Chapter 174
Chapter 174
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Translator: Ryuma
Chapter: 174
Chapter Title: ACT.31 The Game Board in Hand (6)
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‘This has gotten complicated.’
Seon Woo-jin rubbed his forehead and let out an irritated sigh.
‘I’m stuck between a rock and a hard place.’
The Taegeuk Guild and Paradise were in a cooperative relationship.
On the promised day, the Taegeuk Guild would collapse from within, while external forces, including Paradise, would attack from the outside, annihilating Korea’s guilds in one fell swoop.
It was a win-win: the biggest obstacle would be gone, and Paradise would achieve its goal of eliminating players.
If all went according to plan, the Taegeuk Guild would be recognized for its contribution and, with the Phoenix Guild's backing, could potentially gain de facto control over the Korean peninsula.
That was the plan until recently.
‘Hoo.’
It was suffocating.
He couldn't fight Paradise, but if he didn't, he would surely arouse suspicion.
If he was absolutely forced to the front lines, he had planned to coordinate with Paradise to stage a series of minor skirmishes. But now, there was the added mission of finding a Stigma mine.
If he was passive in battle, he had to find a mine. If he kept the mine a secret, he had to show results in battle.
It was as if they were saying, ‘You know the location of Paradise’s Stigma mine, don't you? Spill it.’
He thought of Kim Se-hyeon.
The very person who had created this situation, leaving him unable to argue.
‘Was it intentional, or not…?’
He shook his head.
The suspicion was strong, but it was also absurd.
The Taegeuk Guild had always fought against unofficial guilds and hostile forces like Paradise.
Or rather, they had made it look that way.
In any case, with everyone else believing that narrative, who would ever suspect that the Taegeuk Guild was connected to Paradise?
There was no evidence, and it was impossible to find any.
Even within the Taegeuk Guild, only he, the Guild Master, and a few vice masters knew about the connection to Paradise.
Could a vice master have betrayed them?
That was impossible.
The Taegeuk Guild’s vice masters were people he had worked with since his days in the Phoenix Guild.
There was absolutely no reason for them to betray him.
“Damn it!”
Seon Woo-jin slammed his fist on the desk in frustration.
In the end, this situation was purely a coincidence.
But the fact that things could turn so unfavorable by sheer chance was messing with his head.
‘It’s tricky to ask for help from the Phoenix Guild, too.’
This was right after the incident where the Sosindan had been stolen.
Xiao Hui had already decided Seon Woo-jin was the culprit and would have reported his version of events to the Phoenix Guild.
Seon Woo-jin had tried to contact the Phoenix Guild to clear things up, but the response he received was frustratingly ambiguous.
‘I have no choice. I’ll have to give them the location of one of the least valuable mines.’
Doing so would naturally cause friction with Paradise.
The fact that the Taegeuk Guild had uncovered and handed over information about the mine.
Since the Taegeuk Guild had been officially tasked with that role, that fact couldn't be changed.
But as Seon Woo-jin thought, he had no other choice.
It was better than being exposed as a spy for the Taegeuk Guild.
Avoid the worst and choose the lesser of two evils.
That was all Seon Woo-jin could do.
With a long sigh, Seon Woo-jin took out another smartphone and sent a text to someone.
***
[The Taegeuk Guild has sent the results of their investigation.]
A text arrived from Seong Woo-hyeon.
As expected, Seon Woo-jin had coughed up information on one of the mines.
‘Bingo.’
He was in a situation where he had to give up at least one.
In other words, if you’re going to take a loss anyway, you should minimize it.
Therefore, the mine revealed by this information would naturally be one of relatively low value.
I’d do the same.
‘I already know the location of the biggest mine, anyway.’
Right before the war with Paradise.
Something was originally supposed to happen in the 15th chapter, which had been skipped due to the Disaster of Solitude.
As a result of that event, Paradise would stumble upon a massive Stigma mine near the end of the chapter.
That mine produced four S-rank Stigmas, which became the reason the enemy’s power increased and the difficulty spiked.
‘Originally, in chapter 16, you’d corner Paradise. Then, their main forces would flee to the Stigma mine as a last resort. In chapter 17, you’d fight the enemies, who had become much stronger due to the Stigmas.’
But what if I destroy that Stigma mine in advance?
I can get through the difficult 17th chapter with ease.
Normally, this wouldn't be possible.
Chapter 16 always involved fighting strengthened enemies because reaching the Stigma mine was impossible, but it’s different now.
The chapter error had removed the quest area restrictions.
It was a kind of glitch, but you could call it a reward for dealing with the Disaster of Solitude early.
Since neither the angels nor the devils had interfered yet, it was safe to assume there was no problem.
‘If there are other mines, I’ll have to find them, too.’
I had a plan for that case as well.
[As expected of the Taegeuk Guild. They've made full use of their excellent information-gathering skills.]
I smirked after reading the rest of Seong Woo-hyeon’s message.
I had considered telling the other guild masters that the Taegeuk Guild was going to betray them, but I decided against it.
To deceive the enemy, you must first deceive your allies.
A basic principle of warfare. The less information is exposed, the better.
Besides, telling them in that atmosphere wouldn't have elicited a good reaction.
Even with the Crystal of Truth, people don’t always think so rationally.
‘It’s rare for the communication networks to still be up.’
In most cases, they would have been cut off since the King of Disease, making information exchange difficult.
But because I had stressed their importance early on, the guilds were taking turns managing and protecting them.
The Taegeuk Guild was excluded, of course.
If I left it to them, they’d cut the lines at a critical moment.
The monsters instinctively attack the area periodically, so it seems they’re having a tough time, but it all gets calculated into their rewards.
It's a good thing when coins just roll in on their own.
My gamer self would have been thrilled to hunt in such a prime spot.
