Booooooom—!
The once-quiet city was thrown into chaos in an instant.
One by one, windows cracked open as people peeked outside, and some stumbled out in a panic, not even properly armed.
Seo Ye-in and Hong Yeon-hwa also emerged, looking disheveled.
“…Where’s the pillow…”
She could ignore bombs going off right next to her, but without the Kim Ho Pillow, she couldn’t sleep. That was her mindset.
She walked up to me and stretched out her arms.
“Carry me.”
“You’re just trying to sleep on my back, aren’t you?”
“Sleepy.”
“Just hang in there. It’ll be over soon.”
As I said that, I gestured toward the source of the explosion with my eyes.
As everyone turned their gaze that way, another white line streaked across the sky—
Boooooom—!
Another massive explosion erupted.
Even though it was a fair distance away, the destruction was clearly visible.
Go Hyeon-woo let out a quiet murmur of awe.
“A truly overwhelming power. It resembles what they call a ‘breath attack’. Was that the work of the Craftsman Dragon?”
“No. The Craftsman Dragon doesn’t do anything now.”
He had already completed all his designs. Now he simply stood back and watched.
He probably believed that interfering further would only diminish the fun of the spectacle.
And aside from the Craftsman Dragon, there was only one person capable of launching an assault of that scale.
“It must be the Dragonwing Soldier. I sensed he was powerful from the moment I saw him, but I didn’t expect this.”
“Well, he is A+ ranked.”
He was just one step short of S-rank. He was powerful enough to unleash a weakened form of a dragon’s breath.
If the Craftsman Dragon had been just a bit more skilled, or if he’d had more time to refine [Draconic Forging], the Dragonwing Soldier might’ve reached S-rank too.
Go Hyeon-woo spoke.
“Impressive, but also terrifying. If we were the target of that blast, we’d be completely defenseless.”
“No need to worry. At least for tonight, their targets are predetermined.”
Their target was the military groups stationed in the city.
Those seen near the barrier were swept away like nothing by the mid-tier monster horde and the force of the draconic soldiers, but among the mercenaries, there were still a few A- and B-rank individuals who were strong enough not to be ignored even by the Dragonwing Soldier.
If fighters of that level regrouped and launched a counterattack, things could get troublesome.
So, to maintain just the right level of excitement, they launched a preemptive strike to thin out the numbers.
That was their primary objective.
Another goal was to raise the tension.
After two back-to-back explosions, who would be able to sleep soundly?
After all, no one knew if they’d be the next target.
Most people would be on high alert and likely remain that way all night.
And soon, their third ploy revealed itself.
Jingle, jingle…
A bell began to ring from somewhere.
The sound was faint and barely audible. But in a situation like this, everyone would have heard it.
Jingle, jingle…
At the same time, several hooded figures appeared.
They strolled through the streets, ringing their bells as they walked.
Just then, my body suddenly lit up in a gaudy display of flashing colors.
The side quest handicap had triggered again.
Squinting against the glare, Seo Ye-in muttered,
“RGB Kim Ho.”
“Well… not gonna lie, it fits.”
She’s surprisingly good at making up nicknames.
Obviously, with all this RGB lighting screaming for attention, there’s no way those guys wouldn’t recognize me.
One of the hooded figures began gliding toward me with an eerily smooth motion.
The others in the group tensed up, readying for combat, but I raised my hand lightly to stop them.
“It’s nothing.”
They barely have any fighting power, and even if you catch one, they don’t drop anything useful.
Still, I needed to make contact, so I came out ahead of time to wait.
As the figure got closer, I caught a glimpse beneath the hood.
It was just an ordinary man.
The kind of passerby you’d see any day while walking through the city.
However, his condition was far from normal. His expression was vacant, as if he had lost all reason, and only the whites of his eyes were visible.
If you looked closely, even his movements were stiff and unnatural. Like a puppet on strings.
In truth, they were abducting residents from the city and controlling them.
Soon, something began speaking through the hooded man’s mouth, almost like ventriloquism.
“To those deemed qualified, I offer a proposal. Accepting it will increase your chances of survival.”
By “qualified”, it meant those strong enough to take down at least one Draconic Soldier.
No doubt they wouldn’t even respond to anyone less capable. No deals, no acknowledgment.
I shrugged and replied.
“Let’s at least see what’s on offer.”
Without a word, the hooded man brought up a list.
1. [Talisman of Protection (12 hours)]
▷ You will not be attacked by the Craftsman Dragon’s forces during the duration.
– Nullified if you initiate an attack.
– Applies to up to 4 people.
▷ Price: Sacrifice of 1 random party member.
2. [Talisman of Protection (8 hours)]
▷ You will not be attacked by the Craftsman Dragon’s forces during the duration.
– Nullified if you initiate an attack.
– Applies to up to 3 people.
▷ Price: Eliminate at least 1 member of another group within the time limit.
3. [Servant’s Mark]
▷ You will not be attacked by the Craftsman Dragon’s forces.
▷ You gain access to servant-only skills.
▷ Price: A special quest will be assigned.
– The special quest cannot be refused.
* Midterm Survival Days –3
4. [Breath Alert]
▷ You will receive the location of the next breath attack before it is fired the following day.
▷ Price: One designated skill or trait will be sealed.
“……”
No one in the group looked pleased.
