Merchant King? Was it the king that I knew? My eyes widened at the unexpected suggestion.

“In fact, the Merchant King says there is something he really wants to ask you.”

Aren sipped the black tea like he was thirsty. Based on the way he was so thirsty, the Merchant King might be asking me for something really tremendous.

...I didn't think it would be something small.

“I understand. I will meet the Merchant King. Can you give me some time instead? I think it will take around two weeks.”

“Of course. We look forward to hearing from you. Thank you very much.”

“I'm more grateful.”

Aren and I looked at each other and smiled lightly. The conversation that followed wasn't a big deal. It was how the situation in Fortren changed after Aidan's disappearance and what was popular in Fortren these days. Aren laughed when he learned the ident.i.ty of Dark Wolf revealed among the immortal humans was me. He then followed up with trivial questions about Helena.

Then Alfred appeared. “It is all done. I modified it as you requested.”

“Um.”

Alfred handed me the cloak in his hand and I examined the information. Indeed, his magic engineering modifications were wonderful. Just by wearing the hood, no one could recognize my face. It was like it was a dark night. Alfred told me, “I also upgraded Transparency as well. If you want, a group Transparency is available.”

“Oh, thank you. Haha. I never even thought about it.”

“I'm glad you like it.”

Alfred smiled like a snake. I didn't know who the h.e.l.l this man was. He also seemed to be around my age.

“I'll be going.”

“Go carefully. I will contact Sir Leslie. Go back and look for him straight away.”

“I understand.”

“Good luck. I look forward to hearing from you.”

I nodded lightly and immediately used the lord's authority to return home. The surroundings distorted and scattered. Then in an instant, I was back in Metheus' office.

“Sigh. So what happened to the match?”

I immediately put on the hood. I came out carefully using Transparency. Helena didn't notice and was busy moving her hands quickly. I felt that the dark circles under her eyes made the father and daughter very similar.

...I would have to tell her someday. I had to think about it once the compet.i.tion was over. I headed straight outside to the tavern where users were entering and exiting. There were surprisingly many people here. The stadium couldn't accommodate everyone, so it was natural for them to come here together to watch the compet.i.tion in the game. The chicken and beer in front of them seemed to be delicious. The crystal ball showed a fierce match in the air.

“What will you eat?”

“Soju.”

“...Soju? What is that?”

Ah, I forgot. There was no soju in the world. Dammit.

“Give me beer.”

“Please wait.”

The owner looked at me with strange eyes, poured a beer and set it down in front of me. The bill was paid in advance. I was wearing a hood and my face couldn't be seen, so I looked suspicious. Fortunately, no one recognized me.

-Ahh! Zhen Sulong's lightning dragon and Torres' water dragon are facing off! It is a clash of dragons! It is worthy of the finals! I think the winner of this fight will be determined soon!

The tavern's users started yelling and becoming excited.

“...It is the finals.”

It meant the Golem Siege's finals was a match between China and Spain. One of them would win. I pulled out a cigarette and lit it up. I wasn't interested in who the winner would be. Still, if I was asked about who I liked more, then it would naturally be Zhen Sulong.

“Don't lose. Hooo—”

Thick cigarette smoke billowed in the air.

***

At a training field in Metheus...

“Hiyaaah!”

Mido swung the b.l.o.o.d.y Butcher at high speed and attacked Park Seongchan in front of her. Park Seongchan dodged Mido's sword while still looking relaxed. “Hey! Do you want to just avoid it?”

“Do you really want me to attack?”

“Yes! Attack!”

Park Seongchan saw the screaming Mido and his eyes flashed. The sudden change in Park Seongchan's eyes caused Mido to show a fl.u.s.tered expression.

“......!”

The hesitant Mido quickly deflected Park Seongchan's sword. Mido exchanged blows at a high speed and increasingly fell on the defensive. Park Seongchan's sword was becoming faster and faster. It felt like he had been hiding his skills from the beginning.

“s.h.i.+t!”

Mido gritted her teeth like she didn't want to lose and rushed forward. Park Seongchan continued to exchange blows with Mido in an amused manner. They didn't use any skills. It was just swordsmans.h.i.+p. This was the teachings of Park Muyeol, their teacher who was standing to one side and watching with folded arms.

He seemed to be saying that the foundation was important.

“Groan!”

However, victory wasn't on Mido's side. Mido bounced off the sword and didn't see Park Seongchan's swift sword, so she showed a slight gap to one side of her arm. Park Seongchan pointed the sword at Mido's neck. It meant to surrender.

“Hoo. I lost.”

Mido wiped her sweat and exhaled. Park Seongchan reached out to Mido and raised her up. Park Muyeol looked at the two of them and nodded with a smile.

'They're both very skilled.'

Of course, Park Seongchan's innate ability was above that of ordinary people. However, if Park Seongchan was a tiger then Mido had the potential to become a wolf. In any case, it was true that both of them were very satisfying.

'It is worth teaching them.'

Just then, the young members of the Korean team arrived and looked dumbfounded as they watched the confrontation between the two people.

“Wow. Is she facing Grandfather Muyeol's grandson?”

“He can fight so well without skills?”

“He was first in the kendo compet.i.tion.”

“Wow, if only his level was a bit higher and he had good skills. It is really a pity for the national team.”

Park Muyeol looked at them with a disgusted expression.

“Shut up, these guys. Seongchan won't go to such a compet.i.tion.”

“Huh? Why? Isn't it just a waste of his skills?”

“In the first place, a truly strong person doesn't dwell on things like that. If he blossoms properly, then all the other contestants will be kneeling at Seongchan's feet.”

“Aish. Grandfather, have you been watching too many movies?”

