For some reason, I felt lighter than usual.
How long had it been since I could freely roam around causing trouble like this?

After the stream, which left me with mixed feelings, it seemed like the scale of the war had escalated significantly.
Maybe it was because I wanted to be involved in something that impactful, but the war quickly grew.
The first to jump in was Moonstar, the Crusaders' hostile alliance.
The hostilities spiraled, with more and more groups joining in, creating a complex web of involvement.

The attention from regular players was completely captured… now, neither side could back down.
Whoever lost would face enormous humiliation.
And the disgrace of a guild inevitably leads to massive defections from its members.

The reward for the siege no longer mattered.
This had become a guillotine match, where the losing side would lose everything.
Either Cross or I would find it hard to earn a living in this game after this.

[Guild member ‘Yoru’ has requested to activate the ‘Operator’ function. Y/N]
[Accepted.]

[Communication range with ‘Yoru’ during combat has greatly increased.]
[Shared vision and signaling systems are now active.]

With some time left before the siege began, my role now was to eliminate as many of the enemy guild members as possible beforehand.

The priority was to disrupt their siege weapon crafting quest.
My task was to prevent them from gathering materials in the field, and if possible, take out their officers.
In other words, I just had to fight whoever I encountered.

• Hello. You’ve heard the plan, right?
  “I’ve got the gist of it.”
• Yuhan, or rather, Soolbbang told me to assist you. I’ll be in your care.
  “I’ve heard of your name too.”
• Great! Also, I really enjoyed watching your stream, Gawol. I’ve been a fan since the Reaper match…

I froze.

The moment I heard the word "stream," my mind stopped for a second.
A cold shiver ran down my spine.
I cleared my throat a couple of times, trying to make my voice sound normal.

“Thanks, but don’t mention the stream in front of me.”

• Ah, my apologies! But maybe later, could we take a screenshot together…? Is that okay?
  “We’ll see. If you perform well, I might even add you as a friend. It’d be good to work together often.”
• I’ll give it my all! Just leave it to me.

Well, adding him as a friend would only be possible if I could continue playing the game, but there was no need to say that.

Soolbbang’s ace card, Yoru, sounded highly motivated.
At least his motivation was in the right place.

As we marched through the darkened desert, Yoru’s voice came over the comms.

• Enemy spotted at 11 o’clock, 250 meters ahead. Fifteen in total. They’re working on a drilling machine.
• We don’t need to kill them all, just destroy the drilling machine.
• We have a party nearby on standby.
• Moonstar is supposed to send a party soon as well. What do you want to do?

“Any named enemies? Specifically, Imaemangryang—do you have their location confirmed?”

• Checked before we arrived. You’re worried about the debuff, right?
• I don’t see anyone posing an immediate threat.
• But we’re still outnumbered. Are you sure about this?

“It’s fine. Just have our party draw their attention a bit.”

Wow, this guy is actually competent.

There wasn’t a single hitch in the briefing process.
He knew exactly what I needed and had things prepared before I could even ask.
As an operator and guild officer working with me, he’d already earned a passing grade.

Now, I just needed to evaluate his sniping skills.

[Field: Ruins of the Ancient Kingdom]
[Operator has updated the minimap.]

Yoru’s view as a sniper appeared in the corner of my vision.
Starlight blanketed the desert, and arrows from his crossbow sliced through the dark blue sky.
Two shots were all it took to shatter the stillness that had settled.

Yoru had apparently passed on the orders effectively.
From a distance, two archers provided suppressive fire, and the first ambush had already turned one enemy warrior into a pincushion.

There was no audible sound.
But the muffled explosions and the vibrations that followed through the air were evidence enough of combat.

For now, our side was holding its own.
The numerical disadvantage wasn’t changing, but the lancer’s positioning was excellent.
With that, they shouldn’t be wiped out too easily.

“I’ll join the fight too. Let’s see what you can do.”

• Got it. I’m ready.

Deserts are surprisingly great for ambushes.
The dunes scattered around and the limited light made it easy to sneak up on enemies.
Plus, footsteps barely made a sound on the thick sand.

In an environment like this, even if they were vigilant, it would be hard for them to spot me.
When it’s one-on-one against a pro, the assassin usually gains the initiative.
And with a decoy to draw their attention, my success rate for surprise attacks was virtually 100%.

[Item: Stepping Stone of the Ashen Cult]
[Use this item to create a temporary platform that lasts for 2 seconds.]
[The platform will not produce any sound.]

