Chapter 53 : Towards the Finale (2)

Thud, thud.

The first to sense the presence was Yoo Seoyeno.

She tilted her head toward the source of the sound.

It was quiet, but the sound of heavy footsteps crushing grass could be heard.

The footsteps were filled with a considerable sense of intimidation.

“Silver-haired one? What’s going on… huh?”

Following Yoo Seoyeno’s gaze, Rydel also turned her head late.

Beyond the grassy edge of the hunting ground.

A giant player was walking toward them, his steps large and heavy.

It was quite a distance, so Rydel couldn’t hear the footsteps.

How did she hear it so quickly?

Watching Yoo Seoyeno’s back, Rydel silently admired her.

There had been some sounds brushing by, but this was right in the middle of the hunting ground, filled with all kinds of noise.

The sound of wind rustling through the leaves.

The galloping hooves of a fleeing roe deer.

In the midst of all these small noises, it wasn’t easy to distinguish a particular step.

But Yoo Seoyeno was different.

It was as if she was listening to sounds from another world, catching the exact moment someone was approaching.

“Hm.”

A moment later, where their gazes met, a sharp-faced male player appeared.

He was clad in pitch-black armor from head to toe.

On his back, he carried a massive greatsword as large as his body.

The deep scar on the corner of his eye, despite being an avatar, exuded an intimidating presence.

His nickname was Argon.

Although his presence had somewhat faded compared to the silver-haired Silver Silver or the massive clan leader CritZone, he was still a well-known name on the streamer server.

He was a former professional gamer who had made a name for himself in Raid and Master.

The game, which was infamous for its sky-high popularity and fiercely competitive environment, had made earning the “pro” title a testament to one’s innate gaming sense.

Even within Raid and Master, Argon had been considered royalty, a mid-liner who held a prestigious title.

Unlike other lanes, often called “butchers,” “tools,” “spoons,” or “mentally ill,” the mid-liner title of “royalty” was one that could be sustained.

“Ahem!”

The title of professional gamer was no empty accolade.

Argon, with his natural physicality and animalistic gaming sense, had acquired the hidden job “Rune Slayer” in Pixel Wars as well.

His personal skills were often compared to Silver Silver and Umdaeum in the community, with the occasional heated debates over who was better.

Argon came to a stop right in front of Yoo Seoyeno and Rydel.

“Greetings, Rydel. It’s been a while.”

“Argon! It’s nice to see you. I haven’t seen you around much on this server.”

Rydel greeted him with a slight smile.

They weren’t particularly close, but since their main game, Raid and Master, overlapped, they had exchanged greetings a few times.

“Haha, I’ve been focused on the lava zone since the beginning. I was aiming for the Rune Slayer job.”

Argon proudly revealed his dark red sword hanging from his waist.

It was a weapon exclusive to the hidden Rune Slayer job, one that only Rune Slayers could wield.

“And… you’re Silver Silver, right?”

His gaze turned toward Yoo Seoyeno.

“I’ve heard a lot about you. I never imagined you would clear that raid using a golem… I couldn’t have imagined such a method.”

He wasn’t mocking her for taking the easy route; it was pure admiration.

Argon, being a former pro gamer, believed that to win, one should not hesitate to use any means necessary.

Thus, Silver Silver’s gameplay was enough to earn his respect.

Argon’s recognition.

The chat exploded in an instant.

“Silver Silver got a shoutout from Argon 🙂🙂🙂🙂”

“A former Raid and Master pro recognizes her ☺️☺️☺️☺️”

“The people who called it ‘cheating’ will quiet down now 😞😞😞😞”

“As expected from royalty mid-liner, has a good eye really”

“…T-thank you.”

Yoo Seoyeno slightly bowed her head.

Her response was extremely calm and composed.

Most streamers would probably overreact to a compliment from a former pro gamer, but Yoo Seoyeno seemed strangely indifferent.

There was a reason for this.

‘…Who is he?’

