At Yujun's Words, She Hesitated
At Yujun's words, Kim Heeyeon hesitated a moment, then spoke.
"They're probably still clearing the dungeon…."
"How did those guys even get this far? There should have been chimeras in the way."
"At exactly midnight, the chimeras stop moving. For about two hours."
"They do?"
That was a rule that hadn't existed in War of the Gods.
"The players who locked you up—are they still clearing a dungeon down the side path, even now?"
"I heard them say they'd clear it within a few days, but honestly, I don't even know how much time has passed since then…."
Yujun cut the rope binding Kim Heeyeon with his sword.
"Thank you."
"You can make it back on your own, right?"
"…I'll try."
Unease crossed Kim Heeyeon's face.
Yujun laughed to himself.
"Follow me. I'll take you as far as the fork. I have to go that way anyway."
"Yes! Thank you so much!"
He'd phrased it as if he were doing her some great kindness. That way, she'd feel all the more grateful.
"You go first."
"Sorry?"
Kim Heeyeon asked again.
"I'll be right behind you."
"…Ah. All right."
Understanding what he meant, Kim Heeyeon hurried out ahead of him. Only then did Yujun start walking, his face at ease.
No matter what, I can't hand someone my back.
Just because she was weak, and a victim, didn't mean he could swear she was a good person.
Right now I'm barely more than a beginner who just stepped into the Tower of Infinity. I need to be careful.
He'd pulled Kim Heeyeon out because he wanted something from her. Everything after that, he meant to handle with care. Still, taking her out of the wall had been the right call so far. He'd learned she was a talent built for dungeon exploration, and he was confident he could put her to good use.
A few items ought to do it.
Before items, everyone was equal. That unchanging truth would hold even now that the game had become reality.
Nothing dangerous happened on the way back. Every chimera along the path had already become a cold corpse, sprawled across the floor.
Kim Heeyeon's eyes went wide.
"Th-this… you did all of this?"
"Yes."
"…."
He said it as if it were nothing—perfectly natural—and Kim Heeyeon couldn't find a single word. They reached the fork in no time at all.
That was when it happened.
A single arrow, wreathed in blue light, came flying—aimed squarely at Kim Heeyeon's head. Yujun yanked her back by the shoulder.
"Ah—!"
The arrow grazed her collar and shot past. Yujun turned toward where it had come from.
Three players stood there, wearing thin, unpleasant smiles.
"How the hell did she get out?"
"Looks like that guy got her out."
"That so? Lucky, either way. How'd they even find this place?"
It was his first time facing other players. He wasn't flustered. Yujun sized them up at a glance.
What level are they, I wonder.
Judging by their gear alone, they didn't look all that high. If they were struggling against the chimeras in this dungeon, their levels couldn't be that impressive either.
I can handle this.
At the same time, a thread of unease ran through him. This would be the first time he actually fought a player. In the game he'd PK'd more times than he could count, and he'd put those powerful chimeras down without much trouble….
Facing a person is a different matter. Honestly.
Just as the tension began to creep up his spine, the Equanimity trait proved its worth again. His mind settled as if nothing had happened at all.
Yujun read the situation with cold clarity.
They're wary of me, too.
Of course they were. Hitting level 50, he hadn't only swapped his accessories. He'd replaced his old armor with level-50 Hero-rank gear, and Hero rank carried a refinement ordinary items couldn't touch. On top of that, a Legendary-rank sword with a level-130 equip requirement. To those players, Yujun would look like someone with an extremely high level.
Strictly speaking, it isn't low.
This was a hidden dungeon on the third floor of the Tower of Infinity—not the sort of place a high-level player would be. Among the people on the third floor, level 50 would put him well toward the top.
"Hey. Don't get greedy. Why don't you just back off?"
The bearded player said it—an open threat. In the end, they seemed to have decided they held the advantage. Numbers weren't an empty boast. In a fight between players, variables were inevitable, and the side with more bodies held the clearer edge.
"Say something."
"Mouth sewn shut? This little shit."
"Hey. Let's just kill him. The woman's just scenery anyway, right?"
"Yeah. Talking him down's a pain."
The trio exchanged glances. Ju Taehwan, the swordsman, moved first. To back him up, Choi Jonghun cast Haste on him—a spell that raised movement speed. Hastened, Ju Taehwan closed the distance to Yujun in an instant.
Faster than expected. Yujun snatched his sword up to catch the blade coming down.
Shhk!
"…Huh?"
Ju Taehwan let out a blank sound. The sword he'd brought down from overhead had split cleanly in two. Yujun's blade, which he had only raised, was perfectly intact.
A gap opened. Yujun steeled himself and was about to swing—when a great boulder suddenly appeared and blocked his path.
Shhk! Crack—crack!
He split the rock anyway, but Ju Taehwan had already fallen back. The man who had nearly died in that instant sucked in a ragged breath.
