Chapter 26
A short while later, only the two of them were left.
Kim Jong-pil and Park Su-bin faced each other.
He thought he was used to it, but seeing him up close, the impact was on a different level.
Soo-bin, perhaps sensing Kim Jong-pil’s gaze, lowered his head deeply, and in that moment, Kim Jong-pil activated his “Spirit Eye” and scanned him from the bottom up.
‘As expected, everything’s an item, and of quite a high grade.’
Naturally, from the moment the schedule was announced, the raid team had entered combat readiness.
The current problem for the raid team was defense.
The solution to the defense problem was organization. To unite a bunch of greenhorns into a single team, the only way was, to put it bluntly, to work them to the bone.
But in this hellish training, Park Su-bin had been exempted.
And it was none other than at Lee Shin’s request.
— “Elder, our Bokchi is fundamentally different from those ordinary kids out there. For a Bokchi to grow, it needs to run straight—exactly!—in a direct line toward the correct answer! And…”
‘He says he knows the correct answer, huh…’
Even thinking about it again, it was an astounding statement.
To know the “correct answer” for a human being—was it even possible to define such a thing for the human species in the first place?
But Kim Jong-pil couldn’t just dismiss it out of hand—Lee Shin had already proven the unbelievable. The manual in his inner pocket was the evidence.
Maybe that’s why—
— “Fine. I’ll exempt Park Soo-bin from training. But he’ll have to show results—results that will satisfy me and the other members. Understood?”
It was a clear overreach of authority, but Kim Jong-pil agreed because he was curious.
Lee Shin, who dissected people as if analyzing them under a microscope, had labeled this rookie—whom Kim himself couldn’t see anything in—as “W.C. (World Class).”
“If you have any sense, you’ll know it. Some of your comrades aren’t looking at you kindly. I don’t need to explain why, do I?”
“…No.”
“You may not know this, but your recent solo action was carried out under the CEO’s strong will. He had an abnormal degree of confidence in you, and asked me just once to trust him. I granted that request.”
“…Th-thank…”
“Sorry, but I’m not saying this so you’ll thank me.”
Kim Jong-pil made a scissoring motion in the air with his fingers.
It was a signal to the monitoring team that this conversation was under embargo.
“Our guild isn’t as rosy as the people outside think.”
Sponsor, CEO, raid leader, squad—all had changed.
Even remodeling a house makes it feel strange and hard to adapt, so how much more so for a guild?
And the one currently covering up the big and small problems surrounding the guild was Lee Shin.
“Why do you think CEO Lee Shin has gotten so chummy with the media? He’s burning himself out to hide the guild’s problems.”
The rabid-bulldog-like barking of media play wasn’t Kim Jong-pil’s preferred method. Even so, he respected Lee Shin.
The method was different, but it was still for the good of the guild.
“And the first request from that CEO was you. If you fail, it’s not just your own problem. If his judgment is doubted, the authority of my permission will be shaken. And the discipline of the raid team will waver.”
It wasn't a childish lust for power.
The squad was young and full of rookies, and they were so lacking in independent judgment they were called “tools.”
Since the Mountain King couldn’t take the front lines because of the raid, the only means to keep these rookies in line was the authority born of overwhelming prestige. The moment that was doubted, everything would collapse.
That’s why he was speaking like this.
He didn’t like pushing a young, insecure kid, but the situation was too serious to let slide.
“The key point in this gate is defense. Movement speed, types of magic, ranged attacks, the swift onslaught of the imps—if we let them control the pace, it’ll get very tiring. Your role is to be the raid team’s shield. Can you do it?”
“…”
At his question, Soo-bin couldn’t answer right away.
But it was plain to see—
In his unusually dark pupils, a spark flickered. That was probably the greatest courage someone timid like him could muster.
Hmph, not bad, Kim Jong-pil thought, patting him on the shoulder as he passed.
“You really have changed. You used to not even be able to meet my eyes.”
“…!!”
Yes.
The one who once couldn't even look at his friends’ eyes now stood before one of the legends of the Korean Hunter world—the Mountain King, Kim Jong-pil—without once looking away.
Truly.
He… had changed?!
Looking down at his own hands, Soo-bin exhaled a long breath, straightened his collar, and stepped forward.
________________________________________
Shadows were cast across the stone buildings in the silent field
With no sun to rise, night was eternal. And now, a foreboding sense loomed.
It was battle.
— “Enemies ahead. Now. Lee Hye-jeong.”
