CH 77

The Iron Guild sent three armed elite teams to Korea to form a branch. Each group had 100 players who were at least semi-rankers or higher. A ranker led each group, and Rogers Han controlled the three rankers.

Back then, Rogers was just a semi-ranker; now, his strength had grown by folds thanks to a new item. Gi-Gyu’s current goal was to prevent the three teams from teaming up against him.  

The three guilds currently helping Gi-Gyu have never worked together before. On the other hand, Iron Guild’s three teams should’ve trained together countless times. Defeating them as a single team would be much harder. Just like their name, the Iron Guild became stronger together. 

Sun-Pil and Dong-Hae’s guilds were working together to battle the first team, the Cain Guild was dealing with the second team, Gi-Gyu’s undead were crushing the third team, and Hart and the durahan were gradually cornering Rogers Han. 

“I guess this is where Sun-Pil’s guild is fighting.” Gi-Gyu caressed Bi’s mane to change the direction. 

“Bi! I need you to be a little faster.” When Gi-Gyu gently urged, Bi growled, “Grrr!” The newly born Bi seemed excited to obey. He used Grant to endow his Ego with an Ego fragment. 

Gi-Gyu murmured, “If I had known better, I would have granted it to Hermes.”

-There is no point in regretting your decision now.

“I know that,” Gi-Gyu grumbled. Still, he couldn’t help but wonder what he could’ve gained had he incorporated Chang-Gyung into Hermes, a simple pair of shoes. But, all in all, the final result of his decision wasn’t half bad. After all, he now had access to greater abilities and new skills. 

Gi-Gyu held on to Bi’s mane with one hand and brought up the wolf’s status screen.

[Bi]

[Level 81]

[Power: 77]

[Speed: 102]

[Stamina: 91]

[Magic: 98]

[-Abilities-]

[Accessory]

[Can transform into its monster form.]

[Can increase magic recovery speed.]

[Wound aggravation: Can delay healing of an enemy’s wounds.]

[Bleeding: Can increase the bleeding of an enemy’s wounds.]

[Elemental Fire: Can turn its body into flame.]

[Elemental Water: Can turn its body into water.]

[Elemental Dark: Can turn its body into darkness.]

“It’s so amazing,” Gi-Gyu murmured in pleasure, beyond satisfied. After seeing the gains from the incorporation, Gi-Gyu tried to incorporate Choi Min-Suk into another Ego. However, it failed, and Gi-Gyu realized that only Egos with similar characteristics could be combined. “I’ll have plenty of time for all this later,” Gi-Gyu said, knowing this wasn’t the time to be distracted. 

He grasped Bi harder and decided, “It’s raining right now, so I think I should use one of your new skills now.” 

With an excited smile, Gi-Gyu shouted, “Elemental water!” Suddenly, Bi’s four paws turned into a giant water drop and assimilated with the rain. Then, the wolf ran in the air, stepping on water droplets, like a missile, and within seconds, Gi-Gyu arrived at his destination.

***

“Ice Sword!” Dong-Hae shouted as he swung his weapon. Albescent frost covered his sword quickly; it brought his opponents’ body temperature down on contact. Once his opponents slowed down, Dong-Hae killed them easily. 

“This is crazy,” Dong-Hae murmured as he looked around to kill another of his enemies. 

Boom!

Behind him, countless more explosions rang, making it apparent the Iron Guild mages were detonating their explosion skills. 

“Sun-Pil!” Dong-Hae shouted while Sun-Pil was busy fighting an Iron Guild player with his close friends, Jae-Won and Ha-Neul. “Yes, Hyung!” 

Suddenly, their opponent asked, “Is this how Korea welcomes her guests?” 

“Dammit… Why did Chalemont have to be our enemy today?!” muttered Sun-Pil.

Dressed in full-body armor and a helmet straight out of the Middle Ages, Chalemont was the giant man leading one of the three teams. When Chalemont asked in an accusing tone, Sun-Pil replied in perfect English. “I’m sorry about this.” 

Chalemont swung his weapon and murmured, “I can’t believe you’re attacking the Iron Guild by inventing a fake gate break… No, maybe there really is a gate break here?” The last claim was supported by the undead roaming around them and attacking Chalemont’s players. 

