Chapter 99

I craned my ears to hear the notices.

'We're probably the first people to have satisfied the GVG conditions.'

If PVP was Player vs. Player, GVG was Guild vs. Guild. The scale varied depending on the situation, but it was often called 'a small-scale war'.

'Is it one after all…?'

Whether the first GVG was a hidden piece or not was a long-standing debate. Was the first GVG truly a hidden piece? No one had confirmed which guild was the first to open a GVG. Several guilds claimed to have held the first GVG, so everyone said something different.

Now, I would be able to resolve this age-old question. GVG content was actually something that showed up in the mid-game, so I had pulled it way forward in the timeline.

The next moment, I heard a notice.

[This is the first GVG.]

[A Hidden Piece has been fulfilled.]

We had been moved to an open clearing. The ground was hard cement, and it was a plain, featureless place with no slopes or obstacles, kind of like a training hall. The opposing guild, the guild members of Taeguk Shield, grew wide-eyed.

"Hid-Hidden piece?"

"A hidden piece was triggered."

Their faces were flushed with great excitement. Seeing their reactions, Sunhwa tilted her head.

"Oppa. Was a hidden piece really that amazing?"

"..."

Yeah, it was. Ordinary people were hardly ever able to experience a hidden piece, and finding an unpublicized one was near impossible. I thought about telling Sunhwa that, but I didn't.

'She probably won't get it.'

After being exclusively around me and other Players with top-level talent, her common sense was very twisted. If I had to guess, it might be something like a rich kid who had a chauffeur not knowing how much a bus ticket cost.

In the end, I settled for just saying, "Normally, they're hard to find," and Sunhwa nodded, but as I thought, she didn't seem all that convinced. In any case, it was true that this was a hidden piece.

A new quest was given on the heels of the last notice.

[The hidden quest 'Achieve Victory in the First Battle!' has been triggered.]

This was a reward given by the System itself and had nothing to do with the reward from the sponsor of this battle, the Herdsman of Las Vegas.

Song Kiyeol was, of course, a little flushed as well.

"Shall we begin the battle?"

"One moment, please. There is something I need to check. Let's begin a little bit later."

"Understood."

With that, their side earned some time to strategize, which our side needed as well.

"Boss Hyukjin. How should we act now?"

"Hold on."

Strategizing was important, too, but there really was something I needed to check. The yellow [!!!] marks in front of my eyes.

[The Hidden Piece 'Achieve Victory in the First Battle!' has been fulfilled.]

[There is a title that can be connected to the first discovery of the Hidden Piece 'Achieve Victory in the First Battle!']

That title was 'First Pioneer'.

[Will you connect the title 'First Pioneer' with the Hidden Piece 'Achieve Victory in the First Battle!' and trigger the linked scenario?]

I checked the details immediately.

If a Player with the [First Pioneer] title is the first to discover a [Hidden Piece], it is possible to trigger a linked scenario. Linked scenarios can be triggered three times.

Linked Scenarios Triggered: [1/3]

Linked Hidden Piece: [Pioneer who Seized the First Victory]

Scenario: Make a significant contribution in the upcoming war. Upon clearing the scenario quest, the title [First Pioneer] will be upgraded to [Pioneer of Victory].

A linked scenario came up. For the Gold Turtle's Collective Spirit and the Seoul Station Dungeon, I chose 'NO', and for the 'Challenge to the Jackpot', I chose 'YES'. This time, my choice was—

'YES.'

The part about making a 'significant contribution' was a little vague, but I judged that it was best to accept this time. The reward was a title upgrade, of all things, and the title in question was one with a whopping 20% additional EXP bonus. Upgrading it if possible was a no-brainer.

[The connection between the title effect and Hidden Piece has been completed.]

I made my decision. The GVG with them was part of the picture from the start, ever since I was first notified about the '1st Players Convention'. Ever since I whispered to Senia and told her I would 'bring Taeguk Shield under me', this situation was part of my plan.

"I'll distribute the roles starting now. Listen up."

The reason why I came here in the first place was to prove my ability as a sovereign. And now, it was time to do that.

