It’s an Academic Fact That Rankers Are Model Students – Chapter 113

Chapter 113: The Paladin’s Will

It was the day before the defense of Luxemb began.

Kyung-joon was in the Luxemb library.

<Uploading…….>

<『Upload of Luxemb Ethnicity and History complete.』>

“Okay. Let’s go to the next book.”

<『Starting upload of Awakening the Essence of Wind Magic.』>

<Uploading…….>

He was in the process of selecting useful-looking books from the library and having Teemo upload them.

Even Kyung-joon couldn’t study everything in World, so he would have Teemo upload knowledge like this in advance.

Then, if he ever needed the knowledge later, Teemo would be able to tell him.

It was similar to browsing the Internet, finding useful information, and saving it for later.

“I think I’ll read about wind magic myself.”

Kyung-joon couldn’t just stand by and watch Teemo study for him.

Whether it was a book or a workbook, he had to read and solve it himself for it to become a part of him.

Just keeping books wouldn’t make him study.

‘I’ll have to stop by the Underground Villa after tomorrow’s event.’

Sever’s legacy, the Underground Villa.

He remembered seeing a fluid mechanics textbook there.

Not the superficial fluid mechanics he learned in general physics, but real, proper fluid mechanics.

‘If I combine that with the knowledge of wind magic, I’ll definitely be able to handle 『Sylph Fly』 much better.’

While Teemo continued to upload various books, Kyung-joon opened a book to study as well.

It wasn’t Study Villa, so he didn’t have enough buffs, but it wasn’t a problem for studying.

How long had he been studying wind magic?

The wind chime at the library entrance jingled.

Clank, clank.

The sound of plate armor joints colliding.

“Are you an outsider?”

The Luxemb librarian looked up first and asked.

But as soon as he looked up, a strong impression caught his eye.

Dark gray blonde hair and sharp features of a handsome middle-aged man.

He spoke quietly, his white teeth flashing.

“Yes, I am.”

“Ah……”

The best of both worlds, combining the best of Eastern and Western handsomeness!

The librarian seemed momentarily lost in the handsome man’s intense charm.

The librarian’s voice trembled slightly with shyness.

“O, Outsiders are charged 100,000 liyan per hour to use the library.”

“I’m not here to use it, I’m looking for someone.”

“Even if you say that……”

“Then would you be able to help me find him?”

“Ah…… I have to keep my position, so if you do this……”

The librarian and the middle-aged man had a bit of a back-and-forth.

It was a bit of a commotion, so Kyung-joon, who wasn’t in a trance, looked towards the entrance to see what was going on.

He saw a man in a very familiar outfit.

He didn’t know him.

He had just seen him on the street once, but he was so intense that he couldn’t forget him.

<Rank 6 Ranker>

▼DPSPaladin (Player)

……Lie. He actually knew him.

“Ah, boy. You were there. Can I talk to you for a second?”

“Ah……”

DPSPaladin slightly turned the librarian’s chin with his finger to face Kyung-joon.

Then DPSPaladin also turned his gaze to Kyung-joon.

“I have a proposition for you…… Spare me a moment.”

Kyung-joon wanted to politely decline and run away, but there was only one exit to the library.

“Sigh……”

🔷🔷🔷🔷🔷🔷

“So.”

Kyung-joon looked at DPSPaladin with a slightly uncomfortable look.

“You want to party with me?”

“Yes, that’s right.”

DPSPaladin winked at Kyung-joon.

This was the reason why it had been uncomfortable.

For some reason, he had been sending some kind of signal to Kyung-joon.

What kind of signal should Kyung-joon return?

One thing was for sure, it wasn’t a green light.

Kyung-joon decided to take action.

“Can you please lower your helmet for a second?”

“My helmet?”

“Yes. I think you would look cool with your helmet on.”

“Cool…… Okay, I will.”

DPSPaladin lowered his paladin helmet to cover his face.

‘It’s awkward to make eye contact……’

Anyway, this is not important right now.

“Right. About the party.”

Kyung-joon rested his chin on his hand for a moment, deep in thought at DPSPaladin’s party proposal.

Party.

This Luxemb Defense Event allowed for both individual and party participation.

Of course, points were distributed according to each person’s contribution, so it was impossible to win first place just because of a party.

Still, many people preferred parties.

It was only natural that parties were much more efficient than solo play, given the nature of RPG games.

For example, BJMiguning.

She was ranked 23rd in the integrated rankings, but her class was a bard-type supporter.

Naturally, it was possible for her to hunt alone, but the efficiency was very poor.

The reason she brought her own guards to this event was because of this.

Of course.

Kyung-joon was neither a bard nor a supporter.

There was no problem with him hunting alone.

“I’m not planning on partying this time.”

The efficiency of a party was something that applied to other players, not to Kyung-joon.

Kyung-joon had been preparing for the event for days.

And there was no such thing as a party in the process.

There was no need.

“The last time, at the Slime Labyrinth, it was a 2-person entry limit, so it couldn’t be helped. I appreciate the offer, but I’ve already made all my plans to go solo.”

“I see. I thought so.”

DPSPaladin had anticipated to some extent that Kyung-joon would not want a party.

From the time they had raided the Slime Labyrinth together, he had already had a vague feeling that Kyung-joon might not need something like a party.

“Then that’s the end of our discussion.”

Kyung-joon shrugged his shoulders and got up from his seat.

At that moment.

“Wait.”

