Chapter 15

“Seriously, who the hell are these Genesis Corps guys?”

“Telling us to clear out of the citadel without any warning!”

“Exactly! They brought in NPCs from somewhere and are massacring everyone in the citadel!”

“Please do something about this, now!!”

GM Johan, the administrator in charge of Parta, hurried to the city as calls suddenly flooded in. The moment he arrived, dozens of players gathered in the square bombarded him with complaints, leaving him utterly flustered.

- G-guys, what am I supposed to do?!!

- What happened? Huh? You're in Parta, aren't you?

- Yeah. You've got a cushy assignment. Why the long face?

Barely managing to calm the shouting crowd, Johan hastily typed into the chat.

- All hell's broken loose here. Apparently, a clan called [Genesis Corps] has occupied the citadel with mercenary NPCs.

- Huh? What are you talking about?

- Why the citadel?

- I don't know. They apparently brought NPCs from the central continent, killed the players, and drove everyone out.

- Holy shit... That's insane.

- Getting here from the central continent would take at least two days, even using portals... So this was completely premeditated?

Johan's messages set the chat buzzing.

- Those [Genesis Corps] guys did seem to be running some shady businesses on the central continent... Have they expanded all the way out there now?

- Shady businesses? Like what?

- A sort of moneylending operation. They lend people money and charge interest.

- Hmm... That doesn't sound particularly shady.

- The problem is their customers. Most are people who died in the Labyrinth Tower and dropped their gear...

For a moment, the chat fell silent. Everyone was waiting for the administrator from the central continent to continue.

- Rumor has it all their customers died near the portals at the start of each floor. You know how there normally aren't any monsters around those portals?

- Don't tell me...

- Yes. Someone deliberately lured them there.

- And you think it was those guys? Wow, what scumbags.

- But all we have is suspicion, no hard evidence...

As the chat grew livelier with talk of [Genesis Corps], Johan only became more anxious.

- Um, guys... Leaving [Genesis Corps] aside for a moment, could someone... please help me?

He pleaded for help, feeling close to tears.

- Just leave them alone.

It happened then.

- T-Team Leader! You're here!!

- All clear in the western central continent!

- All clear east of the Dark Forest!

The administrators all began reporting in at once as GM Dane, Team Leader Go Juncheol, entered the chat.

- Have you forgotten our number-one policy?

Everything that happened in [Evil Tale] was to be left to the players.

- We don't make this game. [Ethan] collects data on the direction players take and decides on quests and update schedules in real time.

- ... We know, sir. That's also why administrators have so little authority.

- Then what's the problem?

His words instantly froze the chat.

- Leave it to the players.

- But... how are the people of Parta supposed to stop mercenaries brought over from the central continent?

- Exactly. This isn't the Labyrinth Tower, where people of similar levels gather.

- Parta's average level is only around 25 at best. They couldn't possibly take on level-50 NPCs...

His subordinates responded to Team Leader Go with concern.

- Then the people who can stop them need to act.

- ... Sir?

- The ten great clans haven't made a move yet. Let's see how they respond first. And... if things get too big for them to handle, there'll still be plenty of time for us to intervene.

His subordinates could no longer argue.

- But it takes at least two days to reach the beginner area from the central continent. People will be furious in the meantime.

- Administrators aren't gods who exist to make life convenient for players.

The team leader's answer was cold.

- Whether it takes two days or three, that's another problem for the players to solve.

- Um... Team Leader!

- Sigh... Do you still have something to say? I thought I told you to stop worrying about it.

- It's not that, sir.

Team Leader Go checked the ID of the last subordinate to address him. It was Johan, the administrator in charge of Parta who had started the chat.

- Then what?

- W-well... Apparently, [Genesis Corps], the ones occupying the citadel, have been wiped out.

- What are you talking about now? You were asking for help just a moment ago.

- They were definitely there...

Johan himself sounded bewildered as his report trailed off.

