The Player Who Stands Above All

Chapter 125

Keong-! Keong-! Keong-!

Dogs, clad in something that looked similar to a turtle's shell as armor all over their bodies.

Several monsters named Turtle Dogs rushed towards Eun Yeonwoo.

Turtle Dogs are difficult monsters to deal with.

The natural armor they possess has the hardness of steel, and since it's literally integrated with their bodies, it doesn't greatly restrict their movements.

Literally, beasts clad in armor.

And Eun Yeonwoo glared at them with coolly shining eyes.

Nowhere in Eun Yeonwoo's eyes was there any fear or dread towards the Turtle Dogs.

No, right now, Eun Yeonwoo's eyes weren't even properly looking at the Turtle Dogs.

What Eun Yeonwoo's eyes were seeing was someone who wasn't here right now.

-What is it, human? Did you come to fight us with arms like those twigs?

-Kuhahaha!!! You're a hotter-blooded fellow than I thought!

-Huhuhu, even though you beat Darchi, that guy is the weakest in our clan.

It was anger towards the orcs who had rolled him over countless times over the past 5 days.

If he hadn't come out of the dungeon today for the reason that he had to earn money, he would have been thoroughly rolled over.

'It's misplaced anger, but it's not like the Turtle Dogs can sue me, so it probably doesn't matter.'

Eun Yeonwoo thought such fluid thoughts and raised his aura.

Dugeun--

The 'Heart,' the organ that converts a person's mental power into aura, pulsed, and aura flowed throughout his entire body like blood flowing through his veins.

His body, which had accepted the aura, was gradually strengthened, and strength entered the hand holding the dagger.

Ten Turtle Dogs in front of him revealed their fangs and rushed at him.

Watching the Turtle Dogs kick off the ground and charge, Eun Yeonwoo used [Acceleration] to extend the one second given to him.

In the slightly extended time, Eun Yeonwoo took a step forward and swung the daggers held in both hands.

If someone else had seen this, they would have laughed at Eun Yeonwoo, calling him a fool.

Because of their unique armor, it was more effective to catch Turtle Dogs using a blunt weapon rather than a bladed one.

But if someone had said that, Eun Yeonwoo would have laughed at that person in return.

Saying, how could you break the armor when it's the part that fetches the best price.

On top of that, Eun Yeonwoo had a way to catch guys like Turtle Dogs.

'Found it.'

From the Turtle Dog that had spread its body wide to bite him, he saw a hair-like gap connecting the armor plates.

Taak-

At that moment, Eun Yeonwoo's figure disappeared.

No, it didn't disappear.

He had just moved away from that spot at an incredible speed.

But that's how it looked to the eyes of the Turtle Dog that had jumped into the air aiming for Eun Yeonwoo's neck.

And that was the last thought the creature had.

Seuk-

The fast-moving dagger accurately pierces the gap between the armor plates.

After that, it was simple.

The flesh behind the hard armor was so soft.

The necks of the Turtle Dogs that had tried to attack Eun Yeonwoo were slit one by one.

In Eun Yeonwoo's movements of slitting the Turtle Dogs' necks, there was no flamboyance of martial arts or splendor of magic.

Just a simple and straightforward line that considered only efficiency.

And that was enough.

A short time of about 10 seconds passed, and the ten Turtle Dogs, unable to overcome their own strength, rolled on the floor.

"Sigh."

Eun Yeonwoo let out a small sigh as he watched them.

'As expected, my fighting style isn't suitable for relieving stress.'

Eun Yeonwoo's ability was undeniably specialized in assassination.

He had been raised that way from the beginning.

Perhaps because he had dealt with the Turtle Dogs too quickly, he didn't feel particularly refreshed.

'Well, I earned money, so it doesn't matter.'

But Eun Yeonwoo was satisfied with that.

From the beginning, Eun Yeonwoo had expected it to be like this before entering the dungeon.

