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Translator: uly
Chapter: 8
Chapter Title: Guild Master Isn't Satisfied with Just the Game
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["Second Unit battle commencing. Idle players, please move to the front lines."]
The First Unit was still taking it easy.
With Spaceking's top forces all diverted to the Goldbunker side, things were expected to go smoothly for the Second Unit as well.
As soon as I joined the Second Unit, I summoned my heroes from the First Unit.
"[Messiah. Terra. Liannon.]"
[Summons Messiah.]
[Summons Terra.]
[Summons Liannon.]
A single user could bind up to six heroes max.
Valen, Elfer, and Whistle were NPCs affiliated with the Diperonta Empire, so I left them to keep fighting with the imperial First Unit.
I opened the bound heroes' exclusive skill window.
"[Let's go.]"
[Embrace of the Guardian God lv99]
[Bound heroes within 1km feel profound peace from your presence.]
[Bound heroes' faith increases.]
[Bound heroes resonate with your emotions.]
[All bound heroes' stats synchronize to the maximum with the binder's stats.]
[Direct buffs apply at 200%.]
Synchronization was the real key to this skill.
Once their stats synced with the user's, the heroes could fight at near-player levels.
The AoE buff took care of HP management too.
[Quan Messiah]
▶ Hero Traits:
[Miracle Girl/Immortality]
—Grants the [Immortality] skill to the binder.
▶ Exclusive Skills:
[Victory's Roar lv99]
[Hell Road lv99]
[The World Is My Toy lv99]
[Protective Instinct lv99]
▶ Ultimate Skills:
[Girl's Prayer lv99] (10 min)
[End of the World lv99] (90 min)
+
▶ Hero Traits:
[Sacred Embrace]
—Increases the binder's defense.
▶ Exclusive Skills:
[The Judge lv99]
[The Guardian lv99]
▶ Ultimate Skills:
[One Strike lv99] (6 min)
[Sacred Shield lv99] (10 min)
[Horizontal Slash lv99] (20 min)
+
▶ Hero Traits:
[Slayer from Hell]
—Increases the binder's fame.
▶ Exclusive Skills:
[Sword Piercing the Dragon lv99]
[Invisible Speed lv99]
[Magic Reflection lv99]
▶ Ultimate Skills:
[Abyss of Hell lv99] (10 min)
[Dragon Roar lv99] (30 min)
The numbers next to ultimates were cooldowns.
With proper training, heroes fought intelligently on their own—no need for micromanagement.
What users occasionally did was time their ultimates.
"Messiah."
She nodded when I called.
Time for [End of the World].
"Messiah, End of the World incoming. Heroes, prep long-range ultimates."
I issued the hold command in all-channel voice chat.
Messiah was a rare girl-like NPC hero in Viva. Her [Immortality] trait hinted she wasn't a real child.
The two sides' NPC troops clashed in fierce defense and assault.
Combat heroes Terra and Liannon, with their high base attack and defense, charged the front lines swords in hand.
Skills and arrows rained from beyond the defensive wall.
Users barely took damage unless hit dead-on, but regular NPCs died easily the moment shields broke.
Messiah scanned with a hawk's eye.
She designated targets, waiting for a gap in enemy buffs.
Then.
"Now."
Icons lit up in the bound heroes' skill window, showcasing their power.
So did Messiah's eyes.
[End of the World lv99] (90 min)
Ninety minutes was a long cooldown in game terms.
It balanced the skill's massive impact.
Effect: AoE buff disarm.
[Life feels worthless, as if the world has ended—all buffs are dispelled.]
Full NPC defense exposure meant instant death.
The moment they lost the will to live and craved death, it delivered the real thing.
With enemy buffs stripped, front-line users unleashed bound heroes' ultimates.
Shuuu—
I pulled up the hero skill window.
[Horizontal Slash lv99] (20 min)
[Dragon Roar lv99] (30 min)
Terra's sword swept horizontally, exploding the forward area in an AoE blast. Liannon's raised blade formed a massive magic circle overhead, beaming light.
Long-range skills, including Liannon's lightning, hammered the site.
Kwa-kwa-kwa-KABOOM!!!
Thud!! Boom!!
Shuuu—Kwa-kwa-kwa-KABOOM!!!
I extended a hand amid the barrage. AoE buff [With the Gods lv99] activated.
"[Area sync. Output support.]"
[Affects allies' skill output.]
[Influenced by caster's mental power.]
[Adjust manually!]
"..."
A fireball flying overhead suddenly ballooned to Armageddon scale.
I amplified the heroes' techniques.
Kwa-kwa-kwa-kwa-KABOOM!!!!
Mutual destruction swallowed even screams.
Spaceking's massive NPC frontline army—locked in fierce standoff behind walls moments ago—wiped out entirely.
Surviving heroes looked ragged; one couldn't endure the pain and drove his sword into his gut.
Voice chat crackled.
["Enemy lines one-third scorched."]
["End of the World carried again. Total bullshit skill. Good work, everyone."]
It landed perfectly this time.
