𝐂𝐡𝐚𝐩𝐭𝐞𝐫 𝟏𝟗𝟒
After sending Yua and Sina back to the village, I waited with Aizen at the exit of the passage where we could escape.
It was natural for the intruding players to come out from here, and since our course of action would change depending on their attitude, it was no big deal to wait.
In addition, even the guild members who were originally exploring this area gathered, and there were roughly 600 to 700 guild members around.
“It’s a good thing that something came up while we were bored. Don’t you think so, Rudin-nim?”
“You seem to be enjoying this.”
I saw Heron smiling next to me as if he was really enjoying this.
Does he like fighting that much?
No, perhaps he was welcoming this event since it popped up after two days of wandering around with no results.
“Haha, rather than enjoying it, I was bored. Wandering around this empty place for two days made me restless.”
“We can’t be sure that we’ll fight.”
“Even if we don’t fight, they will have to pay the price.”
‘Why is he so confident?’
Moreover, judging by his tone, it sounded like Heron was going to go on a rampage alone.
“By the way, I heard the story. You found a village with your Exploration Skill.”
“Well, the quest itself hasn’t made much progress.”
“We haven’t found anything for two days. So don’t blame yourself, Rudin-nim, your achievement is much greater than ours.”
I wasn’t blaming myself, but I nodded in courtesy.
“They’re coming out!”
Suddenly, at a guild member’s shout, I turned my head and saw players slowly emerging from the exit.
“Oh, what’s this? Did you all gather to welcome us?”
“Welcome my ass.”
While I was muttering at the absurd remark, Aizen stepped forward and confronted the guy who seemed to be their representative.
“Whoa, whoa, hold on. Let me tell you in advance, we’re not here to fight.”
“It looks different to my eyes.”
“To be honest, we’re not entirely at fault. There’s no way there would be multiple paths leading to the sealed area, right? We all received the same quest, so we should be able to share the path, shouldn’t we?”
But who is that guy?
Seeing his nonchalant way of talking made me want to smack him in the face with a hammer.
Meanwhile, players continued to emerge from the exit, and soon they gathered to a number easily exceeding 1,000.
‘Are they trying to buy time by talking?’
Honestly, it wasn’t a problem.
There wouldn’t be anyone as specialized in chaotic battles as me.
“The dungeon belongs to the guild that found it. In other words, the path you’ve passed through belongs to our guild.”
“Well, if it’s a dungeon, then yes. But if it’s just a path, can’t we talk about it?”
“What will you do if we say no?”
“……It sounds like the great Emperor Guild Master is trying to monopolize even the Main Scenario.”
Aizen didn’t answer.
It seemed to me that there was no need to even answer.
“Well, I’ll ask one last time. Is there no room for negotiation?”
“If you hand over all the items you obtained in this area and the Main Scenario rewards, we’re willing to negotiate.”
“So you’re saying no.”
To summarize Aizen’s words, it meant they shouldn’t take anything from this place.
Realizing this, the player gave an unknown smile and soon opened his mouth.
“Then we have no choice but to resist. This is going to be tough, isn’t it? Having to deal with both the Main Scenario and the Emperor Guild.”
Having said that, the player raised and lowered his hand as if giving instructions to everyone.
Whoosh!
‘Huh?’
Return Scrolls?
Looking around, I saw all the players taking out and using Return Scrolls.
As a result, all of us, including me and the guild members, could only watch the disappearing players without doing anything. It was such an anticlimactic result that I wondered why they even came in the first place.
‘Seriously, why did they come?’
Did they just come to give a warning?
“What the heck, why did they come if they were just going to run away?”
“I thought we were going to have a fight.”
“Guild Master, let’s declare war on them right away.”
Aizen seemed to be contemplating, perhaps thinking about their intentions.
But only for a moment, Aizen gave instructions to everyone.
“Disperse again and resume the search.”
“Huh? What are we going to do if they attack again?”
“If they were going to attack, they would have already done it. They had the advantage in numbers. But since they retreated so easily, I don’t think they’ll attack immediately.”
‘Did I send Yua back for nothing?’
I deliberately sent her back because there was a possibility that everyone in this area would be attacked if a battle started, but since it ended like this, I wondered if I had done something unnecessary.
‘Well, since I’m already here, shall I wander around until I use up all the gems?’
I might have trouble searching without Yua, but it’s not like there’s no way to solve it.
I can just use Intuition.
If I could figure out if I could find anything using Intuition, I might be tired, but I thought I could find something.
“Tsk, it ended rather anticlimactically. What are you planning to do now, Rudin-nim?”
“I have to go back and look around again. What about you, Heron-nim?”
“I don’t have much choice either. I have to go back and wander around with the guild members.”
Seeing Heron speaking as if he had no choice, it seemed like he really didn’t want to go.
“Then I’ll see you next time.”
But that was only for a moment.
Heron, who had no intention of staying here any longer, left somewhere with his guild members.
Watching Heron leave, I looked around.
‘Hmm, shall I go this way this time?’
It was the opposite direction from where I had just been.
Since there was nothing but the mole village and the place with the barrier if I went back to where I had been, I thought it would be better to go in the opposite direction and look around.
‘Honestly, there’s a high chance there’s nothing there.’
Since I was going there half to consume the gems, I decided to move without any burden, leaving a message for Aizen that I would be moving separately, and immediately set off.
* * *
‘Hmm, is this not it either?’
Using Intuition to check if the Exploration Wave could be activated, I felt a sense of unease and realized that it was still a bust.
What kind of quest requires you to search for each and every single thing?
‘Are these guys trying to freeload for months with just one Main Scenario?’
While I was walking, cursing the developers, suddenly the space in front of me distorted and someone appeared.
