Chapter 4 :

Episode 4. Choice.

 

Anyone can become a Player.

 

All they have to do is form a contract with a Constellation.

 

But that does not mean every Player is equal.

 

A Player’s level is determined by the rank of the Constellation they contracted with and by the Skills they received from that Constellation.

 

At the very top stood the Monarchs.

 

They were ten superhumans who had contracted with the greatest Constellations and reached level 100 by developing their Unique Skills to the absolute limit.

 

That was why the names of the Monarchs carried such immense weight in the Iron Age.

 

Even the president of a nation could not treat a Monarch carelessly, and every faction bowed its head before them.

 

Just as their title suggested, they were absolute beings who ruled over everything in this era.

 

“What? Finally realizing you made a mistake?”

 

Simply having one of those Ten Monarchs as his brother-in-law was an extraordinary backing.

 

On top of that, Seo Yong-chan himself was a high-level Player in his eighties.

 

It was only natural that he acted as though no one stood above him.

 

Once someone became a heavenly being, people on the ground tended to stop looking like fellow humans.

 

After silently exchanging thoughts with Yu Na-kyung for a moment,

 

Limon, unable to find an answer on his own, eventually asked the person involved directly.

 

“You shouldn’t have ambushed me in the first place. Why’d you pull such a cowardly stunt and piss me off, huh?”

 

“…Ambushed you?”

 

“Fuck, you attacked me when I was drunk and defenseless!”

 

“Just to make sure, what exactly is the basis for your claim that I ambushed you?”

 

“What basis do I need? Unless you pulled some dirty trick, there’s no way my summon would’ve lost to an outdated fossil like you.”

 

Limon blinked.

 

Then he glanced at Yu Na-kyung and silently asked her with his eyes.

 

Limon unconsciously frowned.

 

It was not merely because Seo Yong-chan’s answer was absurd.

 

He had realized the real reason the man had come all this way to insist on such nonsense.

 

‘These days, riding a bull around while rampaging counts as being defenseless?’

 

‘If that counts as defenseless, then arson probably counts as fireworks.’

 

‘Then why is this guy spouting this crap?’

 

‘Who knows? Maybe he blacked out and doesn’t remember anything.’

 

‘Even if he doesn’t remember it himself, someone must’ve told him. There’s a mountain of CCTV footage too.’

 

‘Maybe someone fed him a bunch of nonsense.’

 

‘Oh, I see. His pride got hurt.’

 

He had probably spent his whole life throwing his weight around like some heavenly being.

 

And then one of the things supporting that confidence, his summon, had been destroyed in less than a second.

 

There was no way he could accept that.

 

Especially when the person who had done it was Limon, someone Players treated as an outdated relic.

 

And from experience, Limon knew very well how people like this tried to restore their pride.

 

“A civil servant assaulting an innocent citizen? Does that make any sense?! It makes my skin crawl knowing people like you live off my tax money!”

 

How did they do it?

 

It was simple.

 

They crushed the person who had wounded their pride.

 

Strangely enough, people like this believed that if they ruined the other person, their own pride would somehow be restored.

 

All he had to do was casually reveal his connection to a Monarch, and unless someone had a death wish, they would shut their mouth on their own.

 

And if he added a little money on top of that, he could even create witnesses who had never existed.

 

That alone would be enough to make the incident titled, [Infinite Monarch’s Brother-in-Law Goes on a Rampage Downtown!] disappear without a trace.

 

Instead, the story of Limon assaulting him would spread everywhere.

 

But the person who reacted most strongly to Seo Yong-chan’s threat was not Limon.

 

“Mr. Seo Yong-chan, are you threatening an agent of the Player Administration Bureau right in front of me?”

 

“Why? Am I not allowed to?”

 

“Stop talking nonsense!”

 

“You think this ends with compensation? Not a chance! If I really wanted to, crushing an outdated fossil like you would be nothing.”

 

In that sense, Seo Yong-chan’s threat could not be dismissed as mere bluffing.

 

Whether it was CCTV footage or dashcam recordings,

 

all he had to do was erase anything that could serve as evidence.

 

With just one high-level Player specializing in electronics, that would not be particularly difficult.

 

Witnesses?

