The Player Who Stands Above All

Chapter 46

"Shouldn't you be getting up soon? I know you're conscious."

"......"

"Get up."

Lee Shin said with a slight hint of annoyance, looking at the boy lying on the bed.

"......"

But the boy just continued to breathe in and out steadily, showing no signs of getting up.

Chuckle-

"So that's how you're going to be, huh? Then I have a way too."

Lee Shin laughed lightly, as if watching a cute trick, and grabbed the object next to him.

"Now, let's see if you can pretend to be asleep even when a dagger is flying at you."

After saying that, Lee Shin really threw what he was holding in his hand into the air.

Whoosh- Whoosh-

The sound of the object rotating filled the quiet car.

The boy, hearing the sound, realized that Lee Shin had really thrown it and his eyelids trembled violently for a moment.

A momentary tremor, close to a fleeting instant.

But Lee Shin, who had been focusing his sharpened senses on the boy, did not miss that tremor.

The moment the object that had rotated and gone up was about to fall down.

Flash-

The boy opened his closed eyes and quickly moved his upper body to dodge the object that was falling toward his head.

Poof-

And a can of cola fell onto the pillow where the boy's head had been.

"This is..."

"It's cola. If you had stayed still, your head might have hurt quite a bit. Maybe you would have even gotten a bump."

At Lee Shin's playful words, the boy realized he had been tricked.

The boy glared at Lee Shin with fierce eyes, but Lee Shin didn't even blink at that gaze.

"Now, let's have a talk while you drink that, how about it?"

"......"

Even at Lee Shin's words, the boy didn't move an inch and didn't let down his guard against Lee Shin in the slightest.

'Well, he didn't seem like a foolish guy who would let down his guard right away after hearing something like this.'

Thinking he was like a cat, Lee Shin lightly changed his posture.

He crossed his legs, changing his comfortable posture, and erased the smile from his face.

It was a trivial change, if you could call it that.

"I understand being wary. But think carefully and decide on your actions."

But with that trivial change, the boy felt that the man in front of him now was completely different from the man who had been in front of him a moment ago.

"What can you do? Unless you want to jump out of a moving car and become a bloody mess, just sit quietly and drink your cola. Ah, for reference, you don't have to worry about me having put something in the cola."

Lee Shin said, holding the dagger the boy had in his left hand and, with his right hand, made a hand shape as if to flick his forehead, with his thumb and middle finger touching.

Pajijik-

And in that state, he lightly let [Lightning] flow to his fingertips and flicked his finger.

Clang-

Then, the dagger that had collided with Lee Shin's finger shattered into pieces like a porcelain that had fallen on the floor.

"I don't need to use something like drugs to subdue you, it's simple enough."

"......"

The boy, unable to deny Lee Shin's words now, shut his mouth and nodded.

But the wariness in his eyes did not disappear.

"Sigh~"

At that, Lee Shin returned to his playful and light appearance and sighed exaggeratedly.

As the boy was flustered by the sudden change, Lee Shin said in a loud voice as if for everyone to hear.

"It's disappointing that you keep looking at me with such wariness. I was just being kind out of pity, thinking about what you, Hyun-seok, will go through from now on."

"Who are you?"

At Lee Shin's words, Lee Hyun-seok blurted out without realizing it.

That's how flustered he was by Lee Shin's words now.

"How do you know my name?"

"Huh? What?"

At Lee Hyun-seok's words, Lee Shin looked at him as if he were looking at a naive child.

"Don't tell me you didn't even know which guild you were attacking?"

"That's..."

"What, seeing that you're not answering, it seems you really don't know anything."

Lee Hyun-seok blushed, ashamed that he couldn't refute Lee Shin's words.

And yet, there was nothing he could do.

Thump-

At that, Lee Shin, who had approached him at some point, lightly tapped his head.

"Well, it's a long story, so it's hard to explain in detail. Just know that you messed with a pretty amazing guild in many ways."

"An amazing guild?"

"Yeah, an amazing guild that can easily dig up a person's personal information. And..."

Lee Shin trailed off and smiled playfully.

At that, Lee Hyun-seok, who felt something ominous, tried to get away from Lee Shin, but before he could.

