Chapter 221

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Translated by Jinmu
Read it only at Novelbyu.com & Utoon.net
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[The corresponding ranking was calculated considering all complex factors. Please be advised that the calculation criteria may change or be adjusted according to changes within the game.]

[Player Ranking]

1st Sirius (Sacred Body Faction)

2nd Kang-cheol (Hardliners)

3rd Cheon Su-rin (Sacred Body Faction)

4th Kenshin (Sacred Body Faction)

5th Everett (Sacred Body Faction)

6th LLLL (Moderates)

7th Bishne (Sacred Body Faction)

8th Nightmare (Hardliners)

9th Xiao Hui (Sacred Body Faction)

10th Erich (Sacred Body Faction)

…

-?

-Uh?

-Is this for real?

-7 out of the top 10 are Sacred Body Faction?

-Even looking at the top 100, more than 60 percent are Sacred Body Faction. lol

-Is this balance for real;

-Weren’t those bastards secretly cheating?

-They’re crossing the line?

-Huh? I’m getting mad?

[Swindler has donated 5,000 won.]

[Something smells fishy.]

Viewers expressed suspicion at the Sacred Body Faction dominating the rankings.

“Wow, this is really…”

“I didn’t know the difference would be this severe.”

“There are only about ten people from the Moderates.”

The twins and Ping-pong also showed absurd reactions.

However, Han-bit’s gaze remained fixed on the 1st place in the rankings.

‘Sirius…’

The records of the Black Dragon he had checked through the Faded Stone Tablet.

There, the two goddesses who existed at the beginning of time and two dragons, black and white, were mentioned.

And the name of the White Dragon in Han-bit’s knowledge was precisely Sirius.

‘It can’t be a coincidence.’

The nickname Black Dragon that was forced upon him.

That dragon, whose name and existence were not clearly known, was definitely on the side of the Goddess of Silence.

And in a situation where he knew such a background, the nickname of the 1st place in the Sacred Body Faction overlapped with the name of the White Dragon.

As if he were an adversary standing against them on behalf of the goddesses.

[Ranking: 4,502nd]

‘I was already at the Vanguard level.’

Han-bit’s ranking was 4,502nd.

Although he didn’t know the calculation factors well, in a situation where he was progressing through the 7th episode, he had reached a position equivalent to the previous middle-tier Vanguard.

-Wow, holy sh*t

-4,502nd?

-Wasn’t that Vanguard level before?

-Breaking the all-time shortest record;

-He’s just a crazy guy. lol

Viewers who saw the ranking were astonished.

It was such a miraculous growth rate.

Ttiring—

Then, the sound of an alarm rang in his ears.

It was a message from Yeon-woo.

「Yeon-woo」

「Hyung! Go to this link and watch the press conference! It’s about to start!」

‘Press conference?’

At the news that flew in abruptly, Han-bit accessed the link.

In the video that played immediately, a press conference room with the logo of the large corporation Eblio was visible.

「Hello. I am the player Everett, ranked 5th.」

The woman with brown hair stared into the camera with green eyes.

Ranked 5th.

She was a player of the Sacred Body Faction.

-Uh?

-Isn’t that person a singer?

-If it’s Everett, she’s world-class.

-But she’s 5th in the rankings?

-Freaking OP dd

Viewers who saw the woman’s face poured out information they knew.

Meanwhile, Everett’s statement continued.

「We, members of the Sacred Body Faction, are doing our best to bring victory to the Goddess of Turbulence. This unwavering will is the driving force that allows us to become an even more powerful force.」

-?

-Is it the Goddess again?

-Is that side collectively crazy?

-Immersion acknowledged.

-Please live your real life.

The story of the Goddess thrown out casually again.

Verdict was like that too, but they seemed to have no intention of hiding it at all.

Perhaps a change had occurred in the internal policy of the Sacred Body Faction.

「I do not expect understanding from ordinary people. But I will give exactly two warnings.」

Everett stared into the camera with an expressionless face.

Pausing for a moment, she continued in a clear voice.

「Do not interfere with us. And do not stand on the side of our main enemy, the Black Dragon. A single wrong choice will lead to ruin.」

Having delivered a chilling warning, Everett stood up from her seat.

She walked around the desk toward the camera.

Coming completely into close range, she lowered her posture.

Then, with a smirk, she said.

「Black Dragon, the real competition will start from now on. I hope I can see you being miserably defeated along with your Goddess.」

Click—

The live video cut off along with the words of a curse.

