Chapter 59
Seo-jun looked around.
A forest full of vegetation—
No, it was a clearing deep in the mountains.
NPCs stood in one corner of the clearing.
Escort guards.
This was how the background of the game mode, Escort, usually looked.
“So you are the ones sent from the Demonic Cult.”
The NPC who appeared to be the leader of the escort guards approached and bowed politely.
“This way.”
He guided them toward the area where the wagons and NPCs were gathered.
Seo-jun and his teammates followed him.
“This is the item you must protect.”
Several goods were packed inside the wagon in wooden boxes.
The escort leader pointed at one of them.
Then, just like nicknames floating above people’s heads, text appeared only above that item.
[Celadon Porcelain]
The thing they had to protect was a blue-green ceramic vase.
‘Looks fragile.’
The escort leader closed the box.
Then he left them behind and hurried off to prepare for departure.
“The enemies won’t know what we’re protecting. The item name floating above it is only visible to us.”
The viewer spoke, and Seo-jun answered.
“I know.”
“Huh? Seriously?”
“Yeah.”
“That’s weird. That shouldn’t be possible.”
There was genuine confusion in his tone as he tilted his head.
-Why “shouldn’t it be possible”? People study in advance these days
-That’s not “studying ahead,” idiot, it’s called preparation
-Is he a fake fan by any chance?
“Ah, right. You probably studied in advance so you wouldn’t end up doing that, huh? Hehehe.”
“That.”
He meant Seo-jun’s punishment.
The female teammate listening nearby while touching the wagon asked:
“Um… what’s ‘that’?”
“That?”
“Yes. That.”
“Heh. If you’re curious, search Jin Seo-jun on iTube and watch.”
“Why won’t you just tell me now?”
“Because it’s too embarrassing to say out loud.”
The viewer gave a sinister grin, suddenly picked up a nearby stick, then began spinning in place like a ballerina with his hands raised overhead.
Then he stopped and posed dramatically using the branch like a magic wand.
Without saying a single word.
It looked like some bizarre silent performance art.
But the intention was obvious.
He was imitating a magical girl.
-Isn’t this guy crazier than the guild master?
-This madness is insane lolololol
-Look at his eyes bulging while his mouth hangs open
-That’s terrifying lololololol
-At that point isn’t he just a villain?
The viewers burst into laughter, while the female teammate rubbed her arms as if she had just witnessed something deeply unsettling.
“What the hell…”
Seo-jun completely understood how she felt.
He shook his head while laughing.
It was funny, but also… not okay.
“We’re departing!”
The escort leader at the front shouted.
At the same time, the game officially began.
[Escort the cargo safely to its destination.]
The escort guards began moving, and the players matched pace with them.
“So, Seo-jun-nim, you really do know what to do, right?”
Seo-jun nodded.
“Yes. Seriously.”
Escort was a simple mode.
While the cargo moved, you protected it from enemy attacks.
3 vs 3.
The attacking side earned more points if they stole the cargo, but merely damaging it was enough to win.
That was why escort guards were assigned as teammates to the defending side.
Players respawned at the starting point, while escort guards did not respawn, which was a disadvantage—
But they still felt reassuring.
Knowing enemies wouldn’t appear yet, the viewer tried making conversation again.
“But seriously, Guild Master, how are you so good at fighting?”
“Didn’t I already tell you?”
If he was really a viewer, he should know.
Seo-jun had always given the same answer.
“Ah, because you remember your previous life?”
“That’s right.”
Seo-jun nodded proudly, looking pleased he got it right.
“Oh, that was actually true?”
“Of course. Why would I lie?”
Finally!
After nobody believing him for so long, had he finally met someone who did?!
-Neither of them are sane lololol
-The woman beside them looks more dead inside by the second
-Just listening to this conversation is mentally exhausting lololol
Just as the chat said, the woman walking beside the wagon had the exact expression of someone listening to men spout endless nonsense and stupid jokes all day long.
She opened her mouth.
“Excuse me.”
“Yes?”
“Are you really that good at games? Earlier he called you the ‘Shin Ha-yeon Slayer.’”
Anyone interested in virtual reality gaming would have a hard time not knowing about Shin Ha-yeon.
And the people matched here had fairly high reputation points.
Meaning they were skilled players.
