Hayaku Guild's Reckoning
A rather murderous atmosphere hung in the air.
"If you don't like it?"
Those words pierced everyone's ears, but it was still too early to lose their cool. A burly male user stepped forward toward Mu-hyuk.
"Hey, you seem to be part of some big guild, right? We've already talked it over with the major guilds."
"And?"
"Sigh. And I'm saying it'd be best if you backed off, even if you are from a big guild. Oh, while we're at it, which guild is it?"
"Guild?"
"Yeah, which guild are you with?"
"What if none?"
"What...?"
The man's face twisted at those words.
"No guild? You're saying you don't have one?"
"Yeah, seems like it."
"Fuck, then you're just a fucking retard!"
"Whoa, this guy's hilarious."
The users' reactions were a sight to behold.
Some wore incredulous expressions, while others' eyes gleamed like they'd found an entertaining toy.
A few watched with interest, and some furrowed their brows, fiddling with their weapons.
Swoosh.
Then a young-looking man stepped up and tapped Mu-hyuk's shoulder.
"Hey, bro."
He kept shoving Mu-hyuk's shoulder.
"Get lost."
"......"
"I'm being polite 'cause you look like an old guy. Got it? So, old man, fuck off. Understand? You get what I'm saying?"
Laughter erupted from the back.
"Hey, hey, ease up."
"Yeah, what if he pisses himself from fear?"
Pfft.
Mu-hyuk smirked bitterly at the sight.
"You fucking idiots."
"What...?"
They'd already made their mistake.
Touching Mu-hyuk's body.
-1 HP
Hostile relationship established with Hayaku Guild.
Right of Self-Defense applied.
Mu-hyuk's eyes chilled as he stared at the alert windows.
With self-defense already in effect, there was no need to tolerate their filthy words any longer.
He stepped forward, swiftly swinging the bow in his hand.
The bow transformed into a sword mid-swing, slicing through the shoulder of the user in front of him.
He'd targeted the tiniest gap in the joint, unprotected by armor or helmet—and it worked.
Thud.
The severed arm hit the ground.
It twitched.
"U-uaaaah...!"
In Illusion, even hits from monsters felt like a light tap, with minimal pain.
But what if your arm got cut off?
Wouldn't the pain be far greater than expected?
At least equivalent to a light punch to the shoulder in real life.
And seeing your own severed arm writhing on the ground on top of that?
No matter how many monsters a player had killed in the game, they'd be sensitive to wounds on their own body.
Especially if they'd never experienced a limb being severed before.
That was the man's state right now.
A bewildered expression.
Trembling pupils.
A clumsy, lost demeanor.
Mu-hyuk swung his sword again with an impassive face, severing the other arm as well.
The first arm had long since turned gray and vanished, but the man remained lost in chaos, unable to regain his senses.
"S-Su-hwan!"
"Hey, snap out of it!"
"That bastard...!"
A few rushed to the user named Su-hwan, while the rest glared coldly at Mu-hyuk, preparing to attack.
"Hey, fuck that guy up!"
"Shit!"
Mu-hyuk decided to respond in full.
"Skeleton Warrior Summon."
"Skeleton Archer Summon."
"Skeleton Mage Summon."
In an instant, 51 summons appeared.
Kirrik, kiririk.
The dozen or so hostile users flinched.
"W-what the hell!"
Sung Min-woo, standing at the back, also summoned four spirits, bringing the total summons to 55.
Sung Min-woo cracked his neck side to side and stepped forward.
"We're doing this for real, right?"
"Yeah."
Mu-hyuk gave a curt reply to Sung Min-woo's question.
"Good. I've held back a lot so far. Time to blow off some steam!"
Mu-hyuk grinned and issued commands.
Burtan, Ki Wave.
Mages, magic attack.
Strongbows, Bone Bows rapid fire.
Burtan's Ki Wave fired first.
Kiaaaak!
Its wide area made it hard to dodge. Some blocked with shields, but most failed to react to the sudden assault.
As they staggered and fell, magic from 11 mages swept over them, followed by archers' arrows embedding in their bodies.
"F-fuck!"
"Heal!"
"Urk, what the...!"
"Someone step up!"
Most couldn't overcome the chaos.
Some were already dead.
"Dash! Attack!"
"Power Shot!"
A few attempted attacks amid the frenzy, but they were futile against the Reinforced Bone's shields.
No attack.
No user.
Reached Mu-hyuk.
Storm. Powerful Arrow Shot.
But Mu-hyuk's attacks were more than enough to shatter their souls.
Kwaaang!
It was just one arrow, but...
-701 HP
-1,330 Additional Damage
Critical strike triggered!
"Insane...!"
The priest pierced by Mu-hyuk's arrow turned gray and vanished.
Reinforced Bones, Bone Swords—all charge.
The skeletons stamped the ground and advanced. The remaining five hostile users shook like sand caught in a wave before vanishing silently.
"Whew."
It was cleaned up neatly.
"Damn, that was fun as hell?"