The Morningstar and the Child guilds weren’t enough to deal with the Iron Guild’s team; they only survived because of the summoned undead. 

Chalemont turned his sword like a windmill as he whispered, “To control these monsters like this… You must have an incredibly powerful player on your side.” Every time his sword rotated, a pressured gale would force Sun-Pil back. So, Sun-Pil threw his dagger at Chalemont and dove behind Jae-Won, who slammed his giant shield on the ground and shouted, “Earth Shield!”

Suddenly, concrete began to climb Jae-Won’s shield to create an even larger shield. When Chalemont stopped swinging his sword, Sun-Pil knocked his arrow and waited.

Clunk!

Seconds later, Chalemont’s sword crushed through the concrete shield and split it into two. 

Crack!

Through the split shield, Sun-Pil shot his arrows. Chalemont murmured in annoyance, “Idiots. You will all be dead very soon. The other team leaders must be aware of what is happening here by now. They must be on their way here by now.” 

Jae-Won shouted in frustration, “Why is Hyung so late?”

“What are you talking about? Dong-Hae hyung is over there fighting three players right now!” When Sun-Pil replied, Jae-Won exclaimed, “No, not Dong-Hae hyung!” 

They were the weakest force in this whole area, so they should’ve gotten reinforcement by now. And that reinforcement would be…

“Ah…! Don’t worry! He’s here!” Sun-Pil shouted in elation. Everyone seemed confused by the statement until a booming sound struck their ears. The Iron Guild members nearby warned Chalemont, “Boss! Watch out!”

When Chalemont turned around, he whispered in shock, “T-this is…!” He could feel a terrifying aura aiming for his head, so he raised his sword high and shouted, “Iron…!” He was about to use his last and the greatest skill, but before he could activate it, something fell on top of him.

Stab!

“Sorry, I’m late.”

Gi-Gyu landed on top of Chalemont as he plunged Lou and El. His Egos pierced through his sword and armor to stab Chalemont’s shoulders. Lou successfully stabbed Chalemont’s heart as his head slumped without a word. 

[Cannibalism is being activated.]

“Bi, take care of the rest,” Gi-Gyu ordered. 

“Grrrr…” Bi turned into water again and swept away the enemies. The Iron Guild members could do little to injure Bi in his water form, so they just focused on maintaining their formation. Thanks to the wolf, the Morningstar and the Child guilds could finally breathe a little. 

[Player Chalemont is being egofied.]

Sun-Pil shouted, “Gi-Gyu hyung! Why are you so late! We’re fine, so go help Dong-Hae hyung!”

“Got it!” Gi-Gyu answered and turned around. He had already noticed that Kim Dong-Hae was tackling several Iron guild members alone to help the other players. He was so focused that he didn’t even notice Gi-Gyu’s arrival. 

“Haaaa!” Dong-Hae screamed as he fought three Iron Guild players. He announced, “Ice Blast!” Suddenly, a loud ice explosion took place, one big enough to engulf Dong-Hae himself. 

[The egofication of Player Chalemont has failed.]

[Player Chalemont’s fragment has been absorbed.]

“Accelerate! Accelerate!” When Gi-Gyu roared, he seemed to have turned into a flash of light.  In the nick of time, he grabbed Dong-Hae and rolled away from the explosion. His face pale, Dong-Hae shouted, “W-what took you so long?!”

Dong-Hae was well aware his ice blast was a suicidal move since this skill required him to have a certain amount of safe distance. However, he didn’t notice Gi-Gyu’s arrival and was being pressured by the three Iron Guild members, so he decided to die with them rather than die alone.

Reading Dong-Hae’s thoughts, Gi-Gyu grinned and replied, “Don’t worry! I won’t forget what you did for me today.” Gi-Gyu placed Dong-Hae on the ground and began to run toward his next target.

***

The news channels went wild with what was happening in the Yeoksam-dong.

-Yeoksam-dong is currently in a sea of fire. 

-Another gate break has occurred. The association announced that the Iron Guild is currently fighting off the monsters while the Cain and the Morningstar guilds are helping out. 

