Chapter 98
Chapter 98
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Translator: Ryuma
Chapter: 98
Chapter Title: An Eye for an Eye (9)
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“Use it against them…? The virus bomb?”
“The enemy isn’t immune to the virus either.”
The Geumeumdal Guild had to be just as careful with the virus.
In fact, the number of cylinders they consumed during research, transport, and collection would be incomparably greater.
Even for the Geumeumdal Guild, their supply of cylinders wasn't infinite.
I planned to exploit that weakness.
Jeong Ha-yeon let out a short gasp of admiration.
“I hadn’t thought of that. I was only thinking about a cure for the virus…”
“It’ll be faster to eliminate the source than to create a cure for this virus.”
And that was the truth.
Especially without the Divine Doctor, Gong Yeong-hoon.
A virus mutated by an ability could only be stopped by another ability.
The Geumeumdal Guild and the Ark Gate.
At the earliest, it would take a day or two to deal with both.
The only reason I hadn't acted immediately was because I needed some preparations.
I fixed my gaze for a moment on Jeong Ha-yeon, who was observing the bomb in the box from various angles.
‘In terms of growth speed, she’s faster than the twins.’
There were thousands of different traits, unique abilities, and skills.
But the number an individual could possess was limited.
One unique ability. A total of eight traits and skills combined.
Among them, there were naturally some I was unwilling to give to others who could turn into enemies at any moment.
But the vast majority were either disappointing for me to acquire or didn't fit my playstyle.
The solution I found was ‘party members.’
‘Those who will acquire those powers in my place and use them for my sake.’
The need for ‘party members’ could be explained with that one sentence.
I would nurture each party member in the direction I desired, making them useful.
As if I were playing a single-player RPG.
A party just for me.
But I couldn't just assign that role to anyone.
They had to show some potential and have a personality that fit the role I had in mind.
Jeong Ha-yeon was one of the candidates I had considered, but in the end, she had left me.
“…Jeong Ha-yeon-ssi.”
‘Blade of Conviction that Destroys Evil’ possessed a powerful debuff that would drastically lower the difficulty of progression.
It was a waste to let that go.
Maybe I could persuade her again now.
Just as I thought that and was about to speak.
“Kim Se-hyeon! Here’s the stuff you asked for!”
Jun Bo-ra appeared unexpectedly.
Thanks to her, Jeong Ha-yeon didn't seem to have heard what I said.
I felt it was a relief that I’d been cut off.
If I'd clumsily tried to win her over again, I might have just pushed her further away.
I decided to try again when a clear opportunity presented itself.
“What took you so long? Weren’t you chasing them first?”
“I was, but I was looking for a chance to ambush them when I saw you meet up with them, so I just changed direction.”
Jun Bo-ra smiled lightly and handed me a box.
Inside the box was a full stock of cylinders that, at a glance, looked much better than the ones made by the Geumeumdal Guild.
Min Gyeong-hoon was truly something else.
To see a sample and create a new version that was several times better.
As I was marveling at it, Jun Bo-ra suddenly grinned and spoke.
“By the way. You must have seen it since you fought together?”
“Seen what?”
“Jeong Ha-yeon’s ability.”
“…I saw it.”
“It’s the ultimate debuff. And now she’s a member of the same Hongryeon Guild as me.”
Right. That’s why it stung even more.
A jewel I was contemplating how to cut had rolled into someone else’s hands on its own.
As I remained silent, Jun Bo-ra approached Jeong Ha-yeon with a beaming smile.
“Jeong Ha-yeon-ssi, by the way, how is that Judgment thing decided? I remember you said you were a law student. Is it based on the law…?”
“No. I don’t decide on my own. I have constant debates with Zadkiel-nim in my head. Whether something is objectively good or evil. Or if it’s ambiguous. If it’s evil, to what degree… Then I deliver the final verdict.”
It was a good thing it was the clear-cut Zadkiel. If it had been an angel like the ‘Angel of Benevolence,’ a verdict of evil would have been almost impossible.