DPSPaladin stopped Kyung-joon with his words.

He looked like he had something more to say.

“What about an alliance offer? Not a party.”

“An alliance?”

“Yes, an alliance. We don’t party, we each move on our own, but if we happen to meet, we don’t attack each other. Instead, if there is an enemy, we consider them a common enemy and join forces. This kind of alliance, what do you think?”

“Hmm…… “

It was something that wouldn’t hurt.

That’s why he was even more wary.

Kyung-joon sat back down on his chair, narrowing his eyes.

Then, with a slight smile, he asked quietly.

“Why bother?”

There was confidence in his voice.

An alliance or a party, he didn’t need to bother with such things.

He could at least keep himself safe, that kind of confidence.

To go a little further.

Even if he made enemies of all the players here.

He seemed to be saying to their faces that he would have no problem at all.

‘Ah…… Those eyes that look like they’re looking at a sharp razor blade…… Good…….’

DPSPaladin swallowed at the emotionless gaze.

Still, he tried to speak up.

“There are two good things about you allying with me. First of all……. “

DPSPaladin raised his helmet.

He wasn’t trying to wink again.

Instead, the paladin’s amber mana began to concentrate in his eyes and sparkle.

At that moment.

[Unique skill 『Sylph Fly – Shadow Step (Lv.1)』 ]

Thump.

Kyung-joon’s chair tilted back and Kyung-joon disappeared.

And.

[Unique skill 『Ultrasonic Vibration Mana Dagger (Lv.3)』 ]

A chilling mana blade was pointed at DPSPaladin’s throat.

Kyung-joon asked from right behind him.

” ……What are you doing all of a sudden?”

As soon as Kyung-joon saw the mana gathering in DPSPaladin’s eyes, he used Shadow Step to move behind him.

He didn’t know what skill those shining eyes were.

But it was enough to be wary of.

World was a game where you could kill and manipulate people if you wanted to.

Of course, he didn’t think DPSPaladin was risking his life.

“Still, if you use your skills so suddenly, I can’t help but be wary.”

Kyung-joon said as he moved the Ultrasonic Vibration Mana Dagger a little closer.

DPSPaladin, seemingly startled, shouted hastily.

“W, Wait……! I had no intention of harming you! This is just my exclusive skill 『Eyes of Light』!”

“Eyes of Light? Why would you want to open someone else’s eyes? You’re not trying to open my eyes to something weird, are you?”

It was a pretty plausible guess compared to his nickname.

Enlightenment.

There’s an expression, isn’t there, about suddenly opening one’s eyes to some strange taste.

If so, it must be a very terrible skill.

‘No! Everyone has a strange misunderstanding about me!’

” ……. “

After about a second of deliberation.

Kyung-joon finally let out a short sigh and withdrew his mana blade.

“So. If it’s not such a great skill, what’s with the sparkly eyes?”

“This is just a divine eye that sees the true nature of the opponent. If I use this, I can see how strong the opponent is and so on.”

In addition, he could also grasp to some extent what the opponent’s weaknesses were.

It was thanks to this skill that DPSPaladin was able to become a paladin who could also deal damage.

He could inflict quite a bit of damage by stabbing only the weak points with his sharp lance imbued with divine power.

“The reason I bothered to follow you all the way here is because of this. I looked all over the event hall, and you were the one with the biggest aura.”

“Aura? You mean like visualizing stat levels or something?”

“Similar. You have a big, beautiful aura, almost as big as mine, ranked 6th. You’re probably the best among the people participating in this event.”

If this was true, Kyung-joon’s stat level was almost at the top among the participants in this Luxemb event.

So he wanted to party or ally with him.

It wasn’t a bad idea.

Being friendly with the 1st place or the top ranks was a strategy that worked everywhere.

“That’s why I approached you. I thought we could be friends.”

But why?

Why does the word ‘I approached you’ sound a little different coming from this guy?

Kyung-joon, thinking it must be his imagination, continued.

“You know I’m not even level 200, right?”

“It’s amazing that you have that much aura at that level. In terms of size alone, as I just said, you might be the strongest in terms of stat level.”

“That sounds like you’re saying there’s someone stronger than me, even though you’re talking about stat levels.”

“That’s right. Just because you have high levels and stats doesn’t mean you’re necessarily strong. What’s really important is not numbers, but skill.”

DPSPaladin looked at Kyung-joon and said definitively.

His serious, hardened expression seemed to be imbued with the countless experiences he had had as a ranker.

He held that expression for about a second before relaxing his face and smiling wryly.

“……I was going to try to look cool by giving you some advice, but seeing as you just held a knife to my throat, I guess I’m not in any position to be talking about skill.”

It had all happened so fast, Kyung-joon moving behind him and holding a knife to his throat.

He couldn’t react.

On the battlefield, he would have his defense skills up at all times, so he wouldn’t be hit in one shot, but what Kyung-joon had just shown him was real skill.

If they were to have a duel, it might be him, not Kyung-joon, who would lose.

But.

“What if I told you there’s a PK player here in Luxemb who can react to your technique? And…… “

DPSPaladin hardened his expression once more and added.

“……What if that PK player is after you?”

DPSPaladin thought of what he had just seen on the floor of the alleyway.

The horrific walls and floor, stained with blood, and the bloody letters that read 『Kyung-joon』.

He had come to find Kyung-joon to tell him this.

No one.

No one could hurt him.

As long as he, DPSPaladin, was by Kyung-joon’s side!

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