◈ Episode 31. You’ve Picked the Wrong Opponent (2)
I’m not sure when I wasn’t proud.
I won’t deny it.
I’m more confident now than ever……!
[Harkon Kingsguard : Lv.600]
I have the strongest knights in the Empire as my party.
I don’t know when I’ll get another chance in my lifetime to be associated with such a titan.
So I steeled myself.
“I have to make the most of this opportunity.
Thanks to the points I invested in my Luck stat.
Anyway, it’s a stroke of luck that will never come again.
This was the end of our relationship on the Yusra Islands.
In that case, I would do everything I could here!
That was my plan.
The first step, of course, was to secure the island’s treasures.
In my inventory, of course, was the crown, the island’s treasure.
I had no time for greed.
Thanks to Grandfell’s settings, the collapse progression did not increase.
So.
“For now, we’ve stopped the great evil from awakening.
─Stop the resurgence of the Seven Deadly Sins of Greed. (Ongoing)
Don’t let the island’s treasures be tainted by greed. (Ongoing)
There are still treasures on the island.
The quest was in progress.
“This is a bonus stage!
The treasures of the island.
To hunt monsters and get loot.
It was all up to me.
Now I can’t even look down on myself for not having a teammate.
“No excuses.
The Knights of Lion Hart.
They were on my tail.
Or so I thought.
Harkon, walking alongside me, spoke up.
“Indeed, the landscape is as beautiful as the legends, except for one thing.”
……One thing?
Well, that’s quite a statement.
As I stared at it wordlessly, Harkon asked a question.
“Lord Ho-Yeol, what do you think of the rats in the trees?”
…… Now, wait a minute.
What did he just say?
“……, Lord Ho-Yeol?!
What, that title that makes me cringe every time I hear it!
Adventurer Lee Ho-yeol to Lord Ho-yeol.
We can guess the reason for the change.
Even if I don’t know the reason, Harkon was mistaken.
A very good mistake about me.
“Misunderstanding? I can do that.
And the way you’re doing it, the way you’re talking.
You’d think you were a nobleman.
Sometimes I’m mistaken, too.
Cheap green tea tastes really sweet, and I just do.
But.
‘I’m about to die of embarrassment…….’
I’m dying of embarrassment.
Lord Ho-yeol.
Above all, my sisters, especially No. 3.
I remember her face.
If she ever found out, she would be teased for the rest of her life.
There’s enough black history as it is.
I’m glad it ended in the Yusra Islands.
Please don’t let us meet outside.
That’s what I wanted to say.
I replied nonchalantly.
“Lord Harkon, what are your thoughts?”
“With all due respect, I think it’s better that you deal with this.”
“I will respect your decision.”
As I swallowed my shame, I remembered the conversation.
Up in the tree, did I say rat?
He meant squirrels.
I said, “Are squirrels high level here?
Might as well get it over with.
Let’s go see some squirrels.
That’s when I looked up in the tree.
A message came to me.
[Eusra’s Island is beginning to be tainted by greed].
[Collapse progress: 8/10].
……Waah, what’s left?
Not counting the crown I acquired.
Looking at it again, there is only one treasure left on the island.
The sound was the sound of all the players in the Yusra Islands converging on this island.
This is no time for squirrel hunting.
I continued.
“But for now, can you follow me?”
Thud.
There was no question.
Harkon sheathed his sword and nodded.
“Of course. Lord Ho-Yeol. We have promised to be your sword and shield on this island.”
Harkon’s frosty gaze turned to the treetops.
“I don’t think the squirrels will be around for a while, either.”
Was there really a squirrel?
I started to shake my head, then stopped.
It’s undignified to poke around too much.
That, too, is undignified.
I swallowed a sigh at the thought.
I resented myself for adapting to this tired personality.
*.
Robbery, blackmail, murder.
All sorts of evil deeds, and no judgment.
I even gave myself the dubious title of supernova.
“Where is there a God? If there was, I’d be dead by now.”
But Kinver had nothing to fear.
Players higher than him?
No matter how high they were.
