Black Dragon's Shadow
Eden witnessed a shocking scene through the gap in the door of the annex where the teleport gate stood. Reporting the situation took absolute priority right now.
[Whisper (Eun-nyange): Reporting the situation. The VIP has overwhelmed the user who appears to be in charge at the Boa Village hall.]
Eden, a new recruit of the Seogwang Guild and Cha Eun-kyung’s real-world bodyguard, couldn’t believe the sight before his eyes. His orders were to support the target without revealing himself. At the same time, he had been strictly warned never to let his identity slip. Yet—
“This is insane. If it were just protection, fine. But if she’s going to flip the entire hall upside down, how the hell am I supposed to back her up?”
Cha Eun-kyung’s reply never came, no matter how long he waited. That meant everything from here on out was improvisation.
“For now, I’ll follow her.”
Eden rushed out into the hall lobby and came face-to-face with the man who had just been threatened by the VIP.
“Huuuuh……”
“Where did she go?”
“Do you know her, by any chance?”
Eden nodded. He quickly pieced together the VIP’s intentions and decided on a flexible approach.
“I see. Then she……”
The user bowed his head deeply, lowering his posture. His eyes, however, kept darting around restlessly. It was probably because of the mention of “her,” or because he had realized Eden’s status was lower than the VIP’s.
“Wait. That insignia……”
The man’s gaze froze. His back slowly straightened.
“Ah.”
“Seogwang Guild?”
“Tsk.”
The plan collapsed in an instant. Eden hadn’t had time to change out of the armor bearing the Seogwang Guild crest. From the beginning, he had followed the VIP through the teleport expecting combat.
“Black Dragon Room and now Seogwang Guild too? What the hell is going on here……”
Shhhk!
The man’s words never finished. Eden’s blade cleanly severed his neck in a single stroke.
The gambling table flipped in an instant, and chaos erupted.
“It’s war! Seogwang Guild has declared war! Korea has declared war!”
Shhk! Shhhk!
Eden’s strength far exceeded what beginner-village users on the frontier could handle.
“Aaaagh!”
“Save me!”
Shhk!
Eden was clearly a high-level player in the late seventies. On top of that, he possessed the hidden class “Asura,” which grew stronger the more blood he bathed in. Covered in crimson, he silently continued cutting down users.
Thud!
Not a single Chinese user escaped. Every user inside the hall except Eden was annihilated.
“P-please spare me!”
Only NPCs remained. One of them was Parek, the very NPC the VIP had spoken with earlier. As a civil servant in the beginner village hall, Parek’s report alone would brand Eden a criminal outsider.
“This is troublesome. Really.”
“Please spare me! Sob! I’ll live a good life!”
Of course, there was a way to avoid the criminal mark. No witnesses. Videos recorded by users couldn’t be submitted to NPCs. Normally, Eden would have killed Parek as well to erase all evidence.
“Parek. I heard your name. You didn’t see anything. Right?”
Eden suspected Parek was likely part of the VIP’s plan. So he decided to take a small risk.
“Yes! Of course! I didn’t see anything!”
“And she didn’t do anything either. Correct?”
“If you mean her—ah! Ah, yes! That’s right! Exactly!”
“Good.”
Eden tore open a purification magic scroll, wiped off the blood, then handed Parek a corpse-disposal solution.
“I’ll leave the cleanup to you.”
“Yes!”
After all, the underdeveloped Rahim Continent wasn’t part of Seogwang Guild’s plans. Even if he became a wanted criminal, the risk wasn’t that high.
“……That should do it.”
Eden activated his tracking skill once more and began pursuing the VIP.
* * *
The place was so bleak that he hadn’t expected anyone to be handing out bread. Still, the scene before him exceeded even his imagination.
“Stand up straight.”
“……Y-yes.”
The fountain that once sprayed powerful streams and created rainbows was nowhere to be seen. People’s gazes had briefly turned toward him, but that was all. They quickly lowered their heads and looked away.
Drip.
Only a pitiful puddle leaked from the vast fountain basin. Even that was strictly controlled under the Chinese users’ management. It was a sight impossible to imagine in Liam.
“One silver. I’ll allow you to drink.”
“……Thank you.”
A single mouthful of water sold for one silver. Behind that transaction, a seemingly endless line of people waited, hunched over.
“Next.”
“……Please. I’m suffering from malnutrition.”
“So what? Pay up.”
“H-here……”
The malnourished user’s trembling hand offered only a few dozen coppers. The fountain manager’s face twisted in disgust.
Thud!
“Aaaagh!”
“You think this is funny? That’s not even thirty coppers!”
“Aigoo! I’m going to die at this rate! Please, just one sip of water! If I log out now, I might really die!”
“Get lost.”
“Kuh……”
Was this really the game he knew? At this point, the developers should have stepped in. But the Mason he knew granted users maximum freedom.
“……Even getting a sip of water won’t be easy like this.”