The ones who were shocked first were the viewers.

-Heol.

-Main enemy?

-No wonder they were picking fights so much;

-An entire faction just declared someone their main enemy. lol

-Why are you doing that to our kid;

-Black Dragon, it seems like things are screwed.

-I can’t stand this. Let’s gather the viewers.

-Fact) Even with 1 million viewers, it’s useless.

-???: How do we beat Balder!

The declaration thrown out by the Sacred Body Faction, especially the one ranked 5th, had significant weight.

An intention to punish not only the Black Dragon but also those who helped him.

It was an appearance overflowing with confidence and hostility.

“They’re just saying it openly.”

“It seems like there will be many clashes in the future.”

The twins’ reaction was calm.

Probably because they had considered them enemies all along.

But Ping-pong’s expression was not good.

“No…”

Having been with them for only a few hours, he didn’t know the detailed inner story.

Even if the warning from the Sacred Body Faction, which looked overwhelming just by looking at the rankings, felt significant, it wasn’t strange.

“Why, do you want to back out?”

“Yes?”

“You’re afraid of getting caught up in it.”

“…Ah.”

At those words, Ping-pong let out a short exclamation as if he understood.

Then, showing his screen, he continued.

“It’s not that I’m afraid, I was just surprised. I even went to an Everett concert a few months ago. To be 5th in the rankings while doing those activities is truly unbelievable.”

“…”

-?

-Were you a fan?

-A trick of fate dd

-Fan meeting (ruin)

-I’ve even been to a concert in Korea…

Han-bit was instead dazed by the reaction that completely missed his expectation.

Seeing that appearance, Ping-pong said with a smile.

“Did you think I would run away? Absolutely not.”

“Absolutely not?”

“You said you were taking me to DD Studio, didn’t you? I’m someone who wants to see the peak. To the point of spending my entire fortune to buy this shield.”

-Oh.

-He doesn’t run away from this?

-You have ambition.

-Mhm, the peak is the Black Dragon.

Ping-pong tapped the Guardian’s Shield.

He seemed flustered when the recruitment story was brought up, but it seemed he was just surprised.

After scanning the ranking list for a moment, Han-bit turned his gaze away and said.

“Then let’s stop here for today. Since we can only proceed tomorrow anyway. Viewers, see you tomorrow.”

-Can’t help the waiting time.

-The dopamine was just starting to kick in;

-Too bad.

-See you tomorrow.

-Dragon-bye.

-Bye bye.

Viewers who accepted the end of the broadcast readily thanks to the 12-hour waiting time.

Han-bit ended the streaming immediately.

“Will it be okay to go from here? People from the Sacred Body Faction might storm in.”

Haneul, who was wary of the outside of the window, asked in a small voice.

It was a natural worry, but there was no need to care in this place.

“It’s okay. Even if they come, there’s nothing they can do.”

The Old Elf Village was under the management of the Investigation Team.

And the Investigation Team members who brought Han-bit’s group were Heilen and Ibella.

In other words, carrying out an attack should be seen as meaning they would start a fight with them.

If they made such a stupid choice, he even had the intention of giving them a round of applause.

“Ping-pong, send me your contact information. Haneul, No-eul, I’ll contact you tomorrow.”

“Understood!”

“Yes!”

Click—

Having ended the game, Han-bit took off his gear.

Picking up his smartphone placed by the bedside, he sent a message to Yeon-woo.

「You have the contact information for the National Game Strategy Center, right? Send it to me.」

***

The next morning.

Leaving home early, Han-bit arrived at the semi-basement of a building.

It was the meeting place Ryu Seong-ryong had sent.

Creek—

The iron door opened with a sound even before he pressed the bell.

The face of the person who revealed himself was familiar.

“Please come inside.”

Ryu Seong-ryong, whose impression was similar to his character.

The appearance where sharpness and peacefulness were felt simultaneously felt mysterious.

“Is this an unused office?”

Han-bit asked while looking around the shabby interior.

Aside from a whiteboard, a table, and chairs, it was a place with nothing.

“I prepared one in a place that stands out as little as possible. Because the movements of the Sacred Body Faction side might become strange.”

“Are you talking about the reality side?”

“They are people who serve the Goddess of Turbulence. There’s no way they would only pick fights inside RP. Ah, you can sit here.”

Ryu Seong-ryong guided him to a seat along with the heavy story.

