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Minhyuk was still able to hear Gorfido’s story despite standing on the deck of a ship that had already sailed far away from the island. It was a story about Andrei, the only girl that the great pirate loved and cherished, and Gorfido, the great pirate that killed that very same girl with his own hands.
“Now, I know. I have realized what kind of existence I was,” If he could shed tears, Gorfido’s hollow eyes would definitely shed tears. Then, Gorfido looked down at his hands as he continued to speak, “There are only two more years left before I disappear from this world… I’m asking you for a favor, please drive out all of the pirates from the seas.”
Then, a quest window popped up in front of Minhyuk.
[Hidden Quest: Gorfido’s Wish.]
Rank: SSS
Requirement: The One Chosen by Gorfido
Rewards: You can choose among four rewards.
Penalty for Failure: You won’t be able to sail the seas.
Description: Gorfido has realized how hollow and vain his life and dreams were. Now, Gorfido only hopes that there will be no more pirates who will take someone else's life and possession. If you accept this request, you can ask your colleagues to help you wipe out all of the pirates.
After seeing the quest window, Minhyuk turned to look at Gorfido. He had four choices for a reward and these rewards had popped in front of him.
***
The Japanese Branch’s Special Players Management Team’s new employee Ryota suddenly shouted, “Team, Team Leader!!! The quest to eradicate all pirates has started!”
“What?!”
The quest to eradicate the pirates, in other words, Gorfido’s Wish, was a quest that a player with the position of a ‘Navy Captain’ should originally receive. It was an episode quest that would play a huge role in the Japanese server and its future. If the pirates could kill the one that received the quest, then they would be able to take away the treasures in the ‘Pirate’s Grave’. And the same was true for the one that received the quest, if he could kill the pirates then he would be able to take away those treasures.
However, the person that received this quest was a Korean. But the bigger problem was…
“We don’t even know who he is?!” Team Leader Tadayoshi shouted as he grabbed his hair in frustration.
Ryota, who did not know what to do, could only panic. This quest was something that should have taken place a year and a half later. But that was not their biggest problem. Their biggest problem was…
‘The rewards.’
It was the biggest and greatest reward in the entirety of the Japanese Server! There were a total of four rewards listed in the quest.
The first was Gorfido’s Gold Coins. Gorfido was someone that traveled the world to plunder and loot everyone that he had met. The value of the gold coins in his hands was beyond anyone’s imagination.
The second was Gorfido’s Artifact. Great Pirate Gorfido was someone that was comparable to a Supreme NPC. What about the artifact of someone at that caliber? Of course it would be outstanding.
The third was Gorfido’s Slumbering Subordinate Pirates. Gorfido was an existence that had many outstanding subordinates that perfectly matched his name and title as the ‘great pirate’.
And the fourth was the food that Gorfido had enjoyed in his lifetime. It was none other than wagyu. It was the best beef to grill and put wasabi on. This fourth reward was the most important out of them all.
‘The fourth reward is a bit special.’
The fourth reward being a dish was one of the reasons why it was special. This was because the more pirates the man hunted, the more power the cooking ingredient reward would accumulate. And there were a total of two things that it could accumulate, ‘stats’ and ‘EXP’. In other words, the more pirates he hunted, the more stats and EXP the wagyu could accumulate. This reward was like a double-edged sword.
‘If the one that accepted the quest could wipe out the pirates then his rewards will be better. On the contrary, if he failed to wipe them out then there would be no rewards.’
Ryota and Tadayoshi recalled the words that the members of the Korean Branch told them.
‘He’s a Disaster Class Player.’
Disaster. It was the highest rating for the special players that they were monitoring. The two of them believed that it was very dangerous for the man to choose the fourth reward since they did not have an inkling as to how many he could kill and how much he could accumulate. Of course, there was also a chance that he would not be able to reach their expectations and not accumulate anything.
“Team Leader, he won’t choose the dish, right?”
“Ye, yeah. Gorfido’s artifacts and gold are far more valuable than that. Why would he even choose the dish, right? That wouldn’t make sense.”
Despite his words, Tadayoshi was still feeling anxious. Well, it was for another reason entirely, regardless, he was feeling anxious and fidgety. He thought, ‘If he chooses the dish and he eradicates more than 50% of the pirates then…’
From that point on, even the first, second and third rewards would also start to accumulate.
‘No, that won’t happen. Why would he choose a dish over artifacts and gold, right?’
