4.

  “I’m sorry. We can’t abandon the forest. We can’t run away.”


  The voice was light, and it was filled with sorrow. Still, the voice was very beautiful, and it tickled one’s ears. A man, who looked like a fighting dog, silently looked at the character, who spoke. He gritted his teeth.

  “Whistling hyung-nim! It is almost right in front of our noses!”


  “Whistling oppa! It would be best if we leave right now!”


  A man and a woman yelled to the rough looking man from afar.

  Yojori and Joba were comrades of Whistling, but they had also become his dongsaengs. However, he didn’t answer them.

  He looked at a pointy eared elf with pink short hair. She had on a hairpin made out of cherry blossoms clipped to her hair.

  “Please go.”


  The Elf let out a bright smile towards Whistling, and she lightly put her hands on his chest.

  “We won’t forget the effort you exerted for us. We’ll even imprint your story in the Record Fruit. When the Record Seed sprouts and grows, it will remember you. It’ll will be seen by our descendents.”


  The Elf, who had put her hand on Whistling’s chest, turned, and she started to run towards an unknown destination. It wasn’t just a single Elf. Numerous Elves, who looked similar to a pink colored buds of a cherry blossom, was running through the forest.

  [You have acquired the title ‘The Great Benefactor of the Elves’.]

  [You have acquired the title ‘One who received the Blessing of the Elves’.]

  [The effect of the title, ‘One who received the Blessing of the Elves’, will allow your movement speed to increase by 10% at locations where trees are present.]

  Even during such a ruckus, Whistling heard the System Announcement regarding the acquisition of his Titles.

  The Announcement would have given goosebumps to most Users. This might be one of handful of Titles coveted the most in terms of worth. The eyes of most Users would have flipped around from jealousy. It was a valuable Title.

  However, the value of the Title didn’t register in Whistling’s ears or eyes.

  ‘Shit.’


  They were at a half-moon shaped lake located in the southeast region of the Black Continent. It was called the Ohokal.

  The lake was a stage with a forest filled with cherry blossom trees next to it. The region was always fragrant, and it always gave off a fresh feeling.

  The Simia tribe was an Elven tribe, who decided to reside in this region. They wore outfits that went very well with their surrounding. The Elves of the Simia tribe always had on accessories that reminded one of a cherry blossom.

  On the surface, this region looked very beautiful, but it was crawling with monsters over Level 220.

  However, even amongst such difficulties, the Simia tribe protected and maintained their way of life.

  However, a being that the Elves wouldn’t be able to win against was coming towards their lands.

  Barbarian King!

  The Stormhunters guild had awakened this monster about a month ago, and it was roaming around the Black Continent. Every region it passed through turned into hell.

  At that moment, the Barbarian King had brought several thousand monsters, and they were getting ready to cross the Ohokal Lake.

  However, the Simia tribe decided to fight back against the Barbarian King. They decided to mount a defense for their land by the lake.

  They would meet their end here.

  “Hyung-nim!”


  “Oppa!”


  They’ll fall.

  At that moment, Whistling didn’t want to make such guarantees, but the Simia tribe wouldn’t be able to defend their land from the Barbarian King. The System called Warlord wouldn’t allow it.

  The Warlord’s System would only allow Users to defeat the Barbarian King.

  This truth was revealed by the Steel Lion Knights, who crossed the Urugal mountain range. They cut through the wall of Level 240 monsters like butter to reach the Barbarian King, but they were crushed in a horrible manner. The Barbarian King hadn’t received even a scratch in the fight, and it gave credence to this truth.

  This was a game.

  “Shit!”


  However, Whistling couldn’t accept the excuse that this was merely a game. He wouldn’t take this situation lying down.

  “Yojori! Joba! You guys get out of here!”


  “What?”


  “I’ll fight here. I’ll stop the Barbarian King here.”


  After hearing his words, Yojori and Joba had the same expression on their faces. They were dumbfounded.

  Whistling wanted to stop the Barbarian King?

  There had already been many attempts to pull off such a feat.

  Numerous Raid teams were formed for the purpose of killing the Barbarian King. These were raid attempts with a good deal of preparation and forethought behind it.

