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Kill the Hero
Chapter 12
All the items that one could get from a dungeon are divided into four ranks: normal, rare, unique, and legendary.
Of these, the value of legendary rank items were priceless.
To be precise, one cannot replace a legendary item no matter the cost.
This is because there are no duplicates of legendary items.
It was also the reason why players sometimes started wars to kill each other rather than the monsters.
Legendary items became a necessity for dungeons with six or more floors.
Furthermore, if players were able to enter dungeons that were higher than six floors, they were most likely the best players in their respective guilds.
The more prominent the Messiah guild became, the more conflicts between players intensified.
Naturally, the guilds who did not wish for the Messiah Guild's success in clearing the dungeons refused to cooperate with them. In the end, the Messiah Guild had to resort to violence.
Their favorite method of violence that they utilized in his past life was himself, the hunting dog, Kim Woo-jin.
After the 7 floor dungeons appeared, Kim Woo-jin spent more days working on hunting players rather than monsters.
In a way, the situation for legendary item was not as bad as for legendary skills.
You could rob the items, but in order to obtain legendary skills, you either had to make a deal with the skill's owner or else the only other thing you could do was kill the owner.
Of course, the existence of a legendary skill was kept a secret even among close friends.
Kim Woo-jin just acquired such a skill.
A legendary rank skill!
'Eyes of Anubis.'
Furthermore, Kim Woo-jin knew the owner of this skill in his previous life.
'It was Detective Arsene's ability.'
Detective Arsene.
This person had an amazing detective ability. He could track mysterious or unknown items.
He made enormous profits from the war that began in 2025.
He eventually became a member of the Messiah guild in a branch located in China. He made critical contributions to the Messiah guild.
Kim Woo-jin had a very close relationship with him.
Once Detective Arsene tracked the location of an item the Messiah guild needed, the hunting dog Kim Woo-jin went on a hunt to retrieve the item.
'This skill made a mediocre nobody into a monster that toyed with other people's lives.'
Detective Arsene's ability was mainly thanks to this skill, 'Eyes of Anubis.'
It can read the memory of the dead. This was the best ability when it comes to making someone a great detective.
Naturally, Kim Woo-jin did not like him.
In the first place, he chose the Messiah guild only because he determined that the Messiah Guild would provide him the greatest benefits in the later stages the game.
He did not join the Messiah Guild for its noble values or ideology.
'I bet it was the first name Lee Se-joon crossed out on the kill list.'
On the other hand, Kim Woo-jin was probably the first name to be placed on the kill list.
Kim Woo-jin had very good reasons to hate such a person.
'Who would have thought I would retire him like this.'
Anyway, to Kim Woo-jin, it was an unexpected harvest.
'The Messiah Guild no longer has their hunting dog/detective duo.'
The detective and hunting dog who played a crucial role in securing the items for the Messiah guild has now disappeared.
'And…'
However, the primary reason Kim Woo-jin welcomed the skill was something different.
'Park Shin-hye. Once I kill that bitch, I will be able see her memories and the plans of those bastards.'
What the purpose and agenda of the Messiah Guild was and how involved that person was.
How the Messiah Guild reached out to the world and eventually swallowed it.
The Eyes of Anubis will make it possible.
The potential for the Eyes of Anubis was endless.
The world was full of people who hid illegally acquired wealth obtained through crooked plots and outrageous crimes.
Kim Woo-jin smiled and pulverized the obsidian skill page in his hand.
The powdered obsidian rode his arm and merged into Kim Woo-jin's two eyes.
Afterwards, Kim Woo-jin's eyes turned pitch black.
It was then.
Kim Woo-jin kept hearing messages about his newly acquired power through the notifications.
Just like how every city has its districts, there exists factions in a guild.
Rather, on the contrary, no other type of organization is more likely to form factions than a guild.
Basically, the players usually group in parties of four or five.
On the other hand, there are usually hundreds of players in a guild, and over a thousand in the case of the large guilds such as the Phoenix Guild.
Hundreds of parties have gathered in one guild, and they are treated differently depending on their abilities and performance.
However, it isn't their ideology or values that bind them together.
It's a situation where it's inevitable for factions to arise.
As soon as a one floor B ranking dungeon appeared in Seongnam City, three different factions or parties were dispatched within the guild.
It was normal for factions to complain about misfortunes and losses.
It was also natural that the blame and complaints would be directed towards the weaker members.
'Anyone is fine, so please come out safely.'
'Just don't die. Please don't die.'
'If you are going to die, come out and die.'
That's why the members of the Phoenix Guild dungeon support team prayed earnestly for the players' safe return.
