SSG 222

Episode 222

“Is this Mordin?”

“Don’t get distracted, just follow me. We need to find a base first.”

The plaza in front of the city gates, where players using teleport usually arrive. People who seemed new to Mordin fumbled around in confusion.

It was such a common sight after Mordin became known to players that no one paid them any attention.

Soon after, another group teleported in.

Unlike the last ones, this group already seemed used to it and walked deeper into the city.

“Demons really are efficient.”

“I leveled up this time.”

“Already? How long has it been since your last level up?”

“The loot is good too. This’ll bring in a fair bit of cash if I sell it.”

They disappeared into the city, chatting noisily, and then another group teleported in.

“So this is Mordin.”

“Should we look around a little?”

“No time for that. We need to secure our base as quickly as possible.”

“Do we have to rush? Even if someone else has taken it, we can just crush them by force.”

“There’s no need to let things get complicated by dawdling. This isn’t some small business, you know?”

“Fine, fine, stop glaring at me. We’ll go right there.”

Unlike the others, they teleported to a different place instead of entering the city.

Just like that, many players were coming and going from Mordin.

Yuseong looked down at the scene from the top of a still-under-construction tower.

‘Good.’

Unlike Prochenhau, where the only income was the taxes from NPCs, Mordin’s profits were amazing. Especially as more players began to come in, the income skyrocketed.

At first, it was just people stopping by to look around or using Mordin as a waypoint to travel to teleport-restricted areas. But enough time had passed that now, there were even people who made Mordin their activity base.

And the more of those people there were, the more income Yuseong made, and the more he could increase his forces in the real world accordingly.

‘I hope this kind of profit keeps coming….’

But no matter the era or location, there are always people who envy and covet others’ happiness, and those looking to take it away.

Right now, as the highest earner in Ark, Yuseong was far too tempting a target.

---

Thump thump. Someone was walking down the hallway of a building.

Impressively heavy armor covered him from head to toe, and the hammer slung across his back looked like it could pound anything blocking his way.

A large door appeared before him.

Thud! Thud!

He knocked. Soon, a voice from inside called for him to enter.

When he opened the door, a fairly large room appeared. At the long table, people who had arrived earlier were already seated.

“You’re here, Mad Hammer.”

He, Mad Hammer, took off his helmet and greeted the person who spoke to him.

“Hello, Vice-Guildmaster.”

This was Apollon, the Vice-Guildmaster of C.O.T.S. Apollon nodded once and gestured to an empty seat with his chin.

“Sit down.”

Mad Hammer headed for the indicated seat.

“The new punk’s got nerve showing up late.”

Jeers came from across the table. Mad Hammer glanced at him.

“There’s still time before the meeting, isn’t there?”

“The newbie is supposed to show up first and finish cleaning, too. Don’t brats these days even know that?”

He snickered.

Others who agreed with him joined in the mockery.

But Mad Hammer didn’t so much as blink at the taunts. He watched Apollon, who sat at the head of the table.

Apollon had no reaction. He didn’t defend anyone or scold anyone.

‘Permission granted.’

If so, there was nothing to hold him back. Mad Hammer set his warhammer beside him and flopped into his chair. Folding his arms, he stared at the man who’d mocked him.

“You dumb bastard, mouthing off as you please.”

Laughter stopped abruptly. The man who’d taunted Mad Hammer glared at him.

“…What did you say?”

“What, didn’t you hear? What didn’t you hear? ‘Dumb bastard’? ‘Bastard’? ‘Mouthing off as you please’? Ask me. I’ll kindly keep spelling it out for you.”

“Some punk who smeared dirt on the guild’s honor is getting cocky just because he leveled up a bit!”

“Heh! So that’s all you’ve got? To think, now that your level, reputation, and ability are all worse than mine, the only thing you can do is drag up my old mistakes.”

“You son of a—!”

The man tried to jump up, but caught himself at a glance from Apollon. Apollon was watching him. Not glaring or threatening—just watching. That was enough to break his spirit.

The man quietly settled his half-risen self back in the chair.

But that didn’t mean he’d cooled off. All he’d been warned about was standing up; arguing was still within bounds.

Though whether he could win the argument was another issue.

“And you’re in no position to criticize my mistakes, are you? How much have you cost the guild with your pathetic combat skills? At least I only disgraced the guild’s honor; you actually did material damage. Want me to list all your fuckups one by one?”

“You running mouth—!”

“If you’re that dissatisfied with me, just say it. I’ll duel you anytime.”

Mad Hammer stroked the handle of his warhammer.

“……”

The man’s lips quivered. He wanted to cut Mad Hammer’s throat on the spot.

