Chapter 42: That Just Leaves One (2)
"… Huh?"
Oh Kang-Woo accepted so easily that Kang Seong-Soo didn't know what to do.
'This isn't how it was supposed to go.' Seong-Soo seemed troubled by Kang-Woo's unexpected response.
The reason why he'd decided to pick a fight with Kang-Woo wasn't just because he didn't like him… It wasn't like he had anger management issues. There was no way he'd pick a fight with someone he had never met.
'I need to make him a complete laughingstock in front of the reporters,' Seong-Soo thought.
He recalled the orders he'd received from Kim Yeong-Hun, the one who was supporting him.
Back when Yeong-Hun received a report that the Player receiving the support of Cha Yeon-Joo had appeared at the B-rank Gate, he called Seong-Soo and ordered him to embarrass him publicly. The Mir Guild and the Red Rose Guild were rivals, so Yeong-Hun wanted Seong-Soo to provoke Kang-Woo and then make the reporters think that Seong-Soo was better than Kang-Woo.
It was not yet widely known that Kang-Woo was receiving the support of Yeon-Joo, but since she had personally recruited him, it wasn't a bad idea to take action ahead of time.
'One's image can't be easily changed once it's imprinted into the minds of the public.'
If they embarrassed Kang-Woo before he could fully grow, the negative image of being publicly humiliated would follow him into the future. Even if Kang-Woo became strong and famous later, most people would still think he was weaker than Seong-Soo. That's how things worked with public opinion.
'But if he acts like this, I'll only look like an asshole.'?
Seong-Soo looked at the brightly-smiling Kang-Woo with a troubled expression on his face.
Flinch.
'Huh?'
Seeing Kang-Woo's smile made Seong-Soo flinch, and he felt a chill.
'What's happening?'
Seong-Soo ignored the sudden sense of uneasiness he was feeling and thought about how to deal with the current situation.
"Ngh…" he groaned.
He couldn't think of any good ideas.
The opponent had answered too politely. If Seong-Soo kept trying to pick a fight with him, the Mir Guild's public image would crumble.
It was only possible to clap when the palms of a pair of hands faced each other. If one of the two opposing parties made an effort to avoid conflict, there was no way to create a dispute.
'Damn bootlicker.'?Seong-Soo frowned uncomfortably while looking at Kang-Woo.
There was no way Kang-Woo didn't know that Seong-Soo was trying to pick up a fight with him. Judging by Kang-Woo's reaction, he was probably scared.
'Well, if he's backing down just from this, he's no big deal at all,'?Seong-Soo thought.
He wasn't sure why the Red Rose Guild had decided to support Kang-Woo, but since Kang-Woo was a coward, he probably wouldn't be a danger to the Mir Guild in the future.
Seong-Soo turned away from Kang-Woo and spoke to his party members, "…Haaa. Let's go."
They all looked at Kang-Woo disappointedly and followed Seong-Soo inside the gate.
"Wow! Red Rose and Mir have joined forces!"
"Alright.?'Two of the great guilds join forces to defeat the variant monster.' Let's go with this title!"
Regardless of what the real situation was, the mass media reporters considered it an entertaining scoop that Kang-Woo and Seong-Soo had formed a party and entered the gate together. They expectantly looked at the party entering the gate.
* * *
The B-rank Gate where Minotaurs mainly appeared looked like a labyrinth, and the walls were made of rocks. Because the rock wall reached the ceiling, it felt more like a dungeon than a Gate.
After entering the gate, Kang-Woo turned to Seong-Soo's party and said in a bright tone, "Right, then. Should we join forces and hunt the variant monster together?"
Seong-Soo scowled at the sight of Kang-Woo's carefree attitude. He spat on the ground and said, "Do you have no pride?"
"I beg your pardon?" Kang-Woo asked.
"Hmph, I'm not sure if you're acting dumb or you just have shit for brains…"
"Seong-Soo oppa, just ignore him. I was a bit scared since he was apparently scouted by Cha Yeon-Joo personally, but he's just a moron." The woman wearing a blue robe sighed.
"I guess Cha Yeon-Joo has lost her mind. I can't believe she would promise someone like this her full support… Vice Guildmaster Kim Yeong-Hun really is the best."
"Yeah. Not only is he a second-generation chaebol, but he's also handsome and extremely capable."
"Like father, like son. Our guild master is also a Ranker."
"Haha. After all, the Mir Guild is the only guild that was built by a father and son who awakened together."
The party praised the Mir Guild while completely ignoring Kang-Woo.
Before awakening as a Player, the Mir Guild's guild master, Kim Jae-Hyun, had been the CEO of Mir Electronics—one of Korea's leading conglomerates. When Gates first appeared five years ago, he awakened as a Player with his son, Kim Yeong-Hun. They then used the massive amount of wealth that Jae-Hyun acquired through Mir Electronics and became strong very quickly. That was how the Mir Guild was born.
'A guild made by a conglomerate, huh?'?Kang-Woo's eyes shone with great interest as he silently followed behind the party. 'They must have a disgusting amount of money.'
A large guild earned a lot of money. If the earnings obtained by a big electronics company were to be added to that, the amount of money they had was likely astronomical.
