Chapter 148…
[Holy sh*t, this is insane!!!!]
└Why! Why!! What happened now!!
└Kaiser did it again! This is crazy, seriously, wow!!
└What is it!! Say it!!
└Kaiser! Kaiser opened the Outlaw Challenge!!!!
└……What!?
The moment Kaiser opened the Outlaw Challenge, the God of Ascension homepage and community were completely turned upside down.
The Outlaw Challenge.
Ever since Arthur’s disastrous ending, no one had dared attempt it lightly.
Even the masters of the Top 10 guilds never bothered to touch that cursed challenge.
And now the thing that hadn’t been opened for over a year had appeared again—how could people not pay attention?
Damn, does that mean the people in Sargis are watching it live right now? I’m so jealous!
Ah, I literally graduated from Sargis yesterday!!!
Getting a live seat to watch Kaiser is insane…
And with Kaiser being the challenger, did anything more even need to be said?
People flooded in all at once, filling the boards with chatter.
Many envied the Sargis players who could watch Kaiser’s Outlaw Challenge right in front of their eyes.
Most comments were full of excitement and anticipation, but there were also negative voices.
Even so… the Outlaw is a bit much.
Why would he even bother…? He’s already basically deified. Why risk it?
If he loses, his godlike image will shatter instantly. Doesn’t he realize that?
Everyone keeps praising him so much he’s probably lost his sense of fear.
For real lol. He probably thinks he can do anything. Sure he’s amazing, but the Outlaw is too much lol. And solo? Come on!
Normally those opinions would be ignored.
But this time, quite a few people agreed.
Which was only natural.
No matter how strong Kaiser was, the Outlaw boss was on a completely different level.
No one understood why he would willingly risk damaging his reputation.
You think Kaiser would do it without thinking? He must think it’s doable.
Yeah lol. Guess they didn’t watch the Contractor video.
That guy and the Outlaw are totally different. The Contractor was new so there’s no comparison… but the Outlaw? Even Arthur couldn’t get him below 50%. How do you beat that?
But why do people think he has to beat it? Even getting it under 50% proves something, doesn’t it?
└…That’s true?
└Probably because of the image Kaiser built up.
└Yeah, if Kaiser lost it’d feel weird somehow. Like your childhood illusion breaking.
There were many opinions.
But there was one question no one could deny.
Why attempt it at all?
Why take such a risk?
It was strange to think Kaiser opened the challenge just because he was battle-crazy… or because he wanted attention.
Maybe it has something to do with him meeting the Lord?
Yeah, otherwise it makes no sense.
And so people reached a conclusion.
It must be connected to the City Lord.
Damn, I’m dying of curiosity.
What kind of story made him go hunt the Outlaw?
What connection was there between the Outlaw and the City Lord?
Because everything about this situation was new, curiosity kept growing.
At this point it wasn’t even about whether Kaiser could defeat the Outlaw.
Everyone subconsciously believed that wasn’t possible anyway.
[HEY! HOLY SH*T!!!!]
And then—
[KAISER!! KAISER FINISHED THE OUTLAW CHALLENGE!!!]
[HE KILLED THE OUTLAW, DAMN IT!!!!]
Just as everyone was speculating about the connection between the Lord and the Outlaw,
an unbelievable post appeared on the board.
Then another.
And another.
Soon there were dozens… then hundreds.
…What? Finished what?
Wait, he killed the Outlaw? Is that even possible??
What the hell? This looks real. Posts keep coming up.
Every time people refreshed, new posts appeared confirming it.
But no one could believe it.
How could anyone possibly defeat that monster?
[AHAHA! Everyone who said it was impossible, come out!! I’m the winner because I watched it live!! (jpg)]
A post appeared.
In the image were thousands of users cheering, and in the middle of them—
Kaiser stood before the fallen Outlaw, his head raised.
What? It’s real???
He actually killed the Outlaw? How???
Holy crap, that’s insane. I should’ve gone to see it!!! Of all times something had to come up…
└LOL you missed it? You’ll regret that for life.
└For real. It gave me literal chills.
└Honestly, the best thing I did this year was not graduating from Sargis.
└Same here! Hey, me too!
└Wow… you guys are evil.
└Damn… I really wanted to record it but the copyright laws in GoA have been crazy strict lately so I couldn’t.
I am the sinner who said it was impossible. I’m now performing a real-time bow of repentance. Please forgive me… (jpg)
└LOL he’s actually doing it
Naturally, the reaction exploded.
And the news spread everywhere.
[Outlaw Challenge Cleared After 1 Year!?]
[Kaiser Writes Another Legend!]
[What Score Will This Graduation Quest Receive?]
Articles covered the homepage and portal sites.
Numerous guilds turned their attention toward it.
“…Kaiser killed the Outlaw?”