  All of them failed miserably.

  The reason why the Barbarian King was coming to this place was the fact that all previous Raid Teams had failed.

  Yet he wanted to stop the Barbarian King?

  This was an absolutely absurd statement.

  “Ok. Let’s do this.”


  “The worst that can happen is a Game Over. Let us fight together. Anyways, our Quest is gone, because of the Barbarian King.”


  “The act of walking back to the Heard Fortress ruin town will be arduous. Let’s just die and get sent there at once.”


  “We can’t turn back now. We have to try something. Absolutely!”


  However, Yojori and Joba had already evaluated the situation that’ll unfold soon. Their faces relaxed, and they put on bright expressions.

  Whistling gritted his teeth at their words. The two of them were choosing to suffer through a Game Over for him. He was thankful, and he was sorry.

  However, at that moment, Whistling didn’t express those two feelings.

  “All right. Let us become heroes for once.”


  They would show their will. Their will was inelegant and worthless, but they would express their will.

  However, there was no way they would become heroes.

  5.

  [You Level has increased.]

  [Bone Dragon Skill Rank has increased to Rank C.]

  [Iron Golem Skill Rank has increased to Rank C.]

  [Death Knight Skill Rank has increased to Rank B.]

  [Skeleton Exhibition Skill Rank has increased to Rank D.]

  [You’ve acquired the Title ‘Slaughterer of the Tattoo Scorpions’.]

  There were so many consecutive System Announcement that it was almost tiring to hear it.

  Each accumulation of these Announcements was good news, but Hyrkan’s ears didn’t pay attention to the sound.

  He raised his head, and he looked at the monster he was stepping on.

  His foot was on the Tattoo Scorpion’s tail. It was a 7 meters long monster with tattoos all over its body.

  Doohk ddoohk!

  Big drops of poison was falling from the tip of the Tattoo Scorpion’s tail. It was the size of a man’s head.

  Hyrkan’s HP slowly fell as the poison dripped. Hrykan bit down on the red candy inside his mouth.

  Accompanying a taste akin to a spicy garlic, his HP started to rise.

  Since he had a time for a breather, Hyrkan looked at his defensive set.

  It wasn’t invincible, but the spotted armor had more defense than any other defensive set in Warlord. However, the Dark Spot set had holes in various locations right now, and the holes were the size of the stinger on the Tattoo Scorpion’s tail.

  ‘It is time for me to change it.’


  Dark Spot set.

  He had used it for a very long time, and it was finally time to say goodbye to this Item.

  It was a late goodbye. Even if it was a very good Item, it was only a level 180 set, yet it was being used in a level 260 hunting ground. If one expected one to be fine using such an Item here, one would be expecting too much.

  This was also the reason why he was killing the Tattoo Scorpions.

  ‘Well, I’ll have to use this opportunity to switch out everything.’


  Tattoo Scorpion.

  It was a mid-sized Level 260 Monster. When one went deeper into the Red Desert, one would arrive at the Red Wasteland. One could encounter this monster there, and it was the highest Level monster encountered by Users in Warlord as of now. Moreover, it had the best Option amongst Rare Rank Items that could be crafted from normal monsters over Level 240.

  The best feature activated when one wore all 5 parts. The effect of the Tattoo Scorpion’s Tattoo Pattern was quite good.

  When one attacked, it could impose a Poison Status on one’s opponent. Moreover, the poison was quite powerful.

  Hyrkan decided to use this opportunity to equip all his Skeletons with the Tattoo Scorpion Set.

  It had been about a month, since the Barbarian King had appeared, and this was why Hyrkan had stuck to hunting only the Tattoo Scorpions.

  Now he was reaping the benefit of staying in this location for a month.

  He had reached Level 253.

  One could find Hyrkan’s name in the Level Rankings now. There was only a 12 level gap between him and the First One.

  Moreover, he had gathered a lot of Items. He had obtained enough Items to equip 30 Skeletons with a full set. Thirty sounded small, but each set had five parts. Basically, he had acquired 150 Rare Items. Normal Users wouldn’t even be able to imagine the process involved in killing so many Tattoo Scorpions.

