After YuWon had left, Hargaan stood in place for a moment.
There were people waiting for him.
âSo theyâre here.â
A group made its way through the new players. A man wearing gold-plated armor and a helmet led a group of about ten or so players.
Hargaan had locked eyes with some of the group members earlier, so he had wondered if they would come greet him. Apparently he guessed right.
The group wore capes with an emblem of a large mountain, sword, and spearâthe symbol of Olympus.
âI, Agamemnon of Olympus, give my greetings to the one of great lineage.â
âAgamemnon, you say? I think Iâve seen you before.â
âThank you for remembering me.â
Agamemnon got on one knee while facing Hargaan. As a player who hadnât become a Ranker yet, he had to show his respects according to Olympian lineage. But unlike his actions, Agamemnon looked at Hargaan with indifference.
âIs Ares well?â
âHeâs the same as always.â
âI heard he became a High Ranker recently. Please pass along my congratulations.â
âThank you.â
The war maniac of Olympus, Ares. He was the player that Agamemnon followed. But alsoâŠ
âHowever⊠Lord Ares finds lineage more important than anything. He has ordered me to not pass along any of your messages until you find your birth mother.â
⊠Ares was renowned within Olympus for his bad personality.
âWhat did you say?â
âAs you know, the Ruler of the Skies has little interest in children. And, sir, you do not know who your mother isâŠâ
âYou disrespectfulâ!â
Spark, crackleâ
Rumbleâ
Electricity started flowing out of Hargaanâs body. He tried to hold himself back, but his rage was already overflowing.
Yet, in the midst of Hargaanâs anger, Agamemnon wore a stoic look, the look of someone who didnât know what they did wrong. In fact, it was possible that he was enjoying Hargaanâs rage.
âDo not be like this, sir. Iâm sure youâre well aware of Lord Aresâs personality. Lineage is something you create. I hope youâll have your own family one day.â
â⊠Ugh.â
Agamemnon put out the fire that he himself started.
Hargaan couldnât continue to show his anger after what Agamemnon said. It was true, the one that looked down on Hargaan was Ares, not him. Not to mention the fact that Agamemnon was one of Aresâs men. If he accidentally went too far, it might end up souring his own relationship with Olympus.
âAlright. You guys may go.â
âYes, sir. Farewell.â After bowing, Agamemnon suddenly remembered something and asked, âWho was that man earlier? Seeing as how he left by himself, he doesnât seem to be one of your teammates.â
âThat guy?â
Hargaan pressed his brow, recollecting YuWon, who had left first towards the city. He didnât quite know how to explain YuWon. Since he lost the bet and failed to recruit him into his team, he couldnât call him his companion. However, he couldnât say that it was just some guy he knew, since they still had unfinished business.
His relationship with YuWon⊠After thinking hard about it for a moment, Hargaan slowly spoke, âHe is⊠a friend?â
Maybe itâs because he had finally said it once, Hargaan was able to say it again with more confidence.
âYeah, heâs something like a friend.â
ââŠ?â
Hargaanâs answer left Agamemnon in confusion.
â⊠Like a friend?â
* * *
Reaper Scans
Translator â NumbaWon
Proofreader â BringTheRayn
Join our discord for updates on releases! https://discord.gg/MaRegMFhRb
* * *
The Jackals called the period when the Tutorial ended the time of harvest.
They were a band that camped out on the 1st Floor whenever the Tutorial ended and went after new players.
Even though they might have earned the qualifications to be players, they were still greenhorn kids that had just completed the Tutorial.
The leader of the Jackals, Phatayo, was extra interested in this roundâs harvest.
âTo be over already⊠They were much faster than expected.â
It was only about ten days since the Tutorial started, and it was only a little over five days since the 5th Tutorial had started. Yet the new players had already arrivedâŠ
âThat was historically fast.â
âThat would mean that quite a few of them will have good items.â
âAnd because they took so little time, they should be that much weakerâŠâ
This was great news for the Jackals. It meant that low-leveled new players with better items had entered the Tower.
âLetâs quickly get into position and make sure to check that there are no guilds with them.â
âYes, sir.â
âAye, aye.â
Including Phatayo, a total of 20 Jackals hid themselves on the pathway between the Meadow of Beginnings and the city. They were aiming for teams of new players with five or less people, but their first target was unexpectedly a single player.
âWhat? Only one guy?â
âIs he really alone?â
âThis almost never happensâŠâ
One of the Jackals asked Phatayo, âBoss. Could this potentially be a bait?â
Baiting was one of the ways the guilds on the 1st Floor used to lure out Jackals. They purposely sent out a small number of new players to bait out the Jackals, catching them once they revealed themselves.
However, Phatayo shook his head.
âNo. Heâs the only one around.â
Phatayo had a skill that let him see far into the distance. It even let him see through objects at close range. Thanks to that skill, he had been able to lead his gang of Jackals for a long time without getting caught.
âReally?â
Their bossâs words made the gang look closely at their prey. According to Phatayo, they had nothing to worry about.
âHeâs actually alone?â
âIt wasnât a dud?â
âHe doesnât have any companions.â
âSomething feels off. Should we just let him go?â
One of the Jackals got ticked off at his cowardly fellow Jackal. âWhy should we let him go? We just need to quickly take care of him. Canât you tell? Thatâs a Pyromancy Robe.â
âA Pyromancy Robe?â
âWow. We hit the jackpotâŠâ
The ăPyromancy Robeă was an item that cost a whopping 50,000 points in the Shop. It was an item worth potentially struggling against a single opponent.
