Returning to the World without Falling Apart -50-
050.
“They’re the enemies.”
Scores of people visible in the distance.
They are all riding horses and chasing him.
The pursuers chasing him now are knights and soldiers of Wesix.
“I never thought the assassination would fail…”
Ido-hyuk said with a gloomy face.
Just a few hours ago, after killing Viscount Laphric and declaring the assassination completed, Ido-hyuk found himself being chased under the pretext of killing nobles of the Wesix Kingdom.
“I never knew the game would be this realistic.”
The reason being that Ido-hyuk spared all the NPCs except the viscount, knights, and soldiers.
According to the updated quest log, the residents of the castle, including the maids and servants, who had witnessed Ido-hyuk infiltrating the castle, killing all the obstacles, entering the door, and killing the viscount, reported a series of assassination acts.
-We didn’t know either hahahaha
-Yeah, you’d only know if there was a player like that
-They really made the game messed up hahahaha
-One mess after another
But fortunately, there was a way to fend off the pursuing group chasing him now.
It was to take Aeselred and go to the capital of Musia, completing the quest “Rightful Heir of the Kingdom.”
Also explained in the quest log.
Swish-
Of course, Ido-hyuk had no intention of following that method straightforwardly.
Thud-
Ido-hyuk tossed two axes up in the air and caught them skillfully with both hands.
His actions resembled the character of another Ultimate Fighter.
“…I smell gunpowder.”
Ido-hyuk muttered.
-Huh?
-Gunpowder in the 8th century?
What he was playing now was Rise of Valkyria.
The game was set in the late 8th century, a time when gunpowder had not yet been conceived even in China, known for its development.
In other words, Ido-hyuk didn’t really smell gunpowder and say that.
“The battlefield is calling me.”
It was just him muttering a few lines he had memorized before starting today’s broadcast.
Specifically, lines of Wolfgang.
-hahahahaha
-hahahaha, are you in Wolfgang mode again?
-What’s with Wolfgang, you nerds?
-hahahaha, Ido-hyuk-senpai is getting more clownish, it’s hilarious.
If his former comrades were to see him like this now, what would they say?
Ido-hyuk suddenly thought of that.
‘Probably…’
They wouldn’t think much.
In fact, by the standards of those who had lived in a world on the brink of destruction, he couldn’t even fit into the category of being clownish at this level.
Rather, by now, Ido-hyuk’s current state could be considered quite good.
It wasn’t an exaggeration; it was the reality.
Fighting against extraterrestrial beings with no end in sight, in a world devoid of hope, a body pushed to its limits every moment, slowly… but undeniably, the mind wearing away.
It’s an environment perfect for going crazy.
If there were ten hunters, two of them would be insane, and the other eight would be lunatics, the saying wasn’t groundless.
Unbeknownst to many, to survive in a world on the brink of destruction, one must make madness their ally.
Anyway.
-So, are the axes you’re holding guns now?
-OMG hahahahaha
-If axes are guns, how on earth do you shoot?
-Can’t do rapid fire, can you?
It’s that guy-!
Get him!
As the pursuit team chasing after him got closer.
Whoosh! Whoosh!
Ido-hyuk swiftly threw the axes.
Two small throwing axes.
Clang!
“Shh, shhaaa!”
And then, following that, screams were heard.
The knight at the front swung his spear, deflecting one but failing to do so with the other.
– Wow, he’s hitting everything.
– It wasn’t like that when I did it.
A fascinating mockery through witty banter.
Swish! Swish!
At that moment,
Two axes flew out additionally.
“Argh!”
This time, one axe landed right next to the first knight, on the soldier’s shoulder.
The other axe pierced the forehead of the horse the knight was riding.
heheheh!
The horse began to prance wildly.
Without hesitation, Ido-hyuk took out two more throwing axes from his waist and nonchalantly said,
“Ready to surrender? It’s possible, right?”
– Ah
– hahahahaha
– ;;;;;;
– Oh, yes
**
Thud thud thud-thud-thud, thud-thud-thud-
A retro-feel background music filled the air.
– Oh
– Paradise
– Para-
– Dise
– Para-
– Para
– Wow, this one!
The chat window popped up rapidly.
