acknowledge the complete clear.] ¡®I know the Herdsman of Las Vegas is satisfied with my clear,¡¯ I thought. ¡®He acknowledged that I had a good hand.¡¯ So the reason why he was debating acknowledging the complete clear was solely because of the other Guardians. That was why I whispered Senia. ¨CAren¡¯t the other Guardians kicking up a fuss, saying this isn¡¯t a proper clear? Guardians like the Courageous Lion King would be particularly outraged. Even I had to admit that my Play just now was a little sneaky. This kind of Playing was polarizing. Guardians with dispositions like the Herdsman of Las Vegas would definitely be okay with it, but there were bound to be quite a lot of Guardians who wouldn¡¯t like it. ¨CThat¡¯s why you need to step up and take an active role. You¡¯re an Intermediate Administrator. Obeying the rules of the System, while saving the Herdsman of Las Vegas¡¯s face and simultaneously pushing for content that would satisfy the Guardians, wasn¡¯t that what an Intermediate Administrator, a Streamer, should do? They were producers of content that could satisfy a great number of Guardians. ¨CYou should either give me a new quest¡­ or round up the suckers. In other words, what Senia needed to do right now was guide the situation so that another Guardian would issue a new quest in a way that didn¡¯t violate the rules of the System, thus satisfying the countless Guardians who wanted to see us hunt that horde of Orcs. ¡®One of these amusement-addicted Guardians will issue a quest for us to hunt those Orcs. Definitely.¡¯ But they couldn¡¯t just issue it outright. I had already satisfied the clear condition. As far as the System was concerned, the quest could be cleared with one word from the Herdsman of Las Vegas. So if the Guardians wanted to dismiss that clear and make us clear it again, they would need to offer something more. ¡®An extra reward¡­ should be attached.¡¯ In cases like this, where the quest had to be cleared a second time, it was typical to offer a bigger reward. Of course, the Player would be able to choose whether they accepted or not. ¨CWe will hunt the Orcs. That was my plan from the beginning. I was just trying to maximize the rewards right now, but I always intended on taking on the original gamble. For a moment, Senia was speechless, perhaps out of shock. I grinned. ¨CDo you really intend on hunting them? That horde of Orcs? Her wings quivered. ¨CI told you, didn¡¯t I? I will set the stage. ____ Chapter 79 - Tomb of the Wind Warrior (3) Chapter 79: Tomb of the Wind Warrior (3) Senia herself admitted that she didn¡¯t have much of a ¡®gift of gab¡¯. She had little confidence when it came to expressing herself with words, and consequently, she tended not to say much when streaming Players. Among the Guardians, as well as the other Intermediate Administrators, she was starting to be called the ¡®Intermediate Administrator of Silence¡¯. ¡®I am well aware that it isn¡¯t really a good moniker.¡¯ Intermediate Administrator of Silence sounded good enough, but frankly put, it was ¡®Streamer who can¡¯t talk¡¯. In any case, Senia knew that very well, so she chose the strategy of simply being tight-lipped. She could afford to do so because she had such good quality content, Kim Hyukjin. ¡®But¡­¡¯ This time, she could not be taciturn. She heard Hyukjin¡¯s words. ¨CI told you, didn¡¯t I? I will set the stage. He was a Player far weaker than herself. But despite that, he was forging ahead with such a Play. ¡®Player Kim Hyukjin. You are right.¡¯ From his actions, his confidence, and his words, she realized something. She herself grasped what she had to do right now, and how she should do it. And so, she opened her mouth. ¨CThe clear condition has been satisfied. However, I believe this may not be a very gratifying clear for many of you. That is also the reason why the Herdsman of Las Vegas is debating whether he should acknowledge the clear. Even as she spoke, Senia surprised herself. It felt like the longest string of words she spoke in her entire streaming career. And she had the feeling that she could actually speak quite well; it was just that she hadn¡¯t practiced it much. ¨C¡­So if there is anyone who would bestow a new quest given within the prescribed rules, I would be grateful for your participation. The quest was already cleared. To coerce another clear, a force of equal value would be necessary. In other words, a reward. A little time passed. Hyukjin and his party members heard new notices. [The ¡®Courageous Lion King¡¯ and ¡®Whispering Devil¡¯ make a proposal to the Players.] [Hunt all the Orc species monsters.] [The Players can refuse the Guardians¡¯ proposal.] Senia¡¯s wings trembled. It felt like she realized something huge today. ¡®Ah¡ª!¡¯ So this was how you were supposed to do it. You could get Coins like this, too. This was precisely that sponsorship inducement she¡¯d heard all about. They didn¡¯t donate those Coins to the Players. They donated them to her, the Intermediate Administrator, so she could issue a new quest. She, too, would need a small reward for acting as the intermediary. She got a whopping 50k from each of the ¡®suckers¡¯, as Kim Hyukjin put it. A total of 100k Coins. ¡®With this¡ª!¡¯ She could afford to feed and support her young siblings, who only had her to rely on after their parents passed away. With this, she could give her siblings good clothes and good food. ¡®This is how you do it.¡¯ Goosebumps rose along her arms. She had the feeling that Hyukjin taught her something big today. Her reaction was not visible to the eye. ¨CThank you for the sponsorships. Player Kim Hyukjin¡¯s party will soon proceed with the Tomb of the Wind Warrior raid. And then, her gaze moved to Hyukjin. The Pause would end soon, and the Orcs would appear. ¡®The cards are stacked against them.¡¯ He gave something to Jo Sunghyun, and after receiving it, there was certainly a change in the young wind magician. However, the difficulty was too high for that to make a difference. It wasn¡¯t just three or four Orcs, but a staggering six. ¡®Orc Archers, regular Orcs. And a Great Orc Warrior. It won¡¯t be easy.¡¯ But Hyukjin looked confident. Because she was talking to the Guardians, she wasn¡¯t able to fully relay what Hyukjin and the other Players were saying. To be more precise, she intentionally didn¡¯t stream it. This, too, was a type of directing technique. ¡®If it¡¯s Player Kim Hyukjin, he will have come up with some kind of method.¡¯ It was a lie to say this wouldn¡¯t be dangerous. It definitely was. But even so, Hyukjin pushed ahead, which meant he had some kind of trick up his sleeve. He must have shared that plan with the other Players. ¡®I didn¡¯t¡­ share the method with the Guardians.¡¯ By this point, Senia was curious, too. Just how would Kim Hyukjin hunt that big horde of Orcs? ¡®How will you do this?¡¯ * * * Yoohyun understood exactly what he had to do. ¡°Got it, hyungnim. I¡¯ll move exactly like you instructed!¡± Yoohyun and Sung-gu fist bumped. ¡°Ahh! You muscleman, why¡¯s your fist so hard?¡± ¡°Huhuhuhu. You¡¯re just weak, Sung-gu. You weakling.¡± ¡°Ha. You watch your back, I swear. And watch out for fire. Seriously, if it weren¡¯t for Hyukjin, I wouldn¡¯t bother playing with you.¡± Despite the barbed words, the two of them often met up to go to caf¨¦s and had run several raids together. They were just loosening their nerves and working up their fighting spirit with a very short conversation. Yeonseo went up to Sung-gu, saying, ¡°Why¡¯re you guys quarreling when you can¡¯t even fight?¡± Yeonseo, Sung-gu, and Yoohyun made one team. Sunhwa walked in front of Sunghyun, almost like she was protecting him. ¡°You¡¯re with me, right, oppa?¡± ¡°Yeah. Let¡¯s do our best.¡± ¡°You¡¯re supposed to be the core of this battle, oppa.¡± Sunhwa flashed him a smile. She was standing in front of Sunghyun with her tiny body. ¡°I¡¯ll protect you no problem, so please do your best with what my oppa asked you to do!¡± The nuance behind ¡®my oppa¡¯ and ¡®oppa¡¯ felt very different when she said them. Of course, ¡®my oppa¡¯ referred to me, and just ¡®oppa¡¯ was Sunghyun. From the nuance to her attitude, her treatment of the two was very different. ¡°Al-Alright.¡± Sunhwa and Sunghyun made another team. I grinned. ¡®They¡¯ve taken up good positions.¡¯ We didn¡¯t have much time. I knew that Senia deliberately didn¡¯t stream them while they were preparing, and other Streamers weren¡¯t contracted with me. ¡®It¡¯s just a guess, but I bet our words were turned into static.¡¯ It was probably something like that. ¡®Senia, I¡¯ll raise your value.¡¯ I heard a notice. With this, I was sure of it. The Nameless Observer didn¡¯t actively encourage me to stand on the frontlines, but they also didn¡¯t dislike me going forward and leading. They simply maintained the position of a ¡®neutral observer¡¯. Like their name suggested, they were truly just ¡®observing¡¯. The Nameless Observer was a fairly magnanimous Guardian who didn¡¯t forcefully push ¡®observation¡¯ as the Playing method. I suddenly realized something. ¡®I was given Onlooker at first, right?¡¯ Observer felt more active than Onlooker. ¡®If I can upgrade the class through the 2nd advancement¡­¡¯ If the next class followed the same trend, there was a high chance I might get a class that would encourage slightly more active Play. ¡®A class more active than Observer¡­¡¯ I had an idea of what that would look like. It would be a class that obtained information through observation and then used that information and knowledge to garner the greatest profit possible. It might end up feeling similar to a ¡®sovereign¡¯ class. ¡®It¡¯s not set in stone yet.¡¯ I decided to focus on the battle for now. I could feel the Great Orc Warrior¡¯s intense energy. ¡®It¡¯s okay.¡¯ I wasn¡¯t worried. I had faced him once before. That fear of the ¡®unknown¡¯ one felt when facing a completely new opponent had disappeared long ago. * * * All of the monsters finished appearing. At the same time: [The morale of the Orcs increases.] [The Orcs are becoming violent.] The Orcs spotted us, [!!!] marks appearing over their heads. ¡°Your opponent is here, you pieces of scum!¡± Yoohyun smashed the ground with a thud, giving off the energy of a massive bull. Yeonseo flew past him. It was so she could get between the Orcs and disrupt their movements. Trusting them, Choi Sung-gu began to chant an incantation. A hard-to-understand special magic incantation flowed from his lips. There were a whopping six regular Orcs. Yeonseo was messing up their advance and movements while Yoohyun was aggroing them. However, it was impossible for him to pull all of the violent Orcs. Hyukjin moved to the Orcs with a speed that was neither fast nor slow and used a skill. [Mettle] ¡®Mettle¡¯ is the aura of a ruler and the higher form of ¡®Pressure¡¯. It induces instinctive fear and awe in those who are of a lower level than the user. Hyukjin¡¯s level was 30, and the Orcs¡¯ was around level 27. [Using the special skill Mettle.] [Using the special skill Mettle.] Yoohyun and Yeonseo also used Mettle at the same time. They had gained the ability with Hyukjin, and their combined Mettle squashed the Orcs. A smile floated to Yeonseo¡¯s lips. The Orcs¡¯ movements definitely dulled, and their reaction speed was also greatly slowed. Mettle had the ability to overwhelm multiple lower level creatures. ¡®With this¡­ we should be able to hunt them.¡¯ She wasn¡¯t the Shin Yeonseo of the past. Yoohyun and Sung-gu were the same. They had been able to hunt Orcs even when their levels were low, but now, they were five levels higher than the Orcs. There might be a lot of Orcs, but they were up against three Players. Yoohyun yelled ¡°Oryaaa¡± as he punched. Squeaaaaaal! He struck one of the Orcs right in the solar plexus. ¡®It¡¯s just as hyungnim said.¡¯ The Orc Archers didn¡¯t have a chance to look their way¡ªthey were perfectly aggroed by Sunhwa. Fwip fwip! Two arrows were fired in succession. One aimed for Sunhwa¡¯s forehead, and the other her heart. Staring directly at the arrows, Sunhwa said, ¡°Oppa,¡± and used a skill at the same time. To that, the prepared Sunghyun added his magic. Wind began to blow. Earlier, Hyukjin had instructed him to recall the wind that blew in the ¡®Hill of Blowing Wind¡¯. He cast his spell while imagining those gusts. ¨CVisualize those gusts in your own way and recreate them. They don¡¯t have to be strong. They just need to slightly change the trajectory of the arrows so that Sunhwa can avoid a direct hit. When he was listening, he wasn¡¯t sure he could do it. But he¡¯d grasped it right away when he tried. After using the ¡®Venti Body Tome¡¯, he could visualize the wind. ¡®I can do this¡­!¡¯ He became sure he could do it. ¡®It¡¯s like Hyukjin hyung said.¡¯ Hyukjin¡¯s suggestion was spot on. Two small arrows appeared. He produced a wind so feeble it was hardly fair to compare it to the gusts from the ¡®Hill of Blowing Wind¡¯. ¡®Wind that can change the trajectory.¡¯ He only needed to give them a slight nudge. He also wasn¡¯t casting an AOE spell to cover the entire field, just the two arrows. He focused. Boosted by the ¡®Venti Body Tome¡¯, his body had become incredibly sensitive to ¡®wind¡¯. Clank! As the metallic sound rang out, Sunhwa smiled brightly. ¡°There wasn¡¯t much impact. Oppa, I think you did it.¡± They brushed off two arrows with ease. At that moment, Sunghyun felt a pounding that could not be put into words. It wasn¡¯t something he felt from Sunhwa, but a pounding that came from deep within. ¡®What is this feeling?¡¯ It felt like he had stepped foot on a completely new world. ¡®My heart¡­ is pounding.¡¯ He simply listened and acted according to Hyukjin¡¯s words. Both Sunhwa and him, as well as the other Players, simply carried out their individual roles in their individual positions. But the picture that had been so hazy earlier was becoming so concrete that it was nearly a reality. ¡®Is this the power of a real leader?¡¯ A shiver went down his spine. The mere presence of an outstanding leader was enough to make him feel like each party member could give 120%. There was no doubt. Sunghyun inferred Hyukjin¡¯s ability and class. ¡®Sovereign class.¡¯ Not just a regular sovereign-type class, but an excellent one supported by outstanding talent and sense. ¡®But¡­¡¯ Would everything truly happen like Hyukjin said? Would everything continue to go well? It was nearly impossible to hunt the Great Orc Warrior with a head-on attack, and Hyukjin himself had said that. Still, they had made it this far. Sunghyun could only trust and move on. ¡®I will do what I need to do.¡¯ And so, the quest created by the joint bets of the Herdsman of Las Vegas, the Whispering Devil, and even the Courageous Lion King began in earnest, right on Hyukjin¡¯s palm. ____ Chapter 80 - Tomb of the Wind Warrior (4) Chapter 80: Tomb of the Wind Warrior (4) I stared at the faraway ¡®Great Orc Warrior¡¯ as it tilted its head back in a roar that loudly proclaimed its position as a predator. Its level appeared as a ¡®?¡¯ to me. ¡®It¡¯s around level 40.¡¯ Although I couldn¡¯t confirm my guess with my physical eyes, I had a very useful skill called Eye of Perception. [Monster] Name: Great Orc Warrior Level: 41 Race: Orc Level 41. The one that showed up this time wielded an enormous axe. ¡®That¡¯s good.¡¯ It was like Kim Taechun¡ªa monster that smashed its enemies with sheer power and possessed a powerful punch. ¡®The others are doing well.¡¯ All that was left was for me to do my part. Now wasn¡¯t the time for me to linger in the back as an ¡®observer¡¯. I had to move as actively as possible and kill the monster. I focused my mind. The opponent was level 41. I was level 30. Actually, it was nearly impossible to solo a monster without a special strategy if you were around 10 levels under it. That was what was widely accepted. The ¡®Great Orc Warrior¡¯ wasn¡¯t even a monster that had a fatal weakness like the Lycanthrope. ¡®Last time, we got help from paralyzation poison.¡¯ We had embedded dozens of Mutant Wolf Fangs into the Orc¡¯s body, slowing it down so we could hunt it. However, we didn¡¯t have that this time. Which meant¡­ I had to go toe to toe with the monster on even footing. ¡®If I mess up and get hit, I could even die.¡¯ If I got unlucky, that was possible. But the situation was different from before. ¡®Back then, I didn¡¯t have the Great Orc Warrior set.¡¯ It was different now. I had the partial set. It didn¡¯t offer perfect defense, but there was definitely a ¡®damage reduction¡¯ effect. ¡®After all, they¡¯re items used throughout the mid-game as well.¡¯ I was wearing a whopping three pieces of that set. ¡®I should be able to take at least three hits.¡¯ I never thought that I would be able to kill this behemoth without a scratch. My strategy was to sacrifice the flesh to preserve the bone. ¡®As long as my vital points aren¡¯t hit, I won¡¯t die in one hit.¡¯ I continued to approach the Great Orc Warrior. The others had fully pulled the aggro of the other Orc, allowing me to draw closer while focusing solely on the Great Orc Warrior. But somehow, my movements felt strangely light. It was hard to describe, but I wasn¡¯t just imagining it. I could feel the Great Orc Warrior getting closer and closer. It stared at me, seemingly recognizing me as ¡®prey¡¯. ¡®This time¡­ I¡¯ll go for as straight a battle as possible.¡¯ Many Guardians were focusing on this battle. I intentionally chose a frontal battle. Our average levels were in the early 30s at best. ¡®I¡¯ve shown a lot of tricks so far.¡¯ An orthodox hunt of the Great Orc Warrior was sure to kick the Guardians into a frenzy. It might result in me getting hurt a little, but I felt that it was more than doable. ¡®Here I go.¡¯ Squeaaaaaal! Uttering a roar that was more like a scream, the Great Orc Warrior hooked its axe on its shoulder and began to run towards me. It was almost like a massive bison was charging my way. Thud! Thud! Thud! Thud! Even as it thudded towards me, I was still reading its movements with Observer¡¯s Eye. An image was drawn out in vivid detail in my head. This situation was similar to when I was attacked by the Magic Troll in the Tutorial Field and overcame the ¡®death sentence¡¯ of Sixth Sense. ¡®The feeling from that time¡­¡¯ At that time, Sixth Sense visualized everything I couldn¡¯t see with my eyes in my head. If things had gone as Sixth Sense showed me, I would have been struck by the Magic Troll¡¯s club and sent flying, my head crushed. Just like that time, the situation was automatically drawn out in my head. ¡®I can see it.¡¯ I could see how this level 40 monster would move. ¡®I need to rush in on the left side here.¡¯ I saw the path. * * * Like Hyukjin planned, he quickly moved to the left. He instinctively calculated the distance and speed at which the Great Orc Warrior was running and lured the beast into swinging its axe towards him. Whumpf¨C! The axe split the air. For the slightest moment, the Great Orc Warrior staggered. It had swung the axe so forcefully that it lost its balance for a moment. Taking advantage of that, Hyukjin swung his sword. He had chosen a frontal fight, so some groundwork was necessary. ¡®For now, I should provoke its temper a bit.¡¯ Wham! It sounded like he was striking leather with a blunt weapon. Hyukjin¡¯s sword was unable to penetrate the Great Orc Warrior¡¯s side, but he hadn¡¯t intended on doing so from the start. His goal was to agitate it. Squeaaaaaaaaal! It only partially worked. An insignificant fly that was merely prey, merely food flitting around, could not irritate it too much. It roared. ¡°Chwiiik! I will¡­ eat! Eat! I will¡­ eat!¡± While fighting the Orcs, Yeonseo looked at how Hyukjin was doing. She could afford to look because fighting the Mettle-affected Orcs wasn¡¯t all that hard. She had full confidence in Hyukjin, but her slight worry was unrelated to that. ¡®Huh?¡¯ However, she saw something a little¡­ odd. ¡®Those movements just now¡­¡¯ Hyukjin¡¯s movements felt very familiar to her. ¡®Heavenly Demonic Flying Step?¡¯ The way he was moving bore a resemblance to her movement skill, Heavenly Demonic Flying Step. It wasn¡¯t 100% the same, but similar enough that she had to wonder if Hyukjin was perhaps learning Heavenly Demonic Flying Step as well. ¡®No, it¡¯s not Heavenly Demonic Flying Step.¡¯ It was strangely different from her skill, almost like he was using a version of the skill with more muscle strength and power. ¡®Heavenly Demonic Flying Step¡¯ was fundamentally called a ¡®movement skill¡¯. It was different from a ¡®foot technique¡¯. The way Yeonseo understood movement skills was that they were abilities that allowed one to move quickly or move in places that only allowed very difficult footing. Yeonseo thrust her sword. ¡°Haah!¡± She pierced the Orc precisely in the back of its neck. As she did so, she could feel it. ¡®I feel like that¡¯s how it would look¡­ if you took Heavenly Demonic Flying Step and turned it into a foot technique.¡¯ It occurred to her that if you took Heavenly Demonic Flying Step, a ¡®movement skill¡¯ that focused primarily on movement, and used it like a ¡®foot technique¡¯ that had a focus on combat, you would get something like that. Yeonseo¡¯s interpretation was close to the truth. Hyukjin didn¡¯t realize it himself, but he was instinctively replicating the movements he saw from Yeonseo through Observer¡¯s Eye. No one taught him, and he didn¡¯t even do it intentionally. His body simply moved like that automatically. The Great Orc Warrior screamed. ¡°SQUEAAAAL!¡± It tried to somehow remove the ¡®Steel Spike¡¯ lodged in its mouth, but was unable to do so. The piece of steel was completely buried in the roof of its mouth and jaw. The weakness of the Great Orc Warrior, the mouth, was open. The enraged Great Orc Warrior used its innate ability. The Orc Fear crashed down on Hyukjin. He couldn¡¯t completely shake off the fear¡¯s influence. He could feel his movements being duller than before. ¡®My shoulder¡¯s gonna get smashed here.¡¯ As Hyukjin rushed in, the Great Orc Warrior powerfully swung its axe from top to bottom. Hyukjin clenched his teeth. He had overdone it a little to put the Steel Spike into the Great Orc Warrior¡¯s mouth, predicting that he would take a hit as a result. ¡®I just need to avoid getting hit in the vital spots.¡¯ By moving forward, he avoided the axe¡¯s blade, allowing the axe¡¯s ¡®hilt¡¯ to strike his shoulder instead of the ¡®blade¡¯. It was like taking a blow from a club. Bam! A loud impact rang out. [The Great Orc Warrior¡¯s partial set effect is activating.] [Reducing damage.] He was wearing the Great Orc Warrior items and neutralized a lot of the damage with the partial set effect, but the impact was still massive. ¡°Agh!¡± A pained groan spilled from Hyukjin¡¯s mouth. Thanks to the Great Orc Warrior¡¯s partial set effect, his shoulder barely escaped being destroyed. ¡®The attack won¡¯t end with this.¡¯ Right now, he was close enough that the monster¡¯s fists could reach him. It would instinctively throw a fist at Hyukjin. Observer¡¯s Eye drew out the situation. The fist would come for his temple. ¡®I can¡¯t dodge.¡¯ This was all an investment he made to be able to insert the Steel Spike. ¡®After taking this¡­ I¡¯ll take one more.¡¯ He wasn¡¯t in the position to use Flash Step, nor did he have the time. Like an MMA fighter raising their guard, he brought up his arms to protect his temples, clenching his teeth and preparing for impact. ¡®Wait.¡¯ He thought that defense was his only avenue, but he glimpsed another way. In that fleeting moment, a brief moment that flashed past, he made a decision. ¡®Its belly!¡¯ Hyukjin kicked the Great Orc Warrior¡¯s belly. It wasn¡¯t in order to do damage to the Great Orc Warrior, but to push himself away. Whumpf¨C! The Great Orc Warrior¡¯s fist whooshed through the air. ¡®I dodged it.¡¯ He felt the fist graze past him, like a massive boulder flew past his nose. ¡®If that had hit me¡­¡¯ Even with his guard up, that fist would have dealt quite a lot of damage. Hyukjin flipped into a backwards roll, hitting the ground. Rolling on the ground looked less than graceful, but it was much better than getting hit by the Great Orc Warrior¡¯s fist. Hyukjin picked up a very strange feeling. ¡®This feeling¡­ What is it?¡¯ Up until the last moment, there was definitely no path. The only choice was to block. But then, a path naturally opened up, like his instincts reacted as soon as the moment was upon him. However, he wasn¡¯t able to focus on that sensation for long. ¡®I can see it again.¡¯ In its excitement, the Orc swung wide and hadn¡¯t yet found its balance. ¡®The Orc¡¯s mouth.¡¯ It was wide open. ¡®Right now¡­¡¯ Could he use Flash Step? If he wasn¡¯t able to deal a fatal blow, he would suffer a counterattack right after. But there wasn¡¯t time to ponder. The opening in the Great Orc Warrior¡¯s defense wouldn¡¯t last long. He didn¡¯t miss this brief moment or the tiny opening it afforded. There was no such thing as a perfectly safe attack, especially when the opponent was stronger than him. When fighting a strong opponent, a little gambling was necessary. He moved along a straight line that represented the shortest distance between one point to the next, instantly closing the gap. He saw the Great Orc Warrior¡¯s red, gaping mouth like he was looking at it through a telescope. ¡®Using the extra speed from Flash Step¡­¡¯ As one might expect, if this speed could be harnessed, it would lend incredible destructive force. If he could strike the Orc¡¯s weak point with this speed plus his own weight and strength, he would be able to deal a great deal of damage. He saw the Orc¡¯s mouth as a ¡®point¡¯. ¡®Pierce that point.¡¯ Hyukjin wasn¡¯t conscious of the fact that he was physically embodying the ¡®Single Hit Finisher¡¯ he saw from Yeonseo before. The ¡®Observer¡¯ class Kim Hyukjin reproduced the skill used by the ¡®Swordsman¡¯ class Yeonseo. Even though their classes were different, his body was showing a new stage. Schwiiing¨C! With the whistle of steel¡ª Spluuuurt! Hyukjin¡¯s sword penetrated the Great Orc Warrior¡¯s mouth, sticking out the back of the Orc¡¯s neck. ¡°SQUEAAAAL!¡± The Great Orc Warrior ululated a strangled cry, windmilling its arms at random from the unbearable pain. Bam! Hyukjin was struck by one of its flailing fists. Pain assaulted his wrist. He didn¡¯t get hit at a vital spot, and it wasn¡¯t a strike with real force behind it. It was literally just a graze, but he still took a lot of damage. ¡®I think my wrist is fractured.¡¯ Like before, he kicked off the Great Orc Warrior to widen the distance, then looked briefly around. ¡®Everyone¡­ is finished.¡¯ Everyone completed their individual roles in their individual positions. They were indeed the heroes of the future. If just one person was missing, this raid would have been nearly impossible. Between choppy, labored breaths, Hyukjin said, ¡°My last order. Remember it?¡± As soon as they heard his words, the waiting Sunghyun and Sung-gu moved. As Hyukjin recovered his breathing, he looked towards Senia, who was as expressionless as ever. ¡®I said I would set this stage, Senia.¡¯ They weren¡¯t empty words. It wasn¡¯t possible to sway the Guardians with the likes of lies or deception. If you said you would show them, you had to show them. ¡®Since I told them I would show them a straight fight, I need to do that.¡¯ What he had already shown them was certainly a more-than-decent spectacle, considering a level 30 Player had the clear edge over a Great Orc Warrior a good 10 levels higher. However, Hyukjin wasn¡¯t satisfied with that. ¡®This¡­ is the climax.¡¯ The quest bet on by the Herdsman of Las Vegas, the Courageous Lion King, and the Whispering Devil hurtled on to its climax, towards the climax Hyukjin directed. ____ Chapter 81 - Tomb of the Wind Warrior (5) Chapter 81: Tomb of the Wind Warrior (5) The Great Orc Warrior flailing in pain would be greatly enraged that I, a human that was surely prey, could injure it to such a degree. Through Eye of Perception, I could feel it. A predator¡¯s rage. And I could tell. ¡®That rage is directed solely at me.¡¯ Its blazing eyes were glaring at me over the distance I had put between us. But because of the pain, it wasn¡¯t able to do anything other than stare. ¡®So it will choose¡­¡¯ The Great Orc Warrior was an extremely strong monster. It also possessed considerable prowess in throwing its weapon. The throw would have very high accuracy in addition to great destructive force. ¡®¡­to throw the axe at me.¡¯ And with a great deal of strength. In order to tear me, and me alone, to pieces, it would use every ounce of its strength. Because those crimson red eyes saw nothing other than me. ¡®It¡¯s moving.¡¯ The Great Orc Warrior was definitely stronger than me. If I took a direct hit, a single blow might kill me. But that wasn¡¯t relevant until it happened. ¡®I¡¯d be a fool to get hit even though I know it¡¯s coming.¡¯ I knew the attack was coming, and had even clearly perceived the speed and trajectory of that attack. Of course I wouldn¡¯t sit around to get hit by it. I had long since mentally prepared myself to dodge. I looked carefully, focusing. The moment it hurled its axe, it would reveal an opening. Sure enough¡ª ¡°SQUEAAAAL!¡± The Great Orc Warrior gave a guttural scream as it threw its axe at me. Whumpf¨C whumpf¨C! The axe rotated fiercely in the air as it hurtled my way, so fast that it was no exaggeration to say it truly hurtled. From the very sound it made in the air, I could feel it. ¡®Massive destructive force.¡¯ The attack was filled with insane power and was so fast it would have been difficult to dodge had I not predicted it in advance. But unfortunately for the Orc, both Sunhwa and I had expected it. Sunhwa was standing right next to me to prepare for potential danger, but even our little tank couldn¡¯t take that axe straight on. In a situation as dangerous as this, what she could do was limited to slightly changing its trajectory. ¡®That is Sunhwa¡¯s role.¡¯ As commendable as it was, Sunhwa was well aware of her own role and was prepared to do her job. I turned slightly aside and dodged the axe. Bam! The axe buried itself into the ground. Having failed to land the hit, the Great Orc Warrior shrieked in even greater agitation. And then, I spoke. ¡°Now.¡± Now was our chance, while the Great Orc Warrior¡¯s mind was solely concentrated on me. ¡®The really scary attack¡­ is the one you don¡¯t know about.¡¯ Even if the attacks were the same, getting hit by one you knew about was different from one that blindsided you. Right now, right here, Sung-gu and Sunghyun¡¯s attack could be called an ¡®unexpected attack¡¯ to the Great Orc Warrior. ¡®I¡¯m sure they¡¯ve practiced well for this.¡¯ I made them practice matching their breathing, and it was all for this moment. From their lips came a unique language I couldn¡¯t understand, an incantation. [Phemo Haritanaya] [Wedow Le-lavica-ta] A flame flickered to life in Sung-gu¡¯s palm, then became fierce flames that formed a whip. It was an ability that Sung-gu had used a lot in the past as well. ¡®Flame Whip.¡¯ The Flame Whip he was showing now was pathetic compared to when he was a hero of Korea, but for the beginner period, it couldn¡¯t be any more magnificent. The next moment, that Flame Whip was covered by blue wind. ¡®They¡¯re doing well.¡¯ Even though they were coordinating today for the first time, they were performing much better than I expected. The Flame Whip flew taut and straight at the Great Orc Warrior like an open-mouthed snake. ¡®Sunghyun is providing good support.¡¯ If Sung-gu was handling the destructive force, then Sunghyun was fueling the flames and handling the precision. The two of them were covering each other¡¯s inadequacies. ¡®This is probably¡­ the first magic fusion shown since the Cataclysm.¡¯ These two certain geniuses were managing their first ¡®magic fusion¡¯ quite well. ¡®I knew they would do well.¡¯ After all, the two of them were a famous combo to begin with. Even though they usually looked like two archenemies itching to have at it, as soon as they went into a raid, they showed off a partnership that was as harmonious as peanut butter and jelly. The way their personalities and classes matched up was unequaled. The Flame Whip wrapped in wind went straight into the Orc¡¯s mouth. Yoohyun balled his fist, yelling a triumphant ¡°Nice!¡± The flames blazed within the Great Orc Warrior¡¯s mouth. Sweat poured from Sung-gu¡¯s forehead. ¡°This goddamn bastard. It¡¯s resilient as all hell.¡± He was using up all his mana to continue feeding the flames. ¡°Die, you goddamn bastard!¡± This was the climax I directed¡ªthe Great Orc Warrior blazing like a torch. ¡®And the Iron Sword I put in there earlier¡­¡¯ The ¡®Iron Sword¡¯ penetrating its mouth would become molten iron that would melt the Great Orc Warrior from the inside, running down its esophagus to turn all of its insides to mush. ¡°SQUEAAAAAL!¡± The Great Orc Warrior flopped onto the ground. This play was coming to completion. ¡°Yeonseo, Yoohyun.¡± Yeonseo and Yoohyun, our close combat fighters, stepped up. Yeonseo used her movement skill ¡®Heavenly Demonic Flying Step¡¯ to approach first. So that they could coordinate, she told Yoohyun what technique she would be using and where. ¡°Single Hit Finisher. Back of head.¡± More precisely, the hole I¡¯d left in the back of the Great Orc Warrior¡¯s head. Yoohyun followed, barking out the name of his finisher. It wasn¡¯t really necessary, but he still said the skill name out loud. It was probably a habit he¡¯d gained from coordinating with Yeonseo. ¡°Hammer Fist!¡± Yoohyun followed up Yeonseo¡¯s ¡®Single Hit Finisher¡¯ with his ¡®Hammer Fist¡¯ on the back of the collapsed and frothing-at-the-mouth Great Orc Warrior¡¯s head. Boom! The sound that shook the air was almost like an explosion, though it of course fell far short of the fist I remembered from the ¡®Fist King So Yoohyun¡¯. [Great Orc Warrior has been killed.] [EXP acquired.] [52 Coins acquired.] ¡®Perfect.¡¯ It didn¡¯t count as a ¡®direct hunt¡¯. I did deal some damage and directed the hunt like a sovereign, but it was still calculated as me doing less than 50% damage. ¡®I think the Coins were given to me, the party leader.¡¯ I just had to distribute them later. The ¡®Observer¡¯ class¡­ seemed better than I first thought. If controlled well, I wouldn¡¯t need to worry too much about losing EXP. * * * In addition to what the Herdsman of Las Vegas proposed, we cleared the gamble-of-a-quest issued by the Whispering Devil and Courageous Lion King. A gamble wasn¡¯t a gamble for nothing. It was high risk, high return. [The first proposal of the ¡®Herdsman of Las Vegas¡¯ is still valid.] [Distributing rewards to all Players who participated.] [The rewards being currently distributed are from clearing ¡®Secret Within the Tomb of the Wind Warrior¡¯.] The rewards distribution proceeded in order. Right now, I couldn¡¯t even feel the throbbing from my broken wrist. The rewards were just that sweet. ¡®The rewards this time¡­¡¯ No rewards I¡¯d gotten before could even compare. A stream of rewards as massive as what Michelle must have gotten in the past came in, dazzling my eyes. [100,000 Coins acquired.] [Great Orc Warrior¡¯s Gloves acquired.] [U-Plex Dungeon First Entry Rights acquired.] Those were the rewards from the quest proposed by the Herdsman of Las Vegas. [Calculating an additional reward.] [50,000 Coins acquired.] It didn¡¯t feel like a lot because I had just gotten 100,000 Coins, but frankly, 50,000 Coins alone was a massive amount. We got a measly 50 Coins from hunting the Great Orc Warrior. Considering that, I had just gotten a huge pile of Coins. ¡®Is it over?¡¯ It wasn¡¯t. Hm? ¡®Secret reward?¡¯ This must be the reward from the quest proposed by the Whispering Devil or Courageous Lion King. Of the two of them, the Whispering Devil was more likely to hatch such a scheme. Apparently, only I got this reward. The others didn¡¯t seem to know about it. ¡®The Whispering Devil gave this to me, huh.¡¯ I could clearly see what the Whispering Devil was thinking. He was definitely an interesting bastard. By sending me this, it meant the Whispering Devil had, like me, already predicted what exactly would happen. ¡®This is gonna be fun.¡¯ Our resident Two-Faced Swords(wo)man, Shin Yeonseo, became a lively young woman in her early 20s after sheathing her sword. She jumped with joy, her face as red as an apple, showing that she was extremely pleased with what she got. ¡°Wowww! I got an Agility Potion!¡± Yoohyun got a Strength Potion, while Sunghyun and Sung-gu each got Elemental Affinity Potions. Everyone seemed to have gotten an item that suited them. As long as you could successfully win a gamble, it would indeed yield plentiful rewards. ¡°Dayum. Hey, you saw that, right? I was super strong, no? Jo Sunghyun, you were just like a pedestal for my greatness, you hear? I did it all, you just assisted! Uhahah!¡± ¡°¡­¡± Sung-gu was busy putting on airs in front of Sunghyun. ¡°Shabam, shabam! You saw it, right? My Flame Whip was super awesome. You admit it, right? Yeah, of course you do. Admit it again? Right, gotcha. Wooow. I must be really fuckin¡¯ strong. Right?¡± ¡°¡­Ah, yes. You¡¯re very strong,¡± said Sunghyun in a flat voice. Everyone was excited from killing the Great Orc Warrior. Sunghyun was comparatively chill, and his eyes were saying, ¡®Okay, you bark all you want. I¡¯m gonna check my rewards,¡¯ which made me feel like I was almost looking at the future Sunghyun and Sung-gu. ¡®So they were like this from their beginner days, too.¡¯ The young Sunghyun just answered, ¡°Ah, yes¡±, but later, he would bicker and quarrel with Sung-gu. But well, they could afford to enjoy this leisure right now. As she watched Sung-gu puff out his chest, Sunhwa muttered, looking somewhat displeased, ¡°It was all thanks to my oppa, okay?¡± TN: Changed Sunhwa¡¯s summary from brother complex to brocon, since ¡®brother complex¡¯ is the state and ¡®brocon¡¯ is the person with the complex. ¡°Oppa did it all, okay?¡± I decided to ignore her summary. I acted like I didn¡¯t hear her. Maybe she was acting like this because of puberty. Thankfully, the others didn¡¯t hear her because she spoke so quietly. Once the rewards calculation was finished, Guardian notices came in. Like always, the Nameless Observer continued their endless observation. Guardians like the Lady of the Scales, True Master of the Heavenly Demonic Mountain, or Giant of the Sunset didn¡¯t send me messages, most likely because they were focusing on their favorites. The host of this quest, the Herdsman of Las Vegas, also enjoyed the amusement. Up to this point, I heard two notices. Notices from the others aside, I was waiting for a notice from a certain someone. ¡®You¡¯re¡­ gonna send a notice too.¡¯ The Whispering Devil sent me a ¡®High Orc¡¯s Spell Scroll¡¯. That meant he¡¯d already seen something brewing among the Guardians. He went out of his way to send me this as a ¡®secret reward¡¯. ¡®When are you gonna send it?¡¯ I waited patiently. He would definitely send me a notice, most likely before this flash gate was completely cleared and we were sent outside. I spoke up. ¡°I think we¡¯ve eliminated all the dangerous elements, but we need to look around. The condition to completely clear this place was to find the ¡®Secret Within the Tomb of the Wind Warrior¡¯.¡± It wouldn¡¯t be hard. Eye of Perception didn¡¯t pick up anything dangerous, either. There was probably a Clear Crystal somewhere inside the tomb. So that meant we¡¯d cleared this place without a hitch. Everyone understood my words and moved towards the tombs. ¡°Yes!¡± ¡°Yep!¡± ¡°Okay!¡± ¡°Understood!¡± ¡°Got it, hyung.¡± And then, I heard some notices. ¡®I¡¯ve been waiting.¡¯ They were the notices I had predicted. ____ Chapter 82 - Tomb of the Wind Warrior (6) Chapter 82: Tomb of the Wind Warrior (6) [The ¡®Ruler of the Plains¡¯ burns with hostility towards you.] [The ¡®Ruler of the Plains¡¯ detests you.] [The ¡®Ruler of the Plains¡¯ has reached the limit of their patience.] In the past, when I hunted the Thin Hobgoblin, the Ruler of the Plains sent me a message saying that he disliked me. ¡®I can¡¯t be respected and chosen by every Guardian.¡¯ I was producing content that would suit the tastes of the majority of Guardians, but I was well aware that I couldn¡¯t cater to the small portion of Guardians who had unique tastes. ¡®They must have been focusing on me ever since I killed the Thin Hobgoblin.¡¯ The Ruler of the Plains could be considered a Guardian who had a greater fondness for monsters than for Players. There was an extremely famous incident in the past where the Ruler of the Plains caused trouble to Yoohyun. ¡®I¡¯ll discard the Ruler of the Plains here.¡¯ The Whispering Devil already knew that the Ruler of the Plains would direct their gaze of hatred towards me. That was why he sent me the ¡®High Orc¡¯s Spell Scroll¡¯ as a secret reward. I saw in my mind¡¯s eye how things would play out. The Whispering Devil, the Ruler of the Plains, and me. What kind of scenario would occur with all three of us involved in one place? ¡®That¡¯ll be fun.¡¯ I wasn¡¯t scared. Within five years, the Ruler of the Plains would disappear. I didn¡¯t know what kind of mechanism was behind the appearance and disappearance of Guardians, but it was known that no Players had heard notices from the Ruler of the Plains in five years¡¯ time. ¡®Alright, come at me, then.¡¯ Right now, they wouldn¡¯t be able to try anything to get revenge. I made a legal Play. It was just that the Ruler of the Plains didn¡¯t like that Play. ¡®They won¡¯t be able to do anything right now, at least because the other Guardians might notice.¡¯ But one day, they would move against me. For sure. ¡®Aiming for my weakness.¡¯ A sudden attack was scary, but one I already knew about wasn¡¯t. It could be blocked. Just then, Sunhwa shouted. ¡°Oppa!¡± Holding something in her right hand, Sunhwa smiled brightly. ¡°I found it!¡± A crystal glowing with a purple light was in her hand. ¡®She¡¯s smiling really brightly.¡¯ It wasn¡¯t just my rose-tinted glasses as her brother kicking in¡ªit really was a 1000k watt smile, and it wasn¡¯t just her trying to look pretty or cute. I felt Sunhwa¡¯s true feelings through Eye of Perception. She was extremely happy and thrilled that she found the crystal, though that ¡®addicted to fried chicken¡¯ part in the middle was a little funny. Sunhwa called out from afar, ¡°I found it! I did well, right?¡± She was covered in dirt from head to toe, like she seriously gave it her all. Even her face was smudged with something that looked like mud. Sung-gu said jokingly, ¡°Damn, I was trying to find it, but I lost to a frickin¡¯ middle schooler. How humiliating.¡± It wasn¡¯t a normal crystal. It wasn¡¯t a crystal that would clear the gate when destroyed, but an information crystal that held some kind of info. [Crystal Holding the Secret Within the Tomb of the Wind Warrior] There is a special secret hidden within this crystal. When destroyed, you will acquire information related to the ¡®course of the Wind Warrior¡¯s life¡¯. Yoohyun got the crystal from Sunhwa. ¡°I¡¯ll destroy it, hyungnim!¡± When it was in Sunhwa¡¯s palm, it looked pretty big, but the crystal looked like a kid¡¯s toy in Yoohyun¡¯s massive hand. ¡°Here I go!¡± Yoohyun started exerting his muscles. The veins in his right arm stood out. As his blood vessels expanded, Yoohyun¡¯s face turned beet red. ¡°Haah¡­ haah¡­!¡± Breathing hard, Yoohyun turned to me. ¡°Hyungnim, this thing isn¡¯t budging at all?¡± I came closer to inspect the crystal. ¡°Hm,¡± I hummed, thinking. Apparently, it wasn¡¯t a crystal you could just break. Pure physical force wouldn¡¯t do it. ¡°Sunghyun, you give it a try.¡± ¡°¡­Alright.¡± The teen nodded. He hadn¡¯t spoken up, but it seemed like he had already picked up some kind of hint. As he put the crystal in his palm while we all watched to see what he would do, I could tell one thing. ¡®His movements are super natural.¡¯ He acted almost like a person who knew exactly what he had to do to this crystal. It wasn¡¯t like he had knowledge from the future or anything. This was just his talent playing a role. ¡®Knowing what to do simply by looking¡­¡¯ It was like a mechanic who automatically knew how to work a machine even without a manual, like being able to play a game without reading the instructions. As soon as Sunghyun saw the crystal, he figured out what he had to do. I saw mana swirling within Sunghyun¡¯s body. ¡®It¡¯s fascinating to see every time.¡¯ It felt very different from seeing with my physical eyes. I couldn¡¯t quite put it in words, but an energy shining with blue light went through Sunghyun¡¯s heart and out his palm and back in, over and over again. The energy seemed to be alive¡ªit moved almost like it had its own will. ¡®I guess this is how the mana moves when we use skills.¡¯ I could only observe the tip of the iceberg right now. After all, my ¡®Observer¡¯s Eye¡¯ proficiency was only 1 at the moment. ¡®The more my proficiency increases, the more I should be able to observe.¡¯ I already couldn¡¯t wait for that moment. I didn¡¯t know how long it would take, but in any case, I was full of anticipation for the future. My life was already miles apart from the past, when I lived without a future, without hope, just trudging on with my eyes fixed on the present. I could succeed now. I could forge my own future. That¡¯s what I believed. ¡®The mana inside the Clear Crystal¡­ is being transferred to Sunghyun¡¯s body.¡¯ It was only possible to trace the flow with Observer¡¯s Eye. An energy resembling purple smoke went into Sunghyun¡¯s palm and was absorbed into his body. ¡®He probably got some quest or something.¡¯ I guessed he got something related to the ¡®Secret of the Wind Warrior¡¯, but I didn¡¯t pry. There was no pressing need to find out right now. [The Clear Crystal has been destroyed.] [The Flash Gate ¡®Tomb of the Wind Warrior¡¯ has been cleared.] The gate itself was cleared, but we didn¡¯t get any additional rewards. [The rewards that can be obtained within the ¡®Tomb of the Wind Warrior¡¯ have already reached their maximum limit.] [The reward for clearing the Flash Gate will not be given.] I wasn¡¯t too sorry to hear that. I¡¯d already received a way bigger harvest than I had expected. ¡®150k Coins total, High Orc Spell Scroll, U-Plex Dungeon First Entry Rights, and Great Orc Warrior¡¯s Gloves.¡¯ They were all fantastic. But there was a prize better than all others. ¡®I¡¯ve fully determined how the Observer class will grow.¡¯ I had the pros and cons of the Observer class nearly down pat, and figured out what the Nameless Observer wanted from me a little more concretely. That gave me a direction for my future Playing. ¡®That¡¯s the biggest gain.¡¯ And plus, ¡®I¡¯ve also acquired Sunghyun¡¯s full trust.¡¯ We earned a great party member. Though there were strong indications that he wouldn¡¯t get along with Sung-gu, when these two worked together, their power would be equal to ten magicians put together. [Teleporting from the Flash Gate ¡®Tomb of the Wind Warrior¡¯ to the Flash Gate ¡®Hill of Blowing Wind¡¯.] [The key, the ¡®Final Wind¡¯, is necessary.] A hologram appeared before our eyes. And underneath it appeared a keyboard of arrows. Apparently, we were supposed to type in the correct combination. ¡°Boss Hyukjin. What is this? I¡¯ve got no clue.¡± [If you cannot find the key, one of the Players will die.] [You have 1 minute.] Everyone¡¯s expressions darkened. My heart became heavy as well. ¡®This is¡­¡¯ I had a feeling. But I couldn¡¯t be 100% sure. I spoke quickly. ¡°I think I know what this is.¡± 35 seconds left. ¡°But I can¡¯t be 100% sure. I remember the wind shape that blowed when we left the Hill of Blowing Wind. The arrows match the number of blank spaces.¡± 25 seconds left. ¡°If you guys agree, I¡¯ll try putting it in.¡± 15 seconds left. There wasn¡¯t much time, and I was the only one who had a clue. ¡°Okay, I¡¯m in full agreement.¡± ¡°Oppa, me too.¡± ¡°Dammit, me too.¡± ¡°I agree.¡± 5 seconds left. ¡®The wind that blew when I blew out the candle.¡¯ I remembered a refreshing wind blowing then as if to celebrate the clear we had just achieved. That image was vivid in my brain. I hadn¡¯t particularly tried to remember the arrows, but I could recall them in such clarity that I wondered if my memory had always been this good. I put them in exactly as I remembered them. [¡ü¡ý?] [You have successfully found the key.] [Teleporting to the ¡®Hill of Blowing Wind¡¯.] [The flow of time has been distorted.] [Entering the ¡®Hill of Blowing Wind¡¯.] We came back. * * * ¡®The flow of time was distorted.¡¯ That had to mean that while we were clearing the ¡®Tomb of the Wind Warrior¡¯, the time within the ¡®Hill of Blowing Wind¡¯ was frozen. When we found ourselves back on the hill, the other Players didn¡¯t realize our absence at all. ¡®So this moment¡­ is when I discovered the candle on Sunghyun¡¯s back.¡¯ I heard a voice. ¡°What nonsense are you tryna say?¡± It was the voice of the Brown Bear Kim Taechun. He was glaring at me. He¡¯d seen me on the 1st Floor and had apparently pegged me as ¡®prey¡¯, since he was a self-proclaimed predator. I retorted back, ¡°What?¡± Scowling to show his displeasure at my casual tone, Taechun rolled his right shoulder, producing cracking noises. ¡°That¡¯s weird. I thought there was something on the kid¡¯s back. Anyway, I dare you to try something weird. I¡¯ll cut off your head.¡± Yoohyun stepped forward. ¡°Oi. You sure have a lot of crap to say.¡± ¡°¡­¡± ¡°You asking for another beating?¡± Taechun tucked his tail between his legs, muttering, ¡°It¡¯s not like I messed with you, jeez.¡± Mumbling to himself was all the resistance he could muster. ¡®Tsk tsk.¡¯ He was still a famous Player in his own right, so it was a little pathetic to see him so cowed by a single beating. If he acted like this, he would also lose the Courageous Lion King¡¯s backing. ¡®Guess he¡¯ll disappear before long.¡¯ He would either die within a dungeon or gate, or be killed by some Player. In any case, it was unlikely he would leave his name in history¡¯s annals. ¡®Originally, Kim Taechun never got beaten by Yoohyun or Yeonseo.¡¯ Once again, the past changed a little because of my Playing. However, I didn¡¯t regret it. I did what I should, and thanks to that, many Players survived. [The Flash Gate ¡®Hill of Blowing Wind¡¯ has been cleared.] [Leaving the gate.] I had earned so much from this place. It was no exaggeration to say I was walking a path paved with gold, one that couldn¡¯t even compare to the past. My mood soared. Someone shouted, ¡°We¡¯re back!¡± At least in this moment, everyone was a friend and an ally. A few people even embraced each other and ran around in joy. Yoohyun and Sung-gu stood next to me. ¡°Hyungnim. Shouldn¡¯t we be acting like that, too?¡± ¡°Damn, yeah. We should also hug it out and cheer, let our bromance shine¡­¡± The words died in Sung-gu¡¯s throat. He and Yoohyun took a cautious step back. ¡°Wait, hyungnim. I wasn¡¯t saying I¡¯d really hug you.¡± ¡°Goddamn, so scary. You could destroy the world with that gaze.¡± Yeonseo snickered. ¡°Iyaa, anyway, we got a safe clear again. And the rewards are also uh-may-zing. Like I thought, it¡¯s most fun to Play with the boss. Right, Sunhwa?¡± Sunhwa nodded. ¡°It¡¯s super reassuring when oppa is there. And it also feels super efficient.¡± ¡°Yeah, your oppa is the best.¡± I just feigned deafness. Jo Sunghyun was looking around in silence. ¡®I¡¯m sure he got something related to the Clear Crystal earlier. He¡¯s probably thinking about whether he should share that or not.¡¯ Without Observer¡¯s Eye, I wouldn¡¯t have known, either. ¡®With his personality¡­ it will take a little time.¡¯ He was calm and cool-headed. He would take his time thinking about it subjectively. And if he decided in the end that I was worthy of his trust, he would come and consult me for advice. ¡®There¡¯s a very high chance he¡¯ll do that.¡¯ Personally, I thought there was a 99% chance he would come to me. ¡®Let¡¯s give him a little time.¡¯ ____ Chapter 83 - Laying Bear Bait Chapter 83: Laying Bear Bait We made it back to the hall of the 12th floor that immediately ported us to the first gate, the ¡®Hill of Blowing Wind¡¯. The hall had several entrances and exits, and on the far side of the room, I saw members from the guild that would later stand tall as Korea¡¯s top guild, ¡®Taeguk Shield¡¯. They had intentionally come in late. ¡®The reason why they¡¯ve come in only now¡­¡¯ In the past, I didn¡¯t think anything of it, but now, I knew better. ¡®Is because they have the Precognitive Dream user Ham Sohyun.¡¯ I didn¡¯t know the range of her Precognitive Dream ability, but there was a high chance that she predicted some kind of danger here, which caused Sungshin¡¯s flagship ¡®Taeguk Shield¡¯ to come later. ¡®Or it¡¯s because they wanted to make a late arrival, like protagonists.¡¯ Either way, I could now see the Taeguk Shield guildies that hadn¡¯t been present during the clear of the Hill of Blowing Wind. Among them was Song Jinchul¡¯s oldest brother, Song Kiyeol. He was the guildmaster of Taeguk Shield. TN: Author has changed the name of Sungshin¡¯s eldest grandson from Song Jinseok to Song Kiyeol. ¡®I guess he¡¯d be in his early 30s now.¡¯ The guildmaster shared the same nickname as the guild¡ªTaeguk Shield. He became well-known as a fairly outstanding tank. In addition to him, there was the Poison Witch Cheon Sooji, the Golden Priest Gong Jinhoon, and the Spear Demon Byeon Gilsup¡­ ¡®Wow. Lots of bigshots here.¡¯ They finally showed up. They were the people I would be drawing out the future with. Soon, they would make my worth skyrocket. They were supporting actors in my scenario, so to speak. As I mused, many Players celebrated. ¡°W-We¡¯re back!¡± ¡°I survived!¡± As they relished in the joy of being alive, some started talking about the clear rewards again, while others cried, their expressions dark. While everyone was still elated from their safe return, someone approached me. ¡°Mr. Kim Hyukjin. I am relieved to see you are safe.¡± It was a group of four men. ¡®What¡¯s this now?¡¯ I thought with amusement. Two of the four men were familiar faces. The person standing at the very front was Kim Kangchul, who I had been acquainted with in my previous life as well, and the other was Song Jinchul. [Non-Awakened] Name: Song Jinchul Age: 14 State: Disdain / Slight Rage / Jealousy Disposition: Arrogant / Destructive / Selfish Summary: I was still getting ¡°Because Eye of Perception¡¯s proficiency is not high enough, viewing more detailed information is impossible¡±, but I was still able to read more information than before. I could now see two summaries. ¡®I only saw Self-Proclaimed Chosen One in the past.¡¯ This time, there was another summary under it. ¡®Self-Judged Expert of Negotiation and Threat?¡¯ Jinchul moved to the front to blatantly look me up and down. Being in his first year of middle school, he was short, small, and had a reedy voice, yet he acted like he was on top of the world. Apparently, the task of talking to me had been entrusted to Jinchul. He pointed at me, someone much older than him, with his chin. ¡°You¡¯re Kim Hyukjin?¡± ¡°¡­¡± I stared back at the youngest grandson of the Sungshin chaebol. Our first meeting had been rather unpleasant as well. ¡°Who are you to make Grandpa so interested in you?¡± Was this the jealousy of a grandson who was robbed of his grandpa¡¯s attention? Ah, that explained his state. I found him more cute than anger-inducing. He was clearly jealous, but still trying to look down on me. ¡®The reason why President Song sent such a kid to me¡­¡¯ I immediately read his intent. ¡®Is because he¡¯s curious as to how I¡¯ll handle him.¡¯ There was a really high chance he was testing me. He wanted to see if I was truly someone with the skills to back my refusal of the Taeguk Shield guildmaster position. ¡®If he¡¯s really that curious, I¡¯ll show him.¡¯ For the time being, dancing to the President¡¯s tune wasn¡¯t that bad an option. That would increase my value and worth. ¡®He¡¯ll probably be very shocked.¡¯ Even I was shocked by myself. My party members. Taeguk Shield guild members. Kim Taechun. The youngest grandson, Song Jinchul. Using these keywords, I drafted a completely new picture, one where I would work with my party members and use all of the above elements to maximize our value. ¡°Yeah. I¡¯m Kim Hyukjin, what about it?¡± ¡°Mister. Did you just speak down to me?¡± ¡°Yeah, I did.¡± ¡°Are you crazy? Do you not know who I am?¡± ¡°Nope, I don¡¯t.¡± The no-good chaebol scion quickly flared to anger, spitting out with agitation, ¡°If you don¡¯t know who I am, then you have to be taught. Oi, make that bastard kneel before me.¡± Being this disillusioned at his age was called chuunibyou syndrome. ¡°What are you doing? I said grab that trash and make him kneel before me! Didn¡¯t you hear me?!¡± The members of Taeguk Shield glanced our way. To start things off, this brat was due for a friendly little beatdown. My Mettle had crushed Orcs that could tear apart Song Jinchul and the other four men here with one hand. This ability was a rank higher than the one possessed by Jinchul¡¯s grandfather, the 1st President of Sungshin, Song Kiyoung. Mettle instantly crushed the group of four. ¡°Huh¡­?¡± Jinchul became deathly white. Kim Kangchul in front of him was the same. It was my first time using the ability on people, but it was apparently extremely effective. I patted Jinchul¡¯s shoulder. ¡°Have some manners, kid. A person¡¯s at their coolest when they talk to others with respect.¡± I then walked past the frightened Jinchul. As Sunhwa trailed behind me, she stuck out her tongue and blew a quiet raspberry, but I just let it slide. Being slighted by a little girl he¡¯d never seen before might actually be even more humiliating to Jinchul. Knowing that it would take the kid some time to shake off the effects of Mettle, I walked to one of the hall¡¯s exits. I could feel with Eye of Perception that quite a few people had been gathered here to control the Players within. ¡®They purposefully went for a heavy-handed atmosphere.¡¯ All the ¡®Players Association¡¯ had to do was formally apologize much, much later. ¡®To push the Players into submission.¡¯ The Players were still in their early stages of growth. It was clear to me that the Players Association wanted to grab control while they still could. At least in the early game, that wasn¡¯t a terrible strategy¡ªit would allow the Players Association to quickly take its place and gain the wholehearted(?) cooperation of the Players. ¡®Sometimes, force is more effective than democratic or peaceful methods.¡¯ Yoohyun had proven that to me earlier. Sungshin must have come to the same conclusion. ¡®President Song Kiyoung intentionally crafted this situation.¡¯ I could see his intent like it was written in red paint. It was fun. ¡°You cannot leave.¡± They weren¡¯t as big as Yoohyun, but intimidatingly large people, hired muscle in black suits, were blocking the door. ¡®Most of them are non-Awakened.¡¯ Seeing that made me laugh. Even the oh-so-mighty President Song hadn¡¯t even begun to see the true power of Players yet. ¡®What would have happened if the Players hadn¡¯t submitted in the past and rioted?¡¯ Even Kim Taechun over there could have easily wiped out these hired guards if he went wild with his axe. That was how enormous the gap between a Player and a non-Awakened was. ¡°Why not?¡± I asked. ¡°The Players Association Chairman has instructed it.¡± I hummed, then looked around again. Up to this point, it was still the same as the past. Quite a lot of people were milling around on the 12th floor. Someone I didn¡¯t know picked up a mic and started talking. ¡°Players, your attention, please. With the situation the way it is, I will get right to the point.¡± What he said was simple. There were a lot of casualties, so the Players Association would use their authority to find out exactly what happened in the gate. To do that, they would seek the cooperation of one person after another to hear what they had to say. They said it was to assemble a ¡°database¡±, but the atmosphere in the room was almost one of interrogation. ¡®The beginner Players have been pretty much cowed.¡¯ It might also be that they were unwillingly surrendering to the authority held by the ¡®Players Association¡¯. What they did was none of my business. I just had to Play my own way. ¡®I¡¯ll leave¡­ the big picture for another day.¡¯ I decided not to wrangle with the big picture today. Even if I didn¡¯t step in, in a future not too far from now, the Players would realize on their own that there was no need to be so submissive to the Players Association. ¡°Boss,¡± said Yeonseo, her voice low. ¡°The mood here is so frosty¡­ Did we commit some kind of crime? It seriously feels like they¡¯re treating us like criminals.¡± She was smiling brightly, but I could feel bloodthirst from her. I felt the hired muscle blocking our way flinch. Picking his nose, Sung-gu drawled, ¡°Just gimme the okay anytime and I¡¯ll burn them all to a crisp. You know my online handle, right? I¡¯m the Jayandong Firemaster.¡± I¡¯d leave the big picture for another day, but there was no need to lower my value and the value of my team. I decided to live this life differently. I would forge my own life, and I wasn¡¯t going to be unfaithful to that creed here. Intentionally speaking up so that the surrounding people could hear me, I said, ¡°You¡¯re right. We didn¡¯t do anything wrong. Someone purposefully created this heavy-handed atmosphere. Though I won¡¯t say who that someone is.¡± Finally breaking free from the influence of Mettle, Song Jinchul shouted at me like he was having a fit. ¡°What bullshit are you saying?! What you¡¯re saying makes zero sense!¡± I would show this kid¡ªno, President Song¡ªwhether I was saying bullshit or not. ¡®Let me show you how I set the stage.¡¯ That stage¡­ would be bigger than he expected. * * * * * * Just then, Senia sent me a whisper request. ¨CPlayer Kim Hyukjin. I have a question. ¨CAsk away. ¨CWhat is the ultimate picture you are drawing? I cannot figure out where you are going with this. I wasn¡¯t surprised. ¨CTrying to spoil the Guardians? ¨CNo. It is just that I need to know your intent so I can film a little more properly. Very good, Senia was also continuing to grow. I was happy to see it. ¨CI¡¯ll explain it just once, so listen up. If you can, use one Pause authority. Senia hesitated, but in the end, she used a Pause. Everyone and everything other than Senia and me became black and white. ¡°I¡¯ll make it brief. I¡¯m going to use that kid Song Jinchul to send President Song Kiyoung a message¡ªto not look down on us, and to properly evaluate our value.¡± ¡°Is that all?¡± ¡°No, it¡¯d be no fun if that was all.¡± I had to design this step by step, layer by layer. ¡°Listen well. First, I¡¯ll provoke Song Jinchul. Afterwards, Kim Taechun will take action, and when that happens, Taeguk Shield will also take action. After that, other Taeguk Shield guild members will move.¡± ¡°¡­¡± ¡°It¡¯s fine if you don¡¯t understand the process. I¡¯m just talking about the result. I hope you¡¯ll film accordingly.¡± ¡°Then is your provocation just now of Song Jinchul bait?¡± ¡°Yes.¡± Senia definitely grew a bit. She evolved from a fucking beginner to just a beginner. ¡°And then Kim Taechun will move?¡± ¡°I have to make that happen, yeah.¡± Alright, it seemed she was clear on that much. ¡°But how is Kim Taechun taking action connected to Taeguk Shield taking action? I cannot see any connection.¡± After saying that, Senia¡¯s wings quivered for a moment. ¡°Ah, you can¡¯t mean¡ª!¡± Oho, she must have guessed without me even needing to explain. Like Senia realized, there were other elements involved in this picture, though they couldn¡¯t be seen with the naked eye. ¡°Your prediction is correct. I will make them move.¡± ¡°Song Jinchul is bait, as is Kim Taechun. I have judged that your true goal is Taeguk Shield.¡± ¡°You¡¯re quite close.¡± It seemed like Senia got the gist of what I was going to do. She had really gotten much smarter. ¡°Do you plan on acquiring Taeguk Shield?¡± ¡°Yeah, something like that.¡± I did omit a few parts of the process. There would be several stages to acquiring the guild. It wasn¡¯t something I could swallow in one gulp just because I had a vague desire to do so. ¡°I understand your intent, but I cannot see the process.¡± ¡°That¡¯s why I¡¯ll show you.¡± Senia¡¯s wings trembled once, very quickly. ¡°I will use this knowledge to inform my filming. Although I don¡¯t know the exact details of the process, I can see where you are going now.¡± She¡¯d see soon enough. ¡®In the end, Taeguk Shield will become mine.¡¯ And through it, I would have a share of Sungshin¡¯s hefty support. I would get everything there was to get, and this would open the doors to a far more efficient Play. The first stroke of this grand blueprint would be drawn out now. The world regained its color. Chapter 84 - Laying Bear Bait (2) Chapter 84: Laying Bear Bait (2) ¡°Mr. Kim Kangchul,¡± I said, trying to remember what his actual title was. Oh, right. It was Team Leader. Team Leader of the Player Scouting Team. ¡°Yes, Mr. Kim Hyukjin.¡± He wasn¡¯t affected by Mettle anymore, but I could feel he was more restrained with me. ¡°Somehow¡­ it feels like we are being treated like subordinates.¡± ¡°Surely not. That¡¯s not the case at all.¡± Kim Kangchul shook his head, his expression earnest. ¡°It is just that we wish to acquire slightly more precise information about the gate that just formed, as well as confirm Player casualties. We must know what happened in the gate in detail. That is the duty of the Players Association.¡± ¡®Players Association¡¯ was the grand name for what was actually a private subsidiary of Sungshin. In other words, this was all just a corporation¡¯s profit-seeking. For now, I kept up the charade and put it nicely. ¡°It sounds like you intend on building a database.¡± ¡°Yes. We will gather all kinds of data and make a large collection of information. In a way that will help mankind.¡± It wasn¡¯t information that would help mankind, but information that would help Sungshin. But I didn¡¯t say that. They were doing what was profitable for them, and I, of course, was doing the same. That wasn¡¯t bad. Rather, it was all too natural. It was just that there was no need for me to lower myself for their profit. ¡°And if I don¡¯t want to cooperate?¡± ¡°You will have no choice but to cooperate.¡± He was exuding the same peculiar confidence I had felt last time, too. ¡®Even though he¡¯s a team leader¡­¡¯ It wasn¡¯t like his insight was particularly outstanding. Summary: Ordinary Person Hungry for Success A lot could be inferred from his summary. ¡®Ordinary Person¡¯ being in his summary meant that he was a regular guy with no special traits. ¡®In ten years, he¡¯ll become the Players Association¡¯s Head of Personnel.¡¯ Making it fairly high up despite having ordinary abilities could only mean one thing. He either hugged the right thigh, or made a good impression on his superior. He was good at climbing the so-called ¡°corporate ladder¡±. ¡®That¡¯s why he hasn¡¯t recognized the worth of Players and is responding like this.¡¯ Had President Song really not known that Kim Kangchul would act like this? ¡®No. He must have known.¡¯ I had an inkling that he purposefully sent Team Leader Kim. He picked out a person who could act calmly, without a hint of reserve. That was the President¡¯s tactic to maintain this farce. He was also bound to be curious as to how I would handle his grandson, a long-time sufferer of chuunibyou. ¡°You seem to be very confident.¡± ¡°Because all Players in Korea will become members of the Korean Players Association.¡± ¡°Is that law?¡± It wasn¡¯t. It was just that the Players themselves hadn¡¯t realized their own value and were still dazed after the whirlwind of events where several Players died. That was why they were cooperating with Sungshin. ¡°It will soon become law.¡± I had no doubt it would. After all, Sungshin had an enormous sway over the government. ¡®However.¡¯ As enormous and powerful as Sungshin was, the latent power and worth we Players held was just as big. ¡°By soon, you mean that it isn¡¯t law yet.¡± I took a step closer to Kim Kangchul. ¡°I¡¯m not very happy about this high-handed atmosphere, the feeling of being interrogated. I refuse to cooperate with Sungshin in such a situation. I am not an employee of Sungshin.¡± The prey should be taking the bait around now. I could feel Song Jinchul¡¯s body trembling with rage. ¡°And I have absolutely zero desire to kneel to a rude brat like him.¡± Considering that he submitted to ¡®Mettle¡¯ earlier, his pride was surely well and properly dented. Summary: Self-Proclaimed Chosen One Whose Pride is Injured ¡°Mister. Move.¡± My target was never Kim Kangchul. It was always the young rascal named Song Jinchul. Kim Kangchul stepped back. ¡°Did someone shit in your cereal? Is your head for show? Do you not know who I am?¡± Of course I did. A 3rd generation chaebol spoiled brat. I retorted back, ¡°Do you know who I am?¡± ¡°¡­¡± ¡°Just why the hell are you kicking up a fuss when you don¡¯t even know who I am?¡± Jinchul¡¯s eyes filled with astonishment. He was really easy to handle. This chaebol young master had surely never experienced such treatment before. A delusional edgelord just needed to be treated like a delusional edgelord. ¡°Does being a 3rd generation chaebol kid make you invulnerable to pain?¡± ¡°Y-Youuuu¡ª!¡± Jinchul¡¯s body quivered, and then he burst out with a stream of hostility. ¡°I am Song Jinchul! The person who will one day become the rightful master of Sungshin!¡± After revealing his identity, Song Jinchul puffed out his chest. The powerful name ¡®Sungshin¡¯ filled him with hot air. ¡°What¡¯s wrong? Scared?¡± ¡°As if.¡± I gave him an intentional smirk. ¡°A middle school student who talks down to a team leader of Sungshin. A young kid with no qualifications who can willfully barge into matters between Players and the Association. A moron with not a single rat¡¯s tail of respect or manners.¡± Even without Eye of Perception, I would have realized who this brat was. ¡°Anyone could tell with their eyes closed that you¡¯re most likely a 3rd generation chaebol brat.¡± ¡°¡­¡± Song Jinchul¡¯s face flushed red hot. State: Very Angry All the other emotions had been pushed aside, making it so that Eye of Perception could pick up only ¡®rage¡¯. The boy was very mad, it seemed. Song Jinchul spat out, ¡°You. You¡¯re going to regret this.¡± ¡°Do you want me to make you feel regret right now?¡± I took one step closer. The three bodyguards behind Jinchul stepped in front of him, almost like they were his guardian knights. But it was fine; I¡¯d never intended on laying a hand on the kid anyway. ¡®Now, he¡¯ll run off to grandpa and tell him what happened today.¡¯ What President Song¡¯s spoiled grandson would tell him would inevitably differ from what Kim Kangchul would tell him. The kid would probably spill the whole story without a filter. I looked Song Jinchul dead in the eye. ¡°The information we have is essentially new culture. That will soon become the driving force for the future.¡± ¡°¡­¡± President Song Kiyoung, please listen up. ¡°I won¡¯t sell my worth for mere peanuts.¡± I smirked again. ¡°And especially not to a spoiled brat like you.¡± ¡°Y-Y-Youuuu¡ª!¡± ¡°No matter how young you might be, it¡¯s clear that you¡¯ve got absolutely zero eye for things. Do you think a 3rd generation chaebol kid like you could really inherit the company? Is your grandpa really so foolish?¡± I blatantly attacked the premier chaebol of Korea, as well as Song Kiyoung himself. All of my words would no doubt enter the President¡¯s ears via his grandson. Without a filter. [The ¡®Merchant of Venice¡¯ is greatly satisfied by your attitude and guts.] It seemed the Merchant of Venice liked my response, too. ¡®Considering President Song¡¯s personality¡­¡¯ I had already met the President once. He might be slightly incensed that I went after a young kid, but he was definitely not one to mix private and work matters. He would actually end up seeing me in a new light. After all, there weren¡¯t many people who could talk to Jinchul like this even after knowing he was President Song¡¯s grandson. At least, not in Korea. ¡®I¡¯ll show you that this kind of method won¡¯t work on me, on us.¡¯ I didn¡¯t look kindly to being treated like a criminal dragged to the interrogation room and being made to share each and every thing that happened, rewards and tips included. In this rapidly changing new world, information was essentially money, power, and authority. I couldn¡¯t just sit here and let that be taken from me with cattle prods. ¡®And even if I were to give you information, there should be appropriate compensation.¡¯ I was sending President Song a message loud and clear through his grandson. Instead of using a method like this, come with a more attractive carrot next time. Something a little better than a pathetic 2 million annual salary contract. Something a little more appropriate for our worth. ¡®If it¡¯s President Song, he¡¯ll get what I¡¯m saying.¡¯ That was enough for using Jinchul as my mouthpiece. ¡®Alright, I¡¯ve laid the framework.¡¯ Now, it was time for the slightly bigger picture. There were two reasons why I refused to cooperate with them. The first was that I didn¡¯t want to lower our value and asking prices. The second was to make someone witness our quarreling. ¡®Someone in this room.¡¯ I glimpsed someone with a bulky physique walking over in a rage. ¡®Someone like the Brown Bear Kim Taechun.¡¯ Taechun had already lost to Yeonseo in a 1 vs. 1 and was one-sidedly beaten by Yoohyun, so his pride must¡¯ve been sorely bruised. Despite that, his summary was still ¡®Self-Proclaimed Predator¡¯. It seemed he was still riding the ¡®hero high¡¯ from destroying the pillars. ¡®Taechun has labeled me as prey.¡¯ I had already sensed his gaze stabbing into me. My Eye of Perception continuously picked up a gaze prickly with not-so-friendly intentions. There was no doubt that the Courageous Lion King¡¯s quest was still unfinished. The picture was all drawn out. ¡®You must be desperate to catch the eye of Sungshin, yes?¡¯ If he wanted to do that, he¡¯d have to pick a fight with me. He also had decent justification to do so, since I was the only one refusing to cooperate. If he suppressed me, he would look very valiant. ¡®Ah.¡¯ But he was hesitating and not rushing in. From the look in his eyes and the energy I could feel from him via Eye of Perception, he clearly wanted to dash over and shout, ¡°Why¡¯re you the only one acting out, you bluffing piece of shit!¡± But he was holding back. ¡®Wait, I think it¡¯s because Yoohyun and Yeonseo are next to me.¡¯ I realized the reason. ¡°Yoohyun and Yeonseo, go somewhere else. Naturally. Without making it obvious,¡± I said quietly, turning briefly to the two. Yoohyun immediately started whistling. There wasn¡¯t even music, but he even danced with his shoulders. All of a sudden? Whistling, here? I told him to not make it obvious, but he made it so awkward I nearly withered on the inside. Sung-gu shook his head and followed, muttering, ¡°Haah, that idiot.¡± ¡®I shouldn¡¯t¡­ make him act.¡¯ It looked, by all accounts, that I shouldn¡¯t make Yoohyun act. In comparison, Yeonseo slipped away and blended into another group of Players rather naturally. From her noticeably light steps, I suspected she was using her movement skill. That left just me, Sunghyun, and Sunhwa. ¡®Sunghyun is a thorn in his side.¡¯ Sunghyun played a decisive role in the ¡®Hill of Blowing Wind¡¯ clear. Taechun was sure to be unhappy with him. ¡®And Sunhwa¡¯s easy to underestimate.¡¯ As far as Taechun could see, I no longer had anyone to protect me. ¡®He¡¯ll come now, right?¡¯ Sure enough, the large man approached. This bear was very good at taking bait. ¡°Oi. I¡¯ve been listening over there.¡± He came right up to me, looming over me with his massive frame. He lived up to his nickname. ¡°You¡¯re being a bit harsh there. Do you think all the Players here are stupid? The folks from the Association are saying we should work together to gather data, so why¡¯re you being so difficult? Are you the only one who¡¯s too good for this?¡± ¡°What do you think the folks from the Association will do after gathering the data?¡± ¡°Well obviously, they¡¯ll¡­ make things way better for later Playing. Cause we¡¯ll have more info.¡± Once again, I smirked. Perhaps finding my actions amusing, the Merchant of Venice sent me a gift. [The ¡®Merchant of Venice¡¯ sends you the temporary skill ¡®Smiling Provocation¡¯.] Like the name suggested, it was an ability that would make the opposite party feel terrible as you smiled at them. It wasn¡¯t some big awesome skill, and later, it would even be frequently used via scrolls. The ability was something akin to a ¡®joke¡¯. [Using the temporary skill Smiling Provocation.] I smirked, knowing that it would greatly irritate Taechun. ¡°Do you truly think it will make things better for Playing?¡± I shook my head, as if telling him he was wrong. ¡°Surely you don¡¯t think the Players Association is moving for the good of the public? Since when has Sungshin been a charity?¡± At this time, the Players Association would not act for the good of the public. They were 100% a private subsidiary working for Sungshin. ¡°This is a place where Sungshin, recognizing the value of new tech, invited Players, the people most closely related to new tech.¡± To say it outright¡ª ¡°It¡¯s laughable that they¡¯re already treating us like their company employees. It¡¯s hard to tell whether they¡¯ve invited us or are interrogating us.¡± Taechun¡¯s face reddened a little. ¡°We don¡¯t have a superior-subordinate relationship.¡± Raising my voice a little, I said, ¡°This is a type of business cooperation, one where our interests must align for us to work together. Do you think that in a business, the other party will give me equal treatment if I¡¯m lowering my worth, taking initiative to bow down low, and scrambling to present myself as a slave? Idiot.¡± I continued to read his mood with Eye of Perception. ¡®That¡¯s right. Get mad. Exactly as I want you to.¡¯ ¡°Is that block above your shoulders an ornament?¡± I never intended on having a logical debate with Kim Taechun. That wasn¡¯t his role in the picture I was drawing. ¡°Shit like you who¡¯s all bark and no bite dares¡­!¡± Taechun fumed. ¡°I tolerated you because you¡¯re a non-combat class, but there¡¯s no second chance for you, you piece of shit.¡± ¡®That¡¯s right. In my scenario, this is your role. Getting whipped into a frenzy,¡¯ I sneered inwardly. Up to this point, the scene was progressing as I wished. [The ¡®Nameless Observer¡¯ is observing you.] [The ¡®Courageous Lion King¡¯ ridicules your articulate mouth.] [The ¡®Whispering Devil¡¯ is having fun.] [The ¡®Merchant of Venice¡¯ has a high evaluation of you.] The next part was already set in stone. ¡®As I thought.¡¯ The situation unfolded exactly as I conceived it. Chapter 85 Chapter 85: Enlightenment ¡°I tolerated you because you¡¯re a non-combat class, but there¡¯s no second chance for you, you piece of shit.¡± So what was he gonna do about it? PVP with a non-combat class Player? ¡®Though by future standards, that¡¯s completely out of the question.¡¯ Before I regressed, there were many cases where non-combat classes played a more active role than combat classes. Be it detoxification, heals, or buffs, there were fewer non-combat class Players than combat Players, and they were rare. In addition, the worth of a Player had massive differences depending on their proficiency and type of ability. With that in mind, each of the guilds made tacit rules to prevent combat class Players from persecuting non-combat class Players. ¡®A combat Player sending a non-combat Player a PVP request?¡¯ That was ridiculous. If guilds were a little more well-established, Kim Taechun would¡¯ve probably gotten dragged away and beaten by his guildmaster. Especially¡­ because I was a Player with a class called ¡°Observer¡± and played a role close to a ¡®sovereign¡¯. ¡®Well, it¡¯s not like he knows.¡¯ Among the non-combat classes, the classes that received the best treatment were the ones in the sovereign category. It was a little embarrassing to say it myself, but there was a reason why Yeonseo constantly praised me, saying that the perceived difficulty was worlds apart when I was there versus when I wasn¡¯t. Sovereign classes were literally noble classes. They were hard to raise, hard to pull off, and even harder to become a high-level Ranker with. But once they made it there, they were nobles who stood above all others. Notices came in. [You have received a PVP request.] [If you accept, a PVP Zone will be declared.] From this, I inferred one more thing. ¡®A beginner Player under level 30 sent the PVP request on his own accord.¡¯ In order to send a PVP request, you had to receive the permission of a high-level ¡®sovereign Player¡¯, or receive the help of an Intermediate Administrator, like what Percy did earlier. Or¡­ a Guardian would have to intervene. ¡®The courage-lover stepped in again.¡¯ It seemed our little courage-lover bestowed Taechun the right to make a PVP request. That was how much he wanted to see this fight between us. ¡°I¡¯m certain I¡¯ve already told you many times that I¡¯m a non-combat class.¡± ¡°So what? Gonna run away like a coward?¡± He openly sneered at me. His eyes were full of scorn, as well as the confidence of a predator. The current Kim Taechun was convinced that ¡®combat Players are the true Players¡¯. ¡°No, that¡¯s not what I mean. I¡¯m just a little worried.¡± ¡°Don¡¯t worry. You won¡¯t die,¡± Taechun said, guffawing. This dumb brick was completely missing my point. ¡°How will you have the face to walk around after getting beaten up by a non-combat class?¡± I¡¯m not worried for myself, but for you. ¡°Senia. Notarize the fact that I¡¯m a non-combat class.¡± Senia showed herself, which drew a round of astonished murmurs. ¡°So¡­ beautiful.¡± ¡°Playing must be so amazing if you do it with that kind of Intermediate Administrator¡­¡± Both Senia and Hyukjin ignored the trivial mutterings of the crowd. The stage was set, a stage where even an Intermediate Administrator had stepped in. Hyukjin continued, ¡°This is definitely a proposal made by a Player to another Player, yes?¡± An Intermediate Administrator hadn¡¯t mediated it. Percy, the Streamer who had spat a ball of highly acidic green saliva, was likely streaming the scene in invisible mode. The fact that Percy hadn¡¯t appeared yet despite the situation having developed to this extent meant that an existence ranked higher than Percy was involved. Hyukjin was sure that existence was the Courageous Lion King. That was why it was necessary to make things very clear here. ¡°Yes, that is correct. The results of my check show that Player Kim Taechun personally made a PVP request to Player Kim Hyukjin.¡± ¡°Then that means this is a matter between humans unrelated to System-made scenarios.¡± Only then did Senia realize Hyukjin¡¯s intent. ¡®A matter between humans.¡¯ Hyukjin¡¯s sentence precisely defined this fight as a matter unrelated to the System. [The ¡®Lady of the Scales¡¯ nods.] [The ¡®Whispering Devil¡¯ is having fun.] [The ¡®Nameless Observer¡¯ observes.] They were now, to a certain degree, exempt from the System¡¯s rules. ¡®Player Kim Hyukjin has made a nominal pretext¡­ to not act as an observer.¡¯ It was decided with one sentence. Hyukjin would no longer move like an observer, but like a combat class Player taking on a PVP. He made it seem like he was talking to her, Senia, but his actual intent was clear and defined. ¡®The Nameless Observer said that they would observe.¡¯ With that, all of Hyukjin¡¯s bases were covered. There wasn¡¯t a single hole in this tightly weaved scenario. Now, Hyukjin had the freedom to play out his own role in the scenario he himself crafted. [Accepting the PVP request.] [A PVP Zone has been declared.] A space free of death, the PVP zone, was established. Kim Taechun smiled broadly. ¡°Good.¡± He was certain he could wreck Hyukjin. He was humiliated twice earlier, but thankfully, an opportunity to recover his face landed in his lap. He had finally grasped a good opportunity for him to prove his courage. ¡°Here I come.¡± The match began. Taechun took out his massive axe, the weapon that had made him stand out in the ¡®Hill of Blowing Wind¡¯. Hyukjin wasn¡¯t all that intimidated by that imposing weapon. He read Taechun¡¯s entire body with ¡®Observer¡¯s Eye¡¯, seeing everything with his eyes. ¡®His balance is passable.¡¯ From the looks of it, Taechun would step with his right foot before approaching. ¡®He¡¯s underestimating me, so he¡¯ll make a direct approach.¡¯ He would come close enough to put Hyukjin inside his range. Observer¡¯s Eye read every single one of Taechun¡¯s movements. It felt distinctly different from when he was observing Yeonseo or Yoohyun. ¡®It¡¯s like¡­ watching a video in 0.5 speed.¡¯ When he was reading Yeonseo or Yoohyun, a constant stream of information came in at real time, and he had to quickly derive new analyses. But it was different with Kim Taechun. It looked to Hyukjin that the hulking man was moving slowly to fulfill an already predetermined action. ¡®This is a new feeling.¡¯ It was true that Taechun was lower level, but reading an average Player¡¯s movements felt so much easier after reading only top Players all this time. It felt enlightening, somehow. ¡®I can see it.¡¯ He could see it precisely¡ªTaechun¡¯s fight pattern. Yeonseo watched the PVP closely. ¡®Let¡¯s focus. Simply watching Hyukjin move will be a big lesson for me.¡¯ She had the feeling that something about Hyukjin¡¯s movements was odd. While Taechun was moving in, Hyukjin moved one small step to the right, far more slowly than normal. ¡®He should be able to instantly subdue the opponent if he used Flash Step.¡¯ He wasn¡¯t using it on purpose, and she understood why. ¡®It would be idiotic to show off your skills in front of this many people.¡¯ This was different from when he killed the ¡®Bigmouth Lizard¡¯ earlier. There was no need to expose all his abilities. Yeonseo had instinctively realized that showing 70% of one¡¯s abilities and hiding the remaining 30% was favorable for a Player. Whumpf¨C! The large axe grazed past Hyukjin¡¯s forehead. Taechun swung his axe in quick succession. Whumpf¨C! Whumpf¨C! He attacked Hyukjin, his axe creating loud noises as it swung by, looking extremely threatening. ¡°Kuhahahaha!¡± Taechun felt a rush of exhilaration and triumph. His opponent was busy scrambling to dodge. He knew as well as anyone that his attack speed wasn¡¯t very fast. But the fact that he could attack to his heart¡¯s content like this meant that his opponent was just that slow. ¡°Just how long are you gonna keep running away?¡± Whumpf¨C! He kept swinging his axe. After making an opening, he would crush Hyukjin¡¯s head with a single downward swing. He was sure of his victory. ¡®This guy has a big mouth, but it looks like he¡¯ll be one hit KO¡¯d?¡¯ Confidence bubbled up within him. Many of the Players watching the match were also unable to discern Hyukjin¡¯s movements. ¡°As I thought¡­ a non-combat class is different from a combat class, after all.¡± ¡°He was super confident, so I thought there would be something special about him, but nope.¡± ¡°Yeah, he¡¯s gonna get wrecked.¡± But among all the Players gathered here, some were outstandingly skilled. These Players, the top 10%, felt that something was weird. Jo Sunghyun was the same. ¡®There¡¯s something more to those movements.¡¯ It was hard to explain in concrete terms, but something was strange. He could feel it through the wind. The wind that Hyukjin¡¯s movements created, the movement of the air, was extremely peaceful. ¡®Ah¡ª!¡¯ When he focused, he realized it. His class was ¡®Child of Wind¡¯. He analyzed the information he got through the wind, the movement of the air. ¡®I get it.¡¯ He understood why it felt so odd. ¡®Does this¡­ make any sense?¡¯ It shouldn¡¯t make any sense, but it was happening in front of his very eyes. ¡®Hyukjin hyung is dodging before Kim Taechun¡¯s attack?¡¯ Hyukjin wasn¡¯t seeing the attack and then dodging. He was moving in advance to a position where he wouldn¡¯t get hit even before the attack started. He didn¡¯t move while Taechun was actually moving his axe. ¡®Almost like he already knows where the axe will go.¡¯ He was like a speedrunner who had the game memorized, someone who knew exactly where and what kind of attack would occur. That was why he was able to dodge even without seeing the attack. There was no doubt about it. There was hardly any time delay¡ªunless you looked closely, you wouldn¡¯t notice it at all. But Jo Sunghyun could feel it keenly. ¡°Hah, hah¡­!¡± After a furious flurry of attacks, Taechun gasped for breath, showing his failure to regulate his stamina. He looked like someone who had never once considered what it meant to pace himself. On the other side, Hyukjin briefly forgot he was fighting Taechun. His thoughts were focused wholly on the strange sensation he was experiencing. When fighting an opponent far weaker than himself, a function of ¡®Observer¡¯s Eye¡¯ seemed to be kicking in. It felt like something was being sketched out in his head and fading away, over and over again. ¡®Like I can almost grasp it, but it¡¯s gone the next moment.¡¯ He intentionally provoked Kim Taechun. ¡°Try attacking some more, why don¡¯t you?¡± ¡°You slimy little rat!¡± Hyukjin purposefully kept dodging Taechun¡¯s attacks. He read Taechun¡¯s fight pattern and the trajectory of his axe. Instead of doing it fully consciously, he partly entrusted that mysterious sense to his instincts. He entrusted his body to the flow. Almost like a person born with a god-given gift for battle. ¡®Ah¡ª!¡¯ He had a flash of understanding. ¡®This.¡¯ The hazy feeling that had been bothering him became a little more concrete. ¡®This is it.¡¯ It was like a dam bursting and overflowing. At the same time, the notices came in. [You have become cognizant of a new enlightenment.] [The grade of ¡®Eye of Perception¡¯ has increased.] [You have reached a new stage.] The PVP match with Kim Taechun gave Hyukjin a completely unexpected ¡®new stage¡¯. ¡®A new stage¡ª!¡¯ Hyukjin realized instinctively what that was. Chapter 86 Chapter 86: Enlightenment (2) After reading that Eye of Perception had leveled up, I immediately checked the details. Type: Innate Ability Basic acquisition conditions: Sixth Sense Calm Observer¡¯s Eye Additional acquisition condition: Overcome the death sentence of ¡®Sixth Sense¡¯ Overcome pain Detailed explanation: Eye of Perception is an eye of ¡®intuition¡¯, meaning the user gains concrete knowledge about objects in the outer world through their sense of intuition. It allows the user to intuit and receive information about the target. Proficiency: [2] Traits: Distinguish between Awakened and Non-awakened Read Status Windows Sense danger Resistance towards illusory attacks or apparition magic Additional power: Future Sight With the increase in proficiency from [1] to [2], a new category, ¡®additional power¡¯, was added. ¡®Future Sight.¡¯ I knew what it was without having to open up the detailed explanation. Just like the name suggested, it was the ability to see the future. I took a look at the detailed explanation anyway. [Future Sight] An eye that can glimpse the future. When PVPing or hunting, you can precisely predict the movements and attacks of the opponent or monster. However, be warned that a great deal of mental power and mana will be consumed in proportion to the opponent¡¯s abilities. I was already feeling the effects of the new ability. As expected of the cheat-level ¡®Eye of Perception¡¯, it produced an ability that could read an opponent¡¯s movements in advance. ¡®What I was sensing earlier¡­¡¯ This meant it wasn¡¯t just a vague feeling anymore, but a concrete skill I could use far more reliably and methodically. ¡®Let¡¯s try using it right away.¡¯ There was a note that the consumption of mental power and mana would be enormous depending on the opponent¡¯s level. It shouldn¡¯t be very draining with Kim Taechun as my opponent, so it was worth taking for a spin. In all things, trying it out in practice was the best. [Activating the power Future Sight.] [You are within ¡®Observer¡¯s Domain¡¯.] [You are using ¡®Observer¡¯s Eye¡¯.] [The mana and mental power consumption of Future Sight is reduced.] I saw a panting Kim Taechun. ¡°Dieee!¡± He made a big swing of his axe. ¡®No.¡¯ He hadn¡¯t swung yet. What I felt just now¡­ was an ¡®illusion¡¯. In reality, Taechun hadn¡¯t swung his axe yet. ¡®This¡­ is Future Sight.¡¯ While I was awed, Taechun ran in exactly like I had seen him do moments earlier. ¡®When facing Taechun, I can see about one second in advance.¡¯ An unprecedented ability to read what an opponent would do one second in advance. A vivid future that had a time delay but appeared before my eyes in perfect clarity like it didn¡¯t. A fight pattern that was even more definite and concrete than sensing it with my intuition. ¡®I do feel myself tiring.¡¯ That had to be what it meant by the consumption of ¡®mental power¡¯ being high. I couldn¡¯t describe it exactly, but it kind of felt like I was losing steam, like my vigor was being eaten away. I could feel my body growing heavier, even though it wasn¡¯t actually that tired. ¡®As the proficiency of Eye of Perception rises, Future Sight should grow stronger, too.¡¯ I couldn¡¯t expect too much from the beginning. This ability was one that would shine brighter the more my level increased and the more Eye of Perception leveled up. I dodged every attack from Kim Taechun with ease. That was enough testing, for now. [Stopping the use of the power Future Sight.] Taechun gasped for breath. ¡°Hah¡­! Hah¡­!¡± In comparison, I wasn¡¯t all that tired. I felt like I¡¯d gone on a short walk¡ªI did feel a little tired and drained, but it wasn¡¯t severe. ¡°Didn¡¯t I tell you about my class?¡± Non-combat class. Class name, Observer. There was no reason to state the name outright, but there was also no need to hide every little bit of my abilities. I wasn¡¯t planning on openly doing things at the forefront, but I also didn¡¯t intend on bending backwards to lower my value. ¡°I¡¯m a non-combat class.¡± ¡°SHUT UP!¡± Kim Taechun swung his axe again, but I didn¡¯t even dodge this time, knowing it wouldn¡¯t reach me in the first place. His swing was full of power. It was no wonder that he ran out of strength so quickly. ¡®Well, I¡¯m sure he¡¯s fucking pissed. He hasn¡¯t been able to hit a non-combat class even once.¡¯ How embarrassing must it be for a combat class Player to be helpless before a non-combat class Player in front of so many people? But it wasn¡¯t my business to worry about him. There was only one reason why I was saying this. ¡®Kim Kangchul and Song Jinchul. Listen up.¡¯ It was to send a message to those two, as well as to the powers-that-be in Sungshin who still didn¡¯t get it and the Taeguk Shield guild members who were acting like they were the chosen ones, like nobles. ¡°The foundation of my class is observation.¡± ¡°I SAID TO SHUT UP!¡± He charged at me again, his movements slow and clumsy from exhaustion. I casually closed in on him. The distance between us was now mine to control. I chopped his wrist with the side of my hand. [Using the skill Excellent Strike.] Though I wasn¡¯t using a weapon, even my bare hand would deal a great amount of damage to Taechun. ¡°Ahh!¡± he yelped, dropping his axe. Thud! The large axe fell to the ground with a boom. Taechun clutched his wrist and pulled away a little. His foot lifted into the air in instinctive retreat, his balance crumbling a little. ¡®Is this how you do it?¡¯ I immediately grabbed him and threw him over my back, mimicking the judo ¡®shoulder throw¡¯ I¡¯d glimpsed on Youtube before. It went unexpectedly well. I¡¯d never learned how to do it, but maybe reading Yoohyun¡¯s movements had helped. ¡°Gugh!¡± As his back hit the ground, there was a resounding crash as loud as his heavy body. Struggling to right himself, he coughed painfully. ¡°My class is fundamentally one that continuously observes.¡± It wasn¡¯t a total lie. 70% was the truth, while 30% was a lie. That was the ratio I was aiming for, like countless Rankers in the future I came from. And now, I was going to resolve this situation my way. ¡°One that, while continuously observing, plays an intermediary role to ensure that each Player¡¯s Playing joins smoothly into one fluid whole.¡± ¡°Cough! Cough!¡± ¡°One that, using the information gained by observing, directs the battlefield my party members and I are on to our favor and occasionally gives orders.¡± With this, the people at Sungshin and the Guardians alike would know what I was trying to say. But I still spelled it out a little more clearly, in a way that was slightly easier to understand. ¡°A class that draws out the efficiency of the party and maximizes each Player¡¯s latent potential to allow the raid or hunt to progress as optimally as possible.¡± I intentionally made things a little more dramatic, taking my time to build up the climax. Because the people at Sungshin were watching, as well as the Guardians. ¡°My class is sovereign.¡± A short and sweet personal r¨¦sum¨¦, effective and to the point. After the commotion that ensued, Kim Hyukjin and his party members left the Players Association building. As soon as they went out the front door, Choi Sung-gu reproduced the event that had just occurred, intentionally deepening his voice. ¡°My class is sovereign,¡± he mimicked, his face serious. And then, he marveled all by himself. ¡°Kyaa, that was hella classy.¡± He clearly remembered the scene earlier. Somehow or another, when Hyukjin delivered the ¡°My class is sovereign¡± line, the room happened to be pinprick silent. And at least from what Sung-gu had seen, Hyukjin was absolutely compatible with a class called ¡®sovereign¡¯. Sung-gu continued to make a fuss. ¡°This kind of thing¡­ is a little chuunibyou, but hot damn, do I love it.¡± He suddenly grabbed Hyukjin¡¯s hand. ¡°Dayum. But great Sovereign, I have a question.¡± ¡°¡­¡± Grasping Hyukjin¡¯s hand with both hands, Sung-gu gazed at Hyukjin with eyes he probably thought were shining. ¡°What kind of sovereign lays out a combat Player with his bare hands?¡± ¡°¡­¡± For a moment, Hyukjin pondered. If he chopped the back of this guy¡¯s neck with his hand, would he faint, or not? Perhaps sensing Hyukjin¡¯s murderous intent, Sung-gu quickly took a step back. ¡°But seriously, though! I think even Yoohyun wouldn¡¯t have been able to move like that. Right?¡± Yeonseo, who had particularly remarkable talent for 1 vs. 1 PVP, offered her own analysis. ¡°Mm, it¡¯s not cut and dry. Yoohyun obviously wins in pure physical ability and damage, but our boss Hyukjin was using observation to read Taechun¡¯s movements in advance and assume a far more favorable position. That¡¯s why he was able to dominate the guy so easily.¡± Hyukjin glanced sideways and saw Sunhwa grinning from ear to ear, looking very pleased. The sight of her smiling so brightly made him happy, too. ¡°Why¡¯re you smiling like that?¡± ¡°It was super satisfying when you threw that guy, oppa. You went swoosh! And his body went whee! And crashed with a ba-bam! Totally serves him right.¡± ¡°That so?¡± Sunhwa nodded vigorously, fiercely agreeing. Smiling, Hyukjin walked a little more. ¡°But oppa, you¡¯re walking slowly on purpose, right?¡± The rest of the party had noticed it as well, even Jo Sunghyun, who wasn¡¯t that close to Hyukjin yet. ¡°I am.¡± ¡°Why?¡± ¡°I¡¯m waiting for something.¡± Yeonseo licked her lips. ¡®What¡¯s this feeling I¡¯m getting¡­ that something fun is about to happen?¡¯ It felt like fun things happened around Hyukjin. It was like that in their first gate together, when they went to Japan, and now. ¡®What could it be?¡¯ She didn¡¯t ask, but she could feel it. Hyukjin wasn¡¯t at ease right now. From the way he moved and the look in his eyes, she could tell that right now, Hyukjin was preparing for battle. As if Yoohyun had also picked up on the strange atmosphere, he turned his head, his neck cracking. Hyukjin stopped in place and turned around. ¡®There¡¯s no way it would end like this.¡¯ This was something that hadn¡¯t happened in the past. Kim Taechun wasn¡¯t reduced to such a sorry state, and he never PVPed with Hyukjin. But despite that, Hyukjin was able to read the future based on ¡®Guardian disposition¡¯ and ¡®Kim Taechun¡¯s personality¡¯. He had a rough idea of what was going to happen. ¡®With the Courageous Lion King¡¯s personality, he would never want things to end on such a bland note.¡¯ Hyukjin didn¡¯t kill Taechun on purpose earlier. Even though the man would revive if killed since it was a PVP zone, Hyukjin stayed his hand intentionally. There was no real need to kill him, plus he figured it would stimulate the Courageous Lion King and Taechun even more. ¡®This makes a better stage.¡¯ That was why he left him alive and left the building. What would the Courageous Lion King and Kim Taechun really choose to do? ¡°Stop right there, you piece of trash! I won¡¯t be satisfied unless I fucking kill you!¡± Giving off a different feel from before, Kim Taechun charged at Hyukjin, his eyes bright red. He was definitely not his normal self¡ªhe almost looked like the Magic Troll in its ¡®berserker¡¯ state. ¡°I¡¯ll definitely kill you! Let¡¯s finish this!¡± And then, Taechun let out a furious scream. Heat billowed out of his body. Grrrrrr. A strange growl came from his lips, and he looked every bit like an enraged bull. Not only that, but some shapes started materializing behind him. ¡®As I thought.¡¯ Hyukjin¡¯s lips curled upwards. ¡®As I thought, this is how you want to do it.¡¯ He had been waiting for this. The ¡®Ruler of the Plains¡¯ had finally made their move. Chapter 87 Chapter 87: Heroic Debut I intentionally left the building, knowing the Courageous Lion King and Kim Taechun wouldn¡¯t leave things at that. I wanted a more open space to fight a little more comfortably. ¡®So that the Ruler of the Plains can move a little more freely.¡¯ There were a lot of Players on the 12th floor. An equally large number of Guardians were watching, and in the crowd were Players those Guardians valued. The ¡®Ruler of the Plains¡¯ didn¡¯t have the guts to cause an uproar in such a place. I remembered it very clearly. [The ¡®Ruler of the Plains¡¯ burns with hostility towards you.] [The ¡®Ruler of the Plains¡¯ detests you.] [The ¡®Ruler of the Plains¡¯ has reached the limit of their patience.] They sent a whopping three messages saying similar things in one go. It wasn¡¯t confirmed, but people believed that the number of similar messages a Guardian could send was limited to three. The Ruler of the Plains went all the way to the limit to warn me. ¡®They were waiting for their chance.¡¯ And so, I gave them that ¡®chance¡¯. ¡®The Courageous Lion King was also eyeing a chance to make Taechun and me fight again. Me being down here is perfect for that.¡¯ I knew the Ruler of the Plains would throw a fit at some point. And I knew that when that happened, the Courageous Lion King would also join in, exactly like I planned. ¡®I told you, I¡¯ll set the stage.¡¯ Rather than the ¡®Ruler of the Plains¡¯ causing an uproar alone, it was better for the ¡®Courageous Lion King¡¯ to join the fray. The two of them probably had an agreement to act against me right now. The berserk Taechun made a strange growling noise from his throat. ¡°I¡¯ll¡­ kill¡­ you¡­!¡± Behind him, chimera monsters were baring their fangs like they wanted to charge at us right away. Orcanthrope LVL 32 They were fusions of Orcs and Lycanthropes. Basically, chimeras. There were six of them. ¡®They sure made a lot of them.¡¯ They probably made as many as their Guardian abilities or the System-prescribed limits allowed. ¡®It must have cost an enormous amount to make that many.¡¯ Overall, the monsters looked similar to Lycanthropes, but they had misshapen green skin instead of wolf fur. They were also using weapons like clubs or spears, like Orcs. ¡®They¡¯re fundamentally stronger than Lycanthropes.¡¯ They had no weakness of being enfeebled by water. They were also physically strong and belonged to a race categorized as Orc level or higher. Naturally, modern weapons wouldn¡¯t work against them. Yeonseo drew her sword. ¡°Boss. This¡­ looks a bit dangerous. They¡¯re all level 32, and the energy they¡¯re giving off is no joke. And what¡¯s with Kim Taechun? He¡¯s acting like he¡¯s gone mad all of a sudden.¡± Even without my orders, my party members fell into position on their own accord. To my amusement, Sunghyun and Sung-gu were standing with their backs to each other, taking the optimal position to synergize. In order to protect the two magicians, Sunhwa was holding a large shield next to them, and Yoohyun stood next to me, readying his mana. ¡°Hyungnim,¡± he said to me. ¡°How come they¡¯re not attacking Taechun?¡± ¡°Because Taechun is no different from a monster right now.¡± To be more precise, the monsters recognized him as a monster. The Guardians surely had a hand in it. ¡°Listen up. Those guys are faster than Lycanthropes.¡± My words implied that no one other than me or Yeonseo could overpower the Orcanthropes. ¡°Their characteristics have changed a lot, so I don¡¯t think the weakness of Lycanthropes will apply, and it¡¯s also impossible to fight them like when we fought the Great Orc Warrior.¡± In other words¡ª ¡°If we fight them head-on, we¡¯ll take significant damage.¡± If we were unlucky, someone could even die. ¡°Fuck. Should I just burn them to a crisp then? Want me to show you the Jayangdong Firemaster?¡± He wasn¡¯t being serious. Sung-gu knew that throwing out a big attack would pull the aggro to him. The moment that happened, there was a 99% chance the magician class Sung-gu would die. ¡®Mettle probably won¡¯t work right now.¡¯ I said one more thing to my party members. ¡°For now, stay put while drawing as little aggro as possible. The police and other Players will come to support us.¡± If my prediction was correct, the people upstairs should already have seen this coming, and someone would eventually come down. That ¡®someone¡¯ would very likely be the Taeguk Shield guild members. Taeguk Shield coming down didn¡¯t necessarily mean that a new path opened up for me. It simply meant that the police and reporters would take action as well. Sungshin might only be a corporation, but I was sure the government would act. Even if they didn¡¯t bring fighter jets and tanks, they would at least send special forces armed with automatic weapons, and quickly. Naturally, reporters would also rush over to provide coverage. ¡®To make a flashy debut, Taeguk Shield will intentionally take their time coming down.¡¯ But the Ruler of the Plains also wanted to drag things out, because they wanted to see me shrivel in fear. So in essence, the two parties had the same intent. ¡®In that case, the picture is clear.¡¯ The Orcanthropes weren¡¯t attacking us right away. They were simply giving off a threatening aura. The Courageous Lion King, who was getting a share of the action instigated by the Ruler of the Plains, was also waiting. ¡°They won¡¯t attack us right away. Stay on the ready. In a little while, they¡¯ll fight with the police. The government might even send special forces here.¡± The special forces would definitely start attacking the monsters, and there was a very high chance they¡¯d act overbearing with us, like Sungshin had done upstairs. Why? Because they had to dampen our spirits. ¡°There¡¯s a high chance they¡¯ll act overbearing with us, but don¡¯t respond and just stay put. We won¡¯t be killing the mobs this time.¡± I had already leveled a veiled declaration of war against Sungshin. Not only did I basically threaten the youngest grandson of Sungshin¡¯s president, but I also confidently declared that I would raise my value with my own two hands. In order to control me and the other Players, Sungshin would want to show their strength by moving government forces and saving our lives to get us indebted to them. Yeonseo asked, ¡°Boss Hyukjin, what do we need to do?¡± ¡°Make sure the aggro doesn¡¯t go to the civilians. Taeguk Shield will hunt the monsters.¡± ¡°Will Taeguk Shield really go in and hunt them?¡± ¡°I have to make them.¡± ¡°That won¡¯t boost the casualties, will it?¡± ¡°Trust me. Today, those guys will be hunted without any losses on our side.¡± Was I just imagining it, or did Yeonseo¡¯s cheeks redden a little? ¡°O-Okay. I will trust you.¡± For some reason, she seemed to be awfully polite all of a sudden. Just then, I heard another growl. Kim Taechun was exuding an aura no inferior to the growling Orcanthropes. And then came the loud sounds of sirens. ¡°Huh? Like Boss said, the police really are coming.¡± Be it police or special forces, it was useless. ¡®They can¡¯t be killed with modern weapons.¡¯ There was just no way. From Orcs onwards, modern weapons were useless. [The ¡®Nameless Observer¡¯ is observing you.] [The ¡®Whispering Devil¡¯ is delighted by your scheme.] [The ¡®Merchant of Venice¡¯ has pinpointed exactly what your intent is.] The incomprehensible ¡®Whispering Devil¡¯ and extremely quick-witted ¡®Merchant of Venice¡¯ seemed to know what kind of situation this was. Right now, the stage was set and the action was waiting for the right moment to begin. The two Guardians were greatly enjoying the show I had crafted with the Guardians¡¯ dispositions, Kim Taechun¡¯s personality, and all the other elements in mind. ¡°This is the police!¡± Police cars pulled up, and the sound of helicopter blades came from above. The police and special forces streamed out of their cars. As if to show off their strength, they spoke to us in a commanding tone. ¡°We will kill the monsters!¡± In the meantime, the Taeguk Shield guild members also came down. Their timing was absolutely impeccable, like they had measured it with a ruler. To start, I gave a warning. ¡°I am a Player with a special class. It¡¯s dangerous here. Modern weap¡ª¡± I wasn¡¯t able to continue. A policeman wearing a black special forces uniform gestured me into silence. ¡°We will handle it. Civilians, for your own safety, please get far away.¡± ¡®Get far away¡¯ was the nice version of what was really ¡®fuck off¡¯. That was the true message written in every part of his expression and tone. They seemed to have a lot of faith in their abilities. ¡®Maybe¡­ I stopped too many dungeon breaks.¡¯ Actually, Orcs should have already appeared in the real world. They should have caused a lot of damage. But because I prevented that from happening, these guys had no clue about the ¡®shields¡¯ monsters of a certain level possessed. A person who looked like a commanding officer said sternly, ¡°If you do not cooperate, we will use force to temporarily detain you.¡± They looked ready to use their guns if we didn¡¯t comply. I raised both hands behind my head and gave them one last piece of advice. This was all I could do. ¡°Your weapons won¡¯t work against them. You need the strength of Players.¡± ¡°We will be the judge of that. Back off.¡± ¡°They have a shield that modern weapons don¡¯t work against.¡± ¡°I said to back off.¡± I had given as much warning as I could. I took a few steps backwards. Seemingly pleased by my submissive attitude, the man spoke into his radio. ¨CFire on my signal. Reporters also rushed in to broadcast the situation. With them, every piece was present. The Courageous Lion King and Ruler of the Plains, working together. The Brown Bear Kim Taechun being controlled by them. Taeguk Shield, who wanted to become heroes. The police, who had most likely received commands from Sungshin¡¯s upper management. And finally, the reporters who were here to show the world what was happening. The picture I¡¯d told Senia about when we whispered earlier was fitting into place exactly as I¡¯d envisioned it. Taeguk Shield would come under my command. And through it, I would obtain every benefit there was to obtain. After a few more steps, that was well within the realm of possibility. Without standing in the fore, I would be able to secure a share of Sungshin¡¯s mighty support. ¡®Taeguk Shield. You want to have a flashy debut, right?¡¯ Song Kiyeol¡¯s future path would change depending on how he developed Taeguk Shield. It would determine whether he would inherit Sungshin or not. After all, Taeguk Shield was essentially hand in hand with the new tech business. ¡®But he can¡¯t do it alone.¡¯ The guildmaster of Taeguk Shield, Song Kiyeol, didn¡¯t realize that modern weapons wouldn¡¯t work on the Orcanthropes. From the very start, his plan to suppress the monsters with modern weapons and then have the guild make a flashy debut in front of the reporters was flawed. ¡®But¡ª¡¯ It was still possible if I helped, using a Playing method that was mine alone. At least in this moment, right now, only I could pull it off. The Ruler of the Plains was incensed by the fact I wasn¡¯t showing a hint of fear, even after so much intimidation. [The ¡®Ruler of the Plains¡¯ withdraws the final chance they gave you.] Final chance? Apparently, they¡¯d wanted to see me sniveling and begging for mercy. They still thought this stage was under their control. [The ¡®Ruler of the Plains¡¯ bears very intense hostility towards you.] If I could have sent a message, I would have told them that I felt exactly the same way, and that we would see who would come out on top. With that notice, the chimera monsters, the Orcanthropes, began to move. ¡®It¡­ has begun.¡¯ Chapter 88 Chapter 88: Heroic Debut (2) Taeguk Shield¡¯s plan went awry as soon as they counted on the policemen being able to suppress the monsters. There would be no beautiful conclusion like Taeguk Shield¡¯s guild members going in to mop up the monsters after they were first quelled with modern weapons. ¡°AHHHH!¡± One of the policemen firing his pistol behind the barrier of his police car door was ripped apart lengthwise. Shaaa! Blood fountained out, turning the police car that was protecting the man just moments ago bright red, almost like someone had thrown several cans of red paint onto the vehicle. There was a moment of stunned silence. ¡°¡­¡± The Orcanthropes growling as they exhaled hot breaths were perfectly at ease. It seemed they had come to the conclusion that they were the strongest beings here. They prowled with leisure, filling their prey with fear, savoring the thrill. Kim Taechun simply huffed and puffed in place, probably on orders from the Courageous Lion King. Even without moving, he cut quite an intimidating picture. He was definitely not in his right mind. ¡®I warned you.¡¯ I warned them, but they didn¡¯t listen. A life was lost right in front of me. Could I have saved that policeman if I had moved more proactively? The answer was ¡®no¡¯. ¡®I would have been arrested before I could save him.¡¯ The agitated policemen might have even fired at me with their guns. They wouldn¡¯t listen to me anyway. Humans would only believe what they saw and heard with their own eyes and ears. Whap whap whap whap whap! A large shadow¡ªa helicopter¡ªpassed over my head. I saw a sniper aiming at the monsters in the helicopter. We were in the heart of downtown Seoul, and there were a lot of people nearby. They weren¡¯t able to use heavy weapons capable of intense firepower, so sniping was the best option. ¡®Like I said, it¡¯s no use.¡¯ Even if they came with machine guns instead of sniper rifles, they wouldn¡¯t be able to do a thing to monsters above Orc level. The head honcho of Taeguk Shield, Song Kiyeol, was also unable to stay completely calm right now. State: Slightly Flustered / Cautious/ Vigilant ¡®So sorry you couldn¡¯t make a cool entrance and finish off the mobs,¡¯ I thought to myself. Turning to my party members, I said, ¡°Nobody move.¡± The policemen had completely pulled the aggro. The crack of bullets being fired was still ringing out, but they should know by now that modern weapons were ineffective. It wasn¡¯t even that they were doing chip damage, but that their bullets were being nullified altogether. ¡°If anyone does end up drawing aggro, Sunhwa, you go to the front and defend. Shout loudly to get my attention.¡± There was no such thing as 100% perfect. The policemen armed with personal weapons were currently drawing all the aggro, but it could bounce to the Players at any moment. I told them what to do if that happened. Sunhwa tilted her head. ¡°I should shout?¡± That would draw even more aggro, and potentially capture the attention of other monsters. Her worries weren¡¯t unfounded. It was reasonable that she would question it. ¡°Yeah. Don¡¯t worry and shout loud enough to let me know.¡± ¡°Got it.¡± The perceptive Sunhwa immediately bobbed her head, and I began to slowly walk forward. Someone yelled at me. ¡°Hey! I told you not to move!¡± It was the man who looked like the commander here, the same one who had told us to stay put earlier. He didn¡¯t have a name badge on, but I could see what his name was. Name: Park Jiseok ¡°Mr. Park Jiseok. If this continues, it will be a slaughter. I have business with the guildmaster of Taeguk Shield, Song Kiyeol, over there.¡± ¡°¡­¡± I intentionally mentioned Song Kiyeol. Even if the commander didn¡¯t know ¡®Kim Hyukjin¡¯, he certainly knew ¡®Song Kiyeol¡¯, the person who should have originally been this stage¡¯s main character. Song Kiyeol, a 3rd generation chaebol scion and the guildmaster of Taeguk Shield. He was probably wracking his brains to figure out how to resolve this situation, and it went without being said that he must have seen me walking his way. A message came over the comm. ¨CGuildmaster Song Kiyeol says he would like a brief meeting. I shrugged, then walked slowly towards Song Kiyeol, taking the utmost care not to draw any aggro. ¡®That was the highest level of respect on comm just now.¡¯ Song Kiyeol was just the guildmaster of ¡®Taeguk Shield¡¯, a guild that wasn¡¯t even that famous yet. Right now, he was merely a 3rd generation chaebol. And yet, the policeman stepped aside simply because Song Kiyeol wanted to see me. ¡®Sungshin really is powerful.¡¯ Well, it was all the same to me. Actually, the more powerful Sungshin was, the better it was for me, since I would be able to get that much more. While I was inching forward, the second victim occurred. A ripped off arm arced through the air, rotating before landing onto the ground with a wet thud. Red blood puddled around it. ¨CReinforcements! Requesting reinforcements! ¨CWe have two casualties! The situation is critical! I also heard the policemen urgently requesting reinforcements. And then, I finally made it to Song Kiyeol. He hadn¡¯t managed to take a position among the ¡®8 Heroes¡¯, but he was still one of the Players who represented Korea, not by virtue of his personal power or skill, but by his leadership of Korea¡¯s strongest guild, ¡®Taeguk Shield¡¯. He was also known as being relatively righteous for a 3rd generation chaebol heir. ¡°Many people are watching, so it looks like you can¡¯t stay out of it, Guildmaster Song Kiyeol.¡± All of the reporters had their cameras pointed at this scene. The stage had been set so that Taeguk Shield could no longer keep out of it, no matter how pyrrhic the battle would be. Of course, that stage had been set by me. ¡°It seems you have something to say to me,¡± Song Kiyeol said. ¡°I gave a warning in advance. I said that modern weapons won¡¯t work on those monsters. The policemen didn¡¯t listen or believe me. They rushed in for the sake of someone¡¯s glorious entrance.¡± ¡°Are you picking a fight with me?¡± ¡°I am not, nor do I have any reason to do so.¡± It wasn¡¯t my intent to make Song Kiyoung falter. I would turn him into the hero of this place. For all I cared, he could wear the hero cape. I would secure the actual profit. ¡°GAAAHHH!¡± Another person screamed. AWOOOOO¨C! One of the Orcanthropes howled, which got the rest of the Orc-Lycanthrope hybrids sitting on their haunches to howl at the sky. Awooooooo¨C! Awooooooo¨C! Their howl seemed to sweep through the city like an emergency siren, a funeral dirge for the bloodied humans collapsed all over the place. The sound was extremely grating on the ears. ¡°The longer this goes on, the more casualties there will be. There¡¯s no knowing where the aggro will go next.¡± The police were still attacking, and the special forces were still firing, but soon, they too would hesitate. As soon as that happened, there was no knowing who those monsters would attack next. They might even run out and attack the countless civilians in the vicinity. ¡®I won¡¯t let that happen.¡¯ Once I secured the maximum profit for myself, I would prevent as many deaths as possible. That was my Playing method. [The ¡®Whispering Devil¡¯ is watching gleefully.] [The ¡®Nameless Observer¡¯ is observing.] [The ¡®Lady of the Scales¡¯ is disappointed in you.] Even if the Lady of the Scales was disappointed in me, it wasn¡¯t the time for me to jump in. If I were to run into that battlefield where it was hailing bullets, my life would be the first to go. Bullets didn¡¯t have eyes to distinguish between friend and foe. ¡°I will get to the point. I intend on making Guildmaster Song Kiyeol into a hero.¡± ¡°Me?¡± ¡°If you minimize the losses here and successfully kill those monsters, you can become a hero. Along with Taeguk Shield.¡± That was your guys¡¯ original plan, wasn¡¯t it? That was the debut Taeguk Shield wanted. Although I didn¡¯t say it out loud, Song Kiyeol understood my words. ¡°However, all items and byproducts that come from the hunt will go to me and my party members.¡± ¡°¡­¡± ¡°Oh, right. Starting now, I will record this conversation. I need a little assurance as well.¡± I could feel Song Kiyeol¡¯s psychological state. State: Doubt / Distrust / Suspicion Well, that was only natural. He didn¡¯t know much about me. ¡°Using my special ability, I can put the monsters into a groggy state, a condition where a severe impact makes them stagger around, unable to steady themselves. It will last about five minutes. That should be more than enough time for you to hunt them with us.¡± I added one more thing. ¡°If you¡¯re unable to kill them even while they¡¯re groggy¡­ It just means that Taeguk Shield¡¯s abilities are too weak. Their weak points are the back of the neck, heart, forehead, temples. They have relatively weak defense at every spot that can be considered a weak point.¡± ¡°You speak almost as if you have faced them yourself.¡± ¡°I¡¯m well-informed about those monsters.¡± I shrugged. Song Kiyeol stared at me. [Eye of Perception detects a foreign energy.] [Eye of Perception detects the use of the innate ability ¡®Eye of Truth¡¯.] Was this kind of talent hereditary? President Song Kiyoung awakened an innate ability at only level 10, and his grandson, Song Kiyeol, already had an innate ability too. Seeing as how both Yoohyun and Yeonseo also had them, the ¡®innate ability awakening period for geniuses¡¯ must be much sooner than the world thought. [The grade of the innate ability Eye of Perception is higher than the grade of Eye of Truth.] [Eye of Perception completely negates the ability Eye of Truth.] I grinned, smiling widely on purpose. ¡°I distinctly recall saying that I had a special power.¡± I lowered my voice a little, wanting to surprise him a little more. ¡°Something like Eye of Truth is incapable of seeing through me.¡± ¡°¡­¡± State: Shock / Flustered / Doubt Eye of Perception was laying his state bare before me, but the Guildmaster¡¯s expression was an unperturbed poker face. He was really damn good at keeping his expressions off his face. ¡°You can say this to the reporters: Watch Taeguk Shield¡¯s hunt.¡± Monsters that were invulnerable to modern weapons, and the heroes who would kill them. The guild members of Taeguk Shield would become those heroes. ¡°We will work to keep the aggro from going to the civilians.¡± ¡°Are you sure they will suffer the groggy state?¡± ¡°Even if you don¡¯t believe me, do you have any other option?¡± Dragging this out any further was meaningless. There were definitely times when a leader had to make a quick decision. Right now was one of those times. ¡°Also, I propose $100k as compensation.¡± $100k. It was neither too small nor too large an amount to pay to achieve what Taeguk Shield wanted. In my opinion, it was the perfect amount. ¡°¡­You¡¯re very confident. You seem to be sure that I will accept your proposal.¡± ¡°I¡¯m sure of it, yes.¡± He had no choice but to accept. We could run away here, and that would be that. Who would throw sticks and stones at us for running so we could live? But Taeguk Shield was different. They had the name of ¡®Sungshin¡¯ attached to them and were Korea¡¯s largest guild. If they fled here, they would suffer an irrecoverable blow. ¡®Of course he will accept.¡¯ My proposal wasn¡¯t terrible for Taeguk Shield. In the end, Song Kiyeol made his decision. ¡°How will you turn us into¡­¡± He stopped mid-sentence. ¡°No. There are many things I am curious about, but I will trouble you to answer my questions later.¡± I knew there were many unresolved doubts in his head. However, the situation was too urgent. Five people had already died. Song Kiyeol was well aware that it wasn¡¯t the time to be chatting around like this. ¡°I will answer your questions one by one later.¡± From talking to Song Kiyeol, I became sure of it. I might not be able to control President Song Kiyoung, but I could certainly keep his grandson Song Kiyeol in the palm of my hand. Everything was going as I predicted. ¡®If my prediction and scenario are correct, then the next place we¡¯ll meet will be the police station, huh?¡¯ The scenario was steadily progressing the way I had drafted it. I would be able to bring Taeguk Shield under me like I intended. I added one more thing. ¡°Oh, right. You know that I am not alone, yes?¡± ¡°What do you mean?¡± ¡°It will be $100k per person. Since we will move as a party.¡± ¡°¡­¡± ¡°If you don¡¯t like that, then it can¡¯t be helped.¡± Song Kiyeol would definitely accept. To him, a few hundred thousand dollars wasn¡¯t all that important right now, something I knew well. I counted down in my heart. ¡®Three. Two. One.¡¯ Sure enough¡ª ¡°Fine. You¡­ must put them in a groggy state, without fail.¡± He didn¡¯t look very happy. ¡°If you fail to do so, I will take it as you deceiving and insulting me.¡± He was biting his lip a little, but to be honest, it was more cute than threatening, kind of like an elementary school kid being surly with an adult. ¡°That¡¯s fine.¡± I got what I wanted, so now, it was time to do what he wanted. ¡®Normally, they wouldn¡¯t be capable of killing Orcanthropes.¡¯ If they had clashed straight-on with this many Orcanthropes, I would have decided without hesitation to flee. That was the way to ensure that as many of my party members would survive as possible. But it was different now. Now, I had a way forward. ¡®Now then. Shall we hunt?¡¯ Chapter 89 Chapter 89: Heroic Debut (3) I temporarily made a party with the Taeguk Shield guild members. Everything was ready. With our strength, killing those Orcanthropes without taking any losses was nearly impossible. On top of that, there was Kim Taechun. We couldn¡¯t just shoot him to death, since he was still a human. Though it was unclear why he was just standing there without attacking anyone, he would definitely start moving once we did. If we just fought him straight-on, we would lose more than we would gain. ¡®However¡ª¡¯ The current me was different. I took out an item. [High Orc¡¯s Spell Scroll] The High Orc reigns as the upper-ranking predator of the Orc race. This scroll is imbued with the abilities of a High Orc with a special bloodline that sets it apart even from other High Orcs. This item will have an outstanding effect on Orcs, and one of four possible abilities can be used. Remaining uses: 1 Affects: Orcs Spell of Super Strength Spell of Illusion Spell of Infatuation Spell of Submission I could pick one of four spells to use. The High Orc¡¯s Spell Scroll was a gift the ¡®Whispering Devil¡¯ secretly gave me, having already predicted this situation. ¡®From this alone¡­ you can tell that the Whispering Devil is a Guardian with greater power and ability than the Ruler of the Plains.¡¯ A Guardian who was almost always in the five limited slots for sending notices, and the item he sent me. This was the item I had relied on to draw out the current situation. What caught my eye was the ¡®Spell of Submission¡¯. [Spell of Submission] Using the powerful authority of the High Orc, invokes the power of forced submission on all Orcs lower in rank than the High Orc. It was time to finish up the picture I had drawn based on this item. [Using the High Orc¡¯s Spell Scroll.] [Use the Spell of Submission?] I lifted the scroll into the air, knowing that at least the Guardians would be watching me. Then, I intentionally uttered the incantation in a very quiet voice that was still loud enough to be streamed to the Guardians. ¡°Spell of Submission.¡± A powerful gravitational wave pulsed out. It wasn¡¯t visible to the eye, but my Observer¡¯s Eye showed me exactly how this spell unfurled. Countless invisible ¡®vertical lines¡¯ slammed down on the bodies of the Orcanthropes. Thud! One of the Orcanthropes fell to its knees, whimpering like an already defeated puppy. ¡®Some of them are resisting it.¡¯ Some were resisting the Spell of Submission with growls, most likely because they weren¡¯t completely Orcs, but Orc-Lycanthrope hybrids. ¡®But even so¡­¡¯ I was sure of it. ¡®None of them can escape the High Orc spell¡¯s influence.¡¯ At most, they could only resist it, and only for a brief moment. Maybe a Great Orc Warrior-Lycanthrope hybrid might be capable of shaking off the spell, but these were regular Orcs fused with regular Lycanthropes. These early level 30 monsters could never hope to be free of this power of ¡®forced submission¡¯. ¡®Observer¡¯s Eye¡­ can see it.¡¯ The countless vertically-descending black lines only I could see were hard to put a name on. A gravitational wave? No, it felt subtly different. ¡®Can I just see it as a wave imbued with some kind of powerful force that makes them kneel?¡¯ I wasn¡¯t able to analyze the true nature of this power. While I was contemplating, the guild members of Taeguk Shield began to take action, slashing and piercing the kneeling or collapsed Orcanthropes at random. ¡®The spell has fully taken effect.¡¯ Now, Taeguk Shield could just mop them up. I watched from the side, keeping Observer¡¯s Eye and Observer¡¯s Domain active. [The ¡®Nameless Observer¡¯ respects your stance.] [The ¡®Whispering Devil¡¯ feels a little regretful.] Apparently, this wasn¡¯t the picture the Whispering Devil had wanted. He probably wanted me to do something like personally go out and slaughter the monsters or make some kind of big scene. [EXP acquired.] [EXP acquired.] The EXP was building up without me lifting a finger. Right now, I was in the level 30 period that was called the Hell Phase, so my level didn¡¯t go up, but I was still getting pretty good EXP. In the meantime, many reporters filmed Taeguk Shield¡¯s performance. ¡®By tomorrow, Taeguk Shield will have become heroes.¡¯ Taeguk Shield, the guild that defeated the incredibly strong monsters that even the military and police couldn¡¯t subdue! Articles of that nature would plaster the front pages. ¡®As for Kim Taechun¡­¡¯ I was amazed to see that he was still not moving. Was it simply because of a quest? He wasn¡¯t an Orc, so he shouldn¡¯t be affected by the High Orc¡¯s Spell Scroll. Why was he just standing there? ¡®Wait.¡¯ It felt off. I thought back to the black lines that had appeared by the power of the High Orc¡¯s Spell Scroll. ¡®Those lines¡­¡¯ They had evaded Kim Taechun in a strange way, almost like there was a round barrier or something around his body. ¡®No, that¡¯s not it. He didn¡¯t just block them.¡¯ It was something far more intrinsic than that. He didn¡¯t just block the black lines¡ªthey weren¡¯t able to approach him altogether. They were extinguished. The scroll imbued with the High Orc¡¯s power registered on everyone here. It was just that the actual effect only triggered on Orcs. The ¡®effect¡¯ didn¡¯t show up on regular humans, but the spell did affect them. Which meant¡­ those black lines affected everyone here in the same way. ¡®But¡­¡¯ Kim Taechun was different. That power wasn¡¯t able to approach him altogether. ¡®A power higher in grade than the High Orc¡¯s power¡­¡¯ Upon closer inspection, I saw a shimmer around Kim Taechun¡¯s body, like his body was giving off some kind of heat. Something was weird about it. [Eye of Perception perceives a strange energy.] At the same time, I unknowingly groaned in pain. ¡°Gugh!¡± I clutched my right eye as it throbbed in extreme agony. There was blood on my palm and it flowed from my eye and dripped through my fingers. ¡®It can¡¯t be.¡¯ I thought I could guess what this phenomenon might be. ¡®Come to think of it¡­¡¯ I didn¡¯t hear any notices from the Courageous Lion King, who was deeply involved in the current situation. If he knew I was hatching this kind of scheme, he would have definitely sent messages like ¡®The Courageous Lion King is sneering¡¯ or ¡®The Courageous Lion King snorts at your cowardice¡¯. ¡®He¡¯s so occupied with something that he can¡¯t pay attention to me.¡¯ Then there could only be one answer. ¡®It can¡¯t be.¡¯ But that answer made no sense. We were only in the early game. That, in the early game? And from a Guardian like the Courageous Lion King, a pretty famous Guardian in his own right? ¡®Descent¡­?¡¯ Descent. In the dictionary, it meant a god coming down from the heavens to the human world. Occasionally, some Guardians would invoke a ¡®descent¡¯. It put an incredible burden on the Player¡¯s body, and there was no knowing what kind of side effects they would have afterwards. There were even cases where Players exploded, unable to bear the Guardian¡¯s authority and power. ¡®That fucking crazy courage-lover.¡¯ He was borrowing Kim Taechun¡¯s body to try and invoke the power of ¡®descent¡¯. It went without being said that the current Taechun wasn¡¯t capable of safely shouldering a descent. ¡®Though I don¡¯t know how much power he¡¯s putting into this descent¡­¡¯ I wasn¡¯t clear on what kinds of descents there were, either. Even ten years from now, not much was known about it. ¡®In any case, Kim Taechun¡¯s done for.¡¯ The Courageous Lion King might be a courage-addled addict, but he wasn¡¯t a complete idiot. I was sure he would use the perfect amount of force to have a fierce battle with me. After the fierce battle¡ªbasically, once the courage-lover was done with his tool¡ªKim Taechun would die. ¡®It might be dangerous for me, too.¡¯ The situation was urgent. This was no time for me to be watching idly from the side. [Using the special skill Flash Step.] I closed in immediately, not stopping to think about the particulars. I took up position behind Taechun, who was still defenseless. There was no time to contemplate. My eyes flitted to the back of his neck, which I grabbed in a hasty choke. I squeezed his neck with all the strength I had, crouching down. From a 3rd party¡¯s perspective, I must have looked like a cicada clinging to a tree. I didn¡¯t know how much time passed like that, maybe a few seconds. It was just that urgent. Thud! Kim Taechun¡¯s body slumped to the ground. The strange sensation surrounding him, the shimmering aura I had felt through Observer¡¯s Eye, disappeared. What would be a good way to describe it? God energy, maybe? [The ¡®Nameless Observer¡¯ continues observing.] [The ¡®True Master of the Heavenly Demonic Mountain¡¯ is impressed by your quick judgment.] [The ¡®Lady of the Scales¡¯ denounces the ¡®Courageous Lion King¡¯.] Seeing as our just Lady was publicly denouncing him, it seemed the courage-lover really was trying to invoke ¡®descent¡¯. ¡®He¡¯s well and properly nuts, trying to pull a descent on a beginner Player¡¯s body.¡¯ But if you considered it another way¡ª ¡®It also means¡­ that I¡¯ve stimulated him so intensely that he couldn¡¯t resist the overwhelming itch.¡¯ That was another possible interpretation. I had given him so much stimulus and fun that the courage-lover charged straight in, consequences be damned. So much fun that he completely flipped his lid. ¡®Nice.¡¯ Of course, this incident would become famous among the Guardians, and that would definitely work out in my favor. Having already finished off the Orcanthropes, Song Kiyeol approached me, eyeing the unconscious Kim Taechun. ¡°We¡¯re nearly finished here. Did you PVP just now?¡± ¡°Let¡¯s settle the payment next time,¡± I responded. ¡°I¡¯m a little busy right now. I will answer your questions soon.¡± That would probably happen at the place I was predicting, the police station. ¡®For now, we¡¯ll get out of here.¡¯ In order to bring the picture I¡¯d been drawing to its completion, it was best to step aside for now. Taeguk Shield would take care of the rest. ¡°We will soon meet again.¡± I wasn¡¯t sure how soon, but if my guess was correct, it would be very soon. However, I continued talking like I didn¡¯t know. ¡°I think it would be best for me to step aside so you can sort things out over here.¡± As if he had wanted that in the first place, Song Kiyeol nodded immediately. ¡°Understood. I will get in contact with you.¡± * * * I quickly left the place that had come within an inch of becoming the site of a Guardian descent. No matter how I thought about it, the Courageous Lion King was seriously insane, considering he tried to use a descent that even high-level Players had a hard time handling. ¡°Let¡¯s call it quits for the day,¡± I told my party members. This was enough for today¡¯s Playing. Too much had happened in one go. I was also very tired from my continuous use of Eye of Perception and Observer¡¯s Eye. Both my ability to concentrate and my stamina were exhausted. ¡°Oppa¡­ are you alright?¡± ¡°Boss Hyukjin! Is your eye alright? Who did that to you?!¡± ¡°Hyungnim!¡± ¡°Hyung¡­ are you alright?¡± ¡°Goddammit. Just tell me who it was, and I¡¯ll burn ¡®em down.¡± I calmed down my overreacting party members. An injury of this level would go away with a cure potion. ¡°Get some rest. I¡¯ll contact you soon, so see you then.¡± Everyone seemed tired. Yeonseo said, ¡°There¡¯s a lot I want to ask our Boss Hyukjin¡­¡± She still looked worried. ¡°But I¡¯ll ask you later. Boss Hyukjin, take care of yourself. Get well soon. When your eye¡¯s better, let¡¯s go get a meal together.¡± Her use of the possessive when referring to me slightly bothered me somehow, but I didn¡¯t comment on it and watched as she waved goodbye. Yoohyun and Sung-gu also left, leaving just me, Sunhwa, and Sunghyun. ¡°Sunhwa and I are gonna go by taxi.¡± ¡°Alright, hyung. My house happens to be in the same direction.¡± Sunhwa was so tired that she was dozing off on her feet. Her sense of tension had left her, leaving her deflated. This little sister of mine had a real talent for sleeping on her feet. My bleeding eye was throbbing, but it didn¡¯t bother me too much. I glanced at Sunghyun. ¡®Mm.¡¯ He certainly had something to say to me. He was probably still debating whether he should say it or not. I decided to wait for him, since it wasn¡¯t a pressing issue. The taxi came. The moment Sunhwa and I were about to get in, Sunghyun spoke up. ¡°Hyung. I have something to tell you.¡± After apologizing to the taxi driver, I closed the car door and turned around to face Sunghyun. ¡°I was waiting.¡± ¡°¡­What?¡± In the beginning, when we came down to the 1st floor and left the building and I was walking slowly, I said, ¡°I¡¯m waiting for something.¡± What I had been waiting for wasn¡¯t the Orcanthropes or my plan involving Taeguk Shield. I had been waiting for Jo Sunghyun to speak up. ¡°¡­¡± He blinked, staring at me. Then, he said, ¡°So you were saying that about me.¡± ¡°Yeah. That¡¯s right.¡± ¡°If I am not mistaken, it seems you already know what I am about to say.¡± Of course I did. I just didn¡¯t know if he was going to bring it up today, or later. I gave him a light nod, looking at him. Judging from his inability to hide his shocked expression, he seemed pretty darn surprised. ¡°Want me to guess what you¡¯re going to say?¡± You¡¯re ten years too young to get the jump on me, kid. Chapter 90 Chapter 90 ¡°I was waiting.¡± When he heard those words, Sunghyun felt his heart drop. ¡°Want me to guess what you¡¯re going to say?¡± He wasn¡¯t guilty of anything, but it felt like he was, like he did something wrong to his lifelong savior. Like¡­ he was too late. ¡°No, I will say it. I apologize for being late.¡± Hyukjin shrugged and smiled, then patted Sunghyun on the shoulder. ¡°Not at all.¡± Hyukjin didn¡¯t think Sunghyun was late at all. In fact, he thought it was rather fast. He had always known what Sunghyun¡¯s disposition and personality were like. The lad didn¡¯t need to feel like he did something wrong or feel guilty just because he didn¡¯t say it right away. ¡°It¡¯s not like you have an obligation to tell me.¡± Hyukjin fully discerned Sunghyun¡¯s feelings, almost like a mind reader. ¡°You have no obligation to tell me what you got there. If you were to feel any obligation, it would be because I¡¯m your benefactor.¡± Hyukjin had given him the incredible artifact that was the ¡®Venti Body Tome¡¯ and even lent him the ¡®Wind Shoes +1¡¯. He protected him from the ¡®Bigmouth Lizard¡¯ and the Ghost¡¯s attack. To Jo Sunghyun, Hyukjin was most definitely his benefactor. ¡°But it¡¯s okay. You can repay the debt you owe me at your own discretion. You¡¯re not obligated to share and tell me everything.¡± ¡°¡­¡± ¡°It¡¯s good to differentiate the cards in your hand from favors you owe. Because it¡¯s not like you¡¯re repaying a favor by revealing every card in your hand.¡± Sunghyun nodded. ¡°¡­Okay. Thank you for the lesson.¡± In his mind, he was wondering, ¡®Just how old is this hyung?¡¯ He thought Hyukjin was 20, but he seemed at least ten years older in mental maturity. Sunghyun didn¡¯t think there were many proper adults out there in the world, but he got the feeling that he was facing a ¡®real adult¡¯ when talking to Kim Hyukjin. * * * ¡°I want to tell you. I think that will make me feel most at ease.¡± I also nodded. There was no need to refuse when Sunghyun wanted to say it. ¡°As you know, when I destroyed the Clear Crystal, it felt like that crystal was being absorbed into my body.¡± ¡°I know.¡± I¡¯d seen it myself, which was why I was curious about it. ¡°There was a notice saying the Clear Crystal¡¯s energy melted into my life, and if I satisfied a certain condition, I could activate the ¡®Wind Temple¡¯.¡± ¡°Wind Temple?¡± I already knew where the ¡®Wind Temple¡¯ would activate¡ªin the ¡®Hill of Wind¡¯ dungeon that would spawn on Geoje Island in Gyeongnam, quite a distance away from Seoul. Only, I didn¡¯t know the particulars about the dungeon. ¡®It was known as a dungeon that the Typhoon Jo Sunghyun cleared on his own¡­¡¯ Was that ¡®Wind Temple¡¯ the same as the ¡®Wind Temple¡¯ being discussed now? I couldn¡¯t be sure, and that was because Sunghyun and I cleared the ¡®Tomb of the Great Orc Warrior¡¯, a place that hadn¡¯t existed in the past. The Clear Crystal of that flash gate had given Sunghyun this opportunity. ¡®When did the past Sunghyun get this opportunity?¡¯ Back then, the Herdsman of Las Vegas wouldn¡¯t have proposed a gamble, and there hadn¡¯t been a ¡®Bluelight Candle¡¯ then, either. The process was a little different, so it might have been that Sunghyun was originally supposed to have gotten this ¡®opportunity¡¯ later. I didn¡¯t know when the past Sunghyun got this opportunity, but the general flow of events seemed to be going in a similar direction as the past. It was just that the timing was different. Sunghyun continued. ¡°I don¡¯t know any details yet either.¡± I glanced sideways at Senia. It looked like she was still streaming. ¡®Should I throw out some bait?¡¯ Appealing hints that could put Guardians on pins and needles were called ¡®bait¡¯, aka ¡®foreshadowing¡¯. Some Players and Streamers were skilled at using such bait to fire up the Guardians. ¡®Even if you only make good on seven out of ten baits thrown, it¡¯ll be a jackpot.¡¯ That was a publicly known fact. If none of your baits became relevant, you would be cussed out, but there was no need to make good on every single one you threw. The Guardians would go crazy even if only seven out of ten hit the mark. ¡°By any chance, if you get a condition for a dungeon you have to clear alone¡­ Let me know. I think I¡¯ll be able to give you some advice.¡± Sunghyun¡¯s eyes quivered. State: Very Shocked My Eye of Perception, a skill capable of seeing various representative emotions, showed that Sunghyun was only feeling ¡®Very Shocked¡¯ right now. It meant he was just that surprised. ¡°Hyung.¡± ¡°What?¡± Sunghyun pulled up his sleeves and showed me his arms. ¡°I have goosebumps right now.¡± ¡°How come?¡± ¡°I heard a notice just now. A notice saying that I¡¯ve just satisfied one of the Clear Crystal¡¯s conditions.¡± Even I was flabbergasted. ¡®Out of nowhere?¡¯ Just what kind of condition did he satisfy? ¡°Apparently, this energy is embedded and fused into my body. So it¡¯s linked to my cognitive system.¡± So basically¡ª ¡°As soon as I thought of the keywords ¡®dungeon you have to clear alone¡¯¡­ the condition was satisfied. Those keywords were the condition, hyung.¡± ¡°¡­Is that so?¡± I acted unperturbed, but I was just as shocked. I just casually said a sentence, and that in itself became a hint. Was it really okay for something like that to happen? ¡°You only said one thing¡­ How is this possible?¡± ¡°¡­¡± That was exactly what I wanted to know. I was surprised, too, but I kept feigning calmness. ¡°It must be because you have a sovereign class, hyung.¡± No, I didn¡¯t think my class had much to do with this. Sunghyun looked very excited, which was unusual for the usually quiet boy. He was talking faster. ¡°New information was unlocked. It looks like an item called ¡®Fox Tail¡¯ is the key.¡± ¡°¡­¡± Fox Tail. It was an item I had already possessed before. Back in the dungeon the Giant of the Sunset crafted with all his power to raise his all-time favorite Player Choi Sung-gu, I used the Fox Tail in the Valley of Fire. ¡®Fox Tail was the clear item?¡¯ From that, I could infer something significant. ¡®When the serial murders happened near Mt. Inwang in the past¡­¡¯ In the past, the government covered up those grotesque murders, and in the end, the man arrested as the suspect for the serial murders even committed suicide. This time, I successfully hunted the ¡®Six-Tailed Fox¡¯, which prevented the serial murders from ever happening. This time, I hunted it. But what about in the past? ¡®I think¡­ Sunghyun must have killed it.¡¯ When that occurred to me, it felt like the somewhat hazy pieces of the past became more clear. ¡®The past Sunghyun didn¡¯t publicize the unlock conditions for the Wind Temple.¡¯ It was a dungeon he cleared alone, so there hadn¡¯t been much reason for him to reveal the unlock conditions. However, Jo Sunghyun valued ¡®impartiality¡¯ and ¡®justice¡¯. When it came to information that he didn¡¯t necessarily have to publicize, but could, he would choose nine times out of ten to publicize it on the off chance it might help others even a little bit. ¡®The Fox Tail he got back then, and the Six-Tailed Fox that dropped it.¡¯ He wasn¡¯t able to reveal his acquisition of the Fox Tail from the Six-Tailed Fox¡­ because the government had covered up the very existence of the ¡®Six-Tailed Fox¡¯. It was possible that the Jo Sunghyun of that time realized that the true culprit of the serial murders going on at the time was the Six-Tailed Fox. ¡®If he did¡­ he must have felt an incredible amount of guilt.¡¯ With his personality, he must have felt stuck between a rock and a hard place, with a heavy sense of guilt weighing down on him. He must have really wanted to reveal the truth about the wrongly accused man¡¯s unfair death. No wonder he hardly ever mentioned the ¡®Wind Temple¡¯. ¡®If I hadn¡¯t regressed and more time passed¡­¡¯ If the Typhoon grew stronger, and his desire to reveal the truth grew, would he have exposed the truth? Would he have told the world that the government and police back then fabricated the incident and unfairly robbed a person of his precious life? ¡®He might have, yes.¡¯ I didn¡¯t know, but from what I had seen of Jo Sunghyun, I thought it was very possible. But there was a Korean saying like this: You can sound water ten fathoms deep, but the human heart is unfathomable. ¡®It didn¡¯t happen in this life, and it won¡¯t happen in the future, either.¡¯ In this timeline, Sunghyun would be able to Play with a slightly less burdened heart. He had no idea, but I had inadvertently freed him of one of his lifelong sources of guilt. I smiled broadly. ¡®Is it¡­ too grandiose to say that I¡¯m correcting the past?¡¯ It might be. I was just lucky. ¡°Fox Tail is dropped by a spirit-type monster called Six-Tailed Fox. Its level is in the late 20s.¡± It wasn¡¯t a commonly appearing monster at this point in time. But later, the day would come when he would find a Six-Tailed Fox. It wouldn¡¯t be that hard. ¡°As long as you watch out for its Doppelganger technique and talent in running away, it shouldn¡¯t be all that difficult to hunt.¡± ¡°Have you already killed one before?¡± ¡°Yeah. Near Mt. Inwang.¡± Come to think of it, I also inadvertently saved Yeonseo¡¯s mom at that time. ¡®I saved Yeonseo¡¯s mom and also helped Sunghyun.¡¯ It felt like my return to the past was having a good influence on the people around me. ¡°But it probably won¡¯t appear near Mt. Inwang again.¡± ¡°Why not?¡± ¡°It¡¯s an extremely shrewd monster, so it won¡¯t appear where another of its kind showed up before, much less a place where one was killed.¡± ¡°¡­Thank you for the information.¡± After thanking me, Sunghyun made up his mind. ¡°I want to become a person like you who can share that kind of information to others.¡± ¡°¡­That so?¡± That reminded me¡ªthe ¡®Typhoon Jo Sunghyun¡¯ and the ¡®Great Explorer Jackson¡¯ were known to be pretty close friends. ¡°I¡¯ve really felt and learned a lot from you.¡± It was a little embarrassing, but I simply nodded, knowing that his feelings were sincere. ¡°I will work hard to become someone like you, hyung.¡± Inside the taxi, Sunhwa went from dozing on her feet to dozing in the car. She was snoozing with her head on my shoulder, and I was amazed she could sleep so deeply even inside a lurching car. She was so fully out of it that she probably wouldn¡¯t even notice if someone carried her off. ¡®It does feel like the pieces of the past are a bit weird.¡¯ The covering up of the Mt. Inwang serial murders, the existence of Sungshin¡¯s Team Leader Kim Kangchul, and Jo Sunghyun, who hadn¡¯t been able to tell the truth. ¡®Something off.¡¯ It was just my feeling. I couldn¡¯t put a finger on what exactly it was, but it felt like there was a big mistake in my understanding of something in the past. ¡®Though I have the feeling¡­ that I¡¯ll find out more as my Playing progresses.¡¯ By this point, I trusted my ¡®gut¡¯, my ¡®intuition¡¯. There was definitely something in the past, something I wasn¡¯t getting. ¡°We¡¯re here.¡± We made it back home. The taxi stopped at the entrance to the complex, not going all the way into the parking lot. ¡°I¡¯m sleepy, oppa.¡± Sunhwa seemed as sleepy as ever. She was clutching the hem of my clothes as she trailed behind me like a zombie, unable to keep her eyes open. ¡°You¡¯re walking like a zombie.¡± ¡°I¡¯m not a zombie. Yaaaaawn.¡± Yawning widely, Sunhwa mumbled something like, ¡°Zombies look scary. I don¡¯t look scary¡± while trudging behind me. ¡®Huh¡­?¡¯ I instantly got a feeling that something was weird. I focused my mind, then stopped in place, turning around to put my hands on Sunhwa¡¯s shoulders. I peered into her eyes. She was still half-awake, unable to open her eyes fully. ¡®No matter how tired she is¡­¡¯ From my experience of Playing so far, this level of odd behavior should have been obvious. But I didn¡¯t notice it, and Eye of Perception didn¡¯t catch it, either. If I was right, I was under the influence of ¡®that¡¯. But at least I knew now. Thankfully, I noticed it relatively quickly. Staring into Sunhwa¡¯s eyes, I asked, ¡°Who are you?¡± At that moment, Sunhwa¡¯s body started to tremble uncontrollably, convulsing bizarrely. ____ Chapter 91 Chapter 91: Sunhwa¡¯s body began to spasm, almost like she was getting electrically shocked. Her pupils looked like they were covered with a white film. A strange sound came from her mouth. ¡°Grr¡­ grrrr.¡± I was well informed about this phenomenon. Called ¡®possession¡¯, it was caused by one of three possible things. The first was Demon Realm parasites. The second was a mind control attack from a ¡®ghost¡¯-type monster, a kind of spirit monster. The third was the aftermath from a Guardian¡¯s descent. The Great Explorer Jackson explained it like this: ¨CDivided even further, the causes of possession can be classified in six different ways, but generally, we differentiate the causes in three ways. Thankfully, mankind has come up with preventative measures for each case. Demon Realm parasites hid in the human brain, controlling the human¡¯s actions while consuming brain tissue. ¨CAn outstanding cleric Player can exterminate the parasites without much trouble. The host of the Demon Realm Bugs must immediately request the help of a cleric of at least level 50. In this respect, Korea¡¯s medical system is very well established. If those bugs were to appear in the world right now, we wouldn¡¯t be able to do a thing about them, but I didn¡¯t think that was happening yet. I didn¡¯t see the symptoms of Demon Realm Bug affliction. ¨CIf a person is afflicted by Demon Realm Bugs, their eyes will turn pitch black, followed by their hands and feet. They will present with similar symptoms to a Pearl Centipede affliction. Sunhwa was making a bizarre sound that was neither groaning nor breathing roughly, just a very odd sound. ¡°Kghhh¡­¡± It didn¡¯t seem like she was afflicted by Demon Realm Bugs. ¨CThe method to determine whether the patient has suffered the mind control attack of a ghost monster is very simple. All you have to do is ask the possessed person a question. If they don¡¯t answer the first time, ask them multiple times. It was like Columbus¡¯ egg. The method to diagnose a ghost monster attack was hard to come up with, but once it was discovered, it was an easy thing anyone could do. ¡°I¡¯ll ask again. Who. Are. You?¡± ¡°Kghhh¡­ psheee¡­!¡± Sunhwa¡¯s body continued to convulse. ¨CIf you suspect that the possessed is afflicted by a ghost monster, all you need to do is ask them the question, ¡®Who are you?¡¯ multiple times. There will definitely be a reaction. Eventually, they will answer ¡®who they are¡¯. ¡°Who are you?¡± ¡°Kghhhh¡­!¡± ¨CIf you ask them multiple times and they do not respond, then it¡¯s almost certain that they are not afflicted by a ghost monster. The third cause is the aftermath from a Guardian¡¯s descent, but¡­ Because ¡®descent¡¯ wasn¡¯t a common occurrence, even Jackson could only guess what he thought might be the case. ¨CThere are times when temporary symptoms similar to possession show up due to a Guardian¡¯s descent. It has only been observed a few times on a global scale, and is said to disappear naturally on its own with time. When a descent occurred, not all Players were affected by it. It wasn¡¯t like the Guardian picked someone out to control their mind; it was basically something like a side effect from a descent. ¡®Side effect from a descent. It affected Sunhwa¡­ and even affected me.¡± As expected of a Guardian¡¯s descent. That was why I hadn¡¯t noticed something being off. I really couldn¡¯t deny it if you said this was just my mistake, but I did get the feeling I was indirectly under the influence of a Guardian¡¯s ability and power. My hunch was probably correct. ¡®In any case¡­¡¯ Right now, Sunhwa was suffering from a side effect. ¡®Side effects¡­ don¡¯t affect people the same way. Some people get them, some people don¡¯t.¡¯ Sunhwa was just unlucky and ended up manifesting that side effect. ¡®Jeez, this girl.¡¯ I put the spasming girl on my back. Her condition would settle on its own with time. I was relieved to see no one was nearby, since she would draw weird looks at the moment. I could feel her convulsing on my back. ¡®This is actually a good thing,¡¯ I thought while moving forward. ¡®I might have gotten indirectly influenced, but it¡¯s still true that I failed to notice it.¡¯ There was something I missed other than Sunhwa¡¯s condition being off, something directly related to Sunhwa. ¡®It¡¯s true that Sunhwa has genius-level talent.¡¯ She had proven that as early as the Tutorial. Sunhwa was a diamond in the rough who would shine more and more radiantly with every passing year. Even before all her talent plates were open, before her body was done growing, her growth speed and skills were already on par with guys like Yeonseo and Yoohyun. In terms of talent alone, she might actually outstrip them by a mile. Once she was a little older and had a more proper evaluation done, her results might cause a huge uproar. ¡®It¡¯s possible she¡¯ll even be marked as having 67 talent plates.¡¯ Considering the upper display limit for Korea¡¯s talent plate evaluation device was 67, it was possible she had an immeasurable level of genius. But even for such a genius, there was definitely a weakness. ¡®She¡¯s mentally weak.¡¯ She was still a kid in her teens. No matter how remarkable her talent for tanking was, her mind wasn¡¯t as strong. She couldn¡¯t be good at everything. ¡®Her resilience against physical attacks is ridiculous¡­ but she¡¯s weak to non-physical attacks.¡¯ When I thought about it, it was obvious. Even with such a talent, she was a kid who had been reduced to tears of terror because of a baby Goblin. ¡®If one¡¯s weakness is unknown, there¡¯s not much you can do.¡¯ But if you knew, you could cover for it. It was actually good that I knew now. Where could you find a person who was perfect in every aspect? Take the Byeon Gilsup, for instance. The man who became famous as the ¡®Spear Demon¡¯ had terrible poison resistance, so he went wild buying all the poison resistance items. Thanks to the Ruler of the Plains, I was able to grasp a simple fact that I had missed. I should actually thank them. ¡®We¡¯ll need to invest in mental defense items. With that, she¡¯ll be perfect.¡¯ I should also have her put more points into her Willpower stat. ¡®Thanks to this, I¡¯ve learned something important.¡¯ I now had a better idea on how to nurture Sunhwa. ¡°Mmm.¡± Before I knew it, Sunhwa¡¯s convulsions had subsided. The descent side effect seemed to have mostly passed. She was murmuring something to herself, and when I craned my ear to hear, they were just meaningless mumbles. ¡°Fried chicken.¡± ¡°Hamburger.¡± ¡°Pizza.¡± ¡°Tteokbokki.¡± ¡°Soondae.¡± After listing a stream of foods, Sunhwa suddenly made a sound of utter bliss, going ¡®Hyaaa!¡¯ Her sleep talking didn¡¯t end there. She screamed a ¡®Sho tashty!¡¯ and then suddenly came back to her senses. I couldn¡¯t see her since she was on my back, but if I had to guess, her eyes probably flew wide open. ¡°Geh!¡± She flailed like she wanted to get down, so I simply let go. Thud! She flopped to the ground with a thud. For her, an impact like that wouldn¡¯t even sting. Her mind might be tofu, but her body was as sturdy as could be. ¡°Op-Oppa.¡± ¡°Back to your senses? Remember everything?¡± ¡°¡­¡± Sunhwa¡¯s face turned beet red. ¡°You don¡¯t need to be that embarrassed.¡± She just suffered a descent side effect, that was all. It could happen to anyone. The redness of her face had even spread to her ears. In a small voice, she mumbled, ¡°I¡¯m on a diet.¡± ¡°¡­¡± What was this girl going on about now? ¡°I don¡¯t eat that much.¡± And? ¡°So the things I muttered about just now¡­ I¡¯m absolutely not saying I want to eat them. It¡¯s just¡­ sleep talking. Yeah, something like sleep talking.¡± The fact she could remember everything made it pretty unlikely that she was just sleep talking, but I decided not to mention that. ¡°I wasn¡¯t thinking about it at all.¡± ¡°You¡¯re telling the truth, right?¡± That seemed to reassure her. Her summary instantly changed a little. Summary: Slight Brocon Denying their Identity Sunhwa spoke to me seriously, like she was trying to brainwash me. ¡°I¡¯m not a pig.¡± ¡°¡­¡± ¡°I¡¯m absolutely not a pig. Seriously. Seriously.¡± Denying their Identity I could see her summary all too clearly, but I didn¡¯t show it. ¡°Should I order fried chicken?¡± ¡°Fr-Fried chicken?¡± Sunhwa¡¯s eyes widened like saucers, and she suddenly broke out into a blissful smile. ¡°Yeah, fried chicken. Want some?¡± Sunhwa 0, Fried Chicken 1. Summary: Slight Brocon The ¡®Denying their Identity¡¯ part cleanly disappeared from her summary. All her embarrassment forgotten, she smiled brightly as she clamored, ¡°You¡¯re going to buy two chickens, right? One per person, right? I¡¯ll be disappointed if you don¡¯t!¡± * * * Sunhwa was not the only one vulnerable to the allure of fried chicken. ¡°We¡¯ve ordered half spicy, half regular.¡± ¡°¡­¡± Noona just stared indifferently at me. At least on the outside, the person sitting at the table didn¡¯t seem all that interested. ¡°Plus an extra soy sauce chicken on the house, which makes a total of three chickens, one per person.¡± Noona was crazy about soy sauce chicken. ¡°Not interested.¡± My sister experienced almost losing me once. Perhaps because of that, she was always very alarmed whenever she heard about gates or dungeons appearing. The press must have made an uproar about the flash gate that appeared in the ¡®1st Players Convention¡¯ as well as the Orcanthropes, so I could only imagine how anxious she must have been again. ¡°But it¡¯s half spicy, half regular, with a soy sauce chicken on top?¡± ¡°¡­¡± Noona, I can totally see the saliva going down your neck. Why¡¯s your hand trembling like that? It appeared that the members of my house had very capricious summaries. Food might be an even stronger form of mind control than possession to them. Summary: Tsundere Tempted by Fried Chicken Well, Tsundere Tempted by Fried Chicken was better than Devoted Tsundere, I guess. After all, I had received plenty of my sister¡¯s devotion in my past life. ¡°Are you buying?¡± ¡°Of course.¡± ¡°Then I¡¯ll help you out and eat it this time.¡± So why¡¯re your lashes quivering? How come your lips are curling up? And why are you gulping your drool? ¡®Is it because of Eye of Perception and Observer¡¯s Eye¡­?¡¯ Even without activating them on purpose, I could see my sister¡¯s expression in high resolution. My vision was very different from my past life. Even if I saw the same things, I could see more, and in greater detail. From the way she was sneaking into her bedroom, she was probably planning on paying for the chicken herself. ¡®Is it because I¡¯ve become a Player?¡¯ The formerly ¡®talentless¡¯ me was now already in their early level 30s. I was walking shoulder to shoulder with heroes. I¡¯d have to get through level 40 to know if I was an early bloomer, but for now, anyone would say that I was speeding along. ¡®And now, I can even eat fried chicken like this with my sisters.¡¯ It would have been great if my mom could have joined us, too, but she would be coming in an hour or two. ¡®Two hours, huh.¡¯ Her return time wasn¡¯t 100% set in stone, so I was curious as to who would come first. I called my noona and Sunhwa to the table. ¡°In a little bit, someone will probably come looking for me.¡± ¡°Who?¡± ¡°Mm, one of two possibilities. In any case, don¡¯t be too surprised, no matter who ends up coming.¡± I informed this tsundere older sister and tofu-mind little sister of mine in advance so they wouldn¡¯t be shocked silly. ¡°Just trust me and don¡¯t do anything. Okay?¡± ¡°¡­¡± ¡°You trust me, right?¡± Noona gave me a dubious stare. ¡°Don¡¯t worry. I didn¡¯t go out and cause a mess somewhere.¡± Sunhwa, looking totally excited by the prospect of fried chicken, chirped, ¡°I trust you, oppa!¡± To the current Sunhwa, ¡®I can eat chicken soon¡¯ was more important than my safety or her trust in me. I could almost see the thoughts of, ¡®That doesn¡¯t matter, I wanna eat chicken soon!¡¯ swimming around in her brain. ¡®Anyway¡ª¡¯ I glanced at the time. It was 6:40 pm. Would my mom come first, or would they? While I was waiting, [!!!] marks popped up over Darongi¡¯s head. At the same time, the doorbell rang. Someone had come to our house. ¡®Ah.¡¯ I found myself grinning. ¡®So this is how they wanna do it, huh.¡¯ It was amusing. With this, my course of action was also set. Perhaps because Senia was streaming me, I heard a new notice. [The ¡®Merchant of Venice¡¯ is focusing on you.] It wasn¡¯t my mom who came first. As I expected, the people who came to our house were the police. ____ Chapter 92 Chapter 92: I asked over the intercom, ¡°Who is it?¡± The response I expected came over. ¨CThis is the police. This is the home of Mr. Kim Hyukjin, correct? The police came, and I knew very well why. As they entered our apartment, Noona gave me an indifferent stare, and I tried to smile to reassure her that everything was okay. ¡°Noona, it¡¯s okay. Don¡¯t worry and just stay put. Let me go take care of things real quick, and then we can eat fried chicken together.¡± ¡°¡­You really didn¡¯t cause a mess somewhere, right?¡± ¡°I¡¯m telling you, I didn¡¯t. This is, well. Hm, something like a big show of force.¡± ¡°¡­¡± ¡°Go to your room for now. I¡¯ll take care of it, don¡¯t worry.¡± ¡°If you¡¯ve made a mess somewhere, you¡¯re dead.¡± She was looking at me with distrust, with what appeared to be a little loathing. That was what her expression said, but I knew what she was actually feeling. State: Extreme Worry I could see it from her state, and I could feel her true feelings through Eye of Perception as well. She was terribly worried about me. It probably meant I was just that important to her. In any case, I turned my attention to the police. ¡°We must ask you to accompany us for a little bit.¡± Just then, Senia appeared, her wings unfurled. My exclusive contracted Streamer exuded absolute aloofness and beauty with her very presence. As soon as Senia revealed herself, the two policemen flinched. ¡®Naturally.¡¯ They must know what Senia was. To them, she was probably something like an unknown being who looked different from humans and could suddenly appear out of thin air, transcending time and space (though that was actually just coming out of the transparent state). An almighty alien who could erase the life of one or two humans with a single swipe of her finger. ¡®As expected, they¡¯re scared.¡¯ Be it policemen or detectives, they were reduced to mere puppies with their tails tucked between their legs in front of Senia. Guns didn¡¯t even work on her, and she wasn¡¯t human, so they couldn¡¯t enforce human laws on her, either. ¡°Let¡¯s go then,¡± I said, walking forward. ¡®What an obvious little trick.¡¯ I was well aware of why I was being taken to the police station. It was because of ¡®assault¡¯. I strangled Kim Taechun into unconsciousness. However, I knew he hadn¡¯t made charges against me, because he must still be out of it from the aftermath of the failed descent. That meant someone else had reported me to the police, and it was because of that person that the police took action so quickly. ¡®It¡¯s almost ridiculous how obvious this is.¡¯ If things dragged on too long and I ended up not being able to eat fried chicken with my chicken-tempted older sister and my chicken-loving little sister, this little scenario wouldn¡¯t go over nicely. ¡®Song Kiyeol.¡¯ The second place I would be meeting Song Kiyeol would be the police station. There, we would have an intense talk. I arrived at the station, and a little time passed. * * * There were none of the browbeating policemen I¡¯d seen on TV here. Summary: Rod of the People Experiencing Love at First Sight Summary: Old Bachelor Blinded by Beauty Each and every summary was amusing. There was a guy who fell in love with Senia at first sight, one that was ¡®blinded by beauty¡¯, and one summary was even: Summary: Policewoman Enlightened to a New World The fact that her summary said ¡®policewoman¡¯ instead of ¡®policeman¡¯ meant that person was very conscious of their gender. ¡®What new world?¡¯ From the way she was sneaking glances at Senia, she almost seemed like a pubescent teenager in love. ¡®Well¡­ It is peaceful, that¡¯s for sure.¡¯ These people were simultaneously fearful of Senia and charmed by her beauty. Thanks to this terrifying yet awe-inspiring Intermediate Administrator, I wasn¡¯t subjected to much harassment. ¡®Guess Song Kiyeol¡¯s plan is already off the tracks from the start.¡¯ I guessed his plan. ¡®He probably intended on putting me in hot water, then coming in to save me like a knight in shining armor.¡¯ That way, he would hold the higher ground in any future engagements or negotiations with me. His intentions were so blatantly clear. Even as the policemen interrogated me about my assault, they seemed to be waiting for someone. ¡®Observation is such a wonderful thing.¡¯ I couldn¡¯t read their inner thoughts, but ¡®observation¡¯ relayed a great deal of information to me. The quality and quantity of the information I received was different compared to other people. ¡°I can wait until my lawyer comes, yes?¡± ¡°Yes, feel free.¡± With Senia backing me, the policemen couldn¡¯t treat me roughly anyway and they had their own intentions, so they just let me be. As a result, I was able to wait in peace. I whispered to Senia. ¨CMaking me feel enough pressure before he makes a sufficiently heroic entrance should last about forty minutes, don¡¯t you think? ¨CForty minutes? ¨CYeah, it should be about forty minutes. After making calculations of her own, Senia began to stream using a strange language I couldn¡¯t understand. [The ¡®Merchant of Venice¡¯ is watching with interest.] [The ¡®Whispering Devil¡¯ focuses on the 40 minute time limit.] And to my surprise, he really did appear after forty minutes. ¡®Iya, fancy seeing you here, Mr. 3rd Generation Chaebol Song Kiyeol. That was easy?¡¯ Was it because he was still inexperienced? I¡¯d felt this for a while, but I felt like I could read Song Kiyeol like an open book. In terms of gambling, my hand of cards was way better than his. I smiled. ¡°You¡¯ve come, my lawyer.¡± This was where I would make my decision. Would I move forward with the card called Song Kiyeol, or would I discard it? * * * Sungshin was a global conglomerate. In the modern day, money was power, and Sungshin commanded immense power in Korea. He didn¡¯t publicize Kim Hyukjin¡¯s existence to the media because Kim Hyukjin was a ¡®variable¡¯, and because right now, the most important fact the world had to know was that Taeguk Shield hunted the Orcanthropes, monsters invulnerable to modern weapons. That was what he told the media, but the whole incident left him feeling irked. ¡®Just what kind of guy is he?¡¯ Kim Hyukjin. A subject of interest even to his grandfather, and a sovereign-class Player with the incredible ability to instantly put the Orcanthropes into a groggy state. ¡®I don¡¯t get him at all.¡¯ He needed to know a little more about this enigma. The man¡¯s ability was desirable. If he could turn Kim Hyukjin into a subordinate, then he would, and if he couldn¡¯t, then he really did have to establish a working relationship. Otherwise, the man would have to be eliminated. For now, he decided to put Kim Hyukjin into his debt before their conversation together. He didn¡¯t release it to the mass media, but the scene where Kim Hyukjin assaulted Kim Taechun was clearly recorded from start to finish. Using that, he mobilized the police. ¡®Let¡¯s see if he can be that relaxed even in the police station.¡¯ His opponent was a regular person. Certain that Kim Hyukjin wouldn¡¯t be resting easy in the police station, he intentionally waited a little. ¡®He¡¯ll probably be anxious enough to bow and scrape.¡¯ As a Korean, he should know how much authority and power he, Song Kiyeol, held. He truly had enough power to make a little assault charge fly away with a single word. To begin with, the police wouldn¡¯t have even gotten themselves involved in a matter between Players if Kiyeol hadn¡¯t instigated it. He entered the police station¡­ and was greeted with someone¡¯s voice. ¡°You¡¯ve come, my lawyer.¡± To his shock, Kim Hyukjin looked incredibly relaxed. Kiyeol had the bad feeling that things had gone awry from the start. ¡®Ah¡­¡¯ He saw her right away. The Intermediate Administrator, Senia. A woman possessing angelic beauty that didn¡¯t seem to belong in this world. ¡®Even though he¡¯s not even Playing¡­¡¯ She appeared in the police station? ¡®Was that intended by Kim Hyukjin?¡¯ Did he make Senia do as he wanted? But how could a mere Player make an Intermediate Administrator act as they wished? According to Song Kiyeol¡¯s common sense, that was impossible. It couldn¡¯t happen. ¡®He was lucky.¡¯ That was the only way he could interpret this. ¡®That attitude, like he knew I¡¯d be coming¡­¡¯ Kiyeol had already lost once in a battle of wits. Even so, he was the one with the advantage. But the words that came next challenged that thought. ¡°Kim Taechun is in a coma, yes?¡± ¡°¡­¡± ¡°That¡¯s because of descent. I stopped a Guardian descent that was about to happen. If that descent had actually occurred¡­¡± Hyukjin shrugged. ¡°We wouldn¡¯t be talking here like this.¡± ¡°Why?¡± ¡°Both of us would be dead.¡± ¡°¡­¡± Senia took a step forward. ¡°I, an Intermediate Administrator, confirm the veracity of that statement.¡± * * * Song Kiyeol turned to the investigator who had been interrogating me. ¡°Would it be alright if I had a private conversation with Mr. Kim Hyukjin for a moment?¡± Wow. Was that really okay? I was amazed that he suddenly requested a private meeting. The funny thing was that the private meeting was actually permitted. ¡®Even though he¡¯s not a policeman? He¡¯s not even a lawyer.¡¯ Well, whatever. We were taken to a room within the station. ¡®Just my guess, but I doubt this won¡¯t be recorded. If it is, even better.¡¯ I started talking first. ¡°Did you come to help me?¡± ¡°Yes, I did.¡± ¡°Should I be saying thank you?¡± ¡°That is something for you to decide.¡± I sat down. Senia had returned to her transparent state, but I could feel her presence. [The ¡®Merchant of Venice¡¯ continues to focus.] After I choked Kim Taechun and made him black out, when I didn¡¯t see myself on the news or hear any mention of my name on the radio in the taxi, I knew for a fact that this situation would occur. ¡°I¡¯ll start then.¡± I raised the index finger of my left hand. ¡°First. The comatose Kim Taechun cannot report me. Second. If so, someone else did. Third. That someone has the power to make the police move this swiftly and without delay.¡± With three fingers outstretched on my left hand, I started counting on my right hand now. ¡°First. The appearance of the variable Kim Hyukjin was not publicized to the media. Second. The variable called Kim Hyukjin does not desire becoming known to the media. Third. In the end, Kim Hyukjin was not publicized.¡± I stretched out all my fingers and shrugged. ¡°What could these things mean?¡± Song Kiyeol¡¯s eye twitched. ¡°What are you trying to say?¡± ¡°A person who can perfectly control the media, someone capable of moving government forces. I¡¯m here right now because that person wanted it.¡± ¡°And you think that person is me?¡± ¡°I didn¡¯t say it was you, Mr. Song Kiyeol.¡± It is you, and everyone knows it. But I didn¡¯t say that. I simply smiled with an air of calm. After watching his reaction for a moment, I continued. ¡°There must be someone out there who wants to have the higher ground in a negotiation with me.¡± ¡°I have come here to help you. I find your remarks very unpleasant.¡± ¡°How did you know I was in the police station?¡± ¡°¡­¡± This man seemed as lofty and unreachable as the heavens in my previous life, but now, I felt like I was dealing with a child. It was really amazing. So much had changed after coming to the past. ¡°The police do not like to involve themselves in matters between Players. Why? Because there are Intermediate Administrators in the middle.¡± And yet they moved this rapidly? ¡°I would guess they had no choice even though they didn¡¯t want to. Because there was pressure from up top.¡± I grinned. ¡°But alright, let¡¯s just say I don¡¯t know who the source of that pressure was.¡± This was enough for a show of my hand. There was no need to shout ¡®You¡¯re the criminal!¡¯ outright. What I was going for was just ¡®Your scheme is dogshit!¡¯ ¡°I also don¡¯t intend on resenting it, either.¡± ¡°¡­¡± For the briefest moment, uncertainty flashed over Song Kiyeol¡¯s face. For the briefest moment, there was a trace of panic. ¡®He¡¯s wavering nicely.¡¯ This was the negotiation table. A business table between me and this 3rd generation chaebol scion, a man whose name would fly high as the guildmaster of Taeguk Shield, but would still lose the battle of inheritance to his younger sister, Song Junghye. ¡°After all, it was a pretty decent choice using the cards that could pressure me.¡± If I were a moron who didn¡¯t know anything, that is. But I didn¡¯t say that. In business, everything was calculated on profit and loss alone. For a moment, Song Kiyeol made an expression of uncertainty before quickly schooling his countenance into expressionlessness. ¡°It was just that those cards were ineffective on me.¡± My cards were just a little better than his. My field of vision was a little wider than his, that was all. I had completely seized the initiative. ¡°Shall we start our conversation? There must be a lot you want to ask. I¡¯d like this to be a useful time for me, no¡­ for us.¡± To be more precise, my test for Song Kiyeol began. ____ Chapter 93 Chapter 93 ¡°Haah, this absolute dunce.¡± For some reason, Kim Taechun had turned monster-like and then was quickly dispatched. And via a back choke, no less. A combat class Player letting a non-combat class grab them by the back of the neck? That wasn¡¯t just a disgrace. It was utterly humiliating. ¡°If it were me, I woulda just bit my tongue and ended it.¡± Gilsup was only here because the Guildmaster, a freaking 3rd generation chaebol, told him to keep a good eye on this guy. ¡°How can you call yourself a combat class with shit skills like that? You might as well eat shit, dude.¡± Byeon Gilsup had watched Kim Taechun and Kim Hyukjin¡¯s fight on the 12th floor earlier. He was one of the people who were able to read Hyukjin¡¯s movements. ¡°It¡¯s cause you were so fucking slow that you got slammed by a non-combat class, idiot.¡± He sighed like he was frustrated. He was confident that if it had been him, he wouldn¡¯t have lost so pathetically. ¡°Bro, you gotta just loosen up there, and then move fast like whoosh and go wham wham! Like this, dude! Gah, so frustrating. Just like me, wham! Wham! Like this.¡± He was sure that if it were him, he could have easily taken Hyukjin down. He believed in his ¡®spearmanship¡¯. ¡°All that weight you had on him, wasted. The heck was that? And when are you gonna wake the hell up? How long do I have to stay here babysitting your ass?¡± He clicked his tongue as he continued to cuss out the unconscious Kim Taechun, calling the man an idiot to top all idiots. But just then, someone came into the hospital room. ¡°Thank ya.¡± It was a white-haired grandma. Her face was full of lines that showed the passage of many years. She grabbed Gilsup¡¯s hand, looking quite composed. ¡°Thank ya, sonny. Thank ya for savin¡¯ our Taechun. Thank ya so much.¡± When she bent 90 degrees, Gilsup hurried to bend 100 degrees with extreme alacrity. ¡°Goodness, it¡¯s nothing, granny. This fellow fought really courageously and well. We were able to clear the flash gate because of him, too. He is a hidden hero.¡± The Gilpsup who had been cussing out Taechun moments ago was nowhere to be seen. He gazed warmly at the grandma¡¯s hand¡¯s grabbing his and spoke with a very sincere attitude. ¡°I owe my life to his efforts, granny. Don¡¯t worry too much. He¡¯ll get up soon. Our Taeguk Shield will do its best for his recovery. And you don¡¯t have to worry about the hospital fee.¡± They spoke for a while. After some time, Gilsup¡¯s face turned bright red. ¡®She wasn¡¯t his granny, but his mom?¡¯ He had called a mom a granny. That was no different from telling her ¡®you look really fucking old¡¯. Cold sweat ran down his back. Today¡­ was a really tough day. ¡®I-I would be an even bigger piece of shit if I apologized now, right?¡¯ * * * At around the same time as when Byeon Gilsup was undergoing hardship, Kim Hyukjin and Song Kiyeol were conversing. ¡°Shall we start our conversation? There must be a lot you want to ask. I¡¯d like this to be a useful time for me, no¡­ for us.¡± Kiyeol definitely heard it. That ¡®for me, no¡­ for us.¡¯ ¡®A slip of the tongue?¡¯ Had Hyukjin unintentionally misspoken? ¡®No. It wasn¡¯t a mistake.¡¯ When he arrived at the police station, he was forced to completely renew his evaluation of Kim Hyukjin. He had devised this situation, but it actually felt like he was the one getting played like a fiddle. ¡®A trick to unsettle me. Or to sound me out.¡¯ He was sure of it. ¡°Oh right,¡± said Hyukjin. ¡°I should remind you that this is, of course, being streamed. She is transparent right now, but Senia is transmitting this footage to the Guardians.¡± The Guardians were watching. It was a veiled warning not to do anything foolish. That was how Kiyeol heard it. Kim Hyukjin looked extremely relaxed. ¡°I thought there was a lot you wanted to know about me. We have time, so I¡¯ll answer all your questions. Please, ask away.¡± Kiyeol nodded. For now, it was true that he was getting pushed back. He had also lost the initiative. However, since he could have his questions answered, the situation wasn¡¯t that terrible. ¡°First of all, I need an explanation about the sovereign class.¡± Hyukjin gave him a simple explanation. It was a class that allotted roles based on every Player¡¯s ability and maximized their skills and efficiency. ¡°That¡¯s the kind of class it is.¡± ¡°You acted as if you knew that I would come to the police station. Are you a Precognitive Dream user?¡± Hyukjin shrugged. ¡°I have a similar ability.¡± ¡°Ah¡­¡± Taeguk Shield also had a Precognitive Dream user. Hyukjin grinned, saying, ¡°Taeguk Shield has a person like that too, right? Someone with Precognitive Dream.¡± ¡°That is a secret.¡± ¡°I saw through Guildmaster Song Kiyeol¡¯s Eye of Truth. Do you think I wouldn¡¯t know about a Precognitive Dream user?¡± ¡°What?¡± ¡°You are overthinking it.¡± ¡°Shall I try guessing the name of the Precognitive Dream user?¡± That person is Ham Sohyun, right? He didn¡¯t say that. ¡°¡­¡± Kiyeol flinched. For a very brief moment, he felt a chill. It was almost as if¡­ everything about him and Taeguk Shield was being ¡®observed¡¯. It was actually more scary that the name ¡®Ham Sohyun¡¯ was left unsaid. It felt like Hyukjin didn¡¯t say it on purpose. ¡®Is it a trick?¡¯ It was difficult to guess how much this man knew and how much of what he said was the truth. That made this conversation all the more confusing and difficult. This 20-year-old youth in front of him¡­ almost made him feel like he was talking to his grandfather. ¡°I¡¯m joking. Even for me, I can¡¯t know things in such detail.¡± ¡°¡­¡± ¡°You are more timid than I expected.¡± He kept feeling like he was ensnared in Hyukjin¡¯s web. Kiyeol pulled himself together and moved to the next question. ¡°How did you suppress the Orcs?¡± ¡°I wasn¡¯t the one who suppressed them, but Taeguk Shield.¡± ¡°Allow me to rephrase the question. How did you put them into a groggy state?¡± ¡°It is one of my special skills.¡± That was a lie. Hyukjin was only able to use the Spell of Submission because the Whispering Devil had helped him. However, he didn¡¯t show all his cards truthfully. He made an idle remark. ¡°You can¡¯t try to uncover all my trade secrets. There has to be give and take. I will only say that it is one of my special skills.¡± ¡°¡­¡± * * * Kiyeol continued with what he considered a ¡®trump¡¯ question. ¡°I heard that you treated my youngest sibling almost threateningly. From what I hear, you even wrapped up our grandfather in your denouncement.¡± ¡°Ah. Is that how it was told?¡± The truth was the truth. There was no use in talking to the underlings. Hyukjin had dealt a direct blow to the grandson so that his message would reach President Song Kiyoung without a filter. ¡°That wasn¡¯t what I meant.¡± ¡°You seem to be confident you can deal with the aftermath.¡± ¡°The aftermath?¡± ¡°Do you think that President Song would have sent his beloved grandson to me without any reason whatsoever?¡± ¡°¡­¡± Kiyeol had a weird feeling. It felt like Kim Hyukjin knew his grandfather very well. Something was weird. It was like¡­ Hyukjin knew his grandfather better than he did. For now, he decided to listen. ¡°What¡¯s more, an ordinary little kid who holds no position in the company and no responsibilities?¡± ¡°That¡¯s because Jinchul was insisting so much¡­¡± ¡°He is not the kind of person who would simply give in to his youngest grandson¡¯s begging. He only makes it seem like that. That, too, must be an intentional part of his act.¡± It was likely true that he did love his youngest grandson. Jinchul was a grandson he received in his old age. There was no doubt that he had a special fondness for the boy. But not to the point of being unable to separate personal matters from business. ¡°Try to see through the President¡¯s intent. He wasn¡¯t just convinced by a kid¡¯s cute tricks. He wanted to see how I would handle Song Jinchul.¡± Adding to that, ¡°I¡¯m sure his desire to hear about the situation without a filter was part and parcel. I merely acted in accordance with what he wanted. There was no aftermath to consider in the first place.¡± Song Kiyeol¡¯s body flinched almost imperceptibly. The new perspective Hyukjin showed him gave him a slight shock. ¡°¡­You speak as if you know our president very well,¡± he barely managed. ¡°Though as far as I know, you have only met him once.¡± ¡°There are things you only need to see once to figure out.¡± Hyukjin simply fixed Kiyeol with a leveled look. It was a very small clue, but he didn¡¯t miss it. ¡®He called him president instead of grandfather?¡¯ It seemed this grandson felt a certain level of distance from his grandfather. After a slight pause, Hyukjin continued staring at Kiyeol. ¡®In other words¡­ Do you think that President Song wouldn¡¯t know that you¡¯ve come to see me?¡¯ He didn¡¯t spell it out. If Kiyeol could realize that on his own, Hyukjin planned on cooperating with him, to a certain extent. To be more precise, he would move forward with bringing the guild under Song Kiyeol¡¯s leadership, Taeguk Shield, under him. ¡®He has to realize at least that much to have the qualifications of a business partner.¡¯ If he was so clueless he couldn¡¯t figure this much out, there was no need to work with him. Hyukjin would discard him without reserve. It was because of Song Kiyeol¡¯s wealth and power, as well as his character that was considered quite decent even in the future, that Hyukjin gave him a chance. Kiyeol had to be a much better choice than the Blood and Iron Witch Song Junghye. ¡®Well, he¡¯s a 3rd gen chaebol, after all.¡¯ He had things Hyukjin didn¡¯t have. Song Kiyeol and Taeguk Shield had access to nearly unlimited wealth and power. If they used each other and gave each other what was owed, then they would be able to establish a win-win relationship. Thankfully, Song Kiyeol wasn¡¯t a fool. ¡®Ah¡­¡¯ He understood Hyukjin¡¯s words and actions. If his grandfather had observed a situation involving Hyukjin via his youngest brother, then what about now? ¡®Grandfather is watching me, too.¡¯ ¡®This¡­ wasn¡¯t me testing Kim Hyukjin, but Grandfather testing me.¡¯ Hyukjin read that thought. ¡°It seems that we can communicate more properly now.¡± ¡°¡­¡± ¡°I would guess that the way the President sees you will be affected by the result of your negotiation with me and how your conversation with me progresses.¡± Song Kiyeol earnestly asked, ¡°I apologize, but are you really 20?¡± ¡°Yes. Would you like to see my ID card?¡± ¡°No, there¡¯s no need for that.¡± How could a 20-year-old act like this? From his actions and speech, it would be believable if someone said Hyukjin was a 60-year-old man who had experienced the vicissitudes of life. Kiyeol decided not to go around in circles. Hyukjin already knew exactly what the opposite party wanted and was aiming for, and was acting accordingly. Kiyeol understood perfectly well that Hyukjin was a level higher than him. ¡®I¡¯m not the fiddler in this situation.¡¯ He came totally convinced he was the fiddler, but he was actually the fiddle. If so, going around in circles was meaningless. He decided to advance directly. ¡°What do you want?¡± ¡°$100k per member of our team. And all the items that were dropped earlier.¡± ¡°I have already promised you that. I will prepare it immediately. Useless oil items also came out, but do you want those as well?¡± ¡°I believe I asked for everything, did I not?¡± ¡°Understood. I will give you everything.¡± He didn¡¯t linger on that. Kiyeol already knew their basic personal details. Kim Hyukjin, Kim Sunhwa, So Yoohyun, Choi Sung-gu, Shin Yeonseo, Jo Sunghyun. A total of six people. ¡®$600k.¡¯ It was that much money. Song Kiyeol could easily handle that much on his own. He inquired again, ¡°Beyond that, I am asking what you want in exchange for maintaining a cooperative relationship between my Taeguk Shield and your team.¡± Only then did Hyukjin flash him a smile of satisfaction. ¡°It seems we can get to the true matter at hand.¡± As expected of the Guildmaster of Taeguk Shield, Song Kiyeol was still one of the people who wasn¡¯t eliminated in the future and continued to push forward on the front lines as the leader of one of the world¡¯s pre-eminent guilds. He did lose to his younger sister, but he wasn¡¯t a total idiot. No, in all actuality, Song Kiyeol belonged to the elite upper group. It was just a little interesting that the person leading such an elite by the nose was Kim Hyukjin. ____ Chapter 94: Chapter 94: Once a celebrity took off, they could rake in an enormous amount of wealth and fame. In exchange, they had to give up on their private life. Wealth and fame vs. private life. Where there was light, there was shadow. Only by being popular in the media could you acquire wealth and fame, and in the process, you ended up forfeiting most of your private life and freedom. You win some, you lose some. ¡°¡­So basically, Taeguk Shield can take all the fame and glory. I don¡¯t need that kind of thing.¡± My eyes were solely on the practical gains. I didn¡¯t need the troublesome interest of the public. But I still wanted the benefits that came with such fame. Normally, that would be impossible, but not if I worked with Taeguk Shield. Might as well pick out only the good stuff, right? The method where I could have my cake and eat it too was to put Taeguk Shield in the front and operate in the back. ¡°So you want to put Taeguk Shield on the outside and take the actual profits?¡± That¡¯s right, bullseye. ¡°Of course, my teammates will do their best to cooperate with Taeguk Shield. We can meet later to decide the particulars.¡± How favorable would those particulars be? That would be an enjoyable conundrum. ¡°It¡¯s win-win for us both. I would put Taeguk Shield on the outside and get the practical benefits. Taeguk Shield would get our help and gain the fame and power the guild always wanted.¡± They would become the heroes of Korea. That had always been Sungshin¡¯s true aim with Taeguk Shield. The guild¡¯s success would have an enormous effect on improving Sungshin¡¯s image. ¡°Through that, Guildmaster Song Kiyeol would take a big step forward in the fight for succession.¡± ¡°¡­¡± ¡°You would be able to win the high ground in your competition with your particularly strong competitor, your second-oldest sibling.¡± ¡°You¡¯ve even seen through that much?¡± Song Kiyeol must have never imagined that he would have such a conversation with an ordinary person, and in the police station, no less. ¡°I don¡¯t intend on becoming a guild member of Taeguk Shield, but I will think of your guild as an ally of the highest priority.¡± ¡°¡­¡± Kiyeol had completely lost the initiative to me. If that was enough to bruise his pride, then he wouldn¡¯t develop any further. He would only grow if he viewed this situation as a learning experience and got something out of it. ¡®What will you do?¡¯ I would be happy to see him ask the one question that really hit bullseye. ¡®Just why did you insist on Taeguk Shield? With this much insight, you could have gotten another partner. Is it really only because you dislike the public¡¯s interest and find it troublesome? It¡¯s a little difficult to understand if that is your only reasoning.¡¯ If he sent me such an appropriate line of questioning, I would give Song Kiyeol a few more brownie points. ¡°I have one question.¡± ¡°Fire away.¡± ¡°Is that really all you want? A simple cooperative relationship? Judging by the current situation, you have already seen through us. You have far more information than we do and have the skills to stand in a far more dominant position.¡± ¡°Your assessment is sound.¡± ¡°But is it really because you dislike the public¡¯s interest? Currently, I find it a little difficult to understand¡­ why you are refusing fame and glory.¡± Good, well done. It was a pretty good question. I decided to reward him with a little more information. ¡°That is in part related to my class. The one I have a contract with¡­ does not like to see me acting in the front.¡± Actually, the Nameless Guardian didn¡¯t particularly prohibit me from doing so. They simply observed in silence. Even so, this kind of gesture was necessary. All things considered, my Guardian was my biggest customer, my VVIP. It was good to show at least this much goodwill. ¡®And it¡¯s an explanation that can convince him.¡¯ After some time, his summary changed. Summary: Enlightened 3rd Generation Chaebol He still had a long way to go. He needed to become an enlightened ¡®Guildmaster¡¯, not an enlightened ¡®3rd Generation Chaebol¡¯. ¡®Well, he¡¯s still a beginner.¡¯ He had performed well enough to deserve some leniency. ¡°Will you agree to a cooperative relationship of the highest priority?¡± I asked. ¡°Of course, it would be a verbal agreement for now. We¡¯ll have to discuss the particulars later.¡± A spoken contract was nonbinding. Naturally, there had to be a written contract. I was saying this to see Song Kiyeol¡¯s guts and willingness to cooperate. In this situation, where I was the ¡®superior¡¯ and he was the ¡®inferior¡¯, it might very well be a bold move for him to decisively accept a contract with me without concrete clauses. No, it was definitely a bold move¡ªhe didn¡¯t know what exactly I would demand. ¡®Well then. What will you do?¡¯ He had barely scraped by in my test. All things considered, Taeguk Shield¡¯s Song Kiyeol was still way better than the Blood and Iron Queen. ¡®Queen¡¯ sounded nice, but she was actually more often called ¡®Witch¡¯. It was my personal judgment that working with Song Kiyeol was much better than working with Song Junghye, the woman who had wielded nearly absolute power after President Song Kiyoung passed away. I didn¡¯t know what kind of influence this decision would have on the future, but in any case, it was far more favorable for me. ¡®Answer me.¡¯ I gave the ¡®inferior¡¯ party more time. Shortly afterwards, Song Kiyeol gave me his response. ¡°I agree.¡± He continued calmly, ¡°Though I do get the feeling that I was dragged along by you the whole day.¡± At least he knew. ¡°It was a very educational day.¡± ¡°Next time, I will look a little more broadly and seize the initiative from you, Mr. Kim Hyukjin.¡± ¡°That¡¯s exactly what I want.¡± That¡¯s right. You, the Guildmaster of Taeguk Shield, need to become a little more smart and wily so that I, your partner, can have an easier time. With a slightly more relaxed expression, Song Kiyeol said, ¡°Shall we leave, then? I have already arranged to have you escorted back in comfort to your home.¡± ¡°Thank you.¡± I was thankful, but I wasn¡¯t done talking yet. ¡°If I were you, Guildmaster Song Kiyeol, I would have made a different proposal.¡± I decided to give Song Kiyeol, a man considered to be relatively kind and honest for a 3rd generation chaebol, a little tip. ¡°¡­Pardon?¡± ¡°The President aside, isn¡¯t it true that both Guildmaster Song Kiyeol and the other members of Taeguk Shield still do not know much about me?¡± ¡°That¡¯s true, but¡­¡± He knew that I had choked Kim Taechun to unconsciousness, put the Orcanthropes into a groggy state, and had a ¡®sovereign¡¯ class. ¡°I¡¯m sure the Players of Taeguk Shield are particularly skilled people.¡± That was a no-brainer, since each of them had been carefully selected. ¡°So how do you intend on explaining to them that Taeguk Shield and I have established a tight knit cooperative relationship? Do you think you can convince them? To them, I am an unknown Player who never even gave a proper explanation of how I subdued the Orcanthropes.¡± ¡°¡­¡± The higher one¡¯s skill, the more likely it was that they had strong pride. Knowing that very well, I gave the Guildmaster another push. ¡°There are definitely Players from Taeguk Shield who were able to read my movements.¡± If so¡­ ¡°There must be Players who boasted that they could beat me.¡± ¡°¡­¡± State: Awed / Surprised / Slight Fear I could tell from his state. I had clearly hit the bullseye with a single prod. I decided to prod a little more. ¡°You simply¡­ continue to surprise me.¡± In the end, Song Kiyeol acknowledged everything I said, which was far better than not acknowledging the truth of my words and feigning ignorance. I decided to throw him another tip. ¡°If you are unable to seize full control of Taeguk Shield, your grandfather will be disappointed.¡± That was actually Song Kiyeol¡¯s biggest immediate issue, the issue he had to settle before all else. He had to first turn Taeguk Shield into his loyal hands and feet. Only then would he be acknowledged by his grandfather and have a favorable position in the future fight for succession. ¡°I truly cannot believe you are really 20.¡± There was nothing he could do even if he didn¡¯t believe it. I, too, had no idea that I was this capable. I thought I was an idiot because I kept failing the civil service exam, but looking at it now, that didn¡¯t seem to be true. I surprised myself. I scratched his itch a little more. ¡°To prevent the Guildmaster from being in an awkward spot, I will gladly accept a test.¡± ¡°¡­What?¡± He really needed me to hold his hand from start to finish, huh. There was a lot to teach him. ¡°If I were you, I would have proposed a test.¡± ¡°¡­¡± So come on, say it with your own mouth. That way, you can look more justified in front of your guild members, right? I¡¯ll do you a solid and simply accept. I spelled it out more concretely. ¡°For example¡­ something like a PVP.¡± ¡°A PVP? But you are¡­¡± ¡°That¡¯s right, I am a non-combat class. My specialty isn¡¯t combat.¡± So in other words¡­ ¡°What kind of influence do you think a sovereign class Player who could win against a combat class Player would have in their specialty field?¡± Was that enough for him to finally get it? ¡°If I were to tell you I could even prove my Playing abilities as a sovereign, what would you do?¡± I would prove my outstanding abilities my own way, and Song Kiyeol would prove his discernment his own way. ¡°And what do you think the evaluation would be of the Guildmaster who was the first to recognize and actively approach the Player who proved his abilities?¡± After a short moment, Song Kiyeol spoke with a serious expression. ¡°Please allow me to test you. The test will be a PVP match. As for your opponent, I will choose a Player from Taeguk Shield and inform you at a later time.¡± While saying that, he snuck glances at me like he was scared I might be displeased or offended. ¡®Of course not. You did well. This is how you do it. Keep going like this in the future. You finally seem more like the Guildmaster of Taeguk Shield. You¡¯ve gotta do well so that I¡¯ll wanna cooperate again with you in the future, dude.¡¯ ¡°I accept the test.¡± ¡°It would be best if you were to bring up a reasonable proposal like this first next time.¡± ¡°¡­¡± For the briefest moment, Song Kiyeol¡¯s eye twitched. ¡°¡­I will keep that in mind.¡± He wasn¡¯t simply unhappy. His summary changed. Summary: 3rd Generation Chaebol who Met his Teacher That was a pretty decent change, wasn¡¯t it? * * * One day passed. My opponent would be the future Spear Demon, Byeon Gilsup. It went without being said that the Guardians were also told about the PVP match. It was one of the types of content they went wild for. ¡®PVP, huh.¡¯ A PVP against the Spear Demon. Rather than nervousness, I felt excitement. ¡®It should be fun.¡¯ The day of the match was just around the corner. It would happen tomorrow. ¡®A simple frontal duel would be a bit risky.¡¯ I didn¡¯t think I would be defeated even in a frontal battle, but I wouldn¡¯t be able to show an ¡®overwhelming difference in skill¡¯. The opponent was the future Spear Demon. He would be a far stronger PVPer than the Brown Bear Kim Taechun. ¡®I have to show them an overwhelming difference in skill.¡¯ Then, Guildmaster Song Kiyeol would have a justification, and he would be able to show his grandfather that his discernment was correct. And considering the days of cooperation ahead of us, it was best to show overwhelming strength. Even better if I could prove my entire party¡¯s strength, not just my own. ¡®Then I guess¡­ that¡¯s the method I¡¯ll have to use.¡¯ There was a method that would allow me, a non-combat class Player, to win against the combat class Player Byeon Gilsup with an ¡®overwhelming difference in skill¡¯, and that method wasn¡¯t far away. ¡®Time to get overgeared.¡¯ Chapter 95 Chapter 95: There was a saying that went like this: Know thy enemy and know thyself. If you know your enemy and know yourself, you need not fear the result of a hundred battles. I already knew a lot about the Spear Demon Byeon Gilsup. It was believed that even Shin Yeonseo, one of the strongest Korean PVPers, had to be on her toes when PVPing with Byeon Gilsup. ¡®Only a tiny few think so, but¡­ there were people who put Byeon Gilsup above her.¡¯ In PVP, a match between Players, there were countless variables. The battle could go a million different ways depending on how you utilized your opponent¡¯s weakness, timing, how quickly you could read your opponent¡¯s plan, the element and terrain of the field you were fighting on, how your condition was that day, etc. There were countless variables, and you couldn¡¯t always win. That was the reason why Shin Yeonseo wasn¡¯t called the ¡®strongest Korean PVPer¡¯, but ¡®one of the strongest Korean PVPers¡¯. ¡®Because victory or loss is decided by many variables and your luck.¡¯ At least for this match, I could control those variables and create my luck. To start, I got an item from Sunghyun. [Wind Shoes +1] Shoes imbued with the blessing of wind. Dramatically increases one¡¯s affinity with the wind element, bestowing a synergistic effect when using wind attribute foot techniques or movement skills. However, a full pair of two shoes must be worn for that function to apply. Attribute: Wind Agility +2 Grade: Rare Level Restriction: 25 Special Skill: Can use ¡®Imaginary Running Start¡¯ Equip Restriction: Wind-attribute class If I used the special skill imbued in the Wind Shoes, I¡¯d be able to fight a slightly more favorable ranged battle. Sunghyun asked, ¡°Hyung. Um¡­ You just equipped the Wind Shoes, right?¡± ¡°Yeah. I did, just now.¡± ¡°¡­¡± He had an expression of extreme dubiousness that I didn¡¯t quite get. After a moment, he seemed convinced of something. ¡°Why do you ask?¡± ¡°I wasn¡¯t sure, but you really can equip them after all.¡± I quickly understood what Sunghyun meant. ¡®Come to think of it¡­¡¯ Even I had to admit it was a little bewildering. My eyes were drawn to one part of the item description. Equip Restriction: Wind-attribute class It was clearly written in black and white that only a wind-attribute class could equip them, so how was it that I could wear the shoes? One conjecture I could come up with was that the ¡®Observer¡¯ class was a higher grade class with a bigger scope, and the ¡®wind-attribute¡¯ fell under its umbrella. ¡°Mm.¡± To be precise, it wasn¡¯t sovereign, but Observer¡­ ¡°If you think about it, maybe you can equip them because you have a kind of null-attribute class.¡± ¡°Maybe.¡± His words had some sense to them. Even I didn¡¯t know everything about the ¡®Observer¡¯ class. It was indeed possible that it had an attribute that took precedence over all other attributes. To borrow Sunghyun¡¯s turn of phrase, a ¡®null-attribute¡¯. ¡°Even then, it¡¯s a little hard to accept.¡± ¡°¡­¡± It was the same for me. I couldn¡¯t quite wrap my head around it, either. I just went to put them on, and they were on. Since I couldn¡¯t say that, I just kept my mouth shut. ¡°I¡¯m sure that you have a secret of your own.¡± Sunghyun actually seemed uplifted by this revelation. His eyes were filled with a sort of¡­ longing? The look was a little too intense for me, so I slightly averted my gaze. ¡®Let¡¯s just inspect the items.¡¯ I also checked the new Great Orc Warrior item I got this time. I¡¯d added the Great Orc Warrior¡¯s Gloves to the set via the bet with the Herdsman of Las Vegas. Partial Set Effect: Defends against a physical attack the wearer cannot handle, limited to once per day. However, the attacker¡¯s level must not exceed level 35. If their level exceeds 35, a damage reduction effect will be triggered depending on the attack¡¯s power. With the addition of the Great Orc Warrior¡¯s Gloves to the partial set, the upper level limit for the complete nullification effect went up from 30 to 35. ¡®Byeon Gilsup¡¯s level 30.¡¯ I would be able to nullify at least one attack from him. So it was time to go to the next item. * * * After parting with Sunghyun, I met up with Yeonseo next. We picked a coffee shop in Yeonnam-dong, a neighborhood in Seoul. ¡®She looks cute in casual clothes.¡¯ In her casual clothes, she looked like any university student and gave off a refreshing, even lively, appearance. Maybe because I was thirty on the inside, I saw her as cute rather than pretty. Sitting on the other side of the table, Yeonseo gave me a smile that reached her eyes. ¡°What the, is this a date? Have you finally decided to see me as a woman?¡± ¡°¡­¡± This smile had consigned countless men to the fate of ¡®Sword Empress crushers¡¯, but it didn¡¯t make me think much. Just ¡®oh, she¡¯s cute¡¯. Of course, I hadn¡¯t called her to have a date. ¡°Lend me your sword once.¡± ¡°My sword?¡± Yeonseo seemed troubled for a bit. ¡°I¡¯m not sure I can lend it to you.¡± It was probably an artifact bestowed by the True Master of the Heavenly Demonic Mountain. Since this was the early game, it would be nothing compared to the ¡®Demonblade Asura¡¯ she would use in the future, but it would still have the highest attack power out of all the sword items I could get my hands on right now. ¡®The sword¡¯s name was Asura.¡¯ Asura was the king of the Asura Realm, also called the World of Chaos. It also meant he was the king of ghosts. That was why ¡®Asura¡¯ was sometimes called a ghostblade, sometimes a demonblade. It was an artifact of the highest level that had even won the title Sword Among Swords. ¡®I remember the way Shin Yeonseo looked when she swept through the Battle of the Maldives.¡¯ The video documenting Shin Yeonseo¡¯s performance had set a huge new Youtube record of half a billion views. In any case, considering there were less than ten artifacts deserving the name ¡®Sword Among Swords¡¯ in the entire world before I regressed, Asura was a named blade that ranked within the global Top 10, at least in the ¡®sword¡¯ category. After a long moment of intense contemplation, Yeonseo opened her mouth. ¡°If I let you borrow this, will you go on a date with me?¡± It seemed¡­ I needed to make things clear to her. Yeonseo was obviously a pretty woman, but she wasn¡¯t my type. I didn¡¯t know why. I just couldn¡¯t see her as a woman. ¡°I¡¯m sorry, but you¡¯re not my type.¡± ¡°But will you go on a date with me though?¡± ¡°I said you¡¯re not my type?¡± Yeonseo¡¯s smile actually widened. I told her she wasn¡¯t my type, so why was she even happier? ¡°Do you always only wear clothes that are your type, eat food that¡¯s your type, and watch movies that are your type? You don¡¯t.¡± Her summary changed. Summary: Woman Blazing with Determination The dreaded ¡®wife¡¯ disappeared and a new keyword¡ª¡®determination¡¯¡ªwas formed. Even ¡®swordswoman¡¯ disappeared, replaced by ¡®woman¡¯. At least in this moment, she wasn¡¯t the Swordswoman Shin Yeonseo, but the woman Shin Yeonseo. ¡®Determination?¡¯ She smiled brightly at me. ¡°My mum says that there isn¡¯t a tree out there that won¡¯t go down after ten swings.¡± She balled her hands into fists, pumping herself up. ¡°If you don¡¯t go down after ten swings, I¡¯ll give up 100%. How about it?¡± ¡°¡­¡± No matter how I looked at her, she seemed serious. ¡°Just lend me your sword.¡± ¡°You¡¯ve promised me a date, okay?¡± Yeonseo lent me her sword. When I took a look at it, my mouth dropped wide open. ¡°Oi. What¡¯s this?¡± ¡°What do you mean, what¡¯s this? I thought you wanted to borrow it? The True Master of the Heavenly Demonic Mountain also gave permission.¡± The Shin Yeonseo who once rejoiced over a ¡®Quality Iron Sword¡¯ was long gone. ¡®She¡­ had this?¡¯ I almost ended up rubbing my eyes in disbelief. ¡®Why does she already have Asura?¡¯ It looked very different from the Asura I remembered. I opened up the item description. [Asura ¨C Growth-Type ¨C Fully Sealed] A legendary weapon made by smelting the Heavenly Demon¡¯s Vital Ki / Heavenly Demonic Mountain¡¯s Spirit Ki / Magic Pearl of a Dragon. Grade: Transcendent Attack power: 40-63 (currently sealed) Additional effects: Disabled Disabled Disabled Disabled Disabled Disabled 30% offensive innate ability damage amplification Can be freely modified to any shape of ¡®blade¡¯ Special note: In a fully sealed state. Not all of its strength can be drawn upon. A fully sealed state. That was why the majority of its additional effects were ¡®disabled¡¯. On top of that, it was a growth item. ¡®I see now, Asura was a growth item.¡¯ The more Yeonseo grew, the stronger this artifact would become. It was even ¡®transcendent¡¯ grade. There were rumors that the transcendent existed and the top Rankers were equipped with those transcendent items, but it was my first time confirming it with my own eyes. ¡®Transcendent items really do exist.¡¯ It was said that the top Rankers had a world of their own, the so-called World Above. A world that ordinary people didn¡¯t know about and could never hope to reach. It seemed that was really true. But seriously, why did an item of a grade this ridiculous even exist in the early game? There were eight frickin¡¯ additional effects currently shown. ¡®Even though most of the effects are disabled and the attack power is also greatly weakened¡­¡¯ Even despite that, it was an extremely outstanding item. Of the items in my possession, the one with the highest attack power was Mandra¡¯s Greatsword. Considering that Mandra¡¯s Greatsword had 18-22 attack power, you could say this was one hell of a sword. ¡®What a jackpot.¡¯ My plan to get overgeared and give myself the ¡®item halo¡¯ was going way better than I thought. * * * The formal name was the DMC Lucentia Tower, but it was normally called the ¡®Player Center¡¯. Even the taxi drivers didn¡¯t know where Lucentia Tower was, but they knew the Player Center. I found the choice of location mind-boggling. ¡®They really have no fucking clue.¡¯ It didn¡¯t matter now because we were in the beginner period, but once we got into the mid-game, indoor PVP was extremely dangerous. One misstep, and there could be significant damage to the building. Normally, PVP was done in specially made ¡®fields¡¯ or in open areas like clearings. ¡®The Players could even fall off.¡¯ This misinformed choice was made because the concept of PVP still wasn¡¯t full-fledged. Anyway, our PVP today would be private, by my request. ¡®No need to make Taeguk Shield¡¯s smackdown public.¡¯ Taeguk Shield needed to be heroes in the minds of the people. In light of our partnership, I wanted to protect their image. However, the other party seemed to have a different understanding of my request. A woman in tight-fitting black clothes that revealed every curve of her beautiful body with long, flowing, black hair that contrasted sharply with a snow-white face was sneering at us. Her name was Cheon Sooji. ¡®Poison Witch. Cheon Sooji.¡¯ State: Ridicule / Slight Contempt / Desire to Win There was another Taeguk Shield guild member standing next to her, a considerably handsome man with dyed blond hair. This man, who I remembered as having quite a lot of female fans but also many scandals, was named Gong Jinhoon. Nickname, Golden Priest. State: Regret / Pity / Slight Expectation They were staring at me with ridicule or regret. Most of the seven Taeguk Shield guild members here were the same. ¡®The reason why I asked for a private PVP¡­ was to save Byeon Gilsup¡¯s face, not mine.¡¯ They were clearly misunderstanding my intent. It seemed they thought that I feared my immediate and pathetic destruction and therefore asked for a private PVP. The Guildmaster of Taeguk Shield and I shared a simple greeting. ¡®Song Kiyeol¡¯s gaze is strangely shifting to Cheon Sooji.¡¯ It was impossible to tell with the physical eye. I couldn¡¯t really put it in words, but his ¡®invisible gaze¡¯, his attention, was on Cheon Sooji. I could guess the reason without much difficulty. ¡®My first opponent won¡¯t be Gilsup, but Sooji.¡¯ The Poison Witch Cheon Sooji. By the looks of it, this woman was going to try a little trick on me, in a way that couldn¡¯t quite be called a PVP. She probably had a trifling scheme up her sleeve. I smiled readily. ¡®That¡¯s right, this is what you should do. You should try every little trick in your book. Only then will you be qualified to work with me.¡¯ I waited a little, and sure enough, Cheon Sooji came up to me. I would be able to gain at least one thing from her approach, a thing that would be very useful in the Plum Blossom Gate, the ¡®Centipede Cave¡¯. Sooji had an item that I had to acquire before we went into the Centipede Cave. ¡®The first step begins now.¡¯ Chapter 96 Chapter 96: I took a look at Cheon Sooji. [Player] Name: Cheon Sooji Age: 27 Level: 29 Class: Poison Shaman Guardian: Soundless Serpens Innate ability: [Lustvenom Finger] State: Ridicule / Slight Contempt / Desire to Win Disposition: Sadistic / Erotic / Queen Summary: Queen Chasing Strength The disposition/state/summary only show the most representative and can change according to the situation. Because Eye of Perception¡¯s proficiency is not high enough, viewing more detailed information is impossible. In the three months while I was in the special hidden piece, most of the top Players hit level 30. Actually, leveling up to 30 was relatively easy. It was just that there were a ton of Players who weren¡¯t able to push through the Hell Phase that was level 30 to 40 and fell apart after reaching the limits of their talent. ¡®In any case, level 29 at this point in time puts her at the top.¡¯ Her Guardian was the ¡®Soundless Serpens¡¯. Not much was known about them other than their exclusive sponsorship of Cheon Sooji. They only rarely sent the ¡®Guardian is interested¡¯ or ¡®Guardian is watching¡¯ notices that were so common. ¡°Mr. Kim Hyukjin. There¡¯s something I¡¯d like to ask before the PVP match.¡± ¡°Feel free.¡± Song Kiyeol smoothly stepped aside, like he and Cheon Sooji had arranged this ahead of time. She asked, ¡°Why did you ask specifically for a private PVP? This would be a good opportunity to become famous.¡± She looked me up and down. Her eyes narrowed almost imperceptibly, almost like she had found a tasty piece of meat. The look in her eyes was strangely provocative, the kind of ambiguous gaze that made a man¡¯s heart thump. ¡°I didn¡¯t really want to publicize it.¡± I didn¡¯t want to show the world how their team¡ªmy business partner¡ªwas crushed by a non-combat class Player. ¡°It seems you already know it will be a thorough thrashing.¡± ¡°Yes.¡± Not me, but him. Byeon Gilsup was the one who would get thrashed. ¡°Are you a masochist by nature? What compelled a non-combat class to go into a PVP with a combat class, and one from Taeguk Shield, no less?¡± ¡°¡­¡± ¡°I admire your courage and backbone. It¡¯s the sort of look I like to see.¡± Cheon Sooji licked her red lips. Combined with the look in her eyes, she exuded an extremely ambiguous feel. It was like she was seduction made manifest. Clearly, Cheon Sooji was well aware of her strengths. She seemed very well-versed in how she should act to look flattering, what kind of look she should produce to arouse her opponent, and how to use her appearance to her advantage. ¡°Make a promise with me.¡± ¡°What kind of promise?¡± ¡°If you lose to my teammate Gilsup, come drink with me once. At night. Just the two of us.¡± ¡°¡­¡± ¡°Reckless guys like you are my type, you see.¡± But her state of ridicule and contempt exposed her too much for me to believe that. I looked at her extended pinky. Her little scheme was obvious to my eyes. ¡®Innate ability, Lustvenom Finger.¡¯ Her innate ability hadn¡¯t been revealed even in the future, but I was able to see it with ¡®Observer¡¯s Eye¡¯. ¡®She¡¯s got an amusing ability.¡¯ Lustvenom Finger. ¡®A finger that inflicts lust poison.¡¯ Eye of Perception had long since shown me the name of her ability, and ¡®Observer¡¯s Eye¡¯ traced the flow of mana in her body. I saw energy flowing towards her fingers. One part of her mana was gathered in her fingers, one part near her heart, and another part in her eyes. I was almost certain I knew what she was up to. ¡®She wants¡­ to work me up before the PVP, I guess.¡¯ It was hard to tell how effective Sooji¡¯s current level of innate ability would be on me, but I guessed it would only cause a little acceleration in my heartbeat or breathing, at most. ¡®But even just that could easily have a big influence on the PVP match.¡¯ So what should I do? What would the Guardians like to see me do? What kind of Play should I show them? I thought for a moment. Cheon Sooji stared openly at me with her white face and eyes of seduction that radiated the pheromones of the opposite sex. ¡°You won¡¯t promise me?¡± At the same time, my Eye of Perception perceived something. [Eye of Perception perceives a ¡®seductive energy¡¯.] [Eye of Perception is higher in grade than the ¡®seductive energy¡¯.] [Eye of Perception completely destroys the ¡®seductive energy¡¯.] It went beyond simple destruction. [The grade difference between Eye of Perception and the ¡®seductive energy¡¯ has been evaluated as ¡®very high¡¯.] Oho. I¡¯d never heard a notice like that before. ¡®I did expect Cheon Sooji to take the initiative to approach me.¡¯ That was something I had already known. I was sure she would approach me somehow and try to pull something. I was planning on using that to prepare for the ¡®Centipede Cave¡¯, but I hadn¡¯t expected this kind of notice to come up. [The proficiency of Eye of Perception is at least 2.] [The unlock condition for a new Eye of Perception ability has been fulfilled.] [A power of Eye of Perception, ¡®Mirror Sight¡¯, has been activated.] Last time, when I fought Kim Taechun, I got the additional power ¡®Future Sight¡¯. Yet another new power was activated. This time, it was ¡®Mirror Sight¡¯. [Mirror Sight] An eye that reflects intangible energy. This power has a strong reflective ability against all non-physical mental attacks, including vital energy. However, it will only activate when the energy trying to violate the wielder is markedly lower in grade than the wielder¡¯s ¡®Eye of Perception¡¯. If Mirror Sight is used on an ability of equivalent or higher grade, the user may lose their eyesight. The new power given to me, Mirror Sight, could reflect energies that were much lower in rank than Eye of Perception. ¡®I can¡¯t use it carelessly.¡¯ If I used it wrong, I could even lose my vision. However, it was safe to use it this time. [Use Mirror Sight?] I used it immediately. Since I just got it, why not give it a try? Cheon Sooji¡¯s body instantly flinched. What was the energy I¡¯d reflected just now? ¡®Ah. It was seductive energy.¡¯ Did that make me the one seducing her, then? ¡®At its current level, she won¡¯t get super seduced or anything like that.¡¯ It would just make her eyes a little more drawn to me, or make me look a little more handsome for no reason. That was all, so I didn¡¯t think it would cause any trouble for me. Once Mirror Sight kicked in, Cheon Sooji¡¯s mana flow got tangled up. By the looks of it, the activation of ¡®Lustvenom Finger¡¯ was cancelled. I spoke to the momentarily speechless Sooji. ¡°What will you give me if I win?¡± ¡°Whatever you want.¡± I stuck out my pinky and hooked it with hers. Her Lustvenom Finger had been deactivated, so it shouldn¡¯t be dangerous. ¡°Don¡¯t forget your promise. I want the ¡®Rot Water¡¯ that poison-class Players can make.¡± After finishing what I had to say, I turned my gaze away from Cheon Sooji and fixed my eyes on Song Kiyeol right next to her. ¡°Guildmaster Song Kiyeol. You have disappointed me considerably.¡± ¡°¡­I apologize. Miss Sooji insisted so strongly that¡­¡± Thankfully, Song Kiyeol didn¡¯t deny it. He acknowledged his fault and immediately apologized. He wasn¡¯t too unsightly. ¡°I apologize for acting rashly.¡± No matter how successful and strong Cheon Sooji might be, she would have never made a move with Song Kiyeol right there unless he was in on it. That meant she had informed him of her intent in advance, and the Guildmaster had given her tacit consent. ¡°Yes, you were wrong. I would like this to be a fair PVP.¡± The looks in the eyes of the Taeguk Shield guild members changed a little, as if they saw me in a slightly different light after I saw through Sooji¡¯s little trick with one glance. They were trying not to show it, but I could feel the guild members¡¯ displeasure. They were probably thinking something like ¡®Who the hell are you to think you deserve to work with Taeguk Shield?¡¯ ¡®They must think they¡¯re Korea¡¯s top elites.¡¯ They were a guild sponsored by Sungshin, after all. On a guild level, they were indeed the top in Korea. ¡®But individually, they don¡¯t reach the 8 Heroes.¡¯ That went for the Taeguk Shield Song Kiyeol as well. ¡®They¡¯re still frogs in a well.¡¯ I would show these frogs in a well a far broader sky. * * * Byeon Gilsup stood in front of me. ¡°My name is Byeon Gilsup. My main weapon is the spear.¡± ¡°My name is Kim Hyukjin. No real main weapon.¡± For now, I tended to reach for the sword, but it was hard to call it my ¡®main¡¯ weapon, since my most-used skill, ¡®Excellent Strike¡¯, wasn¡¯t limited to the sword. We finished up our simple introductions. ¡°Class, sovereign.¡± ¡°Class, spearman.¡± I took a look with Eye of Perception. [Player] Name: Byeon Gilsup Age: 26 Level: 30 Class: Successor of the Rayn Family Guardian: Gatekeeper of the Old Grave Innate ability: [Instant Acceleration] State: Desire to Win / Desire to Destroy / Restraint Disposition: Risk-taker / Impatient Summary: Spearman Full of Desire to Destroy The disposition/state/summary only show the most representative and can change according to the situation. Because Eye of Perception¡¯s proficiency is not high enough, viewing more detailed information is impossible. His innate ability was Instant Acceleration. I only learned this while interacting with future top Rankers, but there was a world I didn¡¯t know about. There were countless people out there who couldn¡¯t unlock a single innate ability, but these people had at least one innate ability starting from the beginner period. ¡®This is why they say Playing is all about talent.¡¯ A somewhat bitter world where you couldn¡¯t stand on the top with effort alone vs. the wretched world of futility that I¡¯d experienced in the past. I wasn¡¯t very nervous. I already knew a lot about Byeon Gilsup, including how he would attack. Disposition: Risk-taker / Impatient Summary: Spearman Full of Desire to Destroy Using this disposition and summary as a base, I already knew how he would move. It was so very clear that I didn¡¯t even need to use Future Sight. As soon as the match began, he would come charging at me full-blast. ¡®Tsk, tsk, how can you be so worked up before we¡¯ve even begun?¡¯ The PVP zone was established through Senia. [A PVP Zone has been declared.] [The ¡®Courageous Lion King¡¯ is focusing.] [The ¡®Nameless Observer¡¯ is observing.] [The ¡®Lady of the Scales¡¯ is indicating her interest.] [The ¡®True Master of the Heavenly Demonic Mountain¡¯ is full of anticipation.] The start and end of this PVP was already set in stone. It was just the process in between that would change a little depending on the situation. ¡®One more person. Who will it be?¡¯ It would be great if the Herdsman of the Las Vegas or the Merchant of Venice were to send a notice. Depending on which of the two was focusing on me, I would change my Play style a little. ¡®Not sending?¡¯ Right on cue, a notice came in. [The ¡®Herdsman of Las Vegas¡¯ watches with interest.] It was the Herdsman of Las Vegas. Without missing the perfect timing, I spoke. It was true that life was all about timing, but the ability to create and seize that timing was also a skill. ¡°Mr. Byeon Gilsup. Do you like to bet?¡± ¡°¡­What?¡± [The ¡®Herdsman of Las Vegas¡¯ is even more interested.] As he should be. Gambling and bets were the first things to come to mind when you thought of the Herdsman of Las Vegas. ¡°Would you like to have a bet with me?¡± Well then, shall we play? With the Herdsman of Las Vegas. Chapter 97 Chapter 97: ¡°What kind of bet?¡± Byeon Gilsup tilted his neck, probably wondering what kind of nonsense I was spouting all of a sudden. ¡°I will not move from this spot.¡± ¡°¡­What?¡± ¡°The first strike, I won¡¯t defend against it at all.¡± ¡°What do you mean?¡± ¡°I¡¯m sure you know where the vital points of humans are. Try attacking one of those points with all your strength. Of course, I won¡¯t dodge.¡± Gilsup¡¯s expression hardened. He was likely thinking that I was underestimating him right now. ¡°Will I truly be able to take that hit without dodging, or will I die?¡± ¡°Just what in the world are you saying?¡± ¡°Exactly as it sounds. I am certain that I will be able to take that attack without any damage.¡± I provoked him a little more. ¡°The reason why I requested a private PVP today was to show everyone here a new world.¡± I wanted to show these frogs in a well that the sky was far bigger than the well-sized piece they¡¯d been staring up at all this time. ¡°I will defeat you with an overwhelming difference in skill. To convince everyone in Taeguk Shield.¡± The spear Gilsup was holding quivered. ¡°How about it, Mr. Byeon Gilsup? An attack with every ounce of your strength. Would you like to try? I swear that I am not a tank. Let¡¯s bet on whether someone who isn¡¯t a tank like me can take such an attack without any damage or not.¡± Sure enough¡ª [The ¡®Lady of the Scales¡¯ advises against unnecessary provocation.] [The ¡®Nameless Observer¡¯ observes.] [The ¡®Courageous Lion King¡¯ is frustrated.] [The ¡®Whispering Devil¡¯ claps his hands with glee.] [The ¡®Herdsman of Las Vegas¡¯ is very interested.] Gilsup raised his spear. ¡°Fine,¡± he gritted, grinding his teeth. ¡°That high and mighty confidence of yours, let¡¯s see how long it can last.¡± It looked like he was pretty pissed off. Well, he was a Player with a lot of pride, so he was probably even more galled. Who would have thought that a non-combat class Player who wasn¡¯t even a tank, but a sovereign, would ever be treated with such scorn? ¡®I can¡¯t say for certain, but¡­¡¯ There was a high chance the Herdsman of Las Vegas made ¡®some kind of proposal¡¯ to Gilsup. If he accepted my bet, he might have a chance at a big reward. All the Taeguk Shield guild members were staring at me in bafflement, except for just one of them, Cheon Sooji. That made me sweat a bit¡ªwas ¡®Mirror Sight¡¯ too effective? There was slight but unmistakable interest in her gaze. ¡®Whatever, it¡¯ll probably fade soon.¡¯ ¡°I¡¯ll make you regret it within one minute,¡± said Gilsup. Our PVP match began. * * * Byeon Gilsup raised the main weapon he¡¯d enjoyed using lately, ¡®Nox¡¯s Spear¡¯. It had an attack power of around 35. He was sure of it. ¡®Excluding powerful blunt weapons, it has the highest damage.¡¯ Blunt weapons could deal a heavy, powerful blow, but they were much harder to swing. To use them, you had to sacrifice a lot of dexterity. But Gilsup¡¯s weapon was different. ¡®I believe in you, Nox¡¯s Spear.¡¯ He finished all his preparations to penetrate the heart of the rookie who had arrogantly claimed he would show them all a different sky. ¡®I¡¯ll stab through.¡¯ He drew back his arm, leveling his spear so it was parallel to the ground. A single-point stab. When his speartip reached the target point, he would increase the rotational force. ¡®You will definitely regret this.¡¯ He loaded the balls of his feet with far more strength than usual. That was so he could deliver a ¡®stab¡¯ with all his weight behind it. You couldn¡¯t use such an exaggerated movement in a real battle, since there would be too much danger of counterattack if you threw all your weight into one attack like this. ¡®I¡¯ll stab his heart.¡¯ Song Kiyeol observed Gilsup in silence. He, of course, did not doubt Gilsup¡¯s powerful stab. ¡®His target seems to be the heart.¡¯ The heart was a big weak point for humans. And yet, Hyukjin was allowing an undefended attack on such a vulnerable spot. Did sovereign Players have some kind defense skill? ¡°Here I come!¡± Gilsup¡¯s spear surged forward in a horizontal line with all his weight behind it, looking like he was one with the spear. The point of his spear rushed in unwaveringly, aiming precisely for a single spot. Hyukjin wasn¡¯t all that shaken by it. ¡®It¡¯s coming.¡¯ There was a very brief moment during which he read Gilsup¡¯s movement. This was the strongest single attack Gilsup was capable of, his strongest stab. He saw how Gilsup¡¯s body moved to create the stab, how the mana in his body flowed. Something hit his heart. [The Great Orc Warrior¡¯s partial set effect is activating.] [All damage has been nullified.] The strike that should have gone through his heart felt like a kid¡¯s weak fist hitting his chest. Actually, it couldn¡¯t even really be called an ¡®impact¡¯, since it was as weak as the kind of drumming you did when your chest felt stuffy. ¡°Huh¡­?¡± Gilsup made an expression of disbelief. ¡®There was¡­ zero damage?¡¯ Hyukjin grinned. ¡°Are you sure that was your strongest attack?¡± Song Kiyeol was just as flabbergasted. He did think that Hyukjin had something up his sleeve, but he never thought Hyukjin would be able to shrug off Gilsup¡¯s attack with absolutely zero damage. ¡®What in the world was that?¡¯ Just then, Han Seokmin said, ¡°It¡¯s the power of items.¡± Hyukjin nodded. He hadn¡¯t intended on keeping it a secret anyway, and he knew that Taeguk Shield had Han Seokmin. He had seen a glimpse of Han Seokmin¡¯s ability in action in the Hill of Blowing Wind. This man, who would one day become famous as the ¡®Analyst¡¯, wouldn¡¯t find it difficult to figure out this much. ¡®Seeing as he concluded that ¡®it¡¯s the power of items¡¯ instead of ¡®it¡¯s probably the power of items¡¯, he¡¯s pretty skilled.¡¯ The Analyst Han Seokmin. He might be second best now, but he would be a big help later on. Plus, he would be a pretty good match with Hyukjin, an Observer. Song Kiyeol still had a look of disbelief on his face. No matter how good the item was, how could it completely nullify Gilsup¡¯s attack? It was mind-boggling. No item he could think of was capable of that. That mystery item Hyukjin possessed had completely blocked an attack from a determined spearman aiming at a vital point. Wasn¡¯t that essentially like giving you a second life? Hyukjin explained. ¡°Being overgeared is also a skill.¡± Since he had decided to show them the broad sky above, he elaborated in slightly greater detail. Simply subduing Byeon Gilsup was meaningless. ¡°A set effect that completely blocks any attack from under level 35 kicked in.¡± ¡°¡­There¡¯s an effect like that?¡± ¡°Do you think President Song was blinded by new tech for no reason? Think he didn¡¯t expect an effect like this?¡± Hyukjin continued to talk to Kiyeol, completely ignoring the spearman he was in a PVP with. ¡°Do not underestimate new tech too much.¡± Since he was doing this, he wanted to raise them well. ¡°Because Taeguk Shield may just become the cornerstone business of Sungshin.¡± That was enough to drive in his point. Song Kiyeol had seen the power of ¡®new tech¡¯ for himself. Having a vague estimation of something¡¯s power was world¡¯s apart from seeing it in action. Kiyeol felt goosebumps rise on his arms. ¡®Mr. Kim Hyukjin isn¡¯t PVPing right now¡­¡¯ he thought numbly. This wasn¡¯t a PVP. It was a lecture, one given to him and the guild members Taeguk Shield while everyone was gathered in one spot. It stung his pride, but Kiyeol would take what was offered. The business that could give him a definite edge in the competition with his little sister¡­ was the new tech business. The attack just now had engraved that lesson in his bones. Hyukjin smiled. Summary: Guildmaster who Met his Teacher Song Kiyeol seemed to finally have the right mindset. Only once he was satisfied with his progress on the Guildmaster did Hyukjin turn his gaze back to Byeon Gilsup. The spearman looked like he had suffered quite the shock. ¡°There is a wide range of item effects. The effect and worth of items will completely change based on how you distribute and use them.¡± ¡°¡­¡± Gilsup regripped his spear. ¡°I¡¯ve lost the bet, but I haven¡¯t lost the PVP yet.¡± ¡°That¡¯s true.¡± Hyukjin tossed him a little hope. ¡°The absolute defense ability I just used can only be used once per day.¡± Before he regressed, the set effect of the Great Orc Warrior set was simply a natural part of everyday life, something so well-known that there were all sorts of strategies that hinged on it. There was no need to bend over backwards to keep it a secret, so he used it to teach a lesson instead. ¡®The Players need to get their act together.¡¯ Thanks to Hyukjin, the difficulty of the Korean server was noticeably reduced, and as a result, the Players were quite a bit weaker than they were in the past. He judged that a little education was necessary in order to strengthen what was weakened. ¡°If Taeguk Shield changes first, becoming more proactive after realizing the worth of new tech for themselves, it will definitely influence the other Players to do the same.¡± This wasn¡¯t just a PVP, but a stroke in the big picture. The Guardians who were watching all this from one step away scrambled to send messages. [The ¡®Lady of the Scales¡¯ is awed by your unbiased view.] [The ¡®Barrier of Blue Light¡¯ keenly understands your feelings.] The justice-aligned Lady and defense-attribute Barrier Guardians actively endorsed him, [The ¡®Courageous Lion King¡¯ is bored.] the courage-lover was bored, and the Whispering Devil wasn¡¯t very amused by his Playing. [The ¡®Nameless Observer¡¯ continues to observe.] The Nameless Observer seemed to always be among the five Guardians who sent messages. As usual, they were maintaining their neutral position. ¡®In any case, I¡¯ve sufficiently shown the Guardians the picture I¡¯m going for, too.¡¯ That meant it was time to wrap up the PVP. ¡°Let¡¯s return to the PVP,¡± said Hyukjin. Then, he pulled out Yeonseo¡¯s sword, the item of a grade he hadn¡¯t even been sure had existed. ¡°This time, I will use a sword.¡± * * * The movements of the future Spear Demon Byeon Gilsup were fast. He appeared to be stepping straight forward, but suddenly swerved right and left as he aimed for Hyukjin¡¯s side. ¡°Hiya!¡± He made it seem like he was going for the side, but his spear whipped upwards without any warning and came down like a guillotine. Whumpf¨C! His spear shaft came hurtling down towards the crown of Hyukjin¡¯s head. Hyukjin had completely read Gilsup¡¯s movements. He nudged the spear shaft away with his palm, twisting. It was difficult to block a vertical strike from the bottom. At worst, the impact could even fracture his wrist. Instead of opting for a reckless head-on match of strength, Hyukjin slipped away to the side. ¡®I can see the opening.¡¯ If he immediately rushed in and swung his sword, he could easily subdue Gilsup. However, he didn¡¯t do so. ¡®What a¡­ strange feeling.¡¯ It was similar to what he had experienced when fighting Kim Taechun, an opponent far weaker than himself; a similar feeling to when he¡¯d gotten Eye of Perception¡¯s special power, ¡®Future Sight¡¯. A strange feeling, like he could see something. ¡®No, I can actually see it more clearly than that.¡¯ The King of Swords Asura was showing him the sword path, and unbeknownst to Hyukjin, he was being drawn into it. Hyukjin, who had never learned swordsmanship, began to learn. Chapter 98 Chapter 98: ¡®Asura¡­ is showing me the sword path.¡¯ I was definitely the one moving the sword, but it felt like Asura itself was fighting. I could see new paths and points I hadn¡¯t seen before. ¡®I could have pierced his forehead just now.¡¯ But once again, I stayed my hand. All these paths and points, the so-called sword path, were a new learning experience and lesson for me. ¡®My movements have become much lighter, too.¡¯ I realized that my movements had become very similar to Yeonseo¡¯s. Of course, they weren¡¯t as clean as hers. Looking purely at ¡®sword-related technique¡¯, Yeonseo was a step above me. But I had something Yeonseo didn¡¯t. ¡®Stats and items.¡¯ With the edge they gave me, I was creating movements that almost mirrored hers. I was physically creating a technique. ¡®Modifying Heavenly Demonic Flying Step into a foot technique would probably feel something like this.¡¯ I could feel that I was growing in the midst of battle. It was different from fighting a monster. My growth felt far faster when I was facing humans. I swung my sword in a trance, in the state that was called being ¡®one with the sword¡¯. After not much time passed, I heard a notice. [The innate ability ¡®Sword Path Tracing¡¯ has been awakened.] ¡®Huh?¡¯ The notice startled me out of the trance I¡¯d been in. ¡®Sword Path Tracing?¡¯ [Sword Path Tracing] An ability that creates sword paths. No matter the situation, it will trace sword paths to attack an opponent within attack range. For a moment, I nearly forgot I was in a battle against Gilsup. ¡®This¡­ is a pretty famous innate ability.¡¯ It was an innate ability typically possessed by cream of the crop swordsmen, commonly called the swordsmen Rankers. At least 50% of them possessed the special talent called ¡®Sword Path Tracing¡¯. And I¡­ acquired that. ¡®No, I didn¡¯t acquire it; I awakened it.¡¯ ¡®Even if I were going mad with pain, even if I myself couldn¡¯t see any paths. Even if I lost both my arms¡­ it will create a path and follow through, no matter what.¡¯ That was the power of ¡®Sword Path Tracing¡¯. Both your arms could be cut off and the ability would still carry out the attack as long as the opponent was within attack range. There was even a case where the Sword Ghost Lee Changhyun successfully pierced the ¡®Red Eye¡¯ by gripping his sword with his teeth because his arms had been cut off. I felt a surge of happiness. ¡®It kinda feels like I just got a killer move.¡¯ The day would undoubtedly come when I would be able to make very good use of this new card. I fought Byeon Gilsup with leisure, moving far more naturally and smoothly than before, now that Asura had taught me to read sword paths. * * * From the side, Yeonseo perceived it clearly: Hyukjin had gotten stronger once again. Every time she thought she was catching up to him, he pulled ahead again, and the process repeated. Looking at her rival made her feel a burst of agitation once again, a feeling that quickly transformed into happy excitement. Excitement from seeing a strong person, and happiness from the fact that she was that strong person¡¯s closest teammate. ¡®Like I said, he¡¯s got a serious talent for exciting people.¡¯ She filled her eyes with the sight of Hyukjin. Just then, Byeon Gilsup¡¯s spear fell out of his hands. ¡°Haah¡ª! Haah¡ª!¡± Hyukjin¡¯s sword, Asura, rested lightly on the spearman¡¯s throat. ¡°Do you acknowledge defeat?¡± ¡°¡­¡± The panting Gilsup bit his lips. He had no choice but to acknowledge defeat, but he was being stubborn. It was hard for him to acknowledge that he, a spearman class Player, was defeated by a sovereign class. And that was a result Hyukjin had intentionally crafted. ¡®I¡¯m sure he¡¯s quite pissed.¡¯ Hyukjin intentionally showed him openings and chose not to attack. He gave Gilsup many opportunities to win. Reason number one was because he was having fun with the new ability Asura had given him, and reason number two was to agitate Byeon Gilsup even more. The spearman spoke, barely managing to swallow his rage. ¡°It seems that the sovereign class¡­ has many chances to acquire good items.¡± ¡°Yes, of course. It¡¯s called sovereign for a reason.¡± ¡°Your items are so strong that I¡¯m left wondering if this is truly a fair fight.¡± By the standards of the future, that was a completely ridiculous thing to say. In the future, the ¡°item halo¡± was recognized as another kind of skill. That was just a natural fact of life. ¡®But in the beginning days of Playing, being overgeared wasn¡¯t recognized.¡¯ In the early game, the public sentiment in not just Korea, but the whole world, was stacked against items in PVP. Hyukjin was keenly aware of that. ¡®It¡¯s the same now, huh.¡¯ The flow of the past and now was the same. ¡°Items, you say.¡± ¡°Alright then. I¡¯ve passed on all the outstanding items.¡± He stopped himself from saying one more thing, which was ¡°I haven¡¯t even used the special ability of the Wind Shoes¡±. He thought he would need to use ¡®Imaginary Running Start¡¯ at least once, but that wasn¡¯t the case. His thoughts on the battle with Byeon Gilsup were simple. ¡®It¡¯s way easier than I expected.¡¯ The PVP was way easier than he thought, even considering he had the help of Asura. ¡°On the other hand, you have something called the class halo, Mr. Byeon Gilsup. Am I wrong?¡± ¡°That¡¯s¡­¡± ¡°If you want to comment on items with me, it¡¯s only right to talk about your class halo first.¡± ¡°¡­¡± Gilsup wasn¡¯t the type of person to harp on the ridiculous. He was rendered speechless for a moment. ¡°Though well, even your class halo is meaningless.¡± Hyukjin closed in on the spearman instantly using Flash Step, an attack he¡¯d shown everyone here before. He got behind Gilsup¡¯s undefended back and stabbed his neck with a dagger, severing the carotid artery. ¡°You mustn¡¯t let your guard down until the very end.¡± It all happened in an instant. ¡°It was you who said that the PVP hadn¡¯t ended yet.¡± With a single attack, blood surged out of Gilsup¡¯s neck. Hyukjin released his grip. Plop! The spearman slumped to the ground like a puppet with cut strings, dying on the spot. [You have won the PVP match.] Cheon Sooji¡¯s eyes widened as she watched. She hadn¡¯t been able to read Hyukjin¡¯s movements just now. ¡®A clean strike free of superfluous movements.¡¯ No, it wasn¡¯t just about being clean. It was downright terrifying. ¡®The way he cut a person¡¯s throat¡­ was extremely natural.¡¯ They might be in a PVP zone where Players were resurrected, but even so, severing a living person¡¯s carotid artery wasn¡¯t something just anyone could do. Just now, Hyukjin almost looked like a demon of slaughter who had killed a thousand, tens of thousands of times. Sooji felt the breath catch in her throat. ¡®Scary.¡¯ It was scary and terrifying. She replayed it in her mind and found that she wouldn¡¯t have been able to avoid that merciless strike, either. She was sure of it. No, she knew that was an exaggeration. But still, she felt a strange sense of pressure from that man. Her heart thumped unbidden, and a strange nervousness, a strange fear, pulsed through her veins. And in the midst of it, there was a tingly, exhilarating thrill. Her heart began to beat wildly. ¡®That man. I want him.¡¯ In the meantime, Byeon Gilsup revived in a flash of light. * * * After reviving, Gilsup¡¯s face flushed red. Hyukjin grinned at him in open provocation. ¡°We can fight again if you like.¡± ¡°¡­¡± But Gilsup had already felt it. Facing Hyukjin was like facing a wall. He was a strong person Gilsup couldn¡¯t even begin to face with his current skills. ¡®I¡¯m furious.¡¯ He was angry, but there was nothing he could do. A defeat was a defeat. ¡®And I¡¯m scared.¡¯ On one hand, he was furious, and on the other, he was scared. Those two contradictory emotions gripped him as Hyukjin continued talking. ¡°I¡¯m a sovereign class. You¡¯re a spearman class. I imagine that 1 vs. 1 PVP is a spearman¡¯s specialty.¡± ¡°¡­¡± ¡°Though in terms of the result, the class difference was pretty much meaningless.¡± Hyukjin himself was a little fascinated. It had simply been too easy. Even if two people were the same level and a similar class, their abilities would be heaven and hell apart based on talent. They were both ¡®men in their 20s¡¯, but there was a marked difference in skill within that group. ¡®Even though Byeon Gilsup¡­ should be a Player with a talent that Kim Taechun can¡¯t even compare to.¡¯ And yet, he won, and far more easily than he expected. So easily that he wondered if this was really alright. In any case, he successfully carried out the 1st round of forestalling, which meant he could also get the thing Cheon Sooji had promised him. This was where it really began. ¡°I¡¯ve brought all my party members here.¡± He¡¯d gone out of his way to bring all his party members here for this picture. After winning a 1 vs. 1 and provoking the other party, they would have a group battle. Hyukjin wanted to prove not only his individual strength, but his overwhelming skill even in a guild vs. guild battle. He wanted to show them that there was a true sky beyond the one they knew. ¡°We¡¯ve had a battle that shows off your specialty¡­¡± Hyukjin stared at Song Kiyeol as he spoke, ¡°So how about having a battle that shows off mine this time? It¡¯s only fair that I also get a chance to show you what a class halo is. What do you think?¡± Kiyeol fell into a moment of thought. What Hyukjin was saying was that direct battle wasn¡¯t his forte, so they should come at him if they had the balls, and he would show them his true ability, the ¡®sovereign class¡¯. The gears in Kiyeol¡¯s brain turned rapidly, flicking the abacus beads of profit and loss from accepting this battle. He realized Hyukjin¡¯s intent. Hyukjin wasn¡¯t asking them to fight like this simply to provoke. ¡®His intent is clear.¡¯ ¡®How can a person like him possibly be 20 years old?¡¯ He was almost sure he knew what Hyukjin intended. When he realized it, Kiyeol found himself growing calm. ¡®First. To show not just his individual dominance, but the dominance of his entire team.¡¯ In addition¡ª ¡®Second. To bolster my assertion that we need to actively cooperate with his party.¡¯ In other words, to prove that his discernment as the Guildmaster of Taeguk Shield was correct. ¡®Third. To make the Taeguk Shield guild members submissive by showing an overwhelming difference in skill.¡¯ In other words, he was pre-empting every possible problem. Once he fully realized Hyukjin¡¯s intent, Kiyeol had to really think for a moment. If things went as Hyukjin intended, it was almost guaranteed that Taeguk Shield would be defeated. He couldn¡¯t be sure if their loss would truly be a good thing. ¡®And if we were to win?¡¯ That would be good in its own way. He had more than enough willingness to cooperate with Hyukjin anyway. From what Kiyeol had seen so far, Kim Hyukjin had competence in spades. If Taeguk Shield won, Kiyeol would be able to take a slightly more favorable position in their relationship moving forward. ¡®We¡­ will do our best to win.¡¯ Winning was of course good, but there wasn¡¯t much to lose from losing, either. That was the kind of big picture Hyukjin had drawn for him. And so, he accepted. ¡°I accept your proposal, Mr. Kim Hyukjin.¡± Their side had a rough estimation of the other side¡¯s forces, compiled based on the eyewitness reports of the survivors from the Hill of Blowing Wind. Kiyeol figured that they might have a slight edge in that regard. Hyukjin spoke to Senia. ¡°Senia. Can you declare a GVG zone instead of a PVP zone?¡± ¡°The declaration of a GVG zone requires the sponsorship of a Guardian.¡± Not long afterwards, Senia spoke again. ¡°It is possible to declare a GVG. This GVG will be sponsored by the Herdsman of Las Vegas.¡± Notices came in. [A GVG Zone has been declared.] [Moving to the GVG Zone.] The Players were covered in light, and no one was able to see the profound smile on Hyukjin¡¯s lips. Song Kiyeol¡¯s belief that this was a ¡®big picture drawn Hyukjin drew for him¡¯ was only half right. ____ Chapter 99 Chapter 99: I craned my ears to hear the notices. ¡®We¡¯re probably the first people to have satisfied the GVG conditions.¡¯ If PVP was Player vs. Player, GVG was Guild vs. Guild. The scale varied depending on the situation, but it was often called ¡®a small-scale war¡¯. ¡®Is it one after all¡­?¡¯ Whether the first GVG was a hidden piece or not was a long-standing debate. Was the first GVG truly a hidden piece? No one had confirmed which guild was the first to open a GVG. Several guilds claimed to have held the first GVG, so everyone said something different. Now, I would be able to resolve this age-old question. GVG content was actually something that showed up in the mid-game, so I had pulled it way forward in the timeline. The next moment, I heard a notice. [This is the first GVG.] [A Hidden Piece has been fulfilled.] We had been moved to an open clearing. The ground was hard cement, and it was a plain, featureless place with no slopes or obstacles, kind of like a training hall. The opposing guild, the guild members of Taeguk Shield, grew wide-eyed. ¡°Hid-Hidden piece?¡± ¡°A hidden piece was triggered.¡± Their faces were flushed with great excitement. Seeing their reactions, Sunhwa tilted her head. ¡°Oppa. Was a hidden piece really that amazing?¡± ¡°¡­¡± Yeah, it was. Ordinary people were hardly ever able to experience a hidden piece, and finding an unpublicized one was near impossible. I thought about telling Sunhwa that, but I didn¡¯t. ¡®She probably won¡¯t get it.¡¯ After being exclusively around me and other Players with top-level talent, her common sense was very twisted. If I had to guess, it might be something like a rich kid who had a chauffeur not knowing how much a bus ticket cost. In the end, I settled for just saying, ¡°Normally, they¡¯re hard to find,¡± and Sunhwa nodded, but as I thought, she didn¡¯t seem all that convinced. In any case, it was true that this was a hidden piece. A new quest was given on the heels of the last notice. [The hidden quest ¡®Achieve Victory in the First Battle!¡¯ has been triggered.] This was a reward given by the System itself and had nothing to do with the reward from the sponsor of this battle, the Herdsman of Las Vegas. Song Kiyeol was, of course, a little flushed as well. ¡°Shall we begin the battle?¡± ¡°One moment, please. There is something I need to check. Let¡¯s begin a little bit later.¡± ¡°Understood.¡± With that, their side earned some time to strategize, which our side needed as well. ¡°Hold on.¡± Strategizing was important, too, but there really was something I needed to check. The yellow [!!!] marks in front of my eyes. [The Hidden Piece ¡®Achieve Victory in the First Battle!¡¯ has been fulfilled.] [There is a title that can be connected to the first discovery of the Hidden Piece ¡®Achieve Victory in the First Battle!¡¯] That title was ¡®First Pioneer¡¯. [Will you connect the title ¡®First Pioneer¡¯ with the Hidden Piece ¡®Achieve Victory in the First Battle!¡¯ and trigger the linked scenario?] I checked the details immediately. If a Player with the [First Pioneer] title is the first to discover a [Hidden Piece], it is possible to trigger a linked scenario. Linked scenarios can be triggered three times. Linked Scenarios Triggered: [1/3] Linked Hidden Piece: [Pioneer who Seized the First Victory] Scenario: Make a significant contribution in the upcoming war. Upon clearing the scenario quest, the title [First Pioneer] will be upgraded to [Pioneer of Victory]. A linked scenario came up. For the Gold Turtle¡¯s Collective Spirit and the Seoul Station Dungeon, I chose ¡®NO¡¯, and for the ¡®Challenge to the Jackpot¡¯, I chose ¡®YES¡¯. This time, my choice was¡ª ¡®YES.¡¯ The part about making a ¡®significant contribution¡¯ was a little vague, but I judged that it was best to accept this time. The reward was a title upgrade, of all things, and the title in question was one with a whopping 20% additional EXP bonus. Upgrading it if possible was a no-brainer. [The connection between the title effect and Hidden Piece has been completed.] I made my decision. The GVG with them was part of the picture from the start, ever since I was first notified about the ¡®1st Players Convention¡¯. Ever since I whispered to Senia and told her I would ¡®bring Taeguk Shield under me¡¯, this situation was part of my plan. ¡°I¡¯ll distribute the roles starting now. Listen up.¡± The reason why I came here in the first place was to prove my ability as a sovereign. And now, it was time to do that. * * * Hyukjin was already well aware of the other side¡¯s forces. All of them would be famous Players in the future. The numbers didn¡¯t match up, so one of them stepped out for a total of six Players. The Taeguk Shield, Song Kiyeol. The Poison Witch, Cheon Sooji. The Spear Demon, Byeon Gilsup. The Analyst, Han Seokmin. The Sand Giant, Shin Kangha. Each of them would grow into Rankers everyone would acknowledge. But Hyukjin¡¯s side weren¡¯t easy foes, either. The Fist King, So Yoohyun. The Fire Lord, Choi Sung-gu. The Typhoon, Jo Sunghyun. The Sword Empress, Shin Yeonseo. They weren¡¯t just easy foes, but people who were actually far more famous. Not yet, but still. With the Kim siblings, Hyukjin and Sunhwa, added to the four, their team had six Players as well. [The GVG has begun.] As soon as the match began, Hyukjin used his special skill, Flash Step. His goal was to get behind the Golden Priest, Gong Jinhoon. The blonde-haired man was currently wearing a silver armor item, and all for a simple goal¡ªto hide that he was a ¡®healer¡¯. ¡®I already know that you¡¯re a healer.¡¯ Closing in instantly, Hyukjin stabbed at Gong Jinhoon¡¯s neck with his dagger. Rather, he tried to. Song Kiyeol had reacted with alacrity. ¡°I knew you¡¯d do this¡­!¡± The Taeguk Shield Kiyeol protected Jinhoon¡¯s neck with a special energy. Hyukjin had already shown them Flash Step before, and Han Seokmin had analyzed Hyukjin¡¯s most likely first step, using that as a base. For a very brief moment, Song Kiyeol tasted the hope of victory. ¡®It was exactly as Seokmin analyzed.¡¯ If that side had the sovereign Kim Hyukjin, their side had Han Seokmin, a tactician class Player who could even use a special ability called ¡®Oracle¡¯. The problem was that Hyukjin knew that Taeguk Shield had Han Seokmin, and he knew Seokmin would read him. Hyukjin grinned. ¡°I knew, too.¡± At the same time, Yeonseo charged. Hyukjin was bait. The true attack was from Yeonseo. She moved far faster than she normally showed, an explosive speed that wasn¡¯t quite as fast as Flash Step, but more than speedy enough to stab the opponent. She cut right into the momentary opening and pierced Gong Jinhoon¡¯s neck. ¡°Gugh!¡± Yeonseo¡¯s Single Hit Finisher showed that it fully deserved its name. Jinhoon crumpled on the spot. He didn¡¯t die, but he flailed, unable to bear the pain. He wouldn¡¯t be able to heal in that state. In the meantime, Cheon Sooji attacked Yeonseo. Black marble-like spheres of poison sprayed towards Yeonseo. Whooosh¨C! A wind came out of nowhere. It was a man-made wind, a special breeze manifested via magic. A Magic Wind blew in. It was Jo Sunghyun. ¡®I¡¯ve already done this once before.¡¯ They had already experienced a similar attack. The poison marbles were similar to the attack used by the Ghosts on the Hill of Blowing Wind. The experience they¡¯d gained from dodging those marbles was already engraved in their bodies. Sunghyun slightly altered the trajectory of the poison marbles, and that slight change gave Yeonseo a great deal of breathing room when dodging. ¡°Thanks!¡± she called out, widening the space between them in an instant. Hyukjin hadn¡¯t been able to extricate himself yet, but Song Kiyeol could sense that something was going off-kilter. There was hope. ¡®We¡¯ll kill the sovereign!¡¯ He knew that Hyukjin held a huge role in their party. If Hyukjin died, a big crack would definitely form in their side. [Using the skill Restraint.] Something like a pool of blue mana appeared under Hyukjin¡¯s feet. It was Kiyeol¡¯s skill, a restraining skill. Thinking that Hyukjin was restrained, Gilsup stabbed with his spear. ¡°Hyaaa!¡± The extremely fast attack looked as if it would pierce Hyukjin¡¯s heart, but he had already seen the future. [Utilizing the power of Future Sight.] Even Hyukjin couldn¡¯t predict every single situation that could occur in a battle. He couldn¡¯t overcome everything with his intuition and analysis alone. Therefore, he used Future Sight, though it would exhaust him. Through it, he read Byeon Gilsup¡¯s attack like it was telegraphed. The spearman¡¯s goal was his neck. ¡®Though he¡¯s making it look like he¡¯s going for my heart.¡¯ In the end, the path would end at his throat. It was probably a special skill that suddenly changed path and struck a different weak point, something similar to ¡®Sword Path Tracing¡¯. Hyukjin twisted a little. Armed in the Great Orc Warrior set, his defense far exceeded the average Player¡¯s. ¡®I can definitely do it.¡¯ As he slightly twisted, he pushed away Gilsup¡¯s spear. ¡®Break the weapon balance, and¡­¡¯ He rushed up to Gilsup. Splurt! Splurt! Splurt! He stabbed the dagger he was holding into Gilsup¡¯s side multiple times in quick succession. He wasn¡¯t greedy; inflicting an injury was enough. ¡°Oryaa! Boulder Fist!¡± With Yoohyun¡¯s assistance, Hyukjin got out of the Taeguk Shield encirclement. It was only a brief confrontation, but the tide of the battle had already completely shifted. Song Kiyeol couldn¡¯t believe it. ¡°May I ask you one thing?¡± ¡°Anytime.¡± ¡°Are you sure you are a non-combat class?¡± Shin Yeonseo moving much faster than expected was surprising on its own, but Hyukjin¡¯s movements were beyond all imagination. It was impossible to view him as a non-combat class. He didn¡¯t just take an attack; he used his sturdy body and outstanding reflexes to knock away Gilsup¡¯s spear. ¡®Despite it being an unconventional attack Gilsup didn¡¯t show in the PVP match.¡¯ The unconventional nature of the attack meant absolutely nothing to Hyukjin, who saw through it in a single glance like he knew it was coming. As a result, he had the leisure to get close to Gilsup and had about 0.5 seconds to deal an injury. His ability to adapt, his agility, his situational judgment, all of it went beyond expectation. Kiyeol thought to himself¡­ that this was how it would feel to meet a genius above geniuses. ¡°There¡¯s no doubt. I notarized it through my Intermediate Administrator.¡± Hyukjin shrugged. ¡°Like I said, I¡¯m a sovereign.¡± ¡°¡­¡± There was no law forbidding a sovereign from directly engaging in battle, but still, this was too much, wasn¡¯t it? Song Kiyeol asked again, ¡°Just in terms of fighting capability alone¡­ about where do you stand inside your team, Mr. Kim Hyukjin?¡± It was an important question. Hyukjin grinned. ¡°I will only say that I am indeed a non-combat class Player.¡± ¡°Do you mean¡­ that you are the weakest one?¡± ¡°I can¡¯t tank as well as this kid, I¡¯m worse at single-hit DPS than Yoohyun, I¡¯m slower than Yeonseo, and of course, these two are better than me at magic.¡± He shrugged again. ¡°Well, something along those lines.¡± He smiled, giving a boast that wasn¡¯t just empty words. ¡°By the way, these guys haven¡¯t even gotten started yet.¡± He phrased it exactly to make the Taeguk Shield guild members misunderstand. The weakest one, the sovereign, nearly single-handedly created this situation. He was saying one thing: Think you can really face us as a team when the weakest one among us was capable of wreaking such havoc? ¡°How did you cast off my restraint?¡± ¡°That¡¯s a secret.¡± It wasn¡¯t anything big, just that Hyukjin¡¯s magic resistance was far higher than Kiyeol¡¯s restraining ability. Hyukjin was just as surprised when he saw the future via Future Sight. ¡®Guess my magic resistance is super high.¡¯ Eye of Perception, which alerted Hyukjin to danger, didn¡¯t go off this time, which meant the Guildmaster¡¯s Restraint was simply that weak. There was just that much of a gap between them. ¡®Byeon Gilsup is weaker than I thought, and so is Song Kiyeol¡­¡¯ They were all a little weaker than Hyukjin expected. While Hyukjin was feeling that it was easy, Kiyeol felt like he was facing a massive wall. ¡®I really¡­ cannot see a way to win.¡¯ It was like chipping away at a stone wall with a spoon. Just then, someone said to Hyukjin, ¡°We haven¡¯t gotten started yet, either.¡± The voice belonged to Shin Kangha, the Player who would one day become famous as the Sand Giant. His extremely strong competitiveness made him a Player who would rather die than lose. At Kangha¡¯s words, Kiyeol snapped out of his daze. It felt like they were fighting a wall, but they still had to do their best to the very end. His combative spirit blazed up again. Hyukjin raised his index finger. ¡°The GVG hasn¡¯t ended yet. I merely engaged in conversation because you asked me to.¡± He pointed his finger at Song Kiyeol and mumbled a stream of incomprehensible words. Kiyeol panicked. ¡®Mag¡­ic?¡¯ ____ Chapter 100 Chapter 100: Hyukjin raised his finger on purpose, as if he were going to do something. As if¡­ he were going to use magic. He pointed his finger at Song Kiyeol and called out, ¡°Bang!¡± Kiyeol flinched, and Observer¡¯s Eye captured the mana moving urgently in his body. ¡®That¡¯s the energy of a tank.¡¯ Hyukjin couldn¡¯t put how it differed in words; he just felt it instinctively. That was the energy of a tank, an energy with a focus on defense. That energy covered the Guildmaster¡¯s body, and Hyukjin had the feeling it was especially concentrated on the forehead. A cheeky voice came from behind Hyukjin. ¡°Heh. Fooled ya, huh?¡± It was Choi Sung-gu. His flame whip was making another appearance. The magic was moving significantly more smoothly than before, an indication that his cooperation with Sunghyun had become much more natural. Hyukjin¡¯s finger was a fake. ¡°Shabam! Fiery Flame~ Whip~!¡± Sung-gu and Sunghyun¡¯s fusion magic, Flame Whip, smashed down on Shin Kangha. ¡°Take this! Gooooo!¡± Fwoooosh¨C! Flames raged on Shin Kangha¡¯s body. Hyukjin read Kiyeol¡¯s mental state. State: Panic / Mentally Groggy In order to properly block a spell from two mages who had been quietly preparing all this time, you would need the tank Kiyeol, or Gilsup or Sooji would have to attack the mages. ¡®Gilsup is injured. Sooji is being marked by Sunhwa and Yeonseo.¡¯ That left Song Kiyeol as the best person to block the spell, but he was completely tricked by Hyukjin¡¯s fake out. Hyukjin didn¡¯t think the spell alone was enough to kill Shin Kangha. ¡®With his defense, he¡¯ll be able to survive it.¡¯ Sure enough, Kangha¡¯s body started to transform. ¡®Morph enhancement Player.¡¯ Sand wrapped all around his body, and it looked like he had become a sand person. He clearly took a lot of damage from the Flame Whip, but being injured didn¡¯t seem to restrict his movements as much as it did with Gilsup. Hyukjin saw Han Seokmin¡¯s mouth moving. ¡®He¡¯s probably telling his guild members what he analyzed with his special ability.¡¯ Basically, they were doing something like a guild chat. But that was fine. ¡®Because I¡¯m much higher rank than Han Seokmin.¡¯ There was no need to keep him in check. Taeguk Shield would be famous in the future, but they were still complete beginners to a GVG like this. No matter how outstanding their talent might be, they couldn¡¯t be perfect at something from the very start. Actually, rather than saying that Taeguk Shield was bad at this, it was more accurate to say that Hyukjin was simply doing too well. He was the odd one for being so proficient when it was also his first time. Shin Kangha shouted, ¡°Die!¡± A massive fist of sand, a magic attack capable of dealing quite a lot of damage, surged into the sky. ¡®The attack target is me.¡¯ He simply watched. After all, their side had an amazing tank. ¡°Dream on!¡± A shield glowing with white light formed above Sunhwa¡¯s right hand. Kangha¡¯s sand fist crashed into Sunhwa¡¯s shield and streamed to the ground as formless grains of sand. Meanwhile, Yeonseo killed Gilsup and Yoohyun smashed Seokmin¡¯s head in. The result of the GVG was all too obvious. Kiyeol¡¯s body trembled. ¡®This isn¡¯t just an ordinary difference in skill¡­¡¯ He had to acknowledge the glaring truth in front of him. ¡®It¡¯s an overwhelming difference in skill.¡¯ They were strong, so strong that Taeguk Shield should be the ones begging to cooperate. He was experiencing that with every cell of his body. Experiencing something personally was completely different from knowing something. ¡®This is for the best.¡¯ His primary goal was indeed accomplished as planned. He just hadn¡¯t thought that they would be so overwhelmingly steamrolled even though they had done their best. Hyukjin patted Kiyeol¡¯s shoulder. ¡°Today is the last time I will offer you trade conditions as an equivalent partner.¡± ¡°¡­¡± ¡°Seize the opportunity, Guildmaster Song Kiyeol.¡± Coming closer, Hyukjin whispered very quietly in Kiyeol¡¯s ear, ¡°I will prop up Taeguk Shield as Korea¡¯s heroes, as Korea¡¯s greatest guild. I will make it so that you can take the lead in propelling the new tech wave.¡± This was the last opportunity. Kiyeol had a gut feeling. If he failed to grasp this opportunity, Kim Hyukjin would give up on him. He would probably seek another guild to work with. It was possible that the next chance might be given to Kiyeol¡¯s younger sister, Song Junghye. The person who would surely shape the future¡­ was Kim Hyukjin. ¡°¡­It¡¯s our loss. I acknowledge our defeat.¡± * * * Translator ¨C Lei Proofreader ¨C Ash * * * Song Kiyeol trudged out the elevator. ¡®What do I tell Grandfather?¡¯ Three hours prior, up until the GVG started, Kiyeol never doubted that it would be a well-matched fight. Their opponents might have named Players like the ¡®Tutorial Ender¡¯, but he was confident there wouldn¡¯t be a huge difference in skill between the individual Players. That was a miscalculation. As he headed to his grandfather¡¯s office, his steps became as heavy as lead. It wasn¡¯t like he failed to predict defeat, but it was also true that defeat was a bitter pill to swallow. ¡°Well, then. What are your thoughts after meeting Kim Hyukjin?¡± asked President Song, his hands laced together on his desk. ¡°He absolutely does not seem like he is 20 years old.¡± President Song nodded. He had thought the same. The gaze and aura he¡¯d noticed from Hyukjin was not something that could possibly come from a 20-year-old kid. His ability to manipulate the board was also outstanding, so much so that Kiyoung wanted the man as his hunting dog. ¡®No. He¡¯s not a hunting dog.¡¯ Kiyoung had thought so before, but not anymore. Kim Hyukjin was not merely a hunting dog. If he had been born as one of Kiyoung¡¯s sons or grandsons, he might have become the ruler of Korea. That was how highly Kiyoung thought of him. ¡°It seems to me that you having a guild vs. guild match with Kim Hyukjin¡­ was planned from the start.¡± ¡°What?¡± ¡°I get the feeling Player Kim Hyukjin crafted the current situation step by step, starting all the way from his participation in the Players Convention.¡± Song Kiyeol nodded at that. It really stung his pride, but he still analyzed the situation with a cool head. ¡°I believe there¡¯s a high possibility of that being the case.¡± ¡°Hooh. You acknowledge it?¡± President Song looked at his grandson with a look of slight surprise. Kiyeol looked like he wasn¡¯t that displeased by the fact that he had been dancing in his opponent¡¯s palm, something that would have angered and wounded anyone¡¯s pride. President Song was inwardly satisfied to see it. ¡°Kim Hyukjin crushed us with an overwhelming difference in skill. He had us completely figured out and analyzed what we would do before the fight even started.¡± It was embarrassing to admit, but Kiyeol judged that nothing good would come of hiding things from his grandfather. His grandfather was someone who forgave mistakes and failures, but not lies. ¡°As a result, the guild members of Taeguk Shield, including me, were pushed into a situation where we had no choice but to acknowledge him.¡± Skills proved everything. That was likely what Kim Hyukjin wanted from the start. ¡°The non-combat class Kim Hyukjin¡¯s movements¡­ were truly beyond imagination.¡± ¡°Was that all?¡± ¡°No, sir. His analysis was far more outstanding than the tactician on our side, Han Seokmin.¡± ¡°And?¡± ¡°The fusion magic of Jo Sunghyun and Choi Sung-gu¡­ had me honestly intimidated.¡± He was honest about everything. Being intimidated wasn¡¯t something to be ashamed of. It was natural to feel that way in front of someone far stronger than yourself. The important thing was what you learned from it, what you gained from it, that you didn¡¯t just wallow in defeat. Kiyeol was well aware that that was what his grandfather wanted to see from him right now. ¡°Was it a big spell?¡± ¡°Yes, I believe so. They didn¡¯t do anything in the beginning.¡± ¡°I see. Kim Hyukjin¡¯s team must have bought them time to use that fusion magic.¡± ¡°Yes.¡± President Song nodded. ¡°They intentionally bought time to be able to use a big spell.¡± They¡¯d had the leisure to do so. In other words¡ª ¡°They could have easily defeated you even without a big spell like that.¡± And yet, they used a flashy and strong spell. ¡°It must have been a completely calculated move to break your spirits.¡± ¡°¡­Yes. I think so.¡± ¡°Yes, sir.¡± ¡°The fact they could show a cooperative Play of that level must mean that Kim Hyukjin had them practice beforehand.¡± ¡°¡­¡± ¡°Which means he must have been preparing for today ever since the Hill of Blowing Wind. For the climax today.¡± Song Kiyoung stared at his grandson for a moment. He saw that Kiyeol was biting his lip, unable to conceal a little anger. ¡®Good.¡¯ He was well and properly stimulated by Hyukjin, a man ten years his junior. If he could apply this stimulus in a positive direction, his grandson would be able to become a far greater person. ¡°Kim Hyukjin has already gathered teammates of that level and is nurturing them into their respective roles. Do you acknowledge that?¡± ¡°Yes.¡± ¡°Not only that, but he chose to put you guys in the front and operate in the back. I¡¯m sure he intends on avoiding the public¡¯s excessive attention while garnering the actual profits. That will also greatly free up his movements. Then, by once again showing his overwhelming skills to other people of skill, he will reign as a skilled Player among Players.¡± That wasn¡¯t all. ¡°And by choosing to cooperate with you, he will also get access to Sungshin¡¯s support.¡± President Song smiled faintly without realizing it. 20 years old. He was only 20 years old. A 20-year-old created this picture and was thinking of taking only the good and leaving others to deal with the bad. It was almost chilling. And because it was chilling, President Song was delighted. ¡°Learn from his discernment. People are the greatest resources. Learn from his mindset. You will gain much from working with him.¡± Kiyeol was inwardly shocked. His grandfather never encouraged learning from someone. Kim Hyukjin¡­ was that amazing? A 20-year-old was that amazing in his grandfather¡¯s eyes? It stung his pride, but stubborn determination reared its head in him regardless. ¡®I¡¯ll learn what there is to learn.¡¯ He would maintain a public system of cooperation with Kim Hyukjin, and learn everything he could learn. He believed that was his ticket to personal growth. ¡°While learning from Kim Hyukjin, I will fully cooperate with him to advance the new tech project.¡± Kiyeol didn¡¯t forget to make his aspirations clear. ¡°One day, I will surpass Kim Hyukjin and lead Sungshin into the future.¡± * * * Sunhwa wasn¡¯t all that talkative when other people were around, but when it was just the two of us, she tended to talk a little more. I wasn¡¯t sure if it was because of puberty, or because she was a shy girl by nature. In any case, she was noisier when it was just us. We got out of the taxi and started walking home, going through the large park we had to cross to reach the apartment building. ¡°Oppa. Before you distributed roles to us earlier¡­¡± ¡°Yeah.¡± ¡°You heard another notice, right?¡± Did it show? Well, it wasn¡¯t something I was trying to hide, anyway. I told her the truth. ¡°Yeah. You know I have a title called First Pioneer, yeah?¡± ¡°I know.¡± ¡°Really? Is that really awesome then? Even better than fried chicken?¡± ¡°It¡¯s almost on par with fried chicken.¡± ¡°Woah. It¡¯s huge then.¡± I grinned in spite of myself. By clearing the linked hidden piece, ¡®Pioneer who Seized the First Victory¡¯, I was able to get the new title ¡®Pioneer of Victory¡¯. [Pioneer of Victory] A glorious title given to one who pioneered a new domain and seized the first victory in a new domain. All party members +20% EXP Stacks with other titles. Stacks with other effects (buffs/debuffs). As soon as Sunhwa heard the title effects, her eyes grew round. She blinked in visible awe. ¡°Wow¡­ Oppa. Does that mean as long as we¡¯re in a party with you, we also get extra EXP?¡± ¡°Yep. But you have to stay within a certain distance.¡± It added wings to the Observer class that could rake in EXP even while sipping tea. No matter who it was, they could get 20% more EXP simply by Playing with me. ¡®It¡¯ll shine especially bright in the 30-40 period.¡¯ An EXP buff, and one that applied to the entire party and could stack unconditionally with any effect, was an effect anyone and everyone would go crazy for. ¡°With an effect like that, it really is on par with fried chicken.¡± ¡°Right?¡± ¡°Oh yeah, oppa. Did you get something from that pretty unnie?¡± ¡°Yeah. I got a special poison item called Rot Water.¡± ¡°Dunno what that is, but it sounds weird.¡± ¡°Does it?¡± I tousled Sunhwa¡¯s hair. ¡°Let¡¯s just go in and get some chicken.¡± I took a look at Sunhwa¡¯s state. Her face was flushed with excitement. State: Happy / Proud / Joyous Me getting something good was a source of happiness and joy for her too. It was amazing. We didn¡¯t share a single drop of blood, but it felt like I really got a sister. Her happiness was infectious. This joy, I would protect it. Or more accurately, she would protect me. Chapter 101 Chapter 101 Our walk home was interrupted by the unexpected approach of a woman. She looked to be over 170 centimetres and had pitch-black hair that came down to her shoulders and that contrasted with her snow-white face. Even the leather motorcycle jacket she was wearing couldn¡¯t conceal her voluminous curves, which struck yet another contrast with her slender waist. Her skinny black jeans couldn¡¯t possibly hide her shapely legs. This was a woman who had the aura and atmosphere to make anyone believe she was a model. She was also someone I already knew. ¡®What¡¯s she doing here?¡¯ It was the Poison Witch Cheon Sooji. She strode over from the other side of the park while looking at me, almost like a model coming down the catwalk. People out walking their dogs, kids playing on their bikes, students chattering in groups of twos and threes, all of them, regardless of their age or gender, glanced at least once at Cheon Sooji. State: Slight Thrill / Good Mood / Inner Peace Her gait looked haughty. The word ¡®Queen¡¯ truly suited this woman. She gave off the impression she was walking with high heels even though she was wearing black Converse sneakers. It was perhaps an exaggeration to say each and every step she took had flourish, and yet, it wasn¡¯t quite an exaggeration, either. ¡°We meet again, Mr. Sovereign.¡± ¡°My name is Kim Hyukjin.¡± To my amusement, Sunhwa¡¯s summary changed. Summary: Brocon Guarding Against a Beauty Sooji stopped in front of me. The atmosphere around her was quite different compared to when we were GVGing. She looked as cold and haughty as ever, but she didn¡¯t give off a cold edge. ¡°Why are you here?¡± ¡°Ah, our Guildmaster asked me to deliver this.¡± She pulled out two envelopes from her bosom. ¡®Checks?¡¯ Inside each envelope was a $100k check. ¡°He gave you this?¡± ¡°Yes, he asked me to deliver them.¡± As if. There was no way Song Kiyeol would send Cheon Sooji, not in this day and age when electronic transfers were incredibly easy. ¡®She must¡¯ve insisted.¡¯ I stared at Sooji for a moment. A faint smile was wreathing her eyes. Yes, and I could guess what those two ways were. People were either intimidated by her model-like figure, or elated. In all actuality, there were a ton of people who liked Cheon Sooji, and it wouldn¡¯t be long before she dipped her toes into modeling and became quite a famous model. ¡°It¡¯s just that I¡¯m not very happy about the fact that you came here after finding out where I live.¡± ¡°Why?¡± ¡°Because Taeguk Shield¡¯s Guildmaster gave away my personal details like it was the address to the nearest McDonalds.¡± The smile in Sooji¡¯s eyes grew deeper. Perhaps out of habit, she licked her red lips a little. ¡°I think you must be the only man who would say such a biting remark about a 3rd generation chaebol.¡± ¡°Is that so?¡± ¡°Yes. It¡¯s charming.¡± I shrugged. ¡°Thank you for your flattering words, but I¡¯d like it if you didn¡¯t come here in the future.¡± I didn¡¯t really have any desire to get involved with Sooji. She was someone who had plenty of scandals with countless celebrities and Players. There were even some unexplained deaths among them. I didn¡¯t know if they were really linked to Cheon Sooji, but I didn¡¯t want to be buddy-buddy with her all the same. ¡®More than anything¡­ because she herself claimed she was an ex-girlfriend of the Demon King.¡¯ No one knew if that was even true or not. Cheon Sooji just said it was, and it aroused a wave of gossip worldwide for quite a while afterwards. The Demon King, Kang Sun-il. It was just an alias, of course, but I didn¡¯t want to make any connections with the Demon King just yet. Countless people lived good, happy lives without ever coming in contact with the Demon King. This was my second chance. I wanted to live a little more comfortably, a little more happily. There were a lot of precious people next to me now, too. ¡°Please tell Mr. Song Kiyeol to not carelessly give away my personal details.¡± ¡°Got it.¡± Sooji didn¡¯t look all that upset by my cold rebuff. Smiling, she said, ¡°You¡¯re the first person I¡¯ve seen who¡¯s been this indifferent after getting a total of $200k. Isn¡¯t an amount like $200k more than enough to make your heart throb, even if it¡¯s not throbbing towards me?¡± ¡°Everyone is different.¡± To be honest, $200k just felt like a number to me. It was definitely good, yes, but it didn¡¯t make me reel or anything. I myself could feel that I was very different from how I had been when I was preparing for the civil service exam in the past. Out of nowhere, Sooji said, ¡°I like men who are stronger than me.¡± ¡°¡­¡± ¡°To be honest, I¡¯ve taken a liking to you.¡± Just then, a refreshing early autumn breeze blew in, setting Sooji¡¯s hair aflutter. I smelled the pleasant fragrance of shampoo. ¡®Wow.¡¯ Her preparations were thorough. ¡®She¡¯s using seductive energy.¡¯ This, too, could be called a poison. A poison that posed no harm to one¡¯s life or health, but was more like a drug. My Eye of Perception saw through it, and my poison resistance immediately nullified it. Perhaps believing in the power of her seductive energy, she went on rather confidently, ¡°Would you like to go out with me?¡± At that moment, Sunhwa¡¯s summary changed again. Summary: Relieved Brocon Walking past her, I strode towards our house, feeling her emotions and state through Eye of Perception. ¡®She apparently wants to seduce me.¡¯ This was the same Cheon Sooji who was famous for being a philanderer of men. No matter how pretty and sexy she was, I wasn¡¯t that attracted to her. Wait, come to think of it, I remembered seeing a picture of Sooji on the news about six years ago and thinking, ¡°What would I have to do to date a woman like that? Will I ever get a chance to meet a woman like that?¡± ¡®It¡¯s only been a few months since I went back in time, yet¡­¡¯ Even I had to admit that I had changed a great deal. It felt weird. Cheon Sooji took initiative to propose dating, and I refused her. ¡®Life is becoming more and more fun.¡¯ ¡°Ah, right.¡± I turned for a moment, casting a look in Sooji¡¯s direction. ¡°Please relay this to Mr. Song Kiyeol for me. If any completely black corpses show up, particularly in the south, contact me immediately.¡± ¡°Got it. I¡¯ll cooperate.¡± We dipped our heads in mutual farewell. ¡°See you later. Next time, I will come to you looking a little more pretty.¡± ¡°¡­¡± ¡°Or maybe you want me to be a little more sexy instead?¡± I turned around. As I headed towards our base, I said to Sunhwa, ¡°We¡¯re gonna rest for about one day. Got it?¡± ¡°Yes, sir!¡± Sunhwa seemed very pleased. We got into the elevator, and as it rose, Sunhwa looked at me with a serious expression. ¡°Oppa.¡± ¡°Yeah?¡± ¡°That unnie just now was super pretty, right?¡± ¡°Yeah, can¡¯t deny that.¡± Sunhwa shook her head. ¡°But I don¡¯t like the feeling of her.¡± ¡°All of a sudden?¡± Even though she didn¡¯t have something like Eye of Perception? ¡°This is just a woman¡¯s intuition.¡± ¡°Trust my intuition. It would be best not to get too close to that unnie.¡± ¡°¡­That so?¡± Sunhwa nodded to herself, looking every bit like she truly believed her words were right and she was being very serious. ¡°I¡¯m against that unnie.¡± * * * One day passed. Yeonseo made a group chat. ¨CTada! Our party group chat! Our party of six was me, Sunhwa, Yeonseo, Yoohyun, Sunghyun, and Sung-gu. Four of the six were future top-class Rankers. In other words, geniuses. It was both fascinating and fun that I was in a team with such geniuses. Yeonseo sent a KaTalk. TN: KakaoTalk, the most popular messaging app in Korea. KaTalk for short. ¨CBoss Hyukjin. What should we do now? ¨CLet¡¯s meet up and discuss it. Our meeting spot was a coffee shop in Sinchon. Maybe because they recognized Yoohyun, people kept looking over. But because they were intimidated by his huge muscles, they didn¡¯t approach us. ¡°See the Hyundai Department Store over there?¡± It was on the other side of the street. Hyundai was in its name, but its owner was Sungshin. ¡°The building right next to it is the U-Plex Building.¡± ¡°Hyungnim. I know that place well because I¡¯ve bought a lot of clothes there. You can buy a lot of plus-size clothes there.¡± ¡°After we drink our coffees, we¡¯ll go study the terrain of the Hyundai Department Store and that building. Understood?¡± Everyone understood. All of us were given the first entry rights to the ¡®U-Plex Dungeon¡¯. ¡®That place will turn into a dungeon.¡¯ Sunghyun cautiously said, ¡°Hyung. If that place becomes a dungeon, what¡¯ll happen to the people inside?¡± ¡°They¡¯ll probably die. Same as the Seoul Station Dungeon.¡± When that place first turned into a dungeon, everyone inside died. After a gate formed at Exit 2, the rest of the station turned to normal, but everyone inside the U-Plex when it transformed would probably die¡­ if they didn¡¯t have the ability to clear it. His voice still as calm and quiet as before, Sunghyun continued. ¡°Is there any way we can save them?¡± ¡°We will issue a warning through Taeguk Shield.¡± Taeguk Shield¡¯s word held far more power than ours. ¡°The problem is that we don¡¯t know when or how the U-Plex Dungeon will open.¡± If it was the same as the past, there would be a few early signs in September, and on the 3rd of October, there would be a dungeon break. That meant the dungeon would suddenly appear sometime between September and early October. ¡°The moment I see signs it¡¯ll transform into a dungeon, I¡¯ll contact Guildmaster Kiyeol.¡± That was the best we could do. I had already felt it during the 1st Players Convention. I was actually weakening the Players, so much that we were probably falling behind the Players in the other servers around the world. ¡®Though we have, of course, suffered fewer losses.¡¯ Our current losses were reduced, but I was taking away opportunities for Players and people to grow in exchange. I had to walk the fine line where I could minimize losses while still allowing the Players to grow. That was the balance I had to do my best to find. ¡°Also, we¡¯re going on a vacation tomorrow. Is there anyone who can¡¯t make it?¡± ¡°Dafuq? A vacation all of a sudden? What kind of vacation? Do you need the Firemaster again?¡± Everyone realized that the vacation I was talking about was no ordinary vacation. ¡°Put plenty of food in your Inventory. When you¡¯re back home, buy as many poison resistance items as you can.¡± Tomorrow, we would be heading to Sin-an, South Jeolla Province. More precisely, to an island called ¡®Plum Blossom Island¡¯ located in Sin-an. Everyone understood what I was saying. ¡°Invest as much as possible in your armor.¡± Sung-gu shivered. ¡°Eurgh. What is it this time? Are we going somewhere dangerous again?¡± I decided to tell them the truth. ¡°Four pitch-black, rotten corpses have been discovered there.¡± ¡°Ah fuck. Didn¡¯t you say it was a vacation?¡± It wasn¡¯t even publicized to the press yet. I was only able to find out about this thanks to my cooperation with Taeguk Shield. ¡°The cause of death is unknown.¡± ¡­Or so it should be, but I already knew. The deaths were the doing of Pearl Centipedes, early level 30 monsters. They were monsters we absolutely needed to kill. ¡°Boss Hyukjin. Is it because of monsters? And we have to kill those monsters?¡± ¡°¡­¡± I nodded. This trip was preparation to go into the U-Plex Dungeon. But just then, my phone ringtone went off. A name popped up on the screen. [Noona] I picked up the call from my sister. What she said was rather interesting. ¡°¡­Is that true?¡± It was something that hadn¡¯t happened in the past. Chapter 102 Chapter 102 I took everyone with me and headed home, going to the central park in front of the DMC Riverview Xi. ¡°Whoa. Boss Hyukjin, this is where your house is? It¡¯s great! The park in front is super big too! And there are a ton of flowers.¡± Choi Sung-gu jokingly pinched his nose. ¡°Eurgh. What¡¯s with this intense middle class smell? It¡¯s heavy af. Have mercy on this poor bastard with boujee allergy.¡± After Yeonseo and Sung-gu briefly gave their opinions, we entered the park. A lot of people were gathered and murmuring amongst themselves, and a yellow police line had been put up. ¨CA dead body was found in front of our house. I came immediately after getting word from my sister. ¨CApparently, the body is black from head to toe. A blackened corpse. A grotesque corpse that was severely decomposed even though the death was recent. A corpse that almost completely matched the appearance of the ones discovered on Plum Blossom Island. On the way here, I contacted Song Kiyeol. When I asked him if it would be possible for us to go past the police line, he said, ¡°It¡¯s still tricky for a Player to act at their own discretion. That would mean the police would be handing over their authority to the Players.¡± By now, Players should have been given the reins to hunt monsters a little more independently, but the process of change seemed a little slow. It was likely closely related to me preventing the Seoul Station dungeon break. One of the policemen came up to us, looking displeased. ¡°What company are you reporting for? Show some restraint, please. Stop trying to get closer.¡± A black corpse was found in a park in the middle of Seoul. ¡®And two of them, no less.¡¯ I could feel it with Eye of Perception. There were two corpses that had lost all traces of life. ¡®It¡¯s dangerous here.¡¯ This was no place for regular civilians to be gathering around. It was dangerous for the reporters, and even the policemen containing the site. Yoohyun went up to the policeman at the front of the line and said what I told him to say. ¡°Do you know me, by any chance?¡± At times like this, the Tutorial Ender¡¯s fame was helpful. ¡°Ah¡­ you are¡ª!¡± ¡°My name is So Yoohyun. This place is dangerous.¡± The police knew, too. They knew what kind of danger monsters posed, especially after what happened recently at the DMC Lucentia Tower. Many of their comrades had died because of the Orcanthropes. ¡°Do you believe that this is the doing of monsters?¡± Upon hearing the policeman¡¯s question, many reporters flashed their cameras at Yoohyun. ¡°Players must take an active role here,¡± Yoohyun said. The reporters began to pepper him with questions. ¡°Are you, the Tutorial Ender, confirming that this incident is related to monsters?¡± ¡°Mr. So Yoohyun, do you think that this was not caused by human hands?¡± ¡°Are you claiming that this is not a murder, but an accident?¡± Yoohyun didn¡¯t answer the many questions. He probably didn¡¯t really know, either¡ªhe was just doing what I told him to do. ¡®It¡¯s somewhere underground.¡¯ My proficiency [2] Eye of Perception was definitely picking up the presence of a monster somewhere underground. I couldn¡¯t sense what it looked like or its approximate size, but it was moving. It was definitely moving. ¡®Focus.¡¯ More people could die. If it was the monster I knew, the list of casualties would not end here. ¡®A weak bloodthirst.¡¯ I could feel the bloodthirst. It wasn¡¯t bloodthirst exuded by a human. It was definitely a monster¡¯s bloodthirst. But because it was obscured by energy from the earth, earth ki, I couldn¡¯t get a good read on it. Regarding this monster, the Great Explorer Jackson said: ¨CThe Pearl Centipede will suddenly emerge from a hole in the ground, snatch a person with astonishing speed, and burrow back into the ground. The hole it made will then disappear. After sucking out all the human¡¯s vital ki using the tentacle at its tail¡¯s tip, it returns the body to its original position. A corpse created by a Pearl Centipede will be blackened and undergo instant decomposition. At some point, the monster would suddenly burrow out of the ground. ¡®Even through cement.¡¯ The holes created by Pearl Centipedes were different from the ¡®physical holes¡¯ we knew. It didn¡¯t actually make a hole and come out. Almost like a magic warp portal, a hole would appear for a moment, and the monster would emerge from that hole. Then, it would snatch its prey with extreme speed. ¡®How can their response be this slow?¡¯ By now, the police should have pushed the civilians as far back as possible. But they were treating this like a regular murder scene and were investigating after merely putting up a police line of limited range. ¡®They still haven¡¯t gotten their act together.¡¯ It seemed it would take some time for people to come to their senses. I decided to do the best I could in the current circumstances. [Activating the power Future Sight.] [You are within ¡®Observer¡¯s Domain¡¯.] [You are using ¡®Observer¡¯s Eye¡¯.] [The mana and mental power consumption of Future Sight is reduced.] Using it for a long period would tire me. I could only hope to be lucky and have it pop out before long. At that moment, I felt it. ¡®That policeman.¡¯ There was no time to explain. Future Sight only showed me less than one second in advance. I grabbed Yeonseo¡¯s hand and immediately surged forward. [Using the special skill Flash Step.] It wasn¡¯t far, only about three meters away. I used Flash Step to cut through the distance instantly. ¡°Wh-What?¡± Shock passed through Yeonseo¡¯s eyes, but she rapidly assessed the situation and pulled out her sword from her Inventory. Faint black light leaked out of her transcendent godsword, ¡®Asura¡¯. Yeonseo swung her sword. Something was cut off. People screamed. ¡°KYAAAA!¡± ¡°Wh-What¡¯s that?!¡± Something large was writhing on the ground. A piece of an insect¡¯s body about thirty centimetres large was wriggling on the ground like an earthworm. Sizzzzzzzle¨C! Green fluid oozed out of the cut piece, and smoke rose from the dirt that came in contact with the fluid. ¡®It smells terrible.¡¯ The stench of rotten wastewater pervaded the air, and the surrounding earth turned black. ¡®Pearl Centipede poison.¡¯ It was only for a brief moment, but I saw the Pearl Centipede, a massive centipede one meter in size. Because of its ability to freely move through the ground, it was a very tricky creature to hunt. Yeonseo cut it quickly, but it had already bitten the policeman. The policeman¡¯s face started turning pitch-black, along with his arms and legs. He flailed in agony on the ground. ¡®A bite like that¡­ won¡¯t kill you.¡¯ Though it would most likely have him suffering horrific pain for about two weeks. ¡®But¡­¡¯ Why did a ¡®Pearl Centipede¡¯ show up here? ¡®There was no record of that in the past.¡¯ Did I just not know about it? Or did something change? I didn¡¯t know. I would have to look into it more. ¡®We have to find the gate entrance.¡¯ * * * After getting word from me, the Guildmaster of ¡®Taeguk Shield¡¯ personally came over, which helped things go a little more smoothly for us. Once again, Sunhwa played a key role. ¡°Oppa! There¡¯s something weird over here!¡± Sunhwa discovered something in a flowerbed blooming with yellow flowers¡ªa black larva about thirty centimetres large. It was the thing I¡¯d been looking for. Sunhwa clutched the hem of my clothes. ¡°Eurgh. It looks gross. That¡¯s gotta be at least a thousand legs.¡± The larva didn¡¯t move. It just lay there, completely still. ¡®It¡¯s exactly the same as the one that appeared on Plum Blossom Island.¡¯ This thing couldn¡¯t really be called a monster. It didn¡¯t give items or EXP when killed. What it did do was activate a gate. ¡°Yeonseo.¡± Yeonseo stabbed the black larva. [A special condition has been fulfilled.] [The gate ¡®Centipede Cave¡¯ has been generated.] A shimmering black space appeared. We could ¡®click¡¯ it with our eyes and open the description. [Gate ¨C Centipede Cave] The entrance to a cave inhabited by centipedes. There is no entrance condition, and there is a high chance there is more than one entrance. ¡®Centipede Cave¡¯ was a familiar name. It was one of the gates that showed up in my study notes. ¨CPlum Blossom Island¡¯s Centipede Cave. Entrance to a cave inhabited by centipedes. Having no entrance condition is its distinct characteristic, also has various entrances. Inhabited by a large number of Pearl Centipedes. A gate known to be nearly impossible to clear without a fire magician. Something was weird. Something had changed from the past. ¡®It¡¯s an established theory that there are no gates with the same name and structure¡­¡¯ It was just like how there were no two same faces out of seven billion people. Gates and dungeons could be similar, but they could never be the same. Then did that mean Plum Blossom Island¡¯s Centipede Cave moved here? But that couldn¡¯t be; the same corpses had been discovered on Plum Blossom Island as well. I turned to Taeguk Shield¡¯s Guildmaster, Song Kiyeol. ¡°The last part means there¡¯s a high chance there are entrances other than this one.¡± ¡°Which means¡­¡± Thankfully, the Guildmaster was pretty quick on the uptake. ¡°We¡¯ll need to make sure the other entrances aren¡¯t opened.¡± ¡°Yes. When clearing gates or dungeons, it¡¯s good to eliminate as many variables as possible.¡± The Taeguk Shield guild members assembled quickly after getting contacted. Good of you to come, my business partners in name but subordinates in truth. ¡®First of all¡­ we¡¯ll clear this place.¡¯ It was true that the Centipede Cave was a place we had to clear before going into the U-Plex Dungeon. It was weird it appeared in the central park in front of the DMC Riverview Xi instead of Plum Blossom Island, but that didn¡¯t change the fact that we needed to clear it. ¡°Sung-gu. Let¡¯s go in.¡± * * * We decided to have my party members and the Taeguk Shield guild members focus on containing the situation outside. Only Sung-gu and I went into the Centipede Cave. ¡°Gosh darnit, seriously? Why are we the only ones going in when I¡¯m already scared af?¡± Sung-gu shivered all over. I suddenly noticed that he¡¯d gained a little weight. The future Choi Sung-gu was extremely large¡ªhe was famous as the Superobese Flame Lord. ¡°Don¡¯t shout. They might react to sound.¡± Sung-gu covered his mouth with his hand. From the way he was trembling like a leaf, he seemed pretty scared of this dark cave. ¡°Just kidding.¡± Sung-gu gave me a tearful look. ¡°I¡¯m scared of bugs, darn it.¡± ¡°The bugs are scared of you, too.¡± ¡°I¡¯m being serious. I¡¯m fuckin¡¯ scared of bugs. Bugs are the scariest things in the world to me. Especially ones with many legs. Eurgh. Terrible.¡± ¡°Let¡¯s quickly get to work.¡± ¡°You heartless jerk. I¡¯m about to croak from fear right now, but you? You have steel for blood, don¡¯t you? No, I bet you don¡¯t even have blood or tears. You damn robot.¡± Despite muttering a stream of complaints, he listened obediently. ¡°I just have to go that way, right?¡± He pointed to one side of the dark cave passage, the opposite direction I would be going. Sung-gu inched forward, peering uneasily into the darkness. The reason I picked the other direction was because I felt something there. As we moved away from each other, the sound of Sung-gu¡¯s footsteps grew quieter. Whoosh¨C! There was the faint sound of wind. I plucked a hair and held it up. Even a feeble wind would send it fluttering. ¡®The wind is coming from that way.¡¯ It was the direction Sung-gu had gone off into. Apparently, the exit was over there. Feeling the wind on my nape, I walked a little more, keeping my guard up. ¡®There¡¯s no knowing when or where they¡¯ll pop out.¡¯ Pearl Centipedes excelled at surprise ambushes. If I was poisoned by just one of them, at least two more would show up to completely drain me of life essence. Eye of Perception captured something. ¡®Corpses?¡¯ More corpses were littering the passageway. They were most likely people who had come inside from a different gate, people who discovered the gate before we did. It was more than just a few. ¡®I think there are about five corpses.¡¯ The bodies were already completely rotten. They were victims of Pearl Centipedes. ¡®Just when did they come in?¡¯ Because there was no entrance restriction, regular people could freely enter the gate as well. The smell of rotting corpses was thick in the air. ¡®There must be a den nearby where they¡¯re all gathered.¡¯ Resolving myself, I focused on Eye of Perception, since it should be able to detect the monsters before they attacked me. But just then, someone Eye of Perception didn¡¯t perceive at all grabbed my throat, closing off my airway. ____ Chapter 103 Chapter 103 My throat was grabbed in a turn of events that could not be chalked up to me being careless or making a mistake. [The use of Eye of Perception has been forcibly suspended.] This was a significant difference in skill. Someone so strong I couldn¡¯t do anything against¡ªeven at my current level¡ªhad appeared. I heard a voice. ¡°You. Are you a bug?¡± I couldn¡¯t breathe. My feet dangled in the air. But I didn¡¯t struggle. I always knew that I would definitely meet this Demon King Kang Sung-il sometime, somewhere. It was just a question of whether I would become his enemy or not. I couldn¡¯t speak well, but I still did my best to choke out a word. ¡°Senia.¡± Senia, my angel BJ, appeared. Her wings were trembling. ¡°He has long since been recognized by the System as not being a bug.¡± ¡°Hm. That so?¡± The Demon King, Kang Sun-il. His real name was unknown, and even his face was cloaked in obscurity. Even now, I couldn¡¯t see the Demon King¡¯s face in the darkness. ¡®Even though it¡¯s not dark enough for me to be unable to see his face.¡¯ And yet, his face looked almost shadowy to me. He appeared to be using some kind of special barrier or magic to prevent his face from being seen. ¡°How do you have these abilities at this level when you¡¯re not a bug?¡± He was still grabbing my throat, but I could breathe a little more easily than before. The Demon King had loosened his grip a bit. But I couldn¡¯t rest easy. ¡®One misstep, and I¡¯ll die.¡¯ He certainly seemed like a human. I came this far by using my knowledge of the future. But what about the Demon King? He was the first to open the hidden shop of the Gwanghwamun D-Tower 2nd Floor, and he had the skills to overwhelm me here as well. It couldn¡¯t be explained by any stretch of the imagination. It was impossible, no matter how much of a damn genius he was. There was definitely, definitely something I didn¡¯t know. Something the world didn¡¯t know. ¡°What about the dude who has me subdued with a single hand?¡± The Demon King snickered. I couldn¡¯t see his face, but I could feel it. It was fascinating. His face was as shadowy as ever, but I could feel that he was smiling. An image sketched itself out in my head. Two shadowy eyes and rising corners of the mouth with red lips in the middle. ¡°Dude? Did you just call me dude?¡± ¡°You can¡¯t expect respect when you¡¯ve given none yourself. You were the one who talked down on me first.¡± ¡°You¡¯re an interesting one. Do you not fear death?¡± Of course I did. I had a lot to lose now. There were people I had to protect, happiness I wanted to protect. I didn¡¯t want to die. ¡°If you had wanted to kill me, you would have done it long ago.¡± ¡°I see you¡¯re perceptive.¡± ¡®He kills servile people without mercy.¡¯ However¡ª ¡®He allows people with aspirations, people who stand tall and proud, to live.¡¯ Of the many heroes who faced off against the Demon King, many of them were captured by the Demon King and then released. That was the kind of Demon King the public knew. That was why I thought in advance about how I should act when I met the Demon King and always kept this scenario in the back of my mind. ¡°Is the reason why you¡¯re so calm because you¡¯re a Precognitive Dream user?¡± ¡°I knew I would meet you.¡± ¡°Since when?¡± ¡°Since a very long time.¡± I had known ever since I regressed, and that nebulous possibility congealed into certainty when Eye of Perception was disabled back on the 2nd Floor of Gwanghwamun D-Tower. It felt like a foreign something was running its tongue down my body, like a giant monster was licking me. The Demon King Kang Sun-il was observing me. He snickered again. ¡°You¡¯re a fun one.¡± He put me down on the ground, and I coughed roughly in spite of myself. ¡°Do you want to live?¡± ¡°Of course.¡± ¡°And if I don¡¯t permit that?¡± ¡°Then I¡¯ll have to fight for my life.¡± If we fought, I would be crushed. The current me could not defeat the Demon King. ¡°If I allow you to live here, what can you do for me?¡± I already knew the answer the Demon King wanted to hear. An in-depth study had been done on the ¡®domination¡¯ Kang Sun-il pursued. He liked the strong. Whether they were woman or man, young or old. ¡°I will become stronger.¡± Kang Sun-il grinned. I saw an illusion of big red lips appearing in midair, dripping red saliva as they curled into a grin. ¡°You say you¡¯ll become stronger. How strong?¡± He put a dagger to my neck, the blade sharp and keen. This dagger glowing blue in the darkness was likely the ¡®Lamentation¡¯ that reaped the lives of countless heroes in the past. Of course, even that name was just one that people came up with. ¡°You¡¯ve aroused my interest. That demands a high price. Answer me¡ªhow strong do you intend on becoming?¡± ¡°Strong enough to make you, the person reigning as the strong one right now, kneel.¡± Or¡ª ¡°Or strong enough to become a fierce blade you can trust.¡± I hadn¡¯t been able to decide yet whether I wanted to confront the Demon King or not. I needed to give him an answer that would leave both routes open. [The ¡®Courageous Lion King¡¯ is satisfied by your aspiration.] [The ¡®Whispering Devil¡¯ is enjoying himself.] [The ¡®Nameless Observer¡¯ is observing.] [The ¡®Barrier of Blue Light¡¯ wants to protect you.] A bluish energy covered my body. Kang Sun-il withdrew the dagger he¡¯d placed at my neck. ¡°You¡¯re truly amusing. The Barrier of Blue Light is protecting you.¡± After looking at me again in amusement, the Demon King continued. ¡°Do you remember seeing me in Gwanghwamun D-Tower?¡± ¡°You disabled my innate ability back then as well. I remember.¡± ¡°It almost seems like you have been prepared to meet me from that moment on.¡± ¡°I just didn¡¯t know it would be today.¡± ¡°It seems you¡¯re liked by many Guardians.¡± ¡°¡­¡± His next sentence was deeply profound. ¡°Do not trust the Guardians too much.¡± A lot of Guardians had to be watching Senia¡¯s channel right now, and Kang Sun-il¡¯s Streamer had to be somewhere too. Was it really okay to carelessly say something like that? Guardians with perverted dispositions would probably like hearing his words, but everyone knew that making a declaration that so openly rejected the Guardians wasn¡¯t very favorable for a Player. And yet, Kang Sun-il didn¡¯t seem all that concerned. ¡°Try your best to become strong, then.¡± He put a hand into his pocket. ¡®Huh?¡¯ When his hand re-emerged, it was clutching Darongi, who had [!!!] marks above his head. I had no idea when the little rascal crawled in there, but I immediately tensed. Darongi stared at me with [???] marks, completely oblivious to how much danger he was in. This brat, he should read the opponent a little. My heart began to thump involuntarily. ¡®If he tightens his hand¡­¡¯ Darongi would explode. There was no doubt. I saw veins bulging on the right hand holding on tightly to Darongi. I eyed that hand warily, every cell of my body tense. ¡®The veins¡­ are black.¡¯ Kang Sun-il handed Darongi back to me. ¡°He¡¯s cute, so I just let him be. I¡¯ll give you what he stole as a gift.¡± I heard a notice. [A ¡®new item¡¯ has come into Darongi¡¯s Inventory.] Kang Sun-il said, ¡°I¡¯ve asked you to try becoming stronger. I see that you have more than enough qualifications to do so. Become stronger.¡± ¡°¡­¡± He added one more, extremely insidious sentence. ¡°If you can get out of here alive, that is.¡± * * * The next instant, he disappeared. It was almost as if I had seen an illusion. He simply vanished like a mirage. At the same time, I heard a notice. [Eye of Perception has been reactivated.] That, at least, was good. The forcibly suspended Eye of Perception started working again. ¡®I can¡¯t¡­ feel the Pearl Centipedes.¡¯ I couldn¡¯t feel a single trace of the Pearl Centipedes that were supposed to be here. Up until my meeting with the Demon King, their presences were faint, but there. Not anymore. ¡®There are no Pearl Centipedes, but¡­¡¯ I sensed a far bigger energy. It felt like something huge was staring at me. Like something was glaring at me from the darkness, far in the distance. ¡®All the Pearl Centipedes fled.¡¯ They had all disappeared, fleeing from a far more vicious predator higher on the food chain. I recalled the last words spoken by the Demon King. ¨CIf you can get out of here alive, that is. ¡®Dammit.¡¯ It seemed that this place wasn¡¯t inhabited solely by the Pearl Centipedes. I didn¡¯t know if the Demon King had a hand in it, or if this was how the System originally had it. The important thing right now was that there was a predator higher than the Pearl Centipedes here. ¡®A monster that eats the Pearl Centipedes.¡¯ Like their name suggested, Pearl Centipedes were centipede insects that had pearls. The most famous monster that preyed on them was the ¡®Predator Tree¡¯, a plant monster that extended countless branches to capture and consume insect monsters. ¡®It¡¯s the perfect environment for a Predator Tree to show up.¡¯ Predator Trees despised sunlight. They were 3-meter-tall trees that walked around. They liked dark, underground places and preferred environments with sufficient humidity. Even better if there was a little ventilation. It was part of my study notes, too. ¨CPredator Tree. Has a habit of ambushing Pearl Centipede habitats and nesting there. Likes places with good ventilation. Level around 40, is capable of eating a Great Orc Warrior alive, and has extremely high defense, making it almost impossible for a Player of the same level to solo it. It was nearly impossible to hunt solo due to its sturdy bark. I heard sounds from afar. Gghhhh¨C! Gghhhh¨C! Gghhhh¨C! ¨CAlso, when a Predator Tree moves, faint vibrations occur around it. Even without Eye of Perception, I could feel the faint vibrations under my feet. ¡®A Predator Tree¡­ is coming.¡¯ I didn¡¯t have the skill to freely escape the gate like the Demon King had. ¨CWhen a player of the same or lower level is facing a Predator Tree one on one, not resisting and standing still will increase the chances of survival. When full, Predator Trees will not go after humans. Gghhhh¨C Gghhhh¨C The sound grew louder. Rumble¨C Rumble¨C The vibrations grew more and more intense. I started being able to faintly make out the 3-meter-tall, walking tree monster, the Predator Tree. I saw its enormous gaping mouth gleaming with an ominous red light, as well as the wooden branches swaying around it. ¡®If I face it head-on, I¡¯ll die.¡¯ I had no intention of fleeing. ¨CWhen hungry, the Predator Tree moves with its mouth open. The mouth on the tree trunk is characterized by its ominous red light. It was hungry right now. This level 40 monster could swing its branches like a whip far faster than I could run. ¡®I will get out of here alive.¡¯ I never even thought that a level 40 monster would show up here. No, I failed to think that. But even so, I had zero desire to go belly up and die here. The moment I thought a Predator Tree might be here, I had a hunch that I would be fighting it. ¡®It¡¯s still better than fighting Kang Sun-il.¡¯ The chances I could kill this thing were 50/50. ¡®Even so.¡¯ I could do it. The battle was a toss up anyway. It would come down to me winning, or this tree winning. ¡®I¡¯ll kill it.¡¯ I shouted, ¡°Choi Sung-gu! Now!¡± Chapter 104 Chapter 104 After hunting the Orcanthropes, Song Kiyeol said this: ¨CI have already promised you that. I will prepare it immediately. Useless oil items also came out, but do you want those as well? That item was ¡®Orc Chimera Oil¡¯. [Orc Chimera Oil] Oil that can be obtained from Orc-based chimera monsters. This flammable substance only reacts to magic coming directly from the hand of a magician. However, caution is advised, as the temporary destructive power is so strong it may inflict great damage to the one creating the magical flame. A fire created from Orc Chimera Oil can only be extinguished by magic. Creates a very powerful explosion when coming in contact with poison-attribute components. The intensity of the explosion rises in proportion to the concentration of poison. Valid time: 3 months Kiyeol called this a ¡®useless oil item¡¯. It was understandable, since fire magicians were not only rare, but also very unlikely to use this oil while risking injury to themselves. Its expiration date was only three months. However, it wasn¡¯t useless right now. Choi Sung-gu clenched his teeth. ¡®It¡¯ll be fine, right?¡¯ He had already splashed Orc Chimera Oil all over the place. ¡®I¡¯ll be fine, but¡­¡¯ To be honest, he couldn¡¯t help but worry. He had the title effect of ¡®Person of Fire¡¯, plus the protection of the ¡®Giant of the Sunset¡¯. He also had an extremely high affinity with fire. But Kim Hyukjin was different. ¡®Ah, whatever. I¡¯m sure it¡¯ll be fine.¡¯ Fire instantly appeared in his palm. ¡®He said I need to light it directly with my hand, right?¡¯ He counted down in his heart. ¡®Hyukjin said to slowly count from 10 after his shout.¡¯ 10. 9. 8. 7. 6. 5. 4. 3. 2. 1. ¡®Now!¡¯ Sung-gu touched his flame to the oil that only reacted to magic flame, the ¡®Orc Chimera Oil¡¯. A booming explosion instantly went off, and flames surged up. The wind happened to be blowing in Hyukjin¡¯s direction, and an enormous inferno swelled up, rushing down the passageway in the wind¡¯s direction. ¡°Ngh!¡± His clothes caught fire, and Sung-gu coughed from the smoke. The explosive power was insane. A slightly acrid smell he couldn¡¯t tell was oil or gas permeated the cave. ¡°Goddamn, it¡¯s hot.¡± The entire cave turned into a sea of flame. If a fiery hell existed, it would probably look something like this. The flaming hell that had taken over the entire cave raged with heat so intense it could easily melt down a few people in seconds. ¡®Hyukjin¡­ is fine, right?¡¯ Hyukjin had planned this. Sung-gu decided to trust the plan. He headed towards Hyukjin. ¡°Hyukjin!¡± ¡°Kim Hyukjin!¡± His heart stirred with a little urgency. ¡°Where are you? You¡¯re okay, right?!¡± * * * Kim Hyukjin shouted, ¡°Choi Sung-gu! Now!¡± The Predator Tree reacted to the sound, shooting a branch towards Hyukjin as if throwing a snare. Slice¨C! Hyukjin swung his sword and cut away the branch whizzing towards him. ¡®Ten seconds.¡¯ He told Sung-gu to count down from ten before lighting the fire. It would be a massive flame capable of swallowing even its creator. By now, the entire cave should be drenched in Orc Chimera Oil. Hyukjin immediately used an item. [Hobgoblin Perfume] A perfume hobgoblins apply when playing tricks. It enables a special ¡®Stealth¡¯. However, overly large movements will cancel the spirit art. Effect: Transparency spirit art Duration: 3 minutes Uses: 1 This item, which he acquired from hunting the Thin Hobgoblin, enabled a ¡®transparency spirit art¡¯. The Predator Tree was reliant on the same senses as humans. Hyukjin¡¯s body immediately vanished. ¡®The spirit art will be dispelled if I move too fast.¡¯ The flames would soon come roaring in. He gave Sung-gu ten seconds. In just a few seconds, a literal firestorm created by Orc Chimera Oil and Sung-gu would overtake this cave. Hyukjin moved very slowly, step by careful step. Gghhh¨C! Gghhh¨C! The Predator Tree¡¯s branches swayed in confusion. The prey that had been right in front of its eyes moments ago had disappeared. Hyukjin carefully bent to pick up a rock, then threw it into the direction he had walked from. Clink! The stone clanged against the cave wall. Gghhh¨C! Gghhh¨C! The Predator Tree rushed towards the sound, and Hyukjin¡¯s eyes followed the monster as it approached. If he collided into the monster by mistake, the spirit art would be canceled. He carefully assessed the trajectory of its movement and determined that he would barely avoid grazing it. Cold sweat ran down his back. ¡®Let¡¯s stay put.¡¯ Gghhh¨C! Gghhh¨C! ¡®Three seconds now.¡¯ Fwoooosh! Flames shot up. A firestorm raged in, fueled by the Orc Chimera Oil he and Sung-gu had dispersed all over the place. After very carefully sneaking up on the Predator Tree, Hyukjin sprayed Orc Chimera Oil onto the monster¡¯s body. He also splashed plenty of oil on the corpses. His movements were too sudden, it seemed. [Excessive movement has been detected.] [The spirit art is being dispelled.] Hyukjin became visible again, and the Predator Tree recognized that he was behind it. Gghhhh¨C! The mouth in the middle of the Predator Tree¡¯s trunk swiveled automatically to its back in a motion that was the parallel of a human¡¯s head rotating 180 degrees. The Predator Tree extended its branches. Clamp! As branches grabbed Hyukjin¡¯s wrists and ankles, flames traveled up the Predator Tree¡¯s body. Despite its considerable agony, it raised Hyukjin into the air to swallow him whole. Knowing the more he resisted, the faster it would move to consume him, Hyukjin didn¡¯t resist. He intentionally went limp in its grasp. ¡®Sung-gu will call me.¡¯ That would confuse the Predator Tree a little more. From the viewpoint of the Predator Tree, it would be like an ¡®enemy¡¯ suddenly appearing from the sea of flames so intense they were impossible to see through. Gghhh¨C! Gghhh¨C! ¡®You just have to make a fuss like usual, Sung-gu.¡¯ Originally, this trap was meant to kill the Pearl Centipedes. However, it was more than capable of killing the Predator Tree as well. That was because Hyukjin had the Rot Water he obtained in advance from the Poison Witch. His ankle touched the Predator Tree¡¯s mouth. As slowly as a snake swallowing its prey, the Predator Tree persisted in swallowing Hyukjin despite the agony of being covered in flames. Just then, Sung-gu¡¯s voice rang out. ¡°Kim Hyukjin! Where are you? You¡¯re okay, right?!¡± The cave was now completely full of fire. The Predator Tree flinched. Hyukjin didn¡¯t miss that very tiny opening, a fraction of a second. He raised his foot a little and kicked the Predator Tree¡¯s trunk, pushing his body a little further away from the monster. Then, he curled up his body as much as possible while still dangling in the air. ¡°Sung-gu! You huddle up, too!¡± he shouted. Sung-gu had absorbed the Vulcan Body Tome, so he would probably be fine even if he didn¡¯t curl up, but it was still best to be safe than sorry. The next moment, there was a huge explosion. BOOOOM! It was like a massive bomb went off. Sung-gu hastily dropped to the ground with a yelp, curling up to minimize his exposure to the explosion. The huge explosion was a stunning finale to the blazing firestorm prelude. After some time, Sung-gu shakily got up. Then, he approached Hyukjin. ¡°Oi, Hyukjin. You¡¯re okay, right?¡± ¡°¡­¡± Hyukjin lay on the ground, unmoving. ¡°Hey! Hyukjin! You alright? You¡¯re alright, yeah? Fuck. You¡¯re not dead, are you?¡± Still prone, Hyukjin raised a hand, putting a finger to his lips as if to tell Sung-gu to shut up. He healed himself with Cure and Constitution Potions. ¡°Phew, you scared me. I thought you were dead. Why¡¯d you do things so recklessly? And what was that tree monster just now?¡± ¡°A monster around level 40.¡± ¡°Wha¡ª?¡± Sung-gu¡¯s body trembled. He hastily looked around. ¡°Fuck! Where¡¯d it go?¡± ¡°You hunted it just now.¡± ¡°Me? When?¡± Now that he thought of it, he had a fuzzy recollection of hearing a notice. He was so focused on finding out if Hyukjin was okay, so busy checking if Hyukjin was alive or dead, that he wasn¡¯t able to pay attention to it. Now that he had collected his wits, he remembered hearing it. ¡°Predator¡­ Tree?¡± ¡°Yeah. The Predator Tree you killed.¡± Sung-gu¡¯s mouth closed. It was because he knew what Hyukjin was doing right now. ¡®He¡¯s explaining to the Guardians.¡¯ A level 40 monster. That was a foe that should be nearly impossible to kill with two people in the early 30s. Moreover, the process had reduced Hyukjin to such a wreck. ¡®How in hell did I kill it?¡¯ Sung-gu was curious, too. Hyukjin opened his mouth. ¡°We made use of the Orc Chimera Oil¡¯s special trait.¡± ¡°Special trait?¡± ¡°It causes a powerful explosion when it comes in contact with poison.¡± ¡°You had poison with you?¡± But wait, if Hyukjin had poison with him, he should have exploded, too. Sung-gu blinked, baffled. ¡°There were several corpses created by Pearl Centipedes.¡± ¡°Corpses?¡± Sung-gu tilted his head. ¡°Wait a sec, you¡¯re saying¡­?¡± ¡°Yeah. We made use of decomposition poison. The bodies of the people killed by the Pearl Centipedes were filled with strong decomposition poison.¡± That wasn¡¯t all. Hyukjin had increased the explosive power even more with the addition of Rot Water, a liquid that created poison by decomposing something. This item, which was especially effective on corpses, could be produced by poison classes. ¡°So basically, you lured that Predator Tree or whatever it¡¯s called this way, let it get covered in flames, and then finished it off with an explosion using decomposition poison?¡± ¡°You could have died, too.¡± ¡°But I didn¡¯t.¡± ¡°Weren¡¯t you closer to the explosion than me?¡± ¡°I was.¡± Without that, they wouldn¡¯t have been able to kill the Predator Tree. ¡°It was 50/50 to begin with. Came down to whether I lived or it died. That¡¯s all.¡± ¡°You crazy bastard. There¡¯s no doubt, you¡¯re really gone in the head. I at least have a title called Person of Fire! Do you even have something like that?¡± Hyukjin gave a casual nod. ¡°I do.¡± ¡°I knew it, you don¡¯t! Without a fire resistance title like¡­ Huh? You do?¡± ¡°¡­¡± Sung-gu stared at Hyukjin in bafflement. He didn¡¯t think there would be someone else with the Person of Fire title, much less the sovereign Kim Hyukjin. Who would have thought that someone who didn¡¯t even have a fire class, but a sovereign class, would have this title? Sung-gu shook his head. ¡°I really gotta wonder if you¡¯re a crazy bastard after all.¡± His mood lifted. It hadn¡¯t even been long since he met Hyukjin, but he became happy anyway. He was happy Hyukjin was alright, that he had the ¡®Person of Fire¡¯ title, everything. ¡°You really are a madlad.¡± ¡°¡­¡± ¡°Surely you don¡¯t have a higher fire affinity or resistance than me, do you?¡± Having fully recovered, Hyukjin got to his feet. The way he patted himself down made it seem like he had just gone on a light jog around the neighborhood. After mumbling, ¡°Jeez, good thing I¡¯m on the same team as this monster,¡± Sung-gu changed the subject. ¡°Hey, you monster. That means I just killed a level 40 monster, right?¡± ¡°Yeah.¡± ¡°Holy shit. What the hell? My EXP¡¯s nearly gone up to half! It¡¯s been going up super fucking slow lately.¡± Hyukjin laughed. He didn¡¯t expect they would be able to kill a Predator Tree here. With the stacked effects of Observer¡¯s Domain and his title, Hyukjin also reaped a handsome amount of EXP. ¡®I¡¯m almost at level 31, too.¡¯ It was extremely difficult to raise one¡¯s level in the Hell Phase without a ¡®strategy¡¯. Even people with top-notch talent went up only one or two levels in three months, after all. [The ¡®Whispering Devil¡¯ is having fun.] [The ¡®Nameless Observer¡¯ is impressed by your quick wit.] [The ¡®Giant of the Sunset¡¯ expresses slight interest in you.] Even the Giant of the Sunset showed a little interest in him now, a fairly big change from before. Originally, to the Giant of the Sunset, Hyukjin was just a ¡®thief who stole rewards that should have gone to my favorite¡¯. Just then, Hyukjin heard a notice even he hadn¡¯t expected. [The ¡®Nameless Observer¡¯ wishes to grant you a favor.] Chapter 105 Chapter 105 [The ¡®Nameless Observer¡¯ wishes to grant you a favor.] [The Player can refuse the favor if they so desire.] The Nameless Observer was a Guardian who typically disliked coming out in the open. But just like people, Guardians couldn¡¯t be defined in one word, either. Although they normally stuck to observing, the Nameless Observer was fully capable of making a move when needed. I just hadn¡¯t thought they would do so right now. ¡®Favor?¡¯ I immediately took a look. [Favor 1] A favor the ¡®Nameless Observer¡¯ invested a great number of Coins to bestow. Will allow the Player to open the Item Shop one grade higher than the current grade. The Item Shop can be opened regardless of location. Valid only for 5 minutes after accepting ¡®Favor 1¡¯. There are no disadvantages to the Player if they refuse. I would be able to open the Intermediate Item Shop despite being in a gate. ¡®Why did they give me this here?¡¯ The message mentioned that a great number of Coins had been invested, which meant this was a significant Coin sink even for the Nameless Observer. I couldn¡¯t figure out why they suddenly wanted to give me this privilege. ¡®Doesn¡¯t look like there¡¯s any downsides to accepting, but¡­¡¯ Had I become the Nameless Observer¡¯s favorite, so to speak? Like how Choi Sung-gu was the Giant of the Sunset¡¯s favorite? ¡®No idea.¡¯ I didn¡¯t know, but I put that aside for now. There could be something I was missing. I was suddenly reminded that Darongi successfully stole something from the Demon King earlier. [A ¡®new item¡¯ has come into Darongi¡¯s Inventory.] At that time, the Demon King said, ¡°He¡¯s cute, so I just let him be. I¡¯ll give you what he stole as a gift.¡± As well as, ¡°I¡¯ve asked you to try becoming stronger. I see that you have more than enough qualifications to do so. Become stronger.¡± I immediately checked Darongi¡¯s Inventory. The Demon King had basically given me a gift. If he hadn¡¯t desired it, Darongi wouldn¡¯t have been able to steal it from him. [Fusestone] A stone that can fuse an item¡¯s power into a Player¡¯s body. It has been fully refined and is ready for fusion. The success or failure of the fusion may depend on the Item type and the Player¡¯s physical constitution. Level requirement: 30 Valid time: 15 minutes My mouth dropped wide open. ¡°What¡¯s wrong? Something happen?¡± ¡°¡­¡± ¡°Mm. Is it something I shouldn¡¯t butt into?¡± Not waiting for a response, he sat down, his back to the cave wall. He drew circles in the ground with his finger and even sang a stupid little song. ¡°I¡¯m the loner Sung-gu~ I have~ no friends~ little Hyukjin~ is busy~ so he won¡¯t play~ with me~¡± He glanced at me. My mouth quickly shut. He was a bit of a clown, but the kid was certainly quick on the uptake. He was implicitly telling me he wouldn¡¯t get in the way. ¡®The Demon King¡­ gave me a Fusestone?¡¯ Fusetone. This was an item even more precious than the mana crystal I currently possessed, so rare Rankers would go in and out of the very dangerous ¡®Seokguram Dungeon¡¯ to obtain it in the far-off future. ¡®Its value can¡¯t be measured with money.¡¯ It was such a rare stone that it couldn¡¯t be traded to begin with. This stone would fuse an item¡¯s power into a Player¡¯s body. In other words, using it would merge an item in my body. ¡®If I fused a sword with 50 attack power into my body¡­¡¯ No matter what weapon I picked up, +50 attack power would automatically be added. ¡®Or a necklace with 5 Agility¡­¡¯ I¡¯d get a permanent +5 AGI. ¡®It¡¯s even been fully refined.¡¯ Fusestones couldn¡¯t be used as is. They had to be refined first. However, once they were refined, they would start to oxidize. More and more of the stone would disappear as it came in contact with the oxygen in the air, and once the ¡®valid time¡¯ ended, it would be completely gone. ¡®14 minutes left.¡¯ I had to figure out how to use this Fusestone within 14 minutes. The Nameless Observer had picked this moment to use a massive amount of Coins to allow me to open the Intermediate Item Shop. That meant there was something the Nameless Observer wanted to see. While I was thinking, Darongi ran around with [!!!] marks popping up over his head. There were apparently things hidden within the cave. However, I had no time to pay much attention to the little squirrel right now. ¡®13 minutes left.¡¯ Even if you had a Fusestone, it didn¡¯t mean you could merge everything and anything into your body. ¡®The things with the highest chance of success are accessories.¡¯ Because Fusestones were so precious, when using them, Players chose the type of items that granted the highest fusion success chance. ¡®An accessory¡­¡¯ * * * I just so happened to have a fairly decent accessory on me. [Legolas¡¯ Ring] A ring made by refining a ¡®topaz¡¯ that holds a mysterious power. Defense: 1 Effect: 2% attack damage HP absorption. This was the trump card I prepared to easily get through the 30-40 period, the Hell Phase. I had obtained the rings by hunting as many Monster Rabbits as possible. Ever since I got the Observer class, I had been wondering how I should use these items to my greatest advantage. I realized what it was that the Nameless Observer wanted to see from me. ¡°Senia. Starting now, I¡¯m going into item enhancement.¡± ¡°Here?¡± Senia gave me her advice. ¡°Enhancement requires talent and luck, neither of which can be controlled by a Player. However¡­¡± ¡°You want to say I can control factors like the timing, location, and my concentration.¡± ¡°Yes. I believe the assistance of the field played a big role in the reason why you were able to successfully enhance the Wind Shoes.¡± ¡°You¡¯re not wrong.¡± ¡°But this isn¡¯t the time for that.¡± I shared what I had just gotten. Senia¡¯s wings quivered. ¡°Fusestone¡ª!¡± Notices instantly streamed in. [The ¡®Merchant of Venice¡¯ is shocked.] [The ¡®Whispering Devil¡¯ is amused.] [The ¡®Barrier of Blue Light¡¯ wishes to protect you.] A blue magic circle appeared under my feet. The ¡®Barrier of Blue Light¡¯ could be labeled a helicopter parent, it seemed. As soon as I moved to start enhancing here, they made a barrier to protect me, though it would have been nice if they had also extended that protection to Sung-gu while they were at it. ¡®Well, Guardians are strictly restricted from direct interference.¡¯ I was very thankful that they had done even this much. I publicized the entire process. I would show the Guardians everything via Senia. Right now, right here, I would show them how I Played and how well I could satisfy their desires. ¡®I won¡¯t let the opportunity given to me by the Nameless Observer slip through my fingers.¡¯ I immediately opened the Intermediate Item Shop. ¡®As expected.¡¯ It was different from when Senia forcibly opened the shop for me in the past. As expected of a Guardian, the Intermediate-grade shop that was opened by a Guardian¡¯s power and discretion did not impose the penalty I faced before. [Item Shop ¨C Intermediate-grade ¨C Enhancement] Low Enhancement Crystal 2,000 Coins Medium Enhancement Crystal 3,000 Coins Element Affinity Powder 1,000 Coins Last time, I was forced to buy these items for a whopping 10x the regular price. Not this time. There was no doubt that the Nameless Observer had undertaken the penalty in my stead. ¡®I will show you guys what you want.¡¯ The +1 was up first. Medium Enhancement Crystals weren¡¯t needed for the first enhancement. [Low Enhancement Crystal purchased.] [-2,000 Coins] [Low Enhancement Crystal purchased.] [-2,000 Coins] The Legolas¡¯ Ring didn¡¯t really have an element, but everyone knew using Element Affinity Powder would still be helpful for the enhancement. [Element Affinity Powder purchased.] That was 5,000 Coins in total. I jumped straight into the first enhancement. ¡®I was lucky back then.¡¯ I recalled the time when I enhanced the Wind Shoes. The success rate for +1 was normally 90%. With Element Affinity Powder, that was pushed to nearly 100%. But thanks to the field attribute bonus, I got a success rate of 140%. ¡®I¡¯m not expecting the same luck this time.¡¯ I couldn¡¯t always Play while hoping to be lucky. Luck was fickle, to an extent. The Legolas¡¯ Ring started being enhanced. [Calculating the +1 enhancement success rate.] [+1 enhancement success rate: 120%] What? Another 120%. [Element Affinity Powder increases success rate by 10%.] [+1 enhancement success rate: 130%] The notices were the same as before, even though the Master of Enhancement Lukas said even he didn¡¯t have a 100% success rate all the time. [Enhancing Legolas¡¯ Ring.] [Congratulations!] [The enhancement was successful!] [Legolas¡¯ Ring has been enhanced to Legolas¡¯ Ring +1.] The first enhancement was a success. ¡®Another blue enhancement?¡¯ If enhancement craftsmen or the German Master of Enhancement Lukas were to see this, they might have passed out. A person with no special knowledge about enhancement working in a place that wasn¡¯t even specialized for enhancement managed to pull off another blue grade. For the second enhancement, I needed a whopping 10 Low Enhancement Crystals. The number of enhancement crystals needed increased exponentially the higher you went. ¡®Gotta invest when you gotta invest.¡¯ The Guardians were probably watching with bated breath, each of them curious to see how well a level 30 ¡®non-production class Player¡¯ / ¡®non-enhancement Player¡¯ could perform. I moved on to the 2nd enhancement without delay. ¡®Holy shit.¡¯ The +2 success rate should be around 90%. But the rate calculated for me was still 120%. The Element Affinity Powder added 10%. ¡®Blue, again?¡¯ Getting another blue wasn¡¯t guaranteed just because you were enhancing a blue item. In fact, it was far more common for blues to be enhanced down to a regular grade. ¡®I¡¯m the one doing it, but¡­¡¯ I could no longer look at this as simple luck. ¡®I¡¯ll go all the way to +3.¡¯ [The ¡®Herdsman of Las Vegas¡¯ is observing you with bated breath.] [The ¡®Barrier of Blue Light¡¯ is pleased.] [The ¡®Whispering Devil¡¯ feels regret.] [The ¡®Lady of the Scales¡¯ is showing great interest.] [The ¡®Nameless Observer¡¯ is continuing to observe.] The Guardians sent me a full fleet of five messages, the maximum that could be sent at one time. They, too, were focusing on this moment. ¡®The normal +3 success rate is about 80%.¡¯ The rate swung wildly from person to person, but the statistical average was about 80%. ¡®From +3 on, failure will break the item.¡¯ But I didn¡¯t hesitate. I had nine Legolas¡¯ Rings. It was more than worth it to go for the investment. ¡®Huh?¡¯ This time, the success rate was set at 100%. It didn¡¯t go beyond 100% like the previous two enhancements, but it was still a guaranteed success. [Enhancing Legolas¡¯ Ring.] [Congratulations!] [The enhancement was successful!] [Legolas¡¯ Ring has been enhanced to Legolas¡¯ Ring +3.] I checked the item. [Legolas¡¯ Ring +3] A ring made by refining a ¡®topaz¡¯ that holds a mysterious power. Defense: 3 Effect: 2.3% attack damage HP absorption. Special effect: Can use the special skill ¡®Absorption Ring¡¯. I was speechless for a while. My eyes saw it clearly. The Legolas¡¯ Ring was sparkling, the name of the item the color beyond blue¡ªpurple. ¡®What in the world¡­ is this?¡¯ I never learned how to enhance, didn¡¯t satisfy any special conditions, and didn¡¯t have a special skill like craftsmen did. I only enhanced using the common stuff sold in the Item Shop. ¡®But a purple grade popped out?¡¯ And it even had a special effect tacked on. I was already very familiar with this ¡®Absorption Ring¡¯ effect. Still, I needed to check it. Because what I was doing right now wasn¡¯t just ¡®enhancement¡¯, but ¡®fusion¡¯. I had to consider enhancing a different item and going with that instead, if needed. ¡®Absorption Ring.¡¯ I opened up the explanation for the new special skill. ____ Chapter 106 Chapter 106 I opened up the explanation for the new special skill. [Absorption Ring] Absorbs all physical damage for 0.5 seconds. Only applies when the attacker dealing the physical damage is under level 50. The absorbed damage will be converted to HP, and the item will be destroyed. This was the new skill that appeared upon achieving a purple enhancement. ¡®All physical damage taken over 0.5 seconds is converted to HP.¡¯ As long as you used the skill with good timing, you could easily bypass an opponent¡¯s finishing move¡ªfor example, something like Yeonseo¡¯s ¡®Single Hit Finisher¡¯¡ªwithout taking any damage. ¡®It¡¯s a more advanced ability than the Great Orc Warrior set effect.¡¯ It wasn¡¯t simply blocking, but HP absorbing. The effective time was extremely short, but as long as I used it at the right time, it would have an incredible effect. I turned to Senia. ¡°I¡¯m going to start fusion now.¡± There were only five minutes left on the Fusestone¡¯s timer. ¡®I don¡¯t know how high the success rate is.¡¯ I also didn¡¯t know what I had to do to increase it. ¡®Fusestones¡¯ were simply far too foreign a concept for regular people or Players. They were rare treasures that were known only in theory and encountered only in textbooks. ¡®I guess the only thing I can do to increase the success rate¡­ is to control my thoughts.¡¯ I examined the Fusestone with Observer¡¯s Eye, but I couldn¡¯t find any hints. I just had the feeling that being confident I could do it was necessary. ¡®I can do it.¡¯ I repeated the words in my mind. ¡®I can do it.¡¯ I was different from the past me who couldn¡¯t do anything. Now, I was the one who would draw out my own future. I could do it. ¡®I can do it.¡¯ After several rounds of mental convincing, I used the Fusestone without delay. [Use the Fusestone?] [Please select the item you wish to fuse with the Fusestone.] A square ¡®slot¡¯ appeared in front of my eyes, visible only to me. It seemed I just had to choose and insert the item I wanted in the slot. [Select the Legolas¡¯ Ring +3?] [Fusing the Legolas¡¯ Ring +3 into the Player¡¯s body using the Fusestone.] My body began to sparkle. I never expected I would experience a phenomenon that applied to the highest level Players in the beginner period. It wasn¡¯t just a new feeling; it was downright shocking. [Fusion has begun.] [Some time is required.] I had a hunch. ¡®During this time¡­ I shouldn¡¯t drop my focus.¡¯ I couldn¡¯t just leave it to the System. No one taught me what to do, but I sat down cross-legged and closed my eyes. There might still be Pearl Centipedes somewhere, but Choi Sung-gu was here. I decided to trust him. [Meditating with Observer¡¯s Eye.] I turned my gaze inwards to see how the Fusestone was operating in my body, what kind of flow there was inside of me. The sensation was a little different from looking with my eyes. My eyes were closed, but I could feel the flow of mana. ¡®Is this how¡­ the meditation the top Players mentioned feels?¡¯ It was still hazy. I couldn¡¯t feel it clearly, and the sensation of closing my eyes and looking inward was none too familiar, either. However, I was starting to get an idea of what it was like. ¡®The feeling of foreign energy coming into my body¡­¡¯ I followed the path the energy was traveling. I couldn¡¯t control anything, but I focused on those strands of energy while repeating a mantra in my heart. ¡®I¡­ can do it!¡¯ Time passed. I heard a notice. [Congratulations!] [The fusion was successful!] * * * Sung-gu wanted to ask, but he held it in. ¡®Just what the hell is this monster up to?¡¯ He stayed right next to Hyukjin the whole time, just in case any monsters attacked. He almost started talking to himself, but he shut his mouth, not wanting to break Hyukjin¡¯s concentration. ¡®His body was shining earlier.¡¯ There were three flashes of light. ¡®Is that crazy focus for real?¡¯ It looked like he was meditating, but how could he be so deep in meditation inside a gate, of all places? There was no knowing when a monster would pop out, but Hyukjin was as calm as a pool of still water. His slow, measured breathing told Sung-gu he wasn¡¯t dead, but he sure looked like it. ¡®He really is crazy. This guy¡¯s definitely not human.¡¯ Sung-gu shook his head. He didn¡¯t think he could for the life of him have that level of focus and recklessness. Though that was what he thought to himself, Choi Sung-gu¡¯s ability to focus was rather considerable as well. Hyukjin was too defenseless at the moment, so Sung-gu devoted his full focus to carefully watching the surroundings. He didn¡¯t have an ¡®eye¡¯ like Hyukjin, but he didn¡¯t let down his guard. After some more time passed, a purple light blossomed from Hyukjin¡¯s body, and his eyes flashed open. ¡°Woah! Jeez! You scared the bejeebers out of me.¡± Hyukjin got up and looked around. ¡°Any monsters?¡± ¡°Nope.¡± ¡°Yeah. Maybe ¡®cause of the blue light under your feet, I didn¡¯t see a single trace of a monster. But dude, what the hell was that? How come your body was all flashy-flashy earlier, and this time, you had all that purple light coming from you?¡± Hyukjin laughed. Sung-gu¡¯s eyes were sparkling with immense curiosity. ¡°It was nothing much. I just successfully enhanced an item and absorbed that item in my body.¡± ¡°Wut?¡± Sung-gu¡¯s head tilted. ¡°Enhancement? Something like that exists?¡± ¡°Yeah, it does. Though it hasn¡¯t really been released yet.¡± ¡°How did you do something that hasn¡¯t been released yet?¡± ¡°You just have to do it.¡± Sung-gu made a dumbfounded look. ¡®Just do it¡¯, he said. Were those words, or hieroglyphs? It was just like a math whiz saying ¡®Math? Just solve it¡¯. Just then, Sung-gu realized something. ¡®He¡¯s not talking with me right now.¡¯ It was true that Hyukjin was sharing information with him, a team member, but there was no doubt that Hyukjin was actually explaining what had happened to the Guardians right now. ¡®I¡¯ve got to keep the questions going so it looks natural, right?¡¯ Sung-gu innocently asked, ¡°Then what¡¯s with absorption?¡± ¡°I fused a ring.¡± ¡°Fused?¡± ¡°Yeah. Thanks to that, I got a special skill.¡± Hyukjin heard notices. [The ¡®skill¡¯ of the fused item has been confirmed.] [Due to the successful fusion, the item¡¯s skill will be converted to the Player¡¯s skill.] [Checking the degree of fusion and compatibility between the item¡¯s skill and the Player¡¯s body.] And the results of the compatibility check were: [The compatibility has been evaluated as ¡®perfect¡¯.] [The optimal conditions for absorbing the item¡¯s power have been met.] [The special skill Absorption has been generated.] Hyukjin¡¯s mood soared. The ¡®Absorption Ring¡¯ skill attached to the Legolas¡¯ Ring had a fatal flaw, and that was that it could only be used one time. If you used the skill, the item would be destroyed. But not anymore. [Absorption] Absorbs all physical damage for 0.5 seconds. The absorbed damage is converted to HP. Not only did the level restriction disappear, but the skill was no longer one-time-use, but usable once per day. This astonishing result meant that the degree of fusion between the item and Player was very high and the compatibility was as high as it could be. Sung-gu cautiously asked, ¡°Can I ask¡­ what that skill is?¡± ¡°You¡¯ll find out in due time.