Chapter 7
Chapter 7
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Translator: Ryuma
Chapter: 7
Chapter Title: The Queen Bee
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“Will you challenge the next trial right away?”
“Yes.”
“Indeed…!”
[Kilgeo is impressed by your enthusiasm.]
[Your affinity has…]
‘…What the.’
Was affinity always this easy to raise?
Lee Shin was baffled; Kilgeo's affinity seemed to rise as easily as breathing.
Perhaps because he was a former assassin, it felt like his affinity rose faster the higher Lee Shin's notoriety became.
“For this trial, we'll have to move.”
Kilgeo donned a black robe and walked ahead.
Lee Shin followed behind him and asked.
“Aren't I supposed to be catching thieves?”
“Hm? No. I understand your eagerness to stain your sword with human blood, but…”
‘I shouldn't have asked.’
“...To become a great assassin, one must be proficient in many areas. This time, you'll be heading out of the city to face mutated beasts.”
Kilgeo's Trial (3/7)
• Hunt Low-Grade Mutated Beasts: 0/30
[A marker has been placed on your map.]
* * *
Lee Shin followed Kilgeo out of the city.
A short while later, they arrived at a sprawling forest.
A forest stained with a faint, dark corruption.
[You have arrived at the Ibarada Forest!]
[The corruption deepens the closer you get to the heart of the forest, and stronger monsters will appear. Please be careful.]
“There's no time limit. Come find me again once you've completed the trial.”
“Understood.”
After Kilgeo left, Lee Shin immediately set out to find the mutated beasts.
‘Someone's here.’
But unlike the city, where there were no users to be seen, he could spot a few other players here.
Unlike Lee Shin, these were users who had started in other regions, leveled up, and then moved to Eteun later.
Hunting mutated beasts here wouldn't raise one's notoriety.
They were simply here because they'd found a good hunting ground!
‘No need to run into them.’
Lee Shin watched them for a moment before changing his direction.
There was plenty of prey in the forest anyway, so it was best to avoid them during his quest.
If they fought over a kill and a fight broke out, he'd have to kill them again (...), and he didn't have any disguise tools yet.
It could become a hassle later.
Lee Shin avoided the occasional players he saw and ventured deeper into the forest.
Before long, he was able to find a mutated beast.
A wolf, sleeping against a blackened tree in the distance.
[Mutated Wolf.]
‘Stealth.’
Lee Shin immediately used Stealth and approached cautiously.
He got right up to it and launched a perfect surprise attack.
An attack aimed precisely between the opponent's eyes!
[A powerful critical hit has landed!]
A powerful critical hit was a given. However, the wolf was stronger than he'd imagined.
[Damage is halved by the opponent's tough hide.]
[Damage is halved by the opponent's powerful aura.]
“……!!”
Lee Shin's eyes widened.
Damage halved by a powerful aura.
The wording was vague, but from his experience in Avala Online 1, Lee Shin knew exactly what it meant.
This type of message usually appeared when facing an enemy with a drastic level difference.
In other words.
The opponent's level was 'at least' in the 40s.
It might even be close to 50.
Even if there was no time limit, he was supposed to hunt *this*...?
‘This crazy…!’
Lee Shin cursed Kilgeo inwardly.
And then.
[The Mutated Wolf becomes enraged!]
The wolf let out a monstrous roar.
Its body quickly turned red as it leaped toward Lee Shin, swinging its forepaw.
Despite his shock, Lee Shin reacted perfectly and brought his sword up to block.
*Clang!!!*
“…!!!”
An ominous sound echoed.
Then, a series of messages popped up.
[You failed to block perfectly.]
[Your weapon's durability has decreased.]
[You are overwhelmed by the opponent's aura! All stats are slightly decreased.]
“Grrroooowwwl!!!”
[The Mutated Wolf lets out an enraged roar.]
[The Mutated Wolf recovers HP.]
Lee Shin's HP plummeted.
Meanwhile, the wolf was rapidly regenerating.
“……!”
With this single exchange, Lee Shin realized.