- ... But now they're all gone.

His report sent another stir through the chat.

- Who did it? Were there members of the ten great clans in the beginner area?

- No, sir. None of their players have been spotted in the beginner area. However...

- Spit it out.

- There's reportedly an NPC named Kahira at the citadel. She's a pilgrim of Mha, level 65.

- ... Kahira? Why would an NPC do that? Is there a related quest?

- Yes. She wanders in search of rifts... She's currently looking for the [Red-Eyed Orc], which has only appeared briefly as a phantom because its spawn conditions haven't been fully met yet.

- By herself?

- Well... there's a player with her.

- Who?

The final reply threw the chat into confusion.

- [Khan], a level-20 warrior.

The name was unfamiliar, but everyone knew who he was.

- The player who can't log out.

* * *

“... You crazy bastard!!!”

The officer swung his sword with all his strength.

“You little shit...! Stay back!!”

“The beginner area really is nice. Not only is killing prohibited, there's a level restriction to keep high-level players from bullying you.”

Woojin spoke coldly as he knocked aside the officer's blade.

'What a joke.'

These attacks had to be sharper and fiercer... yet fighting the gray wolf had terrified Woojin far more.

That had been a fight with his actual life on the line.

'They can pull shit like this so easily because their lives aren't at stake.'

And the same went for him.

CRASH!!!

His attacks were bolder than they had been back then. Driving off his forward foot, Woojin lunged inside the officer's guard.

CLANG!!

He struck upward, knocking the officer's sword aside and sending him staggering.

'Now.'

WHOOSH!!!

But Woojin's attack narrowly missed. The man was, after all, an intermediate player active on the central continent.

“What are you idiots doing?!! Shoot him now!!”

WHISTLE!!!

At that moment, an arrow came streaking toward Woojin from the opposite rampart.

THUNK!!

It buried itself in the rampart with a dull thud.

“You low-level shit! I don't know how you pulled this off, but you think I have no way to kill you?”

The officer shouted as arrows flew in.

THUD-THUD-THUD!!

Two mercenaries charged toward Woojin from opposite directions along the circular ramparts, while the third kept him pinned down with arrows.

“Really?”

Instead of retreating, Woojin slashed his own arm.

[Your Health has fallen below 50%.]

“...?!”

His body vanished once again in black mist.

[You receive the effects of Lesser Regeneration while the black mist remains active.]

The officer was thrown into confusion by his sudden disappearance.

[Activating Hungry Brand.]

▶ Fighter Bjorn has been branded.

▶ You steal 1/3 of the target's highest stat (Strength).

▶ Your Strength increases by 25.

▶ Fighter Bjorn's Strength decreases by 25.

'He's only around level 50, and I get 25?'

Having gained more points than expected, Woojin looked at him in mild surprise.

Well, wasn't that generous of him.

“You went all in on Strength.”

BOOOOM!!!

Dragon Heaven, First Gate - Severance

Blue sparks flared from Woojin's blade as it sliced clean through the officer's leg.

“Aaaaargh!!”

The mercenaries, bewildered as they searched for the man who had abruptly vanished, could see nothing but red blood.

[You are in the beginner area.]

[Killing is prohibited.]

A red warning window appeared the moment Woojin leveled his sword at the officer's throat as the man rolled on the ground, screaming.

“Fine by me if you don't die.”

It would be a shame to lose the stats he had only just stolen.

“Gah. G-gack!”

Woojin grabbed the officer by the back of the neck and hoisted him up. Whether it was his increased Strength or the missing leg making the man lighter, he lifted him easily with one arm.

“W-wait...!! What are you doing?!!”

Using the officer as a shield, Woojin began running toward the approaching mercenaries.

“D-don't shoot!! Fuck...! Don't shoot!!”

The three mercenaries stopped and drew their bows as Woojin suddenly charged, but the officer screamed frantically at the sight.

