Chapter 85 – Skull (１)

“Those bastards thought they could get away with it, huh?”

Around that time.

The Guild Master of Skull let out a sneer.

“They can try to hide it, but it’s obvious. If they think I wouldn’t know, that’s a delusion.”

He already knew that Saint guild was moving in secret.

They might have fooled the average Users, but deceiving Skull guild was another matter.

For as vast and populous as Saint guild was, Skull guild was no different.

If anything, Skull had even planted spies inside Saint guild.

No matter how covertly Saint guild moved, Skull could still catch on that they were carrying out something.

“I don’t know what it is, but it’s gotta be a Quest worth hiding at all costs.”

It wasn’t as if he had a perfect grasp of exactly which quest the Saint Guild was undertaking, of course.

He could only speculate that their quest was one that must not be revealed to the outside.

“Well, anyway. Looks like I’ve caused enough disruption now.”

He was currently gauging the pulse of the community.

The bait Skull Guild had scattered was clearly setting the users ablaze.

[Saint Guild, what a letdown.]

[They were all about ‘sharing everything’ until now, so what the hell is this?]

[I want to know, too! Tell us!]

“Heh heh heh…”

As if it had never happened any other way, the voices condemning Saint Guild swelled louder.

“See? What did I tell you? No matter how nice you are, it’s all for nothing.”

He’d had a conversation with Hera, the Guild Master of Saint, once before.

Why bother with such foolishness?

Wasn’t it best just to let the strong carve things up among themselves?

But Hera couldn’t be swayed.

All Hera would answer was that she didn’t play the game to get something.

So he asked again.

“You know most people will turn on you the moment you slip up, right?”

Even so, Hera stood firm.

He thought to himself.

One day, he’d see Hera disappointed.

And now that day had come.

As if all of Saint’s devotion so far had been forgotten, the masses began tearing into the Saint guild over a single small bait.

“If it comes to this, the Saint guild has no choice.”

A quest that had to be kept secret, never revealed to the public.

If it failed because of a few ungrateful users…

“Will you still be able to keep going like you have, even then?”

It would be hard.

No, even if she kept going, surely anger would boil up somewhere in her heart.

But then.

“…What?”

The Skull guild master’s eyes narrowed.

It was because of the notice just posted by the Saint guild.

[We will share all quests going forward.]

“…What did you say?”

It was the complete opposite of what he had expected.

“So it was a quest that could be revealed?”

He was dumbfounded.

Just like that, she was going to make the quest’s content public?

“Then why the hell did she hide it so secretly?”

It was utterly incomprehensible.

And now…

[Sorry. Sorry for doubting. Please forgive us.]

[Of course, Saint would do this.]

[I never even doubted.]

[Of course, what kind of psycho doubts Saint? Anyone who did is basically confirming they’re a Skull spy, right?]

The public’s arrows turned back toward Skull.

*

“We will make the entire process transparent. You may come and watch in person. However, please refrain from interfering with the raid. If anyone suddenly intrudes on the raid, that is something we cannot tolerate.”

That was the content of the notice Hera had posted.

She would make the entire process of the raid public.

Just don’t cause any interference.

If anyone barged into the raid, they would stop them, even by force.

[That’s only fair.]

[Isn’t that common sense?]

[Anyone who barges into a raid gets no mercy from me lol.]

Public opinion had reversed in an instant.

It was only natural.

It was basic common sense that the ownership of a raid obtained through a quest belonged to those who completed the quest.

Unless it was a field boss or an already-public one.

Interfering with someone else’s first raid on a boss monster they’d discovered themselves was utterly nonsensical.

Reacting to that common sense, players sided with Saint and even went so far as to organize vigilante groups.

[If those Skull guild bastards cause trouble, we’ll stop them. —Changcheon—]

[We pledge our loyalty to the Saint guild. —30 Billion Micro-transaction Club—]

Fans of Saint, of Hera, stepped forward themselves, declaring they would personally stop any troublemakers.

Gijun felt a strange lightness instead of dread, watching their reactions.

‘I knew I couldn’t hide this forever.’

Even if he could somehow conceal the Sain-geom until it was forged —

the coming battle with the Lord inside Tartaros was a secret that could never stay buried.

Players were already flooding into Tartaros.

And more would only keep pouring in.

‘Maybe it’s better to just lay it all out in the open.’

Having reached that conclusion, Gijun lifted his gaze to the empty air.

[A Seeker-exclusive Achievement has been triggered.]

[The Ancient Cliff of Strange Peaks]

– Head to the Ancient Cliff of Strange Peaks.

– Reward: Class Quest.

The Seeker-exclusive Achievement had materialized the moment he’d slain the Frigid Ancient Turtle and sealed its core into the Sain-geom.

‘The Ancient Cliff of Strange Peaks… probably earth element this time, then.’

A quest to locate an earth-element core, following the ice one — that was what had just been issued.

“We’ll guide you.”

The Saint Guild’s members were with him again, of course.

Gijun didn’t know where the Ancient Cliff of Strange Peaks was located.