  This was why Hyrkan was able to earn a profit through the footage. Hyrkan poured his money into this hunt.

  He wasn’t as rich as the old Rich Lich, but it wasn’t an exaggeration to say that Hyrkan was spending as much as him.

  Despite this fact, Hyrkan’s account was in the surplus. Even as he went nuts in spending his money, there was always money left in Hyrkan’s Wallet.

  This was the best.

  His incredible Level Up pace had him in spitting distance to First One, who was 1st in the rankings. His free-handed investments allowed him to quickly raise the Skill Ranks, and he had acquired Level 250 Rare Items by killing powerful monsters. All of this process was being consumed by voracious viewers. His viewers didn’t hesitate to pay for his content. They wanted to see everything he did.

  While he was doing all of this, the Black Continent was slowly descending into hell thanks to the efforts of the Barbarian King. All of Hahoe Mask’s competitors were being killed under the tyrannical rule of the Barbarian King.

  Hahoe Mask was leaving everyone in the dust.

  This situation was unbelievably great for him.

  When he realized he had returned to the past, he had been really glad that he would be able to play this game again. At the time, he could have never imagined that he would reach such an optimal situation, yet Hyrkan had climbed to the top.

  So why was he feeling this way?

  ‘······this is boring.’


  A yawn came out of his mouth.

  He had achieved the goal he had always pined for. Riches and fame was within his grasp, and it wouldn’t be an exaggeration to say he was the best in this game.

  However, the recent Tattoo Scorpion Hunt was the most boring period of time he had experienced since he started Warlord.

  ‘I was never bored when I fought against the Stormhunters guild……’


  This was a first.

  While Hyrkan played Warlord, the game sometimes made him annoyed and angry. There were many instances where he swore at the game. However, he never thought that the game of Warlord was boring.

  Even when he was warring with the Stormhunters guild, he cussed them out in anger. He was sick and tired of them. However, he never thought the game was boring.

  When he killed five to six guild members of the Stormhunters guild, he felt joy. He felt happy when he broke through the tribulation in the style of the Hero Slaughterer. He had enjoyed Warlord in those moments.

  Hyrkan turned his head. His surrounding was filled Skeleton Warriors, who had been brilliant in their fight against the Tattoo Scorpions. The Skeleton Warriors were staring back at him. They were waiting for their master to give a new order.

  ‘Now that I think about it, they fight intelligently even without my training.’


  He thought about a fond memory of his. In the beginning, he had ruthlessly pushed the Skeleton Warriors to train them. However, they no longer needed his training. The Skeleton’s Combat AI was a finished product. It was splendid. The repeated training and battles allowed them to become extraordinary warriors. At the very least, they would be able to hold their own weight in any fight.

  The Skeletons were better than most Users, and he had 100 Skeletons under his command. In the near future, he’ll also use the Transcendent Ancient Power on the Death Knight when it became Rank A.

  Who’ll be able to rival him at that point?

  Royal Road!

  The road of an emperor could be seen in front of him right now. If he followed this road, he’ll surely become the best.

  However, Hyrkan wasn’t interested in what was waiting at the end of the road.

  Hyrkan lowered his head.

  It was as if he was trying to avoid the gazes of his Skeleton Warriors.

  “······fuck.”


  In the end, a swear word came out of his mouth.

  The one to break his dull and boring day was a call from his friend.

  6-

  I want to borrow your name, Hahoe Mask.

  Whistling had contacted Hyrkan out of nowhere, and the request was quite sudden.

  Before Hyrkan could reply to his request, Whistling quickly explained his situation. He sounded desperate as if he was being chased by something-

  You don’t have to do anything. I know this is asking a lot from you. I just…… I need your name. Please let me borrow your name.

  Hyrkan calmed him down before asking for an explanation. Afterwards, Whistling calmly explained the plan he came up with-

  I’m planning on killing the Barbarian King. However, as you probably know, the 30 great guilds won’t participate in the Barbarian King Raid. In the end, the regular Users have to be gathered to form a Raid Team…… I plan on using the Hahoe Mask name to gather the normal Users. If it becomes known that you’ll step forward forward for the Barbarian King raid, many Users will participate.

