His vision became cloudy. It felt like he was driving a car with frosted glass in an unusually cold winter.

‘What?’

There were no warning windows so why was he like this...

“Keuk!”

Bondre, who continued to use magic at the command of Areum, couldn’t hold on. His entire body trembled. Without noticing it, he was feeling completely drained. An unknown voice echoed, adding to his confusion. The origin of the voice was the Black Tortoise Jewel that adorned the center of the great hall.

『 It’s cold... 』

『 It hurts... 』

『 Hurts... I’m scared... 』

『 Who am I? 』

『 I don’t think I know... 』

『 When I’m gone... .』

『 People... people are in danger... 』

‘Is this the voice of the black tortoise?’

Bondre’s eyes that were filled with a haze gradually changed. They glittered like the stars in the sky, just like the old days when he was struggling to reach the top.

‘The relationship between the black tortoise and the yangbans is different from the rumors.’

Bondre’s vision became clear when he realized a new fact. A notification window came up.

[★Hidden Quest★ Protect the Artifact of the Four Gods has failed.]

[Your level has dropped by 4.]

[★Hidden Quest★ Real Myth has occurred!]

Bondre noticed. He realized that the smile on the face of the beautiful woman sitting in the bathtub was more smelly than the fishy smell of freshwater fish.

‘I was caught by these dog-like guys.’

Bondre’s brain was activated when he realized the situation. He was a smart man who surpassed two billion users to reach the single digit rankings.

‘Think about it.’

From the time he received the Call of the Heavens quest to meeting Areum, he recalled everything that happened. He felt a bit more clarity and retracted all the strangeness he experienced at the time. His trembling arms and legs calmed down. Thanks to the unknown talisman that Areum attached to him, all his magic power and strength had been restored.

[One Origin True Energy has been consumed.]

[The ‘Origin True Energy’ system is activated.]

“Kukuk.” Bondre laughed and removed the talisman attached to his back.

『 I don’t want to...! I don’t want to!!! 』

The pained voice of the black tortoise, who was a victim like Bondre, was still echoing clearly in Bondre’s mind.

“Hoh?”

Once Bondre’s eyes changed and he took the talisman off, Areum finally showed a bit of interest. Bondre’s thin neck was caught by her slender hand and turned black.

“I didn’t expect you to come to your senses when dying. You are powerful in many ways for a human.”

“Ku...ock...”

Breathing was hard. His restored field of view flashed red. He would die if this continued.

It happened as Bondre was struggling in the ‘suffocation’ condition. The Black Tortoise Jewel, which adorned the center of the frozen hall, soared through the ceiling. Bondre witnessed the sight of Maru and the yangbans chasing it and barely managed to open his mouth in the dizzying pain.

“You... what are you?”

“A god.”

“.....”

“We are to be gods.”

“Kukuk...”

Dammit, he thought it was suspicious that a god would ask for help from humans but they weren’t gods. Areum saw the hostility in Bondre’s eyes and snorted. “Don’t raise your courage for nothing. We are better than you who aren’t qualified to be gods.”

They were better, which meant they were ahead of humans. Was this true? Bondre’s sense of reason recognized Areum as a NPC, a mass of graphics. He was no longer overwhelmed. “Just a mere creation...”

“...!”

The words that Bondre barely spat out touched Areum’s heart. It happened the moment she inserted greater strength into the hand holding Bondre’s neck. Heat was felt and flames soared behind Areum’s back. He looked up at the sky through the open ceiling and saw the heavy rain of fire. This was a baptism of fire that made the White Tiger’s Breath, that had been triggered when the black tortoise started its last struggle, obsolete.

“What?” Areum threw away the worthless human and used the White Tiger’s Breath and Black Tortoise’s Breath. The black tortoise was weakened from the cold and Areum could completely control the breath. Just before the rain of pouring fire reached Areum, it turned into water vapor and disappeared. Standing in the water curtain, she stared up at the ceiling with the hole in it.

She murmured as if Bondre was no longer there. “I see... the man who resurrected the red phoenix came here...”

Areum flew and Bondre followed. The water vapor froze like spider webs.

“What are you thinking?” Areum detected the anomalies and looked back.

Bondre hung onto the ice stem connected to her and smiled. “My pride is too strong to be used and abandoned.”

