Chapter 117. The Black Knight Returns (3)
All Players had different fighting styles. If you gathered 1000 Players, you would get 1000 different fighting styles. If you thought about it, it made sense. There were countless ways to use different weapons and different Skills.
‘Despite this, there aren’t many fighting styles that use daggers because it’s not very efficient.’
When compared to other weapons, the only good thing about daggers was their portability. They didn’t have as much reach or destructive force. As such, daggers were usually used by Players that had a.s.sa.s.sination-related skills such as those that involved illusions, concealment, ambushes, etc. There wasn’t much of a point in using a dagger without these specific types of skills.
But that was exactly why Seo Jun-Ho had taken it out…
‘It’ll be more impressive if I kill the thunder bears with this.’
This was the only reason...
A bright weapon aura covered the dagger, making it hum. But neither Pompeii nor his teammates were surprised when they saw this. Most Players around level 70 could use a weapon aura.
“Grrrooo!” The leader of the pack charged at Seo Jun-Ho, crackling with electricity. Seo Jun-Ho held his dagger in a forward grip and moved nearly twice as fast as before, parrying the thunder bear’s paw before stabbing it straight into its chest.
Woosh!
Immediately afterward, he stabbed its broad wrist, dragging his hand upward.
Rrrrip!
It sounded like he was ripping through a seam. The thunder bear’s arm started to overflow with blood. The dagger had pierced through its hide, grazed its bone, and cut up to the underside of its shoulder.
“Ah.” The Frost Queen seemed impressed by the attack. It wasn’t something that anyone could do, after all.
“Grrrrrrrrooo!” The thunder bear cried out in pain, making the entire forest ring. Thunder bears were known to chase their prey till their prey died, but this one stumbled back and started to run away.
‘Fat chance…’
Woosh! Pwoosh!
He attacked it in quick succession. His dagger almost seemed as if it was in a rhythm as he stabbed and cut at its entire body. In addition, every place he struck was a vital point.
“Grrrraaaa!” The thunder bear desperately tried to attack Seo Jun-Ho as it bled all over, but he didn’t even let it graze his clothes.
Slam!
In the end, the thunder bear died standing up, and its body fell backward. The rest of its pack had started to approach with hostility, but they quickly turned around. Even though they were monsters, they could tell that there would only be certain death if they provoked Seo Jun-Ho.
“Contractor, those bears seemed to have come to their senses,” the Frost Queen said.
“Looks like I’ll have to go to them instead...”
Seo Jun-Ho kicked off the ground and immediately rushed at the thunder bears that were trying to sneak away. Every time they swung their paws, electricity would crackle. This time, Seo Jun-Ho flipped his dagger to a reverse grip.
‘I’ve shown off my speed. Now, it’s time to show off my strength.’
He fought like an a.s.sa.s.sin earlier, but now he was going to fight like a warrior. A video with variety would be more entertaining to viewers, which would give him more PP in return.
Clang!
While swinging his dagger aggressively, it came into contact with the thunder bear’s electric-charged claw.
Crackle!
The current coursed through his body, seizing up his muscles.
“I have a friend who’s a musclehead. He never seems to care when something like this happens.”
Crackle!
Seo Jun-Ho activated his magic, forcing his muscles to relax. He gave a powerful swing, cutting off the thunder bear’s claw.
“...Grro?” It started in astonishment at its severed paw.
Bzzt. Bzzt.
Without its claw, the electricity had become much weaker. Its eyes widened in shock.
‘An opening.’
Seo Jun-Ho raised his dagger again, this time aiming for the thunder bear’s neck. It was as thick as a grown man’s thigh, but he cut through it with one slice.
Slam! Bam!
Its head flew through the air until it hit the ground, and the body fell afterward.
“Contractor, the bears over there are also tunning away.”
He turned, watching the two remaining thunder bears run away. “Let us let them go. This is enough.” He decided. It was just for a test video anyway. Based on how much PP this video earned, he would decide whether or not he would make his videos longer the next time around.
“E-Excuse me…” a voice said hesitantly. As soon as the battle ended, the party members approached Seo Jun-Ho, supporting Pompeii between them. His broken arm hung by his side as he bowed. “Thank you so much. I didn’t think that anyone would actually come and help us after I left the m… Huh?”
He tilted his head when he saw Seo Jun-Ho’s armor. It looked very familiar.
‘This full-body armor…’
Even though the moonlight had lit up the forest, the jet-black armor seemed to be darkness itself. It didn’t seem ma.s.s-produced, nor did it also seem like a lower-grade artifact. It was at the very least a Rare-grade armor. Items like this weren’t common, and Pompeii suddenly remembered seeing it on the headlines.
“...The Black Knight?” he whispered.
Seo Jun-Ho flinched when he heard him. His toes curled whenever he heard the name, and he still couldn’t get used to it.
“...Yes.”
“Oh my G.o.d!” The party members’ eyes became as round as plates. There were countless Players who had taken on the t.i.tle of ‘Black Knight’ in the past 30 years, but the only relevant one in recent years was Seo Jun-Ho. It was the Super Rookie, the Player who had kicked off a great career on the 1st floor before coming to the 2nd floor.
Actually, it would be an insult to call him a rookie now that he was already on the 2nd floor.
‘The Black Knight… That’s Seo Jun-Ho, the one who cleared the Winter Castle.’
