Saber (2)

Rustle—

The sound of movement stirred beyond the brush, and then a woman's figure emerged into view.

She looked to be in her early twenties, with a youthful face and a neatly cropped bob. The cape draped over her shoulders bore an embroidered shield crest—announcement enough that she, too, belonged to the Saber Guild.

Never seen her before. Both of them were faces he had never laid eyes on, which meant they were players who had arrived after Woobin was sealed away in the dungeon.

"So you were of some use after all."

"I've always been competent, thank you very much."

"Competent, my ass. What the hell is all this, anyway? Looks like you've already bagged yourself a lackey."

"Tell me about it. Ugh—look at the guts. And that smell."

Pinching his nose, the man started toward Woobin. Then, as though he had spotted something, his eyes blew wide open.

"Huh?! Senior! Isn't that the Demonic Sword, Gigantes? Then that message that just popped up was about what happened here... that lump of meat is Do Minjun?!"

Genuine shock was written across his face. How did he know about Do Minjun and the Demonic Sword?

Then again, the bounty on Do Minjun's head had rivaled that of a field boss monster. The man had poked his nose into every corner of Elid, after all. In a way, being infamous was only natural.

"Guild Master Hwa Minseo, my congratulations. After all that searching, you finally succeeded. We knew he was a traitor, but my—what a spectacular way to finish him off."

The bob-haired woman—Seo Hee-bin—clapped her hands politely as she addressed Hwa Minseo.

Master, she says... "Master" was the title reserved for the head of a guild. He had sensed from the moment she appeared that this woman was no ordinary person, but she was apparently an even bigger deal than he'd thought.

At Seo Hee-bin's words, Hwa Minseo's expression hardened.

This is going to get complicated. Somehow or other, they had gotten it into their heads ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠that Hwa Minseo was the one who'd killed Do Minjun.

If they asked how she'd done it, what exactly was she supposed to say?

Hmm... Woobin was still sketching out how the next few minutes might unfold when—

"Hey. You're with Chulgyeol Guild, right? Let me get a look at that Demonic Sword. I've been dying to get my hands on it."

Choi Soo-ho, the Saber Guild man, stretched his fingers toward the Demonic Sword hanging in Woobin's grip.

He hadn't liked the bastard from the start.

The mere fact that these people worked under those men was enough to make Woobin want to tear him apart on the spot.

And now some young punk was talking down to him uninvited and reaching for another man's weapon without so much as a by-your-leave.

Whoosh— THUD!!!

Woobin's leg hammered into the man's abdomen, and Choi Soo-ho went skidding backward, his feet plowing furrows through the earth.

"Have you lost your damn mind? Think standing next to the Guild Master means nothing can touch you?"

Soo-ho's expression twisted dark and heavy. Woobin had put his full strength behind the kick, yet it seemed to have done no real damage at all.

"I'm already chewing back my temper over getting stuck with grunt work like recruiting rookies. Fuck it—you're dead."

Shff—a longsword and a shield sprang from Soo-ho's grip.

Ferocious hostility lanced toward Woobin. He narrowed his eyes, cold and level, and held the man's gaze.

Should I just kill him? The very fact that they were Saber Guild members had rubbed him wrong from the beginning.

They wouldn't even care. By the look of them, the pair were fresh recruits who had joined after Woobin was trapped in the dungeon.

Bottom-rung members with no standing—people their superiors wouldn't spare a single thought for. Would anyone upstairs even notice if such nobodies turned up dead? They might never learn the two had died at all.

And yet killing them would carry a heavy price for Woobin.

It would begin with the karma value he had strained to build back up—and he might even lose Min Juhee's trust in the bargain.

But Woobin's temperament was not built for standing meekly in place while strangers aired their grievances at him, either.

"They gave you those errands because that's exactly the level you're at. Frankly, from where I'm standing, I doubt you could handle even those properly."

"What? You little—!"

The instant Soo-ho abandoned reason and lunged at Woobin's provocation—

"STOP!!!!!"

