Chapter 209
Translator: penny
Chapter: 209
Chapter Title: That Damn Delinquent
"A damn crazy delinquent, that's what he was."
Go Yohan's blood froze at Yi Geonhu's words.
"A damn crazy... delinquent...?"
He couldn't believe a word could carry such violence.
"When a middle schooler has tattoos all over his body, doesn't that say it all?"
"Well..."
"And the club rumors? Not rumors. I saw it with my own eyes."
"So..."
Go Yohan stared at Yi Geonhu, speechless, but Yi Geonhu seemed lost in old memories.
"Most kids at school were scared of Go Yohan. With his Holy Lineage background, that was a given, but he was terrifying in his own right."
"......"
"I tried talking to him once or twice but backed off. Because..."
Yi Geonhu said,
"I felt like I'd die if I did."
Now Go Yohan couldn't even look at Yi Geonhu.
"But."
Yi Geonhu continued then.
"Still, he was pretty cool. Sure, he was a delinquent, but he never bullied friends or hung with a crowd to mess with people."
"......!"
"Thanks to him, no one at Holy Middle caused trouble."
Then Yi Geonhu stood up.
"Sorry, that's all I know. I talked like we were close classmates, but even I, from the Three Eyes bloodline, couldn't get near a sacred bone like Go Yohan."
Go Yohan rose with him.
"We only bumped into each other by chance after growing up..."
The Goldian Auction House.
The point when Three Eyes' downfall began.
"He saved me back then. In more ways than one—not just my life, but it made me realize. The guy who only made me jealous as a kid looked different."
Yi Geonhu said,
"I wanted to be like that. That's why I stayed. Anyway, that's all the info. I could spill more gossip if you want, but that'd be rude, right?"
"......"
"If it's not enough, feel free to go."
Yi Geonhu was insignificant enough to fade from memory.
Even their chance encounter had been just that.
But.
"Not a bad knight candidate."
Now his retreating back looked different.
Go Yohan followed as Yi Geonhu walked off into the distance.
"Huff, huff."
A familiar face came running up, panting hard.
"Muncheol? What's wrong?"
"G-Guild Master... Guild Master... It's!"
Ahn Muncheol, the Three Eyes guild member who had guided Go Yohan, shouted with a face pale as death.
"Solar! Solar Guild struck first!"
"What?"
"Solar's started zone cleanup!"
Yi Geonhu's face drained of color at Ahn Muncheol's words.
"How? They went on an expedition to the upper floors just the other day! We're short-staffed right now...!"
"We got played! They did it on purpose to trick us!"
Yi Geonhu whipped his gaze to Go Yohan urgently.
"Sorry, gotta go now. Zone 9 is our only shot. If we lose it, we might never get another chance!"
His eyes seemed to say,
'Come if you want.'
But.
Rustle.
"If you're coming, follow! We'll make it worth your while one way or another!"
Then.
"Guild members?"
"They're already aware and standing by!"
"Let's go!"
He bolted off with Ahn Muncheol.
"......"
Go Yohan, left behind, smirked faintly.
"Can't let a fine knight candidate break like this."
Zone 9, was it.
He could feel it clearly.
The battle unfolding there, the swarming foes.
"Should I watch... or help."
Go Yohan began to move slowly.
*
*
*
Yi Geonhu raced ahead and soon led his guild members toward Zone 9.
"That Joseph guy isn't coming?"
Ahn Muncheol asked urgently, but.
"...Well, can't be helped."
Yi Geonhu replied calmly.
"He's not one of ours anyway."
"Still... that bastard! At a time like this."
"Enough. What matters now is..."
A vast plain had opened up, with a sizable village at its center.
At the heart stood a black obelisk—the zone stone.
'Activate it, and it glows for a set period. Defend it successfully during that time...'
And the zone becomes the guild's property.
Recognized zones were safe havens that provided buffs and could even collect taxes if desired.
"Can't let them take it!"
But a group was already firing arrows at the village.
Shwaaaa!
Flaming arrows raining like downpour.
Roooar!
The village ablaze.
And what emerged was.
Chiiiik.
A horde of orcs.
From the 10th floor on, orcs appeared in force, and these were nothing like the low-floor weaklings.
"Activate the obelisk first!"
Yi Geonhu shouted as he charged ahead.
"Yes!"
Three Eyes guild members surged forward with him.
The plan was botched—ally forces short, gear inadequate.