Yoo Seoyeno simply looked up at the Rune Slayer Argon with a blank expression.

Argon or Dragon or whatever—she had never even heard the name before.

Naturally, she didn’t know he was a former pro gamer either.

If she had been livestreaming, she might’ve picked up on it through the chat reactions.

Unfortunately, Yoo Seoyeno wasn’t in a position to stream right now.

With no access to the chat window, the former royal mid-laner Argon was—Just a large, intimidating-looking Player No.1 to her.

Rydel glanced at her nervously, wondering if Seoyeno’s unexpectedly indifferent response had offended him.

Argon paused for a moment, then pulled something out of his coat with a solemn expression.

“Th-this. I’m not sure if you’ll need it, but…”

He suddenly held out several sparkling red gems.

And a few rare monster hides.

All high-end crafting materials that could only be obtained in the Lava Zone.

Items of considerable value.

Rydel’s eyes went wide.

“Wait, Argon! Are you really okay giving us something this valuable?”

“Haha, I just happened to pick them up on the way. My inventory’s full anyway. It’d be better if you two used them.”

His voice was that of a confident, manly man.

But the expression on Rune Slayer Argon’s face as he handed over the items—Was bashfully shy, almost like a young girl.

A stark contrast to his rough first impression.

Rydel’s stream chat exploded again.

「LMAO water buffalo bro at it again」

「Dude goes nuts the moment a girl shows up」

「‘Found these on the way’ LOL classic pickup line」

「But ngl, Silverhair’s voice is kinda cute」

「Water buffalooooooo」

「Comedy gold today」

Argon—former pro gamer, royal mid-laner.

A man who devoted his youth to gaming, with zero dating experience.

In other words, a complete novice when it came to romance.

Hence, the nickname: Water Buffalo.

And whenever he stood in front of female players, he’d lose his cool like a magnet being pulled.

He insisted otherwise, clinging to his “tough guy” image—But no one who saw his actions ever believed it.

This is it.

Argon felt proud, thinking he’d just nailed the perfect cool line.

Yoo Seoyeno tilted her head slightly and looked up at him.

With eyes as pure and clear as a small animal’s.

“Thank… you.”

She bowed politely once again.

In that moment, the corner of Argon’s mouth twitched involuntarily.

“C-Cough!”

Argon quickly cleared his throat and covered his mouth with his hand.

“D-don’t mention it. They’re not exactly… things I need anyway.”

In truth, he could’ve made a nice profit just selling them to an NPC shop.

Still, they weren’t something he urgently needed, so it wasn’t exactly a lie.

But once he said that, the conversation came to a sudden halt.

Silence.

Rydel smiled brightly.

Next to her, the silver-haired girl still stared up at him without much of a reaction.

A cold bead of sweat trickled down Argon’s back.

Awkward.

He had to—had to say something to keep the conversation going…!

His mind went completely blank.

Argon had simply never spoken with a woman for more than 10 minutes in his entire life. 

This was his limit.

「Say something, Argon, LOL」

「Dude’s really a relationship rookie, huh」

「This is heartbreaking…」

《‘LilAga’ has donated 3,000 won!》

Watching this is like looking in a mirror. 

If you’re not laughing, hit the like button, LOL.

「It’s okay」

「It’s okay」

「Where do you live, bro」

「Don’t say stuff like that…」

「My girlfriend’s a digital waifu」

“Uh, um, do y-you like movies…”

Desperate not to let the silence continue,‘Argon started to stammer out anything he could think of…’

Ding!

A clear and cheerful system alert suddenly echoed across the entire server.

[Event: ‘Foundation of the Final Battle’ has begun!]

At the sudden announcement,Yoo Seoyeon, Rydel, and Argon all simultaneously looked up at the floating message window.

[A great threat looms… Prepare for the ‘Final Invasion’!]

[Find 30 ‘Ancient Power Cores’ to supply energy to the town’s defense systems.]

