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Chapter 143
Her original nickname was Blood and Iron Queen, but many people called her the Blood and Iron Witch. For reference, this Blood and Iron Witch was also the older sister who showered lots of affection on Song Jinchul, the spoiled brat to trump all spoiled brats.
[Player]
Name: Song Junghye
Age: 28
Level: 28
Class: Blood and Iron Sovereign
Guardian: Barrier of Red Light
Innate Ability: [Forced Submission]
State: Slight Hostility / Slight Anticipation / Slight Desire to Dominate
Disposition: Dominant / Arrogant / Blueblooded
Summary:
Masked Conqueror
3rd Generation Chaebol Moved by Curiosity
The disposition/state/summary only show the most representative and can change according to the situation.
Because Eye of Perception’s proficiency is not high enough, viewing more detailed information is impossible.
In all actuality, it wasn’t because Song Junghye’s abilities as a Player were incredible that she defeated Song Kiyeol. Most of the top Players were level 30 or up. It was difficult to level from level 30 onwards, but getting to level 30 was relatively easy.
‘And the aura I can feel from her through Eye of Perception isn’t all that threatening.’
I didn’t know what the future Blood and Iron Witch would be like, but the current one wasn’t terribly impressive. Maybe because I had come into contact with a lot of other top Players, I didn’t feel much from seeing the Blood and Iron Witch.
‘This family is just
 haah.’
Despite only being 14 years old, Song Jinchul, the ‘Self-Proclaimed Chosen One’, the mega spoiled brat who would be famous in the future as well, was extremely arrogant and destructive.
Summary: Self-Proclaimed Chosen One with a Wounded Pride
His older sister, the Blood and Iron Witch Song Junghye, had a strong desire to dominate and was blueblooded at heart.
1.Masked Conqueror
2. 3rd Generation Chaebol Moved by Curiosity
In comparison to those two, the Guildmaster of Taeguk Shield, Song Kiyeol, seemed like a real decent chap. His summary was super normal and sensible, was it not?
Summary: Guildmaster who Met his Teacher
In any case, Song Junghye came up to me, her face slightly stiff but bearing a subtle smile.
“It is nice to meet you. My name is Song Junghye.”
As soon as I saw her, I felt the haughtiness drip from her. The look in her eyes, that smile, all of it was fabricated. Unfortunately for Song Junghye, my class was Observer. Inside her gaze was envy and jealousy towards me, probably because I had completely stolen away her grandfather’s attention.
I responded to her like I was talking to any other person. “Ah. So you are Miss Song Junghye. Hello.”
She flinched imperceptibly. It was very subtle, but I saw her forehead twitch.
State: Slight Displeasure / Slight Hostility
And then, she returned to her original appearance, that slight smile still on her face.
“It seems you know me.”
I could see she was clearly saying, ‘You know who I am, but you dare to talk to me so bluntly?’ She was easy to read.
“Yes. You are the little sister of the Taeguk Shield Guildmaster I am deeply connected to. I’ve seen you in the newspaper.”
I intentionally prodded Song Junghye’s pride by referring to her in terms of her brother rather than herself. The existence of Taeguk Shield was likely a source of irritation for her already, so my words would surely wound her pride a little.
‘So what’ll you do now?’
What should I call this feeling?
‘After putting Guardians on my stage and making them dance to my tune
 why’s it so easy to read this kid?’
Was it because she was still an immature version of the Blood and Iron Witch she would become? It was way too easy. I could read all her thoughts and clearly see how she would move.
“I heard you have been maintaining an extremely close relationship with Taeguk Shield lately. An excellent choice.”
She was lying through her teeth.
“Soon, I will also make a guild comparable to Taeguk Shield. Won’t you work with me, too?”
Sorry, but I had no intention to push Song Junghye.
–Each strike’s a thousand bucks. You piece of dogshit.
The Song Junghye I knew once said those words while assaulting a Sungshin employee with a baseball bat. Of course, she wasn’t punished by the law. The court case was simply suspended and went nowhere. The incident showed very clearly that money and power were above the law.
“Cooperating with Taeguk Shield already has me pressed for time. I apologize.”
“But you haven’t even heard what I have to say yet?”
State: Considerable Displeasure
She was really easy to rile up. Even that faint smile of hers had disappeared. It was way too easy to control her emotions, maybe because she thought that she, a noble, was being disregarded by me, a lower class being.
