Chapter 11

Chapter 11

Sip...

In one of the gardens of the Imperial Palace, a woman was leisurely enjoying a cup of tea. Her golden hair shone brightly under the sunlight, and her eyes were the color of fresh green leaves.

She quietly set down her teacup and asked the person standing behind her.

“So, how are they this time? These Players have appeared for the first time in decades, so they should be worth looking forward to, right?”

The brown-haired man in armor standing behind her lowered his head slightly before answering.

“...Yes, Your Highness. We still do not know the full details, but there is a rumor spreading among the Players.”

“A rumor?”

“They say there is a monster among them. Since it is only a rumor, there may be some exaggeration... but their accounts are consistent, so it seems fairly credible.”

Her expression remained calm, like still water. After taking another sip of tea, she asked again.

“What did they say his name was?”

“Lee Suhyeok.”

“Lee Suhyeok.... Then my brother's side must have noticed him as well. Have they made any moves?”

“Not yet. However, they will likely make a move soon.”

“That's fine. Contact between us will be unavoidable anyway. Make sure he joins hands with us.”

“As you command, Your Highness.”

Inside a tavern crowded with mercenaries, one man was boldly pouring alcohol down his throat.

“Khh! Yes, this is it. Maybe it's because this really is a medieval tavern, but this stuff goes down smoothly. Don't you agree? Hahaha!”

It was Bong Taesu, a man well known for his love of alcohol.

“Haah, Mister. Everyone's staring at us, so stop overdoing it. You're embarrassing the people with you.”

Taesu shook his head at Lee Yumi, who was staring at him with a pathetic look in her eyes.

“For young ladies like Miss Yumi who still don't understand the taste of alcohol, I suppose it can't be helped. Isn't this one of the true joys of being an adult? If you wish, I can order some apple juice for you.”

“No thanks, okay? Who says I can't drink? Just enjoy yourself all by yourself.”

Taesu emptied the alcohol into his mouth, wiped the foam from his lips, then asked me.

“By the way, Brother, I couldn't even catch sight of you during the Tutorial. Where in the world did you stop by to end up this late? Is it because your clothes changed? Somehow, you look even more impressive than when I first saw you.”

My clothes had become completely ragged, so I changed them while I had the chance. I was now wearing a black shirt and a formal vest. Maybe because I had gained some muscle, I looked quite decent now.

At that moment, Lee Yumi rested her chin on her hand and answered in my place with an uninterested expression.

“Seeing how he suddenly got so many points, he probably went somewhere like a hidden dungeon.”

“......”

I neither denied nor confirmed it. Trusting people too quickly was always an invitation for trouble.

I should change the subject.

“How did the three of you meet? You don't seem to have anything connecting you.”

Taesu ordered another mug of beer from the innkeeper before beginning his story.

“Was it around the fifth floor? We happened to meet while heading toward the central portal. If it weren't for you, Brother, we probably wouldn't even be together like this. I wouldn't be drinking this refreshing beer either. Hahaha!”

Several mugs had already been emptied in an instant. Taesu raised his mug and shouted loudly.

“Innkeeper, one more beer over here! No, make it two!”

“I told you to stop drinking, and you're drinking again. Haah.”

Despite Lee Yumi's complaint, Taesu stubbornly took two more mugs of beer and poured one down his throat. After emptying half the mug, he placed it on the table and continued.

“Burp, so somehow, we kept traveling together. Well, in the end, I think I only suffered even more. They nagged me every single day.”

As he gulped down his alcohol while complaining about his situation, Lee Yumi finally lost her patience and snatched the mug away with a smack!

“...Huh? Hmm? Miss Yumi, please give that back quickly! Hic...!”

“The more I listen, the more ridiculous you sound. You're the one who caused the most trouble, yet you're pretending you had it the hardest. And stop drinking already. How many mugs are you planning to drink by yourself?”

Kim Hyuna also glared at Bong Taesu and joined in.

“We did suffer quite a bit because of you, Mister. When I remember how we told you to keep watch for a moment, only for you to suddenly charge forward and start fighting, forcing all of us into battle... Haah.”

The two let out deep sighs, clearly having a lot of built-up frustration. Taesu instantly sobered up and awkwardly scratched his head.

“...Tsk. Didn't I already apologize for that before? I shall apologize once again. So please, both of you, calm down....”

“Forget it. Wipe the foam from your mouth before saying something like that. I can't find even a speck of sincerity in your apology.”

“Exactly.”

“Hup! H, hahaha... I hadn't thought of that. My apologies. Please, both of you, calm down....”

