What was going on here?

Hurent smiled at Biban’s absurd question and rubbed the back of his neck.

‘I avoided a fatal injury, but I feel stiff. I almost died again as soon as I logged in.’

Aura Master Hurent.

He was one of the most powerful members of the Overgeared Guild.

He had the ability to adjust the shape of aura at will, allowing him to be useful in all types of scenarios. Because of this, he had played a big role in the battle against Trauka as the spearhead. He was able to deal damage to the enemy while empowering and protecting his allies at the same time.

Therefore, he was a problem.

Despite the presence of the tower members and apostles, Hurent had been the one attracting Trauka’s aggro. He’d been the first among the main damage dealers to die twice.

This wasn’t because Hurent had mismanaged the aggro. It just so happened that Trauka’s intelligence had been too high. After sensing the threat in Hurent, Trauka had persistently targeted him. He’d shot a Breath even with both his hands tied up.

Thanks to this, Hurent was able to reconnect the fastest and get here on time.

Regardless, the situation wasn’t good. Regas, Pon, Ibellin, Toon, Chris’ entourage–they were in charge of the vanguard, just like him, and would be the first to die. It was good that they arrived to the fight, but the level of the enemy was higher than they had expected.

Kubartos.

He was a rare dragon with golden scales. Even though he wasn’t an old dragon, he exuded a level of power similar to that of Trauka’s. They felt like they were already dead every time they met his metallic, cold gaze. A chill went down their spines, and they became lethargic.

‘He is actually causing some pretty terrible abnormal status conditions.’

Fear and confusion could be overcome by control. However, they had to endure abnormal status conditions such as exhaustion and intimidation, which lowered the power of their stats and skills.

Of course, this was only for those who weren’t legends. Unfortunately, the vanguard didn’t consist of many legends.

“Raise your hand if you don’t think you will be much help.”

The usually friendly Hurent, who was relieved when he verified Piaro’s safety as soon as he logged in, didn’t carry a very pleasant tone in his voice at the moment, which was reasonable, since he seldom made unnecessary remarks.

“Me.”

A bloodied Toon raised his left hand. His right arm had been cut off. Even if he transformed into a tiger, he wouldn’t be able to run. The same could be said about transforming into an eagle–he would be unable to fly, as well.

“Regas, do you have anything to say?”

“Ah... My capabilities have dropped a lot due to internal injuries, but surely I can play the role of bait. Both my legs are fine.”

“You are bleeding all over the place right now. It’s so bad, it can’t even be fixed by taking hemostatic medicine. Won’t you be useless once the bleeding debuff stacks?”

“I can stop the bleeding by concentrating my spirit.”

“You and Toon are taking Biban away. Next time, say what you have to say briefly without adding personal opinions. You’re wasting time.”

“...Yes, I’ll be back as soon as possible.”

Hurent’s group had arrived at the scene and were waiting, when they noticed that Biban’s mental world, in which Kubartos had been imprisoned, shattered. They ran to Biban’s rescue, and as many as nine people had been killed in the process, with two of the most powerful people present ending up seriously injured. Those two happened to be Toon, who could transform into a beast suitable for each occasion, and who stole Biban away, and Regas, who had tried to protect Ibellin.

Ibellin apologized to Regas. “I-I’m sorry!”

Of course, there was no need for an apology. Ibellin succeeded in inflicting significant damage onto Kubartos. This had caused Kubartos’ aggro to disperse, allowing Toon to rescue Biban. He could take the most credit for saving Biban.

“It’s okay, it’s okay. You did well.”

Regas, who was smiling nicely, and Toon, who had a sullen expression, supported Biban. Hurent placed a shield over the three of them and briefly replayed the battle from a little while ago in his mind.

The Breath that Kubartos released was strange, its trajectory irregular like a ping-pong ball, making it impossible to predict. Even worse, skills were destroyed the moment they came in contact with its body.

One by one, even the vanguard’s strongest defense equipment had failed to show much of an effect, and was miserably destroyed.

Those seemed to be the characteristics of a gold dragon. They couldn’t allow the attack itself to hit them, but it was also hard to avoid, making it very tricky to deal with.

