―SWISH.
Countless daggers, as though wrapped in darkness, poured down in a fluttering shower.
―SWISH.
―SWISH.
―SWISH.
Like rain-soaked petals scattering in the wind.
“Wh-what the fuck is that?!”
“That’s [Dark Sword Dance]!”
“Is that bastard insane?!”
“He used an area skill where people are gathered?!”
The players screamed as though seizing.
To be precise, that analysis was not entirely correct.
Because the assassin had not used only [Dark Sword Dance].
On the gathered subscribers, he had scattered [Dark Sword Dance], an area attack and confusion skill, as a means of suppression.
The reason Han Woo-hyun thought of it as suppression rather than an attack was clear.
The sword dance had been scattered roughly without any target. He had not put much force behind it either.
―Tingle.
The true target was elsewhere.
The world slowed as Han Woo-hyun perceived it through his transcendent sensory nerves.
Within it, Han Woo-hyun met eyes with the assassin falling while glaring at him and Kim Jae-seung.
-[Assassin’s Blade]
The assassin poured madness and hatred from both eyes as he summoned huge daggers into both hands.
It was a single-target attack skill, and a burst-damage skill.
That was the real attack.
Only Han Woo-hyun, with his transcendent dynamic vision, saw through it in that place.
―CRACK.
Han Woo-hyun shifted his stance into a combat-ready posture and laughed inwardly.
Because the bastard had taken the bait and fallen for the provocation Han Woo-hyun had openly laid out.
And in a wonderfully visible form at that.
“Everyone, stay put without using skills! Do not counterattack! The building will collapse!”
He shouted as loudly as possible.
He did not simply shout.
It was a technique he had mastered while commanding countless raids as a raid leader.
The original skill, [Lion’s Roar].
A technique that rang out ultrasonic and infrasonic waves along with his loud voice, stimulating the fundamental senses of humans.
At the same time, it was also a taunt skill that turned the attention of every living creature around him toward himself.
A taunt created not through a game-like system, but by truly applying instinctive threat.
“Look—at me!”
-[Madness of Light]
Paladin was a class designed as a tank.
Therefore, naturally, it also had a taunt skill that any tank would possess.
However, as befitting a game where tanks were powerless, it was meaningless in the actual game.
Because most bosses did not target characters to use skills. They simply fired skills at random and attacked players indiscriminately.
“...!”
After the game became reality, it became even more useless.
Boss monsters and players had intelligence.
Therefore, they were not provoked by something like begging for attention while spewing dazzling light.
But if one truly threatened them, the story changed.
The taunt skill [Madness of Light], by itself, was a skill that could only make an enemy glance over once.
But if the tank was truly strong, acted threateningly, and used that skill at the same time.
“You, youuu!”
It effectively focused the mind of a confused opponent.
-[Shadow Friend]
The assassin was already someone whose entire mind had been stained with excitement through Mental Resonance.
―PABAT!
―PABABAT!
The assassin, eyes rolled back, summoned two shadow clones and rushed at Han Woo-hyun.
In other words, he had fallen beautifully for the taunt skill.
-[Steps of Light]
Light energy bodies dwelled in Han Woo-hyun’s feet and knees.
He had overlaid [Absolute Defense] over the surrounding space itself, but if a user above level 290 fought, it would be difficult to block every bit of the aftermath.
So he would trample him down as quickly as possible with an overwhelming difference.
-[Holy Sword]
Han Woo-hyun overlaid light onto his shield and sword. It was a Paladin’s normal attack skill, which strengthened attack power and struck.
―BOOM!
When he leapt with strength, the floor shattered.
At the same time, Han Woo-hyun’s body shot up fifty meters into the air in an instant.
To the position where the assassin was falling with his shadow clones.
"?!"
The assassin’s eyes widened at the movement, which was far too fast and sudden.
-[Fanaticism’s Lightblade]
There was no need to control his strength when dealing with clones.
He immediately imbued his sword and shield with the strongest killing attack skill he could use.
Transcendent energy dwelled in the light and shield, increasing their attack power even further.
It increased so much that the atmosphere around them became plasma, and a haze shimmered.
―Wooooong.
―Zooooong.
It did not end there.
The true pinnacle of player combat did not stop at simply borrowing game skills and using them.
The true power of a player came from freely operating Yggdrasill Force, which could be converted into every kind of physical energy.
Through that, one caused physical phenomena impossible in reality upon oneself.
