The Final Boss Has Returned — Chapter 100
The conference room of the Lightwing Entertainment building after Drakan departed.
An awkward air flowed through the place where the entire Lightwing Guild, including Yujin, was gathered.
It was because Yujin had firmly decided to clear the problematic two-person dungeon with a third party, and not just any third party, but with Drakan.
Inside the conference hall where an atmosphere colder than the glaciers of the North Pole permeated, Yujin’s best friend, the muscleman who had dragged him into Arde Saga, looked at Yujin and sighed inwardly.
‘What an idiot.’
He was his damn best friend, but honestly, Yujin was so dense when it came to romance that it was almost too much.
A whopping six years had passed since Elena, Sharp, and Berda had harbored feelings for Yujin.
More than half of the decade that could move mountains had gone by, and despite the three’s relentless approaches during that time, Yujin’s denseness showed no signs of improving.
Mistaking obvious expressions of romantic interest for camaraderie was the most basic of basics, and openly brushing off seduction attempts with a hollow laugh was already an everyday occurrence.
Just like the dense protagonist you’d expect to see in a classic rom-com manga!
That was Yujin.
The problem was that unlike manga, harems weren’t tolerated in reality, and the uncomfortable truth was that he would eventually have to choose one of the three, yet every time he was pushed into such a situation, Yujin would slip away as nimbly as a loach.
Just like with this two-person dungeon matter.
Of course, there was little Muscleman could do against the three’s combined pressure, and more than anything, Muscleman was actually harboring a secret one-sided love for Elena, the guild’s healer and saintess.
That was why.
That was the reason Muscleman didn’t actively step into his best friend Yujin’s romantic troubles.
He secretly harbored the hope that if Yujin chose someone other than Elena, perhaps Elena might turn to him.
“Hey, Yujin.”
In the continuing silence, it was Sharp who spoke first.
“What?”
“Are you out of your mind? You’re going to run a dungeon with that guy Drakan?”
True to form, Sharp—famous for her so-called “tsundere” personality and rough way of speaking—fired at Yujin point-blank.
They had tried to make him choose one of the three this time for sure.
The other two had agreed with this opinion, so they had pressured Muscleman and every other acquaintance to not accept any dungeon raid proposals, in order to create a situation where he would have to choose one of them.
After that, there were times when she couldn’t sleep at night, trembling with anticipation that she might be the one chosen.
But today, that hope had been cruelly shattered.
Yujin.
He had once again chosen no one.
On top of that, the third party he had chosen was none other than Drakan.
Yujin said to Sharp,
“What’s wrong with Lord Drakan? I don’t know about the past, but he’s a decent person now. He’s even reflected on his actions.”
Yujin had already decided to fully trust Drakan, but that wasn’t the answer they wanted to hear.
Having heard his answer, Sharp scoffed with a “Hmph” and turned her head.
“That’s not the issue right now, Oppa.”
And the one who spoke next after Sharp was none other than Elena, the guild’s healer.
A fleeting beauty with her hair tied in cute twin-tails and an equally cute impression, she looked at Yujin and continued speaking.
“Why won’t you choose one of us?”
Yujin was bewildered by Elena’s blunt question.
That choosing one of the three would hurt the other two was something even the dense Yujin knew full well.
Yujin scratched his cheek, smiled awkwardly, and spoke slowly.
“If I choose one of the three, the other two will get hurt.”
The invincible logic that Yujin had wielded like a trump card until now!
All three had objections rise up to their throats simultaneously at that logic, but they swallowed them back down at Yujin’s bitter expression.
It was because all three loved Yujin’s frustratingly dense yet kind and gentle nature.
In the end, the three decided to let it slide this time as well.
They still couldn’t overcome the fear of being hated by Yujin if they pushed him further, and the fear of being rejected by him.
Of course, all three knew well that this precarious situation would end one way or another someday.
But even so, all three harbored the wish that this sweet dream might last a while longer.
“Yujin, you are too kind for your own good.”
With Berda’s words, the ice-cold atmosphere thawed somewhat.
“So, do you absolutely have to go with Drakan?”
At Sharp’s grumbling, Yujin scratched his head and answered.
“I already promised, so it’d feel bad to break it now.”
He kept a promise once made.
Knowing Yujin’s principles, all three sighed inwardly at the same time.
Since they had decided to let it go again this time, they merely hoped the dungeon raid would end without incident.
Besides, no matter how treacherous Drakan was, it was nearly impossible for him to cause any trouble in a mere dungeon raid.
Among the three, only Berda felt an inexplicable unease at the name Drakan.
* * *
After successfully concluding negotiations with Yujin.
I logged into the game immediately.
[Welcome to Arde Saga Second, user.]
Along with the login notification, the landscape in my field of vision was the Hall of Glory!
The hall’s appearance was exactly the same as when I had logged out.
Even the Vampire King Nosferatu, who had given me the quest, was still there.
I rose from the ice throne.
Because I had arranged for the Lightwing Guild to send someone to deliver the Twilight Stone at the Grand Snow Plaza.
Of course, it was only natural that I had drawn up a contract and paid the purchase price in advance before logging into the game.
It wasn’t my money but Sin Hayeon’s money that was spent, but anyway, the Twilight Stone was finally coming into my grasp.
I smiled and left the Hall of Glory.
[We greet the Lord Apostle.]
[May infinite glory be upon the Lord Apostle.]
Receiving greetings from passing Liches and Death Knights, I exited the Winter Palace and headed toward the promised location, the Grand Snow Plaza.