With those thoughts in mind, the two of them looked at the monitor. They looked at the artifact rewards window and the gold rewards window that were floating in front of the man. But something shocking happened.
“He did not even look at them…?” Ryota mumbled. The man did not even look at the quest rewards window that popped up in front of him. ‘Gorfido’s Blood-stained Sword’ was a legendary sword, no, it was even beyond that.
‘But the man did not even take a look at it?’
Then, at that moment, the man’s lips twisted in a vicious smile as he looked at Gorfido before speaking in a cold voice…
[You’re a complete f*cking bastard, aren’t you?]
“…?!”
“…?!”
Ryota and Tadayoshi looked at the monitor in shock. Gorfido was literally a Named NPC. On top of that, he was offering an amazing quest with amazing rewards! This meant that his favor was completely important.
So, what did he mean by ‘complete f*cking bastard’?
“…What the hell?”
“I can’t make heads or tails of what he’s saying.”
They had no choice but to wonder what the hell was going on in that player’s mind.
***
“You’re a complete f*cking bastard, aren’t you?”
“Wh… what…?”
Great Pirate Gorfido was flustered when he saw Minhyuk looking down at him from the deck with eyes that looked like he was looking down at ‘trash’.
‘How dare…!’
Many people would beg for mercy at the mere mention of his name. Even crying newborns would turn silent at the sight of him.
But this man dared to say that to him?
Minhyuk gathered a mouthful of saliva before spitting it out on the sea and going on a rant, “You’re sickening. You’ve killed hundreds of thousands of people but now you’re like ‘Ah, I finally know my wrongs. I have to correct it immediately.’ just like that? You want to do it because you want to put your heart to rest? But you want to do it through someone else’s hands? Disgusting.”
Gorfido felt his heart clench after hearing the man’s words. It was because the man’s words had hit every nail on the head.
“What a hypocrite! You thought I would go and tell you, ‘Oh my, thank you very much Mister Gorfido!’ or something like that? Bullshit. Do it with your own hands! What? Do you have something to say against that? You don't, right? Heh!”
“…”
Gorfido was silent. He could not say anything because what the man said was true. That was right. Gorfido was hit by the modern man’s most effective weapon, ‘fact bomb’, and he was left in a daze.
“You damn pirate head!”
‘What, what pirate head…?’
However, Gorfido could only tremble as he looked at Minhyuk from afar. He looked like some five-year old child that was being scolded by his parents.
“Do what you need to do, I don’t care. This hyung will go away,” Minhyuk said as he turned his warship away without any hesitation.
Gorfido felt his heart clench tighter as he watched the man leave without turning back. He murmured, “I also want to do it with my own hands if I can, but I don’t have much time left…”
Besides, Gorfido could not leave the Pirate’s Grave. But at that moment, he realized, ‘I’m being punished by the heavens, but to think I was going to use someone else’s hands to wipe out pirates?’
The man’s words earlier made him laugh. He did not hate the man’s words at all. Rather than hating…
‘Thank you. Thank you for helping me achieve enlightenment before I truly disappear. It’s a bit shocking to be called a pirate head though…’
Just when he was watching the departing warship…
[The Absolute God is going to give you one final chance.]
‘…A final chance?’ Gorfido wondered as he continued to look at the departing ship. But then, more shocking notifications rang in Gorfido’s ears.
[You gained enlightenment from the man’s words after he turned down your offer.]
[The system hidden by the Absolute God that punished you will offer a secret quest to the man that rejected your offer.]
[If the man accepts and clears the quest, you will have a chance to get reborn.]
[You might be able to repent with this opportunity.]
‘Repent… and be reborn…?’ Gorfido looked at the notifications in a daze as this thought flashed in his head.
***
After turning his ship around, Minhyuk started sailing once again. He did not forget his main purpose in coming here.
‘I have to get my hands on the Eternal Flames.’
His main purpose in coming to the Japanese Server was to produce his cooking trailer. Besides, if he accepted Gorfido’s quest then he would deviate from his own ‘moral compass’ and go beyond the moral line that he had set.
Among these pirates and PK criminals were players and people that lived here. How could he slaughter them with no rhyme or reason, just so he could get some rewards that he might not even be interested in? He did not feel like doing so.
‘Besides, if you really regret it then you have to do something about it by yourself.’
That was right. Of course but…
‘Why did I even do that?!’
