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Chapter 155: Star, Cadmus (5)

People just thought Cadmus was cute, which contradicted its intention, but some of them also looked at Cadmus and the horse with concern. The more Cadmus made cute sounds and flapped its front paw, the more the Ghost Devil Horse’s head shook.

‘Huh…? Is that normal?’

‘The Dragon could get quite dizzy.’

‘No, maybe not…? The horse somehow seems to be more frightened…?’

People noticed that the Ghost Devil Horse stopped behaving in an intimidating way at some point, began sweating hard, and constantly tiptoed around Cadmus, who was on its head. The horse seemed very anxious and worried that Cadmus was uncomfortable or would scold it. The sight was so amazing that it attracted everyone’s attention. Meanwhile, the Team L members gathered around Chang-Sun.

“Hey, Mus! You’re here!” Shin Eun-Seo spread her arms and delightedly approached Cadmus, who leaped off from the Ghost Devil Horse’s head and jumped into Eun-Seo’s arms.

Kiyoo!

“Awww! You missed me, didn’t you?” Eun-Seo patted Cadmus.

Kiyoo! Kiyoo! Kiyoo!

Cadmus fervently rubbed its head against Eun-Seo, then jumped into the arms of Woo Hye-Bin, who was standing beside Eun-Seo. During the momentary confusion, Hye-Bin bewilderedly caught Cadmus but soon relaxed when it acted cute.

‘The Dragon is male.’

‘It’s definitely a male.’

‘That Dragon may not be a Dragon.’

The people watching the scene, especially the men, shook their heads.

“Mus?” Chang-Sun tilted his head in confusion, looking at Eun-Seo, who was patting Cadmus’ head.

“Yeah, it’s the nickname I came up with. What do you think? Isn’t it cute?” Eun-Seo smiled.

“Ah, well, hmm…” Chang-Sun wasn’t sure how the nickname was different from ‘Dragony’ or ‘Growly’, but he didn’t bother to mention it.

“Anyhow, who is this, oppa?” Eun-Seo pointed at the Ghost Devil Horse.

Flick!

By lightly flicking his fingers, Chang-Sun unsummoned the Ghost Devil Horse, making it dissipate into thin air. A black shadow then briefly appeared near Henri’s group, then disappeared completely.

『I’ll be back.』

[Jin’s Subordinate ‘Intermediate-Class Bak 4’ has activated the Skill ‘Close Surveillance,’ tailing the Player ‘Mireille Aliano’!]

Chang-Sun brought the Ghost Devil Horse for a very simple reason: to attract the people’s attention with it as he secretly sent out his subordinate. He saw the subordinate seeping into Mireille’s shadow, so it was going to be on her tail at all times.

‘I never thought the famous French summoner would have one of the [Seven Cryptical Books of Hsan].’?Chang-Sun shrugged.

He couldn’t tell why Mireille had the [Fifth Cryptical Book of Hsan] yet and also didn’t know if she still had it or had tried decrypting it. All Chang-Sun found out was that Jeong Yoo-Jin and the Highoff remnants secretly sent it to Mireille.

Chang-Sun was planning to find out more by tracking down Yoo-Jin, but he couldn’t due to the ‘Bestla’s Tomb’ incident. Hence, Chang-Sun had no choice but to look into it himself.

‘I’m glad they took the bait.’ Chang-Sun faintly smiled.

At the airport, he had given the interview much more aggressively than usual to attract Mireille’s attention.

‘Fortunately, my name is not very known in France, and it would have been more strange if those belligerent Players didn’t react after I provoked them this severely,’?Chang-Sun thought.

The French media had been frequently comparing Chang-Sun to Henri, and Mireille always stayed by Henri’s side like a shadow. Hence, Chang-Sun thought he could lure out Mireille if he provoked Henri. On top of that, the reporters mentioned Henri with perfect timing.

It seemed Chang-Sun’s ‘fishing’ had luckily been a success. Henri and the French rookie Players were all busy glaring at Chang-Sun. Considering they kept looking around him, it seemed they were waiting for him to be alone.

“I just brought the horse because I thought Cadmus would be bored on its own,” Chang-Sun replied to Eun-Seo, observing Henri’s group—Mireille, to be exact—as he used [Monster Excursion].

“Huh? You’re lying,” Eun-Seo said.

“…?” Chang-Sun wasn’t sure what to say.

“There is no way you’re that considerate of someone, oppa,” Eun-Seo said with certainty.

Chang-Sun stayed silent.

“Hmm, you have another reason.” Eun-Seo gave Chang-Sun a doubtful look, making him chuckle dumbfoundedly and think Eun-Seo was sharp in a weird way.

“And when did you learn how to summon monsters?” Eun-Seo continued. “A fighter who can summon… It will be cool to see you riding a horse, though, oppa.”

