0.
Shhhhhhhh.
The sound of steam escaping echoed softly as Seong emerged from his capsule.
Although he wasn’t drenched in sweat like the days he spent training in the Knights’ Hall, he still looked just as exhausted.
Spending long hours in the game naturally took its toll.
“Phew.”
Stretching lightly, Seong stepped out of the capsule. Then, as if he’d suddenly remembered something, a thought crossed his mind.
"I forgot to send the video."
He hadn’t streamed live since it wasn’t a raid, but a video of him invading the labyrinth should still make for interesting content.
So, he sent the video file to Rapid—or rather, to An Yoo-jin.
With the capsule’s built-in transmission feature, it was a simple task.
After sending the file, Seong casually shot Yoo-jin a quick text, mentioning it was footage of the labyrinth invasion.
Hunger gnawed at him after playing for so long, so he wandered into the living room, intending to grab something to eat.
Just as he was about to decide what to eat, his mother, Lee Na-gyeong, stepped out of the master bedroom, dressed to the nines.
What’s going on?
Seong tilted his head in curiosity as Na-gyeong spoke brightly, as if pleased he’d come out at just the right time.
“Oh, Seong, your dad and I are heading out. Want to come along?”
“...What?”
Another one of their couple’s gatherings?
The memory of the high-end restaurant they went to last time made his mouth water, but then the thought of meeting Kim Che-geon—whose real name was Clara—quickly dampened his appetite.
“Um, no, I think I’ll rest today.”
“Is that so? Then let Mina know, alright?”
Watching his mother rush out the door, Seong thought to himself that his father’s work must really be keeping him busy.
With his parents gone, Seong turned his attention to his phone, scrolling through a delivery app.
"Hmm..."
Ordering delivery was convenient, and the food was decent, but...
Eating at home again just didn’t appeal to him.
After being cooped up in the house for so long while training in the Knights’ Hall, he wanted a change of scenery.
"Should I eat out?"
The thought of a friend who’d recently contacted him came to mind.
They’d said they were finally discharged from military service too.
Not a university friend, but someone he’d known since middle school.
It seemed like a good opportunity to catch up.
With that in mind, Seong dialed their number.
The call was answered almost immediately.
“Yo! Seong! What’s the occasion?”
“I heard you got discharged. Let’s grab a meal or something.”
“A meal? A meaaaal? Nope, I’m not coming unless there’s alcohol involved.”
Still the same guy.
Chuckling to himself, Seong nodded and replied, “Fine, let’s drink.”
“Oh? For real? Alright then, see you at the three-way intersection in ten minutes!”
“Got it.”
Ending the call, Seong couldn’t help but smile.
Talking with friends on the phone was always simple and straightforward.
After a quick rinse to freshen up, he considered whether it was even necessary to dress up just to meet this guy.
Deciding against it, he threw on something casual and headed out.
When it’s just guys meeting up, this is the rule of thumb, he thought with amusement.
Even without much effort, Seong’s clean-cut appearance—thanks to having showered after lunch—made him look remarkably put-together.
In fact, his naturally handsome features made even his casual attire look stylish.
Shortly after Seong left the house, his sister, Yu Mina, emerged from her capsule.
“Huh? Mom? Dad? Seong?”
Finding the house empty, she scratched her cheek in confusion.
Where’d everyone go?
1.
Those with arrogance reaching the heavens are harder to break than one might expect.
After all, such arrogance is often built on a foundation of exceptional ability.
It typically takes someone even greater to shatter their confidence.
However, in the case of Takamiya Kyo, the situation was different.
Overwhelming talent.
In Eternal World, his abilities were unmatched, bordering on legendary.
If anything, only the top-ranked singles in the game could hope to compete with him.
It wasn’t arrogance without reason; it was arrogance backed by incomparable skill.
Combined with his unrelenting work ethic, Kyo’s pride rarely faltered.
His arrogance was even bolstered by those around him who idolized and praised him.
Breaking such self-assurance was no easy feat.
And yet now...
“...”
He sat silently outside his capsule, knees pulled to his chest, his mind adrift.
Why had he lost?
Though young and arrogant, Kyo had one terrifying trait: the habit of reviewing even his smallest mistakes.
And that was what he was doing now.
“...”
The battle with the Demon King’s servant.
Fiora’s overwhelming strength and talent.
As Kyo replayed the fight in his mind, dissecting every detail, something unusual happened.
No matter how much he analyzed...
"I can’t see it."
He couldn’t envision himself winning.
It hadn’t been the Demon King, but merely one of their servants.
And yet, even as a Stormlord—a class of Almighty rank—he had been defeated.
A class hailed as the pinnacle of Eternal World, wielded by someone of his unmatched talent, had been bested.
By a servant of the Demon King, not even a fellow Almighty rank.
"What the hell is this?"
Kyo couldn’t comprehend it.
Was he weak?
No.
Looking back, he had been in peak condition. Even against three fresh Legendary-ranked players, he would’ve been confident of victory.
And yet, he’d lost.
Which could only mean one thing: the servant wielded by the Demon King was superior to him.
And if that was the case, there was only one course of action for Kyo.
"Admit it."
Whether the Demon King was of the same rank as him or higher didn’t matter.
He had lost.
Utterly and completely.
Someone as arrogant as Kyo might typically spiral into despair upon facing such a crushing defeat.
In fact, the moment Fiora’s blade had struck his neck, he had indeed been consumed by despair.
But now, having confronted himself and the reality of his loss, something had changed.
His warped arrogance was gone, replaced by a singular goal.
And so...
"I’ll join their guild."
The Rapid Guild.
No matter the cost.
He would join the guild where the Demon King resided.
And one day...
"I’ll defeat the Demon King."
