Starfish (2)
According to the words I heard this morning, Cheolwoong regularly patrols the amusement park. The main routes are the entrance and exit of the park. Although it’s said to be to check for anyone escaping, it seems more like he’s just wandering around out of boredom. After all, if someone tries to flee through the entrance or exit, other monsters would block them and immediately report to Cheolwoong. Thus, no one can escape while the monsters barricade the way until Cheolwoong arrives.
I had been waiting for him at the place where he was said to appear frequently.
“It feels like it’s been about 30 minutes,” I muttered.
He was supposed to show up around noon, so it should be about time. And as if on cue, after waiting about ten more minutes, I sensed a presence. Not a human, but that of a monster.
“Finally, you’re here.”
A heavy thump resounded in the distance – the footsteps of a massive iron giant. At a glance, he looked like a golem, but unlike the inanimate feeling of golems, the Starfish had a strong sense of being alive. Maybe it’s better to describe him as a monster made entirely of metal. Indeed, dealing with a Starfish proved to be more difficult than handling a golem.
Thud.
Thud.
Thud.
Feeling the heavy vibrations through the ground, I slowly approached him. Cheolwoong, noticing me, turned his heavy head in my direction.
“Hmm?”
He looked at me with a puzzled expression, wondering why I wasn’t running away in terror.
“It’s not fun to kill a madman,” Cheolwoong muttered to himself, looking thoroughly disappointed.
‘They’re all the same around here,’ I thought. He must have wanted to see players running away in fear. I had seen many like him in my previous life. Karas belonged to that category as well, and it was a safe bet that this guy Cheolwoong was no different.
“As a reward for catching my eye for the first time today, I’ll grant you a painless death.”
Cheolwoong, having approached right before me, slowly raised his arm and without any special proclamation, he brought it crashing down towards me.
Boooom!
The concrete ground shattered, sending fragments flying in all directions. Of course, I easily dodged his attack and swung my sword at his arm in response.
Clang!
‘So tough.’
I had wondered if some damage might have been done before he consumed metal, but it was to no avail. If he was already this sturdy, then it was highly likely he had consumed metal to be this mobile.
‘That means he’s quite cautious by nature.’
Even though players couldn’t hurt Cheolwoong without him consuming metal, he still maintained this level of defense at all times. This proved he was extremely diligent. If not, he wouldn’t have been so insistent on getting detailed reports from the likes of Changwoo.
“Ho, you dodged?”
Cheolwoong laughed as if amused by seeing me leap back.
“I didn’t use my full strength, but I didn’t expect there to be a player of this caliber. Well, I guess that’s why you dared to show yourself before me.”
Regardless of what he said, I swung the sword in my hand. It was coated with orichalcum, but it wasn’t enough to penetrate Cheolwoong’s defenses.
“You’re a bore. Wouldn’t it be more fun to have a conversation?”
He grinned at me as if he had found an entertaining toy. His movements were closer to playing than exerting full effort, but that needed to change. I was here today to gauge Cheolwoong’s full capabilities.
“Come at me then. You talk too much.”
“…Insolent fool.”
The smirk vanished from Cheolwoong’s face, replaced with a hardened expression.
“I don’t know who you are, but your insolence knows no bounds!”
Only then did Cheolwoong begin to move with full force.
Good, it seemed my taunts had worked.
‘Now, let’s see what you’ve really got.’
Cheolwoong’s fist grazed past me, creating a fierce tearing sound in the air. When it collided with the ground, it blew apart the concrete as though a bomb had exploded.
Clang! Clang!
I dodged his attacks and struck at every visible spot I could – joints, eyes, open mouths. I tried thrusting my sword in whenever there was an opening, and also swept it towards his throat. But I couldn’t land a significant blow anywhere.
“Tch.”
My orichalcum-coated weapon wasn’t damaged, which meant that the metal Cheolwoong had currently consumed was not less durable than orichalcum. I couldn’t break his body because my own strength was lacking.
‘But, I’m much faster.’
In order to fight Cheolwoong, I had invested my stats to their maximum allowed levels—the point of “counter stop.”