The man next to Song Junghye smoothly stepped forward. He was almost as big as Yoohyun. I already knew about this Player.
‘Song Junghye’s right arm, Kang Woongmin the Adamant.’
He was of a similar size to Yoohyun, and his fighting style shared similarities as well. He looked much more intimidating than Yoohyun. If Yoohyun was more of an offensive-type Player, Kang Woongmin was more of a defensive-type Player. Eye of Perception told me he was level 30. He did indeed have top-class talent.
I asked back, “Do I absolutely have to hear it?”
A man of that size coming forward at this timing could only mean one thing. She was threatening me, telling me she had someone like this by her side, to be careful.
“I’m Song Junghye.”
“I know.”
“I believe there is value in listening to my proposal, at least.”
“I’m busy right now. You may have heard from your brother, but I’m busy clearing the Gwanghwamun Dungeon.”
“...”
After a moment of silence, Song Junghye flashed me a slightly brighter smile.
“You are
”
What would she say?
“...an extremely confident person.”
Eye of Perception read it all. She was smiling on the outside and was praising me as a confident person, but this was an insult. She was radiating, ‘Who do you think you are, to be so damn cocky?’
“Figures. It’s because you’re that confident that you came up to Grandpa with absolutely nothing, at first.”
“...”
“Fine. I’ll back off for today. It would be good to set a day to meet more formally next time.”
The Blood and Iron Queen. Could Song Junghye really have won the ‘Queen’ moniker if she wasn’t the granddaughter of President Song? I wasn’t so sure. The still undeveloped Song Junghye just looked like a little kid in my eyes.
She whirled around, and Kang Woongmin, of course, dipped his head and turned as well.
Thump!
His shoulder collided into mine.
I laughed.
‘Is he provoking me?’
How amusing. The real question was, ‘Should I accept?’
The current Song Junghye was far from a scary opponent. The same went for Kang Woongmin. I fell into a very brief moment of thought.
‘Does Song Junghye
 really have proper information about me?’
If I were to point out the people who had the most accurate information about me right now, one of those people would be Guildmaster Song Kiyeol. Kiyeol had a competitive relationship with his sister. He wouldn’t have given her the correct details. There was no doubt that he must have distorted the facts.
‘She knows there’s something about me, but she doesn’t know what that is.’
That was why she tried approaching me, but she was soundly rebuffed.
‘What if I were Guildmaster Song Kiyeol?’
I would have given Junghye this kind of info:
–Player Kim Hyukjin is a sovereign class Player, but he possesses fairly strong fighting ability for a non-combat class Player. However, he received a ‘No Talent’ evaluation in the talent plate exam, so an exact judgment must be deferred.
If that was all she got, it wasn’t a big stretch of the imagination to think that Song Junghye might have come here with a complacent mind and zero preparation.
‘That would explain everything.’
It would explain why she came to me far too unprepared considering she was the ‘Blood and Iron Queen’, why she appeared a little less put together than usual, and even why Kang Woongmin attempted to provoke me, as ridiculous as it was. In the end, these two didn’t know anything about me. Song Kiyeol had intentionally made it that way.
I called her. “Miss Song Junghye.”
She stopped in place.
“Why do you think your grandfather is so interested in me?”
“I wonder. I’d like to know that, too.”
“Why do you think Taeguk Shield is cooperating so much with me?”
“...”
After some thought, Song Junghye answered honestly. “My guess
 is that you’re holding onto some kind of weakness of theirs. That weakness might be a big help to me.”
Ah. So that was how she saw it.
“It’s not unusual that you would think that way.”
I should tell her she was wrong.
“Shall I show you
”
I pulled out the transcendent item, Isabel.
“...the reason why the foundation of Sungshin, President Song, and the Guildmaster of Taeguk Shield, Song Kiyeol, are interested in me, and even clinging to my thigh?”
* * *
Hyukjin thought this sudden PVP was a good thing. Things went as he intended, and Senia had a PVP zone declared.
Yeonseo grinned. “An exclusive PVP zone, huh?”
Yeonseo had experienced it several times already. On multiple occasions, her no-holds-barred Intermediate Administrator, Roa, worked with her Guardian to declare a PVP zone where the fighters would be free of all interruption. Only party members would be ported to the exclusive zone.
Unperturbed, Kang Woongmin asked, “Will my opponent be Miss Shin Yeonseo, then?”