  At the end, he gave his apologies-

  I know this request is a bit much. This is why if the Raid fails…… I’ll tell them I made it all up. I’ll tell them I sold you out. Still, there might be some backlash towards you…… I’m asking for a favor. I can’t leave the Barbarian King alone. Even if this is only a game, I can’t just stand by and watch this unfold. I don’t want to wait as I pray for the 30 great guilds to move.

  Finally, the meat of the conversation started.

  “So you want to kill the Barbarian King?”
-

  The Users are pretty much fed up. They are very unsatisfied with the Barbarian King. If it becomes known that you want to catch the Barbarian King, there are a lot of Users, who would want to help you. No, you don’t have to do anything. I’ll say this again. All I need is……

  “What clear method will you use to take down the Barbarian King? You have to destroy the Protection Gem at Phase 1. That wouldn’t be too difficult. However, you don’t have any method at your disposal that will allow you to damage it once it enters the 2nd phase called Storm Judgement Mode.”
-

  I researched the Main Scenario Quest, and I found a clue. Moreover…… The next attempt at the Barbarian King Raid would be the 31st attempt. I plan on using the clue as the basis for the next clear method.

  “What is that method?”
-

  The method is……

  Whistling first told him about the clue he was able to find in the Main Scenario quest. Then he started explaining his clear method.

  “Ooh-hahaha.”


  As he listened to Whistling’s words, laughter suddenly erupted from Hyrkan’s mouth. The excessive amount of laughter indicated that Hyrkan was delighted. He was having a hard time stopping his laughter.

  “Sorry. Ah. I’m really sorry.”


  Hyrkan was barely able to suppress his laughter, and he gave his apology-

  Were you in the middle of something? If so, I’ll call a bit later……

  Whistling couldn’t understand why Hyrkan gave an apology. He also couldn’t comprehend Hyrkan’s laughter.

  All he could do was apologize.

  Did he perhaps interrupt Hyrkan, when he was doing something very important?

  When he had this thought, Whistling wanted to immediately end the call. He was too embarrassed about his own actions. He was trying to use his friend in such a manner.

  ‘As expected, this suits my constitution.’


  Hyrkan unburdened Whistling’s heart.

  “Yes. The Hahoe Mask should do this. This isn’t something a knock-off Hahoe Mask can do. This is something the real Hahoe Mask should take on.”


  The game had been boring. For over a month, he plowed through the game as he yawned. This incident had suddenly made Hyrkan’s heart beat faster.

  Hyrkan didn’t want to avoid feeling such a thrill. No, palpitation of his heart was like the sound of an engine that was a must for Hyrkan when he played Warlord.

  “You set it up. I’ll go catch that bastard. I’ll kill the Barbarian King.”


  As he spoke, Hyrkan stood up. When he started to move, the Skeletons followed Hyrkan with their gazes.

  “Ah. I’ll catch the Barbarian King by myself. From what you have told me, it’ll be more troublesome if there are too many Users there.”
-

  You want to do it alone, Hyrkan? Even if it is you, you won’t be able to solo the Barbarian King……

  Hyrkan gave a command to his Skeletons.

  “I have t solo it. If not, I won’t be able to eat all the benefits by myself. Of course, I’m not by myself.”


  He gave his instructions! His next target was the Barbarian King!

  7.

  Kooohng!

  It was a giant.

  It had massive legs that made one think about pillars. Its legs were massive, but its large body made its legs look puny. It was a giant with long and thick arms.

  Koohng!

  The giant was wearing a golden armor. The armor was very flashy, and the armor was decorated with numerous adornments. The ornaments that stood out the most were the gems of various colors.

  There were 31 gems and each of them were bigger than a person’s head. They were so bright that they were radiant.

  Koohng!

  The most striking feature was the head of the giant. It had large fan-like ears like an elephant. It had a long nose and it also possessed ivory tusks. However, the gleam in its eyes wasn’t like that of an elephant.

  The sclera of the eye was black, and the pupil was yellow. It looked like the eyes of a dragon. No, it was probably Dragon Eyes.

  Koohng!

  The 7 meters tall giant wore golden armor. Moreover, it possessed Dragon Eyes and the head of an elephant.