"I—I almost died."
"You would have, if I hadn't been here."
"Thanks."
"Don't let your guard down. That guy's not normal."
"…."
"And what kind of sword is that? No matter how high the attack power, does that even make sense? Or is his skill rank just that high?"
The three of them were rattled. Just as in the game War of the Gods, attack and defense were critical stats, and from what they'd seen, the man's seemed higher than theirs. But they had already drawn their swords to carve him up like a radish. They couldn't flinch and retreat now. The trouble was, the blade in his hand wasn't a radish. It was titanium….
"We hit him all at once. He's only one guy anyway. The woman we can ignore."
"Okay."
"Finish him quick, then we take the woman too."
They paid Kim Heeyeon no mind at all. Understandable—if anything, she was someone who could get in Yujun's way. Knowing that, he had her fall back.
"Stay behind me."
"But…."
"Quiet."
"…All right."
One clash with Ju Taehwan had been enough. Facing the three players in front of him was far easier than facing dozens of chimeras. In a way, it was obvious. If they'd been strong enough to hunt chimeras with ease, they would have cleared this hidden dungeon long ago. The fact that their clear was still dragging told him the three of them weren't that strong.
The problem was elsewhere.
Can I actually kill them?
He had no experience with murder. He'd killed chimeras, werewolves, and zombies that looked almost human. But those things weren't human. He had never taken a human life.
"Hoo…."
These players were the sort who would kill a person without a second thought. If he went soft here, the one who paid for it would be him. He understood that. Yujun steadied his own heart.
If I try to take them halfway, I might be the one who goes down.
He decided he would kill them with everything he had. His gaze sank, deep and still. Sword hanging low, he swung at the arrow streaking toward him.
Shk!
It didn't split cleanly in half, but the arrow shattered and scattered across the floor. A movement like that was possible now that his stats had climbed past the limits of an ordinary human.
"A-are you insane!"
"He blocked an arrow?"
"Is that sword Legendary or something?"
"Even Legendary wouldn't be quite like that…."
"I don't think it's just the weapon."
While they faltered, Yujun moved. The mage, feeling something chilling in his eyes, raised a wall with earth magic. The archer loosed arrow after arrow at the man charging in.
Yujun watched where each arrowhead pointed, shifted his angle, and slipped past them with ease. Then he all but walked up the wall on two feet. Once he stood atop it, he didn't hesitate—he swung at the archer's legs.
Shhk!
"Aaaagh!"
The bowman, Go Jongsu, dropped. By the time Ju Taehwan caught him below, Yujun had already leapt down.
Shhk—!
The tip of the sword drew a straight line from above to below. Yujun folded the force of the fall into the blow, amplifying its destructive power. The result was astonishing. Not only Ju Taehwan, but Go Jongsu as well—their bodies split in half, and their lives ended with them.
As the grotesque scene unfolded, Yujun's eyes wavered, just slightly.
I can't let myself be shaken.
The world had changed into a place where only the cold and the strong survived. His final goal was the summit of the Tower of Infinity, so he couldn't afford to make enemies of players without reason—but showing mercy in a situation like this was the one thing he must not do. He couldn't waver here. Yujun did not regret what he had done.
"W-wait!"
Choi Jonghun, the mage left alone, shouted with a desperate face. Yujun walked straight forward without a word.
"Spare me! I'll do anything! Please!"
When the pleading didn't stop him, Choi Jonghun turned his back and ran. Yujun ran after him.
I can't let him get away.
There was no telling what kind of trouble he'd come back as later. Yujun sprinted at full speed and drove his sword into Choi Jonghun's back.
Thuk—!
"Agh! It hurts! Get it out, damn it!"
Choi Jonghun raised another wall of earth, trying to shove him off. Yujun wasn't about to stand there and watch. He stamped hard on the man's back.
"Ghk! Hey—hey! Don't regret this later, get off me right now! Do you know who I am?"
"No. Who?"
"I'm with the Golden Lion Guild. You think they'll just sit still once they find out I'm dead? If this gets out, you're a dead man!"
"You're not wrong."
"Right? So right now—"
"But how would the Golden Lion Guild ever learn who I am?"
"What?"
"There are no witnesses."
Strictly speaking, there was one. Kim Heeyeon, watching from a distance. But she wasn't likely to go around talking about this. There was nothing in it for her.
Thuk.
He drew back the sword that had punched through Choi Jonghun's throat. Crimson blood dripped onto the floor.
A bitter look crossed Yujun's face. His first murder. It wasn't even something circumstance had forced on him in a single helpless instant. He had decided it himself, and he had done it.
They say if I don't kill, I die… but the fact remains that I killed someone.
He thought of it as a step toward adapting to a world that had changed in an instant.
I just can't let killing become something ordinary.
Strangely, his heart didn't shift as much as he'd expected. In silence, Yujun gathered the items the dead players had left behind.