But he couldn’t. As annoying as Mad Hammer was, he couldn’t beat him. Not in Ark stats or physical ability.

It was humiliating.

A newbie he’d barely noticed until recently was challenging him, and he couldn’t easily accept that challenge.

But he just couldn’t see himself winning against Mad Hammer.

After tasting defeat several times already, this was all he could do—barking like a frightened mutt in a setting like this.

As the man fell silent, Mad Hammer also closed his mouth. A moment of silence filled the room.

“Are you done?”

Apollon’s voice broke the silence.

“Then let’s start the meeting.”

The attendees corrected their postures.

“But first. Mad Hammer.”

“Yes.”

“What you did wasn’t a mistake. It was a stupid error. Don’t misunderstand.”

“…Yes.”

Mad Hammer bowed his head quietly.

“Good. Asclepius.”

“Yes.”

“Begin.”

The man sitting closest to Apollon stood up. Mad Hammer raised his head to look at him.

‘Apollon’s loyal lackey.’

When Apollon had chosen Apollon as his game name to mock Python, this guy had immediately renamed himself Asclepius—Apollon’s son.

Maybe because of that, Apollon considered Asclepius his most trusted subordinate, and his rank and influence in C.O.T.S. were among the highest.

But his actual skill didn’t live up to it.

‘Once I take over this guild, you’re the first I’ll kick out!’

For now, he kept his head down, but Mad Hammer’s ambition to take over the guild hadn’t dimmed one bit.

“I called you all here because of the Python forces.”

Asclepius’ demeanor shifted noticeably to one of speaking down, totally different from when he was talking to Apollon. He showed the bare minimum of courtesy and nothing more. If anything, it made it even clearer he looked down on everyone else.

Mad Hammer wasn’t the only one who found it unpleasant. But with Apollon right there, no one dared complain aloud.

Asclepius, well aware of everyone’s discomfort, continued without batting an eye.

“The Python faction’s power is growing rapidly these days. The number and development of their cities are clearly ahead of ours.”

Both Apollon’s and Python’s cities were officially C.O.T.S. cities on the surface. But neither side considered the other’s city as part of the same guild—they just saw them as cities that would need to be conquered later.

“Until recently, the gap was minor, but lately the difference has gotten dangerous. There’s an extremely high possibility of city wars breaking out, and it’s obvious city size and progress will influence those wars, so the current situation is very concerning.”

“Why is there such a gap?”

“It’s simple. Python’s players took in a lot of refugees.”

His tone implied, “So what have the rest of you been doing?” The person who’d asked the question frowned, but Asclepius was unfazed.

“Apparently Willy is especially active over there.”

Now Mad Hammer frowned. Everyone looked at him.

Willy had been Mad Hammer’s rival since both were newbies. That connection remained even now. Whenever Willy was mentioned, Mad Hammer was naturally brought to mind.

“Their newcomer seems highly capable. Unlike ours.”

The same guy who’d sneered at Mad Hammer earlier took another jab.

This time it worked. Mad Hammer, fiercely competitive with Willy, forced down his rising rage with difficulty.

But he didn’t forget to counterattack.

“Maybe the ones even less capable than that ‘incapable’ newcomer should shut up?”

“What? You bastard—!”

“Enough!”

But this time, Apollon cut them off before the argument could continue. He glared between both men.

“When we’re in a meeting, just focus on the meeting.”

“…Yes.”

“…Understood.”

Apollon looked at Asclepius and motioned for him to continue.

Asclepius clicked his tongue at Mad Hammer and the other troublemaker. Both men gritted their teeth at his insolence, but with Apollon’s stern presence, they didn’t explode.

The meeting resumed, though the atmosphere was even heavier than before.

“For Lord Apollon to take over C.O.T.S., we need to expand our faction. Ideally that won’t be necessary, but if things get really bad, we’ll have to go to war and take their cities back, no matter what.”

The Python faction’s cities had been discovered by Python’s players, but Asclepius called them “cities to be reclaimed” without hesitation. And no one objected to that phrase.

“To do that, we need a way to strengthen our side. Absolutely.”

Asclepius sat down.

“You heard him.”

Apollon spoke.

“Now speak up. I don’t care if it’s the stupidest idea imaginable. I’ll be the judge of what’s needed. Just say it. Anything.”

The discomfort was palpable as people realized they’d have to voice their ideas.

But pressured by Apollon’s intense aura, one by one, they started presenting their suggestions. From decent ideas to ones as stupid as Apollon had mentioned.

It wasn’t an empty directive—Apollon listened seriously to each and every idea.

Then, everyone’s focus landed on a particular comment.

“If war content is added, how about attacking Mordin?”