One Man Army

Chapter 92 [Episode 48] The not bad feeling 1

@ The not bad feeling.

At least up to here, everything went smoothly.

Getting the unexpected titles and items, then the Reinforcement that also awesomely succeed.

The start was so good that it seemed to be easier to make progress in the second round.

The difficulty of Dark Moon Temple was not that different from Spirit Forest, so it seemed that the drops and title could be cleared in a flash at the moment, with at least two items upgraded.

However…

To do that, there was a big mountain that need to be crossed.

“Damn it… Even if she is a legendary NPC, will she be able to do it? I only trust Ilya, though… ”

Ilya, the person Sang Hyuk believed, exposed the limitations of NPCs for the first time.

Actually, Dark Moon Temple is a dungeon that is impossible to solo clear.

Solo Play was not just difficult but basically impossible. Because of that, Dark Moon Temple progress method was very unique.

Dark Moon Temple has a forked road… The path to the Dark Moon Square is the main path to the actual boss and at the other side, the secret passage to the hidden Dark Moon control room required someone that has the role of helping to pave the way for the main boss raid force and helping in the hunting.

The important point was that he could not clear both of these roads by himself because everything had to be done at the same time. So, Solo Play was impossible.

Sang Hyuk thought that Ilya, a legendary NPC, could help him manipulate the control devices that existed in the secret passage.

But, unlike Sang Hyuk’s prediction, Ilya was blocked from the beginning. After seeing the situation of Sang Hyuk hunting in the main path through the Dark Moon, she had to manipulate the machinery to pave the way through the main path… but Ilya could not do that.

He did not know if it was the differences in the control room mechanism or the limit of the artificial intelligence, but anyway, Ilya was not able to take natural actions such as lowering the lever or pressing the switch by seeing Sang Hyuk’s situation.

Even if Sang Hyuk tells her how to behave according to the circumstances, she could only memorize it and couldn’t adapt it. If she didn’t adapt it, because there were so many different patterns in each situation, in fact she couldn’t manipulate the machinery.

Eventually, Sang Hyuk gave up without even passing the first gate. The attempt to clear using Ilya was a big failure.

“So, NPC doesn’t work… Should I get a user to help?”

When he thought that he needed a user to help him, the first two that came to his mind was Kim Jung Woo and Kim Jung Soo.

These twins were the ones who helped Sang Hyuk the most in his previous life.

“But now these guys are slowly working to be on the top.. Should I ask Ilya to try it for one more time?”

Jung Woo and Jung Soo were reliable guys. But finding these guys and gaining their trust were two totally different things.

Let’s say he returned and approach them then said that they were close in the previous life, it doesn’t make sense.

“Nope, if I don’t get to naturally meet them and become friendly, this can backfire. Jung Woo and Jung Soo are that kind of people who keep their loyalty to the end when they gave their trust, but before they trusted you, they were very cold, so the relationship might be completely different from the previous life.”

Honestly, Sang Hyuk wanted to naturally meet Jung Woo and Jung Soo.

“Then what should I do? …. Hmmm, are mercenaries the best answer in the end?”

If he hired mercenaries, they would be able to handle the work neatly in the contract relationship. Of course, hiring a user as a mercenary was not the tactic that Sang Hyuk gladly used.

If he hired a mercenary, the mercenary would not be able to see the list of the One Guild’s members, but at least the mercenary would know that he became a mercenary for the One Guild.

This could cause a strange rumor uselessly.

“Mercenaries…..  If I look for a mercenary anyway, even with Ilya supporting, I would need at least 2 mercenaries. Saying that I’m hiring active mercenary users in Community Bulletin Board also a bit…. Argh, it’s hard and awkward.”

Because it was unexpectedly a much more important issue, Sang Hyuk thought about it more carefully and decided to make a decision at least after lunch.

* * * *

“Dark Knight and Gye Baek. No matter how I think, they are the best.”

Sang Hyuk, who took and ate his lunch, clean up while muttered a little.

The result was the same no matter how many times he thought.

To clear the Dark Moon Temple, mercenaries was needed, and the best suitable as the mercenaries were Dark Knight and Gye Baek.

Of course, this result was thanks to the fact that Sang Hyuk is an antisocial person. Since there were not many people he knows in the first place, there were not many choices.

In fact, this abnormal personality of Sang Hyuk needed to be improved.

He felt disgusted when he become acquainted with someone because of the tremendous betrayal he had suffered in his past life after his return. Originally he was a person who could not be easily close to other people, moreover when it’s joined with the bad memories of his previous life, he became a really antisocial person.

Sang Hyuk himself recognized it recently that he had a problem with himself. And he was willing to fix this problem.

“It was rather good. You cannot solve all the problems at once, but at least it can be the first step to solve it, right?”

He had no intention to change his personality. But in order to escape the level of distrust he felt for other human beings, at least he was going to make some people who could be called ‘friend’ or ‘colleagues’.

“First… let’s try to contact the Dark Knight.”

Because Sang Hyuk was a fast-paced character when he had a decision, he immediately logged into the game and opened up his friend list.

Only one person listed.

[Aspice – Connecting (Heroic Lands)]

Aspice is the Dark Knight.

Sang Hyuk immediately whispered to Aspice.

(Whisper) – Aspice, maybe you don’t remember but I sold you a secret dungeon long ago. I have something to talk to you about, can I talk to you?

Sang Hyuk had no intention of prevaricating or deceiving the other person with lies. The straightforward fastball that tells everything as it is was Sang Hyuk’s style.

