From Today, I'm a Player

Chapter 238. To Advance Pt. 5

The group of Hunters descended into chaos as the mission to kill Lee Jun-Kyeong ended by devolving into a simple incident.

Although the mission hadn’t yet been canceled for any of those who had received it and no one had made any moves, the Hunters were already acting as if there was no mission.

‘In case there is someone among you that wants to complete the mission…’

The reason that they were avoiding the mission window was because of the declarations of Zeus and Lee Jun-Kyeong’s other powerful allies.

‘Think of what it means to have to deal with all of us. Yes, sponsorship items are great, but you’re not really thinking that it would mean that you would be able to survive against all of us, are you?’

His angry words worked exceedingly well in stopping the Hunters in their tracks, serving as a realization of Lee Jun-Kyeong’s position.

However, while Zeus had given the whip, Lee Jun-Kyeong approached with a carrot.

‘If you can survive the coming fight, then you will become Heroes who will go down in history.’

What these Hunters had wanted was fame and money.

‘After this battle, you’ll receive it all, whether you want it or not.’

All the fame and money in the world was already theirs as long as they survived. Since the man before them was quite possibly the strongest in the world and was a necessary means for their survival, they nodded in agreement and forgot about the mission.

Of course, not everyone reacted in that manner.

Lee Jun-Kyeong occasionally felt hostile gazes toward him from people with eyes filled with greed. However, that was just something that he had to bear.

Moreover, that was a problem for their leaders, or those who would become their leaders, to worry about.

The chaotic atmosphere gradually calmed down as the Hunters now prepared for battle.

Shing! Shing!

The battle that awaited them was unprecedented, and as Lee Jun-Kyeong had said, it was a terrifying battle that may go down in history.

“Take two steps to the right! You’re leaving an opening on the left!!”

The Hunters were honing their skills and sparring with each other.

“Please take a look at my weapon!”

“I’m telling you! We have the best blacksmiths in the world here. Why don’t you leave it to them?”

“Where would a Hunter like me have the money to leave my weapons with those people?”

“They said they would do it for free!”

"What?"

The two blacksmiths inspected their armaments and worked diligently to try to discover even better ones.

Park Jae-Hyun and Park Yu-Jin, the two siblings, were working hard and sleeping fewer than two hours a day. But there was no sign of fatigue on their faces. They polished and repaired countless weapons, preparing for the battle in their own way.

“Whew… I miss my family.”

“They should be alive, right?”

“We’ll have to wait and see…”

There were those who missed their families.

“Hehe…”

Then, there were madmen driven crazy by countless battles.

“…”

There were even those who remained silent as there was nothing left in their lives.

Numerous groups of people had gathered here.

Lee Jun-Kyeong walked between them and took in everything.

Then, an explosion sounded out.

BOOM!

However, not a single Hunter paid any attention to the sound, as they had been hearing it continuously for several days. By this point, all of them knew who was making the noise.

“Mr. Lee!”

A happy voice was heard from the direction where the explosion was coming from.

“Mr. Jeong.”

It was Jeong In-Chang, his precious companion who had now become indispensable—one of the few whom he could trust until the very end.

He was waving his hand alongside the giants, Liu Bei and his two brothers, and even Lee Jun-Kyeong's Familiars.

“You didn’t have to come all this way! We’re doing great here!”

They, too, were preparing for battle.

They knew that in the fight that would take place soon and their role wouldn’t be that great. However, they all knew that even what they could contribute would be difficult. Thus, they were clashing to hone each other’s strength and sharpen each other.

Lee Jun-Kyeong nodded as if he was happy just to see them.

‘Now, it’s my turn.’

***

Clang!

Although wooden sparring swords were being used, the sound of metal clashing rang out in the air. Moreover, the wooden swords that should have shattered into pieces from the force of the previous collision were strangely still intact.

Upon further observation, a hint of blue color, mana, was overlaid on the surface of the wooden swords.

“Well, your ability to use mana seems to have increased tremendously, hasn’t it?” Arthur said with a grin that expressed his complete and utter satisfaction.

With such a wide smile on his face, he swung his sword hard once again.

Clang!

Although it looked just like a simple swinging motion, what appeared before Lee Jun-Kyeong’s eyes was different. It felt like a massive mountain pressing down upon him. Lee Jun-Kyeong quickly shifted his stance and raised his sword with both hands.

CLANG!

A huge sound rang out again.

“At this level, there is a chance for you to win against Gawain even if you only use your mastery of the sword.”

The smile on Arthur’s face disappeared as he spoke while taking a step back.

“That was your problem. Your mana is expressed in the form of a flame, so while its destructive power is high, its precision is extremely poor.”

Arthur spoke about the point that he had made before. Lee Jun-Kyeong knew Arthur was right.

‘My ability is specialized in emitting a flame-like energy.’

Moreover, since he only used his power of flames, his precision was quite low. At least, he hadn't learned how to input his powers properly.

With his unique experience in learning both swordsmanship and magic from Arthur and Merlin, he had discovered his ability to learn skills as if he were inputting them directly into his brain. However, not even that could adjust the precision of his mana. But now, those shortcomings had been offset.

Then, with a bursting sound, something flew toward where Lee Jun-Kyeong stood.

Bang!

Lee Jun-Kyeong nonchalantly raised one hand as runes floated around in front of his hand.

Ssss.

The red sphere that had rocketed toward him disappeared as if it had never existed.

