Highly Advanced Magic Equals World Unification. I Guarantee It.
Their actions had crossed a line that no player could ignore without resentment. Before the Zero Mountains update, it had merely been a matter of offending sensibilities. But now, it was something more.
Yusra Kingdom. Golden Calf Tavern. Players buzzed with murmurs.
"They broke the unwritten rules—and broke them hard."
"The mountains are huge, sure, but did they rent the whole place out?"
"And why the hell are they walking around with guns? That's what pisses me off the most."
After the Zero Mountains appeared, high-level players had become less reliant on rifts. They didn't need rifts anymore—not with the Zero Mountains offering prime experience grinding spots.
But was hunting in the Zero Mountains a walk in the park? Hardly.
"Why do you think? Pure greed."
Anti-Arcana weapons. Scientific monstrosities designed to slaughter monsters—yet they yielded no experience or loot. That was why no player could view Cheonha Tongil's maneuvers in a positive light.
"Forget the rest—named monsters aren't exactly common, right?"
"Exactly. And they were mowing them down like weeds."
"Zero regard for efficiency."
Why hunt monsters that gave no experience or loot? Simple. It profited no one except their ruler, the Monarch class player, Ryu Ojuncheon.
"I heard from folks who've leveled Monarch class before—the experience penalty is brutal. So they compensate by herding them in massive numbers!"
Even if it meant scraping together just 1% gains, the mega-guild Cheonha Tongil never hesitated to push forward. In a word: they recognized no means or methods.
In that sense...
—"With this, have you heeded the warning, Cheonha Tongil?"
The moment Lee Hoyeol uttered Cheonha Tongil's name, cheers erupted in the Golden Calf Tavern.
"No way, for real?!"
No matter how vast Cheonha Tongil's power or how arrogant their attitude, they couldn't rival Lee Hoyeol and the Holy War Alliance. At least, not for any self-respecting player.
Especially those who'd suffered under Cheonha Tongil's thumb. A spark of anticipation naturally ignited in their chests.
"We gonna see those bastards tuck tail?"
The excitement was short-lived. Once Lee Hoyeol finished his declaration, the background finally came into focus. The intense halo radiating from him had obscured it before.
"...But isn't that Cheonha Tongil uniform?"
Red-uniformed players sprawled across the ground. Dark crimson blood splattered widely around them. It was a gruesome scene.
"Urk."
Players throughout the tavern dry-heaved. The quick-witted pieced it together first.
"Greed... one of the Seven Deadly Sins, right? Maybe it needed sacrifices, like Decarabia did in Frost."
"No way those sacrifices were Cheonha Tongil guild members?"
"Hold up, then...!"
It clicked naturally. Why Lee Hoyeol had named Cheonha Tongil specifically. Players gasped in disbelief.
"Ryu Ojuncheon... that bastard didn't... sacrifice his own guildmates...?"
There were such things as common sense. But Ryu Ojuncheon operated far beyond it.
The murmurs grew louder.
"Nah, even for him, that's too far."
"Maybe he was blackmailed by Greed too?"
"So you're saying Grand Commander Lee Hoyeol's judgment is wrong?"
"That's blasphemy, dude."
"Whoa, why's everyone so extreme?!"
They flinched. Their voices had risen too loud. Self-awareness hit.
"...!"
Players clamped their mouths shut in a panic. Simple reason: the Golden Calf's resident troublemaker—no, Shadow Mercenary's Rackid.
He would've barked at them for sure amid the commotion.
"...?"
But an eerie silence blanketed the tavern. Players glanced around and sighed in relief. No sign of Rackid or the Shadow Mercenaries.
Someone spoke up.
"Lucky break, but what's up with that?"
That troublemaker nickname wasn't for nothing. Rackid rarely left the Golden Calf. His drinking capacity was legendary—beer kegs emptied from morning till night, dozens by evening, was routine.
"Come to think of it, haven't seen the mercenary captain in a while either?"
But the mystery didn't last. It appeared on the TV screen.
"...Hey, check that out."
"Red uniforms—some Cheonha Tongil guys are alive...?"
"But that build isn't Cheonha Tongil... Rackid?!"
The unmistakable hulking frame of Rackid. He and the Shadow Mercenaries—all in Cheonha Tongil uniforms—were caught on camera.
Cheonha Tongil. Shadow Mercenaries. Greed. And Lee Hoyeol. The situation looked far more tangled than expected.
One thing was certain.
"...This could get real messy."
The evidence was clear, yet Cheonha Tongil's predictable response loomed.
"Those bastards love playing the victim."
Senior healing mage Bellie Yusia caught her breath.
"Phew, not easy."