If you’re bitten by this poison, you can only beg for your life.
He couldn’t count the number of players who had died because they had trusted a higher level than him.
Not to mention the weaker ones.
But the vicious Kinver was trembling.
[The Harkon Kingsguard has its eyes on you].
[Your body and mind are paralyzed with fear].
[Aberration: Fear arises].
I’m sorry.
Please don’t kill me.
I wanted to scream, but I couldn’t even find my voice.
‘That’s the Harkon Kingsguard……!!!
Lion Hart, the mightiest knightly order in the Empire.
The leader of the lions, the Templars.
They merely made eye contact.
Kinver couldn’t move a finger.
“Please, please……!
A clang.
The sound of a sword being drawn.
A cold voice spoke at the same time.
“Lord Harkon, what are your thoughts?”
“I think it’s better to deal with it.”
He had never felt it before.
Kinver was even more vulnerable to fear.
“Oh, no, no, no!
If I could.
He felt like burying his head in the ground and begging.
But.
“I will respect your decision.”
The voice sounded like a celestial force.
At that moment, Kinver’s legs gave out.
“……!”
He could feel his pants getting wet.
But he felt no shame.
At this moment, the fear of death was too great.
-You’re wrong.
It’s my coworker’s voice.
Was it the hallucination that had been tugging at my nerves earlier?
I couldn’t tell the difference.
“But can you follow me now?”
……?
“Of course. Lord Ho-Yeol. We have promised to be your sword and shield on this island.”
Ironcluck-?
Harkon sheathed his sword at Ho-Yeol’s words.
Then he really let himself go.
Only when they were far enough away did Kinver come to his senses.
“Did ……I live?”
……I, how did I live?
Kinver muttered.
“Did he save me?”
Lee Ho-yeol, the guy?
Because he felt sorry for me, the guy who’d pissed his pants?
Or because he’s a rat who doesn’t care about people like me?
Whatever the reason, it was good.
Kinver wiped a tear from the corner of his eye.
“Sh*t…….”
Only one emotion.
He sobbed with relief that he had lived.
Kinver realized again.
“……Different dimension.”
The Harkon Kingsguard.
It was a monster, more than a monster.
And Lee Ho-Yeol, wielding such a harkon as a sword and shield.
Kinver reconnected the call.
-Kinver, as*h*le, do you hear me now?
-What was I supposed to do, shut up?
To the anger of his colleagues, he spoke up.
“I’m out of the Yusra Island.”
-……What the f*ck are you talking about, as*h*le? Hey!
“Finally. Don’t mess with Lee Ho-yeol if you don’t want to be f*cked.”
-What?!
Tsk-tsk.
I could hear the yelling, but it was good.
Kinver did not want to set foot on the Yusra Island for another moment.
Lee Ho-Yeol or Harkon.
If he ran into either of them again.
Because then I’d really be out of my mind.
.
.
.
“What’s wrong with this as*h*le?”
Supernova, Park Hyun-jung gritted his teeth.
It’s not every day that the Kinver bastard acts like an as*h*le.
Today, he crossed the line a bit.
“You son of a bitch.”
How much had he invested for today?
It was a deficit for a modest hunt.
If not a jackpot, at least a modest one.
Park became increasingly nervous.
‘…… You know what I’m going through, you f*cking Kinver!’
It was a stupid decision to trust the same supernova regardless of skill.
They don’t know when to stab you in the back.
Park gritted his teeth.
“I don’t know about you, but I can’t back down like this.”
It was then.
He heard a voice in his ear.
-You can do it.
-It’s simple, killing and stealing.
-Now you’re here. Come on, you’ve got this.
“……What the f*ck?”
The call was obviously cut off.
Park was stunned by the clarity of the voice.
But it was only for a moment.
“I’ll do something. I will!”
-Don’t mess with Lee Ho-yeol if you don’t want to be f*cked.
“……I don’t know what it is, but I don’t want to die.”
Except for Lee Ho-yeol, that bastard.
*.
Tudududududududu─
Dozens of helicopters flew over the Pacific Ocean.