Now my stats were all E (100). Despite having the highest ability scores of any existing player, I still couldn’t make a dent in Cheolwoong.
‘Really pathetic.’
Given the situation, it felt like a cruel joke. To wield an orichalcum weapon and max out my stats and still deal no damage at all!
It was as expected, but this was like being told plainly not to kill him.
‘No wonder players tremble at the mere mention of his name.’
If this was the case, he might be stronger than Karas who had his abilities nerfed.
‘Wait, hold on.’
If the Sentinel Cheolwoong was this strong, then Karas, dominating this area, might have had his abilities rise even further. If so, there might be no answer except for the 1st generation succession package.
‘Just my luck, the quest changed.’
My original plan was to quickly clear the quest after receiving five seals, then kill Karas right away. But with the quest changed, it wouldn’t be so easy.
“Rat! You sure dodge well!”
“You’re just too slow.”
“I will kill you!”
His fist swung sideways, snapping a pole from a Viking ship ride. The massive structure toppled over, threatening to crush both Cheolwoong and me.
Kroooom!
A cloud of dust rose as the broken amusement structure fell, and I quickly got out of the way.
“You vermin! Where are you! Where have you gone!”
Boom! Boom! Boom!
In a fit of rage, Cheolwoong thrashed about, tearing through the wreckage of the Viking, shouting for me. But by then, I had quietly moved away from him.
‘Sorry, but I’m done here.’
With what I had, there was no way to kill Cheolwoong. No skills to penetrate his defense, no weapon that could do the deed. To kill him, I needed a simple attack potent enough to land one powerful blow.
“So it comes down to this…”
I saw Cheolwoong still throwing a fit in the distance, demolishing poor attractions one by one.
“There’s only one way to do this.”
The answer was simple. If I couldn’t kill him now, I just had to make a way to do so. And I knew just the person who could help me make it.
***
“Are Mina and Sehan brother and sister by any chance?”
“Huh?”
Lying in the 4th sector and browsing through a magazine, Mina frowned at Changwoo’s question. What kind of nonsense was that?
“Our last names are different, there’s no way we could be siblings.”
“Ah, right. But you seem to get along so well, I thought you might be siblings.”
“Absurd. If we were siblings, we wouldn’t be on good terms, right?”
Recalling Siwoo, who was probably making weapons now, Mina thought it was weird how well Changwoo and Siwoo got along for brothers.
“Being good siblings is odd. Maybe you two aren’t related?”
“No, we definitely are siblings!” Changwoo exclaimed, jumping up at the assertion.
Annoyed by the sudden outburst, the eyes of other players turned towards Mina and Changwoo. Changwoo, who could not see, coughed to ease the discomfort from the stinging glares.
“So, how did you meet Sehan, then?”
“We met by chance. There was also a scary noona with him at that time.”
“Scary noona?”
“Yeah. She’s someone who looks at everyone besides Sehan like they’re bugs.”
Recalling Jisu, Mina shuddered. Just thinking of that calm gaze was enough to give her the creeps. But eventually, Jisu seemed to recognize her worth and treated her decently well.
‘Maybe she considered me a comrade in the end? Hmm, I’m not sure.’
If they met again, she had to ask. Jisu had gone somewhere alone, but Mina didn’t think anything would happen to her. The other people who encountered Jisu might be in trouble, though.
“I see. Sehan doesn’t seem like an ordinary person. I can’t see, but he must be an amazing player. He’s got four seals and all.”
“I have four seals too.”
“Of course, that’s also impressive. It’s really amazing, considering Siwoo and you are only three years apart.”
“Right, right.”
Mina puffed up with pride. If not for Sehan, she would definitely be considered important. As for the seals… Sehan was responsible for a large part of it, but since he brought her here, he should be held responsible.
“What was that?”
“Aack! You startled me!”
“Why are you so startled?”
Sehan had appeared suddenly, startling Mina.
He was covered in dust as if he’d been through some mess since the morning.
‘He’s been up to something again.’
Mina grumbled inwardly as she watched him.
“Make some noise when you move around!”
“I didn’t hide on purpose.”
That’s a lie.
Mina pouted, annoyed.
