Syrvelis's Sacrificial Sword (1)
"No way. That crazy Kang Hae-il...!"
Ram clutched her head, yanking at her hair.
"Now's not the time to worry about him!"
He couldn't even defeat a level 17 Sagosul, yet here he was carrying a level 27 one. Where on earth had she dug up such a frustrating idiot?
Ram thought this, then froze.
"I... I was the one who picked him."
He was the protagonist she herself had chosen.
"Ram, this isn't about Hae-il. That guy's the villain."
In truth, traits like Kang Hae-il's humanity and unyielding conviction were massive advantages—so long as a ruthless bastard like Julian didn't latch onto him. The generosity to win hearts, the recognition of others, the ironclad beliefs.
Yeah. Isn't this guy straight out of a Romance of the Three Kingdoms hero story~?
That was exactly why she had picked him.
The protagonist wasn't the problem.
That guy was.
Julian.
"Anyway, what do we do? The item Julian obtained is way too high-tier."
The conviction-driven hero was steadily becoming the perfect prey for a cold pragmatist. At this rate, he was the one who looked poised to become this era's true hero.
Purely through raw power.
"Belzerack's Tears... that thing is dangerous."
Julian had ultimately claimed a top-grade item reward. This wasn't something Ram or Sam had designed. It was a purely external existence, an item that should not exist. How had it ended up there of all places?
Because of me, obviously!
The cause was Ram accidentally dumping coins into the system. It was entirely her fault.
Perhaps because of that guilt, Ram tried to change the subject.
"B-but! What about that!? That rare-grade hwando. The one that was suddenly gifted."
The subtext was clear: Even if I didn't give that item, the balance is already broken anyway!
Sam, however, wasn't letting her off the hook.
"Ah, that one. I read the description—it's nothing special. It's only rare-grade to begin with, right? The real problem is Belzerack's Tears."
Sam stubbornly kept steering the conversation back to the mythic item. This was a topic Ram could not escape.
"I-is one mythic-grade item really that big a deal...?"
She had resorted to downplaying mythic-grade items entirely. Of course, it wasn't completely wrong. It was only one, after all.
But Sam refused to yield.
"The fact that it's mythic-grade is a problem, but the bigger issue is that it's tuned for the 50-60 level range. Our current chapter is 20-30 levels! That's far more fatal! Honestly, even if it had been legendary or hero-grade it would still be a problem!"
He exploded.
His assistant was now yelling at her. That was how serious the situation had become. Level brackets were absolute when adjusting balance. A mythic-grade item obtained by a level 10 was worth less than a rare item meant for level 30s. The level range was that important.
The problem was that the mythic-grade item Julian had brought out was calibrated for the 50-60 level bracket. After all, the boss there—Belzerack—had been level 60.
Ram clutched her head again.
"Ugh... I don't know! Just dump everything on Kang Hae-il!"
This was Ram's solution. Strength was relative anyway. If Kang Hae-il became that strong, wouldn't it balance out?
"What? B-but we already did!"
Sam's eyes widened.
When Julian was suffering in Archidia, the reason Kang Hae-il's level had skyrocketed was precisely because of this. The gates he entered had offered equally ridiculous rewards.
"That's experience points. Focus on item rewards. If we wrap him in mythic-grade gear tuned for the 30-40 level range, he should at least be able to compete no matter what."
"...But Kang Hae-il is entering the gate together with Julian right now?"
"He's going in to carry him, isn't he? That Sagosul bastard is just going to pretend to be carried and stand still anyway! So just give Kang Hae-il more items!"
"...!?"
She was right. There was no way Julian would move recklessly. His level was already high and his items were sufficient. His top priority was keeping his identity hidden, so he wouldn't do anything that raised his contribution.
"That's actually a good idea."
Sam thought it made sense too.
"He came out quick. Porter."
When Junil stepped outside, Kang Hae-il was already waiting.
"......?"
He hadn't come by car. He had ridden something similar.
"Where in Korea did you even get a motorcycle like that?"
It was a motorcycle. With a sidecar attached beside it.
Wasn't that illegal?
Well, in an era where male and female goblins paired up and cruised around like lovebugs, a little thing like that was probably treated as nothing more than jaywalking on a two-lane road.
"Ah. Cars are inconvenient when hunting for gates. Parking is a pain."
"That's not the issue..."
The sidecar. That's what's weird, man. Are you trying to film a live-action Batman & Robin or something?
He never got the chance to ask.
Kang Hae-il immediately put on his helmet, tossed one to Junil, and gestured.
Whoosh!
"Ya, ta!"
Thud.
Junil caught the suddenly thrown helmet and nodded calmly.
"Yes. I guess I have to get on. What choice do I have?"
Junil, who had already grown used to Kang Hae-il's personality, climbed into the sidecar without another word.
"Wow... where did you even find something like this..."
Vrooooom!
"Urk!"
The manly driving didn't even give him time to complain. As expected, the ride quality was abysmal. It felt like racing around in a practice go-kart.
Wouldn't a horse be better?
Honestly, the wild horse he'd ridden inside the gate that refused to listen seemed preferable.
"How is it? Nice, right?"
Kang Hae-il glanced back and asked. For some reason it felt like the expected answer was 'Yeah! It's awesome! Hyung!'
"Ah, yes. It's insanely romantic. I think I might actually die from— Aaaaack?!"
Thump!
Kang Hae-il used the speed bump as a launch ramp.
This crazy bastard.
Junil had to focus mana into his backside. I'm deducting a million won from the settlement. He plotted petty revenge while pulling down the goggles attached to the helmet. In movies, the sidekick always wore these, didn't they?