At his current level, he could never defeat this thing alone.
Seeing its regeneration speed, the damage from a single person was overwhelmingly insufficient.
‘Escape!’
[Consumes MP while active.]
Lee Shin fled without looking back. Then, he went to find the players he had passed earlier.
‘…Tsk.’
He hated the idea, but to complete the quest, he had no choice but to form a party.
* * *
Back in Avala Online 1.
Lee Shin rarely ever partied up.
He had aimed for solo play from the start, and that tendency grew even stronger after he became a plunderer.
But that didn't mean he was incapable of party play.
Lee Shin's mindset was always the same.
‘If I have to, I'll do it.’
I just don't do it because I don't like it.
It might sound arrogant, but from an objective standpoint, his thinking was correct.
He only avoided it because it didn't suit his disposition; if necessary, he could party play anytime.
Of course, their synergy might be off, but what always mattered most was fundamental skill.
If you had the basic skills, you could quickly adapt to your role.
‘I hate to do it... but I have no choice.’
Lee Shin licked his lips and headed toward the other players.
He figured he could just quickly kill 30 of them and then leave the party.
“Excuse me.”
“Yes?”
“Want to party up?”
A natural smile was plastered on Lee Shin's face.
The same affable expression he usually showed his teachers or his parents' acquaintances!
Usually, when Lee Shin approached someone like this, they rarely refused.
However, there was a problem Lee Shin hadn't considered.
“Uh…”
“…?”
This was Eteun.
Whether they'd been here from the start or arrived later, these were users who had come to the kingdom of Eteun!
There was no way such people would be the friendly type.
The players scanned Lee Shin's equipment.
Then they muttered among themselves.
“He looks low-level.”
“Yeah. That's beginner gear.”
“We don't take noobs. Go away.”
“……!!”
His party invitation was flatly rejected!
It was an unexpected situation, but Lee Shin didn't panic and went to find another party.
But finding a party wasn't as easy as he'd thought.
“Excuse me…”
“What's your level?”
“……”
The result: rejected all 17 times!
Only then did Lee Shin realize that with his current specs, partying up was pretty much impossible.
These weren't users who had gathered to enjoy party play in the first place.
They were just players of similar levels who had temporarily grouped up because their interests aligned.
“Hey.”
“Ugh, it's him again. I told you to go away, didn't I? Come back when you've leveled up.”
“……”
Lee Shin memorized the faces of the players who'd said that and turned away.
The urge to PK was bubbling up, but now wasn't the time.
‘What should I do?’
Lee Shin's mind raced.
How could he get into a party?
What did he need to get into a party?
To be more precise, how could a low-level, un-advanced beginner get into a party?
‘…….’
It seemed like a difficult problem, but surprisingly, the answer came quickly.
After all, Lee Shin was a veteran MMORPG player.
He had seen exceptions time and time again.
‘…Alright.’
Lee Shin logged out for the time being.
Then, he searched the internet for the method he had just thought of.
If they won't accept me because my level is low.
‘How to cross-dress.’
He was planning to become a queen bee.
* * *
Queen bee.
In online games, it's a term used to describe a female player who leads around numerous followers.
Lee Shin had seen many such players while playing Avala Online 1.
They usually had more than their skills warranted, making them excellent PK targets.
There were also additional bounties that came with them.
‘*Sob*! He killed me!’
‘What?! I'll get revenge…’
‘Me too…’
……
‘…Aaaargh!!’
‘H-Help me!’
‘…….’
Lee Shin would take down one queen bee and then take down the numerous worker bees that came with her.
He'd kill them again and again, until they had nothing left to drop.
The ending was always the same.
‘*Sob*! Please stop!’
‘We even disbanded the party…!’
The once-harmonious party would be scattered to the winds.
Then, the queen bee from the broken party would go find a new hive.
And following the same steps as before, she would slowly take control of the party from within.
In that case, the party would, with high probability, meet the same end as the last one.
‘*Sob*! He killed m…’
‘…….’