Sehan seemed more invisible than most, with some darkness under his eyes and a generally shadowed appearance. That made him easy to miss, even with the remarkable skills he had shown. Despite his capabilities, he tended to fade into the background, partially due to his unassuming presence.
Additionally, he had a habit of moving silently, and dressed in black, he became practically invisible at night.
“We were just talking about you for a moment.”
“About me?”
“It’s nothing. He was just curious about how we met.”
“How we met? You were robbing a bank and got caught by me.”
“Wah! Don’t say it like that! It makes me sound like a criminal!”
If she intended to rob the bank, isn’t she a criminal?
Sehan considered saying so but decided against it. Since money was useless and she didn’t harm anyone, Mina’s actions were inconsequential.
“Hehe, you two really do get along.”
“I want to retort, but I can’t.”
Mina wanted to snark about Changwoo being blind, but she couldn’t bring herself to say it to him.
“At least you have some morals.”
“Of course I do!”
Mina snapped back before abruptly turning her head. She seemed slightly offended.
‘I’ll find a way to appease her later.’
Perhaps by giving her an item of some value. Despite her prickly personality, Mina was actually quite easy to handle.
“Changwoo, do you mind having a talk with me for a moment?”
“Huh?”
“Got something to say, but it’s not something I want to discuss here.”
Changwoo seemed surprised by Sehan’s request, pausing a moment before responding.
“Sure, let’s go over there.”
Sehan walked slowly, making sure Changwoo could follow.
Even though he couldn’t see, Changwoo tracked Sehan straight on.
“Where are we going, Sehan?”
After some walking, they reached a secluded spot near some bushes where no people were in sight. This place used to be inhabited by predators, but none were apparent now.
“This should be good.”
“What did you want to talk about…?”
“Changwoo.”
“Yes.”
Changwoo appeared harmless. Seeing that Sehan had brought him here must have made him nervous.
“Are you by any chance sending information to Cheolwoong?”
But any sign of nerves disappeared in less than a second.
Swoosh!
The sound of a sword slicing through the air was followed by the gleam of a blade stopping inches from Sehan’s face.
Starfish (2)
According to the words I heard this morning, Cheolwoong regularly patrols the amusement park. The main routes are the entrance and exit of the park. Although it’s said to be to check for anyone escaping, it seems more like he’s just wandering around out of boredom. After all, if someone tries to flee through the entrance or exit, other monsters would block them and immediately report to Cheolwoong. Thus, no one can escape while the monsters barricade the way until Cheolwoong arrives.
I had been waiting for him at the place where he was said to appear frequently.
“It feels like it’s been about 30 minutes,” I muttered.
He was supposed to show up around noon, so it should be about time. And as if on cue, after waiting about ten more minutes, I sensed a presence. Not a human, but that of a monster.
“Finally, you’re here.”
A heavy thump resounded in the distance – the footsteps of a massive iron giant. At a glance, he looked like a golem, but unlike the inanimate feeling of golems, the Starfish had a strong sense of being alive. Maybe it’s better to describe him as a monster made entirely of metal. Indeed, dealing with a Starfish proved to be more difficult than handling a golem.
Thud.
Thud.
Thud.
Feeling the heavy vibrations through the ground, I slowly approached him. Cheolwoong, noticing me, turned his heavy head in my direction.
“Hmm?”
He looked at me with a puzzled expression, wondering why I wasn’t running away in terror.
“It’s not fun to kill a madman,” Cheolwoong muttered to himself, looking thoroughly disappointed.
‘They’re all the same around here,’ I thought. He must have wanted to see players running away in fear. I had seen many like him in my previous life. Karas belonged to that category as well, and it was a safe bet that this guy Cheolwoong was no different.
“As a reward for catching my eye for the first time today, I’ll grant you a painless death.”
Cheolwoong, having approached right before me, slowly raised his arm and without any special proclamation, he brought it crashing down towards me.
Boooom!
The concrete ground shattered, sending fragments flying in all directions. Of course, I easily dodged his attack and swung my sword at his arm in response.
Clang!
‘So tough.’
I had wondered if some damage might have been done before he consumed metal, but it was to no avail. If he was already this sturdy, then it was highly likely he had consumed metal to be this mobile.
