Chapter 56 – White Wood (１)

In just thirty minutes since posting, it had already racked up over a million views—a wildly trending thread.

‘This person…’

He didn’t know much, but he knew enough.

The Player who was the Guild Master of Saint, the number-one guild in Real Spirit.

[I plan to enter Tartaros once preparations are complete.]

[For now, I can only go in alone, but I’ll keep posting updates on the situation inside. I appreciate your interest and support.]

Hera was receiving overwhelming backing.

Because she had always remained humble and exemplary, even while leading the top-ranked guild.

-If it’s her, we can trust it

-Other scumbags would’ve hogged all the info for themselves

-Go Saint!

-Heading to the Saint channel to smash that subscribe and like!

An avalanche of encouragement poured in.

‘Hmm.’

Gijun found himself curious too.

*

‘She’s definitely skilled.’

Gijun went to Saint’s ViewTube channel and checked out a gameplay video of the User Hera.

Each video racked up tens of millions to hundreds of millions of views.

She was a star Player enjoying popularity rivaling your average Superhuman.

‘I’d believe it even if someone told me she was a Superhuman.’

That was how outstanding Hera’s talent was.

Of course, Hera wasn’t a Superhuman.

She’d shown her face at real public events—that was an established fact.

Even so, her combat sense in-game was exceptional enough that calling her a Superhuman wouldn’t have felt out of place.

If she had the talent of a Superhuman, she’d have made a name for herself as one too.

‘Anyway, from the outside, she seems like a pretty decent person.’

You couldn’t tell from just looking at him, though.

After that, I searched through more videos.

As a star flarer with a thick fanbase, countless clips poured out.

Most of them were brimming with fan adoration.

‘Wow, impressive.’

I hadn’t paid much attention to this world before, but the guild called Saint had firepower and a fanbase rivaling even a giant guild like Hwarang.

‘Haha, well…’

It was hitting me anew just how massive the game Real Spirit really was.

Then,

Zzz!

my smartphone vibrated.

A text from Woo Jimin had arrived.

[Mr. Gijun. I need to talk to you about something urgent.]

‘…What now?’

Woo Jimin didn’t call for Gijun unless it mattered.

Even when he didn’t show his face at the guild.

But a summons like this meant something important was definitely up.

‘Let’s go.’

Gijun got up right away.

*

‘Whoa, no way…’

When Gijun arrived at the guild, he was a little surprised.

“Mr. Gijun! Long time no see!”

“Wow, you really are handsome!”

“We should grab a meal sometime!”

The moment he stepped into the guild, the Superhumans of Hwarang greeted him warmly.

It was an overwhelming welcome.

He could feel their gazes, each one trying to build a connection, to get closer to him.

‘Can’t be helped, I guess.’

The Achievements Gijun had shown.

And on top of that, even White Wood had mentioned him.

Maybe it was only natural.

“Oppa¹!”

Then a cheerful voice came from across the room.

It was Jiyun.

“Jiyun. What brings you here?”

Jiyun was part of the Seoul Southern Branch.

But this wasn’t the southern branch—this was the main headquarters building.

Nowhere she should be.

“I stopped by to discuss something with the Guild Master.”

“Ah, I see.”

“Aren’t you going to ask what it’s about?”

Gijun scratched his head.

“What is it?”

“I said I’m going to the frontlines.”

“…Huh?”

Gijun’s eyes went wide.

“Oppa, I heard you’re going to the frontlines.”

“Ah, no way… is it because of that?”

“Right. I want to go to the frontlines with you too.”

“…”

Gijun was a little flustered.

He never imagined Jiyun would make that choice because of him!

“Don’t worry. I can hold my own too.”

“I know that, of course.”

“Anyway, see you soon. And from what I heard…”

Jiyun whispered softly into Gijun’s ear.

The moment he heard it, Gijun’s eyes flew open.

“What?!”

Startled, Gijun raised his voice.

“Hehe…”

“Is it… real?”

“Yeah. I’m on my way back from hearing it myself.”

“…This is insane.”

Gijun let out a hollow laugh.

“You’d better get going — the Guild Master’s been desperate for you, Oppa.”

“Got it.”

Gijun exchanged a quick goodbye with Jiyun and hurried off.

I’ve been hearing nothing but shocks today.

First, that player Hera pushing into Tartaros.

Then Jiyun saying she’s heading to the front lines.

And what I heard just a moment ago… it’s really…

Am I dreaming, or is this real?

Something I never dared imagine.

No — something I’d imagined a thousand times, but never believed could actually happen. And now it was on the verge of becoming real.

Before he knew it, Gijun had reached Woo Jimin’s office. He knocked.

“It’s Baek Gijun.”

“Come in!”

No sooner had Gijun finished speaking than Jimin’s sharp, eager voice rang out from inside.

Gijun pushed the door open and stepped in.

There stood Woo Jimin, eyes bright as a child’s, her face lit up with sheer excitement.

“Mr. Gijun, this is huge!”

Her voice was trembling with elation, and Gijun felt his own heart hammer against his ribs.

…It’s real!

The moment he saw Jimin, it sank in.

