Chapter 202

Salvatore was Vela's complete opposite.

The Wargod, Salvatore.

The adjectives that matched him were cold-blooded or cool-headed. Rational. Extremely practical. Words like that. In the future, at least.

'The one and only exception is…'

He only ever showed agitation when it had to do with Vela. The two of them shared a deep-seated enmity. That was the Salvatore Hyukjin remembered.

"Why are you here?"

"Why? Am I not allowed to be here?"

Salvatore's hackles also went up as soon as he saw Vela. Hyukjin wasn't all that interested in their spiteful relationship.

"Nice to meet you. I'm Kim Hyukjin, a Player from Korea."

"..."

Salvatore stared at Hyukjin, who continued, "I am a Player with a close relationship to the Conductor of Sound."

Everyone casually introduced themselves.

"I'm Choi Sung-gu, the Jayangdong Fire Master. I'm a magician who's hella good at handling fire."

"Nice to meet you. My name is Kim Sunhwa. I'm a tank, and Hyukjin's little sister."

With the greetings out of the way, Salvatore nodded, his eyes on Hyukjin. "I heard a lot about you from Pedro."

"You did?"

"Yes. To tell you the truth, I knew you would come here. I heard that you're looking for something in Pompeii."

Pedro stepped in. "Ahem ahem. Just to prevent any misunderstandings, I only relayed what the Astrologist Itachi said. A manly man doesn't do any pointless gossipping."

"What did Itachi say?"

What had the genius short-lived astrologist said? Pedro pulled out a note, a piece of paper called a precognitive note or a prophecy. It was a note imbued with the mystical power of future sight.

A meeting occurs before the cornerstone of an ash-covered temple.

If they meet as enemies, so shall a conflagration of hell commence.

If they meet as friends, so shall the hymn of heaven ring.

"This is what Itachi wrote," said Pedro. "The subject is this guy right here, Chiellini."

Vela huffed at that. "But Pedro, I'm your friend. Why're you looking at this guy's future for him?"

"I asked about yours, too."

"But why'd you also look at his?"

"Don't question what a manly man does. You wanna get hit?"

"..."

The future Fight King shut his mouth. Hyukjin could see that Salvatore had a faint smile on his face despite being famous for being able to maintain a poker face at all times.

'It's an intentional provocation.' Hyukjin realized something. 'Those two know that Pedro is a woman. And there's a very high chance they've known for a really long time.'

He didn't know what history these three shared. But he judged that Pedro was in the middle of it, and was part of the reason why Vela and Salvatore's relationship had become so foul.

"I can see the astrologist's words are very meaningful."

Ash-covered.

That had to be referring to Pompeii, the city that was wiped out by volcanic ash.

A meeting occurs before the temple's cornerstone.

Hyukjin knew there was a temple in Pompeii. He thought of the precognitive note again.

'To think he could write such a specific note.'

Geniuses really were geniuses. In Hyukjin's opinion, a prophecy of this level was extremely concrete.

If they meet as enemies, so shall a conflagration of hell commence.

If they meet as friends, so shall the hymn of heaven ring.

This prophecy was made from Salvatore's perspective.

'Is the enemy or friend here referring to me?'

It could be Hyukjin, or someone else here. For example, it could also be someone like Sunhwa or Vela.

'But seeing as a hymn is mentioned, there's a high chance it's me.'

The faint smile gone from his face, Chiellini (Salvatore) said, "What is it that you are looking for in Pompeii, Hyukjin?"

"I'm looking for the [Predator Tree Colony]. Or the [Battlefield of Crows]."

Now, what did he know? Kim Hyukjin examined Salvatore's expression.

"..."

Salvatore stared back, expressionless. He was an expert in expressions and was confident in his poker face, but unfortunately, Hyukjin was a master of observation who exceeded him.

'He's flustered.'

From that, Hyukjin was able to tell that Salvatore was indeed looking for the Predator Tree Colony.

"Judging by your expression, you appear to have been looking for the Predator Tree Colony as well. You flinched when I mentioned it."

"...Yes."

"Then we're looking for the same thing."

According to the info Hyukjin got from the master of Black Butterfly, Pietro, Salvatore had been looking here for a week already. In other words, he'd come up empty-handed for an entire week.

"Would you like to work together?" Hyukjin asked.

"I refuse."

"May I ask why?"

"Vela. I don't want to work with him."

"Vela will be leaving to work on his own scenario."

Vela stared at Hyukjin. His mouth opened. 'I will? Why?' was written all over his face, but Hyukjin completely ignored it, upon which Vela looked stunned. He thought, 'Why do I have to get kicked out?' but he didn't cause a fuss.

He just mumbled to himself, "But I even did the driving."

It had taken him a great deal of courage to learn how to drive. But despite coming all the way here, he was being sent back like a taxi driver.

Chiellini (Salvatore)'s eyes narrowed. 'What's going on?' That reckless simpleton wasn't throwing a tantrum. Vela was someone you couldn't communicate in regular human speech with, much less converse with. That was how Salvatore defined him, but that very Vela was meekly standing down.

'Seeing as he said he's connected to the Conductor of Sound…' Salvatore came to a conclusion. 'He must know I'm contracted to the Conductor of Sound.'

There was no way for him to check how Hyukjin got that information. To borrow something Pedro said, Kim Hyukjin had 'special eyes', through which he had a unique ability to garner information.

'Shall we work together?'

