Chapter 41
Chapter 41
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Translator: penny
Chapter: 41
Chapter Title: Third Confrontation
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The battle unfolded much like the day before. Yusung, swept up in the Hers Guild's relentless barrage, looked as precarious as a leaf caught in a typhoon.
'What the hell? This guy's no different from before.'
Hers, who had been on high alert for any tricks while attacking Yusung, felt his tension deflate. He had considered everything from the possibility of Yusung bringing new skills to hiding allies in the crowd.
But from what he could see, Yusung really didn't seem to have any ulterior motives.
'He's just a real lunatic after all.'
Hers relaxed a bit. He felt foolish for worrying unnecessarily.
"Keep pressing him like this! Just be careful not to let him pull off a desperate last stand like yesterday!"
That was when it happened.
Stagger!
Yusung's body suddenly lurched forward. It looked like his foot had slipped during the fight, creating a massive opening.
The Hers Guild members' eyes lit up. One guild member in particular let out a massive roar as he charged at Yusung.
"Die, you bastard!"
It was Doremi, who had been killed by Yusung before.
He had been itching to kill Yusung with his own hands.
Seeing Yusung's huge vulnerability, Doremi flipped out and rushed in. A flashing skill effect burst from his body.
The skill 'Rage Explosion'—one that drastically lowered his own defense in exchange for a massive boost to attack power.
It was a high-risk, high-reward technique, but Doremi, desperate to kill Yusung himself, activated it without hesitation. He intended to finish him off this time.
But it wasn't a mindless charge fueled by pure rage.
Anyone could see Yusung wasn't in a position to counterattack right now. Even using a high-risk skill wouldn't be dangerous.
That's what Doremi thought. So did the surrounding Hers Guild members.
However, Yusung's next move was enough to shock them all.
Yusung moved. Even though he had completely lost his balance and his body was tilting to one side, he executed an astonishing maneuver, as if swimming weightlessly through space.
Whoosh!
Doremi's brutal attack missed. In Yusung's eyes, reflected through the open visor of Doremi's helmet, he saw the man's expression.
Eyes wide in shock. Yusung shoved his gun barrel right in that face. Panic spread across Doremi's features.
But he had no way to block the bullet about to fire.
Bang!
The bullet slammed straight into Doremi's face.
Thud!
Doremi collapsed.
Even with a critical hit to a vital spot, one bullet shouldn't have killed him—but his defense, lowered by Rage Explosion, was the problem.
The mood in the Hers Guild sank. Another elite guild member had been slain.
And by that low-level guy, no less.
"Fuck, kill that bastard!"
Hers bellowed. He was so pissed that he dropped the polite facade he'd been using and spat curses.
But would Yusung go down that easily? It took them a while longer of him tearing through the Hers Guild before they finally killed him.
The Hers Guild had succeeded in killing Yusung once more. But unlike the day before, there were no cheers. No one looked happy. Instead, most were frowning with an inexplicable unease.
Even the elite guild members felt the same.
"Good work."
Hers said to his guild members. But neither he nor they looked pleased.
Still, Hers forced his voice to rise.
It felt a bit off, and they'd lost another elite guild member, but a win was a win. No need for morale to drop. He tried to rally them.
"We've killed him twice over two days. This should make people take our warning more seriously."
No matter the process, the result had gone exactly as intended.
The guild members' faces gradually brightened one by one.
"You might feel uneasy because of that guy's unpredictable moves. But don't overthink it. He's just an idiot. Hell, it'd be great if he shows up like today again. We can just kill him again."
"Yeah, he looks dumb as hell. Guys like that never realize their own shortcomings after a hit or two. You gotta beat them down repeatedly to put them in their place."
The vice guild leader joined in, mocking Yusung in line with Hers' intent.
The guild members started chiming in, jeering at Yusung, praising their victory, and boasting about the guild's greatness. Their morale recovered bit by bit.
Hers left them to it for a moment. They were lifting the mood on their own; no need to interfere.
Instead, he used the brief lull to think about what came next.
'Public opinion won't be great.'
They were beating up the guy who came at them, but they'd lost elite guild members twice in the process.
They'd definitely get ridiculed.
They could claim the first was due to carelessness, but the second would be hard to excuse.
Plus, during this battle, Yusung had even picked up the item Doremi dropped while dying, right in the middle of their fierce assault.
It was embarrassing all around.
'That fucker Doremi!'
Thinking back, it was because that idiot lost his cool and charged.
'I'm docking his pay.'
If he had any conscience, he wouldn't complain.
