𝐂𝐡𝐚𝐩𝐭𝐞𝐫 𝟏𝟔𝟏
After following the guiding player into a room on the 3rd floor, I saw two players sitting with serious expressions.
The Bulgeun Taeyang Guild Master must be one of them, right?
I didn’t know which one it was, but I felt it was amazing that they were still logged in.
“Huh? Garam. Who is that?”
“It’s Rudin-nim from the Emperor Guild. For some reason, he came all the way here.”
“Rudin?”
At the word Rudin, he stood up with a surprised face and approached me.
“It’s a pleasure to meet you. I’m Jeokseong, the leader of the Bulgeun Taeyang Guild.”
“Yes, I’m Rudin.”
“Excuse me, but did you come all the way here to help us?”
Was he going to kick me out if I said no? Thinking that to myself, I nodded. And at my reaction, he brightened up and pointed to an empty seat.
“Ah, thank you. Please have a seat here.”
“Yes.”
“We sent a guild member to the Harpe Empire before, but you refused, so we gave up. We are once again grateful that you came here in person.”
“You’re welcome.”
Anyway, I sat down and got straight to the point without wasting any time.
“Is there any way to defeat the Yonggammusang Guild at this point?”
“……Yes?”
“I’m talking about a way to win.”
The player who introduced himself as Jeokseong looked bewildered as I suddenly brought up the main point. But perhaps thinking he had to answer to proceed, Jeokseong shook his head and said,
“I’m sorry. There isn’t one right now. However, if Rudin-nim helps us, there might be a way.”
‘Does he have a plan in mind?’
I couldn’t be more relieved. If he had said he was going to start thinking now, I would have had a headache. Of course, it would have been even funnier if he hadn’t thought of anything after all this time holed up in the hideout.
“How can I help you?”
I didn’t know for sure, but the Yonggammusang Guild had over 2,000 members. It would be absurd if he asked me to kill them all. I could probably do it, but there was a high chance I would have to fight endlessly. More than anything, this was happening because I couldn’t block the starting point alone.
And similar thoughts came out of Jeokseong’s mouth.
“First of all, we need you to take care of those guys waiting at the starting point. As Rudin-nim knows, most of our guild members can’t log in because they are waiting there.”
“Can you contact those guild members?”
“We have an internet cafe, so we can post there. However, it takes time, so it’s difficult to do right now.”
Is he planning to contact them, set a time, and have everyone log in at once? I don’t know how many members the Bulgeun Taeyang Guild has left, but the fact that they were still waiting impressed me.
“The guild members are waiting even in this situation.”
“Haha, actually… quite a few members have deleted their characters. But most of them were low-level, so you don’t have to worry. And the remaining guild members are waiting because I asked them to wait a few more days.”
“How long is that?”
“……Two days.”
In other words, if I had been two days later, I would have seen the Bulgeun Taeyang Guild disband. But even if they disbanded, the problem wouldn’t disappear.
“Even if the guild disbands, the hostile relationship won’t be resolved, right?”
“……”
Thinking about the people who couldn’t delete their characters because they were attached to what they had built, simply giving up on the game wouldn’t solve anything. Of course, it wouldn’t matter if they ignored those people, but somehow, I felt Jeokseong wouldn’t do that.
‘Or was he thinking of surrendering and meeting their demands?’
I recalled the conversation I had with Jaehoon and looked at the player who was looking at me with anxious eyes next to Jeokseong. Perhaps this woman was the cause of this war? Thinking that, I looked away from the player who guided me here and decided to move on to another topic.
“Since I’ve come this far, I’ll help you.”
“Yes, thank you very much.”
“Wait a minute.”
Then someone sitting next to Jeokseong spoke. It was the player who was sitting with Jeokseong when I first entered.
“It’s good that you’re helping. But are you alone? Without the Emperor Guild?”
“What if I am?”
“You’re going to face the Yonggammusang Guild with just one person? Ha, if that were possible, we wouldn’t be trapped here.”
“Stop it. What are you doing to someone who came to help?”
Jeokseong stopped the disgruntled player.
“Besides, why would the Emperor Guild help us? Rudin-nim alone is enough. And he’s a Named Player.”
‘To hear that lousy title here…’
I inwardly sighed at the word ‘Named Player’ when he continued to look at me with suspicious eyes.
“Right, Rudin. You must be Rudin since you entered through the mansion settings. But we can’t turn the tables with just Rudin alone, can we?”
‘Turn the tables…’
Well, it’s true that guild wars are fought by occupying the starting point, so I might not be able to do anything alone. On the other hand, if he asked me to fight the Yonggammusang Guild on an empty plain, that would be easy.
“Sigh, Jit. Just stop.”
Jeokseong’s voice lowered. Jit, realizing that his mood was unusual, turned his head without saying a word, and after silencing Jit, Jeokseong apologized to me.
“I’m sorry. He’s the one who died the most in this guild war, so he’s a bit sensitive.”
“No, it’s understandable.”
Common sense dictates that no one would think that one person could defeat a force of several thousand. No, considering the other guilds allied with the Yonggammusang Guild, there might be over 10,000.
How many members of the Bulgeun Taeyang Guild were left?
Even if they won, they would suffer considerable damage, and if they were unlucky, they might not be able to recover. So, it wasn’t hard to understand why he was saying that.
“Thank you for understanding.”
“But he’s not wrong. We can’t defeat the Yonggammusang Guild just because I’m helping.”
“But wouldn’t it create a chance to fight again?”
“Well, I can guarantee that.”
