𝐂𝐡𝐚𝐩𝐭𝐞𝐫 𝟐𝟕𝟑
━Anyway, thank you.
“Huh? For what?”
━Thanks to Rudin-nim continuously eliminating hostile players, we were able to prevent guild members from leaving. We were also able to secure cooperation.
“Preventing guild members from leaving, I understand, but why cooperation?”
━It seems that Rudin-nim’s activities have created the perception that Zerak is weak. They actually said that if they helped, we could catch him quickly.
‘They’re out of their minds.’
If Zerak was weak, what would that make me, who hasn’t been able to catch him until now?
Anyway, if they’re mistaken and decide to help, I’m grateful.
But still, the number of people bothered me.
“Is there no way to gather more people?”
━Most guilds are aware of our situation, so they’ve presented outrageous conditions. I think it will be difficult to get more than this.
“Is that so? Well, then there’s no helping it……”
━Or, how about Rudin-nim stepping up?
Just as I was about to give up because even Aizen said it was difficult, he threw out an unexpected suggestion.
“Me? You’re kidding, right?”
━No. Haven’t you been traveling to various countries to help several guilds, Rudin-nim?
Indeed, as Aizen said, I’ve been to many countries and helped a few guilds there.
I can even remember some of them.
So, the thought crossed my mind that I might have a better chance than Aizen, who has been sticking to his lone wolf life.
━If Rudin-nim asks, they probably won’t be able to refuse easily.
“……Alright.”
One way or another, it’s better to have more people.
Because we can’t afford to lose this time.
Well, maybe if time passes and I manage to get all my acquired S-rank skills to the Transcendence Stage, it might be resolved, but that seemed like it would take a considerable amount of time.
‘Let’s go to the Bulgeun Taeyang Guild first.’
I believed that Jeokseong, the Guild Master of the Bulgeun Taeyang Guild, would definitely help, since I had helped him in the past.
“Then I’ll gather people on my own as well.”
━Yes. Please do.
Aizen left those words and ended the guild chat, and I took out a Return Scroll without wasting any more time there and moved to the Harpe Empire capital.
[You use the Return Scroll.]
Whoosh!━
Of course, there was also a teleportation device in Emperor’s territory, so I considered using that.
While eliminating hostile players at the same time.
However, thinking that time was precious, I moved to the Harpe Empire capital and used the teleportation device, and soon arrived at the Karzen Kingdom where the Bulgeun Taeyang Guild was active.
‘By the way, where would Jeokseong be?’
* * *
To be honest, it would be a lie to say I wasn’t confident.
After all, haven’t I helped countless guilds?
So, I thought they would reluctantly agree to help if I asked, but the result was completely different from what I expected.
“I’m sorry. I don’t think it will be possible.”
Jeokseong, the Guild Master of the Bulgeun Taeyang Guild.
It seemed like the Bulgeun Taeyang Guild had grown quite a bit in the past few months.
They already had around 1,000 to 2,000 guild members.
Well, regardless of that, although I wasted a lot of time finding the guild, I thought that if I could get help, it wouldn’t matter. So, Jeokseong’s words now felt like a betrayal.
“Why?”
“Because we have to face the Yonggammusang Guild. The truce period we talked about before has long ended.”
‘Truce period?’
Something seemed to be coming back to me.
It must have been when I helped the Bulgeun Taeyang Guild fight against the Yonggammusang Guild before.
At that time, I killed Heuksin, the Guild Master of the Yonggammusang Guild, and after that, Heuksin sent people to establish a three-month truce, but it seemed to have already ended.
‘Well, the period I rested was also three months.’
And if Jeokseong’s words were true, it wouldn’t be strange if they were currently engaged in a fierce battle.
‘Wait? But something’s strange.’
After thinking for a moment, I realized what was strange.
It was the fact that Heuksin had also acquired the Annihilation Zone.
One of the reasons I couldn’t defeat Zerak right now was because of Annihilation Zone, but if Heuksin also had that skill, it was highly likely that the Bulgeun Taeyang Guild wouldn’t stand a chance.
