Chapter 11 (2/2): Uninvited Guest (2)

“A Holy Guardian Knight…?”

A man unmistakably dressed like the classic tank class from an out-of-season fantasy game: the “Holy Guardian Knight.” 

Behind him, a woman who looked like a priest cautiously peeked out.

“Shit, there were players here…?”

Clicking his tongue, Woojin dusted off his knees and stood up. 

He had assumed there wouldn’t be a single player in this godforsaken neighborhood, but there were two. 

Definitely not welcome news.

Woojin glanced up, trying to glean information about the man boldly standing in front of them.

【???】 

Level: 821 

Class: ???

“….”

In the out-of-season fantasy system, the only information visible without using skills or items was a player’s level and HP gauge.

A frustratingly restrictive system, but in this case, that alone was enough.

‘Only level 821…?’

Compared to Woojin and Jinho, the Holy Guardian Knight was about 200 levels lower. 

The priest hiding behind him was at a similar level— players roughly equivalent to B-rank monsters.

“Goddammit, this is so annoying…”

Realizing that they weren’t up against someone they couldn’t defeat, Woojin immediately drew his twin blades. 

The Guardian Knight’s absurd defense and HP would be annoying, sure— but the level gap was big enough to make victory seem likely.

“You can’t just go crashing into people like that…”

Jinho also grimaced and drew his dagger. 

They had been interrupted at what could have been a life-defining moment, and their rage boiled over.

All they could think about was quickly eliminating these weak, nosy intruders and finishing what they had started.

“…Kill the priest first so she can’t cast buffs. I’ll handle the knight.”

“Got it, bro.”

Taking out enemy support first— those who heal or buff— is a basic strategy in an out-of-season fantasy game. 

Woojin left the priest to Jinho, whose class was a quick and agile rogue.

“Hmph, come at me if you dare.”

…Was he confident in his skills, or simply putting faith in his class as a Guardian Knight? 

The player who had appeared as the neighborhood’s self-proclaimed protector showed no hesitation, despite clearly seeing Woojin and Jinho’s higher levels.

“Idiot.”

This wasn’t a game where death meant respawning. 

Foolish pride and baseless confidence would only lead to an eternal sleep. 

The Guardian Knight would soon regret not running.

Woojin gripped his twin blades and lunged.

“Let’s go!! Shadow Blade!”

As Woojin swung his swords, two shadowy blades materialized and shot toward the knight. 

The Guardian Knight held his shield tightly and activated a skill.

“Defend Up!!”

A general tank-class skill that boosted defense. 

An orange aura wrapped around him, further increasing his already high defense. 

He blocked Woojin’s first attack without much trouble.

“Die.”

“Guh…!!”

Taking advantage of his speed as an assassin, Woojin rushed in and launched a basic strike. 

The knight met the timing well, raising his shield to block again, but the level difference made it clearly taxing.

“Wheee~ I’m slipping through! ‘Silent Sprint!’”

“Ah…!!”

While Woojin and the knight were locked in a power struggle, Jinho used a rogue-only skill to slip past them with incredible speed. 

His target: the female priest standing behind the knight.

Though his damage wasn’t particularly high as a support-type rogue, the level difference meant he could easily overpower a priest.

“Not a chance! ‘Shield of Wailing!’”

Clearly aware that losing the priest would make things much harder, the Guardian Knight activated another skill.

“Huh? What? My body…?!”

A tank’s true role is to absorb all damage for the team. 

The “Shield of Wailing” was a Guardian Knight-exclusive skill that forcibly redirected all enemy attacks to himself for a set duration.

Jinho’s dagger, which had been aimed at the priest, suddenly veered off course and struck the knight instead, against Jinho’s will.

“Song of the Shield!”

And just in time, the priest activated a defensive buff. 

With her support, the knight managed to endure not only Woojin’s blows but Jinho’s as well.

“Annoying bastard…”

Their plan to eliminate the priest first had failed, and Woojin scowled. 

Perhaps amused by his reaction, the knight smirked mid-clash.

“What? First time seeing a Guardian Knight?”

“You cocky…”

Woojin broke the power struggle, reversed his grip on one of his blades, and swung it downward at the knight’s face. 

The Guardian Knight hurriedly raised his shield again.

Clang!

Thankfully, he wasn’t too late. 

The shield caught Woojin’s strike— but in doing so, he exposed his midsection.

…And that’s exactly what Woojin had been waiting for.

