Chapter 15: The Crimson Sunset Guild (1)

The Crimson Sunset guild was the largest guild in Frica Village. It had 30 members, and all guild members were above level 40! Even more, the guild master, Toban, was a player of level 55.

There was only one reason why they didn't move on to the next area and stayed active in Frica Village.

[Monopolizing and mass-producing the Red Gnoll Set!]

The start of it all was because Toban had a thought.

Becoming a ranker is out of my league anyway.

At the game's launch, he was also among those with high levels. But as time passed and the gap with the rankers widened, he quickly realized something.

Talent!

Talent was something he didn't have but the rankers did.

When players with similar levels, items, and classes easily did what he couldn't, Toban realized that he would never make it to the top.

At that time, he struggled with feelings of powerlessness and emptiness, but not anymore.

It's good that I witnessed the talent of rankers early. It was a tree I could never climb anyway.

Before

MID Online

, there were many popular games, and Toban had been somewhat of a ranker in other games. But in

MID Online

, where all the world's geniuses and professionals gathered, his skills didn't stand a chance. The rankers of

MID Online

were indeed the pros among pros.

The frustration Toban faced early on turned into a stepping stone for opportunity.

"Thanks to that, I don't have to worry about making a living."

The business he eyed at that time was the Red Gnoll Equipment set produced only in Frica Village. This set, consisting of five parts, was sought by many users due to its decent options.

Red Gnolls are monsters that only appear in the Frica region, so it’s competitive.

Right after deciding on this, he established the Crimson Sunset guild and ran his guild members like parts in a factory. With that, the Red Gnoll set was produced at a rate of 10 sets a month!

Our guild's monthly revenue is about 100 million won in real-life terms.

It was no joke when they said it was a corporate-type guild and Toban proved it directly.

Knock, knock, knock.

While Toban was deep in thought, someone knocked on the office door. "Come in."

The person who entered was his younger brother.

"Bro! Are you really going to just sit back and watch!?" his brother, outfitted in typical tank gear, shouted with a scowl.

Scowling made his already ugly face look even more ugly.

Toban replied with a slightly annoyed expression, "What's the matter, and I’m sure I told you to call me guild master in the game."

"Ugh! Okay, guild master! Please help me!" Frustrated, his brother pounded his chest and pointed outside, "That Cleric guy who made me drop my gear, he's become a hero in the village now!"

"Hm."

"Hyung... no, guild master, you said it before, didn't you? That there are quests only available to those with the highest reputation. So you told me not to act rashly and to be careful with my actions."

"That's right."

Toban was no happier about the situation.

Kai, was it?

When he first heard of Kai’s name, he thought the player could be dealt with at any time. But a few weeks ago, the village's reputation ranking changed. He used to be number one in reputation, but then Kai's reputation started to climb, eventually reaching the top spot. However, there was nothing he could do about it because Kai had been treating residents in the NPC residential area day and night. With guards and Clerics of the Church of Solaris looking at Kai with pleased expressions, taking action within the village was impossible.

"Now's the perfect chance! That guy, he's left the village!"

"...What?"

Toban's eyes sparkled. If that guy had left the village, then the situation changed. PK, also known as Player Killing, would get one thrown in jail if caught by guards or NPCs, but they were in the clear if they did not get caught

It would result in a chaotic state, but....

Considering it was eliminating a rival for the top spot in the reputation ranking, that would be just a small price to pay.

After a moment of contemplation, Toban slowly began to say, "What level did you say that Cleric guy was?"

"Huh? Oh, the last time I was in a party with him, he was around 46, I think."

"And what about hunting after that?"

"Of course, he couldn't! I threatened him, saying I'd kill everything if he partied with me again." Toban’s brother said as if boasting, clearly excited.

"You said he was definitely a support Cleric, right?"

"Yeah. He hadn't invested in a single combat Cleric skill. He hardly had any support Cleric skills to begin with; he’s probably just a potion.”

Toban sank into deep thought.

A level 46 support Cleric. With our guild's strength, we can easily deal with him.

He was even confident they could do it without leaving any evidence.

But I can't become a chaotic player because of this.

Toban looked at his brother and said, "I'll assign some guys to you, and you lead them to finish him off."

"R-really? For real?" his brother, who loved wearing the mantle of authority, asked in surprise as his brother rarely entrusted him with such significant tasks.

"Yes. But make sure to do it thoroughly. Make him so miserable that he'll want to leave this place for good."

"Leave it to me!"

"I'll assign five guild members to you. Leave right away."