Was the whisper was so out of the blue? It took a long time before the answer came.

Approximately 20 minutes later, the answer that he waited for came.

(Whisper) – I remember. I was a bit flustered because of the unexpected whisper, so the reply was late. But how can I help you?

A reply that seems to be careful. But the obvious thing was that Aspice, no, Dark Knight, definitely remembered Sang Hyuk.

In fact, it was natural for Dark Knight to remember Sang Hyuk. Not as bad as Sang Hyuk’s, but his friend list was also quite empty. So, he remembered who he registered as friends very accurately.

(Whisper) – Because it might be a long story, if it is okay, can we meet and talk for a minute? I will go to where Aspice is.

If a person who never contacted you in almost a year, suddenly looking for you out of the blue, then it was natural to feel reluctance. However, fortunately, this was not a reality but a game, so there was less reluctance.

Especially, Dark Knight remembered the user named ‘Immortal’ with deep impression. Is that so? He pondered for a moment and told Sang Hyuk where he was.

[The things you’ve told me…. is it true?]

Dark Knight was still conversing through type-talking as usual. However, the fact that he was very surprised can be felt even in his texts.

“Yes it’s true. Even if you just filled out the contract, why would I continue to lie if I have let the cat out of the bag?”

[So, it means you really the Guild Master of the One Guild that I know?]

“Yes, I am.”

Dark Knight, of course, knew exactly what kind of guild was One Guild. In fact, there were almost no users who play EL who did not know of the One Guild.

[Actually, I really get flustered.]

Sometimes when Dark Knight checked his friend’s list, he thought that the Immortal he saw everytime was an unusual person. But he did not expect him to be the guild master of the One Guild.

“You do not have to be flustered. I told you without any burden that I don’t belong to any special group. Just simply think about what Aspice can get through this contract.”

[But, is that really what I can do?]

“I also did not contact you without thinking. I have already researched Aspice. I knew that Aspice is known as ‘Dark Knight’ among the users and is recognized as a very talented ‘tanker’. I also knew that you were able to get to the Heroic Lands relatively quickly even though you did not belong to a guild, I know that when I passed the Path to Death, you were hired as a special mercenary in the union of the top-level guilds. At least I don’t have any problems with your skills. Oh, I’m sorry if you didn’t like that I checked your background.”

[No, it is okay.]

Sang Hyuk used the Shadowline to investigate the Dark Knight, and the result, he was able to confirm that Dark Knight was a much greater user than he had expected.

He did not know why, but Dark Knight seemed to be living a bit different life than Sang Hyuk’s previous life.

“It’s not a guild membership, it is a mercenary contract. There is no such thing as a penalty, only a clear bonus exists. There will be no mercenary contracts better than this.”

The mercenary contract suggested by Sang Hyuk, in Dark Knight’s eyes was also a very good contract. But the reason why he can not answer was because Dark Knight was an antisocial person like Sang Hyuk in human relationships.

There have been a lot of people who have ever tried to recruit the Dark Knight into a guild. However, not a single guild was successful.

There were many reasons, but ultimately the Dark Knight did not want to belong to a guild.

“If it is a mercenary….”

If Sang Hyuk’s proposal was joining the guild, he would have refused no matter how great the One Guild is. But the mercenary contract was different.

[Alright. Although it’s too sudden to make me feel real, but if it is a mercenary contract, I’ll do it.]

Right after Dark Knight nodded and answered, Sang Hyuk pulled out the scroll of oath that he had prepared as if he had been waiting.

“Well, read it thoroughly. It’s easy to understand, so there’s no complications.”

Dark Knight read the ‘Mercenary Contract’ on the scroll of oath, and as Sang Hyuk said the content was so simple that he was able to confirm it immediately.

When the Dark Knight’s seal was stamped into the scroll of oath, the agreement between Sang Hyuk and Dark Knight was completed.

“I told you everything you need to prepare. As soon as the contract with the other mercenaries done, I will gather all of us and explain the attack plan at once.”

[Alright.]

Dark Knight nodded silently to Sang Hyuk’s words.

Sang Hyuk, who finished the mercenary contract with Dark Knight more easily than he thought, immediately changed to Lone King to talk to Gye Baek, which is the next contract target, and applied for battle to ‘Way of Proof’.

“Call.” (Korean slang for ‘ok’ or ‘agree’)*

If Dark Knight’s mercenary contract was easier than expected, the mercenary contract with Gye Baek was so fast that Sang Hyuk, who presented the contract, did not know what to say.

Lone King who met Gye Baek in Way of Proof introduced ‘Immortal’ which is the guild master, and everything went smoothly until Immortal and Gye Baek registered and met separately.

However, Gye Baek, who met Immortal and briefly listened to the explanation, just directly said ‘call’ as soon as the mercenary contract was mentioned even before he listened to all of the explanation.

“Don’t you have to listen more?”

“What else do I need to hear? Honestly, Lone King is also working with the guild master of the One guild… so this is what I want to do even if I need to pay for it.”

“It’s not easy.”

“It’s my specialty to challenge things that were not easy.”

Even Sang Hyuk couldn’t be as patient as Gye Baek.

Gye Baek stamped his seal on to the scroll of oath handed by Sang Hyuk without any doubt.

Unexpectedly, the mercenary contract with Dark Knight and Gye Baek was ended easily. Because of it, Sang Hyuk was able to work it faster.

Chapter 92 [Episode 48] The not bad feeling 1 – End

*Editor’s Notes: “Call” can be likened to “En” for mandarin. (for all you Wuxia lovers out there.)