“Didn’t I tell you?” Chang-Sun scratched the back of his head.

“…?” Eun-Seo quietly listened.

“My class is not a fighter-type.” Chang-Sun shrugged.

“Huh?”

Eun-Seo, Hye-Bin, Shin Geum-Gyu, and Baek Gyeo-Ul blankly looked at Chang-Sun as he continued, “I’m a Rune Master, a wizard-type class.”

“N-no way!”

“Wow, I should definitely kill myself…”

The team members weren’t sure how a wizard could fight better than most fighters, so they looked at Gyeo-Ul, wondering if Chang-Sun was joking. However, Gyeo-Ul mumbled, “…I have seen him using runes.”

“…!” The Team L members’ eyes widened in despair. With the gap in their talents this big, they weren’t sure what to say anymore. As someone who studied magic very diligently, Geum-Gyu was so shocked that he suddenly felt depressed.

[The Celestial ‘World-Encircling Serpent’ advises his subordinate that a sparrow should not try to keep up with a phoenix.]

J?rmungandr consoled him in a not-so-helpful way.

Meanwhile, Chang-Sun was a little dumbfounded. ‘Did I say something wrong?’

He just mentioned that to come up with a legitimate excuse to explain how he could control Cadmus and the Ghost Devil Horse, but it seemed his plan backfired. While wondering how he should further explain, Jaegal Hyeon-Ryong and Gang Woo-Chan approached the Team L members.

“Oh, it’s good to see you! Cadmus is looking very happy. It finally became full after eating so much, huh?” Hyeon-Ryong brightly greeted Chang-Sun.

Unlike Hyeon-Ryong, Woo-Chan didn’t hesitate to reveal how discontented he was. Even the elders had arrived at the banquet hall on time, so how could the new employee show up last? Chang-Sun didn’t even look at Woo-Chan, which only made him angrier.

“It eats a lot, so I’m not sure when it’ll become hungry again.” Chang-Sun shrugged.

“Haha, that’s just how it is with Dragons, especially when they’re young. They become hungry a second after they eat, so the Dragon owners always have trouble acquiring food.” Hyeon-Ryong chuckled.

‘Seriously, who is he?’?Chang-Sun unnoticeably narrowed his eyes.

Judging from how Hyeon-Ryong had figured out that Cadmus was an Evil Dragon, he seemed to be aware of Dragons’ habits very well. That was strange, though, considering there weren’t many people who knew about Dragons even in Arcadia, where Dragons were worshiped. What did he mean when he said he had raised something similar to Dragons?

‘Even among the Council of Elder members, he’s the most mysterious one. He wasn’t a popular first-generation Player, but he became famous after the Pohang incident,’?Chang-Sun thought.

Chang-Sun wasn’t sure if Hyeon-Ryong knew what he was thinking since the latter just kept smiling. “You didn’t get to meet anyone due to your late arrival, did you? Follow me, I’ll introduce you to them.”

* * *

Following Hyeon-Ryong’s lead, Chang-Sun exchanged greetings with important French people.

“So you’re the Tyrant. Nice to meet you. I’m Nicolas Fouquet from the ‘Revenant.’”

“I’ve heard a lot from Wu Hou. I’m Ludovico of the ‘Orlando.’”

“Grizman Adellie of the ‘Youth Fountain.’”

The Revenant, Orlando, and Youth Fountain were all major French Clans. They were like Korea’s White Tiger Clan or Sword of Ohsung Clan. Moreover, the people Chang-Sun had just met were their executives, so he had also already heard of these rankers’ names.

The unfriendly man, Grizman Adellie, was a famous ranker who was also known as the ‘Iron Mask.’ Although used to be a demonic being, he became a ‘demonic being hunter’ after switching sides and atoning for his sins.

“Are you friends with them?” Chang-Sun asked.

“I was a social butterfly back in the day.” Hyeon-Ryong smiled enigmatically, not telling Chang-Sun the full story.

Either way, Chang-Sun wasn’t sure why Hyeon-Ryong had been acting friendly and considerate of him ever since they had met at the Incheon Airport.

‘I’m sure he’s planning something,’?Chang-Sun thought, deciding that he should keep an eye on Hyeon-Ryong since he surely had a plan hidden just like Executive Director Oh.

Shortly after, Chang-Sun reached his intended destination—the group of French rookie Players.

‘Henri and Mireille.’?

“Nice to meet you, Mr. Lee Chang-Sun. I’m Henri. I’ve heard a lot about you.” Henri smiled gently and held out his hand. Meanwhile, Mireille and other rookies took a step backward.

‘He wants to mess with me.’ Chang-Sun quietly chuckled, noticing that Henri’s eyes were burning up with a desire to fight him.

