Kim Hyukjinâs group went up to the Gran Seoul Dungeon. Yoohyun felt especially at ease today. He couldnât help but hum as he gazed at Hyukjin walking ahead of him.
âHnnh.â How dashing a back that was. âWorking with Hyungnim is the best.â
Of course, it was true that the difficulty was highest when Playing with Hyungnim. It was hard and dangerous. But the sense of achievement and enjoyment that came with it couldnât be described.
âI wonder what heâll do?â
Gate Players were sealing off the Gran Seoul Dungeon entrance. Hyukjin smirked, inwardly calling those Players idiots. Even after she was crushed so completely by him, Song Junghye didnât call off her goons. She either thought he was bluffing, or thought that doing as he said would be an insult to her pride.
âOr she believes what Jackson said to her.â
Hyukjin found it amusing.
âBut a person of Jacksonâs skill should have found out by now that the [Growth Fruit] in the Gran Seoul has lost relevance.â
Sunhwa, who was keeping pace shoulder to shoulder with Hyukjin, tilted her head. âOppa. Did something good happen?â
âNo, itâs nothing.â
âSomething good happened, huh?â Sunhwa giggled, apparently in a good mood, as if something good happening to her brother was a good thing for her.
âThe past Jackson propped up Song Junghye.â That was his assumption, for now. âBut looking at it now, I think heâs using Song Junghye a little less.â
Of course, it wasnât yet confirmed. It was also possible Jackson hadnât discovered the secret of this dungeon yet.
âWell, doesnât matter which one it is.â
Whether Jackson had tossed Song Junghye aside, or just didnât know the Gran Seoulâs secret yet, both were fun.
âMiss Junghwa,â Hyukjin said.
âYes?â
âHow many Sylphidâs Wing arrows do you have?â
âMore than enough.â
âCan I borrow just ten from you?â
âThatâs nothing, you can just have them. They can be bought in the shop anyway.â
Hyukjin was honestly a little shocked.
âShe buys these from the shop?â
Normally, the shop didnât sell Sylphidâs Wing arrows. They had to be acquired elsewhere. Simply being able to get them from the shop was not normal. There was definitely a Guardian involved.
âNight of Shooting Stars, that dine-and-dasher.â
The Guardian had put up the Tome of the Divine Archer Physique as a reward and had run off without giving it to Hyukjin. The Night of Shooting Stars was such a famous Stage 2 Guardian that Hyukjin was still giving him the benefit of the doubt, at least for now.
âThank you.â
Hyukjin took the arrows from Junghwa and notched one. Junghwaâs eyes gleamed.
âHeâs incredibly skilled as an archer as well, you say?â
Ordinary folk didnât know, but a few people knew about Hyukjinâs skill with a bow. The video from Italy had been shared on various platforms. It didnât go viral in Korea, but archers knew about it by word of mouth.
âShow me then.â
But it was a little strange.
âBe it his postureâŠâ
Posture. Breathing. Timing.
âTheyâre allâŠâ
Not perfect. It wasnât just not perfect, but positively rough.
âWhatâs he saying?â
She heard Hyukjin mumbling something. Junghwa craned her ears, but didnât catch the first part.
âSuch is the power of intuition.â
âThe Eye of Insight that sees the true nature of things.â
âMay all lies.â
âBe shattered.â
And with it, Hyukjin fired the bow. Junghwa was shocked.
âKim Hyukjin hasnât had any training.â
He wasnât a trained archer. Judging by his posture, he didnât have any archer-related skills, either. There was no doubt about it.
âBut why?â
Everything was rough around the edges, and yetâŠ
âWhy is the trajectory so true?â
Junghwa, who had learned archery from a young age, couldnât believe it. She had been taught that posture and breathing were more important than anything, but she felt her reality shaking at the roots.
Hyukjin fired another arrow. There was a gentle whistle, and then a thudding sound as the arrow made contact. It felt like the arrow crashed into an invisible barrier.
He fired another, coming to a grand total of three arrows.
