After killing the White Rabbit, I heard two notices.
[The 'Conductor of Sound' has taken notice of you.]
And right on the heels of the first came a second.
[The 'White Hunter' holds you in high esteem.]
They were both names I was very familiar with. These two were the Guardians sponsoring two top Players in Italy who were always at odds with one another. The two Players were so famous they even had Korean nicknames.
The Wargod Salvatore.
And the Fight King Vela.
The Conductor of Sound supported Salvatore, while the White Hunter supported Vela. Everyone knew that these two top Players of Italy were constantly at each other's throats, and the biggest reason why was because their Guardians were like oil and water.
Guardians that should have been active in the Italian server were sneaking looks at the Korean server, most likely because of me. It seemed that many Guardians around the globe were watching the Korean server, starting with the Merchant of Venice.
'They both sent me messages at the same time.' I came to a conclusion right away. 'They'll compete against each other.'
I had to be extremely careful here. If I chose one of the two, the other would 100% become my enemy. Both the Conductor of Sound and the White Hunter were top-class Guardians. Nothing good would come of angering either of them. The current me was still far too weak.
Sure enough—
[The 'Conductor of Sound' wishes to grant you a favor.]
[The 'White Hunter' wishes to grant you a favor.]
Senia appeared to personally mediate the situation.
"Player Kim Hyukjin has demonstrated an incredibly outstanding Play. As such, two Guardians wish to support you. You may choose a favor from one of the two Guardians."
If I chose one, the other would become my foe. A clueless person would have probably blindly picked one, but I was all too aware of what that would cause.
'I'm still weak.'
It was obvious after meeting the Demon King. How could I even think to oppose a Guardian when I couldn't even do a thing about the Demon King, a supposed Player?
'Until I'm more than strong enough.'
Until then, I had to make good use of them, these wretched existences who turned our world into a game and watched over us like we were characters in a game.
'What should I do?'
For now, I took a look at the favors.
[Favor from the 'Conductor of Sound']
The 'Conductor of Sound' wishes to grant you the title 'Starting Sovereign'.
[Favor from the 'White Hunter']
The 'White Hunter' wishes to grant you the title 'Starting Fighter'.
I blinked dumbly at the descriptions.
'Starting Sovereign? And Starting Fighter?' I knew about these titles. 'They were the starting titles of the Wargod and Fight King.'
It was highly likely they were growth-type titles. After continuous upgrading, Starting Sovereign was called 'Prosperous Sovereign' by the time I regressed, and Starting Fighter was enhanced to a title called 'Undying Fighter'.
'Those two titles have been offered to me?'
That left me a choice. What would be the most favorable choice for me?
'I don't know the exact title effects.'
That information wasn't disclosed to me. The Conductor of Sound and the White Hunter were urging me to make a choice. They were saying, 'We'll only give you this much to go off of, so hurry and come crawling to choose a favor from one of us.'
"Which favor will you choose, Player Kim Hyukjin?" Senia turned to the others and asked for their understanding. "Player Kim Hyukjin is currently at the crossroads of an important choice. I ask for generous patience from the other Players here. To the Intermediate Administrators streaming each of the Players, I ask for your understanding as well."
She was fulfilling her role of mediation like a proper Intermediate Administrator. Because of our exclusive contract, the Guardians' messages weren't shown to the other Streamers, so she took initiative to keep them informed.
"Currently, Player Kim Hyukjin is choosing between a favor from the [Conductor of Sound] or the [White Hunter]."
Yoohyun's Streamer, Neptune, also appeared.
"...It's really those two Guardians?"
"Yes. I do not lie. I am an ever-honest angel."
"Can't be helped. We'll just have to wait."
There was a great deal of regret flooding Neptune's eyes. It was understandable. If he had made an exclusive contract with me, he would be the one streaming this juicy content right now.
'In any case, I…'
After a moment of deep contemplation, I made my decision.
"Senia. I've decided."
"What have you decided?"
Senia's wings quivered. She, of course, was on tenterhooks. Who I chose would also decide whose 'big thigh' she would be able to clutch.
"I…"
I made a show of looking hesitant, trailing off so that the Guardians would be on the edge of their seats, going mad with curiosity. I inwardly counted to five.
"...have no choice but to refuse both favors."
"What?"
"I believe I have not yet shown sufficient excellence from my Playing."
First, I had to act humble, like I wasn't anything big. That would get the Guardians in a good mood.
"I still don't know what kind of Playing the two Guardians wish to see," I said, plastering a more earnest expression on my face.
'This is better than turning one of them against me.'
That would make things very tiresome. It was much better to keep both of them as 'maybe' allies than to have one as a 'definite' foe.
'It's better for me to keep them at arm's length.'
I continued. "Right now, I cannot be sure what direction my Playing will take in the future." I already knew, but this was more useful for my goals. "I came to this decision because I fear that I will be unable to meet their tastes if I jump into a choice now. If they like my Playing further down the line and offer me an appropriate reward then, I would gratefully accept, but as of now, I believe it is too early."