âI take it that everyoneâs in agreementâŠâ
While looking at his companions in the tall grass, Phatayoâs face suddenly froze. His companions were confused why their boss froze up.
âWhatâs wrong?â
âHuh?â
âWhere did he go?â
âHe disappeared.â
The guy that was walking down the road just a second ago had now disappeared. It was like the act of a ghost. They were sure he was just thereâŠ
âAhhhh!â
âW-What theâ?!â
âIs it an enemy?â
Kling, klangâ!
Slashâ
The Jackals drew their weaponsâswords, spears, and bows. And one of them must have specialized in skills over weaponry because he pulled out a staff. But their preparations were for naught.
Stab, pshkâ
Spurtâ!
âAhhhh!â
âWho the fuck are you?!â
âFucking come out!â
The Jackals fell into chaos. They couldnât see their enemy.
âB-BossâŠâ
âI thinkâŠâ
âThis must have been a bait.â
The guy that was right before their eyes had disappeared. They couldnât believe it.
âThereâs no way a new player that just got to the 1st Floor has a stealth skill.â
They thought that this was probably an illusion skill used by a different player to lure them out.
âNo wonder a new player was wearing a Pyromancy Robe. It was too good to be true.â
Gritâ
Phatayo ground his teeth. He had already heard five screams, and he was in a situation where the enemyâs sword might pierce his neck at any moment.
âEveryone, retreat forââ
Slashâ!
âR-Rikuey!â
âHeâs here!â
âHe disappeared again!â
âAhhhh!â
In just a short moment, the people that were in the ambush apart from Phatayo dropped dead one after another. They werenât far from him, so that meant that the enemy was already nearby.
Phatayo turned his head, and, though faint, he could see someone wearing a crimson robe.
âCould it be?â
Phatayo concentrated mana in his eyes. The skill that got him to his current position, [Falconâs Eye,] was activated.
Whirrâ
His vision got brighter, and he was able to see something faint.
Slashâ!
As the hazy figure swung his sword, Phatayo could see the crimson dragon robe and the enemyâs face.
The enemy disappeared right away. The only moment that he revealed himself was in the short instance when he swung his sword. However, to Phatayoâs gang members who didnât have the [Falconâs Eye] skill, they probably saw nothing more than a quick flash.
âItâs him.â
Phatayoâs eyes widened.
The crimson dragon robe. The long sword. Though he couldnât see it clearly, Phatayo was sure that this red flash was the new player that they had planned to rob.
Thudâ
Another Jackal lost their head, falling to the ground.
It was him again, a player wearing red clothes and wielding a long sword.
âU-UhâŠâ
Phatayo started stumbling back.
âHe wasnât bait.â
The first new player to head towards the city from the Meadow of Beginnings. At first, Phatayo had just assumed he was a slightly skilled new player. Then he thought he had made a mistake and that he was a âbaitâ prepared by a guild to lure them out.
Phatayo realized he was wrong twice. This guy wasnât something like bait. He was a âswordâ that was personally out to kill them.
âWith this much skill, he must be a player from the upper floors. But why? A player from an upper floor would get penalized if they interfered with the 1st Floor.â
He was overwhelmed with confusion, but he decided to stop thinking, realizing that now wasnât the time to stand around and think.
âR-Run awayâ!â Phatayo shouted as he ran full force into the forest.
Well, he tried to run full force.
Sliceâ
âDonât be annoying and go too far.â
A warm sensation enveloped his feet, as Phatayoâs field of vision slowly tilted downwards.
âAhhhhh!â Phatayo screamed in agony, his feet having been cut off.
Thudâ
Having lost his feet to support him, he fell to the ground. Phatayo tried to crawl forward with his arms.
âUh, ughâŠâ
Stabâ
âAhhhhhhh!â
A sword pierced his hand. He looked back to the shadow that covered him. The hazy figure started becoming clearer until YuWon, wearing the ăPyromancy Robe,ă became fully visible.
âYou were going to get caught immediately anyway.â
Stompâ
YuWon pressed down on Phatayoâs shoulder with his foot.
âKugh⊠ughâŠâ
âIâm going to ask you something. If you answer it earnestly, Iâll at least send you off peacefully.â
âKugh⊠K-Kill⊠t-this son of a bitch. Kill himâŠâ
âWho are you talking to?â
After hearing YuWonâs words, Phatayo quickly glanced around him. Just earlier he had a team of almost twenty people around him. They were Jackals that had been hunting new players for over ten years, but now all that remained were headless corpses.
âI get what you want, but you should have reasonable expectations of corpses.â
âUh⊠AhâŠâ
âIf youâre going to keep acting like youâre muteâŠâ
Pressâ
Crackâ
âAhhhhhh!â
âIâll just continue on with what I was doing.â
âI-Iâll talk! Iâll talk!â
Phatayo screamed from the agonizing pain of his shoulder getting crushed.
Then the force pressing down on his shoulder eased.
YuWon kept his foot on Phatayo as he proceeded to ask him questions.
âDo you know where the guy by the name of Mu WoonCheon is?
Phatayo was shaken by YuWonâs question.
âH-HowâŠ?â
He couldnât continue his sentence.
The sudden change in Phatayoâs expression made YuWon smirk.
âWow.â
Pressâ
YuWon pressed down on Phatayo with more force.
âJackpot on my first try.â
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