Rise to Thousand Commander
He whipped his head around.
There stood Ten Commander Aran.
Hmm.
He gave her a cold stare for a moment before turning his gaze back to the front.
From now on, he decided to keep a close eye on her. If she pulled the same stunt again, he'd consider it a direct challenge.
Enhanced Bone 1, 2—charge!
Canoo collided with the Enhanced Bones.
Since Canoo was even trickier than an ogre, holding it off with just two Enhanced Bones had its limits. If it weren't for the strong bows and Bone Bows providing support, they would've been unsummoned already.
Retreat.
He nocked an arrow to the bowstring.
Storm. Powerful Arrow Shot.
The Canoo chased after the retreating Enhanced Bones.
Aiming at it, he released the string.
-396 HP
-826 Additional Damage
The Canoo halted in place, letting out a guttural roar. In that moment, the two Enhanced Bones successfully widened the gap.
Mu-hyuk kept commanding while continuously attacking it, occasionally glancing back to check on Ten Commander Aran's status. Fortunately, their eyes hadn't met yet, so she probably didn't suspect he was watching her.
That was when it happened. Aran began chanting a spell.
Mu-hyuk quickly scanned the battlefield.
One intruding Canoo was clashing with three Bone Swords.
Damn.
When had another Canoo slipped in that far?
He hurriedly issued commands.
Enhanced Bones—charge left!
Strong Bows, Bone Bows—rapid fire!
Storm.
As various attacks poured in, the Canoo flinched. Bone Sword 5 had already been unsummoned, but the other two seemed to escape successfully.
Just in case, Mu-hyuk checked on Aran—and sure enough, she was firing off her magic.
Fwoooong.
The spell shot out, enveloping Bone Sword 9 and 13, along with the Canoo.
‘Bone Sword 9’ has been unsummoned.
‘Bone Sword 13’ has been unsummoned.
Their HP had been borderline, so both were unsummoned.
No need to look anymore.
Step.
Mu-hyuk headed toward her, sword drawn.
Did she sense his intent? Aran turned, frowning at the approaching Mu-hyuk.
“What is it?”
“What is it...?”
“And what's with that sword!”
“You know damn well why.”
“Why?”
“You're deliberately interfering with me.”
“Ha, what makes you say that?”
“I saw it with my own two eyes. You targeting my summons.”
Aran bit her lip.
She had no retort—he'd seen it himself.
Soon, unable to hold back, she shouted.
“What about you!”
“Hm?”
“The rumors are everywhere! You logged in early this morning and killed a player for no reason! Even as Hundred Commander with summary execution rights, isn't that too much? Just because you have power, does that mean you can kill players on a whim? Don't you think it's tyrannical? One day you'll kill us all, right?”
Mu-hyuk pressed his temple.
Press, press.
Stress building up.
“Haa.”
“See? You can't even respond!”
“Hey.”
“What, got something to say? Man, power really goes to your head.”
“Hey.”
“Don't act like that anymore...”
“One more word out of line, and you're really dead.”
“......”
Aran trembled and shut her mouth.
Mu-hyuk's eyes were dead serious.
One more word, and he'd really do it.
“What is it? What's going on?”
“Dunno, gonna kill her too?”
“Whoa, that Ten Commander's got guts.”
“Brave, that's what.”
Their voices were so loud that resting players gathered around.
Mu-hyuk stared piercingly at Aran.
“Want to know why I killed that guy? I'll tell you.”
“T-Tell me!”
“That player was groping a logged-out female player's body. Her frozen avatar. Oh, come to think of it, you were there too, right...?”
Aran's face turned pale.
“L-Liar!”
“I recorded it.”
Mu-hyuk flicked his hand.
He opened the system, pulled up the recording, and broadcast it everywhere.
“Take a look, everyone.”
Curious players played the incoming hologram footage. It showed the male player fondling the female player's body.
“N-No way, for real?”
“Whoa, he killed a pervert? Totally justified.”
“Right? Who said the Hundred Commander killed without reason?”
“Who started that rumor?”
“More importantly, that guy's insane. How do you do that to a logged-out player?”
“World's full of weirdos.”
“Anyway, Hundred Commander did the right thing.”
The crowd was like that.
Swaying one way, then the other.
But it benefited Mu-hyuk.
“Ah, ahh...”
Aran checked the footage too.
It was crystal clear.
Too embarrassing and shameful to even lift her head.
“Who taught you to suspect people so carelessly?”
“That's...”
Mu-hyuk toyed with the hilt of his drawn sword.
“Not sure what to do with you.”
Aran had nothing to say. With the misunderstanding cleared, her actions weren't righteous resistance to tyranny—they were tyrannical opposition to justice.
Deep contemplation followed.
Kill her?
But killing her over this didn't sit right. It wasn't a simple matter.
All her built-up contribution points would vanish, and her time in the subjugation force would be for nothing. A huge loss for her.
