Chapter 87 – LV.Three Warrior Kim Ak – [Three]

Originally, the Sun Ship was a vessel of white and gold reminiscent of sunlight, but no longer.

If the Crusaders’ location were exposed, the Vampire Lords would attack, so the Sun Ship’s position had to be concealed. Thus, instead of flying hundreds of meters high, radiating brilliant light upon the Mortal Realm as originally intended during its construction, the Sun Ship moved hidden from mortal eyes.

The layer of ash and dust formed in the stratosphere, that thick gray layer dense enough to obscure even the real sun, aided the Sun Ship’s stealth.

Since that day, flying within the stratospheric dust until its entire hull turned gray, the Sun Ship still flew through the sea of ash and dust.

They had to rescue a Paladin who had been captured while on a mission. The fact that the captured Paladin was excessively far away did not halt the Sun Ship’s flight. It was a world where both people and supplies were precious. They couldn’t possibly abandon a powerful member clad in precious Armor.

They were almost at their destination.

In Happy Village, when Players died, they often held public funerals.

It was a courtesy for those who died serving the village. This time, Kim Ak’s funeral was also held with the participation of the entire village, and Seo Yun was in charge of the farewell ceremony.

It was a request made directly by Kim Ak’s parents. When she cautiously asked why they had asked her, this answer came back.

“Our son spoke of you quite often while he was alive. He said he didn’t know how earnestly the young lady helped the grown man, that he was so grateful…”

“But there must have been someone more authoritative and closer than me.”

“And also… the villagers said that for the child’s Soul, we should ask you…”

It seemed the belief had surfaced again that an Angel and Goddess candidate could secure a ticket to Heaven. It was a belief that was gradually becoming tiresome, but she didn’t preach now about how the game’s Divine Beings were worthless or the like.

“Yes, well then…”

After Seo Yun accepted, Kim Ak’s parents, their eyes reddening, repeatedly thanked her and left.

And watching their retreating figures, Seo Yun regretted her decision just moments ago.

Angel or whatever, was she qualified to preside over that funeral?

I bear some responsibility for that friend’s death too…

After Kim Ak was impaled by the Mammoth’s tusk, Seo Yun immediately summoned the Troll Mage.

However, it seemed he didn’t always come the moment he was called. This time, the Troll arrived a few beats late, and by then it was already too late.

With time frozen, Seo Yun tried casting Healing Spells repeatedly, but there was no way to restore the heart, mixed up inside along with the ribs. Even an Epic Level Mage would be the same, so the Troll cleared his throat and left in that frozen state. Because of that, no one but Seo Yun knew he had come and gone.

If she had summoned the Troll the moment she sensed the crisis, Kim Ak would have survived. However, she had been advised by several people not to summon that Troll casually, and she had thought, having experienced quite a few crises of this level, that since nothing had happened before, they would get through this one safely as well, out of habit. The result was holding a funeral.

The funeral was conducted by cremation. Seo Yun personally lit the fire to burn the body and, as promised earlier, conducted the farewell ceremony before the people.

“He was a more mature adult than anyone…”

Reciting this, unlike a priest presiding over a funeral mass, she shed a few tears.

Of course, no one said anything. As the people gathered around the fire, reminiscent of a middle school campfire, also cried along, Seo Yun wiped her tears and glanced at Kim Rayeon.

‘Even if the Doppelganger is evil-aligned, it seems she’s not some kind of psychopath.’

The girl, attending the funeral with the other team members, was now sobbing as if she would pass out.

It might have been social acting, but that didn’t seem to be the case.

After the funeral ended, Kim Rayeon came to Seo Yun and asked.

“Can Angels send dead people to Heaven?”

Seo Yun answered cautiously.

“Angels in the Mortal Realm probably can’t do that.”

“Why?”

“That’s the setting for Lesser Angels. An Angel received a mission, wore a human shell, descended to the Mortal Realm, then due to the aftermath of a Meteorite fall, the God they served died, and they were stranded in the Mortal Realm… Because their connection to the Celestial Realm was severed, they became a Race not much different from humans. Except for the Soul imbued with Divinity.”

“So, being an Angel doesn’t mean much in a situation where someone died?”