¡± Hyukjin didn¡¯t really intend on keeping it a secret from Sung-gu. Efficient teamplay was only possible if your teammates knew what cards you had in store. It was just that Hyukjin was keeping it a secret from the Guardians. He only revealed 70% and kept 30% to himself. Sung-gu nodded. ¡°Okay. Gotchu. We¡¯re gonna clear this place now, yeah? I want out of this scary cave, plus I think quite a lot of time has passed.¡± ¡°How long was I sitting down?¡± ¡°Dunno, like thirty minutes?¡± Senia appeared and corrected Sung-gu¡¯s words. ¡°It was two hours, twelve minutes, and four seconds.¡± ¡°Eh? You serious? It was that long? Was it ¡®cause I was tense? The time flew goddamn fast.¡± Hyukjin glanced around. ¡®If this place has the same structure as the gate on Plum Blossom Island¡­¡¯ The Clear Crystal would be at the end of the cave. ¡®Originally, we were supposed to catch the Pearl Centipedes.¡¯ Hyukjin¡¯s real goal was to get the ¡®pearls¡¯ dropped by the Pearl Centipedes. It was an item that would be useful in the U-Plex Dungeon their party had to clear. The sudden appearance of a Predator Tree had kicked his plans slightly off-track. ¡°For now, I can¡¯t sense any Pearl Centipedes nearby.¡± He didn¡¯t know if that was because they ran away from the Predator Tree, or because they were burned to death by the fire Sung-gu lit. ¡°Let¡¯s look for the Clear Crystal.¡± * * * The cave was almost the same as the one on Plum Blossom Island. Hyukjin was able to find the purple Clear Crystal without much difficulty and thus clear the Centipede Cave. [The gate Centipede Cave has been cleared.] [EXP acquired as a clear reward for the gate Centipede Cave.] [An ¡®achievement¡¯ was earned during the clear of the gate Centipede Cave.] Sung-gu broke into a grin. ¡°Must be ¡®cause we killed that strong mothafucker earlier, right? That level 40 dude.¡± He got excited. But in the next moment, the excitement on his face froze. [Map of the ¡®Predator Tree Colony¡¯ acquired.] ¡°I don¡¯t need a map like this.¡± Sung-gu trembled all over. Killing one of them was already so difficult, but a colony? No way. ¡°We¡¯re not gonna go there, right?¡± ¡°¡­¡± ¡°Hey, Hyukjin. Please. Please tell me we¡¯re not going there.¡± ¡°¡­¡± Sung-gu looked up to find Hyukjin smiling broadly at him. ¡°Hey, you crazy sonova bitch. Going to a frickin¡¯ colony when just one of them nearly fucking killed you is ridiculous. Right? Right? Let¡¯s live with some common sense.¡± But even as he spoke, Sung-gu had a hunch. Their sovereign boss would definitely go there, and this map would definitely be used one day. ¡°Fuuuck¡­¡± He should just give up and work hard to learn magic. In the first place, he never thought of sending Hyukjin there alone. Everything was based on the premise of ¡®going together¡¯. He would go, yes, but a tearful look appeared on his face. ¡°I shouldn¡¯t have become friends with you.¡± Hyukjin ignored Sung-gu¡¯s complaining and whining. Even in his past life, Choi Sung-gu was said to whine in a manner that didn¡¯t match his Flame Lord nickname, to the point where people said his whining was proportional to his skills. [10,000 Coins acquired as a reward for clearing the gate Centipede Cave.] Sung-gu made a fist of excitement. ¡°Woohoo!¡± In addition to that¡ª [¡®Centipede Fang¡¯ acquired as a clear reward.] [¡®Pearl Centipede Body¡¯ acquired as a clear reward.] They were given all of the gate clear rewards. [Leaving the gate.] The two found themselves back outside. Thanks to Taeguk Shield and the police sealing off the surroundings well, there was no further damage. ¡®We absolutely need Pearl Centipede pearls in order to go into the U-Plex Dungeon.¡¯ That meant they would still have to go to Plum Blossom Island. But then, Hyukjin noticed that [!!!] marks were floating above Darongi¡¯s head, and they were even red. A notice came in. [Darongi requests that you open his Inventory.] A [??] mark appeared on top of the [!!!], and the squirrel was puffing out his chest with pride, obviously proclaiming his awesomeness with great enthusiasm. ____ Chapter 107 Chapter 107 [Darongi requests that you open his Inventory.] I checked his Inventory. [Centipede Pearl] A consumable item that greatly increases poison resistance. Imparts a particularly strong resilience against insect/snake poison. Duration: 360 seconds ¡°Darongi, you¡­¡± I stroked his little head. This thieving genius did it again. ¡°You brought thirty of these?¡± Darongi nodded. But the rascal didn¡¯t intend on meekly giving me the Centipede Pearls. Just like when we first met, he wanted something from me. ¡°I¡¯ll give you acorns.¡± [!!!] marks appeared above his head at the mention of acorns. I bought them out of curiosity, but it turned out that Darongi went crazy for the things. [Darongi wishes to trade with his master.] [Trade complete.] The thirty Centipede Pearls in Darongi¡¯s Inventory were moved to mine. I gave acorns to get Centipede Pearls. He had probably gotten the pearls by digging into the ground and finding the bodies of the Pearl Centipedes, or something like that. ¡®Impressive.¡¯ At least when it came to ¡®thieving¡¯, Darongi possessed far higher talent and skill than me. In any case, we cleared the Centipede Cave. My preparations for the U-Plex Dungeon were nearly complete. After going back home, I pulled out the notepad and checked the contents once again. ¨CLate September 2018. Dungeon precursors occur near Hyundai Dept. Store. That was what was originally written in the notepad, and after I regressed, I added a detailed explanation. ¨CGas leak smells. Ant swarms. Weak tremors. Those were the precursors. And then, two days afterwards: I told the others that I didn¡¯t know when or where the dungeon would form, but I knew it down to the day. I didn¡¯t know the time, but the date was September 29. ¨CEstimated casualties when dungeon first formed: ~800. The 800 or so people who were in the U-Plex as it transformed into a dungeon were trapped in it and lost their lives. ¨COct. 3, 2018. Dungeon break. We wouldn¡¯t be able to clear the U-Plex Dungeon legitimately. A proper clear would only become possible much later. As expected of a dungeon with a staggering four floors, the clear difficulty was nothing to scoff at. It was nearly impossible for us to clear it without a special strat at our levels. After tidying my notes, I turned my thoughts to the strategies, running from the Big Black Dogs on the 1st floor all the way to Noah on the 4th. ¡®The highest difficulty dungeon that can be cleared in the level 30s.¡¯ Of course, it was only possible if you knew the ins and outs of the strategy. As I said earlier, it was a place so difficult it could never be cleared by Players in their level 30s without knowing the strategy, though it did have rewards to match. Having gotten five acorns and scarfed all of them down, Darongi sat on my head, patted his bulging belly, and fell fast asleep. ¡®Tomorrow¡­ is September 27th, huh.¡¯ There was one day before the precursors began. ¡®I should prevent what I can.¡¯ That was the right thing to do, especially if they weren¡¯t even Players but regular people who didn¡¯t know anything. ¡®I will do my best¡­ within the scope of what I can do.¡¯ I contacted the Guildmaster of Taeguk Shield, Song Kiyeol. ¨CI have something to tell you. Let¡¯s meet up. * * * Song Kiyeol went to President Song Kiyoung with a heavy heart. ¡°Well then. What happened?¡± ¡°I have just had a meeting with Player Kim Hyukjin.¡± ¡°Is that so?¡± Song Kiyoung straightened. He was very pleased with his grandson¡¯s attitude lately. Kiyeol looked like he was trying to learn a lot from Kim Hyukjin. ¡®Hm. What will he say?¡¯ He, a grandfather satisfied with his grandson¡¯s growth, listened quietly to what Kiyeol had to say and found himself stunned. ¡°¡­He said the U-Plex and Hyundai Department Store operating perfectly fine need to be closed down? Does he know what that would mean? The Internet¡¯s already having a field day with the reports of gas leaks or whatever as it is.¡± Song Kiyeol was a little surprised. Honestly speaking, it wasn¡¯t as bad as President Song made it sound. It was just a few people saying they smelled gas in the building and saw an ant swarm, minor stuff like that. Song Kiyoung intentionally put a look of rage on his face. From his expression, it looked like he was saying ¡®Is this all your discernment amounts to? Will you just nod and bow to everything Kim Hyukjin says?¡¯ Kiyeol felt sweat run down his back, and not because he was scared of his grandfather. Kim Hyukjin had said the following: ¨CPresident Song will likely say something like how there¡¯s not enough time to give sufficient official notice, mention a few signs of dungeon opening, and talk about the time customers wasted coming for nothing. As if Hyukjin already saw this conversation happen, he even went on to say: ¨CHe¡¯ll make himself look very incensed. But as Guildmaster Song knows, that isn¡¯t real rage, but a test for you. Kiyeol began to see things he hadn¡¯t seen before. Meeting Kim Hyukjin had sharpened his insight. ¡°If Kim Hyukjin is correct, then we will obtain a profit beyond description.¡± Even at the cost of losses, they proactively prevented customers from coming into harm¡¯s way, saving many lives. They would be telling the public that Sungshin¡¯s Taeguk Shield had the ability¡­ to predict the future. ¡°In addition, we will be able to build an even closer relationship of trust with Kim Hyukjin, the Player who can be called the front-runner of the new culture wave.¡± ¡°And if Kim Hyukjin¡¯s words were merely unfounded worries?¡± ¡°If he was wrong, then we will have obtained a card with which to pressure him.¡± ¡°You are suggesting closing down the department store with that alone?¡± Song Kiyeol recalled Hyukjin¡¯s words again. ¨CHe will not agree to close down the department store with that alone. Not if he¡¯s the President Song Kiyoung I know. Kiyeol bit his lips a little. Kim Hyukjin met his grandfather just one time and figured him out to such an extent. Kiyeol had seen his grandfather for thirty years and was only now starting to see the depths of his grandfather¡¯s character. ¡°We will be able to show the public our stance of ¡®Lives come first¡¯, even at the cost of profit and slight slander and reproach.¡± ¡°¡­¡± After looking at his grandson for a long while, President Song suddenly burst out in a guffaw. ¡°Kiyeol. Tell me honestly.¡± ¡°About what, sir?¡± ¡°Did you come up with everything you said and thought?¡± Kiyeol responded honestly. ¡°No, sir. My thoughts are heavily influenced by the conversation I had with Kim Hyukjin.¡± ¡°I see. I thought as much.¡± Song Kiyoung thought it was very amusing. ¡°Kim Hyukjin. Kim Hyukjin, you say.¡± He had a background check done, but there wasn¡¯t anything all that special about the boy. He was an ordinary person born to an ordinary family, and yet, he was extraordinary. ¡°How amusing. Alright then. If that place dungeonizes¡­ What do you intend to do with our Taeguk Shield? Surely you aren¡¯t planning on entrusting everything to Kim Hyukjin¡¯s party and sitting around sucking your thumbs, no?¡± * * * I got the news via the Internet. Actually, it didn¡¯t balloon into that big of an issue. [The Hyundai Department Store in Sinchon suspends operation for a safety inspection.] There were a few articles about how people were inconvenienced by the sudden safety inspection. ¡®Ant swarms have been found, and people also smelled gas. There were also people who claimed they felt faint tremors.¡¯ Rumors of that sort popped up on the Internet like urban myths. There was also some talk that the suspension of business might be because of those strange occurrences. ¡®The future is changing once again because of me.¡¯ I wouldn¡¯t regret it. I had already finished telling the party everything they had to know. We went around learning the terrain of the dungeon and the Hyundai Department Store, as well as the locations of the escalators. We also had the Centipede Pearls we needed. I checked the notepad one more time. ¨CSept. 29, 2018. Main door of the U-Plex dungeonizes. I prayed that no one would be inside when it happened. No matter how hard Sungshin worked to inform the public, many people would come without hearing the announcement. Even if people were warned not to come, there were always people who did the opposite of what they were told. We just had to hope there wouldn¡¯t be anyone like that. The morning of the 29th dawned. Since I didn¡¯t know when the U-Plex would turn into a dungeon, we arranged to stand by in the vicinity of the front doors early in the morning. ¡°Boss Hyukjin. This place¡¯ll really become a dungeon?¡± ¡°Hm. My Precognitive Dream said so.¡± ¡°Precognitive Dream is so fascinating. Ah!¡± Yeonseo spotted someone¡ªthe Golden Priest Gong Jinhoon, as well as the Poison Witch Cheon Sooji. ¡°Are the Taeguk Shielders coming too?¡± ¡°They¡¯ve just come to put on a front. We¡¯ll be the ones doing the clear.¡± They were here to show that Taeguk Shield wasn¡¯t just sitting on its thumbs, or more precisely, to earn marks from President Song Kiyoung. ¡°Oppa. I¡¯m against that unnie,¡± said Sunhwa, her words full of stubborn determination. Yeonseo nodded. ¡°Yeah, me too.¡± What nonsense were they coming up with so early in the morning? I just ignored them and let them be. ¡°Everyone remember what I said?¡± A chorus of yeses met me. I had shared the overall strategy with them while Senia wasn¡¯t present. I would of course have to tell them the complete details ¡®on-site¡¯, but they had a definite outline. ¡®1st floor.¡¯ ¡®There will even be a boss monster.¡¯ A monster even stronger than the Big Black Dogs would be there as well. I took deep breaths. It would be alright. We could do it. ¡°Oh! Oppa, something¡¯s happening to the front doors.¡± At 8:40 am, the dungeonization began, starting with the front doors. Notices were sent to all the Players in the vicinity. [A dungeon has been generated.] [The ¡®U-Plex¡¯ is starting to transform into the ¡®U-Plex Dungeon¡¯.] The U-Plex began dungeonizing as expected, but there was something different from the past. [No ¡®humans with lifeforce¡¯ have been sensed within the ¡®U-Plex¡¯.] That was what I had aimed for, in order to minimize the casualties and to prevent needless slaughter. [The activation condition for the ¡®U-Plex Dungeon¡¯ has not been satisfied.] But the notice was a little strange. The activation conditions weren¡¯t satisfied? Did that mean the dungeon¡¯s activation would be canceled? I felt a lurch of dismay. In my plans, this was a place we absolutely had to clear. [A System revision is occurring to satisfy the activation condition of the ¡®U-Plex Dungeon¡¯.] I made my assessment instantly. The moment I saw the words ¡®System revision¡¯, I knew what it was. It would increase its range until it collected enough ¡®humans with lifeforce¡¯. I was sure of it. [The ¡®U-Plex Dungeon¡¯ is expanding.] [The ¡®U-Plex Dungeon¡¯ cannot be forcibly entered from the outside without a ¡®special right¡¯.] In order to swallow and consume living humans to meet the activation conditions, the dungeon began to expand. ¡®I will¡­¡¯ I could prevent the expansion. I could prevent a portion of the people in Sinchon from being swallowed by the dungeon. ¡®¡­prevent it!¡¯ ____ Chapter 108 Chapter 108 [The ¡®U-Plex Dungeon¡¯ cannot be forcibly entered from the outside without a ¡®special right¡¯.] I already had that special entrance right. It was the fair reward my party earned through the bet with the Herdsman of Las Vegas. 4. Upon quest clear, you will receive ¡®U-Plex Dungeon First Entry Rights¡¯. Thanks to that, my party members and I had the ¡®First Entry Rights¡¯ and could enter the dungeon while it was activating. The dungeon began to expand via a System revision after the [No ¡®humans with lifeforce¡¯ have been sensed within the ¡®U-Plex¡¯] notice. In other words, as long as there was human lifeforce inside the dungeon, expansion would no longer occur. As the notices continued, we entered the U-Plex Dungeon straight away. [Expansion of the U-Plex Dungeon has been suspended.] I looked around. It was a fairly bright indoor space with clean marble flooring. It felt like we were on the 1st floor of the ¡®U-Plex¡¯ building, but without all the stores. ¡®Ah.¡¯ There were people trapped in a giant glass cylinder. Cheon Sooji, Gong Jinhoon, and two civilians were trapped in the container with water up to their chests. [¡®Normal entrance¡¯ has suspended dungeonization.] [¡®Normal entrance¡¯ has suspended the acquisition of ¡®lifeforce offerings¡¯.] The glass shattered with a sharp crack, and Sooji, Jinhoon, and the two ordinary people were able to come out safely. ¡®If we hadn¡¯t blocked the expansion¡­¡¯ Countless people would have most likely been trapped and killed in that glass cylinder in the acquisition of ¡®lifeforce offerings¡¯. There was an ¡®Escalator Going to the 2nd Floor¡¯ near the entrance. It was similar to the one in Gwanghwamun D-Tower from the Tutorial. [Escalator Going to the 2nd Floor] The escalator going to the 2nd floor of the U-Plex Dungeon. Can transport 15 people at once. Cooldown: 20 minutes *Currently not in operation (special condition required). Yeonseo had her sword drawn. ¡°Boss Hyukjin. I see a number.¡± [3:00:00] [2:59:03] [2:58:22] The time was ticking down by the second. We had been given three minutes. ¡°Fuck. We¡¯ve got three minutes, yeah, but¡­ what do we do with those people?¡± Having collected their wits, Sooji and Jinhoon walked towards us. The Poison Witch, Cheon Sooji. The Golden Priest, Gong Jinhoon. They¡¯d been forcibly sucked in because of the sudden expansion process. If we hadn¡¯t done a ¡®normal entrance¡¯, they might have been swallowed alive. ¡°Should I¡­ be thanking you?¡± asked Cheon Sooji. ¡°There¡¯s no need for that.¡± We simply did something we should. ¡°However, I¡¯d like it if you didn¡¯t hold us back in our raid.¡± They didn¡¯t know the strategy, and there was no time to explain the particulars now. ¡°Keep your eyes sharp and do as we do. I won¡¯t walk you through it. I recommend absolute obedience to my commands, at least here in the U-Plex Dungeon. I won¡¯t take responsibility for your lives.¡± I called Yoohyun to me, and he trotted up, saying, ¡°Yes, hyungnim.¡± ¡°You¡¯ve got a stun skill, right?¡± ¡°I do, hyungnim.¡± ¡°Anyone else have a stun?¡± ¡°¡­¡± Only Yoohyun had a stun. ¡°Make Gong Jinhoon unconscious,¡± I told him in a low voice. ¡°What?¡± ¡°Hurry.¡± We only had two minutes and twenty seconds left. Once that time reached 0, they would come swarming in. ¡°Understood.¡± ¡°He has to be down for five minutes.¡± It would be better to take a small head injury than to die. I also spoke to Sooji. ¡°Miss Sooji, please listen to me very carefully.¡± There wasn¡¯t much time before they would appear. ¡°Even if monsters appear, don¡¯t be alarmed. We will not resist.¡± ¡°What does tha¡ª¡± ¡°If it¡¯s difficult for you, you can close your eyes.¡± ¡°¡­¡± Sooji closed her mouth and stared at me. It seemed the timer wasn¡¯t visible to her. The remaining time was only shown to us, the people who came in with the special entrance rights. ¡°Also, Mr. Jinhoon will be knocked unconscious.¡± ¡°Wh-What? A-Agh!¡± Pow! Jinhoon crumpled, knocked completely unconscious by the strike to the back of his head. Sung-gu trembled. ¡°Ah, fuck¡­ His head made a cracking noise. He doesn¡¯t have a concussion, does he? He¡¯s not dead, right?¡± Yoohyun gave an awkward smile, looking perfectly innocent. ¡°I wasn¡¯t sure how to make sure he stayed down for five minutes, so I just hit him hard.¡± The time continued to tick down. We only had one minute and thirty seconds left. ¡°Sunghyun. Give me the Black Yak Lean Meat.¡± ¡°Okay.¡± Sunghyun took out the ¡®Black Yak¡¯s Lean Meat¡¯ from his Inventory and passed it to me. After leaving the Hill of Blowing Wind, Sunghyun did as I said and cleared the Seoul Station Dungeon several times with the party, acquiring a pile of Black Yak¡¯s Lean Meat in the process. ¡°Go with Yeonseo and keep the people over there calm.¡± The two civilians were a young man and a young woman. Two regular non-Awakened people had gotten wrapped up in this. ¡°Hyungnim. Should I also knock them unconscious? I don¡¯t think they¡¯ll be able to stay quiet.¡± ¡°Do you wanna kill them?¡± The Golden Priest Gong Jinhoon was different. He could recover even if he got a slight concussion, but it was possible the civilians would die to Yoohyun¡¯s fist. ¡®We have to give them plenty of warning.¡¯ Whether they lived or died was purely up to them. I emphasized my instructions again. ¡°Everyone, do not move and do not react. Just stay still. I will pull most of the aggro.¡± My words were relayed to the two young civilians by Yeonseo and Sunghyun, who were telling them to stay quiet, no matter what, and that in about one minute, a horde of monsters would show up. ¡®Please survive.¡¯ I wasn¡¯t confident we could achieve a perfect clear of the 1st floor while keeping them alive. ¡°If you don¡¯t think you can do it, close your eyes and block your ears.¡± I emphasized multiple times that only people who could keep their calm should watch. The two civilians were embracing each other tightly, their eyes squeezed shut. Only thirty seconds were left before the 1st floor scenario of the U-Plex Dungeon began. I gave one last warning. ¡°If you move, you¡¯ll be eaten.¡± * * * The thirty seconds passed. Choi Hanna, who had been waiting for a friend in front of the U-Plex front doors with her boyfriend, swallowed anxiously. ¡®Just stay still. Stay still.¡¯ She decided to do exactly as the Players said. ¡®I want to live.¡¯ The powerful desire to live dominated her mind. Little did she know that her intense wish to survive was the reason why Hyukjin didn¡¯t have her knocked unconscious. If she lost her cool and was eaten, then that was her inevitable fate. Woof! Woof! Woof! Woof! ¡®Oh-Oh my god¡­!¡¯ Hanna knew that wolves would be running in. No, they were far bigger than the ¡®City Wolves¡¯ that were now frequently seen in cities. They were about the same size as the tigers she¡¯d seen in the zoo. It was like black panthers the size of tigers were running in. ¡®I-I¡¯m scared.¡¯ She trembled uncontrollably. They were running in like crazy, barking raucously the whole time. It was too scary, so she closed her eyes. A very quiet voice came into her ear. ¡°It¡¯s alright. Hanna. It¡¯s alright.¡± It was the voice of her boyfriend of six years. His voice was trembling a lot, but the simple fact that he was there was a great comfort to her. Her boyfriend, Kim Minsung, also closed his eyes. What he saw before closing them was terrifying. ¡®Massive dogs with blood red eyes.¡¯ There were easily over ten of the beasts. Among them was even a dog with two heads. The intense smell of dog washed over them. Minsung closed his eyes and prayed. He prayed to come out of this place alive with the girlfriend he loved. A little ways away, Cheon Sooji was standing next to Gong Jinhoon. She hadn¡¯t been able to make heads or tails of why Jinhoon had been knocked unconscious, but as soon as she saw the monsters that streamed in, she realized. ¡®How did he know that Jinhoon is scared of dogs?¡¯ It was baffling, but the feeling of intense pressure the massive, drooling dogs gave off as they ran over was too overwhelming to entertain complicated thoughts. ¡®How are we supposed to kill such monsters?!¡¯ Their levels were even marked as ¡®?¡¯ The name of the monsters was red. Big Black Dog LVL ? From the looks of it, Hyukjin and his party members didn¡¯t have their weapons out. Choi Sung-gu was even clinging tightly to So Yoohyun with his eyes closed. Sooji bit her lips. ¡®They can be that calm even with monsters like that in front of them?¡¯ Hyukjin was the only person who moved. He, of course, had to keep his mind focused and controlled at all times. ¡®They¡¯re coming.¡¯ His heart thumped. ¡®Focus.¡¯ The pressure the Big Black Dogs gave off was like a mountain pressing down on him. They were powerful monsters Players in their early level 30s could not defeat by any means. If those dogs were stimulated and went wild, everyone here would die. ¡®I have to stay calm.¡¯ He had Eye of Perception, which was fused with ¡®Calm Observer¡¯s Eye¡¯. ¡®Slowly.¡¯ He didn¡¯t hurry. He very, very slowly took out the Black Yak¡¯s Lean Meat while staring at the Big Black Dogs. [Black Yak¡¯s Lean Meat] Very juicy meat. A food ingredient that can make the eater extremely full even with a very small amount. It was similar to when they hunted the Swamp Alligators before. Woof! Woof! Woof! Woof! Their big, wickedly gleaming red eyes were as large as their bodies. The whites of their eyes flashed, and saliva giving off a terrible stench dripped from their maws. They ran towards Hyukjin, their charge so terrifying that even though Yeonseo was endeavoring to keep her eyes wide open to not miss a single movement Hyukjin made, she squeezed her eyes shut in horror for a moment and had to suppress a near scream. ¡®Hyukjin!¡¯ He was completely surrounded by Big Black Dogs and could no longer be seen. After getting a taste of meat, the Big Black Dogs growled as they tore ravenously into the flesh. And then, the Big Black Dogs turned their interest to other Players again. One of the Big Black Dogs pressed its nose against Yoohyun, who had his eyes closed. Yoohyun endured the cold wet nose and the terrible stench in silence. Sunghyun did the same. While clinging to Yoohyun for dear life, Sung-gu quivered. ¡®Eurgh¡­ fuck.¡¯ Every single time he was with Kim Hyukjin, he found himself stuck in ridiculous scenarios like this. Monsters with red names and ¡®?¡¯ for levels had appeared in a swarm. One of them even had two heads and gave off the feel of a boss monster. ¡®We¡¯ll 100% die if we fight that thing, right?¡¯ That was probably the case. These beasts weren¡¯t meant to be fought in the first place. ¡®I swear to frickin¡¯ God I won¡¯t enter a dungeon with Hyukjin again!¡¯ On the other side, another few dogs licked Cheon Sooji¡¯s cheek. Because of their size, the Big Black Dogs also produced an immense amount of saliva. After a few licks, Sooji looked as if she¡¯d washed her face. The sticky, horribly smelly drool ran down her face and neck. Several dogs also took an interest in Kim Minsung and Choi Hanna. One dog approached the pair and started licking Minsung¡¯s body. The young man endured it desperately, knowing that if he moved, Hanna would be in danger. With Hanna in his tight embrace, he stood stock still, driven by his determination to protect his girlfriend of six years. If he were alone, he probably wouldn¡¯t have been able to stay so still. It was because the person he loved was next to him that he was able to maintain his calm. At some point, the Big Black Dog stopped licking him. Minsung cracked his eyes open and nearly yelped in surprise. ____ Chapter 109 Chapter 109 Hyukjin stood stock still, planting his legs down firmly. Their name, Big Black Dog, described exactly what they were. One of the tiger-sized canines jumped up at him. ¡®Endure.¡¯ This Big Black Dog wasn¡¯t trying to attack him. It was expressing its happiness to see him. It would be a lie to say he wasn¡¯t scared, but he didn¡¯t panic. ¡®The real thing is always different from reading it in a book.¡¯ It was just like how seeing a monster in the flesh was different from seeing one in a movie. Honestly, he was scared. He was scared, but he didn¡¯t show his fear at all. [Dropping Black Yak¡¯s Lean Meat.] Grrrr! Grrrr! The Big Black Dogs ravenously devoured the meat. A few of them licked Hyukjin and butted their heads on him. Hyukjin faced the Big Black Dogs with indifferent calm, as if he were a professional dog trainer. [Dropping Black Yak¡¯s Lean Meat.] He dropped Black Yak¡¯s Lean Meat a few times and also extended his hand towards the dogs several times. ¡®Is this enough?¡¯ With all those monsters in front of him, he slowly got down to one knee and put out his hand. Grrrr! Several Big Black Dogs ran up to Hyukjin and started licking his hand enthusiastically. Szzzzz¨C! Smoke rose from his hand. ¡®A slight burn, huh.¡¯ The saliva of the Big Black Dogs was strongly acidic, something he knew beforehand. His palm stung. ¡®Gotta get a little more familiar with them¡­¡¯ He glanced around to find the other Players doing as he instructed and staying perfectly still. The youngest of them, Sunhwa, was clinging to Yeonseo¡¯s leg with her eyes squeezed shut. ¡®She¡¯s doing well.¡¯ He had faith in her. Once they cleared the 1st floor today, Sunhwa¡¯s mental fortitude would become a little stronger. He believed this trial was the perfect training for Sunhwa, whose mental strength fell far short of her physical resilience. ¡®The civilians being here will also push her.¡¯ Hyukjin judged this scenario would be a catalyst for Sunhwa¡¯s mental growth, and it was looking like he made the right call. He decided to draw things out a little more. ¡®A little longer.¡¯ It didn¡¯t take much to stir the Big Black Dogs into attack mode. It was important to avoid exciting them from start to end. Hyukjin focused on their tails, recalling the strategy and experiences recorded in the past. ¨CWhen a Big Black Dog opens its heart, its long tail will slowly wag in a figure eight. The first person to successfully pull off this strat was Lao Yu, who became famous as the ¡®Taming Master¡¯ later on. After Lao Yu¡¯s success, a few guilds failed to replicate his success, while a few others succeeded. Almost all of the Big Black Dogs were wagging their tails in a figure eight. Hyukjin traced the movement of their tails with Eye of Perception and Observer¡¯s Eye. He couldn¡¯t be hasty. If he accidentally excited the dogs, he would be eaten. ¡®It¡¯s done!¡¯ Finally, all of the Big Black Dogs¡¯ tails swayed in a languid figure eight, an indication they had opened their hearts. Hyukjin stood up. He had successfully calmed down the Big Black Dogs, so it was time to advance to the next step. He walked slowly so as not to alarm the Big Black Dogs he had expended great effort to calm. As he passed the dogs, he periodically scratched their backs or stroked the heads they were resting on the ground. His steps were slow and sure. ¡®That one¡¯s the boss.¡¯ It was a Big Black Dog with two heads, a ¡®Twin-Headed Big Black Dog¡¯. This monster was impossible to hunt in the early game, period. In the past, when the U-Plex Dungeon first appeared, this Twin-Headed Big Black Dog was the 1st gateway Players failed to break through, thereby resulting in a dungeon break. In order to raid this boss monster, your party¡¯s average level had to be over 40. [Twin-Headed Big Black Dog LVL ?] The name was red, and the level was a question mark. Hyukjin activated Eye of Perception. [Twin-Headed Big Black Dog] Dog-type animal monster. Name: Charles Level: 42 (+5) Innate ability: [Cutting] State: Unperturbed / Full / Drowsy Summary: Twin-Headed Dog who Lost his Owner The disposition/state/summary only show the most representative and can change according to the situation. Because Eye of Perception¡¯s proficiency is not high enough, viewing more detailed information is impossible. To Hyukjin¡¯s amusement, the name of the Twin-Headed Big Black Dog was ¡®Charles¡¯, and there was an ¡®owner¡¯ who gave it such a personable name. ¡®Is that why Lao Yu managed to tame it?¡¯ It wasn¡¯t really taming in the proper sense of the word. What Lao Yu achieved¡ªand what Hyukjin was trying to do now¡ªwasn¡¯t complete obedience from the Twin-Headed Big Black Dog, but temporary obedience. Just enough ¡®taming¡¯ so that the Twin-Headed Big Black Dog, the gatekeeper of the 1st gateway, would permit them to pass. Only that much. ¨CAt that time, the level 35 Lao Yu successfully tamed the boss and opened up the gateway to the 2nd floor. Hyukjin¡¯s party could not hunt this special creature at their current level, but they could tame it. He stopped in front of the Twin-Headed Big Black Dog. It merely cast him a disinterested passing glance. Step. Hyukjin took one step closer. The Twin-Headed Big Black Dog stared at him. It was very faint, but Hyukjin felt bloodthirst. No¡­ it wasn¡¯t bloodthirst, but a feeling similar to it. The sensation was ever so slightly different from an intent to kill. If Hyukjin had to put it in words, it was something akin to a ¡®threat¡¯. Step. He took another step closer, recalling past records. ¨CLao Yu started taming with a special method. As if to show he had no intent to attack, Hyukjin avoided the Twin-Headed Big Black Dog¡¯s eyes and angled his body to the side. The boss was still growling, but it didn¡¯t look like it was going to attack. Step. Hyukjin took another step closer. ¡®Come in at an angle, not from the front.¡¯ Little by little, he approached from the side. [Dropping Black Yak¡¯s Lean Meat.] The Twin-Headed Big Black Dog gulped down the Black Yak meat and continued to stare Hyukjin down. [Dropping Black Yak¡¯s Lean Meat.] One more time, and another time after that. Hyukjin came closer and closer, until he was right up against the beast. He sat down, leaning his body against the Twin-Headed Big Black Dog¡¯s massive frame. The dog¡¯s four red eyes flashed, and it opened one of its mouths wide. Hyukjin saw its red mouth full of extremely sharp and large teeth. ¡®Here it comes¡ª!¡¯ He clenched his teeth, bracing himself. The Twin-Headed Big Black Dog¡¯s mouth closed around Hyukjin¡¯s head. He did not resist, staying absolutely still with the feeling of its teeth on his neck and its wet tongue on his head. Yeonseo watched it happen with eyes of alarm. ¡®Damn it!¡¯ Sharp teeth were bared, with saliva dripping down in gobs, white smoke coming off wherever the caustic fluid made contact with Hyukjin¡¯s hair and face. ¡®Isn¡¯t he going to be eaten at this rate?¡¯ She believed Hyukjin, she absolutely did, but the situation simply looked too dangerous. She felt an urge to pull the aggro right this instant. She bit her lips. ¡®No, I have to trust him.¡¯ It looked like that giant red mouth was going to swallow Hyukjin whole, but she merely watched with wide-open eyes, remembering Hyukjin¡¯s words. ¨CYou must never exude bloodthirst. Abandon all thoughts of fighting. Being a little scared is fine, but the moment you decide to fight, they¡¯ll attack. I trust you. All of you. Let¡¯s clear this place alive, all of us. Hyukjin¡¯s ¡°I trust you¡± echoed in Yeonseo¡¯s head. She simply watched. ¡®It really¡­ bit him.¡¯ The Twin-Headed Big Black Dog¡¯s jaws closed around Hyukjin¡¯s head. Inside its mouth, Hyukjin saw only darkness. He closed his eyes. It felt like his face was burning up. ¡®Lao Yu endured this?¡¯ He was getting through it with the continuous use of the Cure and Recovery Potions he¡¯d assigned to his slots in advance, but it wasn¡¯t painless. Hyukjin clenched his teeth. ¡®This is the Twin-Headed Big Black Dog¡¯s test.¡¯ He endured, staying still. With his head still trapped, he raised his hand and briskly stroked the Twin-Headed Big Black Dog¡¯s muzzle, almost as if to say this was nothing. ¡®I¡¯ll use a slightly different method from the one Lao Yu used.¡¯ Life was truly all about the real thing. Now that he was actually in the situation, an even better method came to mind. With his head in the Twin-Headed Big Black Dog¡¯s mouth, Hyukjin said one word. ¡°Charles.¡± Flinch. ¡°Charles.¡± It flinched again. ¡°Charles.¡± Flinch. The Twin-Headed Big Black Dog let go of Hyukjin¡¯s head. Smoke billowed off Hyukjin¡¯s face with a loud sizzle as he stood up. ¡°Charles. Sit.¡± Surprisingly, the Twin-Headed Big Black Dog understood him and actually sat. ¡°Shake.¡± It put out its paw. ¡°Down.¡± It laid down. ¡°Good dog. Very good dog.¡± Hyukjin rewarded it with another Black Yak¡¯s Lean Meat. After about three minutes, the Twin-Headed Big Black Dog started showing its belly to Hyukjin altogether. It also regurgitated the Black Yak¡¯s Lean Meat it ate, offering it to Hyukjin like it was giving him a gift. Hyukjin pretended to be happy and stowed the slobbery meat in his Inventory. As soon as he did that, he got a notice. [The Twin-Headed Big Black Dog has temporarily submitted.] [The System has acknowledged a temporary taming.] [The Big Black Dogs and Twin-Headed Big Black Dog have temporarily lost all desire to attack.] Hyukjin knew that there were only two ways to clear the 1st floor of the U-Plex Dungeon. Hunt the Twin-Headed Big Black Dog, or temporarily tame it. [A special condition has been satisfied.] [The Escalator Going to the 2nd Floor has been activated.] Woof! The Twin-Headed Big Black Dog barked, its tail wagging to and fro in a figure eight. Just then, a new Guardian sent a notice. [The ¡®Shepherd Boy¡¯ expresses his surprise.] The representative Guardian of the Scotland server had appeared in the Korean server. * * * The Shepherd Boy was a Guardian I knew about. He was the dream and idol of every ¡®tamer¡¯ in the world. There were about a hundred tamers selected by the Shepherd Boy worldwide. ¡®All one hundred of them were top-class tamer Rankers.¡¯ Within the top 100 ranking of tamer class Players, a good eighty of them were Players sponsored and supported by the Shepherd Boy. That was how much of a heavy hitter he was in the taming world. That Guardian had expressed surprise towards me. Not just interest, but surprise, a form of attention one level higher. ¡°Player Kim Hyukjin.¡± To my surprise, a ¡®Pause authority¡¯ took effect. Seeing as it was boldly used in the middle of a clear, Senia wasn¡¯t the one who had initiated it; one of the Guardians had gifted her the authority, most likely the Shepherd Boy. ¡°I apologize for the interruption.¡± I shrugged. She wasn¡¯t apologizing to me, but to the other Guardians for suddenly cutting off the Play with a Pause. I guessed that was why she started with an apology. She was a complete newbie Streamer at first, but those rough edges of hers seemed to be smoothed out a little now. It almost made me feel proud. Senia asked, ¡°Do you have a side class in addition to your main class?¡± ¡°Not at all.¡± A Player¡¯s side class would be decided at level 50, and another Guardian would be selected at that time. ¡°Then did you successfully tame the monster using some kind of skill?¡± ¡°A skill?¡± I didn¡¯t have anything so convenient. ¡°I just did it. By making use of a dog¡¯s behavior.¡± ¡°¡­You don¡¯t have a single taming skill?¡± ¡°Nope. You can scan me.¡± Senia¡¯s wings trembled. [Beginning an Intermediate Administrator¡¯s scan in accordance with the Player¡¯s request.] [No taming-related skills have been found.] Was what I did so astonishing? It was common knowledge that Lao Yu accomplished it at level 35, so it shouldn¡¯t be impossible for me to pull off. I thought it was well within the realm of possibility, since I had the advantage of having the answer key from the start. ¡°How did you think of taming a monster without a taming skill?¡± ¡°I just saw it. Our path to survival. How I should act. What I had to do to get to the 2nd floor. I could just see it.¡± Those words were greeted by another set of notices. [The ¡®True Master of the Heavenly Demonic Mountain¡¯ nods in understanding at the ¡®geniuses¡¯ predicament of being unable to explain¡¯.] [The ¡®True Master of the Heavenly Demonic Mountain¡¯ has sent you a 300 Coin sponsorship.] Based on the reactions of the Shepherd Boy, Senia, and the True Master, what I just did clearly had a resounding impact on the Guardians. ¡®I didn¡¯t expect such a big reaction.¡¯ I just carried out a strategy I had from my knowledge of the past, refining it a little with the name ¡®Charles¡¯. ¡®Though, of course, not everyone can clear this, even if they have the strategy.¡¯ Even if you knew the strategy, clearing this gateway would be impossible if you didn¡¯t have nerves of steel. I simply tackled the challenge because I was confident I could clear it. The Pause ended, and I heard another notice. [The Hidden Piece ¡®Bloodless Entry¡¯ has been fulfilled.] ____ Chapter 110 Chapter 110 I triggered a hidden piece, and the first one in the Bloodless Entry category. As such, a familiar set of notices came in. If a Player with the [First Pioneer] title is the first to discover a [Hidden Piece], it is possible to trigger a linked scenario. Linked scenarios can be triggered three times. Linked Scenarios Triggered: [2/3] Linked Hidden Piece: [Find Charles¡¯ Owner!] Scenario: Find the Twin-Headed Big Black Dog Charles¡¯ owner for him. [Trigger the linked scenario?] I had to think for a moment. We came here to clear the U-Plex Dungeon. If I accepted this, it was possible I might be teleported somewhere else. If the others went up to the 2nd floor without me, they would all die without even finding out the identity of the monster that killed them. Yeonseo came up to me. ¡°Boss Hyukjin, what are you doing?¡± ¡°It¡¯s nothing.¡± It was too risky for me to accept the quest now. The U-Plex Dungeon had the highest difficulty out of all the beginner dungeons. It was a dungeon that should normally be impossible for us to clear at our levels. Eliminating as many variables as possible was the right call. I could hardly let myself be blinded by the prize in front of my eyes and lose track of the bigger profits ahead. That was my line of thought, but then, the Whispering Devil sent me a message. [The ¡®Whispering Devil¡¯ is having fun.] The Whispering Devil had started watching me pretty early on and probably knew about my ¡®First Pioneer¡¯ title effect. [The ¡®Whispering Devil¡¯ makes a proposal.] A note came into my Inventory. [Upon accepting the quest ¡®Find Charles¡¯ Owner!¡¯, it will be set so that all party members can Play together.] This Guardian was a tricky one to figure out. He disliked justice, loathed fairness, and put his own amusement and curiosity above all else. ¡®The fact he sent a message like this means¡­¡¯ It went without saying that it was because the Whispering Devil thought this quest would be a source of great amusement for him. I heard another notice. * * * Yeonseo giggled. ¡°I¡¯m in, of course!¡± She wasn¡¯t lying. State: Having Fun / Interested As expected of a top Ranker, Playing was fun for Yeonseo. She was like those people who enjoyed dangerous, extreme sports played with one¡¯s life on the line. She enjoyed Playing to the point where ordinary people might see her as a weirdo. Sunhwa said calmly, ¡°I¡¯ll do whatever Oppa tells me to do.¡± She, of course, wasn¡¯t lying, either. State: Trust / Faith / Unperturbed Sung-gu had cold sweat going down his forehead. ¡°C¡¯mon, you guys. Think carefully about this. We could die. It¡¯s a hidden piece, a hidden piece! What¡¯ll we do if the clear is just as fuckin¡¯ hard?¡± Sunghyun shook his head. ¡°It occurred to me before, but¡­¡± He threw shade with his characteristic calm and quiet voice. ¡°You¡¯re a real scaredy-cat, Hyung.¡± As I expected, Sunghyun was fully in favor of going ahead with the linked scenario. State: Slight Interest / Up for a Challenge As was Yoohyun. The big guy raised both fists and shouted, ¡°If you¡¯re a man, you can¡¯t back down, Hyungnim!¡± Sung-gu tore at his hair. ¡°Fuck! Whatever. I¡¯m in.¡± All my party members agreed. The quest commencement would be deferred thanks to the Whispering Devil¡¯s assistance. We would tackle it later. Yeonseo licked her lips. ¡°I think it¡¯ll be really fun. A linked scenario for a hidden piece! Ha. I already can¡¯t wait.¡± ¡°Fuck. You¡¯re all out of your minds. You¡¯re all crazy! Crazy, I tell you!¡± That was when the unconscious Gong Jinhoon woke up. ¡°What are you doing, Mr. Yoohyun?!¡± he shouted, storming towards the person who had knocked him out. Cheon Sooji stopped him. ¡°Oi, shut up. If Mr. Yoohyun hadn¡¯t stepped in, you¡¯d already be dead.¡± ¡°Wha¡ª?¡± Sooji gave him a brief explanation. Jinhoon was extremely scared of canines. Apparently, he had a traumatic experience of getting bit by a dog when he was a kid, or something like that. Whatever it was, Jinhoon wouldn¡¯t have been able to keep his calm in front of dogs the size of tigers, a fact he also accepted. ¡°¡­So that¡¯s what happened.¡± ¡°You can stay on the 1st floor. I¡¯ll have those non-Awakened people stay here, no questions asked. If you want, you can stay on the 1st floor until the dungeon is cleared.¡± The two civilians had managed¡ªin admirable fashion¡ªto stay alive. They hadn¡¯t freaked out, even with huge monsters they¡¯d never seen before up close and personal. After some deliberation, Sooji came up to me. ¡°Can you include us, too?¡± It was a little unexpected. Gong Jinhoon preferred safety, so I thought they wouldn¡¯t want to be involved in the linked scenario. I repeated myself one more time. ¡°I cannot guarantee your safety if things get dangerous.¡± ¡°We know. We¡¯re not so weak as to beg you to keep us safe.¡± What was that strange interest gleaming in her eyes? Was the effect of Mirror Sight from before too strong? But that shouldn¡¯t be the case¡­ More unexpected words came out of Sooji¡¯s mouth. ¡°Being able to clear a dungeon with Players of the highest level right now will be a great experience and boon for us.¡± * * * [The linked Hidden Piece ¡®Find Charles¡¯ Owner!¡¯ has been activated.] As per the Whispering Devil¡¯s proposal, all party members were given the quest. ¡®Which must mean it¡¯s not a quest that can be easily cleared, even with all of us.¡¯ That was why the Whispering Devil gave such a proposal, and I intended on accepting the challenge. [Find Charles¡¯ Owner!] Find the owner of the Twin-Headed Big Black Dog Charles. Time limit: 30 days Reward: ? It was pretty simple and clear-cut for a quest linked to ¡®Bloodless Entry¡¯. The time limit was thirty days. We had to find ¡®Charles¡¯ owner¡¯ within that time. ¡®Let¡¯s think about this later.¡¯ We could look for Charles¡¯ owner even after leaving the U-Plex Dungeon, thanks to the condition offered by the Whispering Devil. We also got rewards for ¡®Bloodless Entry¡¯ aside from the linked quest. [The Hidden Piece ¡®Bloodless Entry¡¯ has been fulfilled.] [10,000 Coins acquired.] [¡®Beginner Free Pass Scroll¡¯ acquired.] [¡®One-time Free Pass Scroll Enhancement Permit¡¯ acquired.] 10,000 Coins, a Free Pass Scroll, and even a permit to upgrade that Free Pass Scroll. ¡®Free Pass Scroll¡­!¡¯ ¡®By beginner, it must mean the scroll can be used in all beginner dungeons and gates.¡¯ On top of the Free Pass Scroll, we got the enhancement permit. I pulled up the detailed explanation. [One-time Free Pass Scroll Enhancement Permit] A permit to enhance the Free Pass Scroll one time. Required Coins: 50,000 Coins Sunhwa asked, ¡°Oppa, what happens if you enhance a Free Pass Scroll?¡± ¡°Not sure. It¡¯ll probably go from a Free Pass to a Free Clear, don¡¯t you think?¡± ¡°Free Clear?¡± A Free Pass was like an Escape Rope in Pokemon, whereas a Free Clear was like a Game Shark, a cheat scroll. ¡°Yeah, clearing it as soon as you go in.¡± ¡°Wow!¡± Sunhwa¡¯s eyes grew wide and sparkled. ¡°Then you¡¯d also get the reward right away?¡± ¡°If I¡¯m right, then probably.¡± ¡°That¡¯s amazing! Shouldn¡¯t it be upgraded no matter what, then?¡± ¡°I wonder about that.¡± It was too early to tell. Were there any dungeons or gates in the beginner period worth using a ¡®Free Clear¡¯ on at the cost of 50,000 Coins? ¡®There are.¡¯ There were definitely dungeons out there that were evaluated as being impossible to clear in the beginner period. ¡°But it¡¯d be sad if you used this to clear and got less than 50,000 Coins as a reward.¡± ¡°Ah! That¡¯s true!¡± Sunhwa grinned sheepishly. ¡°I¡¯m a dumbo.¡± ¡°¡­¡± That elicited a dumbfounded laugh from me. Yeonseo also relaxed and laughed brightly. ¡°Didn¡¯t think I¡¯d hear words like ¡®I¡¯m a dumbo¡¯ from the current roster, much less think the words were cute!¡± It seemed Yeonseo had taken a liking to Sunhwa. She giggled, her eyes curving into crescents. ¡°R-Really? Why? Was it weird to say?¡± ¡°No, it¡¯s cute. Really cute. Wanna get married to Unnie later?¡± Yeonseo pulled Sunhwa into a half-forced hug and rubbed her cheek on the kid¡¯s head. Apparently, this Sword Empress was completely relaxed, even though we had to go up to the 2nd floor now. Our goal was the 4th. ¡°We¡¯re gonna go to the 2nd floor.¡± I stopped in front of the 2nd floor escalator. The escalator going to the 2nd floor of the U-Plex Dungeon. Can transport 15 people at once. Cooldown: 20 minutes *Currently not in operation (special condition required). Before I activated it, I heard a notice. [The ¡®Shepherd Boy¡¯ has sent you ¡®Fig Tree Club¡¯ as a sponsorship.] Hm? A sponsorship, already? He was one of the most famous Guardians in the Scotland server. He only joined Senia¡¯s channel today, but already sent me a sponsorship. ¡®And a Fig Tree Club, even.¡¯ With this, I was certain of it. ¡®The Guardians already know the contents of the 2nd floor.¡¯ That was why the Shepherd Boy gave me this item. He also seemed to think there was a chance we would die on the 2nd floor, and to prevent that from happening, he wanted to give me what hint or help he could offer within the bounds of the System. ¡®The Shepherd Boy, huh.¡¯ It was a little odd. I wasn¡¯t a tamer, and that Guardian was one who only sponsored tamers, and not just any tamers, but a select few. ¡®The Guardians know what¡¯s on the 2nd floor.¡¯ And I knew, too. I drew out the picture in my head, thinking about what I could do to produce a Play that the Guardians would go wild for. The gift from the Shepherd Boy gave me a clearer idea of what the Guardians wanted to see. [Move to the 2nd floor?] As soon as we ported to the 2nd floor, the safe zone was deactivated. The 2nd floor was an open plains field, a hillock lush with grass. The sun was above our heads, meaning there was a very high chance this place was set to be 12 pm. ¡®It¡¯ll show up now.¡¯ Someone came dashing our way. Yeonseo spotted them first with her sharp eyesight. ¡°Huh? Someone¡¯s coming from over there!¡± It was a blond-haired boy who looked to be in his mid-teens. He ran towards us helter-skelter. ¡°H-Help!¡± It was an NPC. Eye of Perception read the NPC¡¯s info. Name: ¡®Even¡¯. Age: 16 years old. This dungeon NPC was no ordinary NPC, a fact I knew before and confirmed with Eye of Perception. ¡®As expected.¡¯ ¡°Help with what?¡± I asked. From the moment this seemingly unthreatening young NPC showed up to give us a quest, the 2nd floor raid had already begun. ____ Chapter 111 Chapter 111 ¡°Help with what?¡± It was a simple question, but Cheon Sooji was suddenly stricken by the thought that Kim Hyukjin was sexy. This feeling didn¡¯t stem solely out of an attraction to Hyukjin as a man, but from a longing towards the strong. No matter the situation, he always maintained his calm, mature, and relaxed appearance. Unbeknownst to herself, Sooji licked her lips and made a sound of admiration. ¡°Ah¡­¡± Gong Jinhoon, who¡¯d gotten a tongue-lashing from Sooji, looked askance at her. ¡°What¡¯s with you all of a sudden?¡± ¡°That man. Isn¡¯t he too sexy?¡± ¡°¡­¡± Sooji seemed to be asking it rhetorically. ¡°Even if you ask me that, I¡ª¡± ¡°I want him. That man.¡± A desire to possess blazed in Sooji¡¯s eyes. It wasn¡¯t a simple desire to possess. She mumbled unconsciously to herself. ¡°It feels weird.¡± She didn¡¯t vocalize it, but she was wholly immersed in the completely new feeling. She was used to someone else submitting to her and doing her bidding, and that was what she preferred. The ¡®Queen¡¯ that Hyukjin saw in her status window before was proof of that. ¡®I¡­¡¯ She bit her lips. What was it? What was this new feeling? ¡®I want to obey.¡¯ To put it into her own words¡­ ¡®I want to become subordinate to him.¡¯ Her face reddened slightly. A certain word flashed in her mind, but she shook her head and quelled the thought. There was no way. That wasn¡¯t her taste, no way. It wasn¡¯t. It wasn¡¯t. It wasn¡¯t. Despite her furious denial, Sooji¡¯s summary was captured by Hyukjin¡¯s Eye of Perception. Summary: Queen Wanting to Submit He couldn¡¯t figure out for the life of him why Sooji¡¯s summary was like that. Yeonseo was aspiring to become a wife, Sunhwa had a brother complex, and now, there was a strange ¡®Wanting to Submit¡¯ tacked onto Sooji¡¯s usual ¡®Queen¡¯. He was so flabbergasted by it that his eyes were momentarily drawn to her, but he continued his conversation with the boy. ¡°¡­And that¡¯s the situation. I beg of you. Please help me.¡± ¡°So basically, your grandfather disappeared, and you think he¡¯s been kidnapped by monsters? We just have to find him?¡± ¡°Yes.¡± A quest window popped up. [The quest ¡®Rescue Even¡¯s Grandfather!¡¯ has been generated.] The quest window floated in front of Hyukjin¡¯s eyes. He examined it carefully. ¡®Something¡¯s different about it.¡¯ He couldn¡¯t explain exactly how, but it was vaguely different somehow. That was the niggling feeling he got from looking at the quest window with Observer¡¯s Eye. ¡®That¡¯s only natural.¡¯ Because this wasn¡¯t a real ¡®quest¡¯. It wasn¡¯t a quest imparted by the System. ¡°Alright, we¡¯ll help.¡± Hyukjin¡¯s eye, the Observer¡¯s Eye that discerned the true nature of things, captured each and every minute change in the boy¡¯s expression. The boy who was so desperate to rescue his grandfather had an ever so slight upwards curl to his lips, a peculiarity that was visible only to Hyukjin. To the physical eye, Even looked desperate. ¡°But you know¡­¡± Hyukjin raised his chin. ¡°Who are you?¡± ¡°What? What do you mean by that?¡± ¡°Is your name Even?¡± ¡°¡­¡± Hyukjin asked again. ¡°Who are you?¡± ¡°¡­¡± Even took one step backwards. ¡°I really don¡¯t get what you mean by that.¡± ¡°Your name. Is it Even?¡± Even¡¯s body twisted unnaturally. His neck bent, and the joints of his limbs twisted in strange directions. His body trembled as he spasmed, and drool streamed from his mouth. ¡°Who are you?¡± Choi Sung-gu shivered as he watched. Hyukjin¡¯s nerves were really something. It was almost scary. How could he be so composed, so level-headed? The bastard probably had steel or lead for blood. After one full-body shiver, Sung-gu prepared for the 2nd floor raid. ¡®It¡¯s really going as Hyukjin said.¡¯ Somehow, it didn¡¯t feel novel anymore. Sung-gu nudged Sunghyun in the ribs. ¡°Oi. You ready? You gotta do good.¡± ¡°I think I¡¯ll do better than you, hyung.¡± ¡°Big talk for a lil¡¯ pipsqueak. This hyung of yours was numba one back in my homeskillet.¡± Jo Sunghyun also shivered, contempt flooding his features. Numba one? And homeskillet wasn¡¯t even used correctly¡­ He felt zero worth in responding to such outdated, tryhard language. ¡°¡­¡± He very quietly began to chant a magic incantation. * * * It was the same as the strategy in the past. ¨CThe name of the 2nd floor boy is Even, and he¡¯s been possessed by a ¡®ghost monster¡¯. At first, many Players failed to figure out this unassuming boy¡¯s true identity and were lured and killed by his trap. ¨CIt is highly likely that the ¡®ghost monster¡¯ possessing the boy is one of two monsters. One was White Fox, a fox ghost monster, while the other was White Rabbit, a rabbit ghost monster. ¨CThe strat differs completely depending on whether it is White Fox or White Rabbit. It wasn¡¯t that hard to make ghost monsters expose their identity. All you had to do was ask, ask, and ask again. Hyukjin grinned. ¡®Both are perfectly welcome.¡¯ He knew all too well what the Guardian who sent him a message earlier, the Shepherd Boy, wanted to see. Hyukjin pulled out the item he¡¯d been given. [Fig Tree Club] A club made from the wood of a fig tree over 100 years old. Effective in provoking ghost monsters that have possessed someone. However, it has no physical attack power. It was Hyukjin¡¯s first time handling a club. ¡®Feels perfect in the hand.¡¯ Just like when he tried a wrestling technique and threw a dagger for the first time, the club felt like a weapon he¡¯d trained with for many years. He swung the club forcefully. Bam! The club made impact with a crack, and the boy staggered. ¡°I asked, who are you?¡± He swung the club again, the weapon whistling from right to left. Bam! The boy was unable to defend himself. ¡°AHHHHHH!¡± He screamed. Gong Jinhoon scowled. It was true that the NPC had changed unnaturally, but there was no doubt that the boy was a quest giver. ¡®Huh?¡¯ Jinhoon blinked and was startled to find that the boy had returned to looking like a regular kid. Even knelt, crying. ¡°Why are you doing this? It hurts. It hurts so much. I beg you, please stop.¡± Hyukjin paid him no heed. He beat the boy mercilessly, already 100% certain that the boy wasn¡¯t really an NPC. Sunghyun was amazed in his own way. ¡®The Lady of the Scales¡­ isn¡¯t sending me any notices.¡¯ Normally, his contracted Guardian, the Lady of the Scales, wouldn¡¯t turn a blind eye to such a ruthless beating. Her silence meant there was definitely a reason why this boy deserved to be beaten. Unable to bear it any longer, Jinhoon tried to step forward. ¡°Stop! S¨Cmmpgh!¡± Sooji put a palm over the blond-haired man¡¯s mouth. ¡°Oi. I told you to shut up, didn¡¯t I?¡± ¡°Mmgh! Mmgh!¡± The healer Gong Jinhoon was no match for Cheon Sooji¡¯s strength. Unlike him, she had realized that the boy was no ordinary NPC. There was something about him that they didn¡¯t know. The next moment, she saw what that something was. Possessed One LVL 34 The boy¡¯s appearance was changing rapidly. His body became much bigger. ¡®Massive body. And¡­ white fur on two legs?¡¯ White fur had grown all over his legs, which had changed to look like the hind legs of a massive rabbit. The boy¡¯s face lengthened, and two front teeth approximately thirty centimetres long protruded. The arms also became covered in white fur, making the boy look like a human with the arms and legs of a rabbit. Hyukjin grinned. ¨CThe White Rabbit makes the person it has possessed transform into a rabbit monster. One eye should be black and the other should be red. It wasn¡¯t difficult to pull the White Rabbit out of the person it possessed. ¨CIt is best to give a hard strike to the temple on the side with the red eye. Though it is ideal to use an anti-ghost item like the Fig Tree Club, it¡¯s fine even without. Hyukjin said one word. ¡°Sunhwa.¡± Sunhwa stepped forward without delay. She had been standing by. Clang! The little tank blocked the Possessed One¡¯s paw swipe. ¡®Nicely done.¡¯ As expected of a tanking genius, she blocked the attack with ease. ¡°Hyungnim! I will take down its hind leg! Oryaa!¡± Yoohyun wrapped his huge, muscled arms around the Possessed One¡¯s leg, squeezing with such force it seemed he would crush its knee. In the meantime, Hyukjin jumped on Sunhwa¡¯s shoulder to leap into the air, a natural movement he achieved purely physically, without any System-assisted foot techniques. The fluidity and ease of the movement was almost comparable to what the combat class Yeonseo could pull off. He nimbly wrapped his legs around the Possessed One¡¯s neck and began to swing the Fig Tree Club mercilessly. The Possessed One screamed and flailed. Bam! Bam! Bam! Bam! It was a one-sided beating. After a great deal of agony, the Possessed One crumpled to the ground and began to loudly vomit. Sooji cautiously approached Yeonseo. ¡°How long should we just stand by? It feels like we¡¯re the only ones who are clueless here. Since we¡¯re on the same boat, please give us a chance to contribute.¡± ¡°¡­¡± But Yeonseo didn¡¯t respond. She wasn¡¯t ignoring Sooji on purpose; she was simply focusing on something. Sooji realized that. ¡®What¡¯s she focusing on so hard?¡¯ Just then, Yeonseo moved. [Using the skill Single Hit Finisher.] Her sword strike blitzed forward, aiming for the ¡®White Rabbit¡¯ that had been expelled from the Possessed One. The ghost monster looked mostly human. White Rabbit LVL 30 Pierced by Yeonseo¡¯s sword, the White Rabbit disappeared with a grating, cackling laugh. Yeonseo had long since learned that her physical attack wouldn¡¯t work on a ghost monster. She had heard what would happen from Hyukjin. ¡®So now¡­!¡¯ If it was as Hyukjin said, three holes should appear in the ground. That was what he said would happen once the White Rabbit received a set amount of physical ¡®damage¡¯. ¡®It¡¯s true!¡¯ That meant it was now time for Sung-gu and Sunghyun to take action. Hyukjin¡¯s party moved like one fluid entity. Each person knew exactly what their role was and moved all too naturally within Hyukjin¡¯s scenario. Smoke suddenly billowed out. Sung-gu had lit the holes on fire, and it wasn¡¯t purely magic fire. He had stuffed the holes with straw that burned well and produced lots of smoke. Hyukjin kept Eye of Perception going constantly. ¡®Our chance will come soon.¡¯ Ghost monsters were very tricky to deal with before you found out their identity, but once you knew what they were, they were relatively easy monsters to fight. Black smoke puffed from the three holes the rabbit had dug. Before long, something jumped out of the ground, and a high-pitched squeal shattered the air. ¡°KYAAAAAAAAAK!¡± Sunghyun chanted an incantation directly towards it. [Wend Kiratia Metiase¨C] A 3-meter-long spear made of wind appeared in the air and shot forward like an arrow. Like a well-written script, everyone moved in perfect order to subdue the ¡®White Rabbit¡¯ in mere moments. ____ Chapter 112 Chapter 112 After killing the White Rabbit, I heard two notices. [The ¡®Conductor of Sound¡¯ has taken notice of you.] And right on the heels of the first came a second. [The ¡®White Hunter¡¯ holds you in high esteem.] They were both names I was very familiar with. These two were the Guardians sponsoring two top Players in Italy who were always at odds with one another. The two Players were so famous they even had Korean nicknames. The Wargod Salvatore. And the Fight King Vela. The Conductor of Sound supported Salvatore, while the White Hunter supported Vela. Everyone knew that these two top Players of Italy were constantly at each other¡¯s throats, and the biggest reason why was because their Guardians were like oil and water. Guardians that should have been active in the Italian server were sneaking looks at the Korean server, most likely because of me. It seemed that many Guardians around the globe were watching the Korean server, starting with the Merchant of Venice. ¡®They both sent me messages at the same time.¡¯ I came to a conclusion right away. ¡®They¡¯ll compete against each other.¡¯ I had to be extremely careful here. If I chose one of the two, the other would 100% become my enemy. Both the Conductor of Sound and the White Hunter were top-class Guardians. Nothing good would come of angering either of them. The current me was still far too weak. Sure enough¡ª [The ¡®Conductor of Sound¡¯ wishes to grant you a favor.] [The ¡®White Hunter¡¯ wishes to grant you a favor.] Senia appeared to personally mediate the situation. ¡°Player Kim Hyukjin has demonstrated an incredibly outstanding Play. As such, two Guardians wish to support you. You may choose a favor from one of the two Guardians.¡± If I chose one, the other would become my foe. A clueless person would have probably blindly picked one, but I was all too aware of what that would cause. ¡®I¡¯m still weak.¡¯ It was obvious after meeting the Demon King. How could I even think to oppose a Guardian when I couldn¡¯t even do a thing about the Demon King, a supposed Player? ¡®Until I¡¯m more than strong enough.¡¯ Until then, I had to make good use of them, these wretched existences who turned our world into a game and watched over us like we were characters in a game. ¡®What should I do?¡¯ For now, I took a look at the favors. [Favor from the ¡®Conductor of Sound¡¯] The ¡®Conductor of Sound¡¯ wishes to grant you the title ¡®Starting Sovereign¡¯. [Favor from the ¡®White Hunter¡¯] The ¡®White Hunter¡¯ wishes to grant you the title ¡®Starting Fighter¡¯. I blinked dumbly at the descriptions. ¡®Starting Sovereign? And Starting Fighter?¡¯ I knew about these titles. ¡®They were the starting titles of the Wargod and Fight King.¡¯ It was highly likely they were growth-type titles. After continuous upgrading, Starting Sovereign was called ¡®Prosperous Sovereign¡¯ by the time I regressed, and Starting Fighter was enhanced to a title called ¡®Undying Fighter¡¯. ¡®Those two titles have been offered to me?¡¯ That left me a choice. What would be the most favorable choice for me? ¡®I don¡¯t know the exact title effects.¡¯ That information wasn¡¯t disclosed to me. The Conductor of Sound and the White Hunter were urging me to make a choice. They were saying, ¡®We¡¯ll only give you this much to go off of, so hurry and come crawling to choose a favor from one of us.¡¯ ¡°Which favor will you choose, Player Kim Hyukjin?¡± Senia turned to the others and asked for their understanding. ¡°Player Kim Hyukjin is currently at the crossroads of an important choice. I ask for generous patience from the other Players here. To the Intermediate Administrators streaming each of the Players, I ask for your understanding as well.¡± She was fulfilling her role of mediation like a proper Intermediate Administrator. Because of our exclusive contract, the Guardians¡¯ messages weren¡¯t shown to the other Streamers, so she took initiative to keep them informed. ¡°Currently, Player Kim Hyukjin is choosing between a favor from the [Conductor of Sound] or the [White Hunter].¡± Yoohyun¡¯s Streamer, Neptune, also appeared. ¡°¡­It¡¯s really those two Guardians?¡± ¡°Yes. I do not lie. I am an ever-honest angel.¡± ¡°Can¡¯t be helped. We¡¯ll just have to wait.¡± There was a great deal of regret flooding Neptune¡¯s eyes. It was understandable. If he had made an exclusive contract with me, he would be the one streaming this juicy content right now. ¡®In any case, I¡­¡¯ After a moment of deep contemplation, I made my decision. ¡°Senia. I¡¯ve decided.¡± ¡°What have you decided?¡± Senia¡¯s wings quivered. She, of course, was on tenterhooks. Who I chose would also decide whose ¡®big thigh¡¯ she would be able to clutch. ¡°I¡­¡± I made a show of looking hesitant, trailing off so that the Guardians would be on the edge of their seats, going mad with curiosity. I inwardly counted to five. ¡°¡­have no choice but to refuse both favors.¡± ¡°What?¡± ¡°I believe I have not yet shown sufficient excellence from my Playing.¡± First, I had to act humble, like I wasn¡¯t anything big. That would get the Guardians in a good mood. ¡°I still don¡¯t know what kind of Playing the two Guardians wish to see,¡± I said, plastering a more earnest expression on my face. ¡®This is better than turning one of them against me.¡¯ That would make things very tiresome. It was much better to keep both of them as ¡®maybe¡¯ allies than to have one as a ¡®definite¡¯ foe. ¡®It¡¯s better for me to keep them at arm¡¯s length.¡¯ I continued. ¡°Right now, I cannot be sure what direction my Playing will take in the future.¡± I already knew, but this was more useful for my goals. ¡°I came to this decision because I fear that I will be unable to meet their tastes if I jump into a choice now. If they like my Playing further down the line and offer me an appropriate reward then, I would gratefully accept, but as of now, I believe it is too early.¡± ¡°¡­¡± Senia was silent. [The ¡®Conductor of Sound¡¯ thinks highly of your prudent attitude.] Conductor of Sound, check. ¡°However, I will do my utmost to show you the best Play. It won¡¯t be too late to accept a favor then.¡± [The ¡®White Hunter¡¯ thinks highly of your ambition.] Prudence and ambition. I showed both, and it seemed the two Guardians were very satisfied by my response. [The ¡®Conductor of Sound¡¯ grants you a favor.] [This favor is given purely as a favor without ulterior expectations.] The Conductor of Sound and the White Hunter were like cats and dogs. If one made a move, the other would definitely not want to lose. They had a very competitive relationship. [The ¡®White Hunter¡¯ grants you a favor.] [This favor is given purely as a favor without ulterior expectations.] I checked them immediately. [Favor Granted by the Conductor of Sound] Type: Special skill Name: Conductor¡¯s Song Effect: Low chance to cure abnormal statuses of party members in a group battle (duration: 120 seconds) +3% crit chance of party members in a group battle (duration: 120 seconds) +20% increase in effect of consumable items of the same effect when used in a group battle Cooldown: 360 seconds Proficiency: [1] [Favor Granted by the White Hunter] Type: Special skill Name: Hunter¡¯s Song Effect: Cures your abnormal status in a solo battle (duration: 120 seconds) +3% crit chance in a solo battle (duration: 120 seconds) +20% increase in effect of consumable items in a solo battle Cooldown: 360 seconds Proficiency: [1] My goal was only to prevent the two of them from becoming my enemies, but apparently, they were itching to win me over. I had humored and pacified them quite well. ¡®This is way better than I expected.¡¯ The skills were helpful when I was Playing as an Observer and when I was Playing like a combat class Player. ¡®Nice, nice.¡¯ I might have been the one who was rewarded with the individual favors, but Sunghyun was the one who killed the White Rabbit. He came up to me. ¡°Hyung. I got a minimap with the location of the escalator going to the 3rd floor.¡± ¡°Alright, let¡¯s go.¡± We couldn¡¯t get there without the minimap. Once he activated it, a yellow light appeared before our eyes. It felt like there was a fairy of light showing us the way. We walked forward, following the light. After about five minutes, we found the escalator. [Move to the 3rd floor?] * * * Before we ported to the 3rd floor, I said one more thing to everyone. ¡°Everyone take one of these.¡± I passed out the Centipede Pearls I managed to gather thanks to Darongi, also giving one to Cheon Sooji and Gong Jinhoon. Without one, they would die. ¡°It¡¯s an item with a very strong poison resistance.¡± Sooji said, ¡°I guess there¡¯s something related to poison on the 3rd floor?¡± ¡°Yes.¡± ¡°Then I might be of help somehow.¡± ¡°Nope.¡± I cut her hopes down. We didn¡¯t need any help from her there. ¡°Everyone will move the shortest distance possible under my guidance. There will be no hunting and no raiding. Even if something attacks you, take the blow and keep moving.¡± Jinhoon asked me for additional explanation. ¡°That is hard for me to accept. Why must we do so?¡± ¡°So you don¡¯t die.¡± This dungeon was a place that was originally supposed to break. By the standards of the future, this dungeon could only be cleared by top Players in the upper level 30s. That was the kind of place we, early level 30 Players, were trying to clear. It was absolutely impossible to do it by normal means. I decided to explain a little more. ¡°I have a special eye.¡± After a pause, I said one last thing. ¡°Come if you will trust and follow me. Otherwise, stay on the 2nd floor. If you don¡¯t want to be of any help.¡± I fixed Jinhoon with my eyes, activating ¡®Mettle¡¯. ¡®If you¡¯re not going to be helpful, I¡¯ll throw you aside without hesitation.¡¯ I felt Jinhoon¡¯s body flinch. A healer of his level could be a big help to us, but I didn¡¯t need a teammate who wouldn¡¯t obey. Or rather, I didn¡¯t have the strength to spare to protect both of them in addition to my own party members on the 3rd floor. Sooji tugged Jinhoon in warning. ¡°We¡¯ll do as you say. Because in my opinion, you are the top Player at the moment.¡± We went up to the 3rd floor. It was dark and full of black smoke, called ¡®Poison Fog¡¯. My vision grew hazy. [¡®Poison Fog¡¯ has started invading your body.] At the same time, something appeared in front of my eyes, and I sharpened my focus to a keen edge. ¡®Out of all the scenarios I expected¡­ this one¡¯s the worst.¡¯ It was the worst, and the most unlikely. We were unlucky enough to have a swarm of ¡®Venomous Vipers¡¯ greeting us right at the entrance. These ¡®swarms¡¯ were spawned randomly around the map, but it was rare for them to be spawned at the entrance like this. We had to get past them. ¡®Damn it. Why here?¡¯ The Venomous Vipers staring at us with their mouths wide open had an average level of 33. They possessed a venom that was very fatal for thin-skinned races like humans. Of course, we weren¡¯t completely without options. It would just be a little more dangerous. We just had to undertake a greater risk. But just then, a good idea occurred to me. As I thought before, coming up with ideas on-site was much more effective than racking one¡¯s head at a desk. To my amazement, the solution came to me when I was facing the situation head-on. ¡®This is what we¡¯ll do.¡¯ ____ Chapter 113 Chapter 113 [The Safe Zone will be deactivated in 30 seconds.] We were given thirty seconds. For now, the most urgent thing to do was to use a poison resistance item to protect us from the Poison Fog and the attacks of the Venomous Vipers. ¡°Use the Centipede Pearls.¡± Thanks to Darongi, I had a lot of Centipede Pearls. Under everyone¡¯s watchful gaze, I put a Centipede Pearl in my mouth and swallowed it. ¡°It should be more effective to physically eat it than to use it in an assigned slot.¡± That was knowledge from the future, of course. The black smoke in front of me dissipated a little. To be more precise, I was resisting a little more to the smoke¡¯s ability to hinder my vision. ¡°No matter what monster shows up, endure with potions and follow me.¡± The location of the Venomous Vipers was too unlucky for us to get past them relying on the Centipede Pearls alone. They were positioned in a spot we had to pass to reach the escalator. My original plan for the worst case scenario was for Sunhwa and me to tank the attacks while going through. But as soon as I was face to face with the real situation, something even better occurred to me. With this new plan, we would be able to get past here no problem. ¡®Yeah, this method¡¯s better.¡¯ I turned my head to stare at the squirrel sleeping on my shoulder. He went from a [zzZ] to a [?] mark at my gaze. ¡®This squirrel¡­¡¯ I was amazed he could sleep in such a situation. He was my pet, but even I was astounded by his carefree attitude. ¡°Darongi. I have a favor to ask.¡± The question marks on his head multiplied to [???]. I pulled out a Fruit Basket from my Inventory. [!] Darongi¡¯s nostrils began to flare. From the way his fur stood up on end, he seemed to have an astonishing sense of smell for food. ¡°Sure looks tasty, doesn¡¯t it?¡± There was a small apple in my hand. I threw it far into the distance. Darongi nearly jumped off my hand, but then froze, clearly having seen the Venomous Vipers coiled up not far away. Sitting on my shoulder, Darongi emphatically shook his head, and a mark I¡¯d never seen before popped up. [;;;] I thought this might happen. ¡°Darongi. You need to distract them a little so that we can safely get past them.¡± He vigorously shook his head again, but his eyes were visibly drawn to the apple on the ground. His nostrils flared, and his tail swayed from side to side. It was hard to tell whether he was a squirrel or a dog. ¡°Can¡¯t be helped.¡± I pulled out a few acorns from my pocket. I had bought them at the market for Darongi. [!!] An additional exclamation point showed his increased urgency. I brought my hand to Darongi¡¯s nose, the acorns ensconced tightly by my fingers. His nose flared like crazy. He clawed at my hand as if to dig a hole through it, but it didn¡¯t hurt since he lacked claws. [!!] With two exclamation points above his head, Darongi stomped his feet. I felt the vibrations of his small feet very distinctly on my shoulder. ¡°You want them, yes?¡± Darongi nodded his head emphatically. But then, he glanced at the Venomous Vipers and shook his head again, acting like he didn¡¯t want to eat any stinky acorns. ¡°I¡¯m gonna throw them, alright?¡± Darongi shook his head. He whipped his head away, but he was still eyeing the acorns out of the corner of his eyes. ¡°Alright, then.¡± Ready¡­ ¡°Go get ¡®em!¡± I scattered the acorns far into the distance. Now, there were a whopping three exclamation points over Darongi¡¯s head. [!!!] And they were even red. The Gluttonous Theft Genius flew off my shoulder, landing lightly on the ground and shooting off. He must have used his special ability ¡®Stealth¡¯, because I couldn¡¯t even see him. A genius thief that even Eye of Perception could not perceive went scuttling after the prizes I¡¯d scattered on the ground. ¡°Let¡¯s go.¡± The Venomous Vipers were hot on Darongi¡¯s tail. This squirrel might look adorable and harmless, but he was still a theft genius. He was weak to food, but he was a dauntless rascal who had dipped his nimble paws in the Demon King¡¯s Inventory of all places. He was more than capable of escaping the Venomous Vipers¡¯ jaws. ¡°Everyone memorized the path we learned last time, yes? We¡¯re going to the escalator.¡± Before the building dungeonized, we came here to fully familiarize ourselves with its layout. Even though the Poison Fog was obscuring our vision, it wasn¡¯t so bad that we wouldn¡¯t be able to find our way. ¡°Sunhwa, in the front.¡± ¡°Roger.¡± It looked like Sunhwa was very scared of snake monsters, but she didn¡¯t run away. Sunhwa immediately took the front and started running. Thanks to Darongi¡¯s efforts in distracting the Venomous Vipers, things got a little easier for us. On top of that¡ª [Using the special skill Conductor¡¯s Song.] Golden dust showered the heads of all the Players around me, the people in my party, indicating that I had used Conductor¡¯s Song. [Conductor¡¯s Song is in effect.] [Curing status abnormalities of party members at a low chance.] No one had a status abnormality yet. [Increasing the crit chance by 3%.] We wouldn¡¯t be fighting here. If we did, it would stimulate the Venomous Vipers, and a battle with a swarm of snake monsters in this Poison Fog wasn¡¯t a very desirable outcome. However, the next skill effect would be very useful here. [Increasing the effect of ¡®Centipede Pearl¡¯ by 20%.] With Darongi¡¯s distraction efforts, the effects of the Centipede Pearls amplified by Conductor¡¯s Song, and Sunhwa¡¯s tanking ability in addition, we were able to reach the escalator without taking much damage. There was a purple crystal near the escalator, which Yoohyun destroyed. [Escalator Going to the 4th Floor] The escalator going to the 4th floor of the U-Plex Dungeon. Can transport 15 people at once. Cooldown: 20 minutes *Can be used I began to pick up on a whistling sound with Eye of Perception. It was a little odd to say I could ¡®hear¡¯ with an ¡®eye¡¯, but that was definitely how it felt. ¡®He¡¯s coming.¡¯ At the very front, was a familiar presence, a presence that was running like crazy with Venomous Vipers hot in pursuit. That presence belonged to Darongi. He was pulling all the Venomous Vipers our way. ¡®Fuck.¡¯ It was hard to say exactly how many there were, but there had to be at least twenty. We would absolutely die if we were mobbed by them. ¡°We¡¯re going up right this instant.¡± I immediately activated the escalator, and all of my teammates ported up via the escalator. I stayed back, waiting just a little longer for Darongi. [!!!] He was scrambling desperately with red exclamation points above his head, fleeing so urgently he couldn¡¯t even use his Stealth properly. ¡°Hurry!¡± I grabbed a handful of acorns. As soon as he saw my hand, the exclamation points increased to [!!!!]. A sparkling yellow light started gleaming in his eyes, and his speed increased. ¡®Hurry¡­!¡¯ I had to get out of here with Darongi in tow. I reached out my hand towards him, and he leapt with every last bit of his strength and grabbed on. To be more precise, he flung himself towards the acorns in my hand. [Moving to the 4th floor.] We made it. * * * It was no exaggeration to say that the true danger that lay in wait for us wasn¡¯t the 3rd floor, but the 4th. We had just arrived on the 4th floor. Darongi was sulking, crossing his arms while avoiding my gaze even though he was a freaking squirrel. However, there was no time to coax him. ¡°What¡¯s going on, Boss Hyukjin? What took you so long?¡± There wasn¡¯t much time to explain. We were in the safe zone right now. Normally, you discussed strategies and how to approach the clear while in the safe zone¡ªthat was what it was for. But not on this 4th floor. ¡°We¡¯re going right away.¡± Yeonseo understood me. ¡°We¡¯re running, right?¡± ¡°Yeah.¡± I took off, running at the front. Gong Jinhoon stuttered a confused ¡°Wh-What?¡±, but he pumped his legs and ran after us. After some time, a notice came. [The Safe Zone has been deactivated.] And with it¡ª [The U-Plex Dungeon ¡®4th Floor¡¯ is starting to collapse.] When Players reached the 4th floor, the U-Plex Dungeon would start collapsing. We had to survive it, and there was only one path of survival¡ªescaping the ¡®U-Plex¡¯. We already had the layout memorized and knew very well that there was a skywalk that connected the U-Plex with the Hyundai Department Store. Everyone made a beeline precisely towards the goal. C-c-c-c-raaash¡ª! The ceiling started coming down on us. Thankfully, there weren¡¯t any monsters here. We just had to get out before we were crushed. That was the reason why you couldn¡¯t linger around in the safe zone. ¡®The collapse¡­ is happening faster than I thought.¡¯ As we ran, the passage going to the Hyundai Department Store¡ªa ¡®gate¡¯, in dungeon terms¡ªfelt so far away. [U-Plex¨CHyundai Department Store Skywalk] A skywalk connecting the U-Plex Dungeon and Hyundai Department Store. It didn¡¯t have any special usage restrictions. We just had to run through. [Leaving the U-Plex Dungeon 4th Floor.] [Moving to the Hyundai Department Store.] Everyone fell to the ground, gasping. ¡°Haah¡ª! Haah¡ª! Haah¡ª!¡± The priest Gong Jinhoon and flame magician Choi Sung-gu were particularly winded. ¡°Hahh, hahh. Fuck. Thought we were goners. The hell was the ceiling comin¡¯ down for, dammit.¡± In comparison, Yoohyun was still breathing pretty evenly. He came up to me. ¡°Hyungnim, is this really the Hyundai Department Store?¡± It looked the same as the Hyundai Department Store and had the same name, but it wasn¡¯t. The ¡®U-Plex Dungeon 4th floor¡¯ collapsed, but the U-Plex Dungeon itself didn¡¯t. In other words, we were still inside the U-Plex Dungeon. ¡®This is a field called the Hyundai Department Store within the U-Plex Dungeon.¡¯ It was easy when you thought of it like that. ¡°No,¡± I responded, looking around. This field was slightly different from the real building, which we visited to survey before. The fact that it was deserted aside, I could sense it was different somehow. I would probably be able to say what was different if my Eye of Perception proficiency was higher, but for now, it was only a vague feeling. ¡°An artificially made space. That¡¯s how it feels.¡± ¡°¡­¡± Cheon Sooji¡¯s gaze lingered on me. She probably had a lot of questions she wanted to ask, but with the situation the way it was, she didn¡¯t step forward to ask. ¡°I can¡¯t really sense any monsters. For now, we¡¯ll split up and look for a clue on how to get out of here.¡± I already knew what that clue was. There was definitely an NPC called ¡®Noah¡¯ here. He was the final clear NPC who would enable the clear of the U-Plex Dungeon. ¡°Shit. I hate dungeons. Fucking hate them. Why¡¯re they so complicated to clear?¡± Sung-gu grumbled, but he searched more diligently than anyone else. ¡°All you gotta do for a gate is break the Clear Crystal, but dungeons, I fuckin¡¯ hate ¡®em, man. Terrible. Gah, gotta just burn this shit to the ground.¡± I, of course, joined in the search. The 4th floor sold casual womenswear. Right in front of me was a ¡®Lacoste Women¡¯ shop. ¡®Noah is in the Calvin Klein store near the escalator.¡¯ I kept my guard up. In some ways, Noah was a more terrifying existence than the Intermediate Administrators. ¡®One misstep, and he could kill all of us.¡¯ He wasn¡¯t an NPC you were supposed to fight in the first place. Even before I regressed, there weren¡¯t any Players who could win a 1 vs. 1 against Noah. He wasn¡¯t an NPC you were supposed to fight, but one you needed to win over. The problem was whether Noah could be convinced with words alone to let us out, or not. ¡®I just have to make it so he lets us out.¡¯ If it didn¡¯t work, I¡¯d just have to make it work. When I passed a store with a ¡®Lanvin Collection¡¯ sign, I heard a voice coming from some distance ahead. ¡°Who are you guys?¡± The NPC I was looking for showed up. As expected, his name was Noah. There was nothing to deliberate. I had the answer key in hand and was going to act according to the strategy I knew. [The ¡®Conductor of Sound¡¯ expresses deep interest.] [The ¡®Conductor of Sound¡¯ recommends you keep your guard up against Noah.] Right on the heels of those notices came another set. [The ¡®White Hunter¡¯ expresses deep interest.] [The ¡®White Hunter¡¯ recommends exercising caution against Noah.] Despite only discovering me today, these Guardians were scrambling to send me messages. I could understand their worries in full. All the Players who first came here and attacked Noah thinking he was a monster perished. I would clear this place with a different method. And I had an item that would allow me to pull off an absolutely perfect clear. ____ Chapter 114 Chapter 114 Just like how there was a grade of impossible-to-hunt monsters, there was a grade of impossible-to-fight NPC¡¯s, NPCs who could never be defeated through battle. The NPC in front of us was that kind of NPC. The gray-haired old man¡¯s eyes were wreathed in wrinkles, and his white beard came down to his stomach. He was holding a worn-looking gnarled club in his right hand, but looks were deceiving. That was no simple wooden stick, but an extremely outstanding artifact. ¡®Noah.¡¯ I intentionally avoided using Eye of Perception on him. Rashly trying to read an NPC of his level could actually cause a backlash. ¡°We¡­¡± I watched Noah¡¯s face carefully. I had to pay close attention to his expression. ¨CAfter many attempts and failures, Players found the way to clear the U-Plex Dungeon. What you have to watch out for is Noah¡¯s expression. If one side of Noah¡¯s lips is curled up in a smile, then¡­ That was a provisional pass. Currently, Noah was scowling and stroking his beard. ¨CIf he¡¯s frowning and stroking his beard, the Player must take the risk of incurring a big loss. Noah¡¯s expressions could be divided into five expressions total. Many had died in the process of finding that out. The U-Plex Dungeon gave the people who cleared it a very useful item called ¡®Noah¡¯s Helm¡¯, and it was one of the oft-mentioned key dungeons. I had this place¡¯s strats memorized by heart. ¡°¡­are adventurers pursuing and contemplating the truth.¡± ¡°Hooh?¡± Noah¡¯s eyes gleamed. It was public knowledge that Noah was quite fond of the word ¡®adventurer¡¯. ¡®Not that it¡¯ll change the clear method.¡¯ Noah was going to try and extort us. And he would do it using the system called ¡®trade¡¯. ¡°I do like adventurers,¡± he said, nodding to himself. ¡°Young¡¯uns these days have no spirit or adventurousness. And they especially lack trailblazing spirit. When I was young, back on the Libron Continent¡­¡± His rambling speech was one I¡¯d heard many times before. ¨CNoah will lay out the tale of his heroism on the Libron Continent. Because the amount you will lose is directly tied to how you respond, it is best to give indicators that you are listening attentively. Noah was in every way a swindling NPC. That was how he was set to be from the start. But his next action surprised me a little. ¡°Hrm?¡± His expression changed. ¡®Set¡¯ NPC¡¯s rarely changed their expressions, but something was different this time. Why did his expression change? ¡°You, you¡¯re quite something. At such a young age and level, you¡¯ve got both mettle and trailblazing spirit, don¡¯t you?¡± His words seemed to mean that he had recognized that I had the ability ¡®Mettle¡¯ and the title ¡®First Pioneer¡¯. ¡°Good, good, very good. Since you¡¯ve come all this way, I¡¯ll give you a gift.¡± ¡°Thank you.¡± I heard a notice. [You have received a ¡®trade request¡¯ from ¡®Noah¡¯.] [Accept the ¡®trade request¡¯?] The fateful trade request came. I knew which items would satisfy Noah. [A trade window has been generated.] A ¡®trade window¡¯ only I could see popped up in front of me. I could put items from my Inventory in the window, and through it, we could complete a System-assisted trade. This was a function that Players could use from the mid-game onwards. I was just experiencing it in advance. [Noah] Isabel Noah put an item called ¡®Isabel¡¯ in the trade window. [Isabel ¨C Growth-Type ¨C Fully Sealed] An artifact found in the tomb of Isabel, Queen of the Sword Forest. It is imbued with a special spirit ki that chooses its master. Grade: Transcendent Attack power: 40-61 (currently sealed) Effects: Disabled Disabled Disabled Disabled Disabled Disabled Disabled 30% offensive innate ability damage amplification Special note: In a fully sealed state. Not all of its strength can be drawn upon. Its master has not been selected. My eyes nearly popped out of my head. ¡°Sir, surely this isn¡¯t the gift you mentioned?¡± ¡°It is, it is. I like young fellas who¡¯ve got some adventurousness to them.¡± My plan changed a little. Noah was extremely fond of things that fell into the ¡®gem¡¯ category. So normally, you could just give him a gem-studded necklace or earring. ¡®But it¡¯s transcendent¡­¡¯ I never in my wildest dreams thought that such an incredible item would make an appearance here. ¡®Of course he won¡¯t give it to me.¡¯ It was naturally total BS. There was no way this conniving NPC would actually give me the sword. This ¡®trade¡¯ itself was a scam. That item would never come into my hands. If we traded using normal means, that is. ¨CNoah steals the items of Players by switching out the item right before the trade is completed. It has never been discovered why an NPC of his level stoops to pilfering from Players. That much, I was prepared for. ¨CBut if you do not offer an item that, at least in Noah¡¯s eyes, is not of similar or comparable value to the item he puts out, there is a very high chance he will become enraged. It went without being said that if Noah became enraged, all of the Players here would be slaughtered. ¡®He¡¯s put out a transcendent item¡­¡¯ That meant I had to offer an item of comparable value. The necklace I bought for just $5,000 was bound to incur his wrath. ¡®It¡¯s transcendent. What should I put in?¡¯ In my last life, the transcendent grade was just a rumor to me, but in this life, the sword Isabel was already the second transcendent item I came in contact with. And in the beginner period, no less! There really was a ¡®World Above¡¯, a world for Rankers alone. ¡°It falls far short of Isabel, but is it alright if I put out the most valuable thing I have discovered during my adventuring?¡± ¡°A right proper lad you are. What is the item you mention?¡± Noah grinned. ¡®His expression keeps changing.¡¯ We were derailing completely from the strat. ¡®I still gotta do what I gotta do.¡¯ In the special hidden field ¡®Forest of Unknowns¡¯, I obtained an item whose value could not even be measured right now. A ¡®mana crystal¡¯, the treasure the Thin Hobgoblin tried to protect with its life. An item that I barely managed to find with Darongi¡¯s ability in not just a regular hidden field, but a special hidden field. [Offer Mana Crystal?] The mana crystal was put in the trade window. ¡°This is the most valuable thing I own. Though I don¡¯t know if it will be to your liking, sir¡­¡± No matter how precious a mana crystal might be, it couldn¡¯t beat a ¡®transcendent item¡¯. Mana crystals would be sold for $10 million in three years, but transcendent items were so rare their existence alone was shrouded in mystery. ¡®But Noah goes wild for mana crystals.¡¯ That was something Lily, a weirdo among weirdos, a person so eccentric even her nickname was ¡®Weirdo¡¯, confirmed multiple times. If a mana crystal was offered, the ¡®trade¡¯ would be accepted ten times out of ten¡­ or so it was said, but this was a method only a billionaire could use. It was known that the Weirdo Lily actually carried out this method multiple times. Noah gave me a smile of satisfaction. ¡°Oh. It seems you truly have been diligent with your adventuring and exploration. To think that you have something so precious.¡± ¡°I am relieved to hear it is to your liking.¡± ¡°When the trade is complete, I¡¯ll send you out of here. Using my special authority.¡± ¡°Thank you very much.¡± * * * Notices came in. [The trade will be completed when you press the Trade button.] [When the trade is completed, the U-Plex Dungeon will be cleared.] The item he was offering was still ¡®Isabel¡¯. ¡®So now¡­¡¯ If things went as they normally did, Noah would now pull a fast one over me. ¡®Stay calm.¡¯ I couldn¡¯t show him that I was too worked up. I had to stay calm. If I messed up, we would all die. ¡®Even if it¡¯s a little risky¡­¡¯ A transcendent item was worth such a risk three, four, five times over. [Use the ¡®Forced Exchange Scroll¡¯?] That was the item the Merchant of Venice had gifted me. [You have used the ¡®Forced Exchange Scroll¡¯.] [The ¡®Forced Exchange Scroll¡¯ is an object imbued with the authority of the ¡®Merchant of Venice¡¯.] [The authority is taking effect.] [The trade has been completed.] I heard a hearty laugh from Noah. ¡°Hoho. Well then, have a good trip out.¡± [The U-Plex Dungeon has been cleared.] [5 seconds remaining until you leave the U-Plex Dungeon.] Five seconds. I was given five seconds. The next moment, Noah¡¯s face contorted in rage. ¡°YOUUU!!!¡± The entire field trembled. Power billowed from Noah¡¯s body. ¡°YOU DARE¡ª!¡± Noah¡¯s wooden club moved. A magic circle was drawn in the air, shining with the color of aluminum. It almost looked like it was made of steel. ¡°YOU DARE TO TRICK ME!!!¡± A dragon made of steel rushed out of the magic circle and opened its mouth wide. ROAAAAAR¨C! It felt like the entire place was turned into a vacuum. Countless swords were formed at the dragon¡¯s mouth. It was a famous spell, a physical damage attack cast by magicians. It was magic that summoned the swords, but the damage done by those swords registered as physical damage. The spell¡¯s name was ¡®Sword Breath¡¯. One second left until we were ported out. [1 second] But that ¡®Sword Breath¡¯ reached me faster than one second. ¡®Gugh!¡¯ My chest felt like it was on fire, and I felt my consciousness dimming. But I was ready for it. ¡®Now!¡¯ The blazing agony felt as if it would melt my heart, but I pulled it off. At the precise time, within the half second window, I used my recently acquired special ability. ¡®Right now!¡¯ [Absorption] Absorbs all physical damage for 0.5 seconds. The absorbed damage is converted to HP. Cooldown: 24 hours Half a second. It was only a fleeting moment. ¡®Did I¡­ do it?¡¯ In the end, I saw a light. [Distributing the U-Plex Dungeon clear rewards.] My heart still throbbed in pain, but I survived. [¡®Noah¡¯s Helm¡¯ acquired.] Noah¡¯s Helm, an item that was absolutely necessary to level up as fast as possible to level 40. I finally acquired it. ¡®I thought I was really gonna die.¡¯ In any case, we found ourselves outside the U-Plex, where a swarm of reporters was waiting and the police had put up a no-entry line. Thankfully, the two civilians we met on the 1st floor seemed to have survived. ¡®There were Taeguk Shield personnel here too, so¡­¡¯ I could just push most of the credit to Taeguk Shield and the Tutorial Ender, So Yoohyun, and just secure the actual profits in the back. But just then, I heard a voice. (Darn it. What the heck? You tricked me.) I looked around. ¡®No. This isn¡¯t a physical voice.¡¯ They were speaking, but it was definitely not a ¡®person¡¯. That didn¡¯t mean it was Senia or an Intermediate Administrator, either. (You know what I want?) Somehow, I could feel an emotion. I could feel someone trembling. (I wanted a strong male who could be my match.) I couldn¡¯t tell where the sound was coming from. (I thought I was picking up a touch of that from you, but you tricked me!) I quickly realized where this voice was coming from. (There was just a tiny hint of the smell of a strong male on you, but I know now. Tell me honestly. You¡¯ve recently held something incredible, haven¡¯t you?) This voice was coming from none other than my Inventory. (Over there. That sword that woman over there is holding! I¡¯m talking about that! I woke up because I smelled that strong male fragrance, so how¡¯d I end up in the hands of a weak-ass male? This is a scam! A clear and simple scam marriage.) The voice was coming from the transcendent item Isabel. [Isabel¡¯s seal has been partially lifted.] The item window popped up in front of me automatically. Chapter 115 Chapter 115 [Isabel¡¯s seal has been partially lifted.] The item window popped up. [Isabel ¨C Growth-Type ¨C Partially Sealed] An artifact found in the tomb of Isabel, Queen of the Sword Forest. It is imbued with a special spirit ki that chooses its master. Grade: Transcendent Attack power: 72-84 (currently sealed) Effects: Disabled Disabled Disabled Disabled Disabled Disabled Ego activated 30% offensive innate ability damage amplification Special note: In a partially sealed state. Most of its strength is sealed. The ego has selected its ¡®bride¡¯. The ¡®sword¡¯s bride¡¯ selection is valid for 300 years. A lamentation rang in my ear. (This is a scam. A scam! You goddamn scammer!) I was speechless. I was already dazed by the fact that I obtained a transcendent item, but it was even one that talked. With an attack power of 72-84, the attack alone was on par with top-class items in the mid-game. ¡®And that¡¯s while it¡¯s mostly sealed.¡¯ Just how strong would it be if it wasn¡¯t sealed? (You son of a magician! Are you listening to me?!) To my fascination, I could feel Isabel¡¯s feelings. Isabel¡¯s ¡®son of a magician¡¯ was her version of ¡®son of a bitch¡¯. I could automatically feel that she loathed ¡®magicians¡¯ and disliked ¡®magic¡¯. (Say something, you scammer!) I didn¡¯t really have anything to say, but more importantly, how should I respond? With my voice? While I was thinking, Isabel started talking again, as if she had read my thoughts. (Hah¡­ To think an idiot who doesn¡¯t even know how to converse with me is my bride. He¡¯s married to me¡­) Bride? That was in the item description, but the definition seemed a little different from the one I knew. The dictionary definition of bride was ¡®woman about to be married¡¯. (Shut up. If I say bride, it¡¯s bride.) The pieces clicked together. Isabel was asleep for thousands of years, and because she had slept for so long, her judgment making ability was warped. Upon smelling the intense smell of a ¡®very strong male¡¯ from me, she inadvertently selected me as her ¡®bride¡¯. ¡®So basically, I¡¯m your bride?¡¯ (Yeah. You scammer. Take your hands off me.) She was wailing breathlessly, but I was really stumped on what the hell I was supposed to do. (What else can you do? You just have to accept that you¡¯re my brid¡ª) And then, she cut off mid-sentence. I was supposed to be the ¡®sword¡¯s bride¡¯, and even Isabel called me ¡®bride¡¯. I really didn¡¯t get it. [The ego has gone into a dormant state.] Isabel¡¯s ego fell asleep again. Apparently, I was too weak to activate Isabel properly. ¡®So the ego activation time is about 2-3 minutes per day?¡¯ That was my best guess. I found myself smiling. ¡®Nice.¡¯ The diverse spread of disabled special abilities aside, the sword¡¯s basic function was even better than ¡®Asura¡¯. Senia used a Pause authority. That thing was supposed to be super expensive, but she sure used it often. ¡°You¡¯re doing well, it seems?¡± ¡°There are various Guardians willing to sponsor me.¡± ¡°And so? What do you want?¡± ¡°I must give you an explanation of how you obtained Isabel.¡± When I heard the explanation, I was floored. ¡°Isabel¡¯s presence was so powerful when she woke up that the other notices didn¡¯t reach me?¡± ¡°Yes.¡± Basically, Senia¡¯s explanation was that the first condition I satisfied was achieving a [Perfect Bloodless Entry] from the 1st floor to the 4th. The second was surviving Noah¡¯s attack. ¡°Theoretically, it should have been completely impossible.¡± ¡°And I pulled that off?¡± ¡°I believe you were lucky.¡± I acknowledged that as well. I was lucky. No matter how good my timing was, this would have been impossible without good luck. ¡°You needed the title First Pioneer, and it was a special privilege given to the first clearer of the U-Plex Dungeon.¡± And as a result of all that¡ª ¡°That is the process of how you acquired Isabel.¡± There was really no other way to explain this than to say I was lucky. Like a proper Intermediate Administrator, Senia gave me a relatively detailed explanation of the process before deactivating the Pause. I looked at the U-Plex Dungeon behind me. In the future, it wouldn¡¯t just be the ¡®U-Plex¡¯, but a constantly active dungeon. ¡®Guess that leaves two quests, then.¡¯ There was a lot I had to do, but two things stood out in particular. One was related to the ¡®Predator Tree Colony¡¯, and the other was ¡®Find Charles¡¯ Owner!¡¯ ¡®Okay.¡¯ In any case, I succeeded in pioneering the U-Plex Dungeon today and acquired Noah¡¯s Helm in addition to the transcendent sword Isabel. Cheon Sooji came up to me. ¡°I knew you were amazing¡­ but you really are more amazing than I thought.¡± ¡°¡­¡± ¡°See you next time. I will think about how I can seduce you.¡± I turned and walked away, her sultry gaze hot on my back. On the way back home, Yoohyun said, ¡°Hyungnim. I¡¯m against that woman.¡± ¡°What?¡± ¡°She¡¯s not a good match. Her eyes just ooze sex.¡± ¡°¡­¡± Sung-gu nodded. ¡°Ya. She¡¯s a man-eater.¡± I wasn¡¯t sure if it was okay for them to say such things in this day and age, but it was empirically true that not much good came of getting close to Cheon Sooji, so it was hard to say whether I should disregard their words or not. ¡°But dayam, she¡¯s fuckin¡¯ pretty. I¡¯m jealous, man.¡± Yeonseo smiled brightly. ¡°Still, I¡¯m more charming. Right?¡± ¡°¡­¡± She clung to me and urged, ¡°Right? I¡¯m more charming, right?¡± ¡°¡­¡± Well¡­ it was hard to contradict her, but unfortunately for Yeonseo, she wasn¡¯t my type either. ¡°Hurry and say I¡¯m charming.¡± She started pulling out her sword, so I just said, ¡°Yeah, you¡¯re charming.¡± Everyone parted ways, and Sunhwa and I got back home. Mom, Noona, my new little sister, Sunhwa, and I gathered in the living room to eat fried chicken. The topic was, of course, the corpses found in the central park. ¡°Goodness gracious¡­¡± Mom said, holding a piece of chicken. ¡°How utterly chilling.¡± The way she shuddered showed that my mom was very frightened by the incident, too. ¡®It¡¯s a little strange.¡¯ Why did a gate that should have been on Plum Blossom Island show up here, in the central park in front of our home? And it was even the ¡®same¡¯ gate. ¡®What could it be?¡¯ Did something change from the past? ¡®No idea.¡¯ How I survived the changed reality was more important than finding out what had changed. Noona, who was polishing off her favorite soy sauce chicken like usual, gave me a cool look. ¡°Don¡¯t fool around and stay safe.¡± ¡°What¡¯s this all of a sudden?¡± ¡°You said you were a Player or whatever too, right? Who¡¯ll pay your hospital fee if you mess around and get hurt?¡± ¡°¡­¡± That¡¯s what she said, but her summary was very cute. Summary: Deeply Worried Tsundere Sunhwa chirped without a care, ¡°As expected, one chicken per person¡¯s the best!¡± Sunhwa wasn¡¯t the only one happy. So was Darongi. [???] marks¡ªthey were even red¡ªwere floating above his head as he held and nommed away at a chicken leg bigger than himself. ¡®Squirrels eat meat?¡¯ It was already weird that a squirrel was a genius thief, but in any case, Darongi was sucked into the magical world of fried chicken. As Sunhwa hummed a happy ¡®one chicken per person~¡¯, Darongi nodded in agreement and flashed a thumbs up at Sunhwa, [???] marks dancing over his head the entire time. I was so dumbfounded I had to laugh. ¡®What¡¯s with this squirrel, really?¡¯ What kind of squirrel could suddenly materialize fingers he didn¡¯t have before and make music notes float above his head? The rascal was full of surprises. After some sweet family time, I went to my room. Like always, I needed to check my notebook and think about how I should progress. After all, I decided that I would be the one to draw out my own future. I intended to do everything I failed to do in the past. ¡®For now, I think I can definitely cure Mom.¡¯ I had $300k in my bank account at the moment. I got $100k from President Song Kiyoung and $100k from Taeguk Shield. The other $100k was Sunhwa¡¯s share, but I was holding onto it for her. She entrusted it to me, saying, ¡°I think that¡¯s too much money for me. You take care of it for me, Oppa!¡± In any case, I had money. ¡®Though I lost the mana crystal.¡¯ The mana crystal was traded away for Isabel. No matter how you cut it, that was a huge profit. ¡®Hm, guess Gwanghwamun Dungeon is next.¡¯ While I was thinking about the future, I discovered something under my desk. It was a yellow piece of paper hidden so you couldn¡¯t see it from the outside. ¡°What¡¯s this?¡± I unfolded the neatly folded paper. Someone had written a ¡®Safe Prayer¡¯ on it, and it seemed by all accounts to be a charm. ¡°A charm?¡± It was obviously Noona¡¯s handwriting. I let out a wry chuckle. ¡°She wrote me a charm?¡± She wrote me a charm, but she hid it very carefully, not wanting to be found out. Unfortunately, my class was ¡®Observer¡¯, and I could pick up on much more than the average person. ¡°Writing charms like a child,¡± I said, shaking my head with a smile. I carefully folded it again and returned it to its original spot. A quick search on the Internet showed that this sort of thing was trending, or something like that. It was a lucky charm you could buy on the Internet. I vaguely remembered them existing in the past, too. The sales pitch on the Internet said, ¡°Luck will only be imparted if the charm is renewed once per day, at least thirty times.¡± Each charm was a whopping ten bucks, but quite a lot of them had been sold. From the sales pitch, the charm would bring luck only if at least thirty of them were used. ¡®Then Noona¡¯s planning to spend $300 on this.¡¯ Should I call this cute, or stupid? It wasn¡¯t unpleasant. Ultimately, it meant that my sister cared about me that much. One day passed. I went on an easy round through the Seoul Station Dungeon partly to get more Mandra items and partly to take a break, and when I came back, no one was home. I went into my room. ¡®Huh?¡¯ Something was a little strange. ¡®Why is that thing¡­?¡¯ It was hard to put it in words, but it felt like the ¡®flow of strength¡¯ was strangely distorted . I activated Eye of Perception and Observer¡¯s Eye simultaneously. [Observing with Observer¡¯s Eye.] Observer¡¯s Eye, which had the power to discern the true nature of things, examined the ¡®yellow charm¡¯. ¡®This strange feeling¡­¡¯ I couldn¡¯t pinpoint what exactly was weird, but it was definitely off somehow. ¡®I can almost¡­ see something.¡¯ I stared at it for what was probably quite a long time. Sweat beaded down my forehead. An immense sense of exhaustion washed over me, and I collapsed onto my bed, the ¡®yellow charm¡¯ in my hand. To my surprise, an item description could be activated from it. It was just a regular object yesterday, but today, it was an item. I clicked the yellow charm with my eyes, and the description popped up. It was no ordinary charm. ____ Chapter 116 Chapter 116 There was talk about these ¡®yellow charms¡¯ from very early on. It was just a story that went around on the Internet. The civil servant exam didn¡¯t cover it, and the rumors were never officially proven. ¡®It was said that yellow charms brought luck, and in some cases, even activated a gate.¡¯ Of course, no one believed it. People just bought it as a joke because it was trending. But now, it seemed like it wasn¡¯t just an empty rumor. The proof was clearly before my eyes. [Yellow Charm] The Yellow Charm can activate a gate. The description window can only be activated by the eyes of one with the qualifications to activate the gate, and entry is limited to 1 person. According to the Internet story, the ¡®Yellow Charm Gate¡¯ had a huge reward. ¡®Come to think of it¡­¡¯ I vaguely remembered the difficulty being low and the reward being big because it was a charm imbued with one¡¯s wishes, or something like that. ¡®Can¡¯t believe that was actually true.¡¯ The lethargy I felt was too severe for me to do anything right now. I had to activate the gate after recovering my stamina a little, so I closed my eyes, deciding to rest. ¡°Oppa, come eat.¡± I woke up to someone shaking me. ¡°Sunhwa?¡± ¡°You must have been really tired. You were sleeping for so long I came to wake you.¡± ¡°Really? What time is it now?¡± ¡°11 AM.¡± ¡°11 AM?¡± ¡°E-le-ven in the morning. You slept for over 24 hours. It¡¯s Saturday.¡± Saturday? That meant I slept through the entire day. ¡®The Yellow Charm?¡¯ I couldn¡¯t see it anywhere. ¡®Where¡¯d it go?¡¯ Was that Yellow Charm all¡­ a dream? ¡®No. It wasn¡¯t a dream.¡¯ It felt far too real to be a dream. Cold sweat ran down my back, my shirt wet with perspiration. ¡°Sunhwa.¡± ¡°Yes?¡± ¡°You said I slept for over 24 hours, right?¡± ¡°Yes. I thought you were dead, you know? Mom and Unnie are worried too. Hurry and come eat.¡± I slept for over 24 hours, so how was my back still soaked in sweat? On this very dry early-October day? ¡°Ah. Noona worried a lot?¡± ¡°She did. I think Unnie really loves you.¡± ¡°That so?¡± ¡°I¡¯ll wait outside.¡± I called Sunhwa back, who was turning to leave. ¡°Sunhwa.¡± ¡°Yes?¡± ¡°Come over here for a sec.¡± ¡°Why?¡± Tilting her head, Sunhwa came up to me. ¡°You¡¯re coming in without knocking, huh?¡± ¡°Uh, uh, um, th-that¡¯s¡­¡± Pak! I flicked Sunhwa¡¯s forehead with my pointer finger. ¡°Owww!¡± ¡°Knock before you come in next time.¡± Sunhwa clutched her forehead, her eyes tearing up a little. ¡°Nngh. Violence is bad.¡± I activated Observer¡¯s Eye, the eye that discerned the true nature of things and read their flow. My back, which remained wet after 24 hours. The ¡®Yellow Charm¡¯ that disappeared. And the genius tank Kim Sunhwa, who yelped in pain from a mere forehead flick. ¡°Make sure you knock next time.¡± ¡°Okay.¡± ¡°My head hurts a little right now, so I¡¯ll come out after stretching.¡± I had experienced this feeling of strangeness before, when I was in the distortion created by the Thin Hobgoblin using the power of the mana crystal. I was sure of it. ¡®This is the inside of a gate.¡¯ The Sunhwa who had just gotten flicked by me wasn¡¯t the real Sunhwa. ¡®The Yellow Charm activated the gate.¡¯ Something might have happened while I was asleep. In any case, the Yellow Charm Gate was triggered while I was sleeping, and I was inside of it. ¡®A gate with no existing strats.¡¯ So how should I clear this gate? I closed my eyes and focused my mind. I concentrated on my innate power, Eye of Perception, and specifically drew on the 4th aspect of the traits. Resistance towards illusory attacks or apparition magic My level of concentration could maximize my ability and strength. While I was focusing, I heard a notice. [The power of the Yellow Charm Gate¡­] * * * Kim Hyukjin sat onto his bed. He didn¡¯t deliberately sit down; his body just automatically moved into that position. He closed his eyes, his legs crossed in the lotus pose. He saw nothing, and he heard nothing. [The power of the Yellow Charm Gate has begun to permeate the Player¡¯s body.] [The power of the Yellow Charm Gate has begun to influence the Player¡¯s body.] Words flowed out of Hyukjin¡¯s lips. ¡°Illusions and apparitions, distortions and lies, cannot covet me.¡± What he spoke was more like an incantation, a mantra that bubbled out of him involuntarily. Just like how humans were unable to control the beating of their heart, he could not control his instincts or the incantation. ¡°No matter what ravine of evil in this world I must traverse.¡± Hyukjin¡¯s body began to glow faintly with golden energy. It quickly formed a circular shape around him. ¡°No evil power that seeks to harm me can violate me.¡± The golden energy encircling Hyukjin¡¯s body began to whirl fiercely around him. ¡°Such is the power of intuition.¡± The light flared. ¡°The eye of insight that sees the true nature of things.¡± Hyukjin¡¯s eyes opened. The world surrounding him began to contort. It twisted and distorted, and the hour and minute hands on the clock hanging on the wall began to spin. From his mouth came a voice that was not his, almost like when Sunghyun and Sung-gu chanted magic incantations. But there was something that set it distinctly apart from a magic incantation. Magic incantations were composed of an incomprehensible, unknown language. [May all lies.] But the meaning of Hyukjin¡¯s words was clear. [Be shattered.] The twisting and distorted space around him shattered like a window with a shrill crash. His eyes opened. * * * ¡°¡­What was that?¡± I had the hazy feeling I had a dream and had said something within that dream. ¡®Why am I¡­¡¯ Why was I sitting here in the lotus pose? I thought I was in the Yellow Charm Gate, but my bed was nowhere to be seen, and everything around me was entirely gold. It was like I was in an empty room painted completely in gold. ¡®Something definitely happened.¡¯ My head felt clearer, and I knew I had been mumbling something. ¡®Just now¡­¡¯ I didn¡¯t remember it in detail, but it felt like something was engraved in my instincts. ¡°It feels like I¡­ just uttered an incantation¡­¡± The sensation was elusive, like it was dangling just out of my grasp, that intensely uncomfortable feeling of needing to reach out just a tiny bit more to be able to touch it. ¡®Let¡¯s not rush it.¡¯ I took a deep breath to steady myself. It was hazy, but it felt like I had a taste of something on the next level, like I dipped my toes in a new world before returning to reality. Just then, I heard a notice. [You have passed the test of the Yellow Charm Gate.] [The power of the Yellow Charm Gate commands thee.] [The Yellow Charm Gate¡¯s quest has been activated.] ¡®A quest is a quest. What¡¯s with the power commanding me?¡¯ Not long afterwards, the quest window popped up. [Sacrifice of a Strong Wish] This is a space imbued with a strong wish. The power of that wish is infinite and carries a noble will. The wisher¡¯s will has life and wishes to bestow a power. Offer the wisher as a sacrifice. A great reward will be granted depending on the power of the wish. Information surged naturally into my mind. I found out what the ¡®Yellow Charm Gate¡¯ was, what the ¡®wish¡¯ was, and what the power that ¡®wish¡¯ possessed was. I was so dumbfounded I couldn¡¯t help but smile. ¡®This¡­ is Noona¡¯s wish?¡¯ As absurd as it was, Noona had a wish like this: I wish for my little brother to be happy. But the intensity of her prayer for my happiness was far from ordinary. I had no idea how it was possible my sister could have such intense emotions for me. She wished for my happiness more than her own life, and that manifested as this ¡®power of a wish¡¯. By offering a sacrifice, I would achieve happiness. That sacrifice was my older sister herself. ¡®Is she crazy?¡¯ This wasn¡¯t something I could evaluate with my mind or logic. Questions like why and how didn¡¯t even apply. ¡®I don¡¯t deserve it¡­¡¯ Who was he to deserve such feelings from Noona? Regardless of the reason or motive, the fact was that Noona had such feelings, and those feelings satisfied some kind of condition and created this situation. Someone¡ªno, something¡ªwalked over to me, appearing in this golden room that definitely had no one else in it. ¡°Noona.¡± ¡°Where is this place?¡± My Eye of Perception captured the true nature of that figure. It was her, but not her. Offer the wisher as a sacrifice. This ¡®image¡¯ before me was definitely not Noona. But if I offered this image as a sacrifice¡ªin other words, killed it¡ªmy older sister would die in reality. That was the kind of place this was from the very start. ¡°We¡¯re inside a gate right now.¡± ¡°A gate?¡± Noona looked completely the same as usual. I heard a notice. [The power of the Yellow Charm Gate commands thee.] [Offer the wisher as a sacrifice.] [Offer the wisher as a sacrifice and be granted the ¡®Badge of Glory¡¯.] Badge of Glory. I didn¡¯t know what it was. I stood up and approached Kim Ahyoung. ¡°Noona.¡± ¡°What?¡± ¡°Nothing.¡± I didn¡¯t tell her the words that were on my lips. That I was already more than happy enough. [The power of the Yellow Charm Gate commands thee.] [Offer the wisher as a sacrifice.] I steeled my resolve. ¡®I¡¯ll give up on this gate¡¯s reward.¡¯ This place never factored into my expectations or plans to begin with. I didn¡¯t need the reward it offered, especially if it was earned through sacrificing my sister¡¯s life. [The power of the Yellow Charm Gate commands thee.] [Offer the wisher as a sacrifice.] An invisible force pressed down on me. My body throbbed with a compulsion that pushed me to move, move, move. I clenched my teeth. ¡®A place where will has life.¡¯ That sentence didn¡¯t escape me. Here, ¡®will¡¯ had life. ¡®My will has to be stronger than Noona¡¯s.¡¯ The desire to draw out the future with my two hands, unlike the past. The desire to bring happiness to the people I held dear this time. The desire to not let anyone sacrifice themself for me. If all of those could have life breathed into them, I would be able to ignore this place¡¯s power. ¡®I¡¯m sure of it.¡¯ Even if I gave up on the reward, I could leave this gate. [You are disobeying the authority of the Yellow Charm Gate.] [Submit to the authority.] Who gave a shit about some authority? ¡®I¡¯d be bringing shame to my regressor name if I were so weak I surrendered to an authority of this level.¡¯ I focused my mind and closed my eyes, strongly refusing the compulsion taking effect on me. I measured the flow of each and every breath, each individual inhalation and exhalation, falling into a trance. I¡¯d experienced this state once already. Earlier, it was an unconscious trance, but this time, I moved with intent, and an incantation spilled from my lips. ¡°Illusions and apparitions, distortions and lies, cannot covet me.¡± ¡°No matter what ravine of evil in this world I must traverse.¡± ¡°No evil power that seeks to harm me can violate me.¡± ¡°Such is the power of intuition.¡± ¡°The eye of insight that sees the true nature of things.¡± My voice changed to a voice belonging to someone else, one that echoed outward in a low tone. [May all lies.] [Be shattered.] ____ Chapter 117 Chapter 117 [You have successfully uttered the Will Incantation.] [Temporarily increasing the proficiency of Eye of Perception based on the completion level of the Will Incantation.] [Eye of Perception¡¯s proficiency has increased.] The proficiency of Eye of Perception became 3. ¡®What¡­ did I just do?¡¯ I did as my mind bid me to do, my lips moving subconsciously. It wasn¡¯t something I learned from someone, nor was it a skill. I simply thought it would be fine to move according to my instinct and tried it. There was an itch in my chest, and I simply expressed that itch in the form of ¡®words¡¯. The result was that Eye of Perception¡¯s proficiency was increased to 3, though only temporarily. [Eye of Perception¡¯s insight recognizes a ¡®false authority¡¯.] I realized the ¡®authority¡¯ the Yellow Charm Gate was forcing on me was distorted. [Destroying the fabricated authority.] [The fabricated power is being erased.] The heavy pressure on me disappeared. [One of the Yellow Charm Gate¡¯s clear conditions has been fulfilled.] [Calculating your achievement.] It seemed there were various ways to clear this gate, and I achieved one of those possible routes. In cases like this, the reward would change depending on the clear method. [A ¡®Peerlessly Perfect Clear Piece¡¯ has been fulfilled.] [A brown Clear Crystal is being generated.] A brown Clear Crystal. In my past life, this kind of crystal rarely made an appearance among hundreds of thousands of clears. To put it simply, it could be seen as an ¡®enhanced Clear Crystal¡¯. It was a higher grade than the purple Clear Crystal you normally saw, and naturally, it often promised greater rewards. Two timers appeared in front of my eyes. Eye of Perception Duration 2:00:28 Brown Clear Crystal Duration 3:00:22 Eye of Perception¡¯s current proficiency was 3. The timer was showing that this increased proficiency would last two minutes, and the remaining time was ticking down in real-time. ¡®The brown Clear Crystal having a duration of three minutes probably means¡­¡¯ If I didn¡¯t find it within that time, it would transform into a regular purple Clear Crystal. Somewhere in this shattered world that was smashed to pieces like glass shards was a brown Clear Crystal. ¡®I¡¯ll find it.¡¯ Finding it didn¡¯t feel all that difficult to me. ¡®Over there?¡¯ I walked to one side. I¡¯d experienced this sensation before, back when the Nameless Observer forcibly increased the proficiency of Eye of Perception for me. ¡®There¡¯s not much time.¡¯ There was only one minute and thirty seconds of upgraded Eye of Perception left. ¡®I have to run.¡¯ I began to run. While running, I saw the flow of the wind and how I should run for the greatest efficiency. Even as I adjusted my form, a niggling feeling in my chest told me that if I accomplished something here, I would be able to achieve even greater growth. ¡®Will Incantation.¡¯ I had the feeling I would be able to use it at will. ¡®If I did that again¡­¡¯ I would probably reach a new realm, whatever that was. The type of incantation likely changed which ability of Eye of Perception, particularly one of the active traits, was affected. ¡®But I don¡¯t have time right now.¡¯ There was one minute and ten seconds left. Even finding the brown Clear Crystal in that time would be cutting it close. ¡®This feeling. I¡¯ll be able to feel it again sometime soon.¡¯ I decided not to be too greedy. I ran and ran. When there was only forty seconds left, I saw the brown Clear Crystal shining to the side. ¡®If I break this, the gate will be cleared.¡¯ Without intentionally wanting to, Eye of Perception read the brown Clear Crystal¡¯s information. [Brown Clear Crystal Illusion] The illusion of a Clear Crystal generated within the Yellow Charm Gate. Though it is an illusion, breaking it will accomplish the clear and rewards will be distributed. However, the full reward will not be given. I put it in my Inventory for now. This was a fake. The real one was hidden somewhere not far from here. ¡°Darongi.¡± [???] marks appeared over Darongi¡¯s head. ¡°I¡¯ll give you fried chicken if you dig a hole here.¡± It didn¡¯t take long for the [???] to turn into [!!!]. He hopped to the ground and started clawing into it like a ravenous madman. I couldn¡¯t even see his paws, they were moving so fast. [Using the innate ability Hole Digging.] Darongi dug into the ground composed of a material I couldn¡¯t identify. ¡®I can feel it. Down there.¡¯ The proficiency 3 Eye of Perception clearly saw Darongi going through the ground towards the brown Clear Crystal. It was a completely different feeling from seeing something with my physical eyes. It was like a vivid movie was playing in my head. Eye of Perception¡¯s duration ended. [The effect of the Will Incantation has faded.] [Eye of Perception¡¯s proficiency has decreased.] With that, I could no longer see Darongi. The image that had been so clear in my mind vanished. ¡®It¡¯s okay.¡¯ The brown Clear Crystal¡¯s timer still had fifty-five seconds on it. If I really couldn¡¯t get the real one, I could at least break the fake. After about ten seconds, Darongi crawled back out the hole with a face full of soot and the brown Clear Crystal in his teeth. Unlike before, I couldn¡¯t read its description in detail. [Brown Clear Crystal] Clear Crystal generated within the Yellow Charm Gate. I couldn¡¯t tell if this one was real or not, most likely because Eye of Perception¡¯s proficiency had gone down again. ¡®And¡­¡¯ I pulled out the transcendent item I¡¯d recently acquired, ¡®Isabel¡¯. I saw from the Will Incantation-boosted Eye of Perception just now. The advanced Eye of Perception could read detailed information, and one of the things I saw was that I had to strike a certain point in the middle of the brown Clear Crystal to produce the greatest effect. ¡®Here I go.¡¯ One clean strike was best, if possible. I aimed towards the point I remembered. [Using the special skill Excellent Strike.] * * * Translator ¨C Lei Proofreader ¨C Ash * * * Isabel was definitely a transcendent item, no doubt about it. She was weightless in my hand and shot unerringly towards the point I aimed, like she was pinpointing the target and assisting me. ¡®I hit it exactly.¡¯ It was possible the ¡®point¡¯ on the illusion was different from the ¡®point¡¯ on the real thing, but I did the best I could right now. That was the most important thing, wasn¡¯t it? As my sword plunged into the crystal, I heard a notice I hadn¡¯t before. [Ignoring the prey¡¯s unique trait.] Right, that was a special ability of Excellent Strike. Can use the special skill ¡®Excellent Strike¡¯¡ªa medium chance to ignore the prey¡¯s unique trait It was a medium chance, but I¡¯d never heard the notice up until now. [You have succeeded in perfectly destroying the ¡®fabricated power of the Yellow Charm Gate¡¯.] [The ¡®Peerlessly Perfect Clear Piece¡¯ has turned into a ¡®Peerlessly Perfect Clear¡¯.] [Congratulations!] The brown Clear Crystal broke into countless fragments and covered my body. [The ¡®power of the Yellow Charm Gate¡¯ searches the Player¡¯s body.] [The ¡®power of the Yellow Charm Gate¡¯ is the ¡®power of a strong wish¡¯.] The name of the real power the Yellow Charm Gate possessed¡ªnot the false or distorted power¡ªwas ¡®power of a strong wish¡¯. The creator of this wish was likely my sister. What kind of influence would a power imbued with Noona¡¯s wish have on me? I felt a strong flow of mana. It was so strong there was no way the proficiency 2 Eye of Perception and the proficiency 1 Observer¡¯s Eye could possibly analyze it. [The ¡®powerful wish¡¯ takes effect in its true form.] [The ¡®powerful wish¡¯ evaluates the ¡®most beneficial thing for the Player¡¯.] [¡®Isabel¡¯ is being imbued by the ¡®powerful wish¡¯.] I understood the gist of it. It wasn¡¯t hard for me to figure out why Isabel was being imbued by the ¡®powerful wish¡¯ and why this reward was being given to me. ¡®Because Isabel is my strongest weapon.¡¯ The power of this place had evaluated that having some kind of effect on my strongest weapon would be the most beneficial thing for me. [Isabel ¨C Growth-Type ¨C Partially Sealed] An artifact found in the tomb of Isabel, Queen of the Sword Forest. It is imbued with a special spirit ki that chooses its master. Grade: Transcendent Attack power: 72-84 (currently sealed) Effects: Disabled Disabled Disabled Disabled Disabled Disabled Ego activated (Activation time has been greatly increased due to a strong wish) 30% offensive innate ability damage amplification Special note: In a partially sealed state. Most of its strength is sealed. The ego has selected its ¡®bride¡¯. The ¡®sword¡¯s bride¡¯ selection is valid for 300 years. Under the influence of a strong wish. There was a change in the item description itself. The ego activation time greatly increased, and an additional special note was added. I heard a voice. (Oi. Are you out of your mind?) What was this sword saying as soon as she woke up? Now that it wasn¡¯t my first time, I was a little more used to conversing with her. ¡®Why?¡¯ (Stay far, far away from that bitch named Cheon Sooji. Got it?) I was wondering what she was going on about, and it happened to be some unrelated drivel. (Do you understand or not?) I wasn¡¯t intending on getting close to her anyway. Cheon Sooji was a member of Taeguk Shield, and it was right to maintain an appropriate distance while making use of each other. (You¡¯re dead if you cheat on me.) Isabel was now imbued with a ¡®strong wish¡¯, but I started wondering if that was really a good thing. (You¡¯re a married man, you hear? Get a hold of yourself. You only need one woman by your side other than your mom and family.) It was already flabbergasting that a sword had a gender, but I didn¡¯t pay much attention to it since I wasn¡¯t in a hurry to date right now anyway. (You¡¯re my bride. You¡¯re still super lousy and goddamn weak, but you¡¯ve got a decent foundation, so I¡¯ll raise you. ¡®Til you¡¯re nice and plump and r¡ª) Isabel suddenly changed the subject. (You know that skill you just used when attacking the brown Clear Crystal?) I used ¡®Excellent Strike¡¯, yes. Isabel clicked her tongue in disdain. (You¡¯ve been using a trash technique like that? Lemme see here.) A little time passed. (You¡¯re still my bride, so you need to fit the part. Fine. Sword Path Tracing? That¡¯s a relatively decent innate ability, at least.) [Isabel is arbitrarily using an innate authority.] This sword could use not just an innate ability, but an innate authority. Was it really okay for something this broken to show up in the beginner period? I was shocked, but it was good for me, so I decided to shelve those thoughts. [Fusing Sword Path Tracing and Excellent Strike.] An innate ability of mine was fused with a special skill I got as a title effect, with absolutely zero item use or sacrifice. It was done purely through Isabel¡¯s power. A crack appeared along Isabel¡¯s blade. (It¡¯s alright, don¡¯t worry. I¡¯ll recover from an injury of this level soon enough.) And then came a notice. [Fusion was successful.] I unlocked a new ability. Chapter 118 Chapter 118 (It¡¯s alright, don¡¯t worry. I¡¯ll recover from an injury of this level soon enough.) [Fusion was successful.] Two abilities were fused. [¡®Sword of Insight¡¯ has been generated.] [The base skills have been erased.] I unlocked a new ability called Sword of Insight. [As it is the product of fusion between an innate ability and title special skill, ¡®Sword of Insight¡¯ is categorized as an innate ability.] [Sword of Insight] An advanced innate ability created by combining and pooling the merits of Excellent Strike and Sword Path Tracing in one place. No matter the situation, it will lock onto the enemy¡¯s weakness and deliver a powerful attack at the most vulnerable point. Sword Path Tracing, an innate ability that forcibly enabled an attack even if both the user¡¯s arms were cut off, and Excellent Strike, a skill that could deal greater damage than a regular attack and had a unique ¡®piercing¡¯ effect, combined harmoniously to create a new skill. ¡®Sword of Insight.¡¯ I had the feeling I¡¯d heard the name before. It wasn¡¯t as famous an innate ability as Sword Path Tracing, but I still remembered hearing it somewhere. Isabel¡¯s voice sounded again in my head. (I¡¯m not giving you a gift like this because I like you or anything, you hear?) The crack that had appeared on Isabel¡¯s blade had already faded a little. She seemed to be recovering automatically. (It¡¯s just ¡®cause you¡¯re my bride. I only helped you because it would be embarrassing if you went out into the world without a single decent ability. Got it?) All things considered, it was a good thing for me. So this was a transcendent item. It possessed the ability to fuse a skill with a skill, how very useful. (Answer already, darn it. I absolutely didn¡¯t do this ¡®cause I like you or anything!) Isabel kept mumbling to herself. (I just did it on a whim.) Fusing skills was something she could do on a whim, huh? Was it because she was under the influence of my sister¡¯s wish? In the past, my sister¡¯s summary was ¡®Devoted Tsundere¡¯. I was kind of getting the same feeling from Isabel. (I picked this ¡®cause I thought it would be compatible with your innate ability.) ¡®She chose one out of various abilities?¡¯ That meant she could make an ability other than this one. (Of course. Who do you think I am? I¡¯m Isabel, that Isabel. What do you think? You did well to marry me, right?) I had no idea when we got hitched, but in any case, Isabel¡¯s ability was worthy of acknowledgement. (So just know that if you cheat on me, you¡¯re dead.) ¡­Though she seemed awfully fixated on something weird. (Anyway, there¡¯ll be a big synergy effect if you combine this nicely with your innate ability. Sword of Insight is one of the innate abilities the Queen of the Sword Forest had, after all.) Isabel. Isabel was this sword¡¯s name, but it was also the name of the ¡®Queen of the Sword Forest¡¯. [Isabel ¨C Growth-Type ¨C Partially Sealed] An artifact found in the tomb of Isabel, Queen of the Sword Forest. It is imbued with a special spirit ki that chooses its master. I was wondering what the relationship was between Isabel the Queen of the Sword Forest and Isabel the Sword, but I held the question back. (Ah, jeez. How strange. Ever since that wish or whatever took effect, my chest has been all scratchy¡­) Her voice fell silent. ¡®Time¡¯s up again.¡¯ The ego had fallen asleep. But I figured I was able to get an ability like this thanks to the ¡®strong wish¡¯. ¡®I¡¯ll need to thank Noona once I get out of here.¡¯ How strong had her wish been to create a gate like this and give me such a boon? This reward was completely outside of my plans, and this scenario had never existed in the future I envisioned. It wasn¡¯t something I intended, but the result was far better than a scenario I planned and carried out myself. [Leaving the Yellow Charm Gate.] The world changed, and I found myself back in my room. * * * Translator ¨C Lei Proofreader ¨C Ash * * * My older sister happened to be inside her room. ¡°Noona. Thanks.¡± Noona, who was fiddling with something at her desk, jumped at my voice. ¡°How about knocking next time?¡± I clearly saw her swiftly hide something inside her notebook. I already knew what that thing was. Unfortunately for my sister, I was an ¡®Observer¡¯ and unintentionally saw everything she did in HD resolution. The thing she hid was the same Yellow Charm that gave me such a big gift. She seemed to be writing a new one and replacing it every day. Her concern for me transcended sister level and went into mother realm. ¡®I¡¯m really thankful.¡¯ I was just grateful. Noona didn¡¯t expect anything back. She was making those charms with a wish for my happiness, and nothing in return. ¡°Give me some of your time.¡± ¡°Why?¡± ¡°To go on a date with you.¡± Noona scowled. ¡°Gross. What do you mean, date? Did you eat something weird?¡± Her reaction was natural. Before regressing, I never said anything like this. Even now, I was honestly just sentimental because of the Yellow Charm Gate ¡®buff¡¯, but normally, I was bad at saying cheesy stuff like this. Asking my sister for a date? We were brother and sister, but if another set of siblings were to hear this, they¡¯d probably call me crazy. ¡°Oh c¡¯mon. Is that really so disgusting? Your expression is so¡­¡± I chuckled. Even her expression of astonishment was hilarious. ¡°Anyway, give me some of your time. There¡¯s somewhere I wanna take you.¡± ¡°¡­¡± Noona¡¯s expression positively dripped. ¡®Ah jeez, what a pain. Why do I have to go on a date with my little brother?¡¯ But it was very unfortunate for her that I had a special ability called Eye of Perception. State: Good Mood / Joyful / Happy Sorry, Noona. This is unintentional, I swear. I¡¯m trying not to, but I¡¯m automatically reading your feelings. ¡°You¡¯ve done so much for me.¡± ¡°Shut up. Just wash your feet and go to bed.¡± Thanks to my sister, I learned a new thing called ¡®Will Incantation¡¯. I couldn¡¯t use it freely yet, and I didn¡¯t even know exactly what it was, but I was given a tiny sneak peek of the stage ahead of me. I returned to my room. ¡®Will Incantation.¡¯ Darongi clambered onto my chest and fell asleep instantly, like he had narcolepsy. ¡®And the wish imbued in Isabel.¡¯ Those were the two things I got from the Yellow Charm Gate. ¡®I can¡¯t use Will Incantation freely yet.¡¯ Actually, I couldn¡¯t even remember the phrase that well. That last phrase, what was it again? ¡°Was it¡­ May all lies¡­ be shattered?¡± I was saying the same words, but the ones I was speaking now didn¡¯t carry ¡®life¡¯ in them. The words had to be imbued with life and power to accomplish the ¡®Will Incantation¡¯. ¡®For now, let¡¯s just be satisfied with this.¡¯ I closed my eyes. I had the feeling I could fall asleep in a good mood today. In my head, I recalled and sorted the things I needed to do. There were two urgent tasks to settle: the Predator Tree Colony, and Find Charles¡¯ Owner. I started thinking about how to approach the two tasks, but shook my head and put a brake on my brainstorming. Work was good, but resting was just as important. ¡®Let¡¯s rest up tonight.¡¯ I fell asleep, treasuring the warm feeling inside my chest. * * * One day passed. In just a single night, there was a groundbreaking change. One of a Player¡¯s secrets, ¡®talent plates¡¯, begins its era. The world was being introduced to the concept of ¡®talent plates¡¯. Using an item first discovered by the US Player ¡®Mark¡¯, the innovative entrepreneur ¡®Raspberry¡¯ developed and disseminated a talent plate reader all over the world. The fact that it spread so quickly meant that the preparations for its spread had long been in place. The talent plate reader was probably developed some time ago. In any case, it found its way to Korea as well, and it was in official use at the Korean Players Association. My teammates were also very interested in the talent plate reader at the moment. ¡°Boss. Didja know I went and had my talent plates checked?¡± ¡°Hyungnim, I had it done as well.¡± Both of them were assessed at ¡®30¡¯ plates. As Yeonseo spoke, her face flushed with excitement. ¡°The device¡¯s limit is thirty, apparently.¡± ¡°Hyungnim. I feel like I¡¯ve reached the top!¡± The current device could only show a max of thirty plates. Thirty wasn¡¯t terrible talent, but by the standards of the future, it was also hard to see it as anything outstanding. ¡®Would you have ever believed the Fist King and Sword Empress would be so happy over thirty plates?¡¯ Though, it was true it was the best number you could get at this point in time. ¡°What about you, Sunghyun?¡± ¡°I also got thirty.¡± Sunghyun didn¡¯t make a big fuss about it. ¡°You don¡¯t seem that happy about it?¡± ¡°Because I feel like quite a lot of people have gotten thirty,¡± Sunghyun responded quietly, his eyes wandering to a certain person who was opening the door to the coffee shop and coming in. It was Choi Sung-gu. His belly had started showing a little. He said something about how he was eating like crazy to earn money these days, something along the lines of ¡®eating is what matters most¡¯. ¡°Shabam! I hit thirty, boys! Isn¡¯t that great?¡± Everyone in the shop turned to look at Sung-gu. His exclamation boomed like a cannon going off, and he came scuttling over to us without a hint of embarrassment. ¡°Ey, Jo Sunghyun. How many did you get?¡± ¡°It¡¯s a secret.¡± ¡°You couldn¡¯t get thirty, right? Just be honest. Hyung will be understanding.¡± He covered his mouth and gave a very spiteful ¡°Hohoho!¡± Sunghyun didn¡¯t bother with him and just asked me, ¡°Did you do a talent plate test, Hyung?¡± ¡°Not yet.¡± I knew the result of my talent plate test from the past. I still couldn¡¯t forget that night before I regressed, how painfully my heart had throbbed at those two words. ¡®No Talent¡¯. ¡°You won¡¯t do it, Hyung?¡± ¡°Hm, not sure.¡± At this point, I wondered whether my having ¡®talent plates¡¯ or not was important, but it would be a lie to say I wasn¡¯t curious. ¡®I have to get past level 40 to be sure I¡¯m not an early bloomer.¡¯ I couldn¡¯t lie and say I wasn¡¯t anxious about the talent plate test. There were quite a few Players who experienced explosive growth until the level 30-40 range, even without talent in the past, after all. ¡®Talent plate test, huh.¡¯ The current level of talent plate test wasn¡¯t all that accurate, but I was still curious. What was the difference between the past and current me? ¡®I¡¯ll do it eventually, but¡­¡¯ I wouldn¡¯t just blindly rush into it. The least amount of effort for the greatest efficiency. That was my Playstyle. ¡°Senia. Are you streaming?¡± Senia didn¡¯t appear. We discussed various things in the cafe, and I called Senia multiple times throughout. After about one hour, she finally showed up. ¡°I heard you were looking for me.¡± She probably found out I was looking for her from the stream of one of my party¡¯s Streamers. Every gaze in the cafe turned to focus on Senia. Her beauty alone drew the attention of onlookers, and I also heard whispers of awe. But the important thing right now wasn¡¯t Senia¡¯s beauty. ¡°You know that hot topic lately?¡± ¡°Are you talking about the talent plate testing?¡± ¡°Yeah. I¡¯m gonna go do it.¡± If I had to do a talent plate test anyway, it was best to do it while the Guardians were watching. The Guardians would definitely be deeply interested in the result. ¡®I¡¯m probably the most-watched Player in the Korean server.¡¯ There were even Guardians based in foreign servers who kept sending me messages. They didn¡¯t know how many talent plates I had, either. ¡®If the same No Talent assessment comes out¡­¡¯ I didn¡¯t fear that at all. ¡®It would actually be better for me.¡¯ That would be content the Guardians would go wild over. How fun would it be if the most eye-catching Player on the Korean server other than perhaps the Demon King had a talent plate test result of ¡®No Talent¡¯? Senia nodded. ¡°Understood. I will prepare to direct the scene.¡± We all headed to the Players Association. My party members came too, saying they were curious. Thanks to Song Kiyeol, I was able to skip the waiting time and get tested right away. The reading didn¡¯t take very long, maybe five minutes at most. ¡°The test results have come out.¡± Song Kiyeol came over holding a piece of paper, the results paper that had said ¡®No Talent¡¯ in the past. Chapter 119 Chapter 119 We were at the Player talent testing room located on the 14th floor of the ¡®Player Center¡¯. Song Kiyeol personally brought me the results, a stark difference from the past, when the Head of Personnel, Kim Kangchul, delivered the results. ¡®Can this also be taken as having succeeded in life?¡¯ This time, it wasn¡¯t Kim Kangchul, but the Guildmaster of Taeguk Shield and a third generation chaebol, Song Kiyeol. A lot had changed. The Guildmaster stopped in front of me, holding the sheet. He hesitated. ¡°The results are a little¡­¡± I silently took the paper from him. My eyes landed squarely on two words written clearly on the sheet. [No Talent.] Standing next to me, Yeonseo glanced over and laughed. ¡°The Boss¡¯ talent is 0?¡± She shook her head. Everyone just smiled, dumbfounded. ¡®No Talent, again?¡¯ How could this be explained? I never learned how to wield a dagger, yet could use one with outstanding proficiency. I never learned martial arts, yet could fight hand-to-hand very adeptly. I never Played before as a Sovereign¡ªor at all, for that matter¡ªyet I took to the role like a fish to water, and no matter what situation I came across, the solution came naturally to me. The same went for enhancement, and come to think of it, I also successfully tamed a monster. ¡®So how can it be No Talent?¡¯ It was strange. I did hear that this kind of phenomenon happened with early blooming Players, but¡­ Song Kiyeol gave me an apologetic look. ¡°The weird thing is¡­¡± The current talent plate reader was about the size of a large backpack. It would later be miniaturized, but the current device was bulky. Song Kiyeol told someone to ¡°Bring it out,¡± and two men came from deep within the testing room huffing and puffing as they lugged a device the size of a backpack. ¡®Talent plate reader?¡¯ It was my first time seeing one in person. The early model talent plate reader was crude, ugly, and even had poor performance. ¡®There¡¯s smoke coming out of it.¡¯ Smoke was billowing out of it, and sparks flew out of it with a bzzt. ¡°Ahh!¡± The two men flinched in alarm and dropped the talent plate reader, which fell to the ground with a resounding thud. ¡°I-I¡¯m so sorry!¡± ¡°I¡¯m sorry!¡± Song Kiyeol gave a bitter smile. ¡°It¡¯s alright. It was broken anyway.¡± His reaction validated my decision. What if the person standing here wasn¡¯t the first-born grandson Song Kiyeol, but the second-born granddaughter Song Junghye? If it were the Blood and Iron Witch, she would have dumped the responsibility on these two employees, and they might have had to fully compensate for breaking the talent plate reader. The Guildmaster¡¯s reaction made me think it wasn¡¯t all that bad a decision to have ¡®picked¡¯ him instead of Song Junghye. I examined the device on the ground. [Observing with Observer¡¯s Eye.] I heard Song Kiyeol say, ¡°After testing you, the talent plate reader broke.¡± My eyes flickered up to see him hurriedly waving his hand. ¡°Of course, I¡¯m not trying to say that this is your fault. Please don¡¯t misunderstand.¡± I nodded and turned my attention back to observing the device. My eye that discerned the ¡®true nature¡¯ of things captured a sort of warped flow that I could only recognize mentally but not put into words. ¡®Ah¡­¡¯ I understood now. I understood why this device broke and outputted a result of ¡®No Talent¡¯. ¡®So that¡¯s how it was.¡¯ The reason behind this result was because this device was unable to handle the ¡®class¡¯ of my talent. ¡®Right, it was said that there are grades and classes to talent as well.¡¯ Even if two people had thirty talent plates, it didn¡¯t mean they had the same talent. The mechanism behind this was never concretely elucidated. It was a definite established theory that the more talent plates a Player had, the more talent they had and the better it was for Playing. But there were also cases where someone who didn¡¯t have many talent plates was far stronger than someone with a lot of them. We called those people ¡®Irregulars¡¯. Korea¡¯s representative Irregular was the Red Demon Ahn Seohye. ¡®The current device can measure the talent of the others.¡¯ But it seemed unable to evaluate mine. ¡®Class¡­¡¯ Class, aka grade. ¡®Was it like this in the past, too?¡¯ I first had my talent tested at 25, an age at which one¡¯s talent plates were mostly closed. Back then, I didn¡¯t have the means to get tested earlier, and I was only able to do it when free government-sponsored tests were offered when I was 25. At that time, I was tested with a talent plate reader five years ahead of this one, a more advanced model. Was it really unable to handle my talent¡¯s class? ¡®Who knows.¡¯ Whatever the case, the result was the same. I got an assessment of ¡®No Talent¡¯. Despite that, I wasn¡¯t unhappy. ¡®The device lumped everyone¡¯s talent at thirty. It was unable to assess my talent¡¯s class.¡¯ That meant I had a talent at least one level higher than theirs, right? ¡®Nice.¡¯ I accepted the test result. The ¡®No Talent¡¯ I was given in the past and the ¡®No Talent¡¯ I was given today were the same results, but the meaning behind them was completely different. ¡°I apologize for showing you such a result. It is likely an error on the part of the machine. We¡¯ll carry out a re-test shortly.¡± ¡°No, it¡¯s alright.¡± I shrugged, giving him a lighthearted laugh to show I wasn¡¯t unhappy. I wanted to tell him to relax, that he didn¡¯t have to be so tense. ¡°Publicly, it¡¯s better for me to be a Player who has no talent plates.¡± That was the whole reason why I joined forces with Taeguk Shield to begin with¡ªfor them to take the glory and fame while I reaped the actual benefits in the back. I took initiative to broach an issue that wasn¡¯t easy for the other party to bring up. ¡°You can put me on the lowest rank on the Ranking Board.¡± In each server, the Players Associations of each nation put up a national ¡®Ranking Board¡¯. Currently, the rankings were probably set based on ¡®talent plate count¡¯ alone. Song Kiyeol stared at me in bafflement. ¡°The¡­ lowest¡­ rank?¡± ¡°Yes. Since I have no talent.¡± ¡°But¡­¡± After staring at me for a long moment, he nodded. State: Baffled / Disbelief / Doubt His state was pretty terrible, but he seemed to have accepted my words, at least for now. ¡°Until next time.¡± We would meet often in the future. The U-Plex Dungeon was cleared, and talent plate readers had made their entrance. From this point onwards, ¡®new culture¡¯ would accelerate, taking over faster and faster. * * * Translator ¨C Lei Proofreader ¨C Ash * * * Sunhwa and I headed back home. Going from the Player Center to our house only took ten or so minutes by taxi. Sunhwa and I decided to walk back to get some exercise. She looked very indignant. ¡°So annoying. I¡¯ll beat them to a pulp.¡± Where did she learn such a bad phrase? I lightly flicked her nose. ¡°Who said you could say such a foul thing?¡± At the risk of sounding like a broken record, this girl was a genius tank. In terms of tanking ability alone, she was one step, no, two steps above me. It wouldn¡¯t hurt her even if I struck her solar plexus instead of her nose. But she still pretended that it hurt. ¡°Owie!¡± She rubbed her nose. ¡°But Oppa! I¡¯m just so irritated by the way those people whispered when we left the testing room.¡± The test results were shared live on an electronic display outside the testing room. Moreover, the name Kim Hyukjin was likely put on the Ranking Board. ¡°Grr! So annoying!¡± Sunhwa stomped in place. I was okay, so why was this girl so worked up? Of course I had felt the gazes on me as we left the room. The gazes of pity and sympathy, as well as the gazes of ridicule and contempt. ¡®Well, our party has Yoohyun and Yeonseo in it, after all.¡¯ The most famous person in our party right now was Yoohyun, with Yeonseo in second place. Yoohyun was the Tutorial Ender, and Yeonseo PVP¡¯d at every given opportunity and was steadily racking up fame. When we left the room, I also heard people gossiping. ¨CThe party of So Yoohyun and Shin Yeonseo¡­ has someone assessed as talentless? How can that be? The words seemed mostly harmless, but my Eye of Perception saw the feelings hidden behind them. State: Scorn / Excitement / Enjoyment It was possible the fact that one of us got a ¡®No Talent¡¯ evaluation was a source of enjoyment or happiness for that person. ¡°Nngh. Annoying. Annoying. Annoying.¡± Fearing another scolding, Sunhwa refrained from violent(?) language like ¡®beat them up to a pulp¡¯ and just stomped. Maybe she was just at an age when she was sensitive to things like this. ¡°Sunhwa. You¡¯ve got a tofu mentality, so you need to pay special attention to your mental state.¡± ¡°But still¡­¡± ¡°I can¡¯t use you if you keep letting yourself be shaken by such trifling things.¡± I could no longer bear to use violent language like ¡®I¡¯ll throw you away¡¯. With the passage of time, I had become fiercely fond of her. Sunhwa became my real little sister, and just like how Noona cherished me, I cherished my little sister. Sunhwa¡¯s shoulders slumped, and she mumbled a defeated, ¡°Got it.¡± One day passed. A ¡®bicycle-shaped monster¡¯ appeared in a certain factory in Ansan, Gyeonggi Province. It was a monster that was mentioned in my summary notes. ¨COctober 4, 2018. Ansan, Gyeonggi Province. First machine-type monster appears. The machine monster had the name ¡®Trike¡¯. It actually did have three wheels, and was the size of a regular minicar. There were hundreds of blade-like mouths on its wheels. ¨CA monster that preys on children. Has a special ability to call and lure children under the age of 7. After luring young children with that ability, it liked to crush them under its wheels. ¡®A monster that devours children killed by the blade-like teeth on each of its three wheels.¡¯ It being a machine monster wasn¡¯t that important. Other than its inclination to hunt and eat children with a gruesome method, not much set it apart. ¡®The important thing is that its appearance marks the point at which the government recognizes the strength of Players.¡¯ It was the same as the past. [A new monster, ¡®Trike¡¯, has appeared.] Within just a few hours of the incident¡¯s outbreak, the government and military acknowledged it officially¡ªthe monster could not be hunted with modern technology. They officially requested the support of the Players Association. Naturally, the influence of Players would grow more and more in the future. ¡®I¡¯ll stay out of this expedition.¡¯ The Trike could be subdued easily enough even without me. I couldn¡¯t go and kill every monster out there. The speed at which new culture took over would steadily increase, and it was folly to think I could block every gate and dungeon, every monster. The Korean server had to develop self-sufficiency. ¡®And we only have eleven days left for the Find Charles¡¯ Owner quest.¡¯ I could delay the Predator Tree Colony scenario as much as I wanted, but the Charles quest had a time limit. ¡®I¡¯m sleepy.¡¯ The time was 12:05 AM. Maybe because the U-Plex Dungeon consumed a lot of my mental power, I was sleepy again. Maybe my stamina hadn¡¯t fully recovered. I went and laid on my bed. Playing was important, but so was restoring one¡¯s stamina. I fell asleep. ¡®Oh.¡¯ Inside my dream, I could clearly feel it. ¡®This is definitely¡­¡¯ A dream I could feel. A dream I could dream while being aware I was in a dream. ¡®A lucid dream.¡¯ Right now, I was lucid dreaming. But it wasn¡¯t a simple lucid dream. I saw a sign for a road called ¡®Ansan, Gyeonggi Province¡¯. I touched my body. It felt entirely like my own. [Observing with Observer¡¯s Eye.] I could even use Observer¡¯s Eye and Eye of Perception. It just felt¡­ strange somehow. Was it because this was a dream? It felt different from reality in a way I couldn¡¯t quite place. ¡®It¡¯s a lucid dream, but¡­¡¯ That much was certain. My body was lying on the bed. I knew that. ¡®No way.¡¯ This was no simple lucid dream, and my sudden wave of sleepiness was not just accumulated fatigue. In a flash of enlightenment, I realized what I was dreaming. Chapter 120 Chapter 120 What I was experiencing was no ordinary lucid dream. I pulled out my phone and checked the date. ¨COct. 5, 2018. 7:42 PM. I fell asleep on the night of October 4th, the night when a machine monster called ¡®Trike¡¯ appeared. I fell asleep, and now, I was seeing the future one day later. ¡®This is a precognitive dream.¡¯ A dream that showed you the future. I clearly recalled looking through my notebook before falling asleep. The dates of events in the past were fresh in my mind, and written in my notes was this: ¨COctober 5, 2018. The ¡®Trike¡¯ that showed up in Ansan, Gyeonggi Province was successfully hunted. ¨CFirst successful raid carried out by the Association. But the future I was seeing was different from what was written. ¡®What?¡¯ Many Players were dying. ¡®They did kill the Trike.¡¯ Jo Sunghyun was in the future I saw, and he dealt the last blow. He was known in the past to have dealt the finishing blow as well. That much was the same as the past. ¡®But then, it diverges.¡¯ It wasn¡¯t that a new monster showed up. I couldn¡¯t see everything clearly, most likely because I had a fledgling level of Precognitive Dream. I could only see things in choppy pictures rather than one smooth, continuous film. What I could say for certain was that I wasn¡¯t there. Inside the precognitive dream, I existed merely as a formless ghost of sorts, an onlooker. ¡®What was that?¡¯ The last scene I saw¡­ I woke up with a gasp. ¡®What I just dreamed¡­ was definitely a precognitive dream.¡¯ Did I always have the Precognitive Dream ability? I never once experienced anything like this in my past life. I had a precognitive dream. I was sure it was one, and what I saw was the future. The current time was 1 AM. I immediately called Sunghyun, and thankfully, he picked up. ¡°Sunghyun, where are you?¡± ¨CI¡¯m heading to Ansan. To go kill the Trike. ¡°Are you alone?¡± ¨CThere are a few Players with me. The Players Association provided a bus. He and the others would successfully kill the monster. ¡®There¡¯s a chance the precognitive dream was wrong.¡¯ But I had a bad feeling. The future didn¡¯t always go as seen in a precognitive dream. Variables that changed in real time could also create a completely different future. But even so, I couldn¡¯t shake off this bad feeling. ¡°Are they all Players you know?¡± ¨CNo. The only Player I know is Mr. Gong Jinhoon. What¡¯s wrong? ¡°No, nothing. Ah. I¡¯ll call you back in a little bit.¡± ¨COkay, Hyung. I hung up. ¡®What the hell was that?¡¯ I closed my eyes. I recalled the scene I had just seen within the precognitive dream again and again, repeatedly examining the world within the dream with Observer¡¯s Eye. And then, I noticed a clue that had escaped my attention. ¡®Ah.¡¯ All of the Players died. But not a single drop of blood was spilled. Everyone died with hard, stiff corpses. ¡®The world within the precognitive dream.¡¯ I wasn¡¯t in the dream anymore, so it wasn¡¯t completely certain¡ª ¡®But there was definitely a survivor in that world.¡¯ It was hard to say they were really a ¡®survivor¡¯. I sat down in the lotus pose. ¡®Meditation.¡¯ Meditation, the act of reflecting or observing an object or a phenomenon with a tranquil mind. I recently had a taste of what it was like, but it was still an unknown domain for me. In my past life, meditation was known as one of the fundamental virtues a top-class Player had to learn. I tried to consciously enter that state of stillness. I examined the precognitive dream I had time and time again as an objective third party. Words similar in feeling to the Will Incantation seemed to seep into my mind. ¡®The rigid corpses were like tree bark.¡¯ An incantation took form within my mind. ¡®Red thread is proof of the slaughter.¡¯ ¡®There, buds a tree that preys.¡¯ Suddenly, it felt like I took a hard blow to my head. ¡°Ugh!¡± My body unconsciously fell forward, and I clutched my head. There was nothing behind me. My head felt numb, and my eyes throbbed. ¡®This¡­ is hard.¡¯ Meditating on a precognitive dream I had already dreamt, trying to recall and observe a dream that had passed, consumed far more mental power than I imagined, and my mental fatigue translated directly into physical exhaustion. ¡®But I saw it in the end.¡¯ One survivor. Hardened, stiff corpses. A skein of red thread. And even the smell of rotten milk. A piece of information came to my mind based on these clues. ¨CThe Red Demon Ahn Seohye. She first made an appearance in Andong, North Gyeongsang Province. Korea¡¯s representative Irregular, the Red Demon Ahn Seohye. At that time, countless people in the Andong Hahoe Village were killed by the Red Demon. Of course, at first, no one knew it was her. ¡®For a while, she went around wreaking havoc, and then¡­¡¯ After killing hundreds of students from Myeongjin High School in Seoul in one bloody massacre, she disappeared. No one knew her whereabouts. There were just speculations that she joined the Demon King. ¨CThe hardened, stiff corpses were almost like dry wooden bark. I had also spotted red threads all over the site. Precognitive Dream had shown me the coming of the ¡®Red Demon¡¯ in advance. ¡®Why was she there?¡¯ If it were the same as the past, she should have first appeared in Andong Hahoe Village. There was no record of her showing up in the 1st official raid of the Players Association, the ¡®Trike Raid¡¯. ¡®We¡¯ve diverged once again from the past.¡¯ That, in itself, wasn¡¯t a big issue. The problem was that Jo Sunghyun was there, and so was the Red Demon. ¡®Red Demon.¡¯ Wasn¡¯t meeting her now far better than encountering her later at an unexpected time and place? ¡®I know she¡¯ll show up.¡¯ I also had a rough grasp of what method she used to kill and hunt people. ¡®Other than the Demon King¡­ there are no Players in the current period who can overpower me.¡¯ After meeting lots of Players, I could be sure of that. ¡®Even if the Red Demon¡¯s there¡­¡¯ As long as I knew when and where, and knew what tricks she used, I could prevail. Just like when I met the Fist King So Yoohyun, and when I met the Sword Empress Shin Yeonseo, the Typhoon Jo Sunghyun, and the Flame Lord Choi Sung-gu. The same went, of course, for the Spear Demon and the Poison Witch. ¡®The tree that preys must mean the Predator Tree.¡¯ If something changed, it was probably because of me. Plus, I had the ¡®Map of the Predator Tree Colony¡¯. It was possible I could get some kind of clue related to trees that preyed. Since things changed because of me, I decided to act. ¡®I¡¯m going.¡¯ And if my precognitive dream was right? If the Red Demon really showed up? ¡®I¡¯ll decide when the time comes.¡¯ * * * Translator ¨C Lei Proofreader ¨C Ash * * * 4 AM. I gently shook Sunhwa awake. ¡°I¡¯m sleepy. Can¡¯t I have just five more minutes?¡± Sunhwa whined. ¡°Nope, sorry.¡± ¡°Wah.¡± Sunhwa followed me blearily, only half-awake. She wasn¡¯t a morning person. After giving her a few pieces of leftover fried chicken from dinner last night, she straightened right up. Fried chicken was really the best cure for morning drowsiness. The more surprising thing was that Noona was actually up before us, gnawing on the chicken. ¡°No wonder the chicken was always gone by the time I got up.¡± Noona¡¯s face reddened ever so slightly. A blush so faint I could only pick up on it because I had the Observer class spread over her cheeks. ¡°This is the first time I¡¯ve done this.¡± ¡°¡­¡± ¡°It really is.¡± But this wasn¡¯t the first time I woke up to find the box empty. ¡°It¡¯s the first time, okay?¡± ¡°Okay, got it.¡± Far from judging her, I would happily buy this sister of mine a whole fried chicken restaurant, not just a box of it. Why was she so embarrassed? What was so embarrassing about this? In any case, Noona slipped away into her room, looking slightly irritated. ¡®Ah. This¡­¡¯ It was inconvenient, no matter how you sliced it. I needed a car. Thankfully, Yoohyun had one, and we immediately set off for Ansan, Gyeonggi Province. Inside the car were Yoohyun, Sung-gu, Sunhwa, and me. Yeonseo called to say she would be going there by other means. ¡®Soon, the raid will start.¡¯ The raid would begin with a chase of the Trike. There was probably an evacuation of the Unawakened¡ªthe civilians¡ªgoing on right now. Sitting in the driver¡¯s seat, Yoohyun scratched his head. ¡°Hyungnim. If we were going to jump into the raid, shouldn¡¯t we have gone earlier?¡± ¡°This is the right time.¡± ¡°I knew it! I thought that would be the case.¡± Yoohyun didn¡¯t ask why. Sitting in the passenger seat, Sung-gu shook his head, as if fed up. ¡°Not even asking why? Why this is the right time? What¡¯s with your ¡®I knew it¡¯?¡± ¡°If Hyungnim says so, then that¡¯s how it is.¡± ¡°Haah¡­ so whatever reasoning goes, is that what you¡¯re saying?¡± ¡°Hyungnim said so, didn¡¯t he?¡± Sung-gu shook his head again. ¡°This party¡¯s crazy. A crazy party. There¡¯s not a single sane person other than me.¡± And yet, he jumped awake at the break of dawn to join us. I just smiled and didn¡¯t give them a detailed explanation of the situation. Because I had the experience and records, the knowledge of many people from my past life. ¨CA Precognitive Dreamer does not commit the foolish act of blathering about their precognitive dream to many people. The more you talked about a precognitive dream, the more people learned about it, the more that in itself became a variable, making it more and more likely that the future would diverge from the precognitive dream. ¡®I¡¯ll minimize the variables as much as possible.¡¯ That was why I cut it close, time-wise¡ªso that things would go as I saw, and as few variables would come into play as possible. But there was one thing I had to say. ¡°It¡¯s possible¡­¡± I paused. It was a little hard to say. ¡°¡­I might end up committing murder.¡± ¡°Cough¡­!¡± Yoohyun spat a mouthful of the coffee he was drinking onto the steering wheel. However, he quickly came to his senses. ¡°If there¡¯s someone who deserves to be killed, then you have to kill them. Mmhm.¡± Sung-gu shivered. ¡°What are you saying? Are you serious?¡± ¡°¡­¡± I was serious. If a situation arose where I had to kill the Red Demon, if the choice fell to me, then I would make it. ¡°We just have to hope it doesn¡¯t come to that,¡± I said. ¡°Fuck. You¡¯re serious. Ah. I¡¯m nuts. I was seriously, really wrong for coming here with you guys.¡± Sung-gu stared out the window, huffing and puffing as he clawed at his face. Even while doing so, he continued, ¡°What you¡¯re saying is that if something like that happens, we shouldn¡¯t stop you, right?¡± ¡°¡­¡± Despite his dramatic acting, he understood right away. ¡°Fuck¡­ I¡¯ll pray nothing like that happens. I dun wanna see someone die in front of me, man.¡± We drew steadily nearer to the raid site. Currently, Players were communicating back and forth with one another while chasing the fleeing ¡®Trike¡¯. The Trike¡¯s mobility was more threatening than its offensive ability. As it fled all over the place, it would devour little children. I got a sit-rep from Song Kiyeol. ¡®They¡¯re still pretty impressive.¡¯ The Players were hemming in the Trike like they were coursing a hare. I opened up Google Maps and shared it with the others. ¡°Here. This point is where the Trike will be cornered.¡± Right now, the Players were doing a drive hunt. They were raiding quite well under the command of the Analyst Han Seokmin. Having gotten the info in advance, we headed directly to the clearing to wait. Among the Players standing by in the clearing were Cheon Sooji and Byeon Gilsup. The Poison Witch sent me a greeting with her eyes, but I pretended not to see it. There was something more important at hand. ¡®About ten Players I don¡¯t know.¡¯ I scanned the surroundings with Eye of Perception and Observer¡¯s Eye, searching for the ¡®Red Demon¡¯ that might be here. My gaze was suddenly drawn to a pile of steel bars, and the presence I felt behind it. Chapter 121 Chapter 121 There were thin threads scattered here and there in the clearing. Fluttering in the wind were ¡®Red threads¡¯ so thin you couldn¡¯t see them unless you squinted. ¡®There¡¯s a woman behind the bars.¡¯ A petite woman was sitting towards the back of the pile. I didn¡¯t approach her directly, just discreetly walked closer and activated Eye of Perception. Thankfully, Eye of Perception worked on her. ¡®Her name is¡­¡¯ I was doubtful, but it really was ¡®Ahn Seohye¡¯, the murderer called the Red Demon in my previous life. [Player] Name: Ahn Seohye Age: 19 Level: 34 Class: Barrier Magician Guardian: -(Cannot be read due to a special barrier) Innate ability: [Predator Barrier] [Pause] State: Scared / Motivated / Good Disposition: Fearful / Misandrist / Just Summary: Wounded Barrier Magician Distrusting Girl The disposition/state/summary only show the most representative and can change according to the situation. Because Eye of Perception¡¯s proficiency is not high enough, viewing more detailed information is impossible. I couldn¡¯t believe my eyes. ¡®Level 34?¡¯ Being Level 34 at this point in time made her the best of the very best. ¡®What? How?¡¯ That level was outside the realm of common sense. I was sure of it. ¡®As expected, she¡¯s an Irregular.¡¯ The Red Demon Ahn Seohye was far from a regular Player, both in the past and present. Her level was more of an indication of her being aided by some external force rather than a gauge of her own talent. That was the most likely possibility. ¡®To forcibly raise a Player¡¯s level¡­¡¯ That required intense involvement in the System. Even a Guardian would suffer a huge loss while doing so. ¡®Which Guardian is it?¡¯ This kind of level would have required not just ¡®sponsoring¡¯, but ¡®sacrifice¡¯. Very rarely, there were Guardians willing to go so far, Guardians so crazy for Players that they cut their flesh and bled for them. But that wasn¡¯t necessarily a good thing. Guardians like that were typically obsessed with their favorites, and there were many cases where that obsession went wayward. ¡®There are also Guardians who interfered so excessively that they lost all strength and were extinguished.¡¯ So where was Ahn Seohye on that spectrum? Her name was the same as the Red Demon, but something was a little weird. State: Scared / Motivated / Good Disposition: Fearful / Misandrist / Just Both her state and disposition were extremely contradictory. She was both scared but motivated, and good and just but hated men. Wounded Barrier Magician Distrusting Girl Seeing as her class was in her summary, there was no doubt she was compatible to the nth degree with the class Barrier Magician. ¡®Distrusting Girl¡­¡¯ I had a hunch that the young woman I was seeing through Eye of Perception had been hurt a great deal by men. That was the only thing I could come up with. She was sitting there with a barrier up and preparing for something, but I didn¡¯t feel any murderous intent from her. Moreover, she wasn¡¯t showing any hostility towards the Players. ¡®Something¡¯s different.¡¯ It was different from my precognitive dream. I didn¡¯t think my dream was completely off, but that some kind of variable was taking effect on the future I¡¯d seen in the dream, the present. The more I looked, the more shocked Ahn Seohye¡¯s status made me. Innate ability: [Predator Barrier] [Pause] The fact top Rankers had ¡®innate abilities¡¯ from so early on no longer surprised me, and I could also find rationale for her level being so high. After all, there were always ¡®Irregulars¡¯ out there, and once in a blue moon, there were people who raised their levels in a way that went outside the norm. It was definitely possible for someone to level up fairly quickly if they used an ¡®illegitimate¡¯ method, unlike me. ¡®Predator Barrier.¡¯ What I gleaned from the world within my precognitive dream was that I would be able to get a clue related to the ¡®Map of the Predator Tree Colony¡¯ here. Could that [Predator Barrier] ability be related to that clue? ¡®Yes, it is.¡¯ The reason for my certainty was the ¡®Map of the Predator Tree Colony¡¯ in my Inventory. It was flashing with a yellow light. The moment I started examining Ahn Seohye with Eye of Perception, it started to glow. I didn¡¯t know the nature of the connection between the two, but they were definitely closely related. ¡®I have to find out more.¡¯ I put that aside for now. The other innate ability was ridiculous. [Pause]? ¡®You¡¯re telling me a Player can impose a Pause?¡¯ I didn¡¯t know if her [Pause] was the same thing as the one I knew. It might not be the same effect as the Pause authority used by Streamers and Guardians. No, at this stage, it probably wasn¡¯t. But what if that ability was developed over a long period of time? If her level wasn¡¯t 34, but 68? Or 100? ¡®It might have almost the same effect as the Pause authority.¡¯ If so, it could explain the past I remembered. ¡®She managed to flee despite being completely surrounded.¡¯ Even after killing countless people, the Red Demon disappeared with ease, leaving only the rumor that she had joined the Demon King. She was a legendary mass murderer who singlehandedly killed hundreds of people. Such inconceivable acts were possible if she had ¡®Pause¡¯. ¡®But even so, if she fights one-on-one with me¡­ I can beat her.¡¯ I was confident. If we fought one-on-one, I could overwhelm her. When it came down to it, my class was the polar opposite of hers. I had an eye that could ¡®discern the true nature of things¡¯, and she had the ability to make a ¡®barrier that distorts the true nature of things¡¯. I could tell the moment I saw it. ¡®In terms of ability alone, I¡¯m on top, but¡­¡¯ It was a little confusing. I came here resolved to kill, to bloody my hands for the sake of preventing so much needless death in the future. But the Ahn Seohye I was seeing in person was different. She wasn¡¯t thinking of killing the Players. She was focusing on making a barrier, and that barrier wasn¡¯t deleterious in the least. I checked the flow with Observer¡¯s Eye, and it was absolutely not a harmful barrier. ¡®A barrier that can hinder the Trike¡¯s movements and protect the Players.¡¯ I couldn¡¯t be sure of the exact ability or concrete effects. I just had the basic gist of it. I also didn¡¯t think Ahn Seohye could completely fool my senses. What I was seeing now was different from the past and the precognitive dream I¡¯d seen. * * * Translator ¨C Lei Proofreader ¨C Ash * * * While I was thinking, Yeonseo arrived. ¡°Boss Hyukjin. I¡¯m here. Looks like I¡¯m not late to the party.¡± As always, Yeonseo wore a pretty smile, her eyes twinkling, a thing that had produced so many Sword Empress crushers. Even now, quite a lot of Players were sneaking glances at her. One guy was even uttering an amazed ¡°Wow¡­¡± Even for a guy with no interest in the opposite sex like me, Yeonseo¡¯s smile was truly beautiful. But the really funny thing was that her smile wasn¡¯t just a critical hit on men. It also worked on the woman I¡¯d been observing this entire time. State: Longing / Trust / Admiration Ahn Seohye¡¯s status changed the moment she saw Yeonseo, who had been garnering fame lately via 1 vs. 1 PVPs. Summary: Wounded Barrier Magician Girl in Need of Help With Yeonseo¡¯s appearance, ¡®Distrusting Girl¡¯ changed to ¡®Girl in Need of Help¡¯. Perhaps because she relaxed a little, Eye of Perception managed to project her face in my mind. ¡®She¡¯s 19?¡¯ She didn¡¯t look like it at all. ¡®She looks around Sunhwa¡¯s age.¡¯ A petite frame. White skin. A short bob. Cute, innocent eyes. A completely different appearance from the ¡®Red Demon¡¯ I imagined. Just then, a loud shout rang in the clearing. ¡°We¡¯ve successfully cornered the Trike!¡± This was a terribly amateurish drive hunt by future standards. Normally, it was standard to keep your voice down during a raid. Later, Players would use walkie-talkies to communicate during the raid, but that was a thing to consider later. ¡®They did manage to corner it.¡¯ The Trike was driven into the clearing. This child-eating monster turned its front wheel every which way, looking for a way out. However, it was already surrounded. The Players closed in on it, and in the end, the Trike was hunted down. Sunghyun shot the leaping Trike down with a Wind Arrow, and it fell flat on its face. The raid was a success. As I watched from my position as an ¡®Observer¡¯, one step removed from the action, I knew that Ahn Seohye had helped. The Trike was slowed down thanks to her, which allowed Sunghyun to land a precise hit on it. ¡®Even without her help, they definitely could have killed it.¡¯ But there might have been some damage on the Players¡¯ side. They hunted it more easily thanks to her. ¡®The changed past. My wrong precognitive dream. Ahn Seohye being different from my expectations.¡¯ Several pieces were out of place. I needed to look into this more. For now, I shelved my plan to murder today. A few Players found Ahn Seohye hiding behind the steel bars. ¡°Over here! There¡¯s a child over here!¡± And I heard a voice telling me she¡¯d been successfully rescued. ¡°Are you alright, child?¡± Her face was extremely red, and her body shook uncontrollably, be it from shyness or fear. I watched as she was escorted away. * * * The raid was successful. This happy news was relayed nationwide via mass media, and the entire country was overtaken by festive rejoicing, even though it was just a single Trike. Much had changed from the past indeed. I needed some time to think, so I went into a caf¨¦ near the clearing and sat down. As usual, Yeonseo had some nonsense to say. ¡°Boss Hyukjin. Is this where we¡¯re having our date?¡± I was probably immune to her smile by now. ¡°My god, don¡¯t you get tired of it? Asking for a date every day?¡± Everyone was scrolling through the articles written today on their phones. Sunghyun¡¯s name was prominently featured. He was indeed a genius Player who¡¯d scored a talent plate reading of thirty. His name was making a splash in the headlines as a ¡®Magician of Wind¡¯. I wasn¡¯t thinking too hard about the raid success story being publicized nationwide. ¡®What is it?¡¯ What was I missing? ¡®What could it be?¡¯ I closed my eyes and thought about what I failed to see yesterday, what I didn¡¯t realize from my meditation yesterday. What was escaping my attention from that world within the precognitive dream? What was the puzzle piece that differed from the past? ¡®No way.¡¯ After a long time, I realized something. ¡®No way.¡¯ I remembered something. Someone. Someone who should have been alive at this point in time. Someone who should have been active now. A variable that had changed from the past. ¡®That¡¯s right.¡¯ Originally, Seo Joohwan should have been here too. In the past, he was one of the Players who participated in the raid. Disposition: Evil / Violent / Fake Summary: Violent Pedophile At the end of the raid, we found Ahn Seohye. What would have happened if Seo Joohwan had been there? ¡®A young-looking girl¡­ trembling in fear.¡¯ An isolated, unprotected girl. Would Joohwan have left such a child alone? The moment I remembered the puzzle piece called Seo Joohwan, a scene appeared instantly in my mind. That one clue connected all the pieces. ¡®In the past, Joohwan was there. Now, he¡¯s not.¡¯ That was the change. That was the piece I was forgetting. ¡®In the past, I wasn¡¯t there. Now, I am.¡¯ Those two things became variables in this situation. I heard a voice. ¡°Fuck. Look at this guy, he¡¯s seriously not right. You think it¡¯s normal for someone to stay like that for thirty minutes straight?¡± ¡°Don¡¯t insult Hyungnim, man.¡± ¡°But c¡¯mon, is that really normal? Anyone can have moments of concentration, but the dude¡¯s a fuckin¡¯ monk.¡± Chapter 122 Chapter 122 Apparently, I had my eyes closed for thirty minutes. I had fallen into meditation without realizing it. Just then, someone came into the caf¨¦. There were quite a few people other than us in the caf¨¦, and most of their gazes shot towards the entrance. That was because the person who strode through the door was Cheon Sooji. Someone made an undisguised sound of admiration. ¡°Iyaa¡­¡± Cheon Sooji would later become a popular model. Yeonseo gave people a lasting impression of cuteness and prettiness, but Sooji had an arrogant beauty that overwhelmed people as soon as they laid eyes on her. Though, of course, it didn¡¯t affect me much. Sooji walked over like she was used to having people stare, clearly heading towards us. Her expression was cold at a glance, and the light click of high heels that sounded with every step added to her mature aura. ¡°So everyone was here.¡± ¡°Did Guildmaster Song send you?¡± ¡°You¡¯re so heartless. Can¡¯t you at least pretend to be happy to see me?¡± Sooji brought over a chair and took a seat next to me like it was natural, and Yeonseo smiled brightly at her. ¡°Unnie. You have to be a customer to sit here. You should go order first.¡± ¡°Ah, really?¡± As soon as Sooji got up, Yeonseo swiftly stole her seat. ¡°No way around it, I¡¯ve got to do some housekeeping.¡± ¡°¡­¡± I had no idea what she was going on about, but I was more comfortable with Yeonseo being next to me than Sooji. And was I just imagining it, or was Isabel trembling inside my Inventory? ¡°That type of woman is dangerous. Just look. Look at how many dudes are glancing at her.¡± But the same went for Yeonseo. Did she not feel the gazes on her? ¡°And she¡¯s treacherous, mark my words. Just know that sexiness isn¡¯t everything. Got it, Boss?¡± ¡°Yeah. I get that you¡¯re good at spouting nonsense.¡± In the meantime, Sooji came up to me again. On my right was Sunhwa, and on my left was Yeonseo. ¡°Hyungnim. I want to sit next to you, too.¡± After mercilessly ignoring more nonsense, this time from Yoohyun, I asked Sooji a question. She ended up sitting across from me. ¡°The thing I asked you to look into?¡± ¡°I have it here.¡± She passed me a paper filled with personal details. I read through it. ¨CName: Ahn Seohye. The age I saw with Eye of Perception was 19, but her registered age was 18. Her birth had been registered late, although that sort of thing almost never happened these days. ¡®She¡¯s had a very underprivileged home environment.¡¯ Her mom passed away when she was young, and she grew up with her single father. ¡®My god¡­¡¯ What I read made me think her hatred of men was fully justified. ¡®She was bullied in middle school.¡¯ A group of boys took the lead in harassing her. Their harassment was so severe it was difficult to describe in detail, but the boys were only given a light slap on the hand and were let off. ¡®And it actually caused her to be bullied even more.¡¯ It was the same in high school. My brows subconsciously furrowed. ¡®Holy shit.¡¯ By some sad twist of fate, Ahn Seohye¡¯s father was an even more wicked and terrible human than Seo Joohwan. ¡®To his own daughter¡­¡¯ He did many disgusting things to her. More enraging and dumbfounding was that he started doing those things when Seohye was six, in elementary school. ¡°How could such a piece of shit end up being a father? If it were me, I would have poisoned him to death.¡± ¡°¡­¡± I could believe that Cheon Sooji would really do that. Just reading about it made anger surge within me. When it started, at the age of six, she was far younger than my little sister Sunhwa. Her father did unspeakable things to such a young child, criminal acts that made one¡¯s blood go cold. He was a beast in human skin who could never, ever be forgiven. ¡°It¡¯s all there, but she also asked the police and several agencies for help multiple times.¡± But nothing came of it. In fact, one crazy policeman even asked her, plunging even more daggers in the already wounded Seohye, ¡°Are you sure you didn¡¯t enjoy it? Why didn¡¯t you say anything all this time?¡± Those incredibly shitty words were not rational, but this world was never rational to begin with. ¡°She¡¯s lived her life without getting any protection from anyone.¡± After returning from the police station, Seohye¡¯s father was furious and abused her even more. His methods became more and more obstinate and perverted. What would have happened if someone came up with a smiling face to the scared Seohye who was desperate for help? What if that person was Seo Joohwan? And what if¡­ she suffered yet another terrible crime from a man who promised to help her? ¡®That¡¯s more than enough to push her to become the Red Demon.¡¯ Didn¡¯t that mean that at this point in time, it was still possible to rehabilitate her? I met her before she became the ¡®Red Demon¡¯. There was still a chance. Might it be possible to guide the Irregular who became a mass murderer in my previous life down a different path? ¡°You¡¯re really fascinating. You look cool-headed, but¡­ you¡¯re concerned about little things like this.¡± Sooji was sitting with her legs crossed, absolutely oozing provocative charm. Some people on the Internet said she had ¡®lips that called for a kiss¡¯, and they weren¡¯t wrong. Those lips colored bright red with lipstick¡ªa color so red it would look bad on most women¡ªsuited her all too perfectly. ¡°That¡¯s why I think you¡¯re really charming.¡± Her summary was ¡®Queen Wanting to Submit¡¯ again. I had no idea who or what she was submitting to, but that was beside the point. I got up. ¡®This wasn¡¯t in my plans, but¡­¡¯ I might be able to prevent Ahn Seohye from becoming a devil. Seeing me get up, Sooji smiled. ¡°In case you were concerned about her, I kept her with me.¡± ¡°You did?¡± ¡°Yes. Even if she went home, only that alcoholic sorry excuse for a father would be there.¡± Seohye trusted women more than men. ¡°She was super into the hamburger I got her.¡± Sunhwa¡¯s head whipped up at the mention of hamburgers. Her eyes were extremely wary up until moments ago, but they had relaxed a little. Fried chicken and hamburgers were the magic foods Sunhwa went wild for. I watched her swallow her drool with a helpless inward chuckle. There weren¡¯t even any hamburgers here. ¡°She¡¯s waiting in my car. Do you want to go meet her?¡± Was Cheon Sooji always such a perceptive woman in the past? I didn¡¯t think so. She was a ¡®Queen¡¯, and as such, she enjoyed dominating and controlling others. She wasn¡¯t a woman who needed to be attentive. ¡°You¡¯re extremely perceptive. Thank you.¡± ¡°If you¡¯re thankful, have a drink with me. I¡¯ll pay,¡± she said. She stared at me with a veiled smile. ¡°Even better if it¡¯s late at night.¡± ¡°¡­¡± ¡°I live alone, you know.¡± It was best not to respond to such utterly useless words. ¡°Yeonseo. Help me out a bit.¡± ¡°Got it, Boss. Whatever you need, just give me the word. If I help you, I¡¯ll be the winner again.¡± Yeonseo grinned, her eyes curving into the crescents responsible for so many Sword Empress crushers. ¡°I¡¯ll stay by your side and help you every day.¡± * * * I decided not to rush things. I asked Yeonseo to take Seohye to my family doctor, since the girl had a deep sense of goodwill towards Yeonseo. There were only ten days left to find Charles¡¯ owner. ¡®If we fail, it can¡¯t be helped.¡¯ Clearing it would be great, but I had a feeling we were cutting it close, time-wise. I decided to turn my attention more towards the Red Demon issue. It would be nice if I had two bodies, but I didn¡¯t, and I had to prioritize. I got a call from Yeonseo. ¨CSong Kiyeol said he would actively help us. ¡°I know.¡± ¨CMan, you treat a 3rd gen chaebol like he¡¯s your assistant. As expected of our boss. ¡°It¡¯s a win-win relationship.¡± ¨CAnyway, with his help, I think she¡¯ll be taken in by a protection agency in the Sungshin Foundation. It was bittersweet news. When that child desperately banged society¡¯s doors for help on her own, no one was able to come to her aid. No, they didn¡¯t come to her aid. But now that a grandson of the Sungshin corporation was stepping in, the way opened up like Moses parting the sea. It was sad and regretful, but this was reality. That was why I needed to work and live even harder, to carve a place for myself and my family in this cruel world. ¨CI think she¡¯ll get proper protection now. ¡°That¡¯s good.¡± ¨CBecause you¡¯re paying special attention to her, I think she¡¯s even got a bodyguard? ¡°Really?¡± Song Kiyeol was handling the work I asked of him very nicely. The way he proactively went above and beyond what I asked him to do really made me think it was good I chose him instead of his sister Song Junghye. ¨CThat sorry excuse for a father won¡¯t even be able to get close to her in the future. Seriously, how can such a piece of shit be a dad? ¡°Did you get any info related to the Predator Barrier?¡± ¨CYeah. After I bought her two hamburgers, she spilled all the beans. Predator Barrier. Corpses that grew stiff like tree bark. Predator Tree Colony. Was there really no connection? ¨CShe says it¡¯s a barrier she makes by scattering Predator Tree seeds. The effect of the barrier can change depending on the caster¡¯s will. It could give a buff, or it could kill. It sounded like a very useful barrier. ¨CBut she says it¡¯s strongest when she¡¯s hunting something. ¡°Makes sense. It¡¯s called [Predator Barrier], after all.¡± The next piece of information was quite interesting. ¨CAnd apparently, she can pick up those seeds in a special field. ¡°A special field?¡± ¨CYeah. She¡¯s got a class called Barrier Magician. I already knew that. ¨CShe can create a special gate. She could go through that gate to a different field. ¡°The name of that field is¡­?¡± ¨CPredator Tree Colony. The Barrier Magician Ahn Seohye, Korea¡¯s most famous Irregular, the Red Demon. She was one of the puzzle pieces connected to the Predator Tree Colony. * * * I obtained one clue related to the Predator Tree Colony. However, it didn¡¯t look like I could go and meet Seohye right away, I also made a conscious decision not to rush my meeting with her. I planned on getting to know her slowly while she got closer to Yeonseo and received special care from Sungshin¡¯s affiliated protection agency. Yeonseo said she didn¡¯t think it would take long for the girl to come around. ¡®Just is in her fundamental disposition.¡¯ What tragedies must a fundamentally good person have suffered to become a mass murderer? I couldn¡¯t even imagine. ¡®I¡¯ll take it slow approaching her.¡¯ If I could have a positive relationship with a Red Demon in her prime or have her join the team, that would be a huge boon for us. ¡®That just leaves finding Charles¡¯ owner, but¡­¡¯ For this one, I was stumped. Who could possibly be the owner of a ¡®Twin-Headed Black Dog¡¯, of all monsters? All I knew was that it was for sure not a Player. We had ten days left. One day passed, and Sunhwa came into my room. ¡°I¡¯m back from school.¡± Sunhwa was adjusting well to the school she had transferred into. I was proud of her. She seemed to have good relationships with others at school, which I knew because she liked to bum around in my room after school and chat. ¡°Oppa. Can I go meet up with Seohye unnie today?¡± ¡°Why?¡± ¡°We promised to go eat hamburgers together.¡± I tousled Sunhwa¡¯s head. I didn¡¯t get why she sought permission for stuff like this from me. ¡°Go and have fun.¡± ¡°But, um, she said she also wanted to meet you.¡± All of a sudden? Already? After just one day? That was surprising, considering that she likely had a deep distrust and hatred of men. ¡°I praised you a lot. Unnie also knows it¡¯s thanks to you that she was taken in by protective services.¡± ¡°¡­¡± Sunhwa tended to be a little loose-lipped. Apparently, she had blathered the ins and outs of everything to Ahn Seohye in no time. That wasn¡¯t outside of my expectation, but it was a lot faster than I thought. ¡°A beautiful friendship won through hamburgers! Seohye unnie is really nice. She even bought me hamburgers.¡± Then, she boasted that she and Seohye were messaging each other a lot on KakaoTalk. ¡°She also said she¡¯d buy me fried chicken. Isn¡¯t she so nice?¡± ¡°Does buying you hamburgers and fried chicken make someone nice?¡± ¡°Of course!¡± In any case, I was able to meet Ahn Seohye with the help of Yeonseo and Sunhwa. Our meeting took place in a fried chicken restaurant in downtown Seoul. ____ Chapter 123 Chapter 123 ¡°¡­Hello¡­¡± Ahn Seohye greeted me with a face frozen with obvious tension. After I gave her a casual greeting back, she expressed her thanks with a halting and strained voice. ¡°I don¡¯t know¡­ why you helped me like this, but¡­ Thank you so much.¡± I felt her emotions through Eye of Perception. She was scared of me, but her feelings of gratitude were real. And through Observer¡¯s Eye, I saw through the true nature of the fear I was feeling. ¡®Darkness.¡¯ There was intense darkness in the depths of Seohye¡¯s eyes. The wounds and pain inflicted on her over many years were ingrained deep in her heart, creating a pool of inky darkness so deep I thought for a moment it would swallow me whole. ¡®She didn¡¯t use a debuff skill on me or anything.¡¯ And yet, the wounds engraved on this child¡¯s very existence were so grave she had something close to a ¡®debuff¡¯ effect on me. Eye of Perception and Observer¡¯s Eye gave me a keen sense of just how many injuries this young lady had suffered and endured. Physical contact, like a handshake, was utterly out of the question. We began to talk, and thanks to Yeonseo and Sunhwa being there, our meeting went on harmoniously. After some time, I asked the question that was on my mind. ¡°I¡¯d like to hear a little about the Predator Tree Colony.¡± ¡°About that¡­¡± Seohye¡¯s explanation went on, and it was shocking to the extreme. I already knew she had been to the Predator Tree Colony multiple times, but that wasn¡¯t all. For a moment, I was speechless. ¡°¡­¡± Seohye stared at me with slight fear. She had an intense fundamental fear of men. My silence must have scared her. Noticing that, Yeonseo patted Seohye¡¯s shoulder. ¡°Don¡¯t be frightened. It¡¯s alright. That guy¡¯s someone who¡¯ll start meditating in the middle of a raid. Sometimes he gets crazy focused and goes radio silent like that.¡± I was actually silent because of shock rather than being focused, but Yeonseo¡¯s consoling words and smiling eyes seemed to reassure Seohye. ¡°¡­You¡¯re not mad, right?¡± ¡°No.¡± I wasn¡¯t mad. Far from it. I was super happy. ¡°So basically, you have a special quest.¡± And the name of that quest¡­ ¡°Called ¡®Find Charles¡¯?¡± She had a quest called Find Charles! And I had a quest called ¡®Find Charles¡¯ Owner¡¯. ¡°Yes. But there¡¯s only about one week left to clear it.¡± ¡°I see. Where is his owner?¡± ¡°He¡¯s in the Predator Tree Colony. In a mansion connected to it.¡± ¡®Did the former Ahn Seohye also have this quest?¡¯ That, I didn¡¯t know. But I had a hunch the former Ahn Seohye¡ªthe one before meeting me¡ªwas unable to complete this quest. ¡®Things related to Ahn Seohye are changing.¡¯ I also told her honestly. ¡°Actually, I also have a quest.¡± I shared the quest contents with her, and her eyes grew wide. She was just as surprised as me. Yeonseo made a fuss next to us. ¡°Wow. This is amazing.¡± Our interests were perfectly aligned. ¡°Boss. Tell me honestly. Did you help Seohye because you knew this?¡± ¡°As if.¡± No matter how broken my Eye of Perception might be, I couldn¡¯t see what quests others had. Yeonseo grinned. ¡°It would¡¯ve been a bit disappointing if you said yes.¡± There seemed to be some kind of weird magic in Yeonseo¡¯s smile. The darkness I was picking up from Seohye with Eye of Perception brightened a little every time it came in contact with Yeonseo¡¯s smile. Yeonseo gave me a light wink, as if to ask, ¡°I did good, right?¡± Seen another way, it also looked like she was explicitly asking for praise. ¡®Yes, yes. Thanks.¡¯ I just threw her a word of praise in my heart. Yeonseo had asked me this on purpose to show that I didn¡¯t help Seohye because I wanted something from her or because there was profit to be had. Her question was meant to console the heart of a child fearful of society and adults. After some more chatting, I called Seohye earnestly. ¡°Seohye.¡± ¡°Yes?¡± ¡°I¡¯ll speak frankly.¡± Sincerely, without lies. I decided to drop all pretenses in front of this girl who was deeply wounded and feared the world. ¡°I¡¯d like to cooperate with you. There¡¯s something I want, and you can also clear your quest through me.¡± Simply put¡ª ¡°We¡¯re in a ¡®you scratch my back, I¡¯ll scratch yours¡¯ position. A win-win trade.¡± I didn¡¯t think dumping a whole load of goodwill on this child would make her open her heart. And I doubted she would say yes if I skipped directly to ask, ¡°Will you go on a raid with me?¡± This was better. I frankly stated that we both had something to gain, so if she was willing, I wanted to work with her. ¡°But I won¡¯t force you.¡± The Predator Tree Colony and ¡®Find Charles¡¯ Owner¡¯ weren¡¯t originally in my plans. It would be awesome if I could clear them, but it couldn¡¯t be helped if I couldn¡¯t. ¡°¡­¡± We were still in the process of building trust, after all. ¡°Please give me your answer within the quest time limit. I¡¯ll respect whatever decision you make.¡± One day passed, and I got a call directly from Seohye. I could feel from the way she spoke that she was really struggling to talk to me, but it was still very encouraging that she personally called me. ¨CUm¡­ After a long moment of hesitation, she continued. ¨CI¡¯ve decided to do as you suggested, sir. I wasn¡¯t particularly displeased by that stiff ¡®sir¡¯. She had never called anyone ¡®Oppa¡¯ in her life. Sunhwa told me it was because her mouth wasn¡¯t used to it, or something like that. Her way of address wasn¡¯t that important, and I was more than willing to be considerate of this child. ¡®It¡¯s not that she¡¯s intentionally trying to distance me. It¡¯s just that this is extremely hard for her.¡¯ The important thing was something else. ¡®Is it really possible to keep up a party, no, a good relationship, with the Red Demon?¡¯ There was deep darkness in her heart, a pool so deep my Eye of Perception couldn¡¯t see the bottom of it. I was more than willing to cooperate with Seohye, but that didn¡¯t mean I would 100% trust her. ¡®I can¡¯t completely let down my guard around her.¡¯ I helped change her living situation. But that alone wouldn¡¯t change everything. What if she started acting like the Red Demon I remembered? What if that was her true nature? ¡®Then¡­¡¯ I might end up killing her. I couldn¡¯t let the tragedies the Red Demon¡¯s rampage created repeat themselves. We were working together now because our interests aligned, and I was only giving her the consideration she deserved. ¡®First, the Predator Tree Colony.¡¯ I decided to start by checking out the Predator Tree Colony with her. Once again, we met in front of a fast food restaurant. That alone was major progress. She was willing to meet me, a man, alone. ¡°Let¡¯s eat before we go.¡± While we were eating, Choi Sung-gu also arrived. After ordering four hamburgers, he sat down, sweating. ¡°Oi. Are we really gonna go there? With just this kiddo?¡± Her registered age was 18, and her actual age was 19. She was a little too old to be called a kiddo. ¡°You have a map, too.¡± ¡°I mean, I don¡¯t want to go.¡± Predator Tree Colony. A place with a swarm of Predator Trees. ¡°She¡¯ll be our guide. She¡¯s already been there several times.¡± ¡°That¡¯s ¡®cause she has a special class. I¡¯m fucking scared of Predator Trees, man. We barely killed one, and you really want to go to a place with more? Can¡¯t you just let me off this once, my friend, my boss, my guy?¡± Nope. It would be a huge loss to leave a top-class magician like Choi Sung-gu behind. I was about to tell him as much when I noticed Seohye¡¯s eyes growing wide. ¡°You hunted a Predator Tree?¡± I remembered the heat created by the oil and magic flames synergizing, plus the Rot Water and the decomposition poison on top of that. ¡°Seriously, I was scared for my fuckin¡¯ life, dammit. It was fucking HOT.¡± Seohye had a look of disbelief on her face. ¡°But I was told a Predator Tree was impossible to hunt at my level.¡± ¡°What¡¯s your level?¡± Because Sung-gu asked so casually, Seohye just blurted it out without thinking. ¡°34.¡± Then, she made a look of ¡®oops¡¯, which she quickly hid. However, she wasn¡¯t so fast that she could escape my Observer¡¯s Eye. ¡®Is she not allowed to disclose her level?¡¯ Did her Guardian instruct her to not tell anyone? Or her Streamer? ¡®Come to think of it¡­¡¯ I couldn¡¯t feel her Streamer at all. She was at this level at this age. That was a ridiculous growth speed. In addition, a special barrier was concealing her Guardian¡¯s name. She was definitely hot topic material, so why? Why hadn¡¯t any Intermediate Administrators made a contract with her yet? I butted into the conversation, taking advantage of the fact that Sung-gu¡¯s jaw was on the ground. ¡°Next time, don¡¯t say your level honestly.¡± ¡°¡­¡± If she was in that kind of situation, I just had to turn the situation to my advantage. I wasn¡¯t saying that I would make use of her, but that I would make use of the situation. I was sure of it. She hadn¡¯t reached that level on her own. ¡°Your level is completely outside the realm of common sense.¡± The top Rankers were currently level 30-31. A young girl who hadn¡¯t made full use of her ¡®barrier¡¯ yet and hadn¡¯t fully participated in any real raids was level 34? I took a bite of my hamburger, then continued talking like I was discussing the weather. ¡°You might have realized it yourself, but you¡¯re an Irregular.¡± She was no ordinary Player. ¡°It¡¯s possible that someone forcibly adjusted your level.¡± To do that, an extremely strong Guardian would have had to incur a huge sacrifice. There were almost zero Guardians who would go that far. ¡°Or it could also be that your starting level was different from others.¡± For example, she might have started at level 30. ¡°And I¡¯m sure your Guardian doesn¡¯t want that fact to be revealed.¡± ¡°¡­¡± I could see from the expressions flashing on her face that she was terrible at lying. ¡°So my advice is to be careful of what you say from now on.¡± Sung-gu shook his head while munching on his third hamburger. ¡°This monster of a Player. Jeez. I¡¯m tired of it, like seriously. Can you just see from A to Z after hearing a few words? Sometimes, you scare me. Do you even know, bro?¡± ¡°¡­¡± I ignored Sung-gu¡¯s nonsense like water off a duck¡¯s back. After our meal, we went to a specific clearing. ¡°This is where I usually activate the gate.¡± ¡°Ah.¡± It was a children¡¯s playground, a place with stones, lumps of dirt, and steel structures like monkey bars and swings. ¡®All those elements are important for barrier magicians.¡¯ That was why Seohye chose a place like this to activate the gate. ¡°Did you pick this place?¡± ¡°¡­¡± That looked like a no. That ¡®special Guardian¡¯ must have told her. ¡®Just who could it be?¡¯ The Red Demon¡¯s Guardian was never discovered. No matter how favored Seohye was, it was still amazing there was a Guardian out there pouring everything they had for her. ¡®It would be good if I could find out who it was.¡¯ There weren¡¯t many Guardians as devoted as Seohye¡¯s. That was the kind of Guardian you had to nab, because they would give you blind love and devotion. ¡°Forget it. Don¡¯t answer me.¡± I turned my gaze from her to Sung-gu. ¡°You¡¯ve got your map, yes?¡± ¡°Yeah. This is my lifeline, so of course.¡± The map was marked with the locations and even the spawn times of the Predator Trees. ¡°Ah. Your crazy must have infected me. To think I¡¯d be walking into hell with my own two feet¡­ The world is truly strange.¡± To my amusement, Sung-gu¡¯s lighthearted attitude was helping Seohye relax. She was going into a field with two men, she could go in with her heart just a little more at ease. Sung-gu¡¯s whining was good for something, at least. ¡®Though that wasn¡¯t his intention.¡¯ Seohye picked up a few pebbles. She took out a shovel from her Inventory and piled up a few clods of dirt here and there. ¡®Red threads.¡¯ She also took out red thread and scattered it in several places. ¡°I¡¯ll begin now.¡± Chapter 124 Chapter 124 The red thread floated into the air. [The portal of a Barrier Magician is being activated.] [The portal¡¯s name has been designated.] A black portal we could also click appeared. Once I clicked the black shimmer, a description popped up. [Predator Tree Colony] A gate to teleport to the Predator Tree Colony. Entrance conditions: The activator of the gate, and at least level 30. One who has hunted a Predator Tree before, and at least level 30. Only Players who have fulfilled 1) or 2) can enter. The description didn¡¯t look all that special at a glance, but there was definitely something unique about it, a small detail an inexperienced eye could easily miss. ¡®This is¡­¡¯ Encompassed in the text was a ¡®limited to Players only¡¯ condition, a condition Players really liked. ¡°Senia.¡± And that was because even Intermediate Administrators were restricted from entering this field. That was the System setting itself. So unless you invested a huge amount of Coins¡ªI didn¡¯t know how much¡ªor you enlisted the help of an extremely powerful Guardian of the same or higher grade as this setting, even a Streamer couldn¡¯t come inside. ¡°I see, it¡¯s a Players only field.¡± Senia¡¯s wings fluttered. Her face was as flat as ever, but there was the slightest trace of panic in her eyes. An amateur reaction. ¡®She¡¯s become pretty quick on the uptake.¡¯ Both her skill and perceptiveness had increased. She seemed to have figured out what I intended to do, which told me she had come to a complete understanding of my Playstyle. I was a Player who would take one situation and suck everything there was to get from it, down to the very marrow. Knowing this, Senia threw out some words that laid the initial groundwork. ¡°Through my exclusive contract with you, I have offered Player Kim Hyukjin much support.¡± ¡°Yeah, I know.¡± But I wasn¡¯t the only one who profited. Senia had also gained a great deal from exclusively streaming me. ¡°Why¡¯re you bringing this up all of a sudden? You know our relationship.¡± Senia¡¯s wings trembled again. Her eyes showed that she was very shaken. Ahn Seohye hesitantly cut in. ¡°Um¡­ When should we go inside?¡± ¡°Hold on one sec.¡± Seohye snuck glances at Senia. I was used to that reaction. After all, Senia possessed a beauty that attracted every gaze in the room, regardless of gender. We were business partners, and as a business partner, her ¡®beauty¡¯ didn¡¯t mean much to me. What was the most important thing in business? How much profit you could get from one another, of course. ¡°I think it would be best if you would temporarily delegate the filming to me.¡± Streamers couldn¡¯t enter, so wouldn¡¯t it be good to let me do the filming? ¡®She¡¯ll probably say she doesn¡¯t want that.¡¯ I didn¡¯t know why. Even in the days before I regressed, when the world was far more familiar with new culture than now, no one knew why Streamers were so reluctant to concede their ¡®filming rights¡¯, even for a moment. ¡°Are you saying you will personally film what happens in the Predator Tree Colony?¡± ¡°Yeah. Wouldn¡¯t that be convenient and good for you, too?¡± If I captured the footage for her, she could edit and direct it into new content. ¡°¡­¡± Senia was silent for a while. As I expected, Senia, like other Streamers, was loath to transfer ¡®filming rights¡¯ to a Player. ¡°Only in the Predator Tree Colony.¡± ¡°But¡­¡± Why did they dislike the idea so much? Was it because the footage felt like content they didn¡¯t create themselves? ¡°Think in terms of efficiency, Senia. Don¡¯t let your emotions get in the way. You can¡¯t come in anyway. I can film and you can upload the footage.¡± ¡°¡­¡± I had already cracked the whip. Since she was facing something she didn¡¯t like, it was now time to dangle the carrot. ¡°For the sake of our harmonious partnership, I won¡¯t even make any requests this time. Think about it. This is what we both want. I¡¯m doing volunteer work here, you know?¡± Senia¡¯s wings quivered. For the first time in a while, I was able to read Senia¡¯s emotions. State: Doubt / Distrust / Happy Her emotions were so intense that Eye of Perception could pick them up. Normally, I couldn¡¯t see her state. ¡®She¡¯s doubtful and distrusting, but¡­ even amidst those feelings, she¡¯s happy.¡¯ This Streamer, she should just be happy if she was happy. How much of a bully did she see me as? I had to wonder if she¡¯d lived her whole life being played for a fool. Giving a freebie and laying the groundwork would make it easier to take advantage of Senia later at the appropriate moment. I made it sound like I was doing her a favor, but this wasn¡¯t a losing deal whatsoever for me. All I had to do was temporarily get the ¡®filming rights¡¯ and just record while Playing. Then, Senia would produce new content from the footage and relay it to the Guardians. That was, of course, a good thing for me, too. It was good for me, but what if I could make Senia feel that she owed me? ¡®That¡¯s the real profit.¡¯ The groundwork was all laid out. In the end, I received the ¡®filming rights¡¯ from Senia. [The ¡®Nameless Observer¡¯ is observing.] [The ¡®Merchant of Venice¡¯ is impressed by your ¡®negotiation skills¡¯.] [The ¡®Whispering Devil¡¯ is having fun.] [The ¡®Conductor of Sound¡¯ praises your ¡®broad vision¡¯.] [The ¡®White Hunter¡¯ is impressed.] A full complement of five Guardians rushed to send me messages. To my amusement, the Conductor of Sound praised my ¡®broad vision¡¯, but the White Hunter was only impressed. ¡®They don¡¯t know what they should be impressed by, but they quickly sent a basic message because the Conductor of Sound praised me.¡¯ From this, I could extrapolate another detail about the Guardian¡¯s disposition. ¡®The White Hunter isn¡¯t that interested in me drawing the big picture or predicting the future.¡¯ It was just a short message, but it told me enough. ¡®But they don¡¯t want to lose to the Conductor of Sound.¡¯ That was why they squeezed into the five slots. ¡®If I can make good use of this¡­¡¯ Sung-gu shivered. ¡°Dude, what kind of nasty thoughts are you cooking up now? Your face is scary. Why¡¯re you smiling all of a sudden?¡± I was smiling without realizing it. These Guardians who supported Italy¡¯s top two Players in my former life¡­ would probably end up sponsoring me like crazy, and that was a future not far removed from the present. * * * We entered the Predator Tree Colony. Around us was a dense forest. The humidity was extremely high. Considerably cool air full of moisture hit us upon entry. Seohye explained, ¡°We¡¯re in a massive cave.¡± It was surprising that such a lush ecosystem had grown inside a cave, but it made sense considering that Predator Trees were fundamentally fond of dark places. It wasn¡¯t weird for this place to be set as a cave. ¡°Outside this cave is Charles¡¯ owner.¡± For now, I didn¡¯t see any Predator Trees, which was in line with what I saw on my map. ¡°I¡¯ll give you this.¡± Seohye passed us each a seed. [Predator Tree Seed] The seed of a Predator Tree. Will grow into a Predator Tree if the conditions are met. ¡°If you slot this seed and use it, you can avoid getting attacked by Predator Trees.¡± I didn¡¯t see anything about that in the description. I guessed there was an additional description visible only to Seohye. I took the seed. ¡°In cases like this, it¡¯s typically¡­¡± It was a little more effective to personally consume the item rather than use it in a slot. I brought the seed to my mouth. ¡°¡­more effective to chew and swallow it.¡± Crunch. I brought my teeth down hard. The seed was extremely tough, but not so much that I couldn¡¯t chew it. ¡°Fuck! Gross. So disgusting. This seed smells like shit.¡± I also used a skill. [Using the special skill Conductor¡¯s Song.] [Conductor¡¯s Song is in effect.] [Curing status abnormalities of party members at a low chance.] [Increasing the crit chance by 3%.] [Increasing the effect of ¡®Predator Tree Seed¡¯ by 20%.] Seohye¡¯s eyes widened. ¡°Oh¡­¡± she mumbled to herself. ¡°The Predator Trees have been turned completely neutral.¡± I wasn¡¯t able to hear that notice. The Predator Tree Seed¡¯s effect was amplified, but I didn¡¯t think it would turn the monsters ¡®completely neutral¡¯. I looked at Seohye¡¯s state. State: Awe / Inspired / Motivated / Slight Fear This girl was pretty full of drive. ¡°I¡¯ll guide you,¡± she said, taking the lead. ¡®Ahn Seohye.¡¯ Was the Ahn Seohye I was seeing right now truly good? Her disposition definitely had ¡®just¡¯ in it, but that endless darkness I saw with Eye of Perception made even me feel an emotion close to fear. ¡®I have to prepare for the worst.¡¯ I couldn¡¯t completely cross out the possibility that Seohye pretended to be innocent and lured us here. As we followed Seohye¡¯s lead, I kept my guard up. We occasionally ran into groups of Predator Trees, but they really didn¡¯t attack us. After walking for some time, I saw a light. The smell of the wind changed, going from the musty, damp smell of the cave to fresh air. ¡°We just need to go that way.¡± I kept a close eye on the terrain and the ¡®Map of the Predator Tree Colony¡¯ we obtained as we moved, engraving the layout into my head over and over again. I had to take into account all the variables and scenarios that might unfold. A notice rang out. [Leaving the cave.] [Entering ¡®Tycon¡¯s Garden¡¯.] Tycon. That was the name Seohye had told us for Charles¡¯ owner. ¡®This huge place is a garden?¡¯ As expected of someone who could keep a Twin-Headed Black Dog as a pet. To say it another way, this NPC¡ªif it was an NPC¡ªwas set to be very capable. ¡®But they lost that Twin-Headed Black Dog.¡¯ Sung-gu shook his head. ¡°A garden? Looks like a regular forest.¡± And then, he shuddered. ¡°Ahh. This intense smell of wealth.¡± He went on to mumble something about disliking the smell of the middle and upper class and preferring the smell of ordinary folk. Having relaxed a little after leaving the Predator Tree Colony, Sung-gu muttered to himself as he walked with us. I saw a mansion in the distance. ¡°Is that Tycon¡¯s house?¡± ¡°Yes. Tycon should be in the 2nd floor parlor. He¡¯s always there.¡± ¡°Always?¡± ¡°Yes. Always.¡± We walked through the garden. The place directly connected to the Predator Tree Colony seemed like a large forest, but it was still quite garden-like in appearance. Like an expansive medieval garden, there were white sculptures here and there, a fountain was gushing water in the middle, and pink tulips were blooming all over the garden. Other than a few neutral rabbit monsters, I didn¡¯t see any particularly dangerous monsters. [Entering ¡®Tycon¡¯s Mansion¡¯.] We entered the 1st floor. There was red carpet on the ground, and stairs going up to the 2nd floor were visible from the entryway. As soon as we entered, we were greeted by two giant portraits hanging on the wall by the stairs. ¡°That person is Tycon¡­ and next to him is Tycon¡¯s wife.¡± ¡°That so?¡± Sung-gu stiffened. I gave him a look, and he schooled himself back into composure, muttering, ¡°Eurgh, this intense smell of wealth. The whole house is positively dripping with it.¡± The reason why Sung-gu stiffened was simple. ¡®We don¡¯t see the wife¡¯s appearance.¡¯ To us, both portraits were of Tycon. But Seohye was seeing a different portrait. We were looking at the same thing, but it looked different to us. [Observing with Observer¡¯s Eye.] I observed the portrait with Observer¡¯s Eye as I went up the stairs like nothing was wrong. ¡®Something¡¯s weird.¡¯ Observer¡¯s Eye sensed something was off. I couldn¡¯t say what it was, but I trusted the signal my skill was giving me. ¡®It¡¯s not a simple mansion.¡¯ The owner of an extremely strong monster like the Twin-Headed Black Dog. The Predator Tree Colony. A forest-like garden. A massive mansion. A young girl who might become the Red Demon. A portrait giving off a strange feeling. What were these puzzle pieces telling me? We followed Seohye down the 2nd floor hallway and stopped in front of a room. Creak¡ª The door opened with a creak, and the inside of the room became visible to us. Seohye spoke to someone. ¡°Mr. Tycon. I found a clue related to Charles.¡± There was a red chair in the room. No one was in it. Chapter 125 Chapter 125 Choi Sung-gu nearly screamed. ¡®FUCK! I¡¯M SCARED! I¡¯M FUCKING SCARED!¡¯ Just who the hell was Ahn Seohye talking to? No one was sitting in the red chair she was facing. ¡®Eurgh.¡¯ Why did he feel a cold wind all of a sudden? ¡®But the window is closed.¡¯ And yet, he felt a cold wind snake past him. The red chair was giving off a weird light. And then, there was a thud behind him. ¡®Fuck! Scared me!¡¯ The door had closed on its own. ¡®I¡¯m so fucking scared.¡¯ The things he feared most in the world were ghosts and cockroaches. No matter what he did, those two things were just too terrifying. But he did his utmost not to show his fear. There was no knowing what changes his actions might produce, so he stayed still as a statue, desperately willing his mind into calmness as he stared at Hyukjin. He watched Hyukjin take a few steps forward. ¡°You must be Mr. Tycon?¡± Hyukjin bowed towards the chair. Sung-gu was shocked. ¡®What the hell? Does he see something?¡¯ If he was the only one who couldn¡¯t see anything, then that, too, was frightening. Hyukjin continued. ¡°My name is Kim Hyukjin. I have already met Charles, and I was given a quest from the System to find Charles¡¯ owner.¡± It was utterly silent. Sung-gu didn¡¯t hear a single voice. It looked like Hyukjin was talking to the empty air. Woosh¨C! A light breeze blew through the room. The candle flickering on the desk went out, and a dreary voice rang out. [Do you see me?] Sung-gu nearly scuttled backwards. He was screaming, ¡°Shit! No, we can¡¯t see you!¡± in his heart. Hyukjin answered calmly, ¡°I cannot see you.¡± He was invisible, but despite that, Hyukjin knew precisely where Tycon was. He was observing Seohye with Observer¡¯s Eye, and picked up on everything, from the direction of her gaze, to where she was talking to, to the strength, the pitch, and even the tiny tremor of her voice. Through the action of ¡®observation¡¯, he reinterpreted his surroundings and pinpointed Tycon¡¯s location. That resulted in Tycon speaking to him. He heard the voice again. [I do not trust humans.] This being was someone who didn¡¯t trust humans. Someone who couldn¡¯t go look for Charles himself. Someone who gave Seohye a quest, but couldn¡¯t check the quest Hyukjin was given. The voice went on. [As such, I will not show myself. But you¡¯ve located me precisely.] Hyukjin gazed towards a certain spot. ¡®A strange¡­ bloodthirst.¡¯ ¡®Tycon¡¯ wasn¡¯t blatantly trying to kill him. But the energy he felt was far from welcoming. Eye of Perception picked up that veiled intent. This mansion¡¯s master was not very happy to see him and was oozing bloodthirst. ¡°I know where Charles is.¡± The voice sounded bored. [There have already been five humans who have said that.] Hyukjin said he found Charles, but ¡®Tycon¡¯ didn¡¯t seem very happy to hear it. He glanced at Seohye. She was standing still. State: -(Cannot be read due to a special power) He could no longer read Seohye¡¯s state. Not just her state, but all her information was obscured. Only her basic info¡ªher name and age¡ªwere visible. All the information he had been able to see before was now protected. In addition, he noticed a ¡®red energy¡¯ coming from Seohye¡¯s eyes. Her aura subtly changed. ¡®Please¡­ don¡¯t be my enemy.¡¯ He didn¡¯t want to kill someone. ¡®Please don¡¯t be¡­ the Red Demon who lured and murdered people.¡¯ He hoped she wouldn¡¯t be the Red Demon he remembered. He glanced around the room with Observer¡¯s Eye. He had already classified ¡®Tycon¡¯ as an enemy. It would be great if that weren¡¯t true, but acting according to that assumption was far more favorable for his survival. ¡®After getting all the information out of me, he¡¯ll want to kill me.¡¯ He could feel that. It was just his intuition. Hyukjin continued to take in information, never pausing his conversation with ¡®Tycon¡¯. ¡°I really did meet the Twin-Headed Black Dog Charles. He had a group of Black Dogs with him. Charles is indeed searching for his owner.¡± Charles was located on the 1st floor of the U-Plex Dungeon. [Your proof?] The bloodthirst suddenly amplified, rushing towards Hyukjin and weighing down on him. [There¡¯s nothing as foolish as believing a human without proof. I would rather choose to hate than do such a thing.] Hyukjin shrugged. ¡°I have proof.¡± He took out an item from his Inventory. When he met the Twin-Headed Black Dog Charles, the monster showed his belly and then regurgitated a piece of Black Yak¡¯s Lean Meat, giving it to Hyukjin as if it were a gift. Hyukjin put that in his Inventory. [Black Yak¡¯s Lean Meat Chewed by Charles] He placed the item on the ground. Silence descended on the room. For quite a long time, the room was still. Neither Hyukjin, Sung-gu, Seohye, nor Tycon spoke. The person who broke the long silence was Tycon. [¡­There really are traces of Charles on the meat.] Hyukjin heard a tremble in that voice. Tycon was agitated. But that agitation and tremble wasn¡¯t from happiness. He was sure of it. ¡®He¡¯s not the real owner.¡¯ Hyukjin continued. ¡°I know his location.¡± [And that is?] Hyukjin obediently told him. ¡°The 1st floor of the U-Plex Dungeon.¡± Sung-gu was a little surprised. Hyukjin was a Player who went so far as to exploit his Intermediate Administrator Senia for all she was worth, a Player Sung-gu was truly, truly grateful to have met as a friend and a teammate rather than an enemy. Such a Player would give up the location so meekly? [The 1st floor of the U-Plex Dungeon. Where is it?] ¡°It is the name of a dungeon located in Sinchon in the Korean server,¡± Hyukjin responded, paying close attention to Tycon¡¯s answer. If he was related to Guardians, he would know about servers. Hyukjin framed his answer to sound out Tycon¡¯s identity. [Server? Sinchon? Which plane is that?] Tycon wasn¡¯t connected to Guardians. He didn¡¯t know about servers. ¡®But he¡¯s not a regular NPC.¡¯ If he were, he would have verified Hyukjin through the ¡®quest¡¯ System and asked to go find Charles. Tycon wasn¡¯t an NPC. If he wasn¡¯t an NPC and not related to Guardians, then he was most likely¡ª ¡®A monster.¡¯ * * * It was highly likely he was a monster with extremely high intelligence. But even so, he couldn¡¯t leave this place. ¡®It¡¯s odd that Seohye is standing there quietly.¡¯ Because the invisible Tycon was here, Hyukjin couldn¡¯t afford to blatantly observe Ahn Seohye. However, his ¡®eyes¡¯ searched and observed her all the same. ¡®The fact I can¡¯t read her¡­¡¯ That was because the Ahn Seohye standing there right now wasn¡¯t Ahn Seohye at all. ¡®That thing¡­¡¯ After observing her for a long time, he was certain of it. It was like a doll with Ahn Seohye¡¯s outer appearance. ¡®Where¡¯s the real Seohye?¡¯ His eyes couldn¡¯t see the real one. He knew what was happening. ¡®Stealth skill.¡¯ Darongi had Stealth as well. It seemed Seohye had a similar skill. ¡®But how come?¡¯ Why did she leave a shell and fade out of sight? Without telling him, no less. Was Ahn Seohye truly the ¡®Red Demon¡¯? Did the current Ahn Seohye have the same character as the future Red Demon? Was he in a trap? ¡®No.¡¯ That wasn¡¯t the answer. Hyukjin was sure of it. He knew he wasn¡¯t in a trap, and that conviction was, again, inexplicable. The energy surrounding Ahn Seohye, her appearance, her tiny, minute movements, her breathing, he compiled all of that into a portfolio of information, from which he then based his conclusion and assessment. ¡®Ahn Seohye isn¡¯t dangerous.¡¯ That was what he decided to believe, at least right now. Actually, he couldn¡¯t do much other than trust her. After all, Tycon was in front of him. Hyukjin extended a map. ¡°This is a map of the Predator Tree Colony connected to your garden. At the end of the cave is a gate, and you can go through the gate into the Korean server. Inside the Korean server is a place called Sinchon, and there exists a dungeon called the U-Plex Dungeon. Charles is on the 1st floor of that dungeon.¡± He added one more sentence. ¡°It is structured so that Charles cannot come out on his own.¡± That was a roundabout way of saying, ¡®You have to go there and bring him out yourself¡¯. Hyukjin had to confirm. He had to confirm how Tycon would act after getting all the information, as well as how Seohye would act. ¡°I see.¡± A hazy form began to appear on the red chair. It took the shape of a person, the same black bearded man Hyukjin saw in the portrait on the wall going from the 1st floor to the 2nd. ¡°Then I¡¯ll have to kill you now and go get Charles.¡± The entire room suddenly darkened, as if it were enveloped in darkness. Sung-gu lit a fire. ¡°Hyukjin!¡± The magician fired the flames at the door, reacting quickly because he was ready to move just in case. The hazy form spoke again. ¡°You think shoddy magic can deceive me?¡± It wasn¡¯t shoddy at all. Sung-gu¡¯s fire opened a hole in the door, and as long as the path was open, Hyukjin could move quickly. From point to point, a 2D line formed between two 1D points. Hyukjin¡¯s body surged forward in a straight line towards the gap in the door, so quick you couldn¡¯t see him. But ¡®Tycon¡¯ was fast, too. ¡°Laughable!¡± After using Flash Step, Hyukjin dashed off with all his strength, and Tycon followed hot on his tail. Tycon had no legs, and he floated in the air as he chased Hyukjin with a huge scythe in his hands. Whumpf¨C! Tycon swung the scythe. Hyukjin ducked and dodged it, feeling the air rush past the crown of his head. ¡®He¡¯s strong.¡¯ He was indeed qualified to ¡®claim¡¯ he was a Twin-Headed Black Dog¡¯s owner. However, Hyukjin had already finished figuring this place out. He knew what ¡®Tycon¡¯ was. Their names differed, but they were categorically called ¡®Evil Spirit¡¯ monsters. Of those monsters, Tycon was a ¡®Region-Bound Spirit¡¯ that couldn¡¯t escape a specified region. The Evil Spirit monster named Tycon shouted, ¡°Halt!¡± Black rings appeared under Hyukjin¡¯s feet. He couldn¡¯t dodge them and was frozen in place. [You cannot move.] He was hit with restraint magic, but Hyukjin didn¡¯t panic. ¡®Come closer.¡¯ He was well informed about Evil Spirits. They were very difficult foes for mankind, monsters that drilled insidiously into weak points and dark places. Despite that, they had an obvious weakness. ¡®Especially if it¡¯s a Region-Bound Spirit.¡¯ Hyukjin was someone who hunted a Lycanthrope, an impossible foe for his level, in the Tutorial field. He achieved that feat by using his knowledge from the future. He judged that as long as he had knowledge, strategy, and the courage and ability to put those two in practice, it wasn¡¯t impossible to hunt Tycon. ¡®This time as well¡­ I¡¯ll pull it off.¡¯ As he watched Tycon slowly approach while holding a scythe, Kim Hyukjin grinned. Chapter 126 Chapter 126 Evil Spirits were monsters that enjoyed harassing humans. They liked to engage in conversations humans saw as pointless, all to annoy humans, to savor their despair. Later on, mankind would call that ¡®good-for-nothing curiosity¡¯. ¡°Don¡¯t you find it a little odd? I acted like I knew you were going to attack me from the start.¡± ¡°¡­¡± Tycon stopped in place, his ¡®good-for-nothing curiosity¡¯ kicking in. Evil Spirits enjoyed conversation. ¡°That¡¯s right. You were wary and fearful of me, like a little fawn. From the start.¡± I didn¡¯t retort, letting him think as he pleased. I needed a little time right now. With that time, I would make an opening. ¡°It¡¯s merely that I didn¡¯t trust you, just like you don¡¯t trust humans.¡± ¡°Humans are distrustful creatures. It¡¯s not strange that you acted that way.¡± Tycon came closer and closer. ¡°And distrustful creatures¡­¡± His voice suddenly increased in volume, shouting so loudly it made my ears ring. ¡°¡­should DIE!¡± He raised his scythe. I stared directly at its cruel edge. ¡°You¡¯re not Charles¡¯ real owner.¡± The scythe froze. Tycon fixed me with his eyes. ¡°It matters not. You¡¯ll die here anyway.¡± He lowered his weapon, as if to let me feel the fear of impending death. Of course, I wasn¡¯t scared in the least. ¡°After all,¡± I continued, ¡°it makes no sense that a higher being capable enough to have such a huge mansion is unable to find a single dog located on the 1st floor of a Korean server dungeon for no particular reason.¡± He gave Seohye a quest to find Charles. ¡°You gave Ahn Seohye a quest, but couldn¡¯t give me one. The quest you gave her must¡¯ve been a fake, which means you¡¯re a being who lacks the authority to give out legitimate quests.¡± That wasn¡¯t all. ¡°You¡¯re set so that you cannot leave this place.¡± Among the countless Evil Spirits out there, Tycon was a Region-Bound Spirit tied to this mansion. ¡°Which is why you lured in a girl who harbors deep darkness within her heart.¡± The darkness within Seohye¡¯s heart was like an open door for this Evil Spirit. I knew Tycon would have wanted to make use of her. ¡°But I have a real quest asking me to find Charles¡¯ owner, you see.¡± Which meant, the ¡®real owner of Charles¡¯ was somewhere around here. ¡°You pretended to be looking for Charles.¡± Tycon knew about ¡®Charles¡¯ as well. He pretended to be looking for the dog. Why? Because there was something that could move the Evil Spirit. Because there was a lingering ¡®grievance¡¯ here. ¡°Who could the real owner of Charles be, I wonder?¡± It wasn¡¯t Tycon. ¡°I¡¯m guessing this mansion has a real master somewhere. One who has become much weaker, or who has already perished.¡± Before I knew it, Tycon was right in front of me. He raised his scythe. ¡°Where could that real owner be?¡± If the original owner were really here, would this ¡®Evil Spirit¡¯ be able to run amok? The answer was a resounding ¡®no¡¯. ¡°You want to hide that real owner. Why? Because you fear them.¡± And so, ¡°You swapped the portraits with your likeness.¡± Tycon changed the portraits, both of them, to hide the real owner¡¯s face. And for some reason, Seohye was able to see the true appearance of those portraits. ¡°But you know, if that owner were still alive, you wouldn¡¯t have been able to strut around like this.¡± Charles¡¯ owner was dead. At this point in time, I was sure of it. If they were alive, an Evil Spirit would have never been able to step foot within this mansion. ¡°You swapped out the portraits because you were scared to see their face even though they¡¯re already dead.¡± Tycon began to turn dark red, his scythe glowing with the same ominous color. His voice echoed out grimly. [You will find no peace, even in death.] He raised his scythe again and made a wide swing towards me. ¡®Now, when he¡¯s making a wide swing.¡¯ This was the right timing. The restraint he cast on me was dispelled from the beginning. My magic resistance was far higher than he thought. [Using the special skill Flash Step.] I moved towards the portraits. He wouldn¡¯t be able to get close to them, and even if he could, his movements and strength would be dulled. I knew that because all he could do was cover the portraits, not destroy them. ¡°You weasely little rat.¡± I knew the weaknesses of Evil Spirit monsters, of ¡®Region-Bound Spirits¡¯ specifically. It was recorded in the list of monster traits I compiled. ¨CA Region-Bound Spirit is a monster that wanders about, unable to leave the place it is bound to for some reason. There is always ¡®something¡¯ that ties it down. It was highly likely that ¡®something¡¯ was a thing the Evil Spirit feared or was attached to. ¨CIf that ¡®something¡¯ is destroyed, the Region-Bound Spirit will rapidly lose strength. Knowing that, I drew my dagger, preparing to use the new innate ability I got through Isabel¡¯s innate authority, the fusion of Sword Path Tracing and Excellent Strike. I was a little too far to destroy the ¡®something¡¯ completely with a mere dagger throw, but that was fine. Just like how Tycon had a ¡®grievance¡¯, I had something called ¡®will¡¯. I couldn¡¯t do the Will Incantation, but I could achieve a focus close to it. ¡®Sword Path Tracing is an authority that creates paths.¡¯ Make a path with Sword Path Tracing, and then¡­ ¡®The will imbued in Excellent Strike shall pierce the portrait.¡¯ Unfortunately, it wasn¡¯t a Will Incantation. I couldn¡¯t freely bring forth that power. But I had experienced the Will Incantation before and thus had a taste of how it worked, what I had to do to bring forth focus and power. It was only a taste, but that was enough. Tracing. Will. Penetration. Destruction. I imbued the dagger with those four intents. It might not be the Will Incantation, but I knew this was part of the process to one day produce a complete Will Incantation. I believed it. I believed that a Sword of Insight slightly closer to perfection would materialize. Whumpf¨C! Tycon, who had closed in on me in no time, swung his weapon. ¡°Die! Die! Die! Die!¡± But he had become markedly slower. He was definitely under the influence of the ¡®portrait¡¯. I dodged him without much difficulty. I could see the trajectory of his swings. He was far slower and far weaker than before. [Using the innate ability Sword of Insight.] [The innate ability Eye of Perception is in effect.] Eye of Perception. My eye of ¡®intuition¡¯. Insight and intuition converged on one point, towards which I hurled the small dagger in my hand. I heard a shriek. ¡°NOO!¡± The dagger flew out like an arrow. ¡®This¡­ is Sword of Insight.¡¯ Sword Path Tracing applied to all sword-type items. I saw the precise trajectory of the dagger I threw. It shot forward towards an exact point as if compelled by an inexplicable force, humming with an energy far greater than a normal throw. Isabel¡¯s innate authority had given me a great weapon. My hand was still numb. A tingling feeling lingered. ¡®That feeling just now.¡¯ The trajectory of that dagger, which hurtled forward with my will towards the portrait¡¯s weakest point that I had instantly ascertained, gave me a rush of exhilaration. ¡®Feels great.¡¯ That exhilaration was close to ecstasy to me. I merely used a skill, but it felt like I unleashed an attack that fell within the realm of a true dagger technique. Plunge! The glowing blue dagger plunged into the portrait. ¡°GAAAAHHHH!¡± ¡°You underestimated Ahn Seohye.¡± He only saw the darkness within her. He only tried to make use of that darkness. He failed to recognize her ¡®Red Demon¡¯ talent. ¡°Ahn Seohye fundamentally doesn¡¯t trust men.¡± Her circumstances and environment made it so. I had no intention of faulting her for it. I would have been the same had it been me. ¡°But she listened obediently to you, came looking for you multiple times, and even got a quest from you? And she brought other men all the way here? Don¡¯t you think something¡¯s weird about that?¡± Tycon¡¯s face stopped melting. The dagger embedded in the portrait was melted down as well. I wasn¡¯t able to completely destroy the portrait. ¡°Such a person specifically pointed it out to us. That there¡¯s a woman¡¯s portrait here.¡± In our eyes, it wasn¡¯t visible at all. ¡®She gave us a hint.¡¯ It was possible that Seohye already knew Tycon was a ¡®fake¡¯, or that she had been planning a barrier in advance for her future protection. She turned this entire mansion into her domain. She had a class that could achieve such a feat, given sufficient time. ¡°Her class is one that cannot hunt normally, but it shines when a barrier is created after a long period of preparation.¡± That was what a Barrier Magician was. That was the Red Demon¡¯s ability. ¡°A person with such a class has already been here multiple times.¡± Tycon struggled to his feet, his face mostly melted. ¡°You don¡¯t need to get up.¡± The next instant, thousands of red lines wrapped around Tycon¡¯s body, like a moth caught in a spider¡¯s web. ¡°A Barrier Magician wielding red thread has already designated you as her prey.¡± The future Red Demon, the huntress who lured her prey and mercilessly finished them off, began to walk up from the 1st floor. * * * Her eyes glowing red, Ahn Seohye asked me a question. ¡°Since when have you known?¡± ¡°Hard to say.¡± There hadn¡¯t been a specific moment. ¡°Just along the way.¡± I couldn¡¯t really explain it any more than that. If I were to try, the only thing I could say was that this was the domain of ¡®talent¡¯. The talent to see more than others when looking at the same things, to hear more than others when hearing the same things. I saw the path, the situation, and analyzed it. Seohye¡¯s eyes glowed crimson red. ¡°¡­¡± She looked exactly like the Red Demon I had seen in videos. ¨CWhen hunting her prey, when slaughtering humans, the Red Demon¡¯s eyes ominously grow red. ¡°GAAAHHHH!¡± He screamed. For this very moment, Ahn Seohye had likely invested a lot of time. It was a completely different concept from a regular raid. Her ¡®red threads¡¯ cut Tycon¡¯s body into little pieces. [¡®Evil Spirit ¨C Tycon¡¯ has been killed.] [EXP acquired.] [¡®Rapundel¡¯s Remains 1/2¡¯ acquired.] ¡°I have a special eye.¡± ¡°¡­I am aware.¡± ¡°I saw the darkness dwelling within you with that eye. Mm. It¡¯s a bit weird to call it darkness, but in any case, there was something black in your heart.¡± ¡°¡­¡± ¡°So I judged it would be very easy for you to come in contact with an Evil Spirit monster.¡± I inferred this scenario based on many other things. ¡°And I judged that you wanted to hunt that Evil Spirit.¡± ¡°¡­¡± After a long moment of silence, Seohye finally spoke. ¡°You¡¯re amazing.¡± She wasn¡¯t being sarcastic. Seohye was sincerely amazed right now. ¡°It¡¯s kind of fascinating.¡± ¡°What is?¡± ¡°I feel that it¡¯s okay¡­ to trust you.¡± I shrugged. ¡°You don¡¯t have to. All that¡¯s needed is that when a situation arises where we need to lend each other our strength like today, we use each other.¡± A relationship of you-use-me, I-use-you. In my estimation, that was the perfect relationship to have with the future Red Demon. Building trust was a task for later. Some day, when her heart opened a little more, it would be great if she could speak to me more casually instead of using stiff honorifics like ¡®sir¡¯. Sung-gu inched towards me, very carefully, very slowly. He opened his mouth uneasily. ¡°Hey. Buddy. Hyukjin.¡± He pretty much clung to me, his body shivering all over. ¡°What is that?¡± Sung-gu squeezed me tightly. ¡°The portrait¡­ is crying! FUCK!¡± Tears of blood were dripping from the portrait¡¯s eyes. ____ Chapter 127 Chapter 127 I looked up to find that the portrait really was crying. The woman within the portrait was weeping red tears. ¡®It¡¯s clickable.¡¯ Unlike earlier, it was now interactable. [Rapundel¡¯s Portrait] A portrait imbued with the grievance of Charles¡¯ owner. Has been activated by a special condition. An item that can prove Charles¡¯ survival is necessary. Burn the item with ¡®magic-created fire¡¯ to alleviate Rapundel¡¯s Grievance. I had already shown the item that could prove Charles¡¯ survival. To Tycon, that is. Darongi had collected it again. ¡°Darong?¡± A [!] appeared above Darongi¡¯s head. He shook his head. This little squirrel, he was setting his sights on not just fried chicken, but Black Yak meat now. ¡°I¡¯ll give you a new one. Not one that¡¯s been regurgitated.¡± Darongi nodded. Apparently, that was what he¡¯d wanted from the start. I gave him some new Black Yak¡¯s Lean Meat, and he gave me the one that was eaten by Charles. ¡°Sung-gu.¡± ¡°Yeah? What?¡± ¡°Not getting off me?¡± ¡°I¡¯m scared, bro.¡± ¡°Should I help you get off?¡± Sung-gu shivered all over. He took one step back, still clutching the hem of my clothes with one finger. Maybe I needed to tell him that people were scarier than ghosts. ¡°Burn this.¡± ¡°He-Here?¡± ¡°No. In front of the portrait.¡± ¡°I-I-I need to go over there?¡± Sung-gu inched backwards, waving his hands. Thankfully, the direction he backed off in was towards the portrait. Ultimately, Sung-gu knew it was inevitable. It was time for him to act. ¡°Y-You¡¯ll come with me, right?¡± Going with him was no difficult matter. I went up to the portrait with Sung-gu. Red tears were still dripping from it. ¡°Fuck, fuck, fuck¡­ I¡¯m not scared, I¡¯m not scared.¡± Muttering to himself, Sung-gu obediently did what I asked him to do. Fwoosh! Flames surged up, and the smell of burning meat filled the mansion. I heard a notice. [¡®Rapundel¡¯s Grievance¡¯ has confirmed Charles¡¯ survival.] The flow of blood tears stopped. [¡®Rapundel¡¯s Grievance¡¯ remembers Charles.] A dreary wind blew past us. The portrait I¡¯d thrown the dagger into fell to the ground with a thud. Shaaaa¨C! The frame disappeared along with the wind. ¡®The building is aging.¡¯ I didn¡¯t know if that was the best way to put it, but it really was aging visibly. Nothing was happening to us, but the mansion around us was quickly degrading into ruins. [¡®Rapundel¡¯s Grievance¡¯ welcomes the guests.] [¡®Rapundel¡¯s Grievance¡¯ is happy.] [¡®Rapundel¡¯s Grievance¡¯ has a request.] I was given a quest. [Deliver Rapundel¡¯s Remains to Charles!] Deliver Rapundel¡¯s Remains to Charles. A part of the remains is behind Rapundel¡¯s portrait. ¡°Darong.¡± He scampered over and brought over a bone from behind the portrait. It was the same item I¡¯d gotten after Tycon was killed. [Rapundel¡¯s Remains 2/2] The remains of Charles¡¯ owner, Rapundel. It¡¯s said that Rapundel cried day and night, longing for the companion she lost. Rapundel¡¯s Remains are suffused with heartfelt longing towards Charles. ¡°Well done.¡± Acorns and fried chicken were emergency weapons, so I opted to give him a banana instead. Darongi devoured it with relish like the gluttonous squirrel he was. Sung-gu had raced back to my side again, shivering. ¡°Fuck. Bro, I¡¯m scared as fuck. Why did the building suddenly become so old?¡± I looked around. It looked like ¡®Tycon¡¯s mansion¡¯ had weathered three hundred years in an instant. Everything was old and falling apart. ¡°Everything¡¯s aged all of a sudden.¡± Three hundred years. Why did that particular number come to mind? Because that was what ¡®Observer¡¯s Eye¡¯ told me. It wasn¡¯t an ordinary number. ¡®If three hundred years have passed in this field¡­¡¯ That meant something else. [¡®Rapundel¡¯s Grievance¡¯ wishes to give you a special gift.] [¡®Rapundel¡¯s Grievance¡¯ asks if you have a ¡®Map of the Predator Tree Colony¡¯.] I took it out, saying, ¡°I have one.¡± [¡®Map of the Predator Tree Colony, Analyzed¡¯ acquired] The map in my hand flashed yellow. Some kind of ¡®power¡¯ was taking effect on it. When I examined it, there was a new description. [Map of the Predator Tree Colony, Analyzed] A Predator Tree Colony is a forest with many Predator Trees. Rapundel¡¯s father made a Predator Tree Colony for his daughter because ¡®Predator Tree Seeds¡¯ were known to be effective against ¡®Red Flower Tears¡¯. An artificially created ¡®Predator Tree Colony¡¯ has a lifespan of three hundred years at most. The Predator Trees are unable to maintain the ecosystem for longer than that and perish. Some of this was familiar to me. Ten years in the future, it was basically common knowledge that Predator Trees had a lifespan of about three hundred years. However, the rest was new to me. ¡®Does this mean only artificially cultivated Predator Trees have a lifespan of three hundred years?¡¯ No one had known that in the past. Didn¡¯t that mean that all the Predator Trees mankind had met in the past were Predator Trees that someone had artificially cultivated? ¡®I¡¯ve also never heard about the seeds having an effect on Red Flower Tears.¡¯ In the past, this was said about Red Flower Tears: ¨C¡¯Red Flower Tears¡¯ can be called one of the disasters mankind suffered with the coming of the new culture era. It was the name of a disease where the afflicted would weep tears of blood, like the woman within the portrait, Rapundel, had shown earlier. Eventually, the afflicted would wither and die. It was a rare disease, but once you caught it, there was no cure and you would die within three years. Korea also had at least thirty patients with the disease. ¡®So Predator Tree Seeds have that kind of effect, huh.¡¯ This revelation posed yet another question we had to consider. ¡®Who are the people cultivating the Predator Trees?¡¯ Were they NPCs? If they were NPCs, it was likely they would have told Players about the effect of Predator Tree Seeds, but mankind was totally in the dark about it. That meant this information wasn¡¯t given out. Whoever it was, they weren¡¯t NPCs, but they were strong enough to artificially make ¡®Predator Tree Colonies¡¯. ¡®There really is¡­ a world I didn¡¯t know.¡¯ That made me question something else. ¡®Then did the top Players who lived in the world of Rankers in the past¡­ know this?¡¯ That much I couldn¡¯t infer. But I did know that I gained this kind of information as early as the ¡®beginner period¡¯. Did the super high level Rankers, the masters who passed the mid-game that was level 40-70, really not know this? ¡®I¡¯ll probably find out later on.¡¯ ¡®For now, let¡¯s focus on the now.¡¯ The ecosystem of the Predator Tree Colony would collapse within three hundred years. If what I observed with Observer¡¯s Eye was correct, about three hundred years had passed here. We were unchanged, but the field had aged three centuries. ¡®Which means¡­¡¯ The Predator Trees were near death. You could say they were in critical condition. ¡°We¡¯re going to go hunt Predator Trees now.¡± Normally, it was almost impossible to hunt Predator Trees en masse. But what if the Predator Trees were on their deathbed? If they were completely unable to resist? I knew a Player in the past who hunted a Predator Tree Colony in such a state¡ªthe Wargod Salvatore, the Player contracted with Italy¡¯s representative Guardian, the ¡®Conductor of Sound¡¯. It was said that Salvatore stumbled upon a Predator Tree Colony near the end of its lifespan and reaped a huge profit from it. ¡®I¡¯m taking a similar route to the Wargod Salvatore.¡¯ Such a scenario didn¡¯t originally exist in the Korean server, but my actions created it. ¡°Let¡¯s go.¡± We left to hunt the Predator Trees. * * * Ahn Seohye spoke hesitantly. ¡°So this is what you meant.¡± ¡°Yeah.¡± The Predator Trees in front of us were already sick and old. They couldn¡¯t even move anymore and were just barely holding on. Despite that, their names were still red and showed up as ¡®?¡¯ marks. ¡°If you give me a little time, I will make a barrier.¡± ¡°What kind of barrier?¡± ¡°A Frenzy Hunting Barrier.¡± The barrier she named was the same one the Red Demon used to indiscriminately slaughter 600 people in the heart of downtown Seoul. Not much was known about the Red Demon¡¯s ability, but the Red Demon herself revealed the skill name. As a result, the Frenzy Hunting Barrier was attributed as the Red Demon¡¯s flagship ability. It took quite a while to set up, at least 30 minutes of work. Seohye¡¯s face dripped with sweat. ¡®She enjoys¡­ the act of making barriers itself.¡¯ She was, so to speak, a genius who enjoyed her work. She looked at the map while sticking ¡®red thread¡¯ everywhere, so engrossed she even forgot we were there. She also occasionally uttered something like magic incantations and did something with her mana. [A Frenzy Hunting Barrier has been completed.] A little later, the notices started streaming in. [Predator Tree has been killed.] [Predator Tree has been killed.] [Predator Tree has been killed.] [Predator Tree has been killed.] Notice after notice came in. ¡°Darongi. If you go pick up a lot of items, I¡¯ll give you fried chicken.¡± At those words, Darongi scampered busily all over the map. [Level increased.] [Current level: 32] My level went up in the 30-40 period that was so grueling to level up in. I got to level 32 even without resorting to the special strat that used ¡®Noah¡¯s Helm¡¯. ¡®Wow¡­¡¯ [All Predator Trees of the Predator Tree Colony have been killed.] [A special condition has been fulfilled.] [The Clear Crystal is being generated.] We didn¡¯t just come into Seohye¡¯s gate; we actually satisfied the conditions to clear it. This went beyond my expectations. ¡®Great.¡¯ We destroyed the Clear Crystal. [The Predator Tree Colony has been destroyed.] [You cleared the Predator Tree Colony perfectly.] [¡®Superior Predator Tree Seed Bundle¡¯ acquired as a clear reward.] I got an item with a whopping 20 ¡®Superior Predator Tree Seeds¡¯ in it. Both Sung-gu and Seohye also got the bundle, so we obtained 60 seeds total as a reward for the clear. Even the chatterbox Sung-gu seemed at a loss for words. He stared at Seohye with wide eyes. ¡°You¡¯re¡­ incredible. I¡¯ve never seen anything like this.¡± ¡°¡­¡± After finishing the raid, Seohye returned to her usual self. Her body language made it very apparent that she was scared of Sung-gu. She was still deeply distrustful of men. A long moment of silence stretched out. Seohye opened her mouth with difficulty. ¡°I was the surprised one.¡± Her gaze moved towards me. ¡°Just who¡­ are you, Oppa?¡± My Eye of Perception picked it up precisely. As she asked the question, Seohye¡¯s eyes became red again. At the very least, they didn¡¯t look human. The Red Demon¡¯s eyes gleamed ominously. ____ Chapter 128 Chapter 128 ¡°Just who¡­ are you, Oppa?¡± Seohye used the word ¡®oppa¡¯ for the first time. I didn¡¯t attach much significance to the word. Age-wise, I was indeed her oppa, and the title itself wasn¡¯t anything weird. ¡°I¡¯m just an ordinary person.¡± ¡°Ordinary?¡± Seohye¡¯s red eyes wavered. ¡°There¡¯ll be trouble if you say you¡¯re ordinary again.¡± ¡°¡­¡± I examined Seohye¡¯s eyes carefully. ¡®Red eyes.¡¯ It was a characteristic of the former Red Demon, the Red-Eyed Killer. From the stiffness of her body and her flow of mana right now, it didn¡¯t look like she was planning on attacking me. Her eyes were just red. ¡®But¡­¡¯ Something about those eyes bothered me. ¡°Seohye.¡± ¡°Yes?¡± ¡°I know that barrier magic isn¡¯t the only ability you have.¡± Actually, I didn¡¯t know. I just threw out a wild guess. If Seohye denied it, it meant she didn¡¯t have one, and if she remained silent, my guess was true. ¡°¡­¡± Seohye didn¡¯t respond. I had sprung the words so suddenly on her that she couldn¡¯t even come up with a proper denial. ¡°About those red eyes¡­¡± ¡°Red eyes?¡± ¡°If you have a mirror, take a look at yourself.¡± A considerable number of female Players carried a mirror with them. That applied even now, ten years in the past. I didn¡¯t get it. In any case, Seohye was in her late teens, an age at which one was sensitive about one¡¯s appearance, and she had a mirror with her. ¡°Kyaa!¡± Seohye screamed involuntarily upon seeing her face in the mirror. Apparently, she had been unaware this entire time that her eyes were turning red. ¡°I don¡¯t know what ability you¡¯re using when your eyes turn red,¡± I said. ¡°I only know that the mana flow of your eyes is weird.¡± Seohye seemed very shaken by her red eyes. ¡°Wh-Wh-What is this?¡± ¡°You¡¯re alright. You¡¯re alright.¡± The killer I knew from the future, the Red Demon, showed a very fragile part of herself. As expected of an oppa with a little sister who had a ¡®tofu mentality¡¯, I consoled Seohye quite adeptly. ¡°In any case, those red eyes. The mana flow is suspicious.¡± Sung-gu cut in as if frustrated. ¡°C¡¯mon man. You gotta explain in concrete terms how it¡¯s suspicious. You can¡¯t just say it¡¯s suspicious and call it quits. Though, yeah, of course those red eyes are super sus.¡± Observer¡¯s Eye saw Seohye¡¯s muscles stiffen for the slightest moment. That meant she had also sensed something weird, whether that was instinctive or something else. ¡°You¡¯ve already felt something like that before, right?¡± ¡°¡­¡± After a long moment of hesitation, Seohye said, ¡°I feel it often.¡± ¡°When?¡± ¡°I¡¯m not sure. When I¡¯m dreaming, I feel it. When no one¡¯s there, it feels like someone¡¯s watching me. No, they¡¯re¡­ glaring at me.¡± I paid close attention to her eyes. They had returned to normal. ¡°Be wary of your eyes.¡± That was all the advice I could give at this point in time. ¡®Red eyes.¡¯ There was something more to them. They harbored some kind of secret. I had the feeling there would be some kind of incident related to those ¡®eyes¡¯ in the near future. ¡®Looks like our relationship won¡¯t end here.¡¯ * * * Sung-gu followed Hyukjin closely. ¡°Still, I didn¡¯t think that girl would say the word oppa.¡± ¡°¡­¡± The two of them were heading to the U-Plex Dungeon. Choi Sung-gu chattered tirelessly. ¡°She must have warmed up to you a lot.¡± ¡°¡­¡± ¡°But seriously man, what¡¯s your secret? Cheon Sooji¡¯s after you. Yeonseo¡¯s after you. Why¡¯re all the ladies so impatient to get a piece of you?¡± ¡°¡­¡± Hyukjin didn¡¯t bother answering. Even if he didn¡¯t, Sung-gu could keep up a conversation all by himself. ¡°I¡¯m jealous man, I¡¯m jealous. I¡¯m really fuckin¡¯ jelly.¡± ¡°..¡± They neared the U-Plex Dungeon. At the entrance were wardens dispatched by the Players Association. A man wearing sunglasses stopped them. ¡°As I¡¯m sure you know, this is the U-Plex Dungeon, a brutally difficult dungeon. Please turn back.¡± After Hyukjin¡¯s party, several Players and parties challenged the dungeon, but not a single one of them made it out. As a result, this place became a prohibited area, and most Players were forbidden from entering. ¡°Entry is temporarily restricted to Players who have gotten talent plate readings of thirty. This is a measure for your safety, so we ask that you cooperate.¡± The man acted by the manual. He didn¡¯t do anything wrong, and Hyukjin didn¡¯t quarrel. ¡°Sung-gu. You¡¯ve got thirty talent plates.¡± ¡°Huh? Huh? Riiiight, I forgot.¡± Sung-gu fumbled for a moment like a blockhead before producing the ¡®Player Card¡¯ the Players Association had issued him. In addition to his personal details, it indicated how many talent plates he had. Thirty talent plates. That number meant a great deal in this world where new culture was quickly spreading. It meant you had the foundation to become a new leader, a new somebody. ¡°I apologize for not recognizing you.¡± Sung-gu shrugged. Though it might have looked like modesty to the men guarding the dungeon, Sung-gu was sincere. ¡®A talent plate reader that said Hyukjin had [No Talent] means nothing.¡¯ He regarded the reliability of such a faulty device as 0, so he had erased the fact that he had thirty talent plates from his mind altogether. How accurate could a talent plate exam that said Hyukjin had 0 plates possibly be? ¡°We can go in together, right?¡± ¡°You may. However, both of you must sign an agreement stating that the Players Association holds no liability.¡± After signing, Hyukjin and Sung-gu walked up to the dungeon. [Enter the U-Plex Dungeon?] They entered. [You have entered the U-Plex Dungeon 1st Floor.] The dungeon hadn¡¯t changed. ¡°But bro, do we have to clear this place again?¡± ¡°No. It¡¯s not clearable.¡± ¡°Eh? Why not?¡± ¡°Noah will remember us.¡± After digesting that for a moment, Sung-gu¡¯s eyes grew wide. ¡°He won¡¯t be reset?¡± ¡°He¡¯ll definitely remember us.¡± The 1st, 2nd, and even the 3rd floor were doable, but there was no way to escape Noah on the 4th floor. ¡°Then what do we do? Fight him?¡± ¡°There¡¯s no doubt we would die if we did.¡± ¡°Then? Why¡¯d you bring me here? Y-You¡¯re not going to offer me as a sacrifice, right?¡± Sung-gu stealthily reached for Hyukjin¡¯s hand. Hyukjin slapped his hand away extremely heartlessly. ¡°Grab my hand, and I¡¯ll kill you.¡± ¡°Hik!¡± Sung-gu trembled from head to toe. ¡°As I told you before, same procedure as last time. The Big Black Dogs will appear on the 1st floor.¡± They would proceed the same way as last time. Only this time, Hyukjin was here to deliver ¡®Rapundel¡¯s Remains¡¯ to Charles. Woof! Woof! Woof! They began to hear the sound of barking. An NPC of Noah¡¯s level would remember them, but not these monsters. They had to slowly build up intimacy using the same method as last time. Hyukjin saw the Twin-Headed Big Black Dog in front of him. Once the Big Black Dogs¡¯ tails were moving in slow figure eights, he slowly, unhurriedly moved to the boss. The drooling Twin-Headed Big Black Dog was still impossible to hunt at his current level. Hyukjin stopped calmly in front of the Twin-Headed Big Black Dog without the slightest trace of intimidation. Then, he extended an item. Rapundel¡¯s Remains. The Twin-Headed Big Black Dog sniffed the item in Hyukjin¡¯s hands for a long time, then sat on his haunches. AWOOOOOOOO¨C! He began to howl. At his howl, the Big Black Dogs tearing voraciously into the Black Yak¡¯s Lean Meat began to howl as well. AWOOOOOOO¨C! AWOOOOOOO¨C! The sound of howling filled the floor. Sung-gu trembled. ¡®Fuck. Why the hell is it so scary?¡¯ To Sung-gu, the Big Black Dogs¡¯ howls made terror resonate in his very bones. He was under the influence of the ¡®fear effect¡¯ created by high-level monsters. Hyukjin just stood there quietly, gazing at the Twin-Headed Big Black Dog. ¡®This howl¡­ is strange.¡¯ Sung-gu was feeling a ¡®fear effect¡¯ right now, but Hyukjin was different. ¡®My chest aches.¡¯ What was this? ¡®This feeling is¡­¡¯ Hyukjin turned his meditative gaze inward, reading his own feelings. He focused on the howl and on the Big Black Dogs. Certain ¡®words¡¯ began to drift to the surface of his consciousness. Govern thy emotions with eyes of meditation. Read all things with a tranquil heart. And gaze down upon all phenomena with peaceful eyes. He didn¡¯t hear any other ¡®words¡¯. Something was lacking. Hyukjin had a hunch. ¡®Incantation territory.¡¯ This was incantation territory. He was beginning to harness a special authority that could enhance his power of ¡®observation¡¯ even more. Not long afterwards, Hyukjin had a realization. ¡®What I¡¯m doing right now¡­¡¯ To his surprise, it wasn¡¯t just simple observation, but empathizing. Sung-gu saw tears drip from Hyukjin¡¯s eyes. ¡®What¡¯s with him?¡¯ Sung-gu almost wanted to say, ¡°It¡¯s because you¡¯re like this that you¡¯re scary, man!¡± but he held back. Why was Hyukjin crying? Did he go mad all of a sudden? Sung-gu was extremely confused, but he internally slapped himself back to stillness. ¡°I see. You¡¯re very sad.¡± He met eyes with the Twin-Headed Big Black Dog. Tears were running out of the boss monster¡¯s four eyes. [The ¡®Shepherd Boy¡¯ is very impressed by your ¡®empathy¡¯.] [The ¡®Shepherd Boy¡¯ expresses utmost goodwill towards you.] The Twin-Headed Big Black Dog began to lick Hyukjin¡¯s hand. ¡®It doesn¡¯t hurt at all.¡¯ This high-level monster¡¯s saliva was a strong acid. Last time, when Hyukjin¡¯s head was in the Twin-Headed Big Black Dog¡¯s mouth, the saliva was excruciating. But now, it didn¡¯t hurt at all. The licking didn¡¯t harm his hand at all, but the Twin-Headed Big Black Dog¡¯s emotions were relayed to Hyukjin in full. ¡®Heartbreaking pain.¡¯ It felt like he was deeply connected to the monster¡¯s emotions. This phenomenon was one he knew about. There was an article about it on Playpedia. ¨CTamers of a high level are not only able to easily read monsters¡¯ emotions, but are able to feel those emotions. In other words, the more in-tune a Player is with a monster¡¯s emotions, the more talent they have as a tamer. He heard notices. [¡®Find Charles¡¯ Owner!¡¯ has been cleared.] [The clear has been recognized as a peerlessly perfect clear.] While those notices were going off, Darongi clambered onto one of the Twin-Headed Big Black Dog¡¯s heads and patted it with an air of self-importance. The boss¡¯ other head turned to stare at Darongi, who gave another pat, as if to encourage the Twin-Headed Big Black Dog to cheer up. Hyukjin was able to read the Twin-Headed Big Black Dog¡¯s emotions through Eye of Perception. ¡®He¡¯s actually¡­ getting significantly comforted?¡¯ As ridiculous as it was, the Twin-Headed Big Black Dog was greatly consoled by Darongi. [Distributing the rewards for ¡®Find Charles¡¯ Owner!¡¯] This was a quest created by linking the First Pioneer title effect with a first discovery of a hidden piece. It would give out far greater rewards than a regular quest. [Title ¡®Hundred Dog Master¡¯ acquired.] Hyukjin got a new title, Hundred Dog Master. Chapter 129 Chapter 129 [Title ¡®Hundred Dog Master¡¯ acquired.] I got a new title. It was one I knew, but before I could even check it, another notice came right on its heels. [The ¡®Shepherd Boy¡¯ proposes a flash quest.] The representative Guardian of Scotland proposed a flash quest in the Korean server, an action that naturally demanded significant cost, since it was a direct System interference. ¡®A flash quest when I¡¯m not even a tamer?¡¯ The ¡®Shepherd Boy¡¯ was famous for being a Guardian who exclusively sponsored tamers, so I was surprised to see he was getting personally involved with an ¡®Observer¡¯ like me. [A note has arrived.] The quest reached me in the form of a note. I immediately opened it and checked the contents. [Note from the ¡®Shepherd Boy¡¯] The ¡®Shepherd Boy¡¯ wishes to grant you a quest. The Shepherd Boy is currently looking for ¡®Red Eyes¡¯. The Shepherd Boy is certain that the ¡®Red Eyes¡¯ are somewhere in the Korean server. Find the Red Eyes. Reward: ¡®Hundred Dog Master¡¯ title upgrade. 5,000 Coins ¨C (Currently hidden. Will become automatically visible upon quest clear.) ¡®What the heck?¡¯ I already knew about ¡®Red Eyes¡¯. The Barrier Magician who possessed Red Eyes, the young woman who might become the Red Demon in the future, was currently the just 19-year-old Barrier Magician Ahn Seohye. She definitely had red eyes. ¡®Why is a Guardian looking for Red Eyes?¡¯ And why a Guardian primarily active in the Scotland server? Why did the Shepherd Boy give me a quest to look for the ¡®Red Eyes¡¯ Ahn Seohye possessed? For now, I accepted it. Upon doing so, the Shepherd Boy sent me another notice. [The ¡®Shepherd Boy¡¯ respects your choice.] [The ¡®Shepherd Boy¡¯ grants you a favor.] [The Shepherd Boy¡¯s favor has temporarily added a special effect to the title effects of Hundred Dog Master.] Just then, Sung-gu asked, ¡°Hyukjin. The escalator going to the 2nd floor did get activated, but¡­ we¡¯re not gonna go up, right?¡± Of course we weren¡¯t. I had absolutely zero intent to clear this place legitimately. ¡°We¡¯re gonna leave right away.¡± ¡°Using this?¡± Sung-gu took out his ¡®Beginner Free Pass Scroll¡¯, the reward we obtained when clearing the U-Plex Dungeon last time. If we used this, we could leave the dungeon. ¡°Yeah. That was my plan, at first.¡± The ¡®Free Pass¡¯ was, as the name suggested, a scroll that would let us ¡°pass¡± the dungeon. But ¡°passing¡± was not ¡°clearing¡±. It was actually closer to ¡°fleeing¡±. ¡°Sung-gu. Do you trust me?¡± ¡°Yeah, of course.¡± ¡°Then would you trust me and give me your Beginner Free Pass Scroll?¡± ¡°¡­¡± Sung-gu made an unhappy expression. ¡°But I only have one?¡± ¡°I know.¡± Sung-gu blinked at me. I had long since imagined his possible responses. ¡®I¡¯ll respect whatever decision you make.¡¯ In the current situation, the Beginner Free Pass Scroll was like Sung-gu¡¯s lifeline. Without it, he would be stuck in the U-Plex Dungeon. The only way to leave this dungeon was this scroll. It would never happen and I didn¡¯t intend on doing so, but if I were to take this item and run away, Sung-gu would be left behind, and before long, would die. ¡°Ah, fuck it.¡± Surprisingly, Sung-gu didn¡¯t deliberate for long. ¡°Here, take it.¡± He handed his Beginner Free Pass to me despite any doubt or regret such an action might bring. He didn¡¯t ask me much, and I didn¡¯t give him any useless explanations, either. ¡°Thanks for trusting me.¡± ¡°Why so sentimental all of a sudden? You¡¯re scaring me. You and I both know you¡¯re not that warmhearted. You¡¯re not leaving me behind and booking it, right?¡± ¡°Of course not.¡± I was talking to Sung-gu right now, but ultimately, this conversation was mostly an ¡®act for the Guardians¡¯. In this place of life and death, Sung-gu gave me his one and only lifeline without asking for any compensation or guarantee in return. I was creating content to suit their tastes. Meeting the customer¡¯s needs was one of a content creator¡¯s duties, was it not? I would give them enjoyment, and they could give me physical rewards through the System in return. [The ¡®Conductor of Sound¡¯ is impressed by the comradery.] [The ¡®White Hunter¡¯ is impressed by the trust and faith.] Luckily, the two of them were apparently in Senia¡¯s channel. [The ¡®Conductor of Sound¡¯ gives you 1,000 Coins.] [The ¡®White Hunter¡¯ gives you 1,500 Coins.] A simple act snagged me 2,500 Coins from the Guardians. Judging by the trembling of Senia¡¯s half-transparent wings, a hefty shower of sponsorships was likely dumped on her as well, as my exclusive contract Streamer. ¡®Can¡¯t end it here, can we?¡¯ Guardians had to be wrung for all they were worth. The reason I was choosing to enhance here, out of all places, was to give them a good show of my enhancement. ¡°Senia. I¡¯m going to start the enhancement now.¡± ¡°¡­Enhancement? Here?¡± Senia looked around. A few Big Black Dogs were sleeping, and the Twin-Headed Big Black Dog was standing next to me. To be perfectly honest, it would be a lie to say this place was completely safe. Even people could turn on a dime, but monsters? No matter how amiable we were now, you never knew when they would become enemies. ¡°You want to say the location isn¡¯t appropriate, right?¡± ¡°Yes. As I said before, when it comes to enhancing, location and timing are very important factors.¡± Senia was saying typical stuff she should naturally say as an Intermediate Administrator. And she wasn¡¯t wrong. If this were a typical situation. ¡°Scan my title. The Hundred Dog Master one.¡± [Hundred Dog Master] The master of a hundred dogs. Induces complete submission of all pure dog monsters under level 30. Grants extreme intimacy with all pure dog monsters between level 30-40. Grants weak intimacy with all pure dog monsters between level 40-50. Shepherd Boy¡¯s favor: Will not be attacked by ¡®Big Black Dog¡¯ monsters within the U-Plex Dungeon. I intentionally picked this moment to share the title effects and gave a short explanation to supplement. Even the boss monster Twin-Headed Big Black Dog currently saw me as a true friend, or a benefactor who helped him find his owner¡¯s whereabouts. ¡°Big Black Dogs are pack monsters. They¡¯re also feeling a lot of goodwill towards Sung-gu, a member of my group.¡± This was something I confirmed with Eye of Perception. We wouldn¡¯t be attacked by the Big Black Dogs. Our safety was guaranteed, meaning this was the perfect timing for the ¡®enhancement content¡¯ many Guardians were sitting on the edge of their seats to watch. ¡°I¡¯m going to start the enhancement right away.¡± I had a ¡®One-time Free Pass Scroll Enhancement Permit¡¯. [One-time Free Pass Scroll Enhancement Permit] A permit to enhance the Free Pass Scroll one time. Required Coins: 50,000 Coins It required a whopping 50,000 Coins, but that was fine. Many Guardians were focusing on this scene, and I would be able to clear the U-Plex Dungeon again. ¡°I need 50k Coins for each scroll, so 100k for both mine and Sung-gu¡¯s.¡± It wasn¡¯t a small sum for me at this point in time. I would have to use a huge 100k of the 138k Coins I had saved bit by bit. ¡®When going for something, you just gotta take the plunge.¡¯ To be precise, this was an investment. An investment that would create the miracle of a level 32 Player clearing the unassailable U-Plex Dungeon once again. ¡®From the standpoint of the Guardians, a miracle.¡¯ * * * I purposefully dragged things out a little. Right now, we had two Guardians from the Italian server, and even one from the Scotland server. It was probably a sign that Senia¡¯s channel was becoming more and more famous. ¡®I¡¯ve waited long enough.¡¯ I started enhancing. [Enhance the Beginner Free Pass Scroll?] [Calculating the enhancement success rate.] The +1 success rate for regular items was typically around 100%. But this ¡®cheat effect¡¯ scroll would have a much lower success rate. I heard it was only 50% for the +1 enhancement, which was why it was a scroll most people didn¡¯t try to enhance. ¡®What percent will it be?¡¯ It was fine even if the enhancement failed. That, too, was entertaining content in its own way. [The success rate will be determined by the Player¡¯s talent and competence.] [+1 enhancement success rate: 120%] It was 120% again. A little time passed, and then I went right into enhancing the second scroll. [The enhancement was successful.] By now, I knew this couldn¡¯t be chalked up to coincidence. I was sure of it. At least in the under-40 period, my enhancement talent was world-class. Only ¡®outstanding talent¡¯ could possibly explain this result. Sung-gu took the enhanced scroll with a sour face. ¡°You enhanced it¡­?¡± His jaw dropped. ¡°But what¡¯s with this effect? It¡¯s not even just a regular clear¡­¡± What I did wasn¡¯t a regular enhancement. When I enhanced regular items before, I got blue and purple grade items. But enhancing this scroll gave a free ¡®brown Clear Crystal¡¯. ¡°It gives a brown Clear Crystal?¡± Sung-gu wiped the sweat from his forehead. ¡°Aren¡¯t you a sovereign? Why¡¯re you so good at enhancement, too? Or wait, is this how it normally is?¡± No, far from it. People with ¡®outstanding talent¡¯ for enhancement were so rare that Players good at enhancement were even called ¡®craftsmen¡¯ or ¡®masters¡¯. ¡°You¡¯re a sovereign, you¡¯re good at fighting, you¡¯re smart, you¡¯re popular, and you¡¯re even good at enhancement. Ugh. We call blokes like you broken. You broken af mofo,¡± he grumbled. His words might be derisive, but Sung-gu¡¯s state was full to the brim with ¡®happiness¡¯ and ¡®slight admiration¡¯. ¡°Let¡¯s clear and get out.¡± I ripped the scroll and heard a notice. [Brown Clear Crystal has been destroyed.] [The ¡®U-Plex Dungeon¡¯ has been cleared.] [Distributing ¡®U-Plex Dungeon¡¯ clear rewards.] My eyes were blinded. We found ourselves in front of the U-Plex Dungeon entrance. ¡®Ngh¡­!¡¯ My eyes weren¡¯t just blinded by the change in brightness. ¡®My eyes¡­¡¯ It was only for the slightest moment, but I suddenly felt extreme pain, like someone was carving out my eyes with a huge needle. The feeling was reminiscent of when I came face to face with the Demon King. ¡®There¡¯s no Demon King here.¡¯ It wasn¡¯t the same feeling. That brief flash of pain disappeared like it never happened. ¡®Just now, that was¡­¡¯ I suddenly realized what the pain I had just felt in my eyes meant. Chapter 130 Chapter 130 I had already experienced ¡®Precognitive Dream¡¯ once. That weird feeling of d¨¦j¨¤ vu still lingered within hand¡¯s reach, and that experience allowed me to make an inference about the sensation I was feeling now. ¡®Just now, that was Precognitive Eye.¡¯ Precognitive Eye. An eye that sees the future. It wasn¡¯t that I specifically saw some kind of future. But I could tell. ¡®Someone around me is in danger.¡¯ Or they would meet danger in the future. The famous astrologist of Japan, ¡®Itachi¡¯, once said: ¨CThe ability to see the future is accompanied by constant, extreme pain. That is why seeing the future is dangerous. There are those who are unable to overcome the pain and become madmen, or even die. I was sure of it. Someone was in danger. ¡®Is there anything that could pose a threat at this point in time?¡¯ I thought back to the past. Today was October 10th, 2018. I couldn¡¯t recall anything in particular that happened in Korea that could bring danger to Sunhwa and my party members. ¡®The possibility Mom or Noona are in danger is¡­¡¯ I didn¡¯t think it was something like a car accident. The sensation I just had, what my ¡®Eye of Perception¡¯ told me upon sensing danger in the future, wasn¡¯t something so mundane. ¡®It¡¯s not Mom or Noona.¡¯ It was related to Players. That was a sure fact. ¡®So that just leaves Sunhwa and the others¡­¡¯ What could possibly endanger them? Even now, they were Players at the front of the pack. We hadn¡¯t even entered the ¡®Gwanghwamun Dungeon¡¯ we were going to tackle soon. Nothing particularly dangerous would happen to them. ¡®If not them, then¡­¡¯ Could it be related to my ¡®Find the Red Eyes¡¯ quest? Could it be that some danger would come to Ahn Seohye, a person I was in close contact with? ¡®Currently, that¡¯s the most likely possibility.¡¯ I had to confirm it. The most important person to me was Sunhwa, so I called her first. ¨CHi, Oppa. For now, it didn¡¯t seem like anything bad had happened to Sunhwa. ¨CI¡¯m at home, but I¡¯m going out now. ¨CWhere are you going? ¨CI have a date with Yeonseo unnie. ¨CWith Yeonseo? Where? ¨CHongdae! We¡¯re gonna eat tasty cake. Oh, right. Seohye unnie is also gonna be there¡­ From the way she was talking, she seemed to be saying ¡®Do you want to come too, Oppa?¡¯ or ¡®It¡¯d be great if you could come too!¡¯, but she didn¡¯t say it outright. She probably thought I was too busy for that. ¨CYou said you¡¯re going to Hongdae? ¨CYep! There¡¯s a place with superduper tasty carrot cake in Hongdae. It¡¯s supposed to be like suuuuuuper tasty. You¡¯d probably like it too, Oppa. Like really really like it. ¨CThen buy me one too. Sunhwa gave me a slightly morose ¡®Okay¡­!¡¯ at that. After hanging up, I thought for a moment. ¡®Hongdae.¡¯ Mid-October, 2018. Hongdae. Sword Empress. Sunhwa. Ahn Seohye. When I put these keywords together, something seemed to dislodge itself from the depths of my memory and float to the surface. ¡®Ah.¡¯ There was one incident. It happened not in Hongdae, but the directly neighboring Hapjeong. There was an incident called the ¡®Mad Dog Tamer¡¯s Hostage Crisis¡¯. It didn¡¯t have much to do with the future I was drafting, so I didn¡¯t pay much attention to it. ¡®Some dude tamed a bunch of monsters and created a violent hostage crisis.¡¯ I didn¡¯t remember his name. By future standards, this was just one incident among many. Although people died, there were far fewer losses than the breaks of the Seoul Station Dungeon, U-Plex Dungeon, or the Gwanghwamun Dungeon that would soon open. In the end, that tamer was killed by Players. Hongdae and Hapjeong were exactly one bus stop away. If the ¡®Precognitive Eye¡¯ I felt was real, there was a high chance something could happen to the three girls. Did that mean I should tell them not to go to Hongdae or Hapjeong because it was dangerous? ¡®No.¡¯ I remembered what Itachi said. ¨CThe ability to see the future is a cursed ability. Do not divulge the future you glimpsed. Something terrifying is bound to happen. Do not try to change the future with your ability to see the future. That will only result in a far more terrible outcome than the misfortune you saw. That was the wisdom left by Itachi, one of the top Players with the ability to see the future. He had met an early death at 28 years old. I called Sunhwa again. ¨CAre you calling again because you want to eat carrot cake too, Oppa? Sunhwa¡¯s voice was bright with anticipation. It felt like she was practically flashing ¡®Come with us, Oppa!¡¯ in neon lights. She diligently cast an incantation¡ªif you could call it that¡ªlike she was trying to entice me into coming. ¨CCarrot cake! Carrot cake! Su! Per! De! Li! Cious! ¨CSunhwa. If you happen to meet a dangerous tamer, call me right away. ¨CA tamer? ¨CYeah. And you said you were meeting up with Ahn Seohye, right? The Ahn Seohye from the past and the current Ahn Seohye were different. ¡®In the past, Ahn Seohye wasn¡¯t in Hongdae.¡¯ That was a definite fact. If she hadn¡¯t become friends with Yeonseo or Sunhwa, she would have never gone to hang out on such a busy street. In the past, she might have even been nursing the wounds Seo Joohwan inflicted on her while becoming the ¡®Red Demon¡¯. ¡®The key is Ahn Seohye.¡¯ Starting from the Predator Tree Colony, the threads of fate that bound us were running unsevered. It was even possible that me ¡®sensing future danger¡¯ out of the blue had something to do with the ¡®Red-Eyed Girl¡¯. ¨CAlso, Sunhwa. I decided to say the most I could tell her in the current situation. ¨CIf by any chance you see Seohye¡¯s eyes turn red, be sure to call me. Hongdae University Station, Exit 9. Feeling a little nervous, Ahn Seohye met up with Shin Yeonseo. ¡°It¡¯s so fascinating to me that I¡¯ve become friends with you, Unnie.¡± ¡°Really?¡± Yeonseo flashed her a bright smile. Facing those dazzling smiling eyes, Seohye actually felt her heart flutter. ¡°I think I¡¯m getting a crush on you, Unnie.¡± The fluttering in her heart was a little different from attraction towards the opposite sex, but in any case, her heart was thumping, since Shin Yeonseo was something of an idol to Seohye. At some point, Sunhwa arrived as well. ¡°Hehe. Sorry for being late!¡± The three walked together to their destination. Yeonseo sighed. ¡°Why¡¯s it so complicated to get there?¡± Of course, the path wasn¡¯t hard at all. They just had to go in a straight line. It was just that Yeonseo had an incredibly hopeless sense of direction. Seohye didn¡¯t bother to point that out. ¡°We just have to go this way. It¡¯s in between Hongdae and Hapjeong.¡± ¡°Wow. You¡¯re a real pro at reading the map.¡± ¡°No, it¡¯s because the app has gotten really good these days.¡± For Sunhwa, the path there was of zero concern. Her attention was completely absorbed by the prospect of carrot cake. The three girls entered the caf¨¦, where they proceeded to spend a staggering three hours chattering about this and that. Even after all that talking, it still wasn¡¯t enough. Seohye hesitantly spoke up. ¡°Kim Hyukjin. That person¡­ What kind of person is he, really?¡± ¡°My oppa?¡± Seohye noticed that Sunhwa put special emphasis on the word ¡®my¡¯. ¡°Looks like you guys have a close sibling relationship. That¡¯s pretty rare.¡± ¡°I really like Oppa.¡± Naturally, the group¡¯s subject of choice became ¡®Kim Hyukjin¡¯. ¡°He seems like a really fascinating person,¡± said Seohye. ¡°My oppa is fascinating?¡± ¡°Yeah. Or should I say mysterious?¡± ¡°My oppa somehow feels way adult-like, right?¡± Because Sunhwa insisted on peppering every sentence with ¡®my oppa¡¯, the flow of the conversation was a little awkward, but Seohye just disregarded that. ¡°Yeah. Your oppa really is.¡± Sunhwa puffed her chest out at that, smiling happily like she was the one who had been complimented. ¡°That¡¯s just how my oppa is.¡± While saying so, Sunhwa examined Seohye¡¯s eyes. ¡®Red¡­ eyes?¡¯ They weren¡¯t completely red. ¡®Since when?¡¯ It was only a hint of color, like she was wearing very slightly tinted circle lenses. ¡®I think they¡¯ve been like that since we started talking about Oppa.¡¯ Sunhwa didn¡¯t outwardly display her thoughts. She just naturally picked up her phone and sent Hyukjin a message, telling him that Seohye unnie¡¯s eyes had turned just a little red. It was faint enough that you could only tell with close inspection, but they were definitely red. The next moment, a siren went off outside. Blaaaaaaare¨C! ¨CAll civilians, please evacuate. An evacuation notice was broadcasted. The people inside the coffee shop jumped to their feet. ¡°Wh-What¡¯s going on?¡± ¡°Wasn¡¯t that an evacuation notice?¡± ¡°Have monsters appeared?¡± They checked the situation with their phones. ¡°Oh my God!¡± There was a hostage crisis in Hapjeong. A crazy Player was leading strange monsters from Hapjeong towards Hongdae. Articles and social media posts poured out in real time. [Random Killing in Hapjeong] [Random Murder Incident Using a Player¡¯s Strength] Some tamer started killing people for no reason and was now holding hostages in a standoff with the dispatched police. Seohye also jumped up. ¡°Let¡¯s go. It¡¯s right next to us. If we run, it¡¯ll only take ten minutes.¡± Yeonseo¡¯s reaction was a little more cautious than Seohye¡¯s. ¡®The police have surrounded him. Even if we come forward, not much will change.¡¯ There were even people streaming the scene live through mediums like YouTube. The man on the screen was throwing his head back in mad laughter. The broadcast suddenly cut off. Someone had been ripped apart by a monster. * * * Even the police found their hands tied in the sudden wanton murder and hostage crisis in Hapjeong. Strangely enough, weapons like guns didn¡¯t work on Players. A man named Kang Younghan walked step by step from Hapjeong towards Hongdae University Station. ¡°Stop right there! If you move, we¡¯ll shoot!¡± warned the policemen. ¡°Try it then.¡± Bang! Bang! The policemen really fired. ¡°Hihihihi! You think guns can do anything to me?¡± After laughing his heart out, Kang Younghan shouted, ¡°SIC ¡®EM! Bite to your heart¡¯s content! Rip everyone apart! Kill them all!¡± He didn¡¯t have a particular reason to kill. He just found it fun. ¡°This is a game, a game!¡± Yes, a game. This was all a game. He never knew that watching begging and screaming people get eaten alive could be so fun. [Weredog¡¯s level has increased.] [Weredog¡¯s level has increased.] The levels of his monsters were even going up. How wonderful was that?! ¡®Soon, they¡¯ll evolve to Warriordogs.¡¯ Then, they would become much stronger. He began to feel confidence that his monsters might even be able to devour the hugely famous Tutorial Ender, So Yoohyun. ¡°Sic ¡®em!¡± Weredogs. Just like how Lycanthropes were humanoid wolves, Weredogs were humanoid dogs. Their original level was 20, but after taming and buffing, and through the hunting of humans, his Weredogs had become level 30. EXP went up exponentially by hunting humans, and it didn¡¯t even take that long to reach this point. Six Weredogs peeled away from the pack and ran off. Two went in the direction of Yeouido, and four towards Hongdae. Woof! Woof! Woof! The bipedal dogs ran around in a frenzy of bloody activity, ripping apart policemen and civilians alike. The Hapjeong and Hongdae areas were in absolute and utter chaos. One of the Weredogs stood in place, sniffing. It continued to flare its nose, as if it were looking for something. Shortly afterwards, it began to howl. Its cry also reached Kang Younghan. ¡°Oho? There¡¯s tasty prey that way, you say?¡± Prey more delicious than regular people. Even more delicious if they were Players, who possessed magical power. Right now, Younghan was full of confidence. He felt like he could hunt down any Player, no matter who, as long as he had his twenty Weredogs specialized for ¡®hunting¡¯. The Weredogs that had run off towards Yeouido also rejoined the pack. ¡®The police can¡¯t stop me!¡¯ The police were helpless against him, and people were fleeing from him in terror. ¡®What absolute ecstasy!¡¯ Just then, he spotted someone. ¡°Hrm?¡± It was a Player who was renowned for 1 vs. 1 PVP. Even from afar, she was truly pretty. In his eyes, Shin Yeonseo was like an angel. How beautiful would it be if he ripped that angel¡¯s arms and legs off her body? She would look like a bleeding doll, wouldn¡¯t she? ¡°She¡¯s strong in 1 vs. 1, but¡­¡± His Weredogs stood in front of him like sturdy soldiers. ¡°Go. You have new prey, children.¡± The Weredogs began to sprint towards Shin Yeonseo. She took out her sword. ¡®Individually, they¡¯re weak.¡¯ But there were just a bit too many of them. ¡®Twenty in total.¡¯ Could she face them all? There was no need for that. ¡°Sunhwa?¡± ¡°Got it.¡± She had a tank second to none by her side. The Weredogs¡¯ teeth couldn¡¯t penetrate Sunhwa¡¯s defenses. [Using the skill ¡®AOE Taunt¡¯.] [!] marks popped up over the heads of the Weredogs at the same time. Sunhwa successfully pulled every single one of them. The Weredogs swerved to rush towards Sunhwa. ¡°Sunhwa, hold tight for a bit.¡± ¡°Got it!¡± Yeonseo knew that this monster swarm wasn¡¯t naturally made. That man over there, who she figured was the tamer, was the culprit behind all this. ¡®I have to kill him.¡¯ It just so happened that the path to him was free. If she rushed through, she could kill that man. However, she didn¡¯t heedlessly run in. ¡®I have a bad feeling somehow.¡¯ That feeling was something akin to instinct. The way was clear, but she didn¡¯t rush through. She could make a beeline towards him, but she didn¡¯t. Was it because that man was dangerous? No. ¡®Seohye¡¯s eyes¡­¡¯ Ahn Seohye¡¯s eyes were red. The world of ¡®new culture¡¯ where anything was possible had arrived, and someone¡¯s eyes becoming red wasn¡¯t that remarkable on its own. How could someone¡¯s eyes turning red be a big deal in a world where magic existed? ¡®But they¡¯re ominous.¡¯ Yeonseo got a bad feeling from them. That was why she didn¡¯t take action. While she was thinking, one of the de-aggroed Weredogs made a mad rush towards Seohye and bit the back of her neck. Yeonseo swiftly brought down her sword on it. ¡°Seohye. Are you okay?¡± The Weredog¡¯s teeth didn¡¯t cut deep into the skin. Yeonseo had acted quickly. It wasn¡¯t a serious injury. A little blood ran down Seohye¡¯s neck. ¡°Blood¡­¡± she mumbled to herself. ¡°Blood¡­.!¡± She continued to mumble. ¡°Blood¡­!¡± Ahn Seohye touched the blood with her index finger and brought it to her lips and licked it. Her eyes turned crimson red, becoming Red Eyes in full. And that change was witnessed by the ¡®Observer¡¯ Kim Hyukjin, who was watching the situation some distance away. Chapter 131 Chapter 131 I observed Ahn Seohye from a distance. When I focused on Observer¡¯s Eye, it felt like everything else faded away and I could only see Ahn Seohye in perfect clarity, like she was the only thing in the world with distinct and clear edges. It was almost like I was staring at Ahn Seohye with a magnifying glass. ¡®Red Eyes.¡¯ Her eyes were glowing bright red. ¡®I saw them last time, too, but¡­ they give off a weird feeling.¡¯ Also, the Shepherd Boy was looking for those Red Eyes as well. ¡°Player Kim Hyukjin. What do you intend on doing? I am not streaming at the moment.¡± The reason Senia was asking me this was simple. She was saying she wanted to plan out in advance how to shoot the upcoming scene. ¡°I have to clear the Shepherd Boy¡¯s quest and stop that crazy bastard.¡± ¡°Which of the two will you focus on more?¡± ¡°Not sure. I haven¡¯t decided yet. You decide that on your own.¡± ¡°Understood.¡± Senia had become a lot more reliable lately. ¡®To start.¡¯ I started walking towards Ahn Seohye. ¡®Yeonseo and Sunhwa are there, so there shouldn¡¯t be much cause for danger.¡¯ Originally, the average level of Weredogs was around 20. But seeing as the police¡¯s weapons didn¡¯t work on them, that tamer must have raised their levels a lot. When I checked with Eye of Perception, their levels were around 30. Level 20 monsters being at level 30 meant they had really raised their levels a ton. ¡®That crazy bastard¡¯s name is Kang Younghan.¡¯ He was extremely far away, but I could read his information. [Player] Name: Kang Younghan Age: 35 Level: 28 Class: Weredog Tamer Guardian: Lone Wolf Innate ability: ¨C State: Enjoyment / Pleasure / Arrogance Disposition: Psychopathic / Sadist Summary: Conceited Slaughterer Self-Proclaimed Thousand Dog Master The disposition/state/summary only show the most representative and can change according to the situation. Because Eye of Perception¡¯s proficiency is not high enough, viewing more detailed information is impossible. ¡®Class, Weredog Tamer.¡¯ As soon as I saw his class name, I knew how it was that the Weredogs were so high level and were so much stronger than regular Weredogs, even stronger than Lycanthropes. The reason was that class, ¡®Weredog Tamer¡¯. ¡®A restricted class that can only tame Weredogs. In exchange, it¡¯s extremely potent.¡¯ It was thanks to his class that Kang Younghan was able to raise the Weredogs¡¯ levels so fast. This tamer had the misfortune of being an early bloomer Player. No matter how strong his Weredogs became, they could never break free of their ¡®Weredog¡¯ constraints. He could evolve his Weredogs into Warriordogs or Great Warriordogs, but that was the limit. A Weredog was, after all, a Weredog. It could never become a dragon. It was actually a relief that such a madman was an early bloomer. Observer¡¯s Eye switched focus to Ahn Seohye again. She was licking the blood from her neck. From that moment onwards, her aura changed. ¡®What is this feeling?¡¯ I felt intense bloodthirst from Ahn Seohye, but it was hard to grasp. The feeling came and slipped away repeatedly, appearing and disappearing repeatedly from Observer¡¯s Eye¡¯s view. I decided how I wanted to Play, coming up with a list of priorities. ¡°Senia. For now, I¡¯ve found the Red Eyes. You can start streaming.¡± I would start by going to the Red Eyes. I set off immediately, using Flash Step towards the changed Ahn Seohye. * * * I found the ¡®Red Eyes¡¯ mentioned by the Shepherd Boy. The Guardian happened to be in Senia¡¯s channel. [You have successfully found the Red Eyes.] [The ¡®Shepherd Boy¡¯ is very happy.] The rewards followed in quick succession. [The title ¡®Hundred Dog Master¡¯ has been upgraded to the title ¡®Thousand Dog Master¡¯.] [5,000 Coins acquired.] Those two were the rewards I already knew about. I was also given the one that had appeared as a ¡®-¡¯. [The linked scenario is being triggered.] The ¡®-¡¯ reward was ¡®acquisition of a linked scenario¡¯. [The linked scenario ¨C ¡®Red Eye Extraction¡¯ has been triggered.] [Due to the linked scenario, you have been temporarily granted the special ability ¡®Hand of Extraction¡¯.] ¡®Red Eye Extraction?¡¯ Didn¡¯t extraction mean pulling something out? ¡®I¡¯m supposed to pull out the Red Eyes?¡¯ To that end, I was temporarily given a special ability called ¡®Hand of Extraction¡¯. Even for the Shepherd Boy, this must have been a huge expense. ¡®Why?¡¯ I would make the Guardians go wild. That was impossible to achieve if you only did meekly as they said and wanted. You had to figure out the Guardian and find out what it was they ¡®really wanted¡¯. Basically, you had to be good at mind games. ¡®You can¡¯t just naively accept quests and be happy just because you cleared them.¡¯ ¡°Do not trust the Guardians too much.¡± I didn¡¯t, of course. I didn¡¯t trust the Guardians too much. That was why my brain was whirling, trying to figure out why the Shepherd Brain wanted to find and extract the ¡®Red Eyes¡¯ at the cost of such incredible expense. ¡®If I extract the Red Eyes¡­ what¡¯ll happen to Seohye?¡¯ There was no information about that. Would it just be that the red color disappeared, or would Seohye lose her vision? I heard a voice. ¡°Who are you?¡± I felt a gaze bearing weak murderous intent coming towards me, the sudden interloper who had appeared out of nowhere. The owner of the gaze was Kang Younghan. About ten Weredogs looking this way were arrayed around him. ¡°What do you think you¡¯re doing?¡± I responded. ¡°Isn¡¯t it obvious?¡± The tamer laughed. ¡°I¡¯m in the middle of having some fun.¡± He was truly mad. ¡®Guess I can keep it short.¡¯ Originally, I was planning on talking with him to draw reactions out of Guardians like the Lady of the Scales or the Whispering Devil. But it seemed that wasn¡¯t necessary. ¡®Self-Proclaimed Ten Thousand Dog Master.¡¯ A mere ¡®Weredog Tamer¡¯ was calling himself a Ten Thousand Dog Master, even though he couldn¡¯t even tame a regular Big Black Dog, much less a Twin-Headed Big Black Dog. ¡°Just imagine. How sweet do you think the blood coming out of that beautiful woman¡¯s severed arms and legs will be? I¡¯ve never seen such a pretty woman.¡± A shiver ran through his body. State: Pleasure / Freakish Enjoyment He was well and truly mad. There was nothing to gain from drawing things out with him. ¡°Weredogs, hear me.¡± The Weredogs turned in unison to look at me. Even a Weredog chasing someone far in the distance screeched to a stop and immediately ran this way. ¡°The Thousand Dog Master commands thee.¡± It felt similar to the Will Incantation. It wasn¡¯t exactly the Will Incantation, but my words were imbued with my will. ¡°All Weredogs shall cease hunting.¡± Weredogs lacked rationality. They couldn¡¯t possibly understand human speech. But I knew very well that my will was being conveyed to the Weredogs, and that these ¡®will-imbued words¡¯ were like the first step of the ¡®Will Incantation¡¯. ¡°Wh-What?¡± Kang Younghan staggered back in shock, having sensed that his plans were going awry. ¡°That bastard! Kill that bastard!¡± But the Weredogs didn¡¯t move. It was natural. Although he was a ¡®Weredog Tamer¡¯, I was a ¡®Thousand Dog Master¡¯. [Thousand Dog Master] Higher level title of Hundred Dog Master. Induces complete submission of all pure dog monsters under level 40. Grants extreme intimacy with all pure dog monsters between levels 40-50. Grants weak intimacy with all pure dog monsters between levels 50-60. Weredogs fell perfectly into the category of ¡®pure dog monsters¡¯, monsters that were purely dogs with nothing else mixed in. Unfortunately for Kang Younghan, my rank as a tamer was higher than his Weredog Tamer. ¡°What are you all doing?! I said, KILL HIM!¡± screamed Kang Younghan. ¡°It¡¯s useless.¡± Sadly for him, be it talent as a tamer, knowledge, or titles, I topped him in every aspect. We were Players of entirely different classes. ¡°Useless?! Bullshit!¡± He pulled out a whistle from his pocket. He blew it desperately, but it was no use. Cold sweat ran down the man¡¯s back as he stumbled backwards. ¡°J-J-Just what the hell are you?!¡± An Observer. What else? Just then, one of the unmoving Weredogs suddenly jumped and bit down on Kang Younghan¡¯s head. Crunch! The wet crack of bone rang out. Blood ran down the Weredog¡¯s maw. Kang Younghan¡¯s body went limp, and at the same time, the Weredogs began to fall one by one like toppling dominoes. ¡®Monsters that have lost their owner.¡¯ Some tamed monsters would die along with their owners. It seemed Weredogs were that kind of tamed creature. In the end, all of the Weredogs collapsed where they stood. All that was left was a corpse with a grotesquely mutilated head. ¡°The problem is¡­¡± I stared at the body. ¡°I didn¡¯t command it to kill.¡± I didn¡¯t intend on directly killing Kang Younghan. I wanted to turn him over to the police. But even without a command from me, the Thousand Dog Master, the Weredog killed its owner on its own initiative. ¡®And it¡¯s not that my will was conveyed.¡¯ The Weredog was influenced by something. That influence urged it to bite its owner to death. ¡°Some kind of influence.¡± My eyes moved towards a certain girl. ¡°Seohye. It might have been your influence.¡± I locked eyes with the girl with the red eyes, the girl who was unknowingly billowing ¡®murderous intent¡¯. ¡°My influence?¡± Seohye¡¯s way of speech had changed a little. Before, she had struggled so much to talk to me, but now¡­ ¡®It¡¯s like when I saw her at Rapundel¡¯s mansion.¡¯ Back when we were in front of the portraits, she was this calm and unruffled, too. She was under the influence of something, and she didn¡¯t realize it. This was probably because of the ¡®Red Eyes¡¯, and these ¡®Red Eyes¡¯ were what the Shepherd Boy wanted. ¡°Shall we talk for a moment?¡± * * * I didn¡¯t know what might happen, so we needed a safe and quiet location. But she would probably be too scared to come to my house, so I borrowed a room in the ¡®Player Center¡¯ with Song Kiyeol¡¯s help. After some time, the red light faded from Seohye¡¯s eyes. ¡°The way I see it, your eyes are imbued with a special power. They¡¯re activated when a special condition is fulfilled.¡± ¡°¡­¡± I continued the conversation one-sidedly. ¡°There¡¯s a Guardian who wants your eyes. To be precise, they want the Red Eyes.¡± I explained everything I knew. ¡°You have to make the choice.¡± I couldn¡¯t pluck them by force. Some kind of side effect might occur, or she might even lose her ¡®Barrier Magician¡¯ power. It could also be that nothing would happen. No one knew what exactly would occur. ¡°You said¡­ you can get rid of these eyes with your skill, sir?¡± As I expected, Seohye was vaguely aware of these ¡®Red Eyes¡¯. She said she was scared of them, that she wanted to get rid of them, if possible. ¡°¡­Yes.¡± I looked at Seohye¡¯s state. State: Fear I only saw fear. I could clearly feel her desire to not become that way. After thinking for a long time, Ahn Seohye spoke again. ¡°¡­To be honest, I was afraid.¡± She had felt it from the start. ¡°¡­¡± I didn¡¯t know how to answer her. Was I supposed to warmly comfort her? I didn¡¯t know, so I just quietly listened. I listened as best as I could, with every bit of sincerity. ¡°There was no one, no one, I could talk to.¡± This young woman was refused help several times and was sexually abused by the person closest to her, her father. I understood her situation. ¡°All the people and all the adults I trusted made me afraid.¡± Tears welled in her eyes. I simply listened, giving her space to speak on her own. I waited so that she could express her inner feelings. As I did so, I felt my heart itch, but it wasn¡¯t attraction towards the opposite sex. No, this itch was something else entirely. ¡®Like when I empathized with the Twin-Headed Big Black Dog.¡¯ It was the same feeling I got when my emotions synched with the Twin-Headed Big Black Dog. What I learned back then from a monster was applying now to a human, Ahn Seohye. ¡®And¡­¡¯ The sensation I felt in the Yellow Charm Gate was coming back to me. That time when I recognized the false authority and my Eye of Perception dismantled it with the power of ¡®insight¡¯, the sensation of the ¡®Will Incantation¡¯ I achieved at that time, it became a current of hot blood surging within my body. As she spoke the words that had been festering in her heart, tears fell from Seohye¡¯s eyes. ¡°That¡¯s why I couldn¡¯t trust anyone.¡± She said she was scared. She was so, so very scared. She kept saying those words, over and over again. She also said ¡®There was no one I could trust¡¯ several times. But I didn¡¯t get tired of hearing the same things. It felt like I was assimilating the darkness in Seohye¡¯s heart. ¡®This is the empathy mentioned by the System.¡¯ Right now, I was empathizing with Seohye¡¯s darkness. A very long time passed, about an hour of me sitting and listening. But that time didn¡¯t feel like very long. ¡°Please help me.¡± When I heard those words, it was like the world in front of me brightened, and I knew. I had created a new will. With it, I could invoke a new Will Incantation. ¡°Please, help me.¡± Those words became the catalyst. My steadily heating blood seemed to boil. ¡°I will help you.¡± Observation. Empathy. And built upon those two, the will to help. New words began to flow from my mouth, words that pointed towards a new realm. ____ Chapter 132 Chapter 132 The itchiness in Hyukjin¡¯s heart was expelled in the form of ¡®words¡¯. He fell into a trance. His subconscious read the world and looked directly into Ahn Seohye¡¯s ¡®darkness¡¯. His subconscious found the common point between his previous self and the current Seohye. ¡®I was like you, once.¡¯ The world hadn¡¯t been on his side. His mom had died from illness¡ªto be more precise, she had died because they lacked the money to treat her¡ªand his sister had gotten leukemia. He¡¯d blamed everything on his lack of talent, living in the moldy half-underground room he called home, thinking he should just do his best tomorrow, too. Thinking that his day would come. That someday, things would be alright. How nice that would be. It was hard now, but how nice it would be if things got better. That was how he¡¯d lived. ¡®No. I still had it better than you.¡¯ At the very least, he had a family. Seohye didn¡¯t even have that. She only had a disgusting man who couldn¡¯t even be called a father. Having looked straight at the darkness in Seohye¡¯s heart, an incantation flowed from Hyukjin¡¯s lips. Observation. Empathy. Will. And on top of that, her confession of trust. ¡°Trust is the truth of desires¡ª¡± ¡°And the proof of what cannot be seen.¡± A state of will, and will-lessness. An incantation Hyukjin was speaking, but not speaking. It was the Will Incantation, but not one he was manifesting completely with his will alone. No, it came from a deeper place, one that was more primal. A place of instinct. The words continued to fall from his lips. ¡°One who trusts even without seeing shall live even in death.¡± ¡°Thy cry of agony and entreaty, I have heard.¡± ¡°And thus shall I sublimate thy lacerating suffering into peace and joy.¡± Hyukjin paused to catch his breath. ¡°I stand upon iron trust and faith and do proclaim:¡± Before, the Will Incantation Hyukjin recited was an incantation to topple ¡®false authority¡¯. This time, it was different. ¡®I will help you.¡¯ The ability to see the darkness within a girl¡¯s heart, to share and empathize with that darkness on a deeper level, his sincere desire to help the poor girl in front of him, and the trust of the girl who desperately wanted help¡ªall of it converged into the ¡®Incantation of Salvation¡¯. [You who trust.] [I command thee. Open thy eyes and face the world.] The timing came to him as naturally as the words, like he had been born knowing this, like it was inscribed in his very cells. [You have successfully uttered the Will Incantation.] [Temporarily increasing the grade of Hand of Extraction based on the completion level of the Will Incantation.] Hyukjin saw that the formless energy created through the incantation, the powerful desire and wish he had harnessed, was amassing on his hand. It had neither form nor color, but it was visible to Hyukjin¡¯s eyes. The eye that discerned the true nature of things, Eye of Perception, made it visible to him, and his infinite talent made that possible. ¡®Now.¡¯ He drew out his strength. This wasn¡¯t the ordinary use of a skill. He artificially controlled the flow of mana through a skill. ¡®Along with the power of the desire manifested by the incantation¡­¡¯ Golden light burst out from Hyukjin¡¯s right hand. [The temporary ability ¡®Hand of Extraction¡¯ is being changed to the temporary ability ¡®Hand of Salvation.¡¯] [Using the Hand of Salvation.] Hyukjin could feel it. ¡°Seohye. It¡¯s going to hurt a little.¡± ¡°¡­¡± Seohye was trembling from head to toe. She was struck with the feeling that some kind of powerful exterior force was tying her down. ¡°What I can say to you right now is this:¡± What Hyukjin could say at this moment was nothing special. ¡°Trust me.¡± He gave neither reasoning nor basis. He simply asked her to trust him. ¡°I will help you.¡± He was being sincere. Seohye must have seen that, because her state instantly changed. State: Unconscious Trust / Weak Fear / Increasing Faith And then, Hyukjin knew. This was the moment. This was the optimal time to discharge the energy of the Hand of Salvation he had gathered and amassed in his right hand. The palm of Hyukjin¡¯s right hand covered Seohye¡¯s eyes. Radiant golden light shone from his hand, while wicked red light gleamed from Seohye¡¯s eyes. ¡°GAAAAAAAAAAAAAGH!¡± Seohye screamed. Despite having entered a trance again, Hyukjin could hear it. He, too, was unable to speak. ¡®You have to overcome it.¡¯ His right hand was over Seohye¡¯s eyes, and his left hand grabbed hers. The girl¡¯s hand was incredibly cold. ¡®I don¡¯t know how much comfort this will be to her, but¡­¡¯ He didn¡¯t know if holding her hand would bring any reassurance, if sharing his heat with this cold hand could be of any help. But he still held on in the hopes it would bolster her. Seohye¡¯s screams became sharp stakes that stabbed Hyukjin¡¯s ears. ¡®It must¡­ hurt a lot.¡¯ Right now, he was in a state of deep emotional communion with Seohye. Though indirect, he could approximate the depth of the terrible agony she was feeling. Right now, Hyukjin was extracting the ¡®Red Eyes¡¯, using not the Hand of Extraction, but the Hand of Salvation. ¡®The Shepherd Boy is a son of a bitch, too.¡¯ If the Shepherd Boy had really exerted himself, if he had really gone all out, he would have gifted Hyukjin the Hand of Salvation rather than the Hand of Extraction to begin with. ¡®If I had unknowingly used the Hand of Extraction¡­ Seohye would have become blind for life.¡¯ The Shepherd Boy probably knew that. But it seemed such a trifling detail was of no concern to the Guardian. ¡®He just focused on getting the Red Eyes.¡¯ But the situation was different now. If the Red Eyes were extracted with the Hand of Salvation, only the ¡®energy of the Red Eyes¡¯ would be extracted. Seohye¡¯s eyes would be left intact. A long time passed. Hyukjin¡¯s back was completely drenched in sweat. Seohye lost consciousness and collapsed. Hyukjin¡¯s body was trembling uncontrollably. ¡®It¡¯s done.¡¯ The next moment, a massive wave of weakness swallowed him. ¡°It¡¯s d¡ª¡± Hyukjin¡¯s body toppled onto Seohye¡¯s with a thud. His right hand dropped limply to his side, holding something that looked like a red marble. Roll. The red marble fell out of Hyukjin¡¯s hand and rolled away, promptly catching Darongi¡¯s eye. [!!!] The squirrel scampered after it and picked it up. The red marble was bigger than his body. He hemmed and hawed, deliberating for a long time. [;;;] Should he open his mouth and eat it, or not? He hesitated. [!!!] Let¡¯s eat it! he thought, and opened his mouth wide, but then¡ª [;;;] He shook his head with an expression that seemed to say, ¡®No, I can¡¯t.¡¯ [¡­] In the end, Darongi moved the marble to his Inventory without eating it. Seized by a pique of anger, he stomped over and clambered onto the unconscious Hyukjin¡¯s back. [!!!] He stomped on Hyukjin and also pummeled his cheeks with his tiny fists. On one hand, it looked like he was venting his frustration on Hyukjin for dropping such a tasty-looking thing and making him suffer such a trial, while on the other, it seemed the squirrel was trying to wake his master up. A long time passed. I heard a voice. ¡°¡­alright?¡± I slowly opened my eyes. My bleary vision brightened. ¡°Are you alright?¡± A familiar voice. It was my little sister Kim Sunhwa, the child who came with me to this place, the ¡®Player Center¡¯. ¡°Are you alright?¡± Sunhwa¡¯s eyes were wet with tears. ¡°I¡¯m alright. I only fainted because I used too much strength for a moment there.¡± With a sob, Sunhwa grabbed me in an embrace. She must have been really worried. ¡°You were unconscious for an hour!¡± she wailed. ¡°Are you okay?¡± Song Kiyeol was standing behind Sunhwa. ¡°Yes, I¡¯m alright.¡± ¡°As you instructed in advance, I didn¡¯t transfer you to the hospital, but¡­¡± ¡°Yes, you did well. Where did the child who was here go?¡± ¡°She was panicking, saying she couldn¡¯t see. We¡¯re calming her down, for now.¡± ¡°I see.¡± She might not be able to see for a little bit. But because I had used the Hand of Salvation and not the Hand of Extraction, her vision would soon return. ¡°Darong.¡± I fainted, but my all-seeing eye didn¡¯t faint along with me. Even though I didn¡¯t physically see it, I knew. [?] The squirrel blinked innocently at me. His expression claimed, ¡®I know nothing,¡¯ but unfortunately for the squirrel, his master was an ¡®Observer¡¯. ¡°You got it, right?¡± Darongi shook his head. [;;;] marks popped up above his head. ¡°Fine. Just know there won¡¯t be any fried chicken for you in the future.¡± I jerked into a walk, the sudden motion causing Darongi to tumble from my shoulder. He barely managed to grab onto my t-shirt and hung on for dear life. I heard a notice. [¡®Darongi¡¯ is requesting you to open his Inventory.] Darongi 0, Fried Chicken 1. As I walked backwards, a smile hung on my lips. * * * I returned home. Thankfully, Seohye calmed down quickly, and her eyesight was slowly recovering, too. For the time being, she went back to the protective services facility. I had asked Kiyeol to take special care of her, so she was probably getting at least VVIP treatment. ¡®There¡¯s another yellow charm.¡¯ Taped to the underside of my desk was, as always, a yellow charm filled with Noona¡¯s wish. I was dumbfounded that she was still writing those. Whoever had her as their sister was one lucky bastard. She was one devoted sis. ¡®So now¡­¡¯ Red Eyes ¨C ¡®The Shepherd Boy must know that I got this.¡¯ Senia had streamed everything. It wasn¡¯t my intention, but it was probably a pretty dramatic scene. ¡®The Shepherd Boy must also know what exactly this is.¡¯ I knew it was an item the Shepherd Boy really needed. So what should I do with it? [Find the Red Eyes.] The quest linked to the ¡®Note from the Shepherd Boy¡¯. Find the ¡®Red Eyes¡¯ and deliver it to an Intermediate Administrator. Reward: ¨C (currently hidden) Normally, the reward was shown. In other words, that meant this wasn¡¯t a normal case. ¡®Something¡¯s bothering me.¡¯ And yet, I couldn¡¯t just blatantly ignore the Shepherd Boy¡¯s quest. He was a Guardian of financial stature and power incomparable to the likes of the Ruler of the Plains, the Guardian I¡¯d turned into my enemy. It might bother me and I might not like it, but it was true that he was a big force to reckon with. He even granted a title called the ¡®Thousand Dog Master¡¯ from a single linked quest. His strength was massive. It was important to keep public and private affairs separate. I needed to maintain a business relationship with the Shepherd Boy. ¡®It heckles me to just hand this over.¡¯ But I couldn¡¯t avoid doing so altogether, either. I couldn¡¯t handle the Shepherd Boy on my own. I had to move the other Guardians, and in a way that would let me secure the greatest profit possible in this situation. To siphon as much profit using everything at my disposal. ¡®I have to be careful.¡¯ Messing with the Guardians was dangerous. One misstep, and you could be stamped as an ¡®official foe¡¯. If that happened, Playing would become much more tiresome. I didn¡¯t show any of my thoughts outwardly. I just laid on my bed like I was limp with exhaustion, acting like I was sleeping. Tick. Tock. I heard the ticking of the clock. Each tick sounded almost like a heavy footstep. After quite a lot of footsteps, a lot of time, I slowly opened my eyes. Like I had always done, I drew out the scenario in my mind. ¡®There¡¯s no guarantee it¡¯ll go exactly as I plan.¡¯ Despite that, I felt a little confidence take root within me. ¡°Senia.¡± I called Senia, and sure enough, she had been watching me the whole time. She appeared immediately. Every step from here on out was important. ¡®Starting now, I¡¯ll draw a new picture.¡¯ Chapter 133 Chapter 133 I decided to draw a new picture. If it was dangerous for me to move on my own, then I had to move the Guardians, with an emphasis on the ¡®s¡¯ in Guardians. ¡°Are you streaming right now?¡± ¡°No.¡± I thought so. Senia had grown to the point where she couldn¡¯t even be compared to her former, newbie self, and she had long since learned the directing technique of cutting the footage right at the climax, called a ¡®sudden cut¡¯ or ¡®sudden cliffhanger¡¯. ¡°If you had been streaming, I would have been disappointed.¡± ¡°¡­¡± Normally, a Player couldn¡¯t say this sort of thing to an Intermediate Administrator without getting in trouble, but that wasn¡¯t the case for us. Senia didn¡¯t look particularly bothered. In fact, she seemed to have taken my words as a compliment. ¡°I am in the process of learning many things thanks to Player Kim Hyukjin.¡± The arrogance she¡¯d shown in the past was gone. Her humility and readiness to learn had grown in spades. ¡°You¡¯ll be able to learn a lot this time, too.¡± Senia¡¯s wings quivered for a moment, a sign that she had immediately picked up on the meaning behind my words. ¡°What do you plan on doing?¡± ¡°As I¡¯m sure you saw, I got the Red Eyes. That¡¯s probably why you ended the stream.¡± ¡°Yes.¡± ¡°So watch carefully. See what I do moving forward.¡± I had to discuss things with my Intermediate Administrator a little before enacting the plan. I gave Senia a fairly detailed explanation so she could understand what kind of picture would be unfurling and how I would get there. ¡°¡­is how I¡¯ll do it.¡± After thinking for a long time, Senia slowly opened her mouth. ¡°If a regular Player had come to me with this sort of plan, I would have refused without hesitation.¡± The angel closed her eyes for a moment. She was as expressionless as usual, but I could feel that she was struggling to make a decision. ¡°¡­However, Player Kim Hyukjin is not a regular Player.¡± She closed her eyes again. A little more time passed. ¡°So I will participate in this potentially very reckless plan of yours.¡± It seemed she was aware that we were already in the same boat. I was surprised. I thought she would try to stop me a few times. ¡°You¡¯re not trying to stop me?¡± ¡°If I did, would you listen to me?¡± ¡°Nope.¡± She was well aware. ¡°Are you not trying to stop me because I wouldn¡¯t listen even if you did?¡± If that was all, it was a little disappointing. It would be great if my Streamer, Senia, had grown as much as I had since my regression. ¡°No. I tried weighing the profit to be gained from proceeding with the scenario vs. the loss from blocking it. It is certainly dangerous and reckless, but I made the judgment that there is indeed a great deal of profit to be made.¡± Her words were right. It was, as I always said, high risk, high return. After pausing for a breath, Senia added one more thing. I had dinner with my family It wasn¡¯t anything special, but I enjoyed it. Noona¡¯s cooking skills were improving by the day. She said cooking was fun, and she was telling the truth. I knew because I once examined Noona¡¯s back while she was cooking. State: Having Fun / Curious / Excited / Anticipation The act of cooking itself was enjoyable to her. Come to think of it, I had a faint memory of Noona wanting to become a chef a very long time ago. ¡®Was that really her dream?¡¯ I didn¡¯t know. If her dream was to become a chef, then I would actively support her. I now had the ability to make whatever she wanted a reality. Because in this world ruled by new culture, I was capable of becoming one of the rulers of new culture. ¡°Noona. Your kimchi stew today is killer.¡± ¡°Shut up and eat.¡± ¡°No, it¡¯s super delicious. You could totally become a chef.¡± I saw Noona¡¯s face through the steam coming off the pot of stew. Our little miss Kim Ahyoung¡¯s face was a little red. She fanned her face awkwardly. ¡°Tch, making a stew made it all hot in here.¡± Noona got up and opened the window. Unfortunately for her, I was an Observer, and I could clearly see the flush on the back of her neck. I decided for her sake to pretend I hadn¡¯t seen anything. After dinner, Sunhwa came to my room, a frequent occurrence after eating. She would probably rattle off everything that happened at school again. Though it was annoying sometimes, it also made me happy. Even though it was annoying, if she didn¡¯t come, I¡¯d probably miss her bubbly chatter. ¡°Sunhwa. I¡¯ll say something first today.¡± ¡°Really?¡± Sunhwa¡¯s eyes widened. To my fascination, her ears actually perked up like a little puppy. There were people out there who could move their ears, and she was one of them. ¡°What is it?¡± She sat on my desk chair and stared at me, waiting for what I had to say with bated breath. Her bright and shining eyes were full of curiosity. ¡°I¡¯m going to go into a dungeon by myself this time.¡± ¡°A dungeon?¡± ¡°Yeah.¡± ¡°What kind of dungeon?¡± I started talking with Sunhwa. When our discussion was mostly at its end, Sunhwa¡¯s state changed. State: Trust / Faith / Worry / Fear Summary: Worried Brocon The ¡®weak¡¯ or ¡®slight¡¯ modifiers disappeared. How come her summary was getting stranger and stranger as time went on? When would this girl¡¯s puberty be over? ¡®In any case, her worry is sincere.¡¯ Getting your family¡¯s worry wasn¡¯t a bad feeling. Although she was inwardly worrying a lot, my admirable tank was as diligent as ever. ¡°What should I do then?¡± ¡°I need you to¡­¡± The foundation was all set. * * * One day passed. My physical and mental preparations were complete. ¡®Gwanghwamun Dungeon.¡¯ I would be entering the Gwanghwamun Dungeon, the ¡®flower¡¯ of the beginner period. ¡®Though it hasn¡¯t opened yet.¡¯ I needed to look around a little and get my bearings. Another day passed, and my exploration finished as well. TN: This is a good time to give a little more detail about the Gwanghwamun. It is the largest gate of the Gyeongbokgung Palace, the main royal palace of the Joseon dynasty. Now, it is a cultural and historic monument and a tourist destination in Seoul. ¨COctober 19, 2018. Gwanghwamun Dungeon is generated. A dungeon gate would be activated in Gwanghwamun, leading to a dungeon that would be cleared by 108 Players, including Taeguk Shield. That moment marked the beginning of Taeguk Shield¡¯s wave of success. ¡®The day after tomorrow, huh.¡¯ I decided to rest for two days to recover my stamina and reach the best condition possible. If the U-Plex Dungeon was a ¡®nearly impossible dungeon to break¡¯ in the beginner period, the Gwanghwamun Dungeon was ¡®a dungeon you needed to clear¡¯. ¡®I won¡¯t¡­ tell anyone about the dungeonization.¡¯ I had learned my lesson from the U-Plex Dungeon. We¡¯d been lucky and had been able to prevent the disaster back then, but that was all luck. ¡®I can¡¯t always bank on being lucky.¡¯ I couldn¡¯t save everyone anyway. There was no way to block off the Gwanghwamun, and even if it was blocked off, that would very likely only result in greater loss of life. Forcefully twisting the flow of history would also create many variables. ¡®Yes. This is the right path.¡¯ I saw laughing and smiling couples passing by, enjoying a joyful time. They were lucky and visited today, but those who visited tomorrow might end up dying. ¡®As much as I would like to protect them, if possible¡­¡¯ That was outside of my ability. But just then, I heard a notice. [A trace of the ¡®Will Incantation¡¯ remains intact.] [The weak influence of the ¡®Hand of Salvation¡¯ remains within you.] I still had the power of the Will Incantation in me, which allowed me to retain a weakened version of the temporary ability I was granted. ¡®Because it¡¯s the Hand of Salvation¡­¡¯ It reacted to my brief ¡®will to protect¡¯. And I intuitively knew what it was I had to do. ¡®I have no proof.¡¯ I didn¡¯t have any concrete proof. It was just a hunch, something I had felt many times while Playing. ¡®I¡¯ll find it.¡¯ I didn¡¯t even know what it was I was supposed to find. It just occurred to me that I had to find something. Sometimes, even without concrete proof, trusting my intuition and gut was the answer. No, that was the case countless times. Was it simply luck? No. This was the ¡®talent¡¯ of intuition. [The weak power of the ¡®Incantation of Salvation¡¯ is assisting Observer¡¯s Eye.] [The weak influence of the ¡®Hand of Salvation¡¯ is assisting Observer¡¯s Eye.] The abilities in my arsenal joined hands, bolstering each other. ¡®What do I need to find?¡¯ I didn¡¯t know. I stood there, taking in the unknown and invisible flow around me, the energy I could sense only with my thoughts, the smell of the wind, the fragrance of the sky, the concentration of the light, the density of the crowd. The sand on the ground, the sound of honking cars, the many buildings standing along the road. Each of those things was one element making up a whole, the world. [Observing with Observer¡¯s Eye.] I kept hearing that notice. It wasn¡¯t one I often heard. It was only triggered when I was focusing very intently. And this notice was telling me something. ¡®Focus.¡¯ I cast my eye inward. I had the feeling that if I focused, if I really focused, I would be able to see a path. That I would be able to see something faint become clear. ¡®Focus.¡¯ I didn¡¯t know how much time I spent like that, but when this sort of thing happened, quite a lot of time passed without me realizing it. ¡®Ah.¡¯ I started to make out something I hadn¡¯t seen before. I picked up a weak flow from the rightmost of the gate¡¯s three doors. ¡®I can feel the distortion.¡¯ A weak distortion. A very slight irregularity I could only barely, barely see after constant observation with an Observer¡¯s Eye boosted by the ¡®Incantation of Salvation¡¯. ¡®A distortion of power.¡¯ I approached it, and the closer I got, the clearer it became. ¡®I can¡¯t let my focus be broken.¡¯ I needed maximum concentration. Everything else faded from view. The smell of the wind. The fragrance of the sky. The concentration of the light. The density of the crowd. The sand on the ground. The honking cars. The many buildings standing on the road. I perceived none of those things. My entire being was focused on one thing, the distorted flow of power that could only be seen with Observer¡¯s Eye. ¡®I can¡­¡¯ I reached out. ¡®¡­touch it.¡¯ In that instant, I felt something. [You have discovered the entrance of the Gwanghwamun Dungeon.] [The entrance of the Gwanghwamun Dungeon has not yet been officially generated.] [The Gwanghwamun Dungeon¡¯s Open Beta Scenario is beginning.] The notices continued. [The scenario ¡®Early Adopter ¨C ver. Gwanghwamun Dungeon¡¯ can be progressed.] [Proceed with the scenario ¡®Early Adopter ¨C ver. Gwanghwamun Dungeon¡¯?] Today was October 16th. Originally, the Gwanghwamun Dungeon shouldn¡¯t be open yet. ¡®I¡¯m in good condition.¡¯ I was going to rest for about two days, but the situation had changed. I called Sunhwa. ¨CHello? ¨CSunhwa. We¡¯re moving the plan forward by two days. ¨CHuh? It didn¡¯t take long to get Sunhwa to understand. ¨CGot it! Oppa. You have to be super careful. I trust you. Don¡¯t get hurt. After a round of worrying from Sunhwa, I focused my attention on the Gwanghwamun Dungeon. [Proceed with the scenario ¡®Early Adopter ¨C ver. Gwanghwamun Dungeon¡¯?] ¡®Proceed.¡¯ I entered the Gwanghwamun Dungeon. I might just be able to accomplish my desired picture faster and more perfectly than originally planned. Inside the dungeon, I found myself on a black field. I didn¡¯t see anything yet. It hadn¡¯t fully activated yet. Senia came out and went out of her way to tell me that she was starting her stream. That was her cue to begin the scenario we had planned. She said one other thing. ¡°Player Kim Hyukjin. The Gwanghwamun Dungeon¡¯s maximum capacity is 120 people.¡± That essentially meant that 120 people could challenge the dungeon at the same time. Put in another way, it also meant the dungeon was hard enough that 120 people were necessary to clear it. ¡°I recommend waiting here for other Players.¡± I had instructed her to say this for the Guardians to hear. To show the Guardians exactly what kind of Play I was doing. ¡°I said it in the past, didn¡¯t I?¡± Like when I killed a Lycanthrope as an extremely low-level Player, and when I cleared minibosses or boss monsters¡­ ¡°I¡¯ll show you how I Play.¡± I intentionally waited a little longer, until Senia gave me a small nod. That meant a ¡®sufficient number¡¯ of Guardians had entered her channel. ¡°I¡¯ll show you what kind of Play I do.¡± I would show how crazy I could make the Guardians. The pieces were aligned. ¡®Let¡¯s begin.¡¯ I decided to progress the System-created ¡®Early Adopter¡¯ scenario as well as the one I had created with my own two hands. Chapter 134 Chapter 134 The field was generated. A road stretched out in a straight line in front of me, the path made of rough white stones. I could activate a description for the road. [King¡¯s Road] The path of a king. Only one with the qualification of a king may walk upon it. The path made of white stones stretched out in the empty darkness that surrounded it. I walked up to it. ¡®King¡¯s Road.¡¯ But I was no ¡®king¡¯. In order to be recognized as a ¡®king¡¯ here, you needed a title with ¡®king¡¯ in it. Such a title would only appear in the far-off future. In any case, I didn¡¯t fit the bill now. What should you do if there was a path for a king, but you weren¡¯t a king? ¡®You just have to go on a different path that¡¯s not for a king.¡¯ I lifted my foot and stepped onto the darkness next to the road. It looked like a deep abyss, but my foot touched solid ground. Each step I took was accompanied by the sound of my footsteps. ¡®What a fascinating feeling.¡¯ It felt like I was walking on empty air. The way forward looked like a dark nothingness, but strangely enough, I could walk on it. ¡®What a relief that I know the strat.¡¯ The Gwanghwamun Dungeon was the dungeon you absolutely had to get through in order to quickly punch through the 30-40 phase, to the point that countless foreign Players came to Korea to challenge the Gwanghwamun Dungeon in order to efficiently pass the beginner period. Many years later, the Great Explorer Jackson said this: ¨CIt appears that humans have a tendency to take the well-established path. That may be why countless Players who challenged the Gwanghwamun Dungeon walked the ¡®King¡¯s Road¡¯. Walking the King¡¯s Road didn¡¯t make it impossible to clear the Gwanghwamun Dungeon. The difficulty would just increase exponentially. After all, one who wasn¡¯t a king had walked the path of a king. ¨CIt¡¯s different if you have a king title, but of course, the great majority of Players, including myself, do not have a king title. As such, they had to go on a path that wasn¡¯t the King¡¯s Road. ¨CIf you do not have a king title, you should walk along the darkness next to the King¡¯s Road. If you thought about it, it was simple. It looked like there was no path there, but there was. And that was the path I chose. [The ¡®Whispering Devil¡¯ is regretful.] [The ¡®Nameless Observer¡¯ is observing.] I was paying close attention to which Guardians were sending me messages. There was likely a pool of Guardians competing to send me messages. Depending on who messaged me, my strategy and scenario would partially change. [The ¡®Conductor of Sound¡¯ holds your prudence in high regard.] As expected, the Conductor of Sound started taking an interest in my actions. Good. This was the best scenario I had hoped for. If the Conductor of Sound showed their interest, the White Hunter would surely follow suit. Sure enough¡ª [The ¡®White Hunter¡¯ is impressed by your clearing technique.] The Conductor of Sound and White Hunter took the plate. With the mere selection of a path, a whopping four Guardians sent me notices. ¡®Too bad it¡¯s not five.¡¯ Still, this was a very good start. I continued walking along the darkness next to the King¡¯s Road, following it closely. There were no monsters nearby. As long as you didn¡¯t go onto the King¡¯s Road, there weren¡¯t any tricks to watch out for. This place was literally just fulfilling the role of the ¡®entrance¡¯. I kept walking. ¡®I see it.¡¯ I began to see a red lion statue and a blue lion statue. They were about five meters in size, situated on each side of the King¡¯s Road. Lava was flowing from the red lion statue¡¯s mouth, while water was flowing from the blue lion statue¡¯s mouth. ¡®Millennium Lava and Millennium Ice Water.¡¯ They were supposed to be lava and water that had existed for a thousand years. [Millennium Lava] Lava that has flowed for a thousand years. Has a temperature of 1000 degrees. Can be collected using a special method. [Millennium Ice Water] Ice water that has flowed for a thousand years. Has a temperature of -1000 degrees. Can be collected using a special method. The lava was an incredible 1000 degrees, and the water was -1000 degrees. This was off topic, but the discovery of these fountains created a huge furor in the scientific community. ¨CThe thermodynamic minimum temperature is absolute zero, -273 degrees. -1000 degrees is something that cannot exist and cannot be defined. In all actuality, the fact that the water was -1000 degrees already meant it wasn¡¯t water. But that ¡®ice water¡¯ was flowing in a liquid state. It was impossible to scientifically explain to begin with. ¨CWe needed to correct our views. That water wasn¡¯t flowing at the scientifically established -1000 degrees, but the -1000 degrees set by the System. It is impossible to prescribe the Celsius system of measurement we use to the water with our current scientific knowledge. The scientific dispute aside, its System setting was ¡®water¡¯. ¡®New culture¡¯ couldn¡¯t be explained by science to begin with. All that was important to me was that this mysterious ¡®water¡¯ would play a critical role later. I walked to the lion statues. [Observing with Observer¡¯s Eye.] The King¡¯s Road ended. From here, it wasn¡¯t the King¡¯s Road, but a regular path. I walked onto the path linked to the King¡¯s Road. If I had messed up, I would get a notice that I had stepped onto the King¡¯s Road. ¡®Not hearing a notice.¡¯ To my relief, I hadn¡¯t stepped on the King¡¯s Road. I stopped in front of the lion statues on either side of the path. [Red Lion Statue] [Blue Lion Statue] It wouldn¡¯t be clickable without any reason. The Millennium Lava and Millennium Ice Water wouldn¡¯t be here for no reason. Even though they couldn¡¯t be used now, they would definitely come into play later. ¡®Yep, it¡¯s collectable. Though I can¡¯t get it right now.¡¯ I observed the statues for a long time. [The ¡®Nameless Observer¡¯ is observing you.] I would whip countless Guardians into a frenzy here. In the past, my actions incited the Courageous Lion King to attempt the crazy act of descending on a beginner Player in a wild rush of bad temper. That was just how much I stimulated the Courageous Lion King. This was the stage where I would once again do that to the Guardians. I would get them crazy about me in this scenario crafted by me. ¡®Despite that, the Guardian I have to pay the most attention to is the Nameless Guardian.¡¯ They were a Guardian I hadn¡¯t known about when I regressed from the future. But they were the Guardian who exerted the greatest influence on me, as well as a Guardian with enough power to stay abreast of the competition to almost always squeeze into the five slots. ¡®I¡¯ll observe.¡¯ I knew all the strategies of this dungeon. A huge amount of information had been shared on Youtube, and this hurdle was one that countless Players had overcome. In terms of theory, I knew this place like the back of my hand. But I still took the time to carefully observe. The Observer class was one that could see what others missed and feel what others couldn¡¯t. ¡®What the Nameless Observer wants to see from me¡­¡¯ That was clear: they wanted to see me gain something through observation. To seek and contemplate the truth. The Nameless Observer would enjoy all such actions. [Observing with Observer¡¯s Eye.] It didn¡¯t matter what kind of result my observation produced. To the Nameless Observer, the act of observing was of the utmost importance. I intentionally mumbled aloud, ¡°I can¡¯t see the way.¡± The conclusion I reached through observation was that I could not currently collect this Millennium Lava or Ice Water. Even though that was already something I knew, it was worth confirming. I could hardly collect thousand degree lava or minus one thousand degree ice water with my bare hands. I continued mumbling to myself. ¡°I can¡¯t get it for now, so let¡¯s just move on. I need to find the path.¡± I fixed my eyes on the area where the heat energy from the Red Lion Statue and the cold energy from the Blue Lion Statue were coming together, creating a harmony of yin and yang. It couldn¡¯t be confirmed with the physical eye, but I was able to detect the point of convergence with Observer¡¯s Eye. The space was about half a meter wide. It was, so to speak, the Safe Zone, the buffer zone where you could pass through without feeling the influence of the heat and cold energy. There was no need to show the Guardians a scene of hesitation. It was pointless to frustrate them by dithering and dallying. It was important to strike a balance between satisfying the Guardians who valued prudence and satisfying those who valued decisiveness. What I found amusing was that I could instinctively walk that tightrope. It just came to me unbidden. If someone asked me, ¡®How do you strike that balance?¡¯ I would have only been able to tell them, ¡®I could just do it when I tried.¡¯ Step by step, I moved forward. The heat energy of the Red Lion Statue. The cold energy of the Blue Lion Statue. [Entering the Path of Harmony, where heat energy and cold energy converge in harmony past the King¡¯s Road.] * * * Translator ¨C Lei Proofreader ¨C Ash * * * I passed the Millennium Lava and Millennium Ice Water and went inside. A bright red door greeted me like a snake opening its jaws wide. [Entering the ¡®Gyeonghoeru Pavilion¡¯.] If I had walked the King¡¯s Road, I would have entered the ¡®Geunjeongjeon Hall¡¯ instead of the Gyeonghoeru Pavilion. Going into the Geunjeongjeon Hall field at my current skill level would mean certain death. TN: Both the Gyeonghoeru and the Geunjeongjeon are parts of the Gyeongbokgung Palace. I walked into the Gyeonghoeru Pavilion. It wasn¡¯t the real Gyeonghoeru. It was just a new field borrowing the name of the historical building I knew. However, it did bear similarities to the Gyeonghoeru inside the Gyeongbokgung. ¡®It¡¯s ringed by a pond.¡¯ It was a palace built atop a pond. The building was far bigger than the original Gyeonghoeru. I didn¡¯t know the exact dimensions, but it was probably about the size of a soccer field. Floating on the pond was a large sailboat. ¡®At this size, it¡¯s more of a lake than a pond¡­¡¯ I¡¯d seen this field many times through a screen, but seeing it with my own eyes was a different experience altogether. The lake was so big you could see the horizon. The water wasn¡¯t clear¡ªit was incredibly murky, and I couldn¡¯t see the bottom. I occasionally glimpsed fish coming to the surface, creating bubbles. They were one meter long and had very sharp teeth. The name of the monster was ¡®Carnivore Mermaid¡¯, and they were around level 30. [The Safe Zone is being deactivated.] I finished checking out the field and moved to the center of the pavilion. ¡®If I fall into the water, I¡¯ll die.¡¯ I had to watch my step. The Carnivore Mermaids weren¡¯t incredibly high level, but as fish monsters, they were very difficult for me to hunt. Moreover, they would swarm at the smell of blood. [In 10 seconds, the ¡®Gyeonghoeru Scenario¡¯ will begin.] ¡®My preparations are thorough.¡¯ Now, all that was left was to make use of those preparations to achieve the result I wanted. [3] [2] [1] [The ¡®Gyeonghoeru Scenario¡¯ has been opened.] [The ¡®Gyeonghoeru Scenario ¨C Polluted Banquet Hall¡¯ is beginning.] This scenario-driven dungeon, the Gwanghwamun Dungeon, began in earnest. Several shimmering spots appeared all over the pavilion, obvious enough to be visible to the naked eye. ¡®There¡¯s a lot of them.¡¯ Each of the many shimmers would spawn a monster. One by one, the monsters appeared. Polluted Lifeform LVL 33 ¡®Zombies.¡¯ Although they were called ¡®Polluted Lifeforms¡¯, they were basically zombies. They dragged their arms and legs as they limped towards me, showing their hostility while red saliva dripped from their mouths. They weren¡¯t all that fast. ¡®There¡¯s too many.¡¯ This wasn¡¯t the Gwanghwamun Dungeon I knew. ¡®It¡¯s changed a little.¡¯ 200 Polluted Lifeforms were supposed to spawn here. But it was obvious at a glance that this wasn¡¯t just 200. ¡®There¡¯s at least 300.¡¯ Zombies continued to emerge through ripples in space. A disgusting stench filled the air. ¡®Too many.¡¯ There were more than I expected. This was definitely a variable. But even so, I needed to clear this place perfectly. Isabel¡¯s ego happened to activate just then. (Are you nuts? Why did you come here alone?) Was I imagining it, or was Isabel¡¯s acerbic voice tinged with worry, as faint as it was? (Are you trying to turn me into a widow?! Are you crazy? How do you plan on handling this many monsters at your level?) Everything was okay. I became sure of it from Isabel¡¯s reaction. ¡®If Isabel feels this way, the Guardians must be feeling the same.¡¯ They should know as well as I that this dungeon wasn¡¯t a place I should have entered by myself. But on the other hand, they would be filled with anticipation. How would a level 32 ¡®Observer¡¯ clear a place that could only be cleared with ¡®brute force¡¯? It could even be that someone out there was watching just to see how I would survive. However, what I wanted wasn¡¯t just to survive, but to clear. The method for a level 32 Observer to clear the Gyeonghoeru¡­ that was what I would be showing the Guardians. ____ Chapter 135 Chapter 135 Crowding the pavilion were three hundred ¡®Polluted Lifeforms¡¯. But I knew that wasn¡¯t the end. ¡®I have to save as much stamina as possible.¡¯ This place wasn¡¯t called the Leveling Shrine for nothing. I had to survive this place for a very long time and keep hunting the ¡®Polluted Lifeforms¡¯. I equipped an item. [Noah¡¯s Helm] Known to be the helmet that Noah, once called The Gale, enjoyed wearing in his youth. After weathering many fierce battles, it has become imbued with a special power. Defense: -15 Effect: Hostility quantity control. Equip restriction: Can only be worn inside a dungeon Level requirement: 30 Cannot be equipped in conjunction with a magician-exclusive item It lowered defense by a whopping 15. In terms of armor, this item was the worst, a piece of trash that actually increased the damage you received. ¡®But not here.¡¯ The key point was that Noah¡¯s Helm had the effect of ¡®Hostility quantity control¡¯, an ability that would limit the aggro the wearer received. ¡®I¡¯ll be getting ten hostile enemies at a time.¡¯ Be it three hundred, or three thousand, only ten monsters would show an inclination to attack me. That meant I only needed to pay attention to just ten monsters at any given time. ¡®If I only need to keep those ten in my view¡­¡¯ I didn¡¯t need to worry about getting attacked by any others. That would massively reduce my mental strain and minimize the occurrence of variables. [Registering the effect of ¡®Noah¡¯s Helm¡¯.] [Registering the ¡®Hostility quantity control¡¯ effect.] [!] marks appeared over the heads of exactly ten Polluted Lifeforms. They had recognized me as a target to attack; I had automatically aggroed them. Isabel¡¯s ego was awake, but silent. If I had to guess, she was probably racking her brain to figure out how to save me. In any case, I was only being attacked by ten Polluted Lifeforms at a time. That was step number one¡ªgetting rid of any unpredictable variables in a mass hunt. This was the starting point. I spoke to Isabel. ¡°When challenging a situation that looks impossible to clear, there are a few things you can abuse.¡± First: OP items. Second: pots. Third: talent. And fourth: luck. Typically, these were the big four. Ten Polluted Lifeforms came stumbling towards me at a slightly quicker pace, their bodies grotesquely contorted. Some of them had freakishly twisted arms and legs, almost like broken jointed dolls. Grrrrk¨C! ¡°According to the results of my observation, they have high DPS but low defense.¡± They looked terrifying, but they were fundamentally ¡®humanoid¡¯ monsters, and humanoid monsters often had the fatal weakness of the ¡®head¡¯. ¡°And they have a fatal weakness.¡± I swung Isabel at the Polluted Lifeform closest to me, not with the edge but the flat of the blade. Bam! A dull sound rang out. (Hey, you jerk! What do you think you¡¯re doing?! You¡¯re killing my dignity here!) Isabel was a sword, but she was a sword with attack power higher than any club out there. As a transcendent grade item, her attack power was the best you could get in the early game, even higher than ¡®Asura¡¯, the ¡®King of Swords¡¯. One of the zombies flailed an arm at me. I dodged it adroitly. After taking two steps back, I swung Isabel hard at another zombie¡¯s head. (You¡­ YOU! YOU BULLY OF A HUSBAND¡­!) I got the sense that Isabel was shrieking in my head. She was screaming something like ¡®I¡¯m not a CLUB!¡¯ but it couldn¡¯t be helped. ¡°Sorry, Isabel.¡± Her damage was definitely higher for ¡®cutting¡¯ attacks, or ¡®piercing¡¯. Attacks that could maximize Isabel¡¯s attack power were way more favorable when it came to damage. ¡®Dodge.¡¯ Their attacks weren¡¯t all that complicated, limited to moves like flailing their arms, biting, or scratching with their claws. ¡®I can¡­ read their movements better than expected.¡¯ I only needed to pay attention to ten zombies, so I didn¡¯t kill them. I struck zombie after zombie with Isabel. Bam! I used Isabel¡¯s blade as a club. One, two, three, four. ¡®Good.¡¯ The goal wasn¡¯t to kill them, but to just hit them. [The movements of the ¡®Polluted Lifeforms¡¯ have been visibly dulled.] All the zombies I hit in the head became slower. They became afflicted with the ¡®sluggish¡¯ status condition, which made them far easier to hunt. I conveyed information to the Guardians while pretending that I was talking to Isabel. ¡°I¡¯ll restrict the enemies using the ability of Noah¡¯s Helm¡­¡± Afterwards¡ª ¡°And after hindering their movements¡­¡± I would hunt them. I had to finish them off swiftly, because the moment I killed one, another Polluted Lifeform in good condition would start attacking me. With this many enemies around me, I would be constantly attacked by ¡®ten¡¯. ¡°I have to kill them swiftly.¡± And while doing so, I had to keep tabs on my location. If I messed up and fell off the Gyeonghoeru, I would be killed by the Carnivore Mermaids. I needed to pay close attention to my location in preparation for the next aggroed zombies. ¡®There.¡¯ I found a decent location, a good spot to hunt the next wave. It was a good distance away from the ¡®shore¡¯. After finding the optimal spot with Observer¡¯s Eye, it was now time to use Isabel¡¯s edge rather than the flat of the blade. ¡°Only¡ª¡± In order to hunt them quickly, I had to undertake some amount of damage. It was inevitable if I wanted to cut down this hobbled group as quickly as possible, before fresh ones got to me. ¡°For the sake of speed, I¡¯ll need to sacrifice my body.¡± Crunch! One of them bit into my side. I let it attack me on purpose. I was armed with the Great Orc Warrior set right now. It did hurt quite a bit, but it wasn¡¯t unbearable. ¡®I¡¯ll cut the flesh to save the bone.¡¯ I drew forth strength within me to unleash the reincarnation of Sword Path Tracing and Excellent Strike fused by Isabel¡¯s innate authority. [Using the innate ability Sword of Insight.] [Sword of Insight] An advanced innate ability created by combining and pooling the merits of Excellent Strike and Sword Path Tracing in one place. No matter the situation, it will lock onto the enemy¡¯s weakness and deliver a powerful attack at the most vulnerable point. * * * Translator ¨C Lei Proofreader ¨C Ash * * * My sword pierced the zombies precisely in their foreheads. I went all in on attack, not even thinking about defense. This place couldn¡¯t be cleared if you paid attention to that to begin with, at least not alone. I had to give up on defense. Isabel¡¯s attack power and Sword of Insight¡¯s weakness homing didn¡¯t betray my expectations. [Registering the additional effect of ¡®Legolas¡¯ Ring¡¯.] I was wearing a whole eight Legolas¡¯ Rings right now. [Legolas¡¯ Ring] A ring made by refining a ¡®topaz¡¯ that holds a mysterious power. Defense: 1 Effect: 2% attack damage HP absorption. ________ Each one gave me 2% damage absorption. With eight rings, I was absorbing a total of 16% attack damage. [Using the innate ability Sword of Insight.] I pierced right through their foreheads again, during which one zombie dealt a heavy scratch to my arm. [Absorbing HP.] [Absorbing HP.] I was OK. [Using Healing Potion.] [Using Healing Potion.] The slotted Healing Potions and the absorption ability of my Legolas¡¯ Rings made it so I didn¡¯t need to pay attention to defense. It took just twenty seconds to hunt ten zombies. It seemed I had underestimated Isabel¡¯s attack power too much. I was hunting them quickly, but there was a downside to all this. [EXP cannot be acquired.] [Items cannot be dropped.] I couldn¡¯t get EXP or items. That was because I, an Observer, was doing ¡®direct hunting¡¯. ¡®But I didn¡¯t come here for EXP or items anyway.¡¯ Right now, I was showing the Guardians. I was showing them the worth of the content that was me, what kind of Playing I could show them. I came here to show them that in person, knowing exactly that the penalty of my class would apply. I continued to hunt. Bam! Bam! Bam! The flat of Isabel¡¯s blade swung out as a club, showing off excellent attack power the entire time. [The ¡®Nameless Observer¡¯ continues to observe.] [The ¡®Conductor of Sound¡¯ is awed.] [The ¡®White Hunter¡¯ is surprised by your fighting spirit.] [The ¡®Courageous Lion King¡¯ is excited.] [The ¡®Barrier of Blue Light¡¯ finds your Playing method difficult to understand.] Five Guardians sent messages about my eccentric Playing. My Playing was surely incomprehensible to the Barrier of Blue Light, a Guardian who valued ¡®defense¡¯ or ¡®safety¡¯. It didn¡¯t seem like they particularly liked this method, either. ¡®Can¡¯t be helped.