Owner of the Holy Sword (2)
It was Merlin.
He must have retreated just out of the concentrated fire's angle after binding Darius. The moment Darius died, he cast the mage's signature mobility skill, Blink, rocketing far ahead of me.
"No!"
I couldn't help but shout, desperate at the thought of Merlin snatching it first. And in that instant, I made the sharpest judgment call of my life. It was proof that my twenty years of gaming weren't entirely wasted.
Quick Movements!
I activated Quick Movements, the thief class's iconic buff for boosting attack and movement speed.
Shadow Step!
Right after, I Shadow Stepped straight at the back of Merlin's head, who was just a couple steps from the holy sword.
Merlin, who'd been dozens of meters ahead, whipped around mid-stride when I teleported right behind him, sensing something off. It was like every drop of adrenaline in my body surged at once—miraculously, I could see his every move in slow motion, crystal clear.
But unlike him, I hurled myself at the drop without hesitation. That choice changed my life forever.
Thanks to the movement speed buff, my hand touched the holy sword first—by a hair's breadth.
Clink!
And a belated clink!
By the time I snatched the holy sword in that split-second gap, Merlin arrived and grabbed the last remaining drop: a Town Return Scroll.
Watching his slack-jawed shout form the words, I felt the world snap back to normal speed.
"Whaaat the fuuuck? Where the hell did this asshole come from?! Do you even know what you just fucking grabbed?!"
I didn't have time to listen to his bellowing. As my perception normalized, I instantly knew what I had to do.
"It's the holy sword, you dumb fuck! Log out!!"
Using only a self-buff and mobility skill—no attacks—I successfully logged out.
* * *
"Hah! Hah!"
I burst from the capsule like I was fleeing, clutching my pounding chest. My whole body was drenched in sweat from the tension.
"What the hell did I just do? What did I grab? This can't be a dream, right?!"
The feel of yanking the sword from the ground was still vivid in my grip. Even outside the capsule, Merlin's roar echoed dully in my ears.
A dream? No way.
"Whoa, if I hadn't used Shadow Step instead of Reincarnation, I never would've gotten it. No chance. Thinking to pop the movement buff in that razor-thin moment... Fucking genius, Kang Jihwan! Good job!"
Maybe it was fate—right before the coronation, I'd nearly lost an item the same way.
Shaking off the thought, I remembered the live broadcast was still going and hurriedly flipped on the TV.
Beep!
The announcers, revived from death, were back at it with heated voices.
I'd expected the castle to turn into chaos after logging out, but one thing I hadn't foreseen: my character ID broadcast nationwide.
Magnum03.
Replay after replay showed the masked thief—me—snatching the holy sword, my ID glaring above his head.
"Ah... right. This was live. This is bad."
Tayen had no recording in normal gameplay, but exceptions existed—like pre-approved broadcaster footage, with restrictions.
Even without the broadcast, word would've spread fast with so many witnesses. But this was huge; anxiety gnawed at me.
"No one can trace my real info, right? I've soloed forever! Only a few know I'm Magnum anyway."
Thinking it over, not a few—one. My friend, Ryu Hyunjung!
Ring ring ring!
This guy's no saint either. The second he crossed my mind, his name lit up my phone.
Hearing his excited voice calmed my nerves a bit.
* * *
"You here?"
"You bastard! Watched the replay on my phone the whole way—how'd you think to Shadow Step right as he Blinked? 0.1 seconds late and you'd be screwed. Anyway, dude, your life's set now!"
The second I opened my apartment door, Hyunjung locked me in a headlock, hamming it up.
He was the first gaming buddy I'd made since college—the hardcore gamer I'd met at a PC bang with classmates. We'd bonded over mutual awe at each other's skills; our playstyles and levels matched perfectly.
Turns out he was a fellow dropout brainiac, stuck at a local private uni near home like me, too glued to games for Seoul schools. Difference: he loved PC games across the board, but had mained Titan Age since launch.
That's why he rarely crossed paths in Tayen—playing with his old guild. His current one, Saint, had folks he'd known over a decade. Impressive bonds.
"Seriously, what happened? You're not the type to crash the coronation—why were you there? And how'd you snag the holy sword outta nowhere? Insider info?"
"Insider? I solo. Listen..."
I recounted everything from waking up.
"Il Do Yang Dan, that prick... Sticks to Darius for clout, but pulls all the thug shit solo? Good riddance! Snagging Darius's sword? Karma. If Yang Dan hadn't tried stealing your quest item, you wouldn't have the holy sword."
"Right? I was so pissed earlier—might've smashed my capsule if I hadn't logged out. Wonder if Darius's is intact? Kek, poor guy. Drew the holy sword by luck and..."
"Here you go again with the soft heart. Didn't you know Yang Dan and Darius are cousins IRL? And he wouldn't even hear you out. You earned this. Hearing it all... damn, satisfying snag!"
"Yeah? But it wasn't a steal—just picking up ownerless gear off the ground!"
"Dude! Even after grabbing the holy sword? Everyone saw Darius draw it—what owner?"
"Whoever draws it, drop on death means no owner. If it was bad manners or illegal, GMs would've messaged by now. Won't happen... Wanna bet?"
Hacking's impossible in VR, but I'd heard GMs intervene privately for scams. This? Purely legit by game rules.
"Jihwan, speaking of—check the holy sword specs. When you logging back?"
"Maintenance now—over an hour wait."
"Options killing me. PC version only dropped 3 of 7 divine weapons before shutdown—brokenly OP! And now in Tayen, you got one... Right, you haven't seen 'em? Logged out sharp."
"Nope, kek. Darius died, Merlin dove—fire paused, lucky break. 0.5 seconds more? Attacked, no logout. Insane luck!"
"Just that? Logout into maintenance? Without it, Taesung would've camped you for weeks."
"...True."
Maintenance resets mob respawns. To avoid surprise deaths, login post-check shifts to nearest safe zone.
100% drop on death? They'd have infinite camped till next check.
"Hyunjung, how much you think this goes for?"
"Huh? Selling the sword?"
"You think I'd use it? This price tag? Sell, obviously!"
"I'd use it... When else you wielding something like this? But yeah, selling's smart. Normal choice."
"Your balls huge? 100% drop item—how you using it? Immortal? Anyway... 1 bil? 2 bil? Holy sword—easy."
A bit hyped—like lotto jackpot—I tossed out figures.
"Joking? Level 200 solo scrub, you don't know Titan Chronicles meta. Check specs, but first divine weapon? Minimum 10 bil."
"What? 10 bil?"