-[Neural Acceleration]
Within the slowed world, Han Woo-hyun once again focused Force into his feet.
-[Force Combat Arts Fourth Form: Three-Dimensional Maneuvering: Air-Stepping]
He converted energy directly into physical force, generating action and reaction.
-[Force Combat Arts Third Form: Body Distortion: Enhanced Motion]
In midair, Han Woo-hyun’s arms and legs bent grotesquely along physically impossible trajectories and accelerated.
Countless physical forces freely corrected the movement of his sword and shield.
―SLASH!
―SLASHSLASH!
―SLASH!
―SLASHSLASH!
The edges of Han Woo-hyun’s sword and shield cut the enemy fifty-two times in 0.7 seconds.
In an instant, the waists and necks of the two [Shadow Friend] clones created by the assassin were severed.
―Slide.
―Slide.
Naturally, because they had suffered fatal damage, they disappeared.
Even if they possessed only 50% of the main body’s Combat Power, they were not so weak that they should vanish in an instant like this.
“...?!”
The emotion in the assassin’s eyes changed from shock to fear.
“Release.”
Once again in midair, Han Woo-hyun released the heat and light dwelling in his sword and shield as he looked down.
The assassin’s current position was five meters directly above Han Woo-hyun.
Judging by his awkward posture, it seemed he had intended to attack as if falling from above with his clones, then deliver the decisive blow with his main body afterward.
Unfortunately, [Shadow Friend] had vanished far too quickly, and that plan could not be realized.
“Sh-sh-[Shadow Hide]!”
The assassin revised that plan.
The Paladin who had suddenly appeared out of nowhere was strong. Too strong!
It was not a matter of his stats or level being high.
His combat sense and technique were far too outstanding!
He must have been a mixed martial artist or a special forces member even before the world became reality.
That was how it looked to the assassin.
In his opinion, someone like him, a room-bound shut-in, could not defeat an opponent like that simply because he had gained some game skills.
In the first place, he had only been watching Cha Jung-hoon’s character-form from above and feeling annoyed at Kim Jae-seung beside him.
He did not know why he had suddenly attacked.
He must have gone insane for a moment.
The assassin cursed his own sudden outburst.
“[Ride the Dark]...”
So the assassin chose escape. No, he tried to choose it.
“Where do you think you’re going?”
Han Woo-hyun was slightly impressed.
Seeing the fear-soaked eyes, it was clear that the taunt effect of [Madness of Light] had worn off.
A player by the standards of the present, who had only just awakened, should have been unskilled at controlling his own Yggdrasill Force.
Normally, he should have been maddened with hostility toward Han Woo-hyun for at least one minute, and up to five.
Yet before even thirty seconds had passed, he grasped the situation and tried to flee.
Moreover, he had resisted [Mental Resonance], if only slightly.
Han Woo-hyun revised his plan a little.
Originally, he had intended to execute him as an example, then later revive him with a Priest’s [Resurrection] and take measures afterward.
But if he already possessed talent this outstanding, it seemed better to make him obey immediately.
“[Holy Ground]!”
At the same time as he used the domain declaration skill, Han Woo-hyun released light and heat from his entire body, strengthening his physical strength and agility.
-[Force Combat Arts Second Form: Metabolic Hyper-Acceleration]
His senses sharpened beneath the domain of [Holy Ground]. Soon, he saw through the shape of the thief scattered into shadow.
It seemed he was trying to ride the neighboring building and flee with the assassin movement skill [Ride the Darkness].
He could not let that happen.
-[Aerial Leap]
While emitting Force into the air and converting it into physical force, Han Woo-hyun drove his body forward while taking care not to break the wall.
-[Authority of Light: Magic Shattering]
He gathered a shape of light like fists in both hands.
He immediately drove his fist into the area of the wall where the shadow was especially dark.
The enemy’s skill was canceled.
“H-hiiiik!”
As the shadow lifted and the skill was forcibly dismantled, the assassin screamed shrilly.
“Caught you.”
-[Light-Sealing Sword]
After instantly driving sealing swords into eight joints throughout the assassin’s body, Han Woo-hyun checked his condition.
“Ah, aaah··· uah···”
Good.
After confirming that the sealing swords had been driven in properly, Han Woo-hyun injected another layer of Force into them and strengthened them.
No matter how great his talent for Force operation was, he would be neutralized for at least six hours.
