Chapter Text
When Kim Woo-jin breathed out, blood was on his lips, Balmung was in his chest, and he was completely alone despite being surrounded by the people he thought were his greatest allies.
Surrounded by the only people he ever thought he could call friends.
The year was 2026.
When he breathed in again, it was as a pale, thin man with short, ash blonde hair. He stared blankly at his desk, where a bulky laptop was reflecting his image. The desk was covered by messy stacks of papers. The summary report at the top of each stack read “Dungeon Report.”
Except it was in Russian.
The lights in the office space he was in flickered ominously.
Kim Woo-jin suddenly found himself shoved to the side by a stocky, brown-haired man. The man grabbed at his shoulder tightly before he could overbalance and began yelling, vehement, guttural syllables that were too fast for Kim Woo-jin to make out.
When Woo-jin didn’t respond, the man yelled again, this time a wordless scream of frustration, and the next shove sent Woo-jin onto the ground as the man turned to the desk, frantically gathering up all the stacks of papers.
“Isaac!” a female voice yelled, and Kim Woo-jin found himself dragged up to confront a severe-looking middle aged woman. She spoke to him urgently, and when the sounds of breaking accompanied the next flickering of lights, she finally said the first Russian word that Kim Woo-jin could translate:
“Run!”
The world seemed like it slowed down as Kim Woo-jin’s mind kicked into overdrive. He quickly pivoted on his feet to follow the woman who barreled past him, making sure to take in his surroundings as he did so.
He was in a moderately-sized office complex, with around fifteen cubicles. Each cubicle appeared to also have a laptop like the one he woke up in front of, but most had their desks cleared of papers.
Kim Woo-jin spotted one wedged in the space between cubicles and quickly snatched it up.
It was another Dungeon Report.
The lights flickered once more and finally went out, and he heard several people shout in despair. A low, monstrous rumble suddenly sounded and Kim Woo-jin noticed a shadow climbing into a broken window. It had sharp, curved horns and it shifted to reveal a large hinging mouth with hundreds of glinting teeth.
…An ogre?
“Run! Run!”
They were under a monster attack.
It was unknown if the ogre was fast or his body was just subpar, because after Kim Woo-jin made that realization the ogre roared, this time loud and victorious, and screams filled the air. The next thing he knew, two people were flung into the walls, after which they slid down, trembling but otherwise unmoving.
Someone yelped to his right, and Kim Woo-jin snapped his head to the side on instinct just to see a tall man in a suit fumble with an object. It hit the ground in a clatter and Kim Woo-jin was greeted with the sight of a Russian KS-23.
The tall man fled as soon as the gun left his hands, and Kim Woo-jin didn’t even have to think before his hands closed around the barrel, having dove for it before it even touched the ground.
He whirled around to see two more hulking figures climbing through the window. The weight of the gun told him it was fully loaded, and after that the next course of action was obvious.
Kim Woo-jin detached the underbarrel, palmed the additional ammo, and began to hunt.
o-o-o-o-o-o
“Spashiba,” Kim Woo-jin mumbled to the woman from before as she bandaged his head. He made a big show of wincing and pressing his fingers against his temple, and then turned to the suited, bespectacled man crouched next to him and said, in slow and shaky Russian, “S-sorry, my ears are still ringing. C-could you repeat that again? Slowly?”
He was fine, naturally. The gash right above his right ear took some careful maneuvering to acquire since there were witnesses, but Kim Woo-jin was no more impaired now than he was when he first woke up.
Which begged the question: how impaired was that? Did he actually wake up in a new body? Is this a strange hallucination after death? Were the Messiah Guild behind this?
“Of course, of course,” said the man, with better enunciation and deliberateness. “Let me repeat what I said earlier. On behalf of the municipal government, we thank you for the brave actions you took earlier in defending the state security building against the dungeon monsters.” When Kim Woo-jin slowly nodded at him to indicate that he understood, he continued: “Can you answer some questions for me? What is your name?”
“I-Isaac, sir,” Kim Woo-jin croaked out, listing slightly to the side. With any luck, they’d postpone the question and give Kim Woo-jin a little more time to gather intel.
The bespectacled man nodded and said, “Can I get your full name?”
Fuck .
Kim Woo-jin lurched forward, quickly covering his mouth as if he were about to hurl. The woman reacted immediately, snapping something at a person behind them and hands immediately came to lift him up and presumably bring him to the bathroom.
As he left, he strained his ears and heard the woman say, rapid-fire, “I can answer some questions for you, sir. His name is Isaac Ivanov, he’s worked in the state security building for three years…”
The year was 2022.
o-o-o-o-o-o
Isaac Ivanov was a twenty three year old man who worked as a dungeon cataloguer in the Russian State Security Office Building. He was an unawakened civilian worker who served briefly in the military as a logistician instead of going to high school, and was discharged as an inactive military personnel when the dungeons began appearing.
Like Kim Woo-jin, Isaac was also an orphan. The orphanage he grew up in was burned down in a monster attack a year ago, thus ending his paper trail at age 14.
Kim Woo-jin set down the requested incident report and the Russian encyclopedia he was using to brush up on his knowledge. He glanced to his right, where the status screen remained ever since he killed the third ogre.
It happened to be the only proof that none of this was a hallucination conjured up by the addled mind of Isaac Ivanov, but it also served to give Kim Woo-jin a massive headache.
After all, it was written in Korean letters.
[Silent Hunter]
[Emissary of the Darkness]
[Undying Fighter]
Kim Woo-jin looked at the third option in remembrance. Then he pulled out his phone, where Yandex displayed all the collated results for the Messiah Guild. Rubbing his thumb over the first name listed under the Messiah Guild’s roster, Kim Woo-jin kept his breathing steady and slow and took mental inventory.
Having just awoken, he was at level one and had no items. He had minor surface wounds, lower stamina levels, but mental faculties remained intact. His skills in shooting a gun did not deteriorate.
But most importantly, he had an objective. This was critical, because as long as there was a target, a hunting dog could forge the path necessary to hunt it.
“Lee Se-jun,” Kim Woo-jin said, in perfect Korean. “I will hunt you.”
Then he opened up the contacts list in his phone and dialed a recently inputted number.
“Hello, sir,” said Issac Ivanov, Russian as fluent as if it were his mother tongue, “this is Isaac Ivanov. Yes. I’m doing much better, thank you. I’m calling to inform you that I awakened after yesterday’s events. Yes. Just now. Yes, of course. I will be right there.”
o-o-o-o-o-o
“I hear you’ve cleared the Forest of Baba Yaga!” praised Senator Pushkov, eyes bright and fierce. “Good work, Isaac! You have served this country very well! Are there any other skills you need to acquire? Is there anything we can help you with?”
“No, it has been my pleasure,” said Isaac, neither arrogantly nor demurely. “This is what I should be doing for my country and for humankind. However, I do have a request to ask of you.”
The senator nodded, waving for his secretary to take out her memopad. “Speak. If it’s something I or the government can fulfill, I will do my best.”
“Thank you, sir. Have you heard anything more about the poisoning skills I’ve asked about? Or the undead summoning skills?”
Senator Pushkov steepled his fingers. “There are rumors of a Book of the Dead floating around but nothing concrete. I’ll have to ask around some more to know for sure. As for the poisoning skills, what are you seeking again? Blood poison skills?”
Isaac nodded.
“Good. We found an adjacent skill that could be useful and negotiations are going well, so you can expect a bonus in the mail in a week.”
“Thank you very much, sir.”
Senator Pushkov made a gesturing motion. “But these are all rewards from your last dungeon clear. Was there nothing else?”
“Yes, I was getting to that,” said Isaac. “I was hoping you’d be able to arrange a contact for me with a broker in Korea.”
Senator Pushkov still looked very easy going, but the sudden sharpness in his eyes could not be hidden. “Oh? Is there something you’d like to do in Korea?”
Isaac shrugged. “I’m not sure yet. I might try to challenge some dungeons there, but mostly I wanted to visit the homeland of the Messiah Guild.”
Senator Pushkov laughed. It didn’t even sound strained. “Oh that’s right, you really admire Lee Se-jun, don’t you? But if you wanted to attack dungeons, there are still plenty more 1-floor dungeons to go around here.”
“I admire the Messiah Guild’s mission very much,” corrected Isaac mildly. “And the remaining dungeons are well within the abilities of other players.” He leaned forward, elbows on his arms. “I will only attack dungeons no one else can do.”
“Hm,” said the senator, rubbing his bearded chin. “It has to be Korea?”
Inclining his head, Isaac said, simply and uncompromisingly, “Yes.”