 

Those were even easier to deal with.

 

Kang Jeong-su’s expression twisted.

 

He had endured this until now because of the backing of the Infinite Monarch, but even patience had its limits.

 

Unable to tolerate Seo Yong-chan’s behavior any longer, he shouted.

 

“If you keep acting like this, I’ll call the Infinite Monarch myself and discuss this matter with him directly! Are you fine with that?”

 

Seo Yong-chan flinched at those firm words.

 

Even as a relative, the weight carried by a Monarch’s name was just as heavy for him.

 

Especially if this matter caused someone as important as the Director of the PAB to contact the Monarch personally, even Seo Yong-chan would receive a severe reprimand.

 

It was at that exact moment

 

that Seo Yong-chan pointed at Limon.

 

Kang Jeong-su froze at his words, while Yu Na-kyung’s eyes widened.

 

Limon merely tilted his head slightly.

 

“Tch. Fine. Fine.”

 

After hesitating between his pride and his fear for a moment,

 

Seo Yong-chan reluctantly backed down.

 

“Since the Director is begging me so desperately, I’ll make a special exception this time and settle for compensation.”

 

“…You want me to kneel?”

 

“Isn’t that obvious? If you harmed someone, the least you can do is show some sincerity!”

 

“Mr. Seo Yong-chan, that’s…!”

 

“What? Don’t like it? Then forget it. I’ll just take whatever scolding I get from my brother-in-law.”

 

‘This idiot!’

 

‘When the hell did I ever beg you, you bastard?!’

 

Kang Jeong-su frowned at his arrogant tone.

 

But he did not object.

 

Dealing with a Monarch was burdensome no matter what, and if the whole incident could be settled with money, that was still fortunate.

 

Kang Jeong-su swallowed a curse.

 

Negotiations and damage control were both over now.

 

Still, hoping against hope, he turned his gaze.

 

Then he saw Limon throwing a punch with a murderous expression and simply closed his eyes.

 

Thud!

 

Seo Yong-chan had never doubted it.

 

At least, not until Limon’s fist slammed into his solar plexus.

 

‘Just as planned.’

 

“Urk?”

 

Watching Limon thrust his fist toward him,

 

Seo Yong-chan wore a triumphant expression.

 

‘He fell for such an obvious provocation. What a stupid old bastard.’

 

Then Seo Yong-chan panicked.

 

The fist he was certain he had blocked had somehow buried itself deep in his stomach.

 

Still, as befitting a high-level Player, Seo Yong-chan endured the pain and tried to counterattack.

 

But that was nothing more than wishful thinking.

 

From the moment he entered the room until now,

 

Seo Yong-chan had not acted arrogantly merely because he was conceited.

 

He had deliberately provoked Limon in order to lure him into attacking like this.

 

The reason was obvious.

 

He wanted to defeat Limon head-on and avenge his humiliation.

 

Of course, that plan required him to actually be capable of defeating Limon one-on-one.

 

But Seo Yong-chan was confident.

 

Yesterday, he had been drunk and had not been wearing his equipment, which was why he had failed to block that surprise attack.

 

Now that he had equipped every kind of Item and was fully prepared,

 

there was no way he could fail to deal with one washed-up fossil.

 

Smack! Smack! Smack!

 

“Hey, you fucking bastard.”

 

Thud-thud-thud-thud!

 

“If you did something wrong, you should know how to reflect on it.”

 

Bam!

 

“What did you say? Compensation? Kneel? You really have a death wish, don’t you?”

 

“Y-You bastard! You think you’ll get away with this?! If I tell my brother-in-law about this…!”

 

“What are you going to tell him? You’re about to die anyway.”

 

“What?”

 

‘Th-This can’t be happening.’

 

His cheek swelled from being slapped.

 

His whole body was kicked from every angle.

 

His face was smashed repeatedly by Limon’s fists.

 

Unable even to counterattack, let alone catch his breath, Seo Yong-chan felt more confusion than anger as Limon beat him relentlessly.

 

High-level Players were superhumans in and of themselves.

 

Level Enhancement made their bodies as tough as steel, while their reflexes became fast enough to catch arrows in midair.

