The Veteran Player Already Knows

Chapter 139 - Clash (1)

"Oh yeah."

Looking at the pile of summoning stones laid out before my eyes, those words just flowed out automatically.

Wow, how much would all this be converted into points?

On top of that, if I considered the additional equipment that would be added after investigating the samples of the creatures summoned using these, it wouldn't be an exaggeration to call it a jackpot.

"Uh, but you let them all go alive, right? Won't those people come back for revenge?"

As I was happily smiling and counting my gains, Seo Ah-in asked me with an anxious expression.

Well, since I had just taken care of everyone who had passed out from exhaustion and sent them outside without causing any harm. I guess she was worried they might come back later.

But.

"Revenge? What revenge?"

"Huh? Won't they be furious when they find out it was a trick?"

"Will they be angry? I wonder."

Whether it was a trick or not, the 'emotions' those guys felt at that time would have been deeply ingrained in their nerves.

And once they realize that I can 'create' such intense emotions to the point of trauma, it will surely serve as more than enough of a reason to make them reconsider before rushing in for revenge one more time.

"...Uh, but the reason feels a bit weak. They were the ones who rushed in to kill us in the first place, so is there a reason to just let them go like that?"

"It's about sending a message."

"A message?"

"A message that even though I'm a bit twisted, I'm better than some personality-disordered psychopath."

As I said that, I looked up at the leaderboard in the sky.

Right below me, the name of Lancester, who was closely following in second place after conquering four zones just like me, was engraved.

It was about time for friction to arise between the Climbers who had conquered zones, and that guy probably couldn't have avoided it either.

Considering his personality, he probably would have gone for the throat of anyone who challenged him without a second thought.

And in a situation where I've made them feel a 'wall' that clearly indicates that challenging me now is not a wise move, the fact that I'm at least more moderate than that guy will undoubtedly have a huge impact in the final phase.

[ The Conqueror ‘Kim Gyu-sik’ has occupied the ‘Coral Reef’ region. ]

[ Confirmed the presence of the first Conqueror to occupy 5 zones. A conquest bonus is awarded. ]

As I was thinking that, the leaderboard continuously spewed out updates.

That Darien girl, she must have finally finished conquering a zone. It took longer than I thought—

"...?"

No, wait a minute.

Coral Reef?

That wasn't even the place I sent her to conquer in the first place.

If my memory served me right, it was a place completely covered in water. It was a place difficult to even enter without the assistance of proper sorcery and equipment.

So how on earth did she conquer it?

"Uh, so..."

Just then, Darien, who had returned to the base, answered, brushing off the seaweed and barnacles stuck to her nun's habit.

"I just evaporated it all?"

"...What?"

I asked back, utterly dumbfounded, and Darien pointed to the Blood Reaven she was holding with her finger and said.

"I just told the one inside here that I would inject a slightly weaker curse today... ah, ahaha, that's not it. I said I would 'play' with them more gently than usual, and they got so fired up with motivation that they took care of it themselves."

"..."

Watching her stick out her tongue slightly and hit her own head as she said that, I felt like I had no words to say either.

Was it just my imagination, or did the greatsword held by Darien seem to be trembling?

Well, alright...

Good luck with that...

"But, why did you go to the Coral Reef zone instead of the place I told you to go?"

"No, I was just going to pass by as planned. But I heard the voice of a heart that belittled the Avatar of the Savior..."

"...You heard that while flying in the hovercraft?"

"Yes. So I dragged them out and tortured... I mean, 'educated' them so they wouldn't say such things again!"

Watching Darien say that with a bright smile, I felt a cold sweat break out on me too.

"...Oh. Is that so."

Hey.

People can think bad things in their heads.

Cut them some slack.

***

By the way, there was one thing I needed to address at this point.

‘...Even so, haven't they gotten too strong?’

Even though I had given her a very powerful demon weapon, the fact that her existing abilities had also strengthened to that extent was a pleasant surprise for me as well.

So, there was one conclusion I could draw from that.

The speed at which these kids were getting stronger was a bit... unusual, wasn't it?

To be honest, some of the people for whom I had opened a slot were growing at a speed that even I found bewildering.

In Seo Ah-in's case alone, even though I had entrusted her training to Mr. Seo Jin-seong,

For anyone else, it would be a matter of just nodding and saying, "Oh, that's great," but for me, there was a reason to clap and cheer for it.

[ Currently Unused Skill Share Slots ]

[ Lee Si-yeong: 2

Seo Ah-in: 1

Seo Jin-seong: 1

Evangeline: 1 ]

This.

Honestly, I hadn't had much of a chance to think about my own growth recently.

[ Checking conquest progress. ]

[ Confirmed that the conquest rate of all zones has reached a certain value. Entering Phase 3. ]

[ From this time on, the total share of each Conqueror can be checked as a percentage. ]

[ Two days are given until the final phase begins. If a majority of the occupation is not reached within that time, all will fail the ordeal. ]

I would probably have a use for it right away.

And for that, I had to use these slots that I had been saving for quite a long time.

‘Let's see...’

First, I would exclude Lee Si-yeong's and Evangeline's slots.

I had to use their slots in the final phase depending on the situation. They weren't things that were generally useful, but rather full of things that showed extreme efficiency only in specific situations.

Then the remaining slots were Mr. Seo Jin-seong's and Seo Ah-in's.

"...Hmm."

The swordsmanship used by the Seo family was, in terms of lore, of the same school. But Mr. Seo Jin-seong's and Seo Ah-in's swordsmanship had a strangely different feel. They were even treated as separate skills in the game.