-After his recent, first public appearance, President Oh Tae-Gu is currently at the site to protect the rest of the city. He has placed a barrier and has ordered his agents to kill any monsters that escape it.

-The general manager of the Department of Gate Maintenance is also on site.

The Iron Guild was about to officially establish its branch, but the gate break threw the nation into turmoil. Since Yeoksam-dong was under a barrier, the media tried to make the best of what they knew.

The news impressed many.

“Oh my god!” 

“The Iron Guild is indeed the savior of the world!” 

“The Iron Guild players are risking their lives to save Korea on their very first day.” 

The tale of the Iron Guild players’ “selfless sacrifice” drew abundant encouragement, love, and gratitude from the Korean population. After all, Gangnam, where Yeoksam-dong was located, was considered one of the safe areas. So, how could they not praise the heroes helping the KPA with this unexpected gate break? 

But, of course, not everyone believed the story they heard on TV. 

“Ridiculous,” the Hephaestus Guild’s guild master smirked. The Hephaestus Guild was one of the top ten guilds in Korea. Its office happened to be located in Yeoksam-dong. The guild master muttered, “I never expected the association to do something like this.”

Yeoksam-dong was the Hephaestus Guild’s territory, yet the KPA asked them to step back. All the other guilds in the area were also asked to step back with their offers to help cruelly rejected. For the first time in history, the association president and a general manager were on-site to control an area. 

“Any guild master can tell that something is very wrong here.” The Hephaestus Guild’s master drank his beer as his body trembled in anger. Even his full beard shook as he watched the news. 

“This situation doesn’t make any sense,” the guild master murmured. Sadly, even he didn’t have the power to break through the security protocol set by the association to see what was really going on. 

Choi Chang-Yong, the guild master of another top ten Korean guild, Blue Dragon Guild, replied, “Unless the Angela Guild puts a stop to this, we won’t have any choice but to let it go.” Contrary to his kind face, Choi Chang-Yong was filled with rage at the moment. Their guilds couldn’t oppose the association, which angered him to no end. 

Currently, all the guild masters of the top ten Korean guilds, except Suk-Woo of the Cain Guild, were gathered in an office for an emergency meeting. All the powerful guild masters looked to one man at the head of the table. 

“Hmm…” The young man had a pale face and seemed contemplative. He looked barely out of his teenage years, but everyone in the room respected and feared him. After all, only this young man could disobey the association. 

One of the guild masters asked respectfully, “I would like to hear what you think, Guild Master Lee Sun-Ho.” 

The guild master of the Angela Guild—Lee Sun-Ho—smiled. 

***

“We made the right choice. I knew it.” Dong-Hae tapped Sun-Pil’s shoulders and announced. Everyone around them, including Jaewon and the members of the Morningstar and the Child guilds, all nodded in agreement. 

Sun-Pil slowly replied, “Gi-Gyu hyung is so amazing.”

Before, they were all hesitant; now that the battle was nearing its end, they now knew they had made the right decision. As they gathered together, they saw the skeleton soldiers walking around, stabbing any surviving Iron Guild members on the ground. This was necessary to keep today’s affair a secret. 

The deputy guild masters of the Morningstar and the Child guilds walked up to Sun-Pil and Dong-Hae as they announced, “To be honest, we doubted your choices a little at first. We even thought you were crazy to come here.”

The Child Guild players were especially against the idea at the beginning. Even during the fight, they screamed several times that they should turn back. This was expected since they couldn’t see victory even with the Morningstar Guild’s help. 

“Frankly, we would’ve died if things continued to go the way they did,” Sun-Pil murmured. Thanks to Gi-Gyu, the worst didn’t come to pass, and they won, with a few casualties, though. 

The friendlies turned toward the site of an active battle. Fire, ice, and rain mixed into one in that area: Gi-Gyu was there helping the Cain Guild. Dong-Hae announced, “We should help the injured return home, but afterward, we should go and join Gi-Gyu.”

Gi-Gyu told them they could leave now, but no one seemed ready to retreat just yet. Every player firmly believed that the battle ahead would bring them huge rewards.