Chapter 116

Kiri and Bigfoot, the two leaders of well-renowned guilds, were busy exchanging messages.

-Are you sure that guy was sent by Seojin?

-How would I know? I'm sure he was.

-Did you see his necklace?

The paladin that claimed himself to be a guide had a neat necklace hung around his neck. Kiri and Bigfoot knew exactly what it was.

-Legendary equipment. Guardian Frey's necklace. The market price is twenty-seven thousand gold… .

-That's right, he's wearing that?

-There's no one in Valaran who uses Legendary gear that isn't known by name.

A beat too late, Kiri added to the chat.

-… Except for Ironblood.

-You implying that he's one of them?

-Maybe we're trapped. Seojin suddenly blocked our chat again. Feels suspicious.

Kiri looked nervous. She tried to send a message to Seojin, but a system message informed her that he had disabled the chat feature.

-If this is a trap…

-Then we'll have to deny our relationship with Seojin to survive.

The reason why Resistance and Red Tower had been able to survive so long was that Ironblood didn't see them as a threat. If the paladin in front of them was an Ironblood, sent to check Seojin's plans and gauge their attitudes…

-But, Wizzy, do you really want to do that?

-…This is no time for jokes.

-I'm just asking. If you want to leave, leave now.

-That means…

-Yeah, that means I won't.

Bigfoot's reply was nonchalant.

Kiri's concerns were valid. Bigfoot was even a little worried as well. However, even if it was a trap, Bigfoot didn't want Resistance to go back to being some ordinary guild.

-What if it's a trap? We're both pretty good at getting out of traps, aren't we?

-It's not just about us. If Seojin is being held somewhere now, or he's already dead and logged out…

-Then we've gotta save him, no matter what.

-How? We can think about that later. If we can scrape together all the guild members before we set off, we'll figure it out.

-Do you think you'll beat Ironblood?

-Resistance is a guild that was created to do as its name says, but I'm ashamed to say, we've never done such a thing.

That was the biggest difference between Resistance and Red Tower. Resistance was born to fight Ironblood, while Red Tower wasn't.

-That's true, but… If you want to pull out, tell me now. I'll help you get away.

-I wouldn't be so petty and pull out by myself!

-Is not being petty a phrase that can be used by a wizard?

-How long are you going to…

"Hey, man, let me ask you something."

Kiri barely managed to hide her surprise when Bigfoot took the lead.

"Sure."

"What's your account name?"

"Merhen."

"Nice necklace. It looks like legendary gear, right?"

"Oh, this?" Merhen laughed shyly.

"That's right. It was a gift from a friend, I've never used such high-end gear before. I still haven't gotten used to it."

"…Gift? You didn't buy it yourself?"

"I know it's hard to believe, but Seojin bought it for me, saying it'll be handy for a paladin."

"…Seojin must have some money in the family."

"Not at all, he's just ordinary. He earned it while playing the game himself."

Nevertheless, it didn't seem to make sense that a player of only Level 70 could spend tens of thousands of gold.

'Yeah, I get that he completed several world quests, but… unless he gave every reward he's claimed to this paladin guy…'

Merhen smiled awkwardly as he read their confusion.

"You don't believe it, do you? Neither do I. Oh, we're almost there. He's in here."

The paladin's kind voice stopped the duo in their tracks.

"You mean Seojin. He's in here?"

"Yes, come on in. Um, you might be a little surprised."

"Surprised? Don't tell me…"

Kiri's expression changed to one of suspicion, but Merhen didn't care.

"He wanted me to let you guys know in advance. I was a little surprised too."

Bigfoot glanced at Kiri, and the red-haired wizard finally nodded.

"I'll go in."

Ding, ding, ding.

The old door swung open.

Gulp.

Cautiously, Kiri stuck her head inside, then out again.

"…."

"Why? Is something wrong?"

"No, this is…"

Kiri looked dumbfounded. She peeped inside once again, and this time opened the door wide. The sight that soon unfolded would have stunned even the most stoic of men.

"Elves…!"

The race so rare that even top-tier players couldn't meet them easily, was waiting for them. Not just one, but dozens of them filling the entire house.

"Oh, you're here."

"Seojin!"

Seojin walked out from one of the rooms inside. How could he act so naturally among those elves? Unlike Kiri, who was stunned, Seojin acted as if the situation was normal.

"You were surprised, right?"

"Yeah… but why did you disable your chat?"

"I needed to focus. Why? Was it urgent?"