‘Wasn’t the Gate’s level limit 80?’
‘That’s the Gate where Players went to and died in after receiving Quests from Frontier.’
After clearing the ruthless Gate all by himself, Seo Jun-Ho’s status had shot up to the sky. Tonight, they had been saved by an amazing Player like him.
“I-It’s an honor. I’ve been keeping up with the articles. I’ve been cheering you on…”
“Oh! It’s a little belated, but congratulations on reaching rank 1 in the Cave of Trials. And congratulations on clearing the Winter Castle.”
“d.a.m.n, I’m gonna be telling this story for at least the next 20 years.”
Pompeii remained silent, in contrast to his excited teammates. He seemed to be locked deep in thought. Eventually, he spoke. “It hasn’t been long since you came to the 2nd floor, correct?” he asked.
“That’s right,” Seo Jun-Ho replied.
“You saved our lives. I can’t let that go unpaid. So I’ve been thinking about what we can give you…” He nodded decisively. “When we first came up to the 2nd floor, the hardest thing to get was PP. It was easy to get food and lodgings by doing Quests, but PP was an entirely separate issue.”
“Oh!”
“You’re right. We can give him our PP.”
“That’s a pretty good idea.”
The party members opened their community forums window. Seo Jun-Ho stared at them for a second, unsure of what they were doing. A moment later, messages appeared before him.
[Anonymous has gifted you 100 PP.]
[Anonymous has gifted you 100 PP.]
…..
There were four messages and 400 PP in total.
“PP will be a big help to you in the beginning.”
“I wish I could give you more, but we don’t have much either…”
“If you ever start posting on the video forums, I’ll make sure to like them all. I promise.”
He hadn’t even considered that he would receive PP as thanks.
‘400PP…’
He wasn’t sure if it was a lot or a little, but he bowed anyway. “I didn’t expect any form of payment, but thank you.”
“I swear… If everyone was like you, we would have achieved world peace long ago.”
“We’re staying at a cottage near the edge of Gilleon’s cliffs. If you need help, come find us.”
“We won’t forget our debt to you, Black Knight.”
When Seo Jun-Ho asked if they wanted to be escorted, they said that other people were waiting for them and promptly left.
The Frost Queen spoke as she watched them leave. “They are good people.”
“Well, they’re just normal…They just seem that way because there are so many bad people in this world,” Seo Jun-Ho muttered, sitting on the thunder bear’s plush stomach. “Stop recording.”
[Recording has stopped.]
A hologram window appeared before him. It was a video player similar to the one he saw when using Confession of the Dead.
“Let’s take a look,” he said.
“I wish to watch as well.”
After they finished watching the short 7-minute video, the Frost Queen shook her head. “You can defeat them quite easily? What nonsense. Others can’t easily do what you can.”
“Hmmm. Looking back, I do seem a little detached.” As he wondered what he should do with the video, a banner labeled [Edit] caught his eye. When he tapped it, more information appeared.
[This feature allows you to make quick and easy edits to your videos. Please state what you would like to change.]
“Contractor, do you think that the editor can mute you every time you talk?”
“Come on, it’s not that easy. No matter how advanced the System is…” Seo Jun-Ho looked suspiciously at the window and spoke reluctantly, “...Erase my voice from the entire video.”
[Processing…]
[Complete.]
When they played it back, the System had really removed his voice. The edit was quite clean.
“Oh?!” the Frost Queen exclaimed. Seo Jun-Ho was looking at her with exasperation when she suddenly looked up. “Contractor. Can I be in charge of this video?”
“What are you planning?”
“I simply wish to edit the parts I dislike.”
“Do what you want.” He decided to leave it to her. The System seemed to recognize a contracted spirit’s voice and the Player’s the same, so it went smoothly for her.
The Frost Queen’s eyes sparkled as she excitedly listed her commands.
“Cut this part out. We don’t want people to see you receiving PP from Pompeii’s party.”
“I don’t like where this part starts, so move it up a bit… Yes! You are quite skilled at your job.”
“Contractor’s movements are too fast here… Add a slow motion effect.”
One could mistake her for a real director. After editing the video for quite a while, the Frost Queen seemed to have discovered something which made her turn toward Seo Jun-Ho.
“...Contractor.”
“What is it?” he asked.
“I wish to put music into the video, but it costs PP…”
“No,” he said firmly. He felt like a mother at a toy store. “It’s only a trial video, so we can’t use PP on it.”
“Aw…”
“But if I think we can make enough PP after this video goes up, I’ll let you start using a little bit starting from the next one,” he added when he saw her wilt a bit.
“Really? I have a good memory.”
“So do I. And I never go back on my word.”
When he looked at the finished product, it was of much higher quality than before. It didn’t contain any complicated editing techniques, but that made it all the more immersive. It simply highlighted his powerful, elegant movements.
[Post video?]
“Yeah.”
[Please add a t.i.tle to your video.]
“Oh, I’ll choose for you,” the Frost Queen said, holding her hand up. “Considering your status, the t.i.tle should be… The Black Knight Returns…”
“No way. The t.i.tle will be ‘Test.’”
[Video has been named ‘Test’.]
“Ugh, why do you do this to me?” The Frost Queen started to throw a tantrum, but she was quickly quelled with cake and tea.
Right now, Seo Jun-Ho felt like he was taking care of a niece, not a queen.