novelraw Chapter 59 : Chapter 59
Chapter 59 : Chapter 59
Chapter 59: The First Mission (3)
“Haha, it is a pleasure to meet you like this. My name is Oh Deok-pal! I am twenty-six years old, so feel free to think of me as your big brother.”
The burly man, who had arrived right in front of Ryu Jin-oh and me before I knew it, introduced himself immediately. Matching his rustic way of speaking and simple impression, he seemed to have an outstandingly sociable personality.
However, I could not simply laugh off the latter half of his introduction.
‘It is one thing for his name to sound old-fashioned, but he is twenty-six?’
Without a single lie, when I first saw him, I thought he was a veteran who had spent over ten years in the player industry. At the very youngest, he looked to be in his mid-to-late thirties; if I just looked at him as he was, his face was unmistakably that of someone in their forties.
It was not just that he looked old for his age, but the fact that the top of his head was slightly thinning felt like the finishing touch. Furthermore, seeing Ryu Jin-oh’s eyes widen the moment he heard Oh Deok-pal’s introduction, it seemed I was not the only one who thought so.
However, since I was clearly aware that it would be rude, I kept my thoughts to myself and offered a greeting without showing any signs of surprise.
“Hello. My name is Choi Yu-seong. This is Ryu Jin-oh beside me.”
“Right, right! Mister Yu-seong and Mister Jin-oh. Are you not the outstanding talents of Glory!”
“Thank you for the kind words.”
Even though it had not been long since we met, the atmosphere was quite warm. Of course, Ryu Jin-oh glared at me as if he did not like the fact that I had introduced him as well, but this was unavoidable.
If Ryu Jin-oh, whose social skills converged toward zero, had opened his mouth, it was certain that such a warm atmosphere would never have been created.
While we were chatting and moving past minor issues, Oh Deok-pal finally brought up the topic of the mission.
“My, Mister Yu-seong is truly a good person. I will make sure to protect you well even if a problem occurs during the mission, so do not worry! Of course, that will not happen, haha!!”
“Thank you. However, we have not heard anything about the mission yet. Could you perhaps explain it to us?”
“Ah! Come to think of it, the Guildmaster told me to explain the mission myself. I completely forgot about it.”
Seeing a hint of clumsiness in Oh Deok-pal’s words made me feel uneasy, but he must be someone whose skills are trustworthy. Cha Yu-na would not have sent someone who lacked skill, and in the first place, it was impossible for a player in the Horizon Guild to be incompetent.
…That was likely the case, right?
I decided to believe firmly that it was so and listened to the explanation Oh Deok-pal gave along with Ryu Jin-oh.
“First of all, although the mission is listed as Villain Hunting, we do not know for sure if the targets are villains.”
“Pardon? What does that mean?”
“Mister Yu-seong, you are a cadet at Glory, so you know well about Gate Crimes, do you not?”
“Ah.”
Gate Crimes.
With that one word, I could understand what Oh Deok-pal meant when he said he did not know for sure. And I also realized exactly what kind of mission Ryu Jin-oh and I would be undertaking.
“Then we will be entering a Gate.”
“Exactly! My, Mister Yu-seong, you understand ten things when I only tell you one.”
“Not at all. It is a fact that anyone would know upon hearing about Gate Crimes.”
I was not being humble; it was the truth. It was certain that any Glory cadet would immediately understand the situation upon hearing the term "Gate Crime."
‘They are likely suspected of being criminals—no, they are almost certainly criminals—but there is no definitive evidence.’
Crimes that occur within a Gate are among the most difficult to catch. It is a crime where one forms a party, enters a Gate, kills everyone inside, disguises it as an accident, and then takes the loot.
Naturally, only the parties involved who were in that Gate know what happened inside. There are no CCTV cameras inside a Gate, and even if someone brought a camera, the villain would have destroyed it if they were mixed in, so how could anyone gather evidence?
Therefore, catching crimes that occur inside a Gate is an extremely difficult task.
‘But that is only the case for those who are satisfied with doing it once.’
The people who manage these incidents from above are not fools. It meant they have the ability to catch parts that look strange. If a certain individual moves between various parties but keeps coming back alive alone while experiencing the same Gate accidents? That is a suspicious circumstance that anyone would notice.
Those who commit Gate Crimes despite knowing that are usually one of two types.
‘They are either mindless fools or people who have immense confidence in their own skills.’
As I mentioned earlier, a Gate Crime is not caught if everyone is killed. For someone confident in their skills, it means that even if personnel are deployed because of a suspicion of Gate Crime, it is fine as long as they kill everyone and come out.
I did not know which category the people we would face today belonged to, but considering Cha Yu-na’s personality, it seemed it would not be an easy mission.
“Then, may I hear a bit about the individuals suspected of being villains?”
“Hmm. First of all, they are a duo. One is an archer, and the other is a warrior who uses a shield and a sword.”
“I see.”
One rearguard and one vanguard.
Considering they move as a pair, it was a good combination for PK (Player Killing). It meant they intended to cover both offense and defense in case of an emergency.
“Ah! Come to think of it, I have not told you that yet. The Gate we will be entering is C-Rank, and the targets are registered as B-Rank.”
At Oh Deok-pal’s words, which sounded like he was hurriedly mentioning something he had forgotten, I unknowingly frowned.
‘B-Rank? I did not expect this at all.’
B-Rank. In a way, it might seem like a very low rank. Considering the players I had associated with, it was a certain fact that a B-Rank was undoubtedly as weak as dirt compared to them.