Senator Pushkov hummed again and said: “Very well. I’ll get you in contact.”
o-o-o-o-o-o
Though governments all over the world were facing unprecedented levels of overt corruption and disarray, most first-world governments were still able to run smoothly. After all, no matter how much your personal interests conflicted, there was still one overarching goal every civil, non-awakened official aimed for:
The clearance of the game.
In that respect, some cohesiveness could still be kept.
Each country handled the emergence of dungeons differently. Korea used a broker system, decentralizing the allocation of dungeons. In contrast, Chinese and Russian governments held extremely tight control over the bidding of dungeons. In theory, no dungeon was cleared without government approval and military enforcement.
In practice, it was a lot more chaotic. Not only do lower-floor and lower-rank dungeons slip out of government oversight all the time, but small guilds also go in and out of existence as their owners dictated. But this wasn’t necessarily because the government didn't have the ability to audit them (Russia’s military had only increased since the emergence of dungeons).
The government simply didn’t care as long as dungeons were still being cleared.
Which is why it was not impossible for upper-level government officials to maintain contact with foreign forces, whether it was to sell domestic dungeon entry passes or to facilitate the skill black market trade.
And that, in turn, is why Isaac Ivanov received a walkie-talkie in the mail one day, which burst into static as soon as his hands picked up on it.
“Hello there,” said a man in accented Russian. “The name is Oh Se-chan. I hear there is something I can help you with.”
The year is 2023.
o-o-o-o-o-o
If it had been possible, Isaac would have booked a flight to Korea and begun digging out the vast roots of the Messiah Guild as soon as he awakened. However, in between politics and straight up xenophobia, he needed to first build up enough leverage in a country completely different from the one his past self had grown up in.
So Isaac first built some leverage with the only thing he had to offer: his ability to hunt.
Being a hunting dog for a branch of the Russian government was different from being a hunting dog for the Messiah guild. For one, it was more outwardly treacherous, and Isaac worked solo starting from day one. For another, Isaac had accepted the government’s request to remain completely anonymous, so that the government could possess a hidden weapon against the growing influence of local guilds.
But it was also the same in many ways, because the dungeons were created in the same likeness. It didn’t matter which master he served; once he was in a dungeon, adrenaline coursed like another blood and and his senses heightened to their limits. The steady push and pull of monsters, the physical and mental exertion. It was just you and the monsters unfortunate enough to be in your way to your goal.
It was familiar.
It felt like home.
o-o-o-o-o-o
This wasn’t what he meant to do when he first came to Korea. In fact, he didn’t even think it was a possibility. But on his way out of a dungeon, he caught sight of the name in a Korean shortlist of recently awakened players. His hands twitched towards the walkie-talkie Oh Se-Chan had him bring to Korea to drop off. After thinking it through carefully for another hour, he pressed the button and tuned in.
So now here he stood, face masked to be that of a generic Korean salaryman, in front of Kim Woo-jin after the man’s weekly grocery run.
Kim Woo-jin raised a brow, one sleeve shucked up to reveal a scarred forearm. “So? Are you picking a fight or what?”
Isaac glanced up even though he already knew there would be no security cameras in this alley. He took off the face mask he negotiated off of Oh Se-Chan. Kim Woo-jin raised a brow at the clearly non-Korean face that was revealed.
Isaac had psychoanalyzed himself exactly once, and it was only through a quick exercise back when he was training under Suzuki Eiji. But even after thinking about it for a full night, he came to the same conclusion.
Kim Woo-jin responded best to three things: the truth, training, and a hunting target.
So he began, a local Korean accent flowing off of his tongue. “The information I’m about to tell you is free. You won’t believe it and it’s fine. I don’t need you to believe it. I don’t really need you to do anything. If you become my ally, you would be indispensable to me and I would be indispensable in making you stronger. If you stay neutral, that’s also okay, since my plan didn’t involve you to begin with. Do you have any questions before I start?”
“Hah?” said Kim Woo-jin, unimpressed. “You seem pretty confident you won’t make an enemy out of me.”
“I won’t,” said Isaac. “Because you and I have, and will always have, the exact same goal. We’re going to beat the game and free the world of dungeons.”
Kim Woo-jin paused and narrowed his eyes. Isaac stared back with the same gaze.
“...well then? Speak.”
o-o-o-o-o-o
“So Messiah approached you once you complete the Horned Fox Hunt?”
“Yes, but more precisely, it’s when Suzuki Enji levels up to 50. The Messiah Guild needed another hunting dog to patrol the lower floor dungeons. But you won't accept it then, since I didn't. So when Suzuki Enji reaches level 80, Lee Se-jun would meet you at the dungeon exit in front of that car of yours and ask you, ‘Do you want to save the world together and end this game?’”
“Hah. You seem to remember it quite well.”
“Well, I considered it a turning point in my life. But in fact, it might not happen at all to you. Or if it does, it’ll be earlier.”
“Oh? Why so?”
“Because I’ll be killing Suzuki Eiji by the end of this week.”
“...you know, I should really turn you in. The reward for capturing someone threatening a member of the Messiah guild shouldn’t be too low. That’s the only guild willing to save the world, after all.”
“You can, but you don’t have proof right now, right? It’s a little iffy because I’m a foreigner clearly disguising myself, but I can always just deny it.”
“....”
“So let me offer you a deal. By the end of this week, I will take Suzuki Eiji’s head. At that time, I’ll meet you here again and provide you with two things: proof that I killed Suzuki Eiji, and proof that the Messiah Guild is just as power-hungry and corrupt as every other guild in existence. And at that time, I’ll give you three choices: work with me, turn me in, or pretend like nothing happened.”
“...I have to say. More than the random details from my childhood that you offered, that hunting skill card, or all those ‘predictions’ you gave, this is what makes me think that maybe you aren’t bluffing out of your ass.”
“Hm? Oh, I see. It’s because we think a lot alike, right?”
“...”
“I’ll see you in a week, then.”
o-o-o-o-o-o
The reason Isaac set such a tight deadline for himself was simply a matter of practicality. Since the Messiah Guild still had not approached Kim Woo-jin, that meant Suzuki Eiji was still under level 50 and blazing through 2-floor dungeons. If Isaac delayed in the slightest, that meant he would have to level himself up until he could confront Suzuki Eiiji on a 3-floor stage.
In short, it was a waste of time. If he had been sent back into his own body, then there was no way he would have been leveled enough in time to confront Suzuki Eiji. But he had been sent into Isaac Ivanov’s body instead, who had been awakened and grinding dungeons a whole half a year earlier.
And just like that, Isaac Ivanov and Suzuki Eiji clashed suddenly and without warning in a 2-floor A rank dungeon in Taipei, Taiwan.
Only one person walked out alive, Lancelot’s Ring on his finger and a specially configured voice recorder in his pocket.
o-o-o-o-o-o
Click.
“.. .a voice recorder…?”
“Yes, since I have a question I wanted to ask you. Did you ever want to end the game? ”
“So…that’s the…reason behind all this?”
“...”
“So…you…got disillusioned…and started lashing out?”
“...”
“Ha. Haha….hahahahaha…Funny. Hahahahaha—”
Click.
”So…you…got disillusioned…and started lashing out—”
Click.
“So…you…got disillusioned—”
Click. Click.
Isaac leaned casually against the wall, face mask plastered on his face. “So?”
“Still don’t know yet.” Kim Woo-jin frowned down at Lancelot’s Ring in one hand and the voice recorder in the other. “There are plenty of ways to fake a voice. And it’s not like the recording really says anything incriminating even if it were really Suzuki Eiji."
Isaac waited patiently.
Kim Woo-jin continued, “Right now, the only definitive thing that can be said is that you definitely killed Suzuki Eiji, since you have Lancelot’s Ring. The Messiah Guild released his item list about an hour ago.”
Isaac closed his eyes.
“But,” and here Kim Woo-jin tapped the voice recorder with his index finger, “if you had the ability to fake Suzuki Eiji’s voice you would definitely have made him say something more condemning. And since he knows about the voice recorder, then the most likely possibility would be that you wanted to use him for a sound byte to undermine the Messiah Guild. So the best taunt would be to be ambiguous enough that it seems like absolute proof to you, but can’t convince anyone else.”
Isaac opened his eyes to see Kim Woo-jin side-eying him assessingly.
“Because who could have ever thought you were recording him because you wanted to convince yourself from a different universe, right?”
Casually, Isaac stretched so that the movement covered the smile that threatened to break out on his face.
“Of course, you could have thought of all that,” said Kim Woo-jin, with finality. “And knowing I would think this way fabricated this evidence in such a manner that my first thought would be to disbelieve you and my second thought would be to believe you.”