[The player with the highest contribution in supplying Power Cores will be granted control of the ultimate defense system: ‘Aegis’ Touch’!]

A surprise event popped up in what had seemed like a peaceful time on the server.

Especially now, with less than a month left until the server’s shutdown—this was clearly a massive finale event.

「Let’s gooo~~~」

「Holy crap, is this the big one?」

「Zeronix just dropped a bomb LOL」

「Control of the defense system? What does that even do?」

「Where do we find Ancient Power Cores though」

「Is this a souped-up version of that Elderin event?」

「Let’s go, let’s go~~」

「What’s this ‘Final Invasion’ all about, damn」

「Defense system—do we get to build turrets or something?」

“They really don’t give us a break, huh.”

Rydel gulped as she reread the system message.

It reminded her of the last event, where they had to collect items for Elderin.

Back then, if it hadn’t been for Yoo Seoyeno’s godlike hard carry, they wouldn’t have even dared to attempt it.

Would things unfold the same way this time?

Rydel shook her head inwardly.

‘I won’t fall for it twice.’

Zeronix was a competent server admin in his own way.

Unlike the somewhat sloppy previous event,

this time, he was sure to thoroughly check and validate every card Yoo Seoyeno had up her sleeve.

It wouldn’t be so easy to cheese through it with buggy tactics like before.

Which meant—they had to move quickly.

“Let’s start by gathering info. We need to know where to get those Power Cores or whatever.”

Yoo Seoyeno nodded. 

At that moment.

“Um, Silver Hair. Rydel. I, uh… I was thinking this event might be a bit much for just the two of you…”

Argon awkwardly cleared his throat a few times before speaking up.

“Ahem. Our clan actually has a few decent players. What do you think about a small clan alliance?”

As soon as the event announcement dropped, the other streamer clans would be quick to act.

He’d learned his lesson the hard way during the last event.

Although Silver Hair’s absurd carry had flipped the entire situation on its head.

‘Strength in numbers!’

Having a crowd was pure power.

If it hadn’t been for Silver Hair’s unbelievable performance,the victor of the previous event would’ve undoubtedly been CritZone, the clan that had formed the largest alliance.

Knowing that, Argon’s proposal was actually pretty reasonable.

Though truthfully, more than strategy, the real reason he made the offer was because he just wanted to do something—anything—with the two girls.

“Thanks for the offer,” Yoo Seoyeno replied. A slight smile tugged at the corner of Argon’s lips.

“But for now, let’s check the conditions for getting the Power Cores first… Maybe we can team up later?”

Argon’s face froze in place.

It was a polite answer, but essentially, a soft rejection.

He looked to Rydel, but she just nodded while looking at Silver Hair as well.

Ever since the last event, Rydel had basically decided to let Yoo Seoyeno do all the thinking for her.

If Yoo Seoyeno said it was the right move, then it probably was.

“Well, see you later then, Argon.”

With a wave of their hands, the two of them vanished using a spatial distortion skill.

“…It’s cold.”

A single tear, hot as molten lava, rolled down the cheek of the man named Argon.

***

“Whew. Let’s hope this event goes smoothly.”

In the operations control room, Frost let out a small sigh as he watched the scene unfold on the monitor.

Unlike the 1-month anniversary event that had been hyped up all over the place,this time, the event had launched completely without warning.

“The last one ended too quickly, so we opened this one a bit earlier,”

Zeronix said from beside him, sipping on a Zero Cola.

“Do you think Silver Hair will flip the board again this time?”

Zeronix grinned.

Silver Hair.

He didn’t hold any grudges—in fact, he kind of liked her. 

The last event had turned out pretty fun in the end.

But that didn’t mean he was going to let her cheese the system again.

“Can’t say it’s impossible… but it won’t be easy this time.”

This was a matter of pride for him as a game server operator.

Zeronix smiled to himself as he double-checked the conditions for obtaining the Ancient Power Cores.

“Sometimes, the simplest things are the hardest.”