I had considered Kim Hyuna and Taesu as companions from the beginning. As for Lee Yumi, I had only planned to watch her for the time being. After all, she had shown exceptional adaptability starting from the first floor of the Tutorial.

[ Trait, Bong Taesu ]

• Tough Body (A) Tempering (B)

[ Trait, Lee Yumi ]

• Blessing of Mana (S)

[ Trait, Kim Hyuna ]

• Assassin (S) Shadow Step (A)

Other than Taesu, their Traits are almost excessively good. They've also spent a month fighting together, so their teamwork shouldn't be bad.

“Miss Yumi, can't I have just one more mug? It's been a long time since I've had a drink, so I'm craving a little more....”

“How am I supposed to let someone drink when it's obvious he'll cause trouble afterward? I'd sooner trust a random dog walking down the street.”

“That's too cruel....”

[ Status Window ]

Name: Lee Suhyeok

Age: 28

Level: 22

Stamina: 41

Strength: 40

Agility: 43

Inner Energy: 40 (First-rate)

Mana: 0

Remaining Points: 85

Traits: Trait Plunder (EX) Body and Sword as One (S) Ruler of Madness (S) Synthesis (B) Disguise Artist (B) Orator (B) Crude Dagger Technique (D)

Skills: None

Considering that the average level on the tenth floor was only Level 5, my level was overwhelmingly high. Even my stats were good enough to compare with top Players from the thirtieth floor.

If I invest all my remaining points as well, I'll go even further beyond that. The problem is....

Ever since arriving here, there had been one thing constantly bothering me.

Jang Geonho.

Along with Kim Deokhwan, he was one of Yoo Taeseong's followers.

If there was one unusual thing about him, it was that he had never personally shown himself.

It was the same in this life.

Every time, he stayed behind the scenes, making schemes and interfering with us. He was also the one behind sending Yoo Taeseong to the 81st floor.

Now that Yoo Taeseong was dead, that bastard would have already started searching for another host.

There was roughly one month left before the next floor opened.

I would kill him before then.

That was when it happened.

Bang!

A huge, rough-looking man slammed his hand down on the table. Food and alcohol spilled everywhere across the floor.

Shing.

He pulled a dagger from his waist and spoke in a threatening voice.

“You're damn noisy. Do you even know where you are, making all that noise?”

This tavern was a place where mercenaries celebrated after completing their commissions. Naturally, fights also broke out here quite often.

Most of them started for no real reason.

I could tell just by looking into his eyes.

“Hehehe. Seeing how you've gone quiet, did you get so scared you pissed yourself? Kahahaha!”

Even while speaking to Taesu and me, his eyes remained fixed on the women.

The other mercenaries watching from behind him were also staring at them with lecherous eyes while chuckling.

The expressions on the two women's faces rapidly turned cold.

“I'm in a really good mood today, you see? So I'm willing to let this slide. If you don't want to get beaten for no reason, quietly hand over those women sitting next to you and I...”

Pow!

“Kugh!”

The man collapsed onto the floor with blood pouring from his nose.

Taesu shook out his fist and casually stood up from his seat.

“Should a man really be so obsessed with women? My body was starting to itch for a fight anyway, so this should be good for passing the time. You don't mind, do you, Miss Yumi?”

Lee Yumi glanced down at the fallen man and replied in an annoyed voice.

“...Do whatever you want, Mister. Just don't kill anyone.”

“Khh, then all of you should come at me together! Don't come one by one and get yourselves bloodied for nothing. If none of you want to make the first move, then I'll come to you instead!”

“Kugh! What are you all doing?! A, attack him! All of you!!”

Crash!

Before long, the tavern had turned into complete chaos.

Blades and liquor bottles flew through the air.

“Die!”

Tak!

“How do you expect to hit anyone when you're that slow?”

Taesu grabbed the wrist holding the descending dagger and slammed the mercenary straight into the floor.

BOOM!

A huge fist mark was left on the man's face.

The other mercenaries slowly began backing away.

“Come now, who's next? Hahaha!”

His combat sense itself was good.

There were still a few unnecessary movements here and there, but even considering that, he was impressive.

Whoosh!

An axe came flying through the air.

Just as I considered blocking it, Lee Yumi, who was still calmly sitting in her seat, lightly moved one finger.

Freeze.

The axe stopped in midair, blocked by an invisible force.

With a single gesture from her, it changed direction and flew back the way it had come.

Thunk!

“H, hiiik!”

The axe buried itself into the wall directly between the mercenary's legs.

Shock and fear mixed together on his face.

“Go play with that Mister over there instead of me. Ah, I guess you can't hear me anymore since you've already fainted.”