To put it simply.

If Seo Ah-in's skills were focused on self-stat buffs, Mr. Seo Jin-seong's abilities were maximized when he received 'help' from others.

Why was the character designed this way? Was it because Mr. Seo Jin-seong's wife was a top-tier supporter in the game? There were various hypotheses.

But what I was more curious about was.

‘...What would it feel like if these two were combined?’

The reason swordsmanship and mastery-type skills were so useful was that they could increase one's own combat power even without mana.

And the guy I was probably going to have a knock-down, drag-out fight with soon was highly specialized in 'forcing' that kind of combat.

Well, fortunately.

I was someone who didn't have to just wonder about it.

[ Mastery: Swift Sword / NPC-Seo Ah-in Unique Ability ]

[ A swordsmanship that moves as nimbly as a swallow and accurately aims for vital points. ]

[ Mastery: Flowing Sword / NPC-Seo Jin-seong Unique Ability ]

[ A swordsmanship that subdues the opponent with gentle and heavy movements. ]

[ Synthesize ‘Masterry: Swift Sword’ with ‘Mastery: Flowing Sword’? Y/N ]

[ ! Warning ! ]

[ These are passive skills. Once synthesized, they cannot be undone. ]

Well, I had thought so.

But had I ever suffered a loss from skill synthesis? I touched Y without hesitation.

Then, the status window before my eyes was immediately dyed in gold and shot up a fanfare.

"..."

Huh?

What's wrong with you?

Did you eat something bad?

[ Synthesis Great Success! ]

[ Congratulations! ]

What was this about a great success? I had never seen anything like this before.

As I stared at the window in bewilderment, it slowly displayed a string of characters, as if telling me to savor it slowly since I had just hit the jackpot in a gacha.

"..."

And, my impression after seeing it was. How should I put it.

It was a skill truly worth savoring.

"M-Mr. Kim Gyu-sik! Kyaaaak!"

"..."

But, without a moment to bask in the afterglow.

Seo Ah-in, who had burst through the door, screamed and snapped me back to reality.

"...What."

"Something scary is happening outside, but your expression just now was scarier!"

"..."

I sighed and got up from my seat.

Something scary happening outside. It must be that.

From Phase 3, the supervisor of the ordeal gained the authority to 'intervene'. Originally, their role was to adjust the overall difficulty in various ways to prevent failure as much as possible.

But the guy in charge of supervision here... was someone who openly disliked me. So it was obvious what he would do.

"Take everyone else and stay inside the building. Don't ever come out."

"Th-then, Mr. Kim Gyu-sik... Kyaaaaaak!"

"...Was my expression scary this time too?"

"It was more terrifying than before!"

"..."

Well, it couldn't be helped.

I couldn't help but smile like that when I thought about using the skill I just got on 'him'.

***

"Good work!"

"Yeah, you too."

To Meirin, who was panting and lying on the floor, Evangeline chuckled and tossed her a water bottle.

Having trained together for a while now, they had grown quite fond of each other. It was a huge improvement compared to when she used to snap at her, calling her a human-human.

"I think I've gotten a little better now. Right?"

"Yes. Kim Gyu-sik will surely be pleased if you show him your newly blossomed abilities."

"Mm! Mm! I'll show him the results of my training!"

Evangeline also let out a laugh as she watched Meirin cheerfully smile while throwing a one-two in the air.

Well, that was that.

But the topic that had just come up was something for Meirin to think about once more.

"Mr. Kim Gyu-sik, is he doing well? I haven't heard any news about how he's doing in the ordeal recently."

Hearing those words, Evangeline narrowed her eyes.

"...Normally, I wouldn't be worried, but there is one thing that bothers me."

"Something that bothers you?"

"Yes. But until the third stage begins, there shouldn't be any trouble..."

[ Breaking news. The third ordeal has currently entered its third phase, and news has come in that a storm is raging where our Korean Climber Kim Gyu-sik is-]

"..."

"..."

At the voice that conveniently flowed from the news, Evangeline and Meirin simultaneously shut their mouths.

"...Is it that, by any chance?"

"It probably is... This is crazy!"

And on the broadcast screen that immediately appeared on the TV, Evangeline jumped up in a rage.

It was called a 'storm,' but a huge natural disaster that no human could possibly survive was occupying the entire screen.

"Knight of the Southern Yellow, that crazy bastard! Even I didn't go that far!"

"...Didn't you slam a water dragon into them, Ms. Evangeline?"

"That is worse than a water dragon! I only raised the difficulty, I never proceeded in such a biased way!"

Hmm. Was this a case of the pot calling the kettle black?

Anyway, they both had something on them.

As Meirin was thinking that and nodding, Evangeline continued to speak in a voice still bursting with anger.

"The storm and the lightning are the authority of the Southern Yellow. To use them at full power from the start means he intends to eliminate that man himself! How can a Knight of the Round Table do something so shameless...!"

"...Oh. Then isn't Mr. Kim Gyu-sik in quite a bit of danger?"

"Of course he's in danger! If we leave him like that, he could die...!"

Evangeline's urgent voice was cut off.

And for good reason, because on the broadcast screen, a person was shown slowly walking out from inside the base building.

It was Kim Gyu-sik.

In a short-sleeved shirt, training pants, and slippers.

"..."

"..."

"...He looks very relaxed, doesn't he?"

"..."

Evangeline had no choice but to agree.