The Player Who Stands Above All

Chapter 21

"Did you plan this from the beginning when you offered to guide me through the guild?"

"Why do you think so?"

Cheon Yuhwa asked, as if she had no intention of denying it.

At that, Kim Jae-hyun spoke as if it were obvious.

"Well... you usually tell me to handle all these trivial things."

At Kim Jae-hyun's words, Cheon Yuhwa couldn't quite deny it and awkwardly averted her gaze.

Regardless, Kim Jae-hyun spoke without hesitation.

"But then you suddenly stopped me and insisted on guiding Mr. Lee Shin yourself, so I had no choice but to think that way."

Cheon Yuhwa giggled, admitting that Kim Jae-hyun was right, and he sighed at her appearance, putting a hand to his forehead as if he had a headache.

"But don't misunderstand. I didn't set this up just to play a prank. It's all for those five."

Cheon Yuhwa put a high-end lollipop, similar in shape to a Chupa Chups, into her mouth and continued.

"Our team leaders, they probably feel a little arrogant after easily catching the boss monster. But in a dungeon, such small carelessness can lead to irreversible results. Especially in these fledgling days."

If anyone else had heard her words, they would have scoffed.

But Kim Jae-hyun, who knew her situation, could only let out a small sigh.

"So you sent Mr. Lee Shin?"

"Yes, especially since those five are excellent, it's desirable for their future growth to let them experience such adversity in advance. Besides, it's much safer than experiencing a crisis in a real battle."

"Well, that's certainly true. But..."

Kim Jae-hyun raised his head and looked at the training room.

"I think this is a bit much."

Standing in the center of the training room were a total of six people. Lee Shin faced the five and smiled broadly.

"Even if you're worried about Mr. Lee Shin's stamina, having him face five people at once is..."

"It's fine."

Cheon Yuhwa cut off Kim Jae-hyun's words as if he were worrying needlessly.

"And since it's a good opportunity, watch carefully. It'll be more certain for you to see and experience that guy yourself than for me to keep explaining things. And this is also a test for him."

Cheon Yuhwa muttered, looking at Lee Shin, who was swinging two swords back and forth with a displeased expression.

"Honestly, what I know is the future him, I don't know anything about the current him."

Even as she said so, she thought to herself that the future Lee Shin and the current Lee Shin were probably not that different.

Those eyes that thought of others as toys were the same then and now.

'His strange way of playing with people is also the same as back then.'

Cheon Yuhwa clicked her tongue, looking at the twin swords Lee Shin was holding.

***

"So... what is this situation right now?"

"I know, right? I was suddenly called here, and I have no idea what's going on."

The siblings, Ja Yi-hyeon and Ja Yi-yeon, who had been continuing their research on magic in their respective rooms until just a moment ago, muttered in a disgruntled voice.

However, the other three had nothing to say to them either.

"Even if you ask for an explanation, there's not much to say."

"We were just training here, and then this suddenly happened."

"Hahaha, I can only say it's the guild master's whim."

Choi Seok-ho, Shin Ye-eun, and Jo Yu-hyeon said in turn.

"Honestly, I don't really know what the guild master is thinking either. It's rare for her to handle things so suddenly. But..."

Choi Seok-ho's gaze moved in one direction.

"The reason we're gathered here is clear, so let's focus on that for now."

At his words, the others' gazes followed his.

"Is the strategy meeting over?"

There, Lee Shin was lightly twirling two bladeless swords like pens, smiling with anticipation.

Choi Seok-ho frowned for a moment at his informal speech and opened his mouth.

"You have to fight the five of us at the same time, yet you seem quite relaxed."

"Well? I wonder."

Whoosh-

"By the way, I wish we could start soon."

At his arrogant words, the five of them looked at him with cold eyes and got into their stances.

There was no thought of going easy on him in their eyes.

At the same time, they were already confident of their victory.

It was natural.

A fight between five and one.

Losing was harder than winning.

Therefore, they were thoroughly planning to defeat him.

Grin-

'Fortunately, it seems they have no intention of going easy on me.'

Just as he wanted.

Still, their eyes were not to his liking yet.

They were eyes confident of victory, but at the same time, they were eyes that looked down on him.

At this rate, they would be defeated before they could even display their true skills.

"Sigh, well, it's natural if you think about it. From the looks of it, they're guys whose noses are about to touch the sky from winning all the time."

At his words, their eyes blazed, but a verbal fight did not break out because he got into his stance.

"Well, if I just show them the difference in level, they'll figure it out on their own."

As soon as he finished speaking, he drew up his internal energy and kicked off the ground.

Pajik-

"!"

"!!!"

And for a moment, the five of them lost track of his movement, and when they realized it, he had already dug into their center.

They were startled by his completely unexpected movement and tried to get into a stance to attack or defend, but

He was faster in swinging the swords in both his hands than they were in taking any action.

Hwoooong-

The short sounds created by the wind being split in an instant gathered and became a long, continuous sound of wind.

Hearing that, they staggered in pain from his attack.