The moment Lim Sara made eye contact with Park Muyeol, she turned her head and whistled while pretending not to know anything. Then she saw the new group appearing at the entrance of the training ground.

“Um? Who are you?”

“What?”

“Hrmm?”

Everyone's eyes turned in that direction. Park Muyeol seemed like he was familiar with them and then smiled at the team members. “They are the opponents of you lazy guys. Quickly wake up! Anyone who loses will have their heads shaved.”

The Magic Power Hair Clipper in Park Muyeol's let out an eerie cry.

***

Meanwhile, I met Leslie and told him what I had requested of Aren in regards to him and the resistance force.

“I was contacted. There are people who need training?”

“Can you help me?”

“Well, I don't know if I can help, but I will do my best. How many resistance forces do you need?”

“10 will do. This includes Sir Leslie.”

“Please wait a moment.”

Leslie selected 10 people from among the rebel forces. Then I had them hold the guns and daggers I had asked for. Once they were all ready, I led them to the training ground. 

“Let's go.”

We ran quickly to the nearby training ground. The base of the resistance group wasn't far away so we could arrive quickly.

“...?”

However, there were more people training than I thought. Most of them were people I knew. Mido was desperately fighting against Park Seongchan while the other members were fighting against the Mukjeba Brothers who had a good relations.h.i.+p with Park Muyeol. I didn't know why, but my second son Choi Jeonghyun was also here. There was also a blank road in the middle of his hair for some reason.

...What was he doing here? I felt sudden anger, but I decided to endure it. First of all, I needed to hear the reason.

“You came.”

As I approached Park Muyeol, everyone stopped fighting and greeted me. Lim Changyong, Lim Sara, Kim Hyeonu, Eun Jeonghyeok, Park Jangsoo, Kim Cheol, Kim Haeil, and An Seunghyun were all here. All their gazes turned to Leslie next to me. I noticed that everyone was surprised by the emergence of the NPCs next to me. There was also Leslie who looked scary. Well, that wasn't important right now. “Lim Changyong.”

“Yes.”

“Park Jangsoo, Kim Cheol.”

“Yes.”

“Yes.”

“The three of you are from the special forces. Wouldn't it be nice to take advantage of that in PvP tomorrow?”

The three people exchanged looks and then turned to me with expressions that were asking what I meant. Lim Changyong spoke as the representative.

“We mainly use magic bullets in the world here...”

“Who doesn't know that? There are no melee fighting skills.”

“Yes, that is the case. However, it is of little use here. You can't penetrate the armor of a solid tanker.”

Well, it is faster to show them directly rather than explaining.

“Sir Leslie.”

“Tell me.”

“Teach them the Maschenny-Style Melee Combat skill.”

“......!”

Leslie's eye was wider than ever. Was this man's eye so big?

“...How did you know I could use it? I haven't shown it to anyone.”

Leslie watched me with a suspicious eye. How did I know? Naturally, it was because I could see it. I used Insight the moment I met Leslie and noticed the skills under his status window.

[Maschenny-Style Melee Combat]

[Commander-in-Chief's Dedicated Teachings]

[Spiral Magic Bullet]

[One Hundred Shots, One Hundred Hits Bayonet Technique]

The Maschenny-Style Melee Combat was in simple terms, a terrifying fighting technique in which a dagger made of an ether blade containing the essence of magic engineering was used to tear apart the enemies. Additionally, Commander-in-Chief's Dedicated Teachings was literally teaching. It was a pa.s.sive skill that could rapidly increase the proficiency of the target's skills. In other words, people taught by him would learn quickly. I originally wanted him to teach them the bayonet, but it was impossible to fight with guns when there was a guy like James. We were aiming for a win.

“Can you teach it?”

“......”

Leslie stared at me with his left eye. There was silence between the two of us. It was Leslie who opened his mouth first, “I want to ask one thing first.”

“Say it.”

“Are you a spy from the Parta Princ.i.p.ality?”

“...No.”

“Then how did you know?”

Could Leslie, an NPC, understand that I could see someone's status window and skills? If this fact was revealed, maybe I would really be sanctioned by Union. It was better to keep this as confidential as possible.

“I can't say.”

“......”

There was a fierce staring match between us. Leslie's one eye was already shaky. His eye made him seem like a tiger that would bite me straight away.

“......”

“......”

Then Leslie and I moved simultaneously. Leslie pulled out a dagger from his waist and sharpened it with Ether Blade while I pulled Alexus' Fork Spoon out of my inventory. The distance between us narrowed in an instant. I blocked his Ether Blade with the fork spoon and the sun energy lit up my legs.

“......!”

Leslie's one eye slightly widened with surprise. However, it was only for a moment. Leslie reached out his hands at a tremendous speed that didn't fit his age. I struck his right hand with my left hand and quickly spun to hit his side with my elbow.

“Groan.”

Leslie didn't lose. He gritted his teeth and grabbed me by the collar. He pretended to wield his dagger while inserting the knuckle of his middle finger into my solar plexus.

Bam!

“Kuk.”

We frowned as we exchanged blows at the same time.

Pak. Pat pat! Pak.

Leslie's dagger and my fork spoon danced around without finding their targets. We exchanged high-level melee combat skills while the hem of our clothes fluttered. We were aiming at each other's weak points. Leslie wasn't pushed at all despite the fact that I was using Rising Sun. The particularly surprising thing was that I didn't see any gaps for my kicks. He was strong. I had never seen such a strong person before.

We reached out to each other at the same time. Bam! Leslie struck my neck with a hand while I hit his chin with my palm. I stroked my neck and Leslie touched his chin.

“...Hu.”

“...Hah.”

Leslie and I grinned at each other.

(Submission End Date: 15th November)