10 o'clock in the evening.
As predicted, Lokan's post appeared on the forum. Along with several video files.
It contained everything: from the situation where he caught an arrow with his bare hand, to the slaughter of the Blood Chasers, to the MP Guild's futile attacks on him while he was invulnerable, all presented starkly.
What was interesting was that these videos directly contradicted the ones posted by Firia. To be precise, there were more videos than Firia's, but at the very least, a one-to-one disclosure of the raw files formed the core evidence.
"Goodbye, nerds."
Each video was so incredible it could have garnered significant views on YouTube alone. But simultaneously, it raised a critical question.
It turned out all the videos Firia had received from an 'anonymous informant' originated from the 'Blood Chasers'. This was natural, as they were the only users Lokan had confronted. In Firia's cleverly edited videos, it was impossible to tell the opponents were Blood Chasers, but Lokan's raw footage made it crystal clear.
Because of this, suspicion and alienation grew in everyone's minds. What was the relationship between the Blood Chasers and the MP Guild? The incompatible combination of a PK guild and a guild preaching 'Manners Play' soon turned from doubt to certainty, especially with the final piece of evidence: the uploaded video of Firia's furious rant.
- Ward: Wow. So the Blood Chasers were part of the MP Guild, you bastards. The pieces are falling into place. And Lokan is the man! Justice is being served.
└ DD: Are you schizophrenic? Your attitude changes with every post.
- Jeremy: The Blood Chasers were about to collapse, and now the MP Guild is screwed too lol.
- Kosomi: Wow, Lokan alone is invincible. But is this even possible? What level is he? That can't be real, is it a hack?
└ Madoros: (Screenshot) I reported Lokan for hacking, but got a response: 'Normal play.' Lokan is the man!
└ : Anyone who knows what class Lokan is, please tell me. I'm changing immediately.
└ : I know axe warriors have strong attack power, but seeing this is crazy. I'm changing too.
└ : Warriors don't have those skills. I looked it up, it's a Berserker, wasn't that a berserker-type class?
- Overlord: I'm going to implement justice against the MP guild. Recruiting party members (1/10)
└ Serious concept: MP Guild justice will be implemented. Recruiting party members (2/10)
- Hati: My friend said he joined the MP guild yesterday. I should tell him to leave ASAP.
Not only was the cozy relationship between the Blood Chasers and the MP Guild exposed, but all the arrows of public opinion turned back onto the MP Guild and Firia. The MP Guild's motto of 'Manners Play' became a dagger that stabbed them in the back, leading to a mass exodus of members.
While joining a guild required the leader's approval, leaving was free. Even Firia couldn't prevent it. A chain reaction of guild withdrawals started, beginning with the most recent members, and posts condemning both the Blood Chasers and the MP Guild flooded the bulletin board.
Various game webzines, including GameInven, covered the issue extensively. Because Lokan had initially posted it as a notice, not only gaming sites but also some mainstream internet media picked up the story. As The Lord was becoming a social phenomenon, the articles were reproduced across portals and social media.
"That's a sufficient knockdown."
Thanks to this, the Blood Chasers and the MP Guild were left in tatters. However, Lokan, the architect of this situation, only offered a brief impression. After all, the MP Guild was only a mid-tier guild at best. Lokan had too many bigger goals to go wild with joy over crushing one such group.
He had thrown the torch onto the bulletin board, scanned for the information he needed, and logged back into The Lord.
* * *
Level 90 had already been achieved in other regions. It was a team called Ragnarok, whose members used the names of gods as their IDs. Lokan knew them well.
'The King of Creation… … .'
Odin, who would be called the King of Creation, was the leader of that team. It was clear they were also growing rapidly by monopolizing first-clear titles, as if they had accumulated major achievements.
Moreover, their race was Half-Elf. Compared to the Human race, their base stats were superior, and the power of their skills was greater. Because of this, they had been the first to reach level 100 and surge ahead in his previous life.
"I must hurry. I can't let them have it this time."
Lokan didn't know what would happen beyond the second city, where regions were divided by race, but he had no intention of giving up the first-clear titles from the third city onward, where factions met for the first time.
Therefore, Lokan spurred on his leveling efforts even more.
"Berserk!"
With the threat from the Murderers (PKers) reduced, he needed to increase his hunting speed, even if it meant taking risks. Lokan charged into a bandit hideout, activated Berserk, slaughtered dozens of bandits, and exited just before the Berserk duration ended with 1 minute remaining.
[Berserk's duration has expired.]
[Not enough vitality. If you do not recover to 10% of your maximum health within 5 seconds, you will die.]
[As a result of the primary aftereffects, all stats decrease by 40% for 10 minutes.]
[Following the primary aftereffects, all stats decrease by 20% for 20 minutes due to the secondary aftereffects.]
[If you use Berserk again before the previous aftereffects expire, the penalty duration will double.]
The lost health could be recovered with expensive Intermediate Potions, but the problem was the Berserk aftereffects. Should he set up a Safe Zone and rest? 'That's a waste of time.' Thirty minutes was far too long. Hunting for 10 minutes and resting for 30 was highly inefficient.