 

And now that he was fully equipped with Items, Seo Yong-chan was strong enough to destroy a tank with his bare hands.

 

So why did the fists of Limon, who was supposedly nothing more than an ordinary human, hurt this much?

 

Seo Yong-chan could not understand.

 

But that confusion lasted only a moment.

 

The endless pain of the beating soon drove all coherent thought from his mind.

 

Only then did Limon finally stop punching him.

 

He grabbed Seo Yong-chan by the hair, pulled his head up until their eyes met, and gave him a chilling smile.

 

“Did you really think you could say that kind of shit to me and walk out of here alive?”

 

“…!”

 

A chill ran down Seo Yong-chan’s spine.

 

He considered himself something of an expert when it came to reckless behavior.

 

That was exactly why, the instant he saw the murderous gleam in Limon’s golden eyes, he understood.

 

Limon was every bit as insane as he was.

 

No.

 

Compared to Limon, Seo Yong-chan himself was not even worth mentioning.

 

‘This bastard is serious!’

 

At that moment, Seo Yong-chan forgot all his anger and resentment.

 

Driven purely by his survival instinct, he hurriedly opened his mouth.

 

“N-No, not there…!”

 

“Yes, there, you bastard!”

 

“W-Wait. Let’s talk…”

 

“Too late, asshole!”

 

“Agh!”

 

Ignoring Seo Yong-chan’s desperate plea, Limon mercilessly launched a kick.

 

Crack!

 

As though refusing to even give him a chance to speak,

 

Limon drove his knee into Seo Yong-chan’s jaw.

 

The impact was so powerful that broken teeth spilled out of his mouth from that single blow.

 

Limon did not stop there.

 

He planted a foot on Seo Yong-chan’s body as he rolled across the floor, pinning him down, and gave him a sinister smile.

 

“Aaaaaagh!”

 

It was the scream of a man.

 

***

 

“You’re going to die anyway, so you won’t need this anymore, right?”

 

Even while writhing in pain, Seo Yong-chan’s eyes bulged wide.

 

Limon’s murderous gaze was directed at his lower body.

 

More specifically, at his groin.

 

Seo Yong-chan finally passed out.

 

That was only natural.

 

There was no way he could remain conscious after suffering such a horrifying shock.

 

What was even more terrifying was that Limon’s violence did not stop despite that.

 

Thud! Thud! Thud!

 

“You bastard, who said you could pass out?! You think this is your bedroom? Huh? Fine, if you want to sleep, then sleep! I’ll make sure you sleep forever!”

 

“E-Elder! Please calm down! He’s seriously going to die at this rate!”

 

“No, I mean…! This man is the Infinite Monarch’s brother-in-law! What are you going to do if the Infinite Monarch finds out about this?!”

 

“Then we just make sure he doesn’t find out. We’ve got plenty of people in our organization who are experts at erasing evidence.”

 

“Do you think the Player Administration Bureau is some criminal organization?! And dozens of people saw this bastard storm in here. How are you supposed to hide that?!”

 

“We can’t?”

 

“Say something that actually makes sense!”

 

Unable to watch any longer, Kang Jeong-su hurriedly tried to stop Limon.

 

But the next moment,

 

Kang Jeong-su froze.

 

Watching Kang Jeong-su shout at him, Limon smacked his lips.

 

Then he glanced down at the battered Seo Yong-chan.

 

“I really am going to kill him.”

 

“…What?”

 

“I’m beating him because I actually intend to kill him.”

 

‘Should I just kill him or not?’

 

After leaving Kang Jeong-su completely speechless with his casual response,

 

Limon continued indifferently.

 

Limon considered his options.

 

Should he ignore the Infinite Monarch, the law, and everything else, and simply kill this bastard right now?

 

Or should he act like a proper civil servant who was supposed to uphold law and order and restrain himself for the time being?

 

Just as he seriously pondered the decision,

 

Seo Yong-chan’s appearance suddenly changed.

 

Sssss.

 

“What the hell is this now?”

 

His eyes had rolled back, but at least he still looked human.

 

Then, the instant a black gleam flashed across Limon’s vision,

 

Seo Yong-chan’s head suddenly transformed into that of a bull.

 

Limon could only stare at him in bewilderment.