“Hey~ Are you Rudin?”
‘Huh?’
The person who appeared was the player who had confronted Aizen earlier.
Didn’t he run away with a Return Scroll?
‘How is he here?’
“Is this our first time meeting face-to-face? I’m Lee Juho, the Master of the Daewon Guild.”
“Lee Juho?”
“Ah, have you heard of me by any chance?”
“Not at all.”
“……”
I didn’t care who Lee Juho was, but it seemed like he was using his real name as his ID.
He was quite unique.
However, curious about why he was here and why he appeared in front of me, I looked around just in case, but surprisingly, no one else appeared.
“Why? Are you afraid of being surrounded?”
“Then is there a reason for you to appear in front of me?”
“Yes, a very important reason.”
I silently stared at the player to hear the reason, and the player opened his mouth with a joyful expression.
“Rudin, join my guild.”
“Guild?”
“But just asking you to join wouldn’t be fun. I’ll give you 1 billion won.”
‘1 billion won?’
Is this guy out of his mind?
Giving 1 billion won just for a guild transfer?
He seemed to have more money than I expected.
At the same time, the word ‘Daewon’ he mentioned came to mind, and I had a feeling that it might be related to the Daewon Group, which is ranked within the top 10 conglomerates in this country.
“So, what do you think? Isn’t this a good offer?”
It was certainly tempting.
Who wouldn’t join if you grabbed a random person and offered them 1 billion won to join your guild?
The value of 1 billion won was that great, but my answer didn’t come easily.
‘What would happen if I took the 1 billion won and went to him?’
There’s no such thing as a free lunch, so I would have to do something in return for the money I received.
On the other hand, my relationship with Aizen was closer to that of a mercenary and an employer.
He gave me compensation for anything he asked me to do.
Of course, I didn’t say anything because it wasn’t bad for me.
“1 billion won is surprising…… but why are you making me such an offer?”
“Wow~ You’re asking that? Honestly, I was going to wipe out the Emperor Guild a while ago. But I gave up and chose to run away. And the reason for that is you.”
“The reason is me?”
“Actually, I think I can somehow handle Aizen or Dein, who acquired S-rank skills, other than you. I saw their limits in stamina. But you didn’t seem to have any such limits.”
Indeed, due to the Stamina Recovery option attached to my shield, continuous combat was possible.
I was surprised that he noticed it, but my videos had already spread everywhere, so it wasn’t particularly strange.
“You must have figured it out by now. The Emperor Guild was able to remain safe because of you.”
‘I’ve become quite famous.’
I never thought I would receive a 1 billion won offer just for playing a game.
“Now, I want to hear your answer.”
Anyway, I understood why he appeared in front of me.
On the other hand, I didn’t know how he was in this area.
“Before that, can you tell me why you’re here? I’m the type who can’t stand being curious.”
I asked him why he could stay in this area to get more information, but Lee Juho smirked and answered coldly.
“You have no intention of joining my guild.”
How did he know?
“If you were going to join my guild, you wouldn’t ask that. So, were you trying to get information? You damn dog of the Emperor Guild.”
“That’s a bit harsh.”
Well, there’s nothing I can do if he noticed.
I adjusted Roar of the Thunder Dragon and my shield, preparing for a battle to catch him.
“I’m the type who hates bothersome things. I’m refusing because I think joining your guild will create more bothersome things.”
“You must have received something amazing from the Emperor Guild, right?”
“I haven’t received anything in particular.”
“What?”
“And just so you know, I don’t care if the Emperor Guild gets attacked as long as it doesn’t harm me.”
Perhaps because my answer sounded like an excuse, Lee Juho looked at me with distrustful eyes.
But is it okay to just stand there and watch?
“If you’re going to run, now’s the time.”
Dash!
As soon as I finished speaking, I ran towards Lee Juho.
As I approached a certain distance, I rushed at him with the intention of killing him, but perhaps because he was prepared for this situation, I saw him immediately draw his sword and swing it.
Clang!
‘He blocked it?’
I thought he wouldn’t be able to block it properly because my Strength was overwhelmingly superior to that of other players, but Lee Juho blocked it as if it were natural and even launched a counterattack.
“Earth’s Dynamics.”
‘What?’
Boom!
[You have taken damage. -1,640.]
“It’s too early to be surprised! Storm Sword!”
While my body was momentarily immobilized by Earth’s Dynamics, Lee Juho swung his sword, which was swirling with wind, from below to above.
‘What is this skill again?’
As soon as I was hit by the upward swing, my body was thrown back.
It seemed like he threw me with the power of the skill rather than his own strength, and it seemed like he used it to create distance.
But I wasn’t fazed by this much.
‘I can just approach him again.’
“Giant’s Sprint!”
As soon as my feet touched the ground, I used Giant’s Sprint to approach him.
My speed, boosted by Giant’s Sprint, closed the distance in an instant, but Lee Juho seemed to have anticipated this as well and used a skill as if he had been waiting.
“Steel Wall!”
Crash!!
My Giant’s Sprint was blocked by the rising wall, but the wall itself was destroyed.
The problem was that Lee Juho’s figure was not visible beyond the broken wall.
‘Is it stealth?’
I felt like he had thoroughly analyzed me.
Well, even if he did, he wouldn’t have been able to analyze Jayer’s Guardian Shield, which had been upgraded to S+ rank.
“Jayer’s Guardian Shield.”
Activate!
I used Jayer’s Guardian Shield, which could now even detect stealth, and looked around, but strangely, Lee Juho’s figure was nowhere to be seen.
‘If I use Guardian Shield, I should be able to see through stealth.’
After looking around for a while, I realized that he had run away, and for a moment, I couldn’t move a single step due to a feeling of emptiness.
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