[Understood. I'll go as a separate unit, so please act as if you're moving slowly.]
I sent the text.
Seon Woo-jin couldn't have told Paradise that an attack was coming their way.
If they were fully prepared, it would naturally raise suspicion.
Paradise would be caught off guard, misunderstand that Taegeuk had betrayed them, and would only scramble to clean up the mess after the mine was raided.
“Not that I plan on giving them time to recover.”
I turned my head to the twins, who had finished their preparations to leave.
Their faces were a mix of excitement and anticipation at the thought of finally fighting by my side.
Considering the third disaster that would appear later, I needed to make the kids resolve themselves to wield their power.
This world was not kind enough to postpone it any longer.
‘Above all, there’s no guarantee the progressors will fight fair.’
Jeong Ha-yeon slipping away from the group again was likely an order from Lee Min-hwa.
Hwang Yu-jin seemed to have naturally filled her spot, but she would probably stick with Hwang Chan-jin.
It looked like it would just be the three of us for this mission.
Still, if she wasn't going to come along on this one, maybe I could entrust her with something else.
Knowing Jeong Ha-yeon's personality, she wouldn't be able to refuse.
“Oppa, what should we do?”
“You two will…”
Jo Min-ah spoke just as I put my smartphone away after sending the text.
I thought for a moment, then looked at Jo Min-ah and smirked.
“Do you happen to like blockbuster movies?”
***
“Hah!”
KABOOM!
Engulfed in the explosion, the mine collapses.
Last time, I went inside the mine, swept up anything useful, and then blew it up. This time, I detonated all the Stigmas inside without doing so.
Naturally, the scale of the explosion was on another level.
“That’s one hell of a sound.”
“Oppa, will this be enough?”
“The firepower is sufficient. Just blow it up a little more to make sure it’s completely destroyed.”
Since I had evacuated the people from the mine beforehand, there were no casualties from the explosion.
If I had come alone, I wouldn't have cared much, but the one causing the explosions with fireballs was none other than Jo Min-ah.
If she realized that her actions had killed many people, she would be deeply shocked.
It was the natural thing to do.
“Damn it! You can't even handle one little kid!?”
“Then you try it!”
“Hmph! Not a chance!”
The players guarding the mine tried to stop Jo Min-ah, but they were blocked by Jo Min-woo.
Every time his flaming fists and legs landed, a burly adult was easily sent flying.
Martial Frame really was a cheat.
Its true value couldn't be understood from simple stat increases alone.
A genius for combat.
A talent that allowed one to gain experience in 10 or 20 hours that would take others 1000 hours to master.
That was the trait called Martial Frame.
‘That’s not all, though.’
Strictly speaking, Jo Min-woo wasn't skilled enough to take them all on.
But whenever a truly dangerous attack came from Jo Min-woo’s blind spot, Zeta would emerge from the shadows and silently claim a life.
With Zeta, against whom even an S-rank player couldn't guarantee victory, watching his back.
“What the hell is going on!? Why can’t we beat this one kid!?”
“S-Something’s weird! It feels like there’s someone else here!”
“I can’t get close…!”
With the defenders failing to produce any results, the miners who had been excavating the Stigmas could only wring their hands in frustration.
The Stigma mine in Gyeryongsan had been attacked.
So they had raised their guard and increased their defensive forces, but they probably didn't expect to be attacked again so soon.
“You crazy bastards!! Do you have any idea how much that's all worth!!!”
The person in charge of this place screamed, almost having a seizure.
Even if they weren't high-grade like C-rank, they were traded for high prices.
Whether in money or coins.
Not only had they blown it all up, but they had also destroyed it from the inside so that nothing could ever be mined again. It was practically the same as having your stocks crash overnight.
It was certainly something to cry about.
But it had nothing to do with me.
It wasn't my stock, after all.
“Stigmas make pretty good bombs. Whether you sell them to buy bombs or just blow them up, the cost is probably similar.”
“This mine is worth tens of billions, don't be ridiculous!”
A goose that lays golden eggs, if left alone.
If given enough time, the money it could generate was infinite.
In that sense, its value was even greater.
I let out a smirk.
“That’s why I’m blowing it up. Destroying the enemy’s supply line is a basic military tactic, isn’t it?”
I looked around.
Before I knew it, all those troops were sprawled on the ground.
That Min-woo kid has certainly gotten a lot stronger than before.
The only person still standing was the manager in front of me, who looked as if he’d lost his country.
“It was you…!? The one who destroyed the mine in Gyeryongsan!”
“Let's be accurate. I didn't destroy that one, the disaster did.”
“How… how did you know about this place…”
“Oppa! I think the mine is completely destroyed!”
Jo Min-ah said, wiping the sweat from her forehead.
At her words, the manager’s body trembled as he glared fiercely at Jo Min-ah.
Jo Min-ah flinched for a moment, but she wasn’t any more frightened than that.
“You damned little bitch…!”
Jo Min-woo immediately stepped forward, his face hardening fiercely.
*Fwoosh.* Flames erupted violently from his fist.
“One brat after another!!”
The manager snapped and suddenly swung a fist that had turned to metal.
A hardening ability?
It would grant some resistance to fire, but that level was far from enough.
I silently observed Jo Min-woo’s judgment.
A one-on-one fight. The opponent had attacked first.
Jo Min-woo’s eyes gleamed as his arm shot forward.
I let out a small gasp of admiration at the unexpected move.
Jo Min-woo had chosen to meet the punch head-on.
THWACK!!
“Kuaargh!?”
The moment their fists collided, the man screamed, clutched his arm, stumbled backward, and fell.
In contrast, Jo Min-woo seemed completely unharmed.
Jo Min-woo approached him and said in a chilling voice,
“Apologize to Min-ah.”