Chapter 116

“... Granddaughter? I have no idea what you mean. My son isn't even married yet.”

Woojin smiled bitterly at the words that had slipped out without his realizing it.

“I was just saying. All I meant was that I hope you live a long, long life.”

“What nonsense... I intend to, without you worrying over me.”

Aswell sheathed his sword as though he no longer wished to fight.

“I need your help,” he told Woojin earnestly. “Will you not fight beside me so that Tekan can unite the federation?”

DING!

[You have discovered a chain quest.]

[Esten's Alchemists → War of the Three Kingdoms]

[Would you like to continue the quest?]

“If you declare war, Dalus will certainly side with Esten.”

Even with the Sword Emperor, Tekan would inevitably suffer heavy losses if it fought both kingdoms at once. Not because he was weak, but because, however powerful he might be, he could only be in one place at a time.

“You can't cover every battlefield alone. They'll tie you down and attack elsewhere.”

Apart from the Red Knights led by Aswell Balan, Tekan had little strength to speak of. If the allied forces of Esten and Dalus attacked in his absence, Tekan, too, would suffer devastating losses.

“That is precisely why I said I needed your help.”

Aswell himself understood the problem perfectly well.

“If you defend the capital, I can attack both kingdoms without worry.”

“With you, Tekan will surely be able to unite the federation. But what meaning would there be in winning this little war?”

Woojin shook his head.

“Tekan's king will be nothing more than easy prey for the five great kingdoms.”

“So... you refuse to stand with me, after all?”

“I simply don't want an incompetent king to gain even more power. I don't want more people to suffer.”

“... And that is why you suggested I take the throne?”

Aswell gave a cold laugh.

That laugh told Woojin everything. Loyal to the bone. A man who served a dynasty, not an individual. That was who Aswell was. Woojin had to accept that their paths could never be the same.

“I could execute you here and now for urging me to commit treason.”

SHING.

The sword's tip pointed at Woojin's face. One more step forward from Aswell, and he would not escape death either.

“Even so, I haven't changed my mind.”

“... Is it because you are free of death's laws? You Outlanders truly speak without a care.”

“It's not because I don't fear death.”

TAP.

Instead, Woojin took a step toward the blade pointed at him. As he entered Aswell's reach, bewilderment appeared in the swordsman's eyes.

“It's because I said it out of concern for you.”

“...”

A brief silence passed. Aswell stared at Woojin, then withdrew his sword with a sigh.

“... It seems this is where we part ways. Go back. House Balan can no longer protect you and yours... Take your household and leave.”

It hurt. But even as he had spoken, Woojin had known he would not be able to change Aswell's mind.

‘Is there another way to save him?’

The power of the throne. He remembered what Ruen had said in Yorka. It was an absurd thought, but if, against all odds, he became king, could he win Aswell over?

Woojin soon shook his head.

‘Even if I brought Tekan down by force, I couldn't win him over. He'd choose to die with Tekan instead.’

He clenched up. Did he have no choice but to watch events take their course? Once again, Woojin felt his own weakness keenly.

“Even so, I won't give up on finding a way to save you.”

“How amusing, hearing that from someone weaker than I am.”

Aswell laughed. Still, he did not seem displeased by Woojin's words.

“It will take me about a week to return,” Aswell said as he passed Woojin on his way to Esten's royal castle. “I would prefer that these be our final farewells.”

He meant for Woojin to leave before then. Woojin bit down hard on his lip, doing his utmost not to let his emotions show.

[You have abandoned the quest.]

Only the notification remained in the empty space Aswell had left behind.

“... I-I thought I was going to die.”

Only then did Ed release the breath he had been holding and sink to the ground as though his strength had deserted him.

“Wow... I thought I'd been through just about everything, but that's the first time someone's scared me with a look.”

He rubbed his chest and shook his head, looking thoroughly shaken.

“The Sword Emperor really lives up to his name. He was so intimidating I couldn't tell whether this was a game or reality.”

“... Thanks for your help.”

“Oh, not at all. I got to experience something truly rare. But... what do we do with this guy?”

He pointed at the bound alchemist. Judging by the fresh stab wounds all over the man's thigh, Ed had kept him in combat.

‘When you think about it, this is pretty insane, too.’

Players could not log out while in combat. It was a standard rule that had existed in games for ages, but its transition to virtual reality had opened it up to abuses like this. Weden's imprisonment in Thorn Bach had been another example.

Just as its name joined the opposing words “virtual” and “reality,” today's virtual reality walked a precarious tightrope between legal and illegal.

“Hey... you could let me go now, couldn't you?” the captive alchemist said to Woojin. “You found the contract and cleaned out all the labs. There's no point keeping me here anymore. Right?”

He spoke urgently.

“Honestly, it's a game. Haven't you done enough? I only did it because I got a quest!”

As though his own words were working him into a rage, he began to shout bitterly.

“Honestly, aren't you the weird ones? This is a game!! It's not like I killed real people... Ha, making a game too well causes problems too, huh? You bastard can't even tell reality from a game!”

Necromancers digging up graves for corpses. Mercenaries doing anything for money. Assassins leveling up by killing people rather than monsters. In reality, those would be serious crimes, but as the man said, this was a game.

“... Do you enjoy doing this?”

“What?”

