Chapter 69 : Chapter 69

Chapter 69 - Encounter (3)

A B-grade Climber was not an opponent an F-grade Climber could survive against by fighting fair and square.

It would be fortunate to withstand even one exchange.

Compared to me, whose stats hovered around the 1s, let's take a look at the status of Riman, who had just attacked me.

[Riman Gilius]

[ Strength: 34

Agility: 44

Endurance: 47

Stamina: 30

Luck: 11

Mana: 30 ]

As expected, his stats were terrifying, contrary to his appearance.

This was a spec that wasn't that far behind the current Seo Ah-in.

I also had quite a substantial spec for an F-grade, but even so, it was only a difference of surviving for about 3 seconds instead of dying in 1 second.

Yes.

Except for the fact that my combat power was a little excessive for an F-grade Climber.

A blow that was flying at a speed my own kinetic vision couldn't even cover was coming, but there was no need to see and dodge it in the first place.

Mid-tier vanguard skill [ Focus Strike ]

Damage multiplier 5x. Its advantages were fast activation and a wide strike range. The starting motion was a full-range sweep following a downward slash.

I knew exactly what kind of attack would come and how.

So, I didn't see and dodge, but ‘knew in advance’ and dodged.

I inserted my body into the safe zone in time with the attack timing. It was an action performed in under a comma of a second, but it was as natural as flowing water.

I've used that technique tens of thousands of times more than you, punk.

Riman's eyes widened at the sight of the greatsword cutting through the air. It must have been a technique he was confident in, and he was probably shocked to see the Eastern Climber he had looked down on so much dodge it with ease.

And here.

[ Netherworld's Grasp ]

A hand glowing with blue light clamped down on his arms.

“Aaaargh-!”

Riman, who let out a piercing scream, dropped his greatsword to the floor.

Well, the mana circuits in both his arms were being severed. It probably felt like having a branding iron seared into his body.

Seeing the smoke rising from his pale, discolored arms, the guy's own complexion turned a similar color.

Still, as a Climber who was quite confident in his abilities, he must have felt it even more sensitively.

That his mana circuits were completely shot and ‘could never be used again’.

And as much as the pain, if not more, a violent sense of fear appeared on Riman's face when he realized that fact.

“You, you, what have you done-!”

“Self-defense.”

I replied with a smirk.

Well, inside the Association building, he swung his sword at me with the ‘intent to kill’. And I responded by ‘neutralizing’ him.

Of course, it was called neutralization, but his life as a Climber was as good as finished just now.

If I had killed him outright, his guild could have made a fuss about it being an excessive response. That's how much influence Western guilds generally had.

“There.”

And in that state, I repeated the same words to the Association staff who were gathering around.

“It's self-defense. You all acknowledge that, right?”

“...”

“...”

There was no response, but I had expected this much of a response from the start.

They knew my words were 100% correct, but they didn't want to get involved by saying anything.

In fact, it was a good thing that no one came forward to subdue me right away.

So for a while, the interrogation room inside the Association was filled with only the meaningless noise of Riman wailing in pain and the people standing around muttering.

“What is all this commotion!”

Ah, finally.

Someone who seemed to have a fairly high rank in the Association came running.

Hoping that he was smart enough to understand this situation reasonably well, I pointed at Riman, who was now collapsed on the floor, shedding copious tears.

“Could you take care of this guy? I defended myself in self-defense, but anyone would think he was the victim.”

“...”

And the face of the Association staff who looked back and forth between me and Riman turned pale.

Fortunately, he seemed smart enough to realize what this situation ‘meant’.

What the current situation, where a Climber belonging to an ‘Eastern guild’ had wrecked a Climber belonging to a ‘Western guild’, implied, and what kind of situation it would bring about.

The fact that he rushed to get something without asking for an explanation of the circumstances made it even more certain.

“...Crazy bastard. Crazy bastard. Crazy bastard. Crazy bastard...”

And when I looked to the side, there was another guy who seemed to have had a similar realization.

Lee Si-yeong, who had buried her face in her knees, was continuously muttering with a dying look.

“What are you doing.”

“You... you did it on purpose, didn't you?”

“It was self-defense. Should I have just taken it and died then?”

“Of course not, but! With your skills, you could have just subdued him moderately!”

I could have.

But was there any reason to do that for a guy who was coming at me to kill me?

“Procedurally, there's nothing to nitpick about... but the aftermath of this...”

“When an Eastern guild gets into a fight with a Western guild, it's best to quietly leave the scene. If a fight breaks out, you can never win. Even if they come at you with the intent to kill like that, you should dodge and survive on your own. You must never act up. Am I right?”

“...You know that and still.”

When I stated the ‘unwritten rule’ that was common among guilds, Lee Si-yeong answered in a voice full of mental anguish.

In fact, it was called an unwritten rule, but it was a very simple logic of power.

Western guilds are very strong, so you crappy Eastern guilds should just quietly stay down and watch your step. That's what it was.

But, well.

“You don't have to worry too much.”

“What?”

