Chapter 14: Use the Golden Hand

“Hey.”

“Have you finally made up your mind to go kill some Orcs?”

“Not that. It’s just, I saw something online.”

The more I read the link Seongjin sent, the more certain I became. This was a walkthrough written by the heavens specifically for me and this lunatic. A cracked max-level and a newbie with god-tier controls—just the two of them. It’s a bit embarrassing to praise myself, but after clearing Nightmare difficulty for the first time in three years, I think I’ve earned the right to say it.

“There’s a way to clear it without slaughtering a bunch of Orcs.”

Think about it. Right now, a genius max-level with insane mechanical skills is following me around, desperate to level me up. Isn’t finding this guide the providence of God? Isn’t it destiny that I clear it this way?

To be more precise, I wanted to try this. The difficulty looked hellish, but the satisfaction of clearing it would be immense. I wasn’t the type to stake my life on a game, but this path suited my goal-oriented, challenge-seeking playstyle perfectly.

Now, all that remained was to persuade Sephiroth.

I used to think he was just a crazy nutcase, but now he looked like a crazy nutcase with god-tier controls. Usually, a person with god-tier skills is infuriating as an enemy, but aren’t they the most reliable allies? Furthermore, the Walpurgis Ruins is an instanced dungeon, so once we’re inside, there’s no risk of being hammered by guards even if we’re in a party.

I looked at Sephiroth with sparkling eyes. Right. Let’s utilize those “Golden Hands” by any means necessary.

“You said you’ve already done the Orc massacre once, right?”

“Right.”

“It wouldn’t be very fun to see the same thing again, would it?”

“True.”

“How about trying a new method? I saw it on the internet—there’s a route that can be cleared if two people with incredible controls cooperate. No one has cleared it yet. Aren’t you greedy for a ‘First Clear’ achievement reward?”

I spoke in a frantic rush, terrified Sephiroth might cut me off and say no. I needed his cooperation for this to work. Just in case, I had checked the guild chat, but…

[Guild] VeggieSteamedBun: Heh. [Guild] VeggieSteamedBun: Stuff like that is only for people like Sephiroth ^^

Even Seonhwa Noona, who adored me, had cut me down coldly. I had no other choice.

Sephiroth stared at me. I couldn’t be sure because of the helmet, but I felt a gaze. After a long silence, he let out a sharp, airy chuckle.

“You’re talking without even breathing. You must really want to impress me.”

“You psycho. Stop saying things that could be misinterpreted.”

Haha. A low, cool laugh erupted from him. His slick, easy-going tone was annoying, but I needed him right now.

“It sounds fun, right? Listen. First, we have to go to the Walpurgis Ruins…”

“I know.”

“Huh?”

“I know. You want to go into the Walpurgis Ruins and get the Tears of a Dead Wildflower.”

“Oh, you know about it?”

It was exactly what was in the guide Seongjin sent. Was it that famous? Had he already done it? As I stared at him in surprise, he shrugged. His iron armor clattered.

“I’m the one who wrote that post.”

“Liar.”

“Why would I lie about something like that?”

Well, he had a point, but it was hard to believe coming from a guy who spent all day bullying a newbie just because he beat an AI based on himself.

Sephiroth’s low voice tickled my ear.

“I’ve cleared the end-game content until I’m sick of it, and there’s no one left worth fighting one-on-one. So when I’m bored, I research various things. Like… why there’s no level limit on the Walpurgis Ruins.”

“Then you’ve already cleared it?”

“Not exactly.”

“Why not?”

“First: there are no newbies as good as me. Second: I have no reason to delete this account and start a new one.”

Incredible. I thought it was a perfect idea.

Wait, no. If I thought about it, this wasn’t bad at all. It meant Sephiroth hadn’t been able to put his own theory into practice yet. And as if by fate, I was the one who could solve all the reasons why he couldn’t do it.

Ah, I really want to try this.

“Sephiroth-nim. Think about it. Isn’t this a great chance to execute the idea you came up with yourself?”

“Why the sudden polite speech? It’s cute.”

Fck.*

I was willing to party with the psycho, but I had zero desire to be called “cute” by him. I immediately reverted to informal speech.