“I'm asking whether you enjoy playing the game this way,” Woojin asked wearily.

From rock bottom to the road to success, he had fought hard through life. Games had been a way to rest, if only briefly. That was why he had loved them. Though now, he was struggling to survive.

“Enjoy it? I'm not doing this for fun. I'm doing it to survive.”

“... What?”

“It's all to make money. To put food on the table!! Fun, my ass... Must be nice to have that luxury.”

PTUI!

The alchemist spat, his lips twitching.

“I bet half the people on the central continent are doing it for money. You think anyone gathers herbs, makes potions, or weaves fucking cloth 365 days a year because it's fun?”

That had never occurred to Woojin.

“Think it's funny? Playing games for money? Well, what else can I do? It really pays. That's how hooked people are on this insane game!”

Three hundred million concurrent players. One and a half billion registered users. With countless sponsors, advertisements, media outlets, and more woven together like a web, [Evil Tale] truly was a gigantic business.

“You go ahead and have fun, you bastard. You're so caught up in the game you can't even tell what reality is anymore.”

His words hit Woojin like a hammer to the head.

‘Reality...’

He was struggling desperately to return to reality, yet to someone struggling desperately through a game to make a living in reality, he apparently looked like someone merely playing.

“Ha... Haha.”

He felt drained.

“I see.”

Woojin nodded slowly.

“You're right. We each have our own path. We're both playing to survive.”

SHING.

He slowly raised his sword.

“Don't ever let me see you again.”

“... Stop!!”

It happened then.

BANG!!!

A gunshot, a rare sound in [Evil Tale], rang out.

“...?!”

Woojin hastily ducked.

WHIP-CRACK!!!

At the same time, a whip lashed toward him, moving as unpredictably as a snake.

-Master!

Just as Setsuna was about to use a skill,

[Silence has been cast.]

[Setsuna's Status - Silenced.]

[Cannot chant for 30 seconds.]

-Mmph...?! Mmmph?!

Unable to speak, Setsuna's eyes widened in bewilderment.

‘A mage?’

Woojin quickly turned his head, scanning his surroundings.

RATTLE...!!!

The whip around his wrist pulled tighter and tighter.

“You bastards...!!”

Ed hurriedly drew a dagger to cut the whip, but then—

BANG!!!

Another gunshot rang out.

“Argh!!!”

The bullet went through Ed's shoulder. With a scream of pain, he collapsed at Woojin's feet.

‘Three of them in total?’

“Hand him over.”

The voice came from the darkness. A woman emerged, winding in her whip as she spoke sharply.

‘A whip... I've never fought one before.’

Faced with the unfamiliar weapon, Woojin braced his ensnared wrist and lowered his stance to hold his ground.

“And if I refuse?”

“...!!!”

CRUNCH!!

The woman tugged at her whip.

“Gah?!”

Caught off guard by Woojin's strength, she struggled desperately to hold her ground.

THUD!!

At that moment, Woojin thrust his drawn-back arm forward and launched himself toward her. The woman lost her balance and fell hard on her backside.

BANG!! BANG, BANG!!!

Bullets flew, but they could not keep up with Woojin's speed.

WHOOOOSH!!!!

A razor-sharp wind came at Woojin from the opposite side.

RATTLE...!!!

But at that instant, he yanked the whip with all his might, dragging the woman into his arms. He thrust her forward like a shield.

“Oh, damn it!!”

With that harsh cry, the oncoming blade of wind vanished in an instant.

“... Cough!!”

The mage coughed painfully from the backlash of abruptly canceling the spell.

“Why don't you come out, unless you want to watch her die?” Woojin growled at the two who had yet to reveal themselves.

“...!!!”

Two figures emerged from the darkness. Woojin could not help staring in astonishment.

“Gareth?”

He removed his mask as he addressed the dwarf approaching with a bewildered expression.

“Khan...?! What are you doing here?”

Seeing Gareth's undisguised surprise, Woojin suddenly recalled what the alchemist had said.

[“The bastard digging into us!! If it weren't for him, we could've finished the quest in the Kingdom of Esten...!! Damn it...!!”]

‘That dwarf... was Gareth.’

“I'm sorry we attacked you out of nowhere. We mistook you for an accomplice who had spirited him away. We thought you were killing him so he could resurrect.”

“Oh... I can see why you'd think that.”

With even his face hidden behind a mask, he had given them ample cause for misunderstanding.

“But why are you after him...?”

“The alchemy association, [Platz], issued a quest. It's about illegal alchemy. Have you heard of Human Golems? They're one of the summoned creatures his gang transmutes.”

“Oh, yes. I know them. I dealt with one in the Great Forest. It was a monster made from NPC corpses.”

“What do you think would happen if they made one out of players?”

“A Human Golem made from players? But players resurrect at a shrine when they die, so their corpses disappear.”

Woojin flinched. Then he stared blankly at the alchemist.

“If they aren't using corpses as materials...”

“That's right. They have to use them alive.”

Monster research. Human experimentation... With that one remark from Gareth, those two puzzle pieces finally seemed to fit together.

“Hey.”

Woojin seized the deathly pale alchemist by the collar and hauled him up.

“That changes things, doesn't it?”

He spoke with a look in his eyes that promised to cut the man to pieces at any moment.