The Player Who Stands Above All

Chapter 171

"Kkeueueuk~!"

Lee Shin stretched and slowly loosened the muscles of his whole body that had stiffened while he was sleeping.

After a little while, his body became soft and flexible, able to respond to any incident, just as it always had, and the slight sleepiness that had remained also completely disappeared.

"As expected, is it because it's an expensive private jet? The seat was more comfortable than most beds, so I slept well."

Lee Shin hummed a tune and came out of the airport.

-It seems to be open for business, but it feels like it's only equipped with the bare minimum.

'I was thinking of grabbing a cup of coffee on the way, but it seems that's not possible.'

The airport that Lee Shin saw was literally in a form that focused only on launching and receiving airplanes.

Lee Shin didn't know whether to say it was amazing that they had left this much of the airport after the large-scale monster attack, or to say he was disappointed that they had only been able to protect this much.

"Well, but at least we've finally arrived in Italy."

Lee Shin said that to the others who were following him, but.

"I never thought I'd come to Italy for my first overseas trip."

"Shall we look around the souvenir shop before we go back? I don't think they'll give us time to buy anything separately."

"I don't think the souvenir shop will be open in a situation like this."

Eun Yeonwoo, Lee Hyunseok, and Lee Jieun were busy making travel plans.

"Can you use English in Italy?"

"No, it's Italy, so of course they use their own country's language."

"Sigh, why are all the things I learned in school useless in daily life?"

Lee Hyunyoung was expressing her dissatisfaction with the Korean compulsory education system, sighing at Lee Sieun's answer.

-…They're just ignoring your words.

'I know, right. It seems they have a strong will not to bat an eye at most things now.'

Lee Shin grumbled to himself, thinking that it was getting harder to tease them.

For reference, Kim Jaehyun had said he would act separately from them, and after having a meal on the private jet, he was sleeping.

Dureureu- Dureureu-

Lee Shin used his phone to call somewhere.

And after a short while, the other side answered the phone.

"Yes, I've arrived, where are you now?"

-I've also just arrived.

"What, you just arrived?"

-Ahaha, since the city is broken here and there, it was hard to drive a big car. So I was held up here and there, but it's because it's me that I've arrived even now.

Lee Shin rummaged through his memory for a moment and wondered if this guy had always had such a shameless personality.

But because the image of a free item window was so strongly ingrained in his head, he couldn't remember what his original personality was like.

'Well, it doesn't seem like I have to wait here blankly, so I guess it doesn't matter.'

-Anyway, I've arrived at gate 3 of the airport arrival floor, so you can come out now.

"Alright, then wait there for a bit."

Lee Shin said that, hung up the phone, and then looked back.

And there, the five who had finished their respective chats were quietly looking at him with eyes that said, 'what are you going to do now'.

"The taxi is here, so let's go."

Although it was a lie that was obvious to anyone, they didn't cling to Lee Shin and demand that he tell them the truth.

Because they already knew from experience that the more they did that, the more fun Lee Shin would have.

"It's over there."

Thankfully, it wasn't difficult to find gate 3.

The moment they arrived at exit 3.

"Huh?"

"Ah!"

Lee Sieun and Lee Jieun, who had seen the man with a familiar face leaning against the car, approached him with smiling faces, and the man also waved his hand with a smiling face, showing his delight at seeing the two.

"Joker, it's been a while."

"It's been a while. Thankfully, you were safe even in that turmoil."

"Of course. What kind of place was I in, would it be breached by just a monster."

There, the man named Lee Rion, formerly Joker, who had been sold to the [Meister] guild through Lee Shin's introduction and now held the position of Crowley's assistant, was waiting for them.

"What, is that your new name?"

"The name is strange."

"Ahaha, I was thinking of a name that could be called comfortably even overseas, and it ended up like this."

While the three were exchanging simple greetings, Lee Hyunyoung muttered with a look of realization.

"Ah! I was wondering where you were going, so you were going to the place where the alchemy master is!"

At Lee Hyunyoung's words, Lee Rion tilted his head and asked.

"What, you guys came all the way here without even knowing where you were going?"

"Yes, Smile didn't tell us anything and woke us up in the morning and dragged us here."

As Lee Sieun said in a slightly grumbling tone, as if she didn't like it, Lee Rion's eyes widened for a moment, and then he smiled as if it were amusing.

"You've changed a bit."

"Huh? I've grown taller and gained some weight."

"This part seems to be the same as before."

Lee Rion said that and looked at Lee Jieun.

"That person seems to be the same as ever."

"I guess so. It would be nice if some parts changed, but they never do."

"Ahaha, but how have you guys been?"

At Lee Rion's words, Lee Sieun's and Lee Jieun's eyes momentarily became hazy.

It was a side effect of recalling too many memories at once.