“No, I just thought it would be good to go together. You don’t have to make a new ID, and… well, I’m pretty good at the game, aren’t I?”

“I don’t know. I’m not so sure.”

“Then why did you keep pestering me to fight?!”

“How would I know if you’re good when you’ve never actually fought me?”

I almost screamed at his brazen attitude. Had he completely forgotten trying to murder me yesterday? Selective amnesia?

But instead of getting angry, I calmly threw out one more piece of bait.

“Let’s have a serious duel after we get back from the ruins.”

“Let’s go right now.”

Fine. Whatever. I’ll fight him once. There aren’t even any penalties.

Zelpia’s world map was divided into North, South, East, West, and the Center. At the center was Azelta Castle, the main hub. The newbie village was in the southern corner, and the early main quest was the story of the journey from the village to Azelta Castle.

The Walpurgis Ruins were not near the newbie village. They were tucked away in the northern corner, far above the central city. The North was a high-difficulty zone filled with the toughest dungeons, and even the field monsters were as strong as mid-bosses. It was clearly an end-game region. In short: a place newbies should never go.

We took a warp gate and arrived in front of the ruins. Unlike the neutral mobs in the newbie zone, creatures that looked like they’d attack on sight were loitering around.

A lot of clueless newbies probably died here after taking the warp gate.

“Hey. Where do we go now—”

I turned my head as I spoke, only to see Sephiroth sprinting toward me from a distance.

With three massive, flaming-red Balrogs in tow.

“Hey! What the hell are you doing?!”

Sephiroth answered as he charged toward me.

“Isn’t it fun?”

Ah…

It was my fault for overlooking the fact that this guy is a complete lunatic. My fault.

Feeling like a single graze would mean death, I dodged the Balrogs’ AOE attacks. Meanwhile, Sephiroth fought them with total ease. The Balrogs were more than twice his size, but he toyed with the three giants as if he were playing with children.

He was frustratingly good. The only problem was that the collateral damage kept coming my way.

It was only after several minutes of tap-dancing like someone being struck by lightning to avoid the attacks that I finally got to rest. After taking down the three Balrogs and looting their items, Sephiroth approached me, stretching.

“As expected. You’ve got to warm up at least once when you come here.”

“Did you forget I was even here?!”

“You dodged everything, didn’t you?”

Well, yeah… but…

“I figured you’d be able to handle dodging this much on your own.”

He spoke in a soothing, almost sweet tone. With that voice and that manner of speaking, I felt like I was physically melting for a second.

Ack, no! Get a grip. I can’t be melting for this guy, of all people.

“I’d appreciate it if you consulted me first next time.”

“Well, if you want.”

Judging by his shrug, it was obvious he wasn’t really listening.

Though I was boiling with rage, another part of me was purely marvelling at his movements. My “gamer ego” was impressed. He had dodged the Balrogs’ attacks while subtly restricting their movements. The three giants ended up getting tangled with each other, dealing damage to themselves while trying to hit him. He pounced on openings ferociously and his judgment on when to engage or disengage was flawless. Not to mention the AOEs—he even dodged targeted attacks using the terrain.

Looking at his completely full HP bar, it hit me again that he really was a top ranker. Just a very crazy one.

<Sephiroth has invited you to a party.>

The flashing invite snapped me back to reality. Usually, I would have accepted without a thought, but my recent experience made me cautious.

“Wait.”

“Hmm?”

“If I party with you, the guards will chase me.”

“Yeah.”

“Then won’t we be unable to even enter the dungeon?”

“You just have to dodge well enough not to get hit before we enter the instance.”

Oh, right.

His gaze seemed to ask why I was even questioning something so obvious. I wanted to snap back, but since I was the one who needed the help, I swallowed my words. Besides, it didn’t feel like I couldn’t dodge them.

I’d already been hit once, and I’d watched Sephiroth’s dodging patterns several times now.

I accepted the party and headed toward the entrance. As soon as the guard protecting the ruins saw us, he charged with a long spear. The glowing tip of the spear flew toward me as if to pierce my skull, but with a slight tilt of my head, I easily dodged the wide arc.