Chapter 154

I was an Observer.

I interpreted processes and results through observation and saw what others couldn't. Things others could easily miss were given new worth through my eyes.

"I'm in a bit of a shock right now, so you go ahead, Hyukjin. I'm, like, seriously as-to-nished right now."

"I observed you."

"Ohhh? Reaaaally? You observed me?"

Lily's body twisted like a Twizzler, as incredible as it was. It didn't look grotesque, just comical. Yoohyun was saying he would die from cuteness while nodding up and down with an expression that screamed, 'I can't handle the cuteness!'

Sunhwa lifted her tiny hand and patted Yoohyun's waist (she couldn't reach his back), doling out meager comfort with a "It's alright. You won't die from cuteness, calm down."

Lily's body uncurled again with a snap, like a twisted rubber band returning to normal.

"You were charmed by my cuteness too, huh? Seeing as you observed me."

She fluttered over and gave my cheek a big kiss.

"Nngh!" Yoohyun clutched his heart, falling to his knees. "So… cute…!"

I glanced at the muscular man. I knew Yoohyun had a weakness for cute things. But even so, his current reaction was excessive.

'He's under the influence of something.'

Everyone had a weakness. Lily was probably taking advantage of Yoohyun's. There was a very high chance she cast some kind of trickery I didn't know about. I didn't indicate that I had noticed it, but kept it in mind. In order to draw and conduct the situation in its entirety, even small tidbits of information were necessary to keep tabs on.

"You moved around constantly, while making Yoohyun take pictures."

"Yes. Getting my picture taken makes me happy."

"Is that really the case?"

"Hrrm?"

Her movements seemed a little too elaborate and calculated for that.

"The pictures are a clue."

While Lily was making a fuss and Yoohyun was clamoring about her cuteness, the Guardian Tower Tintin experienced a slight change, one so very minute that it was no exaggeration to call it a highly challenging 'Spot the Difference'.

'No matter how closely I observe and remember… I wouldn't be able to find the difference with my memory alone.'

But Yoohyun had pictures.

"There's a difference between the Guardian Tower in the pictures and the current Guardian Tower, which you'll ask me to accurately point out."

That was probably part of the 'Acknowledged Guardian Tower Master' scenario. Lily flew over and perched on the shoulder Darongi wasn't already occupying.

"Wow. You're really amazing."

Lily's voice was much quieter, and I sensed it instantly. Much of the playfulness had vanished from her voice. The people of the future used the word 'sinister' to describe the pixie race. It was also said that it was impossible to tell what a pixie was thinking.

"You're correct. You've got the pictures, and with your level of focus, this scenario's meaningless."

Lily lifted her index finger. With a pop, a change so tiny the others couldn't distinguish it occurred. The Guardian Tower returned to its original appearance.

"But I thought you would be able to puzzle out a trick of this level. You're a Guardian Tower Master candidate who summoned the one and only Tintin. The process was surprising, but the result isn't outside of my predictions."

I heard notices.

[Acknowledged Guardian Tower Master Chapter 1 - 'Full Consensus' has been completed.]

[Acknowledged Guardian Tower Master Chapter 2 - 'Distortion Recognition' has been completed.]

The two notices came simultaneously.

Curious, I said, "You said you already predicted I would clear Distortion Recognition, but that you didn't predict the process."

"Yep."

"What was the process you imagined?"

"I didn't think you would be able to pick up on the distortion. Well, it would have been fine even if you hadn't. This cute and lovely Lily was going to tell you."

"..."

I instinctively knew that Lily wouldn't have just told me for free. She would have definitely procured a suitable price.

Lily's voice became even quieter.

"Wanna know?"

Her voice dripped with a quiet killing intent. There was another pop, and with it, black blood began to ooze from Yoohyun's eyes, nose, and mouth.

Yoohyun screamed.

"GAAAHHH!"

His face turned blackish red, and his head ballooned, as if something bearing a huge amount of pressure was expanding inside.

Lily grinned.

"Bang!"

Yoohyun's head exploded. The headless body crumpled to the ground like a puppet with cut strings. I didn't even budge. It would be a lie to say I wasn't surprised, but I maintained my calm.

"Is this an extension of Distortion Recognition like I think it is?"

"You're not surprised?"

"There's no reason to be surprised while looking at a distorted phenomenon."

The next moment, it was as if the world began to rewind. Yoohyun's body went upright again, his exploded head returning to its rightful spot, and soon enough, Yoohyun was back to normal. It seemed that putting Yoohyun under some kind of 'influence' was the groundwork for showing such a gruesome scene. I was mentally prepared, so I wasn't fooled.

"Visual trickery doesn't work, does it? You seem to have extremely special eyes, eyes possessing a tremendous amount of power. So, so fascinating. You're the most fascinating human I've ever met."

"..."

Lily smiled widely again. "Well, alright. This is the scenario I predicted: I was going to kill that kid in exchange for giving you another hint."

We upturned Lily's expectations and cleared Distortion Recognition without losing anyone.

"But… you said there were two scenarios left. Could you tell Lily what the second one was? Lily is craaazy curious right now." She licked her lips. "I can't wait to hear what you say. You're a man with a truly sexy brain."

For better or for worse, I was already used to hearing such nonsense. Yeonseo, Isabel, and Sooji had long since immunized me, so I cleanly ignored her words and continued to speak.

"For the second scenario… You said you observed me closely and gauged my strength."

"That's right. Because your brain is sexy. Can I take it out of your head?"

"No."

"Tch. You're hard to get."

She was impossible to read. You really couldn't tell how much was sincere and how much was a joke with her.

'I just have to do what I have to do.'