Below them, of course, are the Yusra Islands.
It’s not quite as realistic, but it’s the best I could do from the top of a helicopter.
There were live monsters roaming the Yusra Islands.
“Still, it’s a bad angle. Jong Jin, can’t you just do a bungee jump? You’re wearing a parachute.”
VBC News.
Hyun Yong Suk’s crude joke is met with a stern reply.
-Ugh. I’m going to die of motion sickness, really!
“I have to pay the bills. I missed all these opportunities.”
I still haven’t heard about Lee Ho-yeol yet……! Ew!
Makes me sick, really.
Hyun Yong-seok took off his headset for a moment and wrote.
“I did my best though. Thanks to you, the ratings are cruising.”
Today’s Arcana is live.
Current live ratings are at 15 percent.
Of course, the ratings were driven by Gaon, not a gagging Yoon Jong-jin.
The Shining won two island treasures, or whatever.
In the end, the nation’s attention was on the Guild of Korea.
It was only natural that it would turn to Gaon.
-Was that a good shot? That was a good one at the end.
“Maybe it’s because the mobs are big here. I actually preferred the angle from a distance. The viewer reaction was amazing. It was worth it to make you sick.”
-Good for you, for recognizing that. Boom!
Gaon defeats the Named Monster and acquires the island’s treasure.
Regardless of the viewership, Hyun Yong Suk was thrilled.
Also.
“Only the finale, let’s make sure we get one cut.”
Players gathered on the last island.
As many players gathered.
Naturally, it would create an interesting picture.
-I’m definitely going to get a close-up of the Inazuma guys’ faces. Considering how mean they’ve been to us, I’m going to take a picture of their humiliation……! Wow!
“……I ate all my food today because of you.”
Yes, Yoon Jong-jin was right.
Even if I only captured the changes in Kazuma Inazuma’s and Hisagi Kazuma’s facial expressions, it was amazing.
Unlike Gaon, the Japanese guild, Inazuma, hadn’t gotten any of the island’s treasures.
“Maybe the guild rankings will change.”
The anticipation grew.
Tudu-tudu-tudu-tudu
The helicopter was flying to the last island after Gaon.
-Wow. Everyone is so fast.
“What? Are they there already?”
-Hold on, let me zoom in.
The transmission screen zoomed in.
Then I realized why Yoon Jong-jin was so excited.
“Wow. This is spectacular. This.”
The Shining and Unification of Heaven and Earth.
Guilds and players flocking to the center of the island.
-This isn’t something you see every day, is it, Senpai?
“No, I don’t think I’ve ever seen it before. We shouldn’t be gathering like this in the first place, there’s no point in competing in the Rift.”
-Treasure Island, thanks to you, really.
I wonder what will happen on the final island?
Watching it, I couldn’t help but feel like a viewer instead of a PD.
But Hyun Yong Suk was a pro.
“First, let’s get the Gaon and Inazuma angle out of the way.”
-Okay. But wait.
“I’ll just watch it in peace.”
Once the battle begins in earnest, it becomes difficult to get the right angle.
I had to get at least one clear shot.
I was nagged day after day.
Yoon Jong-jin was a pro.
“Okay. Tae-min’s mask is good.”
The face of Gaon’s guild master, Nam Tae-min, appeared in the angle.
But wait.
Why?
Nam Tae-min’s face is colored in horror……?
No, that’s more than horror, that’s screaming!
“What is he looking at……?”
I wonder that too!
Suddenly, Yoon Jong-jin’s camera spins around.
And there it is.
“……Yaaaaat?! H, hyung! Ho-yeol, Lee Ho-yeol!”
It was Lee Ho-yeol again.
But he wasn’t alone.
Hyun Yong-seok was looking at the monitor.
His face, like Yoon Jong-jin’s, was colored with horror.
-Stop, hyung. The lion! The lion! The lion! The lion symbol!
Helicopters hovered along the VBC.
“……The Knights of Lion Hart?! What the hell, what’s going on, this!”
Soon, all the cameras were covering the same angle.