Chapter 687: Lee Kiyoung, You Piece of Crap (1)

Of course, it was too early to jump to conclusions. I knew that best.

Just as I realized that it was a trap, Lee Kiyoung of the past, before erasing the memory, might have assumed that I would reach that far.

Perhaps there was no possibility of another twist.

Of course, it was undeniable that it was the most likely guess at the moment.

We had to clarify the lines that needed to be dug in and respond needed to happen.

‘Don’t sway. Don’t sway.’

I didn’t know what I’d see in the middle, but it was important not to be swayed.

In addition to that, it was clear that other burrows had been dug. Hence, it was only proper to investigate the place I thought was the most likely first.

Yuno Kasugano.

I had to check on her first. Even if she were also a trap dug by Lee Kiyoung, I wouldn’t find out any other way.

If there had been a little more time, it would’ve been possible to track all the hints, but there was an overwhelming lack of time to enter all the dungeons and see if the treasure would be hidden.

I had other things to do. That’s why I couldn’t turn to Kasugano right then. What was more important than fighting Lee Kiyoung before I erased my memory was to prevent the end that was just around the corner.

I wanted to run to her right after I quit my job, saying, ‘It’s the end of the world, it’s the guild meeting, it’s the end of the world.’

However, many things needed to be solved first. It’s either to hold the guild members together or to instill their purpose.

Kim Hyunsung, the final weapon, had to be caught once again, and Jung Hayan and Han Sora, whose disputes had yet to be resolved, had to be paid attention to. Jung Hayan hadn’t even crossed the wall yet.

‘What a piece of crap.’

No wonder I didn’t like the look of throwing the dice excitedly and handing over the responsibility to my future self.

Tomorrow’s me! Please! It’s upsetting to think that I threw poop in my own face.

I wanted to turn it all upside down, but I didn’t know who to blame. I couldn’t look in the mirror and slap my own face.

‘You son of a gun.’

Even if I cursed, I ended up spitting on myself. It was no use.

No choice could be made in hell…The fact that all of that was a puzzle to protect the continent and defeat Lucifer made me feel safe…

Of course, that was also disturbing because it couldn’t be approved of carelessly.

“…”

“…”

“Hyung-nim, are you feeling better now?”

“I was okay from the beginning, but I feel like I’m calming down a bit. How’s everything going with you?”

“Well, you don’t have to worry.”

“…”

“That’s right, Lee Kiyoung. Deokgu is working really hard, too.”

“Well, Elena is saying this, too. It’s a little strange to say this all the way here… Anyway, look forward to it. I’m studying tactics, so I’m having fun… Recently, I’ve been thinking if I’m a genius. I learned everything that you gave me, so I can now prepare for the next step in advance. If hyung-nim can do it, I can do it too!”

Of course, I didn’t have faith. I could see him talking, but he looked like he was a little drunk, and Ahn Ki-mo reacted to him like a ghost.

“I was a little curious at first, but it certainly wasn’t bad from the beginning. I can trust him now. The team’s morale itself has risen a lot…”

“Ki-mo. If things work out in the first place, there’s no use.”

“You’re right. The fewer variables, the better.”

Sun Hee-young had spoken out of the blue.

“Well, I know that. Not even adults gathered during the holidays…Hmm, I can’t bring it up. You said you believed me, so I’ll do my best. Oh, come to think of it, my junior Ah-young is making it…”

She seemed to be secretly handing over the baton to Yoo Ah-young as if she knew that the continuing story itself was a loss for her.

“I think it’ll be finished by tomorrow. I could have given it to you today as planned, but the finishing process is the most important. I don’t know what grade I’m going to get yet…The most important thing is whether the material was properly used. A shield for Deokgu, a dagger for Chang-ryul, and a wand for Sora…”

“You can even make wands?”

“Yes. Still, I feel sorry for the guild, but most of the available materials can’t be easily used.”

“…”

“If my growth had been higher, I could have created mythic weapons. If you look at the materials that the Blue Guild currently has, that’s possible. In a few more years, we’ll be able to make good use of them, but…”

“There’s nothing to be sorry about.”

“But…”

“I don’t regret it, considering those legendary items are also not common items based on the continent. Few of the top adventurers have legendary items. You don’t have to worry about wasting the materials. You’re doing better than anyone, so you don’t have to be so hard on yourself.”

“I keep thinking that I’m forgetting my guild property…”

Kim Hyunsung listened to the story quietly. Then he suddenly spoke up.

“Kiyoung is right.”

“…”

“Don’t worry about anything other than doing the best you can. Ah-young is doing enough to help the guild, and she certainly contributes greatly in many ways. It has been, and it will continue to be that way. Things like the value of materials and guild wealth are not really important.”

“Guild Master…”

“That’s all you have to think about. What we’re fighting for, what we’re preparing for. Realize what you have to keep doing your best for as long as you can. That’s enough.”

‘It’s been a while since Hyunsung said that.’

“It’s not just you, Ah-young. It may be a heavy sound that doesn’t fit the mood, but I just want you to think about it one more time. We won’t have this opportunity after today. Please think again about what we should protect, even if the worst comes to an end.”

‘Now he’s like a Guild Master. Hyunsung, I like your serious look.’

“What to protect…”

“Yes, Deokgu. That’s all you need to think about now.”

“I think I have a rough idea of what you’re talking about.”

“…”

“Well, I don’t think it’s a good idea to keep going on. Let’s say cheers together one more time. To what we have to protect!”

“…”

“To what we have to protect.”

“To what we have to protect!”

It was reassuring to see the guild members lifting their glasses slightly.

‘Their mentality itself is fine.’

