Chapter 139
Chapter 139
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Translator: Ryuma
Chapter: 139
Chapter Title: Temporary Commander
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[You have become the temporary commander.]
[You can now command the users belonging to the expeditionary force.]
[Your achievements as a commander will not be included in your party's contribution score and will be calculated separately.]
A heavy responsibility thrust upon him out of nowhere!
Lee Shin was a bit dazed, but he accepted it.
Rejecting it would cause the affinity he had worked so hard to raise to plummet.
Besides, there was no reason to refuse a position of authority.
“W-Wow!”
“Amazing! What is this?!”
His party members were in an uproar!
From Lee Shin's perspective, who was used to all sorts of strange occurrences, this wasn't even particularly unusual, but it was understandable that they, being ordinary users, would find it fascinating.
“Does this not normally happen?”
Lee Shin asked.
“It doesn’t, right?”
“You said you’ve done this quest many times. But this has never happened before?”
“Of course not. I've never even seen them speak cordially with an adventurer.”
“That’s why we’re so amazed right now. So this kind of thing happens if your subjugation count is high…”
The party members marveled.
Of course, their assumption that this happened simply because of a high subjugation count was a misunderstanding.
This was because NPCs with a high sense of pride, like knights or nobles, generally had an underlying disdain for those of adventurer origin.
No matter how many subjugations Lee Shin recorded, if he couldn't solve this problem, the impression of him would be limited to, at best, 'an adventurer who's decent with a sword.'
But a variable had occurred as the titles and job skills Lee Shin had accumulated took effect!
With the biased lens of 'adventurer' removed, Walter could acknowledge Lee Shin without any hesitation.
Thanks to that, he had received this special quest.
‘It’s a good thing, but…’
It was a fortunate turn of events for Lee Shin!
Of course, there was a chance of failure, but even so, there would be no real loss.
Only the individual rewards would disappear; the party-based rewards would remain.
However.
There was one thing he had to be mindful of.
‘…….’
Lee Shin’s gaze flickered past his boisterous party members.
Then he quickly turned his head back.
“What is it?”
The party leader asked.
“Pardon?”
“You suddenly looked behind me. Is there something there?”
“No. Nothing at all.”
“……?”
The party leader tilted his head, apparently not sensing anything unusual.
But Lee Shin was different.
He was an expert at discerning the gazes of others.
‘…They’re watching.’
Lee Shin sensed that the gazes of the other users had changed.
* * *
-Be careful.
“!”
Lee Shin’s whisper.
Jeong Yu-ra, who had flinched and shuddered, turned her head.
Her expression read, ‘Why are you whispering when you’re right next to me?’
“What… no.”
But she quickly swallowed her words, as if she had realized something.
These things happened often when she was with Lee Shin, so she was getting used to it.
She calmly replied in a whisper as well.
-About what?
-Someone might be targeting us.
-……This is pretty baffling, but first, why? No, who?
Jeong Yu-ra asked, having no one in mind.
This time, he hadn’t killed anyone, hadn’t approached anyone while cross-dressing, and hadn’t interfered with anyone else’s hunt.
Unlike usual, he was proceeding with the quest in a very normal manner.
‘…So why?’
She asked, puzzled.
-We haven’t done anything this time.
-…….
But Lee Shin didn't answer!
At that, Jeong Yu-ra felt a chill run down her spine.
‘Don’t tell me…!?’
Did he do something in that short amount of time?!
No, but I was watching him the whole time… right?
Logically, there shouldn't have been any opportunity for him to cause trouble.
…But Lee Shin often did things that casually defied common sense, so she asked cautiously.
-You haven’t…… right?
-…….
-You haven’t, have you?
-…….
-…Hey! Why are you making me so anxious!? You didn’t do anything…!
-I didn’t do anything.
-Phew…….
-Well, the situation just kind of turned out that way.
Generally, most online game users are prone to jealousy.