Why did the pixie of the Guardian Tower observe me closely? Why did she try to gauge my strength?

"That must have been because you wanted to test the boundaries of my strength."

"Bingo!" Lily shivered. "Lily will explain. From here on out, our Hyukjin, the closest candidate to become the Guardian Tower Master, needs to destroy the Guardian Tower Tintin."

Destroy the Guardian Tower?

"To be more precise, you'll be destroying the Guardian Tower's outer shell. Molting! You know, that thing where a larva becomes a chrysalis and comes out of its shell. You'll be breaking the Guardian Tower Tintin's shell."

The difficulty was set when we went up against the Big Black Dogs.

"Let me ask you again. You did your best earlier, yes?"

"Of course."

It wasn't a lie. Earlier, I did do the best I could. I went at it with my full power, which Lily should have accurately judged.

The pixie nodded. "Yeah, I thought so."

"..."

"Shall we start the final chapter, then? You'll never be able to succeed with a frontal attack."

That was to be expected. She had gauged my strength to the decimal. A pixie who was surely far higher level than me made me a dedicated observation target and gauged my full strength. She was sure to have set the balance exactly right.

I heard a notice.

[Acknowledged Guardian Tower Master Chapter 3 - 'Guardian Tower Destruction' is beginning.]

Song Junghye's office was different from Kiyeol's, her brother of similar age. Sitting on the sofa in that office was Jackson. He spoke, his gaze landing on one wall.

"You have a work by the Italian artist Goen."

On the wall was 'Basket Woman' from the famed Italian artist, Goen. That work was said to have been auctioned off for around $4 million, and it was hanging in Song Junghye's office.

She shrugged. "I heard from my little brother, but your Korean is extremely good. You also have a good eye for recognizing art."

Her kid brother Song Jinchul was the reason the Blood and Iron Queen Song Junghye ended up having a meeting with Jackson, the man who would later become famous as the Great Explorer in the future Hyukjin knew. Jinchul, who had just stepped foot into the world of Playing, was saved from danger by Jackson.

"I heard you saved my little brother several times."

"Yes. He has quite the gift, in spite of his young age."

Jackson knew how to use Song Jinchul. He decided to make full use of Jinchul's background.

"To be frank, I wish to utilize Sungshin's strength."

"Are the British always so straightforward? Do you only know how to go straight ahead?"

"Have I offended you?"

"No, I like it. I myself don't like going around in circles."

Even if she looked like a mere rookie in the eyes of Hyukjin, who was constantly dancing with Guardians, this was Song Junghye, the woman who would one day be called the Blood and Iron Witch. Her discerning eye was absolutely not 'rookie-level'. She recognized Jackson's value.

"Very well. I will invest in your potential."

She also had an interest in this thing called Playing. It would be difficult to quash Taeguk Shield's early bird advantage, but she at least needed to build up a force equal to her brother's.

"I want a contract of equivalent standing," Jackson said.

For now, he didn't trust Song Junghye or Jinchul. He only trusted their background. Right now, he was doing business—'Korea' was an extremely important place for his 'scenario'.

The two talked for a while. The gist of their conversation was this: the explorer Jackson would join hands with the 3rd generation chaebol Song Junghye, and they would agree to use each other for mutual profit.

Jackson got up with an expression of satisfaction. "...This was time well spent."

He judged that no matter how Song Junghye was as a person, she made a very fine business partner.

"For me as well. However, as we have already agreed, if we cannot be of mutual profit for one another, we can cast each other aside at any time."

Jackson knew. When Junghye said 'cast aside', it wasn't just the dictionary definition. It could even come down to death. On account of the fact that he used the background and support that was 'Sungshin'.

"Of course."

Jackson turned, meaning to leave the office, when he suddenly turned around again.

"By any chance…"

"Please speak."

"Do you know a Player named Kim Hyukjin? From what I have found out, he has a special relationship with your older brother, the Guildmaster of Taeguk Shield."

Song Junghye flinched ever so slightly. Kim Hyukjin. It wasn't an all-too-pleasant name to hear.

"Player Kim Hyukjin, you say? Why do you ask?"

Jackson said some ambiguous words.

"Because I may have to pour oil."

* * *

At the same time, Kim Hyukjin stood before the Guardian Tower that appeared at the crosswalk between the DMC Riverview Xi's Complex 1 and Complex 2.

[Acknowledged Guardian Tower Master Chapter 3 - 'Guardian Tower Destruction' is beginning.]

Lily said that even his full power wouldn't be enough.

"Don't worry. You won't die. But if you can't fully destroy it… You probably won't be leaving this place intact." She flitted around, giggling. "You've awakened the sleeping Guardian Tower, so it's only right that you lose a leg or arm in exchange!"

Lily appeared to be truly enjoying herself.

"You can't do it even with your full strength, so how will our Hyukjin destroy Tintin?"

Hyukjin didn't look like he was very frightened by Lily's semi-threat. He said in a small voice, "I said I did my best by the earlier standards."

It wasn't a lie. Earlier, he really did do his best. Big Black Dogs weren't monsters one could hunt half-heartedly. In truth, the battle was so difficult he wouldn't have even tried if Ahn Seohye hadn't been here.

"But I didn't say I did my best by the current standards."

He pulled out the transcendent artifact, Isabel.

Lily froze in midair, sparkly dust trailing from her wings.

"Eh? What do you mean? Wait, has something changed from earlier to now?"

Yes, something had changed.

"I'll show you with my utmost effort."

He was saying these words to the Guardians. From this moment forth, he would show them. He would show them what would happen if the current him, not the earlier him, did his best.

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