The World Where the Strong Rule
Mu-hyuk and Sung Min-woo continued trudging onward, leaving the five women behind them still whining and complaining. One of them spotted the pair drawing near a wild horse and smirked.
"Look at that."
"Oh my. What's that archer doing? Not even firing an arrow?"
"What do those two idiots think they're gonna do?"
It was right then.
Kirrik, kiririk.
Sssss.
Over twenty skeletons easily, plus four hefty attribute spirits, all materialized into view.
"Uh...?"
A necromancer and a spirit fighter?
No, but what the hell was with that many?
And what were those forms?
Everything they thought they knew shattered in an instant. Words failed them as the battle erupted.
The level 60 variant wild horses—tricky bastards they'd pegged as tough—were getting utterly trampled.
Hiiiing...
Their pitiful whinnies were heartbreaking.
They dropped in seconds.
Thud.
The wild horses turned gray and faded away, utterly unreal.
Took a minute, tops?
The five women rubbed their eyes in unison.
Then they stared at each other.
"Not a hallucination, right?"
"No... it's not."
"......"
Every one of them looked utterly baffled.
Among them, one woman couldn't hide her anxiety. The one who'd spoken directly to Mu-hyuk and kicked off the trash-talk: Lee Ga-young.
"He was a ranker...?"
"Ugh, this is so embarrassing. What do we do?"
That's when it hit her.
Mu-hyuk's cold expression and gaze.
"He'll remember us, right?"
"Obviously."
"He's probably got a guild too."
"At that level..."
"What if he puts a hit out on us?"
The other four whipped their heads around at that.
A hit order?
They stared at the woman who'd said it.
"Got any guarantee he won't?"
"No, but..."
It was impossible to say for sure.
"No way he'd go that far, right?"
"Illusion's full of psychos who'd do it in a heartbeat."
"Shh, they'll hear."
"They probably heard us badmouthing them earlier anyway."
"......"
Lee Ga-young, who'd been listening silently, bit her lip hard.
How much effort had she poured into hitting level 60? How many hours grinding?
A hit order? No way.
Step.
She stepped forward.
"G-Ga-young?"
No response. She kept walking.
But the closer she got to Mu-hyuk, the more her shoulders slumped.
By the time she was right up on him.
"Um, excuse me..."
He turned, and their eyes met.
She flinched and looked away.
"S-Sorry."
"Pardon?"
Mu-hyuk gave her a weird look.
What the hell, all of a sudden?
She lifted her head and apologized again, more sincerely this time.
"We didn't know you were a ranker..."
"Ah."
"Please, just let it slide this once. I'm sorry for talking shit behind your back!"
What was he supposed to say to that?
I'm not actually a ranker?
Or, sure, apology accepted?
Mu-hyuk stayed silent, at a loss for words.
If Sung Min-woo hadn't jumped in from the side, that silence might've dragged on forever.
"Haha! No worries, it's all good."
"R-Really?"
"Yeah, totally. Now go on, get outta here."
"Thank you!"
She bowed deeply, spun on her heel, and bolted. Watching her go, Mu-hyuk was struck once more by the truth.
A world ruled by those with greater power.
That was Illusion.
*
Mu-hyuk and Sung Min-woo roamed Pascal's Field, hunting wild horses.
"Still blows my mind thinking about it."
"Me too."
Those five women.
"Illusion's something else."
Who could argue?
If Illusion weren't so damn impressive, days like this wouldn't exist.
"Nothing says we can't end up like them someday."
"Us?"
"Yeah. If we piss off some mega-guild and they slap a hit on us, better to bail on hunting grounds fast."
"At that point, I'd just quit."
"Probably."
"You think they'd go that far?"
Mu-hyuk nodded firmly.
It was already happening.
"It's only gonna get worse. Once players see my power, realize everyone's bowing to it—no repercussions for throwing weight around, that they can do anything—more and more will wake up to it. And the more who do, the more fights and beef we'll see. No reason we can't get caught in the crossfire."
"......"
Mu-hyuk was spot on.
"Yeah. That's just human nature."
"So we gotta get stronger."
"Mm. Why not just make a guild?"
He'd considered it.
But right now?
Pointless.
Bad luck, and some big guild marks you—boom, smashed to bits. Even without that, rapid growth draws heat. Better to grow solo in the shadows.
"Not yet."
"Not yet? So later?"
"We'll see..."
Something was brewing, but he didn't elaborate.
Not even Mu-hyuk knew the details.
"If you make one, hook me up."
"Duh."
"Cool. Oh, incoming."