“It might have meaning later.”

Seo Yun informed her that the Lesser Angel Race starts with 1 point of Divinity from the beginning and requires 5 fewer Levels to Ascend to Godhood compared to other Races. She also told her that in the setting of the Immortal Kingdom, the afterlife is a place ruled by Gods, upon which Kim Rayeon muttered.

“Really? So that’s how it is…”

Shaking her head like that, Kim Rayeon then left.

And a short while later, Seo Yun summoned the Troll Mage and told him about the conversation they just had. After hearing the story, the Troll asked.

“That girl, she asked such a question, you say. But is there a reason you called me to tell me this?”

“Because she’s the Doppelganger planning to copy me?”

At Seo Yun’s words, the Troll groaned.

“She was found out earlier than expected. How did you know?”

“I’ve been blatantly dropping hints left and right with my own mouth. By now, it’d be more surprising if she weren’t a Doppelganger.”

Originally, she thought Kim Rayeon’s intelligence was at the level of a baboon, but seeing her excessively aggressive attitude towards team members, she could tell there was another reason for that behavior, which suggested underdeveloped intellect.

That is, she was deliberately acting that way, worried about a situation where her identity would be revealed someday. The day she succeeded in copying this side’s appearance as a Doppelganger.

‘If that happens, her relationship with the team members she joined would be ruined, and she’d be criticized by everyone. Her preemptively acting aggressively and hinting at her identity to everyone through her actions is a kind of defense mechanism in preparation for that time.

See, I never intended to get close to you all from the start. Moreover, I didn’t even try hard to hide that fact and acted freely, didn’t I? To make excuses like this later…’

And all that behavior was closer to that of a teenage girl than the behavior of a Doppelganger as recorded in the 4th edition Rulebook’s Monster manual. Doppelgangers absorb even the memories of the humans they copy, so perhaps that’s why?When I asked the troll that question, the answer came back that he didn’t know.

“You don’t know?”

“Because she’s been like that since the moment she was first discovered. I can’t tell if a monster Doppelganger stole the form of the human girl Kim Rayeon, or if the human girl Kim Rayeon transformed into a monster Race.”

“Does she herself not know either?”

“She doesn’t know either. If she was a monster from the start and still like that, it’s probably because the Doppelganger assimilated Kim Rayeon’s memories and became confused about its identity.”

“So, if you clone me, her already confused identity will become even more confused. And she’s okay with that?”

“Whether she’s okay with it or not, there’s no choice. It’s necessary.”

“Right. Necessary…”

“And I regret not being able to help properly last time.”

He seemed to be referring to Kim Ak’s matter. Seo Yun sighed and asked.

“Speaking of that… If it looks like anyone else besides me might get hurt or die, can I call you without hesitation?”

“Well… To be honest, I’m reluctant to be mobilized for battle like reinforcements. After all, I’m not a firefighter, and I don’t particularly like fighting either. But, it seems I’ve incurred a debt this time.”

“A debt?”

“Kim Rayeon. That girl made a deal that in exchange for cooperating in cloning you, she can mobilize me for one fight. How about it?”

“Alright, then.”

As Seo Yun readily nodded, the troll looked at her with an unreadable gaze and then disappeared.

Seo Yun, left alone, was in the midst of praying for the dead.

Park Taeyang came looking for her and said.

“The Chief is calling for you. Ah, and…”

“And what?”

“Try to come alone without Uncle Haengun noticing.”

Entering the tent, Seo Yun sat in a chair and stared intently at Oh Haengbok, who was slumped over.

“Oh, Seo Yun. You came…”

She had heard that Oh Haengbok had been gloomily holed up in his tent for days. Had that Orc been like that ever since Kim Ak’s death?

Certainly, it was an event not easily brushed aside.

It was true that thanks to the existence of the Priest profession, the mortality rate of Players was relatively low compared to their activities, but that didn’t mean Player deaths were entirely rare.

It was common for one or two Players to die while out hunting, and it was said Happy Village had experienced dozens of times where many died after a big battle.

Yet, this time Kim Ak’s death wasn’t something to simply accept, because this battle fundamentally wasn’t for the village’s survival.

