Chapter 82
Chapter 82
Chapter 82: Counterattack (1)
Translation: godtl
Association President Kim Mu-yeol.
The cold, composed face of Kim Mu-yeol—once called the Iron Wood King in his prime—twisted in shock.
It couldn't be helped.
"How are you here......?"
A handsome man with sharp, well-defined features.
His nephew Kim Si-mun was clearly standing before him.
No.
'How is he alive?'
He shouldn't exist in this world anymore.
Because of that.
'Did the Continent Guild... fail?'
An unbelievable possibility flashed through Kim Mu-yeol's mind.
'With Gong Geol-ryun, a Diamond-rank combat specialist, Sing, a Platinum-rank Magic Class, and numerous Gold-ranks...'
Not to mention 'that thing' the Continent Guild had been secretly preparing.
No matter how he calculated it—whether by team composition or numbers—there was no way his Gold-rank nephew could have survived!
'Stay calm. Nothing's certain yet.'
Kim Mu-yeol steadied his racing heart and shook his head slightly.
'There's still a good chance they withdrew due to unforeseen circumstances.'
After all, wasn't it common knowledge that the secret experiment they'd been conducting was still incomplete?
'They might have retracted the Barrier and abandoned the assassination due to an unexpected incident with the test subject.'
Yes.
That must be it.
"Uncle, you look like you've seen a ghost."
Had his nephew somehow seen right through him?
The damn brat smirked with an odd glint in his eyes.
And then.
"Well, I suppose it makes sense. A Gold-rank surviving against an assassination squad of Diamond and Platinum—that's quite the sight."
He drove the nail right into the coffin, speaking as if to flaunt it.
"Even I think it's something that would make ghosts weep, don't you?"
The moment those words left his mouth—
Crack-crack-crack!
Every piece of wood in the Association President's office—including the wooden desk—shot forward like skewers.
'I'll kill him.'
At this point, there was no room for hesitation.
Even if it meant disposing of a corpse in the Association President's office, he had to kill that damned nephew right now.
Because if he opened his mouth, everything would be over.
But—
Twitch.
"Wh-what?!"
Time seemed to freeze.
The wooden skewers that had been flying toward his nephew stopped dead in their tracks.
Was the brat surprised too?
His nephew, who had been staring at them with slight surprise, muttered,
"Hoh? Didn't see this coming."
Then, with an inscrutable expression,
"I suppose you really are worried about me, Uncle. To go so far as to unleash a Killing Move right in front of me."
He looked down at Kim Mu-yeol with eyes full of mockery.
BANG!
"Brother!"
Kim Si-hyeok burst through the door, shattering it to pieces.
But his momentum didn't last long.
It wasn't just because Si-mun had casually raised a hand to stop him.
'Could it be... Uncle's ability was halted?'
The wooden skewers that had been poised to tear him to shreds were all frozen in midair.
And then.
"You bastard! What the hell did you do?!"
A man once called the Iron Wood King.
Given the rare sight of his uncle Kim Mu-yeol's horrified expression,
"Answer me!"
Si-hyeok quickly realized that it wasn't his uncle who was in control of the situation—but his older brother, Kim Si-mun.
Silently, Si-hyeok positioned himself behind Si-mun, who was surrounded by the frozen skewers, and glared at one man.
Then.
"......."
Kim Mu-yeol's subordinate, standing nearby.
The Golem, Choi Chang-wook, immediately grew uncomfortable.
Clenching his massive, cauldron-lid-sized fists, he quietly took a step back from where he'd been about to approach Si-mun.
"You bastard! Answer me now!"
"Uncle? Calm down first. If anything, shouldn't I be the one who's angry?"
"How dare you—!"
Did he think this was a joke?
The rare sight of the Iron Wood King Kim Mu-yeol's face turning red played out before them.
But Si-mun simply smiled cheerfully.
It wasn't just to provoke his uncle's emotions.
'I had no idea the World Tree trait had this kind of effect.'
The World Tree trait added to the Philosopher's Stone.
The discovery of this new ability made him smile all on its own.
Giggle!"Big bro, did I do good? I could tell they were planning to wipe you out, so I got ready way ahead of time."