Hyukjin was already well aware of the other side's forces. All of them would be famous Players in the future. The numbers didn't match up, so one of them stepped out for a total of six Players.

The Taeguk Shield, Song Kiyeol.

The Poison Witch, Cheon Sooji.

The Golden Priest, Gong Jinhoon.

The Spear Demon, Byeon Gilsup.

The Analyst, Han Seokmin.

The Sand Giant, Shin Kangha.

Each of them would grow into Rankers everyone would acknowledge. But Hyukjin's side weren't easy foes, either.

The Fist King, So Yoohyun.

The Fire Lord, Choi Sung-gu.

The Typhoon, Jo Sunghyun.

The Sword Empress, Shin Yeonseo.

They weren't just easy foes, but people who were actually far more famous. Not yet, but still. With the Kim siblings, Hyukjin and Sunhwa, added to the four, their team had six Players as well.

[The GVG has begun.]

As soon as the match began, Hyukjin used his special skill, Flash Step. His goal was to get behind the Golden Priest, Gong Jinhoon. The blonde-haired man was currently wearing a silver armor item, and all for a simple goal—to hide that he was a 'healer'.

'I already know that you're a healer.'

Closing in instantly, Hyukjin stabbed at Gong Jinhoon's neck with his dagger. Rather, he tried to. Song Kiyeol had reacted with alacrity.

"I knew you'd do this…!"

The Taeguk Shield Kiyeol protected Jinhoon's neck with a special energy. Hyukjin had already shown them Flash Step before, and Han Seokmin had analyzed Hyukjin's most likely first step, using that as a base.

For a very brief moment, Song Kiyeol tasted the hope of victory.

'It was exactly as Seokmin analyzed.'

If that side had the sovereign Kim Hyukjin, their side had Han Seokmin, a tactician class Player who could even use a special ability called 'Oracle'.

The problem was that Hyukjin knew that Taeguk Shield had Han Seokmin, and he knew Seokmin would read him.

Hyukjin grinned. "I knew, too."

At the same time, Yeonseo charged. Hyukjin was bait. The true attack was from Yeonseo. She moved far faster than she normally showed, an explosive speed that wasn't quite as fast as Flash Step, but more than speedy enough to stab the opponent. She cut right into the momentary opening and pierced Gong Jinhoon's neck.

"Gugh!"

Yeonseo's Single Hit Finisher showed that it fully deserved its name. Jinhoon crumpled on the spot. He didn't die, but he flailed, unable to bear the pain. He wouldn't be able to heal in that state.

In the meantime, Cheon Sooji attacked Yeonseo. Black marble-like spheres of poison sprayed towards Yeonseo.

Whooosh–!

A wind came out of nowhere. It was a man-made wind, a special breeze manifested via magic. A Magic Wind blew in.

It was Jo Sunghyun.

'I've already done this once before.'

They had already experienced a similar attack. The poison marbles were similar to the attack used by the Ghosts on the Hill of Blowing Wind. The experience they'd gained from dodging those marbles was already engraved in their bodies. Sunghyun slightly altered the trajectory of the poison marbles, and that slight change gave Yeonseo a great deal of breathing room when dodging.

"Thanks!" she called out, widening the space between them in an instant. Hyukjin hadn't been able to extricate himself yet, but Song Kiyeol could sense that something was going off-kilter.

'Still…'

There was hope.

'We'll kill the sovereign!'

He knew that Hyukjin held a huge role in their party. If Hyukjin died, a big crack would definitely form in their side.

[Using the skill Restraint.]

Something like a pool of blue mana appeared under Hyukjin's feet. It was Kiyeol's skill, a restraining skill.

Thinking that Hyukjin was restrained, Gilsup stabbed with his spear.

"Hyaaa!"

The extremely fast attack looked as if it would pierce Hyukjin's heart, but he had already seen the future.

[Utilizing the power of Future Sight.]

Even Hyukjin couldn't predict every single situation that could occur in a battle. He couldn't overcome everything with his intuition and analysis alone. Therefore, he used Future Sight, though it would exhaust him. Through it, he read Byeon Gilsup's attack like it was telegraphed.

The spearman's goal was his neck.

'Though he's making it look like he's going for my heart.'