Although the chat had been lively until now, once Ultimate Fighter was turned on, the speed increased exponentially.
‘Certainly···’
Valhalla and Alpha.
Currently, it was clear that Alpha was more satisfying for viewers than Valhalla, even though the latter had many realistic elements. Perhaps it was because the thrill of competing with other users in Ultimate Fighter was greater than facing AI-based NPCs in Valhalla.
Moreover, the spectacular effects that pleased viewers, fitting the character of Alpha who wielded superhuman power, were an added bonus.
‘Well, I kept playing it for hours bashing it, too.’
Ido-hyuk thought the same.
He felt a greater joy in competing with other users in Ultimate Fighter, breaking them down.
Especially the battles with the top gamers who had shaken their existing fame felt like the days of climbing ranks and rankings during their hunter era.
A kind of competitive spirit.
-LOL!
-Sigh!
-I’ll hold my breath until you turn the queue.
-LOL, is that your idea of holding your breath?
Moreover…
RanK #5
[Hmm, is it really?]
.
.
RanK #2
[Beyond]
RanK #1
The Ultimate
[Anatol]
The title attached at the top of the rankings, The Ultimate.
“I can’t stand that.”
For some reason, it was really getting to his chuunibyou sensibilities.
Actually, wasn’t it quite common for hunters to be given such names?
There were countless names attributed to him by others.
Starting from fanatic, mad dog, ghost whisperer, copy ninja X-kashi, genius, the first dominator slayer, zealot, 9 heroes… and finally, the savior.
But among them, what he liked the most was the title of the strongest in humanity that he had brought from Marcus.
Even though he had heard such things on a global scale, shouldn’t he hear it in this Ultimate Fighter as well?
“Well, let’s start by turning the queue.”
Click-
[Rank Game]
[Find Match]
-Is the big one coming soon?
-Nah, not yet.
-When is Anatol starting the broadcast?
“Oh, you haven’t turned it on yet?”
-Yeah.
-It’s not 8 o’clock yet, hehehe.
In reality, I was asking knowingly.
The current time was 7 p.m.
I had turned on the stream a little earlier than the scheduled time.
Partly because it was a good time to pause the progress in Valhalla that I was playing until a moment ago, and partly because of Anatol’s announcement due to the continuous clamor of viewers earlier.
‘Golden Road… I will stop it… was it?’
If Anatol was preparing something like that.
It’s all about adapting to the situation.
Currently, Lee Do-hyuk’s ranking is 5th.
At this level of ranking, if the timing is right, he might soon face Anatol, who holds the 1st place.
However, rather than climbing from 5th to 1st and eventually achieving the top spot by defeating Anatol, wouldn’t it be better if a ranker just below snatched the 1st place and succeeded to the throne?
[MATCH!]
In other words, Lee Do-hyuk plans to raise his ranking before Anatol starts the broadcast.
And the opponent matched accordingly.
“···Oh. Nice to see you again?”
Do-hyuk greeted the opponent warmly, although the warmth wasn’t reciprocated.
-hahahahaㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋ
-hahahahaha, funny funnyㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋ
-Oh, when did that one hit 4th place?ㅋㅋㅋㅋ
-Isn’t Do-hyuk the target for a sniper, turning around and shooting to death?
As the opponent was revealed, the chat box was flooded with ‘ㅋㅋㅋ.’
In fact, in Lee Do-hyuk’s broadcast, thanks to a partner as valuable as Anatol, if not even more, being caught.
Rank #4
[Dark Maiden]
For viewers who have been watching Lee Do-hyuk’s broadcast, Dark Maiden is just like the ‘Laughter Bell.’
She was Do-hyuk’s first opponent.
Tick-
[Preparation Complete]
Naturally, Dark Maiden picks Harang.
Whether she is extremely focused or for some other reason, she doesn’t say any greetings.
She takes a deep breath, her gaze slightly trembling.
Grin.
What could she be thinking as she watches this?
“Oh, did I mention that before?”
Do-hyuk flips through the character selection screen with a smile.
Unlike their first meeting, this time, in response to Do-hyuk’s clearly audible words, Dark Maiden flinches for a moment.
Her lips part.
“Oh, another skin came out of the attendance box yesterday?”
