Guildmaster Ryu Si-beom
Senator McCarthy Admits He Is a Vampire, Then Lashes Out
"Vampires are simply another race. Condemning them for having slightly different dietary habits is no different from the Nazis sending Jews to Auschwitz."
Pope Francis Issues a Statement on the Incident on Behalf of Earth's 1.8 Billion Christians
"This is truly a blessing. In the twenty-first century, terrorism can never be a path to martyrdom, and I shall pray to the Lord that only peace may be granted to the faithful of both sides."
Sir Gaon Hints He Has No Plans to Participate in World War III
Assemblyman Eom Geun-oh Repeatedly Expresses His Gratitude
"He prevented a catastrophe that could have turned a third of Earth's population into potential enemies. On behalf of the Korean people, we offer our deepest thanks. As for the nuclear phase-out plan citing the threat of Swordmasters, it remains premature (……)"
SHOCK. Assemblyman Eom Geun-oh Claims Swordmaster Ban Ji-sung Is a National Hero
"Without Ban Ji-sung, Korea would still be breaking its back paying Independence Reparations to Japan. His achievements are too great to be overshadowed by minor faults. The Korean people must know how to be grateful to him."
Gaon glared at the newspaper, and the Goddess inquired.
Why does anger linger in your eyes, Gaon? Gritting your teeth over Earth's news all of a sudden — has your old vendetta against Earth's civilization flared up again?
"No."
Then you are angry that too few articles were written about you…
"Yes."
The Goddess spoke as if to soothe him.
If you wish to see articles praising my Champion's great deeds, why not simply read the religious papers?
"I've already clipped all of those, reread them several times, and finished chewing them over in my head… And honestly, seeing Earth's reactions is way more thrilling."
So that is why you dutifully type my Champion's name into Naver every single day? As if it were some sacred rite — skipping even the meals your Goddess commands of you at breakfast, lunch, and dinner, yet never once missing that?
"Yes. In As, everyone's so busy watching a Swordmaster's face that they never write a critical word. Earth's papers aren't like that, so if praise does show up, it feels like I'm being genuinely, objectively celebrated."
The Goddess sighed, then spoke again.
If my Champion so desperately wants articles about himself, he need only reread the ones before him. In truth, those articles about your friend are as good as articles about my Champion.
"Articles about Ban Ji-sung are as good as articles about me? What do you mean?"
The Koreans suddenly raising a tomb for your friend is so that they might win my Champion's favor.
"What? Ah… they think if they treat Ban Ji-sung like a hero, I'll be happy because he was my friend. So they're trying to get on my good side… Are they morons?"
My Champion will use refined language! And cease his criticism of the Korean people.
"But there's no way I'd like that…"
And how would they know that? They merely yearn for peace.
The Goddess offered comfort, but it did nothing to improve his mood. Gaon frowned, thinking, And what do they think they'll get by suckinging up to me?
Yearning for peace, they say…
The reason wasn't hard to guess. With war approaching, and with him having already declared he wouldn't take part, there was only one reason to curry his favor: to ask this famous Swordmaster not merely to sit the war out, but to stop it entirely. A Swordmaster wouldn't fear Charmmahwang, who was a Swordmaster himself — and as a prominent figure in a massive religion that preached peace, he'd have every justification to call for an end to the fighting.
Gaon didn't like it. Precisely how much he didn't like it: about as much as that time Charmmahwang had spent hours trying to talk him into joining the war. The ones goading him to fight and the ones begging him to stop it were equally infuriating. They all acted as if choosing one or the other was his duty.
What a pain.
I just want to keep playing the game…
So Gaon did as he pleased.
He stepped into the virtual reality machine, sealed on all sides with bulletproof glass.
They'd been scouted, but Lee Bok-dong and Jijonmussang's in-game routine hadn't changed at all. The woman had even paid out their signing bonuses on the spot, yet she issued no particular instructions for the time being. Until she had orders for them, she said, they were free to do as they pleased — and she'd throw in extra pay whenever they actually worked to spec. The terms were abnormally generous. Lee Bok-dong was not happy.
To recover his wounded pride, Lee Bok-dong had gone into the shooting range that day and started practicing. The first day he drilled for six hours straight. The second day, four. Then he collapsed from exhaustion, confirmed that he didn't have the same focus as that smug As-native, and despaired. After that, he'd been trying to practice at least two hours a day. Today was the fourth day, and he was still at it, boredom and emptiness grinding away at him all the while.
Jijonmussang came in grinning goofily and struck up a conversation.
"Bok-dong and Mr. Gaon have both been training like crazy lately, huh?"
What a thoughtless way to live. For reasons he couldn't quite name, Lee Bok-dong found himself annoyed.
"Why? If you don't have any urgent business, please don't interrupt my training…"
"Business? Course I do! It's a really good thing — a really good thing!"
"A good thing?"