This was why the term 'queen bee' had such a negative connotation.
But Lee Shin didn't think it was wrong.
‘It's the fault of the one who got tricked.’
Why would you trust someone you met in a game enough to give them your heart and soul?
They had ulterior motives outside the game to begin with, which is why they suffered the consequences.
In other words, they reaped what they sowed.
Regardless of what others thought, Lee Shin's opinion on the matter was firm.
This was also why he had no hesitation about what he was about to do.
It wasn't particularly wrong!
If you get tricked, it's your own damn fault.
Of course, others would have a lot to say if they heard him, but Lee Shin never looked back on a decision he had made.
‘How do I do it?’
Lee Shin gathered information from the internet.
Fortunately, the internet had all the information he needed.
To the point where he wondered why such knowledge was documented in such detail.
‘…There are a lot of weirdos out there.’
Anyway.
After finding all the necessary information, Lee Shin immediately moved to practice.
‘First, I can change my hair and voice.’
Items that can change hair and modulate voices can be easily bought from the auction house.
As long as they aren't premium items, you can buy them cheaply.
That takes care of the hair and voice.
And in Lee Shin's case, his body type wasn't a problem either.
Lee Shin had a slender build.
As long as he chose his gear well, it would be fine.
‘Then…’
The last thing left is the face.
It has the smallest surface area, but its importance is inversely proportional to that.
After all, the face is the most important factor in determining a person's first impression.
On top of that, since he'd have to apply the makeup himself in-game, he'd need some dexterity.
Meaning, he needed practice.
“……”
Lee Shin quietly got up from his seat and headed for Lee Si-eun's room.
* * *
Lee Si-eun was a prodigy.
She preferred reading to running around, and science documentaries to romance dramas.
Born to a capable businessman father and a doctor mother, she naturally grew up that way.
She spent her school years with excellent grades and entered a university everyone knew.
She similarly completed her master's program with outstanding grades and then went on to earn her doctorate.
She was twenty-nine at the time.
At the young age of twenty-nine, Lee Si-eun entered the workforce with a Ph.D.
And she got a job straight away at a famous IT conglomerate.
She had passed the notoriously difficult hiring process in one go.
And she and those around her took it for granted.
They figured there was no way she could fail, as her abilities were more than sufficient.
As you can see from this, the word 'obstacle' did not exist in her life.
Every barrier others faced was merely a gateway for her to pass through.
Exceptional abilities.
Striking looks.
A gentle, sociable nature.
She even came from a good family.
The perfect human specimen.
The only difficulty she had ever faced in her life was her younger brother.
Lee Shin.
A brother whose inner thoughts she could never fathom.
Even though he was a full nine years younger, there were times when he scared her.
Like when he suddenly laughed at someone else's funeral, or when he said something chilling while watching disaster news.
It made her wonder what on earth was going on inside that little head of his.
But she had grown somewhat used to it now.
To be precise, she had made a great deal of effort to accept it.
After all, Lee Shin couldn't change.
An innate disposition isn't something that can be changed.
The only solution was to always be careful so that it didn't manifest in a bad way.
In that sense, her brother had so far made the best effort he could.
Unable to empathize with others' emotions, he instead observed their expressions and tone of voice.
Through that, he learned to distinguish when to laugh, when to be sad, and when to stay quiet.
Though there were rare moments when something felt off….
‘That can't be helped.’
That's what Lee Si-eun thought.
That wasn't Lee Shin's burden to bear. It was something those around him had to accept.
Even if it was hard to understand, you just had to accept it for what it was and move on.
In this respect, Lee Si-eun was certainly a big-hearted person.
When the notification for a massive payment suddenly arrived a few days ago.
Her ability to simply accept it was, in a way, a part of this personality and effort.
…However.
When she returned home after work.
“Noona. Look at me.”
“Huh? Why… *Pfft!!*”
The sight of her brother emerging from his room, as if to say she'd come at the perfect time.
It was something that even Lee Si-eun, who had grown accustomed to Lee Shin's eccentricities, found difficult to accept.