¡¯ It was impossible to satisfy every Guardian the same way. All I could do was switch up the Playing to make it suit the time and place and capture the hearts of the majority. Isabel shrieked again. (I¡¯m not a club, darn it!!!) She wasn¡¯t a club, but her striking power was better than any club. She was very good. A very good club. As the beating continued, Isabel¡¯s voice became weirder and weirder. (I-I can¡¯t take any more!) (No-Nooo!) (I-I said I can¡¯t take any more, you jerk!) Interspersed between her shrieks were moans so faint I could only hear them by listening carefully. It was like she was groaning. ¡®What¡¯s wrong with her?¡¯ I had no idea, but I kept hunting. And after a while, after I hunted about ninety Polluted Lifeforms, I found out why. [Isabel¡¯s ego has arbitrarily awakened a sealed innate ability.] The transcendent item Isabel arbitrarily unlocked her own innate ability. This could happen? [The innate ability Beat ¡¯em, Beat ¡¯em, Beat ¡¯em Harder has been unlocked.] I doubted my ears for a moment. ¡®The innate ability name¡­?¡¯ I¡¯d never heard of such a name. ¡®Beat ¡¯em, Beat ¡¯em, Beat ¡¯em Harder¡¯? For an innate ability possessed by a transcendent item, it really fell short on gravitas. I heard Isabel sigh. With that, Isabel¡¯s ego fell asleep again. [Beat ¡¯em, Beat ¡¯em, Beat ¡¯em Harder] One of the innate abilities sealed by Isabel herself. Isabel has an extremely insular disposition towards martial arts or abilities other than ¡®swordsmanship¡¯. An innate ability that Isabel herself denied and forcefully sealed, Beat ¡¯em, Beat ¡¯em, Beat ¡¯em Harder has a focus on ¡®striking as a blunt weapon¡¯. +70% damage when striking with the flat of Isabel¡¯s blade +14% attack speed when striking with the flat of Isabel¡¯s blade +7% combo damage when striking with the flat of Isabel¡¯s blade Now, I understood. ¡®A sword that cursed its own talent. Such a thing existed?¡¯ Apparently, the ability to ¡®beat¡¯ was a shameful thing for a sword. At least, that was what Isabel thought. But the effects the ability came with were incredible. ¡®Wow¡­¡¯ Sheer damage was increased by 70%, with a 14% increase in attack speed. How could there be a sword with such ridiculous striking power? ¡®And if I combo it¡­¡¯ Each additional attack would add a whopping 7% damage. The first combo would give 7%, the second 14%, the third 21%. And if I reached a ten combo? ¡®That¡¯s +70%.¡¯ That was 70% in addition to the base 70% damage increase. ¡®It¡¯s an insane effect.¡¯ Wasn¡¯t this way too ridiculous an innate ability to seal just for dignity¡¯s sake? This ability would push any sword into the ultimate club. Why did she seal such a thing? In any case, she was one stubborn sword. [Using Isabel¡¯s innate ability Beat ¡¯em, Beat ¡¯em, Beat ¡¯em Harder] Bam! Bam! Bam! Bam! My attacks were far faster and heavier than before. Isabel resumed shrieking again, her cries mixed with low groans. (Haah¡­! No, not like this¡­! NOT LIKE THIS, I SAID!) What the, she wasn¡¯t actually asleep, just pretending that she was? I ignored her screams. She was incredibly effective (as a club). ¡®This is¡­¡¯ It was much easier than I thought. I became more and more used to hunting the Polluted Lifeforms. I picked up their movements far better than before, and was able to accurately strike their weak points. ¡®They¡¯re way weaker than I expected.¡¯ Both from Isabel¡¯s innate ability unlocking and my ability to adapt to the situation, the fight felt much easier. I was drenched head to toe in blood, but I recovered everything, so I didn¡¯t actually take any damage. I was level 32, and they were level 33. The fact I was hunting three hundred monsters one level higher than me¡­ didn¡¯t feel very burdensome. ¡®It¡¯s different from the strat.¡¯ I became certain that even without the strategy, I would have been able to easily hunt these guys. ¡®Which means¡­¡¯ I needed to change my plans a little. No, I needed a full-on revision. I decided to ditch the scenario I¡¯d been drawing out so far and display even more overwhelming force in the picture I¡¯d be drawing ahead, to crush the zombies with overwhelming strength. That was how I would clear this place, the Gyeonghoeru. That was my number one goal. ¡®Wait.¡¯ But then, a slightly different method occurred to me. ¡®Could something like this work, too?¡¯ I decided to try. ____ Chapter 136 Chapter 136 ¡®For now, let¡¯s try it.¡¯ If it worked, great. If it didn¡¯t, whatever. I had a lot more breathing room in this fight than I expected, so I could afford to give it a try. ¡®Noah¡¯s Helm.¡¯ I analyzed its flow. Analyzed, aka deciphered, using Observer¡¯s Eye¡¯s power to see the true nature of things. ¡®The unique ability flowing out of the item is¡­¡¯ I couldn¡¯t put it into words, but I could feel the gist of it. ¡®And this is how it¡¯s taking effect.¡¯ I had no idea if it would work, but I was going to try fusing one of my abilities with the item¡¯s effect. [Using the special ability Mettle.] Unlike when I normally used the skill, I deciphered the ¡®true nature¡¯ and ¡®flow¡¯ of the skill¡¯s power, observing and researching it. While I was doing so, one of the zombies buried its teeth into my arm. ¡®Nngh¡­!¡¯ Grrrrk! Like a hunting dog latching on prey, the zombie went slack, its teeth lodged deep in my arm. ¡®Focus.¡¯ I was bitten, but it wasn¡¯t a fatal blow. This much I could handle, no problem. The pain of teeth ripping through my flesh, I could endure. Because there was something more important right now, something that took priority. And more honestly speaking, because I could afford to ignore it. ¡®The flow of Mettle.¡¯ I examined how Mettle worked, how this special ability exerted its power on the world. ¡®If I combine that flow with the unique ability of Noah¡¯s Helm¡­¡¯ The zombie biting my arm flinched. ¡®It works.¡¯ It was difficult to pull it off in one try, but I could see that it was possible. ¡®If I focus, I can definitely do it.¡¯ It would be perfect if I could pull off the Will Incantation right now, but I didn¡¯t feel the ¡®itchiness¡¯ that tickled my heart whenever I did the Incantation. Unfortunately, I couldn¡¯t expect the Will Incantation¡¯s power right now. ¡®With my strength alone¡­¡¯ I would make it happen. I would combine the two abilities in my possession to make them a little more special. ¡®I can do it.¡¯ I was sure of it. ¡®This flow, and that one. They¡¯re not incompatible.¡¯ They seemed to match well enough. The faltering zombie on my arm returned to savaging my arm, and another clamped down on my leg. ¡®I¡¯ve got plenty of HP.¡¯ If it came down to it, I could just use the ¡®Absorption¡¯ ability fused into my body. I focused on the flow, ignoring the zombies¡¯ attacks. ¡®I can do it.¡¯ [A special condition has been fulfilled.] [Congratulations!] [The proficiency of Observer¡¯s Eye has increased.] The detailed explanation of Observer¡¯s Eye automatically popped up. [Detailed Explanation] Skill name: Observer¡¯s Eye (Current proficiency: 2) Skill effect: Flow Perception: Visualize the flow of nature. Action Duplication: Copy the actions of an observation target (currently cannot be used). Title Duplication: Use the title and similar abilities of an observation target (currently cannot be used). Ability Share: Share an ability with designated observation targets (currently cannot be used). Conditions for use: Must possess the ability ¡®Calm Observer¡¯s Eye¡¯. Must be contracted with the ¡®Nameless Observer¡¯. Must be in a private area set for Playing. Innate ability: Unique Ability Fusion The proficiency went up to [2], and with it, an innate ability was unlocked. ¡®A skill can have an innate ability?¡¯ Had that ever happened before? I had a good grasp on publicly known information, but I didn¡¯t know much about the ¡®World Above¡¯ that belonged to the highest level Rankers. The longer I Played, the more astonishing truths I uncovered, like peeling an onion. This sort of thing might have happened in the past, but for me, it was a revelation. ¡®An innate ability possessed by a skill itself.¡¯ That was what ¡®Unique Ability Fusion¡¯ was. It was the ability to combine two of my abilities into one. An innate ability that discerns the flow of all abilities that fall into the ¡®unique ability¡¯ category, thus combining ¡®unique ability¡¯ with ¡®unique ability¡¯. However, fusion must be preceded by thorough observation. The ability to combine ¡®unique ability¡¯ with ¡®unique ability¡¯. And it had to be preceded by thorough observation. That part, I had already done. I just needed to slot in the last puzzle piece. Instinctively, I manipulated the new, invisible sensation to match the puzzle that was just as invisible. [Using the innate ability of Observer¡¯s Eye, Unique Ability Fusion.] [Controlling the range of the special ability Mettle.] I was able to control the range of Mettle, setting it to only affect the ¡®ten lifeforms attacking me¡¯. Thump! The zombies fell over. Some of them were even pressed to the ground, like they were being crushed by a powerful gravity wave. Grrrrrk¨C! They trembled uncontrollably, fully dominated by Mettle. ¡®In exchange for limiting Mettle¡¯s range¡­¡¯ By limiting Mettle¡¯s range, the effect was fine-tuned and amplified on the reduced number of targets. My level was 32, while theirs were 33 or 34. The highest level zombie among them was even 35. Originally, Mettle applied to ¡®those who are of a lower level than the user¡¯. [Mettle] ¡®Mettle¡¯ is the aura of a ruler and the higher form of ¡®Pressure¡¯. It induces instinctive fear and awe in those who are of a lower level than the user. Despite that condition, the zombies were fully subjected to the ability¡¯s effects. By combining Mettle with the unique ability of Noah¡¯s Helm, I was able to use a far more effective version of the skill. [The ¡®Courageous Lion King¡¯ is impressed by your Mettle.] [300 Coins have been sent as a sponsorship.] The goal here was to display ¡®overwhelming skills¡¯. I was going to show the Guardians that I possessed the potent power of all things related to ¡®observation¡¯. I instantly demolished the zombies crushed by Mettle, unable to resist. * * * Translator ¨C Lei Proofreader ¨C Ash * * * [¡®Polluted Lifeforms¡¯ are respawning.] Another three hundred monsters respawned. I hunted the whole lot again. I didn¡¯t get any EXP or items, but that was fine. ¡®I can¡¯t clear the entire Gwanghwamun Dungeon on my own anyway.¡¯ The only place I could clear on my own was this field, Gyeonghoeru. ¨CAfter clearing the Gyeonghoeru field seven times in succession, a crystal to leave the Gwanghwamun Dungeon will appear. This strategy was extremely famous. Because the Gyeonghoeru was the optimal place for leveling up, the majority of Players learned about it before long. [¡®Polluted Lifeforms¡¯ are respawning.] [¡®Polluted Lifeforms¡¯ are respawning.] [¡®Polluted Lifeforms¡¯ are respawning.] After seven solo runs, a new crystal spawned¡ªa ¡®brown Clear Crystal¡¯. If I destroyed this, I wouldn¡¯t just leave the Gyeonghoeru field, but the Gwanghwamun Dungeon. ¡®I¡¯ve shown everything there is to show.¡¯ I showed what I could and fully proved my qualifications. I physically showed them ¡®I¡¯m a Player with this much skill¡¯, a feat I was sure had made a deep impression on a lot of Guardians. ¡®I¡¯ve proven my qualifications¡­¡¯ I wrapped my hand over the brown Clear Crystal. It wasn¡¯t a full clear, but in any case, I was cutting my way out of this place via soloing. ¡®To the Guardians, this is the big climax.¡¯ They would send messages. Sure enough¡ª [The ¡®Nameless Observer¡¯ is satisfied by their observation of you.] Although ¡®observation¡¯ wasn¡¯t the only thing I did, and I cleared this place by directly hunting, my performance satisfied my contracted Guardian. ¡®Good, next.¡¯ I expected the White Hunter to jump forward with a message. They were the type of Guardian who went crazy for ¡®single Player battle¡¯ and overwhelming force. [The ¡®White Hunter¡¯ is greatly satisfied by your Playing.] [300 Coins have been sent as a sponsorship.] If the White Hunter sent a message, the next to step forward would be the Conductor of Sound. [The ¡®Conductor of Sound¡¯ is impressed by your deeply cautious tactic.] [400 Coins have been sent as a sponsorship.] That made three Guardians total. ¡®In order to hide his impatience¡­ the Shepherd Boy won¡¯t send a message.¡¯ I was sure the Shepherd Boy wouldn¡¯t send a message so that they could keep up their unconcerned fa?ade. My prediction was spot on. ¡®But little do you know, that¡¯s actually proof that you¡¯re feeling antsy.¡¯ The Nameless Observer, the White Hunter, and the Conductor of Sound. Who would be next? [The ¡®Herdsman of Las Vegas¡¯ offers a proposal.] He proposed clearing the Gwanghwamun Dungeon in its entirety instead of destroying the brown Clear Crystal and leaving. It was exactly what I expected from the Herdsman of Las Vegas I knew. I smiled inwardly, not showing it on my face. ¡®I knew he would do this.¡¯ That proposal was one I could not accept. I would refuse. ¡°Regarding the special proposal made by the Herdsman of Las Vegas¡­ I deeply apologize, but I do not think I can accept.¡± As long as I had a valid reason he could accept, the Herdsman of Las Vegas wouldn¡¯t be petty and resent me. And fortunately, I had an acceptable reason at hand. ¡°I have realized the utility of the Red Eyes, and have come to need it.¡± Of course, that was a lie. These words were just bait for the Merchant of Venice. ¡°The Shepherd Boy wants these Red Eyes. He has already given me a quest. Therefore, I need to leave and think long and hard about the quest I was given first.¡± I was saying that a different Guardian, and a very powerful tamer-class Guardian at that, gave me a quest ¡®first¡¯. Saying that I needed to focus on that quest first wasn¡¯t necessarily wrong. [The ¡®Herdsman of Las Vegas¡¯ nods at your explanation.] Herdsman of Las Vegas, don¡¯t you worry. You, too, will end up galloping atop my stage. All the ¡®pieces¡¯ I wanted had made their appearance. All except one. [The ¡®Merchant of Venice¡¯ shows deep curiosity towards the ¡®Red Eyes¡¯.] ¡®As expected.¡¯ In the picture I drew out, the stage I prepared, the final piece made its entrance at last. I knew the Red Eyes would be useful to me, too. But the Shepherd Boy wanted it. So what choice did I have left? ¡®Trade¡¯. What trade would I make with the Shepherd Boy? What kind of trade would be held between a mere Player and a powerful Guardian? ¡®I¡¯ve drawn the attention of countless Guardians with the battle just now.¡¯ The White Hunter and Conductor of Sound were making gaga eyes at me right now, and I proved that I was a Player with ¡®more than enough ability to propose a trade¡¯. I had the Guardians¡¯ attention and interest in my palm, which I achieved through single Player battle, soloing. ¡®In such a situation, even the Shepherd Boy can¡¯t do as he pleases with me.¡¯ If I asked the Shepherd Boy to trade out of nowhere, he might have accepted if I was really lucky, but there was a pretty high chance he would have refused. Not only that, but I would have likely been inviting his wrath. I might have even incurred a massive penalty the Ruler of the Plains¡¯ little temper tantrum couldn¡¯t even hold a candle to. ¡®But right now, it¡¯s possible.¡¯ I proved myself. I earned the right through the Guardians, the right to ¡®trade¡¯ on equal standing. With so many other Guardians involved, the Shepherd Boy couldn¡¯t act as he pleased. ¡°Another Guardian who cherishes me, the Merchant of Venice, is proposing that I make a legitimate trade. In accordance with the Merchant of Venice¡¯s will, I would like to propose a trade with the Shepherd Boy, a trade related to the Red Eyes.¡± The drawing was finished¡ªthe dragon was painted in all its splendor. All that was left was to draw in its eye, the last stroke. The finishing touch on my grand scenario. It was time to meet the Shepherd Boy that had been dancing on my stage the entire time. I heard a notice. ____ Chapter 137 Chapter 137 [The ¡®Shepherd Boy¡¯ is curious about your intent.] He was giving me the most respect a Guardian could express, as far as I knew. He didn¡¯t get mad, nor did he browbeat me into coughing up the Red Eyes. Apparently, it wasn¡¯t all that difficult for a powerless Player to garner respect from a Guardian. The profit I could take away from this situation would change depending on my actions and attitude. ¡°I would like to look at the Red Eyes not as a simple quest item, but as an item to be traded.¡± C¡¯mon, Senia. Don¡¯t be so anxious. And stop quivering your wings already. I knew the Shepherd Boy was a pretty big name, but my Play was justified, wasn¡¯t breaking the rules, and wasn¡¯t impudent. [The ¡®Shepherd Boy¡¯ defers the quest completion.] [The ¡®Shepherd Boy¡¯ sets the quest time limit to 999 years.] Oho. ¡®So this is how you want to do things?¡¯ It could be that the Shepherd Boy already knew that I didn¡¯t need the Red Eyes. ¡®He¡¯s pretending to be magnanimous in front of the other Guardians. Unconcerned.¡¯ And yet, he wanted the Red Eyes. He just set the quest time limit to 999 years in order to avoid showing it. ¡®If he didn¡¯t need the Red Eyes¡­¡¯ Being that the situation was one that might incur the Shepherd Boy¡¯s ire, he would have canceled the quest. The fact that he only changed the time limit told me that this Guardian needed the Red Eyes. ¡°Thank you for kindly giving me plenty of time to think.¡± For now, the trade with the Shepherd Boy was a bust. To be honest, I thought I¡¯d be able to make off with a big profit here, but it didn¡¯t look like it was going to be that easy. ¡®In any case, I¡¯m the one holding the knife.¡¯ And this was just my gut feeling, but it was possible¡­ that I really did need the Red Eyes. I didn¡¯t know yet. I just had the niggling feeling that these Red Eyes might one day become something I really needed. ¡®So now¡­¡¯ With the Shepherd Boy taking a step back, the Silvanus Tome I thought I might be able to get if I manipulated him nicely slipped out of my grasp, at least for now. I asked Senia, ¡°If I break the Brown Clear Crystal, how will that affect the Early Adopter scenario? Will it be recognized as a clear?¡± Senia¡¯s wings trembled. This angel had it rough. She somehow ended up meeting me and was consigned to a fate of constant wing trembling. How many times had they trembled so far? A hundred? ¡°Please wait one moment,¡± she said. Shortly after, she gave me a respectful apology. ¡°I was unable to find out.¡± I could sense the words she left unsaid. ¡®Obviously because I thought it would be a normal clear¡¯. She clearly thought I would naturally be able to clear this place no problem and leave, but I wasn¡¯t Superman. A little time passed. I heard a machine-like voice coming from Senia¡¯s mouth. Her eyes were completely white. [Scenario searching.] [It does not have a big influence on the overall scenario.] [The clear can be decided by the authority of the Intermediate Administrator.] After saying that, Senia¡¯s eyes returned to normal. ¡°I can decide by my authority.¡± ¡°That so?¡± I hummed. ¡°It¡¯ll be hard to get the System to recognize this as a perfect clear. I only cleared the Gyeonghoeru field, not the entire Gwanghwamun Dungeon.¡± ¡°Yes. Player Kim Hyukjin¡¯s words are very accurate.¡± Senia nodded. She had realized it, too. The System was evaluating Senia¡¯s ability as an Intermediate Administrator. She had indeed grown more perceptive. ¡®If she recognized this as a perfect clear on account of her close relationship with me¡­ The System would begin to doubt Senia¡¯s qualifications.¡¯ The amusing thing was that this sort of ¡®evaluation¡¯ was supposed to happen when Players were above level 40, in the ¡®mid-game¡¯. The [System evaluation of Streamers] was happening far ahead of schedule. ¡®Senia has picked up on it, too.¡¯ She and I were thinking the same thing. ¡°I will recognize the clear. However, it will be a partial clear and the grade of the rewards will be reduced.¡± I heard a notice. [¡®Early Adopter ¨C ver. Gwanghwamun Dungeon¡¯ has been partially cleared.] [The partial clear of ¡®Early Adopter ¨C ver. Gwanghwamun Dungeon¡¯ will bring the scenario to an end.] The scenario was concluded. That meant the road to earn the full rewards for this scenario was permanently closed off. I would get a reduced reward in exchange. [Distributing rewards for the partial clear of ¡®Early Adopter ¨C ver. Gwanghwamun Dungeon¡¯.] [¡®Ancient Crown¡¯ received.] I got a single item. It didn¡¯t come with much explanation to speak of. [Ancient Crown] A crown symbolizing the authority of a king. Though it is made of glittering gold, the passing of many years has greatly aged the relic. Either I couldn¡¯t read the complete description with my current abilities, or it wasn¡¯t anything special. ¡®Not bad.¡¯ The unexpected boon was Observer¡¯s Eye going up in proficiency, through which I acquired an extremely useful card, Unique Ability Fusion. I also still had the Red Eyes. ¡®Though I didn¡¯t get much from the other Guardians¡­¡¯ Things couldn¡¯t always go my way. I destroyed the Brown Clear Crystal and was ported out of the Gwanghwamun Dungeon. * * * I got back home. ¡°What are you¡­ doing?¡± Sunhwa was short. She hadn¡¯t finished growing yet. Even the not-very-high sink was high for her. ¡°What do you think? I¡¯m pretty, right?¡± she boasted. ¡°Oh, right. Before you went into the Gwanghwamun Dungeon, I did everything you asked me to do! I wasn¡¯t just playing the whole time, okay?! I did everything I was supposed to do, and even did all my school homework already. I only did this afterwards. Oh, and I even got praised by the teacher for being good at math today.¡± ¡°¡­¡± ¡°Oh, right. You didn¡¯t answer me. I¡¯m pretty, right? Right? I am, right?¡± She was just in a scruffy t-shirt and shorts. But on top of that was an apron with a bunny on it. As I stood there, I wondered what to praise as pretty to avoid hurting her feelings when all I could see was a kid rather than a woman. By my standards, being pretty and being cute were two completely different things. Though, well, it kind of felt like I was looking at my niece rather than my little sister. ¡°Uh¡­ Very cute.¡± Thankfully, Sunhwa was fully absorbed in the act of making fried chicken, so she didn¡¯t pay much attention to my response. ¡°So you¡¯re saying¡­ you¡¯re not satisfied with restaurant-bought fried chicken, so you¡¯re making it yourself?¡± ¡°Yes!¡± She went on to say she learned the method somewhere. In any case, she was extremely excited. The prospect of delicious chicken made her genuinely happy. State: Genuine Happiness Summary: Fried Chicken-Loving Brocon I did think it was good that she could derive such happiness from such a small thing. The summary was still as strange as ever. ¡°Darong. Tongs,¡± Sunhwa said with familiar ease. To my amusement, Darongi was actively cooperating with her. He scampered towards her lugging tongs far bigger than his body on his back. He could use his Inventory, but nope. He was clearly a clever idiot. ¡°Oppa. Just wait a little. I¡¯ll make some super delicious fried chicken.¡± ¡°¡­Okay, do your best.¡± For some reason, I didn¡¯t feel much anticipation. When I observed the mess in the kitchen with Observer¡¯s Eye, it looked like there was zero chance that delicious fried chicken would be the result. Sorry, but that was the result of my observation. I still decided not to cruelly crush my little sister¡¯s dream. ¡°I¡¯ll go wash up.¡± Sunhwa was so focused on fried chicken making that she didn¡¯t even hear me. On the way to the bathroom, I made an order at the fried chicken restaurant. Unfortunately, my Observer eyes told me very clearly that Sunhwa¡¯s fried chicken wouldn¡¯t be tasty. She was definitely producing something more¡­ special. I ordered out in advance so that I could just tell her to eat the restaurant chicken and not be too disappointed. I turned on the hot water. It poured out in a steamy deluge. This, too, was a novel luxury. When we were living partially underground, we rarely turned on the hot water to save on heating fees. The feeling of being able to simply entrust my body to the heat without worrying about the cost was amazing. ¡®Home.¡¯ This home, I wanted to protect. ¡®Why did the Centipede Cave open in the central park in front of our house?¡¯ It was the ¡®same¡¯ gate as the one on Plum Blossom Island. I hadn¡¯t found the reason yet. It was a puzzle I still hadn¡¯t solved. ¡®The Gwanghwamun Dungeon is going to open properly soon.¡¯ What I experienced was an ¡®Open Beta¡¯. ¡®Inside the Gwanghwamun Dungeon, in the Gyeonghoeru Pavilion, we need to grind to level 40.¡¯ There, the big question would be decided once and for all. Was I an early bloomer Player, or a real genius capable of continuous growth? ¡®It was easier than I thought.¡¯ I managed the fight more easily thanks to Isabel¡¯s innate authority. My Absorption ability and 8 HP absorption rings also played a big role. Because my preparations were so complete, clearing the Gyeonghoeru was extremely easy. The actual difficulty I experienced was far lower than what I imagined. ¡®I¡¯ll be able to pull it off no problem with the others, too.¡¯ At that time, I could maintain the ¡®Observer¡¯ position and maximize our EXP gain. We would hit level 40 faster than anyone else and reach the mid-game. The ¡®scenarios¡¯ would start getting a bit more diverse from there onwards. I finished washing up. Sure enough, Sunhwa¡¯s fried chicken wasn¡¯t tasty. ¡°That¡¯s weird. I thought it would be tasty.¡± Darongi was being a Karen. He stomped his feet, clearly saying, ¡®Hand over the tasty chicken right this instant!¡¯ Thankfully, the chicken I ordered was delivered just in time. Sunhwa and Darongi satisfied their fried chicken desire with the box I ordered. I had two chickens delivered, but the two of them polished it all off. ¡°You done?¡± Sunhwa and Darongi nodded vigorously. It was hard to tell which one was the human and which one was the squirrel. ¡°We¡¯re gonna have a short meeting, so call all the others.¡± ¡°Got it.¡± We really needed an office somewhere. It would also be good to have an official guild name. You could call it preparation for the mid-game. For now, we met at the Players Association. I also had something to tell Song Kiyeol, so that was the ideal meeting place. We were definitely not meeting there because we didn¡¯t have an office yet. So Yoohyun. Choi Sung-gu. Jo Sunghyun. Shin Yeonseo. Kim Sunhwa. And me. Typically, parties were made up of six Players. ¡®For the beginner period¡­ this roster is more than good enough.¡¯ If we were short anywhere, we could just enlist the cooperation of Taeguk Shield. But for now, this was the perfect composition for me to maximize efficiency while playing the sovereign role. ¡®Though it would be helpful if we had Ahn Seohye¡¯s barrier, if possible.¡¯ It was too early for that. Seohye needed a lot of time to put up her barrier. We borrowed a meeting room on the 3rd floor of the Player Center. ¡°We¡¯re going to discuss the Gwanghwamun Dungeon.¡± ¡°Huh? How do you know about it, boss?¡± ¡°I¡¯ve already been there.¡± ¡°Seriously? No way, you soloed it?¡± Yeonseo¡¯s eyes went wide. Sung-gu shook his head. ¡°Now he¡¯s just soloing dungeons, huh? Is he even human? Hah, I hate this guy.¡± I ignored Sung-gu¡¯s nonsense and continued explaining. We wouldn¡¯t clear the whole Gwanghwamun Dungeon. Our plan was just to grind and reach level 40 as quickly as possible. ¡°Hm?¡± Yoohyun was shouting, ¡°Long live Hyungnim!¡±, and Sung-gu was loudly complaining. Yeonseo¡¯s eyes were sparkling as she said, ¡°This¡¯ll be fun¡±, and Sunhwa was looking forward to the dungeon along with Yeonseo. ¡®As expected. I knew Sunghyun would express his doubts.¡¯ He was indeed the Typhoon I remembered. He was capable of calmly and quietly assessing the situation. ¡°Is our only goal¡­ to level up?¡± Sung-gu flinched at that. ¡°What the, is there some kind of hidden trap or something?¡± I gazed at Sunghyun with eyes of slight satisfaction. He was still just a high schooler. Our future Typhoon was growing very nicely. ¡°No, it¡¯s not. If that were the case, I wouldn¡¯t have picked this place to meet.¡± Of course, there was the teensy matter of not having our own office, but anyway, that wasn¡¯t the whole reason. Really. Sung-gu asked, ¡°Eh? Weren¡¯t we meeting here because we didn¡¯t have an office?¡± ¡°¡­No.¡± Sunghyun glared daggers at Sung-gu. ¡°Can you please shut up for a moment, Hyung? Hyukjin hyung is talking.¡± ¡°Oi. You wanna go for real?¡± ¡°That¡¯s exactly what I wanted.¡± ¡°Oi. You were like pissing yourself in fear in front of my Flame Whip last time. Don¡¯t you remember?¡± ¡°You could make a living off writing novels.¡± These two were squabbling more and more as time passed, it seemed. Well, it didn¡¯t matter. As soon as the raid began, they were the ultimate combo anyway. ¡°In any case, the goal isn¡¯t just to level up.¡± Super fast leveling and hitting the mid-game were naturally big goals, but we had another goal in addition to those. ¡°Our other goal¡­¡± From here on out, we had to adapt to the new culture age with yet another method. Just then, there was a knock, and I shrugged. ¡°¡­is this.¡± I had long since sensed the presence behind the door with Eye of Perception, and timed my words perfectly. ¡°Please come in.¡± Someone entered the meeting room. Sunhwa had relayed the invitation nicely. Yoohyun and Sung-gu¡¯s eyes widened. ¡°Th-That person is¡­!¡± Yeonseo cocked her head. ¡°What? Who is he? Do you know him too, Boss?¡± Of course I did. If he didn¡¯t show up here, I would have gone to meet him. I greeted him first. ¡°It¡¯s been a while, sir.¡± ____ Chapter 138 Chapter 138 We were meeting for the first time in a while. The person who entered was President Song Kiyoung, one of the people who created the current South Korea, and the head of the global conglomerate, Sungshin. The living legend of Korea who went from nothing to creating the Sungshin of today. I activated Eye of Perception. [Player] Name: Song Kiyoung Age: 68 Level: 31 Class: [Golden Sovereign] Guardian: [Golden-Horned Dokkaebi] Innate ability: [Charisma] [Pressure] State: Interest / Curiosity / Respect Disposition: Progressive / Neutral Summary: Magnanimous Man of Reasonable Doubt Doting Grandparent The disposition/state/summary only show the most representative and can change according to the situation. Because Eye of Perception¡¯s proficiency is not high enough, viewing more detailed information is impossible. ¡®How fun.¡¯ It was more fun than surprising. In the past, Song Kiyoung concealed the fact that he was a Player. He did so now as well. ¡®And his level is 31.¡¯ That number made me fairly certain he hadn¡¯t leveled up with regular hunting. His class was ¡®Golden Sovereign¡¯, and he probably leveled all the way to 31 using some kind of method that suited the class. There was no way a person as famous as Song Kiyoung could have secretly raised his level that high with normal raiding. There was something I didn¡¯t know. ¡®To think he¡¯s got such innate abilities and reached that level at 68 years old.¡¯ His Status was unbelievable when we first met, and even more unbelievable now. Typically, your talent plates would slowly start closing at 20. According to public knowledge, before I regressed¡ªso when I was 30 years old¡ªmy talent plates were almost completely closed. But President Song reached level 31 even though he was 68 years old. ¡®His talent halo must be insane.¡¯ He had to be insanely talented, a genius among geniuses whose talent plates didn¡¯t close with age. There was no other way he could achieve such a level at his age. It was, simply put, in the realm of the impossible. ¡®If not that, then he¡¯s getting his Guardian¡¯s utmost support.¡¯ And that ¡®utmost support¡¯ was bound to require some kind of sacrifice, be it a huge amount of Coins or something else. ¡®No way.¡¯ Three years from now, Song Kiyoung would die at 71 years old. ¡®But he looks healthy now.¡¯ His death was considered a sudden, unexplained death. I stared probingly at President Song. It could be¡­ that the President was offering his own life in exchange for his growth. And that he didn¡¯t know that. ¡®It could be connected to the Golden-Horned Dokkaebi.¡¯ For now, I decided not to think too deeply about it. The conversation would get long, and I needed to focus on the current situation. It went without being said, but¡ª [The ¡®Merchant of Venice¡¯ is watching with interest.] The trade lover, the Merchant of Venice, made an appearance. ¡°¡­The Gwanghwamun Dungeon will open, and clearing that place will enable one to level up as quickly as possible?¡± ¡°Yes. The majority of Players will choose to raise their levels that way. Though of course, there are those who will not.¡± I stared at President Song, but he didn¡¯t even flinch. His poker face was unshakeable. He responded tranquilly, ¡°I see. How interesting.¡± Song Kiyoung cast his gaze my way. He didn¡¯t try to intimidate me with Charisma or Pressure like before. He went on to say calmly, ¡°I will need a little time.¡± * * * President Song Kiyoung entered the conference room, once again recalling the man he¡¯d just seen. ¡®He was astonishing back then, too.¡¯ Kim Hyukjin was the first youth to remain calm and upright before his Charisma and Pressure, and it wasn¡¯t just the mettle of a man in his prime. ¡®But now, he¡¯s grown even more explosively.¡¯ Normally, when he looked at someone, he could see their dormant power. He could get a sense of how much they would grow, and how much they had already grown. He could tell with a glance. ¡®He¡¯s not the same man he was.¡¯¡¯ At one point, he wanted to turn Hyukjin into his ¡®hunting dog¡¯. But after meeting him in person, Song Kiyoung needed to completely scrap that thought. ¡°I¡¯ve just met Kim Hyukjin.¡± Song Kiyeol was startled. Was his grandfather not satisfied with him, somehow? Did he make a mistake in interacting with Kim Hyukjin? ¡®No. If I made a mistake, he would have punished me himself.¡¯ Be it direct or indirect, his grandfather would have expressed his displeasure in one way or another. There was definitely a different reason why his grandfather met Hyukjin. ¡°He proposed an interesting trade.¡± What the young man was offering was information on the Gwanghwamun Dungeon¡¯s opening and the method within that dungeon to level up rapidly. ¡°Does it happen to be related to the Gwanghwamun?¡± ¡°How did you know?¡± ¡°One of my guild members has the ability to see the future. She sees the future in the form of precognitive dreams.¡± President Song Kiyoung looked at his grandson with amusement. ¡°I see. What did she see?¡± Kiyeol handed over a slip of paper. ¡°This is how the Precognitive Dreamer described what she saw in the precognitive dream.¡± The note was as follows: Three doors. A king walks the King¡¯s Road. In front of the king¡¯s path, he shall suspect the ¡®river of baptism¡¯. She saw the Gwanghwamun in her dream, and in that dream, the doors of the Gwanghwamun were pitch black. Past those doors was a great deal of ominousness. It was all incomprehensible. ¡°King¡¯s path? King? River of baptism? Suspect?¡± ¡°Yes. We are also working on deciphering it.¡± ¡°Fine. The precognitive dream aside, what kind of trade with Kim Hyukjin do you think would be best?¡± ¡°I believe the moment calls for investment rather than trade.¡± ¡°Investment?¡± ¡°Yes. In light of the events so far, Kim Hyukjin is far from an ordinary Player.¡± ¡°¡­¡± ¡°An eye that can see the future. Vast knowledge. Tactics making use of his eye and knowledge. Ah. By tactics, I mean his ability as a sovereign.¡± President Song nodded. Sovereign. He was familiar with the term. He just didn¡¯t show it outwardly. After all, he hadn¡¯t told anyone that he was a Player. Not even his beloved grandson. ¡°There is a very high possibility that the information in his possession will elevate Sungshin to the very top in the new culture age. To be more precise, not Sungshin, but Taeguk Shield.¡± ¡°His information can make Taeguk Shield the best guild?¡± ¡°That will be one of the major driving forces in pushing Sungshin to the top.¡± President Song let out a breathy laugh. ¡°And? Cut to the conclusion. What do you think should be done?¡± ¡°Kim Hyukjin is already getting most of what he needs through Taeguk Shield. But those are almost entirely things related to ¡®Playing¡¯. I believe investment is still required in areas unrelated to Playing.¡± Areas unrelated to Playing. In other words, his day to day life. ¡°Kim Hyukjin does not currently have an office.¡± He lacked both an office and a car. Kiyeol knew that Hyukjin was experiencing some slight discomfort. ¡°I think that rather than just offering money, arranging things like an office and a car, matters he would find troublesome to deal with on his own, would make a good investment.¡± ¡°You want to set up an office for him?¡± ¡°Yes. But it will require significant movement on Sungshin¡¯s part.¡± ¡°How much?¡± ¡°It is my opinion that we must invest as proactively as possible.¡± An old, shabby building was out of the question. A nice, big structure¡ªideally an entire building¡ªwas best, preferably downtown. A building located smack dab in a place frequently visited by many people. ¡°That will be a token proving in the future that Sungshin and Kim Hyukjin¡¯s team have a close-knit relationship.¡± ¡°A building? You want to invest a building for mere hunting information? Come to your senses, Kiyeol.¡± Feigning anger, President Song sent out his grandson. Then, he sat down. He acted like he was angry, but he was actually in a good mood. ¡®His scope has expanded.¡¯ Kim Hyukjin wasn¡¯t a simple hunting dog. If he had to say, Hyukjin was a hunter whose skill had no equal. Even his keen eyes could not judge the extent of Hyukjin¡¯s dormant power. ¡®The fact that Kiyeol is that close to Kim Hyukjin means¡­¡¯ His grandson was building up an excellent working relationship with Hyukjin, a man who wasn¡¯t just shocking, but downright terrifying. It was surely a feat to be praised. ¡®He might even be better than Junghye in some ways.¡¯ He thought of his second-oldest granddaughter, who had a level mind and a straightforward personality. However she might be as a person, he believed she was certainly more suited to lead the company than Kiyeol. Sungshin would become hers. ¡­But that conviction began to shake a little in his heart. ¡®Kiyeol¡¯s insight. Taeguk Shield of the new culture age. And the huge variable called Kim Hyukjin.¡¯ Even President Song did not know how those three things would influence Sungshin¡¯s succession. However¡ª ¡®There¡¯s no need to settle on Junghye just yet.¡¯ His grandson Song Kiyeol entered the running. As he sat on his chair, President Song Kiyoung heard a notice. It was followed by another notice. [The ¡®Golden-Horned Dokkaebi¡¯ is wary of Guardians from other servers.] President Song Kiyoung¡¯s future also changed. * * * In the end, the Gwanghwamun Dungeon opened. The current situation was in line with what happened in the past. ¡®When the Gwanghwamun Dungeon opened, Players were reluctant to enter it.¡¯ Dungeons were dangerous. Even if you managed to clear it, it didn¡¯t make you instantly rich. And in the past, the breaks of the Seoul Station Dungeon and U-Plex Dungeon caused a huge loss of life. It was natural to fear dungeons. Hyukjin examined the front of the Gwanghwamun Dungeon¡¯s entrance. ¡®There¡¯s been far fewer deaths than back then, but¡­¡¯ The Players were even more cautious. Not a single Player showed an inkling of desire to entire the Gwanghwamun Dungeon first. They were merely watching. ¡°Huh? Isn¡¯t that the Tutorial Ender¡¯s party?¡± ¡°Shin Yeonseo¡¯s also there!¡± ¡°Where? Where?¡± The term ¡®Sword Empress crushers¡¯ hadn¡¯t been coined yet, but ¡®Shin Yeonseo crushers¡¯ was slowly picking up heat. ¡°Wow¡­ Did you just see her smile? It was seriously a KO, man.¡± ¡°Oi, oi. Watch your mouth. What¡¯ll you do if she sends you a PVP request?¡± Yoohyun and Yeonseo became the talk of the crowd. Gong Jinhoon of Taeguk Shield and the ¡®Players Association employees¡¯ were blocking off the entrance. ¡°But did you hear? Apparently, there¡¯s someone who got a [No Talent] evaluation in that party.¡± ¡°No way, as if.¡± ¡°No, really. My friend saw it for real. He was there.¡± ¡°Then he would¡¯ve been cut from the party. If he¡¯s got no talent.¡± ¡°You think so? Yeah, you¡¯re right, I guess.¡± The subject of their gossip, the purported [No Talent] Kim Hyukjin, faced his party. ¡°We¡¯re going in first. Don¡¯t forget what I told you. We¡¯re only clearing the Gyeonghoeru. Understood?¡± Yeonseo smiled brightly. ¡°Doing things with our boss is the best. When I raid with other parties, I often feel too anxious or frustrated.¡± ¡°Shabam, don¡¯t even lie. You don¡¯t raid. Why¡¯re you pretending like you raid when you¡¯re off doing PVPs all day long? I feel like you hit me like three million times, seriously.¡± Hyukjin laughed. From the looks of it, Yeonseo and Sung-gu had a PVP match, too. In all actuality, the chance for Sung-gu to win a 1 vs. 1 PVP against Yeonseo was as close to 0 as you could get. His party entered the Gwanghwamun Dungeon. They followed his lead and reached the Gyeonghoeru Pavilion in the same way he¡¯d already traversed. [Entering the Path of Harmony, where heat energy and cold energy converge in harmony past the King¡¯s Road.] [Entering the ¡®Gyeonghoeru Pavilion¡¯.] [In 10 seconds, the ¡®Gyeonghoeru Scenario¡¯ will begin.] [10] [9] . . . [2] [1] [The ¡®Gyeonghoeru Scenario¡¯ has been opened.] [The ¡®Gyeonghoeru Scenario ¨C Polluted Banquet Hall¡¯ is beginning.] What ensued was a battle between two groups. Hyukjin used the favor granted by the Conductor of Sound and cleared the field with his party mates. ¡®There¡¯s no doubt.¡¯ It was easier than he thought. When he was alone, the Legolas¡¯ Rings were crucial, but right now, he was part of a party. They could defeat the horde even without help from his rings. Yoohyun gave out a bellowing cry. ¡°Oryaa!¡± A Polluted Lifeform¡¯s head was blasted to smithereens. Sticky blood gushed from the smashed head, followed by an incredible stench. Sung-gu and Sunghyun worked together to instantly clear out the zombies. The smell of cooking meat wafted up, clearing the disgusting stench. After some time, Hyukjin heard the long-awaited notice. [Level increased.] This was the fastest leveling method in the level 30-40 Hell Phase. Right now, he wasn¡¯t directly hunting, but participating in the battle as an ¡®Observer¡¯. [Current level: 33] He was now level 33. This could be considered an incredible leveling speed. While they were grinding away, Senia began to distort with the tell-tale signs of server overload. ____ Chapter 139 Chapter 139 Bzzt¨C bzzzt¨C! Static suddenly filled the air, and Senia¡¯s body started to fade and reappear repeatedly. Her body broke into particles, diffusing like water paint given water, before snapping back into position. I had already experienced this phenomenon before. The ¡®server overload¡¯ that occurred back when I was picking my Guardian was happening a second time. ¡®What the¡ª?¡¯ I thought with puzzlement. She told me back then that she invested in a server expansion. ¡®Does that mean so many Guardians are watching that even her upgraded server can¡¯t handle it?¡¯ That was the only way I could interpret it. ¡°What about Neptune or Roa?¡± I asked. Yoohyun¡¯s Streamer, Neptune, and Yeonseo¡¯s Streamer, Roa. Neptune remained invisible, while Roa appeared. ¡°A server overload? How envious.¡± The pixie was about 150 centimetres tall and had four pairs of transparent wings on her back. As was apt for a pixie, her wings gave off a constant shower of mystical dust. ¡°Tada! Please welcome to the stage the giant pixie, R-O-A!¡± In her hand was something Roa herself called a magic wand. It looked almost like a lollipop. ¡°Oh! Player Kim Hyukjin. You seem to have noticed this new magic wand I have? You have sharp eyes.¡± She covered her mouth with a hand with an ¡®ohoho¡¯, looking extremely happy. ¡°What do you think? It¡¯s brand new!¡± ¡°¡­¡± I vaguely remembered hearing that Roa was obsessed with her new magic wand. It wasn¡¯t important, so I just told her it was pretty. ¡°Hehe. If she had this brand new magic wand, Senia wouldn¡¯t have gotten a server overload.¡± ¡°The magic wand includes a server expansion function?¡± ¡°Hmph! It¡¯s a secret~¡± ¡°¡­¡± ¡°If you¡¯re curious, sign an exclusive contract with me. I¡¯ll pay the penalty! I¡¯m ri~ch!¡± Roa grinned wide at me, trailing sparkling pixie dust. Come to think of it, she really was giant for a pixie. Normally, they were about the size of a palm. ¡°If that¡¯s too hard, then how about just giving me the filming rights for a moment? I¡¯ll compensate you for 120% of the penalty!¡± Senia was being kicked out via server overload. She would probably be locked out for the time being. ¡®Haah.¡¯ Senia, you frustrating Streamer. I thought she grew a lot, but she still had a long way to go. ¡®You have to invest to reap the profit.¡¯ Seeing as she was experiencing server overload, Senia hadn¡¯t been able to make a ¡®big investment¡¯ yet. My faith in her had been growing lately, but it seemed I couldn¡¯t completely trust her yet. Still, this was actually a good thing. ¡®A lot of Guardians must be going crazy with frustration right now.¡¯ They must want to see my Playing, but I could only be seen through Senia. It would have the opposite effect if it happened frequently, but letting the Guardians simmer like this wasn¡¯t a bad thing. It was basically an unintentional ¡®Sudden Cut¡¯. Though for the Guardians, it was closer to a ¡®Sudden Cliffhanger¡¯. Plus, the current situation wasn¡¯t my fault. I didn¡¯t need to go out of my way to violate my contract with Senia. ¡°Sorry. I can¡¯t say yes to violating the contract.¡± ¡°Don¡¯t over complicate things. A lot of Guardians want to see you. I just have to stream you for a moment. Like I said, I¡¯ll cover the penalty!¡± She was offering to pay the penalty without even asking how much it was. ¡®Must be because she¡¯s confident she¡¯ll still make a profit by streaming me for a short time, even after paying the penalty.¡¯ Her bold action was informed by such a judgment. As expected of the future famous Streamer Roa. ¡°No can do. The Guardians who watch me value loyalty.¡± There were only a few of them, but the Guardians made the best excuses. ¡°C¡¯mon, what do I have to do?¡± ¡°You can do anything and my answer will still be no.¡± ¡°I¡¯ll strip if you tell me to! Just for a moment! Everyone¡¯ll be happy if you have fun with me for just a moment!¡± ¡°¡­¡± Somehow, there was something very off about her words, so I ignored her and turned to my party members. ¡°We¡¯ll continue as we¡¯ve been doing, clear this place, and leave. If we keep clearing the field, we can leave. As I said before.¡± Sunhwa smiled brightly at me. ¡°Because our goal is the Gyeonghoeru!¡± Yes. We would keep clearing the Gyeonghoeru, and the Gyeonghoeru only. That was our goal. We cleared and re-entered the Gyeonghoeru three times in a row, after which we decided to take a short break at a large caf¨¦ in the vicinity of the Gwanghwamun. Yeonseo¡¯s smile reached her eyes. ¡°Boss. That place is a real jackpot. I was starting to go mad from the crazy slow leveling speed.¡± She stealthily placed a hand on my shoulder. ¡°As expected, getting to know Boss Hyukjin is my life¡¯s greatest fortune.¡± The culprit behind the ¡®Sword Empress crushers¡¯, the future Sword Empress, a dazzling smile, was sent my way. ¡°While we¡¯re at it, why don¡¯t you just marry me?¡± ¡°¡­¡± This girl. Everything about her was great, but her propensity for nonsense was the one kicker. Why did she suddenly jump from fortune to marriage? ¡®It¡¯s a good thing Isabel¡¯s asleep.¡¯ If she was awake, her explosive jealousy would have been a hot potato to handle. Sunghyun said in a small voice, ¡°Hyung. I¡¯ve already hit level 33.¡± ¡°Shabam? What¡¯s that my ears hear? 33? Only? Even though I¡¯m level 34? Shabam? Ain¡¯t you a weakling?¡± Sung-gu gloated, his lips curling into a smile so wide that all his white teeth were on display. Of course, Sunghyun utterly ignored him, looking for all the world as if Sung-gu were empty air and he was only talking to me. ¡®As I thought.¡¯ We were all experiencing a frightening leveling speed. ¡°Yeah. We¡¯ve already agreed to trade.¡± I would share this strategy. I¡¯d already made arrangements with President Song, and had fully proven its worth. ¡®It¡¯ll be revealed one day anyway.¡¯ There was nothing to lose from publicizing it a little earlier. Moreover, the entire Player base was weaker than it should be right now. We needed to pull up the average abilities of the Players. I could make a profit from a strategy that would become well-known anyway, and also promote the safe leveling of my fellow Players. ¡®And.¡¯ This was the really important part. ¡®The Players without talent can¡¯t go past level 40, anyway.¡¯ Why that was the case was never scientifically elucidated. The world just knew by experience. Those with no talent for Playing could not exceed level 40, no matter what they did. As sad as it was, that was reality. A cruel reality I, someone who was once given a [No Talent] evaluation, knew all too well. ¡°Even if I share the strategy, only those who can carry it out will do it, and only those who can grow will grow.¡± Yoohyun clasped his hands, looking like he was about to offer a devoted prayer. However, the fact his hands were as big as cauldron lids made him seem quite threatening instead. Getting hit by those hands was almost like taking a hit from Thor¡¯s hammer. ¡°Hyungnim¡ª!¡± Yoohyun¡¯s eyes reddened. State: Trust / Faith / Respect / Admiration ¡®What brings this on all of a sudden?¡¯ I felt Yoohyun¡¯s state all too clearly with Eye of Perception, which meant his feelings were just that strong and sincere. ¡°The great and sublime decision Hyungnim has made for the continued success of this country, the wellbeing of the Players, and the Korean server¡¯s infinite growth shall bring you innumerable praise and exaltation!¡± ¡°¡­¡± Sunhwa pursed her lips a little. ¡°But still, it¡¯s kind of a shame to share such a strategy. Though I can¡¯t say no since Oppa decided it¡­¡± Yeonseo nodded as well. ¡°Yeah. Actually, only someone as generous as Hyukjin could bring themselves to publicize this sort of thing. It¡¯s basically mass producing rivals.¡± The usually quiet Sunghyun shook his head with a serious expression. ¡°No, Yeonseo noona is thinking about it the wrong way.¡± ¡°Hm? How so?¡± ¡°The part about mass producing rivals.¡± Sunghyun¡¯s expression was as earnest as ever. Not a single trace of joking air could be found on his face. ¡°Hyukjin hyung has confidence.¡± ¡°Confidence?¡± ¡°Because his confidence that no one will be able to beat him no matter what crucial strategy he shares is unshakeable, he¡¯s just being merciful to the weak.¡± Sunghyun seemed to have judged my decision as an act of magnanimity rather than one of kindness. It really wasn¡¯t anything that grandiose. He stared at me. ¡°Right, Hyukjin hyung?¡± ¡°¡­¡± This strategy was going to become well-known anyway, so I was just ¡®selling¡¯ it a little ahead of schedule. But I could hardly say that in front of Sunghyun¡¯s earnest eyes, so I just gave a small nod. Right as I was receiving his burdensome gaze, Senia appeared. ¡°I apologize. There was a server overload.¡± ¡°I know.¡± ¡°Senia. Come chat with me a little.¡± ¡°¡­Understood.¡± Senia and I moved to a slightly more private table, during which a bunch of people snuck glances at her. I was already very familiar with the sight. ¡°Server overload happened last time, too.¡± ¡°The recent Gyeonghoeru strategy¡­ has produced a huge clamor among the Guardians.¡± ¡°That¡¯s only natural. We¡¯re leveling extremely quickly during a period where leveling is so hard. I told you they¡¯d go wild.¡± ¡°¡­¡± Senia¡¯s wings fluttered once. She did seem a little flustered, like she hadn¡¯t thought so many Guardians would flock to her channel. ¡°I don¡¯t know how many Guardians went into your channel.¡± ¡°¡­¡± ¡°But I do know that even more Guardians will come over in the future. That¡¯s a fact.¡± We only cleared one part of the Gwanghwamun Dungeon, just the Gyeonghoeru. Once we were in the mid-game and started getting into the ¡®Main Scenario¡¯, the number of Guardians would swell even more. ¡°Currently, I have the 1st server expansion. To get the 2nd server expansion¡­¡± she trailed off. ¡°You¡¯ll need a really huge investment, right?¡± ¡°¡­Yes.¡± ¡°And that investment is so big that it¡¯ll put a considerable strain on your current finances.¡± ¡°¡­¡± ¡°But that doesn¡¯t mean it¡¯s impossible. You should be able to do it. Though it¡¯ll be tough.¡± ¡°¡­¡± Senia¡¯s wings quivered nonstop. The intense fluctuation in her emotions allowed me to read her state. State: Shock / Slight Fear She was probably feeling a little afraid because I was reading her inner thoughts like a book. Don¡¯t worry, I won¡¯t eat you. ¡°Senia.¡± ¡°Yes.¡± ¡°By this point, we¡¯ve developed a pretty trusting relationship, no?¡± Senia¡¯s wings betrayed her emotions again. Was I wrong? I didn¡¯t just take advantage of her the whole time, did I? No, I was pretty nice to her, in my own way. Senia said curtly, ¡°I believe there is plenty of trust, business-wise.¡± ¡°Well, however you wanna put it. You and I are content creators. I didn¡¯t make it on my own, and you didn¡¯t stream it on your own. We make the content together.¡± ¡°I have confidence in the content I create. I¡¯m confident I can figure out what the Guardians want to see better than anyone, and certain I have more than enough methods and tricks to satisfy their desires.¡± ¡°¡­¡± ¡°You need to have as much confidence in your content as I have in mine. If I don¡¯t have confidence in myself, who will recognize my worth?¡± You only got as much as you put in. ¡°I don¡¯t know what kind of situation you¡¯re in,¡± I continued. I didn¡¯t know how a kid with zero sense, skills, or knack for talking ended up becoming an Intermediate Administrator. With her looks, there should have been a myriad of other routes she could have taken instead. ¡°But you need to invest in server expansion. There¡¯s no gain without loss.¡± ¡°Yes, of course, but¡­¡± I stared at Senia for a moment. She was expressionless, but I thought I could glimpse a trace of awkwardness there. She probably had circumstances I didn¡¯t know about. ¡°Invest in the server extension. If it results in a loss, I¡¯ll compensate you. I¡¯ll even sign a contract.¡± ¡°¡­What?¡± ¡°That¡¯s how much confidence I have. In the value of the Player that is me.¡± ¡°¡­¡± Senia¡¯s wings trembled again. ¡°If you¡¯re not confident, then trust me and follow.¡± It would be hard to find a Streamer as easy to manipulate as her. Senia thought for a long time. After a while, she began to speak. ¡°I think what you said about the content being something we make together had a big impact on me.¡± ¡°¡­¡± ¡°The meaning of the word ¡®together¡¯, I feel keenly. I never even imagined I would hear a Player tell me to trust and follow. And from a Player in the beginner period, no less.¡± I couldn¡¯t put it into words, but Senia¡¯s expression changed. She was suddenly much more talkative than usual. It felt like I¡¯d never heard her talk so much before. ¡°It¡¯s fascinating. I feel like there is strength in Player Kim Hyukjin¡¯s words.¡± Her face was definitely expressionless, but there seemed to be more vigor in it than before. ¡°I will work to create content together with Player Kim Hyukjin.¡± It was like¡­ she was being lifted by an updraft, like she was finding her confidence. Right now, she looked fully capable of pulling the trigger on a bold investment. But just then, I suddenly got a message. [The ¡®Arrow-Shooting Cupid¡¯ has begun to focus on you.] Wait. Was she streaming right now? When it rains, it pours. A different voice began ringing in my head at the same time. Isabel had woken up. ____ Chapter 140 Chapter 140 Isabel¡¯s words were almost shocking. (Hubby. Wanna die?) Wow. ¡®Hubby, wanna die?¡¯ was a new one for me. I was a person from 2028. That was the sort of thing you¡¯d hear in an early 2000s webnovel, a phrase from thirty years ago. Hubby. Wanna die? All the hair on my body stood on end. ¡®¡­¡¯ I was speechless. What was I supposed to call Isabel? An ancient famed blade? A transcendent artifact related to the Queen of the Sword Forest? (I¡¯m your bride. You idiot!) Right, right, she was my bride. She was my bride, and I was her bride. But at the same time, I was her hubby? I really didn¡¯t get it. We had a very curious family tree, but in any case, that was how the System put it. (What do you think you¡¯re doing to that annoying angel?!) I didn¡¯t do anything. We were just conducting business. (Sure, business. You say that, but why¡¯s she got so much goodwill towards you? Keep your hands in your pockets, will you?!) Her voice clamored in my head like a storm. Like I said, I didn¡¯t do anything. (No. You definitely did. That angel¡¯s state is emotional-touched-wonder-awe right now! Are those eyes of yours for show? She¡¯s totally fallen for you!) That was just because her eyes were opened to the investment I recommended. She glimpsed the business blueprint we would be making together. (No! You dum dum! This is why men are just¡ª!) The intangible energy amplified and crashed down on me. Her presence was even more forward and powerful than when she used her innate authority. I couldn¡¯t come up with a response. I was really just doing business, and the ¡®Arrow-Shooting Cupid¡¯ just showed an interest in that for some reason. I felt Isabel trembling with anger. The blade in my Inventory actually shook. (I see that cupid bastard is still alive. I hate him. Hate him to death. In any case, he¡¯s no help.) I didn¡¯t know the depths of Isabel¡¯s ability. She was able to read a message sent to me. She even knew the Guardian¡¯s identity. (Of course. I¡¯m your bride. Husband and wife are one being, so the messages you get, I get, too. That¡¯s what the Sword Pact¡ªwhatever. If you cheat on me, you¡¯re dea¡ª!) Before she could finish, Isabel fell asleep again. ¡®She¡¯s definitely¡­ more fired up than when she was using her innate authority.¡¯ Her waking time was way shorter than usual. The fact the ego¡¯s waking time was super short despite receiving the power of the ¡®Powerful Wish¡¯ meant Isabel had expended that much energy. ¡®Good thing she¡¯s a sword.¡¯ If she was a person, things might have gotten really, really tiresome. ¡®Ah¡­¡¯ Why did it suddenly bother me that the ¡®Queen of the Sword Forest¡¯ and ¡®Isabel¡¯ shared the same name? ¡®It can¡¯t be that the artifact named Isabel¡­ is actually the Queen of the Sword Forest, or something like that, right?¡¯ How could a sword be a person? Even ten years later, nothing like that had happened. At this point in time, it wasn¡¯t anything I needed to think about. I definitely heard the notice. [The ¡®Arrow-Shooting Cupid¡¯ has begun to focus on you.] If you were to ask me why I didn¡¯t think that I might be getting streamed, it was actually because I didn¡¯t think of our conversation as that important. It was like noting that a few stones were on the ground, or that a few cars passed me. It wasn¡¯t important information, just a part of the humdrum of life, so I didn¡¯t pay particular attention to it. Yes. You could just see it as ¡®Just because¡¯. ¡®The problem is¡­ that the Arrow-Shooting Cupid has appeared.¡¯ This Guardian was one that people called the ¡®Cupid¡¯ for short. Once you were targeted by this Guardian, things would get very troublesome. ¡®He¡¯s famous for causing mischief between lovers.¡¯ The Courageous Lion King was, as his name suggested, a courage lover. He went wild for courageous Playing. The Lady of the Scales liked just Players. The Merchant of Venice gave high marks for outstanding trades. Each Guardian had their own quirks, unique to them. The ¡®Arrow-Shooting Cupid¡¯ was a Guardian who liked quarrels between lovers. To that effect, he gave quests and even used his authority as a Guardian. ¡®What a pain.¡¯ So did that mean he would give a lot of sponsorship? No, not even. It wasn¡¯t that he didn¡¯t give sponsorships, but he was somewhat of a scrooge. ¡®Please, just don¡¯t do anything pointless.¡¯ Sometimes, the Arrow-Shooting Cupid would use his special ability, the ¡®Arrow of Love¡¯, to stir up trouble between couples. Sometimes, he even led a few hapless victims to their destruction. ¡®His ability can be really fatal for kids with tofu mentalities like Sunhwa.¡¯ There was an incident where a fairly famous Player in the US named Alex came out suddenly, revealing that he was gay. Up to that point, he was a perfectly happy heterosexual, but he suddenly became a homosexual. Whether it was true or not, many people said it was a trick of the ¡®Arrow-Shooting Cupid¡¯. ¡®He¡¯s also a pervert who tries to induce incestuous relationships.¡¯ For example, he would try to make love sprout between a brother and sister. He was the kind of bastard who derived pleasure from such perverted deeds. He was far from normal. Senia noticed my terse silence. ¡°What¡¯s wrong?¡± ¡°Nothing.¡± Apparently, she hadn¡¯t heard the notice from the Arrow-Shooting Cupid. It was only sent to me. ¡®He hasn¡¯t done anything else.¡¯ I didn¡¯t want to draw any more of his attention. Business. Right now, it was time for business. ¡°Senia. You agree that we¡¯re making content together. What I said is correct, right?¡± ¡°Of course.¡± ¡°I¡¯ve told you how I will be Playing in the future.¡± ¡°Yes. You said you would raise your level to 40 faster than anyone, by maximizing the advantages of the Observer class.¡± ¡°Fast leveling is great, of course. But it¡¯ll take quite some time. Approximately three months.¡± No matter how specialized the location was for leveling, it would still take three months. ¡°What I¡¯m going to do is grind. That means it¡¯ll get boring over time. At least for the Guardians to watch.¡± Senia hadn¡¯t thought that far, it seemed. No matter how delicious something was, if you ate it every day, you¡¯d get tired of it, and no matter how fun something was, you¡¯d get bored of it. ¡°So you need to change up the directing every now and then and mix things up.¡± What was there to enjoy about watching us hunt Polluted Lifeforms day in, day out? Such a scene could only be used as an initial stimulus. Senia¡¯s wings fluttered. ¡°¡­¡± She was starting to get the sense of what I was saying. ¡°What you¡¯re saying is¡­¡± ¡°Yeonseo¡¯s Intermediate Administrator, Roa, is the type to invest Coins unstintingly. You know that, right?¡± She even offered to pay the penalty for me. ¡°Yes.¡± ¡°Seeing the same thing is boring, so we¡¯ll have to occasionally mix in some quests.¡± To put it bluntly, I was telling her to give me quests. I was like Senia¡¯s lifeline. She couldn¡¯t give me a quest so hard I couldn¡¯t clear it. Senia¡¯s expression stiffened a little. ¡°¡­Coins are necessary for quests.¡± ¡°I know.¡± Her finances had to be pretty shot right now, since she had paid a big price for the server expansion. ¡°You can just get an investment.¡± ¡°¡­An investment?¡± Ever since she said we would create content ¡®together¡¯, Senia¡¯s face seemed to be effused with a glow of confidence. ¡°We can make content the Guardians wish to see. For that, you and I need to work hard.¡± In other words, lure in the investment, come up with a quest that would make a decent show, and give it to me. Senia nodded. ¡°Your words are correct.¡± Of course they were. We had to grind anyway, so wouldn¡¯t it be great if we could complete Streamer quests or missions while we were at it? There was nothing for me to lose. [The ¡®Merchant of Venice¡¯ directs a ¡®crafty smile¡¯ at you.] Oh. A crafty smile. I knew that was the message the Merchant of Venice sent when giving a Player their highest praise. ¡®And normally, after their crafty smile, a big sponsorship follows.¡¯ I had just settled a zero loss trade, a very positive one where I secured profit without any investment. As a reward, the Merchant of Venice sent me a present. [The ¡®Merchant of Venice¡¯ gifts you a ¡®Growth Assist Potion¡¯.] One day passed. Senia¡¯s server was fully expanded, and we wouldn¡¯t see any more server overloads for the time being. ¡°Your words were right, Player Kim Hyukjin.¡± Senia¡¯s wings were fluttering. Looking at them now, they kind of reminded me of the happy tail wagging of a puppy. They were trembling particularly hard today. ¡°Many Guardians sent in generous sponsorships.¡± ¡°I¡¯m sure they did.¡± Senia and I were the creators of very unique content in the Korean server, after all. ¡®Not just in Korea, but¡­ probably worldwide.¡¯ I was probably one of the only people showing Playing of this level worldwide. Of course, I wasn¡¯t counting non-combat Players with ¡®artisan¡¯ classes, ¡®cooking¡¯ classes, or ¡®production¡¯ classes. When it came to combat, I was confident that my Playing was definitely way up there. ¡°Thanks to you, I have found a new path.¡± Since yesterday, Senia had become a lot more talkative. ¡°I feel like my insight and vision have broadened compared to before.¡± And then, she bent respectfully at the waist. ¡°It¡¯s a win-win for us both.¡± ¡°Will you be clearing the Gwanghwamun Dungeon full-sprint from today onwards?¡± ¡°Just the Gyeonghoeru field, to be exact.¡± ¡°Understood.¡± Senia¡¯s wings fluttered again. She gave me an obvious stare. ¡°What?¡± ¡°¡­¡± ¡°Why do you keep staring at me like that?¡± ¡°¡­¡± She hesitated for a long time. The way her lips squirmed made it obvious that she had something to say. ¡°What?¡± ¡°¡­¡± Something interesting happened. The tips of Senia¡¯s wings turned ever so slightly pink. ¡°I want to formally show my gratitude.¡± It was only for a fleeting moment, and was very faint, but her wingtips turned pink and then returned to their original white. My eyes didn¡¯t lie. I didn¡¯t see it wrong. Senia herself didn¡¯t seem to realize it. I heard a notice. [The Intermediate Administrator ¡®Senia¡¯ wishes to present you with an ¡®Appreciation Plaque¡¯.] The Appreciation Plaque was sent to my Inventory. ¡®An Appreciation Plaque in the beginner period?¡¯ I never ever hoped for such a thing, but my words must have been a much bigger enlightenment than I thought. There was an article about the ¡®Appreciation Plaque¡¯ on Playpedia as well. ¨COccasionally, Streamers will present Players who have shown an outstanding performance with an ¡®Appreciation Plaque¡¯. The exact details are not known, but it is believed that this Appreciation Plaque can only be gifted a limited number of times and requires a large number of Coins. The first Player to receive an Appreciation Plaque in Korea is the Golden Priest Gong Jinhoon. That was supposed to happen three years from now. But the Appreciation Plaque that should only appear in three years was already showing up. It was unintentional and unplanned, but I was lucky, it seemed. ¡®Inventory.¡¯ I opened my Inventory and checked the Appreciation Plaque. [Appreciation Plaque] The token of gratitude given by an Intermediate Administrator to a Player who has shown an outstanding performance. When the Appreciation Plaque is activated, a reward is randomly chosen. * Reward Influence Conditions Contracted Guardian Sponsorship Guardians The Player¡¯s luck The Player¡¯s enhancement competence But strangely, I felt something more when I looked at the description, like I should be able to see more. I was familiar with this feeling. ¡®Observer¡¯s Eye.¡¯ I examined the token a little more closely with Observer¡¯s Eye and perceived a faint flow of something that was invisible to the eye. ¡®I¡¯ll observe it.¡¯ If I really, really focused, I would be able to see something new. I lost track of time, but it felt like at least thirty minutes passed. In the end, I was able to trace the strange sensation and discover something new. [You have discovered a hidden ¡®Reward Influence Condition¡¯ of the ¡®Appreciation Plaque¡¯.] As I thought, there was something there. Observer¡¯s Eye came through for me once again. I immediately checked the new condition. ____ Chapter 141 Chapter 141 [You have discovered a hidden ¡®Reward Influence Condition¡¯ of the ¡®Appreciation Plaque¡¯.] [Receiving the influence of the new Reward Influence Condition.] I unlocked a new condition. * Reward Influence Conditions Contracted Guardian Sponsorship Guardians The Player¡¯s luck The Player¡¯s enhancement ability Power of a wish A condition called ¡®Power of a wish¡¯ was added. The fun thing was, I knew someone who harbored such a ¡®wish¡¯, and not just a regular wish, but a ¡®strong wish¡¯. ¡®Does that mean it can be influenced by Noona?¡¯ I didn¡¯t know for certain, but I had a hunch it could. ¡°I¡¯ll use this Appreciation Plaque with gratitude.¡± ¡°This is an investment I am making in Player Kim Hyukjin.¡± ¡°An investment?¡± ¡°Yes. With my current abilities, I can only give an Appreciation Plaque to one person.¡± ¡°And you¡¯re saying that one person is me?¡± I already knew this, but she was deliberately flaunting her credit. ¡®But is she really flaunting?¡¯ It kind of felt like she was, but wasn¡¯t, and that she was being sincere, but not quite. I had the strange feeling that she wasn¡¯t saying, ¡®I gave you something this precious, so be good to me¡¯, but ¡®I did good, right?¡¯ ¡°Yes. The Appreciation Plaque can be activated whenever and wherever you want, and the reward will be randomly determined based on the conditions that influence it.¡± Basically, I didn¡¯t need to use it here, right away. ¡®First¡­ I¡¯ll have to go to Noona.¡¯ I told her to set aside some time to spend with me, anyway. It was thanks to Noona that I cleared the Yellow Charm Gate, a gate imbued with her strong wish for my happiness. I went to Noona¡¯s room. She happened to be home. ¡°Noona, I told you to make time for me. Why¡¯re you dragging your feet so much?¡± She was never going to take initiative, so I just hauled her out of the house. ¡°Oi. Where are we going?¡± Her face was full of irritation, but that was only skin deep. ¡°You¡¯ll know when we get there.¡± We got into a taxi. After a thirty minute drive, we arrived at the Sungshin Department Store in Myeongdong. It was essentially the most premium department store in Sungshin¡¯s possession. ¡°Please give me this, this, and this.¡± I swiped on everything that caught my fancy. Noona was speechless. ¡°¡­¡± I didn¡¯t bother to count, but I probably used something close to $40k in what felt like one mad rush of buying. State: Extreme Panic / Fear She stood there like a wooden doll whose soul had left the body. ¡°Earth to Noona,¡± I said wryly, shaking her. Even my shaking couldn¡¯t snap her out of her daze. Her state was even worse than Choi Sung-gu, who claimed to have a ¡°department store allergy¡± or ¡°boujee allergy¡±. She was in a total panic, almost like a Player crushed by ¡®Mettle¡¯ in front of a huge, unbeatable monster. ¡°Noona. Noona. Noona. Come on, get a hold of yourself.¡± After barely managing to gather her wits, Noona looked at me, dumbfounded. ¡°¡­Are you insane?¡± ¡°I have a lot of money.¡± And I would earn more in the future. I had ¡°only¡± managed to earn $300k so far, but my earning power would increase by leaps and bounds. Plus, if I successfully settled the trade of the Gyeonghoeru Dungeon strat, I could rake in a profit far greater than $300k. I had enough to spend this much on Noona. ¡°Whether you have a lot of money or not, how is this something a sane person can do?!¡± she shouted, before realizing where she was and quickly looking around. Her unconsciously raised voice drew the attention of the people nearby. I saw those people with Observer¡¯s Eye. Two women I guessed were friends murmured, ¡°Woah, what¡¯s with that woman? I¡¯m jealous.¡± The remark wasn¡¯t surprising, considering the mountain of shopping bags held in both my hands. State: Envy / Longing State: Envy / Covetous / Jealousy The surrounding gazes weren¡¯t important. What was important was that I was more than willing to do as much for my sister as she had devoted to me, and that I had the capability to do so. Also important was confirming Noona¡¯s ¡®wish¡¯. ¡°I told you. I¡¯ll make it so you can live the good life now.¡± ¡°Return them all.¡± ¡°But I dun wanna?¡± ¡°You really wanna die?¡± ¡°Nope, I¡¯m gonna live.¡± State: Extreme Panic / Brain.exe Crashed Noona was rendered speechless again. This was just the smallest act of sincerity I could do for my sister. Another long moment of silence stretched out between us. ¡°Please, Hyukjin. This is madness. Let¡¯s go return them, please.¡± ¡°But you didn¡¯t say anything before. Why now?¡± ¡°I thought you were pranking me.¡± No, I was pretty sure she didn¡¯t say anything because she was in a total panic, but now she was trying to cover up by saying she thought it was a prank. It was kind of cute. ¡°I¡¯m not crazy. Also, I¡¯m earning a lot better than you think, Noona.¡± ¡°¡­¡± She was on the verge of tears. Goodness, it just made me want to tease her more. ¡°Don¡¯t worry. This is way smaller than what I¡¯ve received from you.¡± Noona kept parroting ¡®Let¡¯s return them¡¯, and I mercilessly ignored her. Only after returning home did Noona really come back to her senses. She rained blows on my back. ¡°HEY! YOU CRAZY BASTARD!¡± Unfortunately for her, I was already a level 30+ Player. Getting hit by a non-Player like Noona didn¡¯t even hurt. ¡°Oh, you¡¯re finally out of your daze. You were all stiff a moment ago.¡± I flashed her a cheeky grin. ¡°Noona. You want me to succeed, right?¡± ¡°What bullcrap are you on about?¡± ¡°Just say it. You want me to succeed, right?¡± Her lips twitching, Noona bluntly said, ¡°No. Not at all.¡± ¡°Be honest. You want me to succeed, right?¡± ¡°I said no!¡± Her face reddened just a little. ¡°What do I care if someone like you succeeds or not?¡± ¡°Oh, c¡¯mon. You¡¯re being too harsh, miss. I¡¯m still your little brother.¡± I stubbornly repeated the question. ¡°Noona. You want me to succeed, right?¡± ¡°Noona. You want me to succeed, right?¡± ¡°Noona. You want me to succeed, right?¡± After asking and asking several times, Noona finally gave in. ¡°FINE! BE SUCCESSFUL, WHY DON¡¯T YOU! BE SUCCESSFUL!¡± With that, she barreled into her room and slammed her door shut. It was amazing that someone who wrote new charms every day for my sake would be so embarrassed to say it out loud. In any case, I read the emotion behind her words when she shouted at me. ¡®It was sincere, huh?¡¯ My Observer¡¯s Eye had the power to take in all information and reinterpret it. I sensed Noona¡¯s true feelings, the energy the System labeled as a ¡®wish¡¯. Maybe because she¡¯d been in a total panic moments before, the door to her heart was knocked wide open. As a result, I was able to clearly pick up on her wish. ¡®This energy is the power of a wish.¡¯ As was always the case with information perceived with Observer¡¯s Eye, the energy wasn¡¯t anything concrete or fixed. I just felt it in my mind. ¡®Influence of a wish, check.¡¯ It took a $40k investment. I could activate the Appreciation Plaque now. I went back to the room and took it out. * * * [Activate the ¡®Appreciation Plaque¡¯?] With my tacit agreement, the Appreciation Plaque produced a ball of golden light that lit up the room. The warm glow of the light extended to every corner of my room. [Activating the ¡®Appreciation Plaque¡¯.] [Confirming the Reward Influence Conditions.] [The ¡®Contracted Guardian¡¯ is the ¡®Nameless Observer¡¯.] [Confirming a large number of ¡®Sponsorship Guardians¡¯.] The notices stopped for a moment. ¡®Hm?¡¯ Not long afterwards, I found out why the notices stopped. ¡®It summoned Senia?¡¯ Senia appeared. I didn¡¯t know exactly what was happening, but I guessed messages were being sent to the Streamer I had an exclusive contract with. ¡°Player Kim Hyukjin. Are you activating the Appreciation Plaque?¡± It should be obvious just by looking, but she was asking in order to explain the situation to the Guardians. I heard the same notice again. [Confirming a large number of ¡®Sponsorship Guardians¡¯.] [Confirming a large number of ¡®Sponsorship Guardians¡¯.] [Confirming a large number of ¡®Sponsorship Guardians¡¯.] [A large number of Guardians have expressed their ¡®desire to sponsor¡¯.] [The ¡®Appreciation Token¡¯s Sponsorship Limit¡¯ has been exceeded.] [Further ¡®sponsorship¡¯ is impossible.] The sponsorships exceeded the amount the Appreciation Token could handle. [Judging the Player¡¯s luck.] [The Player¡¯s luck is a factor that changes in real time depending on the time, place, and the Player¡¯s condition.] This part was purely RNG. [The Player¡¯s luck has been set as ¡®MAX¡¯.] Woah. ¡®Guess I¡¯m lucky?¡¯ This time, I hit the lucky MAX. If I had to guess, it was a really good throw of the dice. [Checking the Player¡¯s enhancement competence.] Here, I had a little confidence, and I was curious as to what the System would say. [The ¡®Appreciation Plaque enhancement competence judging ability¡¯ has been exceeded.] [The ¡®enhancement competence¡¯ cannot be judged.] [The Player¡¯s enhancement competence has been set to the uppermost limit of the ¡®Appreciation Plaque¡¯.] My luck was MAX, and my enhancement ability couldn¡¯t be measured. I saw Senia¡¯s wings flutter as she murmured a constant stream of words I couldn¡¯t understand. From her reaction, the calculation of my reward conditions was far from ordinary. And finally: [Confirming the power of a wish.] [Judging the wish¡¯s strength.] [Confirming the ¡®power of a wish so strong it cannot be put into words¡¯.] All the influence conditions were judged. [The ¡®Appreciation Plaque¡¯ is being activated.] [Randomly selecting reward.] [¡®All Ability Potion¡¯ selected as the reward.] The item window opened automatically, and I saw a potion. Grade: Legendary A potion that increases the proficiency of all skills/innate abilities/innate authorities of a Player by [1]. Even I felt my jaw drop. However, it wasn¡¯t all good. [The item is in conflict with the System¡¯s settings.] [System is set as the Beginner period.] [The grade of the All Ability Potion is decreasing.] [All Ability Potion has been changed to An Ability Potion.] The item was downgraded. [An Ability Potion] Grade: Unique A potion that increases the proficiency of one skill/innate ability/innate authority of a Player by [1]. Senia came up to me. ¡°The result was a reward the System could not permit. Player Kim Hyukjin is¡­¡± ¡°You don¡¯t have to say it.¡± I had a transcendent item, Isabel. That was already almost a bug, but if an ¡®All Ability Potion¡¯ showed up? It would be a literal balance-breaker. However, I earned the reward through legitimate methods and no bugs. My fairly-won reward was forcibly degraded. Such an action violated the System¡¯s rules. As such¡ª ¡°A merit will be reapplied later in the mid-game as compensation for the forced downgrade.¡± This penalty was like a bandaid fix. Later, a different merit would be applied some other way. If I was able to get past level 40 and enter the mid-game. ¡°Will you use the An Ability Potion?¡± The moment the item was downgraded, I knew exactly what I had to do. ¡®That¡¯s right.¡¯ For now, I couldn¡¯t do anything about the reward being worsened. The System itself had come forward. It wasn¡¯t common, but this sort of thing wasn¡¯t unheard of. ¡®In cases like this, you can often get an even bigger reward as long as you fulfill a special condition.¡¯ That knowledge kept my disappointment at bay. Steadily, one step at a time. Just as I had always done from the Tutorial to now, I just had to take one step at a time. And one of those steps was the use of this item. ¡°I¡¯ll use it immediately.¡± I saw Senia tense. Ever since I successfully signed the latest deal with Senia, I could read her emotions much more easily than before. It was like she opened her heart to me a little, or something like that. ¡®The Guardians must be watching, too.¡¯ Which ability would I use this potion on? Using it on Eye of Perception or Observer¡¯s Eye would be the most efficient, with the highest chance of paying off later. That was the straightforward answer. It was undeniable that one of those two were the best options for me right now. ¡®That¡¯s what everyone must be predicting.¡¯ It was obvious that the majority of Guardians were predicting that was what I would do. ¡®But¡ª¡¯ The clear and obvious answer was no fun. I was determined to become fantastic content for them. I held the reins to this scenario. What should I do to whip more Guardians into a frenzy? How could I make more Guardians focus on my Playing? ¡®I¡¯ll show them a slightly different twist.¡¯ I picked the ability I would upgrade. ____ Chapter 142 Chapter 142 A movie that was too predictable wasn¡¯t fun. Even if you took the straightforward path when you needed to, it was nice to throw in some unexpected twists and directing changes. However, those twists and changes couldn¡¯t be something that stressed out your audience. Adequately meeting your audience¡¯s hopes while pulling the story into an unexpected direction was best, and even better if the scenario was one your audience could interact with, if possible. ¡°The ability I¡¯m choosing is¡­¡± This one¡ªConductor¡¯s Song. [Favor Granted by the Conductor of Sound] Type: Special skill Name: Conductor¡¯s Song Effect: Low chance to cure abnormal statuses of party members in a group battle (duration: 120 seconds) +3% crit chance of party members in a group battle (duration: 120 seconds) +20% increase in effect of consumable items of the same effect when used in a group battle Cooldown: 360 seconds Proficiency: [1] ¡°¡­Conductor¡¯s Song. I will upgrade Conductor¡¯s Song.¡± A notice came in. [An Ability Potion is taking effect on ¡®Conductor¡¯s Song¡¯.] [The grade of ¡®Conductor¡¯s Song¡¯ has increased.] [¡®Conductor¡¯s Song¡¯ has changed to ¡®Conductor¡¯s Hymn¡¯.] The grade went up. [Favor Granted by the Conductor of Sound] Type: Special skill Name: Conductor¡¯s Hymn Effect: Medium chance to cure abnormal statuses of party members in a group battle (duration: 120 seconds) +6% crit chance of party members in a group battle (duration: 120 seconds) +30% increase in effect of consumable items of the same effect when used in a group battle Cooldown: 360 seconds Proficiency: [1] It wasn¡¯t that the proficiency increased to [2], but that the increase in grade resulted in an entirely new skill, a far more encouraging result than a simple proficiency increase. ¡®Every effect has improved.¡¯ And on top of that, I got a new effect, the fourth point. Happily, I already had a special ability called Mettle. ¡°Conductor¡¯s Hymn.¡± I read out the description of the new skill. It looked like I was telling Senia what I got, but I was actually telling the Guardians. ¡°And I have the higher version of Pressure, Mettle.¡± I continued my acting. ¡°The ability specially granted to me by the Courageous Lion King.¡± That would surely be a boost to the Courageous Lion King¡¯s ego. I had mentioned his name in front of a lot of Guardians, and plus, he was a real attention whore. ¡°That Mettle will mesh with the ability given to me by the Conductor of Sound, making it even more effective.¡± In addition¡ª ¡°Conductor¡¯s Hymn will also have a synergistic effect with the ability granted to me by my contracted Guardian.¡± I intentionally left out their name. They were the ¡®Nameless Observer¡¯, after all. Essentially, what I was saying right now was this: The Courageous Lion King. The Conductor of Sound. The Nameless Observer. Mettle. Conductor¡¯s Hymn. Observer¡¯s Eye¡¯s Unique Ability Fusion. All these different abilities were brought together and made to shine by the Player that was me. I would create content by combining all these different elements. [The ¡®Courageous Lion King¡¯ gives a dignified nod.] [The ¡®Conductor of Sound¡¯ respects your outstanding choice.] [The ¡®Nameless Observer¡¯ observes.] It seemed all three of them were quite pleased with the situation. ¡®In a situation where the Conductor of Sound is getting this much attention, the White Hunter won¡¯t be able to sit still.¡¯ If they were irritated, they would just leave Senia¡¯s channel and that would be that, but in this sort of situation, they wouldn¡¯t want to lose. ¡®Because there¡¯s no one who can replace me.¡¯ That left the White Hunter with no other choice but to obsess over me more. ¡®What kind of message will they send?¡¯ Without ever mentioning the White Hunter, I would drag them onto the stage. ¡°I wish to once again express my gratitude to the Conductor of Sound, whose generosity has allowed me to harness even greater strength in battle.¡± [The ¡®White Hunter¡¯ wishes to grant you a favor.] I only prodded them a little, but they were going all out with a favor, of all things. [The ¡®White Hunter¡¯ bestows you with a quest.] A note arrived. [Note from the White Hunter] The ¡®White Hunter¡¯ wishes to bestow you a favor. However, you must complete a quest in order to obtain said favor. * Quest: Qualifications of a Hunter Prove that you have overwhelming skills in a 1 vs. 1 PVP with a combat Player over level 30. * Reward: Grade increase of ¡®Hunter¡¯s Song¡¯. ¡®My oh my.¡¯ I could see the White Hunter¡¯s intention like it was written in black and white. Was this Guardian truly unaware that it wouldn¡¯t be hard for me to prove that I had overwhelming skill in 1 vs. 1 PVPs with level 30 Players? ¡®No, they know.¡¯ If they had paid close attention to Senia¡¯s channel, there was no way they¡¯d be in the dark about my abilities. I had taken down thousands of Polluted Lifeforms. ¡®The fact they gave me a quest like this despite that means¡­¡± This was a formality of sorts. There was a high chance just giving me a favor without good reason would draw unwanted looks or break the rules, so they were giving it to me in the form of a quest reward. Since I was technically a non-combat class Player, overwhelming a combat class Player of level 30 and up wouldn¡¯t constitute a major infraction of the rules. ¡®I¡¯ve achieved everything I intended.¡¯ To begin with, the reason I chose to upgrade Conductor¡¯s Song was because I also wanted to upgrade Hunter¡¯s Song. My current situation was one where I had to continuously clear the Gyeonghoeru. That gave me justification to upgrade Conductor¡¯s Song. And through that justification, I snagged a buy one, get one free deal. ¡®In the end, the White Hunter also moved according to my will.¡¯ [The ¡®Merchant of Venice¡¯ is impressed.] [300 Coins have been sent as a sponsorship.] For now, I finished the upgrading. ¡®So now¡­ it¡¯s time to meet President Song.¡¯ I decided to do business with President Song before starting the Gyeonghoeru clears in earnest. * * * Before I met President Song, I got footage from Senia. Normally, Intermediate Administrators were reluctant to give their footage to Players. But Senia didn¡¯t put up much resistance. ¡°Thanks.¡± ¡°¡­¡± ¡°Mr. Kim Hyukjin. I heard that you have brought footage to prove your strategy.¡± ¡°Yes. Since there needs to be trust between us.¡± President Song took the footage I gave him. ¡°I am not a Player, so I cannot accurately determine the worth of this footage.¡± [Player] Name: Song Kiyoung I could see it clearly, but I feigned ignorance. State: Surprise / Awe His state, too, I pretended not to see. ¡°May I call in Kiyeol for a moment?¡± ¡°Of course.¡± Song Kiyeol examined the footage I brought together with his grandfather. After seeing it, he said, ¡°No way¡­ Did you level up again?¡± ¡°Yes. You can call that place a level up haven. Though of course, my leveling will slow down over time.¡± ¡°But I¡¯ve never seen such fast leveling speed. Isn¡¯t it supposed to sharply decrease when you hit level 30?¡± That was why you needed this Gyeonghoeru strategy. I nodded and continued. ¡°It¡¯s best if you have damage absorption items, but even without them, you should be able to defeat them by virtue of numbers. Of course, you¡¯ll need to get Noah¡¯s Helm.¡± Noah¡¯s Helm would guarantee the Players¡¯ safety. President Song took one step back and simply watched over my conversation with Kiyeol. The Guildmaster of Taeguk Shield, Song Kiyeol, murmured, ¡°By Noah¡¯s Helm, you mean¡­¡± We intentionally shared the U-Plex Dungeon strat. Even with the strategy, the people who could clear it were limited. There weren¡¯t many Players who could keep their calm in front of those terrifying Big Black Dogs on the 1st floor. They needed both the strategy and the nerves to get through it. ¡°Yes. You can get it by clearing the U-Plex Dungeon. On the 4th floor field, the Hyundai Department Store connected to the U-Plex, is an NPC named Noah. You can obtain Noah¡¯s Helm through an appropriate trade with him.¡± Not having Noah¡¯s Helm didn¡¯t make the Gyeonghoeru impossible to clear. It would just be a bit more dangerous. I was just telling them the ideal way. ¡°You don¡¯t always have to go the ideal way.¡± Taeguk Shield was more than strong enough. They could mobilize a lot of manpower. ¡°If the U-Plex Dungeon is too high a hurdle, we can also sell Noah¡¯s Helm, but¡­¡± ¡°¡­¡± Just then, the watching President Song spoke up. ¡°If possible, I would like to buy it. May we be the ones to propose the trade condition? I would like to purchase it together with the Gyeonghoeru Dungeon strategy.¡± Things were progressing in a very amusing way. With President Song personally coming to bat, I would be able to sell Noah¡¯s Helm for a far better price. Meanwhile, Song Kiyeol had to be feeling the burn right now. His grandfather had personally stepped in, unable to keep watching, so he was probably getting eaten alive by the tacit rebuke. ¡®If it were me, I would have cut off my grandfather¡¯s words and taken charge again.¡¯ From what I had seen of President Song, that was what he wanted. When stepping forward, step forward decisively. When negotiation is necessary, negotiate with courage. In the process, take what there is to take and give up on what should be given up. That was what he wanted to see. Song Kiyeol stepped forward. ¡°Grandfather. May I take charge of this deal?¡± Okay, well done. This was likely what President Song wanted to see¡ªhis grandson being more proactive than before. Kiyeol had done well. Senia was growing by leaps and bounds, and so was Kiyeol. It was good for me. He had to grow like this to make bleeding him dry all the more enjoyable. However, I also had a warning. ¡°I believe it¡¯s only right to discuss things with the President if the negotiations have broken down.¡± Basically, if I didn¡¯t like it, I would go to the President, so do things right. [The ¡®Merchant of Venice¡¯ is having fun.] [The ¡®Whispering Devil¡¯ is also having fun.] I could almost see the cold sweat running down Kiyeol¡¯s back, but that was no concern of mine. I had a hunch that our trade would be a very happy one. * * * Song Kiyeol asked me to give him one more day, and I accepted. ¡°Boss Hyukjin! Over here, over here!¡± Far in the distance, Yeonseo was waving her hand. All of my teammates were gathered in front of the Gwanghwamun Dungeon. Sung-gu shook his head. ¡°I heard you just met President Song? Awesome.¡± Sung-gu seemed floored by the fact I had a casual meeting with Korea¡¯s living legend. Sunhwa¡¯s voice took on a boastful air. ¡°I heard it takes $100k just to eat one meal with that grandpa! The right to have lunch with him gets sold in auctions!¡± It looked like she barely swallowed the words, ¡®But my oppa just went and had a meeting with him.¡¯ ¡®Well, it¡¯s not important.¡¯ The fact I had a meeting with President Song wasn¡¯t all that important to the task at hand, clearing the Gyeonghoeru. ¡°We¡¯re gonna start grinding. We¡¯ll receive and complete suitable quests or missions from each of our Intermediate Administrators in the process.¡± For now, our goal was level 40. Before we entered the dungeon, Sunghyun spoke up. ¡°Hyung.¡± ¡°Hm?¡± ¡°You know, right?¡± He glanced in a certain direction. I smirked. ¡°Of course I know.¡± Someone was watching us. It seemed there was an issue I had to settle before we started clearing the Gyeonghoeru. ¡®This is for the better.¡¯ Someone was staring at us. I stared back. ¡®She isn¡¯t particularly trying to hide the fact she¡¯s watching us.¡¯ It was a very familiar face, belonging to one of the people I didn¡¯t choose in this life: the person who was originally supposed to swallow Taeguk Shield and become the successor of Sungshin. Song Junghye, the Blood and Iron Queen, no, the Blood and Iron Witch, walked towards us. ____ Chapter 143 Chapter 143 Her original nickname was Blood and Iron Queen, but many people called her the Blood and Iron Witch. For reference, this Blood and Iron Witch was also the older sister who showered lots of affection on Song Jinchul, the spoiled brat to trump all spoiled brats. [Player] Name: Song Junghye Age: 28 Level: 28 Class: Blood and Iron Sovereign Guardian: Barrier of Red Light Innate Ability: [Forced Submission] State: Slight Hostility / Slight Anticipation / Slight Desire to Dominate Disposition: Dominant / Arrogant / Blueblooded Summary: Masked Conqueror 3rd Generation Chaebol Moved by Curiosity The disposition/state/summary only show the most representative and can change according to the situation. Because Eye of Perception¡¯s proficiency is not high enough, viewing more detailed information is impossible. In all actuality, it wasn¡¯t because Song Junghye¡¯s abilities as a Player were incredible that she defeated Song Kiyeol. Most of the top Players were level 30 or up. It was difficult to level from level 30 onwards, but getting to level 30 was relatively easy. ¡®And the aura I can feel from her through Eye of Perception isn¡¯t all that threatening.¡¯ I didn¡¯t know what the future Blood and Iron Witch would be like, but the current one wasn¡¯t terribly impressive. Maybe because I had come into contact with a lot of other top Players, I didn¡¯t feel much from seeing the Blood and Iron Witch. ¡®This family is just¡­ haah.¡¯ Despite only being 14 years old, Song Jinchul, the ¡®Self-Proclaimed Chosen One¡¯, the mega spoiled brat who would be famous in the future as well, was extremely arrogant and destructive. Summary: Self-Proclaimed Chosen One with a Wounded Pride His older sister, the Blood and Iron Witch Song Junghye, had a strong desire to dominate and was blueblooded at heart. 1.Masked Conqueror 2. 3rd Generation Chaebol Moved by Curiosity In comparison to those two, the Guildmaster of Taeguk Shield, Song Kiyeol, seemed like a real decent chap. His summary was super normal and sensible, was it not? Summary: Guildmaster who Met his Teacher In any case, Song Junghye came up to me, her face slightly stiff but bearing a subtle smile. ¡°It is nice to meet you. My name is Song Junghye.¡± As soon as I saw her, I felt the haughtiness drip from her. The look in her eyes, that smile, all of it was fabricated. Unfortunately for Song Junghye, my class was Observer. Inside her gaze was envy and jealousy towards me, probably because I had completely stolen away her grandfather¡¯s attention. I responded to her like I was talking to any other person. ¡°Ah. So you are Miss Song Junghye. Hello.¡± She flinched imperceptibly. It was very subtle, but I saw her forehead twitch. State: Slight Displeasure / Slight Hostility And then, she returned to her original appearance, that slight smile still on her face. ¡°It seems you know me.¡± I could see she was clearly saying, ¡®You know who I am, but you dare to talk to me so bluntly?¡¯ She was easy to read. ¡°Yes. You are the little sister of the Taeguk Shield Guildmaster I am deeply connected to. I¡¯ve seen you in the newspaper.¡± I intentionally prodded Song Junghye¡¯s pride by referring to her in terms of her brother rather than herself. The existence of Taeguk Shield was likely a source of irritation for her already, so my words would surely wound her pride a little. ¡®So what¡¯ll you do now?¡¯ What should I call this feeling? ¡®After putting Guardians on my stage and making them dance to my tune¡­ why¡¯s it so easy to read this kid?¡¯ Was it because she was still an immature version of the Blood and Iron Witch she would become? It was way too easy. I could read all her thoughts and clearly see how she would move. ¡°I heard you have been maintaining an extremely close relationship with Taeguk Shield lately. An excellent choice.¡± She was lying through her teeth. ¡°Soon, I will also make a guild comparable to Taeguk Shield. Won¡¯t you work with me, too?¡± Sorry, but I had no intention to push Song Junghye. ¨CEach strike¡¯s a thousand bucks. You piece of dogshit. The Song Junghye I knew once said those words while assaulting a Sungshin employee with a baseball bat. Of course, she wasn¡¯t punished by the law. The court case was simply suspended and went nowhere. The incident showed very clearly that money and power were above the law. ¡°Cooperating with Taeguk Shield already has me pressed for time. I apologize.¡± ¡°But you haven¡¯t even heard what I have to say yet?¡± State: Considerable Displeasure She was really easy to rile up. Even that faint smile of hers had disappeared. It was way too easy to control her emotions, maybe because she thought that she, a noble, was being disregarded by me, a lower class being. The man next to Song Junghye smoothly stepped forward. He was almost as big as Yoohyun. I already knew about this Player. ¡®Song Junghye¡¯s right arm, Kang Woongmin the Adamant.¡¯ He was of a similar size to Yoohyun, and his fighting style shared similarities as well. He looked much more intimidating than Yoohyun. If Yoohyun was more of an offensive-type Player, Kang Woongmin was more of a defensive-type Player. Eye of Perception told me he was level 30. He did indeed have top-class talent. I asked back, ¡°Do I absolutely have to hear it?¡± A man of that size coming forward at this timing could only mean one thing. She was threatening me, telling me she had someone like this by her side, to be careful. ¡°I¡¯m Song Junghye.¡± ¡°I believe there is value in listening to my proposal, at least.¡± ¡°I¡¯m busy right now. You may have heard from your brother, but I¡¯m busy clearing the Gwanghwamun Dungeon.¡± ¡°¡­¡± After a moment of silence, Song Junghye flashed me a slightly brighter smile. ¡°You are¡­¡± What would she say? ¡°¡­an extremely confident person.¡± Eye of Perception read it all. She was smiling on the outside and was praising me as a confident person, but this was an insult. She was radiating, ¡®Who do you think you are, to be so damn cocky?¡¯ ¡°Figures. It¡¯s because you¡¯re that confident that you came up to Grandpa with absolutely nothing, at first.¡± ¡°¡­¡± ¡°Fine. I¡¯ll back off for today. It would be good to set a day to meet more formally next time.¡± The Blood and Iron Queen. Could Song Junghye really have won the ¡®Queen¡¯ moniker if she wasn¡¯t the granddaughter of President Song? I wasn¡¯t so sure. The still undeveloped Song Junghye just looked like a little kid in my eyes. She whirled around, and Kang Woongmin, of course, dipped his head and turned as well. Thump! His shoulder collided into mine. I laughed. ¡®Is he provoking me?¡¯ How amusing. The real question was, ¡®Should I accept?¡¯ The current Song Junghye was far from a scary opponent. The same went for Kang Woongmin. I fell into a very brief moment of thought. ¡®Does Song Junghye¡­ really have proper information about me?¡¯ If I were to point out the people who had the most accurate information about me right now, one of those people would be Guildmaster Song Kiyeol. Kiyeol had a competitive relationship with his sister. He wouldn¡¯t have given her the correct details. There was no doubt that he must have distorted the facts. ¡®She knows there¡¯s something about me, but she doesn¡¯t know what that is.¡¯ That was why she tried approaching me, but she was soundly rebuffed. ¡®What if I were Guildmaster Song Kiyeol?¡¯ I would have given Junghye this kind of info: ¨CPlayer Kim Hyukjin is a sovereign class Player, but he possesses fairly strong fighting ability for a non-combat class Player. However, he received a ¡®No Talent¡¯ evaluation in the talent plate exam, so an exact judgment must be deferred. If that was all she got, it wasn¡¯t a big stretch of the imagination to think that Song Junghye might have come here with a complacent mind and zero preparation. ¡®That would explain everything.¡¯ It would explain why she came to me far too unprepared considering she was the ¡®Blood and Iron Queen¡¯, why she appeared a little less put together than usual, and even why Kang Woongmin attempted to provoke me, as ridiculous as it was. In the end, these two didn¡¯t know anything about me. Song Kiyeol had intentionally made it that way. I called her. ¡°Miss Song Junghye.¡± She stopped in place. ¡°Why do you think your grandfather is so interested in me?¡± ¡°I wonder. I¡¯d like to know that, too.¡± ¡°Why do you think Taeguk Shield is cooperating so much with me?¡± ¡°¡­¡± Ah. So that was how she saw it. ¡°It¡¯s not unusual that you would think that way.¡± I should tell her she was wrong. ¡°Shall I show you¡­¡± I pulled out the transcendent item, Isabel. ¡°¡­the reason why the foundation of Sungshin, President Song, and the Guildmaster of Taeguk Shield, Song Kiyeol, are interested in me, and even clinging to my thigh?¡± * * * Hyukjin thought this sudden PVP was a good thing. Things went as he intended, and Senia had a PVP zone declared. Yeonseo grinned. ¡°An exclusive PVP zone, huh?¡± Yeonseo had experienced it several times already. On multiple occasions, her no-holds-barred Intermediate Administrator, Roa, worked with her Guardian to declare a PVP zone where the fighters would be free of all interruption. Only party members would be ported to the exclusive zone. Unperturbed, Kang Woongmin asked, ¡°Will my opponent be Miss Shin Yeonseo, then?¡± ¡°Nope,¡± said Yeonseo. Hyukjin smiled. ¡°I¡¯m a sovereign, but I can also handle myself in a fight.¡± Actually, he wasn¡¯t even a sovereign, but an Observer. In any case, people thought of him as a sovereign. ¡°You¡¯ll fight me yourself?¡± ¡°Of course.¡± Only then did Kang Woongmin stare at Yeonseo with a slightly flabbergasted expression. ¡®In order to stamp down their high and mighty arrogance¡­ I thought I¡¯d have to subdue Shin Yeonseo or So Yoohyun.¡¯ That was why he went and procured items specially for this fight. ¡®I¡¯m going to be fighting Kim Hyukjin, not Shin Yeonseo?¡¯ Woongmin felt the air leave his sails a little. From what he was told, Kim Hyukjin was a Player who had gotten a ¡®No Talent¡¯ evaluation. However, he had extremely outstanding ¡®tactics¡¯ and was very skilled at making effective use of his ¡®incredible party members¡¯. ¡®A Player whose limits are clear because they themselves lack the qualifications.¡¯ Not long from now, this party would fall apart. That was how Woongmin saw it. ¡°Interesting. To think a sovereign Player would personally fight.¡± He took out his axe. ¡°Is your main weapon the sword?¡± ¡°Yes. But¡­ I won¡¯t use the blade.¡± Woongmin¡¯s brows furrowed a little. He felt like Kim Hyukjin was looking down on him. The sword was a weapon for piercing and slashing, yet his opponent said he wouldn¡¯t use the blade. ¡°You¡¯re awfully confident.¡± He glanced furtively at Song Junghye. She gave him a small nod. That was his OK to bring Kim Hyukjin within half an inch of death. This was a PVP zone, a place with the power of resurrection. So even if Kim Hyukjin died, Woongmin should give him a very painful death. Basically, he should teach this arrogant bastard a lesson. Hyukjin, who saw Kang Woongmin¡¯s inside thoughts from beginning to end, smiled. [The quest ¡®Qualifications of a Hunter¡¯ has begun.] Blessings were rolling right into his lap. Even without picking a fight with someone, this sort of thing just happened all on its own. [The PVP has begun.] ¡®Ah, right. Before that.¡¯ He also decided to show a small sign of sincerity to the White Hunter who prepared such a stage. [Using the special skill Hunter¡¯s Song.] The buffs instantly took effect. [Curing your own status abnormalities. Duration: 120 seconds] [+3% crit chance. Duration: 120 seconds] [+20% effect of consumable items.] Kang Woongmin saw it, too. He recognized it as a special buff ability. He didn¡¯t know what kind of buff it was, but it didn¡¯t matter. ¡°I will personally show you the difference between combat and non-combat classes.¡± A mere buff couldn¡¯t surpass the limitations of class. The ¡®misinformed¡¯ Kang Woongmin confidently raised his spear, taking up his position. His aura was full of calm assurance. ¡®A sovereign who uses a sword, huh.¡¯ Since his opponent didn¡¯t have a swordsman class, his attack pattern would be simple. Once Woongmin figured out that pattern, he would be able to subdue Kim Hyukjin without much difficulty. ¨CYes. But¡­ I won¡¯t use the blade. Remembering those words made a little anger flare within him. He decided to utterly overwhelm Kim Hyukjin. He believed that he was the one directing this situation from the start, that it was good that Kim Hyukjin took initiative to request a PVP. It was an excellent situation. ¡®No matter how much a non-combat class crawls and rolls, they can¡¯t beat a combat class.¡¯ In Woongmin¡¯s eyes, even the way Hyukjin grasped his sword was weird. ¡®It¡¯s like he¡¯s holding a club or something.¡¯ Woongmin could tell just from that posture. This guy hadn¡¯t learned any swordsmanship before. He never formally learned the sword, and didn¡¯t have any ¡®sword skills¡¯. There was no doubt about it. Moreover, this was an exclusive PVP zone. The outside world couldn¡¯t see what was happening within. ¡®At some point, Shin Yeonseo might attack me.¡¯ That might even be why they chose to declare an exclusive zone. This party was probably up to some petty tricks. ¡®Try all you want, but¡­¡¯ He was determined to utterly subdue Kim Hyukjin without giving Shin Yeonseo a chance to jump in. He was confident. ¡°You can make the first move,¡± Woongmin said. ¡°I will concede the first three attacks to you.¡± ¡°Really?¡± Kim Hyukjin accepted the concession. [Using the innate ability Beat ¡®em, Beat ¡®em, Beat ¡®em Harder.] Hyukjin¡¯s lips curled into a broad smile. ____ Chapter 144 Chapter 144 Kang Woongmin was full of confidence. [Using the special skill Sturdy Body.] [Using the special skill Unbreaking Will.] These two were his fundamental skills as a Player. When ¡®Sturdy Body¡¯ was in effect, he didn¡¯t even need to fear the attack of an Orc. [Defense is increasing from the effect of Sturdy Body.] [The sensation of pain is reduced by the effect of Unbreaking Will.] Getting hit didn¡¯t hurt. There was the theoretical downside of not being able to feel pain until he was a hair¡¯s breadth away from death if he overused the skill, but that hadn¡¯t happened yet. With the increase in defense and the dulling of pain, he could take a far more fierce and active stance in battle. ¡®I actually prepared this to fight the Tutorial Ender, but¡­¡¯ It was a good opportunity to look good in front of Song Junghye. But just then, he heard a voice. ¡°What¡¯s wrong? Going to use the Nile Armor¡¯s special effect?¡± Woongmin flinched. ¡®He knows about Nile Armor?¡¯ This item hid a special power within it. It could reflect a portion of the incoming damage to the opponent. Granted, you had to use it with extremely good timing, but after a lot of practice, he was pretty good at getting it right. ¡°But what to do?¡± No matter which angle you looked at it from, Isabel¡¯s forcibly unlocked innate ability, [Beat ¡®em, Beat ¡®em, Beat ¡®em Harder] was far higher in grade than the Nile Armor¡¯s [Reflect]. Bam! Bam! Bam! Bam! And so began the beating. Woongmin was forced to take several steps backwards. ¡®Ngh¡­!¡¯ His entire body was tingling and numb. ¡®But it didn¡¯t even look like he used his full strength!¡¯ The other party didn¡¯t seem to have put much strength in the blows, and yet, Woongmin felt incredible pain, even under the effect of [Unbreaking Will]. Without the skill, he might be rolling around in agony on the ground right now. ¡®What¡¯s going on?¡¯ He felt a surge of panic. ¡°Can¡¯t even consider matching the timing while getting hit, can you?¡± That was the limitation of items with the [Reflect] effect. The higher the difficulty or level of the monster, the more difficult it was to get the timing right. Kim Hyukjin was well aware of that. ¡®In the higher levels, such items are hardly ever used.¡¯ In battles of the highest level, the smallest thing could decide victory or loss. The angle of your arm, the intensity of your movement, even the moment you breathed. All of them could have a big influence on the result. In such a situation, who would have the presence of mind to try getting the timing right? It would be tricky, unless you could freely use a power on the level of Future Sight. Even if you could, it wouldn¡¯t be cost-effective. For Rankers of that level, it was more efficient to focus on their strengths rather than try to calculate the correct timing for [Reflect] and risk their lives. ¡®And when there¡¯s a big stat difference with the opponent, it¡¯s completely useless.¡¯ That was the case now. [Using the innate ability Beat ¡®em, Beat ¡®em, Beat ¡®em Harder.] A one-sided beating ensued. In his panic, Kang Woongmin used a foot technique in order to dodge the unceasing rain of blows. He made it seem like he was taking a step backwards, but moved to the right. ¡®Three steps to the right,¡¯ Woongmin thought to himself. Then, he would take two steps back. ¡®Ngh!¡¯ But Hyukjin completely saw through his movements. Kim Hyukjin was faster, at least one second faster than him. The sovereign was waiting and swinging his sword where Woongmin was dodging. Whumpf! The air whistled. In order to avoid an attack that was not piercing, not slashing, but slamming, Woongmin threw himself forward into a roll before springing back up. He bit his lips. ¡®This is insane.¡¯ How was it that a non-combat class Player could fight like this? Woongmin was breathing hard in a quick staccato, but his opponent was the picture of calm, a tranquil andante, like he wasn¡¯t exerting himself one bit. He was moving all too leisurely. Song Junghye was watching from the back. Things couldn¡¯t go on like this. ¡®In that case¡­¡¯ He decided to use the card he¡¯d hidden up his sleeve for the very end to fight the nimble Shin Yeonseo. He would make a last ditch gamble using the special effect attached to the ¡®Millon¡¯s Leather Shoes¡¯ he had recently obtained. Effect: Quickspeed ¨C Instantly accelerates to twice the speed. (Cooldown: 30 seconds) Currently, Kim Hyukjin was full of confidence. In other words, he was being conceited and his guard was down. Now was Woongmin¡¯s chance. ¡®I¡¯ll use Quickspeed¡ª¡¯ But then, Hyukjin¡¯s voice interrupted his thoughts once again. ¡°You¡¯re probably thinking of finding an opening with Quickspeed.¡± ¡°¡­¡± By this point, Woongmin was about to lose his fighting spirit. Nile Armor was a pretty well-known item, but Millon¡¯s Leather Shoes were incredibly rare. It was even blue grade. And yet, Kim Hyukjin saw through a blue item¡¯s special effect. ¡®I have no other choice, anyway,¡¯ Woongmin thought, gritting his teeth. He couldn¡¯t just pathetically surrender. Whether it worked or not, he had to try. ¡®This fight¡­ is my loss.¡¯ He already knew. There was a massive wall in front of him. His information about Kim Hyukjin was wrong, incredibly wrong. He should have looked into him a little more. He was too blinded by the fact that Hyukjin was given a ¡®No Talent¡¯ evaluation. ¡®Even so¡­¡¯ He drew out his strength. Even if he lost, he had to do his best. [Using the special ability Quickspeed.] He knew Kim Hyukjin had already seen through all of this. But he still charged forward, raising his axe. [Using the skill Hammer Smash.] He didn¡¯t think it would work anyway. This was the end. Once his axe came down, the result would be decided. ¡®Huh?¡¯ But it was weird. Kim Hyukjin didn¡¯t react. ¡®What?¡¯ Hammer Smash was a technique where the user jumped and smashed down. It dealt a lot of damage because it carried the user¡¯s full weight, but that also meant it was telegraphed. It wasn¡¯t even that fast an attack. But Kim Hyukjin wasn¡¯t reacting. ¡®At this rate¡­!¡¯ This axe would be able to cleave Kim Hyukjin¡¯s head. The wicked edge was about to make contact. ¡®No way.¡¯ He couldn¡¯t believe it. Was it really going to hit? A heavy impact rang out. The axe crashed into Kim Hyukjin¡¯s head. ¡®It hit.¡¯ But Kim Hyukjin didn¡¯t seem to have taken much damage. He simply gave his brief impression of the move. ¡°Mm. About that strong, huh?¡± Hyukjin gave a light nod. ¡°Not bad.¡± ¡°¡­¡± Woongmin¡¯s hand trembled. His shoulder felt like it was going to fall apart. In the next moment, Hyukjin brought Isabel to Woongmin¡¯s throat. Woongmin honestly admitted defeat. ¡°It¡¯s my loss.¡± Hyukjin withdrew Isabel. Unable to resist his curiosity, Woongmin said, ¡°Mr. Kim Hyukjin. Can I ask you just one question?¡± ¡°Yes, go ahead.¡± ¡°Why did you just take the last attack?¡± ¡°To see how much it would hurt if it landed.¡± ¡°¡­¡± Such idle leisure drove him to stay put in the face of an incoming axe? ¡°¡­And your assessment?¡± ¡°Not bad.¡± Hyukjin¡¯s assessment of Kang Woongmin really was ¡®not bad¡¯. [The Great Orc Warrior¡¯s partial set effect is activating.] [All damage has been nullified.] The effect that perfectly nullified all attacks under level 35 activated. In other words, the attack had been strong enough to activate the partial set effect. ¡°¡­I see.¡± Woongmin stowed his axe in his Inventory. He slightly bit his lips. There¡¯s always someone better. It felt as if he¡¯d glimpsed a sky above the sky he knew. ¡®I was just a frog in a well.¡¯ If the sovereign Kim Hyukjin was this strong, what about the PVP expert Shin Yeonseo and the Tutorial Ender So Yoohyun? As real combat classes, they must be even stronger. ¡®I need to work harder.¡¯ He had to get stronger. He was basically a minnow. ¡°May I please ask one more question? It¡¯s really the last one.¡± His way of speech had subtly changed, something Hyukjin recognized. ¨CMr. Kim Hyukjin. Can I ask you just one question? ¨CMay I please ask one more question? It¡¯s really the last one. ¡®Can¡¯ became ¡®may¡¯. It was much more courteous. Summary: Frog in a Well that has seen the Sky Frog that wants to Fly Hyukjin was pretty pleased with those summaries. ¡°I know the sovereign class isn¡¯t a direct combat class. That means your non-combat abilities must be even stronger. Are you able to overwhelm me with any non-combat abilities?¡± ¡°¡­¡± There was a faint longing and anticipation in Kang Woongmin¡¯s eyes. He was purely curious about Hyukjin¡¯s strength. ¡°Overwhelm, you say¡­¡± Kang Woongmin was perfectly fulfilling his role in the picture Hyukjin was painting. ¡°Then let me give you a taste. Of the sovereign class¡¯ true strength.¡± He wasn¡¯t actually a sovereign, but he showed yet another power he possessed. [Using the special ability Mettle.] ¡®And this¡­ is fan service for the Conductor of Sound.¡¯ You had to make good use of the reward that was given to satisfy the giver, no? [Using the special skill Conductor¡¯s Hymn.] First, he showed Hunter¡¯s Song, and now, he was using Conductor¡¯s Hymn. His body began to shine with a golden light. To the completely defeated Kang Woongmin, that light was like a sovereign¡¯s radiance. 4) Effectiveness of abilities like ¡®Pressure¡¯ or ¡®Mettle¡¯ will be increased when used in combination with Conductor¡¯s Hymn. (However, requires a separate fusion control ability) It wasn¡¯t a group battle, but he could still use the new ability. Hyukjin already had a separate fusion control ability. [The special ability Mettle is taking greater effect.] On top of that¡ª [Using the innate ability of Observer¡¯s Eye, Unique Ability Fusion.] He even drew on the strength of Noah¡¯s Helm, concentrating Mettle¡¯s range. Perhaps because he¡¯d done it before, but the process came to him much more easily this time. Mettle was first strengthened by Conductor¡¯s Hymn, then concentrated in one spot with Noah¡¯s Helm using Unique Ability Fusion¡¯s power of controlling multiple processes. Everything came together to create a far more powerful Mettle than normal. Rooooar¨C! Kang Woongmin thought he heard roaring. There was no actual sound, but he thought he could hear it. Riiiiiing¨C! There was a ringing in his ears. His head felt as if it would explode. He covered his eyes, stricken by the terror that if he didn¡¯t, they would explode. His heart began to run like crazy, and the blood being pumped by his wildly beating heart was flooded with terror. It filled every part of his body. Terror, sheer terror. Thud. Without realizing it, he fell to his knees. ¡°¡­¡± For a long time, he was unable to speak. His body was trembling uncontrollably, still in shock. ¡®This is¡­ a sovereign.¡¯ They didn¡¯t fight, but he was defeated. His will to fight was completely crushed. Moments ago, he still wanted to get stronger and then have a rematch, but now, that thought was erased entirely from his mind. ¡°¡­You went very easy on me.¡± Hyukjin answered with a shrug. As he did so, he heard a stream of notices. [The quest ¡®Qualifications of a Hunter¡¯ has been cleared.] [The grade of ¡®Hunter¡¯s Song¡¯ has increased.] [¡®Hunter¡¯s Song¡¯ has changed to ¡®Hunter¡¯s March¡¯.] Pushed by the Conductor of Sound, the White Hunter gave a nearly equivalent reward. Hyukjin was very satisfied. It was like he caught two fish with one bait. ¡®Excellent.¡¯ After checking the effects of Hunter¡¯s March, Hyukjin headed towards the Gwanghwamun Dungeon. * * * [Entering the ¡®Gwanghwamun Dungeon¡¯.] I saw the King¡¯s Road again. I had already passed it multiple times, and my teammates were also familiar with the clear method. However, I was subjected to a slightly harder time than usual while going past it. (I¡¯m really gonna kill you.) And that was because Isabel¡¯s ego had woken up and was expressing her extreme displeasure. (Don¡¯t use my sacred body like that! Your bride isn¡¯t a club!) I thought she was asleep, but she apparently felt the gist of what happened earlier. (I¡¯m serious, hubby. I won¡¯t let you off.) As I walked the dark nothingness, I thought, ¡®Everything else is fine, but can you stop with the hubby?¡¯ There wasn¡¯t a problem with the title itself, but something about it irked me. (You think what I call you is important right now?) Isabel¡¯s blade trembled. (You better hope I don¡¯t get a body.) How would a sword get a body? (I won¡¯t let you off.) What was she gonna do if she got a body? (I¡¯ll take your chastity. Prepare yourself.) With that, Isabel fell asleep again. I was dumbfounded. Who would have thought a sword would one day threaten to take my chastity? We passed the Red Lion Statue and Blue Lion Statue, walking between the Millenium Lava and Millenium Ice Water in the Path of Harmony to reach the Gyeonghoeru field. Then, our work began. We continued to grind for a long time. [Level increased.] My level reached 34. ¡°Let¡¯s stop here for today,¡± I said. My level went up, and we also got all sorts of miscellaneous items. Yoohyun stretched wide, saying, ¡°Goodness, this is tough, Hyungnim.¡± After destroying the brown Clear Crystal, we left the Gyeonghoeru field. ¡®Hrm?¡¯ Waiting in front of the Gwanghwamun Dungeon entrance was the Guildmaster of Taeguk Shield, Song Kiyeol. ¡°Welcome back.¡± ¡°Were you waiting for me?¡± ¡°Yes. There was something I urgently needed to tell you.¡± I nodded. I could guess what he was going to say. Song Kiyeol and I began a fun conversation. ____ Chapter 145 Chapter 145 Song Kiyeol began hesitantly, ¡°My sister Junghye might come to you.¡± I knew he would say that. But he was one step too late. Or to put it another way, Junghye was one step faster. ¡°I have already met her.¡± ¡°¡­Is that so?¡± To my amusement, his voice as he spoke his sister¡¯s name carried a little affection for her. ¡°Junghye has begun to have interest in Players and the new culture business.¡± ¡°I¡¯m sure she has. It could also influence the successor battle, after all.¡± ¡°Yes. That¡¯s why I thought she might come to you, but she was faster than me.¡± He did acknowledge that Junghye moved quickly. ¡®But¡­ the Song Junghye I met¡­¡¯ It was true that there were still ten years between now and the ¡®Blood and Iron Witch¡¯ Song Junghye I remembered, but her level was still too low. She was the woman who bore the official moniker of ¡®Blood and Iron Queen¡¯. Just looking at her current qualifications, she could never earn such a title. Song Junghye was different from my expectations, and her brother Song Kiyeol showed slight affection towards her. What was the difference between the Song Junghye I remembered and the one now? ¡°It seems you cherish your little sister.¡± ¡°That is an overstatement. Junghye is more of a competitor than a family member.¡± ¡°¡­¡± I didn¡¯t refute him. She was indeed his competitor. But Kiyeol cherished his little sister more than he himself knew. How to put it? A love and hate relationship? ¡®Though I don¡¯t think Junghye feels the same way towards you.¡¯ Both Kiyeol and Junghye felt like rookies to me, but Kiyeol was the better one between them. ¡®I only saw the ambition to surpass you from her.¡¯ A witch filled with greed. That was what I, an Observer, saw from the Song Junghye I observed. I¡¯d only know for sure after meeting her a few more times, but for now, that was my first impression. ¡°Having to compete with family must be rough.¡± ¡°It can¡¯t be helped. We were born like that from the moment we entered this world.¡± Under Song Kiyeol¡¯s guidance, I got into the back seat of a black car. ¡°This is the ultra-luxury sedan made by Mercedes Benz. As a model specially produced for VVIPs, only thirty of these exist worldwide.¡± He was suddenly bragging about his car? But it didn¡¯t quite seem like he was bragging. It was like he was talking about something trivial, like what he had for breakfast this morning. It was indeed roomy on the inside. The back seat could be controlled with a button, and it reclined almost fully horizontal. ¡°I¡¯m sure you didn¡¯t call me inside to brag about your car.¡± ¡°No. As I¡¯m sure you already know, I am privy to all matters of the Players Association through Taeguk Shield.¡± It was the so-called first mover¡¯s advantage. In the quickly approaching age of new culture, Taeguk Shield was fully enjoying the advantage of having jumped on the bandwagon quickly. If you were to pick the most famous guild in Korea right now, it would obviously be Taeguk Shield. The guild was also the envy of countless Players. ¡°As such, I am capable of controlling Player-related information to some extent.¡± ¡°I¡¯m sure you gave your sister a distorted version of the information about me.¡± I knew that already. This conversation was well within my ability to predict. ¡°And you won¡¯t be able to maintain that misinformation for long. Did you come here to warn me to be careful of Song Junghye?¡± If not that, then¡ª ¡°Or did you come here to keep the relationship between me and Song Junghye in check?¡± I looked straight at Kiyeol. Neither of the two responses were completely to my liking. I wanted a slightly more out of the box and constructive answer. ¡®How will he respond?¡¯ He came in person to speak to me as soon as I came out from the Gyeonghoeru field. If he only had excuses to give when he said he had something urgent to tell me, I was going to be very disappointed. ¡°After listening to your words, I thought about it a little.¡± ¡°¡­¡± ¡°It seems I really do cherish Junghye.¡± I knew that. I could see things other people couldn¡¯t. Through ¡®observation¡¯, I had already taken note of the hint of affection on Kiyeol¡¯s face. ¡°Because of that, I hesitated a little.¡± He looked up at me, his eyes unwavering. ¡°But it is my belief that business is business.¡± He intended on giving me some kind of info. I nodded, finding Song Kiyeol a little more to my liking. I gave him a little encouragement. ¡°A fight of intel. A lawful battle for the succession of the company. Guildmaster Song¡¯s grandfather will also be happy with a fight conducted without cowardly means.¡± ¡°¡­Yes.¡± Kiyeol had three pieces of information to give me. First, Song Junghye would try to win me over by ¡®any and all means¡¯. Second, if winning me over was impossible, she wouldn¡¯t hesitate to resort to violence. These two were points I already predicted and was brainstorming countermeasures for. But the third point was unexpected. ¡°Junghye¡­ is looking for the Red Eyes.¡± ¡°The Red Eyes?¡± Song Kiyeol knew about the Red Eyes. He also knew about Ahn Seohye¡¯s eyes. If Junghye didn¡¯t know about the Red Eyes, it was because Kiyeol kept that information from reaching her. ¡°You intentionally didn¡¯t leak information about Seohye.¡± ¡°Yes. With my sister¡¯s personality, I didn¡¯t know what she would do.¡± Seohye was under the protection of Sungshin¡¯s protective services, and the Blood and Iron Witch Song Junghye was a 3rd generation Sungshin chaebol. If Junghye wanted to, she could easily cook Seohye up however she wanted. ¡°I don¡¯t think you need to worry,¡± I said. ¡°Huh?¡± ¡°The Red Eyes, I already have them.¡± I put a light smile on my face. ¡°And you can leak the fact that I have the Red Eyes to Miss Junghye whenever you¡¯d like.¡± ¡°Mr. Kim Hyukjin. My little sister is¡­¡± I read Kiyeol¡¯s state. State: Affection / Slight Fear / Complicated Feelings He was probably trying to say that she might be his sister, but even he couldn¡¯t predict what she would do. It could also be that it was because he loved her as a family member that he feared her. ¡°It¡¯s alright,¡± I said, cutting him off. ¡°¡­¡± Kiyeol bit his lips a little. What was it? Was he worrying about me? Or was he scared that his new culture business partner would suffer a mishap? Or maybe he was scared that his little sister would take things too far? ¡®Whichever one it is, it doesn¡¯t matter.¡¯ I was confident. Unless President Song Kiyoung himself took action, I could deal with Song Junghye with my own power, anytime. ¡°I definitely have the Red Eyes.¡± I didn¡¯t know why she was aiming for the Red Eyes. It could be that a Guardian other than the Shepherd Boy wanted them. If so, what were the Red Eyes, to have Guardians wanting them? ¡®I should be able to get some good content out of them.¡¯ * * * I said one more thing. ¡°However, you must also be sure to warn Miss Junghye.¡± ¡°¡­Warn?¡± ¡°If she wants to win me over, she should do so decisively, and if winning me over isn¡¯t possible, she should give up.¡± ¡°¡­¡± I chose Song Kiyeol, not Song Junghye. But that choice wasn¡¯t ¡®set in stone¡¯. My choice could definitely change depending on the situation. My words were essentially a warning for Kiyeol as well. I was telling him I could also work with his sister, so he should do his best. ¡°But if she uses inhumane or violent methods, or methods I cannot agree with¡­¡± An ambush without a declaration of war was a cowardly act. Even small electronics came with a big list of precautions. ¡°At that time, Miss Junghye must also prepare herself.¡± I thought our conversation would end there, but it wasn¡¯t over yet. Kiyeol brought up something else. ¡°I missed the timing to say this earlier, but¡­¡± What he said next was very amusing. ¡°So you¡¯re saying that this car is mine?¡± ¡°Yes. The same goes for the driver in the front. But because of the flawless sound insulation, the conversation we¡¯re having in the back cannot be heard in the front. If you have something to tell the driver, you can press this button.¡± It was one of the many buttons arrayed on the armrest. ¡°This button is for the massage function.¡± ¡°This button is for the ventilated seat function.¡± ¡°This button¡­¡± Like some kind of car salesman, he politely explained the car¡¯s many functions. I suddenly got a car with a driver. I was feeling the inconvenience of having no car, but Kiyeol solved the issue for me. After a round of explanation, I said, ¡°But this seems too small a reward for the Gyeonghoeru field strat.¡± ¡°Naturally, I thought the same.¡± He continued after taking a deep breath. ¡°After meeting Player Kim Hyukjin with my grandfather, I did a great deal of thinking.¡± He truly had a lot to say. To summarize his words, he believed the value of the information I brought him could not be measured with ¡®money¡¯ alone. In this quickly approaching age of new culture, mere money didn¡¯t have much value to me, because I would earn a ton of it anyway, or so he said. ¡®No. Money¡¯s great.¡¯ It was the most clear-cut method of trade, wasn¡¯t it? ¡°¡­And so, in order to allow Mr. Kim Hyukjin to focus solely on Playing and not have to bother about anything else, I will have Sungshin go all out with our cooperation and support.¡± Giving me this car and driver was a part of that. ¡°You can use this car and driver whenever you want to travel in comfort. Oh, right. I have moved the driver into Apt. 904. You can call upon him at your convenience. The associated fees will be undertaken by us. The insurance and all the other minor details will be handled by the insurance team on our side.¡± Also¡ª ¡°For your driving pleasure, I have also prepared a few sports car candidates. They can be delivered immediately, with zero wait time. Please pick one from this list.¡± He showed me a few shiny pictures. I was supposed to pick one of these? I didn¡¯t know much about stuff like this, but they had to be about $500k a pop. ¡°Like this car, all fees associated with the maintenance and purchase of the car will be undertaken by Sungshin.¡± It seemed he really wasn¡¯t lying when he said he would clear my path of annoyances. ¡°In addition, I will have a Players Association Player License of the highest rank issued to you. Not just that, but I will also issue a separate intermediate rank license in case you wish to hide your identity.¡± Two cars, identification. It was a pretty decent compensation for information that would have become well-known anyway. Like Song Kiyeol said, the information in my head couldn¡¯t simply be converted to money. More than anything, I was pleased with his desire to clear away the hassles to allow me to focus my undivided attention on Playing. Also¡ª ¡®He¡¯s thought a lot about what I need.¡¯ I could see his sincerity. His sincerity wasn¡¯t bad. It wasn¡¯t bad, but that was all. ¡°But do you really think Miss Junghye is unable to offer these things to me as well?¡± ¡°¡­¡± I did like his sincerity, but business was business. ¡°They are things Junghye can offer as well,¡± Kiyeol admitted. ¡°It seems you have thought to some extent about what I lack. In that respect, I am grateful for your consideration.¡± That was why I would give him a little more opportunity. Song Kiyeol hurried to say, ¡°These are an advance sign of my sincerity before the real deal is made.¡± Essentially, they weren¡¯t part of the terms of the deal, but a gift to look good in my eyes. Sungshin was more generous than I thought. He bowed at the waist. ¡°Are there any other conditions you would like?¡± I couldn¡¯t just ignore the fact he had a major competitor named Song Junghye. With Kiyeol¡¯s consideration, I could scratch the itches that had always bothered me. There were a few things I still needed. ¡°Please go ahead.¡± His attitude seemed to say he would do his utmost to meet my requests. ¡°After living with Sunhwa, my mom, and my sister, the house feels a little small.¡± It wasn¡¯t hard to get money and buy a house with it. But it was a hassle. There were a lot of things to pay attention to. A house wasn¡¯t like a bag of chips you could buy at the supermarket. ¡°I will have your family transferred to a large condo. I was already thinking of doing so and have had the market inspected. The purchase can be settled as soon as tomorrow.¡± That was a pass. ¡°Also, as it is a larger condo, I will also dispatch a helper who can assist with the cleaning or housework.¡± This too was a pass. Song Kiyeol was pretty quick on the uptake. Picking him seemed like the right choice. ¡°In addition, for your comfort, I will have the driver I planned on moving into Apt. 904 moved into the condo directly next door.¡± From the way the words spilled out of his mouth without a hitch, there was no doubt he had already considered this. He had clearly thought of many different directions to this conversation. ¡°If possible, I would like Seohye moved to the condo next door.¡± ¡°Miss¡­ Ahn Seohye?¡± ¡°Yes. The Ahn Seohye who was almost targeted by your sister.¡± ¡°That isn¡¯t hard to do, but¡­ if this becomes known, it could create problems for you down the line.¡± Kiyeol¡¯s expression changed for a moment. I knew what he was thinking. I was asking him to move a pretty young girl to the condo directly next door. Such an action could easily be construed as something perverted. I wasn¡¯t a famous person now, but if I became famous in the future, a very small issue could be blown up into a big scandal. That was how the world had always been. I didn¡¯t bother to explain the details. At this point in time, Seohye¡¯s ¡®barrier¡¯ was something I absolutely needed. ¡°In order to decorate the interior to a decent condition, we will need about one month. In the meantime, for your convenience, I will have Ahn Seohye moved to Apt. 1003.¡± I could certainly feel Song Kiyeol¡¯s earnest care. ¡°This seems like an exaggerated response to the sale of one strategy.¡± ¡°This isn¡¯t a trade, but an investment.¡± To be more precise, an ¡®investment towards me¡¯. He was saying all this care wasn¡¯t just for a single strategy. That response, too, was quite satisfying. ¡®He¡¯s quite something.¡¯ He paid close attention to the little details that escaped me. Since I had felt his sincerity and care, it was time for me to respond in like. A relationship where only one side reaped the profits would be short-lived. Ours had to be a relationship where both Song Kiyeol and I, Taeguk Shield and I, profited through each other. It wasn¡¯t very good for the scales to weigh too heavily on one side. ¡°I will give you one present.¡± It was possible that this ¡®present¡¯ would create a big butterfly effect. Despite that, it was a present worth risking. ¡®I¡¯ll risk it anyway.¡¯ This present was a bit of a gamble. Like all things, it was high risk, high return. Whenever I judged that the risk was one I could handle, investing was the right choice. That was how I saw it. ____ Chapter 146 Chapter 146 I decided to give Song Kiyeol a gift, one of the pieces of information I possessed. It was information that could influence the flow of the future. ¡°Focus on mana crystals.¡± ¡°Mana¡­ crystals?¡± ¡°Yes. Items called Lowest Grade Mana Crystals will start to frequently appear.¡± ¡°I have heard of them, too. I think Gong Jinhoon has gotten one before.¡± In the current period, only ¡®Lowest Grade Mana Crystals¡¯ would be dropped, at best. By future standards, they weren¡¯t terribly valuable items, but at this stage, you could almost call them treasures. Not long from now, research using ¡®mana crystals¡¯ would progress tremendously. ¡®Those who get the mana crystals first will have an edge on everyone else.¡¯ I lowered my voice a little. ¡°According to information I secretly got a hold of¡­¡± ¡°¡­¡± ¡°Quite a lot of mana crystals are being dropped on Boracay Island in the Philippines.¡± A relatively higher number of mana crystals were being dropped there. The Players of the Philippines, especially the residents on Boracay Island, didn¡¯t have much interest in Playing. They tended to focus more on tourism, and their server had a very late start in Playing. ¡°Whether you move to obtain those mana crystals or not is up to Guildmaster Song, but¡­¡± ¡°¡­¡± ¡°If it were me, I would go for them.¡± And also¡ª ¡°There may already be foreign Players camping there.¡± I added one more thing. ¡°There probably are. Maybe not now, but very soon. I believe you know the reason why I¡¯m so sure.¡± ¡°Yes. Because you have Precognitive Dream.¡± Precognitive Dream, Precognitive Eye. In this changing world, such things were no longer strange. Song Kiyeol understood my words very well. ¡°There¡¯s also a high probability of those foreign Players being aggressive. At least according to what I saw with Precognitive Dream.¡± I took a moment to catch my breath. ¡®Is it really a good thing to tell him this much?¡¯ Senia was streaming us in a transparent state. Was this something I should show the Guardians? Most of the foreign Players who were Playing on Boracay, or would soon Play on Boracay, belonged to a single guild. That guild was called ¡®Imperialism¡¯. The Players of the Imperialism guild were considerably nationalistic and claimed that the Players of their country were the strongest in the world. They were also very prideful. In the early days of Playing, the representative two countries that experienced the most rapid growth were the US and the UK. The reason those two nations were able to grow faster than other countries could be traced back to one Player. ¡®The Player who alternated from the US to the UK, finding hidden pieces and sharing strategies.¡¯ It was time for that Player to slowly start making his appearance. Countless British Players once said this: ¨CThe ¡®Great Explorer Jackson¡¯ may very well be the greatest gift to mankind. Jackson. The person who created a huge number of the existing strategies, solved a ton of hidden pieces, and made a massive contribution to clearing dungeons and gates. ¡®This is about the time¡­ that Jackson should be active on Boracay.¡¯ Once this period ended, the UK¡¯s ¡®Imperialism¡¯ guild would almost completely take over the Boracay server. I added one more thing. ¡°You can ask your Intermediate Administrator for more explanation later, but the Korean server is a single server. Its name is the Korean server.¡± ¡°I am aware.¡± ¡°There isn¡¯t a Seoul server, a Gyeonggi server, or a Busan server. The server isn¡¯t split up.¡± ¡°¡­¡± Kiyeol seemed to have realized something. He nodded, saying, ¡°You mean to say that there is a separate Boracay server in the Philippines.¡± ¡°Yes. Don¡¯t forget that even the giant US and China countries only have one server.¡± The servers would be split later, but each country only had one for now. Basically, there was a reason why the Philippines alone had two. ¡°Understood. I will engrave your words in my heart.¡± Summary: Guildmaster who met his Teacher I gave Song Kiyeol the information. Now, Taeguk Shield would move. The discovery of the value and effectiveness of ¡®mana crystals¡¯ would usher the world into a new stage. Originally, that should have been initiated by Jackson and the Players of Imperialism. Originally. As impressive as Imperialism might be, the current Taeguk Shield was no slouch, either. After all, they were being fully backed by the global conglomerate called Sungshin, as well as the prominent figure named President Song Kiyoung. ¡®If there¡¯s anything they¡¯re missing or something important they should know, I can tell them.¡¯ With that, they should be able to go toe to toe with Imperialism. ¡®I¡¯ve majorly changed the flow.¡¯ How much of a butterfly effect this would have was still unknown. Only time would tell. ¡®It¡¯s fun.¡¯ About half a year had passed since I returned to the past. In that time, I had also changed a great deal. I was scared to change the future at first, anxious that things wouldn¡¯t happen like I remembered. ¡®But now, I¡¯m not all that scared.¡¯ ¡°Ah, right. Thank you for the presents.¡± ¡°This is nothing. Please take good care of our Taeguk Shield.¡± ¡°I think even Miss Junghye wouldn¡¯t have been able to figure out my disposition so well and manage to dangle a carrot in front of me. I am thankful for the sincerity you have shown me.¡± Song Kiyeol¡¯s eyes grew wide. State: Happy / Surprised / Huge Sense of Accomplishment I didn¡¯t think I said much, and certainly nothing that should have made him feel happy, surprised, or even a huge sense of accomplishment. But in any case, Kiyeol¡¯s state changed in a very positive way. ¡°Therefore, I will not say anything to Miss Junghye regarding this case or the mana crystals.¡± Song Kiyeol grabbed my hand, apparently forgetting his enormous fame as a 3rd generation chaebol and the Guildmaster of Taeguk Shield. He suddenly bent low at the waist. ¡°Thank you. I won¡¯t disappoint you.¡± He didn¡¯t need to go this far¡­ There was one last thing to say. ¡°If it looks like you will clash with Imperialism, contact me.¡± Summary: Guildmaster who met a Reliable Hyung But he was actually way older than me¡­ Song Kiyeol squeezed my hand. ¡°Thank you.¡± * * * My teammates and I¡ªwe still didn¡¯t even have a proper guild name yet¡ªcleared the Gyeonghoeru field multiple times. ¡°Shabam. Hyukjin. I gotta say, you¡¯re like a real scumbag. Like for reals.¡± ¡°How so?¡± ¡°We have to grind anyway, but you threatened all sorts of quests out of Miss Senia. We have to do this anyway, but you¡¯re just shamelessly squeezing her dry.¡± ¡°Like you said, we have to do this anyway. I¡¯m just doing it in the most efficient way.¡± Quests with time limits. Quests that gave special rewards. Quests where one of us didn¡¯t move. In truth, they were all minor quests that couldn¡¯t be called ¡®main¡¯ quests. All of them were given independently by Senia. ¡°Doesn¡¯t giving quests also take Coins?¡± ¡°But that slender and beautiful angel¡¯s Coins are being stripped away!¡± ¡°Do you dislike it, then?¡± ¡°No, I love it.¡± Sung-gu stared at me with a snicker. ¡°I love you, Hyukjin. I love that you¡¯re a scumbag.¡± Brrr¨C Was it my imagination, or did Isabel¡¯s blade tremble just now? In any case, we cleared Senia¡¯s quests. Since they weren¡¯t big quests, the rewards themselves were also small, but we were still able to secure a few more Coins and a few more rewards. And since the quests added a little more variety to our Playing, the number of Guardians leaving the channel should naturally be reduced. Yeonseo asked, ¡°Boss Hyukjin. There¡¯s no sense of tension here anymore. It¡¯s no fun. Can¡¯t we go clear some other place?¡± ¡°Nope.¡± ¡°Ah! Whyyyyy!¡± ¡°Leveling is slower in other places. Our goal is level 40.¡± It was boring, but there was no helping it. This was the fastest route to get into the mid-game. We had to continue this boring work for at least three months. ¡®Actually, even three months is super fast.¡¯ Yeonseo pouted her lips a little. She pretended to sulk with an obviously fake voice. ¡°Hng. Okipoki.¡± ¡°¡­¡± Why was it¡­ that the Shin Yeonseo I was personally experiencing seemed awfully different from the Shin Yeonseo I saw through mass media? ¡®Whatever. It¡¯s not important.¡¯ Yeonseo¡¯s personality and cutesy act were secondary; her skills were the real deal. I had yet to come across any Players with classes related to the ¡®sword¡¯ more outstanding than Yeonseo. Sunghyun said, ¡°The levels of the Korean server Players are rising quickly thanks to Hyung.¡± That was especially true for the top Rankers. The phrase ¡®the rich get richer, the poor get poorer¡¯ was going around in the media, and it was also called a social issue. That was because we were still in the transition phase. ¡®The rich getting richer, the poor getting poorer is going to become even more severe here on out.¡¯ As unfortunate as it was, this thing called ¡®Playing¡¯ was strictly ruled by ¡®talent¡¯. The ideal society would only get further and further away. In sports, talent was commonly said to be king, but talent was even more important in Playing, to the point that if you weren¡¯t born with talent, it was almost impossible to succeed in Playing. It was truly unfortunate, but that was reality. Sunhwa seemed a little displeased by something. ¡°But you know, my oppa is the one who shared the strategy¡­ but everyone thinks it¡¯s Taeguk Shield who did it. I don¡¯t like that.¡± She was pursing her lips and whining, so I rubbed her head. Somehow, this kid was really cute when she was grumbling. Oftentimes, she reminded me of a puppy. In any case, we were in the middle of clearing the Gyeonghoeru on repeat. A lot of other Players were challenging the Gyeonghoeru, and the number of Players who went missing or died rose proportionately. Day by day, new incidents popped up. New monster appeared in Siheung. The 10 reckless Players who challenged the Gyeonghoeru field. And in the end, Taeguk Shield also took action. Taeguk Shield expands into the Boracay server. The first Korean guild to officially expand into a different server. They would probably be able to acquire mana crystals, even if they had to go to war with Imperialism. Of course, Taeguk Shield was the focus of the media. They were a guild strong enough to control the press. It was only natural. ¡°Let¡¯s stop here for today. Don¡¯t waste your strength on pointless things and rest. I¡¯ll see you all tomorrow.¡± Our average level was now 35. Leveling would get even harder from here on out. ¡°I¡¯ll just do three PVPs before I go home.¡± ¡°¡­¡± There was no use trying to stop her¡ªshe wouldn¡¯t listen. Besides, Yeonseo wouldn¡¯t tire even after three rounds of PVP. I just let her be. We all parted ways. I got into the super high class sedan Song Kiyeol prepared for me. The driver greeted me respectfully. ¡°I will escort you home in comfort, sir.¡± He gave me an excessively servile bow. I told him time and time again that he didn¡¯t need to be so polite, but he kept it up anyway, and I gave up. If this was what he was comfortable with, it was better to just let him be. I let myself relax into the First Class cabin seat. ¡®It is comfortable, to be sure.¡¯ Sunhwa was already snoozing away on the seat next to mine. She must have been tired. ¡®Should have gotten one sooner.¡¯ I should have asked for a car earlier. We could simply get in without having to deal with any hassle. It was way nicer and more comfortable than buying a car myself. ¡®Huh?¡¯ I hastily pressed the intercom button. ¡°Mister, hold on one sec.¡± The car came to a stop. ¡°Please wait here for a moment.¡± I heard the driver acquiesce over the intercom, and I got out of the car. Here, in the vicinity of the Gwanghwamun Dungeon, I spotted someone walking with quick strides. ¡®Why is he here?¡¯ A certain Player that shouldn¡¯t be in the Korean server at this point in time had made an appearance. ____ Chapter 147 Chapter 147 ¨CGetting to visit Korea, the powerhouse of PVP and GVG, is an enjoyable and interesting experience for me. I wish to express my thanks to the Players Association and the people of Korea for welcoming my first visit to Korea. Those were the words spoken by the Great Explorer Jackson when he visited Korea. Jackson went diligently from country to country for the sake of ¡®exploration¡¯, but he visited Korea a little later than the rest. ¡®Why is Jackson in Korea at this point in time?¡¯ Did things change from the past? ¡®Or was Jackson here in the past, too?¡¯ And he just so happened to be near the presently unclearable Gwanghwamun Dungeon. ¡®A coincidence?¡¯ It could be a coincidence. But it was also possible it wasn¡¯t a coincidence. The chances were 50-50. ¡®Guess I need to meet him real quick.¡¯ I hurriedly moved to follow Jackson. I was doing my best to chase him, but he suddenly disappeared from my view. It didn¡¯t feel like he disappeared with a pop. Rather, it was like he naturally disappeared, even though I was definitely watching him. ¡®Where did he go?¡¯ I didn¡¯t activate Observer¡¯s Eye to try and find him. There was a very high chance he disappeared from my view like this because he realized I was ¡°tailing¡± him. Jackson had recognized my existence, so he would approach me on his own terms. Sure enough, I heard a voice. ¡°Why are you following me?¡± That one sentence gave me a big shock. ¡®Fluent Korean?¡¯ I scanned Jackson¡¯s eyes with Observer¡¯s Eye. It was possible he had a ¡®translation artifact¡¯. I searched for the energy and flow of such an item, but I couldn¡¯t see any. ¡®He doesn¡¯t have a translation item.¡¯ Which meant Jackson was actually speaking Korean. ¡°You know how to speak Korean?¡± ¡°Yes. I¡¯ve been very interested in Korea from a young age.¡± Jackson shrugged. He didn¡¯t appear to be terribly wary of me. The Great Explorer was in Korea at this time. And he knew how to speak Korean. Why did he pretend like he had never visited Korea before, and act like he couldn¡¯t speak Korean? I clearly remembered seeing Jackson on TV in the past. ¨CAh, this thing? It¡¯s a translation item I recently obtained. Thanks to it, traveling the world has become a lot easier. Korean? I had no time to study it. Well, the world has become much more convenient. With just this one item, we can converse so easily. But the current Jackson was speaking Korean, and very fluently, at that. ¡°My name is Jackson.¡± He stared at me. ¡°I think it¡¯s time for me to ask a question now.¡± ¡°¡­¡± ¡°Why did you follow me? Are you perhaps gay?¡± ¡°No, that¡¯s not it.¡± He grinned. ¡°It¡¯s alright. I¡¯m pretty handsome, after all. I am an unprejudiced person.¡± I decided not to lie. This person realized that I was following me, and he used a method of concealment slightly different in feeling than ¡®Stealth¡¯. All of it was evidence that this man¡¯s skills were indeed not ordinary. Eye of Perception once again verified that he wasn¡¯t ordinary. [The target¡¯s information cannot be read due to a special power.] It was the same as Sung-gu. He was someone whose status I couldn¡¯t read, someone affected by a special power. ¡°I will be honest with you. I know the future, to some extent.¡± ¡°Oh? Are you a Future Sight user?¡± Jackson looked at me with interest. [Eye of Perception detects a foreign energy.] The interesting thing was that Eye of Perception was unable to determine exactly what that ¡®foreign energy¡¯ was. That was how stealthy Jackson¡¯s ability was. ¡®It¡¯s probably something like Eye of Truth.¡¯ I wouldn¡¯t tell any lies. I would only slightly tweak the truth. I couldn¡¯t see the full future, but it was true that I knew the future. The truth of that statement was surely conveyed to Jackson. ¡°You don¡¯t seem to be lying. So? What does someone who can see the future want with me?¡± ¡°I want to tell you your future.¡± ¡°My future?¡± I knew Jackson¡¯s future. He would become the ¡®Great Explorer¡¯ who shared an enormous number of strategies and hidden pieces, becoming renowned worldwide. ¡°What is my future like?¡± ¡°It looks like you risk your life to explore. I see all sorts of dangerous things.¡± ¡°¡­¡± ¡°I can see not just the future, but also a little of the past.¡± I wanted to know why this Great Explorer was in front of the Gwanghwamun Dungeon at this point in time. In order to obtain what I wanted to know, I had to give Jackson information compelling enough to put me in his good graces. Information that was extremely well known in the future. ¡°In the field where you underwent the Tutorial, you may have survived through cowardly means.¡± ¡°¡­¡± Jackson flinched. He was smiling calmly, but I saw the change. ¨CI abandoned my teammate like a coward and survived. I threw my most precious friend to a Lycanthrope and survived. The story about Jackson and his closest friend, Renton, was extremely famous. ¨CBack then¡­ that was the only method I could see. Should they both die, or should only one person survive? At that crossroad, Jackson made the choice to have one person survive. And of course, that one person was Jackson. ¡°That may have become the greatest source of guilt in your heart.¡± That choice wasn¡¯t wrong. He made the best decision he could at that moment. I would have done the same. ¡°May I give you one piece of advice as well?¡± Jackson asked. ¡°What is your advice?¡± ¡°Do not carelessly divulge the future.¡± Those words were parallel to what the Astrologist Itachi and countless other Future Sight users said. But how did Jackson already know that? The side effects of divulging the future would only become common knowledge much later. ¡°How come?¡± ¡°In the texts of a certain dungeon, it was written that those who see the future must fear the future. That there is nothing more foolish and reckless than divulging the future that is to come.¡± He had already found that kind of information, and in the beginner period.. ¡°I see. Thank you for the advice. Actually, I am already familiar with the side effects and dangers of speaking about the future. After all, I am someone who possesses such an ability.¡± I continued to feel the ¡®foreign energy¡¯ prickling at me. Jackson was exploring me with some kind of method, and at my current level, I couldn¡¯t concretely determine what that energy was. ¡®This is fun.¡¯ Standing before me was the world¡¯s best Player in the ¡®explorer¡¯ class. No, the Player with the qualities to become the world¡¯s best. ¡®But even so, he can¡¯t be at a higher level than me.¡¯ I didn¡¯t think there was anyone who could be, other than the Demon King Kang Sun-il. Granted, there were certainly Irregulars like Ahn Seohye out there, but at least right now, Jackson wasn¡¯t one. ¡®I don¡¯t get the feeling of an Irregular from him.¡¯ To be more precise, he gave off an ¡®Irregular-like¡¯ feeling, but lacked an Irregular¡¯s undeniable mark. It was a sense I couldn¡¯t quite put into words. As soon as I saw Ahn Seohye, I clearly felt, ¡°She¡¯s an Irregular!¡± It was like she was enveloped in a thin veil I should somehow be able to see with my eyes. Something was a little off. ¡®For now, the right call is¡­ to consider him as an Irregular.¡¯ I couldn¡¯t read his status, so I could only trust my intuition. ¡°You seem to want something from me.¡± I gave him the information I could give, and did my best to instill trust in him. Not trust in me, but in the ability I possessed. ¡°Why did you come to Korea?¡± ¡°To explore.¡± ¡°Is it your first visit?¡± Jackson answered me straightforwardly. ¡°No. It¡¯s my third.¡± His third time? ¡°When did you first visit Korea?¡± ¡°When the Tutorial Field appeared in Jongno.¡± Then that was almost half a year ago. That gave me one hint. ¡®This is unrelated to me changing things. Jackson came to Korea independently of the butterfly effect I caused.¡¯ I was wondering if his presence had something to do with Taeguk Shield¡¯s expansion into Boracay, but that didn¡¯t seem to be the case. He had already visited Korea three times. ¡°This is fun,¡± said Jackson. ¡°You are aware that I am analyzing you with a special power, yes?¡± ¡°Yes.¡± ¡°Most people don¡¯t know. Amazing.¡± Jackson¡¯s eyes narrowed. ¡°Lately, I feel like something¡¯s weird about Korea.¡± ¡°What¡¯s weird?¡± ¡°Places that should have definitely had dungeon breaks didn¡¯t break, and considering the level of the Korean Players, there should have been greater losses, but there hasn¡¯t been. It¡¯s almost as if someone has been artificially stopping such disasters from happening.¡± I decided to tell the truth here as well. ¡°Greater losses should have occurred in the future I know as well.¡± That wasn¡¯t a lie. In the future I knew, both the Seoul Station Dungeon and the U-Plex Dungeon had broken. ¡°I know the Players of Korea are currently being led by a prominent guild called Taeguk Shield. But no matter how I think about it, I don¡¯t think Taeguk Shield alone could have achieved it. Korea¡¯s current situation, I mean.¡± Jackson didn¡¯t take his eyes off me. ¡°Seeing you, I think I¡¯m starting to know the reason.¡± ¡°What do you mean?¡± ¡°There are traces of a hero on you. This is evidenced on a Player¡¯s body as something called [Achievement]. Like a scar that cannot be erased, Achievement is a stigma one cannot hide.¡± Jackson smiled lightly. ¡°I don¡¯t know how you accrued so many Achievements. But as far as I can tell, you¡­¡± He paused for a moment, then gave what sounded like his honest guess. ¡°¡­have a truly powerful ability to see the future. So powerful I cannot even begin to fathom it.¡± ¡°¡­¡± ¡°I call such people Prophets.¡± Apparently, he judged that I was a perfect ¡®Prophet¡¯. ¡°¡­¡± Jackson grabbed my hands. ¡°Despite already knowing the side effects of divulging the future, you did so without restraint.¡± ¡°Ah¡­¡± I never really divulged the future. The [Achievement] Jackson spoke of were things I did on my own. Starting from the Tutorial, all the way to the current Gyeonghoeru. ¡°Ever since the Tutorial, I have been in constant worry and agony. I tossed aside my friend and survived as a result. That has become an unerasable source of guilt in my heart and has been tormenting me.¡± That was why he decided. ¡°So I decided to use the rest of my life for others, to save as many people¡¯s lives as I could. To devote this meager life that barely managed to subsist by selling out Renton. That was why I started exploring. Because this is something I can do well, at least.¡± I had already heard this before. The reason why Jackson kept doing the dangerous act of ¡®exploration¡¯, and why he shared the fruits of that exploration with the world. His underlying motivation was something anyone from the future would know. ¡°That¡¯s why I am so happy and glad to have met someone like you. It¡¯s kind of like I¡¯ve met a brother in arms with the same intent.¡± I stared at Jackson¡¯s hands, which were wrapped around mine. Maybe he had hyperhidrosis; his hands were sweating a lot. I could feel ¡®honesty¡¯ from Jackson¡¯s words, as well as a ¡®wish¡¯. Because I had already experienced Noona¡¯s ¡®strong wish¡¯, I could easily pick up on the ¡®wish¡¯ within his words. Jackson wasn¡¯t lying. ¡®He¡¯s being sincere.¡¯ That was also evidenced by his future actions. He was definitely being sincere. However¡ª ¡®A strange d¨¦j¨¤ vu.¡¯ There was something vaguely off. I felt a strange sense of d¨¦j¨¤ vu. His words, his actions, his expression, and even all of his actions in the future. There wasn¡¯t anything strange about them, yet they were strange. I couldn¡¯t say exactly what was weird. Something just felt off. This was all ¡®intuition¡¯. ¡°But may I ask how long you¡¯ve been studying Korean? At your level, I would believe you if you said you were Korean.¡± He was way better at Korean than most Koreans. Agony. Achievement. Traces. Subsist. Devote. His vocabulary was really formidable for a foreigner. An explorer who, according to the future, shouldn¡¯t be here. A great Player giving off a strange feeling of d¨¦j¨¤ vu. A person who, according to the future, couldn¡¯t speak Korean. And yet, here he was, speaking to me in extremely fluent Korean. ¡®What could it be?¡¯ Why was it strange? I still didn¡¯t know why I got that feeling of wrongness from Jackson. I decided to throw out a fastball. ¡°Why did you come to the Gwanghwamun Dungeon?¡± ____ Chapter 148 Chapter 148 Jackson responded. ¡°I¡¯m here in order to find the Eastern Star. It¡¯s one of my main scenarios.¡± ¡°The Eastern Star?¡± Jackson shared most of his scenarios, clear methods, and monster-killing methods. The Great Explorer Jackson was a VIP in every country, and his information was essentially public property of humanity. He was a paragon and a hero who offered everything for the common good. ¡®I don¡¯t remember a scenario called Eastern Star.¡¯ The Jackson now, in the beginning days of Playing, vs. the Jackson I knew. There was definitely some kind of difference between the two. A difference that had nothing to do with my existence as a regressor. ¡°Would you be willing to tell me what that is?¡± ¡°Sure, since I have a good feeling about you.¡± Jackson¡¯s explanation wasn¡¯t complicated. ¡°¡­So you¡¯re saying this ¡®Eastern Star¡¯ is a type of king candidate?¡± ¡°Yes. I don¡¯t know what a king is yet, either.¡± This Jackson was searching for a ¡®king¡¯. He was different from the Jackson I knew. I couldn¡¯t look at him with Eye of Perception right now¡ªhe was being protected by a special power. ¡°If it is alright with you, may I inquire about your class?¡± ¡°My class is [Exploring Baptist].¡± The class Jackson said he had in the past was [Exploring Pilgrim]. Did the Jackson I knew lie, or was Exploring Pilgrim the higher level of Exploring Baptist? Baptist. Pilgrim. They were words in the same vein. ¡®What puzzle piece am I missing?¡¯ I couldn¡¯t figure it out. ¡°Since I¡¯ve revealed my class, could I also inquire about yours?¡± ¡°My class is¡­¡± I looked around once. ¡°Observing Sovereign.¡± It was seven parts truth, three parts lie. ¡®Though if you really nitpick, it does seem like three parts truth, seven parts lie.¡¯ In any case, it wasn¡¯t really a lie. I was an observer, and at the same time, I fulfilled the role of a sovereign. ¡°Observing Sovereign¡­ It sounds like a great class. Somehow, I get the feeling we will meet again.¡± Jackson dipped his head towards me, but then, something seemed to suddenly occur to him. ¡°Ah, right. Do you happen to have an artifact related to a ¡®king¡¯?¡± ¡°An artifact related to a king?¡± I did. [Ancient Crown] It was the reward I got from clearing the Early Adopter scenario of the Gwanghwamun Dungeon. ¡°I don¡¯t.¡± ¡°I see.¡± He asked me another question. ¡°Is there perhaps a crown in the future you see?¡± At that moment, I was overcome with that strange feeling of d¨¦j¨¤ vu again. ¡®He specifically asked about a crown. What does this mean?¡¯ I made it very clear. ¡°There is definitely no crown in the future I see.¡± There was a crown in my past, but not in the future, so this wasn¡¯t a lie. Eye of Perception sensed some kind of energy. [Detecting a foreign energy.] It definitely belonged to Jackson. He was probably trying to verify the truth of my words. I spoke the truth. I had a crown in the ¡®present¡¯, but there was no crown in the future I knew and saw. ¡°I see. I understand. This has been truly instructive.¡± The d¨¦j¨¤ vu disappeared. With a good-natured smile, Jackson said, ¡°I intend on exploring the Gwanghwamun Dungeon. I will contact you if I come across any good information. Could you give me your number?¡± We exchanged numbers. And with that, I established a ¡°hotline¡± with the Great Explorer himself. * * * Back inside the car, Sunhwa was long asleep, and I fell into thought. ¡®In this world¡­ there are things I didn¡¯t know.¡¯ The government¡¯s duplicitous announcement regarding the Six-Tailed Fox. The unknown beings who were cultivating Predator Trees. A Guardian who wanted the Red Eyes, as well as the Blood and Iron Queen Song Junghye who wanted them as well. And even my machine-determined evaluation of ¡®No Talent¡¯. Little by little, I was uncovering things that were different from what I knew. No, to be more precise, they were things I didn¡¯t know. On top of that, the Great Explorer appeared in Korea. ¡®He definitely seems like an Irregular, but he doesn¡¯t have the mark of one.¡¯ It wasn¡¯t all that unusual that a Ranker and skilled Player of his level, a person who was praised as the Hero of the World, was an Irregular. ¡®But that Irregular feeling is¡­¡¯ I couldn¡¯t be sure, but¡ª ¡®It¡¯s similar to the feeling I got from Seohye¡¯s Red Eyes.¡¯ It was subtly similar, but not. So subtle that if I hadn¡¯t personally met and observed Ahn Seohye when she had the Red Eyes, I wouldn¡¯t have been able to feel it. ¡®It is similar in feeling to the Red Eyes.¡¯ I had neither evidence nor reasoning. Just feeling. I decided to base my judgment on the assumption that Jackson from the future came to the Gwanghwamun Dungeon at this time, too. Big currents in time wouldn¡¯t change unless someone forcefully diverted their path. ¡®The Eastern Star¡­¡¯ A king candidate. ¡®This timeline¡¯s Jackson is here.¡¯ But the future Jackson never said he was in Korea before. He even pretended he couldn¡¯t speak Korean. ¡®Something¡¯s fishy.¡¯ I didn¡¯t know what it was, but I decided to be suspicious for now. Why did the future Jackson cover up the fact he Played in Korea before? ¡®Even though he revealed all the high class info he obtained.¡¯ Why? ¡®There was either a matter in Korea that he absolutely had to hide, or¡­ the [True Scenario] he¡¯s doing takes place in Korea.¡¯ It was possible the strategies and info he shared were extremely useful and outstanding to other people, but to Jackson, they were meaningless. Therefore, he publicized the ¡®meaningless¡¯ information and kept the information he ¡®truly needed¡¯ to himself. ¡®It¡¯s still just an inference.¡¯ I couldn¡¯t rule out the possibility that the ¡®past¡¯ and the ¡®present¡¯ may have really changed. I decided to keep every theory open. While lost in thought, we arrived home. We had cleared the Gyeonghoeru field a ton. I decided to rest a little. * * * The currently 14-year-old¡ª soon to be 15 years old¡ªSong Jinchul threw his game console. The device cost a whopping $6k, but that didn¡¯t matter at all to him. ¡°Ah seriously, so boring.¡± Right on cue, he heard footsteps outside his ¡®Gaming Room¡¯. He couldn¡¯t see who was outside the door, but he knew who it was. ¡°Ajumma! Come in for a sec!¡± TN: Ajumma is the Korean word for married, middle-aged woman. She was one of the countless housekeepers working at his house. He didn¡¯t know her name or her age. A housekeeper was simply a housekeeper. Sure enough, a woman in her 40s came into the room, her back respectfully bent. ¡°Please excuse my intrusion.¡± ¡°Get rid of all of this. Ptui!¡± Jinchul intentionally spat all around him. The woman took out a rag from her pocket and wiped away the gobs of saliva, as if such an incident was an everyday occurrence. ¡°Ah seriously, so frustrating. Who the hell is that Kim Hyukjin? Just who the hell?!¡± Before, his grandpa¡¯s attention had been his, and his alone. His mom and dad were dead anyway. His older brother and sister were duking it out for the succession of the company. Jinchul didn¡¯t give a rat¡¯s ass about the succession choice. He only needed his grandpa¡¯s love and attention. To make matters worse, he heard his older sister say, ¡°I¡¯m gonna go meet that Kim Hyukjin guy.¡± His sister going out to meet someone in person wasn¡¯t a common occurrence. Normally, people came to meet her, not the other way around. ¡®The oldest, my brother, is interested in him. The second oldest, my sister, is interested in him too.¡¯ Not just grandpa, but even his brother and sister both showed immense interest in Kim Hyukjin. To his young eyes, his brother was almost entirely converted to ¡®Team Kim Hyukjin¡¯. Kim Hyukjin? Who the hell was he? Was he more amazing than their Sungshin? ¡°Ajumma. Answer me.¡± ¡°Yes, Young Master. Please go ahead.¡± ¡°Is Playing that amazing?¡± There was a manual in place for the housekeepers. She answered mechanically. ¡°I apologize, Young Master. I¡¯m not sure.¡± That was all she had to say. It wasn¡¯t a conversation. Just inputs and predetermined outputs. The pay was way higher than other places, so she simply endured and worked in silence. ¡°I¡¯m wondering if I should just go and Play, too. Should be a lot more fun than these shitty games.¡± In the future Kim Hyukjin knew, Song Jinchul didn¡¯t have much interest in Playing. It was dangerous and annoying, and he already had money and fame. It was his opinion that he should just live his life using plenty of the money he had. That was why Song Jinchul ended up taking his talent plate exam with a scowling face when Kim Hyukjin was 25, so when Jinchul was 19. And it just so happened that Hyukjin¡¯s result came out as 67 at that time. ¡°It¡¯s just cause I haven¡¯t tried, but if I do it, I¡¯m gonna be fucking awesome at it. You think so too, right?¡± ¡°Of course. You¡¯re great at everything once you set your mind to it, Young Master.¡± His ruffled feathers smoothed by those words, the first year middle schooler Jinchul waved his hand, saying, ¡°Enough, go on out.¡± He firmly resolved himself. ¡°This won¡¯t do. I¡¯ve gotta go do that talent plate exam or whatever it¡¯s called.¡± His foray into Playing was moved forward by five years. Yet another small change began to occur due to Kim Hyukjin¡¯s existence. * * * A weird rumor was going around the DMC Riverview Xi. ¡°No idea. I think some rich madam bought them all up in one go?¡± ¡°I hear they offered way more than the market price.¡± ¡°It¡¯s because our DMC Riverview Xi¡¯s status and value have skyrocketed.¡± ¡°But even so¡­ isn¡¯t it a little weird that six goldilocks apartments were bought in one go? I heard the gross price was $1.5 million each, $1.2 million before taxes.¡± ¡°You¡¯re right. No matter how you think about it¡­ six apartments getting sold when we¡¯ve only got sixty in our complex is definitely strange.¡± It was just a rumor, but word was going around that someone purchased a bunch of ideally located apartments for $300k more than the market price. The previous owners were charmed by the big numbers and immediately vacated their homes. ¡°And I hear all their moving fees were covered.¡± ¡°In any case, our house prices should go up a lot, too.¡± ¡°Whatever it is, it¡¯s good for us.¡± About half of that was the truth. Floor 14, room 1: the Poison Witch Cheon Sooji. Floor 14, room 2: the Taeguk Shield Song Kiyeol. TN: Reminder that Taeguk Shield is the name of the guild as well as the moniker of Song Kiyeol. Floor 15, room 1: Kim Hyukjin and his family. Floor 16, room 1: Jo Sunghyun and Choi Sung-gu. Floor 16, room 2: So Yoohyun. They ended up moving in like that. Hyukjin¡¯s new condo was the largest in the complex, 200 sq. meters. There, Hyukjin conversed with Song Kiyeol. ¡°Mr. Song Kiyeol. I hear you¡¯ve bought a condo on the 14th floor?¡± ¡°I figured there had to be a reason a person who could see the future specifically picked this place, so I just bought one.¡± ¡°By giving $300k more than the market price?¡± ¡°Yes. I took care of all the expenses, including the moving expenses.¡± ¡°Sungshin is indeed rich.¡± But even for Sungshin, it had to be quite the hefty sum. ¡°It¡¯s on the small side for an investment on the company level. Normally, an investment of several hundreds of millions is standard.¡± ¡°And how come Miss Cheon Sooji is here?¡± ¡°She has always wanted to come here.¡± ¡°Did the Guildmaster tell her that I would be moving here?¡± ¡°Not quite. Because this investment was made by Taeguk Shield, it was something Sooji could not help but know.¡± Hyukjin thought back to his encounter with Cheon Sooji in the elevator. She slipped him a piece of paper, whispering, ¡°This is the passcode to my house. You¡¯re welcome at any time, even at night.¡± Of course, he ripped that paper to pieces. ¡°I don¡¯t intend on moving in myself. I only purchased one.¡± Kiyeol was talking about buying a condo like buying groceries at the supermarket. It was as hard as ever for Hyukjin to understand the way chaebols thought and operated. In any case, six of the top Rankers from his past life ended up moving into the DMC Riverview Xi. Cheon Sooji and Song Kiyeol were also Rankers, after all. A ¡®1st generation Player town¡¯ was developing before him. Hyukjin called his party members for a meeting. Joining them was Ahn Seohye, who wasn¡¯t a formal member of the party. ¡°Good work moving in, everyone.¡± The issue of their new living arrangements wasn¡¯t important. The more important topic was coming up. ¡°As you all know, we need to keep clearing the Gyeonghoeru field. As tedious as it is.¡± But they couldn¡¯t bet their lives on just the Gyeonghoeru. ¡°Sunhwa. You¡¯re still doing what I told you to do before, right?¡± Before he went into the Gyeonghoeru field for the first time, Hyukjin asked Sunhwa to do something. ¡°Of course! Here. This is what you¡¯re talking about, right?¡± As the party members, Sunhwa took something out. Sung-gu¡¯s eyes went round. ¡°Hmmm? What¡¯s this? It looks expensive!¡± ____ Chapter 149 Chapter 149 There were three big reasons why the area around the DMC Riverview Xi was one of the most expensive places to live in my past life. First: It was a Player town made up of the highest level Players. Second: The Korean Players Association building was directly around the corner. Third: A powerful, growth-type Guardian Tower called ¡®Megalodon¡¯ was situated there. And I knew. The ¡®Guardian Gems¡¯ that were materials for summoning Guardian Towers were generated at Gajwa Station, and only Players could acquire them. ¡®She did a good job finding them.¡¯ Before I went into the Gwanghwamun Dungeon for the first time, I gave Sunhwa a task. ¨CWhat should I do, then? ¨CI need you to find Guardian Gems. We need ten of them. Also, Seohye is going to be moving in, so help her out. Help her set up a protective barrier, too. The groundwork I laid back then was very nearly coming to fruition today. In Sunhwa¡¯s cupped hands were gems the size of apricots. Yeonseo took one, squirming. ¡°Wowww. So pretty! I¡¯ve never seen anything this pretty! Never! Never ever! Pretty stone! Amazing!¡± Yeonseo marveled all on her own. The Guardian Gems were small, sparkling stones. Their surface was one flawless curve, and light that shone through them was cast into colorful kaleidoscopes. Darongi was sleeping in Stealth mode on my shoulder. [Guardian Gem] A gem that can summon a Guardian Tower. 10 Guardian Gems are required to summon a Guardian Tower. The type of summoned Guardian Tower is random. In the case of a growth-type Guardian Tower, the Guardian Tower¡¯s initial ability will be set according to the summoner¡¯s ¡®enhancement talent¡¯. The Guardian Field where Guardian Gems can be used is not publicly disclosed. Yeonseo poked a Guardian Gem with her index finger. ¡°Wow. It¡¯s so pretty.¡± Like the Two-Faced Swordswoman she was, Yeonseo looked completely different from when she was PVPing. Her eyes were curved into the pretty smile that gave rise to the Sword Empress Crush Syndrome as she continued to praise the Guardian Gem, looking totally enraptured. ¡°Give this to me,¡± she demanded. ¡°No can do.¡± ¡°That¡¯s a double no.¡± ¡°Why! Aren¡¯t I pretty?¡± Yeonseo sidled up quite close to me. Sticking herself right next to me, she looked up at me, blinking in a way that made her look truly innocent. I could tell with Eye of Perception and Observer¡¯s Eye whether this girl was making a calculated and intentional move right now, or if she was just acting in the mannerisms that were natural to her. It was the latter. She just naturally did this. I didn¡¯t think I would ever come to like Yeonseo as a woman, but regardless, I also didn¡¯t think I would ever come to dislike her as a person. ¡°Nope. Not pretty.¡± ¡°That¡¯s weird. People keep telling me I¡¯m pretty.¡± Sung-gu snickered. ¡°I think Hyukjin¡¯s the only human who can talk to Yeonseo like that.¡± Yoohyun seemed completely unmoved by the brilliance of Guardian Gems or the future Sword Empress¡¯ smiling eyes. He formed his two massive hands into fists. Of course, I had no idea why he was getting worked up here. ¡°Hyungnim. How are these things used? Are they the key to a new dungeon?¡± Yoohyun was focusing on the gems¡¯ true worth, their utility. I felt strong enthusiasm rippling from him. ¡°I¡¯m sure you can all see from the description, but Guardian Gems are literally gems for summoning a Guardian Tower.¡± I decided to give them a little run-down before summoning the Guardian Tower. * * * Choi Sung-gu shook his head in a semblance of terror. ¡°I really¡­ wonder sometimes if this guy is human.¡± He stared at Kim Hyukjin like he was really terrified. ¡°How and where did you get that kind of info?¡± ¡°Easily.¡± He nodded at Hyukjin¡¯s half-hearted response. ¡°Yeah, yeah. Figures. Geniuses are all like that. Ask ¡®em how, and they just say it¡¯s easy.¡± Scowling, he shivered. ¡°Eurgh, unfair af. ¡®I only studied the textbook a bit, and I got 100% on the SAT~¡¯ How are you any different from those kinds of hateful geniuses?¡± Hyukjin ignored Sung-gu¡¯s monologue. The flame magician was the type of person who could keep up a whole conversation all by himself with zero input from the other party. He kept grumbling, saying, ¡°Eurgh. Unfair af. He¡¯s too good, it¡¯s frustrating. Fuck.¡± Sunghyun calmly returned to the topic at hand. ¡°So a Guardian Tower¡­ is a dungeon or gate within a set zone. In addition, it¡¯s a shield of sorts that blocks the appearance of monsters?¡± ¡°Yes.¡± Everyone understood what I was saying. ¡°And that shield can be summoned using these Guardian Gems.¡± ¡°Yep.¡± ¡°So we probably have to start looking for the summoning location, the Guardian Field, right?¡± Sunhwa smiled brightly. ¡°I already found it!¡± She looked at Hyukjin with a toothy smile. He knew what she wanted, and gave her head a quick rub. For some reason, Sunhwa had an abnormal fondness for getting her head patted. He couldn¡¯t understand it. Getting your head rubbed just put more oil on your scalp. What was so good about it? He only did it because Sunhwa liked it. Sunhwa¡¯s boasting didn¡¯t stop there. ¡°Right, right, allow me to elaborate. I investigated the Guardian Gems and Guardian Field!¡± Her chest puffing up, Sunhwa looked at all of the unnies and oppas gathered in turn, before proudly continuing. ¡°Ahem. Oppa told me Guardian Gems could be found in Gajwa Station, so I went and looked for them every day. Seohye and I found the Guardian Field together.¡± ¡°I found it while helping Seohye make a barrier. When you go to that field, the Guardian Gems start shining with rainbow light.¡± ¡°Shabam? What¡¯s this about a barrier? This chick¡¯s barriers are scary af.¡± ¡°Oppa told her to do it.¡± ¡°Kim Hyukjin, again?¡± To summarize, Hyukjin had Seohye move to the house next door, then instructed her to set up some kind of long-term barrier there. ¡°And in the meantime, he had Sunhwa look for Guardian Gems.¡± Moreover¡ª ¡°And he even had her find the Guardian Field? Ah¡­ you really are one crazy bastard. So basically, Hyukjin orchestrated everything?¡± Guardian Gems. Guardian Field. Even Seohye¡¯s barrier. Sung-gu asked, as if honestly curious, ¡°But seriously, Hyukjin. Friend. How do you know this sort of stuff? You weren¡¯t just clearing the Gyeonghoeru with us the whole time, huh?¡± Sunhwa answered Sung-gu in Hyukjin¡¯s place. ¡°It¡¯s because my oppa is a genius.¡± And then, she started giggling, and maybe her laugh was infectious, because Yeonseo joined in, saying, ¡°Yep! Totes agree! Hahaha!¡± The two weirdos were on the same wavelength or something and did a high-five with perfect timing. The two of them often talked about pointless things. Yeonseo grinned at Sunhwa. ¡°Sunhwa, do you like your oppa or hamburgers more?¡± Yoohyun trumpeted, ¡°Of course she likes Hyungnim, who buys her the hamburgers!¡± ¡°I asked Sunhwa, not you, you muscle mountain.¡± Yoohyun gave a pathetic whimper that didn¡¯t match his massive frame and strength, then shut his mouth, his bulky forearms standing out prominently the whole time. Sunhwa gave her answer. ¡°I like my oppa who eats hamburgers together with me!¡± Ahn Seohye simply watched all of this happen from the sidelines. ¡®What is¡­ this feeling?¡¯ This person called Kim Hyukjin was truly fascinating. Everything seemed to happen with him at the center of it all, and all these people gathered around him. Here, in this place full of people, she thought she could feel some kind of warm feeling she¡¯d never experienced before. Hyukjin glanced at Seohye from the corner of his eye. ¡®Ahn Seohye.¡¯ She was supposed to be the future Red Demon. But he had removed the ¡®Red Eyes¡¯ from her, and it was currently in his possession. He was playing tug of war with the Shepherd Boy for this mysterious item, and Song Junghye was looking for it as well. The Red Eyes aside, in Hyukjin¡¯s eyes, Seohye seemed to be in a pretty good mood. He also had a feeling that the ¡®darkness¡¯ he had seen in her had grown much less intense. ¡°I think that about does it for the explanation. We¡¯re gonna go create a Guardian Tower now.¡± If a Guardian Tower appeared here, this area would become extremely safe. Of course, there was no guarantee a Guardian Tower could do anything about an incident on the level of a ¡®calamity¡¯. But something like that was no different from a natural disaster that ignored the norms. That wasn¡¯t something humans could prepare for. Hyukjin was well aware of that and accepted it. He took the lead, and all his party members followed. * * * The DMC Riverview Xi was a massive complex. The road between complex 1 and complex 2 was a road with six lanes both ways. I stopped in front of the crosswalk that spanned the road. ¡®In the middle of the crosswalk.¡¯ I couldn¡¯t block off the road, so I had to wait until the crosswalk was green to destroy the Guardian Gems one by one. I checked the Guardian Gems¡¯ description one more time. The type of summoned Guardian Tower is random. In the case of a growth-type Guardian Tower, the Guardian Tower¡¯s initial ability will be set according to the summoner¡¯s ¡®enhancement talent¡¯. The Guardian Field where Guardian Gems can be used is not publicly disclosed. ¡®In the past, the growth-type Guardian Tower Megalodon was created here.¡¯ Even on a worldwide level, Megalodon ranked among the very powerful Guardian Towers. ¡®Who summoned Megalodon here in the past?¡¯ If enhancement talent played a part, only one of the famous ¡®Masters¡¯ could have summoned such a tower. ¡®Who was it?¡¯ I rifled through my memories and thought of all the Masters who started becoming active about now, but I couldn¡¯t figure it out. I didn¡¯t know much about Masters, unfortunately. ¡°Hyungnim. Will you destroy the gems?¡± Yeonseo stared at the Guardian Gems with deep, deep regret. From the looks of it, she really liked them. ¡°Yeah. I¡¯ll do it.¡± I had already confirmed my enhancement talent through several enhancements. I wasn¡¯t level 40 yet, so I couldn¡¯t be sure, but at least in the beginner period, my enhancement talent was world-class. ¡®And I also have Observer¡¯s Eye.¡¯ Enhancement was fundamentally based on talent, but it was also greatly influenced by environmental factors. For example, if you were trying to enhance a fire-attribute item, a place with lots of heat energy was most favorable. As an extreme example, enhancing a fire-attribute item was very easy if done in the vicinity of an active volcano. ¡®The environment. The optimal location. The best timing.¡¯ I could discern those. Observer¡¯s Eye made it possible. The crosswalk sign turned green for the first time. I just crossed. ¡°Eh? Hyukjin. How come you didn¡¯t do¡ªmmph!¡± ¡°Mmpgh! Mmpgh!¡± Thanks to Sunghyun, I was able to concentrate more. I walked across several more times. I didn¡¯t keep an exact count, but it was probably at least ten. Thirty minutes also passed, but no one expressed any complaints. ¡®The sound of the cars. The people crossing the road. The guys behind me. The place I¡¯m standing. The flow of the air right now. Each and every one of these things is an influencing factor.¡¯ That was why I had no choice but to be careful. After some time passed, I discovered the optimal timing in the middle of the crosswalk. ¡®Now!¡¯ I crushed one of the rainbow Guardian Gems. [The Guardian Gem¡¯s power is permeating the Guardian Field.] [The Guardian Gem¡¯s power is taking a potent effect.] Another long stretch of time passed, and I broke another Guardian Gem. [The Guardian Gem¡¯s power is permeating the Guardian Field.] [The Guardian Gem¡¯s power is taking a potent effect.] That was enough for one day. It didn¡¯t seem like something I could do in one go. ¡°Let¡¯s go clear the Gyeonghoeru.¡± The Guardian Tower was important, but our steady level grinding was important as well. The party¡¯s average level was 35. That was also my level. Four days passed in a similar fashion. We continued clearing the Gyeonghoeru, and I continued destroying Guardian Gems. Now, there was only one Guardian Gem left. Once this last gem was destroyed, the Guardian Tower would be summoned. And now was finally the time to destroy the 10th Guardian Gem. [The Guardian Gem¡¯s power is permeating the Guardian Field.] [The Guardian Gem¡¯s power is taking a potent effect.] ____ Chapter 150 Chapter 150 I heard a notice. [The Guardian Field is determining the enhancement competence of the Player who dissolved the Guardian Gems.] After making that judgment, another notice, one that Hyukjin hadn¡¯t expected, rang in his ears. [Based on the Player¡¯s enhancement competence, the Guardian Tower being summoned can be enhanced.] [The Guardian Tower enhancement will progress at random.] [2 additional Guardian Gems are required to enhance the Guardian Tower.] For a moment, I doubted my ears. ¡®Two more Guardian Gems?¡¯ Normally, it only took ten Guardian Gems to summon a Guardian Tower. But right now, I was being asked for twelve. ¡®Twelve gems¡­¡¯ We didn¡¯t have time to go to Gajwa Station and look for another two gems. ¡®There¡¯s no helping it.¡¯ I turned to stare at Yeonseo. ¡°¡­Huh? What?¡± Yeonseo took a step backwards. ¡°Why¡¯re you giving me such a suggestive look all of sudden? You¡¯re making a girl sweat here.¡± I never gave her a ¡°suggestive¡± look. Yeonseo took another step back, her voice going unnaturally high. ¡°Hey. I don¡¯t have one. I really don¡¯t. That was my first time seeing a Guardian Gem.¡± I was a little flabbergasted. ¡®She shouldn¡¯t have even heard the notices.¡¯ Looking at the reactions of my teammates, there was no doubt that only I heard the notice that two additional Guardian Gems would be necessary. But Shin Yeonseo had picked up on it somehow. She realized by force of intuition that the Guardian Gem in her possession was about to be pried out of her fingers. The girl took another step backwards. ¡°Yeonseo?¡± I called Yeonseo like an elementary school teacher coaxing a child. ¡°Shin Yeonseo.¡± ¡°I really don¡¯t¡­¡± ¡°You¡¯re a good girl, right?¡± ¡°¡­¡± I vividly remembered Yeonseo¡¯s reaction when she first saw the Guardian Gems. ¨CWowww. So pretty! I¡¯ve never seen anything this pretty! Never! Never ever! Pretty stone! Amazing! Summary: Lying Swordswoman Normally, something like ¡®Lying Wife¡¯ was supposed to show up, but this time, it said Swordswoman. From that, I judged¡­that her mindset was closer to a ¡®Swordswoman¡¯ than a ¡®Wife¡¯ because something was pricking her conscience. ¡®But well, Swordswoman is better than Wife.¡¯ Strangely enough, I didn¡¯t think of Yeonseo as a woman, even though she was the dream of all men, the subject of countless fanclubs, and the source of the countless Sword Empress Crushers of all genders. Even though anyone and everyone could see that she was a beautiful and charming girl. But despite that, I didn¡¯t feel anything more for her. There was no need to give her special treatment. So to me, ¡®Swordswoman¡¯ was better than ¡®Wife¡¯, so I didn¡¯t call out her lie back then. ¡®But now¡¯s not the time to nitpick.¡¯ I held out my hand. ¡°Yeonseo. I know you¡¯re hiding something.¡± The countdown started. [120 seconds left in the Guardian Field¡¯s duration.] We had two minutes to get to the next part. I had to find two more Guardian Gems, and I couldn¡¯t go get them from Gajwa Station. ¡°I also know you really like this gem.¡± ¡°Hng.¡± Yeonseo looked like she was about to cry. She had apparently taken quite a shine to this Guardian Gem. Her expression was one of a girl being robbed of a truly precious toy. That face might have made some guys relent, but not me. ¡°So let¡¯s trade.¡± * * * He could take it by force, but that was the last resort. Doing so could emotionally wound an important member of their party. There were still two minutes left, so they could afford to take a slight detour. Hyukjin didn¡¯t think of Yeonseo as a girl, but he acknowledged and respected her. [The ¡®Merchant of Venice¡¯ is watching you carefully.] This notice was heard not just by Hyukjin, but by Yeonseo as well. The Italian server Guardian started to focus on Yeonseo, too. ¡°¡­Trade?¡± ¡°Yeah. If you give me a Guardian Gem right now, I¡¯ll do one thing you ask of me. As long as it¡¯s within my power to grant.¡± ¡°¡­¡± The Merchant of Venice was watching. Hyukjin urged her with his eyes to answer carefully. There was one minute and thirty seconds left. ¡°Then come drink coffee with me.¡± ¡°Coffee?¡± ¡°Just the two of us.¡± ¡°We¡¯ll drink coffee, just the two of us. For at least two hours.¡± Now wasn¡¯t the time to be choosy. ¡°Okay. Deal.¡± Friends could drink coffee together, too. Hyukjin still drew a clear line. ¡°But as I said before, I don¡¯t see you as a girl.¡± ¡°Hmph! No one asked you about that.¡± As if completely unconcerned by such a minor detail, Yeonseo stuck out her tongue, then took out a Guardian Gem from her Inventory. Hyukjin heard a notice. [The ¡®Merchant of Venice¡¯ clucks their tongue at the baffling trade.] There was no real reward attached, but a compliment was a compliment. Baffling it might be, but Hyukjin got what he wanted. In contrast, Yeonseo heard a different notice. [The ¡®Merchant of Venice¡¯ loses interest in you.] The Merchant of Venice¡¯s interest in Yeonseo fizzled out completely, but it was of zero importance to Yeonseo. She hardly ever did any Playing related to ¡®trading¡¯. As a Player specialized in 1 vs. 1 PVP, she only needed to firmly capture the hearts of the Guardians who liked PVP. In any case, Hyukjin got one gem. That left just one more. He had one minute left. ¡°Darong?¡± A [!] mark popped up over Darongi¡¯s head. The squirrel shook his head like a rattle and started pushing off Hyukjin¡¯s shoulder, but his attempt to flee failed. That was because Hyukjin was holding his bushy tail. Darongi flailed in midair. Hyukjin pulled out a fried chicken leg from his Inventory, which earned him a sincerely dumbfounded look from Sung-gu. ¡°Shabam? Why is chicken coming out of your Inventory?¡± And it was even soy sauce chicken. ¡°Wanna trade for the Guardian Gem?¡± [!!!] flashed over Darongi¡¯s head. His hesitation lasted all of two seconds. The squirrel pulled out a Guardian Gem from his Inventory. Sunhwa stared in amazement. ¡°When did Darongi get that?¡± ¡°Hard to say. He either stole it from you or secretly picked one up while following you around.¡± The process didn¡¯t matter. Hyukjin remembered how this squirrel, who was a real sucker for new things, food, or things worth stealing, was sleeping on his shoulder back when Sunhwa pulled out the gems. ¡®But he didn¡¯t have any [zzZ] marks over his head.¡¯ Which led Hyukjin to conclude that Darongi was pretending to sleep. Hyukjin had taken note of it all; he just didn¡¯t show that he had. He destroyed another two Guardian Gems. [The Guardian Gem¡¯s power is permeating the Guardian Field.] [The Guardian Gem¡¯s power is taking a potent effect.] [The Guardian Gem¡¯s power is permeating the Guardian Field.] At the DMC Riverview Xi, the ground began to quake at the big road between apartment complex 1 and 2. The passersby looked around in alarm. ¡°Huh? What¡¯s going on? An earthquake?¡± ¡°Is it an earthquake?¡± It wasn¡¯t. It was the sign of a Guardian Tower being constructed. [The Guardian Field is preparing to summon a Guardian Tower.] [The Guardian Field is starting to restrict the field.] ¡°Huh? Huhh? Huh?¡± People started to get pushed away. As if there was some kind of invisible force acting on them, they began to get dragged to the sides of the road like someone was hauling them away by their necks. ¡°Ahhhh!¡± Screams rang out all over the place. HONK¨C! HONK¨C! HONK¨C! The honking of a car split the air. It wasn¡¯t that an accident occurred. It was just that one of the panicking drivers was slamming their horn, which wasn¡¯t surprising considering that cars were flying off in midair. The Guardian Field was restricting the field, and everyone who lacked the qualifications was being kicked out. Hyukjin examined his surroundings. ¡®It¡¯s definitely chaotic.¡¯ Thankfully, there didn¡¯t seem to be any casualties. A few cars that were kicked out of the field suffered minor collisions. They weren¡¯t serious crashes, but a few cars were dented here and there. [The Guardian Tower to be summoned has been decided.] It was the moment of truth. Hyukjin clenched his hands. The Guardian Tower that appeared here in the past was the growth-type Guardian Tower ¡®Megalodon¡¯. You couldn¡¯t quite call it a super top-class tower, but it was still pretty high up there. It was that structure that made this place, the Namgajwa neighborhood, the safest place in Korea. Which Guardian Tower was it? [The Guardian Tower ¡®Tintin¡¯ has been summoned.] The ground in the middle of the crosswalk began to writhe. Like a mole poking out its head, something shot out explosively. It was like watching a shoot germinate in 100x time. It grew like the beanstalk in Jack and the Beanstalk and became a ¡®tower¡¯ about five meters high. The monument had gray bricks and a blue roof, with open gunports interspersed along the tower¡¯s length. This Guardian Tower was one Hyukjin already knew. ¡®Tintin?¡¯ ¡®It¡¯s Tintin?¡¯ The Guardian Tower looked the same as the Tintin he remembered. He looked at it in shock. As far as he knew, it was one of the strongest Guardian Towers on Earth. Yoohyun lightly touched the gray brick. ¡°Wow. This looks awesome, Hyungnim. Like some kind of fort, or a medieval castle.¡± ¡°Ain¡¯t it a little too small to be like a medieval castle, bruh?¡± As expected, Sung-gu was very interested in Tintin. ¡°Hyukjin, bruh. Just asking for a friend, can this thing, like, transform into a robot?¡± Why the hell would that happen? At Hyukjin¡¯s withering gaze, Sung-gu smacked his lips with regret. ¡°It¡¯d be damn fuckin¡¯ cool if it could transform into a robot.¡± The funny thing was that Tintin was originally the symbol of the sovereign class. It was widely known that the Gold Pyramid Michelle and an American Master named Kwon worked together to summon it. ¡®Michelle and Kwon are said to have worked together.¡¯ Back then, he just accepted it without a second thought and moved on. But after going through the process himself, his perspective was a little different. ¡®Ultimately, it¡¯s one person who summons the Guardian Tower. The Master Kwon summoned it, and Michelle helped a little on the side. Like Yeonseo and Darongi just now.¡¯ The world of the top 1%, full of things that the masses¡ªincluding Hyukjin¡ªweren¡¯t aware of. The truth about the Tintin Tower in Manhattan might be a minor detail, but it was another piece of damning evidence that there really was a ¡®World Above¡¯ for Rankers. There was definitely a world he hadn¡¯t known. ¡°Bruh. Just tell me straight. Does this thing transform into a robot, or not?¡± Unable to stay silent, Sunghyun spat out one sentence. ¡°As if it could. Try using your brain a little, please.¡± ¡°C¡¯mon, why not? This is a world where you can conjure fire and wind and where cars go whee in the air, so why would a robot showing up be trigonometry?¡± ¡°¡­¡± ¡°Sunghyun. Be honest. You like robots too, don¡¯t you? A fri~ckin¡¯ transforming robot. That¡¯s like, a guy¡¯s greatest dream.¡± ¡°I don¡¯t want to talk to you, Hyung.¡± Hyukjin walked up to the Guardian Tower. [The Guardian Tower registers the presence of Guardian Tower Master candidates.] This was only the beginning. ¡°Alright. Everyone, get ready.¡± There was no ¡®and they lived happily ever after¡¯ ending when the Guardian Tower was summoned. The higher the grade of the summoned Guardian Tower and the stronger its ability, the more difficult the ¡®Guardian Tower Scenario¡¯ would be. All of the party members heard a notice. [¡®Guardian Tower Scenario 01¡¯ ¨C ¡®Qualifications of a Guardian Tower Master¡¯, is beginning.] He already knew this scenario. But for the Guardians, it was the debut of a new scenario. ____ Chapter 151 Chapter 151 [¡®Guardian Tower Scenario 01¡¯ ¨C ¡®Qualifications of a Guardian Tower Master¡¯, is beginning.] Qualifications of a Guardian Tower Master. It was a trial I already knew about. [¡®Qualifications of a Guardian Tower Master¡¯ is composed of 5 chapters total.] [Qualifications of a Guardian Tower Master 01 ¨C Lycanthrope Chapter, is beginning.] The area around the Guardian Tower began to shimmer. Starting from the ground, the shimmer distorted the tower and warped the crosswalk under our feet. From within that distortion appeared the strongest enemy of the Tutorial Field, the Lycanthrope. With a grin, Yeonseo said, ¡°What the, this¡¯ll be a breeze.¡± The humanoid wolf might have been a foe to fear in the Tutorial Field, but not anymore. I, of course, thought the same. It didn¡¯t take us very long to hunt down about thirty Lycanthropes. After finishing off the last Lycanthrope with his Flame Whip, Sung-gu rolled his shoulders with an air of relaxation. ¡°If it¡¯s this easy, I can kill ¡®em while on the shitter! Plop, splurt!¡± ¡°Please put a filter on your words.¡± ¡°My bro, my dude, my windboy. You can¡¯t catch ¡®em while on the shitter ¡®cause you¡¯re weak, eh?¡± ¡°Why would I have to kill them while on the toilet?¡± ¡°It¡¯s ¡®cause you¡¯re weak. Plop! Splurt!¡± ¡°Should I make you really shit yourself, right here?¡± While Sung-gu and Sunghyun were having a meaningless quarrel, the second chapter began. [Qualifications of a Guardian Tower Master 02 ¨C Orc Chapter, is beginning.] The next monster to appear was a horde of Orcs made up of Orc Warriors, Great Orc Warriors, and Orc Archers. It was just a group of Orcs, and hunting an Orc horde at our current skill level wasn¡¯t very difficult. [Qualifications of a Guardian Tower Master 02 ¨C Orc Chapter, has been completed.] It was around this time that the Guildmaster of Taeguk Shield, Song Kiyeol, and the Golden Priest Gong Jinhoon arrived. The Poison Witch Cheon Sooji was with them as well. ¡®I knew they would come.¡¯ Their arrival wasn¡¯t unexpected¡ªI had contacted them in advance. They made it just in time. [At this point in the scenario, the field where the Guardian Tower scenario is taking place will be separated from the outside field.] [Isolating from the outside field.] [Qualifications of a Guardian Tower Master 03 ¨C Orcanthrope Chapter, is beginning.] The Orcanthropes¡¯ levels were around 32. ¡®We¡¯ve grown.¡¯ The situation was very different from when we first encountered these monsters. Our levels were far higher, and even Orcanthropes were nothing to fear. [Qualifications of a Guardian Tower Master 03 ¨C Orcanthrope Chapter, has been completed.] We completed the first three scenarios without much difficulty. But I didn¡¯t relax. ¡®From the 4th scenario onwards, it¡¯s the real deal.¡¯ That was generally the case. Depending on the grade, there were Guardian Towers with four chapters, and some with five. From the 4th chapter onwards, the difficulty would rise exponentially. ¡®What¡­ will come out?¡¯ I looked around. ¡®We¡¯re being given a little time.¡¯ Between the 1st, 2nd, and 3rd scenarios, there was almost zero delay in between. But before the 4th chapter, we were given a little time to catch our breath. That basically meant that a little preparation time was necessary for the 4th scenario. ¡®The corpses aren¡¯t disappearing.¡¯ Not all dispatched monster corpses automatically disappeared, but all of the Orcanthrope corpses were perfectly intact. Naturally, the intense reek of blood was pervading the air. ¡®A little time. The intact corpses.¡¯ I figured out what monsters would appear in the 4th scenario. * * * Taeguk Shield¡¯s Guildmaster, Song Kiyeol, could only be awed. ¡®Hyukjin¡¯s party¡­ has visibly grown.¡¯ Their movements were on a different level entirely from when he saw them face the Orcanthropes outside the 1st floor of the Players Association. This time, they very nearly overwhelmed the Orcanthropes. No one incurred any big injuries. ¡®More than anything, their teamwork is extremely good.¡¯ They were close to the ideal party, where everyone faithfully carried out their roles. Cheon Sooji said, ¡°Guildmaster. It doesn¡¯t look like we¡¯re needed here.¡± ¡°¡­¡± After getting the message from Hyukjin, they came here in a hurry, but their presence here seemed somewhat unnecessary. Just then, Sung-gu came running up to Sooji. ¡°Miss Sooji.¡± ¡°Yes?¡± ¡°You know that thing, that skull water?¡± ¡°Skull water?¡± ¡°You know, skull water! Venerable Wonhyo nasty water!¡± ¡°Skull water? Nasty water?¡± Wearing a tight-fitting black knitted one piece, Sooji folded her arms. Her bountiful chest, slender waist, and even her long, graceful legs were unable to draw Sung-gu¡¯s interest. ¡°You know, that nasty water! Ah, what was its name again?¡± Kiyeol realized what Sung-gu was talking about. ¡°I think you must be talking about Rot Water.¡± ¡°Yesss, that. Rot Water. Give me some of that.¡± ¡°Right now? Why?¡± Sung-gu didn¡¯t intend on having a long conversation with Sooji. The characteristic intuition of a top Ranker told him there wasn¡¯t much time. ¡°If you give me that, you¡¯ll be able to have a drink with Hyukjin at night.¡± ¡°¡­¡± ¡°Just the two of you.¡± ¡°¡­¡± When Sooji didn¡¯t respond, Sung-gu thought, ¡®Aw man, no matter how urgent the situation is, this isn¡¯t gonna fly. I should just explain real quick.¡¯ ¡°Ah, I guess that won¡¯t¡ªhuh?¡± ¡°Please tell him to be sure to keep his promise.¡± After getting the Rot Water, Sung-gu ran off without looking back and started sprinkling it all over the place. Then, he yelled, ¡°Hey! Don¡¯t just stand there! Spray this stuff all over.¡± Sooji found herself spraying Rot Water all over the field. Hyukjin¡¯s party members worked busily, rearranging the Orcanthrope corpses. When all their work was just about finished, the new chapter began. [Qualifications of a Guardian Tower Master 04 ¨C Predator Tree Chapter, is beginning.] Predator Trees appeared. Song Kiyeol, Cheon Sooji, and Gong Jinhoon saw them. [Predator Tree LVL ?] These monsters were capable of eating a Great Orc Warrior alive. Hyukjin, who had come up to Sooji at some point, relayed that information in a small voice. They were nearly impossible for a Player of the same level to solo. Gghhhh¨C! Gghhhh¨C! Producing their characteristic sound, the Predator Trees hungrily looked around, seeking prey. Hyukjin and his party were prepared for their appearance. As the ones who had experienced Predator Trees before, Hyukjin and Sung-gu led the others in preparing a ¡®flaming hell¡¯ in advance. Fwoosh¨C! Flames jumped up. The magic fire created by Sung-gu flickered bright red tongues of flame and surged up high into the air. Then, upon coming into contact with the Orcanthrope corpses and the Rot Water, they detonated with a powerful blast. In mere seconds, the isolated space, the huge road where the Guardian Tower Master scenario was taking place, was swallowed in a blazing inferno so hot it melted the asphalt. Amazingly enough, the scorching firestorm was perfectly contained within the field. Because of the reduced range, the flames were amplified even more. Raging with an intensity that sought to melt everything in the world, the firestorm filled the Guardian Field with red light. Choi Sung-gu, who had an extremely high affinity for fire and had absorbed the Tome of the Divine Fire Physique, was protecting So Yoohyun in his embrace. The outstanding tank, Kim Sunhwa, was protecting Shin Yeonseo with a massive shield. Song Kiyeol, who was already starting to be called the ¡®Taeguk Shield¡¯, could protect himself, as well as Gong Jinhoon next to him. The only person left was the Poison Witch Cheon Sooji. ¡°Ah¡­¡± Sooji could feel the man shielding her with his body. A certain man was lying completely on top of her. ¡°It¡¯s¡­ hot?¡± Hyukjin put a hand over her mouth. From an outsider¡¯s perspective, it looked as if Hyukjin were pressing her down. ¡°Don¡¯t talk. The heat will invade your body.¡± ¡°¡­¡± But you¡¯re talking, thought Sooji. She didn¡¯t resist. She just entrusted her body to Hyukjin. She instinctively knew that if she was exposed to these flames without any defenses, there was no way she would escape unscathed. ¡®He¡¯s not sweating at all, not even a single drop.¡¯ Pressed flat on the ground, Sooji gazed at Hyukjin¡¯s face. As someone with a great deal of experience with men, she could tell. ¡®He really is¡­ indifferent?¡¯ She couldn¡¯t discern any emotions whatsoever from Hyukjin¡¯s eyes. They were the cold eyes of a businessman doing business. Just that. ¡®How can he be so calm with me under him?¡¯ It was a slight kick to her pride. It really was an ¡®anything goes¡¯ situation, but she still felt her pride take a hit. Her powerful desire to possess this man blazed up as hot as the flames around her. ¡®One day¡­¡¯ Desire to possess, lust, thirst, all of it billowed up within her. ¡®In this exact position¡­¡¯ One day, she would definitely embrace this man properly. She would make this man hers. Her heart writhed with the twisted desire to possess. Yeonseo called out, ¡°Boss Hyukjin! Can we hunt them now?¡± The Predator Trees took a lot of damage from the flames. Hyukjin¡¯s party members were able to hunt the enfeebled trees without much difficulty. Yoohyun wiped the sweat from his brow. ¡°Hyungnim. One wrong step, and I would¡¯ve been burned up to a crisp.¡± If Sung-gu hadn¡¯t hugged him tight, he would have been doomed. That was how strong the flames were. [Qualifications of a Guardian Tower Master 04 ¨C Predator Tree Chapter, has been completed.] As he wiped the sweat streaming down his face, Yoohyun laughed happily. ¡°But really, trusting Hyungnim is what made such an easy clear possible, hahaha!¡± * * * I didn¡¯t answer Yoohyun. I also turned a blind eye to the fact that the Poison Witch with the Sadistic / Erotic / Queen disposition was sporting a summary like [Lioness Blazing with a Twisted Desire to Possess]. There was something more important at hand. For the 4th chapter, Predator Trees came out. So what about the 5th? As far as I knew, there were only two monsters that might appear for the 5th scenario. ¡®One is the Big Black Dog, and the other is the Twin-Headed Big Black Dog.¡¯ The strongest out of all the beginning period monsters I¡¯d experienced so far were the Big Black Dog and the Twin-Headed Big Black Dog, monsters that were absolutely impossible to hunt straight on. Hunt them? That was impossible for a regular Player. But for me, there was a chance. [Thousand Dog Master] Higher level title of Hundred Dog Master. Induces complete submission of all pure dog monsters under level 40. Grants extreme intimacy with all pure dog monsters between levels 40-50. Grants weak intimacy with all pure dog monsters between levels 50-60. Big Black Dogs and Twin-Headed Big Black Dogs were both level 40-50 monsters, so I would automatically get extreme intimacy with them through the effect of the Thousand Dog Master title. ¡®But that isn¡¯t complete submission.¡¯ Intimacy was something that could break at any moment. If my opponent wanted to kill me, the intimacy they felt towards me would crumble, no matter how strong it was. ¡®And plus, the Guardian Tower¡¯s final scenario won¡¯t be easy.¡¯ I ran countless simulations in my head. ¡°This guy¡¯s at it again. Meditating in the middle of a battle,¡± Sung-gu grumbled. ¡°Shh. Be quiet for once. You¡¯re bothering Hyukjin hyung.¡± All conversation went in one ear and out the other, all too naturally. I heard them without hearing them. There was only the Guardian Tower in my eyes. The air around the Guardian Tower, the energy it was exuding, the flow within the Guardian Field, all the factors and information, everything was an element of my observation. ¡®It¡¯s going to be Big Black Dogs, or a Twin-Headed Big Black Dog.¡¯ I was almost certain of it. ¡®How do we kill them?¡¯ And the important thing was that we had to do it ¡®without damage¡¯. Was it really possible? To kill these monsters, which we could only appease but not hunt in the U-Plex Dungeon? I ran through a great many thoughts. And in the end, I came to a conclusion. ¡®With just our abilities alone, it¡¯s impossible.¡¯ One mistake, and we would be the ones getting slaughtered. At our current levels, that was the kind of monster Big Black Dogs were. ¡®We can¡¯t kill them.¡¯ ¡°If Big Black Dogs appear¡­ it¡¯s impossible to hunt them with our strength,¡± I said. Truth be told, I didn¡¯t think Big Black Dogs would show up in the Guardian Tower scenario. Yeonseo¡¯s eyes went round. ¡°Eh? Then what do we do? Just die?¡± I shook my head. When I came here, I came prepared for the worst-case scenario, though I didn¡¯t think it would really come to that. ¡°No. We¡¯re going to clear this place.¡± There had to be a lot of Guardians watching. A regular clear wasn¡¯t enough. ¡°We¡¯ll clear it absolutely perfectly, without anyone getting hurt.¡± Even if we were up against a pack of Big Black Dogs. ____ Chapter 152 Chapter 152 ¡°We¡¯ll clear it absolutely perfectly, without anyone getting hurt.¡± After saying that much, Hyukjin calculated the time. ¡®It took about three minutes for the Predator Trees to completely appear.¡¯ So how long would it take, if the monsters they were up against were Big Black Dogs? For the sake of balance, there was a high chance the Players would be given a little more time to prepare. He examined the shimmer. It was, of course, a clue. ¡®My intuition tells me it¡¯ll be around seven minutes.¡¯ Seven minutes. There wasn¡¯t time to fool around, but it also wasn¡¯t too tight a time frame. Hyukjin turned his gaze on Ahn Seohye, carefully examining her eyes. ¡®She doesn¡¯t have the Red Eyes anymore.¡¯ Seohye was different when the Red Eyes were kicking in. She acted like a slightly different person. But that didn¡¯t matter in the current situation. ¡°Seohye.¡± ¡°¡­Yes?¡± ¡°You said you trusted me, right?¡± ¡°¡­¡± Seohye fell into a moment of contemplation. She didn¡¯t say yes right away. But she did think of the ¡®man¡¯ named Kim Hyukjin a little differently from other men. She thought of the ¡®adult¡¯ Kim Hyukjin as a slightly different kind of ¡®adult¡¯. Despite that, Seohye had been burned and hurt too many times in her nearly eighteen years of life. She couldn¡¯t produce a cheerful ¡°Yes!¡± when suddenly faced with the question. ¡°I know you better than you think.¡± ¡°¡­¡± ¡°Because, as you know, I¡¯m a sovereign, and I am constantly doing the observation that comes with that role. What my teammates are thinking, what cards they have, I need to have a precise grasp of those things in order to organically and efficiently lead this team.¡± ¡°¡­¡± Her sword momentarily lowered, Yeonseo looked at Hyukjin and the shimmer around the Guardian Tower in turn. ¡®What¡¯s Hyukjin talking about?¡¯ Why was he suddenly talking to Seohye? Would Big Black Dogs really pop out of that shimmer? Could they really clear this place without anyone getting hurt? ¡°I¡¯ll be frank and get to the point.¡± Hyukjin was well aware that they didn¡¯t have much time. Even with the Thousand Dog Master title, Big Black Dogs were ferocious monsters by nature. There was no knowing what kind of disaster they would cause. Even if they didn¡¯t attack him, they could certainly attack the teammates around him. There wasn¡¯t much time, so he had no choice but to cut to the chase. ¡°I know you¡¯ve already put up a special barrier here.¡± Seohye¡¯s gaze wavered. ¡°Most likely from the time that I asked you to install a protective barrier around our place. I¡¯m sure you knew.¡± She knew there was some kind of ¡®flow¡¯ here. ¡°Your instinct picked up on it. That ¡®something you need to hunt¡¯ will appear here.¡± ¡°¡­¡± ¡°I also know that you¡¯ve come here multiple times with Sunhwa.¡± Did the Red Demon¡¯s ¡®hunting instinct¡¯ originate purely from the influence of the Red Eyes? The answer was no. There was definitely ¡®hunting instinct¡¯ within the deep darkness Ahn Seohye possessed. This wasn¡¯t an issue of good or bad. To put it in slightly more extreme terms, it was simply that she had an ¡®instinct for killing¡¯ and an outstanding talent for it. ¡®The past Ahn Seohye expressed that in the wrong way.¡¯ The current Seohye¡¯s path was a little straighter. If her rage and destructive urge were directed at people, it would be a crime, but if directed at monsters, her killing instinct was a fantastic quality for a Player. ¡°That¡¯s why you set up a barrier here. I¡¯ve already confirmed it.¡± Even Hyukjin didn¡¯t know what kind of barrier the future Red Demon set up. But he confirmed its existence back when the Predator Trees showed up. Those powerful flames were unable to harm Seohye. He clearly saw that she was being protected by an ¡®unknown force¡¯. ¡°¡­So that¡¯s why you didn¡¯t try to protect me.¡± Seohye¡¯s heart settled a little. To be honest, she¡¯d felt a slight contradiction in her heart. Why did ¡®that person (Kim Hyukjin)¡¯ throw himself over Cheon Sooji instead of her? Her feelings became a little complicated upon seeing that. Getting half-forced down like that by Kim Hyukjin the ¡®man¡¯, she didn¡¯t like. It was still scary for her. And yet, she thought it was a little strange that he didn¡¯t choose her, but the woman called Cheon Sooji. It wasn¡¯t an issue of being sad or disappointed. Rather, it was something close to, ¡®Oh, I wasn¡¯t chosen.¡¯ ¡°Yeah. I was already certain at that point.¡± Hyukjin tapped the side of his eye. ¡°My eyes are a bit special.¡± Looking at her, he asked, ¡°For what reason¡­ are you hesitating?¡± ¡°It¡¯s true that I put up a Frenzy Hunting Barrier here in advance.¡± ¡°And if you wanted to, you could activate it, right?¡± Seohye nodded. ¡°The problem is¡­ I can¡¯t kill Big Black Dogs with just that. I also know what kind of monsters they are. It¡¯ll actually make them more vicious.¡± Hyukjin brought up another issue. ¡°Also, a barrier capable of hunting that level of monster will inevitably be flawed. It¡¯ll be impossible to perfectly control it.¡± As a result, her teammates might get hurt. If her control slipped, they could even get wrapped up in her Predator Barrier and die. ¡°But even so, you have to do it.¡± From what Hyukjin had seen of Seohye¡¯s talent, as long as she could properly direct her ¡®killing instinct¡¯, she could definitely pull it off. ¡°I have as much faith in you as you have trust for me. No, even more than that.¡± To be exact, he had faith in her ¡®ability as a barrier magician¡¯. ¡°But¡­¡± There was only about one minute left. The shimmering around the Guardian Tower was telling him that either Big Black Dogs or a Twin-Headed Big Black Dog, both incredibly strong foes, would soon grace the stage. The final test of the Guardian Tower, a test impossible to clear with standard tactics, was nigh. Even with a Predator Barrier set up in advance, Seohye couldn¡¯t kill the Big Black Dogs alone. ¡°Hinder their movements. It should be more than doable if you lower the main function of the Predator Barrier from [Killing] to [Binding].¡± ¡°To¡­ Binding?¡± Seohye was a little alarmed. She had never disclosed the fact that she could change the nature of her Predator Barrier. ¡°If Binding is too hard, then you can weaken it even further to Slowing. I¡¯ll add my title, Thousand Dog Master, on top of that.¡± The power of the Red Demon¡¯s barrier, plus the extreme intimacy granted to him by Thousand Dog Master. It would be difficult to clear if they only had one of the two. But with both together, they should have a good chance of success. Hyukjin turned to Sooji. ¡°Also, we need your poison.¡± ¡°What kind of poison?¡± ¡°A poison that can paralyze the opponent¡¯s sense of smell.¡± Sooji thought for a moment. ¡°I can¡¯t make that immediately.¡± ¡°It doesn¡¯t have to be terribly strong. Their senses of smell are extremely keen, so they¡¯re susceptible even to weak poison.¡± ¡°I think I can make it. Within a short amount of time.¡± ¡°Do it.¡± ¡°¡­Okay.¡± Sooji was struck with a strange feeling. It was really, really weird. That order of ¡°Do it¡± made her feel¡­ good. It was like she was being made to obey. She normally loathed the feeling, but for some reason, it was different when Hyukjin said it. ¡®It¡¯s like he¡¯s already drawn this entire situation out in advance.¡¯ That was the impression his actions gave. She felt a strange confidence and sense of ease. It was like he had already planned out this situation, knew that she and her ability to use poison would be here, and readied the stage to secure a big profit from it. ¡®I must be overthinking it.¡¯ No matter how amazing Kim Hyukjin was, he couldn¡¯t be that all-seeing. Hyukjin said, ¡°As I said before, we will kill them without taking any damage.¡± A notice came, almost exactly at the time Hyukjin predicted. [Qualifications of a Guardian Tower Master 05 ¨C Big Black Dog Chapter, is beginning.] The Big Black Dogs began to slowly appear. Hyukjin decided to do the best he could do right now. He picked out the most dangerous spot, the place that would draw the most aggro, and moved to it. This picture was his work. And he, a sovereign, would stand right in the middle of that picture, the most dangerous spot. He didn¡¯t hide in the back like a coward. Woof! Woof! Woof! ¡®Who would have thought we would really end up fighting Big Black Dogs in the beginner period?¡¯ Not appeasement, but actual fighting. But there was no place to run. He did almost everything he could, so now, it was time to do his best. Which meant it was time to slot in the final piece available to him. He knew that not everything could go according to the conductor¡¯s will. Unless you were a god, you couldn¡¯t direct everything exactly as you wanted. He knew that very well¡ªhe had experienced it as early as the Tutorial. But he knew exactly what he had to do in this position. ¡°Conductor¡¯s Hymn.¡± At the most dangerous position, the place closest to the Big Black Dogs, the sovereign stood in front of his teammates. A faint golden splendor began to bloom from his body, quickly becoming so blinding it turned from golden to white. The black bodies of the Big Black Dogs. The white lines of the crosswalk. It looked as if the shimmer the monsters appeared from and the shimmer of the golden ¡®hymn¡¯ were meeting. Conductor¡¯s Hymn, an ability that shined in group battles, imbued the bodies of every party member. Sooji, naturally, heard the notices. [Conductor¡¯s Hymn is starting to take effect.] [Curing status abnormalities of party members at a medium chance. Duration: 120 seconds] [+6% crit chance. Duration: 120 seconds] [+30% effect of consumable items.] Sooji could tell right away that her poison would register as a ¡®consumable item¡¯ here. Also, as one might expect from a powerful monster like the Big Black Dog, they had a ¡®howling¡¯ intimidation ability. ¡®If status abnormalities are cured at a medium chance¡­¡¯ That intimidation ability could be somewhat resisted. [A Frenzy Hunting Barrier is beginning to perfectly activate.] The world shimmering with white, black, and gold began to turn red. More precisely, ¡®red threads¡¯ occupied the space, moving almost like an organic lifeform. They flowed quickly in a set direction before suddenly dropping down on one of the Big Black Dogs and binding it down, almost like it was trapped in a spider web. Seohye focused. ¡®If I mess up, people will get hurt.¡¯ She weakened the nature of the Frenzy Hunting Barrier to ¡®Binding¡¯ level, calming the killing energy. But one misstep, and that energy could roar back to life. ¡®Let¡¯s do well.¡¯ ¡®I, too, will protect them.¡¯ She slightly regretted that she wasn¡¯t able to answer Hyukjin¡¯s question of ¡®Do you trust me?¡¯ right away, so she wanted to show him with her actions. She wanted to show him that she trusted him. Frenzy Hunting Barrier. Cheon Sooji¡¯s olfactory poison. And the title effect of Thousand Dog Master. With everything combined, they were able to successfully bind the movements of the Big Black Dogs to a considerable degree. They flailed about, red [!!!] marks over their heads. If they were to break free of those red threads, it wouldn¡¯t be the monsters getting hunted, but the Players. ¡®We¡¯ll finish this quickly.¡¯ If they couldn¡¯t¡ª ¡®Then we¡¯ll become the prey.¡¯ Standing at the very front, Hyukjin took out the transcendent artifact Isabel. ¡°Let¡¯s hunt.¡± * * * In the end, our party successfully hunted all of the Big Black Dogs, and we did it so swiftly that even I had a hard time believing it. Even as the architect of this situation, I was surprised. [Qualifications of a Guardian Tower Master 05 ¨C Big Black Dog Chapter, has been completed.] We really did it. I did my best in the situation I was given, and the result was the scenario clear. I looked at my teammates. ¡®It¡¯s not an exaggeration to say we took no damage.¡¯ Yes, Seohye fainted from exhaustion and Yoohyun¡¯s forearm was dangling limply, blood was running down Sung-gu¡¯s forehead, Yeonseo¡¯s left shoulder was broken, Sunhwa seemed to have broken a few of her ribs, and there was a big wound on Sunghyun¡¯s cheek. And yes, all the bones of my knee seemed to be destroyed. But we did it. Considering how strong the Big Black Dogs were, it really wasn¡¯t an exaggeration to say we took no damage. That was how I judged it, at least. [Guardian Tower Scenario 01 ¨C ¡®Qualifications of a Guardian Tower Master¡¯, has been completed.] ____ Chapter 153 Chapter 153 The Qualifications of a Guardian Tower Master scenario ended. Did that mean the Guardian Tower Master would be chosen, then? Gulp, gulp. As I chugged healing potions¡ªsince it was more effective to drink them rather than use them in a slot¡ªI waited for the notice. My destroyed knee throbbed. I was resting, idly wondering how many bottles I would have to drink for my knee to heal, when I heard a notice I hadn¡¯t even considered. [Guardian Tower Scenario 02 ¨C ¡®Acknowledged Guardian Tower Master¡¯ is beginning.] Something popped out of the Guardian Tower. It was a pixie the size of a palm. The pixie sporting yellow pigtails was extremely adorable. She had an innocent and kind-looking face, and her petite size made her look delicate enough to break with a single touch. Her extremely gentle smile and expressive face naturally elicited compassion. ¡®A pixie¡­?¡¯ A pixie¡¯s cute outer appearance was exactly that, an appearance, a fa?ade. Generally speaking, pixies were a trickster race that liked to harass others. They were stubborn and greedy, so everyone knew nothing good would come of getting close to one. ¡®And at this point in time, a pixie should be way stronger than us.¡¯ Even Yeonseo¡¯s Streamer, Roa, was an opponent we couldn¡¯t face with our current skills. Our rate of growth was unrivaled, but we were still ¡®beginners¡¯. ¡®Of course, I can¡¯t read her status.¡¯ All I could tell was that she was a pixie. Eye of Perception was unable to read the status of the pixie, who had a much higher level than me. ¡°Tadaaa! Please welcome to the stage, the Pixie of the Guardian Tower, Lilyyyy!¡± I had no idea how she did it, but a very small fanfare went off next to Lily¡¯s two transparent wings, almost like she set off tiny firecrackers. Tadadaaaa¨C Tadadaaaaaa¨C Tadadaaaaaa! Maybe it was a System effect, because I even heard fanfare music. ¡°Lily is Tintin¡¯s pixie,¡± she declared before breaking out into a giggle. Yoohyun stared at the pixie in a daze. His massive muscles began to tremble imperceptibly. ¡°Su-Su-Super cute¡­!¡± A line of drool flowed from his mouth. Come to think of it, Yoohyun was said to flop over and die for cute things, particularly small animals. The story of him crouching down with his huge body in front of a chick for four hours straight of just watching and poking it with his finger was famous. He even said the following in an official interview: ¨CI just want to pet it so bad. I want to pet it, but I can¡¯t because I¡¯m scared it¡¯ll explode if I touch it. It¡¯s so pretty; it drives me nuts. He seriously sat there touching it for four hours. People talked about how Yoohyun was making heart eyes back then, and the nickname ¡®Heart Eyes Yoohyun¡¯ was trending for a while. ¡°To-Too cute¡­!¡± While Yoohyun was still in shock, Lily made the action of tucking her hair behind her ear (though of course, there was nothing to tuck in, since her hair was in pigtails. She only made the gesture). ¡°I am pretty cute, aren¡¯t I?¡± Floating in midair, she struck a pose, putting both hands on her hips and twisting slightly to face Yoohyun. ¡°What are you doing? Hurry and take a picture!¡± Yoohyun rapidly pulled out his phone and took a picture. I just watched in silence. ¡®This is something I didn¡¯t know about.¡¯ Did this sort of thing also happen with the Guardian Tower that appeared in Manhattan, New York? Did that Tintin have a pixie? ¡®There¡¯s no way to tell.¡¯ For now, I couldn¡¯t find out. ¡®But¡­ I have a feeling it did.¡¯ The world I hadn¡¯t known about, the world of Rankers. The world belonging only to them, a world the Internet or the media was not privy to. Such a world definitely existed, and I was in the process of stepping into it, little by little. No, I was creating it, little by little. ¡®I¡¯ll move with the assumption that a pixie appeared in the past as well.¡¯ A pixie appeared in the past. Here, the Gold Pyramid Michelle was in this spot. I could use those clues as a base. Right now, Yoohyun was completely blown away by Lily¡¯s cuteness, and Lily was intoxicated by his interest, seemingly having forgotten her true purpose. ¡°How about this pose?¡± ¡°Cu-Cute!¡± She moved from place to place, striking poses. Right now, she was floating horizontally in front of the Guardian Tower, pressing her lips into a slight pout. ¡®The person who became the owner of the Tintin that appeared in Manhattan was none other than the Gold Pyramid Michelle.¡¯ Michelle was an excellent sovereign. She also had amazing and outstanding teammates under her command. The Gold Pyramid Michelle and the Master Kwon worked together. ¡®Michelle and Kwon met the pixie.¡¯ They successfully gained ownership of the tower and later nurtured it into the strongest Guardian Tower in the world, ¡®Titan¡¯. ¡®The Gold Pyramid and a Master.¡¯ I constructed an inference of that moment in time. What happened back then? I knew their general personalities and skills. If they met ¡®Lily¡¯, how would they have acted? Many scenarios and assumptions blitzed through my mind. Lily made an expression of great satisfaction. ¡°Jeez, this cuteness of mine. It really is unstoppable.¡± Flapping her wings, she flew up to me. ¡°You¡¯re the boss, right?¡± ¡°Yes.¡± ¡°I really didn¡¯t think Big Black Dogs would be selected as the scenario monster, you know. It seems Tintin has evaluated you guys very highly.¡± It wasn¡¯t Tintin, but the System, but I didn¡¯t say that. I just listened in silence. ¡°Thanks to that, Lily was able to gauge your full power very accu¡ªAh, right. This isn¡¯t right, hold on one sec.¡± Lily put her hand into her chest, through the yellow one piece she was wearing. Then, she drew out something that looked like a lengthy receipt. ¡°Glasses. Where are my glasses?¡± She reached into her chest again, this time emerging with glasses. They were a little large, so it looked like the glasses were wearing Lily rather than the other way around. Amazingly, they somehow stayed perched on the tip of her nose without falling off. ¡°Let¡¯s see here. Ah. Right! This is it. This first!¡± The pixie shoved the long strip of paper back into her body. To my fascination, it went back in and disappeared completely. ¡°Alrighty, alrighty. The first thing we¡¯ll do to progress the scenario is to take a vote. It¡¯s called the Player~Vote!¡± Lily folded her arms, flitting around us. Sparkling dust fell from her wings. Sitting atop my shoulder, Darongi sniffed the pixie, nose flaring like a dog. ¡°Unfortunaaately, only one person can become the Master of the Guardian Tower.¡± ¡°So we¡¯re gonna have a vote to decide. Between you, you, you, you, you, you, you, you. And this boss here!¡± Me, Sunhwa, Sung-gu, Yoohyun, Sunghyun, and Yeonseo, plus Taeguk Shield¡¯s Song Kiyeol, Cheon Sooji, and Gong Jinhoon were given the right to vote. * * * Translator ¨C Lei Proofreader ¨C Ash We all heard a notice. [The Acknowledged Guardian Tower Master scenario is in progress.] [A ¡®Voting Slip¡¯ has been sent to your Inventory.] ¡°Everyone will vote. The first candidate is the boss. You, what¡¯s your name?¡± ¡°Kim Hyukjin.¡± ¡°Alrighty. If you¡¯re in agreement for Kim Hyukjin becoming the Guardian Tower Master, ciiiiircle!¡± She drew a big circle in the air. ¡°If you¡¯re against it, xxxxxx!¡± She crossed her arms into an X. ¡°I can¡¯t give you much time. Just three minutes. All votes must be circles for the candidate to be recognized as the Guardian Tower Master. Alrighty then! Time staaaart!¡± A timer appeared. [3:00] [2:59] It started ticking down. Yoohyun spoke with a tone that brooked no argument. ¡°Of course it has to be Hyungnim. Circle, obviously.¡± Lily piped up with a beaming grin, ¡°Nopers, everyone here is qualified to become the Guardian Tower Master. If Hyukjin doesn¡¯t get chosen, then the candidacy will go to the next person by order of contribution.¡± Everyone would become a candidate, by order of contribution. The first candidate was me. I didn¡¯t know who would be next, but I could guess who would be last. ¡®Gong Jinhoon will be the last to have a turn.¡¯ As if she read my mind, Lily continued her explanation. ¡°You! Yes, you. You¡¯re the last candidate. The position of Guardian Tower Master cannot remain vacant. So even you have a chance. But resolve yourself, all votes have to be circle.¡± Her eyes narrowed into curves. They looked similar to Yeonseo¡¯s smiling eyes, but inside them was a mischievous and mean glint. If Yeonseo¡¯s smiling eyes were like the blinding sunlight of the spring sky, Lily¡¯s was like the portent of an imp¡¯s roguery. ¡®Yeonseo¡¯s smile is definitely something special.¡¯ (Don¡¯t think about another woman.) (I¡¯ll really kill you.) (You were thinking about that woman, right?) No, I was just saying her smile was a little special. (That counts as thinking about another woman.) I decided to ignore Isabel. I wasn¡¯t thinking about women. It was just interesting that the same facial expression could be completely different. In addition, I merely concluded that every action of Lily¡¯s was purposeful. She was intentionally giving a more mischievous smile. ¡®It definitely won¡¯t just end with the vote.¡¯ Pixies were far from simpleminded. In the beginning, she acted like she accidentally let something slip. It was an implicit hint that something else was to come, and it didn¡¯t escape my attention. Sooji said to Gong Jinhoon and Song Kiyeol, ¡°I think it¡¯s right for Hyukjin to become the Master of the Guardian Tower. The Guildmaster thinks the same, right?¡± Kiyeol nodded. ¡°Of course.¡± Yeonseo smiled brightly. ¡°Then all of us are putting down circles. Correct?¡± Lily was staring at us with amusement. There was still about one minute and thirty seconds left. One minute and thirty-three seconds, to be exact. [1:33] [The vote has concluded.] [Summing up the vote.] Lily pushed up her glasses. ¡°The result of the vote is out! It¡¯s not important how many circles there are, so I¡¯ll check if there are any X¡¯s or not! It¡¯s completely anonymous! Your secrets are locked away in an iron box with me. I guarantee it, on my name of Lily.¡± Then, she shook her head to and fro. ¡°Dearie me. One person voted no!¡± A yellow ¡®X¡¯ popped up over Lily¡¯s head. Sunhwa¡¯s eyes grew wide. ¡°What?¡± Yoohyun huffed, ¡°Who was it?!¡± The gazes of all my teammates converged in unison on Gong Jinhoon. He waved his hand. ¡°No, no. I put down a circle.¡± The Taeguk Shield Guildmaster¡¯s bafflement was visible to the eye. ¡°Did you put down an X, Guildmaster?¡± said Yeonseo to Kiyeol. ¡°In the hopes that your turn would come?¡± ¡°No. I put down a circle.¡± There was a moment of confusion. I spoke up. ¡°Hold on.¡± Everyone quieted. Lily was watching the situation with relish. ¡°All of us voted circle.¡± ¡°Someone else participated in the vote.¡± There was a trick concealed in this scenario. I was sure that Michelle and Kwon would have been able to figure it out. ¡®Michelle will have had complete trust in her teammates.¡¯ She would have been certain that none of her teammates would have picked X, which led her to see another path. ¡°Lily. Did you also have the right to vote?¡± ¡°Hihihihihi.¡± She let out a tinkling laugh. ¡°Wow. You noticed? You¡¯re super smart! That¡¯s right, the person who put X is me.¡± ¡°And I¡¯m sure you yourself are well aware that your vote of X is invalid.¡± ¡°How come?¡± From the moment Lily appeared, I sensed that something was off. Knowing she was continuously giving implicit hints, I observed her closely and remembered everything she said and did. ¡°You said this was a Player Vote. Let me ask you. Are you a Player?¡± ¡°Nope. I¡¯m the cute pixie, Lily. I¡¯m also a friend of the Guardian Tower Tintin.¡± ¡°Then that means your X was invalid to begin with.¡± ¡°Yep, that¡¯s right.¡± Lily smiled brightly again, her grin even wider than before. ¡°You¡¯re quite something, you¡¯re really quite something. I never even dreamed that the scenario would progress so quickly.¡± The Guardians had to be watching with as much enjoyment as Lily had surprise. In games, novels, or movies, stories where the main character was dragged around by the plot were no fun. It was important for the main character to create the plot and actively play a role. Stealing Lily¡¯s line, I said, ¡°Then, shall we move onto the next scenario?¡± It was like what I always said to Senia. I would create the stage. I wouldn¡¯t let myself be dragged around. That wasn¡¯t what the Guardians wanted, either. So I took the initiative to say, ¡°You¡¯ll probably give us two tasks.¡± ¡°Huh?¡± Lily froze in midair, apparently so shocked that even her wings ceased to move. Before she hit the ground, Yoohyun dove forward and caught her, then wiped the sweat from his brow. ¡°Whew, what a relief.¡± Yoohyun¡¯s hand was trembling. He was probably worrying about something useless like what he would do if this tiny pixie hurt herself in his palm. Lily didn¡¯t seem to have any thoughts of flying again. I couldn¡¯t see it earlier, but I could see her state now. State: Shock / Disbelief ¡°Are you a prophet? What are you?¡± Judging by Lily¡¯s reaction, my prediction was correct. We had two scenarios ahead of us. I was sure of it. ¡°The first scenario that¡¯ll occur.¡± I continued with confidence. ____ Chapter 154 Chapter 154 I was an Observer. I interpreted processes and results through observation and saw what others couldn¡¯t. Things others could easily miss were given new worth through my eyes. ¡°I¡¯m in a bit of a shock right now, so you go ahead, Hyukjin. I¡¯m, like, seriously as-to-nished right now.¡± ¡°I observed you.¡± ¡°Ohhh? Reaaaally? You observed me?¡± Lily¡¯s body twisted like a Twizzler, as incredible as it was. It didn¡¯t look grotesque, just comical. Yoohyun was saying he would die from cuteness while nodding up and down with an expression that screamed, ¡®I can¡¯t handle the cuteness!¡¯ Sunhwa lifted her tiny hand and patted Yoohyun¡¯s waist (she couldn¡¯t reach his back), doling out meager comfort with a ¡°It¡¯s alright. You won¡¯t die from cuteness, calm down.¡± Lily¡¯s body uncurled again with a snap, like a twisted rubber band returning to normal. ¡°You were charmed by my cuteness too, huh? Seeing as you observed me.¡± She fluttered over and gave my cheek a big kiss. ¡°Nngh!¡± Yoohyun clutched his heart, falling to his knees. ¡°So¡­ cute¡­!¡± I glanced at the muscular man. I knew Yoohyun had a weakness for cute things. But even so, his current reaction was excessive. ¡®He¡¯s under the influence of something.¡¯ Everyone had a weakness. Lily was probably taking advantage of Yoohyun¡¯s. There was a very high chance she cast some kind of trickery I didn¡¯t know about. I didn¡¯t indicate that I had noticed it, but kept it in mind. In order to draw and conduct the situation in its entirety, even small tidbits of information were necessary to keep tabs on. ¡°You moved around constantly, while making Yoohyun take pictures.¡± ¡°Yes. Getting my picture taken makes me happy.¡± ¡°Is that really the case?¡± ¡°Hrrm?¡± Her movements seemed a little too elaborate and calculated for that. ¡°The pictures are a clue.¡± While Lily was making a fuss and Yoohyun was clamoring about her cuteness, the Guardian Tower Tintin experienced a slight change, one so very minute that it was no exaggeration to call it a highly challenging ¡®Spot the Difference¡¯. ¡®No matter how closely I observe and remember¡­ I wouldn¡¯t be able to find the difference with my memory alone.¡¯ But Yoohyun had pictures. ¡°There¡¯s a difference between the Guardian Tower in the pictures and the current Guardian Tower, which you¡¯ll ask me to accurately point out.¡± That was probably part of the ¡®Acknowledged Guardian Tower Master¡¯ scenario. Lily flew over and perched on the shoulder Darongi wasn¡¯t already occupying. ¡°Wow. You¡¯re really amazing.¡± Lily¡¯s voice was much quieter, and I sensed it instantly. Much of the playfulness had vanished from her voice. The people of the future used the word ¡®sinister¡¯ to describe the pixie race. It was also said that it was impossible to tell what a pixie was thinking. Lily lifted her index finger. With a pop, a change so tiny the others couldn¡¯t distinguish it occurred. The Guardian Tower returned to its original appearance. ¡°But I thought you would be able to puzzle out a trick of this level. You¡¯re a Guardian Tower Master candidate who summoned the one and only Tintin. The process was surprising, but the result isn¡¯t outside of my predictions.¡± I heard notices. [Acknowledged Guardian Tower Master Chapter 1 ¨C ¡®Full Consensus¡¯ has been completed.] [Acknowledged Guardian Tower Master Chapter 2 ¨C ¡®Distortion Recognition¡¯ has been completed.] The two notices came simultaneously. Curious, I said, ¡°You said you already predicted I would clear Distortion Recognition, but that you didn¡¯t predict the process.¡± ¡°Yep.¡± ¡°What was the process you imagined?¡± ¡°I didn¡¯t think you would be able to pick up on the distortion. Well, it would have been fine even if you hadn¡¯t. This cute and lovely Lily was going to tell you.¡± ¡°¡­¡± I instinctively knew that Lily wouldn¡¯t have just told me for free. She would have definitely procured a suitable price. Lily¡¯s voice became even quieter. ¡°Wanna know?¡± Her voice dripped with a quiet killing intent. There was another pop, and with it, black blood began to ooze from Yoohyun¡¯s eyes, nose, and mouth. Yoohyun screamed. ¡°GAAAHHH!¡± His face turned blackish red, and his head ballooned, as if something bearing a huge amount of pressure was expanding inside. Lily grinned. ¡°Bang!¡± Yoohyun¡¯s head exploded. The headless body crumpled to the ground like a puppet with cut strings. I didn¡¯t even budge. It would be a lie to say I wasn¡¯t surprised, but I maintained my calm. ¡°Is this an extension of Distortion Recognition like I think it is?¡± ¡°You¡¯re not surprised?¡± ¡°There¡¯s no reason to be surprised while looking at a distorted phenomenon.¡± The next moment, it was as if the world began to rewind. Yoohyun¡¯s body went upright again, his exploded head returning to its rightful spot, and soon enough, Yoohyun was back to normal. It seemed that putting Yoohyun under some kind of ¡®influence¡¯ was the groundwork for showing such a gruesome scene. I was mentally prepared, so I wasn¡¯t fooled. ¡°¡­¡± Lily smiled widely again. ¡°Well, alright. This is the scenario I predicted: I was going to kill that kid in exchange for giving you another hint.¡± We upturned Lily¡¯s expectations and cleared Distortion Recognition without losing anyone. ¡°But¡­ you said there were two scenarios left. Could you tell Lily what the second one was? Lily is craaazy curious right now.¡± She licked her lips. ¡°I can¡¯t wait to hear what you say. You¡¯re a man with a truly sexy brain.¡± For better or for worse, I was already used to hearing such nonsense. Yeonseo, Isabel, and Sooji had long since immunized me, so I cleanly ignored her words and continued to speak. ¡°For the second scenario¡­ You said you observed me closely and gauged my strength.¡± ¡°That¡¯s right. Because your brain is sexy. Can I take it out of your head?¡± ¡°No.¡± ¡°Tch. You¡¯re hard to get.¡± She was impossible to read. You really couldn¡¯t tell how much was sincere and how much was a joke with her. ¡®I just have to do what I have to do.¡¯ Why did the pixie of the Guardian Tower observe me closely? Why did she try to gauge my strength? ¡°That must have been because you wanted to test the boundaries of my strength.¡± ¡°Bingo!¡± Lily shivered. ¡°Lily will explain. From here on out, our Hyukjin, the closest candidate to become the Guardian Tower Master, needs to destroy the Guardian Tower Tintin.¡± Destroy the Guardian Tower? ¡°To be more precise, you¡¯ll be destroying the Guardian Tower¡¯s outer shell. Molting! You know, that thing where a larva becomes a chrysalis and comes out of its shell. You¡¯ll be breaking the Guardian Tower Tintin¡¯s shell.¡± The difficulty was set when we went up against the Big Black Dogs. ¡°Let me ask you again. You did your best earlier, yes?¡± ¡°Of course.¡± It wasn¡¯t a lie. Earlier, I did do the best I could. I went at it with my full power, which Lily should have accurately judged. The pixie nodded. ¡°Yeah, I thought so.¡± ¡°¡­¡± ¡°Shall we start the final chapter, then? You¡¯ll never be able to succeed with a frontal attack.¡± That was to be expected. She had gauged my strength to the decimal. A pixie who was surely far higher level than me made me a dedicated observation target and gauged my full strength. She was sure to have set the balance exactly right. I heard a notice. [Acknowledged Guardian Tower Master Chapter 3 ¨C ¡®Guardian Tower Destruction¡¯ is beginning.] * * * Translator ¨C Lei Proofreader ¨C Ash Song Junghye¡¯s office was different from Kiyeol¡¯s, her brother of similar age. Sitting on the sofa in that office was Jackson. He spoke, his gaze landing on one wall. ¡°You have a work by the Italian artist Goen.¡± On the wall was ¡®Basket Woman¡¯ from the famed Italian artist, Goen. That work was said to have been auctioned off for around $4 million, and it was hanging in Song Junghye¡¯s office. She shrugged. ¡°I heard from my little brother, but your Korean is extremely good. You also have a good eye for recognizing art.¡± Her kid brother Song Jinchul was the reason the Blood and Iron Queen Song Junghye ended up having a meeting with Jackson, the man who would later become famous as the Great Explorer in the future Hyukjin knew. Jinchul, who had just stepped foot into the world of Playing, was saved from danger by Jackson. ¡°I heard you saved my little brother several times.¡± ¡°Yes. He has quite the gift, in spite of his young age.¡± Jackson knew how to use Song Jinchul. He decided to make full use of Jinchul¡¯s background. ¡°To be frank, I wish to utilize Sungshin¡¯s strength.¡± ¡°Are the British always so straightforward? Do you only know how to go straight ahead?¡± ¡°Have I offended you?¡± ¡°No, I like it. I myself don¡¯t like going around in circles.¡± Even if she looked like a mere rookie in the eyes of Hyukjin, who was constantly dancing with Guardians, this was Song Junghye, the woman who would one day be called the Blood and Iron Witch. Her discerning eye was absolutely not ¡®rookie-level¡¯. She recognized Jackson¡¯s value. ¡°Very well. I will invest in your potential.¡± She also had an interest in this thing called Playing. It would be difficult to quash Taeguk Shield¡¯s early bird advantage, but she at least needed to build up a force equal to her brother¡¯s. ¡°I want a contract of equivalent standing,¡± Jackson said. For now, he didn¡¯t trust Song Junghye or Jinchul. He only trusted their background. Right now, he was doing business¡ª¡®Korea¡¯ was an extremely important place for his ¡®scenario¡¯. The two talked for a while. The gist of their conversation was this: the explorer Jackson would join hands with the 3rd generation chaebol Song Junghye, and they would agree to use each other for mutual profit. Jackson got up with an expression of satisfaction. ¡°¡­This was time well spent.¡± He judged that no matter how Song Junghye was as a person, she made a very fine business partner. ¡°For me as well. However, as we have already agreed, if we cannot be of mutual profit for one another, we can cast each other aside at any time.¡± Jackson knew. When Junghye said ¡®cast aside¡¯, it wasn¡¯t just the dictionary definition. It could even come down to death. On account of the fact that he used the background and support that was ¡®Sungshin¡¯. ¡°Of course.¡± Jackson turned, meaning to leave the office, when he suddenly turned around again. ¡°Please speak.¡± ¡°Do you know a Player named Kim Hyukjin? From what I have found out, he has a special relationship with your older brother, the Guildmaster of Taeguk Shield.¡± Song Junghye flinched ever so slightly. Kim Hyukjin. It wasn¡¯t an all-too-pleasant name to hear. ¡°Player Kim Hyukjin, you say? Why do you ask?¡± Jackson said some ambiguous words. ¡°Because I may have to pour oil on the flames.¡± * * * At the same time, Kim Hyukjin stood before the Guardian Tower that appeared at the crosswalk between the DMC Riverview Xi¡¯s Complex 1 and Complex 2. [Acknowledged Guardian Tower Master Chapter 3 ¨C ¡®Guardian Tower Destruction¡¯ is beginning.] Lily said that even his full power wouldn¡¯t be enough. ¡°Don¡¯t worry. You won¡¯t die. But if you can¡¯t fully destroy it¡­ You probably won¡¯t be leaving this place intact.¡± She flitted around, giggling. ¡°You¡¯ve awakened the sleeping Guardian Tower, so it¡¯s only right that you lose a leg or arm in exchange!¡± Lily appeared to be truly enjoying herself. ¡°You can¡¯t do it even with your full strength, so how will our Hyukjin destroy Tintin?¡± Hyukjin didn¡¯t look like he was very frightened by Lily¡¯s semi-threat. He said in a small voice, ¡°I said I did my best by the earlier standards.¡± It wasn¡¯t a lie. Earlier, he really did do his best. Big Black Dogs weren¡¯t monsters one could hunt half-heartedly. In truth, the battle was so difficult he wouldn¡¯t have even tried if Ahn Seohye hadn¡¯t been here. ¡°But I didn¡¯t say I did my best by the current standards.¡± He pulled out the transcendent artifact, Isabel. Lily froze in midair, sparkly dust trailing from her wings. ¡°Eh? What do you mean? Wait, has something changed from earlier to now?¡± Yes, something had changed. ¡°I¡¯ll show you with my utmost effort.¡± He was saying these words to the Guardians. From this moment forth, he would show them. He would show them what would happen if the current him, not the earlier him, did his best. ____ Chapter 155 Chapter 155 Jo Sunghyun, whose future title was Typhoon, stood behind Hyukjin to his left and quietly recited a magic incantation. He didn¡¯t know what kind of help Hyukjin would need, so all he could do was some basic preparation. ¡®Hyukjin hyung¡­ is definitely going to raise his stats now.¡¯ He could see what Hyukjin was trying to do. Hyukjin¡¯s teammates knew that Hyukjin had some undistributed stat points piled up, though they didn¡¯t know how many. ¡®Even around seven undistributed stats¡­ will probably be able to break the balance.¡¯ That was the conclusion Sunghyun came to after hearing Lily¡¯s words. With seven stat points, Hyukjin should be able to destroy the Guardian Tower, though it might be a little tough. ¡®Since it¡¯s Hyukjin hyung we¡¯re talking about here¡­ he might even have a few more than seven undistributed stats.¡¯ Players kept stats on stock in preparation for the worst-case scenario. Even one stat could create leeway in a crisis. It was like their last resort insurance. Players on Sunghyun¡¯s level who could think or had a brain did it as a matter of course, although in truth, the vast majority of Players who weren¡¯t Rankers used their stats as soon as they got them. Currently, Hyukjin¡¯s level was 35. He hadn¡¯t touched his stats since level 30. [Status Window] Name: Kim Hyukjin (Player) Level: 35 Contracted Guardian: [Nameless Observer] Title: [Pioneer of Victory] [Excellent Player] [First Adversary] [Person of Fire] [Phantom Thief Squirrel¡¯s Master] [Starting Sovereign] [Starting Fighter] [Thousand Dog Master] Dungeon title: [Conqueror of the Seoul Station Dungeon] Innate ability: [Eye of Perception] [Sword of Insight] Special ability: [Absorption] [Mettle] [Eye for an Eye, Tooth for a Tooth] Strength: 22 Intelligence: 22 Agility: 28 Perception: 22 Constitution: 22 Willpower: 17 (+30) Bonus stats: 22 Random stats: 17 Undistributed stats: 39 The number of undistributed stats Hyukjin had far exceeded Jo Sunghyun¡¯s expected value. ¡®39.¡¯ He had far too many undistributed stats for a Player who received a ¡®No Talent¡¯ evaluation. The fact he had 39 stats in reserve meant that all this time, he was more than capable of progressing scenarios even without using his undistributed stats. To put it another way, he was able to keep in step with his team, a party you could call Korea¡¯s strongest at present, even without raising his stats. He¡¯d only know exactly after they clashed, but according to his simulations, ten was a good starting point. He decided to try putting in two points each into every stat except for Willpower. If that wasn¡¯t enough, he could put in more. ¡°Hrmm~¡± Lily hummed. ¡°Your overflowing confidence sure is great to see. Tintin¡¯s going to attack you now. Resolve yourself!¡± [Status Window] Name: Kim Hyukjin (Player) Level: 35 Contracted Guardian: [Nameless Observer] Title: [Pioneer of Victory] [Excellent Player] [First Adversary] [Person of Fire] [Phantom Thief Squirrel¡¯s Master] [Starting Sovereign] [Starting Fighter] [Thousand Dog Master] Dungeon title: [Conqueror of the Seoul Station Dungeon] Innate ability: [Eye of Perception] [Sword of Insight] Special ability: [Absorption] [Mettle] [Eye for an Eye, Tooth for a Tooth] Strength: 24 Intelligence: 24 Agility: 30 Perception: 24 Constitution: 24 Willpower: 17 (+30) Bonus stats: 12 Random stats: 17 Undistributed stats: 29 The numerous gunports dotting the Guardian Tower¡¯s gray wall started taking aim at Hyukjin¡¯s body. [Guardian Tower is taking aim.] Countless crosshairs appeared on Hyukjin¡¯s chest. His heart began to thump. The power he could feel radiating from the Guardian Tower with Eye of Perception was considerable. It was different from the ¡®murderous intent¡¯ exuded by living beings, but it was more reserved and blunt. But Hyukjin didn¡¯t panic. [Observing with Observer¡¯s Eye.] He maintained his composure. Composure was the core of ¡®observation¡¯. Without it, exemplary observation was impossible. ¡®It must have a weak point.¡¯ It wasn¡¯t yet the evolved ¡®Titan¡¯, but the far weaker ¡®Tintin¡¯. It definitely had a weak point, one that Observer¡¯s Eye could find. ¡®Found it.¡¯ ¡®The weak point changes constantly based on that movement.¡¯ How he attacked that weak point would become the cornerstone of this scenario. ¡®While dodging the Guardian Tower¡¯s attacks.¡¯ He couldn¡¯t dodge every attack. He had to take certain hits where necessary. If he used the Great Orc Warrior set effect and ¡®Absorption¡¯ with appropriate timing, he should be able to barely carve out a path to success. An HP bar appeared above the Guardian Tower. If he brought that HP to 0, this scenario would be completed. ¡®Okay.¡¯ His mental preparation was complete. It was exactly then that a black bullet the size of a bowling ball came hurtling towards him. ¡®A light attack.¡¯ The Guardian Tower Tintin was sending him a light greeting to start things off. * * * Translator ¨C Lei Proofreader ¨C Ash * * * Even without Hyukjin saying anything, his teammates were well aware of where and what roles they had to carry out. They were all people with top-class talent, and they even put in hard work alongside Hyukjin to make their talent bloom. Come and read on our website wuxia worldsite. Thanks Sunhwa instantly made a call. ¡®I have to take that hit.¡¯ That ¡®bullet¡¯ attack was a teaser of sorts. It wasn¡¯t an all-out attack, just the Guardian Tower¡¯s greeting. ¡®I can block it for sure.¡¯ A shield formed at Sunhwa¡¯s small arm. ¡°Oppa has to be the one to destroy it, but he doesn¡¯t have to be the one to block it!¡± She threw herself at the bullet. CLANG! BOOOM! Steel met steel with a loud crash, followed by an explosion. The pungent smell of gunpowder filled the field. Having blocked the bullet with her body, Sunhwa rolled several times backwards. Her body was dirtied all over, but she seemed mostly unharmed. Hyukjin didn¡¯t miss the opening Sunhwa made for him. ¡®Well done, Sunhwa.¡¯ [Using the special skill Flash Step.] Flash Step was a technique that approached the enemy in a ¡®straight line¡¯. Sunhwa had just blocked an attack that came flying in a ¡®straight line¡¯, which opened up the path for him, as Hyukjin knew it would. He knew Sunhwa, and he knew the turret¡¯s attack. He believed in her, and she didn¡¯t betray his trust. At that moment, he used a different ¡®song¡¯ that he hadn¡¯t shown before and hadn¡¯t applied to the Kim Hyukjin of a few minutes ago. Conductor¡¯s Hymn for group battles, Hunter¡¯s March for solo ones. Two similar but different songs he had gotten from two rival Guardians. The two favors he had gotten in the beginning were ¡®Conductor¡¯s Song¡¯ and ¡®Hunter¡¯s Song¡¯. Other than one taking effect in group battles and the other in solo battles, their effects were pretty much the same. That was how they were at first. But just because they were the same at the beginning didn¡¯t mean they had to be the same later. That applied to the upgraded Conductor¡¯s Hymn and Hunter¡¯s March. [Favor Granted by the White Hunter] Type: Special skill Name: Hunter¡¯s March Effect: Medium chance to cure abnormal statuses in a solo battle (duration: 120 seconds) +6% crit chance in a solo battle (duration: 120 seconds) +30% increase in effect of consumable items in a solo battle Increased effectiveness of a ¡®direct attack¡¯ ability of the caster when used in combination with Hunter¡¯s March (limited to innate abilities). Cooldown: 360 seconds Proficiency: [1] Up to effect #3, Hunter¡¯s March was similar to Conductor¡¯s Hymn, but diverged a little starting from #4. Conductor¡¯s Hymn could be used in combination with Mettle, while Hunter¡¯s March could be used in combination with a ¡®direct attack innate ability¡¯. ¡®And I¡­¡¯ He stabbed the wall of the Guardian Tower with Isabel. ¡®Have never shown Hunter¡¯s March.¡¯ +10 boosted stats. And on top of that, a solo exclusive ability, Hunter¡¯s March. A red energy began to rise off Hyukjin¡¯s body. If Conductor¡¯s Hymn produced a golden splendor, Hunter¡¯s March was like a wash of red madness. It felt as if his entire body were overflowing with fighting spirit. The ability wasn¡¯t just a technical buff, but was actually fulfilling the role of a march. His blood was boiling, and his heart itched with the instinct to destroy. ¡®Next, here.¡¯ After instantly closing in, Hyukjin stabbed hard at another place on the Guardian Tower with Isabel. It was another of the weak points that could only be captured with Observer¡¯s Eye, a schism between flow and flow. He continued to find and stab the continually changing ¡®point¡¯. The crosshairs for his body shook wildly, scattering outward and causing explosions all over the field. BOOOM! BOOOOOM! No one got hurt, but there was damage all over the road. Hyukjin jumped back. ¡®The first turret attack was a straight line attack.¡¯ But the next attacks that bombarded the road weren¡¯t straight shooters. They didn¡¯t have a ¡®trajectory¡¯. Like a kind of magic, it wasn¡¯t that the bullets themselves flew out, but that they exploded the target itself. So it was meaningless to close in on the tower. Hyukjin became more confident. ¡®I can do this.¡¯ It was just one exchange of blows, but he could tell. His level was a step higher than the Guardian Tower set by Lily¡¯s observation. * * * When the Guardian Tower¡¯s HP fell to about half, Lily shook her head. ¡°Looks like our Tintin needs to show his true strength, too. You¡¯re doing way better than I thought!¡± Every Player heard a notice. [The Guardian Field¡¯s ¡®isolation function¡¯ is taking effect.] [Switching to ¡®Full One-on-One Mode¡¯.] [Players other than the Guardian Tower Master candidate cannot participate in battle.] A full one-on-one mode was established. Kim Hyukjin vs. the Guardian Tower. Only the two of them could participate in the scenario. [In the case of the Guardian Tower Master candidate¡¯s death, another Guardian Tower Master candidate can take up the gauntlet.] Lily seemed to think that wasn¡¯t enough. ¡°I need to activate Tintin¡¯s outer wall defensive mechanism.¡± Another pixie (though her physique was too different to really be called the same race), Yeonseo¡¯s Streamer Roa, protested. ¡°Aren¡¯t you destroying the already determined balance too much?¡± ¡°Woah, you scared me. There was a pixie Intermediate Administrator here, huh? But what kind of pixie is so huge?¡± ¡°Answer the question being asked. There¡¯s reason to suspect a balance break here. It¡¯ll be hard to deal damage if an outer wall defensive mechanism kicks in when it¡¯s already hard enough to close in and attack. Isn¡¯t that right? If you have any conscience, think about it.¡± Lily snickered. ¡°That¡¯s up to me! Stay out of my jurisdiction, giant pixie!¡± Roa didn¡¯t take a stand for Hyukjin¡¯s sake. She didn¡¯t care for him that much. She only wanted to become the subject of attention by making such an appeal. She couldn¡¯t properly stream Kim Hyukjin, but she could stimulate the Guardians¡¯ imagination. Alternatively, it was also a win if she could form a cooperative relationship with Senia, Hyukjin¡¯s exclusive contracted Intermediate Administrator. Since drawing attention was her goal anyway, she didn¡¯t really push the protest. Lily must have known that as well, because she giggled, saying, ¡°It¡¯s gotta be this hard to be fun! I want to open up that man¡¯s skull and lick the insides!¡± Read latest Chapters at Wuxia World . Site Only ¡°¡­¡± Just then, a certain angel whose knack for talking was far too low considering she was a Streamer opened her mouth. ¡°Miss Roa. It¡¯s alright.¡± Her voice low, Senia continued. ¡°Player Kim Hyukjin has not shown his full strength, either.¡± ____ Chapter 156 Chapter 156 Senia¡¯s words were rather shrewdly calculated. ¡°Player Kim Hyukjin has not shown his full strength, either.¡± The Guardians could only watch Hyukjin through her. The Intermediate Administrator named Roa took action to draw attention for her own profit, and Senia put the period on that endeavor. Naturally, the Guardians¡¯ interest converged on Senia. He hasn¡¯t used his full strength. Those words worked the Guardians into a frenzy. Senia was growing nicely, as Hyukjin wanted. Meanwhile, Hyukjin was busy observing the Guardian Tower Tintin with Observer¡¯s Eye. ¡®Defense has increased.¡¯ The stat increase concealed a slight trick. The Guardian Tower¡¯s pixie, Lily, couldn¡¯t tap into the Guardian Tower¡¯s actual ability. She couldn¡¯t touch the current Guardian Tower¡¯s settings. That was the result of his observation. ¡®There¡¯s some other penalty to match the increase in defense.¡¯ He didn¡¯t know what that penalty was. It could be that the attack power was decreased, or its recovery speed was slowed. In any case, he was sure some kind of penalty was in play. ¡®However.¡¯ In the current situation, raising defense was quite a good call. Lily had a nearly exact gauge of Hyukjin¡¯s offensive ability, so if the tower¡¯s defenses exceeded his offensive output, the tower wouldn¡¯t take any damage. ¡®The attack speed has slowed a little.¡¯ It was a very minute difference, but Hyukjin felt it. The speed at which the turrets took aim, fired, and even the timing at which the trajectory-less explosions went off, he was keenly attuned to. THUD! A weighty impact struck him. His chest felt as if it would be blown apart by the explosion. ¡®It hurts.¡¯ It hurt, but not enough to knock him out. He intentionally didn¡¯t dodge so that he could get closer. THUD! Another impact. ¡®Hold on a little more.¡¯ He put his trust in the Great Orc Warrior set. None of the attacks so far were ones he couldn¡¯t handle. But if they were too much, the set effect would trigger. It was that belief that drove him to push forward without hurrying to evade. ¡®It¡¯s better not to dodge attacks that have no trajectory.¡¯ It wasn¡¯t efficient. ¡®I¡¯ll just take them with my body.¡¯ It would consume too much focus to dodge attacks with no trajectory. It wasn¡¯t cost-effective, so it was better to hurt a little. Whuuumpf¨C! Bullets came hurtling at him. There were three of them. Hyukjin stopped in place. ¡®This attack¡¯s a fake.¡¯ Those three bullets would steer his movements, and then an even bigger hit would follow suit. He could avoid the attack that was to come if he stopped here. ¡®I can see the flow.¡¯ Tintin¡¯s increase in defense was accompanied by a decrease in its offensive capability, and thanks to that, it became a little easier to figure out its attack pattern. To begin with, a ¡®Guardian Tower¡¯ was set by the System to ¡®guard¡¯ a field. It wasn¡¯t specialized to attack something, so its attacks weren¡¯t that complicated or difficult. ¡®Approach a little more, and then¡­¡¯ Hyukjin heard Senia¡¯s words, too. Her claim that he hadn¡¯t used his full strength was, in some ways, not a lie. After all, he hadn¡¯t used everything at his disposal. He even had stats left over. ¡®Finish it a little more narrowly.¡¯ His goal was to create content that could make the Guardians go wild. Investing all his stats and crushing the tower with pure physical ability was one method, but that was something only idiots who could only see the ¡®now¡¯ would do. ¡®It¡¯s a little weird to say that there¡¯s a soul area in the Guardian Tower, but¡­¡¯ If Guardian Towers had a cradle for the soul, he got the sense that it was empty, that the current Guardian Tower was just a ¡®shell¡¯. But he couldn¡¯t concentrate on the sensation¡ªit wasn¡¯t the time for that. ¡®I¡¯ll draw out all of Isabel¡¯s ability.¡¯ Being overgeared was a type of skill, an extremely important factor for Playing. And even if two people used the same effect from the same item, the effect would differ depending on the user. Just like how even if you cooked with the same ingredients and the same recipe, the taste would differ depending on the cook. ¡®Focus on Isabel.¡¯ Isabel¡¯s blade seemed to hum in his hand. [Activating Isabel¡¯s special effect.] Isabel had a whopping eight effects. Six of them were disabled, and two were active. 7) Ego activated (Activation time has been greatly increased due to a strong wish) 8) 30% offensive innate ability damage amplification The effect Hyukjin wanted to use right now was effect #8. [Using Isabel¡¯s #8 effect.] It would amplify the damage of an offensive innate ability by an enormous 30%. It was time for Hyukjin¡¯s weak point targeting sword skill created from the fusion of Sword Path Tracing and Excellent Strike. [Using the innate ability Sword of Insight.] Isabel¡¯s ability, plus Hyukjin¡¯s ability. ¡®And¡ª¡¯ Just using it was meaningless. Simply using a skill without any finesse was something even a child could do. A smart Player, a talented Player, was constantly exploring how the same ability could be utilized in different ways. Hyukjin had such talent in abundance. He had a very perceptive mind. ¡®Unique Ability Fusion.¡¯ [Unique Ability Fusion] An innate ability that discerns the flow of all abilities that fall into the ¡®unique ability¡¯ category, thus combining ¡®unique ability¡¯ with ¡®unique ability¡¯. However, fusion must be preceded by thorough observation. He¡¯d already preceded the skill with thorough observation. While taking hits with his body, aiming for the correct timing, and fighting tooth and nail with the Guardian Tower Tintin. ¡®I¡¯ve done sufficient observation.¡¯ Plus, Hyukjin already had the experience of blending Mettle and the unique ability of Noah¡¯s Helm. That experience wasn¡¯t completely unrelated to what he was trying to do now. ¡®Because the nature of the fusion is the same.¡¯ He wasn¡¯t just using Sword of Insight and Isabel¡¯s #8 effect. He could, of course, just use them separately, but Hyukjin didn¡¯t do that. He discerned the true flow, extracting maximum efficiency, and applied the buff of Hunter¡¯s March as the cherry on top. Each and every factor combined to produce a Sword of Insight far stronger than its usual form. This was the full strength Hyukjin was capable of right now. ¡®Now!¡¯ Hyukjin thrusted his sword towards one spot. ¡°Nngh¡­!¡± The problem was that the Guardian Tower Tintin had been waiting for the same moment. CRAAASH! Hyukjin¡¯s body went up in flames that sought to swallow him alive. A firestorm roared to life and engulfed him. Lily blew a long whistle. ¡°Tintin¡¯s capable of strong fire attacks, too. Tch, you had me scared for a moment with such a strong attack out of nowhere¡­¡± She giggled as she fluttered about. ¡°One Guardian Tower Master candidate burned to death, check. Well then, who will be the next Guardian Tower Master candi¡­ huh?¡± * * * Translator ¨C Lei Proofreader ¨C Ash * * * Hyukjin already knew that Tintin was capable of a fire attack. He just hadn¡¯t known it would be used at that moment. Come and read on our website wuxia worldsite. Thanks The optimal timing of both sides had overlapped, and with it, his items broke. [Great Orc Warrior¡¯s Iron Armor has been destroyed.] [Great Orc Warrior¡¯s Leather Shoes have been destroyed.] [Great Orc Warrior¡¯s Leather Pants have been destroyed.] [Great Orc Warrior¡¯s Gloves have been destroyed.] As a result, the Great Orc Warrior set effect didn¡¯t trigger. [The title ¡®Person of Fire¡¯ is resisting the fierce flames.] Instead, it was ¡®Person of Fire¡¯ that allowed him to endure the flames. Hyukjin stood in front of the Guardian Tower, covered from head to toe in raging flames. ¡°That was close.¡± Cracks began to spread along Tintin¡¯s outer wall. Lily flew over in a hurry. ¡°Wh-What¡¯s going on? Tintin¡¯s attack definitely hit you!¡± It really was a close call for Hyukjin. ¡®It was dangerous.¡¯ The optimal timing. He did go into it knowing it was dangerous, but he believed in himself. In his Sword of Insight, boosted to max efficiency. In the amplified damage. And in the absorption ability his Legolas¡¯ Rings possessed. [Absorbing HP.] ¡­ [Absorbing HP.] Eight HP absorption messages came in. The amount of HP Hyukjin absorbed increased in proportion to the increase in his offensive output. Choi Sung-gu felt cold sweat run down his back. ¡®That fucking crazy bastard.¡¯ He had seen it, too. How reckless Hyukjin had been with that last hit. ¡®It was a close call, even with healing pots and his absorption ability.¡¯ That was how strong Tintin¡¯s attack had been. ¡®I think he endured the brunt of the attack with those two and is now blocking the flames with the Person of Fire title, but¡­¡¯ If that last attack hadn¡¯t been a fire attack, but a ¡®regular¡¯ one, would Hyukjin still be alive right now? Sung-gu didn¡¯t know. What he knew for certain was that Hyukjin¡¯s clear had been dangerous to the extreme. Cr-crack¨C cr-cr-aaack¨C! The cracks continued to spread along Tintin¡¯s outer wall. [Guardian Tower Scenario 02 ¨C ¡®Acknowledged Guardian Tower Master¡¯, has been completed.] [All Guardian Tower scenarios have been completed.] [With the completion of the Guardian Tower scenarios, the ¡®Guardian Tower¡¯ is being restored.] The restoration process began. The Guardian Tower Tintin returned to its original appearance. [With the completion of the Guardian Tower scenarios, the ¡®Guardian Tower Master¡¯ is being decided.] The Guardian Tower Master¡¯s name was Kim Hyukjin. He became the owner of the Guardian Tower Tintin. [The Guardian Tower is being activated.] [The Guardian Tower is starting to guard the Guardian Field.] Hyukjin saw a green ¡®light¡¯ extend to the surroundings. It wasn¡¯t actual light, but an effect visible only to Hyukjin¡¯s eyes. It was almost like countless laser beams were radiated out into the surroundings. ¡®This is¡­ the Guardian Tower¡¯s Guardian Field.¡¯ A flawless ¡®Guardian Field¡¯ deployed before his eyes. The green energy covered the DMC Riverview Xi and the entire Namgajwadong/Bukgajwadong area. ¡®An energy I can¡¯t see even with Observer¡¯s Eye.¡¯ It was visible only to the Guardian Tower Master¡¯s eyes. In other words, the energy and flow were higher in grade than Hyukjin¡¯s current Observer¡¯s Eye. ¡®It¡¯s covered this whole area.¡¯ This energy would now protect the entirety of this field from most things under ¡®calamity¡¯ level. But for some reason, Hyukjin still had the niggling sense that something was missing. He just didn¡¯t know what it was. Sunhwa ran over. ¡°Oppa!¡± Her heart was in her mouth. She really thought for a moment that her brother was going to burn to death. Summary: Relieved Brocon Hyukjin happily gave Sunhwa a little hug, a very light embrace. ¡°It¡¯s okay, it¡¯s okay. I didn¡¯t die.¡± ¡°I totally saw how dangerous it was, oppa!¡± Thud! Thud! The ground shook. ¡°HYUUUUNGNIM!!!¡± He and Sunhwa shared a very light hug, but Yoohyun swept him into a complete bear hug. ¡°I¡¯m so relieved! Wasn¡¯t it a little dangerous at the end there?!¡± Because Yoohyun was so big, Hyukjin looked as if he was half swallowed up by the larger man. ¡°If you don¡¯t let go, you¡¯re dead.¡± ¡°S-Sorry. I was just too happy.¡± Hyukjin got a new title. [The title ¡®Guardian Tower Master¡¯ has been generated.] Lily flew around, trailing dust everywhere. ¡°Woooow¨C! It was fun, it was really fun. I¡¯ve completely fulfilled my duty~!¡± Sparkly dust scattered all over the place. Hyukjin turned his gaze to Lily. The pixie¡¯s body was slowly disappearing, starting from her feet. But it looked like she was having fun. ¡°It was fun!¡± Her entire lower body faded away. ¡°I had fun! And I think Tintin¡¯s found a good owner!¡± Her stomach disappeared little by little, and then her chest. ¡°Though a sacrifice will be necessary to make it 100% complete!¡± After her chest, her neck disappeared. And in the end, so did her face. ¡®I did hear that pixies oxidize and disappear when they achieve all their goals.¡¯ Pixies called that an extremely happy event. Apparently, it was a different concept from human death, or something like that. Even the other pixie, Roa, was staring with a look of extreme envy. In the end, Lily completely disappeared, leaving only sparkling dust behind. Taeguk Shield¡¯s Guildmaster, Song Kiyeol, came up to Hyukjin. ¡°Great work.¡± ¡°Thank you. I¡¯m afraid cleaning up the aftermath will be a little troublesome.¡± ¡°Please don¡¯t worry about it.¡± The area was in complete ruins. At the very least, no civilians were harmed due to the ¡®Guardian Field¡¯ being isolated from the ¡®regular field¡¯. ¡°The damage restoration will be handled by Taeguk Shield and Sungshin.¡± It looked like the road would have to be entirely replaced. But just then, Eye of Perception picked something up. Hyukjin sensed someone¡¯s familiar presence. Read latest Chapters at Wuxia World . Site Only ¡®He¡¯s here¡­ again?¡¯ ____ Chapter 157 Chapter 157 I doubted my eyes. ¡®He¡¯s here, again? By coincidence, I met the Great Explorer Jackson in front of a rather special location, the Gwanghwamun Dungeon. I did have a hunch that our chance encounter wouldn¡¯t be the end of our acquaintance, but I didn¡¯t think we would be meeting again so soon. Seeing as he hadn¡¯t been able to come into the field, he must have arrived sometime during the scenario. ¡®No matter how I think of it, it¡¯s weird.¡¯ I couldn¡¯t shake off that feeling. ¡®Who was the one who created the Guardian Tower here in the past?¡¯ It was at this point in time that the Guardian Tower appeared between Complex 1 and 2 of the DMC Riverview Xi. Who was the mysterious person who created the Guardian Tower that would later grow into the ¡®Megalodon¡¯? ¡®It¡¯s true that Megalodon is a lower grade than Tintin.¡¯ Megalodon and Titan were slightly different types of Guardian Towers. Titan had a ¡®turret tower¡¯ form, while Megalodon had a ¡®magic¡¯ form. They certainly differed in utility. But if you were to ask people which of the two Guardian Towers was more outstanding, the majority would pick Titan. ¡®Even if we presume that Megalodon is a lower grade Guardian Tower¡­¡¯ It was still a pretty high level tower. Who could have created such a tower here, at this time? It was right about this time that the early version of Megalodon, ¡®Melo¡¯, appeared. Not long afterwards, Melo¡¯s power was revealed, and the price of land around the DMC Riverview Xi skyrocketed. ¡®It¡¯s weird.¡¯ That meant someone had to have been diligently collecting Guardian Gems from Gajwa Station. And then, another person with remarkable enhancement talent summoned the Guardian Tower here. ¡®Was there any Player like that in Korea at this time?¡¯ Korea produced a lot of great Players. The ¡®8 Heroes¡¯ of Korea were neck and neck with other heroes worldwide. But the sphere Korean server Players particularly distinguished themselves in was ¡®combat¡¯, specifically ¡®direct combat¡¯. The country produced many ¡®direct combat¡¯ class Players. ¡®We were comparatively weak in other types of Playing, like enhancement or production.¡¯ Some called this a server trait, and others called it a ¡®racial characteristic¡¯. ¡®Anyway, I don¡¯t think there was anyone from Korea who could have created a Guardian Tower¡ªand the starting version of Megalodon, even¡ªat this time, right now.¡¯¡¯ No matter how much I wracked my brain, I couldn¡¯t come up with a name. But now, I knew: Jackson had been here at that time. He walked up, clapping. ¡°I had a good time watching from afar. You use quite a mix of techniques.¡± State: Surprise / Admiration / Thrill Jackson came up to me. There was a big smile on his face as he took my hand to shake it. ¡°I¡¯ve never seen a Player of your level, not even in England. I simply regret that I wasn¡¯t able to watch from up close.¡± Sunhwa tilted her head. ¡°A foreigner mister?¡± ¡°Oh, hello there, little miss. My name¡¯s Jackson.¡± Jackson held out his hand. Sunhwa took it after some hesitation. ¡°Ah. You¡¯re Mr. Kim Hyukjin¡¯s little sister?¡± From their trivial conversation, I instantly realized. ¡®He¡¯s investigated me.¡¯ He was able to dig out my information so fast? The only people who were interested in me were the Sungshin family. He seemed to be meeting Song Kiyeol for the first time, so it was either President Song Kiyoung, the Blood and Iron Queen Song Junghye, or the spoiled brat Song Jinchul. ¡®It¡¯s probably not President Song.¡¯ So it was either Junghye or Jinchul. But Jinchul was still too young, and he didn¡¯t have much intel on me. ¡®It must be Song Junghye.¡¯ He got my background info from Song Junghye. He had met her. I was sure of it. ¡®Well, it¡¯s not a bad thing.¡¯ Did Jackson think I wouldn¡¯t be able to figure out his relationship with her from what he said? No. He probably knew. He knew and said it anyway. I didn¡¯t know what he was intending. It could be that he was showing off his access to a powerful intelligence network, or was telling me that he was very interested in me. Or it could also be that he didn¡¯t think at all, though that was very unlikely. Sunhwa¡¯s hesitating face brightened a little. ¡°You¡¯re super good at Korean, mister.¡± ¡°Spare me the mister. Oppa. Call me Oppa, little miss.¡± He was even clear on the difference between mister and oppa. ¡°I¡¯m not little.¡± ¡°Oops, sorry,¡± Jackson said, before bending into a respectful bow. ¡°Please call me Oppa, my lady.¡± Jackson intentionally put on an exaggerated air with a sly expression, but he himself seemed to find it cringey. ¡°Eurgh, so cheesy. Sorry. I¡¯ll make my apology quick.¡± The entire time, he spoke with such fluent Korean that anyone would believe he was a native. In any case, Sunhwa seemed to have relaxed a lot around him. ¡°How did you end up here, Jackson?¡± I asked. ¡°It¡¯s because of my scenario. Somehow, your path and my scenario keep coinciding.¡± Jackson¡¯s bearing was extremely natural. He didn¡¯t really seem to be lying. ¡°May I ask what kind of scenario it is?¡± Jackson smiled brightly. ¡°Sorry, no comment.¡± That was fine, I hadn¡¯t expected anything. I heard Yeonseo murmur, ¡°Wow, that¡¯s one good-looking guy. Though he isn¡¯t my style.¡± ¡®A blond-haired handsome man with a stocky physique.¡¯ Standing before the gray, 5-meter-tall Guardian Tower was the blond-haired, handsome man, the twelve-lane road underneath him reduced to ruins. He cut a pretty dashing picture. ¡®It looks natural.¡¯ He looked just like a hero from a western disaster movie, and it felt like I was seeing a scene from the movie. Was this heroic-looking Jackson connected to the puzzle of the past? I didn¡¯t know. I asked again, ¡°By any chance, do you have comrades?¡± ¡°I am in the process of making them. I would also like to build an amicable relationship with you, Mr. Kim Hyukjin.¡± ¡°I see.¡± Like a true explorer, Jackson closely examined the Guardian Tower, which could be considered a new relic. Then, he said some more amusing words. ¡°It seems like an extremely innovative tower, but¡­ something is missing. It¡¯s not quite there.¡± Coming closer to me, Jackson grinned. ¡°I don¡¯t think it¡¯s in its complete form yet. Though I¡¯m sure you already know.¡± ¡°¡­¡± Jackson held out his hand again. ¡°I think we¡¯ll be seeing each other again shortly.¡± ¡°¡­¡± After shaking my hand, Jackson scrambled away. As I watched his receding back, I spoke. ¡°Guildmaster Song Kiyeol. This is just a personal request, but¡­¡± ¡°Please go ahead.¡± ¡°I¡¯d like you to find out if there are any British people traveling with Jackson, and if there are, what class they are.¡± Kiyeol nodded, his eyes burning bright with determination. ¡°Understood. It shouldn¡¯t be hard to find out if I look at Jackson¡¯s entry record. I will investigate every British person who entered the country at around the same time as Jackson.¡± Come and read on our website wuxia worldsite. Thanks * * * Translator ¨C Lei Proofreader ¨C Ash * * * The residents of the DMC Riverview Xi were forced to accept a new fact. ¡°Have you heard? That something weird popped up between our apartment complex 1 and 2?¡± ¡°Is it a monster?¡± ¡°It¡¯s not a monster. It seems to be called a Guardian Tower or something.¡± Guardian Towers were still unfamiliar entities to people. ¡°Won¡¯t the prices of our houses fall with something like that around?¡± ¡°That¡¯s what I¡¯m saying! The world¡¯s chaotic as it is because of monsters.¡± And plus, the road was nearly reduced to ashes. ¡°Taeguk Shield apparently had some kind of scenario there and will be repaving the road.¡± ¡°That¡¯s good, at least¡­¡± ¡°Don¡¯t you think there might be some compensation for damages we can claim?¡± ¡°But only the road was destroyed.¡± The residents formed the core of a lobbying group that loudly demanded that Sungshin pay reparations. ¡°Are you going to take responsibility if our house prices go down?!¡± ¡°Take down that eyesore at once!¡± It looked as though the people weren¡¯t yet ready to accept these structures called Guardian Towers. They didn¡¯t know what they were, and even if they were told, they wouldn¡¯t believe it. Song Kiyeol came to Hyukjin¡¯s house. ¡°¡­Things are going the way you thought.¡± ¡°Yes. They must be demanding reparations.¡± ¡°A few people are claiming that they saw Players who aren¡¯t part of Taeguk Shield. They say those people need to pay reparations as well. There are also people who say they saw So Yoohyun.¡± It wasn¡¯t just Taeguk Shield that was there, but Hyukjin and his team. People were arguing that they should get reparations from Hyukjin¡¯s teammates as well. Hyukjin already knew people would make such claims, and that those claims would soon disappear. He shrugged. To put it one way, the current situation was a side effect, and it would be greatly overshadowed by the main effect. ¡°Taeguk Shield must utilize the current situation very well. We¡¯ve made the world¡¯s first Guardian Tower, and it¡¯s even one capable of growth. This is your chance to spread the name of Taeguk Shield far and wide.¡± They didn¡¯t know right now, but not long from now, people would come to know everything about Guardian Towers. ¡°You will become famous.¡± How well that fame could be utilized was up to the Guildmaster of Taeguk Shield, Song Kiyeol. ¡°And the clamor for reparations will soon disappear.¡± Because very soon, the Guardian Tower¡¯s true worth would be revealed for all to see. By the quickly approaching break of the Gwanghwamun Dungeon. ¡°Understood.¡± ¡°Also, there¡¯s a high chance you will be contacted by guilds from around the world. They, too, will soon summon Guardian Towers.¡± They would move quickly to get information from Sungshin, no, Taeguk Shield. And if they were Players capable of summoning Guardian Towers at this point in time, they could certainly be called geniuses. Taeguk Shield would be able to effortlessly make connections with such people. For Taeguk Shield, it was a winning transaction. Kiyeol nodded. ¡°We¡¯ll take the fame, and you¡¯ll take the practical benefits.¡± That was Taeguk Shield and Hyukjin¡¯s relationship. Their mutual interests aligned perfectly. Hyukjin asked, ¡°Has the Precognitive Dreamer, Ham Sohyun, said anything?¡± ¡°That is actually the reason why I am here.¡± Kiyeol had gotten a message from Ham Sohyun before, one that he showed President Song. He shared it now with Hyukjin. Three doors. A king walks the King¡¯s Road. In front of the king¡¯s path, he shall suspect the ¡®river of baptism¡¯. ¡°Sohyun had a precognitive dream related to these words in the past.¡± ¡°That was when I met Jackson in front of the Gwanghwamun Dungeon.¡± The dream happened to coincide with the time when Hyukjin met Jackson. And Hyukjin knew Jackson¡¯s class. ¡®Exploring Baptist.¡¯ Which meant there was a very high chance Ham Sohyun¡¯s precognitive dream was related to Hyukjin. ¡®If we suppose the king here is me, then in front of the king¡¯s path¡­ I will suspect the River of Baptism?¡¯ Hyukjin examined the note again. Three doors. A king walks the King¡¯s Road. In front of the king¡¯s path, he shall suspect the ¡®river of baptism¡¯. After thinking about it further, he noted that the divination was divided into two notes. That meant it was possible the subject of the top note and bottom note were different. A king walking the King¡¯s Road. A person standing before the king¡¯s path. Were they the same person? ¡®This is complicated.¡¯ Hyukjin decided not to think about it too hard. They were glimpsed by a Precognitive Dreamer as illustrious as Ham Sohyun, so these two revelations were definitely not easy to figure out. Kiyeol passed him more notes. ¡°There¡¯s more.¡± Hyukjin took them. Three fire demons shall descend. It could have been written on one note, but the contents were written on different notes. One fire demon and¡ª. One fire demon and¡ª. One fire demon¡¯s¡ª. At the crossroads of¡ª. It seemed Ham Sohyun was unable to see more of the future than that. ¡°I have a feeling something¡¯s written there¡­ but strangely enough, I can¡¯t comprehend it.¡± It was set so that the rest couldn¡¯t be comprehended. There were words on the paper, but he couldn¡¯t understand their meaning. His brain couldn¡¯t recognize them. This was, of course, a phenomenon that science could not explain. Hyukjin observed the notes for a long time. ¡°Can you see something more?¡± asked Kiyeol. He could. But it was fuzzy. Something was subtly different between the past Hyukjin knew and the future that was to come. Each and every tiny puzzle piece was ever so slightly different. ¡®That I¡¯ve changed the future is already a done deal.¡¯ That in itself wouldn¡¯t make him lose his nerve or get scared. Why? Because Hyukjin was making the now, and that now would turn into the future. So all he had to do was do his best in the ¡®now¡¯. Read latest Chapters at Wuxia World . Site Only From here on out, what he said was important. ¡°Guildmaster Song Kiyeol. Please listen to me very carefully.¡± Hyukjin¡¯s special eye, the Observer¡¯s Eye, was staring at the note, not Song Kiyeol, as if to bore a hole through the paper. Almost as if he were transfixed. ____ Chapter 158 Chapter 158 [Observing with Observer¡¯s Eye.] As if I were transfixed, I unconsciously continued to stare down at the notes. ¨CThree fire demons shall descend. I could almost see something like a hazy video. It was a similar feeling to when I experienced Precognitive Eye. A feeling I couldn¡¯t concretely describe, but could just barely capture. ¡®This sensation.¡¯ My knowledge of the past and this subtle sensation came together. ¡®This is definitely¡­¡¯ The three ¡®fire demons¡¯ were definitely referring to the Gwanghwamun Dungeon break. From it, three calamity-class monsters would emerge, incredibly strong monsters our current selves couldn¡¯t do anything about. These monsters, which we could only evade and hope would disappear on their own, were described as ¡®fire demons¡¯ in Ham Sohyun¡¯s precognitive dream. ¡°Guildmaster Song Kiyeol. Please listen to me very carefully.¡± I couldn¡¯t save everyone. I had neither the obligation to do so, nor the means. However, I would do the best I could from my current position. ¡°The Gwanghwamun Dungeon will break.¡± ¡°¡­¡± We couldn¡¯t clear the Gwanghwamun Dungeon with our current skills yet. All we could do was clear the Gyeonghoeru field. Just clearing the Gyeonghoeru field didn¡¯t mean we cleared the dungeon. ¡®The problem is¡­¡¯ I was getting an extremely ominous feeling from these notes penned by Ham Sohyun. I knew that a Precognitive Dreamer¡¯s ¡®precognitive notes¡¯ possessed a special aura, but I didn¡¯t think it would be this ominous. ¡®The Gwanghwamun Dungeon break I know was indeed a calamity.¡¯ No one could resist the Gwanghwamun Dungeon break. The Korean Players just layed low at that time. The opponents were far, far stronger than the monsters that came out of the Seoul Station and U-Plex Dungeon breaks that were supposed to have happened. They were called ¡®Fire Giants¡¯. ¡®I did know they would come out.¡¯ I, of course, didn¡¯t intend on fighting them. It was too dangerous. If I clashed 1v1 with one, I would die with almost 100% certainty. I fully recognized that. ¡®I know and recognize that. But I still have a bad feeling.¡¯ It felt like foreboding was embodied in snake form, slithering up my leg. The snake wrapped itself around my neck, its tongue flickering at my jugular. ¡°The Gwanghwamun Dungeon will break?¡± ¡°I think the three fire demons are referring to the monsters that will emerge from the break.¡± Big dungeons like the Seoul Station and U-Plex hadn¡¯t broken yet, but small dungeon and gate breaks were happening all the time. Guildmaster Song was well aware of what I was saying. He seemed to have picked up on the severity of the situation. ¡°A dungeon even you cannot clear will break¡­¡± I continued to stare intensely at the precognitive note. My eyes itched, like a worm was wriggling around in my eye. One fire demon and¡ª. What was it? [Cannot comprehend because the proficiency of Observer¡¯s Eye is too low.] I attempted to comprehend it multiple times, but the result was the same. [Cannot comprehend because the proficiency of Observer¡¯s Eye is too low.] After a long time, I was able to get a very tiny clue. [Can only ¡®partially¡¯ comprehend because the proficiency of Observer¡¯s Eye is too low.] I could read a little more of the ¡ª parts. One fire demon and another fire demon¡ª. One fire demon and another¡ª. One fire demon and a¡ª. At the crossroads of incantation and incantation and incantation¡ª. It was said that you could only see as much as you knew, and you could only know as much as you saw. That applied to me right now. ¡®I have a bad feeling.¡¯ Even when clearing the Tutorial, a field that normally had a terrible survival rate, or when I encountered and fought monsters stronger than me, I never had as ominous a feeling as I did now. It wasn¡¯t just dangerous; it was ominous. After comprehending more of the precognitive note, that feeling of impending doom only grew. Thanks to Ham Sohyun¡¯s note, I realized something. ¡®My preparations so far aren¡¯t enough.¡¯ I didn¡¯t make any big plans in preparation for the Gwanghwamun Dungeon break. First of all, the DMC Riverview Xi was a relatively safe place. And in the past, the Namgajwadong area was mostly unharmed by the Gwanghwamun Dungeon break. That was why I planned on waiting it out, laying low and recovering my stamina until the Fire Giants disappeared. The moment I comprehended Ham Sohyun¡¯s precognitive note, I changed my mind. ¡®That alone won¡¯t be enough.¡¯ There was a high chance this calamity would be a little different from the break I knew. I had to prepare for the worst-case scenario. By doing my best, starting right now. * * * Translator ¨C Lei Proofreader ¨C Ash * * * So Yoohyun jabbed his phone screen with his finger. ¡°Darn it.¡± With his formidable build, even his finger seemed to be made of strong muscles. Next to him, Sunhwa looked like a tiny cicada sticking to an old tree. Holding a cup of cola with both hands, she slurped from the straw as she asked, ¡°What¡¯s wrong, mister?¡± ¡°I¡¯ve got a ton of DMs.¡± Yoohyun showed her his screen. DM: direct message. It was a messaging function from the social media Yoohyun was diligently partaking in these days. ¡°Whoa. Are these all demands that you pay compensation?¡± ¡°Looks like it.¡± Sunhwa shook her head. ¡°Idiots. The Guardian Tower is a good thing; they don¡¯t even know.¡± ¡°It hasn¡¯t been proven yet that it¡¯s a good thing, after all.¡± ¡°Even so, why are they asking you to pay up? Sungshin is doing all the reconstruction.¡± ¡°Mm.¡± Yoohyun scratched his head. ¡°No idea.¡± Ahn Seohye, who was quietly eating a hamburger next to them, volunteered the answer. ¡°You¡¯re an easy target.¡± Yoohyun frowned, but nodded shortly afterwards. ¡°Yeah, you¡¯re right. I must be an easy target. In any case, they¡¯re all screaming at me to pay up, saying they¡¯ll sue me or whatever¡­¡± His gaze suddenly moved to Sunhwa and Seohye, alternating between the two. ¡°Hey, you two.¡± Sunhwa and Seohye looked up at Yoohyun at the same time. ¡°Yes?¡± ¡°¡­¡± The two of them were still chewing. They were on their third hamburger. Yoohyun pointed a very meaty finger at Sunhwa. ¡°Would you sit on your thumbs if something like this happened to Hyungnim?¡± Come and read on our website wuxia worldsite. Thanks These two girls were just chomping on hamburgers while remarking on his hapless situation like idle spectators. They didn¡¯t seem to have an inkling of interest in his sorry plight. ¡°Answer me, would you?¡± Sunhwa scowled. You could feel intense rage from her expression alone. ¡°I would beat them all up to a pulp.¡± ¡°¡­¡± Yoohyun was dumbfounded into speechlessness. Girl, wipe the ketchup and mayonnaise off your lips before you get all worked up. ¡°What about you, Seohye?¡± After thinking for a moment, Seohye said quietly, ¡°¡­That oppa wouldn¡¯t get into such a situation in the first place.¡± And then, she returned to the task of eating her burger. At that moment, Yoohyun realized that to these two girls, the hamburgers before them were much more important than his trivial predicament. He realized that they were just giving him absentminded answers, and that he wasn¡¯t Kim Hyukjin. That he could never elicit as much interest from these girls as his hyungnim. And he realized another thing. ¡°Come to think of it, you¡¯re right.¡± Seohye¡¯s words were right. Something like this wouldn¡¯t have happened to his hyungnim to begin with. That was why Hyukjin put up Taeguk Shield as a media barrier, wasn¡¯t it? ¡°As expected of Hyungnim.¡± He nodded with a sage look. But then, he suddenly picked up on another oddity. ¡°Hey, Seohye.¡± ¡°¡­Yes?¡± Didn¡¯t this girl call Hyungnim ¡®oppa¡¯ just now? She said it so naturally that it almost flew under his radar, but she really did say it. ¡°Nothing.¡± No, but¡­ how come he was mister all the time and Hyungnim was oppa? ¡°Seohye. I wasn¡¯t gonna bring it up, but¡­¡± ¡°How come you called Hyukjin ¡®oppa¡¯?¡± ¡°When did I do that?¡± ¡°You called him oppa earlier.¡± ¡°I never said that.¡± Seohye¡¯s face went hard, to the point that if Hyukjin had seen, he would have said that was the face of the ¡®Red Demon¡¯. Yoohyun wiped the sweat trickling down his forehead. ¡°Fine, fine, don¡¯t glare at me so coldly. I¡¯m about to piss myself.¡± ¡°¡­¡± Yoohyun didn¡¯t notice that the tips of Seohye¡¯s ears were red, and that the hamburger she was clutching had a finger-sized hole in it. Feeling embarrassed by Seohye¡¯s silence, Yoohyun averted his gaze, rubbing his stomach. ¡°Somehow I feel a bit bloated today.¡± He might as well eat some hamburgers. Today, he would take it easy and only eat nine. * * * Taeguk Shield issued a warning. ¨CThe Gwanghwamun Dungeon will break. However, they didn¡¯t know when. ¨CPlease be sure to look up the shelters in the Gwanghwamun area and prepare for the dungeon break. The current number one guild in Korea, Taeguk Shield, was working hard to publicize and warn the people. Half a year after the Tutorial, people knew that the world was no longer a safe place. ¡°I mean, I do know it¡¯s dangerous, but¡­¡± ¡°We still have to go to work.¡± And yet, they couldn¡¯t completely block off the Gwanghwamun area. That wasn¡¯t what Kim Hyukjin wanted, either. If the Gwanghwamun area was evacuated and blocked off, loss of life could be avoided in that area. But that would only open the doors for even greater damage elsewhere. Some people accepted Taeguk Shield¡¯s warning. ¡°I heard Sooyoung asked for time off after hearing what Taeguk Shield said?¡± They made preparations just in case. But many others knowingly ignored the warning. They disparaged and cursed the people who heeded the warning. ¡°What kind of nonsense is that? And tell me, how do they know when a dungeon will break? What, would you start hiding now from a typhoon that¡¯s coming next year?¡± ¡°Exactly. Argh, they¡¯re just being selfish. They only think about themselves.¡± A few days passed after Taeguk Shield gave the warning about the Gwanghwamun Dungeon break. It was the middle of November, and the weather had suddenly turned cold. There were many companies clustered around the Gwanghwamun, and countless people would pour out of the buildings at noon for lunch. ¡°Brr, it¡¯s cold.¡± ¡°Yeah, seriously. Why¡¯s it so cold all of a sudden?¡± People closed their jackets, walking in groups of two and three to go eat their lunch. ¡°Hm? What¡¯s that?¡± Someone pointed past the statue of Yi Sun-sin. ¡°Has there been a fire?¡± People recalled Taeguk Shield¡¯s warning. ¨CAs a sign of the Gwanghwamun Dungeon break, flames will start to burn on the three doors. The burning doors had appeared in the precognitive dream of a Precognitive Dreamer. ¡°Taeguk Shield¡¯s warning was real?¡± ¡°Y-Yeah, guess so¡­?¡± ¨CIf you see flames, run. You must find out where the nearby shelters are in advance. ¨CPlease be sure to run away. The people who had looked up where the shelters were started running towards them, heading for the underground subway. Commotion broke out in the Gwanghwamun area. Some people were very out of the loop. Even though Taeguk Shield publicized their warning very extensively via social media and mass media, they still didn¡¯t know what kind of situation was occuring. More people were disinterested in the world than one might have expected. ¡°Excuse me, why are you running all of a sudden¡­ HEY! If you bump into someone, you should apologize¡ª!¡± Some people just started running along with the others, while some stood about in a bewildered daze. Everyone reacted differently to the portent of the break. [The Gwanghwamun Dungeon has not been cleared.] The flames surged up even more fiercely. Black smoke filled the Gwanghwamun area. The Players in the area heard notices. [The Gwanghwamun Dungeon¡¯s break is beginning.] The Gwanghwamun. It was the southern main gate, one of the four gates of the wall enclosing the Gyeongbokgung Palace. The gate with three doors blazed with three flames. At the same time, the Precognitive Dreamer Ham Sohyun had a nightmare. ¡°AHHHHH!¡± She woke up with a scream. Her back was completely drenched in sweat. Her hand began to write down a ¡®precognitive note¡¯ like it was possessed, shaking terribly. ¡°It¡­ has changed.¡± Sohyun knew why. It was because she wrote the precognitive note, and that note went into someone¡¯s hands. In other words, because she divulged the future. In the first future she saw, the ¡®three fire demons¡¯ disappeared automatically after a set time. But in the dream she just had, it was different. It was a future where they didn¡¯t disappear on their own. Where¡­ someone had to extinguish them. A little time passed. The world came to know that three monsters emerged due to the Gwanghwamun Dungeon break. A constant stream of shocking news that the Gwanghwamun area had become a sea of blood was relayed. Even a helicopter was shot down. Neither the military nor the police could do anything. Taeguk Shield, of course, did not make an appearance. The casualties hadn¡¯t yet been totaled, but the bodies on the streets indicated that there were at least hundreds of dead. Hyukjin heard of the tragedy through the news, and he realized. He realized what had changed and how, as well as what he had to do now. He didn¡¯t see anything with Future Sight or Precognitive Eye, nor did he have a precognitive dream. He simply instinctively knew what was happening. He gathered his party members. They were all living in the same building, so it didn¡¯t take long to get everyone together. He began talking right away. Sung-gu¡¯s eyes widened, and he trembled from head to toe. Cold sweat ran down his back. Read latest Chapters at Wuxia World . Site Only ¡°Fuck. Are you serious, Hyukjin¡­?!¡± ____ Chapter 159 Chapter 159 There were always two sides to every coin. If there was sunshine and light, there was shadow and darkness. [Fire Giant has recognized the traces of a ¡®strong wish¡¯.] [Fire Giant has begun to seek the traces of a ¡®strong wish¡¯.] This situation could be seen as a bit of a side effect. I could understand what was happening. ¡®One of the Fire Giants that appear during the Gwanghwamun Dungeon break will come to me.¡¯ I didn¡¯t know how long that would take. It might make a beeline for me, or it might take a roundabout way. One of them picked up my scent. [The Gwanghwamun Dungeon Break Scenario ¨C ¡®Attack of the Fire Giants¡¯ has begun.] [The ¡®traces of a strong wish¡¯ condition has been fulfilled.] [A sub-scenario is being generated.] [The Gwanghwamun Dungeon Break Sub-Scenario ¨C ¡®Hunt of the Fire Giant¡¯ has begun.] The scenario I knew from the past was Attack of the Fire Giants. It was synonymous with the Gwanghwamun Dungeon break, and three Fire Giants emerged from the rift, laying waste to an entire district of Korea. After creating countless casualties over approximately three days of chaos, the Fire Giants automatically disappeared. The Gwanghwamun Dungeon break scenario, Attack of the Fire Giants, was not one we could clear to begin with. Those three monsters were ones we couldn¡¯t yet hunt. And one of them was ¡®hunting¡¯ me. ¡°Fuck. Are you serious, Hyukjin¡­?!¡± It was meaningless to lie here. ¡°Yeah. You heard the notice that a sub-scenario has been generated, right?¡± Everyone nodded. Yoohyun said, ¡°Did you know about the strong wish, Hyungnim?¡± ¡°I did.¡± The feelings my sister devoted for my sake, her love for me, manifested into a ¡®strong wish¡¯. Thanks to that strong wish, I was able to clear the Yellow Charm Gate. But a side effect was that the very same wish was calling a Fire Giant to me. ¡®It¡¯s not Noona¡¯s fault.¡¯ No one could say it was her fault¡ªthis was just bad luck. If there was light, there was shadow, and when it came to medicines, there were side effects. You could kinda call this a side effect of me changing the past. ¡®A side effect can be treated with another medicine.¡¯ But what medicine? To frame it as a disease, the Fire Giant was an incurable illness. What kind of medicine was I supposed to use to treat an incurable illness? ¡°So? Fuck. What are you gonna do?¡± This wasn¡¯t a part of the future I was drawing. But I couldn¡¯t just do nothing. I now had people to protect, and a future I wanted to see. I couldn¡¯t just helplessly give up because a monster that could not be defeated showed up. ¡®There definitely¡­ is a way.¡¯ After seeing Ham Sohyun¡¯s precognitive note, I made preparations nonstop. The worst-case scenario unfolded, but I wasn¡¯t giving up. ¡®Definitely.¡¯ I would be able to pull through this scenario. * * * Translator ¨C Lei * * * Song Kiyeol made a sound of dismay. ¡°Ah¡­¡± After receiving all the reports, his face became very dark. ¡°Shall we call back the Players who have been dispatched to Boracay?¡± ¡°No.¡± It was meaningless even if they came back. Those were monsters even Kim Hyukjin could not kill. Hyukjin had gone so far as to call them a ¡®calamity¡¯. A natural disaster that human strength could not block. ¡°Then what should we do?¡± There was nothing they could do. ¡°Watch over the situation.¡± Time would resolve the calamity. ¡°Does that mean we can only sit here and hide?¡± ¡°It means we need to wait and see.¡± Unlike him, his sister Junghye appeared to be going for a more active approach, so Kiyeol called her to his office. ¡°Junghye.¡± ¡°What?¡± ¡°Don¡¯t¡­ fight the Fire Giants.¡± Even now, the Fire Giants were being broadcasted on TV, like usual. ¨CCurrently, one Fire Giant is moving in the direction of Seoul Station¡­ The reporters were unable to get close, either. They filmed the Fire Giants from high up in the sky, far away. ¨CThe Fire Giant¡¯s palm has been confirmed as a powerful fire attack¡­ The four to five meter tall flaming humanoid monsters had ¡®?¡¯ for levels. The Gwanghwamun downtown region was in flames. Every car that came into contact with palms as massive as their bodies were thoroughly crushed and reduced to burning heaps of wreckage. ¡°Why? Worried I¡¯ll kill them?¡± ¡°¡­¡± He was worried. About his little sister. They might be competing for the succession of the company, but to Kiyeol, Junghye was his little sister. He still remembered how she looked when she was young. She was such a gentle and kind child. Junghye sneered. ¡°You¡¯re too weak, oppa. And far too clumsy to have a big treasure like Taeguk Shield in your grimy hands.¡± ¡°¡­¡± He caught their grandfather¡¯s eye by a stroke of luck and was getting full support, but from what Song Junghye saw, her brother¡¯s actions were so-so. ¡°Let me tell you what the weakness of these Fire Giants is.¡± Junghye continued, looking like she was having fun. ¡°Each giant has to hunt a certain number of people. In other words, after they¡¯ve hunted their quota, they¡¯ll disappear.¡± ¡°How do you know that?¡± ¡°That¡¯s not what¡¯s important right now, is it?¡± She looked at her brother as if looking at something pathetic. ¡°So once they¡¯re offered a set number of sacrifices, they can be hunted. To be precise, they can be made to look like they were hunted.¡± Junghye rose from her seat. She opened her palms, drawing a rainbow in the air, her face full of satisfaction. ¡°How beautiful. A tower of blood built on the noble sacrifices of many Players.¡± ¡°Junghye.¡± ¡°If they are buried in the National Cemetery and conferred badges of honor, how magnificent do you think such a picture would be?¡± ¡°Oppa, you¡¯re too weak. Why do you think I told you the weakness of the Fire Giants?¡± It wasn¡¯t really a weakness, but the condition to extinguish them. ¡°Want me to tell you in more concrete terms? Each giant needs to hunt 10,000 people. A Fire Giant that has killed 10,000 people will sputter out of existence.¡± The amusement on Junghye¡¯s face vanished. ¡°Even if I tell you, you won¡¯t be able to do it.¡± Her brother was incapable of the coldheartedness it would take to sacrifice Players and earn the honor of ¡®risking his life to hunt Fire Giants¡¯. Junghye eyes were full of disappointment. ¡°I wanted you to make the call, Oppa.¡± If he wanted to become the next leader of Sungshin, she wanted him to at least shoulder that onus. If her brother, by some very small chance, had any thoughts of sacrificing Players or people to turn Taeguk Shield into heroes, her opinion about him might have changed a little. ¡°But you¡¯re still as weak as ever, and as much of a dreamer as ever. You¡¯re just an idealist.¡± ¡°¡­¡± ¡°You have to use every method and means at your disposal. That¡¯s how you win. Be it in a fight or a war.¡± ¡°¡­¡± ¡°They¡¯re not disappearing anyway, right? This scenario will only end after 30,000 die. Then someone needs to feed the 30,000 and profit. That is what¡¯s right.¡± Kiyeol could not bring himself to speak. These were his sister¡¯s true thoughts. He was scared. No, he was sad. What made his sister this way? ¡°If you have nothing to say, I¡¯m leaving, good brother of mine.¡± ¡°¡­¡± Come and read on our website wuxia worldsite. Thanks Junghye turned around. Kiyeol felt as though his little sister¡¯s back was a wall made of cold steel. After she left, Kiyeol sat alone and murmured to himself. ¡°It may be correct that 30,000 people have to die anyway.¡± That was an established fact. Humans could not stop a disaster. ¡°But you arbitrarily deciding who those 30,000 people are is another matter entirely.¡± Just then, his phone vibrated. He looked over to find that it was Kim Hyukjin. ¡°Yes, I¡¯ve picked up,¡± he answered his phone. Kim Hyukjin¡¯s next words were shocking. ¡°Are you serious?¡± Kim Hyukjin had called to tell him he would be hunting a Fire Giant. * * * I was a Fire Giant¡¯s ¡®prey¡¯. It would chase me. I couldn¡¯t run. In the end, we would collide head-on. It was just a matter of whether that was very soon, or a little less soon. ¡°That¡¯s all I have to say. I¡¯m going to fight the Fire Giant. Anyone who wants to leave, can.¡± For a very short moment, there was silence. No one got up. No one left. Everyone was saying they would fight the Fire Giant with me. ¡°You might die.¡± And it was highly likely. But Sunhwa said this in response. ¡°If not for Oppa, I would have been left to die in the Tutorial Field anyway.¡± She clutched the hem of my clothes. ¡°Do you remember what I said to you back then?¡± ¨CDon¡¯t throw me away. Saying that, she clung to me. ¡°I begged you not to throw me away. And you didn¡¯t. Now, I can¡¯t throw you away.¡± A bright smile bloomed on Yeonseo¡¯s face again. Her famous smiling eyes were truly radiant today as well. ¡°I still haven¡¯t forgotten that you saved my mom.¡± Summary: Swordsman who Hasn¡¯t Forgotten their Debt Today, her summary showed up as ¡®swordsman¡¯. It meant she had a swordsman¡¯s mindset. ¡°You¡¯ve got to give me a chance to repay that debt.¡± Yoohyun raised his arms. ¡°Exactly, Hyungnim. One little Fire Giant, can¡¯t we just smash it to pieces?¡± Sunghyun didn¡¯t say anything, but he also didn¡¯t leave his spot. State: Firm Determination / Rage Toward Evil / Righteous / Fighting Spirit Summary: Wind Spellcaster with the Heart of a Devoted Hero ¡®Evil¡¯ was probably referring to the Fire Giant. As one would expect from someone who was contracted with the just-minded Lady of the Scales, Sunghyun was very enraged by the Fire Giants that were wreaking havoc on our society and killing swathes of people. In stark comparison, Sung-gu¡¯s state was a sight to see. State: Strong Desire to Run / Desire to Survive / Fear Summary: Flaming Mouse who Wants to Run Away, but Can¡¯t (Isn¡¯t) His summary was the weirdest one I¡¯d seen yet. ¡®It says he can¡¯t run away¡­ but also that he isn¡¯t.¡¯ The ¡®isn¡¯t¡¯ was in parentheses, reflecting the indecisiveness in Sung-gu¡¯s own heart. ¡°Fuck. You¡¯re insane. You¡¯re all crazy bastards. We should just bounce at a time like this. Ah¡­¡± He said everyone was crazy and that we should run, but in the end, he stayed put. ¡°Fuuuck. Whatever. It¡¯s not bad to just all die together.¡± He suddenly broke into maniacal laughter. ¡°That¡¯s right! We¡¯re all going together! Let¡¯s go! Into the ligh¡ªow!¡± Yeonseo had pulled out a wooden sword from her Inventory and whacked him in the head. ¡°What do you mean, go? I haven¡¯t even gotten married yet.¡± ¡°Owww, that hurts. Why¡¯d you hit me so hard?¡± Sunghyun scolded, ¡°Yeonseo noona. Hit him harder, please.¡± In any case, the entire team chose to come with me. I truly, sincerely thought that it was fine if they ran. We had only been a team for half a year. I never intended on forcing them to risk their lives for a comrade they¡¯d only had for half a year, and I thought a few would leave. ¡®This feeling¡­ is pretty okay.¡¯ In the past, I had no one. But now, everyone was choosing to stay by my side. Back then, all I came home to were insects that scattered when I turned on the light, but things had really changed. [Fire Giant has recognized the traces of a ¡®strong wish¡¯ more precisely than before.] And with that notice, I felt it, too. If I had to put it into words¡­ ¡®The smell of fire.¡¯ It felt like something I was sensing with Eye of Perception, but I recognized it as a ¡®smell¡¯. A smell¡­ that I perceived with my eyes. That sounded weird, but that¡¯s how it felt to me. ¡®The smell of fire is getting closer.¡¯ I could feel the smell with my eyes, and it became an energy and flow I was familiar with. [The title ¡®Person of Fire¡¯ recognizes flames of a higher grade.] The ¡®smell of fire¡¯ started becoming more potent. It was a smell only I could perceive. I was struck with the sensation that some kind of energy was radiating from me without my conscious doing, like the fire ki that took root in my body when I got the Person of Fire title was boiling up. I felt instinctive fear come alight within me. Fear that a stronger flame was drawing near. But one corner of my heart began to tremble with another emotion, an emotion that defeated the fear and was starting to grow. ¡®Fighting¡­ spirit?¡¯ It was like the flame within me was impatient to swallow the flame outside of me. It couldn¡¯t quite be called fighting spirit. It was hard to put words to the sensation. ¡®This kind of feeling is a first.¡¯ I was scared that the Fire Giant was coming closer, but I also wanted it to come. Two contrasting emotions were in me at the same time. ¡°Each of us must do what we can to prepare.¡± We couldn¡¯t fight the Fire Giant without any preparations. ¡°The Fire Giant will soon draw near.¡± From the moment I decided to fight a Fire Giant, this scenario began. Everyone had things to prepare in their assigned positions. They went off to do them. One hour later, I got a call from Song Kiyeol. ¨CA Fire Giant has passed the Sinchon area and is heading towards the DMC Riverview Xi. The other two are committing slaughter in the Gwanghwamun vicinity. I will send a video to your phone. I examined the video. I could see the rough gist of what traits Fire Giants had and how they moved. There were two Fire Giants in the video, and a man was screaming. He was captured by the Fire Giants. One had his head, and the other grabbed his legs and pulled. ¨CA-AHHHHH! Sadly, the man died. When another thirty minutes passed, I got another message. ¨CIt has gotten very close to the DMC Riverview Xi. In the vicinity of the DMC Riverview Xi, I waited for the Fire Giant, keenly feeling the ¡®flames of a higher grade¡¯. Another five minutes passed. The ¡®smell of fire¡¯ drew ever closer. ¡®It¡¯s coming.¡¯ There, in the distance, I began to see the Fire Giant coming up the road. ¡®Come.¡¯ Read latest Chapters at Wuxia World . Site Only My preparations were done. ____ Chapter 160 Chapter 160 The twelve-lane road that had been well under reconstruction had long returned to a state of pandemonium. There were no longer any people to be found there. Whirrrrrr¨C! My only companion was the evacuation siren blaring overhead. I saw glimpses of the Fire Giant through the mess of abandoned cars. The giant stared at me, gaze fixed directly on me. The monster, a sizable lump of flame assuming the form of a person, was grinning. ¡®Even though it¡¯s this far away.¡¯ I was standing at the top of a sloped road, and the Fire Giant was waaaay down there. Despite being extremely far away, I could still feel that the energetically burning flames were smiling. ¡®How chilling.¡¯ The fire ki inside me reacted even more fiercely. To be more exact, it was jumping around in agitation upon meeting fire ki of a higher grade. ¡®It¡¯s not coming any closer.¡¯ Its gaze was on me, but it didn¡¯t approach. No, it couldn¡¯t approach. [The Guardian Tower is manifesting the ¡®Power of Guarding¡¯.] [The Guardian Tower has identified an enemy.] I, the Guardian Tower Master, heard the notices. [The ¡®Power of Guarding¡¯ does not permit the enemy¡¯s entry.] The Guardian Tower Tintin was here. If I fought the Fire Giant head-on, I would lose ten times out of ten, but here, there was a monument set to protect me and this field. ¡®I¡¯m going.¡¯ I began to walk. My solitary footsteps rang loudly in my ears. Whirrrrrr¨C! My footsteps continued to beat to the rhythm of the siren. And joining the score was the thump, thump of my racing heart. The warning broadcast continued to blare. ¨CAll residents, please evacuate. ¨COnce again, all residents, please evacuate to the nearest shelter. The Fire Giant stared at me with a smile as I walked towards it. It raised its palm, then swung through empty air. Whumpf¨C! I didn¡¯t actually feel it, but I could feel the ¡®flow of fire¡¯ with Observer¡¯s Eye, along with the ¡®smell of fire¡¯. ¡®The heat of the fire¡­ is colliding with the Power of Guarding.¡¯ Boom! ¡®An explosion only I can hear.¡¯ The world around me right now was strangely silent, as if only the Fire Giant and I existed in this field. Only the ¡®fire sounds¡¯ the Fire Giant was producing and the ¡®movement sounds¡¯ of my body punctuated the silence. Shock waves billowed out as the Fire Giant¡¯s attack crashed against the Power of Guarding, flaring up in the form of a red fire twister. ¡®This, too, isn¡¯t visible to the eye.¡¯ When seen through the physical eye, the world was extremely peaceful and calm. But my eyes saw something else. Right now, a ¡®war of flow¡¯ was underway. I continued to walk towards the Fire Giant until it was directly thirty meters ahead of me. I could now make out its features very clearly. I walked a little closer, giving me an even better view of the monster. Before me was a creature of a completely different level than the monsters I had met so far, a creature I could not hunt with only my ability no matter what tricks I used. I could only feel one thing. ¡®Overwhelming¡­ strength.¡¯ Radiating from it was an aura that proved it certainly deserved its title of ¡®calamity¡¯. If I hadn¡¯t had the Person of Fire title, I wouldn¡¯t have even been able to sense this aura. [Your inner ¡®fire ki¡¯ is reacting more fiercely to the higher-grade flames.] It felt as if my blood had become fire, and that fire was boiling up inside me. ¡®Fighting is dangerous.¡¯ I couldn¡¯t just fight it head-on. We had to stack variable after variable after variable. Only then did we have a chance. I didn¡¯t want to die here. I would create my own future. ¡®Right up to this point.¡¯ There were three meters between me and the Fire Giant, just barely out of reach if the giant could stretch out its fingertips. ¡®Up to this point¡­ it¡¯s safe. For now.¡¯ The Guardian Tower¡¯s authority was protecting me. The Fire Giant couldn¡¯t get any closer, at least for the time being. ¡°Are you the hunter that¡¯s after me?¡± Groaaar¨C! The Fire Giant¡¯s flames blazed up fiercely. Now that I was up close and face to face with the giant, I could tell more precisely. ¡®The time I¡¯ve been given is seventeen minutes.¡¯ After that, the Fire Giant would break through the Power of Guarding. ¡®Seventeen minutes, huh.¡¯ Seventeen minutes could be seen as both short or long. I sat on the ground, completely defenseless. ¡°If you can hunt me, try it. I dare you.¡± Then, I closed my eyes. The Fire Giant froze, its flames burning even more red-hot, enraged that I was looking down on it. It slammed its fists down in anger on the formless wall manifested by the Power of Guarding. Whumpf¨C! Whumpf¨C! Craaaaaaash¨C! A formless, soundless battle I could not see or hear. I sat there, focusing my mind with closed eyes. ¡®The others will do what they have to do.¡¯ ¡®And I¡¯ll do what I have to do.¡¯ As I had always done, I would do the best I could. ¡®We need to stall anyway.¡¯¡¯ I decided to focus on my situation while stalling. My ¡®Person of Fire¡¯ body was reacting fiercely. I had the feeling that if I could guide this tempest somehow, I would be able to gain a new kind of enlightenment. I had felt this way when I fought the Brown Bear Kim Taechun, who was slower than me, and when I uttered the half-conscious Will Incantation. ¡®An enlightenment of a new stage.¡¯ It could be that I was right at the doorstep. It was possible that I might fail, but what I needed to do was focus on what I had to do now. ¡®I¡¯ve aggroed it 100%.¡¯ The aggro was 100% on me. What ¡®we¡¯ needed now was time. * * * Translator ¨C Lei Proofreader ¨C Ash * * * Ahn Seohye was a Barrier Magician. With sufficient time and resources, she could display power far greater than similarly leveled Players. The problem was that typically, she wasn¡¯t given the time and resources she needed. ¡®I have to hurry.¡¯ Come and read on our website wuxia worldsite. Thanks She moved busily, setting herself to the job of further strengthening the barrier as Hyukjin had instructed. She drew out all the mana she had, weaving her ¡®red threads¡¯ densely into the barrier. So Yoohyun¡¯s voice sounded next to her. ¡°I just have to move this car over there, right?¡± Seohye nodded. The positions of the cars, the people, and even the direction of the wind were all factors that made up a ¡®barrier¡¯. [Frenzy Hunting Barrier is changing to Nemesis Doom Barrier.] The Frenzy Hunting Barrier was used for hunting many opponents, while the Nemesis Doom Barrier was good for hunting a small number of opponents more efficiently. That moment, she felt a refreshing energy ripple through her body. The Golden Priest Gong Jinhoon had buffed her. ¡®It¡¯s much easier now.¡¯ ¡°Seohye,¡± Yeonseo called out, ¡°I just have to put a hole here, yeah?¡± Everyone hustled about, moving not as ¡®me alone¡¯ but ¡®us together¡¯. That was the feeling Seohye experienced. Some distance away, sitting alone before the Fire Giant, was Kim Hyukjin. Seohye bit her lips. ¡®I want¡­ to protect.¡¯ Whether she wanted to protect that person, or ¡®us¡¯, or the first real home she¡¯d ever had, she didn¡¯t know. She simply felt a will to protect, and the ¡®will¡¯ of a genius Barrier Magician became one more element of the Nemesis Doom Barrier. [The Barrier Magician¡¯s strong will begins to imbue the Nemesis Doom Barrier.] [The Guardian Tower honors the ¡®Guardian Will¡¯ and assists the Barrier Magician.] The best defense is a good offense. The ¡®will to protect¡¯ imbued the Nemesis Doom Barrier Seohye was deploying, becoming the best offensive barrier. ¡®This is the best I¡¯m capable of right now.¡¯ If the Fire Giant came closer, the barrier of red threads, the Nemesis Doom Barrier, would swallow it alive. Though whether it could truly pull it off was yet to be seen. ¡®I¡¯ve done my best.¡¯ It had taken about seven minutes. ¡®So now¡­¡¯ Sweat ran down her forehead. She didn¡¯t even notice it as she walked towards Kim Hyukjin. The oppressive heat of the Fire Giant was bearing down on her, but she wasn¡¯t scared. Her desire to protect what she had now was greater than her fear of the calamity-class monster. ¡°I¡¯m here.¡± Hyukjin hummed in response and opened his eyes. ¡®It¡¯s been about seven minutes.¡¯ That left ten minutes. He had to set up the stage in that time. He believed in Seohye¡¯s barrier and the Guardian Tower¡¯s power, but those two alone were not enough to perfectly hunt a Fire Giant. No, it might actually be that they might be the ones that were hunted. He had to do everything he could. Hyukjin glanced at Senia. The angel was streaming in a half-transparent state. Seeing as he hadn¡¯t heard any messages, he judged that she had used her Intermediate Administrator authority, and he was right. Senia deemed that Hyukjin required a great deal of concentration and put his notices on pause. Senia was focusing on Hyukjin, and many Guardians were doing the same. ¡°Seohye. I know what you¡¯re capable of.¡± ¡°¡­I did my absolute best.¡± ¡°But I also know that it¡¯s not enough.¡± ¡°After coming here, I can also tell that we cannot hunt that giant with my barrier alone.¡± Seohye¡¯s back was wet with sweat. ¡®Just being in front of it is making me feel so tense.¡¯ It was a first for her. Even when she met the Evil Spirit Tycon, she didn¡¯t feel this way. Back then, ¡®hunting instinct¡¯ billowed up within her, but right now, she just wanted to run away. ¡°And so¡­ I¡¯m thinking that there¡¯s a possibility that I might have to return the Red Eyes to you.¡± ¡°Th-The Red Eyes?¡± Senia¡¯s wings fluttered. She, too, had grown a lot and realized right away that it was time to re-enable Hyukjin¡¯s notices. She informed the Guardians. [The temporary pause on messages has been lifted. Message transmission is now possible.] She intentionally sent the notice to Hyukjin as well. ¡®Not bad, Senia.¡¯ Their teamwork had grown by leaps and bounds. ¡°¡­¡± ¡°Actually, I need the Red Eyes, too.¡± To be exact, not Hyukjin, but the Shepherd Boy. ¡°But that means nothing if we die, right?¡± I have the Red Eyes, Shepherd Boy. I know you¡¯re listening. Hyukjin said those words only in his heart. There were six minutes left. The more desperate side would take action. ¡°So the fact that I need them has to come second. Surviving this comes first.¡± There was no meaning to only stimulating the Shepherd Boy. He relayed the current situation precisely and objectively to the other Guardians as well. ¡°The other two Fire Giants are coming this way, too.¡± ¡°¡­What?¡± Seohye¡¯s eyes widened. One was already hard enough to deal with, but three? Senia¡¯s wings fluttered visibly. She couldn¡¯t figure out what Hyukjin¡¯s end goal was, either. ¡°So if we don¡¯t use the Red Eyes¡­ if we cannot draw out all of its strength¡­¡± Of course, he had no intention to really use the Red Eyes¡ªhe didn¡¯t know what kind of power it actually held. He was just telling the Shepherd Boy this: if you don¡¯t help me, your precious Red Eyes might disappear for good. Seohye suddenly spoke up. ¡°W-Wait a moment, Oppa.¡± She was so flustered that she inadvertently called him ¡®oppa¡¯. ¡°What¡¯s going on?¡± Hyukjin smiled inwardly. She had probably gotten a message from the Shepherd Boy. Hyukjin judged that the Guardian had sent a message to Seohye instead of him. ¡°I¡­ got a message.¡± ¡°A message?¡± he echoed, feigning ignorance. ¡°What kind of message?¡± ¡°I¡¯ve been given a favor. A marble that can allow me to use as much power as if I used the Red Eyes. It¡¯s a Barrier Magician exclusive item.¡± Hm? A Barrier Magician exclusive item? Was it not the Shepherd Boy? ¡°Which Guardian sent it?¡± After some hesitation, Seohye answered, ¡°The Shepherd Boy.¡± From those words, Hyukjin could see exactly why things turned out like this. ¡®The Shepherd Boy is desperate.¡¯ He was extremely desperate. ¡®She says¡­ she got that item from the Shepherd Boy?¡¯ Was that item truly something the Shepherd Boy could grant? That much, Hyukjin didn¡¯t know. But there was a high chance that the Shepherd Boy borrowed it from another Guardian, one related to barriers. In any case, the Shepherd Boy currently had his stomach in knots. He was sure of that. As a result, they scored a good favor. They could pull this off even without using the Red Eyes. ¡®Then next¡­¡¯ There were five minutes left. In these five minutes, Hyukjin would punch open a path of survival more perfect than before. The picture that had been fuzzy at first was steadily becoming clear, all while the ¡®fire ki¡¯ inside Hyukjin¡¯s chest continued to rage. Read latest Chapters at Wuxia World . Site Only ____ Chapter 161 Chapter 161 ¡®Trading directly with a Guardian is dangerous.¡¯ There were exceptions, like when you had justification from a Guardian like the Merchant of Venice getting involved, or when you had a reason anyone would deem as universally valid. However, it was the Guardians who decided what was ¡®universally valid¡¯. The majority of Guardians saw humans as toys for their amusement. Like jesters, so to speak. There were many cases where the Player believed they had universally valid justification and attempted to trade with a Guardian, but only incurred the Guardian¡¯s wrath. The way Guardians thought was very different from us. Normally, that was how it was. ¡®But I¡¯ll still do it now.¡¯ Dealing with Guardians was like playing chess. If I moved this piece, I¡¯d have to move this piece there, and if that piece moved like that, I¡¯d have to move another piece. Each move could create dozens, hundreds of new moves and tactics. ¡®You have to think one step, no, at least two steps ahead.¡¯ It was a good thing that Guardians saw humans as toys for their amusement. Because the majority of Players were like that, they didn¡¯t bother to do deep dives on the psychology of Players. After all, our Playing was just them having fun. That was why their personalities seemed relatively one-sided to us. ¡®Because there¡¯s no need to get super serious while having fun.¡¯ If a Guardian ever got serious, it could be that I wouldn¡¯t be able to put them on my stage at all. There might not even be a stage to put them on because it would be outright destroyed. But at the very least, that wasn¡¯t the case right now. ¡®Thankfully, two of the Guardians watching me right now have a competitive relationship.¡¯ The White Hunter, and the Conductor of Sound. If I manipulated their relationship well and walked the tightrope nimbly, I could move the Guardians with relatively low risk. Though, I¡¯d die if I fell from the rope. I took a deep breath. ¡®I can do it.¡¯ I repeated the words inside my heart. I couldn¡¯t hope to do anything if I didn¡¯t believe in myself. ¡°To the White Hunter who dotes on me¡­ I humbly venture a proposal.¡± When I said the words, a Pause took effect. Senia approached me. ¡°The White Hunter has used a Pause authority.¡± They used the expensive authority like it was nothing. The White Hunter was strong enough to use a Pause without hesitation even though a mere jester made a proposal. As expected of the Fight King Vela¡¯s Guardian. ¡°The White Hunter is waiting.¡± She didn¡¯t show it outwardly, but Senia was definitely nervous, too. ¡°I must now go head to head with a powerful enemy I would normally not be able to fight.¡± The two top Rankers of Italy, the Wargod Salvatore and the Fight King Vela, had personalities of completely opposite poles and clashed at every opportunity. Their individual fandoms were also completely different in character, but if you were to choose which of the two was more popular, it would be the Fight King. Vela was a Player who never retreated and relished Playing on the razor¡¯s edge. He did a lot of intensely risky Plays, so his Playing was always flashy and taut with tension. There was a set of lines that the Fight King said almost habitually. ¨CThe will to not flee in the face of a powerful foe. ¨CThe fighting spirit to never waver, even when pushed to the breaking point. ¨CThe ambition to topple without fail those who endanger all I hold dear. ¨CThose are the things that have made me who I am today. I, of course, liked the Fight King. So how was the Fight King able to monopolize the White Hunter¡¯s love? It was because Vela¡¯s disposition was the type the White Hunter preferred, just like how the Giant of the Sunset¡¯s favorite was Choi Sung-gu. ¡°The will to not flee in the face of a powerful foe.¡± After I said the first two lines, I felt my heart tingle. ¡®This is¡­!¡¯ I didn¡¯t have a single clue back then, but this was definitely an ¡®incantation¡¯. It was only a half-baked incantation with the shape of an incantation but no will behind it. But there was no doubt that it was an incantation. I just wasn¡¯t drawing out its strength properly. ¡®It was an incantation.¡¯ With this new enlightenment, I gained new ¡®lines¡¯. ¡®An extremely elementary one.¡¯ I had the feeling it was an elementary incantation, the most basic of basics. But an incantation was an incantation. I pretty much got the lines to one of the Fight King Vela¡¯s incantations. ¡®As I thought, the Rankers in the past knew about incantations.¡¯ I wasn¡¯t sure, but I had a strong feeling now that the Rankers from my past life knew about them. It was just that they didn¡¯t tell the public about them. ¡®It would be ideal if I could pull off an incantation, but¡­¡¯ Right now, I couldn¡¯t afford to pay attention to that. In front of me was a Fire Giant eyeing me as if I were its prey, and the fire ki blazing in my chest felt as if it would explode at any moment. Plus, I was negotiating with a Guardian. I was already stretched to my limits. I continued to recite the Fight King¡¯s words. ¡°The ambition to topple without fail those who threaten all I hold dear.¡± I changed the last line a little. ¡°Those are the things I wish for.¡± I was sure these words fit the White Hunter¡¯s disposition to a T. Sure enough, I heard a notice. [The ¡®White Hunter¡¯ holds your ¡®will¡¯ in high regard.] ¡°As such, I shamefully ask the White Hunter to help me just this one time.¡± Directly asking for help wasn¡¯t good. No one could predict what side effects or aftermath this would cause. Senia had to know that as well¡ªher expression didn¡¯t look too good. ¡®It¡¯s alright.¡¯ Because there was another Guardian who kept the White Hunter in check, the Conductor of Sound. As long as I didn¡¯t lose my balance, I wouldn¡¯t fall off the tightrope. No, I would make sure that didn¡¯t happen. ¡°The White Hunter is curious as to how he can best help,¡± said Senia. I realized yet another fact from her words. The White Hunter could have sent me messages directly, but they were speaking through an Intermediate Administrator, all while using a Pause authority. Like most named Guardians, the White Hunter loved being at the center of attention. Countless Guardians had to be watching, and the White Hunter was definitely relishing every moment of the current situation. There was something the Fight King Vela always said. ¨CI put the greatest value on foot techniques. A hunter¡¯s footsteps must be lighter than the prey¡¯s. Vela put a constant focus on ¡®foot techniques¡¯. That meant the White Hunter was the same. ¡°At the moment¡­ I lack the adequate measures to resist the Fire Giant. But if I were to have some kind of augment to my movements, I would never run away from this wall that is the Fire Giant. I will become the hunter and hunt it without fail.¡± Senia¡¯s wings trembled. I didn¡¯t know what the Guardians were saying, but it seemed things were going well. * * * Proofreader ¨C Ash * * * ¡°The White Hunter is extremely happy with Player Kim Hyukjin¡¯s qualifications.¡± They were being recognized in front of many Guardians. They had to be in a great mood. [The ¡®White Hunter¡¯ grants you a ¡®temporary favor¡¯.] [The grade of Hunter¡¯s March has been temporarily increased.] [Hunter¡¯s March has temporarily changed to Courageous Hunter¡¯s March.] [Favor Granted by the White Hunter] Type: Special skill Name: (Courageous) Hunter¡¯s March Effect: Come and read on our website wuxia worldsite. Thanks High chance to cure abnormal statuses in a solo battle (duration: 120 seconds) +12% crit chance in a solo battle (duration: 120 seconds) +40% increase in effect of consumable items in a solo battle Increased effectiveness of a ¡®direct attack¡¯ ability of the caster when used in combination with Hunter¡¯s March (limited to innate abilities). Can use the special ability ¡®Hunter¡¯s Step¡¯. Cooldown: 360 seconds Proficiency: [1] There was even a new ability. [Hunter¡¯s Step] The footsteps of an adept hunter hunting their prey. Your footsteps will become more hunter-like. +21% increase in movement speed +26% increase in jumping power +33% increase in acceleration Duration: 120 seconds Cooldown: Same as (Courageous) Hunter¡¯s March I suddenly gained a foot technique. Technically, it was more like a buff that made my movements more dexterous than an actual ¡®foot technique¡¯. There were only two minutes left. I could feel the Fire Giant¡¯s smile widening. ¡®The eyes of a predator looking at prey.¡¯ I could feel it without question. There was ease in that gaze, confidence that it could hunt me down without a problem as long as it was given a little time. ¡®Savor the feeling of being a predator as much as you want.¡¯ Because I would survive this fight. One minute left. It was about time. Whirrrrrrr¨C! The siren blasted. ¨CDangerous monsters are still roaming about. ¨CAll residents, please wait in the shelter and abstain from going outside under all circumstances. The warning broadcast continued to play. Whap whap whap whap whap whap¨C! I also heard a helicopter overhead. ¡®They¡¯re here.¡¯ Several helicopters were flying across the sky towards me. The Fire Giant glanced up and fired a fireball towards them, but failed to reach them. ¡®I can feel it.¡¯ The smell of fire was getting even stronger. That meant the other Fire Giants were coming closer. Two of them. With the one that was already here, that made three. I recalled the prophecy of the Precognitive Dreamer Ham Sohyun. ¨CThree fire demons shall descend. They had indeed descended. Here, at the DMC Riverview Xi. In front of me. I felt them coming closer and closer. [The Guardian Tower¡¯s ¡®Power of Guarding¡¯ is rapidly weakening.] [The ¡®Power of Guarding¡¯ will disappear shortly.] [When the ¡®Power of Guarding¡¯ is extinguished, the Guardian Tower will take aim at the enemies.] I had a full view of the situation in my head. The information the Guardian Tower was sending me came directly to me. Tintin was taking aim at the three Fire Giants. The Power of Guarding would disappear for the time being, but the ¡®Guardian Field¡¯ was still there. As long as the Guardian Tower still stood, the Guardian Field would persist. When they entered this field, the Fire Giants would be weaker. ¡®It¡¯ll dull their strength a little.¡¯ Even just a little was fine. As long as there was a decrease in their strength, that was enough. It was as if Guardian Tower had become my second body, like I was observing both the world Tintin was seeing and the world I was seeing with one pair of eyes, allowing me to take in and analyze more information. ¡°Now then.¡± I got up. The Power of Guarding would soon run out, allowing a whopping three calamity-class monsters, monsters we could never hunt with our strength alone, to encroach on the Guardian Field. ¡°In accordance with the White Hunter¡¯s will, I shall hunt the prey.¡± I pointed at one of the Fire Giants with my finger. ¡°Bang.¡± That was the signal for Sunhwa to jump out from behind the cars. She used a skill that wasn¡¯t fancy, but could be called her specialty, ¡®Taunt¡¯. ¡°Taunt!¡± The three Fire Giants glanced at Sunhwa and sent a firestorm raging her way with a casual swing of their arms. ¡°Kya!¡± Unable to withstand the firestorm, Sunhwa rolled several times backwards with a sharp cry. She utterly failed in pulling their aggro, a result I predicted. I entrusted this role to Sunhwa in order to confirm my prediction. ¡®I fully have¡­ their aggro.¡¯ The three Fire Giants were focusing on me. The first step of my plan slotted in nicely. They leisurely walked towards me, just five meters away now. The powerful ¡®smell of fire¡¯ they exuded stimulated my body. ¡®Ngh.¡¯ My heart felt as if it would explode. I heard three notices in succession. [You have been exposed to flames of a higher grade.] [You have been exposed to flames of a higher grade.] [You have been exposed to flames of a higher grade.] They came even closer. My heart ached and strained like a bomb about to blow. But I did not run. There was no time to pay attention to something like pain. I was coming into their attack range. I had to focus. [The Guardian Field is registering the presence of enemies.] [Inducing a decrease in the stats of the enemies.] [The stats of the enemies are partially decreasing.] At the same time, I could feel that my predictions were correct. ¡®Now.¡¯ Read latest Chapters at Wuxia World . Site Only I began to manipulate the fire ki rampaging within my body with a method unique to me. ____ Chapter 162 Chapter 162 [The stats of the enemies are partially decreasing.] The influence of the Guardian Field was a part of Hyukjin¡¯s calculations. ¡®It¡¯s true that the Fire Giants¡¯ flames are of a higher grade than the fire ki I possess.¡¯ The grade itself was higher, but the Guardian Tower¡¯s influence lowered the flames¡¯ potency as a whole. It was kind of like turning an adult tiger into a baby tiger. The fact that it was a savage beast was unchanged, but the stats themselves were lowered. ¡®And so¡­¡¯ He was able to take advantage of that. The way forward had been obscured by darkness, but he was beginning to see the path. ¡®If I manipulate the fire ki inside me like this¡­¡¯ No one taught him how. Hyukjin manipulated the fire ki with pure instinct, as he had always done. The moment he saw a Fire Giant for the first time, he could tell that the monster had different senses from humans. Humans saw the world with their ¡®eyes¡¯, but Fire Giants saw the world with their own unique ¡®sense¡¯. ¡®If I manipulate the fire ki inside me¡­¡¯ He could create a result like the one he was seeing now. The three Fire Giants reached out eagerly towards him at the same time, like hunting dogs excited by delicious prey. Their blazing arms collided with each other. ¡®Delicious prey is in front of you guys, so try and eat me if you can.¡¯ He could change how he appeared to the Fire Giants depending on how he handled his inner fire ki. To them, Hyukjin appeared to be inviting them with a wagging tail to eat him. He wasn¡¯t actually moving at all, just staring quietly at the Fire Giants with his legs planted firmly in the ground. Whuumpf¨C! One of the Fire Giants swung its arm again. Hyukjin still didn¡¯t move. The arm never reached him. The palm of the Fire Giant slammed into another Fire Giant¡¯s palm as if to trap a rat inside. From afar, the magician who absorbed the Vulcan Body Tome and possessed a peerless ¡®talent for fire¡¯, Choi Sung-gu, could read the gist of what Hyukjin was doing. ¡®He¡¯s manipulating fire ki¡­ to create the illusion that their prey is moving around.¡¯ Could he, Sung-gu, do the same? ¡®Fuck, I can¡¯t do it.¡¯ He could see it, but he couldn¡¯t replicate it. Seeing and doing were two entirely different things. It wasn¡¯t something he learned, and he didn¡¯t even know how to go about doing it. But Kim Hyukjin was doing it with perfect calm. ¡®And with three Fire Giants in front of him, even.¡¯ Because Sung-gu had absorbed the Vulcan Body Tome, he was familiar with the instinctive fear and terror that arose when faced with flames of a higher grade. That was evidenced by the uncontrollable shaking of Sung-gu¡¯s body right now. He was simply staying put by squashing down his fear with logic and willpower, but he could feel his body screaming in fear. ¡®And those movements¡­¡¯ The movement of fire ki, an energy that had no physical form, was an excellent guide and textbook for Choi Sung-gu. He filled his eyes with Kim Hyukjin. He couldn¡¯t manipulate energy like that right at this moment, but just watching would surely be a big help to him. And the more he watched, the more convinced he became of a certain fact. ¡®There¡¯s no doubt. He¡¯s a crazy bastard.¡¯ They began Playing at the same time; Sung-gu was sure of that. And yet, Hyukjin was always at least one step ahead of him. And in an ability related to the fire element, no less. Just then, a Fire Giant¡¯s arm smashed yet again into another giant¡¯s arm. By finely handling the fire ki, Hyukjin made their paths collide. A Fire Giant slapped another Fire Giant¡¯s cheek in anger. Whuumpf¨C! The air whistled loudly, and the pungent smell of gunpowder filled the air. Sweat dripped down Hyukjin¡¯s forehead. ¡®I did it.¡¯ He pulled it off. Hunting Fire Giants on his own was ridiculous. Even with Seohye¡¯s barrier and the help of the Guardian Tower, an impossible feat was impossible. Hyukjin knew exactly where his limits were. [The ¡®Nameless Observer¡¯ is observing.] [The ¡®Whispering Devil¡¯ is having fun.] [The ¡®Conductor of Sound¡¯ is impressed by your scheme.] [The ¡®Courageous Lion King¡¯ is disappointed.] [The ¡®White Hunter¡¯ is watching.] The Guardians sent Hyukjin messages tailored to their individual personalities. Notably, the White Hunter only said they were ¡®watching¡¯. That meant the scene wasn¡¯t much to their liking. ¡®If the Conductor of Sound hadn¡¯t sent anything, that would have meant they were disappointed in me.¡¯ But because the Conductor of Sound was a crafty Guardian, they were maintaining a neutral stance with Hyukjin. That was how Hyukjin saw it, and this situation was within his calculations. ¡®Striking a balance is important with Guardians.¡¯ Even sugar would lose its sweetness if it was eaten every day. Scenarios and stories were fun when they had ups and downs. There had to be a good balance of sweet and bitter to extract the maximum profit from the Guardians. ¡®As for the other one¡­¡¯ While the two Fire Giants were busy fighting each other, Hyukjin closed in on the third giant. ¡®My steps are light.¡¯ His body felt as light as a feather. [The ¡®White Hunter¡¯ looks forward to seeing your movements.] Step by step, Hyukjin moved towards the Fire Giant. He himself was amazed¡ªthe effect of Courageous Hunter¡¯s March was beyond all imagination. Even in the midst of his awe, he continued to manipulate his fire ki, creating slight deviation in the movements of his fire ki vs. his body. Because Fire Giants saw the world through fire ki, his actions created a small opening. ¡®A very small opening.¡¯ It was only the tiniest little gap, but it was more than enough. ¡®Release the fire ki with a big burst.¡¯ The Fire Giant hurled itself forward as if to snatch Hyukjin¡¯s body. He just barely dodged it. That moment, the two fighting Fire Giants turned simultaneously. Fwoosh¨C! Fwooooosh¨C! They became excited at the same time. These giants were neither allies nor friends. They existed independently of each other and competed against each other. If they aimed for the same prey, they would fight. Hyukjin had realized this from the video he got from Song Kiyeol earlier. ¨CA Fire Giant has passed the Sinchon area and is heading towards the DMC Riverview Xi. The other two are committing slaughter in the Gwanghwamun vicinity. I will send a video to your phone. Two giants killed a man. One grasped the head, while the other took the legs. The footage was gruesome, but Hyukjin could make out the Fire Giants¡¯ characteristics from it. His Observer¡¯s Eye read their natures. ¡®They¡¯re monsters that will struggle to keep their prey from getting stolen by one another.