“Nope,” said Yeonseo.
Hyukjin smiled. “I’m a sovereign, but I can also handle myself in a fight.”
Actually, he wasn’t even a sovereign, but an Observer. In any case, people thought of him as a sovereign.
“You’ll fight me yourself?”
“Of course.”
Only then did Kang Woongmin stare at Yeonseo with a slightly flabbergasted expression.
‘In order to stamp down their high and mighty arrogance
 I thought I’d have to subdue Shin Yeonseo or So Yoohyun.’
That was why he went and procured items specially for this fight.
‘I’m going to be fighting Kim Hyukjin, not Shin Yeonseo?’
Woongmin felt the air leave his sails a little. From what he was told, Kim Hyukjin was a Player who had gotten a ‘No Talent’ evaluation. However, he had extremely outstanding ‘tactics’ and was very skilled at making effective use of his ‘incredible party members’.
‘A Player whose limits are clear because they themselves lack the qualifications.’
Not long from now, this party would fall apart. That was how Woongmin saw it.
“Interesting. To think a sovereign Player would personally fight.” He took out his axe. “Is your main weapon the sword?”
“Yes. But
 I won’t use the blade.”
Woongmin’s brows furrowed a little. He felt like Kim Hyukjin was looking down on him. The sword was a weapon for piercing and slashing, yet his opponent said he wouldn’t use the blade.
“You’re awfully confident.”
He glanced furtively at Song Junghye. She gave him a small nod. That was his OK to bring Kim Hyukjin within half an inch of death. This was a PVP zone, a place with the power of resurrection. So even if Kim Hyukjin died, Woongmin should give him a very painful death. Basically, he should teach this arrogant bastard a lesson.
Hyukjin, who saw Kang Woongmin’s inside thoughts from beginning to end, smiled.
[The quest ‘Qualifications of a Hunter’ has begun.]
Blessings were rolling right into his lap. Even without picking a fight with someone, this sort of thing just happened all on its own.
[The PVP has begun.]
Hyukjin took out Isabel, the ‘club’ with greater attack power than any blunt weapon in the beginner period. He decided to use the forcibly unlocked ability of this mighty club.
‘Ah, right. Before that.’
He also decided to show a small sign of sincerity to the White Hunter who prepared such a stage.
[Using the special skill Hunter’s Song.]
The buffs instantly took effect.
[Curing your own status abnormalities. Duration: 120 seconds]
[+3% crit chance. Duration: 120 seconds]
[+20% effect of consumable items.]
Kang Woongmin saw it, too. He recognized it as a special buff ability. He didn’t know what kind of buff it was, but it didn’t matter.
“I will personally show you the difference between combat and non-combat classes.”
A mere buff couldn’t surpass the limitations of class. The ‘misinformed’ Kang Woongmin confidently raised his spear, taking up his position. His aura was full of calm assurance.
‘A sovereign who uses a sword, huh.’
Since his opponent didn’t have a swordsman class, his attack pattern would be simple. Once Woongmin figured out that pattern, he would be able to subdue Kim Hyukjin without much difficulty.
–Yes. But
 I won’t use the blade.
Remembering those words made a little anger flare within him. He decided to utterly overwhelm Kim Hyukjin. He believed that he was the one directing this situation from the start, that it was good that Kim Hyukjin took initiative to request a PVP. It was an excellent situation.
‘No matter how much a non-combat class crawls and rolls, they can’t beat a combat class.’
In Woongmin’s eyes, even the way Hyukjin grasped his sword was weird.
‘It’s like he’s holding a club or something.’
Woongmin could tell just from that posture. This guy hadn’t learned any swordsmanship before. He never formally learned the sword, and didn’t have any ‘sword skills’. There was no doubt about it. Moreover, this was an exclusive PVP zone. The outside world couldn’t see what was happening within.
‘At some point, Shin Yeonseo might attack me.’
That might even be why they chose to declare an exclusive zone. This party was probably up to some petty tricks.
‘Try all you want, but
’
He was determined to utterly subdue Kim Hyukjin without giving Shin Yeonseo a chance to jump in. He was confident.
“You can make the first move,” Woongmin said. “I will concede the first three attacks to you.”
“Really?”
Kim Hyukjin accepted the concession.
[Using the innate ability Beat ‘em, Beat ‘em, Beat ‘em Harder.]
Hyukjin’s lips curled into a broad smile.
____