Chapter 80 080

Seojin described the situation between Ironblood and the opposing guilds as a battle of excuses. Ironblood must have judged that they should not take the risk to pressure them, but also learn how much power they have built up. Of course, Résistance and Red Tower needed to conceal their true power and avoid becoming the Ironblood's top priority.

-I shouldn't tell the company.

Oho? One corner of Seojin's mouth raised.

-The balance might tip if we intervene rashly… oh, sorry, I'm not the one who should be judging that.

"No, that's fine."

BunnyRabbit was smart and Seojin took that positively. Those who were able to think actively were the only ones who could keep up with Seojin for a long time.

'She didn't even start playing the game because she enjoyed it. I don't want her to stay like that.'

Until now, she had remained in the passive role of delivering Seojin's messages, but there was a possibility that she could become a good companion if she kept growing like this. One of the conditions of their partnership was that she needed to accept that Midgard was more than just a game.

"By the way, have you achieved anything? As a blacksmith, I mean."

That was the second condition. Great skills and capabilities were mandatory in order to work with him.

Fortunately, BunnyRabbit satisfied Seojin's expectations yet again.

-Actually, I was promoted to Intermediate Blacksmith a few days ago! My master also praised me for being so fast. It's all thanks to you!

"That was pretty quick."

Seojin's eyes widened slightly. Even for hidden, specialist classes, it wasn't easy to get the Intermediate qualification.

"You said that you can advance if you become an expert, right?"

-Yes, if my master is right. He didn't explicitly say that I need to be an expert, though.

"I guess that's an immersion issue. Redrix probably put it like, 'when there's nothing left for me to teach you,' right?"

-That's exactly what he said! You're amazing as always…

She wasn't just flattering him or sugar-coating things, Bunny was truly admiring Seojin.

Seojin swept over his chin after hanging up the call.

'There's still some time…'

Seojin had to contact Master Ferguson beforehand in order to gain complete control over Bunnyrabbit. But now, she was only intermediate, so she'd need more time.

'There's no way Robert would've reacted fast enough when the community was burning like that.'

As of now, the community was a hot potato. Touching it would burn, but it would cool down with time. After some time, only the bot comments from both sides would remain.

'That's when Robert will butt in. Showing up now would only make the fire fiercer.'

Thanks to that, Seojin was done with his most urgent tasks.

'I can talk to the trio and do what the King told me to do. I still have a lot to do.'

Of course, he needed to rest first after completing the big quest. Seojin emptied his head and lay down on the bed.

"It's at least thirty times more comfortable than reality here."

However, good gamers had to have good endurance, and he had to care for his real body too to develop his physical strength.

Seojin finally disconnected. He took a shower, ate, exercised, and fell into a deep sleep. That was enough, and once he woke up, he was good to go!

"Here we go again."

Seojin sat back down on the device.

* * *

Seojin counted the rewards he received for completing the Thirteenth World Quest. The material rewards consisted of two Skill Books and two Demon Horns. Other than that, he became acquainted with the religions of Calevania and impressed the King once again. He also gained Dharma Points, which he had no idea how to use yet.

'It's a good thing we went in as a group.'

Seojin shook his head in resignation. His level hadn't increased that much because he hunted alongside the trio. If he had monopolized the quest, his level would have skyrocketed beyond control.

'And the demon hunters… I didn't know they'd be here too.'

He had his own speculations about the demon hunters as he had once heard about a bunch of fanatics who devoted their lives to destroying evil.

'I'm sure we'll meet one day. There's no need to rush.'

There was nothing to gain from contacting the poor pacifists who only hunted down evil, but they'd be great allies once Seojin finally had to confront the demons.

'Perhaps they'd be better than Ferguson when it comes to processing these things.'

Seojin was looking down at the horns. Wolves know about sheep better than shepherds, so they would surely be better than the master craftsman when it came to demons.

"Flappy."

"Whut?"

"What do you think?"

Seojin held the horns above his head and smiled playfully. Unfortunately, Flappy didn't seem all that amused by it.

"Ye look stupid."

"What do you mean by stupid? This is…"

"Seojin!"

Three players practically jumped through the door as it burst open.

"Roth sensed evil energy here, so we were worried…"

"…"

"…"

Haydall froze as soon as he made eye contact with Seojin, who was still making a funny face.

"Oh, this is…"

Seojin slowly lowered the horns and put them back into his inventory. He looked at the threeface amid the awkward silence.

"…I was detecting evil energy."

"Ah!"

"I acquired these during the quest. If I attach the horns to my head like this, I can detect demons nearby. Fortunately, this place is clean. There are no demons."

"Just as I thought! You're amazing!"

"I knew there was meaning behind your every action! You're not one to play around!"