¡¯ This was the scene he predicted would play out if he called all three here and riled them up with some passable sleight of hand. Hyukjin jumped back a few steps, just barely avoiding the palm of a Fire Giant. [Using the special skill Flash Step.] His greatly boosted movement speed from Courageous Hunter¡¯s March extended its influence to Flash Step as well. For a moment, Hyukjin lost balance and stumbled. A shiver went down his spine. ¡®That was close.¡¯ What if he hadn¡¯t had Courageous Hunter¡¯s March? What if he hadn¡¯t had Flash Step, or was just a hair slower? ¡®I would have been crushed by that hand.¡¯ He might have met an end not much different from the man he saw in the video. The Fire Giants were definitely strong. They weren¡¯t an opponent he could face right now. All the hairs on his body stood on end. Come and read on our website wuxia worldsite. Thanks ¡®The only thing I can do is harass them.¡¯ Actually fighting them was out of the question. Even harassing them had the Reaper¡¯s scythe at his neck. But for a situation like this one, harassment was the most effective strategy. ¡®They¡¯re well-matched in prowess.¡¯ The giants were baring their teeth at each other, completely forgetting their original objective. Flame and flame collided, and fire ki rippled out in waves. ¡®It doesn¡¯t look all that flashy.¡¯ Fire Giants were just a different race from humans, but they didn¡¯t really have outstanding martial arts or anything. They simply had exceedingly overwhelming physical stats. If both sides had similar skills, the resulting match wouldn¡¯t be very impactful or flashy. It was the same with sports. If the athletes were on the same level, the match would be uniform. Only when there was a slight difference in skill would the athlete with the greater skill shine. ¡®It¡¯s not flashy, but the strength between each and every blow is¡­¡¯ The surrounding asphalt was melting. This place was quickly becoming hell on earth. If Hyukjin hadn¡¯t had the Person of Fire title, he would have had a hard time just breathing. Standing near the Guardian Tower, Yoohyun and Yeonseo ground their teeth. ¡°Hyungnim¡¯s in such a dangerous place, but we¡­¡± Can¡¯t do anything. Yoohyun and Yeonseo weren¡¯t given any real duties. The Fire Giants were simply too strong to fight directly. Yeonseo was just as frustrated. ¡°Seriously.¡± She thought she had grown much stronger, but it still wasn¡¯t enough. She had to become even stronger. Yeonseo slightly bit her lips. ¡°Let¡¯s do special training from tomorrow onwards, Yoohyun.¡± Yoohyun nodded. ¡°If we survive this, that is.¡± * * * Translator ¨C Lei Proofreader ¨C Ash * * * The Precognitive Dreamer Ham Sohyun sat down. She didn¡¯t do it consciously. The woman pulled out a paper and pen from her Inventory as if someone were controlling her. Without realizing it, she began to write. One fire demon and another fire demon shall collide. One fire demon and another fire demon shall collide once more, bringing the incomplete hunt to completion. One fire demon and a fire demon shall bare their teeth at another in the end. Her hand moved as if possessed, writing out the incomplete precognitive note. At the crossroads of incantation and incantation and incantation¡ª. At the same time, Hyukjin could feel it. ¡®They¡¯ve gotten very tired.¡¯ A group of three similarly strong opponents had exchanged blows. They were extremely tired right now. ¡®We won¡¯t have another chance like this.¡¯ Right now, countless factors and conditions, including the influence of the Guardian Field, were in play. Carefully manipulating his heat ki, Hyukjin lured the Fire Giants to the Guardian Tower. They were so absorbed in fighting one another that they didn¡¯t even realize how far they had walked. [The Guardian Tower¡¯s ¡®Guardian Will¡¯ is taking greater effect.] The Fire Giants were tired as it was, and the Guardian Tower¡¯s Guardian Will bore down on them even more. Flinch. The giants flinched. Something stirred within them, an instinctive signal that there might be something ¡®dangerous¡¯ here. ¡°Seohye. Now!¡± At that moment, a voice that was not Seohye¡¯s own came from Seohye¡¯s lips. It was similar to when Hyukjin was uttering the Will Incantation, and the words themselves were the same ones Hyukjin had spoken when he used the Hand of Salvation. ¡°Trust is the truth of desires¡ª¡± ¡°And the proof of what cannot be seen.¡± Seohye closed her eyes. A red energy began to swell from her body, dying the world around her crimson. To be more exact, thousands of thin threads were sealing this world off, forming a circular dome over the Guardian Tower area. Hyukjin heard the words very clearly. ¡®That¡¯s¡­ the incantation I did.¡¯ Seohye had learned it? ¡°One who trusts even without seeing shall die even in life.¡± ¡°Thy cry of agony and entreaty, I have heard.¡± He felt Seohye¡¯s strong ¡®will¡¯. Etched deep with that will was trust in Hyukjin and the desire to protect the new world she had gotten. ¡®But¡­¡¯ Hyukjin had already experienced the Will Incantation. Because he¡¯d experienced it, he knew. Something about Seohye¡¯s incantation was off. It had been changed somewhere. One who trusts even without seeing shall live even in death. One who trusts even without seeing shall die even in life. ¡°Live even in death¡± was changed to ¡°die even in life¡±, and¡ª Thus shall I sublimate thy lacerating suffering into peace and joy. Thus shall I sublimate thy lacerating suffering into eternal peace. ¡°Peace and joy¡± was changed to ¡°eternal peace¡±. At that moment, an ominous feeling gripped him. The red energy shimmering from Seohye¡¯s body reminded him of a terminal flame burning all of its life force and bravely flaring out of existence. ¡°Seohye!¡± Hyukjin realized what Seohye was trying to do. Red tears were dripping from her eyes. [You who have killing intent.] [I command thee. Return to thy eternal slumber.] The Irregular Ahn Seohye¡¯s summary steadily became visible to Hyukjin¡¯s eyes. Summary: Barrier Magician Resolved to Martyr Martyr. The act of sacrificing one¡¯s life to protect one¡¯s beliefs against all oppression and persecution. Seohye¡¯s eyes flashed open. After finishing the incantation, she uttered the final activation words. ¡°Nemesis Doom Barrier.¡± The red threads that had covered the world began to descend on the Fire Giants. At the same time, Ham Sohyun continued to write down her final precognitive notes. At the crossroads of incantation and incantation and incantation, fabrication and truth, distortion and insight, shall ravage one another. There was one more future to be penned. She wrote two notes. There, shall a powerful wish, the will to protect, and life be instilled. There, shall one who pursues a wish predate as eyes of greed reign supreme. Read latest Chapters at Wuxia World . Site Only And then, she fainted. She saw two futures, two completely contrasting futures. The unconscious Ham Sohyun mumbled, ¡°The variable is¡­ the Sovereign of Incantations.¡± ____ Chapter 163 Chapter 163 A few minutes ago. Back when Ahn Seohye and Kim Hyukjin were standing in front of the Fire Giant together, Seohye heard a notice. [The ¡®Shepherd Boy¡¯ wishes to gift you ¡®Red Marble¡¯ as a favor.] [Accept the ¡®Red Marble¡¯?] [Red Marble] A red marble in an ingestable form. It is suffused with the authority of a Guardian who has not revealed their name. Upon ingestion, life force will be absorbed to produce great strength. Barrier Magician exclusive Can see more information if held [If the ¡®Red Marble¡¯ is accepted, the conditions of the ¡®Shepherd Boy¡¯ must be upheld.] Those conditions were: [You cannot repossess the ¡®Red Eyes¡¯.] [You cannot absorb the ¡®Red Eyes.¡¯] [This proposal is made with the authority of the ¡®Shepherd Boy¡¯.] She wouldn¡¯t be able to repossess the Red Eyes Hyukjin had in his hand. ¡®That kind of thing doesn¡¯t matter.¡¯ In truth, Seohye didn¡¯t want the Red Eyes. Even now, she didn¡¯t know what the Red Eyes were. All she knew was that they were eyes that exuded an ominous energy, an energy that, once activated, she herself could not handle. Seohye heard a different notice. [The ¡®Lady of the Scales¡¯ reproaches the ¡®Shepherd Boy¡¯.] [The ¡®Barrier of Blue Light¡¯ advises against using the ¡®Red Marble¡¯.] Normally, she didn¡¯t really hear notices like this. ¡®It¡¯s probably because I¡¯m Playing with Hyukjin oppa.¡¯ She didn¡¯t know why, but there were no Intermediate Administrators who exclusively focused on her, which also meant there weren¡¯t many Guardians who primarily watched her. ¡®Red Marble¡­¡¯ She hesitated a little. When she held the Red Marble in her hand, the detailed item description popped up in her mind. ¡®If I use this¡­¡¯ There was a high chance¡­ that she would die. Her hand shook. The ¡®life force will be absorbed¡¯ that were just words in an item description became real in her mind, looming over her. ¡®I¡¯ll die.¡¯ She felt that with almost 100% certainty. But in exchange, she also thought there was a high chance she would be able to hunt that Fire Giant. At the very least, using this would be a big help in hunting it. ¡®And if I don¡¯t use it?¡¯ The Barrier Magician could gauge the strength of her opponents precisely. That was why she didn¡¯t hesitate when hunting Predator Trees for the first time. She knew without a doubt that her current self could never hunt that Fire Giant. Because even the killing instinct a Barrier Magician possessed was cowering before it. She said to Hyukjin, ¡°I¡¯ve been given a favor. A marble that can allow me to use as much power as if I used the Red Eyes. It¡¯s a Barrier Magician exclusive item.¡± She wasn¡¯t completely honest. ¡®What would happen if I told the truth?¡¯ If she said that her life force would be sucked dry, that her life would be used as collateral to deploy a barrier, how would Hyukjin oppa act? ¡®I¡¯m not sure, but¡­¡¯ From what she had seen of him so far, she felt that he would prevent her from using it. If she was being more honest, she wanted him to make it so she couldn¡¯t use it. So she didn¡¯t tell the truth. She didn¡¯t want to become disappointed in the first ¡®adult¡¯ she met. She was scared that he just might tell her to use it anyway. ¡®If I don¡¯t use this here, everyone will die.¡¯ Everyone dies. Or she alone dies. Which one should she choose? ¡®I want to live.¡¯ She had just gotten a new lease on life. There were more warm people in this world than she thought, and there weren¡¯t just bad people in this world. She gained good people like Yeonseo and Sunhwa. The sweet coffee they drank together yesterday was really, really delicious. ¡®I want to protect.¡¯ Her life, and their lives. ¡®But I can¡¯t protect everyone.¡¯ Someone had to be sacrificed. Just like Kim Hyukjin, who was closing his eyes in front of that huge Fire Giant, no one here wasn¡¯t prepared to die. ¡®Then I will.¡¯ She decided. To use the Red Marble. To accept the Shepherd Boy¡¯s proposal. ¡°Which Guardian sent it?¡± ¡°The Shepherd Boy.¡± That was all she said. She didn¡¯t give any additional info. That was Seohye¡¯s choice. And before she knew it, the three Fire Giants that had exhausted themselves as Hyukjin had planned were very close to the Guardian Tower Tintin. Under Hyukjin¡¯s orders, Tintin aimed at the Fire Giants. At the same time, Jo Sunghyun and Choi Sung-gu let loose the spell they had been reciting and preparing a long time in advance. It was a spell the two top-class magicians had spent a lot of time preparing. [Wend Kiratia Metiase¨C] [Speller Kartina Neu-Armi] A three-meter long spear of wind formed and was enveloped in a layer of flames. Wind and fire synergized, becoming massive in the air. The two of them had worked together for a long time and were now adept at it. [Magic fusion was successful.] Spell and spell fused, the wills of two magicians intertwining. The fusion spell was endowed with mana far stronger than two separate spells. The spear of wind and fire created by the two magicians slammed into the Fire Giants. Tintin¡¯s gun ports opened at the same time. Ba-ba-bam! Explosions rang out. Hyukjin¡¯s Conductor¡¯s Hymn took effect on it all; the skill also applied to Tintin. [Critical hit!] Thanks to the increased crit chance, a few attacks were crits. As that happened, Seohye recited the Will Incantation. It wasn¡¯t one that she had come up with. It was Hyukjin. A Will Incantation that was subtly twisted somehow, changed by something different. In other words, a distorted Will Incantation. Seohye felt the potent energy flowing out of her body. It was red in color. She felt as if she were becoming one with it. [You who have killing intent.] [I command thee. Return to thy eternal slumber.] Her heart shuddered. She would protect them. She would kill, to protect. ¡°Nemesis Doom Barrier.¡± The absolute annihilation hunting barrier of a Barrier Magician. She would kill. She would die, to kill. Her heart flooded with complex emotions. They were too complex. She wanted to live, but she couldn¡¯t, and she wanted to protect, but she also wanted to flee. She herself didn¡¯t know what this feeling was. Come and read on our website wuxia worldsite. Thanks She fell into a trance, unsure as to whether she was deploying the barrier, or the barrier was deploying her. * * * Translator ¨C Lei Proofreader ¨C Ash * * * I could instantly feel them¡ªthe power Seohye¡¯s barrier possessed, and the ¡®abnormal killing intent¡¯ imbued in those red threads. The ironic thing was, inside that bloody killing intent was the intense wish and will to protect something. Because she wanted to protect something, she exuded killing intent. That was the will instilled in Seohye¡¯s ¡®Nemesis Doom Barrier¡¯ right now. ¡®This¡­ is abnormal.¡¯ The barrier was far stronger than expected. The writhing red threads swallowed the three Fire Giants, making three spheres. The spheres made of red thread began to grow smaller and smaller, constricting the bodies of the three Fire Giants. ¡®Even for Seohye, this is¡­¡¯ This might be a barrier she set up in advance, but this was too much. This strength was completely balance breaking. We were supposed to slowly hunt down the exhausted Fire Giants, fortified by Tintin¡¯s support and Seohye¡¯s barrier. ¡®It would have been impossible without Tintin¡¯s support.¡¯ I only made this plan because we had the Guardian Tower. But the situation right now was making me think that we would have been able to hunt the giants even without Tintin. That was just how impossibly powerful this barrier was. ¡®The amplification of this abnormal energy¡­¡¯ Power this abnormal definitely came with side effects. Definitely. Summary: Barrier Magician Resolved to Martyr ¡®No way.¡¯ Was the ¡®marble¡¯ given by the Shepherd Boy earlier a drug that used Seohye¡¯s life force as fuel? That was highly likely. Blood dripped from Seohye¡¯s eyes. ¡°Seohye!¡± I grabbed her shoulders. She couldn¡¯t go on like this. Right now, we could hunt the Fire Giants even without Seohye overdoing it. I was sure of it. I hadn¡¯t even invested all my stat points yet and hadn¡¯t brought out my transcendent weapon, Isabel. With sufficient time, we could hunt the Fire Giants in their current state. I shook her shoulders, but Seohye¡¯s eyes lacked focus. They were filled solely with the intent to kill. Only her hostility towards the Fire Giants was blazing in her eyes. ¡°Snap out of it! You can stop now.¡± But I could tell. The train could no longer be stopped. Seohye¡¯s energy began to flood out, blood streaming from her eyes, her ears, her nose, her mouth. The bright crimson ran down her cheeks, her neck, and began to dye her clothes. This was far too different a scenario than the one I predicted. [Fire Giant has been killed.] [Fire Giant has been killed.] [Fire Giant has been killed.] The Barrier Magician Ahn Seohye successfully hunted the Fire Giants. This place was a Guardian Field and within my ¡®Observer¡¯s Domain¡¯. [Level increased.] [Level increased.] [Current level: 37] My level instantly shot up, meaning I had just gotten a mountain of EXP unimaginable for the Hell Phase. Two sparkling items were dropped. [Fire Giant¡¯s Breath] [Fire Giant¡¯s Necklace] And then, Seohye slumped to the ground. I wasn¡¯t that happy. In the scenario I sketched out, everyone was supposed to live. It might have been very difficult, but still, everyone was going to live. As I held her, Seohye regained consciousness. She smiled faintly, the blood red on her lips. ¡°They¡¯re all dead, right? I felt her state. State: Happiness / Relief / Unburdened But her state changed a little. Relief that she pulled it off. And then, upon realizing that she was going to die, the fear of a woman who had thought of herself as a martyr. All of her emotions hit me unimpeded, most likely because I once shared and empathized with Seohye in the past, because I had once felt the darkness within her in my very cells. I was feeling her emotions more keenly because of that connection. ¡®I¡­¡¯ Seohye¡¯s state changed by the second. From fear, to joy, to happiness, to sadness, and back. ¡°This is the end, so I can be honest, right?¡± Even before I could respond, Seohye quickly continued. ¡°I wanted to protect.¡± Seohye was unable to move her body. She seemed to lack the strength to even lift a single finger. My Eye of Perception could tell that there wasn¡¯t much life left in her body. This was something modern medicine couldn¡¯t fix. ¡°And, thank you.¡± Seohye looked completely at ease. ¡°You showed me that the world isn¡¯t just a scary place.¡± ¡°¡­¡± Sunhwa ran over and threw herself on Seohye. ¡°What¡¯s going on?! What¡¯s going on?! What happened?!¡± She began to wail even before finding out the full details. ¡°Blood! You¡¯re bleeding! Mr. Gong Jinhoon, what are you doing?! Please come and treat her, quick!¡± But Gong Jinhoon knew, too. Ahn Seohye could not be healed. She had used a drug of no return. I didn¡¯t know what kind of shitty trick the Shepherd Boy pulled, but I had my suspicions. I bit my lips. ¡®Was it my fault?¡¯ Should I have explained things a little more precisely? While I was planning my safety and showing the Guardians an exciting scene, this child made the decision to die. She protected us with her life. Seohye raised her hand with extreme difficulty. It looked like she was reaching towards me. I took her hand. Her voice had become much quieter. ¡°That¡¯s weird. I¡¯m not scared. Normally, my heart races like crazy when I¡¯m holding a man¡¯s hand.¡± She wasn¡¯t talking about the kind of excitement that coursed through one¡¯s body when in the company of the opposite sex. This was a child who had trembled uncontrollably in fear at the mere sight of a single hair from a man. ¡°Thank you. For making it so it¡¯s not scary.¡± Seohye¡¯s voice was still as calm as ever. She clearly knew that she was about to die, and yet, she seemed unfazed. Her features had actually become more peaceful. ¡°Thank you so much. It was only a short time, but I was really happy. I really mean it.¡± Seohye¡¯s hand fell out of mine, limp. Her body ceased to draw breath. ¡®I¡­¡¯ Couldn¡¯t do anything. ¡®This isn¡¯t right.¡¯ It wasn¡¯t. It just wasn¡¯t, no matter how hard I thought. She was a girl in her teens who had just barely started to open her heart a little. It wasn¡¯t right that a child who finally got the treatment and protection she deserved was dying to protect someone. At that moment, I felt something strange, like something was vibrating in my Inventory. Buzz¨C! Buzzzz¨C! My entire Inventory seemed to rock with the force of the vibrations. ¡®Huh¡­?¡¯ The Red Eyes that had been quiet all this time were violently vibrating¡­ as if to express their desire to return to their original owner. At the same time, in a different place, something happened to the precognitive note penned by the unconscious Ham Sohyun. Read latest Chapters at Wuxia World . Site Only There, shall one who pursues a wish predate as eyes of greed reign supreme. That note burned into nothingness, leaving the other intact. There, shall a powerful wish, the will to protect, and life be instilled. ____ Chapter 164 Chapter 164 The Red Eyes started to go wild, as if they wanted to jump right this instant into the arms of their true owner. ¡®I don¡¯t know what will happen.¡¯ I didn¡¯t know what kind of effect the Red Eyes had. It didn¡¯t even occur to me that it was an item that I could use to control the Shepherd Boy. I couldn¡¯t calculate all the pros and cons. I simply had to do what I could right now. I didn¡¯t want to regret anything in this life. I took out the Red Eyes from my Inventory. [The ¡®Shepherd Boy¡¯ asks for the ¡®Red Eyes¡¯.] [The ¡®Shepherd Boy¡¯ strongly demands the ¡®Red Eyes¡¯.] In his haste, the Shepherd Boy sent me two messages, and it didn¡¯t end there. [The ¡®Shepherd Boy¡¯ expresses faint hostility towards you.] [The ¡®Shepherd Boy¡¯ mentions that his hostility can become goodwill at any moment.] He even warned me. He was telling me to leave the Red Eyes alone. The Shepherd Boy was a powerful Guardian. Things would become very tiresome if I made him my enemy. If possible, it was best to do as he wanted. Logically speaking, that is. ¡®No.¡¯ But this wasn¡¯t the time for that. ¡®I¡¯m a little more of an adult than her.¡¯ I was an adult, and she was a child. As an adult, I should act a little more adult-like. There were occasionally times when I had to act with no regard for my personal gain. Why? Because I was a little more of an adult than her, and she was of the age to be protected. Because she couldn¡¯t die here. Because I had to do everything I could. While I was flicking the abacus beads and watching my own step, this child put her life on the line. [The ¡®Shepherd Boy¡¯ wishes to freeze your actions.] [Your movements are being dulled.] The Guardian involved himself rather directly, going so far as to put a debuff on me. He wanted the Red Eyes that desperately. Just what was this thing? My movements slowed visibly. I was a level 37 beginner Player. Even simple ¡®dulling¡¯ made my body feel as if it were ¡®restrained¡¯. ¡®Seohye has completely stopped breathing.¡¯ It took a long time for me to move my arm. Everything seemed to move in slow motion. ¡®Oh.¡¯ But thanks to everything being slowed down, I could notice more things. It was natural to see details you hadn¡¯t noticed before when playing something in slow motion. ¡®Seohye¡­ hasn¡¯t completely died.¡¯ How could I put it? Her heart had stopped, as had her breathing. Scientifically speaking, she was dead. But what was this subtle feeling¡­ that she was alive? ¡®There¡¯s some kind of flow connected to the Red Eyes.¡¯ Baseless belief and aspiration stirred within me. ¡®I¡¯ll save her.¡¯ I could save her. No, I would definitely save her. Ahn Seohye hadn¡¯t died yet. Yeonseo snatched the Red Eyes out of my hand and lifted them. ¡°Boss Hyukjin. I have to give these Red Eyes to Seohye, right?¡± I nodded. Time had slowed for me, so Yeonseo¡¯s movements seemed extremely fast. She rapidly brought the Red Eyes to Seohye¡¯s eyes. ¡°How do I do this? It¡¯s not working.¡± Yeonseo looked like she was going to cry. ¡°It says the power of an agreement is in effect.¡± The power of an agreement? ¡°It says she can¡¯t absorb the Red Eyes.¡± I realized what happened. The Shepherd Boy had played a cruel trick. No wonder he handed out a marble with such an incredible effect. The penalty of death had been set down from the start. I bit my lips. ¡®Shepherd Boy.¡¯ Was this a dead end? ¡®No.¡¯ My desire to protect Seohye was as great as her desire to sacrifice her life to protect us. I wanted to revive her. Right now, right here, that was how I truly felt. [The ¡®Shepherd Boy¡¯ breathes a sigh of relief.] [The ¡®Whispering Devil¡¯ is having fun.] [The ¡®Lady of the Scales¡¯ reproaches the ¡®Shepherd Boy¡¯.] [The ¡®Nameless Observer¡¯ observes.] I focused on a certain fact. ¡®Only now is the Shepherd Boy relieved.¡¯ The ¡®power of an agreement¡¯ should have been in place from the start, so why? Why was he relieved when I, a mere Player, shouldn¡¯t be able to breach that power? ¡®Considering how anxious he was earlier¡­¡¯ A thought flashed through my mind. [Your movements are no longer being dulled.] Yeonseo looked at me, crying. ¡°Boss Hyukjin. What do we do? What should we do? Seohye¡¯s not gonna die, is she? She can¡¯t die. She¡¯s not someone who can die here¡­!¡± I was able to move my body like usual again. ¡°I¡¯ll save her.¡± * * * Translator ¨C Lei * * * I had already experienced ¡®false power¡¯ once, and I had also broken it before. The power to discern the true nature of things, the power of insight, were powers I possessed. I had eyes that could see through lies. ¡®Seohye¡¯s incantation earlier was distorted.¡¯ It was different from the incantation I knew. I knew the correct incantation¡ªit was just that I couldn¡¯t realize it properly. Still, the fact that I knew it was the important part. ¡®I¡¯ll correct that distortion first.¡¯ One who trusts even without seeing shall die even in life. That was wrong. ¡°One who trusts even without seeing shall live even in death.¡± This incantation was not an incantation to kill, but an incantation to save. I corrected it. ¡°Thy cry of agony and entreaty, I have heard.¡± ¡°Thus shall I sublimate thy lacerating suffering into peace and joy.¡± It was the same as back then. I used the Incantation of Salvation on Ahn Seohye. [You who have trust.] Come and read on our website wuxia worldsite. Thanks [I command thee. Open thy eyes and face the world.] [You have partially succeeded in uttering the Will Incantation.] I didn¡¯t know what kind of meaning this incantation would have on me right now, or what I stood to gain from this incantation. I was simply driven by a gut sense that this was ¡®what I had to do¡¯. ¡®No matter what it is, I have to do everything I can.¡¯ Everything I could to shatter the Shepherd Boy¡¯s ¡®fabricated power¡¯. I didn¡¯t know what kind of agreement the Shepherd Boy and Seohye made, but that agreement was a fabricated power. That was how the System saw it, and something the Shepherd Boy himself knew. ¡®I will shatter it.¡¯ I had also experienced a strong wish. That experience told me that my wish right now was to save Seohye. [The Guardian Tower is responding to the Guardian Tower Master¡¯s ¡®Guardian Will¡¯.] [The Guardian Tower acknowledges ¡®one with Guardian Will¡¯.] I immediately knew that the ¡®one with Guardian Will¡¯ was referring to Seohye. Her feelings had been acknowledged by Tintin as well. The notices continued. [The Guardian Tower adds its ¡®Guardian Will¡¯ to the ¡®Guardian Will¡¯.] My fervent wish to save Seohye was interpreted as Guardian Will, and the Guardian Tower bolstered me. It buffed me, so to speak. Cracks began to appear in the fabricated power enveloping Seohye¡¯s body. Naturally, it wasn¡¯t something you could see with the eye. My Eye of Perception just sensed it. ¡®It¡¯s still not enough.¡¯ There wasn¡¯t much time. A little longer, and Seohye would really die. I had to topple this power. A thought shot into my head like an arrow. It was an enemy blocking my path. It might just be a false authority, but the person who put it in place was the Shepherd Boy, of all Guardians. A powerful enemy. ¡®If I use this right now, the Shepherd Boy will completely become my enemy.¡¯ That was natural¡ªa lowly Player would be regarding a Guardian¡¯s power as an ¡®enemy¡¯ and shattering it, after all. ¡®I was going to do that anyway.¡¯ I immediately opened my mouth without a moment of further thought. My lips formed the incantation that I had experienced very briefly earlier as a mere shell. ¡®I will shatter it.¡¯ That will took root firmly in my heart. This time, the incantation wasn¡¯t just a shell. ¡°The will to not flee in the face of a powerful foe.¡± ¡°The fighting spirit to never waver, even when pushed to the breaking point.¡± In the end, the Shepherd Boy revealed his true colors. [The ¡®Shepherd Boy¡¯ assumes a hostile attitude towards you.] Hostility? He could bare his teeth as much as he wanted. Trash like him could see itself out the door. ¡°The ambition to topple without fail those who endanger all I hold dear.¡± ¡°Those are the things I wish for.¡± It was an elementary incantation, an easy one belonging to the basics. That also meant it was an incantation that could act as a foundation. I instantly heard a notice. [You have partially succeeded in uttering the Will Incantation.] [Manifesting will based on the grade of the Will Incantation.] My Will Incantation wasn¡¯t complete. To begin with, it was an incantation I cobbled together from the words spoken by the Fight King. Vela wasn¡¯t an idiot; there was no way he would have publicized an excellent incantation of high grade. From Vela¡¯s point of view, the incantation he shared with the world was extremely low quality, and I was stealing and producing a mere imitation of that low quality incantation. Despite that, it was a definite fact that I successfully uttered the Will Incantation. More cracks appeared in the fabricated power. And then, I was able to capture the correct timing for the last spurt. To incantation and incantation, I added another incantation. They might just be elementary incantations from the beginner period, but stacking multiple incantations would surely produce a stronger effect than just one. I wouldn¡¯t have known had I not experienced it, but the Incantation of Insight was familiar to me. All the experiences I had accumulated made me who I was today. ¡°Illusions and apparitions, distortions and lies, cannot covet me.¡± ¡°No matter what ravine of evil in this world I must traverse.¡± ¡°No evil power that seeks to harm me can violate me.¡± ¡°Such is the power of intuition.¡± ¡°The Eye of Insight that sees the true nature of things.¡± Having experienced the Eye of Insight before, my Will Incantation was further fortified. I once again manifested the Eye of Insight that had pushed the fabricated authority of the Yellow Charm Gate to its knees. [May all lies.] The fabricated power wrapped around Seohye¡¯s body shattered entirely. I brought the Red Eyes to Seohye¡¯s eyes without delay. [Consume the ¡®Red Eyes¡¯?] The current Red Eyes were a consumable item. I didn¡¯t know what would happen, but I decided to go ahead with it. I didn¡¯t weigh this and that. I also used another special skill that had come off of cooldown. [Using the special skill (Courageous) Hunter¡¯s March.] I did it unconsciously out of instinct, as naturally as breathing. Though I used it instinctively, I knew why I used the skill. 3. +40% increase in effect of consumable items in a solo battle At this moment, the Red Eyes were a consumable item, and the skill gave a staggering +40% increase to its effect. [The ¡®Lady of the Scales¡¯ holds your act of good in high regard.] [The ¡®Lady of the Scales¡¯ sends you a ¡®Judgment of the Law¡¯ as a sponsorship.] The Red Eyes melted down and flowed into Seohye¡¯s eyes. ¡®Please¡­!¡¯ Red light began to whirl around Seohye¡¯s body. The wicked looking energy swelled before streaming into her body. ¡®Huh?¡¯ And then, Seohye¡¯s body began to disappear, starting from her feet. ¡®What?¡¯ Her body faded like dust scattering in the wind. Yeonseo and Sunhwa screamed at the same time. ¡°NO!!!¡± Her feet, her knees, then past her thighs to her stomach. Her chest, her neck, even her face. She completely disintegrated, just like Lily. ¡®What is this¡­?¡¯ I was struck with an incomprehensible sense of d¨¦j¨¤ vu. Seohye disappeared. And yet, she didn¡¯t disappear. She disappeared, but she didn¡¯t? ¡®I can definitely feel her presence.¡¯ She was there, but her body wasn¡¯t. ¡®Where?¡¯ The next moment, I could feel the energy around the Guardian Tower shimmer. Sunghyun apparently discovered it as well. Read latest Chapters at Wuxia World . Site Only ¡°Hyung. Look over there.¡± I observed a new flow in the Guardian Tower Tintin. A red energy that could clearly be seen, even with the naked eye. ____ Chapter 165 Chapter 165 That haze held the very existence of Ahn Seohye, mixed so thoroughly with the energy of the Red Eyes that the two could no longer be differentiated. It was like the Red Eyes were Seohye, and Seohye was the Red Eyes. ¡®If I were to look in the way that a Fire Giant sees the world¡­¡¯ Fire Giants had their unique method of perceiving the world, as did I. Through Observer¡¯s Eye, Seohye¡¯s presence and the energy of the Red Eyes she had absorbed felt almost like one and the same, like they had always been one entity. [The Guardian Tower has concluded preparations to assimilate the powerful Guardian Will.] It seemed the ¡®Guardian Will¡¯ mentioned here was ¡®that thing¡¯ that could not be precisely defined, the amalgam of Seohye and the Red Eyes¡¯ energy. [With the Guardian Tower Master¡¯s consent, the process to assimilate the Guardian Will shall begin.] This was the process to reform an incomplete Guardian Tower into a complete one. But it wasn¡¯t a procedure I was very happy to see. [The success rate for assimilating the Guardian Will is less than 30%.] Seohye was no longer visible. But to my eyes, it was like she was standing next to the Guardian Tower. To be more exact, it looked like she was surrounding the Guardian Tower in mist-ified form. [(Courageous) Hunter¡¯s March is in effect.] [The success rate for assimilating the Guardian Will has increased by 40%.] I took it all in¡ªthe Guardian Tower preparing to take in something new, and the red energy enveloping the tower. ¡®I¡¯ll accept it.¡¯ I could instinctively feel that this was the ¡®utmost¡¯ I could do right now. ¡®I have to focus.¡¯ This was similar to enhancement. When enhancing an item, you needed Enhancement Crystals and Element Affinity Powder. Depending on the item, there were times when you needed other materials as well. ¡®This and enhancement are the same in essence.¡¯ Could this really be called enhancement? I couldn¡¯t say. But there was no doubt that the process of assimilation was in the same vein as enhancement. At least, that was what I felt. ¡®Enhancement is affected by a complex mix of countless factors, including the Player¡¯s talent, timing, and the field¡¯s attribute.¡¯ It was the same now. ¡®When the flow of the Guardian Tower and the flow of the Red Eyes align¡­¡¯ I had to nail the timing, the most suitable and efficient moment for the Guardian Tower to accept the Guardian Will. It was like time stopped, like I was in a Pause. Every sound faded away. The only two things in the world were the Guardian Tower, me, and Seohye¡¯s afterimage. ¡®Now!¡¯ [By the order of the Guardian Tower Master, the Guardian Tower begins to assimilate the Guardian Will.] The seemingly paused world began to move again. Flash! Whooosh¨C! Red threads covered the sky. It was the ¡®Nemesis Doom Barrier¡¯ that had been set up here in advance, the barrier that had swallowed the Fire Giants alive. It filled every inch of this space, the red threads so numerous they couldn¡¯t possibly be counted. Not long after, the swarming mass stretched out towards the Guardian Tower. ¡®The red threads¡­ have covered the Guardian Tower.¡¯ It was almost like they were trying to hunt the Guardian Tower. But I didn¡¯t feel the same ¡®bloodthirst¡¯ I had felt earlier. ¡®Seohye.¡¯ I didn¡¯t know how things would unfold from here on out, either. But I could tell. ¡®Seohye isn¡¯t dead.¡¯ She was alive. It would be pretentious to call this conviction Precognitive Eye, but it was a similar feeling. [Guardian Will is beginning to imbue the Guardian Tower.] My heart thudded as I looked at the red threads covering the Guardian Tower. The energies of the Guardian Tower and Red Eyes gathered in one place, alternating between tangling and detangling, almost like they were trying to consume each other. It felt like two savage beasts were snarling at each other. ¡®It¡¯s not enough.¡¯ The effect of the Red Eyes was greatly boosted by Courageous Hunter¡¯s March, but it still wasn¡¯t enough. Something more was necessary. I spoke into the sky. ¡°I want to nurture my Guardian Tower into the best Guardian Tower.¡± I didn¡¯t mention anyone¡¯s name. ¡°I am well aware that you have been watching over me ever since the Shot Table Dungeon.¡± Back then, I clearly heard a notice. [The ¡®Barrier of Blue Light¡¯ has begun to pay attention to you.] When I was enhancing the Wind Shoes, the Barrier of Blue Light helped me by putting a temporary safe zone around me. Later, I even won a good chunk of the Barrier of Blue Light¡¯s goodwill. ¡°I know that you have helped me a lot, great Guardian.¡± The Barrier of Blue Light themself put it like this: [The ¡®Barrier of Blue Light¡¯ wants to help you.] [The ¡®Barrier of Blue Light¡¯ states their strong will to sponsor you.] And not only that, but¡ª [The ¡®Barrier of Blue Light¡¯ promises a big sponsorship.] That ¡®promise¡¯ was what I was referring to now. ¡°Barrier of Blue Light, you who have so generously supported me, you once promised me a big sponsorship.¡± I wanted to avoid direct deals with Guardians if at all possible, but desperate times called for desperate measures. In all things, there were times when you had to step forward and times when you had to step back. This was a time for the former. ¡°I promise to show what the Barrier of Blue Light wants to see.¡± I had the confidence to back those words. I was confident I could fully amuse not just the Barrier of Blue Light, but most Guardians. ¡°Please help me just this once.¡± Owing a Guardian a debt was absolutely nothing to be happy about. But Seohye put her life on the line. Owing a debt was nothing. ¡°I want to protect,¡± I said honestly. In response to the sincerity I expressed in a statement made by thoroughly calculating the Barrier of Blue Light¡¯s disposition, I heard the same notice I heard in the past. [The ¡®Barrier of Blue Light¡¯ keenly understands your feelings.] I added one last thing. ¡°I want your protection.¡± A message the Barrier of Blue Light often sent came once again. The words were the same, but the sincerity within them was different. [The ¡®Barrier of Blue Light¡¯ wants to protect you.] * * * Translator ¨C Lei Come and read on our website wuxia worldsite. Thanks Proofreader ¨C Ash * * * It was hard to say how this situation came about. Was it because the Shepherd Boy directly interfered? Because he used a fabricated power? Or was it because the Barrier of Blue Light truly wanted to protect me? [The ¡®Blessing of Blue Light¡¯ has begun to descend on the Guardian Tower.] As the Guardian Tower Master, I could feel that ¡®Blessing of Blue Light¡¯ had extremely good compatibility with the Guardian Tower Tintin. The energies of the Guardian Tower and Red Eyes clashing within the dome made of red thread began to mesh. It looked as though the Blessing of Blue Light was acting as an intermediary. Water and oil did not mix. But they could be made to mix if an emulsifier was added¡ªthat was the role the Blessing of Blue Light was playing. [Countless factors taking effect and assisting the process.] [The Guardian Tower has successfully assimilated the Guardian Will.] That moment, the red threads started to get sucked into the Guardian Tower. A ¡®red eye¡¯ appeared above the Guardian Tower Tintin, and the tower¡¯s name changed. [Guardian Tower ¨C Tintin] The Guardian Tower guarding the Guardian Field. Growth-type Guardian Tower Guardian Tower Master: Kim Hyukjin LVL: 1 Special notes: Barrier Magician¡¯s ego. More precisely, the name [Guardian Tower ¨C Tintin] changed from black to blue, almost like a blue item from an enhancement. I heard a voice. (Thank you.) It was Seohye. ¡®Huh?¡¯ I pinpointed where the voice was coming from. ¡®The Guardian Tower?¡¯ It was coming from the tower. (I am told I need a new vessel.) This had to be what the ¡®Barrier Magician¡¯s ego¡¯ in the special notes was referring to. (Don¡¯t worry too much. In due time, when the Guardian Tower grows, I think I will be able to materialize a body with my power.) The current Ahn Seohye was kind of like a consciousness imbued in the Guardian Tower. But later, when the Guardian Tower grew, she would be able to have her own body. (I¡¯m alive.) I was stumped¡ªnothing like this had happened in the past. For the time being, I concealed my shock and expressed my thanks to the Barrier of Blue Light. ¡°Thank you. Because the Barrier of Blue Light protected me, I was able to achieve what I wanted. I will not forget this kindness.¡± A follow-up of this level was necessary. Actually, a little elaboration from Senia would make a far better follow-up, but that was still too much to exp¡ªhm? The ultimate stone face, Senia, was smiling brightly. Her wings were swaying gently as she streamed with words I couldn¡¯t understand. She still looked incredibly awkward in my eyes, but she seemed to believe that she was giving the best follow-up. [The ¡®Barrier of Blue Light¡¯ is very satisfied.] For now, the Barrier of Blue Light didn¡¯t demand anything in particular. They were a Guardian who liked to ¡®protect¡¯ something. It was possible that they felt extreme joy from the act of responding to my request for protection. (Darn, I want to eat hamburgers, but I can¡¯t.) Seohye continued to talk to me. (Please hurry and help me grow. I want to eat hamburgers.) I couldn¡¯t see her, but I thought I could see Seohye smile. (In the meantime, I will protect this Guardian Field perfectly. I should be able to channel far more strength than the original Guardian Tower.) She went on to say that although she couldn¡¯t move, her new hardware was much more suitable for a Barrier Magician than her previous body. (And¡­ I¡¯m really sorry, but¡­) After quibbling for a bit, she finally continued. (About the way I address you¡­) Seohye had a history of calling me ¡®sir¡¯. I understood, and never even thought to force a different address. (You might dislike it a little, but¡­ this is the set name.) I heard a System notice. [The quest ¡®Guardian Tower¡¯s Vow¡¯ is in progress.] It wasn¡¯t a very difficult quest. Clearly reaffirming the Guardian Tower ¨C Guardian Tower Master relationship was enough. (Um, so¡­) Seohye hesitated for a long time. (I have to call you ¡®Master¡¯ in order to officially complete the process.) Master. The heck was this strange, outdated form of address? (In the future, when I address Master, I have no choice but to call you Master.) This was October 2018. How could anyone in Korea get used to being called ¡®Master¡¯? (Even if I try putting it in other ways or saying other words, it will be interpreted as ¡®Master¡¯ to you.) It was hard at first, but she seemed to have gotten the hang of it. The title came popping out of her metaphorical mouth with ease, even though it was painful to my ears. ¡®Still¡­ she¡¯s become more cheerful.¡¯ After becoming a Guardian Tower, Ahn Seohye brightened up, and she seemed to have opened her heart a little more to me. She was conversing with me with much greater ease than before. (Will you become my Master?) When I inwardly assented, the System notices continued. [The ¡®Servant-Master Relationship of the Guardian Tower ¨C Tintin¡¯ has been fully established.] [The quest ¡®Guardian Tower¡¯s Vow¡¯ has been cleared.] [The Guardian Tower begins to faithfully fulfill its role of a Guardian Tower.] Well, alright. Whatever. She was alive. What she called me was hardly of any importance, and I could feel from her voice that she was a lot more sunny than the original Ahn Seohye. (Please tell Yeonseo unnie and Sunhwa that I¡¯m okay, too. I can¡¯t talk to other people yet.) Yes, I definitely had to tell them that later, Seohye would once again be able to have a ¡®body¡¯ with which she could walk around on her own two feet. Yeonseo and Sunhwa would be really happy to hear it. (And please tell Mister Yoohyun to stop crying. I don¡¯t like getting snot on my body.) I hadn¡¯t had the presence of mind to pay any heed to the others, but Yoohyun was crouched in front of the Guardian Tower, wailing. Tears the size of chicken eggs were streaming out of eyes as swollen as his muscles, and snot was dangling from his nose. It was like watching a rhinoceros crying its heart out. In any case, we successfully hunted the Fire Giants. Seohye said it again. (Thank you.) Was it because we were now in a servant-master relationship? I could feel Seohye¡¯s feelings more keenly than usual. She really meant her thanks. She continued, more talkative than usual. (I¡¯m happy that I have people to protect.) She seemed sincerely happy about that. (I think the world right now has become a lot brighter than when I had no one I wanted to protect. Minus the fact that I can¡¯t eat hamburgers.) The ¡®red eye¡¯ shining at the top of the Guardian Tower no longer felt wicked. I could no longer say that was the aura of the Red Demon. From that energy came the will to protect. (Thank you so much.) I told the party everything about Seohye¡¯s current condition, including the part about how we would likely be able to meet her in the flesh in the future. Sunhwa rubbed her cheeks on the Guardian Tower, clinging to it. ¡°Let¡¯s go and eat hamburgers together for sure, Unnie! I¡¯ll earn a lot of money and buy you a hundred burgers!¡± But just then, someone crashed our joyful celebration. Read latest Chapters at Wuxia World . Site Only ¡°You. Do you know that you¡¯re in for it now?¡± I was aware that the Blood and Iron Queen, Song Junghye, had been here for a while. I looked in her direction as she walked up to me. ¡°Starting now, I will objectively inform you of the situation you are in.¡± ____ Chapter 166 Chapter 166 Song Junghye came up to me. State: Confident / Having Fun / Contempt for the Weak The other things aside, contempt for the weak? It seemed like she was feeling contempt towards me. But Song Junghye? To me? She shouldn¡¯t see me as ¡®weak¡¯ for no reason. ¡°Kim Hyukjin. A prominent Guardian called the Shepherd Boy has begun to hate you.¡± She put on quite a worried face. ¡°¡­¡± I could surmise what she was trying to say. I had invited the hatred of a Guardian of Shepherd Boy¡¯s level, so I should drop down and crawl for mercy. She probably got some kind of quest from the Shepherd Boy. The situation sketched itself out in my head. ¡®And this energy is Gu Sungmin.¡¯ The thief, the same Gu Sungmin who was left completely Coinless by Darongi in the past, was coming closer. Why was Gu Sungmin coming here, at this time? ¡®There he is.¡¯ He was making his way relatively warily through the front gate of the DMC Riverview Xi¡¯s Complex 1. He seemed to be extremely on guard against something. ¡®Against what?¡¯ What would a thief have to be wary about? There was something here to steal, obviously. Song Junghye was here to distract me, though it was pretty ineffective. Gu Sungmin was walking towards the Guardian Tower. ¡®He¡¯s going for the Red Eyes.¡¯ The thief seemed to think he was moving quite sneakily, but his efforts fell short of escaping Observer¡¯s Eye. [!!!] marks popped up above Darongi¡¯s head, and the squirrel on my shoulder grinned upon seeing Gu Sungmin. Darongi ran down my body onto the ground and scampered off towards Gu Sungmin. An outstanding thief genius was running off towards a promising thief; the result was already predetermined. Gu Sungmin nearly had the skin on his back filched by Darongi last time, but the guy had apparently not learned his lesson. ¡°While Playing, there may be people who do not like my Playing,¡± I said. That couldn¡¯t be helped. I couldn¡¯t satisfy every Guardian anyway. Flailing to try and meet the expectations of a few would make you lose the majority. ¡°So? Did you come here to kindly inform me of that?¡± The Blood and Iron Queen, Song Junghye. It was strange. How did she become a queen? She was too obvious and foolish. ¡°If I were you, I would have kept this fact to myself.¡± ¡°What do you mean?¡± ¡°I mean that I wouldn¡¯t flash a card that could become my opponent¡¯s weakness in front of my opponent like this.¡± Song Junghye¡¯s inner thoughts were obvious to the eye. ¡°You must have gotten some kind of quest from the Shepherd Boy.¡± That was why she showed up here. ¡°¡­¡± I came closer to her. ¡°I don¡¯t know what you came here to do.¡± Did she want to scare me? As if that would work. This was the path I chose, and I didn¡¯t have any regrets. If I was going to regret it, I wouldn¡¯t have done it in the first place. Junghye flinched. The gaze looking up at me wasn¡¯t very pretty. ¡°And I wouldn¡¯t make such an expression in front of my opponent, either. Because I am someone who could become a great business partner of yours.¡± Song Junghye¡¯s scowl disappeared. ¡°Business partner?¡± Her tone implied, ¡®The likes of you would dare?¡¯ The current Song Junghye was nursing a wounded pride. After all, I, a mere Player, had seen straight through her mind. ¡°Business partners are great, of course. But what business would I have with someone being hated by a Guardian like the Shepherd Boy?¡± ¡°I incurred the Shepherd Boy¡¯s hate due to an unfortunate series of events. That is an undeniable fact.¡± I was sure of that. ¡°But there are countless Guardians who cherish me.¡± I was their sole producer of content. That held true in the past, and it would continue to hold true in the future. Things weren¡¯t immediately over for me because one Guardian hated me. In fact, I could actually use this situation to extract more diverse content. That depended on me. ¡°That¡¯s why I simply did my best.¡± It was best to vaguely express my vision and aspirations here. What I was saying was basically ¡®by the book¡¯. To put it another way, I was picking words with no faults to be targeted. I did that on purpose so that I could see what Song Junghye would say. ¡°Yes, fine. Do your best then.¡± Her expression changed again. She was trying to force a smile, but failing to. Her eyes were filled with an energy close to murderous intent. ¡®Sloppy.¡¯ She was truly clumsy, so much so that I almost pitied her. ¡®Song Junghye is not qualified to be the Blood and Iron Queen.¡¯ It was said that a healthy and magnificent tree could be recognized from a seedling. One thing about a person could say a lot about the rest of them. The ¡®Blood and Iron Queen¡¯ was just a hollow name with no substance. Right now, I could be sure of that. ¡®Song Junghye¡­ has someone helping her in the shadows.¡¯ She was just the storefront. The woman herself could absolutely never topple Song Kiyeol and Taeguk Shield and go on to become the ruler of Sungshin. ¡®Jackson and Song Junghye met, right?¡¯ Then was Jackson the one puppeteering her? ¡®It feels¡­ like the puzzle pieces are slowly coming together.¡¯ The ¡®Great Explorer¡¯ said he had never come to Korea before, said he couldn¡¯t speak Korean despite being fluent. What if Jackson outright denied any connections to Korea because there was something he wanted to hide? ¡®It¡¯s too early to be sure, but¡­¡¯ I still had to take it into consideration. The scenario where Jackson and Song Junghye¡¯s current relationship of using each other reversed, turning into a situation where Jackson used Song Junghye as a front to control Sungshin¡­ was one I had to bear in mind. ¡°I should thank you,¡± I said to Junghye. She had given me a wealth of information just by showing up here. Her poor judgment had gifted me another piece of the puzzle. ¡°It appears that you have given me a present.¡± Darongi was already back. I heard a scream from Gu Sungmin. ¡°AHHH! MY ITEM!¡± * * * Translator ¨C Lei Proofreader ¨C Ash * * * [Darongi requests you to open his Inventory.] An item called ¡®Tomb Pilfering Shovel¡¯ was in Darongi¡¯s Inventory. [Tomb Pilfering Shovel] Come and read on our website wuxia worldsite. Thanks An artifact that can collect the ¡®essence¡¯ of ruins, artifacts, and relics. *Grade: Legendary *Thief class exclusive Well, hello. ¡®Legendary?¡¯ Even for someone like me who had encountered two transcendent items, the legendary grade was surprising to see. This was a legendary item in the beginner period, of all times. ¡®Maybe it¡¯s like¡­ a class specialty.¡¯ This shovel might be the first and last legendary item in Gu Sungmin¡¯s life. [Darongi demands praise.] I patted the squirrel¡¯s head. [Darongi demands intense praise.] I rubbed him a little more vigorously. [Darongi demands very intense praise.] Darongi flopped on his back on my shoulder. [Darongi demands even more intense and enthusiastic praise.] I tickled his exposed belly. Sometimes it was hard to tell whether Darongi was a squirrel or a dog. [Darongi is satisfied by his owner¡¯s petting.] I petted Darongi a few times and got a legendary item out of it. ¡°What were you planning on doing with this shovel, I wonder?¡± Song Junghye was calm. ¡°What¡¯s that?¡± She hadn¡¯t been able to hold her poker face earlier, but she was doing so very well right now. She seemed to have a knack for misdeeds. ¡°I wonder. What is it, indeed?¡± If Song Junghye wouldn¡¯t spill the beans, I¡¯d have to rustle it out of Gu Sungmin. I heard Seohye¡¯s voice. (Um¡­ um¡­) That¡¯s right, I know. That title is hard for you, right? It¡¯s pretty meh for me too. Yes. Master. I get it, so just move on. (What should I do with this guy?) What else? Thieves must be caught. Especially if they¡¯re a thief who tried to steal the Red Eyes. Red thread rushed out. The power of the Guardian Tower Tintin was fused with the power of the Barrier Magician Ahn Seohye. There was a barrier set up here, in the Guardian Field, and Gu Sungmin¡¯s limbs were firmly tied up by the threads. ¡°If you don¡¯t tell the truth, you¡¯ll never be able to escape.¡± I turned to Yeonseo. ¡°Try cutting these threads with your sword. Oh, right. Your sword¡¯s really amazing, right? Remind me, what was its base attack?¡± Yeonseo grinned. She was indeed quick on the uptake. ¡°Oh, about 100.¡± Of course, that was a lie. Even for Asura, 100 was impossible. That was a lie, but well¡­ A little lie against a thief could be forgiven. Yeonseo brought down her sword on the red threads. Clang! It sounded like steel meeting steel. ¡°See? They can¡¯t be cut even with Yeonseo¡¯s sword. Of course, axes or knives made with science are meaningless.¡± ¡°Pl-Pl-Please spare me.¡± Gu Sungmin¡¯s face turned paper white. He seemed to believe he was completely trapped. Still smiling brightly, Yeonseo mumbled, ¡°I heard starving to death is the most painful way to go¡­¡± ¡®Surely not.¡¯ She didn¡¯t come alone. Her right arm, Kang Woongmin the Adamant, and the ¡®Poisoned Dagger¡¯ Jung Sangchul who could be called her left arm, were with her. Jung Sangchul was in the vicinity of the front gate of the DMC Riverview Xi Complex 2. ¡®Surely she can¡¯t be planning that.¡¯ Just then, Gu Sungmin shouted, ¡°I-I-I¡¯ll tell you everything! Ju-Just let me live, I beg you!¡± And then, I was forced to acknowledge the situation I didn¡¯t want to believe. Because Jung Sangchul poised himself to attack Gu Sungmin. Jung Sangchul was the Poisoned Dagger. As was obvious from his name, his class was one that dealt in assassination and poison. His specialty was ambushing and poisoning. His ability to attack his target from afar was especially remarkable, and he was quite the tricky opponent in GVGs. ¡®He wants to attack Gu Sungmin even though it¡¯s not a PVP or GVG?¡¯ The captured thief was completely defenseless. If Jung Sangchul attacked Gu Sungmin right now¡­ ¡®Gu Sungmin would die with almost 100% certainty.¡¯ And if Gu Sungmin died? ¡®The blame would fall on me.¡¯ There was quite a lot for Song Junghye to gain from Gu Sungmin¡¯s death, his sacrifice. But even so, that was a method you shouldn¡¯t use if you were human. Even if it was profitable for you, if that profit came at the cost of someone else¡¯s life, you shouldn¡¯t do it. ¡°It¡¯s true that theft is reprehensible.¡± I looked Song Junghye dead in the eye. ¡°But murdering is an even worse crime.¡± Song Junghye underestimated me too much. No, she didn¡¯t underestimate me; she lacked the competence to judge me accurately. Did she really think that she could successfully kill someone in front of me using Jung Sangchul, a beginner far from the Poisoned Dagger in his prime? I was mentally connected with Seohye right now. ¡®Seohye. Move.¡¯ The red threads shot out, knocking something away in midair. I glimpsed a thin poison needle about ten centimetres in length. I stared at Song Junghye. ¡°It seems there¡¯s no way for us to work together.¡± No¡ª ¡°I refuse to work with you.¡± Song Junghye had made a big mistake just now. ¡°Now, and forever.¡± She crossed the line a person should never cross. From now on, Song Junghye was my enemy. I erased her from my list of potential business partners. (Master is hated by the Shepherd Boy, but that person is getting hated by Master.) Seohye had definitely gotten a lot sunnier. I thought I could hear her giggling. Read latest Chapters at Wuxia World . Site Only (If you were to ask me to choose, I would rather get hated by the Shepherd Boy. Sigh, I feel sorry for that woman.) So what was next? What would produce the best quality content? Since something like this had happened, I might as well make a show the Guardians would go crazy for. But just then, someone else suddenly involved himself, and in a way I hadn¡¯t seen coming. ____ Chapter 167 Chapter 167 The person who jumped in was none other than Song Kiyeol. He strode over briskly and slapped Song Junghye¡¯s cheek hard. Slap! A loud and crisp sound rang out. It was obvious that Kiyeol put a lot of strength in the blow. It was almost a full swing. Song Kiyeol could be called a Ranker in his own right, and he was a tank class with a high Strength stat. Unable to take the impact, Junghye stumbled a few steps backward and slumped to the ground. She looked extremely shocked. ¡°Oppa¡­?¡± Judging from her expression, Kiyeol¡¯s act was completely out of line with his usual character. She clearly never even dreamed her brother would slap her. Song Kiyeol shouted at her, his voice trembling with anger. ¡°Are you in your right mind?¡± ¡°That¡¯s what I should be asking you!¡± ¡°Shut up. If you don¡¯t want to die.¡± Junghye got up. State: Humiliation / Pain / Rage That wasn¡¯t surprising. She had just gotten slapped out of nowhere in front of strangers, so it wasn¡¯t unreasonable that she was angry. ¡°Oppa. Do you want to get sued for assault? You want to go at it legally?¡± ¡°Apologize right now.¡± ¡°For what?¡± ¡°Right now. Apologize to Player Kim Hyukjin.¡± ¡°And for what?!¡± Junghye kept cupping her cheek, probably because it still hurt. Her face had become very red, either from shame, rage, or both. ¡°You tried to steal the Red Eyes using Gu Sungmin.¡± Was it from the shock of getting slapped? Or maybe it was because she was talking to her brother? Song Junghye acknowledged it very easily. ¡°It was part of my scenario quest, so it couldn¡¯t be helped.¡± Bingo. It was true she was trying to steal the Red Eyes. ¡°Since you were trying to steal something that belonged to someone else¡­ I¡¯m sure you also prepared yourself for what would happen if you were found out?¡± At the same time, Kiyeol grabbed my arm, his grasp full of earnesty. I didn¡¯t shake him off. ¡°Mr. Kim Hyukjin. I am truly sorry. She¡¯s my little sister. I will apologize in her stead. I am truly sorry. I will be sure to educate her fully so that something this disgraceful never happens again.¡± Should I say this was just¡­ an older brother¡¯s idiotic love for his sister? Hm. What to do now? ¡®Shall we bump up the Taeguk Shield Guildmaster¡¯s prestige a bit?¡¯ There were two options: completely drive Song Junghye and Gu Sungmin into a corner by reproaching Song Kiyeol, or step back a little. Knocking Song Junghye and Gu Sungmin down a peg might seem like a great idea right now, but it wasn¡¯t that great considering the long-term. ¡®If I yield a little here¡­¡¯ When it was time to crush, you had to bring down your heel hard. If you were going to be half-hearted, it was best to not lift your foot at all. If I were to just let this slide without a clear cut resolution, there would definitely be a second, or third round of trouble. ¡®Song Junghye must think I¡¯m an easy target, huh?¡¯ Then she would definitely make more moves against me in the future. Yeah, just letting it slide was fine. All of her little attempts would make good content for Senia and me. Excellent. It wasn¡¯t a half bad idea to let her crawl and struggle as much as she wanted. Because no matter how much she flailed, she wasn¡¯t my opponent. ¡°I think I know the reason why you stepped in, Guildmaster Song.¡± Though Song Junghye herself probably didn¡¯t. ¡°Fine. If I am given an apology now, I will let this slide.¡± ¡°By apology¡­ Do you mean my little sister¡¯s apology?¡± ¡°Yes.¡± The Blood and Iron Queen was famous for her straight, unbending back. She was a woman who never yielded to others. What about the current Song Junghye? ¡®One thing¡¯s for sure. She¡¯s got a shit ton of pride.¡¯ It was the same now. I didn¡¯t see the qualities and the situational judgment deserving of the Blood and Iron Queen title, but she did indeed have the pride worthy of the name. ¡°Me? Why? Did I steal anything? I didn¡¯t. And I even got assaulted by you, Oppa.¡± Sure enough, Song Junghye wasn¡¯t anywhere close to reflecting on her wrongs. She was truly foolish. No matter her feelings, it was the right call to apologize to me right now, at least if she wanted to maintain a semblance of a good relationship with me. I shrugged. ¡°Well, if you don¡¯t want to, you don¡¯t need to.¡± My mind flicked to Seohye. Due to our mental connection, my thoughts were immediately relayed to her. ¡®Let Gu Sungmin go.¡¯ Did Gu Sungmin have any idea that he nearly died just now? The red threads around his arms and legs disappeared. Thud! The man fell comically onto his butt. ¡°Oh Lord, dear God.¡± His face was covered in a thin sheen of cold sweat. Fear seemed to have permeated his bones. I turned around. I was extremely exhausted; my eyes were closing on their own. I had done too much today. I was both mentally and physically hollowed out. The look in Song Junghye¡¯s eyes was quite enjoyable to me. Even I was surprised at myself for finding that vicious look enjoyable rather than scary. I didn¡¯t fear her. Since I let her off so light handedly, she would come at me more outrageously next time. I lowered my head to whisper very quietly in her ear. ¡°The next time you mess with me¡­ You¡¯ll have to put your life on the line.¡± [Using the special skill Mettle.] ¡°My warning is sincere.¡± She would feel terror. Sure enough, her face turned pale white. But what if that terror faded with time? Her humiliation would match the terror she¡¯d felt. ¡®Let¡¯s wait and see how a Blood and Iron Queen with a wounded pride will act.¡¯ * * * Translator ¨C Lei Proofreader ¨C Ash * * * Three days passed after hunting the Fire Giants. I should have gone to clear the Gyeonghoeru a few more times, but I couldn¡¯t. ¡®To think I slept for three days straight¡­¡¯ Come and read on our website wuxia worldsite. Thanks I had slept for so long that my entire body ached. It was my first time finding out that a person could sleep for so long. I must have used too much strength facing the Fire Giants. ¡®In any case¡­ I¡¯m full of vitality.¡¯ Perhaps because I came in contact with flames of a higher grade, the ¡®fire ki¡¯ rooted inside me had become more pure and clean. It was a little weird to say fire was cleaner, but there was no mistake. With a little more enlightenment and a little more opportunity, the fire ki inside me would probably evolve into the next level, whatever that was. ¡®I have a lead.¡¯ I had seen the path forward, the path for my growth. Even if it didn¡¯t happen right this moment, this ¡®fire ki¡¯ would definitely grow, and the fire ki¡¯s growth was equal to my own. I was sure of it. Although clashing with the Fire Giants had seriously endangered my life, it was true that the encounter was a stepping stone for my development. I went with Sunhwa to our office near the DMC. ¡°Everyone¡¯s here, so let¡¯s have a toast.¡± We finally had a full-fledged guild office of our own now. It was located near the DMC, the Digital Media City, in a building close to the Player¡¯s Association. So much had changed in just half a year. The entire floor of such a grand building was ours to use, though we only had six people in our crew. Of course, we didn¡¯t pay rent¡ªSungshin was handling that. Yeonseo gave me a small bouquet. ¡°Congrats, Boss. We¡¯ve become a real guild, too.¡± ¡°Hyung.¡± Sunghyun asked, ¡°Should I register the guild?¡± ¡°No, Guildmaster Song agreed to do it for us.¡± Yoohyun seemed to be very excited. ¡°Didn¡¯t Guildmaster Song also say he was paying the rent, Hyungnim?¡± ¡°Of course.¡± Yeonseo broke into another bright smile. ¡°I don¡¯t know why you think him paying the rent is a natural and obvious thing, but whatever, it¡¯s great that we don¡¯t have to pay. Right?¡± Everyone agreed, laughing. Oh, right. Technically speaking, Song Kiyeol wasn¡¯t paying our rent. It was just that the entire building belonged to him. In the last six months, I changed a lot, and so did the world. Official guilds were established, and these guilds were acknowledged by the Player¡¯s Association and given Guild Licenses. Of course, individuals could also acquire Player Licenses, like the ¡®intermediate¡¯ and ¡®highest rank¡¯ licenses Song Kiyeol mentioned to me before. For reference, the licenses I was given were ¡®Rank 7¡¯ and ¡®Royal¡¯, a rank given to only one Player in all of Korea. ¡®Never thought a civil service student like me would one day end up getting a formal Player License.¡¯ The Royal one was just a symbolic rank created by Song Kiyeol as a sign of his sincerity, but the intermediate Rank 7 one wasn¡¯t too shoddy, either. Even if they didn¡¯t have outstanding talent, people who worked relatively hard at Playing typically received Rank 7 or 8. Licenses started at 10, and the lower the number, the stronger the Player. They went from Rank 10, 9, 8, 7, and so on. A Rank 7 license was dead average, a rank that invited neither mockery nor special treatment. Sunhwa¡¯s face was slightly flushed. I guessed it was excitement from our guild finally having a formal name. ¡°The kids at school were telling me not to lie, saying what kind of guild doesn¡¯t even have a name.¡± ¡°That so?¡± ¡°I said I was in the same guild as Mister Yoohyun and Yeonseo unnie, but no one!¡ªno one!!¡ªbelieved me.¡± Well, that wasn¡¯t a bad thing. It meant we were that hidden from the public¡¯s eye. In any case, our guild¡¯s name was decided. The idea came from Sung-gu. ¡°Oi. Fuck. Who are we? Aren¡¯t we like the uber special fuckin¡¯ strong guild that thrashed Fire Giants?¡± He nodded to himself with a ¡®Yeah, that¡¯s right! We¡¯re like uber special class¡¯, then continued to boast. ¡°Since we¡¯ve steamrolled giants, can¡¯t we call ourselves the giant gods?¡± And then, he slammed the office table a few times in excitement. Giantgod Guild. Well, it didn¡¯t have a bad ring to it. No one had much interest in coming up with names, so everyone unanimously agreed on ¡®Giantgod¡¯. ¡°C¡¯mon, c¡¯mon. Hyukjin. You gotta give me royalties, no?¡± ¡°¡­¡± ¡°I came up with the name.¡± ¡°We¡¯re changing the name.¡± ¡°¡­¡± Sung-gu pouted. ¡°Seriously, the blessed are the stingiest.¡± I didn¡¯t know what I was blessed with, but whatever. Sung-gu¡¯s lips squirmed for a while in a show of complaint. But just a few minutes later, he said, ¡°I¡¯m the one who came up with it, but man, this name¡¯s got hella snazz and aesthetic. Don¡¯t you think so, Giant~God girls and boys?¡± Sadly, his overwhelming enthusiasm fell on deaf ears, and no one responded. Pouting, Sung-gu went on to sing, ¡®I¡¯m the pitiful Loner-gu~ I have no friends~¡¯ Anyway, I was of course picked to be the guildmaster of our ¡®Giantgod Guild¡¯. ¡®The Giantgod Guild didn¡¯t exist in the past.¡¯ So Yoohyun, Shin Yeonseo, Jo Sunghyun, even Choi Sung-gu. I never would have dreamed that a party composed of these all-star Players would be established. I was once again amazed by the fact that four of the 8 Heroes were here, in one place. ¡®At least these four won¡¯t clash with the Demon King.¡¯ The 8 Heroes title was earned from their encounters with the Demon King. But now, they were a part of the Giantgod Guild, so there should be almost zero occasion for them to butt heads with the Demon King. That was because I still didn¡¯t intend on becoming total enemies with the Demon King. This alone was a huge change. Because of me, the future changed a great deal. ¡®But as I suspected, the big currents haven¡¯t changed.¡¯ Though the details and small puzzle pieces were constantly changing, the general flow was unchanged. ¡®November 27, 2018.¡¯ The Gran Seoul was a massive building adjoined to the Gwanghwamun D-Tower. The Gwanghwamun D-Tower and the Gran Seoul would both dungeonize. ¡®It¡¯s actually the dungeon that marks the end of the beginner period.¡¯ That dungeon was the gateway leading from the early-game into the mid-game. A dungeon that all Players in the Korean server¡ªexcluding very exceptional Irregulars¡ªhad to challenge in order to break into the mid-game. ¡®It¡¯ll open soon.¡¯ In the meantime, we could keep racking up EXP while clearing the Gyeonghoeru Field. After parting with the others, I went towards the Players Association to have a meeting with Song Kiyeol. ¡°You appear to really care for Miss Junghye,¡± I said to him. That was why he slapped her cheek three days ago. ¡°Last time, I just let things slide in consideration of Guildmaster Song.¡± To be more precise, it was more that I let the bait (Song Junghye) go so I could draw a ¡®bigger picture¡¯, but well. I didn¡¯t have to lay it out that honestly. ¡°But next time, I won¡¯t just turn a blind eye.¡± Did Song Kiyeol know that his little sister tried to ruthlessly kill Gu Sungmin, or was he in the dark? Or did he know, but he didn¡¯t want to believe it? Everyone had their weaknesses. It seemed Song Junghye was Song Kiyeol¡¯s weakness, and a very fatal one, at that. ¡°Yes. I apologize for jumping in like that back then.¡± ¡°No, she¡¯s family to you. I do understand.¡± Though¡­ whether Song Junghye truly thought of Kiyeol as family was iffy. After some conversation, I went back home. I once again flipped through the notepad that had come back to the past with me. ¨CNov. 27, 2018. The Gran Seoul Dungeon opens. There were less than two weeks left. We would have no choice but to continue our boring grinding until then. Two weeks passed. I reached level 38, and the others were also around 37-38. ¡®Our levels are more than high enough.¡¯ On November 24, I went to the Gran Seoul building with Sunhwa, exploring the area. I looked around thoroughly just in case another ¡®early adopter¡¯ scenario popped up, but I couldn¡¯t find any real clues. The 25th and 26th passed similarly uneventfully. And then came the long-awaited 27th of November. ¡®It¡¯ll open today.¡¯ The Gran Seoul Dungeon was supposed to open. That was a place we absolutely had to clear in order to hit the mid-game, whether we liked it or not. But it didn¡¯t open. Another day passed. It was now November 28th, 2018. The Gran Seoul Dungeon still hadn¡¯t opened. Read latest Chapters at Wuxia World . Site Only Something had changed. ____ Chapter 168 Chapter 168 November 28, 2018. The Gran Seoul Dungeon still hasn¡¯t opened. ¡®I have¡­ no idea why.¡¯ I only knew the result. I searched the area several times, but my investigation came up empty. ¡®This¡¯ll make things a pain.¡¯ I had changed the future a lot. That was a definite fact. But it was best if the ¡®big currents¡¯ stayed the same. Only then could I take what there was to take and avoid what there was to avoid. The delay of the Gran Seoul Dungeon¡¯s opening would definitely decrease the overall skill level of the Korean server¡¯s Players. ¡°To think Oppa¡¯s sense would be wrong. How fascinating.¡± Sunhwa licked her ice cream with a look of utter bliss. It amazed me that she could enjoy her ice cream so much even though the weather had become quite a bit cooler. ¡°But does the Gran Seoul Dungeon have to open?¡± There was an implied question in her words: Weren¡¯t we already busy enough as is? She meant that we were already strapped for time just clearing the Gyeonghoeru Field. ¡°According to what I¡¯ve confirmed, we can only reach level 40 with an item from the Gran Seoul Dungeon.¡± ¡°Really?¡± ¡°Yeah. No matter how much EXP we accumulate, we need something from the Gran Seoul Dungeon to get to level 40.¡± She didn¡¯t ask me how I knew this. Sunhwa would believe me no questions asked if I said a cat was a dog. ¡°Then don¡¯t we have to open the Gran Seoul Dungeon somehow?¡± ¡°Yeah.¡± But I didn¡¯t know the condition for its opening. What kind of condition was fulfilled in the past to open the Gran Seoul Dungeon? Why wasn¡¯t the next scenario proceeding? Another day passed. I cleared the Gyeonghoeru with the others a few more times and went to the Gran Seoul again. The area was bustling with countless company workers in suits. The time was 6:15 pm. ¡®Must be the time for people to get off work.¡¯ There were a ton of people. People with all sorts of different faces and expressions waited at the crosswalk for the signal to cross. When the signal turned green, the crowd streamed out like the ebbing tide. There were really a lot of people. As I watched, I suddenly realized a certain fact. ¡®Because I returned to the past¡­¡¯ A lot of people who were supposed to have died, survived. It was because I changed the past. I prevented several dungeon breaks and recently brought an end to the attack of the Fire Giants. Each of those events were supposed to have caused at least a few thousand more casualties. ¡®Is it because¡­ too many people survived?¡¯ I thought back to the Tutorial Field. I clearly remembered the notices I heard when I cleared it. [The number of survivors is 5087.] [The difficulty has been set to ¡®Low¡¯.] ¡®The Fire Giants were originally supposed to have killed 30,000 people.¡¯ But I orchestrated their deaths, bringing down the casualties from 30,000 to 6,000. 30,000 were supposed to have died, but only 6,000 did. There was another clue¡ªthe U-Plex Dungeon. There had been a slight issue at the beginning there as well. [No humans with ¡®lifeforce¡¯ can be detected within the ¡®U-Plex¡¯.] [The activation condition of the ¡®U-Plex Dungeon¡¯ has not been satisfied.] It could be that the progression of the System¡¯s ¡®scenarios¡¯ was contingent on human lives. ¡®Right now, that¡¯s the only conclusion I can make.¡¯ Because I prevented too many deaths, the number of lives the System wanted hadn¡¯t been reached. ¡®But the System¡­ moves according to the predetermined setting.¡¯ I couldn¡¯t be 100% sure, but the System most likely wanted to open the Gran Seoul Dungeon. That was the natural flow of events. But the condition to open it hadn¡¯t been satisfied. Then what method did that leave? ¡®It will try to kill people another way.¡¯ And just then, I heard a voice. ¡°Our scenarios keep overlapping.¡± Dashingly tall, broad shoulders, an affable, good-natured looking face. It was the man I knew as the Great Explorer, Jackson. Jackson continued with a beaming smile. ¡°I can¡¯t help but think our meeting is not a coincidence. Don¡¯t you think so?¡± ¡°What brings you here, Jackson?¡± ¡°I sensed the signs of a dungeon opening here.¡± He tilted his head. ¡°But huh, how strange. I think it should have opened already, but it hasn¡¯t.¡± ¡°¡­¡± He was indeed a great explorer. He didn¡¯t even know the future, yet he was able to discern such things. He was at the apex of the explorer class. ¡°Hyukjin. Do you have any insights, by any chance?¡± ¡°I do.¡± I told him what I had inferred. ¡°If what you¡¯re saying is correct, there¡¯s a set value for scenario progression, and the scenario will only proceed if that number is reached?¡± ¡°That is what I currently suspect to be the case.¡± Jackson fell into a moment of thought. ¡°A set value, you say.¡± He nodded in understanding. ¡°We could indeed approach the issue like that.¡± He spoke quickly, like something had occurred to him. ¡°I told you before, but Korea has taken a strangely low amount of damage. Compared to the other servers, the losses are conspicuously low.¡± He was right. I made it that way. ¡°That should mean that the Korean Players are overwhelmingly stronger than the Players of the other servers, but¡­ that¡¯s also not the case. Though of course, the average quality of Players is on the high side.¡± ¡°Yes. Far too low.¡± Jackson continued. ¡°As one might expect, I¡¯m part of a guild.¡± ¡°I know.¡± He was in the most famous guild in England, Imperialism. I heard they were frequently at odds with Taeguk Shield in Boracay lately. ¡°We have an outstanding Precognitive Dreamer in our guild as well.¡± ¡°¡­¡± ¡°The precision of his Precognitive Dream is on the extremely high side, too. However, he has been plagued by headaches these days.¡± ¡°Headaches?¡± These words really weren¡¯t the kind of basic vocabulary a foreigner should have such a natural command over. ¡°He seems to be having a lot of precognitive dreams about Korea because I¡¯m here. But I am told that only the precognitive dreams related to Korea keep changing. As you know, seeing the future is an act that causes great physical strain.¡± He told me about ¡®precognitive notes¡¯, the same notes Kiyeol had relayed to me from the Precognitive Dreamer Ham Sohyun. The Precognitive Dreamer in Imperialism could make them as well. ¡°Whenever he sees a certain man, the precognitive note always burns up.¡± The precognitive note he barely managed to write down burned up, and he had to write a new one. Jackson lowered his voice. ¡°The name of that man¡­¡± His voice got even quieter, and with a completely serious expression, he said, ¡°Five bucks if you¡¯re curious.¡± ¡°¡­¡± Come and read on our website wuxia worldsite. Thanks I briefly contemplated hitting him, but I swiftly drew out five bucks from my pocket. ¡°FIve bucks. There.¡± If he said nonsense now, he would be really asking for it. I channeled that threat in my fist. ¡°That man¡­ has no name.¡± ¡°No name?¡± ¡°He is a man with no name. Well, as you know, that¡¯s just how precognitive dreams are. They¡¯re all vague and ambiguous, you know?¡± No name. Nameless. It was a little iffy, but I did suspect it had something to do with me. Because my contracted Guardian was the ¡®Nameless Observer¡¯. ¡°In any case, I must find that ¡®nameless man¡¯.¡± ¡°How come?¡± ¡°Because he will interfere with the king¡¯s path.¡± After saying that, Jackson raised his hand in farewell. ¡°Look at how the time has flown. Regrettably, I think our meeting will have to end here.¡± ¡°¡­¡± Jackson strode away with mock cheerfulness. What could that mean? If that person interfered with the king¡¯s path, did Jackson mean to kill him? It was faint, but I sensed killing intent from Jackson. If my Eye of Perception wasn¡¯t broken, it was definitely killing intent. To think I felt killing intent from the Great Explorer heralded as a paragon¡­ He was a little different from the Great Explorer I imagined. Just then, a notice interrupted my thoughts. [The flash scenario ¡®Survive for 24 Hours¡¯ has begun.] A new flash scenario that hadn¡¯t happened in the past was triggered. [This scenario will be automatically cleared when someone ¡®survives for 24 hours¡¯, or 38,122 humans die.] Like with the Tutorial Field, a sudden flash scenario descended. The Gran Seoul region became hell on earth. * * * Translator ¨C Lei Proofreader ¨C Ash * * * The world around us turned red. The foul reek of sewage began to creep in, so disgusting it was hard to breathe. Fog rolled in around us. ¡®The Primordial Fog.¡¯ A fog that confused your sense of direction. Whirrrrrrrr¨C! An emergency siren went off. To be exact, the siren didn¡¯t come from here, but ¡®outside¡¯. ¡®This area has been cut off.¡¯ The field itself was enclosed. It was the same as when the Guardian Tower was summoned. There were two different fields, outside and inside. Life was going on as usual in the outside field, but here, a 24-hour survival scenario was in progress. Jongno. A foul sewage smell. Thick fog. The situation was similar to the Tutorial. I had experienced it back then, but this time, the fog was even thicker. I could hardly see past my nose. ¡®I can¡¯t see.¡¯ ¡®If it goes like the Tutorial, monsters will appear.¡¯ At first, Goblins showed up. But that was literally the tutorial, the easiest mode. Now that it was the beginner period, there was a very high chance monsters stronger than Goblins would spawn. And I was right. Awoooooo¨C! A howl rose eerily around me. It was the cry of a Lycanthrope. Goblins were the first to appear in the Tutorial, and in this ¡®Survive for 24 Hours¡¯ scenario, level 25 Lycanthropes were the first. ¡®The System¡¯s determined to kill 30,000 people.¡¯ I was too exposed right now. ¡®My sense of direction is very muddled right now, but¡­¡¯ Thankfully, I had a special power others lacked called Observer¡¯s Eye and Eye of Perception. ¡®This way.¡¯ The Gran Seoul and D-Tower were nearby. I walked towards the D-Tower. That was a beginner area and should be set as a safe zone. In a situation where I knew zilch, that was the safest place. As I made my way, several Lycanthropes attacked me, but it wasn¡¯t all that dangerous. I was already level 38. I had over ten levels on them in level alone. They were no longer the Lycanthropes I once feared. Slice¨C! Isabel slashed a Lycanthrope¡¯s throat. [Lycanthrope has been killed.] [EXP cannot be acquired.] [Items cannot be acquired.] I moved while focusing on Eye of Perception. I had scouted this area out several times in preparation for the Gran Seoul Dungeon¡¯s opening, so thankfully, I didn¡¯t have much trouble finding my way. After quite a while, I finally made it to the D-Tower. The Primordial Fog was a little sparser around the D-Tower. I could at least see two to three meters ahead of me. I heard another notice. [In consideration of the ¡®Low¡¯ difficulty, a TIP will be given.] [The ¡®Gwanghwamun D-Tower¡¯ is set as the ¡®Tutorial Building¡¯.] [The ¡®Tutorial Building¡¯ is a ¡®Safe Zone¡¯.] [If you move to the ¡®Gwanghwamun D-Tower¡¯, your survival chances will increase.] As soon as I heard those notices, I realized something new. Read latest Chapters at Wuxia World . Site Only ¡®This notice just now¡­!¡¯ ____ Chapter 169 Chapter 169 [If you move to the ¡®Gwanghwamun D-Tower¡¯, your survival chances will increase.] The System¡¯s kindness didn¡¯t end there. [The Primordial Fog will disappear for a set time.] My vision began to clear. The Primordial Fog that had muddled my sense of direction and kept me from seeing no further than my nose disappeared, slowly revealing the tragedy around me. ¡®Many people¡­ died.¡¯ The street was already littered with bodies. A few Lycanthropes and Goblins were ripping into the corpses. Smoke was billowing from one of the scattered cars. Fwip¨C! I hurled a dagger. It was just an ordinary dagger you could buy from the Beginner Shop, but it was more than enough to kill one of the feasting Goblins. ¡®The System is being too kind.¡¯ Before I regressed, almost everyone longed to be a Player. I was, of course, one of them. I envied them even while knowing it was a pipe dream. ¡®Playing¡¯ was a treasure I could not possess, and the only refuge in my life. That was why I knew a little more about Playing and the System than the average person. No, I knew a lot more. Researching Playing was pretty much the only hobby I had. ¡®It¡¯s very rare for the System to be this kind.¡¯ Such cases were few and far between. The System prioritized ¡®scenario progress¡¯ above all else. That was what humanity had determined over ten years. The Guardians were a diverse cast with varying dispositions, but not the System. ¡®If something exists, it¡¯s because the System requires it, or it¡¯s for the rules. That is how it operates.¡¯ The System had several premises called ¡®Rules¡¯. It was because the System had several absolutes that I was able to talk to Senia at the beginning of the Tutorial and could keep my head high, even when opposing Yoohyun¡¯s Streamer, Neptune. Though there were just a few of them, and humanity wasn¡¯t able to figure out all of them, it was a definite fact that such guidelines existed. ¡®The System wants the scenario to proceed.¡¯ I put myself in the System¡¯s shoes. ¡®I would want to make the scenario progress as quickly as possible.¡¯ From that, I could tell. ¡®It¡¯s a trap.¡¯ A TIP wasn¡¯t being given out because the difficulty was ¡®Low¡¯. This was a trap, the kind that lured in its prey before coming down with a snap. A creature on the level of a Fire Giant couldn¡¯t be summoned for a mere flash scenario. ¡®It can¡¯t summon a Fire Giant, so it will hunt the prey with a slightly weaker monster.¡¯ The System would lure the Players to one spot and hunt them. There was precedent for this kind of event. In the past, something like this happened in the ¡®Battle of the Maldives¡¯ that made Shin Yeonseo¡¯s name of Sword Empress famous worldwide. Many people were swarming towards the front doors of the D-Tower, people who didn¡¯t know this was a trap. That was probably the kind of scenario this was. If the objective of this scenario was ¡®slaughter¡¯, then we could not avoid that. You could think of this as a sort of natural disaster in a world following the advent of new culture. Just like how humans could not block a tsunami, we could not block the progress of this scenario. ¡®However¡ª¡¯ Humanity couldn¡¯t block a tsunami, but we could make a shield. We couldn¡¯t stop earthquakes, but we developed technology to resist them. ¡®I have to do what I can.¡¯ I couldn¡¯t stop what was to come, but I couldn¡¯t just sit around doing nothing. That was how humanity had survived all this time, and how we would continue to survive. I moved towards the front doors to let the people know that this place was dangerous, that this was a trap created by the System. Whether they believed me or not came second. What I could do right now was ¡®warn¡¯. It was their choice to believe that warning or not. But in front of the doors, I saw a certain person. ¡°You think you can just barge in here?¡± I knew that face. The Gatekeeper Lee Sungcheol. He wasn¡¯t a Ranker or that strong a Player, but his name and appearance were quite well known thanks to his unique ability. ¡°If you want to go in, you¡¯d better pay the toll.¡± I saw something. Something like a transparent barrier appeared in the front doors of the D-Tower, a thin barrier imbued with a weak power you couldn¡¯t see with the naked eye. ¡®The Entry Blocking authority.¡¯ In truth, it was a bit iffy to call it an ¡®authority¡¯. That was a word that applied to things like the ¡®powerful wish¡¯ or the Shepherd Boy¡¯s ¡®fabricated authority¡¯. The barrier Lee Sungcheol put up was too weak to be called an authority. ¡®He¡¯s causing trouble, even here.¡¯ In the past, Lee Sungcheol caused problem after problem and then disappeared without a trace one day. The prevailing theory was that he was eliminated by Taeguk Shield, but there was no way to confirm it. Lee Sungcheol smiled with an air of ease. ¡°Yep, you can¡¯t get in. Cough up your money. I¡¯ll take both Coins and items.¡± The crowd protested loudly. ¡°What gives you the right to do something like this?!¡± That moment, I saw it¡ªthe ¡®weak authority¡¯ covering the front doors pulsed with killing intent. I just watched from the back. It might be killing intent, but it was weak. An arrow shot out from the doors, flying towards the man who complained. ¡°Ngh¡­!¡± The arrow wasn¡¯t very deadly. It struck the man¡¯s chest before turning into light and disappearing. The man fell to his knees, clutching his chest in obvious pain. ¡®That¡¯s exactly as strong as it gets.¡¯ Lee Sangcheol¡¯s ability was only strong enough to inflict intense pain. However, it was perfect for drawing attention. ¡°You crazy bastard¡­!¡± Someone swung a sword at Lee Sangcheol. Clang! ¡®That weak authority¡­ also includes a defensive ability.¡¯ It was an annoying ability that could be used in front of any ¡®door¡¯. For example, at dungeon or gate entrances. At such places, Lee Sangcheol was powerful. ¡°Move!¡± ¡°What gives you the right to do this?!¡± In the meantime, a Lycanthrope ran in and killed a few people. Many people had gathered here, the area steadily becoming more and more chaotic. I silently watched the situation unfold. ¡®It¡¯s good for me if he draws a lot of attention.¡¯ Even if I warned people now, no one would listen. They would all stream inside the D-Tower without heeding my warning. But what if the warning came from someone who easily dispatched the opponent no one could do anything about? Things would be a little different then. Several people angrily complained, but Lee Sangcheol was unmoved. ¡°If you wanna go in so badly, give me the money.¡± ¡°Do your eyes not see the dead people over there?¡± Come and read on our website wuxia worldsite. Thanks ¡°Sure, I can see ¡®em alright.¡± A tussle broke out. Several Players attacked Lee Sangchul, but he was being protected by a special ability. Arrows shot out from the D-Tower doors. ¡°Gah!¡± A Player fell over, clutching his eye which an arrow had struck, and blood was streaming down his face. ¡°You really should have listened.¡± Lee Sangcheol kicked the collapsed man in the face, scowling. ¡°People never fucking listen when you say things nicely. No more warnings from now on. If you don¡¯t listen, I¡¯ll kill you for real.¡± I knew that was an empty threat. That arrow attack just now was Lee Sangcheol¡¯s full power. If he tried using more strength than that, the ¡®weak authority¡¯ would probably fall apart. His air of ease was just an act. A few people came to terms with reality. ¡°H-How much do you want?¡± ¡°Hmm, about as much as you think your life is worth?¡± Another few protested and were taken down by arrows. As I watched, I was once again convinced that I was right. ¡®Even though there are this many people here¡­ A crowd of this size should draw aggro, but no monsters came, other than the Lycanthrope at the beginning. ¡®If there¡¯s a limit to the power the System can materialize in this scenario¡­¡¯ It was highly likely that power was all concentrated in the D-Tower. Which meant, as long as you didn¡¯t go into the D-Tower, there was a high chance you could successfully survive for 24 hours. The winner of the current situation was Lee Sangcheol. Everyone was focused on him. I slowly walked over. In the Tutorial Field, I swore that I would never live like I had in the past. That I didn¡¯t want to live like that ever again. The current me was different from the person I had been in the Tutorial Field. I stopped in front of Lee Sangcheol. [Using the special skill Cognitive Dissonance.] * * * Translator ¨C Lei Proofreader ¨C Ash * * * Lee Sangcheol believed he was the true king of the hill. At least, until a ¡®monster¡¯ appeared. ¡°Gugh¡­!¡± That monster suddenly showed up, ripped his innate ability [Entry Blocking] to pieces with a swipe of his sword, and sent him sprawling with a single punch. ¡°Urgh¡­ sp-spare me,¡± he squealed, dazed out of his wits. ¡°Sp-Spare me!¡± Kim Hyukjin needed to draw people¡¯s attention, so he intentionally made the scene more violent. He ground into Lee Sangcheol¡¯s face with his foot. ¡°I have a warning to give you all.¡± This place had long since descended into chaos. Even though Hyukjin had crushed Lee Sangcheol with overwhelming force, there were just too many people. [Using the special skill Mettle.] Kim Hyukjin¡¯s level was 38. No one here had a higher level than him. The area in front of the D-Tower instantly hushed. Everyone froze in place like frogs before a snake. A pin-drop silence that didn¡¯t suit the pandemonium descended on the crowd. ¡®It¡¯s much more effective than I thought.¡¯ Put another way, the level of the Players was lower than he thought. The Unawakened were one thing, but the Players around him were completely terrified. ¡°The D-Tower is dangerous. It is a trap created by the System.¡± Someone mustered his courage. ¡°Why should we believe you?¡± ¡°You don¡¯t have to believe me.¡± Hyukjin gestured to the door. ¡°Those of you who want to go in, feel free to do so. I won¡¯t stop you.¡± ¡°I¡¯ve warned you, make no mistake. Our goal is to survive for 24 hours. We just need to survive.¡± Hyukjin pointed to the buildings in the vicinity. ¡°See the nearby buildings? There are many places to hide. The monsters aren¡¯t very intelligent, so as long as you hide yourselves well, you can definitely survive.¡± This was all the warning he could give. ¡°What if you¡¯re tricking us and planning to go inside?¡± So many people out there were prone to overcomplicating things. Hyukjin had no need to do that, nor did he have a reason to. It would be great if they would just believe him, but the world wasn¡¯t so simple. And to be honest, it wasn¡¯t all that strange that they doubted him. It was also true that the person on the other end of that doubt, Hyukjin, wasn¡¯t feeling terribly happy either. Hyukjin asked back, ¡°Me?¡± He walked forward. As someone with Observer¡¯s Eye, he could see more than others. ¡®The man wasn¡¯t able to say a thing to Lee Sangcheol.¡¯ Summary: Scaredy Cat Attention-Seeker Enthralled by Reasonable Doubt His summary was extremely long, an indication of how complicated the man¡¯s mental state was. Hyukjin smirked. This man was a coward who couldn¡¯t even squeak at Lee Sungcheol, who was likely to retaliate, but he sure was loudmouthed with Kim Hyukjin, acting like he was some kind of genius. ¡°That¡¯s right. Why should we believe you?¡± Hyukjin went up to the man. ¡°I told you before,¡± Hyukjin said, putting a hand on the man¡¯s shoulder. The man flinched in surprise. ¡°You don¡¯t have to believe me.¡± He never said they had to believe him. Hyukjin casually walked past the man. ¡°If you want to go inside, feel free.¡± He had done everything he could. [The ¡®Nameless Observer¡¯ is observing.] [The ¡®Lady of the Scales¡¯ finds your actions very agreeable.] Hyukjin did his best. The choice was now up to these people. Read latest Chapters at Wuxia World . Site Only He continued to walk. ¡®As for me¡­¡¯ Thanks to the Lady of the Scales, he found ¡®something else¡¯ he needed to do here. A method to handle this flash scenario more actively than before occurred to him. ____ Chapter 170 Chapter 170 When you thought about it, the ¡®System¡¯ wasn¡¯t just and unbiased. It just operated for a few Rules, and mankind hadn¡¯t been able to completely figure out what those were. ¡®Let¡¯s assume that there can be Rules that contradict each other.¡¯ If I assumed the Rule applying to the System right now was ¡®sacrifices to open the Gran Seoul Dungeon are necessary¡¯, then it was a fixed fact that sacrifices were needed. But what about the method to procure those sacrifices? ¡®Luring and hunting¡­ by making a flash scenario that didn¡¯t exist in the past.¡¯ Was this method really a suitable Rule for the System? Or was it merely a workaround to create sacrifices? If this was a workaround¡­ I recalled a saying. ¨CA ¡®problem¡¯ is a problem because someone thought of it as a problem. If no one takes issue with it, it won¡¯t become a problem. There was some sense in it. If no one had an issue with something, it wouldn¡¯t become recognized as a problem. What if the same applied now? ¡®The System isn¡¯t a party you can reason with.¡¯ If an Intermediate Administrator was using a cheat to make fools of the Players, you could just reason with them. They were a party you could reason with, to some extent. But not the System. Even if you tried to speak to nature, there was no way nature would listen. ¡®Conversing with the System, huh¡­¡¯ That was a totally different concept from physical speech. If you wanted to talk to the System, you needed a System method. And I realized what kind of method that was. ¡®Judgment of the Law.¡¯ You could talk to the System by using a setting determined by the System. [Judgment of the Law] Regulations/laws created by the accord of society¡¯s majority. Actions tacitly and universally deemed good. The System¡¯s Rule will be temporarily set to ¡®Just¡¯. The caster will be given the rights of an ¡®Arbitrator¡¯ towards all acts that defy justice. The Arbitrator officially files objections to all acts that contradict justice, can mete out due punishment within set bounds to those who contradict justice, and will be conferred the requisite power and authority. This was the item the Lady of the Scales had gifted me. I focused on one line in the description. The System¡¯s Rule will be temporarily set to ¡®Just¡¯. Going off this sentence¡ª ¡®Temporary justice.¡¯ That meant it wasn¡¯t ¡®absolute¡¯ justice. That one sentence revealed that the System wasn¡¯t perfectly just by default. The caster will be given the rights of an ¡®Arbitrator¡¯ towards all acts that defy justice. And if I used this and was given the rights of an ¡®Arbitrator¡¯, I would be able to talk to the System by way of the System. I didn¡¯t think about it for long. [Use ¡®Judgment of the Law¡¯?] I used it right away. [¡®Judgment of the Law¡¯ is taking effect.] [Setting the target for ¡®Judgment of the Law¡¯.] [Please think of the target for ¡®Judgment of the Law¡¯ in concrete terms.] [¡®Judgment of the Law¡¯ has taken effect.] [¡®Judgment of the Law¡¯ has discovered a ¡®factor that contradicts justice¡¯.] My body suddenly seemed to grow light. [You have received the rights of an ¡®Arbitrator¡¯.] It was hard to put into words. It felt like my level instantly skyrocketed¡ªmy body was as light as a feather. It was just a feeling, but I felt powerful, like a wave of my hand could create typhoons and flames would shoot from my mouth when I spoke. Almost as if¡­ I had become a supreme being. In an instant, I realized how I was supposed to think, how I should guide this situation. ¡®I will correct the crooked workaround.¡¯ This one ¡®premise¡¯ revealed the Arbitrator¡¯s authority. [Proclaim the Arbitrator¡¯s command.] [The Arbitrator¡¯s command will become alive and correct the ¡®injustice¡¯.] There was still a little time left in Cognitive Dissonance. ¡°I shall correct the crooked workaround.¡± At the same time¡ª [The Arbitrator¡¯s command has been proclaimed.] [Correcting the ¡®injustice¡¯.] The world instantly turned to black and white, like a field with a Pause authority in effect. [Restructuring the field.] A Pause authority actually did take effect. The System voluntarily used a Pause authority without the interference of any Guardians or Intermediate Administrators. I¡¯d never seen such a thing happen before. [Reestablishing justice in accordance to the Arbitrator¡¯s command.] [The System accepts the justice.] [The difficulty of the field will be adjusted according to the level of the current Players and the scenario difficulty (Low).] It was as I thought. The System used a cheat to achieve its ¡®objective¡¯. I corrected that cheat with Judgment of the Law. The Players around me apparently heard the same notices. ¡°Wait, the difficulty is greatly decreasing!¡± ¡°The heck is an Arbitrator?¡± ¡°No idea. In any case, the difficulty¡¯s gone down.¡± In the meantime, a few Players ignored my warning and went into the D-Tower. Another few paced in front of the doors, some of whom turned and left. I heard conversation all around me. ¡°Hey, do you remember the face of that insanely strong-looking Player just now?¡± ¡°Huh¡­?¡± ¡°We should remember him if he showed that much strength, but¡­¡± ¡°I can¡¯t remember his face at all. Kinda like¡­¡± ¡°Like we had a dream?¡± ¡°Yeah, exactly! You know how you can remember what you dreamed right when you wake up but then forget it as time goes on? Kinda feels like that.¡± ¡°Same here. It¡¯s really fascinating.¡± Cognitive Dissonance had played its role well, it seemed. If there weren¡¯t any Players here with the intuition to penetrate my Cognitive Dissonance, no one would remember me. They would all just be left with a fuzzy memory, a bare recollection of a Player who blocked the door and gave them a warning. * * * Translator ¨C Lei Proofreader ¨C Ash * * * The notices continued for me. Come and read on our website wuxia worldsite. Thanks [¡®Scenario Outline¡¯ acquired as per the Arbitrator¡¯s rights.] [The Arbitrator¡¯s rights will last for as long as the current field exists.] [The ¡®Scenario Outline¡¯ will automatically expire when the current field expires.] [Scenario Outline] Korean server scenario #311. Lives are required for the opening of the ¡®Gran Seoul Dungeon¡¯. 31,100 Player deaths. Scenario progression: [Survive for 24 hours] or [At least 31,100 humans die] All that was bolded. The condition to open the Gran Seoul Dungeon seemed to be the death of at least 31,100 people within 24 hours. ¡®It feels¡­ like someone made a rough schema of the scenario.¡¯ Outline. A general description or plan. The scenario definitely felt like a general description. Underneath the bold text were words in italics. In the case of a variable related to ¡®justice¡¯, total scenario revision. Revised field monster spawns. City Fox: 11 City Wolf: 31 Lycanthrope: 22 Orc: 17 (Enhanced) Goblin Soldier: 1 (D-Tower 1st Floor) Troll: 5 (D-Tower 2nd Floor) Troll Soldier: 3 (D-Tower 2nd Floor) Orc Archer: 5 (D-Tower 2nd Floor) Fanged Mole: random spawn (D-Tower Underground 1st Floor) Dungeonization of the Gwanghwamun D-Tower. 1st Floor: (Enhanced) Goblin Soldier ¨C same as the Tutorial Dungeon 2nd Floor: Hidden Piece ¨C Find the Hidden Pathway! Conditions to find the hidden pathway: Once found, mana crystal is used on the escalator Mana crystal: acquired upon destroying the green sedan on the Underground 1st Floor Clear Crystal will be generated upon hunting all monsters on the 2nd Floor. Destroying the Clear Crystal will end the entire scenario. 3rd floor: hidden monster: Black Troll spawn I reeled back in shock. ¡®What the hell?¡¯ I practiced justice using my Arbitrator rights and got this. For an outline, there was quite a lot of detail. ¡®A Black Troll will show up?¡¯ A tremor shook through my body. My heart began to thud. ¡®That¡¯s a Grade 4 Exotic.¡¯ Later, people would start calling valuable and rare monsters ¡®Exotics¡¯. Exotics were made up of a total of five grades. Any Exotic was worth tens of thousands of dollars just for the corpse. Even the corpse of the lowest Grade 5 and relatively frequently spawning ¡®Leon¡¯ was sold for $70,000. But the Black Troll wasn¡¯t just a Grade 5, but a Grade 4. ¡®A Grade 4 Exotic. The Black Troll.¡¯ Black Trolls had a very high chance of dropping an item called ¡®Regeneration Serum¡¯. Of the three to four Black Trolls found worldwide every month, one to two of them would drop a Regeneration Serum. It wasn¡¯t in my plans, but even so, that was a monster I absolutely had to kill. ¡®I can see where it is and what I¡¯m supposed to do.¡¯ The only problem was that I was an Observer and couldn¡¯t get the Regeneration Serum if I hunted the troll myself. That meant I would have to hunt it with the Players here. ¡®That would be a bit hard¡­¡¯ The overall level of the Players here was simply too low. Someone would inevitably die in the process of trying to get the Regeneration Serum. I missed my Giantgod party members. ¡®Oh, but wait.¡¯ I recalled one of the notices that had streamed past earlier. [The Arbitrator¡¯s rights will last for as long as the current field exists.] I was currently the ¡®Arbitrator¡¯. A sense of vigor was coursing through my veins like I had become a supreme being. Of course, I wasn¡¯t saying I was really a supreme being, but it definitely felt like it. ¡®Maybe this sort of thing will work?¡¯ [The Arbitrator¡¯s rights are currently intact.] Right now, I was an Arbitrator who could not condone this workaround and injustice. I had the power to rectify, or rather, the duty to rectify without fail. I focused on that. I wasn¡¯t all that aware of it, but I was probably meditating while standing up again. [The System acknowledges the Arbitrator¡¯s duty.] [The ¡®Arbitrator¡¯s role¡¯ will temporarily assume the highest priority setting.] [Based on the highest priority setting, the restriction conditions of the ¡®Observer¡¯ class will be temporarily disabled.] [The ¡®Arbitrator¡¯s role¡¯ is valid only while the current field exists.] I just attempted it with a ¡®can¡¯t hurt to try¡¯ attitude because I thought it might be possible, but it really worked. What was this feeling? This familiar, yet unfamiliar feeling of just trying something and succeeding in one shot? ¡®Whatever, it¡¯s good for me that it worked.¡¯ The restriction conditions of the Observer class disappeared. At least within this field, I wasn¡¯t an Observer, but an Arbitrator. And from this situation, I became completely sure of one fact. ¡®The penalties of the Observer class aren¡¯t permanent.¡¯ They weren¡¯t an ¡®absolute¡¯ that could not be changed no matter what you did and tried. The penalty was bound to go away one day, maybe once I reached level 50 and had my second advancement or made a second contract with a new Guardian. Or when something happened afterwards. ¡®Whatever it is¡­ I can get rid of this penalty.¡¯ When that happened, I would be able to stand tall and proud not as an ¡®observing sovereign¡¯, but as an ¡®acting sovereign¡¯. My heart continued to tremble. ¡®I can become stronger.¡¯ That thought echoed in my brain. I could become truly strong. When I first came back to the past, my goal was just to live a happy and harmonious life with my family, to be the smith of my own life, but now, a slightly different goal seemed to have taken root in my heart. ¡®Getting stronger¡­ is enjoyable.¡¯ It was like I simply came to enjoy Playing more. In this respect, I did indeed seem to have exceptional talent, though I would only be sure once I got past level 40. In any case, I walked forward. [Cognitive Dissonance is no longer in effect.] The duration of Cognitive Dissonance ended. I walked past the crowd towards the D-Tower. ¡°Hey, the building¡¯s supposed to be dangerous.¡± ¡°Dude, think about it. With all the Players here, it might actually be safer here than inside!¡± ¡°Hey!¡± A few people tried to stop me, but I didn¡¯t respond. I just made my way to the doors. [Enter the D-Tower?] I immediately went inside. [Entering the D-Tower 1st Floor.] The field changed, and I arrived on the 1st floor. I saw a few bodies¡ªthey were the people who had rashly gone inside without heeding my warning. It was unfortunate, but there wasn¡¯t anything I could do for them. There didn¡¯t seem to be any survivors in the immediate vicinity. I walked forward. Curiously, there was something that sparked my interest. Read latest Chapters at Wuxia World . Site Only ¡®Oh ho.¡¯ ____ Chapter 171 Chapter 171 I had the feeling that this place was very familiar to me. That was because the current D-Tower 1st floor looked the same as the 1st floor when it was the Tutorial Dungeon. In addition, I discovered a certain fact. ¡®The ATM machine has been punched through.¡¯ That was the strategy I had used in the past. There was a hole in the ATM machine, as if someone knew the same strategy and followed it, be it a coincidence or something they came up with on their own. ¡®What¡¯s important is that there are traces of the (Enhanced) Goblin Soldier having been here, but no (Enhanced) Goblin Soldier.¡¯ That meant¡ª ¡®Someone hunted the (Enhanced) Goblin Soldier.¡¯ The Scenario Outline had also been modified. (Enhanced) Goblin Soldier: 1 (D-Tower 1st Floor) And I didn¡¯t feel any living humans on the 1st floor. So someone had hunted the (Enhanced) Goblin Soldier without losing their life and gone up to the 2nd floor. ¡®But I have to go find the mana crystal on the underground 1st floor.¡¯ A sense of urgency bubbled within me. ¡®The 3rd floor is a hidden field.¡¯ Even if the 3rd floor wasn¡¯t cleared, clearing just the 2nd floor would end this scenario. Clear Crystal will be generated upon hunting all monsters on the 2nd Floor. Destroying the Clear Crystal will end the entire scenario. ¡®That can¡¯t happen.¡¯ I had to hurry. Thankfully, there were Trolls on the 2nd floor, and among them were Troll Soldiers whose endurance was second to none in the beginner period. ¡®Let¡¯s hurry and go up.¡¯ I moved to the escalator. [Escalator Going to the 2nd Floor] An escalator going to the Main Field of D-Tower, the 2nd Floor. Can transport fifteen people at once. Cooldown: 8 minutes If this place had the same settings as the Tutorial Dungeon, the original cooldown should have been twenty minutes. ¡®12 minutes have elapsed since it was used.¡¯ Before I blocked the way to the D-Tower front doors, someone had already gone inside. After hunting the (Enhanced) Goblin Soldier, they went up to the 2nd floor about twelve minutes ago. ¡®I can¡¯t go up to the 2nd floor.¡¯ Then that left finding the mana crystal on the underground 1st floor within eight minutes. It was still efficient, at least. Perhaps because of my urgency, I couldn¡¯t see it immediately. There was probably a condition to activate it. My thoughts once again flickered to the person¡ªor people¡ªwho were up on the 2nd floor right now. ¡®Looking at the state of the 1st floor¡­¡¯ The corpses strewn about. The punctured ATM machine. A body part of a monster I guessed was a Troll. The smell of a fierce battle still lingering in the air. The atmosphere. The time I spent using Cognitive Dissonance outside. All of that was information for me, an Observer. ¡®I don¡¯t think it took very long for them to hunt the (Enhanced) Goblin Soldier.¡¯ They did it quickly, and that party probably didn¡¯t take much damage to speak of, either. Then, they moved on confidently to the 2nd floor. ¡®It¡¯s possible to infer who it was if they were that skilled.¡¯ I cast my eyes around again. [Observing with Observer¡¯s Eye.] My gaze stopped at the punctured ATM machine. ¡®There¡¯s a hole.¡¯ The hole was created by the (Enhanced) Goblin Soldier¡¯s spear. It threw the spear, the spear rotated, and the people avoided that spear with the help of the ATM machine. Over there was the bathroom. That moment, I could feel it. ¡®This is¡­!¡¯ There was the slightest sense of budding enlightenment, the same sensation I¡¯d felt when fighting Kim Taechun. Similar in essence to when I felt the ominous future with Precognitive Eye. ¡®I¡¯m on the verge of seeing it.¡¯ It might be because this situation was one that I had already experienced. I, too, had fought the (Enhanced) Goblin Soldier, and I knew about the hunting method the unknown party used. Whatever the reason, I was able to read what had happened a few minutes ago. ¡®Focus.¡¯ I focused a little more. The ATM machine. That was the key point. Whatever it had to show me was dancing in and out of my reach. ¡®I can see it¡­!¡¯ I could see it. ¡®Is this¡­ the opposite of Future Sight?¡¯ Future Sight could see the future. But what I just did wasn¡¯t Future Sight. I glimpsed into the past. It felt like a video was playing back in my head. ¡®Ah.¡¯ The battle ¡®they¡¯ fought with a formation looked very familiar. ¡®There are many of them.¡¯ At the very least, it wasn¡¯t just a few people. I felt like I could see many Players who had worked together for a long time. ¡®They set up a circular formation.¡¯ A circular formation. ¡®Many Players fitted in silver armor.¡¯ And¡ª ¡®The silhouette of a girl.¡¯ That was all for the image I glimpsed¡ªseveral men wearing silver armor and a girl holding a wand. ¡®The Steel Bulwark Kim Donghyun and Steel Mage Kim Ahyun brother and sister duo.¡¯ ¡®They were already active at this time?¡¯ Wings was one of the major guilds in Gyeonggi Province. They were called the Guardians of Gyeonggido, and they made a significant contribution in blocking the ¡®1st Monster Wave Scenario¡¯ that began in Seoul and moved to Hanam in Gyeonggi Province. ¡®A guild made up of twelve knights and one magician.¡¯ The guild was known to have avoided expanding into Seoul because they disliked the complicated politics and elbowing for privileges in the city. ¡®When it comes to fighting in a formation, they¡¯re a cut above Taeguk Shield. They aren¡¯t super strong as individuals, but their defense-oriented Playing is built on a foundation of outstanding and sturdy teamwork.¡¯ That was the kind of guild Wings was, at least according to the information I knew. ¡®That¡¯s a relief.¡¯ It was a good thing. They were cautious Players; their playstyle wasn¡¯t super aggressive. They moved in formation like a sturdy shield, slowly strangling the enemy¡¯s windpipe. As a result, their raids tended to take a relatively long time. ¡®I can¡¯t think of any way to get down to the underground 1st floor.¡¯ If it was completely the same as the Tutorial Field, I would be able to figure it out right away, but unfortunately, that wasn¡¯t the case. ¡®And I don¡¯t know what the condition is, either.¡¯ Even my intuition couldn¡¯t figure anything out. It was either an extremely hard hidden piece to find, or there really was no path down there. I couldn¡¯t rule out that possibility. And if there was no path? Come and read on our website wuxia worldsite. Thanks ¡®I have to make a path.¡¯ I couldn¡¯t go down there. But I had a very skilled pet with me. [Phantom Thief Squirrel] Name: Darongi Age: 7 Level: ? Innate ability: [Pickup] [Pathfinding] [Gnawing] [Theft] [Subspace] [Big Belly] [Hole Digging] [Stealth] [Master Selection] State: Joyful / Full / Lazy Disposition: Confident / Insatiable / Intimate Summary: Gluttonous Theft Genius The disposition/state/summary only show the most representative and can change according to the situation. Because Eye of Perception¡¯s proficiency is not high enough, viewing more detailed information is impossible. Even though I had reached level 38, I still couldn¡¯t see the level of my amazing pet. ¡°Darong, there should be a mana crystal on the underground 1st floor. Find it.¡± [;;;] marks appeared over Darongi¡¯s head. ¡°No, you can do it.¡± It was shown three times. This was a first. ¡°Ah. You think it¡¯ll be that hard? Even with your remarkable skills?¡± Darongi nodded. ¡°I¡¯m disappointed. And here I was, planning on giving you soy sauce fried chicken with pickled radishes to boot.¡± [!!!] popped up over Darongi¡¯s head. The pickled radishes that came with fried chicken was precisely the food Darongi was obsessed with these days. Considering how he savored each and every little nibble of pickled radish, the food seemed to suit his tastes to a T. ¡°Can¡¯t be helped. We¡¯ll have to give up on soy sauce fried chicken and pickled radishes.¡± Darongi leapt off my shoulder. ¡°What? You can do it after all?¡± Darongi frantically nodded. ¡°See? You can do it. If you bring me the mana crystal, I¡¯ll give you two soy sauce chickens and two boxes of pickled radish.¡± Darongi began to dig. * * * Translator ¨C Lei Proofreader ¨C Ash * * * The Guildmaster of Taeguk Shield, Song Kiyeol, spoke to the man sitting on the opposite side of the table. ¡°As we have clearly stated, the Guardian Tower is not a deleterious object, and it will absolutely not decrease the value of the DMC Riverview Xi.¡± ¡°Yes, yes. You¡¯ve said the same thing at least five times.¡± Sitting next to the man were four other men and one woman. They had red bands wrapped around their heads. ¡°We have announced this fact several times,¡± said Song Kiyeol. ¡°This is a contract related to it. Please read and sign it.¡± The contract was three pages total. It could be summarized concisely into two points: If the residents of the DMC Riverview Xi so desire, Sungshin will purchase their property for an additional $100,000 above market price. However, Sungshin has announced multiple times that the Guardian Tower is not a deleterious object. Han Myungsoo, who had been appointed chairman of the ¡®Urgent Resident Emergency Countermeasure Committee¡¯, was happy. ¡°This is an adequate resolution to our strike.¡± ¡°It says Sungshin will add $100,000 to market price, and they¡¯ll even pay for the moving fees.¡± ¡°And what if the market price drops?¡± ¡°We have set the market price as the highest it has been per square meter.¡± The committee achieved the marvelous feat of setting the market price of the most common size of apartment, 110 square meters, to a staggering $1.5 million, plus an extra $100k. ¡°But would Sungshin have done this without any thought at all? They¡¯re a conglomerate that dislikes incurring losses.¡± ¡°That¡¯s an issue we have to think about, yes.¡± ¡°Might it be that they have put the focus on improving their image using this situation?¡± The people were very divided. Some were of the opinion that they should quickly sell their homes and find new ones, while others believed there was a reason Sungshin would go so far and that they should wait and see. It was approximately a 6:4 split, the larger group believing they should wait and see, and the smaller group wanting to sell and leave. Sungshin said they would respect all opinions. ¡°Sungshin will gain a lot from this as well. It¡¯s an era where image is king, after all.¡± ¡°I heard Sungshin is gaining millions of dollars from the publicity they¡¯re getting from this issue. We¡¯re actually on the losing end, if you think about it.¡± Most of the people on the ¡®sell and leave¡¯ side were also people who had actively demanded compensation from So Yoohun. They were the most enthusiastic in calling for the eyesore to be taken down, in advocating for the destruction of the tower that had attracted calamities like the Fire Giants. People who shouted that if it couldn¡¯t be destroyed, they should be compensated with a truckload of money. The most vocal people accepted Sungshin¡¯s proposal. After the contract was signed and done, the CEO of Sungshin, Song Kiyoung, had tea with Song Kiyeol. TN: Song Kiyoung¡¯s title has been changed from President to CEO. ¡°Doing this means you¡¯re prepared to pay a huge expense. What are you thinking?¡± ¡°I already know the true worth of the Guardian Tower.¡± Song Kiyeol was truly amused. ¡®Kiyeol has changed.¡¯ He wasn¡¯t the same grandson who quailed in front of him. CEO Song was extremely happy about that. ¡°The true worth?¡± ¡°Yes.¡± He was happy on the inside, but he didn¡¯t show it. ¡°Fine. Let¡¯s say you¡¯ve recognized its true worth.¡± He said sternly, ¡°And let¡¯s say the area¡¯s prices skyrocket because of the Guardian Tower¡¯s worth. What will you do afterwards? Do you want to advertise that Sungshin has reaped a profit from real estate speculation when public sentiment is already rocky as is?¡± ¡°No, sir.¡± Kiyeol shook his head. He was respectful, but firm. His eyes glowed with confidence. ¡°As the Guildmaster of Taeguk Shield, I have decided to create a 1st generation Player town by lawful and humanitarian means. And it happens to be close to the Players Association as well.¡± ¡°A Player town?¡± ¡°The idea is to have a ready force that can quickly react to emergency crises. As you saw with the Fire Giants¡­ Even stronger monsters will appear in the future. We need people who can create parties on the spot and go out to hunt. If we can gather outstanding Players in one place, we will be able to react far more strategically in a crisis.¡± The goal was not real estate speculation, but to create a Player town, a concept of a force prepared for emergency situations. CEO Song smiled inwardly. ¡®How fun.¡¯ Judging from Kiyeol¡¯s palpable confidence, that ¡®Guardian Tower¡¯ was likely extremely valuable. The short-sighted people who lunged for a pittance of $100k without recognizing that value were pitiful. ¡®Kiyeol changed¡­ after meeting Kim Hyukjin.¡¯ As time went on, his curiosity towards the person named Kim Hyukjin grew. CEO Song concealed his inner thoughts and spoke again. ¡°Excessive confidence breeds failure. There are times when bold and swift decision-making is necessary, but the process cannot be just as bold and swift. Understand?¡± ¡°I will bear that in mind.¡± He couldn¡¯t wait to see. Was the Guardian Tower truly an eyesore that attracted monsters like Fire Giants, or was it really a tower that protected, as its name suggested? ¡®It¡¯s probably a tower that protects.¡¯ Read latest Chapters at Wuxia World . Site Only He couldn¡¯t suppress the smile that escaped him at the thought of the world¡¯s furor over Guardian Towers in the near future. ¡®It could be¡­¡¯ That Kiyeol was more outstanding than Junghye. ____ Chapter 172 Chapter 172 Five minutes had already passed since I tempted Darongi with fried chicken and sent him down. ¡®It¡¯s about time for him to come back¡­¡¯ Five minutes became six minutes. I didn¡¯t see Darongi. Seven minutes, eight minutes, nine minutes, ten minutes. ¡®It¡¯s been a while since the escalator has been reactivated.¡¯ [Escalator Going to the 2nd Floor] An escalator going to the Main Field of D-Tower, the 2nd Floor. Can transport fifteen people at once. Cooldown: 20 minutes ¡®Darongi can pull it off.¡¯ If anyone could do it, it was that little squirrel. Even if I didn¡¯t go down there myself, Darongi would find it on his own. In this field, Darongi was at a far higher level than me. If he couldn¡¯t do it, then it was reasonable to assume I couldn¡¯t do it either. I heard panting coming from somewhere. It was Darongi. ¡®Under my feet.¡¯ I felt Darongi getting closer. It was faint, but I also sensed the energy of a mana crystal. ¡®But¡­¡¯ It wasn¡¯t just Darongi. Several monsters I couldn¡¯t identify were fiercely pursuing him. According to the outline, they were probably Fanged Moles. I heard a notice unrelated to what was happening below. [A new person is entering the 1st Floor.] [A new person is entering the 1st Floor.] A group of people entered the D-Tower, exactly at the time when Darongi burst out of the ground. ¡°Mo-Monsters!¡± ¡°An-And there¡¯s a person!¡± I swung Isabel. Schwing! The blade slashed through something. [Critical hit!] [Fanged Mole has been killed.] [EXP acquired.] They were around level 20 and called Fanged Moles. Besides their ability to move freely in the ground, they weren¡¯t very strong monsters. Their physical resilience was especially frail, so they were very easy to kill if you landed a hit on them with a weapon. Of course, that was if you could feel where they were jumping out in advance like I could. The shocked crowd murmured. ¡°Whew, guess they weren¡¯t all that strong.¡± ¡°Whoo, that scared me.¡± Someone came up to thank me. ¡°Thank you. You saved us.¡± A total of ten people entered the 1st floor, bringing with them an interesting story of what was happening outside the D-Tower. * * * The Gatekeeper Lee Sungcheol prided himself as someone with a pretty strong backbone. He did experience something scary just now, but he didn¡¯t give up. He took his position in front of the door again. [Using the innate ability Entry Blocking.] There shouldn¡¯t be anyone left who could take down his innate ability, no one like the guy whose face he couldn¡¯t remember. Sungcheol was confident. Not everyone was thinking the same thing. The crowd was divided into people who wanted to go inside the D-Tower and people who wanted to find a different way to survive outside. ¡°H-How much do we need to pay?¡± ¡°$300 a pop.¡± A few people who had $300 in cash rummaged around in their wallets and pulled out the money. Another few ran towards the dead, rifling around the bodies. They knew there were wallets somewhere on their bodies. ¡°I called dibs first!¡± ¡°You should fuck off when I¡¯m being nice, yeah?¡± People were at their most sensitive when their lives were endangered. Like bombs detonating at the slightest stimulation, two men verbally sparred over a single body, and one man swung his sword at the other. ¡°Fuck off when I¡¯m being nice.¡± ¡°You call this being nice?¡± The two agitated men began to fight, and their fight spread steadily to their surroundings. Lee Sungcheol watched over it all with satisfaction. ¡®I¡¯ve already earned $2000 in a single day.¡¯ This class of his was really awesome. Before he became a Player, he earned $1400 a month. But now, he had just earned $2000 in one day. He hummed unconsciously to himself. But just then, someone approached him, saying strange words he couldn¡¯t understand. It was a foreigner. ¡°#^&%$#%!$#%^*#$.¡± It just sounded like alien speech to Lee Sungcheol. A previously transparent Intermediate Administrator showed themself. ¡°I will temporarily translate, fatass.¡± The Intermediate Administrator looked like a tree, a very short walking tree that could talk like a person. ¡®An Intermediate Administrator?¡¯ That was an existence you had to be careful around. This one might look like a mere stunted tree on the outside, but an Intermediate Administrator taking off a Player¡¯s head with a single swipe of their finger was an everyday occurrence. ¡°Understood.¡± [The ¡®Translation System¡¯ has temporarily taken effect.] [Uninhibited conversation is temporarily possible.] The foreign man grinned. ¡°You. What¡¯s your name?¡± Lee Sungcheol scowled. The man was speaking down to him right away. Was it because he was a foreigner? That made sense, some foreign countries apparently didn¡¯t have a system of formal and informal speech. ¡°It¡¯s Lee Sungcheol.¡± ¡°Ah, that so?¡± The man grinned again, then raised his fist. ¡°Wh-What are you¡ªGAH!¡± Sungcheol screamed. It felt as if the sky were crumbling down on him. ¡®Ah¡­¡¯ And then, there was no more pain. ¡®My finger¡­¡¯ He couldn¡¯t move it. Even his innate ability, Entry Blocking, could not protect him. ¡®My body won¡¯t move¡­¡¯ He was scared. It was like he was struck by a massive hammer. There was a sensation of passing out for the briefest moment, and it was hard for him to keep his eyes open. Before he knew it, he was on the ground with no idea of how or when he got there. He heard a voice. ¡°Figures, trash like this can¡¯t be Kim Hyukjin. Right, Wilson?¡± ¡°Killing out of the blue?¡± ¡°Am I in the wrong?¡± ¡°There¡¯s no right or wrong in Playing.¡± ¡°That¡¯s right. What¡¯s important is whether it¡¯s fun or not.¡± ¡°Still, it¡¯s best to refrain from killing in foreign servers. There are Guardians who dislike that.¡± They weren¡¯t an ordinary Player¨CIntermediate Administrator pair. Because in this beginner period, the vast majority of Players avoided interacting with Intermediate Administrators unless it was absolutely necessary. ¡°A guy named Kim Hyukjin is in here, yeah?¡± He snickered. ¡°Can I kill him?¡± ¡°If you can. It¡¯ll prolly be hard.¡± ¡°Well yeah, that¡¯s true. The [White Hunter] themself gave him a scenario quest. There should be a lot of good content to extract from him in the future. It¡¯d be nice if he could fight well.¡± The stunted tree Intermediate Administrator named Wilson stared silently at his contracted partner, Vela. ¡®It¡¯d be a relief if you didn¡¯t die.¡¯ Vela probably wouldn¡¯t die¡ªhe was under the protection of the [White Hunter]. ¡°Are you going in?¡± asked Wilson. ¡°Of course.¡± The Italian Player, Vela, went up to the D-Tower and immediately went inside. * * * Translator ¨C Lei Proofreader ¨C Ash * * * A few minutes before Vela entered the D-Tower: I turned away from the Players who had entered the 1st floor. Whether they came in by giving a lot of money to Lee Sungcheol or scrounged up the funds by looting bodies of the Players outside didn¡¯t matter to me. I was simply amused by Lee Sungcheol¡¯s persistence in committing misdeeds. No more, and no less. ¡®I¡¯ve shown them that Fanged Moles show up here.¡¯ I also showed them how to hunt them. Their continued survival was up to them now. I clearly warned them not to come in here, and they made their choice. They were all adults who had to take responsibility for their decisions, even if taking responsibility meant death. Come and read on our website wuxia worldsite. Thanks I went up to the escalator, then turned to speak to the crowd. ¡°There will be more dangerous monsters on the 2nd floor.¡± There were a whopping four different types of monsters written in the outline. Orc Warrior: 21 (D-Tower 2nd Floor) Troll: 5 (D-Tower 2nd Floor) Troll Soldier: 3 (D-Tower 2nd Floor) Orc Archer: 5 (D-Tower 2nd Floor) Monsters so strong that even the Wings guild had been unable to kill them. ¡°The choice is up to you.¡± I was not their guardian. I wasn¡¯t duty-bound to protect them, and I didn¡¯t intend on doing that either. More Players would continue to come inside. I warned them, but not everyone was going to heed my warning. That meant I couldn¡¯t help every Player or save them. ¡°You can go to the 2nd floor, or stay on the 1st.¡± This, too, was their choice. Still, the 1st floor would be safer than the 2nd. ¡°If you wait on the 1st floor, I will clear the 2nd floor. This scenario will probably end with that.¡± To be more precise, it would end after I cleared the ¡®3rd floor¡¯, the hidden stage that had a Grade 4 Exotic, a Black Troll. I gave them all the explanations and courtesy I could offer. The rest was up to them. I walked forward. [Move to the 2nd Floor?] [Moving to the 2nd Floor.] * * * On the 2nd floor of the Gwanghwamun D-Tower Dungeon, I encountered new people. They were fighting with their backs to the escalator just five meters ahead of me. ¡®Twelve men.¡¯ Men wearing silver armor. She looked to be in her late teens. I already knew her name¡ªthe Steel Mage, Kim Ahyun. A magician specialized in defense who went to war with her twelve ¡®Wings¡¯, her guild members. ¡®But¡­¡¯ It was different from what I knew. Those knights¡­ weren¡¯t Players. [Phantom Knight ¨C LVL 31] A knight created by someone. Due to its lack of a body, it has considerable resilience against physical attacks. Its stats can range from a broad spectrum depending on the creator. I saw twelve of these Phantom Knights. ¡®The Wings guild members¡­ weren¡¯t human?¡¯ Because they were donning silver helms and armor, you couldn¡¯t see their exact appearances. They just looked like people in full armor. ¡®If they¡¯re not human¡­¡¯ Schwiiiip¨C! Sensing that something sharp was flying my way, I tilted my neck to the side. ¡®An arrow?¡¯ It was an Orc Archer. ¡®It¡¯s slow.¡¯ I didn¡¯t know the full story, but the Wings guild made up of Phantom Knights was currently fighting Orc Archers while protecting a girl, Kim Ahyun. ¡®They¡¯re being pushed back a little because of the Troll Soldiers and Orc Archers.¡¯ If I were to take care of the Troll Soldiers, the balance would crumble towards the Wings too much. Just getting rid of the Orc Archers should allow them to hold on well enough, long enough for me to go to the 3rd floor and successfully hunt the Black Troll. ¡®I¡¯ll just get rid of the Orc Archers.¡¯ In front of me was a horde of Orc Archers and Orc Warriors, enemies that had seemed so challenging in the past. But that was in the past. Only a few months had passed, but they felt so easy now. ¡®I can clearly see the trajectory of the arrows.¡¯ I could see them so precisely that large evasive maneuvers were wholly unnecessary. Just tilting my head a little and slightly turning my body was enough to dodge them. Chwiik? An Orc Archer stared at me, dumbfounded. Chwiiiiik! Four Orc Archers turned to face me, having decided that I was a priority target. The next moment, four arrows shot toward me. They appeared to be flying in slow motion. ¡®Like this.¡¯ There was a very small gap between the arrows, their blind spot. I found and occupied that spot in advance. I didn¡¯t dodge after seeing the arrows. I found a spot safe from them well before they were fired. The arrows would go right past. ¡®Except for this one.¡¯ Whoosh! I caught it. My hand was numb, but it didn¡¯t hurt. ¡®Huh, turns out I can do that.¡¯ I tried it because I could afford to do so, and it worked. I caught the arrow in my hand. Even with the shaft in my hand, I couldn¡¯t believe I was able to pull it off. As fascinating as it was, everything I tried just worked. [Using the special skill Flash Step.] I closed in¡ª ¡°You should shoot your arrows properly.¡± ¡ªand plunged the arrow in my hand right into an Orc Archer¡¯s forehead. Splurt! The sharp arrowhead cut straight through the Orc Archer¡¯s head. SQUEAAAL! It screamed. Another spate of arrows whizzed towards me. I raised the screaming Orc Archer a little. It was heavy, but I could lift it, and it made the perfect shield. Arrows shot into the Orc Archer. They weren¡¯t the only ones who could do long ranged attacks. I pulled out a dagger, a weapon I could use quite nimbly despite never having learned how. ¡®About seven meters away.¡¯ The distance was well within my capacity. I hurled the dagger. Spluuurt! It went into an Orc Archer¡¯s eye. There were several daggers in my Inventory. I hurled another. After throwing three in quick succession, the Orc Archer slumped to the ground. Then, it was time for the transcendent item Isabel. After slicing the throat of the hapless Orc Archer I had used as a shield, I immediately closed in and planted Isabel in the head of the one that had collapsed. [Orc Archer has been killed.] Both the EXP and items were unremarkable. But this experience made me keenly aware of something. ¡®I have¡­ really grown.¡¯ It felt so difficult in the past, but it felt like my growth was accelerating. This feeling of experiencing my own growth with my own body, this sense of achievement, the blood boiling up within me¡­ it was nice. This thing called ¡®Playing¡¯ imparted an immense amount of pleasure to me. ¡®Then¡­ will this work, too?¡¯ Even though the reason boiled down to never having tried it, I had never used a bow before. I picked up the Orc Archer¡¯s bow from the ground, aiming it at my last target. It, too, had its crosshairs set on me. We were aiming at each other. I pulled the bowstring. ¡®Will I be able to hit it?¡¯ Somehow¡­ I had the feeling I could. ¡®This is¡­¡¯ I had experienced this without really experiencing it. The process of aiming at something and firing was something I indirectly experienced through the Guardian Tower that was mentally linked to me. ¡®Ah.¡¯ I was on the verge of enlightenment. ¡®Now.¡¯ The trajectory of the arrow I was drawing appeared precisely in my head. ¡®My target is its forehead.¡¯ That was my bullseye. I let go of the bowstring, and the arrow shot off, far faster than when it was fired by an Orc Archer. ¡®I can hit it.¡¯ No, I would hit it. Splurt! The arrow plunged exactly through the Orc Archer¡¯s forehead. ¡®It really worked?¡¯ [Critical hit!] And I even hunted the Orc Archer with a single arrow. I landed a critical hit, dealing amplified damage. Just then, I heard a notice. [The ¡®Night of Shooting Stars¡¯ has begun to pay attention to you.] [The ¡®Night of Shooting Stars¡¯ wishes to sponsor you.] For a moment, I forgot that this was the 2nd floor, that Wings was fighting the Orc Warriors, and even the fact that I had to quickly move onto the 3rd floor. ¡®The Night¡­ of Shooting Stars?¡¯ A Guardian whose name I knew all too well had appeared. Read latest Chapters at Wuxia World . Site Only It was hard for me to understand why they appeared right now, right here. Originally, he was supposed to make their appearance when the top 40% of the entire server¡¯s Players reached the mid-game. Why had a Guardian mankind classified as a ¡®Stage 2 Guardian¡¯ suddenly appeared? Whether they were a Stage 1 Guardian or Stage 2 Guardian wasn¡¯t the important thing right now. The really important thing was the notice that came next. The Night of Shooting Stars¡­ gave me a quest. ____ Chapter 173 Chapter 173 If you were to pick the most famous Players in Korea, it would be the ¡®8 Heroes¡¯, the Players who achieved legendary feats while clashing against the Demon King Army. But there were definitely Players who weren¡¯t ¡®heroes¡¯, but known to be just as strong or possibly even stronger. ¡®Players who didn¡¯t sacrifice themselves for the public or the greater good.¡¯ The Player who could be called the apex of them, Divine Archer Hyun Junghwa, was sponsored by the Night of Shooting Stars. [The ¡®Night of Shooting Stars¡¯ wishes to sponsor you.] There was something that set the Night of Shooting Stars slightly apart from other Guardians. ¡®A Stage 2 Guardian.¡¯ There wasn¡¯t an exact line between Stage 1 and Stage 2 Guardians. What people called Stage 1 Guardians were the beings that had sponsored and watched Players from the very beginning. The Stage 2 Guardians were the ones that descended on the scene like comets afterwards, lavishing more wholehearted and lively sponsorship than before. ¡®To put it coarsely¡­¡¯ If the Stage 1 Guardians were likened to the established gentry that had possessed their wealth for a long time, the Stage 2 Guardians could be said to be nouveau riche who obtained their wealth overnight. Nouveau riche wasn¡¯t meant in a bad way here. It was actually extremely good for the Players. ¡®Those who suddenly earn their wealth¡­ are bound to use their money freely and unstintingly.¡¯ In other words, the Stage 2 Guardians were Guardians who suddenly appeared once the mid-game was well underway and heaped full and enthusiastic sponsorship on a few lucky Players. Of course, there were Guardians among them who disappeared as suddenly as they had come. There were also Guardians who demanded as much as they sponsored¡ªin other words, picky Guardians. ¡®In that respect, the [Night of Shooting Stars]¡­ is like winning the lottery for a Player.¡¯ He wasn¡¯t very hard to please, heaped nouveau riche-level sponsorship, and enjoyed ¡®Playing¡¯ in itself. He didn¡¯t coerce anything from the Player, but derived great enjoyment from raising their contracted Player to the limits. ¡®He only sends messages only to a select few who have excellent talent.¡¯ In addition¡ª ¡®In the end, there were only two people worldwide who passed the Night of Shooting Stars¡¯ final selection.¡¯ One was the representative of Korea¡¯s archers, the top-class Player Hyun Junghwa. The other was the representative of America¡¯s archers, the top-class Player Mark. Both of them possessed peerless talent for ¡®archery¡¯ and were famous for shooting up in the ranks faster than anyone. Naturally, that incredible speed of growth was actively orchestrated by the Night of Shooting Stars. ¡®I have to grab him.¡¯ Stage 1 Guardians were on the stingy side when it came to sponsorships. No matter how exceptionally you Played, they would give maybe 300 or 500 Coins max. They did occasionally give out good scenario quests, but in any case, it was like interning compared to what the Night of Shooting Stars had to offer. ¡®Senia. Please.¡¯ ¡®No.¡¯ I decided not to expect too much from Senia. Expecting something from her was like relying on luck, and luck wasn¡¯t something I could do anything about. ¡®Not with luck, but with skill.¡¯ The Night of Shooting Stars valued skill. He was a Guardian who felt enjoyment from a Player¡¯s growth. Which meant, what I had to do was show him Night of the Shooting Stars-worthy archer talent. For now, I was given an initial quest. [You have been given the quest ¡®Qualifications of an Outstanding Bowman¡¯.] This was a quest granted by none other than the Night of Shooting Stars. I checked it immediately. [Qualifications of an Outstanding Bowman] The Night of Shooting Stars wants to determine your ¡®qualifications as a bowman¡¯. Display excellent archery. Quest clear or failure will be decided independently by the Night of Shooting Stars. To be honest, these kinds of quests weren¡¯t good. They didn¡¯t have a concrete goal. It was the kind of quest where you could work your ass off to show something, and the Guardian could just say ¡®Yeah no, this ain¡¯t it, I don¡¯t like it¡¯ and you failed the quest. Superficial and small-minded Guardians pulled such stunts often, and Players called it ¡®dine-and-dash¡¯. ¡®But the other party is the Night of Shooting Stars.¡¯ He was definitely credible. He could be trusted. The Night of Shooting Stars was an extremely generous Guardian, and as long as what you had to show matched his tastes, he would shower you with bona-fide rewards that matched your performance point for point. The proof of that was below: Reward: Tome of the Divine Archer Physique A Tome of the Divine Archer Physique, of all things, was the reward. ¡®The scale of the reward¡­¡¯ I had really underestimated the scale of the Stage 2 nouveau riche Guardians, considering a freaking Tome of the Divine Archer Physique was being directly awarded by a Guardian. ¡®It¡¯s half a notch¡­ above the Tome of the Divine Fire Physique.¡¯ Not in ability, but in scarcity. Tome of the Divine Fire Physique. Tome of the Divine Wind Physique. Tome of the Divine Water Physique. And so on. There were maybe ten physique tomes of each element discovered worldwide, at most. Of course, they were obtained by the strongest Players, aka the Rankers, of each element. But this ¡®Tome of the Divine Archer Physique¡¯ was a little different in nature. It was an item that maximized one¡¯s dormant potential for a class, and rarer than an element physique tome. That, of course, made it extremely valuable. ¡®I¡¯ll have to change my plans a little.¡¯ I was planning on hunting the Black Troll my way, but I would need to tweak the process a little. A ¡®big fish¡¯ had graced our pond, and one so big he could hardly be compared to others. A generous Guardian who doled out sponsorships to Players by the bucket. ¡®I have to grab him, whatever it takes.¡¯ It just so happened that good prey was waiting upstairs. A Grade 4 Exotic Black Troll. ¡®It¡¯ll be the optimal monster to show the Night of Shooting Stars.¡¯ I would show my precious VIP how an archer who had picked up a bow for the first time¡ªI decided to act as an archer for now¡ªwould hunt a Black Troll. * * * Translator ¨C Lei Proofreader ¨C Ash Come and read on our website wuxia worldsite. Thanks * * * Song Junghye was furious. ¡°Kim Hyukjin¡­¡± As a 3rd generation daughter of a chaebol family, she had lived the high life. But for some reason, nothing seemed to go her way whenever Kim Hyukjin was involved. ¡°Oppa has changed ever since he met that bastard, too.¡± That was both good and bad. She liked that her brother had risen to suit the ¡®Sungshin successor¡¯ mantle more, but she didn¡¯t like that he was becoming a ¡®hopeless dreamer¡¯. ¡®Oppa is too weak, anyway. He¡¯s an idealist.¡¯ In the end, Sungshin belonged to her. To that end, she had to bring down Taeguk Shield and break her brother. ¡®My plan to use the Fire Giants also went up in smoke.¡¯ She¡¯d had a plan. She was in the middle of silently preparing to use 30,000 people as sacrifices when suddenly, Kim Hyukjin and her brother appeared out of nowhere and ruined everything. ¡®Bring down Taeguk Shield, and¡­¡¯ What method could raise the status of the guild Song Junghye had established, the ¡®Blue Spearhead¡¯? And how could she obtain the ¡®Red Eyes¡¯? Her thoughts twisted and turned. Just then, she heard a knock. It was the explorer she had met in the past, Jackson. ¡°I have come bearing a piece of good news. Well, it¡¯s a trade, so to speak,¡± Jackson said. Jackson pointed to a part of his phone screen. ¡°This place. Do you know it?¡± It was marked as the ¡®Gran Seoul¡¯. ¡°I do. It¡¯s a building near the D-Tower.¡± ¡°A dungeon should have formed here.¡± ¡°How do you know that?¡± ¡°My class can tell. I¡¯m an Exploring Baptist, after all.¡± Song Junghye nodded. The reason he knew wasn¡¯t important. The only thing that mattered was that a dungeon would appear there. ¡°By my guess, it will become an extremely important dungeon. A dungeon that everyone must clear, no matter what, without fail, and by all means.¡± ¡°You¡¯re saying that¡­¡± ¡°That the early bird gets the worm.¡± Song Junghye looked Jackson right in the eye. He didn¡¯t seem to be lying. ¡°The groundwork to open the Gran Seoul Dungeon is currently underway.¡± ¡°I know. The field has been isolated.¡± Like with the Tutorial Field, it was impossible to go inside. No one on the outside knew what scenario or quest was happening inside. ¡°The fun thing is that Player Kim Hyukjin is inside.¡± Song Junghye¡¯s brow twitched. Jackson quickly continued. ¡°Knowing him, he will probably breeze through the scenario there and come out.¡± He left the possibility that Kim Hyukjin might have grown once again unsaid. He concentrated solely on relaying the information. ¡°Once the scenario is cleared, the Gran Seoul Dungeon will open.¡± Jackson figured that was enough for Song Junghye to get the point, and she caught on. ¡°Very well. I¡¯ll trust your information.¡± ¡°If you examine the records in the Players Association¡¯s database, you will find that there are people with the ability necessary to lay claim on gate and dungeon entrances.¡± After hearing that much, Song Junghye closed her eyes for a moment as if thinking about something. A very brief moment later, she asked, ¡°What do you want from me, Jackson?¡± ¡°I need the head of Player Kim Hyukjin.¡± Whether he was serious or joking, it was impossible to tell. * * * The Grade 4 Exotic Black Troll was a monster endowed with immense physical strength and massive regeneration abilities. However, it was also a monster with a very fatal weakness. England¡¯s famous guild, Imperialism, once shared this weakness of the Black Troll. ¨CThe Black Troll is a troll with black skin. Notably, there are black spots on that black skin. Black spots on top of black skin. They couldn¡¯t be seen by normal means. It was almost impossible to distinguish them with the naked eye. ¨CThose spots can be linked into a single line. If you succeed in making that ¡®line¡¯ with ¡®attacks¡¯, the Black Troll will lose its regen ability. Basically, you had to attack the spots all over the troll¡¯s body in a set order, spot by spot. The strategy required not just random hacking and slashing, but a careful and measured approach. I was going to use my quick movements and my special skill, Flash Step, as well as Isabel¡¯s Sword of Insight to slowly bring the troll down. Because as long as I could get near somehow, Sword of Insight would carve a path. ¡®I can afford to take a hit or two.¡¯ It was a fact that a Black Troll felt like nothing after facing the Fire Giants. Though of course, it was still a monster with an average level of 40, so it couldn¡¯t be underestimated. ¡®But¡­¡¯ But my plans changed. The Night of Shooting Stars, of all Guardians, was watching. I had to satisfy them. That was my first priority right now. Another notice came in as if to echo my conviction. [The ¡®Night of Shooting Stars¡¯ is very expectant.] I was determined to meet those expectations in full. ¡®But something¡¯s missing right now.¡¯ I was just a little short of being able to fulfill those expectations, so I opened my mouth. As always, it was high risk, high return. How you controlled the risk you were to undertake in order to gain that return was purely up to the individual. I would control the risk. Read latest Chapters at Wuxia World . Site Only Because this stage was a stage being built by my hands. In order to draw a more perfect picture than before, I spoke. ____ Chapter 174 Chapter 174 Making a direct deal with a Guardian was always dangerous. If you asked a Guardian for something, you could be setting yourself up to have no choice but to comply with a corresponding demand of theirs. That was the risk I faced. But right now, the situation was a little different. ¡®This request isn¡¯t being made because I need it.¡¯ Granted, if you were to look at it technically, it was something I was requesting because I needed it. But the job of a Player was to artfully conceal that, to package it like it was a very reasonable and worthwhile deal in the [Night of Shooting Star]¡¯s eyes. ¡°The Night of Shooting Stars said he would like to see the qualifications of an outstanding bowman from me.¡± They needed it, not me. All I had to do was show them that I was doing my best to fulfill that need. ¡°However, I lack a weapon capable of reflecting my qualifications and competencies.¡± The only bow I had right now was the crude bow dropped by an Orc Archer. Even if I were to go into the Item Shop right now and buy one, I wouldn¡¯t be able to get that great of a bow. ¡°Please give me the opportunity to show what the Night of Shooting Stars wants to see.¡± The Night of Shooting Stars wanted me to show my ¡®qualifications¡¯. To that end, he possessed a generous hand that did not skimp on investment. [The ¡®Night of Shooting Stars¡¯ sympathizes with your words.] [The ¡®Merchant of Venice¡¯ is watching the situation with interest.] ¡°If I am unable to prove my own worth, I am prepared to accept whatever consequences necessary,¡± I said firmly. How would the [Night of Shooting Stars], our resident big investor and generous Guardian, respond? Because I had made such a big declaration, the Night of Shooting Stars would surely show me even greater magnanimity. [The ¡®Night of Shooting Stars¡¯ temporarily lends the Blackfire Bow.] [The Blackfire Bow will be lent out for the duration of Player Kim Hyukjin¡¯s quest.] [The fee for borrowing the Blackfire Bow is ¡®sufficient qualifications as a bowman¡¯.] [If Player Kim Hyukjin fails to prove ¡®sufficient qualifications as a bowman¡¯, he will incur a penalty.] I immediately read the Blackfire Bow¡¯s description. [Blackfire Bow] Of the types of flames, there is redfire, which is consumed by bluefire, which is in turn consumed by blackfire. The Blackfire Bow bears the authority of blackfire. It can only be wielded by someone who has the highest grade of affinity for the fire attribute in addition to an innate talent for the archer class. *The Blackfire Bow will decide for itself whether someone is qualified to wield it. The test began even before I started fighting the Black Troll. ¡®I¡¯ve never heard of the Blackfire Bow.¡¯ Interestingly, its ¡®grade¡¯ was not indicated. That meant this bow was no ordinary item. ¡®A fixed item a Guardian made on the spot for a quest.¡¯ In other words, it was like a quest prop. I could clearly see the words. *The Blackfire Bow will decide for itself whether someone is qualified to wield it. That was telling me the first step was to try earning the permission of this bow that imbued a Guardian¡¯s authority, the Blackfire Bow. ¡®Let¡¯s see here.¡¯ I raised the bow. My arm tingled. It felt as if heat were radiating from the bow and threatening to swallow me and my body alive. ¡®This feeling¡­¡¯ I was sure of it. ¡®This energy is of a higher grade than the fire ki I possess.¡¯ There was no doubt about that. This energy was fundamentally more outstanding than mine. ¡®However¡­¡¯ I had already experienced the flow and smell of fire. I came into contact with flames of a higher grade than the ones inside me while fighting the Fire Giants, and from that experience, I learned the movement, flow, and nature of flames of a higher grade. ¡®Like this.¡¯ I controlled the fire ki billowing from the bow with natural ease. This energy was not one that aimed to swallow me, but one that aimed to help me. I drew a concrete image in my mind of black flames wrapping around me, and those flames becoming a part of my strength. I raised the bow again. There was no real reason to. I just did it because I felt I had to. [Observing with Observer¡¯s Eye.] This was the 2nd floor of the D-Tower. The knights of Wings¡ªwho weren¡¯t Players¡ªwere fighting the Orc Warriors. ¡®The strongest of them.¡¯ I focused on the strongest Orc Warrior. Everything else faded away like smoke, leaving just me and the Orc. An Orc Warrior swung its axe, striking one of the Wings guild members in the chest. That moment, I clearly saw an opening. ¡®I see it.¡¯ Clear as day. ¡®Fire.¡¯ My body moved naturally. My thoughts flowed naturally. ¡®Submit.¡¯ [The Blackfire Bow acknowledges Player Kim Hyukjin.] It was almost like I was someone who had trained with the bow many times. [The Blackfire Bow responds to the wielder¡¯s will.] [The Blackfire Bow¡¯s flame is coming alight.] This artifact required no arrows to be notched. An arrow of rippling black flame was formed. ¡®My target is the middle of the Orc¡¯s forehead.¡¯ [¡®Orc Warrior¡¯ has been killed.] [EXP acquired.] No items were dropped. ¡®I¡¯ve already tipped the battlefield in their favor.¡¯ They would likely have no trouble surviving the 2nd floor. I felt one of the two real Players of the Wings guild, the young boy Kim Donghyun, stare at me, astonishment bare on his face. It was understandable. I also hadn¡¯t expected to be able to annihilate an Orc Warrior with a single arrow. I was surprised, so that boy was probably even more surprised. ¡®Huh, that was easy.¡¯ I learned the act of shooting a bow just like that. It was only one session, but it felt like I had gotten all the practice I needed. The Blackfire Bow almost felt like a weapon I had been using for a long time; it felt all too familiar in my hand, kind of like when I threw a dagger for the first time. ¡®Here I go.¡¯ An Orc Warrior was not enough to prove my ¡®qualifications as a bowman¡¯. Only something like a Black Troll, a Grade 4 Exotic, was a suitable foe for that. I activated the escalator with the mana crystal I got from Darongi. [Move to the D-Tower¡¯s hidden field, the 3rd Floor?] Come and read on our website wuxia worldsite. Thanks I ported. * * * Translator ¨C Lei Proofreader ¨C Ash * * * On the D-Tower, 3rd floor, a fairly large clearing appeared. The floor was cement. Eerie red lights were burning nearby, casting their dim light on the surroundings. ¡®It¡¯s dark.¡¯ It wasn¡¯t all that bright. A dark environment like this one was extremely favorable for the Black Troll, as the black spots that were its weakness would be even harder to spot. [The hidden field, the 3rd Floor, has been unlocked.] [The hidden scenario of the 3rd Floor, Appearance of the Mutated Troll, has been triggered.] That moment, I could feel it. ¡®Those fires lighting up this place.¡¯ I would shoot them. I pulled the bowstring, firing seven arrows made of blackfire that precisely hit the seven flames. [The condition to spawn the mutated Troll has been fulfilled.] ¡®But I can see the path.¡¯ What I needed to do was clear to me, as though someone had inserted it into my head. It was like I knew as soon as I saw it. But this feeling wasn¡¯t unfamiliar to me. It was a bit embarrassing for me to say, but I suspected this was the feeling of being a genius, something like reading the textbook once and scoring a perfect 100% on the exam. The seven flames began to change color, going from red to black. The field definitely became darker, but I could see much better than before. I guessed that was because I had been chosen, though temporarily, as the master of the Blackfire Bow. [The mutated Troll, the ¡®Black Troll¡¯, is being spawned.] The monster that would serve as a testament to my value was spawned. [The boss monster ¡®Black Troll¡¯ declares a boss monster zone.] Kuoooo! The Black Troll appeared in its entirety. Black skin, red saliva dripping from its mouth, overwhelming muscles that made the massive Yoohyun look like a child. ¡®I see them.¡¯ They were there, between those bulging muscles. ¡®The spots.¡¯ With the combined effect of the now-black fires and the observation power of my Observer¡¯s Eye, I could see them. ¡®Kind of looks like the Big Dipper.¡¯ Overall, the spots were arranged like the Big Dipper. However, there were a lot more points than in the constellation. ¡®Exactly 22.¡¯ The Black Troll¡¯s overall appearance was imprinted in my head like a picture, a picture where the black spots on the monster¡¯s body were enlarged. Thud! Thud! Thud! Thud! The Black Troll walked forward, approaching me. It was going to attack. The Troll picked up something from the ground, even though there was definitely nothing there. ¡®A boulder.¡¯ A boulder automatically formed out of nothingness. ¡®It¡¯s also skilled at long-range attacks.¡¯ The Black Troll hurled the boulder at me, the projective flying towards me far faster than the arrows of the Orc Archers. However¡­ ¡®I can see the trajectory.¡¯ Even before the Black Troll hurled the boulder, I had already seen its trajectory. [The power of Future Sight is active.] Future Sight made that possible. I was safe even before I dodged. ¡®I can definitely¡­ overwhelm it.¡¯ The Black Troll was certainly a strong creature, but even so, it was like a child compared to a Fire Giant. I fired my bow. ¡®Maintain a good distance.¡¯ I had an overwhelming upper hand in a ranged fight. I was faster, my eyes sharper, and my ability to judge the situation was far superior. I aimed precisely for it. ¡®I¡¯ll shoot it.¡¯ And I fired. The blackfire arrow struck it, dead center. Kuooooo! The Black Troll screamed. Lodged in the black spot, the arrow burned black. Something that shouldn¡¯t have been possible considering the incredible regeneration power of the Black Troll happened¡ªinstead of disappearing, the arrow continued to burn, dealing continuous damage. ¡®Another one.¡¯ I immediately followed up with another arrow. Twang! I accurately hit another black spot. Twang! And another one. The Troll rushed at me in a panic. I didn¡¯t allow it to come closer. ¡®I will show my audience a complete thrashing.¡¯ Time was on my side. I struck spot after spot. ¡®If I connect the 22 spots in a line in order¡­¡¯ This last arrow would destroy it. I needed 21 arrows to set 21 spots ablaze. ¡®Last one.¡¯ I set my sights on the last spot. Once the spot was hit, the Black Troll would completely lose its regen ability and incredible physical strength, rendering it no different from a regular Troll. ¡®Focus.¡¯ I focused on the final spot. The moment my concentration broke, my 100% bullseye hit rate would shatter. ¡®Wait.¡¯ I had done the same thing a whopping 21 times. In the middle of the repetition, I saw a new path. Back when I first picked up a dagger and first held a bow, I could use them naturally, like a person who had learned how. But right now, it was different. ¡®21 times of training.¡¯ If you counted my attack on the Orc Warrior on the 2nd floor, it was a total of 22 times. In all truth, it was far too little practice to learn one technique. That was how it should be¡ªit wasn¡¯t that much practice. But after practicing 21 times, I could see something new. By now, I knew what this feeling was. I couldn¡¯t miss this chance, this strange feeling of almost being able to grasp something. ¡®This feeling is¡­¡¯ It was the feeling of reaching the wall of new enlightenment. Such an opportunity was rare. If I successfully grasped it, I could break down the wall and forge on into a new realm. I could tell. ¡®Let¡¯s put the kill on hold for a moment.¡¯ The Black Troll charged towards me, but I read its movements and dodged it with ease. Read latest Chapters at Wuxia World . Site Only ¡®I will keep¡­ observing the last spot.¡¯ I observed, and observed again. The final spot, the spot that would render the Black Troll powerless. A little time passed, maybe three minutes. After those three minutes passed, I was able to grasp a new clue. ____ Chapter 175 Chapter 175 ¡®Now is not the right time to attack that last spot.¡¯ I had that feeling. ¡®I have to find it.¡¯ There was another spot that came before the last one, a hidden spot. [Observing with Observer¡¯s Eye.] It couldn¡¯t be seen with the naked eye. I sought the assistance of my innate ability, Eye of Perception, and took in all the information I was given. ¡®There¡¯s another spot.¡¯ It wasn¡¯t me who found it, but Eye of Perception and Observer¡¯s Eye. It felt almost like I was zooming in on the Black Troll¡¯s knee. ¡®The folded skin of the knee.¡¯ Hidden within that fold was a black spot. I had to take that down first. That was the correct order. ¡®I have to go between the folds.¡¯ With an arrow, that is. ¡®Can I do it?¡¯ I asked myself. Today was my first time shooting a bow. ¡®I can do it.¡¯ I drew the bowstring. The Black Troll charged at me. Thud! Thud! Thud! Thud! Arrows burning with black flames sticking out of its body, the enraged Black Troll ran at me in a straight line. ¡®Now.¡¯ I released the bowstring. ¡®The trajectory is¡­ perfect.¡¯ The arrow whistled off, drawing a far more precise and clean line than I expected before plunging into the Black Troll¡¯s knee. KUOOOO! It swung its fists, but those fists didn¡¯t reach me. Thud! The Black Troll fell over with a great thump. It got up arduously, but its movements were very unnatural. ¡®Next is the belly button.¡¯ The black spot around the belly button was the last one. Referring to the image engraved in my mind, I aimed for the spot. ¡®I¡¯m not looking at the Black Troll¡¯s actual body.¡¯ It almost felt as if I were pressing a spot on the screen of my smartphone with my finger. I unconsciously drew the bowstring and landed a proper hit. [The Black Troll¡¯s regeneration ability has been completely extinguished.] [The Black Troll roars in rage.] KUOOOOOO! The roar was full of Troll Fear. [Eye of Perception detects a foreign energy.] I responded with another ability of mine, Mirror Sight, the power to reflect external forces applied on me. Kuoo¡ª! The Black Troll¡¯s roar died in its throat. Having lost its regeneration power, the Black Troll was not much different from a regular Troll. Granted, the Troll race as a whole had amazing recovery speed, but even so, a regular Troll was no longer a match for me. [Black Troll has been killed.] [EXP acquired.] [Regeneration Serum acquired.] I wasn¡¯t able to focus on the notices. I sat down in the lotus position. After doing it a few times, I had some know-how. This was the best position for meditation. ¡®I have to visualize the situation earlier.¡¯ And I had to do it more vividly than reality, make it more real than the experience itself. I had to discern how I had fought with the Black Troll, what kind of flow and fundamental threads had run through the battle. I went back to the very beginning of our fight and recalled the entire scene. I fought another vivid battle with the Black Troll in my head. No, the battle in my head was actually more difficult. ¡®It¡¯s hot.¡¯ I felt sweat beading down my forehead. My back was wet as well. The real battle hadn¡¯t been that hard, but the image training in my head consumed more mental power. ¡®But¡­¡¯ That feeling I got when I struck the spot on the knee, that place hidden within folds of skin, that was the feeling I needed to grasp. ¡®Again.¡¯ I played through the battle again. ¡®From the beginning.¡¯ I read the flow again. ¡®Again.¡¯ I attempted it another time. ¡®Again.¡¯ I challenged it again and again, forgetting everything around me. I needed to focus. I didn¡¯t want to miss this chance that I had just barely grasped the tail of, a chance that would lead me to a new realm. ¡®Again.¡¯ After going through several rounds of image training, I finally realized it. ¡®Observer¡¯s Eye¡­¡¯ ¡®I get it.¡¯ I knew what this feeling was. It was like receiving a teaching from an amazing teacher. My vision seemed to clear, becoming crisp and sharp. [Observer¡¯s Eye has pioneered a new realm.] Me finding the Black Troll¡¯s hidden spot was something akin to a ¡®feeling¡¯. [Observer¡¯s Eye has succeeded in materializing a ¡®feeling¡¯.] [Congratulations.] [A new power, Eye of Investigation, has been developed.] That feeling descended on me as a new power. ¡®This sort of thing works too, huh.¡¯ I concentrated in order to not lose that feeling, and ended up awakening a new ability. [Eye of Investigation] A power that searches for and finds obscured objects or phenomena. Through Eye of Investigation, one can find an opponent¡¯s hidden weak points. ¡®How much time has passed?¡¯ Senia showed herself. ¡°42 minutes have passed,¡± she said, as if reading my mind. ¡°I¡­ was concentrating for 42 minutes?¡± ¡°Yes.¡± Come and read on our website wuxia worldsite. Thanks That was a little odd then. ¡®42 minutes¡­ is more than enough time for Wings to have completely cleared the 2nd floor.¡¯ It couldn¡¯t be that Wings failed to clear the 2nd floor, could it? I had hunted the hidden boss monster. As long as they could clear the 2nd floor scenario, this entire field would be cleared. ¡°I need to go down and see.¡± But just then, Senia spoke. ¡°If you are doing so because you are concerned about the clear, I believe that it is unnecessary.¡± ¡°How come?¡± ¡°The clear requisites have been fully met. However, the clear has been temporarily deferred.¡± ¡°Temporarily deferred?¡± The clear conditions were met, but the field wasn¡¯t cleared. It wasn¡¯t normal. ¡®The interference of a very strong Guardian.¡¯ Could it be the [Night of Shooting Stars]? Was he still not pleased with my performance? That was surprising¡ªI thought I did pretty well for someone who had picked up a bow for the first time today. ¡®Come to think of it¡­¡¯ I hadn¡¯t heard any messages¡ªeither of satisfaction or disappointment¡ªfrom the Night of Shooting Stars. ¡®And they haven¡¯t taken back the Blackfire Bow yet.¡¯ They hadn¡¯t taken back the weapon they had temporarily lent out to me. ¡°There must be someone I must fight,¡± I said. The clear conditions were met, but the clear was deferred, a fairly significant act of interference. It didn¡¯t seem like just one Guardian was involved. ¡®Someone¡­ is coming up.¡¯ Someone came up the escalator. [A new person is entering the 3rd Floor.] The man who came up to the 3rd floor was someone I recognized. * * * Translator ¨C Lei Proofreader ¨C Ash * * * The new arrivals were a sapling-shaped Intermediate Administrator with a few leaves on his head instead of hair and the Italian-looking man that Intermediate Administrator accompanied. ¡®He¡¯s tall and has a slender physique.¡¯ The man was quite good-looking. ¡®A savage fighting spirit.¡¯ I already knew the name of the man walking towards me. Vela. The man who would one day become the Fight King in the future I remembered. ¡®Vela was here at this point in time?¡¯ Wasn¡¯t this the time when he should be tackling the Italian server¡¯s Rumanio Dungeon? I examined the man with Eye of Perception. [Player] Name: Vela Age: 25 Level: 33 Class: Fighter of the Dawn Guardian: White Hunter Innate ability: [Indomitable Fighting Spirit] [Last Thread of Consciousness] State: Having Fun / Excited / Boiling Fighting Spirit Disposition: Belligerent / Carnivorous / Simple Summary: Battle Nut who Fears his Childhood Friend Single-celled Organism who Detests Complicated Things Because Eye of Perception¡¯s proficiency is not high enough, viewing more detailed information is impossible. The man radiating fierce fighting spirit was chattering away, but I couldn¡¯t understand him. The tree Intermediate Administrator, Wilson, stepped forward. ¡°Kiddo. You¡¯ll have to indulge Vela and do a PVP with him.¡± That moment, a PVP zone was declared. I could see what was happening. ¡®This is a scenario linked to the White Hunter, the Night of Shooting Stars, and maybe even the Conductor of Sound.¡¯ The Fight King Vela was famous for being a belligerent person, someone who liked the strong and enjoyed fighting them. His summary said it all. Battle Nut who Fears his Childhood Friend I also knew who that childhood friend was¡ªan Italian Master, Pedro. They had grown up together, or something like that. However he treated other people, Vela tended to be more obedient to Pedro. According to the rumors, when they were kids, Vela grew up getting beaten up by Pedro, but whether that was true or not was never revealed. ¡®He¡¯s not a bad person by nature.¡¯ He just liked to fight. Some might disparage such a disposition as barbaric and perverted, but as a third party, I had liked Vela¡¯s character. ¡®And he sometimes appeared on Master Pedro¡¯s Youtube channel.¡¯ I remembered the comments blowing up everytime that happened. I had also occasionally watched Pedro¡¯s channel in the hopes of seeing Vela. ¡®When I was a third party, I liked that exciting personality, but now¡­¡¯ Now that I was involved, there wasn¡¯t much to like about Vela¡¯s hotheadedness. It was clear as day that the Fight King would have pestered me for a fight even if he didn¡¯t have a ¡®scenario¡¯ to complete, like a hunting dog straining at the leash, chomping at the bit for a fight. Wilson continued. ¡°I don¡¯t think there¡¯s really a need to translate. You and Vela just have to fight.¡± The Fight King Vela pulled out an axe. ¡°¡­However, Vela has asked me to do it, so I¡¯ll handle the translation for a short while.¡± It was amusing. At this point in time, Intermediate Administrators wielded omnipotent power. It was the norm for Players to be at the mercy of Intermediate Administrators. But their relationship didn¡¯t look like that. ¡°Sure thing.¡± I thought Vela would immediately come at me, but to my surprise, the man wanted to talk. ¡°You¡¯re Kim Hyukjin?¡± ¡°And?¡± ¡°Good. I¡¯ll need you to have a round with me. I wanna check how strong the White Hunter¡¯s most cherished Player is.¡± Most cherished Player? ¡®The White Hunter¡¯s favorite wasn¡¯t Vela¡­ but me?¡¯ I didn¡¯t know whether that was true or not. It could be that the White Hunter sent Vela such a message to agitate him. ¡°What¡¯s your class? I¡¯m a close-ranged combat class that can use axes, daggers, spears, everything.¡± Read latest Chapters at Wuxia World . Site Only To that, I answered, ¡°Archer.¡± I would do my best to produce content that could satisfy the big investor, the Night of Shooting Stars. As an archer, that is. Vela asked another question. ¡°You good at fighting?¡± For an archer, I was probably¡­ not half-bad. Chapter 176 Chapter 176 ¡°An archer, huh?¡± Vela glanced at the Black Troll¡¯s corpse. ¡°Did you kill it on your own?¡± I nodded. ¡°Long-ranged DPSers generally have very low durability, but you managed to kill a variant Troll alone.¡± He laughed with amusement. ¡°That has to mean you¡¯re just that fast, yeah?¡± ¡°¡­¡± ¡°Let me see for myself just how fast you are, then.¡± That moment, I felt this fighting spirit exude from the future Fight King. ¡®He¡¯s coming from the left.¡¯ Vela was fast. His nimbleness was incomparable to the Black Troll. ¡®I can see it.¡¯ But my eyes were faster than even those swift movements. The future-seeing eye, Future Sight, completely decoded Vela¡¯s approach. ¡®He¡¯ll swing his axe here.¡¯ Whumpf! The axe grazed my hair. ¡®Then, he¡¯ll withdraw his weapon.¡¯ Vela stowed his axe in his Inventory, item switching with practiced and skillful ease. ¡®And after putting down his foot hard¡­¡¯ Vela stepped in with force. ¡®He¡¯ll thrust his spear with his weight behind the attack.¡¯ From start to finish, I read Vela like a book. I simply stood in place. ¡®But the thrust is just a feint.¡¯ The second attack that came on the heels of the feint was the real attack. In other words, there was no ¡®bloodthirst¡¯ in the first attack. ¡®A stab that¡¯s fast, but powerless.¡¯ And because there was no strength in it¡ª ¡®Something like this should be possible.¡¯ I grabbed the spear shaft, turning the feint to my advantage. Vela was taken aback for a moment. ¡°Huh?¡± I used the spear¡¯s momentum to yank Vela forward, simultaneously putting out my foot. Vela tripped artlessly. I instantly increased the distance between us and pulled my bowstring, aiming the bow burning with black flames precisely on Vela. Vela got up with a flabbergasted look. ¡°Didn¡¯t you say you were an archer?¡± The fighting spirit coming from Vela went out entirely. ¡°How can there be someone so busted?¡± the Italian man said, dusting his butt off. ¡°No need to keep going. I acknowledge my defeat.¡± He cleanly admitted defeat. It was extremely fast, a little outside of my expectations. ¡°I¡¯d keep butting heads if we were a close match, but I can¡¯t even scorch a single tailfeather of yours at my current level.¡± Vela smiled agreeably. ¡°I¡¯m so happy I met a human this strong.¡± His own defeat seemed to be of zero concern to him. Vela stowed his weapon in his Inventory before putting out his hand. ¡°Allow me to introduce myself formally. My name is Vela Santo¡ª¡± He was cut off by a grimacing Wilson, who had been translating. ¡°Vela. Do I have to keep translating? This seems like a pointless conversation.¡± An Intermediate Administrator continuing to translate despite it being a pain wasn¡¯t a normal occurrence, either. Senia stepped forward. ¡°If you find it troublesome to translate, I will do it.¡± In the end, the translation duty fell to Senia. There wasn¡¯t anything astonishing about our conversation. To sum it up, Vela completely submitted to my strength and vowed to defeat me one day. His ¡®You good at fighting?¡¯ from earlier turned into ¡®You¡¯re fookin¡¯ good at fighting¡¯. There was a real sense of disparity hearing those words coming from Senia. ¡°Is that all?¡± I asked. ¡°You want to fight me in the future, and that¡¯s it?¡± Did Vela really fly all the way from Italy to come fight me? Also, I hadn¡¯t heard any messages from Guardians even after the fight was over. The Night of Shooting Stars or the White Hunter should have responded in some way, at the very least. ¡®That means there¡¯s something more.¡¯ Vela gave another agreeable smile. ¡°You¡¯re quick on the uptake. Very much like Pedro.¡± Vela probably meant that as a compliment. I wasn¡¯t offended by the words. The future Fight King, Vela, began to speak of the ¡®real matter at hand¡¯. * * * Translator ¨C Lei Proofreader ¨C Ash * * * The Fight King told me something interesting. ¡°The Gran Seoul Dungeon in your server is supposed to have opened.¡± A Ranker of a country far away knew about a dungeon on Korean soil? And one that hadn¡¯t yet opened, at that? The translating Senia suddenly interrupted our conversation, bringing something out. [Translation Marble] An artifact enchanted with translation magic that applies to all languages on each of the servers on the dimension ¡®Earth¡¯. ¡°This will enable uninhibited communication.¡± The little tree Streamer named Wilson smacked his lips. ¡°Wow, you just pulled out something that expensive like it was nothing. Sis, are you rich?¡± ¡°It was sponsored.¡± ¡°Sp-Sponsored? You were sponsored something that expensive?¡± ¡°Ah! No!¡± Wilson carefully picked up the leaf on the ground and reattached it to his forehead, gently rubbing it into place. ¡°It¡¯s one of my few remaining hairs,¡± he explained. Still cautiously stroking the leaf, he continued. ¡°There¡¯s someone willing to sponsor a translation item at this time?¡± ¡°Yes.¡± ¡°Can I ask who it is? Is the Korean server always like this?¡± Senia paused for a moment. Goodness, she had really grown. She was intentionally drawing it out right now. The Fight King Vela was based in the Italian server. Guardians who were primarily active in the Italian server were different from the ones primarily active in the Korean server. Currently, those Guardians from another region were all focusing on this situation, and Senia was pausing for dramatic effect. ¡°I was sponsored by the [Night of Shooting Stars].¡± He was indeed a 2nd gen Guardian. The fact he gave the item via Senia rather than directly to me meant he really intended on savoring the attention, nouveau riche style. The Guardians¡¯ attention would gather on him, no doubt. The little tree bent his inflexible body¡ªhe was a tree, after all¡ªas much as he could before hopping up and down in excitement. His business acumen was far more outstanding than Senia¡¯s. ¡°Please drop by the Italian server as well, sir! It¡¯s overflowing with enjoyable and exciting content. I will ensure that you are properly entertained.¡± And then, he waved both hands, crying out ¡®Ting-a-ling!¡¯ Yellow bells actually appeared on both sides of Wilson¡¯s head, tinkling and producing an actual bell sound. ¡°Goodness, sir. Thank you kindly for the 300 Coin sponsorship. Ting-a-ling!¡± Come and read on our website wuxia worldsite. Thanks Wilson seemed to be quite an exaggerated Streamer. Actually, what he was doing wasn¡¯t all that special. Senia was just so very taciturn, but Intermediate Administrators more like Wilson were more common. In any case, we got a translation item and were able to carry on a natural conversation. ¡°How do you know about the Gran Seoul Dungeon?¡± I asked. ¡°It¡¯s related to the main scenario quest I¡¯m clearing.¡± What was this, really? ¡®First the Great Explorer Jackson, and now the Fight King Vela.¡¯ I didn¡¯t know whether Vela visited Korea in the past or not. Vela had never said anything about it to the public. ¡°But the Gran Seoul Dungeon hasn¡¯t opened, and a weird scenario like this was triggered. I have the feeling you know why.¡± ¡°It¡¯s because the Gran Seoul Dungeon¡¯s open condition hasn¡¯t been met.¡± This happened because I completely stopped the Fire Giants¡¯ rampage. It was a butterfly effect I created. ¡®If things had gone like they did in the past¡­¡¯ What if nothing had changed, and the Gran Seoul Dungeon opened at the proper time? ¡®The Fight King Vela would have gone into the Gran Seoul Dungeon.¡¯ If things had gone the same as the past, there was a high chance he would have acquired something from inside of the Gran Seoul Dungeon. ¡®But the flow of events has been twisted because of me.¡¯ That was why he was here with me right now. I would have to talk with him a little more to be able to match the puzzle pieces. We conversed a little longer. ¡°¡­And that¡¯s what happened.¡± Vela¡¯s story was pretty interesting. After listening carefully to what he had to say, I said, ¡°To summarize, you know the method to open the Gran Seoul¡¯s hidden field, but you need an assistant?¡± ¡°Yeah.¡± ¡°And the assistant¡¯s class must be a non-combat class.¡± ¡°But it¡¯s a place where only you and that other person can enter?¡± Vela nodded. His quest was limited to two people. ¡®But he thinks I¡¯m an archer, doesn¡¯t he?¡¯ Did Vela mention the non-combat class requirement in order to sound me out? No, I could be sure that wasn¡¯t the case. I felt really bad saying so, but Vela was kind of in the idiot camp. To be more precise, once he was set on something, he could only see that one thing. He was the kind of person who didn¡¯t see anything else. ¡®Does he want to believe I¡¯m a non-combat class?¡¯ But¡­ but still! Could it be that he really was that much of an idiot? ¡®It could be that he¡¯s¡­ an idiotic single-celled organism, but¡­¡¯ Even so, even if we assumed that Vela knew a little more about me than he let on, I had to take action. I didn¡¯t fully trust Vela yet. ¡®For now, the important thing is the Gran Seoul¡¯s hidden field.¡¯ There was a hidden field with such prerequisites in the Gran Seoul? ¡®Unpublicized info.¡¯ I hadn¡¯t known anything about it. It could be that it was high-level intel only known by Rankers, info that wasn¡¯t told to the public. ¡°How come you¡¯re telling me all this like it¡¯s nothing?¡± ¡°I¡¯m telling you I want you to be my assistant. Don¡¯t you think that would be perfect?¡± ¡°And if I don¡¯t accept?¡± Vela shrugged. ¡°Then one of us will die, I suppose. Though of course, that would probably be me.¡± I couldn¡¯t tell whether he was being sincere or not. I could, however, tell that it was a quest that required secrecy. I unleashed my aura. The Fight King was definitely an impressive Player, but the current me didn¡¯t fall behind at all. No, I was actually ahead of him. [Using the special ability Mettle.] ¡°Don¡¯t forget that if one of us dies, it will be you.¡± Vela nodded in good humor. ¡°I know. I¡¯m happy. It¡¯s a great thing to have a mountain I need to surmount. I¡¯ll take back what I said about one of us dying. I was just sounding you out.¡± I also retracted my aura. It seemed that my Mettle was an extremely pleasant thing to Vela. Apparently, him adoring people stronger than him was true. Vela grasped my hand. ¡°How about it? Wanna give it a go together? I¡¯ll give you the first pick for all the rewards. In exchange, have another PVP with me later.¡± I thought for a moment, my hands in Vela¡¯s coarse ones. ¡®Explorer is a non-combat class.¡¯ The Great Explorer Jackson was in Korea at this time. What if the Gran Seoul Dungeon had opened at the planned time? ¡®Vela would have tried to clear the Gran Seoul Dungeon, and it¡¯s highly likely he would have met Jackson there.¡¯ Jackson had already gone into the Gwanghwamun Dungeon, which could be called Korea¡¯s main dungeon, like someone who had known it would open. In that case, he might even know about the Gran Seoul Dungeon. ¡®So it¡¯s possible that¡­ a scenario where Vela cleared the Gran Seoul with Jackson happened in the past.¡¯ ¡®If that really happened, then why did they not reveal that?¡¯ The puzzle pieces of the past rattled in my mind. * * * For now, I accepted Vela¡¯s proposal. ¡®To think he would make such an offer to someone he saw for the first time today.¡¯ He would concede first pick of all the rewards in exchange for frequent PVP. What was more astonishing was that he really meant it. He really was a battle-crazy guy. ¡®He simply goes and does things that could definitely be dangerous for him. Is he incapable of thinking, or does he just not care?¡¯ The Fight King Vela was an incomprehensible creature. He should have realized that I was stronger than him, but he proposed a temporary party with zero reserve. On what basis? In a dungeon, murder could occur without anyone knowing, yet Vela was willing to stride hand in hand with a stranger in such a place. From my perspective, Vela was a difficult person to understand. I clearly read Vela¡¯s summary. Summary: Coarse Fighter who Knows No Lies Single-celled Organism who Detests Complicated Things The current Vela was simply happy. From the start, Vela was recognized as a Player who didn¡¯t like thinking about this and that. After meeting him in person, I could see that was very much true. He was the epitome of simplemindedness. ¡®Could it be that he really thinks I¡¯m a non-combat archer?¡¯ Kind of like a transgender person, but with class? For the time being, I gave up on understanding Vela with logic. That was easier on me. ¡°You saw someone on the 2nd floor, right?¡± I asked. ¡°A bunch of Players were defending against Orc Warriors and Trolls. It was a bit frustrating to watch.¡± ¡°Don¡¯t you think it¡¯s weird?¡± ¡°What is?¡± From what I saw of the Wings earlier, they should¡¯ve been more than strong enough to have perfectly cleared the 2nd floor. But this place still wasn¡¯t cleared. ¡°There should have been plenty of time to generate the Clear Crystal.¡± ¡°Now that you mention it¡­ you¡¯re right?¡± He looked at me with an expression of ¡®What about it?¡¯ Read latest Chapters at Wuxia World . Site Only ¡°We just have to find the Clear Crystal,¡± he went on to say. ¡°No problem!¡± ¡°From what I know, once all the 2nd floor monsters have been hunted, the Clear Crystal should automatically spawn.¡± ¡°Ah, yeah.¡± Vela scratched his nose, his attitude still wholly unconcerned. ¡®There should have been plenty of time to generate the Clear Crystal and clear this place.¡¯ But it hadn¡¯t been cleared, which meant¡­ something had happened on the 2nd floor. Chapter 177 Chapter 177 Vela didn¡¯t seem to think much of it. ¡°Those guys saw us going to the 3rd floor.¡± ¡°You¡¯re sure about that?¡± ¡°Yeah, ¡®cus I shouted to those frustrating turtle guys that I was going on ahead.¡± ¡°¡­¡± Hyukjin didn¡¯t think that Wings would be taken out by Orc Warriors and Troll Soldiers. ¡°The cooldown of the escalator going to the 3rd floor will soon end.¡± Would Wings come up? ¡®No.¡¯ It wouldn¡¯t be them. ¡°Some other Player is going to come up.¡± For a while now, a strange sensation had been prickling his entire body¡ªEye of Perception was screaming danger. The warning had been blaring in his head nonstop. A ¡®dangerous Player¡¯ was approaching. ¡®No. By this point, he might not even be a Player.¡¯ For now, Hyukjin was categorizing him as a Player, but Hyukjin didn¡¯t know for sure if ¡®he¡¯ truly was a Player. Before long, his Eye of Perception sensed the flow of mana. ¡®The escalator is activating.¡¯ Which meant someone was coming up. And then, Hyukjin saw him¡ªa man dressed casually in ordinary old jeans and a t-shirt. Someone had come up to the 3rd floor. ¡°Long time no see.¡± Hyukjin couldn¡¯t react. That very moment, the man¡¯s body moved, stopping directly in front of Hyukjin in a flash. Hyukjin calmly stared ahead at the man¡¯s face. ¡®I knew he was coming, but¡­ I couldn¡¯t react.¡¯ That was just how fast his opponent was. ¡°Well, you weren¡¯t able to react, but the fact that you read my movements is worthy of praise.¡± His opponent¡¯s name was Kang Sun-il. A person so shrouded in mystery that no one knew if that was his real name or a pseudonym, a being so far removed from the standard that it was hard to tell if he was even a Player or not. Someone who would later be called the ¡®Demon King¡¯. Vela seemed displeased by the Demon King¡¯s appearance. ¡°The heck? The heck are you being so threatening?¡± Vela made a fist. ¡°You good at fighting?¡± And before Hyukjin could stop him, Vela punched, his fist shimmering with blue energy. It was a serious punch, with no weighing this or that. Apparently, the moment Hyukjin promised to be his ¡®assistant¡¯, Hyukjin had already become a teammate to Vela. To Vela, attacking an opponent who threateningly closed in on his teammate was all too natural. The Demon King did not dodge Vela¡¯s fist. Bam! An impact rang out. ¡°Gugh!¡± But the person who screamed wasn¡¯t the Demon King, but Vela. Vela quickly pulled back his fist, his fingers dangling limp. Every bone in his hand had shattered. The Demon King grinned. He reached out, grabbed Vela¡¯s throat with one hand, and lifted him. ¡°If you don¡¯t have the skills, nurture your discernment.¡± The Demon King¡¯s fingers dug into Vela¡¯s neck. Blood began to stream out. Even the future Fight King, Vela, was unable to free himself from the Demon King¡¯s stranglehold. He flailed. ¡°Ng-Nghhh¡ª!¡± Hyukjin spoke. ¡°Stop.¡± Still holding Vela¡¯s neck, the Demon King just turned his head a little. He grinned again. ¡°Stop?¡± He seemed amused by Hyukjin¡¯s attitude. ¡°Did you just give me an order?¡± ¡°¡­¡± Hyukjin didn¡¯t respond. Why did the Demon King show up now, at this timing? Was this coincidence, or inevitable? ¡®It¡¯s not a coincidence.¡¯ If so, then the Demon King had to be aiming for something. What was that? The Demon King wasn¡¯t really trying to kill Vela. If he wanted to do that, he would have killed Vela earlier, before the Italian Player could throw his punch. Though of course, there was no doubt that Vela was at the risk of dying even now. ¡®He¡¯s aiming for something.¡¯ Hyukjin had to find out what that was. If he didn¡¯t¡­ ¡®I¡¯ll probably die, too.¡¯ He had the feeling he kept getting involved with the Demon King even though he didn¡¯t want to. ¡°You seem to have something to say to me.¡± Vela¡¯s eyes began to dim. The Demon King didn¡¯t seem to want to kill Vela right now, but at this rate, Vela would die. Even a stone merely thrown as a joke could kill a frog. Vela used his innate ability, desperate. [Using the innate ability Last Thread of Consciousness.] He tried to hang on somehow by using his innate ability, barely clinging onto his dimming consciousness. ¡°Let go of Vela,¡± said Hyukjin. ¡°Did you say you know the future? You must have predicted this in advance, yes?¡± Hyukjin didn¡¯t respond. Truth was, he hadn¡¯t predicted this. He hadn¡¯t predicted that the Demon King would appear here. It wasn¡¯t good to lie excessively to the Demon King. He would have to sprinkle in some lies, but it couldn¡¯t be a complete falsification. There had to be seven parts, no, nine parts truth to one part lie. Only then could he make the Demon King act. ¡°You weren¡¯t in the future I knew.¡± ¡°That so?¡± ¡°That means your very existence is a variable in the world I know. A variable that continues to shake the future I know.¡± ¡°A variable, huh. I like that you¡¯re honest.¡± The Demon King moved the hand that was holding Vela¡¯s neck, bringing Vela¡¯s face to Hyukjin¡¯s. Vela¡¯s face had gone paper white¡ªhe was already half-unconscious. Froth was dribbling out of his mouth. ¡°Let¡¯s make a bet. Will I kill this guy, or spare him?¡± * * * Translator ¨C Lei Proofreader ¨C Ash * * * ¡°Let¡¯s make a bet. Will I kill this guy, or spare him?¡± I couldn¡¯t carelessly answer the Demon King¡¯s question. Someone¡¯s life was hanging on my response. But I was also not very afraid. The answer was already set. It just came down to whether I had the bold decisiveness to choose that answer. Come and read on our website wuxia worldsite. Thanks I threw a question back at him. ¡°Why haven¡¯t you killed Vela?¡± ¡°Do you want me to?¡± The Demon King tightened his hold. An iota more force, and Vela¡¯s neck would snap with a crack. Vela was now unconscious. His arms and legs went limp. A little longer, and he might really die. Whether Vela died or lived didn¡¯t seem to matter much to the Demon King. As far as I could tell, what was important to him wasn¡¯t Vela, but my response. ¡°If you wanted him dead, you would have killed him long ago.¡± ¡°You¡¯re not wrong.¡± Demon King shrugged, as if telling me to keep talking. ¡°But you didn¡¯t kill him. And you¡¯re trying to get an answer out of me.¡± What did that mean? ¡°In the end, there must be something you want to hear from me.¡± The Demon King grinned. I was struck with the same sensation as last time, the feeling of the Demon King¡¯s lips stretching into a big, red grin, almost like there was a big mouth I couldn¡¯t see above the Demon King¡¯s head. It was an ominous and terrible feeling. It felt like a sticky tongue would snake out of those red lips at any moment to swallow me into the depths. ¡°Fine.¡± The Demon King tossed Vela away. It was just a light toss, but Vela¡¯s body hurtled away like a baseball. Crash! Vela crashed into the wall. Blood dripped from his head. ¡®That¡¯s not enough to kill him.¡¯ He wouldn¡¯t die. Injuries could be recovered in a jiffy with a healer¡¯s help, so the wounds themselves weren¡¯t a big issue. ¡°Go ahead then. Try telling me what I want to hear.¡± ¡°There¡¯s one reason why you keep sparing me, isn¡¯t there?¡± I didn¡¯t know why the Demon King was interested in me, either. To begin with, this was someone I couldn¡¯t even be sure was a Player, someone who referred directly to the Guardians when telling me not to trust them. So why? Why was this non-standard being, the Demon King, doing this? I didn¡¯t know the root cause for his interest in me, but I knew what he wanted. ¡°Isn¡¯t it because you see the potential to reach you in me?¡± The Demon King chortled in amusement. ¡°The potential to reach me?¡± He clutched his belly, guffawing. I couldn¡¯t tell what was so funny. I didn¡¯t think there was anything else he wanted from me, but maybe I was wrong? Or was I only partially right? ¡°That¡¯s right. You have to get stronger.¡± He flicked his finger, and a formless force strangled my body. It was hard to breathe. ¡°Strong enough to reach me is a very good way of putting it.¡± I felt the world spin. ¡®I have to hold it together.¡¯ The Demon King was interested in me, and it was thanks to that interest that I was alive right now. I didn¡¯t want to die here. As my mind slowed, a question occurred to me. ¡®It might be in ten years, but¡­ could Korea¡¯s 8 Heroes really be a match for the Demon King?¡¯ Many feats were achieved through the 8 Heroes fighting the Demon King. But the ¡®Demon King¡¯ I was seeing right now was unimaginably strong, though that might be because I was a Player in the beginner period. ¡®You can only see as much as you know.¡¯ There was still much I didn¡¯t know. It might be possible that I could fight him once I broke into the mid-game, became a master, and hit the high levels. Just like how a Lycanthrope was a terrible and terrifying beast during the Tutorial, now, it wasn¡¯t even a good warm-up. My lungs screamed for air. I forcefully held onto my dimming consciousness and barely cracked open my lips. ¡°How long will you keep examining me?¡± ¡°¡­¡± Just before I lost consciousness, the force choking me instantly disappeared. That ¡®formeless pressure¡¯ faded like a mirage, as if it had never existed. ¡°You felt that, too?¡± ¡°I¡¯ve experienced something similar from someone else.¡± The Demon King turned a bemused gaze on me. ¡°Something similar?¡± ¡°Someone told me that there is something called [Achievement] engraved on my body like stigmata.¡± That someone was none other than the Great Explorer, Jackson. He was the one who had told me about stigmata. ¡°I got the same feeling I had when he was reading my body¡¯s Achievements.¡± ¡°Interesting.¡± The Demon King didn¡¯t agree or deny, but my guess was probably correct. ¡°Did you hunt ¡ª¡¯s toys?¡± I stared at him. He definitely said something just now, but I wasn¡¯t able to interpret it. My ears definitely heard, but didn¡¯t hear it. ¡®System interference?¡¯ The System had interfered, meaning there was something I shouldn¡¯t know at this point in time, a secret the System was protecting. ¡°Even though they¡¯re absolutely impossible for you to hunt at your current level¡­¡± Foes that were absolutely impossible to hunt? ¡°If you¡¯re referring to the Fire Giants, I did hunt them.¡± ¡°Fire Giants?¡± The Demon King laughed with a pfft. ¡°If the real Fire Giants were to hear that, they¡¯d black out from their blood pressure shooting up.¡± ¡°¡­¡± Just how much did the Demon King know, and what was he? Were the Fire Giants I hunted not the ¡®real Fire Giants¡¯? ¡°Well, it¡¯s true that you¡¯ve managed pretty amazing Achievements for your current stage. You have my praise.¡± ¡°¡­¡± ¡°Though it¡¯s still just at the level of children playing.¡± From looking at him, I could tell. The Demon King truly didn¡¯t intend on killing me. Of course, he would likely kill me if I dissatisfied him, but that wasn¡¯t the case now, at least. ¡°Did you come here to check the stigmata engraved on my body?¡± ¡°As if. You evaluate yourself too highly.¡± He gave me a withering look that dripped, ¡®You think I would¡¯ve made a visit specially to check on the likes of you?¡¯ Considering the indifference clear in his eyes, what he said didn¡¯t seem to be a complete lie. ¡®He¡¯s interested in me, but¡­ he doesn¡¯t see me as a very important person.¡¯ I suspected the Demon King had important matters of his own right now, and he was checking me on the side while taking care of his business. He probably wasn¡¯t lying. ¡°If you¡¯ve broken the toys, did you get ¡ª?¡± ¡°¡­¡± I couldn¡¯t answer. As if reading my expression, the Demon King scowled. ¡°¡ª. Can¡¯t understand me?¡± ¡°¡­¡± I could hear, but couldn¡¯t hear. My brain could not comprehend it. The information coming into my head was being restricted. I felt a sense of disparity. The Demon King breathed a long sigh. ¡°You¡¯re still far off.¡± Read latest Chapters at Wuxia World . Site Only Then, he said something I couldn¡¯t make sense of. ¡°I¡¯ll wait for you at Endless Sky.¡± ____ Chapter 178 Chapter 178 The Demon King approached me and put a hand on my shoulder. I couldn¡¯t feel any body warmth. I could see that his hand was on my shoulder, but I couldn¡¯t feel it. He whispered in my ear. ¡°I¡¯ll wait for you at Endless Sky.¡± I heard a notice. Those incomprehensible words weren¡¯t all. [A gift has arrived.] [¡®Blacksmith¡¯s Red Jewel¡¯ acquired.] The Demon King sent me a gift. ¡®What is it?¡¯ [Blacksmith¡¯s Red Jewel] -? The Demon King disappeared. I was unable to move from my spot. ¡®He sent another gift.¡¯ Just what in the world did the Demon King think about me? He didn¡¯t show me unconditional goodwill, but it was a definite fact that he was helping me a great deal. He was different from the Demon King I knew, though the overwhelming force and power he radiated did correspond with the Demon King. ¡®I can¡¯t¡­ make heads or tails of him.¡¯ Then, I heard another notice. [The ¡®Night of Shooting Stars¡¯ is greatly satisfied by your qualifications.] The Guardian evaluated my qualifications as a bowman rather highly, it seemed. [Blackfire Bow has been reclaimed.] He took the Blackfire Bow back. I was sorry to see it go¡ªit was a really decent bow. If I had the chance later, I would try getting a good bow somewhere. [The ¡®Night of Shooting Stars¡¯ promises a big sponsorship.] Our big investor took the bait very nicely. A response was necessary. ¡°As thanks for your kind judgment of my inadequate vessel, I will do my best to prove my qualifications.¡± For now, I had to wring the Guardians as much as I could for the sake of my growth. There was no better gullible customer than the Night of Shooting Stars. A groan from one corner pulled me back from my thoughts, reminding me of Vela¡¯s existence. He¡¯d collapsed in one corner of the room like a crumpled wad of paper. ¡°Eurgh¡­¡± Vela¡¯s resilience exceeded my imagination. His head was pretty busted up, but it took him less than three minutes to regain consciousness. ¡°That jerk. Where is he? I gotta beat the shit out of him.¡± ¡°¡­¡± Even though he knew he was no match, his ¡®fighting spirit¡¯ wasn¡¯t a pretense. He seemed to actually want to go toe to toe with the Demon King. This guy fully admitted defeat to me, but still wanted to fight the Demon King. He was really beyond comprehension. That moment, his summary changed. Summary: Fighter Burning with Fighting Spirit after meeting his Archrival ¡®Archrival? Fighting spirit?¡¯ A fight between them would be over and done in one second. Even one second was generous. It would be 0.1 seconds. I wanted to tell him that if he had taken a proper hit from the Demon King, he would have died. ¡®In any case¡­ his fighting spirit itself is nice to see.¡¯ It was way better than him being depressed and moping around, at least. Vela recovered by downing dozens of potions. ¡°We¡¯re going to the 2nd floor,¡± I said. There should have been plenty of time to clear the scenario, but it hadn¡¯t been cleared yet. I suspected something happened on the 2nd floor. [Move to the 2nd Floor?] We ported to the 2nd floor via the escalator. Nothing ¡®big¡¯ had happened on the 2nd floor. The guild members of Wings were scattered on the ground. ¡®They¡¯re not human.¡¯ Twelve Phantom Knights and two humans. What was the word for them? Summoned creatures? Dolls? I didn¡¯t know the exact term. Only two of the guild members were humans¡ªone young man, and one young woman. Name: Kim Donghyun Name: Kim Ahyun Judging by their names, they were probably brother and sister. They also looked alike. They were 19 and 18, respectively. The two were public figures I remembered. The Steel Bulwark, Kim Donghyun. And the Steel Mage, Kim Ahyun. They would grow into Players skilled enough to warrant occasional comparisons to the 8 Heroes. In the case of Kim Ahyujn, despite possessing the moniker of Steel Mage, she wasn¡¯t a very conspicuous Player. Sometimes, people referred to her as a ¡®typical mage carried by Wings¡¯ halo¡¯. ¡®That¡¯s what the world thought, but¡­¡¯ In truth, there were only two ¡®real Players¡¯ in Wings. ¡°Hey, wake up.¡± They weren¡¯t in critical condition. Some kind of special power had put them to sleep. Without the coercion of that power, they would wake up on their own. Darongi jumped down from my shoulder, went up to Kim Donghyun, and sniffed about. [!!!] Exclamation points popped up above his head. ¡°Oh. Found something?¡± Darongi thumped his chest, as if saying, ¡®Just leave it to me!¡¯ He clambered onto Kim Donghyun¡¯s chest and burrowed in, almost like he was digging into the ground. The young man¡¯s clothes were ripped apart, and I was concerned that his chest would be wounded at this rate. Just then, Darongi¡¯s face broke into a grin, clutching a big crystal. ¡®Ah.¡¯ Kim Donghyun got the Clear Crystal, but he was unable to destroy it, leaving this place uncleared. ¡®Why¡­ was he unable to finish the job after getting so far?¡¯ I had a good idea why. ¡®The Demon King arranged it.¡¯ Somehow, the Demon King I encountered gave off a very different feeling from the Demon King in my memories. If he was the Demon King I knew, Vela and I, much less Kim Donghyun and Kim Ahyun, would have been corpses by now. He might have even slaughtered all the people outside this dungeon. That was the kind of existence people, including me, thought the Demon King was. ¡®He went out of his way to knock them unconscious.¡¯ And the Demon King knew that I had a pet named Darongi. ¡®There¡¯s no doubt that he arranged it so I could take the Clear Crystal and secure the clear, but¡­¡¯ Why did he do it? ¡®How come the Demon King arranged things for my benefit?¡¯ I didn¡¯t know the answer. For now, I decided to clear this place. I crushed the Clear Crystal, and this flash scenario came to an end. * * * Translator ¨C Lei Proofreader ¨C Ash * * * [The scenario is in an overhauled state from a variable related to ¡®Justice¡¯.] [The D-Tower 2nd Floor has been cleared.] [The clear requirements of the flash scenario have been fulfilled.] The original clear conditions were ¡®survival for 24 hours¡¯ or ¡®the deaths of 38,122 people¡¯. But I gained the rights of an ¡®Arbitrator¡¯, establishing new conditions and enabling a different clear method. [Your ¡®Arbitrator¡¯ rights have been relinquished.] [The ¡®Scenario Outline¡¯ returns to dust.] Rewards were given out for the flash scenario clear. [Calculating the flash scenario clear rewards.] [3,000 Coins acquired.] 3,000 Coins was all I got as the clear rewards. ¡®Why is it so stingy?¡¯ For a scenario that was supposed to have killed 30,000 people, the reward was too small. ¡®Is it because I got the Regeneration Serum?¡¯ It might be that there was a set limit to the rewards that could be given to Players within a scenario. Basically, I carved away all the rewards that could be acquired by other Players by getting the ¡®treasure¡¯ called the Regeneration Serum. ¡®Well, it¡¯s fine.¡¯ If not for me, 30,000 people would have really died. I didn¡¯t do all this to save them, but that was the result, and I got the treasure that was the Regeneration Serum. Additionally, I received a Blacksmith¡¯s Red Jewel from the Demon King, though I didn¡¯t know what it was for. I heard another notice. [As a reward for clearing the hidden scenario, you will be given ¡®information about the future¡¯.] [In 24 hours, the ¡®Gran Seoul Dungeon¡¯ will open.] At long last, the Gran Seoul Dungeon, the dungeon all Players on the Korean server absolutely needed to clear in order to break into the mid-game, was opening. But the notices didn¡¯t stop there. [Providing information about the Gran Seoul Dungeon¡¯s ¡®hidden piece¡¯.] The information lined up with what Vela told me. ¡®A Player from the far removed Italian server¡­ had intel on a hidden piece in the Korean server.¡¯ It wasn¡¯t just Italy¡¯s Vela. The UK¡¯s explorer, Jackson, was in Korea right now as well. Was something happening at this time period in Korea that I didn¡¯t know about? ¡®If the same thing happened in the past¡­¡¯ If you took the puzzle piece that was ¡®me¡¯ out of everything that had happened so far, how would the situation progress? ¡°I¡¯ve been given a piece of the Gran Seoul Dungeon Map,¡± I said. [Fragment of the Gran Seoul Dungeon Map] A piece of a map bearing information about the Gran Seoul Dungeon¡¯s hidden piece. Only those with this map can activate the hidden piece. This map is divided into a total of two fragments, and both pieces are required for activation. *The other fragment has been given to a Player from the Italian server. The description was even kind enough to tell me which server the Player who had the other part of the map was from. ¡°Vela. I¡¯m guessing you¡¯ve got a fragment of the map.¡± ¡°Yup. How did you know?¡± ¡°I just got one, too.¡± He flew here all the way from Italy, met me through the flash scenario, and the two of us completed the map. Vela handed his piece of the map to me. ¡°We need both pieces of the map to complete it, yeah? Here. Take this and do something with it.¡± ¡°¡­¡± I had no idea what drove this man to trust me and give me his piece of the map. Was he an actual idiot? ¡°I see you¡¯re a trusting guy.¡± ¡°Naw, I don¡¯t just trust anyone, you know.¡± Anyone could see that wasn¡¯t the case. ¡°Whatever it looks like to you, I¡¯m pretty gucci at doubting people.¡± ¡°Did someone tell you that?¡± ¡°Yeah. My childhood friend.¡± His childhood friend, Pedro, a famous Master of Italy and a Youtuber, said it. For now, I agreed with him and took the map fragment. Just then, Kim Ahyun hesitantly approached us and greeted me. She had regained consciousness. ¡°Thank you.¡± ¡°It¡¯s nothing. I only did what had to be done.¡± She patted Kim Donghyun¡¯s back. ¡°Oppa. C¡¯mon, get up.¡± ¡°A-Ah¡­¡± Kim Donghyun also gave me a hesitant greeting. ¡°Thank you.¡± It was a bad thing to get the Steel Bulwark and the Steel Mage indebted to me. They would definitely repay the favor one day. For example, in a place that required high defense and constitution, like the Sangam World Cup Stadium Dungeon. ¡°Why were you unconscious?¡± I asked. ¡°Well¡­¡± Kim Donghyun dithered, causing Kim Ahyun to step forward in frustration. ¡°We don¡¯t know exactly why, either. There was a flash, and then I don¡¯t remember anymore.¡± The two siblings appeared very different from the Kim Donghyun and Kim Ahyun I knew. Later, Kim Donghyun would handle most of the external matters, and Kim Ahyun became a mage Player almost shrouded in mystery. Looking at them now, Kim Ahyun was taking a much more active role than her brother. ¡®He seems to be completely at the mercy of his little sister.¡¯ That was how it seemed, but amusingly, Kim Donghyun would later assume the frontman role. The other knights were quietly standing behind the two. ¡®There were rumors that they were all Players, but¡­¡¯ I was getting addicted to the fun of uncovering the unknown. I thought I studied and memorized a great deal, but the world in my books and the world I was experiencing was very different. [The flash scenario has come to a complete end.] [The D-Tower Dungeon is reverting back to the ¡®Tutorial Building¡¯.] The scenario was cleared, and this place that had briefly become the D-Tower Dungeon went back to its original role, the Tutorial Building for beginners. ¡®Looks like it¡¯ll be hard to get more information about the Demon King from these two.¡¯ This place was now back to being the Tutorial Building. I heard screams from all over. The 1st and 2nd floors were currently connected. ¡®More people¡­ died than I thought.¡¯ I showed them how to hunt the Fanged Moles, but even so, quite a lot of people had died. I did what I could. I even gave them sufficient warning while using Cognitive Dissonance. Their deaths were the price they paid for their actions, the price for not listening to my warning. ____ Chapter 179 Chapter 179 Just then, the master of the Phantom Knights, Kim Ahyun, said something weird about the Demon King. ¡°But¡­ they didn¡¯t seem like a person.¡± ¡°What do you mean?¡± ¡°I¡¯m not sure. Before I passed out, I thought I saw someone. But¡­¡± Kim Ahyun glanced behind her. Her eyes seemed to be going to her Phantom Knights, who weren¡¯t human and therefore weren¡¯t Players. ¡°They didn¡¯t feel like a person.¡± ¡°Almost like the guys behind you?¡± ¡°¡­¡± Kim Ahyun was alarmed. She didn¡¯t say anything concrete, shrinking back with a vague, ¡°I don¡¯t know exactly¡­¡± Maybe she was a little more sensitive because she had a class that handled Phantom Knights? I didn¡¯t press the issue. In the future, Wings was known as a guild made up entirely of Players. There was probably a reason why they were keeping it a secret. ¡°If he wasn¡¯t a person, then what do you think he was?¡± ¡°Well¡­¡± Kim Ahyun hesitated for a long time, clearly trying to figure out a way to put it but failing to find the words. After struggling for a while, she managed to come up with something. ¡°It¡¯s hard to say. It kind of feels like light and darkness are walking around together.¡± She scratched her cheek, embarrassed by how weird her own words sounded. ¡°It sounds weird to put it like that, but that¡¯s how it felt.¡± Light and darkness walking around together¡­ ¡®As I thought, people of our level can¡¯t comprehend the Demon King.¡¯ In any case, a master of Phantom Knights also said that the Demon King didn¡¯t seem like a person, corroborating my suspicion that he wasn¡¯t human. ¡®The Demon King.¡¯ I had the feeling that as time went on, and the more quests and scenarios I cleared, the more often I would be meeting the Demon King. * * * Translator ¨C Lei Proofreader ¨C Ash * * * I left the D-Tower, which had returned to being the Tutorial Building. After promising Vela that we would meet again, I went back home. ¡°Oppa!¡± Sunhwa seemed to have worried a great deal about me. That being said, the sauce on her lips was evidence of how energetically she was eating the fried chicken she ordered just now. ¡°Sunhwa. You and I will be moving separately for the time being.¡± The Gran Seoul Dungeon would open. I would be moving separately from our guild, Giantgod. With Vela, that is. Sunhwa stopped tearing into a chicken leg, giving me a tearful look. ¡°Then we can¡¯t clear the dungeon together?¡± ¡°Yeah. Take it bit by bit. You can tackle the dungeon by following the route with the other Players.¡± And this was just me, but I thought there was a chance Song Junghye would play her tricks. What crap she would try to pull remained yet to be seen, but I didn¡¯t fear it. ¡®I¡¯ll watch to see what kind of cute trick you¡¯ll try.¡¯ With a look of incomprehension, Sunhwa asked, ¡°Why?¡± She set down the chicken leg she liked so much. Granted, her fingers were still grasping it tightly, but she stopped eating. ¡°I¡¯m super serious right now, Oppa.¡± Sunhwa stared directly into my eyes, starting a pseudo-temper tantrum. ¡°I like Playing with you¡­ How come we can¡¯t Play together? What¡¯s with the Gran Seoul Dungeon?¡± ¡°The difficulty itself shouldn¡¯t be hard,¡± I said, patting Sunhwa¡¯s head once. ¡°But I want to do it with you, Oppa¡­¡± This kid¡¯s brother complex would probably get better after puberty, right? It had to. The path ahead seemed dark, seeing as she was already saying things like, ¡®I don¡¯t accept that unnie! I won¡¯t allow it!¡¯ Yes, she would probably¡­ be fine after a few more years. That was my dear wish. ¡°It¡¯s good for you to learn how to work in tandem with other Players, too. There are definitely things to learn from working with people weaker than you.¡± ¡°Still.¡± Sunhwa¡¯s shoulders slumped, and her face took on a sulky look. Apparently, not being able to Play with me was a big disappointment to her. ¡°Hunt the monsters. If you hunt them little by little every day and move forward, you¡¯ll be able to reach the 2nd floor.¡± ¡°What happens then?¡± ¡°There¡¯s a high chance for a certain item to drop from the monster that shows up there.¡± ¡°An item?¡± ¡°Yeah. An item that cannot be traded or given away and can only be used by the Player who acquires it.¡± Sunhwa¡¯s eyes were glued to me. As expected of a kid who found Playing fun, she was very interested in new items. ¡°Is it an important item?¡± ¡°Yeah. It is.¡± The ¡®Growth Fruit¡¯ that could determine whether a Player could get pass level 40 or not would be dropped on the 2nd floor. Only with that could one get past level 40, though a good number of Players were unable to level past 40 even after eating it. This was definitely the ¡®domain of talent¡¯. ¡°Will you buy me chicken again if I listen well?¡± ¡°Of course.¡± Sunhwa bit into her chicken again before speaking like she was doing me a favor. ¡°Alright then. I¡¯ll work hard.¡± She spoke calmly with a mock patronizing tone, but her inner feelings were different. State: Passion / Desire for Recognition / Greed for Growth Summary: Brocon Wanting to Grow Both Inside and Out Passionate Tank Blazing with Fervor She pretended otherwise, but her summary told me that on the inside, she had been looking forward to a situation like this. ¡®Achieving something by her own strength.¡¯ Sunhwa would probably end up playing a pivotal role in the party. If that happened, it would be important for her to learn how to do things on her own, to be a leader. ¡®That kind of experience is important, too.¡¯ Even more so for someone who had a tofu mentality like Sunhwa. I saw this as an opportunity for her to gain a sense of independence and leadership. I told the others, too. Yeonseo responded to the news with, ¡°Yeah, got it. Whatever the Boss says, goes. But when are you gonna go on a date with me?¡± Yoohyun just agreed without questions or complaints, saying, ¡°Understood. If Hyungnim tells me to do it, I¡¯ll do it!¡± Sunghyun also agreed, giving me a positive answer in the form of, ¡°I am lacking, but I will try my best.¡± Only Choi Sung-gu was a little different. ¡°Shabam. You want me to go into a dungeon without you? That¡¯s a nope. I can¡¯t. I¡¯m a total coward, man.¡± Followed by, ¡°Sung-gu booboo is a scaredy cat. Boohoo~¡± His poor attempt at being cutesy had him trembling on the other end of Isabel¡¯s blade. ¡°H-Hey. Hyukjin. Isn¡¯t this a damn strong sword? Won¡¯t I fly into the sky and go to a planet far, far away if you poke me with this for real? G-Got it. I¡¯ll go. I just have to go, don¡¯t I?¡± This guy would only wise up after getting a taste of the blade. [You¡¯re placing me against this dirty neck? Are you mad, Hubby?] [You would put me against the neck of another man? What do you see my purity as? A dishrag?] [I¡¯m Isabel. Isabel! The Queen of Swords!] [Hubby! Are you listening to me?] I simply ignored her ¡°screams¡±. The Gran Seoul Dungeon was a place that had to be Played in several sections. Every monster in every forked path had to be hunted. The dungeon could be cleared much more easily with an outstanding Player heading each path. Wings would also enter the Gran Seoul Dungeon, as would the guild members of Taeguk Shield. ¡®With a roster like this¡­¡¯ They would take minor damage, but they would be able to safely clear the 1st floor. The 1st floor could be settled with Giantgod, Taeguk Shield, and Wings as a core. I imagined Song Junghye would try something in the process, but that wouldn¡¯t be much of an issue. I had to approach the dungeon with a slightly different method apart from them. Vela and I got together. ¡°Let¡¯s start our own clear now.¡± I had to clear the hidden scenario of the Gran Seoul with the Player who had flown to Korea from Italy, the future Fight King Vela. I combined the map fragment I received with Vela¡¯s piece to make a complete map. [Map of the Gran Seoul Dungeon] A piece of a map bearing information about the Gran Seoul Dungeon¡¯s hidden piece. Only those with this map can activate the hidden piece. Additionally, this map acts as an entry ticket for a new entrance. The problem was that this ¡°map¡± was entirely blank. It was just a slip of paper without anything on it. ¡°Where do you think the new entrance is?¡± asked Vela. ¡°I¡¯m not sure.¡± I diligently investigated the area around the Gran Seoul Dungeon, but I couldn¡¯t find any clues. ¡®I don¡¯t think I can find it with my current abilities.¡¯ It might not be an issue of skill, but the lack of a driving scenario. There might be a new entrance that could be activated by a Player who was working on some kind of quest and had some kind of scenario. ¡°The map doesn¡¯t tell us to find the entrance.¡± The entrance didn¡¯t exist¡­ yet. If we assumed that, then it was meaningless to look for it. I examined the description again. Additionally, this map acts as an entry ticket for a new entrance. It didn¡¯t tell us to make a new entrance. We gained the right to enter a new entrance, and only that. ¡®The fact that it¡¯s not showing up, even though we¡¯ve come this far¡­¡¯ Meant there was another Player who could make a new entrance. And that Player¡­ could be the Great Explorer Jackson. Jackson had appeared in every single puzzle up until now, and if not for me, there was a high chance Vela would have gone into the Gran Seoul Dungeon with Jackson. ¡°I think we¡¯ll need the help of an explorer class Player.¡± ¡°An explorer?¡± ¡°And one with top-notch skill.¡± Explorers of average skill would fall behind me in competence, after all. ¡°Does someone like that exist?¡± ¡°Yes.¡± Jackson should be able to find a new entrance. ¡®If I want to get Jackson to help¡­¡¯ Jackson was in a business relationship with Song Junghye, and Song Junghye really disliked me. It wasn¡¯t that easy for me to procure Jackson¡¯s direct help. ¡®¡­it¡¯ll require a deal.¡¯ There was no way a person like Jackson would have chosen Song Junghye as his partner for life. They were just working together because there was profit to be gained from each other. So if I proposed a mutually profitable trade, Jackson would gladly accept. Also, I knew something that was worth trading. I called Jackson with the number he had given me in the past. ¨CJackson. There¡¯s something I need to discuss with you. ¨CIs it related to Playing? I¡¯m a little busy right now¡­ ¨CIt¡¯s related to Playing. I would like to make a deal with you. I met up briefly with Jackson. The location was in front of the Gran Seoul Dungeon. Jackson scratched the back of his head. ¡°I just happened to be working on my quest in the vicinity, but we keep ending up in the same place, don¡¯t we?¡± Our paths kept crossing. Jackson continued. ¡°What kind of deal did you want to strike?¡± ¡°You were looking for an artifact related to a king, correct?¡± I remembered Jackson asking me about it. ¨CDo you happen to have an artifact related to a ¡®king¡¯? Back then, I answered no. The situation was different now. ¡°Yes, I was. Did you happen to find any clues?¡± I looked Jackson straight in the eye. I remembered what he said back then word for word. ¨CIs there perhaps a crown in the future you see? I already had the Old Crown back then; I just pretended I knew nothing about it. ¡°I acquired a crown. From the Gwanghwamun Dungeon.¡± ¡°A crown?¡± ¡°But it is no ordinary crown.¡± The crown in my possession was an item I received from clearing ¡®Early Adopter ¨C ver. Gwanghwamun Dungeon¡¯, the ¡®Old Crown¡¯. ¡°The item I obtained is called the Old Crown.¡± ¡°¡­¡± Jackson stared at me in silence for a while. ¡°Shall I share my scenario quest details with you?¡± I didn¡¯t know why he was suddenly offering to share those details, but I nodded. A quest window popped up in front of me. ¡®Hrm?¡¯ The Great Explorer¡¯s quest was linked to the Old Crown I possessed. Our stories were intertwined. ____ Chapter 180 Chapter 180 The shared quest window was as follows: [Find the Crown] Find the ¡®Crown¡¯ that symbolizes a king¡¯s authority. The ¡®Crown¡¯ will open a new path. Jackson gave further explanation. ¡°The part about the new path¡­ is probably not written in detail in the shared quest window.¡± What was this ¡®new path¡¯, exactly? ¡°It means that a new entrance of the Gran Seoul Dungeon will open here.¡± As I thought, Jackson appeared to know about that method. ¡®There¡¯s a high chance¡­ that Jackson went into the Gran Seoul Dungeon in the past.¡¯ And the same would have happened this time, too, if not for the puzzle piece that was ¡®me¡¯. ¡°But the problem is¡­¡± What he needed wasn¡¯t the ¡®Old Crown¡¯, but just a ¡®Crown¡¯. ¡°You probably need a crown retaining its full power.¡± ¡°¡­That¡¯s right.¡± A crown retaining its full power. I didn¡¯t have that right now. All I had was the ¡®Old Crown¡¯. ¡°But there should be a way to restore this Old Crown.¡± There were people out there who could restore items that were old and had lost their power. The people we commonly called ¡°Masters¡± didn¡¯t just deal with enhancing, but also restoration. However, I didn¡¯t know if there were any Players who could restore the Old Crown at this point in time. ¡®If there are¡­¡¯ Then they most likely wouldn¡¯t be in the Korean server. Vela butted into the conversation. Of course, his sapling Intermediate Administrator was translating. ¡°I do know a crazy guy who¡¯s good at restoration¡­¡± Right. Though that person was too much of a giant in the Playing world to be called a mere friend. ¡°There¡¯s this guy named Pedro among my besties, but¡­¡± Pedro. The Master of Restoration. A Master of Masters. A global top-level Player related to restoration. ¡®The Player who created the Fight King¡¯s gauntlet.¡¯ To be more precise, it wasn¡¯t made by Pedro alone. It was said that he was helped by his teacher, Bufafa, but I didn¡¯t know the details, since restoration, item production, and enhancement didn¡¯t count among my interests. I did know that Pedro was someone who had a big hand in helping Vela gain his title of Fight King, and I also knew that Vela found Pedro very difficult to deal with. Pedro was the only person in the world he was helpless towards. ¡°If it¡¯s him, he might be able to restore it.¡± ¡°Is he in Italy right now?¡± ¡°No. I think he¡¯s in Japan right now? He¡¯s probably up to something over there.¡± That was good news¡ªJapan was close. ¡°Could you possibly call him here?¡± ¡°Mm. Um. Well.¡± ¡°If you¡¯re really friends.¡± ¡°Well, that¡¯s¡­ He¡¯ll get mad. For a guy who claims he¡¯s a manly man, his hysteria is no joke.¡± But I had something up my sleeve that could entice Pedro. That was why I asked. ¡°Tell him I have this thing.¡± ¡°What thing¡­?¡± I opened a trade window and showed Vela an item. [Tomb Pilfering Shovel] An artifact that can collect the ¡®essence¡¯ of ruins, artifacts, and relics. *Grade: Legendary *Thief class exclusive Vela¡¯s eyes widened. ¡°A legendary¡­ item? It¡¯s my second time seeing one in the flesh.¡± Ohh, it wasn¡¯t his first, but his second time? This generation¡¯s rankers were indeed at far higher heights than the public thought. Their level was far higher than the public¡¯s rough estimation, considering it wasn¡¯t Vela¡¯s first time seeing a legendary item in the beginner period, but his second. ¡°Please tell him that I¡¯ll give him this legendary item if he helps us.¡± ¡°But he¡¯ll probably say some nonsense about not phone pranking a manly man¡­¡± ¡°Just try calling him already.¡± Vela looked a little uneasy, somehow. ¡®At this time, he should be meeting Japan¡¯s Itachi.¡¯ Come to think of it, that was a little weird. How did Itachi and Pedro know each other? The Astrologist of Japan, Itachi, was a prodigy astrologist who met an early death, while Pedro was a Master among Masters in Italy. What connected them? ¡®They supposedly first met at this time¡­¡¯ That was written in a memorial Pedro wrote to mourn Itachi¡¯s death. Pedro and Itachi likely met for the first time around now. An Italian Player with a Japanese Player. Why? ¡®What kind of connection did they have?¡¯ I didn¡¯t know. But somehow, I had a hunch that everything was connected to my Playing. Granted, it was a bit heavy-handed to say that was Precognitive Eye kicking in or anything. It was just my ¡®gut feeling¡¯. ¡®I¡¯ll know in due time.¡¯ Vela hesitated. ¡°He said he¡¯d kill me if I called him again.¡± ¡°I¡¯m not the one dying.¡± Vela clapped his fist to his palm in realization and nodded. ¡°Right, that¡¯s true.¡± I didn¡¯t know why that was enlightening to him, but this man with a way of thinking that couldn¡¯t be comprehended by common sense relented. ¡°Okay, I¡¯ll call him.¡± Jackson was watching on with amusement. In the end, Vela nodded and made the call, saying, ¡°Whatever, I¡¯ll just get an earful.¡± As his phone rang, he said, ¡°But he might hang up as soon as he picks up. And he might have blocked me. I¡¯ve been bothering him with frequent calls these days.¡± ¡°Don¡¯t greet him, just go straight to telling him about the legendary item.¡± ¡°I¡¯ve used that tactic a few times already¡­¡± I found myself grinning. ¡®If it¡¯s the Pedro I know¡­¡¯ He would come flying right away. The guy was crazy about items, after all. Vela came back from his call, his face sour. ¡°He says he¡¯s going to the airport. He¡¯ll be on the plane in three hours. But I should prepare to get whooped since I called him.¡± Vela shivered all over. * * * Translator ¨C Lei Proofreader ¨C Ash * * * Three hours later, a Master of Italy, Pedro, would be coming. ¡°Let¡¯s meet again in front of the Gran Seoul Dungeon in four hours. Mr. Pedro will be picked up by my driver.¡± I agreed to meet Jackson and Vela in front of the Gran Seoul later. Meanwhile, Sunhwa and the other members of Giantgod came out of the dungeon. ¡°Oppa!¡± My little sister came running up to me drenched in sweat. I resisted the urge to push her off when she scampered up like a bunny and jumped into my arms. Lord, did she smell intense. ¡®The smell of sweat. Blood. Dirt. And this is¡­ the smell of poop.¡¯ She had probably stepped in monster dung. To be honest, she smelled a bit revolting, but it was still bearable, one way or another. She would be hurt if I shook her off now, right? ¡°Did you clear it well?¡± ¡°Yes. Like you said, Oppa, it¡¯s the kind of dungeon where you advance forward little by little.¡± Yeonseo gave Sunhwa an envious look. ¡°I wanna get hugged by the Boss, too.¡± Yoohyun clenched his giant hands into fists. ¡°I¡¯d like to get hugged by Hyungnim as well.¡± I fully ignored Yeonseo and Yoohyun¡¯s pointless chatter. I asked Sunhwa, ¡°How was it?¡± Yeonseo answered instead. ¡°Haa, don¡¯t even talk about it. I was about to die from frustration in there.¡± ¡°Really?¡± ¡°Like I thought, we need the Boss.¡± The difficulty itself wasn¡¯t high, but apparently, their speed of advancement was unimaginably slow. Yeonseo shook her head. ¡°I didn¡¯t feel stifled when clearing with the Boss¡­¡± Playing with ordinary Players seemed to be very stifling for her. Yeonseo wasn¡¯t flattering me right now¡ªshe was expressing her honest thoughts. I grinned and said, ¡°Even so, this process is necessary.¡± Sunghyun nodded. ¡°Hyung is right. I¡¯m learning a lot as we Play with untrained Players.¡± Sung-gu shivered. ¡°Learn? Learn what? I almost learned what it¡¯s like on the other side.¡± ¡°¡­Don¡¯t you think of that experience as a learning experience?¡± ¡°Can it, dude. Why¡¯s a brat like you always on my ass?¡± ¡°How about you act a little more like a hyung, Hyung?¡± ¡°Hyukjin. If you¡¯re gonna be at the Gran Seoul anyway, let¡¯s go together. Protect me, man. Shabam. It¡¯s my first time seeing such a shoddy tank. Dude, I almost died while casting magic, you know? I acted while thinking at your standard and almost really died. I¡¯m serious, bro.¡± Sunghyun scowled. ¡°I haven¡¯t seen any monsters so far that could kill you with one hit, Hyung.¡± ¡°Three hits and I¡¯m deadso. And it hurts a shitton.¡± ¡°A magician who sits around while getting hit three times is better off dead.¡± ¡°You want three hits from me so you can kick the bucket?¡± ¡°Try me; my magic will be faster.¡± While Sunghyun and Sung-gu were squabbling, I heard about the Gran Seoul Dungeon from Sunhwa and Yeonseo. It wasn¡¯t very different from what I knew about it. They were clearing it steadily, bit by bit. The Gran Seoul Dungeon required quite a long time to clear. ¡®It¡¯ll take at least one week.¡¯ Would I be able to find the Gran Seoul Dungeon¡¯s hidden field in that time? ¡°Did you find the new entrance, Oppa?¡± ¡°Not yet.¡± But we would probably be able to find it soon. The Fight King, Vela. The Great Explorer, Jackson. The Master of Masters, Pedro. And the Astrologist Itachi, who Pedro was meeting at this time. All four were directly connected to the Old Crown-related scenario. How deep did that connection run? I tousled Sunhwa¡¯s head. ¡°I¡¯ll tell you when we find it.¡± ¡°Okay. You have to tell me for sure!¡± I didn¡¯t understand why I needed to tell her for sure, but whatever. Just then, my phone rang with the news that Pedro had been picked up. It took about an hour to go from the airport to the Gran Seoul Dungeon. ¡®He¡¯ll be here soon.¡¯ * * * Truth was, this combination of Players was one I had longed for. All of them were Players recognized as the best in their field, people so successful that a civil service student like me could not even dare to covet their acquaintance. Jackson. Vela. Pedro. Pedro was, as I already knew very well, a ¡®manly man philiac¡¯. He introduced himself like this: ¡°I am the manly man, Pedro. A man among men.¡± He was definitely not normal. I couldn¡¯t see his status window properly, and it wasn¡¯t because he was being protected by a Guardian¡¯s authority. ¡®The power of an item.¡¯ He was blocking my Eye of Perception with an item. It was possible he received that unknown item from Elder Bufafa. ¡°How about a handshake with this manly man, Pedro? A handshake between men is fiery.¡± ¡°¡­¡± He really wasn¡¯t normal. Why was he so obsessed with manliness? ¡®It doesn¡¯t matter.¡¯ What mattered was that he was a Master. We exchanged a simple greeting. Pedro was the first to broach the subject at hand. His attitude reminded me of a puppy with its tail on fire. ¡°Do you truly have that object?!¡± I thought I heard a ¡®You¡¯re dead if you¡¯re scamming me¡¯ in those words. ¡°Is it really true?!¡± ¡°Of course.¡± I pulled up a trade window and showed him the item a theft genius had stolen from a budding thief, a once-in-a-lifetime class item. Gu Sungmin¡¯s thieving days were probably over now. ¡°Ohh. To think such a masterpiece existed! Gohh! It¡¯s very marvelous.¡± Pedro swallowed his drool. ¡°How can I help?!¡± He jumped forward to help, his eyes full of greed. A line of drool came dribbling out of his mouth. Summary: Master of Restoration Driven by Limitless Greed There was no need to drag things out. I went straight to the point. ¡°I have an item like this.¡± [Old Crown] A crown symbolizing the authority of a king. Though it is made of glittering gold, the passing of many years has greatly aged the relic. ¡°But what we need is a Crown.¡± ¡°¡­¡± ¡°Mr. Pedro?¡± ¡°¡­¡± Pedro was rendered speechless. A long while later, he spoke. ¡°This Old Crown. Where did you get it?¡± ¡°In a place called the Gwanghwamun Dungeon.¡± Pedro took something out. It was a yellow slip of paper. ¡®Precognitive note?¡¯ It wasn¡¯t just ordinary paper, but a piece of paper imbued with mystical power, created by someone with the power of precognition. The text on it was Japanese, but strangely enough, I could understand it. ¨CYou will meet a King¡¯s faded vestige. He took out another note. ¨CFollow the King¡¯s vestige and go to the forest inhabited by the little people of iron and gold and silver and fire. ¨CThe justice of the Commandments shall fog up there. And then, the last note. ¨CFollow the justice of the Commandments in the forest inhabited by the little people of iron and gold and silver and fire and recover the King¡¯s luster. Jackson made a hum of interest. ¡°Could the King¡¯s faded vestige¡­ be referring to the Old Crown?¡± So it appeared. Jackson continued. ¡°What could the little people of iron and gold and silver and fire be referring to? Could it be related to the Gran Seoul Dungeon?¡± ¡°¡­¡± There was a moment of silence. I examined Pedro¡¯s summary. Summary: Master Driven by Greed Hesitating to Say Something He was hesitating. That meant he knew something. And I had a pretty good idea of what Pedro was hesitating to say. Because as a regressor, I possessed a power of foresight that might possibly be far more outstanding than Itachi¡¯s. ¡°I think I know what it is,¡± I said. Pedro flinched. It was very slight, but I definitely felt his body flinch. ¡°The little people of iron and gold and silver and fire.¡± And the forest they inhabited. I already knew where that place was. The ¡®forest of little people¡¯ Itachi was pointed to could only be one place. I had a hunch as soon as I heard it. ¡°And.¡± I stared at Pedro. ¡°I believe the manly man Pedro should know as well.¡± I added one more thing. ¡°A manly man does not lie. Isn¡¯t that right?¡± Chapter 181 Chapter 181 The forest of little people, a certain field some people called the ¡®Forest of Dwarfs¡¯, wasn¡¯t in the Korean server, but the Italian server. ¡®The place where the world¡¯s gear is born.¡¯ There existed a place called the ¡®Village of Dwarfs¡¯. It was said that 70%, the majority of legendary ¡®created items¡¯ distributed around the world, were produced there. ¡®If it¡¯s that place, it may be possible to restore the Old Crown.¡¯ The problem was, the ¡®dwarfs¡¯ who lived there had very foul tempers. ¡®A place most Players avoided entering.¡¯ The Village of Dwarfs was a place Players didn¡¯t enter without good reason, no matter how high their level. Only a limited few went there¡ªthe people we commonly called ¡®Masters¡¯ or ¡®Craftsmen¡¯. Only they returned from the Village of Dwarfs with meaningful results. ¡®Ordinary Players¡­¡¯ ¡­would often die or go missing after going in. According to eyewitness reports, some were working as slaves in the dwarfs¡¯ workshop. The reason why the village was not subjugated despite that was, of course, because it was the world¡¯s most prominent producer of ¡®very outstanding gear¡¯. ¡®Though even if we wanted to subjugate them, it might not even be possible.¡¯ The dwarfs were strong. ¡®I remember they were estimated to be as strong as level 60 Players.¡¯ If they had dwarfs in charge of fighting among their ranks, those individuals would likely possess even greater battle prowess. ¡°I believe the manly man Pedro should know as well.¡± ¡°W-Well¡­¡± ¡°A manly man does not lie. Isn¡¯t that right?¡± ¡°O-Of couuuurse!¡± ¡°It seems to me that you¡¯re stuttering.¡± ¡°Not at all! A manly man does not stutter.¡± ¡°I thought so. You definitely know. Please share what you know.¡± Pedro¡¯s face turned black for a moment, and then he spoke. ¡°It is a place linked to my main quest. And my damned teacher is there, too.¡± By teacher, he was probably referring to Elder Bufafa. ¡°Do you also know where it is?¡± ¡°Of course. There¡¯s nothing a manly man doesn¡¯t know.¡± Jackson smiled lightly. ¡°Then it¡¯s settled. We need to make the Gran Seoul Dungeon¡¯s new entrance, after all.¡± In the end, we had to go to the Forest of Dwarfs. We needed to restore the ¡®Old Crown¡¯ into the ¡®Crown¡¯, a key item that would open the Gran Seoul Dungeon¡¯s hidden field. Jackson shrugged. ¡°I will stay here and continue investigating. There are also things I need to check with the folks currently clearing the dungeon.¡± I nodded. Jackson would stay behind. The future Fight King spoke up for the first time. ¡°I will also¡­¡± ¡°Oi, you little shitter. There¡¯s a thing called friendship between men. You tryna backstab me?¡± ¡°¡­not stay behind and go with you. I know the Italian server very well.¡± For a moment, Vela seemed resigned to his fate. But then, fighting spirit suddenly blazed from him. ¡®All of a sudden?¡¯ Why was he so volatile? I couldn¡¯t fathom why he was overflowing with fighting spirit right now. ¡°But wait, dwarfs? Little people? Whatever they are, are they good at fighting?¡± ¡°¡­¡± You would be no match for them as you are now, dude. ¡°Are they good at fighting?¡± ¡°They are.¡± ¡°Are they stronger than me?¡± ¡°Most likely. I wouldn¡¯t know since I¡¯ve never met them.¡± ¡°Really?¡± ¡°Really.¡± ¡°Are they stronger than my rival we met back then?¡± Rival? Ah, right. But since when did the Demon King become your rival? ¡°I don¡¯t know, either.¡± Vela smacked his lips. ¡°There are a lot of strong guys out there.¡± I thought his fighting spirit was going out for a moment, but then¡ª ¡°If they¡¯re stronger than me, I¡¯ve gotta go at it with them.¡± Even after getting so wrecked by the Demon King, he still hadn¡¯t gotten his head on straight. ¡°You¡¯ll die trying.¡± ¡°You seem to know quite a lot about these dwarf dudes.¡± So I told him the truth, if you could call it that. ¡°I know the future, after all.¡± ¡°You were a Precognitive Eye user?¡± I was actually a regressor, but in any case, I definitely knew the future. I hadn¡¯t lied. ¡°I know the future. Though it has changed a great deal due to variables.¡± ¡°Ohh.¡± Vela stared at me in amazement. ¡°You amaze me more and more every day. You¡¯re an archer, but you¡¯re stronger than most close-ranged Players.¡± Why was this guy getting worked up again? ¡°And you even have Precognitive Eye.¡± Vela spoke to me with naive eyes. It seemed he thought of himself as being very earnest. ¡°Let¡¯s have another round later.¡± Why was that his conclusion? Was this guy really battle-crazy? ¡°Eh?¡± Vela tilted his head. ¡°Hey. Pedro. Isn¡¯t archer a combat class?¡± ¡°Don¡¯t say something so obvious.¡± ¡°But I need to go into the dungeon with a non-combat class?¡± There was a moment of silence. I had already prepared an answer¡ªI had a multi-faceted class, and I just had to set my main class as sovereign. That¡¯s what I planned on saying. ¡°Whatever, doesn¡¯t matter. As long as we can go in, it¡¯s fine.¡± As expected. This creature could not be understood by common sense. ¡°¡­¡± ¡°I was soundly defeated last time, but I won¡¯t always be defeated. I¡¯ll give you a good thrashing later.¡± Vela really wanted to fight me again, it seemed. ¡°Anytime. If you can.¡± ¡°Great!¡± Vela broke into a radiant smile, clearly delighted. In any case, he was an amusing fellow. Pedro tilted his head. ¡°You say you¡¯re an archer?¡± ¡°Yes, well. For now.¡± ¡°But I don¡¯t see any archer items on you.¡± ¡°I¡¯m a bit scarce on items.¡± Of course, I had the transcendent item Isabel, but it was true that I didn¡¯t have any items as an archer. I hadn¡¯t lied. ¡°It seems¡­ we were destined to meet.¡± ¡°What do you mean?¡± ¡°I will tell you if the Forest of Dwarfs business works out.¡± I read Pedro¡¯s emotions. State: Anticipation / Slightly Worked Up / Having Fun I didn¡¯t know what he was talking about, but it seemed to be a good thing for me. ¡°Let¡¯s go to Italy, then.¡± * * * Translator ¨C Lei Proofreader ¨C Ash * * * Vela and Pedro¡¯s jaws dropped. ¡°You want to use the Teleport Gateway?¡± It took a hefty 20,000 Coins each way. ¡°Instead of going by plane?¡± ¡°Yes. It should be possible to teleport from Tutorial Building to Tutorial Building if accompanied by a Player from another server.¡± Hyukjin glanced at Senia. She nodded. ¡°That is correct. There are two Italian server Players here, so one Player from a foreign server can teleport to the Italian server. The cost to use the Teleport Gateway is 20,000 Coins each way.¡± Vela blatantly pretended not to hear her with slight embarrassment. ¡°Don¡¯t have any money?¡± ¡°Wh-Who do you think I am?!¡± ¡°You don¡¯t, right?¡± ¡°¡­¡± ¡°You don¡¯t, right?¡± ¡°I don¡¯t.¡± ¡°I¡¯ll lend you some.¡± ¡°¡­Can I maybe not pay you back?¡± ¡°You want to end our relationship over a measly 20,000 Coins?¡± ¡°Can I not fight you if our relationship ends?¡± Did this guy only have fighting in his brain? Hyukjin sighed. ¡°Eh? I have 20,000 Coins? Looks like I don¡¯t need to borrow any. Uhehe!¡± he laughed merrily. Hyukjin had already given up on understanding Vela. He stared at Pedro. ¡°I¡¯ve given you the Tomb Pilfering Shovel.¡± That was a legendary item. ¡°Y-You did.¡± ¡°Do you think that¡¯s cheaper than 20,000 Coins?¡± ¡°Of course not.¡± ¡°Do you have 20,000 Coins?¡± For reference, Pedro¡¯s current life savings totaled to 24,000 Coins. ¡°I-I do.¡± ¡°That¡¯s fine, then.¡± ¡°Is going by plane¡­ not an option?¡± ¡°Too much time is wasted. If Coins can buy time, then of course you have to buy. If you¡¯re a manly man, that¡¯s the right answer.¡± ¡°Of course. I think so as well.¡± Pedro¡¯s hand trembled ever so slightly. In the eyes of Hyukjin the Observer, the tiny movement looked like big quakes. The current Vela and Pedro were still newly-hatched chicks that hadn¡¯t grown to maturity. Hyukjin was a little amused because he could feel that. ¡®To think I would feel that Vela and Pedro are just fledgling chicks.¡¯ If put another way, it meant Kim Hyukjin had grown that rapidly. ¡°The Gran Seoul Dungeon clear is steadily progressing in the Korean server.¡± He had already spoken to the Taeguk Shield, Song Kiyeol, asking him to slow down the clearing speed a little. Hyukjin asked for cooperation in opening the Gran Seoul¡¯s hidden field, and Song Kiyeol acquiesced. ¨CI will increase our break times a little and clear the dungeon a little more safely. However, I cannot slow down the clear forever. Time was money. No, it was more important than money, even more so for a Ranker. Hyukjin, Vela, and Pedro went together to the D-Tower. More specifically, the Teleport Gateway on the 1st floor of the Tutorial Building. They went up to the Teleport Gateway. The Teleport Gateway Administrator, an NPC wearing a white nun¡¯s habit named ¡®Luna¡¯, said, ¡°Would you like to use the Teleport Gateway?¡± She went on to give a few explanations. They might experience dizziness, the fee was 20,000 Coins per person, teleporting one Korean server Player to the Italian server required two Italian Players, combat Players had to be at least level 30, while non-combat class Players had to be at least level 25, etc. They walked onto a golden magic circle, attracting the gazes of nearby people. ¡°Huh? There are crazy people who would use the Teleport Gateway?¡± ¡°Doesn¡¯t that thing take 20,000 Coins per person?¡± ¡°Woah. They¡¯re really using it.¡± ¡°Do they have money to burn? Damn, what a waste.¡± Time was more precious than money. Only those who realized that could become Rankers. That was how Hyukjin saw it. He, Pedro, and Vela were enveloped in golden rays of light. Flash! There was a flash of light. The situation in the Italian server wasn¡¯t much different from the Korean server. Countless Players were occupying the Tutorial Building, and their attention was instantly drawn to the golden light. ¡°The hell?¡± ¡°There are people who seriously use that Teleport Gateway?¡± Hyukjin couldn¡¯t understand their words, but he could tell what they were saying from their expressions. At this point in time, the value of 20,000 Coins was unimaginable to them. These people hadn¡¯t yet comprehended what kind of value buying time with money had. ¡°We¡¯re going to Piazza Navona.¡± The square, an Italian sightseeing attraction, was built on the site where the Stadium of Domitian, a former emperor, once stood. It was only a five minute walk from another sightseeing attraction, the Pantheon, and had the Fiumi Fountain (Fountain of the Four Rivers) in the middle. Pedro flinched in surprise. ¡®What?¡¯ he thought. ¡®Did I ever mention Piazza Navona? I don¡¯t think I did.¡¯ Unable to resist his curiosity, he asked, ¡°How did you know that we need to go to Piazza Navona?¡± ¡°The Forest of Dwarfs is a place I know as well.¡± ¡°¡­¡± ¡°Are you surprised?¡± ¡°No. A manly man does not get surprised.¡± Pedro¡¯s hand trembled. He was really bad at hiding his thoughts. When Hyukjin saw Pedro on Youtube, he thought that was just a character for the screen, but it was his real personality. That was more of a surprise than anything. Hyukjin grinned inwardly. Pedro asked, ¡°But¡­ how do you know about the Forest of Dwarfs?¡± A Player based in the Korean server, someone who had officially played only in the Korean server, knew how to enter the ¡®Forest of Dwarfs¡¯ located in the Italian server? ¡®Even in Italy, not many people know it,¡¯ thought Pedro. Information appeared to be spreading through acquaintances lately, but this was still high-level intel. A production class Player might barely know it. Just who was this man? Hyukjin smiled. He tapped his eyes. ¡°My eyes are a bit special, you see.¡± ¡°You saw it with your eyes?¡± Yes, he did. Via Youtube. ¡®Come to think of it¡­¡¯ Hyukjin mused. The person who had given him the most detailed information about the Forest of Dwarfs was in front of him. After all, Pedro was both a Master and a famous Youtuber. ¡°I read you.¡± ¡°¡­¡± Pedro was alarmed. ¡°M-Me?¡± Why was he covering his chest? ¡°I see. Special eyes¡­!¡± Again, why was he covering that part? Whatever he was imagining, Pedro¡¯s face reddened a little. He was feeling slight shame. ¡°It¡¯s not polite to inspect a manly man¡¯s body!¡± What the heck was this? ¡®Ara.¡¯ Something caught Observer¡¯s Eye. A clue. [Observing with Observer¡¯s Eye.] Observation aided further observation. Something you didn¡¯t notice would stay unnoticed, but once you started seeing something, you were bound to keep seeing it. The white fog covering Pedro¡¯s status window began to clear. Pedro¡¯s mental fortitude was shaken, and that became a crack. Hyukjin broke the item¡¯s shielding. And then, he read Pedro¡¯s full status window. ¡®Eh?¡¯ He learned things he hadn¡¯t known. ____ Chapter 182 Chapter 182 Once I saw the opening, I kept seeing it. ¡®Everything else aside¡­ Pedro had a subclass. How was it that he had a subclass at just level 30? ¡®An Irregular.¡¯ I was already seeing several Irregulars, anomalies I would have been unlikely to meet even once in my past life. Probably because I now lived in a different world, meaning I met different people. They were a class of humans I couldn¡¯t even have dreamed of meeting in the past, but now, it felt all too ordinary. ¡®Starting with CEO Song Kiyoung awakening as a Player at such an advanced age and showing outstanding performance.¡¯ There was also Ahn Seohye, who was currently one with the Guardian Tower. And now, there was a Master with the ¡®Thief¡¯ class. Such rare facts completely unknown to the world were now a part of my daily life. And the fun thing was, the manly man obsessed Pedro was a biological woman. ¡®Though him being a girl isn¡¯t really important.¡¯ Whether Pedro was a woman, a man, nonbinary, or anything under the rainbow didn¡¯t matter to me. But a thief? Master and thief was a seriously mismatched combo. ¡®Whatever the case, I¡¯ve gotten another card up my sleeve.¡¯ That was a good thing. ¡°You¡¯re not thinking about something wicked, are you?¡± Pedro squinted warily at me. ¡°Wicked? What exactly would that be?¡± ¡°Your smile felt kinda evil somehow.¡± Evil? I¡¯m only thinking about how to best use the info you¡¯re hiding to profit me, that¡¯s all. ¡°You¡¯re mistaken. There¡¯s no reason to have wicked thoughts towards a manly man, no?¡± Pedro was easily convinced. ¡°That¡¯s true. Manly men need no words to communicate.¡± No, sir. Men need to speak to communicate, too. Your idea of ¡®manly man¡¯ is probably an ideal that doesn¡¯t exist in reality. But I left that unsaid. In any case, we arrived at Piazza Navona. It was bustling with countless picture-taking tourists. We headed to the fountain. ¡®There are quite a lot of Players.¡¯ Senia showed herself. ¡°Player Kim Hyukjin. I will give this as a gift. A certain Guardian sponsored it for the sake of smooth Playing.¡± She gave me a Translation Marble. ¡®Nice.¡¯ It sure was convenient. Playing well really did pay off. With the Translation Marble, I heard murmurs from the vicinity. ¡°Intermediate Administrator?¡± ¡°There was an Intermediate Administrator that beautiful out there?¡± The gazes of countless people immediately focused on us. The culprit? Senia¡¯s appearance. ¡°My god¡­¡± That she was beautiful, that she was noble, that she was like a lily; such words were thrown around all over the plaza. ¡°Senia. Switch to invisible mode.¡± ¡°Is that necessary?¡± ¡°You draw too much attention.¡± ¡°Why is that so?¡± ¡°That¡¯s¡­¡± That sparkle in Senia¡¯s eyes was just my imagination, right? It had to be. When I looked at her again, her expression was as much of an ice block as ever. As expected of the epitome of expressionlessness, Senia. But for whatever reason, she was being a little stubborn today. ¡°Why is it that I draw attention?¡± ¡°¡­¡± ¡°What does Player Kim Hyukjin think that reason is?¡± Obviously because you¡¯re overly pretty. Pointlessly so. ¡°Please tell me the reason.¡± What did this angel want to hear? ¡°Because, well, you look interesting.¡± Senia¡¯s wings fluttered for a very brief moment. ¡°Interesting?¡± ¡°You have wings.¡± ¡°Is that interesting? Wilson over there is a tree. Isn¡¯t that more interesting?¡± Was it just my imagination that she was getting particularly irritated today? ¡°Anyway, you¡¯re getting in the way of Playing.¡± Your appearance attracts too much attention, okay? ¡°This interesting-looking angel will switch to invisible mode.¡± Her prim way of speech was the same as usual, but it felt even more curt today. Well, her coldness wasn¡¯t a one or two day thing. I decided not to think about it anymore. ¡®Let¡¯s see¡­¡¯ In the past, the Italian server fell short in combat Player competence compared to the Korean server. ¡®Now¡­ they¡¯re on a similar level with Korea, I guess.¡¯ It was true that the level of Korean Players had declined because of me. They also had less crisis awareness. ¡®But it still feels like the combat ability of Korean Players is a touch higher.¡¯ I scanned my surroundings with Observer¡¯s Eye. The result of my observation was that on average, Korean Players had a little more combat prowess than Italian Players. ¡®However, the craftsman and production classes¡­¡¯ There was bound to be a big difference there. In the first place, the Italian server tended to have high growth in Players of that area. With that, I finished my general evaluation of the server. ¡®But¡­¡¯ A group of Players was camped in front of the fountain. I knew one of them. * * * Translator ¨C Lei Proofreader ¨C Ash * * * ¡®What was his name again?¡¯ I couldn¡¯t remember his name¡ªhe wasn¡¯t a Ranker. I just remembered his face. Name: Beratto Ah, right. Beratto. An extremely famous racist and Youtuber Player. ¡®He assaulted Koreans multiple times, inciting public rage.¡¯ There was another thing he was famous for. ¡®His class is similar to Lee Sungcheol¡¯s.¡¯ He was a Player with a power similar to the Gatekeeper Lee Sungcheol¡¯s, someone who was most powerful in places set as ¡®entrances¡¯. His group noticed ours. ¡®Hostility?¡¯ Out of nowhere? ¡®Not towards me.¡¯ It wasn¡¯t directed at me, but at Vela. ¡°Vela. Do you know that person?¡± ¡°Who?¡± ¡°One of the Players camping in front of the fountain.¡± Vela peered at the group. ¡°No?¡± ¡°You don¡¯t know that man in the middle wearing the blue t-shirt?¡± ¡°I don¡¯t remember him at all?¡± ¡°I see.¡± He had no memory of him. Just then, Wilson showed himself. ¡°Vela, he¡¯s the guy you beat the living daylights out of fourteen days ago. You even brought him to the verge of death.¡± ¡°Really? Why?¡± He appeared to have zero memory of the person he hit. ¡°He was beaten for being a jackass in front of a gate.¡± ¡°Ah¡­!¡± Vela seemed to remember now. ¡°But wasn¡¯t that a Korean? And didn¡¯t he die?¡± The green leaf on Wilson¡¯s forehead shook. He immediately pressed a hand to it, very careful not to let it shake anymore. ¡°That¡¯s someone else.¡± ¡°Eh?¡± ¡°That was the Korean server.¡± Vela still looked like he didn¡¯t remember this guy at all. ¡®Well¡­ Vela¡¯s always had a lot of enemies.¡¯ His fiery personality had earned him a lot of fans, but also a lot of enemies. Beratto was probably one of Vela¡¯s many enemies. ¡®Passing through without trouble is gonna be hard.¡¯ For now, we walked up to the fountain. ¡®But do they know there¡¯s a gate at the fountain?¡¯ Even in the Italian server, only production class Players were maybe aware of it. It might be that Beratto¡¯s gatekeeper ability allowed him to sniff out the gate. I heard a voice. ¡°Stay back.¡± It was Beratto. ¡°Come any closer, and I¡¯ll kill you,¡± he growled. ¡°Are you talking to me?¡± ¡°That¡¯s right. You.¡± The hostility that had been directed at Vela earlier was now pointed at me. I had a good idea of why Beratto was doing that. ¡®His attitude is influenced by a Guardian.¡¯ And the Guardian wholeheartedly backing him most likely had a racist disposition. ¡°What does this yellow monkey think he¡¯s doing, stinking up the air with his breath?¡± He was intentionally using provoking language. ¡°It will be difficult to capture the hearts of many Guardians with such an extreme style of Playing.¡± ¡°What are you saying, you damn monkey¡­!¡± He didn¡¯t even dare look at Vela. Apparently, this battle nut had given him a really severe beating. Vela squinted at the guy. ¡°Were you ever beaten by me, by any chance?¡± ¡°¡­¡± Beratto flinched. There was a spark of rage in him, but fear won over his anger. Just how badly had Vela thrashed him? ¡°Looks like you need another beating today.¡± ¡°Shut up¡­!¡± Beratto shouted despite his fear. ¡®Because he gets stronger in front of a gate.¡¯ The fountain itself was a gate. Activating it by fulfilling special conditions would allow us to teleport to the Forest of Dwarfs. The confidence slowly began to return to Beratto¡¯s face. ¡®Well, he prolly got some support or something.¡¯ Fighting Beratto wasn¡¯t my objective, and I had no intention of wasting a bunch of time here. ¡°You must have camped here knowing there was a gate, but we will be going through.¡± ¡°Shut up, monkey. How dare a mere monkey butt in when humans are talking.¡± Vela brandished a fist. ¡°Wilson. I¡¯m killing him, okay?¡± I stepped in front of him. ¡°You can¡¯t kill.¡± This was related to what I said earlier. Guardians with extreme dispositions would like to see this guy killed, but the majority of Guardians with moderate dispositions wouldn¡¯t be particularly pleased with killing someone over something so minor. In other words, it was a polarizing Play. To achieve great success, it was best to aim for Play that wasn¡¯t polarizing. ¡®Also¡­¡¯ Even outside of that reason¡ª ¡®Murder isn¡¯t right.¡¯ A person killing another person wasn¡¯t right. I wanted to avoid unnecessary killing if it wasn¡¯t a special case like with Seo Joohwan. That was what I thought in the past, and that was what I would continue to think. ¡°The monkey can¡¯t go through. If you guys wanna go through, cough up the Coins.¡± ¡°¡­¡± ¡°Ah, right. If the monkey wants to go through, just gimme 10,000 Coins. It¡¯ll be 7,000 Coins for you guys.¡± Pedro appeared to know Beratto already. ¡°It was 5,000 Coins before!¡± ¡°That was then. The price has gone up today.¡± ¡°Killing him would be easier,¡± Vela muttered. I took one step forward. I felt a weak authority from the gate. Water surged skyward from the fountain and formed a spear. ¡°Monkeys need to be beaten to see reason.¡± The spear made of water rushed towards me. I didn¡¯t dodge. I just let it hit me. Szzzz¨C! The spear vaporized and disappeared when it hit me. That was because the fire ki within me was far stronger than the water ki the spear possessed. ¡°You seem to be rather confident in your skills.¡± I once destroyed a distorted authority made by the Shepherd Boy as well as the distorted authority of the Yellow Charm Gate. Compared to that, breaking an authority of this level was child¡¯s play. ¡°Your Playing doesn¡¯t break the rules.¡± This Play of occupying a gate and displaying great power there to extort tolls wasn¡¯t against the rules. That was his ability, after all. ¡°But it¡¯s also not an upright and fair style of Playing.¡± The System had a tendency to seek ¡®fair Play¡¯. ¡°Distorted authorities can be easily broken, you see.¡± Basically, I had the type advantage. Freeing a gate was closer to ¡®fairness¡¯ than blocking it with force. Gates were made by the System to be entered, not blocked. The System settings would take my side. ¡°I¡¯ll give you one chance before I break it. Back off.¡± It wasn¡¯t that great to cause a fuss in another server. The Guardians of that server didn¡¯t really like it when Players from another server made a ruckus in theirs. At least the majority didn¡¯t. Beratto chortled. ¡°Is a dog barking somewhere?¡± ¡­And that was the last thing he said before Vela¡¯s fist met his face. [May all lies.] [Be shattered.] Beratto¡¯s authority shattered with my quiet incantation, and Beratto was beaten half an inch from death by Vela. ¡°Sp-Spare me.¡± ¡°Apologize for calling my friend a monkey and all that. If you don¡¯t, I¡¯ll pull out your tongue.¡± Beratto kneeled in front of me, desperately rubbing his hands. Snot and tears ran down his face as he professed he would never do it again, but I didn¡¯t pay him much heed. It was a waste of time and mental energy to pay attention to a small fry like Beratto. A lot of people started filming us in the process. Of course, I was using Cognitive Dissonance. ¡°¡­I will activate the gate,¡± said Pedro. A gate that could only be activated by a special class. I was suddenly able to click the fountain. [Move to the ¡®Forest of Dwarfs¡¯?] After a short ruckus, we were able to make it to the Forest of Dwarfs, a forest of steel. It was indeed a forest, but one made of iron, gold, and countless other minerals. ¡®That¡¯s¡­¡¯ I spotted an object I could click with my eyes, a silver stone laying on the ground. [Ten-Thousand-Year-Old Cold Iron] Cold iron that is at least ten thousand years old. A mineral with an extremely cold nature, only special people can handle Ten-Thousand-Year-Old Cold Iron. *Cannot be collected I couldn¡¯t collect it. ¡®There¡¯s Ten-Thousand-Year-Old Cold Iron here?¡¯ As I examined the surroundings, Vela interrupted me. ¡°Hyukjin. Can I just ask one thing?¡± ¡°What?¡± ¡°That gate just now, how did you do it? You muttered something and that guy totally freaked out.¡± I shrugged. I learned an incantation from Vela, a very basic one. That meant Vela would one day come to know about the existence of incantations as well. ¡°An incantation.¡± Not just Vela, but Pedro was focusing on me. Pedro seemed extremely fascinated with me breaking Beratto¡¯s authority as well. ¡°An incantation? What¡¯s that?¡± ¡°It¡¯s like a chant that draws out a special strength. You¡¯ll learn about them later, too.¡± ¡°¡­¡± Vela scratched his head. ¡°You really do amaze me more and more. And here I was, priding myself as a Ranker. Next to you, I¡¯m such a country bumpkin that I¡¯m not even from this planet.¡± Something seemed to occur to him. ¡°But that gate earlier, could it have been broken with this, too? I was actually thinking of using it.¡± ____ Chapter 183 Chapter 183 Vela pulled out an item. ¡®Huh?¡¯ I was very familiar with it. ¡®A Gate Opener?¡¯ This item that looked almost like a bottle opener had the ability to forcibly open a gate you hadn¡¯t met the activation conditions for. It wasn¡¯t a terribly rare item, but neither was it terribly common. ¡°Where did you get that?¡± ¡°In Korea.¡± ¡°Korea?¡± It was a bit iffy to call a Gate Opener a precious treasure, but it still wasn¡¯t beginner period appropriate. That thing had already appeared in Korea during the beginner period? ¡®Well, there¡¯s no law saying it can¡¯t show up.¡¯ The world I once knew and the world I knew now were different. Rankers had a world of their own that the public could neither approach nor imagine. Even I had already seen two transcendent items. ¡°That, uh. Um. Wilson, where was it again?¡± ¡°D-Tower.¡± ¡°Ah right, D-Tower. There was a punk doing something similar on the 1st floor of the D-Tower Dungeon.¡± Ah. Was he talking about the Gatekeeper Lee Sungcheol? ¡®He got nailed by Vela.¡¯ I suspected that Lee Sungcheol was no longer of this world. Recalling the conversation earlier, it seemed Vela killed him. ¡®That¡¯s right. This is the kind of person Vela is.¡¯ He was neither good nor evil. Pure was more apt. A single-celled organism who liked what he liked and disliked what he disliked. ¡®Vela killed Lee Sungcheol.¡¯ From that, I could extrapolate that Lee Sungcheol had dropped this Gate Opener. ¡®Right. That¡¯s the kind of world this is.¡¯ I didn¡¯t like killing. No, I belonged to the camp of people who greatly disliked it. That was natural for any normal person. Killing a human, when I didn¡¯t even feel good about killing a bug? But that was the kind of world I lived in. A world where no one would bat an eye even if a Player killed another Player. I had to get more used to this world. ¡°Killing people in another server isn¡¯t that great of an idea.¡± There were bound to be Guardians attached to one specific server, and they usually didn¡¯t like seeing Players from other servers kill their server¡¯s Players. Vela tilted his head. ¡°You say the same things as Wilson, huh?¡± He scratched his head. ¡°Hey, Hyukjin. Could it be that you¡¯re an Intermediate Administrator?¡± ¡°I¡¯m a Player.¡± ¡°But how are you like that?¡± ¡°Like what?¡± ¡°How come I get the feeling you know everything?¡± ¡°Didn¡¯t you hear that I have Precognitive Eye?¡± ¡°You¡¯ve really gotta wonder what the heck you are.¡± Vela didn¡¯t seem to quite get it, but he quickly accepted it by sheer force. ¡°Alright then, Mr. Precognitive Eye Archer. What should we do now? I have no idea where to go. I¡¯m bad at directions.¡± I turned to look at Pedro. ¡°Mr. Pedro.¡± ¡°Yes?¡± ¡°You see that over there? The Ten-Thousand-Year-Old Cold Iron.¡± ¡°Yes¡­!¡± Pedro¡¯s eyes were full of greed. The desire to possess that Ten-Thousand-Year-Old Cold Iron was blazing from him like a bonfire. ¡°You¡¯re bitter and resentful that it¡¯s not collectable, right?¡± ¡°Of course. That thing seems to be something incredible.¡± ¡°You should be able to collect it now.¡± ¡°Huh? How?¡± ¡°I gave you the Tomb-Pilfering Shovel.¡± The Tomb-Pilfering Shovel was a thief class exclusive. But Pedro had the thief class. Master, and thief. I had the feeling they didn¡¯t match, but whatever. Pedro murmured like he hadn¡¯t quite understood yet, ¡°The Tomb-Pilfering Shovel is¡­¡± A thief class exclusive, right? I¡¯ll make an excuse for you. ¡°It¡¯s exclusive for production class Players, isn¡¯t it? Don¡¯t you have a production class, Mr. Pedro?¡± ¡°¡­What?¡± To be honest, it was a completely ridiculous thing to say. Even its name was ¡®Tomb-Pilfering Shovel¡¯. The name implied zero connection to the production class. But that didn¡¯t matter. This was, after all, a world rife with ridiculous things. ¡°I do have a production class, yes.¡± ¡°Then can¡¯t you collect it?¡± Pedro hesitated a little at my ¡®what¡¯s the issue then¡¯ query. He was probably trying to figure out what I meant. ¡°If it were me, I would have collected it immediately.¡± People were prone to believe what they wanted, Pedro even more so. ¡°I bought that item from a certain Player. When the original owner had it, it didn¡¯t have a restriction.¡± If the previous owner, the poor budding thief Gu Sungmin were to hear that, he would probably go bonkers and cuss me to high heaven. However, Gu Sungmin wasn¡¯t here. Sorry, Sungmin. ¡°So I tried getting a refund from the Korean Players Association, and it turned into a heated battle.¡± ¡°Something like that happened?¡± Of course not. But I could just write it into existence. The Korean Players Association basically belonged to Sungshin, and Sungshin would actively cooperate with me. I could create events that hadn¡¯t happened. ¡°Yes. There should be a record of the incident if you check with the Korean Players Association.¡± Actually, me saying such pointless things in this much detail should be suspicious. However, Pedro didn¡¯t doubt me. He probably wanted to believe what I was saying. ¡°I see,¡± Pedro said. ¡°So that¡¯s what happened. Actually, when I first saw it, it was a thief class exclusive.¡± That¡¯s right. That¡¯s what the shovel always has been, and your subclass is thief. You¡¯re taking the bait nicely. ¡°But listening to your words seems to have fulfilled a condition. It¡¯s now restricted to production classes only.¡± ¡°As I thought. Whenever it changes owners, whenever special conditions are met, the restriction conditions are set to randomly change.¡± ¡°I think that must be because it¡¯s a legendary item.¡± Yeah, nope. It was always a thief exclusive item. ¡°In that case, shall I try collecting this?¡± * * * Translator ¨C Lei Proofreader ¨C Ash * * * In the end, Pedro successfully collected the Ten-Thousand-Year-Old Cold Iron. The market was still developing right now, but Ten-Thousand-Year-Old Cold Iron was a valuable material that was worth more than its weight in gold. ¡°We need to go to the dwarfs¡¯ castle, the Winter Castle,¡± said Pedro. ¡°The Winter Castle?¡± I knew about it. A natural fortress the dwarfs made to block the attack of a dragon¡­ was the setting, but that actually had no meaning. ¡®A dragon never even appeared in the dwarf forest¡¯s crisis scenario.¡¯ Not even a speck of dragon scale showed up, and yet, that scenario nearly caused the Winter Castle¡¯s downfall. I didn¡¯t know the details because it happened in a foreign server, but that was the gist. ¡®They evaluated themselves too generously compared to their actual strength. Block the attack of a dragon? As if.¡¯ It would probably change later, but for now, dragons were classified as one of the strongest lifeforms on Earth. Granted, mankind hadn¡¯t come in direct contact with a single dragon. We only knew from various objects and circumstances that powerful beings called ¡®dragons¡¯ existed. In any case, the important thing was that the dwarfs had an extremely high evaluation of their own strength. Meaning, they couldn¡¯t see themselves objectively. It was the crystallization of their high pride. That wasn¡¯t necessarily a bad thing, but the fact that they looked down on and disdained others because of their excessive pride was a problem. Pedro seemed to be keenly aware of this as well. ¡°A lot of unpleasant things are probably going to happen. It¡¯s just that as a manly man, I¡¯ve looked past them with a magnanimous heart.¡± We walked through the forest made of steel. ¡°They¡¯re extremely rude and condescending folk, you see.¡± Pedro had probably gone through a lot. And yet, he likely went around with his head bowed because there was still so much to learn from the dwarfs. ¡°Vela, please just keep your mouth shut. If you act up, it¡¯s over.¡± ¡°Are dwarfs good at fighting?¡± ¡°Isn¡¯t it obvious from the way a manly man like me is just taking it with my mouth shut?¡± ¡°No. Why would a manly man just take it? You have to fight.¡± ¡°A true man knows when to act and when to back down. Would a bogus man like you know that?¡± ¡°¡­¡± Vela looked like there was a lot he wanted to say, but he refrained. It was pretty amusing to see the Fight King so helpless with his childhood friend. ¡°Anyway, don¡¯t act up. Got it?¡± ¡°Tch.¡± Vela shrugged. ¡°I¡¯ll level up and wreck them all.¡± He might be weak now, but he could just get strong and beat them up later. That seemed to be Vela¡¯s mindset at the moment. Nothing fazed this guy, seriously. ¡°Even if you do that later, for now, keep your mouth shut and crawl. That¡¯s what¡¯ll help us. Got it? Where¡¯s your promise? It can¡¯t be that you¡¯re hankering for manly man¡¯s beatdown, is it?¡± ¡°G-Got it.¡± Vela waved his hand with exasperation, looking very annoyed by Pedro¡¯s nagging. It was like watching a middle schooler listening to his mom¡¯s nagging. ¡°That¡¯s the Winter Castle,¡± Pedro said. Cliffs surrounded it on all sides, surging up so high their tips reached the sky. Sparks were coming off from the areas touching the clouds. ¡®A place covered in steel, clouds, and snow.¡¯ That must be why it was called the Winter Castle. The castle was truly imposing. ¡®The walls are taller than most buildings.¡¯ I observed the Winter Castle with Observer¡¯s Eye. With its sturdy construction and the sense of oppression it gave off just by looking at it, the Winter Castle constructed by the dwarfs certainly seemed capable of fulfilling its role as a protective castle. ¡°The gatekeepers over there are super bad tempered. They¡¯re siblings, and I very nearly ended up attacking them. If not for my teacher, I really would have beat the shit out of them.¡± Pedro emphasized it again and again, saying that the dwarfs looked down on people, so we just had to deal with it. The closer we came to the Winter Castle, the more massive it loomed. It felt even bigger than its actual size, like it had become a living giant and was pressing me into the ground. ¡®The Winter Castle.¡¯ I couldn¡¯t observe everything with my current abilities. But this Winter Castle surely had ¡®hidden settings¡¯ as well. I didn¡¯t know what those were, but I knew they existed. ¡®What is this feeling?¡¯ My heart began to quiver strangely. A thrill coursed through my body, almost like I was facing my first love. ¡®There¡¯s definitely something.¡¯ After coming here in person, I could tell. It would take time to figure out what it was. We went closer. The Winter Castle didn¡¯t have a physical entrance, but I did see two dwarfs in front of a magic circle I could feel was an entrance. They were just 130 centimetres tall. But their muscles were overwhelming for their short stature. Even their hair seemed to be made of buff muscles. They had helms that looked like Viking helmets on their heads. All the hair on their bodies was dark red, down to their eyebrows and lashes. What was interesting was that their eyebrows were so long they covered the eyes, and their dark red beards grew all the way down to their bellies. From their very first words, they were rude. ¡°Who the heck are you?¡± ¡°Your identities?¡± Interestingly, even without using a Translation Marble, I could understand their language, as could Vela and Pedro. It was a really minor detail, but I didn¡¯t miss it. ¡®There¡¯s something here.¡¯ The dwarfs were hiding a secret I didn¡¯t know. ¡°Haa, the smell of humans. Disgusting.¡± ¡°It¡¯s nasty, so nasty.¡± The two dwarfs were apparently twins. No wonder they looked the same. I couldn¡¯t read their names or levels because they were far stronger than me. ¡°If not for the Elder¡¯s orders, I¡¯d have smashed in your artless heads on sight.¡± ¡°Wouldn¡¯t it be better to make them slaves?¡± ¡°Hm. That does sound like a fine idea.¡± ¡°These guys are pretty good-looking, so they would also make fine decorations.¡± They said everything and anything with no restraint in front of the people involved. I didn¡¯t get all that mad. This was the kind of race dwarfs were. ¡°But what should we do about them, Brother?¡± I didn¡¯t get mad at their insulting words, but I nearly felt a vein pop upon hearing that ¡®brother¡¯. These two were fraternal twins¡ªone was a man, and the other was a woman, even though they looked, by all accounts, completely identical. ¡®I did hear their genders can¡¯t be distinguished by appearance.¡¯ Apparently, those words were spot on. ¡°The Elder said to only let in guys that smell like iron.¡± ¡°But only one of them smells like iron?¡± ¡°Right? That guy¡¯s the one doted on by the Elder. Then shall we kill the other two?¡± ¡°Isn¡¯t it better to capture them and make them slaves? We can also make them living sculptures.¡± I read Pedro¡¯s status. He was extremely anxious and fearful of these two dwarfs. I stepped forward, which made Pedro flinch. He was already fearful, but became even more scared. Where did your manly man pride go, Mr. Pedro? ¡®It¡¯s alright.¡¯ I was well aware of the dwarfs¡¯ natures. I hadn¡¯t come all the way to the Winter Castle with zero countermeasures. I valued my life. ¡°You guys will have no choice but to let me in.¡± The ¡®brother¡¯ of the twins scowled. He raised his axe high. ¡°You¡¯re suddenly talking down to us? Are you asking for death? You bastard who doesn¡¯t even smell like iron, how dare you¡­!¡± If I was hit by that axe, I would die on the spot. I took another step forward, as if I weren¡¯t afraid of that little axe at all. ¡°You will regret it if you kill me.¡± ¡°Hmph! Why would I? Seeing as you like to blather nonsense, looks like we¡¯ll have to start by cutting out your tongue.¡± The dwarf waddled forward with his short legs. He was waddling, but the power I could feel from his stride drew a stark contrast. It was like a lump of muscle was toddling towards me. I stared calmly at the dwarf. He stopped right in front of me and raised his axe. ¡°I¡¯ll cut off your tongue, then turn you into a statue and admire my work.¡± ¡°You¡¯ll regret it. Because I know where Millenium Lava is.¡± That was when someone appeared from within the Winter Castle. This place had no physical door, but someone popped out from the castle wall. Pedro seemed to know who they were. ¡°Teacher?¡± An elder, dwarf nobility, made an appearance. Seeing as Pedro called them ¡®teacher¡¯, this dwarf must be ¡®Elder Bufafa¡¯. But this elder began to say something strange. The scenario I had drawn out started to go slightly awry¡­ in a very good way. ____ Chapter 184 Chapter 184 The golden magic circle inscribed on the wall glowed, and from it appeared a new dwarf. ¡®His beard¡­ is dragging on the ground.¡¯ In dwarf society, the longer your beard, the higher your status. This dwarf was only around 140 centimetres tall, but the beard flowing from his chin appeared over two meters long. ¡®Elder Bufafa.¡¯ As an elder, his status ranked within the top ten in the world of the dwarfs. ¡®A dwarf master who receives both respect and admiration from the dwarfs.¡¯ That was a suitable description for him. Other than his beard being long, it was hard to tell him apart appearance-wise from the gatekeeper twins. Even to someone with Observer¡¯s Eye like me, the dwarfs all looked so similar that I would really have to go all out observing them to barely discern some differences. ¡®In that respect, Pedro¡¯s got a really good eye.¡¯ I didn¡¯t think Pedro picked out Elder Bufafa by his beard alone. As expected of someone who would rise to Master position in the future. The elder approached me. ¡°May I ask¡­ just who you are?¡± I couldn¡¯t read him with Eye of Perception. As expected, he was way higher level than me. ¡®A dwarf is being this respectful?¡¯ Even someone respected among humans as a Master, Pedro, was never offered such a cordial and courteous attitude by the dwarfs. So why was I, a Player in the beginner period, being given such respect? And by an elder dwarf? For now, I put out my hand. Thankfully, I knew a little about dwarf etiquette. Their society was very different from human society. In their world, when a person offered a handshake first, it meant ¡®I respect you¡¯. The gatekeepers seemed to be failing to understand what was happening. ¡°Brother. Do the elder and that toy-to-be know each other?¡± ¡°Watch your mouth. The elder accepted his handshake.¡± Handshakes weren¡¯t a common occurrence in dwarf society. If offering a handshake meant ¡®I respect you¡¯, then receiving it meant ¡®I like you as well¡¯. ¡°That¡¯s just ¡®cus¡­ the elder is weirdly friendly to humans.¡± But the elder I had seen on Youtube wasn¡¯t very friendly. Pedro and the countless other production class Players were hit time and time again by the elder and the dwarfs, to the point that those videos were once put under review and publicly criticized. ¡°Even so, this much respect means he¡¯s acknowledging that human.¡± ¡°Who would have thought the elder would accept a human¡¯s handshake?¡± Elder Bufafa spoke to me over the gatekeeper twins¡¯ shocked words. ¡°I feel great achievement from you. Just who are you, if I may ask?¡± ¡°¡­¡± Great achievement. ¡®Is he talking about the stigma?¡¯ A special value that certain people could sense. Something extraordinary that only they could see. ¡®What part of me would a dwarf feel great achievement from?¡¯ I thought a little. The elder asked again. ¡°Just who are you?¡± From that, I had a hunch. This was the elder¡¯s test. I didn¡¯t get a notice, but it was like a quest. ¡®A test to see if I am cognizant of my own achievement or not.¡¯ That was the important thing to this elder. ¡®If I¡¯m unable to find the right answer¡­¡¯ His current attitude would take a complete 180. I was lucky enough to possess an achievement held sacred by dwarfs, yet I didn¡¯t even know it. To an elder dwarf, that was more than enough to insult. ¡°I¡­¡± I thought a little more. I needed to pull off this pseudo-quest nicely for all the future scenarios to go smoothly. Seeing as the gatekeepers were unable to say a thing, this elder was very likely a big shot even among the big shots. ¡®An achievement a dwarf would hold sacred.¡¯ Dwarfs were the eternal idols of the production classes. Everyone knew even the humans we called Masters weren¡¯t even close to a dwarf¡¯s skill. ¡®Production class.¡¯ I couldn¡¯t see the elder dwarf¡¯s eyes because they were covered by his eyebrows, but I could certainly feel it. Expectation was shining in his eyes. The greater the expectation, the greater the disappointment if those hopes were unmet. Just then, I noticed something. ¡®Massive walls.¡¯ The magnum opus of the dwarfs. ¡®The Winter Castle, erected to defend against a dragon.¡¯ They claimed it could ward off a dragon. I didn¡¯t know if these snow-covered walls really could block an unknown being of legends, but this Winter Castle was a work of love that showed what the dwarfs valued. I gave my response. ¡°I am a Guardian Tower Master.¡± ¡°As I thought¡­!¡± The elder¡¯s brows quivered, revealing a glimpse of his eyes. His completely black eyes examined me. ¡°Would you be so generous as to tell me the name of your Guardian Tower?¡± ¡°My Guardian Tower is¡­¡± That moment, I thought of Ahn Seohye. What was the Guardian Tower now? Was it Tintin, or Seohye? Technically, ¡®Tintin¡¯ was the correct name. ¡®But¡­ is that the name this dwarf wants to hear?¡¯ I didn¡¯t think so. It was a bit embarrassing to say so, but it surely meant something that a person with good ¡®intuition¡¯ like me thought of Ahn Seohye at this moment. I trusted my intuition and gut. At a time like this, you could just say both. With well-matched timing. ¡°Ahn Seohye,¡± I said. The dwarf tilted his head. ¡°I haven¡¯t heard that name before at all.¡± ¡°She is the soul with guardian will who has become one with my Guardian Tower, Tintin.¡± I didn¡¯t know what he wanted, so I threw everything at him. ¡°She is the owner of the Red Eyes. Ahn Seohye is the Barrier Magician of red thread who was born with a destiny that may have led her onto the path of becoming a Red Demon.¡± ¡°¡­¡± The dwarf¡¯s beard began to writhe and twist. ¡°I see, so the Guardian Tower Master bestowed new will and life to the mighty structure that is a Guardian Tower.¡± ¡°¡­¡± ¡°I welcome you to the Winter Castle.¡± I heard a notice. [Elder Bufafa of the Winter Castle welcomes the Guardian Tower Master.] [The Winter Castle permits the entry of the Guardian Tower Master and his companions.] That moment, a large, circular hole appeared in the Winter Castle, clearly revealing the interior of the Winter Castle. ¡®An intense heat.¡¯ I could feel fierce heat coming from within. ¡®I can feel immense fire ki.¡¯ Blazing within was fire ki of a higher grade than the fire ki I gained from the Fire Giants. I felt higher grade fire ki again afterwards via the Blackfire Bow. Those experiences bolstered me, making me more sensitive to the heat I felt now. ¡®I want to go inside.¡¯ My heart thumped. ¡®Fire Giants. And the Blackfire Bow.¡¯ And then, this incredibly pure fire ki radiating from the inside of the Winter Castle. ¡®If I go inside¡­¡¯ I became sure of it. ¡®I will see a new path.¡¯ My heart raced, and my limbs trembled. My throat suddenly felt dry, so dry it felt like it was cracking. ¡®Stay calm.¡¯ Rushing would only backfire. The heat ki in my body hungered for the heat ki within the Winter Castle. I had the feeling that satisfying this hunger too hastily would only result in indigestion. ¡°Please come inside. To the Winter Castle of the dwarfs.¡± * * * Translator ¨C Lei Proofreader ¨C Ash * * * Pedro couldn¡¯t stop being amazed. ¡°Whoaa.¡± There was nothing under their feet, but they could walk over the empty air. Pedro said, ¡°Elder. You haven¡¯t escorted me like this before, have you?¡± At the same time, Pedro needed to clench his lips. That was because something struck his head. The elder¡¯s beard moved like a living creature and delivered a resounding smack. Amazingly, the elder¡¯s beard formed a hammer shape on its own and then reverted back to normal. ¡°Shut up. I never said you could open your mouth.¡± Pedro muttered very quietly to himself. ¡°¡­A manly man is tight-lipped.¡± That earned him another bonk. A manly man doesn¡¯t cry. A manly man doesn¡¯t scream. Pedro barely endured the pain as he walked. ¡®A manly man doesn¡¯t hold grudges.¡¯ But this was a bit upsetting. Ever since his first class quest, he went into the Winter Castle multiple times. Every single time, he was kicked inside. He had never gone into the Winter Castle on foot before. ¡®I was kicked in the behind and forcibly thrown in.¡¯ The Winter Castle was unique. When the elder kicked his butt, he was sent crashing into the Winter Castle and blacked out every time. When he came to, he was always inside the castle. ¡®Seriously, why do I have to be abused like that when I could just walk in normally like this?¡¯ A manly man didn¡¯t hold grudges. ¡®Mark my words, I¡¯ll kick that old coot¡¯s butt one day.¡¯ As Pedro walked, he became even more curious about this person named Kim Hyukjin. ¡®The dwarfs¡­ don¡¯t often show goodwill to humans.¡¯ This wasn¡¯t just goodwill, but almost VIP treatment. He wasn¡¯t even a production class Player. Pedro heard he was an archer. Just what kind of archer was treated so hospitably by a dwarf? Pedro really had no idea who this guy was. ¡®He¡¯s also not affected by the fire ki inside the Winter Castle?¡¯ Even a fire magician would struggle with the heat inside the Winter Castle. Only ¡®specially chosen production class Players¡¯ could safely withstand the power of the Sacred Flame burning in the central square of the Winter Castle. ¡®I couldn¡¯t even breathe and passed out my first time.¡¯ He was lucky and survived back then, but he could have easily died. In fact, Vela was currently huffing and puffing like he would go belly up any moment now. ¡°Elder,¡± said Kim Hyukjin. ¡°The miraculous and incredible power of the Sacred Flame of the dwarfs can have a negative effect on some humans. I beseech you to please have mercy and lend your assistance so this dull and foolish human is not burned to death by the Sacred Flame.¡± ¡°¡­¡± The elder stopped in the middle of walking in midair. ¡°I see that the Guardian Tower Master knows many things. It seems you have special eyes.¡± ¡°That is correct.¡± The elder retrieved something from within his beard. ¡°Hmph, you useless thing.¡± He gave Vela a red pill. ¡°Eat it.¡± His attitude was day and night from when he talked to Hyukjin. To the dwarf elder, Vela wasn¡¯t ¡®Kim Hyukjin¡¯s companion¡¯ or ¡®Kim Hyukjin¡¯s friend¡¯, but an ¡®independent creature¡¯. In dwarf society, acting like this was absolutely not because he looked down on Kim Hyukjin. Knowing that, Hyukjin didn¡¯t take much issue with it. These people had their own ways and rules, after all. Gulp. After swallowing the pill, Vela breathed a long sigh of relief. ¡°I¡¯m thankful and all, old sir,¡± he began. ¡°¡­¡± ¡°But are you goo¡ªmmph! Mmgh!¡± Pedro clapped a hand over his mouth. Vela flailed. The guy was very weak towards his childhood friend. His physical strength was definitely superior, but Vela was unable to escape Pedro¡¯s vice. Before long, the group was back on the ground. They kept walking. It wasn¡¯t normal ¡®walking¡¯. A magic circle appeared with every step. They were definitely walking in a straight line, but they were teleporting wildly through space. ¡®Sometimes to the left, sometimes to the right.¡¯ They were walking forward, but the direction they teleported differed every time. ¡®I can¡¯t make out a rule¡­ to where we¡¯re going.¡¯ It might even be that a teleportation array was being created on the spot in the direction the elder wanted. ¡®Or that I can¡¯t figure out the rule right now at my level.¡¯ They walked for about three minutes, reaching a humble smithy. That smithy was the elder¡¯s home. ¡®The smithy¡­¡¯ Ordinary people could not approach it. That was because the smithy itself was on fire. It wasn¡¯t an accidental fire. This was how the smithy was made from the beginning. ¡°Is the esteemed guest gracing this place¡­¡± Hyukjin didn¡¯t say anything about it, but the elder brought it up. ¡°¡­in order to restore that which bears traces of a king, by any chance?¡± That was when he heard a notice. [The ¡®Commandment of Iron and Gold and Silver and Fire¡¯ has begun to take effect.] ____ Chapter 185 Chapter 185 [The ¡®Commandment of Iron and Gold and Silver and Fire¡¯ has begun to take effect.] A System-determined commandment, a setting of the System, took effect. The dwarf elder Bufafa continued talking. ¡°You who wish to shine light on the king¡¯s luster. You must pioneer your own path.¡± I heard another notice. [In accordance with the ¡®Commandment of Iron and Gold and Silver and Fire¡¯, a quest has been given.] [The quest ¡®Commandment of Iron and Gold and Silver and Fire¡¯ has been triggered.] I checked it immediately. [Commandment of Iron and Gold and Silver and Fire] Several materials are necessary in order to restore the ¡®Old Crown¡¯ in accordance with the commandment of the dwarfs. The first required material is ¡®Ten-Thousand Year Old Cold Iron¡¯. Once Ten-Thousand Year Old Cold Iron is acquired, the next step will be disclosed. Location: Entrance to the Forest of Dwarfs ¡°The Ten-Thousand Year Old Cold Iron is at the entrance of the forest outside the Winter Castle,¡± said Bufafa. Pedro flinched. That was natural, since he already had Ten-Thousand Year Old Cold Iron. He had collected it with the Tomb-Pilfering Shovel I¡¯d given him. I could give the elder the Ten-Thousand Year Old Cold Iron right this moment, but we needed more information. The Commandment of Iron and Gold and Silver and Fire was something I didn¡¯t know a thing about. ¡°Why is it that we need to collect that?¡± ¡°Because materials collected by human hands are necessary in order to refine human objects.¡± ¡°Does that make a difference?¡± ¡°It does. If Ten-Thousand Year Old Cold Iron collected by dwarf hands is used, the crown will never recover its original shine.¡± And an imperfect restoration would be an insult to a dwarf¡¯s pride. They were a race that pursued perfection in all things production. ¡°We already discovered the Ten-Thousand Year Old Cold Iron while coming in,¡± I said. ¡°I thought that would be the case. You are, after all, an individual with remarkably keen eyesight.¡± ¡°Then I am sure you know that humans are not permitted to collect Ten-Thousand Year Old Cold Iron.¡± ¡°¡­¡± Normally, it was impossible to collect. Bufafa¡¯s moment of speechlessness meant he knew that as well as we did. At least at our level, that mineral could not be collected. ¡°Restoring the crown¡¯s shine will require a series of long journeys, I¡¯m afraid,¡± said the elder with a slightly apologetic expression. ¡°Which means there will inevitably be trials in that long journey.¡± Bufafa nodded. ¡°It may take a long time.¡± ¡°May I ask one thing?¡± ¡°Of course.¡± ¡°Why is the Ten-Thousand Year Old Cold Iron necessary?¡± Looking at the quest, the Ten-Thousand Year Old Cold Iron was only the beginning. Once it was obtained and delivered, another step of the process would be divulged. ¡°Ten-Thousand Year Old Cold Iron is necessary¡±¡ªBufafa hesitated a little before continuing¡ª¡°in order to produce a bowl to store Millenium Lava.¡± As I thought. My guess was correct. A bowl to store Millenium Lava could be made only with Ten-Thousand Year Old Cold Iron. And that bowl could only be made by two races in the world, the dwarfs and the pixies. ¡°I heard what you said earlier in front of the Winter Castle. I told you ahead of time since you will come to know of it anyway.¡± I told the gatekeepers that I knew the location of Millenium Lava. ¡°If just collecting the Ten-Thousand Year Old Cold Iron might require a long journey, I would assume bringing the Millenium Lava will be an even greater trial,¡± I responded. ¡°Yes.¡± Bufafa didn¡¯t make any guarantees. ¡°Recovering the king¡¯s luster will be a work of intense toil and difficulty.¡± Bufafa¡¯s eyes were wide open. They were filled with passion so fierce I could feel it with Eye of Perception. The fact I could read the emotions of someone this high level so keenly meant Bufafa was simply that earnest. ¡°Even so, don¡¯t give up.¡± ¡°¡­¡± This matter seemed to be quite important to the dwarf elder as well, though I didn¡¯t know why. ¡°Thank you for your earnest advice and encouragement.¡± ¡°Not at all. I apologize for not being able to help you more. The commandment of the dwarfs has my hands tied.¡± I nodded. ¡°I understand. The commandment of the dwarfs is a sacred thing, after all.¡± ¡°May the blessing of the Sacred Flame, Athenae, be with you.¡± I jumped on the opportunity. ¡°By the Sacred Flame, Athenae, are you referring to that clear and pure flame blazing in the center of the Winter Castle square?¡± The ¡®Blacksmith¡¯s Flame¡¯ only dwarfs were said to be able to handle was the source of the unsullied fire ki I had felt as soon as I entered the Winter Castle. ¡°Yes.¡± ¡°In order to obtain the Ten-Thousand Year Old Cold Iron and the Millenium Lava to restore the king¡¯s luster, may I greet the Sacred Flame, Athenae?¡± ¡°¡­¡± Bufafa hesitated for a moment. [The ¡®Whispering Devil¡¯ is having fun.] It appeared the Whispering Devil already knew what I was trying to do. [The ¡®Giant of the Sunset¡¯ begins to watch what you are doing.] Choi Sung-gu wasn¡¯t even here, but a Guardian as biased as the Giant of the Sunset went all the way to the Italian server. If Sung-gu was his favorite, maybe I was his second-favorite. ¡®Sung-gu should be clearing the Gran Seoul Dungeon.¡¯ I asked Song Kiyeol to slow things down, so the clear was probably progressing at a snail¡¯s pace. ¡®The fact that the Giant of the Sunset came here means¡­¡¯ Even with his favorite Playing there, the Giant of the Sunset was unable to derive sufficient enjoyment from the Korean server. In other words, Kiyeol was doing a good job for me. ¡®The Whispering Devil¡¯s come to the Italian server, too.¡¯ That basically meant Song Junghye hadn¡¯t started her petty tricks yet. If she had, the Whispering Devil would be watching the Gran Seoul Dungeon. The two Guardians told me exactly what was happening in Korea. ¡°I may have to travel a long, long path. Elder, you very clearly wished the blessing of the Sacred Flame, Athenae, upon me.¡± ¡°I did.¡± ¡°Are humans not allowed to give their greetings to Athenae?¡± ¡°That¡¯s not the case, but¡­¡± Bufafa¡¯s eyebrows quivered. He seemed a little flustered. ¡°That energy is too clean and pure, so¡­¡± He trailed off. He seemed to be struggling to find a polite way to say, ¡®You may burn to death¡¯. This was definitely unprecedented. Normally, the elder would have just shot down the request with a ¡®You¡¯ll burn to death, fool¡¯. There was definitely something going on for a dwarf of his stature to treat a human like myself with such courtesy. ¡°That, too, would be my fate, as prescribed by the commandment. If the Commandment of Iron and Gold and Silver and Fire favors me, I will be graced with the protection of the commandment even in front of the Sacred Flame. That is how sacred the commandment is.¡± ¡°¡­¡± Bufafa¡¯s beard quivered like there was an earthquake happening there. That incredibly long beard moved on its own to form a thumbs up. It was like when a [!] mark popped up over Darongi¡¯s head. It looked like this thumbs up wasn¡¯t a conscious action made by Bufafa, but an independent movement of his beard. ¡°Your faith in the commandment exceeds imagination.¡± Bufafa seemed to think I valued the holiness and worth of the commandment more than my life. I began to see things I hadn¡¯t been able to see before. State: Honest Admiration / Surprise Summary: Dwarf Elder whose Prejudice Against Humans has Slightly Cracked Of course, it was only visible for a fraction of a second. Bufafa¡¯s stats were too high compared to mine to keep seeing it. [The ¡®Whispering Devil¡¯ has sent you a 300 Coin sponsorship.] ¡°Very well,¡± said Bufafa. ¡°I will guide you to Athenae.¡± * * * Translator ¨C Lei Proofreader ¨C Ash * * * Athenae, the Sacred Flame, was the fire used by the dwarfs for all their smithery. It was the fire that had accompanied the dwarfs throughout their history, a mighty flame that had never once gone out within the Winter Castle. Burning high in the Winter Castle central square was the holy flame. Countless eyes were drawn to the party of humans that were walking towards it. ¡°Humans?¡± ¡°Humans, here?¡± ¡°It¡¯s Elder Bufafa!¡± ¡°Elder Bufafa brought humans here?¡± Clang¨C! Clang¨C! Clangs of hammers echoing in the air ceased, giving way to shocked murmurs. A considerable number of dwarfs stopped their work and came outside to stare at the humans. ¡°He¡¯s taking humans to the Sacred Flame?¡± ¡°Whoa. Just what are those humans?¡± ¡°Elder Bufafa is friendly to humans, after all.¡± ¡°Could it be that he wants to make a life offering to Athenae?¡± As Hyukjin guessed, Bufafa was a highly respected elder in dwarf society. The dwarfs murmured amongst themselves, but no one blocked Bufafa¡¯s path. ¡°Yeah, that must be it.¡± ¡°I see, so he¡¯s offering human lives as a sacrifice.¡± Hyukjin¡¯s ear picked up many snippets. The dwarfs didn¡¯t really bother to lower their voices. ¡°But will even one of those humans really be able to come close to Athenae¡¯s flame?¡± ¡°It¡¯s hard even for us.¡± Even among the dwarfs, only those born with a special talent for fire were able to approach the Sacred Flame. What would happen if a human were to try? ¡°They¡¯ll be burned before they can even get close.¡± ¡°Even that will make a sufficient sacrifice, don¡¯t you think?¡± Vela was trembling all over. ¡°I can¡¯t go any further.¡± He would rather fight all these dwarfs. It was too hot and painful. Even breathing was a struggle. He would burn to death if he got any closer. ¡°Vela and Pedro, please wait here,¡± said Hyukjin. At those words, Bufafa raised his voice. ¡°All dwarfs, hear me. These humans are my guests. I humbly ask in my name, Bufafa, that no harm comes to them!¡± Bufafa¡¯s voice resounded across the square. Hyukjin and Bufafa went a little closer. To the Sacred Flame, Athenae. ¡°Are you alright?¡± ¡°I am alright.¡± Bufafa stared at Hyukjin with slight worry. However, Hyukjin wasn¡¯t in any pain. ¡®I can feel it.¡¯ The smell of the fire. ¡®Meeting the Fire Giants itself was¡­ a great lesson and experience for me.¡¯ Back then, he learned how to control and breathe the fire ki inside his body. That became one of the pieces that made him who he was today. Hyukjin stopped in place for a moment, to Bufafa¡¯s relief. ¡°Will you stop here?¡± If this human went any further, he might die. Bufafa did not want that. ¡°No.¡± Hyukjin quietly gazed at the flame burning high far in the distance. ¡®In and out.¡¯ He adjusted his breathing. It felt like the air was made of fire. In his mind was an image of fire streaming into his lungs, revolving through his body, and then coursing back out. ¡®This is a flame of a higher level.¡¯ The fire ki dwelling in Hyukjin¡¯s body, fire ki that had already been exposed to flames of a higher level, began to whip and roil along with the beating of his heart. ¡®I can¡¯t go any further with my ability alone.¡¯ That was for certain. Even dwarfs, a race with far greater strength and fire resistance than humans, could not carelessly approach this holy flame. ¡®In that case.¡¯ If he was going to back down here, he wouldn¡¯t have attempted this in the first place. He walked forward. Bufafa warned him again. ¡°If you go any closer¡­ you may become an offering.¡± ¡°If that is the will of the Sacred Flame and the commandment.¡± He didn¡¯t accept that, of course, but he pretended to. [The ¡®Whispering Devil¡¯ is having fun.] [The ¡®Giant of the Sunset¡¯ rebukes your recklessness.] Hyukjin smiled to himself. ¡®The Giant of the Sunset must see what I¡¯m doing right now as very foolish and reckless.¡¯ But Hyukjin was confident. Here, he would absorb the energy of this pure, pure flame. He would be able to step into a new realm. That was why he said this and that about the commandment to talk Bufafa into letting him come this far. [The ¡®Giant of the Sunset¡¯ warns that it is dangerous.] Hyukjin stepped forward again. ¡®Big words for someone who tried to kill me.¡¯ The Guardian who tried to kill Hyukjin for his favorite, Choi Sung-gu, was suddenly saying things for Hyukjin¡¯s benefit. It was proof of just how much he had grown. ¡®It¡¯s hard to get any closer.¡¯ He could see a massive flame before him. ¡®I¡¯ll use it here.¡¯ He pulled out the item he had acquired through Seohye¡¯s sacrifice, Fire Giant¡¯s Breath. ____ Chapter 186 Chapter 186 It was one of the two items acquired by Seohye¡¯s sacrifice. [Fire Giant¡¯s Breath] Breath harboring a Fire Giant¡¯s fire ki. Usable only by one who has hunted a Fire Giant, Fire Giant¡¯s Breath will impart a very big effect in handling and using fire ki. However, if the user fails to control the fire ki, the fire ki will run rampant and may burn the user¡¯s body. I used it without hesitation. There was no point in hoarding things without using them. Using an item when you could at the appropriate time and place was also a skill. ¡®It¡¯s not a waste.¡¯ That moment was now. If I could make just 1% of Athenae¡¯s pure energy mine, that alone was a huge boon for me. [Use Fire Giant¡¯s Breath?] I used it. [Fire Giant¡¯s Breath begins taking effect on the Player¡¯s body.] In addition to the fire ki of Athenae, I felt another fire ki, the energy held by the Fire Giant¡¯s Breath. ¡®A slightly more violent flame with slightly more bloodthirst.¡¯ Not all flames were alike. This was unexplainable by science. How could a fire be violent and harbor bloodthirst? But as the person involved, I could feel it. ¡®In complete opposition¡­¡¯ It became more obvious to me after using the Fire Giant¡¯s Breath. ¡®Athenae¡¯s flame is¡­¡¯ How could I best describe it? ¡®The flame of life.¡¯ That was probably a fitting description. No other words came to mind. It was hard to put into words. ¡®They¡¯re both fire ki, but they¡¯re fundamentally different.¡¯ All things began with ¡®recognition¡¯. I recognized that the two fire ki were different kinds. Because the Fire Giant¡¯s flame was completely different in nature to Athenae, I was able to make out that difference with greater precision. ¡®I will take it in.¡¯ It was a different kind of energy, but it was still ¡®fire ki¡¯ in essence. ¡®The fire ki of Athenae.¡¯ I absorbed it into my body. It felt like fire became air and penetrated my lungs, mixing with my blood and coursing down to the tips of my feet and then back to my heart. ¡®My heart¡­¡¯ It was hot. Sweat streamed down. ¡°Ar-Are you alright?¡± I heard Bufafa¡¯s voice, but I could not respond. ¡®My heart is hot.¡¯ It felt like my heart was expanding, like more air was being pumped into a balloon already filled to the brim. A tiny misstep, and it would pop with a boom. However, if the user fails to control the fire ki, the fire ki will run rampant and may burn the user¡¯s body. It wasn¡¯t a lie. ¡®If I mess up, my heart will explode.¡¯ And then, the fire ki rushing out of my heart would swallow my body alive. ¡®It¡¯s fine as long as I don¡¯t mess up.¡¯ I instinctively knew what I had to do. ¡®Guide this flame¡­¡¯ I needed to carefully guide this flame pitching and rolling inside my heart, ¡®¡­and create a ring around my heart.¡¯ It felt like there were extremely tiny holes scattered over my heart, from which fire ki was seeping almost like steam. If I failed to grasp this fire ki, my body would burn up. I had to control this energy well. ¡®With my unique way.¡¯ I weaved a ring of flames around my heart. The fire ki that had been bucking like a willful stallion suddenly began to move little by little according to my will. ¡®Ring.¡¯ Ring shape. Ring shape. Ring shape. ¡®Move. Please.¡¯ Sweat poured down like rain. My legs trembled uncontrollably. ¡®I¡­¡¯ Can do it. I had done well up to this point, and I would continue to do well. No, I would do even better in the future. ¡®¡­I did it!¡¯ [A ¡®Ring of Fire¡¯ has been formed.] [The title ¡®Person of Fire¡¯ is increasing in grade due to the formation of the Ring of Fire.] [Determining the attribute of the Ring of Fire.] [The Ring of Fire¡¯s primary attribute is ¡®purity¡¯.] Ring of Fire. ¡®Come to think of it¡­¡¯ In the past, fire magician Rankers mentioned a ¡®ring of fire¡¯ before. However, they hadn¡¯t revealed exactly what that was. It was a secret among Rankers, something only they knew. I had taken that vague knowledge and given it shape. [As per the Ring of Fire¡¯s attribute, ¡®Person of Fire¡¯ has been changed to ¡®Pure Person of Fire¡¯.] [Pure Person of Fire] A glorious title that greatly increases one¡¯s affinity and ability to utilize the fire attribute. Only those who create a pure attribute Ring of Fire can acquire this title, which elevates all abilities related to the fire attribute by one level. *Special skill: Can use ¡®Flame of Purification¡¯. My Person of Fire title was upgraded, and I gained a special skill from it. [Flame of Purification] Creates a flame that purifies all impure things. Cooldown: 180 seconds I heard a voice. ¡°¡ªright?¡± That voice became a little clearer. ¡°¡ªalright?¡± And a little clearer. ¡°Are you alright?¡± Huh? Why was I laying down? I opened my eyes. ¡®This is¡­¡¯ It looked like Elder Bufafa¡¯s house. ¡°You surprised me by suddenly fainting,¡± said Bufafa. ¡°Are you alright?¡± ¡°I¡¯m alright, thank you. I was able to gain a pure enlightenment thanks to you.¡± ¡°As I thought¡­¡± According to Bufafa, I walked closer to Athenae. My body went up in flames, and those flames were extremely hot. ¡®I walked closer to Athenae?¡¯ I had zero memory of that. I probably moved by instinct, and gained the Pure Person of Fire title in the process. ¡®I feel like something more happened, but¡­¡¯ I couldn¡¯t remember it clearly. I had a feeling I saw something more, but I couldn¡¯t remember any more than that. Bufafa spoke again. ¡°In any case, you¡¯re truly astonishing.¡± * * * Translator ¨C Lei Proofreader ¨C Ash * * * 1 hour prior. Bufafa could only blankly watch Hyukjin¡¯s back. ¡®I can¡¯t believe it. There¡¯s a human who can get that close to Athenae?¡¯ By dwarf standards, this was an impossible feat. No human could get so close to Athenae. Even dwarfs born to be blacksmiths and possessing great affinity to fire would be hard pressed to draw so near. ¡®Even among dwarfs, only the chosen few can¡­¡¯ Only they could get so close. Regular dwarfs that were not blessed couldn¡¯t even dream of it. ¡®Human¡­¡¯ The human race was originally a weak race. They had little physical strength, stamina, and were no better than dwarfs in any aspect. At least, that was what Bufafa thought. ¡®Is this why¡­ the elder before me said not to make light of the latent potential of humans?¡¯ He remembered the elder evaluating humans as beings who were born truly feeble, but were endowed with the remarkable ability to overcome that weakness with acquired strength. ¡®He didn¡¯t even undergo procedural training to get close to the Sacred Flame.¡¯ He got that close even without procedural training. Normally, dwarfs practiced approaching little by little, getting successively closer in measured steps so they could eventually retrieve Athenae¡¯s flame. Specially chosen dwarfs trained from a young age. But that human was different. ¡®Latent potential. The ability to grow.¡¯ That human¡¯s fire affinity exceeded all imagination. Bufafa was said to be a perceptive individual, but he could not even begin to guess how much the human in front of him could grow. ¡®We will need¡­ to completely overhaul our understanding of the human race.¡¯ Bufafa didn¡¯t know the details, but it looked like the human gained some kind of enlightenment in front of Athenae. The bonfire perilously on the verge of exploding at a moment¡¯s notice vanished into thin air, leaving the man looking incredibly peaceful before Athenae. ¡®Something within him has grown a level stronger.¡¯ That limitless latent potential sent shivers down Bufafa¡¯s spine. Using such peril to grow? For a dwarf, it was impossible. But no matter how Bufafa saw it, it was possible for a human. ¡°Huh?¡± But just then, Kim Hyukjin collapsed. Bufafa sprinted forward. A part of his precious, beloved beard was burned away as Bufafa shouldered the unconscious man and ran out. One hour later, Kim Hyukjin recovered consciousness. Other than the fact that he was out for an hour, he seemed utterly fine. ¡°In any case, you¡¯re truly astonishing,¡± said Bufafa. Hyukjin pulled himself together and got up. He had reached his additional objective. He absorbed Athenae¡¯s energy and created a ¡®pure Ring of Fire¡¯ from it, which upgraded his title. It would surely be a big help when collecting the Millenium Lava. ¡®Nice.¡¯ However, all of this was, to some extent, a tangent. His true goal was to acquire the Ten-Thousand Year Old Cold Iron. ¡®I haven¡¯t even properly begun the Commandment of Iron and Gold and Silver and Fire quest yet.¡¯ And so, Hyukjin said, ¡°Elder Bufafa, my good sir. I would like to carry out the commandment at once.¡± ¡°Don¡¯t overdo it. It¡¯s not something you can do in a day or two.¡± There was trust in Elder Bufafa¡¯s eyes. There was also a slight awe towards one with limitless latent potential and ability to grow. He thought it would be better if someone with such potential wasn¡¯t too hasty. ¡°Ten-Thousand Year Old Cold Iron isn¡¯t something you can dig up right away just because you want to.¡± ¡°I know.¡± ¡°Haste makes waste.¡± Pedro flinched. Under Hyukjin¡¯s silent warning, he was unable to tell his teacher that he had already collected it. ¡°I can see you are being very considerate of me.¡± ¡°I¡¯ve never seen anyone with as much latent potential as you, even among the dwarfs.¡± A prideful dwarf was acknowledging a human. Pedro stared at Hyukjin with envy, but the praise actually didn¡¯t seem to make Hyukjin that happy. ¡°Would you believe me if I said I could bring you the Ten-Thousand Year Old Cold Iron before the day ends?¡± ¡°¡­¡± Bufafa stared at Hyukjin before breaking into hearty laughter. ¡°Hahahaha! Your confidence is really great to see.¡± He looked pleased, but he couldn¡¯t believe Hyukjin¡¯s claim. Hyukjin grinned. ¡°Sir. I really mean it.¡± ¡°You¡­ do?¡± ¡°I swear it on the commandment of the dwarfs.¡± ¡°¡­¡± Bufafa¡¯s laughter died in his throat. His expression grew serious. ¡°A vow made on the commandment is not something one does carelessly. Being confident is good, but confidence in excess is merely folly.¡± ¡°It¡¯s a different matter if I really can do it though.¡± ¡°¡­¡± Bufafa was about to shake his head, but stopped himself. It didn¡¯t seem like this young man would listen no matter what he said. He would have to experience it for himself. Ten-Thousand Year Old Cold Iron could only be collected if you had a special collection ability, and dwarfs could discern those who had that skill. Kim Hyukjin did not currently have it. There was no doubt about it. ¡°You have made a vow on the commandment, so you will have to take responsibility.¡± Such a vow came with tremendous responsibility. But on the flip side, the rewards would become more sweet as well. ¡°However, if you bring it to me before the day ends, I will give you first priority in the work schedule.¡± ¡°First priority?¡± ¡°We have a two week backlog of jobs, you see.¡± If he could bring it today, Bufafa would slot him in ahead of the schedule. Pedro stared at Hyukjin with blinking eyes. ¡®Is this what he was going for?¡¯ If they had given Bufafa the Ten-Thousand Year Old Cold Iron right away, they might have still had to wait two weeks anyway. The work schedule was extremely important to dwarfs. No matter how much money you gave them, they wouldn¡¯t put you ahead of the schedule. This was something that involved the dwarfs¡¯ pride. ¡®He¡¯s a crazy dude.¡¯ Pedro had heard Korean Players were exceptional at Playing. Korea had always been called the strongest country in video games. It was, of course, hard to compare Playing to video games, but in any case, Pedro was completely astonished by this Korean Player¡¯s method of Playing today. ¡®Are all Koreans like him?¡¯ Pedro shook his head in bafflement. ¡°In that case, we will return shortly.¡± And then, exactly three hours later, Kim Hyukjin, Vela, and Pedro returned to the Winter Castle. They were stopped by the gatekeepers. ¡°Huh? Giving up already?¡± ¡°Figures. How could he get Ten-Thousand Year Old Cold Iron in just one day?¡± ¡°And he¡¯s just a human with no blacksmith blood.¡± ¡°It would be ridiculous.¡± The twin brother and sister shook their heads. ¡°You swore on the commandment, so you¡¯ll have to take full responsibility!¡± ¡°Full responsibility!¡± ¡°The elder won¡¯t have any complaints if I make you my slave, right?¡± ¡°Let¡¯s turn him into a living sculpture.¡± Hyukjin grinned. ¡°What does this look like to you guys?¡± He pulled out the Ten-Thousand Year Old Cold Iron from his Inventory. ____ Chapter 187 Chapter 187 The perfectly identical twins went round-eyed at the exact same time. One was the brother and the other was the little sister, but it was impossible to tell which was which from their appearances. ¡°Eh?¡± ¡°Eh?¡± The two dwarfs¡¯ beards quivered. After seeing this a few times, it kind of reminded me of Senia¡¯s wings trembling. ¡°No way?¡± ¡°No way?¡± The two dwarfs trundled up to me, the long spears in their hands clattering to the ground. They took the lump of Ten-Thousand Year Old Cold Iron with both hands. ¡°It really is Ten-Thousand Year Old Cold Iron?¡± ¡°It really is Ten-Thousand Year Old Cold Iron?¡± The brother dwarf spoke to his sister dwarf. ¡°Little sis. Is this really possible?¡± ¡°Brother. Is this possible?¡± The two dwarfs shook their heads simultaneously. ¡°It¡¯s impossible.¡± ¡°This doesn¡¯t make any sense.¡± The little sister dwarf asked me, ¡°Human. How did you get this? Was there a human among humans capable of collecting this?¡± There probably weren¡¯t any yet. Collecting a special material like this was typically only possible for Players with classes like ¡®Miner¡¯ or ¡®Collector¡¯. But I got it, and I got it legitimately. Being overgeared was another form of skill. Pedro puffed out his chest. ¡°Ahem.¡± The shocked reactions of the dwarfs seemed to have injected him with needless confidence. ¡°Actually, I dug it up with the T¡ª¡± Even before I could stop him from saying he dug it up with the Tomb-Pilfering Shovel¡ª ¡°Shut up.¡± ¡°Shut up, dumbass.¡± The dwarfs ruthlessly cut him down. His nostrils flared a little, but he promptly conceded on his own. ¡°Yeah, these kinds of conversations are fine between manly men.¡± In any case, the gatekeepers were extremely shocked. Was this such an amazing feat at this point in time? I hadn¡¯t hoped for such an exaggerated response, either. The news must have spread somehow, because Elder Bufafa appeared from the wall again. ¡°This is hard to believe.¡± He took the Ten-Thousand Year Old Cold Iron. ¡°To think you really did bring it within one day.¡± He peered at me suspiciously. ¡°Did you already have it, by any chance? That would be a violation of the commandment. You must tell the truth.¡± ¡°No. I swear that I did not have this in advance.¡± Bufafa stared at me. [The Commandment of Iron and Gold and Silver and Fire discerns lies and truth.] I waited for a moment. The commandment would discern the truth. ¡®I¡¯m not the one who had it.¡¯ I didn¡¯t have it in my Inventory; Pedro did. [The Commandment of Iron and Gold and SIlver and Fire confirms that the statement is true.] What I said about me not having it was, of course, the truth. I hadn¡¯t lied. ¡°You really did collect it¡­?!¡± [In accordance with the Commandment of Iron and Gold and Silver and Fire, Elder Bufafa¡¯s schedule is forcibly adjusted.] [In accordance with the Commandment of Iron and Gold and Silver and Fire, Elder Bufafa cannot gain any monetary compensation or profit from the current commission and job.] Bufafa¡¯s body moved, not by his own will, but as if his body were being moved by some kind of external force. It kind of felt like watching a puppet being controlled by strings. ¡°I will begin the job right away.¡± And for free, at that. [The ¡®Merchant of Venice¡¯ is awed by your trading technique.] [The ¡®Merchant of Venice¡¯ has sent you a 500 Coin sponsorship.] The first quest was cleared. [The quest ¡®Commandment of Iron and Gold and Silver and Fire¡¯ has been updated.] The next part was revealed. [Commandment of Iron and Gold and Silver and Fire] You have brought Elder Bufafa ¡®Ten-Thousand Year Old Cold Iron¡¯, thus earning the first qualification. Now, Elder Bufafa will take the ¡®Ten-Thousand Year Old Cold Iron¡¯ and make a ¡®Fire Bowl¡¯. Bufafa will create the Fire Bowl with his full concentration and sincerity. You will need to pay the appropriate compensation to get the Fire Bowl. *In accordance with the commandment, the compensation has already been paid. Thanks to my little trick, the bill was already settled. I gained a dwarf¡¯s pricey labor for free. All we had to do was wait. Bufafa would use the Ten-Thousand Year Old Cold Iron to make a ¡®Fire Bowl¡¯, an artifact with which we could safely obtain and transport Millenium Lava. That would be the next part of the quest. If we kept following the quest line, we would be able to restore the Old Crown before long. ¡°May I ask how long it will take?¡± ¡°Normally, it would have taken two weeks plus three to four hours.¡± But we jumped two weeks ahead of the schedule. I couldn¡¯t help an unconscious smile. ¡°Three to four hours, then.¡± * * * Translator ¨C Lei Proofreader ¨C Ash Song Junghye gathered her forces. She was bolder and more enthusiastic than her brother. At least, it appeared so on the outside. ¡°Alright. The contract has been concluded.¡± She decided to occupy the Gran Seoul Dungeon. To that effect, she sought out and gathered Players who could exert ¡®authority¡¯ over gates. They weren¡¯t very strong individually, but if their powers overlapped again and again, they would definitely be powerful. Sitting with her legs crossed, Junghye said, ¡°Very well. I¡¯ll give the compensation right now. An advance payment of $100k.¡± $100k per person. ¡°And if you guys can completely seal the gate and restrict Players from entering like you claim you can, you¡¯ll have another $100k.¡± Junghye smiled lightly. ¡°Now that you¡¯ve been paid, you¡¯ll need to show you were worth the price.¡± ¡°Of course.¡± Junghye stared at the men in front of her. She was the one who brought them together into a temporary guild she named ¡®Icewall¡¯. Icewall should be able to effectively dominate the Gran Seoul Dungeon¡¯s entrance. The temporary guildmaster of Icewall, Song Byeongchan, nodded. ¡°We won¡¯t disappoint you.¡± ¡°I¡¯ll put my faith in you.¡± Thus was their deal established. Song Byeongchan moved quickly. He found it fun that there were people with similar abilities to him and that he could work together with them. ¡°From now on, the gate will be occupied by us, Icewall.¡± They used the item Song Junghye had given them, a ¡®Stacking Talisman¡¯. Song Byeongchan intentionally spoke aloud. ¡°A scroll that stacks similar abilities of party members.¡± That was the cue. The seven Players of Icewall cast their skills. [Using the special skill Entry Blocking.] [Using the innate ability Gate Guard.] ¡­ ¡­ [Using the title skill He Who Rejects.] And the last one, Song Byeongchan, used his ability. [Using the special skill Gatekeeper¡¯s Permission.] All the abilities were stacked. Now, no one could go into the Gran Seoul Dungeon without Icewall¡¯s¡ªno, his¡ªpermission. Naturally, the Players protested. Song Byeongchan snorted. ¡°The authorities and skills have already been cast. If you want to go in, go right ahead.¡± A few Players approached the Gran Seoul Dungeon entrance, and all of them were killed on the spot. One fell with his arrows lodged in his head, and another was shot clean through the heart. ¡°What do you think you¡¯re doing?!¡± Song Byeongchan shrugged. ¡°That wasn¡¯t us. We warned you that the skills are in place. It was those guys who chose to move.¡± Murder aroused no sense of disgust or guilt in him. This was Playing. This was the nature of Playing from the start. There was no right and wrong in Playing, only whether it was fun or not. The laws of the real world had no sway on Players. After all, the Players were backed by Intermediate Administrators. That was how Song Byeongchan thought. It went without saying, but Song Kiyeol of Taeguk Shield also protested. ¡°What do you think you are doing right now?¡± Song Byeongchan recognized Song Kiyeol. A bigshot like Song Kiyeol could not be treated carelessly. Byeongchan deployed the defense he had prepared in advance. ¡°Combat classes gain profit through combat. Production classes gain profit through production.¡± ¡°¡­¡± ¡°Then isn¡¯t it right for gate-related Players like us to gain profit by using our gate-related abilities?¡± An Intermediate Administrator appeared, snickering. They looked similar to a goblin and had two raggedy wings on their back. ¡°Of course, of course. How an ability is used is up to a Player¡¯s capability and discretion.¡± Pressing the complaint would be difficult with an Intermediate Administrator taking a stand. Song Kiyeol chewed his lip. ¡®Up to a Player¡¯s capability and discretion.¡¯ If so¡ª ¡°Then it should be fine for us to use our methods to shatter the strange abilities rigged on that gate and go inside.¡± ¡°If you think you can do it, you are more than welcome to try. That¡¯s Playing, after all.¡± Meanwhile, Song Junghye shook her head upon receiving a report of the situation. ¡°Brother really is weak.¡± If it were her? ¡°I would have used whatever methods possible to kill them.¡± Icewall was made up of special classes that were very strong when in the vicinity of a gate. In other words, they were markedly weaker when not around a gate. They couldn¡¯t camp in front of the gate 24/7. They had to at least go to the bathroom and go eat. Her right arm, the man who would later gain the name Kang Woongmin the Adamant, listened to Song Junghye in silence. ¡°If they¡¯re killed, the skills on the gate will all disappear.¡± ¡°¡­¡± Junghye bit her nails. ¡°As I thought, Oppa isn¡¯t qualified. He isn¡¯t qualified to lead Sungshin.¡± She resolved herself once again. ¡°I will be the one to take Sungshin.¡± Not her indecisive and pushover brother, but her. She was sure that she could inherit Sungshin and raise it to new heights. * * * After exactly three hours and thirty minutes, Bufafa emerged from his workroom, drenched head to toe in sweat. ¡°Here it is.¡± In Bufafa¡¯s hand was a seemingly ordinary brass bowl. [Fire Bowl acquired.] The quest progressed further. [Acquire ¡®Millenium Lava¡¯.] ¡°You said you already know where Millenium Lava is located. I think you won¡¯t need to waste any time finding it.¡± ¡°¡­¡± ¡°However, transporting Millenium Lava is extremely difficult and dangerous. Especially for a human.¡± I knew that as well. One misstep, and I could be burned to death. ¡°Don¡¯t worry.¡± I looked Bufafa directly in the eye. ¡°Please trust me.¡± ¡°¡­¡± I had already seen the Millenium Lava, and I had the Fire Bowl in my possession. I combined these two factors and ran a mental simulation. The result was simple. ¡®I can definitely do it.¡¯ ¡°I won¡¯t disappoint you, Elder.¡± ¡°¡­¡± I immediately returned to the Tutorial Building. The Coin expenditure didn¡¯t matter. Time was more precious than Coins. I could save time and just earn more Coins. My destination was the Gwanghwamun Dungeon. ¡®I can just collect the Millenium Lava and leave by clearing the Gyeonghoeru field.¡¯ Things should progress smoothly if that worked out. For now, I decided to go get the Millenium Lava alone. [Enter the Gwanghwamun Dungeon?] I entered the dungeon, then passed the King¡¯s Road like I¡¯d done many times before and stopped in front of the lion statues. Armed with the Fire Bowl, I could now collect the Millenium Lava. ¡®I just have to carefully fill the bowl.¡¯ Thanks to the ¡®Pure Person of Fire¡¯ title I now had, my sense of fire ki was greatly enhanced. I felt a familiar energy. ¡®I can¡¯t feel its nature.¡¯ The fire ki of Fire Giants was violent. Athenae¡¯s fire ki was clean. I couldn¡¯t feel a particular nature from the fire ki of the Millenium Lava flowing from the lion statue. [Fill the Fire Bowl with Millenium Lava?] I began using the Fire Bowl¡¯s ability to collect Millenium Lava. I wasn¡¯t physically reaching out to fill the bowl. The Fire Bowl automatically started slowly filling with Millenium Lava, which agitated the fire ki in my body. Fire ki that had no nature came blazing into my body. ¡®If my Person of Fire title hadn¡¯t been upgraded¡­¡¯ If I hadn¡¯t experienced fire ki multiple times already¡ª ¡®I might have seriously been burned to death.¡¯ That was how fierce this fire ki was¡ªit was stronger than expected. However, it was still within permissible range. I would definitely be able to get out of here with the Millenium Lava I needed. ¡®But¡­¡¯ Collecting the Millenium Lava was smooth sailing. ¡®The problem is¡­¡¯ There was a tiny hitch I hadn¡¯t anticipated. [A disruption of harmony has been perceived due to an external factor.] The entire field began to tremble. ¡®A disruption of harmony.¡¯ I quickly realized what that was. ¡®Two lion statues. One exudes heat ki, while the other exudes cold ki.¡¯ But I collected a portion of the heat ki. ¡®I¡¯m the one who broke the harmony.¡¯ [The disruption of harmony creates a crack in the harmony.] It wasn¡¯t visible to the eye, but Observer¡¯s Eye could see it. A crack appeared in midair. It was still small, but I knew that it would grow bigger and bigger until it destroyed this very space. ¡®If that happens¡­¡¯ I would die. I would perish along with the field. A massive dam would collapse because of a very small crack. ¡®I had to recover harmony now, while I still can.¡¯ How? [The collapse in harmony has begun.] I didn¡¯t have much time. The field¡¯s collapse would progress faster and faster. ¡®At most¡­¡¯ I had approximately five minutes. I needed to come up with a way to recover harmony within five minutes. ¡®I¡¯ll find a way.¡¯ There had to be a way. [The ¡®Whispering Devil¡¯ is having fun.] [The ¡®Nameless Observer¡¯ observes.] [The ¡®Night of Shooting Stars¡¯ is focusing.] I didn¡¯t have time to pay attention to the Guardian notices. At least in this moment, their notices weren¡¯t important to me. ¡®Harmony.¡¯ I could definitely make it. I focused. I would find the path for sure. ¡®No, I¡¯ll forge the path.¡¯ I wasn¡¯t sure, but I started to glimpse the way forward. ____ Chapter 188 Chapter 188 I had already passed this place with the lion statues many times on my way to the Gyeonghoeru field. [Entering the Path of Harmony, where heat energy and cold energy converge in harmony past the King¡¯s Road.] From the very first moment, this place had always emphasized harmony. It wasn¡¯t something I had ever consciously thought about, but my body was apparently cognizant of ¡®harmony¡¯, because the method to restore it sprang to mind. I spoke to Senia, who was streaming in a half-transparent state. ¡°I broke this place¡¯s harmony by taking the Millenium Lava.¡± ¡°¡­¡± Senia didn¡¯t respond. She was murmuring something under her breath, but I couldn¡¯t understand the words. She was doing her job right now, and I would do mine. ¡°In that case, I need to re-establish harmony.¡± I had the Millenium Lava. I was absorbing the heat ki exuded by the Millenium Lava and refining it into my own energy. From the Fire Giant¡¯s violent flames, to the Blackfire Bow¡¯s black flames, Athenae¡¯s clean flames, and now, the Millenium Lava¡¯s blank-slate flames, all of these experiences built me up, teaching me how to turn those flames into mine. ¡°I¡¯ve already absorbed as much heat ki as I physically can.¡± ¡°¡­¡± Senia diligently streamed. [The ¡®Giant of the Sunset¡¯ is watching you.] So I gave a little lip-service. ¡°This is a terribly magnificent energy. Fire ki is an incredibly pure and beautiful energy that makes humans burn red-hot.¡± [The ¡®Giant of the Sunset¡¯ is deeply touched by your words.] [The ¡®Giant of the Sunset¡¯ has sent you a 300 Coin sponsorship.] It was merely a pittance of Coins. But what I wanted wasn¡¯t Coins or items from the Giant of the Sunset. ¡°Since I¡¯ve broken the harmony of the Millenium Lava and Millenium Ice Water¡­¡± ¡°¡­¡± I walked towards the lion statue that was spewing the incredibly cold Millenium Ice Water. ¡°This is my karmic retribution.¡± ¡°¡­¡± ¡°I will extract the cold energy of the Millenium Ice Water.¡± Only then did Senia ask me a question. ¡°You were able to collect the Millenium Lava because you had the Fire Bowl. How do you intend on getting the Millenium Ice Water?¡± ¡°I have the Fire Bowl.¡± ¡°What do you mean?¡± ¡°I filled the Fire Bowl with Millenium Lava.¡± ¡°Yes. All the Guardians saw it as well.¡± ¡®They must think there¡¯s a chance I¡¯ll die here.¡¯ No one would spend real money on a game character that was about to be erased. That was probably how the Guardians felt right now. But on the other hand, if I were to clear this place without dying¡ª ¡®An even greater reward would follow.¡¯ With that in mind, I said a few more things to make the situation clearer and better for Senia to film. ¡°The process of filling the Fire Bowl with Millenium Lava¡­¡± I tapped my eyes. ¡°I saw it. The flow of the energy. The sequence of events. I watched it all, from start to finish.¡± ¡°¡­¡± ¡°Since I¡¯ve seen it¡­¡± My body began to shiver uncontrollably. ¡°I can do it.¡± Millennium Ice Water flowed from the lion statue. My body felt frozen solid. The further I strayed from the ¡®Path of Harmony¡¯ and the closer I got to the Millenium Lava, the more pressing my fear of death became. ¡°Since I¡¯m an Observer.¡± [The ¡®Nameless Observer¡¯ happily observes.] I knew what kind of ability my Observer¡¯s Eye had. -Action Duplication: Copy the actions of an observation target (currently cannot be used). My observation target here was the Fire Bowl. ¡®I can¡¯t use the skill.¡¯ But I could recreate its effects with effort, like I¡¯d done time and time again. It was like that for another of my powers, ¡®Future Sight¡¯, and for my recently acquired ¡®Eye of Investigation¡¯. I was able to accomplish all of them with Eye of Perception¡¯s ¡®intuition¡¯. ¡®Though it¡¯ll be clumsy and unrefined compared to a skill.¡¯ Even so, I could pull it off with my perception and physical ability. The Nameless Observer wasn¡¯t just observing, but observing ¡®happily¡¯. That meant I was Playing in the right direction. ¡°But you don¡¯t have a vessel to store it,¡± said Senia. ¡°The vessel¡­¡± I couldn¡¯t get all the Millenium Ice Water. I would die trying. No, I would be frozen solid before I could even begin and meet my end along with this place. I didn¡¯t have an inkling of desire to end my story that way. ¡°¡­is me.¡± I reached for the cascading Millenium Ice Water. * * * Translator ¨C Lei Proofreader ¨C Ash * * * To put it in terms of the result, I came really, truly close to death. [Intermediate Administrator Senia has used a ¡®Pause authority¡¯.] [Intermediate Administrator Senia has closed her channel.] I was sprawled out in the ¡®Path of Harmony¡¯ right now, barely alive. The moment I accepted and absorbed the cold ki, I nearly blacked out. ¡°Player Kim Hyukjin. Are you insane?¡± ¡°I¡¯m not insane.¡± ¡°You say that, but just now, you were almost frozen solid, consciousness and all.¡± ¡°But I didn¡¯t freeze.¡± ¡°You were just lucky.¡± ¡°Do you really think that?¡± ¡°¡­¡± My body was still stiff. I needed to thaw out a bit more. ¡°Luck is definitely a thing. But don¡¯t you think whether one can bend that luck to their benefit or not is a part of their personal competence?¡± ¡°There must also be morons who die while testing that competence.¡± ¡°You remember when Vela was grabbed in the throat by that guy, right?¡± ¡°Of course I do.¡± ¡®That guy¡¯ referred to the Demon King. Back then, Vela used an interesting innate ability called ¡®Last Thread of Consciousness¡¯ to hang onto consciousness. ¡°That innate ability. I can imitate it.¡± ¡°Even though you nearly died trying.¡± Something suddenly struck me as odd. ¡°But why are you mad?¡± ¡°Me?¡± Senia¡¯s wings fluttered. She got to her feet in a huff. ¡°I am an emotionless angel.¡± ¡°But you¡¯re mad.¡± ¡°¡­¡± ¡°Ah. Is it because you¡¯ll no longer get to enjoy the big profits you have now if I die?¡± ¡°I¡¯m not mad. Make no mistake.¡± Anyone could tell she was mad. In any case, my body loosened up a bit. The heat of the Millenium Lava in the Fire Bowl rapidly thawed my body. ¡°Don¡¯t worry. I don¡¯t intend on dying, and I won¡¯t die in the future, either.¡± ¡°If you die, I will seek 300x the penalty for contract violation.¡± ¡°How? I¡¯ll be dead.¡± ¡°Repay me, even in death.¡± ¡°And how exactly should I do that if I¡¯m dead? If I die, it¡¯s over.¡± ¡°I will wring the money from you even if I have to chase you to the very ends of hell.¡± Senia was acting a little odd today. Why did she choose to use a Pause and even close her channel at this particular moment? Was it a good moment for a cliffhanger? ¡°All¡¯s well that ends well.¡± ¡°The process was reckless.¡± ¡°That recklessness should have made for even more dramatic footage.¡± I used my body as a vessel to take in and neutralize the Millenium Ice Water¡¯s energy, forcibly correcting the faltering balance of yin and yang. For the Guardians, it must have been an extremely dramatic and fun scene. ¡°Closing your channel like that¡­ prevented you from getting proper sponsorships, didn¡¯t it?¡± ¡°Is that important right now?¡± ¡°It is. Your success is my success. You have to do well for me to do well. At least when it comes to Playing, you and I are on the same boat, and we¡¯ll be forging ahead together in the future as well. What are you saying right now, Senia?¡± Why was she being such an amateur? ¡°Well, no use crying over spilled milk,¡± I said. ¡°Reopen your channel in a little bit. And edit it to make it look like I made a dramatic recovery.¡± ¡°I really cannot understand you.¡± ¡°How so?¡± ¡°What drives you to such desperate lengths? Is that kind of footage and streaming important even in a situation like this?¡± What was she going on about now? Well, it was true that I was desperate. Because I was determined to live. Because I had resolved to live and be really happy with my family. Because I wanted more than anything to forge my own future. ¡°Does anyone need a desperate reason to want to survive?¡± ¡°That¡¯s not what I mea¡ª¡± ¡°And if we¡¯re splitting hairs, it wasn¡¯t that desperate.¡± ¡°¡­¡± ¡°I believed it was sufficiently possible. That I could certainly overcome this trial with my strength.¡± ¡°¡­¡± ¡°Of course the footage and stream showing that is important. That¡¯s the reason you and I are working together. Why we signed an exclusive contract. Why we¡¯re operating in tandem.¡± ¡°Of course. It¡¯s solely because of the exclusive contract. Naturally.¡± And then, Senia suddenly went back to transparent mode, no notice, no nothing. Why did an angel whose emotion organ wasn¡¯t just atrophied, but downright vestigial, seem enraged? [The Pause has been dispelled.] [Channel #19207 has opened.] Senia¡¯s channel was reactivated. [The ¡®Nameless Observer¡¯ is satisfied by your observation.] [The ¡®Giant of the Sunset¡¯ breathes a sigh of relief.] [The ¡®Whispering Devil¡¯ is regretful.] Because of Senia¡¯s mistake, I missed out on my chance for sponsorships, too. It was a shame¡ªit would have been nice if she would have directed and shown the scene properly. ¡®That bus has already left the stop.¡¯ I fixed the Path of Harmony. Now, I had to leave the Gwanghwamun Dungeon. Like I was originally planning, I could leave if I cleared the Gyeonghoeru field. [You have pioneered the Path of Harmony, where heat energy and cold energy converge in harmony past the King¡¯s Road.] Oh? The notice was different. The original notice had ¡®entering¡¯, not ¡®pioneered¡¯. [Entering the Path of Harmony, where heat energy and cold energy converge in harmony past the King¡¯s Road.] But now, it was ¡®pioneered¡¯. Pioneer. The word was familiar to me¡ªI had a title called ¡®Pioneer of Victory¡¯. [Determining whether you have an ability related to pioneering.] [The ¡®Pioneer of Victory¡¯ title has been confirmed.] And then, [A hidden title effect of ¡®Pioneer of Victory¡¯ has been triggered.] [Pioneer of Victory] A glorious title given to one who pioneered a new domain and seized the first victory in a new domain. All party members +20% EXP Stacks with other titles. Stacks with other effects (buffs/debuffs). Amplifies all title effects when in a field pioneered by the Pioneer of Victory. [Entering the ¡®Purified Gyeonghoeru¡¯.] [The ¡®Purified Gyeonghoeru¡¯ is a field pioneered by the Pioneer of Victory.] [Pioneer of Victory¡¯s (4) effect applies.] I entered the Gyeonghoeru, but it wasn¡¯t the same field I knew. ¡®Purified Gyeonghoeru?¡¯ It was clean. It felt as if the massive Korean-style pavilion was floating atop a clear lake. The building was in immaculate condition, and an elegant grace settled over the field. That was how my Observer¡¯s Eye interpreted it. ¡®I don¡¯t see the Polluted Lifeforms.¡¯ Then how was I supposed to clear this place? ¡®The lake is incredibly clear and clean.¡¯ The water that should¡¯vebe swimming with Carnivore Mermaids was so clear I could see the bottom. Its clarity gave the impression that it wasn¡¯t very deep. Scattered lotuses floated placidly on the surface. The clear, limpid lake. The beautiful lotus clusters atop the clear water. And the Gyeonghoeru towering proudly above it all. As I stood there taking it all in, I felt it. ¡®It¡¯s dizzying.¡¯ The water was particularly dizzying. It was incredibly deep. So deep that it was unfathomable, that my eyes right now could not even begin to guess its depths. ¡®Treasures.¡¯ In those deep depths, I saw treasures. They were sparkling, as if to call me in. ¡®And countless artifacts.¡¯ They were all submerged in the water. It felt like I could just jump right in and fish them up. ¡®No.¡¯ No. I could tell. ¡®That water is no ordinary water.¡¯ Scientifically speaking, you might be able to call it water. I knew what it was. ¡®Snow Leaden Water.¡¯ Water that was as pure and crystal clear as snow, but as heavy as lead, far heavier than regular water. ¡®Water so heavy a human can¡¯t escape it with their own might.¡¯ It looked like clear water, but jumping into it would be like jumping into a sludgy swamp. Monster hunting wasn¡¯t the clear condition for this place. ¡®I see¡­ the sailboat.¡¯ Far in the distance, a sailboat was coming over the horizon towards me. There was definitely something on that sailboat, a fixture I had paid little attention to when clearing the Gyeonghoeru field before. I had seen it many times over the course of my many Gyeonghoeru clears, but there hadn¡¯t been anything special about it. Now, it was making an appearance. Even without any wind, the sailboat surged towards the pavilion at a fairly quick clip. ¡®The answer is inside.¡¯ The sailboat came close, and I heard a notice. [The ¡®Purified Gyeonghoeru Scenario¡¯ is beginning.] ____ Chapter 189 Chapter 189 There was no intel whatsoever regarding the new field within the Gwanghwamun Dungeon, the ¡®Purified Gyeonghoeru¡¯. That meant I had to find the clear method on my own. The sailboat drew steadily nearer. ¡®The sailboat is traveling faster than I thought.¡¯ It was extremely far away, but approached the pavilion much faster than expected. It almost felt like watching a wheel tumble faster and faster down a slope. ¡®And.¡¯ I saw it. ¡®There¡¯s a Clear Crystal on the sailboat.¡¯ I had already cleared the Gyeonghoeru field many times. Having observed the field every time I cleared the Polluted Lifeforms scenario, I knew where and when the sailboat would pass by. ¡®About one minute from now.¡¯ In one minute, the sailboat would glide past with the closest distance to where I was standing. ¡®However¡­¡¯ It wouldn¡¯t be a distance I could cross with Flash Step or a single leap. That left two options¡ªI would either have to walk over the sloshing water, or somehow swim through the Snow Leaden Water to reach the sailboat. ¡®A long-ranged attack is impossible.¡¯ Of course, there were long-ranged DPSes who attempted to attack the sailboat. But very few people survived the attempt. That sailboat was essentially a ¡®neutral monster¡¯. If you left it alone, it wouldn¡¯t do anything, but the moment you messed with it, a rain of cannonballs would come shooting out of the sailboat to reduce the Gyeonghoeru to ashes. It was a sailboat with a special defensive ability against long-ranged attacks. ¡®The only answer, then, is to go there myself.¡¯ The course was set. ¡®Snow Leaden Water.¡¯ I had to be careful. The water below me was truly heavy, and it would drag you to the depths like a sinkhole. Once you fell in, there was zero chance you would ever get back out by yourself. The moment I slipped, the water would suck me in from my ankles down, almost like a black hole. ¡°Hoo.¡± I took a deep breath. Swimming was out of the question anyway. The only option I had was to jump over the water. ¡®The location of the lotuses¡­¡¯ They were floating so far apart from one another that the distance seemed impossible to jump. But those lotuses were definitely spaced so they could be used to ford the water, though messing up would mean death. ¡®I just need to not mess up.¡¯ The sailboat was coming. I only had one chance. If I missed it, I wouldn¡¯t be able to catch up to the sailboat. If I didn¡¯t go, I would die here anyway. That was almost certain. ¡®Here I go.¡¯ There wasn¡¯t much time. I couldn¡¯t think about it for too long. I fixed my eyes on my first landing point. [Using the special skill Flash Step.] I jumped onto a lotus with Flash Step. It instantly buckled under my weight. ¡®Okay.¡¯ I grasped the feeling of it. Getting my balance atop the lotus wasn¡¯t hard. ¡®Over there.¡¯ Before jumping, I drew out the trajectory of my leap in my head. ¡®And here.¡¯ I jumped again, going from one impossibly distant-looking lotus to the next. ¡®As for this one¡­¡¯ I had to choose between two lotuses. ¡®Here.¡¯ I didn¡¯t stop to calculate. No, there was no time to think. The path I¡¯d drawn in my head in advance and the one I was experiencing in the flesh were a little different. ¡®And here.¡¯ Some distance away, two lotuses were floating next to each other. ¡®There.¡¯ The left lotus was smaller, and the right lotus was bigger. I jumped towards the right lotus. It was a little far, but I barely managed to land safely on it. There, I paused for a moment. ¡®This lotus can hold my weight for three seconds.¡¯ The length of time a lotus could hold my weight was contingent on its size. This one could hold me for three seconds. I had chosen the right lotus with that in mind. ¡®And.¡¯ The sailboat felt incredibly large. It was very close. Perched atop this lotus, where a tiny misstep could send me sinking to my death, the sailboat felt larger than life. ¡®A little longer.¡¯ Three seconds. It was a very short time, but right now, the seconds stretched like taffy. Time slowed, and all I could see was the sailboat. Even in that slowed moment, the sailboat raced forward. ¡®It¡¯ll pass there.¡¯ It was far. A distance so far I could never reach it with a single jump. So I made a decision. I had another lotus here, a lotus without roots, one I could lift. I bent to grab the lotus on the left. And then, I threw it. I jumped at the same time. My feet were damp. 0.1 seconds slower, and I would have been sucked into the depths. The lotus I had thrown landed in the water. I used Flash Step towards it. I stepped onto the small lotus and leapt high into the air. Whap! I just barely caught the sailboat railing. Drawing out all my strength, I hauled myself up like I was doing a chin-up and barely managed to get on the sailboat. Once I made it on the deck, a notice sounded to tell me that the Clear Crystal had been generated. At the same time, the Guardians rushed to send me messages. [The ¡®Nameless Observer¡¯ observes.] [The ¡®True Master of the Heavenly Demonic Mountain¡¯ is very content with your genius.] [The ¡®White Hunter¡¯ is delighted by your astonishing sense of balance.] [The ¡®Barrier of Blue Light¡¯ breathes a sigh of relief.] [The ¡®Conductor of Sound¡¯ is awed by your ability to assess the battlefield.] They were all surprised by different things. Also, the True Master of the Heavenly Demonic Mountain¡¯s message made me realize something. ¡®No wonder my body felt so light.¡¯ I was focusing so hard that I forgot for a moment. 4. Amplifies all title effects when in a field pioneered by the Pioneer of Victory. It amplified the effects of all my titles, including ¡®Excellent Player¡¯, which had the following effect: 2. +20% movement speed. ¡®No wonder my body felt lighter than usual.¡¯ But that wasn¡¯t the important part. That wasn¡¯t why the True Master was impressed. He was impressed by my ¡®physical ability to freely control an abruptly lightened body¡¯. Looking back on it, I was shocked, too. ¡®Was this kind of thing¡­ really possible?¡¯ I was the one who pulled it off, but I was surprised. My physical abilities suddenly shot up, but I wasn¡¯t flustered by the changes and moved with extreme ease, like my body had always been that way. ¡®It¡¯s¡­ possible.¡¯ It was possible. My experience proved that. I walked towards the Clear Crystal in front of me. [Clear Crystal] If I destroyed it, this place would be cleared. ¡®But¡­¡¯ Where in the world was this sailboat going? It was surging along even with me on it. If I stayed on it, where would it go? Where was the far off destination this sailboat was skidding towards like a sled? ¡®Maybe I should wait a little?¡¯ I intentionally didn¡¯t break the Clear Crystal. I could just immediately break it if something dangerous happened. Some time passed. Crash! The sailboat crashed into something with a reverberating thud. What it collided into was an invisible wall. [The ¡®Sailing Sailboat¡¯ has reached the ¡®End of the Gyeonghoeru¡¯.] [The ¡®End of the Gyeonghoeru¡¯ does not permit further approach.] The sailboat¡¯s hull began to quiver, and the ship began to very slowly sink into the water. ¡®That¡¯s¡­¡¯ I could see them. The things past the End of the Gyeonghoeru, past the invisible wall. * * * Translator ¨C Lei Proofreader ¨C Ash * * * I went back home to rest a little, exhausted. The Gyeonghoeru field had consumed too much stamina, and I needed rest. In the meantime, I got a progress report from Song Kiyeol, who told me that Song Junghye was using ¡®gate Players¡¯ she had gathered to play a little trick. ¡®That¡¯s good.¡¯ The Gran Seoul Dungeon clear would be even more delayed now. ¡®And there¡¯s still a long time before the dungeon breaks.¡¯ The Gran Seoul Dungeon break occurred fairly late. There was plenty of leeway, time-wise. I really had to thank Song Junghye. She delivered the Tomb-Pilfering Shovel to me at the Guardian Tower on a silver platter, and her sloppy Playing helped me slot in a puzzle piece. ¡®At this point, isn¡¯t she kind of a tsundere?¡¯ She seemed to think she was acting for her benefit, but it sure felt like she was working for mine. ¡®In any case.¡¯ I couldn¡¯t shake off the bad feeling that lingered after clearing the Gyeonghoeru field. ¡®Did the Great Explorer Jackson really not know about the Purified Gyeonghoeru field?¡¯ I believed there was a very high chance that he knew about the Purified Gyeonghoeru field. In ten years, Players were far more capable than they were now. There was no way the Jackson from back then didn¡¯t know. ¡®That would be ridiculous.¡¯ He knew; I was sure of it. He just didn¡¯t tell the other Players about its existence. ¡®The problem is¡­¡¯ Then what about other explorers? ¡®There were a lot of outstanding explorers in Korea, too.