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Dune Wild Trail.
Even after a major event had ended, it was still the area with the highest number of users and the most villains.
Because of this, guilds tended to pay extra attention to their branches in Dune Wild Trail.
Especially the Rapid Guild, the guild led by Seong, who had been the main focus of this event.
A few people gathered at the guild branch.
However, these weren't faces familiar to the Rapid Guild.
The stormy shadow, Kurosawa Ren, and the radiant spear, Mayrin.
Originally members of Tempest Wing and Eclipse Order, they had transferred to the Rapid Guild.
Despite the worse conditions compared to their previous guilds, they chose to switch.
And now, the team they had joined...
"Hmm, so you two are...?"
"Hahaha! I heard you guys call each other by nicknames, right? Can I call you 'Gwangchang Gwalgwal'?! And I'll call myself 'Black Wind' or something like that?"
"...Huh, I guess it doesn’t matter."
"Hahaha!!! It's nice to meet you all!"
Luna, who had worked hard to get to this point, looked a little tired as she glanced at Mayrin.
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Meanwhile, the other team members looked at Mayrin with curiosity.
Especially the new recruits who didn’t differ much from them.
"Hmm, I’m Kim Che-geon, the greatest swordsman of Joseon. I look forward to working with you."
"Oh?! The greatest swordsman of Joseon!? I've heard of that!!! Hehehe, so you're Korean!"
"Hmm, in spirit, I can say I'm from Joseon."
"Stop talking nonsense, Joseon Samurai, we don't need your introduction."
Longfeng spoke, and Kim Che-geon, enraged, shouted back.
"You bastard!!!! Didn't I tell you not to call me by that disrespectful nickname?!"
"No, I'm a failed thief. You're a Joseon Samurai, so isn't that who you are? A Joseon Samurai, right? No complaints, right?"
"Please, shut up."
"Hmm~"
"Haah."
It was always like this when Kim Che-geon entered the room.
Or was it like this even before?
As the team leader, Luna had no choice but to hold her aching head.
But, even with all the bickering, their teamwork was still the best.
Maybe she should just let it slide.
Luna thought to herself as she introduced them anyway.
"...So, this is our team. You two, now that you're joining, you'll need to help us level up as backup for Seong."
Luna spoke calmly, like a normal person.
Kurosawa Ren and Mayrin nodded seriously.
Meanwhile, in the back...
"Hah!!! What’s this, a thief trying to trick the greatest swordsman of Joseon?!"
"Ha. Now you're calling me a thief? Want to fight?!"
"Hahaha! Let's see if the wounds from last time have healed!"
"Hey, I was off guard back then...!!"
Longfeng and Kim Che-geon were squabbling in the back, and Luna couldn’t help but say,
"You two...!!!"
She raised her voice slightly, and they both quickly closed their mouths.
Even Kim Che-geon, who had only recently joined, knew how scary Luna could be when she was angry.
Anyway, seeing them calm down, Luna said something to the group.
"Sigh, we’re a backup team for Seong. If we keep going like this, how do you think others will view us? And what about Seong himself?"
Luna said it in a way that seemed to be just making conversation.
It wasn’t exactly wrong, but Luna didn’t know Seong that well, though it was usually the case.
However, to her surprise, Kim Che-geon responded.
"Heh, indeed. Since I’ve met Seong in real life, we need to be even more careful."
"Huh? How did a Joseon Samurai meet Seong?"
"Hmm???"
"Wow, really? That’s true?"
"Hahaha!!! You actually met Seong!? Amazing!"
"How did that happen? Can we meet him if we go to Korea?!"
Everyone on the team became very interested and asked Kim Che-geon questions.
Though they didn’t express it verbally, Luna also looked at him curiously.
After all, everyone here was fascinated by Seong, and they were part of the team backing him up.
Naturally, it made sense they would be intrigued.
And now, hearing that Kim Che-geon had met Seong in real life, their interest peaked.
How had that happened?
"Heh heh, how we met is a secret. But anyway, I saw him for a brief moment."
"Isn’t that a lie?"
"Hmm."
"Ha, I’m so disappointed."
"Hahaha!!! What a letdown."
"Hmm, from now on, don’t call me Joseon Samurai!"
Kim Che-geon shouted back, and once again, the room filled with noise.
Luna shook her head and spoke to them.
"Ahem, anyway, be careful. Seong has been missing for two days now. The public opinion might turn bad, so we should be prepared."
Everyone nodded at Luna’s words.
It had been two days since the major event ended.
People had naturally been focusing on Seong’s activities, but since there had been no sightings, discontent was growing.
If this continued, things wouldn’t look good.
However, Luna had already heard from the guild leader of Rapid.
‘For now, it’s going to be hard to be active,’ they had said.
She had to catch up during this break.
Though Seong’s leveling speed might slow down compared to the others, Luna didn’t think that would happen.
She was sure that Seong, knowing his overwhelming power, wouldn’t fall behind.
She was confident that his pace wouldn’t slow.
"At least the party hunting efficiency is very good."
A party of seven.
The most efficient number was six, but with this elite group, it was a whole different story.