"I wonder, I've been through so many things that it's a bit complicated to explain…"

"Really? It would be nice if you could explain it simply."

"I also want to complain while explaining it, but it's not that simple that I can define it in one word."

Even though she said that, as Lee Rion continued to look curious, Lee Sieun and Lee Jieun thought for a moment and then quietly released the energy they had been holding back and brought out the power they had now.

At that, Lee Rion gave a bitter smile as if he roughly understood.

"You guys must have lived a very busy life."

"Yes, we lived so hard that our feet were sweating."

"But, I also gained something."

Lee Sieun said that and showed the weapons she had obtained from the dwarves, Heukyeong and Baekyeong, and Lee Jieun also showed off the dwarf-made weapon, White Sea, implicitly.

Even in the eyes of Lee Rion, who had seen numerous items since coming here, the weapons the two had were masterpieces that would make his eyes pop.

While talking like that for a moment, Lee Jieun suddenly frowned and glared at Lee Rion.

"By the way, what have you been doing until now? It's good that you joined a guild, but you should at least have made a simple contact."

"Ahaha, about that… I was trying to contact you, but somehow it became a little difficult."

At Lee Rion's words, Lee Jieun's eyes narrowed fiercely, and a cold energy like a north wind flowed out.

Lee Rion, who knew that that was a sign that Lee Jieun was on the verge of exploding, quickly changed the subject.

"By the way, why did you guys come all the way here? I heard that Korea has little damage from the monsters, but it's not at a level where there's none."

At Lee Rion's words, not only Lee Sieun and Lee Jieun, but also Eun Yeonwoo, Lee Hyunseok, and Lee Hyunyoung, who were listening to their conversation from a few steps away, looked at Lee Shin.

In the first place, they also didn't know why they were here now, so there was no one who could answer Lee Rion's question except for Lee Shin.

At that, Lee Shin tilted his head with a puzzled expression.

"What, did you guys really forget everything? There's only one reason to suddenly go to the [Meister] guild."

"What is it?"

"The artifact I commissioned from Crowley. I called him yesterday and he said it was all done, so I came to pick it up today."

"Ah!"

At Lee Shin's words, they finally realized that they had commissioned an artifact from Crowley in the past.

Because so many things had happened in a row recently, they had all forgotten that memory.

"Well, and if I had to say another reason, it's to pick a fight."

"…A fight?"

As the word 'fight' came out of Lee Shin's mouth, they looked at him with eyes that said, 'don't tell me…'.

"Ah, it's fine, so you don't have to look at me like that. It's not me who's going to fight."

"Ah, right? As expected, even so, there's no way you'd suddenly barge into another guild in a foreign country and pick a fight…"

"Yes, it's not me, it's you guys who are going to fight."

"By any chance, is it similar to what we did with those three in the past?"

Lee Hyunyoung asked in a slightly trembling voice, recalling the hellish training time she had had with Arachne, Baek Hyunwoo, and Uriel.

"No, it probably won't be like that. Because this time, there will only be that one guy."

As Lee Shin said that, they looked at him with a noticeably relieved expression.

"Well, the reason I'm making you guys fight again this time is because you guys roughly know how to fight monsters, but you don't seem to know how to fight people."

Lee Shin was not just talking about Eun Yeonwoo and Lee Hyunseok.

Lee Sieun and Lee Jieun were also included.

Because they were specialized in assassination, which was to deal with the enemy in an instant without them noticing, rather than a frontal attack, they still lacked experience in a frontal battle.

As if they had also felt that, they nodded their heads once and affirmed Lee Shin's words.

"But do we have to come all the way here to do that?"

"Hmm, well, we didn't have to come all the way here, but…"

Lee Shin thought for a moment and then said.

"I can assure you that it's most efficient to do it here rather than going somewhere else."

At Lee Shin's words, question marks appeared above the others' heads.

If the place they were going to now was a martial arts training ground or a mage tower, they might have been able to understand.

But the place they were going to now was the [Meister] guild, a guild of craftsmen.

It was hard to understand that they would acquire knowledge about interpersonal combat in such a place.

Lee Shin chuckled at their slightly foolish expressions.

'Well, it's natural that they don't know. Because I also found out recently because Cheon Yuhwa told me.'

Crowley was the only one among the Ten Kings whose fighting style was not revealed to others.

So many people said that Crowley had entered the Ten Kings using his skills as an alchemist, but according to Cheon Yuhwa, that was all a false rumor.

'It's just that that oppa is good at hiding the way he fights. If we're just talking about being tricky, that oppa is probably the strongest among us.'

Grin-

'I'm looking forward to it.'

-I see.

"Well, just know that."

Lee Shin said that and then got on the car as if he had no intention of saying more.

And soon, as the others got on the car with a sigh, Lee Rion drove the car and slowly began to move towards the [Meister] guild.

(End of Chapter)