Chapter 201
Chapter 201
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>Translator: penny
>Chapter: 201
>Chapter Title: Bora Uncle's Advice
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Do-hyun was close with all his comrades, but if he had to pick the one he talked to the most, it was definitely Bora Uncle.
Whenever Kkukku and the Sword Emperor got into it, he'd always sigh from the sidelines while chatting idly.
‘Pretty much that pattern every time.’
There wasn't a single day those two didn't butt heads.
Whether it was bad news or good, they were like two north poles repelling each other nonstop.
And yet, they stuck together like glue, which was downright bizarre.
-You know, it's not just Kkukku causing trouble. That Sword Emperor guy's no slouch either.
-Yeah, yeah.
-Did I tell you? The first place I met that guy was by a waterfall. Dude's meditating under the cascade, spots a rat hiding, and starts talking in historical drama speak. I legit thought he was an NPC.
-That guy's a total nutjob, sure, but you've said that exact line eleven times already, Uncle?
Maybe Kkukku was an outright lunatic, and the Sword Emperor was crazy in his own way.
In that bizarre party of misfits, Bora Uncle was always venting to the relatively normal Do-hyun, and some of those gripes had been drilled into his ears to the point of calluses.
No exaggeration—he could recite them word for word even now.
Maybe that's why.
The conversation with Bora Uncle after so long felt completely natural, without a hint of awkwardness.
“How the hell do you manage to screw up every time, man? You've been like that forever. Always diving into the dangerous crap. You're no saint either, buried under the others.”
“I keep telling you, I only do it because it's doable.”
“Oh, really? So you would've beaten Hero Guild without my help too?”
“……That wasn't the plan. You think I knew the raid bosses would overlap?”
It was like they'd been chatting just yesterday.
Words flowed out as naturally as a waterfall.
“Ugh, you think I haven't heard that one before? ‘Wasn't the plan,’ my ass—then you summon a damn dragon. Or that deathmatch with the Serpent Dragon? I still get chills thinking about it.”
“We killed it in the end, didn't we? If anything, I'm the one who's pissed. I tanked everything, broke all the patterns, and all I got was bricks while you scored legendary loot.”
“……Can't argue with that.”
After unleashing that barrage of chatter, the two finally shut up.
They looked at each other and let out a smirk.
“You little shit, still the same. Made a flashy comeback, huh?”
“Well…… yeah.”
“God's Return this, God's Return that—you hog all the cool lines?”
“What? It just kinda happened.”
“Kinda happened to snatch first place back…… Sure, whatever. So when are you ditching the mask, punk?”
“Oh, right.”
Do-hyun froze, suddenly realizing he was still wearing it.
He'd been tight with Bora Uncle for ages, but he'd never shown his real face.
More precisely, never his actual face.
Delrock's glamour was way different from now.
Whoosh.
But Do-hyun took it off without hesitation.
The other side was probably close to his real face anyway. No reason to hide now.
As the mask came off, Ast let out the breath he'd been holding.
“Phew…… Good. You're exactly like I imagined.”
“? Kinda weird vibe. That's a compliment, right?”
“Hm? Oh, yeah. Compliment.”
“……Feels like it's not.”
Do-hyun tilted his head at the nagging unease, but they moved past it quick.
He downed his tea and shot back casually.
“You've changed a bit yourself, Uncle. Finally graduated from that gross ‘veteran gamer’ fashion?”
He'd been dying to say it since earlier.
They say if someone changes overnight, death's knocking—but seeing him strut around fine made it feel off.
“It's God Ose, man. Regulations are tight 'cause everything's so vivid. Walk around like in Delrock, and they'd nab you for public indecency. Plus, I'm head of a Top 10 Guild now. Can't dress like that.”
“Didn't tell them we were comrades, huh.”
“You'd tell them? Who knows what headlines that'd make. Better to play newbie and avoid the hassle.”
“Fair…….”
Thinking back on their Delrock adventures together, it made total sense.
Swinging a club in his underwear while grinning—that was ‘barbaric’ at best, filthy at worst.
And that was just the start.
With so little content, they pulled every weird stunt imaginable.
‘One article on that, and it'd be main banner material.’
Ast's call was spot on, all things considered.
Speaking of which.
“What about those guys?”
“Those guys? Same as alw—hmm?”
Curious about the other two all of a sudden, Do-hyun asked.
Ast, who'd been answering nonchalantly, got a weird look on his face.
He grinned like he'd spotted something fun and asked in a loaded tone.
“Come to think of it, you haven't seen them yet, right?”
“……Yeah?”
“Hmm~ Guess so. You'll be shocked when you do.”
“What, why.”
No matter how much Do-hyun pressed, Ast just grinned confidently and said he'd find out soon enough.
‘No way they're both hardcore tryhards like Uncle?’
That'd be one hell of a shock.
Or maybe some big name he never suspected was one of them.
It got him curious, but Ast's smug face killed any urge to pry.
When he grinned like that, full of mischief, Bora Uncle wouldn't spill if his life depended on it.
“Whatever, I'll see when I see. Empire awaits.”
“What, giving up easier than I thought? Lame.”
“You think I've fallen for your one-two punch once? So what're they up to? Start a guild like you?”
“Those guys? Start a guild?”
Ast snorted and shook his head at the offhand question.
Do-hyun nodded too—like, yeah, fair.
The concept-obsessed Sword Emperor loved wandering as a ronin or whatever, and Kkukku was such an unpredictable wildcard he couldn't be reined in.
No guild would take those psychos.