"Yeah. The kind where you make a ton of money! I'll explain, so hurry up and follow me, yeah?"
Grateful for a reason to stop the tedious drilling, Lee Bok-dong followed Jijonmussang with a stiff face. Gaon was waiting for them, his own training likewise interrupted. Gaon's expression didn't look any better, but Jijonmussang just kept grinning. Then, with no small amount of pride, he launched into an explanation of the mission he'd brought back.
"You know you can't just go fight anywhere just 'cause you've got the skills, right?"
Lee Bok-dong nodded.
"Right. The mega-guilds lock down every battlefield worth any money and block regular players from getting near them."
"Exactly. Total racket! But one of those mega-guilds went and singled us out with a request to join the fight."
"They specified us?"
"Yep!"
Lee Bok-dong had a pretty good idea exactly who they'd singled out, but he didn't bother pointing it out.
"And the pay…"
"They'll fork over a hundred and fifty thousand won each just for showing up, and we get to keep all the loot from whatever we kill! That's a damn good deal, right? Mega-guild battlefields are huge, so the loot haul's huge too — and it's all expensive gear…"
Lee Bok-dong took the bait. He already knew from looting that fortress how much expensive equipment was worth.
"Whoa, then we should take it… Any other restrictions?"
"There's a catch, but it's minor. Just that the client's reputation is a little, y'know, bad?"
"Who's the client?"
Jijonmussang forced a smile, as if to stress just how trivial a matter it was, and said the name.
"Ryu Si-beom."
The intended effect did not land. Lee Bok-dong's eyes went wide.
"Ryu Si-beom, guildmaster of the White Skull Unit?"
A brief debate followed. Should they take a commission from a far-right guild or not? But with money on the line, Lee Bok-dong and Jijonmussang found themselves believing the theory that the White Skull Unit wasn't actually a far-right outfit after all.
"So, uh, what does Hyung Gaon think…"
Gaon, as expected, looked thoroughly displeased. Lee Bok-dong tensed. He would have liked to be capable of taking jobs without that man, but he knew perfectly well he had no such ability at the moment. Meanwhile, Jijonmussang pulled out the pitch he'd prepared in advance.
"Mr. Gaon, you said you were playing to train your swordsmanship, right? There's an enemy there that'd be perfect for improving your sword work."
"An enemy that'd be good for improving my swordsmanship? Another Swordmaster?"
"Not that… a dragon."
Gaon started to argue how fighting a dragon was supposed to help his swordsmanship, then stopped. He thought it over for a moment, then quietly nodded.
"A dragon… Not bad. I'm in."
"Ah, then…"
Jijonmussang smirked, and their participation was decided. A truck carrying the three of them headed for the battlefield.
On the way to White Skull Unit headquarters, Jijonmussang grumbled.
"This is a full-on relapse of my enlistment PTSD…"
They always wore military uniforms. They addressed each other by rank and name instead of names or nicknames. It was a well-known fact that White Skull Unit members acted like active-duty soldiers. And seeing it in person, that was a lie.
Real active-duty soldiers tended to forget all about sentry duty at their posts and chat away. The procedure of exchanging passwords for security was usually done in a playful manner. But on the stiff, frozen faces of the White Skull Unit, there wasn't a trace of playfulness to be found. There wasn't even anyone chatting at the guard posts.
"Identity confirmed. Pass!"
The uniforms of the White Skull Unit members barking that out were so sharply creased you'd have thought they'd been ironed — in a game. Faced with soldiers this earnest, Lee Bok-dong and Jijonmussang — even Gaon — felt worn out.
On top of that, the White Skull Unit had a lot of enemies. Which meant a lot of checkpoints, and a nightmarish number of security procedures to pass through. By the time the three of them finally stepped into headquarters, they were thoroughly exhausted.
"Finally get to see the guildmaster's face."
He'd invited them in person, so they figured they'd at least get a welcome. They did not.
When the three of them found him, Ryu Si-beom, guildmaster of the White Skull Unit, wore a thoroughly unpleasant expression, as if something had made him furious. Lee Bok-dong shrank back. Jijonmussang grinned and bowed his head.
"A pleasure to meet you, General, sir! Your reputation precedes you. You were a retired general, I hear? A man of high station! Truly admirable, this is…"
"Shut it."
Jijonmussang's face went stiff. Lee Bok-dong didn't even dare to interrupt; he just kept his head down.
"What has you so angry…"
"Who the hell are you to talk to me like that?"
"Ah, sorry…"
"I said shut it."
Having snapped that out, Ryu Si-beom pulled his gaze off the frozen Jijonmussang. Then he looked at Gaon and addressed him.
"And what's your problem. Why didn't you greet me?"
Gaon stared at Ryu Si-beom for a moment, then asked,
"How old are you, mister?"
"Fifty-eight, kid."
"What? Fifty-eight?"
"Yeah, you wet-behind-the-ears—"
The elf over two hundred years old thundered.