Thwack-

It was faster for Lee Shin to flick his finger and hit Lee Hyun-seok's head.

"Keuheo-eok!"

Lee Hyun-seok, without even properly understanding what had happened to him, clutched his forehead, which was hot as if on fire.

Lee Hyun-seok didn't know it, but that flick just now was a strike that integrated all the martial principles and theories of acupoint striking, beating, human nerves, and so on, which Lee Shin had researched for fun in the tutorial.

With the sole purpose of inflicting pain.

Lee Shin smiled broadly, watching Lee Hyun-seok writhing on the bed in pain.

"Where does a high school kid get off speaking informally? You should use honorifics."

"You son of a...!"

Lee Hyun-seok, who had slightly lost his grip on reason due to the pain he had never felt before in his life, blurted out words without thinking.

But he shouldn't have.

Grin-

"Son of a...?"

The man in front of Lee Hyun-seok now had a talent for tormenting people that even the [Kings] couldn't follow.

Swoosh-

And he had the physical ability and mentality to fully utilize that talent.

Before Lee Hyun-seok could even finish his words, Lee Shin's hand moved, pushed away both of Lee Hyun-seok's hands that were covering his forehead, and hit the same spot he had hit just before.

"Keuheueueup!!!"

Lee Hyun-seok, in the pain that felt like it was directly piercing his brain, writhed on the bed for a long time before he could barely escape the swamp of pain.

Lee Hyun-seok, who had barely calmed down, glared at Lee Shin with teary eyes.

An ordinary person might have reflected a little, thinking they had gone too far, but Lee Shin just smiled playfully as if to say 'what are you going to do about it'.

"Well, for now, calm down and listen to me. You don't seem like a stupid guy, so you must have realized that I have no intention of harming you."

"Hoo, what do you want from me... sir."

Lee Hyun-seok, while taking a deep breath to control the pain, reflexively added 'sir' to the end of his sentence the moment he saw Lee Shin smile and slowly raise his hand.

Lee Hyun-seok was somewhat used to pain, but Lee Shin's flick was so painful that all of that felt like child's play.

"Now you seem to have the attitude and will to talk."

"Keuk, so what do you want from me? I'll tell you in advance, I don't have any money."

Seeing Lee Hyun-seok add an honorific to the end of his sentence, Lee Shin smiled broadly as if satisfied.

At that, Lee Hyun-seok blushed with annoyance and shame, but he rather raised his spirits and met Lee Shin's eyes without avoiding them.

'He's like a scared kitten puffing up its fur.'

"Well, to put it simply, I've taken quite a liking to you, kid."

"Me... me, sir?"

At Lee Hyun-seok's question, Lee Shin nodded.

"Yeah, so I'd like you to sign a contract with me and then enter a dungeon. Ah, I'll tell you in advance so you don't misunderstand, it's not a slave contract or anything. It's closer to a scout."

Saying so, Lee Shin held out a contract.

It was a contract he had made by changing the supporter team's contract he had received from Cheon Yuhwa to his own taste.

"Ah, I didn't give it to you to sign. I gave it to you so you'd know what the conditions would be if you were scouted."

"......"

Lee Hyun-seok looked at Lee Shin with a confused expression, then looked at the contract.

Once, twice, three times.

Looking at every single comma in detail, Lee Hyun-seok saw that this was not a slave contract.

No, on the contrary, it was a contract with quite good conditions.

At that, Lee Hyun-seok's pupils shook even more.

'What's the reason?'

He couldn't understand what intention Lee Shin had in making such a proposal to him.

He didn't even consider the assumption of goodwill and kindness.

For Lee Hyun-seok, who had grown up facing all sorts of hardships and crises since he was young, the goodwill of others was that unfamiliar.

'This is definitely a good opportunity. And I don't have any other choice.'

Lee Hyun-seok tried to be as calm as possible and continued to think.

'Although I didn't commit the murder myself, and my will wasn't involved in the slightest, I was on the side of the guys who were planning a mass murder.'

That alone was enough to go to prison and rot.

On top of that, although Lee Hyun-seok was at the level of just having awakened, he was definitely a player.

Considering that part, it was difficult to even guess how high his sentence would go.