“I invited them to join mine tons of times, but do they listen? Sword Emperor won't budge 'cause he has his ‘path,’ and Kkukku blocks me for a month 'cause it's ‘a hassle.’”
“Keuk, classic them.”
“Sigh, would've been so much easier with their help. What about you? Wanna join? I'm Top 10, y'know? Make you top exec.”
“Ever seen me join a guild?”
“Ugh, my life. All my comrades like this? Everyone else is dying to get in…….”
He grumbled about the cold rejection, but there was no real hurt in it.
He hadn't been serious anyway.
Bora Uncle had always wanted his own elite guild at the top, and even when he kept saying he'd make one so join up, Do-hyun and the others freaked and said no way.
‘Said it'd feel like losing freedom with a affiliation. Sword Emperor said it'd mess with his training.’
He could excuse himself since he'd been screwed by guilds before, but those guys were weirdos.
‘Not in guilds, so not Top 10…… Maybe high rankers?’
He was mulling the rankings he'd skimmed recently when Ast, who'd been lounging back, suddenly sat up straight.
His face turned serious as he stared intently.
Classic Bora Uncle before dropping something heavy.
“What? Spit it out.”
“……You really got no plans to join a guild?”
“What, that was serious?”
“Nah, earlier was a joke, but I changed my mind. It's good for you.”
Do-hyun dropped his grin too.
When Bora Uncle spoke with that much conviction, it was always for his sake.
“Why.”
“Berze is strong. Too strong for you right now. You'd lose for sure.”
“…….”
Do-hyun didn't deny it.
He'd figured as much.
Unlike him, fresh on Empire soil, that guy had maxed out long ago.
And maxed every growth path in the Empire to boot.
“Hell, he's cleared that post-max-level stuff too. Gap's so wide, no amount of grinding fixes it. If it wasn't you, I'd have forced a forfeit without asking.”
“So join the guild and get protection?”
“Yeah. I know you hate guilds, but think realistically.”
Bora Uncle pulled his arm off the rest and continued.
“I'm blocking for you now, but that's got limits. Indirect blocks work once or twice—keep it up, and the Top 10 Guilds pressure me.”
“……How long can you hold?”
“Dunno. Week tops? Longer's tough.”
“Hmm…….”
“But join my guild, and it's different. No one's gonna question me protecting my own.”
Confidence bordering on ambition.
The pride of a Top 10 leader, but to Do-hyun, it just drew a smirk.
“Acting all high and mighty? Doesn't suit you.”
“……Was being cool for once, and you kill the vibe?”
“Whatever, when has it ever been easy? This feels right.”
“……You sure?”
“Yeah.”
Bora Uncle scratched his head hard at Do-hyun's firm answer.
Frustrated, but Do-hyun wasn't cockily blurting it out.
He knew joining would stir shit.
The Top 10 were eyeing him, playing hot potato.
‘Top 10 don't meddle in lower guild fights…….’
Unspoken rule among Top 10.
They weren't just guilds.
Their slightest move shook markets.
If they jumped into small fry squabbles, it'd wreck the ecosystem.
Guilds backed by Top 10 would always win, spawning hordes of their underlings.
Shrimp fights turning whale wars.
Unspoken rule to prevent that…….
‘……Pretty excuse. They just want me gone.’
This time was different.
Strictly, Do-hyun wasn't a guild.
But the mood was because, as Berze said, he was poison chalice to them.
If Babylon snagged him, they'd all gang up.
‘Worst case, full war.’
Later, maybe—but now, Do-hyun lacked the power.
Hiding behind a comrade's back after losing to one Berze? Pathetic.
And above all…….
‘Not my style. Gotta smash them with my own hands.’
He couldn't sleep easy handing over the backstabbers to someone else.
No mercy from him personally.
That was Do-hyun's creed.
“Sigh…… Fine, if you're set on it. You haven't failed talking big yet.”
Bora Uncle threw up his hands at the stubborn creed.
But he added one condition.
“If things look impossible, I drag you in as guildmate by force. If you're that confident, you can agree to this much, right?”
“…….”
“And one more.”
As Do-hyun nodded to answer, Bora Uncle tacked on.
“I can cover you for a week. No more. So max out however you can by then.”
“Planning to anyway.”
“Wish I could lend gear, but that'd just invite ‘he got help’ bullshit…… Normal routes won't level you fast enough…….”
Pondering hard, Bora Uncle nodded.
“Guess this is it.”
“What?”
“Sip…… You sure? Not recommending for you…… Even you couldn't…….”
“Spit it out.”
Even with Do-hyun urging, Bora Uncle hemmed and hawed—‘Sip, this is……’ ‘Would this work?’—scratching his gut until he saw Do-hyun's fist clench, then slowly spoke.
The two words that popped out.
“Ah…….”
Do-hyun's pupils shook hard at the mere two syllables, then he slapped his forehead.
……Yeah, this one he really wasn't confident about.
* * *
Clang- Kang-
Crisp metallic rings echoed.
Clear impact of steel on steel, followed by screams.
“Aaack!! It broke!!!”
“Waaaa! Yes! Got it! Finally hit blue!”
Shrieks and cheers mixed in the air.
An outer alley, twenty minutes from the Empire central fountain, but every player knew it.
Of course.
[Welcome to Reinforcement Alley.]
[Entrust materials to the Equipment Enhancer NPCs for reinforcement, or borrow enhanced gear from them for self-reinforcement.]
‘Never thought I'd end up here again…….’
First time in God Ose, technically, but the familiar vibe drew a deep sigh from Do-hyun.
The route Bora Uncle suggested—and worried about.
The one Do-hyun sucked at most.
Reinforcement.