“!!”
Hye-jeong swung her twin swords.
Kagang—!
The darkness that had shot toward them was blocked by the twin blades.
Tilting the blades to deflect the impact, she charged without losing speed. Stepping onto a wall like a cat, she thrust her twin swords toward the darkness.
Sticky blood splattered as the shape behind the darkness was revealed.
Height about 150–155 cm, skin shiny like oil, reptilian eyes, bat wings, and a bow made of thorny vines, it was the Imp Archer, their enemy.
— “Enemy formation reacting. One minute—circle to the flank and make as much noise as you can for one minute. I’ll back you up.”
Hye-jeong nodded and opened her hand.
Where her twin swords had been, now there were daggers.
The daggers between each of her fingers were imbued with gusts of wind from the Wind Spirit of Kim Jong-pil.
The daggers soon scattered in all directions.
Riding the wind like living creatures, a dozen daggers slashed through the surrounding imps.
-Shyaaaak!
Letting out cries similar to a snake’s hiss—just like their reptilian eyes—the Imp Archers’ stealth was broken.
There were easily more than a hundred.
If that many were revealed just from the impact of the daggers, there must be at least that many more hidden in the darkness.
Ugh, disgusting.
Hye-jeong wanted to get out of this place even for a moment.
As a reptile-hater, she thought all slimy things in this world should just die, and she scattered more daggers.
Stepping lightly side to side, scattering again and again, the daggers spread in a fan shape, striking the surroundings.
Ten daggers at a time—ten times meant a hundred daggers consumed.
It was an expensive AoE skill but Hye-jeong was relentless.
She had with her a pair of bracers provided by Lee Shin—an item worth a whopping 500 million, capable of storing 500 throwing daggers.
Right now, she’s a human blade storm!
Dodging the dark arrow barrages fired by the Imp Archers, she was unleashing blade-filled winds toward the front without pause.
Meanwhile, the raid team was sprinting at full speed.
With the help of Kim Jong-pil’s Wind Spirit, they ran silently toward the flank.
— “Fast and agile ones strike from range, retreat, and when approached, hide in the darkness. That’s the Imp Archer’s basic attack pattern.”
— “That’s why, if you get dragged around by them, it never ends.”
When the split forces encircled the imps from three directions—
Exactly one minute later—
— “Now!”
Clusters of light burst out around the encirclement.
The luminous stones set up during the flanking maneuver all at once spewed out magical light, illuminating the swarm of imps.
For the imp archers who lived in darkness, this was, even if only for a moment, a deadly weapon.
While the imp archers were trapped in the net of light, the raid team, shields to the front, charged in.
— “Once we can get close, speed and range become meaningless. If we can even block stealth, then…”
The “Charge & Pierce” rush formation, with tanks and melee dealers at the forefront breaking through and stabbing, burst forth and bulldozed through the swarm of imp archers.
— “The imp archers have no choice but to bring out their last weapon.”
The hands of the slaughtered imp archers turned black, and then they stabbed… their own hearts?
Puuuuk—!
The reason the forward base of the imp archers has the highest attack level in the League 4 raids was the black magic they cast by offering up their own bodies as sacrifices — those heaps of black thorns floating in the sky.
— “It’s coming.”
Black magic manifested by sacrificing fifty living beings.
The [Dark Spiral], packed with the worst options rarely seen in the League 4 section — “darkness attribute,” “target designation,” and crucially, “ignore physical defense.”
As the raid team gathered around Kim Jong-pil, he kept his gaze on the sky and opened his mouth.
“Park Soo-bin.”
“…Yes.”
Park Soo-bin pulled a potion from his inner pocket.
A potion that looked as dangerous as his gloomy eyes — one that, for a brief moment, massively amplified mana.
Ignoring the stares around him, Park Soo-bin drank the potion like water, passed by the others, and leapt up onto the collapsed stone wall.
Somewhere, a black mink coat fluttered in the wind.
And as the coat billowed, before the gleaming accessories within could even fully show—
※ Ka Lakkum’s Cloak — Epic
: A cloak made by the orc hero zealot “Ka Lakkum” after hunting the Black Bird of Flame. For a brief time, the traits Ka Lakkum possessed in life can be transferred to the wearer.
He drew out the power of the mink coat.
Park Soo-bin’s eyes turned red.
【 Trait “True Berserk” removes the trait “Weakness.” 】
【 Trait “True Berserk” removes the trait “Deficiency.” 】
……
…
.