But for some reason, it felt like more and more users were flocking to the plaza the closer I got.
‘What the?’
The moment I was thinking, did the user count suddenly increase?
“Is it true that Lord Yujin came to the North?”
“That’s what they say. He’s at the Grand Plaza.”
The conversation of passing users struck my mind.
Yujin?
Why on earth did that guy come here?
Don’t tell me the person delivering the Twilight Stone was Yujin?
When I thought that far, I immediately felt dumbfounded.
I had thought they wouldn’t send just anyone for the delivery, but never imagined he would come personally!
The user I had expected to meet was someone like Muscleman, not Yujin himself making a personal appearance.
I made my way through the increasingly dense crowd toward the Grand Snow Plaza.
“Oh, it’s Drakan!”
“Where?”
“Whoa, it’s really him, the real Drakan!”
The users’ conversation brushed past my ears.
The moment I felt more and more users recognizing me.
I had already arrived at the Grand Snow Plaza.
The plaza located in the south of Snow Castle was packed with countless people, unlike usual.
And at its center, I was able to find him.
Yujin. The moment our eyes met.
“Lord Drakan!”
Yujin waved his hand cheerfully and called out to me in a friendly voice.
“Did Lord Yujin just call out to Drakan?”
“I guess Yujin was looking for Lord Drakan.”
“What, when did those two get so close?”
The sound of the gathered crowd in the plaza murmuring together with him pierced my ears.
The muttering users’ voices all clearly revealed surprise.
Of course, until now, Yujin had entered my broadcast to donate or faced me in interviews, but it was almost the first time he had expressed such familiarity in a public setting.
Realizing I had arrived, the crowd voluntarily parted to the sides, so a path toward Yujin opened on its own as if by Moses’ miracle, and I moved my feet through that path to finally face Yujin in the Arde World after a long time.
“This is the second time we’ve met in the Arde World, right?”
“Yeah.”
Of course, we had clashed disgustingly often during the previous game, but by Second standards, the second time was correct.
So I roughly nodded at his words and immediately got to the main point.
“The goods?”
“I’ll give them to you now.”
[‘Yujin’ has requested a trade.]
[Will you accept the trade?]
The moment I got to the main point, Yujin requested a trade with me, and I accepted it immediately.
[You have accepted the trade.]
Then a translucent trade window appeared before my eyes, and Yujin placed an item that appeared to be the Twilight Stone in his trade window.
“Please check the item information.”
Brushing off Yujin’s words, I checked the Twilight Stone’s information.
[Twilight Stone]
[Grade: Legendary]
[Classification: Miscellaneous / Material]
[Durability: 10000/10000]
[An ore bearing the twilight hue where day and night cross. A very high-grade magic material. A beautiful ore that holds the power of twilight, renowned as equipment material as well.]
Gazing at the radiant ore that lived up to the name Twilight Stone with its mix of half blue and half sunset light, I pressed trade confirm.
[Do you really wish to proceed with the trade?]
“Trade.”
[‘Yujin’ has completed trade confirmation.]
[The trade is complete.]
[‘Twilight Stone’ has been added to your inventory.]
The trade was finished simply, and the moment I had opened my inventory to check if the Twilight Stone was there.
“Lord Drakan.”
Yujin’s voice calling me was heard again.
Having finished the final item check, I answered toward Yujin.
“What is it?”
At my words, Yujin hesitated for a moment before speaking in a careful voice.
“Today was a fruitful meeting. I will see you again next time.”
The “next time” he spoke of was almost certainly referring to the two-person dungeon clear.
I smiled as I thought of that next time.
Yujin!
Though my desire for revenge still boiled over every time I faced that mortal enemy, I was someone who could hold and control the reins of revenge with reason.
For the sake of revenge, I could do anything!
I could suppress my boiling desire for revenge and stay close to him.
And why, isn’t there a saying like that?
That the most painful thing is the agony of having your own trusted axe strike your foot.
I intended to gladly become Yujin’s “trusted axe,” then cruelly strike his foot at the decisive moment.
Imagining that moment, a laugh naturally escaped me.
Revenge!
That was the greatest fuel that moved me.
“Yeah. See you next time.”
At my words, Yujin smiled, waved his hand, and left.
Having concluded my meeting with Yujin, I returned to the Hall of Glory inside the Winter Palace, leaving behind the countless crowds shouting in cheers.
Along the way, the Demon Kings of the Demon Suppression War sent various reactions regarding the Hero, but I ignored them.
“You have arrived, Lord Apostle.”
As soon as I entered the Hall of Glory, Nosferatu greeted me politely.
I naturally accepted his greeting and opened my inventory to take out the Twilight Stone.
“Is this the Twilight Stone you spoke of?”
Twilight Stone!
The sparkling ore, about the size of a human head and purchased with a whopping 3 billion won of real money, appeared above my hand, and Nosferatu fell to his knees on the spot.
“That is correct, Lord Apostle. This is the very Twilight Stone that our clan has searched for so desperately.”
Kneeling, Nosferatu gazed at the radiant light of the Twilight Stone as if entranced and spoke.
I handed the Twilight Stone to Nosferatu, who was spreading his arms toward me, and he accepted the Twilight Stone deferentially with both hands.
[You have completed the quest ‘Polar Night’.]
[Your level has increased.]
[Your level has increased.]
…….
[All stats have increased by 231.]
The moment Nosferatu accepted the Twilight Stone, quest completion notifications covered my field of vision in a dizzying array.