They could maximize their efficiency.
Luna was quite confident.
Though they were all individuals with strong personalities, she would manage the control.
Luna made up her mind, and time passed.
1.
The online reactions to Seong were beyond imagination.
It was to be expected.
After all, he had made an incredible impact in the first major event.
This wasn’t even his first time.
From the past fortress raid, the Anemore solo raid, to this event.
He had even shattered the alliance, including Echo Willow.
With all this, could there be any reason not to hype him up online?
[RealMoneyIsEssential: Wow, Seong, this guy is incredible. How does one person achieve so much?]
└[KillDeathIsDecoration: He can do it, but the real impressive part is that he did it as a rookie.]
└[GuildRecruiting: This is right, lol.]
Many people praised what Seong had accomplished.
The video about the Echo Willow alliance’s collapse after the event also gathered countless views.
There had been many who had been wronged before.
Perhaps, that was to be expected.
[HardcoreGamer: That was refreshing!!!]
[TankNeeded: Damn, this is it!!!]
[LookingForAGirlfriend: Seong is a legend!]
└[FanaticSeong: Seong? Don’t you mean Seong-nim?]
[EveryoneBehindMe: How did he manage to take them all down?]
└[AnalysisIsGreat: If you look closely, Seong was probably exhausted and struggling? Or maybe, considering he didn't use any AoE skills against those elite mobs, he probably didn’t have enough cooldown time, so he strategically wiped out the elites and successfully asserted control, forcing them to flee?]
└[ValidationSeeker: Oh? That makes sense. So Seong’s not just physically strong, but also tactical? Giving this a like.]
Some even thoroughly analyzed Seong’s actions.
They were all so excited.
However, this only lasted for a day or two.
Online reactions were always hot and quick.
But just as quickly, they cooled down.
[Title-What’s Seong been up to lately? Haven’t heard any sightings at all.]
[PostAuthor-ObserverPerspective]
“Is there any news about Seong lately? It’s been four days since the event ended, and there hasn’t been any update after the last video. Anyone seen him?”
[BulletStormGamer: ??? Now that you mention it, there’s been no news at all;;]
[BossCut: No news at all, really?]
└[ObserverPerspective(PostAuthor): Yup, no news at all.]
[BuyCoinsPlease: Seriously, there’s no news at all? Are they not paddling the boat at all?]
These posts started popping up.
Usually, when someone stirs up the internet like this, sightings inevitably pop up.
Guilds even use it for publicity and generally let it happen.
But Seong had no sightings at all.
Is it part of his mystique?
Maybe, but from the public’s perspective, it was frustrating.
[Title-Rapid Guild and Seong, what are they really doing;;;]
[PostAuthor-PawaKa]
“Has the water completely flooded, and now they’re just pretending to paddle the boat and backing out? Shouldn’t they be doing more? Why isn’t Seong out in the field with other players? No sightings, no nothing. When did mystique become a thing? This whole concept is a mess. Even if he’s a Demon King, this is just too much.”
[ThiefBuffPlease: Hahaha, I get it, but honestly, it’s getting annoying.]
[DemonKingHaha: Demon King? Really? Isn’t that cringy?]
[SoundingBirdTree: Hahaha, I honestly think it's all just hype. I bet he’s about to drop soon, haha.]
└[PawaKa(PostAuthor): Sure, but are you from Echo Willow? Haha, that’s funny.]
These disgruntled posts started showing up.
While it was proof of Seong's popularity, it also meant that people could turn on him at any moment.
Those who had been thirsty for Seong’s reaction and appearance now seemed ready to turn against him.
By the fifth day after the event, people were starting to get frustrated.
[ExtremeDamageHunter: Is Rapid Guild not doing anything about this?]
[TopGuildDoctor: What’s going on? Is the Demon King dead??? Why hasn’t he shown up???]
[TakingAFewDaysOff: No response at all? What’s going on?]
[NoCapitalExpert: Don’t know, maybe Seong doesn’t have anything left to post? I’m a bit disappointed, though. Even if he just posts anything, people will like it.]
[ExtremeSwordman: He should really go live again, it’s too much.]
[AntiMage: If the fans want it, isn’t it proper to at least update about his status???]
The public sentiment was turning against Seong.
Not everyone was upset, but a fair number of people were disgruntled.
In this hyperactive era, people expect at least two videos a week, and five days without anything was a long time.
With a few trolls stirring the pot, things only worsened.
Villains and troublemakers had secretly launched an offensive, and many users who had been swayed by them joined in.
As a result, Seong’s reputation wasn’t going in a good direction.
What was he doing to cause this much silence?
When the uproar started, Seong was aware of the public opinion, but he didn’t care much about it.
After all, a dog barking doesn’t stop a train.
Seong knew very well that public opinion was always fickle.
Instead, he smiled peacefully and muttered to himself,
"It ends today. Now, shall I go take the test?"
While people were digging into what Seong was doing, Seong had been training for over five hours every day for the past five days.
And now, he had finally completed the requirements for the Knights’ Hall test.
It was time for him to take the test.