‘That means he’s quite cautious by nature.’
Even though players couldn’t hurt Cheolwoong without him consuming metal, he still maintained this level of defense at all times. This proved he was extremely diligent. If not, he wouldn’t have been so insistent on getting detailed reports from the likes of Changwoo.
“Ho, you dodged?”
Cheolwoong laughed as if amused by seeing me leap back.
“I didn’t use my full strength, but I didn’t expect there to be a player of this caliber. Well, I guess that’s why you dared to show yourself before me.”
Regardless of what he said, I swung the sword in my hand. It was coated with orichalcum, but it wasn’t enough to penetrate Cheolwoong’s defenses.
“You’re a bore. Wouldn’t it be more fun to have a conversation?”
He grinned at me as if he had found an entertaining toy. His movements were closer to playing than exerting full effort, but that needed to change. I was here today to gauge Cheolwoong’s full capabilities.
“Come at me then. You talk too much.”
“…Insolent fool.”
The smirk vanished from Cheolwoong’s face, replaced with a hardened expression.
“I don’t know who you are, but your insolence knows no bounds!”
Only then did Cheolwoong begin to move with full force.
Good, it seemed my taunts had worked.
‘Now, let’s see what you’ve really got.’
Cheolwoong’s fist grazed past me, creating a fierce tearing sound in the air. When it collided with the ground, it blew apart the concrete as though a bomb had exploded.
Clang! Clang!
I dodged his attacks and struck at every visible spot I could – joints, eyes, open mouths. I tried thrusting my sword in whenever there was an opening, and also swept it towards his throat. But I couldn’t land a significant blow anywhere.
“Tch.”
My orichalcum-coated weapon wasn’t damaged, which meant that the metal Cheolwoong had currently consumed was not less durable than orichalcum. I couldn’t break his body because my own strength was lacking.
‘But, I’m much faster.’
In order to fight Cheolwoong, I had invested my stats to their maximum allowed levels—the point of “counter stop.”
Now my stats were all E (100). Despite having the highest ability scores of any existing player, I still couldn’t make a dent in Cheolwoong.
‘Really pathetic.’
Given the situation, it felt like a cruel joke. To wield an orichalcum weapon and max out my stats and still deal no damage at all!
It was as expected, but this was like being told plainly not to kill him.
‘No wonder players tremble at the mere mention of his name.’
If this was the case, he might be stronger than Karas who had his abilities nerfed.
‘Wait, hold on.’
If the Sentinel Cheolwoong was this strong, then Karas, dominating this area, might have had his abilities rise even further. If so, there might be no answer except for the 1st generation succession package.
‘Just my luck, the quest changed.’
My original plan was to quickly clear the quest after receiving five seals, then kill Karas right away. But with the quest changed, it wouldn’t be so easy.
“Rat! You sure dodge well!”
“You’re just too slow.”
“I will kill you!”
His fist swung sideways, snapping a pole from a Viking ship ride. The massive structure toppled over, threatening to crush both Cheolwoong and me.
Kroooom!
A cloud of dust rose as the broken amusement structure fell, and I quickly got out of the way.
“You vermin! Where are you! Where have you gone!”
Boom! Boom! Boom!
In a fit of rage, Cheolwoong thrashed about, tearing through the wreckage of the Viking, shouting for me. But by then, I had quietly moved away from him.
‘Sorry, but I’m done here.’
With what I had, there was no way to kill Cheolwoong. No skills to penetrate his defense, no weapon that could do the deed. To kill him, I needed a simple attack potent enough to land one powerful blow.
“So it comes down to this…”
I saw Cheolwoong still throwing a fit in the distance, demolishing poor attractions one by one.
“There’s only one way to do this.”
The answer was simple. If I couldn’t kill him now, I just had to make a way to do so. And I knew just the person who could help me make it.
***
“Are Mina and Sehan brother and sister by any chance?”
“Huh?”
Lying in the 4th sector and browsing through a magazine, Mina frowned at Changwoo’s question. What kind of nonsense was that?
“Our last names are different, there’s no way we could be siblings.”