His search had come up empty for a whole week. He had to find the Predator Tree Colony, but he couldn't find any clues. But that alone wasn't sufficient reason to work together. If they cooperated, they would also have to share the rewards.

"I have already cleared the Predator Tree Colony before."

"...Is that so?"

"In the Korean server."

"So there was a Predator Tree Colony in Korea as well. That's very different from my understanding."

'Fields bearing the same name' did not exist. For Salvatore, that was fact. Hyukjin nodded.

"That understanding doesn't apply in Korea."

"What do you mean?"

"In Italy, there aren't fields or dungeons with the same name and same contents. Correct?"

Salvatore nodded. Actually, that wasn't just an Italy thing—it was like that in most countries, to the point that it had almost become an established fact.

"Korea is different. Two instances of the exact same gate, a gate called the Centipede Cave, have already been discovered. Here is proof that I know the Predator Tree Colony."

[Map of the Predator Tree Colony, Addended]

A Predator Tree Colony is a forest with many Predator Trees. Rapundel's father made a Predator Tree Colony for his daughter because 'Predator Tree Seeds' were known to be effective against 'Red Flower Tears'. An artificially created 'Predator Tree Colony' has a lifespan of three hundred years at most. The Predator Trees are unable to maintain the ecosystem for longer than that and perish.

Hyukjin brought up the elephant in the room.

"I need Predator Tree Seeds. I don't need anything else."

"..."

The fact that Predator Tree Seeds were effective against Red Flower Tears wasn't discovered even in the future. Based on that, it was clear that Salvatore was currently looking for something that wasn't the Predator Tree Seeds.

"Do you know why I am telling you this?"

"Aren't you saying you will only take the Predator Tree Seeds and concede the other rewards, so we should form a party?"

"That is correct."

"What do you have to gain from doing that?"

Hyukjin only wanted the seeds, nothing else. It was an overwhelmingly good deal for Salvatore, which made him suspicious.

Vela grumbled on the side. "Tch, seriously. You damn coward. You should just accept the offer, why're you talking so much? Just cut off your dick, dude. This is why you're no good."

Hyukjin smiled. "Because I somehow have the feeling we can become good friends?"

"..."

"To be honest, that prophetic note makes me a little anxious."

If they meet as enemies, so shall a conflagration of hell commence.

If they meet as friends, so shall the hymn of heaven ring.

The prophecy was actually an excuse. The reason Hyukjin wanted to work with Salvatore was because Salvatore had cleared it in the past. With enough time, Salvatore would find the Predator Tree Colony on his own, and he would also clear it on his own. Hyukjin was just trying to hitch a free ride. There was no need to go around in circles when there was a safe, convenient shortcut right in front of you.

"I have an ability called Conductor's Hymn."

Salvatore probably had the ability as well. And it was just as Hyukjin thought—Salvatore did indeed have it. However, he didn't reveal it, since there was no real need to.

Hyukjin drove the wedge into the crack.

"Salvatore. You are different from Vela."

Vela scowled. What was Hyukjin going to say? His heart started to thump out of anxiety that he would be compared to that coward.

"Vela has a genius battle sense that shines in 1 on 1."

Vela's frown brightened into a shit-eating grin. Of course, of course, I'm pretty good at fighting. He silently clapped himself on the back with pride.

"But you're different. You have a power that shines not in 1 on 1, but in a group battle. That is why you and I have to Play together."

"How did you find out what my ability is?"

"You heard from Pedro, didn't you? I have special eyes." Hyukjin grinned. The fish was all reeled in. "A sovereign can recognize another sovereign."

"...A sovereign?"

Pedro, Vela, and even Salvatore turned in unison to stare at Hyukjin, who shrugged.

"In Korea, I'm known as a sovereign."

Pedro shook his head. "But I thought you were an archer…"

That was why he gave Hyukjin Sylphid's Wing as a gift. Vela shook his head as well, thinking there wasn't another human like this one anywhere in the world.

"I thought he was an archer at first, too."

"But he says he's a sovereign…"

"He's also stronger than me in direct combat."

Salvatore doubted his own ears. That Vela recognized someone as being stronger? For Vela to admit it so simply, Kim Hyukjin had to have truly overwhelmed him. Otherwise, Vela would never have acknowledged him.

Pedro clapped three times. "You're a true manly man, aren't you?"

His gaze fell on Hyukjin, his eyes bearing quite a lot of goodwill. Of course, no one here could understand why Pedro clapped there—even Pedro himself didn't know. He just thought it was appropriate for a manly man to clap.

Suddenly remembering, Vela said, "He also uses magic."

Vela had seen it, no doubt about it. The bright-red flames that swallowed the murky lights in the hidden field of the Gran Seoul Dungeon.

"I saw him use fire magic."

"No wonder."

Pedro understood Vela's words. No wonder. That was why Hyukjin went up to Athenae.

"Then just what in the world does that make him?"

There didn't seem to be anything he couldn't do.

"I dunno, a man of many talents who's good at fighting?"

Hyukjin felt a little embarrassed as he watched Vela and Pedro nonchalantly discussing him right in front of him.

"Ahem ahem." He coughed twice to get everyone's attention. "How about it? Do you feel any inclination to work with me now? I think there's definitely something to learn from working with another sovereign."

He said one more thing, intentionally emphasizing the words as a provocation.

"Because at least at this point in time, my ability as a sovereign exceeds yours."

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