The pervert deserved death for his actions, but Aran's case was ambiguous. Putting himself in her shoes, he could understand— she thought she was standing against tyranny.
Hoo.
He tried to shed his prejudice.
Yeah, prejudice.
There'd been some friction from the start, but she didn't seem like a bad person.
Just then, she spoke up.
“S-Sorry.”
Mu-hyuk, who had been watching her, sheathed his sword.
He decided not to kill her.
But that didn't erase the misunderstanding or her provocation. The wounded feelings weren't fully mended either. Without another word, he turned and returned to his spot.
Haa.
A deep sigh trailed behind him.
Two days later.
They finally took down all the Canoo.
Whew, named ones too.
No skulls dropped, unfortunately, but he still got a valuable Canoo heart—an advanced material that alchemists bought at high prices.
He stowed it in his inventory and prepared to rest when Captain Muuk suddenly approached, followed by Sung Min-woo and around 2,000 other players.
“Attention, everyone!”
Muuk addressed the players.
“The battles ahead will get tougher, so we're appointing a Thousand Commander.”
The crowd buzzed.
“Thousand Commander?”
“Whoa, not even Hundred—straight to Thousand.”
Ten times the personnel of a Hundred Commander. Snagging extra contributions from them? The top spot was basically guaranteed.
“We'll select based on contributions so far. The Thousand Commander is...”
Silence fell.
“...currently Hundred Commander Mu-hyuk. Step forward.”
“Yes.”
As he stepped up, Muuk continued.
“Stay faithful to your duties as before.”
“Understood.”
The moment he replied, a message appeared.
Your position has been changed to ‘Thousand Commander’.
Muuk didn't stop there.
“We'll also appoint ten Hundred Commanders. Current Ten Commanders Han Jumeok, Gureum...”
Ten players stepped forward.
“Looking forward to working with you.”
“Th-Thank you.”
They must've gotten messages like Mu-hyuk.
“Next...”
Muuk continued.
About 100 players were called.
“You'll be Ten Commanders from now on.”
“Thank you!”
“And all those just mentioned will follow the Thousand Commander's orders.”
Only after Muuk left did the suffocating silence break.
“Not just Thousand Commander.”
“Ten Hundred Commanders and a hundred Ten Commanders!”
“Insane.”
All the promoted players grinned in satisfaction.
Mu-hyuk was no different.
Thousand Commander, huh.
Now he'd get contributions from a thousand more.
Contribution status.
A hologram popped up.
Contributions nearing 10,000. Impressive already, and now as Thousand Commander, it'd climb even higher.
A few more days, and additional would surpass current.
Excited but anticipated, he quickly composed himself, sat, and pulled out a disposable crafting tool.
The moment he gripped the hammer.
“Um...”
Someone approached.
Hm?
Looking up, Mu-hyuk frowned.
It was Aran, now a Hundred Commander.
“What.”
“Ah, about before, I'm sorry...”
“Forget it.”
“Huh?”
“Just don't act like you know me from now on.”
“Ah, yes...”
He wanted no more ties with her. His cold tone conveyed that, so Aran bowed her head and turned away.
Her retreating figure looked dejected, but Mu-hyuk ignored it, picked up the hammer, and began hammering the ore on the plate.
Clang! Clang!
In under five minutes, a longsword was complete.
Time to spare.
He made another.
Clang!
He checked both longswords' options simultaneously.
As expected, nothing special.
Considering the disposable tool's cost, it was a loss.
“Rest over!”
Vice Captain Kurk's voice rang out.
Everyone stood.
“Advance immediately!”
Variant wild boars in the distance crept closer. Players eyed them while walking, then drew weapons, kicked off the ground, closed in fast, and unleashed skills.
Kwaaaang!
Fierce battles raged on.
Fight after fight.
Growing weary bit by bit, but enduring for rewards.
Oh, named!
Then they spotted a named monster.
A few players were already attacking it.
“Here, here!”
“Hurry!”
Others rushed in.
Mu-hyuk closed the distance urgently and ordered all summons to focus fire.
Kiririk!
More spotted it and poured saved skills.
Usually Mu-hyuk looted named kills, but occasionally others did. That's why they swarmed for the slim chance.
Still, Mu-hyuk wasn't too worried. If someone else got it? For a skull, buy it with gold—they didn't know its value. Claim it was for a quest, and they'd negotiate.
Of course, no one had gotten a skull yet. Auction house checks showed none.
Anyway, battles proceeded smoothly, and soon another named fell.
Experience has increased.
Named monster ‘Mekan’ defeated.
Materials have dropped.
Contributions measured.
Priority to player ‘Tonga’.
This time, priority went to Tonga, who first spotted and consistently damaged the named.
Peek.
Mu-hyuk checked the material in his hand.
Tch, no.
Not a skull.
Shrugging it off, he plunged back into battle.
“Haaaaap!”
“Die!”
“Sweep 'em!”
Battles continued endlessly.
One day, two days.
Time flew by.