To make it legit, I asked Lee Ji-Hye for a favor.

"I really want it to feel like we’re in danger, and it can’t be awkward," I told her.

"Don’t we just need to make your party feel powerless? However, an ordinary guild member won’t do," Lee Ji-Hye said.

"Is that right?"

"Ugh… the executives are busy right now, and it won’t really change anything just because one executive joins the group… Let me take care of this. It can’t be helped. I don’t know if it’ll work, but if the deal works out, then I’m sure you’ll get the result you want," she said.

"Do you have something in mind?" I asked.

"It’s a secret for now. You can open the gift when you get there," she replied.

I didn’t think much of it because I had never doubted Lee Ji-Hye’s work. I did think that maybe she had prepared an extravagant event, but I had never imagined that she would use the master of the guild she was a part of. Moreover, I couldn’t help but think that I knew what kind of deal she had made with the guild master. I was sure her guild master had only agreed to participate in this event under the condition that she would get to meet Kim Hyun-Sung. Despite the condition, it was undeniable that Lee Ji-Hye had done it yet again.

‘However…’

This was too legit.

“Run!!!”

I knew it just by looking at Park Deok-Gu’s violent reaction. He knew that we stood no chance after he bore the brunt of Park Yeon-Joo’s overflowing mana and bloodthirstiness. Of course, everyone here was considered strong, but despite having the worst stats, Park Deok-Gu had grown a lot when compared to the other players who had been here for a year. However, it didn’t mean his growth was enough for him to face a strong player like her.

‘She’s on a different level.’

…He was probably thinking like this.

“W-What’s going—”

“Hyung-nim! Hurry up and run! Hurry!” Park Deok-Gu screamed once more.

He had definitely thought he was the only one who discovered the danger because the way he yelled was amusing. However, his actions showed how much he cared about our safety, but under the assumption that Park Yeon-Joo wasn’t acting, it was understandable for him to react that way. This was different from the time we had faced Cha Hee-Ra. Back then, our party was balanced because we had Kim Hyun-Sung and Jo Hye-Jin. In addition, Cha Hee-Ra was going easy on us.

No matter how much I thought about it, Park Deok-Gu couldn’t guarantee the safety of the rearguards, and he had definitely reacted that way because he had realized that, but I had also grown since then.

First, showing resistance was the right thing to do. Instinctively, Jung Ha-Yan started to recite a spell, and Kim Ye-Ri held her daggers as she put her guard up toward the woman looking at us.

‘Shit… what if she’s really part of the brigade?’

I felt so threatened that I even started to think that way. I used Mind’s Eye to check, and after confirming that she really was Park Yeon-Joo, I felt a bit relieved, but still…

‘She’s scary…’

As if her sudden disappearing act wasn’t enough, the way she ran toward us like a madwoman was horrifying.

“Aaaah!!!”

Since there was somewhat of a distance between us, Jung Ha-Yan managed to activate her spell first.

Boom!

With that sound, dozens of mana started raining down on Park Yeon-Joo. It had to be a homing-type spell because it turned and tracked her, but Park Yeon-Joo blocked all of them using one dagger before she continued to run toward us. The purpose of the spell was to test her, but I guess it didn’t really affect her, so I had no choice but to put mana into the Dragon Breath Potion. I was doing this to shake off the threatening atmosphere she was giving off rather than to do my best and resist her.

Buuuuuuzz!!!

Boooooooooom!!!

There was an explosion after Park Yeon-Joo blocked Jung Ha-Yan’s attack. Naturally, I didn’t think she was going to get hurt because even if we combined all of our powers, we would be no match for her.

It had to be Park Deok-Gu’s first time seeing the firepower of the Dragon Breath Potion because he looked at me both speechless and stupefied.

“Focus, you pig!” I yelled.

“O-Okay, hyung-nim,” he replied.

Currently, there wasn’t anything Park Deok-Gu could do because Park Yeon-Joo was still trying to close the gap between us while we were trying to widen it. Jung Ha-Yan activated spells to shake her off while I responded to the unknown variables.

‘Because it hurts my pride…’

This was also a way for Jung Ha-Yan and me to test our skills.

“Windy Steps!”

My body felt lighter when she activated that spell. It wasn’t enough compared to Park Yeon-Joo’s agility stats, but it helped.

After the explosion stopped, I saw Park Yeon-Joo walking out of the smoke with an annoyed expression.

‘Did we make her mad? Shit…’

I could understand it because I suddenly hurled a legendary-ranked potion at her.