In the end, the path would end at his throat. It was probably a special skill that suddenly changed path and struck a different weak point, something similar to 'Sword Path Tracing'.

Hyukjin twisted a little. Armed in the Great Orc Warrior set, his defense far exceeded the average Player's.

'I can definitely do it.'

As he slightly twisted, he pushed away Gilsup's spear.

'Break the weapon balance, and…'

He rushed up to Gilsup.

Splurt! Splurt! Splurt!

He stabbed the dagger he was holding into Gilsup's side multiple times in quick succession. He wasn't greedy; inflicting an injury was enough.

"Oryaa! Boulder Fist!"

With Yoohyun's assistance, Hyukjin got out of the Taeguk Shield encirclement. It was only a brief confrontation, but the tide of the battle had already completely shifted.

Song Kiyeol couldn't believe it.

"May I ask you one thing?"

"Anytime."

"Are you sure you are a non-combat class?"

Shin Yeonseo moving much faster than expected was surprising on its own, but Hyukjin's movements were beyond all imagination. It was impossible to view him as a non-combat class.

'His movements are one thing… but what the hell is that ridiculous tanking ability?'

He didn't just take an attack; he used his sturdy body and outstanding reflexes to knock away Gilsup's spear.

'Despite it being an unconventional attack Gilsup didn't show in the PVP match.'

The unconventional nature of the attack meant absolutely nothing to Hyukjin, who saw through it in a single glance like he knew it was coming. As a result, he had the leisure to get close to Gilsup and had about 0.5 seconds to deal an injury.

His ability to adapt, his agility, his situational judgment, all of it went beyond expectation. Kiyeol thought to himself… that this was how it would feel to meet a genius above geniuses.

"There's no doubt. I notarized it through my Intermediate Administrator." Hyukjin shrugged. "Like I said, I'm a sovereign."

"..."

There was no law forbidding a sovereign from directly engaging in battle, but still, this was too much, wasn't it?

Song Kiyeol asked again, "Just in terms of fighting capability alone… about where do you stand inside your team, Mr. Kim Hyukjin?"

It was an important question. Hyukjin grinned.

"I will only say that I am indeed a non-combat class Player."

"Do you mean… that you are the weakest one?"

"I can't tank as well as this kid, I'm worse at single-hit DPS than Yoohyun, I'm slower than Yeonseo, and of course, these two are better than me at magic." He shrugged again. "Well, something along those lines."

He smiled, giving a boast that wasn't just empty words. "By the way, these guys haven't even gotten started yet."

He phrased it exactly to make the Taeguk Shield guild members misunderstand. The weakest one, the sovereign, nearly single-handedly created this situation. He was saying one thing: Think you can really face us as a team when the weakest one among us was capable of wreaking such havoc?

"How did you cast off my restraint?"

"That's a secret."

It wasn't anything big, just that Hyukjin's magic resistance was far higher than Kiyeol's restraining ability. Hyukjin was just as surprised when he saw the future via Future Sight.

'Guess my magic resistance is super high.'

Eye of Perception, which alerted Hyukjin to danger, didn't go off this time, which meant the Guildmaster's Restraint was simply that weak. There was just that much of a gap between them.

'Byeon Gilsup is weaker than I thought, and so is Song Kiyeol…'

They were all a little weaker than Hyukjin expected. While Hyukjin was feeling that it was easy, Kiyeol felt like he was facing a massive wall.

'I really… cannot see a way to win.'

It was like chipping away at a stone wall with a spoon.

Just then, someone said to Hyukjin, "We haven't gotten started yet, either."

The voice belonged to Shin Kangha, the Player who would one day become famous as the Sand Giant. His extremely strong competitiveness made him a Player who would rather die than lose.

At Kangha's words, Kiyeol snapped out of his daze. It felt like they were fighting a wall, but they still had to do their best to the very end. His combative spirit blazed up again.

Hyukjin raised his index finger. "The GVG hasn't ended yet. I merely engaged in conversation because you asked me to."

He pointed his finger at Song Kiyeol and mumbled a stream of incomprehensible words.

Kiyeol panicked.

'Mag…ic?'

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