But looking at Jeokseong now, it didn’t seem like a very urgent situation.
Should I try to beat around the bush a little?
“……You’ve managed to hold on well.”
“What do you mean?”
“Heuksin also has an S-rank skill, right? Isn’t it difficult to deal with?”
“Hmm, strangely enough, it seems like he doesn’t have it now.”
“What?”
I asked back as if I didn’t understand, and Jeokseong also replied with a puzzled expression.
“From what I’ve seen of Heuksin so far, he doesn’t use that S-rank skill. So, I’m thinking he probably doesn’t have it.”
It was just speculation, but there was no reason not to use such a cheat-like skill, so it might be right to assume that Heuksin didn’t have the S-rank skill, as Jeokseong said.
“Ask Heuksin for the details.”
Furthermore, thinking that it wouldn’t progress without talking to Heuksin, I nodded.
“I guess I’ll have to.”
* * *
Having no choice but to seek out Heuksin, I asked around and found the Guild Castle where the Yonggammusang Guild was located. After speaking to a guild member there, I finally managed to meet Heuksin.
The first thing I asked Heuksin after meeting him was, of course, about the S-rank skill.
“Annihilation Zone? I sold that a long time ago.”
“……?”
He sold it?
Putting aside how he sold it, I couldn’t believe that he sold an S-rank skill, which was still rare even now. I looked at him in disbelief.
“Well, I regret it now, though. I didn’t know that skill would be so powerful.”
“How did you sell it?”
“Zeraseong, was it? He came to me with a Skill Sealing Book. And he said he’d give me 2 billion if I gave him my S-rank skill, so I just sold it.”
“2 billion……”
It was a hefty sum, if you could call it that.
At least if I had quit Twilight, I would have gladly handed it over for that price.
But now, I was more concerned about the Skill Sealing Book than the price.
This was because among the items I sold in the real-time auction, there was also a Skill Sealing Book.
‘Could it be that Zerak bought the Skill Sealing Book and went to Heuksin?’
Thinking up to this point, I became curious about how much wealth he had.
Just from what I knew, it was 8.5 billion, but he wouldn’t have just bought the legendary staff and the S-rank skill, so I wondered if he had spent at least 10 billion on Twilight.
And to say 10 billion, even Aizen wouldn’t have spent that much money.
“More importantly, what’s the reason you came all the way here?”
“To get some help from the Bulgeun Taeyang Guild.”
“Help? Ah, you want to make a truce like before.”
Even though I only said a few words, Heuksin seemed to have grasped the whole situation.
“Considering Jeokseong’s personality, I think he’ll need at least a month’s truce to help.”
“A whole month?”
“Because no one can avoid death. He’ll need a month to recover from the death penalty and to buy time to deal with us. Otherwise, I don’t think he’ll help.”
It seemed like he was planning to help the Emperor Guild and buy time to deal with the Yonggammusang Guild later.
However, this was just Heuksin’s speculation, so it couldn’t be confirmed.
Personally, though, I felt it made sense.
“What if you give me a month’s truce?”
“It’ll only benefit Jeokseong. Of course, if you pay me, there’s nothing I can’t do.”
‘Payment……’
Aizen couldn’t properly resolve this part either, so he couldn’t gather many people.
“What kind of payment? Would giving you some gold be enough?”
“What gold? These days, cash transactions are more active in Twilight than gold. If you give me a reasonable 500 million, I’ll stay quiet for a month.”
“……”
Is this guy crazy?
It wasn’t an amount I couldn’t give, but he was asking for 500 million just for a truce, without any direct help. It felt like he was a thief.
Or did some kind of currency reform happen while I was resting?
Anyway, taking a deep breath and calming myself down as much as possible, I answered calmly.
“500 million is too much. You’re not even going to help directly.”
“I know. But if I don’t get that much, what will my guild members think of me?”
Heuksin added that he had to receive that much to convince his guild members, even though he personally wanted to just agree to the truce.
‘Should I just get rid of this guy first?’
If I kill him about 10 times, wouldn’t he help?
