Chapter 66
Chapter 66
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Translator: uly
Chapter: 66
Chapter Title: Guild Master Isn't Enough With Just the Game
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Gotta keep the level up a secret.
Dart and Gilgamesh had started their raids ahead of me, so their levels were relatively higher, which had been nagging at me a bit, but at this rate, I wouldn't fall behind until max level.
I'd heard that the first raid had way more monsters than the second one.
On the way to the dungeon.
Soap, SpaceKing's vice guild master and the top dog in the ranged DPS scene, took the lead alongside Nix, the famous action captain handling SpaceKing's melee DPS crew.
The guild members who'd shared life and death in the gate had fully bonded over the banquet.
Behind them, Abyss—who generally found humans annoying—and a few other guild members kept their distance as they walked.
Gilgamesh, Dart, and I trailed even further back, casually checking our status windows and inventories while loosely following the guild members.
The idea was to take it easy since we'd been through so much.
No need for the guild masters to step up for a dungeon run just to level up.
"Ah, this is nice."
I nodded in total agreement at Gilgamesh's mutter and swiftly allocated my status points.
Every now and then, the memory of that one SpaceKing guild member who'd died in the gate popped into my head, but no one mentioned it.
I'd have to figure out how to break the news to the family when we got back.
As complicated thoughts kept bubbling up, making me swallow a silent sigh, I suddenly—habitually—found myself missing Hellcannon.
"I suddenly miss Hellcannon. Our Cannon didn't really die in the gate, right?"
Just thinking about Hellcannon made my heart race and flutter.
Why had he protected me?
Wasn't it that green light saying he'd abandon Dart and become my hero?
I want him, that hero.
"That bastard would be doing the world a favor if he just died."
"What the hell, man?"
How dare he trash my fave!
I glared at Gilgamesh with flashing eyes at his bullshit, and he clicked his tongue before turning to Dart.
"Hey, did you hear that? Should've just handed him over to her ages ago. Then you wouldn't have ended up like that in the gate."
"Shut... ."
Dart, who clearly looked ready to spit out "shut up," swallowed his words and turned away.
Gilgamesh said, sounding puzzled.
"Why stop mid-sentence?"
I asked.
"What happened in the gate? Wasn't Hellcannon neutral from the start?"
"Neutral my ass."
Gilgamesh grimaced and rubbed one arm as if recalling the past gave him chills.
"That fucker hesitated but ended up pointing his sword at us. Ugh, shit. He must've decided to rebel with the heroes in the back."
I'd glimpsed Hellcannon at the center, but I hadn't realized it was like that.
"...Our Cannon wouldn't do that."
"Yeah, sure. You go ahead and believe that. Not me or Dart, obviously."
Gilgamesh brushed off my words lightly before turning to Dart.
"Won't you spill it now? What the hell did you do to that guy? Is it true you killed all the Avrilla royals?"
Dart scowled as he replied.
"Just the king and the crown princess."
"So His Packing Majesty only managed two? You stash the rest in some underground prison to kill later? Anyway, killing Hellcannon's dad and sister is basically all of them, right?"
"If we'd known Hellcannon's rank from the start, I wouldn't have killed the king either. And I didn't even do the killing."
"What's that matter when you're the guild master? Time to take collective responsibility."
"......"
Dart glared at Gilgamesh.
Even to me, Gilgamesh was being a total asshole, but since they'd nearly died because of Hellcannon and lost a guild member, it wasn't incomprehensible.
I was about to tell them to drop it when Gilgamesh shut up first.
Hellcannon, a traitor.
Even imagining it sent shivers down my spine.
If Hellcannon had unleashed his ultimate in the gate, we would've been obliterated.
Ultimates were usually AoE skills that even heroes hesitated to use inside gates, but Hellcannon's AoE was the type that was easy to pull off even there.
This time, I asked Dart.
"Did you release the bound hero?"
"...No."
"Why not?"
"The secondary binder is in the second squad."
"Ah. If the primary binder releases, it auto-binds to the secondary."
SpaceKing had set secondary binders in the 2nd and 3rd squads so they could quickly summon strong heroes even from the rear.
Gilgamesh, who'd kept his obnoxious mouth shut to eavesdrop, chimed in.
"Isn't that just an excuse? The second squad isn't even here—can you really summon heroes like that? Just admit you can't let go of Hellcannon."
Dart's lips twisted into a fierce scowl at Gilgamesh's words.
It was an expression I hadn't seen in a while.
"I'm never letting him go. If he dies, I kill him. If I die, he kills me."
Dart's true colors emerged.
My jaw dropped, and Gilgamesh clicked his tongue, muttering "crazy bastard."
Hellcannon had tried to kill Awakeners, so in this situation, I couldn't very well demand he hand him over to me out of fangirl loyalty.
Dart's face showed he was seriously pissed about the dead guild member.
Gilgamesh said.
"You should've treated the heroes better. Don't you feel bad about those guys at all?"
"We almost died because of them—what more do you want here?"
"Huh?"
"So what? Should they just die nicely because I'm sorry? Or wallow in regret? Cut the crap."
"Yeah, that's not it, for sure."
Dart's eyes turned icy cold.