I moved faster than before, and I imbued my mana into the potion again. I had two seconds before it exploded, but it wouldn’t even take two seconds for Park Yeon-Joo to reach us.

Buuuuuuuuuzz!

Since I had already imbued my mana into the potion, I had to throw it, and even though we were inside the blast radius, I didn’t really care. I placed my hand on the ground after throwing the potion, and I heard a crackling noise as a large dragon’s tail wrapped around the party.

Booooooooom!!!

Park Yeon-Joo was the only person within the blast radius. Park Deok-Gu looked at me again in shock.

“T-This is—”

“I have accomplished a few things recently…” I interrupted him.

“I see…” he muttered.

The moment the dragon’s tail disappeared, Jung Ha-Yan used her magic.

‘Maybe we could actually win.’

I imagined it for a moment, but the way Park Yeon-Joo broke through Jung Ha-Yan’s area of effect magic and got close to us was shocking. She glared at us with an even more annoyed expression.

‘Ack…’

I thought that we had widened the distance between us a bit more.

‘Huh?’

It certainly felt like she was a bit far from us, but she had instantly arrived in the middle of our party and was glaring at me.

‘Is this her attribute?’

All I did was check her name through Mind’s Eye, but she probably had an attribute or stat that allowed her to instantly close the gap.

When I quickly fiddled with the catalyst, flames appeared in my hand as it crackled, but there was nothing I could do because Park Yeon-Joo immediately swung her dagger at me. Before Park Deok-Gu could respond, Kim Ye-Ri jumped in with her daggers.

Boom!

“I heard the Blue Guild has a lot of talented people… It must be true.”

I heard her quiet voice.

Kim Ye-Ri deserved to be praised for being able to follow Park Yeon-Joo’s attack and block it. In addition, Kim Ye-Ri was the only person who reacted when Park Yeon-Joo suddenly appeared in the middle of our group. However, her fast reaction didn’t mean she could stop her. She managed to block one of her attacks, but she wouldn’t be able to block Park Yeon-Joo’s follow-up attacks. After retrieving her dagger, Park Yeon-Joo immediately kicked Kim Ye-Ri, and she flew into a tree on the other side while coughing blood.

‘Retire.’

“Ye-Ri!”

“I would worry about yourself, Lee Ki-Young,” Park Yeon-Joo warned.

“Aaaahhh!”

Park Deok-Gu was horrified when Kim Ye-Ri flew and crashed into a tree, causing him to charge toward Park Yeon-Joo with his shield.

“Mr. Ahn Ki-Mo, take care of Ye-Ri!” I ordered.

“O-Okay!” Ahn Ki-Mo replied.

While Ahn Ki-Mo was running toward Kim Ye-Ri, dozens of daggers and swords pierced his back.

‘Is that her attribute, too?’

“Cough!”

Those injuries would have definitely killed him in an instant, but when I heard him scream, it made me think that the weapons hadn’t damaged his vitals. There was a high chance that those weapons were custom-made.

“Gaah…”

Despite that, seeing Ahn Ki-Mo drag himself while showing off his acting skills was a sight to see. When I saw how he continued to act even though no one was watching made me realize that he was truly an actor.

‘He really doesn’t need to go that far…’

Seeing him screaming while crawling toward Kim Ye-Ri to heal her made him seem like someone who had lost his comrade. His passionate acting caused me to focus on him, but Ahn Ki-Mo wasn’t the main character of this stage. It was Park Deok-Gu. We had prepared all this just for him.

I saw Park Deok-Gu facing Park Yeon-Joo while biting his lips, and he was obviously no match for her. He was actually struggling because there was a difference between their agility stats. He couldn’t stop Park Yeon-Joo when she completely ignored him and charged at Jung Ha-Yan. In the end, Park Yeon-Joo stabbed Jung Ha-Yan’s chest with a black sword before retreating. Horrified, I went over to Jung Ha-Yan and poured my potion on her chest.

‘She didn’t actually stab her, right?’

I was able to confirm that she wasn’t injured when Jung Ha-Yan slightly opened her eyes. I was kind of curious about what the sword was composed of, but that wasn’t important right now.

“O… oppa… I love…” Jung Ha-Yan mumbled.

“You’re going to stay alive, Ha-Yan,” I told her.

“I love you…” she muttered.

“Ha-Yan!!!” I screamed

I had never asked her to be the tragic heroine, but when she was done with her acting, Jung Ha-Yan’s breathing started to slow down. When Park Deok-Gu saw that, he started to swing his shield while screaming.

“Aaaahhh!!!”