"That's right, I don't play around."

Seojin broke out in a cold sweat, but thankfully, the three of them looked truly impressed. Flappy was left there shaking her head, looking down at the absurd scene.

* * *

The four of them, including Seojin, had a serious talk in the penthouse.

"You're telling me to start image-building already?"

"You need to build it up. Players won't be able to relate if you suddenly pop out from nowhere. Odie's a top actor in real life, but in Midgard—"

"I'm nothing! No one will think that I'm really playing the game."

Odie interrupted, bashing herself almost excessively. It was slightly surprising to see her act so, but Seojin simply decided to get used to it.

'It's not that bad for me, anyway.'

It wasn't like she was wrong, considering her in-game specs.

"Use a makeup pack and play as Kim Hyesun. Build up some PR as an enthusiastic gamer. When the right time comes and we meet, the effect will be even greater."

"Yeah… only you could've thought that far already!"

"Uh…"

Seojin thought that anybody could have come up with such an idea, but Haydall and Roth were looking at him with admiration too.

"I expected nothing less from the conqueror of Asgard…"

"Yeah, the top player from Asgard can't be a nobody."

A few days ago, they had all been acting normally. Even Odie wasn't that weird, even though she was a bit picky. However, the moment Seojin revealed that he was Anti-Mainstream and the top player from Asgard, things changed completely.

"…I'm actually god."

"That's amazing amazing!

"My mind is blown!"

"Yeah, of course, he's the top player from Asgard."

They continued to admire Seojin, even when he was talking complete nonsense, and…

"Please keep this a secret."

"I'll take it to my grave!"

"Don't worry, I don't want to share this with anyone else."

"What secret are you talking about?"

…they were almost acting like they were in some kind of cult.

'This is a bit too much.'

They were clearly excessive. He couldn't believe that they were acting so blindly just because of his past achievements. Nevertheless, Seojin was able to overlook such a minor inconvenience.'

'No loss for me…'

"Odie?"

"Yes!"

"You don't always have to act as Hyesun. Just show your face from time to time before returning to your original appearance to play. It'll be fine as long as people don't get suspicious. Giving them the impression that you're playing the game will be enough."

"Will do!"

Seojin looked at the man next to her.

"Haydall."

"Yes."

"Is that okay?"

"Of course, I was talking to my boss in real time. He agreed and told me to meet all of your demands… Oh, I told you last time, right? Our boss also played Asgard."

"You did."

"I was also a member of my boss's guild… Actually, I'm only telling you this because it's you, but."

Haydall smiled as if he was sharing a big secret.

"My boss offered me this job when I told him I couldn't play the game while I was job-hunting. He said that a competent tank is also competent in real life."

"…What was the name of your guild?"

"It's embarrassing to tell you this, but… did you ever hear of the Arch Enemies?"

"…Arch Enemies?"

"Yes, oh, you may not know of us. That's okay. We weren't that big in the first place."

"No, I know of them."

Seojin barely managed to swallow his laughter. Of course, he knew about that guild.

There's no way he couldn't know.

At the time, their guild was only ranked within the top ten, but they became famous for another reason.

-Those Arch M*therfuckers are total psychos! All of'em!

-They just don't sleep! They play twenty-four-seven!

-They're tough. Just avoid them if you run into them.

The tenacity of the guild members were on another level. When they fought, they went in for the kill, no matter how big their prospective losses were. They constantly lost strength due to PK, but they said that the mysterious guildmaster never let his members suffer a shortage of gear.

'I can't believe that the CEO of a huge entertainment company was the guildmaster. No wonder they had endless resources.'

Seojin felt like a mystery was finally solved. Even he had instructed his companions to stay away from Arch Enemies.

"Your boss wanted to meet me in real life, right?"

"Yes, he said he'd manage the schedule at your convenience…."

"He doesn't play Midgard?"

"Yeah, he said that it would hinder his work. He thinks that Asgard was enough for him."

He seemed to have quit the game for similar reasons to Seojin, there was just a difference in scale.

"Tell him that I want to meet him in-game, not in reality. It's not that urgent since it'll take some time for me to reach Level 100. I'll still be able to go to noob town."

"Okay, message delivered. He'll reply once he arrives. What are you going to do now?"

"Well, I'm still thinking. You three can just do what you need to do."

"Is there anything we can help you with? Well, I have no idea if we can help, but…"

'They'll be helpful…' Seojin thought to himself,'Better than nothing, at least.'

He, however, decided to say what he had to say.

"This is my fight."

"…Ah!"

"…But I'll see you after Level 100. I think I'll need your help then."

Fortunately, Seojin's desperate attempts to look cool seemed to have worked, as he could see Odie's eyes gleaming.