Of course, there was an easy solution. Stand in line and pay. Maybe they would even let him pass without paying. But for some reason, that didn’t sit right with him. Even cooling his head with the ice-filled canteen changed nothing.
“……”
His chest burned. The image of newbies being forced into labor instead of enjoying the game as newbies kept replaying in his mind.
“……This isn’t a game. It’s just grinding.”
The urge to flip everything over kept rising. He didn’t even expect gratitude. He just wanted them to grow greedily. At the very least, beginner villages should be filled with lively newbies.
“……”
Even now, genuine newbies were logging into Boa Village. But it didn’t last. They were quickly herded away under the control of someone who looked like a guide.
His feet moved on their own. Where exactly were these newbies being taken?
“From now on, you’ll be hitting scarecrows here and receiving hidden wooden swords. Anyone who doesn’t come out within ten minutes will be killed and logged out.”
This was the beginner training ground. No training instructor was in sight. Even the few NPC soldiers present seemed uninterested in the users. All they did was hand over wooden swords with blank expressions.
“……Is this even allowed?”
He hadn’t expected a former Royal Knight as the instructor. At minimum, an NPC capable of controlling the users would have sufficed. The problem was that no such NPC existed.
Once again, his feet moved first.
Thud!
Activating Gale Rush, he instantly closed the distance to the soldiers and stepped between them and the newbies. Everyone nearby was knocked down by the sudden gust of wind.
“Kuh! What the—!”
Contrary to expectations, the NPCs didn’t immediately turn hostile. They looked as though they couldn’t even muster the will to fight. Pure resignation. In other words, this was a village where even a certain degree of crime and violence was tolerated.
It wasn’t a direct attack, so he had planned to explain desperately if needed. But—
“I have no intention of harming anyone. Where is the training instructor?”
“W-who are you, sir?”
Before the soldiers could answer, the guide user barged in and questioned him first. He hadn’t expected them to be this cautious. Once again, he realized just how extraordinary the outfit Bella had prepared for him was. Still, if this were his previous self, these scum wouldn’t even have dared speak to him.
“Are your eyes just for decoration?”
Since everyone around was already mistaking him for the Black Dragon Room, he decided to fully embrace the role. After all, the reputation he was burning wasn’t his own.
Smack!
“Guh!”
“I have nothing to say to insects who can’t even recognize the gold embroidery on black robes. Get lost.”
Shock spread across the guide’s face as he had been momentarily confused. The bluff worked again.
“H-Black Dragon Room! My apologies!”
This actually suited him better. His previous playthrough had been nothing but a lawless wilderness ruled by power.
“What’s your name?”
“I’m Jang Hong! I belong to the Sword Inspection Unit!”
A guild name he didn’t recognize. Judging from the circumstances, it was probably connected to the guild dominating this village.
‘I need more information.’
At least, not from Jang Hong. The man already believed he was from the Black Dragon Room.
“My presence here is confidential. Since I’ve remembered the name Jang Hong, it would be wise to keep your mouth shut.”
“I’ll keep that in mind!”
“Go. Leave them all behind.”
“Y-yes! I’ll make sure to explain everything properly!”
Jang Hong fled the training ground as if running away. Now only five newbies and two soldiers remained.
“……S-so it really is the Black Dragon Room. Please spare us, sir.”
“……”
This was the moment he truly felt the weight of the Black Dragon Room’s reputation. Of course, he had no intention of using these people just because he had planted a misunderstanding. He would rather give them handouts. They would become the foundation for the grand picture he was drawing.
“Eat.”
Maintaining the domineering tone required by the Black Dragon Room concept, he distributed food. It was nothing more than a day’s worth of ordinary jerky, hard biscuits, and water from his spare canteen.
“Spare……”
“Go.”
The real purpose of this food was different. These were combinations that granted decent Strength buffs.
“It’s just an ordinary meal. If I wanted to kill you, I would have done so already.”
There was no more conversation. In Boa Village, obeying the strong was the rule.
“Once you’ve checked your buffs, each of you grab a scarecrow and start training. Only striking the red weak points will register properly.”
“Yes!”
After finishing their meal, the newbies rushed toward the scarecrows in perfect order. Next were the soldiers.
“Where is the training instructor?”
“……He’s in the instructor’s office.”
“Guide me. I’m not interested in hearing that the instructor doesn’t receive guests.”
“……”
The soldiers glanced at each other, then quietly nodded and led the way. He could only hope their nod meant something positive. Regardless of what they thought, he continued his own line of thought.
‘At least Liam’s training instructor was far stronger than any ranker. This place needs an absolute powerhouse like that too. Someone strong enough that users can’t push them around.’
Boa Village was just one stop on his journey. To solve its fundamental problems, he first had to win over a powerhouse like the training instructor. If there was some hidden story behind it, then it would be a hidden quest. In that case, he could conveniently clear the hidden quest as well.