"Got it, you can count on me."

Pleased with the response, his brother left the room in high spirits.

One less thing to worry about I guess,

In

MID Online

, the word extermination was by no means taken lightly. It meant killing the target every time they appeared in the field, making them quit the game or forcing them to move to another area.

What he had said was basically an Extermination order.

"Soon, the top spot for reputation will be mine again," Toban muttered indifferently.

***

As Kai was on his way to hunt the Wyrm Lizard wearing his new gear, a group was following him.

“How far in is this guy going?"

Au, a tank from the Crimson Sunset guild, panted as he led his guild members after Kai, someone he really disliked.

"Why can't we just ambush this guy? Why all this hassle?"

It seemed it wasn't just him feeling irritated as complaints were emerging among the guild members.

"Right. It's just one Cleric, why are we dragging this out?"

"There are five of us here."

"Besides, you said his level was 46. Who here isn't at that level?"

Au snapped back at his guild members' nagging, "Do you think I want to be doing this!? Hyung told me to make sure we handle it!"

"Killing him is a sure thing for us, and this place is quiet enough, isn't it?"

"Still... It's safer to ambush him while he's fighting monsters."

"Ugh! You're as big as a bear but so timid!"

Faced with the rebellion of the guild members, Au sighed and gave in, "Shit. Fine. Fine. Let's do it here, then. Happy?"

He then promptly commanded his guild members. Though their levels were higher, Au had been given command by his hyung, the guild master, so the guild members followed his orders.

"First, you two. You’re both Rogues so use Stealth and start with Backstab. Let's get him into combat state."

"Okay."

"That's more like it."

Once in combat state, logging out became impossible.

Hearing his command, the two Rogues quickly used their Stealth skill and disappeared.

Au smirked bitterly as he stood up from the bushes where he was hiding. "Let's start the Extermination."

***

Unaware of the danger approaching from behind, Kai was examining the map.

"About 20 more minutes of walking should do it."

As he nodded and was about to close the map window, his screen turned red.

[You have been struck by a Backstab attack.]

[Critical hit! You’ve received 1,047 damage.]

[You’ve been attacked by a Tainted Blade.]

[You’ve received 372 damage.]

[You have been poisoned. You’ve received 12 additional damage every second over the next 3 minutes.]

[You’ve received 12 damage.]

[You’ve received 12 damage.]

"What, what's this!"

Startled, Kai looked around. But all he saw was the dark foothills, with no sign of whatever had attacked him. Quickly taking a combat stance, Kai used a skill to cure the poison.

It's not a monster.

There were no monsters in this area that could Stealth.

That means...

There was only one possibility.

It’s PK.

He had heard rumors about players who specialized in attacking solo players wandering outside the fields.

𝚏𝕣𝐞𝗲𝐰𝕖𝐛𝐧𝕠𝕧𝚎𝚕.𝐜𝚘𝗺

Kai clicked his tongue lightly and drew the Skull Crusher of Darkness. He then quietly cast buffs while cautiously scanning the surroundings.

"Solaris Blessing, Solaris Armor, Bless, Sacred Barrier."

[Your attack power, magical attack power, and holy power have increased.]

[Your physical defense and magical defense have increased.]

[All stats increased +5.]

[Sacred Barrier protects you.]

Though he was slightly startled by the ambush, he wasn't particularly afraid.

If these are the PKers around here, at most they'll be around level 50.

His current stats, thanks to his knowledge and various buff skills, easily surpassed level 60. A normal Cleric could feel uneasy with such stats, but not him. After all, he was the Solaris Cleric with formidable offensive capabilities.

"Hahaha. Don't be too scared now."

Three people emerged from the bushes. One of them was someone Kai knew all too well.

"What is the meaning of all this?"

"Do you really not know?" Au smirked as he drew his shield and weapon. "It's an Extermination."

"Extermination?"

"Yes. Someone as pathetic as you can only be forcibly dealt with through Extermination."

As Au seemed to enjoy the situation, Kai's gaze turned cold.

So, they've come prepared for an Extermination, huh?

He couldn't just stand by and let it happen.

"Do you know why the Korean War happened?" Au asked.

Au's question was met with silence from Kai. Not because he didn't know the answer, but because it wasn't worth responding to.

Whoosh!

"Because they were sloppy!" Au charged forward with his shield in front.

"Is that so? Then you're in danger now," Kai murmured quietly with a cold smile. "Because you're being sloppy."

Especially in front of a Mythic class job.