'Yeah, you did great.'
Si-mun lavished praise on the delighted Philosopher's Stone without holding back.
-That uncle really has the worst luck. To think he just had to have an ability that controls trees~.
'It's not just trees. He can control all plants. Don't let appearances fool you—it's an SS-rank trait after all.'
-Oh? Aah! I get it now. The SS-rank trait, Ruler of Plants, right?
'Exactly.'
The SS-rank trait, Ruler of Plants.
At first glance, a power that allowed control over various plants might seem suited only for farming.
But this was the formidable, versatile trait that had made one of Korea's First Generation Rankers—
And created the current Iron Wood King.
One.
-Then there's no hope for him at all.
The Philosopher's Stone could only snicker.
-No matter what plant he uses, it won't work on you, Oppa.
'Oh? Any plant at all?'
-Mhm. Unless it's some special case like a Demon Realm plant, not a chance. Handsome men shouldn't even be hit with flowers in the first place, you know.
'You little rascal.'
Si-mun burst into laughter at the stone's silly joke.
'This is an absolute windfall.'
If what the Philosopher's Stone said was true—
If no plant could harm him—
'Then against Uncle, I'm his worst possible matchup.'
And on top of that—
'That fishy stench.'
The fishy scent lingering beneath the woody fragrance.
'It's obvious.'
Considering even the source of that smell, he truly was Kim Mu-yeol's natural counter.
Perhaps the corners of Si-mun's lips, curling upward, carried a hint of mockery?
"You damned—!"
Mu-yeol, now even more enraged, immediately grabbed Si-mun by the collar.
The strength in his arm made his intentions crystal clear, but—
Si-mun obediently let himself be lifted by his furious uncle's grip.
Was this the difference between Rankers?
Despite being of the Magic Class, Mu-yeol hoisted Si-mun up effortlessly with one hand.
"Let's see if you can still laugh after your body's full of holes!"
He hurled Si-mun straight toward the frozen wooden spikes.
But then—
Crunch.
The razor-sharp tips of the wooden spikes, sharp enough to slice through steel, suddenly began to wilt in unison.
"Oof! Comfy~."
Flattening into smooth discs, they gently caught Si-mun's falling body.
"You—!"
Mu-yeol's fury boiled over even further.
"Th-this can't be...!"
"Good heavens...!"
Even Choi Chang-wook and Kim Si-hyeok, who had been watching the situation unfold, couldn't hide their shock.
And for good reason.
'To render Mu-yeol hyung-nim's trait so powerless...!'
'To make that uncle unable to move a muscle...!'
These two knew the true extent of the Iron Wood King Kim Mu-yeol's prowess better than anyone.
Mu-yeol, who could twist and manipulate all manner of plants at will, was a force to be reckoned with—capable of taking on multiple Rankers if the terrain favored him.
And yet—
"Uncle. You look like you need a break—want me to make one for you too?"
A mere Gold.
Sure, he'd won his Debut Match, but—
To have the upper hand so thoroughly against Si-mun, who had only just entered Gold?
Especially—
'To control Hyungnim's trait as he pleases...!'
'Did he... completely steal Uncle's dominion over his own trait?'
Mu-yeol's apparent loss of control over his own trait was nothing short of shocking.
A situation so unbelievable that even seeing it firsthand made it hard to accept.
Anyone would react the same way.
The infamous, ruthless Iron Wood King—
"Ahh, so comfy~."
Creeeak.
—was now grinding his teeth in frustration at the audacity of a mere Gold.
The veins in Mu-yeol's neck bulged as he pressed a hand to his forehead.
He had realized—if this continued, he'd only be dragged around and toyed with.
"......Hah."
A brief, deep breath.
Finally calming his flushed face, Mu-yeol slowly spoke.
"Enough of this. What is your point?"
"Now you're finally in the mood to talk, Uncle."
Though his tone was unbearably cheeky—
Mu-yeol maintained his usual cold expression.
'I won't be manipulated by your tricks any longer.'
Perhaps Si-mun sensed that resolve?
"Tch. How boring."
Si-mun, who had clicked his tongue, stepped down from the wooden disc shaped like a liver-shaped bed.