I had never acquired the ability myself, so I didn't know the principle behind its activation.
If it was as Jeong Ha-yeon described, it wasn't an ability I could use as I pleased, which meant its value was lower than I thought.
“Being a law student is meaningless now. It’s not like the law is effective in a world like this. I used to think that, but now I’m delivering verdicts like a judge, so it feels strange.”
“Was that always your dream?”
“Yes. I saw people who deserved to be punished get off with lenient sentences because of bribes and thought, what kind of law is that? What kind of judge is that? From then on, I decided I would become a judge and deliver proper verdicts.”
“Oh…”
“Really. It would be a better world if there were more righteous people like you, Se-hyeon-ssi.”
“…Righteous?”
I couldn't bring myself to nod, merely replying with a dry, “I see.”
Jun Bo-ra’s incredulous gaze landed on me.
At least, it seemed Jeong Ha-yeon’s favorability towards me had risen a little from this incident.
“Ah, we can’t just stand around like this! The virus has spread all over the residential area! I wonder what happened there…!”
“They probably managed some first aid with the spare cylinders. Though there were likely casualties.”
“That’s a relief, at least…”
Originally, the Geumeumdal Guild's plan was to destroy our spare cylinders and then tighten the noose with a terrorist attack on our base.
I had anticipated this and prevented the spare cylinders from being destroyed, but since we were still using them to stop the virus flowing from the gate, the situation was back to square one.
Either way, the situation was still flowing in the Geumeumdal Guild's favor, but that was about to change.
The improved cylinders I had requested from Min Gyeong-hoon had arrived at the perfect time.
Jun Bo-ra tilted her head as she looked at the improved cylinders.
“Will that be enough to enter the Ark Gate?”
“Honestly, it’s uncertain. The King of Disease could have gotten stronger.”
“The sooner we enter the Ark Gate, the higher our chances.”
“Exactly. So, please teleport us to the guild meeting room to report this.”
“You’re using this as leverage?”
Jun Bo-ra let out a hollow laugh.
Given the circumstances, Jun Bo-ra didn't argue further and immediately used her teleport.
I grabbed both boxes and moved to the location where the meeting had been held.
Seong Woo-hyeon, who was in a serious discussion with someone, immediately greeted me.
“Se-hyeon-nim! What happened!?”
“It was a terrorist attack by the Geumeumdal Guild.”
“As I thought…”
Seong Woo-hyeon let out a long, low sound.
“I succeeded in taking down both of them. With the vice guild master, Lee Chan-ho, dead, Geumeumdal’s strength has been significantly weakened.”
“Lee Chan-ho, you say? That’s welcome news. Then the only S-rank player left in Geumeumdal is the master, Kwon Seong-shin.”
“The number of cylinders is still insufficient, right?”
“We’ve managed to replenish them somehow.”
Seong Woo-hyeon smiled faintly and turned his head to the other side.
I followed his gaze and my eyes met with Hwang Chan-jin’s.
“We may have missed out on you, Se-hyeon-nim, but we succeeded in recruiting Hwang Chan-jin-nim. He went to crush another ‘body’ and ended up seizing all the cylinders that were being transported to the ‘head.’”
I understood at once.
So the empty storage from before was Hwang Chan-jin’s doing.
This was why Seong Woo-hyeon had been so confident during the last meeting when he said he had a way.
Seizing all the cylinders being smuggled to the Geumeumdal headquarters was a huge boon.
“Then…”
“Yes. We can enter right now.”
Seong Woo-hyeon said in a tone full of conviction.
He was thinking too simply, likely due to the lack of information about the Ark Gate.
Jeong Ha-yeon, who had been listening in since we teleported together, asked cautiously.
“Can’t you eliminate the virus like before with your power, Se-hyeon-ssi? Or cure the infected people.”
“The ones that have already spread are too wide-ranging, so it’s difficult. And I can’t do anything about the infected people. Like Lee Chan-ho said earlier, we’ll have to go to the Geumeumdal Guild's main base and find the cure.”
