The Player Who Stands Above All

Chapter 17

Kim Jae-hyun asked, looking at Cheon Yuhwa's expression through the rearview mirror.

"Is this enough?"

"Hmm, this is just about right."

Cheon Yuhwa said, staring blankly at the scenery flowing past the window.

"I asked him to join the guild to make transactions a bit easier at first, but if he had really tried to join, I would have had to stop him. This distance is just right."

"Is it that much?"

At Kim Jae-hyun's words, a deep annoyance rose on Cheon Yuhwa's face.

"Hoo~ Yeah, that guy is literally a walking bomb. This distance, where we can profit from his actions while not being responsible for them, is the best."

Cheon Yuhwa, satisfied with the result, looked at Kim Jae-hyun.

"What are the team leaders doing now?"

"When I received the report, I heard they were busy hunting in a dungeon. They were probably stimulated by hearing that you cleared a boss room so easily."

"They're all talented people."

At Cheon Yuhwa's words, Kim Jae-hyun looked at her with a "you're one to talk" gaze, but she returned the gaze with a "what can I do" expression.

"By the way, how are things with the guild progressing?"

"Yes, the preparation of the research facility for monsters and the recruitment of people are finished. Now, all that's left is to start buying monster carcasses in earnest and begin the research."

Nom-

"How is the guild member recruitment going?"

"For now, we're planning for just about 50 people, a number we can handle. After they finish basic training, they will be assigned to their respective team leaders."

"Alright, and prepare some items for them before they enter the dungeons."

Cheon Yuhwa asked, rolling the candy around in her mouth with her tongue.

"How are the other guilds?"

"Many guilds are being created, but as expected, most of them are struggling to establish themselves by just handling monsters."

"Are they still trying to clear dungeons?"

"Yes, it's a sure way to raise their reputation and quickly secure hard-to-get items."

Cheon Yuhwa continued to ask Kim Jae-hyun a few more things, learning about the current events one by one.

Then, Kim Jae-hyun asked her.

"By the way, I don't remember seeing Lee Shin...nim in the game, and I can't think of anyone who fits the description. How strong is he?"

Cheon Yuhwa, who had been answering Kim Jae-hyun's questions about Lee Shin without hesitation until now, hesitated to answer for the first time.

"Hmm, honestly, I don't know what that guy was doing in the game either. I asked him once out of curiosity, but he didn't tell me."

"Then is he at the Thousand or Hundred level?"

"No."

Cheon Yuhwa shook her head firmly.

At that, Kim Jae-hyun let it go.

It was easy to misunderstand since all five team leaders in their guild were Thousand-rankers, but a Thousand-ranker was respected by countless players.

Being a Thousand-ranker meant being one of the top thousand talents among thirty billion players.

If he were such a talent, there would have been rumors about him in the game somehow, but there was nothing like that about Lee Shin.

'Well, even if he's not on the same level as the team leaders, seeing how the young miss clung to him, he must be a person with abilities in some area.'

As Kim Jae-hyun was vaguely coming to that conclusion, Cheon Yuhwa continued.

"Even if you combine all five team leaders, it's not nearly enough."

"......Excuse me?"

Kim Jae-hyun was flustered by Cheon Yuhwa's unexpected words and blurted out without realizing it.

That's how unrealistic her words were.

"Then are you saying he's at the Hundred level?"

"No, he's a guy who even puts the Hundred-level below him."

"......"

Adak-

Cheon Yuhwa said, biting down on her candy.

"That guy is the only one who suddenly appeared out of nowhere and rose to a position equal to ours. Even the other guys, though they didn't like him, acknowledged his skills."

"Those other guys, are you perhaps talking about..."

"Yes."

Cheon Yuhwa nodded lightly and said.

"I'm talking about the ten people who were at the very top of the rankings, just like me."

***

Lee Shin looked over the contract Cheon Yuhwa had left behind while moderately stuffing food into his stomach.

He had a feeling he had been hooked by her, but even after checking the contract, there was nothing written that was particularly disadvantageous to him.

"No, far from being disadvantageous, these are actually quite generous terms."

Lee Shin, who had even searched the internet for information, finally evaluated it as such, stared at the contract and business card, then put them down again.

'It's a good contract, and since the choice is on my side, there's no need to decide right away.'

Deciding to decide whether to do it or not later, Lee Shin focused on his meal and finished the food that had been filling the table in just 30 minutes.

After finishing all the food, he moved toward the bed in that state.

"Ah, I'm sleepy......"

Honestly, although he had somehow managed to come to his senses, come home, and have a conversation, his body had reached its limit.

Even though he had recovered and become stronger, he had continuously pushed his weak body.

No matter how much he had eliminated his wounds and raised his stats through [Recovery], the previous damage did not completely disappear.

'Should I keep an IV drip at home from now on......'

With that last thought, Lee Shin slowly drifted off to sleep and threw himself onto the bed.

Before his body even touched the bed, he lost consciousness and fell asleep, and at the same time he lost consciousness, [Recovery] began its role.

Ppudeuk- Ppudeudeuk-

The process of making a human stronger is very simple.

A repetition of the process of destroying oneself and the process of recovering oneself.

Of course, as there are limits to a human's physical abilities, destroying one's body should not exceed one's recovery ability.

But Lee Shin had [Recovery].

Although it was a shabby normal-grade skill, it was enough to allow him to exceed human abilities.

His exhausted body and mind rested and adapted to the changed body.

***

Swoosh-

Cheon Yuhwa looked at her hand and muttered inwardly.

