The Player Who Stands Above All

Chapter 161

"Ughhh…!"

Lee Shin lightly stretched as he watched the sun set over the horizon.

Lee Shin's red hair, as he stretched, swayed in the wind amidst the sunset glow that dyed the sky red, yet it clearly revealed its own red light.

Normally, a vivid blonde that could be recognized even from a distance would have been nestled in that red hair, but now, since the blonde was hidden by the effect of the mask, Lee Shin was boasting pure red hair.

It was one of the functions attached to the mask to hide his identity, just like changing his voice.

"Hoo~ This is the first time I've killed something continuously like this, but it's not as bad as I thought. It wasn't like this until now, was it because the number of guys I killed was insufficient?"

Lee Shin laughed refreshingly behind the mask, enjoying the feeling that the stress he had been accumulating had disappeared a little.

Right now, Lee Shin's body had clearly reached its limit due to the forced march for three days.

But unlike his body, which had reached its limit, his mind was in a better state than at any other time he had experienced in his life.

Because the headache that had been ringing in his head as if it would break his skull had now been reduced to a quarter of a quarter of a quarter of a quarter.

Of course, since the level of the opponents was what it was, he couldn't feel the ecstasy he could feel in a life-or-death battle with an equal opponent, which he usually enjoyed.

But the guy nestled in Lee Shin's chest, perhaps satisfied with having eaten a lot of prey, was quiet for a change.

At that, Lee Shin felt a little disappointed as he touched the choker that had been quiet for a while.

"Seeing as no separate emergency communication is coming in, it seems this was definitely the last one…"

The role of the Ten Kings was to maintain the front line by exterminating the LV.4 monsters that appeared in their respective areas.

And the role Lee Shin had taken on was to deal with the powerful monsters that appeared in areas that the Ten Kings were not in charge of or in remote areas where there were few Players in the first place.

The reason Lee Shin was in Africa right now was also for that reason.

The monsters in the real world don't just wander around in one place and wait nicely like the mobs in a game.

They move as they please, eat other monsters, and absorb the magic stones of the monsters they've eaten, gradually growing stronger.

And when that reaches its peak, they sometimes break through the limits they had and level up.

In other words, Lee Shin's role was to maintain the overall front line and at the same time, to prune the monsters in advance to prevent powerful monsters from appearing.

'Thanks to that, the number of illegal entries I've made today alone easily exceeds a hundred.'

Lee Shin took out the water he had in his inventory, moistened his throat, and looked around for the last time.

On the place that was originally a wasteland, the corpses of numerous monsters were scattered, and the land that was a wasteland was soaked in blood and exuded a fishy smell of blood.

An ordinary person would not have found it strange to clutch their stomach and vomit right away, but Lee Shin was not the type to be bothered by such things.

In the first place, the very act of vomiting at a sight he had created was a ridiculous thing to say.

"It seems there are no magic stones that I've left behind and haven't collected… I want to take a shower too, so shall I go home now."

The front line with the monsters was still being maintained, but it wasn't so urgent that Lee Shin was absolutely necessary.

While contemplating that and tapping his shoulder with [Night Sky].

Kwoooo-!

Urorororo-!

Syaaaa-!

In the distance, several LV.4 monsters that had smelled the blood were seen rushing towards this place from their respective directions.

"Shall I just catch those guys and go back?"

Lee Shin said that and slowly raised his killing intent.

-----!!!!!

At that, the momentum of the guys who had been rushing at Lee Shin was instantly, completely broken.

It was one of the harvests Lee Shin had obtained by killing many monsters in this incident.

ON and OFF.

As the experience of killing something continued to accumulate and the time he spent with his killing intent out grew longer, he was able to handle the killing intent, which he could only turn on and off, more skillfully and naturally.

---!!!

The killing intent that flowed out of Lee Shin dyed the space red and stuck to the monsters.

The killing intent that stuck to them coveted their lives, stroking their necks and thrusting its fangs at their hearts.

-!

At Lee Shin's killing intent, the air also became heavy and pressed down on the monsters.

Tabak-

At that moment, Lee Shin's light footsteps, which did not match the heavy pressure that reminded one of the deep sea, echoed in that space.

Funnily enough, at that moment, the hearts of the monsters, which seemed like they could not be made one by anything, became one.

It was a deeper feeling than what the Players had felt when they had faced the troll in the past.

"Since you're the last ones I'm dealing with, I'll send you off without any particular pain."

It was the fear of an overwhelming predator.

Of course, the front line is still being maintained.

Of course, the dungeon break situation has not completely calmed down.

But since the biggest problem, the continuous occurrence of dungeon breaks, had stopped, all that was left was to get the situation under control.

And that was a level that could be solved sufficiently with the remaining Players.

And so, with the end of taking the monsters' lives, Lee Shin disappeared from the red-soaked wasteland of Africa.

With that, the three days that had been fun for one person, and the three days that had been the longest for the world, ended.

***

-The center of magic, [Mage Tower]! Develops a magic circle that automatically attacks monsters that enter a certain range, centered on the guild!

-The general assembly of black magic, [Sabbat]! Unveils a large-scale curse magic circle that swallows a whole city, drawing out the monsters' power and helping people!

-The cradle of craftsmen, [Meister]! Provides masterpiece-grade equipment, potions, and artifacts for free!

-The noble beast, [Lion]! Hunters who hunt the monsters in reverse!