“There’s a cure?”
“It’s not certain, but there’s a possibility.”
The eyes of everyone nearby focused on me.
They knew nothing about the Dimension Stone.
If I sent them to deal with the Geumeumdal Guild, they would surely return without gaining any information about the Dimension Stone.
Or they might fail to obtain the Dimension Stone even if it was right in front of them, or they wouldn't be able to counter whatever Kwon Seong-shin tried to do with it.
I glanced over their faces once before continuing.
“We don’t have time to take them down one by one.”
“…I suppose not. As time passes, we’ll be consuming cylinders to stop the virus spreading in the residential area.”
“That’s right. If we delay, we’ll end up with nothing. So, we must decide now.”
The sound of someone gulping echoed through the meeting room.
“I propose that we enter the Ark Gate as soon as this meeting is over.”
Silence descended.
The air in the meeting room, already thick with tension, seemed to press down heavily.
I shifted my gaze to Seong Woo-hyeon.
“Seong Woo-hyeon-nim. You said you secured additional cylinders, but that won’t be enough. Take these as well.”
“What are those…?”
“Cylinders I acquired through another route.”
I handed the box full of the improved version of the cylinders to Seong Woo-hyeon.
He expressed his surprise, asking where I had gotten so many.
[The ‘Angel of Benevolence’ smiles brightly at your generous donation.]
[You have been sponsored 500 coins.]
[The ‘Holy Judge’ acknowledges that, for now, you are indeed on the side of good.]
If I appear to be acting out of pure goodwill, the devil might lose interest, and that would be a problem.
For now, I still needed the coins sponsored by both sides.
I had to maintain a fine balance.
“And, in the meantime, I’ll head to the Geumeumdal Guild and find the cure.”
“You’re going to attack Geumeumdal by yourself? Wow, you’re something else. Are you serious?”
Kim Hyo-jong chuckled.
Seong Woo-hyeon seemed to be lost in thought.
He was probably debating whether it was right to send me alone.
But I had to go alone.
That was the only way to achieve both objectives.
Monopolizing the rewards from destroying the Geumeumdal Guild.
And the other… would depend on the result.
[The ‘Devil Who Mocks the Heavens’ laughs with satisfaction.]
“It’ll be more effective that way. Choi Seo-hee, who was originally with Geumeumdal, is bound to me by a contract, so she’ll be a great help.”
I subtly glanced at Lee Min-hwa.
As expected, Lee Min-hwa had a complicated expression on her face.
“The contract may be absolute, but it would be best not to trust Choi Seo-hee too much.”
“I’m well aware of that.”
“And…”
Lee Min-hwa hesitated for a long time, her lips moving silently.
I knew what she wanted to say, but I didn't bother to voice it myself.
“Never mind. Let’s talk after this is over.”
In the end, Lee Min-hwa shook her head and closed her mouth.
She had clearly wanted to talk about Choi Seo-hee.
Given her personality, she would have tried to make a deal, using Choi Seo-hee’s safety as a bargaining chip.
‘Though there’s no guarantee Choi Seo-hee is still alive.’
Perhaps because it had been decided that they would enter the Ark Gate immediately, the guild masters were all busy giving orders over the phone.
Once the guilds left, the Geumeumdal Guild would likely begin their final struggle.
It was about time for Jo Min-woo to wake up as well.
The guilds would leave some personnel behind, and with the twins and Jun Bo-ra there, they should be able to hold them off.
A strange gaze fell upon me, and I turned my head in that direction.
Hwang Chan-jin, who had been sitting silently without a word, had his eyes fixed on the other box I was holding.
“What is that?”
“The virus bomb they had.”
“A virus bomb!?”
A cry went up, and the room immediately fell into an uproar.
There was a subtle movement as people began to warily create distance from the box, but they seemed to relax a little when they saw I had attached cylinders around it.
“Wh-why would you have something like that…”
“We have to give back what we got.”
I slung the box over my shoulder and grinned.