Marquis Lucas and His Men
Marquis Lucas and his men jolted in alarm.
"Wh-where did he come from all of a sudden?"
"A teleportation skill, isn't it?"
"Impossible. There's a magical barrier over this place that forbids movement magic."
That was when Ji Gyutae spoke.
"You're Shin Yujun? The one from the Species Tournament?"
"That's me. You know who I am?"
"I watched you with interest. Never thought I'd see you in a place like this."
"Ooh, what an honor. Lord Saint."
"Are you mocking me?"
"And sharp, too! Wow, do you even have a flaw? A saint, so of course your character's impeccable. Your strength goes without saying, and you work Marquis Lucas like one of your own limbs, so your power must be nothing to sneeze at either, huh?"
Yujun said it in a sneer.
It was more than enough to grate on Ji Gyutae.
"......You gain nothing by making an enemy of me, Shin Yujun. Coordination can erase someone like you overnight. You would do well not to run your mouth."
"You're the one with the long tongue. Who killed the Root of Darkness......"
Yujun stepped closer to the Ji Gyutae projected in the image.
"Isn't that why you're pulling all this nonsense? Because you want to know?"
"An impudent brat. But it's laughable. Without the skill to back it up, what you're doing now is no different from recklessness."
"Oh, yeah? I was thinking the exact same thing."
"What?"
"Hiding inside a projection orb and flapping your mouth like that is pretty funny, don't you think? Even you'd agree."
"A clumsy provocation. You are no match for me. Not unless you cross the wall of Level 500."
"Then come here and fight me yourself. Too scared? Drop dead."
Yujun deliberately kept his tone light.
Men seated as high as Ji Gyutae rarely stirred themselves in person.
If I want that heavy-bottomed gentleman to come to me, I'll have to push at least this far.
But Ji Gyutae only snorted, not so easily taken in by the bait.
"You said you killed the Root of Darkness?"
"Yeah."
"Why?"
"Why what?"
"I am asking why you killed the Root of Darkness. It had nothing whatsoever to do with you, did it? I have never heard of you belonging to any faction."
"Wow, your intel's good too? I go around alone. No affiliation. Solo, that's right. But that isn't a reason not to kill the Root of Darkness, is it?"
"And what did you gain by stopping the plague? A pittance that barely amounts to anything? Or some pathetic sense of justice?"
A flicker of irritation crossed Ji Gyutae's face, and he spoke with one eye narrowed.
"What did I gain? One hell of a connection. Raised my level, too. Oh, and I picked up an item. I found what I wanted, so I was in a pretty good mood. Not enough for you? Then I'll say more."
The smile at the corner of Yujun's mouth deepened.
"Felt kind of satisfying, honestly. I stopped a plague that would've thrown the Continent into danger. Like I'd become a hero. Put me in a great mood."
"......I understand your thinking well enough. Let me give you one warning, boy. This is not the light little game you imagine it to be. The power of Coordination, which I command, is far vaster and stronger than you think. Shin Yujun. You will soon pay the price for crossing me."
Not a warning. A threat.
Yujun, however, was perfectly at ease. He dug at his ear with his pinky.
"If you're coming, tell them to hurry. Waiting's boring."
He drew his sword, turned his back, and walked away. The feed inside the projection orb was still connected.
Rapid Advance (A)
He closed on Lucas in a flash. By the time Marquis Lucas flinched, it was already too late. Yujun's sword passed clean through his neck, and the marquis's head rolled across the floor, the cut as neat as a stroke of a brush.
Thud.
The headless body struck the ground.
"W-what?"
"The marquis......"
"Kill him!"
Marquis Lucas's men rushed Yujun. One of them, an assassin type by the look of him, hurled a poisoned dagger. Yujun didn't take a single step. He swung his sword several times from where he stood, and the two players who had closed in lost their lives as the dagger flying toward him split cleanly in half. Ju Donghyeon dealt with the last of the marquis's men.
"Thank you."
"Don't mention it."
"But where were you, appearing out of nowhere like that? You startled me."
"Mm......"
Saying he'd been following them from the start would be a bit much. He'd stood there with both eyes open and watched the man and his lover get kidnapped.
"I had a bad feeling, so I was wandering this kingdom, and I happened to see you, Mr. Ju."
"What? A coincidence like that......"
"Happens."
"Ah...... In any case, thank you again."
"Thank you!"
Christina, Ju Donghyeon's lover, bowed deeply as she offered her thanks.
"How are we ever supposed to repay a kindness like this......"
"And earlier, I hesitated over whether to give them your name. I'm truly sorry......"
"I didn't do it expecting anything. And you had a hostage — I understand. If you really want to repay me, help me later with that Clairvoyance and Future Sight of yours."
"Of course! Just say the word, whenever you need."
"And......"
Yujun went on, his face gone serious.