"Don't get too carried away."
"Of course! I'm only doing righteous PK!"
Mu-hyuk shook his head.
Then Sung Min-woo asked with a serious face.
"By the way, what now?"
Mu-hyuk's eyes turned icy for a moment.
"Hmm, if they let it slide, we ignore them too."
"And if not?"
"Then we give them a proper fight."
"Hell yeah."
"Just in case, look into Hayaku Guild and get back to hunting."
"Got it."
The two logged out.
And began investigating Hayaku Guild in their own ways.
*
Hayaku Guild.
A guild made by Japanese players. Not massively huge, but well beyond small-scale.
600 members. The top 200 averaged low 90s.
The next 200 averaged low 80s.
The remaining 200 were prospects, all level 50 or higher.
They bowed to big guilds and strutted before small ones, leeching off the powerful—earning the ire of many users.
Of course, with so many such guilds, the complaints got buried quickly.
Nothing more turned up.
Hmm.
He ended the search.
600 members.
A lot, but with everyone busy, gathering them all would be tough.
At most 200?
If that many came, just run.
With Wind Step.
And pick them off one by one.
His heart raced just thinking about it.
Thud.
He closed the laptop and lay in the capsule.
Welcome to Illusion.
Sung Min-woo hadn't logged in yet, apparently.
About five minutes later.
Whoosh.
Sung Min-woo appeared with a gust of wind.
"You here?"
"Yeah, find anything?"
"Yep. Total 600 members. Average levels about...?"
"Heh heh."
"What's with the laugh."
Sung Min-woo shrugged.
"I found their main hunting spots."
"Oh, really?"
"Of course! They upload videos all the time. Checked 'em all—turns out they have fixed hunting grounds by member level!"
Mu-hyuk patted Sung Min-woo's shoulder.
"Good job."
"Hehahahaha!"
"No provocations for now, so let's take on some quests first."
"Okay!"
The two resumed hunting Imiho.
Kiaaaak!
One, two. The kill count rose.
A little later.
After about 50 Imiho...
"Those the guys?"
"Seems like it? Two players plus skeletons."
"Yeah, that's them."
A commotion stirred from behind.
Swoosh.
Turning, about thirty users approached with fierce momentum.
Sung Min-woo and Mu-hyuk exchanged glances and nodded.
No words needed.
Hayaku Guild.
It was them.
As expected, not their full numbers.
This many...
They could fight.
"We're hostile with Hayaku Guild right now, right?"
"Yeah, 24 hours to clear. Fighting again resets it from end of battle."
"Good. Let's just smash 'em."
Sung Min-woo grinned and charged.
Flash.
Mu-hyuk used Wind Step to close in. He dove between the users, slashing across the face of a female priest in robes.
Storm. Cross Slash.
A ripping sound, followed by compressed air exploding.
And a cross-shaped wound to boot.
Critical strike triggered!
-1,105 damage.
-1,931 additional damage.
Critical hit.
Thanks to the defenseless priest offering her face.
Nice!
Shaving off 3,000 HP in one go.
"Uh...?"
The priest's body blurred.
Dead.
"Fuck, block it!"
"Block him!"
But Mu-hyuk had already retreated.
He turned to check the left flank where Sung Min-woo was pushing—they were holding fine—so he targeted the right first.
The moment Mu-hyuk's gaze hit them, spells erupted. Mages' skills.
Every Hayaku Guild member gritted their teeth and thrust out shields.
Kwagwagwang!
Dust billowed from the impact.
Pang, paang.
Bone arrows filled the air.
Then he sent 16 Bone Swords and three Reinforced Bones forward.
Strongbows and Bone Bows on support. Mu-hyuk pondered how to use the remaining five Reinforced Bones and Burtan.
Slice.
A cold sensation crept up his back.
-1,320 damage
He twisted away desperately but saw nothing.
Stealth, probably.
At that moment, five Reinforced Bones and one Cavalry charged where Mu-hyuk had stood.
Charging from all sides, even stealth wouldn't save them.
Mu-hyuk's lips twisted as he watched.
Found you.
One Reinforced Bone had suddenly stopped, as if blocked by something.
Stealth broken—the man's form appeared. Mu-hyuk nocked an arrow, staring him down.
Storm. Powerful Arrow Shot.
The arrow flew and struck.
The man's eyes widened.
Probably checking the damage.
No time for that.
Attack.
Nearby Reinforced Bones closed in, thrusting swords. Mu-hyuk joined with arrows. The man couldn't block everything alone and died soon after.
Now looking ahead, half the Bone Swords were reverse-summoned. Reinforced Bones barely holding.
Flash.
Mu-hyuk closed in and commanded Burtan.
Kiaaaak!
Ki Wave extended. Some blocked with shields, but most got swept away.
"Kuhuk...!"
"D-dizzy."
"Fuck..."
"What is this...!"
They staggered and fell.
Step.
Mu-hyuk approached them. Gripping his weapon—now sword again from bow—tightly, he slashed down from above.