Of course, before that...
"I’ll have to beat that servant first."
They were supposedly the weakest.
He would start there.
2.
Life as an office worker is exhausting.
The kind of life where, after work, you consider finding something fun to do, only to realize you’re too drained and end up repeating the same cycle: home, work, home, work.
But there exists an even more exhausting life.
What kind of life is that?
The life of a guild master.
An Yoo-jin practically launched herself out of her capsule, landing face-first on her bed with a tired groan.
“Ughhh...”
At least office workers get the weekends off.
But as a guild master? Even weekends demand work.
She longed for a proper break, just a few days to herself, but that was never an option.
Still, the past few days had been relatively peaceful.
Seong had been quiet for five whole days, after all.
The public opinion?
Sure, she could address it, manipulate it if necessary. The Rapid Guild had more than enough power to turn the tide of public sentiment.
But that would cost money.
She preferred to save where she could, knowing that the public opinion would shift on its own eventually.
Why waste resources unnecessarily?
Finally, feeling like she could relax, Yoo-jin sprawled out on her bed.
And just then, as if summoned by some unseen force, a message from Seong lit up her phone.
“Ughhh...”
She wanted to ignore it, just to rest for a little while.
But with Seong being the hottest topic in the guild right now, ignoring him wasn’t an option.
Reluctantly, Yoo-jin opened her phone to check the message.
"A video?"
The attached file was massive, piquing her curiosity.
When she played it, the footage began with an aerial shot of the labyrinth in the Dune Wild Trail.
The framing and cinematic quality of the video were impressive, immediately drawing her in.
As she watched, the Demon King’s army stormed through the labyrinth.
Monsters were trampled and killed, leaving a trail of death and destruction in their wake.
The level of polish in the video was astounding, and Yoo-jin couldn’t help but close her eyes briefly, letting out a soft sigh.
“Sigh...”
With footage this incredible, how could she possibly relax?
She needed to edit it immediately.
Dragging herself out of bed, Yoo-jin headed for her computer, but before she could sit down, the video shifted scenes.
A familiar figure appeared.
“Wait, is that Kyo?”
As the guild master of the third-ranked guild, Yoo-jin was well-acquainted with Kyo.
She even knew there was a high likelihood that Kyo held an Almighty-tier class.
"He ran into Kyo here?"
Yoo-jin’s interest was fully piqued as she watched with eager anticipation, curious to see how Seong would handle the situation.
Then, out of nowhere, one of Seong’s adorable subordinates appeared on screen.
It was Fiora.
As Fiora approached Kyo, a thunderbird swooped in to attack her, only for her to cut it down effortlessly in one swift motion.
Yoo-jin straightened in her chair, her eyes widening.
No matter how casual Kyo’s attack was, the fact that a subordinate could dispatch it so easily was shocking.
"What the hell is this?"
The video continued, showing Fiora utterly overwhelming Kyo in battle.
And then, as if nothing had happened, she resumed the attack on the labyrinth.
It was a perfect video.
Not only did it feature Kyo—a big name—but the fact that Seong’s subordinate, not even Seong himself, had defeated him was incredible.
Finally, the video ended with the army clearing a path for Seong, bowing their heads as they opened the way for him.
Yoo-jin shivered with excitement.
"This is insane. Absolutely insane."
You couldn’t script something like this even if you tried.
How did Seong always manage to deliver such incredible, unintentional drama?
He truly had the talent of a Demon King.
The problem was...
"Isn’t there anyone in the guild who’s good at editing videos like this?"
The lack of skilled editors capable of handling footage of this caliber was a serious issue.
With no other choice, she’d have to do it herself.
Just as she resigned herself to starting the edits, an unexpected email notification popped up.
[Subject: Guild Master, you need to see this.]
The sender was none other than Rysil, the guild’s personnel officer.
"Why is she emailing me this late?"
Opening the email, Yoo-jin quickly realized it was urgent.
[Guild Application - Kyo]
Kyo, the so-called “Rookie Slayer,” had submitted a guild application.
What in the world...
"What the..."
She wanted to say something, but words failed her.
Listed on the application was Kyo’s status screen, confirming that his class was indeed Almighty-tier.
Updated from freewёbnoνel.com.
A guild application from Kyо—who was currently wanted by most guilds in the Dune Wild Trail.
Her head throbbed.
"This is escalating faster than I expected."
Why did everyone who got crushed by Seong end up applying to join the guild?
At least Mayrin and Kurosawa Ren had been easy enough to handle, but...
"What am I supposed to do with this guy?"
Kyo was a different matter entirely.
But as an Almighty-tier, rejecting him wasn’t an option.
If they accepted him, the Rapid Guild would have three Almighty-tier members, just like the second-ranked guild.
Ignoring the potential was out of the question, even if it meant dealing with the guilds that had issued bounties on Kyo.
The one silver lining was that Kyo had no additional demands.
Just one condition:
“Sigh...”
To have a chance to face Seong again in the future.
No signing bonuses, no demands for salary—he’d left it all up to the guild.
He was serious.
Financially, this wasn’t a loss. In fact, it was a huge gain.
The only problem was the extra work it would create.
"Well, what can you do?"
Sighing, Yoo-jin replied to Rysil, instructing her to approve the application and handle the necessary arrangements.
Though Rysil didn’t seem thrilled about it, she replied quickly:
[Rysil: I suppose... It has to be done, right? Sigh. I’ll do my best to manage him.]
[Yoo-jin: Thank you.]
[Rysil: No, really. I know you’re working hard too, Guild Master.]
Even Rysil was offering words of comfort, something she rarely did.
It was clear how much work this was going to involve.
And so, despite it being late into the weekend night, Yoo-jin had no choice but to continue working.