Chapter 143: Into the Storm
"Kroooh."
Magician Crow crawled on the ground like a zombie, his teammates busy collecting coins and items, while people watched from afar.
Jin-ryong and Seo-woon stopped what they were doing and approached the two people who had entered the hall, where the heat of the fierce battle that had taken place an hour earlier hadn't yet subsided.
"Master!"
"Master!"
Jang Docheon and the martial arts master frowned as they saw Crow crawling on the ground in pain.
"Isn't this a bit much?" Seo-woon nodded at Jang Do-cheon's question.
"Not long ago, two castles were destroyed without a trace, and countless people died. Do you know anything about it?"
The two nodded solemnly at Seo-woon's question. It was impossible not to know. He was the martial arts leader who had used the public anger generated by this incident as fuel to seal the Sword Gate.
"That was his doing. He was the only one among the surviving magicians who could cast the Meteor spell."
Even though he used a stone of the highest magical power, not many magicians could cast the Meteor spell.
According to Juriel, he was already infamous throughout the empire for his evil deeds, so they didn't hesitate to confirm his identity.
"He's already famous in his own world. He's kidnapped countless children for some kind of magical life experiment."
At Seo-woon's words, Jang Do-cheon's long-frozen hands began to generate a blue aura.
"You can't kill him."
"Please kill me! Uuuaah!"
Jin-ryong grabbed the ankle of the man who was about to reach the stationmaster and threw him behind him with an indifferent expression. Seeing the man fall hard in the middle of the station, Seo-woon continued.
"We haven't finished packing yet. The moment he dies, we'll have to leave this world."
Jang Do-cheon withdrew his energy, but killing intent still flashed in his eyes.
"How about we stop him from going to his own world?"
Seo-woon nodded again at Jang Do-cheon's words.
"I don't know if we can keep him like this for a little over 400 days, but he'll eventually return to his normal state. That's the rule. And we can't wait that long."
Jang Do-cheon shook his head at those words.
"Letting a guy like that run around... This doesn't seem like a good place to live. Damn, damn."
Hearing his words, Juriell and Dump, who had gathered around him, frowned. They didn't know much about Jang Do-cheon yet, only that he was Jin-ryung's master and had some connection to Seo-woon.
"I understand that many warriors also participated in this massacre. Old man, there are always trash people in this world."
Dump spoke politely, but his words were sharp, and when the martial arts leader frowned in annoyance, Jang Do-cheon shook his head.
"I seem to have offended you. I heard you were Ryung's colleague. I'm sorry. Whether it's your world or this world, it's all hell on earth."
The martial arts master, who was looking at Seo-woon's team members standing like sacks of rice behind Jang Do-cheon, fixed his gaze on Nam Sa-gwang, who was still busy opening the box behind him.
The martial arts master tore his gaze from the exchange of words between Jang Do-cheon and the players and focused on Nam Sa-gwang. Feeling his gaze, Nam Sa-gwang opened his mouth without looking at Myeongju.
"Is that how they teach you in Moo Cheon Moon? Who taught you to look at people like that?"
Myeongju looked back at Nam Sa-gwang's words, and his face turned bright red. He had never imagined that a young boy would dare speak so disrespectfully to himself, a martial arts leader over 80 years old, so he instinctively looked back to see if anyone else was there.
Just as the leader was about to lose his temper, Jang Do-cheon quickly interjected, "It's good to see you again. I can't see, but you must be opening the box, right?"
The leader looked at Nam Sanggwang because he was curious about the knight constantly picking up items from the ground for no reason.
"You know the answer, so why are you asking? Anyway, I heard a rumor that the leader was descended from Moo Cheon Moon, and that he was said to have a talent that could surpass Nam Geom Se Ga by ten years. As expected, rumors in the martial arts world are unreliable. Moo Cheon Moon must be getting nervous."
Nam Sa-gwang's words, insulting his sect without hesitation, caused the leader to clench his fists. If it weren't for Jang Do-cheon's respectful attitude, he might have already attacked.
Seeing how Jang Do-cheon was treating him, he had already guessed that his opponent was no ordinary person. But no matter what, speaking disrespectfully about another's sect was an unforgivable offense in the martial arts world.
"Oh, my back."
Finally standing up and leaning back, Nam Sa-gwang finally turned his gaze to the clan chief.
"No need to get so excited. The sect owes me a lot. I was close friends with Buk-geol. Even though I've never met him, he feels like a brother to me."
When the word "Buk-geol" came out of Nam Sagwang's mouth, the clan chief's face paled. Moo Cheon-mun's Buk-tae-ryong's name was still well-known in the martial arts world, but on the other hand, very few people knew the name Buk-geol. This was because the nickname Buk-geol was only used by a few of Buk-tae-ryong's close friends.
"No way..." Seeing Myeong-joo stutter, Jang Do-cheon smiled awkwardly and opened his mouth.
"Hello. This is Nam Sa-gwang."