“That's right. I can't kill you... but their arrows can.”

Woojin tightened his grip on the officer's neck, as though urging him to scream louder.

“Oh, look at this! Unlike the others, these fellows drop things when they die!”

Kahira's voice rose from below the ramparts. The two [Genesis Corps] members who had tried to stop her had long since turned to ash. She called up to the ramparts as she toyed with the gear they had dropped.

“Like you said, I'm a low-level nobody, so dying doesn't matter to me... but you're different. Once you're level 50 or higher, you drop gear even if you die in the beginner area.”

“Ghh...! G-gack...!!”

“If you don't want to die here for nothing, tell me. Who's backing you?”

“You crazy fuck...! You think you'll get away with this?!!”

He was an officer, after all, and he wasn't about to talk so easily.

THUNK!!!

It happened then.

A hatchet flew in from somewhere, pierced straight through the officer's head, and continued past Woojin.

THUD!!

The hatchet, stained with the officer's blood, buried itself in the pavilion pillar they had spent the previous night investigating.

“Oops. I picked that up down below and threw it to you to use... but now he's dead.”

Kahira, now up on the ramparts, scratched her head sheepishly.

THUD.

The officer's body slumped to the ground.

HISSS...

The corpse turned to ash in an instant, and several items appeared among the remains.

“You there. Your employer's dead. Still want to keep going? I don't mind if you do.”

Kahira swung her hammer sideways like a bat, sending it whooshing through the air.

“...”

At her arrival, the mercenaries exchanged glances and lowered their bows.

“Mercenaries may do anything for money, but coming all the way from the central continent to throw your weight around in the Dark Forest? You worthless bastards.”

Kahira shouted after them as they disappeared.

“Are you all right?”

“Of course. They started the fight. I merely acted according to my faith.”

She examined the items the dead officer had dropped.

“Oh, this one looks reasonably useful. What do you think?”

Name: Belt of the Trinity

Grade: C

Description: Multiplies the highest of Strength, Agility, and Constitution by 1.5.

▶ Cannot be used at level 55 or above.

▶ Applies only to base stats.

▶ The increased stat is rounded to the nearest whole number.

▶ After the initial application, reequipping the item will not change the amount of the increase.

'So this was why his Strength was so high.'

Woojin nodded as he examined the belt Kahira handed him.

'You'd have to reach at least the third floor of the Labyrinth Tower to get a C-grade item...'

It was an unexpected windfall.

[You have equipped the Belt of the Trinity.]

▶ Your Strength is multiplied by 1.5.

▶ Your Strength is now 68 (+25).

The surge of power accompanying the notification was strong enough for him to feel.

'My original Strength was 45... so it's gone up by about 13.'

The equivalent of gaining two levels.

Since the effect applied only once, he could have gotten a larger increase by saving the item for later...

'But I can only use it until level 55 anyway. Better to use it while I can than save it.'

Make decisions boldly.

That was how he had survived so much competition.

“Hmph. Those worthless fools wasted our time.”

With [Genesis Corps] gone, the citadel was quiet.

“It's almost dawn... We still have some time, don't we?”

“We searched all last night and found nothing. What good is the little time we have left...?”

At Kahira's dispirited reply, Woojin smiled wryly and pulled the hatchet from the pillar.

[Human blood soaks the sacrificial pillar.]

It happened then.

“... Huh?”

The blood smeared on the pillar where the hatchet had struck evaporated in a cloud of black smoke.

[The required number of orcs has been hunted within the citadel.]

The notification rang in his ears. Apparently, Woojin wasn't the only one who could hear it: Kahira's eyes widened too as they looked at each other.

[It is dawn.]

[All blood conditions have been fulfilled.]

WHOOOOSH!!!

At that moment, the pavilion's pillar burst into flames.

[An ancient orc is being summoned.]

THUD.

Red eyes gleamed behind the burning pillar.

It was the Red-Eyed Orc.