“Ah, right. But you seem to get along so well, I thought you might be siblings.”
“Absurd. If we were siblings, we wouldn’t be on good terms, right?”
Recalling Siwoo, who was probably making weapons now, Mina thought it was weird how well Changwoo and Siwoo got along for brothers.
“Being good siblings is odd. Maybe you two aren’t related?”
“No, we definitely are siblings!” Changwoo exclaimed, jumping up at the assertion.
Annoyed by the sudden outburst, the eyes of other players turned towards Mina and Changwoo. Changwoo, who could not see, coughed to ease the discomfort from the stinging glares.
“So, how did you meet Sehan, then?”
“We met by chance. There was also a scary noona with him at that time.”
“Scary noona?”
“Yeah. She’s someone who looks at everyone besides Sehan like they’re bugs.”
Recalling Jisu, Mina shuddered. Just thinking of that calm gaze was enough to give her the creeps. But eventually, Jisu seemed to recognize her worth and treated her decently well.
‘Maybe she considered me a comrade in the end? Hmm, I’m not sure.’
If they met again, she had to ask. Jisu had gone somewhere alone, but Mina didn’t think anything would happen to her. The other people who encountered Jisu might be in trouble, though.
“I see. Sehan doesn’t seem like an ordinary person. I can’t see, but he must be an amazing player. He’s got four seals and all.”
“I have four seals too.”
“Of course, that’s also impressive. It’s really amazing, considering Siwoo and you are only three years apart.”
“Right, right.”
Mina puffed up with pride. If not for Sehan, she would definitely be considered important. As for the seals… Sehan was responsible for a large part of it, but since he brought her here, he should be held responsible.
“What was that?”
“Aack! You startled me!”
“Why are you so startled?”
Sehan had appeared suddenly, startling Mina.
He was covered in dust as if he’d been through some mess since the morning.
‘He’s been up to something again.’
Mina grumbled inwardly as she watched him.
“Make some noise when you move around!”
“I didn’t hide on purpose.”
That’s a lie.
Mina pouted, annoyed.
Sehan seemed more invisible than most, with some darkness under his eyes and a generally shadowed appearance. That made him easy to miss, even with the remarkable skills he had shown. Despite his capabilities, he tended to fade into the background, partially due to his unassuming presence.
Additionally, he had a habit of moving silently, and dressed in black, he became practically invisible at night.
“We were just talking about you for a moment.”
“About me?”
“It’s nothing. He was just curious about how we met.”
“How we met? You were robbing a bank and got caught by me.”
“Wah! Don’t say it like that! It makes me sound like a criminal!”
If she intended to rob the bank, isn’t she a criminal?
Sehan considered saying so but decided against it. Since money was useless and she didn’t harm anyone, Mina’s actions were inconsequential.
“Hehe, you two really do get along.”
“I want to retort, but I can’t.”
Mina wanted to snark about Changwoo being blind, but she couldn’t bring herself to say it to him.
“At least you have some morals.”
“Of course I do!”
Mina snapped back before abruptly turning her head. She seemed slightly offended.
‘I’ll find a way to appease her later.’
Perhaps by giving her an item of some value. Despite her prickly personality, Mina was actually quite easy to handle.
“Changwoo, do you mind having a talk with me for a moment?”
“Huh?”
“Got something to say, but it’s not something I want to discuss here.”
Changwoo seemed surprised by Sehan’s request, pausing a moment before responding.
“Sure, let’s go over there.”
Sehan walked slowly, making sure Changwoo could follow.
Even though he couldn’t see, Changwoo tracked Sehan straight on.
“Where are we going, Sehan?”
After some walking, they reached a secluded spot near some bushes where no people were in sight. This place used to be inhabited by predators, but none were apparent now.
“This should be good.”
“What did you want to talk about…?”
“Changwoo.”
“Yes.”
Changwoo appeared harmless. Seeing that Sehan had brought him here must have made him nervous.
“Are you by any chance sending information to Cheolwoong?”
But any sign of nerves disappeared in less than a second.
Swoosh!
The sound of a sword slicing through the air was followed by the gleam of a blade stopping inches from Sehan’s face.
