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Thirty minutes before the Summoner’s Great War began.
Ji-Hoon, with his head down, sat in a corner of the players’ waiting room sipping his water and peeking from one side to the other.
“Hyung, look at this! Euryaaaaaaaaa! Frieeeeeeeeeend!”
Black Mage Ali, or Yoon Ji-Hoo, was showing Yoon Ji-Seok a video of One Diss on his phone. And his hyung was smiling widely as if to tell him that he was very happy.
On the other side, Locke, or Jisoo, “No. Mom, Dad!!! Don’t come to the players’ waiting room. Ah~ wait! What in the world is that shirt you’re wearing?!”
Jisoo was very shocked. His parents and sister, who looked just like him, were all wearing a shirt that said: ‘Locke Love!’
“Jisoo! Fighting!”
“Our son is the most handsome man in the entire stadium!”
A moment of silence passed in the players’ waiting room after hearing Jisoo’s mother’s words. However, it immediately became lively once again. Everyone was free to come and go in the Athenae’s waiting room. It would only be strictly guarded and controlled before the start of each game.
Ji-Hoon sat alone in this lively waiting room. He had always been a loner. He thought, ‘I feel jealous.’
Ji-Hoon was jealous of the red-faced Locke who was looking at the shirt that his family was wearing. He also felt the same thing when he looked at Yoon Ji-Hoo and Yoon Ji-Seok. The same was true when he saw one of the players crying over the phone while talking with their family. Envy brewed in his heart but he kept his head down and only peeked at them. Then, someone approached him and said, “What are you doing here all alone?”
“…Eh? Yes, what? Huh?” When Ji-Hoon raised his head, he saw Minhyuk and his father, Kang Minhoo, standing in front of him. Ji-Hoon lowered his head even more after seeing Kang Minhoo, one of the bigshots, from nervousness.
Kang Minhoo smiled and said, “Minhyuk, is this the friend that you were talking about before?”
“Yep. That’s right, dad.”
“Hohoho,” Kang Minhoo laughed when he heard his son’s words.
Ji-Hoon lowered his head even further. He felt his heart thump when he heard one word. And that word was… ‘Friend.’ This was the term that Minhyuk used to introduce Jung Ji-Hoon to his father, Kang Minhoo.
“Jung Ji-Hoon.”
“Yes, uh, yes, sir?” Ji-Hoon looked up at Minhoo, however his eyes kept on dodging to the sides. Ji-Hoon had been cut off from society for a long time, on top of that, he was still reeling from the trauma of being bullied when he was younger. Because of that, he developed extreme fear of interacting with others.
Kang Minhoo looked at him for quite a while before saying, “You’ll definitely shine brilliantly soon, like an unearthed jewel showing its brilliance to the world.”
“What?” Ji-Hoon asked dumbly, unknowingly making eye contact with Kang Minhoo. He could see the sincerity in the man’s eyes. Minhoo chuckled before patting Ji-Hoon on the shoulder and stepping out of the room. This was the first time that Ji-Hoon had felt something like this in his life. Then, he turned to Minhyuk and asked, “Why are you helping me?”
“…When did I do that?”
“…”
Minhyuk had no choice but to cough in embarrassment when he saw the earnest gaze that Ji-Hoon gave him. He just told Ji-Hoon to find him ten times and die ten times, and he really did that. Ji-Hoon was the one that had begun to change himself after realizing a lot of things through Minhyuk’s letters, he did not do much for him.
Still, Minhyuk looked at Ji-Hoon’s eyes for a moment before saying, “It’s because I think that you can change.”
“…”
Ji-Hoon fell silent at his words. However, he thought differently. The world threw curses at Minhyuk yet he was able to overcome the pain brought by his eating addiction, a pain that was far more painful than the pain that he was feeling, and even tried to protect him.
“Ah. Here, take this,” Minhyuk said while handing over a note to Ji-Hoon. The note had a string of numbers written on it.
“…What’s this?”
Minhyuk smiled at Ji-Hoon’s question and said, “This is your gift for coming to find me ten times. This is Kennedy’s number. He’s a world-famous burn specialist. My father already talked to him so you can get treated after your game.”
Kennedy was a world-renowned burn specialist, an authoritative doctor in his field, and a person that Ji-Hoon could not meet even once in his life, despite having countless assets and money under his name. In fact, Ji-Hoon wanted to meet with him but as time went by, the world changed and he grew more isolated from society. At some point, he just gave up on getting treatment.
Ji-Hoon’s pupils shook wildly when he heard Minhyuk’s words. The words of the announcement broadcasted over the speaker registered weakly in his ears as Minhyuk punched him lightly on his shoulder.
