The Mountain King Joins the Cast
‘There has never been a protagonist.’
The words that left Lee Shin’s mouth pierced straight through Kim Jong-pil’s heart.
It was absurd beyond measure. Here he was, the legendary Sanwang—the Mountain King—who had once lifted this entire nation to the pinnacle of the world, being told that he had never once been the main character. Yet the man who should have been furious, Kim Jong-pil, simply kept his mouth shut and said nothing.
Because it wasn’t wrong.
It was the truth he had desperately tried to deny, the word he had chewed over again and again—lately, every single day. The word protagonist.
“If you think about it, sir, throughout your entire Hunter career you were always surrounded by absolute monsters at the very top of the food chain.”
The legendary beginning: the USA World Raid.
Then came the national team competition held once every four years. When Korea once again claimed the summit, the world gave titles to the heroes of that victory.
The Fighting King. The Ten Thousand King. And the Mountain King.
That was the birth of the Three Kings.
“You reached the top by writing the legend of the Three Kings, but the one who received the most attention was always the Fighting King, Ma Jang-dong.”
After that, Han Jeong-do founded Kirin Guild, taking it beyond Korea’s best to win Guild War Asia and even the Champions League.
Even when they wrote yet another legend as the undisputed world’s strongest guild—
“The Ten Thousand King, Han Jeong-do, was always by your side, sir.”
When people evaluated the Mountain King, the haters always latched onto this part and tore it apart.
“The Mountain King was just lucky. He only rode the bus. The Mountain King never proved anything… Even that so-called paradigm-shifting command of his was all an illusion,” they said.
“Hmm……”
Kim Jong-pil, who had been listening quietly, slowly tilted back his soju glass.
To have the tag that had followed him his entire career dragged out so openly like this… Honestly, it didn’t feel great.
Yet he didn’t get angry. Because even Kim Jong-pil himself lacked conviction.
Was I really just lucky? Did I really just ride the bus? Was my command truly an illusion?
At first, he had cursed at the question, calling it bullshit. A little later, he simply laughed it off, saying it wasn’t even worth answering. But now, his answer was ‘I don’t know.’
So he was a little curious. He wanted to know what answer Lee Shin would give to a question even he couldn’t easily answer.
And Lee Shin delivered it more clearly than he had expected.
“Tell them to fuck off.”
“Pffft!”
The two people sipping water in the back coughed violently in shock, and even Kim Jong-pil’s eyes widened.
What… what did he just say…?
“The Fighting King, Ma Jang-dong. That guy who makes you think of the livestock market. The strongest primate, the idol of martial artists worldwide—your former colleague, sir.”
In Lee Shin’s eyes—
“He’s just a gorilla. A slightly stronger, slightly better-fighting beast, that’s all.”
It was true that he had drawn an incredible gacha and been born with the strongest primate body. Lee Shin acknowledged that he possessed combat instincts worthy of the title Fighting King.
But that was it.
“His comprehension is trash, his judgment is terrible, and because of his shitty personality, expecting teamwork is asking for the impossible. All he knows how to do is charge. Even in the last match this year, he did the exact same thing. That brainless sprint because he couldn’t hold back for even a second—honestly, even a real gorilla wouldn’t play that stupidly.”
“Are you seriously evaluating Jang-dong right now?”
“You worked with him, sir. You know better than anyone. Be honest—you agree, don’t you?”
He did. That was exactly what Ma Jang-dong was.
Physical ability and combat instinct.
If you excluded those two things, the man was so empty it made you wonder if this was even allowed. He was closer to a beast or a wild animal than a human. That was the Fighting King, Ma Jang-dong.
“But our gorilla friend is actually the nicer one. The guy I’m about to talk about has even less shame.”
His words were harsh, but the Fighting King was undeniably SSS-class.
Strength 100. Agility 95. Stamina 100.
Those were the Fighting King’s physical stats at his peak. Both strength and stamina at maximum.
A miraculous creature whose logic was that if his brain was lacking, he could just smash everything with his body.
In exchange, his brain had regressed to the point that using him required a certain level of raw power just to make him functional.
The strongest ‘human’ across all GM characters, but one with equally clear demerits.
Yeah, let’s say that’s fine. At least his physicals were solid.
But what about the next guy?