“Rrgh…!!”

Without missing a beat, Woojin delivered a spinning back kick to the knight’s now-exposed stomach. 

As an assassin aiming for one-hit kills, even his basic attacks were devastating. 

The Guardian Knight flew backward and crashed into a wall.

“Ugh…”

It was clear this time he’d taken real damage, likely because he hadn’t blocked with his shield. But Woojin wasn’t about to stop there.

“Jinho!”

“Got it! ‘Steal!’”

At Woojin’s call, Jinho reached toward the crashed Guardian Knight and activated a rogue-exclusive skill.

Steal.

A skill that gave rogues a 50% chance to snatch an item or weapon from an incapacitated or status-afflicted enemy. 

This skill alone was reason enough for players to choose the rogue class— it was unique and incredibly useful.

Moreover, if the target’s level was the same or lower than the user’s, the success rate rose by 20%. 

At max level, that meant a 70% chance to successfully steal.

And right now, their target was 200 levels below Jinho, making the chance of success exactly 70%.

“…Success.”

“…?!!”

Seventy percent— a very high probability.

Jinho’s Steal successfully stripped the Guardian Knight of his most vital piece of equipment: the massive shield that was his alpha and omega.

“Wh-What the fuck?!”

The expression of the Holy Shield Knight hardened as he watched his shield vanish like a mirage. 

Since all his skills required a shield to activate, losing it was practically the same as losing the fight entirely.

It’s not like his normal attacks dealt any real damage, and he didn’t have a DPS partner to back him up either. 

At this point, the Holy Shield Knight had nothing left to look forward to but defeat.

“You dumbass. When you see someone with a way higher level, you’re supposed to run.”

“Fuck…”

“There’s such a thing as a level gap. Did you really think you could win? Without a DPS?”

“……”

Woojin, wielding twin blades, slowly approached to finish off the bothersome intruder. 

The knight frantically looked around for a place to escape to, but unfortunately, they were at a dead end, blocked off by walls on all sides.

“D-Dongwook!!”

The priestess called out to the Holy Shield Knight desperately, but she was too inexperienced to be of any help in this situation.

“You guys attacked first. So consider this karma.”

“Damn it…”

…Kim Dongwook, the Holy Shield Knight — in-game nickname ‘Sinsa-dong Masochist’ — glared at Woojin, who was approaching with a mocking grin.

They had only come to loot during these chaotic times, but to be so overwhelmingly overpowered by someone they underestimated… Dongwook couldn’t hide the mix of confusion and rage boiling inside.

But no matter how hard he thought, no way out came to mind. A cold bead of sweat ran down from his forehead.

“We’re in a bit of a hurry, so I’ll do you a favor and make it painless.”

“Y-You bastard…!!”

Woojin raised his blade, aiming it at Dongwook’s neck. 

All Dongwook could do now was pray that his base defense could somehow withstand a critical strike from an assassin over 200 levels above him.

“…!!”

He shut his eyes tightly, bracing himself for the pain and impact that was about to hit.

…But instead of the agony he expected, what hit him was a bone-chilling cold — a frost that seemed to freeze his very skeleton.

“Huh…?”

Suddenly overwhelmed by the biting cold, Woojin also froze in place and turned around.

“What the hell…?”

Just like him, the rogue Kim Jinho frowned and murmured, also turning to look in the same direction.

“…Who’s there?”

Baffled by the sudden and inexplicable chill in the early summer night, their eyes were drawn to a figure approaching from the far end of the alley.

“A girl…?”

“At this hour…?”

But it was clearly not an ordinary girl. 

Her face was completely hidden behind a black mask, and she wore a gray hoodie pulled over her head, concealing her appearance.

Were it not for her slender yet alluringly curvy figure, they might not have even realized she was female.

Moreover, the ominous red greatsword floating behind her — radiating a deadly aura — made it clear she was just like them: a transformed player in the ‘Season-Off Fantasy’ event.

‘Ice…?’

And another thing — with each step she took, a thin layer of frost spread across the road, freezing it little by little.

The closer she came, the more intense the cold grew, leaving no doubt that she was the source of this frigid air.

“Hey, you two.”

…The mysterious girl continued walking toward them and, in a soft but firm voice, addressed Woojin and Jinho — intruders in this hillside slum.

“……I’ll trust you came prepared to die.”

From behind her mask, glowing red eyes flared beneath the night sky.