Chapter 29
Chapter 29
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Translator: Ryuma
Chapter: 29
Chapter Title: The Result of Choice (3)
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“……What kind of lies are you…….”
“Gyu-hyeok-nim! A message from the search party! They’ve spotted goblins emerging from the direction of Sinseol-dong Station!”
An assist came at the perfect time.
As Yang Gyu-hyeok remained silent for a long while, I smirked and delivered the final blow.
“I’ll take care of them and come back. This seems like a profitable deal for you, wouldn't you say?”
“……Fine. I promise.”
[A Main Quest has been generated.]
[CH.4 - Ugliness]
An extreme situation.
If you could survive by sacrificing others, what choice would you make?
Reward: 1800 Coins
‘Done.’
Only after seeing the main quest generate did I feel some of my tension ease.
This way, the story could unfold as I knew it.
I barely managed to get back on the path I’d nearly strayed from.
If things had gone according to the instigators, there was a risk the main quest would have changed into something I didn't know.
That could have led to the disaster of not obtaining the trait I was after. It was a relief.
[The Judge of Consecration suppresses his anger.]
[You have been sponsored 200 Coins.]
This was a bit surprising.
He was the type to fly off the handle like he had anger management issues whenever he saw someone unjust.
You could get a massive sponsorship by acting like a champion of justice and wiping out villains, but otherwise, he rarely sponsored anyone.
In other words, this was quite an unusual event.
“Thank you, Se-hyeon-ssi.”
“Not at all. It was the right thing to do.”
Jeong Ha-yeon, who looked worn out as if from severe emotional distress, approached me.
Jo Min-ah and Jeong Su-ji immediately came to her side and began to comfort her.
“You people can negotiate on your own. Don’t follow us.”
The six people, who had been left high and dry, didn't know what to do.
But that didn't last long. The ones who had joined in later started backing out, claiming they never intended for things to go this far. Eventually, even the man who first instigated the whole thing tried to latch onto our group, asking to be included.
“You damn bats…!”
Enraged by this was the one man who remained.
The man who had sneered and cornered Jeong Ha-yeon the most.
[Using the skill, ‘Extreme Eye’.]
His name was Im Gyeong-jun.
Nothing particularly special about him, but the fact that he possessed an elemental ability to control earth was somewhat important.
Come to think of it, wasn't he one of the people mobilized to dig the ground at the stadium?
He had also reacted disapprovingly when told they would have to dig to hide here.
Though he did shut up and work after being told he’d get extra food.
Im Gyeong-jun chewed his lip, deliberating, before approaching Yang Gyu-hyeok.
It seemed he intended to negotiate on his own.
But without having played the original game, he wouldn't have any information worth using as a bargaining chip.
‘I’ll have to be wary.’
He could try to use us as sacrifices again.
Once a backstabber, always a backstabber.
“Hyung.”
Once we were some distance from the Dongdaemun base, Jo Min-woo spoke, glancing at me cautiously.
“What is it?”
“To be honest… I don’t think that guy from before will keep his promise.”
“He probably won’t.”
“What?”
Jo Min-woo’s eyes widened at my casual agreement.
Yang Gyu-hyeok was that type of person.
Even without something like an ‘Eye of Truth’ to discern lies, it was easy to tell.
“Then we’ll have done them a favor and won’t even be able to get in, right? Aren’t we just being used like suckers?”
Suckers.
For a moment, I considered smacking him on the head but barely restrained myself.
“Oppa must have a plan.”
“R-right?”
“You’ve been watching him this whole time. You know how amazing he is. Has Oppa ever acted without a plan?”
“……Never, right? That’s true! We just have to trust Hyung!”
His worries now gone, Jo Min-woo grinned and clasped his hands behind his head.
My eyes met Jo Min-ah’s.
Her smile seemed to say, *leave him to me*.
I let out a small chuckle myself.
‘I have to go there to get it.’
I fidgeted, clenching and unclenching my hands.
There was something I needed to start practicing in earnest.
Mana.
In the game, skills activated automatically with the press of a button, but in reality, if I didn't master the manipulation of mana myself, I couldn't produce the proper effects.
‘First, that feeling.’
I calmly activated Extreme Eye.
The sensation of some kind of energy gathering in my eyes.
It was like a raging torrent, yet also like a gentle warmth.
This was the feeling.
The movement of mana. The flow of mana.
“……Kim Se-hyeon-nim.”
Just as I was on the verge of grasping it, someone called out to me.
It was the two players who had stayed behind with me.
“What is it?”
“We will be going our separate ways now.”
“You’re saying this now?”
“There’s no reason to take the hard road when there’s an easy one.”
I looked at their faces.
Their eyes wavered slightly when they met my gaze, but it didn't seem like they would change their decision.
Taking the hard road when there's an easy one.
I almost laughed.
They say a little knowledge is a dangerous thing.
“As you wish. I won’t stop you from leaving.”
I had no lingering attachment to them.
They weren't valuable enough for me to recruit as companions, and there was no need for me to stop them from leaving.
“Wait a moment. Are you saying you’ll act on your own, just the two of you? It’s dangerous. You still don’t know exactly what kind of world this is.”
“……We’re not completely ignorant. We have a plan. We’re heading south.”
Lee Seon-yul tried to dissuade them out of concern, but it was no use.
Honestly, I didn’t get it either.
Even after I showed them a strategy that cleared Chapter 3 without the Authority of Flames, they still didn't trust me enough to stay.
Chapters 4 and 6, was it?
Did they really think they could just charge ahead without knowing what comes next?
‘It doesn’t matter.’
Lee Seon-yul sent me a silent plea to help persuade them, but I shook my head.
“Their minds seem to be made up.”
“Still.”