  Every step it took caused the ground to shake.

  It possessed enormous strength, and it possessed an incredible presence!

  Its name was Nesha.

  Barbarian King Nesha!

  This being had carried out the Dragon’s Judgement. It had made ruins of strong and prosperous Kingdoms, who had fought against the Dragon early on.

  It possessed the authority of the Dragon, and it was able to command any uncivilized beings, who were barbaric. It was able to command all beings, who lived by following their instincts.

  The monsters stepped forward for the sake of building up the king’s dignity.

  The forest looked endless, but each step taken by the king eliminated the trees.

  Shweek, shweek!

  The monsters, who possessed sharp tools, were cutting down the trees.

  Poo-hwaht!

  Those with no weapons pulled the trees and boulders by its roots. A large road formed, and it was wide enough for the Barbarian King to walk on it.

  Koohng!

  The Barbarian King took the next step only when the path was clear.

  This was the regality of a king.

  The king was overflowing with majesty, and several hundred Users looked on from afar.

  As if they had all agreed to do this, the Users started to sneer as they disparaged the Barbarian King. They started making invidious remarks.

  “Bitch. We’ll kill you this time.”


  “We now know the clear method for the 2nd Phase. We know it works. We’ll catch you this time around.”


  When the invidious remarks ended, the leader in charge of the group spoke.

  “Ready the Fire Storm!”
-

  We’re ready!

  “Fire!”


  The answer was immediate.

  Accompanying the replies, clouds started to form atop the monsters, who were making the road for the king. The clouds were tinted red, and the clouds started to let out the contents they held within.

  Hwah-roo-roohk, hwah-roo-roohk!

  Fire started to rain down.

  Fire Storm!

  Amongst the AOE magic, it boasted the biggest range. This wasn’t just a single spell being used. Several dozen Fire Storms were activated at once. In a flash, a region as large as 5 or 6 soccer fields were being impacted by showers made out of fire.

  Hwah-rooo-roo!

  The rain was making the trees into torches, and the vegetations were turned into a wild fire. In a flash, a sea made of fire came into being.

  This was only the beginning.

  “Fireball Toss!”
-

  Toss!-

  Toss!

  The monsters were making a big commotion as they felt the heat from the sea of fire. They started to run towards the source of the fire.

  Several hundred monsters were running towards the Users, and enormous balls of fire started to roll towards them.

  Deh-gool, deh-gool!

  The balls of fire were rolling across field ablaze from fire. It was like akin to a snowball rolling down the snowbank. The balls became larger as they rolled.

  When the balls of fire came close to the monsters, they were big enough to swallow the monsters.

  Puh-uhng, puh-uhng!

  The monsters were sent flying as if they were bowling pins. They were crushed and broken.

  Kwah-kwah-kwah!

  The balls of fire showed no signs of stopping, yet they were blocked by monsters, who boasted big bodies. The medium and large sized monsters stood near the Barbarian King. The Ogres, Trolls, Minotaurs and other large monsters blocked the balls of fire with their bodies.

  Ooh-uh-uh!

  These monsters had no choice, but to block the fireballs with their bodies, and cries erupted from their mouths.

  Still, the monsters did all they could to stop the balls of fire.

  They didn’t dare to let it reach the vicinity of the king!

  This was the will being expressed by the monsters, who were blocking the balls of fire.

  They were most definitely showing intent of blocking any danger directed towards the king.

  Koo-uh-uh-uh!

  When the fireballs were blocked, the monsters with loud voices started to bellow as they faced towards their enemies.

  They were giving orders.

  Koong, koong, koong, koong!

  It was an order for all monsters to charge towards the enemies in the front!

  At the command, the monsters started running as if they were competing against each other. They ran forward with the intent of killing every living being in front of them.

  “The Barbarian King team is on the move.”


  There was another group, who was running with a similar intent.

  Two hundred Users ran along the road made by cutting the tree and uprooting the stones. The monsters had moved away, and the Users ran down this wide open road.

  The battle started.

  Then several dozen minutes passed.

  Goo-roong, goo-roong!

  Dark clouds started to gather in the sky as thunder rumbled.