Blood flows from Choi Seok-ho's nose.

Shin Ye-eun's side caves in, and she exhales the air from her lungs.

Jo Yu-hyeon's neck bends as if it would break.

Ja Yi-hyeon and Ja Yi-yeon knelt on the floor from the impact of being hit on the knee and thigh, respectively.

Looking at the five staggering in pain, he said playfully with the same smiling face as before.

"Did you guys really think you could do something to me with just five of you? Hey~ There's no way."

Ppajak-!

"The reason that person made you fight me is because the five of you have to combine your strength to even reach my toes."

He kicked Choi Seok-ho hard in the chin with a high kick.

Cheon Yuhwa frowned at the sight.

A line where the pain was most severe, but they would never be knocked out.

He was thoroughly wielding violence only within that line.

Thwack-

He lightly distanced himself from the five of them and then beckoned with his index finger and smiled.

"Now, if you understand, come at me properly. And try to entertain me as much as possible."

Swoosh-

A provocative appearance that would twist a person's insides. But even seeing that, the five of them acted calmly.

Reaching the Thousand rank in the game meant having experienced their own share of carnage.

Therefore, they could distinguish between situations where they should vent their emotions and situations where they shouldn't.

Seeing the tension that he couldn't see before rising in the five pairs of eyes looking at him, he lightly raised his swords.

'Now I can fight properly.'

He couldn't hide his anticipation and smiled.

According to Cheon Yuhwa, they were all Thousand-rankers.

'I heard rankers are amazing, but I wonder how strong they really are.'

Hoping they would be at least more interesting than the Black Horned Rabbit, he moved his feet once more.

Thwack-

A light footstep, different from before.

And yet, the five of them did not relax their tension.

At that, he smiled even more deeply and moved his swords.

Welcoming Choi Seok-ho, who had come to make the first move.

Seeing his swords move, Choi Seok-ho swung the giant greatsword in his hand.

Like his swords, it had no blade, but its weight alone was enough to be a weapon.

"Not bad."

That's why he liked it.

It was much more fun to swing a sword without any hesitation, as if in a real battle, like Choi Seok-ho, rather than not being serious just because it was a spar.

Kagagak-

He held his left sword diagonally toward Choi Seok-ho's sword.

Choi Seok-ho's sword made a sound as if it were grinding against his, and fell toward his head.

Kuuung-!

But it never reached his head.

"No matter how heavy an attack is, if you just push it a little from the side like this, the trajectory is easily twisted. A useless show of strength."

Saying so, the moment he was about to swing his right sword toward Choi Seok-ho's neck.

Shuuuk-

Jo Yu-hyeon, who had been using Choi Seok-ho's huge frame as a screen, rushed toward him and swung his sword.

A surprise attack with perfect timing, using a blind spot.

"Not bad. I didn't think you'd use your companion's size to hide."

But his senses, which had expanded their domain in all directions, had already half-noticed Jo Yu-hyeon's surprise attack, and so he easily blocked it.

Jo Yu-hyeon, whose surprise attack was blocked, did not retreat but swung his sword at an even faster speed to pressure him.

"Hmm, you said you use a fast sword, right? It certainly seems to be enough to be used instead of a fan."

Facing the sword wrapped in a sharp wind, he raised the two swords in his hands.

Tak- Tak- Tak-

And the two swords, with minimal movement, blocked Jo Yu-hyeon's sword, which was moving like a gust of wind.

It was not a movement that came from speed.

Technique and prediction.

Just like with the Horned Rabbit, because he predicted Jo Yu-hyeon's sword and body movements and naturally reacted to them, even if Jo Yu-hyeon moved faster than him, he couldn't break through his swords.

While dealing with Jo Yu-hyeon, he also deflected the arrows flying from his blind spot.

His eyes moved toward Shin Ye-eun, the one who had shot the arrows.

"The timing of your arrow shots isn't bad. But that's not nearly enough."

"Tsk!"

"Where do you think you're going?"

Even though she was discovered, Shin Ye-eun continued to shoot arrows.

And that was the right answer.

As his attention was diverted to her arrows, Choi Seok-ho and Jo Yu-hyeon began to swing their swords once more.

And this time, it wasn't just the two of them participating.

"Mana Arrow!"

"Wind's Step!"

Ja Yi-hyeon activated magic toward him to assist Shin Ye-eun, and Ja Yi-yeon cast a buff on Choi Seok-ho and Jo Yu-hyeon.

He savored that very moment.

In front, there were Choi Seok-ho and Jo Yu-hyeon attacking with all their might, and from the side and behind, there were the long-range attacks of Shin Ye-eun and Ja Yi-hyeon.

On top of that, Ja Yi-yeon was infusing them all with power through buffs.

The moment the five combined their strength into one.

In this moment, their power surpassed his.

Therefore, he brought out one of his means before them.

The five of them were momentarily surprised and their eyes widened.

Hwareureuk-

A reddish flame flared up from his body.

(End of Chapter)