novelCrossroads, Part I
| ← Ch.210 | Ch.212 → |
Translator: HunterW
Editor: RED
I cut down the undead monsters that stood in my way as I headed for the dungeon exit instead of sprinting past them like I used to. I had hunted for two and a half months straight, but I wasn't feeling tired, and decided I may as well take the time to get some extra EXP.
"But now that I've gotten my STR up to 20, 000, what should I do now? Should I keep raising my STR, or should I get my VIT and AGI up to 20, 000 as well?" If I made it my goal to get VIT, AGI, INT, and WIL up to 20, 000 points, I could be obtaining 10, 000 points in bonus Stat points. That was a lot of bonus Stat points, but the question was, would it be worth spending points on the two Stats I didn't really need, instead of focusing on the Stats I did need?
I scoffed at myself. I was already thinking about what to do with my Stat points when I didn't even have a single one leftover."I'll make my decision after I've saved up a bit first. It's hard to save points by leveling up, anyway. If anything, I'm going to need another quest like Time Attack!"
Wrapped up in my thoughts, I soon found myself outside of the dungeon.
"Mr. Lee!" the guard shouted, surprised when he saw me emerge from the dungeon entrance.
"Hey there!"
"I was surprised to hear from the FOBs that they hadn't seen you for more than a week."
"Oh, yeah. I got caught up in hunting." I made the effort to rest every two to three days of hunting, but all I did was hunt after two months had passed and I grew closer to my goal. I had even received a call from the Shire Guild when the FOB I had visited often hadn't heard from me in over a week.
"Ah... I see, " the guard said, weirded out by my calm response.
"By the way, I notice it's gotten a bit noisy." There were always many Shire Guild members around the dungeon entrance, but today, a large group of them were gathered around, fervently talking about something.
"Oh, right. Something interesting is happening in Mexico right now."
"What's that?"
"A single man is fighting against the Nueva Chivas Rio Guild, the guild that controls Mexico and Central America. He supposedly appeared out of nowhere and is pretty strong. There are many videos of him out right now. Shall I show you one?"
"No, I'm fine. Thanks." When the guard mentioned the Nueva Chivas Rio Guild, I knew exactly who he was talking about. The Avenger had appeared. To be more exact, he was the failed Avenger.
I bid my farewells to the guard and quickly headed to the Teleporter in New York City to warp back to Seoul. I was actually interested in this coming event. I didn't want to completely butt in since it didn't really have anything to do with me, but I wanted to do something about the non-recyclable piece of trash that was the NCR Guild.
"His name was Pedro, wasn't it?" The NCR Guild controlled Mexico with an iron fist and made sure everything that went on inside never leaked to the rest of the world. Unfortunately for them, Pedro's attacks had punched walls into the NCR Guild's hold, and many people had managed to escape, devas and mortals alike. Thanks to them, the NCR Guild's crimes were revealed to the rest of the world. These sins were so inhumane that it made the Yung Gong Guild look like Nirvana.
Had Pedro's revenge succeeded, the entire world would have condemned the NCR Guild and buried the guild once and for all. Still, even though he had failed, the strength he had shown to the rest of the world was tremendous.
—
Seoul...
As soon as I stepped of the Teleporter platform, I could hear the entire square talking about one man.
"Hey, did you watch it?"
"Of course I did!"
"Dude, it was crazy! I bet this new guy is almost as strong as Lee Jiwon."
"What? No, they're not. Lee Jiwon faced like three thousand soldiers at once, and there were only about a thousand in the video."
"That's right. Lee Jiwon even defeated the Reaper first, too."
"I'm just saying, just saying. Then how many do you think you can face alone?"
"Me? Maybe... about thirty?"
"What a load of crap. Why the hell are you comparing yourselves to godly devas?"
"Quit fighting over nonsense. But that Nueva Chivas Rio Guild is pretty trashy, isn't it?"
"Yeah, I heard about that, too. Thanks to this guy, so many people managed to escape the NCR Guild, and they're saying the NCR Guild tortures and murders mortals for fun. Man... I've been saying Hell Joseon all this time, but it's a blessing that I was born in Korea."
{TN: Hell Joseon is a meme that became popularized pretty recently. It combines Hell and Joseon, the last Korean Dynasty before Japanese involvement, and basically means Korea is shit to live in. }
"Hey, the NCR Guild originated from the Mexican drug cartel of the same name. It's what they do."