A colossal roar, and with it—WHUMP—an immense pressure crushed down on them all.

Ring—

"Ugh!"

"Kyaaah!"

Unable to withstand the pressure, Seo Hee-bin and Choi Soo-ho dropped to their knees where they stood. Hwa Minseo stayed upright, teeth clenched tight.

The cold killing intent pricked at their skin like needles; even drawing breath was a struggle.

A brief stillness fell over the clearing.

"You're the ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠ones who attacked first! Aren't you ashamed, calling yourself a Guild Master?"

Seo Hee-bin snapped, aggression dripping from every word. Hwa Minseo's face betrayed nothing at all. She simply gave Woobin one slow, sweeping glance, then turned her eyes away.

"You seem to be laboring under a misunderstanding. That man is not one of our guild members."

Hwa Minseo crossed to the naked woman still trembling on the ground and draped her own cape over the woman's shoulders.

"And I was not the one who killed Do Minjun, either."

She freed the rookie heroes, who lay bleeding and bound.

Only when the pressure suffocating the clearing had lifted did Hwa Minseo speak again, her gaze sharp as a drawn blade.

"If you want to fight, take it somewhere else. And stop stirring up pointless commotion."

At those words, the fury burning in Seo Hee-bin's eyes froze solid—then blew wide.

That man... killed Do Minjun? Her gaze swung to Woobin.

Hair matted as though it hadn't seen water in days. Lower armor and boots so battered they looked ready to fall apart at any moment.

One glance was enough to peg him as a nameless drifter who hadn't even finished adjusting to life in Elid.

And that man had killed the infamous Do Minjun? Left him in a state that gruesome?

What kind of ridiculous lie... Seo Hee-bin's expression sank, cold and flat.

If you were going to lie, at least make it something a person could swallow. He clearly took them for idiots.

So that's what's bothering her. Roughly, she understood now.

Even for the Guild Master of Chulgyeol—a guild that made its name hunting Corrupted Heroes—word getting out that she'd dispatched one in such an immoral manner would put cracks in everything she had built.

Having grasped the situation, Seo Hee-bin hardened her face and smacked the back of Choi Soo-ho's head.

"I told you to stop grandstanding for ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠no reason."

"He started it. Haah... my apologies. Let's see to the rookie heroes first, shall we?"

Wearing a look of wounded innocence, Soo-ho started toward the rookies.

Trying to swoop in and reap what you didn't sow, are we. Woobin's brow furrowed at the sight.

He had been the one to discover the rookie heroes in the first place, and the one to put down the villain threatening them.

And now this man, who hadn't lifted a finger, waltzed in after the fact to walk off with them?

"It's safe now. Ms. Juhee, please look after your companions."

"Yes? Yes!"

At Woobin's words, Min Juhee, who had been frozen in shock in the brush, came scrambling over in a panic.

"Are you all right? I've brought someone who can help you."

"Thank you... thank you for coming."

"Sob... sob..."

"You don't have to be afraid anymore."

The three who had fallen victim to the Corrupted Hero gathered around Min Juhee. Seeing this, Woobin drove the wedge in at once.

"I was the one who found those people first, and the one who saved them. Don't meddle where you're not needed—turn around and go."

Until he had identified their traits, he had no real interest in the three rookies beyond Min Juhee.

Min Juhee alone was enough to secure the 18th Batch Privilege, and short of something truly extraordinary, their traits were certain to be inferior to hers.

But he wasn't fool enough to hand them over without gaining anything in return.

"'Meddling'? Haah... you have seriously been getting on my nerves this whole time."

"And you—shut your mouth."

Soo-ho's fist balled tight as if he might explode at Woobin's words, but Seo Hee-bin held him back and stepped forward herself.

"I don't know which guild sent you, but those people are not merchandise. Claiming ownership simply because you found them first is out of line, I'm afraid."

Fair words. But had their positions been reversed, would this woman have made the same argument? All she wanted was to snatch back the initiative that had slipped into Woobin's hands.