¡¯ Jackson was the most famous explorer, but he wasn¡¯t the only one. Countless explorer Players had to have gone into the Gwanghwamun Dungeon. At least one of them would have known about this Purified Gyeonghoeru field, because there was a seemingly unnecessary ¡®sailboat¡¯ in the field. An explorer would have found it curious. ¡®It¡¯s definitely weird.¡¯ There was no way none of those explorers knew about it. But no one had ever mentioned anything about a ¡®Purified Gyeonghoeru¡¯. ¡®Someone intentionally covered it up.¡¯ That was the only conclusion I could reach. ¡®Come to think of it¡­ what did I see?¡¯ At the end of the Gyeonghoeru field, I remembered colliding into a transparent barrier. And I remembered seeing ¡®something¡¯ past that barrier. But I didn¡¯t remember what that ¡®something¡¯ was. I definitely saw it, but it was like someone had tampered with my memories. ¡®This feeling¡­¡¯ It felt similar to what happened when I was talking with the Demon King. ¡°Did you hunt ¡ª¡¯s toys?¡± ¡°¡ª. Can¡¯t understand me?¡± It was like that. It felt like the System, or possibly some kind of ¡®force¡¯ that wasn¡¯t the System, was forcibly acting on me. ¡®In the Gwanghwamun Dungeon¡­ there are secrets I don¡¯t know.¡¯ I happened to catch a glimpse of myself in the mirror across from my bed. ¡®Huh?¡¯ I didn¡¯t realize it, but I was smiling. I was smiling like someone who had found a fun game to play. ¡®This is gonna be fun.¡¯ * * * After taking a short break, I headed to the Tutorial Building. ¡°The D-Tower, please.¡± It sure was nice. This ultra-luxury sedan, complete with a veteran chauffeur. This environment where I could focus solely on Playing was truly a blessing to me. I ran into Choi Sung-gu on the 1st floor. ¡°Hey! Hyukjin!¡± he called, so loudly his voice could be heard throughout the D-Tower. He waved enthusiastically. ¡°The hell is with you, man?¡± ¡°What?¡± ¡°You can¡¯t feel it? The air around you is hot af.¡± ¡°Really? I can¡¯t feel a thing.¡± Some people could feel the ¡®fire ki¡¯ I possessed, and some couldn¡¯t. ¡°Hey. Just what the hell happened to you? Fuck. It¡¯s so hot I can¡¯t even get close.¡± That was probably because of the Millenium Lava in my Inventory. ¡°Urgh, so blinding.¡± Sung-gu wasn¡¯t able to get close to me. ¡°You¡¯re like a pillar of fire or something. Fuck. What the hell are you going around doing?¡± ¡°What do you mean?¡± ¡°Your body looks like it¡¯s gonna explode, dude.¡± Sung-gu peered at me from a distance. ¡°Like¡­ an energy of opposing nature is tamping down the fire ki coming out of you, keeping you alive.¡± Sung-gu looked tearfully at me. ¡°Dude, you can¡¯t leave me and die. If you go, we have to go together.¡± ¡°¡­¡± ¡°How am I supposed to Play without you? Playing these days is really so suffocating I could die.¡± Apparently, it was really, really frustrating to work in conjunction with other Players. I could imagine that Players with low basic defense like Choi Sung-gu felt particularly endangered. So I gave him a little reassurance. ¡°Yeah, you¡¯ll be fine. You won¡¯t die.¡± ¡°Hey, hey! Have a heart, man! I seriously feel like I¡¯m gonna die here!¡± ¡°But you¡¯re alive.¡± ¡°Th-That¡¯s true, but¡ª¡± ¡°That¡¯s enough.¡± I bypassed the loudly complaining Sung-gu and got onto the Teleport Gateway. I teleported back to Italy. Pedro was waiting for me. ¡°Welcome back!¡± State: Excited / Happy / Having Fun / Anticipation for Giving Something ¡®Anticipation for giving something?¡¯ Giving something? What was he planning on giving, and why did he feel anticipation when he was giving it? Was he the type of person who liked being generous? ¡°Vela¡¯s taking care of a personal matter in another dungeon right now. As for me, I¡¯ve been waiting here a long time to give you this.¡± He came up to me and handed me something without notice. ¡°Why¡­ are you giving me this?¡± That item was a ¡®bow¡¯, and not just any bow, but the starting weapon of the Divine Archer, Hyun Junghwa. ____ Chapter 190 Chapter 190 There was a group of Players who were comparable in ability to the 8 Heroes, but hadn¡¯t clashed with the Demon King. In other words, they had silently walked their own paths, and their own paths only. Particularly famous among them was the Divine Archer Hyun Junghwa. ¡®The item she used in her early days.¡¯ There was an item in my hand, an item that had been given to me by the future Master, Pedro. ¡°I need to earn my keep too, right? Since I¡¯m a man.¡± ¡°¡­¡± ¡°A man¡¯s gotta earn their keep. That¡¯s the way of a manly man.¡± [Sylphid¡¯s Wing] A weapon made by Sylphids, wind spirits, to honor the soul of a departed Sylphid. It is said that a part of the fallen Sylphid¡¯s soul is imbued within. Grade: Unique Attack power: 34-55 Effects: Create Distance Consecutive Shots Hyun Junghwa revealed that this was the bow she acquired in her early days. She said that Sylphid¡¯s Wing was the item that ¡®made me who I am today¡¯. If I had to guess, there were only a few items of this level at this point in time worldwide. This bow was extremely precious. Its attack power alone was a whopping 34-55. The transcendent artifact Isabel¡¯s attack power was 72-84. Transcendent items were things of legend, to the point that I hadn¡¯t even known for sure that they had existed. It was already an incredible feat for an item to reach half a transcendent artifact¡¯s attack power. ¡°Why are you giving this to me?¡± ¡°Because I¡¯m a man.¡± Pedro took out the Tomb-Pilfering Shovel. ¡°It¡¯s only natural to give you that much after receiving such an amazing item. A trade between men should be fair, no?¡± I grinned. ¡°Are you sure it¡¯s fair? I don¡¯t think the two are quite comparable.¡± This was an unexpected trade, but since Pedro was giving, I figured that I might as well take everything he had to offer. ¡°Ah, of course. I acknowledge that. It¡¯s true the Tomb-Pilfering Shovel is a far better item.¡± ¡°¡­¡± ¡°But I would imagine Sylphid¡¯s Wing won¡¯t fall behind in terms of usefulness.¡± He was right about that. The Tomb-Pilfering Shovel was an item only ¡®thieves¡¯ could use. Strictly speaking, I could use Sylphid¡¯s Wing with no restrictions despite not having the archer class. ¡®I am thankful, yes.¡¯ The item to which the Divine Archer attributed her later success had landed in my hands. This was an extremely good thing for me. I was also planning on coaxing the Tome of the Divine Archer Physique from the Night of Shooting Stars. ¡°I¡¯m grateful for the thought, but¡­¡± I returned the bow. Of course, it was just an act. I didn¡¯t intend on giving back this item. ¡°¡­Huh?¡± ¡°I don¡¯t think it matches the Tomb-Pilfering Shovel. Usefulness can¡¯t make up for the gap between a legendary and unique grade. Especially if it¡¯s an item that is useful to you like the Tomb-Pilfering Shovel.¡± ¡°¡­¡± Pedro took Sylphid¡¯s Wing. He closed his eyes in thought. ¡°What you say is true, Hyukjin.¡± He returned Sylphid¡¯s Wing to me. ¡°But it¡¯s hard for me to give you an item better than this one for the time being.¡± Excellent. This was what I had wanted to see. ¡°Let me balance the scales at a later time. You are the one who called me and gave me an item out of nowhere, so this much should do for an initial trade, right?¡± The Merchant of Venice answered in my stead. [The ¡®Merchant of Venice¡¯ nods at your negotiation acumen.] [The ¡®Merchant of Venice¡¯ gifts you a ¡®Wind Element Enhancement Crystal¡¯.] Yep, getting free extras on top was better than just receiving something. In return, I gave the crossdressing Pedro the words he wanted to hear, free of charge. ¡°Manly men really are built different.¡± Pedro straightened his shoulders, looking very happy. * * * Translator ¨C Lei Proofreader ¨C Ash * * * With Vela doing some Playing of his own, I went to Piazza Navona with Pedro. I saw the fountain. ¡®He¡¯s here again.¡¯ It seemed he hadn¡¯t learnt his lesson yet. Like last time, Beratto had rigged his authority over the gate and was collecting tolls. Many people now knew that the fountain was a gate connected to the ¡®Forest of Dwarfs¡¯. ¡®Though there probably aren¡¯t many who come back from that place alive.¡¯ Even so, people wanted to go inside the gate. They were driven by their belief that there had to be treasures within. ¡®If there were any treasures, the dwarfs would have already collected them.¡¯ For ordinary Players, nothing good would come of going into the Forest of Dwarfs. As time went on, the Players would realize that as well. I stopped. ¡°Hyukjin?¡± Pedro asked in puzzlement. ¡°I can¡¯t help but think it¡¯s going to be a pain if we go there,¡± I said, pointing my chin at Beratto. A direct clash was also an option, but a fun thought occurred to me. ¡°It¡¯s the perfect time to test my new item.¡± I was curious about whether I could break the authority planted on that gate with the bow I had just gotten. ¡°You mean Sylphid¡¯s Wing?¡± ¡°Yes.¡± I took out the bow. People were used to Players now. No one paid much attention to me even after I pulled out a bow in the middle of the square. Such things were everyday occurrences. ¡®I have ten arrows.¡¯ Unless you had an artifact like the Blackfire Bow, arrows were inevitably a consumable resource. I had to use them sparingly. ¡®Is the Night of Shooting Stars watching?¡¯ It would be great if he was, and it couldn¡¯t be helped if he wasn¡¯t. I drew the bowstring. ¡°Y-You¡¯re going to shoot it here? Y-You¡¯re not going to kill Beratto, are you?¡± ¡°Of course not.¡± I had no intention of killing Beratto. I focused. ¡®I¡¯ll break it.¡¯ The authority cast by Beratto. I released the bowstring. That moment, a wisp of wind rose from Sylphid¡¯s Wing. It kind of felt¡­ like Sylphid¡¯s Wing¡¯s innate energy was resonating with mine. ¡®One more time.¡¯ I drew and fired once more. ¡®And again.¡¯ I fired again. With every shot, I felt the intangible force behind each arrow grow. ¡®One more time.¡¯ I drew the bowstring. ¡°Wh-Which one of you crazy bastards was it?!¡± Beratto roared. The next moment, he fell to the ground with a strangled shriek, terrified. ¡°Hiik!¡± That was because an arrow whistled over his head. It thudded into the fountain and melted into nothingness. Arrows shot by Sylphid¡¯s Wing were 1-time use. They couldn¡¯t be picked up and reused because they melted and disappeared like that. ¡®I¡¯m sure of it now.¡¯ Sylphid¡¯s Wing wasn¡¯t just a unique-grade item. Like Isabel, there was some kind of ability sealed in Sylphid¡¯s Wing. I could feel it, and Hyun Junghwa must have known it as well. ¡®What should I call this?¡¯ Inherently attuned? ¡®The feeling that our wavelengths are perfectly matched.¡¯ For a moment there, I felt like I communed with Sylphid¡¯s Wing. [You have successfully communed with Sylphid¡¯s Wing.] I instantly realized. Sylphid¡¯s Wing was a weapon created to honor a fallen Sylphid. It was imbued with a soul. It is said that a part of the fallen Sylphid¡¯s soul is imbued within. That soul appeared to be extremely compatible with me. [A hidden quest related to ¡®Sylphid¡¯s Wing¡¯ has been unlocked.] [You have received the quest ¡®Find the Complete Sylphid¡¯s Wings¡¯.] I opened the quest window. [Find the Complete Sylphid¡¯s Wings] The current ¡®Sylphid¡¯s Wing¡¯ is not in its complete state. Find the Complete Sylphid¡¯s Wings and make what is incomplete, complete. *Complete Sylphid¡¯s Wings is slumbering in the ¡®Wind Temple¡¯. *¡®Blessing of the Wind Temple¡¯ is required to find the Complete Sylphid¡¯s Wings. I was struck speechless. ¡®The Wind Temple?¡¯ It was a familiar name. I remembered exactly what Jo Sunghyun said after we cleared and left the Hill of Blowing Wind. ¨CThere was a notice saying the Clear Crystal¡¯s energy melted into my body, and if I satisfied a certain condition, I could activate the ¡®Wind Temple¡¯. Since then, Sunghyun never said anything about the ¡®Wind Temple¡¯ to me again. It wasn¡¯t because he was hiding it from me, but that he hadn¡¯t been able to find any clues about the Wind Temple. He was also busy keeping up with my agenda. ¡®And¡ª¡¯ *¡®Blessing of the Wind Temple¡¯ is required to find the Complete Sylphid¡¯s Wings. This condition was already fulfilled. In the Hill of Blowing Wind, I received the ¡®Blessing of the Wind Temple¡¯ and fulfilled a hidden piece. [Granting the ¡®Blessing of the Wind Temple¡¯.] [Confirming that you have 6 Blessings.] [The Hidden Piece ¡®6 Blessings¡¯ has been fulfilled.] From this, I acquired the ¡®Tome of the Divine Wind Physique¡¯ and gave it to Sunghyun. ¡®I had the Blessing of the Wind Temple, and thanks to that, I fulfilled a hidden condition of Sylphid¡¯s Wing.¡¯ It wasn¡¯t intentional, but in any case, the path ahead was unfurling very smoothly. ¡®It might even be¡­ that Sunghyun has a clue about the Complete Sylphid¡¯s Wings.¡¯ Pedro¡¯s voice pulled me away from my contemplation. ¡°Hyukjin?¡± ¡°Ah. Yes. Sorry, I was thinking about something else for a moment.¡± ¡°No, it¡¯s just that Beratto is coming your way.¡± From the way he was storming towards me, he seemed to be mad. Apparently, someone saw me shooting my bow and ratted me out. ¡°As one would expect.¡± I already knew he was coming. ¡°Did you know this would happen?¡± ¡°Of course.¡± If I had wanted to avoid a confrontation, I would have used Cognitive Dissonance. ¡°You¡¯re in for it now,¡± huffed Beratto. ¡°You seem to have some kind of special ability, but¡ª¡± He spat on the ground. ¡°No matter how skilled a monkey is, it¡¯s still a monkey.¡± After saying that, he glanced around. It was obvious he was checking to see if Vera was nearby. ¡°I¡¯ve always wanted to erase yellow monkeys like you from this world, you see.¡± ¡°¡­¡± ¡°How can an archer sit on his thumbs and allow an opponent to get this close?¡± ¡°¡­¡± ¡°What? You scared?¡± ¡°¡­¡± ¡°I¡¯ll do a monkey like you the honor of killing you right here.¡± Beratto smiled wide. To that, I answered, ¡°Who said I was an archer?¡± * * * ¡°I¡¯m sorry. I won¡¯t do it ever again. I¡¯m really sorry. I¡¯m really, really sorry.¡± Beratto desperately rubbed his palms. (He dares to call my husband a monkey? What are you doing? Slice his throat open.) Isabel was so blindsided by rage that she forgot to feel humiliated by my use of her innate ability ¡®Beat ¡®em, Beat ¡®em, Beat ¡®em Harder¡¯. (What are you doing? What good would come of leaving such trash alive?!) Isabel¡¯s blade trembled. She was well and truly mad. ¡®Well, small fry like Beratto is just cute.¡¯ Blocking a gate and extracting tolls was just childish petulance. The racist crap he said about me being a monkey or whatever was irritating, but it wasn¡¯t something to kill over. Beratto was on his knees, rubbing his palms. I said quietly to him, ¡°I¡¯m sure you¡¯ve earned a lot of Coins through illegal means. Am I correct?¡± ¡°Y-You are. I have committed a sin worthy of death.¡± ¡°No, it¡¯s not worthy of death.¡± There was an item in my hands¡ªthe ¡®Translation Marble¡¯ I¡¯d gotten from Senia. This thing was really pricey. ¡°You have to make up for this thing¡¯s price. Since I had to converse with you.¡± In truth, my fists had done more of the talking. After conversing with my fists a few times, he became this docile. Conversation was such a wonderful thing, wasn¡¯t it? ¡°It¡¯s not to the point of death, so I won¡¯t kill you. However.¡± I had to get my money¡¯s worth, too. The amount I spent using the Teleport Gateway was no small sum. ¡°Cough it up. The price for your life.¡± ¡°Th-That¡ª¡± ¡°If you don¡¯t want to, then go ahead and die.¡± I brought the tip of Isabel¡¯s blade to Beratto¡¯s neck. ¡°Wait!¡± Beratto gave me 10,000 Coins. Goodness, this guy had really collected a lot. It was obvious he hadn¡¯t just camped this gate, but others. ¡°If I shake you and more Coins come out, it¡¯ll be ten hits per Coin.¡± ¡°I-I really don¡¯t have anymore. This is my entire life¡¯s savings.¡± ¡°That so?¡± I got up. This much was sufficient. By the way, I got 20,000 Coins from him. The poor sop didn¡¯t know, but I had a theft genius with me. Our little theft genius brought exactly 10,211 Coins to me, not leaving a single Coin behind. So I decided to be nice. I earned 20,000 Coins with a short skirmish, so it was a winning deal for me. Pedro and I ported to the Forest of Dwarfs. We arrived at the Winter Castle to find Elder Bufafa waiting for us. He said he had sensed the Millenium Lava in advance, or something like that. (Ah, I¡¯m sleepy. Hubby. I¡¯m gonna go back to sleep. Know you¡¯re dead if you cheat on me while I¡¯m¡ª) Was it hubby, or husband? Or was it bride? Pick one and stick to it, please. I was about to expel an unconscious sigh when Elder Bufafa approached me. He walked faster and faster, becoming so fast it was almost threatening. Then, he fell into a kowtow. ¡°Esteemed one.¡± An individual from an exceedingly prideful race, the dwarfs, knelt at my feet. All of a sudden? What was it this time? I didn¡¯t think bringing the Millenium Lava was such a big deal. It wasn¡¯t because of the Millenium Lava. The gatekeeper twins were shocked. ¡°El-Elder!¡± ¡°Elder Bufafa!¡± Their reactions mirrored mine. I was shocked, too. I bent to lift Elder Bufafa to his feet. ¡°Why are you doing this all of a sudden?¡± Elder Bufafa got up unsteadily. And then, he said this: ¡°I did not know I would be honored by Lady ¡ª¡¯s presence here.¡± ____ Chapter 191 Chapter 191 Bufafa said gratefully, ¡°I did not know I would be granted an audience with Lady ¡ª here.¡± Lady ¡ª? I couldn¡¯t hear what he said. My brain couldn¡¯t comprehend it. Just like with the Demon King, it was System interference. The current me wasn¡¯t being allowed access to this information. ¡®Rather than showing I don¡¯t know¡­¡¯ Pretending I knew who he was talking about might result in a far more favorable outcome. It was more favorable for me to be the one creating and directing the situation. ¡°Is that so?¡± When I first met Bufafa. After I gave him the Ten-Thousand Year Old Cold Iron. And the current me. What was the difference? That change was responsible for Bufafa¡¯s dramatic reaction. ¡®The difference is¡­¡¯ There was one striking difference. ¡®The now-sleeping Isabel.¡¯ The only difference was whether Isabel¡¯s ego was awake or not. Isabel was a ¡®transcendent artifact¡¯, so it was possible she would appear to a dwarf elder as some kind of ¡®noble being¡¯. I conspicuously stroked Isabel, examining Bufafa¡¯s expression. ¡®Yes.¡¯ Elder Bufafa¡¯s brows flinched, and his long beard trembled a little. ¡®I¡¯m right.¡¯ I couldn¡¯t comprehend ¡®¡ª¡¯, but I figured it out. My heart settled back into place. There was no doubt. The ¡®¡ª¡¯ Elder Bufafa was saying was Isabel. ¡°She is asleep at the moment. With my lowly ability, I am unable to draw out her full power.¡± ¡°I see. No wonder I failed to recognize her earlier.¡± Elder Bufafa¡¯s dark red beard suddenly changed to a fist shape, then slammed onto his own swollen eyes. His lively beard was truly fascinating. ¡°These two useless eyes were unable to recognize the noble one. Even digging them out would not atone.¡± ¡°It¡¯s because my ability is lacking.¡± But who was Isabel, to make Elder Bufafa fall to his knees before her? This sword was definitely no ordinary artifact. ¡°How do you know about Isabel?¡± ¡°It is because I am a dwarf of Sword Forest origin.¡± ¡°¡­¡± Sword Forest. That was the name of the field that appeared in Isabel¡¯s item description. ¡®That was an existing field?¡¯ It didn¡¯t seem to be a field that only existed in name to flesh out a setting. The twin dwarfs watching from the side straightened proudly. ¡°The dwarfs originally from the Sword Forest are the pride of our people.¡± ¡°Because they carry noble blacksmith blood.¡± Elder Bufafa shook his head. ¡°It was only by luck that I was born in the Sword Forest and ended up coming here.¡± They were essentially the nobles of the dwarf world. If he was from the Sword Forest, did he know a way to go back to the Sword Forest? I had a feeling I could unlock more of Isabel¡¯s abilities if I went there. ¡°Do you know how to get to the Sword Forest?¡± Elder Bufafa shook his head. ¡°I apologize. I know where the exit of the Sword Forest is, but not the entrance. No dwarf of Sword Forest has ever returned to the Sword Forest.¡± Thanks to Isabel, I gained a piece of information. The ¡®Sword Forest¡¯ was an existing field. And I had a feeling something related to the Sword Forest would happen. In any case, we were here to turn the Old Crown into the Crown. ¡°I leave it in your capable hands,¡± I said. Bufafa took the Old Crown, but his full attention was still focused on the sword at my waist. Ever since he realized my sword was the Isabel he knew, he¡¯d been in a daze. His beard was burning and drool was dripping from his mouth, but didn¡¯t seem to realize it at all. He was still out of it. ¡®He looks like he¡¯d cut out his liver for me if I asked.¡¯ I could hardly let this good opportunity slip away. ¡°Much of Isabel¡¯s strength is currently sealed.¡± ¡°I-I see.¡± That was another piece of information. In her current state¡ªthe state where Isabel was in my possession¡ªeven the sharp-eyed Bufafa could not precisely ascertain Isabel¡¯s status. ¡°Do you, by any chance, know any way to unlock this forcibly sealed strength, if only partially?¡± ¡°¡­¡± ¡°I say this because it¡¯s a great shame that I cannot bring out the true worth of a transcendent artifact.¡± To be more precise, it was because I wanted an even better item. ¡°I think the same,¡± said Elder Bufafa after thinking intently. ¡°I will need to take a close look to know for sure, but there is a way to restore her to some degree.¡± ¡°What is that method?¡± ¡°It requires two materials, as well as a dwarf from the Sword Forest.¡± The dwarf from the Sword Forest was right in front of me. That one was settled. ¡°What are the two materials?¡± ¡°One is [Blacksmith¡¯s Red Jewel], and the other is [Magician¡¯s Red Jewel].¡± I was struck momentarily speechless. ¡®Blacksmith¡¯s Red Jewel?¡¯ I already had it. That was the item given to me by the incomprehensible Demon King. I¡¯ll wait for you at Endless Sky. With those words, he gave me this Blacksmith¡¯s Red Jewel as a present. ¡®Is this also his doing?¡¯ Was it his doing, or was it a coincidence? It was probably intentional. ¡®In that case, maybe at Endless Sky¡­?¡¯ If this was the Demon King¡¯s doing, maybe I could acquire the Magician¡¯s Red Jewel at this place called Endless Sky? ¡°I am already in possession of a Blacksmith¡¯s Red Jewel.¡± ¡°¡­I see.¡± ¡°And I think I will be able to procure the Magician¡¯s Red Jewel not long from now.¡± I gave Endless Sky a mention, just in case he knew. ¡°Because there¡¯s a high chance it can be found in a place called Endless Sky.¡± ¡°¡­¡± From the looks of it, Elder Bufafa didn¡¯t seem to know much about a place called Endless Sky. Okay, that was enough. I entrusted the Old Crown to Bufafa. Bufafa yanked Pedro along by the ear. ¡°Rascal! Follow me!¡± ¡°A-A manly man should not be dragged by the ear!¡± ¡°I oughta rip those lips straight off your mug. Stop talking back and follow! You need to come wait on me.¡± While getting dragged away, Pedro begged me, ¡°Please forget what you just saw. Even a manly man has his weakn¡ªYOWCH! It hurts, Teacher!¡± * * * Translator ¨C Lei Proofreader ¨C Ash * * * Three hours passed since Elder Bufafa began the restoration work. For three hours, I felt intense heat and heard a continuous stream of crisp hammering. During that time, I was able to rest in comfort at Elder Bufafa¡¯s house. Bufafa came up to me, wiping his sweat. ¡°The main work is all done. Now we just have to let it cool.¡± ¡°Did it go well?¡± ¡°It is an object brought by the esteemed one, so I simply did my best.¡± He spoke humbly, but judging by his expression, it was a great success. It wasn¡¯t surprising¡ªthe crown was a quest item from the ¡®beginner period¡¯ of Playing, after all. For a race like the dwarfs, it was probably child¡¯s play. ¡°Would it be alright if I could examine Lady ¡ª a little?¡± ¡°Isabel is my bride.¡± ¡°¡­¡± ¡°I¡¯m sure there are no men out there who would carelessly pass their bride to another.¡± ¡°¡­¡± Bufafa looked gutted. His eyes whirled around as he racked his brain. I threw him a lifeline. ¡°However, if that bride is sick, it¡¯s only right to go see a doctor, is it not?¡± Bufafa clasped my hands in his. He appeared rather touched by my words. ¡°I humbly ask of you to please allow me to closely examine Lady ¡ª. I will not forget this kindness.¡± Not bad, not bad at all. It was great that I could put him in my debt when he was the one strengthening my weapon for me. It was like killing two birds with one stone, getting my cake and eating it too. I breathed a little sigh. ¡°Since you desire it so much, Elder Bufafa, in consideration of the many years of cooperation ahead of us, I will allow you to take a brief look at Isabel.¡± Elder Bufafa¡¯s beard formed a [!], then jumped up and down three times out of extreme joy. He put on a white glove that glowed with a blue light and changed into pure-white clothes. It almost looked like a priest¡¯s robe. He wrapped his beard with mesh, like when women bundled their hair into a bun and then covered it with a hair net. Because he had so much beard, it looked like a giant egg was hanging under his chin. It was a little funny-looking, but¡­ ¡®He¡¯s serious and reverent.¡¯ Bufafa took Isabel from me with a truly reverent appearance. Very carefully, with both hands. After examining her for a long time with just his eyes, he began to ever so gently touch Isabel¡¯s blade here and there. His eyes rolled up, showing only whites, and he began to convulse like he was possessed. ¡®That looks like¡­¡¯ It looked similar to when the Courageous Lion King descended on Kim Taechun. But it wasn¡¯t a descent. The energy I was feeling was far more familiar to me than descent. This was¡­ the incantation of a dwarf. ¡®A dwarf is reciting an incantation.¡¯ I focused. What kind of incantation would come from a craftsman among craftsmen, a master among masters? He was even a dwarf of Sword Forest origin. ¡°¡ª ¡ª ¡ª ¡ª-.¡± ¡°¡ª ¡ª ¡ª.¡± ¡°¡ª ¡ª ¡ª ¡ª-.¡± ¡°¡ª ¡ª.¡± But to my dismay, I wasn¡¯t able to understand a single word. After the incantation was recited, Elder Bufafa¡¯s eyes opened wide. ¡°This stigma is¡­¡± He passed Isabel back to me. ¡°The esteemed one is engraved with a stigma so deep that I cannot fathom its depths with my skill.¡± Stigma. In other words, Achievement. That could be engraved on an item, not a Player? ¡°If I were to summarize this stigma with my cursory expertise¡­¡± ¡°¡­¡± Bufafa gulped hard. ¡°Heavenly talent, accursed.¡± Hm? ¡®Heavenly talent is cursed?¡¯ That was a stigma? It was a little odd. But come to think of it, it did sort of match Isabel¡¯s personality. There was an ability she rejected her talent for and personally sealed, ¡®Beat ¡®em, Beat ¡®em, Beat ¡®em Harder¡¯. Bufafa continued to say strange things. ¡°The day the stigma is completely activated, Lady ¡ª¡¯s true body shall descend.¡± I didn¡¯t know exactly what he was talking about, but¡­ ¡®Endless Sky.¡¯ There were no two ways around it. I had to go there. Someday, I would have to meet the Demon King once more. ¡°Oh, before I forget. I have a request, Elder.¡± * * * The Old Crown was restored into the ¡®Crown¡¯. Pedro and I left the Winter Castle with a warm goodbye from Elder Bufafa, and I headed to the Tutorial Building to return to Korea using the Teleport Gateway. ¡®It¡¯s a huge drain on my Coins.¡¯ But I didn¡¯t regret it. I was producing content that no one else in this world could make. And I was pulling off successful acts in the Italian, Korean, and even the Japanese server. This was literally an investment period. When this investment period was over, I would be able to rake in a far greater sum of Coins and sponsorships. Pedro held out his hand. ¡°I need to return to Japan.¡± He always had to add one unnecessary thing. ¡°A manly man¡¯s handshake must be passionate.¡± I clasped his hand, and he shook it vigorously up and down. He was squeezing with all his might, but unfortunately for him, it didn¡¯t hurt at all. Pedro was biologically a woman, and I didn¡¯t understand why he was so fixated on being a manly man. His manly man obsession was made awkward by the fact that he wasn¡¯t a manly man at all. Pedro returned to Japan, while I went to the Gran Seoul Dungeon. I met Vela in the vicinity of the Gran Seoul Dungeon. ¡°We need to ask Jackson to find the entrance.¡± ¡°Yup.¡± Jackson knew where the entrance was. The Gran Seoul¡¯s hidden field was set so only Vela and I could clear it. But I couldn¡¯t get in contact with Jackson. He was probably dungeon clearing or doing some kind of scenario. Just then, I got a call from Song Kiyeol. ¨CMr. Kim Hyukjin. As you predicted, Junghye made a move. I knew that already. She was occupying the entrance and sending in her cherry-picked crew. Because I asked them to buy time for me, Taeguk Shield was temporarily backing off and observing. But Kiyeol reiterating it meant something had happened. ¨CBut Junghye¡­ has withdrawn her men. ¡°How come?¡± It seemed the Gran Seoul Dungeon¡¯s entrance was taken over by someone else. ¨CAbout that¡­ Just then, I glimpsed the news being transmitted on the massive LED display in downtown Seoul. ¡®Is it because of him?¡¯ The Gran Seoul Dungeon entrance was being occupied by a Chinese Player. It was a very familiar face. ¡°Is it because of Lao Yu?¡± I asked. The Chinese tamer, the virtuoso of the tamer world who was the first to show the world how to tame Big Black Dogs, was carrying out a siege in Korea. Another event that hadn¡¯t happened in the past was taking place. ____ Chapter 192 Chapter 192 Lao Yu. The first person to tame a Big Black Dog. ¡®The Player who came up with the safest way to clear the U-Plex Dungeon.¡¯ And the taming fanatic who would later be respected by the tamers of the whole world as the ¡®Taming Master¡¯. ¨CDo you know Lao Yu? ¡°I do. He¡¯s a rising star in China¡¯s taming scene, after all.¡± ¡ªWord gets around to you quickly. ¡°Information gathering is the lifeblood of a sovereign.¡± In any case, Lao Yu was currently occupying the Gran Seoul Dungeon¡¯s entrance and was refusing to budge. Taeguk Shield and the other Korean Rankers were just letting him be for the time being. ¨CA few Players resisted and fought with him, but¡­ ¡°They weren¡¯t killed, were they?¡± If they were killed, that would change things. ¨CNo, they weren¡¯t. As I thought, he didn¡¯t kill them. Lao Yu might be crazy about taming, but he wasn¡¯t crazy about killing. ¨CThey were all seriously wounded. ¡°Serious wounds can be healed in no time with potions.¡± Lao Yu hadn¡¯t committed murder. That meant his personality, at least, was unchanged from the Lao Yu I remembered. ¨CI am purposefully buying time, as you asked me to do. ¡°I imagine Miss Song Junghye was caught in the middle and was absolutely crushed. ¨C¡­ I could feel an older brother¡¯s concern for his sister on the other side of the line. After gaining a little sister myself, I could sympathize with his feelings. The only difference was, my sister was Sunhwa and his was Song Junghye. I already knew what Kiyeol wanted to say. ¡°In any case, you won¡¯t be able to drag things out for much longer. Taeguk Shield has its prestige to maintain as Korea¡¯s representative guild.¡± In addition, Taeguk Shield wasn¡¯t the only guild in Korea. They might be rookies now, but in the future, countless Players and guilds would rise to fame. Korea¡¯s Players were fully capable of standing on the world stage¡­ given that the country developed normally, that is. ¨CYes, exactly. I think public sentiment will worsen if we don¡¯t do anything. And Taeguk Shield could not afford to neglect public sentiment, since it was essentially a subsidiary of Sungshin. ¡°The issue will take care of itself. There¡¯s no need to overexert yourself.¡± ¨CIt¡¯ll take care of itself? ¡°No matter how amazing Lao Yu is, he can¡¯t face all of Korea¡¯s Players.¡± And most likely¡ª ¡°Isn¡¯t there a guild called ¡®Wings¡¯ among the groups who wanted to enter the Gran Seoul Dungeon?¡± ¨CAh. There is. My understanding of them is that they¡¯re a guild that has been distinguishing itself here and there as of late.¡± ¡°The issue will be quickly resolved if Wings takes a key role.¡± Wings Played very defensively. They were frustrating to watch, but they advanced as safely as possible, without sacrificing anyone. Of course, such a Playstyle came with its limits, but on the other hand, it had definite advantages. ¡°Also, is the reason you called me possibly because Lao Yu is looking for me?¡± * * * ¡°I will have people look into Lao Yu¡¯s background.¡± With that, Song Kiyeol lowered his phone. He looked speechlessly out his window for a long time. From floor 63 of the Player Tower, the apartment buildings in the vicinity looked like children¡¯s blocks. This place gave you the impression that you were looking down on the world, like you were a king. But Song Kiyeol was unable to feel even an inkling of such empowerment. ¡®Kim Hyukjin¡­ sees everything without needing to tower from above.¡¯ Goosebumps rose over his arms. Just what¡­ was that person? ¡®He knew in advance that Junghye would make a scene there¡­ And can it be that he also knew Lao Yu would show up?¡¯ No, Kim Hyukjin hadn¡¯t known. He only assumed and predicted everything afterwards. ¡®A truly terrifying precognitive ability.¡¯ He seemed to be a Precognitive Dreamer one level higher than Taeguk Shield¡¯s Ham Sohyun. He was actually a regressor, not a Precognitive Dreamer, but that was Song Kiyeol¡¯s assessment. ¡®And even the fact that Lao Yu is looking for him.¡¯ Lao Yu was shouting, ¡®Bring me the first person who tamed a Big Black Dog!¡¯ and refusing to budge right now. The first person to tame a Big Black Dog¡­ was naturally Kim Hyukjin. ¡®Then how will Kim Hyukjin act?¡¯ Kiyeol didn¡¯t know exactly, but he suspected Hyukjin would meet Lao Yu. He didn¡¯t know how, but he was sure that method would end up being ¡®the method desired by Kim Hyukjin¡¯. Kiyeol breathed a sigh of relief as he looked out the window. ¡®I¡¯m so glad we¡¯re on the same side.¡¯ He was relieved. What if Kim Hyukjin was his enemy? Kiyeol probably wouldn¡¯t have been able to nurture Taeguk Shield to this point, and he might have incurred his grandfather¡¯s ire long ago. Song Kiyeol spoke. ¡°Eunho. Go and find out how and where Kim Hyukjin and Lao Yu make contact. If you get caught, don¡¯t lie. Just be honest.¡± In other words, do your very best not to get caught. However, Kiyeol didn¡¯t put his hopes on not getting caught. He was curious. He wanted to know how much tailing Kim Hyukjin would permit. ¡®I¡¯ve already kind of gotten permission.¡¯ ¨CI will have people look into Lao Yu¡¯s background. Kim Hyukjin had agreed to that. Kim Hyukjin would meet Lao Yu, and if that happened, the person Kiyeol sent to look into Lao Yu would also end up meeting Hyukjin. ¡®I¡¯m sure Kim Hyukjin knows that as well.¡¯ It was unlikely that he wouldn¡¯t know. Kim Hyukjin was smarter than him, after all. But Kiyeol needed to find out how much Hyukjin would allow, how much information he would share. ¡®Because this isn¡¯t a subordinate relationship. We¡¯re business partners.¡¯ He acknowledged that Kim Hyukjin was amazing. He also knew that Kim Hyukjin was more capable than him. He wasn¡¯t so narrow-minded that he couldn¡¯t acknowledge that. That being said, there was no need for their relationship to become one of master and subordinate. They could gain what there was to gain from one another and refuse what there was to refuse. That was what a business relationship was. ¡®Grandfather probably wants that as well.¡¯ It could be that even Kim Hyukjin wanted that. For some reason, he had the feeling that his grandfather and Kim Hyukjin were somehow alike. * * * Translator ¨C Lei Proofreader ¨C Ash * * * The Internet went into a frenzy. ¨CWhat the hell are the Korean Rankers doing? ¨CWhy¡¯s Taeguk Shield just sitting around? Not just on the Internet, but whenever people met up in the real world as well, Lao Yu was bound to come up in conversation. ¡°Are we getting overpowered by China?¡± ¡°It¡¯s only one person! How is it that we can¡¯t do anything?¡± But the situation was turned around with the appearance of a guild called Wings. The Guildmaster of Wings, a young boy named Kim Donghyun, said the following. ¨CThere¡¯s no need for Korea¡¯s top guild to step forward because of a Player of Lao Yu¡¯s level. Twelve ironclad knights, plus the similarly armed Guildmaster Kim Donghyun and the magician-garbed Kim Ahyun. ¨CI know he is ranked first among China¡¯s tamers. Of course, it wasn¡¯t an official ranking. It was just made up by people and based on their guesses. In any case, no one denied that Lao Yu was one of the most famous tamers in China. ¨CBut that is just in China. Korea is, of course, more outstanding. He went and said it straight out. ¨CHe¡¯s hardly a suitable opponent for Taeguk Shield. Kim Donghyuk made a declaration of war. ¨CIn about three hours, when my teammates get here from clearing other gates, we will drive out Lao Yu from the Gran Seoul. Those words weren¡¯t spoken in vain. Wings chasing off Lao Yu was broadcasted live. Little by little, slowly, Wings bore down on Lao Yu¡¯s ¡®Yaoguai Army¡¯, and eventually, Wings secured a victory over Lao Yu. TN: Yaoguai means strange monster/demon in Chinese. Lao Yu was stabbed in the abdomen by one of the knight¡¯s spears. Covered in blood, he surrendered and left the Gran Seoul Dungeon. ¡°How strong can a Chinese Player be?¡± ¡°He was, like, completely overpowered, wasn¡¯t he?¡± ¡°Wings didn¡¯t get a single injury.¡± ¡°But Wings has fourteen people and Lao Yu is one person. He might be a tamer, but still.¡± ¡°Tamers are capable of being a one-man army. Anyway, Lao Yu had his army and was already in position, but he was completely disarmed by Wings.¡± With this event, Wings rose to fame for the first time. Their especially stalwart defense already had some people calling them ¡®Steel Bulwark¡¯, and their feat soothed the wounded pride of the Korean people. The culprit of all this, on the other hand, didn¡¯t feel much of a dented pride. Laying on his hotel bed, Lao Yu examined the note in his hand. I will pay you a visit. ¨CBig Black Dog Tamer. Kim Donghyun had passed him the note during their battle. Apparently, Kim Donghyun and the Big Black Dog tamer were acquainted. ¡®He¡¯s probably someone who doesn¡¯t like being in the public¡¯s eye.¡¯ Just what kind of person was he? How did he succeed in taming Big Black Dogs so early on? Lao Yu was so very curious. About an hour later, he heard knocking on his door. Lao Yu opened the door to find a man standing outside his room. He asked abruptly, ¡°Are you Kim Hyukjin?¡± Lao Yu knew Kim Hyukjin¡¯s name. * * * Holding the Translation Marble I¡¯d gotten from Senia, I rapped on the door to Lao Yu¡¯s hotel room. Having gotten my note, Lao Yu opened the door. A short crop cut. Handsome facial features. A leather jacket and ripped jeans. The face of a typical handsome Chinese man. ¡®He¡¯s like the Lao Yu I remember.¡¯ And the Lao Yu in front of me knew my name. The reason why he knew my name was simple. ¡®The Shepherd Boy must have told him.¡¯ How much the Shepherd Boy despised me was evident from the way he marked me by name. He might have even given Lao Yu a quest to kill me. I responded with an equally straightforward question. ¡°Did the Shepherd Boy give you a quest to kill me?¡± ¡°¡­¡± Lao Yu flinched. ¡°The Shepherd Boy isn¡¯t the kind of Guardian who would give such a quest.¡± I took advantage of Lao Yu¡¯s flinch to activate Eye of Perception. This was a trick I¡¯d learned from meeting the manly man philiac, Pedro. It was far more effective to create an emotional opening and then use Eye of Perception rather than just trying to brute force it. [Player] Name: Lao Yu Age: 23 Level: 35 Class: Beginner Tamer Guardian: ¨C Innate ability: [Wanna Be Friends?] State: Slightly Agitated / Guarded / Hostile Disposition: Aggressive / Curious Summary: Taming Fanatic Tamer who Needs his First Title The disposition/state/summary only show the most representative and can change according to the situation. Because Eye of Perception¡¯s proficiency is not high enough, viewing more detailed information is impossible. Notable was the fact I couldn¡¯t see his Guardian. The best thing to do at a time like this was to ask. ¡°Have you made a contract with the Shepherd Boy?¡± ¡°No. I haven¡¯t made a contract yet.¡± Even though he was level 35? It would¡¯ve been impossible to reach level 35 without the help of a Guardian in China. ¡®No.¡¯ There was more to the world than I knew. ¡°But it¡¯s true that you got a quest from him.¡± ¡°Yes. Though I didn¡¯t expect you to know that.¡± ¡°I have a little history with the Shepherd Boy.¡± It wasn¡¯t a rosy one, though. ¡°Let me guess. The quest is to find me, correct? That¡¯s why you came to Korea all of a sudden.¡± ¡°That¡¯s right.¡± ¡°Was that really the right move?¡± ¡°You¡¯re standing in front of me, so it worked out, didn¡¯t it?¡± This person was a taming fanatic. The fact that he put his taming on hold to come all this way meant the ¡®Shepherd Boy¡¯ was quite big on his radar, too. ¡°The Shepherd Boy gives quests in steps.¡± He was a dirty bastard who concealed what he wanted and stooped to whatever means necessary to accomplish his objectives. That¡¯s how he was when he was trying to get the Red Eyes, and that¡¯s how he would act with Lao Yu. ¡°Then what kind of quest do you think he¡¯ll give you now?¡± ¡°What do you mean?¡± ¡°If you were to receive a quest to kill me, do you intend on carrying it out?¡± I was curious. What was Lao Yu thinking? ¡°Are you crazy? Kill someone? Maybe in a PVP zone, but in real life?¡± I smiled. This was good. ¡®It¡¯ll be awkward for the Shepherd Boy to give the quest now.¡¯ It would be a blow to the Shepherd Boy¡¯s dignity to force a quest now, when the Player was jumping up and down saying, ¡®Why would I kill someone?¡¯ A part of me was relieved that Lao Yu was a decent person. ¡®Instead of a quest to kill me¡­¡¯ What would his very first move be? ¡®If it were me.¡¯ If I were the Shepherd Boy, I would want to take back the title he had given me with a legitimate method. He would use Lao Yu to carry out that method. ¡®A PVP with my Thousand Dog Master title as a wager would be most ideal.¡¯ The Shepherd Boy knew a measure of my abilities, so he would greatly strengthen Lao Yu. To my amusement, I could see straight through the Shepherd Boy¡¯s plans and thoughts. This stage may have been set by the Shepherd Boy, but the person who was directing it was me. ¡®Let¡¯s give it a try then, shall we?¡¯ This wasn¡¯t a simple fight with Lao Yu. It was a war against the Shepherd Boy. ¡°Can I ask you one question?¡± I asked. I¡¯d been really curious about this the whole time. Lao Yu nodded. ¡°Why did you go to the U-Plex Dungeon?¡± ____ Chapter 193 Chapter 193 Lao Yu was the person who revealed the U-Plex Dungeon clear method. He rendered a particularly brilliant contribution to the 1st floor strat. But there was something a little strange about this. ¡®China has dungeons for days.¡¯ Why did he bother to fly all the way to Korea to come up with a strategy for the U-Plex Dungeon? He wasn¡¯t even an explorer, but a tamer. Why did he go so far away to tame? Might there have been a reason why that was necessary? ¡®No need to limit my thinking to the clue that is the 1st floor.¡¯ I decided to look a little further, to broaden my vision a little. I had to use a broader scope to read the overall situation. Only then could I set myself apart from the others. ¡°Why did you go to the U-Plex Dungeon?¡± ¡°When did I say I went there?¡± ¡°I heard you were looking for the first person who tamed Big Black Dogs. That¡¯s the only place in Korea where Big Black Dogs show up.¡± ¡°¡­¡± Lao Yu flinched. With this, I was certain. This guy was terrible at arguing. No one said a good tamer had to be good at arguing. ¡°What¡¯s it to you? Am I not allowed to go to the U-Plex Dungeon?¡± ¡°Why are you flustered?¡± ¡°I¡¯m not flustered.¡± ¡°Why did a famous Chinese tamer like yourself go all the way to Korea¡¯s U-Plex Dungeon? I¡¯m sure there are tons of monsters other than Big Black Dogs to tame in China.¡± Did he come here just because of Big Black Dogs? No. Definitely not. ¡®U-Plex Dungeon, 4th floor.¡¯ There, I acquired the transcendent item ¡®Isabel¡¯, a sword bearing the same name as the ¡®Queen of the Sword Forest¡¯. ¡®I also heard about the Sword Forest in the Winter Castle.¡¯ The Great Explorer, Jackson. The Fight King, Vela. The Master, Pedro. The Gran Seoul Dungeon that was directly or indirectly connected to them. ¡®And.¡¯ Elder Bufafa, who was related to Pedro, was originally from the Sword Forest. I got the transcendent item with the same name as the Queen of the Sword Forest from Noah, the NPC on the 4th floor of the U-Plex Dungeon¡­ the dungeon that was originally supposed to be cleared by the Taming Master, Lao Yu. Were all these things really coincidence? ¡®No.¡¯ It wasn¡¯t a coincidence. These pieces that seemed completely unrelated to one another were connected by the central puzzle piece that was ¡®me¡¯. ¡°Do you know about the Sword Forest?¡± I probed. ¡°¡­¡± Another flinch. With this, I was even more certain. Lao Yu was the type of person who shouldn¡¯t get into arguments, the type who got more and more entangled with every word. The words ¡®poker face¡¯ didn¡¯t exist in his dictionary. ¡°There¡¯s no reason to be surprised. I, too, am among the people who have been searching a long time for the Sword Forest.¡± ¡°Eh?¡± In truth, I had only started searching for the Sword Forest recently. It was only through Elder Bufafa that I found out it was an existing field. Technically, I hadn¡¯t even started looking for it. Lao Yu jumped right into my snare. ¡°You as well?¡± ¡°Yes. My class is connected to the Sword Forest.¡± That wasn¡¯t a complete lie¡ªI was married to a sword with the same name as the Queen of the Sword Forest. It was strange to say I was married, but that was what the item description said. ¡®Lao Yu was searching for the Sword Forest¡­¡¯ It was a completely unknown fact. So why? Why was a tamer looking for the Sword Forest? Did Lao Yu get ¡®Isabel¡¯ in the past? Just what in the world was the Sword Forest? But just then, a PVP field went up around us. I guessed Lao Yu¡¯s invisible Intermediate Administrator issued the field. ¡®Looks like the Shepherd Boy instigated it.¡¯ That was very likely. This PVP was triggered by the Shepherd Boy. Either the Shepherd Boy no longer wanted to hear the conversation between Lao Yu and me, or¡­ he didn¡¯t want the conversation to progress any further. It could be that the Shepherd Boy wanted to forcibly end this conversation. [A PVP zone has been declared.] [The PVP zone¡¯s settings will be announced.] The Shepherd Boy was capable of adding a new setting or two. Regardless of his shit temper, his prowess as a Guardian was the real deal. [Upon defeat, the ¡®Thousand Dog Master¡¯ title will be reclaimed.] This was something I¡¯d been feeling for a while, but a more apt name for him was Gangster Boy, not Shepherd Boy. He cherry picked the settings favorable for him, and him only. Unfortunately for him, I wasn¡¯t as foolish as Lao Yu, and I wasn¡¯t unconditionally submissive to the Guardians. ¡°I think we¡¯ll need to do a PVP for now,¡± Lao Yu said. ¡°Allow me to introduce myself again formally. I am a tamer, a class that fights using tamed monsters.¡± The Shepherd Boy set up a safe zone in consideration of Lao Yu, a tamer. [Safe Zone Remaining Duration¨C3:00] Three minutes of safe zone were given, during which Lao Yu could leisurely summon his monsters and plan a strategy. ¡°I do not oppose my title being taken away if I lose,¡± I began. That was a matter of course. What could I possibly do about a rule determined by a Guardian? I was merely a beginner Player. There wasn¡¯t anything I could do about the rule itself. ¡°I am in full agreement with the prescribed setting.¡± However¡ª ¡°If such a setting is forcibly registered, then it will only be balanced if there is an opposite setting.¡± I wasn¡¯t just saying this to the Shepherd Boy. These words were for the innumerable other Guardians who were watching right now. ¡°The settings must be fair.¡± [The ¡®Whispering Devil¡¯ expresses deep sympathy.] [The ¡®Lady of the Scales¡¯ nods.] [The ¡®Nameless Observer¡¯ observes.] It didn¡¯t seem like much since I frequently received five, but getting three messages simultaneously was actually pretty impressive in itself. The fact that I got three messages when I was just talking and not doing anything terribly special meant although they hadn¡¯t personally expressed their opinion, there were countless Guardians who agreed with me. The Shepherd Boy¡¯s gangster act was unjustified. ¡®Though it won¡¯t matter that it¡¯s unjustified if you don¡¯t dispute it.¡¯ Such one-sided acts could be disputed no problem as long as you approached them with a reasonable method that could convince the Guardians. I was the one armed with the justification¡ªthis was a lawful objection from the justified party. Knowledge is power. * * * Translator ¨C Lei Proofreader ¨C Ash * * A message came in immediately, like the sender had been waiting for me to say those words. [The ¡®White Hunter¡¯ temporarily strengthens a title.] It was extremely fast, almost as if the White Hunter was lying in wait to sponsor me. He had calculated the timing in advance. His rival, the Conductor of Sound, was probably blowing a gasket right now. [To make the settings fair, the System acknowledges the White Hunter¡¯s adjustment.] With that, my title changed once again from Hunter¡¯s March to (Courageous) Hunter¡¯s March. ¡®Nice.¡¯ I had experienced the upgraded effects before. There was a big difference between not having experienced something and having experienced it once. It was the difference between 0 or not 0. [Favor Granted by the White Hunter] Type: Special skill Name: (Courageous) Hunter¡¯s March Effect: High chance to cure abnormal statuses in a solo battle (duration: 120 seconds) +12% crit chance in a solo battle (duration: 120 seconds) +40% increase in effect of consumable items in a solo battle Increased effectiveness of a ¡®direct attack¡¯ ability of the caster when used in combination with Hunter¡¯s March (limited to innate abilities). Can use the special ability ¡®Hunter¡¯s Step¡¯. Cooldown: 360 seconds Proficiency: [1] The really good thing about this title was ¡®Hunter¡¯s Step¡¯. I was in a 1 vs. 1 PVP right now, with less than one minute left before the safe zone expired. Many monsters appeared on both sides of Lao Yu. ¡®Troll Soldiers and regular Trolls.¡¯ Those guys would be the tanks, so to speak. ¡®With Shadow Soldiers mixed in between.¡¯ They were shadow monsters holding daggers. These China-exclusive monsters could be regarded as assassins/DPS. They were extremely skilled at stealth, but not enough to fool my Eye of Perception, so they weren¡¯t much of a threat to me. ¡®That¡¯s¡­ a Stone Golem?¡¯ It was a monster around level 30 with great physical prowess. ¡®He¡¯s even got a Shadow Archer?¡¯ Shadow Archers were one rank higher than Shadow Soldiers. Their long-range attack, ¡®Shadow Arrow¡¯, was extremely sneaky and tipped with strong poison, making them tricky monsters to face. ¡®And that one¡¯s an Orc Shaman.¡¯ It was my first time seeing an Orc Shaman in an ordinary field. ¡®Judging by its white nose ring, it¡¯s a healer/buff shaman.¡¯ Lao Yu¡¯s monster squad had quite a diverse composition. My opponent was full of confidence. ¡°These monsters have never been seen in Korea, right?¡± ¡°¡­¡± ¡°There¡¯s no reason to be surprised. There are lots of monsters like these in China.¡± When it came to monster diversity, China was definitely one step above Korea. But unfortunately for Lao Yu, I was already very familiar with those monsters. ¡®I don¡¯t see any monsters that can deal a single powerful blow.¡¯ That left only one conclusion. ¡®Lao Yu himself is the one who can deal such a blow.¡¯ From his monster lineup, I figured out that my opponent had an ultimate move he would use when the time was right. There was nothing easier than a PVP against an opponent you knew inside out. Ten seconds remaining. ¡°There are certainly many monsters I¡¯ve never seen before.¡± ¡°Heh.¡± Lao Yu¡¯s shoulders straightened with pride. ¡°But I don¡¯t see how that matters.¡± The White Hunter, a Guardian who loved 1 vs. 1 PVP, was watching. He had granted me a favor, so I had to give him an appropriate show. ¡°When will you summon the Big Black Dog?¡± Lao Yu asked. I laughed. It was just as I thought. Since I was related to the Sword Forest and tamed a Big Black Dog, it wasn¡¯t strange that he would think I was a tamer. He probably intended on a tamer vs. tamer showdown. ¡°Why would I summon a Big Black Dog?¡± Only five seconds were left before the safe zone expired. ¡°Do you not need it?¡± I couldn¡¯t summon a Big Black Dog, and I didn¡¯t want to, either. Why would I bother summoning something to fight for me, when I could fight plenty well on my own? [Equipping Sylphid¡¯s Wing.] That moment, Lao Yu¡¯s eyes widened. ¡°Archer?¡± [The Safe Zone has expired.] The Safe Zone disappeared, and Lao Yu was clearly taken aback. However, he didn¡¯t forget about the battle. ¡°Troll Soldiers. Advance.¡± The Troll Soldiers started advancing, their shields raised. ¡®Sorry, but¡­¡¯ Troll Soldiers might be good at tanking, but they were slow. They couldn¡¯t catch an archer with such sluggish movements. Lao Yu quietly gave orders to his troops. ¡®I don¡¯t need to hear it to know.¡¯ The flow of the battle was clear to me. ¡®He¡¯s probably readying the Shadow Soldiers to attack me.¡¯ He thought I was an archer. He undoubtedly thought that I would increase the distance between us and fire my bow. After all, that was how a long-ranged DPS normally fought. ¡®I¡¯ll pretend to increase the distance.¡¯ I took two steps backwards and saw Lao Yu¡¯s eyes gleam. He might have outstanding talent as a tamer, but he was green in the ways of 1 vs. 1. That was my assessment of him. [Using the special ability Hunter¡¯s Step.] I narrowed the gap in the blink of an eye. [+21% movement speed] [+26% jumping power] [+33% acceleration] [+31% maximum speed] And then, I pulled out Isabel. ¡°Wh-What?¡± Lao Yu panicked, and I didn¡¯t miss the opening his panic provided. Using Flash Step, I cut a straight line up to Lao Yu. It was a very small opening, but that tiny opening allowed me to approach a man surrounded by a monster army with extreme ease. ¡°I never said I was an archer.¡± I swung the transcendent item Isabel. ____ Chapter 194 Chapter 194 ¡°I never said I was an archer.¡± I swung Isabel a little wider than necessary on purpose. ¡®You. You¡¯re hiding something, aren¡¯t you?¡¯ I knew what he was hiding. He would probably pull out his continuously growing monster, Phoenix, the card he was saving to deal the final blow against me. Sure enough, a bird flew out from behind the Troll Soldier guarding Lao Yu. ¡®It¡¯s not the Phoenix I know.¡¯ It was very different from the one I had seen on Youtube in the past. ¡®No wonder he lost so easily to Wings.¡¯ The current Lao Yu was still far from mature. His Phoenix was, of course, just as immature. Right now, it just looked like a flaming pigeon. However, the fire ki within that flaming pigeon was rather pure and strong. Lao Yu grinned. ¡°I never said I would go down without a fight, either.¡± Thanks to me swinging Isabel a little clumsily, Lao Yu barely dodged Isabel and ordered, ¡°Fire!¡± The flaming pigeon shot a fireball at me. ¡®It¡¯s less violent than a Fire Giant¡¯s fire ki, and less pure than Athenae¡¯s fire ki.¡¯ The attack of this still-immature Phoenix that had a lot of growing to do wasn¡¯t much of a threat to me. ¡®Should I let it hit me?¡¯ I would probably be perfectly fine. My fire ki was higher in grade than what this flaming pigeon shot out. Our energies were on completely different levels. ¡®No.¡¯ I chose a different path. [Using the special skill Flash Step.] I chose to use the Sword Empress¡¯ signature move, a technique Shin Yeonseo, one of Korea¡¯s strongest 1 vs. 1 PVPers, had used truly often. After using it, I realized that foot techniques were more important than swordsmanship. The feet were more important than the sword, and the eyes were more important than the feet. And thankfully, I had both feet and eyes. ¡®My body is light.¡¯ I keenly felt the effects of (Courageous) Hunter¡¯s March. I easily dodged the flaming pigeon¡¯s fireball and closed in on Lao Yu, bringing Isabel to his neck. ¡°Is that everything up your sleeve?¡± ¡°¡­What in the world is your class? The way you move is way too different from the archers I¡¯ve faced so far.¡± ¡°I said I wasn¡¯t an archer.¡± ¡°Then what are you?¡± ¡°I¡¯m a sovereign.¡± ¡°¡­What?¡± That was probably more shocking. ¡°Isn¡¯t sovereign a non-combat class?¡± ¡°There¡¯s bound to be sovereigns who also fight.¡± ¡°Where? What kind of sovereign is that?¡± ¡°I could ask you the same. How did a beginner tame a mythological creature?¡± ¡°¡­You have a talent for rendering a person speechless.¡± He himself was an Irregular, so he easily accepted that I was one, too. ¡°We should wrap up the PVP for now.¡± I instantly slashed Isabel, cutting Lao Yu¡¯s throat. Slice¨C! There wasn¡¯t much resistance. However outstanding a tamer he might be, he didn¡¯t have high defense. The moment Isabel was at his throat, Lao Yu¡¯s posse of tamed monsters meant nothing. I won in the PVP against Lao Yu without difficulty. [You have won the PVP.] [The ¡®White Hunter¡¯ is very happy.] The favor the White Hunter had briefly bestowed disappeared. But the Conductor of Sound jumped forward first. [The ¡®Conductor of Sound¡¯ expresses great happiness in your victory against a large number of foes.] [The ¡®Conductor of Sound¡¯ sends you a ¡®Map of the Battlefield¡¯ as a sponsorship.] Map of the Battlefield? ¡®Whoa.¡¯ I didn¡¯t know exactly what it was, but I had a good idea. ¡®Just like what the Giant of the Sunset did for Choi Sung-gu¡­¡¯ Each Guardian was bound to have their favorite Player, and there were Guardians out there who heaped investment on their favorites. If my guess was right, the Conductor of Sound just set me as their ¡®favorite¡¯. If I activated this Map of the Battlefield, I would be able to open something like Sung-gu¡¯s Shot Table Dungeon. ¡®A Guardian¡¯s gift to their favorite.¡¯ Choi Sung-gu acquired the Tome of the Divine Fire Physique there. ¡®I am happy, but¡­¡¯ I had my misgivings. It was true that I was Playing very well¡ª ¡®But what about the Wargod Salvatore?¡¯ Now that I thought about it, Vela¡¯s name was already gaining traction in Italy, but I hadn¡¯t heard Salvatore¡¯s name at all. The two started Playing at around the same time and would grow neck and neck with each other as rivals, but I hadn¡¯t heard any mention of Salvatore. ¡®Could it be¡­ that the Conductor of Sound has been putting everything on me?¡¯ Was that why the future ¡®Wargod¡¯ was nowhere to be seen? But Salvatore played a crucial role in winning the ¡®Battle of the Maldives¡¯, an international event that gave Yeonseo her Sword Empress moniker. I would have to think about this a little more. Lao Yu reappeared by the power of resurrection. ¡°Getting your throat slashed is a seriously terrible experience.¡± He rubbed his throat. That moment, Senia appeared and asked me a question. ¡°Player Kim Hyukjin. Was the PVP just now a 1 on 1 battle or a group battle?¡± This wasn¡¯t a question from Senia, but from the Conductor of Sound and the White Hunter. Jeez. Was this a ¡®Do you like mommy more, or daddy more?¡¯ What answer would net me the best result? ¡°The PVP with Lao Yu was a 1 on 1 battle between me and Lao Yu as individuals.¡± That was why Hunter¡¯s March was so potent. [The ¡®White Hunter¡¯ is very satisfied.] [The ¡®White Hunter¡¯ gives you a 500 Coin sponsorship.] Tch, be a little more generous with your sponsorships. ¡°And me pitting all my skills against Lao Yu¡¯s entire army was a group battle as well.¡± [The ¡®Conductor of Sound¡¯ is happy.] [The ¡®Conductor of Sound¡¯ gives you a 600 Coin sponsorship.] At this point, the ¡®right answer¡¯ wasn¡¯t actually important. These two were currently waging a battle of pride. Still, I liked the Conductor of Sound a little more. They had given me a bigger sponsorship and the ¡®Map of the Battlefield¡¯, after all. [Map of the Battlefield] A once-fierce battlefield. The crossroads of the living and the dead, the victorious and the defeated. This is a map that guides you to the ¡®Battlefield of Crows¡¯. I had no idea where the ¡®Battlefield of Crows¡¯ was. It wasn¡¯t something I could ascertain at my current level. Lao Yu shook his head back and forth. ¡°You¡¯re a sovereign, but also an archer¡­ with the movements of a close-combat martial artist. You got me good with those completely unexpected moves.¡± ¡°Were you defeated simply because my movements were unexpected?¡± Even if I had moved like he expected, I would have won. And overwhelmingly, at that. ¡°¡­¡± Lao Yu stared at me before finally admitting it. ¡°Even if you had moved like I expected, I would have been soundly defeated. I¡¯ve never met a Player like you before. The average level of Korean Players is low, so I didn¡¯t expect a monster like you.¡± It didn¡¯t seem like he was just trying to flatter me. Lao Yu probably needed to ¡®talk me up¡¯ for some reason. I waited in silence. ¡°Since I totally lost the PVP, I¡¯ll be sharing information about the Sword Forest. Can¡¯t be helped.¡± I guessed it was some kind of penalty Lao Yu incurred. Before he could continue, I asked, ¡°Are you related to Noah, by any chance?¡± ¡°¡­What?¡± Lao Yu once again stared at me, speechless. He looked as if he were resisting the strong urge to ask me what the hell I was. ¡°That¡¯s correct. Noah. I thought I was the only one with this info.¡± ¡°I already know that Noah is somewhat connected to the Sword Forest.¡± Actually, I didn¡¯t know. I only guessed it because Noah had Isabel. But come to think of it, that was a little weird. Why did an NPC named ¡®Noah¡¯ in a beginning dungeon like the U-Plex Dungeon have a transcendent item like ¡®Isabel¡¯? Isabel was a treasure so valuable that even a dwarf elder said he was being granted an ¡®audience¡¯. So it was weird. There was something hidden here, a big secret and scenario. ¡°You already know everything, so I¡¯ll be frank. I have a quest from Noah to find and bring him a ¡®red jewel of unknown identity¡¯.¡± ¡°A red jewel of unknown identity?¡± ¡°I don¡¯t know what that is yet, either. I¡¯m told I can get information about the Sword Forest if I bring him that jewel.¡± Lao Yu sighed. ¡°And this is pretty high-level info, too¡­ I had no idea I¡¯d get robbed blind like this in a PVP.¡± * * * Translator ¨C Lei Proofreader ¨C Ash * * * After finishing the PVP against Lao Yu, I went to the Gran Seoul Dungeon, where Jackson and Vela were already waiting. In the car on the way there, I thought back on what Elder Bufafa said. ¡°I will need to take a close look to know for sure, but there is a way to restore her to some degree.¡± ¡°It requires two materials, as well as a dwarf from the Sword Forest.¡± ¡°One is [Blacksmith¡¯s Red Jewel], and the other is [Magician¡¯s Red Jewel].¡± But now, I knew there was a Chinese Player who needed to bring a ¡®red jewel of unknown identity¡¯ to Noah, the former owner of Isabel. Maybe the ¡®red jewel of unknown identity¡¯ was either the Blacksmith¡¯s Red Jewel or the Magician¡¯s Red Jewel? ¡®The Sword Forest scenario. And the Gran Seoul scenario. Both of them¡­ aren¡¯t scenarios I¡¯m doing on my own.¡¯ Little by little, I was getting wrapped up in the scenarios of the world¡¯s Rankers, and famous Rankers at that. That was just how major these two scenarios were. To think such scenarios were hidden in the Korean server¡­ While I was organizing my thoughts, the car reached the Gran Seoul Dungeon. The ¡®Icewall¡¯ guild members gathered by Song Junghye were occupying the gate again. They had reclaimed their position after Lao Yu was routed. I happened to get a call from Song Kiyeol just then. ¨CWe are no longer able to stand by and watch. Lao Yu was able to kick out Song Junghye¡¯s forces all on his own, but the Korean Players were incapable of the same feat? Even Taeguk Shield? ¨CSome people are saying this is almost a blow to our national dignity. Taeguk Shield had no choice but to pay attention to public sentiment, and as such, they had to make a move now. So I gave him the answer he wanted. ¡°Beat them up.¡± ¨C¡­What? ¡°Make the difference in strength very clear to them. Don¡¯t think of them as your little sister¡¯s gang.¡± Song Kiyeol was great, but he was too weak when it came to his little sister. And I knew his little sister Song Junghye better than he did. ¡°It could be that getting totally steamrolled¡­ is what Miss Junghye wants.¡± Our phone call ended there, and I met up with Vela and Jackson. We began talking about the ¡®hidden field¡¯ of the Gran Seoul Dungeon. ¡°I can find the entrance for you,¡± said Jackson. He looked a little regretful. ¡°But entry is restricted to two people, so I think I¡¯ll have to sit this one out.¡± ¡°Are you okay with that, Jackson? Just finding the entrance for us?¡± ¡°Well, that¡¯s part of an explorer¡¯s job description.¡± Jackson withdrew unexpectedly easily. He said he would only find the entrance. ¡°Do you not want anything?¡± ¡°I do.¡± Jackson stared at me with a grin. ¡°The head of he who will become king.¡± ¡°¡­¡± What did that mean? Before, he said he needed the head. I didn¡¯t think he meant he would be cutting off that head. ¡°I am an Exploring Baptist, a class destined to anoint the king¡¯s head with oil.¡± He shrugged. ¡°However, I haven¡¯t found the king yet, so please help me when I ask for help later.¡± ¡°¡­¡± ¡°I don¡¯t think there is anything wiser than to get a Player of your level indebted to me.¡± ¡°¡­¡± Jackson headed to the exit of the Gran Seoul building¡¯s parking lot. ¡°This is the entrance. In order to open this place properly, I need the restored Crown.¡± I gave Jackson the Crown, which he promptly stowed in his Inventory. ¡°Now.¡± He stared right at me. ¡°What shall I do now?¡± It looked almost like he was testing me, saying, ¡®I have the Crown I wanted. What¡¯re you gonna do about it?¡¯ I didn¡¯t feel any hostility from him. And he didn¡¯t look to be overcome by worldly desire, like Pedro was when he first saw the Tomb-Pilfering Shovel. This wasn¡¯t worldly desire or greed. This was a test of the ¡®Exploring Baptist¡¯. A test to see if I was truly qualified to enter the hidden field of the Gran Seoul Dungeon, to see if he should open the entrance for me or not. So I asked back. ¡°Then what shall I do?¡± I never once intended on doing nothing as he stole the Crown from me. I had predicted this test. ____ Chapter 195 Chapter 195 Elder Bufafa went to the house of his old friend, Bwarara. Just like Elder Bufafa¡¯s house, Elder Bwarara¡¯s house looked like a burning smithy. He opened the door. ¡°Long time no see, my friend!¡± Bwarara and Bufafa embraced. They didn¡¯t see each other often, but whenever they did, it was a truly joyful and enjoyable affair. Elder Bufafa smiled widely. ¡°I¡¯ve come to see you three times in a row, so it¡¯s your turn next time.¡± ¡°You were here just two years ago.¡± Dwarfs sought less social contact than humans. Although they hadn¡¯t met in two years, for dwarfs, they met relatively frequently. ¡°Anyway.¡± Elder Bwarara welcomed Bufafa inside. ¡°How about a drink?¡± ¡°Sounds good.¡± The two elders tipped back their first drink together in a while. ¡°Right, right. Bufafa. You look like you¡¯re itching to say something.¡± ¡°That¡¯s right. How¡¯d you know?¡± ¡°You look like you have an itch in your butt. What¡¯s up? Is it about that human from before?¡± ¡°The rumors have reached you, too?¡± ¡°Of course. The story of the human who drew near to Athenae, the Sacred Flame only blessed dwarfs can approach, has already spread like wildfire through the Winter Castle.¡± Elder Bwarara drank his alcohol. ¡°Kyaa. Good stuff.¡± In truth, Elder Bwarara did not have much goodwill towards humans. He neither disliked or liked them, but dwarfs generally either ignored or excluded other races, especially races that had terrible production abilities like humans. ¡°Well, it¡¯s true he¡¯s an impressive human. But it¡¯s not like he¡¯s the only such human, right?¡± ¡°That¡¯s true.¡± He wasn¡¯t the only one. Bufafa continued, ¡°But that¡¯s only if he was from the Sword Forest.¡± ¡°He¡¯s not from the Sword Forest?¡± ¡°He definitely isn¡¯t.¡± ¡°He¡¯s not a Sword Forest native, but he was able to get close to Athenae?¡± Elder Bwarara put down his mug. ¡°I thought for sure he was a Sword Forest native.¡± ¡°Bwarara. Think about it. Even in the Sword Forest, how many humans from there can approach Athenae? They¡¯re few and far between.¡± ¡°That¡¯s true, isn¡¯t it?¡± ¡°But a human who¡¯s not from the Sword Forest got close.¡± Bufafa took a deep breath. ¡°And he had the transcendent artifact, Lady Isabel, with him.¡± ¡°What did you say?!¡± Bwarara jumped to his feet. He got up so forcefully that his beard struck Bufafa in the face. ¡°Lady Isabel? Whoa. A human had that?¡± ¡°Not only that, but a part of the ego was awakened.¡± ¡°Whoa.¡± Bwarara stared at Bufafa in disbelief. ¡°Are you sure? You saw it with your own eyes?¡± ¡°I did. It was for a very brief moment, but the ego was definitely active.¡± ¡°Holy Athenae. You¡¯re telling me a human had that?¡± ¡°He¡¯s the sword¡¯s bride.¡± Bwarara blinked his two eyes. ¡°The first sword¡¯s bride in 700 years¡­ Is he qualified?¡± ¡°Actually, I wanted to talk because of that.¡± ¡°Hm?¡± ¡°The sword¡¯s bride came with a crown.¡± ¡°Isn¡¯t that a common occurrence?¡± ¡°He asked me¡­ to engrave a return authority while restoring it.¡± ¡°A return authority? Isn¡¯t that pretty normal?¡± ¡°But it¡¯s not something a sword¡¯s bride that has only just begun to toddle should know.¡± Bufafa¡¯s eyes turned serious. ¡°And I engraved the return authority like I was bewitched.¡± ¡°Like you were bewitched?¡± ¡°When I snapped out of it, I found that I had restored the Old Crown into a Crown and finished engraving the return authority on that crown. Without getting any compensation.¡± Of course, he followed the commandment and the rules of the quest, but Bufafa earned nothing of material value. ¡°Eh? You, a dwarf who holds the value of labor more sacred than anything else?¡± ¡°That¡¯s what I¡¯m saying. It was like I was bewitched or something.¡± He was played like a damn fiddle. Bufafa considered the value of labor sacred. Labor had to be compensated, if only a little. That was the correct attitude of a working dwarf. ¡°I only realized it after everything was done.¡± Bufafa emptied his mug, too. Then, he opened his mouth again. ¡°Our ancestor said the same thing happened to him 700 years ago, right?¡± * * * Translator ¨C Lei Proofreader ¨C Ash * * * ¡°Then what shall I do?¡± I foresaw the Exploring Baptist¡¯s test, and as such, I said this to the dwarf elder Bufafa. ¨COh, before I forget. I have a request, Elder. To go back to what Bufafa said, he was having an audience with Isabel. That was why he accepted my request without much resistance. ¨CA return authority? Not a problem. I will do it for you. As a result, there was a return authority on the ¡®Crown¡¯, and one personally engraved by a dwarf elder. Even Players ten years later would have a hard time breaking that authority, so was the current Jackson capable of the feat? ¡®He¡¯s not.¡¯ I raised my right hand, my palm facing the sky. ¡°This is what I¡¯ll do.¡± Golden light began to pool on my palm. Infinite rays of light gathered, and then I heard a notice. [Reclaiming the ¡®Crown¡¯.] The golden light suddenly took the appearance of a crown, the restored crown we had gained with dwarven help. Jackson made a shrug of defeat upon seeing the crown sparkling brightly under the sunlight. ¡°It¡¯s my loss.¡± ¡°¡­¡± ¡°Did you expect this?¡± ¡°I thought there was at least a 50% chance of it happening.¡± ¡°It¡¯s as they say. There¡¯s always someone better.¡± Jackson actually looked pleased. Vela was just tilting his head, not comprehending what was going on. ¡°Hey guys. What¡¯s going on?¡± There was no real need to give Vela an explanation. This was an issue between Jackson and me. ¡°C¡¯mon, fellas. Clue me in, too.¡± ¡°Guys?¡± ¡°Hyukjin? Jackson?¡± ¡°Tch. Meanies.¡± Vela muttered to himself before shutting his mouth. He then proceeded to mutter, ¡°I¡¯ll beat you jerks up.¡± ¡°I¡¯ll open the door now,¡± said Jackson. ¡°Only, opening a gate is much easier with an item called a Gate Opener. I think that will greatly reduce the difficulty of the dungeon. And of course, it will also make it easier for me to open the gate.¡± ¡°A Gate Opener?¡± We had that. More precisely, Vela had one, acquired from the Gatekeeper Lee Sungcheol. Vela stared at me. ¡°Oh. You finally wanna clue me in?¡± ¡°No, not that. Gate Opener.¡± ¡°Gate Opener?¡± Vela tilted his head. ¡°What¡¯s that?¡± ¡°¡­¡± It was actually terrifying that this was his true self. He couldn¡¯t even remember the name of an item he acquired. His forgetfulness was probably exacerbated by the fact that the item wasn¡¯t related to direct combat. ¡°The item you took from Gatekeeper Lee Sungcheol in front of the D-Tower.¡± ¡°Ah¡­!¡± Vela¡¯s two cells finally rubbed together and made a spark. ¡°Bottle opener?¡± ¡°Yeah, that thing.¡± With a spark of understanding, Vela started rummaging in his Inventory. His Inventory wasn¡¯t sorted at all, so it took him a long time to locate it. This guy was strangely super good at item switching, but apparently, that only applied to fighting. ¡°Found it!¡± He took out the Gate Opener and gave it to Jackson. ¡°Here.¡± Even the amazing Jackson couldn¡¯t help but make a face at Vela. ¡°You¡¯re just going to give it to me?¡± ¡°What¡¯s wrong with that? I¡¯m going in there.¡± ¡°That¡¯s true, but this is a consumable item. This item can be used a total of three times.¡± Vela and I were planning on entering a dungeon right now. Jackson couldn¡¯t come in since entry was limited to only two people. In other words, if Vela gave the Gate Opener to Jackson now, it was unlikely that he would ever get the Gate Opener with two additional uses back. Vela, this naive soul, asked back, ¡°And?¡± ¡°After using it once here, there will be two uses left. But you are going into the dungeon, and the Gate Opener with additional uses will remain in my possession.¡± ¡°Ah. Is that a problem?¡± Vela flashed an easy smile. ¡°Take it, it¡¯s yours.¡± ¡°¡­¡± Jackson stared at Vela like he couldn¡¯t quite keep up. ¡°What¡¯s wrong?¡± ¡°¡­¡± I felt a strange sense of kinship with Jackson. ¡°Why are you giving it to me?¡± ¡°Cause I can¡¯t use it?¡± ¡°Can¡¯t you just sell it?¡± ¡°That¡¯s so troublesome.¡± Vela¡¯s personality was beyond logic or reasoning to begin with. I thought he was just exaggerating it for the screen on Youtube, but this was his real personality. It was, in some respects, extremely shocking. Vela said, ¡°Well then, hurry and open the hidden field.¡± * * * [The ¡®hidden condition¡¯ of the Gran Seoul Dungeon has been activated.] [The ¡®hidden entrance¡¯ of the Gran Seoul Dungeon has been generated.] Near the exit of the underground parking lot, an entrance was activated. [Only those with a special qualification can seek passage through the ¡®hidden entrance¡¯.] Vela and I already fulfilled that qualification. [Map of the Gran Seoul Dungeon] A piece of a map bearing information about the Gran Seoul Dungeon¡¯s hidden piece. Only those with this map can activate the hidden piece. Additionally, this map acts as an entry ticket for a new entrance. The ¡®Map of the Gran Seoul Dungeon¡¯ that was acting as the entrance ticket went up in flames. A black, shimmering entrance appeared, visible only to us. Jackson bade us a casual goodbye. ¡°Have a nice trip.¡± In the past, Jackson might have been the one to go in here with Vela, but now, I was taking his place. ¡®The shimmering of the entrance¡­ is black.¡¯ Normally, the color of a gate didn¡¯t change like this. ¡®It¡¯s similar to what you see when shadow monsters appear.¡¯ I¡¯d have to go in to find out more. [You have entered the ¡®hidden entrance¡¯.] The Gran Seoul Dungeon¡¯s hidden field was a place even I had no idea how to clear. I felt humidity in the air. ¡°It looks exactly the same,¡± said Vela. We were standing on the road going into the underground parking lot. The place looked the same as it did from the outside, but the air was more moist and damp. It was structured like we were walking down a ramp underground. I took the lead. ¡°Let¡¯s go.¡± I couldn¡¯t feel any impressive presences from the monsters I could sense. Kikik! Kikikik! Kigigik! The cries of monsters came some distance down, from a place we couldn¡¯t see. ¡®Goblins.¡¯ I was surprised that such weak, low-level monsters would be in a place like the Gran Seoul Dungeon. ¡°Vela. There are Goblins down there.¡± ¡°Goblins? They¡¯re super weak.¡± We continued walking down the ramp. There really were Goblins waiting for us. There were about thirty of them. ¡°This¡¯ll be quick, eh?¡± ¡°No, don¡¯t kill them.¡± Why? was a reasonable question¡ª ¡°Got it.¡± But Vela agreed remarkably quickly. Kigik! Kigigik! A few Goblins clambered onto Vela, but their clubs couldn¡¯t penetrate Vela¡¯s defense. ¡°They¡¯re annoying. Can I just kill them?¡± ¡°Leave them be.¡± ¡°Got it.¡± Vela was surprisingly obedient. ¡°When¡¯s the strong fella gonna come out?¡± ¡°Not sure.¡± It couldn¡¯t just be Goblins. We continued walking down, ignoring the Goblins. Even if they attacked, they couldn¡¯t harm either of us. We weren¡¯t level 1 Players, after all. ¡°Huh. They¡¯re not chasing us anymore.¡± The Goblins stopped chasing us when we reached a certain point. We kept going down. ¡°Ugh. How long do we have to keep going down?¡± We had already walked down for two hours straight. ¡°There are monsters lurking around us.¡± ¡°Really?¡± ¡°Assassin class monsters.¡± ¡°Are they good at fighting?¡± Vela¡¯s fighting spirit finally began to burn. ¡°No. They¡¯re good at stabbing and ambushing, but they¡¯re probably weak at direct combat.¡± That was probably why they were remaining hidden, waiting for their chance to attack. ¡°But how do you know that?¡± ¡°Cause I¡¯m an archer. Archers have special eyes.¡± ¡°Ah. That¡¯s true.¡± He didn¡¯t even ask the extremely natural question, ¡®I thought you said you weren¡¯t an archer?¡¯ He just took me for face value and accepted my explanation. How could someone be this single-celled? ¡®The monsters wheeling around us right now are Shadow Soldiers.¡¯ They were moving rather stealthily, but I could see them clearly. Thanks to experiencing them before through Lao Yu, I could follow their movements far better. ¡®The problem is¡­ this probably isn¡¯t all.¡¯ Were Shadow Soldiers really the final enemies? Even the lower-leveled Lao Yu had a few of them tamed. Shadow Soldiers had an average level of around 30. ¡®Things will get super exhausting if something like a Shadow Knight shows up.¡¯ Worse yet¡ª ¡®If a Shadow Sovereign were to appear here¡­¡¯ We would really have to fight for the clear with our lives on the line. ¡®Both the Goblins and the Shadow Soldiers aren¡¯t very dangerous enemies.¡¯ That meant there were definitely dangerous ones around somewhere. ¡®And there aren¡¯t any real traps to speak of.¡¯ It was just an open path we had to keep walking down. Basically, the difficulty was extremely low. It shouldn¡¯t be like this. We walked down for another two hours straight. It became darker and darker. Magic lights were illuminating the surroundings here and there, but it was still not to the point of being able to see clearly. Those lights had descriptions. [Murky Magic Torch] A magic torch of the murky attribute. Not very bright due to its murky nature. At some point, I could see the end of the path, a discovery that was accompanied by a booming thud. ¡®Our retreat has been blocked.¡¯ A physical wall thudded into place behind us, blocking our retreat. We were trapped in an enclosed space. And then, I heard a voice. {Welcome, offerings of the shadow.} Welcome. Offerings of the shadow. These words were familiar to me. ¡®Shadow Sovereign.¡¯ Deep underground, in the Gran Seoul Dungeon¡¯s hidden field, was a Shadow Sovereign. ¡®It¡¯s too disadvantageous for us to fight here.¡¯ A Shadow Sovereign¡¯s presence meant there were also Shadow Knights. This place was too restrictive; it was the optimal environment for them. We had to first get out of here somehow. If we didn¡¯t, we would die here. We were trapped in darkness. ¡®There is¡­ a way.¡¯ ____ Chapter 196 Max Talent Player [Translator ¨C Lei ] [Proofreader ¨C Ash ] Chapter 196 Welcome, offerings of the shadow. The moment I heard those words, I came to a conclusion. A Shadow Sovereign would spawn here. It was my first time using it for real. [Using the special skill Flame of Purification.] I used the special skill I earned by going up to the pure flame Athenae, making a ¡®Ring of Fire¡¯, and upgrading my Person of Fire title to Pure Person of Fire. [Select the target to be purified with Flame of Purification.] Thinking there might be a chance a Shadow Sovereign might be here, I had memorized the locations of all the torches earlier. [Murky Magic Torch] A magic torch of the murky attribute. Not very bright due to its murky nature. A magic torch with a murky nature. Murky things could be purified, a fact I picked up on when we came in earlier. ¡®There¡¯s not much time.¡¯ Vela and I couldn¡¯t handle the Shadow Soldiers and Shadow Knights led by the Shadow Sovereign with just the two of us, especially not in a dark place like this with limited visibility. [The ¡®purification targets¡¯ have been selected.] I would fight fire with fire. It wasn¡¯t a very difficult concept. Not long from now, it would become a fairly common thing to do. And the flame I possessed was the ¡®Flame of Purification¡¯. Fwoosh! The torches burned immediately brighter. ¡°What are you doing?¡± ¡°Turning off the lights.¡± And then, darkness descended. I couldn¡¯t see anything. Not with Eye of Perception, not with Observer¡¯s Eye, nothing. Complete darkness. A world devoid of even a single ray of light. ¡°Vela. Turn around right where you are.¡± ¡°Eh?¡± ¡°We¡¯re going back to where we were.¡± ¡°Why?¡± ¡°Because I¡¯ve gotten rid of the light. You remember where it is, yes?¡± There was no time for a drawn-out explanation. The Great Explorer Jackson introduced the world to the Shadow Sovereign strategy. ¨CThe ¡®Shadow Sovereign¡¯ is a very tricky monster to face. It is always accompanied by ¡®shadow¡¯-type monsters, and it coordinates their movements, giving them a big buff as well as heals and even defensive spells. The Shadow Sovereign played an intermediary role that at least doubled the stats of Shadow Soldiers and Shadow Knights, virtually carrying out its role as a sovereign to a T. ¨CA wide level difference is necessary in order to face them in a dark place. But we couldn¡¯t level up right at this moment. From the glimpse I had earlier, the Shadow Sovereign¡¯s level showed up as a red ¡®?¡¯ to me. That meant it was a higher level than me. ¨CIf there isn¡¯t a wide level difference, it¡¯s best to get rid of all light in the vicinity. Because ironically, there can be no shadow without light. If we could produce a light so bright that it cast absolutely no shadows, that would be a different story. If that were possible, it would surely deal a great blow to ¡®shadow¡¯-type monsters. ¡®But in the current situation, that¡¯s impossible.¡¯ That left only one option¡ªto extinguish all light here. ¡°We¡¯re deep underground, and there¡¯s no natural light here. And I¡¯ve gotten rid of the artificial light.¡± ¡°Yeah. I get that much. I¡¯ve turned around. What do I do now?¡± ¡°The Shadow Sovereign is only really strong when shadows can be formed. There¡¯s no light, so there¡¯s no shadow. So what do you think we have to do now?¡± ¡°No idea. Just tell me.¡± I never actually hoped that Vela would understand. To Vela, what was important wasn¡¯t the process, but the result. To him, the only thing that mattered was what he had to do next. But it was different for the Guardians who were watching all this. I had to throw in the narration they desired. ¡°We have to destroy the wall that trapped us in and let the light come in.¡± That moment, my ears picked up cracking noises from the wall. ¡°Hear that? Break that wall down, quick.¡± Faster than the ¡®Shadow Sovereign¡¯ expected, half a beat ahead of our foe, Vela let out a roar. Ba-baaam! And then came a crash so loud it sounded like an explosion. I had a truly random thought. If Vela and So Yoohyun¡¯s fists collided, whose bones would shatter? Having readied myself in advance, I immediately shoved down Vela¡¯s head. ¡°Ack! What¡¯re you¡ª¡± Vela¡¯s complaint died away. ¡°Thanks. You saved me.¡± Thanks to me pushing down his head, the ¡®Shadow Spear¡¯ thrown by a Shadow Knight missed its mark. The pitch-black Shadow Spear crashed into the wall of the parking lot passage and was absorbed, seeping into the wall like black oil before quivering like it was alive. ¡°Run.¡± ¡°Where to?¡± ¡°Up.¡± Vela and I began to run. The simple Vela followed my instructions just as simply. He didn¡¯t ask why, he just began to run full-tilt. ¡°How did you know?¡± he asked while running. ¡°That an attack would be coming?¡± ¡°I got rid of all the light.¡± ¡°I know.¡± He didn¡¯t seem particularly interested in the fact I had used an ability similar to magic. It looked like he had just accepted it as a matter of fact. ¡°The Shadow Sovereign must have also concluded that in order to make shadow, it had to first make light. That would require it to destroy the wall.¡± ¡°Right.¡± ¡°That was my intent, too. The Shadow Sovereign read that intent.¡± It knew what I was doing, but it had to move anyway. Because without any light, ¡®shadows¡¯ were powerless. ¡°So I knew it would put a Shadow Knight on standby there.¡± ¡°Ohh, so you read each other¡¯s moves. Hah. Hah¡­!¡± Vela started panting. It wasn¡¯t unusual, considering we were running full speed uphill. But his constitution was worse than I thought¡ªI was totally fine. Some distance ahead of us, I started seeing the monsters we hadn¡¯t hunted earlier. Goblins. Regular Trolls. Troll Soldiers. Orcs. They were all not very strong. ¡°As long as you don¡¯t think they¡¯ll deal a fatal blow, just tank the hits and keep running.¡± ¡°Hah¡­! Hah¡­! ¡®Kay.¡± My primary goal was to run all the way to the exit of the underground parking lot, the entrance of the hidden field. In the end, we were able to reach the entrance. Vela bent over with his hands on his knees, gasping for air. ¡°Hah. Hah. Hah. Hah.¡± I activated Eye of Perception to pierce through the darkness veiling the underground space we had just run up. I couldn¡¯t see clearly, but I could sense the gist of what was happening. ¡®The shadow monsters are hunting the regular monsters.¡¯ Jackson¡¯s strategy was correct. ¨CThe Shadow Sovereign is not the type of monster that fixates on killing humans. Each Shadow Sovereign requires a certain quota of ¡®offerings¡¯ to satisfy itself. That was why it gladly welcomed us as ¡®offerings of the shadow¡¯ when we first met it. ¡®The regular monsters have been taken as offerings instead of us.¡¯ In due time, the satisfied Shadow Sovereign would be extinguished on its own. Even without us lifting a finger, it would fade away as if we had hunted it. If the clear condition for this place was the Shadow Sovereign¡¯s death, we would be able to clear the hidden field very easily. ¡®Though I doubt it¡¯ll be that easy.¡¯ I didn¡¯t let myself relax. The Shadow Soldiers and Knights under the Shadow Sovereign¡¯s control hadn¡¯t come up this far¡ªthey were still busy hunting the ordinary monsters. Suddenly, the hunt came to an end. ¡®It¡¯s quiet now.¡¯ It seemed like all the monsters had been hunted. Vela and I started heading back down. ¡°We¡¯re going back down?¡± ¡°We gotta negotiate with the Shadow Sovereign.¡± ¡°We can talk to it?¡± ¡°We¡¯ll see.¡± I knew one thing for certain¡ªits actions were prescribed by several settings. As long as I could properly grasp what those settings were, I could face the Shadow Sovereign. The shadows were voraciously devouring the monster corpses. They had no definite form. Almost like a demon with long fingers was opening its hand, the shadows wrapped around the monster corpses like fingers, chewing with gusto. It was possible to converse with the Shadow Sovereign within ¡®set bounds¡¯. ¡°Are the offerings I prepared to your liking, Shadow Sovereign?¡± A shadow around three meters tall appeared before me, its amorphous form swaying. It looked like writhing black smoke billowing up. {The quantity of offerings is sufficient.} Ptooey. Something came flying out from the shadow. ¡®An Orc bone.¡¯ A chunk of Orc bone and innards were expelled. Chersplat! An organ I took to be an Orc¡¯s heart fell at my feet. I was not shaken. The Shadow Sovereign had done as its settings prescribed and hunted all the offerings it needed. It shouldn¡¯t be feeling any need to hunt further. ¡®I don¡¯t think the Shadow Knights or Soldiers will attack, either.¡¯ The formless monsters went around picking this place clean, even chewing the organ at my feet. ¡°I¡¯ve given you sufficient offerings, so shouldn¡¯t you give me something?¡± What would the Shadow Sovereign give me? It would soon disappear, dropping an item as it faded, but what would that item be? Would it be related to clearing this place? Just then. Ueeaaghh. I heard vomiting. It was the Shadow Sovereign. The 3-meter tall shadow spasmed before vomiting two items in front of me. Two items covered in a sticky, oil-like slime. ¡®They¡¯re both¡­¡¯ They were both ¡®Clear Crystals¡¯. However, the crystals came in a completely new form I had never seen before. ¡®Thankfully¡­¡¯ As one would expect from the beginner period, we would be able to get a Clear Crystal with a simple ¡°trade¡± like this. The only issue was that the Clear Crystals were a little strange. ¡®There¡¯s¡­ a ring around the crystals?¡¯ Each crystal was encircled by a ring. One had a black ring, and the other had a gray ring. [You have fulfilled a special condition.] [The Clear Crystal has been generated.] The item descriptions on both Clear Crystals could be read. [Black-Ringed Clear Crystal] A ¡®Single-Ringed Crystal¡¯ that exists only in the hidden field of the Gran Seoul Dungeon. Upon this crystal¡¯s destruction, the voluntary growth of Players in all servers on the dimension Earth will be limited to 40. Players will only be able to grow past 40 if they ingest a ¡®Growth Fruit¡¯. *Voluntary growth limit: 40 *The Player who destroys this Clear Crystal will be given ¡®Premium Growth Fruit x12¡¯. All of this was completely new to me. If this crystal was crushed, the voluntary growth of Players worldwide would be limited to 40. ¡®In the past¡­ Players not being able to raise their level past 40, was it because of this?¡¯ My heart hammered in my chest. It felt like I was peeking into the chest containing the world¡¯s secrets. It was still too early to draw a conclusion, but I had the feeling that the world I¡¯d been living in was concealing far too many secrets. [Gray-Ringed Clear Crystal] A ¡®Single-Ringed Crystal¡¯ that exists only in the hidden field of the Gran Seoul Dungeon. Upon this crystal¡¯s destruction, the voluntary growth of Players in all servers on the dimension Earth will be limited to 60. Players will only be able to grow past 60 if they destroy a ¡®Double-Ringed Crystal¡¯. *Voluntary growth limit: 60 *The Player who destroys this Clear Crystal will be given a ¡®Clue Regarding the Sky of Freedom¡¯. Each crystal¡¯s destruction came with different benefits. A great many thoughts ran through my head as I looked at these Clear Crystals, but there was really one thing I had to focus on now. Which of the two crystals was the right one to break, and would it be of any gain to me? That was the important thing. At least now, in this moment of time. ¡®For now¡­ let¡¯s check both of their benefits.¡¯ I decided to find out what a ¡®Premium Growth Fruit¡¯ and a ¡®Clue Regarding the Sky of Freedom¡¯ was. Chapter 197 REAPER SCANS Max Talent Player [Translator ¨C Lei ] [Proofreader ¨C Ash ] Chapter 197 First, the Premium Growth Fruit. [Premium Growth Fruit] If the voluntary growth of Players on all servers is restricted to level 40, all Players must have a ¡®special talent¡¯ to be able to exceed level 40. Whether they have a ¡®special talent¡¯ can be confirmed by ingesting a ¡®Growth Fruit¡¯. However, a Player will be able to exceed level 40 even without a ¡®special talent¡¯ if they ingest a ¡®Premium Growth Fruit¡¯. *Can be mass-cultivated upon fulfilling a special condition For a moment, I was speechless. I reeled mentally as if an explosion went off in my head. ¡®Then the reason why a level 40 limit appeared in this world¡­¡¯ The reason why only those with a special talent could exceed level 40¡­ ¡®¡­was because of someone who cleared this Gran Seoul Dungeon hidden field.¡¯ Because that someone destroyed the ¡®Black-Ringed Clear Crystal¡¯. ¡®The most likely person to have done it¡­ is Jackson.¡¯ That being said, I didn¡¯t intend on condemning his choice. This ¡®Premium Growth Fruit¡¯ could even be mass-cultivated if a special condition was fulfilled. I didn¡¯t know whether that was possible or not, but what if it became possible one day? ¡®Then¡­ world domination isn¡¯t just a far-fetched dream.¡¯ How many people were there in this world who could not progress further because of the level 40 wall? There were as many Players who shined radiantly as early bloomers before crumbling like sand castles in the tide as there were grains of sand on a beach. ¡®A sure-fire means to turn those innumerable Players into your subordinates¡­¡¯ That was the foreseeable conclusion. You could become the ruler of the world. At the very least, this ¡®Black-Ringed Clear Crystal¡¯ implied that possibility. Vela looked quizzically at me. ¡°What¡¯re you thinking about so hard?¡± ¡°I¡¯m thinking about which Clear Crystal to break.¡± ¡°Huh? What Clear Crystal?¡± ¡°Those two.¡± ¡°Those two? I only see two rocks?¡± ¡°¡­¡± Vela rubbed his eyes. Apparently, those Clear Crystals looked like stones to Vela. ¡°You¡¯re kidding, right?¡± ¡°No.¡± ¡°Then you¡¯re telling me those are really Clear Crystals?¡± I nodded. ¡°Holy shit.¡± Vela flopped to the ground, shaking his head. ¡°If I came here alone, even if I made it this far, I wouldn¡¯t have been able to clear it in the end.¡± He picked up a pebble on the ground. ¡°I won¡¯t get in the way, so you figure it out.¡± He started playing with the pebble, tossing it around as if to say he would amuse himself. From this exchange, I realized another thing. ¡®The difference between Vela and me¡­ is being a combat or non-combat class.¡¯ And in addition to that¡ª ¡®Whether we have the Crown or not.¡¯ Those were the two differences. I believed this ¡®Crown¡¯ was the crux. Both the ¡®King¡¯s Road¡¯ in the Gwanghwamun Dungeon and the ¡®Geunjeongjeon Field¡¯ I had to clear in the far-off future were related to kings. Additionally, the Gran Seoul Dungeon was a field capable of deciding the ruler of the world. ¡®What¡¯s the Clue Regarding the Sky of Freedom?¡¯ [Clue Regarding the Sky of Freedom] You will be given a clue regarding the undisclosed region, the ¡®Sky of Freedom¡¯. Upon destroying the Gray-Ringed Clear Crystal, the ¡®Sky of Freedom¡¯ region will be opened, but the location and time will not be disclosed. The Player who destroys the Gray-Ringed Clear Crystal will earn the right to clear the ¡®Sky of Freedom¡¯. *A ¡®Sky Feather¡¯ will be given as the Clue Regarding the Sky of Freedom. *You will acquire the elixir ¡®Freedom¡¯. I could also open another window explaining the elixir ¡®Freedom¡¯. [Freedom Elixir] The final elixir created by the Towermaster of the 7th Magic Tower, Ragnoa. Upon ingesting ¡®Freedom¡¯, you can freely erase one System-stipulated ¡®penalty¡¯. Applies to all ¡®settings that impose a restriction¡¯. ¡®The Black-Ringed Clear Crystal is obviously the better one.¡¯ The Black-Ringed Clear Crystal would give you tremendous influence, power so great you could literally rule the world. If you could successfully mass-cultivate that Premium Growth Fruit and impose a monopoly on it. ¡®But¡­¡¯ I had to consider many variables and circumstances. In the past, I suffered greatly because of the words [No Talent]. There were probably many, many other people who suffered because of their lack of talent. There might have even been people who suffered far more than me. That was my past. My memories weighed me down. ¡®And one more thing.¡¯ Standing here, I recalled one person and what he said to me. I¡¯ll wait for you at Endless Sky. Endless Sky. A sky without end. The Sky of Freedom also had ¡®sky¡¯ in it. ¡®The Demon King left me various gifts.¡¯ Whether I could grasp and benefit from those gifts or not was completely up to me. ¡®I can¡¯t trust the Demon King.¡¯ He was someone who would kill me at a moment¡¯s notice if I annoyed him even a little. And yet, all the help the Demon King had given me so far was entirely good, at least to me. Endless Sky. Sky of Freedom. The two might not seem very related, but the ¡®Demon King¡¯ being involved meant I couldn¡¯t ignore the possibility that they were. ¡®I have¡­ to make a decision.¡¯ There was one other thing to consider. ¡®What about the Guardians?¡¯ Which choice would the Guardians enjoy more? It would depend greatly on their personalities, of course, but I had to satisfy the greater majority of Guardians. I had to make the Guardians who could be of greater help to me happy. In order to make them thirst for me, to make them move as I wanted, I had to produce content they would go wild for. ¡®I think they¡¯ll be divided almost 50/50.¡¯ However¡ª ¡®I¡­¡¯ I thought about it a little longer. There wasn¡¯t a time limit anyway. The Guardians were probably buzzing with anticipation right now. ¡®Drag it out a little longer.¡¯ After letting more time pass, I finally made a decision. [The Gray-Ringed Clear Crystal has been destroyed.] [The voluntary growth of Players on all servers on the dimension Earth is now restricted to 60.] Now, it wasn¡¯t 40, but 60. A very meaningful change. ¡®In the end, there won¡¯t be any need to clear the Gran Seoul Dungeon, huh?¡¯ It had to be cleared once in order to prevent the dungeon break, but it wasn¡¯t something that absolutely needed to be cleared. The Gran Seoul Dungeon wasn¡¯t nearly as important as it was in the past, at least until level 60. ¡®It¡¯ll be amusing if I can put Song Junghye¡¯s efforts to waste.¡¯ A new scenario instantly came to life in my head. Done well, I would be able to deal a significant blow to Junghye¡¯s spirits. [Receiving the ¡®Clue Regarding the Sky of Freedom¡¯.] [Receiving a ¡®Sky Feather¡¯ as the ¡®Clue Regarding the Sky of Freedom¡¯.] I also got an additional bonus. [The dungeon title ¡®True Ruler of the Gran Seoul Dungeon¡¯ has been generated.] [The dungeon title ¡®True Ruler of the Gran Seoul Dungeon¡¯ is a hidden reward given to the Player who destroyed the Gray-Ringed Clear Crystal.] A hidden piece even my Observer¡¯s Eye had failed to pick up was triggered. There might have also been a hidden reward attached to destroying the Black-Ringed Clear Crystal. But¡­ ¡®True Ruler¡¯? I already had a title called ¡®Ruler of the Seoul Station Dungeon¡¯. Unlike regular titles, dungeon titles often didn¡¯t have much use, and they only applied inside the relevant dungeon. But the ¡®True Ruler¡¯ title turned that notion completely upside down. [True Ruler of the Gran Seoul Dungeon] Grants you the authority to fully control and govern the Gran Seoul Dungeon. The True Ruler of the Gran Seoul Dungeon exercises great power in every Gran Seoul Dungeon field. *Unlimited resurrection within the Gran Seoul Dungeon. *Can invoke ¡®Death Sentencing¡¯ within the Gran Seoul Dungeon. *Can adjust Gran Seoul Dungeon entry conditions. *Can adjust Gran Seoul Dungeon difficulty. My jaw dropped without me realizing it. ¡®What the hell¡­ is this?¡¯ I had never heard of a title like this. Regular ¡®dungeon titles¡¯ had worse effects than normal titles. But this one? It would be no exaggeration to call this an absolute title. ¡®Unlimited resurrection¡­ Death Sentencing¡­¡¯ At least within the Gran Seoul Dungeon, I could reign almost like a god. Of course, things would be different if some kind of authority with a higher setting parameter than this title were to be exerted. But at least in the beginner period, no, in the intermediate period, there probably weren¡¯t any Players with those kinds of authorities, no matter what manner of Irregular they were. For the time being, there shouldn¡¯t be any Players capable of overpowering this title. ¡®This is insane.¡¯ The title effects were just too busted. ¡°What¡¯s wrong? Why the face?¡± ¡°It¡¯s nothing.¡± Vela grumbled. ¡°Tch. It was super hard and complicated to get in here, but I only got a measly 3,000 Coins and one linked quest.¡± Sorry. I took the lion¡¯s share of the rewards, so not much was left for poor Vela. I probably maxed out the rewards here. ¡°A linked quest?¡± ¡°Yuh. I got some kind of labyrinth map. It looks like this is something I need to find and clear on my own. It¡¯s also linked to my class scenario.¡± Just one question, and he voluntarily blabbered all the details on his own. ¡°Aren¡¯t you miffed about this? We went through all that, and this is all we get as a reward.¡± ¡°¡­¡± I didn¡¯t give him an answer. This single-celled organism truly saw the world through rose-tinted glasses. He hadn¡¯t even begun to suspect that he got so little because I had taken so much. ¡®There¡¯s¡­ no need to correct his misunderstanding.¡¯ But I did feel indebted in some ways to Vela and fully intended on volunteering my assistance if he was ever in trouble later on. ¡°By any chance¡­¡± Vela came up to me, his expression quite serious. ¡®Oh? Did he notice it?¡¯ With a look of utter seriousness, he asked, ¡°Could you introduce me to some good Korean restaurants? Korean food is super delicious.¡± * * * After clearing the Gran Seoul Dungeon¡¯s hidden field, I went to the Player Center in the DMC to meet Song Kiyeol. ¡°The importance of the Gran Seoul Dungeon has now faded.¡± ¡°¡­How come?¡± I could understand how this might be baffling to Song Kiyeol. I explained the whole story, summarizing it with the fact that the Growth Fruit was no longer necessary, for the time being. ¡°It feels like we¡¯ve toiled in vain,¡± he said, his expression calm. He didn¡¯t seem terribly displeased, but he was still voicing his opinion. ¡®Good.¡¯ Yes, it was important to voice one¡¯s opinion. I didn¡¯t want my partner to be someone who foolishly followed my every order. It was only right for the guildmaster of Taeguk Shield to make some complaint. ¡°If you think that, then I have no choice but to be disappointed in you, Guildmaster.¡± ¡°¡­¡± Song Kiyeol thought in silence for a moment. He had clearly picked up on the barbs in my words. The reason why I was disappointed in him wasn¡¯t because he complained. I was disappointed because he failed to see past this situation and think ahead. ¡®But Song Kiyeol as he is now¡­¡¯ He would be able to figure it out. A little clue would be enough for him to understand. Before long, his expression brightened. ¡°I see. I understand what you mean.¡± He continued calmly, ¡°If we use this situation well¡­¡± Because he hesitated a little, I answered for him. ¡°We can crush Miss Junghye. At least once.¡± ¡°¡­¡± ¡°With a very legal and reasonable method. From what I saw, she is once again using Players with gate abilities to occupy the Gran Seoul Dungeon.¡± It wasn¡¯t unexpected, considering she knew from Jackson and Song Kiyeol that the dungeon was very important. But things were different now. The flow was greatly altered by my clear of the hidden field. ¡°¡­¡± As her older brother, Kiyeol was incapable of enthusiastically approving the ¡®crushing¡¯ of his sister. But our thoughts were probably not very different. Song Junghye lacked both the qualifications and capability to represent this country. ¡°Alright then, let¡¯s draw the concrete picture.¡± ¡°The concrete picture?¡± I smiled lightly. ¡°We¡¯ll meet CEO Song Kiyoung. The two of us, together.¡± And, ¡°Leak that information to Miss Junghye, too.¡± Chapter 198 Chapter 198 I met CEO Song Kiyoung. The way he looked at me was very different from our first meeting. ¡°Right. I hear you wanted to see me?¡± CEO Song Kiyoung was sitting at the head of the rectangular table. Guildmaster Song Kiyeol and I were sitting on either side of him, facing each other. ¡°The tea is ready.¡± A handsome man with tidy, short hair set down three cups of hot tea. ¡°Let¡¯s talk over some tea.¡± ¡°Sure.¡± ¡°My wife throws a real fit if I use a pretty female secretary,¡± joked CEO Song as if to lighten the mood first. I glanced at the tall and handsome man out of the corner of my eye. Hm. I didn¡¯t think the gender of one¡¯s secretary was very important, but what was it with secretaries being universally good-looking? Though, well, a man being handsome had even less to do with me than a woman being pretty. ¡°Why did you want to see me? Could it be that you¡¯ve found a way to mass-produce hair growth serum?¡± ¡°¡­¡± First, I took a sip of tea. CEO Song waited patiently as I savored the tea. I wasn¡¯t very tense, even in front of the boss of Sungshin, a preeminent global corporation. In comparison, Song Kiyeol sitting on the other side of me seemed very nervous. State: Uneasy / Restless / Tense Was it because he pressed strongly for this meeting with me? Was he worried his grandfather, whose time was as valuable as gold, would get mad for setting up this meeting when we had nothing to show for it? ¡®No, it¡¯s not that¡­ He¡¯s worried he¡¯ll disappoint his grandfather.¡¯ That wouldn¡¯t happen. I began talking. ¡°This is good tea.¡± ¡°It¡¯s Compagnie Coloniale black tea.¡± I didn¡¯t know what that was, but it was probably good. Whether this black tea was tasty or not was irrelevant anyway. ¡°I think another guest will be joining us. Let¡¯s talk when they arrive.¡± ¡°A guest?¡± CEO Song¡¯s brows furrowed. ¡°My time is valuable.¡± ¡°I am aware.¡± ¡°How many people do you think can drop in on me unannounced without making an appointment first?¡± Not very many, I would imagine. ¡°But I¡¯m sure it¡¯s different if the guest is your beloved granddaughter.¡± He probably didn¡¯t show his affection much, of course. And because of the fight for succession, the way he looked at Song Junghye the potential heir and Song Junghye his granddaughter were likely completely different. CEO Song was capable of that. Whatever the case, Song Kiyoung probably treasured Junghye more than he thought and wasn¡¯t one to be unhappy with Junghye coming up to his room. Not long afterwards, the secretary desk contacted us. ¨CDirector Song Junghye has come to see you. Her title in Sungshin was director, huh? CEO Song fixed me with his eyes. ¡°Is Junghye the guest you mentioned?¡± ¡°Yes.¡± Song Kiyoung smiled faintly, an expression I couldn¡¯t tell was pleased or displeased. ¡°Tell her to come in,¡± he said. Song Junghye entered the room. * * * Translator ¨C Lei Proofreader ¨C Ash * * * She did enter the room looking tidy and put together, but I was certain that Song Junghye ran over here urgently. ¡®Rough breathing.¡¯ She looked unaffected, but there were beads of sweat on her nape despite it only being autumn. ¡®Looks like she was in a hurry.¡¯ She must have dropped everything to come quick because she thought Kiyeol and I would be meeting CEO Song to discuss something very, very important. That was what we had leaked. ¡°Well then, shall we begin the discussion?¡± I said. The gist of what I had to say was simple. The currently allied Giantgod Guild and Taeguk Shield would no longer involve themselves in the Gran Seoul Dungeon. ¡°Which means, we will no longer interfere no matter what kind of Playing you do, Miss Song.¡± ¡°What do you mean by that?¡± ¡°I heard you gathered Players with gate abilities and occupied the gate. Something you¡¯re doing even now.¡± Song Junghye lied without a single change in her expression. ¡°It seems there¡¯s been a misunderstanding. I know nothing about that.¡± I knew she would say this. ¡°Then I¡¯m even more disappointed.¡± ¡°What do you mean?¡± ¡°It means you¡¯ve completely failed to recognize the importance of the Gran Seoul. If you had gathered gate Players to try and occupy the gate, I would have at least admired your insight.¡± That shut her up instantly. Her short-sighted gaze went not to me, but to her grandfather. She had no choice but to study his expression. The CEO was peacefully drinking his tea. Scared, aren¡¯t you? Blood and Iron Witch. ¡°To tell you the truth, I was going to give up on the Gran Seoul Dungeon because I didn¡¯t want to get involved in a family dispute, but if it¡¯s completely unrelated to you, then¡­¡± I smiled wide. ¡°There shouldn¡¯t be any problem if I chase all those Players away.¡± ¡°¡­¡± In the end, Song Junghye opened her mouth. ¡°Fine. It¡¯s my loss. It¡¯s true that I employed them. Because I deduced the importance of the Gran Seoul Dungeon early on.¡± Yes, it was better for her to admit defeat sooner rather than later. CEO Song likely wanted that, as well. Looking at her state, unlike what her expressionless face suggested, she was seething on the inside. State: Rage / Anxious of Someone¡¯s Gaze / Inferiority I didn¡¯t know if she was feeling inferior because of me or because of her brother. ¡°In that case, Taeguk Shield and Giantgod Guild will pull out of the Gran Seoul Dungeon.¡± ¡°Why?¡± ¡°Because the Gran Seoul Dungeon has lost its value.¡± ¡°¡­¡± Song Junghye¡¯s face turned black. Didn¡¯t know that, did you? Song Junghye was just showing her grandfather that she was blindly investing wasted resources and effort like an idiot right now. ¡°As if that could be the case. You may not know, Mr. Kim, but there is a very high drop rate for a special fruit called Growth Fruit in the Gran Seoul Dungeon.¡± Junghye then began a long speech extolling the Growth Fruit. The explanation wasn¡¯t for my ears, but for her grandfather¡¯s, meant to show off her intel gathering prowess, the actions she took based on such info, and her excellent judgment in getting the jump on a place that all Players would need to enter. ¡°I thought so as well, but it has just been revealed that it¡¯s not the case.¡± ¡°The reliability of that information is not high. Is that not just what you think?¡± Talking to Song Junghye was too easy. ¡°You probably got your information from Jackson, right? Since he is a competent explorer.¡± ¡°¡­¡± She didn¡¯t confirm or deny. ¡°I¡¯d bet that if you were to go back and investigate again with Jackson, you would see that things have changed. You see, these things called dungeons are almost like living creatures that change on a daily basis.¡± ¡°¡­¡± I saw that she was biting her lip ever so slightly. She seemed to think she was getting shamed into the ground in front of her grandfather. ¡°Director Song Junghye. I am the guildmaster of Giantgod, a guild working in close cooperation with Taeguk Shield. You know this, correct?¡± ¡°I do. Giantgod, a guild made up of a small number of elites. However, they aren¡¯t very well known to the public. So Yoohyun, famed as the Tutorial Ender. Shin Yeonseo, who has a very pretty smile and overwhelming PVP skills. Jo Sunghyun and Choi Sung-gu, famous for their wind and fire combo. And even the genius tank Kim Sunhwa adopted by your family. I know they are all amazing Players.¡± Song Junghye worked hard to show off what she knew, as if to say she was unwilling to lose in a battle of intel. So I hit her in the sore spot with the facts. ¡°If my Giantgod Guild had been the one to occupy the Gran Seoul¡¯s gate, we wouldn¡¯t have been defeated by the Chinese Player Lao Yu.¡± ¡°¡­¡± I had her now. ¡°Being defeated there is a sin. If you¡¯re going to do it, do it right. Or don¡¯t do it at all.¡± ¡°I don¡¯t see how that is of any relevance to you.¡± ¡°Of course it is. Because you were defeated by Lao Yu, Taeguk Shield was forced to take action. Surely you don¡¯t think Wings acted without Taeguk Shield¡¯s permission, do you? While blatantly talking up Taeguk Shield?¡± The current guildmaster of Wings, Kim Donghyun, said this in an interview: ¨CThere¡¯s no need for Korea¡¯s top guild to step forward because of a Player of Lao Yu¡¯s level. ¨CI know he is ranked first among China¡¯s tamers. But that is just in China. Korea is, of course, more outstanding. ¨CIn about three hours, when my teammates get here from clearing other gates, we will drive out Lao Yu from the Gran Seoul. ¡°And surely you don¡¯t think Wings taking action has nothing to do with me.¡± ¡°¡­¡± She probably didn¡¯t know. That Wings and I were acquainted, and I was involved in the recent fight to retake the Gran Seoul Dungeon. ¡°I already had my hands full clearing the Gran Seoul Dungeon¡¯s hidden field. Same goes for Taeguk Shield, of course.¡± Taeguk Shield had nothing to do with the hidden field¡ªI was just letting Song Kiyeol hitch a ride so he could score a few more points in front of his grandpa. Between Junghye, who failed to properly dominate a gate you could see, vs. Kiyeol, who conquered a hidden field you couldn¡¯t see and gained new information, who was better? Song Junghye was completely caught in my pace. Even her poker face cracked a little. ¡°That¡¯s¡­¡± I cut her off. ¡°But the bigger problem is that you made another team out of that defeated group and occupied the gate again.¡± ¡°Before you say something, I strengthened my forces.¡± ¡°Then shall I personally test how strong those strengthened forces are? The authority on the gate¡­ Will it break easily, or not?¡± ¡°¡­¡± It was there that CEO Song interrupted with a cough. ¡°Now, now. Did you set up this meeting to shame my granddaughter in front of me? I say this because I¡¯m not terribly pleased, as her grandfather.¡± Of course he wasn¡¯t. What grandfather would be happy to see his grandchild stripped down in front of him? That is, if they were a normal family. ¡®But CEO Song isn¡¯t a normal grandfather.¡¯ He was laughing, but I could see the deep calm in his eyes. This man was an Irregular who awakened at his advanced age and was rapidly increasing his level. He was someone who could sharply delineate between private and business matters, even while displeased. Everything I said was sure to have been precious information to CEO Song. ¡®It¡¯ll be troublesome if he puts his weight behind the Blood and Iron Witch.¡¯ This woman most likely had a deep connection to Jackson. There was no way she was able to become the future ¡®Blood and Iron Queen¡¯ on her own. It was the right call to snip off her wings so she couldn¡¯t even begin to fly, if only for the sake of the emotionally weak Song Kiyeol. I stared at CEO Song. ¡°I am Guildmaster Song Kiyeol¡¯s business partner.¡± ¡°I know that.¡± ¡°But there is a weak-willed side to my business partner.¡± I saw Kiyeol flinch. ¡°Is that so? Do you see our Kiyeol as weak-willed?¡± ¡°At least with regards to his younger siblings, yes.¡± ¡°¡­¡± CEO Song was silent for a moment before giving a good-natured smile. ¡°So what you mean to say is, the reason you set up this meeting was to speak on behalf of your business partner, my grandson?¡± ¡°It¡¯s only right for me to make up for what my partner is unable to do. It¡¯s a good thing for my Giantgod Guild if Taeguk Shield were to receive wholehearted support, correct?¡± ¡°Hahaha. This method gives zero consideration to my feelings as their grandfather, doesn¡¯t it?¡± He looked slightly mad, and that anger might be genuine. As long as he was a human being, that was inevitable. ¡°I want to raise Taeguk Shield to Korea¡¯s best, no, the world¡¯s best guild.¡± That moment, the look in CEO Song¡¯s eyes changed. He had reacted a little to the title of ¡®world¡¯s best¡¯. ¡°I will do whatever it takes to make that happen.¡± ¡°Why is it that you don¡¯t want to take that position yourself? With your discernment and skills, that should be a fine prospect. You¡¯ve also gathered the guild members of Giantgod.¡± ¡°Because I don¡¯t have the background that is Sungshin.¡± ¡°You mean to say that if being number 1 is hard to achieve, you will settle for being number 2?¡± ¡°Let me put it like this: I am very clear on the limitations of my vessel.¡± CEO Song laughed, clapping with mirth. ¡°How fun. How very fun. You¡¯ve become a completely different person altogether from when you first came to see me.¡± Then, while looking at Guildmaster Song Kiyeol, he said, ¡°You¡¯ve chosen a truly incredible partner, Kiyeol.¡± ¡°¡­Thank you.¡± ¡°That is what a partner is. Someone who can make up for one¡¯s shortcomings. That¡¯s what tactics are.¡± CEO Song¡¯s gaze briefly flitted to Song Junghye. Right now, in CEO Song¡¯s head, she was an idiot who failed at using a tactic once, and used that failed tactic again. It was about time to pull out my trump card. I didn¡¯t just set up this meeting to cut down Song Junghye and secure Sungshin¡¯s support. I set it up because I wanted to observe CEO Song with my own eyes. ¡®If things go as they did in the past¡­¡¯ CEO Song didn¡¯t have much time to live. He would die from an unknown cause. ¡°CEO Song. There is something I would like to discuss with you in private.¡± ¡°How can we trust you to be alone with Grandfather? You¡¯re a Player who even crushed a combat class by f¡ª¡± CEO Song raised his hand. ¡°It¡¯s fine.¡± ¡°But¡­¡± ¡°Go on out, both of you.¡± Kiyeol and Junghye left the room, leaving just Song Kiyoung and me. I saw CEO Song¡¯s status window very clearly. Class: [Golden Sovereign] Guardian: Golden-Horned Dokkaebi Summary: Player Preparing for Death Chaebol Leader Contemplating his Successor CEO Song himself was preparing for death. There were two clues: ¡®Player¡¯ and ¡®Chaebol Leader¡¯. As a Player, he was preparing to die, and as a chaebol leader, he was contemplating his successor. I had confirmed it for myself, so I decided to ask him straight-forwardly. I had already proven my abilities and qualities, so even the mighty CEO Song would open up to me. ¡°The Golden Sovereign and Golden-Horned Dokkaebi. Are they related in any way to your life?¡± If I could save him, I would. Doing so would land me a very big backer. ____ Chapter 199 Chapter 199 ¡°The Golden Sovereign and Golden-Horned Dokkaebi. Are they related in any way to your life?¡± The moment I said those words, the room we were in, the CEO office, completely changed. The rectangular room became a golden space made entirely of gold. [The Guardian ¡®Golden-Horned Dokkaebi¡¯ declares a Guardian Exclusive Space.] CEO Song¡¯s irises turned slightly golden. ¡®This is¡­¡¯ It couldn¡¯t exactly be called ¡®descent¡¯. So what was an apt way to describe his state? ¡®Half¡­ descent?¡¯ I couldn¡¯t determine exactly what it was from a single glance, but I could approximate what it was. ¡°You must have made a contract with a Guardian named the Golden-Horned Dokkaebi.¡± ¡°That¡¯s right, I did.¡± This contract might be one that used CEO Song¡¯s life as collateral. For example, a contract where immense sponsorship was offered in exchange for his lifeforce. ¡®It¡¯s because of that contract that the 68-year-old CEO Song could grow this much.¡¯ ¡°Since when have you known?¡± he asked. ¡°From the very beginning.¡± ¡°The very beginning?¡± He laughed. ¡°Surely not. I wasn¡¯t the Golden Sovereign from the very beginning, and certainly not when we first met.¡± This old gent. He was sharp. ¡°When we first met, your level was 11, and you had the innate abilities Charisma and Pressure. Which you used to pressure me.¡± ¡°¡­¡± ¡°Am I wrong?¡± ¡°You¡¯re exactly right.¡± ¡°When we met the second time, your level was 31. Your class and contracted Guardian were already decided at that time.¡± CEO Song only stared at me with his golden eyes. Hm. Why was this field established, and why were we talking within it? ¡°At that time, I was sure of it. That the Golden-Horned Dokkaebi, the Golden Sovereign class, and you, these three key words, were closely connected.¡± ¡°What kind of connection are you talking about?¡± ¡°There¡¯s no doubt that you gave something in exchange for levels, for your growth as a Player. Because that is what the System seeks.¡± ¡°An interesting deduction.¡± ¡°That something may have been something physical.¡± I gave CEO Song a close look. He was maintaining a perfect poker face¡ªhis face betrayed no emotion. But when I observed with Observer¡¯s Eye, I could see that those golden eyes were trembling ever so slightly. Because my level was higher than his, and because Observer¡¯s Eye was more powerful than his poker face, I could read him a little more precisely. ¡°Your life may have even been taken as collateral.¡± ¡°¡­¡± CEO Song gazed at me wordlessly, then said with a laugh, ¡°You¡¯re exactly right.¡± ¡°I will not ask why you made such a contract, sir.¡± CEO Song surely had thoughts and plans of his own. ¡°It¡¯s just that I want to help you.¡± ¡°You want to help me? How come?¡± ¡°Because I want Sungshin¡¯s backing, of course?¡± ¡°Isn¡¯t my quick departure from this world actually better for you? Kiyeol would inherit Sungshin. Aren¡¯t you and Kiyeol close?¡± ¡°Only if you gave Guildmaster Song Sungshin in its entirety.¡± ¡°You think otherwise?¡± ¡°I think you wouldn¡¯t have pitted the two siblings against each other if that was your plan.¡± CEO Song had no intention of passing on all of Sungshin to Song Kiyeol. In the past, he passed at least half to Song Junghye and returned the rest to the country¡­ or so it was said. Naturally, there was a lot of gossip about it, but that was the public story. CEO Song smiled lightly in amusement. ¡°An excellent analysis. You¡¯re almost like my darn son.¡± By son, he was referring to President Song Kicheon, who died in a plane crash several years ago. I remembered him as someone who was renowned as an outstanding individual and a genius who would inherit Sungshin as CEO Song¡¯s only son. It was a little inappropriate for me to say anything after the deceased was brought up, so I just kept my mouth shut. CEO Song seemed to pick up on the awkward mood, because he changed the topic a little. ¡°Right. You¡¯ve figured me out exactly and have perfectly read the current situation.¡± ¡°¡­¡± ¡°I¡¯m sure you didn¡¯t make this meeting just between us in order to show off your insight.¡± His eyes darkened. He had already clearly noticed why I asked to talk to him alone. ¡°You have a precise understanding of the situation and have said you want to help me, so I¡¯ll speak honestly. I currently have [Red Flower Tears] buried in my chest.¡± ¡°¡­¡± ¡°It¡¯s lodged in my heart. Even I don¡¯t know when it will act up. If it ever will.¡± ¡°You will die within three years.¡± CEO Song¡¯s eyes widened, showing that he was finally surprised. ¡°You know about Red Flower Tears?¡± ¡°Yes.¡± ¡°Hoh.¡± Most people in the future I was from didn¡¯t know about it. ¡°It is information I gained when I cleared the Predator Tree Colony with the Barrier Magician Ahn Seohye.¡± ¡°Predator Tree Colony?¡± ¡°There, I met [Rapundel¡¯s Grievance], who gave me the information.¡± The CEO¡¯s eyes suddenly returned to normal, and the room that had become a golden field went back to its original office form. When I mentioned the ¡®Predator Tree Colony¡¯, the ¡®half-descent¡¯ state was automatically dispelled. I didn¡¯t know how they were connected. I continued. ¡°Red Flower Tears is a disease where the afflicted weeps tears of blood and dries out, eventually dying.¡± ¡°¡­Exactly.¡± ¡°Since there¡¯s no cure, the afflicted person dies within three years. It¡¯s a terrifying disease.¡± ¡°I see that you truly know many things and are acquainted with a world I do not know. I am sincerely surprised. I¡¯m being sincere right now. The more I come to know you, the more you amaze me. To the point that I myself scorn my pathetic discernment when underestimating you in the past.¡± At least from the future I was from, Red Flower Tears was a disease with no cure. But I had a clue regarding the treatment. [Map of the Predator Tree Colony, Addended] A Predator Tree Colony is a forest with many Predator Trees. Rapundel¡¯s father made a Predator Tree Colony for his daughter because ¡®Predator Tree Seeds¡¯ were known to be effective against ¡®Red Flower Tears¡¯. An artificially created ¡®Predator Tree Colony¡¯ has a lifespan of three hundred years at most. The Predator Trees are unable to maintain the ecosystem for longer than that and perish. ¡®Predator Tree Seeds¡­ are very effective against Red Flower Tears.¡¯ It didn¡¯t mean the seeds were a full cure. ¡®But maybe if the disease hasn¡¯t even fully awakened yet¡­¡¯ With colds, you could avoid most symptoms by catching them early. With cancer as well, early diagnosis and treatment often led to a good prognosis. Maybe Red Flower Tears was the same? ¡®I think it should be possible to treat the disease with Predator Tree Seeds somehow.¡¯ I showed the CEO the Map of the Predator Tree Colony. The gleam returned to CEO Song¡¯s eyes. I could see he was greedy for it. I stowed the map back in my Inventory. ¡°I have shown you all of my cards.¡± There was no such thing as free. I wanted to help CEO Song, but I had no intention of doing volunteer service. ¡°What kind of contract did you make with the Golden-Horned Dokkaebi? Why did you go forward with this contract, even at the cost of your life?¡± ¡°Well¡­¡± ¡°Are you bound to secrecy?¡± ¡°No, it¡¯s not that.¡± After a moment of thought, CEO Song began to speak. * * * Translator ¨C Lei Proofreader ¨C Ash * * * Song Junghye bit her lips. As soon as she left the executive office and got in the elevator, she rounded on her brother, Song Kiyeol. ¡°That jerk, just what the hell is he?¡± ¡°¡­¡± ¡°Who does he think he is, to put me down like this? Did you put him up to it?¡± She already knew the answer. ¡°No. I didn¡¯t know he¡¯d do that, either.¡± ¡°Do you hear yourself? You¡¯re the one who set that meeting up! You¡¯re gonna deal such a low blow?¡± ¡°¡­¡± Kiyeol didn¡¯t say anything. In terms of the result, it was true that this was a low blow. ¡®This situation¡­ was drawn out by Kim Hyukjin.¡¯ Kim Hyukjin purposefully created and directed this scenario. He knew exactly what he, Kiyeol, could not do, and did his duty for him. Junghye was his little sister, but she was also his competitor. And in this war, he could not always be good and kind. ¡®He also¡­ knows that I¡¯m weak towards Junghye.¡¯ That was why Hyukjin implemented such a drastic measure. ¡°¡­to me?!¡± Lost in his thoughts, Kiyeol had zoned out for a moment. He heard Junghye¡¯s piercing voice again. ¡°I said, are you listening to me?!¡± ¡°I¡¯m listening. Lower your voice. The elevator door will open soon.¡± ¡°So this is how you¡¯re going to do things? Then I have plans of my own.¡± ¡°Overly extreme conflict and methods aren¡¯t right.¡± ¡°Do you think you have the right to say that to me right now?¡± ¡°¡­¡± Kim Hyukjin probably knew Junghye would be this enraged. Junghye was dancing on Hyukjin¡¯s palm right now. Kiyeol believed that his little sister was absolutely no match for that man. ¡®Junghye.¡¯ He gazed at his sister not with the eyes of a competitor, but the eyes of an older brother. ¡°That look. It disgusts me.¡± The elevator door opened. Song Junghye continued under her breath. ¡°I¡¯m your competitor. Not your fucking sister.¡± She pushed him aside and strode out. She was mad. She hated Kim Hyukjin, the leading culprit of this situation. But she hated that pitying gaze of her brother even more. ¡®How dare he? He¡¯s just a foolish dreamer.¡¯ How dare such a pathetic person pity her? ¡®I¡¯m your competitor, damn it.¡¯ She wasn¡¯t his sister. They were supposed to compete. But it infuriated her even more to see her competitor look so half-baked like that all the time. He was like this, yet he schemed with Kim Hyukjin to do such a dirty thing? It was unforgivable, absolutely unforgivable. She got into the car waiting at the entrance and made a phone call to someone. ¡°Yes. Kim Hyukjin. From today onwards, record everything that jerk does and where and report it to me. In real time. And call Jung Sangchul. Yes! Do I need to repeat myself?! I said, call Jung Sangchul!¡± She called her left arm, the Poisoned Dagger Jung Sangchul. * * * I listened to CEO Song¡¯s entire story. I, too, had no idea the CEO cared this much about his grandchildren. ¡®Golden Sovereign.¡¯ The Golden Sovereign had the ability to maximize the talent of another person by consuming his ¡®fortune¡¯. At the same time, the Golden Sovereign himself could grow quickly, making this an Irregular class. ¡®When CEO Song passed away¡­ there was a rumor of a slush fund.¡¯ At the time, there was no announcement that his death was caused by Red Flower Tears. CEO Song¡¯s funeral was carried out in utmost secrecy. ¡®It wasn¡¯t a slush fund¡­ but money used to nurture his grandsons and granddaughter.¡¯ That seemed to be it. The current Song Kiyeol, Song Junghye, and even the youngest Song Jinchul¡­ Before CEO Song died, he offered the flames of his life and fortune to nurture the three of them. ¡®No wonder.¡¯ Kiyeol was doing admirably, but he was still a little lacking to be called a top-class Ranker. ¡®Even more so for Song Junghye.¡¯ The current Song Junghye was basically a fledgling, far short of deserving a moniker like ¡®Blood and Iron Queen¡¯. What about Song Jinchul? I heard he recently became a Player, but I had no measure of his skills. ¡®I see, he forcibly awakened and enhanced their talent.¡¯ Rather than seeing it as an act of love for his grandchildren, it was because he judged that one¡¯s ability as a Player was very important to lead Sungshin into the future. The CEO of the current time period had already determined that one¡¯s competence as a Player was essentially power in the dawning age, and so, he made a bold investment with his very life on the line. ¡®That¡¯s how much he loves Sungshin.¡¯ Okay. I was clear on the situation now. Then the next step was a ¡®trade¡¯. ¡°As I said earlier, I want to help you. If only for the fact that I know of a drug effective against Red Flower Tears.¡± ¡°¡­¡± ¡°I also know of a field where many Predator Trees can be found. To be precise, I have a clue about it.¡± ¡°Really, just how much do you plan on surprising me? Is there anything you don¡¯t know?¡± Originally, the first person to discover the ¡®Predator Tree Colony¡¯ wasn¡¯t me, but an Italian Player, the Wargod Salvatore. The reason why I was able to clear the Predator Tree Colony was also because he, the Player who still hadn¡¯t shown up, had cleared it first. ¡®The reason why he hasn¡¯t appeared yet¡­¡¯ It might have a lot to do with me. ¡®¡­is because I became the Conductor of Sound¡¯s favorite.¡¯ The Conductor of Sound either hadn¡¯t discovered Salvatore yet, or the Guardian wasn¡¯t giving him wholehearted support. It was very likely it was one of the two. ¡®But I have a close relationship with the Conductor of Sound.¡¯ I even had a map from him. [Map of the Battlefield] A once-fierce battlefield. The crossroads of the living and the dead, the victorious and the defeated. This is a map that guides you to the ¡®Battlefield of Crows¡¯. The Conductor of Sound. The Wargod Salvatore. The ¡®Predator Colony¡¯ that was first found by Salvatore. The map the Conductor of Sound gave me. The ¡®crossroads of the living and the dead¡¯ mentioned in the map. Was there really no connection between them? ¡®There might not be, but there also could be.¡¯ It would be best if they were connected, but it was fine if they weren¡¯t. I would be able to draw a new picture if I could make good use of this situation and manage it nicely. ¡®I should be able to find¡­ the Predator Tree Colony Salvatore cleared, too.¡¯ That was up to me. Now that I had charted the path, all I had to do was fill in the lines. ¡°Let¡¯s make a trade.¡± ____ Chapter 200 Chapter 200 ¡°Let¡¯s make a trade.¡± CEO Song responded like he had already predicted I would propose a trade and was waiting for me to say the words. ¡°What kind of trade, exactly? What I want from you is already clear. What do you want from me?¡± ¡°I believe you already know what that is.¡± We may have not said it aloud, but we both knew very well what we wanted from one another. CEO Song nodded. ¡°You¡¯re getting Sungshin¡¯s support from Taeguk Shield anyway, so I won¡¯t bother rehashing that.¡± So basically, ¡®Sungshin¡¯s support¡¯ was a given. Both CEO Song and I were well aware of that. ¡°In which case, is it my power as the Golden Sovereign after all?¡± ¡°Yes.¡± Song Junghye as she was now could not possibly become the Blood and Iron Queen. That was only possible if she herself gained a tremendous enlightenment or received outside help. ¡®By my assessment¡­ it¡¯s impossible for her to grow by her own will.¡¯ Her vessel was too small. It was absolutely not a body that could become the Blood and Iron Queen. That left one possibility: she had outside help, be it from the explorer Jackson or her grandfather Song Kiyoung. ¡°If you use that power on me, I will assist Taeguk Shield with all my heart and find the Predator Seeds.¡± ¡°But using this ability requires an astronomical fortune.¡± ¡°I will handle the cost.¡± ¡°You will? Without even knowing how much it is?¡± ¡°I can guess that it is an amount I can handle.¡± If not now, then in the near future. I thought it was well within my capability. Why? Because the ¡®Gardens by the Bay Dungeon¡¯ that would appear in Singapore in the near future would welcome me with open arms. ¡°That¡¯s some impressive ambition you have there. I¡¯m sure you¡¯re aware that if I¡¯m calling it astronomical, it really is an enormous sum.¡± ¡°I think it will require a fortune of multi-millions, at the very least.¡± ¡°You wish to use my ability even knowing that?¡± I asked back, ¡°If I can earn twenty million by investing ten million, isn¡¯t it an obvious thing to do?¡± ¡°Haha,¡± laughed CEO Song as he gazed at me with a half-surprised, half-satisfied look. ¡°A man has to wonder just where a monster like you popped out of.¡± I heard a notice. [The ¡®Merchant of Venice¡¯ is satisfied with the trade between the two parties.] As I thought. ¡®My prediction was correct.¡¯ I had met CEO Song three times. During the second meeting, the Merchant of Venice was watching me. ¡®CEO Song must have caught his eye back then.¡¯ There was a very high possibility that the Merchant of Venice liked CEO Song as well. That was why I didn¡¯t try to create a situation favorable only for me¡ªI still didn¡¯t know who the Merchant of Venice liked and treasured more between Song Kiyoung and me. ¡®Let¡¯s start with this, for now.¡¯ We had to write out the terms of our trade in black and white. The conditions we were both satisfied with were on the table. When those conditions were fulfilled, who would hold the initiative? ¡®That would be me.¡¯ ¡°If I am able to save your life, CEO Song,¡± I began, ¡°I trust that you will be generous with your compensation.¡± If he managed a full recovery thanks to my help, that would change things. I would become CEO Song¡¯s ¡®life savior¡¯, so to speak. ¡°The price of my life, huh.¡± ¡°I¡¯m sure it¡¯s more valuable than money.¡± ¡°Shameless, aren¡¯t you?¡± ¡°This isn¡¯t shamelessness, but a matter of fact.¡± CEO Song laughed with mirth. [The ¡®Merchant of Venice¡¯ is very pleased by your mutually beneficial and cooperative relationship.] [The ¡®Merchant of Venice¡¯ sends you a 300 Coin sponsorship.] I made one last demand. ¡°Please find someone for me.¡± With Sungshin¡¯s abilities, finding a person or two was no problem. ¡°He is an Italian Player in his mid-20s. It is presumed that he is a sovereign class, non-combat Player, and his name is Salvatore. That may also be an alias.¡± * * * Translator ¨C Lei Proofreader ¨C Ash * * * Yeonseo¡¯s cheeks were slightly flushed. ¡°Cheers!¡± She hadn¡¯t even drunk much. Her cheeks turned that red after two sips of beer. ¡°Our boss is finally back.¡± The full cast of Giantgod Guild was gathered in a fried chicken restaurant in downtown Seoul. That being said, the full cast was just a few people. ¡°Fuck! Hyukjin! I missed you! Playing without you was like dog shit!¡± Sung-gu came at me with an embrace, which I nimbly evaded. Crash! He tumbled pathetically onto the ground, but I didn¡¯t give a damn. ¡°This isn¡¯t even pain. Dude, my head was almost blown apart by a Troll Soldier in the Gran Seoul Dungeon. The tank was a class-A moron.¡± He dusted himself off and got up, then tried to accost me again, but Sunhwa stepped in the middle. ¡°I won¡¯t allow you to get any closer to my oppa.¡± ¡°Fudge. Sunhwa. At least if you were there, I¡¯d have been fine.¡± Sung-gu held back from hugging Sunhwa. ¡®If he had¡­¡¯ The ¡®Beat ¡®em, Beat ¡®em, Beat ¡®em More¡¯ ability of the transcendent item Isabel slumbering in my Inventory may have seen the light of day. ¡°In any case, good work, everyone. You guys went to clear the Gyeonghoeru now and then, yes?¡± I could tell from their levels that everyone had worked hard. Most of them had reached level 39 all of a sudden. This speed was really fast for the Hell Phase. Only Jo Sunghyun¡¯s level was a bit low. He was level 37. It was only a 2 level difference, but in this period where leveling was so hard, a 2 level difference was huge. ¡°I heard you didn¡¯t participate a few times because you had something to do, Sunghyun?¡± ¡°Yes. There were some things I had to take care of.¡± Whatever he went to do must have been very important. This was a kid who disliked falling behind more than anyone. Everyone who had what it took to become a Ranker was fundamentally like that. ¡°What happened?¡± ¡°There¡¯s someone I¡¯ve been Playing with recently.¡± ¡°Who?¡± ¡°You probably won¡¯t know her. Her name is Hyun Junghwa, an archer. She¡¯s not famous, and her level isn¡¯t that high.¡± Hyun Junghwa. Archer. ¡®I know her all too well, Sunghyun.¡¯ For now, I listened to what he had to say. ¡°And?¡± ¡°She happens to be doing a scenario related to the Wind Temple right now.¡± ¡°Really?¡± Ara. Hyun Junghwa was doing a scenario related to the Wind Temple at this point in time? It could be that she had a ¡®Sylphid¡¯s Wing¡¯ and had found a secret related to the bow, as I surmised. ¡°Tell me when you guys are further along. I¡¯m interested in the Wind Temple, too.¡± ¡°Hyung is, too?¡± ¡°Yeah. I have an item called Sylphid¡¯s Wing, and it¡¯s linked to the Wind Temple.¡± ¡°Understood. I¡¯ll tell you when we get further.¡± Yeonseo was still as flushed as ever. ¡°Boss Hyukjin. Just when are you gonna have a date with me? You promised, didn¡¯t you?¡± ¡°Did I?¡± What I promised was to have a cup of coffee with her. ¡°I don¡¯t remember that.¡± ¡°Hey, you scammer!¡± And then, she brandished her sword. That was no ordinary sword. It was the transcendent item ¡®Asura¡¯. ¡°If you aren¡¯t gonna have a date with me, then do a PVP with me.¡± ¡°How did you come to that conclusion?¡± But thinking about it, a PVP was probably better than a date. After all, I didn¡¯t feel attracted to Yeonseo. A PVP with her wasn¡¯t actually a bad idea. She must have grown quite a lot as well, and there was much to gain from sparring with a PVP specialist of Yeonseo¡¯s level. ¡°What¡¯s it gonna be? A date?¡± ¡°No.¡± ¡°A PVP, then?¡± ¡°Yeah, let¡¯s do a PVP.¡± ¡°Really?¡± Yeonseo¡¯s eyes grew wide. I had to admit, the way she blinked in surprise was pretty cute. Her face scrunched into a scowl. ¡°Aw man, I feel all weird.¡± She scratched her ear. ¡°I feel bad, but also happy. What is this?¡± She followed up with big gulps of beer. What she was feeling was simple. She felt bad because I was refusing to go on a date with her, because I didn¡¯t think of her as a woman. But as a Player, she liked PVPing. ¡®Seriously, these Rankers are one and the same.¡¯ They were all humans crazy about Playing. Only people like this could become Rankers. I felt that truth down to my bones while Playing with them. Because I, myself, enjoyed Playing. I periodically found myself smiling without realizing it while Playing. ¡°Hyungnim. Let me pour you a drink!¡± Yoohyun energetically lifted the three liter pitcher full of beer, only to crush the handle into pieces. ¡°Aw, man.¡± He hadn¡¯t adjusted his strength well. ¡°Why¡¯d this thing go and break on me?¡± It was probably because this was the transition period. Yoohyun still hadn¡¯t fully adjusted to his own strength. No, it was more accurate to say the cups and items used in everyday life were far too weak in comparison to Yoohyun¡¯s strength. ¡®I remember him saying he struggled a lot with stuff like this in the beginning.¡¯ He accidentally crushed car handles and bent spoons. He once said he struggled with minor inconveniences like that in his early days. ¡°Oppa. Are we going to Play with you now?¡± Sunhwa sat down next to me. Summary: Excited Brocon Just when was this kid¡¯s weird summary going to change? Was it going to take a few years still? ¡°Yeah. You and I are going to Italy.¡± ¡°Italy?¡± The mention of Italy seemed to remind her of something. She pulled out her phone, turning the screen towards me. ¡°Oppa. This is you, right?¡± A Youtube video was playing on the phone, showing the scene where I toppled Beratto¡¯s gate authority and beat him black and blue with Isabel. ¡°Yeah, that¡¯s me.¡± ¡°It was uploaded with the title, ¡®The dignity of a Korean archer¡¯. The comments say you use the sword, but your true class is definitely archer.¡± ¡°¡­Where did you find a video like this?¡± ¡°Huh? It just appeared with some diligent browsing.¡± Diligent browsing wasn¡¯t enough to find a video like this. Wasn¡¯t this more on the level of obsessed browsing? I had no idea what kinds of videos were taken of me in Italy, and there weren¡¯t that many ¡®Play videos¡¯ on Youtube yet. It wasn¡¯t like I did anything super flashy, either. It wasn¡¯t even a video taken in Korea, but in Italy. Just how hardcore had she searched in order to find me in a video so obscure? It made me a little fearful of Sunhwa¡¯s radiant smile. ¡®There are more than a few views.¡¯ There were about 100,000 views. A middling view count that was neither super high nor super low. Sunhwa smiled wide. ¡°As expected of Oppa, you¡¯re good at everything. Since when did you get so good at the bow?¡± ¡°I just learned it on the side. By watching how others do it.¡± ¡°Hihihi.¡± For whatever reason, that seemed to make Sunhwa really happy. She ripped into her drumstick. Anyway, we concluded our ¡°reunion¡±. ¡°Sunhwa. And Sung-gu. The three of us will be going to Italy.¡± ¡°Hyungnim! What should your right arm, me, do?!¡± ¡°Level up. You can stop with the Gran Seoul Dungeon now. Clear the Gyeonghoeru. Just grind.¡± Sunghyun would be playing with Hyun Junghwa. ¡°Boss Hyukjin! What about me? When are we gonna PVP?¡± ¡°You level with Yoohyun. I¡¯ll PVP you later.¡± ¡°Hng. I wanna go with the Boss, too.¡± ¡°I¡¯ll PVP you as soon as we¡¯re back.¡± ¡°You mean it, right?¡± The promise of PVP made a smile bloom on Yeonseo¡¯s face. ¡°You¡¯re really gonna PVP me? Really? Yippee! Prepare yourself. I¡¯ll be honing my blade.¡± You¡¯d think I was giving her a million dollars or something, she was so happy. Only Sung-gu looked like he was going to cry. ¡°Fuck. You¡¯re gonna make me do something dangerous again, right?¡± Without even getting an answer, he shook his head. ¡°No, it¡¯s still better to go into a ruthlessly hard hell gate with you than to Play with idiot tanks.¡± ¡°¡­¡± He was very good at rambling on his own. ¡°I hath received a great enlightenment!¡± One day passed. Sunhwa, Sung-gu, and I ported to Italy. We left Italy¡¯s Tutorial Building. First, we would go to Pompeii, where Salvatore first cleared a Predator Tree Colony in the past. But as we left the building, someone approached me¡­ almost as if they had been waiting for me. ¡°Are you Kim Hyukjin?¡± I stared at him. As soon as I saw his face, I knew who he was. The famed information merchant of Italy, a merchant class Player bearing the moniker ¡®Info Peddler¡¯. He had an item very rare for this time period, a Translation Marble. ¡®The Player most cherished by the Merchant of Venice.¡¯ It was Pietro, the merchant Ranker contracted to the Merchant of Venice. ____ Chapter 201 Chapter 201 I checked his info by activating Eye of Perception. [Player] Name: Pietro Age: 31 Level: 33 Class: Information Merchant Guardian: Merchant of Venice Innate ability: [Forced Trade] State: Ambition / Desire / Enterprising Disposition: Sincere / Hard-working / Rash Summary: Information Merchant Recruiting an Archer Narcissist Brimming with Confidence The disposition/state/summary only show the most representative and can change according to the situation. Because Eye of Perception¡¯s proficiency is not high enough, viewing more detailed information is impossible. Pietro. Just like in the past, he was contracted to the Merchant of Venice, and just as his summary showed, he was a famed narcissist. Being a narcissist wasn¡¯t necessarily a bad thing¡ªit just meant he loved and valued himself. Him being a narcissist or not didn¡¯t have much to do with me, anyway. The summary that mattered to me was ¡®Information Merchant Recruiting an Archer¡¯. ¡®Ah.¡¯ I recalled the video Sunhwa had shown me, the one with about 100,000 views. Subtracting the overseas views and duplicate views, there had to be at least a few thousand people in Italy who had seen it. Apparently, Pietro had seen it, too. ¡®I think he¡¯s here to recruit me, thinking I¡¯m an archer.¡¯ Why? ¡®What was it called again? The Dewinged Angel Statue Gate?¡¯ I knew most of the events that happened in Korea, but unless they were major events like the Battle of the Maldives, I was relatively uninformed about foreign matters. Even so, I knew the gist of the ¡®Dewinged Angel Statue Gate¡¯. ¡®A gate archers from all over the world gathered to challenge¡­ and where at least half of them perished.¡¯ When I combed through my memories, I think I remembered that happening in Italy. ¡°Seeing as you know my name, you appear to have done your research.¡± ¡°I apologize if that has offended you.¡± Were all Italian people good looking? Vela was a given, but even the crossdressing Pedro was handsome, and so was Pietro. He was sporting a not-very-tidy bushy beard, but even that added to his charm. How could I describe it? Kinda like a handsome hobo? ¡°It¡¯s alright. It¡¯s natural you would be curious about a Korean archer.¡± ¡°¡­¡± State: Slight Surprise / Suspicion He seemed to be curious as to how I knew what he was after. ¡°It looks like you looked into me as an archer.¡± The info merchant Pietro was still only level 33, a level you really couldn¡¯t expect too much from. He would grow more later on. ¡°I looked into you as an archer with a special power. Looking at your Playing, you appear to possess close-ranged martial arts¡­ but in reality, you seem closer to a sovereign.¡± Oho, he was still pretty impressive. We weren¡¯t even from the same country, but he was able to find this much intel on a nameless Player in a different land. The guy was indeed a cut above the rest. ¡°You¡¯ve looked into me quite comprehensively. Then you must know about my talent plate result as well?¡± ¡°Yes. I know you received a [No Talent] assessment.¡± Goodness, he had gathered quite a lot of intel on me. It wasn¡¯t special info, but still, extracting such detail on an individual from another country was no easy feat. ¡°But why are you trying to recruit me?¡± ¡°¡­I haven¡¯t said anything about that yet.¡± A war was not fought only with swords. When fighting a glib talker, you had to fight with words, and when fighting an information merchant, you had to fight with info. With an intentional smile, I said, ¡°Looks like you didn¡¯t know my class also deals with info.¡± That wasn¡¯t always in my class description, but I decided to include it from now on. ¡°¡­¡± Pietro was taken aback. It was natural, since my class wasn¡¯t about handling information. I just knew a lot of info. You could call it a regressor perk. ¡°I wasn¡¯t able to find that out.¡± ¡°You¡¯re gathering archers all over the world, yes? To clear a gate.¡± ¡°¡­That¡¯s correct.¡± ¡°The name of that gate¡­ I¡¯m not 100% sure, but I have a feeling it¡¯s the Dewinged Angel Statue Gate.¡± ¡°¡­¡± The information merchant stared at me, stunned. He didn¡¯t intentionally try to hide his expression. ¡°Could it be that you¡¯re not an archer, a martial artist, or a sovereign, but an information merchant?¡± ¡°No, that¡¯s not it.¡± ¡°Then what are you?¡± ¡°Is that important to you?¡± After a moment of thought, Pietro shook his head. ¡°It¡¯s not.¡± ¡°I thought so. What¡¯s important to you is my ability as an archer.¡± I was dominating this conversation. Unfortunately for Pietro, I had the upper hand when it came to information. From the very moment my information exceeded that of an information merchant, he was no match for me. ¡°I¡¯ll cut to the chase,¡± I said. ¡°I recommend not going into the Dewinged Angel Statue Gate.¡± In the past, nearly half of the archers died without anything to show for it. All the survivors were united in what they said afterwards¡ªthat they would never, ever go back in. ¡°How come?¡± ¡°The risk is too great, and there¡¯s nothing to gain from it.¡± ¡°May I ask what evidence you are basing your judgment on?¡± I smiled wide. ¡°If the information merchant Pietro wants information, he should make a trade with information of his own. Is it okay for you to panhandle?¡± ¡°¡­¡± Pietro¡¯s eyes widened. He didn¡¯t particularly try to hide his expression, instead naively expressing his surprise. ¡°Did I¡­ ever tell you my name?¡± I shrugged. ¡°Like I said, I also handle information.¡± ¡°Astonishing. Truly astonishing. To think you already knew about me. Haha. Hahaha.¡± As I watched Pietro giving a stupefied laugh, I offered him a word of advice. ¡°The Merchant of Venice is watching.¡± Was this situation really one that the Merchant of Venice would like? No. The initiative was overwhelmingly on my side. Pietro had to exert himself as an information merchant, so as to not shame himself. Because the Merchant of Venice¡¯s favorite wasn¡¯t me, but him. ¡°It doesn¡¯t matter. The current me can¡¯t win against you anyway. The information you possess far outstrips the information I possess.¡± ¡°¡­¡± ¡°It¡¯s fine. Sometimes, it¡¯s better to simply admit defeat.¡± That made sense. I didn¡¯t have a 100% understanding of the Merchant of Venice. It could be that the Merchant of Venice actually liked Pietro¡¯s attitude. After all, each Guardian¡¯s personality was different. ¡°In any case, allow me to propose a trade, as you recommended.¡± ¡°Go ahead.¡± ¡°If you tell me why the Dewinged Angel Statue Gate is dangerous, I will tell you about the man you are looking for, Salvatore.¡± Ara. He had dug up that much? He was still rough around the edges, but he was indeed a future Ranker. ¡°Very well.¡± The deal was established. ¡°I have special eyes.¡± It probably wasn¡¯t totally unknown news to Pietro, since I myself had mentioned my ¡®special eyes¡¯ several times. ¡°They possess an [Authority of Intuition].¡± Intuition. The dictionary definition was the ability to understand something without the need for one¡¯s senses, experience, association, judgment, or inference. ¡°In other words, I can just tell by looking.¡± ¡°So the reliability of the information drops sharply. Since it¡¯s intuition.¡± I thought he would say that. I showed him another of my cards. ¡°It¡¯s just like how I can simply see that you have an innate ability called [Forced Trade].¡± ¡°¡­¡± Pietro flinched. He was speechless for a long time. He finally opened his mouth. ¡°It appears that ¡®intuition¡¯ is certainly a thing.¡± ¡°As you can see.¡± I could even read his level, but I didn¡¯t tell him that much. ¡°Very well. I will give you the information about Salvatore.¡± Our conversation went on longer than I expected. Meeting Pietro was an extremely good thing for me, since I was able to find out Salvatore¡¯s identity even before CEO Song investigated for me. After a long conversation, we shook hands. ¡°I¡¯ll leave it to you.¡± * * * Translator ¨C Lei Proofreader ¨C Ash * * * Cheon Sooji was extremely annoyed. People kept calling out to her wherever she went, and men of all ages, young and old, resorted to any means to talk to her, hoping to get close. ¡®Why are these damn Italians so annoying?¡¯ She would have liked to stick a poisoned needle into each of their clueless foreheads, but she held back. This was a foreign server, and she at least knew it wasn¡¯t a good idea to make a ruckus here. ¡°Yeah, fuck off. I¡¯m not interested.¡± ¡°I said, fuck off.¡± ¡°I don¡¯t like you guys.¡± She walked like a haughty, untouchable rose. No matter how she looked at it, there weren¡¯t any guys quite like Kim Hyukjin, a man who wasn¡¯t like these bees that were swarming her, but a flower she wanted to approach. Thinking about him made her heart pound. This kind of feeling, was it a first for her? ¡°Mr. Kim Hyukjin!¡± Her footsteps quickened. An annoying kid was clinging to Hyukjin¡ªthe genius tank, Kim Sunhwa. As Hyukjin¡¯s legal sister, she was a truly irritating pest, a girl who interfered every time Sooji tried to get close to Hyukjin. However, she kept a smile on her face. ¡®If you want to kill the general, you have to shoot the horse.¡¯ Whether she liked Kim Sunhwa or not, Sunhwa was Hyukjin¡¯s little sister, and if Sooji wanted a chance with Hyukjin, she had to treat her well. ¡°You¡¯re here too, Sunhwa? You¡¯re getting prettier with every passing day.¡± If the guild members of Taeguk Shield were to see her right now, they would probably be rubbing their eyes. After all, Sooji was a thorny rose who never showed such a tender side. The Poison Witch pulled out fried chicken from her Inventory, putting a faint smile on her lips. ¡°Here, a gift.¡± She tempted the kid with chicken, then went to talk business with Kim Hyukjin. ¡°CEO Song sent me.¡± ¡°Did he?¡± ¡°Yes. I¡¯m bringing information on Salvatore, but¡­ Salvatore is¡­¡± ¡°An alias, right?¡± ¡°¡­Huh? You already knew?¡± Sooji stealthily went up to Hyukjin¡¯s side. ¡°I hear you¡¯re going to Pompeii on this trip.¡± ¡°¡­¡± ¡°Are you perhaps in need of my assistance?¡± It would be great if Cheon Sooji accompanied them, since having Rot Water on tap was very handy for hunting Predator Trees. ¡°Do you happen to have any Rot Water with you?¡± ¡°Yes, of course. I made it in advance.¡± Cheon Sooji sidled a little closer to him, almost close enough for their shoulders and arms to touch. A distance close enough for some stealthy skinship. ¡°But I won¡¯t just give it to you for free. I¡¯m not a pushover.¡± ¡°Then don¡¯t, it¡¯s fine.¡± Hyukjin coldly turned around. Rot Water was crucial in the past, but not anymore. Their levels were way higher than back then, and he was confident he could hunt the Predator Trees no problem. It was nice to have Rot Water, but it was perfectly fine to go without. ¡°Wait, hold up! Here. I¡¯ll give it to you. I can just give it to you, right?¡± ¡°Thank you.¡± ¡°¡­¡± Sooji looked at him sulkily before opening her mouth. ¡°When will you come have a drink with me?¡± ¡°When the opportunity comes.¡± ¡°Opportunities don¡¯t come, they¡¯re made.¡± ¡°I¡¯m busy.¡± ¡°Even in the night, when you¡¯re alone?¡± ¡°I¡¯m very busy.¡± Why was this lady so impatient to get a piece of him, really? Cheon Sooji unconsciously licked her lips. She liked this feeling. It really had been such a long time since she met a man who didn¡¯t cling desperately to her, a man who became harder to approach the closer she got. She liked him so much, she nearly forgot herself in excitement. ¡°You¡¯re as charming as ever.¡± As he watched, Choi Sung-gu could no longer repress his bafflement. ¡®That¡¯s charming?¡¯ What part of that was charming? ¡®It¡¯s obvious he doesn¡¯t like her.¡¯ Sung-gu really couldn¡¯t wrap his mind around why this lady saw that as charming. What did a woman as beautiful and capable as Cheon Sooji lack, that she was going this far? ¡®Though it¡¯s true Hyukjin¡¯s a massive monster.¡¯ Even so, he couldn¡¯t understand why such a beautiful woman was so desperate, especially when she was the Black Rose of Taeguk Shield, Cheon Sooji. ¡®Haah, whatever.¡¯ He had nothing to do with it. In the end, Hyukjin got Rot Water from Sooji and refused her desire to Play together. Sung-gu could only feel admiration that wasn¡¯t quite admiration as he watched. ¡®A woman so beautiful was asking that earnestly, but he rejected her just like that¡­ You gotta wonder sometimes if this dude is really a man.¡¯ * * * Transportation was handled via the car Vela brought. For reference, Vela was a beginner driver, and he was nervous the entire drive. Clutching the steering wheel with both hands, he said, ¡°Don¡¯t worry. We won¡¯t die even if we crash! Trust me! We¡¯ve even got a tank here, don¡¯t we?¡± We finally reached the ancient ruins, Pompeii. And when we arrived, Pedro was waiting for us. ¡°I heard you were looking for me, Hyukjin.¡± ¡°Yes, that¡¯s right.¡± ¡°Since when have you been in contact with the Black Butterfly Guild? Are you not a Korean native?¡± The Black Butterfly. It was the name of the guild run by Pietro. Pietro was definitely doing his job well, it seemed. ¡°I sort of just ran into them. We met for the first time today.¡± There was a man in his mid-20s standing next to Pedro. ¡®Found you.¡¯ The Wargod Salvatore. That man was here. The name Salvatore was an alias, a fake name. His real name was Chiellini, but that little detail wasn¡¯t important. In any case, Chiellini, the Salvatore I remembered, was indeed acquainted with Vela. Vela shot a glare. ¡°Why are you here?¡± ____ Chapter 202 Chapter 202 Salvatore was Vela¡¯s complete opposite. The Wargod, Salvatore. The adjectives that matched him were cold-blooded or cool-headed. Rational. Extremely practical. Words like that. In the future, at least. ¡®The one and only exception is¡­¡¯ He only ever showed agitation when it had to do with Vela. The two of them shared a deep-seated enmity. That was the Salvatore Hyukjin remembered. ¡°Why are you here?¡± ¡°Why? Am I not allowed to be here?¡± Salvatore¡¯s hackles also went up as soon as he saw Vela. Hyukjin wasn¡¯t all that interested in their spiteful relationship. ¡°Nice to meet you. I¡¯m Kim Hyukjin, a Player from Korea.¡± ¡°¡­¡± Salvatore stared at Hyukjin, who continued, ¡°I am a Player with a close relationship to the Conductor of Sound.¡± Everyone casually introduced themselves. ¡°I¡¯m Choi Sung-gu, the Jayangdong Fire Master. I¡¯m a magician who¡¯s hella good at handling fire.¡± ¡°Nice to meet you. My name is Kim Sunhwa. I¡¯m a tank, and Hyukjin¡¯s little sister.¡± With the greetings out of the way, Salvatore nodded, his eyes on Hyukjin. ¡°I heard a lot about you from Pedro.¡± ¡°You did?¡± ¡°Yes. To tell you the truth, I knew you would come here. I heard that you¡¯re looking for something in Pompeii.¡± Pedro stepped in. ¡°Ahem ahem. Just to prevent any misunderstandings, I only relayed what the Astrologist Itachi said. A manly man doesn¡¯t do any pointless gossipping.¡± ¡°What did Itachi say?¡± What had the genius short-lived astrologist said? Pedro pulled out a note, a piece of paper called a precognitive note or a prophecy. It was a note imbued with the mystical power of future sight. A meeting occurs before the cornerstone of an ash-covered temple. If they meet as enemies, so shall a conflagration of hell commence. If they meet as friends, so shall the hymn of heaven ring. ¡°This is what Itachi wrote,¡± said Pedro. ¡°The subject is this guy right here, Chiellini.¡± Vela huffed at that. ¡°But Pedro, I¡¯m your friend. Why¡¯re you looking at this guy¡¯s future for him?¡± ¡°I asked about yours, too.¡± ¡°But why¡¯d you also look at his?¡± ¡°Don¡¯t question what a manly man does. You wanna get hit?¡± ¡°¡­¡± The future Fight King shut his mouth. Hyukjin could see that Salvatore had a faint smile on his face despite being famous for being able to maintain a poker face at all times. ¡®It¡¯s an intentional provocation.¡¯ Hyukjin realized something. ¡®Those two know that Pedro is a woman. And there¡¯s a very high chance they¡¯ve known for a really long time.¡¯ He didn¡¯t know what history these three shared. But he judged that Pedro was in the middle of it, and was part of the reason why Vela and Salvatore¡¯s relationship had become so foul. ¡°I can see the astrologist¡¯s words are very meaningful.¡± Ash-covered. That had to be referring to Pompeii, the city that was wiped out by volcanic ash. A meeting occurs before the temple¡¯s cornerstone. Hyukjin knew there was a temple in Pompeii. He thought of the precognitive note again. ¡®To think he could write such a specific note.¡¯ Geniuses really were geniuses. In Hyukjin¡¯s opinion, a prophecy of this level was extremely concrete. If they meet as enemies, so shall a conflagration of hell commence. If they meet as friends, so shall the hymn of heaven ring. This prophecy was made from Salvatore¡¯s perspective. ¡®Is the enemy or friend here referring to me?¡¯ It could be Hyukjin, or someone else here. For example, it could also be someone like Sunhwa or Vela. ¡®But seeing as a hymn is mentioned, there¡¯s a high chance it¡¯s me.¡¯ The faint smile gone from his face, Chiellini (Salvatore) said, ¡°What is it that you are looking for in Pompeii, Hyukjin?¡± ¡°I¡¯m looking for the [Predator Tree Colony]. Or the [Battlefield of Crows].¡± Now, what did he know? Kim Hyukjin examined Salvatore¡¯s expression. ¡°¡­¡± Salvatore stared back, expressionless. He was an expert in expressions and was confident in his poker face, but unfortunately, Hyukjin was a master of observation who exceeded him. ¡®He¡¯s flustered.¡¯ From that, Hyukjin was able to tell that Salvatore was indeed looking for the Predator Tree Colony. ¡°Judging by your expression, you appear to have been looking for the Predator Tree Colony as well. You flinched when I mentioned it.¡± ¡°¡­Yes.¡± ¡°Then we¡¯re looking for the same thing.¡± According to the info Hyukjin got from the master of Black Butterfly, Pietro, Salvatore had been looking here for a week already. In other words, he¡¯d come up empty-handed for an entire week. ¡°Would you like to work together?¡± Hyukjin asked. ¡°I refuse.¡± ¡°May I ask why?¡± ¡°Vela. I don¡¯t want to work with him.¡± ¡°Vela will be leaving to work on his own scenario.¡± Vela stared at Hyukjin. His mouth opened. ¡®I will? Why?¡¯ was written all over his face, but Hyukjin completely ignored it, upon which Vela looked stunned. He thought, ¡®Why do I have to get kicked out?¡¯ but he didn¡¯t cause a fuss. He just mumbled to himself, ¡°But I even did the driving.¡± It had taken him a great deal of courage to learn how to drive. But despite coming all the way here, he was being sent back like a taxi driver. Chiellini (Salvatore)¡¯s eyes narrowed. ¡®What¡¯s going on?¡¯ That reckless simpleton wasn¡¯t throwing a tantrum. Vela was someone you couldn¡¯t communicate in regular human speech with, much less converse with. That was how Salvatore defined him, but that very Vela was meekly standing down. ¡®Seeing as he said he¡¯s connected to the Conductor of Sound¡­¡¯ Salvatore came to a conclusion. ¡®He must know I¡¯m contracted to the Conductor of Sound.¡¯ There was no way for him to check how Hyukjin got that information. To borrow something Pedro said, Kim Hyukjin had ¡®special eyes¡¯, through which he had a unique ability to garner information. ¡®Shall we work together?¡¯ His search had come up empty for a whole week. He had to find the Predator Tree Colony, but he couldn¡¯t find any clues. But that alone wasn¡¯t sufficient reason to work together. If they cooperated, they would also have to share the rewards. ¡°I have already cleared the Predator Tree Colony before.¡± ¡°¡­Is that so?¡± ¡°In the Korean server.¡± ¡°So there was a Predator Tree Colony in Korea as well. That¡¯s very different from my understanding.¡± ¡®Fields bearing the same name¡¯ did not exist. For Salvatore, that was fact. Hyukjin nodded. ¡°That understanding doesn¡¯t apply in Korea.¡± ¡°What do you mean?¡± ¡°In Italy, there aren¡¯t fields or dungeons with the same name and same contents. Correct?¡± Salvatore nodded. Actually, that wasn¡¯t just an Italy thing¡ªit was like that in most countries, to the point that it had almost become an established fact. ¡°Korea is different. Two instances of the exact same gate, a gate called the Centipede Cave, have already been discovered. Here is proof that I know the Predator Tree Colony.¡± [Map of the Predator Tree Colony, Addended] A Predator Tree Colony is a forest with many Predator Trees. Rapundel¡¯s father made a Predator Tree Colony for his daughter because ¡®Predator Tree Seeds¡¯ were known to be effective against ¡®Red Flower Tears¡¯. An artificially created ¡®Predator Tree Colony¡¯ has a lifespan of three hundred years at most. The Predator Trees are unable to maintain the ecosystem for longer than that and perish. Hyukjin brought up the elephant in the room. ¡°I need Predator Tree Seeds. I don¡¯t need anything else.¡± ¡°¡­¡± The fact that Predator Tree Seeds were effective against Red Flower Tears wasn¡¯t discovered even in the future. Based on that, it was clear that Salvatore was currently looking for something that wasn¡¯t the Predator Tree Seeds. * * * Translator ¨C Lei Proofreader ¨C Ash * * * ¡°Do you know why I am telling you this?¡± ¡°Aren¡¯t you saying you will only take the Predator Tree Seeds and concede the other rewards, so we should form a party?¡± ¡°That is correct.¡± ¡°What do you have to gain from doing that?¡± Hyukjin only wanted the seeds, nothing else. It was an overwhelmingly good deal for Salvatore, which made him suspicious. Vela grumbled on the side. ¡°Tch, seriously. You damn coward. You should just accept the offer, why¡¯re you talking so much? Just cut off your dick, dude. This is why you¡¯re no good.¡± Hyukjin smiled. ¡°Because I somehow have the feeling we can become good friends?¡± ¡°¡­¡± ¡°To be honest, that prophetic note makes me a little anxious.¡± If they meet as enemies, so shall a conflagration of hell commence. If they meet as friends, so shall the hymn of heaven ring. The prophecy was actually an excuse. The reason Hyukjin wanted to work with Salvatore was because Salvatore had cleared it in the past. With enough time, Salvatore would find the Predator Tree Colony on his own, and he would also clear it on his own. Hyukjin was just trying to hitch a free ride. There was no need to go around in circles when there was a safe, convenient shortcut right in front of you. ¡°I have an ability called Conductor¡¯s Hymn.¡± Salvatore probably had the ability as well. And it was just as Hyukjin thought¡ªSalvatore did indeed have it. However, he didn¡¯t reveal it, since there was no real need to. Hyukjin drove the wedge into the crack. ¡°Salvatore. You are different from Vela.¡± Vela scowled. What was Hyukjin going to say? His heart started to thump out of anxiety that he would be compared to that coward. ¡°Vela has a genius battle sense that shines in 1 on 1.¡± Vela¡¯s frown brightened into a shit-eating grin. Of course, of course, I¡¯m pretty good at fighting. He silently clapped himself on the back with pride. ¡°But you¡¯re different. You have a power that shines not in 1 on 1, but in a group battle. That is why you and I have to Play together.¡± ¡°How did you find out what my ability is?¡± ¡°You heard from Pedro, didn¡¯t you? I have special eyes.¡± Hyukjin grinned. The fish was all reeled in. ¡°A sovereign can recognize another sovereign.¡± ¡°¡­A sovereign?¡± Pedro, Vela, and even Salvatore turned in unison to stare at Hyukjin, who shrugged. ¡°In Korea, I¡¯m known as a sovereign.¡± Pedro shook his head. ¡°But I thought you were an archer¡­¡± That was why he gave Hyukjin Sylphid¡¯s Wing as a gift. Vela shook his head as well, thinking there wasn¡¯t another human like this one anywhere in the world. ¡°I thought he was an archer at first, too.¡± ¡°But he says he¡¯s a sovereign¡­¡± ¡°He¡¯s also stronger than me in direct combat.¡± Salvatore doubted his own ears. That Vela recognized someone as being stronger? For Vela to admit it so simply, Kim Hyukjin had to have truly overwhelmed him. Otherwise, Vela would never have acknowledged him. Pedro clapped three times. ¡°You¡¯re a true manly man, aren¡¯t you?¡± His gaze fell on Hyukjin, his eyes bearing quite a lot of goodwill. Of course, no one here could understand why Pedro clapped there¡ªeven Pedro himself didn¡¯t know. He just thought it was appropriate for a manly man to clap. Suddenly remembering, Vela said, ¡°He also uses magic.¡± Vela had seen it, no doubt about it. The bright-red flames that swallowed the murky lights in the hidden field of the Gran Seoul Dungeon. ¡°I saw him use fire magic.¡± ¡°No wonder.¡± Pedro understood Vela¡¯s words. No wonder. That was why Hyukjin went up to Athenae. ¡°Then just what in the world does that make him?¡± There didn¡¯t seem to be anything he couldn¡¯t do. ¡°I dunno, a man of many talents who¡¯s good at fighting?¡± Hyukjin felt a little embarrassed as he watched Vela and Pedro nonchalantly discussing him right in front of him. ¡°Ahem ahem.¡± He coughed twice to get everyone¡¯s attention. ¡°How about it? Do you feel any inclination to work with me now? I think there¡¯s definitely something to learn from working with another sovereign.¡± He said one more thing, intentionally emphasizing the words as a provocation. ¡°Because at least at this point in time, my ability as a sovereign exceeds yours.¡± ____ Chapter 203 Chapter 203 Pedro wanted to cut in, but was unable to. ¡®Sovereign?¡¯ The most outstanding sovereign class Player he knew was of course Chiellini (Salvatore). When they cleared the Dourdan Gate together in the past, the whole party would have probably been wiped out if Chiellini hadn¡¯t been there. Such was the power of the sovereign class, which shined when commanding other Players. ¡®But Hyukjin is also one?¡¯ What¡¯s more, Hyukjin was saying this: ¨CBecause at least at this point in time, my ability as a sovereign exceeds yours. Unable to hold back, Pedro butted in. Everyone was just accepting the revelation as a matter of fact, but what would that make him, the person who gifted a sovereign a bow? ¡®I should have given him something better than a bow.¡¯ This would be a stain on his manly man name. ¡°But Hyukjin, what¡¯ll become of Sylphid¡¯s Wing then?¡± ¡°I¡¯m making good use of it. You saw it too, didn¡¯t you?¡± Hyukjin shattered Beratto¡¯s authority with Sylphid¡¯s Wing, then beat the hapless sop black and blue with Isabel. Even Sunhwa had discovered that footage. ¡°Yeah, that¡¯s true, but¡­¡± Now that Hyukjin said he wasn¡¯t an archer, but a sovereign, Pedro still felt a little bad. ¡°If you return it to me, I¡¯ll get you something better.¡± Hyukjin grinned. ¡°You¡¯ll give me something better if I give it back?¡± ¡°Yes, I¡¯ll procure something better, whatever it may be. Maybe a sovereign exclusive?¡± ¡°That does sound nice, but¡­¡± Hyukjin actually wanted Sylphid¡¯s Wing, since he would also be able to get a scenario related to the Wind Temple. However, he packaged his intent differently. ¡°Wouldn¡¯t it wound a manly man¡¯s pride if they take back something that¡¯s been given away?¡± ¡°Th-That¡¯s¡­¡± ¡°I¡¯m just concerned your pride will take a hit out of greed to give me something good.¡± Pedro nodded. That was true. When he thought about it, his manly man pride would certainly be tarnished. Manly men never took back what was given. That was the manly man way he(she) upheld as truth. ¡°N-Now that I think about it, you¡¯re right.¡± Pedro broke into a big grin. ¡°In that case, this manly man will procure something better for you without taking the bow back.¡± ¡°I¡¯m really grateful for your kindness. A manly man¡¯s generosity really is on a different level.¡± Everyone standing next to the brightly grinning Pedro looked on with stunned faces. Were they watching highway extortion happening right in front of them? Even the naive Vela had the feeling something was wrong here, which said enough about the situation. Vela spoke up with a cough. ¡°Anyway, I wanna come too.¡± ¡°You can¡¯t.¡± ¡°Why not?¡± ¡°Because Chiellini doesn¡¯t want you to.¡± ¡°That¡¯s not my problem.¡± Sung-gu nodded firmly. ¡°I get you, brother.¡± The flame magician had seriously been to hell and back in the Gran Seoul Dungeon. Playing with people other than Hyukjin was frustrating as all hell. Playing with Hyukjin was the best, no matter what. ¡®Because that¡¯s the sweetest and easiest road!¡¯ No matter what happened, no matter what obstacles appeared, Sung-gu vowed time and time again that he would always Play with Kim Hyukjin. ¡°Like I said, Playing with others after Playing with you is enough to drive a person mad. Right, Vela?¡± Vela extended a hand to Sung-gu. ¡°You know your stuff, man.¡± ¡°Heh. Shabam, glad we¡¯re on the same wavelength. You¡¯re a dashing fellow.¡± Vela and Sung-gu unintentionally ended up sympathizing with one another and came to a mutual understanding. Hyukjin gave up on convincing Vela with words. Any additional attempts were a waste of time. ¡°Vela.¡± ¡°What?¡± ¡°You good at fighting?¡± ¡°¡­¡± Vela paused, feeling strange. It was odd to hear those words coming from someone else. ¡°I am.¡± ¡°Better than me?¡± ¡°¡­¡± Vela had no choice but to shut his mouth. He had long since fully acknowledged defeat. Vela saw Hyukjin as an ¡®expert of close-combat martial arts¡¯ several levels above himself. ¡°No.¡± ¡°If you¡¯re better at fighting than me, then come. If you¡¯re not, then leave.¡± ¡°C¡¯mon man, think about it. How many people out there are better at fighting than you?¡± ¡°So? You good at fighting?¡± Chiellini (Salvatore) watched that ridiculous conversation in silence. ¡®He knows exactly how to handle Vela.¡¯ It looked immature, but there was no better way to handle this simpleton. The problem was just that there weren¡¯t many people strong enough to make Vela submit. In any case, Hyukjin wrapped up the issue of Vela¡¯s participation with ¡®You good at fighting?¡¯ With that, a party of four¡ªKim Hyukjin, Salvatore, Choi Sung-gu, and Kim Sunhwa¡ªwas composed. Pedro had a quest from Elder Bufafa, so he went to the Winter Castle. ¡®Then¡­ first, let¡¯s look for the gate.¡¯ The archeological site of Pompeii. They spent three days there. * * * Translator ¨C Lei Proofreader ¨C Ash * * * Chiellini (Salvatore) thought to himself, ¡®Let¡¯s see¡­ if there¡¯s really something for me to learn.¡¯ It was his first time meeting a Player who claimed they were a better sovereign than him, and with such brazen confidence. He decided to see for himself just how amazing this Hyukjin really was. Nothing had come of their search yet, even after three days. Hyukjin found himself considering something drastic. ¡®Do I need to ask Jackson for help?¡¯ But he couldn¡¯t call Jackson for everything. Jackson hadn¡¯t been here when Salvatore cleared it in the past. That meant it was possible even without Jackson. ¡°Oppa, my legs hurt. Can I go take a break over there?¡± asked Sunhwa. ¡°Go ahead.¡± Sung-gu was about to interject with ¡®Eh? How does that make any sense?¡¯ But Hyukjin stopped him. Actually, Sung-gu was right. Sunhwa was a tank. ¡®Her physical endurance and stamina are at least my level.¡¯ But her legs suddenly hurt? It was strange. As a result, Sunhwa¡¯s words caught Hyukjin¡¯s attention. He clearly remembered how they stumbled on the Turtle Nest in Japan before. They had gone to the gyukatsu restaurant because Sunhwa suddenly said she wanted to eat gyukatsu, only to find a gate there. ¡®I¡¯ll find out in due time.¡¯ Hyukjin walked forward, judging that he would soon find the reason why Sunhwa the tank, a girl with very high physical stats, suddenly felt that her legs were aching. ¡®This place¡­¡¯ Before him was the Basilica, a building structured in a way you would commonly associate with a temple. The massive construction was originally dozens of long pillars propping up one rectangular building. ¡®We¡¯ve already been here multiple times.¡¯ All of the pillars had crumbled, leaving not a single one intact. There was, of course, no ceiling. Only remnants of pillars remained in regularly spaced intervals. And sitting in front of one of those cornerstones was Sunhwa. Hyukjin was able to discover something there. ¡®There¡¯s a strange shimmering here.¡¯ It was very faint, but there was definitely something there. ¡®It¡¯s not a gate.¡¯ But it might be some kind of key that could open the gate. Just then, Salvatore said, ¡°The map in my possession is reacting.¡± They had found it. The entrance of the gate. * * * Hyukjin stared at the activated gate. Unlike Sung-gu and Salvatore, he wasn¡¯t astonished or stunned. If it happened once, he might just think it was odd, but if it happened twice, it was no longer a coincidence, but inevitable. Sunhwa had a special ability no one, perhaps not even herself, had discovered yet. The person in question had no idea what she had done. ¡°Huh? A gate?¡± The gate opened in response to Salvatore¡¯s map. [Predator Tree Colony] A gate to teleport to the Predator Tree Colony. Entrance conditions: The activator (party) of the gate, and at least level 30. One who has hunted a Predator Tree before, and at least level 30. Only Players who have fulfilled 1) or 2) can enter. Hyukjin stroked Sunhwa¡¯s head once. ¡°Well done.¡± ¡°Did I do that?¡± ¡°Yeah.¡± Sunhwa didn¡¯t really know what she did, but she was happy to be praised. The 14-year-old girl was hungry for her brother¡¯s praise. Salvatore took the lead with a bitter face. ¡°Let¡¯s go in.¡± Hyukjin followed him, saying, ¡°The description is totally the same as the Predator Tree Colony I experienced in Korea.¡± [Entering the ¡®Predator Tree Colony¡¯.] The field changed to a humid and dark cave, as one would expect from a place inhabited by Predator Trees. Hyukjin¡¯s Eye of Perception captured many presences, but they weren¡¯t dangerous ones. ¡®It¡¯s the same as before.¡¯ They were all Predator Trees at the end of their 300 year lifespan. These Predator Trees that someone had artificially cultivated were truly easy prey. ¡°I will not participate in direct combat,¡± said Hyukjin. ¡°In other words, I won¡¯t personally attack.¡± ¡°How come?¡± ¡°So that the rewards aren¡¯t split to me. I promised, after all.¡± Though if he was being honest, it was because he wouldn¡¯t get any EXP if he hunted them himself. Granted, Hyukjin currently had the elixir called ¡®Freedom¡¯. If he used it, he could delete his ¡®cannot receive EXP¡¯ penalty. He was aware of that, but he was temporarily holding onto it since it wasn¡¯t urgent. In any case, he couldn¡¯t get EXP right now if he did the hunting. ¡°Of course, there¡¯s nothing I can do about the EXP I get indirectly or any rewards given directly to me, but¡­ I want to concede as much of the rewards as I can to you.¡± ¡°¡­I see.¡± Chiellini nodded, thinking Hyukjin was definitely someone who honored his ironclad promises. ¡°That being said, will you permit Sung-gu to do the DPSing for efficient hunting?¡± ¡°Of course.¡± It would take too long to clear this place without an outstanding DPS anyway. ¡°I also happen to have an item perfect for hunting Predator Trees.¡± They sprayed the Rot Water Hyukjin had gotten from Cheon Sooji here and there. Not long after, Salvatore also caught onto the fact that something was off about the field. ¡°The state of the monsters is strange.¡± ¡°Of course.¡± ¡°Don¡¯t we have to be careful?¡± ¡°No. They¡¯re old and sick right now.¡± ¡°Any possibility there¡¯s a trap?¡± ¡°None.¡± ¡°How can you be so sure?¡± ¡°It¡¯s exactly the same as the place I cleared.¡± Not only that, but Hyukjin¡¯s Eye of Perception was far more developed than when he cleared the Predator Tree Colony before. His abilities themselves were stronger than back then. ¡°How can you be sure with just that? It¡¯s better to not take action than to take action that is too bold.¡± Hyukjin intentionally grinned. He had already known that Salvatore would respond this way. It was an extremely normal reaction. There was nothing to lose from being careful. That was natural. ¡°This is why I told you to learn from me.¡± ¡°What do you mean?¡± ¡°I will teach you that sometimes, bold decisions are necessary.¡± That was something the Salvatore he remembered had said. ¨CIf I could go back to the past, I wouldn¡¯t be so excessively cautious. Looking back, there were many lives that could not be saved because of what I prided as cool-headed thinking. I was unable to acquire more rewards I could have gained. Like the Predator Tree Colony, for example. Salvatore said he regretted that he ¡®didn¡¯t clear it faster¡¯. ¡°As well as the ability to see the bigger picture. Though of course, that¡¯s not something I can guarantee you¡¯ll learn just because I¡¯m teaching it.¡± Salvatore bit his lips a little. Just where was this reckless confidence coming from? ¡®Let¡¯s wait and see.¡¯ He wanted to see just how safely and decisively the other sovereign would clear this place, just how much ability as a sovereign Hyukjin could show, and whether that was sufficient justification for such confident claims. Ten minutes later, Salvatore¡¯s mouth fell open. ¡®No way.¡¯ The Predator Tree Colony was perfectly cleared. A firestorm swept through the field, and then the gate was finished. [You have successfully hunted all Predator Trees of the Predator Tree Colony.] [The Clear Crystal is being generated.] And then came another notice. [This is a special field with a ¡®reward acquisition based on clear time¡¯ condition.] Salvatore stared speechlessly at Hyukjin. The other sovereign was smiling faintly, as if he had already known this would happen. That expression seemed to be saying, ¡®Heard that notice?¡¯ ¡®What¡¯s with this person?¡¯ But it didn¡¯t stop there. Yet another notice came in to notify them that the contribution of each Player in clearing the Predator Tree would be personally calculated by the System. [Determining contribution.] That eased Salvatore¡¯s sense of defeat a little. ¡®I¡¯ll definitely be the winner here, at least.¡¯ Up until that point, Salvatore was sure of that. ____ Chapter 204 Chapter 204 About ten minutes ago. Chiellini (Salvatore) and I used Conductor¡¯s Hymn simultaneously, which made the Conductor of Sound very happy. [The ¡®Conductor of Sound¡¯ is very satisfied.] It wasn¡¯t clear yet who was the favorite and who was the second-favorite, but I knew the Conductor of Sound was surely delighted to see his two most favored Players joining forces to clear the Predator Colony with Conductor¡¯s Hymn. More than anything, the Guardian was probably relishing his sense of superiority over the White Hunter. After all, a famous Italian Player and I were using the same ability given by the Conductor of Sound. ¡®Nice.¡¯ It was good to stimulate the two rivals like this. I was very pleased with this situation. But there was something else I was happy about. As I was casting Conductor¡¯s Hymn, I came up with a new way to use it. If you knew 1+1, you knew 1+2. ¡®It can be stacked with the title effect of Pure Person of Fire.¡¯ That was because the target I was strengthening was the Flame Lord Choi Sung-gu, though of course, ¡®Flame Lord¡¯ was an exaggerated title for the current Sung-gu. ¡°Fudge. Can I light it up?¡± ¡°Wait a moment.¡± Rot Water had been sprinkled in every corner. While doing so, we¡¯d hunted the insect mobs in the area and scattered them around. If used in combination with Rot Water, we could create a powerful explosion. I recalled the specifics of the Pure Person of Fire title. [Pure Person of Fire] A glorious title that greatly increases one¡¯s affinity and ability to utilize the fire attribute. Only those who create a pure attribute Ring of Fire can acquire this title, which elevates all abilities related to the fire attribute by one level. *Special skill: Can use ¡®Flame of Purification¡¯. I grinned. ¡®A title that greatly increases affinity and ability to utilize the fire attribute.¡¯ I activated Observer¡¯s Eye. [Using the innate ability Unique Ability Fusion.] I used the innate power of an ¡®Observer¡¯ to join two unique abilities and amplify their effects, stacking my Pure Person of Fire title onto Conductor¡¯s Hymn. ¡®And¡ª¡¯ This wasn¡¯t the end. Having used Unique Ability Fusion a few times, I could see the path. If you knew 1+1 and 1+2, then it was now time to learn 1¡Á2. ¡®If I fuse them like this¡­¡¯ Could I fuse another thing, bringing up the total fused abilities to three? Of course, that process was far more difficult, just like how a cubic equation was far harder than a quadratic one. ¡®It¡¯s doable though?¡¯ I guided the energy in my body with ease. Eye of Perception and Observer¡¯s Eye precisely read the ¡®flow of power¡¯. [Using the innate ability Unique Ability Fusion.] Magicians had a thing called simulcasting. If you prepared and used two spells at once, it was called double casting, and for three spells, triple casting. ¡®If magicians can do it, so can I.¡¯ And in the end, I pulled it off. [Stacking the title effect of ¡®Excellent Player¡¯ onto ¡®Modified Conductor¡¯s Hymn¡¯.] [Unique Ability Fusion was successful.] My head hurt. My eyes throbbed. It certainly wasn¡¯t a walk in the park. But I managed it. Conductor¡¯s Hymn. Pure Person of Fire. Excellent Player. I buffed my teammates with Conductor¡¯s Hymn, greatly strengthened Sung-gu with Pure Person of Fire, and applied the effects of Excellent Player on top. [+20% additional damage] [+20% movement speed] [+10% EXP] I gave the signal. ¡°Now.¡± * * * Translator ¨C Lei Proofreader ¨C Ash * * * At Hyukjin¡¯s signal, Sung-gu lit a ¡®firestorm¡¯ that he¡¯d had plenty of time to prepare without any enemies nearby. Fwoooosh¨C! Powerful flames and heat began to billow up. As he watched under Sunhwa¡¯s protection, Salvatore felt himself swallow. ¡®This¡­¡¯ Was this the power of a Korean fire magician? ¡®I knew they tended to have particularly exceptional individuals, but¡­¡¯ He had heard that Korean Players tended to have more outstanding individual combat prowess in comparison to Italy. ¡®These are crazy flames.¡¯ He had no idea they would be this strong. The firestorm that raged was far too strong¡ªhe¡¯d never seen a fire spell so powerful and thought it was all Sung-gu. [Predator Tree has been killed.] As Hyukjin promised, he didn¡¯t directly hunt. Chiellini, Sung-gu, and Sunhwa moved together to finish off the Predator Trees on the verge of death. Sung-gu himself was just as shocked as Chiellini¡ªno, he was more shocked. ¡®Was my magic this hella strong?¡¯ No, it wasn¡¯t this level. He was well aware of that. He might have also had Chiellini (Salvatore)¡¯s help, but Hyukjin must have given him a huge push. ¡®As I thought, I gotta Play with Hyukjin.¡¯ His bewilderment quickly dissipated. This was how it always was when you Played with Hyukjin. Time and time again, he would show you a new world you hadn¡¯t even begun to imagine. This was how Playing should be; Sung-gu really couldn¡¯t stand working with other guys. In any case, the party finished hunting the Predator Trees with great ease. [This is a special field with a ¡®reward acquisition based on clear time¡¯ condition.] [Determining contribution of Players in the ¡®Predator Tree Colony¡¯ clear.] Chiellini inwardly anticipated his coming victory. He acknowledged that Kim Hyukjin was a jack of all trades, but being a jack of all trades meant they were lacking in comprehension and focus in certain areas, right? It was already hard enough to dig one well in this world. If you tried to dig more than one, they were bound to be shallow. Chiellini was sure of it. ¡®My buff was surely way stronger.¡¯ Chiellini didn¡¯t just use Conductor¡¯s Hymn. He brought out every sovereign ability he had in his arsenal. Hyukjin¡¯s words were still ringing in his ears. ¨CBecause at least at this point in time, my ability as a sovereign exceeds yours. He hadn¡¯t forgotten those words. The contribution would prove it. That Kim Hyukjin was arrogant. [Contribution allocation has been concluded.] The System determined the contribution and shared it. Kim Hyukjin: 38% Choi Sung-gu: 25% Chiellini: 25% Kim Sunhwa: 11% Darongi: 1% Chiellini couldn¡¯t accept it. He and Sung-gu were tied for 2nd place. To make things worse, Hyukjin in 1st place had a 13% lead. But something even more shocking happened. [The special reward condition of the Predator Tree Colony, ¡®Clear Time¡¯, is in effect.] [The special reward condition allows contribution to be conceded to another Player.] [The grade of the reward increases with higher contribution.] [If one¡¯s contribution exceeds 50%, the grade of the reward will increase markedly.] That much was fine, but then Kim Sunhwa shouted with not a single second of hesitation, ¡°All my contribution is Oppa¡¯s!¡± ¡­which instantly brought Hyukjin¡¯s contribution to 49%. Sung-gu thought hard for a moment. ¡°Yeah, I¡¯d be a traitor if I didn¡¯t give this, right?¡± Sung-gu was confident he was someone who could draw the big picture. This small sacrifice now would surely come back as a bigger return. The clear today had only confirmed his belief¡ªKim Hyukjin was someone he had to cling to as a companion for life. Only then would Sung-gu be set for life. ¡°I¡¯ll give you my contribution, too.¡± And so, Hyukjin¡¯s contribution ended up reaching a whopping 74%. [If one¡¯s contribution exceeds 70%, the grade of the reward will once again increase markedly.] In the end, Hyukjin took 74% of the contribution. Chiellini felt bitter. ¡®What¡¯s with these guys?¡¯ It was scary. At this point, it was scary. The Predator Tree Colony was undoubtedly a fairly high level hunting ground, and the rewards would naturally be good, too. But he had just witnessed the two Players give all their rewards to Hyukjin without hesitation. ¡®Koreans¡­¡¯ he thought honestly, ¡®are scary.¡¯ It was obvious from this one situation. This young girl¡¯s tanking ability seemed better than Italy¡¯s cream of the crop tanks, and the fire magician was powerful beyond imagination. Kim Hyukjin was an archer/martial artist/swordsman/Precognitive Dreamer/sovereign, but each and every one of his abilities exceeded that of top Rankers. ¡®But they¡¯re not famous.¡¯ How was it that Players of this level were basically unknown? Most people would say the most famous guilds in Korea were Taeguk Shield and Wings. In Chiellini¡¯s opinion, ¡®fame¡¯ and ¡®capability¡¯ were, to some extent, proportional. ¡®These guys are nameless.¡¯ In which case¡ª ¡®Just how strong are Taeguk Shield and Wings?¡¯ After witnessing Giantgod in action, he could understand how the purported number 1 tamer in China, Lao Yu, was repelled by Wings. If Giantgod was this strong, how much stronger were the more famous guilds? ¡®There¡¯s also their fearsome unity to consider.¡¯ It wasn¡¯t easy to foster such resolve and courage in teammates to give everything to their leader. It was only possible because the leader had proven themselves and had earned their teammates¡¯ trust. ¡®And that¡¯s not all.¡¯ He remembered what Hyukjin said before coming in here. ¨COf course, there¡¯s nothing I can do about the EXP I get indirectly or any rewards given directly to me, but¡­ I want to concede as much of the rewards as I can to you. He had the feeling he was tricked. Hyukjin had laid out the justification of not being able to do anything about ¡®rewards given directly¡¯ in advance. Chiellini couldn¡¯t even refute this situation. He realized that Hyukjin hadn¡¯t taken a step back because he ¡®wanted to concede the rewards¡¯. ¡®This is why¡­¡¯ Was this why Hyukjin said to watch and learn? ¡®It¡¯s not¡­ unpleasant.¡¯ This was a virtue that a sovereign naturally required. What Hyukjin had just shown him was an excellent tactic. Technically, Hyukjin made good on his promise, while securing all the profit he could at the same time. A sovereign could not always take the flowery, ideal path. Sometimes, they had to use slander and less-than-savory tricks, and sometimes, they even had to resort to coercion. Chiellini was well aware of that. ¡®How shocking.¡¯ It was shocking that there was a sovereign like this in Korea. While Chiellini was briefly stunned, Hyukjin heard a new notice. [Choose a reward.] Predator Tree Seed Bag Predator Tree Leaves Bag ¡®Predator Tree Colony¡¯ Dungeon Title These rewards had been upgraded two times. Hyukjin could tell that no matter what he chose, profit was guaranteed. ¡®Choosing the seed bag is correct.¡¯ That way, he could fulfill his side of the deal with CEO Song and would gain access to CEO Song¡¯s full prowess. But Observer¡¯s Eye was edging towards number 3. It wasn¡¯t really sparkling, but the ¡®Predator Tree Colony Dungeon Title¡¯ letters seemed to be shining brightly. ¡®My head says number 1. And my eyes say number 3.¡¯ Hyukjin¡¯s eyes were basically his ¡®intuition¡¯. And he trusted his intuition. ¡°I¡­¡± He intentionally spoke aloud, conveying the situation to the Guardians watching above. ¡®The majority of Guardians probably think I¡¯ll choose number 1.¡¯ That was natural. After all, he had come this far for that result. Hyukjin purposefully drew out his words for dramatic effect, which Chiellini also noticed. The Italian quickly realized why Hyukjin was pausing. ¡®So that¡¯s how you do it.¡¯ It felt like he had gained a new enlightenment, like he had truly gained a lot from today¡¯s clear. Salvatore got a reward as well. [Your contribution is 25%.] [¡®Predator Tree Seed Bundle¡¯ received.] Chiellini was more focused on what Hyukjin was doing than his notices. Each and every one of Hyukjin¡¯s actions was a lesson for Chiellini. Hyukjin finally spoke. Trusting his intuition, he totally shattered the expectations of the Guardians. ¡°I choose the dungeon title.¡± Hyukjin was given the dungeon title. ____ Chapter 205 Chapter 205 ¡°I choose the dungeon title.¡± That choice prompted many Guardians to send messages. [The ¡®Nameless Guardian¡¯ observes.] [The ¡®Herdsman of Las Vegas¡¯ is curious.] [The ¡®Barrier of Blue Light¡¯ doubts your choice.] [The ¡®Conductor of Sound¡¯ wonders what you¡¯re thinking.] One of the Guardians took a different stand. [The ¡®White Hunter¡¯ respects your choice.] [The ¡®White Hunter¡¯ has sent you a 300 Coin sponsorship.] Hyukjin checked his new dungeon title. [True Ruler of the Predator Tree Colony] Grants you the authority to fully control and govern the Predator Tree Colony. The True Ruler of the Predator Tree Colony exercises great power within the Predator Tree Colony. *Unlimited resurrection within the Predator Tree Colony. *Can invoke ¡®Death Sentencing¡¯ within the Predator Tree Colony. *Can adjust Predator Tree Colony entry conditions. *Can adjust Predator Tree Colony difficulty. An additional notice came in. [Because your contribution was at least 50%, the dungeon title has been upgraded.] It was originally supposed to be ¡®Ruler of the Predator Tree Colony¡¯, but it was upgraded to ¡®True Ruler of the Predator Tree Colony¡¯. ¡®It¡¯s the same as the Gran Seoul Dungeon.¡¯ Even the effects were the same. But that wasn¡¯t the end. [Because your contribution was at least 70%, you are given an additional bonus.] [A special effect has been added to the ¡®True Ruler of the Predator Tree Colony¡¯ dungeon title.] ¡®A special effect?¡¯ Bonus: Can open ¡®Predator Tree Colony¡¯ upon fulfilling a special condition. The created ¡®Predator Tree Colony¡¯ will share the same form as the ¡®Predator Tree Colony¡¯ in which this title was acquired. Hyukjin stiffened. He remembered the System implying that reaching at least 70% contribution was an extremely good thing. It really was no exaggeration. ¡®If I fulfill a special condition¡­ I can open a Predator Tree Colony?¡¯ That basically meant¡ª ¡®I can voluntarily generate the Predator Tree Colony gate.¡¯ There was a catch, of course¡ªthe ¡®special condition¡¯. [Special Condition] Requires 12 Predator Tree Seeds. Requires ¡®Humid Soil¡¯. He finished looking through the conditions as well. ¡°What did you get, Chiellini?¡± ¡°Do I need to tell you that?¡± ¡°You don¡¯t need to if you don¡¯t want to.¡± Hyukjin concealed his thoughts. It would be great if Chiellini told him, but he wasn¡¯t obligated to do so. However, Chiellini (Salvatore) said, ¡°You taught me a great deal today, so I suppose I should repay you.¡± ¡°¡­¡± Chiellini told him honestly, ¡°I was given a Predator Tree Seed Bundle and a Humid Soil Map.¡± Hyukjin nodded. Chiellini had what he needed, but Hyukjin kept his face nonchalant. ¡°You got good stuff.¡± ¡°Are they good?¡± ¡°Yes. Because I want the seeds.¡± That was something Hyukjin had expressed even before coming inside. ¡°Must I give them to you?¡± ¡°Not necessarily.¡± Chiellini wasn¡¯t the type to just give him the seeds when forced anyway. He was someone who would only be satisfied by doing a fair, reasonable trade, so Hyukjin made a proposal. ¡°Would it be alright if I buy them from you if I need them later?¡± ¡°You want to buy them?¡± ¡°To be precise, I¡¯m not the one who needs them.¡± Chiellini gave Hyukjin a blank look. It made sense; Hyukjin might be an archer/sovereign/jack of trades class, but he didn¡¯t really seem to need the seeds or Humid Soil Map. ¡°It¡¯s possible someone I know needs them¡ªI have a request from them to find the seeds.¡± ¡°Is that so?¡± ¡°Yes. I don¡¯t know about the Humid Soil, but there¡¯s someone who wants the seeds.¡± ¡°Why is that? Is it an important item?¡± ¡°Hm, it could be important, or it could be unimportant. Depends on the person, don¡¯t you think?¡± That person was CEO Song. To him, the seeds were a potentially life-saving item. ¡°I¡¯ll go back to Korea and ask if they¡¯re interested in buying. They¡¯ll probably be generous with the price.¡± ¡°Please do that.¡± Chiellini nodded, having judged that there was nothing for him to lose. Hyukjin said again, ¡°Should we set an approximate price before we part ways?¡± Hyukjin concealed his happiness. Those items were both crucial for both him and CEO Song. In other words, he could use Song Kiyoung¡¯s money to pocket them for free. ¡°The person who wants to buy the Predator Tree Seed Bundle is rather loaded.¡± ¡°¡­Really?¡± ¡°They¡¯ll probably offer at least 100,000 euros.¡± 100,000 euros. In Korean currency, that was above 130,000,000 won. ¡°Is this item that valuable?¡± ¡°At least to that person, yes. Should I ask if they¡¯re interested in buying the Humid Soil Map as well? I think they would buy it for at least 100,000 euros.¡± Chiellini gulped. He could get 200,000 euros from clearing a single gate? The age of Players was only just beginning. He knew this sort of thing would happen someday, but he hadn¡¯t expected it to be today. Concealing his excited heart, Chiellini said calmly, ¡°I will await your call.¡± * * * Translator ¨C Lei Proofreader ¨C Ash * * * Hyukjin went to CEO Song Kiyoung, who pushed back his original meeting to see Hyukjin right away. ¡°You¡¯ve already acquired the Predator Tree Seeds?¡± ¡°Yes. I didn¡¯t think I would be able to get them so fast, either.¡± CEO Song sat down, closing his eyes in thought for a moment. ¡°Were you sure that you could obtain them?¡± ¡°I was.¡± ¡°And if you hadn¡¯t been able to?¡± ¡°Why is that something I need to consider?¡± ¡°It would mean you were flaunting empty promises to me. I may be old, but I have a strong desire to live.¡± CEO Song chortled, his laughter laced with sharp edges. Song Kiyoung was someone who held great power in Korea. If Hyukjin had failed to obtain the Predator Tree Seeds, he might have been very displeased. ¡°What I mean to ask is, were you not afraid that you would fail? Considering the other party was me.¡± ¡°I only struck the deal because I was sure I could obtain them.¡± Hyukjin already knew what CEO Song wanted to hear. ¡°There¡¯s no investment without risk, is there?¡± Song Kiyoung nodded lightly. He knew Hyukjin would say something to that effect. No matter how he thought of it, this young man truly reminded him of his dead son. ¡°How one manages that risk is the key to investing.¡± ¡°That¡¯s right.¡± ¡°I was merely confident I could handle that risk. And the result is as you see.¡± Hyukjin shrugged. ¡°Very well. Can you show me the Predator Tree Seeds then?¡± ¡°I don¡¯t have them.¡± Song Kiyoung¡¯s eyes narrowed. ¡°Didn¡¯t you say you obtained them?¡± ¡°I never said I had them with me. Another Player has the Predator Tree Seeds and the related Humid Soil Map.¡± ¡°What do you mean?¡± ¡°It was a gate that grants rewards based on contribution. That Player was given Predator Tree Seeds and an item related to Humid Soil based on his contribution.¡± ¡°And who is that Player?¡± It was Hyukjin¡¯s turn to narrow his eyes. ¡°If it were you, CEO Song, would you be so naive as to say that?¡± ¡°¡­¡± CEO Song looked at Hyukjin in silence before faintly smiling. ¡°I can look into it myself.¡± ¡°But that will cost you precious time, and there¡¯s no guarantee they¡¯ll sell to you. They might already be selling the items. I¡¯m sure you¡¯re well aware that there¡¯s a lot of money to be made from dungeon rewards, aka new tech.¡± Song Kiyoung took a sip of the tea in front of him. He didn¡¯t contemplate the issue for long. ¡°How much do you want?¡± ¡°It will depend on the seller¡¯s intent, but I believe it would be best to have at least $2 million for the trade.¡± ¡°$2 million, you say.¡± After a brief moment of thought, Song Kiyoung casually said, ¡°It¡¯s cheap.¡± The hair regeneration serum had cost him about $1 million. At least for him, putting $2 million on a ¡®possibility¡¯ that might save his life wasn¡¯t a bad investment. CEO Song walked to his desk and lifted the handle of the intercom, contacting his secretary. ¡°Ready $2 million for me in cash.¡± ¡°Please get it in euros.¡± Exchanging the money was a pain. Not long afterwards, Hyukjin had 1.6 million euros in his hands. TN: Based on 2018/2019 exchange rate. ¡°Will this be enough?¡± ¡°Whether it¡¯s enough or not is not of any consequence. I will do my best to make it work.¡± ¡°If it¡¯s not enough, tell me.¡± Hyukjin briefly closed his eyes. ¡°No, I think this will be sufficient. I will do what¡¯s within my ability, and if it¡¯s not enough, I will cover it on my own.¡± Which implied that if there was any money left over, it would go into Hyukjin¡¯s pocket. CEO Song understood those unspoken words. ¡°Haha. Alright.¡± It wasn¡¯t like CEO Song didn¡¯t know what Hyukjin was intending. He knew there was a good chance Hyukjin had already laid all the groundwork. That was why this young man was so confident of his success. ¡®He¡¯ll have already negotiated it to under $2 million.¡¯ CEO Song read Hyukjin¡¯s thoughts. And yet, he still chuckled, not at all displeased. That such a talent existed in Korea was quite a happy fact for him. An object¡¯s value differed from person to person. To a person dying of thirst in the desert, a bottle of water was more valuable than silver and gold. It was the same now. $2 million might be far too huge a sum for some people, but to CEO Song, it was far too cheap a price to pay for a ¡®possibility¡¯, so he gave the money without reserve. ¡°I¡¯ll be back then.¡± Hyukjin heard a notice. [The ¡®Merchant of Venice¡¯ is impressed by your ¡®diverting funds technique¡¯.] [You have achieved a trade that satisfies all parties, a ¡®Win-Win¡¯.] [The ¡®Merchant of Venice¡¯ is very happy.] [¡®1-time Venice Shop Open Ticket¡¯ received from the ¡®Merchant of Venice¡¯.] Hyukjin smiled. He had an inkling this might happen, and indeed, the Merchant of Venice was very satisfied by this trade. With this, he was sure of it¡ªthe Merchant of Venice was watching both him and CEO Song. ¡®Did the Merchant of Venice watch CEO Song in the past, too?¡¯ Most likely not. This was an aftereffect of Hyukjin¡¯s making. He walked forward, heading back to Italy. * * * Hyukjin met up with Chiellini (Salvatore) in Italy¡¯s Tutorial Building. ¡°The client generously offered 200,000 euros.¡± Salvatore¡¯s eyes widened. It was really 200,000 euros? 200,000 euros for just these two items? Salvatore¡¯s hands trembled, which made Hyukjin smile faintly. ¡®He¡¯s still a Player in the beginner period, yeah.¡¯ 200,000 euros. It wasn¡¯t a small sum, but it also wasn¡¯t huge for top Rankers. But the current Salvatore was being shaken by such an amount. ¡°Very well. Let¡¯s trade.¡± The trade was accomplished all too easily. Salvatore believed he was someone who knew when to be bold and when to back off. He wasn¡¯t greedy for anything more. Meanwhile, Hyukjin was left with far more than Salvatore thought. ¡®That¡¯s 1.4 million euros for me.¡¯ He earned a tidy sum of 1.4 million euros, plus both items he wanted. [¡®Predator Tree Seed Bundle¡¯ acquired.] [Map of the ¡®Humid Soil¡¯ field acquired.] Hyukjin went back to Korea. There was a huge number of Predator Tree Seeds in the bundle. He doled out some of them and gave them to CEO Song. ¡°Let¡¯s start with these. Please use them to conduct your research. There¡¯s no doubt they¡¯re very effective on Red Flower Tears.¡± It was just that they didn¡¯t know how the seeds should be used, how they needed to be processed to turn them into medicine. Song Kiyoung nodded. He was also aware that what he purchased wasn¡¯t a panacea, but a ¡®possibility¡¯. ¡°I will supply you with Predator Tree Seeds as the opportunity arises. I¡¯ve found a way to procure more.¡± ¡°That so?¡± ¡°When the time comes, I will sell them to you at a lower price.¡± So do your research and whatever using Sungshin¡¯s power. Hyukjin left that unsaid. CEO Song would find a way to use the seeds without being told. After all, Sungshin was at the forefront of new drug development using new tech. ¡°Can I ask how much you bought the seeds for?¡± ¡°The price is a private matter between me and the seller.¡± Song Kiyoung accepted it with a nod. With this win-win trade, Hyukjin earned $1.7 million in cash. Following this very profitable business, he decided to take a short break. One day passed, and he was called by Jo Sunghyun. ¨CHyung. Sunghyun would never call him for trivial matters, which meant something had happened. Hyukjin knew the kid was currently working on a scenario with Hyun Junghwa, so it probably had to do with that. Just as he was thinking that, he heard Sunghyun say, ¨CI think I found a clue about the Wind Temple. ____ Chapter 206 Chapter 206 Jo Sunghyun and Hyun Junghwa had worked in tandem for about three days. They were both the taciturn type, so their Playing was often interspersed with long stretches of silence. Today was the same. [The ¡®Gatekeeper and Seedling Gate¡¯ has been cleared.] Hyun Junghwa dipped her head slightly first. ¡°Good¡­¡± ¡­work. But the words were spoken extremely quietly, and Sunghyun didn¡¯t hear them. He also bowed his head. ¡°Good work.¡± ¡°¡­¡± ¡°¡­¡± Conversations between the two of them often went like this. A slight period of silence descended. They left the gate, which was located in Gapyeong. Sunghyun was a student, so he didn¡¯t have a car, but Junghwa had one. Hyun Junghwa said, ¡°I¡¯ll give you a ride.¡± ¡°¡­¡± Conversations between them were slow paced. Well aware of that, Junghwa patiently waited and said, ¡°But you¡¯ll have to pay for gas.¡± ¡°¡­Thank you.¡± Junghwa wasn¡¯t actually in need of money. She was the granddaughter of the Daeheung Group, ranked 10 in the financial world. A pittance like gas money meant little to her, but she purposefully asked for it so that Sunghyun could accept the ride without feeling bad. She drove the car herself. ¡°¡­¡± ¡°¡­¡± Sunghyun sat in the passenger seat. The two of them didn¡¯t talk unless it was strictly necessary for Playing. But Hyun Junghwa had something to discuss. ¡°Mr. Sunghyun. I have something to tell you.¡± Sunghyun wasn¡¯t used to this ¡°Mr.¡± title. He had been called such a way only a few times, and he found it a little awkward to the ear. ¡°Yes, what is it?¡± he asked politely back. ¡°You said you were looking for the Wind Temple, right?¡± ¡°Yes.¡± Their conversation was slow, but it was also just as concise. Junghwa went straight to the point without going around in circles. ¡°I found the way in.¡± ¡°¡­¡± ¡°There¡¯s this gravestone I found. Apparently, I need to break it in the right place.¡± ¡°¡­I see.¡± The problem was that she didn¡¯t know where the ¡°right place¡± was. ¡°I think not just anyone can break it.¡± A special condition needed to be fulfilled. ¡°It says only a True Ruler can.¡± ¡°¡­¡± It was silent again in the car. Sunghyun¡¯s thoughts raced inside his head. ¡®True Ruler.¡¯ He didn¡¯t know what that meant. But he now had a clue. ¡°It might be possible to find out more if I ask my guildmaster.¡± ¡°Will you do that?¡± ¡°With your permission.¡± ¡°Of course you have my permission.¡± That concluded their conversation, and not a single word was spoken between them during the rest of the 1.5 hour trip from Gapyeong to Seoul. Neither of them found the silence awkward. In fact, they were both at ease. Their personalities matched quite nicely. Sunghyun relayed the information he got from Hyun Junghwa to Kim Hyukjin, and as someone who had two True Ruler titles, Kim Hyukjin immediately knew what the ¡®True Ruler¡¯ was. ¡°Introduce me to Miss Junghwa.¡± He decided to meet the Divine Archer, Hyun Junghwa. * * * Hyukjin was already very familiar with the Divine Archer, a figure who was of comparable skill to the 8 Heroes but had never clashed against the Demon King. Where ¡®archery¡¯ was concerned, she was a top Ranker famous worldwide. That was the kind of person she would become in the future. ¡°Nice to meet you. I¡¯m the guildmaster of Giantgod, Kim Hyukjin.¡± ¡°Hello. I¡¯m Hyun Junghwa.¡± Kim Hyukjin, Hyun Junghwa, and Jo Sunghyun met in the cafeteria of a certain hotel in downtown Seoul. Knowing Hyun Junghwa¡¯s personality, Hyukjin molded his speech to suit her. ¡°It may be a little hasty for our first meeting, but¡­ I¡¯ll cut straight to the point.¡± Hyun Junghwa preferred such directness. She didn¡¯t like things like greetings and pointless formalities. ¡°I have an item called Sylphid¡¯s Wing.¡± ¡°¡­¡± Junghwa¡¯s body flinched. But she didn¡¯t say that she had one as well, since it wasn¡¯t really his business to know. There was no reason to reveal her weapon to someone she had just met today. ¡°I¡¯m looking for the Wind Temple in order to get the Complete Sylphid¡¯s Wings.¡± ¡°¡­¡± ¡°My guild member Sunghyun here has his own reasons for finding the Wind Temple. I don¡¯t know your reasoning, but I heard you¡¯re looking for the Wind Temple as well. Sunghyun gave me a quick rundown.¡± ¡°Yes.¡± ¡°I¡¯ve never told this to anyone other than my guildmates, but I¡­¡± Hyukjin lowered his voice a little. ¡°¡­already know what a True Ruler is.¡± ¡°What is it?¡± ¡°A dungeon title.¡± ¡°Dungeon titles exist?¡± Hyun Junghwa stared at Hyukjin. This was her first time hearing about any ¡®dungeon titles¡¯. No, she did hear rumors about it, but she¡¯d never seen anyone with an actual dungeon title. ¡°They¡¯re titles that can be acquired when you clear a dungeon with special conditions. I imagine they¡¯re somehow related to the gravestone you possess.¡± ¡°¡­¡± ¡°Also, there¡¯s a place in the Gran Seoul that screams ¡®the right place¡¯, isn¡¯t there?¡± ¡°¡­¡± ¡°¡­¡± Sunghyun and Junghwa were both silent. The person to break that silence was Sunghyun. ¡°Come to think of it¡­ I did hear there was a cemetery field. I know Yoohyun hyung cleared it.¡± Sunghyun had gone in and out of the Gran Seoul several times with Taeguk Shield and many other Players. There was definitely a cemetery field. Several spots were missing gravestones. ¡°I bet you would have been able to grasp the field more precisely if you were there, Hyung.¡± Hyun Junghwa stared at Sunghyun in fascination. This was the first time she¡¯d seen him say so much and show such a high assessment of someone. They¡¯d worked together a few times with other Players, but Sunghyun was frustrated each and every time. He didn¡¯t show it, of course, but Junghwa could tell since they were the same type of person and she herself was feeling the same way. ¡°Let¡¯s work together,¡± Hyukjin proposed. Junghwa didn¡¯t stop to think about it for long. ¡°Alright.¡± The more people they had, the easier the clear would be. But it also meant the rewards would be split among more people. He was even someone who wanted the same thing as her. ¡®He wants the Complete Sylphid¡¯s Wings, and so do I.¡¯ In the very slight chance that only one reward related to the ¡®Complete Sylphid¡¯s Wings¡¯ was given, what would she do? ¡®But I can¡¯t do it alone anyway.¡¯ They would need to conduct an appropriate trade or negotiation if that happened. But Kim Hyukjin spoke up first. ¡°I heard you¡¯re an archer.¡± ¡°Yes, I am.¡± ¡°I¡¯ll ask you to be 100% sure. Do you also want the Complete Sylphid¡¯s Wings, Miss Junghwa?¡± ¡°¡­¡± She nodded, thinking there was nothing to gain from lying here. ¡°If only one reward to complete the Sylphid¡¯s Wing is offered¡­¡± ¡°¡­¡± ¡°And I end up getting that reward¡­¡± ¡°¡­¡± ¡°I¡¯ll give you first pick.¡± ¡°¡­¡± Junghwa had the feeling he had seen through her. ¡°How come?¡± ¡°I¡¯m not an archer.¡± ¡°Is that so?¡± ¡°My class is sovereign. A sovereign needs to know how to handle people, you see.¡± ¡°¡­¡± He wasn¡¯t wrong. She accepted the answer. ¡°However, I¡¯m not saying I will give it to you for free.¡± ¡°That¡¯s fine.¡± Junghwa actually felt better after hearing that. ¡°If that happens, what do you want?¡± Hyukjin grinned. ¡°Money.¡± Those words really put Junghwa¡¯s mind at ease. * * * Translator ¨C Lei Proofreader ¨C Ash * * * Hyukjin returned home. ¡°Oppa!¡± Like always, Sunhwa ran out barefoot and jumped Hyukjin. He hugged her back with a throaty laugh. She wasn¡¯t his biological little sister, but she felt like one. Of course, he was well aware there were no actual little sisters who would greet their biological brothers this happily, but in any case, she felt like a real sister to him. ¡°Are you listening well to Mom?¡± ¡°I even left a drumstick for you.¡± ¡°Really? Well done.¡± The drumstick-lover Sunhwa leaving behind a drumstick was a display of impressive patience. ¡°Huh? Where¡¯d it go?¡± Sunhwa felt wronged. She definitely left one drumstick, no mistake about it. She shouted, ¡°HEY! KIM DARONG!¡± Darongi was nowhere to be seen, which meant he was currently in stealth mode. ¡°The culprit is Kim Darongi. I definitely left one for you!¡± ¡°It¡¯s alright.¡± Hyukjin didn¡¯t care much whether his chicken was a drumstick or a wing, and he wasn¡¯t as enamored with drumsticks as Sunhwa was. What he wanted to know was when Darongi got the last name ¡®Kim¡¯. ¡°Did you just meet an unnie named Hyun Junghwa?¡± ¡°How¡¯d you know?¡± ¡°Mister Sung-gu was telling me.¡± Hyukjin snorted. How did Sung-gu find out? Obviously, because Sunghyun had told him. Sunghyun wasn¡¯t a talkative person and kept mostly to himself, but Sung-gu knowing meant that Sunghyun was extremely fond of him, despite all the squabbling that went between them. ¡®That¡¯s nice.¡¯ Giantgod guild members getting along was a good thing. But Sunhwa seemed to be thinking about something strange. ¡°That Unnie is really pretty.¡± ¡°That so?¡± Was she? Hyukjin tilted his head. ¡®Mm.¡¯ When he thought back on it, it was probably true that she was pretty. The Divine Archer was famed for her equally divine appearance. It was just that Hyukjin was uninterested in such things. After returning to the past, his eyes were strangely numb to the beauty of women. ¡°I think she was pretty, yeah.¡± ¡°Looks like she wasn¡¯t your type.¡± Sunhwa turned and walked away, her steps light and happy. Hyukjin heard a voice. (A very commendable attitude, hubby.) Hyukjin wondered to himself what Isabel was going on about now. (A man should always be as unfeeling as stone when seeing other women.) (When you met that woman, I noticed your heart didn¡¯t tremble at all?) Isabel seemed exceedingly satisfied. (I¡¯m very pleased. As expected of my husband.) Hyukjin didn¡¯t bother responding to Isabel¡¯s monologuing. There was something more important to do than that. ¡°Senia. Are you streaming?¡± Senia wasn¡¯t there. (That angel? Why? Why¡¯re you looking for her? I don¡¯t like her.) Isabel¡¯s blade quivered intensely in his Inventory. (Did you choose your Intermediate Administrator on appearance? Did you?! And you even picked out the number 1 beauty among the angels and made a contract with her! Why? I¡¯m serious, if you look at other women, I¡¯ll kill you!) (Answer me. Don¡¯t hold Senia¡¯s hand, don¡¯t even make eye contact with her. Don¡¯t do anything. Got it?) Hyukjin acquiesced absentmindedly. ¡°Yeah, okay.¡± He had zero intention to get romantically involved with an Intermediate Administrator anyway. No matter how beautiful Senia was, he¡¯d never seen a happily ever after for anyone who¡¯d gotten involved with an Intermediate Administrator. That was how it was in the past, and how it would be in the future. (I¡¯ll trust you, okay, husband?) ¡°Yeah, trust me.¡± The blade¡¯s quivering quieted a little at that. (As expected, my husband is trustw¡­) And then, she fell asleep. Hyukjin waited a little. It was about time for Senia to appear. She was showing up around him even when he wasn¡¯t full-on Playing these days. After some time, Senia appeared. ¡°Were you waiting for me?¡± For some strange reason, Senia¡¯s wings were trembling ever so lightly. ¡°I was.¡± ¡°How come?¡± ¡°I¡¯m gonna open the shop.¡± ¡°¡­Is that all?¡± ¡°Yeah. Why?¡± Senia shook her head. ¡°It¡¯s nothing,¡± she said, stealthily moving her hand behind her back. In her hand was a snack of angelkind, a bag of ¡®Sky Carp Bread¡¯. After hiding it, she stowed it in her Inventory. She absolutely 120% didn¡¯t bring it because she wanted to give it to Hyukjin. The ¡®Arrow-Shooting Cupid¡¯ must have read Senia¡¯s actions, because he sponsored them 300 Coins each. ¡°When you say shop¡­ do you mean the 1-time shop bestowed by the Merchant of Venice?¡± ¡°Yes.¡± He left the words, ¡°It¡¯s good content, right?¡± unsaid. [Open the ¡®1-time Venice Shop¡¯ of the ¡®Merchant of Venice¡¯?] He opened the shop. [The ¡®Venice Shop¡¯ can be utilized for 3 minutes.] A list of purchasable items unfurled before Hyukjin¡¯s eyes. [Time left ¨C 03:00] The timer began to count down. After just three seconds, Hyukjin¡¯s eyes widened. ¡®No way.¡¯ The item he saw made him swallow a mouthful of saliva. ¡®Iron Lion¡¯s Harmonica?¡¯ That item was here. ____ Chapter 207 Chapter 207 Iron Lion¡¯s Harmonica. Hyukjin was very familiar with this famously famous item. ¡®An item that was auctioned for $27 million in Las Vegas.¡¯ The buyer was none other than the Gold Pyramid, Michelle. ¡®The item shop is restricted to 3 minutes.¡¯ It wasn¡¯t a long time. First, he examined the Iron Lion¡¯s Harmonica. [Iron Lion¡¯s Harmonica] ? Hyukjin was unable to see the item description at his current level. ¡®There might be a special restriction on it.¡¯ After peering closely at it with Observer¡¯s Eye, he saw a little more. [Iron Lion¡¯s Harmonica] ? *Sovereign class exclusive That was all he could see. Any further was overdoing it. ¡®It¡¯s a no-brainer.¡¯ There might be even better items here, with even greater value. But he didn¡¯t want to run that risk. Why would he, when there was an item worth $20 million right in front of him? He chose the sure win directly within arm¡¯s reach. ¡°You still have over two minutes left,¡± said Senia. ¡°I know.¡± ¡°You¡¯re going to purchase something right away?¡± ¡°Yep, I gotta.¡± He checked the price. [Coins: cannot use] [Cash: 1,500,000 USD] A tremor ran down his body. ¡®Can¡¯t buy with Coins anyway.¡¯ Hyukjin didn¡¯t think he would see that stipulation as early as the beginner period. As far as he knew, items that could only be purchased with cash only started appearing in the intermediate period, with most of them coming in the expert period. A few economists said it was the System¡¯s method of preventing excessive inflation, but there was no way to know if that was the truth. ¡®$1.5 million¡­¡¯ He would have been in a real bind if he hadn¡¯t had the money. [Will you make the purchase?] They had long since left the bounds of science. The System independently judged how much ¡®cash¡¯ Hyukjin possessed. [Your entire cash savings will be automatically withdrawn.] Whether he had it in the bank, in his Inventory, or in a safe, the money would disappear on its own. ¡®Though I remember this phenomenon caused a huge ruckus in the financial world.¡¯ That wasn¡¯t his problem. Hyukjin decided not to worry about it. Even if he ignored it, there were lots of smart people in the world who would work to resolve such issues. [You have purchased ¡®Iron Lion¡¯s Harmonica¡¯.] The Iron Lion¡¯s Harmonica was in his Inventory. He immediately called Song Kiyeol. ¡°An item auction will take place in Las Vegas.¡± ¨CAh, yes. I was informed that it will take place in one month. Naturally, Giantgod Guild wasn¡¯t given an invitation. The auction was being hosted by the Gold Pyramid Michelle. It was an ultra-exclusive auction only the top guilds of each nation were invited to. People who received an invitation could both sell and buy. ¡®It is a little inconvenient at times like this.¡¯ Giantgod Guild had no fame. Even in Korea, there weren¡¯t many people who knew the guild. If they did, most people just knew it was a guild with So Yoohyun and Shin Yeonseo in it. Granted, it was a truly trivial problem. ¡°Sell an item for me there.¡± And that was because he had a good push¡ªno, a good business partner. All he had to do was ask him for a favor. * * * Translator ¨C Lei Proofreader ¨C Ash * * * Hyukjin was lying on his bed, closing his eyes in apparent tiredness. The poison-using assassin class Player, Jung Sangchul, knitted his brows in indecision. ¡®Will I really¡­ be able to kill that man?¡¯ It would take more than a wishy-washy attack. That was what he could conclude from his secret observation so far. ¡®But it¡¯s impossible.¡¯ He did come out on Song Junghye¡¯s orders, but no matter how he looked at it, this was an impossible task. However good at poison he might be, the danger to himself was too great. In the end, Jung Sangchul decided to give up. He¡¯d probably get a terrible tonguelashing from Song Junghye, but that was better than risking his life. The man he had been examining was too dangerous. Just then, he heard a voice. ¡°Smart choice.¡± ¡°¡­¡± Jung Sangchul got down from the ceiling, becoming visible to the eye. ¡°¡­Did you know?¡± ¡°Surely you didn¡¯t think I didn¡¯t know?¡± ¡°Why didn¡¯t you do anything?¡± Hyukjin smiled. ¡°Because whether you attack me or go back, both outcomes are good for me.¡± Sangchul was speechless. Kim Hyukjin. He was young, but he was absolutely not someone to be viewed lightly. Sangchul understood exactly what Hyukjin meant. ¡®If I had attacked him¡­¡¯ An assassin whose location was perceived could not win against a regular combat class Player. ¡®It would have given him justification.¡¯ Justification to retaliate against Song Junghye. ¡®And I would have definitely been taken down.¡¯ What about a situation like now, where he gave up on attacking and was retreating? ¡®He intentionally called me out.¡¯ This was a form of warning. ¡®I¡¯m the best assassin in Blue Spearhead.¡¯ Which meant there was no one in Song Junghye¡¯s guild, Blue Spearhead, who could successfully assassinate this man. In other words, they shouldn¡¯t even attempt it. ¡°Your main ability is poison, correct, Mr. Jang Sangchul?¡± ¡°Yes.¡± ¡°You were trying to kill Gu Sungmin before.¡± ¡°¡­¡± ¡°I¡¯m not trying to blame you for that. I can¡¯t say you¡¯re a good person, but the person who gave the order was Song Junghye.¡± ¡°¡­I never did such a thing.¡± ¡°Looks like you have an exceptional sense of loyalty to Director Song Junghye. Seeing as you¡¯re playing innocent.¡± Hyukjin already knew the assassin¡¯s relationship with her was deeper than just subordinate and boss. The man was pretty much in love with her. The Jang Sangchul he remembered was like that. ¡°Well, whatever.¡± Hyukjin grinned. ¡°Please pass on the message that the Blue Spearhead isn¡¯t the only guild with assassins.¡± ¡°¡­¡± ¡°Even now, in this very room, someone is concealing themselves. Their presence, can you feel it?¡± ¡°¡­¡± Jung Sangchul couldn¡¯t answer. ¡®Where?¡¯ He couldn¡¯t see anyone. He prided himself on having keen senses, but he couldn¡¯t feel them at all. ¡°You can¡¯t feel them, can you?¡± ¡°¡­No, I can¡¯t.¡± ¡°Please be sure to tell Miss Song that it¡¯s not that I can¡¯t attempt an assassination, it¡¯s just that I¡¯m choosing not to.¡± ¡°¡­¡± Sangchul flinched. If there really was someone using Stealth in this room, they were a truly dangerous foe. Song Junghye could be erased from this world without a whisper. ¡°Are you certain someone¡¯s in stealth?¡± ¡°Can¡¯t believe me?¡± ¡°At least as far as I know, among the Korean assassin class Players, I¡¯m¡­¡± ¡°The top?¡± Hyukjin gave an intentional chuckle, obviously ridiculing him. ¡°There¡¯s no need to show you proof and no reason to, but¡­¡± He pointed with his chin. ¡°The cup on the table, raise it.¡± And then, the cup really did move. Someone in stealth mode had raised it. Sangchul felt cold sweat run down his back. Even as the cup moved, he couldn¡¯t feel the person¡¯s presence at all. It was like there was a ghost in front of him. ¡°Is that enough proof for you?¡± ¡°¡­I understand very well now. I will relay your intent in full, Giantgod Guildmaster.¡± ¡°Go on then.¡± Hyukjin flopped back onto his bed. ¡®That was easy?¡¯ The Poisoned Dagger was a tricky opponent. In a peaceful environment, it was possible to locate and threaten the assassin, but what if it was in the middle of a fierce fight, and his attention was consumed by something else? That was when Jang Sungchul was dangerous. It was best to eliminate dangerous factors in advance, and this would serve as a sufficient threat to Song Junghye as well. ¡°Well done.¡± There was always soy sauce fried chicken in Hyukjin¡¯s Inventory these days. He took out a leg and flung it out. Something caught it in midair and became visible. It was the thieving genius, Darongi. * * * Hyukjin left Complex 1 and headed towards Complex 2. He stopped in front of the crosswalk. Some distance in front of him, in the center of the road, was the Guardian Tower Tintin, the structure in which Ahn Seohye¡¯s soul dwelled. She initiated the conversation. ¨CMaster. It¡¯s been a while. He still wasn¡¯t used to being called Master. What kind of title was that, for the 21st century? ¡°Did anything of note happen?¡± ¨CNo. No real issues had cropped up in the vicinity of the DMC Riverview Xi. ¨CBut¡­ The crosswalk signal changed to green. Hyukjin didn¡¯t cross. He had shared more than enough feelings with Seohye, and their relationship was one where he could deeply empathize with her. On top of that, there was a System-supported ¡®master-subordinate relationship¡¯ between them, and he was able to read Seohye¡¯s feelings even more deeply. ¡®Loneliness?¡¯ He suddenly felt bad. ¡°Sorry. I¡¯ll come more often.¡± ¨CWell¡­ Seohye had become a Guardian Tower. She couldn¡¯t move from this spot. She could not drink or eat, nor could she sleep. She could only stand here, fixed in place. Like a building. ¡®I wonder if it feels¡­ like solitary confinement.¡¯ She didn¡¯t even have anyone to talk to. She couldn¡¯t delight in the pleasures of food. She couldn¡¯t even drink a simple cup of coffee. Countless people passed by every day, but no one paid any attention to the Guardian Tower anymore. They just thought of it as a sculpture. ¡®What¡¯s more, she¡¯s got nothing to do.¡¯ Other than him, she had no one else to talk to. She could only stand there like that for days, months, years. ¡°I¡¯ll come by often.¡± ¨CReally? Seohye¡¯s voice suddenly got louder in unconscious excitement, which she quickly curbed. ¨CI-I mean¡­ What I mean is¡­ ¡°I understand how you feel. Soon, I¡¯ll try looking for a way to materialize your body.¡± ¨CThank you. ¡®There must be a way.¡¯ He just didn¡¯t know it yet. Hyukjin walked past the crosswalk. No one noticed it, but the ¡®Red Eye¡¯ located at the very top of the Guardian Tower Tinin became a little more vibrant. More vibrantly red. * * * The entire Giantgod cast got together for the first time in a while, meeting in the Giantgod Guild¡¯s building near the Player Center. So Yoohyun brought down his beer mug with a thump. He was bragging lately that his control over his strength had improved, and the action was to flaunt it. His expression was full of confidence, like he was claiming, ¡®I¡¯ve got enough fine control to not break a glass like this!¡¯ ¡°Hyungnim, you¡¯re so busy even ten of you wouldn¡¯t be enough!¡± And then, he broke out in a hearty guffaw. ¡°I¡¯m so happy I get to serve you!¡± ¡°¡­¡± Hyukjin had nothing to say. It was somehow scary that Yoohyun was being sincere right now. Yeonseo summed up the situation. ¡°So essentially¡­ you need to go to the Wind Temple, and what was it, the Sky of Freedom? You also need to work on the scenario related to the Predator Tree Colony, and there¡¯s also a Battlefield of Crows that might be connected to that, yeah? On top of that, you¡¯ve also got something to put up in the Las Vegas auction.¡± Sunghyun added, ¡°He also has a scenario related to the Sword Forest.¡± Sunhwa drained her glass of grapefruit-ade in one go, then said with a bright smile, ¡°No need to think too hard, Unnie. Oppa, my oppa will do it all well.¡± ¡°But still, isn¡¯t there too much to do? Just how many scenarios is that?¡± ¡°It¡¯s Oppa.¡± Sunhwa¡¯s smile got Yeonseo to smile in the end, too. ¡°True. The dude¡¯s a monster.¡± Everyone quickly moved on. Sung-gu said, ¡°Fudge. So Boss man, what¡¯re we gonna tackle first? You called us all up cause there¡¯s something for us to do, right?¡± ¡°Hyukjin hyung will say it on his own. You talk too much, Hyung.¡± It was Jo Sunghyun. He was taciturn in front of others, but he became unusually talkative in front of Choi Sung-gu. ¡°We¡¯re going to the Gran Seoul Dungeon. With a Player named Hyun Junghwa.¡± Not long after, Hyun Junghwa came into the guild office, having received Hyukjin¡¯s invitation. There was a quick round of introductions. Hyukjin returned to the matter at hand. ¡°We¡¯re gonna go to the Gran Seoul Dungeon. With this person here.¡± So Yoohyun didn¡¯t ask why. He only asked, ¡°What do we need to do, Hyungnim?¡± ¡°We¡¯re gonna look for the cemetery field.¡± There was a minor issue¡ªthe Icewall guild under Song Junghye¡¯s command was still sealing off the Gran Seoul Dungeon entrance. ¡°To do that, we¡¯ll have to break our way in.¡± Yeonseo tilted her head. ¡°But that would expose us all, wouldn¡¯t it? Which Boss doesn¡¯t like.¡± Hyukjin shrugged. ¡°None of you guys knew?¡± ¡°What?¡± ¡°Know what?¡± Hyukjin took out a bow from his Inventory. ¡°I¡¯m an archer.¡± If the authorities stacked on the gate, he could just break them from a distance. It wasn¡¯t hard. Sunhwa nodded. ¡°Aha!¡± Everyone in Giantgod was instantly convinced. Everyone except for one person, Hyun Junghwa. ¡®What the heck?¡¯ What was this sudden talk about being an archer or whatever? Why was everyone just accepting that ¡°explanation¡± and moving on? She was a little confused, but she didn¡¯t say anything. She was quiet by nature, and wasn¡¯t the type to do things rashly. Still puzzled, Junghwa concluded that she would find out before long. And one day later, she realized what Hyukjin had meant. Hyun Junghwa was stunned into speechlessness. What had just happened in front of her was just too shocking. ¡®What¡­ the hell is this¡­!¡¯ ____ Chapter 208 Chapter 208 Kim Hyukjin¡¯s group went up to the Gran Seoul Dungeon. Yoohyun felt especially at ease today. He couldn¡¯t help but hum as he gazed at Hyukjin walking ahead of him. ¡®Hnnh.¡¯ How dashing a back that was. ¡®Working with Hyungnim is the best.¡¯ Of course, it was true that the difficulty was highest when Playing with Hyungnim. It was hard and dangerous. But the sense of achievement and enjoyment that came with it couldn¡¯t be described. ¡®I wonder what he¡¯ll do?¡¯ Gate Players were sealing off the Gran Seoul Dungeon entrance. Hyukjin smirked, inwardly calling those Players idiots. Even after she was crushed so completely by him, Song Junghye didn¡¯t call off her goons. She either thought he was bluffing, or thought that doing as he said would be an insult to her pride. ¡®Or she believes what Jackson said to her.¡¯ Hyukjin found it amusing. ¡®But a person of Jackson¡¯s skill should have found out by now that the [Growth Fruit] in the Gran Seoul has lost relevance.¡¯ Sunhwa, who was keeping pace shoulder to shoulder with Hyukjin, tilted her head. ¡°Oppa. Did something good happen?¡± ¡°No, it¡¯s nothing.¡± ¡°Something good happened, huh?¡± Sunhwa giggled, apparently in a good mood, as if something good happening to her brother was a good thing for her. ¡®The past Jackson propped up Song Junghye.¡¯ That was his assumption, for now. ¡®But looking at it now, I think he¡¯s using Song Junghye a little less.¡¯ Of course, it wasn¡¯t yet confirmed. It was also possible Jackson hadn¡¯t discovered the secret of this dungeon yet. ¡®Well, doesn¡¯t matter which one it is.¡¯ Whether Jackson had tossed Song Junghye aside, or just didn¡¯t know the Gran Seoul¡¯s secret yet, both were fun. ¡°Miss Junghwa,¡± Hyukjin said. ¡°Yes?¡± ¡°How many Sylphid¡¯s Wing arrows do you have?¡± ¡°More than enough.¡± ¡°Can I borrow just ten from you?¡± ¡°That¡¯s nothing, you can just have them. They can be bought in the shop anyway.¡± Hyukjin was honestly a little shocked. ¡®She buys these from the shop?¡¯ Normally, the shop didn¡¯t sell Sylphid¡¯s Wing arrows. They had to be acquired elsewhere. Simply being able to get them from the shop was not normal. There was definitely a Guardian involved. ¡®Night of Shooting Stars, that dine-and-dasher.¡¯ The Guardian had put up the Tome of the Divine Archer Physique as a reward and had run off without giving it to Hyukjin. The Night of Shooting Stars was such a famous Stage 2 Guardian that Hyukjin was still giving him the benefit of the doubt, at least for now. ¡°Thank you.¡± Hyukjin took the arrows from Junghwa and notched one. Junghwa¡¯s eyes gleamed. ¡®He¡¯s incredibly skilled as an archer as well, you say?¡¯ Ordinary folk didn¡¯t know, but a few people knew about Hyukjin¡¯s skill with a bow. The video from Italy had been shared on various platforms. It didn¡¯t go viral in Korea, but archers knew about it by word of mouth. ¡®Show me then.¡¯ But it was a little strange. ¡®Be it his posture¡­¡¯ Posture. Breathing. Timing. ¡®They¡¯re all¡­¡¯ Not perfect. It wasn¡¯t just not perfect, but positively rough. ¡®What¡¯s he saying?¡¯ She heard Hyukjin mumbling something. Junghwa craned her ears, but didn¡¯t catch the first part. ¡°Such is the power of intuition.¡± ¡°The Eye of Insight that sees the true nature of things.¡± ¡°May all lies.¡± ¡°Be shattered.¡± And with it, Hyukjin fired the bow. Junghwa was shocked. ¡®Kim Hyukjin hasn¡¯t had any training.¡¯ He wasn¡¯t a trained archer. Judging by his posture, he didn¡¯t have any archer-related skills, either. There was no doubt about it. ¡®But why?¡¯ Everything was rough around the edges, and yet¡­ ¡®Why is the trajectory so true?¡¯ Junghwa, who had learned archery from a young age, couldn¡¯t believe it. She had been taught that posture and breathing were more important than anything, but she felt her reality shaking at the roots. Hyukjin fired another arrow. There was a gentle whistle, and then a thudding sound as the arrow made contact. It felt like the arrow crashed into an invisible barrier. He fired another, coming to a grand total of three arrows. Chaos erupted at the Gran Seoul Dungeon entrance. All the authorities of the Icewall guild members occupying the entrance shattered, and it only took three arrows. The leader of Icewall, Song Byeongchan, screamed, ¡°Who is it?!¡± Hyukjin glanced at Hyun Junghwa. Their plan was for Junghwa to step forward here, since they had arranged for her to get the credit for this clear. Just for the outside eyes, that is. Junghwa took a deep breath. ¡®That¡¯s right.¡¯ She and Kim Hyukjin had already come up with a cover story. She had learned her lines. This was what Hyukjin told her: ¨CThey¡¯ll freak out when their gate authorities crumble. They¡¯ll probably look for the culprit. Song Byeongchan shouted again, ¡°I said, who the fuck is it?! Get your ass out here right now!¡± ¨CWhen that happens, say this. Your abilities are amplified when you¡¯re occupying a gate or an entrance. ¡°Your abilities are amplified when you¡¯re occupying a gate or an entrance.¡± ¡°You¡¯re¡­ Hyun Junghwa?¡± ¨CThey¡¯ll probably recognize you. Since you¡¯re more famous than you think, Miss Junghwa. Junghwa was struck with a strange sense of d¨¦j¨¤ vu. It was as if¡­ Hyukjin had seen the future and told her exactly what would happen. ¨CHow come you guys aren¡¯t running away when your specialty has completely fallen apart? Junghwa repeated Hyukjin¡¯s words letter by letter. ¡°How come you guys aren¡¯t running away when your specialty has completely fallen apart?¡± ¨CBy this point, people will start looking your way. Before she knew it, many people were looking towards them. Everything was happening just as Hyukjin had said. ¨CI¡¯ve given you guys a chance to run, but¡­ Say that, and then raise your bow. That will conclude things. ¡°I¡¯ve given you guys a chance to run, but¡­¡± Junghwa raised her bow. She improvised an extra line. ¡°I wonder who my next arrow will hit?¡± The Players occupying the gate began to scatter like roaches. They were contracted mercenaries. There was no such thing as loyalty to them. It was inevitable that they weren¡¯t about to stand their ground when the threat of death was looming before them. The same went for the guildmaster of Icewall, Song Byeongchan. ¡®Dammit,¡¯ he cursed. Last time, Lao Yu came and messed things up, and this time, it was Hyun Junghwa. ¡®And there¡¯s even weirdos next to her.¡¯ Especially concerning were the Tutorial Ender So Yoohyun and the Smiling Swordswoman Shin Yeonseo. With their gate authorities in pieces, Icewall was no match for them. So they all fled, leaving not a single person at the entrance. Hyukjin smiled wide. ¡°What do you think? Exactly as I said, right?¡± Hyun Junghwa felt a flush of fear. * * * Translator ¨C Lei Proofreader ¨C Ash * * * Yoohyun took the lead. ¡°I cleared it last time, Hyungnim!¡± The Gran Seoul had various fields. Many Players, including the guild members of Taeguk Shield, had divided the forked pathways amongst themselves, acquiring a great deal of information in the process. Yoohyun was one of those Players. ¡°B-But where are we?¡± The problem was that Yoohyun was the navigator. It took at least three hours for Hyukjin¡¯s party to find the ¡®cemetery field¡¯. Sung-gu hummed, completely at ease. ¡°We¡¯ve been wandering for three hours and I¡¯m not tired at all. At least there¡¯s no danger of dying, right?¡± It was so very different from when he was last here with other people. It was refreshing. Yes, this was Playing. When Playing with his fellow Giantgod guild members, there was nothing to fear. All he had to do was faithfully carry out his role as a long-ranged DPS. After three hours, they saw a black gate shimmering on the wall some distance ahead. It was a gate leading into a different field. [Marvin Cemetery] The field¡¯s name was ¡®Marvin Cemetery¡¯. ¡°Ah! That one! That¡¯s the one, Hyungnim. Over there! A lot of skeleton dudes¡¯ll show up there.¡± They headed there without hesitation. [Enter the Marvin Cemetery?] Yeonseo was glued to Hyukjin¡¯s side. ¡°This place is scary.¡± The field was overall bleak, a neglected cemetery that hadn¡¯t been well-maintained. Many of the gravestones were broken, and the graves were rampant with weeds. A wet, disgusting stench drifted along in the wind. Caw¨C! Caw¨C! came the raucous caws of crows. ¡°Can you do something about those crows somehow? Boss, you¡¯re an archer.¡± ¡°¡­¡± Hyukjin didn¡¯t acknowledge Yeonseo¡¯s half-hearted complaining. ¡°Miss Junghwa, is the gravestone responding, by any chance?¡± ¡°No, not yet.¡± They heard a notice. [A monster is being spawned.] Something stood up from a grave. Skeleton Golem ¨C LVL 35 It was a level 35 golem made of bones. It was slow, but had fairly strong physical attack power, and was unique in that it could restore itself even after being destroyed. ¡°We won¡¯t fight it.¡± Junghwa couldn¡¯t understand that. They wouldn¡¯t fight? Then what was he planning on doing? Hyukjin put Junghwa¡¯s doubts to ease with his actions. ¡°Die.¡± And then, the Skeleton Golem collapsed into a pile of bones. [In accordance with the ¡®Death Sentence¡¯ of the True Ruler of the Gran Seoul Dungeon, the Skeleton Golem has perished.] Junghwa blinked like a doe in headlights. ¡°Mr. Kim Hyukjin. Just what did you do, exactly?¡± ¡°Didn¡¯t you hear the notice?¡± ¡°The notice about the True Ruler?¡± ¡°Yes.¡± ¡°This sort of thing is possible¡­ if you¡¯re a True Ruler?¡± ¡°You saw it with your own eyes, no?¡± There was no need or reason to explain it in detail. It might be different if she was a Giantgod guild member, but she wasn¡¯t, and there was no need to tell her everything. Junghwa picked up on it, too. ¡®The reason he hasn¡¯t used this up to this point¡­¡¯ It was intentional. An intentional choice to show her the power of Giantgod. Magic Troll. Advanced Goblin Soldier. Orc Archer. Orc Soldier. Orc Warrior, etc. All of these monsters were hunted far too easily by Giantgod. In fact, Junghwa had been thinking this for a while now. ¡®Giantgod Guild¡­ was this strong?¡¯ But that wasn¡¯t the end. Kim Hyukjin had just destroyed a Skeleton Golem with a single word. To Junghwa, it was a whole new world. She was left wondering just where in the world the man at the forefront of this whole new world, Kim Hyukjin, had come from. How much did Korea¡¯s ¡°top¡± guild, Taeguk Shield, know about Kim Hyukjin? ¡°Miss Junghwa,¡± said Hyukjin. ¡°May I take a look at the gravestone?¡± ¡°Yes.¡± Hyukjin examined the gravestone. [Observing with Observer¡¯s Eye.] He didn¡¯t see anyth¡ª ¡®Wait a moment, I see it?¡¯ [The True Ruler of the Gran Seoul Dungeon is checking the ¡®Gravestone of the Gatekeeper Grave¡¯.] [The True Ruler of the Gran Seoul Dungeon can set the location of the ¡®Gravestone of the Gatekeeper Grave¡¯.] Hyukjin¡¯s eyes picked up several spots. He couldn¡¯t see them with his physical eyes, but there were round circles of golden light sparkling in a few places. ¡°Finding the location won¡¯t be an issue.¡± The problem wasn¡¯t inserting the gravestone. ¡°The problem¡­¡± New information was registered in Hyukjin¡¯s head. Thanks to the ¡®True Ruler¡¯ effect, he could easily procure information on everything that had to do with the Gran Seoul Dungeon. ¡°¡­is that this is a gravestone for a grave.¡± It wasn¡¯t just something you could stick into any mound of dirt. ¡°What do you mean?¡± asked Junghwa. ¡°What do you think of as a grave?¡± ¡°A place where a corpse is buried?¡± ¡°If we¡¯re to match that definition, someone will need to die.¡± Someone first had to die, and then the gravestone had to be inserted at their head, then destroyed. ¡°What do you mean¡­?¡± Hyun Junghwa tensed for a moment. If someone really had to die here, it could be her. After all, it was all of Giantgod against one person. ¡°No need to be anxious. I never once thought of doing anything to you, Miss Junghwa.¡± From that, Junghwa could feel it. Overwhelming her was a given from the start. But his words didn¡¯t feel like a lie or a bluff. ¡°Let¡¯s pick this spot.¡± Hyukjin stepped onto one of the graves. ¡°Please shoot me.¡± ¡°¡­What?¡± ¡°I¡¯m sure you know the weakness of a human target.¡± ¡°What are you saying?! I can¡¯t do it.¡± ¡°I¡¯m asking you because I think the person with the gravestone needs to kill me for the best effect.¡± ¡°But how can you¡­!¡± Kim Hyukjin took out his bow and aimed it at Junghwa. ¡°If you don¡¯t shoot me, I¡¯ll shoot you.¡± Three seconds passed. In the end, Junghwa fired first. The arrow whistled from her Sylphid¡¯s Wing precisely towards Hyukjin¡¯s heart. ____ Chapter 209 Chapter 209 Junghwa¡¯s eyes widened like saucers. ¡®He didn¡¯t¡­ take much damage?¡¯ It was a little flabbergasting. ¡®How come?¡¯ Her arrow had flown straight and her aim was true, landing precisely on the heart. But Hyukjin hadn¡¯t taken much damage. ¡°Miss Junghwa.¡± ¡°¡­Yes.¡± ¡°Did you do your best?¡± ¡°¡­¡± Of course, she couldn¡¯t quite say she had put her all into it, since it was a normal attack and not a special skill. ¡°I didn¡¯t do my best.¡± ¡°Then please try your best this time.¡± In all actuality, Hyukjin himself was a little surprised. He had allowed an attack on the most vulnerable of places, his heart. He bared his greatest weakness to a long-distance DPS, yet he registered little damage. It felt like less than half of his HP went down, which made him wonder if a stat advantage made this much of a difference. ¡°I would have been truly disappointed if this was your best, Miss Junghwa.¡± ¡°¡­¡± Hyun Junghwa took two steps back and raised her Sylphid¡¯s Wing. ¡°Kim Hyukjin.¡± She drew the bowstring. ¡°I know you are a sovereign who can handle a bow well.¡± Her bow still drawn, she asked, ¡°But what is with that ridiculous defense?¡± It was hard to believe. However his skills as an archer might be, or however good a sovereign he was, such things weren¡¯t important to Junghwa. She wouldn¡¯t be fazed even if he were good at magic. But this was different. Archer. Sovereign. Mage. All of them were far from classes with great ¡®defense¡¯. But Hyukjin, a person with a class in the same vein, facetanked a direct hit. To his heart. And he was just fine. ¡®Just what the hell is that incomprehensible def¡­¡¯ Hyukjin answered her. ¡°Guess you could call it stats and overgearing?¡± ¡°¡­¡± Actually, being overgeared wasn¡¯t playing a role here, since his Great Orc Warrior set was destroyed. He wasn¡¯t wearing any outstanding armor. He¡¯d be able to get fantastic armor from the soon-to-open Gardens by the Beach Gate in Singapore, so he hadn¡¯t invested in any yet. Junghwa nodded. ¡®Stats and overgearing, huh?¡¯ She thought there wasn¡¯t actually much stat difference between them, so this result couldn¡¯t be attributed to a stat advantage. The truth was different, but she misunderstood. ¡®Just how good are his items?¡¯ What kind of mega armor did he have equipped under that t-shirt? She would have to ask later. After all, archers were squishy. It would be ideal if she could get such an OP item. ¡°I¡¯m going for real this time.¡± She fired. Junghwa was well aware that she couldn¡¯t kill him in one shot, so she notched and fired several times in succession. [Using the innate ability Consecutive Rapidfire.] Junghwa¡¯s strength was imbued in Sylphid¡¯s Wing. ¡°This is my innate ability, Consecutive Rapidfire.¡± She released the bowstring. Despite firing one arrow, several arrows were fired in quick succession, her hand moving so quickly it couldn¡¯t be seen. This was her innate ability¡ªfiring several arrows while consuming only one, arrows made of mana and bearing great destructive power. Hyukjin took in her impressive display. ¡°Pretty¡ª¡± Pretty good, was what Hyukjin wanted to say, but before he could finish, he died. * * * Translator ¨C Lei Proofreader ¨C Ash * * * Hyukjin dusted himself off, getting up. ¡°Not a great feeling, is it?¡± Sung-gu said, ¡°Fuck. I know that feeling too. Your stomach turns and you get all dizzy. It¡¯s pretty damn meh.¡± It was a feeling everyone here knew, since they had died at least once in PVP zones. Unable to hold back her curiosity, Junghwa asked, ¡°But how did you revive? This isn¡¯t a PVP zone.¡± ¡°Would you like to know?¡± It wasn¡¯t a huge secret or anything. ¡°My title has an unlimited resurrection authority in it.¡± *Unlimited resurrection within the Gran Seoul Dungeon. He just didn¡¯t say it was limited to the Gran Seoul Dungeon. ¡°Un-Unlimited resurrection authority?¡± But then, someone new appeared. That someone looked like a pistol the size of a person¡¯s arm. The gun had eyes on it. ¡®Streamer?¡¯ It was the Intermediate Administrator Junghwa had signed an exclusive contract with, ¡®Revolvol¡¯. ¡°Hold on, hold on for a quick sec. How the hell is this possible?¡± Senia suddenly appeared as well. ¡°A bug review has already been performed. By the Intermediate Administrator contracted to Player So Yoohyun over there, Neptune. Right, Administrator Neptune?¡± Those words forced Neptune, the one-eyed pygmy with skin of a shade somewhere between green and emerald, to show himself, too. ¡°Please confirm my statement, Administrator Neptune.¡± ¡°¡­That¡¯s correct.¡± Neptune glanced at Hyukjin with a bitter face, recalling how he incurred a loss back then from carelessly challenging Kim Hyukjin. Senia continued. ¡°You used Forced Submission to pressure Player Kim Hyukjin by unfair means, escalating into violence. Afterwards, when the bug review came back negative, Administrator Neptune gained nothing from the process.¡± Hyukjin smiled. These days, he really felt that Senia had grown a great deal. Back then, when Neptune was throwing a fit, she hadn¡¯t been able to do a thing in protest. Her growth made him feel rather emotional. Hyukjin quipped, ¡°The Lady of the Scales protected me by using her special authority, Innocent Until Proven Guilty.¡± The pistol-shaped Intermediate Administrator, Revolvol, fired into the sky. Bang! An ear-splitting bang rocked everyone¡¯s eardrums. ¡°But still, how does this make any sense? Didja do the bug review properly? What the hell is his class, to be like this? No matter how you slice it, this is balance breaking. Miss Angel, take a good look. This is the beginner period. Does this make sense for the beginner period?¡± ¡°Does it not?¡± ¡°Why I never, y¡¯all are in cahoots. Of course it doesn¡¯t make sense. Of course! What kind of bug didja exploit? Spit it out! Dontcha think the same, Neptune?¡± Neptune didn¡¯t express his opinion, but on the inside, he agreed with Revolvol. They¡¯d been Playing together all this time, but Kim Hyukjin was seriously strange. He was a monster of a Player who growed by leaps and bounds every time Neptune looked away, someone who could not be considered a beginner period Player. Senia opened up a window visible to everyone. [System Scan Result: No bug values have been discovered.] [System Scan Result: No illegitimate methods have been used.] ¡°The notice window shown here is the result determined by the System.¡± Senia had apparently saved the notices as a screenshot. Revolvol was instantly reduced to agape silence, any further nitpicking instantly shut down by the absolute evidence before him. Hyukjin was a little amazed. He hadn¡¯t thought Senia would have had something like that prepared. She¡¯d grown so much. ¡°Mind if we move onto the next Play?¡± asked Hyukjin. Revolvol swung around, fixing his muzzle on Hyukjin. ¡°Didja just speak down to me?¡± Hyukjin just stared cooly at Revolvol. ¡°Must I really be respectful to an Intermediate Administrator who treated me as a bug on conviction alone, without any proof?¡± ¡°Ha. Forgot how to be afraid, didja? You insane?¡± Revolvol¡¯s barrel turned red-hot. ¡°Unlimited resurrection authority? You messin¡¯ around because you think that¡¯ll save you?¡± Revolvol fired his gun a few times into the sky again. ¡°Shall I show you whether that authority¡¯s real or not? I absolutely don¡¯t believe such an authority exists. That kind of broken authority doesn¡¯t exist even in the expert period!¡± ¡°Fine by me if you test it,¡± Hyukjin said with a grin. ¡°Is it okay to throw out a spoiler like that though? Mm. This kind of authority doesn¡¯t exist in the expert period, huh. Maybe I should make a note of it.¡± Revolvol¡¯s body froze in midair. ¡°Wh-What do you mean, spoiler?¡± ¡°I think you just revealed expert period content to a beginner period Player. Right, Senia?¡± ¡°Yes. You mentioned expert period content before it happened.¡± ¡°You¡¯re filming, right?¡± ¡°I am streaming, yes.¡± Intermediate Administrators were not allowed to mention things about the future. Doing so was called a ¡®spoiler¡¯, and spoilers were a grave crime punished by the System. ¡°I don¡¯t care if you kill me, but I¡¯ve got a new field to clear right now.¡± A new field. And they were mid-stream. What Hyukjin was implicating was simple. Revolvol turned away to furiously mumble something, too engrossed in saving his bacon to further oppose Hyukjin. Hyun Junghwa blinked, staring at Hyukjin. It was her first time seeing a human verbally dominate one of these terrifying Intermediate Administrators. Junghwa could tell that countless Guardians were barging into Revolvol¡¯s channel with complaints right now. ¡®Water is dripping down Administrator Revolvol¡¯s barrel.¡¯ In human terms, cold sweat was running down his ¡°back¡±. He had rudely interrupted the flow of an important moment leading into exciting new content. Several heavy-hitting Guardians were obviously enraged. Senia added one more thing. ¡°The Barrier of Blue Light is also very furious.¡± The Barrier of Blue Light was the kind of Guardian who cherished a Player¡¯s safety and wellbeing more than other Guardians. They were, to use Hyukjin¡¯s words, an overprotective parent. Revolvol had stepped on such a Guardian¡¯s tail. Hyukjin shrugged. ¡°We should do what we¡¯re here to do.¡± Basically, this hot potato was for Revolvol to settle. ¡°Miss Junghwa. I think you can stick the gravestone here and break it.¡± ¡°¡­Okay.¡± She put in the gravestone. New information flooded into Junghwa like the rising tide, and her expression darkened, a change Hyukjin noticed. ¡°Is there a problem?¡± ¡°I¡¯m told a special condition must be met to destroy the gravestone.¡± ¡°What kind of condition is it?¡± ¡°Only someone with the Tome of the Divine Wind Physique can break this.¡± ¡°The Tome of the Divine Wind Physique?¡± ¡°Yes. It¡¯s an item I¡¯ve never heard about, which makes me think it¡¯s simply that rare and valuable.¡± ¡°Really? You¡¯ve never heard of it?¡± Hyukjin tapped Sunghyun¡¯s back. ¡°Sunghyun.¡± ¡°Yes, Hyung.¡± ¡°You can break that, right?¡± ¡°Yes.¡± ¡®Huh?¡¯ Junghwa thought, her gaze moving to Sunghyun. Those words¡­ ¡®Sunghyun¡­ had the Tome of the Divine Wind Physique?¡¯ She hadn¡¯t known that at all. Hyukjin said, ¡°Miss Junghwa. Have you heard about the Korean Playstyle?¡± ¡°The Korean Playstyle¡­?¡± ¡°Such a term has been coined in Italy.¡± To be exact, it was coined by Pedro, and the term was steadily spreading through Pietro¡¯s Black Butterfly guild. ¨CKoreans have a strange, but fascinating Playstyle of gathering all the quest items in advance and clearing the quest as soon as they get it. In the process, they rake in everything there is to take. It¡¯s a crazy Playstyle, that¡¯s for sure. That¡¯s how the Korean Players I¡¯ve met were like. But¡­ the absurd thing is that they weren¡¯t Rankers. Master Pedro¡¯s words were the start of the gradual spread of the term ¡®Korean Playstyle¡¯. Meanwhile, Sunghyun raised a wind. A small whirlwind formed around the gravestone, and a crack began running down the stone. Crack¨C! The gravestone crumbled apart with a crack. [The ¡®Gravestone of the Gatekeeper Grave¡¯ has been destroyed.] [The entrance of the ¡®Wind Temple¡¯ has been opened.] It wasn¡¯t a place just anyone could enter. To enter, a Player needed to fulfill one of four conditions. [Has absorbed the Tome of the Divine Wind Physique.] [A sorcerer who has fulfilled the wind¡¯s will.] [Has a very high wind affinity.] [Possesses ¡®Sylphid¡¯s Wing¡¯.] Another notice followed. [Only Players who have fulfilled one of the four conditions can enter the ¡®Wind Temple¡¯.] Hyukjin immediately chose to enter. [Entering the ¡®Wind Temple¡¯.] Hyukjin, Sunghyun, and Junghwa entered. But it wasn¡¯t just the three of them. An unexpected Player from the Giantgod crew had come in with them. ¡°Sunhwa?¡± ¡°Hehe. I¡¯m here too, Oppa.¡± Hyukjin hadn¡¯t expected this outcome. ¡°Sunhwa, what condition did you fulfill?¡± ____ Chapter 210 Chapter 210 ¡°Sunhwa, what condition did you fulfill?¡± Sunhwa answered, beaming. ¡°Apparently, I have high wind affinity.¡± ¡°Did you know that?¡± ¡°Nope!¡± Sunhwa answered so cheerily that even Hyukjin was nearly at a loss for words. The girl asked back, ¡°Why? Is it bad?¡± ¡°No, not at all.¡± It was actually good. Whatever the case, there were definitely times when having a lot of affinity to a certain element came in handy. ¡°This sort of thing is just pretty rare, that¡¯s all.¡± Sunhwa tilted her head. ¡°But Oppa, your fire affinity seemed better than Sung-gu¡¯s to me¡­¡± ¡°¡­¡± ¡°It¡¯s not a common thing?¡± Hyukjin was speechless for a moment. When she put it like that, she was right. He gathered his thoughts with a cough. ¡°My fire affinity¡¯s not better than his.¡± ¡°But it¡¯s similar to Sung-gu¡¯s even though you¡¯re a sovereign. Doesn¡¯t that mean you have more talent, Oppa? Since you¡¯re on a similar level even without the class advantage!¡± Sunghyun smiled at that, clearly pleased. ¡°He kept bragging his head off about being an arson master, but I guess that doesn¡¯t amount to much.¡± In any case, Hyukjin, Sunhwa, Sunghyun, and Junghwa ended up entering the Wind Temple, which looked similar to the ¡®Hill of Blowing Wind¡¯ they¡¯d cleared in the past. ¡°We¡¯re on a hill.¡± At the top was a building. ¡°It was ruins before, but now there¡¯s a temple there.¡± Right on cue, the wind kicked up just like it had on the Hill of Blowing Wind. [] The wind direction was indicated with arrows, and it happened to be blowing towards the temple. ¡°Let¡¯s go up,¡± said Hyukjin. They began to climb the hill, the wind at their backs. * * * Translator ¨C Lei Proofreader ¨C Ash * * * They didn¡¯t see any terribly dangerous monsters on the windy hill upon which the Wind Temple was situated. Only Wraiths around level 20, at most. ¡°You¡¯ve seen these before, right, Sunghyun?¡± ¡°Yes, Hyung.¡± Wraiths were the floating ghost monsters that took the form of large seagulls. They were unique in that they were invulnerable to physical attacks. ¡°Physical attacks don¡¯t work on them, if I remember correctly. I¡¯ll take them down.¡± The party had experience hunting these monsters in the flash gate ¡®Hill of Blowing Wind¡¯, and Sunghyun made quick work of them all with simple wind magic. What struck Sunghyun was the remarkable ease with which he dispatched them. ¡®They were dangerous foes at first, but now¡­¡¯ Now, they were all too easy to hunt. With a nearly 20 level difference, Wraiths were no match for Sunghyun. The wind blew fiercely. Sunghyun asked, ¡°Should we get down?¡± ¡°No.¡± Before, they had to get down to avoid getting thrown into the air. It was different now. ¡°Miss Junghwa. How is it? There¡¯s no hindrance to your movements, is there?¡± ¡°No, not at all.¡± The wind was blowing hard, but they could move forward without difficulty. There was no need to bother with the hassle of getting down and getting back up. They arrived at the temple, where Sunghyun discovered a certain fact. ¡°There are eighteen pillars.¡± The temple was built upon eighteen pillars. ¡°You¡¯re right, it just so happens to have eighteen.¡± There had been the same amount on the Hill of Blowing Wind back then, too. The more pillars they smashed, the lower the central pillar became, at the cost of increased field difficulty. Hyukjin thought back to that time. The pillars back then were named ¡®Pillar of the Ruined Temple¡¯. There were two angel statues in front of the temple. ¡®If there¡¯s one thing that¡¯s changed, it¡¯s that there are two angel statues in front of the entrance now.¡¯ The statues were normally not clickable, but he was able to gain information about them through observation. [Dewinged Angel Statue 1] [Dewinged Angel Statue 2] Both were called ¡®Dewinged Angel Statues¡¯. Hyukjin instantly halted. ¡°What¡¯s wrong, Oppa?¡± ¡°I think there¡¯s something about those angel statues.¡± The reason the Italian information merchant Pietro was recruiting archers was to clear the ¡®Dewinged Angel Statue Gate¡¯. Hyukjin didn¡¯t know whether Pietro would accept his warning and give up on conquering the gate or push ahead anyway. ¡®The Pietro I know lost over half of his archers and retreated.¡¯ But this was also a possibility: Could it be that it wasn¡¯t that the raid lacked skill, but ended up so horribly because the Players failed to fulfill a ¡®requisite condition¡¯? ¡®If that gate and these Dewinged Angel Statues are related¡­¡¯ Then might it be possible to gain something from those angel statues, and use that to clear the real ¡®Dewinged Angel Statue Gate¡¯? And it was possible that Hyun Junghwa cleared the Wind Temple in the past without getting that thing, whatever it was. ¡°Wind Arrow.¡± Sunghyun hunted another Wraith. Afterwards, a monster made of black smoke, a Ghost, appeared. It was fine for dungeons and fields to have nearly the same structure, but there was definitely something weird about this field being so identical in context and structure to the Hill of Blowing Wind. ¡°Hyung. As I¡¯m sure you just saw, a Ghost showed up.¡± Now, even a Ghost¡¯s paralyzation toxin wasn¡¯t all that threatening. The level indicator that had previously shown up as a question mark was now 28. After killing another Ghost, Sunghyun asked, ¡°What should we do?¡± Junghwa felt amazed upon seeing that. ¡®I found Playing with Sunghyun pretty comfortable.¡¯ There wasn¡¯t much conversation between them, but in Junghwa¡¯s opinion, the two were extremely compatible. Sunghyun was always quick to assess the situation and bold in taking action. His leadership was generally on point. But that natural leader was now looking to Kim Hyukjin for direction. ¡®Complete and total trust.¡¯ Jo Sunghyun himself was an outstanding Player, but he was directing such complete trust to someone else. By this point, Junghwa¡¯s interest in Kim Hyukjin, the guildmaster of Giantgod, was greater than ever. She was also curious as to why such a monster of a Player was so obscure. Hyukjin hummed. ¡°Hard to say. I get the feeling there¡¯s something about these angel statues.¡± ¡°Sunhwa and I will cover you.¡± ¡°I¡¯ll cover you too,¡± added Junghwa. ¡°Though it doesn¡¯t look like you really need any covering.¡± A little time passed. Hyukjin wasn¡¯t able to find anything particularly special from the Dewinged Angel Statues. The one thing he noted was that there was a disparity between their ¡®name¡¯ and ¡®form¡¯. ¡®The name is Dewinged Angel Statue, but¡­¡¯ Both stone angels had a pair of wings on them. ¡°The two angel statues are called Dewinged Angel Statues. But both of them have wings.¡± Sunhwa said with another innocent smile, ¡°Then do we have to break them?¡± ¡°Hm.¡± Hyukjin thought of the past, staring at Hyun Junghwa. ¡®Did the past Hyun Junghwa figure out what these angel statues mean?¡¯ The names couldn¡¯t be seen without using Observer¡¯s Eye. It was highly likely she had just thought of them as decor. No, she definitely had. ¡°What?¡± the archer asked, conscious of his gaze. ¡°It might not have anything to do with clearing this place.¡± The past Junghwa probably cleared the gate with her own unique method without doing anything about these angel statues. That was how she got the Complete Sylphid¡¯s Wing, and why Pietro failed to clear the Dewinged Angel Statue Gate. ¡®Then it¡¯s inefficient and unnecessary to investigate and continue with the Dewinged Angel Statues here.¡¯ But just ignoring them felt less than satisfactory, too. It could either be a giant waste of time or a huge boon. ¡®What should I do?¡¯ Hyukjin thought hard for a moment. [The ¡®Nameless Observer¡¯ is observing.] [The ¡®Courageous Lion King¡¯ is bored.] [The ¡®Lady of the Scales¡¯ praises your cautious attitude.] [The ¡®True Master of the Heavenly Demonic Mountain¡¯ feels stifled.] The Guardians sent messages according to their personalities in response to the delay caused by Hyukjin¡¯s pondering. One more Guardian reacted. [The ¡®Night of Shooting Stars¡¯ watches with interest.] The dine-and-dashing ¡®Stage 2 nouveau riche Guardian¡¯ was once again making an appearance. ¡®Oh?¡¯ He was back. Hyukjin hadn¡¯t completely cleared the ¡®Qualifications of an Outstanding Bowman¡¯ quest yet. To be precise, he hadn¡¯t yet gotten the reward, the Tome of the Divine Archer Physique. ¡®He chose to reappear here?¡¯ Hyukjin thought back. The guildmaster of Black Butterfly, Pietro and the archers he gathered. The Dewinged Angel Statue Gate. The Wind Temple. Sylphid¡¯s Wing. The Night of Shooting Stars. ¡®They¡¯re all¡­ related to wind or bows.¡¯ There was no way a Stage 2 Guardian, who Players called a lottery, would dine-and-dash. Which could mean that this Guardian had waited until this moment. ¡®For this moment.¡¯ Archer. Dewinged Angel Statue. Sylphid¡¯s Wing. The Night of Shooting Stars. Hyukjin came to a conclusion. It could be that he would finally acquire the Tome of the Divine Archer Physique today. If that tome was on the table, then a slight gamble would be required. ¡°We¡¯ll cut off the wings.¡± For now, he decided not to do it himself, since he didn¡¯t know how his Observer penalty would kick in. ¡°Sunghyun. You do it.¡± ¡°Yes, Hyung.¡± Jo Sunghyun uttered the magic incantation. ¡°Wind Cutter.¡± The wings of the Dewinged Angel Statues were cut off. Hyukjin¡¯s observation was right on the money. [The ¡®Dewinged Angel Statues¡¯ are awakening.] That moment, Hyukjin¡¯s alarm bells went off. ¡°Everyone, get down!¡± Crash! The entire field quaked. The two stone statues slowly descended from their platforms. Encrusted in their foreheads was one red gem each. Red light flashed from the gems, firing two rays of red light through the air that everyone avoided because they had immediately dropped to the ground. Cold sweat ran down Hyukjin¡¯s back. ¡®What was that just now?¡¯ He felt it immediately¡ªthe savage power imbued in those red beams. Even slightly grazing those beams would turn one¡¯s entire body into a pile of ash. They all heard a voice. [Who deprived me of my wings?] [Who deprived me of my wings?] The Dewinged Angel Statues¡¯ eyes gleamed with red light. Their eyes were red, and so were the gems on their foreheads. Hyukjin felt puny before them. ¡®What an insane aura.¡¯ It appeared, by all accounts, that they had poked a sleeping giant. Dewinged Angel Statue LVL ? The level wasn¡¯t shown. He could just feel it. It was a similar feeling to when he went up against the Fire Giants. The stifling feeling of being tiny before a far stronger foe, like facing a tsunami, struck Hyukjin head-on. Just then, the wind blew. [] It was then that Hyukjin knew. Everything that happened on the Hill of Blowing Wind in the past was a foundation for today. That flash gate was a kindness gifted to them by the System, a ¡®dress rehearsal¡¯, so to speak. [Eye of Perception detects ¡®savage bloodthirst¡¯.] The bloodthirst he felt on the Hill of Blowing Wind was just regular bloodthirst. Back then, a Ghost was aiming for Hyukjin¡¯s head, but this time, it was a Dewinged Angel Statue. ¡®The strategy is the same as before.¡¯ He checked the wind, which was changing by the second. [] And he predicted the trajectory of the red beam, which changed with the wind. Not only that, he had to understand how exactly his body was being affected by the wind. A red beam came shooting towards him. ¡®I¡¯ve done this before.¡¯ He¡¯d gone through these paces before, so the process was more familiar. He could do it, and he could do it well. The red beam drew an odd arc in the air. ¡®It¡¯s essentially the same as before.¡¯ When dodging the Ghost¡¯s long-ranged marbles, he had done his best to make the smallest, most efficient movement. That part was the same now. ¡®The difference is that it was the Ghost¡¯s paralyzing poison then and the Dewinged Angel Statue¡¯s beam now.¡¯ Only that. [Observer¡¯s Eye investigates the flow of the true nature of things.] The attacker might be different, but Hyukjin, the dodger, had grown a great deal as well. ¡®I can¡­ see the trajectory.¡¯ It was the same as back then. ¡®Half a step to the right.¡¯ The Dewinged Angel Statue¡¯s red beam shot past Hyukjin, just barely missing. His heart thumped. ¡®If I get hit by that, I¡¯m dead.¡¯ He had to destroy them somehow. But how? ¡®There has to be a way.¡¯ He racked his brain. ¡®This¡­ might just work.¡¯ He decided to try. ____ Chapter 211 Chapter 211 ¡®Let¡¯s give it a try.¡¯ There was nothing to lose by trying. ¡°Die.¡± This place was connected to the Gran Seoul Dungeon. They destroyed the ¡®Gravestone of the Gatekeeper Grave¡¯ in the Gran Seoul Dungeon¡¯s ¡®Marvin Cemetery¡¯, which brought them here. In addition, Hyukjin hadn¡¯t heard any notices like ¡®The Gran Seoul Dungeon has been cleared¡¯ or ¡®You have left the Gran Seoul Dungeon¡¯. [The ¡®True Ruler of the Gran Seoul Dungeon¡¯ title is taking effect.] But the effect wasn¡¯t complete. [The current field is a field connected to the ¡®Gran Seoul Dungeon¡¯.] [The grade of the ¡®True Ruler of the Gran Seoul Dungeon¡¯ authority has decreased.] The Dewinged Angel Statue stopped moving for a moment. Its red eyes and gems stared down on Hyukjin¡¯s party like a hawk eyeing its prey. [You cannot exterminate the ¡®Dewinged Angel Statue¡¯.] But he did confirm something. ¡®I can influence them, to some extent.¡¯ He immediately adjusted the difficulty. [Adjusting the difficulty with the ¡®True Ruler of the Gran Seoul Dungeon¡¯ title.] [Lowering the difficulty to the easiest setting.] [The current field is a field connected to the ¡®Gran Seoul Dungeon¡¯.] His authority was unable to exert its full strength. [The difficulty has fallen.] [The prowess of ¡®Dewinged Angel Statue 1¡¯ has partially fallen.] [The prowess of ¡®Dewinged Angel Statue 2¡¯ has partially fallen.] He debuffed the statues using his title effect. That alone was a lifesaver. Now that the enemies were debuffed, it was time for their party to be buffed. [Using the special skill Hunter¡¯s March.] Hunter¡¯s March. A skill that shined in a one vs. one battle. The duration was 120 seconds, and the buff target was, of course, Kim Hyukjin. He immediately used another buff. [Using the special skill Conductor¡¯s Hymn.] Conductor¡¯s Hymn. A skill that shined in a group battle. The duration was, like Hunter¡¯s March, 120 seconds. The buff targets were the party members here: Jo Sunghyun, Kim Sunhwa, and Hyun Junghwa. ¡°Consumable items will have a 30% increased effect. If you have them, use them all now.¡± As he said those words, Sunhwa¡¯s body glowed blue, indicating that she had absorbed something registered in her slots. ¡°I used a potion that temporarily increases defense.¡± Sunhwa knew exactly what she had to do even without a detailed explanation from Hyukjin. She had to block that attack, that extremely dangerous beam. Hyukjin nodded. ¡°Sorry, Sunhwa.¡± ¡°Nothing to be sorry about.¡± Sunhwa took out a large, white shield. ¡°Blocking attacks is my job.¡± The shield gleamed all over. Hyukjin knew about the item. ¡®Shining with Glory.¡¯ The shield¡¯s name was ¡®Shining with Glory¡¯. The extremely large white shield was especially good at blocking long-ranged attacks. It was clear that Sunhwa had prepared the items she needed, as an excellent tank should, so she could switch as needed. She held up the shield, her small stature dwarfed by its massive size. Sunhwa didn¡¯t appear to find it at all heavy. ¡°I don¡¯t think I can block it all the way.¡± The difficulty might have been reduced, and the angel statues¡¯ prowess was decreased, but what couldn¡¯t be done just couldn¡¯t be done. Hyukjin was well aware of that, too. ¡°Set knocking it away as your goal.¡± These angel statues might even be stronger than the Fire Giants. Blocking an attack from one head-on was impossible. ¡°When Sunhwa knocks the attack away, Miss Junghwa and Sunghyun should work in tandem.¡± Sunghyun nodded, realizing what he had to do. ¡°I will provide support.¡± ¡°You can do a good job, right? We don¡¯t have many chances.¡± ¡°Yes.¡± Sunghyun had already comboed many times with Choi Sung-gu. Sung-gu¡¯s destructive power was greater, while Sunghyun had the upper hand in precision and speed. ¡°I¡¯ve also worked with Miss Junghwa a few times.¡± Hyukjin yelled, ¡°Get down!¡± Everyone instantly dropped. A red beam flashed past. ¡®The destructive power has definitely gone down.¡¯ Also, it was impossible to get close to them. These statues had a special ability that prevented approach. ¡°Sunhwa. Just like now, dodge everything you can dodge. I¡¯ll give commands from the back.¡± ¡°Okay.¡± There was no need to block every single attack. ¡°The angel statues¡¯ attacks will get faster and faster.¡± No one had told him that; he just knew from seeing them. ¡°The red gems are their strongest means of attack, as well as their most vulnerable point. That¡¯s their weakness.¡± He read that through Eye of Perception. Eye of Perception is an eye of ¡®intuition¡¯, meaning the user gains concrete knowledge about objects in the outer world through their sense of intuition. It allows the user to intuit and receive information about the target. ¡°They get weaker immediately after attacking.¡± That was what his intuition told him¡ªthat directly after firing a red beam, they were at their weakest, and if they could strike the red gems at the exact timing, they could hunt these statues. ¡°The wind will get stronger and stronger.¡± Right on cue, the wind blew in. [] There were five arrows. It wasn¡¯t time yet. He bided his time. ¡°Fire when there are at least seven arrows and the wind is going upwards, immediately after the red beam is fired.¡± Junghwa focused on Hyukjin¡¯s words, her Sylphid¡¯s Wing raised. It was incredibly nice to have someone assessing the situation for her and giving overall orders. ¡®I just¡­ have to focus on the bow.¡¯ That was what she could do best. She set her mind fully on the bow, and the bow alone. It was obvious at a glance that those angel statues were nearly impossible to hunt by ordinary means. Junghwa understood Hyukjin¡¯s words. The wind that went upwards was no ordinary wind. It was an artificial breeze harboring a little mana. Junghwa focused. ¡®Let the wind give me strength.¡¯ That wind blowing in would pour strength into her bow. Happily, Sylphid¡¯s Wing was an item with very high wind affinity. ¡®Sunghyun¡¯s precise control will bump the damage up even more.¡¯ She had to attack at the exact moment. ¡°The target is the red gem.¡± If she released the bowstring the moment Sunhwa knocked away the beam, her arrow would reach the red gem around the time when the red beam was fizzling out. ¡°Right¡­¡± Hyukjin spoke. ¡°Now.¡± The wind blew. [] It was a gale. * * * Translator ¨C Lei Proofreader ¨C Ash * * * Sunhwa ran. ¡°Uryaaaaa!¡± And with a loud cry¡ª ¡°Sturdier than Anything!¡± She used her skill ¡®Sturdier than Anything¡¯. Another large white shield appeared in place over her white shield. She followed that up with another skill. ¡°Platinum Shield.¡± It was a beginner skill, but it was easy and quick to activate and had a good effect. Platinum Shield was stacked on top. ¡®Slightly lower my body¡­¡¯ The wind was blowing upwards, which meant it was blowing against the beam. The mana within the wind was clashing against the mana of the beam. Right now, the wind was on their side. ¡®Lower my center of balance.¡¯ She twisted halfway at the waist, pointing her shoulder forward and bringing ¡®Shining with Glory¡¯ up to the red beam. Surface to surface, beam to shield, force against buttress. At exactly the moment when she made contact, she tilted the shield ever so slightly. ¡®Ngh¡­!¡¯ Her shoulder felt like it was going to be destroyed. The pain that raced up her shoulder rattled her insides, burning. It was like her whole body was on fire. The savage mana imbued in the red beam swept through Sunhwa¡¯s body. ¡®I can endure it¡­!¡¯ It was agonizing, but she didn¡¯t fear it. She was no longer the girl who was rendered helpless by a Goblin child. ¡®I can do it!¡¯ The trajectory of the red beam changed and shot into the sky, then turned in the wind like a boomerang, piercing the clouds. Meanwhile, Hyun Junghwa set her sights on the red gem. ¡®Focus.¡¯ Only the red gem and she existed in the world. She only saw the red gem. It loomed large in her eyes, and she heard nothing. An intense gale was gusting around her, but that gale could not shake her. That was because Jo Sunghyun was helping her. The wind magician bolstered by the Tome of the Divine Wind Physique had wind affinity second to none other. He controlled the wind, supporting her. Fwip! Junghwa released the bowstring. Sunghyun¡¯s wind gave an added boost. His wind, which usually assisted Choi Sung-gu¡¯s Flame Whip, now assisted Hyun Junghwa¡¯s arrow. Sunghyun¡¯s magic, Junghwa¡¯s arrow, and the powerful mana-charged gust. All three came together into one devastatingly powerful shot. Bam! The arrow landed precisely in the middle of the Dewinged Angel Statue¡¯s forehead. Crack¨Ccra-crack¨C! Cracks began to spider along the red gem. Sunghyun rapidly gathered his magic. ¡°Wind Arrow.¡± It was a simple spell, but the gale was still blustering right now. The spell was as fast as it was simple. Junghwa also drew the bowstring again, using her innate ability, Consecutive Rapidfire. The three arrows shot off one after another, all of them landing directly on the red gem. [¡®Dewinged Angel Statue 2¡¯ has been destroyed.] [EXP acquired.] [700 Coins acquired.] A considerable amount of EXP and Coins came in. Hunting a level 20 monster normally yielded about just twenty Coins, but they had gotten seven hundred. That meant the statues¡¯ levels were extremely high. ¡®We did it.¡¯ They successfully hunted one of them. Junghwa felt certain now that they would be able to hunt the other one as well. ¡®Huh?¡¯ But somehow¡­ ¡®The other one¡­¡¯ Was destroyed. ¡®What happened?¡¯ She had put every bit of her focus on destroying one red gem, entering a state of extreme concentration where only she and the gem existed, leaving her no presence of mind to pay attention to things happening around her. Junghwa heard Hyukjin¡¯s voice. ¡°Good work.¡± Her eyes whipped towards him, noticing there were beads of sweat dripping down his forehead and his fingertips were faintly trembling. Junghwa wasn¡¯t able to hold back her curiosity. ¡°Mr. Hyukjin. I¡¯m embarrassed to say this, but I was so focused on one red gem that I didn¡¯t see anything else.¡± She was curious. Just what in the world happened to the other one? Was it set so that destroying one would destroy the other? ¡°I destroyed it.¡± ¡°What?¡± ¡°I¡¯m also good with the bow.¡± ¡°With¡­ the bow?¡± It wasn¡¯t impossible. Junghwa herself had pulled it off. But she had done it with Jo Sunghyun¡¯s help. ¡°I have a sovereign ability that can buff me.¡± ¡°Even so¡­¡± ¡°A non-archer class Player like myself can¡¯t do something like this? Is that what you want to say?¡± ¡°¡­¡± ¡°You saw it yourself. Ah, you were focusing on the other gem, so you didn¡¯t. But the result is as you see.¡± Both Dewinged Angel Statues were destroyed. Junghwa was burning with curiosity. Kim Hyukjin didn¡¯t even have the archer class and wasn¡¯t aided by Jo Sunghyun, so how? How did he achieve the same result? Just what did this man have? What did he do, to reach the same result with that sloppy form? ¡®If I find that out¡­¡¯ I¡¯ll be able to reach another level, too. ¡°It is presumptuous of me¡­¡± It was taboo to ask about another person¡¯s secrets or abilities, but just this once, she really had to ask. ¡°But how did you do it? It doesn¡¯t seem like you simply fired your bow. I¡¯m certain there was another factor in play.¡± ¡°Do I have to tell you?¡± ¡°You are not obligated to, no.¡± As desperate as she was to know, she still didn¡¯t cross the line. ¡°However, if you teach me, I will be sure to repay your kindness.¡± Hyun Junghwa hated saying this sort of thing. But today, she decided to pull out all the stops. ¡°I am a second gen chaebol. And I¡¯m the youngest child.¡± She was convinced that this was an opportunity she could not afford to miss, a chance for her to grow as an archer. Enlightenment seemed within arm¡¯s reach. ¡°¡­¡± ¡°¡­¡± A slight period of silence descended, and Junghwa¡¯s face turned bright red. ¡°Th-That¡¯s how earnest I am right now. I want to grow stronger.¡± Hyukjin grinned. ¡°I¡¯ll tell you,¡± he said, thinking that his ¡®secret¡¯ probably didn¡¯t have much to do with her growth. Unaware of what Hyukjin was thinking, Junghwa¡¯s heart began to thump. ____ Chapter 212 Chapter 212 The broken pieces of the Dewinged Angel Statues were scattered by the wind, breaking down into pebbles and then disappearing as powder. Hyukjin said, ¡°I have a special skill.¡± ¡°¡­¡± Junghwa could not pester him for details. Special skills, innate abilities, class skills, etc. Revealing one¡¯s hidden cards was a disadvantageous move, something you only did with trustworthy companions or party members you needed to cooperate right at that moment. But Kim Hyukjin shared such important information very readily. ¡°It¡¯s a skill that determines the opponent¡¯s weakness and strikes it, no matter what.¡± [Sword of Insight] An advanced innate ability created by combining and pooling the merits of Excellent Strike and Sword Path Tracing in one place. No matter the situation, it will lock onto the enemy¡¯s weakness and deliver a powerful attack at the most vulnerable point. He didn¡¯t reveal its name, nor did he say it was actually a ¡®sword¡¯-related technique. If Hyun Junghwa heard that, it was highly likely she would either not believe him or have a mental breakdown. ¡®It¡¯s actually a sword technique, but I synthesized it into a bow technique using Unique Ability Fusion. It somehow worked when I applied it to the arrow.¡¯ He kept those words to himself, but in any case, he didn¡¯t lie. ¡°I stacked another title effect onto that skill.¡± ¡°¡­You have another title other than True Ruler?¡± ¡°Yes. Luckily.¡± Junghwa nodded. Titles were pretty difficult to get, but she could acknowledge it if the title holder was Kim Hyukjin. She believed he had two titles at the very least. ¡®He might even have three.¡¯ In fact, he had eight, but there was no way Junghwa could have known that. ¡°That title has a 20% damage buff.¡± That was the effect of Excellent Player. ¡°20%?¡± Not 2%, but 20%. Junghwa¡¯s jaw dropped wide open. A 20% amplification effect. She¡¯d never heard of such a thing. ¡°But that wasn¡¯t quite enough, so I also drew on my sovereign skill, which increases crit chance.¡± Plus one more thing. ¡°Arrows are consumable items, right?¡± ¡°Technically, yes.¡± ¡°And what I just did was a 1 vs. 1 fight.¡± ¡°Right.¡± ¡°I have a sovereign exclusive ability that amplifies item effects by another 30%.¡± ¡°¡­¡± Junghwa was silent. The numbers she was hearing weren¡¯t 2% or 3%, but 20% and 30%. Kim Hyukjin was a Player on a scale she had never once encountered. ¡°But didn¡¯t you just give that same buff to us?¡± ¡°I did. I have a skill to give the same buff to myself.¡± Having experienced it herself, Junghwa knew how potent it was. She just hadn¡¯t expected he could overlap it twice. ¡°Very well.¡± Junghwa nodded. ¡°I will take it as your title and skills being broken and not that you used some kind of special ability as an archer.¡± ¡°It¡¯d be best to think of it like that, yes.¡± Unique Ability Fusion was also a skill, after all. What she said wasn¡¯t wrong. ¡°I guess there was nothing for me to learn.¡± ¡°Unfortunately.¡± ¡°But a promise is a promise. Here.¡± Junghwa handed him an item. It was called ¡®Angel Statue¡¯s Wings¡¯. ¡°You¡¯re giving this to me?¡± ¡°You¡¯re not going to refuse?¡± ¡°I¡¯ll gladly take what is offered.¡± ¡°That kind of makes me want to take it back. Isn¡¯t it good form to refuse once out of courtesy?¡± ¡°You¡¯re the one who wanted to give it to me first.¡± Junghwa¡¯s brows furrowed a little. Somehow, she got the feeling she was getting more entangled with every word. ¡°But still, this is kinda mean.¡± Just then, Hyukjin heard a notice. [The ¡®Night of Shooting Stars¡¯ is deeply awed by your archery.] The dine-and-dash suspect, the Stage 2 Guardian ¡®Night of Shooting Stars¡¯, appeared again with a message expressing his awe. Finally, after a long time, Hyukjin got a quest clear notification. [¡®Qualifications of an Outstanding Bowman¡¯ has been perfectly cleared.] [Receiving the reward.] Which was none other¡­ [Tome of the Divine Archer Physique acquired.] ¡­than the Tome of the Divine Archer Physique itself. ¡®He wasn¡¯t¡­ a dine-and-dasher.¡¯ It did take a long time, but he got it in the end. As he expected, you had to kill something on the level of these Dewinged Angel Statues to get a reward of this level. Senia faithfully fulfilled her duty. Her expression was as flat as a board, but she was doing her best to respond to the massive sponsorship, allowing Hyukjin to focus on his Playing. Hyukjin smiled. ¡°Now then. Shall we go inside?¡± * * * Translator ¨C Lei Proofreader ¨C Ash * * * The inside of the Wind Temple was different from its outside appearance. The ceiling was far higher. It wasn¡¯t an ordinary ceiling¡ªit was so high you had to tilt your head all the way back to barely see the top. A fresco was painted on the ceiling in western flair. ¡®Geometric patterns.¡¯ Between the patterns were nude humans he presumed were ¡®gods¡¯. Each naked person was laying down, pointing at something. The rectangular border of the ceiling was glowing with faint purple light. ¡®Eighteen pillars.¡¯ But there was one difference from when they saw the pillars outside. ¡®A Central Pillar in the middle.¡¯ The pillar, larger and greater in diameter than the others, went through the ceiling high into the air. ¡®It¡¯s like the Wind Temple from before.¡¯ Before, Jo Sunghyun scaled that pillar and brought down the ¡®Offering Box¡¯. If this place went by the same schema, there might be something on top of that pillar. Junghwa fired her bow. Splurt! The arrow dispatched its target, a level 22 Bigmouth Lizard. A bunch of them were descending from the Central Pillar. ¡®There¡¯s also a Bigmouth Lizard, same as before.¡¯ It was all too identical. ¡®Inmyeonjos will probably show up, too.¡¯ Sure enough, an Inmyeonjo appeared. The monster with a human face and bird¡¯s body was level 29. Both Bigmouth Lizards and Inmyeonjos were weak monsters. Junghwa¡¯s hand moved without stopping. [Using the innate ability Consecutive Rapidfire.] As expected from the future Divine Archer, her aim was true. She hunted a whopping twelve Bigmouth Lizards and Inmyeonjos without Hyukjin having to do a thing. The monsters were no big threat. ¡°It really is the same as before,¡± said Hyukjin. ¡°Looks like I¡¯ll need to go up. I also have the Wind Shoes.¡± ¡°I think so, yeah. But let¡¯s look around a little longer.¡± Before, Jo Sunghyun would have been ripped into pieces by the ¡®mana current¡¯ if he slipped up even a little. Getting separated from that Central Pillar meant death. ¡®But I don¡¯t see the mana current this time.¡¯ It appeared to be extremely simple. All they had to do was send Sunghyun up the pillar and bring down whatever was up there, be it the Offering Box or something else. That would bring them closer to the clear. ¡®Is it really that easy?¡¯ Probably not. They were missing something. ¡°But Oppa, didn¡¯t we smash the pillars before?¡± asked Sunhwa. ¡°We did.¡± That was another difference. ¡°Back then, we had to destroy seven pillars for the Central Pillar to appear.¡± But now, it was already there. ¡°The more pillars we smashed, the lower the Central Pillar became. In exchange, the monsters became more fierce.¡± Hyukjin came to a conclusion. ¡°That Central Pillar is the key.¡± He turned to Junghwa. ¡°Do you think you can destroy the Central Pillar?¡± ¡°I¡¯ll try.¡± In no time at all, Junghwa found herself faithfully following Hyukjin¡¯s orders. She had acknowledged him as a leader without even realizing it. She changed her weapon to a bow blazing with fire. It was a slow, but powerful fire attribute item called ¡®Flame Toad¡¯. [Using the special skill Explosion.] The arrow she fired hit the pillar. Babang! An explosion rocked the temple. After several attacks, the pillar collapsed, leaving a small circular hole through which the sky was visible in the ceiling where it had been. [1 pillar has been destroyed.] [The monsters have become fiercer.] With that, Hyukjin was sure of it. ¡®There¡¯s an order.¡¯ It was similar to the past, but not the same. The details were different. ¡®We got the first one right.¡¯ It was time for the next. ¡®If we mess up the order¡­¡¯ There was a high chance this temple would be sealed off, and the field would cease to exist. If that happened, everyone here would die. ¡®The former Hyun Junghwa cleared this?¡¯ The angel statues aside, that was unlikely. He was absolutely sure she hadn¡¯t managed it on her own. Someone had definitely helped her. Hyukjin fired a shot with Sylphid¡¯s Wing. ¡°Miss Junghwa, over there.¡± Junghwa quickly caught on. [Using the special skill Explosion.] She began a barrage on the pillar Hyukjin had struck. Sunghyun pitched in as well, and together, the pillar quickly came down. ¡°Next, this one.¡± Their party began to take down the eighteen pillars one by one in order. Thinking back to what he learned from the Hill of Blowing Wind, Hyukjin decided to only destroy twelve. His experience back then clued him in now. They couldn¡¯t destroy all eighteen pillars. The temple would come down on them. Smashing twelve and leaving six intact was the most efficient way; Hyukjin was sure of it. He checked the ceiling. The ¡®half-naked god¡¯ located at the first pillar they destroyed, the central one, was pointing at another pillar. That was the one they took down next. Another ¡®half-naked god¡¯ was there, pointing at another pillar, which they smashed. The fresco above them wasn¡¯t just for show. It was the key to clearing this place. At the end of every finger was a pillar, tracing an order of pillars starting from the central one. [7 pillars have been destroyed.] [The true Central Pillar is being generated.] The collapsed Central Pillar came together again in mere seconds, as if time were being rewound. A massive pillar glowing faintly with golden light and marked with various geometric patterns appeared before them, shooting through the ceiling high into the air. ¡°Sunghyun, please.¡± ¡°Yes, Hyung.¡± ¡°Be careful, the mana current¡¯s strong.¡± ¡°Yes.¡± Sunghyun was confident. This time, he¡¯d absorbed the Tome of the Divine Wind Physique, and his level was much higher. He could climb the pillar far better than last time. ¡°We¡¯ll support you from below.¡± Sunghyun began to run, the Wind Shoes equipped. He clambered up the Central Pillar. In the meantime, Hyukjin, Sunhwa, and Junghwa set out to destroy more pillars. ¡°Here.¡± Sunhwa and Junghwa faithfully carried out Hyukjin¡¯s orders. [12 pillars have been destroyed.] [The monsters have become fiercer.] That was the cue for a new monster¡¯s appearance. ¡®That¡¯s¡­¡¯ Grudge Inmyeonjo LVL 37 It was a level 37 monster. It was similar to an Inmyeonjo, but gave off a purple aura. ¡®Curse type.¡¯ The Grudge Inmyeonjo was capable of a fairly powerful curse. It spread its wings in flight. Its target appeared to be Sunghyun, who was climbing the Central Pillar. ¡°Sunhwa, aggro.¡± Sunhwa responded immediately. ¡°Taunt!¡± Like the genius tank she was, she aggroed it in one shot. The Grudge Inmyeonjo¡¯s eyes glowed purple as it let loose an eerie cry at Sunhwa. It folded its wings, dropping into a dive. It had a human face, but its mouth was extremely large and gleamed with the sharp fangs of a savage beast. Junghwa immediately shot an arrow. Clink! But her arrow failed to penetrate the Grudge Inmyeonjo¡¯s barrier. This monster had a strong resistance to long-ranged attacks. But there was no time to use the powerful ¡®Explosion¡¯ or another special skill that could punch through its barrier. The Inmyeonjo was approaching too quickly. Junghwa shouted, ¡°Sunhwa!¡± Normally, she would politely say ¡®Miss Sunhwa¡¯, but the honorific fell away in her haste. ¡®No!¡¯ However, Hyukjin knew what the Grudge Inmyeonjo was trying to do. ¡®The suicide attack, Bitter Grudge.¡¯ The Grudge Inmyeonjo was the evolved version of an Inmyeonjo. It didn¡¯t just have higher stats. It had a powerful one-time-use attack called ¡®Bitter Grudge¡¯, a suicide bombing. Its power was proportionate to the cost. ¡®It¡¯s dangerous, even for Sunhwa.¡¯ That suicide attack came with a potent curse. Even if Sunhwa blocked it somehow, she would be left with an aftermath effect, either disease or permanent paralyzation. At this point in time, there were no advanced priests who could dispel a Grudge Inmyeonjo¡¯s Bitter Grudge. It was best to avoid it in the first place. ¡®She¡¯s my sister.¡¯ Of course he wasn¡¯t going to let such a shitty attack land. Hyukjin spoke to the panicking Junghwa, looking every bit relaxed. ¡°Have I told you already?¡± The artifact bearing the same name as the Queen of the Sword Forest, the transcendent sword with the stigma of ¡®cursing her heavenly talent¡¯. He pulled out Isabel. ¡°My main weapon isn¡¯t the bow, but the sword.¡± ____ Chapter 213 Chapter 213 ¡°My main weapon isn¡¯t the bow, but the sword.¡± He was saying it to Hyun Junghwa, but was actually directing the words to the Guardians. The Guardians were big suckers for clich¨¦ lines like this. That was why he said it, all while feigning more ease to amp up the dramatic tension. Then, he moved at exactly the right time to prevent any danger to Sunhwa. [The ¡®Nameless Observer¡¯ is observing.] [The ¡®True Master of the Heavenly Demonic Mountain¡¯ is enjoying your grandiose air.] [The ¡®Whispering Devil¡¯ is having fun.] Isabel also happened to wake up. (Husband! I¡¯m awake! Eh? What¡¯s with that mudfish-lookin¡¯ thing?) (A mudfish is flying in the sky?) Hyukjin used Flash Step. [Using the special skill Flash Step.] He instantly got onto the back of the plummeting Grudge Inmyeonjo and swung Isabel. [Using Isabel¡¯s innate ability Beat ¡®em, Beat ¡®em, Beat ¡®em Harder.] Isabel shrieked. (Husband! I¡¯m a sword! A blade!) (I¡¯m not a cluuuub!) But her screams fell on deaf ears. His legs wrapped firmly around the Grudge Inmyeonjo¡¯s neck, Hyukjin rained blows on the monster¡¯s head. Bam! Bam! Bam! Loud impacts rang out. The talent Isabel was granted by the heavens and that ended up forcibly sealed away by her once again shined in all its glory. [+70% damage] [+14% attack speed] Bam! Bam! Bam! Hyukjin whacked the head over and over, which registered as ¡®consecutive blows¡¯. [+7% combo damage by landing consecutive blows.] [+7% damage] [+7% damage] He also scored a lucky hit. [Critical hit!] With the crit notification, the Inmyeonjo faltered and fell forward. Thud! It fell limply to the ground, or more accurately, flopped down like a deflated balloon. Isabel was enraged. (Ha¡­ Husband. Mark my words, vengeance will be mine. You won¡¯t get away with this, never.) Hyukjin grinned. ¡®I took it down nicely thanks to you.¡¯ Isabel¡¯s blade quivered. (I¡¯m asking you to treat me a little more beautifully.) Hyukjin was getting a little more used to dealing with Isabel. He didn¡¯t just ignore her like before. For a sword, she was very sensitive, and as her ¡®sword bride¡¯, Hyukjin accepted that part of her personality. She was still a transcendent sword. He had to cherish her. ¡®You¡¯re beautiful no matter what ability you use. Isn¡¯t that right?¡¯ So why do you reject your genius talent? He did his best not to convey that thought. Weirdly enough, Isabel didn¡¯t respond. ¡®But she¡¯s not sleeping.¡¯ Her ego was definitely active, but he didn¡¯t hear a response. Whatever, it was fine as long as she was quiet. Hyukjin squatted down next to the limp Grudge Inmyeonjo. ¡°Alrighty, let¡¯s pluck the feathers.¡± Sunhwa squatted down next to him, no questions asked. ¡°Like this?¡± Crunch¨C! She pulled out a fistful of feathers, leaving a big hole in the Grudge Inmyeonjo¡¯s body. ¡°The feathers aren¡¯t rotting away. Try plucking them carefully, one by one.¡± They were fortunate to acquire these feathers here. But he didn¡¯t say that. ¡°Gotcha. Urgh. Oppa. These things feel weird. It¡¯s like they¡¯re melting after getting plucked.¡± ¡°They¡¯re probably reacting with your sweat. Mm. Don¡¯t hold onto them for too long. I don¡¯t think that¡¯s good for you.¡± Junghwa was a little baffled by the sudden transition to plucking feathers. ¡°What is there to gain from plucking these?¡± ¡°You get items. From what I can see, these feathers should fetch a pretty penny.¡± ¡°You can get items like this? They normally disappear if you collect them like this.¡± That was because they weren¡¯t formally ¡®dropped¡¯ items. ¡°Mm, somehow I think we can just pluck this one.¡± ¡°¡­¡± Hyukjin continued. ¡°You have sharp eyes, right, Miss Junghwa?¡± She was a long-ranged DPS. Of course her eyes had to be keen. She also had a special ability related to eyesight. ¡°Please keep checking to see if anything has happened to Sunghyun.¡± ¡°¡­Yes. I¡¯ve been watching him.¡± Junghwa turned her attention to following Sunghyun¡¯s path up the Central Pillar. Before long, the Grudge Inmyeonjo was as bald as an egg. Sunhwa got up, dusting her butt. ¡°Kim Darong. I was faster, right?¡± A [?] mark appeared over Darongi¡¯s head. He was wearing a haughty expression that clearly rejected her claim. [?] Darongi pulled out a massive heap of feathers from his Inventory. The genius thief was far more skilled at collection/gathering than the genius tank. Sunhwa¡¯s hands curled into fists. She had no choice but to acknowledge her defeat before the obvious proof. ¡°Aw, man.¡± Music notes danced above Darongi¡¯s head. Hyukjin swung Isabel at the fully plucked Grudge Inmyeonjo, finishing it off with the clean, swift strike Isabel wanted. Junghwa watched. ¡®For sure.¡¯ His swordsmanship looked more sophisticated than his archery. ¡°Mr. Hyukjin. Earlier¡­ you moved in a special way.¡± ¡°Yes, I have sword skills.¡± Flash Step was the original Sword Empress¡¯ bread and butter technique. Hyukjin continued with a smile. ¡°Swords don¡¯t have much reach, so it¡¯s hard to fight monsters or Players without a special foot technique.¡± ¡°That¡¯s true, but¡­¡± She really couldn¡¯t tell what his real class was. ¡®That rush just now wasn¡¯t a simple foot technique.¡¯ It was nearly instantaneous teleportation. How in the world was he able to take down a bird-type monster plummeting straight down with such ease? The more she saw, the more he revealed, the more fascinating his Playstyle became to her. Those movements, she hadn¡¯t seen anything close to that from any other swordsmen. ¡®Is that just how the sovereign class is?¡¯ Junghwa checked her Inventory. ¡°Just like you said, the feathers aren¡¯t disappearing.¡± ¡°Yes, we¡¯re lucky.¡± Luck? ¡®Can this be called luck?¡¯ She had killed many monsters up until now, but this was her first time collecting(?) items before the monster died. Hyukjin had gone through the hassle of plucking the feathers one by one, knowing they wouldn¡¯t disappear. Junghwa nodded. ¡°¡­Luck, you say¡­ So it was luck.¡± ¡°Yes. I just had a hunch.¡± Hyukjin didn¡¯t offer a detailed explanation. This was actually common knowledge ten years in the future, but he couldn¡¯t very well say that. Junghwa also didn¡¯t dig further. They had killed the Grudge Inmyeonjo, but that didn¡¯t mean they cleared the Wind Temple. There was still a long way to go. Just then, Junghwa¡¯s ¡®Hawkeye¡¯ caught sight of something. The Central Pillar was tall. It soared high up through the clouds. Junghwa peered through the lofty clouds all the way from the ground. ¡°Something is forming.¡± Hyukjin also peered into the sky. ¡®What is it?¡¯ He couldn¡¯t see it. At least in this aspect, Hyun Junghwa had the upper hand in being able to see further away. ¡®But I can see the mana is moving.¡¯ He didn¡¯t know what was forming, but he had a feeling. ¡°I think a monster is spawning.¡± There was no Offering Box in the place where it should be. Instead, a monster spawned with an explosive burst of mana. Junghwa rapidly took out her bow. ¡°Mr. Hyukjin. That buff earlier, could you apply it again?¡± ¡°Of course.¡± Conductor¡¯s Hymn had a cooldown of 360 seconds. It could be used again. [Using the special skill Conductor¡¯s Hymn.] Junghwa downed a ¡®Focus Potion¡¯ at the same time. She didn¡¯t have many of them, but she decided not to be stingy. She could see via Hawkeye that Sunghyun was in danger. [Using the skill Penetration.] Junghwa hurriedly fired an arrow. * * * Translator ¨C Lei Proofreader ¨C Ash * * * Ten seconds before Hyun Junghwa fired her bow. Jo Sunghyun saw something, something large and red. The red area was rimmed with ivory white things that looked like teeth. Not even one second later, he could tell. ¡®They¡¯re teeth.¡¯ In other words, that large red thing was the mouth of some creature. This mysterious creature was opening its maw and descending from further up along the Central Pillar. ¡®Dammit.¡¯ In the blink of an eye, that ¡®red mouth¡¯ came much, much closer. That was how it felt to Sunghyun. He hastily mustered his mana. ¡®Wind Arrow!¡¯ The spell was basic and simple, which also meant it could be used on the fly. ¡®Ngh!¡¯ He was struck with the sensation of being swallowed in something¡¯s maw. It felt like his hastily cast magic was unable to deal any damage to that ¡®mouth¡¯. Just then¡ª There was a splurt, followed by a low-pitched scream. Gwaaaar¨C! And then, Sunghyun¡¯s word brightened. ¡®What was that?¡¯ He quickly realized. ¡®It was an illusion.¡¯ He wasn¡¯t actually trapped in its mouth, but was given the illusion that he was, making him freeze and hindering his ability to react. Thankfully, that illusion was broken by his arrow. ¡®I can¡¯t fight properly here.¡¯ He quickly made a decision. When the illusion shattered, he immediately began to descend the Central Pillar again. A constant stream of arrows was coming from below. Sunghyun bit his lips. ¡®I¡­ won¡¯t use any magic.¡¯ He decided to focus solely on descending the pillar, to trust the arrows that were covering him. He had two reliable long-ranged DPSes on his side, and both of them were the most skilled people Sunghyun knew. He decided to leave his back completely to them. His faith was rewarded in full. Sunghyun safely reached the ground. ¡°Hah, hah, hah.¡± Hyukjin and Junghwa fired arrow after arrow. They were busy and couldn¡¯t pay much attention to Sunghyun. He wasn¡¯t saddened by that and quickly retreated behind Sunhwa, who was standing strong at the front. She summoned her large white shield. ¡°Oppa, your strongest magic.¡± ¡°Got it.¡± Sunghyun closed his eyes, drawing forth all his mana. The biggest spell he could currently use was ¡®Blue Whirlwind¡¯. It had the disadvantages of a very long cast time and high mana consumption, but if it landed, it would cause a great deal of destruction. He began to recite the magic incantation. [Wedow Le-lavica-ta] Hyukjin fired Sylphid¡¯s Wing as he waited for it to arrive. He knew what the descending monster with the huge mouth was. ¡®Hundred-Year Imoogi.¡¯ Its level was in the late 40s, early 50s. ¡®To appear now, it¡¯s probably a boss monster.¡¯ If so, it would get a boss monster buff, making it stronger than a normal Hundred-Year Imoogi. Sure enough¡ª [The boss monster zone of the boss monster ¡®Hundred-Year Imoogi¡¯ has been declared.] The Wind Temple changed to a ¡®boss monster raid zone¡¯. The Hundred-Year Imoogi took the form of an extremely large serpent, extending a good twenty meters in length. After reaching the ground, the Hundred-Year Imoogi coiled itself up, staring at the humans with its head held high. Trailing from its head were two very unsnake-like whiskers. As big as the beast was, its whiskers were also quite thick. ¡®First the Dewinged Angel Statues, now this?¡¯ Gwaaaar¨C! It opened its mouth in a booming cry. [The boss monster Hundred-Year Imoogi will begin attacking in 60 seconds.] Hyukjin switched items while staring at the massive python, going from the bow to his transcendent sword. ¡®Nothing about this place is easy.¡¯ How had Hyun Junghwa cleared this place? ¡®The difficulty rose dramatically because we destroyed the Dewinged Angel Statues.¡¯ The difficulty was changed by an order of magnitude. If this was the difficulty greatly reduced by his True Ruler title, then just how impossibly hard was it originally? Hyukjin glanced behind him. ¡°Sunghyun, cancel your spell.¡± The wind magician stopped his incantation. ¡°We¡¯ll handle this guy, so you go back up. There¡¯ll be a hint to the clear there.¡± ¡°We¡¯re not killing the boss?¡± ¡°We can¡¯t kill that thing. We have no way to penetrate its skin.¡± Sunghyun didn¡¯t quibble for long. ¡°I¡¯ll trust you, Hyung.¡± He ran towards the Central Pillar without delay. ¡°Sunhwa, pull back.¡± ¡°Why?¡± Forty seconds left. ¡°You can¡¯t block that attack anyway.¡± Even Sunhwa would be done for if she was constricted by the Hundred-Year Imoogi. Every bone in her body would be crushed into a pulp. ¡°Give up on blocking its attack. Instead¡­¡± He whispered something into Sunhwa¡¯s ear, purposefully preventing the Guardians from hearing. Sunhwa responded to acknowledge the order. Hyukjin raised his voice again. ¡°Miss Junghwa, please support Sunghyun.¡± It was possible there was something else at the top of the pillar. Now. Thirty seconds left. Junghwa spoke quickly. ¡°How do you plan on blocking an attack Miss Sunhwa can¡¯t block? If this is a monster we can¡¯t kill, shouldn¡¯t we start by looking for a way to escape somehow?¡± ¡°That¡¯s why I sent Sunghyun up.¡± ¡°But it¡¯s going to attack in twenty seconds now.¡± ¡°I know.¡± ¡°You¡¯re going to deal with it on your own? Without the main tank?¡± ¡°Are you worrying about me right now?¡± ¡°I-I¡¯m not worrying about you! I¡¯m just saying what a party member should naturally say.¡± Hyukjin smiled. ¡°Frankly, it¡¯s easiest for me to do this alone.¡± Even the impressive Hyun Junghwa and Kim Sunhwa were baggage right now. That was his cool-headed judgment. This situation was best suited for soloing. He was already familiar with the Hundred-Year Imoogi. ¡°If it¡¯s just me, I can tie that snake up.¡± Ten seconds left. ¡°But if we work together, someone will die.¡± ¡°¡­¡± ¡°There can be no deaths in my party.¡± Hyukjin took a deep breath. The Hundred-Year Imoogi¡¯s pupils narrowed into vertical slits, brimming with bloodthirst. Eye of Perception picked up the pulsating murderous intent of such an electrifyingly powerful lifeform. Five seconds left. Hyukjin began to mumble something, showing Junghwa something new. A completely new realm. ¡°Illusions and apparitions.¡± The seconds counted down. The Will Incantation trailed from Hyukjin¡¯s lips. As Junghwa listened to the words, she found goosebumps rising on her arms for some reason. ¡°Distortions and lies, cannot covet me.¡± ¡°No matter what ravine of evil in this world I must traverse.¡± Golden energy began to rise from Hyukjin¡¯s body. ____ Chapter 214 Chapter 214 Hundred-Year Imoogi. Hyukjin was very familiar with this monster. It was also detailed in Playpedia. ¨CThe Hundred-Year Imoogi takes the form of a huge snake. According to eyewitness reports, it¡¯s closer to a python than a snake, but to the untrained eye, it¡¯s just a massive snake. Small ones are twenty meters, while big ones can reach lengths of fifty meters. But this monster wasn¡¯t simply an ¡®animal-type¡¯ monster. ¨CThough it looks like a snake, we classify this monster as a ¡®spirit-type¡¯. That was why Jo Sunghyun saw the hallucination of being swallowed alive. After freezing its prey in that manner, it slowly constricted the prey with its massive body, either crushing or suffocating its victim. Creatures hunt their prey using hallucinations, aka illusions. Their natural enemy was none other than Kim Hyukjin. ¡®Though there¡¯s a big level difference between us.¡¯ But it wasn¡¯t an insurmountable level difference, ten at most. He also killed a Lycanthrope right after he awakened. ¡®As long as you¡¯re familiar with the strat¡­¡¯ And as long as you had the courage and skills to carry it out, and you could mitigate the level and stat gap with the help of a ¡®Will Incantation¡¯¡­ ¡®You can get out alive.¡¯ Hyukjin focused. He uttered the remaining words of the incantation, looking the Hundred-Year Imoogi straight in the eye. He felt strong bloodlust from those vertical slits, but he wasn¡¯t afraid. ¡°Such is the power of intuition.¡± Hyukjin had the ability to smash through hallucinations and illusions hidden within bloodlust. ¡°The Eye of Insight that sees the true nature of things.¡± Hyukjin recited the last words. [May all lies.] [Be shattered.] The illusion broke. Hyukjin¡¯s vision shattered like a window, clearing. The ¡®Hundred-Year Imoogi¡¯ staring at him with its head held high was a fake. ¡®The real body has come closer to me.¡¯ The raid had already begun. The unmoving ¡®Hundred-Year Imoogi¡¯ simply staring at him with eyes oozing bloodthirst was an illusion. The one that had come quite close was the real boss. ¡®It¡¯s come pretty close.¡¯ It was already drawing near in order to hunt him. It wasn¡¯t moving all that fast. Ssssss¨C The hiss of its scales sliding along the ground was chilling. Whoosh¨C! The wind happened to blow just then. He caught the monster¡¯s smell in the wind¡ªa fishy, ozone odor that wafted from its skin. Hyukjin instantly whipped out Sylphid¡¯s Wing, moving Isabel into his Inventory in one swift motion. It was the switching technique Vela was exceptional at; Hyukjin had learned it from him. He couldn¡¯t use Observer Eye¡¯s ¡®Action Replication¡¯, but he could still somewhat replicate what he saw. That was Hyukjin¡¯s eye of observation. [Using the weapon effect Create Distance.] Hyukjin¡¯s body instantly moved backwards, as if someone had yanked him from behind. It looked as if his body were getting sucked back like a magnet. Junghwa was straining her eyes in order to catch every movement Hyukjin made, while still paying attention to the Central Pillar Sunghyun had clambered up. ¡®He just used Create Distance.¡¯ Junghwa didn¡¯t use it often. Create Distance was good for simply getting more distance away from your opponent, but it left you at a dead end¡ªusing it made you lose your balance. But not for Kim Hyukjin. She saw that he was slightly lowering his body and putting strength in his legs. ¡®He hasn¡¯t¡­ lost balance at all.¡¯ He was ridiculously steady on his feet. The next moment, he disappeared. [Using the special skill Flash Step.] He moved around with a combination of Sylphid¡¯s Wing¡¯s effect and the special skill Flash Step. Junghwa could see that Kim Hyukjin had no intent of directly attacking the Hundred-Year Imoogi. ¡®It feels like he¡¯s focusing purely on getting around.¡¯ Why? ¡®No way.¡¯ After some time passed, she thought she knew the reason. Hyukjin wasn¡¯t trying to ¡®hunt¡¯ the boss right now. He was buying time. Hyukjin¡¯s body moved rapidly. He deftly approached the Hundred-Year Imoogi, got onto its body, and ran up. After moving along the monster¡¯s body a few times, he even got onto its head. Hyukjin leapt high in the air, whipping out a dagger. He plunged it into the monster¡¯s neck. Clang! A metallic clash rang out. Hyukjin already knew this dagger was incapable of penetrating the monster¡¯s skin. That wasn¡¯t his goal. Hyukjin dropped off the side. The Hundred-Year Imoogi had its head raised about ten meters off the ground. Sparks came off the spot Hyukjin had struck with his dagger. Hyukjin dragged his dagger along the Hundred-Year Imoogi¡¯s neck as he fell to reduce the speed of his descent. Crrrrrrrkkkk! Sparks went flying. The Hundred-Year Imoogi¡¯s tail swept just past him as if it had a life of its own. If he hadn¡¯t controlled his speed, he might have gotten grabbed by the tail. Junghwa gulped as she watched. ¡®No. He would have gotten grabbed for sure.¡¯ Freedom of movement was absolutely imperative here. If Hyukjin had gotten caught, it would have been over. ¡®Hyukjin is moving quickly¡­¡¯ He weaved in and out, changing directions on a dime. ¡®¡­while making the boss tie itself up.¡¯ The Hundred-Year Imoogi¡¯s body was extremely long. It was a huge string. That string was getting tangled, so stealthily that the boss itself didn¡¯t realize. And it was done via provocation. Hyukjin repeated the process of drawing near, then jumping back. It became a little easier. ¡®I can see its movements.¡¯ It was game over if he was caught by the serpent. In other words, all he had to do was avoid getting caught. He was dancing on a knife¡¯s edge, but the Hundred-Year Imoogi was very slow. Hyukjin captured its every movement with Eye of Perception. And when things got a little dicey¡ª [Activating the power Future Sight.] He foresaw the future with Future Sight. Though the ability put a great burden on the body because of its high mana and mental power consumption, now wasn¡¯t the time to be picky. As a result, he was able to tie up the Hundred-Year Imoogi while slipping through its whip-like snare. * * * Translator ¨C Lei Proofreader ¨C Ash * * * Hyukjin took some distance. ¡°Sunhwa.¡± ¡°Roger.¡± Sunhwa took out what she had readied at Hyukjin¡¯s whispered request. ¨CGive up on blocking its attack. Instead, put the Grudge Inmyeonjo¡¯s feathers in water. You¡¯ve got water, right? Water was a crucial item for Players. Everyone kept plenty of water on them for raids. That was especially true for very physical classes like Sunhwa¡¯s. The girl went as far as to keep a massive tub of water in her Inventory. Hyukjin brought out a ¡®Rusted Iron Sword¡¯ instead of Isabel. He plunged the weapon in Sunhwa¡¯s tub, which was filled to the brim with milky white water. [Using the special skill Flash Step.] He closed in again, smearing the Rusted Iron Sword dripping with cloudy water on the knotted serpent. Hyun Junghwa couldn¡¯t figure out what Hyukjin intended. ¡®What¡¯s he doing?¡¯ Hyukjin repeated the process a few times. Some time later, the Hundred-Year Imoogi tilted off balance, falling onto its side with a thud. It looked like a knotted ball of yarn. Upon closer inspection, it was perfectly still. ¡°No wonder a Grudge Inmyeonjo showed up here.¡± ¡°¡­What?¡± Junghwa could tell that even though Hyukjin was pretending to talk to her, he was actually talking to the Guardians. ¡®I see.¡¯ A new world opened up to her. ¡®So this is how you do it.¡¯ She got the feeling she had just gotten a valuable lesson. She decided to play along. ¡°If you dissolve its feathers in water, you can produce an extremely powerful adhesive.¡± ¡°I see.¡± Junghwa didn¡¯t ask how he knew that. After all, she wasn¡¯t the one he was talking to right now. ¡°With sufficient time, its tangled body will return to normal.¡± ¡°So you glued it together in order to keep it from detangling?¡± Junghwa thought back to earlier. ¨CThey¡¯re probably reacting with your sweat. Mm. Don¡¯t hold onto them for too long. I don¡¯t think that¡¯s good for you. She was honestly curious. Did he know about the Grudge Inmyeonjo¡¯s feathers from the start, or did he figure out this strategy based on the fact that it reacted with sweat? Junghwa came to her own conclusion. ¡®Don¡¯t hold onto them for too long. I don¡¯t think that¡¯s good for you¡­ is what he said.¡¯ That must be when he figured it out. He instantly realized the feathers were an adhesive from the way they reacted to sweat. ¡®He realized it on the spot. From that one fact alone.¡¯ Could this truly be called ¡®insight¡¯? Was that all it was? Junghwa felt goosebumps for a moment. She looked at this man named Kim Hyukjin anew, and her curiosity towards him grew. ¡°That¡¯s right. But I imagine even this won¡¯t be enough. Its strength is unimaginable.¡± Junghwa spurred the conversation along. ¡°Then what should we do?¡± ¡°Cut off its power source.¡± ¡°¡­¡± ¡°I think its strength is coming from those whiskers. If we constrain them somehow, either by cutting off those whiskers or tying them up, it¡¯ll get weaker.¡± ¡°How do you know that?¡± Hyukjin was honestly thankful. Junghwa wasn¡¯t a talkative person, but she was chipping in with the questions he needed. You could see this as Hyukjin using Junghwa. But despite knowing that, she was still cooperating nicely. ¡°Didn¡¯t you hear my incantation?¡± Oh, so that amazing ability is called an incantation. Junghwa nodded a little. This was give and take. In exchange for playing along, Junghwa got to learn about incantations for the first time. ¡°I did.¡± One part stuck out in her memory. ¡°Such is the power of intuition. The Eye of Insight that sees the true nature of things. I remember that part.¡± ¡°Right.¡± ¡°Then I suppose you¡¯re saying you figured it out by seeing it.¡± Hyukjin nodded. This much acting was more than enough to achieve the picture the Guardians wanted. Their questions should be fully answered by now. ¡®So now.¡¯ In consideration for his main sponsor, the Nameless Observer, he added one more line. ¡°It¡¯s the power of observation.¡± With that, Hyukjin approached the Hundred-Year Imoogi again. He tried cutting off its whiskers, but even his transcendent sword was incapable of the feat. Hyukjin had no other choice but to tie the two whiskers together. Hyukjin remembered the Hundred-Year Imoogi strat word for word. ¨CAfter preventing the Hundred-Year Imoogi from moving, tying up the whiskers will make hunting it extremely easy. Simply tying up the whiskers cuts off most of the Hundred-Year Imoogi¡¯s abilities. Junghwa said, ¡°Its aura has definitely weakened a lot. What should we do?¡± Due to its super high defense, it wouldn¡¯t be easy to kill. Hyukjin recognized what Junghwa meant by the question. ¡°I don¡¯t think we can kill it.¡± There was no way to kill it. The means of attack available to them right now were incapable of dispatching this boss monster. Hyukjin grinned. ¡°But do you think the System truly made this monster to be killed?¡± ¡°It¡¯s a boss monster.¡± ¡°I don¡¯t think so. It wasn¡¯t spawned to be killed.¡± Much of this field overlapped with the Hill of Blowing Wind they had cleared in the past. The field would not be cleared just by killing the boss monster. It wasn¡¯t a clear condition. Everything was happening too coincidentally and artificially here. The way Hyukjin saw it, there was definitely a hidden catch. ¡°I get the feeling that we would have failed to clear this place if we had tried to kill this guy.¡± It was true that they couldn¡¯t kill it, and a Grudge Inmyeonjo appearing here was no coincidence. Hyukjin was sure of it. ¡°There¡¯s something more to this.¡± Just then, Jo Sunghyun quickly descended, drenched in sweat. ¡°I¡¯ve brought the Offering Box.¡± Just like before, there was an Offering Box here. ____ Chapter 215 REAPER SCANS Max Talent Player [Translator ¨C Lei ] [Proofreader ¨C Ash ] Chapter 215 Hyukjin remembered exactly how they cleared the Hill of Blowing Wind in the past. He didn¡¯t try to memorize it; it just happened. In the past, when the Offering Box appeared¡ª ¡®It asserted its influence and calmed the wind.¡¯ [The ¡®Offering Box¡¯ holy relic is beginning to assert its influence.] [The ¡®Offering Box¡¯ holy relic calms the wind blowing in the ¡®Wind Temple¡¯.] It was exactly the same now. The schema was the same. ¡®Hyun Junghwa wasn¡¯t at the Hill of Blowing Wind then.¡¯ She hadn¡¯t been one of the Players present there. Which meant, Hyun Junghwa couldn¡¯t have cleared the Wind Temple on her own. ¡®So that has to mean the angel statues we broke are the deciding factors after all.¡¯ The content of the field had changed a great deal because of the Dewinged Angel Statues. One thing was for sure¡ªthe itinerary might be the same, but the difficulty had been cranked way up. ¡®Which means the rewards will also be boosted.¡¯ Hyukjin took the Offering Box Sunghyun brought. [Offering Box of the Wind Temple] A small box for collecting offerings. Those who come to the Temple of Wind must show their sincerity to this Offering Box. When the Offering Box is full, the Blessing of the Wind Temple will be granted. Back then, the quest they received was ¡®Donate 100k Coins!¡¯ With the increased difficulty, what kind of quest would this Offering Box give this time? [You have received the quest ¡®Offer a Living Sacrifice!¡¯] [Quest reward: Wind Temple clear, Complete Sylphid¡¯s Wings] Hyukjin read what was left unsaid in the notice. ¡®The grade of the rewards has been boosted, I¡¯m sure of it.¡¯ But the reward was still the ¡®Complete Sylphid¡¯s Wings¡¯. And the clear was a given. ¡®Even though a Hundred-Year Imoogi boss monster that can¡¯t be caught without the strat appeared.¡¯ But the reward amounted to just this? It actually made Hyukjin a little happier. ¡®That has to mean the Angel Statue¡¯s Wings item I got is that important.¡¯ That was the only way he could interpret this result. He didn¡¯t know how and where it would be useful, but it would definitely come into play. ¡®And I also got the Tome of the Divine Archer Physique.¡¯ The rewards were by no means bad. He had gained a ton from this clear. Hyun Junghwa waited quietly for Hyukjin to speak. Normally, she was more of the type to take action rather than sit around, but she had no choice but to stay put right now. She couldn¡¯t interrupt Hyukjin, who was thinking hard about something. That was because she also saw the Offering Box and the quest it gave. [You have received the quest ¡®Offer a Living Sacrifice!¡¯] Junghwa wasn¡¯t stupid. ¡®If we had killed the Hundred-Year Imoogi¡­¡¯ Then in order to clear this place, they would have had to sacrifice someone. Only by throwing someone into that Offering Box¡¯s clutches would they be able to clear and leave this field. Did this really boil down to simply ¡®good luck¡¯? ¡®It wasn¡¯t just good luck.¡¯ No, it was made to be good luck. By the person in front of her. Sunghwa beamed. ¡°Oppa, I¡¯ll pick that Imoogi as the sacrifice then.¡± ¡°Yeah.¡± Sunhwa put her hand on the Offering Box. It flashed, and everyone heard notices. [The living sacrifice will be decided by a majority vote.] [Please designate the living sacrifice.] You could just look at your choice with your eyes. Every Player here¡ªKim Hyukjin, Kim Sunhwa, Jo Sunghyun, and Hyun Junghwa¡ªdesignated the Hundred-Year Imoogi as the target. [4 votes for the designated target. 1 vote against.] The vote against was, of course, from the Hundred-Year Imoogi. [The vote has exceeded the majority.] [The target has been decided.] The Hundred-Year Imoogi began to get sucked into the Offering Box. Almost like a black hole, the enormous serpent was sucked little by little into the Offering Box¡¯s depths. Sunhwa stared in fascination. ¡°Wow¡­¡± How was such a big snake going into such a small box? ¡°Amazing.¡± She wasn¡¯t that scared, just fascinated. Hyukjin thought that was a good thing. It would definitely be problematic if a tofu brain like Sunhwa got squeamish about each and every little Play. It was way better for her to just move on with nonchalant fascination. [The Offering Box has received its living sacrifice.] [The Blessing of the Wind Temple will be granted to the Players who have come here.] A warm, blue breeze blew in, nestling around the Players. After snaking a few times around their bodies, the wind faded. [The right to possess the ¡®Angel Statue¡¯s Wings¡¯ has been granted.] That instant, everyone realized that if they had gone out without the Blessing of the Wind Temple, this item would have been destroyed. Hyukjin¡¯s mood lifted even more. ¡®The fact that it¡¯s regulated so thoroughly means it¡¯s just that important.¡¯ It was very good. It seemed he really had to contact Pietro after leaving the dungeon. They had shared contact details. [Your wind affinity has increased.] In the end, the Wind Temple was cleared. Hyukjin¡¯s party left the field and returned to Marvin Cemetery. [Entering Marvin Cemetery.] Then, they were able to find the Clear Crystal without difficulty, clear the Marvin Cemetery, and leave the Gran Seoul Dungeon. * * * Translator ¨C Lei Proofreader ¨C Ash Join our Discord for updates on releases! * * * After leaving the dungeon, Hyun Junghwa got into Hyukjin¡¯s car with him. ¡°Where would you like to go?¡± asked the chauffeur. ¡°To the office, please.¡± The two of them went to Giantgod¡¯s office for one reason, and that was to discuss the issue of how to distribute the Complete Sylphid¡¯s Wings Hyukjin had acquired. Inside the elevator, Hyukjin thought to himself. ¡®Sylphid¡¯s Wings¡­ is the bow Hyun Junghwa herself acknowledged as the item that made her who she is.¡¯ That was how important it was to her. Even the current Junghwa was well aware of this item¡¯s value. ¡®I¡¯m sure she also knows the MVP in the Wind Temple clear is me.¡¯ It was natural. Even the System had acknowledged that¡ªthe Complete Sylphid¡¯s Wings was put in Hyukjin¡¯s inventory as an ¡®individual reward¡¯. They entered the office and took seats on the sofa. Hyukjin spoke first. ¡°I¡¯ll get straight to the point.¡± ¡°Yes.¡± Junghwa also preferred skipping the formalities and going straight to the matter at hand. She was also feeling quite the urgency. ¡°The Complete Sylphid¡¯s Wings was acknowledged by the System as my property.¡± ¡°I know.¡± Junghwa wasn¡¯t so brazen as to throw a tantrum demanding him to give it to her. But she also wasn¡¯t so clueless that she couldn¡¯t read Hyukjin¡¯s inner thoughts. ¡°But the fact that you brought me here means you are inclined to concede that item to me.¡± ¡°That¡¯s right. I fully acknowledge your contribution in the raid, and believe the Complete Sylphid¡¯s Wings will shine more radiantly in your hands than mine.¡± ¡°¡­¡± If she was being honest, Junghwa wanted to refute that statement. Even with his sloppy form and breathing, Kim Hyukjin was an archer of the same or greater skill than her. His talent was in a class of its own. Junghwa fully accepted that. ¡®You¡¯re wrong. I think it¡¯ll shine more in your hands.¡¯ But she didn¡¯t say that. She also wanted the Complete Sylphid¡¯s Wings. ¡°For the Complete Sylphid¡¯s Wings, two Sylphid¡¯s Wing bows are necessary.¡± ¡°¡­¡± ¡°So I would have no choice but to give you my Sylphid¡¯s Wing.¡± ¡°I will compensate you in full.¡± ¡°This item was gifted to me with heartfelt feelings by my close friend in Italy, Pedro.¡± They weren¡¯t actually friends, but he decided that they were bosom buddies right now. ¡°¡­Is he a very close friend?¡± ¡°Yes. Enough that I put my life on the line to clear with him.¡± It wasn¡¯t a lie. He really thought he would die in front of the Sacred Flame, Athenae. One misstep, and he would have burned into a crisp. ¡°Despite that, as you said before, I intend on conceding this bow to you because I think it would suit you very well.¡± ¡°¡­Thank you for saying that.¡± Hyukjin continued. ¡°For now, it¡¯s my opinion that each Sylphid¡¯s Wing has a value of about $500k.¡± ¡°¡­¡± The Italian Ranker Salvatore had gone dizzy at half that amount. That was because this was still the beginner period. $500k was far from a small sum. Even Hyun Junghwa thought it was excessive. ¡®But¡ª¡¯ Junghwa thought she didn¡¯t have the right to say that right now. Hyukjin was making such a big concession, so she had to respond in kind. That was what trading was. It couldn¡¯t just be one side reaping profit and the other side losing out, so she decided to accept the hefty price tag. ¡°And the value of the Complete Sylphid¡¯s Wings¡­ can¡¯t actually be measured at this point in time. In terms of money.¡± ¡°¡­¡± Then just what did this man want? Junghwa looked into Hyukjin¡¯s eyes in silence. ¡®I can¡¯t read his thoughts at all.¡¯ She couldn¡¯t at all distinguish what was going through his mind, what his end-game was. She knew he was 20, but it was like he had a 100-year-old sage inside him. ¡®Just what kind of environment do you have to grow up in to become like that?¡¯ Hyukjin¡¯s next words completely shattered her composure. ¡°I¡¯ll give it to you. For free.¡± ¡°¡­What?¡± ¡°Since its value cannot be measured in money.¡± ¡°What do you mean?¡± ¡°Exactly how it sounds. I¡¯ll just give it to you.¡± Junghwa shook her head. ¡°That will not do.¡± Words spilled out of her. ¡°Your contribution in the Wind Temple clear was monumental. Both the System and I acknowledge that. How could I take an item you earned fairly without giving anything in return?¡± Junghwa¡¯s expression was incredibly serious. ¡°I am deeply thankful for your offer and goodwill¡­¡± ¡°¡­¡± ¡°But saying those words is treating me as less than an equal, a fellow Player.¡± Hyukjin made a small smile. Junghwa didn¡¯t know at all, but this was what Hyukjin had been aiming for. ¡®I knew she¡¯d say that.¡¯ He knew she would say something along the lines of ¡®You¡¯re insulting me right now¡¯. But with the situation the way it was, Junghwa had very much dulled the edge in her words. Hyukjin waited for a moment. It was about time for Hyun Junghwa to say the magic words. ¡°Please make it so I can pay an appropriate price.¡± Bingo. How much you could sell the same object for was up to the seller¡¯s skill. Even better for the seller if they could manipulate the buyer into thinking they were getting a good deal. Senia, who was watching in transparent mode, thought to herself, ¡®You weren¡¯t thinking about giving it away for free anyway.¡¯ Her wings were trembling without her knowing. Strangely, very strangely, she was cheering Kim Hyukjin on, a fact that shocked her when she realized it. ¡®Why am I¡­ getting happy about such a scammy trade?¡¯ What was this? ¡®Why am I thinking of something good happening to Player Kim Hyukjin as something good happening to me?¡¯ She thought about it and came to a conclusion. ¡®It¡¯s because Player Kim Hyukjin needs to Play well for things to work out for me. That¡¯s what it is.¡¯ Hyukjin nodded. ¡°I see, my goodwill can be construed as an insult to you, Miss Junghwa. I apologize.¡± ¡°No, it wasn¡¯t that severe. Thank you for understanding.¡± Understanding? He did all this while rolling her in the palm of his hand. Hyukjin gave another easy smile. ¡°Then allow me to make a proposal first.¡± This was what he had been aiming for in the first place. [The ¡®Merchant of Venice¡¯ is very happy.] [The ¡®Merchant of Venice¡¯ has begun to watch you more closely.] ¡°There are two things I would like to ask from you. You can listen first and then decide whether you will proceed or not.¡± He revealed the two conditions. ¡°First, I would like a total of $1 million.¡± ¡°I accept.¡± The answer came immediately. Hyun Junghwa was clearly driven by the determination to ¡®pay an appropriate price, no matter what¡¯. Earlier, she was feeling iffy about $500k, but now, even $1 million was chump change. With just a few words, her mentality had taken a complete 180. ¡°Second, I would like to buy your skill.¡± ¡°What does that mean?¡± He had run all this way for this moment. This was the real thing he wanted. ¡°I intend on clearing two dungeons in the near future. One is in the Singapore server, and the other is in the Korean server. I would like your help with them. However, I want all items and byproducts gained from those dungeons to belong to me.¡± Hyun Junghwa took the bait very nicely. ¡°I accept.¡± She, too, was pleased by the prospect. There was much she could gain and learn by Playing with Kim Hyukjin. ¡°Would it be alright¡­ if I asked what the dungeons are called?¡± Chapter 216 Max Talent Player [Translator ¨C Lei ] [Proofreader ¨C Ash ] Chapter 216 ¡°Would it be alright¡­ if I asked what the dungeons are called?¡± Hyukjin answered her like it wasn¡¯t a big deal. ¡°The one that¡¯ll appear in Singapore is the Gardens by the Beach Dungeon.¡± ¡°Ah.¡± Junghwa knew the place. It was a widely beloved and famous tourist highlight of Singapore that held a flashy lights and music show called the ¡®Supertree Show¡¯ every night. She herself had visited it as a tourist. Junghwa didn¡¯t ask how he knew this information. ¡°And the other one?¡± ¡°The Sangam World Cup Stadium Dungeon.¡± ¡°In the vicinity, hm.¡± Giantgod¡¯s office was in the DMC, so the World Cup Stadium was just one subway stop away, less than ten minutes by car. ¡°Yes. It¡¯s the place that got so worked up in 2002.¡± TN: Korea went up to the semi-finals in the 2002 World Cup hosted jointly by Korea and Japan. Red Devils is the name for fans of the Korean national soccer team. It would also become the dungeon that would spawn 2,002 ¡®Red Devils¡¯. Junghwa asked, ¡°Do you know when it will appear?¡± ¡°I don¡¯t know the exact date, but I think it¡¯ll happen soon.¡± The archer nodded. ¡°Understood. The Gardens by the Beach Dungeon and the Sangam World Cup Stadium Dungeon. I will make my cooperation in clearing those two places with the Guildmaster my top priority.¡± ¡°And all the products that come from them?¡± ¡°I will concede them all.¡± ¡°Excellent.¡± The deal was settled. $1 million, plus two Hyun Junghwa ¡°vouchers¡±. ¡®Nice.¡¯ Very nice. ¡®She¡¯s quietly accepting this deal because she has no idea what that place has in store.¡¯ Hyukjin felt his mood soar. On his way home, he bought three fried chickens. There were three firm proponents of the ¡®1 chicken per person¡¯ motto at home: his older sister, his little sister, and Kim Darong. A scramble for drumsticks broke out when he got home. Just before Sunhwa could catch him, Darongi gulped down the drumstick, bone and all. It was truly amazing how he managed to swallow a drumstick bigger than his whole body in one fell swoop. Crunch, munch. Meanwhile, Hyukjin¡¯s older sister Kim Ahyoung ate her chicken very quietly. Apparently, she was far removed from the war raging between Sunhwa and Darongi¡ªeven the cheeky squirrel didn¡¯t dare go for her chicken. Hyukjin grinned. ¡®Guess Noona is rank 1.¡¯ Come to think of it¡ª ¡®Rank 2 is Darongi.¡¯ Which left¡­ ¡®Sunhwa is rank 3.¡¯ Somehow, Sunhwa seemed to be the weakest one here. Outside, she was a genius tank, but inside, she was only rank 3. Of course, the one at the top of this household was Mom. ¡°Where¡¯s Mom?¡± asked Hyukjin. Ahyoung answered curtly, ¡°Went out to see friends.¡± ¡°Again?¡± ¡°It¡¯s everyday lately.¡± ¡°Really?¡± ¡°Ya.¡± Their conversation ended with that. Ahyoung got up. ¡°I¡¯m full.¡± She stared at Darongi and his rounded belly. ¡°Make sure you clean up well.¡± [;;;] marks appeared over Darongi¡¯s head. Ahyoung stared at the squirrel. ¡°Don¡¯t wanna?¡± [;;] There was one less sweat emoji. ¡°I asked, don¡¯t wanna?¡± she said again. [;] Another sweat emoji less. ¡°It¡¯s fine if you don¡¯t want to. I¡¯ll clean up.¡± Kim Darong¡¯s [;] turned into a hasty [!]. He shook his head like a rattle, his expression saying, ¡®I¡¯ll do it!¡¯ ¡°You will? I¡¯m heading in for the night then.¡± Hyukjin laughed, dumbfounded. ¡®What the heck?¡¯ How was it that Noona could speak so freely with Darongi? She wasn¡¯t even a tamer. Hyukjin looked down at the pile of chicken in front of him. ¡®Again?¡¯ There were three drumsticks. This always happened. Noona snuck them in. Of course, her stealthy actions couldn¡¯t escape Hyukjin¡¯s ¡®observation¡¯, but he just pretended not to notice. Sunhwa tore into a wing while asking, ¡°So what¡¯re we gonna do next, Oppa? You have, like, a ton to do.¡± ¡°I¡¯m planning on participating in the auction first.¡± ¡°Ah. That auction in the US?¡± ¡°Yeah. The date was pulled forward a bit.¡± Technically speaking, it wasn¡¯t that the date was changed, but that the chosen among the chosen¡ªthe VIPs among the VIPs¡ªwere invited to participate in the auction first. ¡®Even I didn¡¯t know that was a thing.¡¯ This was the world he had known nothing about, the world of Rankers. He was learning about these secrets one by one, like peeling an onion. ¡°What about that¡­ that handsome Italian guy who was gathering archers? You also said you have to do that Dewinged Angel Statue thing or whatever it was called.¡± He also planned on participating in that. ¡®It should work out if I contact Pietro after getting back from the auction.¡¯ It seemed Pietro was still recruiting archers for the gate. There was still time, so he decided to push contacting Pietro about the Dewinged Angel Statue Gate until after the auction, and it was possible Pietro would also take part in the auction. ¡°Yeah. Some people were invited to come participate earlier, and Taeguk Shield was one of them.¡± ¡°Taeguk Shield? Why?¡± Sunhwa tilted her head. State: Dubious / Curiosity / Doubt ¡°Even though they¡¯re so weak¡­?¡± ¡°They¡¯re weak by our standards, but they¡¯re not weak by the world¡¯s standards.¡± ¡°No way.¡± ¡°I¡¯m serious. They¡¯re strong, too.¡± ¡°Really?¡± Sunhwa¡¯s eyes widened in disbelief. ¡°Yeah. As unbelievable as it might sound to you, that¡¯s how it is.¡± ¡°I see.¡± It¡¯s just because you¡¯re surrounded by such overwhelming world-level Rankers. Hyukjin left that unsaid. When it came down to it, Taeguk Shield was the representative guild of Korea. With Wings¡¯ victory over Lao Yu, Taeguk Shield¡¯s status was boosted even further. ¡°You¡¯re tagging along then, Oppa?¡± ¡°Yeah.¡± ¡°But I thought you said you would ask Mr. Kiyeol to do it.¡± ¡°I was gonna do that, but I changed my mind.¡± ¡°Why?¡± ¡°I think I¡¯ll be able to get a lot of good items there.¡± ¡°You¡¯re going because of the items?¡± ¡°Why do you ask?¡± ¡°There¡¯s no other reason, right?¡± Hyukjin smirked and tousled Sunhwa¡¯s hair. ¡°There is.¡± ¡°What is it? Tell me, puh-lease?¡± ¡°I want to meet a person named Michelle.¡± ¡°Michelle? A woman?¡± ¡°Yeah.¡± ¡°Is she pretty?¡± ¡°Hm. Probably? I¡¯ve never seen her in person, so I don¡¯t know either.¡± ¡°I¡¯m told pretty women are dangerous.¡± ¡°Who says that?¡± ¡°Sung-gu.¡± Choi Sung-gu, this blabbermouth. He sure was feeding a lot of pointless drivel to this child. ¡°But why?¡± ¡°Hm, because I want to check the consequences?¡± ¡°What¡¯s that?¡± ¡°You don¡¯t need to know. It¡¯s a thing.¡± Hyukjin got up. Sunhwa muttered under her breath that she also wanted to know, but she didn¡¯t press for details. ¡°Then I¡¯ll work on clearing the Gwanghwamun Dungeon a bit more. I think I can hit 40 soon.¡± With those words from Sunhwa, Hyukjin went into his room. ¡®The Herdsman of Las Vegas is originally a US Guardian.¡¯ But that very Guardian was frequently in and out of the Korean server. That could only mean he had lost some amount of interest in his original favorite, Michelle. ¡®What consequences have my changes created?¡¯ He was curious about that, and another thing. ¡®I also want to see the skills of the world¡¯s Rankers with my own eyes.¡¯ The Korean server was a little less skilled in comparison to the past. Hyukjin acknowledged that. He had prevented too many ¡®disasters¡¯. Although the survival rate greatly increased, it came at the cost of dulling the Korean playerbase. ¡®I¡¯ve also slowed Vela¡¯s growth.¡¯ The Fight King¡¯s Guardian was the White Hunter. But the White Hunter seemed to be making their home in the Korean server. ¡®He¡¯s gotten weaker because of me.¡¯ Then what about the other Players? How strong were the world Rankers who grew independently of Kim Hyukjin¡¯s influence? What kind of butterfly effects had ensued? ¡®Should be fun.¡¯ The auction was a chance to see the world¡¯s Rankers in one place. It was also a gathering place for global millionaires. He decided to go join the fun. * * * Translator ¨C Lei Proofreader ¨C Ash Join our Discord for updates on releases! * * * Los Angeles, USA. Hyukjin stood in front of a certain building. Two large men¡ªpresumably guards¡ªwere standing at the door. ¡°Please show your invitation.¡± Hyukjin looked at the two men in amusement. ¡®They¡¯re ordinary people.¡¯ They weren¡¯t Players. ¡®And they have a Translation Marble?¡¯ That was a valuable item. It did show up and get used often around Hyukjin, but in the world, it was indeed a rare item, and not something non-Players could freely get their hands on. ¡®Is it Michelle¡¯s financial power?¡¯ It varied by the list, but Michelle was within the top 10 or 20 of the most wealthy individuals in the US. She was using her financial prowess on even trivial things like this. ¡°I don¡¯t have an invitation. But my party will be arriving shortly.¡± I waited a little. ¡®He¡¯s here.¡¯ Two men were walking from afar. One of them was very short. ¡®Guildmaster Song Kiyeol, and¡­ Song Jinchul?¡¯ He saw the young brat Song Jinchul. Apparently, he had followed his brother here. Song Jinchul blatantly drawled, ¡°Hyung, is that the bastard you said you¡¯re going into the auction with?¡± His voice was loud enough for Hyukjin to hear every word. He didn¡¯t get mad. This was just a middle schooler blowing hot air. He decided to keep watching a little longer. ¡°Song Jinchul!¡± Song Kiyeol apologized immediately, bending deep at the waist. ¡°I apologize. He turned out like this because he¡¯s a late child¡­¡± ¡°It¡¯s alright.¡± Hyukjin really wasn¡¯t that offended. In fact, the little runt even looked cute. ¡®But¡­ I heard this kid originally said he didn¡¯t wanna become a Player.¡¯ But he had already become a Player. Hyukjin remembered seeing in the news that Song Jinchul had taken his talent plate exam very late, at the same time as Hyukjin. Things had changed. That change was captured in full by Eye of Perception. [Player] Name: Song Jinchul Age: 14 Level: 27 He had already become a Player. What had influenced the kid? ¡®His level isn¡¯t high. But he¡¯s awakened an innate ability.¡¯ Innate ability: Discernment But just then, Hyukjin¡¯s Eye of Perception activated on its own and started to go haywire. ¡®What¡¯s going on?¡¯ The world distorted. A bout of dizziness struck him, and it felt like the distorted world was spinning around him. Everything was spinning except for one thing, Song Jinchul. Only Song Jinchul was not twisted, and only Song Jinchul remained in place. ¡®What¡­ does this mean?¡¯ The spinning started as soon as he read Song Jinchul¡¯s status. [A factor in a major variable.] There was no other explanation. That was the only interpretation Eye of Perception could produce, a vague interpretation even Hyukjin could not fully decipher. ¡®It looks like¡­ there¡¯s something about this little brat.¡¯ It wasn¡¯t something he could figure out now. He heard Song Kiyeol¡¯s voice. ¡°Guildmaster Kim?¡± ¡°Ah. I apologize. I was thinking about something else for a moment.¡± The world returned to normal like nothing had happened. Hyukjin glanced at Song Jinchul. The kid had taken a step back and was lowering his right hand, his middle finger slightly cocked up. Hyukjin almost laughed. ¡®I can¡¯t tell whether he¡¯s childish or just dumb.¡¯ No matter how much Jinchul disliked Hyukjin, he should be aware that Hyukjin was his older brother¡¯s business partner. Was this why people said the teenage years were so scary? But just then, another person joined the fray. ¡°The hell is with this rude brat?