Even with your closest friend, your stomach churns when they succeed at a 1% enhancement, and you get twisted up inside when a user of a similar level obtains a Hero-grade class.
This was only natural.
Most in-game content, like ranking systems and arenas, encouraged competition among users.
Furthermore, the treatment one received from other users and even NPCs varied depending on their growth and class, making it inevitable for people to compare their specs with others.
This was the reason for the unsettling feeling Lee Shin had.
Things were going so well that his experience was telling him, ‘I’m going to get stabbed in the back for this, aren't I?’
Especially in a group quest like this, where the total amount of rewards was fixed, the envy other users felt when the rewards were concentrated on one person was bound to grow.
-So you think they’ll try to PK us?
-Yeah.
-Hmm…….
However, even after hearing Lee Shin’s explanation, Jeong Yu-ra was noncommittal.
‘PK is a bit…….’
Isn’t that taking it too far?
It’s not like this subjugation quest is a one-day event. Normally, people would just say they’re envious and move on…….
“……Not.”
“?”
Not everyone in the world is like you!
…The words rose to the tip of her tongue, but Jeong Yu-ra managed to hold them back.
-They… might not, right?
-What?
-They just saw your skills. Wouldn't they be careful on their own?
-That's not it.
-It’s not? Why?
-Usually, people don't get it until they've been hit themselves.
It was an answer born from experience.
In fact, many rankers had initially not avoided Lee Shin, thinking, ‘Maybe it’ll be different for me?’ and every single one of them had met a nasty end.
Of course, it was possible that nothing would happen, just as Jeong Yu-ra predicted, but…
-Just be aware of it.
-Got it.
* * *
“Halt! A monster settlement has been spotted ahead!”
The next settlement was discovered not long after they had started moving.
Commander Walter briefly stopped the expeditionary force and looked at Lee Shin.
“They say it’s a similar number to before. Do you need assistance?”
“It’s fine. We adventurers are more than enough for that number.”
“……Hmm, is that so?”
Walter replied nonchalantly.
But from the corner of his mouth curling up into a smirk, one could tell he was pleased with Lee Shin’s answer.
“…Then I shall leave it to you. Now, produce results worthy of your words.”
“Understood.”
Lee Shin returned to the users.
His party members asked.
“What did he say?”
“He said he’d give us a chance to handle it on our own… Come over here for a moment.”
“Ah, yes.”
Lee Shin looked down from the hill.
The orcs were quiet, seemingly unaware of the expeditionary force’s presence.
‘It would be best to start with an ambush.’
Considering their forces, they would likely win even in a straight fight, but that wouldn’t increase his commander’s achievements.
He had to fight as efficiently and strategically as possible for his achievements to rise.
“Everyone, gather around.”
Lee Shin called the users together.
He then assigned detailed roles according to their respective classes.
“To start…”
The gist of it was simple.
After an opening attack from the mages, the tank-class users would move in and draw the attention of the disoriented orcs.
Then, the melee dealers would exploit the openings and pour in damage.
“Umm…”
Instructions so simple they could hardly be called a strategy.
Someone raised their hand and asked.
“…Is that all?”
“Yes.”
This was better for now.
Even if he gave more specific instructions, how effective would they be for a group of people working together for the first time today?
In a quest with a ranking competition, it was obvious that they would eventually ignore his commands and prioritize their own and their party's scores.
Therefore, simply assigning roles like this might actually lead to better command.
‘…That’s assuming they’d follow my orders in the first place, though.’
It was the only source of anxiety.
Jeong Yu-ra seemed optimistic, but if Lee Shin’s prediction was correct, someone would definitely make a move to PK him.
It was true that Lee Shin had shown an overwhelming performance in the previous subjugation, but on the other hand, the skills of the rest of his party members were just average.
‘They’ll probably think that as long as they can take me down, whether by overwhelming me with numbers or through an ambush, it’ll be fine.’