"'Ownership'... I said nothing of the sort, but the two of you certainly are alike—so quick to misjudge, and so very rude."

"R-rude?!"

A vein throbbed up along Seo Hee-bin's temple at Woobin's words.

"I have a contract with her. To protect them until their safety is assured. Which means I'm obligated to keep them safe from suspicious characters like the two of you."

"What? Suspicious? Do you have any idea who we are?!"

"And who might that be?"

"Haah... unbelievable."

Soo-ho flung his cape open with pride. A sturdy shield was emblazoned across it in an antique style.

"We're the Saber Guild! The undisputed number one guild in all of Elid! If you can't trust us, who the hell are you supposed to trust?!"

He roared it with his thumb raised to his chest, his confidence tipping over into outright arrogance.

Woobin's eyebrow twitched at that.

Number one, is it. Back when Woobin had still belonged to a guild, Saber had been a third-rate ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠outfit that couldn't even scrape into the rankings. And in a mere five years, they had shoved past the distinguished first-generation heroes to seize the top spot?

Startling news, to be sure—but that wasn't what mattered right now.

"What does that have to do with anything?"

"What?"

"I'm asking what your membership in the number one guild has to do with whether or not you're suspicious."

"You little shit, I swear..."

At Woobin's answer, Soo-ho's face hardened into stone—the look of a man whose patience had reached its absolute limit.

"Senior, I can't take any more of this. Don't hold me back. He isn't even a Chulgyeol member!"

Soo-ho stepped forward, reason abandoned. Even Seo Hee-bin, who had been reining him in until now, held her tongue—Woobin's retorts had evidently gotten under her skin as well.

Soo-ho's razor-edged killing intent pricked at Woobin's skin.

About 130, I'd say. Woobin rapidly took the measure of the man's strength.

Soo-ho had joined the guild only after Woobin was sealed in the dungeon—a newbie, transferred to Elid hardly any time ago.

Even by the most generous estimate, his level would struggle to clear 130. His equipment, however, was respectable: a full spread of accessories, the White Night armor set, and the Moye set.

Rare gear with a recommended level of 160. Guild-issued, every piece of it, no doubt.

I could manage him. With his current strength it would be a slight stretch—but reinforced with the rewards he had just obtained, Woobin judged it well within his ability.

Watching Soo-ho advance on him, Woobin curled the corner of his mouth upward.

He hadn't fought a proper battle since walking out of Chronos's dungeon. A single blow from his explosively grown Fist Strike had ended every encounter before it began. But Hwa Minseo's display had changed his mind.

He needed the strength to subdue an opponent without Fist Strike.

I was curious about that anyway. Perfect timing. He had grown a fair distance by now. Woobin resolved to take stock of the power he currently possessed.

"Idiots never come to their senses until somebody beats it into them."

Scowling, Soo-ho began closing the distance.

There wasn't a flicker of fear or hesitation about him. The possibility of losing didn't seem to exist in his head.

Then again, Woobin did cut a sorry figure—grimed from days without a wash, not even a shirt to wear, the very picture of a beggar. Dismissing him was, in a way, only natural.

Ring—

Watching the punk who had been talking down at him, Woobin opened up a certain system.

There existed a system that prevented players from killing one another—one that let them fight to their hearts' content without their karma value ever entering the equation.

And this system had a special feature.

It allowed a challenger to stake a wager—a prize to be claimed upon victory.

Let's see just how confident you really are. Woobin selected his wager, the corner of his mouth curling upward.

"Fuck's sake, what are you posturing for? If you're scared, beg off right now."

"You're the one who's free to refuse if you're scared."

"What? What kind of bullshit is that?"

Soo-ho could only stare, dumbfounded, as though Woobin had started spouting nonsense from another world entirely.

Woobin took in that face and sent the system window.

As any gambler knew, you couldn't call a bet without staking a prize to match what was already on the table.

All in.

Ring—

And then he saw it.

"Wh-what the..."

Bewilderment was creeping across the face of the once-so-confident Choi Soo-ho.