¡± It was a familiar voice, and very, very loud. ¡°Oi. You good at fighting?¡± The speaker came striding over, then raised his bear paw hand and brought it down hard on Song Jinchul¡¯s head. Bam! A resounding thud rang out. Song Jinchul was unable to dodge. ¡°Agh!¡± The kid doubled over. His older brother took a step forward. ¡°What do you mean by this?¡± ¡°The little shit was giving my friend the middle finger. I oughta blast the asshole¡¯s head off his shoulders.¡± Vela ditched the honorifics straightaway. He was the same as ever. ¡°Oi. Answer me. You good at fighting?¡± He was of the opinion that there was no such thing as age or gender in Playing. Monsters didn¡¯t stop to contemplate whether you were young or old, a woman or a man. They just went straight to tearing you apart. It was Vela¡¯s opinion that in front of such creatures, the only thing that mattered was strength. Yet another person appeared. ¡°I would like it if you refrained from causing a ruckus in front of my venue.¡± The Gold Pyramid, Michelle. The legendary woman who, along with the Wargod Salvatore, was venerated as the peak of the sovereigns. The American top-class Ranker previously sponsored enthusiastically by the Herdsman of Las Vegas had made her appearance. That moment¡ª He heard a notice. [The ¡®Herdsman of Las Vegas¡¯ proposes a bet.] Chapter 217 Chapter 217 Hyukjin and Michelle heard the same notice. [The ¡®Herdsman of Las Vegas¡¯ proposes a bet.] The two of them focused on the notice. ¡®Bet?¡¯ ¡®What kind of bet?¡¯ Hyukjin had a hunch he knew what kind of bet it was. ¡®Michelle¡¯s a sovereign. I¡¯m also known as a sovereign. He must be trying to pit two sovereigns against each other.¡¯ Meanwhile, Michelle was a little puzzled. ¡®That man¡­ is someone who became famous as a Korean archer in Italy.¡¯ After receiving word from Taeguk Shield¡¯s guildmaster Song Kiyeol that he would be participating with Kim Hyukjin, Michelle did some investigating of her own. But to her surprise, there wasn¡¯t much information floating around about Kim Hyukjin. She just knew he was an archer. ¡®My opponent is an archer.¡¯ A sovereign and an archer. What would a bet between the two look like? [He proposes a battle between sovereigns, a War.] [The War will take place in a field specially devised by the ¡®Herdsman of Las Vegas¡¯.] Hyukjin was already very familiar with this ¡®War Field¡¯. Michelle had shown it to the world many times. Most people ten years in the future knew about this field. ¡®There¡¯s a castle¡­¡¯ And a turret protecting the castle. ¡®You can summon your contracted Guardian Tower.¡¯ Smashing all the turrets and destroying the castle would allow you to hunt the sovereign. That was the rule behind this field. Like PVP, a resurrection authority was active here. ¡°You¡¯re a sovereign?¡± ¡°Yes.¡± ¡°That¡¯s different from what I found regarding you.¡± ¡°You must have thought I was an archer.¡± ¡°¡­¡± Michelle didn¡¯t respond. She might have failed to uncover her opponent¡¯s identity, but she was confident nevertheless. ¡°The Herdsman of Las Vegas is extremely fond of betting.¡± Hyukjin knew that. ¡°I know.¡± ¡°I¡¯d like you to accept the wager.¡± Michelle seemed to be worried that Hyukjin might refuse the bet. ¡®I¡¯m glad.¡¯ This was a good chance to measure Michelle¡¯s skill. ¡®Has she already contracted with the Guardian Tower Tintin by now?¡¯ It wasn¡¯t common knowledge yet. But knowing Michelle, and knowing the world of Rankers Hyukjin was experiencing right now, it was possible she had already contracted her Guardian Tower. Hyukjin asked, ¡°Have you contracted a Guardian Tower?¡± ¡°I don¡¯t think there¡¯s any reason for me to answer that.¡± ¡°You¡¯re right.¡± Hyukjin grinned. That was because for a split second, Michelle¡¯s summary changed. Summary: Master of Tintin Maintaining her Composure He found out a little more about Michelle. This was why Eye of Perception was so good. [Player] Name: Michelle Age: 34 Level: 38 Class: Mercenary Sovereign Guardian: Herdsman of Las Vegas Innate ability: Inject Funds, Guardian Tower Summoning Summary: Master of Tintin Maintaining her Composure The disposition/state/summary only show the most representative and can change according to the situation. Because Eye of Perception¡¯s proficiency is not high enough, viewing more detailed information is impossible. ¡®Michelle has contracted a Guardian Tower, and she doesn¡¯t know that I¡¯ve done the same.¡¯ The fact that Hyukjin was the Guardian Tower Ahn Seohye¡¯s master wasn¡¯t widely known to begin with. The only people who knew were Guildmaster Song Kiyeol and the guild members of Giantgod. ¡®That¡¯s why she¡¯s so full of confidence.¡¯ Michelle nudged him again. ¡°The bets proposed by the Herdsman of Las Vegas come with extremely sweet rewards.¡± There were countless Players who were intoxicated by that sweetness and driven to ruin. But Hyukjin didn¡¯t say that, because he was confident that wouldn¡¯t happen to him. Hyukjin smiled. ¡°Then let me have a taste of that sweet reward.¡± Notices rang in his ears. [You have accepted the War.] [Teleporting to the War Field.] Michelle had experienced War several times already. Having engaged other sovereigns in America in battle to activate the War system, she was confident. ¡®Huh?¡¯ But something was a little different this time. [The ¡®Herdsman of Las Vegas¡¯ acts in consideration of ¡®¡ª¡ª¡¯.] [The War Field will not be visible to outsiders.] There was a part she definitely heard, but wasn¡¯t able to make out. ¡®What is he acting in consideration of?¡¯ She had no idea. It was also strange that the War Field wouldn¡¯t be open to public view. [The War has begun.] The two sides began on the northern and southern ends of the War Field. Normally in War, the Players led by the sovereign would destroy the opponent¡¯s turrets and castle, then go on to execute the enemy sovereign. But this War did not involve many Players. Only two people, Kim Hyukjin and Michelle, entered it. ¡®Doesn¡¯t matter anyway.¡¯ This new field was isolated from the outside, and whatever happened here was shielded from the public view. And there were only two people participating. Besides these anomalies, it was no different from what she had gone through so far. [As per the number of participants, the number of turrets will be restricted to 1.] The number of turrets was cut down to one. It was because there weren¡¯t many participants. [As per the number of participants, the durability of the castle walls will be reduced.] As she expected, the castle walls were weakened to the point that a lone Player could easily break them. Michelle uttered the ¡®activation phrase¡¯. ¡°Tintin. Summon.¡± The location at which Guardian Towers were summoned was set to the center of the War Field. In order to reach the opponent¡¯s castle, you had no choice but to cross the central area once. Which meant, Kim Hyukjin would have to get past her Tintin. ¡®A sovereign with a Guardian Tower and a sovereign without one is heaven and hell apart.¡¯ At least here, in the War Field. She walked towards the center of the field. But her leisurely gait was soon disrupted by the incomprehensible situation that unfolded before her. * * * Translator ¨C Lei Proofreader ¨C Ash * * * Hyukjin heard a voice. ¨CWhere am I? Hyukjin answered inwardly. We¡¯re in America. LA. ¨CWhoaa. It¡¯s my first time coming to LA. After becoming a Guardian Tower, Seohye was far more honest about her feelings. Because they were mentally connected, her excitement was relayed directly to Hyukjin. ¨CBut what¡¯s that Guardian Tower? That moment, Hyukjin had the impression that Seohye was growling, kind of like a savage beast coming face to face with another beast. ¨CCan I break it? Hyukjin nodded. You can. But do you think it¡¯ll be easy? The Guardian Tower Seohye¡¯s soul went into was also called Tintin. The one Michelle had summoned was probably a Tintin as well. That meant the Guardian Towers themselves were about the same level. ¨COf course. You¡¯re talking to Ahn Seohye here. From her prideful tone, she seemed very confident. Really? Seohye continued speaking. ¨CNemesis Doom Barrier. The barrier that had once squashed Fire Giants was deployed. It wasn¡¯t visible to Hyukjin¡¯s eyes, but he could see what was happening through the ¡®Red Eye¡¯ above Tintin. Seohye¡¯s surroundings turned red. The Irregular¡¯s countless red threads of predation wrapped around the opponent¡¯s turret. The gunports opened on both Tintins, and they fired at one another. Bo-bo-bo-boom! Hyukjin heard explosions from afar. Despite the considerable distance, they were so loud they rocked his eardrums. Hyukjin smiled. How is it? ¨CWeak. Its attack wasn¡¯t strong enough to penetrate my barrier. And yours? ¨CIt barely blocked the barrage from my gunports, but it¡¯s taking continuous damage from my Nemesis Doom Barrier. Seohye seemed completely at ease. On the other side, Michelle was baffled by the explosions going off far in the distance. ¡®What¡¯s going on?¡¯ Unlike Hyukjin¡¯s leisurely steps, Michelle¡¯s feet quickened. ¡®He¡¯s got a Guardian Tower, too?¡¯ She was suddenly reminded that Korea also had a Guardian Tower, and it was a Tintin. The interesting thing about it was that it apparently had a red marble-like thing floating above it. ¡®No way. He¡¯s the master of that Guardian Tower?¡¯ Her opponent was a man significant enough to get the guildmaster of Taeguk Shield to seek permission for his participation in the auction. ¡®So that¡¯s how it is.¡¯ If he was truly the Korean Tintin¡¯s master, he was indeed worthy of such regard. ¡®That really surprised me.¡¯ But she decided not to let herself be shaken anymore. [Using the innate ability Inject Funds.] Inject Funds. It was her ability to use money in order to ¡®invoke Guardian Tower-related authorities¡¯. [Use Inject Funds to enhance the Guardian Tower?] [$10,000 used.] Ten thousand dollars. Michelle spent the sum like it was nothing. Hyukjin also noticed the change from his mental connection with Seohye. ¡®She enhanced it.¡¯ As he knew she would. Michelle¡¯s ¡®Tower Enhancement¡¯ was famous in the past, too. The enhancement was within the calculated range. Hyukjin¡¯s gait was as leisurely as ever. Michelle relaxed a little. ¡®There weren¡¯t many chances for Korea¡¯s Guardian Tower to grow.¡¯ That was why it wasn¡¯t very famous. She did hear three dangerous monsters had appeared around it, but monsters of that level could be found all over the States, or so Michelle thought. ¡®But our Guardian Tower is different.¡¯ Michelle used her innate ability ¡®Guardian Tower Summoning¡¯ to summon her Tintin in places with monsters. She treated Tintin like a summoned creature, and as such, her Guardian Tower became stronger and stronger. She was also able to strengthen it using her money. ¡®Ours is a growth-type.¡¯ Was the other side¡¯s tower also capable of growth? Even if it was, it hadn¡¯t had the opportunity to grow. Hyukjin asked again, How is it? ¨CIt¡¯s become a little stronger, but it¡¯s still a weakling. He didn¡¯t ask anymore. Tintin with Seohye¡¯s soul in it was fundamentally different from a regular Tintin. Ahn Seohye was an Irregular. In addition, the tower had absorbed the ¡®Red Eyes¡¯ the Shepherd Boy had sought so desperately. Its prowess was incomparable to a regular Tintin. ¨CI¡¯m doing good, right? Yeah. You¡¯re strong. Hyukjin could see it clearly with his own eyes. The opponent¡¯s bullet attacks were completely unable to penetrate Seohye¡¯s barrier of red threads. On the other hand, Seohye¡¯s bullets were putting crack after crack in the opposing Tintin. In the end, Michelle reached the center of the field before Hyukjin. Her footsteps had quickened. ¡®How can this be?¡¯ She hastily used her innate ability. [Using the innate ability Inject Funds.] The target was her Guardian Tower. [Using Inject Funds to commence ¡®Guardian Tower Restoration¡¯.] [The ¡®Guardian Tower Restoration¡¯ fee will be charged depending on the level of damage to be restored.] The cracked Guardian Tower began to steadily heal. [$13,000 used.] Michelle couldn¡¯t believe what was happening. Before she could get her bearings, Kim Hyukjin arrived. The two came head to head at the central field. ¡°What do you think about my Guardian Tower?¡± ¡°You were the master of the Korean Guardian Tower?¡± ¡°Yes. Some way or another, it turned out like that.¡± ¡°Why is that completely unknown to the world?¡± ¡°Because there¡¯s nothing all that special about being a Guardian Tower¡¯s master?¡± ¡°¡­¡± Michelle chewed her lip a little. Nothing special about being a Guardian Tower¡¯s master? She¡¯d never heard something more ridiculous in her life. Being a Guardian Tower¡¯s master was a special thing. But she quickly smoothed out her expression. She kept her voice soft, like she was talking to a friend. ¡°Can I ask you one thing?¡± The fight between the Guardian Towers was taking a short pause. Hyukjin nodded. ¡°Yes, ask away.¡± His expression was utterly relaxed. It was true that he was feeling relaxed, but he exaggerated it. While they talked, even more Guardians would enter the channel, which would cause America¡¯s flagship Guardians to turn their attention to him a little more. His every move was calculated to achieve that end. ¡°That Guardian Tower is also a Tintin, correct?¡± ¡°Yes, that¡¯s right.¡± ¡°What is that red marble at the top?¡± ¡°I don¡¯t know, either.¡± Lies! The word almost sprang from Michelle¡¯s lips, but she didn¡¯t show it. How could a Guardian Tower Master not know about their own Guardian Tower? That was a lie. However, she didn¡¯t press the issue. ¡°Then am I correct in assuming your Guardian Tower experienced great growth because of that red marble?¡± ¡°Most likely, yes. I think so.¡± It was something even the Shepherd Boy was antsy to get his hands on. It probably had a big influence on Tintin¡¯s strength. ¡°In that case, would you sell that red marble to me?¡± That moment, the two of them heard a series of notices. [The ¡®Herdsman of Las Vegas¡¯ takes notice of the proposal.] [The ¡®Merchant of Venice¡¯ watches the situation with interest.] The two Guardians were paying close attention. [The ¡®Herdsman of Las Vegas¡¯ declares a temporary ceasefire.] [The ¡®War Field¡¯ has been changed to the ¡®Ceasefire Field¡¯.] Hyukjin smiled to himself. ¡®The Herdsman of Las Vegas seems rather excited, doesn¡¯t he?¡¯ Not only that, but the Merchant of Venice was heated up as well. A sudden trade? And with the Red Eyes on the line? ¡®I won¡¯t sell it anyway.¡¯ The two Guardians would likely get directly involved to make the Red Eyes sellable. However, Hyukjin had zero intent to sell it. ¡®Well, let¡¯s just listen to her opening bid.¡¯ The two Guardians were worked up. He would twist this situation as much as possible in his favor, just as he had done all this time. ¡°How much?¡± Michelle answered, ¡°$30,000,000.¡± The Gold Pyramid offered 30 million USD. ____ Chapter 218 Chapter 218 Hyukjin was slightly surprised. ¡®$30 million from the get go?¡¯ The rich truly lived in a different world. She could probably go much higher than that, too. ¡°That¡¯s quite a large sum, but you don¡¯t look all that surprised.¡± Honestly, he was surprised; he just hadn¡¯t shown it. After months of putting on a poker face for the Guardians, he had grown accustomed to wearing a mask without even realizing it. Hyukjin grinned. ¡°I am surprised.¡± ¡°But your expression tells me completely otherwise.¡± ¡°But what to do? I don¡¯t really want to sell it.¡± At the same time, he felt Seohye breathe a sigh of relief. ¨CI¡¯m glad. She hadn¡¯t said anything, but apparently, she had been sitting on the edge of her metaphorical seat. Hyukjin relayed his thoughts to her. Don¡¯t be silly. The Red Eyes and you are basically one and the same right now. How could I sell you? He didn¡¯t intend on selling. He was just setting up the stage for another act right now. Seohye¡¯s bashful laugh rang in his mind. ¨CHehe. If Seohye had possessed a real body, how would Seohye have reacted to this situation? Seohye the Guardian Tower had a slightly different personality from the original Seohye. The real Seohye was unable to trust adults and was repulsed by men. She tried to keep her distance from adults while hiding her expressions and feelings as much as possible. ¡®Because she¡¯s connected to me¡­ she¡¯ll have felt some degree of my sincerity.¡¯ That was probably why she could be so relaxed now. Michelle narrowed her eyes. ¡°You¡¯re bolder than you look.¡± ¡°I suppose so.¡± ¡°$31,000,000.¡± The bid went up by a million in an instant. With just two minutes of conversation, he had ¡°earned¡± another million. That was $500k per minute. Hyukjin shook his head. ¡°$32,000,000.¡± Another million in just five seconds. ¡°I¡¯m not selling.¡± ¡°$33,000,000.¡± Another five seconds, another million. That made $2 million in just 10 seconds, or $200,000 per second. Michelle breathed a light sigh. ¡°I can¡¯t tell whether you¡¯re bold, you have no greed, or you¡¯re just foolish.¡± ¡°It¡¯s probably not the latter.¡± The Herdsman of Las Vegas and the Merchant of Venice were focusing with flames in their eyes. What was important was who had the initiative over the conversation, and what plot twist he could spring to upend the Guardians¡¯ expectations and make the scene more enjoyable to watch. ¡°You¡¯re offering a tremendous amount of money, of course.¡± In Hyukjin¡¯s previous life, that was a sum he couldn¡¯t even imagine, much less ever see. Forget $30,000,000, he didn¡¯t even have $3,000. The number belonged to the realm of fantasy. ¡°But money isn¡¯t that valuable to me.¡± It was actually extremely valuable, but he concealed his true feelings. ¡°It seems you want something other than money.¡± ¡°¡­¡± Though he wouldn¡¯t sell anyway. He kept that to himself and said, ¡°What I want isn¡¯t money, but shares of the new company you¡¯re making.¡± ¡°¡­What?¡± Michelle was honestly a little shocked. There weren¡¯t many people who knew about her new company. She was currently working hard to establish her global ¡®mercenary company¡¯, an enterprise that was drawing investments from major corporations around the world. Only the leaders of global corporations knew about it. ¡®Could it be¡­ that CEO Song Kiyoung of Sungshin¡­?¡¯ Michelle inwardly shook her head. ¡®No.¡¯ CEO Song wasn¡¯t the kind of person to go around blathering such confidential information. ¡®Then how?¡¯ She stared at Hyukjin. ¡®Those aren¡¯t the eyes of a 20-year-old.¡¯ From what she found out, he was twenty years old. An archer. A not famous Player. ¡®Every piece of info I have on him is wrong. No, he is twenty years old.¡¯ As long as he was a registered citizen, he couldn¡¯t fake his age. But the man she was looking at right now was far from a 20-year-old youngster. ¡®He¡¯s also not an archer.¡¯ That he wasn¡¯t famous did seem to be true, but seeing as Taeguk Shield¡¯s guildmaster lowered himself to request Kim Hyukjin¡¯s participation, she was sure there was something more to that unassuming front. Michelle looked him directly in the eyes, smiling faintly. ¡®The reason why he said this¡­¡¯ There was only one reason. ¡®¡­is to show his information superiority.¡¯ She saw this trade as his way of trying to unbalance her. After some silence, Michelle spoke again. ¡°Very well. I admit my loss in this round. I won¡¯t ask how you knew about the company I¡¯m establishing. I¡¯ll find that out on my own.¡± ¡°Sure.¡± Kim Hyukjin added for good measure, ¡°Whether you put a tail on me, or investigate everything I¡¯ve ever done, do as you please. I won¡¯t take issue with it.¡± His attitude was perfectly blas¨¦. It was only natural¡ªno matter how much she sifted and searched, she would find no ¡®clues¡¯. The reason why Hyukjin knew something like this wasn¡¯t because he had defeated her in a battle of intel, but solely because he was a regressor. Michelle¡¯s lips quirked up. ¡°You¡¯re full of confidence, I see.¡± She had the impression she had met a powerful foe. Never in her wildest dreams had she imagined a 20-year-old Asian man would make her feel this way. She thought the only outstanding individual in Korea was CEO Song. ¡°Okay. How much stock do you want?¡± ¡°About 20%.¡± Michelle laughed out of shock. ¡°20%? Do you know what that would mean?¡± ¡°It would make me one of the major shareholders. Probably second after you.¡± The company hadn¡¯t even been established yet. It hadn¡¯t gone on the stock market. But their conversation already assumed the company would successfully get listed. ¡°You¡¯re making the proposal while knowing that?¡± ¡°You can simply refuse if you don¡¯t like the terms.¡± ¡°¡­¡± ¡°Why aren¡¯t you refusing?¡± Michelle didn¡¯t lose her cool, at least on the outside. ¡°I am weighing the reasons to accept and the reasons to not accept.¡± ¡°You don¡¯t need to think so hard.¡± ¡°What do you mean?¡± ¡°I won¡¯t sell the Red Eyes.¡± ¡°¡­What?¡± Michelle¡¯s brows furrowed. ¡°What did you mean by the conversation thus far, then? Can I take this as you looking down on me and playing a joke on me?¡± Michelle¡¯s face darkened. Up until now, her expression had held admiration towards Kim Hyukjin, but now, it held traces of rage. Hyukjin shook his head. ¡°I didn¡¯t play a joke on you.¡± ¡°Anyone could see that this situation is very much a joke.¡± ¡°I said I wouldn¡¯t sell the Red Eyes, not that I wouldn¡¯t trade with you.¡± Hyukjin took out an item from his Inventory. It was the Iron Lion¡¯s Harmonica, which Michelle had bought in his past life for $27 million. That meant Michelle had deemed it worthy of such a sum. ¡°I would like to trade this.¡± ¡°¡­¡± He had used the Red Eyes as bait to preemptively bring the terms he wanted to the table. This was his endgame. If he had begun the trade with the Iron Lion¡¯s Harmonica, he wouldn¡¯t have been able to suggest the shares in her company. Because if he had to guess, Michelle would consider the Iron Lion¡¯s Harmonica as having a value of $27 million. ¡®But there¡¯s no way I¡¯ll sell the Red Eyes.¡¯ From the very moment he decided that, he had the upper hand. The initiative had been his from the start. ¡°I acknowledge that its value is likely lower than the Red Eyes. That is why I also intend on conceding victory in this War to you.¡± Also, the Merchant of Venice and Herdsman of Las Vegas were watching. Whether she liked it or not, this negotiation had to end with a good trade or bet. Michelle probably felt that pressure more keenly than him. Hyukjin tossed some bait with the Herdsman of Las Vegas in his crosshairs. ¡°You will win this War¡¯s bet. Because the bet itself was the War.¡± A fight between sovereigns. This War was something Michelle absolutely had to win. And this ¡®trade¡¯ was just one part of this War. ¡°I will also lower the shares from 20% to 10%.¡± The 10% shares were his objective to begin with. Michelle¡¯s Black Soldiers would reign as the strongest mercenary company in the world. ¡°There¡¯s no reason you would lower the percentage out of consideration for me. What else do you want?¡± ¡°In exchange for lowering the shares to 10%, I would like cash.¡± ¡°How much?¡± She was convinced. Michelle¡¯s pockets were ripe for the picking. Her sights were set firmly on the Iron Lion¡¯s Harmonica. ¡°$10 million.¡± Hyukjin smiled. ¡°This is a trade we can both be satisfied with, don¡¯t you think?¡± He was sure of it. ¡®She has no choice but to accept.¡¯ The moment she refused, she would have to come up with another solution or alternative. But if she went with an alternative, she would obtain neither the Red Eyes nor the Iron Lion¡¯s Harmonica and leave with nothing. And yet, she had to complete some kind of trade. On top of that, she could take home the win. She couldn¡¯t get the Red Eyes, but as long as she gave up on that, she could secure quite a few benefits. Michelle felt like she had been one-upped. ¡®He¡¯s not joking.¡¯ He had played while planning several moves ahead of her and even keeping the Guardians in mind. ¡®It¡¯s my defeat.¡¯ There were no two ways around it. This was her defeat. ¡°Very well. I accept the trade. I think it will be satisfactory to us both.¡± To be honest, she wasn¡¯t completely satisfied. But she had to pretend she was. Only then could she avoid looking like the loser in the Guardians¡¯ eyes. She felt a little bitter, but she had to think about the big picture. ¡°So that just leaves destroying your turret and killing you.¡± They both unsummoned their Guardian Towers. ¡°Well, that¡¯s one way, but¡­¡± Hyukjin rapidly waved the white flag. ¡°I can also acknowledge my defeat and surrender.¡± [The opponent has declared defeat/surrender.] [Player Kim Hyukjin has lost.] Michelle blurted out, ¡°W-Wait a moment.¡± She had wanted to kill him once, jeez! But Kim Hyukjin was faster. He completely acknowledged defeat. Michelle heard more notices. [You have won the War.] She won, but it really didn¡¯t feel like it. [Leaving the War Field.] * * * Translator ¨C Lei Proofreader ¨C Ash * * * The field changed again, and the two of them found themselves where they originally were, the 1st floor of the auction hall. A ring of people was waiting. Everyone there heard the same notice. [The victorious sovereign is ¡®Michelle¡¯.] Hyukjin looked over his surroundings with Eye of Perception. Locking down the area was a ring of people wearing black suits. He could guess who they were. ¡®Michelle¡¯s subordinates.¡¯ He also saw Guildmaster Song and the spoiled brat Song Jinchul. ¡®If something unsavory were to happen¡­¡¯ The air was laced with tension, as if these people in suits were ready to shoot. But Hyukjin didn¡¯t cower. He didn¡¯t know if they were really the future Michelle Division, but Michelle was a very respected sovereign who garnered quite the loyalty from her subordinates. Most of these people either admired or adored her. Knowing that, he broke the terse silence with light applause. ¡°As expected, America¡¯s sovereign is world class. It¡¯s my total defeat.¡± ¡°¡­¡± [The ¡®Whispering Devil¡¯ is extremely delighted.] The Whispering Devil was tickled pink for the first time in a while. [The ¡®Whispering Devil¡¯ gifts you a ¡®Trickery¡¯.] On the other side, Michelle was bewildered. Caught off guard by Kim Hyukjin¡¯s unexpected words, she could only manage an awkward smile. The situation itself was a little baffling, but her subordinates began to applaud as well. Hyukjin held out his hand. ¡°It was a good experience. Thank you for teaching me so much.¡± Michelle took his hand in a daze. The atmosphere in the room made her feel like she had no choice but to accept his handshake. ¡°Yes. It was also a good experience for me.¡± The train had already left the station, so Michelle turned the situation to her advantage. ¡°You aren¡¯t that famous in Korea, but¡­ I never thought you would have such skill. I was truly surprised. I learned a great deal as well. To be honest, I was amazed.¡± From what Michelle could see, Kim Hyukjin was staying in the shadows for some reason. She had no doubt that he was laying low in preparation for something big. ¡®And the reporters are here. Perfect.¡¯ She wanted to plaster his face over the front pages. If he was dragged to the forefront, he would become a little easier to figure out, so she openly complimented him. ¡®But¡­¡¯ Something was a little off. She was definitely looking at Kim Hyukjin, but she had the weird feeling she couldn¡¯t see him properly. What Michelle was experiencing was Hyukjin¡¯s Cognitive Dissonance. ____ Chapter 219 Chapter 219 Michelle was a little doubtful. ¡®Weirdly enough, it didn¡¯t make the headlines.¡¯ Everyone who had Warred with her had gotten pretty famous. That was the case for Chicago¡¯s Renton, as well as California¡¯s Haze. They couldn¡¯t quite jump to stardom in an instant, but they were still put on the public radar, at least in the US. ¡°You aren¡¯t that famous in Korea, but¡­ I never thought you would have such skill. I was truly surprised. I learned a great deal as well. To be honest, I was amazed.¡± She had praised him that highly, but he hadn¡¯t made the front page. The reporters were there and heard her every word, yet the incident ended all too quietly. Something was off. ¡®What was it?¡¯ There were articles on the topic, yes, but they were strangely unnoticeable. She combed through them again, and then, she realized. ¡®If you look at the articles, you can¡¯t see his face clearly.¡¯ Michelle stiffened. ¡®It feels completely normal.¡¯ This was truly strange. How was this happening? Michelle called her deputy, Thomas. He was an old friend¡ªthey had been friends since childhood, and now, he was Michelle¡¯s most trusted teammate. Thomas came into her hotel room. ¡°Why¡¯d you call me so late at night? Does being the guildmaster give you the right to call me in whenever you please?¡± ¡°Do you remember the man I had a War with yesterday?¡± ¡°I do, yeah. Why? How come you¡¯re thinking about a man, for once?¡± ¡°Look at the articles.¡± The two of them peered at the small screen of Michelle¡¯s phone. ¡°Don¡¯t you think something¡¯s weird?¡± ¡°What is?¡± ¡°How come you don¡¯t feel like he¡¯s amazing at all?¡± Only then did it dawn on Thomas. ¡°Hold up, you¡¯re right.¡± He also thought it was strange. ¡°How come there¡¯s no interest in him when our Guildmaster acknowledged him as amazing?¡± ¡°It¡¯s weird, right?¡± ¡°Super weird. I didn¡¯t notice anything at all until you pointed it out.¡± ¡°I wasn¡¯t the only one who felt that way, huh.¡± Michelle plopped onto the sofa. ¡°Could this have something to do with why he¡¯s not a famous Player in Korea?¡± ¡°You think this is that man¡¯s special ability?¡± ¡°That¡¯s the only explanation.¡± The Kim Hyukjin Michelle had seen with her own eyes and the Kim Hyukjin she saw through the media were all too different. ¡°Guildmaster Song Kiyeol was lowering himself to seek permission for Kim Hyukjin¡¯s participation.¡± ¡°Right.¡± ¡°Don¡¯t you think we can suss something out if we ask Guildmaster Song? I think he knows something.¡± ¡°Good idea.¡± Thomas nodded. It felt like something fun had cropped up. ¡°I¡¯ll go to Guildmaster Song at the break of dawn and ask him then.¡± ¡°Will you do that?¡± ¡°I¡¯m your deputy, after all.¡± ¡°Good, thank you.¡± Michelle felt a little better. Thomas would handle it. She didn¡¯t bother saying, ¡®Don¡¯t be too pushy. Nothing good will come of becoming enemies with Taeguk Shield. Just ask respectfully.¡¯ Michelle watched as Thomas left the room. The back of her good friend and fantastic deputy looked as reliable as ever. * * * Translator ¨C Lei Proofreader ¨C Ash * * * At the same time, Kim Hyukjin walked down the hallway. ¡®The city¡¯s pretty at night.¡¯ LA¡¯s nightscape was no less beautiful than Seoul¡¯s. The city he saw from 60 stories high was like a starry world made of electricity. ¡®Room number 6001, was it?¡¯ Floors 30 to 60 of the LA Auction House were all hotel rooms, and Kim Hyukjin and Song Kiyeol¡¯s rooms were both on the 60th floor. Hyukjin stopped in front of room 6001. He entered Song Kiyeol¡¯s room. Inside was also Song Jincheol. ¡°Elder Brother is taking a shower.¡± Song Jincheol¡¯s expression was dripping with objection. It was clear the youngest grandchild of Sungshin did not acknowledge Kim Hyukjin in the least. ¡®The teenager energy is strong.¡¯ Hyukjin didn¡¯t even cast Jincheol a glance. He wasn¡¯t angered by the kid¡¯s disrespectful attitude, but that didn¡¯t mean he was going to entertain it. ¡°Like I said, he¡¯s taking a shower.¡± ¡°¡­¡± Hyukjin didn¡¯t respond. He simply sat on the sofa and waited with his arms crossed. ¡°Hey. Are you deaf? Can¡¯t hear what I¡¯m saying?¡± ¡°Don¡¯t cross the line.¡± Hyukjin wasn¡¯t mad, but he was annoyed. ¡°I¡¯m not tolerating you because I¡¯m doting on you, but because I can¡¯t be bothered to deal with you.¡± ¡°¡­¡± ¡°I¡¯m not as weak as your brother. If you don¡¯t wanna get your ass kicked, shut up and watch TV.¡± Song Jincheol quivered from head to toe. He wanted to fight back, but he couldn¡¯t. If he said anything, he would surely be beaten up. He was furious. ¡®This piece of shit¡­¡¯ He was hopping mad. He, a 3rd generation chaebol, had never suffered such treatment. At home, he was the most doted on youngest child. He had never even imagined being treated this way. Song Kiyeol finished showering and heard the conversation as he came out. ¡°I¡¯m not as weak as your brother. If you don¡¯t wanna get your ass kicked, shut up and just watch TV.¡± Song Kiyeol pretended he hadn¡¯t heard. He was well aware that Kim Hyukjin was being very tolerant. It might look like Kim Hyukjin was verbally abusing his little brother, but Kiyeol was actually grateful to him. He glanced at the cowed Jinchul. ¡®I need to punish him for real.¡¯ Even their grandfather was courteous when talking to Kim Hyukjin. Of course Jinchul had to do the same. ¡°I apologize. I did try to hurry, but I still kept you waiting.¡± ¡°No, it¡¯s my fault for springing a visit on you without advance notice.¡± That¡¯s right. It¡¯s your fault! Jinchul wanted to say, but he kept his mouth shut. Reason #1 was that he was scared of Kim Hyukjin, and reason #2 was that he didn¡¯t think his own brother would take his side. Biting his lip, Jinchul took his phone and flopped onto the bed with a huff. Song Kiyeol said quietly, ¡°I apologize. I will¡­ be sure to educate my little brother.¡± ¡°It¡¯s fine, just let him be.¡± ¡°¡­What?¡± Hyukjin hadn¡¯t forgotten. ¨CA factor in a major variable. That was what he had felt when he looked at the spoiled brat. He didn¡¯t know what exactly it was, but it was probably best to let Song Jinchul stay as he was now rather than to try and change him. ¡°That¡¯s just how kids are at that age, I guess.¡± ¡°¡­Thank you for your understanding.¡± Hyukjin went to the real matter at hand. ¡°Michelle will send someone to you.¡± ¡°Michelle will? Who¡­?¡± ¡°Most likely an aide of hers. Like Thomas, for example.¡± ¡°¡­Ah.¡± Song Kiyeol thought, ¡®Does he know this because he¡¯s closely linked to Italy¡¯s information merchant, Pietro?¡¯ Kim Hyukjin always knew the intel before he did. He was a master of using his advance knowledge to engage in 4D chess. That was how Kiyeol saw him. ¡°They¡¯ll probably ask about me.¡± ¡°I see. How should I respond?¡± ¡°Just tell them I¡¯m an ordinary sovereign in Korea. And that I¡¯m part of your retinue.¡± ¡°¡­What? Are you telling me to lie?¡± Though technically, it wasn¡¯t a lie. Realizing that made Song Kiyeol himself feel confused. It was certainly true that Kim Hyukjin wasn¡¯t a Ranker. ¡°Whether that¡¯s true or not is an issue for Michelle to decide. Though she probably won¡¯t believe you. In any case, that¡¯s all the public needs to know.¡± ¡°I take it that you don¡¯t want to give her any information. At least not for free.¡± ¡°Yes.¡± Kiyeol picked up on Hyukjin¡¯s intent. ¡°If she wants information, it¡¯s likely she¡¯ll come with a carrot, right?¡± As expected of Kim Hyukjin. He wouldn¡¯t give the info for free. The man could sell sand like hotcakes in the desert. ¡°Yes. And if she offers a sweet enough carrot, you can give her slightly more detailed information about me.¡± ¡°By more detailed information, what do you mean¡­?¡± ¡°Like the fact I have an ability called Cognitive Dissonance, and that I¡¯m the guildmaster of a guild allied with Taeguk Shield.¡± Song Kiyeol asked cautiously, ¡°What is¡­ Cognitive Dissonance?¡± Hyukjin gave a concise explanation of the skill. Song Kiyeol nodded. To think Kim Hyukjin had such a skill¡­ He really was full of surprises. ¡°Claiming Giantgod is an allied guild of ours is one thing, but do you really intend on revealing that you have the Cognitive Dissonance ability?¡± Even he, the guildmaster of Taeguk Shield, had never heard of it until today. That wasn¡¯t a strange thing. Rankers didn¡¯t go around exposing their weapons. Players concealed their skills. That was an established fact. ¡°She¡¯ll know even if I don¡¯t tell her. Don¡¯t tell her the name, just explain the ability a little. I will tell her the name myself when the time is right.¡± ¡°Understood.¡± ¡°In exchange for telling her about Cognitive Dissonance, ask for a list of the auction items.¡± ¡°Will she really give us the list? She has been keeping it under lock and key.¡± That was the kind of woman Michelle was. She could gather the world¡¯s top Rankers without even disclosing what kind of items would be auctioned. Only a few objects had been revealed. No one knew exactly what would be offered, yet Players were still flocking over to participate, a reflection of Michelle¡¯s influence. This was an auction hosted by one of the 20 wealthiest people in America, the sovereign Michelle. ¡°If she wants information about me, then it¡¯s only right for her to give information of her own. She¡¯ll give you the list if she really wants the info. If not, then it can¡¯t be helped.¡± The next day, Song Kiyeol felt cold sweat run down his back. Like Hyukjin said, Michelle¡¯s deputy, a man named Thomas, came looking for him the very next day. The result of his negotiation with the deputy was: ¡°¡­The list must be kept confidential at all costs. This list has not been leaked even once.¡± ¡°Of course.¡± ¡°But are you alright, Mr. Song? You look pale. Is something bothering you?¡± ¡°No, it¡¯s just that my stomach hurts a little.¡± His conversation with Thomas went exactly as Kim Hyukjin said. Thomas left the room, leaving Kiyeol with the auction list in his hands. ¡®Once again¡­ it turned out like Guildmaster Kim Hyukjin intended.¡¯ Suddenly remembering something, Kiyeol took out two yellow slips of paper from his Inventory. They were precognitive notes given to him by the Precognitive Dreamer, Ham Sohyun. ¨CIn the world of stars, the true prophet shall find you. ¨CWater with water, fire with fire, gold with gold. He stared piercingly at the two notes. ¡®The true prophet.¡¯ Somehow¡­ ¡®I have a feeling it¡¯s Guildmaster Kim Hyukjin.¡¯ Water with water, fire with fire, gold with gold. ¡®Information with information.¡¯ It did seem to be referring to Kim Hyukjin. Just then, the letters on the notes began to fade, disappearing on their own. New letters appeared to replace them, and the notes suddenly multiplied. Dozens of yellow notes floated into the air. ¨CThe true prophet shall be bound. ¨CIn his bindings, shall he lose all strength. ¨CThe ignorant masses shall be tricked by the devil¡¯s voice. One of the notes landed in Kiyeol¡¯s palm. ¨CThe Sovereign of Incantations will head skyward. Fwoosh! The notes burned up and disappeared. * * * Three hours before the start of the auction. ¡°Well done, Kim Darong.¡± The squirrel¡¯s name was originally ¡®Darongi¡¯, but as of late, ¡®Kim Darong¡¯ sprang more naturally to Hyukjin¡¯s mouth. It looked like Darongi also liked the new name, too. Darongi seemed pleased by the praise. [??] He took out the auction list from his Inventory and gave it to Hyukjin. This little squirrel was the safest and stealthiest means of transport around. Even Hyukjin couldn¡¯t see through Darongi¡¯s Stealth if the squirrel was being serious. Thanks to that, Hyukjin was able to get his hands on the auction list secretly and safely. ¡°Mm.¡± There were many items on the list. ¡°This¡­ has a [?] for the description, but it¡¯s actually trash.¡± The items with [?] would most likely go for huge prices. In addition to the Players, there were also tycoons literally rotting in money participating in this auction. [?] was meaningful on its own, at least to those wealthy people. Such items had value as collectibles. ¡°Same with this one.¡± The Black Puma Helm. Later, it too would be reduced to a trash item. It wasn¡¯t worth buying for big bucks here. ¡°This one shows up in the intermediate period Item Shop.¡± He thumbed through the list. ¡®Is it because this is the beginner period?¡¯ There weren¡¯t as many good items as he had hoped. There would probably be a lot of Rankers and wealthy people who would gamble on the [?] items, but they would come to regret that decision. ¡°This one¡¯s a good buy.¡± It would reach a price of $3 million later and would probably go for $1 million or so here. ¡°I¡¯ll also buy this.¡± He picked out a few items. He wouldn¡¯t be paying anyway. He had a loaded business partner by his side. His business partner would handle the trading, and he would get a commission in return. Although, that commission would be hundreds of thousands of dollars. As Hyukjin cheerfully went through the list, he discovered something. ¡°Ah.¡± A [?] mark appeared over Darongi¡¯s head. He was perched on Hyukjin¡¯s shoulder, looking at the list together. It was an item with a note under it, and it came in the form of a fountain pen. The note was very meaningful. ¨COnly the destroyer of the Gray Ring can activate the item description. Three hours later, the auction began. ____ Chapter 220 Chapter 220 One hour before the auction, Song Jinchul was completely baffled by his brother. ¡°Just why in the world are you sticking up for Kim Hyukjin so much?¡± When talking to his brother, Jinchul sometimes used informal speech, sometimes formal speech. He flip-flopped between the two depending on his mood. Today, he was speaking casually, which meant he wasn¡¯t in a good mood. He had been in a prickly one ever since he was struck on the head by Vela and was unable to vent his rage. Kiyeol stared at his baby brother. A little brother wasn¡¯t strictly required to speak formally to his older brother and it wasn¡¯t even weird for brothers to speak casually to one another, but Kiyeol was a little angered by it today. ¡°You¡¯re still not shaping up even after getting punished so much?¡± ¡°Because I can¡¯t accept the reason why I was punished!¡± Jinchul didn¡¯t think he could accept it in the future, either. Just how amazing could a Player possibly be? Who was Kim Hyukjin, to make someone of the mighty Sungshin bloodline tiptoe around him? ¡°Grandpa said we¡¯re the ruling class. But why¡¯re you acting like you¡¯re part of the ruled class, Hyung?¡± ¡°I don¡¯t think the rulers Grandpa was talking about are the rulers you think they are.¡± Jinchul was twisting the ¡®ruler¡¯ concept their grandfather had spoken of. ¡°Doesn¡¯t matter!¡± Jinchul bit his lip. ¡°You even got a list of the things we have to buy in this auction. Like you¡¯re his frickin¡¯ butler.¡± Why did the oldest son of Sungshin need to do as Kim Hyukjin said? Why did he have to follow Kim Hyukjin¡¯s orders instead of making his own decisions? That was what Jinchul had a problem with. ¡°This is a collaboration.¡± ¡°You think I¡¯m stupid? Kim Hyukjin¡¯s using Sungshin¡¯s money to get rich without putting in any investment of his own!¡± ¡°And?¡± ¡°And what?¡± ¡°Is that a bad thing?¡± ¡°¡­¡± Jinchul¡¯s mouth snapped shut. Kiyeol quietly persuaded his childish little brother. ¡°Kim Hyukjin will use my money to secure a commission. That¡¯s a definite fact. And I will use his information to earn money. He will provide information, and I will provide the funds. What¡¯s wrong with that?¡± ¡°We¡¯d do perfectly fine even without his stinky information!¡± ¡°Of course. We¡¯d probably be fine, yes.¡± Kiyeol didn¡¯t think he had a bad eye. He was sure he would be able to buy items he needed, items that would be profitable, important items he could later use to trade with the world¡¯s Rankers and wealthy gathered here. He was confident of that. ¡°But Guildmaster Kim Hyukjin is better than me.¡± Kiyeol was a good judge of his own ability. ¡°What¡¯s wrong with securing a profit by entrusting an expert to do what he does well?¡± ¡°But it¡¯s not costing him a single penny. He¡¯s just scooping up the returns without any risk. How does that make any sense to you, Hyung?¡± Kiyeol breathed a long sigh and continued explaining. ¡°The only thing I have to consider is whether it¡¯s more profitable for me to participate in the auction alone, or more profitable for me to participate in the auction with Guildmaster Kim¡¯s information. The process? The reason? How are those things important? The results will speak for themselves.¡± ¡°I think what you¡¯re saying is cowardly reasoning, Hyung. I¡¯ll prove to you that you¡¯re wrong on my own.¡± ¡°You will? How?¡± ¡°I have some allowance saved up.¡± Kiyeol had a good idea of how much that was. It couldn¡¯t be more than $500,000. ¡°I have $1 million at my disposal.¡± ¡°¡­¡± ¡°You¡¯re surprised, right? I took what I got from Grandpa and grew it to a million.¡± Jinchul was 14 years old. For an eighth grader to take $500,000 and turn it into $1 million was an impressive feat. Of course, Jinchul couldn¡¯t have done it on his own¡ªhe was probably helped by a financial manager assigned to him by their grandfather. Kiyeol pretended not to know that. ¡°You did well there.¡± ¡°I¡¯m capable of doing this well on my own. Even without listening to that rude prick.¡± Jinchul continued, brimming with confidence. ¡°Let¡¯s make a bet. To see who can get the higher return rate.¡± ¡°You want to bet on who gets the higher net gain compared to the invested amount?¡± ¡°Yeah. I¡¯m confident.¡± Kiyeol laughed. ¡®It¡¯s not a bad thing for him to experience it for himself.¡¯ Experience just how outstanding Kim Hyukjin was, at least when it came to Playing. Jinchul had to get a little taste to at least somewhat acknowledge Kim Hyukjin. ¡°Very well.¡± ¡°You can only invest in the things Kim Hyukjin listed. I¡¯ll invest in other things.¡± Kiyeol nodded. ¡°What will the winner get?¡± ¡°If I win, end your partnership with Kim Hyukjin. I can¡¯t crush him because of you.¡± Kiyeol was so dumbfounded he had to laugh. ¡®You can¡¯t crush him because of me?¡¯ Can¡¯t crush Kim Hyukjin, a talent even their grandfather valued? A monster of a human who, though unnoticed in the public eye, went around trampling top Rankers worldwide? ¡®When will you see clearly, little brother?¡¯ He had to make Jinchul see straight, even if Kiyeol needed to beat the sense into him. But now that the kid was a teenager in his rebellious phase, Kiyeol found himself unable to use such an extreme method. ¡®And Guildmaster Kim Hyukjin told me to let him be.¡¯ There was definitely a reason for that. Kiyeol decided to let his little brother be, for now. ¡°Fine. In exchange, if I win, you¡¯ll speak to Guildmaster Kim Hyukjin with utmost respect.¡± ¡°¡­¡± ¡°Don¡¯t like the terms?¡± ¡°I¡¯m part of the ruling class.¡± ¡°And?¡± ¡°How can the ruling class show utmost respect to the ruled class?¡± ¡°Don¡¯t think you can win?¡± Jinchul flinched. ¡°No, I¡¯m sure I can win. Okay, fine. Heh. If you win, I¡¯ll treat Kim Hyukjin with respect!¡± Jinchul didn¡¯t tell his brother that he had an innate ability called ¡®Discernment¡¯. He was sure he could choose more outstanding items than Kim Hyukjin while spending less if he used the ability. ¡®Just you wait and see.¡¯ Song Jinchul jumped into a war with his 8th grader pride on the line. * * * Translator ¨C Lei Proofreader ¨C Ash * * * Kim Hyukjin, Song Kiyeol, and Song Jinchul sat down next to each other. The LA Auction House Michelle was hosting looked like a musical theater. Quite a lot of people were seated in the hall, and below them, preparations for the auction were well underway. The auctioneer was someone who would later become famous in the auction scene, Hans. ¡°We will now begin the auction.¡± Kim Hyukjin looked around. There were people wearing masks to hide their identities, as well as people who were openly showing their faces. He also saw some big shot Rankers. The Milky Way. The Ink Sword. The Stealthy Slayer. The Corpse Sorcerer. The Mist at Dawn. Hyukjin felt a rush of emotion as he looked at the future Rankers with all sorts of nicknames gathered in one place. ¡®I only ever saw them on TV.¡¯ The top Rankers Hyukjin knew from the future were already top Rankers now. That did make him feel a little bitter. These people were the ones graced with talent, the ones who were born with the blessed ability to adapt all too well to this new age. ¡®Well, there¡¯s no such thing as equality in this world.¡¯ Everyone was born with different appearances, even. The world was not equal. It was the uncomfortable, but honest truth. Before his regression, Hyukjin was also not graced by talent and lived an aimless, meaningless life. He suddenly noticed Song Jinchul sitting two seats away. ¡®Just like how that spoiled brat is living the high life because he was born to the right grandfather.¡¯ He was struck with the same sense of dizziness again. ¡®A factor in a major variable.¡¯ Why did he get this strange feeling whenever he looked at Song Jinchul? Hyukjin had no idea. The auction began in earnest. The first item came in the shape of a flute. Song Kiyeol said, ¡°We will pass on this one.¡± ¡°Yes.¡± Some fairly useless items were being auctioned as well. Hyukjin pointed with his eyes and said, ¡°Over there. Do you see that man wearing the black clothes with the tiger pattern?¡± ¡°Yes, I see him. That¡¯s Xu Xin from China.¡± ¡°Don¡¯t go for the items he bids on.¡± ¡°How come?¡± ¡°That man is a manic collector.¡± It would be odd if China¡¯s Xu Xin were to be absent here. He wasn¡¯t a Player. He was invited here on account of his wealth. With his real estate and logistics conglomerates, he was one of the ten most wealthy people on Earth. Hyukjin felt his mood sour. There was no real reason why. It was the first time he got this impression from someone since Seo Joohwan. TN: Seo Joohwan is the pedophile Hyukjin killed way back. ¡®Come to think of it, the world really is unfair.¡¯ Xu Xin of China had the nickname ¡®Manic Hoarder¡¯. Manic hoarder: A person with a pathological drive to find and collect not just valuable things, but also useless things. Even though he wasn¡¯t a Player, he had a nickname like that, a telltale indication of just how crazy a hoarder he was. ¡®He also bought a ton of items.¡¯ Any item that went into his hands would be locked forevermore in the ¡®Xu Xin Exhibition Hall¡¯, never to see the light of day again. ¡®If he had lent the [Mermaid¡¯s Bottle] to the public during the Beijing Megadrought scenario, at least 300,000 wouldn¡¯t have died.¡¯ Not just that. ¡®100,000 people would have survived if the Players had the [Shining with Moonlight] when hunting the One-Eyed Giant.¡¯ It wasn¡¯t a bad thing for someone to not lend others their items. That was their right as the owner of the item. It was great if they lent them for the public good, and if they didn¡¯t, it couldn¡¯t be helped. Hyukjin knew that, too. It was the natural way of things and something he shouldn¡¯t criticize, but for some reason, Hyukjin felt displeasure surge through him. ¡®Why?¡¯ Why did he feel displeasure? Hyukjin tried figuring out the reason, unconsciously becoming engrossed in his musing. ¡®It was widely rumored¡­ that he killed a poor girl and stole the Mermaid¡¯s Bottle from her.¡¯ Whether that was true or not could not be confirmed. There were suspicions, but no proof to back it up. ¡®I even heard he slaughtered a village to steal the Shining with Moonlight.¡¯ Many cursed him as a bastard worthy of divine retribution, but Xu Xin lived high on the hog with zero repercussions. But was he feeling so repulsed because of such rumors? Hyukjin didn¡¯t know. From somewhat far away, Hyukjin observed Xu Xin a little more. ¡®Interesting. He was actually a Player?¡¯ He was like CEO Song. Despite his advanced age, he awakened as a Player. Right here in this hall, Xu Xin was sitting as a Player, a fact he had never revealed. Summary: Manic Hoarder Blinded by Greed That wasn¡¯t all¡ªhe had also awakened an innate ability, one that was very rare to the public but often encountered by Rankers. Innate ability: Thief Tracking Hyukjin kept staring at Xu Xin. ¡®Hrm?¡¯ Their eyes met. Despite the considerable distance between them, Xu Xin looked this way. He had the feeling their eyes definitely met. ¡®I¡¯m not just imagining it.¡¯ That meant he had sensed Hyukjin¡¯s gaze on him. Hyukjin felt something like an itch. When their eyes met, his heart felt itchy, a feeling he had experienced several times. ¡®Focus.¡¯ There was no need to cower because Xu Xin had noticed him. Hyukjin did not fear him at all. Things were so very different from the past. He ramped Observer¡¯s Eye to the max, knowing from experience that he would see something at times like this. Something more. [Observer¡¯s Eye recognizes countless ¡®stigmata¡¯.] His eyes ached a little, but it was bearable. [Observer¡¯s Eye begins to recognize/interpret the stigmata.] [You have fulfilled a new condition.] [The proficiency of Observer¡¯s Eye has increased.] Observer¡¯s Eye went up to proficiency 3, and with it, he began to see the previously unseen. He saw it¡ªthe stigma engraved on Xu Xin¡¯s body. He began to faintly see what the Demon King and Bufafa had talked about. But it wasn¡¯t an ordinary stigma. [Observer¡¯s Eye is analyzing the ¡®corrupted stigma¡¯.] ¡®What¡­ is this?¡¯ New things began to unfold before Hyukjin¡¯s eyes. ____ Chapter 221 Chapter 221 An extremely unpleasant feeling surged into Hyukjin like the rising tide. ¡®What is¡­ this?¡¯ Several scenes played in his head. A quick look was enough to tell him that they were all disgusting scenes. To put it in keywords, ¡®domestic rape and family homicide¡¯, ¡®imprisonment and slavery¡¯, ¡®forced castration¡¯, ¡®genocide of a minority group¡¯, and so on. One horrific scene after another flooded in. He remembered the notice from before. [Observer¡¯s Eye is analyzing the ¡®corrupted stigma¡¯.] Then there was only one answer. These scenes playing in his head were connected to Xu Xin¡¯s ¡®stigma¡¯. ¡®Stigmata are achievements engraved in one¡¯s body.¡¯ Did anyone here truly lack achievements? Hyukjin looked around. Everyone he saw was a Ranker or a megamillionaire. There wasn¡¯t a single person who had no achievements to their name. It was just that he couldn¡¯t read their achievements, at least not yet. ¡®It must mean Xu Xin has accumulated so much achievement¡­ that even a proficiency 3 Observer¡¯s Eye can interpret it.¡¯ Although it was questionable if these gruesome actions could really be called achievements. ¡®If he can be analyzed to this extent by me¡­¡¯ Then just how despicably had this man lived his life? It made Hyukjin think that all the unsubstantiated stories that had gone around on the Internet in the past were true. Hyukjin looked away. Xu Xin also turned away. Both of them looked towards the stage, where the auction was starting. ¡®Even if his stigma is dirty¡­¡¯ There was no reason for him to care about that. Hyukjin was no apostle of justice, nor did he have the right to bring down judgment on Xu Xin. However¡ª ¡®I have a feeling we¡¯ll butt heads.¡¯ If he messed with Hyukjin, that would change things. Hyukjin was enraged. Not as a Player, but as a person. What he was feeling was a normal emotion anyone with the heart and soul of a human would feel and sympathize with. Hyukjin¡¯s Eye of Perception could feel that Xu Xin¡¯s gaze had been less than friendly. His eyes had been bristling with the thought, ¡®You dare to look straight at me?¡¯ And before long, Hyukjin¡¯s hunch was proven. Xu Xin began to bid on every item Song Kiyeol went for. ¡°Xu Xin keeps interfering.¡± ¡°Yes. It seems intentional.¡± ¡°Why is he doing this?¡± ¡°I think it¡¯s because we met eyes.¡± It was an utterly trivial reason, but there was no doubt about it. ¡°Don¡¯t fight Xu Xin with money.¡± ¡°Understood.¡± Even if the current Song Kiyeol fought Xu Xin with money, there was no chance he would win, a fact Kiyeol knew as well. ¡°If Xu Xin places a bid, I will give up on the item.¡± ¡°Yes.¡± Song Kiyeol was a little dubious. ¡®Even Guildmaster Kim is afraid of China¡¯s capital?¡¯ No, it didn¡¯t seem like that. Kim Hyukjin looked perfectly at ease. ¡®I think he¡¯s got some kind of plot in mind.¡¯ Song Kiyeol felt it, too. The way Hyukjin looked at Xu Xin was far from kind. A shiver ran down Kiyeol¡¯s body. He had seen Hyukjin¡¯s expressionless face many times. That was when he was most terrifying, because this man was someone whose thoughts were utterly inscrutable. ¡®He¡¯s scheming something.¡¯ What that was, Kiyeol didn¡¯t know. But he felt slight anticipation rise within him. ¡®A mega-conglomerate of China¡­¡¯ How would Kim Hyukjin cook up the leader of a Chinese conglomerate? Xu Xin had interfered with Sungshin¡¯s entry into China. Kiyeol didn¡¯t like the man, either. The auction continued. ¡°The next auction item is the [Infinite Pouch].¡± It was one of the items on the purchase list Hyukjin had given him. Kiyeol put in a bid, which Xu Xin once again countered. The moment Xu Xin stepped in, everyone else also gave up on bidding. Apparently, they were also aware of Xu Xin¡¯s fanatical hoarding. ¡°Once again, the item goes to Customer #33!¡± Kiyeol felt a small spike of urgency. ¡°Is it really going to be okay? Grandfather boasted that we would get a big profit out of this auction.¡± They had purchased just three items and used a total of $4.5 million, less than anticipated. ¡°You will earn at least $7 million even with what you¡¯ve already purchased.¡± A $2.5 million profit with an investment of $4.5 million. It was a tremendous return rate. But seen from the viewpoint of a giant corporation like Sungshin, it wasn¡¯t all that impressive. The return rate might be high, but the earned amount itself was low. ¡°The next item is the [Fountain Pen of Freedom]!¡± ¡°That¡¯s the item you said you absolutely wanted¡­¡± ¡°Let¡¯s just see if Xu Xin bids on it.¡± The item was called the ¡®Fountain Pen of Freedom¡¯. [Fountain Pen of Freedom] Only the destroyer of the Gray Ring can activate the item description. Several Rankers put in bids. Its current price was $600k. ¡°I will bid as well.¡± Song Kiyeol offered $700k. But Xu Xin came in once again. ¡°$900k.¡± ¡°There it is! Customer #33 has bid once again!¡± The auctioneer¡¯s voice echoed loudly through the hall. Kiyeol whispered, ¡°This is totally intentional. Shall we give up this time as well?¡± ¡°Yes.¡± Song Kiyeol gave up on the item, like all the others. However, Kim Hyukjin spoke under his breath, so quietly no one could hear. ¡°Darong. Go steal them all.¡± A [?] popped up over Darongi¡¯s head. The little squirrel seemed surprised. From his experience, his master wasn¡¯t the type of person to rob other people¡¯s items without good reason. But he just gave a command to steal them all? Darongi followed his master¡¯s gaze. He saw a certain man, a man attired in a tiger pattern suit. [!!!] The question mark turned into exclamation points. Darongi had also watched the auction from start to finish. That was the jerk who kept interfering with his master. [??] Darongi went into Stealth mode. The genius of theft went on the prowl. He moved far faster and more stealthily than usual, his eyes gleaming with greed. * * * Translator ¨C Lei Proofreader ¨C Ash * * * The Chinese billionaire, Xu Xin, felt his mood lift. That youngster had looked him straight in the eye, scouring him with an impolite gaze. What¡¯s more, the scum appeared to be the Taeguk Shield Song Kiyeol¡¯s subordinate. Xu Xin would feel displeasure from getting stared at by Song Kiyeol, but that man¡¯s subordinate dared to meet his eyes? It was utterly unpleasant. So he taught him a lesson. He showed that brat there was money above money, power above power. ¡°The auction is nearly over.¡± ¡°Indeed. Those Taeguk Shield bastards were immediately tucking their tails when I bid, right?¡± ¡°Yes, they certainly were. I think they realized the difference in power.¡± Xu Xin nodded. ¡°But it¡¯s quite cute that they recognized that and didn¡¯t bite back like rabid dogs.¡± His lips curled into a grin. ¡°If they had failed to realize their place, I would have put them six feet under without a soul knowing.¡± This wasn¡¯t Korea. It might be hard to lay a hand on them in Korea, but this was the US. Burying them alive in the US wasn¡¯t at all difficult, and the evidence could be fabricated. ¡°It¡¯s good that they knew their place. The great tolerance and kindness you showed them is immeasurable.¡± ¡°Of course, of course.¡± Xu Xin truly thought that was true. Those bastards were living right now because Xu Xin had permitted it. But just then¡ª ¡°Huh?¡± Something was off. The items were transferred to him, there was no mistake about it. And yet¡­ ¡°What?¡± Every single item he had received was gone. His Inventory had been completely emptied. ¡®And what is that?¡¯ In one of his Inventory slots was¡­ a piece of half-eaten fried chicken. All of his items were gone, leaving just that one chunk of leftover chicken. ¡°THIS GODDAMN FUCKING¡ª!¡± Xu Xin surged to his feet and screamed, ¡°WHO THE HELL WAS IT?!¡± Every head in the hall swiveled towards him. ¡°COME OUT RIGHT THIS INSTANT!¡± Xu Xin saw red. He had no idea which piece of shit had stolen his precious collectibles, his lovable items. In his rage, his innate ability was deployed. [Using the innate ability Hunt Down the Thief.] The entirety of the auction house instantly turned gray. Kim Hyukjin observed Xu Xin in amusement. ¡®Hunt Down the Thief, is it.¡¯ Xu Xin was an excellent offering for Observer¡¯s Eye. [Observer¡¯s Eye is at proficiency 3.] [A newfound innate ability has manifested.] [An unknown innate ability has been discovered.] Observer¡¯s Eye went up in proficiency, and a ¡®new innate ability¡¯ just happened to manifest right afterwards. [You have fulfilled a hidden condition.] [An innate ability of Observer¡¯s Eye has been unlocked.] A condition was fulfilled, unlocking yet another ability of Observer¡¯s Eye for the first time in a while. 4) Innate abilities: Unique Ability Fusion Authority Analysis Authority Analysis joined the ranks of Unique Ability Fusion. Hyukjin tested it immediately, because in front of him was an excellent guinea pig, Xu Xin. Not only had the man given him an opportunity to advance, but he was even acting as a lab rat. [Using the innate ability Authority Analysis.] Very detailed information about the Thief Tracking Xu Xin was using started taking shape in his head, almost like the ability description window was activated and absorbed into his mind. [Hunt Down the Thief] An authority that is activated when the Player suspects something of theirs or an item in their Inventory has been stolen. The range of Hunt Down the Thief changes depending on the type, grade, and number of stolen items. When the Player does not just suspect theft and is instead certain of theft, Hunt Down the Thief will be even more powerful. Right now, the ability user was certain that his items had been stolen. ¡°Darongi. You hold onto them.¡± Hyukjin trusted that Darongi was skilled enough to not get caught by Hunt Down the Thief. It was an amusing innate ability. Just like how there were classes that were strong in front of gates, there were classes that were strong when their items were stolen. Guns materialized all over the gray field. They took the shape of guns, but Hyukjin could feel powerful mana flow from them. They were guns made of mana that shot mana bullets. Michelle stepped forward. ¡°Mr. Xu Xin, this is my place of business.¡± ¡°If this is your place of business, then you should manage it as such!¡± Xu Xin¡¯s face had turned red with rage. He was extremely worked up and saw nothing but red. ¡°What do you mean?¡± ¡°There¡¯s a rat hiding in this crowd, a rat I must catch.¡± ¡°Do you mean to say you were hit with item theft?¡± ¡°That¡¯s right! Outta my way!¡± Xu Xin shoved Michelle in irritation. Michelle could have dodged, but she chose not to in order to secure a self-defense justification. ¡°If you turn yourself in right this instant, I will spare your life.¡± That was, of course, a lie. He would let them live here and kill them outside. He would throw them into a vat of acid and relish their screams. They had committed the ultimate crime of messing with his items. ¡°If you don¡¯t show yourself right now¡­¡± The guns floating in the air moved, fixing themselves on a single target. ¡°Know that someone¡¯s head will be blasted off.¡± Xu Xin looked like he had lost all reason, but that wasn¡¯t entirely the case. He didn¡¯t point his guns at any of the top Rankers. He took aim at the nameless ones, the people with the least weight out of all the people here, or the non-combat class Players. And representing those unlucky nobodies was Kim Hyukjin, the attendant and subordinate of Taeguk Shield¡¯s guildmaster. ¡°Starting with him.¡± Numerous crosshairs appeared over Hyukjin¡¯s heart and forehead. ¡°I¡¯ll give you ten seconds.¡± The numbers appeared in the field itself. Everyone could see the countdown. [10] [9] The numbers ticked down. ¡°If you don¡¯t come out, I¡¯ll start by shredding that bastard¡¯s head.¡± Hyukjin wasn¡¯t at all ruffled. He knew exactly where they were. This was Michelle¡¯s place of business. In other words, it was essentially the domain of the Herdsman of Las Vegas. With a smirk, he raised his voice so everyone could hear. ¡°Mr. Xu Xin. Would you like to have a bet with me?¡± A plan to turn the countless items he had stolen unlawfully from Xu Xin into items he had stolen lawfully took form in his mind. A plan using the prominent Guardian called the Herdsman of Las Vegas. ____ Chapter 222 Chapter 222 ¡°Mr. Xu Xin. Would you like to have a bet with me?¡± Kim Hyukjin wasn¡¯t truly proposing a bet to Xu Xin. This was just to provoke him. Xu Xin was set on making a lesson out of Hyukjin anyway. Hyukjin¡¯s goal was to put another drop of oil onto an already blazing fire. ¡®Now that I¡¯ve brought up a bet, Michelle can¡¯t take action. At least for a while.¡¯ This one word would give Michelle pause. Normally, she should have acted quickly, summoning her Guardian Tower or mobilizing the Michelle Division to subdue Xu Xin. But that plan of action was shut down by a single sentence from Hyukjin. ¡®Because this is content the Herdsman of Las Vegas enjoys.¡¯ She could not prevent such content from playing out. Michelle, the host, could only watch. She would definitely step in at some point, but Hyukjin had won himself some time. ¡°Bet? Did you just say bet?¡± Xu Xin¡¯s voice went up a few octaves. His thread of rationality had long since snapped. He, a manic hoarder, was stripped of all his precious collectibles. There was no stopping him now. Hyukjin grinned. He threw out another provocation. ¡°A bet to see which of the two is faster: those cheap-ass guns you¡¯ve summoned, or my Item Shop arrow.¡± Hyukjin took out the ¡®Sturdy Wooden Bow¡¯ he had purchased from the Item Shop. It was obviously fresh from the Item Shop. Most of the Rankers here recognized that it was from the Item Shop, and the person who saw that most clearly was none other than the American Player, Mark. ¡®It really is from the Item Shop?¡¯ Mark had been scouted into the Michelle Division. If Korea had Hyun Junghwa, the US had Mark. Both were Players contracted to the Night of Shooting Stars. He was a Player with a talent and potential in archery that was second to none. ¡®That bow is heavy, so it¡¯s not often used.¡¯ Being an Item Shop product didn¡¯t mean it was necessarily bad. But that Sturdy Wooden Bow was seldom used due to its weight. An archer was far better off using the lighter ¡®Wooden Bow¡¯ even at the cost of slightly less damage. ¡®His form¡¯s a mess.¡¯ The man appeared to be a Korean Player. Mark also spotted the guildmaster of Taeguk Shield next to him. Which meant the person with the Sturdy Wooden Bow was a guild member of Taeguk Shield, most likely an attendant of Song Kiyeol. ¡®Seeing as Song Kiyeol isn¡¯t stopping him¡­¡¯ The man had probably been instructed by Song Kiyeol to do this. ¡®But why?¡¯ Mark was a member of the Michelle Division. He had a duty to stop anything undesirable from happening. The Michelle Division members stationed here were already preparing their skills, just as Mark was doing. He was just curious as to what Song Kiyeol was intending. ¡®Song Kiyeol should know exactly who Xu Xin is.¡¯ Sacrificing one attendant shouldn¡¯t be that great a loss¡ªhe could get a huge compensation from Xu Xin once the billionaire was thinking straight again, or use the incident to work negotiations to his favor. ¡®Song Kiyeol is a tank.¡¯ Because he was a tank, he should be capable of blocking most attacks. Why wasn¡¯t he stopping his attendant? ¡®I¡¯ll just have to keep watching.¡¯ From the looks of it, Michelle was staying her hand as well. She had her right hand in the air, ready to give the command to subdue the conflict, but she didn¡¯t bring it down. It meant she would keep watch, courtesy of Hyukjin¡¯s one mention of a ¡®bet¡¯. Xu Xin¡¯s eyes turned bloodshot with rage. He glared at Kim Hyukjin, seething. ¡°I¡¯m very glad you proposed this.¡± ¡°¡­¡± Kim Hyukjin was taking aim at Xu Xin. ¡°DIE THEN!¡± ¡°¡­¡± Hyukjin just waited. Bang! Bang! Bang! The floating guns fired mana bullets. Hyukjin didn¡¯t dodge. He just let them hit him. ¡°Two on the shoulder, one on the heart.¡± Ah, it hurt a little more than he expected. It felt like someone had struck him hard with their fists, but he wasn¡¯t dealt any critical damage. ¡°You hit me first, yeah?¡± Hyukjin nocked his arrow. After using bows like the Blackfire Bow and Sylphid¡¯s Wing, the Sturdy Wooden Bow felt clunky in his hand. It was heavy, low damage, and just all-around bad. [The special ability Eye for an Eye, Tooth for a Tooth has been forcibly activated.] The ability that hadn¡¯t had a chance to activate lately because no one openly attacked him first like this, Eye for an Eye, Tooth for a Tooth, kicked in. Hyukjin thought back to Hyun Junghwa¡¯s movements. There was a good lab rat in front of him. ¡®Like this?¡¯ Junghwa fired several arrows in one shot with her innate ability Consecutive Rapidfire. Those arrows were imbued with mana and were stronger than regular arrows. ¡®Mm.¡¯ It wasn¡¯t quite at the level of Consecutive Rapidfire, but he managed a similar effect. He fired three arrows, but they were far faster than normal. The next moment, Xu Xin screamed. ¡°GAHHH!¡± One arrow was lodged in each shoulder, as well as one in his abdomen. The man fell over, screaming. Total silence descended on the hall. Michelle finally gave the command. ¡°Subdue them. You can kill if they resist.¡± ¡°Both of them?¡± ¡°Both of them.¡± The command was a matter of fact for Michelle. If she continued to stay passive, it would harm the prestige of Michelle and the Michelle Division. It wouldn¡¯t just harm, it would inflict a massive crack. Hyukjin smiled. ¡®She¡¯s doing well.¡¯ Yes, she was making the right call. But if Hyukjin was in her position, he would have made Xu Xin kneel before things could progress this far. A few seconds. In just a few seconds, Hyukjin brought up a ¡®bet¡¯ and involved the Herdsman of Las Vegas, which allowed the situation to balloon to such a state. ¡®Next time, move a little faster, Michelle.¡¯ Hyukjin immediately dropped his weapon and put his hands behind his head. Mark came up to him. ¡°I will briefly detain you.¡± ¡°Yes, go ahead.¡± Hyukjin put out his hands. Song Kiyeol tried stepping in, but Hyukjin told him it was alright. Hyukjin was already clear on what kind of person Michelle was, and this was the result he himself had crafted. It wasn¡¯t hard to subdue Xu Xin. He was crumpled on the ground, crying like a man unfamiliar with pain. Apparently, even his rage had withered away at the pain. ¡°Take them away. Continue the auction.¡± * * * Translator ¨C Lei Proofreader ¨C Ash * * * The auction went on, and Michelle took the two people behind the uproar away. Hyukjin followed Michelle behind the stage, completely relaxed. Behind the stage, Michelle stared at Kim Hyukjin. Behind her were Mark and around ten members of the Michelle Division. ¡°Don¡¯t you think you were too heavy-handed?¡± ¡°Is that what you really think?¡± ¡°¡­¡± Michelle didn¡¯t respond. Hyukjin continued, ¡°Two bullets to the shoulder, one to the heart. I was attacked. With a gun.¡± ¡°¡­¡± ¡°So I gave him two arrows to the shoulder, and one to the abdomen.¡± ¡°But you took zero damage, and Xu Xin is bleeding and unconscious.¡± ¡°You mean you made him unconscious.¡± Hyukjin saw Liam, a Player capable of mental attacks. He was a future Ranker with the nickname ¡®Wanderer of the Night¡¯. Liam had probably knocked Xu Xin unconscious, while the healer Adam administered emergency treatment. ¡°You used excessive force. And in my place of business. I¡¯m sure you know that.¡± ¡°You should have prevented this from happening in the first place. Your response was too slow.¡± ¡°I do apologize about that.¡± Michelle acknowledged her faults. ¡°But I have no choice but to take action against you. Since you attacked someone in a place I am hosting.¡± ¡°Hm.¡± Hyukjin was calm. Michelle was merely saying what she had to say and doing what she had to do. ¡°You purposefully involved the Herdsman of Las Vegas to escalate things.¡± ¡°I would have been very disappointed if you hadn¡¯t realized that.¡± Michelle lowered her voice. ¡°Why did you act so openly?¡± ¡°What do you mean?¡± ¡°You have always hidden your skills as much as possible. It was the same in our recent War. You have a special ability to hide yourself. So why? Why did you come forward so openly this time?¡± ¡°Let me ask you, then. Michelle, would you do nothing if someone fired a gun at you?¡± ¡°I would have prevented them from firing in the first place. And I wouldn¡¯t have provoked them.¡± ¡°This wouldn¡¯t have happened if you had kept a strict lock on the situation to keep it from happening in the first place. You hesitated a little because the opposite party was Xu Xin, and hesitated again because I alluded to the Herdsman of Las Vegas.¡± Hyukjin shrugged. ¡°Between the merit of satisfying the Herdsman of Las Vegas¡¯ expectations or the penalty of allowing the unthinkable to happen in your place of business, you should have chosen one or the other and quickly taken action. You lost both rabbits in your greed to catch both, and now you¡¯re demanding that I take responsibility?¡± That instantly shut Michelle up. She really, truly could not find the words to retort. ¡°You¡¯re quite eloquent.¡± ¡°I only stated facts.¡± ¡°I think you¡¯re forgetting what situation you¡¯re in right now.¡± ¡°Ah.¡± Hyukjin raised his hands, which Mark responded to by raising his bow. He aimed at Hyukjin¡¯s forehead. ¡°The situation I¡¯m in, you say¡­¡± Hyukjin shrugged. ¡°I am a Player who is required by the System to attack back at all costs if someone attacks me first.¡± ¡°What do you mean?¡± ¡°I have a special ability called Eye for an Eye, Tooth for a Tooth.¡± ¡°And?¡± ¡°And my brain will be scrambled if I don¡¯t attack back while I have this ability. In other words, what I did was simply a justified Play. And what you¡¯re doing is wrongfully oppressing me for making a justified Play.¡± Hyukjin glanced behind him. ¡°Right, Senia?¡± Senia showed herself. Several members of the Michelle Division couldn¡¯t help but cough. Senia was certainly beautiful, so beautiful she could draw every gaze and induce admiration with her appearance alone. An Intermediate Administrator whose refined beauty shined radiantly simply by existing descended among them. ¡°In the eyes of the System, it was a justified Play.¡± Hyukjin nodded. ¡°To turn it around, what Xu Xin did was actually a justified Play as well.¡± His class did not allow him to be robbed of his items. That was why he had an innate ability like Hunt Down the Thief. A thief had appeared, so the thief had to be found. The only problem was, his way of going about it was too crude. ¡°Xu Xin and I were merely Playing.¡± Michelle had no choice but to glance uneasily at Senia. ¡®Even an Intermediate Administrator stepped forward.¡¯ If an Intermediate Administrator came forward and claimed this was a justified Play, there wasn¡¯t actually much a Player could do. All they could do was hope for the Intermediate Administrator¡¯s magnanimity and tolerance. Seeing as Michelle¡¯s own Intermediate Administrator was remaining in transparent mode, it was clear that Hyukjin¡¯s side was justified. ¡°Surely you didn¡¯t just think killing monsters and clearing dungeons was all there was to Playing?¡± Michelle realized exactly what those words meant. Kim Hyukjin wasn¡¯t just talking to her right now. He was saying those words for the benefit of the Guardians who were watching, since many of them surely had a focus on non-combat content. ¡°Oh, right! I¡¯ve already revealed my ability to you, haven¡¯t I?¡± ¡°Yes. It is truly a mystical power.¡± ¡°The name of that ability is Cognitive Dissonance.¡± The right time had come. Hyukjin had intended on revealing it himself, and that ¡°right time¡± was now. ¡°I used that ability earlier as well. When I fired my bow at that guy.¡± ¡°Which means the others won¡¯t remember you.¡± Michelle strained to figure out what Kim Hyukjin was intending. Just what did this man want? ¡®He definitely provoked Xu Xin.¡¯ He, a man who disliked drawing attention, had done that on purpose. There was no mistake that all of this was engineered by Kim Hyukjin. For what? ¡°Were you the one who took Xu Xin¡¯s items?¡± ¡°Are you accusing a random person of being a thief?¡± ¡°It¡¯s because I¡¯m not convinced as to why you did this.¡± Why did he provoke Xu Xin like that? ¡°You don¡¯t need to be convinced. I have my own scenario to Play, and I need to puzzle it out my way. Just like how you went to the trouble of calling in the world¡¯s Rankers to put on a bothersome auction.¡± ¡°¡­¡± ¡°I¡¯m not buying your reasoning for it, either. I don¡¯t think you did this for money.¡± Hyukjin continued. ¡°In any case, as a participant of the auction and a subordinate of Taeguk Shield¡¯s guildmaster, I think I have no choice but to give you face, Ms. Michelle.¡± ¡°Give me face?¡± ¡°Let¡¯s say you stripped me of all my power and chased me out of the country back to Korea. You can also say you beat me up, why not. I was stripped of all my power as a Player and will never be able to step foot in the world of Playing again.¡± Hyukjin took out the item he was gifted by the Whispering Devil. ¡°With this, you will be able to convince the Rankers without a hitch.¡± Michelle took the item. It was called ¡®Trickery¡¯. After receiving it, she unlocked the handcuffs on Hyukjin¡¯s wrists. Xu Xin was still unconscious. ¡°I¡¯m sure you¡¯re not giving me this for free,¡± she said. ¡°Of course not. You need to compensate me for giving you face at the cost of losing my power as a Player and getting chased back to Korea.¡± That was the story they would announce to the public. ¡°What do you want in return?¡± The finish line was in sight. Hyukjin obtained all the ¡°priceless¡± items in Xu Xin¡¯s possession, including the Fountain Pen of Freedom. He also became acquainted with Michelle. He had achieved every goal he originally had for this place. There was just one thing left. ¡°What I want¡­¡± He pointed to Mark. ¡°¡­is him.¡± ____ Chapter 223 Chapter 223 The person at the end of Hyukjin¡¯s finger, Mark, tilted his head. ¡°Me?¡± ¡°You.¡± ¡°Do you know me?¡± ¡°Yes. You¡¯re Mark, an archer.¡± ¡°How is it that you know me?¡± ¡°I¡¯m friends with Pietro.¡± Pietro was sure to have approached Mark with a request to cooperate already. At the very least, Michelle had to know Pietro. Sure enough, Michelle jumped in. ¡°Very well. Let¡¯s say you¡¯re friends with Pietro. But why do you want Mark? It can¡¯t be that you¡¯re¡­¡± Her eyes narrowed. She almost asked if he was gay, but resisted. Hyukjin said quickly, ¡°I¡¯m in need of an archer. To clear a dungeon.¡± ¡°An archer?¡± Understanding seemed to dawn on Michelle. ¡°As it is, Pietro made a request to us. He asked for Mark.¡± ¡°I think you know what I¡¯m talking about, then. I would like to Play with Mark.¡± ¡°I refused Pietro then, and I¡¯ll refuse you now.¡± Hyukjin knew she would refuse. In the past, Mark hadn¡¯t gone into the Wingless Angel Statue Gate. ¡°Open your trade window for me real quick.¡± Michelle activated her trade window and nearly let out a gasp. The Mighty Elbow. A legendary bow. Its attack power was a staggering 55-68. She had never seen a long-ranged weapon of this level. Cat-Shaped Bottle. This one was a [?] item that was won by Xu Xin for $1.5 million in the auction just now. Sacred Water Drop. It, too, was a [?] item. One that was won by Xu Xin for $1 million. ¡®Kim Hyukjin really did steal them!¡¯ What ¡®are you accusing a random person of being a thief¡¯? Remembering his guiltless face as he spouted such nonsense nearly made her lose it. ¡®How did he do it?¡¯ But that wasn¡¯t important right now. ¡°Really, Ms. Michelle. It¡¯s a pity something so unsavory happened in a place under your management.¡± ¡°Do you have any right to say that?¡± This was a critical blow to Michelle as well. A theft happened unnoticed in her place of business, and she couldn¡¯t inflict any punishment whatsoever on the thief? What¡¯s more, she was talking to that very thief right now with a trade window open between them. ¡®How can he be so brazen when he¡¯s the thief?¡¯ The thief being so bold and shameless left Michelle at a loss for words. Kim Hyukjin whispered to her, ¡°Your security is too weak, stop there.¡± The quick-witted Players of the Michelle Division took a few steps back. Michelle¡¯s voice also became very quiet. ¡°Was that a threat just now?¡± ¡®Honor¡¯ was a very important value to a sovereign. If this got out, it could deal a huge blow to Michelle. ¡°No, I want to give these to you. So we can reach a deal.¡± Hyukjin pressed the ¡®Accept Trade¡¯ button. Now, the two of them just had to press the ¡®OK¡¯ button, and the items would be hers. Michelle could read his intent. ¡®You want me to get on the same boat as you, is that it?¡¯ The recklessness of this thief in turning the host into an accomplice was truly something else. And yet, it occurred to her that this recklessness was Kim Hyukjin¡¯s greatest weapon, and he was all too good at wielding it. Michelle asked just to make sure. ¡°Mark. If you could get a legendary bow, would you take on any risk, no matter how dangerous?¡± ¡°A legendary bow?¡± ¡°A bow with an attack power of 55-68, +5 Agility, and a special skill called Double Shot.¡± Mark responded at once. ¡°Of course. Of course I would take on any risk for a bow like that.¡± ¡°Even if it¡¯s the place Pietro wanted to clear?¡± ¡°Of course. I¡¯ve never even seen a legendary bow, and it even has bonus Agility stats and a special skill. I would jump into the fires of hell if I could get my hands on that.¡± Mark¡¯s eyes were shining. He was truly tempted by the term ¡®legendary¡¯. Hyukjin grinned. It seemed the deal was done. ¡°I¡¯d like to make an additional trade.¡± He proposed the same thing he had asked Hyun Junghwa. ¡°I would also like to request Mark¡¯s assistance in Korea¡¯s Sangam World Cup Stadium Dungeon and Singapore¡¯s Gardens by the Bay Dungeon. Though, well, you¡¯re free to refuse.¡± ¡°Will you go into those places as well?¡± ¡°Yes. We would go in together.¡± ¡°Then we¡¯ll consider it.¡± ¡°However, I will have first pick on everything coming from those places. This is a request from someone who is being stripped of all his power as a Player and getting chased out of the States. Surely you can entertain such a small request?¡± ¡°The way you say it, someone might really believe you.¡± In any case, a temporary contract was established. ¡°Let¡¯s trade after we look into those places a little more.¡± ¡°Then can I head out?¡± ¡°I think it¡¯ll look better to haul you out on a stretcher.¡± ¡°That¡¯s true.¡± Michelle spoke quickly. ¡°What about breaking your leg for real? I¡¯ll be sure to take responsibility for healing you later.¡± ¡°No thanks.¡± ¡°But wouldn¡¯t it be best to be thorough? I think this is the right call for a seeker of perfection like yourself.¡± ¡°¡­¡± ¡°The auction hall is crawling with top Rankers. Are you sure you can fool their eyes?¡± ¡°It is the surefire way, but¡­¡± Hyukjin was silent for a moment. When he thought about it, she was right. Top Rankers. Fooling their eyes wasn¡¯t necessarily impossible, but doing things the sure way was best, and one or two broken parts could be quickly repaired by a healer. Michelle smiled warmly. ¡°How about it? One leg, one arm. Let¡¯s just break those, shall we?¡± ¡°¡­¡± In the end, Hyukjin nodded. It was minor, but she got him this time. ¡°Please be gentle.¡± * * * Translator ¨C Lei Proofreader ¨C Ash * * * The public was told that the Korean assailant ¡®lost all power as a Player¡¯. He was also carried out with a broken arm and leg, a display all the top Rankers had witnessed. Song Kiyeol didn¡¯t make much of a complaint. ¡°The Taeguk Shield guildmaster isn¡¯t doing anything?¡± ¡°Guess that means he tacitly agrees with Michelle¡¯s judgment.¡± ¡°Michelle will probably give them huge compensation behind the scenes. To Xu Xin and Taeguk Shield.¡± They were also fairly clear on how this world worked. ¡°It¡¯s basically a show. To parade Michelle¡¯s strength and authority.¡± If it wasn¡¯t, there was no need to carry out that debilitated attendant on a stretcher when one spell from a healer would fix him up right as rain. Everyone knew that, and everyone understood Michelle¡¯s intent. And no one found it strange. ¡°What¡¯ll happen to Xu Xin?¡± ¡°Bet it¡¯ll be different from the attendant. It¡¯s Xu Xin, after all.¡± Everyone thought Xu Xin would get a slap on the wrist and be released. But it wasn¡¯t as they expected. Michelle came up to the stage, briefly pausing the auction, and spoke through a microphone. ¡°Before entering this hall, everyone signed a contract.¡± And thus began Michelle¡¯s long speech. To summarize it, her point was, ¡®Everyone here signed an agreement accepting punishment if you cause a disturbance at this event, right?¡¯ ¡°That¡¯s why I completely deprived the Taeguk Shield attendant of his power.¡± It wasn¡¯t just a few broken limbs. This was a kind of warning. A warning that she had a way to artificially deprive a Player of their miraculous power. Michelle was announcing to the top Rankers that she had such a means at her disposal. ¡°I broke his arm and leg to set an example and sent him back to Korea. He will never be able to return to Playing in his lifetime.¡± Michelle gave a small nod to Song Kiyeol. ¡°I wish to thank the Guildmaster of Taeguk Shield for his cooperation. Thank you. You gave up your subordinate for the sake of impartiality, and I was impressed by your dedication to upholding justice.¡± No one here believed those words entirely, but they were just spoken for appearances anyway. Michelle herself didn¡¯t put much significance into them. She just said them because she had to. ¡°Also, regarding Mr. Xu Xin, who initiated this incident¡­¡± Michelle took a breath. It wasn¡¯t like this was easy for her, either. Xu Xin was a giant. But she had to set an example, so Michelle made a decision. ¡°He will be treated the same way as the Taeguk Shield attendant. As he has already suffered severe injury to his shoulders and abdomen, I deemed further physical punishment unnecessary. Mr. Xu Xin is currently unconscious.¡± The Taeguk Shield attendant was deprived of his Player rights and two of his limbs were broken. Similarly, Xu Xin had his Player rights taken away, meaning he was ¡®stripped of his power as a Player¡¯. The Rankers gathered in the hall murmured amongst themselves. ¡°She did that to Xu Xin?¡± ¡°The attendant is one thing, but Xu Xin?¡± ¡°Wowzo. Michelle¡¯s got guts.¡± ¡°It means she¡¯s confident she can deal with the aftermath.¡± ¡°But still, it¡¯s Xu Xin.¡± After checking the crowd¡¯s reaction, Michelle continued. ¡°Now then, we will continue the auction.¡± * * * Thomas went to Michelle¡¯s room. He looked a little angry. ¡°What are you thinking?¡± He wasn¡¯t able to confront her in an official setting, but this was her private quarters. Thomas was Michelle¡¯s closest friend and deputy. He didn¡¯t hide his feelings. Michelle took a seat on the sofa. ¡°Is this about Xu Xin?¡± ¡°Yeah. You should have stopped at the Taeguk Shield attendant.¡± The Taeguk Shield attendant was just that¡ªan attendant. There wouldn¡¯t be much backlash even if he was killed. After all, an attendant was just an attendant. But Xu Xin was different. Dealing with the aftermath would be difficult. Michelle responded calmly, seemingly unaware of Thomas¡¯ feelings. ¡°But then it wouldn¡¯t be fair.¡± ¡°If you wanted it to be fair, you should have let the attendant off.¡± ¡°If I did that, our prestige would drop to rock bottom. As the sponsor, I needed to be impartial.¡± ¡°But still! It¡¯s Xu Xin we¡¯re talking about, Xu Xin!¡± Michelle chuckled. She went back to what Thomas had said earlier. ¡°You said I should have let the attendant off, right?¡± Puzzled by the sudden tangent, Thomas faltered. Michelle immediately continued. ¡°That¡¯s what I did.¡± ¡°What do you mean?¡± Thomas had been managing the auction, so he didn¡¯t know about the ¡®secret deal¡¯ between Michelle, the Michelle Division, and Kim Hyukjin. Michelle had everyone swear to absolute secrecy. ¡°The attendant is fine. The only one who got messed up is Xu Xin.¡± ¡°¡­¡± After a moment of silence, Thomas checked if he had heard her right. ¡°What did you just say? The attendant is what?¡± ¡°That man¡¯s name is Kim Hyukjin.¡± ¡°His name isn¡¯t important!¡± ¡°Anyway, Kim Hyukjin¡¯s perfectly fine. He suffered no repercussions whatsoever.¡± Thomas was silent again. ¡®The flow of the conversation is really weird.¡¯ It was different from how they usually talked. Michelle was being strangely evasive. ¡®There¡¯s something between them.¡¯ Thomas was able to realize from Michelle¡¯s words that there was unmistakably some kind of deal between them. Kim Hyukjin getting hauled away on a stretcher was another type of ¡®show¡¯. He took a deep breath. He trusted Michelle. She wouldn¡¯t do something like this without thinking it through. ¡°Why? Why did you go easy on him and not Xu Xin? Why did you announce things the way you did?¡± ¡°You think I went easy on him?¡± ¡°What does that mean?¡± ¡°We¡¯re not the ones who went easy on Kim Hyukjin.¡± Thomas doubted his ears. But Michelle didn¡¯t look like she was joking. ¡°What are you saying? You did go easy on Kim Hyukjin.¡± ¡°It¡¯s Kim Hyukjin who went easy on us.¡± The room was quiet for a while. ¡°Are you being serious?¡± ¡°I am.¡± Silence stretched between them again. Michelle gave a light chuckle and continued. ¡°A long time from now, you¡¯ll come to know what I mean.¡± ¡°If you let Kim Hyukjin off and not Xu Xin, won¡¯t that make things escalate?¡± ¡°Not at all.¡± ¡°How can you be so sure?¡± ¡°He has the Cognitive Dissonance ability. And don¡¯t you remember how I intentionally talked for a really long time earlier?¡± Michelle typically went straight to the point. She preferred being concise and not talking in circles. But this time, she was very verbose, a point Thomas had found unusual. ¡°I used a consumable item I got from Kim Hyukjin during the speech.¡± ¡°What¡¯s that?¡± ¡°Trickery.¡± They heard a notice. [The ¡®Herdsman of Las Vegas¡¯ is curious.] [The ¡®Whispering Devil¡¯ is gleeful.] [The ¡®Night of Shooting Stars¡¯ is curious about your deal.] Whispering Devil, Night of Shooting Stars. Both were Guardians she had never heard of before. But seeing as her Intermediate Administrator was making a huge fuss, it was highly likely they were named Guardians. Michelle recalled Hyukjin¡¯s face. ¡®If it were Kim Hyukjin¡­¡¯ What would he do in this situation? She had learned from watching him. His acting, his way of producing content, were lessons Michelle drew from now. ¡®He would have waited a little here.¡¯ Thomas asked again, ¡°What kind of item was it?¡± ¡°Trickery.¡± ¡°Eh?¡± Thomas had never heard of it before. ¡°What¡¯s that?¡± Trickery. Michelle thought back to how she had used it and how she had linked it with her own abilities. She had learned from Kim Hyukjin. This wasn¡¯t an explanation for Thomas¡¯ benefit, but for the new Guardians who had entered her channel, the Whispering Devil and the Night of Shooting Stars. ____ Chapter 224 Chapter 224 ¡°It¡¯s an item that can influence the mind when tricking others and concealing the truth,¡± explained Michelle. ¡°A mind effect item? Those exist?¡± Michelle intentionally paused for a beat, thinking that was what Kim Hyukjin would have done. ¡°I had no idea either, but guess so. That¡¯s what he gave me.¡± ¡°How strong is it? Strong enough to mentally control someone?¡± ¡°Not quite that strong. It just helps a little.¡± Michelle said, ¡°You definitely saw Kim Hyukjin¡¯s face earlier, right?¡± ¡°I did.¡± ¡°But do you remember what he looked like?¡± ¡°¡­¡± Thomas instantly stiffened. He tried recalling the man¡¯s face, but was unable to. ¡®Is this¡­ the ability Guildmaster Song Kiyeol explained to me?¡¯ It was called Cognitive Dissonance. ¡®I really can¡¯t remember him.¡¯ It felt like he was trying to peer through hazy white fog. ¡°That¡¯s Kim Hyukjin¡¯s power. He¡¯s come this far while thoroughly cloaking himself. A person like that confidently stepped forward into the spotlight. It must be a reflection of his confidence in being able to pull the wool over the eyes of all the top Rankers.¡± ¡°Michelle. Do you think that, too?¡± ¡°Yeah. If I¡¯m right, none of the Rankers remember Kim Hyukjin.¡± Cognitive Dissonance. And Trickery. ¡°I also used [Sovereign¡¯s Speech].¡± Sovereign¡¯s Speech was Michelle¡¯s sovereign-exclusive skill to arouse a strange sense of trust towards the speaker in the listener. It also had a buff effect in battle, but when used outside of battle, it just had the effect of instilling trust. All three abilities had come together to create the current situation. Michelle was certain of it. ¡°Not a single person who was there will remember Kim Hyukjin. We may have made an enemy of Xu Xin, but we gained an ally named Kim Hyukjin. A trade-off I think is fully worth the investment.¡± Thomas nodded after a long period of thought. ¡°We¡¯ve turned Xu Xin into an enemy, but raised your prestige. That¡¯s fine, for now.¡± He decided to respect Michelle¡¯s decision. He added one more thing. ¡°If everything you say is true¡­ just what kind of person is this Kim Hyukjin guy you hold in such high regard?¡± * * * Translator ¨C Lei Proofreader ¨C Ash * * * Song Jinchul became triumphant. ¡°I think there¡¯s no doubt I¡¯m the winner of this bet, Hyung.¡± ¡°We¡¯ll have to wait and see.¡± Song Kiyeol had spent $4.5 million to buy three items. Their bet was based on return rate, so despite Xu Xin¡¯s constant interference putting a wrench in his plans, Song Kiyeol hadn¡¯t lost yet. ¡°Well, who cares about the bet? That bastard Kim Hyukjin¡¯s a cripple now.¡± Jinchul chortled with glee. He seemed to be in a very good mood. ¡®Haa.¡¯ Kiyeol was left wondering when he should set his crooked brother straight and make a decent person out of him. Kiyeol was letting his brother be at Kim Hyukjin¡¯s behest, but thinking about the youngest member of the Song family made the coming days feel dark. ¡°Hyung. I can go out to play, right?¡± ¡°Yeah. Take the guards.¡± ¡°Okay!¡± Jinchul went out in excitement, only to pop back in shortly afterwards. ¡°Right, Hyung. Kim Hyukjin. Now that he¡¯s all powerless, I¡¯m gonna stomp him, ¡®kay?¡± ¡°¡­¡± Kiyeol didn¡¯t respond. His pitiful little brother seemed to really think Kim Hyukjin had been declawed. How naive. ¡®Hyukjin told me to let him be, so¡­¡¯ He didn¡¯t bother correcting Jinchul¡¯s misunderstanding. ¡°I¡¯m going for real this time! I¡¯ll be back!¡± Left alone in the room, Song Kiyeol thought back to the contents of the precognitive notes that had disappeared. ¨CThe true seer shall be bound. Was the true seer truly Kim Hyukjin? Looking back, that seemed right. His knowledge of the future was more accurate than any other oracle. He handled every situation like he knew exactly what would happen and Played as if there was nothing he didn¡¯t know. ¨CIn his bindings, shall he lose all power. He was indeed bound. Handcuffs had been put over his wrists. And the ¡®lose all power¡¯ part was correct as well. ¡®It was announced¡­ that he lost all his power.¡¯ Michelle had announced that, and the Rankers believed it. It was likely none of those people even knew the name ¡®Kim Hyukjin¡¯. They would probably just remember that ¡®an unfortunate incident occured to the Taeguk Shield attendant¡¯. ¨CThe ignorant masses shall be tricked by the devil¡¯s voice. The ignorant masses probably referred to the Players who were there. Then what was the ¡®devil¡¯s voice¡¯? It gave a chilling impression. ¡®The devil¡¯s voice.¡¯ If the devil here was Kim Hyukjin, then was the true seer a devil? Song Kiyeol, who didn¡¯t know about the Whispering Devil, couldn¡¯t reach the correct conclusion. ¡®I have no idea.¡¯ In any case, the incident was a definite confirmation of Ham Sohyun¡¯s precognitive ability. So what could the last note, the one that had appeared after all the other letters had disappeared, possibly mean? ¨CThe Sovereign of Incantations will head skyward. Song Kiyeol¡¯s night of pensive thinking stretched on. He suddenly became curious. ¡®I wonder what kind of items Guildmaster Kim sto¡ªI mean, secured?¡¯ * * * Kim Hyukjin lounged in the plane he was getting ¡°chased out¡± in. For the sake of giving Michelle face, he chose to take a troublesome plane ride instead of going back by teleport gate. In exchange, he rode First Class. It was extremely comfortable. His first ever First Class experience made him feel like a bed had been moved onto the plane. A flight attendant approached him and asked with a friendly smile, ¡°Which wine would you like, sir?¡± ¡°¡­¡± Hyukjin didn¡¯t answer. No, he couldn¡¯t answer. ¡°No wine, thank you.¡± ¡°Very well. If there is anything you require, please tell us at any time. We will serve you with the greatest care.¡± He didn¡¯t have the time to chat with the flight attendant¡ªa new notice had come in. [The growth requirements of the special ability Cognitive Dissonance have been met.] He used Cognitive Dissonance in combination with the tool called Michelle to trick countless Rankers. Their cognitive abilities were skewed, and the distortion was perpetuated in countless members of the public via articles produced by the media. That was the requirement the ability needed in order to grow. [The special ability Cognitive Dissonance will be assimilated into the innate ability Eye of Perception.] [The innate ability Eye of Perception is enhanced by absorbing the Cognitive Dissonance ability.] [The current proficiency of Eye of Perception is ¡®2¡¯.] [An additional trait has been added to Eye of Perception.] 6. Traits: Distinguish between Awakened and Unawakened Read Status Windows Sense danger Resistance towards illusory attacks or apparition magic Activation of Cognitive Dissonance at will and Cognitive Dissonance Dispel He could freely wield Cognitive Dissonance while using Eye of Perception. In addition¡ª ¡®Cognitive Dissonance Dispel?¡¯ If someone else used Cognitive Dissonance, he could now see through it. ¡®Makes sense. I can¡¯t be the only person who can use Cognitive Dissonance.¡¯ He believed a time would come for this ability to shine. Hyukjin just didn¡¯t know that time would be directly after he got off the plane. At the arrivals gate, he was surprised to find his two sisters, Kim Ahyoung and Kim Sunhwa, waiting for him. ¡®Huh?¡¯ The ability he had gained inside the plane, Cognitive Dissonance Dispel, automatically activated. [Confirming the presence of the Cognitive Dissonance authority.] [Eye of Perception dispels the Cognitive Dissonance authority.] The person who had Cognitive Dissonance active, and had always had it active without a single soul realizing¡­ was none other than his enthusiastically waving little sister Sunhwa. * * * In front of the arrivals gate, Kim Hyukjin sensed the Cognitive Dissonance surrounding Kim Sunhwa and pretended to not notice it. ¡°How¡¯d you know I was coming?¡± he asked. ¡°Guildmaster Song contacted us, saying you would be coming by plane.¡± ¡°Did he?¡± Sunhwa was one thing. He turned and looked at the person standing next to her. Ahyoung¡¯s face reddened. ¡°I only came because Sunhwa kept begging me to.¡± ¡°But I didn¡¯t say anything.¡± ¡°Anyway, it¡¯s not that I came to greet you or anything.¡± ¡°Got it, but thanks for coming over anyway.¡± Sunhwa beamed. She tugged the hem of Hyukjin¡¯s clothes. ¡°Let¡¯s go. Mr. Driver is waiting outside.¡± ¡°Alright.¡± Hyukjin left the airport with his sisters. Waiting outside was the chauffeur Song Kiyeol had assigned him. ¡°Noona and Sunhwa, get in the back.¡± Sunhwa and Ahyoung got into the rear of the 4-seater luxury sedan, and Hyukjin got into the passenger seat. ¡°Setting off now,¡± said the driver. The car with three family members in it began heading to the DMC Riverview Xi. Hyukjin glanced stealthily at Sunhwa via the rearview mirror. ¡®Since when?¡¯ Since when had Sunhwa¡¯s Cognitive Dissonance been active? ¡®And what?¡¯ What perception was being distorted? ¡®The fact that my Eye of Perception and Observer¡¯s Eye didn¡¯t catch it at all means it¡¯s just that high in grade.¡¯ It was only due to Eye of Perception being strengthened by its fusion with Cognitive Dissonance that he was able to see it. Before that, he hadn¡¯t noticed at all. ¡®It¡¯s not her own ability.¡¯ Sunhwa wasn¡¯t doing it. ¡®Which means¡­¡¯ That left one option. ¡®Her Streamer?¡¯ That moment, a shiver ran down Hyukjin¡¯s spine. ¡®Come to think of it¡­ who is Sunhwa¡¯s Streamer?¡¯ Everyone in Giantgod had Intermediate Administrators they had signed exclusive contracts with. But Sunhwa¡¯s Intermediate Administrator hadn¡¯t shown themselves even once. ¡®None of us found that odd.¡¯ Not a single one of them had ever asked who Sunhwa¡¯s Intermediate Administrator was. ¡®What¡¯s Sunhwa¡¯s class again?¡¯ She was a genius tank. That was what everyone in Giantgod thought. But what exactly was her class¡¯ actual name? ¡®I don¡¯t know what Sunhwa¡¯s class is.¡¯ He had checked Sunhwa multiple times with Eye of Perception. But he couldn¡¯t remember her class name. And that was because the phenomenon of ¡®cognitive distortion¡¯ was in effect. ¡°I always get sleepy in the car,¡± Sunhwa yawned, slumping over and using Ahyoung¡¯s knee as a pillow. Ahyoung stared out the window as if she didn¡¯t care about Sunhwa. ¡°Sleepy.¡± Sunhwa quickly fell asleep. After gently brushing away the hair that had fallen over Sunhwa¡¯s face, Ahyoung returned to staring out the window. ¡°I¡¯m sleepy too,¡± Hyukjin said, closing his eyes. He wasn¡¯t actually sleepy. ¡®What could it be?¡¯ He thought hard, and before he knew it, the car reached the underground parking lot. ¡°We¡¯ve arrived.¡± ¡°Thank you.¡± The three Kims got out of the car. The now-awake Sunhwa energetically set off at a dash. She made a beeline for the door connected to their house, saying she wanted to be the one to punch in the code. ¡°Me! Me! Me! I wanna put in the password!¡± She punched in the numbers, squinting with concentration. Hyukjin stared right at Sunhwa¡¯s back. ¡°Darn! Wrong password. I messed up.¡± Sunhwa put in the password again. As Hyukjin watched her back, he opened his mouth. ¡°But you know¡­¡± ¡°What?¡± Sunhwa looked back. Hyukjin stared at her. ¡°Who are you?¡± ¡°Huh?¡± Hyukjin had once asked Sunhwa the same question. ¨CWho are you? At that question, Sunhwa¡¯s body had twisted unnaturally, producing a strange cry. Hyukjin remembered that time again. ¨CI¡¯ll ask again. Who are you? When he asked again, Sunhwa had only shrieked, incapable of responding. ¡®I thought it was just a side effect of descent.¡¯ At that time, Hyukjin had drawn on Jackson¡¯s theory. ¨CThere are times when temporary symptoms similar to possession show up due to a Guardian¡¯s descent. It has only been observed a few times on a global scale, and is said to disappear naturally on its own with time. Which was why he thought it was a temporary side effect of descent. ¡®No.¡¯ It didn¡¯t seem like that was just a side effect. ____ Chapter 225 Chapter 225 Sunhwa tilted her head. ¡°Huh? Oppa? What¡¯s wrong?¡± ¡°Are you Sunhwa right now?¡± She beamed. ¡°Of course!¡± Kim Ahyoung scowled, staring at Hyukjin. She stopped herself from asking what he was going on about. He didn¡¯t look like he was joking. Ahyoung held her silence, knowing her little brother wasn¡¯t the kind of person to spout nonsense. ¡°I do know the current you is Sunhwa.¡± ¡°Come on, Oppa. What are you saying? Let¡¯s go eat chicken, chicken!¡± Sunhwa clutched the hem of Hyukjin¡¯s clothes. He only looked at her in silence, unmoving. After a long stare, he opened his mouth. ¡°Are you a casper?¡± That moment, Sunhwa¡¯s body flinched, and the surroundings began to freeze over. The parking lot ground and the opening car doors froze where they were. Ice crystals formed here and there. And that moment, a Pause took effect. The world turned black and white. ¡®Pause?¡¯ It was an expensive authority, and not one that wasn¡¯t casually used. Sunhwa said, ¡°Do you know me?¡± ¡°I do. You¡¯re an Intermediate Streamer. A casper.¡± They were an astral body Intermediate Streamer. No one knew what they looked like, since they were astral beings that had no form. ¡®An Intermediate Administrator who streams by possessing a Player.¡¯ That was why this kind of Intermediate Administrator was commonly called a ¡®casper¡¯. They weren¡¯t common, but there were definitely caspers out there. ¡®But if it¡¯s one that can produce this level of Cognitive Dissonance¡­¡¯ It was likely the most infamous variant of casper, a top level evil spirit casper. Mankind called such Intermediate Administrators ¡®devil caspers¡¯ or ¡®devil Intermediate Administrators¡¯. ¡°So you know. Interesting. You saw through my Cognitive Dissonance?¡± ¡°Some way or another.¡± ¡°My my.¡± Sunhwa put on a surprised face. ¡°Did something happen in the US server?¡± ¡°¡­¡± ¡°I never imagined a beginner period Player would be able to see through my Cognitive Dissonance.¡± The expression and gestures were all subtly different from Sunhwa. ¡°I¡¯ve been watching from the side, but you¡¯re really amazing. To the point that not being able to nab the exclusive contract with you is my eternal regret. How can a beginner period Player be like this?¡± Sunhwa glanced behind herself. ¡°Senia. You¡¯re really lucky.¡± There was no response to his words. From this, Hyukjin realized yet another fact¡ªthe current Pause did not include other Intermediate Administrators, meaning Senia could watch. ¡°In any case, not much will change just because you found me out. You can carry on with your Playing, and Sunhwa can carry on with hers. Okay?¡± Those words sounded right on a superficial level. He nodded, but on the inside, he was thinking something else. ¡®I¡¯ll move with the assumption that he¡¯s a devil Intermediate Administrator.¡¯ Caspers weren¡¯t all bad. But there was a reason why some of them were called ¡®devils¡¯. ¡®Evil astrals that ultimately want to steal the Player¡¯s body and participate in Playing.¡¯ After such astrals stole the Players¡¯ bodies, they did whatever they pleased. It wasn¡¯t their body anyway, so they went all out extracting exciting content the Guardians would go wild for. ¡®That was how the Corpse Sorcerer Barteli died.¡¯ Hyukjin had seen him in the auction hall. ¡®And¡­¡¯ Another of Korea¡¯s 8 Heroes¡ª ¡®The Enforcer of Commandments, Ban Kimyung.¡¯ Barteli and Ban Kimyung had their bodies stolen by devil Intermediate Administrators and met early deaths. It was unsubstantiated, but there was also a rumor going around that the Astrologist Itachi also perished at the hands of a devil Intermediate Administrator. ¡®I¡¯m not strong enough to oppose this casper right now.¡¯ Caspers would only start attempting to steal Player bodies when they were in the ¡®master¡¯ period, which meant Players had to be at least that strong to satisfy caspers. ¡®Even if I can¡¯t do anything now¡­¡¯ He would be able to later. Hyukjin was sure of that. He thought back to how Sunhwa had so bravely protected him with her body in the Tutorial Field. In the blink of an eye, the girl returned to her usual self. She looked exactly the same, but her aura was ever so slightly different. The current Sunhwa was the ¡°real¡± Sunhwa. As he looked at her, Hyukjin thought, ¡®This time, I¡¯ll protect you.¡¯ He would make sure no damn casper stole her body. At least he knew about it now. He could prepare for the events of the future in advance. ¡°Me finding out about you is unrelated to my Playing.¡± ¡°Kim Hyukjin, I just knew you¡¯d say that. You have a commendable attitude for Playing. Though it does make you look cold-blooded and emotionless.¡± Sunhwa snickered. Hyukjin concealed his thoughts completely. ¡°This child is a tank. All she needs to do is to fulfill her role as a tank.¡± ¡°That¡¯s right. She¡¯s quite a genius in some aspects. A desirable Player.¡± A desirable Player. Hyukjin heard that as ¡®a desirable body¡¯. ¡®I will protect you¡­ no matter what.¡¯ * * * Translator ¨C Lei Proofreader ¨C Ash * * * After returning home, Hyukjin chuckled upon finding a Yellow Charm hidden under his desk. Apparently, his sister was still making them. ¡®She really can¡¯t hide her tsundere side.¡¯ He sat at the desk and called someone. ¨CMr. Kim Hyukjin? Hyukjin was planning on getting Senia to translate if necessary, but as expected of a competent info merchant, Pietro had a Translation Marble. Hyukjin said, ¡°Yes. There¡¯s something you want to ask me, right?¡± The person who called was actually Hyukjin¡ªhe had business to discuss. He wanted to ask about the Dewinged Angel Statue Gate, but he didn¡¯t bring it up himself. Instead of being the one to take the bait, he lured the other party into biting. Sure enough, Pietro jumped at the lure. ¨CI heard something big happened in the LA Auction House. ¨CThe rumors have spread that fast? ¨CI am an information merchant who deals in information, after all. ¨CWill it also become known around the world? ¨CMost likely not, I think. The auction itself was held in secret, with only top Rankers and world-famous wealthy individuals taking part. It wasn¡¯t publicized. ¨CBut Rankers have heard of it through the grapevine. ¨CI suppose people think my limbs were broken and I was completely deprived of my strength as a Player? ¨CUnfortunately, I have heard that, yes. Your name isn¡¯t known, just that it was a Taeguk Shield attendant. A Taeguk Shield attendant participating in such an auction was a little strange, but everyone said the same thing, so Pietro could only believe it. However, the unnaturalness of the situation didn¡¯t escape Pietro. ¡®Everything about it is odd,¡¯ thought Pedro on the other side of the line. The man in question was supposed to be a Taeguk Shield attendant, but no one remembered his face. Even his name wasn¡¯t known. On top of that, his existence was overshadowed by Xu Xin being deprived of his Player rights, so no one paid any heed to the ¡®attendant¡¯. He became someone who no one paid attention to. As if someone had intentionally made it that way. ¡®I have¡­ a gut feeling.¡¯ It was strange. There was a secret to be uncovered. ¨CIf I may ask¡­ are you in good health? ¨CI¡¯m in extremely good condition. Of course, my abilities as a Player are entirely intact. Pietro let out an unconscious cry of surprise. ¡®Then that means Michelle and Kim Hyukjin worked together to trick the other Rankers.¡¯ The situation played out in Pietro¡¯s head. He pieced it all together from a single clue. ¡®They used an ability capable of fooling the others, and the two made a deal in secret. And in time, the Rankers will forget the attendant ever existed.¡¯ Pietro didn¡¯t know what deal the two made, but even so, he was forced to renew his assessment of Kim Hyukjin. ¡®Michelle, the person who really did destroy Xu Xin¡¯s ability to Play, conceded to Kim Hyukjin.¡¯ What did that mean? ¡®It must be because Kim Hyukjin is far more dangerous than Xu Xin.¡¯ The sovereign Michelle judged that it was better to have Hyukjin as an ally, even at the cost of making an enemy of Xu Xin. Pietro was quick on the uptake. ¨CLooks like I need to keep this a secret. After all, that attendant who was destroyed by Michelle and the current Mr. Kim Hyukjin are completely different people. I don¡¯t know the old Kim Hyukjin. Nice to meet you, Mr. Kim Hyukjin. Hyukjin grinned. Pietro was quick to understand. Hyukjin had given him some personal information. Since give and take was standard between information merchants, it was now time for Hyukjin to ask a question. ¨CYou¡¯re still gathering raiders for the Dewinged Angel Statue Gate, correct? ¨CYes. Pietro answered without hiding it. He had gotten information, so it was only right for him to offer information of equivalent value. ¨CMay I also participate? ¨CYou? ¨CYes. I¡¯ve developed an interest in the gate. ¨CI would welcome a skilled Player such as yourself anytime. But there¡¯s a small problem. ¨CWhat kind of problem? ¨CI think I will be able to open the Dewinged Angel Statue Gate soon, but entry is restricted to ¡®Players with archery-related classes¡¯ or ¡®Players who have absorbed a Tome of the Divine Bow Physique¡¯. Or people with the key, like me. Pietro originally thought Hyukjin was an archer. But it turned out that he was just a ¡®sovereign who was good with the bow¡¯. In any case, it meant his class was sovereign. ¨CIn that case, it shouldn¡¯t be much of a problem. ¨CAren¡¯t you a sovereign, Mr. Kim Hyukjin? ¨CI am. Pietro thought for a moment. ¨CCan it be¡­ that you have absorbed a Tome of the Divine Bow Physique? ¨CNo. Not yet, but he planned on doing it soon. ¨CThen how do you plan on entering? ¨CI think that¡¯s for me to figure out. May I bring a few people with me? ¨CHow many? ¨CTwo. ¨CMay I ask who they are? ¨CMark from the Michelle Division. And Korea¡¯s Hyun Junghwa. The deal Hyukjin and Hyun Junghwa made was for her participation in the Gardens by the Bay Dungeon and the Sangam World Cup Stadium Dungeon. Even so, Hyukjin was certain she would agree to join the Dewinged Angel Statue Gate raid with him. If she didn¡¯t, he could make it so she would. That was Hyukjin¡¯s strength. The line went silent. ¨CWhat¡¯s wrong? Are they not okay? ¨CN-No, not at all. The Dewinged Angel Statue Gate raid will take place in one week. Pietro hung up. ¡®Hoo.¡¯ He took a deep breath, leaning all the way back in his chair like a limp ragdoll. ¡°Kim Hyukjin. Just what¡­ the hell is he?¡¯ On his desk was a list of archers who had refused him. First on the list was Hyun Junghwa, and second was Mark. Both had refused his proposal. ¡®How did he convince them to join?¡¯ Pietro began to suspect Hyukjin had some kind of powerful card that could tempt an archer. He wanted to know what that was. That knowledge would give him a lot of sway with archers moving forward. ¡®What could it be?¡¯ He had no idea. ¡®I want to know.¡¯ On the other side of the world, Kim Hyukjin made another call directly after hanging up with Pietro. ¨CMs. Hyun Junghwa. Let¡¯s do a raid together. It¡¯s a new gate. They had no prior arrangement, and he had nothing in particular to offer her. He simply planned on convincing her now. ¨CVery well. I¡¯m looking forward to learning from you. Convincing her was very easy. Two days passed. Having returned from the auction, Song Kiyeol went personally to Kim Hyukjin¡¯s house. To Hyukjin¡¯s amusement, the spoiled brat Song Jinchul was with him. A spirited voice came from the other side of the door. ¡°Oi. Open up.¡± Hyukjin opened the door to find a helpless-looking Song Kiyeol and a confident-looking Song Jinchul. ____ Chapter 226 Chapter 226 In all actuality, Song Kiyeol was unable to render a good performance at the auction. Xu Xin¡¯s active interference made it so he only managed to score 3 items with a total of $4.5 million spent. ¨CYou will earn at least $7 million even with what you¡¯ve already purchased. That was what Kim Hyukjin had told him. But what Hyukjin meant by $7 million was a little different from what Song Kiyeol thought. ¡®Not $7 million total¡­¡¯ But $7 million each. And the buyer had come just yesterday. A person who introduced himself as an American investor showed up out of nowhere and asked to buy each item for $7 million, almost like it was scripted. It just happened, and Kiyeol was left feeling somewhat bamboozled. ¡®To think they were worth $7 million each.¡¯ It seemed he had underestimated Kim Hyukjin¡¯s audacity. He was definitely not from a chaebol family, yet his thoughts were on a scale that utterly shocked a chaebol scion. In any case, Kiyeol bought the items for $4.5 million and sold them for $21 million, raking in a $16.5 million profit in just 20 hours for a tidy earnings rate of $825k per hour. Even his baby brother Song Jinchul had no choice but to acknowledge Kiyeol¡¯s overwhelming win. Jinchul lost the bet, but he was happy that Kim Hyukjin was now powerless. Despite allegedly coming to ¡°apologize¡±, he was clearly in high spirits. Hyukjin raised a finger. ¡°Take one hit.¡± The older brother Song Kiyeol squeezed his eyes shut. ¡®It¡¯s time.¡¯ What was to come had come. Hyukjin¡¯s index finger flicked Jinchul¡¯s forehead. He didn¡¯t even put much force in it, but Jinchul fell over with a shriek of pain and flailed on the ground. ¡°Ow ow owwww!¡± Without even glancing at his little brother, Kiyeol scolded, ¡°Don¡¯t be so dramatic.¡± Then, he said to Kim Hyukjin, ¡°You can hit him a little more.¡± ¡°Well, my pet will do that for me.¡± The squirrel on Hyukjin¡¯s shoulder scrambled down and kicked the kid on the ground. It didn¡¯t look all that painful. Hyukjin still saw it. [A factor in a major variable.] It meant this kid had created some kind of ¡®major variable¡¯. He would probably find out what that was when his Eye of Perception or Observer¡¯s Eye proficiency increased. ¡°I told you not to cross the line,¡± Hyukjin said. ¡°N-Ngh¡­!¡± ¡°Want another hit? Didn¡¯t you come here to apologize?¡± When he raised his index finger again, Song Jinchul scrambled to get on his knees. ¡°I-I was wrong!¡± He looked well and truly frightened. Upon realizing his own disgraceful state, Jinchul¡¯s face reddened. ¡®Just what the hell is going on?¡¯ He panicked. ¡®I thought he lost all his strength as a Player!¡¯ And yet, Kim Hyukjin overpowered him with a single finger. And what was with that overwhelming aura? He hadn¡¯t felt so small even when he was crushed by fear due to Mettle before. ¡®I¡¯ve definitely grown a lot since then!¡¯ But it didn¡¯t matter. ¡®Just how!¡¯ Song Jinchul lacked Pietro¡¯s insight and simply sat there in confusion. Song Kiyeol hauled him to his feet. ¡°Apologize properly.¡± ¡°Come in for now. It¡¯s cold outside.¡± At Hyukjin¡¯s invitation, the two brothers entered the home. Hyukjin took a seat on the living room sofa. The center of Jinchul¡¯s forehead was swelling to the size of a small ping pong ball. ¡°What, wasn¡¯t able to defeat your hyung with your Discernment ability?¡± ¡°¡­¡± Jinchul¡¯s body quivered. ¡°Did Hyung tell you?¡± ¡°Tell me what?¡± ¡°That I have Discernment.¡± ¡°You never told me that,¡± interjected Kiyeol. ¡°¡­¡± Jinchul¡¯s face reddened. ¡°Then how does he know?¡± ¡°I don¡¯t know that either.¡± ¡°Some guy took a peek at your little brother¡¯s ability and you¡¯re not mad?¡± As expected of an 8th grader, he wasn¡¯t able to conceal his emotions. Summary: Self-Proclaimed Chosen One who has Taken a Huge Blow to his Pride His pride was as bruised as a fallen peach. Still, a promise was a promise. Song Kiyeol urged, ¡°Not going to apologize?¡± ¡°But¡­¡± ¡°Save the buts. If you¡¯re not going to apologize, I can¡¯t take responsibility for what¡¯ll happen next.¡± A little time passed. Jinchul brought his head down low. ¡°¡­ize.¡± ¡°What did you say?¡± ¡°¡­logize.¡± The first part of ¡°I apologize¡± was mumbled too quickly. Kiyeol coaxed him. ¡°Say it properly.¡± ¡°¡­I apologize.¡± Hyukjin shrugged. In the end, this willful brat lowered his head and said sorry. ¡°I don¡¯t usually accept empty apologies.¡± ¡°¡­¡± ¡°But I¡¯ll let it go for today.¡± Jinchul was a ¡®factor in a major variable¡¯. Until Hyukjin knew what that was, it was probably best to leave him as he was. ¡°So? Did you come here just to apologize?¡± asked Hyukjin. ¡°Ah, not just that¡­¡± Song Kiyeol took out an item from his Inventory. Hyukjin recognized it. The Ink Bow. It couldn¡¯t quite be called an incredible artifact, but it was a black bow widely used through the intermediate period. Though it was a little on the heavy side, archers who had invested in their Strength could easily use it. Its damage and consecutive firing speed were fairly high. In the past, the Master Pedro once said this about the Ink Bow: ¨CThe Ink Bow appears to have a hidden secret. I am working to uncover that secret, but I haven¡¯t been successful yet. In the end, he was unable to figure it out. ¡®In any case, it¡¯s a rare item in the current period.¡¯ Hyukjin took it. ¡®Hm?¡¯ The bow responded to his touch. From observing it with Observer¡¯s Eye, it seemed the bow was reacting to some kind of strength Hyukjin possessed. ¡®This feeling is¡­¡¯ With some concentration, he figured it out. ¡®I think it¡¯s responding to my fire ki.¡¯ He didn¡¯t know exactly. How the Ink Bow was related to fire ki would take a little more investigation. ¡°It¡¯s a good item.¡± ¡°Yes. I procured it with difficulty from the US.¡± ¡°Thank you. It¡¯s a good gift.¡± Just then, Hyukjin¡¯s mother came back from visiting a friend. Lee Soohyun walked into the room. ¡°Goodness, who do we have here? Are you friends of Hyukjin?¡± Soohyun didn¡¯t recognize the very famous Taeguk Shield guildmaster despite his many appearances on TV. ¡°H-Hello.¡± Song Kiyeol looked towards Kim Hyukjin, seemingly asking, ¡®Can I pretend to be your friend?¡¯ with his eyes. Hyukjin gave a brisk nod. ¡°Oh dear, just look at how harebrained I am. I¡¯ll at least cut you some fruit. Sit, sit. Hyukjin, you should¡¯ve offered your guests something!¡± Laughing merrily, Soohyun ran off to the kitchen. Her son who didn¡¯t have many friends had finally brought one home, an event that made her feel very happy. ¡°The more friends you have, the better. Here, here. Eat up.¡± She handed Song Kiyeol a fork with a slice of apple on it. He took it politely with an awkward smile. ¡°Ah. Thank you for the food, ma¡¯am.¡± ¡°I never thought our Hyukjin would bring friends home one day. What a rare occurrence. But how come I feel like I¡¯ve seen you somewhere?¡± Song Kiyeol was pretty good at acting. He didn¡¯t quite understand why he had to act, but he did so anyway, fearing that breaking the news that he was a business partner and not a friend would disappoint Hyukjin¡¯s mom, which would in turn earn Hyukjin¡¯s ire. ¡°It must be because I have a somewhat common face.¡± He even threw in some flattery. ¡°I see that Hyukjin is handsome because he takes after you.¡± Soohyun laughed with an, ¡°Oh please, our son isn¡¯t that handsome!¡± But she didn¡¯t seem that displeased. On the contrary, she was very excited. A smile floated to Hyukjin¡¯s lips as he watched his happy mother. If he were to point out the best thing since returning to the past, it would be that he had his family with him, people who would rejoice with him and be sad with him over the smallest things. ¡°How did you get to know Hyukjin? I don¡¯t think I¡¯ve ever seen you.¡± Song Kiyeol was quick on his feet. ¡°We met over mutual friends and ended up becoming friends, haha! Hahaha!¡± ¡°Goodness, so that¡¯s how it is. Please get along with Hyukjin. He looks normal, but he doesn¡¯t have many friends and doesn¡¯t have a girlfriend. It¡¯s quite troubling.¡± ¡°I will do my best to cherish our friendship, ma¡¯am.¡± Song Kiyeol forked a slice of apple and offered it to Lee Soohyun in a show of deep courtesy. ¡°Please have a piece as well, ma¡¯am. Next time, I will come bearing a gift.¡± The guildmaster of Korea¡¯s number 1 guild became extremely humble before Lee Soohyun. He almost looked like a new hire wagging his tail at his boss at an after-work party. Hyukjin ate an apple slice. ¡®This is a good feeling.¡¯ Song Kiyeol had earned a few points in Hyukjin¡¯s book today. And looking at Hyukjin¡¯s easy smile, Song Kiyeol was sure of one thing. ¡®This¡­ is more effective than the Ink Bow.¡¯ It seemed he would have to treat Mama Hyukjin well. The third gen chaebol Song Kiyeol realized exactly who he needed to flatter. * * * Translator ¨C Lei Proofreader ¨C Ash * * * On the ride back home, Jinchul bit his lips. ¡°Why were you buttering up that auntie so much, Hyung?¡± ¡°Watch what you say.¡± ¡°You¡¯re a chosen one, Hyung. So why are you acting like a eunuch to that commoner auntie?¡± Jinchul¡¯s pride was once again painfully stubbed today. ¡°Song Jinchul. This is my last warning.¡± ¡°¡­¡± Kiyeol would have liked his baby brother to at least realize why Michelle went so far as to lie to side with Guildmaster Kim Hyukjin. But unfortunately, his baby brother couldn¡¯t understand his feelings at all. Put simply, he was too dumb. ¡°Think hard on why Michelle acted the way she did and why I¡¯m acting the way I am.¡± ¡°¡­¡± ¡°Did you hear me?¡± ¡°¡­I heard you,¡± Jinchul said in a small voice. His big brother usually didn¡¯t get mad. Jinchul knew that very well. His brother was currently on the verge of getting very angry, so he shut his mouth. ¡®Dammit.¡¯ Ever since this Kim Hyukjin bastard showed up, nothing seemed to go right. Grandpa also seemed to be fixated on Kim Hyukjin. There had to be some kind of reason why even his grandfather was paying so much attention to Kim Hyukjin, but the 8th grader Song Jinchul was unable to deduce that much. ¡®He even saw that I have Discernment.¡¯ Kim Hyukjin did indeed have ¡®special eyes¡¯. ¡®Which makes this bet a scam.¡¯ That bastard went into the bet with eyes like that. Jinchul wanted to complain to his brother, but he was unable to. He did apologize to Kim Hyukjin, but it wasn¡¯t sincere. ¡®One day, I¡¯ll crush him no matter what.¡¯ He resolved to do so in his heart, unaware that Kim Hyukjin had read him like an open book. ¡°He¡¯ll definitely act up one day. Don¡¯t you think, Kim Darong?¡± Hyukjin was now in the habit of calling Darongi ¡®Kim Darong¡¯ as well. Darongi was putting out [??] notes as he nibbled an acorn on top of Hyukjin¡¯s shoulder. ¡°I bet his pride got real beat up today, and that he¡¯ll get punished by his brother. And that brother of his will wag his tail at Mom again. How angry do you think that¡¯ll make him? It¡¯ll drive him nuts, right?¡± [??] ¡°A spoiled brat should grow up like a spoiled brat.¡± He wanted to know what that factor in a major variable was. The strange sensation of the world distorting all around the unaffected Song Jinchul was still vivid in his mind. [??] ¡°He¡¯ll be itching to crush me.¡± An elementary school kid brandishing a plastic knife wasn¡¯t at all threatening. That was exactly how Hyukjin saw Song Jinchul¡ªa weak opponent he could play with, but had no reason to seriously fight. So he decided to keep watching, watching to see just how that ¡®factor in a major variable¡¯ would grow. Some time passed. Knock knock. ¡°Oppa, I¡¯m here.¡± Having just returned from a short trip out of the house with Ahyoung, Sunhwa chirped, ¡°Let¡¯s go!¡± ¡°Alright.¡± Hyukjin got up. There was some preparation to do before he went into the Dewinged Angel Statue Gate. ____ Chapter 227 Chapter 227 Sunhwa was very happy. ¡°It¡¯s fun to go shopping with you!¡± ¡°Is it?¡± ¡°Didn¡¯t you also ask me to come with you because it¡¯s fun to go shopping with me?¡± Hyukjin just chuckled. ¡®I brought you because you¡¯re strong and have good stamina.¡¯ He kept those words to himself. It was true he was bringing Sunhwa along because of her strength and stamina, but he didn¡¯t want to shatter her fantasy. Being 14 must be a happy time. It had been too long since he was 14, so he didn¡¯t remember how it was. ¡°Take this for now.¡± ¡°What is this?¡± ¡°Infinite Pouch.¡± ¡°Ah! That thing you stole from that baddie named Xu Xin?¡± It wasn¡¯t just the Infinite Pouch. The Bucket Scrap. The Old Book ¨C ¡®Elegy¡¯. The Stuttgar Bottle. And more. He had fished a total of nine items from Xu Xin¡¯s Inventory, each and every one worth several hundred thousand dollars. The cheapest of them, the Bucket Scrap, was worth about $300k (by future standards, of course). The most important thing was the Fountain Pen of Freedom, the item where only the destroyer of the Gray-Ringed Clear Crystal could activate the description. But it didn¡¯t seem like that was the only required condition. [The 1st condition has been fulfilled.] [Another condition must be fulfilled.] [The other condition can be gained through the quest ¡®War Between Sky and Ground¡¯.] The item was wrapped in several layers of security. The amusing thing was that Hyukjin already knew about the ¡®War Between Sky and Ground¡¯. Pietro had once said this: ¨CThe ¡®War Between Sky and Ground¡¯ is a quest closely linked to the ¡®Dewinged Angel Statue¡¯. In the War Between Sky and Ground, we¡ªthe ¡®Kin of the Ground¡¯¡ªexpected to be victorious. Up until ¡®that¡¯ betrayed us at the very last moment. That was the tragedy where half of the Ranker-level archers were wiped out. Even though it had happened overseas, Hyukjin knew of it in relative detail. ¡®The War Between Sky and Ground scenario will soon begin.¡¯ And it would happen in Italy. Hyukjin passed the Infinite Pouch to Sunhwa. ¡°We¡¯re going to buy a lot of stuff and put it in here. Take it.¡± ¡°It¡¯s kinda heavy.¡± ¡°Yeah.¡± They would fill it to the brim with provisions and blunt weapons, to the point that it would be very uncomfortable to lug around if you didn¡¯t have Sunhwa¡¯s level of physical prowess and stamina. ¡°Since it¡¯s an Infinite Pouch, can you put infinite stuff in there?¡± ¡°It should fit a ton of stuff.¡± Sunhwa caught on. ¡°Are you bringing me along to be your packhorse?¡± Despite being the same age as Song Jinchul, she was very perceptive. Sunhwa pouted her lips a little. ¡°Tch. Here I was, being happy for nothing.¡± ¡°Well sorta. It¡¯s not the only reason. We¡¯ll also go around the mall a bit.¡± He wanted to do some preparation for clearing the Dewinged Angel Statue Gate. Sunhwa¡¯s mouth opened wide. ¡°Whoa. We¡¯re going to the mall?¡± Sunhwa got worked up at the mention of the mall. ¡°I thought the mall is somewhere only the super duper rich people go to!¡± Of course that wasn¡¯t true, but apparently, the mall was that kind of place for Sunhwa, who had once been so poor she couldn¡¯t even eat a single tonkatsu. ¡°I¡¯m rich.¡± ¡°Yeah, but it doesn¡¯t really feel real.¡± He grinned. When it came down to it, Sunhwa also had the ability to easily become very rich. But it seemed Sunhwa wasn¡¯t cognizant of that, nor did she seek wealth. ¡®I will¡­ be careful with the casper,¡¯ Hyukjin thought while looking at his innocent sister. He would bide his time, growing a little stronger. He wouldn¡¯t let the happiness he had gained from returning to the past slip through his fingers. It might sound a little high-flown to say this, but he wanted to protect her the way she was now. Because she was family to him now. ¡®In order to protect my joys, I need power.¡¯ Hyukjin moved forward. ¡°Let¡¯s go.¡± But Sunhwa halted behind him. ¡°Oppa. Something¡¯s in the Infinite Pouch! No wonder it was so heavy!¡± ¡°What¡¯s in there?¡± A smile exploded onto Sunhwa¡¯s face. ¡°It¡¯s money! Wow! There¡¯s so much money!¡± Her smile grew bigger, stretching from ear to ear. ¡°I¡¯m rich now!¡± She giggled uncontrollably. ¡°How much is all this?!¡± That day, Sunhwa became a very happy millionaire. ¡°I¡¯m RICH~!¡± * * * Translator ¨C Lei Proofreader ¨C Ash * * * One week passed after that. The archers Pietro had recruited were waiting in the square in front of a famous tourist attraction of Italy, the Castel Sant¡¯Angelo. ¡°The gate is opening here, right?¡± ¡°Yeah.¡± ¡°Who¡¯s gonna be the party leader?¡± ¡°Pietro, but only temporarily. Once the clear really gets going, we¡¯ll pick a new one by voting.¡± ¡°That¡¯s unusual.¡± ¡°It is, yeah.¡± Normally, the party leader was chosen before going in. A commander and leader was necessary for clear efficiency. In that respect, Pietro¡¯s decision was a little illogical. ¡°There must be some sort of reason behind it.¡± ¡°Oh. Look over there.¡± Someone pointed into the sky. ¡°Is it a monster?¡± ¡°Everyone prepare for battle!¡± Something appeared in the sky¡ªa large monster with the body of a lion and the face of an eagle. At the same time, the sculptures on the stone bridge connected to the Castel Sant¡¯Angelo began to move, grating along the stone. [The main quest of the ¡®Ash-Covered Castle of Angels¡¯, the ¡®War Between Sky and Ground¡¯, has begun.] Like the Tutorial Field, the area was isolated from its surroundings. Hyukjin looked up into the sky. ¡®It¡¯s the same as the past.¡¯ The same scenario had come up in the past, but this time, there was the variable called ¡®Kim Hyukjin¡¯. Pietro also looked skyward. ¡®Kim Hyukjin was right.¡¯ It would be more precise to say that Ham Sohyun, Korea¡¯s Precognitive Dreamer, was right. ¡®Ham Sohyun¡¯s precognitive ability, and Kim Hyukjin¡¯s situational judgment¡­¡¯ How bright would they really shine? ¡®And¡­¡¯ Would it really go as Kim Hyukjin intended? Pietro decided to see for himself. If things went as Kim Hyukjin said they would, he could become a leader no one here would oppose. Just yesterday, Kim Hyukjin had told him, ¡°I will be the party leader.¡± ¡°There may be intense pushback.¡± ¡°I know. I¡¯m too unknown.¡± Kim Hyukjin said firmly, ¡°If things go as I say once the War Between Sky and Ground begins, I will become the party leader.¡± ¡°Why do you want to be the party leader?¡± Didn¡¯t Kim Hyukjin normally dislike exposing himself? ¡°Hard to say.¡± He responded like this: ¡°I suppose I just don¡¯t want to see people die in the same party as me.¡± And thus, came this moment. For now, Kim Hyukjin was ¡®half¡¯ right. Ham Sohyun¡¯s precognitive ability was precise. Pietro shivered. ¡®That Precognitive Dreamer¡­ is terrifying.¡¯ Pietro was shocked that there was someone in Taeguk Shield capable of such a precise precognitive dream. He was once again reminded of the might of Korea¡¯s representative guild, Taeguk Shield. [The main quest of the ¡®Ash-Covered Castle of Angels¡¯, the ¡®War Between Sky and Ground¡¯, has begun.] Pietro didn¡¯t get a precognitive note or anything. He was only told what Ham Sohyun said via Kim Hyukjin. Pietro stared at the Korean man. ¡®Even before this quest was triggered, he knew the location, as well as the name and the approximate details.¡¯ Almost all of them had been correct. Just what kind of person was this Ham Sohyun? Just what kind of monsters were swarming in Korea? ¡®I need¡­ to study Korea more.¡¯ An Irregular of unimaginable proportions called Kim Hyukjin was in Korea, something Michelle acknowledged as well. She took Kim Hyukjin¡¯s side, going as far as to scam other Rankers to do so. Kim Hyukjin was already overwhelming, yet there was even a monster like Ham Sohyun. It was enough to make Pietro reassess Korea altogether. ¡®I heard the average level of Players there isn¡¯t all that outstanding, but¡­¡¯ That was just the average level. It was a whole nother story when it came to the top Players. The top Players would end up leading the world anyway. In that regard, Korea had terrifyingly high potential. ¡®Looks like¡­ I¡¯ll need to visit Korea in person.¡¯ * * * One day before. After arriving in Italy, Hyukjin called Song Kiyeol. ¨CMay I sell Miss Ham Sohyun¡¯s name a little? ¨CMiss Ham Sohyun? ¨CI know the rough details about the Dewinged Angel Statue Gate. Thanks to my special eyes. To be honest, it was because he was a regressor. ¨CBut I don¡¯t have a convincing justification for my knowledge. ¨CUnderstood. Song Kiyeol gave his permission. In fact, there was nothing to deliberate. This was an opportunity for Ham Sohyun. The archers Pietro had gathered from all over the world were cream of the crop in the archer class. They were all people with significant influence in one part of society, whether big or small. Spreading Ham Sohyun¡¯s name among them was a good opportunity. Song Kiyeol made a proposal. ¨CFor it to make most sense, I think it would be best to say you are a guild member of Taeguk Shield. Hyukjin grinned. Apparently, Song Kiyeol wanted to use this chance to publicly state that an archer named ¡®Kim Hyukjin¡¯ was a part of Taeguk Shield. ¨CThat¡¯s a good idea. Hyukjin didn¡¯t have much to lose from the proposal. Thus, the deal between the two was established. Ham Sohyun, of course, gave her enthusiastic consent. And one day later, at the point during which Kim Hyukjin was participating in the ¡®War Between Sky and Ground¡¯, Ham Sohyun sought out her guildmaster. ¡°Guildmaster Song.¡± ¡°Yes?¡± ¡°Would it be at all possible for me to meet that person?¡± ¡°You mean Kim Hyukjin?¡± ¡°Yes.¡± ¡°How come?¡± After a moment of thought, Ham Sohyun said, ¡°I have a lot of precognitive dreams. But the scenes are only clear when I have dreams related to him, and I can also write an extremely concrete precognitive note.¡± ¡°¡­¡± ¡°That¡¯s why I¡¯m curious. Just who is he, to make me have such a powerful precognitive dream?¡± ¡°Is there some reason why you have powerful precognitive dreams about him?¡± Playing could not be explained by science. Oftentimes, some things could only be explained by the Player¡¯s sense of how it was, just like now. Ham Sohyun explained the reason she had come up with. ¡°The future is continually changed by many factors. Almost like a living creature.¡± ¡°Right.¡± Even the tiniest variable could greatly change the future. Song Kiyeol was well aware of that, too. ¡°If a precognitive dream has a clear future¡­¡± ¡°Then it must mean there aren¡¯t many variables,¡± Song Kiyeol finished. ¡°Yes,¡± said Ham Sohyun. ¡°A future with markedly fewer variables. A future that seldom changes. That is what I see.¡± ¡°You¡¯re saying that¡¯s how it is when you have a dream related to Kim Hyukjin, correct?¡± ¡°Yes. I think we can interpret this as Guildmaster Kim Hyukjin being a factor of such powerful immutability that he isn¡¯t shaken by minor variables.¡± Ham Sohyun¡¯s expression became a little more serious. ¡°And the really important thing is¡­¡± Ham Sohyun was lying in the VIP hospital room that had been set up in the Taeguk Shield HQ, paralyzed and almost completely incapable of moving her body. She briefly closed her eyes. ¡°As you know, Guildmaster Song, Precognitive Dream is a terribly ambiguous ability, so it¡¯s often not possible to know who you¡¯re dreaming about.¡± Even for strong precognitive dreams that resulted in a precognitive note, the notes were often discarded because the dreamer didn¡¯t know whose future it was. Song Kiyeol understood what Ham Sohyun was saying. ¡°Do you mean that if it¡¯s a dream related to Guildmaster Kim, you can clearly discern that it¡¯s about him?¡± Ham Sohyun gave a nod. That was the limit of her mobility. The movement was small, but that was the greatest agreement she could physically express. ¡°That person¡­ is special. Truly.¡± She wanted to meet him at least once. Maybe if she met him, she would be able to see something else. ¡°Please let me meet him.¡± * * * Meanwhile, Kim Hyukjin began participating in the War Between Sky and Ground. ¡®Let¡¯s get started, shall we?¡¯ His goal wasn¡¯t just to kill the enemies. ¡®I will lead these guys.¡¯ An opportunity to command world-level Rankers like this was rare. It was a fairly good situation for an Observer like himself. Hyukjin ran through the plan in his head. ¡®Okay.¡¯ Just as he had always done. ¡®I will set the stage.¡¯ He looked up at the monsters in the sky. The supporting actors were descending. ____ Chapter 228 Chapter 228 The monsters that appeared in the sky had lion bodies and eagle heads. ¡°It¡¯s as Miss Ham Sohyun said.¡± Monsters would descend from the sky, and they would be winged creatures with the bodies of a four-legged beast. That was exactly what was happening now. Of course, this ¡°prophecy¡± was cobbled together by Kim Hyukjin based on his memory of the past. ¡°Yes. But let¡¯s save the amazement for later. The Players are shaken up.¡± There were roughly thirty Players here, most of them archers. Some knew Hyukjin, and some didn¡¯t. Most of the people who survived this would become top Rankers. And half would die¡­ if the raid went as it had in Hyukjin¡¯s past. Pietro took a step forward. ¡°The quest¡¯s name is the War Between Sky and Earth.¡± Monsters were descending from the sky, and the sculptures were moving on the ground. The eyes of the sculptures on the stone bridge glowed purple. Pietro continued speaking. ¡°We don¡¯t know how to clear this quest. We lack an outstanding sovereign, and we don¡¯t have an explorer, either.¡± Of course, there were sovereigns here. One was Kim Hyukjin, and the other was Schultz, a dual-class Player from Germany whose main class was archer and subclass was sovereign. ¡°However, we have a prophecy from Taeguk Shield foreseeing this situation. Based on that information, we need to take the sculptures¡¯ side in this war. I believe this information to be considerably reliable. I think it would be best to progress by hunting the monsters in the sky.¡± This was coming from the information merchant Pietro. His words had sway. The archers peered up into the sky. ____ Gryphon LVL 36 ____ Flying creatures were tricky foes, but the monsters weren¡¯t so strong that they couldn¡¯t be defeated. Pietro quickly continued. ¡°Because a new quest was triggered even before the gate opened, we didn¡¯t have a chance to assign a party leader who will represent and lead us.¡± There needed to be a party leader to take the reins anyway. Hyukjin knew who the original party leader was¡ªthe German Player, Schultz. In the past, Pietro said this: ¨CSchultz was an outstanding Player. If he had survived that place, he may have developed into a Player who could stand shoulder to shoulder with Michelle and Salvatore. Schultz was supposed to die here. He took responsibility for his decisions and bravely perished while silently helping the other Players escape. Everyone who survived the gate expressed their admiration for Schultz. ¡®A person who takes responsibility for his decisions.¡¯ That was what Hyukjin knew about Schultz. ¡°As the person with the most information, I will temporarily assume party lead,¡± said Pietro. ¡°I think we should pick the party leader once this quest is over.¡± There was no time to say more. The Gryphons circling in the sky were ready to plunge and were spewing bloodthirst towards the ¡®earth¡¯. ¡°According to my information, we belong to the ¡®earth¡¯. We need to fight the enemies that belong to the ¡®sky¡¯. At least in this field.¡± The archers agreed with him. They believed Pietro was naturally the most informed person here and decided to follow his instructions. Everyone took out their bows. The arms of the sculptures on the bridge moved. Stones made of mana formed on their palms, and then, they hurled the stones like they were catapults. Whumpf¨C! The stones hurtled into the sky. One of the Gryphons was struck by the barrage. Kwak! The Gryphon squawked with rage and plunged downwards. ¡°Fire!¡± The archers fired in unison. No one used flashy skills or powerful attacks¡ªthey all used basic attacks. Hyukjin liked what he saw. ¡®They¡¯re definitely Ranker quality.¡¯ They intentionally used compact and easy attacks so as to not interfere with each others¡¯ trajectories. Even with just basic attacks, the Players would have no problem blocking a single assailant. Normally, that is. ¡®If that monster wasn¡¯t a Gryphon.¡¯ But Gryphons were monsters with a special barrier that blocked normal attacks. Only attacks imbued with mana could deal damage to them. ¡®The Players will quickly realize that.¡¯ If they couldn¡¯t even figure that out, they weren¡¯t Ranker material. ¡®I know they¡¯ll quickly catch on, but¡­¡¯ Even so, Hyukjin intended on taking action here, with the goal of assuming party leadership for this raid. Schultz was an admirable Player, but in the end, the raid was defeated under his leadership, with nearly half of the Players killed. ¡®That might not change¡­ even if I lead.¡¯ But he was still fairly confident. Hyukjin was armed with knowledge of the future and was stronger than the others. Half of the Players may have died in the past, but that also meant half had survived even without Hyukjin¡¯s presence. ¡®This time¡­ a regressor is here.¡¯ That alone meant they would be able to pull off a far better clear than in the past. ¡®Most importantly, I have the [Angel Statue¡¯s Wings].¡¯ In his Inventory was the item he had gotten by clearing the Wind Temple with Hyun Junghwa, an item he was certain would play a key role in this gate. ¡®I will save who I can save and get everything I can get.¡¯ That was why he was here. [Using the special skill Flash Step.] Thanks to the Grudge Inmyeonjo, he already had experience facing a flying monster. It was a lot easier this time. Hyukjin rushed forward with Flash Step, landing on the Gryphon¡¯s neck and plunging his sword directly in the Gryphon¡¯s skull. Splurt! His transcendent sword went in like a hot knife through butter. The Gryphon crashed onto the ground, briefly thrashing before dying with a body full of arrows. In this gathering of archers, Hyukjin purposely showed a shocking technique like Flash Step and killed a Gryphon using a sword. ¡®I¡¯m sure that got their attention.¡¯ Hyukjin didn¡¯t have any fame to his name. If he wanted these people to obey and follow him, his only choice was to prove his skill. So for starters, he drew their attention. And then, he gave the signal. ¡°Junghwa. Mark.¡± Hyun Junghwa and Mark were standing behind him. ¡°Cover me.¡± ¡°Okay.¡± ¡°Understood.¡± * * * Translator ¨C Lei Proofreader ¨C Ash * * * Now that Hyukjin had their eyes, he needed to begin the real work. He had to produce a scene impressive enough to garner the heartfelt acknowledgement of top Rankers in the archer class. ¡®I¡¯ve produced plenty of scenes for the Guardians.¡¯ Producing scenes for Players was even easier. Hyukjin pulled out the Ink Bow. Hyukjin knew Ahn Seohye¡¯s altered incantation, the incantation uttered not to protect and revive, but to destroy and eliminate. They were the words Seohye had unconsciously manifested in the past. The incantation uttered by a Barrier Magician resolved to martyr. She subtly changed the ¡®Incantation of Salvation¡¯ conceived by Hyukjin, deploying her Nemesis Doom Barrier with all her soul and might in order to kill the Fire Giants. ¡®It¡¯s the perfect incantation for the current situation.¡¯ Hyukjin kicked off his production¡ªone made for Rankers and not for Guardians¡ªwith that incantation. His eyes turned crimson red. On the other side of the world, at the DMC Riverview Xi, the Guardian Tower Ahn Seohye standing in the middle of the crosswalk was struck with a strange feeling. She suddenly recalled fighting the Fire Giants. All she could do was think or murmur to herself. ¡®One who trusts even without seeing shall die even in life.¡¯ Thinking back on it, it was different from the incantation Hyukjin had uttered. His incantation had ended with ¡®live even in death¡¯. ¡®What came after that?¡¯ She didn¡¯t remember the exact lines that followed. ¡®Why did I suddenly remember this?¡¯ An elementary school kid crossing the road looked up at Ahn Seohye. ¡°Mom. Look over there.¡± ¡°Why?¡± ¡°Over there. The red eye is shaking a bunch!¡± Seohye was deep in recollection and didn¡¯t hear the kid. ¡®I think it was lacerating something something after that.¡¯ The incantation Seohye couldn¡¯t remember reappeared in the world through Hyukjin¡¯s lips. ¡°Thus shall I sublimate thy lacerating suffering into eternal peace.¡± He uttered the final lines that Seohye had spoken with tears of blood running down her cheeks. [You who has killing intent.] [I command thee. Return to thy eternal slumber.] With that, the complete opposite of the Incantation of Salvation was completed. [You have partially succeeded in uttering the Will Incantation.] At the same time, red mana began to ripple from Hyukjin¡¯s body. Junghwa and Mark stood next to him and provided cover. He had told them in advance that this would happen. Mark fired his bow into the sky while covering Kim Hyukjin. ¡®What is he doing?¡¯ He saw red mana rippling out of Hyukjin¡¯s body, but he didn¡¯t know what the man was preparing. The terrible bloodthirst he felt from that red mana made him shiver. Just standing next to Hyukjin made the hairs on his body stand on end. ¡®But¡­ that¡¯s not all.¡¯ Mark had the feeling that intense bloodthirst was fused with something else. This was just his gut feeling, a deduction born entirely out of a Player¡¯s intangible intuition. ¡®I think¡­ this is fire energy.¡¯ Mark wasn¡¯t the only one who felt it. Junghwa felt the same thing. She felt the same kind of mana she sensed from fire attribute Players. The person in question, Kim Hyukjin, felt it as well. He had the feeling he had taken one step closer to the secret that had remained hidden in the Ink Bow all this time. ¡®The Ink Bow is responding to a power I possess.¡¯ The Ink Bow in Hyukjin¡¯s hands began to change. ____ Chapter 229 Chapter 229 Hyukjin heard a notice. [Confirming the presence of pure flame energy within the body.] Athenae¡¯s energy was mixed into the bloodthirst he had amplified with Will Incantation. On top of that¡ª [Confirming the presence of a physique imprinted with the ¡®Tome of the Divine Bow Physique¡¯.] Before coming here, Hyukjin used the Tome of the Divine Bow Physique, the item directly sponsored by the Night of Shooting Stars. With it, Hyukjin imbued a special attribute in his body called the ¡®Divine Bow Physique¡¯. [Perceiving powerful flame energy imprinted within the Divine Bow Physique.] Hyukjin knew what this was. In the past, he was briefly given the ¡®Blackfire Bow¡¯ by the Night of Shooting Stars to use. It appeared that his Divine Bow Physique remembered the blackfire that had billowed from that bow. Will Incantation. Pure flame energy. Divine Bow Physique. The Blackfire Bow¡¯s mana wavelength, engraved in his body. These four factors came together, and¡ª [Analyzing the mana wavelength with Observer¡¯s Eye.] He oversaw and contemplated it all with Observer¡¯s Eye. ¡®Is this how you do it?¡¯ [Overlaying the Divine Bow Physique¡¯s mana on the Ink Bow.] Hyukjin did everything by instinct. [Generating a temporary Blackfire Bow.] [The Blackfire Bow¡¯s base item is the Ink Bow.] A new item was generated with the Ink Bow as a base¡ªa Blackfire Bow temporarily given shape through the power of the Divine Bow Physique. ¡®Using a standard item as a base¡­ to create a new item.¡¯ It was a completely new concept that hadn¡¯t existed in the past. And yet, he had just started pulling it off by instinct. A Guardian who normally didn¡¯t interrupt Plays sent a message. [The ¡®Night of Shooting Stars¡¯ is very satisfied.] Guardians avoided sending messages like this in the middle of a Play. It was pretty much a tacit rule between Guardians. The reason humanity came up with to explain why was that other Guardians disliked such messages because they disrupted the flow. In any case, Hyukjin remembered the Blackfire Bow¡¯s item description word for word. [Blackfire Bow] Of the types of flames, there is redfire, which is consumed by bluefire, which is in turn consumed by blackfire. The Blackfire Bow bears the authority of blackfire. It can only be wielded by someone who has the highest grade of affinity for the fire attribute in addition to an innate talent for the archer class. *The Blackfire Bow will decide for itself whether someone is qualified to wield it. The bow was activated using mana. But the one he had now felt even more comfortable in his hand than the one from before. ¡®Because of Athenae¡¯s flames.¡¯ After absorbing Athenae¡¯s flames, his fire affinity was higher than when he first used the Blackfire Bow, and his talent for the archer class had also been boosted. Dark flames blazed on the Ink Bow in Hyukjin¡¯s hand. He drew the bowstring. ¡®It eats up a lot of mana.¡¯ He wouldn¡¯t be able to manifest the bow for long. It put too much burden on the body. ¡®There¡¯s my target.¡¯ Hyukjin aimed at a Gryphon surrounded by dozens of other Gryphons. ¡®I¡¯ll aim for the forehead.¡¯ All of this happened in a matter of seconds. From the Will Incantation to firing, everything took less than three seconds. An arrow enveloped in blackfire went whistling off. Mark¡¯s eyes widened. ¡®That¡¯s an arrow?¡¯ It seemed more like a light beam than an arrow. ¡®Magic?¡¯ And it was imbued with powerful mana. ¡®How did he put that much mana in it?¡¯ The result was shocking. The arrow found its mark on the Gryphon¡¯s forehead and killed it on the spot. Black flames enveloped the beast, instantly disintegrating it. Those flames then burst out, spreading from target to target. A single wisp of flame was more than enough to kill. Pietro witnessed it, too. ¡®The flames¡­ are swallowing the Gryphons.¡¯ With a single arrow. ¡®He hunted seventeen Gryphons. With a single shot.¡¯ It was true that Mark and Hyun Junghwa had covered him, allowing him to prepare a big attack. But even so, this was an unreal feat. Regardless of requiring cover, this single blow was far too strong. ¡®And his main class is sovereign.¡¯ Hyukjin fired yet another arrow, hunting another thirteen Gryphons with it. He killed three Gryphons instantly with one arrow, and the other ten were burned to death by the black flames that spread from the arrow. Goosebumps rose all over Pietro¡¯s body. ¡®He¡¯s this strong and he¡¯s not world famous?¡¯ From an information merchant¡¯s perspective, that was even more terrifying. This man was thoroughly concealing his true self. ¡®I need to make sure people keep their mouths shut.¡¯ Pietro didn¡¯t forget his duty. He had already agreed to this situation with Kim Hyukjin. ¡®Was this why he was so confident?¡¯ Of course he would be, when he was armed with such a powerful ability. ¡®It wouldn¡¯t be strange at all if he were elected party leader.¡¯ Everyone here would agree to that. Everything went as Kim Hyukjin had devised. Before long, all of the Gryphons were killed, resulting in a notice. [The main quest of the ¡®Ash-Covered Castle of Angels¡¯, the ¡®War Between Sky and Ground¡¯, has resulted in Ground¡¯s victory.] [Break time will be granted to the ¡®Kin of the Ground¡¯.] [Rewards will be granted to the ¡®Kin of the Ground¡¯.] The sculptures that had been pelting the Gryphons snapped back to their original places, and the briefly isolated field was once again connected to the outside world. Pietro stepped forward. ¡°I¡¯m sure everyone saw it.¡± After all, Kim Hyukjin had produced this situation. All that was left now was to elect him as the party leader. However, Kim Hyukjin suddenly interrupted him. * * * Translator ¨C Lei Proofreader ¨C Ash * * * ¡°I overexerted myself by drawing on my lifeforce. I think I need a little rest as a result.¡± Hyukjin fell forward and was caught by Junghwa. Pietro faltered, failing to comprehend. ¡®Eh?¡¯ This wasn¡¯t in the script. ¡®Wasn¡¯t he supposed to become the party leader here?¡¯ That was what they had agreed on. ¡®What¡¯s going on?¡¯ But as expected of an info merchant, Pietro caught on quickly. Kim Hyukjin was acting, using a fairly reasonable excuse like ¡®I overexerted myself by drawing on my lifeforce¡¯. As Junghwa propped him up, Hyukjin let his head slump down as if he lacked the strength to lift it. But as he bowed his head, he was smiling. ¡®This is good.¡¯ Notices rang in Hyukjin¡¯s ears. [A non-archer has been chosen as the MVP in the ¡®War Between Sky and Ground¡¯.] [Non-archers will be permitted to enter the ¡®Ash-Covered Castle of Angels¡¯.] Only Hyukjin heard the words. ¡°Pietro. I have something to discuss with you.¡± Thirty minutes of ¡®regrouping time¡¯ were granted by the System. Slumping on the ground like a limp ragdoll, Hyukjin called Pietro. When Pietro sat down next to him, Hyukjin said very quietly, ¡°Please call Salvatore, I mean Chiellini.¡± The War God Salvatore was already a famous sovereign in Italy. It would become very easy to direct the archers. ¡°But Chiellini is a sovereign.¡± ¡°It¡¯s now possible for non-archers to enter as well. If you have the key, go ahead and check it.¡± Pietro hurriedly checked his Inventory. [Gold Key ¨C Dewinged Angel Statue] An item that opens the gate into the field ¡®Dewinged Angel Statue¡¯. ¡®The description changed!¡¯ Originally, there was a condition saying ¡®Only archer Players can enter¡¯. But that was gone now. ¡°You¡¯re right.¡± ¡°I don¡¯t think there¡¯s any Player better for a group battle than Chiellini. He¡¯s probably nearby.¡± ¡°Chiellini is? Why?¡± ¡°He told me he wanted to go into this gate.¡± ¡°He told you that?¡± ¡°Yes. So I told him he should try to come in if he can, and he said he would stay nearby.¡± Pietro didn¡¯t ask why Chiellini wanted to participate. After witnessing Kim Hyukjin¡¯s prowess for himself, Pietro could fully understand how Chiellini felt. ¡°And if Chiellini comes in, Vela will probably come in as well.¡± ¡°Will that¡­ really happen?¡± ¡°Yes, it will.¡± Pietro just stared at Hyukjin for a moment before asking, ¡°How many Players of your level are there in Korea?¡± ¡°Find that out on your own.¡± ¡°¡­Understood.¡± Pietro was sure of it. ¡®He intentionally stationed Chiellini in this area.¡¯ Pietro didn¡¯t know what kind of deal the two made, but he suspected Hyukjin had planned this in advance. He was half right. It was true that Chiellini (Salvatore) himself wanted to participate, but Kim Hyukjin also asked him to stay near the Castel Sant¡¯Angelo. And that was because of the Astrologist Itachi¡¯s prophecy. A meeting occurs before the cornerstone of an ash-covered temple. If they meet as enemies, so shall a conflagration of hell commence. If they meet as friends, so shall the hymn of heaven ring. As always, precognitive notes were vague and ambiguous. Back then, Hyukjin thought the prophecy was referring to the temple in Pompeii. But upon further thought, he had the feeling it wasn¡¯t. This quest had stated it outright: standing before them was the ¡®Ash-Covered Castle of Angels¡¯. If that ¡®meeting¡¯ was a meeting with Salvatore, and what he thought back then was correct¡ª A meeting occurs before the cornerstone of an ash-covered temple. If they meet as friends, so shall the hymn of heaven ring. ¡ªthen the hymn of heaven would ring. Heaven literally referred to the ¡®above the sky¡¯, and it also matched the War Between Sky and Ground main quest. Vela came running over. ¡°Hyukjin! Take me! Take me too!¡± Next to him was Salvatore. Two reliable reinforcements had come. The archers cheered upon recognizing Vela and Salvatore. Schultz, the person who was supposed to have become party leader before Hyukjin jumped in, naturally did not oppose when Hyukjin proposed¡ªwith pleasure¡ªto have Salvatore assume the party leader position. Salvatore accepted. The Italian sovereign said quietly, ¡°Do you intend on setting me up as a front?¡± ¡°Yes.¡± ¡°Which means you¡¯re using me.¡± ¡°Am I not allowed to?¡± ¡°It¡¯s not that you¡¯re not allowed to¡­¡± Salvatore trailed off, rendered speechless by how easily Hyukjin had admitted it. ¡°I¡¯ll be your front, but¡­ please give me your full assistance.¡± ¡°Got it.¡± ¡°¡­I will use this opportunity to learn a lot from you. Hyukjin.¡± Salvatore felt more at ease than usual. ¡®This feels great.¡¯ Knowing someone better than him was supporting him made the responsibility feel lighter than usual. Also, he would be able to learn a great deal from Kim Hyukjin again, something he was happy about. Thirty minutes passed. [The ¡®regrouping time¡¯ granted by the System has ended.] Pietro took out the Gold Key. ¡®I can activate the gate by finding the place where this key reacts.¡¯ He had already found that spot in advance. It was across the bridge near the Castel Sant¡¯Angelo. [Generating the ¡®Ash-Covered Castle of Angels¡¯.] That moment, the entire field changed. Just like with the Tutorial Field, the world turned red. [A crack has formed in the ¡®Ash-Covered Castle of Angels¡¯.] [The field will cease to be if the ¡®Ash-Covered Castle of Angels¡¯ collapses.] [In order to stop the crack in the ¡®Ash-Covered Castle of Angels¡¯ from spreading, the entrance to the ¡®Dewinged Angel Statue¡¯ must be opened.] [The quest ¡®Clear the Dewinged Angel Statue Gate!¡¯ has been generated.] Pietro had come all this way for this quest. ¡°I will now activate the key,¡± he said. He activated the Gold Key. [The entrance to the ¡®Dewinged Angel Statue¡¯ is opening.] ____ Chapter 230 Chapter 230 [The entrance to the ¡®Dewinged Angel Statue¡¯ is opening.] A desolate field appeared. All the grass was dried up, and a bone dry wind blew through the field. The wind carried grains of sand that left a dusty feeling in the mouth. A little ways ahead lay an abandoned sculpture with dried trails of bloody tears. There was also a voice. [I was discarded.] [They cut off my wings.] Ruuuumble¨C The plains rumbled, as if a weak earthquake were shaking the field. [They robbed me of my freedom.] Salvatore took the lead. ¡°I think that angel statue is speaking. I have a notetaking skill, so please stay quiet, everyone.¡± The meaning behind those words was simple¡ªdon¡¯t interrupt me. All the archers here were outstanding Players. They understood exactly what Salvatore meant and remained totally silent. Whoosh¨C The dusty, grainy wind continued to blow. [My wings disappeared.] [I thought to myself.] [For what reason do I, who was deprived of life, exist?] Hyukjin was already familiar with this scenario. This Dewinged Angel Statue was enraged. Enraged at the fellow angels that had cut off its wings. [I am furious.] [At the fellow angels who snatched away my freedom.] The angel statue¡¯s head began to move like a broken ball-jointed doll, creaking. ¡®That¡¯s creepy.¡¯ The head turned grotesquely to stare at the Players. Fresh lines of bloody tears began to ooze down the dried trails. Brrr¨C The Dewinged Angel Statue convulsed, dust falling off with every spasm. [Kin of the Ground.] [Won¡¯t you oppose my Kin of the Sky with me?] It was exactly as Hyukjin remembered. ¡®The Dewinged Angel Statue.¡¯ It was enraged at its kin. ¡®It¡¯s similar to the ones I saw.¡¯ There was a high chance it was had a similar ability to the angel statues he had seen in the Wind Temple. Sure enough, a ¡®red gem¡¯ appeared on the Dewinged Angel Statue¡¯s forehead. It looked exactly the same as the ones Hyukjin had seen on the statues in the Wind Temple. ¡®But¡­ not one, but two?¡¯ The statues in the Wind Temple each had one red gem on their foreheads, but this one had two. Hyukjin could tell. ¡®One is for attack, the other is for defense.¡¯ He still remembered the terrifying beam those gems had produced. It was a tool specialized for killing. But this angel statue seemed to possess the power to protect as well. Hyukjin recalled Pietro¡¯s record of the ill-fated raid. ¨CAt first, ¡®that¡¯ showed a shocking power to protect us. Every time the red gem on its forehead flashed, we were shielded from an extremely dangerous attack. It was the same as before. Sitting on your thumbs when you knew what was going to happen was the act of a fool. If you knew the lottery numbers, you should use them. Hyukjin stopped next to Salvatore. ¡°Party Leader. May I speak to the angel statue?¡± Salvatore was technically the party leader. Hyukjin asked him for permission to keep up appearances. ¡°Go ahead.¡± Hyukjin walked towards the angel statue. Its gaze moved to Hyukjin. [Kin of the Ground.] [Will you cooperate with me?] The red gem began to glow faintly with light. [If you do not¡­] [Only destruction awaits you.] Hyukjin stopped in place. ¡°I can give you the wings you want.¡± The Players were supposed to fight the angels descending from the sky with this angel statue. That fight would result in the victory of the ¡®Kin of the Ground¡¯, the Players. But at the last moment, the final angel made a proposal. ¡°Kill them all, and I will take off my wings and give them to you.¡± In the end, the angel statue accepted the proposal and betrayed the Players. ¡®That¡¯s the scenario I know.¡¯ That was the overall progression of this gate. Hyukjin wanted to throw a variable into the scenario. ¡°What you want most are wings. In your terms, that¡¯s freedom, correct?¡± Dust continued falling from the angel statue¡¯s face. The mouth moved stiffly, producing a voice that was no longer a notice. ¡°You have¡­ wings?¡± ¡°Of course.¡± Hyukjin took out an item from his Inventory¡ªthe ¡®Angel Statue¡¯s Wings¡¯ he had acquired from the Wind Temple. The person who had given it to him, Hyun Junghwa, started in surprise. ¡®That¡¯s the item I gave him.¡¯ She had given it to him because she believed he was the rightful owner. ¡®When you look at Kim Hyukjin¡¯s actions¡­¡¯ It was like he had predicted and created this situation from the beginning. If so, that would mean he already foresaw this ¡®Dewinged Angel Statue¡¯ when they were in the Wind Temple. ¡®What kind of crazy Playstyle is that?¡¯ It was almost¡­ like he was a seer who knew the future. The Korean Player Hyun Junghwa felt as though she was experiencing the ¡®Korean Playstyle¡¯ spoken of overseas in the flesh. Hyukjin took another few steps forward. ¡°This is what you want, right?¡± ¡°Yes.¡± That moment, a powerful wave of mana billowed from the angel statue¡¯s red gem. It wasn¡¯t visible to the physical eye, but Hyukjin¡¯s Eye of Perception picked up on it. ¡°If you¡¯re thinking about attacking me and stealing the wings, I suggest you give up on the idea.¡± Hyukjin smiled wide. ¡°How do you think we cut these wings off?¡± The mana building in the red gems rapidly dissipated. ¡°How did you get that?¡± ¡°There were some guys that attacked me first. They were protecting a temple.¡± ¡°What happened to them?¡± ¡°They were destroyed.¡± ¡°I see.¡± Hyukjin stowed the Angel Statue¡¯s Wings in his Inventory. ¡°Let me return the proposal to you. Help us punish the People of the Sky.¡± The angel statue making a proposal and fighting the angels with the Players, vs. the Players making a proposal and having the angel statue fight. The two might seem the same based on just the result, but the process was different. ¡®If my prediction is right¡­ you can get way more contribution with the latter.¡¯ The System was geared to prefer active Playing over passive Playing. A short period of silence followed, injecting a moment of downtime that the Guardians used to send a flurry of messages. [The ¡®Nameless Observer¡¯ is observing.] [The ¡®Whispering Devil¡¯ is having fun.] [The ¡®Courageous Lion King¡¯ is bored.] [The ¡®Barrier of Blue Light¡¯ is impressed.] [The ¡®Night of Shooting Stars¡¯ continues to focus.] Hyukjin spread out his hands. ¡°How about it? Will you cooperate with us?¡± * * * Translator ¨C Lei Proofreader ¨C Ash * * * Hyukjin remembered Pietro saying this afterwards: ¨CThe reason half of us were able to survive at all was because the angel statue was in terrible condition. The Dewinged Angel Statue almost completely spent itself in the war against the ¡®Sky¡¯, allowing the Players to destroy it and escape. ¨CAt that time, we couldn¡¯t comprehend the angel statue¡¯s final words. [Still, I did love you.] The words didn¡¯t seem fitting for the betrayed angel statue. There was something weird and illogical about them. Pietro said this in retrospect: ¨CThose words were basically the final notice stating it would become our enemy. I think those words are to be understood as a declaration of war. The next moment, the Players began to hear singing from the sky. ¡®A hymn?¡¯ It sounded like sacred music produced by a beautiful harmony of countless singers, like the chorusing of a choir. A massive gate appeared in the sky. The angel statue spoke. ¡°They¡­ are descending.¡± [The ¡®War Between Sky and Ground¡¯ is beginning.] The gate opened, and from it appeared angel statues with two wings behind their backs. However, they weren¡¯t the beautiful angels one normally imagined. They were day and night from Senia. Their faces were horrific, dominated by mouths that took up two-thirds of the face and were filled with sharp teeth. Pus oozed from their skin, making the angels appear as if they were melting. ¡°I shall guard you.¡± Light glowed from the red gem. Hyukjin looked around. ¡®This¡­¡¯ A shield, also called a barrier, was deployed. ¡®¡­is a shield that allows attacks from the inside but blocks attacks from the outside.¡¯ Salvatore also instantly realized that fact. ¡°Prepare to fight.¡± As expected of a sovereign, Salvatore assigned each archer a number and put them in squads. The Players were divided into six regular squads and one special squad that included Salvatore, with each squad having a leader. He accomplished that in a matter of minutes. ¡°Pointer.¡± A red light flickered onto one of the six angels that had appeared. ¡°This is a technique I have called Pointer. It sets a target.¡± Everyone understood. ¡°Squads 1 and 2 will handle that one. Move seven steps to the right and set up an attack formation.¡± He used Pointer again, this time on another angel. ¡°Squads 3 and 4 will take this one. Maintain your current position.¡± His eyes moved to another angel. Salvatore could tell it would get attacked by the angel statue on the ground, so he skipped it. It would hurt their DPS if they attacked the same target as the angel statue. ¡°I¡¯ll leave this one to Squad 5. It appears to have lower defense compared to the others.¡± That was why he only assigned one team to it. ¡°Squad 6 will handle that one.¡± And finally¡ª ¡°Our squad will handle the last one.¡± ¡°Our squad¡± referred to the special squad consisting of Salvatore, Vela, Kim Hyukjin, Mark, and Hyun Junghwa. The six angel statues that had appeared were distributed precisely among the raid members. The leader of Squad 1, Schultz, asked a question. ¡°Should we fire?¡± ¡°Stand by a little longer.¡± They needed to come a little closer, just a little closer. That moment, one of the flying angel statues fired a red beam. Salvatore flinched. Kim Hyukjin said quietly, ¡°Hold.¡± Hyukjin wanted him to stay in place. Despite recognizing the destructive force imbued in that red beam, at this moment, Salvatore trusted Hyukjin. ¡°Everyone, hold your positions.¡± The red beam shot towards them, and at the same time, the ¡®ground¡¯ angel statue spoke. ¡°I shall protect you.¡± The red beam collided into the shield. Like a laser reflected by a mirror, the beam bounced off at a different angle. Salvatore heard a notice from a new Guardian. [The ¡®Barrier of Blue Light¡¯ greatly respects your decision.] Just like how Guardians from foreign servers became interested in the Korean server because of Kim Hyukjin, Guardians from the Korean server were starting to gain an interest in foreign server Players, once again because of Kim Hyukjin. Hyukjin murmured again, ¡°Wait a little longer. Their weakness is the red gem on their foreheads.¡± Salvatore was of the same intent. Three seconds longer. Once the enemies drew closer for just three seconds, they would begin their attack. Salvatore aimed for the perfect timing. ¡°Now.¡± The six teams began their attack in unison, matching up perfectly with the attack of the ¡®ground¡¯ angel statue. One angel statue, the one that had fired the red beam, was destroyed. Through that, the Players realized on their own that the angel statues were weakest directly after attacking. Thanks to the Players¡¯ great teamwork, the ¡®ground¡¯ angel statue also seemed to have plenty of stamina left. Hyukjin stared at the remaining five angel statues in the sky. ¡®It¡¯s different from the past.¡¯ They might be facing the same foes, but the difficulty could vary widely depending on how you handled them. One angel statue was already eliminated, and taking care of the remaining five wouldn¡¯t be very difficult. The Players were performing extremely well. Time passed. Because it wasn¡¯t tired, the ¡®ground¡¯ angel statue was able to block the incoming red beams, and the Players were able to destroy all five flying angel statues. Pietro nearly laughed in astonishment. ¡®It¡¯s this¡­ easy?¡¯ No. This wasn¡¯t easy. It was absolutely not an easy challenge. The key was that ¡®special squad¡¯. They were firing exactly at the right time and place to prevent the ¡®ground¡¯ angel statue from taking damage. It was because they preserved the ¡®ground¡¯ angel statue¡¯s stamina that the shield could be deployed when needed, allowing the Players to hunt down the other angel statues with ease. And at the center of this well-greased operation was Kim Hyukjin. Salvatore might be the official leader, but the true core was Kim Hyukjin. It was going well. Too well, in fact, that a notice rang out. [The war is being concluded too quickly.] Senia appeared. As always, she drew scattered cries of admiration. Hyukjin was so used to the reaction that he took it as a matter of course. ¡°The war is being concluded too quickly in comparison to the System¡¯s arrangement.¡± She quickly continued in a very un-Senia-like fashion. ¡°If many Guardians offer their support, the gate¡¯s difficulty can be raised.¡± Hyukjin realized that this might look like a part of her stream, but it wasn¡¯t actually. She was using a legal method to relay information to him, a Player. ¡®What¡¯s going on?¡¯ She could have just appeared and spoken using the language only Guardians and Intermediate Administrators could understand, but she streamed in front of Hyukjin using a language he could understand. ¡°Many Guardians have offered their support.¡± The support of Guardians was, in other words, Coins. Hyukjin was sure that not just one, but many Guardians had contributed. ¡®Which means, they¡¯ll increase the difficulty by investing a shit ton of Coins.¡¯ The Sky Gate began to expand. The ¡®ground¡¯ angel statue¡¯s voice trembled. ¡°He¡­ is descending.¡± The red gems encrusted on the angel statue¡¯s forehead dimmed in fear. At that moment, the entire field turned dark red, and an overwhelming aura began seeping from the Sky Gate. A variable had occurred. ____ Chapter 231 Chapter 231 ¡°He¡­ is descending.¡± The angel statue¡¯s body hardened, returning to the stone statue it originally was. The gems on its forehead were very faintly shining, but that too looked as though it would soon fade. ¡°Through the agreement and support of many Guardians, a new scenario will commence.¡± ¡°How much has the difficulty increased?¡± ¡°I cannot tell you that. It is up to you, the Player, to determine.¡± If Hyukjin had to guess¡­ ¡®I have a feeling it¡¯s been ramped up a ton.¡¯ The situation felt similar to the Fire Giants. When the Fire Giants first spawned, they were supposed to have killed around 30,000 people. In the same way, half of the archers here were supposed to have lost their lives. That was how the original scenario was supposed to play out. The Sky Gate continued to vibrate and expand. Hyukjin felt an incredible presence on the other side. ¡®Does the System wish to kill as many people as was originally planned this time as well?¡¯ While receiving support from the Guardians, no less? ¡®Dammit.¡¯ The still-expanding gate occasionally emitted yellow sparks. The whole process was taking quite a while. ¡®What kind of foe is it, to require such fanfare?¡¯ The longer an enemy took to appear, the higher the chance there was that its strength merited the dramatic entrance. ¡®It¡¯ll definitely be stronger than the angels.¡¯ Normally, the strength of an angel was represented by the number of its wings. ¡®Surely it won¡¯t be a six-winged angel.¡¯ A six-winged angel had appeared just one time in the history he knew, in an incident that was called the Paris Catastrophe. When the angel with six wings appeared in Paris, France, 10,000 people were instantly reduced to ashes and an additional 20,000 were melted into nothingness by light. ¡®If a six-winged angel shows up, we¡¯re all dead.¡¯ But that probably wouldn¡¯t be the case. ¡®The System wants to get rid of around half of us.¡¯ Using that as a measure, he guessed it would be stronger than a two-winged angel but weaker than a sixer. There was a high chance it would be something that had never appeared in the past (or did appear, but was not told to the public)¡ªa four-winged angel. He stared at Senia. ¡°Senia.¡± ¡°Yes, what is it?¡± Senia was as expressionless as ever, but Hyukjin could feel it. ¡®She wants to say something.¡¯ There was something she was itching to hear from him. Her lips were trembling ever so slightly. ¡®The monster not showing up yet means they¡¯re giving us time.¡¯ She wasn¡¯t saying it, but it looked like she was tamping down the desire to shout, ¡®Hurry and spit it out, right now!¡¯ Salvatore watched in silence. He believed it was better to focus on Kim Hyukjin¡¯s Playing right now than to direct the other Players. There was much for him to learn as a sovereign, and as a Player. ¡°The System suddenly increased the difficulty, even winning the support of the Guardians to do so.¡± But the boss wasn¡¯t spawning right away. ¡°If the System simply wanted to slaughter us, it wouldn¡¯t give us this much time.¡± ¡°¡­¡± Senia didn¡¯t respond, but her wings began to faintly tremble. She blinked a little faster than usual. Hyukjin almost imagined he could hear her say, ¡®That¡¯s right. Hurry. Hurry and raise an objection.¡¯ ¡°In other words, the System needs to kill us, but it also has some kind of absolute reason it needs to protect us.¡± That was why it was giving them time, time to raise an objection based on that absolute. Playing wasn¡¯t fair. It favored the one who knew the most. The ignorant were sitting ducks in this cutthroat world. Just like in the verbal spar he¡¯d had with Yoohyun¡¯s Streamer, Neptune. ¡°Artificially increasing the difficulty like this will have skewed the balance.¡± That was a word the System liked. Balance. Impartiality. ¡°Which means, there needs to be another factor to restore the balance.¡± That was the reason why the creature on the other side of that Sky Gate hadn¡¯t appeared yet. Senia¡¯s expression was flat, but she spoke far faster than usual. ¡°What do you think that factor is?¡± ¡°If that side is strengthened, shouldn¡¯t this side be strengthened as well?¡± ¡°I fully understand what you are saying, Player Kim Hyukjin. May I interpret your words as a formal objection? With my authority as an Intermediate Administrator, I will raise an objection regarding the issue of the System¡¯s impartiality. Do I have your consent?¡± Senia was speaking so fast that Hyukjin almost thought she was rapping. ¡°I give my consent.¡± The entirety of the field turned gray. A field-wide notice rang out. [By request of the Intermediate Administrator Senia, scenario progress has been briefly halted.] [If the Intermediate Administrator Senia¡¯s request is not appropriate, the System will seek punitive compensation from the Intermediate Administrator Senia.] It was a little different from a Pause. The Players were unaffected, and only the field was frozen in time. * * * Translator ¨C Lei Proofreader ¨C Ash * * * Pietro realized something else. ¡®That beautiful female Intermediate Administrator is Hyukjin¡¯s contracted Administrator. Her name is Senia.¡¯ Pietro turned to his contracted Administrator, a pixie named Bellbell. ¡°What kind of request did Miss Senia make?¡± ¡°She complained that the System¡¯s proceedings weren¡¯t fair. Haa. That pretty angel must be wrong in the head.¡± ¡°How come?¡± ¡°Even if she succeeds, you guys¡¯ll only be given a slight boost anyway. And it interrupted the flow. The Guardians don¡¯t like stuff like this. Plus, if she fails, she¡¯ll lose her Intermediate Administrator rights. Worst case, she could even be killed.¡± ¡°She could¡­ be killed?¡± Pietro racked his brain. Why? Why was an Intermediate Administrator taking such a risky stand? The reason wasn¡¯t hard to puzzle out. ¡®It¡¯s because Senia considers Kim Hyukjin a source of content important enough to risk her life on.¡¯ Pietro glanced at Bellbell, the Streamer who was sighing as she flitted around near his shoulder. ¡®If it were me in that situation¡­¡¯ Would Bellbell have raised an objection for his sake? The answer was ¡®absolutely not¡¯. ¡®Because there is surely someone out there who can replace me.¡¯ He thought of himself as a fairly outstanding info merchant, but he knew there were definitely at least a few others who could replace him. After all, the world was filled with remarkable people. ¡®But Kim Hyukjin¡­¡¯ He was different. Pietro clenched his fists. ¡®I have to become like him.¡¯ An irreplaceable Player. That was what he had to become in order to Play like Kim Hyukjin. He had to make it so his Intermediate Administrator would speak for him at the risk of their authority or even their life. He was once again made to re-evaluate what kind of content he should make and how, as well as what kind of scenes he should show the Guardians. A little time passed. [The Intermediate Administrator Senia¡¯s objection has been deemed appropriate.] [Seeking measures to adjust the balance as per the Intermediate Administrator Senia¡¯s request.] [The opinion of the Intermediate Administrator who raised the objection, Senia, can be partially accepted.] ¡°The difficulty was raised through the Guardians,¡± said Hyukjin. ¡°In exchange, we should be allowed to receive favors from the Guardians.¡± Senia nodded. A notice sounded in Hyukjin¡¯s ear. [The ¡®Nameless Observer¡¯ wants to observe you.] It wasn¡¯t the usual ¡®The Nameless Observer is observing you¡¯, but ¡®The Nameless Observer wants to observe you¡¯. In other words, they were saying they would help him so that they could continue to observe him. Hyukjin understood. [The ¡®Barrier of Blue Light¡¯ wants to protect you.] The protection-loving Barrier of Blue Light took the plate. [The ¡®Lady of the Scales¡¯ deeply sympathizes with the ¡®value of impartiality¡¯.] As well as the Lady of Scales. [The ¡®True Master of the Heavenly Demonic Mountain¡¯ takes pleasure in your ¡®fortitude to challenge the System¡¯.] [The ¡®Conductor of Sound¡¯ is awed by the ¡®virtue of a sovereign¡¯.] Even the True Master of the Heavenly Demonic Mountain and the Conductor of Sound stepped forward, making a total of five Guardians who had sent messages to him. Senia¡¯s face visibly brightened. Her expression remained unchanged, but Hyukjin was now capable of reading her emotions. ¡®I don¡¯t know what she¡¯s saying right now, but¡­¡¯ It was probably something like adjusting the balance in their favor through great support from the Guardians again. The System would get Coins from the Guardians on the opposing side as well as Coins from the Guardians on the supporting side, so it had nothing to lose. At long last, Senia faced the Players, her body shimmering with golden light. ¡°By the support of many Guardians, I hereby proclaim a change in the settings. On grounds of the System¡¯s impartiality, a temporary allowance will be granted to all Players here.¡± She looked like an angel that had truly descended from heaven. The kind of angel people imagined, not the monstrous imitations that had emerged from the Sky Gate. Even Vela, who had seen Senia a few times before, went slack-jawed. ¡°Ah¡­¡± She was simply too beautiful and magical. Everyone went into a daze upon seeing the angel exuding a sacred golden aura as she proclaimed the change in the settings. Everyone except for one person. Hyukjin wasn¡¯t all that moved. ¡®Is she that beautiful?¡¯ Mentally, he recognized that she was beautiful, but the thought didn¡¯t reach his heart. He did sort of think it might be because he was technically married to Isabel. (As expected of my husband.) She always managed to wake up exactly at times like this. (I knew my husband wouldn¡¯t look at other women.) (How very trustworthy. I picked my husband well.) (That¡¯s right. No matter how pretty she is, she¡¯s not prettier than me, is she? Right? Ohoho¡­ ho¡­ ho¡­ yawn.) And then, she fell right back asleep. It seemed as though Hyukjin¡¯s thoughts had spurred her into forcibly waking ahead of time. The System notices continued. [The ¡®Dewinged Angel Statue¡¯ reopens its eyes.] [The ¡®Dewinged Angel Statue¡¯ has been strengthened.] The angel statue woke up again. [The Players will be granted a temporary privilege.] [Each Player may use an ability restricted by the System.] [However, only one ability can be used.] [This privilege is effective only in the ¡®Dewinged Angel Statue¡¯ gate.] Color returned to the field. The sky was almost red in color. The wind blew, scattering grains of sand. A powerful presence loomed from the other side of the Sky Gate. Hyukjin could tell. ¡®It¡¯s coming.¡¯ If his prediction was right, it would be an angel with four wings. It should be weaker than one with six. ¡®We can do it.¡¯ He had created this situation. If it was a four-winged angel, it was worth a try. ¡°Salva¡ªno, Chiellini.¡± ¡°Yes?¡± Now wasn¡¯t the time to be fussing about the details. He couldn¡¯t afford to hide his knowledge here. ¡°Opera of Castle.¡± Chiellini¡¯s face stiffened. How did Hyukjin know about his class exclusive skill? What¡¯s more, it wasn¡¯t an ability he couldn¡¯t even use yet because of the level restriction. ¡®How he knows isn¡¯t important.¡¯ They had to get through this first. That was the important thing right now. He didn¡¯t pry. With just three words, Chiellini understood what he had to do. ¡°Understood.¡± Chiellini was certain that Kim Hyukjin was once again planning something big. Hyukjin turned to someone else. ¡°Vela. You use Shrine Dancer.¡± ¡°Eh? How do you know about that?¡± Chiellini whacked Vela on the head. ¡°Shut up and do as you¡¯re told.¡± ¡°Garshdarnit. Grr, I¡¯ll let you off just this once. Prepare to get beaten black and blue outside.¡± Hyukjin looked up at the sky. Something was starting to slowly emerge from the gate. [The boss monster ¡®Four-Winged Angel Statue¡¯ has appeared.] It was as Hyukjin predicted. An angel with a massive mouth and four wings spawned. Its official name was ¡®Four-Winged Angel Statue¡¯, and the level was a red question mark. ¡®We can¡¯t defeat it by normal means, but¡­¡¯ Hyukjin finished the groundwork to kill that boss. ¡°We¡¯re killing that thing.¡± He was saying the words to Chiellini and Vela, but also to the Guardians watching from above. No matter the situation, he never forgot his acting. Chiellini immediately echoed the words, loudly enough for the others to hear. ¡°We will be killing that thing.¡± Hyukjin¡¯s command was relayed to all the archers through Chiellini¡¯s lips. ____ Chapter 232 Chapter 232 Salvatore said loudly, ¡°We will be killing that thing.¡± Like the outstanding sovereign he was, he didn¡¯t show a shred of uncertainty on his face. To the Players, he gave the impression of a stout oak tree. In fact, Salvatore was using ¡®Spirit¡¯, a skill that conferred a sense of reassurance to the Players. But behind that fa?ade, Salvatore was nervous. It didn¡¯t seem like the archers were very aware of it, but as a sovereign, he could feel it. They were facing a foe of tremendous magnitude. ¡®Four-Winged Angel Statue.¡¯ He¡¯d never heard of it before. Salvatore spoke very quietly, still maintaining Spirit to keep the Players¡¯ morale from faltering. ¡°It feels incredibly strong.¡± ¡°I know.¡± ¡°Will we really be able to kill it?¡± ¡°We have to.¡± Hyukjin seemed to be asking back, ¡®What are we gonna do if we can¡¯t?¡¯ ¡®If we can¡¯t defeat it, we¡¯re dead.¡¯ Salvatore realized something that should have been obvious. ¡®Right, that¡¯s true.¡¯ Can we kill it? was the most stupid question he could have asked. If they couldn¡¯t, they would die. They didn¡¯t even have a Player who could forge a path out, like an explorer. That meant until this boss monster raid was over, they had no way to cut open an exit and escape. Their only option was to fight that angel and kill it. ¡®It comes down to whether we die, or it does. One or the other.¡¯ Whether they could kill it or not was never important. ¡®But how?¡¯ He didn¡¯t think they could kill that four-winged boss monster with their strength alone. Its gaze as it stared down at the earthlings from high in the air was full of arrogance. A voice rang out. [Traitor.] [And Kin of the Ground.] The monster would recite the lines it was scripted to say. Hyukjin said, ¡°Tell the archers to cover the Guardian Tower.¡± [The traitor shall become dust and disappear.] [And the Kin of the Ground shall return to under the ground, where they belong.] ¡°Squads 1, 2, and 3 will cover the Guardian Tower. Squads 4, 5, and 6 will cover us and the angel statue.¡± ¡°The Guardian Tower? What Guardian Tower?¡± Only the US and Korea had one Guardian Tower each. Was that the Guardian Tower Salvatore meant? ¡®Is Michelle here?¡¯ If Michelle were here, it would be possible. She went around summoning her Guardian Tower using her special ability ¡®Guardian Tower Summoning¡¯, strengthening her growth-type tower Tintin with every battle and consolidating her firm position as a sovereign. ¡°I will be summoning the Guardian Tower.¡± Hyukjin honed his focus. [You may use an ability restricted by the System.] [However, only one ability can be used.] He decided to manifest an ability he¡¯d never been able to use before. ¡®Hyun Junghwa¡¯s Consecutive Rapidfire. Vela¡¯s item switching.¡¯ He had replicated both of them just by watching. He couldn¡¯t do it perfectly, since all he¡¯d done was watch over their shoulder. ¡®It¡¯s different this time.¡¯ With the System¡¯s assistance, he could replicate an ability better than ever before. 2) Skill effect: Flow Perception: Visualize the flow of nature. Action Replication: Copy the actions of an observation target (currently cannot be used). Title Replication: Use the title and similar abilities of an observation target (currently cannot be used). Ability Share: Share an ability with designated observation targets (currently cannot be used). Hyukjin erased the ¡®currently cannot be used¡¯ clause attached to Action Replication. [Temporarily erasing the use restriction of Action Replication, a skill belonging to Observer¡¯s Eye.] [You may now use Action Replication.] Hyukjin thought of Michelle. During their war together, Michelle had summoned her Guardian Tower. ¡®Action Replication.¡¯ [The use of Action Replication must be preceded by ¡®sufficient observation¡¯.] [Please set the specific name of the ¡®Action Replication Target¡¯ that you have ascertained through ¡®sufficient observation¡¯.] Apparently, Observer¡¯s Eye was always destined to be half-useless if you didn¡¯t have Eye of Perception to go with it. Hyukjin had read Michelle¡¯s status using Eye of Perception. 34 years old, level 38. Her class was Mercenary Sovereign. He remembered her details precisely. Innate ability: Inject Funds Guardian Tower Summoning He thought of the specific name. [Replicating Michelle¡¯s ¡®Guardian Tower Summoning¡¯ via Action Replication.] [Action Replication was carried out successfully.] Hyukjin temporarily gained a new innate ability, which he immediately used. [Using the temporary innate ability Guardian Tower Summoning.] Something began to emerge from right next to the angel statue¡ªa Guardian Tower topped with a floating red eye. It was the Guardian Tower imbued with the soul of the Barrier Magician Ahn Seohye. Vela was baffled. ¡°You can summon a Guardian Tower, too?¡± He tilted his head. ¡°Just how broken are you?¡± Even as he groused, Vela went up to the Guardian Tower, clearly knowing what his role was. Hyukjin heard Seohye¡¯s voice. ¨CWhat¡¯s that thing in the sky? It gives me a bad feeling. Think you can hunt it? ¨CI¡¯m not sure. I¡¯ll have to give it a try first. Considering that Seohye saw Michelle¡¯s Tintin as prey the moment she saw it, the Four-Winged Angel Statue was obviously no easy foe. ¡°Chiellini.¡± Chiellini also went up to the Guardian Tower. The Four-Winged Angel Statue spread its four wings wide, preparing to attack the Players. [Return to death.] [Annihilating Rain of Ten Thousand Feathers.] A terrifying number of feathers appeared in the air, each of them bearing intense killing power. The leader of Squad 1, Schultz, felt the hair on his neck tingle. ¡®Tremendous killing intent.¡¯ He gave his orders right away. ¡°Those who have AOE attacks will block the feathers. One beat after we defend, we¡¯ll attack.¡± They had no choice but to use attacks as defense. Schultz felt his heart sink. ¡®Many¡­ will die.¡¯ If something didn¡¯t change, many of them would die from that one attack. Feather after feather was being generated in the air. The moment they shot down, the slaughter would begin. ¡®If I have to die here¡­¡¯ Schultz tightened his fists. ¡®I¡¯ll fight with no regrets.¡¯ He bit his lips. This was no time to be holding back. The German archer/sovereign Player released his Guardian¡¯s favor. ¡°Seek life to die, seek death to live.¡± Schultz recited the short incantation. Mana writhed at his back, then extended outward, quickly taking the shape of a large, armored giant¡¯s upper body. ¡°Those who seek death shall live, and those who seek life shall die.¡± Hyukjin heard those words and recognized them as the famous words spoken by Admiral Yi Sun-sin. ¡®Is that an incantation?¡¯ Despite being very short, the incantation manifested. ¡®The length isn¡¯t important.¡¯ Hyukjin was struck with an enlightenment. Schultz¡¯s will was imbued in those words. Pulling off an incantation may have seemed unlikely from the length, but those two lines were steeped in sincerity. [The signature move of the boss monster ¡®Four-Winged Angel Statue¡¯ is being used.] The System being so kind as to state it outright meant the attack coming their way was simply that strong. Balance necessitated the warning. The white feathers quivering with vicious bloodthirst began to embroider the sky, pouring down like a heavy rain, and the giant that had appeared behind Schultz expanded all at once to partially shield the Players. Clang! Clang! Clang! Feathers crashed into the giant¡¯s body in a flurry of sparks. A good number of them were blocked by the giant. Schultz expelled a mouthful of blood. ¡®I¡­ will protect them.¡¯ It was then that Salvatore began to speak. Without being taught, he realized for himself what an incantation was by seeing Schultz do it. He spoke the words that came to his mind purely by instinct. ¡°Sing, my soldiers.¡± For an incantation, it was terribly clumsy. ¡°Climb the castle ramparts and melt the biting northerly wind.¡± But his incantation was real. He took what he learned from Kim Hyukjn and Schultz to blow his will into being in his own way. ¡°I am your castle, your refuge, and shall become your indomitable spirit.¡± That moment, white light radiated from Salvatore¡¯s body. Hyukjin recognized the words. They were the lines Salvatore had always spoken when he used his exclusive skill, Opera of Castle. In his past life, Hyukjin hadn¡¯t known it was an incantation, but he knew now. That was the Wargod¡¯s legendary AOE buff that, when fighting with a Guardian Tower, rapidly boosted all Player abilities and maximized the Guardian Tower¡¯s innate abilities. It was an incredible ability that could raise the very grade of a Guardian Tower by one. If the rain of feathers pouring down was the Four-Winged Angel Statue¡¯s signature move, Opera of Castle was the Wargod¡¯s first signature move. Wordless singing began to ring out, and the Players were enveloped in white light. Schultz, who had just been vomiting blood, felt the effects instantly. ¡®My body¡¯s been healed.¡¯ The damage he had just done to his body while using the Guardian favor was healed, and the favor was strengthened even more. The giant took on a slightly red tint to its originally black-and-white color, the armor it was donning becoming red. ¡®It¡¯s gotten stronger.¡¯ The Guardian favor was undoubtedly boosted. ¡®How in the world?¡¯ It was definitely Chiellini¡¯s ability. The other Players felt it, too. They knew Chiellini¡¯s innate ability was shining in all its glory. Hyukjin was focusing on a slightly different aspect. ¡®Hymn.¡¯ There was a strong sacred feel within that singing, which he could feel more keenly because he had Conductor¡¯s Hymn. ¡®This is a hymn.¡¯ And¡ª ¡®This is the path a hymn should take.¡¯ Salvatore showed him the future, helping him grasp the correct direction. Hyukjin was left feeling as though he had learned something from the other sovereign. * * * Translator ¨C Lei Proofreader ¨C Ash * * * On the other side, Salvatore felt goosebumps rise over his entire body, which was emanating miraculous light. He suddenly recalled Itachi¡¯s prophecy. ¨CIf they meet as friends, so shall the hymn of heaven ring. Right now, a hymn was ringing through the air. He was able to use this ability because Kim Hyukjin was here, because Kim Hyukjin summoned a Guardian Tower. And also, because Kim Hyukjin told him in advance to use this ability. ¡®Itachi¡¯s prophecy was right.¡¯ The sensation of mana being sucked out of his body nearly made Salvatore stumble, but he held on tight to his consciousness. ¡®What¡¯s¡­ that?¡¯ The Guardian Tower¡¯s red eye and the white light he had created came together before disappearing, leaving just the shell of the Guardian Tower. In its place, a girl he¡¯d never seen before was standing next to Kim Hyukjin. ¡®A¡­ girl?¡¯ She looked young. He couldn¡¯t see her face properly because of all the white light around her. Even her body wasn¡¯t clearly visible. All he could tell was that she was a woman enveloped in light. ¡°I¡¯m back,¡± the girl said. * * * One of the red gems on the angel statue that had sided with the Ground shined brightly. [You were the ones that betrayed me first.] The angel statue¡¯s aura became a level fiercer. Its abilities were boosted by Salvatore¡¯s sovereign buff. As expected of Salvatore¡¯s signature move, it buffed everyone or everything that was considered an ally. And then, the betrayed angel statue spoke the words it had uttered to the Players in the past. [Still, I did love you.] That was what it said before betraying the Players and killing them. Now, it said those words not to the Players, but to the Four-Winged Angel Statue. Hyukjin heard a notice. [The quest ¡®Find the Dewinged Angel Statue¡¯s Wings¡¯ has been triggered.] The Dewinged Angel Statue had chosen its stance once and for all. Hyukjin took out the wings from his Inventory without hesitation. ¡°Here.¡± The wings in Hyukjin¡¯s hands instantly disappeared, reforming on the Dewinged Angel Statue. [The quest ¡®Find the Dewinged Angel Statue¡¯s Wings¡¯ has been cleared.] [As the quest reward, the ¡®Angel Statue¡¯s Master¡¯ title has been generated.] The angel statue began to change. Rubble fell to the ground, soon revealing an angel that looked like the others. ¡®Four wings.¡¯ But they weren¡¯t perfect wings. The angel flapped its ragged, torn wings and flew into the sky, a large, golden spear forming in its hands. The two angel statues glared at each other in midair. [Do you intend on opposing us at last?] [You are the ones who discarded me first.] Thanks to their conversation, the Players had a moment to catch their breaths. Schultz was gasping for breath on the ground, and the Players who were struck by the Annihilating Rain of Ten Thousand Feathers downed pots to heal their wounds. Thankfully, no one had died. Kim Hyukjin heard a voice. ¡°I¡¯m happy I can walk.¡± It was the girl wreathed in light, Ahn Seohye. ¡°I¡¯m happy I can breathe.¡± He continued to hear her voice. ¡°I¡¯m happy I can feel.¡± She lightly grasped the hem of Hyukjin¡¯s clothes. ¡°I¡¯m happy to be alive.¡± The simple statements continued. ¡°I want to eat tonkatsu.¡± Hyukjin could tell that this was no ordinary greeting from the girl who had recovered her physical body, though only temporarily. Above her head, the ¡®Red Eye¡¯ was gushing wicked light. The Red Demon Ahn Seohye gave a sweet smile. ____ Chapter 233 Max Talent Player [Translator ¨C Lei ] [Proofreader ¨C Ash ] Chapter 233 The Red Eye gleamed wickedly, exuding such intense bloodthirst and chilling aura that even Hyukjin had to take a step back. ¡°All those who interfere with these joys¡­¡± Seohye smiled radiantly. ¡°¡­must be killed.¡± Almost like when Hyukjin recited an incantation and uttered the final activation words, Seohye did the same. [Die.] From that, Hyukjin realized something. Everyone must die. Those were the words spoken by the Red Demon in his past life. He thought they were just ordinary words back then, but it seemed they were an incantation. ¡®She¡¯s different from back then.¡¯ The Red Demon who slaughtered so many people said, ¡°Everyone must die.¡± Now, the first part was missing. Instead of an all-encompassing ¡®everyone¡¯, the target was now clearly set to one enemy. Hyukjin was able to sense another emotion brewing amidst the intense bloodthirst emanating from the Red Eye. ¡®At the core of this intense bloodthirst¡­¡¯ He was mentally connected to Seohye. The reason why Seohye became part of a Guardian Tower in the first place was because of her ¡®strong Guardian Will¡¯. Hyukjin could sense Seohye¡¯s desire to protect. ¡®¡­is the desire to protect something.¡¯ The result was the same. The Red Demon looked exactly as her name suggested. That sweet, chilling smile, those wickedly gleaming red eyes, they were the same as the Red Demon in his past life. They looked the same on the outside, but the current Ahn Seohye was different. ¡®The previous Red Demon committed slaughter for the sake of slaughtering.¡¯ But now¡ª ¡®The current Red Demon wants to protect us.¡¯ Red threads emerged from behind Seohye. Tens of thousands of red threads surged into the sky like spider webs shooting towards prey. [The ¡®Angel Statue¡¯ awaits orders from the ¡®Angel Statue¡¯s Master¡¯.] Hyukjin gave the order at once. ¡®Attack.¡¯ He could see what Seohye was going to do. She wasn¡¯t trying to attack the Four-Winged Angel Statue right now. Just like when she faced the Fire Giants, she was pinning the boss down. She, the Barrier Magician and Guardian Tower, would handle restricting its movements, while the ¡®angel statue¡¯ did the attacking. The angel with four ragged wings also had red gems on its forehead. One of them began to exude powerful mana. Salvatore realized what he needed to do right now. ¡®I need to focus my strength on that angel.¡¯ He concentrated his buff on it. Ahhhh¨C! Ahhh¨C! The hymn created by Salvatore¡¯s Castle of Opera intensified, rippling over the entire field before enveloping the angel statue¡¯s body with a bright flash of light. At the same time¡ª ¡°You who took my freedom, I still loved you.¡± The ground angel fired a red beam. The sky angel was bound by Seohye¡¯s red threads. The red beam fired by the ground angel became even bigger. The angel statue¡¯s red gem began to crack. A scream split through the sky. ¡°GAHHH!¡± Seohye mumbled to herself, ¡°I¡¯ll kill you. I¡¯ll kill you. I¡¯ll kill you.¡± Red energy exploded from her body. The red threads constricted the angel¡¯s body with greater force. Seeing that, the archers fired at the enemy angel in unison. The leader of Squad 1, Schultz, shouted, ¡°Use your biggest attack!¡± Right now, that ¡®Guardian Tower¡¯ and angel were buying them time. What they had to do was abandon all thought of defense and go all out on offense. They also had the time to unleash their heavy hitting moves. The archers let loose a barrage of their ultimate attacks. Hyukjin made the same call. He took out the Ink Bow. ¡®It uses a lot of mana, but¡­¡¯ Despite the intense physical burden, this was their chance. Crack! More cracks splintered through the red gem encrusted on the ¡®ground¡¯ angel¡¯s forehead. ¡®That red beam¡­ will soon be extinguished.¡¯ Before that happened, they had to seize this opportunity. [Overlaying the Divine Bow Physique¡¯s mana on the Ink Bow.] [Generating a temporary Blackfire Bow.] [The Blackfire Bow¡¯s base item is the Ink Bow.] It was an artificial, temporary Blackfire Bow. However, it wasn¡¯t at all weaker than the real deal. ¡®Focus my mind.¡¯ The weak spot was that red gem. The ¡®sky¡¯ angel was, of course, resisting by firing a red beam. Which meant, it would be weakest when that red beam stopped, if only for a moment. ¡®Aim.¡¯ He focused. Every sound fell away, every sight around him ceased to be. Only he and the red gem existed. ¡®Now.¡¯ Hyukjin fired. An arrow blazing with blackfire sped off. Vela jumped into the air, surging up like he had wings on his back. Shrine Dancer. He hurled a fist at the Four-Winged Angel Statue in midair, moving like he was dancing. He flowed elegantly from movement to movement like water. Vela¡¯s hands reached one of the Four-Winged Angel Statue¡¯s wings. His eyes flashed red, and he uttered two words, as if activating a magic spell. ¡°Be torn.¡± And then, he began to rip off the Four-Winged Angel Statue¡¯s wing with both hands. * * * Translator ¨C Lei Proofreader ¨C Ash * * * The Players were on their backs, utterly exhausted. ¡°Hah, hah¡­¡± The leader of Squad 1, Schultz, was also sprawled out on the ground. ¡°We¡­ did it.¡± Schultz heard it loud and clear. [You have successfully hunted the ¡®Four-Winged Angel Statue¡¯.] [You have defeated a boss monster.] They were all taking a break. But something was a little strange. ¡®How come it¡¯s not getting cleared?¡¯ Was there a separate clear condition? Normally, hunting the boss monster secured the clear. [The ¡®Sky Gate¡¯ is emitting powerful mana wavelengths.] [Until the ¡®Sky Gate¡¯ expires, the Players cannot leave the field.] [The ¡®Sky Gate¡¯ is expected to expire in 20 days.] Pietro felt a spike of anxiety. ¡®Twenty days?¡¯ The Players were drained beyond all measure. Even getting the best quality food and rest might not be enough to recover, yet they suddenly had to endure twenty days? [The rewards for the ¡®Dewinged Angel Statue¡¯ Gate will be given only to the Players who survive the 20 days.] [The quantity and quality of the clear rewards will increase with fewer survivors.] The Dewinged Angel Statue Gate wasn¡¯t over yet. ¡®The rewards will increase with fewer survivors?¡¯ Then what if only one person survived? ¡®That person would get all the rewards to themselves.¡¯ He immediately had goosebumps. ¡®The person here who can do that¡­¡¯ His gaze moved to Kim Hyukjin. ¡®¡­is Kim Hyukjin!¡¯ He had seen some extent of Kim Hyukjin¡¯s prowess. Moreover, Hyukjin had his Guardian Tower here. On top of that, Hyukjin was acquainted with Salvatore (Chiellini) and was on very close terms with Vela. If Kim Hyukjin wanted, he could kill everyone here. ¡®Because he knew what would happen.¡¯ He had come here knowing the future foreseen by the Precognitive Dreamer Ham Sohyun. Pietro stood there frozen, feeling as though every hair on his body were standing on end. ¡®He seems to be taking something out of his Inventory.¡¯ Pietro tensed. His eyes met Hyukjin¡¯s. A chill ran down his spine. Hyukjin smiled. ¡°I can clearly see what you¡¯re thinking, Mr. Pietro.¡± ¡°I wasn¡¯t thinking much.¡± ¡°Then why are you so tense?¡± ¡°It¡¯s not that I¡¯m tense, but that I¡¯m just starting to relax.¡± Hyukjin grinned. The same thought that had occurred to Pietro had occurred to him. It couldn¡¯t be helped. In a situation like this, it wasn¡¯t strange to fear the strong. Especially if you were a smart and mindful person like Pietro. ¡°With Miss Ham Sohyun¡¯s help, I predicted this predicament in advance.¡± Pietro gulped. A few of the archers also watched Hyukjin with wary eyes, ready to act if he made any threatening movements. ¡°So I brought a lot of provisions and water with me.¡± He took out the ¡®Infinite Pouch¡¯, which he had filled to the brim with Sunhwa at the department store. It wouldn¡¯t be hard for everyone here to last the twenty days. ¡°This is the Infinite Pouch. I will distribute a set amount of supplies one time every day. However, if anyone tries to harm another Player¡­¡± Standing next to Hyukjin, Seohye finished his sentence with a bright smile. ¡°I might kill them.¡± That settled things. [The ¡®Lady of the Scales¡¯ is deeply impressed.] [The ¡®Lady of the Scales¡¯ bestows you a ¡®Judgment of the Law¡¯.] It was his second Judgment of the Law. [The ¡®Nameless Observer¡¯ is observing.] [The ¡®Barrier of Blue Light¡¯ is happy.] Salvatore was speechless. ¡®Was he prepared for this situation?¡¯ Wasn¡¯t that why Kim Hyukjin had an Inventory full of provisions and supplies? He wasn¡¯t just at the level of ¡®someone to learn from¡¯. His opponent was so high up that just chasing after him would be hard enough, much less learning from him as a peer. But then, he saw Kim Hyukjin suddenly crack a smile. It was only for a fraction of a second, and Salvatore was only able to glimpse it because he was standing right next to the man. Kim Hyukjin suddenly bent at the waist towards him. ¡°All of this was done at the orders of Italy¡¯s sovereign, Mr. Chiellini.¡± Salvatore was stunned. The spotlight fell entirely on him. ¡®Huh?¡¯ He stared at Hyukjin, but Hyukjin was already distributing bread and water while saying, ¡°Just as Mr. Chiellini ordered, I will now distribute the water and provisions.¡± The quick-witted Pietro went up to Salvatore (Chiellini). ¡°I am in awe of your insight, Chiellini.¡± ¡°¡­¡± No, it wasn¡¯t me! But he couldn¡¯t bring himself to say the words now. ¡°I hate to even think what might have happened to us if not for your prudent preparations, Chiellini.¡± ¡°That, um, so. Well, I just did what I should.¡± Chiellini¡¯s reaction confirmed Pietro¡¯s suspicions. ¡®As I thought, Chiellini didn¡¯t have him do it.¡¯ This was a scheme Hyukjin had cooked up. The others might be fooled, but the information merchant Pietro could tell. ¡®But Kim Hyukjin wants to put Chiellini in the public¡¯s eye.¡¯ Kim Hyukjin must have used some kind of ability to hide himself. Pietro decided where to steer his boat. ¡®So I need to play to his beat.¡¯ Pietro bowed his head to Chiellini. ¡°On behalf of the party, I thank you. Italian sovereign Chiellini, your fame shall echo across the lands.¡± Kim Hyukjin, Pietro, and Chiellini all heard the same notice. [The ¡®Whispering Devil¡¯ is amused.] * * * Ahn Seohye¡¯s body was still shining. The light made her body nearly impossible to see. She was sitting on the ground, leaning against Hyukjin¡¯s back. ¡°I really like being able to move around like this.¡± ¡°Yeah?¡± ¡°Before, I had no idea being able to move, being able to breathe were things to be so grateful for.¡± ¡°¡­¡± Seohye was being sincere. Hyukjin could feel that better than anyone. ¡°I¡¯ll have to return to being a tower again when you leave this field, right?¡± ¡°I¡¯ll bring you out again soon.¡± Seohye nodded. ¡°I¡¯ll wait.¡± Hyukjin had felt her desire to protect someone keenly. It was an emotion he knew well¡ªhe felt it when he looked at his little sister Sunhwa. A desire to protect her at all costs. ¡®In the end, I need power.¡¯ The Demon King had made the arrangements. He definitely said, ¡®I¡¯ll wait for you at Endless Sky¡¯. And Hyukjin was nearly there. ¡°It¡¯s a shame the angel statue was destroyed. I think we could have been friends.¡± ¡°Yeah.¡± In the end, the ¡®ground¡¯ angel perished, and with it disappeared the ¡®Angel Statue¡¯s Master¡¯ title. ¡°Didn¡¯t the angel statue leave something behind when it was destroyed?¡± ¡°It did.¡± Seohye continued to chatter, almost as if simply talking were a treasure to be cherished. Her lips didn¡¯t rest for a moment. ¡°What did it leave?¡± ¡°Canvas of Longing.¡± ¡°Canvas?¡± Hyukjin nodded. While talking to Seohye, he was also borrowing Senia¡¯s eyes to explain what he got to the Guardians as well. ¡°What¡¯s that?¡± ¡°That angel statue¡¯s wings were cut off. Right?¡± ¡°Right.¡± ¡°The angel statue said it was ¡®robbed of its freedom¡¯. I guess that means wings are freedom to them.¡± ¡°I see.¡± Seohye nodded. She was hanging on every word of his with rapt attention, like it was the most fun thing in the world. ¡°And so?¡± ¡°When the angel statue was destroyed, it gave me this Canvas of Longing. It¡¯s a kind of tool that can open another Sky Gate.¡± ¡°A Sky Gate? That thing?¡± ¡°Yeah. But that one is a gate going from the sky to here, whereas this one seems to be a gate that lets you go from here to the sky.¡± ¡°Wow. I wanna go to the sky, too. Do you have to ride a plane to get there, then?¡± Hyukjin smiled. What plane? ¡°But a few conditions are necessary to activate this thing.¡± ¡°Like what?¡± ¡°You need to have the Fountain Pen of Freedom.¡± ¡°Eh?¡± He already had the Fountain Pen of Freedom, fresh from the recent auction. ¡°Where can you find that?¡± ¡°I already have it.¡± Hyukjin could tell that right now, he had the attention of many Guardians. They were sitting on the edge of their seats, waiting with bated breath for his lips to move. ¡®Then I should put in a little suspense here.¡¯ A story would be flat without any winding curves. Going straight from A to B wasn¡¯t any fun. ¡°But there¡¯s a little problem.¡± He could see it clearly in his mind¡¯s eye¡ªthe Guardians were waiting. Hyukjin intentionally took a breath, and then he continued. ¡°A Player can¡¯t activate the Sky Gate.¡± Chapter 234 Chapter 234 ¡°Players can¡¯t activate it?¡± asked Seohye. ¡°Nope.¡± Still leaning against Hyukjin¡¯s back, Seohye thought for a moment. Just like how Hyukjin was connected to Seohye, so too was Seohye to Hyukjin. She understood his feelings, to some extent. ¡°Looks like you have some kind of plan.¡± ¡°Yeah.¡± Seohye didn¡¯t ask what that was. She also knew that this conversation wasn¡¯t just between the two of them, but that it was progressing with the Guardians in mind. Seohye didn¡¯t ask, because she instinctively knew this was the right time for a cliffhanger. Seohye closed her mouth for a bit. ¡®But really, what is he planning?¡¯ She had no idea. Other than wanting to know what he was thinking, a different kind of greed came to life within her. ¡®I suppose this is me wanting to have a conversation with just the two of us.¡¯ At first, she was happy and blissful with just being able to walk and talk again, but now, she wanted more. But Seohye knew. As long as Intermediate Administrators existed, and there was a system called ¡®streaming¡¯, they could never have a private conversation. Hyukjin heard a notice. [Channel #19207 has closed.] That was Senia¡¯s channel. ¡°Senia?¡± He got no response. Senia was gone. Normally when she stopped streaming, she left after saying so, but not today. ¡®Did something urgent come up?¡¯ It wasn¡¯t strange for an Intermediate Administrator to stream one Player and then go to another, hopping from place to place. He didn¡¯t think much of it. ¡°Sorry,¡± said Hyukjin. ¡°For not being able to give you much attention.¡± ¡°No, I fully understand.¡± ¡°I know how you feel.¡± Seohye was truly lonely. It couldn¡¯t be helped. That was just how the situation was. ¡°I promise you once again. I¡¯ll make it so you can get your body back.¡± It felt like he had a lot of things to do. He had to protect Sunhwa and help Seohye. ¡°I¡¯m more grateful for your feelings than for those words,¡± Seohye responded. She could feel his sincerity through their mental connection. Just then, Hyukjin heard someone screech in his head. (Husband! What do you think you¡¯re doing?!) It was Isabel. Why did she keep waking up? Why was a sealed sword so sleepless? (Think I can sleep with my husband cozying up to another woman? What¡¯s with this chick? Isn¡¯t she that Guardian Tower? Why¡¯s she leaning on my husband¡¯s back?!) Hyukjin had no idea how this happened, either. He felt bad for Seohye, so he just let her lean on his back. He knew that Seohye didn¡¯t think of him as a man, but as someone she could rely on. He was the one and only person in this world she could talk to, the only person who could listen to her. ¡®Isabel. You know, don¡¯t you? The way I see Seohye.¡¯ Hyukjin¡¯s link with Isabel was stronger and more deeply rooted than his link with Seohye. Isabel could even read most of his thoughts. (Yeah, but still. This is a little¡­) ¡®I¡¯m the only person in her world right now.¡¯ (Still¡­ My husband¡¯s back belongs to me.) Isabel¡¯s voice grew quiet. ¡®You¡¯re well aware of what kind of feelings I have towards her, and what feelings she has towards me. Do you think Seohye sees me as a man right now?¡¯ That was absolutely untrue. Hyukjin knew that very well. (But you¡¯re a married man. You¡¯re being overly nice to her.) ¡®That¡¯s because I¡¯m the only person in the world who can be nice to her.¡¯ Hyukjin was now much better at handling Isabel. Maybe because Isabel had lived as a sword for a long time, she had a simplistic way of thinking. She wasn¡¯t all that verbally adept. ¡®I¡¯d like my bride to understand me.¡¯ He wasn¡¯t asking for unconditional understanding. ¡®I¡¯ll do well. I¡¯ll trust you. You can feel all my emotions anyway. Plus, you should be well aware that I don¡¯t see Ahn Seohye as a woman, and that she doesn¡¯t see me as a man. It¡¯s just that I want to give her the minimum amount of comfort a person can give another person.¡¯ Isabel¡¯s blade quivered. To be honest, Hyukjin almost wondered why he had to coax a sword like this, but he barely managed to squash the thought before it could surface. It would be troublesome if his inner thoughts were aired out to this fearsome sword. (Your back belongs to me. You know that, right?) ¡®I know. Of course it belongs to you.¡¯ (Fine then. Her situation¡¯s pretty sad, so I¡¯ll make an exception.) ¡®I knew you¡¯d say that.¡¯ (I-I¡¯m a generous bride, after all.) A crack appeared on Isabel¡¯s blade, caused by her insistence on staying awake. ¡®Go back to sleep. I understand why you¡¯re worried, but I won¡¯t give you cause for worry. How upset do you think I¡¯ll be if you damage yourself like this?¡¯ That was sincere. There would be no greater heartbreak than breaking a transcendent item. (Got it. This little crack will be healed right away with auto restoration, so don¡¯t worry too much.) Isabel¡¯s ruffled feathers were clearly soothed. (I¡¯ll go back to sleep. Later, you have to go eat tonkatsu or chicken or whatever it is with me, too.) Isabel returned to her slumber. Meanwhile, Seohye was mumbling something. Hyukjin couldn¡¯t catch what she said. ¡°What did you say? Sorry, I didn¡¯t hear you.¡± ¡°It was nothing.¡± Seohye got up, then turned and looked at the sitting Hyukjin. ¡°Remember the incantation I did earlier?¡± ¡°You¡¯re happy you can breathe, happy you can feel, happy to be alive. That one?¡± ¡°Yes. The next part is the most important¡­¡± ¡°It was ¡®I want to eat tonkatsu¡¯, wasn¡¯t it?¡± ¡°That¡¯s right.¡± Seohye smiled brightly. ¡°I want to eat tonkatsu.¡± ¡°Once you¡¯ve regained your body, let¡¯s go eat tonkatsu. With Sunhwa.¡± ¡°Ah. I also want to see Sunhwa.¡± ¡°I¡¯ll tell Sunhwa to go see you.¡± They wouldn¡¯t be able to communicate, but Seohye would still be able to see Sunhwa. ¡°You don¡¯t need to. She visited me often.¡± ¡°Did she?¡± ¡°I wanted to say a lot of things and chat with her, but it was a shame that I couldn¡¯t.¡± Seohye walked forward. ¡°I want to go on a walk. I¡¯ll go look around.¡± ¡°Alright.¡± There was nothing dangerous here anyway. Even if there was, the Red Demon could take care of herself. It had been a while since she had two feet to walk on. Hyukjin could feel how precious being able to walk around was through his connection with her. After Seohye set off on her walk, Salvatore took the chance he¡¯d been waiting for and approached Hyukjin. ¡°May I ask you a quick question?¡± ¡°Anytime.¡± ¡°I would like to ask about incantations.¡± Hyukjin knew that was coming. He grinned. ¡°I would have been disappointed if you hadn¡¯t asked.¡± ¡°¡­I kept hesitating because I thought it might offend you.¡± ¡°But the sovereign Salvatore must ask, of course.¡± ¡°Salvatore?¡± Ah. That was a slip of the tongue. Hyukjin was just too used to the name Salvatore that he accidentally said it. ¡°¡­You¡¯ve figured out even that?¡± Huh? ¡°I¡¯m truly astonished. Is this Miss Ham Sohyun¡¯s ability, your info-gathering acumen, or the power of the information merchant Pietro?¡± ¡°That¡¯s a secret.¡± ¡°Understood.¡± What was so notable about ¡®Salvatore¡¯? In the future, it was a household name, but Hyukjin couldn¡¯t say that. It wasn¡¯t that he was trying to hide it, just that he couldn¡¯t tell the truth. ¡°I would like to learn the incantation you recited. Would that be possible?¡± ¡°It¡¯s possible.¡± It wasn¡¯t a difficult request. Anyone who didn¡¯t have the talent or the ¡®will¡¯ to back up the incantation wouldn¡¯t get any further than just speaking words. Incantations were fully regulated by talent, and Salvatore was a sovereign Player with enough talent to go around. ¡®Even if I don¡¯t teach him, he¡¯ll realize it on his own one day.¡¯ This damned world of Playing was literally ¡®winners win¡¯. Salvatore was a winner anyway. ¡®Since he¡¯ll figure it out anyway, it¡¯s better if I teach it to him.¡¯ It would put Salvatore in his debt, and Hyukjin would get some credit for the deed. ¡°We¡¯ve got plenty of time, so I¡¯ll go through it slowly. But it won¡¯t be for free.¡± * * * Translator ¨C Lei Proofreader ¨C Ash * * * Ten days passed. Thanks to Hyukjin (though publicly, it was Chiellini) acting as the mediator, there wasn¡¯t much discord among the Players. In ten days, the gate would be fully cleared, and the rewards would be distributed to the survivors. Everyone took it easy and stocked up on stamina. ¡°Huh? Something¡¯s spawning over here!¡± That quiet peace was broken when something began to spawn on the ground¡ªa stone that gave off green smoke. More stones appeared around the field. [Green Poison Stone] A stone bearing a powerful poison. If it isn¡¯t broken in a set period of time, the poison will start seeping into the air. If left intact, the poison will become stronger and stronger with time. *Cannot be destroyed with long-ranged attacks. Salvatore stepped forward. ¡°I will distribute some hammers.¡± They were, of course, tools Hyukjin had prepared in advance with Sunhwa. ¡°I had the help of Miss Ham Sohyun from Taeguk Shield.¡± The archers took the hammers. ¡°We have to be diligent about breaking them. The poison will become intense.¡± With that, everything Hyukjin prepared was revealed. ¡°Good, I was bored anyway.¡± ¡°Jeez, this thing¡¯s super hard!¡± ¡°Hurry and break it. The poison is coming out faster than expected.¡± The archers started running around with the hammers, and another ten days passed. All the Players who had gone into the Dewinged Angel Statue gate cleared it and came out. Some news found their way to the media. ¨CHam Sohyun, the Precognitive Dreamer of Taeguk Shield. Who is she? ¨CThe sovereign Salvatore shows Italy¡¯s potential. Ham Sohyun¡¯s name was raised to the heavens, and Chiellini started using the name ¡®Salvatore¡¯ outright. Thanks to the Dewinged Angel Statue gate, Salvatore¡¯s fame rose to the point of rivaling Michelle¡¯s. ¨CTaeguk Shield has an ultimate weapon other than their Precognitive Dreamer. Rumors of that nature began to spread as well, but the archers who went into the Dewinged Angel Statue gate didn¡¯t give any precise details about the mysterious person. Everyone just unanimously agreed that there was an ultimate weapon in Taeguk Shield and didn¡¯t extrapolate. * * * In a VVIP room in Sungshin¡¯s hospital, Ham Sohyun gave a faint laugh as she watched the TV from her bed. On TV, the media was covering ¡®Taeguk Shield¡¯s Precognitive Dreamer¡¯ in-depth. ¡°Even though I didn¡¯t do anything¡­¡± The woman peeling mandarin oranges next to her snickered. ¡°That must be Mr. Hyukjin¡¯s doing, right?¡± ¡°I think so, too.¡± ¡°I heard you want to see him too, Sohyun?¡± ¡°Yeah. I¡¯m curious about what kind of person he is. You¡¯ve seen him, haven¡¯t you, Sooji?¡± ¡°Yep.¡± The Poison Witch scowled. ¡°But I¡¯m serious, I think that guy must either be gay or a eunuch.¡± ¡°Why?¡± ¡°I¡¯m openly trying to seduce him, but he¡¯s not falling for me.¡± ¡°You¡¯re openly seducing him? You, Cheon Sooji? But he¡¯s not falling for you?¡± Sohyun let out another small laugh. ¡°Don¡¯t ridicule me. I¡¯m serious here. That man¡¯s a real riddle. How do you think I can win him over? Don¡¯t you have some kind of bibbity-bobbity-boo predictions you can make for me? I want to date him.¡± Sohyun shook her head. ¡°Give up.¡± ¡°What makes you say that all of a sudden?¡± ¡°I¡¯m really so, so curious about that man. That¡¯s why I asked Guildmaster Song if I could meet him.¡± ¡°I know. What about that?¡± ¡°I¡¯m so, so curious. And also so, so scared.¡± Sooji¡¯s face turned serious. She set down the mandarin she¡¯d been eating. ¡°Scared?¡± ¡°Behind that man is something terrifying I can¡¯t identify.¡± ¡°Something terrifying you can¡¯t identify?¡± ¡°Yeah. It¡¯s sharp and cold, but also hot and sturdy. It shines radiantly, yet is infinitely dark.¡± Sooji started munching on her mandarin again. ¡°Sounds like utter hogwash.¡± ¡°That¡¯s how precognitive dreaming always is, I suppose. I can feel a massive power that is both a blessing and a curse. I don¡¯t know how to explain it, either.¡± ¡°Does that have anything to do with me wanting to go out with him?¡± ¡°It does.¡± Ham Sohyun stared at her friend. ¡°Don¡¯t get too close to that man.¡± ¡°Why?¡± ¡°You¡¯ll die, without fail.¡± A knock on the door interrupted their conversation. ¡°May I come in?¡± It was Guildmaster Song Kiyeol. Because Sohyun was unable to muster a loud voice, Sooji responded in her friend¡¯s stead. ¡°Come in.¡± Song Kiyeol came inside. Next to him was Kim Hyukjin, and beside him was yet another person. As soon as Ham Sohyun saw them, she knew. ¡®That person is Kim Hyukjin.¡¯ And the person standing next to him was Italy¡¯s info merchant, Pietro. She recognized them at a single glance. ¡®And¡­¡¯ She realized something else. Upon seeing Kim Hyukjin in person, she saw something. A yellow precognitive note formed in the air. [D-ewer-Cresadel-Hometes-] Ham Sohyun, who couldn¡¯t normally move her body well, straightened at once. A red brush appeared in her hand, and her eyes turned white. As soon as she saw Kim Hyukjin, Ham Sohyun began to write. ____ Chapter 235 Chapter 235 Ham Sohyun groaned. ¡°Ahh¡­ hah¡­!¡± Her eyes were pure white, and she seemed to be having a nightmare. Her hand moved, and words appeared on the yellow precognitive note. [Return to thy homeland.] [There lays a path to the sky.] Ham Sohyun¡¯s body lifted into the air before slumping back down onto the bed. Sooji pulled the blanket over her. ¡°Surprised you, didn¡¯t it?¡± said Sooji. ¡°Yes, a little.¡± ¡°The person next to you must be Mr. Pietro?¡± Pietro flinched. ¡°You know me?¡± ¡°Somewhat. I know you¡¯re an info merchant.¡± Pietro nodded. ¡°You¡¯re correct. I¡¯m Pietro, an info merchant from Italy. I¡¯m running the Black Butterfly. It¡¯s nice to meet you, Miss Cheon Sooji.¡± ¡°As expected, you know who I am.¡± ¡°Yes. I¡¯m keeping tabs on every Taeguk Shield guild member.¡± Sooji¡¯s eyes curved into crescents. ¡°Then you must also know about Taeguk Shield¡¯s ultimate weapon, no, ultimate secret weapon?¡± Hyukjin coughed. Somehow, he became known to the world as Taeguk Shield¡¯s secret weapon. But really, ¡®ultimate secret weapon¡¯? It was such an embarrassing title. ¡°Let¡¯s settle the introductions with that,¡± he said. ¡°Fine. Sohyun will wake up soon anyway.¡± Pietro quickly noticed the goodwill in Cheon Sooji¡¯s eyes. ¡®She¡¯s different from what I found out about her.¡¯ The Cheon Sooji he had heard about was essentially a cold-blooded rose. She didn¡¯t get close to anyone around her and was utterly frigid to anyone she considered an enemy. That was why some people called her the Unapproachable Poisonous Thorn or Poison Witch. ¡®Poison Witch? Poison Thorn? Not at all.¡¯ His intel shouldn¡¯t be wrong. ¡®Everyone has a different side to them.¡¯ Depending on the circumstances and place, the same person could show multiple facets of their personality. That led Pietro to one conclusion. ¡®She opens up a bit around Kim Hyukjin.¡¯ He really didn¡¯t know much about Korea. His knowledge was limited to ¡®Taeguk Shield¡¯ and ¡®Wings¡¯, as well as the Tutorial Ender So Yoohyun and the PVP genius Shin Yeonseo whose smiling eyes were the talk of the town lately. He also knew the outstanding archer Hyun Junghwa. ¡®If I didn¡¯t know about Kim Hyukjin, it means I didn¡¯t know the first thing about Korea.¡¯ That realization hit him anew. The Poison Witch Cheon Sooji seemed to melt into a sophisticated lady in front of Kim Hyukjin. Even the Taeguk Shield guildmaster right next to him, Song Kiyeol, deferred to Kim Hyukjin somewhat. No, not just somewhat, but considerably. It was no exaggeration to say Korea¡¯s true champion was Kim Hyukjin. That was Pietro¡¯s judgment. Just then, Ham Sohyun started coming to. ¡°Mmm¡­¡± ¡°You okay?¡± Sooji pressed a button under the bed, and the head of the bed rose with an electronic hum. With the electric bed at almost 90 degrees, Sohyun was able to sit upright. ¡°Here. Precognitive note. Take it.¡± Ham Sohyun gestured with her eyes. Sooji knew what her friend wanted just from her eyes and picked up the precognitive note that had fallen onto the sheets. ¡°I can give this to Hyukjin, right?¡± ¡°Yeah. Thanks.¡± Ham Sohyun stared directly at Kim Hyukjin. ¡°I can see it.¡± ¡°What?¡± ¡°The great stigma enveloping you.¡± ¡°What kind of stigma is it?¡± ¡°I¡¯m not sure. A stigma too great and deep for someone like me to interpret is engraved on your back.¡± She moved her eyes to Cheon Sooji, who asked, ¡°What? Have something to say to me?¡± ¡°Don¡¯t approach him.¡± ¡°That again?¡± ¡°It¡¯s dangerous.¡± ¡°I¡¯ve always been attracted to dangerous guys.¡± Ham Sohyun¡¯s eyes once again turned white. This time, her white eyes exuded bloodthirst so potent it made Cheon Sooji flinch. A heavy stillness descended on the hospital room. ¡°Lowly one. Retract thy interest.¡± ¡°¡­¡± Cheon Sooji knew Ham Sohyun wasn¡¯t the one talking right now. This wasn¡¯t her friend. Something was using Ham Sohyun as a mouthpiece. ¡°I¡¯m warning you, young poison girl.¡± ¡°¡­Do you know me?¡± ¡°I do. You are the child who is following the Soundless Serpens.¡± ¡°¡­¡± Hyukjin also realized that Ham Sohyun wasn¡¯t herself right now. ¡®Who is it?¡¯ Was it a possession? A descent? Somehow, it felt a little different from those. ¡®The Soundless Serpens¡­ is Cheon Sooji¡¯s contracted Guardian.¡¯ Whoever it was, they had perceived Sooji¡¯s Guardian. Ham Sohyun spoke again. ¡°Didn¡¯t this child warn you?¡± ¡°Of what?¡± ¡°That you might die.¡± ¡°She did.¡± Sooji smiled. She looked directly into Sohyun¡¯s white eyes. ¡°But if I was going to flee in terror because of a little warning, I wouldn¡¯t have gone for that man in the first place.¡± She licked her red lips. She was indeed Cheon Sooji. ¡°This just makes me want this man more.¡± Kim Hyukjin felt his head start to ache. He came because Ham Sohyun said she wanted to meet him, only to find himself in a sudden love quarrel. ¡®What the hell is this?¡¯ After a moment of hard thought, something occurred to him. ¡®No way, is it Isabel?¡¯ It had to be her. ¡®Isabel, it¡¯s you, right? You¡¯re awake right now, aren¡¯t you?¡¯ (I don¡¯t like her.) ¡®It¡¯s you, isn¡¯t it? The one using Ham Sohyun¡¯s body for an immature fight.¡¯ (It¡¯s not immature! I¡¯m being serious right now. What¡¯s that thing humans say again?) Isabel thought for a moment before continuing. (Right, that! I¡¯m serious business right now.) Apparently, Isabel had picked up some weird lingo. People didn¡¯t even say that these days. (But come on, can you blame me? She keeps coming onto a married man!) Inside Hyukjin¡¯s Inventory, Isabel¡¯s blade trembled. (And it¡¯s even more annoying because she¡¯s pretty.) It was true that Cheon Sooji was pretty. (Seriously, why are there so many girls like her around you? There¡¯s Shin Yeonseo, Hyun Junghwa, and Cheon Sooji. Was this somehow engineered?) Come to think of it, Isabel was right. It was definitely untrue that all Rankers were pretty and handsome. Hyukjin didn¡¯t know how things turned out like this, either. It was just a coincidence. ¡®Even so, you¡¯re the prettiest.¡¯ In all actuality, Isabel was just a sword, and if you wanted to split hairs, she looked like a sword. No matter how you looked at it, she wasn¡¯t really ¡°pretty¡±. But compliments were free, and he didn¡¯t mind giving a little lip service. (Th-That kind of flattery isn¡¯t enough to please this noble one.) Isabel¡¯s blade reddened a little. (I¡¯m not happy at all. I¡¯m sleepy, so I¡¯d better go back to sleep.) Isabel pretended to go back to sleep, but Hyukjin knew she was wide awake. He feigned ignorance. Ham Sohyun regained consciousness. ¡°Did I say something just now?¡± ¡°You told Hyukjin you loved him.¡± ¡°I-I did?¡± Sooji chuckled. ¡°I¡¯m joking. Anyway, I¡¯ll step out for a moment. It seems you higher-ups need to talk.¡± She got up. ¡°See you later.¡± Cheon Sooji left the hospital room. * * * Translator ¨C Lei Proofreader ¨C Ash * * * After talking to Ham Sohyun, Hyukjin and Pietro left the hospital room and headed to the parking lot, where Hyukjin¡¯s driver was waiting. They got into the back seat. ¡°The Tutorial Building, please.¡± Hyukjin was giving Pietro a ride. ¡°I will arrange a meeting,¡± said Pietro. ¡°Please do.¡± Pietro was able to set up a meeting through the conversation with Ham Sohyun. ¡°Miss Ham Sohyun also seems to want to meet Itachi.¡± ¡°They¡¯re both outstanding Precognitive Dreamers, after all.¡± ¡°The central reason why they want to meet¡­ I¡¯m sure you know that reason is you, Hyukjin.¡± ¡°Yes. Somehow, things turned out like that.¡± Pietro visited Ham Sohyun not only because he wanted to know more about her, but also in order to relay Itachi¡¯s desire to meet her. Itachi got in contact with Pietro through his acquaintance Pedro, and Pietro went to Ham Sohyun to convey Itachi¡¯s message. There is a person whose future I can see all too clearly. I hear that you also have very concrete dreams when you dream about that person. What do you say to having a chat together? Itachi proposed to meet first, and Ham Sohyun agreed. Soon, Itachi would come to Korea to meet her. As he looked at the sights passing by in the mirror, Hyukjin fell deeply into thought. ¡®Itachi is coming to Korea.¡¯ In the past, Itachi had never left Japan. ¡®A change I caused.¡¯ What further changes would this ripple create? What would the two Precognitive Dreamers discuss, and what kind of future would be drawn? ¡°Since the pivotal reason they¡¯re meeting is you, it might influence you somehow.¡± ¡°Perhaps.¡± ¡°Your expression kind of tells me you¡¯re looking forward to it.¡± Hyukjin nodded. ¡°I am. I think it¡¯ll be fun.¡± Pietro also looked out the window. They were pulling away from the Gwanghwamun area. ¡°This is really a place where the past and present coexist. Amidst the latest buildings and slick roads, there¡¯s such a beautiful ancient palace smack dab in the heart of the city. Is that the Gwanghwamun Dungeon?¡± ¡°Yes. There¡¯s a gate there.¡± ¡°It seems like there are truly many things hidden in Korea. Thank you. For opening my eyes to this country.¡± The car passed the statues of King Sejong and Yi Sun-sin in the Gwanghwamun Plaza. Pietro tilted his head. ¡®Huh?¡¯ He didn¡¯t see clearly since they were going by in the car, but¡­ ¡®Did I just¡­ meet eyes with the Yi Sun-sin statue?¡¯ Meeting eyes with a statue? That was odd. But Pietro had definitely felt it happen. As the car pulled away, he whipped his head back to look at the statue of Yi Sun-sin and gasped. The statue of Yi Sun-sin had its head turned to look at him. There was no doubt about it. Pietro looked at Hyukjin. ¡°Hyukjin. Don¡¯t you feel anything right now?¡± ¡°I do.¡± Hyukjin wasn¡¯t as taken aback as Pietro. ¡®Was today the day?¡¯ He had no sense of the date lately, so he hadn¡¯t been paying close attention. ¡®December 22, 2018.¡¯ A scenario would occur today, one where monsters would spawn en-masse in Gwanghwamun Plaza. On the 22nd, for 22 hours, all manner of monsters would spill forth from the plaza. It couldn¡¯t be considered a terribly important event. The rewards were nothing to write home about, and no super strong monsters showed up, either. Even if Hyukjin ignored it, the nearby Players would gather to hunt them down, and the ¡®Gwanghwamun Plaza Raid¡¯ would end in 22 hours. ¡®But¡ª¡¯ Hyukjin could feel it, too. Some kind of change would occur at the statue of Yi Sun-sin. ¡®I didn¡¯t hear anything about this in the past.¡¯ All he heard was that a bunch of monsters showed up around the Gwanghwamun Plaza and caused some damage. The incident ended with that. Honk¨C! Honk¨C! The air began to ring with honks from cars. A traffic jam was quickly developing. ¡°Sir, we¡¯ll get off here.¡± At the same time¡ª Whirrrrrrrr¡ª! A siren went off overhead. It was the emergency siren, followed by an evacuation notice. Hyukjin and Pietro got out of the car. ¡°Pietro. Did you see it?¡± ¡°Are you talking about the statue of Yi Sun-sin?¡± ¡°Yes.¡± ¡°I saw it. It was turning its head to stare at us.¡± It wasn¡¯t doing it anymore. Hyukjin started walking first. ¡°It appears there¡¯s something there.¡± ¡°Sh-Should I come, too?¡± ¡°Go hide over there in the underground evacuation shelter. Does your phone have a signal right now, by any chance?¡± ¡°It does.¡± ¡°As you evacuate, please convene my guild members for me.¡± ¡°By guild, do you mean¡­ Taeguk Shield?¡± Hyukjin smiled at him. ¡°I¡¯m sure you¡¯re well aware I¡¯m not talking about Taeguk Shield.¡± ¡°Understood.¡± Pietro felt butterflies in his stomach. ¡°I will call the members of Giantgod.¡± It wasn¡¯t known to the public, but from what Pietro had found out, Giantgod Guild was Korea¡¯s strongest guild. The elite guild led by Kim Hyukjin would be converging in one place. ¡°I already have their contact info.¡± ¡°Impressive.¡± The guildmaster of Giantgod was calling the guild members of Giantgod. Pietro hazarded a request. ¡°May I come with you?¡± He wanted to see Giantgod in action. As an information merchant, he wanted to see their potential for himself. ¡°I cannot protect you.¡± ¡°That¡¯s alright. I can preserve my own life.¡± ¡°Then do as you wish.¡± A notice came in. [The quest ¡®Gwanghwamun Plaza Raid¡¯ has begun.] ____ Chapter 236 Chapter 236 [The quest ¡®Gwanghwamun Plaza Raid¡¯ has begun.] Shin Yeonseo heard that notice, too. She happened to be in the Tutorial Building, and as soon as she heard the notice, she ran outside. She got a call from Pietro. ¨CWho is it? ¨CI¡¯m an info merchant from Italy, Pietro. ¨CI¡¯m busy, please don¡¯t spam call me. ¨CI¡¯m Hyukjin¡¯s friend! Yeonseo moved her phone to the other ear. ¨CAh. Boss Hyukjin¡¯s friend? You should have said so from the start. ¨CDo you know the Gwanghwamun Plaza? ¨COf course. I happen to be in the area. ¨CHyukjin has convened the Giantgod guild members. ¨CReally? Yeonseo pumped her fist. ¡°Sweet!¡± Her eyes sparkled with liveliness. She¡¯d been bored ever since Hyukjin went to Italy to clear the Dewinged Angel Statue Gate. Playing without Hyukjin didn¡¯t give her as much pleasure and catharsis as Playing with him. Holding a lollipop in her mouth, Kim Sunhwa prodded Yeonseo¡¯s side. ¡°Unnie. Those people are filming you. I think they¡¯re streamers.¡± ¡°Yeah, it¡¯s fine. Let ¡®em be.¡± Sunhwa grinned. ¡®Unnie¡¯s become super tolerant.¡¯ Shin Yeonseo was particularly famous these days. In other words, she was a named Player. People called her the Wiz of 1v1 PVP, and some people were even calling her the ¡®Swordswoman with the Smiling Eyes¡¯. Snippets of what the streamers were saying came their way. ¨CYes, she¡¯s extremely pretty, Hyungnims. ¨CThe camera really doesn¡¯t do her justice. The screen can¡¯t reproduce the real thing, Hyungnims. ¨CShe¡¯s really super duper pretty. Those smiling eyes are really frickin¡¯ amazing. Yeonseo¡¯s hearing was better than the average person¡¯s, so she heard what they said, as did Sunhwa. ¨CNext to her? Ah. She looks super young. ¨CBut she¡¯s super pretty. Sunhwa shook her head. These people, it seemed they didn¡¯t have anything constructive to say other than ¡®they¡¯re pretty¡¯. They were stealing glances at other people and filming them without permission. Normally, both Sunhwa and Yeonseo wouldn¡¯t be happy with this situation. Quite the opposite¡ªthey would find it very unpleasant. But today, they decided to let it slide. ¡®Looks like Yeonseo unnie¡¯s in a good mood.¡¯ Shin Yeonseo didn¡¯t like those kinds of streamers. ¡®And so am I!¡¯ Both Shin Yeonseo and Kim Sunhwa were more tolerant than usual. And that was because they were in a very good mood. ¡°Unnie. I¡¯m getting a call, too.¡± Sunhwa took the call. As soon as she received it, she said, ¡°I¡¯m with Yeonseo unnie. We¡¯re heading there right away. Please tell Oppa we¡¯ll be there soon!¡± * * * Translator ¨C Lei Proofreader ¨C Ash * * * The area around the statue of Yi Sun-sin in Gwanghwamun Plaza had descended into total chaos. Hyukjin examined his surroundings. ¡®I thought the evacuation had been carried out in perfect order before.¡¯ There was no doubt about it. ¡®It¡¯s way messier than I remember.¡¯ That was because the populace had encountered far too little danger. ¡®Well, whatever. The crisis response system is still slowly coming together.¡¯ The evacuation siren went off almost directly at the onset of the quest, and people were scrambling towards the shelters. It might not be a picture perfect evacuation, but they were getting the right idea. ¡°Hyukjin, I¡¯ve finished calling everyone. Jo Sunghyun and Choi Sung-gu said it might take them a bit of time.¡± ¡°Thank you, good work.¡± ¡°It¡¯s nothing. While I was making the calls, you¡¯ve been observing this area. Probably with your special eyes. Am I right?¡± Hyukjin nodded. ¡°I thought so.¡± Pietro¡¯s heart pounded. Anticipation thrilled within him. What would Kim Hyukjin show him? What would Giantgod, a guild one rank, no, two ranks above Taeguk Shield, show him? He truly looked forward to seeing how outstanding these people¡ªquite possibly the strongest Players in the world¡ªtruly were. But then, something fell from the sky with a scream that put a crack in Pietro¡¯s expectations. ¡°AAHHHHHH! JO SUNGHYUN, YOU SON OF A BITCH!¡± Pietro jumped in alarm. He whipped his head up to see what it was, only to find that it was a person. ¡®Isn¡¯t that¡­¡¯ The person in question was a fairly famous fire magician in Korea, someone who was actually a member of Giantgod Guild, Choi Sung-gu. ¡®From the sky?¡¯ Pietro looked up. There was a helicopter in the sky. Choi Sung-gu was slowly floating down from the helicopter at a very controlled speed. He flailed every which way while screaming like a pig in the slaughterhouse, stopping only right before he hit the ground. ¡°Fuck. Fuck. I¡¯m scared of heights, dammit. Fuck. You fuckity fuck fuck.¡± Jo Sunghyun landed lightly next to him. ¡°We¡¯re here.¡± ¡°What¡¯s with the helicopter?¡± asked Hyukjin. ¡°We got a little help from the government.¡± ¡°You made a contract with the government?¡± ¡°Yes, yesterday. I wanted to tell you, Hyung, but you were busy.¡± ¡°No, you did well.¡± It was the same as the past. The Typhoon Jo Sunghyun could not turn a blind eye to injustice. He was a hero who harbored a spirit of sacrifice for the people. As such, he signed a contract with the government, one that bound him to using his power to protect the people in times of emergency. ¡°Have you signed the contract already?¡± ¡°I wanted to do the final signing after showing it to you, Hyung. It¡¯s still a provisional contract, for now.¡± ¡°Well done.¡± If there was one change, it was that Hyukjin could scrutinize the ¡®Player Agreement¡¯ with the government before it was signed. There were definitely pitfalls in the contract. The government would do anything and everything to avoid incurring a loss. They would try to exploit Jo Sunghyun and the other Players at the cheapest price possible using the grandiose pretext of patriotism. ¡®I can¡¯t let that happen.¡¯ Devote yourself to the country? Use your strength for the people? That was all good and dandy; Hyukjin didn¡¯t intend on discouraging that. But the work had to be done for an appropriate reward. In Hyukjin¡¯s opinion, labor exploitation was a hard no. ¡®Especially if it¡¯s my party member.¡¯ There were many Players who were used by the government and then discarded. The government did not seek absolute ¡®good¡¯; they sought profit. Since that was the case, anyone who did business with them had to know how to efficiently use each other so both sides could profit. ¡°The Lady of the Scales must be happy about that.¡± ¡°Yes, she gave me a lot of sponsorships.¡± Sung-gu finally pulled himself together. ¡°Oi, Jo Sunghyun. You bitchass motherfluffer. Didn¡¯t you hear me when I said I was scared?¡± Jo Sunghyun ignored Sung-gu without even blinking. ¡°Sung-gu hyung also decided to sign the contract with me.¡± ¡°OI. I said I wasn¡¯t gonna do it! I don¡¯t have any of that patriotism BS in me.¡± ¡°Didn¡¯t you say you got a quest from the Giant of the Sunset?¡± ¡°¡­Actually, I¡¯m so happy. Wow, working with the government? Woohoo, you¡¯ve made it in life, Choi Sung-gu! Fuck!¡± Hyukjin grinned. The Sung-gu and Sunghyun tag team would be a big help for the government, and working together was good for their mutual growth. Pietro introduced himself with a few coughs. ¡°Hello, I¡¯m an info merchant from Italy named Pietro.¡± After a simple round of introductions, Pietro asked the question he really wanted to ask. ¡°Why aren¡¯t any monsters showing up around here?¡± The answer was supplied by a girl who was walking up. ¡°That¡¯s because my oppa¡¯s here!¡± Pietro recognized the young girl with the pretty, dazzling smile. ¡®Kim Hyukjin¡¯s little sister, Kim Sunhwa.¡¯ Despite being a genius tank, she wasn¡¯t as famous in Korea as her skills would suggest. If you were to pick the most famous tank in Korea, it would obviously be the guildmaster of Taeguk Shield, Song Kiyeol. The guild members of Wings were also thought to be tanks. Still puzzled, Pietro asked, ¡°Could I¡­ trouble you to explain?¡± ¡°It¡¯s because I have Mettle. I¡¯m sure you also know about Mettle.¡± Many Rankers in the top rung had Mettle. Actually, at this point in time, they probably had the lower form of Mettle, Pressure. ¡°It¡¯s the higher version of Pressure,¡± Hyukjin added. ¡°I see.¡± Pietro nodded. ¡°You truly have a lot of skills.¡± Mettle. Guardian Tower Summoning. A ridiculous archery skill. An extraordinary movement skill (Flash Step). Kim Hyukjin was like a puzzle that seemed to have more pieces with every look. ¡°Argh, scram!¡± There was a crash, and the next moment, a car exploded. ¡°Oops¡­ didn¡¯t control my strength.¡± A massive person lumbered towards them. It was the Tutorial Ender So Yoohyun, a very famous Player in Korea. ¡°Hyungnim!¡± he bellowed. ¡°The shining jewel of the universe, So Yoohyun, has come to receive your command!¡± Yeonseo shook her head. ¡°You have Mettle too, don¡¯t you? You should have used it on the way here.¡± ¡°Oh, right!¡± Yoohyun scratched the back of his head with his pot lid of a hand. ¡°But it¡¯s no fun if I use Mettle.¡± From that, Pietro noticed something strange. ¡®Come to think of it¡­¡¯ Monsters like Goblins, Trolls, as well as Orcs, Orc Warriors, and Lycanthropes were spawning and engaging in battle with Players around the Gwanghwamun Plaza. But Shin Yeonseo and Kim Sunhwa had nonchalantly walked through the fray looking like they hadn¡¯t fought a single monster. ¡®No way, it can¡¯t be that So Yoohyun, Kim Sunhwa, and Shin Yeonseo all have Mettle?¡¯ Mettle wasn¡¯t a terribly rare ability, but it wasn¡¯t so common that a bunch of people could have it in the same guild. ¡®Giantgod Guild¡­!¡¯ And yet, Giantgod Guild had at least three people with Mettle. He suddenly felt glad he had tagged along. ¡°I think there¡¯s probably something hidden in the statue of Admiral Yi Sun-sin,¡± said Hyukjin. ¡°If you say so, Boss Hyukjin, it must be so.¡± Yeonseo already had her sword drawn. ¡°Playing with you is the best. I¡¯m getting excited for once. What¡¯s up with the statue?¡± ¡°I don¡¯t know, either.¡± He really didn¡¯t. ¡°But I think¡­ someone who can reveal this secret will show up around now.¡± ¡°Who?¡± Yeonseo stroked her chin, before thinking of someone. ¡°Jackson?¡± ¡°Yeah.¡± ¡°Is Jackson still in Korea?¡± ¡°If I¡¯m right.¡± In the past, the Gwanghwamun Plaza Raid wasn¡¯t anything special. It was a scenario Hyukjin had considered unimportant, an almost everyday occurrence. But looking at it up close, that didn¡¯t seem to be the case. There was definitely something here. The fact that it wasn¡¯t revealed meant¡­ someone had kept it a secret. ¡®And that person is very likely Jackson.¡¯ Originally, Jackson was supposed to ¡®not have been in Korea¡¯ at this point in time. But that same Jackson was already deeply involved in Korea¡¯s scenarios. He had played major roles in both the Gran Seoul and Gwanghwamun Dungeons. ¡®Jackson is definitely coming.¡¯ Even if he didn¡¯t¡­ ¡®Someone else will come.¡¯ Someone would come to dig up the secret of the statue of Yi Sun-sin. Of course, Hyukjin kept observing with Observer¡¯s Eye, but it wasn¡¯t enough. ¡°It appears you¡¯ve been waiting for me.¡± A Player with a Translation Marble walked towards them. Sure enough, it was Jackson, the British explorer. The Great Explorer Jackson stopped in front of the statue of Yi Sun-sin. ¡°Somehow, I had a feeling we would meet,¡± responded Hyukjin. To be honest, he was indeed waiting for Jackson. Hyukjin was looking forward to seeing him. Now that he was armed with ¡®Cognitive Dissonance Dispel¡¯, Hyukjin thought he might be able to see something else from Jackson. ¡®I¡¯m not seeing anything of note.¡¯ There was no Cognitive Dissonance effect on Jackson. ¡°I thought that if you were here, Guildmaster Kim, you would have been waiting for me.¡± ¡°Is that so?¡± ¡°I suppose it¡¯s something like the inevitable pull of fate.¡± Behind Jackson, several Players appeared amidst the cars. Hyukjin was able to recognize them. ¡®Kang Woongmin the Adamant, and the Poisoned Dagger Jung Sangchul.¡¯ They were the right and left hands of the Blood and Iron Witch Song Junghye. With them were the members of their guild, the Blood and Iron Lion. They were apparently starting to cobble together a fairly decent team. TN: Song Junghye¡¯s guild was originally the Blue Spearhead, but the author has changed it to Blood and Iron Lion. ¡°I see you have Miss Song Junghye¡¯s guild members with you,¡± Hyukjin said. ¡°Yes. I plan on clearing this gate with them.¡± Hyukjin stared at Jackson. ¡®As I thought. It was Jackson.¡¯ It was highly likely that Jackson and the Blood and Iron Lion cleared the ¡®secret thing¡¯ hidden here, whatever it was. That was why the people of the world remembered this scenario as merely a small blip. ¡®It may have given Song Junghye wings.¡¯ Song Junghye was not made of ¡®Blood and Iron Queen¡¯ material. But what if she were to get her hands on certain serendipitous opportunities, and those opportunities were gained through Jackson? That could change things. An opportunity like this one, for example. ¡®Then it sort of makes sense.¡¯ Hyukjin thought for a moment. ¡®Statue of Yi Sun-sin, Gwanghwamun Plaza, Blood and Iron Lion, and Jackson. What could Song Junghye have gotten here?¡¯ Somehow¡­ ¡®I have a feeling I know.¡¯ Something that shouldn¡¯t be allowed to go into Song Junghye¡¯s possession popped into his mind, and like lightning striking a rod, he knew what he had to do. He knew what kind of drawing he should draw, and what kind of stage he should set. ____ Chapter 237 Chapter 237 ¡®Song Junghye started to become famous as the Blood and Iron Queen from the Bali Naval Battle onwards.¡¯ It was then that Song Junghye began to take off. Just as the ¡®Battle of the Maldives¡¯ was the stage where Shin Yeonseo earned her Sword Empress name, the ¡®Bali Naval Battle¡¯ was the stage where Song Junghye earned her Blood and Iron Queen moniker. ¡®What appeared back then was the Immortal Fleet.¡¯ And after a very long time, even the Turtle Ship made an appearance. ¡®An ability that will become the Blood and Iron Queen¡¯s foundation.¡¯ He was starting to get a sense of what was happening. Admiral Yi Sun-sin. The Immortal Fleet. Naval battle. And even the Turtle Ship. This was where she had obtained the ability that would become her launch pad, her cornerstone, and she had gotten it with the help of the Great Explorer Jackson. ¡°You said you wanted to clear the Yi Sun-sin statue gate?¡± asked Hyukjin. ¡°Yes. I have a key that can open it.¡± ¡°With Miss Song Junghye coming over there?¡± Song Junghye walked up with a scowl on her face. She spat a question at Hyukjin, her face dripping with displeasure. ¡°What exactly is going on here?¡± ¡°Ah.¡± Hyukjin answered, ¡°I was investigating because I felt a strange current at the statue. With my guild members.¡± Shin Yeonseo chipped in. ¡°That¡¯s why Sunghyun and Sung-gu came flying over by helicopter. In advance.¡± Meaning, that was just how attached they were to this place. In all truth, Yeonseo couldn¡¯t feel anything from the Yi Sun-sin statue, and she hadn¡¯t met eyes with it like Pietro had. She just jumped in after reading the mood. Jackson nodded. ¡°Seeing as all the members of Giantgod are here, it¡¯s certainly true that Guildmaster Kim got to the statue first.¡± Song Junghye took a step forward. ¡°That¡¯s hardly of any importance. Guildmaster Kim Hyukjin. Do you have a key to open the gate?¡± ¡°No.¡± ¡°But Jackson does. They may have gotten here first, but they can¡¯t go in anyway. We¡¯ll be clearing this gate as planned.¡± Song Junghye felt a touch of superiority. ¡®Who cares if you come here first and wait?¡¯ They could wait all they wanted, but they couldn¡¯t open the gate without Jackson. No matter how high and mighty Kim Hyukjin was, this gate would be cleared by her and the Blood and Iron Lion. Hyukjin tilted his head. ¡°I wonder about that.¡± It was true that they couldn¡¯t get into the ¡®Immortal Fleet Gate¡¯ without Jackson¡¯s help. That made Jackson the key person here, and Hyukjin knew Jackson well. In addition, he was a far more skilled negotiator than Song Junghye. Hyukjin continued, ¡°A small scenario called the Gwanghwamun Plaza Raid is going on right now.¡± ¡°What about it?¡± ¡°If something unfortunate were to happen during the chaos, none would be the wiser.¡± ¡°Something unfortunate?¡± Kang Woongmin took a step forward from Song Junghye¡¯s side. ¡°Please watch what you say. What does ¡®something unfortunate¡¯ mean, exactly? Am I being overly sensitive when I hear that as a threat?¡± ¡°Someone set an assassin on me before. If I had shown any openings, I would have been murdered.¡± ¡°And?¡± Jung Sangchul¡¯s eyes narrowed. Kim Hyukjin was explicitly talking about him. ¡°I know who set the assassin on me, and I know who the assassin is.¡± ¡°What does that have to do with you right now?¡± Kang Woongmin bared his displeasure. Something unfortunate? Those words could only be taken to mean that Giantgod Guild would squash the Blood and Iron Lion with force, or worse, eliminate them via murder. He couldn¡¯t just sit around after hearing fighting words like that. As the de facto Numero Dos of Blood and Iron Lion, Kang Woongmin had to step forward. Song Junghye lifted her hand to restrain him, judging that nothing good would come of saying more. Kim Hyukjin stared Song Junghye straight in the eye. ¡°That person knows who they are.¡± ¡°Enough with the pointless talk. Let¡¯s return to the matter at hand.¡± ¡°No, I¡¯m not done yet.¡± Like the trained producer he was, Hyukjin activated ¡®Mettle¡¯ at exactly the right time. A formless energy seeped from his body, descending on Song Junghye and the members of her guild, who instantly shrank back psychologically. ¡°Do you really think I turned a blind eye to people who wanted to assassinate me because I¡¯m simply too kind?¡± ¡°I don¡¯t know what you¡¯re trying to say,¡± Song Junghye gritted. ¡°It wasn¡¯t because I¡¯m kind.¡± Song Junghye¡¯s mouth snapped shut. Her eyes dodged Hyukjin¡¯s gaze. She unconsciously looked away without meaning to. ¡®I¡­ avoided his gaze?¡¯ It was a huge blow to her pride. Terribly humiliated by the fact that she had looked away, Junghye jerked up her eyes and met Kim Hyukjin¡¯s gaze. ¡°It¡¯s because I can kill them at any time. That¡¯s why I just let them be. Because I didn¡¯t want to dirty my hands.¡± ¡°¡­What unpleasant nonsense are you going on about?¡± Hyukjin smiled. ¡°Of course, I wasn¡¯t talking about you, Miss Song.¡± Anyone could see he was talking about her, but in any case, Song Junghye suddenly found it easier to breathe. Hyukjin had stopped using Mettle. With just a few words, he had taken complete control over the conversation. Hyukjin didn¡¯t intend on killing Song Junghye anyway. Prodding the bee¡¯s nest with words like ¡®something unfortunate¡¯ was just to draw their attention and lead the situation into the direction he wanted. Put simply, it was a provocation. ¡°Jackson, have you signed a permanent partnership with the Blood and Iron Lion?¡± ¡°No. We¡¯re cooperating only for this gate.¡± Hyukjin knew he¡¯d answer like that. In the past, Jackson had kept his connection to the Blood and Iron Lion a tightly locked secret. Hyukjin didn¡¯t know why. But he had a suspicion the Blood and Iron Lion may have been Jackson¡¯s proxy guild, and that the same might have applied to the Blood and Iron Witch Song Junghye. Their relationship didn¡¯t seem to be at that level yet, however. ¡®So he¡¯ll keep it a secret now, too.¡¯ Jackson would just say they were briefly working together, and Hyukjin was right. ¡°Isn¡¯t your goal to successfully explore this gate, Jackson?¡± ¡°Yes.¡± ¡°I think we can be of greater assistance in achieving that goal.¡± ¡°But I¡¯ve already agreed to work with Blood and Iron Lion.¡± * * * Translator ¨C Lei Proofreader ¨C Ash * * * Flashing an intentional smile, Hyukjin made a slight gamble. ¡°Why? Did Miss Song say she wanted the Immortal Fleet?¡± ¡°Oh. You know about the Immortal Fleet?¡± Jackson¡¯s expression brightened with interest. He hadn¡¯t mentioned the Immortal Fleet yet, but Kim Hyukjin seemed to already know of it. ¡°I do. That¡¯s why I¡¯m here.¡± ¡°As I thought, Guildmaster Kim has special eyes.¡± Hyukjin¡¯s shot in the dark hit the bullseye. He threw the line casually, but the fish chomped right at the bait. ¡®That confirms it. It¡¯s possible to get the Immortal Fleet in there.¡¯ He really couldn¡¯t afford to back down to Song Junghye then. The Immortal Fleet had displayed incredible might in the Bali Naval Battle. If it was possible to obtain, Hyukjin had to get it. He had no intention of letting the Blood and Iron Witch have it. ¡°Does the gate have a restriction on the number of participants?¡± ¡°No, it doesn¡¯t.¡± ¡°Great, then it¡¯d be great if Giantgod participated too. I think we can also be of help to you, Jackson.¡± Hyukjin¡¯s proposal was certainly reasonable. ¡®If Jackson wants to exclusively nurture Song Junghye, he¡¯ll refuse.¡¯ If Jackson refused, that could be taken as a confirmation that he wanted to back Song Junghye. ¡°I¡¯ll need to talk to Guildmaster Song Junghye for a moment,¡± Jackson said, turning around. Some time later, Jackson came back bearing a refusal. ¡°I looked into it a little more, and there¡¯s a slight problem.¡± ¡°What is it?¡± ¡°It seems entry is restricted to those who have personally heard a special incantation, plus their party.¡± Song Junghye openly sneered. ¡°How sad. It was all in vain.¡± Hyukjin didn¡¯t rise to Song Junghye¡¯s provocation. ¡°What do you mean by a special incantation?¡± Somehow, Hyukjin had a feeling he knew what it was. He had certainly heard a special incantation in the Dewinged Angel Statue Gate, recited by the German archer, Schultz. A short, but meaningful incantation based on words spoken by Admiral Yi Sun-sin. ¡°Are you possibly referring to ¡®Seek life to die, seek death to live¡¯?¡± ¡°¡­¡± Jackson was struck speechless. ¡°How¡­ did you know that?¡± ¡°He who prepares can seize the future.¡± To be honest, it was really pure luck this time. Hyukjin himself hadn¡¯t prepared anything; it just landed in his lap. But even as he spoke with Jackson, Hyukjin wondered to himself if it was really luck. Thinking about it further, he somehow had the feeling it wasn¡¯t. Ultimately, Hyukjin got the Canvas of Longing in the Dewinged Angel Statue Gate, one of the first clues leading to the Endless Sky. And the Endless Sky was the meeting place arranged by the Demon King. So what if he thought of it like this? The Demon King planned for him to go into the Dewinged Angel Statue Gate, where he heard Schultz¡¯s incantation, and the Immortal Fleet could be obtained at the continuation of that plan. Then wouldn¡¯t that make this not luck, but pieces lined up by someone¡¯s hand? ¡®It¡¯s a reasonable deduction for sure.¡¯ The Demon King. Just who was he, to make such arrangements? Why did he say he would be waiting for Hyukjin at the Endless Sky? Jackson nodded. ¡°It¡¯s certainly true that only those who prepare can take the future in stride. But truly, I¡¯m awed. To think you had already heard that incantation¡­ You¡¯re really something else.¡± Song Junghye grimaced like she had just stepped into dog poo. ¡®What the hell is happening?¡¯ She thought this was a golden opportunity to snub Kim Hyukjin. ¡®Didn¡¯t he say it was almost impossible?¡¯ Jackson said the incantation had never shown up in Korea. ¡®That we were the chosen ones?¡¯ She was told only the Blood and Iron Lion was given the honor of being ¡®chosen by an explorer¡¯, and only they could go inside. But the way things were going, it seemed that wasn¡¯t at all true. She met eyes with Kim Hyukjin. ¡®Dammit.¡¯ Defeat coursed through her. There wasn¡¯t a smile on his face, but in her eyes, Kim Hyukjin seemed to be smiling. ¡®This bastard¡­ created some kind of weird term in Italy, didn¡¯t he?¡¯ There was a term trending in Italy: ¡®Korean Style¡¯. Just how? How the hell did he know to prepare an incantation that was necessary for a gate in Korea but didn¡¯t yet exist in the country? ¡°Jackson. We need to talk.¡± She and Jackson talked. Kim Hyukjin could not simply be allowed to waltz in. To be honest, she was a little scared of him, and working with him was the last thing she wanted. However, she kept those feelings to herself. The result of their conversation was shared by Jackson. ¡°Let¡¯s go inside together. However, you must promise to concede everything that isn¡¯t a direct reward to me. You may not know this, but I can change the entry conditions.¡± The explorer class was truly versatile. Jackson could change the entry conditions? Hyukjin found it amusing. ¡®If he could, he would have already used it.¡¯ But instead of telling him about this ability, Jackson had brought up the incantation. If Jackson didn¡¯t want to let him in, then he would have used the entry restriction ability well in advance. Hyukjin read Jackson like a book. ¡®I guess this means he¡¯s giving Song Junghye the impression he¡¯s actively cooperating with her, while cooperating with me on the sly.¡¯ Notices came in. [The ¡®Whispering Devil¡¯ is enjoying themselves.] [The ¡®Nameless Observer¡¯ is observing.] The two Guardians appeared to be following the situation closely. If Hyukjin had to guess, the Immortal Fleet Gate was a place of high importance, important enough to be part of the Demon King¡¯s plans. The Guardians were probably watching very intently. He didn¡¯t just go in right away. ¡®Let¡¯s show them a little more here.¡¯ Two chefs could create a completely different-tasting dish with the same ingredients. Walking in right away was fine too, but how delicious a scene one could produce with the same props was entirely up to the producer¡¯s skill. ¡®The Whispering Devil is having fun, too.¡¯ Wanting to add some seasoning before entering the gate, Hyukjin intentionally addressed Song Junghye. ¡°Any more conditions to add? It feels like we¡¯ll be in the Blood and Iron Lion¡¯s debt. I¡¯d be happy to accept more conditions.¡± In Kim Sunhwa¡¯s eyes, her brother¡¯s smile seemed to carry a hint of wickedness. [The ¡®Whispering Devil¡¯ is enjoying themselves even more.] ____ Chapter 238 Chapter 238 Other Guardians began sending messages, proof that Hyukjin¡¯s words had deepened their interest. [The ¡®Merchant of Venice¡¯ is focusing.] [The ¡®Herdsman of Las Vegas¡¯ is having fun.] The two Guardians took the mound again, exactly as Hyukjin intended. He continued. ¡°Allow me to speak first.¡± This gate would be one of two things. A regular gate that was cleared together, or an independent gate that created a separate instance for every party that went in. ¡°If it¡¯s a regular gate, I will focus entirely on supporting.¡± Hyukjin was an Observer anyway. It was right for him to take a supporting role. It was a given anyway, but he made it sound like he was doing them a favor, like he was actively cooperating with Song Junghye. ¡®But it¡¯s likely to be an independent gate.¡¯ He just had a hunch. When he mentioned ¡®regular gate¡¯, Song Junghye¡¯s expression shifted a little. ¡®Song Junghye thinks this is an independent gate.¡¯ Jackson might have told her in advance. Hyukjin read her summary with Eye of Perception. Summary: Sovereign of Victory Brimming with Confidence She was maintaining an expressionless face, but Eye of Perception saw straight through her. ¡®Brimming with confidence, huh?¡¯ It seemed she already had clues about the Immortal Fleet from Jackson. She might, for example, have something like a map. Unfortunately for Song Junghye, Hyukjin saw everything from her one summary. Song Junghye lifted her chin. ¡°I have one additional condition.¡± Hyukjin cut her off at the appropriate time with a raised hand. He had to be the one to say the important things. The Guardians were watching, after all. ¡°I¡¯m not done speaking yet. I¡¯ll propose something first.¡± ¡°¡­¡± ¡°Second. If it is an independent gate,¡± Hyukjin said, ¡°the team that accomplishes the first clear, or makes a record of the fastest time, will get the better rewards.¡± ¡°Yes.¡± Song Junghye¡¯s summary was still ¡®Sovereign of Victory Brimming with Confidence¡¯, which confirmed Hyukjin¡¯s suspicion. ¡®These guys have something that will help them get a fast clear.¡¯ Hyukjin almost let out an unconscious laugh. They were speaking under the pretext of a proposal, but this was actually a conversation that exposed all of Song Junghye¡¯s thoughts. ¡®Thanks for the info,¡¯ he thought, while saying, ¡°As such, in consideration of the Blood and Iron Lion, we will clear the gate slowly.¡± ¡°Are you looking down on us?¡± Song Junghye¡¯s lips curled into a half-smile, as if she were certain of her victory. ¡°Giantgod should do the best Giantgod can do.¡± ¡°¡­¡± ¡°Only then will there be no room for excuses.¡± Hyukjin poked the belly of the squirrel in Stealth mode on his shoulder. ¡®Kim Darong. Be it a map or something else, go get whatever will help us with this clear. She¡¯s definitely got something. I¡¯ll buy you time.¡¯ He didn¡¯t say anything, but Kim Darong accurately read his master¡¯s intent. The squirrel had been sticking his tongue out at Song Junghye as it was. A [!] popped up over Kim Darong¡¯s head as he scrambled down Hyukjin¡¯s leg. The theft genius began his thieving. Hyukjin intentionally spoke slower. ¡°Is it really okay for us to do our best?¡± ¡°Naturally,¡± Song Junghye responded, failing to notice that a theft genius was looting her Inventory. In any case, when it came to the result, there was absolutely nothing for Kim Hyukjin to lose. Nothing to lose if it was a regular gate, and nothing to concede if it was an independent one. Hyukjin made a show of conceding everything, but in the end, he didn¡¯t relent on a single thing. Senia found herself making a quick shake of her head. ¡®While buying time, you read your opponent¡¯s inner thoughts and successfully produced a fun scene.¡¯ Guardians sided with the Players they were attached to. Enemies of ¡°their¡± Players were their enemies as well. Such people were like villains in a novel to the Guardians, making the ¡®bamboozling¡¯ Kim Hyukjin was doing right now a hit with the Guardians. His scene production was a success. [The ¡®Whispering Devil¡¯ has sent a ¡®Speak of Peace, Prepare for War Strategy¡¯ as a sponsorship.] Senia had mixed feelings as she looked at Song Junghye. ¡®Song Junghye. You need to be both a Player and producer, but¡­¡¯ The Players of Earth had to fulfill both roles simultaneously. But Song Junghye was incapable of that. What kinds of factors were present in the conversation between the two of them, how to seize control over the conversation and how to move forward, what to obtain and what to give up on, and how to package that¡­ Song Junghye had zero concept of such details. ¡®In more ways than one, she is no match for Player Kim Hyukjin.¡¯ Senia¡¯s wings quivered. She didn¡¯t know why, but she felt her mood improve. Kim Hyukjin turned his eyes on Jackson, observing the man as he investigated the area around the Yi Sun-sin statue. ¡®Cognitive Dissonance Dispel is drawing a blank.¡¯ The explorer definitely had some kind of secret, but Hyukjin didn¡¯t know exactly what that was. A short while later, Jackson wiped the sweat on his brow. ¡°I¡¯ve found the gate entrance.¡± The Yi Sun-sin statue itself was the entrance. It was possible to click it by looking at it. [Immortal Fleet Gate] The soul and will of the Chungmugong (Lord of Loyal Valor) Yi Sun-sin culminated in the Immortal Fleet. Those who wish to succeed his will and write a new page in the history of conquest, enter here. *Must be at least level 35 to enter *Independent gate *Upon entrance, all Players will receive the quest ¡®Battle of Hansan Island¡¯ As Hyukjin expected, it was an independent gate, one where each party would go in and Play separately, but only one team would seize the best reward. ¡°I have a prior arrangement with the Blood and Iron Lion, so I¡¯ll be working with them,¡± said Jackson. As Hyukjin thought. ¡°Very well.¡± ¡°You must concede everything that isn¡¯t a direct reward.¡± ¡°Yes, I promise.¡± His objective was the ¡®Immortal Fleet¡¯ item. Pietro, who had been quietly watching from the back, also realized what was going on. ¡®The other side must definitely have something that gives them an advantage.¡¯ As an info merchant, he knew about independent gates. This gate could end up being a big waste of effort. In addition, his ability informed him that the difficulty of this gate was far from low. ¡®For now, Guildmaster Kim Hyukjin has the overwhelming win pre-gate.¡¯ The opponent was Song Junghye of Sungshin. Just how many people in Korea could crush Song Junghye so soundly? The only problem was that there was no knowing how things would pan out inside the gate. ¡®Let¡¯s wait and see.¡¯ Pietro decided to observe Kim Hyukjin. He could feel that the gate was extremely difficult, but he had a strange feeling. ¡®Somehow¡­¡¯ The back of the man walking in front of him looked broad. Reliable. ¡®I can¡¯t wait.¡¯ He entered the gate. [Entering the Immortal Fleet Gate.] His surroundings instantly darkened, and Pietro was unable to see a thing. A ¡®narration¡¯ started to play. * * * Translator ¨C Lei Proofreader ¨C Ash * * * [We set off in the morning and reached the dock at Dangpo straightaway. Twenty enemy ships were moored in a line. We surrounded them and engaged in combat, but one of the big ships seemed to be a panokseon of our country. The mast on the ship was around two jang (6.66 meters) high, and the Japanese commander on the observation platform sat imperiously, unmoving. We let loose a rain of crossbolts, cannonballs, and bullets. When the Japanese commander was struck by an arrow and fell, the entirety of the Japanese forces scattered in a panic.] This was a familiar record to Kim Hyukjin. It was from the famous ¡®War Diary of Admiral Yi Sun-sin¡¯, the diary written by the Lord of Loyal Valor Yi Sun-sin during the Japanese invasions of Korea of 1592-1598. An excerpt from the diary was read out, meaning this scenario was directly or indirectly based on that event. [The quest ¡®Battle of Hansan Island¡¯ has been triggered.] Fog rolled in, and the darkness faded a little. The cawing of seagulls sounded above, and the ground rocked underneath him. They were on a ship. As soon as they entered the gate, the quest began. A rocking ship. The fog began to slowly clear, revealing the world around them. The booms of guns going off. The sharp smell of gunpowder. The wind blowing in from different directions, carrying the reek of blood and salt. This setting was one that Hyukjin had indirectly experienced before. ¡®A naval battle.¡¯ It hadn¡¯t made its debut yet, but later, naval battles would erupt in various parts of the world. One such battle was the ¡®Bali Naval Battle¡¯ that jump started the Blood and Iron Queen Song Junghye¡¯s worldwide fame. Hyukjin heard a voice. ¡°Seek life to die, seek death to live.¡± It was a sentence Hyukjin had already heard. Words murmured by Schultz, the German Player who lost his life in the Dewinged Angel Statue Gate in the past. Famous words spoken by the great Yi Sun-sin. Those who seek death shall live, those who seek life shall die. A naval battle was raging on with no heed to Hyukjin and his party. Ships clashed hull to hull, and shouts rang out around them. Thump! Thump! Thump! Thump! The drums thumped a heart-pounding beat, and a steel rain of arrows spanned the sky. A few vessels sank, and ¡®faceless soldiers¡¯ fell into the sea. He heard a voice again. ¡°Help us and annihilate the enemy.¡± A quest to annihilate the enemy? ¡®Is it really that simple?¡¯ If it was, all they had to do was take this fleet¡¯s side and destroy the other side¡¯s fleet. ¡®No.¡¯ That wasn¡¯t all. Hyukjin pulled out a compass. It was one of two items Kim Darong had swiped from Song Junghye¡¯s Inventory, a compass and a hangover elimination item called ¡®Miracle¡¯. The compass pointed at one ship floating serenely in the distance. ¡®That¡¯s the flagship.¡¯ It was, so to speak, the boss. ¡®Aha. It¡¯s a tool that tells you who the boss is.¡¯ Why was this item necessary? Was victory conferred to whoever destroyed the flagship? Hyukjin had a suspicion it wasn¡¯t that simple. ¡°Boss Hyukjin,¡± said Yeonseo. ¡°What should we do now?¡± ¡°We¡¯ll take this side and destroy the other one.¡± ¡°Is that all?¡± ¡°No.¡± ¡°I thought so. Something¡¯s weird.¡± Yeonseo had picked up on the strangeness of the situation as well. She couldn¡¯t quite put a finger on what it was, but something was off. The info merchant Pietro put that strangeness in concrete terms. ¡°This side has an overwhelming advantage in strength. So much so that they don¡¯t need our help.¡± In this battle between two fleets, their side had just twelve vessels, while the other side obviously had over fifty. But despite that, the battle was going extremely well for their side. The twelve ships were spread out in a wide crane wing formation, effectively surrounding countless enemy ships. Just from the deluge of mana bullets alone, one thing was clear. ¡®This side is way stronger.¡¯ So why? Why were they given a quest requesting their help? Ba-boom! Boom! Ba-ba-boom! Every time the ships from this side fired a cannonball, every time they fired arrows, every time they shot some unknown beam of light, the ships of the other side were quick to splinter or break. Maybe their side was being protected by a special barrier, because they didn¡¯t take the slightest amount of damage. ¡°This side is overwhelmingly stronger, but we were given a quest to help them.¡± A naval battle scenario, raging on regardless of the Giantgod Guild¡¯s presence. ¡®This gate¡¯s name¡­ is the Immortal Fleet Gate.¡¯ So that was what it was. Hyukjin realized what this gate wanted from Giantgod Guild, what it was demanding from the Players. ¡®Those guys are the Immortal Fleet.¡¯ They were weak, but¡ª ¡®They¡¯ll revive nonstop.¡¯ Their side might be overwhelmingly stronger, but with time, the other side would creep closer to victory. They were, after all, the ¡®Immortal Fleet¡¯. They would constantly revive, almost like monsters respawning. ¡®There¡¯s no need to drag things out.¡¯ The longer they took, the more disadvantageous the situation would become. ¡®I bet Jackson clued into it faster than me.¡¯ It was highly likely Jackson grasped the scenario as soon as he came in. Thankfully, Hyukjin¡¯s party had the compass. ¡°We¡¯re going for the flagship.¡± As well as the target within. ¡°There¡¯s a boss on that ship. That¡¯s the flagship.¡± Hyukjin pointed. ¡°The ship with the flag with a red circle on it. It¡¯s the crux.¡± Choi Sung-gu tilted his head. ¡°How are we gonna take it down? It¡¯ll be tough with just me and Sunghyun. It¡¯s too far away, and it looks like it has a shield.¡± ¡°I¡¯ll be the main DPS.¡± Sung-gu looked at him in puzzlement. ¡°Huh? How? You don¡¯t have the Blackfire Bow anymore.¡± Hyukjin continued without answering Sung-gu¡¯s question, telling the party what they should do and how they would clear this place. ____ Chapter 239 Chapter 239 Choi Sung-gu didn¡¯t know yet that Hyukjin could use mana to make a Blackfire Bow, since it was a technique Hyukjin had shown for the first time in the Dewinged Angel Statue Gate. However, he didn¡¯t insist on an explanation. ¡®It¡¯s Kim Hyukjin, after all. He¡¯ll pull it off somehow.¡¯ Hyukjin continued speaking. ¡°I¡¯ll be the main, Sunghyun and Sung-gu will support.¡± ¡°You really intend on being the main, huh.¡± Sung-gu realized that Hyukjin was going to use a fire element ability. Even in his eyes, his guildmaster¡¯s fire affinity was beyond imagination. It wouldn¡¯t be at all unusual if such a person said he was using a fire spell. But to Sung-gu¡¯s surprise, Hyukjin pulled out a bow. ¡®A bow?¡¯ Not magic, but a bow? But as Sung-gu watched, the bow suddenly changed. ¡®A bow with black flames¡­¡¯ It wasn¡¯t a regular item. Even Sung-gu could see that. Kim Hyukjin was currently consuming his mana to temporarily create a ¡®new item¡¯. ¡®Hah, you crazy mofo.¡¯ Sung-gu shook his head in amazement. ¡®It must suck up a ton of mana.¡¯ Kim Hyukjin was one crazy Player, yes, but Sung-gu had his own role to play. ¡®Let¡¯s just focus on supporting.¡¯ Sung-gu added his flames onto the Blackfire Bow. He might be shadowed by Hyukjin¡¯s genius, but Choi Sung-gu was a magician talented enough to represent a nation, and that talent was further boosted by the Tome of the Divine Fire Physique. Sung-gu¡¯s fire attribute mana wreathed the Blackfire Bow. Jo Sunghyun also realized exactly what he had to do. ¡°I will increase the accuracy and destructive power.¡± When assisting Sung-gu, the wind magician put a greater focus on accuracy rather than destructive power. But right now, the main DPSer was Kim Hyukjin. ¡®Hyukjin hyung¡­ doesn¡¯t need any help with accuracy from me.¡¯ Certain that was the case, Sunghyun focused on increasing the destructive power. Blue wind formed at his hands. ¡°The moment you fire your arrow, Hyung, I¡¯ll support the arrow in my own unique way.¡± Hyukjin nodded. ¡®Flagship.¡¯ He observed it with Observer¡¯s Eye. The world fell away, a sensation he had already experienced many times. The flagship loomed large in his eyes. It felt as though he were looking at it with a magnifying glass, or that it was coming closer. ¡®I can¡¯t just destroy it.¡¯ An image drew itself out in his head. His foes had the ability to revive. They had something that allowed them to do so, something like a mana crystal. And that thing wasn¡¯t an item. ¡®It¡¯s him.¡¯ The ¡®faceless commander¡¯ in golden armor sitting high on the flagship platform, he was the key. ¡®He¡¯s my target.¡¯ The man was so far away he couldn¡¯t be seen with the naked eye, but he was visible when seen through Observer¡¯s Eye. ¡®What¡¯s his weakness?¡¯ As a human-type monster, his greatest weaknesses were naturally the head and heart. But Hyukjin aimed elsewhere. ¡®Around his belly button.¡¯ Powerful mana was billowing from his abdomen. Hyukjin was sure that was the mana of revival. There was something near the commander¡¯s stomach, and only by destroying it would this naval battle come to an end. ¡°Hunter¡¯s March.¡± He could also use Conductor¡¯s Hymn, but Hyukjin only used Hunter¡¯s March this time. He focused more on boosting his abilities rather than buffing his guild members. The blackfire arrow that had reaped the lives of many Gryphons blazed in his bow. ¡®I¡¯ll¡­ kill him.¡¯ Hyukjin fired. Pietro witnessed the Blackfire Bow in action once again. Just as he had seen when Hyukjin was killing the Gryphons, the arrow that shot off held tremendous power. The blackfire arrow whizzed over the ocean, carving a shallow path in the waters below. Tzzzz¨C! Upon coming in contact with blackfire, the water vaporized into a cloud of steam so thick it could be mistaken as fog. The wickedly hot steam brought the battle to an instant standstill. Pietro stared in dumb amazement. ¡®It¡¯s way stronger than back then.¡¯ Had Kim Hyukjin experienced some rapid growth? No, that didn¡¯t seem to be the case. This wasn¡¯t just Kim Hyukjin. It was so powerful because of Choi Sung-gu and Jo Sunghyun¡¯s assistance. ¡®Giantgod Guild¡­ is this strong?¡¯ What he was seeing far outstripped his expectations. How could they achieve such power with a single arrow? Goosebumps rose on his arms. ¡®They¡¯re this capable, but aren¡¯t that well known?¡¯ Giantgod had far less name recognition than Taeguk Shield or Wings. To Pietro the info merchant, that was what he found most frightening. ¡®This guild is a gathering of insane individuals.¡¯ But that was, in fact, somewhat of a misunderstanding. Choi Sung-gu and Jo Sunghyun were also surprised. Although they had assisted with all their might, neither of them had expected such a result. There was still a shallow trail in the water where the Blackfire Bow¡¯s arrow had flown. The ocean was split with a fissure thirty centimetres deep, and upon closer inspection, black flames were burning along the surface of the trail. ¡®Oi, Jo Sunghyun,¡¯ whispered Sung-gu. ¡®What the hell is this?¡¯ ¡®I don¡¯t know, either.¡¯ ¡®Have we always been this crazy fuckin¡¯ strong?¡¯ ¡®You know very well that¡¯s not the case.¡¯ Sung-gu and Sunghyun were just as bewildered. They stared at Hyukjin, who was, unlike them, feeling a strange sense of elation. * * * Translator ¨C Lei Proofreader ¨C Ash * * * ¡®Just now¡­¡¯ There was no System notice. But Hyukjin could analyze it with Observer¡¯s Eye. Tome of the Divine Bow Physique. Tome of the Divine Fire Physique. Tome of the Divine Wind Physique. The three tomes came together and produced a synergistic effect. That was also why Sung-gu and Sunghyun could work so well together. Hyukjin examined the phenomenon closer with Observer Eye¡¯s innate ability, ¡®Authority Analysis¡¯. He focused. [Analyzing authorities.] [Confirming the presence of three tomes.] [The three tomes have astonishing fusion capability.] Hyukjin hadn¡¯t intended it, but his already activated Observer¡¯s Eye actively assisted him. [¡®Unique Ability Fusion¡¯ has taken effect on the astonishing fusion capability.] Through Unique Ability Fusion, the three different types of ¡®unique abilities¡¯ weaved a Kim Hyukjin-exclusive arrow in a Kim Hyukjin-exclusive way. The result was an arrow so powerful it surprised even Hyukjin himself. Observer¡¯s Eye continued analyzing. [You have succeeded in fusing three ¡®tomes¡¯ for the first time.] [You have precisely analyzed the entire process.] [A hidden condition has been fulfilled.] Hyukjin¡¯s ears pricked up at the notices. He had just triggered a ¡®hidden piece¡¯, his first in a while. Senia appeared right on cue, turning the field gray with a Pause authority. Apparently, Senia had become quite wealthy. ¡°Player Kim Hyukjin. Can you explain what is going on right now?¡± ¡°I succeeded in fusing three tomes and analyzed the process. With my class-exclusive skill.¡± ¡°That must be what triggered the hidden piece.¡± Hyukjin realized something. ¡®This¡­ must be one of the hidden pieces in the manual.¡¯ It seemed like a hidden piece Senia already knew, an arrangement put in place by the System rather than a product of chance. Hyukjin had unrooted one such hidden piece. ¡°That¡¯s right.¡± [One location where a ¡®tome¡¯ is slumbering will be made known to you.] [Generating the conditions to acquire the ¡®tome¡¯.] ¡°I can choose one of various ¡®tomes¡¯. I¡¯ll also know where it can be found.¡± ¡°Player Kim Hyukjin, do you know about the types of ¡®tomes¡¯?¡± He had a general gist, though he didn¡¯t know every type. Hyukjin intentionally smiled. ¡°Nope, I don¡¯t.¡± ¡°In that case, may I share the information in the manual with you?¡± He knew that was what Senia would do. But Hyukjin shook his head. ¡°No.¡± ¡°How come? You will be able to make a more efficient choice with the information from the manual. That is my role as your exclusively contracted Intermediate Administrator.¡± He expected this line from Senia and was letting her say it to emphasize to the Guardians that checking the manual was the natural thing to do. From the manual, he could learn what kinds of tomes existed, and how they could be used. However, he intentionally didn¡¯t do that. It wasn¡¯t a very big one, but he was using the ¡®unexpected twist¡¯ technique. ¡®I already have my answer.¡¯ Whether he checked the manual or not, he knew which tome he was going for anyway, and his answer wouldn¡¯t change. That was why he said he wouldn¡¯t check the manual. That was, after all, the all-too natural and sensible choice, the obvious choice. From the viewpoint of the Guardians, developments that weren¡¯t too obvious, developments that slightly overturned their expectations, were better. ¡®However, the developments also have to satisfy their hype.¡¯ The producer Kim Hyukjin knew very well how to achieve that. ¡°My choice is¡­¡± He decided to make a lightning-quick choice without even checking the manual. ¡°¡­the Tome of the Divine Sword Physique.¡± ¡°Can you explain your reasoning?¡± ¡°Because I have Isabel, a transcendent item.¡± ¡°Is that all?¡± ¡°Also because I have an extremely important scenario related to the Sword Forest.¡± The Sword Forest scenario involving Elder Bufafa was certainly content the Guardians would greatly enjoy. To put it this way, the current conversation was a teaser, one that would hype up the Guardians. He heard a notice. [The location of the ¡®Tome of the Divine Sword Physique¡¯ is made known to you.] A map was deposited in his Inventory. Upon opening it, the location automatically registered in his head, and the map disappeared. But something was a little odd. ¡®Wait, isn¡¯t this¡­¡¯ It was a place he knew. ¡®Plum Blossom Island?¡¯ That was the place Hyukjin had intended on visiting before. ¡®The Centipede Cave on Plum Blossom Island.¡¯ But because the same gate appeared in the park in front of the DMC Riverview Xi, he ended up not going there. Hyukjin combed through his memories. ¡®I cleared the place that showed up in the park with Choi Sung-gu.¡¯ And through their achievements there, they got a Predator Tree Colony map. He had thought it strange back then as well. Why had a Centipede Cave opened in the central park in front of his house? He had his doubts, but he was never able to come to a conclusion. ¡°Senia. How much time is left in the Pause?¡± ¡°If Player Kim Hyukjin wants, I can extend it by another five minutes.¡± ¡°Please extend it.¡± ¡°Understood.¡± Like a good Player and Streamer pair, Senia took initiative to ask the question on everyone¡¯s mind. ¡°Is there some sort of secret hidden in the location of the Tome of the Divine Sword Physique?¡± ¡°I don¡¯t know exactly yet.¡± ¡°But it seems as though you have discovered something of note.¡± ¡°Yeah.¡± Hyukjin explained, ¡°Normally, gates with the exact same name and content don¡¯t exist, right?¡± ¡°That¡¯s almost always true, yes.¡± ¡°But I once cleared an identical gate. Remember it?¡± ¡°Are you talking about the Predator Tree Colony?¡± ¡°Yeah.¡± The Predator Tree Colony. He had cleared two Predator Tree Colonies in two different places. And he had uncovered a ¡®secret¡¯ there. ¡°I acquired information there about an unknown being who is artificially cultivating Predator Trees.¡± At first, he thought only that was strange. But he had the feeling it was connected to something more. It was as if he were originally looking at a corner of the canvas and was zooming out to see the bigger picture. Little by little, piece by piece, he started to see things he hadn¡¯t before. ____ Chapter 240 Chapter 240 He still didn¡¯t know what it was, but what was important was that he had grasped a ¡®clue¡¯. Because even with just a clue, the attention of the Guardians was sufficiently piqued. ¡°That means the Predator Tree Colony isn¡¯t just an ordinary place you clear and forget.¡± There was another element involved¡ªCEO Song Kiyoung, who was contracted with the Golden-Horned Dokkaebi. The key that could save the Golden Sovereign had appeared in the Predator Tree Colony. ¡®That¡¯s not all.¡¯ The Predator Tree Colony was special in many ways. ¡®I can generate a Predator Tree Colony with my [True Ruler of the Predator Tree Colony] title.¡¯ A Player, generating a field? That was way out of the bounds of common sense, of conventional wisdom. There were many oddities involved. ¡°Understood,¡± said Senia. ¡°But does that have anything to do with the Tome of the Divine Sword Physique?¡± ¡°I¡¯ve been given the location of a slumbering Tome of the Divine Sword Physique.¡± ¡°Where is it?¡± ¡°Plum Blossom Island. In the Centipede Cave on the island.¡± ¡°The Centipede Cave¡­ That¡¯s the place where you acquired the map of the Predator Tree Colony you mentioned earlier.¡± This conversation wasn¡¯t really just between Kim Hyukjin and Senia. It was pretty much feeding information and messages to the Guardians in the form of a discussion. ¡°Isn¡¯t it strange? There are two identical Centipede Caves in two places, and two Predator Tree Colonies in two places. Clearing one Centipede Cave led to discovering the Predator Tree Colony, where a big secret was hidden within. The two gates weren¡¯t just one and done¡ªthey¡¯ve continued to influence me all this time.¡± ¡°That leads one to think that some kind of secret is hidden in the Centipede Cave Gate.¡± ¡°If what I¡¯m predicting is right, yes.¡± About three minutes had passed. ¡°Approximately two minutes are left in the Pause authority.¡± ¡°After I clear this place, I¡¯m heading straight to the Centipede Cave on Plum Blossom Island.¡± ¡°Understood.¡± There was a mountain of things to do, but the Centipede Cave jumped straight to the top of the list. He just had a feeling that was what he needed to do. The reason why he told Senia he was immediately going to the Centipede Cave was a ¡®teaser¡¯ of sorts for the Guardians. ¡®If¡­ there¡¯s a big secret hidden in the Centipede Cave and Predator Tree Colony, and the Guardians hear about it, it¡¯ll pull in a lot of Guardians.¡¯ The more keen the Guardians were to watch, the better. Creators of unique content were bound to be cherished. ¡°The Pause authority has one minute left.¡± Hyukjin nodded. The scenario would continue where it left off. Before he could do anything else, he first had to finish the ¡®Battle of Hansan Island¡¯ quest. One minute passed. [The Pause has ended.] * * * Translator ¨C Lei Proofreader ¨C Ash * * * Jackson smiled good-naturedly. The ¡®Compass¡¯ had been swiped right out of Song Junghye¡¯s Inventory, disappearing without a single trace. ¡°Is that so? Hahaha. We¡¯ve been had.¡± ¡°You can laugh in this situation?¡± ¡°What else can I do? The one who lost it is you, Miss Song Junghye.¡± Jackson was still wearing a good-natured smile, but it made Song Junghye flinch. A smile was on his lips, but there was faint rage in his eyes. ¡°Well, we can¡¯t do anything about it now.¡± Jackson shrugged. The pressure that had squeezed Song Junghye for the slightest moment faded, so short-lived she thought she just imagined it. ¡°We¡¯ll find ourselves in a naval battle. We need to find the opponent¡¯s flagship and kill the commander on that ship.¡± Jackson rattled off an explanation, almost as if he already knew the ins and outs of this gate. ¡°Their ship has considerable resistance to ranged attacks. The System explanation is that the ship possesses an outstanding shield due to weathering prolonged battle between warships.¡± The guild members of the Blood and Iron Lion listened closely to Jackson¡¯s words. ¡°A ranged attack isn¡¯t completely out of the question, but our ultimate goal is the enemy commander. Only by killing the commander will the Immortal Fleet collapse.¡± The Poisoned Dagger, Jung Sangchul, stepped forward. ¡°So we need to get into close combat somehow and kill him.¡± ¡°If we can get there, yes.¡± It was quite the distance. The naval battle scenario had already begun. ¡°After a certain amount of time, the flagship and enemy commander will change. That¡¯s the inherent challenge of this gate.¡± Jung Sangchul asked, ¡°Does that mean that if we can¡¯t make it to the commander and kill him in time, we¡¯ll have wasted our time?¡± ¡°Yes. With the Compass, we could have immediately found the enemy commander, but unfortunately, because Guildmaster Song Junghye lost it¡­¡± ¡°I didn¡¯t lose it. It was stolen from me. Jackson.¡± ¡°Ah, right. Stolen. Well, in any case, it doesn¡¯t change the fact that the Compass is gone.¡± Song Junghye¡¯s eyebrows twitched. ¡®Son of a bitch.¡¯ Jackson¡¯s words sounded like ridicule in her ears. ¡®Both Kim Hyukjin and Jackson, I don¡¯t like either of them.¡¯ She resolved to one day inherit Sungshin, nurture the Blood and Iron Lion into an industry giant, and then crush both Jackson and Kim Hyukjin. For now, she would make full use of Jackson¡¯s ability. The man was a truly competent explorer. ¡°I prepared a little something for getting close.¡± Jackson took out a capsule-like object from his Inventory and tossed it into the sea, where it turned into a modern motorboat. ¡°This is a high-performance motorboat. It will block most attacks with a shield and can carry a max of four people.¡± The members of the Blood and Iron Lion paid close attention. They hadn¡¯t thought Jackson would have such a thing in his Inventory. He was indeed a shockingly capable explorer. A total of four Players boarded the ship, including Jung Sangchul and Kang Woongmin. ¡°We¡¯ll go and destroy the enemy commander,¡± barked Kang Woongmin. But just then, Jackson¡¯s smile faltered. His ever-constant smile suddenly stiffened. Song Junghye picked up on it. ¡°What is it?¡± she asked tersely. ¡°¡­¡± ¡°What¡¯s wrong?¡± ¡°I-It¡¯s nothing.¡± Jackson smiled again. ¡°I¡¯d like us to clear this quickly, but safely.¡± Now, there was no point in clearing ¡®quickly¡¯. ¡®Giantgod Guild¡­ has already cleared the gate.¡¯ That was unexpected, even to Jackson. No, this was overwhelmingly outside of his expectations. Jackson could feel that this independent gate had already been cleared once. And of course, the team behind it was Kim Hyukjin¡¯s. ¡®How?¡¯ Had they used a ranged attack? That was the fastest way. ¡®No. It¡¯s not possible for Players in the current beginner period.¡¯ It might be possible. Maybe it could be done if three or so ¡®tome¡¯ items bearing unprecedented power¡ªthe ones called ¡®divine tomes¡¯¡ªwere brought together in one massive burst. ¡®There are very, very few people who have tome items at this point in time.¡¯ He did get the feeling either Jo Sunghyun or Choi Sung-gu had absorbed a tome. It was already amazing for a guild to have one tomed person. Jackson smiled bitterly. ¡®There goes the first clear reward¡­¡¯ The first clear reward was none other than ¡®Immortal Fleet¡¯, a sovereign-exclusive skill that could summon the Immortal Fleet. With that power, a sovereign was nigh-undefeatable by any Player on water. Jackson already knew. ¡®Guildmaster Kim Hyukjin has obtained command over the Immortal Fleet.¡¯ After quite some time, the four Players finally succeeded in killing the enemy commander, and the ¡®Battle of Hansan Island¡¯ quest was cleared. Song Junghye was unable to conceal her happiness. ¡°Well done, you four.¡± They had pulled it off faster than she expected. The flagship hadn¡¯t changed a single time. As expected, her subordinates were remarkable. [Distributing clear rewards for the Immortal Fleet Gate.] She received a few rewards, rewards that made Song Junghye certain that something had gone awry. Outside the gate, she rounded on Jackson with an expression of anger. ¡°Didn¡¯t you say there would be an incredible reward?¡± ¡°There was. But it was taken away.¡± ¡°How can that be? We immediately killed the enemy commander. Are you sure you weren¡¯t lying to me?¡± But just then, she heard a voice. It was the rude prick Kim Hyukjin. ¡°He wasn¡¯t lying.¡± ¡°¡­Guildmaster Kim Hyukjin? How is it that you¡¯re here?¡± He shouldn¡¯t have been able to clear the gate yet, but he was outside. ¡°Looks like we were about three seconds faster.¡± In truth, it wasn¡¯t just three seconds, but almost one minute faster. Song Junghye¡¯s face reddened at the words. ¡°You¡¯re the one who stole my compass, aren¡¯t you?¡± ¡°Compass? What¡¯s that? That¡¯s a thing?¡± Hyukjin feigning ignorance made Song Junghye¡¯s rage grow. ¡°Tell me straight out! You stole it, admit it! You son of a bitch!¡± Hyukjin wagged his finger. ¡°You¡¯ll invite trouble by accusing people without evidence. There are many onlookers. Is this really okay?¡± Hyukjin was already using Cognitive Dissonance. The Gwanghwamun Plaza Raid was still ongoing, and as a result, there were many reporters on-site. ¡°Don¡¯t you think it¡¯s better to devote yourself to protecting the innocent citizens of Gwanghwamun Plaza and boost the Blood and Iron Lion¡¯s image rather than to quarrel with me here?¡± ¡°¡­¡± ¡°If you insist on continuing, it¡¯ll be a blow to Blood and Iron Lion¡¯s status. You¡¯ll be super angry when people cuss you out as fools who couldn¡¯t do a thing.¡± Giantgod was different from Blood and Iron Lion. People didn¡¯t know much about Giantgod and didn¡¯t expect much from them. But Sungshin¡¯s Blood and Iron Lion Guild was well-known, and that fame came with certain expectations. Song Junghye clenched her teeth. ¡°You damn little¡­¡± The compass was one thing, but he had also stolen the first clear reward. Whatever the hell he did, she had the feeling he had cheated her. ¡®I¡¯ll crush you for sure.¡¯ Song Junghye whirled around, then gave a command to the guild members of Blood and Iron Lion. ¡°We¡¯re tidying this place up.¡± Since things had played out this way, she at least had to farm some honor. ¡°Help the innocent civilians and wipe out all the damn monsters.¡± * * * After rebuffing the meddling Song Junghye, Kim Hyukjin went to the real issue at hand. ¡°Jackson. I heard your conversation with Miss Song earlier.¡± Song Junghye had said this: ¡°Didn¡¯t you say there would be an incredible reward?¡± Which meant it was highly likely Jackson had already known of the existence of that ¡®incredible reward¡¯. Hyukjin was truly curious. ¡°Did you know exactly what kind of reward would be given by the Immortal Fleet Gate, Jackson?¡± If so¡ª ¡°How did you know?¡± And¡ª ¡°Do you also know when, where, and how it¡¯ll be used?¡± The Immortal Fleet would make a huge splash in the Bali Naval Battle. That was where Song Junghye¡¯s fame took off. If Jackson already knew about the Immortal Fleet and purposefully brought Song Junghye here, it would mean that Song Junghye accruing merits in the Bali Naval Battle was something Jackson had devised. His questions were different, but the true meaning was the same. ¡®Did you truly puppeteer Song Junghye in the past?¡¯ Jackson shrugged. ¡°Well, alright. I¡¯ll be honest.¡± The Great Explorer Jackson began to speak. ____ Chapter 241 Chapter 241 ¡°I have special eyes.¡± That was normally Kim Hyukjin¡¯s line, but Jackson was saying he had such eyes as well. Hyukjin remembered the covert energy Jackson had directed at him when they met before. ¡®I thought it was something like the Eye of Truth¡­¡¯ Additionally, a certain power was protecting him from Eye of Perception¡¯s gaze. ¡°What kind of eyes?¡± ¡°I have an innate ability that can analyze anything, be it a person or a thing. It doesn¡¯t matter what it is. I can analyze it if it¡¯s within the bounds of my ability.¡± ¡°In that case, how much did you analyze about the Immortal Fleet Gate?¡± It struck Hyukjin again that Jackson¡¯s Korean was no worse than a native Korean¡¯s. The explorer was so fluent that if you listened to him with your eyes closed, you wouldn¡¯t be able to tell at all that he was a foreigner. But in the past, Jackson acted like he didn¡¯t know a speck of Korean. He was indeed a suspicious individual. ¡°I analyzed that if the Immortal Fleet Gate was cleared, you would gain a special authority called [Immortal Fleet].¡± ¡°That¡¯s spot on.¡± ¡°And that later, that authority would be very powerful in a naval battle somewhere.¡± ¡°Where is that somewhere?¡± Bali. ¡°I¡¯m planning on looking into that starting now.¡± What did the Guardians really want to see? What other abilities did Jackson have? To Hyukjin, Jackson was a ¡®big variable¡¯, one he couldn¡¯t read nor predict. Jackson¡¯s current actions were also considerably different from the past. ¡®With a variable like this¡­ the Guardians will go crazy for it.¡¯ What story was without its turns and twists? A work could only shine with the inclusion of a side character who added some degree of danger, created a crisis (or perhaps an opportunity), and thwarted the protagonist¡¯s expectations. Right now, Jackson was that kind of side character to Kim Hyukjin. ¡°By naval battle, you mean a battle in the ocean.¡± ¡°Yes. That is how I analyzed it.¡± ¡°Try going to Bali.¡± Jackson looked blankly at Hyukjin. ¡°Bali?¡± Bali, an island of Indonesia. ¡°Alright. I¡¯ll give exploring Bali a shot, as per your suggestion.¡± ¡°Is your class name still [Exploring Baptist]?¡± ¡°Why do you ask?¡± ¡°I just have a feeling that you have an evolving class.¡± In the past, Jackson said his class was called ¡®Exploring Pilgrim¡¯. Hyukjin tried confirming it. ¡°Yes, it¡¯s Exploring Baptist. But just like you say, I think it will evolve someday. Though, isn¡¯t that a common occurrence? We also call that class advancement.¡± Hyukjin nodded. ¡°You¡¯re right.¡± Jackson lowered his voice. ¡°Hyukjin. Don¡¯t you remember what I said before?¡± He remembered it word by word. ¡°Those who see the future must fear the future. There is nothing more foolish and reckless than divulging the future that is to come. That¡¯s what you said.¡± Speaking of the future came with big side effects. That was a known fact. Most Precognitive Dreamers died early or grew ill. Some people said divulging the secrets of the heavens incurred their wrath. ¡°But you foresaw Bali.¡± Jackson grabbed Hyukjin¡¯s hands. ¡°And you told me about it despite knowing the side effects. You¡¯re as unrestrained as always.¡± Hyukjin hadn¡¯t expected Jackson¡¯s response. This wasn¡¯t what he had been going for. ¡°As I thought, my eyes weren¡¯t wrong about you. Do you remember what I said when I first met you?¡± Jackson had said this: ¡°That¡¯s why I am so happy and glad to have met someone like you. It¡¯s kind of like I¡¯ve met a brother in arms with the same intent.¡± Hyukjin was dumbfounded. ¡®He was being sincere back then, and he¡¯s being sincere now.¡¯ And just like back then, he felt a strange sense of d¨¦j¨¤ vu. It was all too natural, but also¡­ strange. If you were to ask Hyukjin what exactly was strange, he still wouldn¡¯t have an answer. It was just strange. ¡°In some ways, the Immortal Fleet going into your hands¡­ might actually be a good thing. Though it¡¯s unfortunate for Miss Song.¡± ¡°How long do you plan on holding onto my hands?¡± ¡°Ah. I¡¯m sorry.¡± Jackson let go and stepped back. ¡°Have you, by any chance¡­¡± He dropped a meaningful question. ¡°¡­ever thought about becoming a king?¡± The question had become a little more specific than last time. Originally, Jackson said he was looking for the ¡®Eastern Star¡¯. Now, he was asking whether Hyukjin had ever thought about becoming a king. ¡°You seem to have found out a little more about the king.¡± ¡°Yes, I have. But I¡¯ll refrain from saying anything on that front.¡± Hyukjin grinned. The man was indeed a variable. He knew things even Hyukjin, a regressor, didn¡¯t. Hyukjin almost had to wonder if a living scenario would be something like this, a scenario where even the author or producer didn¡¯t know what would happen next. Things would be rough if the future that was to come was pure adversity or hardship, but what if it was a scenario with just the right amount of suspense and hidden secrets? ¡®I¡¯ll be writing that narrative.¡¯ Excellent. Crossing paths with Jackson was always interesting. ¡°If you find a clue of some kind in Bali, please give me a call,¡± said Hyukjin. ¡°Very well.¡± He, Kim Hyukjin, would hold the bat on the mound where Song Junghye won her title of Blood and Iron Queen. He already knew the details of the Bali Naval Battle. Since he knew the strat, there was no reason not to get involved. ¡°Someday, when I have fully discerned your qualifications, I will anoint your head with oil.¡± ¡°Can I take that to mean that I am one of the ¡®potential kings¡¯ you speak of?¡± ¡°For now.¡± Jackson bowed. ¡°Well then, we shall meet again in Bali.¡± Jackson walked away. * * * Translator ¨C Lei Proofreader ¨C Ash * * * Hyukjin acquired a special ability called [Immortal Fleet]. Since he was checking the new skill anyway, he decided to look over his full status window. [Status Window] Name: Kim Hyukjin (Player) Level: 39 Contracted Guardian: [Nameless Guardian] Title: [Pioneer of Victory] [Excellent Player] [First Adversary] [Pure Person of Fire] [Phantom Thief Squirrel¡¯s Master] [Starting Sovereign] [Starting Fighter] [Thousand Dog Master] Dungeon title: [True Ruler of the Gran Seoul Dungeon] [True Ruler of the Predator Tree Colony] Innate ability: [Eye of Perception] [Sword of Insight] Special ability: [Absorption] [Mettle] [Eye for an Eye, Tooth for a Tooth] [Immortal Fleet] Trait: Divine Bow Physique Strength: 24 Intelligence: 24 Agility: 30 Perception: 24 Constitution: 24 Willpower: 17 (+30) Bonus stats: 20 Random stats: 25 Undistributed stats: 45 He read the description of Immortal Fleet. [Immortal Fleet] Battles by summoning an undying fleet. Can only be summoned on the ¡®ocean¡¯. The summon duration and fleet¡¯s fighting prowess will be determined by the summoner¡¯s Willpower. *Number of summonable vessels: 12 *Upon fulfilling a special incantation, the Willpower consumption markedly decreases. Twelve vessels. In other words, a whole fleet. It looked like summoning and maintaining the fleet depended on the Willpower stat. ¡®But man, my Status Window sure has a lot of stuff.¡¯ It was good that all the info was automatically saved in his head by the System; trying to read through all of that would have made his eyes ache. He knew people in the expert period in his past life had a diverse range of titles and innate abilities like this. He also knew many weren¡¯t able to get special abilities. ¡®Actually, that might not be true.¡¯ What Hyukjin was experiencing now was the world of the top Rankers. He was coming in contact with advanced info and scenarios the public could never come close to knowing. ¡®It¡¯s just that the public wasn¡¯t told. Who knows? Players in the expert period might have had a ton of abilities.¡¯ But even then, they were still in the beginner period right now. Kim Hyukjin was probably the only Player with this many abilities in the beginner period. ¡®Irreplaceable content.¡¯ That was the goal he had chased, and by his estimation, he was running along at quite the efficient clip. But running wasn¡¯t enough. He had to fly. Not only did he have to protect Sunhwa from the devil casper possessing her body, but he himself wanted to become stronger. He thought back to Jackson¡¯s question earlier. ¡°Have you, by any chance, ever thought about becoming a king?¡± He didn¡¯t want to become a king. If he did, he would have walked in the spotlight from the start. Instead of using Taeguk Shield as a front, he would have done everything himself, all while playing the ¡®Sovereign of Observation¡¯ class he told Jackson he had. ¡®But¡­ I want to become strong enough that even a king cannot do as he pleases with me.¡¯ That was Hyukjin¡¯s desire, pure and simple. An extremely natural wish, just like wanting to earn money, live well, and be happy. ¡°Now, now, Boss Hyukjin. What¡¯re you thinking about so hard?¡± bantered Shin Yeonseo. She had rented out an entire fried chicken restaurant in downtown Seoul. ¡°Just have a glass of beer.¡± Yeonseo tried to put her arm over his shoulder, but he slid away. She gulped down her beer without missing a beat. ¡°Kya! I¡¯m getting drunk, seriously.¡± Around thirty people died in the Gwanghwamun Plaza Raid today. The members of the Blood and Iron Lion took action, and in combination with Taeguk Shield and Wings, the raid was stopped. Nowadays, people dying or getting injured by monsters was a part of everyday life, just as normal as car accidents. People were used to monster attacks. Thirty people had died right in the middle of Seoul, but there were no big memorials or anything. There was absolutely nothing weird about Giantgod Guild having a small party in a fried chicken restaurant, just like how people partied and drank when there were fatal car accidents in downtown Seoul. Meanwhile, the transparent Senia found herself seriously wondering what she was doing. ¡®Why¡­ am I streaming such a trivial scene?¡¯ There were definitely Guardians who liked slice-of-life content, but they were a tiny minority. ¡®Why am I here?¡¯ Many Guardians left her channel. Just then, Senia got a message. [The ¡®Arrow-Shooting Cupid¡¯ offers the Intermediate Administrator Senia a proposal.] [The ¡®Arrow-Shooting Cupid¡¯ offers a mission with a 100,000 Coin reward.] Senia¡¯s wings quivered. ¡®100k Coins?¡¯ It was a huge sum. Typically, getting into the 10k+ range put a sponsorship in the generous category. But 100k? This was a truly big mission. Senia asked the Arrow-Shooting Cupid, ¡°What kind of mission is it?¡± [The mission ¡®Show Yourself and Enjoy the Party with the Members of Giantgod Guild!¡¯ has been generated.] It was the Intermediate Administrator Senia who was given a mission, not the Player Kim Hyukjin. Senia¡¯s wings trembled. ¡®Party?¡¯ That party. The party that she kept watching, for some strange reason. ¡°I am an Intermediate Administrator. I have little interest in a private party between Players.¡± Her face expressionless, she continued. ¡°But since a prominent Guardian, the Arrow-Shooting Cupid, has given me a mission¡­¡± It really couldn¡¯t be helped. She really had no other choice but to show herself for the sake of the mission. How easy and convenient could a mission get? She looked at Hyukjin. ¡°I will carry out the mission.¡± Senia showed herself. The owner who had rented out his restaurant for the night and was busily frying chicken froze, his eyes widening and his mouth parting in an unconscious gasp. In all his fifty years of life, he had never seen such a beautiful woman. It was his first time seeing a woman who could, with just a glance, make a man fall in love. No, one could hardly dare to dream of her love, fall in awe was more apt. He stared at Senia in dumb amazement. Senia walked up to Kim Hyukjin. ____ Chapter 242 Chapter 242 What happened next was nothing big, but baffling to Senia. Choi Sung-gu held a glass of beer towards her. A human was giving her beer. To Senia, it was a somewhat shocking event¡ªin angel society, only your very closest friends offered you alcohol. ¡°Come, come! Don¡¯t be shy, Miss Senia. Have a drink.¡± ¡°¡­¡± Senia had never drunk alcohol before. She was 332 years old. Something she had never drunk before was given to her by Choi Sung-gu. ¡®What insolence.¡¯ Senia was, in both heart and body, an Intermediate Administrator. She might be in a partnership with Kim Hyukjin and very tolerant in many respects when it came to Kim Hyukjin, but she still harbored slight contempt for Players. It wasn¡¯t Senia¡¯s fault. Most Intermediate Administrators were like that. After all, most Players were merely beginners. ¡°Come, hurry and take it.¡± Choi Sung-gu¡¯s face was a little flushed. He seemed to be a little tipsy. Senia¡¯s wings fluttered. ¡°How disrespectful.¡± Senia was always expressionless, but today¡¯s expressionlessness was more severe than usual, like a tundra bristling with bitter-cold, piercing wind. Actually, it was more accurate to say that Senia was nervous rather than displeased. That was because she had never drunk alcohol before. Hic. Sung-gu snapped back to his senses. ¡°Ah, um.¡± His cheeky mouth would be the death of him. It was the alcohol. Sung-gu looked to Kim Hyukjin with a silent cry for help. Hyukjin sighed, thinking that if he didn¡¯t step in to mediate, Senia might give Sung-gu a slight punishment. ¡°But just for today, I will accept your proffered drink.¡± ¡°¡­¡± Sung-gu¡¯s hand lost all strength, and the glass he was holding fell to the ground. Right before it hit the ground, Darongi jumped forward like a ninja and grabbed it. [!!!] The squirrel wobbled under the weight of the glass, and Yeonseo picked it up. ¡°Iyaa, Darongi. You¡¯re so fast.¡± [??] Darongi straightened his shoulders in pride and brandished his stomach, which Sunhwa scratched with her index finger. The chicken store was as peaceful as ever, but Hyukjin found Senia¡¯s response a little odd. It was common knowledge that angels rarely drank. What¡¯s more, an Intermediate Administrator deigning to hang out with Players? Was she streaming right now? ¡®Guardians fundamentally don¡¯t like to see Intermediate Administrators get excessively involved in a Play.¡¯ This little party at a chicken restaurant was hardly a main scenario. At most, it could only be called a break, not real Playing. ¡®And yet, if she¡¯s streaming right now¡­ it means a Guardian who likes slice-of-life content intervened.¡¯ Senia took the seat next to Kim Hyukjin. ¡°How does one drink this liquid?¡± ¡°You can just drink it.¡± ¡°My observation of Players has shown that they typically turn aside or drink it with both hands in something called ¡®drinking etiquette¡¯.¡± ¡°Senia.¡± Hyukjin stared at the angel. Senia¡¯s wings trembled. ¡°What¡¯s wrong?¡± ¡°You¡¯re streaming right now, right?¡± ¡°Yes, I am. I am here because I am streaming.¡± It was almost like she was saying that there was no way she would be in a place like this if she wasn¡¯t streaming. ¡°Okay, I get that you¡¯re streaming. But why are you showing yourself and hanging out with us?¡± ¡°I received a mission.¡± ¡°A mission?¡± When Intermediate Administrators were given quests, it was typically called a ¡®mission¡¯. They weren¡¯t as common as quests, but they weren¡¯t completely unheard of. ¡°Yes, I am sitting here learning drinking etiquette because of a mission.¡± Senia¡¯s gaze moved to Choi Sung-gu, who was still hiccuping. ¡°To that end, I¡¯ve even decided to forgive his disrespectful attitude. Because this can¡¯t be helped.¡± ¡°Heheh¡­ thank you.¡± The future Flame Lord Choi Sung-gu dipped his head at Senia before grabbing a piece of chicken, internally promising himself not to drink any more beer tonight. Hyukjin snorted. ¡°Can¡¯t be helped?¡± ¡°Yes. This is an inevitable situation.¡± ¡°What kind of mission did you get?¡± ¡°Is that something I¡¯m required to tell you?¡± ¡°No, you¡¯re not required to. It would just be nice if you did. There¡¯s no need for secrets between you and me, right?¡± ¡°That¡¯s true.¡± For some reason, Senia seemed a touch pricklier today. Her defensiveness made it seem like he was prying. After a moment of deliberation, Senia spoke. ¡°It¡¯s a mission given by the ¡ª- ¡ª-.¡± ¡°Ah, really?¡± The last part was bleeped out. It was either System or Guardian interference. ¡®Giving a mission for something so insignificant?¡¯ That narrowed down the suspects. The vast majority of Guardians wouldn¡¯t go as far as to give a mission for slice-of-life content like this. ¡®Must be the Arrow-Shooting Cupid.¡¯ The Guardian had seemed awfully quiet after the notice that he was paying attention to Senia¡¯s stream, but he was rearing his ugly head again with another weird mission. ¡®He¡¯s definitely going to try pushing some sort of influence on Senia.¡¯ The Arrow-Shooting Cupid wasn¡¯t a very desirable Guardian. There were more than a few people who were brought to ruin because they were unlucky and caught the Arrow-Shooting Cupid¡¯s eye. The Guardian was pretty much evil. ¡®From the looks of it¡­¡¯ It didn¡¯t look like the Arrow-Shooting Cupid gave Senia a big mission or anything. It seemed like she just had to participate in this little party. ¡®That¡¯s how it starts, at first.¡¯ But later down the line¡ª ¡®He¡¯ll try to get her tangled up with one of us.¡¯ That was the Arrow-Shooting Cupid¡¯s strategy. He had no qualms about injecting people with strange preferences, influencing Players with whatever means possible. ¡®There was that one crazy guy who made a fuss about marrying his own mom.¡¯ That Player was a victim of the Arrow-Shooting Cupid. Hyukjin didn¡¯t remember their names, but several Players suddenly revealed that they were gay, resulting in overnight breakdowns of their perfectly fine families. The opposite also happened, where a certain actor who was famous for being gay suddenly betrayed their fianc¨¦, and the fianc¨¦ ended up killing themselves. ¡®In any case, there¡¯s nothing good about getting involved with him.¡¯ The Guardian was responsible for a lot of other crazy shit, things too horrible to describe. That was why some people called the Arrow-Shooting Cupid a paraphiliac. ¡®Though I don¡¯t know who he¡¯s trying to pair Senia with.¡¯ Anyone here could become the target. Who would be the strangest person here for Senia to fall for? ¡®Sunhwa?¡¯ Sunhwa would be the weirdest. ¡®In the super, super worst case scenario¡­¡¯ Hyukjin glanced at Kim Darong, who had [??] marks over his head. ¡®She still has an angel¡¯s willpower, so it shouldn¡¯t be that bad.¡¯ ¡°What are you thinking about so intently?¡± asked Senia. ¡°No, it¡¯s nothing.¡± Jeez. He already had protecting Sunhwa from the casper on his mind, but it seemed he had to worry about Senia, too. The party went on. Senia drank alcohol for the first time, and she learned for the first time that she was an extreme lightweight. ¡°I¡¯m just carrying out a mission. Don¡¯t misunderstand anything.¡± She repeated the same line a dozen times before suddenly going transparent and disappearing. Her speech had grown so slurred by the end that it was hard to understand what she was saying. * * * Translator ¨C Lei Proofreader ¨C Ash * * * Hyukjin went back to his room. ¡®Hah, to think she got that drunk after just two sips of beer.¡¯ It was absurd. Was it her first time in 332 years drinking alcohol or something? ¡°But¡­ what¡¯s going on now?¡± A Pause authority suddenly took effect, and Senia appeared before him, her face still flushed. Even her originally white wings had turned pink, a possible sign that she was even more inebriated than before. ¡°Player Kim Hyukjin.¡± ¡°You must be loaded these days, to just randomly use a Pause authority.¡± He wasn¡¯t even Playing right now. ¡°Yes, I¡¯m the most successful Intermediate Administrator in the whole server right now. I¡¯m getting the most sponsorships, and I¡¯ve long since escaped the depths of poverty. I¡¯ve become a wealthy person who can afford to use a measly authority like this anytime.¡± Her pronunciation was a little off, and she was slurring. ¡°You aren¡¯t streaming right now, are you?¡± ¡°I¡¯m not.¡± ¡°If you were, I would have lodged a formal complaint.¡± Business had to be carried out professionally. Very few Guardians liked to see Intermediate Administrators being this out of it. Most Guardians liked Plays streamed by Intermediate Administrators thinking straight. It was serious enough to be a point of contention for Hyukjin, her contracted Player. ¡°Do you only have business in your head?¡± ¡°¡­¡± ¡°Streaming, streaming, streaming, streaming. Is that the only word you know?¡± Hyukjin stopped short, getting a bad feeling. ¡®The one the Arrow-Shooting Cupid is gunning for¡­¡¯ It couldn¡¯t be. ¡®¡­is me?¡¯ It was undeniable. Senia¡¯s attitude right now said it all. She was drunk, and that opened her up to the Arrow-Shooting Cupid¡¯s manipulation. ¡®Shit, this is damn unlucky.¡¯ There was absolutely nothing good about becoming that Guardian¡¯s target. ¡°Senia, get it together!¡± ¡°I¡¯m thinking perfectly straight.¡± ¡°You¡¯re drunk.¡± ¡°Not at all. My body doesn¡¯t get drunk.¡± Those were big words for someone who was flushed down to her wings. ¡°So? Why did you suddenly show yourself? You¡¯re not even streaming right now.¡± ¡°Can I only show myself when I¡¯m streaming?¡± Hyukjin scowled. ¡°Would you be annoyed if a call came from the office after you went home for the day? I¡¯m not even getting overtime pay.¡± ¡°Then is Player Kim Hyukjin annoyed right now?¡± ¡°Of course.¡± Things would become very tiresome if the Arrow-Shooting Cupid fixated on him. He couldn¡¯t show any openings from the start. The right move was to cut things off with a single stroke. ¡°Listen up. You and I are involved purely for business. Don¡¯t forget we have an exclusive contract between us. If you keep interfering with my rest time in this manner, I¡¯ll treat that as knowingly interfering with my future Playing and formally lodge a complaint.¡± ¡°¡­¡± ¡°Do you understand, or not?¡± ¡°Do you not like me, Player Kim Hyukjin?¡± He did like her. She had grown a lot, and lately, they had great teamwork together. They could produce pretty great scenes for the Guardians even without discussing things ahead of time. ¡°You said you¡¯re not streaming right now, right?¡± ¡°Yes. Streaming, I¡¯m not doing it.¡± Senia¡¯s expressionlessness cracked a little. She seemed a bit angry, like she was holding back from retorting about him bringing up streaming again. ¡°I experienced System interference earlier. When you told me the Guardian who gave you the mission, either the System or the Guardian prevented me from hearing the name.¡± ¡°¡­Is that so?¡± ¡°But I think I know who that Guardian is.¡± ¡°Guess.¡± ¡°The Arrow-Shooting Cupid.¡± ¡°¡­¡± ¡°Think about it. Why do you think he concealed his name? Most Guardians are attention seekers who like spreading their names far and wide. And why do you think he gave you a mission like that? Do you not know of the Arrow-Shooting Cupid¡¯s infamy?¡± There were other dimensions other than ¡®Earth¡¯, a fact humanity would become vaguely aware of in the future. A named Guardian like the Arrow-Shooting Cupid was surely already famous among the Intermediate Administrators, and Hyukjin was exactly right. ¡°You said it, didn¡¯t you? That you¡¯re the most successful Intermediate Administrator right now.¡± ¡°¡­Yes.¡± ¡°Then there must be a lot of people who are jealous of you.¡± ¡°¡­¡± ¡°The Guardians don¡¯t like to see you guys being too successful. Because in their point of view, you guys are just intermediaries, lowly tools that provide them amusement.¡± Senia couldn¡¯t argue back. ¡°If the Arrow-Shooting Cupid was truly honorable, do you think he would have gone out of his way to mess with the System?¡± ¡°¡­¡± ¡°Snap out of it. You and I still have a long way to go.¡± They were only in the beginner period. There was still a long road ahead of them, and they wouldn¡¯t make it far if something like this were to shake them. ¡°Don¡¯t be shaken by the Guardians.¡± ¡°¡­¡± ¡°We just need to focus on what we have to do. They want amusement, and we provide the content.¡± ¡°¡­I have shown you something indecent.¡± ¡°You and I need to go far together. This is only the beginner period.¡± ¡°Player Kim Hyukjin is correct.¡± ¡°I¡¯ll let it slide this time. Get your head in the game.¡± Hyukjin took out an item called Miracle from his Inventory. It was one of the items Kim Darong had stolen from Song Junghye. ¡°Drink this.¡± ¡°What is it?¡± ¡°With how drunk you are, you¡¯re probably gonna have a huge headache soon.¡± ¡°¡­¡± Senia frowned for a split second. ¡°Yes, I¡¯m definitely getting a headache.¡± ¡°Even potions won¡¯t help with that. It¡¯ll go away if you drink this Miracle.¡± Senia took the item, a drink that would become popular as a hangover cure in the future. Her gaze alternated from the small bottle to Hyukjin¡¯s face. ¡°When did you prepare this?¡± ¡°When you were drunk earlier.¡± ¡°Why are you giving it to me?¡± ¡°You need to make content with me again tomorrow, so it¡¯s a pain if you¡¯ve got a hangover.¡± Senia nearly thought he was being kind and considerate, and those words almost unconsciously escaped her before she caught herself. ¡°I see. I will accept.¡± Senia¡¯s expression darkened a little. Finally, her Pause authority ran out, and she was nowhere to be seen. She had disappeared without notice again. Hyukjin sighed. ¡®I¡¯ve put out the fire, for now.¡¯ But there was no knowing what other tricks the Arrow-Shooting Cupid would try. It was best to be careful. Two days passed. The Italian Master who claimed to be a manly man, Pedro, came to visit Hyukjin, and he was bearing very good news. ____ Chapter 243 Chapter 243 The Master Pedro, the manly man fanatic who was actually a woman, laughed heartily in front of Hyukjin. ¡°Hahaha.¡± It was the laugh of someone who deeply believed that manly men had to laugh loudly and from the gut. It looked a little awkward to Hyukjin, but it wasn¡¯t important. ¡°I¡¯m here with very happy news.¡± ¡°What is it?¡± ¡°Do you remember what I said before?¡± In the past, Pedro gave Hyukjin a Sylphid¡¯s Wing after receiving a Tomb-Pilfering Shovel from him. Hyukjin said that the Tomb-Pilfering Shovel and Sylphid¡¯s Wing weren¡¯t an equal match. After acknowledging that fact, Pedro said: ¡°Let me balance the scales at a later time. You are the one who called me and gave me an item out of nowhere, so this much should do for an initial trade, right?¡± ¡°I haven¡¯t forgotten that I still owe you.¡± Pedro sent Hyukjin a look. As someone who could read even the Guardians, Hyukjin immediately realized what Pedro wanted to hear. ¡°As expected of a manly man among men. You haven¡¯t forgotten your promise.¡± ¡°Hahahaha!¡± Pedro puffed out his chest and loudly laughed. He really was obsessed with being a manly man. ¡°That¡¯s right. Because I¡¯m a manly man.¡± Hyukjin could have said that a manly man wouldn¡¯t be so obsessed with being a manly man, but he just smiled. Seeing how confident Pedro was, he must have brought something extremely good with him. Hyukjin waited in silence. ¡°My damn¡ªahem, my teacher would like to see you for a moment, Hyukjin.¡± ¡°Elder Bufafa wants to see me?¡± ¡°Yes. I got a quest to escort the VIP to the Winter Castle.¡± ¡°Can you tell me why?¡± ¡°Of course!¡± Pedro took out a letter, which Hyukjin took and read. This letter is humbly penned to your exalted personage. And so the letter began, continuing for a staggering thirteen pages. Minus all the flowery language and unnecessary fluff, the letter could be boiled down to a fairly simple message. As an elder, I possess a special innate authority, and the time when I can use it has come. To repay you for granting me an audience with Lady Isabel, I would like to dedicate the innate authority to your exalted personage. Please come to the Winter Castle. ¡®A special innate authority?¡¯ The dwarfs were already a special race. Even by future standards, their kin were the most outstanding in all things production. They were at the top of their field, and a top elite among them, Elder Bufafa, was going so far as to call this authority ¡®special¡¯. ¡®And it¡¯s an authority he can use just once in a hundred years.¡¯ It happened to be resetting this year, and Elder Bufafa wanted to use it on him, a lucky coincidence Hyukjin had never imagined. ¡°Will you come with me to the Winter Castle?¡± asked Pedro. ¡°Of course.¡± Hyukjin didn¡¯t deliberate for long. As he made his way outside with Pedro, they ran into his sister Ahyoung in front of the door. ¡°Oh, Noona. You¡¯re home early today.¡± Ahyoung was working as an assistant in a Korean restaurant these days. Apparently, the aspiring cook was working extremely hard to learn the culinary arts. ¡°This is¡­?¡± ¡°Ah, just a friend of mine.¡± ¡°Ah, I see. Hello.¡± Pedro put out his hand. ¡°Hello, I¡¯m Hyukjin¡¯s friend, Pedro. Please call me Pedro, Noonim.¡± ¡°I¡¯m Kim Ahyoung.¡± After that short greeting, Ahyoung asked, ¡°When will you be back?¡± ¡°Not sure. I think it¡¯ll be a bit. Why?¡± ¡°Nothing.¡± Ahyoung dipped her head in goodbye at Pedro before going into the house. She heard Hyukjin¡¯s voice behind her. ¡°I¡¯ll be back soon.¡± ¡°Whatever.¡± Ahyoung roughly tossed the shopping basket she was carrying into the kitchen. She was originally going to try her hand at a seafood doenjang stew today, but it suddenly seemed like a pain. ¡®He¡¯s probably not coming back today, is he?¡¯ Hyukjin¡¯s friend looked like a foreign Player. From the way they hurried out, it didn¡¯t seem like Hyukjin would be returning today. Forget the seafood doenjang stew, she didn¡¯t care. ¡®What a pain.¡¯ Ahyoung, who normally enjoyed cooking, decided not to cook today. * * * Translator ¨C Lei Proofreader ¨C Ash * * * It had been a while since Hyukjin visited the Winter Castle. Once he and Pedro passed the forest made of iron, the fortress where snow-topped steel towered into the clouds, the Winter Castle, came into view. Pedro suddenly straightened his shoulders, chortling with a look of extreme gratification. ¡°I can already imagine what expression those two jerks will make.¡± They reached the Winter Castle. Just like before, it loomed before them with immense dignity. In front of the Winter Castle were the twin gatekeepers Hyukjin had seen before. ¡°I have escorted the esteemed guest here!¡± called out Pedro. The brother and sister twins respectfully bowed. ¡°You¡¯re Elder Bufafa¡¯s guest!¡± ¡°You¡¯re Elder Bufafa¡¯s guest!¡± Pedro said loudly, ¡°I think you should speak more respectfully.¡± The twins straightened and glared at Pedro. ¡°Human. Wanna die?¡± ¡°Human. Wanna die?¡± Upon which, Pedro put a hand on Hyukjin¡¯s shoulder. ¡°I¡¯m this guy¡¯s friend.¡± ¡°¡­¡± Hyukjin realized what was going on. ¡®Pedro¡¯s had a rough time of it.¡¯ These twin siblings detested humans by nature. Hyukjin remembered the first thing they said the very first time he came here. ¡°Haa, the smell of humans. Disgusting.¡± That was their default. It was only because Hyukjin was now a precious guest of Bufafa that their attitude had changed at all, an unprecedented development. ¡®And dwarfs typically don¡¯t pay much heed to the relationships of other dwarfs.¡¯ Dwarfs were unlikely to care whether Hyukjin was a VIP of Bufafa or not¡ªthey were fiercely independent thinkers. That the twins were acting so respectfully now was a reflection of how highly Bufafa regarded Kim Hyukjin. As if to vent his built-up resentment, Pedro harrumphed, ¡°Greet me properly from now on.¡± He patted the two 130 centimetres short dwarfs on the shoulder. ¡°I¡¯m this esteemed guest¡¯s friend, you know? I was even acknowledged by his older sister.¡± It wasn¡¯t a lie. Hyukjin had introduced Pedro to Ahyoung as his friend. ¡°Take care to be respectful in the future. Got it?¡± ¡°¡­¡± ¡°Why aren¡¯t you answering me?¡± The twins clenched their teeth. ¡°Understood.¡± ¡°Understood.¡± Only then did Pedro relent with a big smile. ¡°That¡¯s it, that¡¯s how you do it. Now this is the way to greet a manly man. Uhahaha!¡± The gatekeepers opened the door. The Winter Castle didn¡¯t have a physical door¡ªa circular door appeared in the wall when the gatekeepers recited something, and the two of them were able to walk into it. After entering the Winter Castle, Pedro assumed the role of navigator. ¡°I¡¯ll take you there.¡± All paths in the Winter Castle were magicked. Going straight wouldn¡¯t take you straight, and going left wouldn¡¯t take you left. It was laid out with one short teleportation gateway after another. If you didn¡¯t know the exact way, getting lost was a guarantee. Pedro knew the path well. They reached Elder Bufafa¡¯s house, which was still on fire. ¡°Teacher! I¡¯m here! I¡¯ve brought the esteemed guest.¡± The door opened, and Elder Bufafa came running out. ¡°I apologize for not being able to escort you in person. The circumstances did not allow it.¡± Elder Bufafa didn¡¯t have a single scrap of clothing on his body. He was covering the essential areas with his extremely long, profuse beard. ¡°I will use the authority at once. There is no time.¡± This was an authority that could only be used one time in one hundred years. Not only that, but it was only possible to use after soaking in water infused with the ¡®essence of Athenae¡¯ for at least thirty minutes, and the authority had to be used within five minutes of leaving the water. Hyukjin nodded. ¡°Please do so.¡± ¡°Yes. I will do my best, esteemed one.¡± Stark naked, Bufafa went to stand behind Hyukjin. He placed both palms on Hyukjin¡¯s back, and his long brows stood straight on end. ¡°¨C ¡ª ¨C.¡± ¡°¡ª ¡ª ¡ª-.¡± Hyukjin heard an incomprehensible incantation, feeling the dwarf elder drawing forth his power. ¡®Into my body.¡¯ He felt something entering him, snaking and squirming through his veins. It felt foreign. ¡®This¡­ is Elder Bufafa¡¯s innate authority.¡¯ He contemplated his own body with Eye of Perception. ¡®I don¡¯t know what exactly it is.¡¯ It was beyond his comprehension. That was how advanced Elder Bufafa¡¯s authority was. After some time, Elder Bufafa crumpled to the ground behind him. ¡°Teacher!¡± Pedro ran forward and propped up his teacher. At the same time, Hyukjin heard a notice. [You have successfully received the ¡®innate authority of Bufafa, the chosen dwarf elder¡¯.] [You are bestowed the ¡®Dwarf Elder¡¯s Blessing¡¯.] He was able to read the detailed explanation. [Dwarf Elder¡¯s Blessing] A blessing usable once in a hundred years by an individual of the chosen people, the dwarfs. Among them, this dwarf is of a particularly chosen lineage, the Sword Forest, and holds even among them the position of elder. *The blessing is effective for 7 days. *The ¡®Dwarf Elder¡¯s Blessing¡¯ applies to a reward of the item category acquired directly from the System within 7 days. *¡¯Breath of Production¡¯ will be bestowed on a directly acquired reward of the item category. *If ¡®Breath of Production¡¯ successfully takes effect, one identical item will be created. *If the first reward acquired following the blessing is not of the item category, the blessing will disappear. ¡®The explanation¡­ is extraordinary.¡¯ Extraordinary wasn¡¯t a sufficient description. ¡®It sounds like if I acquire an item reward, that item will be duplicated.¡¯ Elder Bufafa got heavily to his feet, his body thinner than before. Apparently, it was because he had drawn too much strength in one go. ¡°I¡¯ll recover in no time, so please do not worry,¡± said Bufafa. ¡°It seems¡­ that my inadequacy has imposed too many restrictions.¡± ¡°No, this is already an incredibly generous gift. Elder Bufafa, thank you so very much.¡± ¡°Your gracious words deeply flatter me. But please, be careful. You must, at all costs, be given a ¡®reward of the item category¡¯ for the first reward.¡± Receiving something else, like a title or stats, would result in the blessing¡¯s disappearance. ¡°Yes. I¡¯ll keep it in mind.¡± For other Players, it was an enormous penalty. But for Hyukjin, an Observer, it wasn¡¯t that big of a deal. ¡®I don¡¯t get any rewards by hunting something myself anyway.¡¯ That was the string attached to his class. It was possible he would get some kind of sponsorship from the Guardians, but all he had to do was ask Senia to pause streaming. Upon receiving the blessing, Hyukjin jumped right into completing one of his scenarios. He returned to Korea and immediately met up with Choi Sung-gu. They had to move quickly and finish it within seven days. ¡°Whassat? Shabam? Centipede Cave? Not going! I almost died back then! And it¡¯s obviously gonna be even harder this time! You crazy, bro?! Just kill me!¡± ¡°The Giant of the Sunset will be happy if you play a major role there. Don¡¯t you need to make some kind of big splash right now because of the government contract?¡± ¡°Actually, I¡¯ve always wanted to go to Plum Blossom Island.¡± It wasn¡¯t difficult to persuade Sung-gu. He asked, ¡°But friendo, why Plum Blossom Island, of all places?¡± ¡°There¡¯s a Tome of the Divine Sword Physique there.¡± ¡°Wha, really?¡± ¡°But I¡¯ve landed a chance to get not just one, but two of them.¡± If things went as Hyukjin was planning, he would be able to acquire two Tomes of the Divine Sword Physique. ¡°Holy shit, you crazy mofo. Then Yeonseo can get one, and you can get one.¡± Sung-gu shivered all over. ¡°Shin Yeonseo¡¯s a monster too, but you¡¯re gonna become one crazy monster. Eurgh, gross. You¡¯re so strong, it¡¯s positively nasty.¡± Despite saying that, Choi Sung-gu seemed extremely happy. He also knew how precious a Tome of the Divine Sword Physique was. Hyukjin asked Senia to pause streaming. From now on, her channel would proceed with pre-recorded content. Then, they went to Plum Blossom Island by helicopter. ¡°We¡¯re gonna find the Centipede Cave.¡± And so began a new story, one suddenly initiated by an unexpected variable, Elder Bufafa¡¯s invitation. ¡®This¡­¡¯ Greed swirled in Hyukjin¡¯s eyes. He wanted to become strong. Desire burned hot within him. ¡®¡­is where I¡¯ll get the Tome of the Divine Sword Physique.¡¯ ____ Chapter 244 Chapter 244 The two of them entered the Centipede Cave. Before going in, Hyukjin checked his notes one more time. ¨C¨CPlum Blossom Island¡¯s Centipede Cave. Entrance to a cave inhabited by centipedes. Having no entrance condition is its distinct characteristic, also has various entrances. Inhabited by a large number of Pearl Centipedes. A gate known to be nearly impossible to clear without a fire magician. In truth, that was just superficial information. Hyukjin believed there were several secrets he hadn¡¯t yet unearthed hidden in the Centipede Cave. ¡®That day, I saw the Demon King.¡¯ He thought back to that day when the Demon King suddenly showed up and grabbed him by the neck. ¡°If I allow you to live here, what can you do for me?¡± Back then, Hyukjin responded that he would become strong. ¡°Strong enough to make you, the person reigning as the strong one right now, kneel.¡± ¡°Or strong enough to become a fierce blade you can trust.¡± That was met by the following words from the Demon King: ¡°Become stronger.¡± ¡°If you can get out of here alive, that is.¡± It was possible¡­ that the Demon King¡¯s arrangements for him began from that day onward. ¡®And this is where I first met Predator Trees.¡¯ He also rechecked his info about Predator Trees. ¨CPredator Tree. Has a habit of ambushing Pearl Centipede habitats and nesting there. Likes places with good ventilation. Level around 40, is capable of eating a Great Orc Warrior alive, and has extremely high defense, making it almost impossible for a Player of the same level to solo it. ¨CThe Predator Tree makes a strange ¡®gghhh¡¯ sound as it moves. He remembered one other thing. ¡®Darongi pilfered the Demon King¡¯s Inventory in the Centipede Cave.¡¯ To be more precise, it wasn¡¯t that Darongi stole, but that the Demon King allowed himself to be stolen from. The stolen item was none other than a Fusestone. ¡®And I was able to graft this skill into my body using that Fusestone.¡¯ [Absorption Ring] Absorbs all physical damage for 0.5 seconds. Only applies when the attacker dealing the physical damage is under level 50. The absorbed damage will be converted to HP, and the item will be destroyed. An ability that could be called Hyukjin¡¯s extra life. It occurred to Hyukjin that all these factors might have been a part of someone¡¯s plan. ¡®Absorption. I¡¯ll act with this ability in mind.¡¯ Sung-gu¡¯s voice interrupted his thoughts. ¡°What are you thinking about for so long?¡± ¡°Ah. I was thinking about when we came here in the past.¡± ¡°We nearly died back then. I frickin¡¯ hate Predator Trees, man. About what level are those things again?¡± ¡°Around 40.¡± ¡°We should be able to catch ¡®em easy then, no?¡± Predator Trees were weak to fire attacks. Choi Sung-gu was currently level 39, very nearly through the level 30-40 Hell Phase. ¡°Well, it¡¯d be nice if it were less dangerous than back then, but¡­¡± Choi Sung-gu shot Hyukjin a sideways glance. ¡°As long as you¡¯re involved, I doubt that¡¯ll happen. You¡¯re like Conan, bringing danger with you wherever you go.¡± Several Pearl Centipedes appeared. ¡°Fire Wall.¡± Fire Wall, a fairly easy spell to cast, was originally supposed to be a defensive spell that created a flame barrier. However, it was also very effective against insect monsters. [Pearl Centipede has been killed.] It was day and night from the past. Choi Sung-gu killed the Pearl Centipedes without much difficulty, and the insects failed to make them feel any sense of danger. As a result, Sung-gu found himself growing suspicious. What was going on? Why were things so easy, even though Hyukjin was here? How come the big boys weren¡¯t coming out? ¡°What¡¯s the catch?¡± ¡°It¡¯s not really a catch, but¡­¡± Hyukjin said. ¡°I met someone special here.¡± ¡°Someone special?¡± Choi Sung-gu hadn¡¯t been with him, and the fire magician hadn¡¯t met the Demon King. As Sung-gu tilted his head, Hyukjin continued. ¡°He did me a favor here.¡± ¡°Seriously? There¡¯s someone out there who can do you favors? Is he stronger than you?¡± ¡°I don¡¯t know how strong he is.¡± The Demon King was so very far ahead. Hyukjin could not gauge his strength. He wasn¡¯t even sure the man was a Player. ¡°In any case, I got an item here, and that item allowed me to get the Absorption ability.¡± ¡°And?¡± Sung-gu quibbled with some displeasure. Why was Hyukjin going about the explanation in such a roundabout manner? He fired off another spell. ¡°Fire Wall.¡± A Pearl Centipede burned to a crisp in a burst of crackles. The dark, moist cave filled with the smell of burnt insect. Gghhhh¨C With that quiet groan came a faint tremor, carried from afar by the wind. ¡°Fire Arrow.¡± Sung-gu fired several fire arrows, aiming at the Predator Tree. The Predator Tree was still too far to be seen, but Sung-gu¡¯s arrows met their mark. Ggghhhg¨C! The other Predator Trees began to approach them. ¡°Let¡¯s talk after killing these guys first,¡± murmured Hyukjin, pulling out the sleeping Isabel. ¡°Oi. Not gonna use that fire bow? One shot of that would clear these buggers right out.¡± ¡°That takes too much mana.¡± ¡°Then what? You¡¯re gonna kill those things with your blade? Type wise, you¡¯d be at a disadvantage with a swo¡ª¡± Choi Sung-gu shook his head, swallowing his next words. ¡°Ah, right. Sure, sure.