“Lee Seon-yul, that’s enough. It’s their choice. Whether they live or die.”
Kim Ji-hyeon, who had been quiet, stepped in, and Lee Seon-yul could no longer press the issue.
I gave a slight nod and watched them walk away, not towards Dongdaemun, but in a completely different direction.
South, huh.
Certainly, things would be relatively easier if they went that way.
The quests would progress automatically and comfortably, but the downside was that there would be almost no growth.
Since they didn't know the game in detail anyway, they probably just wanted to live a long, quiet life.
That path might be better for them.
I turned my head toward Kim Ji-hyeon and Lee Seon-yul.
They both still had their doubts about me.
But those doubts were merely curiosity about my past.
Fundamentally, they were favorable toward me.
And they needed to stay that way.
“Let’s get moving. Sinseol-dong Station isn't far.”
***
“As expected, Se-hyeon-nim, you were amazing.”
As if trying to change the mood, Lee Seon-yul spoke up with a gentle smile.
“Even Ji-hyeon-nim and I were at a loss, racking our brains over how to resolve that situation. But thanks to your efforts, we’ve put out the immediate fire.”
“It wasn't the best outcome. We still have to raid the monsters’ base.”
“Not at all. If it were me, we would have just ended up on bad terms and given up on entering Dongdaemun for good. You, Se-hyeon-ssi, at least left the possibility open. And…”
Lee Seon-yul gave a meaningful smile.
“Judging by your expression, you seem to have something in mind.”
“……I have a few things.”
Whether we entered Dongdaemun or not, I had to go there anyway.
Only by going there could I obtain the trait I wanted.
It had become a more cumbersome process, but the reward was certain.
An S-rank. And a top-tier one at that.
In some ways, better than the Authority of Flames.
I couldn't let it slip away.
“Normally, this isn't something I’d bring up now, but… you seem worth it, Se-hyeon-nim.”
With that, Lee Seon-yul glanced around and, after confirming that no one else was paying attention, spoke softly enough for only me to hear.
“Se-hyeon-nim. Would you like to join our Jamryong Guild?”
“Pardon?”
Did I hear him correctly?
I thought he might be joking, but Lee Seon-yul’s eyes were serious.
It was only Chapter 4.
They shouldn't be scouting already.
“Ah, I should probably explain about the Jamryong Guild first. So…”
“No, an explanation about that is fine.”
“Is that so? Come to think of it, you mentioned you were familiar with subcultures. You might already know plenty about it.”
In some ways, I knew more than Lee Seon-yul.
Like the secret the guild master of the Jamryong Guild was hiding.
I pretended to deliberate for a moment before answering.
“……I’ll think about it.”
There was still quite some time before guilds would start their large-scale scouting.
It wasn't something that should have come up yet, but considering what I had accomplished, it was understandable.
Still, I had no intention of joining the Jamryong Guild.
‘There’s no need to join anywhere.’
In the beginning, when I was clueless, I had joined the Jamryong Guild and received ample support, but in the end, it was the wrong decision.
It was just like the World Cup Stadium.
Large and impressive-looking, but a sandcastle destined to crumble.
That's what guilds were like.
As I fell silent, Lee Seon-yul deftly changed the subject.
“By the way, this is strange. If a Death Worm was roaming this area, goblins shouldn’t have been able to wander around freely.”
“What do you mean by that?”
“It’s a matter of hierarchy among monsters. They don’t trespass into the territory of a higher-grade individual. But this is a blatant disregard for that rule…”
“Ah. It’s similar to what happened at Jeungsan Station.”
That was when we went to the school to rescue the twins.
Because a C-grade monster had attacked Jeungsan Station, no Death Bites had appeared in the vicinity.
It should have been similar this time.
It would be one thing if the goblins had started their activities after the Death Worm died, but since they were active even before then, it was a natural question.
“Besides, the distance from Sinseol-dong Station to Dongdaemun is quite significant, isn’t it?”
“That’s why it’s a mystery. Why the goblins expanded their territory this far… I have a bad feeling about this.”
There was one possibility.
A new rule that had been added when the second-generation players awakened.
The surrounding scenery came into view.
It wasn't the cityscape I knew, but ruins that had become overgrown with vegetation.
Buildings that couldn't have collapsed more than a few days ago were already covered in all sorts of plants, as if hundreds of years had passed.
“……We’ll know when we get there.”
At Dongmyo Station, even an overturned train was already covered in greenery.
The reactions of my companions, who found it fascinating, were rather strange. I wondered if they knew what it signified.
After about thirty minutes of moving cautiously east, avoiding combat as much as possible, we stopped after climbing a tall building within sight of the entrance to Sinseol-dong Station.
“So those are the monsters called… goblins? They look strange.”
“From their perspective, we probably look stranger.”
Jo Min-ah nodded, saying, “That’s true.”
I looked at the entrance to Sinseol-dong Station, nestled among the goblins, and the corners of my mouth twitched.
The thought of obtaining ‘that trait’ soon made my desire burn.
The pounding of my heart seemed to echo in my ears.
“This isn’t good.”
Kim Ji-hyeon muttered, squinting slightly.
Most of the entrances were destroyed, and only one of those visible was intact.
Even that one was difficult to approach secretly, with dozens of goblins loitering around it.
“What’s the plan now, Kim Se-hyeon?”
“You ask me so naturally.”
“Your judgment is worth listening to.”
I silently turned my gaze back down below.
I could see the goblins scurrying around, cackling.
Individually, they were E-rank, but because they moved in packs and were numerous, their actual difficulty was higher.
In truth, these things weren't the real problem.
The problem was ‘that thing’ existing in the basement of Sinseol-dong Station.
I needed to prepare thoroughly.
“I’m going to do some scouting. Get some rest.”