Chapter 261 – 8 Floor (2)
Translator: Seven
Editor: Ana_Banana
January 1, 2025.
A press conference was held by none other than the Master of the Messiah Guild, Lee Se-jun.
Lee Se-jun, dressed in armor and showing signs of just completing the dungeon spoke as soon as the new year came.
“The Messiah Guild’s goal hasn’t changed. In 2025, we will do everything we can to end the game.”
These words by Lee Se-jun were simultaneously transmitted to the world by every broadcaster.
However, the reaction he gained was different from the past.
-Lee Se-jun is so amazing!
-Lee Se-jun is the saviour!
-Let’s just trust and follow Lee Se-jun.
In the past, there was only praise towards Lee Se-jun, but now it was different.
-Isaac Ivanov is the amazing one, not Lee Se-jun.
-That’s right. In the end, Isaac Ivanov cleared the 7 Floor dungeon faster, and it was even at a higher rank.
-The Messiah Guild certainly has more influence. But Isaac Ivanov’s skills are definitely better.
Whenever Lee Se-jun’s name, which no one dared to be compared to, was mentioned, so was Isaac Ivanov’s name.
“The world has changed a lot.”
This was proof that the world was no longer relying on Lee Se-jun alone.
“Lee Se-jun’s ‘name is not the same as it used to be.”
Lee Jin-ah, who was watching the proceedings on his smartphone, stuck his tongue out with a laugh.
“If it continues like this, we’ll win the game without even having to fight.”
With those words, Lee Jin-ah turned to look at Kim Woo-jin.
In his eyes, he could see Kim Woo-jin typing something on a laptop in front of him.
“Isn’t that right?”
Even when asked a question, Kim Woo-jin didn’t answer.
Lee Jin-ah made a glum expression.
“Isn’t it right? Don’t you think you’ve in against Lee Se-jun in a 1v1? No, it’s natural for you to win. I’m not sure how powerful Lee Se-jun is, but I’m sure that he’s not as strong as you are.”
Only then did Kim Woo-jin respond for the first time.
“That’s right.”
Lee Jin-ah was surprised at the unexpectedly gentle response.
Kim Woo-jin was the strongest person Lee Jin-ah knew, and he didn’t think there was any other human who could compare to him.
So when he said ‘that’s right’, it was basically a definitive answer.
It meant that he was stronger than Lee Se-jun.
In truth, Kim Woo-jin thought so too.
At this point, Kim Woo-jin’s strength was way beyond his expectations, and was enough to hunt Lee Se-jun.
This wasn’t just his thought.
“Lee Se-jun will think so too.”
Kim Woo-jin was certain that Lee Se-jun would reach the same conclusion.
“Because the Messiah Guild’s players would have reported my battles perfectly.”
After all, the players from the Messiah Guild had confirmed Kim Woo-jin’s, or rather Isaac Ivanov’s combat capability.
That was Kim Woo-jin’s goal.
He tried to make the Messiah Guild somehow believe that Isaac Ivanov was something to be wary, fearful, and afraid of, while at the same time believing that he was too dangerous to be touched easily.
“That’s why it’s a problem.”
At the same time, that was a problem.
“Lee Se-jun will run away the moment Isaac Ivanov comes close.”
Lee Se-jun would never want to use the same s.p.a.ce or stage as Isaac Ivanov anymore.
No one wanted to hang around a beast that was stronger than them.
Lee Jin-ah couldn’t help but ask back when he heard that.
“Then you should’ve hidden your skills, right?”
If the problem was that your opponent became scared after you revealed your skills, then wasn’t hiding your skills the right answer?
Kim Woo-jin responded simply to Lee Jin-ah’s reaction.
“Regardless of whether I hide my skills or not, it would still be impossible to meet Lee Se-jun.”
“What?”
“Lee Se-jun has never revealed his location. No matter what power I had, Lee Se-jun never wanted to meet me.”
Apart from that, Lee Se-jun was an incredibly hard person to meet in the first place.
His official appearances were rare, and even those were mostly irregular.
Furthermore, all of his movements were treated with the utmost secrecy, and all kinds of methods and maneuvers were used to hide those secrets.
As far as Kim Woo-jin knew, he even had a doppelganger who took his place at times.
“It must have gotten even worse now.”
Perhaps by this point, only a few people in the Messiah Guild knew about Lee Se-jun’s movements, and it was highly like that they were given false information in order to conceal the true information.
Naturally, it was necessary to pay an unspeakable price in order to meet a person like Lee Se-jun.
“That’s why we need a sacrifice.”
“Sacrifice?”
Instead of answering, Kim Woo-jin tapped on his laptop a few more times.
Seeing this, Lee Jin-ah decided to change his question.