Han Woo-hyun roughly threw the assassin down in front of the building. He intended to retrieve him after finishing his announcement.
“Phew···”
Fortunately, it had not taken long. He had been able to overwhelm the bastard in one minute.
Strength drained from his entire body.
Then Han Woo-hyun looked down at his surroundings.
―···??!!
―······!!?
Everyone was looking at him with shock-filled eyes.
Even Kim Jae-seung and Cha Jung-hoon.
As if they had never imagined something like this would happen.
―Whooong.
Soon, the people Han Woo-hyun had been waiting for began to appear.
―Step, step.
―Step, step.
A Dimensional Gate opened behind the crowd covered in silence.
“What is this? What happened?”
“Did they fight here?”
“What kind of lunatic uses skills in the city?”
“Is it that person?”
“Fuck, what is going on?”
“...A Paladin?”
“Uh, that person···”
Han Woo-hyun waited calmly until everyone had crossed through the Dimensional Gate.
As he did, he recalled how the Gangnam District Civil War had begun before his regression.
A shocking incident where thousands of players, the greatest fighting force in Korea, died meaninglessly.
There had not been many survivors, and it had been a chaotic battle where friend and foe were unclear.
So there was not much information.
What was certain was that one assassin had made the preemptive attack.
And as Kim Jae-seung defended against it, the attack scattered toward an unspecified number of people.
Seeing that disturbance, those who had been waiting at Kim Jae-seung’s streaming studio nearby.
Kim Jae-seung’s viewers, who had been waiting for their idol like Cha Jung-hoon’s viewers, came through [Dimensional Gate].
And after misunderstandings and arguments were exchanged, they began attacking one another.
In other words, the two main axes of the civil war were ultimately the subscribers of Kim Jae-seung and Cha Jung-hoon.
“What is this? Is he famous?”
“Those two are Kim Jae-seung and Cha Jung-hoon.”
“He was talking down to them. Is he their manager or something?”
“That tank ranker···”
“Huh? Arthur?”
Finally, after everyone crossed the gate, people who knew Han Woo-hyun’s character and personal information began whispering.
Just as the crowd began to stir, questioning what the situation was.
“Silence!!! Focus!”
-[Lion’s Roar]
Han Woo-hyun raised his shield high, very high, and focused the crowd’s attention.
Because from now on was most important.
If he failed to unite the Korean players in this moment.
It would be meaningless even if Han Woo-hyun made the players of every other country his subordinates.
Because the world’s greatest combat force was the Korean server.
The rest of the players had been brought in not as combat power, but to maintain the order of the world.
“I am Han Woo-hyun. Character Name, Arthur.”
-[Force Combat Arts Fourth Form: Three-Dimensional Maneuvering: Air-Stepping]
Han Woo-hyun created a light Force-Field Body beneath the soles of his feet and rose into the air in a visually striking manner.
As he continued stepping forward, he gradually focused Yggdrasill Force into his head.
-[Blessing of Light]
A halo was created.
“I am Korea’s only level 300 user, and the strongest player in the world.”
At last, he rose to twenty meters, the height said to make people feel the greatest psychological pressure.
“And I am the guild leader of Lucid, the unified guild of all players throughout the world.”
Now it was time for the most important bluff.
A false plan that would no longer be a bluff if this succeeded.
“This evening, our guild obtained information about a planned indiscriminate terrorist attack against Kim Jae-seung, Cha Jung-hoon, and their subscriber players here.”
He naturally looked down at Kim Jae-seung and Cha Jung-hoon as though they were his subordinates.
“After discussion with the guild executives around the world, we concluded that Korean players are strong, but in a dangerous state.”
Only then did Kim Jae-seung and Cha Jung-hoon realize what Han Woo-hyun was trying to say.
Their lips and the corners of their eyes twitched anxiously.
“Therefore, we decided. To maintain player safety and social order, a guild is necessary.”
But that was all.
“Kim Jae-seung and Cha Jung-hoon are the Korean branch leaders of our guild.”
Neither of them stopped nor restrained Han Woo-hyun.
They had just nearly been killed by a mad player without even reacting.
If the choice had been given to the two of them, they would still have hesitated, but in a situation where it was being announced as though the decision had already been made.
They did not have the nerve to reject it.
“···.”
“···.”
Seeing the two remain still, Han Woo-hyun smiled darkly inwardly.
The Korean branch leaders had accepted their roles.