So, Lokan chose a relatively low-level hunting ground: the Forest Lizardmen, who were level 70. The title synergy effects still applied. Based on pure stats alone in his weakened state, he might be slightly inferior to a Forest Lizardman, but combined with his title effects and his skill, it was worth a try.
Furthermore, there were several suitable repeatable quests for Forest Lizardmen, allowing him to gain experience and earn some pocket money simultaneously.
"I'm slowly getting used to it."
Moreover, this had the advantage of allowing him to adapt to this weakened state, which was much stronger than his condition in his previous life. As the battles continued, the number of times Lokan was hit decreased, and his speed in killing monsters gradually increased. Experience points began to accumulate once more.
* * *
The plan had been perfect. A two-pronged strategy: on one hand, delay the growth of other users, seize the items they worked hard to collect, and make huge profits; on the other hand, gain popularity and support to grow into a large guild. It was working smoothly.
Acquiring the secret dungeon information, which he hadn't even expected, promised great gains in terms of leveling new members and profits from selling dropped items.
However, the appearance of a single user threw everything into disarray.
"Damn that bastard! It's all because of that bastard!"
The Blood Chasers, once a consistent source of profit like a cash cow, were now operating at a loss. Recently, the existence of the secret dungeon had been discovered by a wider audience, jeopardizing the exclusive farming system. No, it was on the verge of collapse.
Only a portion of the guild members who didn't believe the revealed connection between the Blood Chasers and the MP Guild remained, attributing it to a masterful fabrication by Lokan and his allies. More than half of the guild members had left voluntarily.
"If only we hadn't signed that guild house contract… … ."
He had considered reneging, but it was impossible in the current situation. Because of the exorbitant guild house contract, he had to pay a whopping 35 gold each month. In cash, that was 7 million won per month—no, with the doubled market rate, it was now 14 million won.
Since it was a contract using in-game contract items, it was a debt that would persist even if the character was deleted. It was money he had to repay unless he decided to quit the game entirely and cut his losses.
If he didn't pay, no matter how much he hunted, the currency entering his inventory would be reduced to 0 Copper, and items he acquired would be seized and sold off by the system. He wouldn't even be able to buy a single recovery potion.
He wanted to curse the developers for adding such a devilish system, but it was just an empty echo. There was nothing he could do. Either go bankrupt, shamelessly pretend nothing happened, or… … quit for a year or two, wait for the gold price to drop, pay off the debt, and start over?
"Fuck!"
However, there was no guarantee the price would drop significantly by then, and catching up to the top users would be nearly impossible. No matter how well-off his family was, he wasn't the son of a chaebol. Pouring 385 gold into a game with no clear return was unsustainable.
In short, he was completely ruined.
"It's all because of that bitch!"
Eventually, his anger turned towards his girlfriend, Im Soo-hee. If it weren't for her, if she hadn't dropped the Cloak of Stealth, he wouldn't have become so obsessed with Lokan. It was clear things wouldn't have collapsed to this point.
The mere thought made his blood boil. Any love for his lover had long since evaporated. From the moment that guy Lokan started causing trouble, she had lost the Cloak of Stealth and could only express worry with useless whining.
"These bastards. I will kill them all."
He remembered Im Soo-hee mentioning she might know someone who could be Lokan. Then, he even wondered if the two of them had conspired to trick him.
Anger consumed doubt and swelled into madness.
"I told you there are some guys in the guild who know how to get things done in real life. Gather them all. If that's not enough, call the errand service! I need to see the face of that bastard named Lokan."
He gathered people in the real world, not in The Lord, and took the lead, summoning Im Soo-hee.
"But I'm not sure if Youngmin oppa is really Lokan… … ."
"Shut up! Once we catch him, he'll confess."
Im Soo-hee, frightened, objected, but he, lost in madness, heard nothing. Whether the real Lokan was this person or not, he just needed an outlet for his rage. Believing his father would somehow solve any problems that arose, he gathered his men and stormed into the studio apartment where Lokan was supposed to live.
* * *
*Ding Dong!*
"Who is it?"
"Oppa, it's me. Soo-hee."
Im Soo-hee, standing nervously in front of the door, spoke up. Dressed in her usual sexy attire, her trembling voice sounded even more pitiful.
Perhaps because of that, a rattling sound was heard inside, and a man with a disheveled appearance and a tired expression opened the door.
"Ah, hello. It seems you have the wrong house… … ."
*Whoosh!*
Then, she was pushed aside, and the men barged in. Words were unnecessary; fists flew first.
"Aww!"
"Get him!"
As the man who opened the door collapsed, a chaotic beating commenced. Fists, kicks, and all sorts of abuse rained down mercilessly.
"Oppa! It's not this person!"
The assault only stopped when Im Soo-hee, finally realizing the mistake, screamed after a moment.
"You bastards! Do you know who my father is? He's the local police chief! You're all going to jail, you scum!"
The faces of the attackers turned pale at the furious words vomited by the man on the ground.