Chapter 129
Chapter 129
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Translator: Ryuma
Chapter: 129
Chapter Title: Cornered
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“What? An intruder?!”
The opponent started at Lee Shin’s shout.
Gillaim was just as surprised.
He approached Lee Shin, muttering in utter bewilderment.
“What are you suddenly talking about… Ah!”
Fortunately, Gillaim was quite perceptive.
He figured out what Lee Shin wanted him to do.
*You’re the sacrifice!*
It was a harsh command for the steadfast knight who had always been loyal, but…
*Nod.*
“…”
Gillaim readily accepted.
His loyalty to Lee Shin was exceptionally high, and practically speaking, it was better for one of them to escape than for both to be pursued.
He had to get Lee Shin out of there so he could go after the Count.
“Wait, what is this situation…”
The user muttered, dazed.
He still hadn't grasped what was happening.
Before he could come to his senses, Gillaim made his move.
“Tch, I’ve been discovered?!”
“!”
“Dammit, to think I’d be caught before I could even rob the safe…!”
He shouted, scowling as if genuinely frustrated.
Then, without a backward glance, he began to flee.
*Tap, tap, tap, tap!*
“Huh!? Wait…!?”
The user was completely flustered.
What…
What was going on?
As the player stood there in confusion, Lee Shin seized the opportunity Gillaim had created.
He urged him on before he could snap out of it.
“What are you doing!”
“Huh?”
“Go after him! Right now!”
“Oh? Ah, okay!”
“I’ll call for backup! Be careful! That guy seems to be at least Ranker-level!”
“Got it! …Wait a second, who are you, really…?”
“Is that important right now? Do you want your Contribution Points docked for failing to catch one intruder? Go! Are you going to take the blame if he gets away?”
“…Ah, no. Okay. Sorry. I’m going!”
*Whoosh!*
Prompted by Lee Shin, the user’s expression changed, and he took off after Gillaim.
Lee Shin watched the user’s back until he was completely out of sight, then let out a sigh of relief.
‘Somehow, that worked.’
It was a good thing Gillaim had caught on so quickly.
If not for Gillaim’s acting, it wouldn’t have been strange if they had both been exposed as intruders on the spot.
“…Hoo.”
After a short sigh, Lee Shin slowly assessed the situation.
First, why was a user of that level still in the mansion during an important quest personally issued by the lord?
‘Was my information lacking?’
Although Jeong Yu-ra had brought him a lot of information, her position meant she couldn't possibly know everything.
After all, she was in the lowest-ranking party and was the last to join.
It seemed she had tried to tell him as much as she could, but a lack of certain key pieces of information was an inevitable problem.
‘…It can’t be helped.’
The situation had become a headache, but what was done was done.
Lee Shin quickly considered what he should do next.
First, there was the matter of Gillaim.
He wasn't particularly worried about that front.
‘He’ll… probably survive on his own.’
The remaining users seemed quite strong, but so was Gillaim.
He didn't have to win a fight against his pursuers, just escape safely, which should be easily achievable with his skills.
‘The problem is me.’
Although he had used Gillaim as a decoy to shake off the user, it was only a matter of time before that user came to his senses and realized there was another intruder.
A few dozen minutes at best.
It was unlikely he could remain undetected for more than an hour.
The user would immediately alert everyone in the mansion to the presence of an intruder, and a pursuit would begin.
And it would be practically impossible for Lee Shin to shake off all those pursuers alone.
Fighting back was, of course, even more difficult.
‘…’
…*Should I pull out?*
That was his first thought.
Whether the opponent had sensed something suspicious or it was just a coincidence, things had become very complicated.
Normally, the logical decision would be to focus on escaping safely and wait for the next opportunity.
However.
‘…No.’
Lee Shin shook his head.
A moment's thought told him it was impossible.
The plan to sacrifice Arthur instead of Kaka wouldn't work a second time, and security around the mansion would be much tighter after a failed infiltration attempt.
It was highly likely that even getting over the wall would become impossible.
In other words, despite the complications, this was still his most certain chance.
‘I guess I have no choice.’
He had to press on as quickly as possible.
And to do that, he had to change a few things.
Originally, he had planned to avoid combat as much as possible for safety, but now, if he tried to evade every encounter, he might run out of time.
Therefore.
‘I’ll just have to kill them.’
If he ran into someone, he would kill them.
It would be quite troublesome if a high-level user he couldn't handle appeared, but…
For now, he decided to leave that part to luck.
He didn't have the luxury of planning for every single possibility right now.
Having made his decision, Lee Shin immediately set off.
His pace was much faster than before due to the lack of time.
Fortunately, there were few soldiers in sight.
However, a crisis soon arrived.
“Hm? Who’s there?”
“!”
Once again, a voice came from around the corner.
The fact that they had sensed his presence through his stealth meant they were likely of a very high level, just like the one he had encountered before.
“…”
*Will my attack even work?*
He didn't know, but Lee Shin had no other choice.
Taking a short, deep breath, Lee Shin pressed himself flat against the wall and drew his sword.
Then, mimicking the voice of the user he had just met as best he could, he said.
“Shh. It’s me.”
“Huh?”
“What intruder? There wasn’t even a petty thief. I got bored on watch and came over.”
“Oh, it’s you? …Yeah, you’re right. Who in their right mind would break into the lord’s castle? You’d have to be crazy.”
His voice was slightly different, but his natural acting was convincing enough that the opponent was momentarily deceived.
Seizing that brief opening, Lee Shin rounded the corner in a flash and clamped a hand over the opponent's mouth.
“But your voice sounds a little hoarse… Mmph!!?!?”