Even the fact that he would feel better after getting money.

Eun Yeonwoo knew himself very well.

'Still, I'd like to try fighting like that at least once.'

Eun Yeonwoo's gaze turned to the slightly short, black-haired man fighting in the distance, Lee Hyunseok.

"Die!!!"

Kwang-! Kwang-! Kwang-!

Lee Hyunseok was smashing the Turtle Dogs, swinging a hammer larger than three human heads combined.

Lee Hyunseok's hammer contained the power and weight to completely shatter the Turtle Dogs' armor.

But that didn't mean Lee Hyunseok's movements were slow.

Hwoong-!

Lee Hyunseok only lifted the hammer at the moment of attack.

Simultaneously with the end of the attack, the hammer changed into another light weapon, so there was no heaviness in Lee Hyunseok's movements.

On top of that, at moments when a sudden stop was needed, he would also stop by changing his weapon, making his movements unpredictable.

"Haaaah~"

Eun Yeonwoo approached Lee Hyunseok, who was letting out a refreshing laugh after relieving his stress to his heart's content.

"Did you relieve your stress?"

"Ahaha… were you watching? As expected, Hyung caught them faster than me."

"The thing I awakened is [Acceleration], so I can't be slower than you."

The two, who were awkward at first, were now quite used to each other and would joke around like this.

While the two were talking, the supporters assigned by [Wonderland] cleaned up the Turtle Dogs' carcasses.

Thanks to the reliable backing of Lee Shin and Cheon Yuhwa, the two had made a mercenary contract with [Wonderland] just like Lee Shin had.

Lee Shin was also still nominally under contract, but in reality, the contract had become meaningless for a long time.

'How did it end up like this? I definitely didn't plan on living this kind of life.'

Eun Yeonwoo fell into thought as he watched the supporters dismantle the Turtle Dogs.

And he was able to easily find the cause.

'It started when I fell for Hyung-nim's sweet talk.'

He couldn't remember exactly what was said, but he clearly remembered the unique ticklish and gut-wrenching feeling of Lee Shin's words even after all this time.

After that, he gradually started moving along with Lee Shin, and his resistance to hunting in dungeons disappeared.

The feeling of money being copied was also ecstatic.

The problem exploded one day when he faced Baek Hyunwoo.

'It was hell.'

The two, who had become mice before the cat named Lee Shin, were rolled over so much that they became familiar with seeing their lives flash before their eyes.

Escaping in the middle was not forgiven.

As if tormenting just the two of them wasn't enough, he later tormented Baek Hyunwoo as well.

Baek Hyunwoo, who at first liked fighting, gradually thought 'Wait? Something's not right?' as time went on, and later, he said he saw his life flash before his eyes just like the two of them.

In terms of skill itself, Baek Hyunwoo was superior, but Lee Shin had the stamina, physical ability, and sharp wit to overturn that.

'And after that, was it the orcs…'

Even in Eun Yeonwoo's own opinion, it was a truly spectacular development process.

He met one of the Ten Kings, received various knowledge, and even received education disguised as a few fights.

On top of that, he was now trading blows with demi-humans, who were still veiled to the general public.

"By the way, I wonder what Hyunwoo is doing right now?"

"I wonder? It's been a while since we last called, so I'm not sure. Maybe he's watching an action manga and imitating it again?"

"That's plausible."

The three of them had become close after Lee Shin disappeared, drinking together and intensely badmouthing Lee Shin.

The fact that all three of them liked fighting manga was a major factor.

As the two were talking, the Turtle Dogs were already packed away in the supporters' bags.

"Then shall we get going?"

Eun Yeonwoo said that and lightly looked up at the sky, spacing out for a moment.

'Honestly, there's no reason to go this far anymore…'

Right now, Eun Yeonwoo knew well that he was strong.

He had already obtained the strength to escape from any situation, which was his initial goal, a long time ago.

But Eun Yeonwoo continued to enter dungeons and strive to become stronger.

