The Weight of Words
Yoo Hanbeom. He was the guild master currently running the Artemis Guild. But even he hadn’t started from an overwhelming position. The man who now possessed strength and wealth beyond compare had once stolen from others just to fill his starving belly. He had been beaten so badly while trying to steal a potion for a sick friend that he was left half-crippled.
“Please… please, just this once. Help me…”
“You pathetic idiot. Scum like you are worse than parasites. What the hell does it matter to me if your friend dies or not? Whether that bastard kicks the bucket or survives, it doesn’t put a single coin in my pocket. So get lost.”
His life had begun at the absolute bottom. If there was one thing he had learned while clawing his way up from the gutter, it was that no one would take responsibility for his actions in his place—and that he could never afford to look weak in front of anyone.
Living at the bottom had piled up distrust and hatred toward humanity inside him. Gradually, he began to see people as nothing more than tools. To avoid being trampled, he trampled others. To avoid being ignored, he climbed even higher. In the end he reached the peak, yet his heart remained hollow.
A goal. He had lost his goal. He had achieved his ambition of becoming the strongest in the country, a man no one could disregard, but nothing remained for him afterward. All he had left were the hundreds of subordinates he commanded, overflowing riches, and his own blood relatives. None of it moved him in any meaningful way. Everything was disappointing. People, money—none of it satisfied him.
But Lee Hyunseung was different.
“I’m staking my life on it. I didn’t do it.”
“Then that means you were framed, and Heeyeon unjustly accused you. Can you take responsibility for those words?”
Anyone else would already be groveling at Yoo Hanbeom’s feet by now. That was normal. Yoo Hanbeom was a powerhouse so famous that practically everyone in the country knew his name, and his organization, the Artemis Guild, wielded overwhelming power. Neither individual nor group could be ignored. It was common knowledge. That was why people didn’t even dare think of opposing him. Out of fear of retaliation, or because they knew they could never win, they surrendered in advance.
Yet Lee Hyunseung stared straight at him with wide, unyielding eyes.
“I don’t do pathetic things like stalking. I don’t have that much free time to waste following someone around taking pictures, and I have no reason to.”
Yoo Hanbeom quietly observed him. The look in the boy’s eyes strangely resembled his own from his younger days—the eyes filled with venom, the eyes that had resented the world, despaired before the wall of reality, and eventually resolved to crush everything beneath his feet. It was exactly like the gaze he once had.
‘Not bad. But… I need to test him a little more.’
The fact that Lee Hyunseung hadn’t committed stalking hadn’t been clearly proven yet. It was true that no Mana Trace belonging to him had been found on the evidence phone, but since they hadn’t cross-checked it against the Mana Database, he hadn’t been completely cleared of suspicion. In that situation, the words Lee Hyunseung was speaking now could easily be taken as rude.
Conviction and recklessness were separated by a fine line. Yoo Hanbeom wanted to confirm whether the boy’s actions were rooted in true conviction or merely driven by emotion-fueled bravado. That was why he deliberately pressed him.
“Lee Hyunseung, your charges haven’t been fully cleared yet. If you speak like this now, can I take it to mean that you will take full responsibility if any problems arise later? If it turns out you really are the culprit, I will never let it slide with a light punishment.”
—KWAaaaaang—!
Yoo Hanbeom slammed his staff down hard on the floor of the interview room.
—Kuuuuuuuung—!
He had only tapped lightly with his staff, yet the entire room began to shake violently. The staff had been infused with immense mana.
Lee Hyunseung flinched. For a split second he imagined what would have happened if that staff had struck him instead.
‘I would have died. Definitely.’
If something carrying that much mana had hit him directly, his entire body would have been shattered in an instant. The blow just now had reminded him once again: there was no way he could defeat this man right now.
Yet Lee Hyunseung was beginning to feel suspicious about Yoo Hanbeom’s behavior.
‘Why does he keep repeating the exact same thing?’
He had already stated clearly—staking his life on it—that he had nothing to do with the stalking incident. But Yoo Hanbeom kept pressing him, as if he were waiting for a different answer.
Lee Hyunseung recalled the word the guild master had emphasized.
‘Responsibility. That was it.’
What mattered to Yoo Hanbeom wasn’t whether he had actually committed the stalking or not. He wasn’t focusing on that at all.
『Can you take responsibility for your own words? If you can, how exactly will you take it?』
It felt like that was what he was really asking.
Lee Hyunseung quickly opened his mouth.
“I can take responsibility for every word I’ve spoken here. If the investigation finds even the slightest connection between me and the stalking incident, I will gladly accept any retaliation the Artemis Guild chooses to carry out.”
He continued.
“However, the investigation must be free of any manipulation. Both Yoo Heeyeon and Guild Master Yoo Hanbeom’s wife, Madam Kim Heera, seem to hold a very negative view of me. As the guild master surely knows, if Madam Kim Heera abuses the power of Artemis at will, she could turn an innocent person guilty. Therefore, the investigation must be conducted fairly.”
—KWAaaaaang—!
“You bastard—! Watch your mouth! I gave you some slack and now you keep crawling up my ass—!”
Until now, Yoo Hanbeom had only been testing him with moderate pressure, but this time his reaction was genuinely furious. Although Lee Hyunseung had phrased it indirectly, the meaning was crystal clear.
『If your wife and daughter hadn’t pulled their dirty little tricks behind the scenes, I would have been proven innocent.』
—Kugugugugugugung—!