“No, more than that, what the h.e.l.l have you been typing all this time? Are you chatting with a blonde-haired foreigner?” (TL: author really likes to make foreigners blonde…)
To that question, Kim Woo-jin looked at Lee Jin-ah and said.
“That’s correct.”
“What?”
Surprised, Lee Jin-ah shot up from his seat and said.
“No, if you’re really chatting with a blonde beauty then you should include me too! You can’t do it alone! Wah, I’ve put up with everything else so far, but I definitely can’t put up with this!”
Lee Jin-ah was genuinely angry.
Despite Lee Jin-ah’s antics, Kim Woo-jin simply closed the laptop and stood up.
Lee Jin-ah asked him a question.
“What’s their name?”
“Francois Sureau.”
“Did you meet in France? How did you meet? Is she pretty?”
Suddenly, Lee Jin-ah tilted his head.
“But why do I feel like I’ve heard that name before.”
Only then did he realise.
“The Dragon Slayer?”
That it was the Dragon Slayer’s name.
“Why him?”
Lee Jin-ah expressed his doubts at the unexpected name, and Kim Woo-jin answered him with a smile.
“He’s going to lend me Balmung.”
“Balmung? Oh my G.o.d, that Balmung?”
Lee Jin-ah was frightened by those words.
“No, why all of a sudden?”
“It’s because of Park Yong-wan’s best efforts. I asked him to obtain Balmung for me.”
“Park Yong-wan again?”
Hearing that Park Yong-wan had once again given him a present, Lee Jin-ah looked like he couldn’t believe it.
Then his expression changed once again.
“No, but what would Park Yong-wan have had to do in order to get Balmung? That was something that even you couldn’t get, wasn’t it?”
So far, the gifts that Park Yong-wan had given to Kim Woo-jin were certainly valuable.
But Balmung was different.
In terms of reputation or value, it was on par with Excalibur, which Kim Woo-jin had obtained, and it belonged to the Dragon Slayer.
No matter how much of a world-cla.s.s player Park Yong-wan was now, there was no way that he could easily obtain Balmung.
“What can that poor guy that has basically given everything to you possibly offer? Would he even be able to get Balmung even if he offered Durandal?”
How on earth did he manage to obtain Balmung?
Kim Woo-jin answered his question.
“Park Yong-wan still had something to offer.”
“What was it?”
Kim Woo-jin responded in a plain voice.
“Me.”
…
A small mansion located in Inje County, Gangwon-do.
A vehicle carefully approached this mansion, which had been covered by the snow that had fallen a few days before.
As soon as the car arrived at the mansion, two men got out of it.
Their thick coats, hats and sungla.s.ses made it difficult to tell their appearances as they headed straight into the mansion without a single word.
“You’re here.”
Park Yong-wan, who was waiting in the living room of the mansion, greeted them.
“Sit.”
However, despite welcoming guests, Park Yong-wan’s voice was much heavier than usual.
In this atmosphere, one of the men took off his coat, hat and sungla.s.ses.
“Yes.”
This person was none other than Johann Georg.
Park Yong-wan narrowed his eyes as he looked at him.
‘I didn’t expect him to come all the way here.’
At the same time, Park Yong-wan recalled the conversation he’d had with Johann Georg a few days prior.
At that time, Park Yong-wan was doing everything he could in order to borrow Balmung from the Dragon Slayer.
Of course, his results were not very good.
No, it could be said that Park Yong-wan had nothing that would enable him to carry out such a transaction.
In that situation, Johann Georg approached him and made a suggestion.
Let’s join hands with the people in the world who also want Isaac Ivanov dead.
“Is this the representative sent by the Messiah Guild?”
Join hands with the Messiah Guild.
“Yes, he’s been helping me all this while.”
“Should I talk to him while he keeps his face hidden?”
“Not at all. We’re now on the same side, what’s the point of hiding our faces?”
At that moment, the man besides Johann Georg also removed his coat, hat and sungla.s.ses.
Park Yong-wan, who confirmed his ident.i.ty, let out a laugh.
“I didn’t expect the Bow G.o.d to come.”
When the Bow G.o.d was revealed as the Messiah Guild’s representative, the atmosphere became a bit heavier.
This was natural.
After all, the meaning behind this meeting had also become heavier.
The Bow G.o.d, who also knew this, spoke to Park Yong-wan with a heavy tone.
“It should be clear since I was the one to come here. From now on, Park Yong-wan, you are a member of the Messiah Guild.”
He clearly expressed his will in Korean.
“Did you become proficient in Korean because you’re in the Messiah Guild?”
Park Yong-wan couldn’t help but make a sarcastic remark about that as he shot an eerie look towards the Bow G.o.d.
After looking at him for a while, Park Yong-wan nodded.