“The Ten Thousand King, Han Jeong-do.”
Evenly distributed stats. No glaring weaknesses. Without any special setup, he could fill any role from the frontline tank to backline support dealer. He could cover every position and every role.
The symbol of versatility. That was why he was called the Ten Thousand King.
He was certainly a good character.
But ‘good’ and ‘the best’ were two entirely different realms.
If you asked whether he deserved the title of King, Lee Shin’s answer was always the same.
No.
“Evenly distributed stats, versatile traits, usable in every position. Sure, it’s good. But so what? People call it versatility, but if you look at it differently, it’s just another way of saying he’s mediocre at everything. Look at the evidence. Can this tool bastard actually change the game?”
SSS-class characters were game changers.
They could seize the board with nothing but their own power and reshape it entirely.
Even the gorilla that Lee Shin had just cursed out was capable of that, which was why—even with the massive flaw of being stupid—he was still considered SSS-class.
But the Ten Thousand King?
“No. He can’t. I’d bet my own neck on it.”
Because the Ten Thousand King had been born a ‘tool’ from the very beginning. A passive tool that couldn’t do anything on his own.
“So we have a gorilla whose only possession is a sturdy body, and a tool that can’t even reach SSS-class no matter how hard you swing him. Now let’s flip the story back around.”
The Mountain King was just lucky?
“The ones who were lucky were that subhuman gorilla and that tool bastard who can’t even wipe his own ass without help. Without you, sir, neither of them could have done anything.”
Was the Mountain King’s command an illusion?
“You made the gorilla look like the world’s strongest. You packaged that tool bastard to look like an SSS-class. Doesn’t that alone prove everything? I can say with absolute certainty that your command, sir, is the only thing that was real.”
Then why had the Mountain King never once been the protagonist?
“What else could it be? You were too busy cleaning up after those two half-wits to ever have time to be the main character.”
That was why Lee Shin was asking if he didn’t want to become stronger.
“Honestly, doesn’t it piss you off? You carried those two half-assed idiots all the way to the top, but they’re the ones who sucked up all the sweet nectar. If it were me, I wouldn’t be able to sleep from how unfair it feels.”
Well, I’ll leave out the part where you were never the flashiest among the Three Kings, he added with a sly grin.
At Lee Shin’s near-maniacal speech, even Kim Jong-pil found his jaw dropping.
“Hah……”
If this had simply been flattery meant to win him over, he wouldn’t have been this surprised. But the Mountain King could tell with certainty. The man in front of him was speaking with one hundred percent sincerity.
He genuinely saw the strongest primate, the Fighting King Ma Jang-dong, as nothing more than a gorilla. He genuinely saw the so-called most perfect Hunter, the Ten Thousand King, as a tool bastard who needed permission just to take a shit.
Kim Jong-pil swallowed hard, his Adam’s apple bobbing.
This kid… is a genuine, certified lunatic!
And the conversation that followed was truly a masterpiece.
“I’ll ask again. Even after all that, you still don’t want to get stronger?”
Let’s get stronger. Let’s become strong enough—
“To show the world who the real protagonist is.”
And—
“To show those bastards too.”
Kim Jong-pil flinched.
The whispered words from the bent-over Lee Shin made his eyes narrow.
“You……”
A suspiciously well-informed bastard.
While even I doubt myself, you look at me with eyes full of absolute conviction.
Kim Jong-pil had no choice but to admit it.
“You really are an interesting guy.”
He liked this lunatic.
Meanwhile, at that exact moment, Lee Myeong-hwan’s car was racing down the highway at a terrifying speed.
“Driver Choi, ignore the speed cameras and floor it.”
“Yes, young master.”
Now that the long-awaited location of the Mountain King had finally been revealed, Lee Myeong-hwan had no time to waste.
He had set off immediately. There was less than an hour left until they reached Mt. Geumgang.
As Lee Myeong-hwan nervously shook his leg, a woman reached out and straightened his tie.
“Honey, you’re too excited. Relax.”
“Do I look relaxed to you?”
“Then look at this. It’ll calm you down.”
The moment Lee Myeong-hwan saw the tablet she handed him, his expression changed instantly.
On the screen were photos of his other cousins who had been assigned to manage regional guilds under Lee Sang-byuk’s orders—his potential rivals.