Got to play the part.
Junil, fully aware he was a character in the story, did what was expected.
Click.
He put on the goggles. Sure enough, Kang Hae-il looked back as if he'd been waiting for exactly that.
It made sense.
"Uh...? What is this?"
There was a display inside the goggles. What kind of future tech was this? It was almost ridiculous.
"Yeah. It's a gate signal receiver."
"...Excuse me? Did you buy it off Temu?"
"There's no way it's from Temu right now."
"That's why I'm asking if you bought it from some shady place."
Junil was even worried about Hae-il getting scammed. If anyone's scamming, it should be me. They were already in the same boat. If Hae-il got ripped off somewhere weird, it would cause problems for both of them.
"No. The government gave it to me."
"...Excuse me!? Uh, which government? North Korea?"
"North Korea isn't a country. It's a terrorist organization occupying the northern part of the Korean peninsula."
"Uh... yes."
Hae-il pointed at his own temple with a thumb and explained.
"Turn the dial next to it and it shows the estimated difficulty, entry capacity, location—everything."
"Huh? R-really? It's not a scam, right? It's not going to shock me or anything?"
Click.
When he turned the dial, it really displayed all the information one by one.
It actually works?
It functioned perfectly. Shockingly so.
"I told you, the government gave it."
"That's exactly why I'm calling it a scam. This is a total scam... an absolute scam..."
No, what kind of discriminatory treatment is this?
National-level discrimination. How was anyone supposed to live with this?
Why is the performance so good?
As they rode past, it showed not only real gate locations but detailed information as well.
That one's already full.
Most of the gates on the display were at maximum capacity. And it matched reality. Many awakeners were already moving in advance, wary of the upcoming World Boss.
So this is why we need it.
With this receiver they could quickly locate and head toward any newly appeared gate. No worries at all.
"Pick one with suitable difficulty and tell me."
"Ah, yes... Let's go with a fresh one."
When Junil selected one and input it, the information transferred to the navigation on Kang Hae-il's motorcycle.
"Okay."
Vrooooom!
He immediately changed direction and sped off.
The first gate they arrived at.
"Is this it?"
Kang Hae-il asked, removing his helmet.
"Yes. It's inside the apartment complex."
Looking around, it was surrounded by apartment buildings. They were inside a large residential complex.
"That one, right?"
It wasn't as green as the gate where Isilen had appeared, but it had so little red it could almost be called blue. Since it had appeared recently, it wasn't awakeners gathered around but ordinary civilians murmuring among themselves.
"K-Kang Hae-il."
"Wow, it's really him!?"
"What? He shows up even for a gate like this?"
They recognized him the moment the helmet came off. Of course they recognized Junil too.
"The guy next to him is that baggage carrier, right?"
"The SF duo was real? I thought it was science fiction. How does he run around with an F-rank?"
"Was his name Robin?"
"No, it's Magnet Pet."
"What's his name?"
"Who names someone Magnet Pet."
"Ah..."
Kang Hae-il seemed all too familiar with their whispering. He gestured as he walked straight toward the gate.
"Ya, ta."
"Ya, I'll come..."
"You ride the bus. Get on."
Grin.
Kang Hae-il said it with a touch of humor and entered first.
"...Good grief."
Junil was about to enter when he paused.
"The bus is here~ The bus is here~"
"Does an F-rank even take a shit?!"
"An F-rank is always shitting, dumbass~"
"F-rank itself is shit. Idiot."
A group of elementary school kids had gathered and were making a ruckus. It was extremely annoying.
"Hey kids. No matter how much of a baggage carrier I am, have you never wondered why I'm sticking next to Kang Hae-il?"
Junil decided to give the children a little education.
"Because you're weak! You gotta stick behind the strongest person and suck up to them!"
"......"
It was half correct, to be fair.
Junil briefly considered testing the Narrative Trick Hwando on them, but chose a gentler method instead.
Launch them.
Whooooosh!
The wind spirit grabbed the children and hurled them upward.
"Eek, uwaaaaah!?"
"Aaaaack!"
"What the heck!?"
Junil stretched out his hand theatrically and declared, "Hyung isn't just an F-rank~"
Whooooooosh!
The kids floating in the air all burst into tears.
Then—
Artifact Reaction
Suffering collected. Tears have risen.
"Wheeee~ We're flying~!"
"Uwaaaaaah!"
It was pathetic. But it was surprisingly fun. Was this what playing with nephews felt like?
"Aaaaack! Ahahaha!"
The kids eventually seemed to enjoy it too.
However—
Huh?
Junil noticed something strange. The gate Kang Hae-il had entered was gradually glowing redder. The difficulty was changing in real time.
Ram, believing Junil had already gone inside, must have thrown coins in advance. But because he got delayed dealing with the kids, the timing had been thrown off.
Those fairy bastards... pulling pranks?
Junil, having detected Ram's intervention, smiled with interest.
Since they don't know about the Narrative Trick Hwando, they try cheap tricks like this?
The fairies would know about mythic and legendary rewards, but they couldn't know about narrative trick equipment. That was the item's entire concept.
If they get caught playing tricks, their hands should fly off.
Thinking that, he took the Narrative Trick Hwando out of his inventory and equipped it at his waist.
Click.
Lower them now.
Thud.
The wind spirit gently set the children back on the ground.
"Uh...?"
"What, it's over?"
"Do it again! Do it again! Porter hyung!"
"Hey. If you want more, scratch harder. Then I'll launch you again."
"Damn F-rank bastard! Launch us more!"
The children begged to be thrown again, but Junil simply waved and stepped into the gate.
Whoosh!