"Can't drag this out!"
A hopeless time attack.
"Damn it."
Yi Geonhu spat curses after cutting down three or four orcs.
The plan had gone so sideways that rival Solar Guild held the high ground.
They looked far better prepared too.
Chiiiik!
Orcs swept aside like waves, clearing a path.
"This won't work."
Covered head to toe in orc green blood, Yi Geonhu kicked off the ground.
"I'll activate the obelisk!"
"Guild Master! It's dangerous!"
"If we fail, Three Eyes won't rise again for a long time!"
Shwaaa!
He swung his sword and pressed on.
"Just follow behind!"
Yi Geonhu, reborn leading Three Eyes.
What he valued most after was.
-Cooperation.
Born to the Three Eyes bloodline, he'd lived as a lone wolf, but seeing Go Yohan—someone he could call heavenly—taught him.
-No matter what, I can't end up like that.
Human limits, innate talent caps, overwhelming power beyond even envy.
From that, he found comrades and cooperation.
Shwaaaa!
-Even scraps like me can be useful in numbers, right?
The conviction he'd built to rise without Three Eyes' halo.
Shwaaa!
He discarded it now to charge in.
"Not sure if this is right or wrong."
Sword flashing, advancing as if possessed.
"But..."
Pure cooperation alone couldn't win this fight.
Someone had to face the danger head-on.
"No regrets."
Yi Geonhu's strikes grew fiercer.
"Huff, huff..."
When he snapped to, an orc warrior lay at his feet.
Woooong.
The black obelisk emitted a faint glow.
"Yi Geonhu-!"
Solar's guild master, Kim Taeyang, yelled as he charged.
Yi Geonhu realized.
"I... I did it."
His hand touched the obelisk.
*
*
*
[The zone stone activates.]
[Defend the zone stone until full activation.]
[Current zone stone occupier: Three Eyes Guild's Yi Geonhu.]
System messages floated high in the sky.
Kuuuung!
The ruined village surged back up, and orcs hidden underground emerged.
But the key was that Three Eyes—and Yi Geonhu—had activated the obelisk.
"I... did it."
His body ached like it might shatter.
But he'd done it.
"Guild Master!"
Ahn Muncheol and the Three Eyes members rushed over, faces lit with joy.
Just block the pouring orcs now...
Slash.
In that instant, Yi Geonhu's eyes widened in disbelief.
Burning pain from his chest.
"Wh-what...?"
Before him stood Solar's Kim Taeyang.
"The obelisk clearly activated..."
"You dumb fuck! Didn't get it, huh?"
Kim Taeyang raised his sword again.
"Defend the zone stone—doesn't just mean monsters."
The blade fell.
"Means from other guilds too."
"......!"
Clang!
Yi Geonhu blocked Kim Taeyang's strike just in time.
"N-no way?"
He'd heard of zone wars, but not like this.
Just activate the obelisk and they'd back off?
"That's the rumor scaredy-cats spread to scare off caretakers!"
Clang!
"From the 10th floor on!"
Kim Taeyang's strikes poured madly; Yi Geonhu kept retreating.
"Guild Master!"
Three Eyes tried to help but could barely handle the orcs.
Worse, Solar members swept through orcs and closed in.
"Safe zones are over, punk!"
Ah, right.
Had he been complacent?
As the descending blade made Yi Geonhu sense defeat.
"You're right."
A voice suddenly spoke.
Kakakakang!
Fierce sparks erupted, halting Kim Taeyang's strike.
"From the 10th floor, no safe zones. Humans' enemies aren't just monsters."
"......Who're you?"
"Joseph!"
Joseph—no, Go Yohan—blocked Kim Taeyang's sword with a playful jab of his fist.
Unbelievable he parried with a gauntlet-less tiny ring.
"Amid the swarming orc horde."
Kang!
Kim Taeyang's sword bounced off.
"Enemies weren't just orcs."
"What...?"
"Deserters hungry for food, rebels raising flags, even those who forgot their origins amid orc threats."
Thud.
Go Yohan's fist met Kim Taeyang's gut.
"The tower's rebuilt from those memories. From the 10th floor, it's infused with the recollections and experiences from back then."
Kwaaaaaang!
An explosion pierced Kim Taeyang's abdomen, the shockwave sweeping everything behind.
Kim Taeyang's blurring body vanished in an instant.
And.
"Go..."
Yi Geonhu knew.
"Go Yohan?"