Which made it even harder not to know her.
Instead of answering her directly, Seo-jun glared at the viewer.
“First, let’s correct one thing.”
“What?”
“I’m not a ‘slayer.’”
“Slayer” meant killer.
If he casually threw around terms like that, clips of it could end up immortalized online forever.
-Is Guild Master scared???
-What’s wrong with saying “slayer”?!
-Why can’t I say he beat Shin Ha-yeon?!
-Beating her isn’t the issue, you lunatics lololol
What was the thing streamers had to be most careful about?
Controversies.
You always had to watch your words.
“Then what is it?”
“I didn’t beat the real Shin Ha-yeon. I beat her clone.”
She looked at him with an expression that clearly said, Yeah, figures.
Apparently she didn’t know that almost nobody had beaten that clone until now.
“Hah. As if it’d really be Shin Ha-yeon…”
“Hmm? You don’t believe me?”
Seo-jun himself didn’t care much, but apparently his viewer did.
“What exactly am I supposed to believe?”
“That the Guild Master is gonna carry this match!”
“Yeah, yeah. I’m sure he will.”
Ever since the viewer had started imitating a magical girl earlier, the woman had been keeping her distance from him.
“Anyway, it should be about time they appear.”
The woman replied.
“Yeah. Let’s stay alert now.”
“Yup. I’m sticking right beside the wagon. Since the enemy’s the Unorthodox Faction, we especially need to watch out for ambushes.”
Players from the Assassination Sect, who possessed stealth skills and high movement speed, were especially dangerous in this mode.
And the Tang Clan was equally threatening because they could damage the cargo from long range using hidden weapons.
Ironically, the least threatening faction was the Green Forest.
The bandits.
“Well, I’m not really worried though. Seo-jun-nim is insanely good at catching assassins.”
“What exactly are you trusting him for?”
The woman clicked her tongue.
“Because…”
That was when it happened.
Seo-jun, who had noticed the subtle trembling of the bushes beside the road the wagon was traveling on, swiftly swung his arm downward.
Whoooosh!
The sword sliced through the bushes with a faint sound tearing through the air.
Although they had been talking about staying prepared, the other two still knew enemies weren’t supposed to appear yet, so Seo-jun’s sudden action startled them.
“Aaah! What the hell?!”
Then an enemy with his face covered burst out from the bushes with a scream.
Judging from the red nickname, he was an assassin from the Assassination Sect.
‘Because of his high movement speed, he must’ve arrived early and waited.’
After getting hit by Seo-jun’s sword and losing a decent chunk of health, the enemy grumbled:
“Damn, your eyes are freakishly sharp. I usually never get caught. What rotten luck.”
The Assassination Sect’s passive ability was stealth.
If they stayed still or moved extremely slowly, they became camouflaged.
But that didn’t hide the effects their movements caused on the environment.
Things like footprints or moving grass still gave them away.
So if you already knew where an assassin was hiding, spotting those changes was fairly easy.
But noticing them without knowing the location beforehand was extremely difficult.
You either had to focus all your senses on the surroundings—
Or possess absurdly sharp observational instincts.
-Once again proving he’s amazing at catching assassins
-Looks like the Assassination Sect was a small company just like Assassin’s Dawn lololol got exposed instantly
-Are your eyes literally those of a bird?
The assassin retreated backward.
“I’m outta here for now.”
His teammates didn’t chase after him.
If one of them pursued alone and the enemy team regrouped, they’d be at a disadvantage in a numbers fight.
But if everyone chased together, another enemy could circle around and attack the now defenseless wagon and cargo.
The viewer waved cheerfully.
“Yep. See you again soon.”
“In a few dozen seconds?”
“Haha, exactly.”
The woman laughed.
Then she turned toward Seo-jun beside her and spoke.
“But your eyesight really is amazing… wait, where’s he going?”
Seo-jun had started following the assassin.
“Oh right.”
“What?”
“Absorption Demonic Art.”
“Huh? Wait, what are you—”
Listening to her voice fade behind him, Seo-jun smiled.
“You can’t just run away whenever you want. Right, everyone?”
He activated his movement technique.
Because of faction traits, the enemy’s speed was faster—
But since the enemy relaxed and started walking normally after a while, the distance gradually closed.
-Who said you could leave?