I expected it, but he looked quite sad. His face was filled with resentment toward none other than himself, as he couldn’t do anything.

Everything happened so fast, and even though I didn’t know what he was thinking right now, I saw tears in his eyes, which made me feel kind of bad.

‘This is all for you, Deok-Gu.’

I was sure…

‘You can do it.’

After Park Yeon-Joo stabbed Jung Ha-Yan with the black sword, she didn’t target me because I was still mourning over Jung Ha-Yan. She probably thought it was best to get rid of me after making Park Deok-Gu feel weak because she thought that would make the situation a bit more dramatic.

Park Deok-Gu continued to swing his shield and sword, but obviously, his sword couldn’t even reach Park Yeon-Joo.

“Shit!!! Shit!!!”

Even Kim Ye-Ri couldn’t touch her, so it was natural that his sword wouldn’t reach her. Park Yeon-Joo was actually messing with him, which made it seem like he was really getting bullied. I felt even worse when I saw how his figure became covered in more blood as time went on, but despite his injuries, Park Deok-Gu was still holding on to his sword. The reason was obvious. Everyone knew that Park Deok-Gu was trying his best to protect me right now.

“Run away, hyung-nim! Run far away!” he yelled.

He kept saying the same thing over and over again.

“Hyung-nim!” he cried out.

‘I’m really sorry…’

The situation had become big to the point that I wouldn’t be able to say anything if Park Deok-Gu decided to beat me to death after the reveal. When I was still planning this, I knew I would feel bad, but my heart broke when I saw how he was crying while screaming at me to run. Everyone here knew that all this was just an act, but to him, it was real. I was convinced that he valued my life more than his when he kept on telling me to run while blocking Park Yeon-Joo. He was showing it through his actions, not just with words. Unfortunately, passion and determination wouldn’t resolve a situation.

As time went on, the bloody Park Deok-Gu started to glare at Park Yeon-Joo while collecting his breath. He wasn’t in the condition to move anymore. When Park Yeon-Joo lifted her hand, a black sword dropped from the sky, and she looked as if she was going to execute him.

“Run… hyung-nim… take… noonim with you…” Park Deok-Gu weakly muttered.

The moment the black sword fell toward the mumbling Park Deok-Gu, I moved and stood in front of him. It was nothing more than me moving my body according to Park Yeon-Joo’s signal, but it was pretty dramatic. It felt uncomfortable to move my body, but it was really interesting how I didn't feel any pain, and of course, I heard a low voice behind me. To Park Deok-Gu, I probably looked like I was spreading my arms out to protect him. It was definitely a dramatic scene.

“Hyung-nim?” Park Deok-Gu called out.

“Ah…”

“Hyung-nim?” he called out once again.

“Run… you pig…” I mumbled.

When I looked at Park Deok-Gu while spitting out the red potion I was holding in my mouth, his face distorted.

“Hyung… hyung-nim… hyung-nim…!” he repeatedly muttered.

“Ah…”

“Hyung-nim! Hyung-nim!!!” he screamed.

“Always remember… Deok-Gu,” I started.

“Don’t go… don’t go… I remember so… please… hold on a little longer… a little longer…” he begged.

Park Deok-Gu’s snot-covered and tear-streaked face turned cold. He had definitely realized it.

‘He can still save us.’

Both Jung Ha-Yan and Kim Ye-Ri were still slightly breathing, and so was I.

‘Nice.’

The pig, who previously didn’t know how to do anything, slowly stood up. He had a hard time moving his body, but rather than crying during his final moments; he decided to get up and fight.

‘Alright! Damn, that’s what I’m talking about!’

The way he grabbed his sword and shield before standing in front of me made him look pretty reliable. It was then that I heard him mumble.

“I can… do better.”

They were the words that kept him going.

The preparation was complete, and the situation had become dramatic enough. In a situation like this, heroes would usually break through their limits once or twice, and obviously, I trusted Park Deok-Gu to do that as well. The fact that he held his sword and shield once again proved that he was worthy enough.

“I can… do better,” he repeated.

Park Yeon-Joo maintained her cold expression, and she waved her hand again, causing dozens of swords to fall toward me. However, Park Deok-Gu lifted his shield, and as he released an unknown shout, a golden light enveloped his body.

“A job change…”

[Checking Player Park Deok-Gu’s Unique Habit.]

[Unstoppable Hero]

‘That’s what I’m talking about!!!’

I couldn’t help but think that this result was inevitable.

Veela: Yeah, baby! That’s what we’ve been waiting for, that’s what all this is all about!