Chaos erupted at the Gran Seoul Dungeon entrance. All the authorities of the Icewall guild members occupying the entrance shattered, and it only took three arrows. The leader of Icewall, Song Byeongchan, screamed, âWho is it?!â
Hyukjin glanced at Hyun Junghwa. Their plan was for Junghwa to step forward here, since they had arranged for her to get the credit for this clear. Just for the outside eyes, that is.
Junghwa took a deep breath.
âThatâs right.â
She and Kim Hyukjin had already come up with a cover story. She had learned her lines. This was what Hyukjin told her:
âTheyâll freak out when their gate authorities crumble. Theyâll probably look for the culprit.
Song Byeongchan shouted again, âI said, who the fuck is it?! Get your ass out here right now!â
âWhen that happens, say this. Your abilities are amplified when youâre occupying a gate or an entrance.
âYour abilities are amplified when youâre occupying a gate or an entrance.â
âYouâre⊠Hyun Junghwa?â
âTheyâll probably recognize you. Since youâre more famous than you think, Miss Junghwa.
âHow come you guys arenât running away when your specialty has completely fallen apart?
Junghwa repeated Hyukjinâs words letter by letter.
âHow come you guys arenât running away when your specialty has completely fallen apart?â
âBy this point, people will start looking your way.
Before she knew it, many people were looking towards them. Everything was happening just as Hyukjin had said.
âIâve given you guys a chance to run, but... Say that, and then raise your bow. That will conclude things.
âIâve given you guys a chance to run, butâŠâ Junghwa raised her bow. She improvised an extra line. âI wonder who my next arrow will hit?â
The Players occupying the gate began to scatter like roaches. They were contracted mercenaries. There was no such thing as loyalty to them. It was inevitable that they werenât about to stand their ground when the threat of death was looming before them.
The same went for the guildmaster of Icewall, Song Byeongchan. âDammit,â he cursed. Last time, Lao Yu came and messed things up, and this time, it was Hyun Junghwa. âAnd thereâs even weirdos next to her.â
Especially concerning were the Tutorial Ender So Yoohyun and the Smiling Swordswoman Shin Yeonseo. With their gate authorities in pieces, Icewall was no match for them. So they all fled, leaving not a single person at the entrance.
Hyukjin smiled wide.
âWhat do you think? Exactly as I said, right?â
Hyun Junghwa felt a flush of fear.
* * *
Reaper Scans
Translator - Lei
Proofreader - Ash
* * *
Yoohyun took the lead.
âI cleared it last time, Hyungnim!â
The Gran Seoul had various fields. Many Players, including the guild members of Taeguk Shield, had divided the forked pathways amongst themselves, acquiring a great deal of information in the process. Yoohyun was one of those Players.
âB-But where are we?â
The problem was that Yoohyun was the navigator. It took at least three hours for Hyukjinâs party to find the âcemetery fieldâ.
Sung-gu hummed, completely at ease. âWeâve been wandering for three hours and Iâm not tired at all. At least thereâs no danger of dying, right?â
It was so very different from when he was last here with other people. It was refreshing. Yes, this was Playing. When Playing with his fellow Giantgod guild members, there was nothing to fear. All he had to do was faithfully carry out his role as a long-ranged DPS.
After three hours, they saw a black gate shimmering on the wall some distance ahead. It was a gate leading into a different field.
[Marvin Cemetery]
The fieldâs name was âMarvin Cemeteryâ.
âAh! That one! Thatâs the one, Hyungnim. Over there! A lot of skeleton dudesâll show up there.â
They headed there without hesitation.
[Enter the Marvin Cemetery?]
Yeonseo was glued to Hyukjinâs side.
âThis place is scary.â
The field was overall bleak, a neglected cemetery that hadnât been well-maintained. Many of the gravestones were broken, and the graves were rampant with weeds. A wet, disgusting stench drifted along in the wind.
Cawâ! Cawâ! came the raucous caws of crows.
âCan you do something about those crows somehow? Boss, youâre an archer.â
âMiss Junghwa, is the gravestone responding, by any chance?â
âNo, not yet.â
They heard a notice.