"What's done is done. If it's irreversible, at least clean up the mess properly. Those guys swung swords back at us—they had to know swords would swing back."
Killing intent flickered in his gaze.
If heroes were in front of him right now, he'd slaughter them all. I could sense the grudge from the one who'd died in the gate last night.
Gilgamesh was at a loss for words before ruffling his hair.
"Fair enough. We're already enemies—acting all understanding now is pointless. Can't let your guard down around those killing machines, or my life's over. We've got our own traitors too, after all."
"Watch yourself. Don't get all emotional and dumb, getting more guild members killed."
I watched Dart and Gilgamesh have their heavy conversation from the side, my own feelings tangled up inside, when my eyes met Dart's exactly.
"......"
Dart whipped his head away immediately.
Gilgamesh said to me.
"Hey, you're lucky. No real traitors on your side."
"For now, yeah......"
I let out a sigh, and both Dart and Gilgamesh looked at me at once.
What're you sighing for?
"I'm not exactly at ease either. Especially after this siege—I killed a ton of NPCs too. Knowing they were all real people... how do you not lose it mentally?"
Still, honestly, Fullminak was in way better shape than SpaceKing or Goldbunker, which was a subtle comfort.
It wasn't like I'd waged the whole war solo while playing biwa.
Gilgamesh said.
"It's a war game—what can you do? What the hell did we do wrong? The devs who tricked us and made this shitty game are the real assholes."
True, but.
"Sigh. Still, if I'd just rejected your proposal back in Iscarya..."
"W-What did I do?"
Gilgamesh flinched in panic at my lament.
I'd gotten so fixated on that weird karma potion of his that I massacred a ton of NPCs.
Lucky Dart pulled us back.
It was war, so unavoidable, but I'd at least spared the NPCs who bolted screaming they wanted to live, or so I told myself to feel better.
If even I felt this way, everyone else's heads must be total chaos.
Crunch crunch.
In the heavy silence that had settled, only the sound of footsteps echoed.
"......"
Messiah's words to me suddenly came to mind.
When I'd asked what happens when people die, this world's saints had given such simple answers.
'They are reborn.'
'Until they achieve what they desire. Until they embrace every part of themselves.'
'The joys and sorrows of life—every thread is a blessing. Just as we don't seek only bright, joyful songs.'
'Don't carry too much guilt. You did your best to sing your own song.'
Wirentia's words were so profound.
Their view of religion was so different from my old world that it fascinated me, but I'd dismissed it as just a well-crafted Buddhist-style worldview.
It's confusing.
Where the hell is this place? Why this game of all things? Where are we even heading now?
The footsteps ahead halted.
"We're here."
"For safety, we bumped the dungeon grade up just two levels from ours. We'll drop it one if it's too tough inside."
"Didn't end up seeing a single hero after all."
"Thank goodness."
"Let's grind levels quick before those bastards come back alive."
"Sigh. Those damn hero shits—did they really survive without dying? Better if they all croaked in the gate."
The guild members chattered.
Fullminak members, who got along well with heroes, wore subtle expressions, but no one really objected.
It was just Awakeners hitting the dungeon, and yeah, there were plenty of dangerous heroes.
Right before entering, the front-line officers glanced back at us laggards in the rear, followed by the rest of the guild.
What? Why stare?
On behalf of the three lazy guild masters, Gilgamesh waved his hand dismissively and yelled.
"Yeah, yeah! Go on!"
"...Then, we're heading in."
We entered.
Finally, the mass leveling session for the first squads of the three guilds—the Rankers' survival grind—began.
* * *
Heroes from the game were popping up in the city center, and with some hunters and civilians getting murdered, the world was pure chaos.
Awakener hunters were banding together to intervene at the scene.
Crunch.
"Good thing it's Fullminak."
Ranking 100th, Pada.
His original nickname had been JohnPaChickenFlavor, but he'd changed it to Pada upon becoming a Ranker.
Fullminak's low-rank 3rd squad member crunched on potato chips in bed while watching the video just posted in the group chat.
SpaceKing was naturally at the forefront of handling this.
It was their mess, after all.
The video wasn't fully live but from a recent incident.
People in the footage were buzzing.
["That outfit is insane. They really jumped out from the game?"]
["They say it's another world."]
["Heroes killed people— is it okay to spectate this close?"]
Pada clicked his tongue.
"Of course not, you idiots."
Hunters knew the heroes' danger better than civilians.
With all hunters' levels reset, no one could stop those max-level killing machines.
Even if the heroes stood still meekly.
Even 1st squad might barely manage, yet civilians were excitedly gawking.
["Where are the cops?"]
["They'd send hunters if they were coming."]
Amazed crowds swarmed black, buzzing, but the heroes clustered in the city center didn't twitch.
"Looks like all SpaceKing heroes. Any Goldbunker ones mixed in?"
Then, a group of guys came giggling out of a nearby alley.
One hero vanished instantly.
Exactly the incident everyone feared, unfolding right there.
Slash!!
The hero attacked a person.
Agh! Kyaa!!
The gawkers screamed in shock and fled, while a few trembled and kept filming from behind.
Stab—!!
["Eek!"]
Seeing a sword pierce someone right in front of them, they finally bolted.