'Should I lead the two guilds into an all-out war against each other?'
Kang-Woo would be able to profit a little in the process.
"Hmm…" Kang-Woo shook his head after thinking about it for a while.
'I'd feel bad doing that to Cha Yeon-Joo.'
He had already received so much support from her, so it would breach his morals if he instigated an all-out war between the two guilds.
'I'm sure the Red Rose Guild will be of use to me in the future.'
Nevertheless, this was the bigger reason than the breach of morals. Pushing the Red Rose Guild into a war against the Mir Guild for immediate profit would be like cutting open a goose that laid golden eggs.
"That aside, where's the variant monster?" Seong-Soo questioned angrily.
He was looking around at the surrounding labyrinthine passageways.
"First, let's just walk around," Kang-Woo said while walking carefreely from the back.
"Hmph, isn't that obvious? You're dumber than I thought."
"Hahaha, my apologies." Kang-Woo smiled like a moron and looked at Seong-Soo's party from behind.
'Seong-Soo.'?
However, Kang-Woo's inner thoughts were completely different from his smiling face.
'Are you sure you can handle this, Seong-Soo?'
He used the Authority of the Beholder to search for the Buer and felt its presence nearby.
'It's not in its Full Stomach state.'
The Buer was wandering around violently, searching for prey.
'Authority of Temptation.'
Kang-Woo used an Authority to spread the scent of delicious prey.
"Hmm? Do you guys smell something?"
"Yes. A mouth-watering smell…"
Seong-Soo and the rest of the party looked around for the source of the scent as it permeated the passageway.
'Here it comes,' Kang-Woo thought.
He sensed the Buer was approaching. It was smashing the stone walls to get to them.
Kang-Woo took a few steps away from the party and waited for the Buer to appear.
Rumble!!!
"Huh? Wh-What's happening?"
"Something's approaching us!"
"Prepare for battle!" Seong-Soo ordered the other party members after sensing the variant monster approach. Then he said to Kang-Woo, "You'd better stay the hell out of our way. Don't even dare try to say that you helped us hunt it later."
"…"
Kang-Woo laughed. Even in that situation, Seong-Soo didn't forget to insult him.
'You're the master of death flags, man.'
Kang-Woo didn't think that Seong-Soo's party could win against the Buer. A starved Buer was so strong that the average demonic beast of the Third Hell would be no match against it. Even Mun Yeong-Ho, a Seventh Awakening Player, would probably struggle against it.
As for Seong-Soo, it had only been three months since he became a Player. There was no way he would be able to win against it.
Boom!!
"ROOAARR!!"
"Here it comes!"
Seong-Soo took his spear out and prepared for battle.
'A variant monster is nothing,'?he thought.?
On his First Awakening, Seong-Soo had gotten an A-rank attribute. Furthermore, he had managed to achieve his Fifth Awakening only three months after becoming a Player. The only Players who had managed to grow faster than him were monsters like Baek Kang-Hyun and Cha Yeon-Joo. That's how sure Seong-Soo was about his abilities.
"Guys like you tend to die the quickest."
Those were the words Seong-Soo had said to provoke Kang-Woo. The problem was that those words hadn't come out of Seong-Soo's mouth this time.
"What did you say?" Seong-Soo turned his head around to Kang-Woo in annoyance.
It was clear those words had emerged from the mouth of Kang-Woo, who had remained silent like a coward until then.
Kang-Woo had his arms crossed, and there was a deep smile on his face. It wasn't the dumb smile he had displayed until recently but a very chilling one filled with bloodlust.
"Are you fucking insa—"
"Seong-Soo," Kang-Woo interjected.
"… What?"
"Stop with the death flags, man. Are you a flag dealer? You keep adding new ones by the second. What are you gonna do next? Are you gonna take out a picture of your lover and say that you're gonna propose to her when this is over?"
"What the hell are you talking ab—"
Crush!
"AARRGG!!"
While Seong-Soo was distracted by Kang-Woo, the Buer destroyed the wall and attacked one of his party members. The tank Player's shield was destroyed in one blow, and he was sent flying.
"What the…?!" Seong-Soo became wide-eyed in shock after seeing the Buer's strength, which was far beyond what he had imagined.
The Buer moved its five legs toward the tank Player, who had been pushed back, and devoured him with its giant mouth.
Crunch!?
Dark red blood gushed out of the tank's body. He was devoured with his armor still on him.
"Kuh!"
Seong-Soo didn't have time to care about Kang-Woo anymore. He grabbed his spear and leaped toward the Buer.
"Haaaaap!"
Mana gathered on the tip of his spear and shone with a blue light. Seong-Soo stepped forward and aggressively thrust his spear toward the Buer. There was a flash of light as the spear turned into a light ray shooting toward the Buer's head. However, the Buer just waved its arm and brushed off Seong-Soo's attack.
Crack!?Seong-Soo's spear was broken into two all too easily.
Pushed back by the Buer's enormous power, Seong-Soo went tumbling to the ground.
"Huh…?" Seong-Soo looked confusedly at the Buer after he was smacked aside with just one blow.
The unsettling feeling that something was going horribly wrong surged within him.
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