Chapter 85
Ding- Dong-
Somewhere, I think I heard the sound of a bell.
Probably the bell tolling for my life.
The moment I saw the notice they brought, my head felt bleached white.
It wasn't that I hadn't thought of this situation.
From the moment my identity was revealed because of Dantalian… no, from a long time ago, when I started living in this Forest.
I had a vague premonition.
Someday, the Knights' Order might raid this place, aiming for me. They might put a Sword to my throat, cut off my head, and return to the City.
And in front of countless people, they would raise my head and shout. That the Empire had eliminated the evil villain they missed 13 years ago. That with this, they had regained stability.
When I was young, I was often scared by these ominous imaginations.
More than this Forest, even more than the Monsters that occasionally came down from the Deep Layer.
This is because the Knights' Order was a much more concrete and threatening enemy to me.
And this time, the danger that only existed in my imagination has come to reality.
And in a much more disastrous form than I had imagined.
A bounty of a whopping 100 million Gold has been placed on my head. That means there's a possibility that not only the Knights' Order, but also Otherworlders will invade.
No, it's not a possibility, it's practically a certainty.
Fortunately, my hands weren't shaking from nervousness like when I was a child.
Maybe it hasn't sunk in yet.
But one thing was certain. My daily life so far has definitely crumbled.
“Yor, are you okay?”
“Your face is really pale…”
As I was lost in thought, I heard their voices from the front.
It seems my agitation showed on the outside. I can see their worried expressions.
I pretended to be okay and spoke to them.
“Don't worry, I'm fine. Rather… aren't you in danger?”
“Huh?”
“You know, the words attached to the end of the Notice. The part about getting penalized if you're found with me.”
Even as I spoke, it felt strange.
Penalized for associating with me. It’s like being bullied and told, ‘Don’t play with him.’ The problem is, the scope isn't just school level, it's nation-wide.
“Th-That’s…”
They hesitated for a moment at my words. A very brief hesitation.
I wasn't particularly hurt or anything by that. It was a natural reaction.
Even for Otherworlders, turning against the nation is a huge problem.
Not only does it make it difficult to operate, but if they’re not careful, they could end up in prison.
Not just wasting a few days like I did with Shin Han-byeol, but being stuck there for years, unable to get out. In severe cases, it could even be decades.
It's practically a suspension. So there's no way they could answer rashly.
Especially for them, whose livelihood is directly linked to the game.
I sighed and told them.
“Go back for now.”
“No, it’s not that…”
“I’ll just stay here. We need to figure this out together anyway.”
“No, I’m saying this because I’m worried about you. I'm fine, so just keep an eye on the situation.”
At my persuasion, they reluctantly returned to where they came from.
I tried to ignore their glances back. I needed time to think alone right now.
After they disappeared, I started pondering alone.
‘Now… what do I do?’
I don't know. The situation is so overwhelming that no solution comes to mind easily.
Should I run away? If I run away, where should I go?
Can I even shake them off if I run? All the Demons with Subjugation Orders so far have been eliminated, so I thought that my fate might not be much different.
How strong is the Knights' Order? What's the average level of the Otherworlders now?
Countless questions arose and faded in my mind. None of them had a clear answer.
While I was thinking, a sense of injustice suddenly welled up.
‘Why do I have to go through this…?’
It was the same thought I had when I ran away from the Empire as a child.
Was it such a crime to be born with Demon's Blood?
Just because of that blood, I had to endure more than ten years alone in this Forest.
And now, are they going to destroy even the shelter I finally managed to create?
In the end, from the moment I was born, I was destined to die like this.
“Huh…”
A hollow laugh escaped my lips as I had such negative thoughts.
It might have been a laugh because my situation was funny, or it might have been a laugh out of spite.
Whatever it was, one thing was for sure.
I won't go down easily.
Even if I have to fight to the death, or run away somewhere, I will never back down easily.
“Found him!”
“It's the golden Goblin, attack!”
Once I had organized my thoughts to some extent, I heard voices nearby. They were Otherworlders who came looking for the bounty on my head.
I haven’t even burned down the Goblin houses yet, and they're already here this fast. The notice must have been quite radical for them.
Without saying anything, I ran towards them and thrust my Spear. I had no intention of showing mercy at this point.
Thud-!
“Gah, Ugh…”
“Oh no, Warrior!”
“Who’s going to tank if you die so quickly!”
One of the Otherworlders died instantly with a pierced throat. The other Otherworlders’ eyes widened.
It was a group of about 6 people. They probably knew they couldn’t do it alone, so they came in a group to get credit, huh?
Whatever.
“Alright, let’s play.”
So I swung my weapon.
It didn't take long to finish off all 6 Otherworlders.
＊
+
[Let's just admit it coolly]
Honestly, with the Knights' Order showing up, there's almost no chance of survival
Yor is just a Boss Monster. He was destined to be raided like this from the moment he was assigned to that Forest
So you guys stop whining and think about how to get the money
+
[No, is this right?]
[ㄴ yeah this is right. Or should we just help him and get imprisoned?]
[ㄴ That’s not right either..]
[ㄴ Honestly, it's a bit much to indiscriminately try to kill all Manifestors]
[Look at these fucks desperately trying to save him just because he has a dick lol. Hey you weeb fucks, stop overreacting!]