Veins stood out and his face burned as if it would explode.
From his mouth, steam rose like in the dead of winter.
At last—
【 Trait “True Berserk” removes the trait “Self-Deprecation.” 】
When all negative traits had disappeared—
At last, fragments of the talent Park So-bin possessed revealed themselves.
“Sight. Thought. Calculation—.”
Radiance bloomed in the pitch-black darkness.
“…Analysis. Result. Conclusion—.”
A 15 cm diameter sphere of light shone brilliantly.
And as if to mock it, dozens of Dark Spirals floating in the sky descended, darkness falling in an instant.
That was when Park Soo-bin’s mouth stopped moving.
“—Spatial Recognition.”
The moment his lips closed, thirteen spheres fired upward against gravity toward the falling darkness.
They met it head-on.
Brilliant as stars.
Intense as meteors.
――――!!
Even as hundreds of Dark Arrows were blocked right before their eyes—No sound could be heard.
The terrifyingly quiet stillness overwhelmed everyone.
Park Jung-seok, Lee Hye-jeong, the other comrades.
Even Mountain King himself.
“…Not blocking, but… eating it?”
________________________________________
Shock and astonishment, this was the common reaction of those who saw Park Soo-bin’s performance in round two.
— “E-even seeing it, I-I can’t believe it.”
— “…There’s only one thought in my head right now. What on earth is that?”
Before the black thorns filling the sky could touch the ground, all of them were blocked by white light spheres.
— “From the moment he boldly started pulling the mobs together, it was strange. Just so viewers don’t misunderstand, let me say — the self-destruct attack of ‘Darkness Spiral’ is absolutely not an attack that can be blocked this easily!”
— “Darkness attribute, targeting, ignoring physical defense. That’s why the majority of League 4 guilds chose to dodge that attack rather than block it, paying the price of longer clear times.”
It’s not impossible to block. But this is League 4.
Among the League 4 guilds, was there any that could block a self-destruct attack manifested by sacrificing such a large number of imps? At least for now, there was none.
As much as the commentators showered him with praise, the viewers’ reactions were pure amazement.
└ Wow, that’s so smooth. Is that attack really something that can be blocked that easily?
└ Holy crap, he’s blocking it all. A mobile shield, that’s fresh lol
└ To see that level of magic in League 4… is the Korean league just high level, or is Mir Guild abnormal?
But the “Yongbung-i,” who should have been the happiest, were dumbfounded.
└ Guys, I feel dizzy. That’s Soo-bin, right…?
└ Uh… looks like it?
└ Trip-boy Soo-bin?
└ Yeah ;;
When Park Soo-bin, who got the lowest score in the previous round, appeared like some gaudy 1980s rich madam, the Yongbung-i cursed him out.
Saying that shaving his head and going to war wouldn’t be enough, and instead he was pulling some attention-seeking stunt.
But when he pulled off such a crazy performance, they were embarrassed.
Sure, boys at that age grow quickly, but is that really possible?
└ Well, now that it’s come to this, should we just enjoy it…?
└ Paris People timing? lol
└ Yeah lol
└ Pffft lol God-Su-bin-nim hahahahahahahahahahahahahahahaha insane lol
And so, from “Trip-boy” in the first broadcast, Park Su-bin became “God-Su-bin.”
By marking the mid-boss imp ranger alone, he became “Great-God-Su-bin.”
By blocking a self-destruct attack powered by a hundred sacrificed imps, he became “Great-Emperor-God-Soo-bin.”
And when he shone in the final boss battle and became MVP, Park Su-bin evolved into “Great-Emperor-King-God-Soo-bin.”
Everyone wondered—
What on earth had happened for him to achieve such a miraculous transformation?
To the interviewer’s question, Park Soo-bin answered as briefly as possible (out of shyness) and as honestly as possible (out of fear).
“Well… that is…”
________________________________________
[ Mir Guild’s “Park Soo-bin” gains the title of Iron Wall. ]
[ “Another level — a performance never seen in League 4.” Experts cast their votes for Park Soo-bin. ]
[ Mountain King Kim Jong-pil: “I don’t really know. Park Soo-bin is Lee Shin’s work.” ]
[ To his brilliant performance, Park Soo-bin says, “It’s all thanks to the CEO.” ]
[ Lee Shin: “It’s all my doing. Hahaha.” This man is unfathomable. ]
[ Round 1: 1.8 points. Round 2: 9.1 points. What magic did Lee Shin cast on this boy? ]