He had never surrendered. In the world of the strong, starting from the sky above the sky Kraugel and linking to Grid, Faker, and Agnus, Bondre had felt frustrated and desperate but he never gave up. He was sure that it would be the same for him one day. He didn’t doubt that his talents would blossom like them.

“A son of a bitch like you...”

If he was going to encounter such nothingness—

‘I will give up and quit the game, you XX.’

“...!”

Areum’s body froze. It was more than a physical condition. The area around her turned into ice and she had no resistance. Areum crashed to the ground and was shocked. Her left foot shattered and disappeared.

“You...! You trivial human!”

Her beautiful body was destroyed! Areum roared with bloodshot eyes and used the Red Phoenix’s Breath, which was the opposite of the cold. The Red Phoenix’s Breath was as weak as dying flames due to the aftermath of the red phoenix’s resurrection but it still worked. The cold air around Bondre started to melt quickly. However, Bondre’s speed at making ice surpassed Areum’s speed of melting it.

“There is a snack called yeot [1] in the Cho Kingdom.”

Step.

Bondre recreated the ice that melted in the heat and used it as a shield to take one step. “There you know there is a curse word that sounds like yeot?” [2]

He took two steps and approached Areum. “I feel like yeot right now.”

“......”

Red blood flowed on Areum’s transparent cheek covered in ice. She realized what she had overlooked. The Red Phoenix’s Breath that she held was too weak. The power of the fire couldn’t be used properly against the ice. A huge, sharp awl of ice was shot at Areum. She hurriedly used the White Tiger’s Breath to create a stone wall to block it. She muttered, “It is shameful. I have to actually fight hand-to-hand against a trivial human.”

Bondre’s vision spun around and around. Suddenly, he felt like his jaw had disappeared. It was the aftermath of Areum’s swinging kick that pierced through the barrier he summoned.

[You have suffered 29,590 damage.]

‘...Shit.’

One kick had this much power? She wasn’t even a god yet. Nevertheless, she was in a position that was too high for players to reach. Bondre’s body jerked and convulsed from a single blow. He couldn’t get up immediately and was filled with guilt.

‘I’m sorry.’

[Real Myth]

[★ Hidden Quest ★

You have seen the reality of the yangbans and glimpsed the real world.

Guide the myth in the right direction!

Quest Clear Conditions: Seize the Black Tortoise Jewel from the yangbans.

Quest Clear Reward: Level +6.

Quest failure: Force repatriation to the West Continent.]

Bondre noticed. This quest originated from himself. It was a quest that analyzed the achievements and character of the player ‘Bondre,’ who was called a genius.

‘I didn’t meet expectations.’ Bondre apologized to the system he admired and closed his eyes. He waited for death. However, it was salvation, not death, that came to him.

“Wake up.” It was a voice he had never forgotten.

Bondre raised his head with an angry expression and saw the back of Grid, who was blocking Areum. “You...!”

Bondre’s chin was bleeding.

“What are you doing?”

Why did he...? Why did he show up at this moment?

“Do you know how disgusting you are every time you pretend to be an apostle of justice?”

Bondre had witnessed Grid’s sense of justice many times. He couldn’t understand it. Everyone in the world was a competitor. A player shouldn’t reach out to another player who needed help. They should be kept in check and trampled on. He always believed this. Then why? Why was Grid...?!

Grid’s sword cut at Areum. Grid restricted her behavior by firing Magic Missiles at her struggling hands and spoke to Bondre, “I don’t want to be an apostle of justice. Rather, I longed to be a villain.”

“...?”

“I hated heroes wearing the masks of heroes just because they have power and talent. To be exact, I hated their pretenses.”

Grid’s expression distorted. He once again stopped Areum and continued speaking to Bondre, “However, now I understand them.”

It was too dangerous to wield this mighty power with self-interest. Thus, he was forced to establish justice. Maybe a hero was a hero. It was a pitiful existence that could only feel relieved after taking responsibility for their power.

“Bondre, please cooperate with me this one time.”

“Bullshit.”

“Fight together. I need your strength.”

“Shit...!”

“Don’t you need my strength too?”

“...Fuck you.”

Bondre gave up struggling as he leaned on Grid’s body and raised his hand with difficulty. His trembling fingertips drew a magic circle in the air. There were two magic circles. Bondre was making perfect use of double casting that Grid could barely succeed in even with Belial’s Staff. “Frozen Ice. Absolute Zero.”