Isaac calmly held out his arms, side by side, as if waiting for a police officer to come over and put handcuffs on him.
Kim Woo-jin shoved his arms back down with a hint of irritation. “Which means you really are me from another universe. Fine. Consider your execution date postponed. You’ve convinced me to wait for more evidence.”
And it was weird, but the sentence felt like it lifted a weight off of Isaac’s shoulder and plunged a second weight into his heart. “...Thank you,” he said, and was almost startled to find how earnest he sounded. “Thank you for this bit of trust, I…” Isaac stopped abruptly, throat closing, then tried again. " I …"
No more words were capable of coming out. Isaac shut his mouth, and then couldn’t even get it to open again.
When Kim Woo-jin next spoke, it was hard to make out what kind of emotion colored his voice. "I remember you said you had a plan that didn't involve me at all? You should continue that plan. If you're me, then that plan would be enough."
Because Kim Woo-jin only made plans that succeeded. Sometimes with great losses along the way, but never with an objective left incomplete.
"In the meantime, I'll try to figure out my own situation. As I am now, I have nothing to offer, right?"
Kim Woo-jin at this point in time had only a few skill pages under his belt and even fewer dungeons under his name. He was simply in no position to affect any of the big players on the scene.
"But if we somehow meet again, whether by chance or through your machinations, then at that time I'll be in a better position."
Meaning Kim Woo-jin would be prioritizing increasing his knowledge and strength from now on.
"I'll give you an answer then."
Isaac Ivanov had played all the cards he needed to play. Kim Woo-jin would take responsibility to find out what was still needed for him to choose a side.
"See ya."
Several minutes later, Isaac walked out of a dusty alley way, and was greeted by the piercing glare of the setting sun.
o-o-o-o-o-o
“You really recommended me to a troublesome guy,” complained Oh Se-chan in his native Korean over the walkie-talkie static. “It’s like dealing with another you!”
Relations have thawed considerably once Isaac showed the man’s secretary the ring he was keeping in his inventory. While they didn’t understand what, exactly, Isaac’s stake in all this was, they could understand that he was firmly on their side. For the time being, at least.
“I think you saddled me with someone bothersome as well,” returned Isaac in Russian, mildly, glancing at the other occupant of the room.
The hardest target he ever had to hunt, the foiler of numerous plans through his sheer tenacity, pouted and crossed his arms. “I may not know what you’re saying but I know it’s bad! Hyung-nim! Can’t you make this guy talk in Korean?”
“Eh?” crackled the communicator. “Why should I?”
Lee Jin-ah slammed a hand on the plastic table between them, but notably not hard enough to dent. “Do you know how annoying it is to understand only half the conversation?! It’s like I’m watching a movie and keep getting paused right before the climax!”
“Ohhh, is that so~,” said the walkie-talkie commiseratingly. Then, in Russian: “So, what do you think? Are you two able to work together? He’s quite strong, yes?”
“He’s quite hard to kill,” Isaac replied, the weight behind his words something only he could possibly understand. “So yes, he’s very useful.”
Oh Se-Chan laughed. “That’s good to hear! Make sure you take good care of him, okay? He’s like my dearest younger brother~”
Theatrics aside, Isaac could still detect the warning through the static. “I’ll make sure to return him in mint condition,” he allowed. “I wouldn’t want to pay a fee for damaging the merchandise.”
“...Fee?” asked the walkie-talkie. “Oh! Well I mean, in that case, it’s okay to rough him up a little bit, you know. Jin-ah is strong, he’s very sturdy!”
“I just heard my name!” shouted the man in question, fuming. “Hyung, you bastard, I didn’t mean for you to start talking in Russian! And even if you do, why are you talking about me?! It’s really bad manners!”
“He’s quite loud,” commented Isaac.
“Oh, sorry, that model just comes like that,” responded Oh Se-Chan gleefully, still in Russian.
The tone must have clued Lee Jin-ah in, because he shouted once more in frustration. “ Hyung! ”
o-o-o-o-o-o
"Holy shit," said Lee Jin-ah, in hushed, stilted Russian, from behind the face of a particularly thick-boned and severe-looking Russian man. He stared down at the carcass of the Needle Snake that Isaac ordered his skeletons to disassemble and bring out of the death zone.
Isaac gave him a nod of acknowledgement, eyes glowing behind the skeletal mask on his face.
"You just soloed that guy."
"Hm."
"The same guy that took out three-fourths of the expedition force. That guy."
"Mhm."
"And you still have mana to spare."
A skeleton soldier was struggling to move a particularly compact and heavy section of the serpent. Isaac dismissed it and animated an ogre instead. "Mm."
"Holy shit," Lee Jin-ah said again. "Hyung, you picked up a monster."
o-o-o-o-o-o
[Isaac Ivanov's Greatest Inspiration is None Other than Messiah Guild!]
[Ivanov: "the one I admire most is Lee Se-jun"!]
[Spashiba: Unfortunate Name or Hidden Message? Click Here to Find Out!]
o-o-o-o-o-o
[Isaac in France: What does this mean for unawakened/player tensions?]
[Rhine River Dungeon Purified! Isaac Clears A+ Les Eaux Bosses!]
[Isaac: "the dungeons no one else can clear, I will take on."]
o-o-o-o-o-o
[Messiah Guild Opens Up Places for Third Challenge of Horned Fox Hunt Dungeon!]
[Isaac Back in Korea to Challenge Messiah Guild's Horned Fox Hunt!]
o-o-o-o-o-o
"In fact, they actually failed twelve times, not two."
"Hurgh?" Lee Jin-ah asked around a mouthful of burgers. "Spashiba?"
Isaac raised an eyebrow at him. With deliberately slowness, he said, once again in Korean: "No, nothing. I was just talking to myself."
He tapped on the table and idly wondered how he might have adjust the plan for three people, instead of two.
It was wishful thinking, though. The finalized list of entrants had already been provided, and the one he anticipated the most was nowhere on there.
o-o-o-o-o-o
[The Messiah Guild Loses the Horned Fox’s Horn!]
[Isaac Ivanov escapes like a fugitive in a diplomatic vehicle!]
[In an interview exiting the dungeon, Isaac Ivanov: “If the Messiah Guild really needs it, I’m willing to donate the horn to them.”]
o-o-o-o-o-o
[Messiah Guild’s rising star Kang Young-ji says, “It would not have been possible to complete the dungeon without Isaac Ivanov."]
o-o-o-o-o-o
[Messiah Guilds Rewards Isaac Ivanov for his Generosity!]
o-o-o-o-o-o
"Hoh, not bad," said Oh Se-chan, handing over the skill page after admiring it. "The Messiah Guild can be pretty generous when the situation calls for it, huh?"
It was received with a lot of grumbling. "And what about me?" complained Lee Jin-ah, waving the page around angrily. "I was there too! There's no way that guy would have been able to get the horn without me!"
"Yeah, yeah," said Oh Se-chan, flippantly, rummaging through his pockets. "Now where was it…aha! Give these two to Isaac too, okay?"
"Eh?" Lee Jin-ah took a look at them before his eyes widened. "Eh?! Why is he getting two more skills? Blood Mist?! Power of Osiris?!"
Oh Se-chan sighed. "Oi, settle down. Power of Osiris is coming from the French Government as a thank you for clearing the Rhine River Dungeon. Blood Mist is a gift from Park Yong-wan, who would like to discuss avenues of cooperation with the Mokosh Guild in the future. Oh! And this one's from me!" Oh Se-chan cheerily added yet another skill page onto the pile.
Lee Jin-ah gaped. "What? Hyung, you too? What about me?!"
In fact, it was a skill that the Russian government had asked him to send to Isaac, but Oh Se-chan was having too much fun to confess it. Maybe later. "Uhhh," he said instead, eyes scanning the room until they landed on boxes upon boxes of gifts from Isaac's fans. "How about a packaged box of ChocoPies?"
"Hyung, you…" Lee Jin-ah grinded his teeth. "You're way too outrageous at playing favorites!"
o-o-o-o-o-o
[The Hokkaido Firefox Dungeon has been transferred to the Messiah Guild!]
[The Messiah Guild asks for help to save the world!]
[Published List of Messiah Guild Letter Recipients!]
[The First Needle Snake Hunter Isaac Ivanov receives a letter from the Messiah Guild!]
o-o-o-o-o-o
[Unknown Messiah Letter Recipient: Who is Kim Woo-jin?]
[Kim Woo-jin, the man who cleared 3 2-floor rank B and above dungeons in only two weeks!]
[A dark horse emerges in Korea's dungeon landscape!]