Lee Myeong-hwan’s eyes turned ice-cold.
“The Shinji Guild successfully recruited the ‘Magician Killer’…? They definitely said it would be difficult before.”
“Looks like it worked out.”
“Jeong Su-mi, are you kidding me?”
Truly furious now, Lee Myeong-hwan called her by her full name and glared, but Jeong Su-mi simply shrugged nonchalantly.
“Don’t be so harsh. Honey, no matter how good I am, I can’t know what the chairmen are doing in person.”
“……So the old men made their move?”
“From the circumstances, yes.”
Check the next page.
At her words, he quickly flipped to the next page. There were photos of a man entering a hotel lobby, followed by women wearing sunglasses taken from the same angle shortly after.
“High Six. They’re a girl group that’s been rising lately. They entered the same hotel the Magician Killer was staying at. The funny part is that the next day, the Ido Life CF model was suddenly changed to them.”
“……What a cheap, low-class trick. Typical old man move.”
“That’s not all. The department store side seems to be moving too.”
“Auntie?”
Articles about ace players from the Jeolla region’s League 2 guilds failing to renew their contracts one after another. It was obvious whose handiwork that was.
“It’s real.”
“They’re smart. They’re going to crush the competition itself. As expected of the Ido family. Not a single one of them is easy.”
“Damn it… It’s too early.”
“It is. It means they’re done testing the waters and are ready to jump in with everything they have.”
The heads of each faction, whom he thought would observe the situation a little longer, had suddenly begun to rise from their seats for some unknown reason.
The prelude to the proxy war.
The time had come for them to truly clash with full force.
Which was why recruiting the Mountain King was more important than anything else right now.
He had to succeed no matter what. A new fire of determination burned in Lee Myeong-hwan’s eyes.
“Give me that.”
“What?”
“The recruitment script you prepared. That thing.”
“Ah, right.”
It was a script created by analyzing massive amounts of big data on Kim Jong-pil, the Mountain King, and simulating the conversation he would prefer most.
The content written there:
Threats or coercion are prohibited.
Despite his gentlemanly appearance, the Mountain King is far more aggressive than people think.
However, being too servile is also forbidden. His usual behavior shows clear machismo tendencies.
Do not bring up money or recruitment from the very beginning.
Based on the Mountain King’s personality, the ideal approach for the first meeting is to start with conversation centered around mutual interest.
……
…
.
“……‘Don’t try any half-assed tricks, just show me your sincerity’? What the hell kind of sincerity is this guy talking about?”
“From what I investigated, the Mountain King is more of a romantic than he looks. If nothing else works, just drink with him.”
“He definitely likes to drink, right?”
“Soju. The red label. Not your taste, though.”
“Goddamn it. This is why commoners are the worst.”
Though Lee Myeong-hwan was stubborn, he was also a man with ambition.
He wasn’t putting on this show just to earn the recognition of a father who only owned a single car.
He wanted something far bigger and greater. The Ido empire itself.
I can do this!
They say young CEOs are the trend these days. Why couldn’t he be one?
A smile spread across Lee Myeong-hwan’s lips. Just imagining it was intoxicating.
Sitting on the throne of the Ido Group…
Vrrrr~!
The image of himself sitting on the throne…
Vrrrr~!
Sitting……
Vrrrrrrrrrrrr~!
“……Fuck. Who is it?! Who’s calling me?!”
“It’s your phone, honey.”
“Ah, right.”
Looking to the side with an embarrassed expression, he saw it was true.
His phone was spinning on the seat. On the screen were the two characters: ‘Old Man.’
He must be really worked up.
Lee Myeong-hwan smirked and answered the call, only to freeze solid the very next moment.
— “Myeong-hwan, what the hell have you been doing?! Turn the car around and get back to the Seoul headquarters right now!”
The fantasy of ascending to the Ido throne.
— “The Mountain King has arrived.”
The dream of succeeding Lee Sang-byuk.
— “He came holding hands with that bastard Lee Shin!”
Shattered like pieces of falling ice.
Completely and utterly destroyed.
Mir Guild
League 4
Representative: Lee Shin
Guild Leader: Jeong Sun-dong
Vice Leader: Chae Dong-ha
Raid Leader: Mountain King Kim Jong-pil (New!!)