"My friend!"
The leader was so surprised that he shouted without realizing it, his mouth hanging open. As the head of Moo Cheon-mun, Buk Tae-ryong's sect, it was impossible for him not to know Nam Sa-gwang. The current leader, as one of Buk Tae-ryong's close associates, the man who had brought the sect its greatest glory and ushered in Moo Cheon-mun's golden age, he was well aware of Nam Sa-gwang's presence.
"How..."
"Are you still alive?" Nam Sa-gwang finished the leader's sentence and frowned.
"I misspoke."
"It doesn't matter. Anyway, if the packing is finished, we should pack up and go back."
Feeling uncomfortable under Myeongju's gaze, Nam Sa-gwang looked at Seo-woon and said. Seo-woon wanted to talk a little more with Jang Do-cheon, but he was worried about the situation on Earth and couldn't.
"Master. Considering the situation, we don't have time for casual conversation. I'll greet you again the next time we meet."
Noticing Seo-woon's concern, Jang Do-cheon nodded. Just as Namsa-gwang was about to kill Crow, who was still crawling on the ground, tears welling up in his gouged eyes, Seo-woon stopped him.
"Wait. We have to use all the blue coins."
The moment he stopped Nam-sa-gwang, a group of people burst into the hall.
"Grandfather!"
"Wei! You're safe."
Jin-dok-gok ran up, hugged Li-ling-wei, and patted her on the back. Behind him, Saryeon-ju awkwardly nodded to the leader. The leader returned the greeting in kind, and the two didn't even glance at each other. Between the two men, who glared at each other like roosters, Li Lingwei and her grandfather exchanged a somber farewell.
"...So you should go back quickly."
"It's a shame, but there's nothing we can do..."
Finishing his words, the master looked at Seo-woon, who was standing awkwardly behind him.
"You must be his friend, Jin Ga."
"Yes? Ah, yes."
After staring at him nervously for a moment, the master approached and took Seo-woon's hand.
"Please take good care of her. She's the daughter of a noble family, but we raised her like gold and jade. She may have many flaws, but please take good care of her... If there comes a day when tears flow from her eyes, I'll even hunt you down across the dimensions and make you shed tears of blood."
Gukju whispered his final words so only he could hear, wrapping his arms around Seo-un. Seeing this, Seo-woon maintained a strange smile and nodded.
These weren't empty words, but genuine emotion that shook his shoulders. However, beneath those words lay his love for Li Ling-wei, and he could sense the grandfather's concern for his granddaughter.
After finishing his hasty and disappointing farewell, he summoned the vending machine and used all the coins he'd collected, and Nam Sa-gwang's powerful energy finally struck Crow's neck. At the same time, those left behind couldn't hide their astonishment as they watched their friend disappear.
[Clink, clink, clink! Cloyd Survival has ended.]
[Pararam! Congratulations on being the last team standing! You've earned the right to participate in the next game. You'll receive the biggest prize in this game.]
"Let's hurry up and get going."
Everyone nodded in agreement at Seo-woon's words, and the next stage began.
-Ding! Before the awards, we will start the player voting. Please choose the best player on your team.
-Bang!
Jin Seo-woon was unanimously selected as an honorable player except for yourself!
As expected, the result was predictable. Since he determined the overall strategy and pushed for the results, there was no one else to vote for.
-Next, please choose the worst player.
-Ding! Please vote carefully. If you receive a unanimous vote, you will no longer be able to participate in Cloyd Survival. Penalties will be applied to the number of tokens that will be rewarded to those who receive the most votes.
-Ding! Voted unanimously to abstain. Hats off to Team Jin Seo-woon's teamwork!
[Ding! You have obtained 240 reward tokens. Kill bonus points! An additional 150 tokens will be awarded. You have made it to the final five seven times in a row. An additional 960 tokens will be awarded. You have been selected as an honorable player, and [You will receive an additional 50 tokens.]
While the entire team remained silent, the lottery announcement began.
[Clang! The last 5 teams will receive a lottery ticket.]
[You can spin three times.]
Everyone quickly started spinning the wheel.
[Thumbs up!]
[Spin! You have obtained a Spear infused with Brain Lightning. Congratulations!]
"This is a 90-piece item."
[Spin! You have obtained a Rooster Silk Gallstone. Congratulations!]
"As expected, it's a one-piece item. I was wondering why it wasn't appearing."
Scanning the list of summoned items, I was hoping for something else, but as expected, this was also only a one-token item. After finishing the draw, Seowoon quickly scanned the list and started selecting items. He had accumulated 1,274 tokens so far, and today's prize was 1,400 tokens.
"That's 2,674 tokens. This is incredible."
When he saw the tokens he'd collected, he couldn't think otherwise. The deciding factor that allowed him to earn over a thousand tokens in a single game was, as expected, the consecutive wins. For a brief moment, he thought he could have gotten over 2,000 tokens from this single game if his consecutive first-place streak hadn't been broken.