Eun Yeonwoo looked at Lee Hyunseok next to him.

Pfft-

'It would feel bad to fall behind this guy.'

That was now the driving force that moved Eun Yeonwoo.

Eun Yeonwoo himself didn't know it well, but it was the same feeling as an older brother not wanting to lose to his younger brother.

Just as they were about to go outside the dungeon.

"Oh, you're out."

Someone called out to them from behind.

The playfulness felt from the voice.

The footsteps that strangely grated on one's nerves.

Eun Yeonwoo knew one person like this.

When that person called out like this, something troublesome would happen.

Eun Yeonwoo just let out a light sigh and smiled lightly, while Lee Hyunseok smiled brightly and waved his hand.

Although they often complained, both of them had already been too deeply influenced by the person named Lee Shin.

"It's been a while, Hyung-nim."

"It has."

Lee Shin looked at the two and smiled widely.

But Eun Yeonwoo and Lee Hyunseok's expressions momentarily hardened.

"Ah, by the way, I brought your friends too, so say hi."

Lee Shin pointed to the two people behind him with his thumb.

"Hi."

A woman with short black hair that swayed like a shadow said in an indifferent tone.

Her puppy-like face, large dazed eyes, and small stature combined to exude an explosive cuteness like a black puppy.

"Nice to meet you."

A woman with hair that was a mix of light sky blue and white, grown down to her waist, said in a cold yet slightly thorny voice.

Her cat-like face, combined with her slightly upturned eyes and the haughty aura she emitted, created a charm like that of a prickly cat.

"Nice to meet you."

"Hello."

The two first greeted them, then looked at Lee Shin with eyes that demanded an explanation of what was going on.

***

First, the five of them moved to Lee Shin's house and heard from him about what had happened in Japan.

"…And so, I took care of [Dawn] and came back. It was fun."

At Lee Shin's story, not only Eun Yeonwoo and Lee Hyunseok but also Alpha and Beta nodded their heads.

The two of them also didn't know how Lee Shin had dealt with the [Dawn] guild house.

Of course, the content was a bit absurd, but considering the usual Lee Shin, it wasn't a story that couldn't be believed.

"So I understand that these two are that Alpha and Beta… but why did you bring them?"

Not in a questioning tone, but a plain tone of pure curiosity.

"Hmm…"

At that, Lee Shin thought for a moment about how to explain, then recalled what Alpha had said while looking at him.

'I want to become stronger. I want to become stronger and stronger, and later, I want to become a person who lives their own life freely like Smile.'

Pfft-

'The expressions on the other guys' faces at that time were a sight to see.'

Beta had an expression of wondering how things had come to this, and Joker glared at Lee Shin with the face of a father whose daughter had been stolen by a bad guy.

"I brought Alpha because I was proud of her for wanting to become stronger, and I just brought Beta because she said she would follow, worried about Alpha."

'Our good Alpha can't be more influenced by you, Smile, so I'm going too.'

'I don't really care, but didn't you say you were going to travel around?'

'It's fine. I don't think you'll just stay in one place doing nothing.'

Beta, recalling the words she had said while holding onto Lee Shin, nodded her head as if in affirmation.

"Now, I have something to do from now on, so you guys play among yourselves. Ah, by the way, you'll have to be together for a while, so you have to get along, okay?"

With those final words, Lee Shin really got up from his seat and walked playfully towards the backyard where the World Dungeon was.

"…"

"…"

"…"

"…"

And a chilling silence surrounded the four.

"Hmm…"

But Eun Yeonwoo didn't particularly care.

Because Eun Yeonwoo had a technique to quickly become friends with the people Lee Shin brought.

"By any chance, did that foolish Hyung-nim do something stupid to you guys too?"

At Eun Yeonwoo's words, Beta's eyes sparkled.

It was an expression that said she couldn't stand it because her mouth was itching to talk.

(End of Chapter)