Crash.
Black and thick metal, or perhaps equivalent rock walls. Both incredibly hard materials were being ground away in real-time.
It was no wonder, it was a golem with a hand even larger than the manifested Sargas was digging through.
Moreover, ‘A golem entirely made of Dragonium… that’s incredible.’
If its entire body was made of Dragonium, that was saying something. On top of the massive golem’s head, “Let’s go! Bang bang bang! Boom!”
Like riding an amusement park ride, a child was joyfully cheering while perfectly controlling this gigantic golem.
‘Shiyeon’s golem control is exceptional too.’
Perhaps because she was born as a creator golem, Shiyeon had always been adept at controlling multiple golems for meticulous tasks like creating medicine. In terms of golem control, she might very well be a step above Kim Shimun himself.
‘Well, of course. Whose daughter is she?’
Kim Shimun smiled proudly as he approached Shiyeon. His daughter’s talent was indeed something to be proud of.
“You little rascal! Were you planning to sneak away without being noticed?”
Kim Shimun pinched Shiyeon’s fair cheek.
“Hehe!”
“So, are you not going to tell me why you followed Appa into the arena?”
Shiyeon’s cheeks stretched out like sticky rice cakes. But Kim Shimun wasn’t about to let it go unnoticed.
“Shiyeon.”
He looked at her with firm eyes.
“Sniff… Appa, Shiyeon didn’t know!”
Tears welled up in Shiyeon’s eyes as she buried herself in Kim Shimun’s embrace.
“Wooo!”
The tiny, soft sensation wriggled against him, and Kim Shimun’s firmly armored heart began to soften.
‘Really…’
As they say, no parent can win against their child. The stern look on Kim Shimun’s face gradually faded into a smile. He gently patted Shiyeon’s head as she clung to him.
“Shiyeon, I’m not asking to scold you. I’m worried about you.”
“Worried?”
“That’s right.”
Then, “The special arena is a place that even makes Appa tense. If you get hurt there, it hurts Appa too.”
Kim Shimun lowered himself to meet Shiyeon’s eyes.
“Appa gets hurt?”
“Of course.”
What parent wouldn’t feel pain if their child got hurt?
Seeing Kim Shimun nod, “Appa getting hurt… Shiyeon doesn’t like Appa getting hurt.”
Shiyeon, her face firm with determination, clenched her tiny fists tightly. Seeing that, Shimun gently stroked her head once more.
“So, Shiyeon, from now on, when you want to come into the arena, you must tell Appa first, okay?”
“Okay!”
She nodded vigorously and leaped back into his embrace.
‘This is why people raise children.’
The warmth seeping into his chest felt like it was soothing his very soul. Kim Shimun held Shiyeon even closer as she rubbed her head against his neck.
In his embrace, with a frighteningly cold expression, “Appa…”
Shiyeon muttered very softly, “I won’t let you get hurt… ever.”
At that, “Hmm? Shiyeon, what did you say?”
Kim Shimun tilted his head, looking down at her.
Rumble.
A sound of something collapsing. Unlike the stifling, smoky air of the Black Forge, fresh air hit Kim Shimun and Shiyeon. Although, compared to other maps, it was still fairly stifling.
“We’re outside.”
Even while talking with Kim Shimun, Shiyeon hadn’t stopped controlling the golem. The golem had broken through one of the fortress-like walls of the Black Forge, finally exposing them to the outside sunlight.
‘Wait a moment.’
Kim Shimun had a chance to observe the form of the golem they had been riding.
‘It looks similar to Sargas, doesn’t it?’
To be more precise, it resembled a muscular higher dragonkin called a Dracca. What was even more surprising,
“What? It doesn’t have legs?”
The golem that had carried them and dug through the walls didn’t have any lower limbs at all.
‘So, it did all that moving and digging with just its two arms?’
Of course, with a golem of this size and made from such materials, it wasn’t impossible.
‘But controlling it must be incredibly challenging…’
Managing both movement and excavation with just two arms was indeed a difficult feat. Kim Shimun looked down at Shiyeon in his arms with astonished eyes. Innocent-faced, Shiyeon peered around and then, “Hi there!!”
She waved her short arm enthusiastically at a certain spot. Naturally, Shimun’s gaze followed hers,
“Noble one!!”
“You are safe!”
“Savior! Thank you!”
The Dark Elves who had escaped from the Black Forge were huddled behind piles of ore, using them as barricades.
“Shiyeon, let’s go down.”
“Okay! Quang-Quang, over there!”
Under Shiyeon’s control, the golem’s hand gently lowered them down to the Dark Elves. Kim Shimun glanced at the pile of ore momentarily.
‘So those are the golems I created.’
The golems he had alchemized from the materials transported through the routes. Fortunately, it seemed the alchemy had dissipated after everyone had exited.
“Noble one! Are you hurt anywhere?!”
The female Dark Elf, Dayna, approached anxiously. Scanning Kim Shimun with a worried expression, she then knelt down abruptly.
“Forgive me for leaving the side of our savior… Please, let me atone with my life!”
“Don’t say that, Dayna.”
Kim Shimun grasped her shoulders and helped her to her feet.