[Kim Woo-jin’s frightening resume, four months after awakening!]
o-o-o-o-o-o
“Shiba!” Lee Jin-ah cursed when Isaac suddenly pulled him to the side, only to pale at a noose trap that activated and shot up faster than the eye can see.
In the next second, knotted rope came fluttering down, sliced cleanly further above.
Isaac looked up, eyes following the lines of the tree until they came to a stop at one of the upper branches.
Kim Woo-jin looked back down at him.
o-o-o-o-o-o
“Here,” Isaac said, in Korean, pulling a few unused Needle Snake tendons out of his inventory. “Compensation.”
(“I must be losing my mind,” muttered Lee Jin-ah, a safe distance away. “Isaac giving away free materials? Isaac ?”)
Kim Woo-jin took a glance and firmly declined. “No, thanks. Since you two are here, it must mean that all the orcs in the area have been cleared out. The trap would have been useless anyway.”
(“And there exists a guy that would reject free stuff? Maybe I’m still in bed,” Lee Jin-ah ridiculed, sitting on a nearby rock and pulling out some of his energy bars.)
“What were you planning to do? With an orc?”
Kim Woo-jin finished dismantling the rest of the traps, pocketing whatever materials could be reused into his inventory. “Torture it until the sounds attracted other orcs, then herd the new orcs into a Wolf Den 0.4km away from here. Have them fight and pick off the straggling wolves.”
So the target was actually the wolves.
The next sound to come was that of Lee Jin-ah choking on granola. Isaac ignored him and assessed Kim Woo-jin, intrigued by something else. “Herd? How?”
o-o-o-o-o-o
"Huh. After looking at it from the outside…"
Isaac turned his head quizzically.
Kim Woo-jin observed the all-out brawl taking place between the skeleton forces and the kobolds Lee Jin-ah attracted over. It was perilous and unrelenting to the point that a single mistake could cause someone to lose their limbs. Some skeletons already did. "...you really are an annoying guy to party with."
Isaac cracked a small smile at that, but quickly turned his head away.
Lee Jin-ah, oblivious, shouted in Russian, triumph lacing every syllable: "Hah! See?! I told you so!" He slung an arm around Kim Woo-jin and switched to poorly accented Korean: "No worry! Me! Take care of you!"
Isaac and Woo-jin shared a look.
Ten minutes after he dropped the arm, Lee Jin-ah gave up all pretenses and dropped the fake accent as well.
"Why did you say all that," Spashiba’s face screeched in surprisingly fluent Korean, betrayed and despairing, " when your fighting style is just as disgusting as his ?!"
o-o-o-o-o-o
What was Kim Woo-jin’s ‘fighting style’?
At its core, it was [Taunt], followed by back-to-back applications of [Blind] and [Fear]. Then, an orc screaming in pain, coming from behind.
Though he had also possessed those status effects in the past, Isaac had only given a cursory glance at them. At the time, he was far more preoccupied with learning how to hunt from the older members of the Messiah Guild, and then later teaching the newer members.
And even if he did have the time, he doubted he would have thought of creating a fighting style around these three effects.
Watching Kim Woo-jin leisurely direct large numbers of stampeding and panicking orcs into his waiting skeleton soldiers, Isaac thought that maybe he made an oversight.
But even so.
“It’s of lower efficiency than my past self since your hunting skills are less effective.”
It was a fighting style that required a lot of scouting and setup, since Kim Woo-jin’s current knowledge and abilities were not able to completely pick off all of the herded monsters before Kim Woo-jin ran out of mana and the skills’ effects wore off completely.
“It looks like you’ve been neglecting your abilities in other areas.”
“Hm,” Kim Woo-jin grunted in acknowledgement. “I had to really think this through before I committed to this development. In the end, I remembered that there was a guy who had the same original style as me, and even knew exactly what to do to maximize it. So then I thought to myself:
“What’s the point of repainting the Mona Lisa? It’s more cost effective to just steal it.”
o-o-o-o-o-o
A man burst into a clearing where a group of people had set up camp. “L-leader!”
A woman stood up to receive him. “At ease. What do you have to report?”
“We finally caught up to Isaac’s party, a-and we found him with Kim Woo-jin!”
“Kim Woo-jin? About time that guy showed up on the radar again. Were they fighting?”
“No! It looked like…Isaac was giving Kim Woo-jin pointers?”
“...pointers?”
o-o-o-o-o-o
Kim Woo-jin tucked, rolled, and slashed the orc’s Achilles heel on the outward motion. “The Horned Fox Hunt? I wanted to go, but I didn't want to get ambushed afterwards. Plus, you were going to be there, which meant the dungeon would definitely be cleared. So I decided not to.”
A skeleton soldier next to him with glowing blue eyes rattled. “Ambushed?”
Brushing himself off, Kim Woo-jin darted into the mass of monsters, using his slighter frame weave through to the center. “Yeah, it was like you said. Two dungeons after the last time you and I spoke, a recruitment officer from the Messiah Guild approached me. Told them not to bother unless the leader himself was going to speak to me.”
His ears picked up the faint thump of the skeleton moving in right behind him.
“It was my bad,” Kim Woo-jin said, and several startled orc eyes stared down at the human suddenly in their midst. “I forgot what you said about Lee Se-jun cornering me in a parking lot. I remembered right after, so I entered another dungeon before they could contact me again.”
Kim Woo-jin inhaled, equipped a spear to slash at one of the orcs’ throats, unequipped, and exhaled. The resulting bellow had more eyes turning his way, but not as many as when Kim Woo-jin raised his bloody hand and let it glow red.
[Taunt]
He felt a powerful rush of air behind him, but he let the skeleton soldier handle it. A spiked club clattered to the ground along with an orc head.
He closed his eyes and activated his second skill.
[Blind]
And then, with a hair-raising aura:
[Fear]
After Kim Woo-jin extracted himself from the mass of bodies and tipped the orcs into stampeding back towards Isaac’s party, he continued, “I might have cleared the dungeon too fast, because the Horned Fox Hunt still hadn't started by the time I left. So I contacted Oh Se-chan and entered another dungeon.”
This time there was no skeleton soldier; the thing was busying itself with picking off straggling orcs. Instead, a small gecko skeleton was observing the process from a perch on Kim Woo-jin’s shoulder.
“I had to go into another dungeon immediately afterwards because there was a skill that I needed in there. Probably should have slowed down a little though, since clearing three dungeons in two weeks just ended up painting a bigger target on my back. But that’s okay.”
The skeletal gecko deanimated and turned into a useless pile of bones right as Kim Woo-jin grinned and said another sentence:
“There’s never a downside to getting better bait.”
A notification for a floor clear rang out. Someone had found the tree that was struck by lightning.
o-o-o-o-o-o
[Firefox Dungeon successfully completed in 3 days!]
[Japanese Government Currently Conducting an Emergency Investigation!]
[The Messiah Guild Delays the Schedule of the Dungeon Briefing!]
[Is it a bug instead of a clearance? Were the survivors forced to return?]
o-o-o-o-o-o
[Details of Foxfire Dungeon Revealed!]
[Isaac Ivanov, the man saved everyone!]
o-o-o-o-o-o
[Bonds born through life and death! Developing friendship between Russia’s Isaac Ivanov and Korea’s Kim Woo-jin!]
o-o-o-o-o-o
“Should we continue our recruitment efforts on Kim Woo-jin, ma’am?”
Park Shin-hye made no acknowledgement of the question, biting uncharacteristically on her perfectly manicured fingernail.
Her aide made no attempt to repeat herself, waiting patiently.
Park Shin-hye finally seemed to come to a decision. “What do the investigations show? Have there been any contact between Kim Woo-jin and Isaac Ivanov prior to this dungeon?”
The aide flipped through her papers. “No, they’re nearly completely clean, and fully on record since 2018 the latest. Kim Woo-jin grew up on the streets, so he had no real record before joining the army, but we were able to confirm he remained in Korea through personal reports and employment records. Isaac’s paper trial before 2013 was lost due to the foster care being burnt down, but he was fully documented afterwards, from what our agents could tell. They were able to find photos and everything.”
“So it’s most likely that the Foxfire Dungeon was the first time Kim Woo-jin and Isaac met each other, since neither seemed to be a significant figure before the games began and they awakened.” Park Shin-hye steepled her fingers and asked, “What did Kim Woo-jin say? That he was only willing to speak with Lee Se-jun?”
“Yes ma’am,” said the aide. “But the recruiter thinks it was rhetorical and he was trying to express dissatisfaction, not list a condition.”
Park Shin-hye waved off her suggestion. “Whether it’s a condition or not, there’s no doubt Lee Se-jun would change the situation if he made a move.”
“Yes ma’am.”