Normally, high-mental-power users tanked with umbrella buffs, slashing damage, but Spaceking's top rankers were tied up.
Horrified by the slaughter and stench of blood, enemy NPCs hesitated—but soon charged through blood pools, fueled by rear mental buffs.
Uwaaaah—!!
The emptied front behind the wall refilled with foes.
"Mino."
["Yep!"]
"Goldbunker karma reading?"
Mino handled comms with Goldbunker. Updates came through her.
["They're probably nuclear-nuked as expected. Just remembered—meant to ask. Too cruel! Gulp!"]
Kyahahaha!!
Her throat-scratching laugh brought a fond smile.
Kid had good character.
"Good girl."
["Kee-hee-hee. Th-thank—?!" ]
Private chat cut; her voice boomed in all-channel.
["Spaceking loses Wichen!"]
"!"
["Not war mode, so no system alert! Spaceking just took Wichen—passing it on!"]
* * *
Goldbunker dropped the nuke, forcing Spaceking to rush Wichen.
Occupation might as well be done.
But Dart's mood, stripped of any leeway, was utter shit.
Unclear how many more nukes Goldbunker packed.
"Damn it!"
Kwa—Bang!!
Dart kicked aside Wichen's ancient throne, summoning his own to sit.
Thud.
Item from a northern dragon lair.
[Throne of the Demon King]
Skull-and-bone grotesquery fit Dart's vile rep perfectly.
It exuded grudges from those slain by the Demon King.
Ordinary NPCs couldn't approach—built-in debuff throne.
"..."
Dart crossed his legs.
Captured Wichen royals trembled before them.
No need to bind; they knelt unbound.
Sub-masters and members shut up, gauging moods; Dart calmed.
[Throne of the Demon King] unsettled emotions around it while granting its sitter potent defense buffs.
Dart spoke.
"Something's off."
"...Like what?"
"Goldbunker acts fearless. Ignoring karma from the start. How?"
"Pre-stocked good karma?"
In Viva's system, bad karma offset good karma.
Guilds stacked good karma pre-siege.
Members chimed in.
"Even so, that nuke's too much. Unless stockpiled deliberately ages ago."
"What're they banking on?"
"Teamed with Fulminak—maybe sacrificing one side."
Fulminak gained most from Goldbunker's aggression.
As always, Spaceking eyed Fulminak warily over Goldbunker.
Goldbunker wasn't pushover, but no longer one-on-one siege rival.
Dart scoffed at one member's claim.
"Ha. Gilgamesh and sacrifice."
Absurd.
Spaceking sub-masters Soap and Nix exchanged glances at Dart's words.
[Name] Soap (lv99)
—Korea Server Rank 5
Affiliation: Spaceking
Position: Sub-Guildmaster
<
[Name] Nix (lv99)
—Korea Server Rank 6
Affiliation: Spaceking
Position: Sub-Guildmaster
<
Soap mulled, then concluded.
"Karma-wise, even if more nukes, can't use twice. Unless handing everything to Fulminak—which unlikely in final siege."
Spot on.
Rage subsided; Dart composed himself.
"..."
Anyway, Spaceking secured Wichen intact, still boasting overwhelming NPC forces.
Nix blurted.
"But when do we off their heads?"
Regaining poise, Dart eyed the royals.
"Karma war now—kill them?"
"Uh? Oh, right."
Nix faltered briefly.
Dart used to behead NPCs post-capture without thought.
For Spaceking leaders, hanging royal heads at gates marked territory.
Signaled new overlords to the ruled.
Special circumstances now.
Facing potential final siege, slaughterfest with Goldbunker, then nuke.
NPC army massacred; Dart's edginess natural.
"Lock 'em all underground. Summon prep royals for adaptation tests."
"Got it."
Soap opened chat, ordering royal summons; Nix herded them to dungeons with bound heroes.
Dart told Soap.
"And propose term end."
"What? Now?"
"Yeah."
Soap gaped.
Even accomplices: ambushing at this hour, snagging Wichen, then ending turn? Other guilds would curse them out.
Spaceking dick moves weren't new.
Dart snorted at Soap's face.
"Dragging in at dawn—everyone's sleepy. Open tomorrow morning slot."
Damn.
Soap admired silently.
Picking the most hated plays took skill.
Tomorrow's boards would explode on Spaceking ethics. Members wouldn't care.
"Dunno if accepted."
Too dickish.
Morning open favored Spaceking, who scheduled ambushes, took real-life days off, etc.
Dart shrugged at Soap.
"Reject? War till sunrise then."
"True, we need rest too. Recover irradiated heroes."
"That, and I'm beat."
Dart pressed his eyelids, exhausted.
Dawn fights strained them too.
Dart's brow furrowed.
"That Gilgamesh fucker to kill..."
Deep rage and stress in his mutter.
Central forces, elite First Unit core, nearly wiped; survivors combat-ineffective from fallout.
Users pulled heroes pre-blast, sparing mains.
But nuke aftereffects and fatigue overwhelmed.