The surroundings were frozen. The bodies of Areum, rushing toward Grid, and the other yangbans in the sea of fire were trapped in ice.

“I... This is my limit...” Bondre spoke and shamefully collapsed.

“Thank you.”

Grid held Bondre tighter to stop him from falling and linked Drop, followed by 100,000 Army Massacre Sword to the people trapped in the ice.

“Kuaaaaack!”

The screams of the yangbans reverberated as they bled through the rubble of the broken ice. The residents of Chiaotzu, sitting in the droplets, witnessed Grid’s success and the fall of the yangbans.

“Divinity. Open Potential. 300,000 Army Stealth Sword.”

Grid didn’t miss this opportunity. He watched the falling yangban and swung his sword, piercing the yangbans’ vital points. In particular, Areum hadn’t been able to adapt to the changed balance from the loss of one foot and was seriously injured. Grid approached her using Shunpo as she tried to keep the balance of her body and used Transcended Link Kill Pinnacle.

“Kyaaak!”

Areum was unable to hold on and turned to grey ash. The situation of the other yangbans also wasn’t optimistic. They exposed their weaknesses and fell into a crisis as they were attacked by 300 high rankers.

Only one person was different

“It’s amazing!!" Maru still had a bright smile and hadn’t lost his composure. “You must’ve worked tirelessly to achieve your present state with your human body!”

A vortex occurred as Maru easily overpowered the rankers and infused magic into the Black Tortoise Jewel in his hand. Everything in the swirling castle started to be sucked into the Black Tortoise Jewel, including Grid, Bondre, and the high rankers. Right now, Maru was reproducing some of the powers of the black tortoise.

“Nyaang!” Grid spun around as the high rankers were sucked into the Black Tortoise Jewel. He found Noe and released Noe’s summoning.

‘Shit.’

In order to overcome the crisis, he could only use 200,000 Army Crushing Sword. The vortex itself must be cut. However, it was impossible to use swordsmanship because he couldn’t control his body swirling in the vortex. He was helpless. He felt like a bug that was being flushed down the toilet.

“Kuoock!” Bondre was struggling. He hadn’t reacted immediately when he was caught in the vortex and seemed to be drinking a lot of water.

‘This is annihilation.’

The combination of a Garam-level yangban and the artifact of the Four Gods was too fraudulent. It happened the moment Grid made this judgment.

“Everyone is very busy so please excuse me.”

“...?”

Someone appeared behind them. The voice sounded like that of a young man. Grid was being swept away in the vortex and found it hard to see the person’s identity. On the other hand, Maru was different. He recognized the identity of the uninvited guest who appeared right next to him. “Hwang Gildong!”

The vortex sucking up all the rubble in the castle as well as Grid and the high rankers suddenly stopped. The Black Tortoise Jewel, which should’ve been in Maru’s hand, was now in Hwang Gildong’s hand. It was an amazing pickpocketing ability to steal something from a yangban who had two eyes wide open.

“The Chivalrous Robbers will help protect this. Then I’ll be going now. Go ahead and continue.”

“Hwang Gildong!” The smile disappeared from Maru’s face for the first time. His furious fist hit Hwang Gildong’s head and Hwang Gildong screamed. However, his body didn’t turn to grey ash. There was a frivolous sound effect and he turned into a straw doll. The Black Tortoise Jewel also disappeared.

“...?”

“...?”

Both Grid and the high rankers were dumbfounded. They couldn’t grasp the situation at all and were forced to deal with Maru’s anger. “Humans! You looked innocent but you were actually playing tricks with Hwang Gildong behind my back!”

Maru picked up a short spear on the ground and threw it in the direction of the high rankers. It was like a missile. The targeted parties didn’t respond. Only Grid tried to fly away but the distance was so close that it led to failure.

[Shunpo has failed to trigger.]

‘Too late!’

The moment that Grid was feeling despair, there was a loud explosion. It was the loud noise from the spear that flew at dozens of rankers being blocked by a thin, long sword.

“O-Old Sword Demon!”

Grid and the high rankers shook. A senior swordsman who symbolized the ‘strongest’ of the old era. He had a terrible wanderlust so he went missing and there were no rumors about him...

“It is an honor to meet the supreme one.”

He appeared in this far east land and smiled at Grid.

[1] A type of Korean candy. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Yeot

[2] The word yeot can sound like fu*k you