With those words,
Tick-
[Preparation Complete]
Do-hyuk picks a character and gets ready.
-hahahahaㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋ
-hahahahaㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋ
-Hey, thisㅋㅋㅋ
– Wow, you were really bad, lolololol
As he expected, the chat window went crazy.
Of course, that wasn’t the end of it.
“Ugh… Ugh!”
A dark girl spat out incomprehensible sounds as if chewing them.
Whoosh-
At that moment, a gust of wind swept across the entire map as the sword hilt of the dark girl’s sword swayed in the wind.
Whoosh-
Eido-hyeok’s sword hilt also swayed along with the wind.
The character Eido-hyeok picked for pulling off a skin.
Sword Dancer, Chesa-re.
– ‘Release’ ON
– Only 10 seconds left until the dark girl wails, lolololol
– Your main character? Ah, is it ‘this’?
– KISAMA!!!!!
As the name suggests, it was the male version of Harang’s character.
**
Phew-
With a long exhale, Anatol nodded his head.
Preparations were perfect.
Today was what they called Anatol’s ‘itching day.’
Truly in his best condition.
Swish!
A spear exuding a crimson aura dances in the air.
The spear blade aiming for the opponent’s weak points with minimal movements.
The sensation felt through the hand gripping the spear shaft was undeniably satisfying.
In such situations, what he could trust in was this.
Lancer, Ermetho.
Among the various characters symbolizing Anatol, Lancer was undoubtedly the first to come to mind.
As a character of the Ultimate Fighter, he boasted the longest range among those who wielded polearms.
There were several reasons why he chose Lancer today.
Firstly, his proficiency with Lancer was the highest.
Secondly, in the 5 consecutive battles with Eido-hyeok, Lancer was the character that gave him the most trouble.
It was all due to Lancer’s long reach.
The characters Eido-hyeok had used so far specialized in close combat like Hoken and long-range like Wolfgang.
Both required him to take the initiative in the fight.
On the other hand, Lancer, with his unique counter techniques and reach, had a clear advantage over those types of characters.
‘Given today’s condition, and if this is the one that Eido-hyeok struggled with the most last time…’
Beyond just not losing disgracefully, perhaps he could even win.
The thought came and went.
What good is it now to ponder the possibility of victory?
The only thing to believe in is oneself.
“Alright.”
After another deep breath, Anatole emerged from practice mode to manipulate something.
From Noble mtl dot com
[LIVE]
Soon, the broadcast sign lit up on the screen.
– Oh
– Wow
– Ahh!
– Anatol
– He’s hereee
– God Anatol!
Viewers cheering for him appeared.
“Welcome, everyone.”
– Kyah, let’s watch the match
– Jingdong is cool! Ido-hyuk is cool! Hoken is cool!
[The peak of the Ultimate Fighter. Ranked 1st? I’ll show you]
Everything was set up until the match.
The Ultimate Fighter was already running.
All that was left was for Ido-hyuk to queue up, and then Anatole would match accordingly.
“Shall we tease him a bit.”
While they didn’t have a direct friendship, the camaraderie built from the last 5-game series should be enough for a light banter.
Anatole turned on Ido-hyuk’s broadcast.
And what he saw was…
[“Oh!”]
– Eekkk
– What’s with Beyond
“······?”
Perhaps he had the same thought.
Not as skilled as Lancer, but wielding a chain, Beyond, boasting a long range among melee characters, brought Zodiac.
[Swoosh, swoosh, whoosh!]
And there he was, relentlessly poking at Beyond…
“Is that a Sword Dancer?”
– Today, Do-hyuk-sensei is going crazy with his form lol
– He handles the sword so well lol
– Damn, Beyond seemed confident today but got wrecked
Right at that moment.
Do-hyuk’s viewers in the room noticed Anatole’s presence.
– Oh, Anatole is watching the match right now
-ㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋ Look at that big guy coming!!!
-ㄷㄱㄷㄱ
-As expected, it’s Hyung! You came to rescue us!
-Beyond & Geomi: Hyung, did you come to save us?
-(5 minutes later) ??? : No, I got caught too…
“Um…”
Shall we not settle this as a draw?
Anatole couldn’t bring himself to say such words out loud.