"The dungeon is cleared!"
They heard their long-awaited announcement.
Upon hearing the news, the members of the support team left the barracks and ran hard towards the gate.
Those involved in the guild were not the only ones to move.
"Uh? The dungeon is cleared!"
"Really? This quick?"
The soldiers were also interested and started moving after hearing the news that they could finally return back to their base.
Soon, they cheered for a man who just crossed the gate.
"It's over!"
"UAAAAA!"
Among the cheers, Phoenix Guild support team member Chang Young-soo approached the first returner and said.
"Mr. Kim Woo-jin, thank you for your efforts."
Kim Woo-jin showed him a smile.
"Yes. Thank you for your efforts as well. Please give me back my luggage."
Chang Young-soo nodded, then shouted Kim Woo-jin's name toward another employee, and a support staff member immediately brought a plastic box that contained Kim Woo-jin's belongings. Kim Woo-jin took his car key and smartphone from the box, then told Chang Young-soo.
"Ah, could you also get me a pen and a notepad?"
"Yes?"
Chang Young-soo slightly questioned the request, but soon nodded and got what Kim Woo-jin asked for.
As Chang Young-soo was bringing along the requested pen and a notebook, Kim Woo-jin was taking pictures of the expensive foreign cars lined up in the parking lot with his smartphone, one by one.
He wasn't taking the pictures of them normally either.
It felt like he wasn't taking a picture to remember them by, but more like a used car dealer trying to take pictures in order to sell a car.
He even took close pictures of the tires.
'What is he doing?'
Chang Young-soo tilted his head in confusion then handed over the things requested by Kim Woo-jin.
"Excuse me, I brought the things you have requested."
"Ah, thank you."
Then Kim Woo-jin wrote something on the note he received and handed it over to the staff member.
"What's this?"
Chang Yeong-soo asked, and Kim Woo-jin replied with a smile.
"That's my bank account number."
"Yes?"
"If you deliver it to the people that come out after me they will know what it is."
It was then.
UAAA!
Once again, cheering was heard near the dungeon gate, and the cheers kept coming.
Players, one after the other, were coming out of the dungeon.
After hearing footsteps, Chang Young-soo turned to look at the players exiting the gate.
At the same time, Chang Young-soo looked extremely nervous.
Kim Woo-jin was just a "kkakdugi" in this attack on the dungeon, and there were no major issues even if he were to die.
On the other hand, all the players that came out one by one were all important people with significant backgrounds.
It was natural that his interest in Kim Woo-jin was put on hold.
'One, two…'
Chang Young-soo counted the number of people coming through the gate one by one. However, he noticed that Kim Woo-jin's car engine already started.
Bureung!
Between the Ferrari and Lamborghini, a small car that was parked between them let out a pathetic roar, then Chang Young-soo came to his senses.
'Report!'
As a member of the support team that was tasked in writing a report, he could not let Kim Woo-jin just go.
"Wa, wait a minute!"
Chang Young-soo, who arrived near the car door said urgently.
"Rep, report, we still have to write a report?"
Kim Woo-jin answered the question.
"I will go to the guild headquarters and directly submit it myself."
"Yes?"
In response, the support staff's face stiffened as if they heard that it was the end of the world.
In his defense, this was the first time, including his dreams, that he saw a player go to the guild headquarters to directly submit a report themselves.
Towards the shocked staff, Kim Woo-jin explained with a smile.
"If you want, just report what I said to team leader Jeong Woo-seok. Tell him my name and he'll understand. Oh, yeah."
Kim Woo-jin took out his wallet that was sitting in his front passenger seat and took out some 10,000 won and 1,000 won bills.
The total amount seemed to be about 100,000 won.
Kim Woo-jin handed the money over to Chang Young-soo.
"Distribute it to the other players in reasonable amounts."
"Wha, what's this?"
"It's their taxi fee."
After leaving behind those words, Kim Woo-jin left Seongnam City.
Year 2023, a world where casual words can become viral after traveling around the world in a mere second.
The incident in Seongnam City did not take a long time to spread among the players in Korea.
"Someone killed a transforming slime? Isn't a transforming slime very difficult to catch? Who caught it?"
"What did you say? Someone killed it alone? What's his name?"
"Kim Woo-jin? Phoenix Guild affiliate? It hasn't even been a month since he became a player?"
It was the moment when Kim Woo-jin's name was spread among the Korean players.
However, it was his name that was spread around, not the truth.
Instead, distorted information began to spread like wildfire.
"I heard that he stole the monster while it was almost dead thanks to another party."