“You left on my orders.”
“But!”
“To be honest, if you hadn’t left then, you would have become a burden. That dragonkin, Sargas, was no ordinary foe.”
Kim Shimun finished with a gentle smile and a playful wink. Understanding the consideration behind his words, “Really… I have no words other than ‘thank you’…!”
Clear tears streamed from Dayna’s trembling eyes.
“De-Dayna?”
For Kim Shimun, having lived two lives, this was still an unexpected sight.
“I will repay this kindness!”
With her tearful gratitude expressed,
『You have completed the hidden quest ‘Toward the Black Forge’.』
『You gain the absolute favor of the Dark Elf race.』
『You earn 10,000 achievement points.』
『You are rewarded with ‘Parts of the Black Forge (?)’.』
Messages announcing the conclusion of this arena appeared one after another.
* * *
Meanwhile,
-OMG, that was insane!
-Hyung… I don’t have any spare underwear left…
-What was that magic?
-This might be… impossible?
Kim Shimun’s viewers, who had watched everything from his entry into the Black Forge to Sargas’s demise, were in an uproar.
Especially,
-How can you beat a hidden boss that easily?
-Did you see the size of that thing? It was clearly a raid boss.
-King Kim Shimun took it down in two hits…
Sargas’s defeat left the viewers in shock.
Naturally,
-Not all big bosses are raid bosses… but that one definitely was.
-Yup, it was insanely tough.
-Doesn’t make sense. Even a diamond-rank party would struggle.
-The thing is, Kim Shimun soloed a boss that would be tough for a diamond-rank party.
Kim Shimun had consistently demonstrated overwhelming power.
Kim Shimun, went toe-to-toe with the Undefeated Sargas.
-On the other hand, it’s amazing that he dodged all of Kim Shimun’s attacks.
-Nah, if you’ve played enough, you’d have noticed. In close combat, Shimun was at a disadvantage against Sargas.
-Yeah, he only used stealth and ranged attacks.
-But come on! A mage going head-to-head in close combat with a giant like that? Seriously?
-True, haha.
-Everyone’s so fixated on power levels that their brains are fried, haha. Remember, Kim Shimun is a mage.
-But Sargas was ultimately “Kim Shimun-ed” in the end.
-What kind of magic is that? I’ve never seen lightning that can curve in mid-air.
-Don’t tell me he controlled the bolt mid-flight… that’s insane!
-Are you faster at controlling magic than lightning speeds?
-Don’t underestimate. The opponent is Kim Shimun!
The chat continued to flood with comments.
-Wait! Shiyeon is here!
-Everyone hush! Our Shiyeon has arrived!
-All the Shiyeon fans from across the country are showing up!
-Oh, Shiyeon Kim! We’ve been waiting for you.
-Shiyeon-chan! So cute!
-Not just the country, fans from around the world are here, haha.
Shiyeon’s appearance ignited the chat even more.
And observing all of this was a blonde woman.
“It’s amazing.”
“It’s astonishing.”
She pushed her angular glasses up slightly and uttered a small exclamation. The man beside her looked at her with somewhat surprised eyes. With her spotless office suit and impeccably tied blonde hair, her strict personality was evident simply from her appearance.
But the man’s surprise wasn’t due to her looks.
‘The only players she’s recently been impressed by are Kim Shihyuk and Lee Yujeong…’
Two of Korea’s top-rank talents, Kim Shihyuk and Lee Yujeong. The blonde woman was now reacting just as she had during their promising early days. So,
“Nuna, is Kim Shimun really that impressive?”
Although he asked out of pure curiosity, “Oliver. This is the workplace.”
Her reply was cold. Nevertheless, was he accustomed to this scenario?
“I’m sorry, Manager Olivia. Is this player, Kim Shimun, really that impressive?”
He quickly corrected himself and asked naturally.
“…Team Leader Oliver. I’ve told you repeatedly to keep work and personal matters separate.”
The woman, referred to as Olivia, just glared at Oliver. With a brief warning, she turned her gaze back to the screen, and then, “It’s remarkable. Beyond remarkable, it’s almost miraculous.”
She kept her eyes fixed on the screen as she answered Oliver’s question.
‘For her to use the word ‘miraculous’…’
Oliver mulled over Olivia’s repeated expressions of awe.
‘Indeed, even just watching the broadcast, his power is unbelievable. Facing him in person would be even more incredible.’
No matter how advanced Arenia was as a broadcast medium created with the technical support of Galaxy Arena, the system still relied on relaying actual events through a secondary channel.
Naturally, there’s a difference between watching a broadcast and seeing the action in person. There’s a reason stadiums have viewing seats for national team selection matches, after all.
And Oliver, the recruitment team leader of the world’s strongest guild, American Dream, was well aware of this.
“Team Leader Oliver.”
Olivia spoke without taking her eyes off the screen, as though she didn’t want to miss a single moment.
“I know what you’re thinking. But I can assure you, this Kim Shimun is beyond whatever you are imagining.”
It was a statement that could easily be taken as condescending.
In fact, knowing her personality well, Oliver understood that she was indeed looking down on him.
“Manager, I’ve been here for seven years. I know my stuff.”