It’s a simple matter to deal with the Yonggammusang Guild members waiting at the starting point. And if the Bulgeun Taeyang Guild members log in at that time, most of them will be able to connect, and they’ll have a chance to fight again.
On the other hand, I don’t know if they can win.
“Then it’s fine.”
‘…Does Jeokseong think they can win?’
Now that I see it, Jeokseong had an attitude that he didn’t care what happened as long as they could fight. Perhaps he just wanted to destroy the Yonggammusang Guild, regardless of victory or defeat.
‘…No, let’s not worry about that.’
The reason I came here was because I needed the power to deal with the Yonggammusang Guild more effectively, so I decided not to worry about the consequences.
“Anyway, now only the last story remains.”
“The last story?”
It wouldn’t be a battle since the time hasn’t been set yet. Then is it a strategy? I don’t know if a strategy is necessary, but I thought it would be easier for me to move if I knew the overall direction.
“We’re not shameless. If we push back the Yonggammusang Guild, we want to reward Rudin-nim.”
‘Reward?’
I’m not the type to refuse a reward. So, as I was trying to think about it and answer, I was at a loss for words when I saw the Bulgeun Taeyang Guild with only three members left.
What could I get from a guild that was already ruined?
After pondering for a moment, I decided to be honest.
“Is your financial situation okay?”
“We have money saved up. If you want gold, we can give you up to 1,000 gold.”
‘1,000 gold?’
1,000 gold is a little over 20 million won in cash. Although it wasn’t a small amount, I looked at Jeokseong questioningly as he offered that amount so readily. Then, I noticed Jit looking at him with a ‘are you out of your mind?’ expression and decided to put Jeokseong’s offer on hold for a moment.
“That’s quite a lot.”
“You don’t seem surprised.”
“No, I am surprised.”
To be precise, I was more surprised that he was offering me that money than the 1,000 gold itself, but it wasn’t wrong. By the way, did they still have that much money even after losing the guild war?
“Come to think of it, do you have 1,000 gold?”
“Guilds usually make a lot of money when they operate. In our guild’s case, we raise Contribution Points by donating gold to the guild, and the Guild Master can withdraw that donated money.”
‘…Huh?’
The Emperor Guild does that too? Then how much does Aizen make?
Considering that the Emperor Guild now has over 3,000 members, it would seem like they make a tremendous amount of money. If all the guild members donated just 1 gold each, it would be 3,000 gold.
‘And since they have to keep donating to go to the next dungeon…’
Knowing that you have to donate at least a few dozen gold to go to the Emperor Guild’s higher-level dungeons, I guessed that Aizen earned at least 10,000 gold.
“Ah, I made a mistake. Rudin-nim is the Vice Guild Master of the Emperor Guild… I forgot for a moment.”
“No, it’s okay.”
“Anyway, that’s the maximum amount I can offer. If you think it’s not enough, how about we adjust it through discussion?”
At those words, I came to my senses, put aside my thoughts about Aizen, and seriously considered it.
1,000 gold.
It’s certainly not a small amount. But since I already have a few hundred gold, it’s a shame that I don’t have anywhere to use 1,000 gold even if I receive it.
‘I’ve already finished most of my enhancements.’
Should I buy Rare Enhancement Stones with the money I’ve saved? Rare Enhancement Stones allow for enhancement up to +15, so if I were to enhance all my equipment, 1,000 gold might not be enough.
‘Huh? Wait a minute.’
Then, a good idea suddenly came to mind, and I nodded and said,
“Instead of 1,000 gold, I’ll take two Luxury Shop Boxes.”
“Luxury Shop Boxes? Are you talking about the boxes on the 2nd floor?”
“Yes.”
“I heard you can only buy one per person… Yes, I understand. If that’s what Rudin-nim wants, we’ll do that.”
“It’s decided then.”
The reason I wanted Luxury Shop Boxes was, without a doubt, to get Unique items. My intuition told me that it was possible to get Uniques from Luxury Shop Boxes, and that’s how I got the Roar of the Thunder Dragon.
Of course, there’s a chance that a strange Unique like the 100 Pockets might come out, but if that happens, I can just enhance it to a certain degree and sell it on the Real-Time Auction House, so there’s no loss for me either way.
“By the way, when will you start?”
“Since Rudin-nim has offered to help, we’re thinking of starting tomorrow. As you know, we don’t have much time…”
‘Ah, is he talking about surrendering in two days?’
It didn’t matter to me if we did it in two days, but since he said it himself, I had nothing else to say.
“Let’s add each other as friends first. I’ll let you know when the time is set.”
“Yes.”
Anyway, the conversation ended, and after adding each other as friends, I got up from my seat. As I was getting up, I saw Jit sitting with a disgruntled expression, but there was no reason for me to care.
“Damn it, 1,000 gold. What a dirty price.”
“Jit.”
“I know. We’re at our wit’s end, so we’re trying one last desperate attempt!”
“Rudin-nim. I’m sorry, but…”
“Ah, yes.”
Although he trailed off, I understood what Jeokseong meant and left the room. As I did, the thought that crossed my mind was that regardless of the outcome of the battle tomorrow, the Bulgeun Taeyang Guild would likely not be able to recover.
‘It’s chaotic even within the guild.’
By the way, judging by Jit, it seemed like he was against fighting, so what was Jeokseong thinking?
“…”
Tsk, whatever.
I just need to get the Luxury Shop Boxes and fight the Yonggammusang Guild. Having decided that, I came out of the mansion and saw countless knights and soldiers surrounding it.
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