"You know, while fighting the assassins Uncle sent, I saw something quite interesting."
"Watch your words. When did I ever send assassins?"Kim Mu-yeol drew a firm line.
To which,
"As expected, this is how you'd react?"
One of Si-mun's eyebrows twitched upward.
"How unlike you, Uncle. You could've just played it cool like you always do."
"Enough nonsense."
Without the slightest waver, Kim Mu-yeol retorted with a slightly angered expression.
"Am I foolish enough to entertain such baseless claims?"
His demeanor was that of an utterly wronged victim.
"Well, I suppose you'd need this level of shamelessness to pull off something like this. Truly impressive, Uncle. I mean that sincerely."
Si-mun, genuinely marveling at this, nodded to himself and slipped a hand into his pocket.
Then—
"Just in case something like this happened, I came prepared with something else."
A phone emerged from his grasp.
Si-mun tapped the screen a few times.
"You're full of amusing words."
"An assassin who suddenly appears, turns civilians into monsters, and now offers me the Secretary-General position?"
"...You don't believe me, do you? Right, that's normal! Then, what should I do?"
A series of voices flowed from the phone.
"...Would you do it?!"
"So you're saying it's all true? From trying to assassinate me to turning civilians into monsters for experiments?"
"That's right!"
As the conversation in the recording progressed,
The faces of Kim Mu-yeol, Choi Chang-wook, and Kim Si-hyeok grew increasingly rigid.
"Smuggling?"
"Yeah! Oh, right! There are witnesses too!"
Finally—
"Kim Mu-yeol! Ask Kim Mu-yeol!"
"Kim Mu-yeol? You mean the president of the Korea Awakened Association?"
"Yes! Even though he suddenly backed out of this mission, he was the one who smuggled us in..."
As the recorded conversation neared its end—
"You bastard!"
Crreeak.
The Association President's wooden constructs lunged at Si-mun once more.
Si-mun smirked and spread his arms wide in defiance.
Thud.
Again, the wooden constructs froze mid-air.
"You must be quite shaken. How unlike you, Uncle, to make the same mistake twice."
"Th-This is a setup!"
Kim Mu-yeol's face flushed red as he bellowed, his pupils trembling violently.
"How dare you present the words of some unknown wretch as evidence!"
"Uncle, don't make this uglier than it has to be. If this gets out to the press, it'll be a headache for you, won't it?"
"Shut your mouth! I am the president of Korea's Awakened Association! Who would believe the slander of some Gold-rank nobody?!"
"Well, that's true enough."
Si-mun nodded calmly at Kim Mu-yeol's increasingly shrill voice.
"I'm just a Gold-rank. I can't compare to you, Uncle—a Ranker who dominated the First Generation and the current president of Korea's Awakened Association."
Even if Si-mun released this recording, it would likely only stir minor controversy or a small scandal.
At worst, it might be buried entirely.
A man like the Association President surely had connections in the media.
"But."
The corner of Si-mun's mouth curled up.
"What if a Ranker like you released this recording? What then?"
"What nonsense—"
"What do you think, Si-hyeok?"
All eyes immediately shifted behind Si-mun.
Kim Si-hyeok, blinking for a moment like his older brother, responded,
"People would probably believe it, wouldn't they? Though it's awkward for me to say... as a Player, my influence alone surpasses yours now, Uncle."
He shrugged, lifting the corner of his mouth.
An insufferably cocky display.
But—
"......"
Kim Mu-yeol couldn't refute it.
Because it was true.
Kim Si-hyeok, who had risen to Ranker status with talent hailed as unprecedented.
Even now, his value was skyrocketing, with top Players agreeing he was still in his growth phase.
And what about Kim Mu-yeol?
No matter how impressive his past achievements,
Wasn't he just a Player who had once dominated the First Generation?
Crack.
A sinister sound escaped Kim Mu-yeol's tightly clenched jaw.
His bloodshot eyes glared at his two nephews before he spoke.
"Hah. Fine."
Taking a light deep breath to steady his emotions, he asked,
"The reason you brought the recording here is obvious. Kim Si-mun, what do you want from me?"