The fact that he died doing something unnecessary, a favor for others, based on the Leader’s decision, made the great Chief a target of criticism.

So perhaps he was under even more stress. In his rough voice, Oh Haengbok rambled for a while about what Kim Ak was like in life, why he trusted him and appointed him Team Leader, then suddenly said.

“Some villagers. They’re throwing a fit saying to send back that Frenchman you brought.”

“Why?”

“Because he could also be the root cause of the calamity. And since he’s not particularly a good guy either, there’s no need to keep him around.”

A few days ago, that Frenchman, as if making a confession, revealed to the villagers what happened in his original village.

‘First, we killed or drove out all those who couldn’t speak English. Because they could cause trouble by conversing in their native tongues among themselves.’

‘Even children?’

‘Every single one. And after realizing the village shouldn’t get too populous, whenever new members were added to the village, we voted to expel the most useless member from the village…’

At the time the Frenchman confessed all these facts, it was reason to sympathize with him. Shouldn’t someone who committed terrible acts in a terrible situation be comforted?

But now that it’s known the meteorite was angered when the twenty-six French tried to cross, anxiety sprouted that the meteorite might not spare even one Frenchman. So, they argue even he should be expelled.

In this situation, all the terrible acts he admitted to committing became reasons to expel him. Whether it was his fault or not, the logic was that if he brought calamity, expelling someone who survived by expelling others was justified.

“So they’re arguing to send him back to his original village or to a neighboring village?”

“Yeah. But I don’t want to expel him. Unjustly expelling someone who was unjustly expelled isn’t something humans should do. Why, is it a frivolous act? Unbefitting of a ruined world? I’ve been running the village like that all along. I even fed useless bastards like that, and now everyone…”

As Oh Haengbok snorted derisively, Seo Yun could tell he wasn’t in a normal state. Remarks like that, elevating himself and belittling the villagers, often sprang from his mouth when he was truly angry.

“Please, hang in there.”

Indeed, Oh Haengbok was angry now. He growled.

“Why are you talking like it’s someone else’s business?”

“Huh?”

“I heard you were the one who suggested bringing that French guy here? So this is all your fault… isn’t it? Huh!”

Suddenly it’s my fault. Seo Yun inwardly groaned.

‘Displaced anger…’

She knew she shouldn’t pick a fight at a time like this. Seo Yun obediently bowed her head.

“You’re right, it’s all my fault. I’m really sorry.”

“Is being sorry enough?”

“Then, what should I…”

“Roll up your sleeve.”

Seo Yun obediently did as told. And the moment the Orc’s sharp fang pierced the exposed white skin, terrible pain surged, but Seo Yun only slightly furrowed her brows and remained still.

Soon, Oh Haengbok finished his Bloodsucking.

After the fang withdrew from her arm, Seo Yun looked at Oh Haengbok through her dizziness.

Now that he got what he wanted, had he calmed down a bit?

It didn’t seem so. Oh Haengbok, whose pale complexion had regained color, was now staring at her with a dumbfounded expression. The blood-stained mouth of the Orc Vampire opened.

“Get out.”

“Huh?”

With a face filled with intense shame, shame for reasons utterly unknown, Oh Haengbok shouted.

“Get out—!”

Seo Yun hurriedly complied.

Then, standing in front of the tent, she glared at Oh Haengbok beyond the tent, filled with resentment over the unreasonable situation just now, but due to the extreme dizziness, she staggered away.

After that, Oh Haengbok remained in that state.She was like a manic-depressive patient gone mad. She would speak rationally one moment, then suddenly erupt in anger, and afterward, she would drive everyone around her away from the spot.

Even those who had tried to protest to send the Frenchman back sensed something was wrong and quietly distanced themselves from their Chief. Seo Yun clicked her tongue.

As she had thought before, whether all of this was the fault of that Orc or not didn’t matter in this situation. The Orc, who was stronger than anyone and even the village Leader, was acting like this. If it was impossible to restore her to her senses…

And a week later, a ship arrived at the village.

It was a ship so large and majestic it felt surreal. Its size alone was overwhelming, but the fact that it flew through the sky made it even more unreal.

It was the ship listed in the Rulebook as the Sun Ship.