“It’s still too early to see if we can use Ivanov to our benefit, so that can only mean we have to postpone Kim Woo-jin’s recruitment.”
“Yes ma’am. It says here that Park Yong-wan has made contact with Kim Woo-jin.”
“Oh, did he? Well, that won’t do. Even if it’s food that we’ve spat out from our mouths, we can’t let other people take a bite. For that matter, let’s grind down Kim Woo-jin’s ego a bit. Contact the head publisher of the Chosun Ilbo and tell him I have a task for him.”
o-o-o-o-o-o
[Everything you need to know about Kim Woo-jin’s life history!]
[Eyewitness accounts on Kim Woo-jin’s battlefield control: the insane strategy that destroyed a dungeon’s ecosystem!]
[Shocking! You won’t believe the reports on Kim Woo-jin’s clearance of the Wolf Monument Dungeon!]
[“He’s like a rabid dog,” says an anonymous eyewitness.]
[Does Kim Woo-jin have a history of mental illness?]
[Proof inside! Kim Woo-jin declares his hatred for the Russian Federation!]
o-o-o-o-o-o
“I would like to thank the Phoenix Guild for their continued, unconditional support in my endeavors. Thank you.”
The scribble of notepads and the sound of camera shutters filled the air.
“Any other questions? Yes.”
An Indian reporter shouted, in British English, "Isaac, what thoughts do you have on the rumors about Kim Woo-jin?"
Isaac blinked, nonplussed. No particular emotion could be read off of his face. “If the dungeon briefing is over,” he said, also in English, “then I will begin heading to Korea.”
o-o-o-o-o-o
[A+ rank 3 Floor Dungeon appears!]
[The location is Yeouido Park!]
[The title of the dungeon is Golden Lion!]
o-o-o-o-o-o
[Did Isaac Ivanov and Kim Woo-jin fall out? Needle Snake Hunter silent on the matter!]
[Kim Woo-jin: Lone Wolf or Team Killer?]
[Watch your back, the man who kills fellow players!]
o-o-o-o-o-o
"This is bullshit!" Lee Jin-ah cried, spittle and chunks of food flying out from the vehemence of the action. He was hunched over his flip phone, angrily tabbing through comments that were showing up under the news headlines. “I mean, Kim Woo-jin is definitely a big jerk, just like Isaac, but this is straight up poison! He doesn’t deserve this!”
Oh Se-chan was fretting next to him. “Jin-ah, Jin-ah, calm down okay? Do you know how much money it costs to get a replacement burner?”
Lee Jin-ah snapped the phone closed (Oh Se-chan winced) with a crack and glared. “Hyung!”
Oh Se-chan sombered and sighed. “Jin-ah, I can’t go head to head against the Messiah Guild’s underground publicist,” he said. “Especially if I want to maintain the advantage of obscurity.”
“But—! What about Isaac?! Can’t he say something?”
“Isaac and Kim Woo-jin can’t be seen to have anything more than a passing good impression, at least for now.” When Lee Jin-ah opened his mouth again, still fuming, Oh Se-chan added, “And this was the plan of action both Isaac and Kim Woo-jin chose.”
Lee Jin-ah thought back again to the contents of the article he read and yelled again. “Damn it! What the hell does the Messiah Guild even have to gain from slandering Kim Woo-jin like this!”
“If I had to guess,” said Oh Se-chan contemplatively, “three things. First, to separate the names of Kim Woo-jin and Isaac, since the former is someone they want to recruit and the latter is a threat to their status. Second, to make sure no one else can recruit Kim Woo-jin without facing public backlash.”
“Huh?”
“Think about it. If a guild like the Phoenix Guild reaches out to Kim Woo-jin, what will the public say? They’ll take it as proof that the Phoenix Guild will do anything to gain power, even side with a player hunter. In contrast, if the noble and selfless Messiah Guild recruits Kim Woo-jin, it’ll be the world’s saviors showing mercy and reforming a former villain.”
“Fuck.” Lee Jin-ah crunched down bitterly on an energy bar. “They play so dirty!”
Oh Se-chan glanced down at his own laptop, the dead screen reflecting his face. “As for the third thing, maybe they think that this will isolate Kim Woo-jin and make him easier to tame.”
“That bastard?” Lee Jin-ah asked reflexively, and then snorted. It was the least angry he looked all day. “No way. Oh shit, look at the time. I gotta go.”
o-o-o-o-o-o
[Isaac Ivanov announces the conquest of his 3 Floor dungeon debut!]
[Isaac Ivanov hunts the Golden Lion alone!]
[Isaac Ivanov requests to challenge San Francisco’s “Forest of the Dead”!]
o-o-o-o-o-o
[Kim Woo-jin perfectly hunts a White Troll during his debut into 3 Floor Dungeons!]
[Phoenix Guild’s Jeong Yeon-hong on Kim Woo-jin: “solitary, but cooperative and possessing a frightening sense of strategy.”]
o-o-o-o-o-o
“You know, if you hadn’t tipped me off to invest in Isaac early on, or if you hadn’t given me proof of the connection between the Yamato Federation and the Skull Guild, I would have long abandoned trying to fix your reputation.” Park Yong-wan tapped his foot. “But I have to say, you’re really not paying off at all.”
“I know,” said Kim Woo-jin, simply, nodding in thanks to the cup of tea the secretary offered him. He didn’t bother to say that the only chances that Park Yong-wan had offered him before the last dungeon were merely chances to be bait.
Park Yong-wan sighed. “If I can get you in the same dungeon as Isaac Ivanov, what are the chances you can recreate a rapport with him again?”
Kim Woo-jin sipped his tea contemplatively. “Probably… not that high.”
“But there’s a chance.”
A shrug. “Yeah.”
Park Yong-wan sighed again. “Then consider that your only chance before I wash my hands of you completely. Understand?”
Kim Woo-jin set down his cup on the table. “Thanks. I’ll do my best.”
o-o-o-o-o-o
[Comatose player of top 5 guild wakes up: “Kim Woo-jin saved my life. The attackers were the Skull Guild!”]
[What are the origins of the Skull Guild? Links to the Japanese Yamato Federation discovered!]
[Phoenix Guild’s Park Yong-wan demands investigation into slander of a player!]
[Kim Woo-jin: Villain or Misunderstood Hero?]
o-o-o-o-o-o
“Why,” began Park Shin-hye slowly, “are our people speaking with the press ?”
Her aide frowned. “Unfortunately, personnel and resources were strained in the preparation for the Forest of the Dead dungeon. The comatose player happened to wake up a few hours before the regular noon check-in, and a reporter from the Korean Entertainment News happened to be in an adjacent room.”
“Damn it!” Park Shin-hye’s nails cut little crescents into her palm. “We should have just killed him!”
The comatose player had indeed been a card prepared to clear Kim Woo-jin’s name and earn his gratitude, but that was on the caveat that the player spoke with the press at a time they designated and was debriefed to know not to mention the Skull Guild.
Whirling to face her aide, Park Shin-hye issued an ultimatum: “Go tell the Bow God and Sword Saint that they are to immediately sever any connection between us and the Skull Guild. Now .”
“Yes Ma’am. And what about the awakened player?”
Park Shin-hye sighed. She seemed to be doing that a lot lately. “Transfer him under the Bow God’s team.”
“Yes Ma’am. And Kim Woo-jin?”
The livestream on Park Shin-hye’s computer was streamed directly from San Francisco. In the video, Isaac and Spashiba passed by Kim Woo-jin without so much as a backwards glance. The camera lingered on Kim Woo-jin, who didn’t look up and continued checking on his inventory. So at least one of their objectives was achieved through the media campaign.
“Kim Woo-jin…let’s give him another chance to come under our banner. If he still refuses, prepare to eliminate him.”
o-o-o-o-o-o
[Today’s the day! The dungeon that the Great One Guild bet a Legendary item on!]
[Park Yong-wan offers Wilhelm Tell’s Crossbow as a reward for clearing ‘Forest of the Dead’!]
[Frontier Guild to give ten million to the one who clears ‘Forest of the Dead’!]
o-o-o-o-o-o
“I-I thought Isaac was already pushing his limits,” a mage from the Frontier Guild said. “B-but the three of them together…”
She didn’t need to finish. The same word was in everyone’s head.
Monsters.
When they first entered the dungeon, several curious players couldn’t help but keep track of the interactions between the Russian players and Kim Woo-jin. The first day was doomed to be a disappointment in that respect, since both groups immediately set off to do their own hunts in vaguely perpendicular directions.
But even without that piece of gossip, the events of the first floor were in no way quiet.
Out of 22,222 monsters that needed to be cleared, Isaac and Spashiba had killed 12,000 of them. Kim Woo-jin, who at the time was operating completely alone, killed just over a thousand by himself.