"Apparently he snatched it from a rising star, Kim Sun-joon…"
"In the first place, he was able to join as a kkakdugi to gain experience, but he hit them in the back of their head."
"What a son of a bitch."
"Yeah, what a bastard."
Instead of being known as a rising star who caught a transforming slime by himself, Kim Woo-jin began to be known as a "son of a bitch" who betrayed the people who helped him.
At the same time…
"You're amazing."
"Not at all."
Kim Woo-jin was talking with Jeong Woo-seok, the support team leader, at the headquarters of the Phoenix Guild.
Their discussion began shortly after Kim Woo-jin wrote a report when he returned to the main headquarters.
Of course, they weren't there just to chitchat.
"No, this is really something."
"It's a big deal no matter what other people say about you."
"You don't have to flatter me that much. I was expecting bad rumors about me to spread."
Jeong Woo-seok, the team leader, already realized it when he received the report regarding the dungeon clear.
It was inevitable for bad rumors about Kim Woo-jin to spread.
Things went awry from the start.
The main show of this dungeon attack were supposed to be the three parties.
One of them should have been in the spotlight.
However, the player who joined the show as an extra became the main character of the story. Furthermore, all three parties have their own factions behind them, whereas Kim Woo-jin does not belong to any faction.
From the perspective of the three factions, they had to bite Kim Woo-jin for the sake of their image and pride.
No, they had to bite Kim Woo-jin in order to protect their reputations.
Jeong Woo-seok, the head of the support team, arranged a meeting with Kim Woo-jin to console him in such a situation. Jeong Woo-seok was blinded by his favoritism. To him, Kim Woo-jin was more appealing than the players who squabbled over their self-interests. It also helped that Kim Woo-jin saved the other players by intervening.
"But I still think it was necessary. If I didn't come forward to help, it would have lead to some serious damage to the other players."
'Right. If Mr. Kim Woo-jin didn't fight, someone would have died.'
Above all, according to Kim Woo-jin's report, if Kim Woo-jin did not intervene the way he did, there certainly would have been in the least a few victims.
Obviously, he could not believe everything Kim Woo-jin wrote, but it was still crystal clear that it was Kim Woo-jin who caught the transforming slime.
That was the end of the story.
A player's only duty was to clear the dungeon and exterminate what's inside.
"I'm just happy that everyone survived, and I'm confident I can handle any insults."
Kim Woo-jin knew the reality of the situation and acted accordingly.
Team leader Jeong Woo-seok was truly impressed by Kim Woo-jin's demeanor and how he handled the situation; he was composed no matter the issue.
At the same time, some doubts arose.
'Why would a person like him join our guild?'
Whoever saw Kim Woo-jin like this would think that he was more suited for the Messiah Guild, not the Phoenix Guild.
Naturally, he didn't contemplate the question for very long.
There's no reason to doubt a player who was sincere, self-sacrificing, cooperative, reasonable, and moral.
"I'm glad you think so. As you say, there will be bad rumors spreading about you right away. But keep this in mind. That the Phoenix Guild is on your side."
"Thank you."
Kim Woo-jin let out a long sigh.
It was a really long sigh.
"You are worried about something?"
It was such a long sigh that Jeong Woo-seok felt he had no choice but to ask.
Kim Woo-jin responded as if he was waiting for that question.
"I think time will solve this problem, but I was wondering if there is anything I can do to improve my image."
Countless options surfaced in the team leader's mind.
"I can't say that there isn't any but…"
'The problem is that there's too many.'
In fact, there were countless ways players could help society and improve their reputations.
However, most players didn't bother.
Everyone cleared dungeons for their self-interests. They only choose the safest way to benefit themselves, not caring a damn about the rest of the world.
If players normally lived with the determination to save and help the world, the Messiah Guild would not have been so widely admired.
"Entering dungeons that the others players rejected or entering a dungeon to rescue other teams is enough."
However, even though players signed a contract with the Phoenix Guild, there were still dungeons that the players didn't want to enter, eating away at the nation's finances.
If such dungeons were cleared, your reputation is sure to become much better.
"However, it's avoided because it really is dangerous."
Of course, it only meant that the dungeon was dangerous enough to dominate the ordinary players.
"Then I will do it."
Therefore, team leader Jeong Woo-seok revealed admiration upon hearing Kim Woo-jin's answer.
Kim Woo-jin placed a wedge into team leader Jeong Woo-seok's heart.
"I'd be happy to do it if I can."
Team leader Jeong Woo-seok thought.
'I've never seen such a nice, hard-working young man in all my life.'