“The problem is, I don’t want to fight you either…… Ah, but this would be fine instead.”
“……?”
While I was contemplating whether to kill him or not, Heuksin suggested an additional condition as if he had come up with a good idea. After hearing his words, I thought for a moment and eventually had no choice but to nod.
* * *
In the end, after finishing the negotiation with Heuksin, I returned to where Jeokseong was and relayed the conversation.
When I told him that we had agreed to a one-month truce, Jeokseong nodded as if he had expected it. It seemed like he had intentionally sent me to Heuksin.
“I understand. Please tell me the time and place, and I’ll go there.”
However, Jeokseong added that he couldn’t mobilize many guild members.
Still, since he didn’t set any other conditions, unlike Heuksin, I told him I understood and that I would let him know when the attack date was decided. Jeokseong replied that he understood and even thanked me.
Anyway, after that, I went to the Absolute Guild in the Iot Kingdom and then to the Snow Wind Wings Guild, which was active in the Anis Kingdom, but both refused for their own reasons.
First, the Absolute Guild said they couldn’t help because they had already weakened to the point of giving up their title as one of the top three guilds due to the war that took place during the second main scenario. The Snow Wind Wings Guild refused, saying they didn’t want to get involved in a war between players.
So, the only gain I had from visiting several countries was the cooperation of the Bulgeun Taeyang Guild.
‘Is it this hard to ask for help?’
Honestly, even now, it’s enough to deal with that Zerak guy.
But simply killing him is meaningless.
He might gather people and attack again.
Of course, if I’m there, I’ll be able to block them to some extent, but since I’m planning to end everything with this battle, it’s better to be properly prepared.
‘It’s a shame that the only cooperating guild is the Bulgeun Taeyang Guild.’
Thinking that there were no more guilds to ask for help, I went back to the Karzen Kingdom and headed towards where Heuksin was.
Originally, the one-month truce for 500 million was a disadvantageous condition for me.
But Heuksin added one more condition, which was that he would give me two raid bosses managed by the Yonggammusang Guild.
When I heard that, I wondered what he was talking about, but this wasn’t something to be taken lightly.
This was because if you defeated a raid boss, you could raise your skill level with Contribution Points.
In other words, it meant that I could raise my skill level by two stages. At first, when Heuksin proposed it, I didn’t understand what he meant, but then I remembered the Contribution Point reward and had no choice but to accept.
The battle might happen as early as tomorrow.
[Congratulations! You have raised the S+ rank skill, Volcus’ Thunder Strike, to its maximum level.]
[Volcus’ Thunder Strike, which has reached the maximum level (30), surpasses its limits.]
[Additional effects are added.]
[Ding!~ From now on, the effects of Volcus’ Thunder Strike will greatly increase each time its level rises.]
Moreover, the raid bosses managed by the Yonggammusang Guild were surprisingly easy to defeat.
From the start, I wasn’t fighting alone, but together with the Yonggammusang Guild, so I could fight without being bothered by the sensory penalty. Also, since they openly focused the Contribution Points on me, I took first place and raised Thunder Strike to level 30 first.
Since Thunder Strike was the only skill at level 29, there was no hesitation.
However, after defeating the second raid boss, I couldn’t help but contemplate. In the end, I raised Elsyke’s Phantom Shift, which was at level 28.
[Ding!~ The level of the S-rank skill ‘Elsyke’s Phantom Shift’ has increased.]
[Stats Strength 5, Agility 5, Magic Power 8 increase.]
‘Now Phantom Shift is also level 29……’
The remaining 1 level.
While pondering for a moment to raise this, I thought of Beksha.
Just like when I raised Equipment Crafting to level 30 by defeating Beksha, I naturally thought of that bear. I immediately returned to the Harpe Empire, defeated Beksha, and was able to raise Phantom Shift to level 30 as well.
[Congratulations! You have raised the S-rank skill, Elsyke’s Phantom Shift……]
Two Transcendence Stage skills.
Although cooperation from other guilds didn’t go as planned, all the preparations I could make were now complete.
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