“This was all part of my plan from the beginning.”

“...”

Yup.

On the contrary, I was nothing but happy that it was proceeding so smoothly.

Because we were inside the Association, there were people who could publicly testify to what I did, so the Western guild couldn't downplay what I did, and I was so happy that a thoughtless, hot-headed idiot like Riman showed up in person and started the fight first.

This was all thanks to the charm of 1800 luck that made everything go smoothly.

“It's thanks to you. Thank you.”

“...Why do I feel your sincerity only at times like this...”

While Lee Si-yeong was muttering in a voice that sounded like she had lived through it all, the Association staff who had disappeared somewhere came running back and held something out in front of me.

I looked at it, and it was a communicator.

“Please take it.”

“What is this?”

“It's a call from the Valhalla Guild Leader. Please take it.”

Hmm.

Without any explanation, without any statement of position, he just told me to take it.

“...If possible, please end this amicably and definitively. If this continues, there will be a bloodbath.”

The Association staff said in a trembling voice.

It was a clear expression of his strong desire not to get involved with either side.

It was probably a sign that they wouldn't take either side, so we should resolve it on our own.

Well, I didn't expect them to help anyway.

On the contrary.

‘Finally.’

This was why I beat up Gale and Riman.

‘Talking’ to this guy now would lead to a huge butterfly effect later on.

I ignored the gaze of the Association staff who was staring at me as if I were a madman as I happily took the communicator.

“Hello.”

[...-]

From the other side of the call, I heard the sound of someone exhaling a long puff of cigarette smoke.

Ah, right.

This guy was the type to take a huge pause before speaking.

So I'll state my business first.

“Batan? Can you hear me?”

Batan Gilius. The guild leader of the Valhalla Guild, and the ‘main rival’ of the Second Ordeal.

Well, he wasn't a villain. A rival.

The 2nd Ordeal often flowed in a structure of conflict with this guy.

Although, looking at what he did, there was no harm in seeing him as a villain.

So, I'll get straight to the point, clean and simple.

“Educate your damn dogs properly. They try to bite anyone they see.”

As soon as they heard my words, the faces of everyone nearby turned pale.

I continued speaking without a care.

“The stream is clear only when the source is clear. Because you're not doing your job properly, they're running around like unbridled colts. If you keep acting like this, I might personally twist your neck?”

“...! ...!!”

I could see Lee Si-yeong, who was burying her face in her knees, letting out a series of silent screams.

It was an attitude that said, 'someone please stop that bastard'.

I understood.

No matter how much the Valhalla Guild was a lower-tier guild in the West, Batan, who was its ‘guild leader’, was not a guy to be ignored.

The ‘backer’ who was looking after him was not just ordinarily powerful.

And this guy by himself... well.

He was a guy worthy of decorating an entire main quest, one of the ordeals.

He was even a guy that couldn't be cheesed like Yelena.

[...]

And Batan, who heard my words, again answered without a word, only exhaling a long puff of cigarette smoke.

After waiting a bit, a reply finally came.

[Thanks for the advice.]

It was a low, slow, and leisurely voice.

An attitude that showed he didn't care much about what was just said.

This, it was that.

An attitude that didn't even see me as an equal ‘adversary’ in the first place.

It was like watching a bug perform tricks.

So.

“Mister.”

[Hm?]

“This isn't advice.”

I'll inject my position properly too.

The faces of the people around me went beyond bluish and started to turn blackish.

[-]

A chuckling sound flowed from over the call.

The small laughter gradually grew louder, and louder, and even louder.

It led to the sound of a madman roaring with laughter.

I left Batan, who was laughing like that for a long time, and ended the call.

And I shrugged at the frozen Association staff and handed back the communicator.

“I resolved it amicably and definitively.”

“...”

I even gave a thumbs-up to the Association staff who was looking at me with unfocused eyes.

Hmm.

I'd done it again.

***

“...The phone is blowing up. The email is blowing up too. Just, every available channel of communication is blowing up...”

When I returned to the guild house, Lee Si-yeong, who had been wandering around like a corpse, reported.

“You... you crazy bastard. What on earth were you thinking, doing that...”

“Have I ever caused trouble I couldn't handle?”

“I have to handle it with you...”

“It's sacrificing the few for the many.”

“Am I the few? Am I the few?!”

A voice amplified by about 100,000 times with injustice flowed out, but I just shrugged my shoulders and let it pass.

“You do have to work like an ox. It's going to get busy from now on.”

“...I'll kill you. I'm going to kill that bastard one day...”

I chuckled at Lee Si-yeong, who was grinding her teeth, and continued speaking.

“More importantly, I have a favor to ask.”

“What more could you possibly ask for here...?”

“Yeah. It's nothing big, just find one person among those who contacted us. There's definitely one.”

There had to be.

One of my goals in causing such a scene was to get in touch with that person.

“Find the contact information and pass it on to me. It's important.”

It wasn't a lie, it was really important.

To move forward with the ‘scenario’ I was thinking of, that person was absolutely indispensable.

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