…Of course, that wouldn’t work, but that was something they wouldn’t realize until they faced him directly.
‘Well, no need to think about it right now.’
Lee Shin’s thoughts spiraled, but he soon shook off the idle musings.
If someone were to cause trouble, it would likely be near the end of the subjugation quest.
Starting a PK among the expeditionary force right at the beginning would be mutual suicide.
However.
“…You, don’t join the battle from now on. Just keep an eye on her.”
“Her, as in who…”
“Jeong Yu-ra.”
“Ah, understood.”
After having Gillaim make the minimum preparations.
Lee Shin stood before the users.
“Warriors, prepare to charge. Mages, begin chanting.”
Whoom, whoom, whoom!
At Lee Shin’s command, the mages’ magic circles began to glow one by one.
Given the number of people, there were quite a lot of them.
And on top of that,
*Tiring.*
<Cold-hearted Commander>
Your ruthlessness on the battlefield will instill trust in your allies and fear in your enemies.
You now exude a cold charisma, receiving beneficial effects when commanding large-scale forces.
‘Hm?’
Lee Shin’s commander buff.
It was a title he had obtained during the territory war.
[Due to your title's effect, all raid members' health is increased by 10%.]
[Additionally, mages' attacks are granted a chance to land a critical hit.]
“Oh?”
“What’s this?”
A pretty nifty buff!
The users let out gasps of admiration.
A moment later, the mages who had finished chanting unleashed their attacks.
BOOM! BOOM! BOOM! BOOM!!!
A massive explosion.
Immediately after, the screams of the orcs caught in the blast echoed up the hill.
“Kieeeek?!”
“Chwik!? A-Ambush!!”
[Massive Explosion!]
[Under your command, you have succeeded in a perfect ambush, dealing a severe blow to the orc horde.]
[The orc horde falls into a state of confusion!]
The orcs scrambled in chaos.
Lee Shin immediately issued the next command.
“Warriors, charge!”
“Waaaaaah!”
“Mages, prepare your second volley! The rest of the melee dealers, stand by!”
Around the time the warriors clashed with the orc horde, the mages’ second magical bombardment rained down.
Thanks to this, the melee dealers were able to dive in and wreak havoc among the completely disoriented orcs.
Lee Shin’s commands were concise.
This made them easy for everyone to follow, and there was no sense of rejection from being commanded by a fellow user.
As a result, the outcome naturally followed.
[You have subjugated the orc settlement.]
[You have achieved a great victory!]
[Your fame increases.]
[You have acquired experience points.]
[Commander’s achievements…]
[Your party has…]
[…]
[…]
As they claimed victory, messages scrolled up one after another!
This was the case for the next subjugation, and the one after that.
Lee Shin continued to annihilate every monster settlement they encountered, leveraging a suitable level of command and his own transcendent skills.
“What is the outcome?”
“We were victorious.”
“Hahaha! Excellent, as expected!”
Thanks to this, Walter beamed, his smile stretching from ear to ear!
Even the other users’ expressions weren’t bad.
Separate from the competition for contribution points, they had started to enjoy the situation itself, thanks to the continuous landslide victories.
“……”
……However, not everyone was smiling.
* * *
“What’s our rank?”
“Second.”
“……Tsk.”
A user who clicked his tongue quietly turned his head.
At the end of his gaze was Lee Shin.
The user muttered.
“…It’s because of him, right?”
“Probably. Who else could it be?”
Just as he said, Lee Shin’s hunting speed was beyond comparison.
He would start relatively slowly, but as if he had some special skill, he would suddenly be unleashing explosive firepower.
It was a speed the other users couldn’t even dream of matching.
“Damn it……”
The user swore under his breath.
The situation, where first place would have been guaranteed if not for Lee Shin, left a bitter taste in his mouth.
If only he wasn't here.
If only he wasn't here.
If only he…
“……Should I kill him?”