The Price of Greed
A thick voice boomed from somewhere.
"Tch, all greed and no sense."
"......"
It was Kim Cheong-sik, a middle-aged man clad in ornate armor.
"Just think about it—who's contributed the most in all these wars so far? The answer's obvious. Without Mu-hyuk, how many of those dozens of battles would we have lost pathetically? And more than that..."
The middle-aged player eyed those who had stepped forward.
"You do know what stepping up like that means, right?"
"Pardon? What do you...?"
"It means turning Mu-hyuk into your enemy."
"What...? No, I just meant we qualify too..."
"To claim that qualification, you'd have to kill Mu-hyuk first. You think he'd just roll over and die?"
"Uh, well..."
"Pathetic."
At Kim Cheong-sik's words, a few flinched.
Four of those who had stepped forward scratched their heads and slunk back sheepishly.
But some stayed put. BlueSea, who had spoken first, and six other male players.
Seven in total.
The desire burning in their eyes hadn't faded.
"Brother Cheong-sik, it's fine now."
"Ahem, got it."
At Mu-hyuk's words, the middle-aged player withdrew. With all eyes now on him, Mu-hyuk regarded the seven challengers and spoke.
"You said you qualify for the test?"
"That's right."
"We qualify too."
Mu-hyuk nodded.
"I see. As Brother Cheong-sik said, my death resets the test."
"......"
"No long speeches. From now on, we're enemies."
With those final words, he invoked Command Authority.
A list appeared, and he selected summary execution.
Targets: the seven players before him.
You will receive no penalties for summary execution.
After confirming the alert, he kicked off the ground.
As he closed in on the frontmost player, he drew his dagger and slashed.
Kagak!
The struck player wore a look of blatant shock.
But Mu-hyuk had no intention of holding back. He'd already used summary execution authority. No penalties for killing them meant no hesitation—he unleashed his full power.
White Tiger Swordsmanship, First Form: White Tiger's Sever.
A strike from behind landed perfectly.
A critical strike triggers.
With a critical, survival was impossible.
"Wh-what the hell, out of nowhere..."
The opponent crumpled into smoke and scattered.
White Tiger Steps.
He twisted immediately, flanking another player.
White Tiger Swordsmanship, Second Form: White Tiger's Wave.
This opponent couldn't respond either.
Their base stats were inferior, and their enhancements far outmatched.
They had no chance against him.
They'd probably stepped up thinking ally status meant he wouldn't kill them. A fatal mistake.
Illusion worshipped strength.
The weak were trampled.
The strong rose.
The epitome of survival of the fittest—and Mu-hyuk knew it best.
No hesitation.
Thud, thwack-thwack!
Beams of light battered one player unilaterally.
Result: elimination.
Five left.
They finally grasped reality and huddled, but it was laughable to Mu-hyuk.
Summon all skeletons.
The cooldown had long finished.
Whoooosh.
Over 200 skeletons materialized.
The five screamed at the sight.
"What the hell is this?!"
"You can't just attack out of nowhere!"
"We're on your side!"
No mercy.
Challenging for zombie necromancer reset meant clear intent to kill him.
No quarter for those who tried.
"Damn, what about when we log back in?!"
"Why worry?"
"What?"
"Hostility's formed. I'll kill you every time till the end."
Calm words chilled deeper.
Then they remembered: the fate of Mu-hyuk's enemies.
"Ah, aaa..."
Giant guilds or lone players—all quit or became wrecks.
No exceptions.
"W-wait...!"
A late plea drowned in bone arrows and spells.
Boom, kwarung!
The blast took the rest.
One remained.
BlueSea, first to challenge.
"......"
He couldn't hide his fluster.
Mu-hyuk and BlueSea locked eyes briefly.
As BlueSea stammered, encircling Armor Knights swung.
-Mighty Strike!
Armor Cavalry behind thrust weapons.
-Accelerated Pierce!
Even blocking with shield, BlueSea shattered and died.
Silence fell briefly.
Mu-hyuk eyed the rest.
"I shared info you didn't need to know. Whatever results, I take responsibility. We're Forma Continent players at war with Kairon Continent, but we act for personal gain. If you crave zombie necromancer power enough to kill me, step up anytime. Just own the consequences fully."
Players nodded solemnly.
"Shall we go?"
They turned and left the underground.
Filming crew followed.
Finally, Mu-hyuk and his group.
"Whew, ice-cold guy."
Sung Min-woo's quip shattered the tension.
"Don't ruin the mood."
"Tch, fine."
"What about those players?"
"Dunno."
"Kill 'em every login?"
"Thinking on it."
Yerin approached worriedly.
"You okay, oppa?"
"Huh? Why?"
"Wasn't that too harsh...? It'll air on broadcast."
Mu-hyuk patted her head.
"It's fine. It's a game. And anyway."
"Hm?"
"If someone's trying to take what I have, I block it. Can't just hand it over. If anyone gripes, ignore 'em."
Differing views.
No right or wrong.
The strong simply held power.
"No worries."
"Okay."
"Let's check this place out."
"Yeah!"
They approached the most prominent statue.
Sung Min-woo, Yerin, and Kim Ji-yeon poked it but found nothing.
Mu-hyuk tapped it.
A hologram appeared.
Test subject confirmed.
Place an item as offering in the hole before the statue to use Zombie Necromancer skills.
From now until the test ends, you cannot receive items from anyone.
Unexpected info. Useful in crises, but no item transfers was risky.
No trades?
He tested: opened auction, bought cheap item.
Trading is not possible in this situation.
Trades blocked indeed.
Well, makes sense—infinite gold for endless zombies would break it.
"Anything?"
"Yeah."
"Ooh, what?"
"Touched the statue, hologram popped up. It said..."
He shared; they pondered.
"Fair enough. Just survive a week, right?"
"Yep."
"Okay! Let's tough it out!"
Leaving Sung Min-woo fired up, Mu-hyuk placed an item in the statue's hole.
"What're you doing?"
"Gotta test how it works."
Light leaked from the statue.
Item vanished cleanly.
New hologram.
1. Zombie Summon
Revives corpses from the ground. Can summon a set number even without corpses, but more corpses yield more zombies.
2. Self-Destruct
Sacrifices zombies for a lethal AoE explosion.
3. Curse
Curses zombies to deal continuous damage around them.
4. Zombie Enhancement
Greatly boosts zombies' physical abilities...
...and more (abridged).
No full details.
Probably clear on acquisition.
Summon, explode, enhance.
Zombie necromancer's value shone. Other skills viable too—not dismissible.
Must get this.
Chills at the thought.
Skeleton-zombie horde overwhelming numbers.
True one-man army.
One week...!
He vowed to endure.
*
Players' gazes at Mu-hyuk unchanged, despite the kills.
Not Mu-hyuk's fault.
Not theirs.
Just clashes over prime prizes.
Act, and own results. Most knew, so business as usual.
Even dissenters conceded soon.
But some grumbled subtly—wasting a week here irked them.
Mu-hyuk felt bad too.
Hmm, no choice?
He resolved on drastic measures.