CHAPTER 139

Do-Jin had been struggling to resist Wolfgang when he stopped, stunned. "What are you guys doing?”

Just moments ago, the other students had been trying to chase him out. Yet now, they wanted to help him?

Is it a love-hate relationship?

The other students of Lion’s Castle had always looked down on him. Until meeting Jae-Hyeok, Do-Jin had thought he was completely alone.

So what was this?

Loren whispered, “Do-Jin, they aren’t doing this for you. They’re doing it out of pride.”

Pride was one of the easiest ways to control a group of people. Take patriotism—governments tried hard to inspire patriotism among citizens, preaching the achievements of their history and culture so that citizens grew up proud and loyal to the country. The students of Lion’s Castle felt much the same toward their school. They stepped forward not for Do-Jin’s sake but for the school’s honor—they would all lose face if they allowed a foreigner to flout the rules and kidnap a student.

Hmph. I expected as much.

“Don’t confuse their actions with affection. You will only be hurt more,” Loren said to Do-Jin. Then, turning his eyes to the surrounding students, he flexed his will.

Joints rattled and jaws clicked as an army of skeletons stood, blue light flashing ominously in their eye sockets.

There were a total of two hundred forty skeletons, all moving to the will of a single person. It was an overwhelming sight.

The students had wanted to stop Loren by relying on their numerical superiority, but Loren had instantly narrowed the gap.

“There are hundreds... ”

“So this is a necromancer... ”

Although rare, there were a few in each country with Professions that dealt with undead. The term ‘necromancer’, however, was synonymous with the Bause family because only they could raise undead from the ground wherever they went. It was an ability the Bauses were famous for, but even overestimating Loren, the students had never imagined he could summon so many undead at once.

Following Loren’s will, all two hundred forty skeletons raised their shields in unison, looking like a single organism.

“We have to fight those things? I... don’t think it’s possible.”

Skeletons were classified as E-class monsters because they were unintelligent and had low physical durability due to their undead nature. In fact, they were even the preferred prey for low-level players.

However, that only applied to wild undead.

Skeletons summoned by humans obeyed the summoner’s commands, which meant they showed judgment proportional to the summoner’s intelligence. Moreover, although skeletons weren’t very durable, they were tenacious and felt no pain. Unless their skulls were shattered or they were beheaded, skeletons would pursue their target till the end. There were countless cases of players being bitten in the ankles or vitals by a limbless skeleton that appeared destroyed.

Naturally, facing a unified undead army helmed by a member of the Bause family, the students lost their fighting spirit.

Even Wolfgang couldn’t help but admire Loren. A whole two hundred forty skeletons.He’s really grown. Loren had only been able to summon slightly less than two hundred skeletons before coming to South Korea. Wolfgang touched his chin. Just how many levels has he gained in these months? Lion’s Castle’s environment was indeed good.

The whole world was envious of this supermassive gate that functioned as a school, and for good reason. If it hadn’t been for the Yaksha, this whole dimension would’ve become the territory of the United States or France by now. From the perspective of other nations, South Korea’s owning Lion’s Castle was the best outcome—better that than having it taken over by the United States or France.

Now, it’s nearly impossible to wage war over this place. Any nation that tries will get stopped by the others...

In many ways, the Yaksha’s claim over Lion’s Castle had saved not only South Korea but also all of Europe. Of course, Wolfgang only felt that way in hindsight.

Recalling the Yaksha’s demon-like appearance, Wolfgang felt a dull ache in his chest, a reminder of his old wound that had long vanished from sight.

Wolfgang clicked his tongue and quickened his pace.

The students didn’t stop him. Despite their earlier bluster, they stepped back, not daring to challenge the army of skeletons in formation.

Tsk. Disappointing.

South Korea had no one to blame but itself. The nation had lost its pride and spirit because they’d erased the Yaksha and his accomplishments from history. They had gained peace in turn, but at what cost? South Koreans were raised under the shadow of Japan and China, believing those countries were like clouds in the sky.

Moreover, South Korea’s period of peace only weakened the country further. The students in Lion’s Castle were the best example. They had never experienced war or fought for their lives before. They learned in a classroom rather than on a battlefield, and when they leveled up, it was under someone else’s protection.

They weren’t true players.

Wolfgang was certain that any teenager in Europe would be able to rise to the top among all the students of Lion’s Castle.

"W-wait a minute!"

Loren’s group almost reached the entrance of the library when a second-year female student pushed aside the skeletons and shouted. “I don’t know what your story is, but it doesn’t make sense to kidnap a student in front of so many people! How is this going to be explained to the school?”

Loren laughed. “It seems I need to set an example.”

Baang!

The nearest skeleton suddenly rammed its shield into the girl's face, crushing her cheekbone and sending her head whipping back.

"Kyaaaaak!"

“Crazy! He really attacked!”

Screams erupted everywhere.

Some students had tears in their eyes at the sight of their bloodied friend.