It was a number that neared the performance of a mid-to-higher-sized guild, and just in the first one and a half days to boot.
The second floor, however, was the floor that marked the point of no return. At one point after they advanced to the next floor, the Russians and Kim-Woojin must have encountered each other and decided to team up to hunt the Earth Turtle.
They found it in twenty minutes, and took it down in ten minutes following that. Most people were left completely blindsided, but some people were lucky to be close enough to follow the sounds of a rampage.
So, they came to the sight of Isaac’s party completely besieging the Earth Turtle’s body while Kim Woo-jin mercilessly attacked the Earth Turtle’s head. Using the status effects and his own physical ability, Kim Woo-jin kept the turtle’s head extended out long enough for a Skeleton Wolf to finally tear out its throat and leave it bleeding out.
Several people startled when Kim Woo-jin suddenly glanced towards them, eyes still glowing red from his last usage of his [Fear] skill. They didn’t relax when his eyes dimmed or when he nodded in acknowledgement at them.
It was only when his attention was drawn away by the heavy-set Russian slinging an arm around him that they finally loosened up. The man said something to Kim Woo-jin energetically, while Kim Woo-jin nodded along. Isaac walked up to them and the two turned their attention to him.
“Looks like they get along pretty well,” someone said. “I wonder how Kim Woo-jin did it.”
o-o-o-o-o-o
“The next stage is a poisoned land,” said Isaac. “I have Apophis’s Power and I intend to give Lancelot’s Ring to Spashiba. Do you have antidotes on you? No, never mind. They won’t be enough. The Great One Guild and the Frontier Guild will likely join hands, meaning my best way to achieve a perfect clear is to threaten them with prolonging the battle, past the use of any number of antidotes.”
“I have Manasa’s Shawl,” said Kim Woo-jin, taking the item in question out of his inventory.
Isaac checked it over and frowned. “It only reduces the efficacy of the poison, it doesn’t prevent you from being poisoned in the first place.”
Lee Jin-ah also checked and burst out laughing. “What’s this fertility effect? I didn’t know the dungeons had a sense of humor!”
“My build is also up to 80% more resistant to status effects, and the effectiveness of weakening status effects is reduced by 60%. Even without any antidotes, I can outlast them.” Glancing at Isaac, Kim Woo-jin said, “Someone had given me a very advanced warning.”
Only two of them knew he meant Lee Se-jun and not the last floor of the Forest of the Dead dungeon.
Nonetheless, Isaac frowned, “But the toxins will still gather in your blood.”
“I have a Perfect Antidote,” said Kim Woo-jin. “As long as I don’t die, I’ll be fine. I’ll go deliver the killing blow now.”
Lee Jin-ah nudged Isaac good-naturedly and they watched Kim Woo-jin walk away. “Look at you, nagging at him like a mother. You should be careful though, before someone starts thinking you have a weakness.”
What Lee Jin-ah said was preposterous. Kim Woo-jin could never be a weakness.
There was no possible scenario that could make Kim Woo-jin’s existence into a detriment to Isaac’s ultimate plan. The person Isaac Ivanov had been in the past might have been one such obstacle, but that was because that person was trained as a hunting dog for the Messiah guild. That person’s abilities were too independent to synergize with Isaac’s skillset, and he had too many weaknesses of his own to not hold Isaac back.
But not this Kim Woo-jin.
Because the Kim Woo-jin of this world had the exact same goal as Isaac Ivanov, and in that realization Kim Woo-jin had developed himself so that he could fully support Isaac Ivanov. This Kim Woo-jin maintained a status as an unaffiliated lone wolf, building up his own strength so that another could easily use it.
And most important of all, this Kim Woo-jin trusted Isaac wholeheartedly. And this Kim Woo-jin knows that Isaac trusted him back.
The words were just on the tip of his tongue, but Isaac swallowed them back down. Lee Jin-ah couldn’t understand.
Still, he gave Isaac an idea.
[The Earth Turtle has been hunted.]
[Move on to the next floor.]
o-o-o-o-o-o
“Not a single one of them is affected by the weakening poison?” Ellis Highton demanded, in between coughs. “Not even Kim Woo-jin?”
“N-no, leader! He’s even joining Spashiba on the offensive!”
“Shit. Fuck .“ Ellis Highton bit her lips hard but not enough to bleed. That would be fatal in this atmosphere. “Notify Isaac that I would like to speak with him.”
o-o-o-o-o-o
[Isaac Ivanov conquers the Forest of the Dead!]
[Great One Guild’s Ellis Graciously Relinquishes King Arthur’s Ring and Merlin’s Staff to Isaac Ivanov!]
[Isaac Ivanov, “This was only possible with the help of many people, including Park Yong-wan.”]
[Park Yong-wan discovers a savior who can save the world!]
[Isaac Ivanov and Kim Woo-jin’s Friendship Revitalized by the Forest of the Dead!]
o-o-o-o-o-o
“You did well!” Park Yong-wan said, laughing over the phone. The past few days, his office landline had been ringing non-stop, inundating him with requests to be connected to Isaac Ivanov. He’d never felt so powerful. “So, what are you planning to do next?”
“Isaac asked me to join his party on a trial basis,” Kim Woo-jin answered.
Another laugh. “And you accepted?”
“Ah. Well, I wasn’t sure it would be the best decision. In truth, our skills aren’t entirely compatible, and Isaac would be smart enough to realize that sooner rather than later. We work well in specific situations, but in others—”
“Alright, I’m stopping you right there.” Park Yong-wan interrupted. “Go to Isaac and tell him you accept. You haven’t declined yet, right?”
“Not yet. But our skill sets—”
“Don’t match, you said?” asked Park Yong-wan. “Leave that to me.”
o-o-o-o-o-o
[Isaac Ivanov’s New Party Member: Korea’s Kim Woo-jin!]
[What Forces Were Behind the Malicious Slander of Kim Woo-jin?]
[Kim Woo-jin joins Phoenix Guild under Park Yong-wan!]
o-o-o-o-o-o
“So not only did Phoenix Guild recruit Kim Woo-jin and establish a partnership with Isaac Ivanov before us, but we also had to disband the Skull Guild?” Lee Se-jun asked the half-empty room.
Park Shin-hye trembled and bowed her head. She had by far the best composure out of all the other occupants of the room. “Yes.”
Lee Se-jun mulled this over, and then finally breathed out. It was too dignified to be a sigh. “Park Shin-hye, you’ve been making quite a few mistakes these days.”
“...Sorry, Master.”
“Looks like the problems began after you stopped informing me of the decisions you were making. The same could be said for everyone else with a seat at this table.”
The room was enveloped with a tense silence.
“So why don’t we refrain from acting on our own for now?” Lee Se-jun closed his eyes with finality. “Let’s figure out how to untangle this situation, beginning with Isaac Ivanov. What’s the name of the necromancer rising to prominence in Western Europe? Johann?”
o-o-o-o-o-o
[A 3-Floor A+ rank Dungeon appears! The Dungeon’s Boss Monster is a Hatchling!]
[The Japanese Government transfers the decisions for the Hatchling Dungeon to Isaac Ivanov!]
[Isaac Ivanov holds the casting vote!]
O-o-o-o-o-o
“E-eh? Alone? We’re taking on a Hatchling alone?” For once, Lee Jin-ah sat in the same room as Kim Woo-jin without a mask. It had taken a bit of convincing and Isaac’s personal vouch, but it went easier than it would have if Lee Jin-ah and Oh Se-chan hadn’t already been half convinced.
Oh Se-chan’s booming laughter came from the phone non-stop. He had just received the removal fee from the other guilds, and was over the moon about it. “Genius,” he said, in between laughter. “A removal fee! Absolutely genius!”
Isaac ignored the man on the phone and answered Lee Jin-ah. “We’re fighting the Hatchling, but that’s not the part I need you to focus on. If your acting skills are not up to par, then I’ll leave you behind and bring in a Doppelganger instead.”
Kim Woo-jin sat silently next to them, merely observing.
“Killing a Hatchling by ourselves isn’t the important part?!” Lee Jin-ah asked incredulously. Then he blinked. “Wait, what do you mean acting?” Oh Se-chan had also finally quieted down.
“I will only explain this once outside the dungeon, so listen carefully,” warned Isaac, and then he began. “This is the fastest way to get rid of most of the obstacles that currently oppose us.”