Minhyuk, who turned around, could not help but regret his own choice, even if it was right. After all, there was that fourth and last reward there. Wagyu. He would place that glistening red beef on top of the grill for ten seconds and…
Sizzle—
…quickly flipping it over before grilling it for another seven seconds. Then, what would happen if he placed a dollop of wasabi on top of this juicy beef and placed it inside the mouth?
‘Kghhk!’
There would definitely be a burst of exclamation!
‘Should I turn back?’ Minhyuk quickly shook his head when the thought of turning the ship around once again flashed in his head.
‘No. He should do it himself.’
Gorfido had to realize what he had done, come to terms with his regret, and suffer from its consequences. That was the price that he had to bear.
‘It seems like I’ve also changed a lot.’
Minhyuk still liked to eat more than anyone else, but he had started to distinguish between public and private matters. However, it would still not take the fact that he was having a lot of regrets in regards to these decisions. Then, at that moment…
[To you, who has enlightened Gorfido, the Absolute God is offering the Secret Quest: Gorfido’s Wish.]
[There will be rewards added to the list of rewards in Gorfido’s Wish.]
“…?”
Minhyuk immediately opened the quest window to check and immediately saw the additional rewards.
This novel is available on bit.ly/3iBfjkV.
[If you eradicate 80% of the pirates, you will be able to bring Gorfido back to life.]
[The reborn Great Pirate Gorfido will be much weaker than in the past.]
“…!”
Minhyuk was shocked.
‘Gorfido can become my vassal?’
That was the one and only Great Pirate Gorfido. According to the notifications he would not be as strong as he was now. But he had ‘experience’ and ‘skill’. Even if his power was reduced, he would still be as strong as Minhyuk’s vassals.
‘And I just talked about my own moral compass and moral line.’
He was in a situation where he had to decide by himself. However, he did not want to be the one to make a move against the pirates and wipe them out. In the end, he still decided to reject the request.
Bang, bang, bang, bang, bang, bang, bang!
But before he could do so, explosions suddenly burst out around his warship. Minhyuk quickly turned around, only to see two ships firing cannon balls at him from across the sea.
Bang, bang, bang, bang!
Minhyuk’s expression turned ugly when he saw the cannon balls flying straight towards his ship. Finally, the huge impact from the attack broke a part of the ship and forced it to tilt strongly to one side.
“…Hey, now. Why are you presenting yourself to me? Are you really asking me to kill you?” Minhyuk said, a bitter smile gracing his lips. The ones that crossed his bottom line, they were the ones that made a move first. The warship started to sink. And along with that, the notifications rang.
[You have accepted the Quest: Gorfido’s Wish.]
[You have chosen the fourth reward: Wagyu.]
***
Pirate Lundnu cackled at the sight of the sinking warship! Lundnu was akin to the Ever Seas’ King. At the very least, in the seas of Ever, he was the absolute ruler. Whether it was the pirates, the players, or the NPCs, all of them followed his orders. And the reason why he made a warship explode with his cannon balls was…
‘How dare you trap my little brother in the Pirate’s Grave?!’
Lundnu’s younger brother was none other than Pirate Baroch. And just now, the man on that warship had trapped Baroch inside the Pirate’s Grave. As soon as he heard what happened to Baroch, he immediately summoned all of the pirates available and led them out to sea and coolly made the warship explode into nothingness!
“Impudent Korean bastard!!!”
How dare you do that to the tyrant of the Ever Seas?
“You’re completely clueless about the dangers of the seas. It does not matter how strong you are, everything will be different in the sea. Also, you will need an artifact or potion to breathe underwater. And even if you have those artifacts or potions in question, maritime warfare is completely different from what you are used to.”
With the man’s ship sunk deep under the sea, he would not have any chance, even if he survived the waters. The same was true for Japan’s Summit Five, Kentaro. That was how cruel and treacherous the sea was. If a player fell into the sea, their combat power would immediately be halved.
“Keep on firing! Don’t stop! Don’t let his body resurface!!!”
Under Lundnu’s command, they continued to fire at the sinking warship. And finally, the warship sank in the seas. Lundnu smiled and turned around.
“Let’s go.”
Even if he survived that bombing, the man would definitely swim up to the surface. However, no body surfaced. Just when Lundnu, who was convinced of the man’s death, turned around…
“Ca, captain…! Over there…!”
“Heok?! What the hell is that?!”
“…?!”
Lundnu immediately turned around and was shocked to see hundreds of dolphins breaking through to the surface. And on top of the dolphin leading the pod, a man was riding on top of it. His presence among the hundreds of dolphins was completely spectacular.
This man was none other than Minhyuk.