That what Jiyun had told him just a while ago wasn’t a lie.

“White Wood contacted me — he says he absolutely has to meet you.”

Exactly what Jiyun had said.

“And if you’re free today, he said he could schedule it as soon as today.”

“…Today? Right now?”

“Yes. He’s not an easy person to meet, but apparently you’ve piqued his interest like crazy. What do you think? If you’ve got plans today, I told him we could reschedule.”

Gijun answered.

“I think today works for me.”

It wasn’t like he had anything special going on.

The only special thing was Real Spirit, but as he’d said, there was nothing he could do in-game right now anyway.

Well — even if I were busy, this is White Wood we’re talking about.

That was true too.

If it was White Wood — not just anyone — wouldn’t you put aside even the busiest schedule?

This feels like a dream.

Honestly, I’m more excited than when I first joined Hwarang.

How could I not be?

Every mage grows up hearing White Wood’s exploits like fairy tales.

Gijun was no exception, and the moment he’d heard the news, his heart had started pounding wildly.

A moment later, Jimin finished her call and spoke.

“Alright, he said he’ll be here in two hours.”

Two hours!

White Wood was coming to Hwarang in two hours to meet him.

“Let’s grab a meal together while we wait.”

“Sounds good.”

Jimin led Gijun to the building’s restaurant.

*

After they finished eating, Gijun and Jimin moved to the training grounds.

Because White Wood had said he’d be coming there.

Normally, they’d have rolled out the VIP treatment and hosted him in style.

White Wood had asked to come quietly.

So almost no one inside the guild knew he was on his way to Hwarang right now.

Word would get out eventually, sure—but until he left, at least, White Wood didn’t want a commotion.

“The training ground, though? Why here?”

Woo Jimin answered Gijun’s question.

“He said he’s bringing one of his disciples along.”

“A disciple?”

“Yes. He mentioned he wanted to let her practice in our guild’s training facility while you two meet. It means our facilities are impressive enough.”

Jimin said it with a hint of pride.

“That’s not wrong.”

Gijun couldn’t argue.

He’d never seen The Genesis’s training ground, but it couldn’t possibly top this.

“Come in.”

Jimin pushed open the door to one of the training halls and stepped inside.

Gijun followed.

A magic shooting range.

“Maybe I’ll loosen up a bit myself. It’s been a while.”

She pulled out a bow as she spoke.

“Running a guild means no time for dungeons, no time for the battlefield. Sometimes I wonder if I’m even doing this right.”

Her voice carried a complicated weight.

“The level-8 dungeon raid’s almost over, and here I am, stuck doing this…”

Not that Jimin was idle.

If anything, she’d taken on work that should’ve been spread across other Superhumans.

Every Superhuman craves a fight.

What Superhuman would choose to sit in an office shuffling papers?

But Jimin shouldered the responsibility of the path she’d chosen—building a foundation so other Superhumans could soar.

Thwip!

She summoned a monster.

The summoned monster was a Kokrakus—one of the boss monsters from a level-6 dungeon.

A three-headed serpent.

An old enemy of humanity that had claimed countless Superhuman lives.

Caw! Caw—!

A holographic Kokrakus materialized before them.

Jimin drew the bowstring.

Creeeak—

A massive bow.

Her favorite weapon from the days she’d spent delving dungeons.

It was made from the horn of an eight-horned Garatos, boss monster of a level-8 dungeon.

The moment the string was drawn, mana condensed between bow and string, forming arrows.

Not just one.

In an instant, three arrows were nocked.

She had no need for physical arrows.

The elemental attributes were hers to command.

The ability to land those three mana arrows precisely wherever she wished.

This was her trademark.

It was no exaggeration to say this core skill had lifted her to where she stood now.

Twang!

The instant the mithril bowstring left her fingertips, the three mana arrows tore through the air without hesitation.

And with that, all three arrows pierced Kokrakus’s heads clean through.

One arrow, one kill.

Thunk! Thud—crack!

The compressed Magic Power detonated from inside their skulls.

Kaaaaah!

Cokracus’s agonized scream rang out, and then the beast collapsed, its breath spent.

“Not dead yet, am I!”

Woo Jimin shouted triumphantly after taking down Cokracus in a single blow.

“….”

Gijun was awestruck.

‘Not bad.’

He’d thought he’d grown a lot himself, but this drove home how far he still had to go compared to a Superhuman who stood at the world’s peak.

And Woo Jimin had stepped down from active duty years ago.

To take down a Level 6 Dungeon’s Boss Monster in one shot.

And she hadn’t even been going all-out.

‘Maybe at this point, the Superhuman I should be modeling myself after is the Guild Master.’

As he’d said, there was no such thing as a Battle Mage alive today.

The class closest to that role was an Archer.

Physical prowess combined with explosive long-range damage.

‘I need to study harder from now on.’

He resolved to watch more of Woo Jimin’s combat videos and hone his skills.

Just then—

Zing—

The training ground door swung open, and two figures appeared.

“Mr. White Wood!”

1. Oppa — an affectionate term a younger woman uses for an older man she is close to; literally “older brother.”