"Well, no… no."

Kiri couldn't just admit that she'd almost run away because she thought it was a trap. Seojin just shrugged at her strange demeanor.

"Well, I'm glad you took the trouble to come here, but I need to finish up some work, so why don't you wait over there for a while?"

"Sure."

"…Okay."

The two guild masters followed Seojin's words obediently.

-See? Told you it wasn't a trap

-YOU DIDN'T. You just said that you didn't care.

-I don't remember.

-Only petty wizzies remember such minor details.

-You absolute…

Kiri grunted and grumbled, relieved from her anxiety once again. Seojin was alive and well, and the elves in this place were proof that he'd called the two for something grand.

While the two were busy interpreting the situation, Merhen was also exchanging secret messages with Seojin.

-They asked you, right?

-They did. I told them that you gave me this necklace, but they seemed doubtful…

It was Seojin. No matter how ridiculous something seemed, people had to think twice if Seojin's name was involved.

-So why are you doing this? To show off?

-It's not just that. I'll tell you the details later. Keep acting like it's natural, like I've always done such things.

-That's not hard, but…

Technically, it wasn't a lie, because Seojin had given him tons of gear when they played Asgard together.

Asgard prohibited real money trading, and if it hadn't, Merhen could've bought several houses with all the gear that Seojin had provided him.

'What the hell is he up to?'

Seojin was still the same. Unpredictable, which acted as the charm that excited the people around him.

When he asked someone to do something, the best thing to do was just go along with him. Merhen had never lost anything by listening to him so far.

Seojin talked with elves for quite some time before calling the three over.

"Let me tell you what's going on."

They had to start by hearing the full story of the unofficial world quest.

* * *

"Huh, what a feature, and no one has ever discovered it before…"

"No wonder! Who on earth would have tried that?"

Kiri and Bigfoot had no choice but to mutter blankly upon hearing Seojin's explanation. The two of them had also gone through hell and high water, but what Seojin had accomplished was astonishing, even unbelievable to the two guild masters as well.

"So, is this it? Only the four of us?"

"No, it isn't."

Seojin shook his head.

"The elves will stand with us."

"I meant in terms of players."

"Four is enough. The less, the better."

"If you're worried about quality, I can handpick the best of the best among our guild. Elites only."

"They'd certainly be helpful, but we can't."

"But…"

"We have enough power," Seojin concluded firmly.

Quantity or quality didn't matter – even the best of them wouldn't even be able to deal with a couple of elves here.

"The reason I brought you both here is to give you a chance."

"…What kind of chance?"

"A chance to prove yourself."

The statement bordered on arrogance, but the two couldn't argue back.

It was Seojin, after all.

"…I understand. Is it the same case for the paladin?"

"Ah, Merhen here is a little different."

Seojin tapped on Merhen's pauldron.

"He's my companion. One of the only two."

"Companion…"

That word changed Kiri's view of Merhen completely, as she thought Seojin's companions could only be incredible.

"We're not your companions yet?"

"Nope," Seojin denied her swiftly and repeated the same mantra he'd said to BunnyRabbit.

"Companions watch each other's back for nothing in return, take each other for granted, and are the first to be there in moments of trouble."

It was an idealism that could only be seen in cartoons. However, since it came from Seojin, Kiri, and Bigfoot had no choice but to close their mouths and exchange messages.

-This is tricky. This is tricky.

"Anyway, here's what I want you two to do: find Belial. The clue is that it's a spirit. Restrain it if you can, but if it looks like there's going to be a battle, just back off."

"Avoid battle… wouldn't that just be running away?" –

Seojin already mentioned that Belial was a master of deception, always hiding in the shadow.

"That's why I chose you two. A wizard and an engineer. You guys know better than to blindly swing swords, don't you?"

"Yes, especially since we engineers use things called brains."

"Stop that. Seojin, if we fail to find it…"

"That means you'll have failed to prove yourself."

…Which meant that they wouldn't get the rewards of the quest.

"I see. If I succeed, can I be one of your companions?"

"Well, capability isn't the only thing I see. I'd gladly hold Robert's hand if I only cared about what people can do. He's quite good, you know."

"…Ah."

Kiri's expression darkened slightly. She wasn't sure if she'd be able to pull it off, and frankly, her pride was quite hurt as well.

-… We're not at a level to be treated like this. Don't you think so?

-If you don't want to do it, leave.

-Ever heard of WYGD?

-What's that?

-What You Gonna Do?