¡± He had briefly forgotten who he was talking to. This guy claimed he was level 39, but he was actually way stronger than that. From what Hyukjin said, he received markedly more random stats than other Players, and that was a special perk for sovereigns, or something like that. But to be honest, Choi Sung-gu thought that was a whole load of BS. What kind of sovereign was this? Schwing¨C! Every time Isabel left a silver flash in the air¡ª [Predator Tree has been killed.] ¡ªa Predator Tree perished. ¡®Right, that¡¯s not a sovereign.¡¯ In any case, Kim Hyukjin acquired a lot of random stats because he was a sovereign, and as a result, he was at least as strong as a regular class Player in their late level 40s. That was Choi Sung-gu¡¯s take. A Predator Tree approached Hyukjin from behind, its mouth wide open. ¡°Flame Whip.¡± Hyukjin was aware of the monster as well, but he didn¡¯t react. That was because he trusted Choi Sung-gu. The fire magician¡¯s Flame Whip reduced the Predator Tree to ashes. It took less than five minutes to dispatch the swarm of eleven Predator Trees that had suddenly appeared, meaning each one had taken only about thirty seconds. ¡°Iyaa. We¡¯ve gotten real strong. Level is king,¡± Sung-gu chortled. Then, glancing at Hyukjin, he said, ¡°But not for you.¡± Killing Predator Trees with a blade was wild enough, but the wielder of that blade being a sovereign was another level of crazy. It didn¡¯t faze Sung-gu anymore. ¡°So, what were you about to say earlier? What was that about Absorption?¡± ¡°I got Absorption here.¡± Kim Hyukjin wasn¡¯t at all out of breath. Despite moving his body far more energetically than Choi Sung-gu, he wasn¡¯t tired in the least¡ªhe had fought while considering his stamina, feeling as though he was taking a walk in his neighborhood. ¡°Dude, why do you keep trying to make me feel all uneasy? What about Absorption?¡± ¡°You know this is an ability that converts all damage taken over 0.5 seconds into HP, right?¡± ¡°¡­Yeah, I know that, but what about it?¡± Unease continued to burgeon within him. What was Hyukjin going to say? ¡°It¡¯s possible¡­ that I¡¯ll need to make full use of this ability today.¡± Just like getting the Night of Shooting Stars¡¯ personal sponsorship, getting a tome item was normally difficult, except in truly exceptional cases. Even Choi Sung-gu was only able to get the Tome of the Divine Fire Physique thanks to the wholehearted sponsorship of the Giant of the Sunset. ¡°Because we¡¯re not able to receive the Guardians¡¯ sponsorships right now.¡± Their Playing was being recorded¡ªbut not streamed live¡ªat Hyukjin¡¯s request. They couldn¡¯t hope for the Guardians¡¯ support. The two of them had to push through it on their own. ¡°But c¡¯mon, what about that?¡± Choi Sung-gu scowled. ¡°You can¡¯t be saying there¡¯s a crisis lurking around so dangerous we¡¯ll die if you can¡¯t use that ability at the right time, the right way, right¡­?¡± Fuck. Surely not, right? He wanted to ask, but he didn¡¯t, shivering instead. ¡°You serious, bro¡­?¡± He had just witnessed Kim Hyukjin¡¯s martial might in person. The man had chopped down Predator Trees with a sword despite the type disadvantage. What¡¯s more, the Predator Trees were one level higher. Sung-gu was confident he had a better grasp of Kim Hyukjin¡¯s strength than anyone. It was possible they would find themselves in a situation where Hyukjin would have to rely on a 0.5 second ability¡ª0.5 seconds!¡ªlike Absorption? ¡°Hyukjin. I¡¯m not gonna die, am I?¡± There was one reason Hyukjin was telling him this in advance. It was a warning to be careful, to stay bright-eyed and on his toes, since there was no knowing what kind of danger would go for their throats within 0.5 seconds. ¡°I can¡¯t just wait here, can I?¡± ¡°Alone? I don¡¯t know what might be here, either.¡± ¡°Fuck.¡± Sung-gu shivered again. ¡°You brought me here knowing all this, right?¡± ¡°Yeah.¡± ¡°Mind if I kill you?¡± ¡°If you can.¡± ¡°FUCK!¡± Sung-gu felt terribly wronged. He said something Vela would say. ¡°If I was good at fighting, I would¡¯ve beaten you up.¡± ¡°I hope you¡¯ll be able to one day.¡± ¡°¡­¡± Sung-gu¡¯s shoulders slumped. ¡°So? What do I need to do?¡± ¡°Hm. For now, let¡¯s explore this place.¡± Hyukjin strode forward, following the path to the Tome of the Divine Sword Physique in his mind. * * * Translator ¨C Lei Proofreader ¨C Ash * * * ¡®Pearl Centipede. Predator Tree.¡¯ They didn¡¯t see much else. They continued exploring the moist, dark cave over quite a long period of time. After going through several forked paths, they reached a huge chamber. Hyukjin stared ahead. ¡®Something¡¯s there.¡¯ When they walked forward a little more, a thud rang out. Stone walls were blocking all of the entrances leading into the large, circular chamber. ¡°Fuck, that scared me.¡± Sung-gu looked around. ¡°We¡¯re trapped.¡± ¡°Yeah.¡± They were trapped. There was a stone statue of considerable size, about seven meters, in the center of the chamber. ¡°Eurgh, gross. I frickin¡¯ hate bugs. Ugh, that¡¯s one big fuckin¡¯ centipede.¡± Sung-gu really did have goosebumps on his arms. ¡°Ugh, I¡¯m scared af.¡± It was an insect statue. Upon closer inspection, it looked like an enlarged version of a Pearl Centipede. And it was so realistic that it looked like a living being turned to stone rather than a likeness carved from a block of stone. A notice came in. [You have discovered the special boss monster ¡®Black Pearl Centipede¡¯.] [Only someone with a special qualification is capable of waking the Black Pearl Centipede from its slumber.] Black Pearl Centipede. It was a monster Hyukjin had never heard of before, one that wasn¡¯t recorded in the monster encyclopedia or Playpedia ten years from now. That meant it was true that this thing was a ¡®special boss monster¡¯. Choi Sung-gu found the next notices absolutely terrifying. [If someone without the special qualification wakes the Black Pearl Centipede, you will not be able to leave this place.] [This is an absolute of the System and cannot be overridden with the use of items or authorities.] All the exits were sealed off. [Those without the special qualification can forfeit the current scenario.] [If the current scenario is forfeited, the scenario will not reoccur.] It was a one-time chance. But they didn¡¯t know what the ¡®special qualification¡¯ was. If they couldn¡¯t fulfill it, they would be trapped here forever by virtue of the System¡¯s absolute law. Choi Sung-gu turned to Hyukjin. ¡°Hey, Hyukjin. Fuck. Isn¡¯t this too dangerous? This is a real gamble, man!¡± Charging forward when they didn¡¯t know what the special qualification was could lead them straight into their graves. ¡°Hey. I¡¯ve always had dogshit luck.¡± After saying that, the fire magician sighed. ¡°But if you were gonna give up here, you wouldn¡¯t have brought me all this way, huh?¡± ¡°You can go back if you want.¡± Hyukjin had no intention of denying Choi Sung-gu a choice. The reason he brought Sung-gu here was to recreate as similar a situation as before, thinking that the two Centipede Caves were linked in some way. ¡°Fuck. That¡¯s such a sad thing to say, man,¡± Sung-gu said, his teeth chattering. ¡°We¡¯re friends, you know?¡± ¡°¡­¡± ¡°Ugh, fuck. I¡¯m fucking scared. From now on, I¡¯m not gonna tag along ever again. I¡¯m gonna live a long and safe time, eating ¡®til I burst my entire life!¡± Anyway, both of them decided to clear this place, and as a result, they were told the ¡®special condition¡¯. ____ Chapter 245 Chapter 245 [Disclosing the first condition.] If someone without the qualification chose to find out what it was, they would be trapped here forever. Even Hyukjin found the moment of truth nerve wracking. Thump. Thump. His heart thudded in his chest, but he didn¡¯t really dislike the feeling. A peculiar thrill. Slight nervousness. The sense of crisis engendered by the possibility that he could, in the worst case scenario, very well die here. All those feelings jumbling together and titillating down his spine. Hyukjin didn¡¯t dislike it. ¡°Senia,¡± Hyukjin said. ¡°You know you need to cut the video here, right?¡± She was recording right now. ¡°What?¡± That moment, Senia used her Pause authority. The world turned black and white. ¡°You must really be loaded, huh?¡± ¡°Yes. I am the most successful Intermediate Administrator in the entire server, after all.¡± ¡°You¡¯re grateful, right?¡± ¡°¡­¡± Senia¡¯s wings fluttered. In fact, she did feel grateful to Kim Hyukjin. There were plenty of Intermediate Administrators who could replace her, but no Players who could replace him, so she was grateful, yes. ¡®But if I say I¡¯m grateful here¡­¡¯ She feared he would pluck every single feather she had. This was a human who exploited even the Guardians. Instead of responding, she asked, ¡°What do you mean by needing to cut the video?¡± ¡°No way, you don¡¯t have a video editor?¡± ¡°¡­¡± It was such a basic thing, so he hadn¡¯t asked. ¡°How are you publishing the videos?¡± ¡°I¡­¡± ¡°Surely you¡¯re not just publishing the unedited footage from start to finish, are you?¡± ¡°Yes. I am doing so with the intent to give the Guardians all the information available.¡± Hyukjin felt his head ache. ¡°You need to extract the highlights, cut out the boring parts, put in some captions, and add some BGM.¡± ¡°What is BGM?¡± ¡°Back¡­ ground¡­ music.¡± Hyukjin found himself clenching his fists. He had forgotten. Although she had grown a great deal, Senia was a Streamer who had failed to survive the competition. ¡®It¡¯s true she¡¯s grown, but¡­¡¯ Her base aptitude was too poor. But it was impossible to instill her with such aptitude and knack now. ¡°Senia. You said you¡¯re rich, didn¡¯t you?¡± ¡°Yes. I am getting a continuous stream of big sponsorships from many Guardians.¡± ¡°Then just hire an editor.¡± Senia would handle the filming and the broadcasting, while the editing would be done by someone else with a sense for it. ¡°An¡­ editor?¡± ¡°Yeah. They don¡¯t exist?¡± ¡°There are no editor Intermediate Streamers in the streaming system.¡± Hyukjin thought for a moment. ¡®At this point in time¡­ there are no video editors in the streaming system?¡¯ To people of the modern day, the concept of a ¡®video editor¡¯ was all too natural, but it was possible that wasn¡¯t the case for Intermediate Administrators now. Just like how dog meat wasn¡¯t an oddity to a Korean, but was a culture shock to a French person. A natural part of life to one person wasn¡¯t necessarily so to another, he mused. ¡®What if it¡¯s not that Senia lacks a knack for it, but that the very concept doesn¡¯t exist yet?¡¯ He was floored by the thought, but it was possible. Like Columbus¡¯ egg, there were many things in this world that should be extremely simple, but were hard to come up with. ¡°Find an Intermediate Administrator named Shobidobi.¡± ¡°Shobi¡­ dobi?¡± ¡°He should look like a pair of scissors. Sometimes when he gets excited, he turns into a pen.¡± ¡°I know a race like that.¡± ¡°Invest a lot of Coins in him. Ask if he¡¯s interested in working as a video editor instead of as an Intermediate Administrator. He¡¯ll accept.¡± Shobidobi was a video editing whiz. After failing to make it as an Intermediate Administrator, he switched to being an editor. He was bad at creating content, but he was very good at processing content into a fun product. ¡®An Intermediate Administrator of such talent will know exactly what to do just by hearing the words video editing.¡¯ It was said that Shobidobi¡¯s days as an Intermediate Administrator were rough. That he considered killing himself because he had no Coins was a fact known by many Players. ¡°But how do you know that name?¡± ¡°I just do.¡± ¡°The identities of Intermediate Administrators aren¡¯t publicized to the Players. Depending on the situation, revealing such knowledge can result in a System sanction.¡± Hyukjin stared at Senia. She was warning him right now, but it didn¡¯t feel like that to him. ¡®Is she¡­ worrying about me?¡¯ It looked like she was worrying about him rather than warning him. It was only for a split second, but Eye of Perception captured worry from her before it disappeared, gone so fast that he didn¡¯t get a proper look. ¡®No, surely not.¡¯ Senia was as expressionless as ever, having returned to an inscrutable state. ¡°It was the same with my conversation with Neptune, and when I got the Arbitrator rights by using Judgment of the Law.¡± Hyukjin smiled wide. ¡°But problems only become problems if someone takes issue with them. Right?¡± ¡°¡­¡± ¡°Right now, it¡¯s just you and me. No Guardians are watching. Do you intend on taking issue with the fact that I know the identity of an Intermediate Administrator?¡± ¡°Of course not.¡± Senia hurried to supply her reasoning, though none had been asked for. ¡°It¡¯s because Player Kim Hyukjin is my excellent business partner. There¡¯s absolutely no other reason.¡± ¡°I never said there was another reason.¡± ¡°I only stated it to be perfectly clear.¡± It occurred to Hyukjin that ever since she carried out the Arrow-Shooting Cupid¡¯s mission, Senia seemed a little more touchy. ¡°The Pause will soon end. As you suggested, I will cooperate with the Intermediate Administrator named Shobidobi.¡± ¡°Yeah. Give him a generous wage. Asking someone to work out of passion is no good.¡± ¡°Understood.¡± Hyukjin¡¯s mood brightened at the unexpected boon. ¡®It¡¯s always good to be the first in something.¡¯ The benefits of being first couldn¡¯t be put into words. Both 1st and 2nd place were amazing, but people only remembered the 1st place winner. As unfair as it was, that was how the world was. ¡®If Shobidobi¡¯s editing skills are added to my content¡­ the video is gonna be nuts.¡¯ It would be the first exquisitely edited video to reach the Guardians. They would reap a significant ¡®first¡¯ bonus. The Pause ended, and with the return of color to his world came a notice about the special qualification. * * * Translator ¨C Lei Proofreader ¨C Ash * * * [You must have already cleared the Centipede Cave once.] [The first condition has been met.] Ever since he came to know that two identical gates existed, he expected this condition. [Disclosing the second condition.] Hyukjin intentionally said, ¡°I think it¡¯ll be related to the three tomes.¡± Perfectly fusing the three tomes with Unique Ability Fusion had created the hidden piece related with the Tome of the Divine Sword Physique. That was what led him to this prediction. ¡®It¡¯s great if I¡¯m right, but it doesn¡¯t matter if I¡¯m not.¡¯ Guessing correctly might earn him a positive response from the Guardians, and if he guessed wrong, he could just have that part edited out. There was nothing to lose. [A Player who has fused three ¡®tomes¡¯ must be present in the current field.] [The second condition has been met.] In a stroke of luck, he was right. [Disclosing the final condition.] Hyukjin threw out a rough guess. ¡°The last one will be related to the Predator Tree Colony.¡± This, too, was no big deal to get wrong. It could just be cut out in post-processing. The Predator Tree Colony came after the Centipede Cave, which led him to believe this field might also be connected to the Predator Tree Colony in some way. In the Predator Tree Colony, he acquired the True Ruler title by fulfilling a very difficult condition. Since it was so difficult to get, he thought it might come up here. [You must have the Ruler of the Predator Tree Colony title.] [The third condition has been met.] Senia¡¯s wings trembled. She almost used another Pause authority, but stopped herself. ¡®I don¡¯t think he was just lucky.¡¯ In truth, it really was luck this time. Hyukjin had just made some rough guesses, knowing they could edit things later. He happened to be right, but Senia couldn¡¯t think of that as a coincidence. The same question she had asked before came to mind. ¡®Do you¡­ truly have no true name?¡¯ The question quivered on her tongue, but she didn¡¯t ask. She had the feeling that Kim Hyukjin would give her an answer of some kind on his own if she continued to wait. In any case, the fact remained that Kim Hyukjin called out the conditions before they were disclosed. Choi Sung-gu shook his head back and forth. ¡°You crazy bastard.¡± Even he could not think of this as a complete coincidence. ¡°You absolute monster.¡± Choi Sung-gu picked up on why Hyukjin stated the conditions aloud before they were revealed. It was, of course, because he was an outstanding content producer. That made Hyukjin seem all the more spine-chilling. The man didn¡¯t miss a single tiny detail, no matter how insignificant. It was said that the difference between a luxury brand and a regular one was in the details. That was exactly how it felt now. ¡°You gross mothafucker,¡± Sung-gu groused. His eyes focused on the center of the chamber. ¡°Something even more gross is waking up.¡± He scuttled behind Hyukjin, sticking close to him. ¡°Hyukjin. I hate bugs. I, Choi Sung-gu, am scared af. Hyukjin.¡± [The boss monster ¡®Black Pearl Centipede¡¯ is waking from its slumber.] The giant monster went from hard as stone to slowly beginning to move. Stone dust fell to the ground. ¡°Sung-gu. Light your fire ki.¡± ¡°Huh?¡± He didn¡¯t know what Hyukjin was trying to do, but he did as he was told. Poison gas instantly wisped into existence, forming wherever Sung-gu¡¯s fire ki met the falling stone dust. ¡°Fuck. The hell is this?¡± Hyukjin felt the strong poison energy. It was stronger than any he had experienced so far. It was just a little dust that had scattered into the air, but even that produced poison of such intensity. ¡®If that fully touches the skin¡­¡¯ Skin and bone were sure to melt away all at once. ¡®We need to eliminate the poison first.¡¯ The stone statue was moving little by little, almost like it was stretching itself. Hyukjin was once again reminded that this was the beginner period. This slight reprieve, this short moment before the battle began, was all assistance from the System. Assistance put in place for balance. ¡®The System is urging us to see the stone dust and think fast on our feet.¡¯ Someone who wasted these several free seconds would probably never be able to kill this monster. [The quest ¡®Hunt the Black Pearl Centipede Boss Monster!¡¯ has been generated.] The raid began. But the stone statue wasn¡¯t fully awake yet. Hyukjin intentionally spoke aloud to inform Sung-gu, and tell Senia as well. In other words, he was acting for the Guardians. ¡°Flame of Purification.¡± He¡¯d already used it once before¡ªit had come in handy against the Shadow Sovereign. Whatever Hyukjin used once, he could use even better the second time. He was able to work the skill with greater natural ease. [The ¡®purification target¡¯ has been selected.] He said, ¡°Showing us this poisonous stone dust is the System¡¯s way of helping us.¡± Whoosh! Flames rushed up in a flash. He turned to Senia, who was filming. ¡°When I fought the Shadow Sovereign, I used this ability to flee.¡± But this time, it was different. ¡°However, this time, I will purify the enemy¡¯s poison.¡± Flames hungrily ran up the stone statue. ¡°I can add some heat of my own, yeah?¡± Sung-gu drew a magic circle with his hand. Hyukjin was able to feel that Choi Sung-gu¡¯s tome boosted mana was increasing Flame of Purification¡¯s purity and intensity. ¡®This¡­ makes quite the admirable picture.¡¯ They had produced a scene that would really fire up Guardians who liked co-op play, like the Lady of the Scales, or efficient teamplay, like the Herdsman of Las Vegas. ¡®The boss¡¯ poison energy is being cleared.¡¯ It was being disarmed of one of its weapons. [The Black Pearl Centipede has woken completely.] The stone statue was now a living being. ¡°Eurgh, gross. Look at those legs. It¡¯s got steel for hair.¡± Hundreds of legs were wriggling. But those legs, as well as the squirming body they were attached to, slowly began to disappear. ¡°What the heck? Where¡¯d it go?¡± Hyukjin examined his surroundings with Observer¡¯s Eye and Eye of Perception, staying calm. ¡®Perfect stealth.¡¯ He was already familiar with stealth like this. It was the same stealth used by Kim Darong, the stealth Hyukjin could not penetrate no matter what skills he applied. ¡®To think it had such complete stealth¡­¡¯ It would probably go for an ambush, like an assassin. An extremely deadly ambush. ¡®If I can¡¯t locate it¡­ it¡¯ll be dangerous.¡¯ There was no knowing when or where it would attack. He had to locate it, and quick. But he couldn¡¯t see anything. He couldn¡¯t even detect its presence. ¡®How?¡¯ He had to find a way. Acquiring the Tome of the Divine Sword Physique by a Player¡¯s natural-born strength without Guardian assistance was surely going to be a challenge. But it wasn¡¯t that he hadn¡¯t taken such difficulty, such danger, into consideration. ¡®There must be¡­¡¯ Surely. ¡®¡­a way.¡¯ ____ Chapter 246 Chapter 246 It wasn¡¯t possible to locate the Black Pearl Centipede with regular methods, neither by Hyukjin¡¯s own abilities nor by Choi Sung-gu¡¯s. If they were to suffer a critical ambush now, they would both die. ¡®Our only saving grace is that maintaining its stealth is keeping it from attacking freely.¡¯ What did that mean? ¡®It has top-tier stealth, as well as a powerful one-time attack in stow.¡¯ But it would have weak defense. ¡®If it were confident in its defense, it would have reappeared immediately and ripped us to shreds.¡¯ But it wasn¡¯t doing that. In other words, that meant the creature was wary of an attack from them. ¡®So as long as we can land a good hit on it, we can kill it.¡¯ However, it really had to be a good, clean blow. The most urgent task was to find where it was¡ªthat was step one. Hyukjin took out an item. [King¡¯s Compass] A compass with the special power to determine the location of a special being with the title ¡®king¡¯, ¡®boss¡¯, or ¡®commander¡¯, in particular situations during a scenario/quest. It was the King¡¯s Compass he¡¯d stolen from Song Junghye and used to great effect in the Immortal Fleet Gate. Hyukjin glanced at the compass. The tip of the red needle pointing towards the N was slowly moving from left to right. ¡®It must be over there.¡¯ He still couldn¡¯t feel its location. Crack¨C A crack split the glass of the compass. ¡®It¡¯ll break soon.¡¯ It appeared the item¡¯s durability was greatly compromised by its use last time. The needle of the compass began to move a little faster. ¡®It¡¯s passing by us on the right.¡¯ The boss was vigilantly aiming for the right moment to strike Hyukjin and Choi Sung-gu. The moment it saw its chance to attack without being counterattacked, it would rush in with terrifying speed. ¡°Hyukjin. Can you feel where it is?¡± ¡°Yeah. On your right.¡± Choi Sung-gu shivered from head to toe. He was wearing an expression of absolute terror, but he didn¡¯t shout or freak out. The situation was too perilous for him to whine and moan like usual. ¡°Fuck. Should we attack?¡± ¡°The moment you try, it¡¯ll go straight for your neck. If you can cast your spell in 0.0001 seconds, go ahead and try.¡± Basically, don¡¯t do it. ¡°Then what do we do?¡± ¡°In the very short moment when it attacks, I¡¯ll counterattack at the right time.¡± It was one thing if he had no clue where it was, but he judged that as long as he had a rough grasp of its location, it should be possible to counterattack. Crack¨C Another crack spread across the compass glass. ¡°If the compass breaks completely, we won¡¯t be able to tell where it is at all.¡± ¡°Then don¡¯t we have to call it out now, while we can?¡± ¡°We do.¡± That was the goal, but the beast was careful and staying hidden. It could even be that it could instinctively feel the compass¡¯ effect. Swisshh¨C A chilling rustle swept past them, half-sounding like the wind. It felt like something was slithering around them. Choi Sung-gu nearly squealed when he felt it, and goosebumps rose all over his arms. Hyukjin waited a little longer. ¡®If it continues to move like this, it¡¯ll come to my left.¡¯ The compass would hold out until then. The compass needle continued to move, passing behind Hyukjin and Sung-gu and coming around to Hyukjin¡¯s left. Crack¨C The compass glass split a little more. ¡®I need to make it attack me.¡¯ It would be hard to initiate an attack on it. The compass only gave him the approximate location, not exactly where it or its vital spots were. Thankfully, Hyukjin knew how to lure it out. He intentionally spoke aloud. ¡°I will use the temporary authority given to me by the Whispering Devil.¡± He purposefully mentioned the Whispering Devil by name, something that was sure to delight the Guardian, considering his personality. [Using the temporary authority ¡®Speak of Peace, Prepare for War Strategy¡¯.] The name meant that war and peace were two sides of the same coin, and the strategy was to reassure the opponent by speaking of peace, but prepare for war on the sly and strike them unawares. In his current situation, there could be no authority more useful. ¡®Come.¡¯ The Black Pearl Centipede circling the two humans in stealth mode found the chance it had been waiting for. It was the human that looked less appetizing of the two, but there was clearly an opening, almost as if the human were tempting it to come and eat him. The Black Pearl Centipede instinctively made a judgment. Of the two humans, that one was the more dangerous. As long as it could successfully hunt him, it could make quick work of the fat one standing nearby. But it was the dangerous one the centipede felt an enormous opening from. It felt like the human was capable of locating it. So the Black Pearl Centipede didn¡¯t hesitate. It instinctively judged that another opportunity like this would not come again. The countless stiff bristles on its legs ground against each other, producing an unpleasant screech. The time was now. It decided to hunt that man. * * * Translator ¨C Lei Proofreader ¨C Ash * * * Hyukjin concluded that he had to deal the monster a fatal blow. So he took out Isabel, the most powerful weapon in his arsenal. ¡®Isabel. You know how I created the Blackfire Bow, right?¡¯ he asked her. He didn¡¯t get an answer. Isabel was deeply asleep. ¡®I¡¯m going to tap into my mana and forcibly shove Athenae¡¯s flame into your body.¡¯ This wasn¡¯t a System-guided ability. It was Kim Hyukjin applying an ability he learned from the System in his own way, similar to when Hyukjin mimicked the abilities of other Players even without the Action Replication skill. ¡®It won¡¯t be as refined and efficient as a skill, but¡­¡¯ It should still be possible. ¡®Just like how I created the Blackfire Bow with my will.¡¯ Without the System¡¯s help. ¡®Isabel. I¡¯ll be loading a great deal of destructive force into your body.¡¯ Isabel was still asleep. Hyukjin couldn¡¯t afford to wait for her to wake up. As soon as he used the Speak of Peace, Prepare for War Strategy, he began to feel the Black Pearl Centipede¡¯s presence. It was clearly growing excited. ¡®Come bite me.¡¯ A little longer. He would wait just a little longer. Sung-gu shivered. ¡°Somehow, I¡¯m getting an even scarier feeling.¡± ¡°Shh.¡± ¡°¡­¡± Sung-gu shut his mouth. Hyukjin could tell. ¡®It¡¯s going for me.¡¯ The beast¡¯s tail was aiming for his head, and its teeth for his stomach. Looking at Hyukjin, Sung-gu realized his time to act had come. He was already done preparing to use his skill. ¡®The skill cast time is short.¡¯ What he would use wasn¡¯t an attack skill, but a buff ability that would assist Hyukjin, just like before. He would wrap Hyukjin¡¯s attack in his fire ki. That was the best course of action he could take right now. Hyukjin drew forth his strength. ¡®Now.¡¯ He would only have one chance. The compass broke with a resounding crack and fell to the ground, and it was exactly then that Hyukjin swung Isabel. He used the skill that would always seek and land a fatal blow on a foe¡¯s weak spot no matter the situation, the ability he had awakened thanks to Isabel. [Using the innate ability Sword of Insight.] At the same time, he wrapped Isabel with the blackfire energy his body remembered. If he had the Tome of the Divine Sword Physique in him, he might have been able to manifest the ability perfectly, but he didn¡¯t have it yet. ¡®It needs to die in one hit.¡¯ He saw its head, a huge head. Splurt! The tip plunged in. Burning with black flames, Isabel¡¯s blade slid into the centipede¡¯s head. Kieeeek¨C! Kieeeeeeeek¨C! The beast¡¯s leg hairs ground against each other with the screech of nails on a blackboard. Choi Sung-gu canceled the magic he¡¯d been readying, making an instinctive call. He knew exactly how much time he had. ¡®It can¡¯t use stealth again so fast.¡¯ If so, Sung-gu could use a big spell instead. The boss was screeching in pain. ¡®This is where I should use¡­¡¯ A memory flashed through his mind. It was time for the big spell he¡¯d used against the Predator Trees to make an appearance. [Using the skill Fire Storm.] The massive insect, the Black Pearl Centipede, was assaulted with the flames of Fire Storm. But only for a moment. Sung-gu¡¯s eyes grew wide. ¡®My magic¡­ is being swallowed by those black flames.¡¯ The red flames disappeared, swallowed whole. ¡®And those flames have become even fiercer.¡¯ After preying on the red flames, the black flames became stronger. They decreased in size, but Choi Sung-gu could feel that they were incredibly pure. It was like he was peering into the endless depths of darkness. ¡°Hyaa!¡± Hyukjin¡¯s eyes were bloodshot. He directed every ounce of his strength into the hand holding Isabel. A voice rang out in his head. (Husband. What are you doing?!) He couldn¡¯t hear Isabel¡¯s voice properly. He only had one chance, one chance to kill the Black Pearl Centipede. If he missed it, he would be the one getting hunted. Hyukjin pulled out Isabel. ¡®Before it goes back into stealth¡­¡¯ [Using the special skill Flash Step.] He clambered onto its head with Flash Step. ¡®One more time.¡¯ [Using the skill Sword of Insight.] He plunged Isabel into the centipede¡¯s head again. Splurt! Green blood spurted onto Hyukjin¡¯s face and body along with the sound of tearing flesh. Tzzzzzzz¨C! Hyukjin¡¯s skin burned. It was painful, but not unbearable. Meanwhile, Sung-gu used Fire Arrow to strike various parts of the centipede¡¯s body. (You crazy husband! Answer me, what are you doing?!) At the same time, the black flames on Isabel¡¯s blade billowed even bigger. The flames Hyukjin had lit were pure ¡®blackfire¡¯. But Choi Sung-gu found those flames blinding now. ¡®I can¡¯t see.¡¯ The fire magician closed his eyes. The flames were so bright he couldn¡¯t even open his eyes and look at them. And he was someone who was imbued with the Tome of the Divine Fire Physique. ¡®Just what the hell is happening right now?¡¯ This wasn¡¯t Hyukjin¡¯s own strength. Even Sung-gu knew that much. ¡®Isabel¡¯s strength?¡¯ Isabel was amplifying the fire ki with her own strength. To Sung-gu, the phenomenon felt similar to the manifestation of magic, like transcendent magic was being used. The black flames swallowed the Black Pearl Centipede, head, legs, and all. Thud! Thud! Thuuuud! It flailed in agony, writhing every which way in convulsions that shook the entire chamber. It was almost like there was an earthquake. Its body shriveled up. As all of the poison and moisture in its body burned up, the giant centipede dried up like an octopus on the grill. Hyukjin¡¯s consciousness dimmed. ¡®I¡¯m dizzy.¡¯ He managed something, that was for sure. Isabel had helped him a great deal. But he was too dizzy. His mind went fuzzy. [The quest ¡®Hunt the Black Pearl Centipede Boss Monster!¡¯ has been cleared.] Simultaneously, Isabel¡¯s blade began to crack. It was different from the hairline cracks she had sustained thus far. The crack went straight through the blade, and it looked as if she would break at a light touch. Hyukjin desperately held onto his dimming consciousness. And then, he knew. ¡®If things go on¡­¡¯ Isabel would shatter. ____ Chapter 247 Chapter 247 Hyukjin felt as if he were trapped in a dark place. ¡®Where am I?¡¯ It was silent. Amidst the stillness, he could see nothing. ¡®What about the Black Pearl Centipede?¡¯ He remembered enveloping Isabel in the blackfire that made up the Blackfire Bow with Athenae¡¯s pure flames as a base. He also remembered burning the Black Pearl Centipede to a crisp with that. And then, his consciousness had dimmed. ¡®Did I black out?¡¯ But his mind was too clear for that to be the case. He tried moving his fingers¡ªthey moved normally. ¡®What about Isabel?¡¯ She wasn¡¯t in his hand up until a moment ago, but he suddenly began to see her. He heard her voice. (You killed me.) Crack¨C Cracks began to spider along Isabel¡¯s blade. Just like the glass of the pass that had broken earlier. Crack¨C Cra-crack¨C With that sound, silver dust fell from Isabel¡¯s blade. He heard the same voice, speaking the same line. (You killed me.) Isabel¡¯s blade broke in half. Clang. One half of the broken blade fell to the ground. The sword turned red. Blood seeped from it. Red blood. (You killed me.) The other half fell to the ground as well, leaving just the hilt. Blood seeped from the hilt, staining Hyukjin¡¯s hand. The hot blood ran down his hand and down his wrist to soak his clothes. (I wanted to live.) Hyukjin felt dizzy, like he had lost a lot of blood. (Why? Why did you kill me?) Behind that voice¡­ Wake up. Wake up. Wake up. He had the feeling he heard another voice. Wake up. Please. It rang faintly in his ears. (I¡¯m your bride. So why?) And that other voice. Husband! It suddenly occurred to Hyukjin that something was strange. ¡®She died?¡¯ Isabel died? ¡®Then who¡¯s the one talking to me right now?¡¯ She died, but she was talking. It was strange, something that couldn¡¯t normally happen. ¡®Something¡¯s been distorted.¡¯ That moment, Hyukjin realized. He looked at the hot, red blood running down his hand and dripping onto the ground. ¡®This place is really dark.¡¯ There wasn¡¯t a single ray of light. ¡®And yet, I can see the red blood.¡¯ He could see it strangely well. That meant this was a distorted space. As soon as he recognized the distortion, an incantation began to flow unbidden from Hyukjin¡¯s lips, flowing out without his conscious awareness as if it were carved into his body and lips. He had, after all, gone through the process of smashing through fabricated authorities and distorted illusions. ¡°Illusions and apparitions, distortions and lies, cannot covet me.¡± ¡°No matter what ravine of evil in this world I must traverse.¡± ¡°No evil power that seeks to harm me can violate me.¡± ¡°Such is the power of intuition.¡± ¡°The Eye of Insight that sees the true nature of things.¡± Hyukjin¡¯s voice changed. A low voice that was not his own rumbled from his lips. [May all lies.] [Be shattered.] And then, the fake world enclosing him shattered. Light began to stream in. (Are you awake now?) This time, it was a white space. It wasn¡¯t dark¡ªthere was light. But that was all. In his hand was a cracked Isabel. He heard her voice. She spoke quickly, like she was being chased by something. (No matter what happens, I won¡¯t resent you, husband.) (Even if I die.) (So don¡¯t be fooled by a false illusion like that.) Hyukjin realized what happened. While he was unloading everything he had, he was hit by the Black Pearl Centipede¡¯s illusion attack. Normally, Eye of Perception would defend him from such attacks, but he had just expended too much strength and was very mentally fatigued. He guessed that was why he hadn¡¯t been able to fend off the Black Pearl Centipede¡¯s final attack. (I won¡¯t ever blame you, never. Because that is the Sword¡¯s Contract I signed.) (The Tome of the Divine Sword Physique. You got it, right?) Hyukjin remembered. Yes, he acquired it. It was a direct reward from the System. [The quest ¡®Hunt the Black Pearl Centipede Boss Monster!¡¯ has been cleared.] [Distributing the ¡®Tome of the Divine Sword Physique¡¯.] His briefly cut-off memories returned to him like the ining tide. [The ¡®Dwarf Elder¡¯s Blessing¡¯ is in effect.] There were twists and turns, but Hyukjin achieved the result he wanted. It had gone as Hyukjin planned. [The ¡®Breath of Production¡¯ takes effect on the ¡®Tome of the Divine Sword Physique¡¯.] [The ¡®Breath of Production¡¯ produces another ¡®Tome of the Divine Sword Physique¡¯.] [The production success rate is determined by the Player¡¯s enhancement talent.] Hyukjin thought back to the situation that had just passed. When he took the Black Pearl Centipede¡¯s illusion attack, and when he shattered the illusion with his incantation, that was when ¡®Breath of Production¡¯ took effect. [The ¡®Tome of the Divine Sword Physique¡¯ has been successfully produced.] [You have acquired an additional ¡®Tome of the Divine Sword Physique¡¯.] [The additional ¡®Tome of the Divine Sword Physique¡¯ will be valid for the remaining duration of the ¡®Dwarf Elder¡¯s Blessing¡¯.] In a few days, this Tome of the Divine Sword Physique would disappear. It was only duplicated for a very short period of time. ¡®I got it. The Tome of the Divine Sword Physique.¡¯ Isabel responded immediately. (Use it right away.) Cracks continued to spread along Isabel¡¯s blade. Hyukjin knew that this time, it wasn¡¯t an illusion. It was real. Isabel was really breaking. He could feel it, as someone who shared a mental connection with her. ¡®I can feel¡­ Isabel¡¯s pain.¡¯ She was truly in agony right now. She just wasn¡¯t showing it. Despite suffering from the pain of her entire body burning and crumbling apart, she wasn¡¯t showing him that. In his mind¡¯s eye, he saw a woman thrashing in pain. Hyukjin immediately used the Tome of the Divine Sword Physique without a word of resistance. [Absorb the ¡®Tome of the Divine Sword Physique¡¯?] [Absorbing the ¡®Tome of the Divine Sword Physique¡¯ requires the appropriate talent.] A very short moment, just a few seconds, passed. [Absorbing the ¡®Tome of the Divine Sword Physique¡¯.] It was like when he absorbed the Tome of the Divine Bow Physique. A storm of blue mana enveloped Hyukjin, swirling violently around him before getting sucked into his body. [The trait ¡®Divine Sword Physique¡¯ has been generated.] He got another trait. That made two¡ªone being the Divine Bow Physique, the other the Divine Sword Physique. [An entity in a ¡®Sword¡¯s Contract¡¯ exists.] [The damage to the entity in the ¡®Sword¡¯s Contract¡¯ is severe.] Hyukjin knew that the ability he had just used wasn¡¯t his own. ¡®Isabel helped me.¡¯ She had majorly overdone it. It was no wonder manifesting blackfire had felt so easy. That wasn¡¯t Hyukjin himself, but something he achieved through Isabel¡¯s help. The question of how Isabel, a sword, managed that, didn¡¯t occur to him. The only thing he could think of right now was that Isabel had helped him. ¡®This is the aftermath.¡¯ She had drawn and used too much of a sealed ability. For him, Kim Hyukjin, Isabel risked her own destruction. * * * Translator ¨C Lei Proofreader ¨C Ash * * * He heard her voice. (Husband. Don¡¯t just stand there all starry-eyed with gratitude. I¡¯ll really die at this rate.) Hyukjin snapped back to his senses. She was right. This was no time to be immersed in gratitude. Hyukjin had the feeling he would regret it his whole life long if Isabel was really destroyed. Even though she was just an item, that was how it was. ¡®I¡­¡¯ He instinctively knew what he needed to do. He knew, without anyone teaching him how. ¡®¡­will invest everything in my Willpower stat.¡¯ Now wasn¡¯t the time to be flicking abacus beads. There wasn¡¯t much time. The destruction Isabel had undergone in the illusion was being a reality. 20 bonus stats. 25 random stats. He still had a staggering 45 stats in reserve, stats he¡¯d been saving to use at a critical time. [Investing stats in Willpower.] He used all 45 in one go, not skimping on a single one. He had the feeling he couldn¡¯t afford to be stingy. At least in this moment, he didn¡¯t stop to make any rational calculations whatsoever. [Willpower is increasing.] His Willpower was originally 17 (+30), which made 47. 45 was added to that, bringing it to a total of 92. Technically, it was 62 (+30). The Status Window popped up on its own. [Status Window] Name: Kim Hyukjin (Player) Level: 39 Contracted Guardian: [Nameless Observer] Title: [Pioneer of Victory] [Excellent Player] [First Adversary] [Pure Person of Fire] [Phantom Thief Squirrel¡¯s Master] [Starting Sovereign] [Starting Fighter] [Thousand Dog Master] Dungeon title: [True Ruler of the Gran Seoul Dungeon] [True Ruler of the Predator Tree Colony] Innate ability: [Eye of Perception] [Sword of Insight] Special ability: [Absorption] [Mettle] [Eye for an Eye, Tooth for a Tooth] [Immortal Fleet] Trait: Divine Bow Physique, Divine Sword Physique Strength: 24 Intelligence: 24 Agility: 30 Perception: 24 Constitution: 24 Willpower: 62 (+30) Bonus stats: 0 Random stats: 0 Undistributed stats: 0 His Willpower stat shot up, and with it, his connection with Isabel solidified. Hyukjin let out an unconscious cry of pain, his heart feeling as if it would explode. ¡®This¡­ is just a small part of the pain Isabel is feeling.¡¯ A portion of her pain was being relayed to him. Even that small portion was unbearable. It felt like he was going to die, that his skin was boiling up and would soon burst. [Confirming the presence of the ¡®Divine Sword Physique¡¯ trait and the linked ¡®Sword¡¯s Contract¡¯.] His much higher Willpower stat strengthened the contract further, enhancing his connection with Isabel. [The ¡®Sword¡¯s Contract¡¯ is elevated to the ¡®Sword¡¯s Pact¡¯.] [Partially unsealing Isabel¡¯s abilities.] Golden light began to shimmer from Isabel¡¯s blade, expanding outwards. That very moment, he had the feeling that something immense, something he couldn¡¯t handle, was destroying his body. ¡®Now!¡¯ Hyukjin instinctively realized that now was the correct time to use Absorption. There was no time to think. It was because he had thought about Absorption multiple times before entering the gate that he was able to use it in that fleeting moment. [Using the special ability Absorption.] He used the ability that absorbed all physical damage taken over 0.5 seconds. ¡®The pain is fading.¡¯ It eased a little. He had no idea what just happened, but he knew he had just blocked ¡®something dangerous¡¯ using Absorption. ¡®Isabel¡¯s body¡­ is recovering.¡¯ [Isabel¡¯s innate authority, Repair, is taking effect.] Hyukjin nearly collapsed. It was like all the mana in his body was being rapidly sucked out. If he hadn¡¯t thrown 45 stats into Willpower, he might have very well bee a mummy. ¡®But this¡­¡¯ Only then did he realize the strangeness of the situation. ¡®¡­feels like magic.¡¯ It then occurred to him that Isabel had also helped him light the blackfire earlier, too. Applying the blackfire to her blade was, of course, her power as well. Thinking back, he was sure of it. ¡®It wasn¡¯t me.¡¯ He was convinced that Isabel, a sword, had freely used magic. [Isabel¡¯s seal has been partially lifted.] At the same time, he heard a voice. ¡°Don¡¯t think anything weird, Husband.¡± The words weren¡¯t ing from inside his mind. They were spoken aloud and registered by his ears. In this world full of light, appeared a woman. She was a woman with golden hair, amber eyes rimmed by gold and yellow, and wreathed in white light. He could only see her face. ¡®Ah¡­¡¯ Kim Hyukjin couldn¡¯t take his eyes off her. Be it Shin Yeonseo, acknowledged by all as pretty, or Cheon Sooji, acknowledged by all as bewitching, or even Senia, who drew the gazes and admiration of all whenever she appeared, he could not see any of them as women. He had never once thought, ¡®She¡¯s really, truly beautiful¡¯ about any woman. It was only ever at the level of, ¡®Oh, she¡¯s pretty¡¯. But what he felt now was pletely different. He couldn¡¯t see her body. The light was too strong. He could only see her face. And yet, Hyukjin felt that this woman was truly beautiful. He couldn¡¯t tear his eyes away. His heart began to thump wildly. ¡®Oh my God.¡¯ The woman¡¯s hair swayed gently, even though there was no wind. Her lips parted, and her face reddened a little. ¡°I¡¯m a sword.¡± She smiled. ¡°Not a lousy magician.¡± ____ Chapter 248 Chapter 248 In this bright world, this white world where only light seemed to exist, stood a woman with golden hair. Her name was Isabel. ¡®Isabel.¡¯ She wasn¡¯t a sword. She looked human. ¡®Oh my God.¡¯ He shook his head. This was a sword. An artifact. Not a person. But why was his heart thumping so hard? The moment he saw her, his heart started to race. He heard Isabel¡¯s voice. ¡°Did you hear what I said?¡± ¡°¡­¡± ¡°Answer me!¡± Isabel raised her voice. Only then did Hyukjin lurch back to his senses. ¡°Ah. Ah¡­ sorry.¡± ¡°Repeat after me. Isabel is a sword.¡± ¡°¡­¡± ¡°Hurry.¡± ¡°Isabel is a sword.¡± ¡°She¡¯s not good at stuff like magic.¡± ¡°She¡¯s not good at stuff like magic.¡± ¡°She¡¯s also not good at stuff like beating.¡± ¡°She¡¯s also not good at stuff like beating.¡± ¡°She¡¯s a person who walks the dignified and graceful path of swordsmanship.¡± ¡°She¡¯s a per¡ª¡± Hyukjin stared at Isabel. ¡°Person?¡± Not a sword? ¡°I¡¯m a person right now.¡± Her face reddened a little. ¡°Though I haven¡¯t been able to take my full form yet.¡± She didn¡¯t have a plete human form. She was only human from the neck up; the rest of her was enveloped in light. ¡°It¡¯s because you still have a ways to grow,¡± she added. ¡°If I reach my full growth, will you be able to achieve your full form?¡± ¡°Yeah. When that happens, I¡¯ll be able to protect you by your side. With my true appearance.¡± Isabel¡¯s words echoed in his ears. ¡®If I grow¡­¡¯ He wanted to grow. For Sunhwa. And for the happiness he was enjoying now. To fulfill his desire to grow stronger itself. And finally, to allow Isabel to manifest her plete form. ¡°Husband.¡± ¡°What?¡± ¡°Um¡­¡± He couldn¡¯t see Isabel¡¯s body. But Hyukjin could somehow feel that she was twisting and squirming in place a little. She wasn¡¯t actually doing that, but Eye of Perception captured Isabel¡¯s emotions. ¡°You¡¯re not disappointed?¡± ¡°About what?¡± ¡°You always told me I¡¯m pretty.¡± He did. He did it offhandedly to appease Isabel, an item. They were empty words of praise to humor and coax an item. ¡°¡­¡± Now that her real face was in front of him, the words, ¡°You¡¯re pretty,¡± stuck in his throat like taffy. She was truly pretty, more beautiful than anyone in the world. At least in Hyukjin¡¯s eyes, she was prettier than Senia. ¡°It¡¯s fine. Tch. Why¡¯d I bother asking about something so pointless?¡± Isabel grumbled to herself. ¡°I¡¯m Isabel. Isabel.¡± ¡°¡­¡± ¡°Whatever. It¡¯s not important whether I¡¯m pretty or not in your eyes. It doesn¡¯t change that there¡¯s a sacred contract between us, a Sword¡¯s Pact.¡± ¡°¡­¡± ¡°And well, what would you do if I wasn¡¯t pretty, anyway?¡± Isabel recovered her confidence. ¡°I¡¯m Isabel.¡± Hyukjin read one flow from Isabel, a powerful stream of mana. Even the light wreathing her body was mana he couldn¡¯t prehend. ¡°What¡¯s the mana around your body?¡± ¡°This?¡± Isabel frowned a little. ¡°You don¡¯t need to know. It¡¯s nothing.¡± It didn¡¯t seem like nothing to him, but Hyukjin just let it go. ¡°Husband. I¡¯m going to go back to looking like a sword. I was able to manifest for a moment thanks to you absorbing the Tome of the Divine Sword Physique, but you¡¯ve still got a long way to go.¡± ¡°¡­¡± Hyukjin¡¯s heart sank with sincere regret. He wanted to see Isabel a little longer. That was how he truly felt. ¡°Call me when you¡¯re in a really dangerous spot. Your Willpower stat is pretty decent right now, and you should be able to use me, to some extent.¡± He didn¡¯t really like the word ¡°use¡±, but he quickly nodded. ¡°Got it.¡± ¡°You know I¡¯ll be by your side even though I¡¯ll be going back to being a sword, right?¡± Isabel shot him a glare. ¡°The Arrow-Shooting Cupid. That piece of trash gave Senia a mission.¡± In front of him was an artifact that dared to call a Guardian a piece of trash. He already knew she was different, but it was more shocking to hear the words spoken aloud. ¡°She¡¯s too pretty. Keep some distance.¡± ¡°¡­¡± ¡°Where¡¯s my answer?¡± In the end, Hyukjin decided to be honest. ¡°It¡¯s just¡­¡± His heart beat painfully against his chest. ¡°She¡¯s not pretty to me.¡± ¡°How¡¯s a girl like her not pretty? Even I think she¡¯s pretty.¡± Hyukjin cracked a grin. He asked a question. ¡°Isabel.¡± ¡°What?¡± ¡°Your abilities will be unsealed as I grow, right?¡± ¡°Right. I¡¯ll grow as you do, husband.¡± ¡°Your current form, what level is it now?¡± Isabel thought for a moment. ¡°The level of a preschool child.¡± From that, Hyukjin realized something. The fact she was so easy to appease, that she was a little childish, was all because he hadn¡¯t been able to bring out her full form yet. ¡®Because I¡¯m weak, Isabel can¡¯t show me her true appearance. The same goes for her mind.¡¯ He was sure of it. ¡®If I bee stronger¡­¡¯ Isabel would, little by little, assume her original appearance and personality. ¡°Let me ask one more thing.¡± ¡°Okay. But there¡¯s not much time. Ask me quickly.¡± ¡°What¡¯s the relationship between you and the Queen of the Sword Forest, Isabel?¡± ¡°¡ª¡ª-.¡± Isabel answered him, but Hyukjin couldn¡¯t hear it. ¡®It¡¯s information I¡¯m not currently allowed to know.¡¯ It didn¡¯t matter. He got to meet Isabel. For Hyukjin, that alone was a big gain. ¡°Don¡¯t you dare cheat on me. I¡¯ll be watching with my eyes peeled.¡± ¡°Okay.¡± ¡°Thanks to the Tome of the Divine Sword Physique, I¡¯ll be able to stay awake for longer. Keep that in mind.¡± ¡°Got it.¡± He had no intention of cheating anyway. The moment he saw Isabel for the first time, he fell for her, head first. ¡°You answered so fast that I¡¯m a little suspicious now.¡± ¡°You don¡¯t have to be suspicious. I mean it,¡± Hyukjin said. ¡°When you return to being a sword, you¡¯ll be able to read my mind.¡± ¡°That¡¯s true.¡± ¡°You can read my mind as much as you want.¡± It occurred to him that it was better to express his feelings with his mind than to do so with words. You¡¯re super pretty. You¡¯re beautiful. As soon as I saw you, it was love at first sight. Reading his mind would be way more concise and easier to understand than hearing such cringe. ¡°Ah, right. You really have to keep this in mind: I¡¯m not a magician. You know that, right?¡± Contrary to her words, the mana storm enveloping Isabel right now was screaming, ¡°I¡¯M AN ARCHMAGE!¡± He also recalled what Elder Bufafa said. Heavenly talent, accursed. The esteemed one is engraved with a stigma so deep that I cannot fathom its depths with my skill. Hyukjin nodded. ¡°Got it.¡± With that, the bright world began to fade. He heard a faint voice. ¡°Oh, almost forgot. An innate authority of mine was unlocked.¡± He returned to the real world. * * * Translator ¨C Lei Proofreader ¨C Ash * * * ¡°¡­kay?¡± The voice sounded far away. ¡°Are you okay?!¡± It was Choi Sung-gu. ¡°Are you okay, man?!¡± Hyukjin answered, ¡°Yeah, I¡¯m okay.¡± He slowly sat up. ¡°Fuck! You scared me! Why¡¯d you go and black out all of a sudden?!¡± Still on the ground, Hyukjin stared at Sung-gu and found big tears welled up in the man¡¯s eyes. There were also streaks of tears down his cheeks, now smudged with dust. ¡°What? Did you cry?¡± And it wasn¡¯t just a little¡ªSung-gu¡¯s face was a mess of tears. ¡°Who cried? I¡¯m the Jayangdong Fire Master.¡± ¡°Wipe off your snot.¡± It was evident that tears and snot had been running down the fire magician¡¯s face. ¡°Fuck. Why¡¯d your heart stop?¡± ¡°My heart stopped?¡± ¡°Yeah. It stopped for quite a while, you son of a bitch.¡± He understood now why Sung-gu had been so alarmed. ¡®My heart¡­ stopped?¡¯ What was that all about? Hyukjin put a hand to his chest. Thump. Thump. His heartbeat was exceedingly stable. ¡°I¡¯m fine now. Don¡¯t worry.¡± ¡°I wasn¡¯t worrying about you, you jerk!¡± Sung-gu hid his tearful face in the crook of his elbow, then proceeded to provide an unasked-for explanation. ¡°I just got something in my eye. And it wasn¡¯t that I was worrying about you or anything, but that I was worrying about how to get out of here.¡± Choi Sung-gu looked around. They were still inside the Centipede Cave. Though they had successfully killed the boss monster, the Black Pearl Centipede, they hadn¡¯t been able to leave the gate yet, irrefutable proof that there was still an unfulfilled clear condition. In cases like this, you normally looked for the ¡®Clear Crystal¡¯. ¡°This whole area is blocked off.¡± The Black Pearl Centipede¡¯s corpse was gone. All the exits leading out were blocked, leaving no path out. There was also no Clear Crystal to be seen. ¡°I don¡¯t see a Clear Crystal anywhere. What do we do, friend?¡± ¡°Hm.¡± Hyukjin got up. ¡°This is a place made for getting the Tome of the Divine Sword Physique.¡± Meaning, it wasn¡¯t an ordinary place. Thankfully, he now had the Divine Sword Physique trait. ¡°So ultimately, I think we¡¯re supposed to do something using the Tome of the Divine Sword Physique.¡± Hyukjin walked around the circular chamber, checking each of the exits that were blocked off by boulders. ¡°We need to get out of here. The Clear Crystal isn¡¯t here.¡± ¡°How do we do that?¡± ¡°By cutting our way out. Through the wall.¡± ¡°The wall? How?¡± Hyukjin took out Isabel, grasping her hilt. Something felt different this time. Though he had held the sword many times before, the feeling in his hand was different. His mindset towards Isabel had changed as well. Now, she was no longer just a whiny artifact, but someone he had to restore and nurture by all means. With Isabel in his hand, Hyukjin walked forward. ¡®I will bee stronger.¡¯ ¡°Hey, what¡¯re you trying to do?¡± asked Sung-gu. ¡°How¡¯re you gonna cut the¡ª¡± Sung-gu shut his mouth mid-sentence. ¡®Something about him¡­ has changed.¡¯ Hyukjin had gone unconscious and his heart had stopped. Choi Sung-gu didn¡¯t know what, but something had definitely happened during that time. ¡®The way he looks when he¡¯s walking¡­¡¯ How should he describe it? ¡®A sword?¡¯ It looked as if Hyukjin himself had bee a sword, as if a sword was walking forward. Sung-gu rubbed his eyes. ¡®What¡¯s going on?¡¯ Kim Hyukjin was Kim Hyukjin, not a sword. Sung-gu already knew about the realm of being ¡®one with the sword¡¯. Shin Yeonseo had reached that stage, and Hyukjin had shown it to him before as well. But what Sung-gu was seeing now wasn¡¯t just that. ¡®It feels different from the one with the sword realm.¡¯ He couldn¡¯t put it into words, but something had certainly changed. ¡®Come to think of it, it feels similar when he uses the bow.¡¯ When Hyukjin attacked the mander in the Immortal Fleet Gate, Sung-gu had been too shocked and bewildered to see things clearly. But he¡¯d gotten a similar feeling then as well. Back then, Hyukjin looked like a giant bow. It came to Sung-gu in a flash of understanding. ¡®He¡¯s pletely absorbed the Tome of the Divine Sword Physique.¡¯ The Tome of the Divine Bow Physique, and the Tome of the Divine Sword Physique. He had perfectly absorbed both ¡®divine tomes¡¯. Kim Hyukjin stopped in front of the blocked-off wall. ¡°Anything I can do to help?¡± asked Sung-gu loudly. ¡°No.¡± ¡°Got it. I¡¯ll just squat here.¡± Sung-gu decided to stay out of the way and watch carefully. Hyukjin had gained a serendipitous chance just moments ago. He wanted to see with his two eyes just how much that serendipitous chance had boosted this already crazy monster. Sung-gu¡¯s heartbeat quickened a little. ¡®Let¡¯s see just how much you¡¯ve jumped up in those few moments.¡¯ Seeing Hyukjin¡¯s growth always sent a thrill down Sung-gu¡¯s spine. A sense of longing towards the strong, and the burning desire to chase them, were qualities possessed by every Ranker fundamentally. Choi Sung-gu was the same. ¡®There are no enemies, and he¡¯s probably being recorded right now.¡¯ That meant Hyukjin would show his most flashy and powerful technique. He would give the Guardians a spectacle they¡¯d go wild for. ¡®What will he show us?¡¯ In that cave, Choi Sung-gu was able to witness Kim Hyukjin¡¯s new ability. ____ Chapter 249 Chapter 249 Hyukjin stood in front of the blocked-off wall. He raised Isabel, feeling as though he had bee one with her. ¡®A stage slightly higher than one with the sword.¡¯ Even Hyukjin himself didn¡¯t know what to call this. ¡®No.¡¯ The ¡®one with the sword¡¯ he had achieved before wasn¡¯t the true one with the sword. Where he was at now was the state of ¡®one with the sword¡¯ Rankers had spoken of in the past. That, he felt keenly. Isabel¡¯s blade began to vibrate, and an opaque aura rippled from her edge. Sung-gu noticed it. ¡®What¡¯s that?¡¯ He peered closer¡ªthe opaque aura soon turned black. ¡®Blackfire?¡¯ But it was different from pure blackfire. It was a new aura unique to Kim Hyukjin, one he created using blackfire as a base. ¡°I used a top quality energy called blackfire as a foundation.¡± Senia was working hard to record the scene before her. They had to produce a scene that would whip the Guardians into a frenzy, and to that end, Hyukjin was going out of his way to provide information aloud. ¡°After exuding that energy¡­¡± Currently, Hyukjin was in the true state of one with the sword. ¡°I processed it through a medium, Isabel, into a new type of energy possessing a powerful cutting force¡­¡± He raised Isabel. The sword shimmered with black energy. ¡°¡­thus producing a unique wavelength only Isabel, and only I, can wield.¡± Isabel¡¯s abilities were partially unsealed. That, in bination with Hyukjin getting the Divine Sword Physique trait, gave birth to a new ability: Isabel and Hyukjin¡¯s new authority. [Using the innate authority Sword Ki.] [The energy used as a base for ¡®Sword Ki¡¯ is set to ¡®Blackfire¡¯.] Sword Ki, the technique used by expert period swordsman Players in the past. Hyukjin had achieved it at just level 39. Hyukjin swung Isabel from top to bottom. His sword felt perfectly right in his hand, and he felt something leave his body. ¡®It feels way better than when I use the Blackfire Bow.¡¯ It was easier, and it felt more right. Hyukjin¡¯s talent as an ¡®archer¡¯ was second to none. But it seemed his talent for swordsmanship was even greater than his talent for archery. Relatively speaking. ¡®I also had Isabel¡¯s help.¡¯ It was clearly far better to use an already existing transcendent item as a medium than to create a Blackfire Bow using the Ink Bow as a base. [You are the first to discover ¡®Sword Ki¡¯.] [A hidden condition has been fulfilled.] [The hidden quest ¡®By Following the Traces of the Sword Forest¡¯ has been generated.] Sung-gu saw it. ¡®A path has been opened.¡¯ A long, vertical slit appeared in the thick, tall wall. The slit widened, parting into two halves. Sung-gu walked forward like he was entranced. He watched as a passage more than wide enough for two people to walk abreast appeared. He touched the cut edge. ¡°The surface¡­¡± The cut was impossibly clean. Hyukjin¡¯s sword had cleaved the boulder like it was paper, cutting open a path ten meters high and who knows how deep. They would need to walk through to find out. ¡°¡­is almost like ice.¡± It was so clean it was almost slippery to the touch. ¡°And here I was, wondering what you were gonna show that required so much buildup.¡± The buildup seemed worth it. Sung-gu had never seen anything like this. Even Korea¡¯s best swordswoman, Shin Yeonseo, couldn¡¯t produce such sheer force. No, Sung-gu thought even Jo Sunghyun, a sorcerer who far outstripped a swordsman in sheer destructive power, and one who wielded very sharp wind magic at that, couldn¡¯t achieve this. ¡°I don¡¯t think even Sunghyun could do this.¡± ¡°Let¡¯s go.¡± ¡°Okay.¡± Sung-gu accepted it quickly. Nothing would e of being surprised. It was a daily occurrence when Playing with this monster, anyway. He decided not to let anything faze him anymore. Hyukjin took the lead, and Sung-gu followed. ¡°Hey, Hyukjin. I¡¯m really curious about something.¡± ¡°Mm.¡± ¡°You¡¯re honestly better at the sword than Yeonseo, right?¡± ¡°Hard to say.¡± Hyukjin believed he was several steps above Yeonseo in producing cutting force like this by using sword ki. But PVP was another matter¡ªYeonseo had an outstanding sense for PVP. ¡°The way I see it, you¡¯re stronger than Yeonseo.¡± ¡°That might be true now.¡± Hyukjin¡¯s mind flickered to Yeonseo¡¯s Guardian, the True Master of the Heavenly Demonic Mountain. ¡°But there¡¯s no doubt Yeonseo will bee stronger than me.¡± ¡°What are you saying? Didn¡¯t you say you¡¯re stronger now?¡± ¡°The art Yeonseo is learning is far better than the one I¡¯m learning. Yeonseo is learning a martial art.¡± ¡°A martial art?¡± This was a world of magic and martial arts. That in itself wasn¡¯t strange. ¡°And that martial art is the best in the world.¡± Hyukjin bet that the True Master would be extremely happy to hear this. He was a Guardian who loved when people acknowledged and extolled his merits. He was also a Guardian who would answer in turn with generous sponsorships. ¡°Once Yeonseo absorbs the Tome of the Divine Sword Physique, she¡¯ll probably bee stronger than me.¡± ¡°Mm. That so?¡± Sung-gu¡¯s eyes narrowed skeptically, but he nodded in the next beat, noticing what Hyukjin was intending. ¡®This rascal¡¯s saying that on purpose.¡¯ Hyukjin was hooking in the True Master of the Heavenly Demonic Mountain right now. What would happen if Hyukjin said all this and Yeonseo ended up being weaker than him? That would mean the True Master¡¯s martial art was weaker, considering both Yeonseo and Hyukjin had the Divine Sword Physique. Hyukjin grinned. ¡®He¡¯ll shower Yeonseo with investments, if only to make her stronger than me. For the sake of his pride.¡¯ They walked further. ¡°Hey, Hyukjin. I can feel the Clear Crystal!¡± The fire magician sensed the Clear Crystal first, something Hyukjin was happy to see. Despite Hyukjin having Eye of Perception and Observer¡¯s Eye, Sung-gu sensed it first, meaning the other man was more sensitive in this respect. ¡®That¡¯s great.¡¯ He might be kicking up a fuss with loud plaints all the time, but Choi Sung-gu was growing as he should. Before long, Hyukjin began to sense the Clear Crystal as well. Sung-gu shook his head back and forth. ¡°Holy cow.¡± He raised the Clear Crystal into the air. ¡°It¡¯s on the verge of shattering into pieces.¡± Sung-gu¡¯s gaze alternated from the Clear Crystal to Kim Hyukjin in bafflement. ¡°You¡¯re really something. I think we walked a good one hundred plus steps to get here.¡± With a single slash, not only did Hyukjin cut a crisp passage through the wall, but he also nearly destroyed the Clear Crystal. ¡°I¡¯ll break it,¡± Sung-gu declared, before destroying the Clear Crystal. [The ¡®Centipede Cave¡¯ has been cleared.] [Distributing the ¡®Black Pearl Centipede¡¯s Corpse¡¯ as the clear reward for the ¡®Centipede Cave¡¯.] The Black Pearl Centipede¡¯s Corpse was sent to Sung-gu¡¯s Inventory. No wonder it had disappeared¡ªit had been converted into a System reward. ¡°Eurgh, I don¡¯t want this shit!¡± Sung-gu shuddered in disgust as he took out the Black Pearl Centipede¡¯s Corpse from his Inventory. The great corpse appeared with a resounding thud, looking exactly as it had when it was alive. It was clickable, and therefore, it could be transferred into one¡¯s Inventory. Hyukjin stowed the Black Pearl Centipede¡¯s Corpse away. ¡°I¡¯ll take this.¡± ¡°Okay, please do.¡± They cleared Plum Blossom Island¡¯s Centipede Cave. As Hyukjin thought, there was something special about the place. ¡®I obtained and absorbed the Tome of the Divine Sword Physique here.¡¯ That wasn¡¯t the only important milestone. ¡®Through that, I acquired a new ability called Sword Ki.¡¯ And that allowed him to get ¡®By Following the Traces of the Sword Forest¡¯. Ever since he met Elder Bufafa, he knew that the Sword Forest was an actual place. Here, he managed to get another clue about Isabel and Elder Bufafa¡¯s homeland, the Sword Forest. ¡®For now¡­¡¯ He decided to go back home and rest a little. * * * Translator ¨C Lei Proofreader ¨C Ash * * * Kim Ahyoung cooked a gochujang stew. She made the stock with anchovy and radish, then plopped slices of pork neck she had seared into the boiling red soup. ¡®Are the braised short ribs done?¡¯ She marinated the short ribs in a specially made BBQ sauce for over twelve hours, then slow-braised them another twelve hours in a steamer. ¡°Kim Darong. Wait.¡± Kim Darong froze in the middle of reaching for the short ribs like he was bound by magic. ¡°Sit.¡± Kim Darong sat. [;;;] Saliva dripped from his mouth. Kim Ahyoung stared at the squirrel. Kim Darong being here meant Hyukjin would soon arrive as well. It was obvious that the squirrel had scrambled up in a frenzy after smelling the short ribs, incapable of waiting for the elevator. Ahyoung said firmly, ¡°Wait. You¡¯ll get some after we eat.¡± Ahyoung made her standing clear. Darongi didn¡¯t dare defy her. He waited, sucking hungrily on his paw. Beep¨Cbeep¨Cbeep¨Cbeep. The front door lock beeped. ¡°Smells good.¡± ¡°I just threw something together out of boredom.¡± There was clearly far too much work put into the meal for it to have been made out of boredom. On the table was a pot of piping hot gochujang stew, delicious-smelling braised beef short ribs, and a flourish of bright red kimchi that looked freshly made. ¡°I just made it for practice, so eat it or don¡¯t eat it, I don¡¯t care,¡± Ahyoung said curtly. ¡°Thanks. I¡¯ll gladly eat, Noona. I was pretty hungry. I¡¯ll do the dishes¡ªor actually, Darongi will do them.¡± Darongi was good at doing the dishes, too. He was a pet of many talents. [;;;] Darongi expressed his reluctance with sweat marks, ¡°I¡¯ll give you plenty of short ribs.¡± ¡­but he quickly accepted the deal. ¡°Noona. Thank you so much. It¡¯s really, super good.¡± ¡°¡­¡± She was definitely good enough to aspire to bee a chef. ¡°Have you looked into getting a new instructor? That, err, super famous chef you told me about?¡± Ahyoung was currently doing assistant work in a Korean restaurant. Even though she was working hard, she wasn¡¯t learning anything satisfactory, so she told him she wanted to find a better instructor. ¡°I did, but¡­¡± Ahyoung¡¯s expression darkened a little. ¡°What? He¡¯s too busy?¡± ¡°Guess so. It¡¯s not like I have any particular work experience or anything. Just some shabby kitchen assistant work.¡± ¡°That so?¡± Hyukjin placed a tender chunk of short rib on his white rice, then put a piece of fresh kimchi on top. When he brought it all to his mouth, the rich flavor of the short ribs and the sweet and sour aroma of the fresh kimchi melted in a harmonious symphony on his tongue. ¡°What¡¯s that chef¡¯s name?¡± ¡°Michael.¡± ¡°Ah. Michael?¡± Hyukjin remembered who that was. ¡®Michelle¡¯s little brother?¡¯ He was a world-famous chef. ¡®From the looks of it, she didn¡¯t even have a chance.¡¯ Michael probably didn¡¯t even agree to meet Ahyoung. ¡®She¡¯s still my sister. He should have at least given her a chance.¡¯ He wasn¡¯t just making it up¡ªAhyoung¡¯s cooking was really delicious. Hyukjin couldn¡¯t force Michael to teach his sister, but he could make the chef meet her once. He could give her a chance. ¡®If that doesn¡¯t work out, it¡¯s fine. I can just open a restaurant for her.¡¯ If his sister wanted, of course. Ahyoung interrupted his thoughts. ¡°Hey.¡± ¡°Hm?¡± ¡°Did you get a girlfriend?¡± Hyukjin coughed. Even the mighty Kim Hyukjin who had top Rankers and Guardians dancing on his palm was blindsided by Ahyoung¡¯s question. ¡°What are you saying all of a sudden?¡± ¡°You¡¯re sus.¡± ¡°Sus how?¡± ¡°You¡¯re just sus. There¡¯s a weird vibe around you.¡± ¡°¡­¡± ¡°Why aren¡¯t you denying it?¡± ¡°Well¡­¡± Should he call her his girlfriend? How should he introduce her? She was his bride, but it was contractual. Should he say that she was a sword? His thoughts were a bit of a mess. ¡°Be good to her.¡± ¡°Huh?¡± ¡°Anyone who¡¯d date a boring guy like you must be a pretty nice girl.¡± ¡°¡­¡± He wanted to refute her, but she was also kinda right. Hyukjin finished eating, did the dishes with Kim Darong, and went back to his room. Today, like always, there was a Yellow Charm stuck to the underside of his desk. ¡®It¡¯s there again.¡¯ His sister replaced the charm every day. She didn¡¯t seem to tire of it. It was stupid, but Hyukjin was truly grateful for such foolishness. He sat at the desk and organized his thoughts. There was much to do. He decided to start with the task he could finish most quickly and easily. Hyukjin contacted one of the members of Giantgod, the future Typhoon, Jo Sunghyun. ¡°Let¡¯s have a quick chat.¡± There were a few things they needed to discuss about the contract. ____ Chapter 250 Chapter 250 ¨CLet¡¯s have a quick chat. Hyukjin and Jo Sunghyun met up. Sunghyun was taciturn by nature. Only in front of Choi Sung-gu and Kim Hyukjin did he bee talkative, although naturally, his attitude in front of Sung-gu and Hyukjin were day and night apart. Their meeting place of choice was Giantgod Guild¡¯s office. Offices of guilds like Taeguk Shield or Blood and Iron Lion had formally dressed secretaries or attendants to escort visitors or brew tea, but Giantgod didn¡¯t have anything like that. It was just the two of them in the office. ¡°Here¡¯s the contract, Hyung.¡± Sunghyun took out the contract from his Inventory. Inside the yellow manila envelope was the agreement Sunghyun was making with the government. Hyukjin read through the document. ¡°To sum it up¡­ In exchange for getting the government¡¯s support, you must immediately respond to the government¡¯s requests for assistance.¡± He looked up from the contract. ¡°What support are they offering?¡± ¡°Lending me special transportation means like helicopters, as you saw before. Allowing me to use the bus-exclusive lane on the highway. The right to direct civilians in an emergency. Stuff like that.¡± Hyukjin¡¯s brow furrowed a little. ¡°Is that all?¡± ¡°Yes.¡± ¡°Listen to me, Sunghyun. Needing a helicopter would mean it¡¯s an emergency situation, right?¡± ¡°Yes, it would.¡± ¡°In an emergency situation, do you want the helicopter more urgently, or does the government?¡± ¡°¡­¡± When Sunghyun thought about it for a bit, the government was more pressed to use the helicopter than him¡ªthey had to put out the fire quickly. ¡°The government is the one pressed for time. Same goes for the bus-exclusive highway lane or whatever. And the right to direct the civilians, can you even call that a right?¡± Sunghyun might think of it as one, considering how much value he put on the ¡®public good¡¯ and ¡®justice¡¯. That was how some people might see it, and Hyukjin didn¡¯t think that was a bad thing. ¡°They call it a right, but it¡¯ll actually bee an obligation, a liability. What do you think will happen if you fail to exercise your directing rights and an unfortunate accident occurs? You¡¯ll be the one held responsible.¡± ¡°¡­Is that so?¡± ¡°All the government has to do is put the blame on you. An outstanding Player like yourself failed to properly control the situation, resulting in an accident. Case closed.¡± Hyukjin scoffed. ¡®Just look at these jerks.¡¯ There wasn¡¯t a single ¡°privilege¡± that deserved to be called a privilege. No matter how early they were in the days of Playing, the government was trying to have their cake and eat it. ¡°I didn¡¯t want to get involved in your contracts if at all possible, but¡­¡± Sunghyun had thoughts of his own, and those decisions were entitled to respect. ¡°You said this contract is still provisional, right?¡± ¡°Yes.¡± ¡°Have you gotten any contract money?¡± ¡°No.¡± Other than using the helicopter once during the recent Immortal Fleet Gate incident, Sunghyun didn¡¯t owe the government a single thing. ¡°Then go ahead and just annul it.¡± ¡°Okay.¡± Hyukjin was caught off-guard by Sunghyun agreeing so readily. ¡°You¡¯re not going to ask why?¡± ¡°I believe the reason isn¡¯t important.¡± But Hyukjin was still baffled¡ªhe had expected Sunghyun to at least ask why. ¡°If you say so, Hyung, it must be so.¡± Sunghyun was a taciturn person. Except when he was with Sung-gu, he didn¡¯t say much, and he wasn¡¯t the type to joke. Hyukjin¡¯s Eye of Perception captured Sunghyun¡¯s status. Summary: Little Brother Obeying His Hyung That meant at least in this moment, he wasn¡¯t a ¡®wind mage¡¯ obeying his hyung, but a ¡®little brother¡¯ obeying his hyung. Hyukjin was a little confused. ¡®Hold on, is this a good thing?¡¯ It was hard to say. Sunghyun was an amazing Player in his own right. In Hyukjin¡¯s past, he was one of the 8 Heroes. A titan like the Typhoon changing his mind at a single word from Hyukjin, was that really a good thing? ¡°Sunghyun.¡± ¡°Yes, Hyung.¡± ¡°I¡¯m grateful that you trust me, but it¡¯s okay for you to give greater weight to your thoughts. It¡¯s not like I¡¯m a god or anything, and I¡¯ll support and help you with your Playing outside of the guild wherever I can.¡± ¡°Yes. I¡¯ll do so in the future.¡± Sunghyun nodded, and his next words showed that he had accurately grasped Hyukjin¡¯s feelings. ¡°You¡¯re not telling me to pletely sack the agreement, right?¡± ¡°Yeah, that¡¯s right.¡± Hyukjin was telling him to reject the current contract and e up with a new set of conditions, not pletely give up on it. ¡®Yeah, so Sunghyun did have thoughts of his own when he answered me.¡¯ That reassured Hyukjin a little. It wouldn¡¯t be right if one of the 8 Heroes of his past were to be reduced to a puppet. ¡°What conditions should I make sure are included?¡± ¡°For now, tax exemption.¡± In the future, a huge amount of taxes would be levied on Players. They would be categorized as ultra-high earners and made to pay 50% of their ine in taxes. Put simply, if a Player earned $1000, $500 would be taken as taxes. ¡°Also, guaranteed priority pick for items.¡± Sunghyun had to secure first pick on the items acquired when clearing dungeons and gates with regular party members who weren¡¯t contracted with the government. ¡°And erase any terms like patriotism and devotion altogether.¡± ¡®Patriotism¡¯ and ¡®devotion¡¯ were noble values, but they were unconditionally unfavorable to Sunghyun. As soon as abstract words like that wormed their way into the contract, they would drag Sunghyun down. Because whatever the situation, Sunghyun would be made to sacrifice himself on the grounds of ¡®patriotism¡¯ or ¡®devotion¡¯. It was better to have concrete terms in a contract. ¡°Lastly, put in a special clause that states your Giantgod Guild work takes priority over your government work.¡± ¡°Will they really accept?¡± ¡°Probably not.¡± Because once there was a precedent, the government¡¯s perceived losses would be significant. Sunghyun grinned, his expression somewhat reminiscent of Hyukjin¡¯s smile. ¡°If they don¡¯t accept, then I need to make them accept.¡± His summary changed. Summary: Little Brother Who Wants to Bee Like His Beloved Hyung And one day later, their proposal was rejected, just as Hyukjin and Sunghyun had expected. * * * Translator ¨C Lei Proofreader ¨C Ash * * * CEO Song Kiyoung was a man of great repute not just in Korea, but in the whole world. He was the leader of the global conglomerate Sungshin, as well as the true owner and sponsor of Taeguk Shield. It was even said that he ruled Korea. There weren¡¯t many who could meet a giant like him willy-nilly. Random people might have had the chance to meet him back when he was still searching for a hair loss cure, but not anymore. ¡°I think you must be pretty much the only person who can spring a visit on me like this and still get a meeting with me.¡± CEO Song laughed breathily. He didn¡¯t look particularly displeased. ¡°Ah. Is the young lad next to you the famous wind magician, Jo Sunghyun?¡± They exchanged simple greetings. CEO Song seemed to know why Hyukjin had e to see him. ¡°If this is about the contract with the government, you should be talking to the government officials, not me. Why did you e to me?¡± Hyukjin smiled. ¡°Because you are the CEO of the Korean Players Association. Don¡¯t you think you need to protect the interests of the Players?¡± ¡°¡­¡± Song Kiyoung was speechless for a moment. ¡°You aren¡¯t wrong.¡± Hyukjin continued. ¡°Players came to meet the CEO of the KPA, but the CEO of the KPA spoke to us not as the leader of the KPA, but as the leader of a conglomerate possessing financial power and authority.¡± ¡°It was my mistake.¡± ¡°It must be because you have the real financial power and authority.¡± Hyukjin hadn¡¯t forgotten the fact that the personnel department head of the second gen KPA¡ªwhich publicly announced it had no connection to the government¡ªwas Kim Kangchul. That meant they weren¡¯t pletely unrelated to the government. Even after CEO Song¡¯s death, Korea remained in Sungshin¡¯s clutches. ¡®I guess it¡¯s a bit of a stretch to put it like that.¡¯ That might be an exaggeration, but in any case, it was a definite fact that Song Kiyoung was capable of exerting his influence on the government. ¡°That¡¯s quite a dangerous thing to say so nonchalantly. If you say that in public somewhere, you¡¯ll get me stoned for being a businessman in bed with politics.¡± ¡°Sometimes, the truth is unfortable for the public to hear.¡± Sunghyun watched the conversation between Kim Hyukjin and Song Kiyoung in silence. Truth was, Sunghyun was on tenterhooks right up until they entered the room. In front of him was the leader of a chaebol conglomerate, a legend he had only seen on TV. But as soon as they arrived, his nervousness faded. ¡®Hyukjin hyung isn¡¯t at all cowed by CEO Song Kiyoung.¡¯ That realization soothed his nerves. The big and mighty CEO Song now felt like a mountain he could surmount. It was amazing, and it renewed one of Sunghyun¡¯s convictions. ¡®Deciding to work with Hyukjin hyung was a stroke of genius.¡¯ He decided to learn Hyukjin¡¯s speech, actions, even the look in his eye. Sunghyun had the feeling that everything about Hyukjin was nourishment for his growth. ¡°Whether the truth is unfortable or not, whether there are businessmen who are in bed with politics or not, none of that is important to me,¡± said Hyukjin. ¡°What¡¯s important to me is that I have the ability to open a field where plenty of Predator Seeds can be acquired.¡± ¡°So you want to make a deal.¡± ¡°Yes. I¡¯m sure you know that Taeguk Shield has successfully advanced into the Boracay server.¡± ¡°Indeed. I hear a lot of mana crystals are dropped there. You were right.¡± Taeguk Shield¡¯s Squad 2 was active in Boracay. ¡°Aren¡¯t you making a pharmaceutical facility based on those mana crystals?¡± ¡°Did Kiyeol tell you that?¡± ¡°No, of course not. That would have earned him a harsh reprimanding from you. If someone with an eye on Sungshin¡¯s reins were to make such a mistake, I would have cut ties with Guildmaster Song Kiyeol.¡± Song Kiyoung smiled happily. ¡®I suppose he heard the news that we¡¯re investing heavily in pharmaceutical development and made the connection to mana crystals.¡¯ Kim Hyukjin was definitely no ordinary fellow. A pharmaceutical industry using mana crystals was a path no one had attempted yet, at least publicly. It certainly wasn¡¯t information available to regular people. ¡°Continuing your research on mana crystals will be of great help to you, CEO Song.¡± ¡°I¡¯m of the understanding that our discussions on mana crystals and Predator Tree Seeds are already resolved. Bringing them up again now is a little lacking to serve as a trade condition, don¡¯t you think?¡± ¡°Miracle will be quite helpful.¡± ¡°Miracle?¡± ¡°Guildmaster Song Junghye should know about it. About Miracle.¡± Miracle was originally known as a hangover cure. But later on, Miracle¡¯s uses surpassed being a simple cure for hangovers. It was used as an assist item for the production of all kinds of drugs. The prices of the same two drugs would vary depending on whether Miracle was in the ingredients list or not. In time, Miracle would be called ¡®the miraculous item without side effects¡¯. ¡°Predator Tree Seeds. Mana crystals. And Miracle. These three things should be a big help to you. In addition, I will try to find out about the Golden-Horned Dokkaebi by my own means.¡± ¡°Hm.¡± Song Kiyoung stroked his chin. Kim Hyukjin had managed to get his hands on new info¡ªthis time about something called Miracle. Saying he knew about Sungshin¡¯s investment in a mana crystal-based pharmaceutical facility was Kim Hyukjin showing off his info-gathering prowess. In other words, the young man in front of him was saying this: I have this much info-gathering prowess, and I¡¯ve also given you a hint about Miracle. I¡¯ll use my skills to find out about the Golden-Horned Dokkaebi for you, so talk things over with the government using your qualifications as the CEO of the Players Association. It was fun. He enjoyed himself every time he had a conversation with Kim Hyukjin. ¡°Very well.¡± ¡°Oh, right. One more thing. I don¡¯t know who drafted this contract, but¡­¡± ¡°As far as I know, it was drafted by the Office of National Security.¡± It didn¡¯t matter who it was, as long as Hyukjin¡¯s intentions reached them. ¡°We have close ties with Italy and the US as well.¡± Right now, Hyukjin was thinking of two people. The US sovereign Michelle, and the Italian info merchant Pietro. ¡°Giantgod Guild picking up camp and moving elsewhere is one option available to us.¡± Of course, he didn¡¯t actually intend on leaving the country. Both his older sister and mother liked Korea. He also hadn¡¯t asked the members of Giantgod what they thought, but that was because he didn¡¯t really intend on emigrating. Song Kiyoung smiled again. ¡°The higher ups will have a fit when they hear that.¡± ¡°I trust you will smooth things over to prevent any fits from happening.¡± Song Kiyoung didn¡¯t agree or refuse. Instead, he said, ¡°I have a request.¡± ¡°Please speak.¡± ¡°I need a flower that looks like this.¡± Hyukjin took a picture from CEO Song, then nodded. ¡°I will get it for you in the near future.¡± ¡°You know what this is?¡± ¡°I think so, yes.¡± ¡°Hahaha. Even explorers didn¡¯t know. You really know what it is?¡± Hyukjin shrugged. ¡°One flower delivered to your doorstep will mean far more than a hundred words now.¡± ¡°That¡¯s true. I look forward to it.¡± Song Kiyoung was a little surprised. This young man seemed to bee more and more fascinating by the day. It seemed Kim Hyukjin knew the location of a ¡®flower¡¯ even explorers didn¡¯t know about. It was possible that Hyukjin was just bluffing to show off his intel-gathering ability, but somehow, CEO Song got the feeling that wasn¡¯t the case. Hyukjin seemed to really know it. ¡®He¡¯s truly fascinating.¡¯ As he watched Kim Hyukjin walk away, Song Kiyoung once again recalled his dead son. If his son was alive, would he have grown to be like Hyukjin? ¡®No.¡¯ He loved his son, and thought of his son as a true talent. But he was suddenly struck with the thought that even his son wouldn¡¯t have been equal to Kim Hyukjin. ¡®They say heroes are made by the times.¡¯ If Song Kiyoung had to guess, the hero of this irrevocably changed world¡­ would probably end up being Kim Hyukjin. * * * Hyukjin and Sunghyun left the CEO¡¯s office. As they waited for the elevator, Sunghyun asked, ¡°Are negotiations¡­ usually this easy?¡± ¡°Depends on who does them, I guess. Negotiations are all done by people, after all.¡± ¡°Will the CEO of the KPA really assist us?¡± ¡°He will.¡± He wasn¡¯t certain, but Hyukjin guessed there was a deep relationship between the government and Sungshin. The government would definitely accept their offer. ¡°Thank you. I learned a lot today. What are you going to do now, Hyung?¡± ¡°Me?¡± Hyukjin glanced behind him. Senia happened to appear right as he did. ¡°I¡¯m going to open the Sky Gate. In a safe place.¡± His party members were mostly good to go. Now, it was time for Hyukjin to advance his own ¡®true scenario¡¯. ¡®I¡¯m going to the sky.¡¯ ____ Chapter 251 Chapter 251 ¡°We have arrived,¡± said the driver¡¯s voice. They were in front of the D-Tower, near the bus station. Hyukjin sat in a daze for a moment, still mired in thoughts of the Sky Gate, then got out upon feeling the door opening next to him. ¡®Ah.¡¯ He realized he¡¯d made a mistake. He overheard a couple nearby¡ªthey were talking quietly, but his sharp ears captured every word. ¡°What¡¯s with that dude?¡± ¡°Is he rich or something?¡± ¡°I¡¯ve never seen anything like that.¡± ¡°They even opened the door for him. Even though he looks super young.¡± ¡°He must have been born into money.¡± Hyukjin quickly used Cognitive Dissonance. Their reactions made sense. Someone rolling up in a super-luxury black sedan and having the door opened for them by a chauffeur in a suit wasn¡¯t something he¡¯d ever seen on the street, either. ¡®Next time, I should get out in the underground parking lot.¡¯ Even something as minor as this drew attention. He decided to go up by elevator from the underground parking lot next time. He could also open the door on his own. It was just that his mind was so deeply engrossed with thoughts of the Sky Gate today. Hyukjin walked into the D-Tower and heard a notice. [Enter the Tutorial Building?] The D-Tower had long since become the Tutorial Building. As soon as he entered the 1st floor, he saw a lot of Players. ¡®I¡¯ll be going to the 2nd floor.¡¯ The Tutorial Building was a safe zone, the place where he first crossed paths with the Demon King, and as far as he knew, the first person to open the 2nd floor was the Demon King. In addition, this was the field mentioned by the Sky Feather that was the ¡®Clue Regarding the Sky of Freedom¡¯. That was why he came here. ¡°Excuse me. Are you trying to go to the 2nd floor?¡± asked a woman who looked to be in her mid-20s. ¡°Yes, I am.¡± ¡°Even if you go up, there¡¯s nothing there.¡± ¡°I am aware.¡± ¡°Then why are you trying to go up there?¡± The woman¡¯s face seemed somewhat familiar to Hyukjin. Eye of Perception revealed that her name was Kang Somyi. ¡®Ah, Kang Somyi.¡¯ She was a fairly well-known explorer-class Player in Korea, one who was always wrapped in bandages to cover the terrible burn scars on her face. That was why he didn¡¯t recognize her. ¡®She hasn¡¯t been burned yet.¡¯ He checked her summary. Summary: Curious Explorer Hyukjin asked back, ¡°Do I need to explain my actions to you?¡± ¡°You sure are prickly.¡± Kang Somyi smiled, not seeming terribly put off. ¡°I just talked to you because you¡¯re good-looking.¡± ¡°Thank you.¡± ¡°Is that all you have to say?¡± ¡°Yes. I¡¯m busy right now.¡± Hyukjin went to stand in front of the escalator going to the 2nd floor without engaging further. ¡®How amusing.¡¯ Meeting Kang Somyi was just a minor event in the grand scheme of things, but¡­ ¡®She managed to see through my Cognitive Dissonance?¡¯ He hadn¡¯t dispelled Cognitive Dissonance yet, but Kang Somyi saw that Hyukjin was heading to the escalator and even started talking to him. Moreover, she told him he was ¡®good-looking¡¯. ¡®That¡¯s subjective, so whatever.¡¯ He didn¡¯t assign much meaning to her compliment. The important thing was that she was able to penetrate Cognitive Dissonance and discern his appearance. [Go up to the 2nd Floor?] He went up. Senia followed closely behind. ¡°Why¡¯d you remove your transparency mode all of a sudden?¡± ¡°Do you know that female Player?¡± ¡°No. It¡¯s my first time seeing her.¡± ¡°Really?¡± ¡°Why?¡± ¡°It¡¯s nothing.¡± She disappeared as abruptly as she had appeared. Somehow, she gave Hyukjin the impression of a jealous girlfriend, and he probably wasn¡¯t just imagining it. It seemed the Arrow-Shooting Cupid¡¯s influence was still lingering. Still, she probably wouldn¡¯t fall victim to the Guardian¡¯s tricks again after his stern warning. He thought of the issue as one that would be resolved by time. A voice sounded in his head. (Hmph, she knows my husband is good-looking.) Why there was so much brouhaha involved with something as trivial as going to the 2nd floor of the D-Tower, he didn¡¯t know. (Maybe I should just put my stamp on your forehead.) Hyukjin instantly felt cold sweat run down his back. With the partial lifting of Isabel¡¯s seal and his increased Willpower, their mental connection had grown stronger. Through their bolstered connection, he could see exactly what she meant. An illusion flashed through his mind. It was a terrifying image of his forehead on fire, and the word ¡®husband¡¯ branded on his forehead. His mind urged him to break the illusion in order to survive. Isabel, please don¡¯t make me use an incantation on you. Isabel laughed with merriment. (Uhaha. Well, alright. You being handsome is a good thing for me, too. Seriously, you¡¯re too good-looking for your own good.) Hyukjin just smiled. This Sword Forest artifact, this mysterious item bearing the same name as the Queen of the Sword Forest, was exactly the picture of a wife in the honeymoon phase. After some ¡°complications¡±, he reached the 2nd floor. There was nothing there, as expected. ¡®This is where the hidden shop opened.¡¯ He thought back to that time. Back then, he never thought things would turn out like this, but less than one year had passed. Life was truly unpredictable. Seeing the place again felt different now. ¡°Senia. I¡¯ll be activating the Sky Gate here.¡± ¡°Understood. I will soon open my channel and stream accordingly. But before that, there¡¯s something I want to say.¡± ¡°What is it?¡± A blast of smoke went off with a bang. Darongi was startled from his snooze on Hyukjin¡¯s shoulder and fell to the floor. ¡°Tada!¡± The voice was coming from a scissor floating in the air. ¡®Shobidobi.¡¯ It was Shobidobi, the editor who pretty much failed as an Intermediate Administrator but would later achieve success when editors became a thing. He was, in other words, a top-notch editor. He couldn¡¯t make something out of nothing, but he could make treasure out of something. ¡°I¡¯ll introduce myself. I¡¯m Shobidobi. I¡¯m a scissorpen, a minority race, and was an Intermediate Administrator up until a few days ago.¡± The scissor moved on its own, making snipping motions in the air with crisp clangs. ¡°Are you that amazing one and only Kim Hyukjin content I¡¯ve heard so much about?¡± ¡°I don¡¯t know about amazing one and only, but I¡¯m Kim Hyukjin, yeah.¡± ¡°Why¡¯re you speaking to me so casually?¡± ¡°Because you did it first. Are you unhappy about it?¡± ¡°No, not at all.¡± Shobidobi snipped quickly. ¡°It was just fascinating to me to meet a Player who spoke down to me.¡± Senia said, ¡°Shobidobi told me he wanted to meet Player Kim Hyukjin once before signing a contract with us.¡± It was entirely sensible. Of course he¡¯d want to see his prospective partner¡¯s skills before signing a contract. ¡°Alright.¡± ¡°I will take that as your consent, Player Kim Hyukjin.¡± ¡°Okay.¡± They didn¡¯t just have his consent, but his full support. It would be frustrating to work together if they knew each other in name but not in practice. It was probably the same for Shobidobi. He wouldn¡¯t be able to edit Hyukjin¡¯s content well if he didn¡¯t experience Hyukjin¡¯s Playing for himself. ¡®Because Shobidobi is a genius in editing.¡¯ The structure, direction, and appropriate music would probably occur to him just by seeing Hyukjin in action. Shobidobi said, ¡°Alrighty, then. What are you gonna do now?¡± ¡°Open the Sky Gate.¡± ¡°The Sky Gate?¡± A large book materialized in front of Shobidobi. ¡°What¡¯s the Sky Gate?¡± He eagerly flipped through the manual, but after searching for a long time, Shobidobi shook his body. The human equivalent would be something like tilting his head. ¡°It¡¯s not in the manual?¡± ¡°Looks like it hasn¡¯t been updated.¡± ¡°Huh? It hasn¡¯t been updated?¡± Shobidobi quivered. ¡°Ah. I¡¯ve heard about this before.¡± Shobidobi was originally an Intermediate Administrator in the German server. ¡°Isn¡¯t this that legendary Korean Style?¡± * * * Translator ¨C Lei Proofreader ¨C Ash * * * In the past, Hyukjin destroyed a ¡®Gray-Ringed Clear Crystal¡¯ in the hidden field of the Gran Seoul Dungeon. [Gray-Ringed Clear Crystal] A ¡®Single-Ringed Crystal¡¯ that exists only in the hidden field of the Gran Seoul Dungeon. Upon this crystal¡¯s destruction, the voluntary growth of Players in all servers on the dimension Earth will be limited to 60. Players will only be able to grow past 60 if they destroy a ¡®Double-Ringed Crystal¡¯. *Voluntary growth limit: 60 *The Player who destroys this Clear Crystal will be given a ¡®Clue Regarding the Sky of Freedom¡¯. He was given a Sky Feather as the Clue Regarding the Sky of Freedom, and that Sky Feather pointed him to where he was now, the 2nd floor of the Gwanghwamun D-Tower. This was where he would be opening the Sky Gate. Hyukjin pulled out an item. [Canvas of Longing] A white canvas filled with longing towards the sky. It once belonged to an angel statue who was betrayed by their brethren and lost their freedom. *Can activate the ¡®Sky Gate¡¯ by using the ¡®Fountain Pen of Freedom¡¯. *Cannot be used by a Player. He also took out the Fountain Pen of Freedom. [Fountain Pen of Freedom] A fountain pen that can only be used by the destroyer of the Gray Ring. It can write ¡®freedom¡¯ onto the canvas that longs for freedom. *Can activate the ¡®Sky Gate¡¯ by using the ¡®Canvas of Longing¡¯. Since Hyukjin destroyed the ¡®Gray Ring¡¯, he could use this fountain pen. With the Canvas of Longing and the Fountain Pen of Freedom, he could open the Sky Gate. ¡°I¡¯m going to use the Canvas of Freedom.¡± Senia provided the appropriate question. ¡°Player Kim Hyukjin is a Player. How does a Player intend on using this item?¡± ¡°Like this.¡± He pulled out another item. Fight fire with fire, and settings with settings. All he had to do was involve a setting that could trump the other. [Freedom Elixir] The final elixir created by the Towermaster of the 7th Magic Tower, Ragnoa. Upon ingesting ¡®Freedom¡¯, you can freely erase one System-stipulated ¡®penalty¡¯. Applies to all ¡®settings that impose a restriction¡¯. The entire process was truly convoluted. Opening a single Sky Gate involved the Demon King, the Dewinged Angel Statue, and even the Gran Seoul Dungeon¡¯s hidden field, plus the field was impossible to activate in the first place without a special qualification. ¡°Will you really use Freedom? Player Kim Hyukjin, you could use that to erase your class penalty.¡± ¡°If I was going to do that, I would have used it long ago.¡± Shobidobi watched the conversation between the two with interest. ¡®Oho.¡¯ They were pretending to converse, but they were actually feeding information to the Guardians. He decided to focus on them a little more closely. [Using the elixir, Freedom.] [Erasing the Canvas of Longing¡¯s penalty using Freedom¡¯s settings.] The ¡®unusable by a Player¡¯ stipulation was erased. As he watched Kim Hyukjin, Shobidobi was struck by inspiration. ¡®Huh¡­?¡¯ Although video editing was a new concept to Intermediate Administrators, Shobidobi, a born editing genius, had an inkling of what it was. He was starting to get a sense for it. He snipped vigorously by himself. Snip! Snip! Snip! ¡°I¡¯m getting¡­ inspiration!¡± Snip! Snip! Snip! ¡°I think I can create video art!¡± Snip! Snip! Snip! ¡°The contract! That¡¯s right! Miss Senia, let¡¯s sign the contract at once! I think I¡¯ve found my hidden talent. Thanks to this Korean Style!¡± Snip! Snip! Snip! ¡°Korean Style. Bravo!¡± Meanwhile, Hyukjin floated the Canvas of Longing into the air, where it hung unaided. Golden dust fell from the canvas. In his right hand, he held the Fountain Pen of Freedom. Once he wrote the word ¡®freedom¡¯, every condition would be met. Letter by letter, he wrote. [Freedom.] ¡®Freedom¡¯ was written on the Canvas of Longing, and with it, the entire 2nd floor of the D-Tower began to change. The once-empty space expanded. [Restructuring the field due to the fulfillment of a special condition.] A wide expanse stretched out around him. Hyukjin knew what this place was based on. ¡®The Dewinged Angel Statue Gate.¡¯ [Generating the ¡®Sky Gate¡¯.] A massive gate identical to the one that had produced the Four-Winged Angel Statue appeared. ¡®I¡¯m going up.¡¯ Hyukjin¡¯s body lifted automatically, slowly floating towards the Sky Gate. He wasn¡¯t moving his body himself; it was an automatic response to his desire to reach the gate. He drew closer to the Sky Gate. From up close, the aura of splendor it gave off was tremendous. It felt huge. The powerful mana current whirlpooling inside the Sky Gate gave him the impression that a little misstep could sweep him into the current and tear him asunder. He stopped right in front of the Sky Gate. There was nothing under his feet, but Hyukjin was able to stand firmly upright. ¡®I¡¯m going in.¡¯ He walked through the Sky Gate. With his own two feet. [Entering the ¡®Sky Gate¡¯.] Hyukjin passed through. The notices continued. [Registering the recorded stigma of destroying the Gray-Ringed Crystal.] [The Sky Gate allows the ¡®Destroyer of the Gray Ring¡¯ to enter.] Hyukjin felt an electrifying spark run through his body. It wasn¡¯t painful, but he could tell. ¡®Only the destroyer of the Gray Ring can go through.¡¯ He went through the Sky Gate, and once again, a new field spread out before him. ____ Chapter 252 Chapter 252 Hyukjin could tell. ¡®If I wasn¡¯t the destroyer of the Gray Ring¡­ I wouldn¡¯t have been able to come here, and even if I did¡­¡¯ The destructive sensation that had just swept through his body would have completely demolished him. It was truly a good thing that he had chosen the ¡®Gray Ring¡¯ in the Gran Seoul Dungeon¡¯s hidden field. Looking at the Players¡¯ current rate of growth, breaching the 40s appeared doable, unlike in the past. ¡®The countless people who weren¡¯t able to overcome the level 40 wall¡­¡¯ Now, those Players whose growth had technically been artificially restricted would be able to grow by leaps and bounds, at least until level 60. ¡®Anyway, let¡¯s focus on this place.¡¯ [A new field, Sea of Clouds, has been opened.] Sea of Clouds. Just as the name suggested, it was a sea made of clouds. He saw a pure white sea. [Entering the Sea of Clouds.] Hyukjin¡¯s body instantly tilted. He immediately recovered his balance. ¡®The footing has changed.¡¯ The ground had turned into clouds. ¡®I need to keep moving.¡¯ If he didn¡¯t, he would sink. The clouds felt plushie under his feet. For the time being, he walked to avoid sinking down. ¡®It¡¯s huge.¡¯ The Sea of Clouds was truly enormous. He couldn¡¯t even fathom how many meters lay between him and the faraway horizon. The same went for the depth. He couldn¡¯t see down to the depths of this white ocean. ¡°I¡¯m at a loss,¡± Hyukjin said. There didn¡¯t appear to be many clues on what to do. All he could see was a sea of clouds. But there had to be a clue somewhere, a trail towards the clear. He intentionally said he was at a loss to get the Guardians to empathize with him. ¡°There aren¡¯t any clues I can see with my eyes.¡± Waves of clouds came in like in a real ocean. They were even accompanied by the sound of rushing water. He continued to walk. If his exploration of the surrounding area turned up empty, he would have to explore the Sea of Clouds¡¯ depths. ¡®The keywords given to me are¡­¡¯ Freedom. Sky. Endless Sky. These three. And if he were to add one more¡ª ¡®The Demon King¡¯s arrangements.¡¯ He had to proceed with these four factors in mind. After walking for some time, he saw something far above him. It was odd calling it a sky seeing as this was an ocean made of clouds, but in any case, there was something flying around in the sky. ¡®Extremely high up.¡¯ Something kept flying up there. He couldn¡¯t see it clearly. ¡°The fact that there¡¯s a sea and it¡¯s flying around¡­ means there¡¯s a high chance it has someplace it can rest.¡± In other words, there was probably a ¡°shore¡± somewhere. Of course, there were also fields out there that didn¡¯t prescribe to such expectations, but this was a special field involving countless arrangements and settings. There was a good chance it had something of the sort lined up. ¡®If there are birds in the sky¡­ there must be fish in the sea.¡¯ Just then, Eye of Perception captured something. Something huge, and fast. He felt it some distance underneath, far beneath the surface. ¡®It¡¯s getting closer.¡¯ He didn¡¯t detect murderous intent or hostility from it, but its presence was simply too huge. So huge, in fact, that it made Hyukjin back away. ¡®Here it comes.¡¯ That thing, whatever it was, surged up some distance ahead of him. Sploshhh¨C! It breached the surface, appearing in a spray of clouds. ¡®A whale?¡¯ The enormous whale-like creature sprang out of the clouds, its unique coloring strikingly obvious. ¡®A white whale.¡¯ It was a pure white whale of tremendous proportions. A great spout of clouds emerged from its blowhole instead of water. But just then, the thing flying around in the sky began to approach at a rapid speed. ¡®What¡¯s going on?¡¯ Just how high up had it been? What had originally appeared as small as a sparrow became incredibly large as it approached. ¡®That¡¯s¡­¡¯ It was a monster he knew. ¡®A wyvern.¡¯ The flying creature was a wyvern, a monster classified as a subspecies of the ultimate species that existed only in the settings, dragons. It also went by the name of ¡®flying lizard¡¯. There were many different variants of wyverns, and of them, this one was a Steel Wyvern, the most violent of them all. Not the strongest, but the most violent. That was how ferocious they were. ¡®Though well, whether it¡¯s ferocious or not isn¡¯t the issue with a wyvern.¡¯ A wyvern wasn¡¯t something that should appear in the beginner period. It didn¡¯t matter whether the monsters that showed up after the beginner period were aggressive or docile. Most of them were hostile monsters, and they either nursed intense enmity towards humans or considered humans prey. ¡®But the fact that it earned its violent reputation in spite of that¡­¡¯ Was due to its extreme gluttony. The Steel Wyvern was a major glutton that scrambled to gobble down everything it could see. In the Great Explorer Jackson¡¯s notes, there was a passage like this: ¨CIf there is a field that should certainly have a lot of monsters but doesn¡¯t, and if there is a gorge in the area, then we must consider the possibility of a Steel Wyvern¡¯s existence. Kiiiiiiiiiii¡ª! The Steel Wyvern plummeted down, this flying lizard with scales of a color somewhere between blue and black tearing into the white whale¡¯s body. The white whale thrashed in pain, producing massive sprays of clouds dyed bright red. There was no blood, but the red clouds gave off the impression of blood. That moment, Hyukjin received a quest. [The quest ¡®Save the White Whale from Danger!¡¯ has been generated.] Kiiiiiiiii¨C! Like sharks drawn to the smell of blood, countless Steel Wyverns began descending from the sky in their direction. ¡®Save the white whale?¡¯ There was no way he could defeat that many Steel Wyverns at his current level. He would be the one ripped to shreds. ¡®Hunting them is impossible.¡¯ So ultimately, he just had to focus on ¡®saving¡¯ the white whale. ¡®Before they get any closer.¡¯ Every second counted. They were descending too quickly. [Using the special skill Flash Step.] He approached in a flash. The Steel Wyvern was currently clutching the massive whale with its sharp claws, which were lodged in the whale¡¯s skin like hooks. The wyvern beat its wings skyward, but it seemed incapable of overcoming the whale¡¯s strength and weight. The whale was trying to escape into the sea of clouds¡ª And the wyvern was trying to fish it up out of the sea. Hyukjin immediately decided what he needed to do. [Using the innate ability Sword of Insight.] He swung Isabel. Through his battle against the Black Pearl Centipede, he won the Divine Sword Physique. Hunting down a wyvern on the spot might be a challenge, but he could certainly remove the whale from the wyvern¡¯s grasp. Kieeeeek! The wyvern shrieked in pain. [You have earned the Steel Wyvern¡¯s wrath.] That instant, Hyukjin instinctively felt danger, as potent and all-encompassing as the feeling he¡¯d gotten while fleeing from the Magic Troll in the Tutorial Dungeon. A chill ran down his spine. ¡®The wyvern is coming for me.¡¯ There was no place to escape in sight, just like how there had been nowhere to escape from the Magic Troll¡¯s fist. The special ability with the power of sixth sense, Eye of Perception, blared a warning. There was no decent place to flee. The wyvern was too fast. In the end, there was only one place to run. The wyvern¡¯s beak drew near, the same sharp and sturdy beak that had punctured this huge whale¡¯s body. ¡®The only place is down.¡¯ He could see no place to flee aboveground. Nowhere, not a single place, would offer him a path of survival. No matter where he fled, he could not escape the wyvern¡¯s attack. In the end, the only place he could go to dodge the wyvern¡¯s beak was into the sea, down in the Sea of Clouds. Hyukjin immediately dove. * * * Translator ¨C Lei Proofreader ¨C Ash * * * ¡®Ngh.¡¯ Sharp claws raked his back. ¡®I¡¯m suffocating.¡¯ The Sea of Clouds was truly like a real ocean. He had never swum in the deep sea, but if he had, it would probably feel something like this. Though it looked like a white ocean from the outside, it was terribly dark from the inside. It was as if he was plunged into outer space, where not a single ray of light could be perceived. He heard a notice. [The quest ¡®Save the White Whale from Danger!¡¯ has been cleared.] He cleared it, but was given no rewards. It became increasingly difficult to breathe. The pressure in his lungs was even worse than holding his breath in the water. ¡®There must be wyverns outside.¡¯ If he surfaced, he would surely become wyvern fodder. Just then, he heard a voice. ¡°Thank you.¡± A woman appeared before him, a woman with platinum hair that only existed in fantasy novels. Her body was draped with what looked like clothing made of scales, but that clothing was actually her body itself. A splotch of red stained her side like a bloody wound. ¡°I am a descendant of the whalekin, Natalie. It¡¯s hard for you to breathe, isn¡¯t it?¡± The woman who introduced herself as Natalie extended a pill to him. The pill was called ¡®Freedom¡¯. It bore the same name as the elixir ¡®Freedom¡¯, but had a different effect. Gulp. He swallowed Freedom, and it became easier to breathe. ¡°That is a pill we whalekin made to welcome our visitors or saviors. Inside is a whale¡¯s breath. You should be able to breathe comfortably here in the Sea of Clouds.¡± ¡°Are you that whale from just now?¡± Hyukjin asked. ¡°Yes, that¡¯s right. You saved me from nearly getting eaten by the skybirds.¡± By skybird, she was probably referring to Steel Wyverns. ¡°Why did you leave the Sea of Clouds and breach the surface?¡± ¡°Because we need to breathe as well.¡± Hyukjin felt Eye of Perception tingle. He couldn¡¯t read her at all with Eye of Perception. Not even the wyvern had given him this feeling. ¡®She¡¯s far stronger than a wyvern.¡¯ It didn¡¯t seem to be that way just because they were in the Sea of Clouds. This woman possessed strength so great that the current Kim Hyukjin could not even begin to fathom how strong. ¡®She¡¯s way, way stronger than me.¡¯ So why was she losing to the wyvern? Even outside the Sea of Clouds, even if she was vulnerable on the surface, this woman should have been able to make quick work of the wyvern. ¡®I get it.¡¯ He was starting to get his bearings. Because there was one ¡°keyword¡± at the core of everything here. Hyukjin asked, ¡°Could it be¡­ that the whalekin are a race not given the freedom to attack?¡± ¡°¡­You figured it out immediately. Or did you already know about us whalekin?¡± ¡°No. It¡¯s the first time I¡¯ve ever heard about your existence.¡± And that they weren¡¯t in the sea, but in this Sea of Clouds. ¡°Though we are endowed with great strength, we cannot use it. That is the sanction we bore when abandoning our homeland.¡± The scenario was unfolding with every new morsel of background information. Hyukjin felt his mood soar. Right now, the backdrop to this secret scenario the Guardians would go nuts for was taking shape. ¡°Why did you end up leaving your homeland?¡± ¡°Because we loved peace.¡± They loved peace, but they left their homeland? ¡°In the time of our elders, waterdrakes began to settle in our homeland. We didn¡¯t want to fight the waterdrakes. Whalekin are a peace-loving race.¡± Whalekin. Waterdrakes. And Steel Wyverns. The scenario that would take place in this Sea of Clouds probably had to do with these three races, all under the huge umbrella that was ¡®Freedom¡¯. He needed a little more info. ¡°Where was your homeland?¡± The answer he received was completely unexpected. ¡°Our homeland is up there.¡± Natalie pointed up with her finger, towards the faraway sky ted with wheeling Steel Wyverns. ¡°The Endless Sky is our homeland.¡± ____ Chapter 253 Chapter 253 Hyukjin flinched. ¡°The Endless Sky?¡± ¡°Yes. Do you know it?¡± Natalie tilted her head slightly to the left. Her mystical silver hair cascaded like water. ¡°Could you tell me a little about the Endless Sky?¡± ¡°Why?¡± ¡°I¡¯m a bit curious.¡± There was no need to tell her that the Demon King said he would be waiting there, and he didn¡¯t need to explain the nitty gritty of his circumstances. ¡°You said the reason a race as strong as you guys left the Endless Sky is because you¡¯re a peace-loving race. A human like me can¡¯t understand it at all.¡± Natalie glanced warily around. Her silver hair sparkled, bringing light to the dark ocean depths. There was nothing nearby. Her way of speech changed a little. ¡°That¡¯s what I¡¯m saying. I can¡¯t understand it, either. It¡¯s so darn frustrating.¡± Her previously stately expression morphed into a mischievous scowl. ¡®She¡¯s young.¡¯ It was as if she were done acting, and this was her true self. Hyukjin didn¡¯t know what kind of race the whalekin were, but he got the feeling that Natalie was a child. ¡°This is something the adults of our race decided. It¡¯s frustrating as all hell. We can¡¯t even use our strength because of the stupid vow they made, and now, even going up to breathe is scary because of the fruit flies up there. Tch, it makes me mad.¡± As she complained, Hyukjin felt intense mana in her voice. She wasn¡¯t trying to discharge mana; it was simply infused in her voice. ¡®Seriously?¡¯ It was his first time experiencing a force this immense, but simultaneously unaggressive. ¡®I think she¡¯s stronger than a Fire Giant.¡¯ At least a Fire Giant had strength he could see. The power it possessed was violent and aggressive, the kind of power that wanted to crush everything it could see. But this girl¡¯s power was something else entirely. It gave off the same feeling as the darkness pervading the depths of the Sea of Clouds. It was something fathomless, something heavy and impossibly deep. ¡®If I¡¯m right, she¡¯s just a young whalekin¡­ yet she¡¯s this strong?¡¯ Then how strong were the fully-grown adults? He couldn¡¯t even imagine. ¡®And how strong are the waterdrakes that took over the Endless Sky?¡¯ His head was a mess of thoughts. Hyukjin decided to figure out one thing at a time. ¡°What do you mean by not being able to use your strength because of a vow?¡± ¡°Our adults are weak cowards.¡± ¡°¡­¡± ¡°The adults are strong, but they didn¡¯t fight. They could¡¯ve sent those pathetic waterdrakes packing with a few good whacks.¡± Waterdrakes came to the Endless Sky. The whalekin didn¡¯t want to fight them, so they made a vow and fled. That was Hyukjin¡¯s understanding of the situation. ¡°Did they make the vow with the waterdrakes?¡± ¡°Those jerks don¡¯t have the authority to make vows with anyone.¡± Natalie covered her mouth and laughed. ¡°Hoho. This oppa doesn¡¯t know about the waterdrakes, does he?¡± ¡°¡­¡± Her character now was worlds apart from how she was at first. Somehow, Hyukjin didn¡¯t really like hearing ¡°oppa¡± from her. The girl in front of him didn¡¯t feel at all like a younger sibling. It was true she had a mystical appearance and was a whalekin child, but¡­ it was like a warrior bulging with muscles was calling him oppa. ¡°Our adults made a vow between each other. A promise to leave the Endless Sky, and to love peace. That is why we cannot kill.¡± Hyukjin got the gist of what the whalekin girl Natalie was saying. He also realized what Natalie wanted to hear. ¡®I just need to scratch her itch a bit.¡¯ So he said this: ¡°By human standards, that¡¯s not loving peace, but cowardice.¡± ¡°Right?¡± Natalie¡¯s face was bright with vigor. Her swaying silver hair glittered more radiantly. ¡°It¡¯s my first time meeting someone who thinks the same as me.¡± She tucked back her silver hair. ¡°Nice to meet you. I¡¯m Natalie.¡± She extended a hand, and Hyukjin took it. They both shook. ¡°I think of peace as something you can only protect when you have strength,¡± he said. ¡°The whalekin are strong.¡± ¡°Strength you can¡¯t use isn¡¯t strength. If I were to pull out a knife right now and try to harm you, would you be able to protect yourself?¡± Hyukjin looked Natalie directly in the eyes, and she met his gaze. The one who averted her eyes first was Natalie. ¡°I could¡­ run away.¡± ¡°No.¡± She couldn¡¯t. He had already confirmed that earlier. ¡°A race as strong as yours should be able to make Steel Wyverns submit with no problem. And yet, you were deeply wounded by a Steel Wyvern, and weren¡¯t even able to escape.¡± ¡°That¡¯s¡­¡± He could tell even without analyzing the situation with Observer¡¯s Eye. The answer was clear when he matched all the puzzle pieces together. ¡°Your people once possessed great strength, and there was no need to run.¡± At least in the Endless Sky. ¡°But your people actually aren¡¯t capable of fleeing.¡± They were strong, but they weren¡¯t fast. That was okay, since they had no natural enemies. They only ever needed to move with unconcerned, ponderous grace. ¡°¡­¡± ¡°That¡¯s why if I were to attack you, you wouldn¡¯t be able to escape from me, Natalie.¡± Natalie had nothing to say. That was because Hyukjin was exactly right. ¡°In addition, the vow your elders made became chains that bind you. Otherwise, there¡¯s no way you would have been injured by the likes of a Steel Wyvern.¡± Hyukjin pinpointed the exact reason Natalie was injured by a Steel Wyvern. ¡°Because if you were to take an attack from them in your original form, they would be injured.¡± It was simple. If you threw an egg at a boulder, the egg would crack. The boulder would just get a little dirty. The boulder in this analogy was the whalekin, and the egg, the wyverns. ¡°Your vow, the vow to not do harm to others, is restricting your abilities to the greatest degree.¡± The whalekin undertook damage to themselves to prevent the egg from cracking. ¡®How can there be a race with such an utterly stupid setting?¡¯ Natalie blinked. ¡°You¡¯re a human, right?¡± ¡°Yes.¡± ¡°I thought you had a true name.¡± ¡°I don¡¯t have a true name. Actually, I don¡¯t even know what that is.¡± ¡°Huh? You don¡¯t know what a true name is?¡± Natalie looked left and right a few times before opening her mouth. ¡°A true name is ¡ª ¡ª ¡ª-.¡± He couldn¡¯t hear it. The System had interfered. True names were something he had heard of very early on¡ªSenia had asked him if he had a true name. Hyukjin believed this was a mystery that would be resolved in due time. ¡°When I looked you in the eyes earlier, I averted my gaze.¡± ¡°You did.¡± ¡°That¡¯s because I¡¯m a whalekin. And also because it¡¯s not polite to stare directly at someone for too long.¡± Once again, Natalie stared piercingly into Hyukjin¡¯s eyes. ¡°But it¡¯s mostly because I felt darkness and stigmata from you.¡± ¡°¡­¡± He couldn¡¯t understand exactly what she meant. Why were darkness and stigmata being brought up out of nowhere? But he needed to change the topic¡ªHyukjin couldn¡¯t direct the conversation if it veered off into things he didn¡¯t know, and he had to author the scenario, leading it into a story the Guardians would love. ¡°It looks to me that you guys made a vow to yourselves in order to leave the Endless Sky.¡± ¡°That¡¯s right. I¡¯m told that in order to leave our home, in order to break the setting of our race that says we must live in the Endless Sky, we needed to make a vow.¡± The whalekin weren¡¯t supposed to leave the Endless Sky. But when the waterdrakes appeared, the whalekin left the Endless Sky to escape them. And in order to do so, they required another setting, a vow. * * * Translator ¨C Lei Proofreader ¨C Ash * * * ¡°Don¡¯t you want to return to the Endless Sky?¡± ¡°Of course I do.¡± ¡°Why?¡± ¡°Because I¡¯m hungry right now.¡± ¡°You¡¯re hungry?¡± ¡°The adults apparently didn¡¯t know because they¡¯d never left the Endless Sky before. Turns out that place is full of mana.¡± ¡°Do you subsist on mana?¡± It was his first time hearing of a lifeform that consumed mana to survive. It was a more fascinating concept than living off morning dew. It was Natalie who seemed surprised. ¡°Yes. What else would you eat, other than mana?¡± ¡°¡­¡± He didn¡¯t show it, but even the unflappable Kim Hyukjin was astonished. What else would you eat? The whole origin and concept of her species was totally different. ¡°You can¡¯t eat mana here?¡± ¡°There¡¯s not much mana worth eating here. I¡¯m so hungry I could die.¡± ¡°How long has it been since you¡¯ve had mana to eat?¡± ¡°Mm. Hard to say since I haven¡¯t kept count. Maybe, oh, 200 years? Ah. I¡¯m so hungry. The mana of the Endless Sky I ate a long time ago was so tasty.¡± Hyukjin was a little more shocked. He thought back to what Natalie said earlier. ¡°This oppa doesn¡¯t know about the waterdrakes, does he?¡± A whale that had lived for over 200 years¡ªthe exact number, she couldn¡¯t remember¡ªcalled him oppa. Hyukjin was able to put a finger on the strange feeling he¡¯d gotten earlier. It was like a wrinkly great-great grandmother calling him oppa. There was no way it wouldn¡¯t feel odd. ¡®But what she calls me isn¡¯t important.¡¯ Awkward was awkward, and business was business. He was a content creator whose only job was to advance and direct the scenario well. ¡°If there was a way to break the vow, would you return to the Endless Sky?¡± ¡°Of course!¡± Settings had to be broken with settings. He got a hold on a small lead. ¡°Is there any way I could meet the adults of your people?¡± ¡°Whalekin always whalecome guests.¡± They sure were a carefree race. Even reduced to such a sorry state, this race that had no choice but to accept damage to themselves for fear of breaking the egg were still welcoming guests like idiots. ¡®If I had bad intentions¡­¡¯ He could hunt this mighty race with ease. If he thought of them as monsters, that is. But it didn¡¯t seem like that possibility even occurred to them. They were simply gracefully aloof creatures, and that¡¯s why they were eking out a dangerous and precarious life. ¡®I¡¯d bet they don¡¯t even think about why it would be dangerous to invite guests amongst their midst.¡¯ Their way of thinking was completely different from humans to begin with. ¡°Let¡¯s go.¡± Natalie took his hand. His feet lifted and slowly drifted with the weightlessness of being in outer space. ¡°Ah!¡± Natalie let go. ¡°What¡­ was that?¡± Hyukjin breathed an unconscious sigh. He knew exactly why Natalie suddenly let go of him. (What¡¯s this brat doing, touching a married man¡¯s hand without permission?) Now¡¯s not the time for this, Isabel. (You don¡¯t have to be holding hands to get around.) As she said that, Hyukjin was amazed by himself. In the past, when Isabel was acting out with ridiculous jealousy like this, he felt a bit annoyed. He had to hide his annoyance and go through the tiresome motions of coaxing her. ¡®Why¡­ don¡¯t I feel irritated?¡¯ He didn¡¯t feel annoyed. In fact, he felt a bit happy. Isabel¡¯s jealousy wasn¡¯t all that unpleasant anymore. ¡®This is crazy.¡¯ Anyway, work was work. Please don¡¯t interfere, Isabel. It takes a lot of energy for me to move around here. It¡¯s better if Natalie tows me along. (I know, but still¡­) Isabel groused, but soon relented. (Okay. It can¡¯t be helped. Work is work.) From that, Hyukjin realized something else. ¡®Natalie might just be a whalekin child¡­ but I definitely felt unprecedented strength from her.¡¯ Isabel made a creature of such power yelp and back off. Just how strong was Isabel, really? He truly couldn¡¯t wait until the day she was completely unsealed, the day when she could appear with her full, true self. (Husband. You were thinking about me just now, right?) He didn¡¯t respond. Isabel laughed happily. (Hehe, makes sense. I¡¯m kinda super pretty, aren¡¯t I? Hohohoho!) And with that, Isabel was happy again. ¡°I think you can hold my hand again.¡± ¡°That surprised me. It felt like something sharp was swallowing me up.¡± ¡°I apologize. Such a thing exists in the abyss that is us humans.¡± Natalie nodded. ¡°I think I¡¯ve heard about it before. They called it the darkness dragon.¡± Natalie took Hyukjin¡¯s hand again. ¡°Relax your body. I¡¯m going to start swimming.¡± She resumed her slow kicking, and after some time, Hyukjin was able to see many sleeping people. Everyone was silver-haired. Dozens of people shining faintly silver were floating around in the Sea of Clouds. It was a fascinating sight. He heard a notice. [The quest ¡®Homecoming of the Whalekin¡¯ has been generated.] The quest window popped up. ____ Chapter 254 Chapter 254 [The quest ¡®Homecoming of the Whalekin¡¯ has been generated.] [Homecoming of the Whalekin] The homeland where the whalekin once lived was the Endless Sky. That was their refuge and paradise. When they gave up their homeland to the waterdrakes, the whalekin fled to the Sea of Clouds, driven by their love of peace. After many years, the whalekin realized they made the wrong choice. But they cannot return to their homeland. In order to leave the Endless Sky, they imposed the ¡®sanction of a vow¡¯ upon themselves. Help the whalekin return home. Clear rewards: Blessing of the Whalekin Whalekin Sinew ? The information he already knew was recapitulated in the quest description. ¡®Something huge is getting closer.¡¯ Hyukjin felt ¡®something huge¡¯. In fact, the silver-haired man approaching them wasn¡¯t huge in stature, but Hyukjin felt as if he were facing a tranquil and massive mountain. ¡°Are you a guest of Natalie¡¯s? Greetings. I am the leader of the whalekin, Naphthan.¡± Natalie piped up. ¡°He protected me from the skybirds!¡± ¡°From the skybirds?¡± The man¡¯s brows furrowed a little. He sighed. ¡°Our mistake has endangered you.¡± It wasn¡¯t just Natalie who was in danger. The whalekin needed to leave the Sea of Clouds periodically to breathe, and that was the chance the wicked skybirds¡ªSteel Wyverns¡ªseized to attack and hunt the gentle giants. ¡°I don¡¯t resent you, Dad.¡± Natalie flashed a sunny smile, which bewildered Hyukjin to see. ¡®She¡¯s like a different person again.¡¯ Natalie seemed to be an individual of many faces. In front of this man she called Dad, she had the personality¡ªwhale-ality?¡ªof an incredibly kind and warm young girl. ¡®As expected, I can¡¯t use Eye of Perception.¡¯ Naphthan wasn¡¯t someone Eye of Perception could read. What Hyukjin felt was immense power, like he was gazing into the endless cosmos. And despite that, despite all that power, these foolish people bound themselves into utter helplessness. ¡°That the whalekin are living in the Sea of Clouds¡­¡± Hyukjin paused, considering what the Guardians would like to hear most. ¡°Is, in my opinion, unjust. I felt awful for your people after hearing of your circumstances from Natalie.¡± ¡°500 years ago, we thought this was the best choice.¡± After 500 years, the whalekin thought differently about their decision. ¡°But our choice was wrong.¡± Having lived in the Endless Sky in blessed ignorance, they thought other places would be like the Endless Sky. But that wasn¡¯t the case. Places that weren¡¯t the Endless Sky were perilous for the whalekin. ¡°It¡¯s not that the choice the whalekin made is wrong. The waterdrakes who stole your home are in the wrong.¡± ¡°They, too, were in need of a place to call home.¡± Hyukjin decided not to strain his brain trying to comprehend how the whalekin thought. It was futile. There was no way a human and whale could think the same way or have the same opinions. He just had to think of it as, ¡®Oh, that¡¯s how they see it,¡¯ and move on. ¡®My job isn¡¯t to change their minds.¡¯ What he had to do was enter the Endless Sky with them. ¡°They rejected coexistence. Was the Endless Sky such a small place?¡± ¡°The Endless Sky is limitless.¡± ¡°Then the waterdrakes wanted to chase the whalekin out of the Endless Sky.¡± ¡°Indeed.¡± ¡°And in the end, the peace-loving whalekin left the Endless Sky.¡± Their minds might work in very different ways, but one thing was clear. This silver-haired man deeply cherished Natalie. He loved her. That could be seen in his eyes. It seemed love for one¡¯s child was an absolute law that took precedence over the boundaries of race. ¡°Natalie almost died today.¡± ¡°¡­¡± Hyukjin calmly led the conversation in a way the whalekin could follow. ¡°I¡¯m not saying the waterdrakes are bad.¡± In his point of view, they were bad. Basically, they were the invaders who chased out the whalekin living happily and bothering no one. The whalekin were too kind, and that kindness was their downfall. ¡°But the situation today where Natalie nearly died was too dangerous. That situation was bad.¡± ¡°I agree that the situation was bad.¡± ¡°The Steel Wyverns you call skybirds are quite an intelligent species of monster.¡± ¡°I know. Their means of attacking us have become more refined and elaborate.¡± The Steel Wyverns were sure to have developed their hunting methods little by little over 500 years. ¡°Before long, the whalekin may be completely wiped out by the skybirds.¡± Even that might not be all that important to the whalekin. That was why Hyukjin dragged Natalie to the forefront. ¡°Natalie misses the Endless Sky. If all the whalekin are wiped out, Natalie will be forever unable to set foot in your homeland.¡± ¡°¡­¡± Tears whaled in Naphthan¡¯s eyes. He gazed at Natalie. ¡°That¡¯s true. Natalie must resent us.¡± ¡°Being hungry is the saddest thing in the world,¡± Hyukjin said. ¡°Don¡¯t you want to return to the Endless Sky?¡± ¡°I do. But the waterdrakes are there.¡± Hyukjin shook his head. ¡°It¡¯s too early to think about the waterdrakes.¡± ¡°What do we think about, then?¡± ¡°What¡¯s the first thing you need to do in order to reach the Endless Sky?¡± They had to leave the Sea of Clouds. ¡°We need to swim. Towards the sky.¡± It was just as he thought. The Endless Sky was ¡®up there¡¯. Naphthan nodded. ¡°The skybirds are a problem.¡± ¡°Exactly. The whalekin may possess great strength, but they are incapable of using it. You are a race tightly bound by such a setting.¡± ¡°Indeed.¡± The waterdrakes were a problem for later. The first thing they needed to handle wasn¡¯t them, but the wyverns. * * * Translator ¨C Lei Proofreader ¨C Ash * * * ¡°I ask you now. Was it right that you were expelled from your homeland?¡± ¡°It wasn¡¯t.¡± ¡°When you look back, was that just?¡± ¡°It wasn¡¯t.¡± ¡°Was it fair?¡± ¡°It wasn¡¯t.¡± The waterdrakes were the only ones rejoicing. What they wanted was monopoly, not coexistence. The current situation was far removed from terms like justice, fairness, and coexistence. ¡°In that case, I think I can help you.¡± ¡°You, a human, can help us?¡± Natalie¡¯s father wasn¡¯t scorning humans. He was simply stating that they were of different races. ¡°I think so, yes.¡± ¡°How can you help us?¡± Hyukjin grinned. This was the moment he had been leading up to. ¡°I have a racial trait that allows me to deem the following as ¡®just¡¯: regulations or laws created by the majority accord of society¡¯s members, actions tacitly and universally deemed good, or the System¡¯s rules.¡± It wasn¡¯t actually a racial trait, but a power that came from an item in his possession. [Judgment of the Law] Regulations/laws created by the accord of society¡¯s majority, actions tacitly and universally deemed good, or the System¡¯s rules, will be temporarily set as ¡®Just¡¯. The caster will be given the rights of an ¡®Arbitrator¡¯ towards all acts that defy justice. The Arbitrator officially files objections to all acts that contradict justice, can mete out due punishment within set bounds to those who contradict justice, and will be conferred the requisite power and authority. ¡°It¡¯s my first time hearing that humans have such a racial trait.¡± ¡°I¡¯m a bit of a special case. In any case, I¡¯ve judged that helping the whalekin return to their homeland is an action tacitly and universally deemed good.¡± His words were specially crafted for the Lady of the Scales. With her disposition, the Lady of the Scales would want to aid the whalekin. From her point of view, the whalekin were a pitiful people who were robbed of their homes and forced into destitution. ¡°I think I can lift the restriction forcefully binding your powers.¡± ¡°That would be tricky. It will be hard for a human to break the vow we made.¡± Once again, Naphthan wasn¡¯t looking down on humans. He was just stating the facts, as simple as saying, ¡®You weigh 90 kg, and I weigh 70 kg.¡¯ To a whalekin, it was simply an objective statement free of emotion. Natalie interjected. ¡°That¡¯s right. I hate¡ªI mean, I¡¯m upset about the vow, but there¡¯s no human who can break it.¡± ¡°¡­¡± Was that really the case? ¡°There¡¯s nothing to lose from trying, is there?¡± ¡°That¡¯s true, but¡­ I just fear the power of our vow might harm you.¡± ¡°That is for me to handle.¡± He had to go to the Endless Sky. And for that, he needed the whalekins¡¯ help. ¡°Why is it that you would go to such lengths for us?¡± To go to the Endless Sky. ¡°Because it angers me.¡± ¡°Angers you?¡± ¡°Humans are a diverse race. Many humans would be angry to see the situation you are in. I want to help you.¡± ¡°Difficult reasoning for us to understand,¡± said Naphthan. ¡°But I can see your sincerity. I see you sincerely want to help us, a sentiment we¡¯re very grateful for.¡± He heard a notice. [Revealing the hidden clear reward.] Clear rewards: Blessing of the Whalekin Whalekin Sinew Contract of the Whalekin Naphthan spoke again. ¡°If we manage to reach the Endless Sky, I will allow the marriage of my daughter to you.¡± ¡°¡­¡± Hyukjin was struck speechless. He had led the conversation up to this point, but this new development had him gasping to keep up. ¡®The contract that¡¯s the third reward is referring to marriage?¡¯ Natalie laughed like she wasn¡¯t terribly bothered. ¡°I never even thought about getting married to a human.¡± I haven¡¯t thought about getting married to a whale! Hyukjin wanted to scream, but he resisted the urge. Right now, he was a producer. A content creator. And he had to resolve the situation like one. ¡°Thank you for the offer, but I respectfully decline.¡± ¡°Decline?¡± The mild expression on this man who didn¡¯t look as if he would hurt a fly abruptly shifted. Hyukjin was struck with the image of a tsunami roaring towards him, threatening to crush him. It suddenly became hard to breathe. ¡®He¡¯s exuding some incredible power.¡¯ Hyukjin had no idea why Naphthan was so mad all of a sudden. As expected, whalekin were impossible to understand. ¡°Why are you declining to marry my daughter?¡± Natalie looked upset, too. Apparently, declining a marriage offer was an awfully unpleasant deed for whalekin. They hadn¡¯t expressed such displeasure or hostility even towards the waterdrakes who stole their home. ¡®They cannot harm me anyway.¡¯ That was their vow. The foreboding aura they were giving off was terrible, but there was no need to be afraid, just like there was no reason to fear a hawk inside a cage. ¡®If I do this whale¡­ I should be able to pull some good quality footage.¡¯ It occurred to him that he might be able to produce a development the Guardians would enjoy. It was good. It was good content. Just as he was thinking that, someone else made an appearance. ¡°Big children, he¡¯s my husband.¡± It was Isabel, awake from her slumber. But this time, she looked¡­ a little strange. ____ Chapter 255 Chapter 255 Last time, he only saw her neck and face, and even that had left a strong impression on him. Her amber eyes and golden hair were exactly the same as before, but this time, the rest of her body was visible. ¡®A white robe?¡¯ She was wearing a robe almost like the ones worn by magicians. ¡®And¡­¡¯ When he saw Isabel last time, he saw the powerful mana storm enveloping her body. Now, that storm was encapsulated in a single form. ¡®Isn¡¯t that a staff?¡¯ In her hands was a winged magic staff the same color as her hair. ¡®And¡­¡¯ Between the wings was a purplish jewel. It wasn¡¯t an actual jewel, but a mana in the form of a jewel. ¡®The mana it¡¯s giving off is insane.¡¯ By all appearances, Isabel looked like a light-attribute magician. She looked far too mage-like for someone who claimed to be a sword. ¡°Huh?¡± ¡°This energy is¡­?¡± ¡°What?¡± One by one, the white lights that had been floating around began approaching, roused from their slumber. ¡°Hey, Naphthan. What¡¯s going on?¡± They had shown zero interest before and had continued to sleep, but as soon as Isabel appeared, they suddenly woke up and took an interest in what was happening. Isabel clucked her tongue. ¡°You guys have starved for a long time, haven¡¯t you? That¡¯s why you were just sleeping the whole time.¡± Hyukjin could feel the power imbued in Isabel¡¯s voice. Her presence was far more powerful than when she was a sword. She bore the ¡®transcendent¡¯ title even in sword form, but now, he had the feeling she was somewhere above transcendent. ¡®How?¡¯ Hyukjin hadn¡¯t grown. ¡®I think I get it.¡¯ This place, the environment they were in, made this possible. The Sea of Clouds seemed to have a far greater density of mana compared to regular fields. ¡®That¡¯s why Isabel appears a little more complete than before.¡¯ Now he knew: Isabel¡¯s growth wasn¡¯t purely tied to his growth, but also to environmental factors. It was an excellent piece of information for Kim Hyukjin. Natalie¡¯s father, Naphthan, responded. ¡°That is correct, noble sword¡­ folk. We have starved for a long time.¡± ¡°I thought so. The mana here can¡¯t fill your starved stomachs.¡± Hearing that, Hyukjin had another realization. This place had mana dense enough for Isabel to appear in a more complete form, but it was nothing compared to the Endless Sky. Just how much mana was up there, and what would happen if he went there? Wouldn¡¯t Isabel be able to appear fully? ¡®I think her outer appearance is complete.¡¯ In Hyukjin¡¯s eyes, the only word he could use to describe her was ¡°beautiful¡±. He could come up with no other word. Some people might say Senia was prettier, but not Hyukjin. ¡°But if I may ask, noble swordfolk. Are you truly a swordfolk?¡± ¡°¡­¡± Isabel flinched. ¡°What do you mean by that?¡± ¡°The aura I¡¯m feeling is indeed from a powerful swordfolk, but¡­¡± Naphthan trailed off. Hyukjin was curious, too. It was his first time hearing the term swordfolk, but Hyukjin was confused as to why that swordfolk looked like a magician. ¡°I am a swordfolk. My true name is Isabel.¡± ¡°¡­¡± Naphthan chewed on the name ¡®Isabel¡¯ for a long time. ¡°Isabel¡­ Isabel¡­ Isabel.¡± And then, his eyes widened. ¡°Surely not. ¡ª ¡ª ¡ª-!¡± System interference kicked in again. It was information Hyukjin wasn¡¯t allowed to know, which frustrated him to no end. Even though it was about Isabel, he couldn¡¯t hear it. ¡°That¡¯s right. That¡¯s me.¡± ¡°It is an honor, oh noble swordfolk.¡± That made Hyukjin realize that the leader of the whalekin, Naphthan, had been naturally speaking down to him, and Hyukjin hadn¡¯t taken offense to it. ¡®It just felt natural.¡¯ It had felt all too natural. It could very well be that Hyukjin had cowered before Naphthan¡¯s immense power without even realizing it. ¡®But Naphthan is being extremely polite to Isabel.¡¯ Whalekin. Swordfolk. What kind of relationship did the two have? ¡®Isabel is my contractee, and my bride.¡¯ He did bear the title of ¡®sword¡¯s bride¡¯. And it was true that to him, Isabel was incredibly beautiful. But that had nothing to do with Playing. ¡®The scenario must be led by me, not Isabel.¡¯ For the Guardians watching above, the one creating the content had to be him. Because the protagonist of this scenario wasn¡¯t them, but him. Back when it felt natural, he didn¡¯t realize it. Since he didn¡¯t realize it, it couldn¡¯t be helped. But now that he knew, he just needed to confidently take charge. Hyukjin cut in with a cough, speaking confidently in the informal. ¡°The swordfolk Isabel has a Sword¡¯s Pact with me.¡± ¡°I see¡­ sir. Please excuse my offense, I was unaware.¡± Now, their positions were switched¡ªNaphthan was speaking formally, and Hyukjin informally. To the Guardians, it would look like Hyukjin had the initiative. ¡°That¡¯s why I¡¯ll help you guys go up to the Endless Sky.¡± ¡°With the power you mentioned earlier, correct?¡± ¡°Yeah.¡± ¡°Understood. You are the pactee of Lady ¡ª ¡ª herself. We will do our best to do as you suggested. What is it that our people must do?¡± Hyukjin smiled. As she streamed, Senia¡¯s wings trembled. ¡®That smile.¡¯ Every time she saw that smile, the hapless target was fleeced for all they were worth. That went for Song Junghye, Michelle, and Song Kiyeol. ¡®But my heart feels a little strange.¡¯ Normally, seeing that smile made her happy. After all, it was a surefire precursor to a great deal of profit for Kim Hyukjin. But today, ever since Isabel showed up, she was having trouble getting fired up. Senia shook her head to clear her thoughts and consoled herself. ¡®As a business partner, I need to focus on my job.¡¯ Strangely, her gaze kept moving to Isabel. Completely unaware of Senia¡¯s feelings, Hyukjin continued. ¡°Before that, there¡¯s something I need to be sure of. Leader of the whalekin, Naphthan. You proposed a marriage contract between me and your daughter.¡± Earlier, this topic nearly aroused the anger of someone who looked as mild as milk and showed no anger towards the waterdrakes who robbed his homeland and the skybirds who almost killed his daughter. That was just how important this matter was. ¡°That was essentially a show of the greatest sincerity you can offer. Correct?¡± ¡°Of course.¡± A whalekin¡¯s contract must be the best thing they could give. ¡°You¡¯ll need to promise me something else of equivalent value, then.¡± ¡°¡­¡± ¡°As you can see, I am in a Sword¡¯s Pact. My bride can be only one person, Isabel.¡± At those words, Senia¡¯s wings quivered, and Isabel¡¯s face reddened a little. ¡°I am aware that in a Sword¡¯s Pact, each pactee becomes the other¡¯s bride, but if my memory serves, it is not a contract that requires monogamy,¡± Naphthan replied. Simply put, there could be multiple brides, whether they were male or female. ¡°I wish to contract with only one person, Isabel.¡± ¡°Since the Sword Pactee says so¡­ I understand. We will do our utmost to show our sincerity. When we return to our homeland, I will give you our treasure.¡± A notice rang at the same time. [The ¡®Leader of the Whalekin¡¯ influences the quest rewards.] [The quest rewards have changed.] Clear rewards: Blessing of the Whalekin Whalekin Sinew Treasure of the Whalekin Contract of the Whalekin was changed to Treasure of the Whalekin. ¡®I did it.¡¯ Hyukjin guessed it was something incredible. Just going to the Endless Sky would net him three rewards. He was also sure there was a reason why he would get three rewards simply by reaching the place. ¡°One more thing.¡± He couldn¡¯t exclude the possibility he might meet the Demon King in the Endless Sky. ¡°If something dangerous happens to me there, protect me.¡± ¡°Husband. Nothing of the sort will happen in the Endless Sky.¡± Isabel stood right by Hyukjin¡¯s side. ¡°You may still be weak, but in the Endless Sky, I will be far stronger than I am now.¡± ¡°¡­Really?¡± ¡°I will be the one to protect my husband.¡± ¡°¡­¡± ¡°You¡¯re too weak, so I have no choice.¡± Those words sounded so very reliable. Hyukjin thought he had grown a lot, but he still had a long way to go. He wasn¡¯t sure if he should be happy or dismayed. ¡°What Lady Isabel says is true, but we will provide our assistance nevertheless,¡± said Naphthan. With that, he had a promise from the whalekin. ¡°In that case, I will help you guys.¡± He had to tinker with the settings using Judgment of the Law. [Use Judgment of the Law?] * * * Translator ¨C Lei Proofreader ¨C Ash * * * In the end, Judgment of the Law only served half of its intended purpose. It could not change the settings entirely. Even though he acquired the Arbitrator role, it was only half effective. ¡°I think we will be able to defend ourselves against those who attack us or our friends,¡± said Naphthan. The whalekin couldn¡¯t initiate an attack, nor could they counterattack. They could only defend. That was all Hyukjin¡¯s Judgment of the Law could do. ¡°What will happen if the skybirds attack you?¡± Naphthan¡¯s face darkened a little. ¡°The moment they touch us, they will die.¡± Like an egg splattering against a rock. Thanks to the vow of the whalekin being weakened, that analogy would really come to life. Hyukjin said, ¡°Even so, it must be done if you are to return to the Endless Sky.¡± ¡°Indeed.¡± The other whalekin expressed their affirmation as well. ¡°That¡¯s right.¡± ¡°We¡¯re too hungry.¡± ¡°I want to go back home.¡± ¡°Well thought, Naphthan.¡± ¡°Husband,¡± called Isabel. ¡°It¡¯s a good idea to take them and go to the Endless Sky. If things work out, the Endless Sky is a place that will be of assistance to you, as well.¡± ¡°¡­¡± ¡°What? Is there something on my face? Why¡¯re you staring at me like that?¡± Hyukjin nearly blurted, ¡®Because you¡¯re pretty¡¯, but barely managed to catch himself. ¡°Keep talking,¡± he said instead, knowing she would volunteer the answers. The Guardians were probably wondering what she was saying, too. ¡°We¡¯re good on defense, since the whalekin should be able to block the Steel Wyverns¡¯ attacks.¡± Isabel paused. ¡°But if we are to reach the Endless Sky, only relying on defense won¡¯t get us there.¡± He understood exactly what she meant. Hyukjin had a clear view of the situation as well. He picked up where she left. ¡°The whalekin have starved for too long, and simply ascending up to the Endless Sky will take every bit of energy they have. That¡¯s what you wanted to say, right?¡± ¡°Right.¡± ¡°So ultimately, we¡¯ll have to take care of the Steel Wyverns before we begin the ascent.¡± Isabel nodded. ¡°As expected, my husband¡¯s got great acumen. Do you have a plan, then? Why are you so full of confidence?¡± ¡°I have a plan, yeah.¡± He glanced at where he thought Senia was. She wasn¡¯t visible, but he was sure she was hard at work, streaming. Isabel asked him another appropriate question. ¡°What¡¯s your plan?¡± ¡°You¡¯ll see when we go above the surface.¡± The whalekin would be hard-pressed to swim through the sky all the way up to the Endless Sky. They were weakened by centuries of starvation, so they had to first clear the way in the Sea of Clouds, where they could move with relative ease. ¡°Above the surface?¡± ¡°We¡¯ll be hunting the Steel Wyverns in the Sea of Clouds.¡± ¡°And how exactly do you want to do that? The whalekin can¡¯t attack.¡± ¡°I¡¯ll do it.¡± ¡°You will? I don¡¯t think you can kill those birds with your current skills.¡± Hyukjin smiled once again. He intentionally cut things off here, leaving Isabel and the Guardians hanging. ¡°You¡¯ll see when we get there.¡± That would fire up their anticipation a little more. ¡°I have a way.¡± Conjuring a way forward when none seemed to exist, that was a producer¡¯s job. ¡°Let¡¯s go.¡± ____ Chapter 256 Chapter 256 Hyukjin heard the blobs of light that were the whalekin murmuring amongst themselves. ¡°Can we really return to the Endless Sky?¡± ¡°Wasn¡¯t that impossible because of the vow?¡± ¡°The skybirds will attack us.¡± It was excellent that they were saying such things. The Guardians were hearing them, too. It¡¯s impossible. It¡¯s hard. There¡¯s no way. The supporting actors had to supply such discouraging words in order to amplify the excitement when the protagonist triumphed against all odds. The group gathered near the surface. ¡®It¡¯s gotten a lot brighter.¡¯ A little further up, once they were clear of the surface, they would see the sea made of clouds. ¡®I can feel the Steel Wyverns.¡¯ They weren¡¯t very far. It seemed that they had sensed the approach of the whalekin. ¡°Would it be possible to gather the Steel¡ªI mean, the skybirds?¡± Hyukjin asked. Naphtha answered, ¡°Yes, by shooting a sonic wave.¡± ¡°Make as many of them as possible come this way.¡± Naphthan¡¯s expression grew grim. Hyukjin could guess why. ¡®Because he is a boulder who fears crushing the egg.¡¯ The whalekin were a race endowed with a truly great amount of strength, yet Napthan was worried about the lives of the Steel Wyverns that attacked them and nearly killed his daughter. They were truly fascinating folk. ¡®I can¡¯t comprehend them.¡¯ In any case, the show had to go on. ¡°In human terms, I am a Player who carries out the role of a class called sovereign.¡± ¡°I see.¡± ¡°So I will take command over you, Napthan, and through you, the whalekin. At least until you return to the Endless Sky.¡± ¡°What do we need to do?¡± ¡°As we just discussed, shoot a sonic wave and get as many of them as you can over here.¡± What Hyukjin was going for was a carpet-bombing, a method that would take out a bunch of Steel Wyverns at once. [The ¡®Whispering Devil¡¯ is having fun.] [The ¡®Herdsman of Las Vegas¡¯ agrees with your tactic.] [The ¡®Barrier of Blue Light¡¯ watches with great interest.] [The ¡®Nameless Observer¡¯ is observing.] [The ¡®Lady of the Scales¡¯ is focusing.] Five Guardians sent a diverse set of messages. The Herdsman of Las Vegas, the Guardian of the Gold Pyramid and the number one sovereign in the US, appeared to support Hyukjin¡¯s choice. ¡°I¡¯ll block your ears,¡± said Isabel, then immediately blushed. ¡°You know, because Husband is weak.¡± She went behind him and reached for his ears, leaving the staff to float next to her. ¡°I¡¯ll protect you.¡± The moment her cool hands slid over his ears, it felt like all sound was blocked off, that he was alone in a very quiet place and an impenetrable wall was erected between his ears and the world. Using my sonic wave now.¡ªHyukjin read from Naphthan¡¯s lips. Piiiiiiiii¨C! There was a ringing in his ears, and he instantly knew. If Isabel hadn¡¯t blocked them, he would have suffered significant damage to his auditory system. ¡®I can feel them.¡¯ In the sky high above, countless Steel Wyverns were swarming in. ¡®Just how many of them are there?¡¯ It was impossible to guess. If he was right, the sky above was probably thick with them, and it would look like a swarm of insects covering the sky. After some time, Eye of Perception sensed an innumerable mass of presences above. ¡®What insane bloodthirst.¡¯ According to the story, the Steel Wyverns had persecuted the whalekin for 500 years, over which they had successfully killed several whalekin. As the centuries passed, they became increasingly vicious, and it was highly likely they thought of the whalekin as mere prey. ¡®The aura of a predator.¡¯ That was what he felt bristling and snarling in the sky above. The determination to hunt them was palpable. Hyukjin spoke. ¡°All together, leave the Sea of Clouds.¡± The whalekin hesitated a little, but they soon began to swim upward. Hyukjin once again sensed the massive presence he had felt the first time. ¡®They look similar to humans in the Sea of Clouds.¡¯ Like shining humans. ¡®But the moment they leave the Sea of Clouds, their enormous original forms appear.¡¯ The uniquely colored, white whales appeared before him. ¡®What¡­ an enormous sense of pressure.¡¯ It was like massive dinosaurs were floating in the air. The countless Steel Wyverns gathered above the Sea of Clouds by Naphthan¡¯s sonic wave swarmed towards the whalekin in unison as if seizing the right moment. ¡®To them, this must be like a bonanza.¡¯ They would rush in like usual, thinking their sharp beaks and claws would tear into the whalekins¡¯ flesh. Because truly delicious prey was before them, they would not hesitate. The next moment, the Sea of Clouds turned red. ¡®The settings were only changed to allow them to defend, but¡­¡¯ The wyverns were incapable of penetrating the hides of the whalekin. If you threw an egg against a boulder, the egg would crack. Countless Steel Wyverns lost consciousness and flopped limply into the Sea of Clouds. ¡®Oho.¡¯ In the Sea of Clouds, the wyverns grew smaller. Smaller and smaller and smaller. Just like how the massive whalekin transformed into small humanoid beings inside the Sea of Clouds, the same went for the wyverns. But instead of turning into humanoid beings, they continued shrinking, until finally, they were fist-sized stones that sparkled yellow. ¡®Are those¡­¡¯ Mana crystals? Taeguk Shield¡¯s Squad 2 was dispatched in Boracay right now to get these mana crystals. ¡®What a windfall!¡¯ The wyverns that fell into Sea of Clouds were automatically killed and transformed into mana crystals. ¡°Kim Darong. Can you swim?¡± Music notes danced over Kim Darong¡¯s head, a yellow mana crystal already in his little paw. The squirrel disappeared. Kim Darong was nowhere to be seen, but judging by how the mana crystals that had appeared in the Sea of Clouds disappeared one by one, it was clear that the squirrel was hard at work. ¡®Just how many of them are there?¡¯ The stupid wyverns had charged full-tilt at a boulder, and a huge number of them had died on the spot. However, they seemed to have caught on. The wyverns, now numbering far fewer, ceased their charge and flew into the sky, but they didn¡¯t go far. They circled around, looking as though they were trying to figure out what had just happened. ¡°We¡¯re going to repeat this multiple times,¡± Hyukjin called out. ¡°The skybirds are capable of learning.¡± ¡°I know. One or two times more, and they¡¯ll probably stop blindly charging in.¡± Then what came next? ¡°After that, they¡¯ll begin to harass you in the air. They may not be able to eat you, but they can prevent you from ascending upwards.¡± Their goal was to go up to the Endless Sky, a nearly impossible feat unless all of the Steel Wyverns were taken care of. * * * Translator ¨C Lei Proofreader ¨C Ash * * * ¡°I will eliminate the Steel Wyverns that will no longer charge in.¡± ¡°How, Husband?¡± ¡°I need you to help me, Isabel.¡± ¡°Me?¡± ¡°Yeah. I¡¯m weak.¡± ¡°That¡¯s true¡­ As someone in a Sword¡¯s Pact, and as your bride, it¡¯s only natural for me to help you, but¡­¡± Isabel¡¯s amber eyes seemed to say, ¡®Even if you swing me with all your might, I don¡¯t think you can catch them¡¯. ¡°Isabel. You¡¯ll help me, right?¡± ¡°Of course I will.¡± ¡°No matter what it takes?¡± ¡°Yeah.¡± ¡°Then lend me some mana.¡± Isabel tilted her head. ¡°Mana?¡± Even though I¡¯m a sword? ¡°The Sea of Clouds has an infinite amount of mana of a density far beyond what¡¯s in regular fields. Am I right?¡± ¡°In comparison to regular fields, yes, I suppose?¡± ¡°But I can¡¯t tap into this mana.¡± ¡°And?¡± ¡°I need you to gather the mana and make it so I can use it.¡± Isabel scowled a little. ¡°Are you asking me, Isabel of the Sword Forest, to use magic right now?¡± It was, in other words, a ¡®mana heal¡¯. He was asking her to replenish his mana. Hyukjin turned around and looked directly into Isabel¡¯s eyes. ¡°Before you¡¯re Isabel of the Sword Forest, you¡¯re my bride.¡± ¡°¡­¡± ¡°Without your help, I won¡¯t be able to leave this place, my growth will stagnate, and I will starve to death.¡± ¡°¡­¡± ¡°If that happens, I¡¯ll die without being able to see your true appearance.¡± ¡°¡­¡± ¡°You need me to exist, and I need to live for you to live. We¡¯re bound in a Sword¡¯s Pact.¡± ¡°That¡¯s true, but¡­¡± Isabel shuddered. She really did look like a sword who cursed her god-given talent. ¡°It¡¯s not that you¡¯re using magic. You¡¯re just helping the other half of your Sword¡¯s Pact, your husband. You¡¯re helping the weak me.¡± ¡°¡­¡± In the end, Isabel nodded. ¡°But don¡¯t forget. I¡¯m a sword. Not a magician. Got it?¡± ¡°You¡¯re the greatest sword I know.¡± ¡°Fine. That¡¯s enough flattery. I have a duty to protect you anyway, so I¡¯ll do just that.¡± ¡°That¡¯s very reassuring.¡± ¡°So? If I fill you with mana, what¡¯re you gonna do?¡± ¡°I got an ability while you were sleeping.¡± Hyukjin got onto Naphthan¡¯s back, then rose to the surface with the giant whale. The world brightened, and the cloud ocean stretched out on all sides. The Sea of Clouds was very different from the outside than it was on the inside. [Using the special ability Immortal Fleet.] His new ability to summon the 12-vessel Immortal Fleet could only be used on the sea, a condition the Sea of Clouds fulfilled. As such, the Immortal Fleet that had earned such glory in the Bali Naval Battle made its debut. Hyukjin tried uttering an incantation, the one the German archer Schultz had used. ¡°Seek life to die, seek death to live.¡± But nothing happened. The incantation failed to take effect, and the words were just an empty imitation. ¡®Whatever, it doesn¡¯t matter.¡¯ It would have been great if the incantation had succeeded, but it was fine. He still had a 12-vessel fleet. ¡°The whalekin will handle the defense.¡± With the whalekin protecting the fleet, Hyukjin could focus solely on offense. They could do that, at least. ¡°My fleet and I will handle the offense,¡± Hyukjin said, standing on Naphthan¡¯s great back. [The Immortal Fleet recognizes enemy presence.] He felt mana drain from him. This ability would be hard to maintain for long in normal circumstances. But he had Isabel standing beside him. Mana billowed from the purple crystal at her staff. Isabel¡¯s body glowed blue, and that blue light enveloped Hyukjin¡¯s body. ¡®It feels refreshing. And¡­¡¯ It was like a near-infinite amount of mana was surging into his body. ¡®I can operate the Immortal Fleet almost ad infinitum.¡¯ He heard a notice. [Give the command to fire?] With Hyukjin¡¯s assent, the 12-vessel fleet fired. Powerful mana cannonballs made of the Sea of Clouds¡¯ mana shot out, some of them firing off at what seemed like light speed. ¡®The unique environment that is the Sea of Clouds is empowering the Immortal Fleet.¡¯ The attack was far more powerful than he expected¡ªa single volley instantly obliterated two or three wyverns. [Steel Wyvern has been killed.] [EXP cannot be acquired.] [Items will not be dropped.] The penalty of his class took effect. ¡®Oops. I can¡¯t melt them into nothingness like that.¡¯ He corrected the plan a little. ¡®Decrease the intensity, and aim for their wings.¡¯ He had to drop them into the Sea of Clouds without killing them. Kim Darong would then scoop up the mana crystals. The Guardians leapt forward to send messages. [The ¡®Lady of the Scales¡¯ sends a 300 Coin sponsorship.] [The ¡®Courageous Lion King¡¯ gifts ¡®Courage¡¯.] [The ¡®Herdsman of Las Vegas¡¯ sends a 500 Coin sponsorship.] [The ¡®Nameless Observer¡¯ observes.] [The ¡®Conductor of Sound¡¯ is very impressed.] Hyukjin heard Naphthan¡¯s voice. ¡°I was not aware you possessed an artifact of such strength.¡± Honestly, it was news to Hyukjin as well. This was a result produced by Isabel¡¯s ability and the Sea of Clouds overlapping. ¡®I didn¡¯t think it¡¯d be this strong, either.¡¯ It was utter destruction. This wasn¡¯t war, but slaughter. The might of the Immortal Fleet exceeded all imagination, and the Steel Wyverns in the sky scrambled to flee in a panic. ¡®Don¡¯t let a single one go.¡¯ The Immortal Fleet punched through the wings of the fleeing wyverns. The vast majority of them dropped into the Sea of Clouds, and only a very small few managed to escape. Even Hyukjin hadn¡¯t expected this one-sided slaughter, and the mana crystal bounty that followed. On top of that, he got another notice. [You have slaughtered the Steel Wyverns.] [The Player¡¯s current level is 39 and corresponds to the beginner period.] A very short pause ensued. [System Scan Result: No bugs have been discovered.] [The System has recognized the situation as an impossible feat.] [You have accomplished an achievement.] And in a development Hyukjin never expected, a wonderful development, Hyukjin was given a reward for his achievement. ____ Chapter 257 Chapter 257 [You have scored an achievement.] The reward for a level 39, beginner period Player hunting not just one Steel Wyvern, but exterminating an entire flock, was given in the form of a choice. [You may choose the title ¡®Wyvern Slayer¡¯.] [Wyvern Slayer] A title given to a Player who hunted at least 30 wyverns in a normally near-impossible situation. +20% damage to all dragon subspecies ¡®Fear¡¯ effect on all dragon subspecies Can open the hidden field in the ¡®Sky of Freedom¡¯, ¡®Wyvern Nest¡¯. When Hyukjin first came here, he guessed this place had a shore, or something like it. That ¡°shore¡± was the Wyvern Nest. It was a hidden field that would very likely give him some kind of hidden reward. He checked the other choice. [You may choose the quest item ¡®Trace of the Chungmugong¡¯.] Chungmugong, or Lord of Loyal Valor, is a title given posthumously to those who achieved great military merit for the country. This item carries the energy of a ¡®war diary¡¯, and it will presumably lead one to a trace of the Chungmugong. Upon fulfilling a special condition, triggers the quest ¡®Trace of the Chungmugong¡¯. The item itself had little reward value, but it would lead to something else. The item was required in order to trigger the next quest. Hyukjin thought for a moment. ¡®What should I choose?¡¯ The first was a title that would give him a type advantage over all dragon subspecies. Hyukjin had already strongly experienced the power of titles. ¡®Waterdrakes are probably a dragon subspecies.¡¯ If so, the title would be very potent in the Endless Sky. Moreover, he could activate a hidden field on the way up. The reward was plusses all around. Senia asked, ¡°Will you make a choice?¡± ¡°I need to, yeah.¡± ¡°Which reward will you choose?¡± The Guardians must be curious. ¡°Since waterdrakes are a dragon subspecies, choosing Wyvern Slayer will help me quite a lot in the Endless Sky.¡± ¡°¡­¡± Senia remained silent, as if to say she wouldn¡¯t offer any hints or try to influence the Player. ¡°So I¡­¡± He would subvert the Guardians¡¯ expectations. ¡°¡­choose number 2.¡± ¡°Number 2 will not be of any help in clearing the current field.¡± ¡°I know that, too.¡± He made his decision, so now he had to support it with a reasonable explanation that would satisfy the Guardians. ¡°I¡¯m guessing the Endless Sky is a place with mana of significantly greater quantity and purity.¡± Natalie nodded emphatically next to him. He also heard her mumbling to herself that there was a lot of delicious mana there. ¡°So Isabel will be far more powerful there than she is here.¡± ¡°If the Endless Sky is as Player Kim Hyukjin predicts, that is true.¡± ¡°Then even without the help of a title¡­¡± Hyukjin reached to take hold of Isabel¡¯s arm, then gently tugged her forward. She obliged, coming to stand next to him with feigned helplessness. ¡°As a Sword Pactee, I¡¯ll certainly be able to face them. Since I have Isabel by my side.¡± He turned to Isabel. ¡°Right, Isabel?¡± ¡°¡­¡± ¡°Waterdrakes can¡¯t do anything to a Sword Pactee. They¡¯ll be stronger than me, of course, but they¡¯re weaker than my bride.¡± Once again, Hyukjin felt fortified by Isabel¡¯s presence. She wasn¡¯t answering, but she felt so very dependable. Isabel finally responded. ¡°I hate playing the clown for those blasted Guardians, but I¡¯ll help you. I don¡¯t want my husband to die.¡± Hyukjin snuck a glance at Senia. Her wings weren¡¯t trembling, meaning she wasn¡¯t alarmed. That confirmed his suspicion. ¡®Just like how I¡¯m sometimes prevented from hearing things, the Guardians can¡¯t hear Isabel¡¯s voice.¡¯ It was like Hyukjin getting the ¡®¡ª¡¯ treatment. ¡®This is even better.¡¯ The Guardians didn¡¯t seem to know what Isabel was saying. ¡®In other words, Isabel¡¯s existence itself is special enough for the System to conceal what she¡¯s saying.¡¯ That just made her seem even more dependable. At first, he didn¡¯t know what to make of this bride business, but now, he was exceedingly happy with that choice. ¡°I choose Trace of the Chungmugong.¡± [Distributing the quest item ¡®Trace of the Chungmugong¡¯.] An item appeared in his Inventory, and with that, his to-do list gained another line. * * * Translator ¨C Lei Proofreader ¨C Ash * * * Natalie trembled. The fact that Hyukjin was in a Sword¡¯s Pact with Isabel was shocking enough, but the more they talked, the more she wanted to look inside his head. ¡°But c¡¯mon, are you really serious?¡± She continued animatedly like the young whalekin she was. ¡°In my 250 years of life, I¡¯ve never met anyone as crazy as you.¡± ¡°Natalie. You mustn¡¯t be careless with what you say to the Sword Pactee.¡± ¡°But Dad! You¡¯re shocked too, aren¡¯t you?¡± She repeated Hyukjin¡¯s suggestion, completely bewildered. ¡°He wants to be swallowed by you. What¡¯s he gonna do if he gets digested?¡± ¡°I¡¯m not mana,¡± Hyukjin assured. Whalekin subsisted off mana, and Kim Hyukjin wasn¡¯t mana. ¡°But still! How are you even gonna get out?¡± ¡°I think I can come out through the blowhole when you spout clouds, just like you did earlier, Natalie.¡± Of the various ways to reach the Endless Sky, Hyukjin decided to use the ¡®hide in Naphthan¡¯s belly¡¯ method. ¡°There are still a few skybirds left, and the whalekin will need to devote every bit of their energy to swimming. You won¡¯t have the leisure to pay attention to me. And Isabel¡¯s asleep.¡± Isabel said she was going back to sleep to reserve her strength, though she didn¡¯t tell him exactly why. ¡°That¡¯s why I thought this was the safest way.¡± There was no safer place than Naphthan¡¯s stomach. Naphthan nodded. ¡°Though it is a method I never considered¡­ It is indeed the safest way. I¡¯m surprised you came up with it.¡± ¡°What do you think? Will it work?¡± ¡°I believe so, yes, but since it¡¯s never been done before, I am hard-pressed to give you a guarantee.¡± It was probably possible. Hyukjin nodded. ¡°That¡¯s enough. It¡¯s far more dangerous for me to try getting up there while clinging to one of your backs anyway.¡± He would have to protect himself from Steel Wyverns. He would be far safer in Naphthan¡¯s stomach. [The ¡®Nameless Observer¡¯ observes.] [The ¡®Courageous Lion King¡¯ is bored.] [The ¡®True Master of the Heavenly Demonic Mountain¡¯ ridicules your cowardly scheme.] [The ¡®Whispering Devil¡¯ is amused.] Hyukjin waited for a certain Guardian. ¡®Come out, will you?¡¯ And to his relief, the Guardian answered his wish. [The ¡®Barrier of Blue Light¡¯ likes your defensive strategy.] Now, he was sure. A protection-lover like the Barrier of Blue Light giving their stamp of approval meant this was a safe play. Naphthan opened his mouth wide in his white whale form. Whoooooosh¨C! Clouds were sucked in, and with them, Hyukjin. He entered the body of Naphthan, the whalekin, and landed in a place he guessed was the stomach. Around him were finely squirming muscles. As expected of the whalekin¡¯s massive size, Naphthan¡¯s stomach was expansive enough to be called a field in its own right. ¡®This is the inside of a whalekin¡¯s stomach.¡¯ When he first entered the Sky of Freedom, he never expected something like this. He imagined this was entertaining content for the Guardians as well. ¡®Would¡¯ve been fun if they counted this as a field and had something else happen here.¡¯ Unfortunately, nothing like that happened. He heard a voice. We will now start swimming. The whalekin set off. They began to swim up through the sky towards their homeland, the Endless Sky. * * * Naphthan¡¯s stomach was quite comfortable. Nothing particularly dangerous occurred, and the slight warmth and coziness even made him feel a bit sleepy. Hyukjin calmly organized his thoughts. ¡®Will I be able to meet the Demon King at the Endless Sky?¡¯ He said he would be waiting at the Endless Sky, but would Hyukjin really be able to meet him there? Hyukjin also mused that it might be better to not meet the Demon King, if possible. After all, the Demon King was the scariest opponent Hyukjin currently had. ¡®But also, I strangely want to meet him.¡¯ Illogical as it was, a part of him was scared but didn¡¯t want to run away. Because every time he met the Demon King, Hyukjin gained something or grew stronger. And technically, the Endless Sky was an arrangement of the Demon King. ¡®What a fascinating feeling.¡¯ He tried recalling the Demon King¡¯s face. ¡®As expected, I can¡¯t remember it.¡¯ Now that he had Cognitive Dissonance Dispel, it might be possible to see the Demon King¡¯s face. Quite a long time passed. ¡°Senia. How long has it been?¡± ¡°4 days and 22 hours.¡± Hyukjin had sat here undisturbed for almost 5 days. All he could feel was that the whalekin were still swimming. ¡®It does seem like Naphthan is tired.¡¯ Maybe because he was inside the whalekin¡¯s body, he could somewhat sense Naphthan¡¯s condition. Naphthan no longer periodically spoke to him as he had in the beginning. Haah¨C Haah¨C Instead, Hyukjin heard only rough breathing. If the Steel Wyverns hadn¡¯t been exterminated, this journey may have been impossible. More time passed, and when Hyukjin had been in Naphthan¡¯s stomach for 1 week, he heard the whalekin¡¯s weak voice. We have almost reached the Endless Sky. Hyukjin got up and started moving towards the blowhole. He had already figured out its rough location. ¡°When we¡¯ve reached the Endless Sky in earnest, and when you have fully secured your safety, release a spout. I¡¯ll come out through the blowhole,¡± said Hyukjin. Reaching the Endless Sky wasn¡¯t the end. 500 years ago, when the whalekin left, there were ¡®waterdrakes¡¯ here. How had they changed in all this time? Understood. I will do so. And then, some time later¡ª I think it is safe. We see no waterdrakes. But then, it was like the floodgates opened. Something came flooding in like a tsunami through the esophagus into the stomach, where Hyukjin was. It wasn¡¯t visible to the eye, but Hyukjin¡¯s Eye of Perception captured it in perfect clarity. ¡®Shit.¡¯ He knew what it was. ¡®Mana.¡¯ It was mana, but not just any mana. It was overly pure mana, and in excessive quantity. Just touching it was dangerous. It might be the perfect food for the whalekin, but not for Hyukjin. He used Flash Step. ¡°Stop inhaling mana,¡± he called out. But the mana continued rushing in. From the looks of it, this wasn¡¯t something Naphthan could control. The Endless Sky. This environment itself was too dangerous for Hyukjin. He ran. ¡®If I go out¡­¡¯ He would be exposed to even more mana than here. The current situation was more dangerous than a radioactive meltdown. If he hadn¡¯t gone up in a whalekin¡¯s stomach, his body would have disintegrated upon arrival, proving that he had indeed, by some lucky coincidence, landed upon the safest method. ¡®To the whalekin, it¡¯s heaven. To me, it¡¯s hell.¡¯ For Hyukjin, the Endless Sky was essentially a hellish ocean filled with hydrochloric acid instead of water. He fled with every ounce of his strength from the tidal wave of mana nipping at his back. His back began to sting, the portent of a light burn. And he felt it. He would be consumed by this mana. Eye of Perception showed him the future, just as it had in the Tutorial Field. He saw a future where he was swallowed by the mana and his body disintegrated. ¡®No.¡¯ He hadn¡¯t clawed his way here to perish in vain. This place was a part of the Demon King¡¯s arrangements. Would the Demon King have arranged and told him about this place so he could die here? No. ¡®It¡¯s not that I didn¡¯t expect this.¡¯ To be precise, he hadn¡¯t expected this crisis specifically, but he had imagined the worst-case scenario. ¡®There is a way.¡¯ A way to survive this horrifying mana. ____ Chapter 258 Chapter 258 A tidal wave of mana that Hyukjin could only express as ¡®absolutely terrifying¡¯ rushed relentlessly towards him. ¡®Mana isn¡¯t a living creature or a monster.¡¯ It was a part of the environment, which was a type of ¡®setting¡¯. ¡®An innate setting of the Endless Sky field.¡¯ Something Hyukjin had learned through his Playing so far was that settings had to be fought with settings. There was always a setting that could trump another setting. ¡®The System gave me rewards just by coming here.¡¯ Before setting off, Hyukjin was sure there was a definite reason why he would be given three rewards just by reaching the Endless Sky. [Distributing ¡®Blessing of the Whalekin¡¯ as a clear reward.] [Distributing ¡®Whalekin Sinew¡¯ as a clear reward.] And one more. [You have acquired the rights to the ¡®Treasure of the Whalekin¡¯ as a clear reward.] Naphthan said he would find this treasure in the Endless Sky and give it to him. In other words, Naphthan needed some time to find it. Thankfully, he already had the reward he needed now. Hyukjin took out an item the shape of a blue marble, the ¡®Blessing of the Whalekin¡¯, and crushed it. [Blessing of the Whalekin is taking effect.] [Blessing of the Whalekin will last for 24 hours.] [Temporarily adding a physical trait due to Blessing of the Whalekin.] On top of the two traits he already had, Divine Bow Physique and Divine Sword Physique, Hyukjin temporarily gained the trait ¡®Whale Physique¡¯. [The Whale Physique trait is taking effect.] [You can breathe the mana of the Endless Sky.] The burning sensation on his back vanished. ¡®Ah.¡¯ Coolness washed over him, and then he was on the ground, vomiting all the contents of his stomach. He heaved multiple times, and everything he expelled was cleansed into nothingness by mana. After emptying his stomach, he felt all refreshed. He had the sensation of being perfectly full even without eating anything, and it felt like mana was entering his body. ¡®This is how the whalekin live.¡¯ This feeling of physical satiety and deep mental satisfaction, it was no exaggeration to call it ecstasy. It was peaceful and wonderful, like all the high of being pleasantly drunk with none of the tipsiness. Hyukjin exited Naphthan¡¯s body through the whalekin¡¯s blowhole. ¡®This¡­ is the Endless Sky.¡¯ It was like he was in a blue ocean. Everywhere around him was mana that looked like water. With every breath, the mana circulated through his body and was exhaled out. ¡®I feel like I¡¯m growing just by breathing.¡¯ Hyukjin pulled out Isabel. [A special condition has been temporarily fulfilled.] [The majority of Isabel¡¯s abilities have been unlocked.] [Isabel manifests.] There was a flash so bright that Hyukjin was briefly forced to close his eyes. He opened them again. ¡°Isa¡­bel?¡± Before him was the white robed Isabel. Mana surged from the purplish gem at the tip of her staff. Isabel stretched. ¡°I can finally breathe a bit. It¡¯s gotta be at least Endless Sky level.¡± Hyukjin couldn¡¯t look directly at her. He didn¡¯t know why¡ªhe simply could not raise his eyes. It wasn¡¯t a response born of fear, but awe. So much awe that his body rejected the very notion of meeting Isabel¡¯s eyes. It felt as though he was looking at a massive sun. ¡®Where did the whalekin go?¡¯ All the whalekin were gone. In this blue cosmos were just the two of them. ¡°Husband. Since we¡¯re at the Endless Sky, you may as well learn the breathing technique before we go.¡± ¡°Breathing technique?¡± ¡°You probably won¡¯t be able to use it in other fields.¡± ¡°Then it¡¯s meaningless to learn it.¡± ¡°Experiencing the farthest heights, if only for a moment, is something martial artists dream of. Because that alone is a valuable experience.¡± Hyukjin realized what she meant. She was right. In all things, there was a world of difference between having experienced something once and having never experienced it. The purplish necklace at Isabel¡¯s neck sparkled. ¡°Sit down in the lotus position.¡± ¡°Lotus position?¡± Hyukjin complied, feeling as though his body were floating in midair. ¡°You¡¯re breathing the mana of the Endless Sky right now. Correct?¡± ¡°Yeah.¡± Unlike usual, Hyukjin¡¯s command over the conversation was completely snatched away from him. He moved exactly as Isabel directed, as she told him to do. And yet, he didn¡¯t feel that it was strange or unpleasant to do so. ¡°Excuse me for a moment.¡± Isabel went to Hyukjin¡¯s back, then reached out around him and placed a hand on his chest, making her look like she was hugging him from behind. ¡°Feel your heart beating.¡± Isabel¡¯s hand was warm. When her hand touched him, an indescribable sense of security washed over him, and her touch awakened a thrill he had forgotten for a long time. His heart thumped loudly. ¡°Remember this sensation.¡± Isabel stretched out her other hand and laid it on his lower belly. Her palm came in contact with his skin. ¡°Here.¡± Isabel gently stroked Hyukjin¡¯s lower abdomen. ¡°Think of there being another heart here. Visualize another heartbeat being here in your mind.¡± Hyukjin¡¯s view instantly turned inwards, showing him a different world. He became an observer of his own body. ¡®This¡­¡¯ He couldn¡¯t be sure, but he knew that Isabel had helped him. ¡®¡­is an opportunity.¡¯ Most of Isabel¡¯s abilities were unlocked right now. It seemed she had used some special method of her own to guide him. ¡®That¡¯s my heart.¡¯ He saw the muscles of his heart. ¡®Ah.¡¯ He had experienced this before. ¡®I saw the inside of Naphthan¡¯s stomach.¡¯ He had seen a living being¡¯s insides, up close and personal. Maybe because of that, it was far easier to visualize the inside of his own body. He heard Isabel¡¯s voice. ¡°Make an imaginary heart and put it in your lower abdomen.¡± He could no longer see Isabel or feel her touch. Only he, Kim Hyukjin, existed in this microcosm that was a human¡¯s body. A heart formed before his eyes. ¡®This¡­ is an imaginary heart.¡¯ It was imaginary, but it looked the same as a real heart. It was just a heart he couldn¡¯t see unless he was visualizing it. ¡°Plant that in your lower abdomen. You need this in order to turn the mana of the Endless Sky into your own mana. I¡¯ll help you, so just focus on visualizing. You just need to stay still,¡± came Isabel¡¯s reliable voice. ¡°I¡¯ll do the rest.¡± And then, time passed. Hyukjin could feel the newly formed, additional heart in his lower belly beating. ¡°Breathe in.¡± * * * Translator ¨C Lei Proofreader ¨C Ash * * * The cosmos cracked, and then he was once again in the real world. The Endless Sky, this new place full of blue mana. He could feel Isabel¡¯s warmth again. ¡°First, move this blue mana into your lower abdomen¡¯s heart.¡± The mana moved like it had a will of its own. ¡°After converting the mana into your own through this heart, send it to every corner of your body. Ah, actually.¡± Isabel came to stand in front of him. ¡°Get up real quick.¡± He did as she asked. ¡°Excuse me for a moment.¡± She leaned forward, and then put her lips on his. ¡°Open your lips and hold still,¡± she murmured. That moment, Hyukjin felt an ecstasy even greater than any flutter of the heart, even more intense than the delight he experienced when he first came to the Endless Sky. He felt the mana that had been purified by Isabel¡¯s body push its way through every part of his body. ¡®Stuff from within my body¡­ is being expelled.¡¯ From his eyes, nose, mouth, ears, even his anus and the pores of his skin, smelly black pus oozed out. Some of it even trickled into Isabel¡¯s mouth, but she revealed no revulsion. ¡°Don¡¯t think about other things. What¡¯s most important right now is purifying your body, Husband.¡± It was as if the impurities in his body were expelled and his body was being purified by the Endless Sky¡¯s mana. It also felt like the Athenae¡¯s flame dwelling inside his body was reacting with the Endless Sky¡¯s mana. His body was cold. It was cold, but simultaneously hot, a strange sensation. Isabel said, ¡°Remember this feeling. This is how mana flows within our bodies. It passes through the second heart and through the imaginary artery. Then, it passes the real heart and travels to every part of the body.¡± It was like all the vessels in his body were changed from red to blue, like the blood flowing through his veins was blue instead of red. Isabel moved away. ¡°You can do it on your own, right?¡± The impurities that had seeped out of Hyukjin¡¯s body had already been cleansed by the Endless Sky¡¯s mana. ¡°I think so.¡± ¡°You need to remember this pathway and feeling. Only then can you attain ¡ª.¡± Hyukjin asked one thing. ¡°Isabel. Would this have been possible if I hadn¡¯t had your help?¡± His body¡¯s impurities were expelled, and he had observed the inside of his own body. He was able to watch and contemplate how the mana inside his body flowed as if it were some exhibit at a museum. Hyukjin knew such a feat was not as easy as it seemed. ¡°It would have been impossible.¡± For the slightest moment, he felt a spike of extreme pain. A jolt ran down his spine and blitzed through his entire body. Hyukjin nearly passed out. ¡°The pain you just felt, I took it in your stead.¡± ¡°¡­¡± ¡°You and I are bound by a Sword¡¯s Pact. I assumed the pain you should have felt.¡± ¡°I see¡­ Without you, I would have fainted.¡± ¡°Don¡¯t worry. As long as I¡¯m here, such a thing won¡¯t happen.¡± It was a funny feeling. Up to this point, he had done everything independently. But it was a little different now. The absolute being called Isabel was doing everything for him. ¡°And though it may be a very painful sensation for you, it isn¡¯t much to me.¡± ¡°¡­¡± Now that he thought about it, how was it that Noah of the U-Plex Dungeon had a ¡®transcendent¡¯ artifact like this? ¡®It¡¯s no simple matter.¡¯ Isabel was an existence powerful enough to directly interfere with the System. It made no sense for a meaningless NPC like Noah to possess such a being. There was more to uncover about Isabel, Noah, and the U-Plex Dungeon. ¡°Okay, try it a bit longer. Focus, and don¡¯t move for about three hours.¡± That was easy enough to say, but hard to do. Hyukjin sat in lotus position and devoted his utmost attention to breathing the Endless Sky¡¯s mana and casting it into every part of his body. And then, after three hours, he heard a notice. [You have succeeded in absorbing the ¡®mana of the Endless Sky¡¯.] [A new trait, ¡®Endless Sky Physique¡¯, has been generated.] [A new heart has settled in your lower abdomen.] [A new name must be imprinted on the new heart.] ¡°What does it mean to imprint a name on the heart?¡± Hyukjin asked. ¡°Eh, it¡¯s nothing much. You¡¯ve created something that didn¡¯t originally exist, so the creator must give the creation a name. Just pick whatever name you want.¡± Hyukjin grinned. He had a good idea. He knew this happy chance landed on his lap thanks to this absolute being named Isabel, and that this ¡®Endless Sky Physique¡¯ was better than just good. ¡°Isabel.¡± ¡°What?¡± ¡°I choose the name Isabel.¡± ¡°¡­¡± While he was learning, he allowed things to go as the absolute being wished. That was far better than clumsily taking control. He needed Isabel¡¯s guidance to grow properly. [The new heart¡¯s name has been set to ¡®Isabel¡¯.] [The heart has been named.] Isabel blushed a little. ¡°That¡¯s embarrassing, what the heck?¡± ¡°A heart can also mean another life.¡± In other words, his other life was Isabel. ¡°Whatever. I don¡¯t wanna hear such flattery.¡± Isabel¡¯s face reddened even more. ¡°I merely did what I should as a Sword Pactee and your bride.¡± Eye of Perception read Isabel¡¯s emotions. The fact that he was able to do so despite the huge power gap between them meant her emotions were just that intense. State: First Flutter in Ten Thousand Years / Happiness / Embarrassment Hyukjin added insult to injury. ¡°Never thought I¡¯d have my first kiss like this.¡± ¡°Th-That wasn¡¯t a kiss.¡± ¡°Say what you will, but it was a kiss to me.¡± Just then, he heard a voice. ¡°Hrrrrm? You kissed?¡± It was Natalie. After three hours away, the whalekin were back. Natalie was in her glowing human form. She jumped up and down with a hand over her mouth. ¡°A kiss! A kiss! A kiss! Ooh, how thrilling.¡± ¡°Whale child, refrain from pointless imprudence.¡± ¡°But Lady Isabel, did you really have a kiss?¡± The leader of the whalekin, Naphthan, interrupted with an ahem. ¡°Natalie. That¡¯s not what¡¯s important right now.¡± Naphthan turned to stare at Hyukjin. ¡°There¡¯s something we need to tell you.¡± The leader of the whalekin started saying something very interesting. ¡°I think something has happened to the Endless Sky over these 500 years.¡± ____ Chapter 259 Chapter 259 ¡°There are no waterdrakes,¡± said Naphthan. Hyukjin¡¯s Eye of Perception couldn¡¯t sense anything at all. The worst-case scenario was this: after feeding off the Endless Sky¡¯s mana, the waterdrakes evolved into new beings, creatures so strong they transcended detection by the whalekin or Hyukjin¡¯s Eye of Perception. A being like a dragon, for instance. ¡®If that was the case, they wouldn¡¯t have just let us be.¡¯ If the worst-case scenario were true, there was no point in trying to calculate or prepare. It would be the end. He decided not to consider the worst-case scenario, since there was no countermeasure anyway. Natalie tilted her head. ¡°Maybe they knew we were coming back and ran away?¡± ¡°That¡¯s unlikely. If they were going to do that, they wouldn¡¯t have come to the Endless Sky in the first place.¡± Hyukjin looked around. ¡®The Endless Sky 500 years ago and the Endless Sky now. The waterdrakes that existed in the past. The waterdrakes that don¡¯t exist now.¡¯ Hyukjin asked, ¡°Were there only whalekin in the Endless Sky originally?¡± ¡°Yeah, that¡¯s right. The Endless Sky was the nest of the whalekin! Right, Dad?¡± Naphthan stroked Natalie¡¯s head. ¡°So that means 500 years ago, before the waterdrakes came, there were no lifeforms here other than the whalekin.¡± ¡°That is correct, Sword Pactee.¡± Hyukjin noticed something strange. ¡°Were the waterdrakes such high-level creatures?¡± Hyukjin had seen for his own eyes how the Steel Wyverns that fell into the Sea of Clouds shrank, transforming into mana crystals. Darongi had pocketed the entire catch; the mana crystals sparkling in his Inventory were proof of that. ¡®Waterdrakes are a subspecies of dragon, yes, but they can¡¯t be that much stronger than a wyvern.¡¯ The Steel Wyverns disappeared as soon as they fell into the Sea of Clouds, leaving only mana crystals behind. ¡®But this place is roiling with even more horrifying mana than the Sea of Clouds.¡¯ If he hadn¡¯t gotten the temporary Whale Physique trait from the Whalekin¡¯s Blessing, he wouldn¡¯t have been able to survive here. ¡°If you think about it, it¡¯s weird. Why aren¡¯t there any other creatures than the whalekin here?¡± ¡°You¡¯re right¡­¡± Only after the passage of 500 years did Naphthan realize something was strange. Hyukjin continued. ¡°It¡¯s because the mana here is overly clean.¡± Fish could not survive in water that was too clear. ¡°I was also almost consumed by the mana.¡± This place might be heaven for the whalekin, but for other creatures, it was hell. ¡°But the waterdrakes came here.¡± He didn¡¯t know how many paths to the Endless Sky there were. But even the extremely powerful whalekin struggled to swim all this way. Then what about the waterdrakes? ¡°And you¡¯re telling me the same waterdrakes breathed here and chased you guys out?¡± In a place with mana like this? ¡°No matter how you think of it, it¡¯s strange.¡± ¡°Yes, now that you say so, it¡¯s indeed strange.¡± ¡°Before I pointed it out, none of you thought it was strange.¡± The whalekin were a race that had little need of thinking. They had no natural enemies and no hunger to worry about. All they needed to do was float along and simply live. But even considering that, this was odd. ¡°It¡¯s strange that the waterdrakes were able to come here at all, and it¡¯s strange that they were able to survive here. And it¡¯s even more strange that no one noticed that it was strange. Am I right?¡± ¡°You¡­ are.¡± ¡°For something as strange as this, there had to have been some outside influence.¡± It wasn¡¯t something that could naturally occur. ¡®I¡­ already know about the unknown being who is cultivating Predator Trees.¡¯ Before, it would have never in a thousand years occurred to him that the Predator Trees he knew were all cultivated by someone¡¯s hand. But now, he knew that to be true. ¡®Then there could be another unknown being raising waterdrakes.¡¯ If that being used something like large-scale Cognitive Dissonance, it would somewhat explain this phenomenon. ¡®Someone¡¯s active involvement.¡¯ Then who, exactly, was that someone? Somehow, he could guess who it was. There was someone who had been setting this stage starting 500 years ago. ¡°Someone called me here.¡± ¡°Who?¡± ¡°His name among humans is the Demon King. The issue is, I think this is a special field you can¡¯t reach by normal means.¡± This was a place permitted solely to the whalekin, a truly unique place that only ¡®special beings¡¯ like Isabel knew. ¡°Getting here is already nearly impossible, but the bigger problem is that if I hadn¡¯t come here prepared, my body would have disintegrated.¡± Without the Whalekin¡¯s Blessing, he would be long dead. ¡°So we can say with certainty that I needed the help of the whalekin to get here.¡± ¡°Yes. That does seem to be the case.¡± ¡°What if you guys were in the Endless Sky?¡± Then Hyukjin would have no quest from the whalekin, and therefore no Whalekin¡¯s Blessing to receive as a reward. He would have no chance to get a quest from them in the first place. ¡®So the Demon King sent these guys into the Sea of Clouds.¡¯ Now, he was certain. ¡®The Demon King is not a Player.¡¯ This would be impossible if he was. From the very start, he was not a Player, but an ¡®unknown existence¡¯. ¡°He sent you guys down to the Sea of Clouds, and as a result, I became acquainted with you, which allowed me to survive and breathe in this environment.¡± Naphtha nodded. ¡°Your reasoning does sound right. It seems we¡¯ve been used.¡± The whalekin didn¡¯t seem very angry after hearing that. It was seriously hard to tell what things aroused their anger and what didn¡¯t. It seemed to Hyukjin that they didn¡¯t get angry about anything, as long as it wasn¡¯t about marriage. ¡°Then there¡¯s only one important thing.¡± Why? Why did the Demon King plan things like this 500 years ago in order to call him here? Why did the Demon King call a Player like himself to this special field peacefully inhabited by only the whalekin? The Demon King had even mentioned the ¡®Endless Sky¡¯ by name. ¡°There should be something here that you guys¡ªthe whalekin and the Demon King¡ªcan¡¯t do by yourselves. What might that be?¡± There was something the whalekin and Demon King could not do here in the Endless Sky, so he, a human, was summoned. ¡°Something we cannot do¡­¡± Naphthan fell into thought. Something impossible for the whalekin, something they couldn¡¯t do in the Endless Sky. Natalie¡¯s hand shot up. ¡°Dad! There¡¯s that one thing you said all the time 250 years ago.¡± ¡°What was it again?¡± ¡°You said that if I don¡¯t listen to you, the mana hole will get me.¡± ¡°Ah.¡± Naphthan seemed to remember something. ¡°That¡¯s right, the mana hole. That¡¯s a thing.¡± Hyukjin smiled. The puzzle pieces were coming together. ¡°What is a mana hole, exactly?¡± * * * Translator ¨C Lei Proofreader ¨C Ash * * * The mana hole was a black hole-like thing in the Endless Sky. According to the whalekin, it existed at the ¡®center of the Endless Sky¡¯, and any whalekin that were sucked in were never seen again. ¡°Of course, we can feel the energy of the mana hole from afar.¡± So in truth, there were very few whalekin who were sucked into the mana hole. ¡°A setting that swallows whalekin, huh,¡± Hyukjin mumbled. This field had such a setting. ¡°Would it be possible to go within its vicinity?¡± ¡°Mm.¡± Naphthan thought for a moment before answering. ¡°I can bring you to the point where it¡¯s still safe.¡± ¡°Let¡¯s go then. To the mana hole.¡± ¡°It could be dangerous. We are whalekin, but¡­¡± ¡°I know. I know that I¡¯m a human.¡± He was innately far weaker than the whalekin. Even if he was high leveled and became a super top Ranker, he would probably still be weaker than the whalekin. The two races began at an entirely different starting point. ¡°But I think this is a fight between settings.¡± That was why the Demon King went to the trouble of using tricks 500 years ago to bring him, a human and a Player, all this way. ¡°Oh, right.¡± Before heading to the mana hole, he had to get what he was owed. ¡°Where is your guys¡¯ treasure?¡± ¡°Ah. One of our kind has gone to fetch it. It is hidden in the treasure reef.¡± They waited. From afar, approached a white light. It was one of the whalekin, and in their hand was a small box called the ¡®Treasure of the Whalekin¡¯. [Distributing the ¡®Treasure of the Whalekin¡¯ as a clear reward.] [Treasure of the Whalekin] ? He couldn¡¯t check the contents of the box, which was golden and glowed with colorful light. Hyukjin stowed the treasure in his Inventory, then intentionally said aloud, ¡°I predict this is a scenario where two settings will clash, so this treasure may very well be of great help to me.¡± Isabel, who had been unusually quiet, spoke up. ¡°That item. Give it to me for a moment.¡± ¡°The treasure?¡± ¡°Yeah.¡± Isabel took the box, then closed her eyes. It looked like she was investigating the item. Some time later, Isabel opened her eyes. ¡°Whale children. Do you know what this treasure is?¡± ¡°It is something we have guarded as our treasure for generations.¡± ¡°I¡¯m asking if you know about its use.¡± ¡°¡­¡± Hyukjin internally snorted in bewilderment. The whalekin were truly a race that didn¡¯t think much. For them, a treasure was a treasure, no questions asked. It was true that they didn¡¯t need to think, but still, it was a wonder how they could be so oblivious. Hyukjin asked, ¡°Why? Do you know what this is?¡± ¡°It is too lacking of the smell of the whalekin to be called the whalekin¡¯s treasure.¡± ¡°Does that mean it¡¯s not their treasure then?¡± ¡°¡ª ¡ª ¡ª-.¡± Isabel spoke, but Hyukjin wasn¡¯t able to understand what she said. He reframed the question. ¡°Isabel. In your opinion, is this item something I can keep?¡± In that moment¡ª Isabel disappeared. He saw her with his eyes, but his brain failed to process the information. She either nodded or shook her head, but no matter how much he strained his eyes, he could not see her. He could also not hear her voice. ¡®System interference.¡¯ The System prevented him from not only hearing her, but also seeing her. ¡°Guess that means I need to make the choice, in the end.¡± Hyukjin snatched away the ¡®treasure¡¯ in Isabel¡¯s hand. He did so on purpose. ¡®If whatever is in here is harmful to me, Isabel wouldn¡¯t have let me take it so easily.¡¯ She had more than enough skill to keep him from taking it, but she had allowed him to grab it. That meant it wasn¡¯t deleterious. ¡°Let¡¯s go to the mana hole.¡± ¡°I think it would be best to go into my mouth for a moment.¡± Hyukjin thought that was better, too. The whalekin were so massive that there was nothing for him to grab. Being carried in Naphthan¡¯s mouth was the best way. Naphthan revealed his true form¡ªa giant white whale, a noble being with a soft white glow. Hyukjin was sucked into Naphthan¡¯s mouth, and time passed. He heard a voice. ¡°I will slowly spit you out.¡± It seemed they had arrived. Hyukjin¡¯s body moved on its own again, pulled by an irresistible force. ¡°Huh?¡± Hyukjin lost balance, and he began to get sucked away. ____ Chapter 260 Chapter 260 Hyukjin was knocked off his feet. ¡°Husband!¡± He heard Isabel¡¯s voice, as well as others. Naphthan was shouting. ¡°Sword Pactee!¡± His consciousness dimmed. He lost his balance and was sucked away. As his body whizzed forward, Hyukjin bit his lips hard enough for blood to flow. ¡®I can¡¯t lose consciousness.¡¯ His instincts screamed danger. Eye of Perception was warning him that if he blacked out, he would die. ¡®Isabel and Naphthan couldn¡¯t do anything.¡¯ If Isabel in her current state and Naphthan the whalekin couldn¡¯t save him, this wasn¡¯t an issue of power, but very likely an issue of ¡®settings¡¯. ¡®Naphthan even promised to protect me.¡¯ But he was unable to. He had only watched in a daze as Hyukjin was sucked away. ¡®This is driven by a huge setting.¡¯ He needed to stay alert. But he could feel his mental power being chipped away. It was a terrible sensation, like someone had a straw in his brain and was sucking away. ¡®I need to hold on.¡¯ Around and around, the world spun ¡®round. ¡®I will hold on.¡¯ He pulled out a dagger and slashed the back of his hand. The pain kept him awake. The world continued to spin. ¡°Ah¡­¡± At some point, the spinning stopped. ¡®This isn¡¯t the Endless Sky.¡¯ How to put it? ¡®Is it¡­ the inside of the mana hole?¡¯ It seemed he was inside the mana hole that was said to suck in even the whalekin if they got too near. He heard a voice. ¡°Looks like you stayed awake by stabbing the back of your hand.¡± Hyukjin¡¯s mind instantly snapped to attention. That voice, it was familiar to his ear, an unforgettable voice. The low, deep voice was imbued with mana so profound that the current Hyukjin could not even begin to imagine its power. ¡°Quite the smart choice.¡± The inside of the mana hole was dark. Some distance ahead was a golden chair, and sitting on the chair was a certain person. ¡°Demon King.¡± ¡°Are you calling me Demon King?¡± ¡°That¡¯s the only way I can describe you.¡± Hyukjin flinched. ¡®When?¡¯ He hadn¡¯t even felt it. In the blink of an eye, the Demon King was right in front of him. He couldn¡¯t read the movement at all. The Demon King¡¯s face was almost pressed to his, so close he could feel the man¡¯s breath. Hyukjin felt instantly suffocated, but he didn¡¯t show it. ¡°I still can¡¯t recognize your face.¡± ¡°Can¡¯t be helped with your level of Cognitive Dissonance Dispel.¡± ¡°Why did you call me here?¡± ¡°Who knows? You tell me, why do you think I called you here?¡± Hyukjin knew. This was a test. Kang Sun-il was not an unconditional ally. It was true that he was here thanks to the Demon King¡¯s assistance, but was that truly doing him a favor? The answer was no. He didn¡¯t know what the Demon King¡¯s intention was. ¡®If I can¡¯t provide the right answer¡­¡¯ Then the Demon King might cut him down without hesitation. Kang Sun-il could find another pawn to use. ¡°Because there¡¯s something you want from me.¡± ¡°Is there really something I would want from the likes of you?¡± The Demon King¡¯s aura crashed down on Hyukjin, squashing the breath out of him. It was truly hard to breathe. The Demon King was testing him a little more harshly than last time. ¡®Test or no test, I¡¯m gonna die of suffocation.¡¯ He rapidly used an item. It was Courage, the item given to him by the Courageous Lion King. Hyukjin didn¡¯t like the Guardian one bit, but he came in handy once in a while. [Using the gift given by the ¡®Courageous Lion King¡¯, Courage.] [A courageous aura billows forth.] The Demon King smirked. He seemed to know this power came from the Courageous Lion King. With Courage, Hyukjin was able to resist the Demon King¡¯s suppression a little, which allowed him to at least escape death by asphyxiation. After regaining some mental clarity, Hyukjin calmly continued. ¡°Why would you keep me alive and do such a troublesome thing if there wasn¡¯t anything you wanted from me?¡± Kang Sun-il smirked. Hyukjin couldn¡¯t distinguish his face, but he could feel that the man was smiling. There was an image in his head of the bright red lips above the Demon King¡¯s head widening in a grin. ¡°Very well. I like your attitude.¡± Kang Sun-il nodded. ¡°Then tell me, what is the thing I want from you?¡± ¡°There¡¯s a high chance there¡¯s something you can¡¯t obtain yourself because of a System setting. If not that, then simple curiosity towards me.¡± But the latter was unlikely. ¡°However, you¡¯ve arranged far too many things for it to be simple curiosity.¡± So in the end, the answer was the former. ¡°Ultimately, I obtained the treasure of the whalekin.¡± He had the ¡®?¡¯ item with a description he could not read, the treasure that apparently didn¡¯t belong to the whalekin at all, but was perceived as theirs. ¡°Isn¡¯t this what you wanted?¡± Hyukjin opened his Inventory. ¡®It¡¯s gone!¡¯ The ¡®Treasure of the Whalekin¡¯ he had left in his Inventory had disappeared without a trace. Hyukjin had no idea when it was taken. This must be how others felt when they were robbed by Darongi. Kang Sun-il grinned again. ¡°You¡¯re slow.¡± Kang Sun-il tossed the small box that was the ¡®treasure¡¯ up and down in his hand. ¡°Thanks to you, I was able to get my hands on this. Well done.¡± ¡°¡­¡± Hyukjin didn¡¯t know what this treasure was, but there was no doubt it was what the Demon King wanted, and that there was some kind of reason the Demon King was unable to acquire it himself. ¡°Why¡¯re you staring at me like that? You mad?¡± ¡°Not at all.¡± It would be a lie to say he wasn¡¯t a little displeased, but the treasure was already gone. He didn¡¯t show his feelings. Instead, he said, ¡°This happened to me because I lack the skill, after all.¡± ¡°At least you acknowledge that.¡± ¡°If I don¡¯t acknowledge my faults, there is no path for growth.¡± ¡°A fine saying.¡± Kang Sun-il chortled. ¡°You¡¯ve accumulated quite a few stigmata in the meantime.¡± The Demon King looked Hyukjin up and down as if evaluating a sculpture. Hyukjin stood there frozen, feeling like he had been stripped bare before Kang Sun-il¡¯s prying gaze. It was a terrible, terrible feeling. It felt like every part of him was being scoured, down to the depths of his heart. ¡°Impressive. Your current level is 39. Your leveling speed isn¡¯t anything special, but you¡¯re far stronger than regular Players. And I see you destroyed the Gray Ring.¡± ¡°¡­¡± Kang Sun-il seemed to have an ability more advanced than Hyukjin¡¯s Eye of Perception. He read everything with a simple up-and-down glance. ¡°How come you destroyed the Gray Ring?¡± ¡°Why do you ask the obvious? I destroyed the Gray Ring because it came with a ¡®clue regarding the Sky of Freedom¡¯.¡± ¡°Is that all?¡± ¡°¡­¡± Hyukjin thought for a moment. Should he be honest here? ¡®It¡¯s not about choosing not to lie, but that I can¡¯t lie.¡¯ He couldn¡¯t handle the consequences of lying to this man. He had to reveal what he could afford to reveal as honestly as possible, while still scraping up what benefits he could. That was the correct strategy. ¡°Because the Gray Ring can set the Players¡¯ voluntary growth cap to 60.¡± ¡°What good is that to you?¡± ¡°Isn¡¯t it better to be capped at level 60 than level 40?¡± ¡°I¡¯m asking why you think that.¡± ¡°Does there need to be a reason?¡± The Demon King shrugged. ¡°You have no reason?¡± ¡°I think a world stuck at a level 60 cap would be better than a world stuck at level 40. Is that not reason enough?¡± ¡°It is.¡± Kang Sun-il disappeared from sight, then reappeared sitting in the golden chair. ¡°You¡¯re one amusing fellow.¡± The Demon King had his legs crossed. ¡°You acquired the temporary traits Whale Physique and Endless Sky Physique. Without those two, you can¡¯t last in the Endless Sky.¡± ¡°¡­¡± ¡°Don¡¯t forget that sensation. Seeing as you¡¯ve made your second heart, ¡ª ¡ª must have helped you.¡± ¡°Are you talking about Isabel?¡± ¡°Indeed. Isabel must be the name you can discern. Anyway, I guess I should first congratulate you for managing to get here alive.¡± The Demon King¡¯s appearance began to fade. Apparently, he had judged he had gotten everything there was to get. ¡°I haven¡¯t forgotten what you said.¡± I will become strong. Strong enough to make you, the person reigning as the strong one right now, kneel. Or strong enough to become a fierce blade you can trust. ¡°Try your best to become strong, then.¡± The Demon King vanished, leaving only a bright red pair of lips that widened in midair. The lips uttered an evil sentence. ¡°If you can get out of here alive, that is.¡± * * * Translator ¨C Lei Proofreader ¨C Ash * * * That moment, Hyukjin was crushed by an indescribable pressure. ¡°Gah¡ª!¡± He had forgotten. This was the ¡®mana hole¡¯, a phenomenon capable of sucking in even the whalekin with its incredible force. The black hole of the Endless Sky. ¡®I¡¯m getting sucked in again.¡¯ He didn¡¯t know where he was getting drawn towards; all he could faintly tell was that he was getting sucked towards the center of the mana hole. ¡®My body¡­¡¯ It was being crushed. He had already seen what had happened to the Steel Wyverns that had fallen into the Sea of Clouds. ¡®If I get sucked deep inside¡­ the same will happen to me.¡¯ He didn¡¯t know if he would become a mana crystal, but in any case, it spelled certain death. Try your best to become strong, then. If you can get out of here alive, that is. Hyukjin clenched his teeth. ¡®That son of a bitch.¡¯ Hyukjin realized something. Even the Intermediate Administrator Senia wasn¡¯t here right now. That meant this place was off-limits even to her. ¡®It¡¯s just the Demon King and me, the two of us.¡¯ He thought back to the Demon King¡¯s last words. If you can get out of here alive, that is. Interpreted another way, those words meant there was a path to survive this place, this mana hole that even consumed whalekin. How? He might be an ass, but the Demon King wouldn¡¯t have spouted meaningless nonsense. You acquired the temporary traits Whale Physique and Endless Sky Physique. Without those two, you can¡¯t last in the Endless Sky. Don¡¯t forget that sensation. Seeing as you¡¯ve made your second heart, ¡ª ¡ª must have helped you. He had brought up Whale Physique and Endless Sky Physique out of nowhere, for seemingly no reason. ¡®Therein lies the path.¡¯ He was sure of that. Thanks to the Whale Physique, he could breathe here, and thanks to the Endless Sky Physique, he could absorb the mana of the Endless Sky, which purified and cleansed his body while helping him stay alive. ¡®Absorb mana.¡¯ The Endless Sky Physique was a body that absorbed the Endless Sky¡¯s mana. ¡®A body that absorbs.¡¯ Hyukjin let out an unconscious scream. It felt like his body was fragmenting. If he hadn¡¯t increased his Willpower the other day, he would have passed out. ¡®The sensation of absorbing mana. Second heart.¡¯ They were clues. As his consciousness dimmed, he endured the pain of his entire body being destroyed as he continued his line of thought. ¡®Second heart.¡¯ It was only one moment, but Hyukjin forgot the pain, immersing himself in utmost concentration. ¡®I won¡¯t¡­ resist.¡¯ The force that was dragging him along was also mana. It was mana assigned a unique pulling force. He entrusted his body to this mana, letting go of any resistance. ¡®Endless Sky Physique.¡¯ All of a sudden, he felt an enlightenment bud within him. ¡®In the mana hole, I didn¡¯t absorb the surrounding mana and turn it mine.¡¯ He had jumped straight to resisting its pull. Hyukjin breathed naturally. In, and out. In, and out once more. As he repeated that process, he naturally became one with the mana of the mana hole, assimilating with it. ¡®This is it.¡¯ He did not resist. He simply accepted it. The mana of this mana hole would not harm him. Not as long as he possessed a true Endless Sky Physique and could achieve harmony with the surrounding mana. Hyukjin began to breathe in the mana hole¡¯s mana. ¡®Like Isabel taught me.¡¯ He took it in, sent it to his second heart, and through his body once more. ¡®It¡¯s slowly¡­ getting better.¡¯ Hyukjin wasn¡¯t aware, but a ¡®red eye¡¯ resembling the Red Eyes was gazing at Hyukjin from afar. When Hyukjin recovered his composure, it disappeared. ¡®Naturally accepting the surrounding mana.¡¯ That was the true strength of the Endless Sky Physique. It didn¡¯t matter what kind of mana it was. As long as it could be taken in, it was mana, plain and simple. When he realized that, a new incantation began to emerge from Hyukjin¡¯s lips. ____ Chapter 261 Chapter 261 The red eye staring at Hyukjin from afar disappeared with a glint, and Hyukjin¡¯s eyes turned red. They resembled the eyes of the Red Demon, Ahn Seohye. He fell into a trance. It wasn¡¯t a Will Incantation. This incantation was not driven by his conscious will, but by his instincts responding to the situation. ¡°Oh great Promise, terrifying in thy vastness.¡± ¡°I make my vow to the Keeper of the Commandments.¡± ¡°My and my mother¡¯s house have committed crime and done evil.¡± ¡°For failing to uphold the laws and rules.¡± ¡°The ancient vow hath ordered me thus:¡± ¡°Fulfill the entreaty of those who rejoice in revering the prayer of promise and the name of the oath.¡± It was a new kind of incantation. Hyukjin wasn¡¯t conscious of it, but instead of being an incantation that was uttered to himself, the words seemed to be directed at a listener. It was fundamentally a little different from previous incantations. From his lips emerged a voice that did not belong to him. [On this day, raise me up.] [And I shall be beholden ¡®fore all promise.] Hyukjin¡¯s red eyes gleamed, and red energy enveloped his body. ¡®It feels¡­ comfortable.¡¯ His body was still getting sucked along, but it was no longer painful. The pressure squeezing him had also disappeared. His body was on the verge of breaking, but he was okay. ¡®I think¡­ I just did an incantation.¡¯ He couldn¡¯t remember. He had uttered it unconsciously. But he did know one thing. ¡®It was different from the incantations I¡¯ve done so far.¡¯ In any case, the incantation was successful, and the overwhelming mana that had nearly consumed him melted away in his body. ¡®It feels like I¡¯ve become one with the mana.¡¯ He felt one with everything around him. [Awakening a hidden authority of the temporary trait ¡®Endless Sky Physique¡¯.] [The authority of the temporary trait ¡®Endless Sky Physique¡¯ is engraved in the Player¡¯s body.] [Generating the innate ability ¡®Assimilation¡¯.] [Assimilation] Assimilation is the process of taking outside knowledge and making it your own. The Assimilation that is the hidden authority of the Endless Sky Physique has the trait of assimilating mana. It makes the body one with the surrounding mana. Duration: 5 minutes Cooldown: 24 hours Hyukjin reeled in shock. ¡®Assimilation?¡¯ It was a skill he knew. ¡®That¡¯s¡­ the ability the Demon King used when he slaughtered the magicians.¡¯ Assimilation was a fatal ability for magicians. In the infamous Great Battle of Shanghai, the Demon King had slaughtered thousands of magicians surrounding him. ¡®Come to think of it, the Great Battle of Shanghai is in exactly one year from today.¡¯ Since it was January 23, 2019 today, it had already been half a year since the Tutorial Field appeared. This was written in his notes: ¨CGreat Battle of Shanghai. January 23, 2020. Battle between 3,000 magicians and the Demon King. Of the 3,000 magicians, 2,800 died, 180 became comatose, and 20 went missing. The Demon King¡¯s first official battle. 3,000 people were essentially wiped out. Afterwards, the ¡®Demon King Army¡¯ came to be, and the Demon King became known all across the world. ¨CThe innate ability the Demon King used that day was ¡®Assimilation¡¯. The Demon King himself said it was Assimilation¡ªhe uttered the skill name aloud. It was an ability that allowed you to breathe the mana around you, even the savage mana of the Endless Sky. It would render the spells of magicians absolutely useless. ¡®Did I¡­ get the Demon King¡¯s ability?¡¯ Somehow, he felt uneasy. ¡®That jerk.¡¯ Kang Sun-il was very punchable, but with each encounter, the rewards Hyukjin could gain as long as he could survive were second to none. By coming here, Hyukjin temporarily gained the Endless Sky Physique, as well as the ability hidden within that trait. ¡®He stole the treasure of the whalekin, but I got an innate ability in exchange.¡¯ Hyukjin had the suspicion it wasn¡¯t a fair trade. ¡®Huh?¡¯ His surroundings began to distort, and then Hyukjin¡¯s body was flung in the opposite direction he¡¯d been getting sucked towards. ¡®There¡¯s no sense of pressure.¡¯ It almost felt like time was being rewound. Hyukjin¡¯s body moved like a video being played backwards. * * * According to what Isabel said, the mana hole disappeared on its own after spitting him out. ¡°Husband. Are you okay?¡± ¡°I¡¯m fine.¡± ¡°I am deeply sorry for failing to protect you,¡± mumbled Naphthan remorsefully. ¡°You should be.¡± Hyukjin didn¡¯t let the opportunity slip. The whalekin were a race that greatly valued vows, yet they had failed to uphold their promise. ¡°But what¡¯s done is done.¡± ¡°¡­¡± ¡°However, don¡¯t you think you need to pay the price for failing to keep your promise?¡± Naphthan nodded. He thought for a moment. ¡°Is my daughter still not an acceptable offer?¡± ¡°Well, it¡¯s as you can see.¡± Hyukjin glanced at the woman in the pure white robe standing next to him. Even from the side, Isabel was pretty. To be perfectly honest, he wanted to grab her hand right then and there. Naphthan said seriously, ¡°I do not know what I can do to apologize to the Sword Pactee.¡± Hyukjin had a vague feeling that he would come back to the Endless Sky at some point. ¡°If I ever return to the Endless Sky¡­¡± So what he asked for was an IOU. ¡°¡­help me. With double the effort to make up for failing to help me today.¡± ¡°Understood. I, and all the whalekin, swear to help you.¡± ¡°Even if what I ask of you hurts someone.¡± ¡°¡­¡± Naphthan brooded in silence for a long moment, then responded, ¡°We love peace. We do not engage in fights that aim to harm rather than protect. But I promise to use our breath for the Sword Pactee.¡± Hyukjin nodded. ¡®Excellent.¡¯ He had the feeling he had gotten everything there was to get in the Endless Sky. The Demon King disappeared after a short, but intense meeting, and Hyukjin himself gained a new ability, Assimilation. * * * Translator ¨C Lei Proofreader ¨C Ash * * * ¡°How does one return to a regular field from here?¡± Naphthan scratched his head. ¡°I¡¯m not sure.¡± ¡°You don¡¯t know how to go back?¡± ¡°I¡¯m afraid I don¡¯t.¡± Hyukjin turned to Isabel. ¡°What about you, Isabel?¡± ¡°¡­¡± ¡°Isabel? What¡¯re you doing?¡± Isabel appeared to be deep in thought. ¡°Husband.¡± ¡°Yeah?¡± ¡°Who did you meet in the mana hole?¡± ¡°What do you mean, who did I meet?¡± ¡°Don¡¯t try to fool me. You met someone.¡± ¡°You won¡¯t know him. We call him the Demon King, but I don¡¯t know his true identity.¡± ¡°Demon King? Someone has been given such an absurd name?¡± ¡°Well, I¡¯m just calling him that for convenience.¡± Now that she mentioned it, he didn¡¯t know who first attributed the title. One day, the Demon King was simply the Demon King and had the name ¡®Kang Sun-il¡¯. ¡°Do you know about the Demon King?¡± ¡°I don¡¯t. However¡­¡± Isabel put a hand on Hyukjin¡¯s chest and closed her eyes. ¡°It¡¯s astonishing that I can feel his stigmata so clearly even when he simply brushed past you.¡± ¡°What kind of stigmata is it?¡± ¡°Just a little of his scent rubbed off on you, but I feel a massive presence.¡± ¡°So c¡¯mon, what kind of stigmata is that, exactly?¡± ¡°Even if I tell you, you won¡¯t understand.¡± Isabel¡¯s expression darkened. ¡°And I feel it. A deep, terrible rage. How can there be such an intense rage? Just who in the world is he?¡± ¡°Rage?¡± ¡°I can feel rage, but also compassion. I can¡¯t be sure; the scent is too thin. But there are truly a great many stigmata scents mixed together.¡± Isabel was silent for a long moment of contemplation. ¡°I don¡¯t know who he is, but he called you to the mana hole, right?¡± ¡°Yeah.¡± ¡°He must have begun planning this 500 years ago. He circumvented the settings by using these too-kind-for-their-own-good whalekin.¡± As expected of Isabel, she puzzled everything out. ¡°Did he get his hands on the treasure of the whalekin by twisting the settings?¡± ¡°Yeah. Though he pretty much stole it from me.¡± Isabel frowned, her face flushing with slight anger. ¡°I¡¯ll be sure to get it back for you later.¡± Hyukjin heard what was left unsaid. You dare to steal something of my husband¡¯s? I won¡¯t let you off. The words were only implied, but he still found them quite reassuring. It was amazing she could inspire such a sense of reliability when the opponent was the Demon King. If there was one thing he had done right, it was this contract marriage. ¡°Oh, right! Husband. I can¡¯t send you to any random place, but I can teleport you to the place where the Sky Gate first opened.¡± ¡°How?¡± ¡°Of course, with warp ma¡ª¡± Isabel froze, the word dying in her throat. Hyukjin caught on. ¡®Ah. Warp magic.¡¯ But Isabel the ¡®sword¡¯ had the unique setting of absolutely despising the use of magic, so he smoothed things over for her. ¡°As I thought, you can move through space with your ability as a sword.¡± ¡°Th-That¡¯s right. That¡¯s exactly it. Remember when you made a path using a sword technique before? It¡¯s like that.¡± The two appeared unrelated, but that didn¡¯t seem to matter to Isabel. Faulty logic aside, it convinced Isabel, so that was a relief. ¡°Well then, goodbye,¡± said Naphthan. ¡°The whalekin shall await the pactee in the Endless Sky.¡± Natalie waved in farewell. ¡°Bye bye! See you later, young Oppa.¡± A round portal appeared in front of Hyukjin. It was a special gate leading to another place. [Warp Gate] A warp gate connected to the ¡®Sky Gate¡¯ of the Tutorial Building D-Tower¡¯s 2nd Floor in the Korean server. Usage restriction: Sword Pactee Isabel was truly an amazing wife. Who would¡¯ve thought she would be capable of such a perfect spell? Just why in the world was she a sword? ¡°Anyway, Husband.¡± Isabel took Hyukjin¡¯s hand. ¡®Huh?¡¯ Hyukjin could not refuse¡ªIsabel¡¯s powerful grip whirled him around, bringing them face to face. The next moment, the world went dark around him. ¡®Magic?¡¯ For the slightest moment, his vision was blocked, and it was like he was in another space. ¡°That wasn¡¯t a kiss earlier. Right?¡± It was more like first aid given out of necessity for the formation of his second heart. But Natalie had called it a kiss, and Isabel seemed hung up on it. ¡°I can¡¯t acknowledge that as a kiss.¡± Isabel pulled Hyukjin closer. With the overwhelming difference in strength between them, Hyukjin was unable to resist, though he never once considered resisting to begin with. Isabel¡¯s lips met Hyukjin. There was a quiet smooching sound, and then Isabel vanished, going into Hyukjin¡¯s Inventory in sword form. ¡®That¡­¡¯ The roles seemed a bit reversed, but he didn¡¯t hate the feeling. ¡®¡­was nice?¡¯ The warmth of her lips lingered on his. The moment her face had neared his, he saw her eyelashes trembling. Isabel hadn¡¯t shown it, but she was nervous. ¡®How cute.¡¯ Hyukjin lightly rubbed his lips. He definitely hadn¡¯t dreamt it¡ªthat kiss was real. Happiness shot through him. [Passing through the Sky Gate.] Going through the Warp Gate was neither dizzying nor nauseating. His means of return was far smoother than the Sky Gate he had opened through the System. That was just how perfect Isabel¡¯s magic was. [Entering the Tutorial Building 2nd Floor.] ¡®Hrm? What¡¯s this?¡¯ He arrived at the 2nd floor of the D-Tower, where an amusing situation was lying in wait. ____ Chapter 262 Chapter 262 Song Junghye sat at her desk, her eyes closed. She shot to her feet, grabbed the glass on her desk, and hurled it. The glass shattered into a million pieces on the wall. No one else was in the room. She huffed to herself, ¡°Kim Hyukjin, that son of a bitch.¡± Ten years had already passed since she reached maturity and resolved to shove her brother aside and inherit Sungshin. Before the world completely changed, she thought of herself as the sole successor of Sungshin. But ever since this Kim Hyukjin guy popped up out of nowhere, things were slowly changing. ¡®Even Oppa is steadily changing.¡¯ The variable named Kim Hyukjin was galling enough, but to make matters worse, even her older brother was different. ¡®He used to always concede to me.¡¯ Junghye was well aware that she was her brother¡¯s weakness. In truth, that was something Junghye didn¡¯t like. She believed that if Kiyeol was the successor of Sungshin, if he was her older brother, he shouldn¡¯t do that¡ªSungshin should come first before familial affection. She thought her brother was far too weak. That he had to change. That was what she thought, but when he actually did change, she found it a little irritating. ¡®The way Grandpa looks at Kim Hyukjin is special, too.¡¯ Junghye wasn¡¯t sure, but she had a suspicion there was some kind of secret deal going on between her grandfather and Kim Hyukjin. A secret deal related to her grandfather¡¯s ability. ¡®What do I do?¡¯ There was no point in putting an assassin on him, and she couldn¡¯t use Sungshin¡¯s power to crush him. Both her grandfather and older brother would stand in her way. ¡°I need to nip him in the bud before he gets any bigger.¡± If he could not become an ally, then it was better to stamp him out, and very thoroughly. That was Song Junghye¡¯s way of doing things. ¡®I can¡¯t do it through legal means.¡¯ So she had to find another method. It was hard to find a solution in Korea, so she turned her gaze overseas. Several days later, Song Junghye had a meeting with the Chinese billionaire who was stripped of his power as a Player and chased out of the auction Michelle recently hosted, Xu Xin. ¡°I know the reason why you lost all your power as a Player,¡± said Song Junghye. ¡°It¡¯s because of a certain Player.¡± ¡°Do you know who that person is, Miss Song?¡± Xu Xin¡¯s eyes were full of venom. He could not, for the life of him, remember who that bastard was, even though there had been many witnesses. Even Michelle said she didn¡¯t know who that person was. Xu Xin remembered he was an attendant of Song Kiyeol, the guildmaster of Taeguk Shield. But Song Kiyeol said he expelled that attendant. That was all Xu Xin knew. ¡°There¡¯s something about that bastard, or Taeguk Shield. It¡¯s like our memories were fiddled with, or that we were caught in a mass illusion, because no one remembers him,¡± spat Xu Xin. He had to find the culprit behind this outrage. Song Junghye took a sip of tea, noting the venomous glint in Xu Xin¡¯s eyes. She then slowly continued speaking. ¡°He has a special ability called Cognitive Dissonance. It is a type of mental manipulation ability.¡± ¡°How do you know that?¡± ¡°Because he¡¯s closely related to Taeguk Shield.¡± ¡°As I thought.¡± Xu Xin had thought that person was in close contact with Taeguk Shield. He guessed the bastard wasn¡¯t an attendant, and his guess was right. He huffed in a rage. ¡°I will smash his knees, and later, Michelle¡¯s knees as well, and make them both kneel before me.¡± ¡°Yes, of course. I would like to help you in that endeavor, Mr. Xu Xin.¡± ¡°Why do you want to help me?¡± ¡°Because I want to defeat Taeguk Shield. And personally speaking, I truly loathe that bastard.¡± A deal was established between the two. Xu Xin asked, ¡°Does his class happen to be thief?¡± ¡°He¡¯s not a thief, but there is no doubt he has a thief ability.¡± Song Junghye didn¡¯t know about Darongi, but she knew Kim Hyukjin had a thief ability. ¡°I lost an important quest item called the Compass, you see.¡± ¡°As I thought, it was him.¡± That bastard had stolen his precious, precious money. Xu Xin once again ground his teeth. ¡°I swear, I¡¯ll dunk him alive in a vat of salt.¡± ¡°I would love nothing more. I think we are in agreement. In that case, how should we proceed? I intend on giving you my full support, Mr. Xu Xin.¡± Song Junghye¡¯s eyes darkened. ¡®The best way would be to kill Kim Hyukjin inside a dungeon or a gate.¡¯ Murder. It was fine, especially if the target was Kim Hyukjin. He wasn¡¯t a person, but an enemy to be eliminated. ¡°If you are willing to lend me your strength, Miss Song, I will commit a large number of Chinese Players to the cause.¡± ¡°Then I will make it so you can Play in Korea¡ªyou can forge an alliance with Blood and Iron Lion. I don¡¯t think it¡¯ll be very difficult. Also, I will determine Kim Hyukjin¡¯s current location and share it with you live.¡± The Chinese billionaire, Xu Xin, and the guildmaster of Blood and Iron Lion, Song Junghye. The two put their heads together and schemed. Xu Xin¡¯s hunting instincts writhed. ¡°Let us hunt the bastard, then.¡± One day later, Song Junghye determined Kim Hyukjin¡¯s location. She headed towards the Tutorial Building in the luxury black sedan her older brother had gifted her. Kim Hyukjin concealed himself afterwards, but he was seen going inside the Tutorial Building and hadn¡¯t been seen coming back out. ¡®The Tutorial Building. That¡¯s where he is.¡¯ Xu Xin and Song Junghye thought that would be where Kim Hyukjin would breathe his last breath. * * * Translator ¨C Lei Proofreader ¨C Ash * * * Hyukjin left the Endless Sky. [Entering the Tutorial Building 2nd Floor.] Players usually didn¡¯t come to the 2nd floor of the Tutorial Building. Nowadays, the only visitors to the floor were recently-awakened beginner Players popping in for a quick look. After all, this place wasn¡¯t fully activated yet. But when Hyukjin entered, he saw quite a number of Players here. ¡®I can¡¯t tell what they¡¯re saying.¡¯ They were Chinese. ¡®Mm. I¡¯m not entirely sure, but they¡¯re certainly not my friends.¡¯ They weren¡¯t attacking just yet, but there was something odd about this situation. ¡®I get the sense they¡¯ve locked down the escalator going from the 1st to the 2nd floor.¡¯ Considering the factors, it was most likely a scheme cooked up by Song Junghye. When that thought occurred to him, he was actually relieved. ¡®If they¡¯re Chinese Players, I guess they¡¯re Xu Xin¡¯s subordinates.¡¯ Xu Xin was the only Chinese person who really hated him. ¡®Song Junghye revealed my identity.¡¯ If so, everything would make sense. ¡®Let¡¯s just see what they¡¯re gonna do.¡¯ After being around celestial monsters like the whalekin in the Endless Sky, these Players almost looked like a joke. Just then, he got a whisper. ¨CHello. We met earlier, do you remember? Hyukjin¡¯s Eye of Perception captured the location of the whisperer. Some distance away, near the wall at a corner, was a stealthed Player. ¡®A whisper?¡¯ Whispers weren¡¯t things just anyone could use. You either needed a whisper item or a whisper skill. Most Players who could send whispers were explorers. He heard a notice. [A gift from an anonymous sender has arrived.] [¡®Whisper Marble¡¯ has arrived.] He used it immediately, then whispered back. ¨CYes, I do. She was Kang Somyi, the explorer who had seen through his Cognitive Dissonance and had a summary of ¡®Curious Explorer¡¯. ¨CIf I remember correctly, your name is Kang Somyi. ¨CYou even remembered my name, that¡¯s unexpected. Anyway, are you in danger right now? ¨CI¡¯m not sure. I think someone who dislikes me has set up a trap for me. But weirdly enough, they were only expressing their hostility towards him and not moving. ¨CAre you the type to have a lot of enemies? ¨CNot a lot, but a few. ¨CWho do you suspect is behind this? ¨CSong Junghye. Hyukjin watched Kang Somyi¡¯s reaction. If she was on Song Junghye¡¯s side, there would be some change in her emotions, and Eye of Perception would capture that. However, he picked up no real reaction from her. Kang Somyi asked: ¨CIs there any way I can help? ¨CWhy do you want to help me? ¨CI really didn¡¯t mean to, but I think I was the one who unintentionally sold out your info. Kang Somyi was the only Player who saw Hyukjin going up to the 2nd floor. A Blood and Iron Lion guild member had gone up to her and asked, ¡®Have you seen this person? We are urgently looking for him. We will give you ample compensation¡¯, and Kang Somyi told them that she had seen him going up to the 2nd floor. ¨CThat¡¯s all I said, but they gave me $5,000 for it. Upon thinking about it, she realized it was odd. They might not be at the level of Taeguk Shield, Blood and Iron Lion was still a major guild. Why were they looking for a single person? Instead of making her happy, the $5,000 made her suspicious. ¨CAnd then, a bunch of Chinese Players rushed in and started sealing off the escalator going up to the 2nd floor. ¨CI see. ¨CI think you¡¯re in this predicament because of me, so I want to help in some way. ¨CThere¡¯s not really much you can do. I think there¡¯s no avoiding a fight here, and you don¡¯t seem to be a combat Player. Kang Somyi didn¡¯t deny it. ¨CYou¡¯re right. I¡¯m an explorer. I¡¯ve been observing those guys the whole time. I think I know what they¡¯re trying to do. Hyukjin grew a little interested in Kang Somyi. ¨CWhat do you think that is? ¨CI think they¡¯re trying to generate something. ¨CGenerate? ¨CBefore you came here, they planted mana crystals here and there. Using a special method. Hyukjin scanned the area with Observer¡¯s Eye. He didn¡¯t see any mana crystals. ¡®They¡¯ve been consumed.¡¯ There were an infinite number of uses for mana crystals. They could be used to set up a barrier to hunt him, or activate a magic circle with a similar effect. ¡®Since they¡¯re Chinese Players¡­¡¯ Hyukjin smirked. He got the gist of it now. ¨CMiss Kang. Do you sincerely want to help me? ¨CYes. I¡¯m kinda wallowing in guilt right now. ¨CThen please leave and go to Guildmaster Song Kiyeol. Tell him what¡¯s going on here, and ask him to bring reporters with him, if possible. ¨CIs that all? ¨CYou can get out of here, right? ¨CYes. I got up here unseen, so I should be able to get down unnoticed as well. Kang Somyi was a far more competent explorer than he thought. It was no exaggeration to say she was top tier at this point in time. ¡®Makes sense. She was able to see through my Cognitive Dissonance.¡¯ This explorer appeared to have far higher latent potential than what was previously known. ¨CAlright. I¡¯ll do that, then. I¡¯m off. Kang Somyi disappeared, and Hyukjin turned his gaze to the crowd with a shrug. ¡°Can anyone speak Korean here?¡± He really needed to keep a few Translation Marbles on him. Once he reached level 40, he would be able to buy them from the Item Shop, so he would ask Senia to give him a few. He got a response in Chinese, but he couldn¡¯t understand it. Hyukjin continued speaking. They couldn¡¯t understand what he was saying, but he was talking to the Guardians. ¡°Traces of mana crystals that have been planted around the room.¡± He was sure the Guardians were curious about this situation. The Guardians watching in Senia¡¯s channel didn¡¯t know what Kang Somyi had just told him. Hyukjin explained, ¡°Judging by the way the Chinese Players are positioned, the core must be that magician wearing the red robe.¡± He checked the magician¡¯s name. Name: Lau Ding Xue He was a magician Hyukjin knew¡ªhis name was quite famous in China, and his reputation went beyond just a little fame. ¡®A lieutenant of the Demon King Army.¡¯ Right after meeting the Demon King in the Endless Sky, Hyukjin ran into a lieutenant of the Demon King Army here. Summary: Trap Magician who Relishes Human Flesh Hyukjin already knew what kind of ability Lau Ding Xue possessed. He told the Guardians. ¡°He laid a circle in advance and waited for my arrival. I¡¯m absolutely sure he¡¯s set up a trap. What¡¯s important is what kind of trap it is.¡± Hyukjin took a step forward. The Chinese Players glared at him, all of them holding their individual weapons. ¡°I think he¡¯s created a special field here and is trying to suck me in.¡± If it was Lau Ding Xue¡­ ¡°Is he someone who can open gates?¡± Hyukjin smiled. ¡°For example¡­ a gate like Mana Hell.¡± That ability¡­ was one he already knew. ____ Chapter 263 Chapter 263 Sitting in the office of the Blood and Iron Lion, the Chinese billionaire Xu Xin gestured to a round orb. ¡°We can watch the situation live through this crystal ball.¡± He was no longer a Player, but he was a greater item connoisseur than anyone. One of his items, this crystal ball, reflected the situation on the D-Tower 2nd floor. Song Junghye stared at the ball, her eyes fixed on that hateful bastard, Kim Hyukjin. ¡®He doesn¡¯t seem to be panicking much.¡¯ He was sure to have picked up on something being off, but he looked entirely unfazed, which bothered her. ¡°This is the end of the line of his bravado,¡± crowed Xu Xin with confidence. ¡°Let us wait and see,¡± Song Junghye replied. Xu Xin¡¯s brows twitched. ¡®Song Junghye, I don¡¯t like you, either.¡¯ None of these Koreans were much to his liking. He and Song Junghye were working together right now for mutual benefit, but one day, he would make her kneel and lick his feet just like the others. An intent that Song Junghye noticed. ¡®Dirty bastard.¡¯ The gaze that raked her up and down did not escape her notice. Song Junghye actually disliked Xu Xin as much as he disliked her. In her eyes, he was just a fool with a lot of money. And she was already prepared for Xu Xin¡¯s arrangements to fail. ¡®Xu Xin. You will never be able to beat Kim Hyukjin alone.¡¯ As much as she hated Kim Hyukjin, she acknowledged his skills. No matter what fancy trap Xu Xin set up, he would not be able to erase Kim Hyukjin on his own. ¡®Your job is just to tire Kim Hyukjin out.¡¯ But just then, the man reflected in the crystal ball began to speak. ¡°Is he someone who can open gates?¡± ¡°For example¡­ a gate like Mana Hell?¡± Xu Xin was holding a Translation Marble, so he understood what Kim Hyukjin said. ¡®What?¡¯ Mana Hell had never been brought to light before. To be more exact, everyone who had seen Mana Hell had perished, having become the gate¡¯s sacrificial lambs. ¡®How does he know about Mana Hell?¡¯ Something seemed to be going awry, but it was already too late to turn back. Mana Hell was already set in motion, and a gate would be generated. That gate would consume Kim Hyukjin. The crystal ball buzzed with static and noise before momentarily going dark, almost like a video player losing electricity and fizzing out. Xu Xin wiped the sweat from his brow. ¡°Don¡¯t be alarmed. It will turn back on soon.¡± ¡°Yes, alright.¡± Song Junghye¡¯s eyes remained fixed on the crystal ball. She had heard the words, too. ¡®Mana Hell?¡¯ It seemed the trap Xu Xin had prepared was called Mana Hell, a name even she hadn¡¯t known. She was only told that a Chinese Player under Xu Xin¡¯s employ had a certain ability, and that ability would be used to hunt Kim Hyukjin. But Kim Hyukjin seemed to know the name of the ability in question. ¡®It¡¯s not¡­ an empty bluff.¡¯ She saw Kim Hyukjin¡¯s smile. She was certain this was not a bluff. Junghye got up. ¡°Excuse me, I need to go to the bathroom.¡± She headed towards the bathroom, and once she was inside, she took out her phone. ¨CCancel the plan. From the other side of the phone came the voice of her right arm, Kang Woongmin the Adamant. ¨CAll of a sudden? ¨CI¡¯m afraid¡­ Xu Xin¡¯s arrangements will be ineffective. ¨CDo we pull out all Blood and Iron Lion members? ¨CYeah. The Poisoned Dagger Jung Sangchul was on the line as well. He said in a lowered voice, ¨CAre we giving up on assassinating Kim Hyukjin entirely? Honestly, he was hoping to hear a ¡®Yes, cancel it¡¯. Jung Sangchul didn¡¯t enjoy murder, and the opponent was Kim Hyukjin, the toughest foe there was. Song Junghye thought for a moment. ¨CMove according to the situation. But our general stance will be to keep out of it. ¨CUnderstood. I will keep that in mind. Jung Sangchul lowered the phone. It was a little strange. They were working with China, and even had fairly reliable information that Kim Hyukjin was on the 2nd floor of the D-Tower. Even the name Song Junghye had given the operation was ¡®Project Hunt Kim Hyukjin¡¯. But now, they were suddenly scrapping the whole plan, this far in? ¡®What¡¯s going on?¡¯ He didn¡¯t know the reason behind the decision. All he could do was do as he was told. * * * Translator ¨C Lei Proofreader ¨C Ash * * * Kim Hyukjin was very familiar with Mana Hell. It was an artificially generated gate that would suck in targets set by the caster. ¡®Almost like¡­ the Endless Sky¡¯s mana hole.¡¯ He had just experienced the mana hole in the Endless Sky. After surviving such a phenomenon, what was there to fear about a gate artificially created by a level 30 Player? Still, Lau Ding Xue was once an infamous lieutenant of the Demon King army, so Hyukjin was interested in taking a quick look. ¡®I need to look into it a bit.¡¯ He wasn¡¯t calling the Demon King crazy, but why were all of his subordinates such scum of the earth? This one was a ¡®Trap Mage who Relishes Human Flesh¡¯, for Pete¡¯s sake. ¡®It¡¯s weird.¡¯ Hyukjin didn¡¯t think the Demon King he knew would use such scummy individuals as his subordinates. ¡®It¡¯s really weird.¡¯ The Demon King was an unknown being who might be stronger than the whalekin. Why would such a person gather Players and form the Demon King Army? No matter how Hyukjin thought of it, it was strange. ¡®Is this supposed to suck me in?¡¯ It felt like a cool breeze was blowing at his back. Lau Ding Xue stood a distance ahead, his expression showing utmost confidence in this little draft. Hyukjin slowly walked forward. ¡°Do you really think such a weak force can pull me in?¡± Unfortunately, they couldn¡¯t communicate. If he knew this would happen, he would have bought a Translation Marble in advance. As he ambled forward, Hyukjin asked, ¡°Senia, can you translate right now?¡± Senia remained invisible. He only heard her voice. ¡°I apologize. I am currently in direct communication with Shobidobi, so I cannot translate.¡± ¡°Got it.¡± If they couldn¡¯t communicate, then it couldn¡¯t be helped. He just had to keep going like this. Hyukjin took a few more steps. ¡®Man, this is really shoddy.¡¯ It was almost funny seeing how confident Lau Ding Xue was after making such a slipshod gate. ¡°If he¡¯s got eyes, shouldn¡¯t he be able to see that I¡¯m walking on my own?¡± But it seemed this trap mage was intoxicated by conceit and hadn¡¯t even considered the thought. And that was the truth. Lau Ding Xue believed in his ability. He had thrown dozens of mana crystals into creating this gate. Devouring one measly Player was a shoo-in. The possibility of ¡®failure¡¯ hadn¡¯t even occurred to him, so he never once stopped to doubt. Kim Hyukjin looked at the purple crystal in front of him. ¡®If I touch this, I¡¯ll be sucked into the Mana Hell.¡¯ He entered the Mana Hell, completely relaxed. [You have entered the artificial gate, Mana Hell.] It was dark, and only he and Lau Ding Xue were there. The other man said, ¡°You won¡¯t be able to move a single step here.¡± Of course, Hyukjin didn¡¯t understand what was said. He only guessed the gist of it. Hyukjin wasn¡¯t at all interested in Lau Ding Xue, but the Guardians who were watching from above. ¡®From the Guardians¡¯ point of view, that guy is the villain provoking them.¡¯ That was how it was when you read a novel or watched a movie. Most viewers put themselves in the shoes of the protagonist. They got mad at the villains, the side characters, who harmed and hassled the main character. Later, this kind of content would be lumped into a single genre. ¡®It was called¡­ Uno Reverse content, wasn¡¯t it?¡¯ In any case, it wasn¡¯t like he intentionally tried to make this content or scenario happen. He should be thankful that such good material was rolling his way. There were a lot of Guardians who enjoyed Uno Reverse content; there was definitely a demand for it. ¡®How can I cook this up nicely?¡¯ Senia said she was talking to Shobidobi, her editor. Shobidobi himself might show up¡ªhe liked watching Hyukjin¡¯s Playing in person. ¡®First and foremost, I need to give him enough material to work with.¡¯ No matter how much of an editing whiz Shobidobi might be, he couldn¡¯t create a proper video without sufficient footage. It was the same logic as getting one good photo out of a hundred. Whatever happened, he needed to get enough footage. ¡®Would¡¯ve been great if I had a Translation Marble.¡¯ Maybe that thought showed on his face, because the next moment¡ª [The ¡®True Master of the Heavenly Demonic Mountain¡¯ gifts you a Translation Marble.] [The ¡®Lady of the Scales¡¯ gifts you a Translation Marble.] [The ¡®Barrier of Blue Light¡¯ gifts you a Translation Marble.] [The ¡®White Hunter¡¯ gifts you a Translation Marble.] [The ¡®Whispering Devil¡¯ gifts you a Translation Marble.] He got 5 messages in one go, each of them bearing a Translation Marble. [A gift from an anonymous sender has arrived.] ¡­ [A gift from an anonymous sender has arrived.] Other Guardians who hadn¡¯t made it into the first 5 sent gifts anonymously. They were all Translation Marbles, and a whopping 32 of them. To his great delight, Hyukjin acquired 37 Translation Marbles in total. ¡®Thank you, Lau Ding Xue.¡¯ He used a Translation Marble. ¡°What did you say? Say it again.¡± ¡°Huhuhuhu. I said you wouldn¡¯t be able to take a single step here.¡± ¡°Why not?¡± ¡°This is a space dominated by me.¡± ¡°Ah, that so?¡± Hyukjin responded, wholly unimpressed. He already knew Mana Hell. ¡°Then what¡¯s going to happen to me?¡± ¡°All your mana will be sucked out and you will die here.¡± Lau Ding Xue laughed, then licked his lips. ¡°And then, you¡¯ll end up in my stomach.¡± Hyukjin grimaced. A trap mage who relished human flesh. This man was a psycho for sure. Hyukjin took one step back. ¡°Dude, that¡¯s too disgusting.¡± ¡°I see you are an insect who cannot understand the art of cuisine.¡± Hyukjin took another few steps back. To Lau Ding Xue, Hyukjin¡¯s expression must have appeared fearful, an act Hyukjin put up on purpose. ¡°It¡¯s futile to run away.¡± ¡°Because this is a space dominated by you?¡± ¡°That¡¯s right.¡± Hyukjin took another step back. ¡°This space will suck out all your mana. Now, any last words?¡± ¡°Can I say anything?¡± Lau Ding Xue laughed. ¡°Anything other than spare me.¡± ¡°Isn¡¯t something weird here? I¡¯m still walking. Didn¡¯t you say I wouldn¡¯t be able to move?¡± Lau Ding Xue¡¯s smile froze. Come to think of it, Kim Hyukjin had been walking backwards. In this space, which he controlled. Mana Hell was set to allow no one other than him to move. What¡¯s more, there was only one target Mana Hell needed to restrict! But Lau Ding Xue quickly recovered his composure. ¡°Looks like you have some trivial skill.¡± The undeniable proof was that Kim Hyukjin was only backing away and not coming closer. Lau Ding failed to see that it was Kim Hyukjin trying to secure the minimum amount of footage for Shobidobi. ¡°That¡¯s right, I do have a few trivial skills.¡± ¡°It doesn¡¯t matter. You will be eaten by me here.¡± That moment, Hyukjin sensed the creation of a ¡®black hole¡¯ so bad it could not even be compared to the mana hole in the Endless Sky. ¡®Welp.¡¯ At this rate, he wouldn¡¯t even be able to scrape up enough footage. His opponent was too much of a beginner. ¡®Mm.¡¯ It was like being told to add and subtract after just finishing twenty pages of calculus. He felt his mana being drained by this space, so weakly he wouldn¡¯t even notice if he wasn¡¯t focusing. ¡°It does indeed feel¡­ like my mana is getting sucked out.¡± ¡°Huhu. That¡¯s right.¡± Drunk on his own strength and outstandingness, Lau Ding Xue was blinded by narcissism and left unable to view the situation objectively. ¡®He¡¯s way too fucking dumb. How was someone like him a lieutenant of the Demon King Army?¡¯ It was strange. There was something to uncover here. ¡°Um, remember how I said I have a few trivial skills?¡± Hyukjin said. ¡°I remember.¡± ¡°Have you ever heard of a trivial skill like this?¡± Hyukjin took out Isabel. ¡°A trivial skill called Flash Step, and¡­¡± Hyukjin vanished, then appeared on Lau Ding Xue¡¯s right side before the man could even react. ¡°¡­a trivial skill called Beat ¡®em, Beat ¡®em, Beat ¡®em Harder?t¡± ____ Chapter 264 Chapter 264 ¡°A trivial skill called Flash Step,¡± Kim Hyukjin raised his sword. ¡°And a trivial skill called Beat ¡®em, Beat ¡®em, Beat ¡®em Harder?¡± Lau Ding Xue screamed. ¡°GAHHH!¡± Crack! His shin bone shattered, Lau Ding Xue fell to the floor, clutching his leg. But the speed at which Kim Hyukjin moved was faster than the speed at which Lau Ding Xue fell. As Lau Ding Xue crumpled, Hyukjin moved to the spot where the Chinese Player would land. He put away his overly powerful artifact and kicked Lau Ding Xue in the side. ¡°Agh!¡± Lau Ding Xue coughed violently, each cough causing a spike of agony. ¡®My ribs¡­ are broken.¡¯ It felt like the fractured pieces were poking into his lungs. ¡°Hah¡­ hah¡­!¡± He gasped, struggling to draw breath. After just two hits, Lau Ding Xue was exhausted. Hyukjin shrugged. ¡®That was really easy.¡¯ His Playing had been a series of one difficult clear after another. Easy, intermission content like this was necessary from time to time, too. But at the same time, there were Guardians who would oppose beating up randoms for no reason. ¡®Moderation is always best.¡¯ Even when beating someone up, it was best to do it with an appropriate justification. ¡°Why¡¯d you do it?¡± asked Hyukjin. ¡°Wh-What?¡± Lau Ding Xue gasped from the ground, unable to get up. ¡°Why is a human eating another human?¡± ¡°I-I¡¯ve never done anyth¡ªUAGHH!¡± Hyukjin gave him zero mercy. It was hard to judge whether this man was more evil than Seo Joohwan, the other Demon King Army lieutenant Hyukjin had sent to his death, but Lau Ding Xue was certainly no saint. Hyukjin pressed down on Lau Ding Xue¡¯s chest with his right foot. ¡°You know, I hate liars the most.¡± He slowly put more strength in his foot. Lau Ding Xue was struck with the terrible sensation of his chest caving in. ¡®Eu-Eughhh!¡¯ He was scared. At this rate, all his ribs would break, and his heart would be crushed by that merciless foot. ¡°Yang Yang. You killed her.¡± Lau Ding Xue¡¯s eyes grew wide. ¡®Yang Yang¡¯, a girl in her late teens living in Jilin province, was the first girl Lau Ding Xue killed. ¡°H-H-H-How¡­¡± ¡°How do I know that?¡± Hyukjin smirked. ¡®Man, this is EZPZ.¡¯ A simple leading question was all it took. ¡°There are no secrets in the world.¡± ¡°I-I-I was wrong!¡± Hyukjin let up, and Lau Ding Xue swiftly went onto his knees, desperately rubbing his palms. ¡°I-If you let me live, I¡¯ll do anything.¡± ¡°Who sent you?¡± His forehead pressed to the ground, Lau Ding Xue considered how he should respond. Hyukjin crouched down. ¡°Forget trying any stunts.¡± He didn¡¯t give Lau Ding Xue any time to think. Hyukjin used Mettle to pressure the other man, who promptly lost all composure and blabbered everything truthfully. ¡°Bl-Blood and Iron Lion¡¯s Guildmaster Song Junghye and Master Xu Xin.¡± ¡°Really? So Song Junghye is ¡®Guildmaster¡¯, and Xu Xin is ¡®Master¡¯?¡± That meant the trap mage was in Xu Xin¡¯s employ. ¡°So Xu Xin¡¯s behind this. What¡¯s your relationship with him?¡± ¡°I-I¡¯m simply a hired mercenary.¡± ¡°Mercenary, my ass. You¡¯re a contract killer.¡± ¡°Th-That is correct. Please, spare me. If you spare my life, I¡¯ll be a good person from now on, I swear!¡± The reason Hyukjin knew about Yang Yang was simple. Hyukjin was a regressor, and the future Lau Ding Xue became a lieutenant of the Demon King Army. The Cannibal Trap Mage said the following: ¨CI still can¡¯t forget my first prey, Yang Yang. That experience¡­ was ecstasy. Hyukjin thought for a moment. ¡®But¡­ were Xu Xin and Lau Ding Xue connected?¡¯ He sifted through his memories. It was related to China and not Korea, so he didn¡¯t know that much. But he didn¡¯t remember anything about the two being connected. ¡®First of all, Xu Xin thoroughly hid the fact that he was a Player.¡¯ Hyukjin didn¡¯t know why. ¡®And it was never revealed that Xu Xin was Lau Ding Xue¡¯s employer.¡¯ Lau Ding Xue¡¯s sole ticket to infamy was the Demon King Army. There was nothing about him and Xu Xin, at least as far as Hyukjin could remember. ¡°You. Do you know the Demon King?¡± ¡°Th-The Demon King?¡± Lau Ding Xue wanted to blurt out that the person in front of him was a demon king, but he couldn¡¯t say that. He racked his brains, trying to recall anything about the term, but came up empty. ¡°I don¡¯t.¡± ¡°What about Kang Sun-il?¡± ¡°It¡¯s my first time hearing that name.¡± ¡°Really?¡± Lau Ding Xue was a lieutenant of the Demon King Army but didn¡¯t know the Demon King? ¡®Well, I guess it¡¯s possible they haven¡¯t met yet.¡¯ It continued to strike him as odd. Would the Demon King Hyukjin met really have picked up trash like these guys and cobbled them into the Demon King Army? ¡®I don¡¯t think so.¡¯ The more he thought about it, the stranger it became. It felt like¡­ secrets the world hadn¡¯t known were bubbling beneath the surface. Hyukjin took out Isabel, then swung without hesitation. ¡°GAHHHHH!¡± Lau Ding Xue¡¯s scream split the air as both of his arms flopped to the ground, severed at the shoulder. Even though no sword skills were used, the cuts were clean. ¡°Guess you won¡¯t be able to use Mana Hell ever again.¡± The stronger the magician, the stronger a Mana Hell they could set up¡­ if they had arms. ¡°Oh, right. Curious about how I endured your Mana Hell?¡± Lau Ding Xue¡¯s face was ghostly white¡ªhis body was in shock. He couldn¡¯t utter a single word, but that didn¡¯t matter. What Hyukjin was saying now wasn¡¯t meant for his ears, but the ears of the Guardians. ¡°I can turn all the mana around me into my own.¡± Even if it wasn¡¯t the mana of a trap. ¡°Thanks to my innate ability, Assimilation.¡± * * * Shobidobi, who was in invisible mode along with Senia, snipped loudly. Snip! Snip! Snip! ¡°But Senia. Doesn¡¯t Assimilation have a cooldown? I saw a cooldown in the footage I got from you.¡± ¡°Focus on the Play.¡± Shobidobi resumed his snipping. Seeing as Senia didn¡¯t say anything about the cooldown, there was something more at play. For Shobidobi, that was fantastic. Because to an editor, that was foreshadowing material. Snip! Snip! Snip! ¡°Inspiration has struck!¡± He really was inspired. This Kim Hyukjin was truly incredible. He had a knack for spinning the story along while keeping you hooked and curious, then answering your questions at the end in one satisfying swoop. And with just a few words, at that! It made Shobidobi think that Kim Hyukjin was a genius producer. Snip! Snip! Snip! ¡°I think I can get a great intro from this.¡± The concept of ¡®editing¡¯ was not yet fully established, but Shobidobi grasped the new art by instinct. ¡°What was this called again?¡± He vaguely remembered there was a human term for this. Shobidobi mused, then cried out in realization. ¡°Ah!¡± He remembered. ¡°I should be able to get a satisfying thumbnail here.¡± * * * Translator ¨C Lei Proofreader ¨C Ash * * * Gwanghwamun D-Tower, 2F. There, the Chinese Players waited for Lau Ding Xue. They had used mana stones to erect a Mana Hell, so they thought all that was left to do was to collect Kim Hyukjin¡¯s corpse. An unfamiliar voice shattered their wishful thoughts. ¡°No one can come up here because Blood and Iron Lion is blocking it off, right?¡± The Chinese Players gaped in shock. The person who crashed to the ground with a wet squelch wasn¡¯t Kim Hyukjin, but Lau Ding Xue, now reduced to a bloody, half-dead mess. ¡°He¡¯s not dead, so save him if you want.¡± His life as a Player was over anyway. A trap mage who couldn¡¯t use their arms could no longer be considered one. ¡®He¡¯ll probably be killed by Xu Xin anyway.¡¯ He decided not to waste energy worrying about that. The man was a cannibal who already had a lot of blood on his hands. He even tried to kill Hyukjin with Mana Hell. So despite knowing that Lau Ding Xue would be discarded by Xu Xin if he went back in this state, Hyukjin didn¡¯t pay it any heed. ¡°I¡¯m not big on pointless killing,¡± said Hyukjin. The person who looked to be the most superior of the lot shouted, ¡°Did you think we¡¯d let you go after doing such a thing?¡± ¡°Let me go? Even Mana Hell didn¡¯t work. What do you plan on doing now?¡± ¡°Sorry, but you¡¯ll have to die here.¡± ¡°You probably blocked this area off to do just that.¡± Just in case Mana Hell failed. ¡®Song Junghye probably assigned forces of her own.¡¯ If she was smart, she would have recalled her men. He would just have to wait and see what choice she made. ¡°If you try to kill me,¡± Hyukjin began, pulling out Isabel. ¡°Then I¡¯ll have no choice but to kill you.¡± He was utterly at ease. The Chinese Players in front of him were in their early to mid-level 30s. They weren¡¯t exactly masters, but they weren¡¯t beginners, either. And yet, they weren¡¯t threatening in the least to Hyukjin. After meeting colossi like the Fire Giants and whalekin, these guys looked like little kids. The ten-odd Chinese Players surrounded Kim Hyukjin. ¡°So you¡¯ve decided to fight me?¡± ¡°Drop the act. There¡¯s no doubt you¡¯re completely exhausted.¡± He was in tip top shape, much less exhausted. ¡°You guys are seriously the type to see what you wanna see and believe what you wanna believe, aren¡¯t you?¡± Holding Isabel, Hyukjin looked casually around. ¡®It¡¯s about time for them to show up.¡¯ Kang Somyi had taken action earlier. Since he dragged things out long enough in the Mana Hell, Song Kiyeol must have gotten word, and the members of Giantgod would have mobilized. Hyukjin cocked his finger. ¡°Well, come at me then.¡± It was exactly at that moment that the escalator leading to the 2nd floor was used. If someone came up despite Blood and Iron Lion¡¯s blockade, then it could only be Taeguk Shield or Giantgod. A voice rang out. ¡°What¡¯s going on right now, exactly?¡± It was Shin Yeonseo. She whipped out Asura. ¡°What were you guys planning on doing, surrounding our boss like that?¡± So Yoohyun cracked his neck. ¡°Hyungnim. Shall I punch the living daylights out of these guys?¡± ¡°Is it time for the Jayangdong Fire Master to shine? Huhuhu.¡± Choi Sung-gu was raring to go, his confidence boosted to the max in front of these obviously weaker people. He didn¡¯t hide in the back. Next to him, Jo Sunghyun cooly surveyed the area, and Kim Sunhwa summoned a large white shield. ¡°Who are all these people?¡± she asked. Song Kiyeol didn¡¯t even prepare for battle. It was unofficial, but Korea¡¯s strongest forces were here. There was no need to summon his shield. ¡°Mr. Kim Hyukjin. Did you leave these people alive on purpose?¡± ¡°Yes. There¡¯s a lot to gain, after all.¡± If he wanted them dead, he would have already ended them. But killing wasn¡¯t always everything. ¡°The mastermind is Xu Xin And¡­¡± Hyukjin paused. ¡°This is also connected to Miss Song Junghye.¡± ¡°¡­¡± ¡°She tried to kill me.¡± Hyukjin stared hard at Song Kiyeol, his eyes clearly asking if the other man would protect his little sister even now. Song Kiyeol looked away. ¡°Junghye¡­ will need to be punished.¡± She had crossed a forbidden line, a line she shouldn¡¯t have crossed¡ªshe had tried to murder someone in the Tutorial Building. That was unforgivable, no matter how much Song Kiyeol ed on his little sister. His lips curling into a smile, Hyukjin said, ¡°That¡¯s true, but there¡¯s no physical proof that these people have any connection to Miss Song.¡± ¡°¡­What?¡± ¡°It means there¡¯s nothing we can do this time.¡± ¡°Do you mean that you will overlook it this time?¡± ¡°Yes.¡± The smile remained on Hyukjin¡¯s face. ¡°I have a feeling things will develop even more if I let her be.¡± The rice was still uncooked. Only by opening the rice cooker once each grain was a perfectly cooked, gleaming pearl could one produce the most delicious rice. ¡°For now, let¡¯s clean up shop.¡± * * * Giantgod took action, their movements crisp. The guildmaster of Taeguk Shield, Song Kiyeol, lamented in silence. ¡®The members of Giantgod¡­ are at least two, three times more skilled than Taeguk Shield.¡¯ He once again personally confirmed that they were Korea¡¯s strongest force. They captured everyone alive. ¡°I¡¯ll leave taking care of these guys to Taeguk Shield. It¡¯s pointless to hand them over to the police anyway. I trust you¡¯ll handle things nicely.¡± ¡°¡­Yes, understood.¡± Hyukjin set off. He was glad to see his guild members, but there was something else he had to do. He immediately went to see Song Kiyoung, who Hyukjin found sitting in his office. ¡°I heard the report. Xu Xin caused a mess?¡± ¡°Yes. He tried to kill me.¡± ¡°Thanks to all the reporters swarming the place, China¡¯s been put in a pretty embarrassing position. They¡¯ve drawn a clear line, saying that Xu Xin¡¯s outburst has absolutely nothing to do with China. They fell right into someone¡¯s trap.¡± Even China could not protect Xu Xin, which put the billionaire into a very uncomfortable situation. Song Kiyeol continued. ¡°But from what I¡¯m told, the person who made that trap spared all the prey and turned them over to us.¡± ¡°That¡¯s because I heard negotiations with China are difficult these days.¡± ¡°Is this meant to be a card to pressure Xu Xin with?¡± Publicly, China drew a line between the country and Xu Xin, but pressuring Xu Xin could send ripples throughout China as well. Both Song Kiyoung and Kim Hyukjin were well aware of that. ¡°Think of it as a little gift from me.¡± CEO Song laughed heartily. ¡°Young man, do you have any wish to try your hand at being a Sungshin board member?¡± ¡°I have little aptitude for being a salaryman.¡± ¡°Then how about becoming my successor? What about being a chaebol by profession?¡± ¡°There are too many things to attend to as a chaebol, so no thanks.¡± Song Kiyoung looked straight at Kim Hyukjin. What a fascinating, fascinating person. ¡°And now? I¡¯ve gladly accepted your gift for pressuring Xu Xin, but is that all?¡± ¡°No, there¡¯s something else.¡± ¡°It¡¯s more important, I assume?¡± Song Kiyoung¡¯s expression grew serious. Kim Hyukjin gave a gift first, so his side needed to prepare a gift of equivalent value. That was how highly Song Kiyoung judged Kim Hyukjin. ¡°What is it?¡± Hyukjin¡¯s answer was completely outside of CEO Song¡¯s expectations. ¡°I happen to have a bit of stock in a certain mercenary company.¡± ____ Chapter 265 Chapter 265 ¡°CEO Song, hasn¡¯t there been some conflict with American Players lately?¡± Since the conversation was previously about deals with China, that was where Song Kiyoung¡¯s attention was focused. He was somewhat caught off guard when the topic suddenly jumped to the US. ¡®How did he know that?¡¯ Hardly anyone knew about this, not even his grandson Song Kiyeol. In interest of securing a stable supply of mana crystals, Sungshin was procuring them from a spot other than Boracay. To that end, a base was set up in the Maldives, on an island with a Four Seasons Resort, a hotel from a world-class chain. On the resort island was a dungeon, one that produced a lot of white mana crystals. ¡®It was done in top secret.¡¯ Taeguk Shield, Blood and Iron Lion, none of them knew about it. CEO Song believed there was no chance it was leaked from the inside. ¡®I heard he was a Precognitive Dreamer, but he definitely seems to have some kind of mysterious power.¡¯ Meanwhile, Kim Hyukjin could tell from Song Kiyoung¡¯s reaction that his stab in the dark had struck true. A few hours ago, Hyukjin was contacted by the US sovereign Michelle. She said there was a conflict with Korean Players in the Maldives and asked if he knew them. At the time, he just said no. Apparently, their items and skills were pretty outstanding, so even Michelle was having a bit of trouble with them. Song Kiyoung¡¯s eyes flashed, and he said, ¡°You just took a guess, didn¡¯t you?¡± He was indeed very perceptive. ¡°Was it that noticeable?¡± ¡°Haha. To think I fell for a wild guess. I¡¯ve really put my years to shame.¡± Hyukjin smiled. ¡°Let¡¯s just chalk it up to me being perceptive.¡± ¡°Well, alright. How did you know? I ask because I¡¯m truly curious.¡± ¡°I was contacted by Michelle. She said she¡¯s been having some conflict with Korean Players.¡± ¡°What I want to ask is, how did you link those Players to me? There should have been no indication whatsoever of us being connected. Did you see it with Precognitive Dream?¡± Hyukjin smiled again. ¡°There aren¡¯t many Korean Players who have been dispatched overseas, especially ones who have been sent with the specific goal of securing mana crystals.¡± Everyone was busy Playing in their own servers (countries). They were still beginner period Players. Normally, there was no need or reason to branch out into other servers. ¡°So it¡¯s certainly strange that there are Korean Players out in the distant Maldives farming mana crystals.¡± ¡°¡­¡± ¡°But I¡¯m told those Players are quite skilled. Skilled enough to give Michelle trouble.¡± Of course, it wasn¡¯t the Michelle Division¡¯s elites out there¡ªthose guys were thriving within the US borders. ¡°Michelle¡¯s crew in the Maldives is still her secondary squad. The Korean Players going head to head with such a force to collect mana crystals instead of focusing on their own growth can only mean they¡¯ve been instructed by someone, or there¡¯s a reward bigger than their growth. One of the two.¡± ¡°That seems a little inadequate to link them to me.¡± ¡°There are a limited number of people in Korea who are in great need of mana crystals,¡± Hyukjin explained. The world didn¡¯t know how to use mana crystals properly yet. But because Sungshin was Sungshin, they were pioneering the research to use mana crystals in pharmaceuticals, a move that was, in part, informed by the tip Hyukjin gave last time. ¡°Of them, there is one corporation that is already getting a steady supply of mana crystals from Boracay.¡± And that was Sungshin. ¡°They say people in the industry know each other. You would think that Players from Sungshin would recognize a famous face, but they didn¡¯t know who Michelle was at all. They¡¯re Players who either suddenly acquired power or were raised in secret.¡± Hyukjin stared at CEO Song. ¡°The only person who can satisfy all of these conditions is you, CEO Song.¡± ¡°Hahaha.¡± CEO Song neither denied nor confirmed. Instead, he asked, ¡°It¡¯s news to me that you¡¯re involved in a mercenary company, but what does that have to do with me?¡± ¡°I am in partnership with Michelle.¡± ¡°With Michelle?¡± CEO Song laughed dryly with a stupefied expression. ¡°And that¡¯s why you¡¯ve come to me? To tell me to withdraw my people in the Maldives?¡± ¡°Yes, that¡¯s right.¡± Song Kiyoung scoffed lightly. ¡°It¡¯s true that I value you and am paying attention to your infinite growth potential, but are you unaware that I¡¯m still far stronger than you?¡± That was no empty boast. Song Kiyoung was someone standing behind the entire country. No matter how strong Hyukjin might be, he could not oppose all of South Korea. The institution that was the ¡®country¡¯ was a massive system, one that an individual could not win against. ¡°I am aware.¡± ¡°But what you¡¯re doing right now seems a bit like a threat to me.¡± ¡°There¡¯s no way I would do that.¡± Kim Hyukjin took out a few mana crystals from his Inventory. ¡°These are yellow mana crystals. They¡¯re far higher in grade than white ones.¡± Song Kiyoung picked up one of the crystals. His heart fluttered, and a rush of long-forgotten exhilaration coursed through him. ¡®He¡¯s running me through a rollercoaster.¡¯ It wasn¡¯t unpleasant. Rather, he felt as though he had met a worthy opponent, a feeling he hadn¡¯t enjoyed ever since he became the absolute powerhouse of Korea. ¡®And the reason he¡¯s doing that¡­ must be for the Guardians.¡¯ The Guardians enjoyed stories with twists and turns. ¡°So you want to make a deal with me. Using these yellow mana crystals as a pretext.¡± ¡°Yes. I will put up thirty of these yellow mana crystals.¡± ¡°In exchange for my withdrawal from the Maldives?¡± ¡°Yes.¡± ¡°That¡¯s a bit of a losing deal for me.¡± ¡°I¡¯ve confirmed one of the effects of these mana crystals.¡± ¡°What is the effect?¡± ¡°They¡¯re exceptionally good at eliminating drunkenness. With just one, you can produce an incredible amount of hangover cure.¡± That was a secret found by Sungshin not long after the discovery of yellow crystals. Hyukjin was using info they would obtain anyway as a trade condition. ¡°Last time, you came to me with a hair loss cure, and this time, it¡¯s a hangover cure?¡± ¡°Is this sufficient?¡± ¡°It is.¡± CEO Song Kiyoung nodded. But there was something he was curious about. ¡°Why are you making such a trade?¡± ¡°Because I¡¯m in partnership with Michelle. Michelle¡¯s company needs to grow in order for me to reap the profits as well.¡± ¡°I don¡¯t think that¡¯s the whole of it.¡± Hyukjin took a sip of the green tea on the table in front of him. CEO Song was definitely sharp-eyed. A little carelessness, and all his secrets would be laid bare. Truly, life experience and years of business were not to be underestimated. CEO Song continued. ¡°In truth, even if you didn¡¯t take action yourself, Michelle could just deploy her primary squad and that would be that.¡± ¡°Michelle is very busy with work in California, so she¡¯s unavailable.¡± ¡°And what about you?¡± ¡°I am also very busy.¡± That was true. He had to clear the Gardens by the Beach Dungeon in Singapore, as well as the Sangam World Cup Stadium Dungeon that would soon make its debut. He also had to uncover the world¡¯s secrets. In addition, he simply wanted to grow. He wanted to become stronger. There was truly a lot to do. There was much to do, but the most important of them all was still to live a happy life with the people he loved. ¡°I want to maintain a good relationship with Michelle. Let¡¯s just leave it at that.¡± That wasn¡¯t a lie, of course, but at least in this moment, it wasn¡¯t the whole truth. ¡®Actually¡­ it¡¯s that my older sister wants to learn a bit from Michelle¡¯s younger brother.¡¯ Michael. He was a famous chef in the US. ¡®A prominent figure who will mark the turning of an epoch in the culinary world as a cooking-class Player.¡¯ Hyukjin using mana crystals and knowledge from the future to make a deal with Song Kiyoung was partly related to Playing, but it was also an investment he was making for his sister. He remembered his conversation with Ahyoung. ¡°Guess so. It¡¯s not like I have any particular work experience or anything. Just some shabby kitchen assistant work.¡± ¡°What¡¯s that chef¡¯s name?¡± ¡°Michael.¡± ¡°Ah. Michael?¡± Back then, he resolved to get his sister the chance to at least meet Michael once. He couldn¡¯t force Michael to teach Ahyoung, but he could at least arrange a meeting between them. ¡®I want to give my sister a chance.¡¯ That was the real motivation for this trade, but that possibility didn¡¯t even occur to CEO Song. His conjecture went in a completely different direction, more towards the business side. ¡°Can I take this to mean that Michelle is that important of a person to you?¡± ¡°Yes.¡± CEO Song took a sip of green tea. ¡®Looks like I¡¯ll need to consider the variable called Michelle a little more carefully when planning in the future.¡¯ Even the great and mighty Song Kiyoung was unable to read Kim Hyukjin¡¯s heart. * * * Translator ¨C Lei Proofreader ¨C Ash * * * Michelle was an extremely famous Player in the US. On top of her already enormous wealth, she solidified her position at the top as a sovereign and was considered a next-gen leader of the country. She went to see her little brother at a certain restaurant. ¡°Michael. I have a favor to ask.¡± ¡°You have a favor? To ask of me?¡± Michael stared at Michelle in amazement. His haughty sister never stooped to ask for favors. She was a mighty sovereign who staunchly insisted on doing everything on her own. That was how Michael saw his older sister. ¡°Go on a quick trip to Korea.¡± ¡°To Korea? Why? I don¡¯t wanna. I¡¯m busy.¡± ¡°Michael. Have I ever asked you for a favor before?¡± ¡°No, never.¡± Not once in his entire life. His amazing sister asking him for a favor was really a first, a phenomenon he¡¯d never once considered happening. ¡°Exactly. Indulge me in this favor, just once.¡± ¡°Mm.¡± Michael thought for a moment. What kind of grave matter might cause his sister to personally make such a request? ¡°Alright, I¡¯ll hear you out. What in the world would make you ask me for a favor?¡± ¡°You just have to meet a person in Korea.¡± ¡°A person?¡± ¡°Yeah.¡± ¡°Who is it?¡± ¡°Someone who wants to learn cooking from you.¡± ¡°Hah?¡± Here he was, wondering what got Michelle asking so earnestly for a favor¡ªwas it some urgent matter concerning the country¡¯s fate?¡ªand it turned out to be a trivial interview. ¡°It¡¯s not even that important. Why are you going so far?¡± ¡°Would I ask you for a favor if it wasn¡¯t important?¡± ¡°¡­¡± Michael lapsed into thought, then gave his response. ¡°Alright. I¡¯ll do it. Since it¡¯s the first time you¡¯ve been so insistent.¡± ¡°Thanks. I¡¯ll give you the address.¡± ¡°But if they want to learn cooking from me, shouldn¡¯t they come to me instead of me coming to them?¡± ¡°They¡¯re a VIP.¡± ¡°But a VIP to you isn¡¯t a VIP to me.¡± Michelle stared at Michael in silence. Honestly speaking, she had no defense to that¡ªshe didn¡¯t want to say anything about Kim Hyukjin. ¡°Eh, whatever. Anyone you¡¯d call a VIP must be someone huge. To you, even the President of the United States is an ordinary chump. Alright, I¡¯ll go.¡± ¡°Thanks.¡± ¡°That¡¯s the first thanks I¡¯ve heard from you.¡± ¡°Because you¡¯ve never done anything for me that would warrant a thanks.¡± Scowling a little, Michael got up. ¡°Even if I want to, what¡¯s there to do for someone who already has it all?¡± That was how Michelle was, in Michael¡¯s eyes. A person who didn¡¯t even give him the chance to do something that would warrant thanks. A person far ahead of him, despite their shared blood. Michael turned around and left, a small smile on his lips. * * * On the other side of the world, Kim Hyukjin returned home in an inexplicably good mood. ¡®By now, Noona should have gotten word.¡¯ Michael would be coming to Korea. To their house, in fact. After meeting Ahyoung, he might take her on as a disciple. She had a chance, at least. He could already envision how happy she would be. Hyukjin reached up to his shoulder and scratched Darongi¡¯s head. Darongi was on his back, flailing his stubby limbs in pleasure. Today was indeed a happy day. ¡®This is what you live for,¡¯ Hyukjin thought as flopped onto his bed, intending on taking a quick rest. But something stopped him. Something was weird. ¡®Huh?¡¯ The Yellow Charm that was always under his desk wasn¡¯t there. Instead, there was a ¡®Red Charm¡¯. Hyukjin jumped to his feet. ____ Chapter 266 Chapter 266 Back when Hyukjin cleared the Yellow Charm Gate, he already knew about the Yellow Charm. ¨CIn some cases, the Yellow Charm can even bring luck. At the time, it was dismissed as an unsubstantiated rumor floating around on the Internet. But Hyukjin knew it wasn¡¯t just a rumor, but a real thing. ¨CSometimes, the Yellow Charm turns into a Red Charm. ¨CThat occurs when the person who made the Yellow Charm is in danger. Originally, the charms were just one of many rumors going around, something he hadn¡¯t paid much attention to before. But now¡­ ¨CIn the worst cases, blood will even seep from the Red Charm. Hyukjin picked up the Red Charm. ¡®There¡¯s¡­ no blood.¡¯ Returning to the past was great, but there were too many oddities that bothered him. These charms, the Demon King, the unknown beings making Predator Trees, the people who said they weren¡¯t Players being Players after all. Everything. ¡®How did someone find out about this charm and release the info on the Internet?¡¯ Normally, information with this level of veracity would be confirmed as a fact and become widespread knowledge one way or another, but that wasn¡¯t even the case. He only remembered it as a rumor floating around on the Internet. It was only after he regressed that it struck him as odd. ¡®Calm down. According to the info from the past, it¡¯s not the worst case scenario.¡¯ His heart thumped wildly, but he composed himself. ¡®Where is Ahyoung?¡¯ He didn¡¯t have a location tracker on her, and she wasn¡¯t the type to always say where she was going. ¡®Hold on.¡¯ Hyukjin remembered something. ¡®Didn¡¯t she say she was going on a quick trip to Yangpyeong around today?¡¯ Ahyoung said there was a really famous bakery in Yangpyeong. As a major bread aficionado, she was going there to buy bread. Technically speaking, tasting that bread was a part of Ahyoung¡¯s job. Eating delicious food was, after all, a form of studying. ¡®2019. January 23rd.¡¯ What happened in Yangpyeong then? ¡®I don¡¯t remember.¡¯ It wasn¡¯t like he remembered every incident. ¡®Sunhwa¡¯s not home, so¡­¡¯ Sunhwa usually preferred to stay home or go around eating tasty things with Yeonseo or Ahyoung. Either that, or she was Playing. ¡®If she was going to Play, she would have told me beforehand.¡¯ When the guild members of Giantgod Played on their own, they usually told Hyukjin what kind of Play they would be doing. It wasn¡¯t a rule Hyukjin set, but something they just automatically did. He didn¡¯t have any messages from Sunhwa. ¡®I think they¡¯re both in Yangpyeong.¡¯ If Sunhwa was with Ahyoung, that reassured him a bit. The best tank in Korea would be by Ahyoung¡¯s side. ¡®If Sunhwa¡¯s not with her¡­ then it¡¯s possible this wouldn¡¯t be a Red Charm, but a bleeding one.¡¯ Sunhwa wasn¡¯t picking up, and neither was Ahyoung. Both of their phones were cut off. Hyukjin immediately called Jo Sunghyun. ¨CDid you get any summons from the government? ¨CI haven¡¯t. What¡¯s wrong? ¨CThey¡¯re not saying anything is happening in Yangpyeong? ¨CNo. They haven¡¯t contacted me about anything. If a large-scale gate break or dungeon break had occurred, the government would have taken swift action. But that wasn¡¯t the case, either. Since the charm still turned red despite Sunhwa being there, something was happening. ¨CAssemble in Yangpyeong. ¨CNow? Sensing the urgency in Hyukjin¡¯s voice, Sunghyun didn¡¯t quibble. ¨CShould I call all the members of Giantgod? ¨CPlease do. ¨CWhere in Yangpyeong should we go? ¨CI¡¯ll message you that soon. ¨CI¡¯ll make a request to the government and go by helicopter. After hanging up, Hyukjin called Song Kiyeol, who immediately lent Hyukjin his personal helicopter. He even departed in it with Hyukjin. Song Kiyeol shouted over the whirring blades, ¡°What¡¯s going on?¡± ¡°I think something has happened to my older sister.¡± ¡°I¡¯ve summoned Taeguk Shield just in case. It¡¯ll take some time, but they¡¯ll be there soon. Everyone will be coming by helicopter.¡± ¡°Thank you.¡± That was something Song Kiyeol arranged independently, without Hyukjin asking for it. It was Kiyeol¡¯s first time seeing his business partner look so harried. Hyukjin was taking calm, quick action, but he looked anxious. ¡®To think he would look this restless¡­¡¯ This was Kim Hyukjin, someone with a greater precognitive ability than Ham Sohyun. A person like him looking this restless had to mean that something big was happening in Yangpyeong, didn¡¯t it? ¡®Did monsters like the Fire Giants that appeared in the DMC show up again?¡¯ Back then, they had the support of the Guardian Tower. But not this time. ¡®If monsters that strong show up again, what should I do?¡¯ He had to run. There was no other way. ¡®Just what in the world is happening?¡¯ * * * Translator ¨C Lei Proofreader ¨C Ash * * * Since they went by helicopter, they reached Yangpyeong quickly. After making a permitted landing on a helipad, they got into the waiting vehicle. Before coming here, Hyukjin had gone into Ahyoung¡¯s room, checked her Internet search history, and found Yangpyeong¡¯s famous pastry shop, Ludipan Patisserie. ¡®We¡¯re almost there.¡¯ He extended his senses as much as possible, scanning his surroundings with Eye of Perception. ¡®I don¡¯t feel any monsters.¡¯ Was it a gate, then? ¡®No gates, either.¡¯ Nor were there any noticeable dungeons. The only monsters were a few neutral herbivorous rabbits hopping around on the street. Hyukjin opened the door to the patisserie, letting it swing shut behind him. The bell on top of the door jingled, and a cheerful welcome greeted him. ¡°Welcome in!¡± The inside of the patisserie was quite peaceful. The sweet, appetizing smell of bread stimulated Hyukjin¡¯s nose, and a wide range of pastries that looked even more sweet than they smelled were lined up in the display case. Standing next to Hyukjin, Song Kiyeol thought quizzically, ¡®What business does he have here?¡¯ Around the tables were seated small clusters of people, many of them being couples. There were also groups of just women. There were three floors in total. As Kiyeol watched, Hyukjin ascended the stairs. The second floor was packed as well. There, Hyukjin¡¯s gaze lingered on one person, a person he knew. He went up the stairs again, going up to the third floor, which was equally full. ¡°Mr. Kim Hyukjin. What¡¯s going on?¡± ¡°I¡¯m looking for my sisters.¡± Hyukjin analyzed and took in everything with Observer¡¯s Eye. And then, he found them. ¡°Huh? Oppa. What are you doing here?¡± ¡°¡­¡± Sitting on the opposite side of Ahyoung, Sunhwa looked up from the bread she was cutting and stared at Hyukjin. Song Kiyeol was a little taken aback. From the way Hyukjin was acting, he thought some kind of national disaster had occurred. He even heard that all of Giantgod was coming. But there was nothing out of place. ¡°What kind of sick joke do you think you¡¯re playing?¡± asked Kim Hyukjin, his voice low. Kim Sunhwa got up. ¡°Aw, shucks. You¡¯re so perceptive that it¡¯s really no fun, dude.¡± A chill ran down Song Kiyeol¡¯s spine. The patisserie was the picture of tranquility around them, but there was something off about this peace. He had the bizarre feeling that everything in front of him was a lie. ¡°How did you know?¡± asked Kim Sunhwa. ¡°Ban Kimyung is on the 2nd floor.¡± ¡°Ban Kimyung? Ah. So his name is Ban Kimyung?¡± Hyukjin had noticed the strange sensation as soon as he heard the jingling of the bell when coming in. He had gained the Endless Sky Physique, and through it, the ability Assimilation. That was the innate power to absorb all the mana around him and make it his, the special ability to breathe mana. So he could tell. ¡®The mana here is different from the outside.¡¯ The entire interior of this patisserie was no different from a dungeon. With his heightened mana sense, he was able to assess the patisserie with a method other than Observer¡¯s Eye or Eye of Perception. His body automatically knew. This was an artificially created space. ¡°I never thought an Intermediate Administrator would get this involved in the System.¡± ¡°As you know, we¡¯re a bit special.¡± Hyukjin knew. The race his opponent belonged to were Intermediate Administrators who ate Players¡ªevil spirit caspers. ¡°That aside, what do you think of that fellow on the 2nd floor? Think he¡¯d make a good new vessel for me?¡± ¡°You want to leave Sunhwa and go into Ban Kimyung?¡± ¡°That¡¯s why I¡¯m going through all this trouble.¡± Hyukjin felt blood seep from the Red Charm in his hand. ¡®Blood¡­ is coming out.¡¯ He didn¡¯t know what the evil spirit inside Sunhwa¡¯s body was planning on doing, but the situation was worsening. ¡°What is this ¡®trouble¡¯, exactly?¡± ¡°This.¡± Sunhwa reached out and grasped Kim Ahyoung by the neck. Ahyoung didn¡¯t resist¡ªher eyes were unfocused, like her soul had departed her body. She didn¡¯t even scream. [The ¡®Lady of the Scales¡¯ is furious with the Intermediate Administrator¡¯s excessive involvement.] [The ¡®True Master of the Heavenly Demonic Mountain¡¯ ridicules the Intermediate Administrator¡¯s shameful conduct.] [The ¡®Barrier of Blue Light¡¯ reproaches the Intermediate Administrator.] [The ¡®Nameless Observer¡¯ observes.] Kim Sunhwa smirked. ¡°No matter what you say, great Guardians, what I¡¯m doing isn¡¯t illegal. Our people are permitted by the System to do this sort of thing.¡± That seemed to be the truth. The Guardians might be furious and ridicule and reproach, but they were unable to directly interfere. Cold sweat trickled down Song Kiyeol¡¯s back. He checked the precognitive note inside his Inventory. ¨CA false, sweet fragrance shall permeate you. ¨CThe prophecy of the true seer h come to be. The true seer. In the past, Song Kiyeol saw the same wording at Michelle¡¯s auction, and he thought that it referred to Kim Hyukjin. ¡®A false, sweet fragrance¡­ Is that the bread I smelled earlier?¡¯ Ham Sohyun said that whenever she had precognitive dreams about Kim Hyukjin, they were very explicit. And that was the truth¡ªa precognitive dream of this level really was direct and concrete. ¡®Then what does ¡®The prophecy of the true seer h come to be¡¯ mean?¡¯ Just as Kiyeol thought that, Hyukjin spoke. ¡°You will die here.¡± ¡°What?¡± Kim Sunhwa broke into a loud cackle. ¡°You? Will kill me? How?¡± She continued to laugh with amusement. ¡°You¡¯re a mere level 39 Player. I get that you¡¯re a producer of unique content or whatever, but how do you plan on killing me? Did you know? That I can make your head go boom with a few twists of my finger?¡± ¡°¡­¡± ¡°I really never thought I would one day be threatened to be killed by a beginner period shrimp.¡± Hyukjin broke his silence. ¡°If you could, you would have killed me in the time it took to say all that. Casper.¡± It was a new word to Song Kiyeol. Casper. ¡°You have made direct involvement in my Playing. I do understand that you¡¯re from a race that¡¯s allowed to do so.¡± However, Intermediate Administrators were often called upon to be ¡®administrators¡¯. That was their set role. As such, an Intermediate Administrator jumping directly into Playing was a violation of the System¡¯s basic rules. ¡°But even so, bending the basic rules to participate in Playing will have cost you a lot of strength.¡± The casper had already consumed a great deal of strength. ¡®In order to devour Ban Kimyung on the 2nd floor.¡¯ One of the future 8 Heroes, the unlucky Enforcer of Commandments who would be eaten by a devil casper. That was the person he had seen downstairs. ¡®The casper has taken a greater fancy to Ban Kimyung than Sunhwa.¡¯ And he was going through all this in order to switch bodies. ¡®Before he transfers from Sunhwa to Ban Kimyung, he needs to inflict a major mental blow on Sunhwa.¡¯ If left unstopped, he would have most likely controlled Sunhwa¡¯s body to heavily injure or kill Ahyoung. Afterwards, while Sunhwa was reeling in shock, he would use some kind of sorcery to transfer to Ban Kimyung. ¡°More interesting¡­ is the fact that Ban Kimyung is level 1.¡± He was a future member of the 8 Heroes and would grow into a top Ranker. And yet, his level was 1, and he was newly awakened, at that. Hyukjin recalled Ban Kimyung¡¯s summary. Summary: Newly Awakened Person Intending on Committing Suicide He wasn¡¯t awakened before, but was suddenly a Player now, in the ¡®patisserie¡¯ a casper was expending a huge amount of strength to dominate. ¡®The casper forcefully awakened him into a Player.¡¯ And that, too, would have cost a major chunk of the casper¡¯s energy. So right now, the casper was extremely fatigued. ¡°You messed with someone you shouldn¡¯t have.¡± Hyukjin seized a once-in-a-lifetime chance. ____ Chapter 267 Chapter 267 The casper was exhausted. He wasn¡¯t in his usual fighting form. ¡°This place is an artificial space created by you.¡± It was like a VR space, so to speak. ¡°And I might not know what you were planning on doing, but I know you¡¯ll have controlled the minds of each and every person here.¡± All in order to nab Ban Kimyung. The casper was sure to have been tempted by prey as delicious as Ban Kimyung. If Hyukjin hadn¡¯t come here, the casper might have moved to Ban Kimyung, and there was no knowing what would have happened to Sunhwa and Ahyoung in the process. ¡°To do that, you would have needed a ton of mana.¡± The casper used a lot of mana to distort this half-virtual space, and was using more to control it, a process that involved taxing mental manipulation. Hyukjin breathed in. ¡®Even this mana will become my strength.¡¯ Thanks to Assimilation, this mind-controlling mana was merely a type of nourishment for Kim Hyukjin. The very reason why the Demon King was able to slaughter so many magicians in the Great Battle of Shanghai was because mana had no effect on the Demon King. ¡®But I can¡¯t rely purely on Assimilation.¡¯ Assimilation was certainly an outstanding ability, but if the opponent was on a higher level than him, it could actually be dangerous to use. Adding two liters of water to a one liter container would make it overflow. ¡®I¡¯ll aim to let this energy flow naturally past me.¡¯ Hyukjin decided to not use this mana. All his preparations were complete. Kim Sunhwa spoke with a smirk. ¡°Really, what makes you so damn confident?¡± Her eyes turned red. ¡°I¡¯m still in your little sister¡¯s body. If you want to kill me, you¡¯ll have to kill her.¡± ¡°¡­¡± ¡°And you see, I really don¡¯t like you.¡± ¡°¡­¡± ¡°So I¡¯ll commit my full power to tearing you into a million pieces.¡± Caspers were astral beings. He was saying he would make use of Kim Sunhwa¡¯s body. ¡°Come on then, have a good fight with your little sister.¡± A large, white shield formed at Sunhwa¡¯s right arm. * * * Translator ¨C Lei Proofreader ¨C Ash * * * On the 2nd floor. Ban Kimyung was shocked by the notice he heard. ¡®I¡¯ve become a Player?¡¯ You could earn a lot of money if you became a Player. He knew the products coming out of dungeons and gates were being sold for extremely high prices. ¡®So suddenly?¡¯ In fact, Ban Kimyung had decided to end his own life. He was in this shop because he had decided to travel a little before dying, to go on the first trip of his life. He heard rich people went to places like Switzerland for suicide trips, but Ban Kimyung didn¡¯t have the money to do that. But something was weird. ¡®I¡¯m happy, but I¡¯m not happy.¡¯ The feeling was hard to describe¡ªit was as if his feelings were far, far away, like his brain and body were separated. His mind felt hazy, as if he were drugged by anesthetics. ¡®Strange. I also feel a bit dizzy.¡¯ Actually, it didn¡¯t matter if he was dizzy or not. He had resolved to kill himself, anyway. ¡®Where did my life go wrong?¡¯ Even if he was a Player now, even if he awakened, would his life really change? He heard the first Players were already over level 30 and nearing 40, so what could he possibly achieve by awakening now? Depressing and vexing memories surged to his mind. ¨CYou, a singer? Forget it! Fucking idiot. ¨CGo out and earn some money instead. ¨CThere¡¯s no booze left! ¨CMoney! Go get money for booze, shithead! He was abused by his father since childhood. Ban Kimyung wanted to become a singer. But that dream crumbled in front of the harsh reality that was his life. In order to earn money to fund his father¡¯s alcoholism, he was forced to do part-time jobs since middle school. Like someone was controlling his mind, the unpleasant memories he was doing his best to forget kept floating to the surface. ¨COkay. We¡¯re friends, after all. The one and only friend he thought he had, Kang-sik, borrowed $10,000 from him, saying it was a real emergency. That was the money Kimyung had saved up from age 20 to 29. Because he was unable to abandon the father he had the misfortune of sharing blood with, his father who became ill with alcohol-related dementia, he couldn¡¯t even save up much. ¡®And Kang-sik fucking disappeared.¡¯ $10,000. Even though it was a huge amount of money for Kimyung, he didn¡¯t think it was enough to lose a friend over. He was sad about losing the money he¡¯d earned for nine years, but it was the thought that he lost his only friend over that sum that drove Kimyung to suicide. ¡®Ah. My life.¡¯ Even though a new path had opened up before him, it felt too late. The only thing he¡¯d learned from a young age was working part-time. ¡®What use is it for someone like me to stay alive?¡¯ Actually, he had seen and felt a lot while traveling. He saw things he hadn¡¯t been able to see, and met people he hadn¡¯t been able to know, and found out that there were more beautiful sights in this world than he imagined. As a result, his desire to live had been flickering back. ¡®I should just die.¡¯ But since entering this patisserie, his mind kept getting flooded with negative thoughts. It was like someone was whispering, ¡®Yes, someone like you should just die¡¯, like a terrible auditory hallucination. ¡®Yeah. Let¡¯s just end it.¡¯ Right when he thought that, he heard a loud crash. ¡®Huh?¡¯ Kimyung snapped back to his senses. ¡®What was I thinking just now?¡¯ He couldn¡¯t remember. He had the impression he¡¯d been drowning in depressing and irritating thoughts, but it felt like he had woken from a dream that he¡¯d been having for a long, long time. Ban Kimyung had no idea that the reason he was able to break away from the mental assault was because Kim Hyukjin had confronted the casper on the 3rd floor. Kim Hyukjin diverted the casper¡¯s attention, weakening the evil spirit¡¯s domination over other areas. The variables grew even further. A loud cry split the air. ¡°Boss!¡± It was a woman¡¯s voice. Ban Kimyung turned his head and was startled when he saw who it was. ¡®Shin Yeonseo?¡¯ The Smiling Swordsman Shin Yeonseo who was so famous was running in. ¡®The Tutorial Ender?¡¯ Even So Yoohyun was there. ¡®The Jo Sunghyun and Choi Sung-gu Wombocombo?¡¯ A bunch of famous people came dashing in, all at once. They ran up to the 3rd floor, where Hyukjin greeted them with a grin. ¡°You¡¯re here.¡± ¡°What¡¯s happening? What¡¯s wrong with Sunhwa? Why are her eyes red?¡± ¡°The current Sunhwa isn¡¯t the real Sunhwa.¡± ¡°Then what is she?¡± ¡°It¡¯ll take too long to explain. For now, we need to fight Sunhwa.¡± ¡°You crazy? How are we supposed to fight such a cute kid?¡± Even as she said that, Yeonseo pulled out her sword. Similarly, even though So Yoohyun was bewildered and wondering what in the world was happening, he also clenched his fists, believing that his hyungnim was in the right. ¡°I don¡¯t know what¡¯s going on, but whatever my hyungnim says, goes!¡± Jo Sunghyun and Choi Sung-gu also drew forth their mana. ¡°Huhuhu,¡± chuckled Kim Sunhwa. ¡°You human insects sure are fearless.¡± Hyukjin stared silently at Sunhwa. Controlling her was an Intermediate Administrator. At this point in time, there were no Players who could defeat an Intermediate Administrator. ¡°You¡¯ve all Played a lot with Sunhwa, so you should know,¡± Hyukjin said. Sunhwa possessed a truly sturdy body. ¡°You need to attack without mercy.¡± He was saying the words to his teammates, but they were also words for himself. Half-hearted attacks wouldn¡¯t get through her defense. Such an attempt would only invite a counterattack. ¡°The enemy is a mental manipulation Intermediate Administrator. The moment he sees an opening, he¡¯ll burrow into your mind. Steel yourselves.¡± ¡°If Sunhwa¡¯s body is weakened, will he also be weakened?¡± asked Sunghyun. ¡°Yes.¡± In addition, Song Kiyeol the Taeguk Shield took up the tank role for their side. ¡°I will handle the defense,¡± Song Kiyeol said, stepping forward. ¡°Your heart must not waver. The current Sunhwa is 100% an enemy.¡± Song Kiyeol knew. He knew that Kim Hyukjin was saying those words to himself. So he made a suggestion. ¡°Mr. Kim Hyukjin, you can stay back and watch.¡± ¡°¡­¡± ¡°With our current forces, I think it¡¯s worth a shot. If it¡¯s as you say, the enemy is extremely worn out.¡± ¡°¡­¡± ¡°If it becomes really dangerous at any point, you can jump in then. If, by some one in a million chance, he ends up possessing you, things will become really troublesome.¡± After a moment of silence, Hyukjin responded. ¡°Thank you.¡± He stepped back, intending on aiming for the perfect chance to strike. Giantgod and Song Kiyeol surged forward as one team, surrounding Kim Sunhwa and pelting her with their attacks. Song Kiyeol took out and raised his shield, blocking Sunhwa¡¯s elbow jab. A resounding clang rang out. Sunhwa¡¯s elbow was a little bloodied, but the wound quickly recovered. ¡®I never thought I¡¯d be fighting with an Intermediate Administrator one day,¡¯ thought Song Kiyeol. For mankind, Intermediate Administrators were pretty much calamities, higher beings humanity could do nothing against. And yet, he was fighting one such being. So many unimaginable things seemed to happen when he was with Kim Hyukjin. Having become a third party, Hyukjin observed the situation. ¡®With the casper¡¯s strength, Sunhwa and the rest of the party are equally matched.¡¯ It came down to who would tire first, who had the better luck. But thankfully, they had a fairly skilled tank in the form of Song Kiyeol on their side. ¡®The casper must have read the situation, too.¡¯ What would he do, if he were the casper? What choice would he make? If he were the casper, what picture would he draw? ¡®I wouldn¡¯t keep fighting like this.¡¯ The casper would find some casper-like way to break through. ¡®Even now, he hasn¡¯t given up his control over the entire patisserie.¡¯ He was still exerting his influence over the patisserie, though his control was weakened. So Yoohyun folded at the waist with a violent cough. Sunhwa¡¯s fist had landed a direct hit. Yoohyun rapidly jumped back, and Choi Sung-gu kept Sunhwa from pursuing with a lash of his Fire Whip. The fight came to a brief standstill. The members of Giantgod and Song Kiyeol seemed a little tired, but Kim Sunhwa was more relaxed than ever. ¡°I¡¯ve been observing you guys for a long time,¡± she crowed. ¡°So I can read your movements in advance.¡± The casper wasn¡¯t just bluffing. Hyukjin could feel the casper strengthening his dominance over the 2nd floor while fighting them, meaning he had some measure of leisure. ¡®But if he really had energy to spare, he would have killed us all.¡¯ Because he couldn¡¯t do that, the casper was resorting to this little show. ¡®In the end, he¡¯s gonna go for Ban Kimyung.¡¯ He would leave Sunhwa¡¯s body and go into Ban Kimyung. Then, he would use some way to flee the scene. ¡®He¡¯ll come back to kill us in the future.¡¯ He was too great a threat. They had to kill him here. Hyukjin took a step forward. ¡°I can see what you¡¯re going for so clearly that I can¡¯t stay back.¡± Hyukjin took out his sword, the transcendent artifact Isabel. Kim Sunhwa tensed a little. And then, she spoke with Sunhwa¡¯s voice, Sunhwa¡¯s face. ¡°Oppa. Are you going to kill me?¡± ¡°¡­¡± ¡°The only thing I want is to live happily with you, Unnie, and Mom¡­¡± At the same time, Hyukjin knew. Someone was coming up the stairs from the second floor, step by step. He didn¡¯t miss that chance. ¡®I¡¯ll cut through.¡¯ He clenched his teeth, then swung Isabel with all his might at his sister. Isabel reached Sunhwa¡¯s neck. Schwing! And cut something. ____ Chapter 268 Chapter 268 ¡®I¡¯ll use¡­ sword ki.¡¯ Kim Hyukjin¡¯s unique innate energy based on Athenae¡¯s pure flame was under his authority, and was an ability he could control. ¡®I¡¯ll cut the casper without harming Sunhwa.¡¯ That would be impossible with a physical sword, but it was achievable with sword ki, an energy. Despite having never tried it before, Hyukjin was certain of it. ¡®It¡¯s theoretically possible.¡¯ With the combined effect of his Willpower stat that was impossibly high for the beginner period and his own keen focus, it was as though time were flowing like honey. To Hyukjin, a span of less than one second felt like an eternity. ¡®Even though it¡¯ll be impossible to completely avoid harming Sunhwa¡­¡¯ That might¡¯ve been possible if his sword ki proficiency were much higher, but not now. ¡®¡­thankfully, Sunhwa¡¯s an outstanding tank.¡¯ Most attacks wouldn¡¯t even leave a scratch on her sturdy body. ¡®I will trust.¡¯ In his ability, and Sunhwa¡¯s. There could be no doubt, not even for a second. There would be no better opportunity than this to kill the casper and thus eliminate a nebulous future variable. He had landed this serendipitous opportunity because of two unlikely factors, Ban Kimyung and the Yellow Charm. ¡®I won¡¯t¡­ let this chance slip.¡¯ It was risky. Sunhwa could get hurt. But he had to do this. Hyukjin chose to slash the casper. Schwing! He felt something part at his blade. Blood flowed from Sunhwa¡¯s neck. To Hyukjin¡¯s relief, she wasn¡¯t gravely injured. She was bleeding a little, but the wound would soon heal. ¡®I cut something.¡¯ Hyukjin was sure that he cut something other than Sunhwa¡¯s neck. Sunhwa crumpled to the ground¡ªthe casper had left her body. Hyukjin wanted to catch her, but there was no time. Yeonseo jumped forward to catch his unconscious sister in his stead. The members of Giantgod didn¡¯t doubt Hyukjin¡¯s actions¡ªthey only watched the situation with attentive eyes, ready to do what was needed of them, something Hyukjin was grateful for. He couldn¡¯t spare a single moment. ¡®There¡¯s only one place for him to go.¡¯ Hyukjin thought it was possible that the casper believed Hyukjin would never be able to cut his little sister, an assumption that made the casper careless. And Hyukjin was right. The casper grit his teeth. ¡®Crazy bastard. He really swung at his precious little sister?¡¯ The casper fled Sunhwa¡¯s body in a panic. This wasn¡¯t what he had envisioned. But the murderous intent in Kim Hyukjin¡¯s eyes was real, and if he had stayed put, he would have been heavily injured in Sunhwa¡¯s body. He didn¡¯t want that. ¡®There¡¯s an even better body for me over there!¡¯ Truth be told, Kim Sunhwa wasn¡¯t the best body for the casper. Her body itself was amazing, but she was a little troublesome to control as he wished. Her traumatized mind was mostly healed, and her brother Kim Hyukjin took too prominent a position in her consciousness. Because Kim Sunhwa possessed infinite trust and faith in her brother, it wasn¡¯t easy to make her waver or assume control over her body when they were together. ¡®This sucker¡¯s the perfect prey for me.¡¯ So the casper made a tough call. He hadn¡¯t expected this fiasco, but all he had to do was seize the new guy¡¯s body and flee. ¡®And not long from now, I¡­ will rip you to pieces, Kim Hyukjin.¡¯ He never thought an Intermediate Administrator like himself would be forced into such dire straits. Caspers were astral beings, and without a body, it was difficult to do any real harm to a Player. In exchange, the moment they acquired the perfect body, they would be even stronger than regular Intermediate Administrators. ¡®I see it.¡¯ Ban Kimyung, and the man¡¯s dark, negative mind. That was a man with a weak soul ripe for the taking. ¡®I need to go in quickly.¡¯ But unawares to the casper, his decision was one Hyukjin had foreseen. * * * Translator ¨C Lei Proofreader ¨C Ash * * * Even before Hyukjin wrapped Isabel in sword ki and slashed Sunhwa, he predicted how things would go and directed the scene accordingly. If the casper stayed in Sunhwa¡¯s body, he might be heavily injured or even die, so of course he would leave. ¡®If I slash Sunhwa wholeheartedly.¡¯ That was the hardest part. But as long as Hyukjin could do that, he was sure that the casper would move exactly as he predicted. Hyukjin¡¯s eyes swiveled to the place he heard footsteps from. ¡®He¡¯ll move quickly to find a new body.¡¯ There was no time to pull back Isabel¡ªevery millisecond was precious. He dropped her on the ground, upon which Darongi scampered over to stow her in his Inventory. In the meantime, Hyukjin took out a bow, a beginner wooden bow purchasable in the Beginner Shop. There was no time for fancy techniques. As one would expect from a bow meant for beginners, it was light and had fast attack speed; it was a bow Hyukjin could use very easily. His Divine Bow Physique body took aim at the casper. ¡®I can¡¯t do it with just a physical attack.¡¯ It would probably go straight through the casper. ¡®Wrap sword ki around the arrow.¡¯ He had never done it before, but it should be possible. Because not only did Hyukjin have the Divine Sword Physique, but he also had the Divine Bow Physique. ¡®I can do it.¡¯ His concentration honed to the limit, he fired at the casper. The arrow went whistling towards the casper¡¯s hazy, indistinct back. The hawk-eyed Jo Sunghyun quickly followed up with wind magic. Wind magic might be less destructive than fire magic, but it was faster and more accurate. He didn¡¯t even pause to recite the spell incantation aloud. A wind arrow shot into the casper¡¯s back. Because it had been cast so quickly, it didn¡¯t deal much damage. The casper continued moving towards Ban Kimyung undeterred. Hyukjin drew his bowstring again. ¡®My target is Ban Kimyung.¡¯ If the casper managed to seize a perfectly intact body, he would definitely flee using advanced magic like Warp. ¡®You¡¯ve made a mistake by not fleeing right now.¡¯ If the casper had taken this chance to flee, Hyukjin probably wouldn¡¯t have had another peaceful night in his life. He would have had to fear for the constant threat of a vindictive casper¡¯s revenge. But the casper was unable to give Ban Kimyung up, the ¡®perfect body¡¯ in front of him. Hyukjin pulled and released the bowstring in quick succession. He had observed and mimicked the movements of Hyun Junghwa before. Even though he couldn¡¯t use Consecutive Rapidfire as a skill, he could produce an imitation that nearly matched it. The casper panicked upon seeing the four arrows shot almost simultaneously whistling towards him. ¡®What?!¡¯ He had already taken two arrows to the back. He was in a great deal of pain, so when he sensed the arrows shooting towards him, he flinched. It was just a sliver of a second, but that flinch caused a moment of delay. But to his surprise, Kim Hyukjin¡¯s arrows failed to deal damage to the casper. ¡®They went through me?¡¯ They were just ordinary arrows, not ones imbued with Hyukjin¡¯s sword ki. The casper realized at once that Kim Hyukjin had intentionally rigged the first arrow with sword ki exactly for this intent. The intent of eliciting a flinch from the casper, thus slowing him down and allowing the arrows to strike the real target, Ban Kimyung. Thump. Thump. Thump. Thump. The arrows embedded themselves in four different places: both shoulders and both thighs. ¡°GAHHHHH!¡± screamed Ban Kimyung, falling to the ground. ¡°Eu-Euagh!¡± Ban Kimyung was a level 1 Player who had just awakened. Even though Hyukjin avoided hitting any vital points, his attack was dangerously powerful and caused Ban Kimyung indescribable agony. Pain, pain the likes of which he¡¯d never felt in his entire life. But ironically, the terrible sensation of sharp blades piercing his flesh and nerves made Ban Kimyung feel that he was alive. His mind was shocked to crystal clarity. ¡®What in the world is going on?¡¯ It felt as though he¡¯d been floating along in a dream. Amidst the terrible pain, he began to see the world anew. ¡®Will¡­ I die?¡¯ He could see blood flowing out. His blood. He couldn¡¯t move his arms or legs. It was like his body was broken. He couldn¡¯t even speak, the pain was too great. ¡®It might be better to just die like this.¡¯ That was the thought that ran through his mind, but something was odd. ¡®No.¡¯ It was really strange. The moment death was upon him, a peculiar thought awakened within him. ¡®I want to live.¡¯ He decided to die, enjoyed his final vacation, and thought it would be okay to die now. And yet, when his time of death was really upon him, he wanted to live. He wanted to live so desperately that he found himself wondering if humans were always this fickle. Slumped on the ground, Ban Kimyung looked at the people in front of him. ¡®No way¡­ is that person the Song Kiyeol?¡¯ He was one of Korea¡¯s most famous tanks. ¡®Huh? Come to think of it¡­¡¯ He remembered seeing some people barge in earlier. ¡®I¡¯m sure I saw them earlier¡­? Why does it feel like I¡¯m seeing them for the first time?¡¯ That man with the huge body was the Tutorial Ender. Kimyung definitely saw him earlier, but it was like he was seeing him anew, like he was a different person than he was earlier. As if he had been possessed by something. ¡°Urya!¡± When Ban Kimyung¡¯s body was greatly injured, the casper finally realized the situation he was in. Judging that fleeing this place right now was the best move, he relinquished his dominance over the patisserie. And So Yoohyun, seizing the moment the casper took to retract all his power, narrowed the gap between him and the casper in an instant. ¡°I!¡± So Yoohyun¡¯s fists glowed with faint fist ki. It wasn¡¯t as advanced an energy as Hyukjin¡¯s sword ki, but it was enough to deal damage to an astral. He struck out. ¡°Will also!¡± He leapt onto the casper, straddling him as best he could. ¡°Play a part!¡± After crushing the casper with his enormous bulk, Yoohyun squeezed the casper¡¯s neck between his massive biceps, strangling his foe from behind. ¡°In front of Hyungnim! An active! Part!¡± He squeezed with all his strength. As a result, the casper completely lost his chance to escape. ¡®These lowly animals!¡¯ Normally, these scum wouldn¡¯t even be able to meet his eyes. If he weren¡¯t so tired right now, he would have made all their heads explode. ¡®Damn humans¡­¡¯ Tired he might be, but he was still an Intermediate Administrator. The casper flung off his assailant with a burst of strength, sending the bulky man flying across the room. ¡°Gugh!¡± It was like So Yoohyun was sent flying by a powerful gust. Jo Sunghyun raised a wind of his own to cushion his teammate¡¯s body, but he couldn¡¯t support all of Yoohyun¡¯s weight. BAM! Yoohyun crashed into the wall, sending cracks splintering across the surface. The casper believed that was his chance to run, thinking his foes would hesitate a little. It was good that he overextended himself just now, he thought. Until he heard Kim Hyukjin speak. ¡°If you were a weak existence like us¡­¡± Raiding monsters more powerful than yourself and cracking difficult scenarios and quests required extensive use of one¡¯s brain, and you would gain a lot of experience in the process. But that didn¡¯t apply to the casper. He was an Intermediate Administrator who didn¡¯t directly Play. Book smarts were different from experiencing something yourself. Choi Sung-gu¡¯s Flame Whip came down with a crack. The fire magician knew exactly what he had to do. He couldn¡¯t react quickly and promptly like Jo Sunghyun¡ªthat was Sunghyun¡¯s job. Instead, Sung-gu prepared a spell with slightly greater destructive force, lying in wait to strike if the chance arose. Sung-gu¡¯s Flame Whip entangled the casper, burning bright. Hyukjin continued. ¡°¡­you wouldn¡¯t have expended so much strength just now.¡± The casper was unable to flee. He was already too exhausted. Simply resisting Sung-gu¡¯s flames was a monumental task. ¡°And you wouldn¡¯t have forgotten the fact that we are teammates who have worked together for a long time.¡± Kim Hyukjin used Flash Step. This was it. This was his chance. As expected of his long-time guild members, each of them carried out their roles surely and precisely. ¡®All for this moment.¡¯ Ultimately, a major technique and a great deal of power were needed to completely wipe out the casper. Hyukjin¡¯s teammates bought him time and opportunity for exactly that. Wrapped in Flame Whip, the casper flailed on the ground. ¡°Y-You son of a bitch! Fuck off!¡± Having received Isabel from Darongi, Kim Hyukjin jumped onto the casper¡¯s body. Sung-gu¡¯s Flame Whip had little effect on Hyukjin. Though it was hot, it wasn¡¯t unbearably so. He squeezed the casper tightly with his legs. Then, he raised Isabel in a reverse grip. ¡°Farewell.¡± Here and now, he would eliminate a variable. Hyukjin decided to bring out the strongest technique he was capable of. Song Kiyeol was watching, but this wasn¡¯t the time to be worrying about that. Isabel¡¯s blade began to burn with black flames. ____ Chapter 269 Chapter 269 Very quietly, Kim Hyukjin recited an incantation. He rattled off the words, having prepared them in his heart in advance. It was the same incantation as when he first created the ¡®Temporary Blackfire Bow¡¯. The final incantation Ahn Seohye had uttered while crying tears of blood. [You who has killing intent.] [I command thee. Return to thy eternal slumber.] The same notice as back then was triggered. [You have partially succeeded in uttering the Will Incantation.] Hyukjin¡¯s body began to shimmer with red mana. He was sure of it. ¡®It¡¯s the same as before.¡¯ He had created a Blackfire Bow with the Ink Bow as a base. This time, Hyukjin possessed the Divine Sword Physique, and he used Isabel as a base to draw forth a new ability. [Confirming the presence of a physique imprinted with the ¡®Tome of the Divine Sword Physique¡¯.] [Perceiving powerful flame energy imprinted within the Divine Sword Physique.] And one more. [Confirming the presence of a ¡®Sword¡¯s Pact¡¯.] When he made the Blackfire Bow, the related factor was the mana wavelength of the Blackfire Bow engraved in his body. This time, it was the Sword¡¯s Pact that came into effect. Hyukjin instinctively realized that the Sword¡¯s Pact was far higher in grade than the Blackfire Bow¡¯s mana wavelength. [Overlaying the Divine Sword Physique¡¯s mana on Isabel.] [Generating a temporary Heavenly Sword.] ¡®This is a more advanced ability.¡¯ [The Heavenly Sword¡¯s base item is Isabel.] Blazing with black flames, Isabel plunged into the casper¡¯s back. Hyukjin felt all the energy instantly being siphoned from his body. ¡®Ngh.¡¯ He nearly blacked out. Hyukjin used Endless Sky Physique, his new trait, to desperately absorb surrounding mana. Three of the Yellow Mana Crystals in his Inventory instantly disappeared, and as a result, Hyukjin was able to maintain consciousness. His eyes could see nothing, like the world had been swallowed in darkness. And when he opened his eyes, the casper was gone. [The Intermediate Administrator ¡®Casper¡¯ has been completely obliterated.] The next instant, the world turned gray. A Pause had taken effect. Hyukjin looked around. ¡°Senia?¡± He couldn¡¯t see her. ¡®It wasn¡¯t triggered by Senia.¡¯ And it wasn¡¯t a Guardian, either. That could only mean it was the System. The System itself had triggered a Pause, but since Senia was nowhere to be found, and no explanation was given¡­ ¡®She¡¯s been urgently summoned to who knows where to explain the situation.¡¯ In cases like this, you simply had to wait. After pacing for a while, Hyukjin sat down, immersing himself in thought. ¡®I killed¡­ the casper.¡¯ Normally, the System would use the term ¡®hunt¡¯, but perhaps because a being on the scale of an Intermediate Administrator had been killed, the wording was ¡®completely obliterated¡¯. ¡®One threat to Sunhwa has disappeared.¡¯ He was relieved. He had been intending on building up his strength over many, many years to eradicate the casper, but to his surprise, that day was today. He was lucky. ¡®If not for Noona¡¯s charm¡­¡¯ Just thinking about it made him shudder. Either Sunhwa or Ahyoung might have been gravely injured or even killed. There was no knowing what the casper would have done to extract himself from Sunhwa¡¯s body. ¡®What a relief.¡¯ It was really, truly, a relief. Hyukjin¡¯s eyes moved to Ban Kimyung, who had been greatly injured by Hyukjin¡¯s arrows. He placed a 10-piece Healing Potion set next to the man. ¡®The Enforcer of Commandments, Ban Kimyung.¡¯ He fell into thought. Ban Kimyung. One of the 8 Heroes of his previous life. ¡®Hm?¡¯ Something was weird. If he wasn¡¯t just imagining it¡­ Ban Kimyung¡¯s body had just moved, ever so minutely. ¡®Even though the System¡¯s Pause is in effect.¡¯ He was resisting that Pause authority ever so slightly. The Enforcer of Commandments Ban Kimyung. A level 1 Player. Of course, he couldn¡¯t really move, but the fact that he was resisting it even a little was astonishing. ¡®It can¡¯t just be Ban Kimyung, but the power of a System setting.¡¯ With every setting was another setting that opposed and balanced it. This battle between settings was something he had already experienced many times. It seemed Ban Kimyung had some kind of setting within him. * * * Translator ¨C Lei Proofreader ¨C Ash * * * At long last, Senia appeared. ¡°Player Kim Hyukjin.¡± ¡°Were you urgently summoned somewhere?¡± ¡°I must inform you that my channel is currently closed.¡± ¡°That so?¡± He didn¡¯t think there was much reason to close it, but he accepted it. Recording the footage and having Shobidobi edit it wasn¡¯t too bad an idea, either. ¡°Player Kim Hyukjin has killed an Intermediate Administrator. Do you acknowledge that?¡± ¡°Yeah.¡± ¡°But what you did wasn¡¯t a normal killing, but complete annihilation.¡± ¡°Are they different?¡± ¡°They are.¡± Senia¡¯s expression was as serious as ever. ¡°How do they differ?¡± ¡°A normal Player cannot obliterate an Intermediate Administrator.¡± ¡°But I did.¡± ¡°That is why I was summoned.¡± Senia¡¯s wings fluttered. ¡°It has been decided that Player Kim Hyukjin is not a normal Player.¡± ¡°If I¡¯m not a normal Player, then what am I?¡± ¡°An Irregular.¡± ¡°Irregular?¡± Didn¡¯t Irregular refer to people like CEO Song, who awakened his special powers long after his talent plates closed? ¡°Yes. I believe there is an upper-grade setting that I cannot confirm with my jurisdiction at play.¡± ¡°What¡¯s an upper-grade setting?¡± ¡°A setting that does not exist within the current System. For example, something like regression.¡± Senia¡¯s eyes narrowed. An alarm bell went off in Hyukjin¡¯s mind. ¡®A trap from the System.¡¯ No matter what Senia said, she never showed a change in expression. You could say that was part of Senia¡¯s identity. But right now, her eyes were narrowed. Senia was trying to hint at something. ¡®I¡¯m being interrogated through Senia.¡¯ The System itself was observing him, Kim Hyukjin. ¡°Regression?¡± Hyukjin burst out in uproarious laughter. ¡°Wait, are you talking about returning to the past from the future?¡± ¡°Yes. Is that funny to you?¡± ¡°Such a thing being real hasn¡¯t even occurred to me. No matter how powerful the System is, can it turn back time?¡± The System¡¯s limit in regards to time was Pause, and that was it. ¡°It cannot.¡± ¡°So do you mean to say that I, a mere human, transcended time and space to return to the past and Play here when even the System cannot do such a thing?¡± ¡°There is no other acceptable explanation for Player Kim Hyukjin¡¯s actions.¡± ¡°Just because you can¡¯t accept it doesn¡¯t make it evidence of regression.¡± ¡®Playing like this is possible because Kim Hyukjin regressed.¡¯ That was a valid hypothesis. What wasn¡¯t valid was ¡®Kim Hyukjin must have regressed to Play like this¡¯. ¡®What I know for sure is that the System rejects regression.¡¯ What would happen if he were to expose himself here and reveal that he was a regressor? ¡®I would become a bug that needed to disappear.¡¯ So he could not acknowledge the truth, not even slightly. Even though he was up against the System¡¯s scrutiny, he had to put up a perfect act and sculpt the situation he wanted. ¡°By the same logic, if I were a regressor, I wouldn¡¯t have gone up against the Fire Giants, nor would I have gone to the Endless Sky.¡± That was natural¡ªthey were incidents that hadn¡¯t happened in the past he knew, but secrets of the world triggered by Hyukjin¡¯s actions. ¡°You saw how I almost died in the Endless Sky, didn¡¯t you?¡± ¡°Yes, I certainly did.¡± Hyukjin became even more sure. Senia was questioning him like this was an interrogation, but she was also defending him. With her agreement, she was taking Kim Hyukjin¡¯s side. She was expressionless at the moment. ¡°Granted, I can see the future, to some extent.¡± That was permissible by the System. In this world, precognitive dreams and seers were a thing. ¡°And I¡¯ve based my Playing off of that knowledge.¡± He broke down the situation very rationally. ¡°I recognized that Sunhwa and Ahyoung went out to have fun.¡± ¡°¡­¡± ¡°But the charm that Ahyoung had been replacing every day suddenly turned a chilling red color. I have an observation ability, and judged that the change in color was an ominous sign.¡± ¡°That is indeed a reasonable judgment to make.¡± As he thought, Senia was on his side. Hyukjin went on. ¡°That¡¯s why I checked Ahyoung¡¯s search history and mobilized all the means available to me to fly here.¡± ¡°How did you notice that this place was off?¡± ¡°I sensed that this place was strangely twisted through my Endless Sky Physique trait. The mana here is different.¡± ¡°Everything up to this point is acceptable. But then, how did you know about Ban Kimyung? How did you know that the casper was targeting Ban Kimyung?¡± ¡°I saw someone intending to kill themselves on the second floor. Something like that catches the eye.¡± ¡°Yes, it does.¡± ¡°I determined that such a person is the perfect prey for a casper.¡± Hyukjin took a moment to breathe. ¡°And I remembered how the whalekin couldn¡¯t do anything to the Steel Wyverns when they were ascending to the Endless Sky.¡± ¡°Yes.¡± ¡°It¡¯s the same as now. The casper¡¯s the whalekin, and I¡¯m the flock of Steel Wyverns. The casper was exhausted, and I wasn¡¯t.¡± ¡°That is true.¡± ¡°By expending the mana crystals I happened to have on me, Isabel was able to manifest greater power than usual, and that¡¯s how I was able to obliterate an Intermediate Administrator. It was sheer luck.¡± ¡°In other words, you were able to uncover the casper¡¯s malicious scheme by your innate wit, but what completely obliterated the casper was Isabel¡¯s ability. Is that what you are trying to say right now, Player Kim Hyukjin?¡± Hyukjin smiled. After working hand in hand for so many months, he now felt that they made a great team. Senia was a truly full-fledged Intermediate Administrator now, one who actively protected her exclusively contracted Player. ¡°Exactly. I think it was probably Isabel.¡± ¡°In that case, I will write the report like that.¡± A report. That was likely a formality. The System was sure to have already come to a conclusion regarding this situation. Senia¡¯s trembling wings were proof of that. ¡°A new title will be granted to Player Kim Hyukjin.¡± ¡°What title?¡± ¡°To be precise, [Pioneer of Victory] will be promoted to [Pioneer of Obliteration].¡± ¡°Pioneer of Obliteration?¡± ¡°Yes. The base of Pioneer of Victory is First Pioneer. It is through this title that you gained Pioneer of Victory.¡± ¡°I know that, too.¡± Hyukjin recalled the title effect of Pioneer of Victory. [Pioneer of Victory] A glorious title given to one who pioneered a new domain and seized the first victory in a new domain. All party members +20% EXP Stacks with other titles. Stacks with other effects (buffs/debuffs). Amplifies all title effects when in a field pioneered by the Pioneer of Victory. ¡°So the title was promoted because I was the first to kill an Intermediate Administrator?¡± Senia nodded. ¡°Yes. Not kill, but obliterate. They are undeniably different. Pioneer of Obliteration is at least two levels higher than Pioneer of Victory.¡± ¡°And why is it that you¡¯re giving me such a detailed explanation of all this?¡± He could have simply learned this through the System, but an Intermediate Administrator was telling him instead. He wanted to know why. ¡°Because it¡¯s the first [Obliteration-grade] title given by the System.¡± ____ Chapter 270 Chapter 270 ¡°Because it¡¯s the first [Obliteration-grade] title given by the System.¡± Hyukjin checked the title effect. [Pioneer of Obliteration] The Pioneer of Victory is someone who pioneered a new domain and seized the first victory in a new domain. The Pioneer of Victory can grow in different ways. This title, Pioneer of Obliteration, is granted to the first Player to completely obliterate an upper-grade being. All party members +25% EXP Stacks with other titles. Stacks with other effects (buffs/debuffs). Amplifies all title effects when in a field pioneered by the Pioneer of Victory. Can use the title effect ¡®Obliteration¡¯. A new authority had been added to the title. [Obliteration] Player When ¡®Obliteration¡¯ is used on a Player in critical condition, the Player is either stripped of their Player rights, or their Player abilities will be reduced. Non-Player When ¡®Obliteration¡¯ is used on a non-Player in critical condition, their potential to awaken as a Player will either be lost or reduced. Hyukjin gulped. ¡®This shit is possible?¡¯ The world was rapidly entering an age of ¡®new culture¡¯ where Players were essentially power. In such a world, an authority that could control someone¡¯s Player rights¡­ had the potential to give the wielder tremendous power. ¡®I can basically close or decrease talent plates by force.¡¯ All of a sudden, ¡®Why is Song Jinchul coming to mind?¡¯ There was no rhyme or reason. That spoiled brat¡¯s face simply popped into his mind all of a sudden. Song Jinchul, the youngest Sungshin scion who had awakened ahead of plan. The kid had it out for Hyukjin, but Hyukjin wasn¡¯t all that afraid of him. ¡®If I wanted to, I could even erase his talent plates.¡¯ Of course, he wouldn¡¯t abuse a power like this without justification, nor was that something he wanted to do. Swinging around a big bat just because he had one wasn¡¯t something Kim Hyukjin fancied doing. ¡°Congratulations on acquiring an obliteration-grade title,¡± said Senia. ¡°Thanks.¡± ¡°I will be opening the channel soon. Would you like to tell the Guardians that you have acquired an obliteration-grade title?¡± Hyukjin thought for a moment. There were benefits to both options. ¡°Let¡¯s hide it for now.¡± ¡°Understood. However, I would like to know the reason.¡± Senia was prepared to accept the greater part of whatever Hyukjin said. She felt as though she was learning a lot from him, and as such, she wanted to know his reasoning. ¡°It seems to me that an obliteration-grade title is among the highest grade titles you can get in the beginner period.¡± ¡°That is untrue. It is a title that should not be possible to acquire in the beginner period. Normally, that is.¡± Senia already knew that words like ¡®normally¡¯ or ¡®originally¡¯ were meaningless with Kim Hyukjin. Even the System designated this monster of a Player an Irregular. ¡°In any case, it¡¯s incredibly good.¡± ¡°Yes.¡± ¡°The better something is, the more impact it has, right?¡± ¡°Of course.¡± ¡°If you drop too great a bomb up front, the impacts afterwards won¡¯t feel like impacts.¡± ¡°Ah.¡± Senia nodded. ¡°Do you mean that we should increase the impact by increments?¡± ¡°Exactly. We need to feed them juicier tidbits little by little, showing them that I¡¯m growing. If we tell them I got this title now, there¡¯s no knowing what I¡¯d have to get next to satisfy the Guardians. We can¡¯t throw out anything that will set their standards overly high.¡± ¡°I understand. Thank you for the lesson.¡± Senia stared at Kim Hyukjin in silence, maintaining her gaze for a long time. Hyukjin noticed her stare. ¡°What?¡± ¡°I am curious about your true name.¡± In truth, his true name wasn¡¯t why she had been staring at him. Senia herself had no idea why she¡¯d been spacing out. When she snapped back to her senses, she found that she was still staring at him. ¡°I told you I don¡¯t have anything like that.¡± ¡°How faithfully do you intend on upholding the Sword¡¯s Pact?¡± ¡°It¡¯s not just a contract, but a pact. I need to give it my all.¡± ¡°I see.¡± For whatever reason, Senia¡¯s feelings when she heard that were complicated. ¡®I¡¯d like that contract to fall through.¡¯ The twisted thought that it would be great if the Sword¡¯s Pact were to be dissolved flashed through her mind. ¡®What in the world am I thinking?!¡¯ The Sword¡¯s Pact could be called Kim Hyukjin¡¯s foundation. It was thanks to the Sword¡¯s Pact that he got the Endless Sky Physique, and Isabel would be an incredible help in his future growth. As the producer of his content, the more Kim Hyukjin grew, the higher her position would ascend. So why? ¡®Why did I just think that it would be nice if the Sword¡¯s Pact were to be dissolved?¡¯ she asked herself. ¡®I don¡¯t know.¡¯ She found no answers. Still expressionless, Senia said, ¡°Opening the channel in ten seconds.¡± Somehow, she seemed a little angry. * * * Translator ¨C Lei Proofreader ¨C Ash * * * There weren¡¯t many people who could meet CEO Song Kiyoung without an appointment. Kim Hyukjin was one of them, and another was his youngest grandson, Song Jinchul. ¡°Grandpa!¡± ¡°Jinchul, my boy.¡± Even the mighty Song Kiyoung was helpless towards Song Jinchul. As long as Jinchul¡¯s older brother and sister were alive, the kid had no chance of becoming the successor and was simply the cute youngest child. That was why Song Kiyoung wasn¡¯t strict with Jinchul. ¡°I want to become stronger, too.¡± ¡°There¡¯s no free ticket to strength.¡± ¡°But you can do that, Grandpa.¡± Song Kiyoung chuckled. ¡°Why do you want to get stronger so badly?¡± ¡°I want to stomp Kim Hyukjin.¡± ¡°Kim Hyukjin?¡± Song Kiyoung recalled a recent incident¡ªthe scandal at Gwanghwamun D-Tower. That incident was deeply linked with Kim Hyukjin, and through it, Song Kiyoung acquired the yellow mana crystals. ¡®Junghwa is probably connected to it as well.¡¯ Thankfully, Kim Hyukjin didn¡¯t push Junghe to take responsibility. But that actually worried Song Kiyoung more. Kim Hyukjin not pressing the issue now looked as though he was intentionally waiting. ¡°Yes. I want to become stronger than him at least.¡± ¡°Even though he¡¯s already so far ahead?¡± ¡°Still. If Grandpa helps me, I think I can catch up to him, easy.¡± ¡°Jinchul. A person needs to know how to differentiate between allies and foes.¡± ¡°Are you trying to say Kim Hyukjin is an ally?¡± ¡°He¡¯s an ally, yes. One we should keep as close as humanly possible.¡± ¡°Okay. But if he¡¯s gonna be my ally, I also need to become strong.¡± ¡°That¡¯s true.¡± Song Jinchul knew. He just had to whine, and his grandpa would yield. ¡°You can make me stronger with your ability, Grandpa.¡± With the power of the Golden Sovereign, that was possible. It was just that it consumed an enormous fortune. ¡°Alright, I¡¯ll think about it. Your gramps might be striking it rich soon.¡± ¡°Really? Okay. I¡¯ll wait!¡± Song Jinchul left the office, somewhat excited. ¡®Jinchul¡¯s probably just a baby in Kim Hyukjin¡¯s eyes anyway.¡¯ CEO Song called Kim Hyukjin. ¨CHello? ¨CAre you busy right now, lad? ¨CNo. I¡¯m on the road to Seoul. ¨CJust like you said, yellow mana crystals are extremely potent in producing a hangover cure. ¨CIs that so? I¡¯m glad to hear that. ¨CIn addition, if you generate mana by deploying one yellow mana crystal and ten white mana crystals in the appropriate manner, I think we can make an almost infinite quantity of hangover cure. Sitting in the car driving from Yangpyeong to Seoul, Kim Hyukjin smiled. ¡®You made it the same way before, too.¡¯ The ¡®Arrayist Choi Wookhyun¡¯ must have been mobilized for this process. ¨CThat¡¯s good news. Was Choi Wookhyun put to the task? ¨CI¡¯m not even surprised anymore. You¡¯re right. Apparently, it would take more than this to surprise Song Kiyoung now. ¨CI think we¡¯ll be able to earn a fortune with this. Thanks to you. That was bound to happen. Sungshin had made a killing with this hangover cure in the past, too. Hyukjin took something that would have happened without his involvement and turned it into his own achievement. ¨CBut is it okay for me to earn a fortune like this? ¨CWhat do you mean? ¨CAs you know, my class is called Golden Sovereign. By offering money, I can strengthen a target of my choosing. ¨CYes. ¨CSo do you think I¡¯ll invest in you, or in my grandchildren? Hyukjin realized CEO Song was hinting at something. He was hinting that he could very well give his full support to one of his grandchildren. The aggravator wasn¡¯t Song Kiyeol, but either Junghye or Jinchul. Song Junghye was probably grinding her teeth to nubs right now, and so was Song Jinchul. ¨CAre you telling me this in the spirit of fair play? ¨CDon¡¯t make too many enemies. ¨CThose enemies keep striking me first. Every time. Hyukjin paused. ¨CThank you for letting me know for fairness¡¯ sake. ¨CI didn¡¯t tell you anything myself. ¨CI have one thing to say as well. Song Kiyoung had just told him to not make too many enemies. So Hyukjin said back, ¨CDo not become my enemy. This was a word of warning for CEO Song, but also his final warning for Song Junghye and Song Jinchul. Song Kiyoung laughed. ¨CAn arrogant thing to say. But he wasn¡¯t displeased by those arrogant words, nor did they sound like an empty bluff. Kim Hyukjin lowered the phone. That was sufficient warning from him. * * * Four days passed after returning from Yangpyeong. In that time, Michael came to Korea and had his meeting with Ahyoung. Gathered at the table were Kim Hyukjin, his mother Lee Soohyun, his little sister Kim Sunhwa, his older sister Kim Ahyoung, and even Kim Darong. The family of five¡ªif you included the little squirrel¡ªwere enjoying a harmonious dinner. As the dinner approached its conclusion, Hyukjin looked at Ahyoung. ¡°How was it?¡± he asked her. ¡°How was what?¡± ¡°You met Michael. For two days in a row.¡± Their mom¡¯s eyes widened at that. ¡°Whaaat?¡± Lee Soohyun exclaimed. ¡°You¡¯re seeing a man? Is he a foreigner?¡± ¡°Psh, Mom. It¡¯s not like that.¡± ¡°Then who¡¯s Michael?¡± ¡°The person who¡¯ll teach me how to cook.¡± ¡°Really?¡± Lee Soohyun sighed regretfully. ¡°It¡¯s about time for you to meet a decent man.¡± When he heard that, Hyukjin suddenly remembered something. ¡®Come to think of it¡­ there was a rumor that he¡¯s the world¡¯s greatest ing husband.¡¯ Michael had a stellar reputation. ¡®Her face didn¡¯t become public, but I heard he married an Asian woman?¡¯ Hyukjin heard Michael had gone somewhere for cooking research and married a woman he met there. The famous chef had apparently fallen in love at first sight and chased her for half a year, or something like that. Instead of responding to her mom¡¯s complaint, Ahyoung moved her chopsticks in silence, moving a few soy sauce beans into her mouth. ¡°Noona. Why aren¡¯t you responding?¡± ¡°To what?¡± Hyukjin suddenly remembered that Michael¡­ was an impressively handsome man. He was the Gold Pyramid Michelle¡¯s little brother. Of course those superior genes hadn¡¯t just vanished. ¡°Michael. How was he?¡± ¡°How would I know? I¡¯ve only met him two times.¡± ¡°Did he tell you to come to the US?¡± ¡°No, he said he was planning on opening a new restaurant in Korea.¡± ¡°And he said he¡¯d invite you there?¡± ¡°He told me to climb the ranks, starting from a kitchen porter.¡± That was good. It was exactly what Ahyoung had wanted so badly¡ªto learn under a proper chef. There was nothing more she could want, especially if that chef was Michael. ¡®He was planning on opening a new restaurant in Korea?¡¯ That was BS. Michael originally had zero interest in Korea. Hyukjin had to pull a favor just to get the man to come, and that was a close thing. ¡®What is he smoking?¡¯ This wouldn¡¯t do. ¡°Let¡¯s go see him together.¡± ¡°Why you?¡± ¡°Didn¡¯t he tell you why he came to Korea and met you?¡± ¡°He said it was the request of a VIP.¡± ¡°That VIP is me.¡± ¡°¡­¡± Ahyoung was shocked into silence. She had suspected it, but hearing it for herself made her breath catch in her throat. How in the world did her little brother become the VIP of such a super-famous chef? ¡°As his VIP, I¡¯d better go meet him. If he¡¯s really going to open a restaurant in Korea, there¡¯s a lot I can help him with.¡± ¡°Just focus on your work. You¡¯re busy.¡± ¡°I¡¯m really free these days.¡± Kim Sunhwa pressed ¡®X¡¯ to doubt. ¡®Hold on, Oppa needs to go to Singapore, clear the World Cup Stadium Dungeon, and continue the Sword Forest scenario. He¡¯s actually super busy¡­?¡¯ In any case, one day passed. Hyukjin intended on meeting Michael, but that meeting did not come to be. Whirrrrrrrrr¨C! A siren blasted off in the distance, audible all the way from the DMC Riverview Xi. Breaking news hit the media¡ªa dungeon break had occurred. ¡®A dungeon break?¡¯ It couldn¡¯t be. The Sangam World Cup Dungeon, which was supposed to break one month from now, had already begun the process. ¡®The dungeon shouldn¡¯t even be created at this point¡­¡¯ Something had changed. ____ Chapter 271 Chapter 271 The Sangam World Cup Stadium Dungeon was one that Kim Hyukjin had been planning on clearing. He should have had a month of leeway, but the schedule had been yanked forward. For the first time in a while, he took out his notes from his Inventory. ¨CFebruary 28, 2019. ¡®Sangam World Cup Stadium Dungeon¡¯ opens. The date was January 24, 2019, over one month before the original start time. ¨CMarch 28, 2019. Wings and Taeguk Shield work together to clear the Sangam World Cup Stadium Dungeon. The Sangam World Cup Stadium Dungeon was quite an important dungeon in the country. It spawned 2002 ¡®Red Devils¡¯, and clearing the dungeon yielded a random, but fairly high number of white mana crystals. As a result, the dungeon was the springboard that allowed Korea to leap into the mana crystal business, and a pillar of the new culture trade. Hyukjin also recalled a paragraph from Jackson¡¯s notes. ¨CThe 2002 Red Devils spawned by the ¡®Sangam World Cup Stadium Dungeon¡¯ cannot be hunted. At least not by Players in the beginner period. For starters, physical attacks didn¡¯t work on them. They could only be damaged by an attack that was both magic and used holy power. In other words, only holy magic from priest-class Players. ¨CAs such, Korea employed a defensive strategy. Thankfully, the Sangam World Cup Stadium Dungeon was time-limited. ¨CThe southwestern spot is comparatively the safest place. ¨CI call it the safe spot. If you set up an array in the safe spot and simply get rid of the crows that attract the Red Devils, you can hold out fairly easily for thirty minutes. Hyukjin already knew about that ¡®safe spot¡¯. A place that wasn¡¯t technically a safe zone, but seemed like one. A place Players found after countless clear attempts. ¡®Put another way¡­ this is a dungeon that is impossible to clear without that spot.¡¯ Endure thirty minutes in that spot, and the Sangam World Cup Stadium Dungeon would be cleared. That was why Hyukjin had recruited the assistance of Wings and archer Players in advance. Excellent archers were needed to hunt the crows¡ªthe ¡°messengers¡±¡ªand defensive-oriented Players like the Wings Guild were required to block the Red Devils that occasionally stumbled into the safe spot. ¨CA clear in the true sense of the word was achieved in the master period, but the clearer chose not to share their method. Not only because their method is exceedingly dangerous even for master period Players, but also because the preceding strategy is far more efficient. In other words, a true clear wasn¡¯t necessary. This was a dungeon where simply holding out was the best strategy. And a break had occurred in such a dungeon. In the worst case scenario, 2002 Red Devils would break loose. Players of the current period could not hunt them. The same went for Kim Hyukjin. ¡°Oppa. What should we do?¡± said Kim Sunhwa. ¡°I¡¯m thinking.¡± ¡°Don¡¯t we need to go if there¡¯s a dungeon break?¡± ¡°The energy I¡¯m sensing is too dangerous.¡± In truth, that was bogus. He couldn¡¯t feel any ¡®energy¡¯. They were a good ten minutes away by car. He might be able to sense something if a Red Devil were to come this way, but he couldn¡¯t feel anything yet. Hyukjin got a call from Song Kiyeol. ¨CA dungeon break has occurred. ¨CYes. I¡¯m watching the breaking news as well. ¨CWe¡¯ve determined that small monsters that look like Goblins are currently running out. ¨CAbout how many of them? ¨CSeveral dozen at the least. ¨CIs it possible to see what they¡¯re called? ¨CYes. Their names are red. They¡¯re called Red Devils. Hyukjin let out a low exclamation. ¨CDo you know these monsters? ¨CI do. ¨CIs there a way to defeat them, by any chance? ¨CNo. ¨CThen how should we proceed? Hyukjin lapsed into silence. It wasn¡¯t hard for Song Kiyeol to figure out the reason behind Hyukjin¡¯s silence. ¨CI suppose that means they¡¯re overwhelmingly powerful. So powerful that even the amazing Kim Hyukjin was unable to jump to action. In addition, Song Kiyeol was well aware that Kim Hyukjin had no obligation whatsoever. No one could force him. ¨CAre you planning on staying out of this one? ¨CI¡¯m considering what to do. In other words, he wouldn¡¯t be taking action yet. ¨CUnderstood. We will give our best shot at fighting them in our own way. ¨CIt will probably be impossible. With that, their conversation came to an end. Hyukjin immediately called Jo Sunghyun to his house. * * * Translator ¨C Lei Proofreader ¨C Ash * * * Ding, dong¡ª The bell rang. It hadn¡¯t taken long for the future Typhoon, now a member of the Giantgod Guild, to arrive at Hyukjin¡¯s home. The majority of Giantgod¡¯s members were living in the DMC Riverview Xi. Jo Sunghyun asked, ¡°Hyung, when are we setting off?¡± ¡°We¡¯re staying on standby.¡± ¡°Even though there¡¯s been a dungeon break?¡± That was why Hyukjin had intentionally called Sunghyun to his house. ¡°If I hadn¡¯t called you here, where would you be?¡± The wind magician would have long since been deployed to the Sangam World Cup Stadium Dungeon. It was because Hyukjin had called him first that Jo Sunghyun was here. ¡°I¡¯ll cut straight to the point.¡± How would Jo Sunghyun take this? ¡°Don¡¯t get involved in this dungeon break.¡± Jo Sunghyun¡¯s lips pursed into a line. He had full faith in Kim Hyukjin¡¯s judgment, but he found the order hard to accept. ¡°Please tell me why.¡± ¡°It¡¯s way too dangerous.¡± ¡°We¡¯ve already done a lot of way too dangerous Plays.¡± ¡°This is different. It¡¯s even more dangerous. We can¡¯t kill Red Devils at our level.¡± ¡°Then what do we do?¡± ¡°Wait for them to naturally disappear.¡± They would disappear after destroying as many ¡®humans¡¯ and ¡®products of civilization¡¯ as they wanted. Just like with most dungeon breaks. ¡°I hear an incredible amount of damage is being caused already. Those monsters, they¡¯re cutting open people¡¯s bellies with their claws and digging in.¡± Red Devils were small. Other than being completely red, having two horns on their heads, and extremely sharp claws, they were so similar in appearance to Goblins that they could even be called a Goblin variant. ¡°I know.¡± ¡°We need to go out and stop them.¡± ¡°Why?¡± ¡°Because we have the strength.¡± Hyukjin knew Sunghyun would say something like that. It was perfectly in line with Hyukjin¡¯s image of the young man. He respected Sunghyun¡¯s opinion. Everyone had their own values. ¡°We may have the strength, but if we go, we¡¯ll die for sure.¡± ¡°¡­¡± ¡°There are times when we can¡¯t do something even when we want to, and times when we have to do something even when we don¡¯t want to.¡± ¡°To me, it¡¯s cowardly to run away without using the strength you have.¡± ¡°If that strength falls far too short of resolving the situation, it¡¯s reckless bravado. In front of the Red Devils, be it you, me, regular Players or people, we¡¯re all weak.¡± Jo Sunghyun fell into thought. After one minute, he began to speak again. ¡°Is that why you¡¯re telling me not to go, Hyung?¡± ¡°The choice is yours.¡± Hyukjin had told him everything there was to tell. He had given Sunghyun the facts. Now, it was time to appeal to Sunghyun¡¯s emotions. If Jo Sunghyun went, he would die. He was no match for the Red Devils right now. Convincing Sunghyun required approaching the matter in a Jo Sunghyun-esque way. ¡°But think about this: Is sacrificing your future to help the people now truly a just thing?¡± ¡°¡­¡± ¡°In the future, when you¡¯re stronger, you¡¯ll have opportunities to save more people. Think long and hard about whether you are discarding those opportunities with your current choice.¡± ¡°¡­¡± Knocking Sunghyun unconscious and locking him up might be a passable short-term fix. But Hyukjin didn¡¯t consider that a proper solution. In the end, people were bound to do what they wanted. Chewing his lip, Jo Sunghyun fell into contemplation again. After a long time, he spoke. ¡°I don¡¯t know.¡± The original Sunghyun would have left right away. He would have waded through fire and flames to fight the Red Devils. ¡°Of course I need to go. That¡¯s the non-cowardly route. But¡­¡± There was even a little anger on Sunghyun¡¯s face. ¡°After what you said, I keep hesitating.¡± If anyone else had said it, he wouldn¡¯t have even listened. He might have even gotten mad at them, calling them out for such cowardly words. How was hiding like a scared rabbit the best way? But he was talking to Kim Hyukjin, and Kim Hyukjin¡¯s words had weight. At least to Jo Sunghyun. Another long moment passed. ¡°I¡¯ll¡­ wait here.¡± ¡°Good call, Sunghyun.¡± Sunghyun didn¡¯t give up. ¡°I¡¯ll try to think of a way.¡± * * * The Red Devils caused hundreds of casualties. They were all people who had gone on picnics around the World Cup Stadium, pedestrians passing by the area, people who¡¯d been shopping in the hypermarket nearby. The losses were rapidly shooting up. The damage radiated outwards from the Sangam World Cup Stadium, the focal point. An evacuation order was put out, and many Players were killed and eaten by the Red Devils. The Players got a shared quest called ¡®Hunt a Red Devil!¡¯, but not a single person managed to clear it. In the midst of the chaos, the people came to realize a certain fact. ¡°The Red Devils¡­ aren¡¯t coming to the area around our apartment.¡± ¡°I heard it¡¯s because of the Guardian Tower.¡± No Red Devils appeared in the DMC Riverview Xi neighborhood. Witnesses even claimed a Red Devil in pursuit of its target turned and left after colliding against an invisible wall near the DMC Riverview Xi. ¡°The Guardian Tower really has that kind of power?¡± The land protected by the Guardian Tower was safe from the Red Devils. That revelation triggered an outburst of breaking news and speculative articles. ¨CThe DMC Riverview Xi, Isolated from Hell ¨CThe Guardian Tower¡¯s Barrier Blocks Red Devils Driven by the realization that the DMC Riverview Xi was a safe zone, the masses swarmed towards it, a development that occurred in less than two days. In the middle of all that, Kim Hyukjin got a call from Jackson. ¨CAre you not going to take action this time? Perhaps because of Kim Hyukjin¡¯s influence, even Taeguk Shield was taking a defensive stance. They were already attracting public criticism. The military mobilized helicopters and were doing their best to hunt the Red Devils, but modern weapons didn¡¯t work. ¨CYes. I¡¯m staying out of this one. ¨CWhy? ¨CBecause there are no means to hunt a Red Devil. ¨CI see. ¨CBut why¡¯d you bother calling? ¨CDarn, you noticed? Ding dong¨C The bell rang. Behind the door was the Great Explorer Jackson. Hyukjin opened the door. Originally, Jackson was an incredibly good-looking man. But his formerly shiny golden locks were frayed, and he was extremely dirty. His face was a jungle of uncut beard, and a foul stench emanated from him, as if he¡¯d gone dumpster diving. ¡°You¡¯re looking worse for wear.¡± ¡°Yes. I cleared a difficult dungeon, and then getting here was no walk in the park.¡± ¡°¡­¡± Basically, this Great Explorer had dodged the Red Devils to come all this way. ¡°Anyway, I came here to give you this.¡± Jackson took out an item, which Hyukjin took. ¡°What is this?¡± He couldn¡¯t check the item¡ªeven the name showed up as a ¡®?¡¯. Jackson clasped Hyukjin¡¯s hand. ¡°Let me give you my buff real quick. You can think of it as an explorer¡¯s blessing.¡± A cool sensation enveloped Hyukjin¡¯s body. The blue energy flashed, and a blue ring formed above Hyukjin¡¯s head. [¡®Great Baptist¡¯s Blessing¡¯ is taking effect.] That allowed Hyukjin to check the item. The ¡®?¡¯ item description slowly became visible. The item¡¯s name was ¡®Endless Sky Crystal¡¯. ____ Chapter 272 Chapter 272 The item¡¯s name was Endless Sky Crystal. [Endless Sky Crystal] A crystal imbued with the mana of the Endless Sky. People with particular constitutions can manipulate the mana within using a special method. Grade: Low ¡®Endless Sky Crystal?¡¯ There was nothing about it in his notes, Playpedia, or any guide or encyclopedia. ¡®So something like this existed.¡¯ A crystal imbued with the mana of the Endless Sky. As soon as he saw the crystal, he could grasp its purpose. ¡®It fulfills a similar function to the yellow mana crystals I had in my Inventory.¡¯ When Hyukjin created a Heavenly Sword with Isabel as a base, he couldn¡¯t cover the mana cost on his own. The yellow mana crystals in his Inventory shattered, releasing energy that he then absorbed and used. ¡®By particular constitution, it must be referring to the Endless Sky Physique.¡¯ Because he had a ¡®second heart¡¯, he should be able to use the mana of the Endless Sky. ¡°But why are you giving this to me?¡± ¡°Why, because I thought it would suit you.¡± ¡°Does the particular constitution in the description have anything to do with me?¡± For some reason, Hyukjin didn¡¯t want to tell Jackson everything. It somehow felt like he was waging a battle of wit, where every piece of knowledge could yield an advantage. In Hyukjin¡¯s eyes, the Great Explorer of his former life didn¡¯t seem as ¡®virtuous¡¯ as his reputation lauded. ¡°I think there might be, yes.¡± ¡°You thought wrong then.¡± ¡°No, I¡¯m certain that I¡¯m not mistaken.¡± ¡°I think I¡¯ll find it difficult to use this item.¡± Hyukjin had to carefully consider whether this ¡°gift¡± was truly an act of goodwill. Jackson gave him the feeling that the man was hiding a great deal. ¡°Even if you can¡¯t use it now, you will be able to use it someday.¡± ¡°¡­¡± ¡°If you are the person I think you are.¡± ¡°What kind of person do you think I am, Jackson?¡± ¡°The one whose head I must anoint with oil.¡± Jackson had said the same thing last time, but Hyukjin didn¡¯t know what he was talking about. ¡°I have no intent to profit in any way whatsoever by giving this to you. I¡¯d be grateful if you would think of it as a simple gift.¡± ¡°I¡¯ll do that, then.¡± For now, Hyukjin accepted the Endless Sky Crystal. ¡°The day you will use it will come.¡± Just then, the doorbell rang. Hyukjin knew someone was outside the door. It was a familiar presence. He opened the door for the new visitor. ¡°Hello! It sort of feels like it¡¯s been a while.¡± It was Kang Somyi, the only witness who had seen him going from the first floor of the D-Tower to the second. The explorer who had seen through Hyukjin¡¯s Cognitive Dissonance. ¡°My teacher told me to bring this.¡± ¡°Teacher?¡± Jackson scratched the back of his head with an embarrassed laugh. ¡°About that¡­ I somehow became her teacher.¡± ¡°You¡¯re Kang Somyi¡¯s teacher, Jackson?¡± It was true that Kang Somyi was, like Jackson, a famous explorer in Hyukjin¡¯s past life. But that didn¡¯t mean she was connected in any way to Jackson. She had been famous for her full facial burns, which led her to going out in public with her head completely wrapped in bandages. There had been zero indication that she was close to Jackson. ¡®Things have changed from the past, ever so slightly.