Chapter 25: The Chosen Ones (1)

Chapter 25: The Chosen Ones (1)

—Hey, hold up. Gramps Marcus is one of the top ten champions, so you all are teleported to the twelfth floor, he’ll lose it as soon as he sees you and attack. How are you going to deal with that? the Guardian asked as the light around me became brighter.

Don’t worry. It’s fine. The worst thing that can happen is I die.

—Kim Zombie, you... The Guardian’s eyebrows twitched, which was a sign that he was about to start nagging.

Oops.

I’m saying that it’s fine because I have a plan, I quickly added. I’m Kim Gong-Ja. The Sword Emperor-certified weasel! Trust me on this.

—You really have a plan?

Of course! It’s concrete. I’ll show you soon.

—Ahem. The Guardian crossed his arms, unsure of my answer.

Whether he liked it or not, it was already too late. The teleportation of the top ten champions had already begun, and I had no way of escaping this light. I had to face the Sword Star and deal with whatever future was waiting for me. I closed my eyes.

[The teleportation has been completed.]

When I opened my eyes again, I was already on the twelfth floor. It was completely different from the eleventh floor. While the eleventh floor was the intense, messy battlefield where people fought for their very lives, the twelfth floor was the luxurious palace of the Aegim Empire.

...No. I looked around. I guess imperial politics is as intense and messy as an actual war.

The other top ten champions were teleported to the palace’s audience chamber one after another. I had never met some of them, but most of them, like the Black Witch and Countess, I had met yesterday. They were the leaders of the major guilds for a reason.

“Oh?”

“Hmmm.”

My eyes met those of the other Hunters. Each reacted differently. Some gave me a bright smile as if they knew I would be here first, but there were other Hunters who frowned. Evidently, they had not expected me to take first place again.

“Mr. Kim, that was marvelous!” the Inquisitor exclaimed. He was a clear case of the former. “I had fun watching your brilliant performance on the eleventh floor! I never thought about using NPCs like that. I was impressed!”

With his small stature, he looked like a puppy as he came running to me.

“Is the sword on your belt a special item? I noticed that the NPCs began to follow your lead the moment after they saw it. Is it your reward for clearing the tenth floor?”

“Well, yeah...”

“I knew it!” The Inquisitor looked up at me, brimming with positivity. “You used the reward from the tenth floor to achieve the greatest results on the eleventh floor. You’re pretty resourceful, aren’t you!”

“Ummm, well, it’s not that special...”

“People will be jealous of you, Mr. Kim. They’ll treat you like a Hunter who just got lucky, but ignore them all! All your achievements are built on your skills!”

Is he an angel? I wondered.

—Hey, Kim Zombie! Idiot! the Guardian yelled all of a sudden. His voice was urgent, different from his usual teasing tone. Be careful! Behind you...!

Before the guardian could finish speaking, an incident broke out. The first one to react was the Inquisitor.

“Hmm.” His smile vanished for the first time and his eyes narrowed. He pulled on my wrist, causing me to lose balance and stumble a step toward him, allowing him to push me behind him and take my original position.

“Divine Formula: Carnal Body.”

I heard a loud clang of metal hitting something hard. It wasn’t some random piece of metal—it was a sword, swung with the clear intention to kill.

“Haha.” The Inquisitor laughed, but his eyes were cold. “This is a surprise, Sword Star. When did you change your occupation to assassin?”

“Move,” the Sword Star coldly commanded. The senior gentleman in a suit was pointing his long sword at the Inquisitor and me. No, I was wrong. He was only pointing it at me.

“I’m going to kill him.”

A small fortune of gold coins poured out. The pouch was probably a very rare item. Once the Countess had made a steep hill of cold coins, she closed her pouch.

“Here you go, Mr. Priest. It’s exactly ten thousand gold.”

“Well received!” The Inquisitor clapped his hands together, smiling as always. “Divine Formula: Devotion!”

The pile of gold shone brightly, its light filling the chamber. The Inquisitor, positioned in the center, moved his hands swiftly.

“Divinity Transfer: Physical Enhancement; targets, the Paladin and the Viper. Duration is three hundred seconds for both targets. The gold will never leave your hands. The Divine Formula Incantation is completed!”

Inexplicably, the gold vanished without a trace. In exchange, the Paladin and the Viper shone with the same kind of light that the gold coins had. It resembled aura.

“Now.” The Inquisitor spread his arms. “The Paladin and the Viper are going to be significantly stronger for the next three hundred seconds, Sword Star! You’re strong, but you’re dealing with me, the Countess, the Paladin, and the Viper. It’ll be difficult to withstand attacks from all four of us!

“Besides, the Countess’s safe isn’t empty yet. Haha! To be honest, I don’t think that day will ever come! I encourage you to test it out! Which one will happen first? Will the Countess go broke first? Or will you lose your head?”

The Countess pouted. “Why are you putting my innocent safe on the line? I just made a donation because a priest asked for one. Phew. It’s so hard to be an honest merchant in the Tower and outside...”

The Black Witch, the Rank 2 Hunter and the Black Dragon Guild leader, looked at the Sword Star.

“...Let me add that you will have to deal with more than four of them,” she announced in a cold voice. “I will fight you with them. Mr. Kim Gong-Ja and the Five Guilds have made an official treaty with all of the guild leaders present.”

The Sword Star frowned. “A treaty, you say?”

The Black Witch nodded. “Yes, that’s what I said. Mr. Kim joined all the Five Guilds. In return, we promised to treat him as equal to us, Sword Star. If you’re pointing your sword at him, it’s the same as attacking all of us. And by ‘we,’ I’m talking about the Five Guilds.” The Black Witch pulled out a handful of mirrors. “The Black Dragon Guild, the MA, the Pantheon, the OJP Sect, and the Watchmen League.”

One, two, three... A total of six mirrors floated around the Black Witch like hounds trying to protect their master.

“Can you really handle all of us, Sword Star?” she asked.

All five Hunters leveled their weapons at the Sword Star.

Yes, even if the Sword Star is formidable, he isn’t strong enough to make all Five Guilds his enemies, I thought.

It was for this moment that I had made the treaty with the guild leaders.

The day I would become stronger than the Sword Star might come someday—no, I was going to make it happen. However, it wasn’t going to happen today or tomorrow, which meant that I needed a solution until that day came.

I suppressed a smile. Do you remember what I said on the eleventh floor?

—What?

There are two ways to deal with a powerful enemy.

Either become a one-man army or build an army of my own.

The Sword Star is a solo player.

But I was different.

On the other hand, I already have allies.

That was why I would win a fight against the Sword Star every time, at least right now.

See? This is my plan. Applause, please.

—Tsk, tsk. Do you really have to prove you’re a weasel every time...? The Guardian sighed. However, he didn’t look too upset. He seemed quite satisfied with the fact that I had actually come to the twelfth floor with a working plan. The ghost may not show it, but he worried about me a lot.

“Mr. Sword Star.” I took a step forward, catching the attention of all the Hunters in the audience chamber. I looked straight into his eyes and offered him a composed smile. “Can we talk for a moment?”

Listen up. Gongja is talking.[1]

1. Gongja is Confucius in Korean. It’s said that Confucius liked to talk with people because it was a chance to gain new wisdom. ☜