“It makes me unbearably angry that these bugs tormented you,” Loren said with a frown while patting Do-Jin on the shoulder.

“......”

Wolfgang felt Do-Jin relax under his arms.

Did he finally accept it? Even that female student had been concerned about the dignity of Lion’s Castle and not Do-Jin himself. It was a sin for her to claim to be a player, just like the rest.

Objectively, Do-Jin had no reason to stay here, and it seemed he understood this, as Do-Jin finally allowed himself to be guided by Wolgang's hand and obediently followed Loren.

But just then, the once cowardly students began to shake with anger.

“Ah! I can’t take it! You think you can do whatever you want in South Korea, huh!?”

“That’s right! Just how much is this bastard looking down on us?”

Soon, everyone was roaring. Rage replaced fear, and they lunged toward the skeletons, swinging their weapons and unleashing a mad barrage of Skills.

The fight was surprisingly fierce.

The skeletons couldn’t swing their swords carelessly while the students unleashed attacks with all their strength. Moreover, the number of students was almost twice that of the skeletons.

There was just one problem: Loren’s group had already arrived at the entrance of the library. No matter how hard the students fought, they wouldn’t be able to reach Loren in time.

“If you cared so much about your pride, why didn’t you take action earlier?” Wolfgang laughed and gave Do-Jin a push on the back. As the one who’d activated the barrier, it was only through direct contact with him that Do-Jin could leave this place.

However, Wolfgang’s eyes suddenly widened.

An instant before Do-Jin touched the barrier, Do-Jin suddenly disappeared.

Stealth? No, it couldn’t be. He’d been pressing on Do-Jin’s back the whole time. If Do-Jin were using stealth, then Wolfgang would’ve still felt him in his hands.

He must’ve used movement magic or some Skill. But... that was even harder to believe. He is so fast that my dynamic vision couldn’t keep up? As a knight of the Baus family, Wolfgang’s level was over 100. He was an S-class player with a power equal to that of a captain in the armed forces. Yet, somehow, he’d failed to follow he movement of a student?

“No way.”

Wolfgang felt goosebumps on the back of his neck and turned to Loren for orders. But Loren was staring intensely in the direction of his skeletons. A red-haired figure moved among them.

“Uraaaaat!”

Do-Jin swung his greatsword at a group of skeletons bashing a few students with their shields.

The typical counter to an undead was a blunt weapon, delivering heavy impacts to the joints could break the joints easily. Although Do-Jin didn’t have a blunt weapon, the flat of his greatsword did just as well. With a swing, he shattered the heads of three skeletons. But his breathing was heavy.

He’d exhausted his mental energy to use Flash Steps earlier. Navigating space through a chaotic crowd of hundreds of people and skeletons had pushed Do-Jin to his limit. It was a near suicidal bet.

“Why?” Loren asked. “I don’t know why you are helping them.”

“Because I hate you,” Do-Jin said as he smashed the skull of a skeleton biting a student’s wrist. “Even if all of Earth is destroyed today, I won’t move according to your will. I make my own decisions. Whether others agree or not, I don’t care! I’m Baek Do-Jin before I’m a player.”

Yes, I am who I am. What right do others have to laugh?

Do-Jin shouted to the other students, “You all took action for your own reasons, not out of a player’s duty. But so what? I am the same.” He looked back at Loren. “And you’re no different either, you son of a bitch. Look around. If this isn’t selfish, then what is?”

“...Let’s talk slowly when we return to our home country.”

Loren didn’t feel the need to respond to Do-Jin’s argument, which had started to get off topic.

Loren winked at Wolfgang, and Do-Jin didn’t even have time to scream. He was sent crashing into a bookshelf with enough force to send several other bookshelves falling like dominoes.

Wolfgang stood over Do-Jin, who was dazed, and laughed. “Only you would be crazy enough to use Flash Steps in an environment like this. I’m really looking forward to your future.” Wolfgang then grabbed Do-Jin and threw him over his shoulder like a sack of potatoes before walking back to Loren’s side.

The library became silent.

The students stared blankly. No one dared come forward—not even the students whom Do-Jin had just helped.

Wolfgang looked back, snorted, and followed Loren out of the library.

After they left, the barrier around the library brightened, growing even stronger. Now, not even a missile would crack the barrier.

“Why did Do-Jin...?”

"Dammit!"

Guilt and worry began to gnaw at the students. No matter the reason, Do-Jin had helped them, yet to the end, they hadn’t cared about his safety...

“Baek Do-Jin, please be safe... ”

Give us a chance to make up for it.

Only after losing the boy they had overlooked all year did the students begin to regret not doing more.

The students hadn’t realized, but the day’s experience had changed them in a way that no lecture or training course could have.

It was only a shame that they’d learned their lesson too late.

Among the frustrated students...

Should I use the method Seong-Hyeon told me about? A boy with narrow eyes logged into the Community.

His name was Song Se-Yeong, the same second-year who had fought alongside the employees of Jaegyeong Pharmaceuticals and Jae-Hyeok.