Chapter 12 - Crown Game 2 (1/2)

“Of course captain.”

Kim Dokyun promptly answered, his eyes drifting to the axe Woohyuk was holding.

“Your movements have improved.”

“Yes, well these guys were a bit tough...”

Woohyuk was the sole adventurer among the camp that could solo a Minotaur. Although Lee Jaesung was strong, and with his large Kite shield he could survive a one on one by staying defensive, that was all.

“Everyone has their own limits, and only by overcoming them can one survive in this place.”

Woohyuk’s past 40 years had been far from clear sailing. If ever he felt himself becoming complacent with his level, a new challenge would appear that drove him to the brink of despair. Every day had been like a nightmare. Still, he had a strong willpower which allowed him to overcome any obstacle

“Raise your weapon, I’ll give you some pointers.”

“Sure.”

Kim Dokyun quickly accepted as he stood up and lifted his double-edged axe.

Testing him myself is the best way to know him.

Since he had spent so many years on the battlefield, he could quickly grasp his opponent’s character.

Woohyuk thought back to the words of a Lord he had dueled with in the past.

“I shall answer your questions with my sword.”

Thinking back to those words, he could only sigh in agreement. It meant that one couldn’t be bothered to explain with vague words. Still, his wisdom didn’t help since he had fallen to his sword.

‘Actions speak louder than words anyways.’

No matter how careful you are with how you speak, one’s true nature will eventually be revealed by one’s actions. The more dangerous the situation, the more likely this would be true.

Swooosh!

As Woohyuk swung the Minotaur Captain’s Illusory axe, Kim Dokyun’s eyes widened in surprise. Woohyuk had activated its Illusory effect, leaving behind an after-image.

Chaeng!

Dokyun did his best to defend against Woohyuk’s attack. He also could feel the killing intent oozing from the blade of the axe.

‘... fear.’

His whole body had become frozen stiff, and involuntarily let out a few tears even if he knew others were watching.

‘This is true power.’

It was what he had been longing for so long. Woohyuk was doing things that appeared impossible. Even though he was aware that he had been here before, he was still on another level.

‘I want him to acknowledge me.’

He wasn’t thinking about anything else, just that he wanted to prove his worth to this man before him. Dokyun strained his eyes and pushed his focus to the maximum, as he managed to defend several of Woohyuk’s attacks.

As soon as he spotted an opening, he even tried a quick counterattack.

‘He has good fighting spirit.’

A primitive struggle, perhaps he was simply trying to live up to his own expectations.

‘He doesn’t seem like someone that would easily betray me.’

Although he would still need to keep an eye on him, he was rather confident with his assessment.

[Monarch’s Intuition]

It was rare for him to miss a threat.

“That’s enough.”

Hearing those words, Kim Dokyun dropped his axe down. Sweat was pouring down his forehead and his exhaustion was clear.

“In the future use this weapon instead, yours doesn’t look that good.”

“Thank you.”

Kim Dokyun grasped the axe that was given to him with a shocked expression. The adventurers nearby that had been watching the exchange couldn’t hide their jealousy.

“Ahem… attention everyone.”

As everyone quieted down, Ma Gwangpil stepped out from the crowd. He held a red Megaphone card in his hand.

“I think we currently lack members in our camp, since we have already lost half of our original numbers. Why don’t we use this Megaphone to attract other adventurers?”

By using a Megaphone card, one was able to send text messages to any adventurers within a 100 meter radius. Of course this wasn’t all that impressive, but these cards could be infinitely stacked. By combining 10 of them the radius would then become 1 km.

There were also no restrictions as to how many Megaphones one could purchase, so long as once had enough Ancient Coins.

That’s a good idea, but how do you tell people how to find us? There aren’t any clear landmarks or directions.”

“Why don’t we decide where to meet up? It could be the entrance to the Goblin Village or the giant rock near the Maned Wolf’s habitat. Both should work fine since they are easily accessible and the danger level is low.

Some adventurers were worried instead. Although it was better to have more people, if something went wrong, they might suffer from an invasion like had happened the other night.

“What do you think, Chun Woohyuk? You’ve been here the longest so I’d love to hear your opinion.”

“I don’t care.”

Woohyuk turned around, clearly disinterested.

Ma Gwangpil however couldn’t contain his smirk, as it had been within his expectations.

“So let’s put this to a vote. We can consider Chun Woohyuk as abstaining and decide amongst the remaining leaders okay?”

“Sure.”

“Let’s do it like that.”

Although they had been forced into forming different groups, the majority of adventurers still followed Ma Gwangpil. The entire time Woohyuk was away from camp, it had been him that acted as the leader.

As such, it was no surprise that the result of the vote was unanimous.

“Let’s pool together 10 Ancient Coins, otherwise we won’t be able to contact those that are too far away.”

“I have three over here, they dropped from a monster I killed recently.”

“We have two…”

The two leaders did their best to get in Ma Gwangpil’s good graces. They were afraid of Ma Gwangpil who could decide to off them at any time.

‘Nothing has changed.’

Woohyuk who he thought had died after being absent for so long, had suddenly returned. At first he thought it would throw a wrench in his plans, but it seemed he still held the initiative. After all, the public opinion was against Woohyuk as they felt he was an arrogant and selfish lone wolf.

‘Just give me some time and I’ll catch up to you soon enough.’

The Megaphones will be used to attract as many survivors as possible, and then he’ll be able to begin his expansion plan. The more underlings he had under him, the easier it would be to hunt monsters and his position would be secure.

Right now I can only look up to you, but soon we shall stand as equals.

During his meeting with the two other leaders, Ma Gwangpil was building his determination.

Meanwhile, Woohyuk was simply reading an adventurer’s journal inside his tent.

Lee Jaesung came in and asked.

“Are you going to allow him to do as he pleases? It might become quite noisy if he brings in many outsiders.”

“He is just bait.”

Hearing Woohyuk’s response, Lee Jaesung couldn’t help but smile.”

“You mean….”

“You’ll know soon enough.”

Woohyuk had always been one to keep his cards close to his chest. There was simply no advantage to revealing one’s plans so early.

‘I need to obtain a Silver Crown.’