The healing magic faction—Bellie and her skilled mages—were swamped already. Fulfilling Chief Mage Lee Hoyeol's requests was barely manageable.
She swallowed another sigh.
"Dragons weren't enough—now the continent's delinquents too..."
Dragons that had swallowed evil fruit. They seemed fine now, but who knew when those seeds would corrupt their bodies? They'd been scouring ancient tomes and dragon wars records for solutions when this dropped in their lap.
Bellie shook her head.
'He rarely asks for favors, so gotta step up.'
Besides, the Mage Tower's atmosphere was tense right now.
...
Mage Tower lobby. Reporters faced cameras.
Greed suppression. Akkshan's revival. Lee Hoyeol's class. Claudy's meaning. Amid unraveling and new hooks, public focus locked on Cheonha Tongil and Shadow Mercenaries. The unsolved mystery demanded it.
Players throughout the Mage Tower checked live feeds on smartphones. Eyes naturally drifted to the healing faction's annex.
"Why were they there? In Cheonha Tongil gear, no less. Backstabbing?"
Shadow Mercenaries' infamy was known to any player worthy of the Mage Tower—even alliance affiliates could turn for bigger rewards.
"Nah, no way."
"You never know people's hearts."
"Think the Chief would let that slide?"
"Ah."
No clearer answer. Pride incarnate, that Chief. Betrayal? Shadow Mercenaries would've been hunted with Greed.
"Videos caught them fighting Greed too. Useless against its gaze on the Chief, though..."
Above all, simple traitors wouldn't get Tower care. They had reasons. So it nagged.
"...They're using this to slink away?"
Ryu Ojuncheon was cunning. Slyest brain among rankers—no contest. Even Skal's mystique paled.
"Rival Rocks isn't that slick."
Nam Taemin, Hisagi Kazuma, Shreyg—personalities aside, none as inscrutable as him.
Thus, Lee Hoyeol's declaration against Cheonha Tongil barely shocked when they responded.
—"Rather, Cheonha Tongil is the victim."
Sighs echoed through the Tower.
"Knew it, those bastards...!!"
"Victim cosplay already."
"Like we'd buy that crap?"
Predictably, players weren't buying. Ryu knew it too.
Breaking news scrolled.
"Worried about strained Cheonha Tongil ties? How much are they bribed?! What even are they?!"
"Filthy from the start."
"Wait..."
Cheonha Tongil's homeland, China's stance included. No—its top leader spoke for them.
—"From now on, attacks on Cheonha Tongil are attacks on our great nation."
Anticipated since their carrier-backed Zero Mountains debut. Reality outpaced imagination.
"That much influence...?"
The world marveled at Ryu Ojuncheon's scheme.
"...No CCTV in Zero Mountains, right?"
Cheonha Tongil vs. Shadow Mercenaries. Pre-Greed events? No proof let them brazen it out. Homeland shield in hand, they pressured Lee Hoyeol instead.
Player vs. player escalated to nations. Korea's players knew theirs wouldn't step up.
"No expectations from those trash."
Once Inazuma and Shinwa lackeys, now Cheonha Tongil's—bribe-fueled survival.
"Staying out helps more..."
Politics would manipulate opinion. Foreseeing it choked the air. No hard evidence...
"Reverse winds soon."
Key witnesses—Cheonha Tongil members and Shadow Mercenaries—dead or too injured to speak.
Unless 'magic' happened...
Footsteps echoed then.
"?"
No heels— not Lee Hoyeol. Slender, bony legs climbed the stairs, unlike his.
Mage Tower players—apprentice mages—finally relaxed.
The man entering the lobby: co-Chief like Lee Hoyeol. Death-defying genius, Marcelo.
Marcelo spoke before countless cameras.
"I've heard a saying in this world: Any sufficiently advanced technology is indistinguishable from magic. Allow me one word on that before proceeding."
Marcelo's mana floated in the air. Theory magic founder. Tower's most versatile mage across factions.
His mana sketched in the void.
"Highly advanced magic can supplant science."
Zero Mountains panorama—past moment.
A rabbit-masked player appeared in the air.
"What are you doing here?"
"This sector falls under this one, Lord Yu Ji-Oh's jurisdiction, you know?"
"Heard the rumors. Five Stars hiding behind untraceable fame, peddling it internally. Didn't think it real—gutsy bunch."
"Regrettably, no mercy even if you beg."
⟨ Past Recording ⟩
Murmurs rose.
"...What the hell are they doing to each other?"
"Killing their own on Ryu Ojuncheon's orders?"
"If they can't remember, that's not loyalty—it's brainwashing!"
Cheonha Tongil's ugly underbelly laid bare for the world.
Yes—like magic.