V58C2P3 – Life of a dream
[NOTE ] Thanks to Armada, Jasla & Dumba.s.s for the proofreading!
– The commander of the 1st legion, Weed has left without authorization. From this point on, he is the enemy of the guild.
From that day, a discharge order was placed, but there were plenty of dungeons to which he could go. Lafaye favored him secretly all this time, and Arkhim and the followers of Bard Ray also recognized Weed’s contributions.
Sending out a.s.sa.s.sins to attack Weed could stir up chaos within the guild, so they collectively decided to leave him be.
“Weed. His growth was possible only because of our guild.”
“Are you implying that he is nothing without the Hermes Guild?’
“Of course. Since he left without any regrets, we can split up the members from the 1st legion into the other legions.”
“Still, his presence is concerning if left alone. Anyone who witnessed him in battle would feel the same.”
“All he did was charge in recklessly. That only worked because of us Hermes Guild members, am I wrong?”
“There isn’t much he can do by himself.”
“We must make certain that the strays of the 1st legion do not a.s.semble into an organised force. If a small force breaks away, any legion will be able to exterminate them.”
The resistance formed from guilds like the Roam Guild and the Cloud Guild chased the lone Weed for vengeance.
“Pay the price for your deeds!”
“Come at me if you want a fight.”
Weed was killed several times. Each time the resistance suffered great losses and after a few more encounters, he completely disappeared without a trace and was difficult to track.
Many events took place in Versailles.
An alliance against the Hermes Guild was formed and most players began a.s.saulting, and Varcan Demorph from the Northern Continent invaded with the Immortal Legion.
– I shall lead you all to your eternal rest!
Arc Lich.
Varcan perfectly re-rallied the Immortal Legion and invaded the Central Continent.
The skeletons swarmed endlessly and high level undead formed large groups.
The outskirts of the Northern Continent were overrun by the Immortal Legion and gigantic monsters were turned into the undead.
– Arkhim: The Immortal Legion is unstoppable. They are crossing the barren lands of Deriam and within a week, they will raze the Agolta region.
– Crevolta: They keep on being resurrected… Then wouldn’t divine power purify them?
– Gaushu: They are known to be highly resistant to divine power. If you look in the records, there are stories about how they drove the world almost to its end.
The Hermes Guild had extraordinary resources for intel and possessed a vast range of information about the forces threatening Versailles.
The Immortal Legion was the immediate danger.
They knew about their activities in the Northern Continent but could not send out forces to suppress them in advance.
“We must take out Varcan this instant.”
Lafaye argued at the meeting hosted each week, but no commander wished to take on such a dangerous mission.
“Weed’s 1st legion always stepped up on missions like this.”
“Did we dissolve the 1st legion too preemptively?”
The culture of power that the guild established was dispersing quickly.
No enemy was powerful enough to be a threat to the guild until now. They had always dominated all opposition with the overwhelming force of the first legion.
After the conquest, every one of them was too busy fulfilling their own desires and did not wish to put their feet in any messy situations.
Even Bard Ray, without a compet.i.tor, became sloppy.
Lafaye opened up a map and pointed at the Agolta region that bordered the Northern Continent.
“We must rally all our forces here and confront the Immortal Legion.”
“All forces… Do you know how much that will cost?”
“I am aware. But we must proceed. If the Immortal Legion wins, their forces will be unstoppable.”
Compared to typical monsters, the Immortal Legion did not suffer losses with each battle.
Especially if the Hermes Guild were to fall by their hands, it would lead to a surge in the number of undead.
“That is true.”
“Let us clean them out. Sure, we will suffer a bit, but we need to protect the continent.”
The commanders agreed with Lafaye, but they made a line of excuses to exclude their elite forces from the war.
Ultimately, only half of the guild a.s.sembled at Agolta.
“All soldiers attack!”
Even then, the Hermes Guild was formidable. With the mage unit in the front, they slayed the undead and arrived at an a.s.sured victory.
“I guess that their numbers did not mean power.”
“At this level, the continent is more than safe from destruction.”
“If you don’t fight first hand, any threat no matter how small could feel immense.”
As the commanders exchanged conversations, Arc Lich Varcan Demorph appeared on the field.
– Pitch darkness undefeated by light, reign down and reinforce the servants of death. Death Aura!
The undead began transforming under the Death Aura.
The scrawny skeletons became larger with thickening bones.
Health points, Strength, Defense, Agility; in all aspects they were enhanced and the effects were greater for the high level undead.
The Death Knights’ eyes glimmered with dull light and the Doom Knights mercilessly slaughtered the Hermes Guild members.
– The flow of all mana, I offer the fate of these creatures as sacrifice. Respond to the laws of extinction and change!
It was the absolute defense magic spell.
All magic from the Hermes Guild was prevented by Varcan.
Now, the battle had become little more than a hand to hand brawl between the undead and the warriors.
– This land is ruled by my laws of darkness. Everlasting powers of immortality will dominate this land. Dark Rule!
However, Varcan’s three main spells were all activated.
The players who died in the front lines were all resurrected as undead and large scale magic spells were all sealed.
“No way…”
“This is outrageous. We can’t win.”
The Hermes Guild was crumbling.
If they fought against other boss level monsters, things would not have turned out this way. However, the moment their comrades died, they turned into powerful undeads.
It was the fear of multiplying enemies while allies continued to die.
The Hermes Guild was defeated at Agolta, losing a third of its forces as it retreated.
The Immortal Legion expanded even further and spread to the Central Continent.
