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Chapter 25: The Chosen Ones (1)

—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 tense silence filled the chamber. My skin stung as if the air were charged with electricity. Only the Inquisitor’s remained unaffected.

“Excuse me,” he said, his cheerful tone unchanged, “but are you talking about Mr. Kim Gong-Ja?”

“Exactly,” the Sword Star answered. “If you won’t move, I’ll take one of your arms.”

The corners of the Inquisitor’s mouth rose slightly. “Now that’s quite a problem! I can’t move out of your way right now. Mr. Kim earned the recognition of not only my Pantheon but also the rest of the Five Guilds!”

“Young man, you really have no attachment to your arm, do you.”

“That’s a bit of a problem too! I still need both of my arms for a variety of purposes.” The Inquisitor tilted his head and smiled. “Can you tell me why you’re after Mr. Kim?”

“I have no obligation to do that.”

“Is there no way to make you give up?”

“No, there isn’t. Just get out of my way already,” the Sword Star demanded.

Yes, the Sword Star didn’t know about my Skill, so from his perspective, I was a butcherer who had killed over four thousand people. I could understand his reaction.

“I’ll tell you again. I’m going to kill him.”

“Hmm! Then I guess there’s no other choice.” The Inquisitor pressed his hands together. “I’ll have to subdue you here. Divine Formula: Teleportation.”

Just then, a flash of light behind the Sword Star introduced two more Hunters to the scene: the Viper of the OJP Sect and the Paladin, the assistant leader of the Watchmen League. Both Hunters, well-known for their skills in close combat, let out a shout and swung their weapons at the Sword Star.

“You flies...” The Sword Star clicked his tongue, and immediately launched his first attack. It only took two aura strikes for the Paladin’s cheek to be scratched and the Viper to end up with a cut in his arm. Everything happened in a flash.

“Y-you’re a monster, old man! What in the hell do they feed you! Why are you still so energetic?! Get old already! Retire! Because of people like you, young people like me can’t shine!” the Viper spitefully screamed.

“You’re already over forty, too,” the Sword Star scoffed. “In the eyes of truly young people, you’re also old.”

“Don’t be ridiculous! Forty is still the prime of life. Actually, it’s the true beginning of li—”

“Mr. Viper, you are old! And you look old too!”

“Is that damn preacher really on the same side as me?”

“Phew.” The Paladin sighed. “Focus on the opponent in front of you, Mr. Viper. We’re already at a disadvantage here.”

She didn’t drop her guard. If anything, she was only growing more wary. The Inquisitor, the Viper, and the Paladin—no less than three High Rankers—were surrounding the Sword Star, but he continued to stand tall.

“We definitely are,” the Inquisitor agreed. He turned to his reinforcements, beaming. “Miss Countess!”

“What?”

“Please give me some money!”

“How much do you need?”

“Fortunately, the Sword Star hasn’t gone mad. Subduing him for a moment will suffice. I’ll need ten thousand gold, please!”

The Countess drew her fan. “The compound interest will be fifteen percent. You can make monthly payments. I won’t ask for interest in the first three months. Does that sound okay to you?”

“Hahaha! You misunderstood me! I didn’t ask you to lend me money. I asked you to give me some money.”

“Huh? Are you forcing a donation out of a merchant?”

“That’s right! You made that money with foul deeds anyway. Donate it in the Pantheon. I’ll put it to good use, and you can go to heaven!”

“You’re a worse robber than me...” The Countess shook her head but pulled out a pouch decorated with a snail pattern. She untied the golden string around the pouch’s mouth. “Withdraw ten thousand gold.”

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. ☜