[All participants for the Summoner’s Great War, please proceed to the waiting room.]
Then, Minhyuk told him, “Now’s the time for you to take that leap and change.”
Ji-Hoon nodded silently. Not long after, one of the Athenae staff approached him and escorted him to the waiting room. He walked behind the staff through the crowded hallway while clutching the note that Minhyuk handed to him on his chest. In the end, he burst out in tears.
Jisoo looked at Ji-Hoon suspiciously as he stepped out of the room. He asked, “I don’t understand why you’re going so far for him. Is that guy even reliable?”
Everyone was free to have opinions of their own about a person. Some of the members definitely did not see Ji-Hoon in a good light. Then, Ali, or Yoo Jin-Hoo said, “But I think he’s a good person?”
Minhyuk smiled lightly and said, “It’s alright. It only took one call from my dad to get Kennedy’s phone number.”
Yes, that was right. It was something easy for Minhyuk to achieve. However, that single call was enough to completely change a person’s life in the future.
“Besides. That’s what he worked hard for himself.”
Minhyuk listened to the crowd’s loud cheers that signaled the start of the Summoner’s Great War. Then, he said, “He’s the perfect ally and…”
Minhyuk looked at everyone in the room and continued to say, “…friend.”
***
[Even, even though it’s happening in front of me, I still can't bring myself to believe it…!]
[Are you seeing this? He summoned fifteen Death Knights! And that’s not the end of it, he even created a small kingdom of bones. Correct me if I’m wrong but I think there are liches around the kingdom that he created.]
[Right now, in Athenae: World War, the player named Death has brought shock to the entire world.]
[Look at Death’s aloof gaze. His sharp and cold gaze looks similar to a leopard’s eyes! It was just yesterday, during the Korean group photoshoot when we saw Death fidgeting around and lowering his head in anxiety. There were even many people concerned about his anxiety and restlessness. Is he really the same person as the one from yesterday? He’s giving off a completely different vibe.]
[You’re absolutely right. His aloof gaze makes him look like a king that looks down on the other players! He’s literally the King of Death!]
Death placed one hand on his chest, to that place where he placed the note that Minhyuk had given him earlier. It was not there right now, but the warmth that it gave him still lingered in his heart, giving him the courage to change himself.
‘This is the only thing that I can do to repay him for what he has given me.’
The thing that Death could do for Minhyuk was to change, just like what he told him earlier. For the first time in a long time, he wanted to throw away the dirty and gloomy robe that he was wearing and let the world see how he could shine brightly.
A quick look at tinyurl.com/2p9emv8w will leave you more fulfilled.
‘Those that curse and mock me? Laugh and curse at me all you want. I will stand up and overtake you with my head held high.’
Then, at that moment…
“Keuhahahahahaha!” Bastien burst into laughter.
Death, who was sitting on his throne, slightly lowered his head and looked coldly at the laughing Bastien. Bastien looked at him proudly, as though he had seen through his act.
“This is amazing. Really amazing! It seems like you’re also a big shot. That’s completely unlike what we expected!”
Bastien could tell that Death far surpassed the global official number one necromancer, Jack, in terms of power and abilities. Then, he looked at the players trembling in fear. He said, “What are you afraid of, huh?! Pull your shit together! These people, tch. This is a competition. What can one bastard who shows off his amazing summons and gets the spotlight in the start of the game do? Can he even beat forty of us by himself? Huh?!”
“…So, that’s the case.”
“Moron. Kekeke,” Bastien mumbled, firmly believing that Death was as dumb and foolish as ever. This was because they, the majority, were a total of forty people while Death was all by himself. Putting on a spectacular display of power would just light a fire in everyone. Someone as skilled and powerful as Death was definitely ‘someone that could never win a gold medal’. Death could not argue with anyone, he brought it upon himself. No matter how strong he was or how many undead he could summon, he would be of no match against forty powerful summoners altogether.
But Death just looked down at them from his throne as if he found them amusing. He said, “Is that so?”
The players burst out in a fit of laughter when they heard Death’s words. What could he do when they had Bastien, the global official number one summoner with them? It would not be too late for them to fight against each other once they dealt with and robbed Death of his Ruler’s Bracelet. Dozens of players were looking at Death and his relaxed smile. Bastien thought that Death should be feeling antsy right now.
***
The audience, the various community sites from all over the world and even the commentators admired Death and his splendid appearance. However, they also lamented his brilliance.
[Player Death’s splendid appearance sparked a fire in the hearts of his opponents. It seems like the game would turn into a 40:1 fight.]
[If Player Death chose to hide his power and summoned his Death Knights step by step then he would definitely have secured the gold medal. But his pride and arrogance have driven himself into a crisis.]