Then, *slam!*
He shoved the opponent against the wall.
-Summon Phantom Beast.
*Swish!*
“Hngh!!?!?!?”
After binding the opponent’s entire body with tentacles.
[The First Secret Sword is activated.]
[Using Righteous Murder. Please designate the wicked.]
[The skill <Weakness Detection> finds the opponent’s weakness.]
[The tentacle’s poison reduces the opponent’s resistance…]
He activated every damage-related skill he could.
Before the opponent could even process what was happening, Lee Shin began stabbing him repeatedly in the abdomen.
This entire sequence happened in an instant.
*Stab!*
*Stab, stab, stab, stab!!*
[A critical hit has landed.]
[A critical hit has landed.]
[A critical hit has landed.]
[You have attacked the same area consecutively! A powerful critical hit lands, dealing additional damage!]
“Ugh, ughhhh!?!”
“…”
“Ughhhhhh!!!!!”
The opponent struggled frantically!
He couldn't make sense of it.
‘…What is this!’
In the blink of an eye, black tentacles had wrapped around his entire body.
That alone was terrifying enough to make his hair stand on end, but it wasn't over.
*Stab! Stab, stab, stab, stab!*
This went beyond grotesque.
No, it was horrifying.
He knew this was a game, so he felt no pain and was confident he could counterattack using his level advantage, but…
‘…Why.’
His body wouldn't move.
He was terrified.
The killing intent in his attacker’s eyes was so palpable that he forgot he was in a game world; it felt as if he were being attacked in real life.
As a result.
“Ugh…!”
*Slice!*
He died without putting up a fight.
He didn't even have time to call for help from his comrades.
Lee Shin exhaled.
“…Hoo.”
[You have defeated the opponent.]
[Your notoriety increases.]
[You have killed an opponent more than 50 levels higher than you!]
[This is a great achievement. You have acquired the title, <Giant Slayer>.]
<Giant Slayer>
Your height may differ from a giant's, but the size of your heart is by no means inferior.
A warrior with a large and bold heart will not be easily broken in battle against the strong.
All stats increase when facing a stronger enemy.
Additionally, resistance to status effects increases.
The greater the disparity in strength, the larger the increase.
“!!”
Lee Shin’s eyes widened.
A 50-level difference!
His current level was 211, which meant his opponent was at least level 261. That was high enough to be in the top 1%, considered a semi-Ranker.
That made it even more puzzling.
‘…But why did he just die like that?’
Regardless of class, it was impossible for someone at that level not to have a single survival skill.
Because of the level difference, Lee Shin hadn't killed him instantly, so there had been plenty of time to react.
Yet, the opponent had died helplessly without putting up any meaningful resistance.
‘…Was he just a high-level novice?’
Occasionally, there were players who had high levels but were weak in the arena.
This happened to those who did nothing but grind monsters or those who had simply spent a lot of time in the game but lacked pure skill.
‘That must have been it.’
Lee Shin came to his own conclusion.
…Of course, the dead user would have been furious to hear that, but there was no way for Lee Shin to know.
After hiding the dead user’s avatar, Lee Shin continued on his way.
* * *
Although Lee Shin had safely overcome the crisis, his trials were just beginning.
The others were starting to notice the intruder’s presence, and the pursuit had begun.
-Hey? There’s a dead person here!
-He couldn’t have gone far!
-You guys search the area! I’ll call for help and alert the others!
“!”
The systematically organized cordon closed in on Lee Shin in an instant.
“Over here too… huh?”
“!”
He came face to face with an opponent who had run in from the opposite direction.
“Here…!”
-Paralysis Needle.
“…Ugh!”
Lee Shin calmly paralyzed the opponent and finished him off before he could recover.
[…A fatal blow!]
[You have defeated the opponent.]
[Your notoriety increases.]
It was the perfect response.
It was a testament to how much faster Lee Shin’s decision-making was compared to others.
…But despite that, he soon reached his limit.
It wasn't because Lee Shin had made a mistake or missed something.
It was simply because users he was no match for at his current level began to appear.
“Huh? …Found him!”
“!”
[<Weakness Detection> searches for the opponent’s weakness.]
[Detection failed!]
[Warning. The opponent’s level is extremely high!]
“!!!”
Lee Shin’s eyes widened.
He hadn't received a message like that even against an opponent over 50 levels higher.
This meant the level gap with his current opponent was far greater.
In other words.
‘…A Ranker!’
A being in the top 1%.
The opponent was a Ranker.
They were people Lee Shin could not defeat—‘yet’.
“…Got… you!”
“Hurry over!”
In the end, Lee Shin was caught.
He clicked his tongue internally.
‘…Tsk.’
“Hah, hah… You should have just surrendered. You really made us work for it.”
“…”
“Wait, what? You’re a user?”
“…”
Instead of answering, Lee Shin scanned his surroundings.
Four or five users were already guarding him, and more were closing in from all sides.
Lee Shin thought to himself.
‘Should I just die?’
He had been looking for even the slightest chance of escape, but he could see that there was truly no way out.
So, he thought it might be better to take at least one of them down with him rather than be captured.
But just then.
Someone caught his eye.
It was a user Lee Shin knew well.
“……?”
It was Grania.
She was standing there, staring blankly at Lee Shin.
She would occasionally blink and shake her head, muttering that it couldn't be.
“!”
He was certain.
She had sensed something.
Seeing her reaction, Lee Shin decided to bet on that slim possibility.
*Shnk.*
He lowered his sword.
Slowly raising both hands to show he had no intention of attacking.
“…You.”
Lee Shin slowly approached Grania and spoke in a near whisper.
“You know me, right?”