To be honest, he couldn’t pinpoint any discernible difference between this dragon and an old dragon. Of course, this was because he and the rest were weak in comparison to a dragon. They probably couldn’t tell the difference between a top dragon and an old one, just like ants felt equally threatened by dogs and elephants alike.

Hurent’s order was simple. “Run away right now.”

People obeyed immediately.

Hurent fought head-on with Kubartos.

The moment Biban’s mental world broke, Kubartos appeared in a polymorphed state as a human.

He was definitely less threatening in this form than when he was using his main body. It was unlikely that Hurent would be killed immediately from a single attack. He was also armed with Grid’s dragon armor.

“It isn’t a big deal now.”

The handsome, blond-haired man sneered. He was beautiful even when he was frowning.

Claaang! The aftermath of exchanging one sword strike was stunning. Hurent flew back several meters. Then he kicked off the rock behind him and leapt forward.

He’d moved in a flash, but it was still too late.

Kubartos had already reached the side of the fleeing Biban by seemingly using Shunpo. Seeing the movement path shown by the afterimages, it turned out that he had just been running. The speed of an Absolute was truly disgusting.

Kubartos’ golden sword, which shone even in the darkness of the lair, shattered the aura shield surrounding the three people, though he failed to stab Biban in the back beyond the shield, because the shield had the ability to block any attack once. It was an ultimate skill that could only be used a few times, because so much mana was drained every time it was used, but its effectiveness was undoubtable.

“......?”

Was Kubartos surprised that the aura shield had blocked his sword? His golden eyes, peering through the glass-like fragments of aura, were slightly wide.

Hurent controlled the aura while running, shards flying out, turning into pulsating blades that stabbed and slashed at Kubartos.

Kubartos frowned and scattered a sword light once more.

Regas turned around. He pushed at Biban’s back with his left hand while drawing a circle with his right.

This was a skill he’d learned through the secret technique book that Zeratul wrote for him. It was a counter skill that changed the trajectory of an attack by repeatedly pushing away the target’s attack with the back of his hand and pulling it with his palm. It required a great deal of concentration and control due to having to constantly change the direction of his hands, but Regas had the ability to do it. He’d always worked hard on his training, even during the years when he was stuck because of the asura class and stagnated.

Zeratul did him a favor for a reason. The only problem was that Kubartos’ sword was too powerful.

[You have failed to turn it back.]

The trajectory of the sword changed. It was because Regas had grabbed it with his bare hands and pulled it away. A few fingers were cut off with a distressing sound, but the sword had definitely pierced his chest.

“Shit!” Toon cursed as he transformed into a snow leopard and leapt forward with all his might.

In the party window in his field of view, Regas’ name turned black. Hurent’s health had also decreased by half in real time. Biban muttered from where he was lying on Toon’s shoulder.

“I’m sorry to burden you.”

“Don’t talk nonsense.”

What gibberish was this human saying?

Toon clicked his tongue as he kept running.

He was gifted with natural senses.

There was a good reason as to why he’d reigned the strongest mafia in Sicily. He might’ve just been a chess piece that moved according to the organization’s will, but in any case... His senses shone just as brilliantly in Satisfy as they did in real life. Therefore, he’d become a high ranker, joined the Overgeared Guild, and was later asked by Lauel to become Grid’s bodyguard.

Ever since coming to South Korea to protect Grid’s family, the amount of time he’d spent playing the game had decreased significantly, but that was a story of the past. Thanks to the friends he brought back from his hometown a few years ago, he regained his free time and started to focus on Satisfy again.

Since then, he had progressed rapidly and caught up with his competitors. Thanks to Grid’s help materially and spiritually, he was more confident in his skills than ever before.

Just then, a loud noise erupted from not too far away.

Toon changed to human form. Then he jumped, hanging from the ceiling. After seeing the golden sword energy spread out beneath his feet, he threw Biban forward with all his might. Then he ran ahead, caught Biban and placed him back on his shoulder.

“You are human beings from a foreign dimension, just like Grid. You are definitely exceptional. First things first, I will deal with the situation at hand. Then, I will focus on hunting you guys down for the next few years.”

A player hunting declaration.