Murmur, murmur—
The audience was in a buzz. The Koreans among them cheered loudly, delighted at the fact that Death, someone from their country, had reached the apex of summoners. However, they felt pity and disappointment after watching him make foolish actions one after the other. Even the Korean representatives sitting in the player’s stand were lamenting his defeat.
“With the situation as it is, he’s already doomed.”
“How can someone beat forty people by himself?”
Their voices rang loudly, but Minhyuk just looked upfront and watched Death on the screen with a smile on his face.
“Death has won this fight.”
“Huh?” Locke felt that Death was already going to lose, so he turned to look at Minhyuk in doubt.
Then, Minhyuk turned to him and said, “Death has already set up the board. You know, that guy is a genius gamer.”
***
The summoners stood in line, waiting for Bastien’s orders. Then, Bastien said, “Turtle Dragon! Since you have a high defense, go and take the lead. Push the ones blocking the front away! While you’re at it, we’ll be dealing with the mobs loitering around that castle-like place!”
Bastien’s order was reasonable. Although the Turtle Dragon was a turtle-shaped monster, it was very quick on its feet. On top of that, it had a ridiculous amount of defense that even the best of rankers would find it hard to chip the tough shell covering its body. In just a blink, Bastien’s summons and the other players’ summons had gathered together in one place.
Just then, Bastien felt something was wrong.
“Hey, Lacarie! Hurry up and make your Turtle Dragon move!”
“…Why does it have to be my Turtle Dragon? There are a lot of other monsters here, too.”
Bastien frowned. Everyone here knew that the Turtle Dragon had the highest defense on top of a tremendous amount of HP. But even so, why should it be the Turtle Dragon? But if the owner did not want it, then so be it.
“Then, Matsumoto. Take the vanguard!”
“…I don’t want to. My Ogre Troll is not as sturdy and tough as the Turtle Dragon.”
Bastien’s brows furrowed even deeper as he listened to the other players.
“Why don’t you want to take the lead?”
“If I become the vanguard then my Turtle Dragon and I will be the first to get eliminated, right?”
“Are you just going to give orders and stay at the rear? Why? Just so you can reduce your losses?”
“Th… then what about the Wyvern Corps? How about we burn them down with the Wyvern Corps first…?!”
“My Wyvern Corps can’t do it either. Their HP is too low for that.”
Bastien realized that something was very wrong when he heard the commotion among the other players. Yes, anyone, even if they were a fool, knew that they would lose a lot of power if they took the lead. And even if they killed Death, they would still eventually be forced to log out.
“Pfft. Kekekekekeke. Kikikikiki. Kihihihihihi!” Death’s grating laughter rang loudly over their voices.
Bastien suddenly turned pale. That laugh told him that Death had already predicted this situation. Death’s laughter continued to ring in the field. Even the commentators and the audience sitting in the stands finally started to realize that the situation was taking an unusual turn.
[If they follow Bastien’s orders, those that clash against the undead legion will incur a huge amount of damage and be eliminated.]
[That’s why they’re all trying to point fingers at each other. Truth is, I overlooked this fact until now. But it seems like Death has predicted that this would happen.]
[If that’s the case, then he’s a very clever player. We can expect Player Death to bring forth a new and fresh wind in Athenae.]
But unbeknownst to them, Death was already a step ahead of them.
“Ah. That’s right,” Death laughed for a moment before looking down at Bastien and saying coldly, “Did you forget that you’re as much of a threat to them as I am?”
Bastien, who felt suffocated at Death’s words, looked around. The main reason why the field for the Summoner’s Great War was so large was to allow the summoners to make full use of their summons’ attributes and utilize the terrain’s characteristics. Bastien also knew this fact.
Right now, the summoners and their summons were lined up one after the other. And just like Bastien, the other summoners also started to realize this fact.
Then, Death raised his pointer finger and said, “How about I make you a deal? I will not make a move on you while you’re fighting Bastien.”
A vein popped up in Bastien’s forehead. He shouted, “Bastard, what are you trying…!”
But before he could finish his sentence, the other players started to agree with Death.
“Isn’t that a good deal?”
“I must agree. It sounds very tempting.”
“Let’s first deal with Bastien, then deal with Death. After that, the rest of us will fight after that. Death looks like someone that keeps his word.”
Bastien felt his breath get stuck in his throat. He could tell after seeing Death giggling while sitting snugly on his throne, that he was hunting him without even lifting a single finger.
“Kekekekekeke! Keuhahahahahaha. Hihihihihihi!”
Fear and terror crept up Bastien’s spine when he saw Death’s vicious smile. He finally realized that he provoked someone that he should not have touched.