His lips protruded in a pout, a somewhat childish reaction for a man in his thirties. However, given Oliver’s handsome features, it came off as rather endearing.
“…Cut the crap. Don’t make me punch you in the mouth, Oliver.”
Perhaps it was their sibling connection, Olivia had turned away from Kim Shimun’s broadcast to glare at her younger brother with a venomously cold stare.
Despite her icy response, “Al… guchang? What does that even mean?”
Oliver focused on the unfamiliar term she had used.
“It’s Korean for that disgusting mouth of yours that sticks out.”
Olivia answered without hesitation. Oliver was impressed by the lengths his sister went to in order to hurl insults in Korean.
“Heh…”
He let out a hollow laugh of amazement.
“Isn’t Korean known to be one of the hardest languages to learn? When did you even pick up such insults?”
“Language is typically learned through insults first.”
Oliver’s eyes gleamed at Olivia’s firm response.
“Oh, so that’s why you pick up foreign languages so quickly, nuna?”
He attempted a sly jab.
“Exactly.”
His smart sister wasn’t fazed at all.
“Some annoying bastard keeps sticking his lips out, trying to act cute. I can’t keep punching him in the mouth every time, can I?”
“……”
She hadn’t just deflected; she had landed a solid counter. Oliver, who had hoped to get a hit in, ended up gaining nothing. Seeing her brother’s deflated state, Olivia allowed a slight smirk.
“And I do not make empty statements.”
She looked back at Kim Shimun’s broadcast with satisfaction.
“Oliver, no matter how long you’ve been in the recruitment department, you can’t fully grasp Kim Shimun’s value.”
“How can you be so sure?”
At that moment, Dark Elf Dayna was shedding tears.
“Because you’re saying that while watching this scene.”
Olivia adjusted her angular glasses and continued while observing the broadcast.
“Well, it’s understandable. You are, after all, a Platinum rank.”
“That’s a bit insulting. I’m in the upper tier of Platinum, you know.”
“But still, Platinum is just Platinum. By that measure, I’m in the upper tier of Diamond, aren’t I?”
“…”
Once again, Oliver was at a loss for words. As irritating as his sister’s comments were, the difference between Platinum and Diamond was vast.
And those in the upper Diamond tier were basically on the cusp of becoming Rankers. Olivia turned back to the screen on the wall.
“I can count on one hand the number of times I’ve felt this way. The standout instances were about ten years ago, with our current Guild Master Derick and Zhang Liqiu during his Platinum days.”
“Eh? Kim Shimun is comparable to the Guild Master?”
“It’s not a comparison. The Guild Master back then was at exactly this level.”
“I see…”
Oliver quietly nodded at his sister’s response.
‘Well, Olivia has a decade of arena experience.’
His sister Olivia, along with the current Guild Master Derick, had once been promising members of American Dream and were among the few players who had seen him up close. Of course, what he said differed a bit from what he thought.
“Being nearly 40, as a living testament of history, whether I want to believe it or not, I have to…”
Thwack.
A leg shot down vertically onto his head. It was supposed to have been an attack with the heel of her stiletto, but Oliver, with his Platinum-ranked combat instincts, had barely shifted the point of contact to his shin.
Of course,
“Guh!”
A kick from someone in the upper tier of Diamond was not something easily mitigated.
“Do you want to kill me or what!!”
Oliver shouted, clutching his throbbing side.
“You asked for it. And even if it’s a branch office, this is still a workplace. For the last time, keep work and personal matters separate.”
His plea fell on deaf ears. Wiping away the tears that pricked his eyes, “Forget keeping things separate! So, how are we going to recruit him?”
He asked his fierce sister.
“The Guild Master has ordered it himself, right? To recruit Kim Shimun no matter what it takes.”
“That’s right. That’s why I’m here, as the department head of recruitment, setting up a branch office in Korea, isn’t it?”
The idea of the Head of Recruitment for American Dream personally establishing a branch? This was unheard of in the history of American Dream. Oliver looked at Olivia with somewhat surprised eyes.
“So, for this recruitment, you must have authority equivalent to the Guild Master?”
“To be precise, I have even more authority. Concerning the recruitment of Kim Shimun, even the board of directors can’t oppose me.”
Considering that the board could even override decisions made by Guild Master Derick, this was an unprecedented level of authority in American Dream’s history.
“Moreover… there’s some good news as well.”
She glanced at the neatly organized office desk, matching her meticulous personality, and then briefly looked at the monitor on it, a faint smile playing on her lips.
Did Oliver also know what the monitor contained?
“Ah, it’s fascinating when you think about it. He’s their own countryman, yet they’re trying so hard to undermine him.”
Oliver shrugged, shaking his head.
“The affairs of the elite, or petty inferiority complexes, I suppose. Either way, it’s beneficial for us. Perfect for our use.”
Olivia’s green eyes scanned the Korean articles on the monitor rapidly.
“From my experience, someone like Kim Shimun isn’t swayed by money or material wealth…”
She looked at her brother with an uncharacteristically rare smile.
“But he has an aversion to anything sleazy. In Korean terms… yes. They call it ‘disgusting behavior’.”