'It's a dream.'

Cheon Yuhwa calmly accepted that fact.

After returning from the future to the past, the dreams she had continuously had were of this kind of nightmare.

Thanks to that, even sleep, which came as a sweet rest to many people, was not a rest for her, but she didn't care.

This dream also had its useful aspects.

'I wonder which one it will be today.'

Even while thinking so, she tried to move her hand just in case, but it was impossible.

Her hand, as if frozen solid, showed no sign of moving.

It wasn't just her hand.

Her arms, her legs, not even a single eyeball moved according to her will.

The current Cheon Yuhwa was just an audience member watching a video of the past, not an actor on that stage.

Therefore, instead of trying to move her body, she focused on the scene unfolding before her eyes to engrave it in her memory.

Just then, the Cheon Yuhwa in her memory also moved her head.

The place she was in was a beach.

But it wasn't a particularly peaceful atmosphere.

On the contrary, the tension of the gathered people and the stiff atmosphere were suffocating.

'Ah, it's that time.'

Seeing that, Cheon Yuhwa could recognize which creature would appear in this memory.

The Cheon Yuhwa in her memory passed through the gaps between the tense people, walked toward the beach, and looked at it.

Faintly, but beyond the foggy sea, the outline of something huge could be seen.

And as time passed, other people also slowly noticed the existence of what was coming from beyond and turned their heads toward where she was looking.

Gulp-

Someone swallowed unconsciously, and someone else let out a dry laugh and said.

"Haha...... I've seen it in videos and pictures, but... can such a creature really exist?"

A beast of the earth that trampled mountains and shattered the ground.

A great monster of a size that transcended common sense, fitting the word 'overwhelming', a size that could not be completely hidden even while crossing the sea.

Behemoth was slowly approaching them.

The closer Behemoth came, the more the sea churned violently, as if it would overflow like water in a bathtub, and the size of the waves grew larger and larger.

And when Behemoth finally appeared through the fog, the players were trapped in its shadow, looking up at it.

Ppuooooo-!!!

The monster raised its trunk, similar to an elephant's, high and roared so loudly that the sky trembled.

The sound was so loud that the clouds in the sky were startled and fled to another place.

What Behemoth had just done was not an attack.

It was a primitive action to overwhelm the opponent's spirit by instinct.

And yet, some of the players, pained by the sound Behemoth made, covered their ears and screamed.

Some severe cases even had their insides shaken, and were bleeding from the mouth.

Thwack-

'I thought I shouldn't let this go on.'

Cheon Yuhwa and a few other players rushed toward the monster.

The monster, also seeing the players approaching it, swung its raised trunk.

The sole audience of it all, Cheon Yuhwa, silently watched the memory of that day unfolding before her eyes and engraved it in her mind.

The fight continued for an incredibly long time.

The players continuously chipped away at the monster, and the monster continuously broke down the players who tried to rally.

In the scene of destruction where the ground shattered and the sea overturned, the players attacked in their own ways, and the monster slaughtered them.

In the midst of it, scattering light, Cheon Yuhwa danced.

***

"Haa... haa..."

Waking from her sleep, Cheon Yuhwa slowly regulated her breathing, opened her eyes, and looked around.

It seemed she had dozed off in the car on the way back after her conversation with Lee Shin.

'Well, I have been pushing myself too hard recently.'

Cheon Yuhwa muttered, then let out a small sigh in discomfort.

Her whole body was drenched in a cold sweat.

Swoosh-

As Cheon Yuhwa was slowly regulating her breathing, Kim Jae-hyun handed her a pre-prepared water and towel.

"If you hadn't told me not to wake you when you were sleeping, I would have woken you up a long time ago."

Cheon Yuhwa took them, drank the water, and smiled faintly.

"Good job. If you had woken me up, I would have just slept even more fitfully."

"I'm still not sure if this can be called proper sleep..."

Kim Jae-hyun muttered with a sigh, looking at Cheon Yuhwa, and she avoided answering with a smile.

Seeing her like that, Kim Jae-hyun put a hand to his forehead, feeling a headache.

"I get it, so at least take a shower at the guild and come out. You smell."

"Your attitude toward me since you were a child has been very..."

Cheon Yuhwa grumbled, but she obediently followed Kim Jae-hyun's words and got out of the car.

And Kim Jae-hyun, who had been watching her for a moment, let out the sigh he had been holding in after confirming that she had completely disappeared.

"Haa, it wasn't like she lived a leisurely life before, but she didn't live a life of such a forced march like now..."

She had always been in good shape from constant exercise, and although her level had risen after awakening as a player, sleeping only about an hour every two days was too much.

And even the dream she had while sleeping for an hour a day was a nightmare.

"If I had my way, I'd just lock her in an empty room and tell her to rest, but I can't do that either."

He could somehow handle the internal affairs of the guild.

But Kim Jae-hyun knew well that that was not a fundamental solution.

The reason she was pushing herself this hard and not even trying to sleep well was to gain the power to overcome the anxiety about the future, the desperate future she had spoken of.

But he didn't have the power to reassure her.

"At the very least, finishing the guild's work on my end and recruiting more skilled players is the best I can do for now."

Thinking of adding personal training to that, a murderous schedule no less than Cheon Yuhwa's was created, but Kim Jae-hyun ignored it.

Since Cheon Yuhwa, whom he had served since childhood, was moving like that, he couldn't just rest.

Kim Jae-hyun pressed his forehead a few times like that, then went up to the guild master's office.

Now that he had made up his mind, it was time to move.

(End of Chapter)