"I've made it plain that I killed the Root of Darkness, so you shouldn't be exposed directly. Still, they know you're acquainted with me, so I can't call you completely safe. Be careful. If anything happens, message me right away."
"Yes. I should. I'll finish what's left and go see my father. I made a promise with Hong Yeji."
Ju Donghyeon returned to the Kingdom of Sitahel. Travel between kingdoms was not normally so free, but he apparently held a transit pass that let him move among several of them.
Time I headed off, too.
Yujun turned his thoughts to the organization called Coordination. Ji Gyutae had invoked the name as a threat. Just how much power did they hold, to show that kind of confidence? He was curious.
And what does he mean by the wall of Level 500?
That nagged at him more than the organization itself. War of the Gods, which he had played through to the very end, had fixed the level cap at 500. The phrase was unfamiliar because of it.
Don't tell me a few of the top rankers have broken past Level 500?
From there on, it was unknown territory for Yujun. He had played it cool earlier, but this was not a situation he could simply relax about.
He said Coordination would be coming soon.
Yujun felt the need to raise his own combat power.
They still won't have a read on how strong I actually am.
Even if they did, it didn't matter. He only had to become stronger than he was now. His level was still low — not even 300, the point where people started calling you a mid-tier player.
Level first.
He had originally meant to go to the black market. Facing Ji Gyutae through the projection changed his mind. The best way to raise his level was to clear a hidden dungeon.
Yujun contacted Kim Heeyeon. A reply came back before even a minute had passed.
Yujun let out a hollow laugh. A hidden dungeon was not the sort of thing you found the moment you went looking. And yet Kim Heeyeon turned them up like a woman possessed, every time he needed one.
Yujun let out a sigh of relief. He had very nearly lost his way into hidden dungeons. She was his hidden-dungeon runner, and she could not be allowed to die, no matter what. A hidden dungeon was something money could not buy.
He went to meet Kim Heeyeon. She was in the residential zone, and they set out at once for the place where the hidden dungeon lay.
"What were you doing after you found the dungeon?"
"Waiting for you?"
"What?"
"If I'd been off doing something else, we couldn't have gone to the hidden dungeon together. That would've been such a waste."
"You don't have to arrange your time around mine."
"Come on, who else would I go with besides the person who saved my life? I can't trust anyone but you anymore."
"......"
If that was how she felt, there wasn't much he could say.
"You're already Level 263? How are you so fast? Tell me the secret."
"It's nothing special. Want me to tell you?"
"Yeah. Yeah!"
"Kill a few thousand monsters way above your own level."
"......"
"Simple, right?"
"Yeah. Real simple."
Kim Heeyeon gave a deflated smile.
"You've gone up a bit too, though."
"This counts as going up? I'm only 153."
"That's still really fast."
"I got this from running hidden dungeons with you. After that, it barely moved."
"Ah...... is that so?"
"See? You're not even interested."
Her expression darkened.
"W-well, it'll go up again this time! That's good."
Without some exceptional combat ability — and Kim Heeyeon had none — there was no other way to raise one's level. You had to party with an outstanding player. Thinking of it that way, he understood why she had waited for him. Their interests lined up. That worked out well enough.
The hidden dungeon was on the Continent, so there was no need to cross to another floor.
"Darkest right under the lamp, they say."
"Right? Isn't it amazing? A hidden dungeon this close to the residential zone......"
They hadn't walked ten minutes. He had wondered why they weren't running, and then he understood. There was no need. It was that close.
"But this is an empty wasteland. How did you even think to dig?"
"I was just passing through, got a good feeling, and dug?"
"Huh?"
"I did what the skill told me to."
"Convenient."
"Yeah. That's why I try to wander as much as I can. Do that, and you turn up a dungeon now and then. Oh — not hidden ones. I've found about three regular dungeons. Sold one of them."
"......You're something else yourself."
"You're one to talk, Yujun."
Just because her combat power was weak didn't mean she could be dismissed. Her ability to search out dungeons might well be the finest in the Tower of Infinity.
My eye for people paid off.
In truth, it was less an eye for people than the status-check scroll.
Kim Heeyeon dug out the mound of dirt she had roughly piled over the spot, and a single narrow passage lay revealed.
"We go through here?"
"Yeah. But be careful. It starts the moment you step in."
"Then I'll go first. Come in when I message you."
"Got it."
Yujun drew a Rare-grade underwater respirator from his inventory, insurance against the deep sea, and stepped into the passage.
Fwaaak—!
A sensation of his body being sucked away somewhere. It did not last long.
A lava field. Scorching heat rose to meet him. A familiar sight.
I went through this once, in the Ancient Ruins trial.
Back then, pillars of fire had erupted all over the place, and it had been nothing but misery.
Fortunately, this place doesn't seem to be—
Fwoosh!
Boom!
A pillar of fire burst up right beside him. It missed, so he didn't catch alight.
"......"
Without a word, Yujun summoned Paranet first.