[ㄴ fr lol. If they were going to save everyone with a dick, our Seere Oppa would still be alive lol]
[ㄴ Seere… we miss you…]
After the notice went up, the Community was in heated debate, but.
Soon, it converged on one opinion. This is a boss fight.
It's a bit of a shame, but the game's flow has designated him as an enemy.
So, it’s right for Users to follow suit.
+
[The Knights' Order are coming a bit later]
Since it's a dangerous area, and they don't know his exact strength yet, they said they'll come after preparing more.
And they told us to do some reconnaissance and fight him first.
+
[Again, these fucks are trying to use us as Damage Sponges]
[ㄴ Instead, they said they'll keep an eye on us if we contribute during the reconnaissance]
[ㄴ Oh..]
[I'm gonna pass this time, I play with my feelings]
Of course, there were many Users who didn’t participate in the Subjugation.
100 million is tempting, but the probability of them receiving it is slim. And there were also some pretty sentimental Users who didn't want to hurt an NPC with their own hands.
But it's true that there's more public opinion for participation.
In fact, posts about people already entering the Forest to catch him are already coming up.
However, compared to the number of such posts, there's no news of anyone succeeding.
+
[Sharing a story about how 6 of us tried to gang up on him and got wiped in 10 minutes]
I can't forget the moment our front line died with one Spear thrust...
+
+
[Didn’t he only use Spears?]
I was trying to keep my distance and shoot arrows, but suddenly a Dagger flew and I died
I just bought that bow yesterday and I lost it;
Fuck, my 100,000 Gold bow!!!!!
+
[Idiot lol]
[Burning through 1,000 dollars in one go lol]
+
[Whoa crazy I finally landed One Shot!]
Yor, he suddenly cut his own hand, and suddenly a lump of blood flew over and I died instantly
But whatever, since I inflicted a wound, doesn't that count as One Shot?
+
[What happened to the wound?]
[ㄴ I think it regenerated haha;]
[ㄴ Then it's fucking useless]
[ㄴ It’s ok, he’ll definitely be getting tired lol. Not much longer now]
The next day too.
+
[Is Sword Energy invincible or something?]
If you know how to use Sword Energy, can you penetrate Large Shields and stuff?
And where did he get that double-sided Axe from?
Whoa fuck, I just went with a Shield thinking I’d just endure, but it went right through the Shield
+
[That’s because you're trash...]
[ㄴ You try it, fuck]
[Double-sided Axe? I dropped that item when I died?]
[ㄴ Whoa crazy that was yours? Now he's even stealing and using items fuck lol]
+
[Real-time Boss fight photo...]
(png)
Traces of dead Users everywhere and...
Our boss rushing at us covered in blood...
I almost pissed myself from fear before I died
+
[Whoa look at his eyes, so savage;-;]
[ㄴ Real killing intent there]
[We can't even get to the Cave now. He knows somehow, and if you enter the Forest, he comes and massacres us first;]
[ㄴ He seems really pissed]
[How many kills does he have now?]
[ㄴ Idk, at least dozens must have died]
[ㄴ At this rate, it won’t be long now lol. He’ll definitely get tired and collapse]
+
[Breaking News) Yor is in big trouble now lol]
Samsunhi, ranked 3rd in the country, has declared his participation.
He's going to take his Guild members, all ranked players, and try to take him down tomorrow.
He said he’ll bring at least 30 people.
Whether it's for the Stream or whatever, seems like he’s prepared thoroughly.
+
[wow wow wow wow]
[Isn’t his Guild the ones who first raided the Ogre?]
[ㄴ yeah, I heard they all got A-Class Mercenary Badges now, so we should be nervous]
[He must have prepared a lot, this is really dangerous]
[ㄴ ;-; He’s going down like this]
The next day.
+
[Breaking News) Samsunhi utterly defeated lol]
I watched the Stream
Less than 20 minutes into the fight, more than half died, and the rest ran away in all directions, got chased, and died.
Some of them even got bitten and killed by Monsters.
Out of 30 people who went in, only about 2 survived
+
[In the middle, he was about to throw Holy Water, but it suddenly teleported to Yor's waist, what was that?]
[ㄴ fr that was so weird]
[ㄴ Probably Seere’s arm. The arm Seere dropped back then went to Yor]
[ㄴ Whoa, then the hooded NPC back then was also Yor?]
[ㄴ crazy now that I think about it, he's the only one who could have a duel with a Demon]
[Samsunhi this guy went into a story-telling Stream and his face is so gloomy]
[ㄴ Whoa, how much Gold did he lose there? lol]
[ㄴ He must have been so prepared]
[ㄴ The value of the equipment lost by the Users so far is enough to buy a car;]
[Did he get injured?]
[ㄴ What good is injuring him; he recovers immediately anyway]
+
[The fact is that even at this moment, Yor is getting tired]
It’s almost over fr
If we just push a little more, it seems like we can win
+
[So when, fuck]
[When is he getting tired? Dozens have been slaughtered for 3 days]
[You can’t even recover the lost item value this time, right? lol]
[My victory for not even applying for the Subjugation lol]
[Let's stop here… ok?]
Time passed.
The precarious massacre continued.