As he sat at the table, he took a seat across from him and continued.

“Our center is aware of your residence, Black Dragon-nim. I don’t want to cause you any inconvenience, but it seems vigilance of the surroundings will be necessary for the time being.”

“I expected it from the moment I heard it was a national institution. If it’s a fight, how far should I think?”

“Just as it is for us, RP is not a simple game for the enemies either. If things don’t go their way, it should be considered that they could carry out contract killings at any time. Even if not, there won’t be a few people whose eyes would turn for the ownership of RP.”

“…Well, I suppose so.”

A game is just a game.

Applying this sentence to RP was difficult because there were too many complex factors.

Although Han-bit’s identity was not yet known, he didn’t have expectations that it would be hidden until the end.

“Will the timing for extreme actions be after obtaining a clue about Erport?”

“That is my thought. Since it seems the members of the Sacred Body Faction haven’t clearly grasped it yet either. The reason they don’t immediately take you down, Black Dragon-nim, must also be because of the possibility that you might find something. So they can snatch that clue at any time.”

Erport, which had to be found for the clear of RP.

No matter how many rankers the Sacred Body Faction had, they didn’t seem to have found a decisive clue yet.

However, that situation was the same for the past Han-bit as well.

“I don’t have a clue about Erport either. I didn’t find out anything until the last turn.”

“I think the 55 turns were probably preparation for this time. In fact, you haven’t had the experience of becoming strong this fast before, have you?”

“…That’s true.”

Han-bit, who grew at a tremendous speed thanks to various benefits and systems.

Although there were many things mixed in here and there, it was at a level unimaginable in the past.

Surpassing his own peak was not a story that was very far off.

Of course, that was a story that other people with experience in another world would also likely go through.

“You said you progressed through only one turn, Seong-ryong-ssi?”

“Yes. Right before I was in a traffic accident, the Goddess of Silence led me.”

“Traffic accident?”

“If you’re hit by a truck, you’re sent to another world. Isn’t there a story like that? You can see it as something similar to that.”

“…”

Ryu Seong-ryong, who was transferred at a quite urgent moment.

It was completely different from Han-bit, who was dragged away while drinking water.

“Is that why you follow the Goddess of Silence?”

“I can’t say it’s not at all, but I revere her character and sincerity. It must be because the will she had to try to stop the destroying world alone was clearly felt.”

Ryu Seong-ryong made an expression as if recalling a happy memory.

Han-bit also shared not a few conversations with the Goddess, but he didn’t hear even a little bit of the story that came out on the tablet.

What kind of discrimination was it for someone who had been rolled 55 times.

“Ah, for your information, I kept throwing questions. Since that taciturn Goddess wouldn’t be one to bring up a story first.”

“It seems the atmosphere was very different from mine.”

Whether he read the expression, Ryu Seong-ryong added an explanation to clear up the misunderstanding.

However, Han-bit, who returned before the Goddess through death, always poured out anger and lamentation.

Come to think of it, he didn’t even have the mental leeway to listen to things like the distant past in detail.

Ding-dong—

Then, the bell rang loudly from the entrance side.

Standing up from his seat, Ryu Seong-ryong approached and opened the door.

“Have you come?”

“What, I’m a bit late?”

The face of the man who came inside was familiar.

Short hair and a scruffy tracksuit.

It was Haemu, who was a high-tier Vanguard.

“Haemu?”

“Black Dragon, why do you look so good? In this nonsensical situation?”

Approaching quickly and taking the seat next to him, he asked while checking Han-bit’s complexion.

He fell asleep after doing various investigations and making plans yesterday, but as long as he had some amount of sleep, it was enough.

“Why did you call Haemu?”

“It’s because of Odin. Right now, he’s the only one who can give information…”

“Ah, before starting that story, let’s finish one thing first.”

Then, Haemu touched the smartphone screen.

Then a unique logo in the shape of a shield appeared.

“What is this?”

“An alliance of the Hardliners and the Moderates.”

“Alliance?”

“If we leave the Sacred Body Faction like that, RP is over. Players of other factions will just end up being controlled.”

Continuing the explanation, he moved his finger to turn the page.

A list of players was listed there.

Seeing quite a few rankers within the top 100, it was an excellent composition.

Stopping at the last empty page, Haemu looked at Han-bit and said.

“The 6th ranked LLLL decided to join on the condition that you enter. What will you do?”