A small amount of magic drained from me as the panel materialized in midair.
I pushed off with all my strength, sending my body soaring, though I didn’t have wings.

Falling vertically, I crashed down on the warrior’s head, stomping hard.
The powerful impact disoriented him, leaving his guard helpless, making the assassination target vulnerable.

I slashed the throat of the panicked sorcerer.
A spray of red misted into the air, but perhaps because it was a siege guild, they didn’t die immediately.

Still, they were a mage type after all.
I threw a dagger straight into their heart, and their body collapsed.
Behind me, one of the enemy Kunoichi reacted sharply, but…

Bang!
Blood sprayed from the masked face, and the gunshot echoed a second later.
That was some serious firepower.

• Enemy Kunoichi down.
  “Nice.”
• Firing a flare shot next. Watch out for the splash damage.

Before the kunai clattered to the ground, it was time to finish off the warrior beneath me.

I pushed his head down again and stabbed his temple and neck.
This one was tougher than I expected—he must’ve been a key figure.
As I grabbed his hair to make the final cut, he groaned and spoke.

“Uh, G-Gawol…”
“Huh?”
“C-can I… suck your toes, just once?”
“Gah!”

What kind of crazy talk was that?
I twisted the blade with all my might, mercifully ending his life.

From afar, a red laser beam appeared.
It passed dangerously close to me—a marker for my ally sniper’s bullet trajectory.

I shoved the warrior’s corpse into the path of the incoming fire, using it as a shield.
A beat later, the gunshot rang out, and the battlefield erupted in flames.

Everyone’s vision was momentarily obscured.
I knew exactly what I needed to do next.

• Looks like an assassin is heading my way.
• Can you take care of it?
• If not, I can reposition.

“It’s fine. I’ll handle it.”

Who did they think I was?
The sniper had my back, so I had to protect our sniper in return.
Before the flames dissipated, I cloaked myself in stealth.

One assassin ran right past me through the fire.
Even if I was hidden, passing by a senior without so much as a greeting?
A rude rookie like that needed to be taught some manners.

For the sake of proper etiquette, I slammed his face into the ground and stabbed him brutally in the side.

His organs ruptured, and I applied bleeding and paralysis poisons before cutting the tendons in his legs.
With my form vanishing into the shadows, the berserker who had been leaping toward me lost sight of his target.
A confused expression crossed his face just before a sniper bullet lodged in his skull.

• Berserker critically wounded. I’ll finish him off.
• But the enemy grappler is said to be pretty strong… what do you want to do?
• The one in the loincloth, I mean.
• I was thinking of destroying the drill first, though.

“Ah… I’ll handle it.”

I had a good idea of who they were talking about.
A grappler, clearly marked by his almost embarrassingly exposed muscles, was making a sharp turn to intercept our party.
His face was all too familiar.

“It’s been a while, Mr. Loincloth. Didn’t expect to meet you as an enemy. Weren’t you with the big guild back then?”
“Yeah, I’m paying the price for having the wrong friends.”
“Is that so? So, no hard feelings between us, then?”
“Of course not.”

LoinclothManiac.
During the conflict with Dongmicham, he had been sent as a mercenary by a top-tier guild.
Now it looked like he was working for Venom, our current enemies.

We’d partied together several times before.
Aside from his ridiculous outfit and his choice of class as a grappler, he was a decent guy.

“Looks like you’ve seriously upgraded your specs.”
“Do you really think I could take on Gawol with just my skills? I’ve been working hard to close the gap.”
“Hmm, I see.”
“I’ve been wanting to fight you like this ever since I saw you in the arena. I’m coming at you with the heart of a challenger.”

LoinclothManiac clenched his fists tightly.
His raised guard and stance clearly indicated he was ready for combat.
I lifted my daggers, positioning them in front of my body.

“So, you want to fight me one-on-one?”
“Yes. If you’ll accept.”

“Then, no, thanks.”
“Pardon?”
“Why would I keep fighting here? I’m done with what I came for.”

The sniper’s bullets were hammering the drilling machine with relentless force.
It was clear he was throwing all of his firepower into destroying it.
While Yoru was breaking the drill, I sheathed my daggers and started to retreat.

I only fight battles I know I can win.
I don’t engage in dangerous fights.
That was the rule I lived by in field battles.

This was exactly why I chose the assassin class.