'No, these are guys who can dig up my personal information in such a short time. In the worst case, I might be handed over to some laboratory or be a victim of human trafficking without going through the normal procedures...'

Reason and instinct combined to say that he had to accept this proposal, no matter what.

But Lee Hyun-seok's memory, like a fishbone stuck in his throat, prevented the words 'I understand' from coming out of his mouth and instead made other words come out.

"Why... are you making such a proposal to me?"

Although it was a sudden remark, there was no longer any hostility toward Lee Shin in Lee Hyun-seok's words.

Because reason and instinct had accepted the fact that Lee Shin had no hostility and that it was useless to resist.

"I told you. I've taken quite a liking to you, kid."

At that, Lee Shin answered lightly.

But that could not be the answer Lee Hyun-seok wanted.

Lee Shin also knew that fact, so he asked Lee Hyun-seok one thing.

"You've never killed anything before, have you?"

"...Yes."

"No wonder your eyes were so bright when you came out of the bushes and we made eye contact."

Lee Shin said, smiling, but Lee Hyun-seok broke out in a cold sweat.

That's how strongly that memory remained with him.

It was at a level where it could have become a trauma if he had been unlucky.

"But..."

Lee Shin said, lightly tapping the place where his heart was with his finger.

"You quickly changed your trembling eyes and swung your dagger to kill me. Accurately, and planned, even with a feint."

Lee Shin, after dealing with the cumbersome luggage, secretly went back the way he had come and returned to where Lee Hyun-seok was, and then waited quietly until Lee Hyun-seok came out.

The moment Lee Hyun-seok came out and their eyes met, Lee Shin smiled brightly and uttered a single word.

"Peek-a-boo."

At this time, the reaction Lee Shin had expected from Lee Hyun-seok was to scream 'Hiiiik!' or 'Uwaaaak!' and fall on his butt.

It would have been even more fun if he had fainted.

But Lee Hyun-seok's reaction was none of those.

The moment he saw Lee Shin, emotions like fluster and surprise appeared in Lee Hyun-seok's pupils and shook violently.

But those emotions were all swallowed up by the emotion that appeared after that.

Thwack-!

The moment his emotions were organized, Lee Hyun-seok thrust the dagger he was holding toward Lee Shin's neck.

Lee Shin, amused by Lee Hyun-seok's unexpected reaction, raised his hand to block Lee Hyun-seok's dagger.

--!

But just before the dagger was caught in Lee Shin's hand, the dagger in Lee Hyun-seok's right hand suddenly disappeared and appeared in his left hand.

The dagger gripped in Lee Hyun-seok's left hand, like a snake, dug into the opening and moved, aiming for Lee Shin's heart.

Seeing him, Lee Shin thought for a moment whether to block it or not.

And Lee Shin chose not to block it, out of curiosity to see if he could do it until the very end.

Lee Shin looked at Lee Hyun-seok with amused eyes.

Swoosh-

Lee Hyun-seok calmly and accurately stabbed Lee Shin's heart with the dagger.

Ting-

"Well, in the end, it was deflected by my armor."

Lee Shin said and looked at Lee Hyun-seok.

Lee Hyun-seok, who had heard Lee Shin's words, had an even more confused face.

"To explain it so you can understand a little better, it would be more accurate to say that I became curious to see how you would change when you grow up in the future."

"...What do you gain from that?"

"My time-killing? Personal fun? As a bonus, if you grow up well, I can introduce you to the guild and earn some money."

"......"

"......"

Lee Hyun-seok looked at Lee Shin as if to search him, and Lee Shin, as if to say 'what are you going to do now', smiled and met Lee Hyun-seok's gaze.

"Hoo~"

In that staring contest, it was Lee Hyun-seok who chose to surrender first.

"Alright. I'll accept."

"Good, then I'll be counting on you from now on, kid."

Lee Shin smiled, thinking of Lee Hyun-seok and Eun Yeon-woo.

'Now that I have more toys, I won't be bored for a while.'

"Now then, start by telling me how you ended up attacking us. There are some simple snacks, so you can eat while you talk."

"Hoo~ Alright. I don't have any good feelings toward those guys either, so you don't have to think I'll lie."

Lee Hyun-seok, with a face full of sincerity and a deep frown, slowly opened his mouth.

(End of Chapter)