-Ah lol if you fight an enemy, obviously you have to kill them
-Truly a trait befitting a complete psychopath
-The assassin probably thinks he’s hallucinating right now
Seo-jun rapidly approached, and the enemy sensed his presence and turned around.
“What the hell are you? You actually followed me? Wait, hold on!”
Seo-jun rushed forward and placed his sword at the assassin’s neck.
Panicking, the enemy hurriedly raised his sword and thought he had blocked the attack.
But that was an illusion.
The sword he raised to intercept the attack never even collided.
Because just before impact, Seo-jun had withdrawn his blade mid-charge and landed beside him instead.
When landing, he intentionally faked the attack so the enemy couldn’t casually stop it with his sword.
Using terms suitable for this game—
It was a feint.
“You left yourself wide open.”
Swaaash!
Seo-jun sliced across the assassin’s side while the enemy still wore a stunned expression.
Since the strike had internal energy infused into it, the damage was severe.
“Hey. Are you insane? You actually chased me all the way here?”
“And why shouldn’t I?”
“Obviously because—haah. If I just stall a little longer, my teammates will arrive. What’re you gonna do then?”
What else?
Right on cue, the chat filled with exactly what Seo-jun was thinking.
-Kill them all lol
Clatter.
Thunk.
Creeeak.
The wagon rattled noisily as it slowly traveled along an unpaved road from roughly seven hundred years ago.
The escort guards maintained strict vigilance.
“I can’t believe I’m seeing this in person! Ah… well, not exactly in person.”
The viewer rubbed his nose.
“Seeing what?”
“This is the scene of a bus.”
“A bus?”
“Yep.”
“If we don’t end up returning as corpses, that’ll already be lucky.”
“Please sit quietly and enjoy the ride.”
What was this lunatic even talking about?
“No but seriously, why didn’t he choose the trait that prevents Absorption Demonic Art from deactivating after combat ends? It feels kinda hard for just the two of us to hold this off from the start. Still, since we’re close to the starting point, if we stall long enough—”
As she naturally began thinking about how the rest of the game would unfold, a kill log appeared.
[HeavenlyDemon14 → DongDong]
She calmly commented:
“Well, at least he really does seem skilled. A 2 versus 2 should be manageable.”
Now, even if Heavenly Demon died, their starting point was closer than the enemy assassin’s, meaning he’d return to the battlefield faster.
And even aside from that, she was confident they could win a 2v2.
“Ahem. No, that’s not it.”
“What isn’t?”
“It’s not 2 versus 2. It’s 1 versus 3.”
“Why? Are you gonna abandon the wagon too?”
The viewer, one of Seo-jun’s subscribers, shook his head.
“Nope. You’ll understand if you just watch. Honestly, sniping into his match was worth it. I’d already started regretting switching to the Demonic Cult after watching his stream.”
“Wow. You switched factions just because of a streamer?”
“Yep.”
“Ugh. You’re seriously a problem customer.”
“If I were a real problem customer, wouldn’t I just disconnect? If his winstreak breaks, the magical girl outfit—wait. Why didn’t I think of that earlier?”
“Huh? Magical girl? What’s that supposed to mean?”
A nervous laugh escaped him.
“With the Guild Master’s skill, he can probably win even without me, right? I believe in you!”
What the hell was this crazy bastard talking about?
“Still, if I just leave outright, I might get banned.”
His game ID matched his Travel ID.
Meaning he could get investigated afterward.
Even if he changed the Travel ID after disconnecting, he could still get banned through previous records.
What a shame.
Otherwise, he’d already have left.
“Hey? Excuse me? Could someone explain?!”
Ignoring her completely, the viewer opened the team chat.
[Guild Master. How about 200,000 won if you win this game without me?]
[Sure.]
[But if you fail, show us Christina’s affection quest!]
[…]
[Deal.]
“What are you two even doing?”
“A self-imposed mission. Anyway, bye.”
“Huh?”
Still smiling—
His body suddenly disappeared.
Only after reading the next chat message did she understand what happened.
[Uh… did he really have to leave the game for that?]
Just as the message implied, one slot in the team member list had become empty.
“This match is completely doomed. Seriously.”
The sudden urge to switch factions was definitely not her fault.
“When this ends, I’m absolutely reporting both of them.”