"..."
Senia was silent.
[The 'Conductor of Sound' thinks highly of your prudent attitude.]
Conductor of Sound, check.
"However, I will do my utmost to show you the best Play. It won't be too late to accept a favor then."
[The 'White Hunter' thinks highly of your ambition.]
Prudence and ambition. I showed both, and it seemed the two Guardians were very satisfied by my response.
[The 'Conductor of Sound' grants you a favor.]
[This favor is given purely as a favor without ulterior expectations.]
The Conductor of Sound and the White Hunter were like cats and dogs. If one made a move, the other would definitely not want to lose. They had a very competitive relationship.
[The 'White Hunter' grants you a favor.]
[This favor is given purely as a favor without ulterior expectations.]
I checked them immediately.
[Favor Granted by the Conductor of Sound]
Type: Special skill
Name: Conductor's Song
Effect:
Low chance to cure abnormal statuses of party members in a group battle (duration: 120 seconds)
+3% crit chance of party members in a group battle (duration: 120 seconds)
+20% increase in effect of consumable items of the same effect when used in a group battle
Cooldown: 360 seconds
Proficiency: [1]
[Favor Granted by the White Hunter]
Type: Special skill
Name: Hunter's Song
Effect:
Low chance to cure abnormal statuses in a solo battle (duration: 120 seconds)
+3% crit chance in a solo battle (duration: 120 seconds)
+20% increase in effect of consumable items in a solo battle
Cooldown: 360 seconds
Proficiency: [1]
My goal was only to prevent the two of them from becoming my enemies, but apparently, they were itching to win me over. I had humored and pacified them quite well.
'This is way better than I expected.'
The skills were helpful when I was Playing as an Observer and when I was Playing like a combat class Player.
'Nice, nice.'
I might have been the one who was rewarded with the individual favors, but Sunghyun was the one who killed the White Rabbit. He came up to me.
"Hyung. I got a minimap with the location of the escalator going to the 3rd floor."
"Alright, let's go."
We couldn't get there without the minimap. Once he activated it, a yellow light appeared before our eyes. It felt like there was a fairy of light showing us the way. We walked forward, following the light. After about five minutes, we found the escalator.
[Move to the 3rd floor?]
Before we ported to the 3rd floor, I said one more thing to everyone.
"Everyone take one of these."
I passed out the Centipede Pearls I managed to gather thanks to Darongi, also giving one to Cheon Sooji and Gong Jinhoon. Without one, they would die.
"It's an item with a very strong poison resistance."
Sooji said, "I guess there's something related to poison on the 3rd floor?"
"Yes."
"Then I might be of help somehow."
"Nope."
I cut her hopes down. We didn't need any help from her there.
"Everyone will move the shortest distance possible under my guidance. There will be no hunting and no raiding. Even if something attacks you, take the blow and keep moving."
Jinhoon asked me for additional explanation. "That is hard for me to accept. Why must we do so?"
"So you don't die."
This dungeon was a place that was originally supposed to break. By the standards of the future, this dungeon could only be cleared by top Players in the upper level 30s. That was the kind of place we, early level 30 Players, were trying to clear. It was absolutely impossible to do it by normal means.
I decided to explain a little more. "I have a special eye." After a pause, I said one last thing. "Come if you will trust and follow me. Otherwise, stay on the 2nd floor. If you don't want to be of any help."
I fixed Jinhoon with my eyes, activating 'Mettle'.
'If you're not going to be helpful, I'll throw you aside without hesitation.'
I felt Jinhoon's body flinch. A healer of his level could be a big help to us, but I didn't need a teammate who wouldn't obey. Or rather, I didn't have the strength to spare to protect both of them in addition to my own party members on the 3rd floor.
Sooji tugged Jinhoon in warning. "We'll do as you say. Because in my opinion, you are the top Player at the moment."
We went up to the 3rd floor. It was dark and full of black smoke, called 'Poison Fog'.
My vision grew hazy.
['Poison Fog' has started invading your body.]
At the same time, something appeared in front of my eyes, and I sharpened my focus to a keen edge.
'Out of all the scenarios I expected… this one's the worst.'
It was the worst, and the most unlikely. We were unlucky enough to have a swarm of 'Venomous Vipers' greeting us right at the entrance. These 'swarms' were spawned randomly around the map, but it was rare for them to be spawned at the entrance like this. We had to get past them.
'Damn it. Why here?'
The Venomous Vipers staring at us with their mouths wide open had an average level of 33. They possessed a venom that was very fatal for thin-skinned races like humans.
Of course, we weren't completely without options. It would just be a little more dangerous. We just had to undertake a greater risk. But just then, a good idea occurred to me.
As I thought before, coming up with ideas on-site was much more effective than racking one's head at a desk. To my amazement, the solution came to me when I was facing the situation head-on.
'This is what we'll do.'
____