Even Go Hyeon-woo was frowning.
Each deal on the list was steeped in malice.
Option 1, simply put, was Russian roulette.
Sacrificing one person to survive for half a day might be a viable option, depending on the circumstances.
The problem is that it’s random.
What if the one caught by the roulette is the party leader or a key member?
The party’s fighting power would plummet instantly.
And the more survival becomes difficult, the more they’ll have to rely on these deals.
The collapse of trust is another fatal issue.
A group willing to sacrifice its members to survive….can such a group entrust their lives to one another in battle?
The moment someone backs out of a deal even once, division begins.
Option 2 requires you to kill a member of another group, meaning this isn’t just a hunt. It’s going to turn into all-out conflict between groups.
Chances are, it won’t end with just one casualty on each side.
Options 1 and 2 also don’t last long.
Twelve hours and eight hours.
You could sleep in peace for one night, but then you’d have to fend for yourself for about half a day until the next deal.
Clearly, the durations were set short on purpose.
So that no one can survive off deals alone.
The fact that it’s nullified when you launch a preemptive attack is clever, too.
To fully benefit from the effects, you’d have to stay off the front lines for the duration.
Even just weakening strong players and triggering infighting would be more than enough entertainment for the Craftsman Dragon.
Option 3 means becoming the Dragon’s servant outright.
Until Craft Haven is completely destroyed, you can survive up to 7 days.
After deducting 3 days due to midterm results, that’s 4 days.
If you’re not strong enough, you might think it’s better to survive at least 4 days this way.
But the real problem is the special quest.
We’re talking about a dragon who sees humans as insects. Becoming its servant won’t earn you any better treatment.
The special quest will likely be more difficult than what’s required in Option 2, not less.
If you try to resist later, all that awaits you is death.
Becoming a servant half-heartedly, only to die on day 3 or 4, might be even worse than dying on day one.
Option 4? That’s practically snake oil.
Today, the breath attack targeted mercenaries. But tomorrow, it could be completely random.
They’re offering to tell you the location of the next one in advance, in exchange for sealing one of your skills or traits.
Still, this one’s worth taking.
The damage was already clear. If luck ran out, that breath attack could fall right on someone’s head.
To avoid the tragedy of dying in your sleep, Option 4 was the right deal to make.
I glanced over at Seo Ye-in.
We do have Lucky Charm on our side…
But relying on that alone wasn’t enough.
It was better to avoid the danger with a 100% guaranteed method.
It’s not even a big hit to our fighting power.
Everyone had at least one or two relatively inefficient skills or traits. We could just take turns giving one up.
Having done the math, I gave Seo Ye-in the order.
“Today, you make the deal. Option 4.”
“Okay.”
She nodded and turned to look at the hooded man.
Maybe he’d overheard our conversation, because he spoke.
“Decide what you will seal.”
Seo Ye-in’s gaze shifted back to me.
“……?”
“Let’s seal [Impact Bullet].”
“Okay.”
Mana gathered in the hooded man’s hand, and a small lock appeared.
Seo Ye-in took it, made her final decision, and the lock quietly sank into her hand.
With that, [Impact Bullet] and the combo skill [Impact Bomb] were sealed for the duration of the midterm exam.
Even so, [Explosive Bullet] was still available, so her overall firepower wouldn’t drop too much.
The hooded man spoke again.
“The deal is complete. Anything else to choose?”
“No. That’s all for today.”
“Very well. Then I shall see you again tomorrow.”
Jingle, jingle…
Just as before, he rang a small bell and walked away.
And soon, he vanished into the darkness.
Even after he disappeared, Hong Yeon-hwa looked visibly disturbed.
“What kind of ‘deal’ is that…”
“It seems even he finds it a cruel practice. Especially options 1 through 3… I wonder if anyone will actually choose them,”
Go Hyeon-woo still hadn’t relaxed his expression.
That’s when I spoke.
“There probably weren’t any tonight. Most would’ve either backed out or gone with option four like us. But who knows what’ll happen tomorrow?”
Tonight may have been tough, but it was still manageable. So the importance of “protection” probably didn’t hit that hard yet.
But what about tomorrow? Or the day after? Will it still feel manageable?
And when survival is no longer guaranteed, will people still think the same way they do now?
We’d find out soon enough.
Meeting eyes with the others, I said,
“They call it a deal, but it’s basically extortion. When someone’s that overwhelmingly powerful, they can get away with stuff like this.”
The deal was just another part of the twisted game prepared by the Craftsman Dragon.
The outcome of being crushed was already decided. The idea was simply to make things a little more entertaining before that happened.
“If we don’t want to be pushed around, we’ll have to get stronger too.”
“I feel that in my bones.”
Go Hyeon-woo nodded, and the rest of the group silently agreed.
I looked toward the far-off spot where the breath attack had landed.
This time, I played along just like you wanted.
But next time wouldn’t be so easy.
While I was firming up my resolve, Seo Ye-in tapped me on the arm.
“What?”
“Finished?”
“We’re done for today.”
“Pillow?”
Seo Ye-in immediately stretched out both arms.
Resolve or not, her mind was clearly set on getting some sleep first.
I slowly reached out both hands as well.
Then I grabbed both of her cheeks and gave them a good pull.
“All that’s in your head is sleep, huh?”
“No pinching the cheeks…”
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