The Player Who Stands Above All

Chapter 107

“Hmm, I was about half-convinced it would be like that, but hearing it from the person themselves gives me a new feeling."

Lee Shin looked at Cheon Yuhwa with eyes as if looking at a rare creature.

Cheon Yuhwa, meeting Lee Shin's gaze which naturally provoked irritation, sighed softly and touched her forehead.

'Was the problem when we first met?'

Cheon Yuhwa wondered if she had acted too knowledgeable when they first met, thinking she needed to draw Lee Shin's curiosity.

However, she soon concluded that such a performance was necessary.

If she hadn't made such a strong impression to draw his curiosity, Lee Shin would not have had any interest in this side of things at all.

If so, Lee Shin would have lived a life of wandering here and there as he pleased, just as he did in the future.

'And he would have gone around causing various incidents and accidents in different parts of the world.'

This was not a guess.

It was a certainty that only someone who had seen the future could have.

Cheon Yuhwa still remembered the words Lee Shin had said in the past and the shock those words had given her.

-Huh? Oh, that time? It's just that sometimes you use expressions like that, right? Slicing a mountain with a single swing of the sword. Something like that.

-Actually, the reason I went to Japan was just to eat sushi. But while I was there, I was reading a manga and got a little curious. Whether I could really slice a mountain or not.

-So I tried it as a test, but it was harder than I thought.

This was the reason Cheon Yuhwa had heard for why Mt. Fuji, a symbol of Japan, was half-destroyed.

It was an answer that made her head spin just thinking about it again.

The problem was that this wasn't the only thing that came out of Lee Shin's mouth.

Lee Shin had literally traveled to various parts of the world and caused all sorts of incidents there.

Literally to a level where one's jaw would drop and not close.

That's why Cheon Yuhwa could nod her head confidently.

Even if it meant leaking a few clues, turning Lee Shin's interest this way was definitely the right answer.

'Haa, even though I leaked a few hints, normally one wouldn't reach this conclusion with just that.'

If there was one miscalculation in Cheon Yuhwa's plan, it was this.

Lee Shin's thought process was operating in a much more abnormal way than Cheon Yuhwa had expected.

Anyway…….

"Why did you ask if I came back from the future?"

At Cheon Yuhwa's words, Lee Shin scratched his cheek and said.

"Hmm? I just said it without much thought."

"……What?"

Cheon Yuhwa asked back, dumbfounded.

"I was just curious if that's something that usually happens... and if I had to give a reason, I guess the timing was right to talk about it."

"Haa."

Cheon Yuhwa brought a hand to her forehead, her head aching.

If someone else had said this, Cheon Yuhwa would have thought it was a lie.

However, Cheon Yuhwa knew that Lee Shin's answer was the whole truth, without a single lie.

'This guy was always like this.'

He wasn't empty-headed and thoughtless, yet he always acted as his instincts dictated rather than reason.

Then again, at other times, he would suddenly act completely rationally, making him too hard to predict.

Watching Cheon Yuhwa, who was feeling a small headache, Lee Shin smiled brightly.

He felt refreshed now that what he had only been guessing at was revealed to be true.

"Well, this is great. I was running out of things to talk about over drinks anyway. Is there anything interesting that happens in the future?"

"What, should I tell you the lottery numbers or something?"

"Oh, you know them?"

As Lee Shin asked with his eyes shining, Cheon Yuhwa let out a light sigh.

"No, I also died suddenly and regressed, you know? Do you think there's a fool in this world who goes around memorizing lottery numbers?"

"Was it 15, 23, 33, 01, 40, and 30?"

"……You crazy bastard."

"Ahaha! I just said whatever came to mind, so don't look at me like that."

Lee Shin waved his hand dismissively and then asked Cheon Yuhwa.

"Hmm~ It seems like you don't want to talk about the future, so how about we get to the main point now?"

"The main point?"

At Cheon Yuhwa's words, Lee Shin nodded his head.

"Yeah, didn't you come to see me because you had a favor to ask?"

"……How did you know that?"

As Cheon Yuhwa stared at him as if dumbfounded, Lee Shin smiled lightly.

"You and I aren't close enough to meet and chat for no reason, are we? Well, it feels like you're the one who unilaterally finds me awkward."

"Deal with it. It's because of the things your future self did."

At Cheon Yuhwa's annoyed words, Lee Shin nodded his head.

"Hmm, now that you put it that way, I have no choice but to accept it. Anyway, hearing that you, who finds me awkward, would come all the way here yourself, I just thought something must be up."

At Lee Shin's words, Cheon Yuhwa clicked her tongue softly.

"Tsk, if I knew you already found out, I would have just stated the main point instead of playing along."

"Well, what does it matter. Come to think of it, this is the first time we've talked like this, right? Thanks to that, we've become people who share a secret."

Cheon Yuhwa looked at Lee Shin with annoyance and said.

"Haa, well, fine. It's not the way I planned, but now that you know I'm a regressor, it'll be easier to explain."

Cheon Yuhwa, as if she had no intention of dragging it out, went straight to the main point of the story.

"[Dwan], you know it well, right?"

"Hmm, well, I got involved with them somehow, so I know a certain amount."

Lee Shin thought this was just the right answer.

He didn't know the details, but he had clashed with the members below a few times and had heard a rough explanation about them.

"To briefly talk about the guys I know... I remember them feeling like secret public officials under the guise of a guild, under the influence of the Japanese government. Should I say 007?"

"It's a bit vague, but you know the core of it correctly."

Cheon Yuhwa nodded once and supplemented Lee Shin's words.

"[Dwan] is indeed an organization that receives the protection of the Japanese government. In addition to the government's protection, it's steadily growing by sucking up capital from the yakuza in the shadows."