"You don't have any of the vending machine items on the list either."
Everyone had used their remaining blue tokens to choose an item they thought they needed. Ki-chan spoke up, hoping the item might be listed, but Seo-woon smiled wryly and said, "Do you think duplicating items is that easy?"
"I thought power-up stones would pass the skip rule."
"That was a consumable item. That's not the one you chose."
"What about the summon ticket or station tuning ticket you chose?"
Seo-woon nodded at Ki-chan's question. Seo-woon had high hopes too, but even the vending machine's consumable items weren't on the list.
"Too bad."
"The station adjustment ticket could really come in handy."
Seo-woon shook his head in disappointment and started selecting items. He was examining the item list more carefully than usual.
[Jeoncheon Daeseong's Soul Stone (400 coins)... Jeoncheon Daeseong's Stolen Hellfire (800 coins)... Full Body Blessing Necklace (500 coins)...]
Three items caught Seo-woon's attention. There were many other items, but none caught Seowoon's eye at the moment. There were items requiring three-digit coins, but none caught his attention.
"I want to leave at least a thousand coins."
As always, he couldn't afford to spend all his coins because he wasn't sure which items would appear next or how well they would perform in the game.
[You selected Jecheon Daeseong's Soul Stone, the Hellfire stolen by Jecheon Daeseong. The remaining 1,474 coins will accumulate. Are you sure you want to finish selecting the item?]
Before pressing the O button, Seo-woon looked at his teammates and opened his mouth.
"Everyone, thank you for your effort. The situation is urgent, let's discuss the rest through the quadrilateral window."
At his words, everyone nodded and exchanged short greetings. Then, when Seo-woon pressed the O button, his field of vision shifted and a familiar feeling washed over him.
***
Back in the Wonju Mountains, Seo-woon was the first to pull out his phone.
"Juriell, try contacting Karina."
She nodded and pulled out her phone, while Seo-woon called his parents.
-Zirrr... Zirrr...
The single ringing sound seemed like a lifetime. Ki-chan also pulled out his phone and hurriedly called his sister. The three of them stood slightly apart, holding their phones in silence. Only Li-ling-wi could do nothing but stare at the three of them, hoping nothing would happen.
Karina answered the phone first.
"Juriell! Where have you been all this time? Don't..."
Juriell began to feel uncomfortable at the drawn-out tone at the end of her voice.
"I just finished the game and came back. Did something happen on Earth?"
Karina answered as if she'd been expecting that question.
"There's chaos in the United States. A real-time Cloyd game is being played in Los Angeles right now. Did you play the same game?"
Juriell, hearing that it wasn't Korea but another country, subconsciously breathed a sigh of relief and replied.
"Yes. I just finished a game with the same rules in the warrior world. How long has the game been going on?"
- Exactly 39 days as of today.
His expression suddenly dropped upon hearing that it was the same time period they were in. Still unsure of the situation, Seo-woon was relieved to hear his mother's voice on the phone.
- Seo-woon!
His mother's single words contained all the worry and anxiety he felt.
"Yes, it's me. I'm sorry I disappeared so suddenly."
"Ha... It's okay. It's okay. As long as you're alive. Thank God, thank Buddha..."
His mother's voice trembled as he expressed gratitude even for things he didn't normally believe in, and finally she began to sob.
"I'm sorry..." was all Seo-woon could say as he listened to his mother cry.
After sobbing for a while, his mother seemed to calm down a little and cleared her throat.
"...Where are you? Can you come now? Your father is very worried and stays at the Swedish embassy every day."
"I'm coming right away. Please call my father."
Ki-chan was still calling his sister, who wasn't answering her phone, for the fifth time. He was unaware of the situation, worried and curious.
-Brother!
"What's going on! Why didn't you answer your phone!"
His worry turned to anger the moment he heard his sister's normal voice.
Who's yelling at whom! You idiot! Do you know how worried I was?!
When Ki-chan heard his sister's voice, even louder than before, he finally realized that real time had passed. He was so used to real time stopping that he forgot about that fact for a moment.
"I'm sorry. I was worried something happened to you."
-You're an idiot! I thought something terrible had happened to you! You disappeared without a word, and I couldn't reach you. There was a big event in the USA, the news and the newspapers were all about it. Ugh. You're really making me old, brother.
"I'll explain when I get there. Where are you?"
-Where will it be? At school! I have class and had to go out to answer the phone.
"Ah! Right. I understand. I'm going to school right away."
Just as he was about to hang up, the call was abruptly ended by his sister's shaky voice.
-Come quick.
Before the phone hung up, he instinctively sensed his sister trying to hold back her tears.
Everyone hung up, broke the silence, and sighed.
"Like it's not a big deal."
"Right. Anyway... Let's go up."
Seo-woon, Juriell, and Liling got into the Bentley and headed towards Incheon, while Ki-chan got into the Haabusa he'd come in and drove off towards his sister's school.