Foam came from the mercenary's mouth as he fainted on the spot.

The front of his pants slowly became wet.

Clang! Clang! Clack!

“Mister, you don't look too good. Are you okay?”

Kim Hyuna calmly subdued the mercenaries while asking me in a worried voice.

“...I'm fine, so don't worry.”

The moment those words left my mouth, she dealt with the remaining mercenaries without giving them the slightest chance.

She had clearly grown even more compared to when I first saw her.

If we're judging purely by combat ability, excluding me, Kim Hyuna is probably the strongest.

The situation inside the tavern soon settled down.

Taesu dusted off his hands and dragged the unconscious mercenaries into a corner.

“Heave-ho. That really relieved my stress. They talked so big, but they weren't much at all. Hahaha!”

“Hik!”

The tavern owner was crouching in a corner, desperately trying to hide himself.

Taesu approached him as if nothing unusual had happened, bent down, and spoke.

“Innkeeper, sorry about all this. I ended up causing you trouble even though I didn't mean to. Ahem, as an apology, I'll make sure to buy lots of beer from you later. Hahaha!”

“Hiiik! I, it's fi... Ugh.”

“I, Innkeeper...!”

Unable to endure Taesu staring at him from so close, the innkeeper fainted on the spot.

Taesu had no idea that he was the cause, so he scratched the back of his head and looked genuinely worried.

“Hmm, he must have been very tired. The floor must be uncomfortable. I'm worried his face might end up stiff from sleeping there.”

“...Haah. What an idiot.”

Still seated, I quietly looked toward the door.

Clink, clank.

The metallic sounds reaching my ears were getting closer.

BANG!

Someone kicked the door open.

Knights wearing white armor entered.

They formed two straight lines from the doorway, creating a path.

Along that path, someone strode into the tavern.

“Lee Suhyeok.”

He was a knight with brown hair and a scar beside his right eye.

A golden halo crest was engraved on the chest of his armor.

It was the emblem representing the Empire's Second Knight Order.

Mikhail von Agnes.

The First Princess's right-hand man, and the commander of the Empire's Second Knight Order.

I've been waiting.

You've finally shown your face.

“There is someone who wishes to see you personally. Come with us quietly while I'm still asking nicely.”

A fierce killing intent spread throughout the entire room.

The pressure weighed heavily on my shoulders.

His endlessly cold eyes looked down at me.

He clearly intended to take me by force the moment I refused.

Fwish!

Bong Taesu and Kim Hyuna immediately stepped in front of me and prepared for battle.

Using telekinesis, Lee Yumi compressed one of the broken tables lying on the floor, turning its pieces into sharp spikes.

“Seriously, street mercenaries and knights are all the same, aren't they? Do you think you can just drag someone away whenever you feel like it?”

At Lee Yumi's provocation, the knights' eyebrows twitched.

It was a tense situation where a fight could break out at any moment.

I stood up and walked toward the knights.

“Fine. I'll go with you.”

When I agreed without resisting, Taesu looked at me worriedly.

“Brother, if you follow them that easily, then what was the point of us getting ready to fight? More importantly, this doesn't look like they're simply inviting you along. Are you really going to be all right going alone? If you're frightened, I can come with you.”

In complete contrast to him, Lee Yumi casually brought over an undamaged chair, sat down, and answered for me as though it were no big deal.

“Well, seeing how he's following them willingly, he must have something in mind.”

She released her telekinesis.

The wooden fragments floating in the air fell to the floor with a series of clatters.

“Mister....”

Kim Hyuna hesitated for a moment after hearing Lee Yumi's words.

She stared at me for a while before finally lowering her dagger.

“Ahem, Miss Yumi, you're too cold sometimes. Why don't you try having a little... what do you call it, companionship? Like me and Little Sister Hyuna.”

“Who's worrying about who here? He's someone the three of us couldn't beat even if we attacked him together. He'll handle it himself just fine. Besides, he's not someone who'd go down easily in the first place.”

“Well, I can't exactly say you're wrong.... Haah, Little Sister Hyuna, say something to her! She doesn't listen to a single word I say.”

“I'm sure he'll come back soon, just like Unnie said. Right, Mister?”

For a moment, the three of them overlapped with the companions from my past who had once worried about me.

The feelings I had pushed aside for the sake of revenge surfaced again, even if only for a brief moment.

“We don't have any more time to waste. Hurry up and follow me.”

“......Fine.”

I followed Mikhail.

Just before stepping outside, I glanced back.

With a faint smile, I calmly spoke to the three of them.

“Keep training until I get back. Once I return, I'll check how much you've grown.”