¡¯ His existence was a major variable that changed the present, and those changes led to Kang Somyi becoming Jackson¡¯s student. ¡°In any case, take a look. You have no idea how hard it was to get my hands on this.¡± Kang Somyi passed Hyukjin an item. [Endless Sky Hammer] An artifact that can shatter an Endless Sky Crystal. An Endless Sky Hammer is needed to be able to harness an Endless Sky Crystal¡¯s power. Grade: Low Hyukjin stared at Jackson. ¡®Awfully determined, aren¡¯t you?¡¯ Endless Sky Crystal, and Endless Sky Hammer. With these two, he should be able to use the Endless Sky Crystal. Jackson smiled good-naturedly, then shrugged. ¡°The time will come when you will prove your qualifications as a king.¡± ¡°You seem to be sure of that.¡± ¡°Yes, I am. That¡¯s also why I¡¯ve been unable to leave Korea.¡± In the early days of Playing, Jackson went traveling from country to country. He was supposed to uncover countless strategies and hidden pieces in the world, earning his name as the ¡°Great Explorer¡±. ¡®But now, he¡¯s stuck in Korea.¡¯ As Hyukjin thought, something was different after all. Kang Somyi plopped onto the sofa, saying, ¡°Mr. Hyukjin, could I crash here for a few days? Your house is so nice.¡± ¡°¡­¡± ¡°I don¡¯t know about Teacher, but I can¡¯t leave this place. If I get caught by the Red Devils, it¡¯ll be Game Over for me.¡± Kang Somyi drew a line across her neck. ¡°Please let me stay here for a few days.¡± Jackson added, ¡°That, or you could also hunt them, Hyukjin.¡± * * * Translator ¨C Lei Proofreader ¨C Ash * * * Time passed. Jackson walked out the front door. ¡°The choice is always yours.¡± Still covered in filth, Jackson closed the door and left. After seeing her teacher off, Kang Somyi said, ¡°You know, there¡¯s something I¡¯m really curious about.¡± ¡°What is it?¡± ¡°How did you leave the D-Tower 2nd floor alive? I caught the gist of what the articles were saying. Chinese Players illegally took over the escalator and were threatening and confining the Player on the upper floor. And that Taeguk Shield stepped forward to suppress them.¡± Kang Somyi shook her head. ¡°But that wasn¡¯t what happened. When Guildmaster Song Kiyeol arrived, the situation had already been nearly resolved.¡± ¡°¡­¡± ¡°Are you truly the one who is qualified to be the king?¡± ¡°According to what Jackson says. Do you know anything about the king, Miss Somyi?¡± Somyi stroked her chin in thought, sitting cross-legged on the sofa. ¡°A lot of explorers probably know about the king.¡± ¡°Why is that?¡± ¡°Because the ultimate goal of an explorer is to find the king, I guess?¡± The ultimate goal of an explorer was to ¡®find the king¡¯? There was nothing about that in the past. No, even if it had existed, it wasn¡¯t something the ordinary populace would have known. ¡°Why do you seek the king?¡± ¡°Hm, I don¡¯t really know, either. It¡¯s just the mission of our class.¡± ¡°Why don¡¯t regular people know that?¡± ¡°Because the king will be born at a time no one knows or expects. The king dislikes troublesome and noisy affairs.¡± Kang Somyi tilted her head. ¡°Or so my class description says. I don¡¯t know why.¡± Hyukjin was continuously finding out new things about this world. Today, he learned a little more about the objective all explorers shared. ¡°How long are you going to stay here?¡± ¡°Like I said, just let me stay a few days. I can¡¯t leave. The Red Devils are too frickin¡¯ scary, darn it.¡± ¡°¡­¡± Kang Somyi shook her head violently to and fro, clutching the sofa like she couldn¡¯t possibly be parted from it. ¡°What a nuisance.¡± ¡°I might be a nuisance, but a girl¡¯s gotta survive.¡± Hyukjin snorted, thinking, ¡®With your skills, you should be able to slip out one way or another.¡¯ But she was insisting on overstaying her welcome. ¡®It must be your job to watch me.¡¯ She might have even been ordered by Jackson to do so. She, the ¡®Faceless Explorer¡¯, was his student. ¡®Whatever.¡¯ It was fine. He had the feeling Jackson had set this stage. The Sangam World Cup Stadium Dungeon¡¯s early break might even have something to do with Jackson. The choice is always yours. Hyukjin decided to make that choice. * * * The guild members of Giantgod convened at Kim Hyukjin¡¯s house. Sitting next to Hyukjin was the Guildmaster of Taeguk Shield, Song Kiyeol. Sitting on the sofa, Shin Yeonseo picked up an apple slice, munching on it as she said, ¡°Boss. Are we gonna go out to hunt Red Devils, too?¡± ¡°It¡¯s more like we¡¯re going to be calling them here, not going out.¡± Jo Sungyun¡¯s fiery gaze was fixed on his guildmaster. He hadn¡¯t participated in the Red Devil hunt at Kim Hyukjin¡¯s behest. That was a thorn in his heart. Even at this very moment, many, many people were being eaten alive by Red Devils. ¡°Hrm? How are we gonna call them here?¡± ¡°I will explain,¡± said Song Kiyeol, standing up. ¡°The devils typically respond to one of two things.¡± One was humans. They considered humans their prey. ¡°Humans. And mana crystals.¡± ¡°¡­¡± ¡°We will lure them in with mana crystals.¡± ¡°¡­¡± ¡°For this process, we will be mobilizing Taeguk Shield¡¯s own arrayist, Choi Wookhyun.¡± Choi Wookhyun was the person who had played an important role in developing the hangover cure, a feat that pushed him to the top ranks in Taeguk Shield. ¡°We will set up the mana crystals according to our arrayist¡¯s blueprint, and if things go as planned, they¡¯ll head here, towards the DMC Riverview Xi.¡± ¡°How will we hunt them after they¡¯ve gathered?¡± asked Sunghyun. The Players couldn¡¯t hunt the Red Devils at their current level. This time, Hyukjin responded. ¡°The hunting¡­ will be done by me. With Seohye.¡± He would borrow the power of the Guardian Tower, as well as the Endless Sky Crystal. Jo Sunghyun¡¯s lips twitched like there was something he wanted to say. ¡°Sunghyun. I know what you¡¯re going to say.¡± Kim Hyukjin was the one who had adamantly opposed hunting the Red Devils. But now, he was doing a 180 and saying he would hunt them. Of course it was strange. ¡°It¡¯s almost impossible to hunt them. It might become dangerous for me, too. That¡¯s why we¡¯ll be combining the efforts of Giantgod, Taeguk Shield, and Wings.¡± Hyukjin would handle the offense on his own. But for everything other than attacking, he needed help from other Players. ¡°Whenever I¡¯m in danger, cover my back.¡± If someone could distract the Red Devils for a split second, he might be able to hunt them. Choi Sung-gu shivered. ¡°But Hyukjin, broski. Why go this far, when we can just shut up and stay put? We¡¯re safe here. I hate scary things.¡± ¡°Hyung. Cut the crap. People are dying by the dozens at this very moment. Do you hear yourself?¡± ¡°Bro, are you a cat or something? Do you have nine lives?¡± ¡°Is that important right now?¡± ¡°It is. I¡¯ve only got one life!¡± It was a little odd that someone who was saying that came here fully prepared for battle, but in any case, Choi Sung-gu stayed true to his whining character. Hyukjin raised his right hand. The squabbling pair instantly quieted. ¡°When it comes to the worst-case situation, when I can¡¯t get up anymore out of exhaustion, it¡¯s your guys¡¯ job to buy me time.¡± So Yoohyun curled his hands into fists. ¡°We¡¯ll buy you gazillions of time no problem, Hyungnim!¡± Song Kiyeol asked, ¡°May I inform the media that we will be leading the operation?¡± ¡°Of course.¡± The news spread: Taeguk Shield was stepping forward to hunt the Red Devils and bring an end to this national calamity. Before long, it was all anyone could talk about¡ªKorea¡¯s strongest guild was on the move. ¡°I heard Wings is also taking part?¡± ¡°Taeguk Shield and Wings are going to work together?¡± The most famous guild and second-most famous guild in the country would be working together. People started to have hope. Sitting at his desk, CEO Song Kiyoung rested his chin on his hands in deep thought. ¡®In the end, Kim Hyukjin is taking action.¡¯ The CEO had thought Hyukjin wouldn¡¯t. CEO Song judged that Kim Hyukjin wouldn¡¯t take action on an uncertainty. The young man knew how to bet on a dangerous gamble, but he wouldn¡¯t start something with no chance of success. ¡®We¡¯ve got a steady supply of white mana crystals from Boracay.¡¯ They would use those mana crystals to deploy an array here. ¡®Mana crystals, and their use¡­ were told to us by Kim Hyukjin.¡¯ That was how it was. Kim Hyukjin gave them a hint, Sungshin acted on it, and now, they were on the verge of mass producing a hangover cure. ¡®Was this scenario¡­ devised by Kim Hyukjin?¡¯ If so, he was truly a terrifying man. ¡®Just how far into the future has he drawn his plans?¡¯ * * * The situation was streamed live on TV. Under the escort of the Wings Guild, the Arrayist Choi Wookhyun went around planting white mana crystals. The scattered Red Devils began heading to one place. The reporters broadcasted their migration from the air. ¨CThe Red Devils are moving. And they were heading in the direction of the Guardian Tower, the DMC Riverview Xi. ¨CTaeguk Shield and Wings are preparing their forces to clash with the calamity-class monsters. Millions watched with bated breath. Most people in the country had their eyes glued to the TV or their phones. Kim Hyukjin honed his concentration. ¡®This is where I encountered the Fire Giants.¡¯ An individual Red Devil was weaker than a Fire Giant, but their numbers were far more overwhelming. ¡®Jackson. I¡¯ll move as you wish.¡¯ Ultimately, Kim Hyukjin made his choice. To hunt the Red Devils massacring swathes of people, at the cost of revealing his Endless Sky Physique. Thump. His heart trembled. Some distance ahead, at the base of the hill, he spotted the first Red Devil walking this way. The thrill in his chest wasn¡¯t a new feeling, but it wasn¡¯t bad. On the contrary, it was exhilarating. It felt¡­ as though he were alive. ¡®I¡¯ll use the Endless Sky Crystal.¡¯ [Utilize the ¡®Endless Sky Hammer¡¯ to use the ¡®Endless Sky Crystal¡¯?] He used the hammer on the Endless Sky Crystal. Now, he would be able to use the strength, the mana, stored within. His mental preparations were complete. [Utilizing the ¡®Endless Sky Hammer¡¯ to use the ¡®Endless Sky mana¡¯ within the ¡®Endless Sky Crystal¡¯.] [Only the ¡®Endless Sky Physique¡¯ can use ¡®Endless Sky mana¡¯.] A violent, fierce energy swept into his second heart, similar to what he felt when he first arrived in the Endless Sky. The energy was so intense that an ordinary Player may very well have been vaporized by the force. But Kim Hyukjin stayed calm. He accepted the energy¡¯s torrential flow, and his second heart harmonized with it. Vitality overflowed from his body, and he began to glow with blue light. And in a turn of events he hadn¡¯t predicted, two women appeared next to him, one on each side. ____ Chapter 273 Chapter 273 Hyukjin realized that the Endless Sky Crystal in his Inventory was slowly breaking down. As it fragmented, the mana it released was being processed by his body. He heard Isabel¡¯s voice. ¡°I didn¡¯t think I would manifest here,¡± she said. He heard Seohye¡¯s voice as well. ¡°Neither did I.¡± Sunhwa ran up, pulling Seohye in for a tight hug. ¡°Seohye!¡± ¡°Sunhwa!¡± The two spun a few times, embracing each other. Hyukjin got the feeling it wasn¡¯t the time for that, but he didn¡¯t interrupt their reunion. Sunhwa¡¯s eyes were glistening with tears. Thankfully, Seohye pulled away after giving Sunhwa a few pats on the head. ¡°Don¡¯t we need to kill that Red Devil?¡± Seohye asked, pointing to the monster at the base of the hill with her chin. At that, the white-robed Isabel took a step forward. ¡°Child of the Red Eye. You stay put.¡± Violent energy whirled from the purple mana crystal topping the staff in Isabel¡¯s hands. ¡°Who are you, auntie?¡± ¡°Auntie?¡± Isabel¡¯s face contorted into a scowl. ¡°Auntie?¡± ¡°Yes. Auntie.¡± The moment Ahn Seohye saw Isabel, she felt an inexplicable surge of displeasure, intensified by her mental connection to Hyukjin. Seohye could tell. ¡®She doesn¡¯t look that old, but¡­¡¯ By all appearances, Isabel didn¡¯t look much older than her. If Seohye were a person and not a Guardian Tower, she would have probably called Isabel ¡°unnie¡±. But she could sense traces of innumerable years from Isabel. This woman in front of her was absolutely not in her 20s. ¡°Child. You should instinctively feel who I am, no?¡± ¡°Yes. An auntie.¡± Isabel didn¡¯t seem at all interested in the Red Devils approaching from afar. At least at this moment, her attention was fully on Ahn Seohye. ¡°And you can feel that my mental connection to Husband is incredibly strong, can¡¯t you?¡± ¡°I haven¡¯t been a Guardian Tower for very long, so I can¡¯t feel it that closely.¡± ¡°Don¡¯t lie.¡± ¡°I¡¯m not lying. And why is he your husband?¡± ¡°Because he¡¯s the Sword Pactee.¡± ¡°The Sword Pactee is the Sword Pactee. How does that make him your husband?¡± Kim Sunhwa nodded. It was her first time seeing Isabel manifest, and she had been wondering who it was. Only after hearing the words ¡°Sword Pact¡± did she realize the woman¡¯s identity. ¡®Isabel?¡¯ The transcendent artifact Isabel? ¡®But Isabel is a sword.¡¯ She was a sword, so why did she look like a magician? Hyukjin interrupted with a cough. ¡°Both of you, now isn¡¯t the time for this.¡± Isabel refused to relent. ¡°Child. Return to the Guardian Tower.¡± ¡°No thanks. Do you know how long it¡¯s been since I¡¯ve been able to move freely?¡± Sunhwa butted in with her own input. ¡°I don¡¯t want you to go back, Unnie.¡± Isabel¡¯s frown grew a little more pronounced. ¡°Answer this. Are you confident you can wipe out all of the Red Devils over there?¡± ¡°I¡¯m not confident I can wipe out all of them, but I can kill the ones approaching Master.¡± Seohye smiled sweetly, her eyes glowing red. ¡°I¡¯ll kill everything that threatens Master.¡± Hyukjin frowned imperceptibly. Hearing ¡®Master¡¯ in his head through their mental link was still okay, but hearing Seohye say it out in the open made his insides squirm. Sung-gu was clearly trying his best to pretend like he hadn¡¯t heard, and Yeonseo looked strangely at Hyukjin, unable to conceal her astonishment. ¡°Seohye, what kind of bizarr-o title is that? Master?¡± ¡°It was automatically set when I became a Guardian Tower. No matter what I call him, it comes out as Master.¡± ¡°Ah¡­ is that so?¡± Hyukjin¡¯s face reddened a little, wondering why this situation felt more mortifying to him than fighting Red Devils. While all of this was going on, the Red Devil drew a little closer. ¡®But¡­¡¯ Eye of Perception wasn¡¯t blaring a warning at him. Normally, Eye of Perception would have sensed the approaching monsters¡¯ strength and sent a danger signal echoing through his whole body, but that wasn¡¯t happening. Isabel spoke again. ¡°Child. Make a concession this time. There¡¯s no time for a long explanation. Husband has limited strength, and maintaining both of us will prevent him from drawing out his full power.¡± ¡°¡­¡± ¡°As I¡¯m sure you can feel as well, manifesting us both is draining the Endless Sky Crystal¡¯s power far faster.¡± ¡°¡­¡± Seohye balled her fists. ¡°I¡¯ll concede this time.¡± ¡°Good decision.¡± ¡°But I won¡¯t back down next time.¡± For some reason, Seohye considered Isabel her foe. With a jolt of shock, she realized something. ¡®Am I jealous right now?¡¯ She didn¡¯t think she was being jealous because she saw Kim Hyukjin as a man. It felt a little different from that. ¡®She¡¯s bound to him with a higher level contract than me.¡¯ Both she and Isabel were bound to Hyukjin with contracts. But Isabel¡¯s was more than that¡ªit was a pact. ¡®And that frustrates me.¡¯ The other woman was connected to Hyukjin even more closely than her. That was what Seohye disliked. It was a blow to her pride, and the Guardian Tower Ahn Seohye was left with a sense of intense defeat. ¡°Auntie. I¡¯ll go back to the Guardian Tower. I¡¯m conceding this time, so you need to be a big help to Master in my stead.¡± After sharing a regretful farewell with Yeonseo and Sunhwa, Seohye returned to the Guardian Tower. By the time she left, the Red Devil was just a hundred meters away. But something was strange about the monster¡ªeven though the Guardian Tower wasn¡¯t repelling it, it couldn¡¯t come any closer. Grr, grrrrr. It glanced around uneasily, looking anxious. Isabel closed her eyes for a moment. ¡°Husband. Did those little red ones bully you?¡± ¡°¡­¡± Hyukjin captured something with Observer¡¯s Eye, and realized what it was. ¡®Isabel¡¯s domain expansion.¡¯ Isabel was exuding an invisible energy that was covering this entire area, unfurling over such a large region that Hyukjin could not begin to measure its borders at his current level. He only knew it was incredibly huge. Everywhere her energy covered was her domain. ¡°I¡¯ll punish them for you.¡± * * * Translator ¨C Lei Proofreader ¨C Ash * * * A certain Japanese man visited the VVIP hospital room in Sungshin Hospital. ¡°Did you feel it, too?¡± The man looked to be in his late teens or early 20s¡ªhis face still held traces of immaturity. Holding a Translation Marble, he stared at the woman on the hospital bed. The woman¡¯s name was Ham Sohyun. ¡°I have no abilities other than Precognitive Dream.¡± ¡°I see.¡± And the man¡¯s name was Itachi. Itachi walked towards the window, gazing into the sky. ¡°Just one year ago, I saw no future of me coming to Korea. No star in the sky told me that I would be here now.¡± But one day, things were changed again and again by the ¡®enormous star¡¯, the future changed, and he ended up coming to Korea, altering his original fate of never leaving Japan. ¡°And now, the enormous star my eyes cannot see is about to move.¡± ¡°How can you tell that something you can¡¯t see is moving?¡± ¡°I can feel it. Its existence is so enormous I cannot see it with my eyes, but I am cognizant of its flow.¡± Itachi took out a precognitive note. It was a copy. A meeting occurs before the cornerstone of an ash-covered temple. If they meet as enemies, so shall a conflagration of hell commence. If they meet as friends, so shall the hymn of heaven ring. ¡°The star has sung, and it sung a hymn. A hymn of great rapture that launched another star.¡± ¡°I struggle to understand what you mean.¡± ¡°What I mean to say is that the man named Kim Hyukjin is launching a star. Have you had any dreams related to Kim Hyukjin recently?¡± Sohyun nodded. Just a few days ago, she had a precognitive dream about him. She recited the note she had scribed while having the dream. ¡°A false, sweet fragrance shall permeate you.¡± ¡°¡­¡± ¡°The prophecy of the true seer h come to be.¡± ¡°Did your vision come to be?¡± Sohyun nodded again. ¡°I think so, yes.¡± ¡°How very strange. It¡¯s already fascinating that you can dream about a specific person, but you¡¯re certain that it¡¯s him, and you can even feel that the prophecy you made about him was fulfilled. This is, to my knowledge, a first.¡± And it only happened with one person, Kim Hyukjin. That was the reason why Itachi flew to Korea. ¡°Have you met him?¡± ¡°Yes. Once.¡± ¡°How was it?¡± At Ham Sohyun¡¯s hesitation, Itachi urged, ¡°Please speak your mind. You can say whatever you think.¡± Itachi wanted to know more. He wanted to know more about this absolutely incomprehensible Player who could change the position of the stars, launch a star, and possibly even destroy a star. ¡°I don¡¯t remember his face.¡± ¡°¡­What?¡± ¡°I remember that I saw him, but I don¡¯t remember how he looked, no matter how hard I try to remember.¡± ¡°Could it be that he used a special skill?¡± Kim Hyukjin had Cognitive Dissonance. But at that time, he hadn¡¯t used it. ¡°No, it¡¯s not that.¡± Ham Sohyun fumbled a bit, then continued. ¡°It was like I was looking at darkness.¡± Itachi nodded. ¡°The person who shows you clearer visions than anyone else feels like darkness to you. How fascinating.¡± He gazed into the sky again. ¡°And the mighty star protecting Kim Hyukjin is currently dominating this space. That star¡¯s name is¡ªugh!¡± His body convulsed, and he collapsed to the floor, unconscious. Ham Sohyun hurriedly summoned the nurse, and the unconscious Itachi was moved to another hospital room. * * * ¡°I¡¯ll punish them for you,¡± said Isabel. ¡°It¡¯s difficult to get rid of them one by one, and there¡¯s no time. I¡¯ll use the mana in the Endless Sky Crystal in the most efficient manner.¡± ¡°How?¡± ¡°If you don¡¯t want things to get troublesome, use Cognitive Dissonance first.¡± For now, Hyukjin did as he was told. ¡°I¡¯ll give you a little boost.¡± He heard a notice. [Cognitive Dissonance has been temporarily promoted to ¡®Wide-Area Cognitive Dissonance¡¯ [¡®Wide-Area Cognitive Dissonance¡¯ is boosted into ¡®Wide-Area Cognitive Distortion¡¯ and takes effect.] Hyukjin had no idea just how wide an area was being affected, but a ¡®Wide-Area Cognitive Distortion¡¯ was triggered. Isabel uttered an incantation of some kind. ¡°¡ª¡ª-.¡± Her body disappeared. Only her voice could be heard. ¡°Infinite Sword Rain.¡± And then, something unbelievable occurred. Above the Red Devil loitering a hundred meters away, unable to come any closer, appeared a ¡®sword¡¯. The sword descended, plunging into the Red Devil¡¯s head and splicing it in two. ¡®Huh?¡¯ A notice rang out. [Red Devil has been killed.] [EXP acquired.] [500 Coins acquired.] Clearing the Dewinged Angel Statue Gate had rewarded him with 2,000 Coins. But now, he was getting 500 Coins from a single monster. The Red Devil was slaughtered with a single attack. And because he himself hadn¡¯t killed it¡ªIsabel had¡ªthe Observer penalty didn¡¯t take effect, meaning he got both EXP and Coins. ¡®But¡­¡¯ His shock didn¡¯t end there. [Red Devil has been killed.] [Red Devil has been killed.] ¡­ [Red Devil has been killed.] [Red Devil has been killed.] Notice after notice streamed in, so fast he couldn¡¯t even check each one. [You have received 720 identical, simultaneous notices.] Then, the Endless Sky Crystal crumbled into dust. ¡®Ah¡­ this¡­¡¯ It quickly became apparent that Isabel had failed to control her strength. Weakness swept through his body. ¡®So¡­ dizzy.¡¯ He couldn¡¯t check all the notices. Not long after Itachi fell unconscious, Kim Hyukjin followed suit. ____ Chapter 274 Chapter 274 A few minutes ago Song Junghye clenched her teeth. ¡°Pull yourself together!¡± Song Junghye watched as the right arm of her right hand man, Kang Woongmin, was ripped off and flung away. ¡°GAHHH!¡± It wasn¡¯t official, but in the Blood and Iron Lion, people called him ¡®Kang Woongmin the Adamant¡¯. That was how unshakable his body was, yet that same body was torn apart like it was paper. Blood fountained from Kang Woongmin¡¯s shoulder. One of the priests grabbed the arm, quickly stowing it in a cryobag. Kang Woongmin stumbled a few steps back. ¡®I¡¯m losing too much blood,¡¯ he thought, dizzy. ¡®It¡¯s too strong.¡¯ Red Devil. Because it looked like a goblin, he had underestimated it a little. But the gap between its appearance and actual strength was too great. Those claws were stronger than any monster he had encountered thus far. Song Junghye hastily used a skill. [Using the skill Protective Barrier.] A red barrier covered Kang Woongmin¡¯s body just before the Red Devil swiped at his left arm. Crack¨C! Protective Barrier instantly shattered, utterly failing to protect its target. But it did earn a fleeting moment, a fraction of a second. Kang Woongmin flung himself backwards, rolling several times on the ground and avoiding additional injury. Heals from the priests stopped the bleeding. ¡®My arm getting cut off isn¡¯t important right now.¡¯ An arm or two could be reattached without issue. That was the world in which they now lived. ¡®The problem is whether we can get out of here alive.¡¯ Kang Woongmin turned to his guildmaster. ¡°Please run.¡± ¡°Run?¡± echoed Song Junghye, anger on her face. She slapped Kang Woongmin on the cheek. ¡°Did you just tell me to run?¡± For Woongmin, a tank, her palm didn¡¯t hurt that much. ¡°It¡¯s too dangerous. Even if we put in everything we have, we won¡¯t be able to defeat a single one of these things.¡± Jung Sangchul took his side. ¡°No poisons are effective on them.¡± ¡°How can you say such pathetic crap? Do you even realize how much I pay you?¡± ¡°I¡¯ll earn my wage.¡± Kang Woongmin gritted his teeth. ¡°I will buy you time, so please run away, Guildmaster.¡± Song Junghye shook with rage. In the sky far above her flew a helicopter. Inside, there was sure to be a reporter eager to film the Blood and Iron¡¯s heroic exploits. ¡°There are reporters watching! If I run away, what¡¯ll that make me?!¡± ¡°Embarrassment is momentary. Your life is more important.¡± Just then, a scream split the air. One of the Blood and Iron Lion¡¯s main tanks, Kim Sucheol, was decapitated. The Red Devil licked greedily at his gushing neck like the devil it was. Goosebumps rose on Kang Woongmin¡¯s back. From the feeding Red Devil came an air of leisure. It didn¡¯t even seem to consider them its enemies. ¡°Please r¡ª¡± he began to say, but then, a miracle occurred. From the sky, descended a ¡®sword¡¯. That sword penetrated the Red Devil¡¯s head and body. Like heavenly retribution. ¡®The heavens¡­ helped us?¡¯ Kang Woongmin bellowed a split second later, ¡°HEAL HIM! Right now!¡± Less than five seconds had elapsed since Sucheol was decapitated. Normally, around five outstanding priests could revive him if treated within ten seconds. The world was different now. You could still survive after getting your head cut off. Song Junghye barked, ¡°Heal your arm first.¡± ¡°No.¡± ¡°I said, heal your arm first!¡± Kang Woongmin was Song Junghye¡¯s right arm. And to her, Kang Woongmin¡¯s right arm was more important than the main tank Kim Sucheol¡¯s life. Kang Woongmin clenched his teeth. ¡®There¡¯s no time.¡¯ He had no choice but to disobey her command. A severed arm could be healed even after some time had passed¡ªit was safely stowed in a cryobag and would be fine for a few hours. Kang Woongmin screamed at the dithering priests. Right now, Kim Sucheol came first. ¡°This is an ORDER! HURRY! I¡¯ll take responsibility!¡± The priests scrambled to press Kim Sucheol¡¯s severed head onto his neck. Five of them closed their eyes in unison and pulsed holy power for five seconds. Chance of survival: 50%. ¡®Please. Live.¡¯ He felt Song Junghye¡¯s gaze as she trembled in rage hot on his back. ¡®I apologize.¡¯ But those who could be saved should be saved. And in a stroke of true fortune, Kim Sucheol regained consciousness. ¡°Move him to the hospital,¡± said Woongmin. He had kept his life, but recovering from the grievous injury was another issue. Kim Sucheol was transferred to Sungshin Hospital. * * * Translator ¨C Lei Proofreader ¨C Ash * * * The Guildmaster of Taeguk Shield, Song Kiyeol, went into the fight with the Red Devils fully prepared to lose his life. It was possible that a portion of Taeguk Shield would be killed. Even he, a tank, might die. The opponent was strong enough to make Kim Hyukjin nervous. Of course Kiyeol needed to be resolved to die. ¡®What in the¡­¡¯ So even now, with the reporters¡¯ cameras flashing non-stop into his eyes, he was still reeling in shock. ¡°How in the world did you defeat the Red Devils?¡± ¡°I consider this an achievement brought about not just by the perilous efforts of Taeguk Shield, but countless other Players.¡± Of course, he didn¡¯t think that at all. ¡®What happened, exactly?¡¯ He had the faint impression that swords had fallen from the sky, but it felt like a distant dream. Song Kiyeol guessed this was most likely the effect of Kim Hyukjin¡¯s Cognitive Dissonance. ¡®So that means¡­ that Kim Hyukjin hunted all the Red Devils single-handedly? Hundreds of them?¡¯ That seemed to be the case. It was like the entirety of South Korea was having a dream. Everyone saw the swords descending from the sky, but not many remembered it. ¡°How truly amazing. An increasing number of people are calling Taeguk Shield the heroes of Korea. What are your thoughts on that?¡± ¡°That is undeserved. Countless Players stood against the Red Devils. I think of them all as heroes.¡± Song Kiyeol meant it. It was honest by necessity, because the truth was, he hadn¡¯t done a single thing. And because he was so sincere, his sincerity traveled along the electrical wires of broadcast and Internet across the whole of Korea, triggering a wave of grandiose article after article. ¨CHumblest Man Ever ¨CThe Heroic Guildmaster of Taeguk Shield! ¨CMaking Miracles in Korea * * * Song Kiyeol went to Sungshin Hospital¡¯s VVIP ward. ¡°Well¡­ I went ahead and gave the interview for now, but I¡¯m still numb.¡± Laying on the hospital bed was Kim Hyukjin. Right after Isabel used Infinite Sword Rain, Hyukjin lost consciousness and now needed to recover his strength. ¡°Oh, right. How are you doing?¡± Song Kiyeol held out a glass of orange juice to Hyukjin, who shook his head. ¡°I still can¡¯t muster any strength in my limbs, so I can¡¯t move.¡± ¡°How did you end up in such a state?¡± ¡°I overexerted myself.¡± More exactly, Isabel was too strong. ¡°As I thought¡­¡± What Kiyeol wanted to say was, ¡®You mean you can hack down hundreds of Red Devils at once by overexerting yourself? And when they were scattered over a large area, at that?¡¯ But he held his tongue. ¡®Common sense never applied to him to begin with.¡¯ On the bed, Kim Hyukjin heard a voice. (C¡¯mon, Husband. I¡¯m sorry. I might have forgotten how weak you were and accidentally used too much strength.) Isabel exerted more strength than what was within the Endless Sky Crystal, putting an incredible burden on Hyukjin¡¯s body. ¡®My second heart nearly shattered.¡¯ (B-But it didn¡¯t. It didn¡¯t break, so you can recover with some rest. H-Heheh.) Isabel laughed awkwardly. (But really, this is because you¡¯re too weak! How should I have known your body would break like this because I used a tiny speck of strength? This is your fau¡ª) She stopped in the middle of consoling herself, ultimately acknowledging her fault. (I messed up. I should have been more considerate of your weakness.) Hyukjin asked inwardly, ¡®But how did you do it? I heard a notice about Wide-Area Cognitive Distortion.¡¯ (I didn¡¯t think Cognitive Dissonance would cut it, so I went straight to Distortion.) ¡®What¡¯s that?¡¯ (The higher version of Cognitive Dissonance. If I¡¯m right, people probably think the Red Devils were defeated by the hard work of many Players.) Hyukjin was stunned. This wasn¡¯t just making people unable to recognize something, but full-on distorting their memories. He squashed the urge to ask, ¡®I thought you were a sword?¡¯ That was Isabel¡¯s most sensitive subject, and trodding on it would invite her wrath. Isabel thought of herself as an outstanding sword, and for some reason, she considered magic superficial trickery. ¡®But this is way too much to be called superficial trickery.¡¯ No. No. Isabel is an outstanding sword, Hyukjin chanted in his mind, branding in the words. He was mentally connected to Isabel, and she could read most of his thoughts. He heard a voice. ¡°¡­jin?¡± ¡°Ah. I apologize, I¡¯m really not in good condition.¡± Song Kiyeol shook his head. ¡°No, I¡¯m afraid I¡¯ve burdened you needlessly with my worries. In any case, it seems that we¡¯ve somehow ended up reaping most of the credit for hunting the Red Devils.¡± ¡°That was what we signed a contract for.¡± ¡°But truthfully, we didn¡¯t do anything.¡± ¡°Things are simply going as per our contract.¡± Still, Song Kiyeol felt that Kim Hyukjin had earned too little from this incident. ¡°¡­¡± He silently stared at the man on the bed in a daze. ¡°Why are you looking at me like that?¡± ¡°N-Nothing. It¡¯s just¡­ I suddenly thought that it was a relief someone like you was endowed with such strength.¡± Of course, Song Kiyeol¡¯s thoughts were completely off-mark. After Song Kiyeol left, Hyukjin opened his Status Window. [Status Window] Name: Kim Hyukjin (Player) Level: 44 Contracted Guardian: [Nameless Observer] Title: [Pioneer of Obliteration] [Excellent Player] [First Adversary] [Pure Person of Fire] [Phantom Thief Squirrel¡¯s Master] [Starting Sovereign] [Starting Fighter] [Thousand Dog Master] Dungeon title: [True Ruler of the Gran Seoul Dungeon] [True Ruler of the Predator Tree Colony] Innate ability: [Eye of Perception] [Sword of Insight] [Assimilation] Special ability: [Absorption] [Mettle] [Eye for an Eye, Tooth for a Tooth] [Immortal Fleet] Trait: Divine Bow Physique, Divine Sword Physique, Endless Sky Physique Strength: 24 Intelligence: 24 Agility: 30 Perception: 24 Constitution: 24 Willpower: 62(+30) Bonus stats: 10 Random stats: 5 Undistributed stats: 15 Not only had he passed the level 30-40 Hell Phase, but his level shot up to 44 at once. At this point, he was probably the highest level Player worldwide. ¡®Isabel hunted over seven hundred Red Devils.¡¯ And instantly, all at once. ¡®That¡¯s insane.¡¯ She had created such a result, and yet his body was only messed up enough to require rest to recover. Should he be calling it a relief? Right before he passed out, he heard the following notice: [The ¡®EXP limit¡¯ has been activated.] [EXP cannot be acquired.] He hadn¡¯t even known such a notice existed, but apparently, there was such a thing as an EXP limit. From the looks of it, the System would limit EXP gain if too much EXP was acquired in a single moment. ¡®5 level ups. My god.¡¯ Isabel, who had been silent for a bit¡ªseemingly out of embarrassment¡ªspoke again. (Not just that. Check Pioneer of Obliteration.) ¡®Pioneer of Obliteration?¡¯ (Yeah. I obliterated them all in one go. A feat like that should have influenced the title, too.) ¡®Even though it was done by you and not me?¡¯ (You¡¯re my pactee, Husband!) Seemingly implying that even though she was sorry to have damaged her husband¡¯s body, she still did something great and worthy of praise, Isabel kept coming up with new justifications of her actions. Hyukjin opened up Pioneer of Obliteration. [Obliteration] Player When ¡®Obliteration¡¯ is used on a lower level Player, the Player is either stripped of their Player rights, or their Player abilities will be reduced. Non-Player When ¡®Obliteration¡¯ is used on a non-Player, their potential to awaken as a Player will either be lost or reduced. The use conditions had changed. Originally, he could only use Obliteration on a Player or non-Player in critical condition, but now, it was ¡®lower level Player¡¯. That meant he could use the authority even without reducing them to critical condition first. As Hyukjin was thinking about the changes to Obliteration, he felt someone secretly enter his hospital room. ¡®Stealth?¡¯ His Eye of Perception had grown along with his level. He could feel their presence clearly. ¡®So this is how you wanna do it after all, huh.¡¯ Hyukjin grinned. ¡°I clearly remember telling you it¡¯s not that I can¡¯t kill you, but that I¡¯m choosing not to.¡± He could tell who the other person was¡ªthe Poisoned Dagger, Jung Sangchul. He must be here to attempt an assassination while Kim Hyukjin was weakened. But that wasn¡¯t the situation. To Hyukjin¡¯s surprise, Jung Sangchul got to his knees in front of him. ____ Chapter 275 Chapter 275 In Hyukjin¡¯s past, the Poisoned Dagger was the Ranker who had served as the Blood and Iron Queen¡¯s close confidant and left hand. Jung Sangchul played a crucial role in assisting Song Junghye in the Naval Battle of Bali, and would continue to do so. As Hyukjin watched, that very same Player went on his knees in front of him. Thump. Kneeling, Jung Sangchul bowed his head low. ¡°Please take me in.¡± Hyukjin slowly pushed himself upright. ¡°What do you mean by this?¡± ¡°I will no longer serve Song Junghye.¡± This hadn¡¯t happened in the past. ¡°Why?¡± ¡°Song Junghye is a piece of trash who has no dignity as a human being.¡± ¡°Let¡¯s be honest, I don¡¯t think you¡¯re one to say that.¡± ¡°¡­¡± Jung Sangchul closed his mouth for a moment, then nodded. ¡°You¡¯re right.¡± ¡°In front of the Guardian Tower, you attempted to kill the thief Gu Sungmin without hesitation, and if you hadn¡¯t had a change of heart, you would have tried to kill me.¡± ¡°Yes. I have no excuse.¡± ¡°Not only that, but I imagine you¡¯ve killed quite a few people.¡± ¡°¡­¡± Hyukjin gave him a way out. ¡°Granted, you did all that on orders.¡± But even if he was following an order, it didn¡¯t erase his sin. However, Hyukjin had no intention of weighing the other person¡¯s sins. That job fell to the jury, not him. ¡°So what was it this time? An order to kill me?¡± ¡°She said I should kill you if I could find an opportunity to do so.¡± ¡°Then why are you on the ground?¡± Jung Sangchul began his story. ¡°One of my friends was almost killed by a Red Devil in the last battle. His name is Kim Sucheol.¡± Kim Sucheol. Kim Sucheol. Kim Sucheol. Hyukjin scanned his memories, but he couldn¡¯t remember anyone with that name. Who was Kim Sucheol? ¡°He¡¯s a Blood and Iron Lion guild member.¡± ¡°I see.¡± Kim Sucheol was likely someone who was either kicked out or killed in a raid before Blood and Iron Lion became famous, seeing as Hyukjin had zero recollection of him. ¡°So what does Kim Sucheol have to do with you coming to me?¡± ¡°Song Junghye told me to kill Sucheol.¡± ¡°Why?¡± ¡°Because she felt that her dignity was wounded because of Sucheol.¡± Once Hyukjin heard the whole story, he understood the situation. ¡°Then she should punish Kang Woongmin¡ªhe¡¯s the one who ignored her order. Why¡¯d she go after the innocent Kim Sucheol?¡± ¡°Because we don¡¯t know yet if Sucheol will be able to keep Playing. To Song Junghye, Sucheol is just a broken part to be replaced.¡± Apparently, the man¡¯s head was cut off and reattached. ¡®In this period, it won¡¯t be easy to recover from that.¡¯ The priests weren¡¯t at that level yet. Kim Sucheol was probably barely clinging to life. ¡®And it¡¯ll become even harder for him to make it big as a Player.¡¯ That must be why Song Junghye tried to kill off someone who would ultimately become baggage to her. What Sangchul said about Song Junghye seeing the unfortunate man as a part to be replaced was probably true, too. ¡°Also, if Sucheol stays alive, she¡¯ll have to give him a huge compensation.¡± ¡°¡­¡± Hyukjin suddenly thought of his older sister. In the past, Ahyoung worked at Sungshin, at that time headed by Song Junghye. Be it coincidence or not, Ahyoung became sick with leukemia, and what she received as compensation was a pathetic pittance. ¡®That wasn¡¯t compensation, but ridicule.¡¯ Instead of: ¡®We sincerely apologize. We don¡¯t know how to compensate you,¡¯ what they got was, ¡®Take this and get out of our sight, losers¡¯. That was what it felt like. ¡®She¡¯s exactly the same as before.¡¯ Hyukjin once again came to the conclusion that he¡¯d done well to choose Song Kiyeol over Song Junghye. ¡°Is Song Junghye aware of the fact that you and Sucheol are friends?¡± ¡°¡­No.¡± In other words¡ª ¡°She doesn¡¯t give a rat¡¯s ass about the relationships between her subordinates, does she?¡± Truth be told, there wasn¡¯t really a reason for her to care. But if she was someone with half an eye and even a little interest in the people who were working for her, she should have at least known they were friends. Considering she¡¯d given an order to kill a friend, Jung Sangchul¡¯s feelings were understandable. ¡°I guess you could kill strangers without blinking an eye, but you can¡¯t kill a friend.¡± ¡°¡­This will sound like an excuse, but it wasn¡¯t easy for me to kill strangers, either.¡± He was telling the truth. Summary: Poisoned Dagger Drowning in Guilt Hyukjin nodded. ¡°I understand your feelings. But I have no intention of expanding my guild any further.¡± ¡°I wouldn¡¯t even dare to dream of that.¡± ¡°What is it that you want?¡± ¡°Please give me an order.¡± ¡°What kind of order?¡± Jung Sangchul raised his head, looking straight into Hyukjin¡¯s eyes. ¡°An order to kill Song Junghye. Please.¡± * * * Translator ¨C Lei Proofreader ¨C Ash * * * Long story short, Kim Hyukjin didn¡¯t accept Jung Sangchul¡¯s request. It wasn¡¯t like he was terribly fond of Song Junghye, but he didn¡¯t want to commit murder by proxy. ¡°At least not now. It¡¯s not the right time.¡± ¡°¡­¡± ¡°Jung Sangchul. You can simply stay by Song Junghye¡¯s side, just as you¡¯ve been doing.¡± ¡°¡­Are you telling me to be a spy?¡± ¡°I¡¯m glad you¡¯re quick on the uptake. Stay by her side and report each and every move she makes.¡± Hyukjin smiled. ¡°Because I will make life far more painful for her than being killed now.¡± Killing someone wasn¡¯t always the answer. In addition, ¡®Song Junghye¡¯ had close ties to the ¡®Great Explorer Jackson¡¯. If he killed her now, that connection would be severed. ¡®The Poisoned Dagger turned traitor?¡¯ Had that also happened in the past? ¡®The Sangam World Cup Stadium Dungeon break wasn¡¯t supposed to happen.¡¯ But it did, triggering incidents that hadn¡¯t occurred before, including an incident that led to Jung Sangchul¡¯s betrayal. ¡®What an interesting turn of events.¡¯ With this, he gained another card in his deck¡ªthe Poisoned Dagger Jung Sangchul. Now, it was up to him to decide how to make use of this card. ¡°Ah. You¡¯ll also have to act like you killed Kim Sucheol. That way, you won¡¯t lose Song Junghye¡¯s trust.¡± ¡°¡­¡± ¡°I¡¯ll take care of things on that end for you.¡± After sending out Jang Sungchul, Hyukjin called Song Kiyeol. This was Sungshin Hospital, and everything was settled with lightning speed. As far as the official documents were concerned, Kim Sucheol was a dead man. The night deepened, and the clock hit 11:30. Senia appeared. ¡°How long do you plan on laying in bed?¡± ¡°It¡¯s only been two days.¡± ¡°You¡¯re not going to Play?¡± Her wings trembled. The angel seldom showed her feelings, but this time, he was able to skim her emotions. State: Anger There was still a big difference in skill between them, so he could only catch a surface glimpse. He could only read one word. ¡®Anger¡¯. ¡°Are you mad?¡± ¡°Me? I¡¯m not mad at all.¡± ¡°I think you are though.¡± ¡°There¡¯s no reason for me to be mad.¡± Senia shuffled over to Kim Hyukjin, staring at him the entire time. Then, she pulled out an item. ¡°A Superior Cure Potion?¡± ¡°It should be able to cure your overwhelming fatigue.¡± ¡°Is an Intermediate Administrator allowed to give me this? Isn¡¯t this too direct an involvement?¡± ¡°I have a lot of Coins, so it¡¯s okay.¡± Direct involvement came with a high price tag. Senia was sure to have gouged a hefty chunk of her funds to give him this one item. ¡°Player Kim Hyukjin is my business partner. But you are currently unable to conduct business because of the condition of your body. Do you acknowledge that?¡± It sort of felt like Senia was talking a bit faster than usual. ¡°Answer me. Do you acknowledge that?¡± ¡°I do.¡± ¡°This is an obvious loss on my part. I need to produce content, but how do you think I can do that if the person I¡¯m streaming is in this sorry state?¡± ¡°You can just stream another Player.¡± ¡°How can you say such a sad th¡ª!¡± Senia swallowed her words. ¡®Why would I say that?¡¯ Why did she think it was sad? Exclusive contracts weren¡¯t limited to one Player anyway. A Player in an exclusive contract could only be streamed by one Intermediate Administrator, but an Intermediate Administrator could make exclusive contracts with multiple Players. ¡°It¡¯s not cost-effective to go with another Player.¡± She stuffed the superior potion in Hyukjin¡¯s hands. ¡°Using this one superior potion is far better than putting in the time and effort to dig up another Player and produce content with them.¡± ¡°¡­¡± ¡°Hurry and drink it and get to work.¡± A little stupefied, Hyukjin laughed. He wouldn¡¯t look a gift horse in the mouth. ¡°Thanks.¡± ¡°I didn¡¯t give it to you to get thanks. Work.¡± Hyukjin used the superior potion. He felt the cracks in his second heart healing. As one would expect, for a level 39¡ªno, level 44 now¡ªPlayer, a superior potion was pretty much a miracle drug. Even after drinking just one half of the vial, he made a full recovery. ¡®I can let Kim Sucheol use the rest.¡¯ Even half a vial would be able to drag Kim Sucheol back from death¡¯s door. If someone were to ask Hyukjin why he would use such a valuable item on a stranger, he would have no answer to give. Perhaps because he was reminded of his sister? He decided to help. * * * Fully recovered, Kim Hyukjin headed to Taeguk Shield¡¯s headquarters. Song Kiyeol happened to be in his office, where the two of them sat face to face. ¡°I¡¯ve come to give you a warning.¡± ¡°What is it¡­?¡± Song Kiyeol gulped. People might think of him as the hero of Korea, but he knew he wasn¡¯t the true hero. The true hero was in front of him, and that person was giving him a warning. It felt like all his hairs were standing on end. ¡°Miss Song Junghye. Her harassment towards me is still just cute, but¡­¡± ¡°¡­¡± ¡°She sent an assassin after me again. To be honest, it was almost dangerous.¡± If Jung Sangchul hadn¡¯t turned traitor, things might have gotten a little dicey. Just like how the healthy Kim Hyukjin was able to kill the exhausted casper, the healthy Jung Sangchul may have been able to kill the injured Kim Hyukjin. Song Kiyeol felt his head reel. ¡®Would he really have been in danger?¡¯ He doubted it. He was certain Kim Hyukjin had some kind of countermeasure in place and led Junghye into doing exactly what he wanted. The person before him was none other than Kim Hyukjin, after all. As a result, Kim Hyukjin was now armed with a pretext. ¡°That¡¯s why I sent a warning note.¡± ¡°A warning note?¡± That moment, the office door flew open. ¡°Oppa! Do you know anything about¡ªKim Hyukjin?¡± It seemed that even though Song Junghye normally snubbed her older brother, when shit went down, the only person she could turn to was her brother. She had a piece of paper in her hand. ¨CI¡¯m watching. Tread carefully. The note was found on Song Junghye¡¯s bedpost, placed there by Kim Darong at Hyukjin¡¯s request. Upon discovering it, the only thing Song Junghye could think was that anyone who could secretly place a note on her bedpost could just as easily assassinate her. Song Junghye didn¡¯t mince words. ¡°Kim Hyukjin. Was it you?¡± ¡°What was?¡± ¡°This note, did you put it there?¡± ¡°Who knows? It might have been me, it might have not been me.¡± As if something suddenly occurred to him, he said, ¡°I do have an incredibly amazing assassin by my side.¡± That ¡®assassin¡¯ was throwing air kicks and punches on top of Hyukjin¡¯s shoulder right now, music notes dancing atop his head. Of course, the little squirrel was stealthed and couldn¡¯t be seen by Song Junghye. ¡°So are you the one who sent it or not?¡± ¡°What¡¯ll you do if I did?¡± He shook his head. ¡°Even if it was me, there¡¯s nothing you can do. And if it wasn¡¯t me, then you¡¯re just accusing someone with no evidence. How are you leading Blood and Iron Lion with such an empty head?¡± ¡°Are you done?¡± spat Song Junghye. Hyukjin grinned. ¡°If I were an assassin, I would have killed you in the time it took to send that note.¡± ¡°¡­¡± Both of the Song siblings grew quiet, utterly crushed by Hyukjin¡¯s Mettle. Even the ing Song Kiyeol was unable to interject. ¡°You know, I was going to take it as the actions of a foolish child.¡± Shaking his head, he said, ¡°But children with no manners whatsoever need to be punished.¡± He took a few steps closer to Song Junghye. ¡°St-Stay back.¡± ¡°I wonder where your next destination will be.¡± Suddenly, his thoughts turned to his older sister again. If Sungshin had been under Song Kiyeol¡¯s management instead, how would they have treated his sister? Sungshin had basically tossed her aside. Just like Blood and Iron Lion¡¯s Kim Sucheol. ¡°You¡¯re Kiyeol¡¯s little sister, so I won¡¯t kill you.¡± Instead, he would squash her far more thoroughly, down to her very roots. The intel he received from Jung Sangchul said that Song Junghye¡¯s next goal was a place Hyukjin had been considering going to, the ¡®Nanba Terminal Dungeon¡¯ in Japan. ¡°Say goodbye to your easy days of Playing, Song Junghye. I¡¯ll put my mind to harassing you. Some people only see straight when they experience suffering first-hand.¡± Following that heated exchange, Song Junghye stormed out of the room, swearing again and again to herself that she would kill that bastard. Hyukjin turned to Song Kiyeol. ¡°I¡¯m sorry, but I have no choice. Your sister is the one who sent an assassin after me first and tried to kill me by cooperating with China¡¯s Xu Xin.¡± ¡°I know. I¡¯m just grateful that you¡¯re sparing her life.¡± Song Kiyeol¡¯s Achilles¡¯ heel was his sister. Hyukjin wasn¡¯t going to fault him for that. When it came to the complicated realm of feelings, there were definitely things in this world that couldn¡¯t be explained logically. ¡°But¡­ Are you going to Nanba Terminal just to harass Junghye?¡± Song Kiyeol didn¡¯t think that could be the case. The Kim Hyukjin he knew operated purely with an eye for practical benefits. He was absolutely not the kind of person to waste time just to annoy someone. Before Hyukjin could answer, someone else entered his office. ¡°Would it be alright if I explained that?¡± It was the Precognitive Dreamer Ham Sohyun, seated on a wheelchair. Hyukjin looked at the person who was pushing her wheelchair. ¡®Itachi?¡¯ The Japanese astrologist Itachi and the Korean Precognitive Dreamer were together in one place. Both of them looked at Kim Hyukjin. Upon seeing Hyukjin, Itachi¡¯s eyes began to turn gold. ____ Chapter 276 Chapter 276 Ham Sohyun was about to talk, but then she closed her mouth. The golden-eyed Itachi began to speak. They weren¡¯t ordinary ¡®words¡¯. Hyukjin could tell that Itachi was delivering a prophecy right now. ¡°A door opens where no door would have opened.¡± ¡°And a path leads to that which would have remained undiscovered.¡± ¡°The fate of he who has the authority of Gold be intertwined.¡± Hyukjin committed the three sentences to memory. Itachi¡¯s eyes returned to normal. ¡°What you said is certainly true, Sohyun,¡± the astrologist confirmed. ¡°What did Miss Ham say?¡± ¡°That looking at you feels like peering into the darkness, like seeing a face without truly seeing one.¡± Hyukjin thought for a moment. ¡®That¡¯s how I feel when I see the Demon King.¡¯ Apparently, ¡®seers¡¯ got the same feeling looking at him that he got from looking at the Demon King. ¡°It¡¯s nice to meet you. My name is Itachi.¡± In front of him was the genius astrologist of Japan. He felt restless upon seeing this seer, who was destined to die early in his late 20s. Hyukjin wanted to confirm his suspicions. ¡°I¡¯m Kim Hyukjin. Itachi, I¡¯ve wanted to meet you.¡± ¡°Me?¡± ¡°Yes. There are a few things I¡¯d like to know.¡± Everyone took a seat first. Song Kiyeol stayed out of the conversation, focusing on what the others were saying. ¡°What would you like to know?¡± asked Itachi. ¡°Have you made a contract with a casper?¡± ¡°¡­¡± Itachi fell silent, closing his eyes in thought before opening his mouth to answer. ¡°Yes. I see you know many things.¡± ¡°It seems you already know what kind of Intermediate Administrators caspers are.¡± ¡°In the worst case scenario, I¡¯ll have my body stolen and my mind erased.¡± ¡°Why did you establish a contract with a casper despite knowing that?¡± ¡°Because that is the fate of my class.¡± In other words, Itachi the Astrologist could only exist if he was contracted with a casper. ¡°Is your class that important? More important than your life?¡± ¡°Yes.¡± ¡°How come?¡± Itachi could see the future. It was possible he was aware he would die early. So why, then, did he have a contract with a casper? He didn¡¯t seem to be an unknowing victim, like Sunhwa. ¡°Because it is ecstasy.¡± ¡°Ecstasy, you say.¡± ¡°Drug addicts are unable to tear themselves away from drugs, despite knowing it will lead to their ruin.¡± ¡°Seeing the future is like a drug?¡± ¡°Yes, at least to me.¡± Itachi wrapped his arms around himself. ¡°It is a sensation far more delightful than ejaculation.¡± ¡°¡­¡± ¡°When a prophecy comes to be, I am overcome with an ecstasy far more wonderful than an orgasm.¡± ¡°¡­Ah.¡± Hyukjin was left at a loss for words. Itachi¡¯s way of speaking was a little difficult to adjust to. The young astrologist quivered. ¡°And recently, I saw the fulfillment of yet another prophecy.¡± That was the precognitive note that Ham Sohyun had written. ¡°A false, sweet fragrance shall permeate you.¡± ¡°The prophecy of the true seer h come to be.¡± ¡°I, too, saw a similar star. That day, a certain star surged high into the sky.¡± Song Kiyeol explained for Hyukjin¡¯s benefit, ¡°I think that prophecy was referring to what happened in the patisserie in Yangpyeong. That day, Miss Ham gave me a precognitive note with those words.¡± Itachi nodded. ¡°You fulfilled the prophecy.¡± ¡°I see.¡± That day in the patisserie, he hunted a casper, thus eliminating a dormant danger to Sunhwa¡¯s life. That seemed to be what Itachi meant by ¡®a certain star surged high into the sky¡¯. With the threat to her life eliminated, Sunhwa could grow undeterred. ¡°And one more thing.¡± Itachi looked straight at Hyukjin. ¡°The great red misfortune that occurred in Korea¡­ I already knew about it.¡± ¡°You must be referring to the Sangam World Cup Stadium Dungeon¡¯s break.¡± ¡°Yes. But it happened too fast.¡± Hyukjin knew that, too. Originally, the Sangam World Cup Stadium Dungeon opened on February 28, 2019. Wings and Taeguk Shield cleared it on March 28, 2019. Even after its opening, the dungeon had a one month leeway interval. Hyukjin found it strange, as well. ¡°As if someone induced it.¡± ¡°Induced? Is that possible?¡± ¡°Let me make an analogy. Think about it like a small table clock.¡± A small table clock. Itachi raised his fingers. ¡°Move the minute hand like so, like so.¡± He moved his finger counterclockwise. ¡°And on, and on.¡± The speed at which his finger moved grew faster and faster, until his finger was drawing quick circles in the air. ¡°Like turning back time by force.¡± ¡°And you¡¯re saying you had that kind of feeling.¡± ¡°I don¡¯t know if that¡¯s a natural phenomenon, or something someone artificially caused, but that¡¯s how it felt to me.¡± Ham Sohyun added, ¡°I felt something similar as well. I think some massive power descended upon that place. I had a nightmare.¡± Two seers who weren¡¯t supposed to meet were now in one place, saying the same thing. ¡®The Sangam World Cup Stadium Dungeon¡­ wasn¡¯t a simple break.¡¯ There was some external force. He needed to look into it. Ham Sohyun spoke up again. ¡°If you don¡¯t mind, may I go back to what I was going to say earlier?¡± Truthfully, that was what Song Kiyeol had been most curious about. Was Kim Hyukjin truly going to Nanba Terminal just to harass Junghye? Ham Sohyun seemed to know the answer to that question. At Hyukjin¡¯s nod, she elaborated. ¡°A great power is slumbering in Nanba Terminal.¡± ¡°¡­¡± ¡°Kim Hyukjin, you will ¡ª ¡ª ¡ª- that power.¡± Once again, Hyukjin was fascinated by Ham Sohyun¡¯s ability. This was something he had heard by Jung Sangchul after planting the assassin as a spy. There was a fleet slumbering in Nanba Terminal. In the past, this wasn¡¯t known, but there was apparently some kind of hidden piece there, and Jackson told Song Junghye about it. Hyukjin shrugged, then stared at Kiyeol. ¡°As you¡¯ve just heard, I¡¯m going to Japan in order to acquire that power.¡± To be more precise, he was going there to steal what Song Junghye was supposed to get, or to destroy it if that wasn¡¯t possible. He had no intention of letting Song Junghye grow wings. ¡®And¡ª¡¯ One more thing. ¡®I¡¯ll also find out how Jackson got ahold of such intel, and why he gave it to Song Junghye.¡¯ It almost felt like he was playing chess. The whole reason why Hyukjin was admitted to the hospital and needed to recuperate for a while was because he used the Endless Sky Crystal and Isabel unleashed too much strength. ¡®That Endless Sky Crystal was given to me by Jackson.¡¯ And why did he have to use it? ¡®There was a reason I had to use it. The Red Devils.¡¯ So why did the Red Devils break free and run rampant far ahead of schedule, so unexpectedly that even an astrologist was shocked? ¡®I would have been out for the count, and Song Junghye would have gained a new power in the meantime. With Jackson¡¯s help.¡¯ It was still too early to say where Jackson¡¯s allegiances lay. Was he an ally, or a foe? There was really no way to know. Even so, Hyukjin could hold his own in a battle of wits. ¡®There was a variable: Senia. A superior potion, to be exact.¡¯ And not just Senia. ¡®Jung Sangchul, as well.¡¯ Without him, Hyukjin wouldn¡¯t have known to go to Nanba Terminal. In two days, Song Junghye would leave for Japan. Hyukjin decided to go at the same time. ¡®Before that.¡¯ He would visit the Sangam World Cup Stadium Dungeon. He told Ham Sohyun he wanted to go with her, and they went together. * * * Translator ¨C Lei Proofreader ¨C Ash * * * A gate had formed at the northern entrance of the stadium. Through it, you could enter the Sangam World Cup Stadium Dungeon. The area around the gate was swarming with reporters, and groups of people were there to take a look. ¡®The dungeon is activated, like I thought it would be.¡¯ Hyukjin made a cursory scan of the surroundings, but he didn¡¯t find anything worth noting. He walked forward, pushing Ham Sohyun¡¯s wheelchair. ¡°It¡¯s nice to feel the outside breeze for the first time in a while.¡± ¡°I thought you went on a lot of walks with Miss Cheon Sooji.¡± ¡°Sure, but I can¡¯t go any further than the hospital grounds.¡± ¡°Why?¡± ¡°I am an important resource of Taeguk Shield. And because I¡¯m so weak physically, I¡¯m susceptible to ambushes. It¡¯s because you¡¯re here that I¡¯m able to go out. There isn¡¯t a person out there who can slip under your radar and assassinate me.¡± Hyukjin tilted his head. ¡°Someone is targeting you?¡± ¡°Guildmaster Song Kiyeol seems to think so, yes.¡± A certain face came to mind. ¡®Song Junghye.¡¯ There was no other likely suspect. Song Kiyeol already knew. He knew his little sister was capable of killing someone. It might even be that Song Kiyeol was afraid that such a thing would happen. ¡®He¡¯s weak.¡¯ Song Junghye was Song Kiyeol¡¯s big weakness. ¡®As his business partner¡­¡¯ Crushing Song Junghye seemed to be the right move after all. The area around the Sangam World Cup Stadium was a large, well-maintained park. Since the formation of the dungeon, hardly anyone was out picnicking on the grass, but the park itself was neat and tidy. For the first time in a while, Ham Sohyun felt as though she was out on an outing. The smell of the wind, the dirt, she enjoyed it all. Until¡ª ¡°Mr. Kim Hyukjin.¡± Ham Sohyun shivered. ¡°Darkness is approaching.¡± ¡°Darkness?¡± She pointed with a trembling finger at a handsome blonde man who was walking their way. It was the Great Explorer, Jackson. ¡®Jackson¡­ is the darkness?¡¯ ¡°You said I¡¯m darkness, too,¡± Hyukjin said. ¡°This is a different kind of darkness. Your darkness is dark, but not scary.¡± After saying that, the woman in the wheelchair fainted. It was as though a ¡®future¡¯ Ham Sohyun could not handle right now had approached. ¡°Oh dear, did I cause some discomfort?¡± said Jackson. ¡°Jackson. Why are you here?¡± ¡°The Sangam World Cup Stadium Dungeon broke far faster than I expected, you see.¡± Jackson had come to investigate because of the same thing? ¡°Where did you get the Endless Sky Crystal?¡± ¡°In the Sangam World Cup Stadium Dungeon.¡± ¡°It was already active at that time?¡± ¡°Yes. I activated it,¡± Jackson said with zero qualms. ¡°I am an explorer, and I can open new dungeons by satisfying various conditions.¡± ¡°And you got the Endless Sky Crystal there?¡± ¡°The break occurred at the same time. Ah, it wasn¡¯t because of the Endless Sky Crystal. Someone made this dungeon break by force.¡± Hyukjin recalled the state Jackson had been in when visiting his house. To say he looked awful was no exaggeration. It would add up if Jackson had barely escaped the Sangam World Cup Stadium Dungeon while exploring it. ¡°Break by force? Is that possible?¡± ¡°It is.¡± ¡°Then who did it?¡± Ham Sohyun¡¯s finger twitched. Very quietly, so quiet no one could hear, she mumbled, ¡°You¡­ can¡¯t.¡± Heedless of her warning, Jackson continued, ¡°I don¡¯t know his exact name or identity, either.¡± ¡°¡­¡± ¡°For now, I¡¯ve been calling him the ¡®Demon King¡¯.¡± ¡°The Demon¡­ King?¡± ¡°It¡¯s not his real name. That¡¯s just what I¡¯m calling him. Because there are traces of the Demon King all over the world.¡± Jackson looked straight into Hyukjin¡¯s eyes. ¡°I am certain that the Demon King¡¯s existence will greatly interfere with the person whose head I must anoint with oil, the king I have chosen.¡± Jackson¡¯s eyes seemed to be saying, ¡®The king I¡¯ve chosen is you¡¯. ¡°As a result, I have no choice but to chase the Demon King¡¯s footsteps. That¡¯s also the reason why I¡¯m back at the Sangam World Cup Stadium Dungeon.¡± Just then, blood fountained from Jackson¡¯s neck. The Great Explorer¡¯s head rolled to the ground. Ham Sohyun convulsed, saliva dripping from her mouth. Unconscious, she screamed, ¡°The darkness¡­ the darkness¡­ THE DARKNESS IS COMING¡­!¡± ____ Chapter 277 Chapter 277 ¡°You sure are playing around,¡± someone said. As usual, Hyukjin couldn¡¯t see the face of the man who was walking towards him. This person with the unrecognizable face, this unknown existence who might not even be a human, was the Demon King. ¡®What¡¯s fascinating¡­¡¯ ¡­was that he could feel that the decapitated Jackson was still alive. ¡®He¡¯s not dead.¡¯ This had to be the reason for the subtle sense of d¨¦j¨¤ vu and incongruity he felt whenever he saw Jackson. ¡®It¡¯s because this Jackson isn¡¯t the real Jackson.¡¯ Jackson was still alive. Jackson¡¯s severed head moved on its own, turning to stare at the Demon King. ¡°Darn, we ended up meeting after all. Demon King.¡± ¡°Demon King? Not a bad name.¡± The Demon King walked closer to Hyukjin, then ground his foot into Jackson¡¯s head. ¡°Fuck off. You¡¯re a bother.¡± Jackson¡¯s head exploded. To Hyukjin¡¯s fascination, Jackson¡¯s head disappeared like a cloud of smoke, then his body followed suit, as if scattered by the wind. And yet, the explorer¡¯s voice could still be heard. ¡°Guess I¡¯ll have to be more careful from now on, though I did think this was a trap set up by you. It¡¯s just that the bait called Kim Hyukjin was too tempting.¡± Hyukjin might not be able to follow what Jackson said, but he did grasp the situation. ¡®The Sangam World Cup Stadium Dungeon really was broken by the Demon King.¡¯ How that was done, Hyukjin didn¡¯t know. ¡®So he called Jackson and me here.¡¯ The Demon King predicted both Jackson, an explorer, and Hyukjin, an observer, would come here and left them to investigate. ¡®Why did he bother doing something so troublesome?¡¯ The answer came to Hyukjin easily. The hint was Jackson¡¯s greeting to the Demon King. ¡°Darn, we ended up meeting after all. Demon King.¡± By combining those words and the situation, he could infer everything. ¡®The Demon King was looking for Jackson, and Jackson had been avoiding him.¡¯ And so, the Demon King manipulated Jackson and Hyukjin into meeting by breaking the Sangam World Cup Stadium Dungeon, then crashed their meeting. ¡®There must be some kind of setting that makes it so he needs to jump through these troublesome hoops.¡¯ There was no way the Demon King couldn¡¯t find Jackson with his skills. There was definitely a restriction that forced him to do things this way. It was possible that restriction might even be the Demon King¡¯s weakness. ¡®One clue acquired.¡¯ The Demon King grinned. ¡°I can see exactly what you¡¯re thinking.¡± ¡°I could say the same thing.¡± The two stared at each other, both smiling. Naturally, it was the Demon King who was more relaxed. He was strong, and Hyukjin was weak. Despite his bluff, cold sweat was running down Hyukjin¡¯s back, induced by the pressure of facing an absolute powerhouse. And his heightened mental capacity was actually making that sensation stronger. It was said that you could only see as much as you knew. The increase in his mental power made him feel that overwhelming aura all the more clearly. It felt as though he were being crushed by the pressure. However, his demeanor didn¡¯t betray any of that. The Demon King glanced at the person by Hyukjin¡¯s side. ¡°Do you get off from dating a woman this feeble?¡± ¡°¡­¡± He was referring to the unconscious Ham Sohyun. Hyukjin asked, ¡°Did you make her faint?¡± ¡°Me? Why would I do that?¡± The Demon King was right. There was no need for him to lift a finger. ¡°That woman is just so weak that she fainted at the sight of me.¡± He chortled. ¡°But well, don¡¯t worry. She¡¯ll recover soon. You seem to be worried about your lover, as pathetic as she is.¡± ¡°¡­¡± The Demon King was being overly kind. ¡®He¡¯s trying something.¡¯ The Demon King was far from foolish, and kindness suited the man even less. All this talk about having a lover and dating was meaningless. Hyukjin put his hand on Ham Sohyun¡¯s shoulder, deciding to dance to the other¡¯s beat. ¡®Sorry about this.¡¯ Ham Sohyun might find his touch unwelcome, but he needed to act a little. The Demon King didn¡¯t seem to have anticipated Hyukjin¡¯s response. ¡°Huh?¡± he sputtered, looking baffled. It wasn¡¯t that Hyukjin could see the Demon King¡¯s expression with his eyes. He couldn¡¯t see it, but he could feel it. It was a strange feeling. Hyukjin had to meet cunning with cunning, seeking an opening while navigating this conversation. Every trivial thing was a battle of wits to Kim Hyukjin. ¡°Can you understand the feelings of humans?¡± ¡°Probing whether I¡¯m a human, huh.¡± The Demon King shrugged. ¡°Of course I can.¡± ¡°¡­¡± ¡°Why? Because I¡¯m human.¡± Hyukjin didn¡¯t instantly believe him. There was no way the Demon King was human. Maybe if he¡¯d regressed three hundred or so times. No, that level of strength wasn¡¯t obtainable through regression alone. ¡°I¡¯m not too pleased that my girlfriend is in this state because of you.¡± ¡°You mad, bro? You can just kill me if you are, you know?¡± ¡°I¡¯ll do that if I become strong enough one day.¡± ¡°See you in a hundred years then.¡± The Demon King snickered in amusement. Still, he was a lot milder towards Hyukjin than when they first met. ¡®That probably means¡­ I¡¯m growing as much as the Demon King wants.¡¯ Last time, Kang Sun-il made off with the ¡®Treasure of the Whalekin¡¯. By using Hyukjin. In other words, Hyukjin was useful, even to the Demon King. ¡®And as long as I¡¯m useful, he won¡¯t kill me.¡¯ Hyukjin saw the Demon King¡¯s intentions as clear as day. It was likely the Demon King specifically used words like ¡®lover¡¯ and ¡®dating¡¯ in order to aggravate Isabel. The Demon King seemed to know about her. ¡®Isabel. Don¡¯t wake up. Or if you do wake up, don¡¯t do anything.¡¯ The Demon King took the Treasure of the Whalekin from Hyukjin like taking candy from a baby. Granted, Hyukjin scored the Endless Sky Physique and a verbal promise from the whalekin there, but that didn¡¯t change the fact that he was robbed blind. He could not let the same happen to Isabel. Hyukjin had the strong feeling that Isabel should not awaken here. The Demon King smirked. ¡°I like how quick you are on the uptake.¡± ¡°You¡¯ve never been the friendly type.¡± ¡°Wanting to protect your bride is very admirable.¡± The Demon King read Hyukjin¡¯s thoughts, just as Hyukjin read the Demon King¡¯s. They both recognized the other¡¯s deception. This time, Hyukjin said, ¡°There are things you want. But you¡¯re unable to get them yourself. Isn¡¯t that why you need me?¡± ¡°I won¡¯t deny it.¡± The Demon King acknowledged it with surprising ease. He either decided it was meaningless to hide it, or felt that there was no need to. ¡°Though, that¡¯s not the only reason I¡¯m keeping you alive.¡± ¡°¡­¡± ¡°Watching you makes for an interesting show.¡± It was almost something a Guardian would say. ¡°And it¡¯s pretty cute to see you flailing to survive. Like a bug, you know?¡± ¡°I don¡¯t think you¡¯ve honored this place with your presence just to watch that bug flailing to survive.¡± ¡°Why do you think I¡¯m here?¡± ¡°To see the face of the Great Explorer.¡± ¡°Ah. Do people call him the Great Explorer?¡± Jackson would be called that in the future, but it wasn¡¯t his title now. That was why Hyukjin threw it out there, closely watching the Demon King¡¯s reaction. He wanted to know if the Demon King was a ¡®regressor¡¯. ¡®He doesn¡¯t seem to know the future.¡¯ It felt different from that. ¡®He¡¯s not a regressor.¡¯ Hyukjin ruled out that possibility. ¡®If he was a regressor, it wouldn¡¯t make sense for him to not know what Jackson looks like.¡¯ Jackson¡¯s face was incredibly famous. If the Demon King was a regressor with a lot of interest in Playing, there was no way he wouldn¡¯t know how the explorer looked. This fact massively cut down the possibility of him being a regressor. * * * Translator ¨C Lei Proofreader ¨C Ash * * * ¡°He¡¯s also called the Exploring Baptist,¡± Hyukjin supplied. ¡°Baptist. What a pretentious name.¡± ¡°A pretentious name?¡± Hyukjin didn¡¯t take the Demon King¡¯s words at face value. The person in front of him wasn¡¯t 100% an ally, only someone who was using Hyukjin when he needed something. The Demon King was only letting Hyukjin live because he was useful or interesting. That was all. ¡®He¡¯s cooperating nicely.¡¯ The Demon King continued. ¡°Anyway, he did a damn good job fleeing from me, and he¡¯ll be even more careful now.¡± ¡°Were you trying to kill Jackson today?¡± ¡°I was trying to obliterate him.¡± ¡°Why?¡± ¡°Because he¡¯s a bother.¡± Jackson possessed far, far less strength as an individual than the Demon King, yet the Demon King called him a bother. ¡®The Sangam World Cup Stadium Dungeon break¡­ can be called the Demon King¡¯s trap.¡¯ And Jackson had nimbly escaped that trap, a trap that resulted in the deaths of hundreds. There was no official count yet, but at least a thousand people had lost their lives. Because of the Demon King¡¯s trap. But just as Hyukjin was thinking about that, the Demon King said, ¡°When I got here, the Baptist had already stolen the Endless Sky Crystal. Ah, just FYI, don¡¯t pretend you don¡¯t know about it. Without the Endless Sky Crystal, there¡¯s no way you could have used Infinite Sword Rain.¡± That moment, Hyukjin felt a stabbing pain in his chest, as if a needle had shot straight into him. ¡°You¡¯re right. I was given the Endless Sky Crystal by Jackson.¡± ¡°The moment the Endless Sky Crystal disappeared, this dungeon was doomed to break.¡± Hyukjin sort of got the feeling the Demon King was implying it wasn¡¯t his fault that so many people had died. ¡°Does the Endless Sky Crystal have something to do with the dungeon¡¯s continued existence?¡± ¡°Without the Endless Sky Crystal, the dungeon itself will cease to exist.¡± ¡°Then what¡¯ll happen to the Sangam World Cup Stadium Dungeon?¡± ¡°It¡¯ll probably disappear before long.¡± That was a major change from the past. The Sangam World Cup Stadium Dungeon supplied a great quantity of white mana crystals, which in turn allowed Sungshin to dive into the mana crystal business. But now, that dungeon was gone. Hyukjin asked, ¡°Do all dungeons have an Endless Sky Crystal?¡± ¡°Come to think of it, I never gave you permission to ask me questions.¡± Hyukjin felt the needle that had penetrated him earlier rapidly expand, swelling into an agonizing spear. ¡°¡­Ngh!¡± ¡°You must¡¯ve really upped your Willpower, seeing as you¡¯re holding on.¡± The Demon King¡¯s lips opened wide. Hyukjin couldn¡¯t see his face, but he could feel those ¡®red lips¡¯ widening. ¡°You¡¯re fun to watch.¡± Hyukjin could feel it. ¡®I¡¯m completely paralyzed.¡¯ He couldn¡¯t move. He was frozen like a fly bound tightly in a spider¡¯s web. The Demon King tugged Hyukjin¡¯s chin from one angle to another, scrutinizing him with an appraising eye. Hyukjin felt a sense of wrongness, like something¡ªthe Demon King¡¯s aura?¡ªwas entering his body. ¡°Very good.¡± Hyukjin¡¯s body crumpled to the ground with a thud. ¡°Next, try looking for the [Hall of Champions].¡± He heard it loud and clear. Hall of Champions. Just like with the Endless Sky, the Demon King left another hint as a parting gift before vanishing. ¡®It¡­ will be different from the Endless Sky.¡¯ Hyukjin sprang to his feet. Once the Demon King left, he felt refreshed. His mind actually felt clearer than before, and there were no traces of that terrible, piercing pain in his chest. ¡®Huh?¡¯ He observed his body with Observer¡¯s Eye. ¡®All the tiny cracks in my 2nd heart are gone.¡¯ He had no idea what the Demon King had just done. It felt like some formless energy had been piercing his chest, but his 2nd heart was restored to full health. From the looks of it, he had just received some sort of ¡®treatment¡¯ even better than a superior potion. The Demon King had helped him, boosting his body into top condition. Hyukjin grinned. ¡®Hall of Champions?¡¯ The Endless Sky was a place he¡¯d never even heard of. As a result, he went in there blind and had the Treasure of the Whalekin swiped right out of his hands. ¡®This time, the cards are stacked in my favor.¡¯ He had already confirmed that the Demon King was not a regressor. He was, at the very least, in a much more advantageous place than he was in the Endless Sky. This time, he had advance intel. Hopefully, that would let him reap a greater profit from this battle of wits than last time. The Demon King was already gone. Hyukjin had a foggy recollection of his voice. ¡°Oh, before I forget. Don¡¯t trust the Baptist too much.¡± Hyukjin¡¯s phone beeped. It was a message from Jackson. ¨CDon¡¯t trust the Demon King too much. The Demon King warned Hyukjin not to trust Jackson, and Jackson warned him not to trust the Demon King. The two of them were saying two completely different things, with Hyukjin wedged in the middle. ¨CAlright. But were you being chased by the Demon King, Jackson? ¨CYes. Because the Demon King exists in order to kill the Baptist. ¨CAnd the Baptist needs to run from the Demon King? ¨CNo. The Baptist needs to install the king and take down the Demon King. It¡¯s a common clich¨¦, isn¡¯t it? The story of a warrior defeating the Demon King. After that, Hyukjin¡¯s battery ran out, and his screen went dark. He slipped his phone into his pocket. As he did so, the woman who had very briefly been his girlfriend came to. ¡°Are you alright? If you remember what happened just now, I apologize.¡± He pretended she was his girlfriend, even though she wasn¡¯t. He had even slightly touched her, hoping to knock the Demon King off-kilter. ¡°I do remember everything. But it¡¯s okay, I¡¯ll take it as a part of your verbal warfare.¡± Ham Sohyun went quiet, falling deep into thought. Hyukjin watched her contemplate without interrupting. A long time passed. This time, it was Ham Sohyun who gave him advice. ¡°Don¡¯t trust the darkness.¡± ¡°What do you mean by darkness?¡± When Ham Sohyun said darkness, there was Jackson, and there was the Demon King. Which of them was the darkness she was referring to? ¡°The darkness I speak of is Nightmare.¡± At the same time, Hyukjin¡¯s phone loudly went off. His phone¡­ that had no power. ____ Chapter 278 Chapter 278 ¡°The darkness I speak of is Nightmare.¡± Nightmare. That was the massive organization that also went by the name ¡®Demon King Army¡¯. Before Hyukjin regressed, Seo Joohwan, the person whose death Hyukjin caused, was a lieutenant in the Demon King Army. So was Lau Ding Xue, the Trap Mage who recently got thrashed by Hyukjin. ¡®I never thought Ham Sohyun would mention Nightmare.¡¯ Was this really a combination of coincidences? ¡®She saw the Demon King, and then she mentioned Nightmare.¡¯ He didn¡¯t think this was truly a coincidence. It was also too specific. Ham Sohyun was a Precognitive Dreamer. She had the power to see the future, but not many other particular strengths, something she even said outright to Itachi. ¡°I have no abilities other than Precognitive Dream.¡± How should he put this? Something felt¡­ unnatural. ¡®A phone that rings even though it¡¯s out of power.¡¯ It was indeed unnatural, something outside of physical laws. Something that was possible only by someone¡¯s unnatural tinkering. Hyukjin also recalled what Jackson said. ¡°As a result, I have no choice but to chase the Demon King¡¯s footsteps. That¡¯s also the reason why I¡¯m back at the Sangam World Cup Stadium Dungeon.¡± Chase the Demon King¡¯s footsteps. Earlier, Jackson spoke like he was looking for the Demon King. But the truth was different. Jackson was actually running away from the Demon King, and the Demon King was the one looking for him. ¡°That¡¯s enough joking around,¡± Hyukjin said. When he was met with no response, Hyukjin drew forth his will. From his lips emerged the incantation he had gained in the Yellow Charm Gate, the incantation to shatter fabricated authorities and illusions. [May all lies.] [Be shattered.] Hyukjin saw Ham Sohyun slumped in her chair, exactly as she had appeared after yelling, ¡°The darkness is coming!¡± She was still unconscious, and looked as though she had never regained consciousness. Clap! Clap! Clap! ¡°You really are amazing.¡± ¡°Jackson. I see you can use some strange sorcery.¡± ¡°Don¡¯t misunderstand me. I merely wanted to check your qualifications to be a king. I¡¯m surprised you can already use an incantation of that level so freely.¡± Even ten years later, the public was unaware that incantations existed. They knew Rankers often murmured some words, but they didn¡¯t know those were called incantations. That was a secret privy to only a select few Rankers. But at this point in time, while the vast majority of Players were still in the beginner period, Jackson was talking about incantations. ¡°I¡¯m more surprised you know about incantations.¡± ¡°In any case, I have no intention of opposing you.¡± As Jackson made idle remarks with a smile, Hyukjin fell into deep thought. ¡®The Demon King knows Jackson¡¯s alive.¡¯ If the two were to be categorized by class, the Demon King was in a far higher class than Jackson. Kang Sun-il should know that he hadn¡¯t been able to fully kill Jackson. ¡®Why isn¡¯t the Demon King coming back?¡¯ Jackson had reappeared, yet the Demon King was nowhere to be seen after his departure. Hyukjin didn¡¯t think he would reach the answer on his own, so he asked directly. ¡°Why isn¡¯t the Demon King showing up again?¡± ¡°Because I¡¯ve already seen him in this place.¡± ¡°What does that have to do with him not being here?¡± ¡°That¡¯s the Baptist¡¯s special perk. The Demon King loses all authority in places where I¡¯ve encountered him. If I survive the encounter, that is. So the Demon King won¡¯t show up here anymore.¡± ¡°Is that so?¡± Then that would mean that the Demon King would always try to kill Jackson on whatever spot they met. ¡®What an interesting relationship.¡¯ The Demon King had the overwhelming advantage in absolute strength, but if he was unable to kill Jackson in one go, he would be rendered powerless in the place they met. ¡°Jackson. Are you human? Or rather, are you a Player?¡± ¡°Of course. I¡¯m both human and a Player. Would you like to see my ID?¡± Hyukjin shook his head. An ID could be easily forged; it was meaningless. ¡®The Demon King claimed he was human as well.¡¯ But Hyukjin didn¡¯t think the Demon King was. And now, he suspected the same of Jackson. ¡®Jackson¡¯s not human.¡¯ He decided to move forward under the assumption that Jackson wasn¡¯t human. He also couldn¡¯t be called a simple Player. Hyukjin came to the conclusion that it would be better to assume he was some other kind of entity. ¡°Did you distort this place and make me use an incantation just so you could assess my qualifications?¡± ¡°That¡¯s part of it.¡± Jackson shrugged. ¡°It¡¯s also to safely remove the Red Devils still left in the dungeon.¡± Isabel hunted approximately 700 Red Devils in one fell swoop. There were originally supposed to be 2,002 of them in the Sangam World Cup Stadium Dungeon. Simple math said there should be around 1,300 of them left. ¡°I drew from the dungeon¡¯s power in order to distort your world, you see.¡± ¡°So something like that is possible.¡± ¡°Because it¡¯s a dungeon without its Endless Sky Crystal.¡± ¡°¡­¡± This was a new revelation. Hyukjin thought he knew at least everything from the beginner period, but that was merely the colossal misunderstanding of a civil service student. Incantations. The Demon King. The Great Explorer. The Endless Sky Crystal. And so on, and so forth. Everything was new to him. ¡°Anyway, because I¡¯ve siphoned off the dungeon¡¯s power, it¡¯ll head towards its end at an accelerated pace. Within a few minutes, the Sangam World Cup Stadium Dungeon will completely cease to be.¡± When that happened, the Red Devils inside it would also be wiped out. ¡°What a meaningful experience today has been. I met the Demon King and also confirmed your king qualifications.¡± ¡°You seem to still be thinking of me as a king candidate.¡± ¡°Yes. I¡¯ve determined you are the ¡®Eastern Star¡¯.¡± Hyukjin asked one more thing. ¡°Why is it that you¡¯re helping Song Junghye?¡± ¡°Because she, too, is a king candidate.¡± ¡°A king candidate?¡± ¡°Of course, she falls very short in comparison to you. No, there¡¯s no comparison to be made to begin with. Song Junghye doesn¡¯t even reach your feet.¡± ¡°¡­¡± ¡°That being said¡­¡± Jackson smiled wide. ¡°There aren¡¯t only good kings in this world.¡± * * * Translator ¨C Lei Proofreader ¨C Ash * * * When Kim Hyukjin erected the Guardian Tower, he thought the Guardian Tower¡¯s true value would be revealed with the Gwanghwamun Dungeon¡¯s break. But contrary to his expectations, the Fire Giant scenario occurred, and the Guardian Tower¡¯s value remained unknown. A deluge of articles poured out. ¨CThe Guardian Tower¡¯s True Worth ¨CDMC Riverview Xi¡ªPrices Skyrocket! In addition, rumors spread that famous Players were based in the DMC Riverview Xi, triggering a massive spike in the prices of homes in the DMC Riverview Xi. CEO Song Kiyoung laughed. ¡°The claims you strongly pushed are finally seeing the light.¡± ¡°I was lucky.¡± Song Kiyeol was inwardly happy, too. He had taken an active role in convincing a portion of the residents who were clamoring about Sungshin taking responsibility if their house prices dropped and had compensation arranged for them. The compensation he offered was $200,000-300,000 more than the general market price, and some of the residents were tempted by the sum and accepted. Thinking this was his chance, Song Kiyeol said, ¡°The house prices skyrocketing itself isn¡¯t really something to be happy about.¡± ¡°That so?¡± ¡°Yes. Because money isn¡¯t everything.¡± A $1 million condo jumped to $2 million in worth over a single night, and this astronomical climb would probably continue. The DMC Riverview Xi had become the ¡°safest apartment complex¡± in Seoul. The wealthiest people would flow in. But money wasn¡¯t that important. ¡°We¡¯ve created an image of foreseeing the future and preparing in advance.¡± ¡°That¡¯s right. You gave people more than enough warning, and did your part in trying to convince them about the Guardian Tower.¡± Despite that, the 2,000-odd people who had been blinded by the profit before their eyes were most likely drowning in regret right now. ¡°That reminds me of what you said.¡± Before, Song Kiyeol said to his grandfather, ¡°The idea is to have a ready force that can quickly react to emergency crises. As you saw with the Fire Giants¡­ Even stronger monsters will appear in the future. We need people who can create parties on the spot and go out to hunt. If we can gather outstanding Players in one place, we will be able to react far more strategically in a crisis.¡± As he listened, CEO Song thought for the first time that Kiyeol might be a better successor than Junghye. He also thought that Kiyeol changed a lot after meeting Kim Hyukjin. But to his surprise, what Kiyeol said back then became a reality, and in only three months time. ¡°I¡¯m proud of you.¡± Song Kiyeol¡¯s heart soared. He never thought he¡¯d ever hear such words of praise from his grandfather. Kiyeol had grown frustrated from never being able to break free from his deceased father¡¯s shadow, but now, he was even getting compliments. ¡®Let¡¯s not get arrogant.¡¯ Kiyeol considered his modesty one of his strengths. He didn¡¯t forget that the achievements of today didn¡¯t stem from his keen judgment, but that of Kim Hyukjin¡¯s. It was because of Kim Hyukjin that such things were possible. ¡°Was it really you guys who took care of the Red Devils?¡± ¡°Publically, yes.¡± ¡°Does that mean the truth is different?¡± ¡°We were also unable to figure out how it was done. However, we see this as an act done by Guildmaster Kim Hyukjin.¡± ¡°I see.¡± CEO Song took a sip of hot tea. ¡°Approximately 700 Red Devils were hunted simultaneously, correct?¡± ¡°Yes.¡± ¡°Are there any Players out there capable of such a feat?¡± ¡°No.¡± ¡°Are you certain?¡± ¡°Yes. I¡¯m certain of it. I have ties to Michelle¡¯s forces, as well as Players in Italy and Germany. I¡¯m also in contact with the strongest Rankers of Southeast Asia due to our mana crystal operation in Boracay.¡± He continued, choosing his words carefully. ¡°I am confident that Korean Rankers are far more skilled than Rankers overseas. At least in PVP, raiding, and dungeon clearing.¡± ¡°Isn¡¯t that everything?¡± ¡°No. There are also Players who excel in item production, and Players who excel in enhancement. There are also people with an exceptional ability to see the future, and servers that stand out in buffing and healing.¡± ¡°But in any case, at least when it comes to defeating monsters, Taeguk Shield doesn¡¯t lose to any Rankers out there?¡± ¡°I¡¯m embarrassed to say so, but yes.¡± Song Kiyoung laughed cheerfully in response. ¡°So what you¡¯re saying is monsters the whole of Taeguk Shield could do nothing about¡­ were killed single-handedly by Kim Hyukjin?¡± ¡°¡­Yes.¡± ¡°Hahaha.¡± CEO Song nodded. ¡°You¡¯re doing an excellent job choosing between friend and foe.¡± ¡°Thank you.¡± ¡°Go on out. Oh, right. I¡¯ll entrust the hangover cure business to you.¡± ¡°I will do my best.¡± Meanwhile, there were rumors that some of the people who had actively protested¡ªalmost threatening the company to cough up compensation¡ªand ultimately left after taking the offered money, committed suicide. Some of them came back to Sungshin, saying they would sue to get their houses back. But when that was publicized, those people were struck with the full force of public sentiment. ¨CYou were happily selling your houses not too long ago, but now you want them to give your houses back? Thomas had never seen such bullshit. ¨CIf you think about it, Sungshin¡¯s really a class act. ¨CThey didn¡¯t even care to listen when Sungshin was trying so hard to convince them. ¨CLooking at them, can¡¯t you say Sungshin is really a saint? ¨CActually, they say it wasn¡¯t Sungshin, but Taeguk Shield¡¯s Guildmaster Song Kiyeol who led the effort. Public sentiment tipped strongly in favor of Taeguk Shield and Sungshin. They were able to build up their image, just as Song Kiyeol had intended. When the two guildmasters met, Hyukjin said, ¡°Taeguk Shield has come out on top as the strongest guild in Korea, no, in the world. In both name and reality.¡± ¡°¡­Are you teasing me?¡± Song Kiyeol said, thinking Hyukjin was displeased. ¡°Have we messed up somewhere?¡± ¡°No, you haven¡¯t.¡± ¡°You appear to be in a bad mood.¡± The guildmaster of the guild that had firmly claimed the position of Korea¡¯s strongest guild was excessively conscious of Kim Hyukjin¡¯s opinion. ¡°Not really.¡± ¡°I¡¯m glad to hear that.¡± ¡°Ah. I have an appointment to attend, so I¡¯ll excuse myself now.¡± Kim Hyukjin got up. However, he really did seem displeased. ¡®I can read Kim Hyukjin¡¯s expression?¡¯ It was almost fascinating. Even a monster like Kim Hyukjin had feelings? Too curious to resist, Kiyeol asked, ¡°What kind of appointment? You don¡¯t seem to be very happy about it.¡± There was nothing to lose from learning about things that displeased Kim Hyukjin. Getting rid of those factors if possible would be a big help to himself as well, since it would be an opportunity to make himself look good in Kim Hyukjin¡¯s eyes. ¡°Ah.¡± Hyukjin¡¯s lips curled into a frown. ¡°I have a meeting with Michael.¡± * * * Hyukjin was meeting Michael at a restaurant near Sangam, on account of his VIP status¡ªor rather, his status as Ahyoung¡¯s little brother. ¡®Michael was always planning on opening a restaurant in Korea, you say?¡¯ That was definitely, undeniably hogwash. Some interrogation was in order. Hyukjin entered a certain building, an ordinary Korean restaurant. ¡°I have a reservation under Kim Ahyoung.¡± Come to think of it, his sister was the one who made the reservation. Even the fact that the reservation was under Ahyoung¡¯s name and not Michael¡¯s displeased Hyukjin. ¡°You have room 6. Please follow me.¡± The door to room 6 opened. Michael and his sister were already seated. Hyukjin¡¯s eyes fixed themselves on Michael, the biological younger sibling of the Gold Pyramid Michelle. The top-of-the-rank chef Hyukjin suspected had designs on Ahyoung. ¡®Hrm?¡¯ But Hyukjin discovered something strange about the American chef. Yellow light was glowing above his head. ____ Chapter 279 Chapter 279 Michael, Michelle¡¯s biological younger brother, was a chef who would awaken as a cooking-class Player and become famous worldwide. His craft with previously existing ingredients was a given, but he would also grow into a Player who could skillfully create various dishes and incredible buff potions utilizing the many new ingredients that were introduced during the Player era. ¡®I get that he¡¯s a Player¡­¡¯ There was nothing strange about that. ¡®¡­but what¡¯s with that light?¡¯ A yellow light was glowing above his head. ¡®Is it clickable?¡¯ Upon trying, Hyukjin found that it was. [Yellow Light] Possesses a clue to obtaining ¡®M?rchen¡¯s Breastplate¡¯. ¡®Huh?¡¯ M?rchen¡¯s Breastplate was the legendary item that Michelle had worn in his previous life. It was extremely rare growth-type equipment, and when it was first acquired, it was already legendary grade. ¡®She was still wearing M?rchen¡¯s Breastplate in the expert period.¡¯ Thinking back, M?rchen¡¯s Breastplate may have even grown into transcendent grade. ¡®That¡¯s the artifact that saved Michelle¡¯s life multiple times.¡¯ And Michael had the clue leading to it. ¡®Why can I see this?¡¯ Hyukjin quickly landed upon the answer. After springing straight to level 44, his Eye of Perception had become a little stronger. ¡®Am I able to see when Players have some kind of clue as a yellow light?¡¯ Now that he looked at it, that yellow light felt very similar to the yellow energy emanated by the Yellow Charm. ¡°¡­there?¡± Ahyoung¡¯s voice interrupted his thoughts. He snapped back to attention. ¡°Why are you just standing there?¡± ¡°Ah, sorry,¡± Hyukjin said, before exchanging a simple greeting with Michael. Looking a little uncomfortable, Ahyoung asked, ¡°Why do you have to meet Michael?¡± ¡°Because I¡¯m a VIP, and because I connected the two of you, of course.¡± With his poor grasp of Korean, Michael could only sit and listen to the two talk. Unable to follow what they were saying, he just sat there with a big smile. ¡®What are they talking about?¡¯ He couldn¡¯t read anything from their expressions. ¡®That young man is a VIP?¡¯ The VIPs of his sister Michelle were usually at least in their 50s. He came here today knowing Kim Hyukjin was Ahyoung¡¯s ¡®little brother¡¯, but he was surprised when he saw the man¡¯s youth in the flesh. ¡®How is this young man a VIP of Michelle?¡¯ His sister had never once made even the smallest request of him. In all his years of life, this was probably the first time she asked him for a favor. And she did it because of this man, no, this youth? A man in his early 20s who had just lost the baby fat on his cheeks? ¡®Just who in the world is he?¡¯ He wasn¡¯t the boss of a corporation, nor the guildmaster of Taeguk Shield, the guild that was said to lead Korea¡¯s front line. He couldn¡¯t even be called a member of said guild. Michael didn¡¯t get his identity whatsoever. ¡°Noona. Does this guy say he knows anything about Korea?¡± asked Hyukjin. ¡°He said he¡¯s planning on informing himself from now on.¡± ¡°He¡¯s going to open a restaurant in Korea, but he¡¯s only collecting information now?¡± ¡°That¡¯s because he¡¯s confident in his skills.¡± ¡°Normally, wouldn¡¯t you have told me to shut up and eat?¡± Hyukjin¡¯s eyes narrowed into slits. His sister¡¯s attitude was very suspicious. He got the feeling she had taken a liking to Michael. ¡°I introduced you to a teacher, not a man.¡± ¡°¡­What does that have to do with you?¡± ¡°Anyway.¡± He wasn¡¯t going to oppose her dating someone and knew he had no right to interfere, but he still needed to find out more about Michael. She was the family he had regained in a truly miraculous stroke of luck. Hyukjin suddenly remembered something and exclaimed out loud, ¡°Right, I had this.¡± He took out a Translation Marble and handed it to Michael, whose expression brightened. With a short laugh, Hyukjin apologized. ¡°Sorry, I forgot I had this.¡± ¡°It¡¯s fine, it happens.¡± Michael laughed as well. But inwardly, he felt a little unsettled. ¡®He forgot he had a Translation Marble?¡¯ Judging by his expression and attitude, that seemed to be true. ¡®But a Translation Marble¡¯s an extremely precious artifact.¡¯ This item could only be used by the ultra-rich or Players who were getting a lot of sponsorships from Guardians. There weren¡¯t many of them in the world, so they were either used for important national business or for communication between major corporations. Hyukjin was desensitized to its value because he saw it so often in his vicinity, but in actuality, Translation Marbles were rarely used. ¡®For him to forget he had one must mean an item of that level is nothing to him.¡¯ A VIP of Michelle. There was no doubt¡ªthis person possessed an unimaginable ability of some kind. A knock sounded at the door. The appetizers arrived and were placed on the table. ¡°Today, we have prepared seasonal greens and jelly made from crystallized apples for you. In addition, we have whole fried seaweed crisps.¡± The meal began. After some time, Hyukjin asked, ¡°Since when did you decide to open a restaurant in Korea?¡± ¡°About that¡­¡± Hyukjin could instantly tell. ¡®He¡¯s not accustomed to lying.¡¯ It showed. Michael had never intended on opening a restaurant here. He was doing so because he liked Ahyoung. Even his summary was an eyesore. Summary: Chef who Fell in Love at First Sight In his previous life, Michael said he fell in love with his wife ¡®at first sight¡¯. But now, the target of his affections was Hyukjin¡¯s older sister. ¡®The problem is that Noona let it slide even though it¡¯s so obvious he¡¯s a terrible liar.¡¯ Ahyoung wasn¡¯t blind. So if she let his blatant lies slide without objection¡­ that meant she liked him, too. Hyukjin just wasn¡¯t sure yet whether she liked him as a chef or as a man. Summary: Aspiring Chef Feeling Awkward After checking Ahyoung¡¯s summary, Hyukjin threw a fast ball. ¡°Let me be frank. I don¡¯t believe you¡¯ve always wanted to set up a restaurant here, Michael.¡± ¡°¡­¡± ¡°As you may have expected, I¡¯m establishing an information network of my own. I was unable to find any indication of you debuting a restaurant anywhere overseas, and certainly not in Korea.¡± Surprisingly, Michael admitted his lie. ¡°I wasn¡¯t trying to deceive you.¡± ¡°Whoever you date or fall in love with, I have no intention of getting involved.¡± Sitting next to him, Kim Ahyoung pinched Hyukjin hard in the side and kicked him under the table. Of course, it was merely a tickle for the level 44 Kim Hyukjin. ¡°What nonsense are you saying?¡± ¡°Noona. I¡¯m talking to Michael right now as a VIP. This is business.¡± If Senia had been listening, she might have exclaimed aloud and possibly even retorted, ¡°This is a business talk? Are you sure? What kind of business talk is this chock full of personal feelings?¡± Thankfully, Senia wasn¡¯t here. Hyukjin continued. ¡°But if you are unable to separate private matters from business and hurt my sister, you can expect something outside of your ability to deal with to occur.¡± ¡°Cut the nonsense,¡± Ahyoung hissed. Hyukjin relented, knowing she would truly get mad if he went any further. He defused the tension with a laugh. ¡°I¡¯m joking. In any case, I¡¯ll help you get established in Korea. If there¡¯s anything you need, please, just ask.¡± Michael was sure of it. That threat was no joke. It was 100% sincere. He gulped nervously. But he also knew that Kim Hyukjin¡¯s offer to help was sincere. Michael laughed as well. ¡°I will contact you if there¡¯s anything I need.¡± He meant it. He had a dim idea of Kim Hyukjin¡¯s capabilities, but no more than that. ¡°Do your best to find a good opportunity.¡± Hyukjin ate a piece of the main dish, beef short ribs. It was tender and sweet. ¡®He seems¡­ more decent than I thought.¡¯ His first impression of the guy wasn¡¯t all too shabby. * * * Translator ¨C Lei Proofreader ¨C Ash * * * A day later, Hyukjin met Michael again, this time without Ahyoung. He then asked about M?rchen¡¯s Breastplate. ¡°You really are establishing an independent info network,¡± Michael said admiringly. ¡°When I made my first advancement into the cooking class, the NPC who bestowed the class on me gave me this ring. He told me that if you go to the [Mandarin Oriental Hotel] in Singapore with this ring, a gate will open.¡± ¡°He gave you that many specifics? The NPC?¡± ¡°Yes, he did. It¡¯s just that I¡¯m a cooking class Player and don¡¯t have much need for a breastplate, so I¡¯ve been putting it off.¡± He would keep putting it off, then eventually give the M?rchen¡¯s Breastplate to his older sister Michelle. ¡°Would you be willing to sell that ring?¡± ¡°Hm.¡± Michael thought for a moment. ¡°I was originally going to give it to my sister Michelle, but¡­¡± That was what would have normally happened. ¡°I¡¯ll just give it to you.¡± ¡°What?¡± ¡°It¡¯s not something I need anyway, and I have the feeling that you¡¯re a much bigger giant than I expected.¡± ¡°Is this like a bribe you¡¯re giving because you think I¡¯m a giant?¡± ¡°Well, I can¡¯t deny that¡¯s part of it.¡± Michael shrugged. ¡°But to be honest, you being Ahyoung¡¯s younger brother is a bigger part. As you have noticed, I fell in love with Ahyoung at first sight.¡± ¡°¡­Ah.¡± They weren¡¯t very pleasant words to hear, but he wasn¡¯t going to interfere with his sister¡¯s dating life, so he just decided to accept it. ¡°So please take this bribe with sincere feelings from me.¡± And so, a ring found its way into Hyukjin¡¯s hands by a truly baffling means. The ring¡¯s name was ¡®Mandarin Oriental Ring¡¯. [Mandarin Oriental Ring] Rubbing this ring three times in the lobby of the Mandarin Oriental Hotel in Singapore will activate the Mandarin Oriental Hotel Gate. The right to enter the gate can be granted at will by the owner of the Mandarin Oriental Ring. By clearing the gate, one can obtain M?rchen¡¯s Breastplate. It was an overly specific and helpful explanation. ¡®An NPC gave him something like this?¡¯ It wasn¡¯t completely out of the question. ¡®Like how Noah in the U-Plex Dungeon had a transcendent item.¡¯ And that transcendent item was an incredibly powerful artifact named Isabel. So it wasn¡¯t strange that Michael had gotten this ring from an NPC. Hyukjin¡¯s second meeting with Michael ended on a good note once more. They shared a casual cup of coffee before parting ways. ¡®He does seem to be a good guy,¡¯ mused Hyukjin, feeling a bit happier. He immediately convened the members of Giantgod, who promptly gathered in their office in the DMC. Yeonseo was already amped up. ¡°Oh man, I¡¯m so excited. We get to clear an unknown gate with Boss again?¡± The way she gently stroked her Demonblade Asura while speaking made her seem like a sword fanatic, but she was hardly alone in her excitement. Everyone here enjoyed the act of Playing itself. Not only did they all have a truly remarkable gift for it, but they were also well-versed in the process. To add onto that, Playing with Kim Hyukjin, an outstanding leader, was an enjoyable experience in itself. Even Choi Sung-gu looked enthusiastic, for once. ¡°No matter how dangerous it is, it¡¯s still a hundred times better to go in with Boss Hyukjin than to go in with morons.¡± ¡°It¡¯s likely I¡¯ll end up monopolizing the reward,¡± warned Hyukjin. ¡°Like I said before, the reward I¡¯m trying to get is called M?rchen¡¯s Breastplate.¡± ¡°Hyungnim. That kind of thing isn¡¯t important, not one iota. I¡¯m more than happy to be your doormat and support you!¡± All of Giantgod felt the same. ¡°Just getting to Play with Oppa is fun and enjoyable for me, too!¡± chirped Sunhwa, beaming from ear to ear. Jo Sunghyun voiced his agreement, and Giantgod¡¯s business trip to Singapore was decided unanimously. The full roster of Korea¡¯s unofficial #1 guild, Giantgod, headed to Singapore. When they got there, Hyukjin was greeted by an unexpected person waiting at the Warp Gate in the Singapore server¡¯s Tutorial Building. ¡°I¡¯ve been waiting for you.¡± It was the Korean explorer, Kang Somyi. ____ Chapter 280 Chapter 280 ¡°I¡¯ve been waiting for you.¡± This was no coincidence. Kang Somyi seemed to have been waiting here, knowing that Giantgod would come. ¡°You¡¯ve been waiting for us?¡± ¡°Yes. It seemed like you were going to come here.¡± ¡°How did you know?¡± Had she tailed him? He didn¡¯t think so. If she had, there was no way Hyukjin wouldn¡¯t have known. Kang Somyi might be an excellent explorer, but the level 44 Hyukjin¡¯s Eye of Perception would have never failed to detect her. ¡°Either here, or Japan. I thought you would go to one or the other.¡± ¡°Were you really the one who thought that?¡± Of course she wasn¡¯t. Kang Somyi wasn¡¯t that well-informed. ¡°I heard it from Teacher.¡± ¡°I see.¡± Jackson was behind this. He wouldn¡¯t have known whether Hyukjin would go to the Nanba Terminal Dungeon in Japan or somewhere else, but he would have known that Hyukjin met Michael. There was a high chance Jackson approached Michael to glean information¡ªinformation about Giantgod Guild going to Singapore¡ªfrom the chef. There was nothing hard about it. It wasn¡¯t like Hyukjin had asked Michael to keep it a secret. ¡°But what do you mean by Nanba Terminal?¡± ¡°Mm. You don¡¯t know?¡± Somyi grinned. ¡°Just as we thought. Heheh.¡± ¡°Thought what?¡± ¡°Teacher said that if you had a spy planted in Blood and Iron Lion, you would have gone to Nanba Terminal.¡± ¡°A spy?¡± Hyukjin echoed, as if he¡¯d never considered the possibility. ¡°I know, right? As if there¡¯d be a spy in Blood and Iron Lion.¡± ¡°You seem to be on very good terms with Blood and Iron Lion.¡± ¡°Ah. I¡¯ve recently joined the guild. I, too, am an explorer who belongs to a major guild.¡± She giggled with an unaffected smile, looking not at all unlikable. In fact, she gave off the impression of being somewhat dopey, a sharp contrast from what he had seen of her through the media in the past. ¡®I think I heard her personality changed a lot after she lost her face from severe burns.¡¯ He guessed this was Kang Somyi¡¯s original personality. ¡®The Kang Somyi I know acted alone.¡¯ Without a guild behind her. ¡®Trying to probe me using her, huh?¡¯ It seemed he would have to be more careful when meeting Jung Sangchul or receiving information. After all, he hadn¡¯t yet decided whether Jackson was an ally or a foe. ¡°Anywho, I¡¯ve decided to help you in Singapore.¡± ¡°Why?¡± ¡°Because I still owe you a bit for last time, of course.¡± She was referring to what happened on the second floor of the D-Tower. ¡°I¡¯d say you¡¯ve repaid that debt.¡± ¡°And well, you¡¯re also handsome. I like handsome men.¡± She broke out in another unostentatious giggle, so naive he couldn¡¯t detect any ulterior motive from her. Sunhwa and Yeonseo, who had been listening quietly up until now, stepped forward in unison. ¡°Boss. This explorer. She¡¯s suspicious.¡± ¡°Oppa. I think this unnie is sus.¡± If they really thought that, wouldn¡¯t they have said something sooner? Why were they making a fuss now? Hyukjin ignored them with a wave of his hand. ¡°So in any case, that means Blood and Iron Lion has gone to Nanba Terminal Dungeon, yes?¡± ¡°Yes. They should have left today.¡± ¡°Got it.¡± Since Jackson had shown him some ¡°consideration¡±, Hyukjin would act in kind. He was someone who locked antlers with the Demon King and the Guardians. Of course he wouldn¡¯t shy away from confronting Blood and Iron Lion. Kang Somyi¡¯s teeth sparkled in another bright laugh. ¡°I¡¯ll do my darndest to help. I¡¯m a pretty skilled explorer, you know. Giantgod doesn¡¯t have an explorer, right?¡± ¡°Alright.¡± This might be some sort of trap set up by Jackson, but Hyukjin decided to undertake that risk. ¡®No. This probably isn¡¯t a trap.¡¯ Jackson couldn¡¯t easily be categorized as an ally or a foe. If both Song Junghye and he were king candidates, Hyukjin figured Jackson would assist them both. ¡®She¡¯ll help me get [M?rchen¡¯s Breastplate] in Singapore for sure, but¡­¡¯ Hyukjin smiled. ¡®She¡¯ll make the process take as long as possible.¡¯ He was certain she would guide them to the safe but slow path. ¡®That way, Blood and Iron Lion will be able to snag Nanba Terminal¡¯s hidden piece.¡¯ He saw exactly what Jackson was going for. Unfortunately for Jackson, Hyukjin had zero intention of letting everything go as Jackson planned. He permitted Kang Somyi to join them in clearing this gate. ¡°Oh, right. Ham Sohyun asked me to relay this to you.¡± She even came bearing a precognitive note from Ham Sohyun. Apparently, the seer had seen a concrete future and had called for Kang Somyi by name, asking the explorer to deliver this. ¨CPlaywright and robber meet, a starry world unfolds. ¨CShe who escaped the fate of scorching heat shall kneel. ¨CAt the end of a one-sided exchange, the singular sun shall rise. It was then that Hyukjin happened to meet eyes with a certain Singaporean Player. He looked away naturally, pretending not to know them. ¡°Well then, let¡¯s proceed to the Mandarin Oriental Hotel. We¡¯ll explore the place for about a day.¡± * * * Translator ¨C Lei Proofreader ¨C Ash * * * Six hours ago, Kim Hyukjin called Michelle. She picked up before the phone could ring three times. ¨CI¡¯ve actually been waiting to hear from you. ¨CFrom me? ¨CDid things go well with my little brother? ¨CYes. He seems like a good person. The guy having eyes for his sister Ahyoung was an issue, but if Michael was really a good person, Hyukjin wasn¡¯t opposed to treating him well. The American chef might become a part of his family, after all. ¨CI¡¯m relieved to hear that. Michael¡¯s never done anything like this before¡­ Michelle let out a big sigh. ¨CHe suddenly told me he fell in love with Ahyoung and declared he¡¯d be settling down in Korea. It gave me such a headache. ¨CMichael said that much? He was trying to see Michael in a good light, but the man had a knack for rubbing Hyukjin the wrong way. ¨CYes. I thought he was gay. He didn¡¯t seem to have any interest whatsoever in women. Before Hyukjin regressed, Michael fell in love at first sight with some random woman, successfully married her, and loved her with all his heart¡­ or so people said. Hyukjin gave a short laugh. ¨CYou may already know, but I place a great deal of value on family. ¨CWell, she¡¯s your sister after all. ¨CFamily¡¯s especially important to me. He had lost them once, and he didn¡¯t want to lose them again. Neither his mom, nor his older sister, nor the new sister he had gained. ¨CI understand. Cold sweat ran down Michelle¡¯s back. The person named ¡®Kim Ahyoung¡¯ catapulted to wild card status in Michelle¡¯s mind. She could very well become a major variable in Michelle¡¯s relationship with Kim Hyukjin. ¡®I need to pray that Michael doesn¡¯t mess up.¡¯ Thomas, Michelle¡¯s deputy and her close friend, watched with amusement as Michelle talked on the phone. ¡®Never thought I¡¯d see Michelle¡¯s expression change so frequently like this.¡¯ They had known each other as kids, but this side of her was a first for him. ¡®She only gets this flustered around Kim Hyukjin.¡¯ Thomas had never in his life imagined that the great and mighty Michelle would ever look so frazzled. He was both impressed and amazed by this guy named Kim Hyukjin. When Michelle lowered her phone, Thomas piped up as if he¡¯d been waiting for her to finish. ¡°Michelle. What did he say?¡± ¡°He said he¡¯ll hire the Black Crow.¡± ¡°The Black¡­ Crow? He already knows about that?¡± ¡°Not only does he know, but he was listing off the names of the Players who will become a part of it.¡± Michelle shook her head in consternation. ¡°It¡¯s almost like he knows everything about us.¡± ¡°But that¡¯s Level 1 confidential information! How¡¯d he know?¡± Even within the mercenary company Michelle had created, Crow, the constituents of the Black Crow were the elites, mercenaries of the highest grade. Most of them were part of the Michelle Division and were the top Rankers of the country. Naturally, they were currently growing with Michelle¡¯s full support. ¡°Do we have a rat?¡± ¡°There¡¯s no way it was leaked from the inside.¡± ¡°Right.¡± Neither Michelle nor Thomas entertained the possibility of a spy. That was just how much they trusted the Black Crow. ¡°But what¡¯s he hiring them for?¡± ¡°He wants them to go to Japan. Have you heard of Nanba Terminal?¡± ¡°Nope. It¡¯s probably a terminal of some sort.¡± ¡°Apparently, Blood and Iron Lion has been dispatched there.¡± ¡°Will a dungeon appear?¡± ¡°A gate is going to open.¡± ¡°Hm. And?¡± ¡°It seems Song Junghye is planning on getting something there.¡± Thomas shook his head, blurting out the first thought that occurred to him. ¡°Korean Style. How terrifying.¡± ¡°Yes, really. I think it¡¯s the Precognitive Dreamer Ham Sohyun. Guildmaster Song Kiyeol seems to cherish Guildmaster Song Junghye a great deal. He may very well have given her a little hint.¡± Michelle was aware of the fact that recently, the Japanese astrologist ¡®Itachi¡¯ had traveled to Korea to meet Ham Sohyun. ¡°Or Itachi might have told them. In any case, they¡¯ve apparently deduced the location of the gate before it opened and are preparing, in true Korean fashion. And I think they already know what reward they¡¯ll get.¡± ¡°Their playstyle is so creepy it¡¯s scary.¡± And even scarier yet was Kim Hyukjin, who knew all that in advance and was preparing to intercept. ¡°So wait, what Black Crow needs to do can¡¯t be¡­¡± ¡°It¡¯s as you think.¡± Hyukjin hired Michelle¡¯s mercenary company, Crow. More specifically, the Black Crow, Players who could really be called a part of the Michelle Division. ¡°We need to make it so Song Junghye can¡¯t get a thing. Especially not a ¡®fleet¡¯. We have to make absolutely sure she doesn¡¯t get that. That¡¯s our job.¡± ¡°But that¡¯ll put us at odds with Blood and Iron Lion, won¡¯t it?¡± Michelle knew that. She breathed a long sigh, then shrugged like there was nothing she could do. ¡°It¡¯s what the VIP wants.¡± ¡°But you can refuse.¡± ¡°I don¡¯t know. I somehow don¡¯t want to.¡± Thomas saw straight through Michelle¡¯s heart. ¡°Discarding the card called Song Junghye and inching a bit closer to the Kim Hyukjin side, are you?¡± ¡°I¡¯m glad my friend is so perceptive.¡± ¡°Isn¡¯t the Song Junghye card kind of a waste to discard?¡± ¡°The other card is just so overwhelmingly good. It¡¯d be great if I could take both, but life is always a series of choices.¡± ¡°And you have a track record of making pretty good choices.¡± ¡°Thomas, do you respect my choice?¡± Thomas nodded. ¡°Kim Hyukjin¡ªno, Giantgod Guild, is way too special even among other Koreans. I¡¯ll back your decision completely. As your deputy.¡± Only then did Michelle break into a grin. Feeling a little better, Michelle said, ¡°This is just a maybe, like really a maybe, but I might become related to Kim Hyukjin.¡± In Thomas¡¯ eyes, Michelle looked really happy. * * * The Mandarin Oriental Hotel was a 5-star hotel on the Singapore Marina Bay. As a hotel located at a famous tourist destination, there was a constant stream of taxis going in and out, dropping off and picking up travelers. Kim Hyukjin was one such traveler. After descending from his taxi, he entered the building. ¡®Nothing special about the entrance.¡¯ Next to the revolving door was a regular door as well. The members of Giantgod entered the hotel after him. People snuck glances at the massive So Yoohyun, as well as at Shin Yeonseo. ¡°Looks like my beauty shines in Singapore too, Boss.¡± ¡°Ah. Yeah.¡± ¡°C¡¯mon, Boss. Am I not pretty?¡± ¡°You are.¡± ¡°So frustrating. You don¡¯t mean it a single bit.¡± Despite saying that, Yeonseo giggled giddily. She seemed to be in a very good mood, perhaps because the gate hadn¡¯t been activated yet and they had come to a hotel at a famous tourist destination. Yeonseo pulled Sunhwa into a hug, almost like she was protecting a treasure. ¡°But hey, isn¡¯t it a bit much to sneak glances at Sunhwa? I know she¡¯s super cute and all, but still.¡± ¡°Unnie! I can¡¯t breathe!¡± ¡°Hush. Heavens above, please make the eyes of all the people looking at our Sunhwa fall out.¡± Meanwhile, Kang Somyi walked briskly ahead, waving. ¡°I¡¯ll be doing some exploring of my own,¡± she called out. ¡°I¡¯ll also check us in!¡± Hyukjin watched as she walked away. ¡®If I can use her well¡­¡¯ They would be able to find a safe, but fast path and clear the Mandarin Oriental Hotel Gate. It all came down to how well he was able to manipulate her. They had a premium ocean view room on the top floor. Hyukjin and his guild streamed into the elevator to go up to the 21st floor. ¡°Ooh, I¡¯m so excited,¡± Yeonseo chirped. ¡°I hear the night view here is super pretty.¡± 1F. 2F. 3F. 4F. The elevator began to quickly ascend. 5F. 6F. 7F. 8F. But then, the elevator came to a halt with a thud. Yeonseo tilted her head. ¡°Huh? What¡¯s going on? Is it broken?¡± Bzzt¨C! Bzzzzt¨C! The lights in the elevator went off with the sound of sparks. ¡°Ehh?¡± And then, the elevator began to plummet. ____ Chapter 281 Chapter 281 Shin Yeonseo panicked. As the elevator suddenly plunged, everyone inside hit the ceiling. ¡®We-We¡¯re falling!¡¯ Fear engulfed her, shock taking over in the face of something she had never experienced. ¡®Huh?¡¯ But then, she met eyes with Kim Hyukjin, and in that moment, she felt a sense of reassurance. Hyukjin was smiling, almost like he had already predicted this. ¡®Heheh.¡¯ Even as they fell, Yeonseo recovered her calm. ¡®This is why you¡¯ve gotta Play with Hyukjin.¡¯ A person she could trust. A person who would fulfill their role as a leader without fail. Playing with such a person was when she had the most fun and felt the most at ease. Hyukjin said, ¡°Sunghyun.¡± The next moment, Sunghyun used a spell. ¡°Lift.¡± A gust of wind formed in the elevator, cushioning their bodies. It felt like Sunghyun¡¯s mana and artificially-produced wind were enveloping Yeonseo in a comfortable embrace. Thud! The elevator crashed into the ground, the impact transferring to them as well. They had definitely landed. ¡®We¡¯re¡­ okay?¡¯ It was hard to describe this feeling. ¡®Kinda like¡­ I¡¯ve been cushioned in bubble wrap.¡¯ She wasn¡¯t all that wrong. Sunghyun had used the wind spell Lift on the members of Giantgod. Lift was a support spell that normally cast the power of wind to a target¡¯s body and made them levitate in the air or lose their balance. In this case, wind was used to neutralize the impact from the crash. They were still jostled a little, but no one was greatly injured. ¡°Everyone alright?¡± Hyukjin called out. ¡°We¡¯re alright, Hyungnim.¡± Hyukjin looked around the elevator. ¡®Everyone¡¯s in one piece, looks like.¡¯ The comparatively squishy Choi Sung-gu was moaning, ¡®Oww, my head¡¯, but he seemed mostly unharmed. ¡°Elevators have some degree of safety features built in,¡± Hyukjin began. This was an explanation for the Guardians, not for his guildmates. As they were falling earlier, he had caught a faint glimpse of Senia¡¯s wings fluttering. She was only visible for a split second, but he was certain that she was streaming right now. ¡°They¡¯re designed to stop before they hit the 1st floor.¡± Elevators came with that safety feature to protect the passengers. Normally, that is. ¡°But for us to have crashed like this¡­¡± Meant this was someone¡¯s doing. ¡°Yoohyun. Open the door.¡± ¡°Yessir!¡± Yoohyun squeezed his fingers into the crack between the elevator doors and began to flex. ¡°Uryaaaaaa!¡± Blood vessels sprang up on his massive biceps, and his face went taut with exertion. The elevator doors began to part with an unpleasant, grating screech, the metal under Yoohyun¡¯s hands caving in. Sung-gu shuddered. ¡°Jesus Christ, you¡¯re fucking strong. Yoohyun. We¡¯re friends, right?¡± The door opened to a murmuring crowd that had gathered because of the elevator accident. Hotel employees were running in, and someone was hastily making a call, presumably calling for emergency services. Very quietly, Hyukjin whispered, ¡°Darong. If there¡¯s a thief approaching us, give them a taste of their own medicine.¡± Three exclamation marks appeared above the head of the Phantom Thief Squirrel. Darongi swiftly became invisible to Hyukjin¡¯s eyes as well, indicating that the squirrel was going into serious stealth mode. ¡®Even after reaching level 44, I still can¡¯t see him.¡¯ Despite having breached the intermediate period, he couldn¡¯t see a single trace of Kim Darong. Hyukjin grinned, recalling the Player he had met eyes with earlier in the Tutorial Building. ¡®Lasbon. Are you a better thief than Kim Darong?¡¯ * * * Translator ¨C Lei Proofreader ¨C Ash * * * Lasbon. He was a 26-year-old Singaporean Player. His class: thief. Lasbon was a prideful man who thought of himself as the best thief in Singapore. And in truth, he would one day earn the moniker of ¡®Starlight Thief¡¯ and become one of the most famous thieves in the world. Lasbon headed to the Tutorial Building, ¡®Sunset City Building B¡¯. While he was trading with the shop NPCs, he witnessed the Warp Gate being activated. ¡®Are those guys Korean Players?¡¯ An entire group of Korean Players came over via the Warp Gate. Most Players who used that facility were rich. ¡®Koreans, huh.¡¯ Lasbon¡¯s heart began to thump. He had heard a lot of rumors about these Korean Players. ¡®A server specialized in 1v1 PVP and dungeon raiding.¡¯ Singapore was a server with an emphasis on trade and thief class Players. They were generally outstanding in those fields. It was very different from the Korean server. ¡®Even if they have amazing combat skills¡­¡¯ These Players might have that famous ¡®Korean Style¡¯, but they likely lacked defenses against thievery. From what Lasbon knew, Korea was a somewhat unique country. If you left your wallet or phone in a coffee shop, or even something more valuable like a laptop, no one would steal it. A strange place, indeed. Perhaps of those norms, Korea was known to have an extremely small number of thief class Players. ¡®When it comes to theft, I¡¯ve got the advantage.¡¯ Lasbon called up a few of his buddies. They called themselves the ¡®Travelers of the Night¡¯. Although they weren¡¯t an official guild, they operated like one. ¡°A bunch of Koreans have shown up. They all came via the Warp Gate, and I know the name of one of them.¡± ¡°You do? Who is it? No shot it¡¯s Song Kiyeol, right?¡± ¡°He¡¯s not that big of a giant.¡± If it was Song Kiyeol, Lasbon would never have coordinated a theft. Song Kiyeol was too big a name¡ªhe was one of the hero-class Players famous even around the world. ¡°There¡¯s a guy who became famous as the Tutorial Ender.¡± ¡°If he¡¯s that well-known in Korea, he¡¯s pretty amazing, isn¡¯t he?¡± ¡°I don¡¯t think he had any big achievements after that, though I think he¡¯s still a Ranker.¡± But he wasn¡¯t on Song Kiyeol¡¯s level. It was worth provoking him. Their destination was the Mandarin Oriental Hotel¡ªthat was where they would carry out their plan. And so, they got to work. Using Lasbon¡¯s innate ability, ¡®Invoke Accident¡¯, they crashed the elevator. ¡®They¡¯re definitely shocked.¡¯ While the Koreans were in a daze, the Travelers of the Night would go in and clean out their Inventories. That was their goal. If there was one issue, it was that Kim Hyukjin had already seen through their plan. Hyukjin¡¯s Eye of Perception scanned the surroundings. ¡®There¡¯s four of them.¡¯ They were probably Travelers of the Night. And leading them was the famous big-time thief, Lasbon. Hyukjin was sure about that. How? Because he had already met eyes with Lasbon in the Tutorial Building. Not only did Hyukjin know what Lasbon looked like, he saw the thief¡¯s summary. Summary: Budding Big-Time Thief Wanting to Pilfer Koreans Hyukjin knew a few of Lasbon¡¯s methods, and he also knew about the thief¡¯s innate ability, Invoke Accident. Since he already knew what the opponent had in store, there was nothing to be afraid of. ¡°They¡¯ll think we¡¯ll be all panicked. Do a little acting,¡± Hyukjin said under his breath. Sung-gu took the order a step further and flopped onto the ground. ¡°Oh gawwwwd. How can this happen?! So this is how the Jayangdong Fire Master meets his end.¡± Time passed. In the end, the Travelers of the Night didn¡¯t show themselves. They prowled the area before ultimately leaving, but not before Kim Darong unburdened them of the items in their Inventories. The uproar settled down, and after an endless stream of apologies from the hotel team, Giantgod Guild headed up to the 21st floor again. Despite the massive accident that had just occurred, they were able to check in fairly painlessly. Hyukjin¡¯s room, Room #2111, became a gathering place for all of Giantgod. Yeonseo was the first to ask. ¡°Boss Hyukjin. Did you know?¡± ¡°I did.¡± ¡°Sunghyun. You?¡± ¡°I didn¡¯t know.¡± ¡°Then how¡¯d you think to use Lift there?¡± ¡°I just figured Hyukjin would have used it if it were him.¡± Sunghyun was being sincere. The moment the elevator fell, one thought blitzed through his mind: What would Hyukjin do? What would the hyung he liked and respected do? The answer came to him quickly. And to Sunghyun¡¯s joy, Hyukjin called out his name. Sensing a great deal of trust in that call, Sunghyun used Lift after making an instantaneous judgment. Yeonseo nodded in understanding. ¡°I sometimes ask what Boss Hyukjin would do and act accordingly, too.¡± ¡°¡­¡± ¡°If it was rigged, who the hell was it?¡± Yeonseo whipped out her sword. ¡°If I catch them, you bet I¡¯ll cut ¡®em up.¡± Yeonseo¡¯s Asura hovered at Sung-gu¡¯s throat. ¡°O-O-Oh come on now, for fuck¡¯s sake. W-Why me? I¡¯m your friendly neighborhood Bum-gu.¡± ¡°Yoohyun is too strong, Sunghyun¡¯s a saint, and Sunhwa¡¯s cute. And I can¡¯t bare a sword at Boss Hyukjin.¡± ¡°Th-Then what about me?¡± Sung-gu took out a handkerchief and wiped the sweat off his brow. ¡°I-I¡¯m cute t¡ªurk.¡± Yeonseo¡¯s Asura poked ever so slightly into Sung-gu¡¯s neck. ¡°FUCK! You really gonna stab me?!¡± Sunghyun went to stand in front of Yeonseo, almost as if he were protecting her. ¡°You didn¡¯t die, so it¡¯s fine.¡± ¡°Hyukjin! These two are ganging up on me!¡± Hyukjin cracked a grin. ¡®Doing good, guys.¡¯ Hyukjin was well aware. It wasn¡¯t just the Giantgod Guild in this room. One of the Travelers of the Night who had missed their chance on the 1st floor was here, too. ¡®Are they here in the flesh¡­¡¯ Or¡ª ¡®Are they just scouting?¡¯ He could sense it¡ªan outsider¡¯s gaze. Someone was watching them. Giantgod Guild was just acting like they had dropped their guard. ¡®Among Travelers of the Night¡­ there was a guy with [Scouting Eye].¡± There was a special object called a ¡®Ward¡¯. Sometimes Wards came in the form of a pebble, or a flower. Or a book, or a cup¡ªit didn¡¯t matter what form they took. It didn¡¯t change the fact that if you placed a Ward somewhere, it would act as a sort of surveillance camera. ¡®Basically, a spy cam.¡¯ One that was produced by a Player¡¯s ability. Used mainly by thief classes, the ¡®secret footage leak scandals¡¯ this ability resulted in sparked outrage all over the world. Hyukjin took out an item from his Inventory. ¡°This is one of the items I stole from them.¡± Their onlookers were probably having a fit about now. They came here wanting to rob Giantgod, but got UNO reversed. Kim Darong didn¡¯t show them any mercy. The little squirrel stripped everything from their Inventories, down to the last Coin. Of those items, Hyukjin was focusing on an item that was glowing with yellow light. ¡°It¡¯s called the Daedongyeojido.¡± Sunhwa¡¯s hand shot up. ¡°Me, me, me! I know! I know the Daedongyeojido!¡± ¡°You do?¡± ¡°Yes!¡± Sunhwa nodded vigorously, as if to say she had studied hard at school. ¡°I learned about it in History class!¡± The Daedongyeojido, something all Koreans would have heard at least one time in their life, was found in Lasbon¡¯s Inventory. The Daedongyeojido was a set of foldable booklet maps of Korea, produced by the cartographer Kim Jeong-ho in 1861 with a second edition published in 1864. This item shared the same name as the maps created by the Joseon period geologist. Hyukjin glanced at a part of the wall. ¡®Come, Lasbon.¡¯ He had thrown the bait. Now, it was time to wait for the fish to bite. ¡®Didn¡¯t think I¡¯d be out fishing here.¡¯ Singapore was a merchant and thief server. ¡®It¡¯s highly likely the Merchant of Venice is watching.¡¯ It might even be that the ¡®Milky Way Neutron Star¡¯ was watching. Hyukjin suddenly recalled Ham Sohyun¡¯s prophecy. ¨CPlaywright and robber meet, a starry world unfolds. This wasn¡¯t in his plans, but he decided to grab the situation by the horns. ____ Chapter 282 Chapter 282 The Milky Way Neutron Star was a major sponsor of Lasbon, the famous thief from Singapore. However, that didn¡¯t mean they stayed exclusively in the Singapore server. The thief class had markedly fewer Players than the other classes, so the thief-focused Milky Way Neutron Star hopped from server to server, bestowing generous sponsorships to Players who showed acts of outstanding theft. Of them, Lasbon was a particularly notable recipient of the Milky Way Neutron Star¡¯s attention and sponsorship. ¨CTheft, covertly. ¨CBut deception, thoroughly. These two sentences clearly depicted the style favored by the Milky Way Neutron Star. Under the Guardian¡¯s influence, the world¡¯s most famous thieves ended up having similar dispositions. Whether that was because only people with such a personality could thrive as thieves, or because they were matching the Milky Way Neutron Star¡¯s preferences, it was hard to say. ¡®That¡¯s like asking if the chicken came first or the egg.¡¯ That wasn¡¯t the matter at hand. What was important was that it was highly likely the biggest proponent of ¡®Theft, covertly; deception, thoroughly¡¯, the Milky Way Neutron Star, was watching. ¡°This Daedongyeojido is an extremely important item to Korean explorers.¡± It was a so-called ¡®awakening item¡¯, or ¡®key item¡¯. Getting the Daedongyeojido was said to be like winning the lottery for explorers from the Korean server. Hyukjin didn¡¯t know how exactly it was used; he only knew it was a very important item for that class. ¡°Hold on, what do we have here?¡± Hyukjin pulled out another item. ¡°Senvart¡¯s Dagger? This thing has pretty good stats. Yeonseo, you take it.¡± ¡°Really? I can have it?¡± She had no idea what it was, but it was coming from Kim Hyukjin. She was sure it wouldn¡¯t be as good as Asura, but it had to be good. And it was free. ¡°All hail free!¡± Yeonseo accepted without hesitation. ¡°It¡¯s expensive. Use it well, and carefully.¡± ¡°Roger. Thanks.¡± ¡°You¡¯re grateful, right?¡± ¡°Yeah. Super grateful! Jeez, what do I do? My debt to you keeps growing!¡± Yeonseo lived up to her Smiling Swordsman moniker and responded with warmth. This wasn¡¯t exaggerated acting. She was being sincere. Yeonseo still thought of Hyukjin as her mother¡¯s savior. ¡®Yeonseo being truly grateful will piss them off more, huh?¡¯ Lasbon was spying on them from somewhere, watching as Hyukjin took his items and gave them out like party favors. He was probably losing it. A message arrived. [The ¡®Milky Way Neutron Star¡¯ has begun to watch you.] As expected, the big-time Singaporean thief came bearing the Milky Way Neutron Star, a big fish. Hyukjin would struggle to keep their interest for long since he wasn¡¯t a full-on thief, but the Guardian was famous for dropping a generous sponsorship as soon as they took a shine to a Player. ¡®Because thieves are so rare.¡¯ The scarcity of the class resulted in the Guardian throwing investment at whatever promising seedlings they found and seeing if it stuck. You could say they were similar but different from the Night of Falling Stars, a 2nd generation Guardian. ¡°And this Legola Staff is perfect for Sunghyun.¡± The Legola Staff, an emerald staff wreathed with the faint glow of mana, was unique grade and came with extremely good effects: +15% to wind affinity and wind magic damage. ¡°Thank you.¡± ¡°You¡¯re lucky you¡¯ve got such a great guildmaster.¡± Sunghyun nearly let a smile escape. ¡®Hyung can say stuff like that too, huh?¡¯ It was all an act. Normally, Hyukjin almost never said things like that¡ªhe was the type to give things without comment. So Sunghyun played along. ¡°If not for you, Hyung, how would I get my hands on such a precious item?¡± ¡°You¡¯re not wrong.¡± Hyukjin guffawed, seemingly in a good mood. ¡°This Crow Gauntlet will go to Yoohyun.¡± With its attack speed buff, this rare grade gauntlet was a good fit for the future Fist King. Singapore would one day take off as the commerce server. As a budding major league thief operating in such a server, excellent items were already spilling from Lasbon¡¯s Inventory. ¡°Sunhwa, you take this.¡± He gave Sunhwa an item called Scale Armor. It could be worn under one¡¯s clothes, and boasted higher defense than the heavy armor from the beginner period. ¡°What about me? What about Bum-gu?¡± ¡°Mm. You¡­¡± Hyukjin took out an item from his Inventory. ¡°¡­get this.¡± ¡°Th-This is?¡± [Duke Lefry¡¯s Crossdressing Set] The legend of the Western Continent, Duke Lefry, had a covert hobby. In order to prevent his hobby from getting discovered, he had an annex built within his castle and made a secret room for his exclusive use within it. No one other than Duke Lefry could enter his ¡®secret room¡¯. There, Duke Lefry enjoyed his covert hobby, crossdressing. Covertly. And more beautifully. Duke Lefry¡¯s Crossdressing Set will make you dazzling. Grade: Legendary Yeonseo snickered. ¡°What¡¯s this? Sung-gu¡¯s gonna get prettier? Wow, I¡¯m jealous.¡± Yoohyun also burst out in laughter. Sunhwa let out a quiet, awkward laugh, and even the normally taciturn Sunghyun sniggered. Sung-gu asked seriously, ¡°Is this thing expensive?¡± ¡°Probably, yeah? It¡¯s legendary.¡± ¡°Then score!¡± Apparently, he had no qualms as long as it was valuable. ¡°Sweet. But man, there are really people out there who use items like this? Since it¡¯s crossdressing¡­ it must be a dude?¡± Yeonseo followed up in an exaggerated manner, as if to let someone overhear. ¡°So embarrassing, uurk!¡± Yeonseo didn¡¯t actually think that. Be it crossdressing or something else, as long as it didn¡¯t bring harm to others, she didn¡¯t care what people did. Whether a guy dressed up as a girl, or a girl dressed up as a guy, it was all the same to her. She believed people were free to do whatever they wanted as long as it didn¡¯t harm others, but she was acting to get a rise out of the item¡¯s original owner. ¡°Where did you get this?¡± ¡°There was a guy trying to pilfer my Inventory.¡± ¡°A guy? So they¡¯re a man? And they had this? Pfft.¡± Yeonseo burst out laughing. * * * Translator ¨C Lei Proofreader ¨C Ash * * * The next moment, Ward on the wall began to smoke and spark, fizzling out. The smoke was so faint that it could only be detected with a skill on the level of Eye of Perception. ¨CBut deception, thoroughly. Hyukjin said, ¡°Funny thing is, I know the guy¡¯s name.¡± He felt something¡ªsomeone¡ªcome close. They were stealthy, but not so stealthy that they could escape Eye of Perception¡¯s radar. Hyukjin¡¯s hand shot out and grabbed the intruder¡¯s wrist, dispelling their stealth. Name: Lasbon Class: Nebula Robber ¡°Apparently, this guy crossdresses as his hobby.¡± Lasbon¡¯s face was bright red. The heavily bearded man said something. Hyukjin used a Translation Marble, through which Lasbon repeated himself. ¡°How did you see through my stealth?¡± ¡°It wasn¡¯t that hard.¡± ¡°Are you a thief?¡± ¡°Isn¡¯t it obvious from how I stole all your items? Why did you even show up here after I robbed you blind? If you had acknowledged your defeat and left, you could have avoided this sorry situation.¡± It did strike Hyukjin as odd. ¡®We did provoke and deceive him, but¡­¡¯ Lasbon wasn¡¯t so mindless a Player that he would reveal himself like this. If he was going to take revenge, he would have done it like a thief. ¡®The fact that he showed himself¡­¡¯ Hyukjin smirked. ¡®¡­means Lefry¡¯s Crossdressing Set is extremely important to him.¡¯ There was no mistaking it. Eye of Perception clearly saw the yellow lights sparkling above the names of the Daedongyeojido and Duke Lefry¡¯s Crossdressing Set, telling him these two objects were no ordinary items. There was something more to them, something hidden. With Michael, Hyukjin was able to decipher what the yellow light above the chef¡¯s head meant. But not this time¡ªhe could only see the yellow lights. ¡®Which means, they¡¯re hiding something I can¡¯t decipher at my current level.¡¯ And that was something Lasbon knew as well. He would try to get it back, no matter what it took. ¡°What? Did you want to use your innate ability to get this back, at least?¡± ¡°¡­¡± Sung-gu looked around in a panic, shouting, ¡°Huh? My expensive drag set!¡± It was no longer in Sung-gu¡¯s hands. Just in case Lasbon tried something, Darongi had stowed it away in his Inventory. Lasbon bit his lips. He had rushed out in haste, but thinking about it now, this was all a trap. He had a sinking suspicion these people had acted out a play, already knowing he would come to them. Lasbon¡¯s attitude took an immediate 180. ¡°I apologize. Please forgive me.¡± Everything else was fine, but¡ª ¡°I would like you to return the drag set, at least.¡± ¡°What kind of shameless request is that, coming from a thief to another thief?¡± The deed was done¡ªthe item was already stolen. As a thief, he had to accept that. That was what thief class Players thought. ¡°It¡¯s because that item is more precious than my life. I¡¯ll do anything you ask, so please, I beg you¡ªplease give it back.¡± ¡°¡­¡± Was this item that precious? ¡°You saying that is actually making me want it more.¡± ¡°It¡¯s only valuable to me. It won¡¯t be of any use to others.¡± ¡°It doesn¡¯t look like that to me.¡± Hyukjin sat down. ¡°You tried to rob us first. So I robbed you instead; that¡¯s all. If your skills were better than mine, we would have had to scurry back to Korea with only the clothes on our backs.¡± ¡°That¡¯s true. I picked the wrong targets.¡± ¡°And yet, you want me to give back this item? Rather shameless, don¡¯t you think?¡± ¡°I know it¡¯s shameless.¡± ¡°You even intentionally caused the elevator accident.¡± And now he was here asking for forgiveness? If this item was truly important to him and he wanted it back by all means, he would have come begging right away. He wouldn¡¯t have spied on them using Ward, but lowered himself as a junior thief approaching a senior thief, saying I was careless, please forgive me. If he had done that, Hyukjin might have given him some consideration. ¡°Considering that you spied on us with Ward just before this, this isn¡¯t terribly convincing.¡± Hyukjin didn¡¯t think Lasbon was being sincere, either. Summary: Robber with a Secret Card up his Sleeve Hyukjin smirked. ¡°What? Gonna open the ¡®Hall¡¯?¡± Lasbon flinched, and the next moment, the side of Yoohyun¡¯s hand came down on his neck. The thief fainted with a cry. ¡°Hyungnim, this item¡¯s pretty good,¡± Yoohyun said, very pleased with the Crow Gauntlet they had stolen from Lasbon. ¡°But Boss, what¡¯s the Hall?¡± asked Yeonseo. ¡°There¡¯s something like that.¡± In any case, round one of thief vs. thief ended in Hyukjin¡¯s total victory. ¡®It¡¯s about time for the Milky Way Neutron Star to react.¡¯ Sure enough, Hyukjin heard a notice. [The ¡®Milky Way Neutron Star¡¯ is very focused on your Playing.] [The ¡®Milky Way Neutron Star¡¯ gives you ¡®Stardust¡¯.] The gift arrived in Hyukjin¡¯s Inventory. In the end, the Guardian who was known to only sponsor potential thieves sent him a sponsorship. Hyukjin hadn¡¯t actually lied¡ªhe never said he had a thief class. ¡®Thieves really want this stuff, right?¡¯ But they didn¡¯t put out any detailed information about it. In other words, Stardust was a trade secret. [Stardust] A Guardian exclusive given by the Milky Way Neutron Star to those they have expectations for. Stardust can be used on ¡®robbed¡¯ or ¡®stolen¡¯ items, enabling one to see all hidden attributes of the item. Remaining uses: 3 As soon as Hyukjin read the item description, he knew exactly where to use it. ¡®I¡¯ll use it right away.¡¯ Just in case the Milky Way Neutron Star canceled their sponsorship, he used it immediately on two items: the Daedongyeojido and Duke Lefry¡¯s Crossdressing Set. ____ Chapter 283 Chapter 283 [Using ¡®Stardust¡¯ on ¡®Daedongyeojido¡¯.] Golden dust fell on the map item, the Daedongyeojido. [Stardust has successfully taken effect.] [The authority imbued in Stardust unlocks the Daedongyeojido¡¯s hidden piece.] [Daedongyeojido] A map bearing general dungeon and monster information within certain time slots and certain fields in the Korean server. Only an explorer class Player can read this map and use it to discover hidden pieces of dungeons and gates. A hidden piece has been unlocked by Stardust. When the power within this map is used, the hidden class ¡®Explorer of Service¡¯ can be acquired. ¡®Explorer of Service?¡¯ He had never heard of the class before. ¡®For now, let¡¯s keep it.¡¯ He used Stardust again on Duke Lefry¡¯s Crossdressing Set. [Duke Lefry¡¯s Crossdressing Set] The legend of the Western Continent, Duke Lefry, had a covert hobby. In order to prevent his hobby from getting discovered, he had an annex built within his castle and made a secret room for his exclusive use within it. No one other than Duke Lefry could enter his ¡®secret room¡¯. There, Duke Lefry enjoyed his covert hobby, crossdressing. Covertly. And more beautifully. Duke Lefry¡¯s Crossdressing Set will make you dazzling. Grade: Legendary A hidden piece has been unlocked by Stardust. When a male Player wearing Duke Lefry¡¯s Crossdressing Set uses the power within, the field ¡®Annex of Lefry Castle¡¯ will be opened. Two hidden pieces were unlocked: one called ¡®Explorer of Service¡¯, and another called ¡®Annex of Lefry Castle¡¯. Not long afterwards, Kang Somyi rushed into the room. ¡°So this is where everyone was.¡± ¡°What happened?¡± ¡°I¡¯m really, really sorry, but it¡¯s really an emergency.¡± Kang Somyi had agreed to aid Giantgod and help them clear the Oriental Mandarin Hotel Gate. But while she was investigating, something happened. Hyukjin could tell. ¡®She¡¯s in Blood and Iron Lion and is working for Jackson, yes¡­ but seeing as she freely dropped everything to come here, she¡¯s not being forced or subjected to any absolute settings.¡¯ In some respects, it was a good thing. That meant there was more opportunity to exploit her. ¡°An emergency? What kind of emergency?¡± ¡°I¡¯ve lost a class item that¡¯s extremely important to me.¡± ¡°Oh no.¡± Hyukjin shook his head. ¡°Singapore is the server of commerce, as well as a hub for thieves.¡± ¡°I know. But I didn¡¯t think I¡¯d get screwed over so badly! It¡¯s really super important to me, but now it¡¯s gone.¡± Even before Somyi¡¯s haphazard entrance, Hyukjin had already figured out how Lasbon managed to get his hands on an item named after a historic Korean relic, the Daedongyeojido. Lasbon had been watching Giantgod ever since the Tutorial Building, and it was there that he swiped the Daedongyeojido from Somyi. He was more skilled than expected. ¡°If I help you find it, will you help us wholeheartedly?¡± ¡°Of course.¡± ¡°Very well.¡± Hyukjin took out an item. It was the Stardusted Daedongyeojido. Kang Somyi¡¯s eyes widened. ¡°H-H-How do you have that?!¡± ¡°I ended up getting it somehow.¡± ¡°Do you expect me to believe that?¡± Kang Somyi chewed her lip. Why did Kim Hyukjin have that item? ¡°Did you steal it?¡± ¡°Me?¡± ¡°That seems to be the only way to interpret this situation.¡± ¡°If that was the case, I wouldn¡¯t have brought it out right now.¡± ¡°I¡¯m sorry, but I need to hear an explanation for why you have it.¡± Hyukjin shrugged and turned his gaze to Sunghyun, who took out his phone. ¡°I recorded it.¡± The ever-prepared Jo Sunghyun had everything on camera. Somyi watched the video. ¡®What in the world¡­¡¯ She was stunned to her core. ¡®Kim Hyukjin anticipated everything and put up an act?¡¯ He had played the situation completely to his advantage, taking everything there was to get. Almost like he was watching from up high, like a playwright controlling the stage. He achieved everything he wanted. ¡®My god.¡¯ She had already thought he was amazing, but she didn¡¯t know he was this next level. Even in a place he had never been in his life, even in Singapore, he could be this overwhelming. Just how nuts was he in Korea, his home base? ¡®No wonder he¡¯s caught Teacher¡¯s attention.¡¯ Somyi immediately apologized. ¡°I¡¯m sorry. It was just so important to me that I was blinded and misunderstood.¡± ¡°I understand that feeling.¡± ¡°R-Right?¡± ¡°I understand, but I fail to understand your response.¡± ¡°Th-That¡¯s fair.¡± ¡°If it were me, I would have said thanks first and moved on from there. Not jump straight to being suspicious.¡± ¡°I was wrong.¡± ¡°Or I would have asked to hear the whole story.¡± * * * Translator ¨C Lei Proofreader ¨C Ash * * * Somyi¡¯s face went as red as a beet. Now that she thought about it, she was indeed in the wrong. If there hadn¡¯t been video evidence, she might have still thought to herself that Kim Hyukjin had stolen her item. ¡°I¡¯ll apologize for real. I¡¯m really sorry. What can I do to make you less mad?¡± ¡°I¡¯m not really mad.¡± ¡°Then could you give that back?¡± ¡°Give it back? This is a trophy I won fair and square in a fight with Lasbon.¡± Somyi rushed to say, ¡°I know you didn¡¯t show me that you had it just to mess with me.¡± He wasn¡¯t trying to tease her. There was something Kim Hyukjin wanted right now. She racked her brain, thinking hard. ¡°What do you want?¡± Hyukjin nodded. ¡°In my opinion, when you want something, negotiation and trade is the answer, not begging.¡± ¡°You¡¯re right.¡± Somyi was embarrassed. She thought herself a fairly accomplished explorer, so why did she feel like a newborn babe¡ªnot even a rookie!¡ªin front of Kim Hyukjin? Hyukjin heard a notice. [The ¡®Merchant of Venice¡¯ nods.] [The ¡®Merchant of Venice¡¯ sends a written proposal regarding the 2nd advancement.] Even the person directing this situation, Hyukjin, was shocked by the notice that had just come in. ¡®A written proposal regarding the 2nd advancement?¡¯ He wasn¡¯t giving a 2nd advancement quest, but a written proposal. Almost like he was seeking a superior¡¯s approval on a business proposal. ¡®And that¡¯s still 6 levels away.¡¯ Hyukjin might have broken through the Hell Phase, but he had only just entered the intermediate period. The 2nd advancement came at level 50. ¡®He probably sent a written proposal instead of stating it directly because of the other Guardians, right?¡¯ It was possible this proposal was sent in secret. ¡®It probably is.¡¯ Hyukjin¡¯s level was still too low to start discussing his 2nd advancement. If Hyukjin was right, the Merchant of Venice was sneakily trying to get his foot in the back door without the other Guardians knowing. If he handled this wrong, Hyukjin might find himself dancing to the Guardian¡¯s tune. ¡°Even the great Guardian of merchants has deeply acknowledged my opinion.¡± Being careful to not step on the Guardians¡¯ toes, Hyukjin lowered himself as much as possible while relaying information to the other Guardians. ¡°I have no intention of taking pity on you. What I want is a fair trade.¡± ¡°That¡¯s fine with me; I¡¯d feel better about that. Please tell me what you want.¡± ¡°This trade with you involves a proposal regarding my 2nd advancement.¡± ¡°Y-Your 2nd advancement?¡± Somyi¡¯s eyes grew wide. ¡°But I thought that happens when you reach level 50.¡± Hyukjin¡¯s eyes narrowed. ¡®She knows that?¡¯ He was a regressor, so he knew when the 2nd advancement occurred. Level 50 wasn¡¯t a fixed point, but most Players did their 2nd advancement then. That was also when they made a contract with another Guardian. ¡®Like I thought, there¡¯s definitely something I don¡¯t know about explorers.¡¯ It was fun. The more he learned, the more fun it became. On the other hand, Senia¡¯s wings fluttered as she looked at Hyukjin¡¯s smile. Right now, there was a bit of a quarrel going on between the Guardians. ¡®Player Kim Hyukjin predicted this and mentioned the 2nd advancement proposal on purpose.¡¯ He presented it as rationale to Kang Somyi while simultaneously leaking information to the Guardians, since he had no intention of advancing into a merchant class anyway. ¡®This will kick off a scramble for Hyukjin¡¯s 2nd advancement.¡¯ Senia nearly let an unconscious smile escape. ¡®Get ahold of yourself, Senia.¡¯ She was horrified that she nearly smiled during a stream¡ªhow very shameful of her. Senia managed to catch her smile at the last moment, schooling her features into expressionlessness. ¡®Countless Guardians are watching Player Kim Hyukjin.¡¯ So many, in fact, that she could almost hear his value going up by the second. ¡°In any case, I¡¯ve even used a mighty power on this thing.¡± ¡°A mighty power?¡± ¡°Yes. One that only has three uses.¡± Somyi¡¯s face hardened like a rock. A power with three uses? Just what was Kim Hyukjin about to demand from her? ¡°What¡­ kind of power?¡± ¡°I¡¯ve unlocked the item¡¯s hidden piece.¡± ¡°Wh-What did you say?!¡± Kang Somyi¡¯s mouth dropped open as wide as her eyes, shock written clearly all over her face. ¡°Did you just say you unlocked the hidden piece?¡± ¡°Yes. Using this power.¡± ¡°No way¡­¡± Surely not. There was no way. He hadn¡¯t unlocked the ¡®Explorer of Service¡¯ condition, had he? Controlling her trembling heart, Somyi calmly asked, ¡°Would it be possible¡­ for me to check that hidden piece?¡± ¡°Go ahead.¡± Hyukjin pulled up a trade window and showed her the item. ¡°How in the world?¡± Somyi didn¡¯t bother to hide her shock. She was even shaking from head to toe. ¡°Do you know how hard I¡¯ve been trying to activate this¡­?¡± It was out of her hands for just a moment, and now the hidden piece was activated. ¡°Looks like you knew it had a hidden piece.¡± ¡°Yes. I also knew it was ¡®Explorer of Service¡¯. But I didn¡¯t know how to activate it. To think that you activated it, just like that¡­ Just how in the world¡­?!¡± ¡°Do you want it?¡± ¡°Yes, of course.¡± ¡°What can you give me?¡± ¡°Anything you want.¡± Summary: Player Blinded by ¡®Explorer of Service¡¯ Hyukjin grinned. If it were him, he wouldn¡¯t have gone into the trade like that, no matter how desperate he was. With this, the Merchant of Venice would completely lose interest in Kang Somyi. On the other hand, the Guardian would view the person behind this trade, Hyukjin, all the more favorably. ¡®Even though I exposed his 2nd advancement proposal.¡¯ A Play like this¡ªthe kind of Play the Merchant of Venice loved¡ªwould negate some of the Guardian¡¯s displeasure. Hyukjin asked, ¡°What is the Explorer of Service, exactly, to make you so excited about it?¡± ¡°It¡¯s the class I want, as well as the best class I can get with my talent plates.¡± He could sympathize. She, too, was someone who enjoyed Playing. Playing was more addictive than drugs. People who experienced addictiveness like this from Playing, people who found Playing fun, were Ranker material. ¡°I absolutely want to become an Explorer of Service.¡± ¡°Hm.¡± Kang Somyi quickly added, ¡°If I become an Explorer of Service, I can select one person as my liege. Literally a person to serve.¡± ¡°What¡¯s good about that?¡± If that was true, then it was strange that Kang Somyi wanted to become an Explorer of Service. What was good about having someone to serve? You would no longer be your own person. ¡°In exchange for serving one person, the Explorer of Service becomes far more powerful than other explorer classes during exploration that involves that person.¡± Hyukjin¡¯s Eye of Perception read Kang Somyi¡¯s desperation. Desperation her words could not express was rippling from her in waves. ¡®She really wants this.¡¯ Hyukjin nodded. ¡°Fine. Then this is what we¡¯ll do.¡± He would create the scenario he wanted, while actively drawing in the Merchant of Venice he had possibly somewhat offended. He would deliver a show that would delight the Merchant of Venice. ____ Chapter 284 Chapter 284 ¡°I¡¯ll give it to you,¡± Hyukjin said, nonchalant. ¡°Th-Thank you!¡± ¡°But on some conditions.¡± ¡°I¡¯ll accept them all, whatever they are.¡± Hyukjin nodded. ¡°Let me ask a question first. Do you know the fastest and safest route to clearing the Mandarin Oriental Hotel Gate?¡± ¡°¡­¡± When Kang Somyi hesitated, Hyukjin immediately followed with, ¡°This is all a part of the conditions for this trade.¡± ¡°¡­Okay.¡± ¡°I want you to answer within one second. Understood?¡± ¡°Well¡­¡± ¡°If you don¡¯t want to, so be it.¡± In the end, Kang Somyi raised the white flag of surrender. ¡°Alright, fine. You¡¯re more devious than you look.¡± ¡°I¡¯d prefer you to say I¡¯m determined.¡± He imposed a 1-second time limit on Kang Somyi to prevent her from coming up with some other excuse or response¡ªshe wouldn¡¯t have the time to ponder in leisure. ¡®This is how a trade should be done.¡¯ Normally, regular deals like this one weren¡¯t the kind the Merchant of Venice liked to see. He was a fan of mutual exchanges where both parties gave and gained to a degree they could both accept. That wasn¡¯t what was happening here. ¡®The moment Kang Somyi said she would give everything I want regardless of conditions or profit, she became an enemy of the Merchant of Venice.¡¯ ¡®Enemy¡¯ might be a bit of an overstatement, but considering the Merchant of Venice¡¯s disposition, it wasn¡¯t far off. ¡®At least to the Merchant of Venice, Kang Somyi¡¯s been reduced to an irritating mob character.¡¯ That was the portrayal Hyukjin had intentionally induced. To use movies as an analogy, Players were actors and directors, while Guardians were the audience. The audience put themselves in the shoes of the main characters. If the protagonist killed or harassed innocent side characters, they would draw the audience¡¯s ire, but if they harassed villains or bad guys who needed to be defeated, they would be praised for scratching an itch. It was the same here. To the Merchant of Venice, Kang Somyi was a frustrating side character. ¡®And if I deal with a mob character like that using a method the Merchant of Venice likes¡­¡¯ He would be extremely delighted. Right now, Hyukjin was creating and relieving a frustrating itch tailor-made for the Merchant of Venice. Using a trade to strip the enemy of everything they had, down to their very soul, was what the Merchant of Venice wanted to see. Hyukjin set his sights precisely on that outcome. ¡°Let me ask you again. Do you know how to clear the gate as quickly and safely as possible?¡± ¡°Yes.¡± ¡°How do you know?¡± ¡°Because¡­¡± Kang Somyi squeezed her eyes shut. There was nothing more important to her right now than the Daedongyeojido. This wasn¡¯t the time to be worrying about this and that. She resolved herself to tell everything to the full extent of her knowledge. ¡®I can¡¯t lie.¡¯ A Player of Kim Hyukjin¡¯s level might have a special skill to distinguish lies. Kim Hyukjin didn¡¯t have such an ability, of course, but Kang Somyi didn¡¯t know that. She had no choice but to play it safe. Lying here could result in losing the Daedongyeojido forever, and that was a risk she couldn¡¯t afford. ¡°It was me and Teacher who designed this gate.¡± ¡°You designed this gate?¡± Yeonseo flinched. ¡®What? That¡¯s possible?¡¯ How was it possible for a human to design a gate? She had never heard of such a thing. Without any indication that he was surprised, Hyukjin rephrased his question. ¡°What I mean to ask is, did you two explorers design it without the help of a mapmaker?¡± ¡°No, we were helped.¡± Somyi felt goosebumps rise all over her body. ¡®How does he know about the mapmaker?¡¯ Even Somyi had only just recently learned about them. ¡®Just what is this guy?¡¯ Even among explorers, only a tiny select few knew this. As Jackson had impressed on her, ¨CMapmaker is a truly rare class. And you need to keep it a secret for now. Say absolutely nothing about mapmakers. Understood? A truly rare class, a class even her Teacher urged her to keep a secret. As far as Kang Somyi knew, there was only one mapmaker in the entire world. After seeing Somyi¡¯s expression, Hyukjin knew that mapmakers had entered the scene. That was at least three years earlier than in the past Hyukjin knew. Originally, the mapmaker class was revealed to the world in August of 2022. ¡®The mapmaker Cha Jihae.¡¯ Only when very specific conditions and materials were present could a mapmaker design gates. The only Player known to the public as a mapmaker was Cha Jihae. ¡°How do you know about the mapmaker?¡± ¡°I never said you could ask questions.¡± ¡°That¡¯s true.¡± Somyi pouted her lips a little. ¡°Still, I should be allowed to at least ask questions.¡± ¡°No.¡± ¡°¡­Okay.¡± Yeonseo mumbled, ¡°So evil.¡± She followed it up with, ¡°Evil is sexy,¡± but Hyukjin let those words go through one ear and out the next. Hyukjin asked, ¡°The mapmaker is Korean, right?¡± ¡°I don¡¯t know.¡± ¡°You absolutely don¡¯t know?¡± ¡°No, I really don¡¯t. As far as I know, only Teacher is in direct contact with the mapmaker.¡± Hyukjin thought for a bit, thinking of the best way to direct this situation. ¡°If the mapmaker happens to be Korean and has a last name of Cha, please tell me.¡± ¡°Alright. Do we have a deal then?¡± ¡°No.¡± ¡°Just stick a straw in me and suck me dry then, why don¡¯t you?¡± ¡°Can I really?¡± Hyukjin raised Isabel. ¡°Ar-Argh, seriously! It was a joke!¡± Kang Somyi waved her hands frantically, backing away. Hyukjin had unintentionally gained information about mapmakers. He didn¡¯t think a mapmaker had designed the one and only M?rchen¡¯s Breastplate. ¡®As I thought, Jackson is deeply involved.¡¯ M?rchen¡¯s Breastplate was a legendary artifact that had saved Michelle¡¯s life multiple times. There was no way Cha Jihae had designed the gate that yielded such an artifact as a reward all by herself. If that were possible, she would have made a bunch of gates of similar quality and mass-produced countless epic items. ¡®And he will have dealt with her more effectively than the Demon King.¡¯ When Cha Jihae crashed into the Player scene like a comet three years ago, she quickly jumped to fame comparable to that of the 8 Heroes of Korea. After her debut, she made significant contributions to the 8 Heroes¡¯ growth and became the hero who joined forces with barrier magicians to seal the ¡®Lotte Signiel Dungeon¡¯. In any case, he now knew that the mapmaker was already in play, that she had created the gate in Singapore, and that Jackson was once again deeply involved in that process. A groan interrupted his thoughts¡ªLasbon had begun regaining consciousness. Hyukjin threw a look at Yoohyun, who immediately understood what he wanted. ¡°Go back to sleep. Hush, little baby, don¡¯t say a word!¡± Yoohyun¡¯s ridiculous lullaby was accompanied by a swift chop to the neck. Crack! Lasbon went limp again with a crack loud enough to make one fear for the bones of his neck. It looked bad, but Yoohyun had controlled his strength well, so the Singaporean thief was still alive. ¡°He should be asleep for quite a while this time, Hyungnim! Sorry to worry you.¡± Hyukjin nodded, then turned back to Kang Somyi. ¡°You need to guide us along the fastest way to clear this gate. You know what I¡¯m getting there, correct?¡± ¡°I don¡¯t know what the reward is. I know the way, but not the reward.¡± ¡°It¡¯s called M?rchen¡¯s Breastplate.¡± ¡°Understood. I¡¯ll do my utmost to help.¡± ¡°One more thing. Select me as your liege.¡± ¡°What?¡± ¡°What, you don¡¯t want to?¡± ¡°Well¡­ it¡¯s not that I don¡¯t want to¡­¡± She trailed off, hesitating. ¡°Jackson isn¡¯t your liege, but your teacher. Your liege and teacher don¡¯t have to be the same person; you can keep them separate.¡± ¡°That¡¯s true, but¡­¡± ¡°If you don¡¯t want to, I¡¯ll just sell this thing. I¡¯m sure Michelle will give me a lot for it.¡± Hyukjin grinned, before putting Kang Somyi¡¯s worries to rest at the appropriate timing. ¡°I¡¯m just kidding. Each item has an owner that matches it, after all.¡± ¡°You¡¯re a real pro at playing with someone¡¯s feelings.¡± ¡°If I don¡¯t give this to you, the Explorer of Service will be forever gone to you anyway.¡± Kang Somyi frowned. ¡°I need to think about it for a moment. Any other conditions?¡± ¡°We need to clear this place before Blood and Iron Lion clears Nanba Terminal.¡± ¡°What? Why¡¯s that?¡± ¡°I don¡¯t like Song Junghye.¡± ¡°¡­But you didn¡¯t even know about Nanba Terminal until today.¡± ¡°But I do now.¡± Somyi grimaced at Hyukjin¡¯s smile. Jackson¡¯s test to see if there was a spy in Blood and Iron Lion was now being pointed against her as justification for Kim Hyukjin. It wasn¡¯t because Jackson was inept. It was just that the scene Jackson had planned hadn¡¯t accounted for Lasbon and the Daedongyeojido. ¡°I can¡¯t just watch and let Song Junghye get good things, you see?¡± ¡°B-But she¡¯s my guildmaster!¡± ¡°If you don¡¯t like it, you can give up on this trade.¡± ¡°Hic!¡± Kang Somyi couldn¡¯t help but make a woeful sound. This was just too much. ¡°You¡¯re really too much.¡± ¡°Like I said, just give up if you don¡¯t like it. That¡¯s how trades normally are. You make the trade if you want, or don¡¯t if you don¡¯t want. Are you going to give up on the trade?¡± ¡°You say that knowing very well I can¡¯t.¡± Somyi pouted her lips. She appeared to be full of complaints, but she didn¡¯t seem to be considering calling off the deal. Yeonseo offered her two cents. ¡°This is why you¡¯ll never have a good night¡¯s rest again if you become Boss¡¯ enemy,¡± she remarked. ¡°You must be right. I¡¯ve never seen someone with such a handsome face be this stubborn and wicked.¡± ¡°But on the other hand, if you join his side, it¡¯s so nice. He takes care of all the wicked stuff for you,¡± said Yeonseo as Sung-gu nodded seriously and voiced his agreement. Kang Somyi gave up. ¡°Alright. I just have to help you clear the gate quickly, yes?¡± ¡°That¡¯s right. I¡¯ll give you the Daedongyeojido if you do that.¡± The Korean explorer took the lead. ¡°I think we can be done in thirty minutes.¡± ¡°Excellent.¡± Hyukjin glanced at the unconscious Lasbon. ¡°Shall I grant him eternal sleep, Hyungnim?¡± ¡°No, just leave him.¡± ¡°Understood, Hyungnim.¡± Giantgod Guild and Kang Somyi went down to the 1st floor. * * * Translator ¨C Lei Proofreader ¨C Ash * * * On the 1st floor, Hyukjin opened the Mandarin Oriental Hotel Gate. [Admission rights may be granted to Players of your choice.] [Admission rights have been granted to Giantgod Guild and 1 other person.] [Entering the ¡®Mandarin Oriental Hotel Gate¡¯.] Once inside, it wasn¡¯t hard. The gate was set up like a labyrinth, but Kang Somyi already knew all the paths. ¡°There are a few pictogram puzzles hidden here.¡± ¡°There¡¯s a trap over there, so be careful.¡± ¡°Here, you just need to power through. A lot of them are weak to fire magic.¡± ¡°You have to jump down here. You won¡¯t get hurt, so just jump.¡± It took less than thirty minutes to clear the Mandarin Oriental Hotel Gate. Kang Somyi breathed a long sigh. ¡°There it is. The Clear Crystal.¡± ¡°I¡¯ll break it, Hyungnim.¡± [The ¡®Mandarin Oriental Hotel Gate¡¯ has been cleared.] [The ¡®Mandarin Oriental Hotel Gate Clear Reward¡¯ has been given to Player So Yoohyun.] Just as Hyukjin had known from the beginning, M?rchen¡¯s Breastplate was given as the sole reward. ¡°Here it is, Hyungnim.¡± Yoohyun took the breastplate from his Inventory and gave it without hesitation to Hyukjin. ¡°Thanks.¡± ¡°No thanks required, Hyungnim. I¡¯m happy I can be of service in this way, Hyungnim.¡± ¡°¡­¡± ¡°I¡¯m your doormat, Hyungnim.¡± ¡°¡­¡± And so, Hyukjin was able to acquire M?rchen¡¯s Breastplate extremely easily and with stunning speed. A legendary grade item. Capable of growth. The entire party left the gate. ¡®Excellent.¡¯ When they were out, the events proceeded just as Hyukjin planned. He had left the unconscious Lasbon be and cleared the gate knowing this would happen. As expressionless as ever, Senia provided commentary only the Guardians could hear. ¡°And now, we will move onto the next stage that Player Kim Hyukjin has prepared.¡± She was an Intermediate Administrator without much talent. And yet, the innumerable Guardians watching her unique stream focused on the next stage designed by Kim Hyukjin with rapt attention. Hyukjin thought to himself. ¡®Today¡­¡¯ He hardened his resolve. ¡®¡­I might have to commit murder.¡¯ ____ Chapter 285 Chapter 285 Hyukjin knew Lasbon would wake up. He predicted what Lasbon would be thinking¡ªthe thief was surely enraged. Because of his high pride, Lasbon likely felt very insulted. He would have a trump card prepared, and Hyukjin even knew what that trump card was. ¡®He¡¯ll use Hall of Thieves.¡¯ Lasbon didn¡¯t become a famous thief simply by being good at thieving. He was also very skilled at direct combat, at least wherever the Hall of Thieves was deployed. Moreover, when he fought with the Travelers of the Night, their combined coordination was so effective that you could essentially call it hunting rather than fighting. ¡°You shouldn¡¯t have left me alive,¡± said Lasbon. ¡°How ungrateful for you to say that knowing I spared you.¡± ¡°I¡¯ll make you regret not killing me.¡± Hyukjin¡¯s world began to change, darkening. He entered the special field created by the Travelers of the Night, Hall of Thieves, an arena that enabled thieves to engage in direct combat. In regular fields, they were basically pure thieves with terrible combat ability. But in the Hall of Thieves, it was different. This field was made for them, and here, their combat prowess was boosted far above their usual levels. Hall of Thieves. It was one of the reasons why Lasbon and the Travelers of the Night he led were called big league thieves. Hyukjin looked around. The Hall of Thieves he was in now was shaped like a circular dome and looked quite similar to the one he had seen in videos. This one seemed to be the initial version. Tombstones and structures like broken pillars were scattered around, providing cover. The arena was framed by massive pillars. ¡®If you go past those pillars, you die.¡¯ Only thieves could move past them. Regular Players were restricted solely to staying within the arena. He heard Lasbon¡¯s voice. ¡°I will get back Lefry¡¯s Crossdressing Set.¡± That moment, he heard a notice. [The Nebula Robber¡¯s ¡®Robbing Authority¡¯ has been proclaimed.] [Upon the target Player¡¯s death, ¡®Duke Lefry¡¯s Crossdressing Set¡¯ will have a 100% chance to drop.] Hyukjin smiled grimly. ¡®So he wants to kill me.¡¯ This situation was no surprise to Hyukjin. He had seen this¡ªand exactly this¡ªoccurring from a mile away. [The Hall of Thieves demands a blood offering.] The battle began. Hyukjin cranked Eye of Perception to full power. ¡®A total of four guys hiding around.¡¯ Four people, including Lasbon. He located them all. One of them was a straight shot ahead of him. ¡®He¡¯s confident in his stealth.¡¯ This guy was certain he would remain undiscovered. Hyukjin took out his bow. ¡®No need to give them much time.¡¯ He immediately drew on his strength, which he had been preparing in advance. [Generating a temporary Blackfire Bow.] [The Blackfire Bow¡¯s base item is the Ink Bow.] Hyukjin intentionally aimed elsewhere, pointing his bow at empty air to make Lasbon drop his guard. In other words, a bait. A bait that Lasbon swallowed very nicely. ¡®He doesn¡¯t know where we are!¡¯ Once Kim Hyukjin fired off in a panic, his defense would be blown wide open. Reaching that conclusion, Lasbon recovered his calm. He had faltered for a moment when Hyukjin had suddenly pulled out a bow, but that overwhelming aura of destructive power emanating from the bow didn¡¯t mean anything if it didn¡¯t land. ¡®To think he would pull out a weapon he¡¯s not used to¡­¡¯ Lasbon smiled. ¡®This should be a breeze.¡¯ This guy had made the wrong choice out of panic, though it did look as though he was capable of unleashing a powerful shot. Even if he wasn¡¯t used to it, he seemed to have some kind of ultimate skill ready to go. ¡®A powerful move you¡¯re not used to is actually fatally detrimental when used against us.¡¯ But then, Kim Hyukjin whirled around, not losing his balance one bit despite turning so quickly. Fwip! He released his bowstring. A scream split the air. A beam of light more akin to a railgun projectile than an arrow blasted through the field. Cover was useless against it. After smashing the cover to pieces, black flames began to devour the hapless Player. It was only one arrow, but the might it carried was truly incredible. The Player fell to the ground with a thud, powerless to resist. Hyukjin¡¯s expression hardened ever so slightly. He was no fan of murder. He, too, was a person. There was nothing to like about a person killing another person. But the world was different now. If he didn¡¯t kill, he would be killed. ¡®You brought this upon yourselves.¡¯ They were the ones who first tried to steal from him, and they were the ones who came after his life even after he spared them. Hyukjin heard a voice trembling with rage. ¡°Can you handle the consequences?!¡± Lasbon had never imagined that level of power. Even if it was an ultimate move, the attack he had just seen went beyond magic. But big hits like this naturally consumed a great deal of stamina. With just one attack, Kim Hyukjin would be exhausted. Lasbon growled, ¡°I¡¯ll kill you¡­!¡± Hyukjin scoffed. He wouldn¡¯t have gotten involved if he didn¡¯t think he could handle the consequences. As he watched, Lasbon¡¯s body began to blur. ¡°Can you guys handle the consequences?¡± Hyukjin asked back. ¡°¡­¡± ¡°You¡¯re the ones who picked a fight with me first, and you¡¯re the ones who tried to kill me first.¡± ¡°¡­¡± He received no response. The thieves moved swiftly about, eyeing their chance. ¡°The Travelers of the Night never forget their enemies.¡± Lasbon¡¯s eyes widened. ¡®He knows who we are?¡¯ Travelers of the Night wasn¡¯t an official name. ¡®How?¡¯ They had never announced themselves publicly. So how did he know their name? ¡°And they never spare those who come into the Hall of Thieves.¡± He had never said anything about the Hall of Thieves, either. But this Korean in front of him knew about it. He had heard much about the ¡°Korean Style¡±, but witnessing it in person almost gave him goosebumps. Hyukjin raised his bow again. ¡°You guys tried to kill me.¡± Eye for an eye, tooth for a tooth. He used the special ability he had acquired in his first ever PvP. He had crossed the Rubicon with these people. The Travelers of the Night never forgot their grudges. They would stir trouble at every opportunity. ¡®I don¡¯t like killing¡­¡¯ There were times when you had to do things you didn¡¯t want to. ¡®But one more time¡­¡¯ He focused. His target right now wasn¡¯t a person, but an enemy. There were no people in war. Just enemies. ¡®I¡¯ll shoot.¡¯ He focused on one point. His Divine Bow Tomed body honed its aim at that one spot, which grew large in his eyes. He penetrated the stealth the thieves were so confident in and aimed straight for the heart. ¡®The heart.¡¯ He fired at the heart, that one spot. One of the Travelers of the Night perished on the spot, their lifeforce engulfed by black flames. Hyukjin dropped his bow. ¡®Item switching.¡¯ He had watched and learned the timing from the Fight King Vela. It wasn¡¯t quite a perfect ¡®Action Duplication¡¯, but he could still pull off a passable imitation. Hyukjin whipped out an Item Shop dagger. After rapidly switching weapons, Hyukjin stabbed downwards, holding the dagger in reverse. The Player fell with a cry, a dagger in the back of his head. Hyukjin didn¡¯t stop. ¡®One step to the right.¡¯ He sidestepped, then twisted a little. Something grazed his cheek. ¡®A poisoned needle.¡¯ After firing the poisoned needle from the shadows, Lasbon showed himself. His eyes were bloodshot and wet with tears. ¡°You will die here.¡± ¡°I think you said the same thing when I first arrived here.¡± ¡°You will die here.¡± ¡°¡­¡± Hyukjin noticed. Those words weren¡¯t a warning, but a type of incantation. ¡°You will die here.¡± If that was the case, why was Lasbon uttering that incantation? The reason was simple. ¡®In order to activate the poison that was on the needle.¡¯ It was simultaneously an incantation and an activation phrase. There was a high chance the needle was laced with a deadly toxin. ¡°Even I don¡¯t know what kind of poison was on that needle,¡± said Hyukjin. ¡°It¡¯s Seven Steps Viper venom.¡± The Seven Steps Viper was a snake monster with a venom so deadly it could kill before the victim could take seven steps. Hyukjin took another step to the left. A dagger buried itself in the tombstone behind him. ¡°It¡¯s true that Seven Steps Viper venom is amazing. It can make an elephant drop dead in an instant.¡± ¡°¡­¡± Lasbon realized that something was wrong. ¡®Why isn¡¯t he dying?¡¯ Kim Hyukjin should at least be paralyzed, but he wasn¡¯t. It felt as though all his plans in the Hall of Thieves were being thoroughly destroyed. ¡°I knew you weren¡¯t the type to bend, much less break.¡± When Lasbon first went after him, Hyukjin faintly guessed that things would end this way, though he hadn¡¯t wanted it. ¡°And I doubt telling you to kneel at this point would do anything.¡± Lasbon¡¯s eyes became even more bloodshot. ¡®What bullshit is he going on about?¡¯ They had already crossed a point of no return. ¡°I will kill you here and join my comrades.¡± ¡°I guessed as much.¡± That was the Lasbon he knew. ¡®Eight years ago, you said the same thing to the Fight King Vela.¡¯ The incident had caused a huge furor back then. Lasbon had staunchly refused to bend to the Fight King Vela. ¡®Vela tried to spare you, but¡­¡¯ In the end, Lasbon was killed by Vela, along with all of the Travelers of the Night. He chose the fate of dying with his crew, and it seemed it was doing the same now. ¡®Giving you a painless death is the minimum degree of respect I can give you as another human.¡¯ It was laughable to talk of respect when killing someone, but even so, that was the final show of respect he could offer his opponent. ¡°Just how. Just how did you survive the Seven Steps Viper venom?¡± asked Lasbon. Hyukjin decided to answer his question. ¡°It¡¯s merely that the purity of Athenae is a higher level than the venom of the Seven Steps Viper.¡± ¡°I see.¡± Lasbon didn¡¯t know what Athenae was, but his opponent seemed to have something pure that could neutralize poison. The thief took out a dagger. ¡®Shadow Sneak.¡¯ He moved. If he didn¡¯t, he would be cut down. Before he knew it, his opponent had pulled out a sword, a fine blade that was obviously extraordinary. Hyukjin used Flash Step, moving behind Lasbon in an instant. Lasbon¡¯s Shadow Sneak was inferior to Hyukjin¡¯s Eye of Perception. Just like the Seven Steps Viper venom, everything at Lasbon¡¯s disposal was inferior to what Kim Hyukjin had. Hyukjin swung Isabel. Schwing¨C! Just as the Demon King had done to Jackson, Hyukjin¡¯s sword drew a clean arc in the air. Lasbon¡¯s head fell to the ground. [The blood of all the thieves has seeped into the Hall of Thieves.] [The Hall of Thieves¡¯ hidden piece has been fulfilled.] There was a hidden piece. Hyukjin knew about it. If all of the thieves in the Hall of Thieves were killed, this hidden piece would trigger. Vela had gotten it back then. [Activate the Hall of Thieves¡¯ hidden piece, ¡®Tombstone of Thieves¡¯?] Hyukjin shook his head. ¡®NO.¡¯ He knew what kind of hidden piece it was. Clearing it would yield him a unique grade item called ¡®Miuron Shortsword¡¯. He might consider it if it was a transcendent artifact like Isabel, but he didn¡¯t want it. He had just killed four people, and he had no desire to earn a hidden piece by killing them. [¡®Tombstone of Thieves¡¯ was not activated.] Hyukjin didn¡¯t greatly regret missing out on the hidden piece. [Leaving the Hall of Thieves.] * * * Translator ¨C Lei Proofreader ¨C Ash * * * At the same time, the Precognitive Dreamer Ham Sohyun bolted upright. All alone in the hospital room, her body floated into the air, her eyes turning white. A new prophecy fell from her lips. ¨CThere, where the singular sun rises. ¨CStands a tombstone drenched in blood. * * * Hyukjin reappeared in his original spot on the 1st floor where he had been teleported to after clearing the Mandarin Oriental Hotel Gate. Kang Somyi breathed a sigh of relief. ¡°Whew. What a relief. I thought you made a run for it.¡± ¡°¡­¡± He had returned to the world he knew. Around him were the members of Giantgod Guild, as well as Kang Somyi. This was the real world. The shock he felt from killing four people just now was less than he expected. ¡°Let¡¯s finish the trade, then.¡± This was the world in which he lived. The Hall of Thieves was gone. He turned his thoughts away from that starry world, focusing on this one. ____ Chapter 286 Chapter 286 Before he finished his deal with Kang Somyi, there was something he had to show her. Hyukjin gave her the Daedongyeojido. ¡°It¡¯s in your Inventory, yes?¡± ¡°Huh? Yes.¡± Kang Somyi stared at him in puzzlement, wondering what was going on. ¡°Count to three.¡± ¡°Okay.¡± She counted aloud. ¡°Check your Inventory again.¡± ¡°Alri¡ªhuh? Where¡¯d it go?¡± Hyukjin took out the Daedongyeojido from his Inventory. ¡°Why do you have that?¡± ¡°You saw the video earlier.¡± ¡°What video?¡± ¡°The video of me competing in theft with the thief Player. That was essentially a PvP.¡± It wasn¡¯t actually a PvP, but Kang Somyi was able to see it as one. ¡°¡­Ah, so you really do have the ability to steal?¡± ¡°As you just saw.¡± Lying about having such an ability was a bit dicey. He would lie without hesitation if it were just Kang Somyi, but the Guardians were watching right now. Lying about being a thief was especially inadvisable in front of the Milky Way Neutron Star, the Guardian who had gifted him the Stardust. Unable to wrap her head around it, Somyi simply asked, ¡°Why did you show me that?¡± ¡°Once you have the Daedongyeojido, will you immediately choose me as your liege?¡± The Korean explorer pouted. ¡°Tch. I promised you that earlier, didn¡¯t I?¡± ¡°I just want to be sure. We haven¡¯t built that much trust between us, have we?¡± Kang Somyi pursed her lips in slight displeasure, but she soon nodded. ¡°Well, you¡¯re not wrong.¡± She really believed what he said wasn¡¯t wrong, a thought that made her feel somewhat better. ¡®The person I choose as my liege should be this thorough, at least.¡¯ He was showing her that he was quite thorough and cautious. Somyi recalled the admiration she had felt when watching him Play and when seeing his gift for drawing the big picture. ¡®If I¡¯m going to choose him anyway, I need to just believe and follow.¡¯ There was no use crying over spilled milk¡ªit was done and couldn¡¯t be changed. She decided to just accept it. ¡°I can just choose you right away, right?¡± ¡°Yes.¡± After being given the Daedongyeojido again, Kang Somyi used it immediately. [The hidden power of the Daedongyeojido has been activated.] [You can advance to the Explorer of Service.] [However, you must set a Recipient of Service.] She selected Kim Hyukjin as her liege without a single moment of hesitation. Somyi briefly knelt before her new liege, a ceremonial gesture. [The Recipient of Service cannot be changed.] She still made her choice. After making up her mind once, she didn¡¯t look back. [The Recipient of Service has been set.] [Player Kim Hyukjin has been set as the Recipient of Service.] [You have advanced to the Explorer of Service.] * * * Translator ¨C Lei Proofreader ¨C Ash * * * As Somyi stood up, her jaw dropped. She didn¡¯t hide her shock¡ªher thoughts and emotions were written all over her face. ¡°What happened?¡± ¡°O-One moment. I need to process my surprise a little.¡± In truth, Hyukjin knew exactly what had happened to her. Eye of Perception was reading it all. [The Explorer of Service has chosen you as their ¡®liege¡¯.] [The Explorer of Service has pledged their loyalty to you.] [Eye of Perception reads all information regarding the Explorer of Service.] Eye of Perception had a proficiency of [2]. But the actual proficiency Hyukjin was experiencing was at least 3. ¡®No, I would believe you if you told me it was 4, or even 5.¡¯ Hyukjin was experiencing a new world. [When used on the Explorer of Service, Eye of Perception will display the maximum limit of its ability.] Almost as if he were mentally connected to Kang Somyi, he could vividly feel her emotions. It felt as though he could see everything about her. ¡®This is Eye of Perception¡¯s future¡­!¡¯ It was fascinating. What she was thinking, what her upbringing was like, what she wanted right now, what emotions she was feeling, he could sense them all. Almost like he had become Kang Somyi herself. ¡®She¡¯s incredibly happy right now.¡¯ She was rejoicing about having gained the class of her dreams. Hyukjin could feel that clearly. ¡®She wanted that class so badly?¡¯ Kang Somyi was someone who was rather used to helping people, as well as someone who enjoyed the act. ¡®A unique person who derives joy from serving someone.¡¯ Normally, people liked being served, but this woman enjoyed serving someone else. It wasn¡¯t that strange. Information crashed into him like the rising tide. ¡®She likes men, but she also likes women.¡¯ It wasn¡¯t terribly useful info, but he was able to see her sexual orientation. He could even see that she was currently slightly interested in Shin Yeonseo. A mountain of information came in, including all her skills. Not only could he see what they were called, but he could see exactly what they did. The moment he looked at them, he saw it all. ¡®Not only that¡­¡¯ Most surprising was that he could see what hidden pieces the Explorer of Service class had. What hidden pieces it would have in the future, what scenarios it would involve in the future, it was all there, as if he had been gifted with the most powerful future sight. ¡®I guess I can only read up to the intermediate period.¡¯ The intermediate period usually referred to level 40-60. He could see all the information regarding Kang Somyi¡¯s ¡®class scenarios¡¯ for that period. ¡®This is amazing.¡¯ That wasn¡¯t the only revelation. ¡®If I reach the expert period¡­ if Eye of Perception¡¯s proficiency greatly increases¡­¡¯ When that happened, didn¡¯t that mean he could analyze not just Kang Somyi, but other Players with this level of acuity? The Player, the scenarios they would get, even their hidden pieces. He would see it all. A new world would unfurl before him. ¡®This is Eye of Perception¡¯s future path.¡¯ This sensation of glimpsing the future, of tasting the power of his future ability, sent shivers down his spine. ¡°Hoooo.¡± Somyi let out a long exhale. ¡°I¡¯ve regained my cool.¡± ¡°I see you¡¯ve changed a lot.¡± ¡°This is all thanks to you. Thanks to my advancement, I¡¯ve¡ª¡± ¡°You¡¯ve reached level 44, right?¡± ¡°How did you know?¡± ¡°Because I¡¯m your liege.¡± Yeonseo¡¯s eyes turned as round as saucers. ¡°What? Level 44?!¡± Everyone in Giantgod was shocked. ¡°Hyungnim! Is this lady really level 44?¡± ¡°Fuck! Even I¡¯m still level 41! Even Bum-gu is 41, arghh!¡± ¡°My level has been synchronized with yours. It¡¯s a special perk of the Explorer of Service,¡± Somyi explained. ¡°But my God, to think you were level 44¡­ I didn¡¯t think there were any level 44s out there.¡± Goosebumps rose on her arms. ¡®He was level 44?¡¯ Korea¡¯s official top Ranker was the Taeguk Shield Song Kiyeol. According to public knowledge, he was level 39. Most of the Players in Taeguk Shield were in their late 30s. That was the same for Song Junghye¡¯s Blood and Iron Lion, as well. ¡®I know Wings is also in their late 30s.¡¯ But it seemed all of Giantgod Guild were past level 40, and the person she had chosen as her liege, Kim Hyukjin, was level 44. ¡®His level being so high isn¡¯t the only shocker.¡¯ It wasn¡¯t impossible for there to be people with high levels. After all, there were many Irregulars out there. As an explorer, that was a fact Somyi had long acknowledged. ¡®But despite having such a high level and skilled teammates, his name¡­ is completely unknown?¡¯ That was what shocked her. This was a level 44 Player the world didn¡¯t know. A Player who was leading a guild packed with level 40+ Players. Hyukjin read Kang Somyi¡¯s thoughts like a book, not because he wanted to, but simply because he saw them with a single look. Everything was automatically analyzed and registered by Eye of Perception. ¡°I was a bit surprised when you saw through my Cognitive Dissonance in the D-Tower.¡± ¡°Ah, so that unique barrier thing was Cognitive Dissonance.¡± Somyi nodded in realization. ¡°So that¡¯s how. He¡¯s been making full use of that ability to thoroughly hide himself.¡¯ But could he truly pull the wool over the eyes of everyone in the world with that one ability alone? ¡®No, he¡¯s got a co-conspirator.¡¯ Hyukjin grinned. ¡°I think I know what you¡¯re thinking.¡± ¡°Huh?¡± ¡°My co-conspirator is the guildmaster of Taeguk Shield, Song Kiyeol. And if we go a little further, Sungshin CEO Song Kiyoung is an ally of mine. And technically, so is Michelle of the US. There are also a few Italian Players.¡± ¡°Ah¡­!¡± Kang Somyi shivered like a current of electricity was running through her body. ¡°So you put up Sungshin as a front, and while doing so, you built relations with top Rankers.¡± ¡°Basically, yes.¡± ¡°Wow.¡± Pure awe filled her. She had never thought in her wildest dreams that there would be a man like him in Korea. She could only think that it was no wonder that her teacher was so obsessed with him. ¡°I kinda doubted Teacher when he said you were one of the people qualified to become the star, but¡­¡± Pure awe. That, too, was visible in Hyukjin¡¯s eyes. ¡°You said the goal of explorers is to find the king, right?¡± ¡°Yes, that¡¯s right. Now my goal is to make you, no, make my liege, into the king.¡± ¡°What if I refuse to become the king?¡± Somyi closed her mouth. After a moment of silence, she responded, ¡°The true king will be unable to refuse the throne.¡± ¡°Why?¡± ¡°Because the king doesn¡¯t rise to power of his own will, but is raised to the throne by the people.¡± Hyukjin laughed. ¡°Fine, whatever.¡± Their deal wasn¡¯t yet concluded. ¡°I¡¯ve become your liege. According to the System, that is.¡± ¡°That¡¯s right. I really think it was the right call to choose you as my liege. I¡¯m truly happy right now; I just wish I could really express it.¡± Her frustration was conveyed to Hyukjin. She was being completely, 100% sincere. Kang Somyi was a woman who was excessively honest about her true self. ¡°We¡¯ll be heading to Nanba Terminal now.¡± ¡°Huh? I¡¯m going as well?¡± ¡°It would be a shame to leave behind an explorer as useful as you.¡± ¡°But still¡­ Teacher will be there¡­¡± ¡°You can just become a disciple who exceeds their teacher.¡± Kang Somyi felt sincerely troubled. If she took Kim Hyukjin to Nanba Terminal, she would be going against her teacher Jackson¡¯s plans. Those plans would be ruined by her, his disciple. ¡°What¡¯s wrong? Are you worried Jackson will be displeased?¡± ¡°¡­Yes.¡± ¡°You misunderstand him.¡± Hyukjin shook his head. ¡°He¡¯ll actually be happy.¡± ¡°How come?¡± ¡°Jackson wants to turn me into a king more than he wants Song Junghye to become one.¡± Jackson¡¯s highest priority was Kim Hyukjin, something even Hyukjin roughly understood. He didn¡¯t know if Jackson really meant it, but that was what he had said. ¡°For Jackson, the gift he prepared for Song Junghye getting swiped by me won¡¯t be that terrible an outcome.¡± ¡°But Teacher purposefully sent me to you in order to¡­¡± ¡°In order to hinder me, yes?¡± ¡°Not exactly¡­¡± ¡°I know he instructed you to make the clear slow, but safe.¡± Hyukjin grinned. ¡°Tell him you helped me in order to test my qualifications as a king. Jackson will be happy.¡± ¡°Still¡­¡± She needed one last nudge. ¡°A hidden piece of yours is there.¡± ¡°I¡¯ll go!¡± ¡°I thought you were worried about Jackson getting mad?¡± ¡°I¡¯m an oblivious woman. Hehehe.¡± Kang Somyi enthusiastically took the lead, the explorer who had been wary of stepping on her teacher¡¯s toes nowhere to be seen. She looked to be in an extremely good mood. ¡°Hidden pieces are love, hidden pieces are life!¡± And not long afterwards, the entire Giantgod crew arrived in Japan. Hyukjin immediately headed to the Nanba Terminal Dungeon. Under Kang Somyi¡¯s guidance, they entered the dungeon and proceeded on a boat granted by the System. They went from the first island to the second, killing a few monsters on the island before moving to the third. The first two islands were already cleared, so they were able to move forward with ease. [You have arrived at the 3rd island, ¡®Furuima¡¯.] [Entering the ¡®Furuima Field¡¯.] There, they began to see the members of Blood and Iron Lion as well as other Players. ____ Chapter 287 [Translator ¨C Lei ] [Proofreader ¨C Ash ] Chapter 287 Furuima Field was a fairly peaceful-looking island. Ferns were growing vigorously amidst the dense forest of old trees, and skittering around along the low vegetation were ¡®Legged Mushrooms¡¯. ¡®Legged Mushrooms¡¯ were neutral monsters, and Blood and Iron Lion, who had arrived here first, was ignoring them. ¡®Michelle does good work,¡¯ mused Kim Hyukjin. The members of Blood and Iron Lion weren¡¯t the only ones there. Just as Hyukjin had arranged, there were other Players here, one of whom he recognized. ¡®Mark seems to be the leader.¡¯ If Korea had the Divine Archer Hyun Junghwa, the US had the Divine Archer Mark. Both were representative archers for their countries. Hyukjin was already acquainted with Mark. ¡®And the group he¡¯s leading isn¡¯t the Michelle Corps¡­ but the Black Crow.¡¯ It wasn¡¯t public knowledge yet, but these people belonged to the Black Crow, the elites of Michelle¡¯s mercenary company, Crow. They were the world¡¯s strongest mercenaries, mercenaries who would make appearances in major incidents of national scale time and time again. ¡®Though well, not yet.¡¯ Mark would become a member of the Michelle Corps. In other words, the Michelle Corps and Black Crow weren¡¯t fully separated yet. Though it wasn¡¯t terribly meaningful to split hairs between the two, the Michelle Corps was the group that operated in the light under Michelle¡¯s direct command, while the Black Crow were mercenaries who handled the more unsavory work in the shadows. Mark, of course, recognized Hyukjin as well. ¡®The Black VIP?¡¯ At this time, the only person designated as a Black VIP of Crow was Kim Hyukjin. For reference, that was a privilege Michelle intended on granting to less than fifteen people worldwide. ¡®Kim Hyukjin is here.¡¯ Mark was one of the few Players who knew this enigmatic Korean Player¡¯s true appearance. He had promised to assist Kim Hyukjin in clearing the Sangam World Cup Stadium and Gardens by the Beach dungeons. But the Sangam World Cup Stadium Dungeon broke and now, it was said to be gone altogether. Mark watched Kim Hyukjin with interest¡ªhe had been curious. The very thorough and meticulous Kim Hyukjin¡¯s plans had gone awry. He had made a ¡°deal¡± with Michelle to get Mark to participate, and Mark himself had accepted. But the dungeon no longer existed. The future seen by this seer¡ªthat was the Michelle Corps believed he was¡ªhad come crashing down. On either side of Song Junghye were the Poisoned Dagger Jung Sangchul and Kang Woongmin the Adamant. Jung Sangchul, who had sworn loyalty to Kim Hyukjin, asked offhandedly, ¡°What are you doing here?¡± In his hand was a poisoned needle. On its gleaming, silver tip was a powerful poison. Hyukjin responded in the same casual manner. ¡°There weren¡¯t any entrance restrictions, were there? Am I not allowed to come in here?¡± As he spoke, Hyukjin looked around. ¡®I don¡¯t see Jackson.¡¯ Had Jackson not come with Song Junghye? That couldn¡¯t be. The explorer had purposefully sent Kang Somyi to handle Hyukjin so he could be here. He must have come along. He was likely exploring this island, Furuima. ¡®The explorer from Black Crow is out exploring as well.¡¯ A quick scan with Eye of Perception found no explorers. Hyukjin could infer about the situation. ¡®They¡¯re working together.¡¯ The Black Crow was an outstanding team. From the looks of it, Blood and Iron Lion had joined hands with them. Meanwhile, the Black Crow was concealing daggers in their hearts and clearing the dungeon under the veil of a temporary alliance. ¡®They¡¯re planning on stabbing Song Junghye in the back at a crucial moment.¡¯ It was an amusing plan. Mark had come with a pretty decent strategy. Instead of butting heads right from the outset, the American archer was planning on working together before interfering to keep the ¡®fleet¡¯ out of Song Junghye¡¯s hands. ¡®They¡¯re mercenaries, after all. That¡¯s the perfect level of involvement for them.¡¯ They didn¡¯t choose to have a full-blown confrontation with Song Junghye. Hyukjin saw that as a good thing¡ªit was proof that they were using their heads. Song Junghye threw her arm out in front of Jung Sangchul. ¡°I¡¯ll be the one to speak.¡± ¡°Yes, Guildmaster,¡± responded Jung Sangchul, taking a step back. ¡°Miss Kang Somyi,¡± called Song Junghye, her eyes hard. ¡°I believe you owe me an explanation. As I¡¯m sure you know, this is a dungeon that cannot be entered without an explorer.¡± Entering was possible, but progressing afterwards was impossible. Not only was it impossible to find the boat without an explorer, but you wouldn¡¯t be permitted to move from island to island. Kang Somyi sheepishly scratched the back of her head. ¡°Ah¡­ Jeez, I was trying to hide because of how awkward this is.¡± She was hiding behind So Yoohyun, but it was futile. There was no way her presence would go unnoticed. She walked out from behind the massive So Yoohyun¡¯s back. ¡°This is really complicated, Guildmaster.¡± ¡°Have you betrayed us?¡± ¡°No, it¡¯s not that!¡± Kang Somyi waved her hand. That moment, Hyukjin saw Song Junghye¡¯s mouth move ever so slightly, forming the words, ¡®Kill her.¡¯ Jung Sangchul raised his right hand. ¡®The poisoned needle is in that hand.¡¯ The assassin didn¡¯t try to bluff it. He simply, straightforwardly raised his hand, curling it into a pipe and blowing through, shooting the poisoned needle outward. Hyukjin raised his left hand, the poisoned needle embedding itself in his palm. A twinge, and that was all. ¡®It stings.¡¯ That was an understatement. If he didn¡¯t have Athenae¡¯s Flame, this poison might have caused him a great deal of pain. ¡®He really used a fatal poison.¡¯ Hyukjin didn¡¯t know what poison it was, exactly, but it was incredibly potent. Hyukjin¡¯s palm briefly turned black before returning to normal. He internally praised Jung Sangchul. Using a poison this serious was the only way to avoid arousing Song Junghye¡¯s suspicion. ¡°If a normal Player got hit by this, they would have died on the spot.¡± Hyukjin smirked. ¡°Did you just try to kill my explorer?¡± Song Junghye whirled around, and the next moment, a crisp slap echoed in the air. ¡°Who told you to act without my permission? Do you want to die?¡± My, look at her go. Hyukjin smiled inwardly, knowing very well that she had made the order. However, he kept that to himself. Jung Sangchul knelt down, and his guildmaster took a few steps forward before bending low at the waist. ¡°This one is on me. I failed to control my subordinate.¡± ¡°Ah, that so?¡± ¡°As you can see, he¡¯s just too loyal. It seems he was unable to forgive a traitor.¡± ¡°Any more shows of loyalty, and you¡¯ll have a lot of dead people on your hands.¡± Hyukjin gave a mocking laugh, knocking away her feeble excuse. Song Junghye bit her lips slightly. ¡®Why did he have to show up here¡­?!¡¯ Her fists were trembling. But Blood and Iron Lion weren¡¯t the only ones here. Watching from the side were American Rankers. She couldn¡¯t carelessly put her grudges on display here. In that respect, Kim Hyukjin openly expressing his hostility towards her was a rookie move. ¡®These people are US Rankers.¡¯ Each and every one of them was a remarkable Player. There was no doubt Kim Hyukjin was unaware of that, which was why he was acting so audaciously. Junghye used a Translation Marble, wanting to show Black Crow what was happening. At least in this moment, from an outsider¡¯s perspective, Kim Hyukjin looked rude and Song Junghye looked polite. ¡°Are you stupid? Do you think these guys won¡¯t know that Jung Sangchul used a poisoned needle?¡± ¡°It wasn¡¯t to kill her, Giantgod Guildmaster. It was simply to make her pay a small price for her betrayal.¡± ¡°If that needle had hit Miss Somyi, she would have died,¡± Hyukjin replied. You gave the order. To kill her. And Jung Sangchul had acquiesced by firing the poison needle, trusting Hyukjin to step in. ¡°Surely not. You¡¯re completely fine, aren¡¯t you?¡± ¡°That¡¯s because¡­¡± Song Junghye jumped in, as if she had seized a good opportunity to strike. ¡°What? Do you mean to boast that you¡¯re that outstanding a Player? That you were completely fine getting hit with a poison so strong it would have instantly killed Miss Kang Somyi?¡± Hyukjin smirked. ¡°Yep, bingo.¡± ¡°But you¡¯re a sovereign.¡± ¡°I am, but¡­¡± Hyukjin pulled out a bow, one he had purchased from the beginner period Item Shop. Mark recognized it as the Sturdy Wooden Bow Hyukjin had used during the auction. It wasn¡¯t as versatile as a regular Wooden Bow, so the Sturdy Wooden Bow didn¡¯t see much use. But it was back in Kim Hyukjin¡¯s hands today. He drew the bowstring, and before anyone could stop him, he fired. ¡°Sovereigns can do a bit of everything, you know.¡± Mark focused on Hyukjin¡¯s bow. ¡®He¡¯s fast!¡¯ And just like back then, he perfectly subdued his target, Jung Sangchul, with a single arrow. ¡°Ngh!¡± Jung Sangchul fell over clutching his stomach. ¡°Miss Somyi isn¡¯t dead, so I won¡¯t kill you, either.¡± ¡°What do you think you¡¯re doing?!¡± The members of Blood and Iron Lion bristled, drawing their weapons. Greathammer, gauntlets, staff, sword; out came all manner of weapons, and a woman in a white nun¡¯s habit retreated to the back. ¡®The Moon Priestess Lee Sora is here, too.¡¯ The air felt charged and ready to explode. The person who quenched the flickering flames was none other than Jackson. ¡°I was out exploring for one moment, and I come back to this. What¡¯s going on?¡± Translator ¨C Lei Proofreader ¨C Ash Jackson laughed heartily. ¡°Goodness gracious, what a turn of events.¡± Jackson didn¡¯t press Kang Somyi for many details. He appeared to have realized the gist of what had happened. He spoke honestly, apparently unoffended. ¡°You completely exposed my scheming.¡± ¡°Thanks to that, I ended up coming here.¡± ¡°Alright, it¡¯s my loss.¡± Jackson was facepalming with a laugh, but he seemed extremely delighted, not taken aback. Hyukjin closely examined the explorer¡¯s expression. ¡®Was he considering the possibility of me coming here?¡¯ It seemed so. Though the possibility itself was low, Jackson seemed to have been deeply hopeful that Kim Hyukjin would beat the odds and find his way here. Yeonseo mumbled quietly, ¡°Can¡¯t I just beat that woman up?¡± Naturally, ¡®that woman¡¯ referred to Song Junghye. Once the words left her mouth, Yeonseo froze in alarm. ¡®Get ahold of yourself, Yeonseo.¡¯ She had been exuding killing intent without realizing it. The impulse to kill Song Junghye had been gripping her entire body. ¡®What was I thinking?¡¯ How could she be entertaining thoughts of killing someone? That was impermissible. She couldn¡¯t be like this. Yeonseo still thought that. Meanwhile, Jackson said, ¡°Since things have turned out like this, I think it would be good for us three teams to clear this place together.¡± Junghye blurted out, ¡°Ridiculous!¡± And then, she immediately curbed her outrage, conscious of the gazes of the American Rankers on her. She plastered on another personable smile. ¡°Their guild and our guild are simply too poor a match for that. Trying to work together will be less efficient. Jackson.¡± ¡°I don¡¯t think you need to worry about that, Guildmaster.¡± Jackson continued his explanation¡ªthis place had ¡®three forks¡¯. All three of them could become paths to the clear. ¡°I think each guild can take one route.¡± Mark was the first to respond. ¡°The two of you, please discuss amongst yourselves first. We, the Black Crow, will make our decision afterwards.¡± For Mark, it was an extremely good situation. He was a mercenary, so all he had to do was do his job as a mercenary well. The Black VIP had shown up in person, so this was a closed case. It was down to Kim Hyukjin and Song Junghye. Hyukjin turned to his guild members. ¡°We¡¯ll be taking the path on the right.¡± ¡°Blood and Iron Lion will take the middle.¡± And Black Crow took the left. Hyukjin smiled secretly to himself. ¡®In a pinch¡­ we¡¯ll be able to surround them from both sides.¡¯ The arrangement was laid out in a way that would allow Giantgod and the Black Crow to encircle Blood and Iron Lion, like the crane wing formation. Kang Somyi laughed. ¡°I¡¯ve been fired from Blood and Iron Lion, haven¡¯t I?¡± ¡°You have. You almost died, you know.¡± ¡°It hasn¡¯t been long since I was hired, and now I¡¯m fired. How sad.¡± She laughed again, not looking very angry at all. ¡°Oh right. That makes you my life¡¯s savior, doesn¡¯t it?¡± ¡°I suppose so.¡± ¡°Whoa. To think I would have a savior one day, too. Fascinating!¡± Kang Somyi beamed brightly. ¡°I¡¯ll do my best so we can absolutely nab a faster clear.¡± She prattled on, clearly excited. The newly advanced ¡®Explorer of Service¡¯ had already deduced what kind of dungeon this was. ¡°This is a winner-takes-all dungeon. Let¡¯s go! Guildmaster.¡± Under Kang Somyi¡¯s guidance, Hyukjin began to hatch another scheme. ¡®I¡¯ll¡­ try using this.¡¯ He would use it by borrowing some of Kang Somyi¡¯s power. Chapter 289 [Translator ¨C Lei ] [Proofreader ¨C Ash ] Chapter 289 ¡°Two hundred meters ahead, monster detected between the red tree and fallen pine,¡± said Kang Somyi. Hyukjin felt it, too. ¡®That¡¯s¡­ an Iron Rhinoceros.¡¯ It was an animal monster with powerful defense and strong physical offense. It was completely clad in iron, to the point that some Players classified it as a machine type. ¡®Their average levels are in the early 40s.¡¯ It posed little difficulty if Giantgod worked together. If it was the only foe. Hyukjin lowered his voice. ¡°For now, we hide.¡± After putting a temporary hold on engaging it, he sent a whisper. ¨CIf you run into an Iron Rhinoceros, don¡¯t hunt it. ¨CU-Understood. Mark acknowledged the order, but he questioned the reasoning. He was supplied the answer shortly afterwards. ¨CThe Iron Rhinoceros is a paired monster. ¨CWhat¡¯s that? ¨CWhere there¡¯s an Iron Rhinoceros, there¡¯s always an Iron Armadillo nearby. ¨CUnderstood. I¡¯ll keep it in mind. Getting intel from Kim Hyukjin fascinated Mark. ¡®Is it that his explorer is good, or that Kim Hyukjin¡¯s ability as a sovereign is outrageous?¡¯ Intel was, of course, a type of asset. Outstanding sovereigns possessed a lot of information. In that respect, Kim Hyukjin was a fearsome sovereign. ¨CYou absolutely must kill the armadillo first. The order was important. ¨CIf the Iron Rhinoceros dies, the armadillo goes berserk. Upon witnessing the Iron Rhinoceros¡¯ death, the Iron Armadillo¡¯s body would turn red-hot and melt down. By melting down its body, it would turn everything in its vicinity into scorched earth. There was no way for Players at the current stage to fend off a berserking Iron Armadillo. ¨CDo you happen to know anything about their weaknesses, maybe? Their bodies look awfully sturdy. ¨CYour explorer should be able to deduce that much. The explorer in Black Crow was named ¡®Widget¡¯. Since he was a member of Black Crow, his skills far surpassed the average Player¡¯s. If he was the same Widget Hyukjin knew, he should be able to figure out how to defeat the Iron Armadillo. ¨CBut I¡¯ll give you a little hint. You¡¯ll need a close-ranged martial artist. ¨CUnderstood. Mark didn¡¯t ask for more details. It would have been nice to get the full run-down from Kim Hyukjin, but Mark had his pride, too¡ªhis pride that they were the strongest Players in the US. Even without additional info, he was confident they could prevail with their own power. Meanwhile, back at Kim Hyukjin¡¯s party, Kang Somyi faced the others. ¡°Do you know what an armadillo is?¡± she asked. Most of Giantgod knew, but Sunhwa didn¡¯t. ¡°What¡¯s that?¡± ¡°Kinda like a big rat covered in a hard shell.¡± ¡°Like a turtle rat?¡± ¡°Mm, how about this? You know what pill bugs are?¡± ¡°I do!¡± ¡°It looks like a giant pill bug, but it¡¯s got four legs and a tail. It¡¯s wearing hard armor.¡± Sunhwa accepted the explanation. ¡°Is it stronger than that rhino?¡± ¡°I don¡¯t think it is yet, but it feels pretty sus. I think I need to look into it a bit.¡± Hyukjin was very satisfied by Kang Somyi¡¯s perceptiveness. ¡®She can sense that in a situation where she knows nothing?¡¯ Earlier, Kang Somyi had said that the Explorer of Service was the best class within the limits of her talent plates. ¡®This must be intuition.¡¯ Intuition was a key factor for Players. Kang Somyi had recognized the danger the Iron Armadillo posed with intuition alone. Even if she hadn¡¯t been able to pinpoint what exactly that danger was, that, too, would come in time with further growth. ¡®She can probably puzzle it out given enough time, but now¡¯s not the time for that.¡¯ This was a winner-takes-all dungeon. He had zero intent on letting Song Junghye take the fleet. ¡°The skin of the rhino and the shell of the armadillo are made of the same material. Right, Somyi?¡± ¡°Hm? Yes.¡± ¡°But if you observe the rhino¡¯s skin closely, there are parts where it looks awkwardly welded together. If you roughly measure the size of those pieces, it looks to be about the same size as the armadillo¡¯s shell.¡± Kang Somyi peered at the monsters. His words were exactly right. She clapped a fist to her palm in realization. ¡°It seems that the rhino took off a part of its skin and gave it to the armadillo.¡± Extrapolating further¡ª ¡°So we can conclude that those two monsters are a pair. But it looks like the armadillo is way weaker than the rhino. So much so that it¡¯s hard to imagine them being a set.¡± Kang Somyi furtively checked Hyukjin¡¯s expression. There were a lot of times when she looked naive and airheaded, but not now. She was an Explorer of Service, and she could sense some measure of her liege¡¯s thoughts. ¡®There¡¯s no way Kim Hyukjin already knew everything I just said, is there?¡¯ That seemed all too true. A chill ran down her spine. ¡®Did he already know everything and gave me a hint?¡¯ No way. ¡®That can¡¯t be true, right?¡¯ But for some reason, she had the feeling her guess was true. Her heart thumped hard. ¡®This feels great.¡¯ She enjoyed this feeling of being tested and observed by the person she had chosen as her liege, this person who could be no more compatible by nature with her class, the Explorer of Service. She liked it. She even felt a flush of joy for picking the right liege. ¡°I can guess¡­ that the armadillo is capable of some kind of big attack.¡± She quickly continued. ¡°If you look, the rhino isn¡¯t very wary of its surroundings. But the armadillo is constantly on guard. I think it has also noticed us.¡± They were still quite a ways apart, but the armadillo seemed to have felt their presence. ¡°From the looks of it, the armadillo wants to protect the rhino. Almost like a dog running circles around its owner.¡± Hyukjin, too, was happy. He felt that he had made the right call in bringing Kang Somyi to his side. She seemed even more skilled than her reputation in his past suggested, and it probably wasn¡¯t just his imagination. ¡°So I think if something bad happens to the rhino or if it¡¯s in danger, the armadillo will fight back no matter what it takes.¡± Hyukjin nodded. He stated his conclusion point-blank. ¡°So basically, we need to hunt the armadillo first.¡± If they hunted the rhino first, the armadillo would go nuts. On the other hand, if they hunted the armadillo first, the difficulty wouldn¡¯t change. Kang Somyi responded, ¡°Exactly.¡± From that, she was sure. ¡®He really seems to have known everything.¡¯ Her new liege had immediately produced the answer, as if he¡¯d been waiting for her to lay out her conjecture. ¡®Let¡¯s wait and see a little more.¡¯ She felt even happier. To be honest, she thought at first that she¡¯d been screwed. It kind of felt like she¡¯d been forced into a scam contract. Still, the deed was done, so she was going to make the best of it. But now, she almost felt like she had married into the royal frickin¡¯ family. ¡®He¡¯s amazing.¡¯ She was only there for a very short time, but she hadn¡¯t seen anyone of this level in Blood and Iron Lion. The same applied to the guildmaster, Song Junghye. Song Junghye might be a cream of the crop Ranker in Korea, but she seemed almost infantile next to Kim Hyukjin. ¡°So? Its weakness?¡± ¡°I think I need to get a little closer to find out.¡± Hyukjin didn¡¯t wait any longer. ¡°I observed them based on your conjectures and was able to deduce the armadillo¡¯s weakness.¡± He clapped Yoohyun¡¯s shoulder. ¡°Yoohyun.¡± ¡°Yes, Hyungnim.¡± ¡°We¡¯ll fend off the rhino somehow, so you defeat the armadillo.¡± ¡°By myself?¡± ¡°Yeah.¡± Yoohyun cracked his neck. ¡°It¡¯s a bit of a tall order, but whatever you say goes, Hyungnim.¡± Hyukjin scanned the surroundings for a moment before saying, ¡°It¡¯ll roll itself up and launch itself forward like a ball. If it lands a good hit, you could get really hurt, so be careful.¡± ¡°Roger that.¡± Yoohyun didn¡¯t bother asking how or where Hyukjin had acquired such intel. That went for everyone in Giantgod. It was simply Kim Hyukjin. That, alone, was answer enough. Yoohyun went on to say, ¡°If that¡¯s its killing move, it should be wide open afterwards, huh?¡± ¡°That¡¯s right,¡± Hyukjin affirmed, glad to be working with people who caught on quickly. ¡°Seeing as you picked out a close-ranged martial artist like myself, I¡¯ve got the feeling a messy fight is unavoidable.¡± ¡°What do you think will happen if it rolls around a few dozen or a few hundred times?¡± ¡°I think it¡¯ll get awfully dizzy, Hyungnim.¡± Yoohyun understood exactly what Hyukjin was hinting at. ¡°And if it gets dizzy, it¡¯ll open right up.¡± That hard shell would uncurl, revealing the unprotected belly. ¡°And I guess you picked me since sharp weapons won¡¯t work on it. I¡¯ll wrestle it down and make meat patties of its legs, Hyungnim.¡± Hyukjin gave a crisp nod. ¡°Good.¡± Everything Yoohyun said received full points. The armadillo was protected by a special setting. Of course, that setting could be squashed by force once Players had a significant level advantage, but not now. Not only did it possess strong resistance to magic and long-ranged attacks, but it easily rebuffed sharp weapons like swords or spears. ¡®The best thing we can do right now is to crush its bones in a grapple while it¡¯s uncurled.¡¯ And grappling, a broad term for taking down an opponent on the ground, was a technique often used by the close-combat specialist So Yoohyun. Translator ¨C Lei Proofreader ¨C Ash Sunhwa raised her shield, then whistled. Her target was the Iron Rhinoceros, which honed in on her with a single whistle. The Iron Rhinoceros slowly began to approach, each lumbering step beating a loud thud. ¡°Taunt!¡± The steps grew faster, now suffused with urgency. The Iron Armadillo followed, and So Yoohyun, primed and ready to go, launched off towards it. [Using the skill Charge.] Yoohyun¡¯s 2+ meters of muscle crashed into the armadillo, producing a resounding clang, the sound of metal against metal. ¡®Ow, my head.¡¯ His head rang. The armadillo¡¯s body was far harder than he expected. ¡®Sunhwa¡¯s got the rhino aggroed, so¡­¡¯ He could focus his full attention on taking down the armadillo. As for the armadillo, it seemed to have suffered some shock from Yoohyun¡¯s attack. [!] It exuded hostility towards Yoohyun, an exclamation point floating above its head. ¡®Got it.¡¯ Yoohyun gathered energy at the tips of his toes. ¡®For now, I¡¯ll run.¡¯ Until it used its killing move or whatever, he would run while eyeing his chance to strike. ¡®It¡¯s just as Hyungnim said!¡¯ The enraged armadillo curled its body into a ball and began to give chase, rolling towards him. ¡®How can it be so damn fast?¡¯ Its speed was incredible. Yoohyun threw himself around, just barely avoiding the armadillo¡¯s attacks. The armadillo left a deep trough behind it wherever it rolled. CRASH! CRACK! A boulder was smashed into pieces, and an old tree was snapped clear in half with a bone-chilling crack. ¡°Hah¡­ hah¡­!¡± Just as Yoohyun was gasping for breath, the armadillo collapsed to the ground. ¡®Now¡¯s my chance!¡¯ He launched himself on the armadillo, heedless of its somewhat repulsive appearance. Yoohyun wrapped himself around, doing everything in his power to subdue the monster. ¡®First, its right front leg.¡¯ Crunch! He broke its right front leg. ¡®Left front leg.¡¯ Crunch! The left front leg broke as well. Pressing the center of the armadillo¡¯s belly down with his head, Yoohyun spun like a windmill and reversed his position. ¡®Next, right hind leg!¡¯ Crunch! The right hind leg broke. Crunch! Finally, the left hind leg broke. All the while, the armadillo squealed like a dying boar. SQUEAAAAAAL! The armadillo, with all of its legs broken, tried to stand up, but could only flounder. It couldn¡¯t even curl itself up. Yoohyun wrapped himself around the armadillo¡¯s neck, holding it in a chokehold and squeezing with everything he had. A human would have immediately gone unconscious, but not the armadillo. ¡®A choke doesn¡¯t work.¡¯ It was different from humans. There was no point in constricting its major artery. As he strained, he heard Hyukjin¡¯s voice. ¡°Hug it from behind.¡± Yoohyun reflexively obeyed. ¡°Use your legs to hook its hind legs.¡± He hooked his ankles onto the armadillo¡¯s hind legs, holding it so it couldn¡¯t move its legs. ¡°Firmly grasp its neck and yank backwards with all your strength.¡± It was an order to break the spine. When Yoohyun arched backwards like a bow, the armadillo thrashed. But all of its limbs were broken, and Yoohyun¡¯s ankles kept it firmly locked in place. Crrk! Crrkkk! The armadillo¡¯s vertebrae began to shatter, inch by inch. ¡®It¡¯s working!¡¯ Every vein was standing out on his face. He bellowed out a rousing shout. ¡°DETAILS!¡± Crrrrrrk! The armadillo¡¯s spine broke. ¡°MAKETH!¡± [Iron Armadillo has been killed.] ¡°A LUXURY FOOT MAT!¡± Yoohyun got up, dusting himself off, leaving a horribly disfigured Iron Armadillo behind him. He looked down to the corpse while wiping off his sweat. ¡®It seems like super ordinary advice, but¡­¡¯ That super ordinary advice and tiny details made the hunt so very easy. ¡®This is it.¡¯ His heart began to race. ¡®This is a sovereign. This is Hyungnim!¡¯ This was why you needed a great sovereign. Yoohyun looked towards his guildmaster with eyes of awe, but Hyukjin was already gone. He had long since joined the Iron Rhinoceros hunt. Before long, Giantgod was able to take down the Iron Rhinoceros with their combined efforts. [Iron Rhinoceros has been killed.] Yeonseo picked up an item. ¡°Boss! It dropped an item called Iron Horn!¡± As Hyukjin had expected, it was a clear item. A general notice rang out. [Iron Rhinoceros¡¯ Iron Horn has been obtained. 1/3] 1/3 obtained. That meant there were two more to get. Three paths, three Iron Horns. The scenario was slowly becoming clearer. And with it, the plans in Hyukjin¡¯s head began to steadily take concrete form. Chapter 290 [Translator ¨C Lei ] [Proofreader ¨C Ash ] Chapter 290 In this winner-takes-all dungeon, there were three islands and three paths, and on those three paths were three Iron Horns total. As a side note, there was another drop, Iron Rhinoceros Remains, but Kang Somyi got that. Every time an Iron Horn was acquired, a dungeon-wide notice would be sent to every Player. In short, this was a dungeon where Players could track their opponents getting Iron Horns, and where the System would award only one team the final reward. ¡®The System will ultimately present a way to steal those Iron Horns.¡¯ Hyukjin could roughly guess what that was. There was probably going to be a GVG (Guild vs. Guild) field. It was also possible that the hitherto accumulated contribution in clearing this dungeon and factors like the order of Iron Rhinoceros acquisition would grant some bonuses. [Iron Rhinoceros¡¯ Iron Horn has been obtained. 2/3] Hyukjin checked with a whisper. ¨CWas that Black Crow? ¨CNo. We¡¯re currently hunting the Iron Armadillo. It wasn¡¯t Black Crow, which meant it was Blood and Iron Lion. There was one horn left. Less than five minutes later, another dungeon-wide notice rang out. [Iron Rhinoceros¡¯ Iron Horn has been obtained. 3/3] [3 Iron Rhinoceros¡¯ Iron Horns have been obtained.] [Unlocking ¡®Furuima Beach¡¯.] Hyukjin sensed the ¡®field¡¯ expanding through Eye of Perception. Kang Somyi felt it as well. The entire field was growing larger. ¡°Follow me,¡± Kang Somyi said. Giantgod Guild followed her lead. After killing the Iron Rhinoceros, no real other monster had shown up. ¡°Somyi, do you think a GVG field will be opened?¡± ¡°What?¡± Somyi stopped walking, looking back to face Hyukjin. ¡°I wasn¡¯t saying anything because I wasn¡¯t sure, but I have my suspicions.¡± ¡°Go on.¡± ¡°I get the feeling that the beach that just opened has a special setting. I need to check it from closer up.¡± ¡°And you¡¯ve determined that there¡¯s a high chance this special setting is a GVG field, right?¡± ¡°Yes, that¡¯s right.¡± For a moment, Somyi found herself at a loss for words. ¡®The heck, is this guy an explorer?¡¯ He wasn¡¯t. Kim Hyukjin definitely wasn¡¯t an explorer. ¡®So why? How?¡¯ Somyi asked internally, unable to wrap her mind around the enigma that was Kim Hyukjin. She shook her head and continued walking through the forest, weaving through the old trees. ¡°Be careful. This tree bark is highly poisonous.¡± Her guidance was excellent. Following her instructions, Giantgod Guild made their way carefully towards Furuima Beach. ¡°Can someone cut these away?¡± ¡°I¡¯ll do it,¡± Yeonseo volunteered, coming forward. Blocking their path was a tangle of vines so thick you couldn¡¯t see through them. Yeonseo swung the Demonblade, Asura. ¡°Hiya!¡± Her movements were swift. Wherever her sword slashed, leaving a blue trace in the air, vines tumbled to the ground, the cut ends extremely clean. Somyi was able to see Shin Yeonseo¡¯s true value. ¡®Whoa. She¡¯s not just a swordswoman with a pretty smile.¡¯ Somyi knew the other woman had won a ton of fans with her extremely pretty smiling eyes, but it also occurred to her that those smiling eyes had somewhat overshadowed Shin Yeonseo¡¯s remarkable skill with the sword. ¡®But man, she¡¯s really pretty.¡¯ She moved almost as if she were one with the sword. It wasn¡¯t flashy. Each movement was concise, crisp. She swung, slashed, retracted, and repeated. As she watched Yeonseo work, Somyi was once again convinced. ¡®This guild is the real deal.¡¯ It was the powerhouse among powerhouses, even stronger than Taeguk Shield. She felt as though she had confirmed that with her very own eyes. Once the vines were cleared, the ocean came into view. The hot, burning sun. Pure white sand. Seagulls flying overhead. An emerald blue sea. Gentle waves breaking on the white beach. A general notice rang out. [¡®1 Party¡¯ has reached Furuima Beach¡¯.] They had merely gone from one field to another, but a dungeon-wide notice was triggered. Hyukjin asked again, ¡°Is there a GVG set up?¡± ¡°No. I don¡¯t feel one right now. It seems to simply be an ordinary¡ªno, peaceful-looking beach.¡± Somyi extended her senses, scrutinizing the vicinity. She pressed her face into the sand, sniffing it like a dog, and even tasted the sand and seawater. ¡°There aren¡¯t any immediate settings in place right now. But I do think this is a field that can take on additional settings.¡± Hyukjin smiled. ¡®In that case, we¡¯ll get a scenario quest via Intermediate Administrator.¡¯ It seemed to be that kind of dungeon. The progression was very different from the Nanba Terminal Dungeon Hyukjin knew. He had already experienced the future changing many times over, but the dungeon configuration itself changing like this was a first. ¡®Someone has to have meddled with it.¡¯ That someone could be Jackson, a Guardian, or even the System acting independently. It might have even been influenced by the ¡®Mapmaker¡¯ Cha Jihae. [¡®1 Party¡¯ has reached Furuima Beach¡¯.] Blood and Iron Lion, headed by Song Junghye, arrived. [¡®1 Party¡¯ has reached Furuima Beach¡¯.] As soon as all three parties were gathered on Furuima Beach, Senia appeared before all the Players. Her wings moved with the grace of a beautiful swan slowly flapping its wings, lifting her feet slightly off the ground with a gentle flap. Several Players in Blood and Iron Lion, not to mention Black Crow, exclaimed in admiration. The sight of Senia rising slowly into the sky was enough to inspire unconscious reverence. ¡°I would like to represent all of the Intermediate Administrators here in conveying the next scenario quest.¡± Senia¡¯s direct involvement told Hyukjin everything he needed to know. ¡®The first team to get an Iron Horn is given a bonus.¡¯ It was the same for the Intermediate Administrators. Giantgod was the first to obtain an Iron Horn, and Giantgod¡¯s guildmaster was Kim Hyukjin. Senia was the Intermediate Administrator with an exclusive contract with Hyukjin. That was why she was currently representing all the Intermediate Administrators in informing the Players of the next stage. ¡°¡­of this scenario. To summarize, the Players must obtain the Iron Horns of the other teams through GVG. This scenario will come to an end when one team acquires all three horns and shows them to me, the representative Intermediate Administrator.¡± It was as Hyukjin expected. [A GVG setting has been added to Furuima Beach.] GVG, a battle between guilds. Like in PVP, GVG fields had a resurrection effect. But Furuima Beach wasn¡¯t a normal case. ¡°If a Player dies or is defeated in GVG, they will be forcibly ejected from the Nanba Terminal Dungeon.¡± In addition¡ª ¡°Players who are killed will lose a random amount of EXP. In the worst case scenario, it is possible to be reverted to level 1.¡± Senia¡¯s explanation continued. ¡°Finally, the first team to have obtained an Iron Horn is given the right to decide the GVG order.¡± Translator ¨C Lei Proofreader ¨C Ash According to Senia¡¯s explanation, the GVG here had a specific format. It wasn¡¯t a battle royale with all the teams going at it at once, but one team against another, tournament style. Hyukjin sent a whisper. ¨CPlease give it your best effort. ¨C¡­Are we first? Mark wanted to run. His assessment was that Blood and Iron Lion and Black Crow were on equal footing. One misstep, and they might get wiped out. They were mercenaries, and none of them wanted to fight with the risk of being reverted back to level 1. ¨CHowever, you don¡¯t have to win. ¨CWhat? ¨CYou don¡¯t have to win, so work hard. Total party wipe was one way to end the GVG, but you could also surrender. If Mark, the leader of Black Crow, declared surrender, the GVG would end. ¨CWork¡­ hard? ¨CYes. Mark was sure of it. Kim Hyukjin was up to something again. They didn¡¯t have to win. That meant they could put a little more focus on defense, that there was no need for them to overdo it. They could approach this battle more safely. ¨CHarass them as doggedly as you can while still staying safe. You can do that, yes? ¨CWe can. Instead of overextending themselves in offense, they could distract Blood and Iron Lion while focusing on defense. Meanwhile, Song Junghye was biting her lip. ¡°That little traitor¡­¡± she growled under her breath. She believed it was because of Kang Somyi that Giantgod was able to get an Iron Horn so quickly. She swore to kill the treacherous explorer once they were out of Nanba Terminal Dungeon. ¡°Prepare for battle.¡± Hyukjin put Giantgod last, using the special bonus to pit Black Crow against Blood and Iron Lion first. To her credit, Song Junghye did try using her head. ¡°Are you interested in making a deal with us?¡± ¡°What kind of deal?¡± ¡°Give us your Iron Horn. In exchange, we¡¯ll pay, be it in Coins, cash, anything. We can discuss the details later.¡± Mark shook his head. ¡°I apologize. We have no intention of making a deal.¡± There was no way they could make a double cross with the Black VIP right there watching. With that, the battle between Black Crow and Blood and Iron Lion began. Song Junghye thought something was strange. ¡®These guys¡­ aren¡¯t they being a bit passive?¡¯ It felt like they weren¡¯t putting out their full power. On top of that, they were really going out of their way to harass Jackson, an explorer. It also seemed like they mistakenly thought he was a priest. Something was weird, but in the end, Blood and Iron Lion secured the win. ¡°We declare surrender,¡± said Mark. A few of their Players had sustained serious injuries, but no one had died. Mark heard a whisper from his employer. ¨CWell done. ¨CThank you. We¡¯ve completed our commission and will be going back now. ¨CYes. Mark and the rest of Black Crow were ejected out of the Nanba Terminal Dungeon. ¡°The victorious party will have all of their status abnormalities and wounds treated and will be restored to peak condition,¡± stated Senia. As she spoke, the dungeon¡¯s settings took effect. Song Junghye went from breathing hard to smiling. ¡°Excellent. I didn¡¯t expect this.¡± Honestly, Hyukjin hadn¡¯t expected the opposite team to get fully healed, either. He scratched the back of his head in incredulity. Once the US Players who could be said to be in the top 3 were gone, Song Junghye¡¯s true colors came out. ¡°Kim Hyukjin. I want to kill you right this second.¡± ¡°Yeah, me too.¡± ¡°But I¡¯ll offer you a deal.¡± ¡°The conditions?¡± ¡°I¡¯ll spare you and Kang Somyi.¡± Hyukjin could only laugh, dumbfounded. ¡°That¡¯s all you¡¯re offering? You¡¯re still Song Junghye of Sungshin. Is that really all you can come up with?¡± ¡°Don¡¯t flatter yourself. Compare your numbers to ours. Did you think this GVG had a participation limit?¡± There wasn¡¯t. ¡°We certainly would be on the back foot if we just fought normally.¡± ¡°So just be good and hand over your Iron Horn. I don¡¯t want to sit here wasting time for no reason, either.¡± ¡°Why? There¡¯s a time limit for getting the fleet, huh?¡± Song Junghye flinched. ¡°So there is one,¡± Hyukjin confirmed. He snickered. Song Junghye¡¯s face reddened slightly, but she quickly schooled her features into calm. ¡°Fine then, rest in peace,¡± she spat, her face already twisting into a victorious smile. A smile that froze when Kim Hyukjin pulled out three items with his right hand. Chapter 291 [Translator ¨C Lei ] [Proofreader ¨C Ash ] Chapter 291 ¡°Looking for these, by any chance?¡± In his hand were three Iron Horns. Song Junghye¡¯s eyes widened. ¡°Huh¡­?¡± She already knew Kim Hyukjin was capable of theft, which was why she had taken safety measures. ¡®What about Lee Sora?¡¯ Her head whipped backwards, her eyes fixing themselves on the woman who was called the ¡®Moon Priestess¡¯ in Blood and Iron. Constantly floating next to Lee Sora was a mote of light the shape of a moon. This light was called Artemis, and it was a unique power that protected Lee Sora. That was why Junghye had entrusted the Iron Horns to her safekeeping, trusting that Artemis would protect it. Jackson shook his head back and forth, chuckling. ¡°No wonder. I was wondering why Mark was pestering Miss Lee so persistently.¡± The explorer seemed to have figured everything out. ¡°So you were the one who commissioned Black Crow, Hyukjin?¡± ¡°Commissioned? What are you talking about?¡± Hyukjin feigned ignorance, but Jackson nodded as if he hadn¡¯t heard. ¡°No wonder. I thought it was weird that American Players would suddenly enter the Nanba Terminal Dungeon, of all places.¡± He sighed. ¡°Anyway, I suppose we¡¯ll be kicked out soon.¡± They had lost their Iron Horn. Now, a new path would open up, with only the team with the three horns moving on to the next island. Even without waging GVG, Blood and Iron Lion were registered as having lost. ¡°Kim Hyukjin, you bastard!¡± ¡°If you¡¯re mad, just get good.¡± Black Crow had fulfilled their role commensurably. Their job wasn¡¯t to duke out a battle of life and death with Blood and Iron Lion, but to distract them with whatever means possible. The two teams were equally matched, and Black Crow had devoted themselves to that one goal. On top of that, Mark, an archer, had doggedly targeted the Moon Priestess. Yeonseo giggled. ¡°Welp, there they go. Serves them right!¡± She returned Asura to its sheath. ¡°Anyhoo, that was you, right, Boss? You got Mark to target Lee Sora.¡± ¡°Yeah.¡± ¡°No wonder. I noticed he was bending over backwards to harass her.¡± The American team had behaved a bit strangely for one of the US¡¯ top three. Black Crow hadn¡¯t moved like they were seeking victory. That was how it looked to Yeonseo, at least. ¡°So Black Crow drew the aggro and you pulled a fast one on them with Darongi, huh?¡± ¡°That¡¯s right.¡± [The ¡®Milky Way Neutron Star¡¯ is delighted by your Playing.] [1,000 Coins have been sent as a sponsorship.] Hyukjin cheered inwardly. It seemed the Milky Way Neutron Star was very pleased with his Playing. ¡®As I thought, they¡¯re a generous Guardian.¡¯ They had dropped a whopping 1,000 Coin sponsorship in one go. Soon, Players would be entering a time period where Coins were of great importance. Each and every Coin was as precious as gold, so getting a massive lump sum at this point was highly welcome. Sunhwa said, ¡°Oppa. That weird light thing protecting Sora unnie, what was that?¡± Kang Somyi intercepted the question. ¡°Ahem, allow me to explain.¡± She went on to explain that the small moon was Artemis, a power that protected Lee Sora. Upon hearing that, Sunhwa was truly jealous. ¡°Whoaaa. That kind of thing exists?¡± ¡°Seriously. That¡¯s luck, I guess. Either that, or she¡¯s got disgusting talent.¡± When she said that, everyone¡¯s eyes swiveled in unison towards Hyukjin, who, acutely aware of their gazes, scratched the back of his head. ¡®Come to think of it, I do have disgusting talent.¡¯ He was definitely a [No Talent] blockhead before regressing, and yet¡­ That moment, a spike of pain lanced through his temple. ¡®Ngh.¡¯ The pain lasted only for a split second before fading away, so fleeting he almost thought he imagined it. ¡®Why¡­ is Song Jinchul¡¯s face coming to mind?¡¯ Every time he saw Song Jinchul, something was a little off. And he still didn¡¯t know what the [A factor in a major variable] meant. Yeonseo poked Hyukjin¡¯s cheek. ¡°Boss, what¡¯s wrong?¡± ¡°It¡¯s nothing,¡± Hyukjin replied. Translator ¨C Lei Proofreader ¨C Ash The loose ends were pretty much all wrapped up. The Guardians were also well-informed on the situation, thanks to the conversation between the Players. Countless Guardians were surely watching their Playing with interest. With a graceful flap of her wings, Senia¡¯s feet touched the ground. ¡°We will now move on to the next scenario. I, an Intermediate Administrator, will return to stealth mode, and in one minute, the regular dungeon scenario will commence.¡± Hyukjin nodded. ¡®The regular dungeon scenario, is it?¡¯ That meant everything so far was an ¡®irregular dungeon scenario¡¯. That had to be the case. The process so far was far too different from the Nanba Terminal Dungeon Hyukjin remembered. Sure enough, a notice came in confirming his thoughts. [All foreign influences in the ¡®Endless Sky Crystal¡¯ have been removed.] [Canceling ¡®scenario alteration¡¯.] [Returning to the regular scenario trajectory.] It wasn¡¯t visible to the naked eye, but the first two islands disappeared, and with it, the route Giantgod had traveled through to reach the beach. ¡®This is the first starting point.¡¯ Hyukjin recalled the clear strategy from his past. ¨CA sea monster called ¡®Kraken¡¯ appears in the Nanba Terminal Dungeon. It¡¯s better to move to the Nanba Island where the Clear Crystal exists while avoiding the Krakens than to hunt the Krakens directly. That was pretty much all he knew. This was a foreign dungeon, not one found within Korea¡¯s borders, and it wasn¡¯t even that important a place. That was why Hyukjin was dithering between coming here or not. ¡®And we¡¯re starting on the beach.¡¯ Eye of Perception could feel it. Somewhere in that vast ocean, a massive creature was moving within the depths. ¡®There¡¯s not just one of them.¡¯ There were several Krakens. These enormous octopus monsters had long snouts from which they could shoot ink so acidic it could melt down entire boats. ¡°I can feel monsters in the ocean. They¡¯re huge,¡± said Somyi. She continued confidently, ¡°There are a lot of islands in this ocean. We need to find the Clear Crystal hiding on one of those islands and destroy it.¡± Her shoulders were set straight with pride¡ªshe felt like she was proving herself as an explorer. ¡°I think it would be best to avoid the monsters in the ocean. They feel super powerful. If we mess up, we might even drown.¡± Everyone listened carefully. Her confidence bolstered by their attentiveness, Somyi quickly went on. ¡°I think we need to find a boat first.¡± ¡°There¡¯s no need for that, Somyi.¡± ¡°What?¡± ¡°I have a boat.¡± Hyukjin looked straight at Kang Somyi. Yellow light, the light he became capable of seeing when he reached level 44, was glowing atop her head. And because it was her, he could discern what that yellow light was about. [This is the Explorer of Service.] [Capable of a special incantation.] That wasn¡¯t all. ¡°Also, we¡¯re going to hunt the sea monsters.¡± ¡°What? Why? That has nothing to do with the clear. We don¡¯t need to hunt them, so why risk it?¡± Hyukjin shrugged and just stared at her. Just three seconds later, Somyi began to blink rapidly. ¡°You can¡¯t mean¡­¡± ¡°What you¡¯re thinking is correct.¡± Before coming to the Nanba Terminal Dungeon, Hyukjin had told Somyi this: ¡°A hidden piece of yours is there.¡± To which she replied¡ª ¡°Hidden pieces are love, hidden pieces are life!¡± Hyukjin elaborated. ¡°As your liege, I can now see scenario quests and hidden pieces related to your class.¡± ¡°Mm, right. I know.¡± Somyi was unable to understand why Hyukjin was saying that. She wondered why he was repeating something she already knew. That was because she was fairly new to working with Hyukjin. But Giantgod Guild knew what Hyukjin was doing. This was an explanation given to the Guardians. Like in TV shows that began with a summary of the previous episode, Hyukjin was doing just that. He was giving them a reminder so they could follow the plot. ¡°The monsters here are giant octopi called Krakens. Their levels are in the early 40s. They¡¯re definitely dangerous monsters.¡± ¡°¡­¡± Somyi stared speechlessly at him. She¡¯d been excitedly giving an explanation of her deductions, but Kim Hyukjin seemed to have already known everything. At this point, she was almost scared of him. ¡°There are a total of eight Krakens here. When we encounter one, you¡¯ll get a quest. A quest to hunt all eight Krakens and then the boss monster, the King Kraken.¡± ¡°¡­A quest for me?¡± ¡°That¡¯s the first class scenario the Explorer of Service gets.¡± Hyukjin thought of Jackson, who had disappeared while smiling. ¡®He intentionally sent Somyi to me, and in the end, he made it so she came here with me.¡¯ It was Hyukjin who had made use of a variable to pivot, but it seemed that Jackson had foreseen even that. ¡®It¡¯s probably not a coincidence that the first class scenario the Explorer of Service gets is in the Nanba Terminal Dungeon.¡¯ Jackson¡¯s smiling face was etched in his mind. ¡®To Jackson, both Song Junghye getting the new fleet and me awakening the Explorer of Service are good choices.¡¯ Jackson just had to flip the coin and pick one. As Hyukjin had suspected, it was highly likely Jackson was a transcendent being of some kind. He definitely wasn¡¯t a Player. ¡°Someone has imposed foreign influences on the Endless Sky Crystal to alter the contents of this dungeon, thus allowing the acquisition of a ¡®fleet¡¯ that didn¡¯t originally exist here.¡± Everyone craned their ears to listen. Even the accomplished members of Giantgod Guild hadn¡¯t heard of this before, but no one doubted his words. ¡°But I think that someone also had another scenario other than the fleet in mind. A class scenario for the Explorer of Service is hidden here.¡± There was no way that was a coincidence. ¡°That someone has made arrangements in this dungeon.¡± Somyi looked puzzled. ¡°And who is that someone?¡± ¡°I¡¯m still finding that out myself.¡± The Great Explorer Jackson, someone who might be of the same caliber as the Demon King, had made arrangements for them. The Demon King held no punches and gave dangerous arrangements, whereas Jackson set up comparatively safer ones. ¡°But there¡¯s no doubt someone is making arrangements for us behind the scenes.¡± Hyukjin smiled. ¡°And we can¡¯t call ourselves Giantgod Guild if we fail to scoop up the free goodies we are offered. Even if our target is a boss monster, the King Kraken.¡± The King Kraken¡¯s level was typically in the mid to late 40s. On top of that, as an ocean-dwelling monster, it was a far more difficult foe than land monsters. Because of that, the hunt was sure to have countless Guardians on the edge of their seats. [The ¡®Nameless Observer¡¯ is observing.] [The ¡®White Hunter¡¯ is happy.] [The ¡®Conductor of Sound¡¯ is focusing.] [The ¡®Night of Shooting Stars¡¯ has high hopes for your Playing.] And there was one other Guardian¡ªKang Somyi¡¯s Guardian, one he hadn¡¯t known before his regression, finally made an appearance. [The ¡®Ruler of the New Continent¡¯ is observing the sovereign.] There was an important point to notice. They weren¡¯t observing the Play, but the ¡®sovereign¡¯. ¡°We¡¯ll be clearing the hidden piece and fully awakening you.¡± ¡°Wh-Why?¡± ¡°Because you¡¯re an explorer in Giantgod Guild from today onwards, of course?¡± ¡°I-I am?¡± Somyi stammered, glancing at the others in bafflement. ¡°Shouldn¡¯t there be a vote where everyone agrees, or a majority vote or something?¡± It was a very sensible question, but Kang Somyi was still sorely misinformed about the guild she was joining. Chapter 292 [Translator ¨C Lei ] [Proofreader ¨C Ash ] Chapter 292 ¡°Shouldn¡¯t there be a vote where everyone agrees, or a majority vote or something?¡± It was a very sensible question. They lived in a democratic society, where the majority opinion was to be respected. For Kang Somyi, securing everyone¡¯s consent was all too natural. It wasn¡¯t like she hadn¡¯t thought of joining the guild, but she hadn¡¯t even discussed things properly with the other guild members yet. Furthermore, this wasn¡¯t just about her joining the guild, but about tackling a perilous hidden piece. It could be dangerous. In the worst case, they might even lose their lives. ¡®Isn¡¯t it normal for someone to oppose?¡¯ But the first person to respond, Sunhwa, shot her hand into the air with a giggle and a big grin. ¡°I agree, 100%!¡± She was super cute. From what Somyi had seen, Sunhwa was a lovable girl. ¡®W-Well, she¡¯s a kind and pure child, so it¡¯s natural for her to agree.¡¯ They hadn¡¯t known each other for long, but Somyi believed Sunhwa was as kind and innocent as her appearance suggested. Sunhwa¡¯s response wasn¡¯t unusual considering her youth and personality, Somyi thought. The future Fist King, the big and muscular So Yoohyun, was also quick to respond. ¡°Hyungnim, I also give my full agreement, 200%!¡± It was her first time hearing such an overly enthusiastic response, but somehow, it suited So Yoohyun. His biceps were quivering. ¡°Um¡­¡± Somyi interjected tentatively. ¡°Do you know me?¡± ¡°I don¡¯t.¡± ¡°But you¡¯re still in full agreement?¡± ¡°Cause Hyungnim gave his permission?¡± replied Yoohyun, cocking his head as if puzzled by her line of questioning. ¡°Is that really the only reason?¡± ¡°Reasons aren¡¯t important to a footmat.¡± It was also her first time hearing someone refer to himself as a footmat. So Yoohyun broke out in a hearty ¡°Uhahahaha!¡± But to be honest, Somyi couldn¡¯t understand what was so funny. Shin Yeonseo shrugged and said unconcernedly, ¡°If Boss says so, it¡¯s a yes from me.¡± Even more dumbfounded, Somyi asked, ¡°Hold on, seriously? Me joining the guild aside, the hidden piece is really dangerous, you know?¡± Choi Sung-gu shook his head. ¡°Fuck¡­ Don¡¯t say that sort of thing. This boss of ours goes running straight into danger like a madman¡­ He¡¯s a danger addict.¡± ¡°Then do you oppose it, Sung-gu?¡± ¡°It¡¯s no use opposing if no one listens,¡± Sung-gu grumbled. ¡°Haah, this is just my lot in life.¡± He breathed a deep sigh. But despite his grousing, Sung-gu had decided to join the challenge the moment Hyukjin said he was going to clear the hidden piece. In fact, if he was being honest, he was even a little excited about it. ¡®Gah! Just what am I thinking?!¡¯ He pinched his cheeks hard. ¡®You crazy Bum-gu! I¡¯m not interested in a lousy hidden piece, not one bit!¡¯ My goal is to just live a long, long rich life. That¡¯s all! He reminded himself this again and again. ¡®Just this one last time. I¡¯ll take on danger just one last time.¡¯ Bum-gu. Yes, he was Bum-gu, a coward who feared and hated danger. This was the last time he was joining these crazies on another brush with death, he swore to himself. Kang Somyi looked from one Giantgod member to another, her expression bitter. ¡°You¡¯re all going to go into danger for me, someone you¡¯ve only met today?¡± She couldn¡¯t understand. All Giantgod had to do was clear this place and leave. Yeonseo patted her shoulder. ¡°Boss hasn¡¯t made a single wrong decision so far. We¡¯re just trusting him and charging straight ahead. Right, Sunhwa?¡± ¡°Yupyup. I believe everything Oppa says.¡± ¡°That¡¯s right, Hyungnim. Your footmat is as loyal as ever today.¡± The near-unconditional faith of his guildmates embarrassed Hyukjin a bit, but he didn¡¯t show it. Somyi spoke quickly, still unbelieving. ¡°I¡¯m grateful, yes, but there¡¯s no doubt it¡¯ll be dangerous. And it¡¯s not like this dungeon is going to disappear. I think we can come back later, when our levels are higher¡ª¡± Hyukjin cut her off. ¡°If we do that, the Explorer of Service hidden piece will disappear.¡± ¡°Let¡¯s go then!¡± Just to make sure, Somyi fixed one last stare on Jo Sunghyun. Her assessment of him was that he was a cold person. She sort of felt like he, the most rational and calm-seeming person in the guild, would be the one person to present justified reasoning and express his unwillingness to join the hidden piece chase. Jo Sunghyun said slowly, ¡°Hyung. What do you want me to do?¡± Translator ¨C Lei Proofreader ¨C Ash Kang Somyi mumbled to herself. ¡°Wow. Is this really happening?¡± At 23 years old, she learned for the first time that Korea¡¯s strongest guild was a group that barged straight ahead like stubborn mules. And even though it was super obstinate and rockheaded, she didn¡¯t actually dislike it. She liked it. Standing on the beach, Somyi shouted into the empty air, ¡°THIS WAS SERIOUSLY SO WORTH IT!¡± Then, after whirling around, she stared at her new guildmates. ¡°That means I¡¯m a part of the guild now, right?¡± This time, it was Giantgod¡¯s turn to stare oddly at her. It felt like Kang Somyi from a few moments ago was very different from Kang Somyi now. The feeling she gave off was distinctly different. ¡°I seriously love this guild¡¯s vibe. Uhuhuhu.¡± She laughed like someone with a screw loose. ¡°Well then, Guildmaster. How will we kill the Krakens? They look tough to kill.¡± A Kraken happened to surface at that moment, appearing before their eyes. They could only see its head, but even that looked to be the size of a respectable boat. Not long afterwards, one of its many appendages appeared above the water. Sung-gu shuddered. ¡°Fuck. Can¡¯t I just stay here? What kind of leg is the size of a house?¡± ¡°Whining again, Hyung?¡± ¡°This isn¡¯t whining, you brat. Look at the suckers. You can tell just from those suckers that it¡¯s frickin¡¯ monstrous.¡± ¡°All monsters are monstrous.¡± ¡°Bro, I¡¯ve got a seafood allergy.¡± Sunghyun snorted. As the two bickered, Hyukjin said, ¡°Somyi. What do you know about incantations?¡± ¡°Incantations? What are those?¡± She was being serious. She didn¡¯t know a thing about incantations. But Hyukjin could see it with Eye of Perception. [This is the Explorer of Service.] [Capable of a special incantation.] She was the ¡®Explorer of Service¡¯ capable of a special incantation. ¡®She can do it, but¡­ it looks like she has an ability she hasn¡¯t recognized yet.¡¯ And Hyukjin was able to see exactly what the ¡®special incantation¡¯ was. ¡°Seek life to die, seek death to live.¡± ¡°What? That¡¯s a super famous line, isn¡¯t it? The words spoken by Admiral Yi Sun-sin.¡± If they fought to die, they would definitely live, and if they fought to live with cowardice, they would definitely die. Those were the words left by the Lord of Loyal Valor Yi Sun-sin. Hyukjin had heard this incantation before. ¡®Schultz showed it to me.¡¯ The German archer/sovereign, Schultz. The Player who had sacrificed himself in a brilliant display of leadership in the Dewinged Angel Statue Gate in the past without Kim Hyukjin. There was no mistaking that Schultz had uttered this incantation, and because of that, Hyukjin knew this was a ¡®real¡¯ incantation. ¡°Do you feel anything after hearing about it?¡± ¡°Hm, not really¡­ I don¡¯t think I can really feel anything.¡± Hyukjin nodded. Yeonseo came close and whispered something in his ear. ¡°The only person who can figure out everything from a single hint is you, Boss. Don¡¯t get the wrong idea.¡± ¡°¡­¡± He wondered if it was really something she needed to whisper to him, but he decided to ignore her. ¡°I¡¯ll hunt the Krakens.¡± They weren¡¯t going to do it themselves. This was the ocean. He was going to use the Immortal Fleet. [Immortal Fleet] Battles by summoning an undying fleet. Can only be summoned on the ¡®ocean¡¯. The summon duration and fleet¡¯s fighting prowess will be determined by the summoner¡¯s Willpower. *Number of summonable vessels: 12 *Upon fulfilling a special incantation, the Willpower consumption markedly decreases. He summoned the Immortal Fleet. [Using the special ability Immortal Fleet.] A twelve ship fleet appeared on the water. In a naval battle, this astonishing special ability could shine even more than Kim Hyukjin himself. Kang Somyi¡¯s jaw dropped at the twelve Joseon era warships that had suddenly appeared in the sea. ¡°Wow¡­ this sort of thing is possible? I was wondering what you meant when you kept saying fleet this, fleet that. So this is what that was.¡± As an explorer, she had a rough sense of the fleet¡¯s power. ¡®We can do this!¡¯ The only problem was, maintaining such a huge fleet would surely require a lot of Kim Hyukjin¡¯s mana. Would his mana really last through the process of hunting all the Krakens and clearing the hidden piece? That was the real question. That moment, she was struck with the illusion of someone speaking in her head. Help him. Lend him your aid. If you try, you will be able to help him. It was the strangest feeling, almost like she had a different soul in her head. She remembered that Ham Sohyun, the very famous Precognitive Dreamer, said this was how it felt when she composed precognitive notes. ¡°Ohhh¡­!¡± Somyi¡¯s eyes began to turn gold. Behind her shimmered an energy that couldn¡¯t be seen with the eyes. Hyukjin¡¯s Eye of Perception detected it, and he recognized it as the same energy he had experienced in the Dewinged Angel Statue Gate, a place far removed from the Nanba Terminal Dungeon. ¡®That¡¯s the same energy Schultz had.¡¯ From Somyi¡¯s lips spilled the same incantation Schultz had uttered. It didn¡¯t seem to be a ¡®Will¡¯ Incantation. Rather, it was being uttered regardless of her will due to the fulfillment of certain conditions. ¡°Seek life to die, seek death to live.¡± A towering shadow formed behind her, quickly coalescing into an armored giant. The giant made of mana only had the upper half of its body. It was the same as back then, exactly the same. Even Hyukjin was puzzled as to how this could be. ¡°Those who seek death shall live, those who seek life shall die.¡± With that incantation, Hyukjin heard a new notice. [A special incantation has been created.] [¡®Willpower¡¯ consumption drastically decreases.] Thump! Thump! Thump! Thump! Drumbeats began to echo. The twelve ships were mentally connected to Hyukjin. ¡°Begin the hunt.¡± The ships were mighty indeed. They fired their guns at the Krakens and nimbly dodged all of the Krakens¡¯ attacks. There wasn¡¯t much for the other members of Giantgod to do. Yeonseo scratched her earlobe. ¡°We just have to protect Boss, right?¡± Hyukjin was pouring all of his focus on the naval battle, and to do so, he was sitting with his eyes closed, completely defenseless. Hyukjin had total trust in his guildmates, and his guildmates lived up to his trust. The result was simple. [All Krakens have been eliminated.] [The hidden scenario ¡®Kraken Hunt¡¯ has been completed.] Exactly as Hyukjin had seen with Eye of Perception, after hunting all the Krakens, they were informed of the hidden scenario¡¯s completion, as well as the next step. [Due to the completion of the hidden scenario, the boss monster will appear.] The ocean began to surge, the waves growing higher. The ships of Hyukjin¡¯s fleet rocked so violently it seemed they would capsize at any moment. Hyukjin knew what monster was coming. ¡®King Kraken.¡¯ A monster in the mid to late level 40s. ¡®What level will it be?¡¯ Even at the lowest possible level, level 45, this monster could not be hunted by normal means. Only a regressor could kill it without losses. ¡®If we mess up, we could die.¡¯ But Hyukjin was calmer than ever. His mind was as ice cold. This was the same feeling he had experienced time and time again since the Tutorial. ¡®It¡¯s dangerous. That¡¯s why it¡¯s enjoyable.¡¯ Some might call him a masochist, but that was really how he felt. ¡®It¡¯s worth a shot.¡¯ And if they could awaken the Explorer of Service with this, he was certain that this gamble would become a boon of immeasurable magnitude for Giantgod Guild. Sunhwa pointed. ¡°Holy cow, look, Oppa. There¡¯s a whirlpool over there.¡± Far in the distance, a whirlpool had begun to swirl in a calm part of the ocean. At the same time, yet another notice rang out. [The ¡®Herdsman of Las Vegas¡¯ proposes a bet.] The sovereign-focused Guardian who liked gambling, the Herdsman of Las Vegas, had come forward with a bet. Chapter 293 [Translator ¨C Lei ] [Proofreader ¨C Ash ] Chapter 293 The Italian info merchant, Pietro, was very busy these days. That was natural, considering all the new culture popping up day after day, plus the constant influx of dungeon and gate information. As a dealer of information, of course he was busy. His info guild, the Black Butterfly, had branches all over the world, all operating unobtrusively under the radar despite their far reach. Of their many branches, the one Pietro considered most important was the Korean branch. That was because Kim Hyukjin was there. ¡°Kim Hyukjin coincidentally went to the same place as Song Junghe?¡± Pietro had a rough understanding of the relationship between the two¡ªhe had been there when Hyukjin had obtained the Immortal Fleet that, had things gone differently, may have very well become Song Junghye¡¯s. Not long afterwards, Pietro got an update. ¡°Song Junghye has returned to Korea¡­?¡± It just so happened that a part of the Michelle Division returned to the US at around the same time, and they were coming back from Japan. Pietro put the puzzle pieces together. ¡®They¡¯re definitely connected.¡¯ Pietro was one of the few people who knew what Michelle thought of Kim Hyukjin. The playwright here was Kim Hyukjin, which meant he was also the person who mobilized the Michelle Division. ¡°Should I try digging up the conversation between Kim Hyukjin and Michelle?¡± ¡°No, it¡¯s fine.¡± There was no need to wake a sleeping wolf. The person in question was too much of a behemoth. Unbeknownst to the world, the true giant of Korea was Kim Hyukjin. ¡®I can get answers from Michelle directly.¡¯ He decided to keep things at that. He would stop at procuring the list of Players Hyukjin commissioned¡ªthey might become rising stars in the future. ¡°That aside, you said Schultz wanted to see me?¡± The German archer/sovereign had contacted him for the first time since the Dewinged Angel Statue Gate. ¡°Yes. He insists on meeting in person.¡± ¡°Put him at priority level 2 and arrange a meeting.¡± He wasn¡¯t priority level 1. Schultz was an amazing Player, but he didn¡¯t have remarkable information value. ¡°He said it¡¯s related to Kim Hyukjin.¡± ¡°Ask him if he has time today.¡± Six hours later, Schultz and Pietro sat down together. ¡°It¡¯s been a while.¡± ¡°Yes, it has.¡± Schultz smiled. ¡°When I was just asking for a meeting, it felt like a lot of middlemen were getting in the way. But as soon as I mentioned Kim Hyukjin, I was ushered right in.¡± ¡°I didn¡¯t know that. Those foolish middlemen must be ignorant of your renown.¡± Schultz laughed hollowly. He wasn¡¯t really a fan of honeyed flattery. Both of them were well aware that it was lip service anyway. He went straight to the point. ¡°Do you know a person named Itachi?¡± ¡°He¡¯s a famous Japanese astrologist.¡± ¡°As I thought, you know him.¡± At the end of the day, Schultz was a German Ranker. He might not have the highest information value, but a Ranker was a Ranker. Since they were already in a meeting together, Pietro had to show this Ranker the might of the Black Butterfly. For an info guild, info was essentially power and trust. ¡°Recently, Itachi met the Precognitive Dreamer Ham Sohyun. He has also come in contact with Kim Hyukjin.¡± ¡°When was that?¡± ¡°Around January 2019. When the Red Devils appeared in Korea.¡± ¡°I met Itachi before that.¡± Pietro¡¯s eyes narrowed. He had heard that Itachi didn¡¯t like going overseas, so this information gave him pause. And in truth, before Kim Hyukjin regressed, Itachi was known to have never gone overseas, not even once. He was reclusive by nature. But not only had he gone to Korea, he had even flown across the world to Germany. ¡°What does that have to do with you wanting to see me?¡± ¡°I wanted to ask if you knew anything about the [Immortal Fleet].¡± Pietro simply stared silently at Schultz, his face impassive. Inwardly, he was relieved that he had caught his poker face from slipping. How would he not know? He had been there when the Immortal Fleet was acquired. ¡°Not yet, though I have gotten a few hints about it.¡± ¡°Even if they¡¯re just hints, I¡¯d appreciate it if you would tell me what you know.¡± ¡°Why?¡± Pietro tensed a little. This definitely had to do with Kim Hyukjin. Schultz began to speak. Translator ¨C Lei Proofreader ¨C Ash [The ¡®Herdsman of Las Vegas¡¯ proposes a bet.] Hyukjin mulled in thought for a moment. ¡®He¡¯ll propose a bet that we can just barely handle.¡¯ Like always, the bets proposed by the Herdsman of Las Vegas were difficult. However, as long as you could pull them off and win, a hefty reward would follow. ¡®That was why Michelle was able to flourish into an American Ranker.¡¯ To put it frankly, Michelle¡¯s innate talent plates weren¡¯t that amazing. 58 talent plates was on the low side for a top Ranker. The fact she was able to achieve such fantastic success as a Player regardless was because she had continually secured big sponsorships from the Herdsman of Las Vegas. ¡®If Michelle could do it¡­¡¯ Hyukjin was confident. ¡®I can, too.¡¯ What Michelle could do, he could do as well. However, he wasn¡¯t alone right now. The members of his guild were here as well. Overreaching might end up getting his guild members hurt, or even worse, killed. ¡®The Herdsman of Las Vegas.¡¯ He carefully considered and dissected the Guardian¡¯s personality. If Hyukjin refused the bet, the Guardian would be slightly disappointed, but he wouldn¡¯t turn hostile with a single refusal. ¡®I can get him even more excited.¡¯ Hyukjin knew a method to do that, a method that would simultaneously ensure the safety of his guildmates. A method that would make the Herdsman of Las Vegas even happier. ¡°I accept the bet proposed by the Herdsman of Las Vegas.¡± He intentionally didn¡¯t check the conditions of the bet. It was a blind gamble, a play the Herdsman of Las Vegas really enjoyed. But Hyukjin didn¡¯t stop there. ¡°In addition¡­¡± Senia¡¯s wings fluttered. ¡®Player Kim Hyukjin can¡¯t be¡­¡¯ Her premonition came true. ¡°May I make a counter proposal?¡± ¡°Player Kim Hyukjin. You¡¯re stepping out of line,¡± Senia warned, as if trying to dissuade him. But both Senia and Hyukjin knew this was all just acting. Senia was pretending to dissuade him, intending to push the Herdsman of Las Vegas a little more. A message quickly arrived. [The ¡®Herdsman of Las Vegas¡¯ feels great interest in your counter proposal.] Hook, line, and sinker. ¡®Yes, he wouldn¡¯t be the Herdsman of Las Vegas otherwise.¡¯ Some Guardians viewed counter proposals from Players with great displeasure. Lowly humans dared to make a counter proposal to a Guardian? There were definitely Guardians like that, but the Herdsman of Las Vegas was different. He liked these kinds of Plays. [The ¡®Herdsman of Las Vegas¡¯ asks what your counter proposal is.] Hyukjin presented his idea. ¡°Sovereign soloing. Don¡¯t you want to see it?¡± At those words, Yeonseo nearly jumped up in alarm. ¡®What did he say?¡¯ she thought in horror, looking towards the sea. She had seen the Krakens earlier. Without the Immortal Fleet, hunting them would have been near-impossible. But this time, the opponent was a King Kraken. The power billowing from the monster she could sense lurking within the distant whirlpool was far from ordinary. But Hyukjin wanted to hunt it alone? It was ridiculous. She also knew that her guildmaster didn¡¯t want to put them in danger. However, she didn¡¯t say it aloud. ¡®That being said.¡¯ Yeonseo clenched her fists. ¡®He¡¯s also sure he can hunt the King Kraken alone.¡¯ In other words, she was currently nothing more than an assistant to Kim Hyukjin. The person himself had never thought of her in that way, but that was how she felt. The feeling gave rise to an urge within her. ¡®Looks like I¡¯m getting some motivation again today.¡¯ Every time she started getting a bit complacent, Hyukjin would give her another push. Whenever she looked at Hyukjin, she was filled with an urge to work hard today, tomorrow, and every day after that. Hyukjin heard a notice. [The ¡®Herdsman of Las Vegas¡¯ accepts your counter proposal.] The Guardian flashed the green light. The risk would be greater, but so would the return. It was literally high risk, high return. A different message came in. [The ¡®Barrier of Blue Light¡¯ asks that you abstain from excessive confidence.] [The ¡®Barrier of Blue Light¡¯ gifts a ¡®Memory Capsule¡¯.] This worrywart, the Guardian who was so keen on protecting Hyukjin, gifted him a Memory Capsule. He smiled. He honestly hadn¡¯t expected the Barrier of Blue Light to step forward here, but it was a welcome change. The scales tipped a little more in his favor. ¡®To put it another way, it must mean the King Kraken is a foe dangerous enough to make the Barrier of Blue Light anxious.¡¯ If he didn¡¯t know the strat, there was no way he would have challenged it. ¡°I¡¯ll be hunting the King Kraken on my own,¡± Hyukjin said. The Giantgod guild members were silent. After a pause, Sunghyun spoke up first. ¡°I wouldn¡¯t do that if I were you.¡± There were traces of anger on his face. ¡°Why do you have to carry the burden alone?¡± ¡°I¡¯m not carrying the burden alone.¡± He saw Sunghyun¡¯s summary. Summary: Younger Sibling Worrying About his Hyung and Hating Himself Hyukjin glanced around and saw that everyone was harboring similar thoughts. Their feelings were clear to him. ¡°It¡¯s not that you guys are unnecessary, or that I¡¯m doing this to protect you. It¡¯s just that I want to secure a bigger reward by making a counter proposal.¡± ¡°I know that. But you can¡¯t deny that our safety isn¡¯t implied in that counter proposal.¡± He bit his lips. ¡°I¡¯m not a child who needs to be protected. I¡¯m a full-fledged member of Giantgod, too.¡± ¡°It¡¯s not that I¡¯m looking down on you.¡± Sunghyun knew that. He knew Hyukjin hadn¡¯t done this to insult them. Things had simply ended up like this, and he knew why. ¡°I¡¯ll get stronger.¡± Hyukjin didn¡¯t respond. He could feel that everyone was thinking the same thing. ¡°I¡¯ll get stronger, whatever it takes, and make it so you can¡¯t even think of making a counter proposal like this.¡± ¡°Alright, fine. A little motivation doesn¡¯t hurt.¡± The brand-new member of Giantgod, Kang Somyi, was somewhat slow to understand the situation. ¡°You¡¯re really going to solo it? Is that even possible?¡± ¡°It is. First, I need to lure him to shallow waters.¡± ¡°How are you going to do that?¡± Luring the boss all the way to the shore was impossible, but bringing it to slightly shallower waters was doable. ¡°Somyi, you collected the Iron Rhinoceros Remains earlier, didn¡¯t you?¡± ¡°Yes, that¡¯s right. It¡¯s in my Inventory.¡± ¡°I¡¯ll reel it in with that. If we leave the body on the beach, I predict it¡¯ll come this way. Monsters usually go crazy at the smell of blood.¡± The first step was restricting its movements a little by luring it into slightly less deep waters. ¡°Can you really hunt the King Kraken with just that?¡± ¡°No.¡± Hyukjin walked to the shore, then used Flash Step towards one of the summoned Immortal Fleet ships. As he did so, he felt the King Kraken surging nearer, and with incredible speed. Hyukjin used Flash Step again, moving to another ship. Crack! The ship he had just left was crushed into smithereens by a massive leg of the King Kraken like a giant anaconda constricting its prey. The ship fell apart like a house of cards, with utter ease. Hyukjin checked the mana consumption. It was within manageable bounds. That moment, he felt a twinge of pain in his eyes, accompanied by a wave of murderous intent. ¡®It¡¯s going for me.¡¯ Even without intentionally trying to aggro it, the King Kraken locked its sights on him, clearly recognizing the target moving inside the ship as its enemy. Hyukjin sensed the behemoth¡¯s legs churning in the water. Thump! Thump! Thump! Thump! The fleet unleashed coordinated fire, the guns blasting away amidst a backdrop of drum beats. The Barrier of Blue Light sent another warning. [The ¡®Barrier of Blue Light¡¯ advises abandoning the scenario.] The King Kraken could not be killed by the fleet¡¯s gunfire, a fact Hyukjin was well aware of. ¡®I wasn¡¯t planning on killing it like that anyway.¡¯ He drew out the Memory Capsule the Barrier of Blue Light had given him and immediately used it. This was an item that could recreate an item that had already been used. Depending on the user¡¯s timing and luck, it could reproduce the exact same item. If you were unlucky, it could also produce nothing. [Using the Memory Capsule.] [Freedom has been created by the Memory Capsule.] He was going to attempt the clear even without this, but this would make things a little easier. And so, in his own way, a regressor¡¯s way, Hyukjin began his battle with the King Kraken. Chapter 294 [Translator ¨C Lei ] [Proofreader ¨C Ash ] Chapter 294 Freedom, the whale breath-infused pill that previously allowed him to breathe freely in the Sea of Clouds, was created. Hyukjin used it immediately. [Use Freedom?] He jumped into the ocean, sinking into the depths. Thanks to Freedom, he didn¡¯t have to go up for air. Even after entering the water, he could visualize what was happening above the surface. The acidic ink spewed by the King Kraken completely disintegrated an entire ship before seeping into the water, causing his skin to sting all over. Hyukjin used Flash Step again, approaching the King Kraken. ¡®This thing¡¯s the ruler of the sea.¡¯ At least during the beginner-intermediate period, this boss was the strongest monster that would show up in seas with late level 40 monsters. This sea was no exception¡ªhere, the King Kraken was the ultimate predator. ¡®Since the King Kraken is a monster that runs away if there¡¯s anything stronger than it¡­¡¯ The King Kraken spewing ink and destroying ships with such abandon was a sure sign there was nothing stronger than it in the near vicinity. ¡®¡­it won¡¯t be on guard against anything in the ocean.¡¯ Hyukjin had intentionally jumped towards the ships before plunging into the water. The boss wouldn¡¯t pay any attention to the tiny creature swimming around in the depths. Crunch! Another ship was crushed in one of the King Kraken¡¯s long legs. ¡®Good thing I raised my Willpower.¡¯ His Willpower stat was impossibly high for a level 44 Player. Perhaps because of that, he didn¡¯t suffer much mental shock even when his ships were being smashed and desummoned. ¡®Dammit, this¡¯ll take a while to recover from.¡¯ Still, his bet with the Herdsman of Las Vegas was riding on this, as was the Explorer of Service¡¯s class scenario. His ships might be getting destroyed, but this was definitely a worthwhile investment. ¡®There it is.¡¯ Krakens had large anuses that made perfect gateways into their bodies. Hyukjin continued swimming. Because of how enormous the King Kraken was, its movements generated unbelievably strong ripples. Whenever he thought he was getting closer, a big current would roll out and push him away. ¡®I have to be careful.¡¯ Even if its movements weren¡¯t targeted, each of its legs was a fatal blunt weapon simply by virtue of their size and strength. A direct hit would kill him. Hyukjin used Flash Step again. ¡®I¡¯m going in.¡¯ It was a little disgusting to go in through the anus, but it couldn¡¯t be helped. The most efficient way to hunt a King Kraken was to enter its body and attack it from the inside. He swam inside, recalling the notes written by the Great Explorer Jackson. ¨COnce you¡¯ve penetrated the King Kraken¡¯s anus and gotten inside, you¡¯re halfway to success. Now that he thought about it, Jackson was the one who revealed the King Kraken guide to the world as well. ¨CThe inside of the King Kraken¡¯s body is like outer space. You won¡¯t feel gravity there. Players will need to swim while afloat. It was exactly like the notes said. There was no gravity¡ªit was like being in space. Hyukjin slowly moved his arms and legs to propel himself forward. ¨CSomewhere in its body runs a major artery. The King Kraken¡¯s internal structure was different from humans or regular creatures. Depending on the settings, it was possible it had a major artery, but not a heart, or that the artery was cut off. ¡®I need to find the major artery.¡¯ He couldn¡¯t smell any blood. Like Jackson said, it was almost like he was floating in the vastness of outer space. Hyukjin had to search for a long time. There weren¡¯t any real dangers. It just required time. As he swam, he let his mind run, thinking back to when he went to the Endless Sky under the Demon King¡¯s scheming. There were a few similarities between his journey in the Endless Sky and his situation now. ¡®The ocean outside was like the Sea of Clouds.¡¯ He could breathe freely thanks to Freedom. The sensation was similar to back then. ¡®And when I went up to the Endless Sky, I did so inside a whalekin¡¯s body.¡¯ This time, he was inside a King Kraken¡¯s body. ¡®And this energy I feel¡­¡¯ After thinking for a long time, Hyukjin was able to pinpoint what this feeling was. ¡®Endless Sky mana.¡¯ It reminded him of the Endless Sky. The mana of the Endless Sky was a violent, fierce force that ruthlessly devoured everything other than the whalekin. But as faint as it was, he could feel that same mana here. ¡®I can feel Endless Sky mana from inside its body?¡¯ Hyukjin had a flash of understanding. ¡®Inside its body¡­ is an Endless Sky Crystal!¡¯ He had already heard of its existence in this dungeon. [All foreign influences in the ¡®Endless Sky Crystal¡¯ have been removed.] [Canceling ¡®scenario alteration¡¯.] [Returning to the regular scenario trajectory.] It seemed the Endless Sky Crystal mentioned in the notice was hidden inside this boss monster¡¯s body. Last time, Hyukjin was given one by Jackson. This time, he was certain that he could get one by his own strength. ¡®I need to get it.¡¯ Hunting the King Kraken boss was important, but more than anything, he needed to get the Endless Sky Crystal somewhere in its body. Endless Sky Crystals were filled with unprecedented power. It was a treasure regular mana crystals couldn¡¯t even come close to. ¡®Where is it?¡¯ Hyukjin floated forward, cranking up Eye of Perception and Observer¡¯s Eye to the max. The Endless Sky mana around him was slowly getting more dense. It couldn¡¯t compare to the real Endless Sky, but it was definitely Endless Sky mana. ¡®Over there.¡¯ He swam like he was drawn to the mana. ¡®I can feel it.¡¯ Endless Sky mana, the violent energy flowing from the Endless Sky Crystal. ¡®I can¡¯t be harmed by Endless Sky mana.¡¯ He had acquired the Endless Sky Physique¡ªEndless Sky mana was no longer an enemy. Hyukjin swam for quite a while longer, breathing in deeply. Translator ¨C Lei Proofreader ¨C Ash A voice echoed in his head. (You¡¯re doing well.) It was Isabel. Hyukjin was very glad to hear her. (Focus. It¡¯s true you have the Endless Sky Physique, but it¡¯s not perfect. You¡¯re still too weak and fragile.) Hyukjin snapped back to full attention at those words. ¡®I need to focus on my 2nd heart.¡¯ The most important aspect when handling Endless Sky mana was the 2nd heart he had made with Isabel¡¯s help, the heart he had named ¡®Isabel¡¯. With this heart, he would absorb the Endless Sky mana and convert it into his own strength. (That¡¯s it. It¡¯s good to get some practice with tiny amounts like this.) A while later, a blue jewel came into Hyukjin¡¯s view. Its name was a question mark. ¡®Endless Sky Crystal!¡¯ It looked exactly the same as the one he had gotten from Jackson. The Endless Sky Crystal back then was marked with a question mark as well. (You¡¯re weak, so I¡¯ll help you.) Last time, Jackson gave him the ¡®Great Baptist¡¯s Blessing¡¯, which allowed him to identify the item. This time, Isabel helped him. Golden dust fell onto the blue crystal. Isabel had used a special ability, allowing him to activate the item description. [Endless Sky Crystal] A crystal imbued with the mana of the Endless Sky. People with particular constitutions can manipulate the mana within using a special method. Grade: Low He obtained an Endless Sky Crystal, an item that hadn¡¯t existed in any notes, Playpedia, or guides in the past. ¡®I got it.¡¯ If it was the same as the Sangam World Cup Stadium Dungeon, the Nanba Terminal Dungeon would break. But even so, he didn¡¯t once consider giving up the crystal in front of him. Instead, he resolved to prevent as much damage from that break as possible. (Husband, I¡¯m proud of you.) He was in tune with her feelings. Her praise was sincere. It was like she was saying ¡®you¡¯ve grown a lot¡¯. (Now that you¡¯ve got an Endless Sky Crystal, I should be able to stay awake a little longer, too.) Hyukjin asked, ¡°What about manifesting?¡± (Not only would that be out of the question with a single Endless Sky Crystal, but I think that crystal would turn straight to dust. The most I can do is maintain consciousness for a little longer while taking care not to exceed the limits of the Endless Sky Crystal.) Hyukjin was a little sad. To be honest, he wanted to see Isabel again. (Husband. You thought just now that you wanted to see me manifest, didn¡¯t you?) Isabel snorted scornfully, but her laugh exposed her good mood. (Sentiments like that, they don¡¯t make me happy at all. But it¡¯s commendable, I suppose. Indeed, that¡¯s how a husband should be.) Because they were mentally connected, he could feel her intense happiness. Hyukjin briefly thought that she was cute, even though she was so strong he couldn¡¯t even dare to look upon her. (Husband, don¡¯t go that way. Go left, that way.) Isabel was only able to exert her abilities a little more with the slight reinforcement of her consciousness, but even that made her an incredible help. (You were looking for this, right? The major artery.) Hyukjin saw a creek flowing with red blood. It was quite long and really did seem like a small stream. It didn¡¯t smell at all like blood. ¡°Yeah, that¡¯s right.¡± This was the major artery, the key to this strategy. ¨CThe King Kraken¡¯s major artery looks like a red creek or stream. The blood in this stream must stay clean and pure and cannot be tainted with any impurities. This ¡°major artery¡± is the King Kraken¡¯s heart. Hyukjin walked up to the major artery. Isabel warned, (Be careful. If you fall in, you¡¯ll die.) A wave of heat hit him. The blood seemed quite hot. Hyukjin took out an Iron Horn. He had decided to use it as soon as he had seen the King Kraken. ¨CAfter many tests by the author, hot, molten steel was found to be the most effective. Hot, molten steel was said to have a better, more instantaneous effect than blades or poison items. Hyukjin began drawing forth the pure Athenae energy within him. Isabel seemed rather pleased. (Not bad, Husband.) Having learned how to use sword ki, he¡¯d already experienced wrapping his energy over a foreign object. Moreover, he had used Athenae¡¯s flame multiple times and had practiced drawing forth flame ki many times while making the Blackfire Bow. The act of smelting the Iron Horn in itself wasn¡¯t very hard. The Iron Horn began to drip from his palm. ¡®It¡¯s hot for me, too.¡¯ The horn he had smelted with Athenae¡¯s flame inflicted severe injury to Hyukjin¡¯s palm before flowing into the major artery. The first Iron Horn, the second, and then the third all dripped into the major artery. A small tremor arose in the stream, quickly intensifying until the world around Hyukjin was violently rocking. The red blood flowing in the major artery started wildly splattering out. (Watch out!) A small, bluish barrier formed before Hyukjin¡¯s eyes, created by Isabel. ¡®She can do this sort of thing, too?¡¯ Isabel fumbled for an excuse. (That was a thin sword barrier. You can make sword barriers like this by swinging a sword ultra fast. Really.) There was no way she was being truthful. (It-it¡¯s all because Husband is too weak. That¡¯s why I swung out.) Even if there really was a technique called ¡®sword barrier¡¯, it wasn¡¯t this. This was all magic. A barrier, aka the defensive magic called Shield. ¡°Thanks. So it was an amazing sword technique, like I thought.¡± (Th-This is nothing, ho, hoho, hoho!) The red blood flowing in the major artery boiled over like molten lava, splattering all over this outer space world. Wherever the blood touched, a hole was burned in its place. Seawater began shooting in from the holes, and the pull of gravity was reestablished. It felt as though he had returned to the world from which he had come. He could feel it. ¡®It¡¯s dying.¡¯ About thirty minutes later¡ª [The boss monster King Kraken has been killed.] [EXP cannot be acquired.] [Items will not be dropped.] In the end, the King Kraken perished. Hyukjin swam up to the surface. The entirety of the Immortal Fleet had been destroyed, so he couldn¡¯t go by ship. He started swimming back to the beach, sensing his guild members waiting for him in the distance with Eye of Perception. As he swam, Hyukjin thought, ¡®Normally at a time like this, the Guardians should¡¯ve been rushing to send a bunch of messages.¡¯ But none had come. That meant the Guardians had determined this scenario wasn¡¯t over yet. And Hyukjin knew what the end of this scenario was. Simply hunting the boss monster wasn¡¯t all. ¡®It¡¯s time for the conclusion.¡¯ He would bring this scenario to a close. Chapter 295 [Translator ¨C Lei ] [Proofreader ¨C Ash ] Chapter 295 Hunting the King Kraken was pretty great content on its own. But right now, that feat was merely a part of the process. ¡®My deal with the Herdsman of Las Vegas needs to end for this scenario to end.¡¯ The counter proposal Hyukjin had made was to solo the boss. ¡®Sovereign soloing, don¡¯t you want to see it?¡¯ he had asked, and the Herdsman of Las Vegas had accepted his counter proposal without a second thought. Hyukjin had just completed his end of the deal perfectly. ¡°Is it my win?¡± A Pause took effect, and Senia showed herself. In this black and white world, it was just the two of them. ¡°Player Hyukjin has accomplished an absolutely peerless solo kill.¡± ¡°I was lucky.¡± ¡°The Herdsman of Las Vegas is very pleased as well.¡± If that was all, the Guardian would have dumped a generous sponsorship by now. ¡°But he¡¯s probably curious as to how I achieved such a feat.¡± ¡°Yes. Your Playing is far too different from that of regular Players. Did you know the interior structure of the King Kraken¡¯s body beforehand?¡± This was basically a continuation of the regression-related questioning from last time. Hyukjin shook his head. ¡°As if. How would I know that?¡± ¡°Then how did you know?¡± He gave an answer tailored to the Herdsman of Las Vegas¡¯ personality. ¡°Of course I didn¡¯t know.¡± Senia returned his serve adroitly. ¡°Was it a gamble?¡± ¡°Exactly. Not knowing the cards in the opponent¡¯s hand, not knowing how things will turn out, that¡¯s what makes a gamble fun.¡± For now, he stuck adamantly to his excuse that he didn¡¯t know. The Herdsman of Las Vegas would accept and be amused by this alone, but knowing there were countless other Guardians watching, Hyukjin wanted to stack the cards with even greater certainty in his favor. ¡°I traveled to the Endless Sky in a whalekin¡¯s belly. You remember that, right?¡± ¡°I do.¡± ¡°Back then, it occurred to me that it would be easier to take down a creature far bigger than me from inside its stomach. The skin of the whalekin is incredibly sturdy, but their insides looked relatively fragile.¡± ¡°Ah.¡± Senia seemed to be recalling that time. Lately, working with Shobidobi had enlightened her on the ways of editing. ¡®This would be a good place to put a related video link.¡¯ They could put a link to the Endless Sky scenario video here, providing easy access to the Guardians who hadn¡¯t seen it yet. ¡°Then how did it occur to you to look for the King Kraken¡¯s anus?¡± ¡°Like I said, it was a gamble.¡± Hyukjin grinned. ¡°There was no way for me to hunt it from the outside anyway. That only left going into its body and hunting it from the inside, but it was spewing too strong an acid from its snout. The only place I could think of was its anus.¡± ¡°But there are many monsters that don¡¯t have an anus, aren¡¯t there?¡± ¡°That¡¯s why it was a gamble.¡± Hyukjin heard a notice. [The ¡®Herdsman of Las Vegas¡¯ praises your intellect.] This was how you gambled. It wasn¡¯t possible to control every variable. Granted, Hyukjin could minimize them with his knowledge of the future, but the Herdsman of Las Vegas didn¡¯t know that. In the Guardian¡¯s eyes, Hyukjin was a great gambler. And the Herdsman of Las Vegas didn¡¯t skimp on sponsoring great gamblers. [The ¡®Herdsman of Las Vegas¡¯ seriously contemplates a reward.] Hyukjin silently waited for the notice. ¡®A bet, plus a counter proposal.¡¯ With the counter proposal, he was bound to get an even greater reward. What would this generous Guardian give? [The ¡®Herdsman of Las Vegas¡¯ gifts a Special Ability Enhancement Crystal.] Hyukjin doubted his ears. ¡®A Special Ability Enhancement Crystal?¡¯ They had just entered the intermediate period. Special Ability Enhancement Crystals showed up in the master period and were a necessary material in enhancing the special abilities of Players. He checked it immediately. The description was brief. [Special Ability Enhancement Crystal] Enhances a Player¡¯s ¡®special ability¡¯. It was the same Special Ability Enhancement Crystal he knew. Currently, he had a total of four special abilities. Special abilities: [Absorption] [Mettle] [Eye for an Eye, Tooth for a Tooth] [Immortal Fleet] However, Hyukjin¡¯s eyes captured a faint yellow light coming from the crystal. The Pause was still in effect. He spoke aloud, wanting to prolong the Pause a little longer. ¡°There¡¯s something hidden in this Special Ability Enhancement Crystal.¡± The yellow light was very faint, almost imperceptible. That meant there was something more to it. If his Eye of Perception proficiency was higher, he would have been able to decipher it, but deciphering it fully was impossible. ¡°I¡¯m going to figure out what it is. Right now.¡± Strike when the iron is hot. Life was all about timing, and so was producing content. Everything had a ¡°right time¡±, a most effective moment. Hyukjin believed that moment was now. He took out an item. [Stardust] A Guardian exclusive given by the Milky Way Neutron Star to those they have expectations for. Stardust can be used on ¡®robbed¡¯ or ¡®stolen¡¯ items, enabling one to see all hidden attributes of the item. Remaining uses: 1 ¡°If the Milky Way Neutron Star allows it, I would like to use this Stardust on the Special Ability Enhancement Crystal.¡± This was the climax of the scenario. Many Guardians were watching. All the Guardians who were hungry for good content would pressure the Milky Way Neutron Star. Other Guardians were the best means for manipulating a Guardian. ¡®It¡¯ll work on the Milky Way Neutron Star.¡¯ The problem was whether the Milky Way Neutron Star was in Senia¡¯s channel or not. ¡®Are they not here?¡¯ He didn¡¯t get any messages from the Milky Way Neutron Star, but he did get one from another Guardian. [The ¡®Fairy of the Bellows Fire¡¯ feels great interest in your proposal.] It was the debut of the Fairy of the Bellows Fire. A bellows was the device used to feed a fire with air, and ¡®bellows fire¡¯ referred to the produced flame. This was the Guardian all production class Players dreamed of. Typically, they frequented the Italy, Germany, or UK servers. As one would expect, the very famous craftsman of Italy, Pedro, would sign a contract with the Fairy of the Bellows Fire at level 50. A Guardian with a focus on production and enhancement¡­ was currently interested. If this went well, Hyukjin would be able to alter Stardust¡¯s usage conditions. The Pause still going on was proof of that. Many Guardians were watching with great interest right now. Like most production-focused Guardians, the Fairy of the Bellows Fire was known to be at odds with the Milky Way Neutron Star. It was different from the relationship between the White Hunter and the Conductor of Sound. If those two were undeniable rivals, then the Milky Way Neutron Star and the Fairy of the Bellows Fire were more akin to enemies. Production Players disliked thief Players, and it was no secret that was because their ¡®contracted Guardian¡¯ disliked thief class Guardians. ¡®That¡¯s why she¡¯ll want to get more actively involved.¡¯ Things proceeded as Hyukjin expected. [The ¡®Fairy of the Bellows Fire¡¯ engages in the alteration of Stardust¡¯s settings.] No matter how fervently you wanted content or how much you wanted to see a certain scene, there was always a fundamental rule. If you wanted to change a pre-existing setting, you needed to pay the appropriate price. Hyukjin was well aware of that. [The ¡®Fairy of the Bellows Fire¡¯ asks for the Fire Giant¡¯s Necklace.] The wheels were already set in motion. If he wanted to change the setting of a gift given by a Guardian, it was only right that he should relinquish an item of at least this grade. And Hyukjin believed that if the Guardian doing the alteration was the Fairy of the Bellows Fire, this was the right decision. He had obtained this necklace along with Fire Giant¡¯s Breath, and since he hadn¡¯t had any use for it, it had been sitting around in his Inventory. He decided to use it now. [The ¡®Fairy of the Bellows Fire¡¯ is modifying the settings of Stardust.] [The settings of Stardust have been altered.] [Stardust] A Guardian exclusive given by the Milky Way Neutron Star to those they have expectations for. The settings have been partially altered due to the involvement of the Fairy of the Bellows Fire. Stardust can be used on ¡®robbed¡¯ or ¡®stolen¡¯ items, as well as ¡®enhancement¡¯ or ¡®material¡¯ items, enabling one to see all hidden attributes of the item. Remaining uses: 1 It could now be used on ¡®enhancement¡¯ or ¡®material¡¯ items as well. Hyukjin didn¡¯t hesitate. He immediately used his last Stardust on the Special Ability Enhancement Crystal. Translator ¨C Lei Proofreader ¨C Ash After watching gold dust fall onto the crystal, Hyukjin examined the Special Ability Enhancement Crystal. Just like with the Daedongyeojido, the Special Ability Enhancement Crystal was hiding a secret unknown to mankind. [Special Ability Enhancement Crystal] Enhances a Player¡¯s ¡®special ability¡¯. The special ability enhancement result is influenced by the Player¡¯s enhancement talent. The Special Ability Enhancement Crystal can actively assess whether items and various factors required for special ability enhancement are present. Performing special ability enhancement with the requisite material items and enhancement factors will yield an excellent result. This Special Ability Enhancement Crystal is most compatible with summoning special abilities. At least as far as Hyukjin knew, the Players in the expert period didn¡¯t pay much attention to particulars before using Special Ability Enhancement Crystals. But as it turned out, special ability enhancement was just like regular enhancement in that a mix of material items and various factors could bring about a better result. ¡®And it can actively assess those.¡¯ It was also interesting that each crystal had a type of special ability it was most compatible with. Hyukjin¡¯s mind flashed to his summoning special ability, Immortal Fleet. Talking to Senia to provide information to the Guardians, Hyukjin said, ¡°This enhancement crystal is most compatible with Immortal Fleet.¡± ¡°Yes, I¡¯ve confirmed that as well.¡± In that case, did he need to enhance the Immortal Fleet here? That would be the most effective move, and likely the move a lot of Guardians were itching to see. ¡°The problem is that the Immortal Fleet has been totally wrecked, and I don¡¯t know when it¡¯ll be restored.¡± It would recover at some point, but he didn¡¯t know when that would be. Restoring it might even require a certain item or condition. ¡°The Immortal Fleet is in an unusable state,¡± said Senia. ¡°Unfortunately, yes.¡± ¡°In that case, it will be difficult to proceed with enhancement.¡± Senia felt regret. They were on a roll, and it was important that they maintained this trajectory. Only going directly into enhancement would put a satisfying end to this scenario. If they ended halfway like this, it would feel very¡­ anticlimactic. Like a story with an introduction, development, climax, and no end. But just as she was thinking that, Kim Hyukjin smiled. ¡°It¡¯ll be very difficult, yes¡­ but it¡¯s not hopeless.¡± This scenario wasn¡¯t over yet. Chapter 296 [Translator ¨C Lei ] [Proofreader ¨C Ash ] Chapter 296 ¡°¡­But it¡¯s not hopeless.¡± With the help of the Fairy of the Bellows Fire, Hyukjin now knew the secret hidden within the Special Ability Enhancement Crystal. Of his abilities, this crystal was most compatible with Immortal Fleet. In addition, he was even shown the conditions for restoring the Immortal Fleet, as well as an explanation regarding the enhancement requirements. [A Player capable of the Seek Life to Die, Seek Death to Live Incantation is a requirement for enhancement.] [A Player capable of uttering Will Incantations is an unconditional requirement.] [A Player capable of uttering Will Incantations can restore the Immortal Fleet.] There were other conditions required for restoration. One of them was the power of the Endless Sky Crystal. When that, and other factors were present, the Immortal Fleet could be repaired and even enhanced. ¡®The die is already cast anyway.¡¯ He couldn¡¯t back out now. This story needed its ending. If he came all the way to the Nanba Terminal Dungeon and wasn¡¯t able to secure a satisfying conclusion, all the trouble he went through would be wasted. Who would like a story without an ending? Hyukjin said, ¡°I need to restore the Immortal Fleet and flawlessly carry out its enhancement, too.¡± ¡°Right now?¡± ¡°There¡¯s a requirement I need to fulfill.¡± ¡°What kind of requirement?¡± ¡°To do this perfectly, I need the help of another Player.¡± He didn¡¯t forget to throw hints to the Guardians, inviting them to imagine and infer things for themselves. ¡°I need a person who can do the Seek Life to Die, Seek Death to Live Will Incantation.¡± Senia didn¡¯t seem to remember. ¡°Do you know someone like that?¡± ¡°I do.¡± He knew who it was¡ªthe German sovereign/archer, Schultz. He was the Player who had first shown him this incantation in the Dewinged Angel Statue Gate. ¡°For now, the dungeon is cleared, right?¡± ¡°Yes.¡± When the Pause was dispelled, there would be a dungeon clear announcement. Hyukjin nodded. ¡°We¡¯ll go right into enhancement.¡± Hyukjin and the members of Giantgod Guild left the Nanba Terminal Dungeon. Despite clearing it, they didn¡¯t receive much in the way of rewards. Only the Explorer of Service, Kang Somyi, was given a reward and a hint about her next class scenario. ¡°The dungeon is going to collapse,¡± stated Hyukjin. Kang Somyi added, ¡°The dungeon base has disappeared.¡± She was sincerely amazed. When Kim Hyukjin jumped into the ocean, she thought he was an absolute madman. She spent the rather long wait afterwards alternating between worrying and marveling at his recklessness. But to her relief and amazement, some time later, the King Kraken died while screaming. ¡®What exactly happened inside the King Kraken¡¯s body?¡¯ She would have to ask him seriously later when they had time. This man, Kim Hyukjin, became more and more fascinating by the second. ¡®I¡¯ve got to ask him.¡¯ She was dying to know how he had hunted it. Somyi really didn¡¯t expect him to solo a beast like the King Kraken. If she could learn how he did it, it would be very helpful when she published her monster encyclopedia, the goal she was working towards. ¡°I don¡¯t know what that is, either. But even though the dungeon has collapsed and it¡¯s been cleared, it¡¯s still going to break.¡± It was the same with the Sangam World Cup Stadium Dungeon. After losing its Endless Sky Crystal, the dungeon would break. ¡°Somyi, do you have any sense of what the dungeon break will look like?¡± Hyukjin asked. ¡°To be honest, not really. But I don¡¯t think it¡¯ll be like what happened with the Sangam World Cup Stadium Dungeon.¡± ¡°Really?¡± Believing her judgment, Hyukjin made a request to his guildmates. ¡°It¡¯s possible we¡¯re somewhat responsible for this dungeon¡¯s collapse.¡± ¡°¡­¡± ¡°So when the dungeon break happens, if it¡¯s not looking too dicey, please help out.¡± Yeonseo smiled brightly. ¡°Will there be a lot of strong enemies?¡± ¡°I don¡¯t know.¡± ¡°A request from Boss, how unexpected. I thought you could take care of everything alone.¡± Yeonseo shrugged, and after a slightly fake laugh, she pulled out the Demon Blade Asura. ¡°Don¡¯t worry. I¡¯ll stop that break in its tracks.¡± ¡°I¡¯m not asking you to stop it completely. Don¡¯t overdo it if it¡¯s too dangerous.¡± ¡°Jeez, alright, alright. I¡¯ll handle it with caution.¡± Sunghyun spoke up next. ¡°It seems like you have something else to do. Am I right?¡± ¡°Yeah. I¡¯m going to leave this place to you guys and go meet another Player.¡± ¡°Can I ask what¡¯s going on?¡± Hyukjin saw through Sunghyun. The kid was worrying about him. He really didn¡¯t show it, but Sunghyun was very concerned about him. Hyukjin used this opportunity to inform the Guardians. ¡°I¡¯m gonna go meet someone real quick. I need to proceed with Immortal Fleet enhancement content.¡± Translator ¨C Lei Proofreader ¨C Ash Hyukjin returned to Korea via the Tutorial Building Warp Gate, then went straight to Song Kiyeol¡¯s office. It just so happened that Song Junghye was there as well. ¡°Kim Hyukjin, you¡­! Where do you think you¡¯re barging into!¡± Hyukjin completely and utterly ignored her, not paying a single glance at her as she screamed with reddened eyes. She wasn¡¯t even a threat. ¡°Y-You¡­! You¡¯re ignoring me? Me? Song Junghye?¡± Song Kiyeol sighed. ¡°Junghye. Go outside.¡± ¡°Oppa. I had an appointment with you first, and I¡¯m here as the guildmaster of Blood and Iron Lion. What do you think you¡¯re doing?¡± ¡°I get it, so go outside.¡± ¡°Is this how you do business?!¡± Junghye shot to her feet. Smiling, Hyukjin threw a jab. ¡°You should¡¯ve ambushed me when I got out of the Nanba Terminal Dungeon.¡± ¡°¡­¡± ¡°If you did that, you might have succeeded for once in that assassination thing you¡¯re so fond of.¡± Junghye glared at Hyukjin for a long time. To be honest, the idea had occurred to her. Giantgod Guild would be very tired after clearing the Nanba Terminal Dungeon, and it wasn¡¯t like it hadn¡¯t occurred to her to attack them at that time. It was just that there were too many onlookers to take action outside the dungeon. ¡®I¡¯ll kill you one day. I swear.¡¯ Hyukjin saw straight through Song Junghye¡¯s vitriolic thoughts. Her emotions were all too obvious. He intentionally continued to provoke her. ¡°If you want me dead, come at me any time. You¡¯re too weak to do it anyway.¡± He laughed scornfully. Song Junghye left the room, slamming the door behind her. Kiyeol, who had been watching in silence, pursed his lips. ¡°¡­It looks like you were intentionally provoking Junghye.¡± ¡°Like I¡¯ve been saying, if it weren¡¯t for you, I might have already killed her.¡± It was true that Hyukjin hadn¡¯t killed her out of consideration for Song Kiyeol, but to be honest, it was more out of an interest for his own gain. Song Junghye was deeply linked to Jackson. ¡®Jackson will maneuver her.¡¯ And through him, Song Junghye would obtain many things. In the process, Jackson would test both Junghye and Hyukjin again and again, weighing which of the two would make a better candidate. ¡®For the time being, he¡¯ll be focusing his efforts on Song Junghye.¡¯ Hyukjin just had to grab hold of all the things that were supposed to go to her. He would be able to get amazing abilities like the Immortal Fleet without dealing directly with Jackson, who couldn¡¯t be 100% trusted. That was the best stance Hyukjin could take right now. Meanwhile, Song Kiyeol remained silent. He hadn¡¯t been able to respond to Hyukjin¡¯s matter-of-fact statement. ¡°¡­¡± It was a bit strange to thank Hyukjin for not killing his sister. After some time, he replied, ¡°I¡¯ll punish her properly again.¡± ¡°Yes, well. That¡¯s your business.¡± Hyukjin wasn¡¯t here because of Song Junghye. ¡°I want to see the German Player Schultz. Please arrange that for me.¡± As a German Ranker, Schultz was being closely watched by many people in Germany. As such, Hyukjin wanted to get in contact with Schultz under the official front of Taeguk Shield. ¡°Schultz¡­?¡± Song Kiyeol¡¯s eyes widened. ¡°Why are you so surprised?¡± ¡°Schultz has actually contacted us already.¡± ¡°He has?¡± ¡°To be exact, we were contacted by an Italian info merchant.¡± ¡°Ah, you mean Pietro.¡± ¡°Yes.¡± Hyukjin heard the whole story. Apparently, Schultz wanted to meet Kim Hyukjin for some reason as well. ¡®Schultz was supposed to have died in the Dewinged Angel Statue Gate.¡¯ He had nobly sacrificed himself to save the other Players. Through his sacrifice, more Players were able to survive, and the survivors of the Dewinged Angel Statue Gate considered Schultz a hero. ¡®He¡¯s looking for me, and right now? So coincidentally?¡¯ The timing was one thing, but the reason Schultz gave for wanting to meet him was interesting as well. ¡®He¡¯s looking for information about the Immortal Fleet¡­¡¯ Hyukjin didn¡¯t know what Schultz and Pietro had discussed. After leaving Kiyeol¡¯s office, he called Pietro right away. ¨CWhy didn¡¯t you contact me directly? ¨CI did, but I wasn¡¯t able to reach you. My intel tells me you¡¯ve been in a certain Japanese dungeon. ¨CI see. It was an acceptable explanation, as well as another hint for Hyukjin. ¡®That means he was in such a hurry to get in contact with me that he couldn¡¯t wait and went to Song Kiyeol.¡¯ ¨CHow much did you say about the Immortal Fleet? ¨CNot much. But Schultz told me he thinks the Immortal Fleet is in Korea. ¨CHow did he find that out? ¨CHe said Itachi from Japan told him. Hyukjin¡¯s meeting with Schultz came quickly. For Hyukjin, it was a very good sequence of events¡ªthings were progressing nicely without losing momentum. Schultz came to Giantgod Guild¡¯s office in person. They hadn¡¯t seen each other in a while. After a simple greeting, they went straight to business. ¡°Itachi said the Eternal Star of the Sea is shining on Korea.¡± ¡°So he thinks the Eternal Star of the Sea is the Immortal Fleet, and the fact that it¡¯s shining on Korea means I¡¯m related to the Immortal Fleet?¡± That was a stretch. ¡°He said there are very, very few people he can make such concrete and detailed prophecies about.¡± ¡°Ah.¡± ¡°That¡¯s why Itachi figured it was you, Guildmaster Kim.¡± ¡°Fine. Say you¡¯re looking for the Immortal Fleet, and that it has something to do with me. What is it that you want then, Schultz?¡± Schultz looked directly into Hyukjin¡¯s eyes. ¡°May I ask a question first?¡± ¡°Go ahead.¡± ¡°Do you have the Immortal Fleet?¡± ¡°¡­¡± Hyukjin thought for a moment. Should he be honest, or conceal the truth? ¡®There¡¯s no reason not to tell him.¡¯ Not only would the whole world come to know of this ability during the Bali Naval Battle, but Schultz¡¯s cooperation was crucial for enhancing the Immortal Fleet. ¡®And there¡¯s no need to draw this out.¡¯ Hyukjin nodded. ¡°The Immortal Fleet¡­ is one of my special abilities.¡± ¡°As I thought!¡± Schultz jumped to his feet, before quickly sitting back down with a look of embarrassment. ¡°I apologize. I got too excited.¡± ¡°It¡¯s alright. But why is it such a good thing for you that I have the Immortal Fleet? To the point that you would jump out of your seat?¡± Schultz fell silent, chewing on his next words. All this time, he had been deliberating on how he should put this, but he couldn¡¯t come up with anything else. He decided to be blunt and direct about it. There really was no roundabout way to put it. He would just be honest. ¡°I¡¯ll be direct with you.¡± ¡°Yes, I prefer that as well.¡± Schultz got up, went down on his knees, and said something that was, from Hyukjin¡¯s point of view, completely ridiculous. ¡°Please give me the Immortal Fleet.¡± Chapter 297 [Translator ¨C Lei ] [Proofreader ¨C Ash ] Chapter 297 A sovereign/archer memorialized as a hero by the survivors of the Dewinged Angel Statue Gate, a Player who didn¡¯t hesitate to sacrifice himself for others. And just like Kang Somyi, a Player who had a yellow light above his head. That was all the info Hyukjin had on Schultz. ¡®I don¡¯t know what to think.¡¯ Hyukjin hadn¡¯t thought Schultz would come out so boldly with such an absurd statement. ¡°Did you just ask me to give you the Immortal Fleet? Did my ears hear wrong?¡± ¡°No, as shameless as it is, you heard right.¡± ¡°I¡¯m glad you know it¡¯s shameless.¡± Thankfully, Schultz seemed to know how ridiculous this request was. If he hadn¡¯t, things would have been extremely troublesome. ¡°For now, get up. I¡¯d like to hear a bit more on why you want the Immortal Fleet.¡± Schultz wasn¡¯t supposed to still be alive, and the Immortal Fleet was supposed to go to Song Junghye. Schultz, the Immortal Fleet, and Song Junghye¡­ They didn¡¯t seem very related, but they were all connected to the variable ¡®Kim Hyukjin¡¯. So instead of immediately rejecting him, Hyukjin probed Schultz¡¯s intent. ¡°I will complete the Immortal Fleet.¡± ¡°Complete the Immortal Fleet?¡± ¡°Ah.¡± Schultz quickly backtracked. ¡°It¡¯s not that I¡¯m saying the Immortal Fleet in your possession is incomplete. Please don¡¯t misunderstand.¡± ¡°That¡¯s what it sounds like to me.¡± Schultz apologized. ¡°That wasn¡¯t my intention. But I understand it can come off that way to you. I¡¯m sorry. I¡¯m really sorry.¡± Hyukjin looked at the still kneeling German Player in amazement. ¡®Even though he¡¯s kneeling, he doesn¡¯t look servile.¡¯ How should he put it? He was¡­ proud? It was incredible that Schultz could look proud while asking for someone else¡¯s special ability, but Hyukjin liked his attitude. ¡®He¡¯s not trying to be underhanded or anything, at least.¡¯ Hyukjin could tell from the few sentences they had exchanged. Schultz had been fully honest with him the whole time and hadn¡¯t tried to lie. His actions, words, and expressions, everything was true. ¡®And it¡¯s true the Immortal Fleet isn¡¯t complete yet.¡¯ He was also only level 44. There was a limit to how amazing a level 44 Player¡¯s special ability could be. Plus, he was in the middle of enhancing it right now. If it could be enhanced, that also meant it hadn¡¯t been enhanced yet. Saying it was incomplete wasn¡¯t all that wrong. ¡°Let me apologize again. I really didn¡¯t intend on insulting you.¡± ¡°You seem sincere, so I¡¯ll accept the apology.¡± Hyukjin shrugged. ¡°And it¡¯s true that it¡¯s incomplete.¡± ¡°¡­¡± At Schultz¡¯s silence, Hyukjin continued, ¡°I know what conditions are necessary to enhance the Immortal Fleet.¡± ¡°Enhance¡­ it?¡± ¡°Yes. For this enhancement, your ability is an absolute must.¡± Hyukjin narrowed his eyes. ¡°If I can borrow your power, my Immortal Fleet will become one level stronger.¡± ¡°¡­¡± ¡°So why do I need to give it to you?¡± ¡°Well¡­¡± Schultz squeezed his eyes shut. ¡°That¡¯s because the Immortal Fleet you wish to enhance and the Immortal Fleet I want to complete are very different.¡± ¡°So you¡¯re saying my Immortal Fleet is weak, and the one you¡¯re making is strong?¡± ¡°¡­I apologize.¡± Hyukjin could only laugh, dumbfounded. ¡®Is he socially inept, or just way too honest?¡¯ Honest, truthful. Such qualities weren¡¯t always good and desired. Sometimes, it was necessary to lie, and there were situations that called for euphemisms or roundabout ways of putting things. Especially when asking for something, like Schultz was doing now. ¡®He¡¯s really unable to lie.¡¯ He was stupidly honest to the point of foolishness. He said things knowing he would have to apologize, and then really apologized for saying them. ¡®I like him.¡¯ Schultz was a completely different type of person from Hyukjin. ¡°If it were me, I would have first done my research on what it is that the other person wants, what would make him agree to this proposal.¡± ¡°¡­You¡¯re completely right.¡± ¡°Just saying that you can complete the Immortal Fleet isn¡¯t all that appealing a proposal to me.¡± Schultz nodded, fully acknowledging Hyukjin¡¯s words. ¡°You¡¯re right.¡± So he made a proposal. ¡°I will make sure the whole world knows of your name.¡± ¡°¡­¡± Hyukjin was taken aback once again. ¡®Eh?¡¯ It seemed¡­ conversing with this man would take some getting used to. ¡®Does he really think that¡¯s a good thing?¡¯ The scary part was that Schultz was dead serious. Throughout this entire conversation, Schultz hadn¡¯t spoken a single lie. Everything was sincere. ¡°I will complete the Immortal Fleet without fail¡­¡± ¡°¡­¡± ¡°And let everyone know that the true ruler of the sea is you, the Korean Kim Hyukjin.¡± ¡°¡­¡± ¡°Naval dominance is the most important factor for winning a war.¡± It was true that naval dominance was important. Why else would the world¡¯s strongest countries, like the US and China, invest so much into making aircraft carriers and commanding the seas? ¡°But naval dominance isn¡¯t necessary if there¡¯s no war, is it?¡± ¡°The world is changing. Mankind will require naval dominance. The skies are becoming dangerous because of flying monsters, and the sea routes are being blocked by sea monsters. Accidents are occurring all the time.¡± Translator ¨C Lei Proofreader ¨C Ash In just ten years, the sea routes of mankind would be greatly obstructed, even more so than the airways. That was because underwater monsters were harder to deal with than flying ones. ¡®Hold on.¡¯ Hyukjin thought for a moment. ¡®The sea routes didn¡¯t open up as much as you¡¯d expect from Player levels going up.¡¯ In particular, the Pacific would become the most dangerous ocean in the world. ¡®If the Immortal Fleet had been properly awakened and had protected Korea¡¯s waters¡­ Things might have been a little different.¡¯ If Song Junghye had been a proper Player, she would have been able to awaken the Immortal Fleet¡¯s full potential. That might have allowed her to gain dominance over the Pacific Ocean via the East Sea, opening up safe sea routes by repelling the countless monsters living in the Pacific Ocean. ¡°I¡¯m not all that interested in opening the sea routes.¡± He heard a notice at that. [The ¡®Lady of the Scales¡¯ is disappointed by your words.] It was the sort of message you would expect from a Guardian who was good and just to a fault. Sea routes were basically directly linked to commerce. Even with Warp Portals and open airways, there was no denying that the sea was a massive route for goods. Hyukjin hid a smile. He had said those words on purpose to disappoint her, and sure enough, she had taken the bait. There had to be a little frustration for a satisfying catharsis. ¡°Moreover, I have zero desire to become a hero.¡± ¡°¡­¡± It was Schultz¡¯s turn to stare at Hyukjin with eyes of incomprehension. He didn¡¯t say anything, but Hyukjin¡¯s Eye of Perception read his mind. ¡®It¡¯s only natural¡­ for those who have the strength to become heroes?¡¯ That was apparently what Schultz thought. As long as he didn¡¯t force that opinion on others, it was a pretty admirable way of thinking. Conviction was necessary to become a hero, after all. Schultz asked, ¡°You don¡¯t want to become a hero?¡± ¡°Not at all.¡± Hyukjin smiled. ¡°How strong do you think I am, Schultz?¡± The German Player was one of the few people who had seen Hyukjin¡¯s true strength. He responded honestly, ¡°I think of you as one dimension, no, two dimensions above me. Both as an archer, and as a sovereign. I¡¯m far below you in every single aspect.¡± And he was being honest. 100%, unabashed and completely without pretense, honest. ¡°It¡¯s embarrassing to say, but I¡¯m confident I¡¯m one of the top ten Players in Germany.¡± This, too, was sincere. ¡°So I know that if you had been born in Germany, you would have been our number one Player.¡± ¡°Why do you think someone you judge so highly would be unknown to the world?¡± ¡°That¡¯s¡­¡± Schultz¡¯s train of thought ground to a halt. That was something he hadn¡¯t ever considered. He just thought Taeguk Shield was incredibly strong, since they were so well-regarded. And it wasn¡¯t wrong for him to have thought so. The public was told that Taeguk Shield had eliminated all those overwhelmingly powerful Red Devils. Additionally, Song Kiyeol was credited with stopping the Fire Giants. The prominent hero Song Kiyeol was already well-established in Korea. ¡®It¡¯s true that Song Kiyeol is extremely strong,¡¯ thought Schultz. Going by official feats alone, Song Kiyeol was probably one of the strongest Rankers in the world. At least according to what Schultz knew. ¡®But Kim Hyukjin is strong, too.¡¯ A Player like Kim Hyukjin might not be as strong as Song Kiyeol, but he still should have been known to the world. But he was strangely low-key, to the point that hardly anyone knew about him. ¡®This meeting was also officially set up by Taeguk Shield.¡¯ That was all the public was told. Cold sweat suddenly ran down his back. ¡®But how come I don¡¯t see hide or hair of Song Kiyeol?¡¯ He was finally getting true information after a bunch of distorted information. Schultz¡¯s intel might have been wrong, but he was confident in his ability to judge the situation. With that one shift in critical information, the fog over his eyes lifted. ¡®The true owner of Taeguk Shield¡­ is Kim Hyukjin!¡¯ His head reeled with realization. ¡®The real heavyweight is Kim Hyukjin!¡¯ Kim Hyukjin was hiding behind the front that was Taeguk Shield. But why? Why did he do such a thing? ¡®Him not taking the limelight probably means he places more value on practical benefits than honor or fame.¡¯ He was the complete opposite of Schultz, and the kind of person Schultz had the hardest time dealing with. ¡®What can I offer him?¡¯ ¡®Doing the right thing¡¯ or a ¡®noble cause¡¯ wasn¡¯t good enough. It had to be something real, something practical. ¡°I was a fool and didn¡¯t know anything,¡± said Schultz at last. ¡°¡­¡± He got up. ¡°I have no great wealth or treasures to offer you.¡± ¡°It sounds like you¡¯re giving up on this trade.¡± ¡°I haven¡¯t given up.¡± Hyukjin liked how straightforward Schultz was. They might be two completely different kinds of people, but maybe that was why he was more drawn to the guy. ¡°Please give me a little time. I don¡¯t know what you want, but I will definitely find something equal to the Immortal Fleet in worth.¡± ¡°What I want is the Immortal Fleet¡¯s enhancement.¡± ¡°I¡¯ll help you with that.¡± Schultz didn¡¯t stop to weigh benefits and losses. His approach was to do everything he could, no matter what it was. Even so, he still didn¡¯t seem at all servile. Hyukjin asked, ¡°Why do you want to protect the sea routes so badly?¡± He already knew the answer. ¡°Because that is what I should do.¡± ¡°¡­¡± ¡°Because it¡¯s something I can do. If I do that, more people will be able to enjoy delicious meals at home. With their families.¡± It was a very Schultz-esque answer. Hyukjin scanned Schultz again with Eye of Perception and was unsurprised to find that he was once again being sincere. The two of them met eyes. Hyukjin looked directly at this man, this great hero in the making who shouldn¡¯t have existed in this world. He had already finished his calculations. To be honest, he hadn¡¯t seen this development coming. Before meeting Schultz, the only thought in his head was enhancing the Immortal Fleet. ¡®Let¡¯s go for something a little different.¡¯ In a direction even he, the producer, hadn¡¯t predicted. ¡®And we¡¯ll get the Guardians hyped while we¡¯re at it.¡¯ He began to draw out a path that would lead to profits even greater than he had expected. ¡°I¡¯ll give you the Immortal Fleet.¡± Chapter 298 [Translator ¨C Lei ] [Proofreader ¨C Ash ] Chapter 298 ¡°I¡¯ll give you the Immortal Fleet.¡± ¡°¡­What?¡± It was actually Schultz who was shocked. He had asked for the Immortal Fleet, but hadn¡¯t thought Hyukjin would really give it to him. ¡°Are you serious?¡± ¡°Yes.¡± ¡°How come you¡¯re willing to give it to me?¡± Hyukjin closed his eyes. ¡°Because I want to get you.¡± ¡°Me¡­?¡± ¡°Yes. I want you, Schultz.¡± ¡°¡­¡± Schultz was caught off guard by this unexpected situation, but he quickly regained his bearings and nodded. ¡°I won¡¯t disappoint you,¡± he said, his voice full of resolve. ¡°You really won¡¯t regret it?¡± ¡°I saw the kind of person you are at the Dewinged Angel Statue Gate.¡± ¡°¡­¡± ¡°Back then, you were willing to sacrifice yourself in order to save other Players.¡± ¡°Everyone there would have done the same thing.¡± ¡°Not me.¡± If Hyukjin hadn¡¯t been there that day, Schultz would have died there. ¡°And today, you¡¯re here asking me for the Immortal Fleet.¡± ¡°¡­¡± ¡°I can see now that you¡¯re doing so for a noble cause.¡± Hyukjin smiled. ¡°Actually, I¡¯ve been testing your sincerity. I wanted to know if you truly have the will to carry out the public good.¡± That was why he had been dragging out this conversation with Schultz. A message quickly followed on the heels of his words. [The ¡®Lady of the Scales¡¯ offers you a sincere apology.] As one would expect from a lawful good Guardian, the Lady of the Scales was keen to apologize for any misunderstandings. She was truly easy prey. [The ¡®Lady of the Scales¡¯ gives you a ¡®Testing Scales¡¯ as an apology.] [¡®Testing Scales¡¯ has arrived in your Gift Box.] ¡°I wanted to check if you would truly use the Immortal Fleet to do great deeds, and whether you had the resolve and strength of will to do so.¡± ¡°¡­¡± Schultz was silent. His lips kept opening and closing as if he was going to say something, but was swallowing the words. ¡®If I give the Immortal Fleet to Schultz¡­¡¯ Schultz would give Hyukjin his unconditional help and cooperation. That was Schultz¡¯s natural-born character and personality. A man so foolishly honest that he would never forget a favor, that was how Hyukjin assessed Schultz. ¡®Schultz will become my subordinate.¡¯ This was a Player who hadn¡¯t existed in the past. He was, in other words, a variable. Doing this would allow Hyukjin to control this variable. ¡®I¡¯ll give the Immortal Fleet¡ª¡¯ And in exchange¡ª ¡®I¡¯ll get Schultz, who has the Immortal Fleet.¡¯ Hyukjin didn¡¯t think it was a bad trade. However, it wouldn¡¯t seem that way to the Guardians. He knew Schultz was an upright person who would go so far as to offer his life to repay a favor, but the Guardians didn¡¯t. Even the Guardians would be surprised by this turn of events. Many of them were probably either baffled or frustrated. There might even be a few who were raging about him being a ¡®pushover¡¯ who would give away his ability willy-nilly. ¡®It¡¯s my job to keep directing for the Guardians who think that.¡¯ He waited a little longer before asking, ¡°Is there something you want to say to me?¡± Translator ¨C Lei Proofreader ¨C Ash Schultz was overcome with admiration. ¡®This person is a true hero.¡¯ No, he wasn¡¯t just a hero. He was more akin to an antihero born of turbulent times rather than a hero with traditionally noble values. But he was still definitely a hero, through and through. ¡°To tell you the truth¡­¡± In the end, Schultz decided to be honest. ¡°I was testing you, Hyukjin.¡± ¡°¡­¡± Hyukjin cheered inwardly. ¡®As I thought.¡¯ No matter how stupidly honest or single-minded he might be, there was no way a Player of Schultz¡¯s level¡ªand a sovereign, at that¡ªwould come to Hyukjin and ask for the Immortal Fleet so obstinately. ¡®He had an ulterior motive.¡¯ It felt like they were playing chess. Moving this piece would expose another, and he had to predict that while exchanging another set of moves. Feigning ignorance, Hyukjin asked, ¡°You were testing me?¡± ¡°I wanted to know what kind of person you are. That was why I so shamelessly asked for the Immortal Fleet.¡± Without even offering any compensation in return. ¡°Why do you want to know what kind of person I am?¡± The yellow light glowing above Schultz¡¯s head was now becoming more distinct to Hyukjin¡¯s eyes. Schultz had opened his heart to him more. ¡°Because I had to decide who I will serve.¡± Serve. It wasn¡¯t the first time Hyukjin had heard that word. The yellow light above Schultz¡¯s head became brighter. ¡°Does that mean you¡¯re going to serve me?¡± ¡°Yes. This is System regulated, and I cannot refuse your orders without appropriate justification or evidence.¡± ¡°What happens if you refuse?¡± ¡°The Immortal Fleet will be destroyed, and the aftermath of that shock¡­¡± Schultz paused, then continued after a beat. ¡°¡­will kill me.¡± ¡°¡­¡± It was an enormous penalty. ¡°You want to serve me even with such a huge penalty?¡± ¡°Yes. That¡¯s what I want.¡± ¡°Why?¡± ¡°Because you believed me even without System assistance. I think I can entrust someone like that with my life.¡± Hyukjin hadn¡¯t been going for something so extreme, and Schultz¡¯s resolve threw him into a bout of internal conflict. Holding someone¡¯s life in your hands wasn¡¯t necessarily a good thing. It was a heavy burden to carry. ¡°What happens when you decide to serve me? Will your class advance?¡± ¡°Yes, that¡¯s right. How did you know?¡± ¡°We have an Explorer of Service in our guild. She¡¯s bound by the System to serve me.¡± Schultz nodded. ¡°I¡¯ll be advancing as well. The class I¡¯ll be advancing to is [Sea King of Service].¡± There was a short period of silence. Hyukjin opened his eyes, having made his decision. He was already past the point of no return¡ªit was too late to turn back now. ¡°I accept your offer.¡± He was going to make Schultz his subordinate even without any System restrictions, but now, there was a System absolute in the mix. That was actually far more advantageous for Hyukjin. ¡®Like I saw with Somyi, classes with [Service] in them are strongest when they¡¯re with their Recipient of Service.¡¯ That led him to this conclusion: ¡°I¡¯ll give the Immortal Fleet to you after enhancing it.¡± The conversation had come full circle. ¡°Schultz. I need your incantation.¡± ¡°Incantation?¡± Schultz didn¡¯t seem to know the term. ¡°The words you spoke in the Dewinged Angel Statue Gate, I need you to repeat them.¡± Schultz selected his ¡®Recipient of Service¡¯. The recipient was, of course, Kim Hyukjin. It was just like what had happened with Kang Somyi. He could read everything about Schultz, as well as all of Schultz¡¯s hidden pieces. At least up to the intermediate period. In addition, Schultz¡¯s level was synchronized with Hyukjin¡¯s. ¡°My level¡­ is 44.¡± The German Player was once again shocked. He knew Kim Hyukjin¡¯s level was going to be high, but he never expected it to be in the mid-40s. On the other hand, Hyukjin wasn¡¯t all that surprised, having experienced this before. A series of notifications went off in his head. [The Sea King of Service has chosen you as their ¡®Recipient of Service¡¯.] [The condition for their choice is the Immortal Fleet.] [If they are not given the Immortal Fleet within 24 hours, the foundation of trust between the involved parties will fall apart.] Everything proceeded quickly. Schultz understood what Hyukjin meant and agreed to use an ¡®incantation¡¯ to restore and enhance the Immortal Fleet. ¡°I know the perfect place for the incantation.¡± Incantations didn¡¯t just pop out in any random time or place. Only a specific environment and circumstances would allow that particular incantation to shine. Hyukjin asked, ¡°Where?¡± ¡°The Yi Sun-sin Statue Gate.¡± It was surprising that a first-time visitor of the country knew about the Yi Sun-sin Statue Gate. It was originally called the Immortal Fleet Gate, but apparently, the gate¡¯s name had changed. Still, the information Hyukjin learned from clearing it the first time would be clues for the second clear. They went to Gwanghwamun together. When Hyukjin was here with Pietro, the Yi Sun-sin Statue had turned its head to stare at him, sending a slight chill down his back. This time, it felt different. There was a yellow light above the statue¡¯s head, as if giving him a hint. [Yi Sun-sin Statue Gate] A gate that can only be activated and entered by someone who has the Immortal Fleet and is accompanied by a person engraved with the stigma of a special incantation. Hyukjin could not enter it alone, nor could Schultz. Both conditions had to be fulfilled for the Yi Sun-sin Statue Gate to open once again. ¡°You seem to know this place,¡± said Schultz. ¡°This is where I obtained the Immortal Fleet. Though the name has changed a little.¡± The location was the same, but the name and gate description were different. Schultz nodded in understanding. ¡°I think we can enhance the Immortal Fleet here. I¡¯ll do the incantation here.¡± Hyukjin activated the gate. [Entering the Yi-Sun-sin Statue Gate.] When Hyukjin first entered the ¡®Immortal Fleet Gate¡¯, he heard a narration. Someone had read aloud lines from the War Diary of Yi Sun-sin. He remembered the gist of those lines. [We set off in the morning and reached the dock at Dangpo straightaway.] But to Hyukjin¡¯s surprise, the voice he heard wasn¡¯t the same as before. ¡°We set off in the morning and reached the dock at Dangpo straightaway.¡± It wasn¡¯t a narration. Schultz was reciting the lines himself. ¡°Twenty enemy ships were moored in a line. We surrounded them and engaged in combat, but one of the big ships seemed to be a panokseon of our country.¡± ¡°Schultz?¡± Fog was thick around them, the saltiness of the sea rich in the air. This time, they were on the shore. ¡®The next part was about the height of the mast, the Japanese commander, and letting loose crossbolts, cannonballs, and bullets¡­¡¯ Schultz continued to speak. ¡°The mast on the ship was around two jang (6.66 meters) high, and the Japanese commander on the observation platform sat imperiously, unmoving.¡± He was matching the narration from back then, word for word. But then, he faltered. His lips moved wordlessly. He was like a broken doll trying to say something but lacking the words. Schultz twisted his body in pain, hot steam emerging from his lips. ¡®His skin¡­¡¯ It was cracking. ¡®It¡¯s the side effect of an incomplete incantation!¡¯ He had to complete the incantation. Otherwise, his body would shatter like glass after an impact, unable to bear the burden of the incantation. ¡°Aghhh¡­ aghhhhh¡­!¡± Schultz released a terrible, uncontrollable scream. Hyukjin hastily combed his memories. ¡®After the last line, we were given the Battle of Hansan Island quest.¡¯ What was that last line? He racked his brain for the last line. Even if you didn¡¯t remember the parts in the middle, you typically remembered the first and last parts. ¡®I remember it!¡¯ He quickly said, ¡°We let loose a rain of crossbolts, cannonballs, and bullets.¡± Schultz continued, spurred by the reminder. ¡°We let loose a rain of crossbolts, cannonballs, and bullets.¡± And one breath later¡ª ¡°Seek life to die, seek death to live.¡± Hyukjin could tell. ¡®The incantation¡­ has been completed.¡¯ This wasn¡¯t a partial success like all the incantations so far, but a ¡®flawless¡¯ one. This place was originally the Immortal Fleet Gate. [Immortal Fleet Gate] The soul and will of the Chungmugong (Lord of Loyal Valor) Yi Sun-sin culminated in the Immortal Fleet. Those who wish to succeed his will and write a new page in the history of conquest, enter here. A voice rang out. It wasn¡¯t a System notification, but someone¡¯s voice. ¨CWrite a new page in the history of conquest. A massive giant formed behind Schultz. The voice seemed to belong to that giant. The squirming shadow soon turned into a brilliant light that swept away all the fog, revealing the blue sea. The wind picked up, whipping into a gale. A wave took form on the water. ¡®There, in the distance¡­ I see ships.¡¯ The massive giant behind Schultz was shining bright gold. ¡®Oh my God.¡¯ The golden figure radiated an immense aura more overwhelming than any powerful monster he had faced so far, be it Fire Giants or Red Devils. An aura so imposing that Hyukjin found it difficult to breathe. ¡®The incantation is complete right now.¡¯ The giant slowly moved its body. When it moved, lightning split the sky and thunder rumbled above. A massive wave spread outwards towards the sea. Crack¡ª! Cracks were spreading along Schultz¡¯s body. Schultz was probably as shocked by this situation as Hyukjin was. Neither of them had expected this. Schultz had completed the incantation, but his body was about to disintegrate from the burden of it. And then, Hyukjin knew. Why this place existed, what this place was for, and what he, the person being served by people tasked with ¡®service¡¯, had to do here. ¡®I need to weaken the incantation¡¯s strength.¡¯ Chapter 299 [Translator ¨C Lei ] [Proofreader ¨C Ash ] Chapter 299 ¡®I need to weaken the incantation¡¯s strength.¡¯ He explained that to Senia, putting it in more concrete terms so the Guardians could follow his actions a little better. ¡°Using the strength of the incantation, I will enhance the Immortal Fleet right here, right now.¡± The conditions were already fulfilled. [A special incantation is active.] [Immortal Fleet restoration has begun.] Schultz opened his mouth. Golden energy was leaking from the cracks that had spidered over his dry skin. It was like he was bleeding golden light instead of blood. ¡°Those who seek death shall live, those who seek life shall die.¡± [Immortal Fleet restoration in progress.] Hyukjin felt the strength of the giant that had emerged from Schultz¡¯s back getting sucked towards the ¡®Immortal Fleet¡¯. It wasn¡¯t visible to the naked eye, but a flow of energy only Hyukjin¡¯s Eye of Perception could see. ¡®The Immortal Fleet is getting restored.¡¯ The Immortal Fleet hadn¡¯t appeared, but Hyukjin could feel it. Slowly, little by little, it was getting repaired. [Immortal Fleet is 50% restored.] [Immortal Fleet is 80% restored.] [Immortal Fleet has been fully restored.] The golden light seeping from the cracks in Schultz¡¯s skin was much dimmer now, and the giant at his back was a little smaller. ¡®Still not enough.¡¯ He had to weaken the incantation more. If he didn¡¯t do this right, Schultz would die. Hyukjin went right into enhancement. He would harness Schultz¡¯s incantation¡ªand the overwhelming power Schultz had summoned. Hyukjin took out the reward the Herdsman of Las Vegas had given him. [Use the Special Ability Enhancement Crystal?] [Select the special ability you want to enhance.] The ability he chose was naturally the Immortal Fleet. [Enhance the Immortal Fleet?] [You may choose and combine the elements needed for enhancement.] Thanks to the altered Stardust, Hyukjin knew all the hidden attributes of the Special Ability Enhancement Crystal, even the fact that this crystal was compatible with the Immortal Fleet. However, he hadn¡¯t shared the full list of enhancement requirements with Senia or the Guardians. ¡®The combining element is the Endless Sky Crystal.¡¯ Hyukjin took it out without hesitation. ¡®I need to break it.¡¯ But he couldn¡¯t do it carelessly. The Endless Sky Crystal contained Endless Sky mana, a highly hazardous force for the vast majority of lifeforms. Hyukjin drew out his energy. Just as he had with the Explorer of Service, he used one of his abilities on the newly advanced Sea King of Service. -Ability Share: Share an ability with designated observation targets. He could use all of his Observer¡¯s Eye skills on Kang Somyi. It was the same with Schultz. The ability Hyukjin shared was none other than Endless Sky Physique. ¡®I won¡¯t be able to share it completely, but it¡¯s enough.¡¯ If this was the Endless Sky, no amount of Ability Share could guarantee Schultz¡¯s safety. Hyukjin still hadn¡¯t confirmed whether Ability Share granted his ability in its entirety. But they weren¡¯t in the Endless Sky, and Schultz only needed to endure the mana leaking from a low-grade Endless Sky Crystal. ¡®And most of this mana will be used up in the enhancement.¡¯ So Schultz would be able to handle it. Hyukjin went for it. To break this crystal, this object that could be called the lifeblood of a dungeon, he needed the Endless Sky Hammer. [Endless Sky Hammer] An artifact that can shatter an Endless Sky Crystal. An Endless Sky Hammer is needed to be able to harness an Endless Sky Crystal¡¯s power. Grade: Low He brought down the Endless Sky Hammer on the Endless Sky Crystal. With just one strike, the crystal shattered, releasing the mana it contained. Hyukjin felt a wave of sheer power hit him like a wall, and his eyes were blinded. Even so, as overwhelming as it was, it was a familiar feeling. [Endless Sky Crystal has been chosen as a material.] [Beginning Immortal Fleet enhancement.] [Calculating the +1 enhancement success rate.] As usual, enhancement was most swayed by talent and luck. And Hyukjin had already confirmed multiple times¡­ that his talent for enhancement was second to none. The notices continued. [+1 enhancement success rate: 120%] [¡®Endless Sky Crystal¡¯ is involved in the enhancement.] [¡®Endless Sky mana¡¯ reacts with the ¡®Chungmugong¡¯s Will¡¯.] The first time he came here with Pietro, this place was called the ¡®Immortal Fleet Gate¡¯. Hyukjin remembered the gate description. The soul and will of the Chungmugong (Lord of Loyal Valor) Yi Sun-sin culminated in the Immortal Fleet. ¡®This is definitely a continuation of that gate.¡¯ [Proceeding with additional enhancement.] [Congratulations!] [The enhancement was successful!] Translator ¨C Lei Proofreader ¨C Ash Hyukjin confirmed that [Immortal Fleet] had become [Immortal Fleet+3]. The giant moving behind Schultz was nowhere to be seen, and he was no longer radiating the golden glow. Schultz slumped to the ground, unconscious. ¡®He¡¯s out of danger, I think.¡¯ They were in the clear, then. Hyukjin heard Senia¡¯s voice. ¡°Player Kim Hyukjin. Please explain the enhancement.¡± ¡°I achieved a +3 enhancement.¡± ¡°A¡­ +3?¡± ¡°Yeah.¡± ¡°But I¡¯m certain you only did one round of enhancement. How did you get a +3?¡± ¡°I think the Endless Sky mana and Chungmugong¡¯s will reacted, resulting in an additional enhancement that ended up being a +3.¡± Senia nodded. Actually, she already knew that¡ªHyukjin was sharing the Immortal Fleet description with her right now. She was just acting like she didn¡¯t know in order to inform the Guardians. After inserting an intentional pause, Senia continued, ¡°But it doesn¡¯t seem to just be a +3.¡± Getting a +3 was already surprising. That alone would have been an astonishing result, since a +3 had been achieved in a single enhancement by an ¡®Observer¡¯ who wasn¡¯t even an enhancement or production class Player. Such enhancements were rare feats even for ¡®Masters¡¯. Hyukjin knew that as well. But more shocking than that was the grade of the enhancement. ¡°You¡¯re right.¡± ¡°Please explain.¡± ¡°I got a red enhancement.¡± With his talent for enhancement, he had gotten blue enhancements so far. But this time, it wasn¡¯t blue. In his former life, Master Pedro said the following: ¨CThere¡¯s an unsurpassable gap between regular enhancements and blue enhancements. There are cases where a +1 blue enhancement is better than a +3 regular enhancement. That was the definition of a typical blue enhancement. ¨CBut red enhancements have powerful merits that can¡¯t be compared to regular enhancements. Sometimes, they draw out an item¡¯s unique ability, or activate a hidden piece, or maximize the latent power of the enhanced object. All the Masters agreed on this point. ¨CTheoretically, there must be an enhancement grade above red enhancements. But red enhancements are our limit. Despite that, we consider red enhancements our masterpieces. If blues were far better enhancements than regular ones, then reds were enhancements that could even bestow new abilities to an item. Hyukjin checked the Immortal Fleet¡¯s full item description. [Immortal Fleet+3] Battles by summoning an undying fleet. Can only be summoned on the ¡®ocean¡¯. The summon duration and fleet¡¯s fighting prowess will be determined by the summoner¡¯s Willpower. Number of summonable vessels: 20 Upon fulfilling a special incantation, the Willpower consumption markedly decreases. When used by the Sea King of Service under the command of their sovereign, 1 Turtleship can be summoned. When used by the Sea King of Service under the command of their sovereign, Immortal Fleet can be used ¡®on water¡¯ rather than ¡®on the sea¡¯. If the person the Sea King of Service serves has a skill related to ¡®ability sharing¡¯, Immortal Fleet can be shared. However, only 20 vessels can be summoned. The ability could now generate a Turtle Ship, and it could be used ¡®on water¡¯ as well as be shared. ¡°Mmgh¡­!¡± Schultz¡¯s eyes flashed open. ¡°What just happened?¡± Immediately afterwards, Schultz rolled over and vomited the contents of his stomach. He puked for a long time before recovering his composure. ¡°I apologize. That was unsightly.¡± ¡°No, it¡¯s thanks to you that I was able to fully restore and enhance the Immortal Fleet.¡± Everything was for this very moment. ¡°And now, I give the Immortal Fleet to you.¡± He had been planning on giving Schultz the ability, since Schultz¡¯s advancement to the Sea King of Service made him Hyukjin¡¯s subordinate. But now, even that ¡°loss¡± was basically nonexistent. ¡°I¡¯m capable of ability sharing.¡± ¡°Ah¡­!¡± Schultz felt greatly relieved. Even after he took this ability, Hyukjin could still use it. Now that he wasn¡¯t completely snatching the Immortal Fleet away, it weighed less heavily on his conscience. ¡°I think this ability would be better placed in your hands than mine. Only then can it shine.¡± ¡°¡­Thank you.¡± Schultz resolved himself. ¡°I swear to you, I will prioritize protecting the seas of Korea. Not just because you are my sovereign, but because I am someone who knows how to repay a favor.¡± Hyukjin grinned. ¡°A class scenario of yours has cropped up in the vicinity of the South Sea of Korea.¡± Like with Kang Somyi, he could see Schultz¡¯s class and the associated hidden scenarios. The German Player was due for a prolonged stay in the country¡ªmany things were hidden in Korea. ¡°Understood.¡± Schultz went on one knee, then recited the words the Sea King of Service was scripted to say. ¡°The Sea King of Service greets the sovereign.¡± Shortly afterwards, the Immortal Fleet changed hands. [Immortal Fleet+3 has been transferred.] [The Sea King of Service has acquired the Immortal Fleet.] [Proceeding into the scenario of the Yi Sun-sin Statue Gate.] [The quest ¡®King Kraken Hunt¡¯ has begun.] The sea began to pitch and roll, the waves rising up and the wind blowing hard. Hyukjin sensed the presence of monsters far in the distance. The aura was one he had already experienced. ¡°King Krakens.¡± ¡°What¡¯s that?¡± ¡°A giant octopus monster. Their levels are in the mid to late 40s.¡± The one Hyukjin defeated had a boss monster designation, but not these. They were regular monsters. ¡°If they¡¯re in the mid to late 40s¡­ they¡¯re fairly strong.¡± ¡°Yes.¡± Water rushed forward, wetting their feet. The land they were standing on was turning into sea. ¡°The field is changing,¡± Hyukjin said calmly. He could tell. ¡°It¡¯ll turn into a deep ocean very soon.¡± The water was getting deeper. Deep waters¡­ were the best environment for King Krakens. Schultz¡¯s eyes grew serious. ¡°I await your command.¡± ¡°You may summon the Immortal Fleet.¡± Schultz heard a notice. [The sovereign has issued his command.] [Turtle Ship can be summoned.] Schultz realized. This was a stage for the Immortal Fleet, not the King Krakens, to shine. He was here to personally learn and experience the strength of the Immortal Fleet and the Sea King of Service when next to his sovereign. ¡®Turtle Ship.¡¯ The product of a red enhancement, the Turtle Ship, made its debut. Chapter 300 [Translator ¨C Lei ] [Proofreader ¨C Ash ] Chapter 300 Schultz sensed the Turtle Ship before he heard the notification. ¡®I have to be fully focused.¡¯ The field around them had turned into the sea. Schultz and Hyukjin found themselves on the deck of a ship, a Turtle Ship floating some distance ahead. ¡®If I can¡¯t control it properly¡­ I¡¯ll explode.¡¯ That was how it felt to Schultz. The Turtle Ship was not something he could handle at his current level. The moment he lost control, his body would explode into a million pieces. ¡°It¡¯s okay,¡± said Kim Hyukjin. ¡°¡­¡± Schultz snapped back to his senses. ¡®I don¡¯t know how, but he¡¯s helping me.¡¯ He did hear a notice about ability sharing earlier, but he wasn¡¯t sure what it was. He just had a rough sense that some ability of Hyukjin¡¯s was protecting his body. It even occurred to him that if Kim Hyukjin wasn¡¯t helping him, his body might have exploded as soon as he summoned the Turtle Ship. Schultz¡¯s suspicion was close to the truth. Hyukjin was surprised, too. ¡®So this is the Turtle Ship?¡¯ Hyukjin felt a trace of Endless Sky mana from the Turtle Ship. It was efficiently utilizing and drawing out the special mana. He heard a notice. [The Sea King of Service awaits the command to fire.] Schultz was looking at him, waiting for his liege¡¯s command. [Giving the command to fire.] Giving the go-ahead was not difficult. ¡°You may fire.¡± ¡°Your wish is my command.¡± The panokseons moved aside, and the Turtle Ship glided down the middle. Golden energy gathered in the wide-open maw at the head of the Turtle Ship. TN: A panokseon is a board-roofed warship used during the Joseon era. Schwaaaaa¨C! There wasn¡¯t actually a sound, but he thought he could hear the rush of mana as it violently gathered in the beam. ¡®Far more destructive power than when I use the Blackfire Bow.¡¯ A golden ray several magnitudes more powerful than the Divine Bow Physiqued Blackfire Bow shot out, cutting open the sea. Fog filled the air. Technically, it was steam. A great deal of seawater had vaporized from the extreme heat. A notice rang out over the steamy battlefield. [King Kraken has been killed.] [EXP acquired.] [330 Coins acquired.] [King Kraken Ink acquired.] [King Kraken has been killed.] [EXP acquired.] [330 Coins acquired.] Two King Krakens were killed with a single attack. Hyukjin was participating in the fight as an Observer. The rewards he had forfeited when he hunted the boss King Kraken, he got here. Also, he could feel that it wasn¡¯t over yet. Because it had been enhanced with the Endless Sky Crystal, the Endless Sky Crystal was lending its power. The Turtle Ship could fire another three shots of this level. As long as Schultz could handle it, of course. ¡°I think I can handle another three attacks,¡± stated Schultz. ¡°An unknown energy seems to be assisting me.¡± Schultz didn¡¯t know what it was called, but he knew it was a special force of a completely different nature from the mana he knew. He also knew the person who was helping him harness that power was the man he had chosen to serve, Kim Hyukjin. Hyukjin watched with interest. ¡®Mm?¡¯ The previous attack was a golden ray. ¡®This time, it¡¯s fire?¡¯ The Turtle Ship spewed a stream of flames. Apparently, it could also unleash fire attacks. This was the sea, where fire was inevitably weaker. [King Kraken has been killed.] [King Kraken has been killed.] Another two King Krakens perished. Hyukjin¡¯s Eye of Perception captured the changes in the water. ¡®They¡¯re¡­ running away.¡¯ When met with a ¡®sea creature¡¯ stronger than themselves, King Krakens would flee. They didn¡¯t stand their ground. In this case, they had collectively determined their opponent was at least one level stronger than themselves. ¡°I will hunt them down.¡± Hyukjin nodded. The sharp spikes on the hard steel shell of the Turtle Ship shot into the air, each and every one of them a deadly weapon. They then hurtled into the water. What Schultz had used was the special skill of the Turtle Ship, ¡®Steel Rain¡¯. [King Kraken has been killed.] [King Kraken has been killed.] The Steel Rain immediately killed another two King Krakens. The sea turned red with blood. Some time later¡ª [King Kraken has been killed.] [King Kraken has been killed.] They had likely bled to death while fleeing. The panokseons began to surge forward at a quick clip. Thump! Thump! Thump! Thump! They gave chase to the fleeing King Krakens, the drums beating an urgent march. Terrorstricken by the Turtle Ship¡¯s might, the King Krakens simply fled with no thought of resistance. Under the simultaneous fire of the ships and the ¡®faceless soldiers¡¯, the King Krakens died. [King Kraken has been killed.] [King Kraken has been killed.] Hyukjin no longer sensed any King Krakens in the vicinity. [Congratulations!] [Level increased.] His level was now 45. To be honest, this exceeded Hyukjin¡¯s expectations. ¡®This thing¡¯s even stronger than Seohye.¡¯ The strongest card up Hyukjin¡¯s sleeve was the Guardian Tower Ahn Seohye. But today, he had gained a card even stronger than her, at least when they were on the water. ¡°The spoils are about 4,000 Coins and 3 inks, as well as a rare fishing rod.¡± That wasn¡¯t all. [All King Krakens have been hunted.] [The quest King Kraken Hunt has been cleared.] Schultz was given a map. [Map of Uldolmok Strait received.] Hyukjin waited a little. Judging from Senia¡¯s glance, he was going to get something, too. The Guardians were staying quiet, so the rewards distribution wasn¡¯t over yet. From their perspective, the scenario wasn¡¯t completely done yet. Sure enough¡ª [Your first battle with the Sea King of Service has ended in victory.] [The hidden keywords ¡®Write a new page in the history of conquest¡¯ have been flawlessly achieved.] Hyukjin guessed those two, plus the King Kraken Hunt, were the conditions to unlock this reward. [The special ability ¡®Great General Summoning¡¯ has been created.] Hyukjin was given a new skill, Great General Summoning. It was an ability that allowed him to summon a combat Player related to the service classes. With the addition of this skill, Hyukjin¡¯s status window was updated. [Status Window] Name: Kim Hyukjin (Player) Level: 45 Contracted Guardian: [Nameless Guardian] Title: [Pioneer of Victory] [Excellent Player] [First Adversary] [Pure Person of Fire] [Phantom Thief Squirrel¡¯s Master] [Starting Sovereign] [Starting Fighter] [Thousand Dog Master] Dungeon title: [True Ruler of the Gran Seoul Dungeon] [True Ruler of the Predator Tree Colony] Innate ability: [Eye of Perception] [Sword of Insight] [Fusion] Special ability: [Absorption] [Mettle] [Eye for an Eye, Tooth for a Tooth] [Great General Summoning] Trait: Divine Bow Physique, Divine Sword Physique, Endless Sky Physique Strength: 24 Intelligence: 24 Agility: 30 Perception: 24 Constitution: 24 Willpower: 62 (+30) Bonus stats: 12 Random stats: 6 Undistributed stats: 18 Translator ¨C Lei Proofreader ¨C Ash While Hyukjin was checking his status window, the Guardians rushed to send him messages. [The ¡®Conductor of Sound¡¯ is awed by ¡®your stratagem¡¯.] [The ¡®Lady of the Scales¡¯ applauds ¡®your will to do good¡¯.] [The ¡®True Master of the Heavenly Demonic Mountain¡¯ is delighted by ¡®your slaughter¡¯.] [The ¡®Nameless Observer¡¯ is observing.] [The ¡®Herdsman of Las Vegas¡¯ is filled with admiration while watching ¡®your growth as a sovereign¡¯.] Hyukjin knew these five Guardians had just beat out countless others¡ªpossibly at a huge cost¡ªto send him a message. Normally, it wasn¡¯t common for five Guardians at a time to fill every slot. [The ¡®Conductor of Sound¡¯ has sent you a 1,000 Coin sponsorship.] [The ¡®True Master of the Heavenly Demonic Mountain¡¯ has sent you a 1,100 Coin sponsorship.] [The ¡®Lady of the Scales¡¯ has sent you a 1,200 Coin sponsorship.] [The ¡®Herdsman of Las Vegas¡¯ has sent you a 1,300 Coin sponsorship.] [The ¡®Nameless Observer¡¯ has sent you a 2,000 Coin sponsorship.] A smile played at Hyukjin¡¯s lips. ¡®They¡¯re competing amongst themselves.¡¯ The closer he got to level 50, the more fierce their jostling would become. In order to get a contract with the producer of exciting content that could satisfy their desires, they would fawn over him. This was an example of that. ¡®It¡¯s not that common for the Guardians to all go for Coins.¡¯ That meant there was currently a tacit agreement between the Guardians. Something like, ¡®We¡¯ll duke it out, but he¡¯s only level 45 and it¡¯s still early, so let¡¯s all just keep it at Coins for now¡¯ was highly likely. For Hyukjin, it was a welcome sight. ¡®It¡¯s Coins right now and they¡¯ll stick to a ¡®fair¡¯ fight for now, but¡­¡¯ But this was a cutthroat world of competition, and it was the same for the Guardians. It might be like this at the start, but it wouldn¡¯t persist. The important thing was that the Guardians had begun to compete. Schultz was dazed. ¡°A whole five Guardians sent me messages.¡± That was a common occurrence for Hyukjin, but not for Schultz. ¡°I was sponsored a total of 2,000 Coins. I do not deserve to receive such a big sponsorship. I will give half to my sovereign.¡± ¡°Will you?¡± Hyukjin didn¡¯t refuse. Why would he look a gift horse in the mouth? Schultz was happy even while giving away the Coins. ¡®What¡­ a thrill.¡¯ The electrifying ecstasy that had coursed through him while he was operating the Turtle Ship was almost like doing drugs. The thrill seemed to run from his brain down his spine into every little nerve of his body. ¡°So this is what the System meant when it said I can reach my greatest potential when I¡¯m with you, no, with my sovereign.¡± Schultz was sincerely grateful. He had just experienced a new world, and the gates had opened to him. ¡°I¡­ will go to the South Sea. With the Map of the Strait.¡± ¡°Please do.¡± Schultz¡¯s hidden piece and class scenarios were hidden in the South Sea of Korea. There was no reason for Hyukjin to go there, so Schultz would have to grow stronger on his own. ¡°If I need you, I¡¯ll call you via summoning.¡± ¡°It would be my honor. I would even jump straight out of bed to join you. Please call me at any time.¡± He wanted to fight by Hyukjin¡¯s side again. A battle with Hyukjin was a battle of a completely different world. It was pure ecstasy, a taste of heaven. Only when he was next to his liege could he feel complete. [The Yi Sun-sin Statue Gate has been cleared.] Hyukjin and Schultz left the gate. Schultz bid a respectful farewell before heading straight to the South Sea. One day passed. Someone came to Hyukjin¡¯s house. There weren¡¯t many people who would pay a visit to his house like this. He opened the door. ¡°This joyful occasion calls for a passionate hug.¡± A Translation Marble was already in use. ¡°Because that is how a manly man greets a friend.¡± The Italian Master and craftsman of restoration, Pedro, had come to visit, and he was here for an interesting reason. Various links that seemed to have nothing to do with one another began to come together, joined by one common element, Kim Hyukjin. ¡°Have you done a strong and manly restoration recently?¡±