But when they returned to the guild with the members, and furious Doremi spoke up, Hers had to hold his head.
The damage was worse than expected.
* * *
"Yes!"
Yusung clenched his fist and shouted loudly.
His level had gone up again. And no broken armor this time. Sure, repair costs, but way better than buying new gear.
That alone was enough to put him in a great mood, but there was a bonus this time.
Yusung pulled an item from his inventory window.
It was the item dropped by the dead Doremi during the battle.
After killing Doremi and securing the experience, with his immediate goal achieved and some breathing room, it was almost inevitable that Yusung would notice the bundle Doremi left behind.
He was securing experience and attention with his plan, but his cash income had dried up. Unavoidable, but stressful.
Then that bundle caught his eye.
'Pick it up.'
The decision was quick.
He focused on grabbing it, neglecting his defense. He wasn't planning to escape alive anyway, so no need to play it safe.
And so he got the bundle.
It was the first gain beyond experience and attention from fighting the Hers Guild.
It might not be a great item. But it would help financially at least.
What he checked turned out to be better than expected.
It wasn't junk. Even its appearance screamed value. And Yusung had seen this weapon before.
In the battle just moments ago.
'The weapon that guy was holding.'
An elite guild member he'd killed twice with his own hands. Nickname Doremi, but Yusung had no idea.
'It'll sell for a fortune, right?'
Obviously, from someone way higher level who used it as their main weapon. He couldn't help grinning.
'Sell it.'
No need to think twice.
* * *
The loss of Doremi's main weapon plunged Hers' mood right back down, just as he was trying to shake off the unease from killing Yusung.
One might think, 'So what, just one guild member's item?' But the issue was that the guild's resources had gone into crafting it.
That was the Hers Guild's policy of supporting elite guild members' gear.
The elites' power was essentially the guild's power, so Doremi's loss weakened the guild itself.
Above all, the constant feeling of being toyed with in the fight against Yusung was the most infuriating.
'By just one player...!'
If someone had told him recently that his guild was being played by a low-level scrub, he'd have sneered that such delusions belonged in dreams. Yet here it was, happening in reality.
'And public opinion sucks.'
The prevailing view was still that Hers Guild was crushing Yusung unilaterally. But the occasional comments soured Hers' mood.
-Lmao, they beat him to a pulp and still lose an elite every time. There shouldn't be opinions like this. If people start underestimating them, more clueless idiots will pick fights without knowing their place. That makes running the guild harder.
Hers gathered the elite guild members.
Their mood wasn't great either. Especially Doremi, whose face was ashen. A far cry from the cocky attitude when they first went to deal with Yusung.
Normally, he'd start with a light joke to liven things up. But not now.
"That last battle was disappointing."
The guild members bowed their heads.
The first battle could be excused with 'it was the first time.' Whether ignorance of the enemy or carelessness, it could all be lumped under that.
But not the second.
However, the guild members had their defense.
In the end, the one who died was Doremi, who ignored formation and everything in blind revenge and charged ahead. Even now, with heads bowed, plenty were glaring at him.
Hers didn't stop them. But he didn't directly scold Doremi either.
"Following the last time, he killed one of our elite guild members again."
Doremi flinched. The glares intensified.
"Because of that, he might show up in Verhill again. He might think succeeding twice means three times won't be hard. If I'm wrong and he doesn't come back, fine. But if he does appear in Verhill again...!"
Hers glared coldly at the guild members.
"No mistakes this time."
They nodded.
And the next day. Yusung appeared in Verhill again, just like before. If it were before, they'd have laughed their asses off calling him crazy, but not this time.
Instead, they were determined to crush him thoroughly without losing even one elite.
Thus began the third battle.
Yusung died again, and one of Hers' elite guild members died too.
* * *
As the conflict between Yusung and the Hers Guild took a bizarre turn, public interest reignited. All three battles happened right in front of Verhill, impossible to hide.
-Lmao Hers lost another elite lol
-Didn't they say they'd make Yusung quit the game? Even with the level gap and ganging up, they keep losing an elite each time
-This has to mean Yusung's profiting, right?
-Obviously. The exp he gets from killing an elite outweighs his death penalty.
-His items? He's probably fighting loaded with junk. Even if he drops good stuff, he can just buy more.
-Guy's a beggar. Won't that hurt a bit?
-He was looting Hers Guild before. At least initially, they weren't ready for PK, so he probably snagged some gear.
-So basically only Hers is taking massive Ls
-Man, no clue how this plays out next
-Is he really gonna take down the guild?
-Whatever happens, we just grab popcorn and watch
-Fr real, this is thrilling