It was a simple, but multi-part plan.
o-o-o-o-o-o
[Isaac Ivanov to challenge the Hatchling alone!]
o-o-o-o-o-o
First, Isaac, Spashiba, and Kim Woojin would attack and clear the A+ Hatchling dungeon.
o-o-o-o-o-o
“Hurry!” bellowed Spashiba, at the approaching agents. Kim Woo-jin was next to him on his knees, administering CPR to the prone body of Isaac Ivanov. “Hurry! Emergency!”
When Oh Se-chan’s subordinates arrived, Kim Woo-jin turned to them, clothes bloodied and eyes frazzled, and said, “He’s not breathing; call an ambulance!”
o-o-o-o-o-o
Next, Isaac would come out grievously wounded. He would be immediately brought to the hospital, where he would need to convalesce and remain out of commission for the time being.
o-o-o-o-o-o
[Inside sources claim Isaac received injuries protecting Kim Woo-jin?]
[Video evidence of Spashiba and Kim Woo-jin in an argument!]
o-o-o-o-o-o
At the same time, Kim Woo-jin and Spashiba would make a show of having tension between them, so as to further isolate Kim Woo-jin and make him more attractive as bait.
“I thought Isaac was demanding towards me,” Lee Jin-ah had said, turning to face Kim Woo-jin pityingly. “But he’s never asked me to die before.”
Kim Woo-jin smiled, briefly. “It’s okay. I’m used to it.”
o-o-o-o-o-o
Kim Woo-jin glared the dungeon broker down thunderously, face blank but eyes blazing. “So what happened was because of my incompetence and with this offer I’ll become stronger, is that it?”
“Isn’t it clear that if Mr. Kim Woo-jin was strong enough, then Mr. Ivanov might not still be unconscious now?”
Kim Woo-jin got up from his seat, sending the chair backwards with a clatter. He made for the door in an uncharacteristic rage.
“Mr. Kim Woo-jin!”
A hand pressed down on the door before he could open it. Kim Woo-jin flicked up his eyes to the face of the Japanese dungeon broker.
“I’m not trying to make fun of you, Mr. Kim Woo-jin. I never had that intention, sir.”
Kim Woo-jin didn’t speak.
“In fact, I made this proposal simply because I felt that it would be incredibly helpful to you. Won’t you at least take a look at this skill card?”
After a long, tense pause, Kim Woo-jin reached out to the envelope in the broker’s hand.
o-o-o-o-o-o
Since the Sword Saint and the Bow God were aiming for Kim Woo-jin’s head, then they would indulge the two and let Kim Woo-jin die.
o-o-o-o-o-o
“Why is he coming here?” Kimura Yoshio muttered to himself, half-hysterical. His subordinates were already running ragged attempting to notify and disarm the forces stationed outside the dungeon.
They absolutely couldn’t fire on Isaac’s teammates in front of him. Especially not with the media circus stationed only a few hundred feet away, frantically typing out news of Isaac’s recovery.
The cause of all the disturbance sat, dignified, in a folded lawn chair, crutches leaned against the car he arrived in. Kimura Yoshio accidentally caught his eyes and had to return the nod the Russian man offered him.
There had to be a way to downplay the deaths of Isaac’s teammates.
There had to be.
But first, they needed to control how Isaac received the news. So Kimura walked over briskly to the seated man.
Right when Kimura was about to suggest that Isaac wait for his teammates inside the military building, a flash indicated that the dungeon was cleared.
Kimura turned to look, frustrated at the timing, only for the frustration to turn into fear at the sight of the heavy-set man framed by the dungeon light and the slack body he was cradling.
Two people had exited the dungeon, but while both were covered in wounds and blood, only one was still breathing.
In his peripheral vision, he saw Isaac furrowing his brows in confusion, losing the small hints of expectation and relief that showed up when the dungeon lights first flashed.
“You bastards!” bellowed Spashiba, furious in every movement and sound except for the gentle way he carried the pale and unmoving body. “You bastards plotted to kill Kim Woo-jin!”
And Kimura’s heart dropped right when Isaac’s expression finally settled on one emotion.
Rage.
o-o-o-o-o-o
[Japan murders Isaac Ivanov’s Korean teammate!]
[Phoenix Guild’s Park Yong-wan demands the Japanese Government be held accountable!]
[The Russian Government condemns the Japanese Government!]
[The Korean Government demands an apology and compensation from the Japanese Government.]
o-o-o-o-o-o
[The Japanese Government announces the emergence of a new pseudo-terrorist organisation.]
[Sword Saint Requests to Meet Isaac Ivanov over Loss of Korean Teammate!]
o-o-o-o-o-o
The room was stifling. Despite the abundance of top-quality sushi that lined the table, no one made a move to eat.
The immense and hair-raising sensation came from none other than the man whose icy eyes were pinning Miyazaki Sakura like a butterfly in a display case.
Isaac Ivanov was angry. It was already evident in the aftermath of the dungeon fiasco, but Miyazaki was able to confirm that every attempt to report it was an underestimation. Sitting in front of him, as the sole recipient of his ire, Miyazaki was able to quantify it better.
Isaac Ivanov wasn’t just angry. He was one step away from going on a rampage in Japan.
Her first thought was on whether this was an opportunity, that maybe they could push Isaac into an outburst in a dungeon and finish him off at a point when his emotion outweighed his rational thought.
But the longer the night went on and the two of them made idle conversation, Spashiba glaring in the background, the more Miyazaki was forced to abandon this thought.
Isaac Ivanov retained total propriety. His voice was understandably curt, but not excessively so. And the entire time, both his posture and the rest of his face remained relaxed, a sharp contrast to the tense body of Spashiba next to him.
When Isaac finally decided to dismiss the three of them and inform her that he and Spashiba would be leaving Japan to return Kim Woo-jin’s ashes to Korea, Miyazaki almost couldn’t stop herself from shouting out.
This would be the worst case scenario. Isaac Ivanov would hold a grudge against Japan, but not any grudge that can be used to defeat him. Instead, he would gradually make his dislike of Japan known, prioritizing dungeons in any other country first. There would be no one outside of Japan willing to hold it against him, and Japan’s reputation would fall directly to the bottom.
Miyazaki calmed herself down. She couldn’t allow that to happen. At the same time, an idea slowly formed in her head.
Wasn’t Isaac’s grudge due to the loss of a valuable teammate?
Glancing at the sneering Spashiba, who clearly couldn’t be reasoned with, Miyazaki made a decision.
It wasn’t like Japan lacked powerful players.
o-o-o-o-o-o
“I can’t believe it,” Lee Jin-ah said, almost sobbing. “All that sushi, so perfectly presented.” He buried his face in the cot. “And I couldn’t eat any of it!”
Kim Woo-jin scooted further away, but remained seated on his ‘deathbed.’ “How unfortunate,” he said. “I would have liked to see the sushi too, if it looked that nice.”
Lee Jin-ah immediately looked commiserating. “Ah, Kim Woo-jin, you poor soul. How’s the life of being an undead man?”
“A little stifling,” said Kim Woo-jin, gesturing to the half a dozen face masks at the foot of the bed. “But doable.”
“Hang in there! Fighting! Hyung will treat you to some ChocoPies once we get back to Korea,” said Lee Jin-ah earnestly.
“Weren’t those ChocoPies sent as gifts for Isaac?”
“O-oh,” Lee Jin-ah laughed fakely, “w-were they?”
“They were,” Isaac cut in. “Remind me to speak to Oh Se-chan about it later.” Before Lee Jin-ah’s face could pale further, Isaac handed him a dungeon report. “Before that though, we might not be back in Korea for a while.”
Lee Jin-ah glanced down at the papers and his face twisted in confusion. “...Huh? A dungeon request from the Japanese government? They really don’t understand the situation, do they?”
“Check the compensation.”
Kim Woo-jin peeked over Lee Jin-ah’s shoulder and hummed contemplatively. “The ability to attack any dungeon in Japan, huh? It’s somewhat effective, given that your goal is to end the game.”
“B-but…” Lee Jin-ah looked despairing. “This doesn’t mean we have to attack the dungeon. Right? Right? We’re still really angry at Japan, aren’t we?”
“Check the participants.”
Lee Jin-ah did so. “The Ishikawa siblings?”
“Ah, I see,” said Kim Woo-jin. “I hear they’re Japan’s greatest tankers. So they’re trying to replace you, Lee Jin-ah.”
“Can’t you call me hyung?” complained Lee Jin-ah. But when he turned back to Isaac, his eyes were sparkling. “But that’s great! Let’s take this mission! Being replaced is completely a-ok with me!”
Isaac raised a brow. “Is it?”
Lee Jin-ah shivered. “O-o-o-on second thought.”
“They’re really looking down on you, huh, hyung,” said Kim Woo-jin casually. (“Wait, me? Are you referring to me?” squawked Lee Jin-ah.) He turned to look at Isaac with a half-smile, and that’s when Isaac knew the two of them were on the same page. “But I think it could be a good opportunity.”