They were words unsuitable for a dragon, who was supposed to be a vaccine.

“There are too many bugs and plagues for a perfect world.” Toon’s expression darkened a bit as he grumbled.

Given the current situation, Toon understood that the dragon’s attitude toward players might change. It seemed that there was more at stake in this battle than he’d initially thought.

“......!”

He vaguely heard someone groaning. His eyes snapped to the party window, noticing that Pon was dead.

He turned away and ran.

Ibellin died.

He increased his speed.

Chris, despite his swordsmanship skills and the presence of his subordinates, died.

Toon didn’t stop. He tried to focus his thoughts only on the person on his back. The sounds from Hurent and Kubartos’ fight could be heard non-stop.

For how many minutes did he run?

The grueling maze was over and the exit was getting closer. Finally, light started to seep into the edge of his vision.

[Whisper from Hurent: Stop it yourself.]

Then Hurent’s whisper flew into his ear.

Just then, even Hurent’s name in the party window turned black. He had fulfilled his duty even at the moment of his death.

Toon immediately morphed into a bear, turned around and swung his one arm. The golden sword energy exploded on the bear’s paw. Fortunately, he didn’t lose his shoulder, thanks to the bear’s high defense.

Biban, who was still hanging on his back, was unharmed. Toon let out a sigh of relief and made for the exit. A vast mountain range stretched out in his field of view. He paused, wondering how to get down from here. Just then, a blond-haired man appeared in front of him.

It was Kubartos, who used Shunpo to block the escape route the moment the exit was in sight.

“That was quite annoying,” Kubartos said. It seemed to be a compliment in its own way. Kubartos’ arrogant face was viciously distorted. He was quite angry.

“Hold on tightly,” Toon whispered to Biban before running for the cliff.

His plan was to jump off the cliff that was thousands of meters above sea level. Sadly, this was the only way out. He could only hope that Biban would use him as a springboard to somehow survive.

Kubartos snorted. He didn’t even move as he swung his sword, firing energy powerful enough to cut through Toon and Biban and the mountain peaks beyond them.

“Fu–”

Toon twisted his body. He moved Biban to his chest, transformed into a bear, and turned his back to the sword energy. Despite everything, he was still running.

He hoped that the sword energy would stop after only piercing him.

If Grid was depressed, then Toon, who would stay beside him, also felt affected.

Toon prayed fervently as he remembered the time when Khan died.

Kubartos scoffed. “It is meaningless.”

Suddenly, sword energy fell from the sky and cut the golden sword.

“I’m glad you are safe.”

Sword Saint Kraugel.

He smiled as he looked at Biban and Toon, who were standing on the edge of the cliff. It was a gentle and soft smile, different from Grid’s mischievous one. However, both Kraugel’s and Grid’s smiles inspired confidence.

“Jump down!”

A wyvern was rising from the bottom of the cliff. It trembled in fear in the dragon’s presence, but it still flapped its wings decisively. The rider who controlled it was the great Zibal, so it endured even this primal fear.

Toon let out a rare smile and jumped with Biban.

Kubartos fired a Breath at the wyvern that carried them, but Kraugel cut it down. He was one who could cut even the Breath of an old dragon. In this field, neither Muller nor Biban could match him.

“You are quite talented but... How long can you hold me by yourself?”

Kubartos was trying to keep his composure, only to snap his head to the side. Bullets and arrows grazed his hair.

In the distance, two snipers were hiding on a mountain peak shrouded in thick clouds.

“...More keep showing up?”

“Eventually, it will be around ten thousand people.”

Kraugel replied with a bit (?) of exaggeration. His response wasn’t unreasonable since each player had two lives.

At the edge of the mountain range, a warp gate made by Sticks was installed in an area that wasn’t considered to be part of Trauka’s lair.

The Overgeared members, who had started to log on, were coming through the gate at this moment as well. The tower members and apostles were steadily recovering.

“There are many mountains to climb to challenge the demon king.”

Sword Saint Kraugel thought of Grid, who excelled at playing the role of demon king, and considered himself to be one of the four heavenly kings.

A red aura like the flames of the Fire Dragon rose from the tip of his sword.