“Your Dispel has also reached the pinnacle.”

He hadn’t been able to learn Merlin’s abilities through input. Although he had learned how to use magic just by seeing it, it was still less difficult to cast it than the task of erasing any magic.

Merlin, who had suddenly appeared as she cast a spell toward him, had wanted to verify something about his growth.

“What on earth happened?”

“What on earth happened?”

The two leaders of the Round Table asked at the same time.

“In the space of a few weeks...”

“This isn’t a level of ability that could be demonstrated in such a short period of time. Did you really just learn it by reading it like you said earlier?”

Concern and curiosity appeared in both of their eyes.

Lee Jun-Kyeong shook his head—this wasn’t an ability related to his input ability. This was a skill he had realized on his own.

“I went to Andlangr.”

He had realized what he had lacked alone during that time. Thus, he had been able to grow at an astonishing level.

“Oh my god.”

“Just why would you go to that hell…”

“Did your Sponsor force you? After all this time, now?” they asked, but Lee Jun-Kyeong shook his head again.

“You can just think about it as if something had happened. We don’t have enough time for me to tell you such a long story now.”

“Jormungandr… Saeynkaed…these things must have something to do with your new Familiars.”

Arthur crossed his arms and took a step back. They were done sparring. That had been their last clash to address whatever the other was lacking before the big fight in Seoul.

“I have nothing left to teach.”

“I have nothing to teach you.”

There was nothing more for Lee Jun-Kyeong to learn from the two. Now, there was nothing that he lacked.

“You’re getting closer to perfection,” said Merlin.

However, even still, their expressions weren’t good. They, too, were some of the “lucky” few who had also been to Andlangr, and they were worried about the impact the time spent there would have had on Lee Jun-Kyeong.

Rather than trying to reassure them, Lee Jun-Kyeong simply said with a small smile, “We should be happy because our chances of winning have increased.”

However, his words and his smile actually made their expressions darker.

“You…” Arthur carefully opened his mouth. “Are you really planning on going in alone?”

“...”

“If what you said is true, then it would be suicidal for us to go in. But can you be sure that you are different?”

What Arthur was saying was simple.

“If Gehenna is so dangerous, let’s find another way.

Lee Jun-Kyeong had informed them about Gehenna, the most dangerous gate, in a series of meetings. It still remained, and it was a place where no one should enter.

However, the only way to end all of this was to enter it, so he decided that he would go in alone. After the battle with the Demon King, once he emerged victorious, he alone would enter and close Gehenna. That was what he had told them all.

It was the most dangerous and terrifying gate of all.

“You might have to actually deal with the Sponsors directly.”

“It’s too big a task to handle alone.”

It was a dangerous place where no one knew if they would have to face their Sponsors.

“...”

Lee Jun-Kyeong stayed silent.

“Whew… I won’t say anything else, but if you need help at any time, let me know.”

“We will do what we can.”

Eventually, the two had no choice but to agree. They could feel it, too, that Lee Jun-Kyeong was special. Although they were also special, there was something different about Lee Jun-Kyeong.

That was why they had said that they needed to talk—because there were many more things that Lee Jun-Kyeong could do.

“Please…” Lee Jun-Kyeong said as he was making a promise. “I will succeed.”

He looked up at the sky once more.

If he wanted to be successful—no, if he didn’t want humanity to end up in the worst possible outcome, he would need the help of one entity.

.

***

The chaotic atmosphere suddenly turned into breathtaking silence.

Rumble!

A resounding vibration shook the ground as everyone could feel it.

Tremble.

They each grabbed their weapons.

“Hadn’t we cleared out all the monsters around us?”

The Hunters that had gathered here weren’t just playing around, clearing out monsters around them whenever they had time. Thus, the monsters around him should have already been exterminated.

“What is this vibration?”

At this point, Lee Jun-Kyeong and the others could feel an inexplicable trembling. A huge noise rang out as the Hunters who were resting also came out to assess the situation.

“...”

However, Lee Jun-Kyeong just stood still.

Then, not only did he stand tall, but there was also Jeong In-Chang, who, before he knew it, had approached Lee Jun-Kyeong.

Even the other Heroes were the same.

“Whew.”

Heracles was even smiling with his arms crossed.

While the nervous Hunters were puzzled by their appearance, someone was running toward them from afar.

“Someone is coming!”

The movements of the person clearly indicated that he was a Hunter, but his face wasn’t familiar. The person running was waving both hands in greeting as if to emphasize that he wasn’t the enemy.

Jeong In-Chang said aloud, “You’re back.”

Rumble, RUMBLE!

The vibrations shaking the ground gradually became more severe, and, accompanying it, Jeong In-Chang saw something white running toward him.

“Wait, wait, wait, wait!”

Even at this distance, its main body was clearly visible as something that was obviously enormous was running toward me.”

“Ha, it’s not just one!”

Next to it, another being was running. It was a wolf with white fur.

Next to it was the Lord of the Mountain that had died, the white tiger. He was running across the destroyed city along with a wolf.

“We are not the enemy!”

Meanwhile, the Hunter, who had been waving finally arrived, breathing tiredly.

“Ha…ha…”

Slowly, the Hunter announced, “Ungnyeo is coming!”

Ungnyeo, Fenrir, and even Sangun were here.

“Now…”

The time had come.

Lee Jun-Kyeong slowly walked forward as Fenrir and Sangun continued to get closer.

Looking up, he smirked as she was sitting on Sangun’s head.