It looked as if Henri was trying to humiliate Chang-Sun for provoking him during the interview, but his method was so obvious that it was embarrassing to let him do it. However, Henri took Chang-Sun’s chuckle as a smirk, so one of his eyebrows wriggled in annoyance.

[The ‘Deceased Dragon’s Corpse Energy’ is spreading everywhere!]

[The Curse ‘Violence’ has been activated.]

[The Curse ‘Panic’ has been activated.]

…

People’s skin stung. When the nearby rookie Players noticed that the air around Henri had changed, they bewilderedly took an extra couple of steps backward. Only Hyeon-Ryong stood still and watched the two, wondering what they were going to do.

‘I did hear that Henri controlled a Deceased Dragon, but is he really trying to intimidate me with it?’?Chang-Sun observed.

Although they called themselves ‘Bone Dragons’, Chang-Sun knew that they were low-ranking Undead Dragons like ‘Undead Drakes.’ Of course, they still shouldn’t be taken lightly. Despite being a low-ranking Dragon, the fact that Henri could turn a Dragon into an Undead and control it meant Henri’s willpower was that great.

‘Well, that’s pretty much all he can do, though.’?Chang-Sun shrugged.

[The Skill ‘Kalokagathia’ has been activated, making you immune to mental debuffs!]

“Yes, nice to meet you too,” Chang-Sun said.

The moment Chang-Sun grabbed Henri’s hand, Chang-Sun nullified and made the [Dead Dragon’s Corpse Energy], which had been pressuring him, dissipate as if he was breaking a glass window.

Clang, clang!

“…!” Henri’s eyes widened in disbelief and noticeably wobbled, unable to withstand the rebound. Still grabbing Chang-Sun’s hand, his hand shook hard, and Henri’s friends belatedly froze up when they realized how serious the situation was.

Rumble!

The floor underneath the two lightly shook, and mana waves slowly spread out in a concentric circle. The Players from Revenant, Orlando, Youth Fountain… Their staredown attracted everyone’s attention. Most of them were Players, after all, so they couldn’t help noticing.

Besides, they had been wondering who would be stronger as the media called the two ‘the rivalry of the century.’ Some were having fun and looked forward to seeing the arrogant Henri crumpling up, making Henri’s face redden.

‘How dare a monkey do this…!’?Henri gritted his teeth as his face hardened.

In contrast to Henri, Chang-Sun was still expressionless. It was as if he was incapable of feeling pain. Henri definitely didn’t think he was going to lose, so without considering any other possibilities, he only thought of a method to beat Chang-Sun up and humiliate him in front of all the people around them. Henri was going to be the next ‘king’ of France, so he should be at a much higher level than a yellow monkey from an unknown eastern country.

‘How?!’?Henri shouted internally.

His hand hurt so much that he thought it was going to break. He even had to hold himself back from screaming. The capillaries in his eyes popped and made his eyes bloodshot.

‘How in the world…!’ Henri couldn’t understand what was happening right now.

He was definitely trying his best, but he couldn’t beat Chang-Sun.

[The ‘Deceased Dragon’s Vigor’ has been forcefully nullified!]

[The activation of the Skill ‘Deceased Dragon’s Roar’ has been forcefully canceled!]

…

‘How can he be this strong…!’ Henri screamed in his thoughts.

Their staredown intensified.

[The Celestial ‘Calamity Tiger’ instructs you to crush this arrogant greenhorn.]

The mana wave intensified so much that even the server carrying food could feel it. Thinking hell would break loose if they did nothing, people tried to stop them, but they vividly heard Chang-Sun’s quiet voice first. Chang-Sun’s accent and pronunciation were really perfect, making people wonder if he was actually French.

“I have sharp hearing, so I happened to eavesdrop on a part of the conversation between you and your friends.” Chang-Sun activated [Tiger Kill] and mixed it with the <Darkness> from [Stigma], releasing ominous navy-blue energy.

Pzzz―!

[The Skill ‘Tiger Kill’ and ‘Stigma’ mixed together, making you dominate the battlefield!]

“You called me and my colleagues yellow monkeys, so I would like an explanation about that,” Chang-Sun looked back and forth between Henri and the pale rookie Players standing behind him. They were all having trouble breathing with Chang-Sun’s [Tiger Kill] weighing down on their souls.

Woosh!

At that moment, navy blue flames similar to Mephistopheles’ blazed up in Chang-Sun’s eyes.

[The ‘Inferno Sights’ have been activated, looking into ‘death’ inside your enemies!]

Everyone who saw his Pale Eyes turned pale and felt the shadow of death grabbing their ankles.

1. Koreans say this a lot when they are so frustrated or don’t want to deal with countless problems before them. They don’t really mean it though.