Three variant wild horses charged.
Hiiiing!
He summoned skeletons, then ordered the archers and mages to fire. The beasts took hits mid-charge and staggered back hard.
As they shook it off for another go, the bone swords, enhanced bones, and spirits swarmed them, blades flashing.
Interspersed were spirit blasts and support spells, putting on a hell of a show.
"Alright, my turn!"
Bored stiff, Sung Min-woo cracked his knuckles.
Pa-bat.
He kicked off the ground and dashed in.
Skills chained in a flashy display of footwork.
One punch.
One kick, and a wild horse tumbled.
"Urachacha!"
The weird kiai was a bonus.
*
Pascal's Field was vast.
"Vast" didn't even cut it.
"Hoo, driving me nuts."
"We've covered over half, though."
"That's what pisses me off. Half, and still..."
No tomb yet.
Day three already.
Now they were herding wild horses to hunt.
"How many now?"
"Five."
"Two up ahead—let's grab 'em."
Distance-wise, it shouldn't have taken this long.
Monsters everywhere were the issue. Clearing them en route ate up several times the time.
Couldn't ignore them either. Even at full sprint, wild horses didn't quit easy.
Hell, they were faster—overtaking to attack sometimes.
Started with two or three grouping up for hunts.
Now? Minimum six to make 'em halt and fight.
Pa-ba-bat.
Two wild horses ahead, charging with roars.
Hiiiing!
Swoosh.
Ducked the attack, stood firm.
"Whew."
Seven now.
"Summon."
Finally called the summons.
25 skeletons.
4 spirits.
29 total overwhelming seven wild horses.
Hiiiing!
The sweet spot, learned through trial and error.
Powerful Arrow Shot.
Blessing of the Dead.
As skills flew, Sung Min-woo dove into the fray.
"Kraaap!"
Perfect circular formation from bone swords and enhanced bones.
Mage bones dishing heavy damage.
Bone archers with pinpoint aim.
Spirits in perfect harmony.
×3
Two down in a flash.
Fewer meant easier.
Hiiiing...
Drops in a bucket make a mountain, or whatever.
×4
Single horses gave crap exp, but seven? Solid haul.
That's what kept them going.
Lower exp, and they'd have ditched the quest ages ago.
Whew, tough.
Mu-hyuk admitted finding the tomb wasn't easy.
Never heard of it.
No matter how much Illusion he'd devoured—watching, listening, exploring—he couldn't memorize every quest.
Not unless it shook continents or empires.
Quitting now felt wasteful. Over half covered—had to see it through.
If only to recoup the time sunk.
"Let's go."
"Yeah."
Step.
Heavy steps, scanning around.
No grave-like spots.
Still, kept eyes peeled while moving. But thorough left-right sweeps? Too time-hungry.
So rough visual scans it was—until something flashed in his mind.
"Wait, hold up."
"What?"
"What if the tomb doesn't look like a normal grave?"
"Huh? What're you on about?"
"We've been hunting for raised-up spots 'cause we think 'tomb.'"
"Obviously."
"But it could be flat. Or sunken in. This is Illusion."
"Ah...!"
Worry hit them both.
"Might've passed it already."
"Could be..."
Mood darkened instantly.
He shook his head.
"No choice. Gotta check properly."
"End to end, everything?"
Mu-hyuk nodded.
"Won't take too long?"
"We've wasted over two days already—can't quit now."
"Mm."
"Just treat it like hunting."
"Sigh, fine. Exp's decent anyway."
Herding gave exp rivaling a top-level solo kill—not bad at all.
Frame it as pure hunting, not tomb-hunting? Easier mindset.
Slow steps forward.
Step.
Plan: Drop to the bottom edge first for precision.
Hit field end, advance to visibility limit, backtrack.
Reach end again, shift sideways, repeat backtrack.
Way more time, but thorough was non-negotiable.
*
The program Illusion's World kicked off.
Users who'd waited a week tuned in from everywhere.
Illusion homepage flooded with posts about the live broadcast.
The Red Tower clear hook pulled them to screens—what if it spilled details?
With Yura's words, the screen shifted.
Illusion, Red Tower floor 6.
Edited battle scenes followed her cheer. Slick cuts made it cinematic, unreal.
Yet knowing you could live that in Illusion anytime? Felt real as hell.
Battle wrapped.
Then trekking footage.
Break scene.
More fights and advances, clipped tight.
Up to faces hardening.
They entered floor 7.
Viewers nodded along up to there.
Homepage buzzed.
Stairs ended.
Floor 7's interior finally revealed itself.