-Korea's top guild, [Wonderland]! Deals with monsters and at the same time, strives to rescue citizens…

-The pure white angel, [Judgment]! Exterminates monsters and at the same time, heals the wounded…

Simultaneously with the dungeons becoming quiet, various media began to pour out articles as if to raise the hopes of the people.

The appearance of the Ten Kings, who moved quickly within a predetermined range using teleport artifacts and dealt with the LV.4 monsters, gave people the strength to overcome this situation.

While watching the people tenaciously enduring in the half-destroyed city.

"Hah… even after preparing and preparing, is this the extent of the damage…"

Cheon Yuhwa let out a low sigh.

Because even though she had prepared and prepared, she had suffered more damage than she had expected again.

Cheon Yuhwa gave a bitter smile as she saw the donut shop she had frequented destroyed.

"I'm feeling a little depressed for the first time in a while."

She also knew in her head.

That it wasn't that her preparations were insufficient, but simply that the scale of the incident was so large that it had overflowed her hands.

But what her heart felt was different.

In the original future, the second cataclysm had occurred in one day.

Of course, Cheon Yuhwa also knew that the future was already heading in a different direction from her memories.

So instead of naively preparing for just one day, she had made as many preparations as possible.

And what she had created with such effort was this tragic situation.

"How did it increase to three days. Is it the aftereffect of my return to the past…"

If so, would it have been better if I hadn't returned?

A thought that contained only the undiluted solution of emotion, with reason excluded.

She herself knew that it was just self-blame, needing a target to blame.

But Cheon Yuhwa couldn't shake the thought that it was something that had happened because she had returned to the past.

"Huh?"

While Cheon Yuhwa was taking a breather like that, she felt her choker tremble slightly.

Their choker was both a teleport artifact and a marker.

"Oh, you're here."

A marker that helps with long-distance teleportation by telling the other artifact user the teleport coordinates.

Cheon Yuhwa narrowed her eyes as if she had never been depressed, as she looked at Lee Shin, who had appeared, enveloped in the light of teleportation.

"I definitely told you that if you use this function, not only you, but I also can't use the artifact for a while, so you should only use it in an emergency, right?"

"Yes, you did."

"Yes… Knowing that, why did you come here?"

Cheon Yuhwa asked, glaring at Lee Shin with eyes that were suppressing her anger.

"Huh? It seems the situation is starting to get under control, so I was just going to go home, take a shower, and sleep."

At that, Lee Shin answered in a nonchalant voice.

"Are you saying that now, you bastard?!"

Cheon Yuhwa's accumulated anger exploded, and she shouted.

If it were the original Cheon Yuhwa, she wouldn't have shouted so sincerely and gotten annoyed at Lee Shin.

But because various factors had combined, her head was complicated and her heart was pounding, so she had poured out her emotions at Lee Shin.

"Huh? What's wrong all of a sudden?"

But even if Cheon Yuhwa shouted like that, Lee Shin was not scared or took a hint.

"What do you mean, what's wrong all of a sudden! The dungeons that were appearing in the sky have disappeared, and the breaks have also quieted down, but monsters are still wandering around here and there in the city! There are also seriously injured people all over the city, so what are you trying to do by doing this!"

At Lee Shin's nonchalant appearance, Cheon Yuhwa couldn't overcome her own anger and shouted, pouring out her annoyance like a child who was getting angry for the first time.

"Are you a chuunibyou?"

And that was the first thing Lee Shin said after hearing Cheon Yuhwa's words.

"Die!!!"

And that was what Cheon Yuhwa shouted as she swung her fist after hearing Lee Shin's words.

Taak-

It was a fist of a speed that an ordinary Player would not have been able to block, let alone dodge properly, but Lee Shin deflected Cheon Yuhwa's attack by lightly moving his hand.

"Why are you getting annoyed? I was just asking out of pure curiosity, not to tease you."

"Don't be ridiculous! If you're going to say that, at least say it with a straight face! You're smiling with such an annoying face and you're telling me to believe you!"

At Cheon Yuhwa's words, Lee Shin pointed at his own smiling mouth with his finger and said annoyingly.

"This?"

Pajik-!

At Lee Shin's words, Cheon Yuhwa glared at him as if she would swing her fist at any moment.

At that, Lee Shin shrugged his shoulders.

It wouldn't be bad to fight Cheon Yuhwa once in this state, but… he decided to just endure it for today.

Since it was a day when his head was refreshed for a change, he felt like talking rather than fighting.

"I don't think you like being called a chuunibyou, so what should I call you instead…"

"This bastard, really!"

At Lee Shin's words, Cheon Yuhwa's eyes lit up, but Lee Shin opened his mouth faster than she could swing her fist again.

"Protagonist syndrome? Or should I say hero syndrome?"

"What did you say?"

Lee Shin said with a sly smile, looking at Cheon Yuhwa's face.

"Ah, well, I understand. You must have been so excited to have returned to the past from the future. You might think you're the protagonist of the world and have to save the world and help people. But…"

Lee Shin said that and looked at Cheon Yuhwa.

"If you keep thinking like that and can't see the dream and reality properly, you'll be crushed by the things you're thinking about and die."

Because you're not the protagonist, and you're not a hero.

Lee Shin's curved eyes, as he stared at Cheon Yuhwa, were saying that.

(End of Chapter)