*

“This way.”

Where the Saint Guild members led him was a vast expanse of desert.

Its name: the Abandoned Desert.

A normal field map where no monsters spawned.

Naturally, there were no NPCs either.

And without NPCs, of course, there were no quests.

Which also meant there was no reason for anyone to come here.

“How did you even find a place like this?”

Gijun asked, genuinely curious.

In this immense world of Real Spirit —

how could anyone know about terrain that held neither monsters nor NPCs?

“Our guild maintains a comprehensive database on every known terrain, monster, and item discovered so far.”

“…”

It was astonishing.

This guild clearly treated the game with the same seriousness as a real-life megacorporation.

“That way, whatever quest appears and wherever, we can react swiftly.”

“…Being able to collect all that intel is incredible too.”

“Many people tip us off — as thanks for the services we provide.”

“Ah.”

A small exclamation escaped Gijun’s lips.

So the opportunities Saint Guild handed out weren’t just one-sided charity.

Those who felt grateful fed information back to them.

Terrain stumbled upon on a date.

Places visited during a trip with friends.

Or areas discovered by chance through quests.

And beyond that — junk items to rare treasures, all reported.

“At any given moment, a flood of tips pours into Saint Guild. We actually have a dedicated team that verifies the intel, analyzes it, and identifies related quests.”

“Huh…”

“Ha! We take pride in that, actually. Even Skull Guild would struggle to match our information volume. It’s helped us assist countless Users with their Quest completions too.”

Gijun found himself thinking once again just how impressive Hera was.

“Anyway…”

The Saint leader’s gaze settled on a single point.

“That should be it. The odd rock-face you’re looking for, Mr. Jun.”

Gijun followed her line of sight.

And there it was — a colossal cliff face, rising from the sand like a forgotten monument.

A sheer cliff, planted in the middle of a desert.

The combination was strange, almost surreal…

But there was no doubt.

The Sain-geom had begun to hum, a faint, insistent vibration against his palm.

Somewhere in that rock, a fragment of the Earth Lord lay hidden.

‘The Hamal fragment, then.’

He already knew of the Earth Lord — had met her, in fact.

Though she dwelled in Tartaros now, he was about to encounter one of her scattered shards.

“I can already smell that wretched stench.”

Libre muttered from beside him.

‘Right. Libre and Hamal never got along.’

Then it came.

[Achievement Unlocked.]

[Quest Triggered.]

A system message flashed into existence.

[The Primordial Rock Golem]

— Seal the core of the Primordial Rock Golem within the Sain-geom.

— Reward: Fragment of Primordial Rock.

‘So this is how it’s going to be again.’

Gijun let out a mirthless chuckle.

He couldn’t even see where the so-called Primordial Rock Golem was, let alone its core.

And yet the Quest demanded he seal that very core.

‘Unfriendly to the bone.’

At least with the Frigid Ancient Turtle, the bronze statue had guided the way.

And following that path had eventually revealed the turtle’s shell.

But now? Nothing.

All that stood before him was a vast, unyielding cliff of stone.

Then Libre’s voice cut through.

“Focus.”

‘…Focus?’

“You can sense it, Master. You have that within you.”

‘Right.’

Gijun turned his attention back to the cliff face.

He’d met Hamal before, after all.

He tried to summon the sensation of her presence — the distinct energy she radiated.

‘If it’s a fragment of Hamal, it should carry the same aura.’

He was certain he’d pinpointed the right spot.

The Sain-geom was reacting unmistakably.

So somewhere within that cliff, the Primordial Rock Golem was hidden…

His eyes widened.

‘There.’

A faint echo of Hamal’s familiar energy, emanating from one side of the precipice.

Gijun moved slowly toward it.

The Sain-geom’s vibration grew stronger with every step.

Roughly a hundred meters later, he stopped.

‘This is it.’

No question.

The trace of Hamal’s presence was stronger here than anywhere else — unmistakably familiar.

The Sain-geom was practically singing in agreement.

Now the real question: how to wake the Primordial Rock Golem.

And then—

‘Huh?’

Gi-Jun’s eyes widened again.

‘The core.’

Literally.

Right now, he could feel the Golem’s core pulsing inside that wall.

‘No way…’

If that was true, it meant he could just absorb the thing’s core like this.

And why not?

It had been the same with the turtle — he’d never needed to kill those monsters directly in the first place.

All he had to do was find the core and drive the Sain-geom into it.

‘Let’s try.’

Gi-Jun moved without hesitation.

Sure, it might not work.

But there was nothing to lose by giving it a shot.

Better than wasting time and letting this opportunity slip through his fingers.

Around then —

“Over there!” shouted a Player in the distance.

“He’s up there!” yelled another.

Cries from Users rang out far away.

Thanks to him keeping his promise and publicizing the Quest location, some Players had found the spot.

Word spread through the net fast, and now Players were flooding in.

Meanwhile, Gi-Jun climbed the cliff face, weaving Strong Wind and Orca’s Footsteps together just right —

Crack!

He drove the Sain-geom straight toward where the core sat.