“Since this is about killing Isaac Ivanov, I don’t plan to do anything foolish. Instead, I’m more curious about the Messiah Guild. I wonder if you’ve truly accepted me as a member just because I gave you my loyalty. And if you can protect me.”
Then Johann Georg opened his mouth.
“Since we’re all on the same page now, why don’t we move on to the next part?”
When Korean also came out of his mouth, the Bow G.o.d and Park Yong-wan turned to look at him.
How could he speak Korean?
Johann Georg laughed and answered this question that he saw in their eyes.
“I studied Korean a bit.”
With a beautiful smile that would seem terrifying to anyone else looking, the two sat down.
“For now, the situation is simple. The Saviour Guild wants to get rid of Isaac Ivanov and the Messiah Guild want it too. In this situation, Kim Woo-jin said that he could kill Isaac Ivanov as long as he had the Dragon Slayer’s Balmung. But since we couldn’t get the Balmung on our own, we had to ask for the Messiah Guild’s help.”
To this explanation, the Bow G.o.d asked.
“Why do you need Balmung to kill Isaac Ivanov?”
“Do you know the abilities of Balmung?”
“I do.”
“Then the reason is simple. The defences and resistances of anyone wounded by Balmung are greatly reduced. In truth, the concept of defence is rather abstract. But naturally, his resistance to poison will also drop sharply. And for us, the player who we want to give Balmung to is the player with the strongest poison in the world.”
In truth, this was a question that didn’t need to be asked.
If you knew the abilities of Balmung, and knew that the player asking for it was Kim Woo-jin, then you didn’t have to roll your head around to be able to realise why he wanted it.
This was not something that the Bow G.o.d, who had wanted to kill Kim Woo-jin, couldn’t know.
“Right, that’s true.”
Nevertheless, since the Bow G.o.d brought up this question, it meant that he had other intentions.
And the Bow G.o.d didn’t take long to reveal it.
“But why isn’t Kim Woo-jin, the party involved, here?”
At this question, Park Yong-wan turned to look at Johann Georg.
In fact, Park Yong-wan had wanted Kim Woo-jin to be a part of the meeting.
After all, it was none other than Kim Woo-jin who would be handling it, which meant that it would certainly be neat and clean.
But Johann Georg had rejected Park Yong-wan’s suggestion.
He’d asked for a meeting without Kim Woo-jin.
“Well, that is also simple.”
And now, he revealed the reason.
“Because Kim Woo-jin must also be removed together with Isaac Ivanov.”
There was no change in Johann Georg’s eyes as he said those words.
Proof that this was not a sudden suggestion, but something that he had been planning for a long time.
In fact, there was nothing strange about it.
“The Emissary of the Underworld is known for their favoritism. Therefore, in order to be favored by him, I need to remove my compet.i.tors as much as possible.”
His halo was the Emissary of the Underworld, that alone was enough of a reason.
The Bow G.o.d nodded at Johann Georg’s words.
After all, the Bow G.o.d, who had tried countless means and methods to kill Kim Woo-jin only to experience one bitter failure after another, had no reason to refuse this suggestion.
“Of course, Park Yong-wan’s decision is the most important part.”
The only problem was the decision of Park Yong-wan, who could be said to be Kim Woo-jin’s biggest sponsor.
Naturally, everyone turned to look at Park Yong-wan, and under their gazes, Park Yong-wan said.
“Kim Woo-jin is one of the best cards I have created since become a player.”
As he said these words, Park Yong-wan seemed to be lost in his recollection.
With that look on his face, he continued.
“To tear this card with my own hands…”
The atmosphere in the room became heavier and heavier.
In such an atmosphere, Park Yong-wan looked at them and said.
“Then what can you give me in return?”
If the price was right, I would willingly give up this card.
When they heard this, Johann Georg and the Bow G.o.d smiled.
…
January 15, the day that signified that half of January had pa.s.sed.
Woowoong!
Kim Woo-jin who was doing something in the Hallasan Mountains, stopped what he was doing as his feature phone vibrated, and checked the text that he’d received.
[Balmung secured.]
After confirming the text he received from Park Yong-wan, Kim Woo-jin gave a dirty smile.
‘A person’s nature will never change.’
With that brief ridicule, Kim Woo-jin typed a reply on his feature phone and sent it to Park Yong-wan.
[Then I will prepare for the Saviour Hunt.]
While sending this message, Kim Woo-jin affirmed in his mind.
‘Never.’
No matter who they were, a man’s nature could not be changed.
A few hours later, a shocking piece of news shocked the world.
[The Messiah Guild announces their 8 Floor dungeon attack!]
[Their goal is the Orc Lord, ruler of a C rank dungeon!]
And as soon as the news came out, more news was revealed.
[The Saviour Guild set to challenge B rank 8 Floor dungeon!]
Once again, the war had begun.
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