"Hmm? The government and the yakuza? Is that even possible?"

Lee Shin's question was valid.

Thinking with common sense, there was no way the government, which should be catching criminals, and the yakuza, who make a living by committing crimes, would join forces to create a single organization.

It was something that completely surpassed the level of turning a blind eye to each other's corruption or holding hands for a moment as they usually did.

"First, let me explain this part. [Dwan] is more accurately described as super soldiers created for war, rather than national secret agents like 007."

"What's the difference?"

Cheon Yuhwa calmly recalled the past and said.

"That's right, those guys existed even before the dungeons appeared. It's just that the function of 'player' was added to them."

At Cheon Yuhwa's words, Lee Shin fell into thought for a moment.

"Hmm, super soldiers. Should I think of it as something like Captain America or Iron Man?"

"It would be more accurate to take out Iron Man and put in Spider-Man. It's like creating an armed force by adding knowledge to the irrational power of a player and arming them with advanced science, technology, and items."

Lee Shin smiled and nodded his head.

The smell of an interesting incident was wafting strongly.

"Alright, I understand what kind of organization [Dwan] is. So?"

"Next is their objective. The purpose of creating those guys by forming an organization called [Dwan]."

"Hmm, well. To put it simply, aren't they just trying to flex their power in the world to come?"

"No. They've gone one step further than that."

Cheon Yuhwa said, thinking of [Dwan] as if they were pathetic.

"Those guys, they have the absurd idea of starting a war in a world that continues to be chaotic, and then conquering the world."

"War? World conquest?"

At Cheon Yuhwa's words, Lee Shin's two eyes began to sparkle.

"Yes, [Dwan] is an organization created around the absurd idea that Japan can rise through war, worshiping war."

Cheon Yuhwa conveyed the story in the most summarized way possible.

"The initial government seems to have invested with the thought of needing to build up military power anyway, but as time passed, their internal thinking changed. Now, their heads are filled with the thought of directly starting a war, not just defending the country in one."

"Hmm, if that's the case, it makes sense that the yakuza are cooperating. They smelled money in the word 'war' and decided to join forces, huh?"

"That's right. They decided to create a single organization for their mutual benefit."

"……."

Cheon Yuhwa, watching the thoughtful Lee Shin, frowned with a 'snap!'.

"I can see clearly what you're thinking, so immediately get rid of the thought, 'Wouldn't it be fun if a war broke out?'"

At Cheon Yuhwa's words, Lee Shin was flustered for the first time and said.

"Huh? How did you know?"

"By looking at your expression."

It was a half-hearted answer, but that was all.

In the future, Cheon Yuhwa often handled matters together with Lee Shin.

Naturally, the time spent talking with Lee Shin grew longer, and this was one of the useless abilities she gained in the process.

'It's hard to predict what he's thinking, but it's simple enough to read his expression and guess what he's thinking.'

On top of that, the future Lee Shin was more skilled at hiding his expressions than the current Lee Shin, so in Cheon Yuhwa's eyes, she could see right through what the current Lee Shin was thinking.

Cheon Yuhwa confirmed that the keyword 'war' had disappeared from Lee Shin's face, then continued speaking.

"Now, getting to the main point, I have a favor to ask."

"It's a favor I can roughly guess, but I'll hear you out, so go ahead and say it."

"I'm going to end [Dwan], so help me out a bit."

"That's exactly what I thought you'd say."

At Cheon Yuhwa's words, Lee Shin crossed his arms and legs, and lifted his chin slightly.

It was a look that perfectly matched the word 'arrogance'.

"So? Why should I help you guys? I'll say this in advance, I was a little interested before and got involved, but now I'm not particularly interested in it, you know? That one orc in there is more interesting than a hundred average players."

Smirk-

"I suppose so."

"Hmm?"

Lee Shin stopped talking at Cheon Yuhwa's unexpected reaction.

Cheon Yuhwa smiled brightly at Lee Shin.

Cheon Yuhwa's smile contained the meaning, 'Let's see how long you can hold out.'

"The number of [Dwan] members confirmed so far, approximately ten thousand. All of them are veteran warriors who have received various kinds of training."

"Hmm?"

"Those warriors are not only armed with the highest-grade items but are also armed with state-of-the-art equipment that surpasses imagination."

"Hmm?"

With every word Cheon Yuhwa spoke, an image was imprinted in Lee Shin's mind.

Confirming this, Cheon Yuhwa continued to speak.

"The place where the battle takes place is the enemy's heart, the city streets. The sensation of diving into a situation where bullets rain down like hail. The sensation of savoring the absolute numerical difference of many versus few, 10,000 to 1, all by yourself."

Gulp-

Lee Shin unknowingly swallowed the saliva that had pooled in his mouth.

Seeing that, Cheon Yuhwa smiled confidently.

"Doesn't your heart pound?"

At Cheon Yuhwa's words, Lee Shin pondered.

As time passes, stronger monsters will appear.

As for strong players, there are ten of them, including the one right in front of him.

However, the fight Cheon Yuhwa just described is irreplaceable.

A fight between an individual and a nation was not something that could be easily created.

At that moment, Cheon Yuhwa delivered the finishing blow.

"For your information, you'd better throw away any hopeful thoughts that there will be another chance later. Right now, the genre is modern fantasy, but in a little while, it will cross over to apocalyptic fantasy."

"……Sigh."

Lee Shin let out a small sigh.

He was happy that he had gotten one over on her after meeting for the first time in a while, but he had ended up getting hit back just the same.

However, he didn't feel particularly bad.

"Alright, I'll help you."

And so, Lee Shin accepted Cheon Yuhwa's proposal with a smiling face.

(End of Chapter)