“Hell yeah, let’s show them up!” shouted Lee Jin-ah. “Dongsaeng, watch me carefully! We’re going to show them the true worth of Spashiba!”
Kim Woo-jin nodded at him, looking a little amused. “Well, that’s going to happen has a side effect, but that’s not the opportunity I was talking about.”
“Huh?”
“An opportunity to shake down the Sword Saint more, isn’t it?” Isaac was the one to respond. At Kim Woo-jin’s nod, Isaac snorted, and reached for the burner phone. “I’ll tell Oh Se-chan to accept, then.”
When Oh Se-chan heard their plan, he laughed in pure delight. “Okay!” he said gleefully. “Let’s show it to them!
“Let’s show them how expensive it is to get caught in an affair with someone else’s partner!”
o-o-o-o-o-o
[Shocking! Isaac Ivanov’s team is disbanding!]
o-o-o-o-o-o
"You know," Lee Jin-ah paused to slurp his noodles. "I'd been meaning to tell you."
"Hm?" Isaac looked up. "What?"
"That acting you did when we met that lady in the sushi restaurant? Top-tier. And this is coming from Korea's very own Leonardo di Caprio, so you know I mean it!"
"Acting…?" Isaac murmured, remembering the icy wrath that had flooded his veins when he caught a glimpse of his teammates exiting the dungeon. The knowledge that this was all a self-directed show couldn't distract him from the knowledge that someone dared to turn their blades on his allies.
He had even considered abandoning the initial plan and just going the route of leaving Japan to rot. It had only been the visual proof of Lee Ah-jin and Kim Woo-jin before him, both alive and well, that finally calmed him enough to continue the plan.
Acting?
"Sure," said Isaac, sliding over the next bowl of piping hot instant ramen as Lee Jin-ah set down his empty bowl. "Let's go with that."
o-o-o-o-o-o
[Breaking News! Isaac Ivanov has given up attacking the A+ rank dungeon!]
[Isaac Ivanov has temporarily suspended all activities! Does he intend to retire?]
[Have Isaac Ivanov and his teammate entered the freelance market?]
[Spashiba in Communication with Multiple Guilds!]
o-o-o-o-o-o
The Sword Saint stared down distantly at the headlines, as if he were looking ahead to the inevitable political nightmare that would hit him and Japan if the Russian players remained at odds with each other. He glanced down once at the prostrate and subservient form of his best disciple, and then he looked up at his wooden ceiling.
He sighed. “I think…I messed up.”
o-o-o-o-o-o
[Sword Saint Offers Nemean Lion Leather for Isaac and Spashiba to Unite and Clear 4-Floor A+ Rank Hellhound’s Hunting Grounds!]
o-o-o-o-o-o
Dramatic sobs filled the room.
“I-I was so close,” cried Lee Jin-ah mournfully. “So close to escaping the thumb of this damn slavedriver!”
Kim Woo-jin must have been feeling immeasurable amounts of pity, because he actually patted the other man’s shoulder consolingly. “A pity,” he offered. “Especially since you and Isaac will be clearing an A+ rank dungeon on your own.”
Lee Jin-ah stopped sobbing and looked at him, confused. “Huh? I thought they said there were 249 participating players?”
Kim Woo-jin patted him again.
“They did, didn’t they? Didn’t they ?”
o-o-o-o-o-o
[Breaking news! Isaac Ivanov’s party trapped in the dungeon!]
[Japanese Terrorists Bomb Dungeon Grounds!]
o-o-o-o-o-o
[New Hope! Johann Georg Tears Through Dungeons Across Europe!]
o-o-o-o-o-o
As the only one still outside the dungeon, Kim Woo-jin was naturally the one to pick up when the phone rang.
“Hello, valued customer~!”
“Oh, hello. Is there something I can help you with?”
Oh Se-chan laughed. “No, none of the sort. I was just wondering how you were feeling, since your regular conversation partners are otherwise occupied.”
“Mm. I’m alright.”
“Going stir-crazy?”
Kim Woo-jin, wearing the face of a generic Chinese man, glanced at his boarding pass and made his way over to the right ship. “Yeah,” he said, honestly. “Especially since I won’t be able to clear dungeons in Japan anymore.”
“Ah, my apologies. I still have a few more left in my list, but the government is coming down hard after the ‘terrorist attack.’ It’s too risky to keep attacking if you want to go undiscovered.”
“It’s all right, I understand.”
“But on the other hand! This is an excellent opportunity to smuggle you out of the country! Where would you like to go, Mr. Undead?”
Kim Woo-jin nodded at the man checking his boarding pass and began to look for a seat on the ship. “Please book me a ticket to Mexico from the Fuzhou Changle International Airport."
“Oh, from China? Good move, it’ll be harder to track you if you switch flights. Should I book you a flight from Japan to China? Or maybe a boat ride?”
“No need, I’m already on the boat.”
“...Eh?”
“I’ll probably lose the signal when the boat goes out to sea, so I’ll request the other things I need now.”
Oh Se-chan laughed. “Wow, Kim Woo-jin, you…you really are overflowing with reliability.”
“Ah, thanks. In Mexico, please arrange for me to complete a 4-floor dungeon rank B or above.”
“Eh?”
“Preferably alone, since I need to level up quickly and discreetly.”
“ Eh? ”
“And then twenty days or so later, please arrange for me a ride to Brazil.”
“ Eh?! ”
“I need to meet with the Lightning King, so that I can sell Isaac Ivanov to him…Oh. Unfortunate. The signal is lost.”
o-o-o-o-o-o
[Isaac Ivanov’s Party comes back alive!]
[Isaac Ivanov lost an arm! Spashiba is currently in a coma!]
[The world is praying for the ones who brought about a miracle!]
o-o-o-o-o-o
That was the turning point, perhaps. The start of the miracles that never stopped coming.
o-o--o-o-o-o
“What convinced you, in the end?”
“Hm?” Kim Woo-jin looked up. It was just him and Isaac in the room, the rest having gone off to finalize the preparations necessary to attack the next dungeon. “Convinced me?”
Isaac peeked over his shoulders to look at the list of names, nodding at each one. Good, the information was solid. “That I was telling the truth. About my past life, the Messiah guild, all of it. When did you start believing what I was saying? Because I thought back on it, and I have to say the only kind of proof that would have convinced me would have been the discoveries we made in these past few months.”
“Oh, that.” Kim Woo-jin furrowed his brow and thought seriously. Isaac waited patiently. “When? Let’s see…probably…the first time we met?”
“...What?”
“I guess you were too stressed to see the whole situation,” explained Kim Woo-jin. “But from my perspective, you were a random Russian man sneaking into Korea to speak with an equally random player who had just awakened and didn’t even complete a dungeon yet. Oh wait, this guy. He doesn’t exist; it’s another one of Oh Se-chan’s placeholders.”
Clicking open a pen, Kim Woo-jin decisively crossed the name out.
He continued, “You were very insistent on it too, which meant that you considered me a strong ally. With my personality, it’s easier to just kill me if I were an enemy, right? So if we’re potentially strong allies, then it must be as you said: that we have the same goal. Oh this reminds me; here, I’m returning this.”
Isaac took Gawain’s Necklace back from him, as well as the piece of paper Kim Woo-jin was consulting.
“I thought about it all night, and I couldn’t deny that the explanation you gave was probably just as plausible as any other possible explanation. And if you made it seem like time travel was possible, then I must have already been convinced somehow.”
Kim Woo-jin stopped what he was doing to look Isaac in the eye.
“But you still offered to get me proof, as if you couldn’t imagine that I would believe you, as if you were convinced that I needed more evidence and couldn't even think otherwise. I did find it strange that you couldn’t tell that I was pretty much already in your pocket, but then I met you that second time and it all made sense.”
Kim Woo-jin grimaced.
“You must have been really desperate, huh? Because me and you, we’re the kind to hate the world. We’ve been abandoned from the moment we were born and treated like animals. That world you had to dedicate your life to save, it’s the same world that never gave us a reason to like it.”
Kim Woo-jin looked down.
“Because we’ve always been alone. So that first time you met me, when you realized there was a chance you didn’t have to do this all alone…”
Isaac stared at the logistics document in his hands, but found himself unable to process the words on the page.
“...you must have wanted to grab that opportunity so tightly that it couldn’t possibly escape from you.”
A hand rested gently on Isaac’s shoulder, enough to have a weight but not enough to confine him.
“Right?”
“... Mm .”
o-o-o-o-o-o
“Let’s end this game. Together.”
The year was 2025.