Yoo Hanbeom began drawing up every ounce of power in his body. But Lee Hyunseung didn’t panic. Instead, he spoke as if he had been waiting for this very moment.
“Guild Master Yoo Hanbeom, I apologize for my rude words just now. However, there is one thing I would like you to understand. For someone to claim as truth something that never happened and that the person never did is extremely unpleasant for the one being accused.”
Lee Hyunseung lowered his head slightly and continued.
“I did not stalk anyone. Yet because of Yoo Heeyeon’s accusation, I almost received a guilty verdict. Something I never did almost became fact. In reality, I was even suspended because of it. Even though there wasn’t enough evidence. I won’t comment on why President Choi Yi-seul handled the matter that way, but I will refrain from speaking further on that point.”
“And afterward, you came to me and pressed me again. You asked what I would do if I turned out guilty. You questioned me once more over something that had never happened and would never happen. Just as you felt displeased, I felt exactly the same.”
It was a perfectly logical argument. Since Yoo Hanbeom had just become angry over Lee Hyunseung’s own accusations and speculations, he had no logical way to refute it.
Yoo Hanbeom slowly lowered the mana he had been raising. Then he spoke to Lee Hyunseung.
“I got worked up like a fool, and now there’s no room left for me to refute your words. I apologize for showing such a pathetic side. And I apologize for interrogating you the way I did.”
‘…What the hell?’
Lee Hyunseung felt a chill rather than relief at the man’s reaction. A normal person might have thought that an apology meant the matter was resolved amicably. But Yoo Hanbeom was different. He never apologized to anyone lightly. That was why it was frightening. What on earth was he planning that he would apologize in advance?
Sure enough, Yoo Hanbeom continued with something even more spine-chilling.
“To be honest, I’ve looked into you quite thoroughly. I already thought you didn’t seem like the type to commit stalking. However.”
He lifted his staff.
“Words must be something you can take responsibility for yourself. Truth is important, but truth is not always the highest value.”
“To put it extremely, even if my wife and daughter didn’t interfere at all, I could still make you guilty right this instant. If I stepped in, I could turn you guilty without needing to pull any complicated strings. Actually, I wouldn’t even need to. I could just kill you here. But—!”
Yoo Hanbeom looked at Lee Hyunseung with clear interest.
“Whether the former or the latter, I will not commit such petty acts. If it is proven that you are innocent, I will give Yoo Heeyeon appropriate punishment. In return, you must take responsibility for your own words.”
—Huuuuuuuung—!
He began channeling mana into his staff.
“I despise people who act however they please without the ability to back it up. People call that recklessness. On the other hand, I favor those who act with the proper ability to match. People call that conviction. So far, I have never seen anyone with the ability to call their actions true conviction.”
—Piiiiiiing—!
The staff began to glow brighter and brighter.
“I’ve grown curious whether what you’re doing right now is recklessness or conviction.”
His low, heavy voice rang out.
“I will use a C-rank spell. I will also limit the output to about ten percent. Block it. If you can block it even once, I will consider your words conviction and treat you accordingly.”
The magic Yoo Hanbeom could wield went all the way up to S-rank. A C-rank spell was among the lowest in his arsenal. Limiting the output to ten percent might make some think it was worth trying.
‘Fuck… What kind of insane nonsense is this?’
But Lee Hyunseung, who had played Broad Academy Online countless times, knew the truth. The gap between himself and Yoo Hanbeom was like the difference between a random mob and a final boss. Even with that kind of debuff, blocking it would be difficult—perhaps even dodging it would be nearly impossible.
Yet.
—Huiiiiiiiing—!
Yoo Hanbeom had already raised his staff, making it clear there was no choice in the matter.
‘There’s no way out.’
He couldn’t run from the interview room, nor was there any other way to resolve this situation. If Yoo Hanbeom changed his mind and fired a B-rank spell instead, he really might die.
‘Damn it…’
After running several simulations in his head, Lee Hyunseung realized this was his only option and raised his gun.
At that moment.
You have entered combat with an enemy possessing a severe level gap.
As a special reward, your Gunslinger class proficiency has increased slightly.
The Legendary Gunslinger class proficiency has reached 100%.
The Gunslinger class level has risen to 2.
You have reached Gunslinger Class Level 2.
As a reward, a special skill has been granted.
[B] Amplification — Temporarily increases the power of all skills upon activation. The amount of increase is affected by class grade and class level.
Lee Hyunseung, who had read the floating message windows, smirked.
‘With this, it might actually be doable.’
He quickly activated the skill.
Amplification
Temporarily increases the power of all skills.
Lee Hyunseung aimed the muzzle of his gun at Yoo Hanbeom and spoke in a low voice.
“If I successfully defend against your attack, you must keep your word about treating me accordingly.”
Yoo Hanbeom answered.
“I swear on my honor. If you manage to defend against it properly, I will give you the treatment you deserve.”
—Click.
Without another word, Lee Hyunseung loaded his gun.
And then.
The spell Yoo Hanbeom fired began to rush forward, swirling like a dragon.
Lightning
—Pazzzzzzzzzzt—!
At that instant, Lee Hyunseung’s bullet was fired with perfect accuracy at Yoo Hanbeom’s spell.
—Taaaaaaaang—!
Last Bullet
Consumes all currently loaded bullets to fire one powerful shot.
Due to the effect of Amplification, the power of Last Bullet has increased.
Thanks to the Legendary-grade Gunslinger trait correction, additional damage has been applied.