Each of them might have felt a little uneasy, but I could see that they all seemed to have brushed it off.

Hyunsung was way better than I had initially thought.

Although his nature was darker than the first round, his passion for protecting the continent didn’t seem to have fled anywhere.

I could understand to some extent why he returned with a big burden.

His eyes were the eyes of a hero who had a desire to protect the world at all costs. Perhaps it was the eyes of the unshakable fellow that dispelled the anxiety of the guild members.

‘I don’t think Hayan is in bad condition…’

Didn’t it seem like everyone was conscious of Han Sora? Talking to other people seemed to show off that she could live well without her. Han Sora played a role that tried to show that she didn’t care about Jung Hayan…

It was impressive to see that they succeed in completely avoiding each other even though the meal began and they were constantly chatting with others. Even if they ran past each other, they turned their heads and treated the other as a nonexistent being.

‘We can go ahead with this as planned.’

The guild members started talking about their own stories. The topics of

“What are you going to do when you’re done?”

“Of course, take a trip. The last time I went to the Mirror Lake, I was caught up in a strange incident. This time, we have to go on a trip together.”

“I know you’re busy cleaning up, but I’m in favor of traveling to a romantic place.”

One of the topics was about what to do after work.

“It’s been so long since I’ve done volunteer work…”

“Let’s go together, Hee-young.”

“Yes, that would be great, Elena. How is Elios?”

“Oh, yes. My brother is busy because he has a lot of things to prepare, but…”

Talk about a character who had been forgotten for so long.

“That’s when Ye-ri shouted. The dance of fascination…”

“Do you know what Ki-mo said that time? Pull it out, and you’ll die.”

They also talked about each other’s dark history.

“Yes, do you remember Oppa before? So, uh, at our tutorial dungeon…”

“Of course.”

“He was, wasn’t he? Hehe.”

Things like bringing up memories together. There were many topics of conversation. We talked about things that we all did when we were drunk, and we laughed so hard at useless stories that our mouths started hurting.

Jung Hayan was also a little drunk, and so she kept talking. Sun Hee-young was the same.

Elena and Yoo Ah-young shared stories about their races, while Park Deokgu and Hwang Jeong-yeon were deep on travel stories.

Han Sora and Kim Chang-ryul, who were tutorial colleagues, seemed to be talking about how other party members were doing at the time as their main topic, and it was understandable that Jung Hayan suddenly brought up the tutorial story.

Team leader Park Joong-ki, team leader Kim Mi-young and other guild executives joined together, and the atmosphere quickly became noisy.

Meanwhile, Park Rian was also chatting with the new guild member Alps over a short period of tension.

I didn’t know who Cho Hyejin was communicating with, but she was seen smirking at a Goddess’s Hand Mirror. Perhaps it was Lee Jihye?

I could blow my head off at any second. But frankly, it was a fun time.

Kim Hyunsung’s sneaky talk was around the time the atmosphere was ripe.

“Kiyoung, wait a minute. Why don’t we get some fresh air?”

Overall, it wasn’t bad, but I needed a chat with my soulmate, who decided to face our huge fate with me. Honestly, it’s cold outside, so I didn’t want to go out, but…

“…”

“…”

‘Yes, I’ll provide you with a service.’

He was one of the reasons I didn’t run to Yuno Kasugano right away in the first place. I nodded in response, and a cold wind blew as I swung out of the balcony.

Not too far away, the huge light shining in the dark made it hard to tell whether it was day or night.

“…”

‘Sh*t, it’s cold.’

“…”

“Are you not tired?”

“Well, it’s been a while since everyone got together, so I feel like the fatigue is leaving me.”

“It’s a little…”

“That’s fine, you’re slower than I expected. Maybe you’ve become better without knowing it.”

“I really… hope so.”

A sad smile. I felt guilty because I had just been told not to overdo it.

We were finally going to get down to business. I wanted to encourage him to cheer up, that we could do it and get through it. All so his mentality would be more stable.

It was time to start building up like that.

‘What’s this now?’

The image of the continent that was reflected in my eyes without any foreshadowing quickly changed.

What’s that?

‘Is this an indication?’

It had now turned upside down. The world had turned upside down beyond my brain’s comprehension.

The sight of the continent was somewhat familiar—a dark red sky at a time when the sun couldn’t shine. Of course, I remembered it. The continent that I saw in Kim Hyunsung’s unconscious world.

It was a continent that was completely ruined.

I could see a familiar figure in it. It wasn’t Kim Hyunsung.

I caught myself staring at the sky blankly, wearing a black cape.

Just as Kim Hyunsung was looking at the sunset sky every day, I was also witnessing the same sky.

I wasn’t sure if it was fabricated or actually seen through Yuno Kasugano. I had never seen what happened at the end of the first round. Hence, naturally, I was unfamiliar with what I looked like at the time.

I reached out to where the sun was neither rising nor setting.

Wasn’t Kim Hyunsung the only one left?

What the hell was I doing?

‘No, sh*t, isn’t this just a trick?’

As soon as a man looking at the sky in the middle of the ruins for a long time calmly clasped my hands, I felt the world turning again as if I were flipping a coin.

“Kiyoung, Kiyoung! Kiyoung… Kiyoung!

“…”

“Mr. Kiyoung… Kiyoung…”

Was that a bluff?

“…”

“…”

-Thank you.

Was that also a bluff? Sh*t.

𝒇𝒓𝒆𝒆𝙬𝒆𝒃𝓷𝒐𝓿𝙚𝙡.𝒄𝓸𝒎

-Altanus.

‘Lee Kiyoung, you piece of sh*t. Stop playing tricks.’