However, that was because the people I associated with were extraordinary, not because I was extraordinary. Furthermore.
‘Considering I have to use only the talents that will not be caught… it will be a close call.’
For me, there were many talents I could use, but most of them were things I could not use openly. Since I was not moving alone, using Im Seong-cheol’s Blue Flame or Shin Yu-hwan’s Black Spear was out of the question.
Assuming that, I wondered if this mission might be a bit of a close call when considering Ryu Jin-oh’s and my combat power. Although Ryu Jin-oh will become an incredible player who will have a strong influence on the world later, he is still only a seventeen-year-old young cadet.
‘Thinking about it this way, the title of a thorough calculative person was not given for nothing.’
It was truly surprising how she managed to match us with a mission at such a precarious level.
I was shuddering at Cha Yu-na’s scheme(?) when Oh Deok-pal, perhaps thinking I was scared after seeing my expression, patted my shoulder as if to reassure me and offered encouragement.
“There is no need to worry that much. Although the Guildmaster has a bit of a cruel personality, she is not the type of person to throw a mission that cannot be done.”
“Yes….”
“And what is there to worry about when I am here! It is embarrassing to say it myself, but I am someone capable of protecting people of your level. Haha!”
“Thank you.”
I was actually shuddering at Cha Yu-na’s ability to select missions rather than being worried, but I was grateful that he spoke to me that way. To be honest, it was not that I had zero anxiety.
I did not care if I got hurt, but I could never tolerate seeing my precious hero get hurt.
Oh Deok-pal smiled like a benevolent neighborhood uncle at my thanks and finally explained the strategy to us.
“Looking at the time, it seems it is about time for those two to arrive, so I will briefly explain the strategy.”
“I will listen carefully.”
“Haha! Thank you. First of all, we will focus only on clearing the Gate at the beginning, so you must not do anything suspicious. Gate Crimes happen when we are checking the rewards.”
“…….”
“At that time, I will pretend to let my guard down to take the reward first, and then they will likely target me first. Then, I will pretend to fall helplessly to their attack, and you two just have to fight.”
“Ah….”
“I would love to finish off those villains along with you, but the Guildmaster told me not to step in unless it is a dangerous situation.”
Of course.
In the first place, this was a mission given to increase our skills, so if a member of the Horizon Guild stepped in, it would be over in an instant.
By the way, seeing that face frown while using the expression "finish them off" felt a bit scary….
“Lastly, your setting is that you are C-Rank rookies who have just recently become players. There is not much else, but this is about it. Do you all understand?”
“Yes. I have fully understood it.”
Ryu Jin-oh did not say anything specific, but he nodded, showing that he understood Oh Deok-pal’s strategy.
After finishing all the talk with Oh Deok-pal, Ryu Jin-oh and I were checking our equipment and making thorough preparations when it happened.
“Ah! You were all here. It took a long time to find you because there are so many people. I am sorry it seems we are the only ones late.”
One man was running toward us from afar with a bright smile, and one woman was following closely behind him. Seeing him smile while trying to melt away the tension reminded me of Yu-hyeon’s behavior.
‘Still, Yu-hyeon is at least a useful guy.’
Whether it be Yu-hyeon or these people, they are all social evils from the world's perspective, but it is different for me. Yu-hyeon at least acts for the sake of Ha Eun-ha, and he does not show such an extremely atrocious side toward players who are not civilians.
Besides, he also takes care of me… Absolutely do not misunderstand, this is not the main reason.
‘But these people are just pure trash.’
A mishap in a Gate could lead to a Gate Outbreak, yet they commit crimes without caring about such things. They deserved to die ten thousand times.
However, as Oh Deok-pal had said earlier, I could not do anything suspicious, so I spoke to the two with a kind smile.
“Haha, not at all. It is just that we arrived early. You are not late at all, so you do not have to worry.”
“I see. Still, I am truly sorry for arriving exactly on time. Something came up on the way.”
Something came up, my foot.
They probably spent their time planning how to finish the three of us off.
“There are always unexpected situations.”
“My. I do not know what to do with myself when you say that.”
The man in front of me and I exchanged various formal remarks while showing each other bright smiles. To anyone who did not know our inner thoughts, it would look like we were on very good terms.
However, Ryu Jin-oh, who knew both of our inner thoughts, had a look of disgust on his face. Our conversation came to an end because of Oh Deok-pal, who intervened with a subtle expression.
“Well, the time seems to be tight, so why don't we enter the Gate first? I do not think anyone here is not busy.”
“Ah! I was late, yet I talked too much. Let us do that.”
“Good. Then let us all focus on the Gate for now.”
The situation was settled by Oh Deok-pal’s clean words. Thus, we began to slowly walk toward the Gate along with the two prospective villains who had joined late.
As I moved among them, I suddenly thought of Kim Su-hyeok’s group.
‘Come to think of it, I wonder if they are doing well?’
It was a standard Gate clearing mission rather than a special mission like Villain Hunting, but it was true that I was worried. It meant that heroes were moving in a place where I could not see them.
However, that worry was soon wiped away.
‘I have my own problems to worry about; why am I worrying about others?’
Besides, Cha Yu-na was following them. So, I just needed to complete this mission well with Ryu Jin-oh.
‘So, let us do our best.’
It was the first mission I was undertaking, and I was going on it with Ryu Jin-oh. It was a historic day that would deserve a few lines in an autobiography later. Therefore, I encouraged myself to do well and stepped into the shimmering Gate.