[A monster is being spawned.]
Something stood up from a grave.
Skeleton Golem - LVL 35
It was a level 35 golem made of bones. It was slow, but had fairly strong physical attack power, and was unique in that it could restore itself even after being destroyed.
âWe wonât fight it.â
Junghwa couldnât understand that. They wouldnât fight? Then what was he planning on doing?
Hyukjin put Junghwaâs doubts to ease with his actions. âDie.â
And then, the Skeleton Golem collapsed into a pile of bones.
[In accordance with the âDeath Sentenceâ of the True Ruler of the Gran Seoul Dungeon, the Skeleton Golem has perished.]
Junghwa blinked like a doe in headlights.
âMr. Kim Hyukjin. Just what did you do, exactly?â
âDidnât you hear the notice?â
âThe notice about the True Ruler?â
âYes.â
âThis sort of thing is possible⊠if youâre a True Ruler?â
âYou saw it with your own eyes, no?â
There was no need or reason to explain it in detail. It might be different if she was a Giantgod guild member, but she wasnât, and there was no need to tell her everything.
Junghwa picked up on it, too. âThe reason he hasnât used this up to this pointâŠâ
It was intentional. An intentional choice to show her the power of Giantgod.
Magic Troll.
Advanced Goblin Soldier.
Orc Archer.
Orc Soldier.
Orc Warrior, etc.
All of these monsters were hunted far too easily by Giantgod. In fact, Junghwa had been thinking this for a while now.
âGiantgod Guild⊠was this strong?â
But that wasnât the end. Kim Hyukjin had just destroyed a Skeleton Golem with a single word. To Junghwa, it was a whole new world.
She was left wondering just where in the world the man at the forefront of this whole new world, Kim Hyukjin, had come from. How much did Koreaâs âtopâ guild, Taeguk Shield, know about Kim Hyukjin?
âMiss Junghwa,â said Hyukjin. âMay I take a look at the gravestone?â
âYes.â
Hyukjin examined the gravestone.
[Observing with Observerâs Eye.]
He didnât see anythâ
âWait a moment, I see it?â
[The True Ruler of the Gran Seoul Dungeon is checking the âGravestone of the Gatekeeper Graveâ.]
[The True Ruler of the Gran Seoul Dungeon can set the location of the âGravestone of the Gatekeeper Graveâ.]
Hyukjinâs eyes picked up several spots. He couldnât see them with his physical eyes, but there were round circles of golden light sparkling in a few places.
âFinding the location wonât be an issue.â
The problem wasnât inserting the gravestone.
âThe problemâŠâ
New information was registered in Hyukjinâs head.
Thanks to the âTrue Rulerâ effect, he could easily procure information on everything that had to do with the Gran Seoul Dungeon.
â...is that this is a gravestone for a grave.â
It wasnât just something you could stick into any mound of dirt.
âWhat do you mean?â asked Junghwa.
âWhat do you think of as a grave?â
âA place where a corpse is buried?â
âIf weâre to match that definition, someone will need to die.â
Someone first had to die, and then the gravestone had to be inserted at their head, then destroyed.
âWhat do you meanâŠ?â
Hyun Junghwa tensed for a moment. If someone really had to die here, it could be her. After all, it was all of Giantgod against one person.
âNo need to be anxious. I never once thought of doing anything to you, Miss Junghwa.â
From that, Junghwa could feel it. Overwhelming her was a given from the start. But his words didnât feel like a lie or a bluff.
âLetâs pick this spot.â
Hyukjin stepped onto one of the graves.
âPlease shoot me.â
â...What?â
âIâm sure you know the weakness of a human target.â
âWhat are you saying?! I canât do it.â
âIâm asking you because I think the person with the gravestone needs to kill me for the best effect.â
âBut how can youâŠ!â
Kim Hyukjin took out his bow and aimed it at Junghwa.
âIf you donât shoot me, Iâll shoot you.â
Three seconds passed. In the end, Junghwa fired first. The arrow whistled from her Sylphidâs Wing precisely towards Hyukjinâs heart.