Varcan Demorph’s underlings overtook region by region and established colonies for ma.s.s production of undead.
When Versailles fell into despair, Weed came out of the dungeon.
“Could I… fight to my content?”
He had heard from Lafaye and was aware of the situation.
All he had in mind was the existence of the Immortal Legion and that he must exterminate them all. Lafaye convinced the followers of Bard Ray and recovered Weed’s jurisdiction.
– 1st legion a.s.semble.
Weed only expressed his intentions to lead the 1st legion again.
That moment, the 1st legion gathered and reformed like in the past.
His old subordinates returned without a moment’s thought and on top of that the legion had grown substantially, the number of soldiers double what it used to be.
“Take us in as well.”
“I wish to join in the battle against the Immortal Legion.”
The powerhouses from the Hermes Guild who only chased after power chose to follow the 1st legion.
Total forces numbered 50,000.
Weed led them north.
He spoke to the defenders at Castle Giden, the last line of defense.
“As you may already have expected, there will be no reinforcement from the Hermes Guild.”
Gulp.
The players of the 1st legion seemed tense.
They knew all too well what no reinforcement meant.
It was all up to them.
They were to win a war that not even the Hermes Guild could overcome.
“The objective is simple. Varcan. We will penetrate through the lines of the undead and get to Varcan. We have to charge through about 3 km according to my calculations.”
“….”
No one could a.s.sure success. It was no different for Weed. They could not tell until they engaged in battle. It was all about how well he himself and his subordinates could fight.
‘This will be fun.’
Weed laughed. His only wish in battle was to feel the exhilaration of being alive.
‘Live. I must.’
He found his grandmother and younger sister.
He looked into where they resided and was sending funds every month.
‘I will not lose faith in any circ.u.mstance. That could… be all that’s left for me.’
***
Yoo Byung Joon stared at Lee Hyun laid on the table.
“How is the situation?”
– Stable.
“Mental state?”
– No abnormalities detected.
Capsule-like robots were reconstructing his body and genetic enhancement took place simultaneously. Even with the anesthesia, decomposition and recovery was occurring at the same time, a painful procedure for the body.
“Then he will wake up safely.”
– With 95% chance he will awaken.
“Would it have been okay if I didn’t reduce the scale of the superhuman project?’
– He would have awakened with 90% chance. The subject’s mentality is outstanding.
Yoo Byung Joon saw that Lee Hyun was crying.
He cried in the early stage and was now crying again.
“Do you know the details of his dream?”
– That is uncertain. However, several words were conveyed.
“What is…”
Yoo Byung Joon stopped himself from asking.
After observing Lee Hyun’s life for a long time, he knew the answer.
***
Lee Hyun, suffering pain from an unknown cause, often dreamed about getting wounded or being sick. He would fight dreadfully in Royal Road or throw himself in front of a car to save a child.
“I’m sorry. But we barely feed ourselves.”
“…”
He was never compensated, but the little child grabbed his hand.
“Mister, thank you.”
“Yeah.”
Lee Hyun always wanted to survive.
Even in situations where death could serve him better, he wanted to live.
‘I have to survive.’
His parents pa.s.sed away when he was young and he did not see them ever again.
Lee Hyun cried with his younger sister riding on his back.
‘They aren’t coming back no matter how much I cry.’
He had to restrain himself from longing for the warmth of his mother and father’s voices.
All humans will age and die.
Pain, sadness.
Nothing lasts forever in this world.
He learned of death early in his life and wished to live until the last moment.
***
The superhuman project entered the last phase.
It was the most difficult process and the phase that determined the success of the project.
Lee Hyun was strolling on a street.
The buildings and roads shook as if they were dancing.
“Drugs. I need drugs.”
Any pain or hards.h.i.+p was resolved after taking drugs. It may be a temporary remedy; he knew that once the effects of the drug go away, the pain and the emptiness would return. When he got to that point, he just had to take another.
‘What value is there in life? Being a crackhead ain’t so bad.’
His pockets were full of drugs.
Lee Hyun consumed it whenever he was hungry or felt like falling asleep. The more he took, the less pain he felt and the more comfort he felt in his body.
It was the life of a drug addict.
At night he would collapse somewhere and fall asleep.
When he woke up in the morning, he roamed without feeding himself.
His body became skin and bones and his eyes sunk deep. Still, his mind was full of delight.
‘I’m out of drugs.’
Lee Hyun visited a station to buy more.
“Give me 100,000 won. I’m making it a special deal for you.”
“100,000?”
“Don’t you have enough?”
After hearing the dealer’s words, for some reason his wallet was thick with cash and cheques. He had been carrying around a ton of money.
Lee Hyun’s body was beginning to feel extreme pain as the effects of the drugs disappeared.
“50,000. No. Can’t you sell for 10,000?”
“I mean there is the market price so I can’t dip that low. You sure you ain’t buying?”
“I do have the money… But I’m not buying above 10,000.”
Lee Hyun spoke boldly and the dealer nodded.
“Alright. I will sell for 10,000.”
“Now that I think about it, 10,000 is too much.”
“What?”
“I’m just going to quit. Sir, please start a job that’s more constructive, not selling pills.”
He did not make the purchase. Lee Hyun managed to endure the intense fatigue and pain, pain that made him feel as though a knife was being twisted inside of him.
He did feel like letting go, but he had to keep living. He had a family to take care of and beyond them, at the corner of his mind, he thought of someone’s face. The one by his side, the most beautiful person in the world. Her smile carried him through the pain.
(To be continued…)