"I don't care about what or why they do it. I just want to see them get destroyed one day."
"Me too!"
—
It was like they wanted someone like the Punisher to deal with the NCR Guild. I was the same in the past.
I quickly headed for home, stopping by the Sunbin Guild for whatever information they had on what was happening in Mexico. I couldn't do anything to help the Avenger in the past, just like I couldn't do anything about the Yung Gong Guild back then. I was too weak and I was a coward. But that was then. I was strong now. I had developed an interest, and while I wasn't ready to step in completely, I at least wanted to see if there was anything I could do this time.
——
Three hours later in my drawing room...
"I didn't realize you would come yourself. I would have been satisfied with a simple report, " I said to Song Haechang, who was sitting in front of me.
"Well, we have been observing them for some time now. And since you made the request, I thought why not, " Song Haechang replied with a small smile."Here's what we have on the NCR Guild and this new individual. I'm confident enough to say that the information on there is about 99% accurate."
I believed him. If this report came directly from the Sunbin Guild, then I knew the intel was reliable."Thank you, " I said and accepted the thick folder. I opened it up and skimmed through it.
It really was Pedro the Avenger. There was also quite a bit of information about the NCR Guild, as well. Some of it I knew about from my past life, but there was also a lot about the inhumane crimes they had committed that I did not know about. The report also mentioned Cantana Alejandro numerous times and that he was mostly responsible for the guild's wrongdoings.
Song Haechang noticed that I had stopped on the intel about Cantana Alejandro and spoke up."He's the heir to the NCR Guild, and has a special ability known only as the Mad Butcher. We believe he and Pedro have some history, as he seems to be focusing on retaliating against Pedro right now."
"I see, " I said with a nod. I knew about that part as well. I was actually pretty surprised at how well the Sunbin Guild's report matched with what I remembered.
"Huh?" The last page had my name on it, as well as the names of many organizations and solo players."The NCR Guild's approach list?" was the heading on the page.
"Pedro is strong, which is why he is able to face the NCR Guild on his own."
Right, I knew that. That was what happened in the past and why he was the focus of attention in New York and Seoul.
"To be honest..." Song Haechang leaned forward and spoke in a low voice."Sunbin and many other guilds and organizations have had our eyes on Pedro for some time. Rather than stay away from what's going on, we're waiting for the right time to aid Pedro. Of course, smaller guilds and organizations can't do the same for fear of retaliation from the NCR Guild."
"..." Song Haechang had a point. Having someone like Pedro the Avenger as an ally was definitely a huge plus, ethically and economically. But I knew something about Pedro that no other guild or organization could ever know about. Pedro was like a cicada. He lived most of his life as a pupa, and now that he had reached adulthood, he wasn't going to last very long. This was the biggest reason he had failed getting his revenge against the NCR Guild. He faded away as soon as he appeared.
"I see, " I said, not saying anything more.
——
I kept thinking on what to do after Song Haechang left. If I didn't know that Pedro's end was near, I honestly would have killed him. The only reason I thought differently was because I knew he wasn't going to become a rival or anything.
"But... he's not a rival. No one can rival me right now."
——
One week later...
Once my allies had discovered that I had an interest in Pedro, they sent over their own reports on the events in Mexico. They also included many videos showcasing his abilities. He was growing stronger by the day. In fact, his strength was actually visibly growing exponentially. It was pretty unbelievable.
"So he's basically pouring out energy day by day. The stronger he grows, the shorter his lifespan becomes." This was the truth that only I knew.
"But wouldn't it be better if he just keeps that part of his abilities hidden and recruits the help of some other large guild? I'm sure Luana would at least be willing to help, and could make short work of the NCR Guild."
It became harder and harder to make my decision as the days passed. Pedro had only about two more weeks to live. From what I knew, Sunbin, Shire, Myth, and Abu Dhabi had reached out to Pedro, letting him know that we were willing to help, but he kept ignoring us. He seemed adamant that he was going to destroy the NCR Guild on his own.
Just then, someone knocked on my door. I already knew that there were two strangers heading for my home. I had never felt their aura before.
"What is it?"
"You have guests, young master."
"Who are they?"
"They're from the NCR Guild, young master."
"..." My name was on the list Song Haechang had given me. The NCR Guild was planning on approaching those organizations and people on that list to recruit to defeat Pedro. But I didn't expect them to actually come.
"Let them in."
"Yes, sir."
I would at least hear what they had to say.
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