The mighty Iron Wood King had taken a step back.
At that, Choi Chang-wook and Kim Si-hyeok's eyes widened slightly—but that was all.
The two could only stare at the back of Si-mun's head, the man who had just seized the initiative from the Iron Wood King himself.
"Uncle, sever all ties with the Continent Guild as of today."
"......Are you out of your mind?"
Kim Mu-yeol furrowed his brow.
"I'm sure being targeted for assassination is inconvenient for you. But that's your personal matter. As the Association President, I can't afford to draw a line against a major power like the Continent Guild."
"I understand."
"If you understand, why the hell are you saying this?"
Kim Mu-yeol's gaze turned icy as he glared at Si-mun.
"It wasn't me who planned your assassination—it was the Continent Guild. I merely opened the door for them."
"Of course, that makes sense."
Si-mun nodded as if it were obvious.
"If Uncle had personally planned the assassination, you would've deployed far more forces—including the man standing behind you—and stationed backup troops outside the Barrier just in case. After all, it's your style to spare no expense, even if it's overkill."
His lips curled slightly as he continued,
"But Uncle, that doesn't absolve you of guilt. You aided an armed foreign force in illegally entering our country, didn't you?"
"That's—!"
"And in the long run, the Continent Guild won't benefit either this nation or you."
In truth.
Even in his past life, after Earth's Korea fell and he fled to China,
Kim Mu-yeol had been the one to suffer the most brutal downfall among all Korean players.
Who knew what weakness they had exploited in him,
but—
'He became nothing more than the Continent Guild's dog, committing every atrocity imaginable.'
Things even Kim Mu-yeol himself would never have done otherwise.
Yes.
As if he had become an entirely 'different person' overnight.
'Uncle shouldn't be used like that.'
Though they were sworn enemies,
Kim Mu-yeol was politically far more capable than his father, the former Association President.
True, he had a tendency to disregard morality for his goals,
but objectively speaking, that very trait was an advantage for someone in his position.
So—
'Rather than letting Uncle fall from grace, we should exploit his abilities to the fullest.'
And the first step toward that
was to sever the alliance between the Continent Guild and his uncle.
Even if he were later ousted from the Association President's seat,
they couldn't let the Continent Guild simply whisk him away.
"Acting all grown-up, but a brat's still a brat."
Kim Mu-yeol's brow furrowed deeply.
"Do you even understand our nation's position? They're one of the two superpowers dominating the world. For us to cut ties first—"
"I'm not asking the Association to sever all relations with the Continent Guild."
Si-mun shook his head firmly.
"I'm only referring to the personal ties you've maintained with them. Other connections should remain intact. You'll need them for intelligence."
"You—!"
"Uncle. You've received drugs or items related to ability enhancement from the Continent Guild before, haven't you?"
"......Just how much do you know?"
Kim Mu-yeol's voice grew even more threatening.
But Si-mun didn't so much as blink.
'It's obvious.'
Back when they'd met after the terrorist attack on his old apartment,
he had only caught a faint whiff of something fishy.
But now, with the Death Eye in his possession, he was certain.
'That Dragon Power the mutated civilians carried... Uncle has it too.'
The lingering, fishy scent of Dragon Power he had always detected from Kim Mu-yeol.
Combined with what he now knew about the dragonkin and their ties to the Continent Guild,
the deduction wasn't hard to make.
Si-mun smirked.
"I'm under no obligation to answer that."
"Kim Si-mun!"
"And—"
He casually cut off Kim Mu-yeol's outburst.
Then added,
"The Continent Guild has been conducting experiments to mutate civilians into monsters. Investigate that for me. Send me the findings—whether it's a person or a report."
"You're not even listening to me now. Are you daring to order me around like some obedient slave?"
"A slave? No. I'm just helping family. I want you to remain Association President for a long time, Uncle."
"You—!"
Kim Mu-yeol's eyes bulged.
But Si-mun merely grinned, turning away.
"Well, it's getting late, so I'll take my leave now. I trust you'll make the wise decision, Uncle."
With a lazy wave, he stepped out of the President's office.
And then—
KWA-BOOOOOM!
A deafening explosion erupted from the office behind him.