“Is that even possible? What a monster.”
“If that’s true… the Top 10 guilds can’t just keep watching anymore, can they?”
“I wonder what Arthur’s expression looks like right now.”
Of course, the Top 10 guilds couldn’t possibly miss this news.
And just as expected, they all had to stop what they were doing.
The tension that started in Brion had now exploded in Sargis.
And among them, the one who showed the most interest was—
“The Outlaw, huh… So, Arthur. If you fought it again now, could you beat it?”
“…What a pointless question.”
In a tavern in Hope, Arthur—the master of The King guild—answered his companion while drinking.
His face remained expressionless.
“If it were now, I’d kill it easily. It wouldn’t even take two minutes.”
“Yeah, yeah. Of course you would. After all, you’re the strongest Paladin in the player world—called the user version of Lebed.”
“Stop exaggerating.”
“Yes, sir.”
His friend grinned and asked again.
“So what if you went back to the past with your current memories? You’ve improved a lot since then.”
“Going back to when I fought the Outlaw… what a pointless question. That would never happen.”
“Come on, just for fun. Could you do it like Kaiser?”
“Hmm.”
Arthur’s face was still expressionless.
A handsome man with classic blond hair and pale skin.
The perfect example of a holy knight.
His usual blank expression symbolized perfection.
But his companion—who had known him for years—knew the truth.
When his lips tilted slightly downward, it meant he was thinking seriously.
But only for a moment.
“You must be bored if you’re talking nonsense.”
“…Huh?”
“We can move faster. Let’s go.”
“W-wait! No, I’m still tired! Can’t we rest a little more and think about it? I never want to go back to that forest aga— damn it, this guy never listens!”
Watching Arthur leave the tavern, the man sighed and rubbed his forehead.
What a boring guy.
Still—
he was their leader.
“Wait for me, damn it!”
Arthur glanced briefly at his friend hurrying after him and kept walking.
His face was expressionless.
But the corner of his lips was slightly lowered.
The question from earlier kept echoing in his mind.
Fighting the Outlaw again…
He would definitely perform better.
Back then he faced Phase 2 for the first time and wasn’t prepared.
And compared to now, he had been weaker.
But still—
Could he defeat it?
…Honestly, I don’t know.
After all—
that boss was never meant to be defeated.
…They said he once had no rival in the Demrock era.
The current Top 10 guilds were beings called “levels above the level cap, skies above the sky.”
It made no sense for a man who hadn’t even reached level 50 to threaten them.
The gap between them and that man should have been enormous.
…Yet why?
I should remember that name.
For some reason—
it felt like they would meet someday.
As Arthur headed toward the Forgotten Forest, he engraved the name Kaiser in his mind.
Meanwhile
While all the attention was focused elsewhere—
“What’s going on? Why are there so many people in front of the castle? I can’t even move forward.”
“You don’t know? Kaiser just entered the castle.”
“What? Seriously? Damn, I missed watching the fight—at least I should’ve seen that!”
“See? I told you to fix your sleep schedule. Who lives like that?”
The front of Sargis Castle was packed with users.
Since Kaiser—who had just defeated the Outlaw—was meeting the City Lord, curious players abandoned hunting and rushed there.
“Oh? But he came out unharmed?”
“Huh? What do you mean?”
“I heard it was an extremely close fight. If someone attacked him right then they’d become the Kaiser Slayer, right? Was the atmosphere not like that?”
“Of course there were scumbags thinking that. This game is full of them. But the moment someone ambushed him, Kaiser instantly countered and killed them instead. Then he glared at the crowd—damn, it was so cool…”
“Wow… that’s crazy.”
“And that’s not all. Right then Charlie stepped forward to guard him, and even the spectators joined in escorting him. It was basically the Miracle of Moses all the way to the castle.”
“That’s some insane romantic energy.”
The crowd buzzed endlessly about Kaiser.
His heroic stories.
What quest he might be doing.
What he’d show next.
What score his graduation quest would receive.
Watching the users talk nonstop, the guards clicked their tongues.
“Maintain strict control. The Lord said no one is allowed inside.”
“I’ve never seen a crowd like this…”
For the guards and NPCs, this was the first time in 1 year and 6 months seeing such a scene.
They were bewildered.
But also impressed.
“So he really was someone extraordinary.”
“It’s just a rumor, but… Hansel said he overheard the apostles saying that man killed the Outlaw.”
“…What? Do you believe such nonsense?”
“No, listen. That man also met the Lord a few days ago. Someone even we rarely get to see…”
As the saying goes—
rumors travel far and fast.
Stories kept spreading endlessly.
And while the outside of the castle was chaotic—
Clink—
“Ah…”
Inside the Lord’s chamber,
Do-hyeon stood with the Guardians facing City Lord Jay Ruddel and his butler.
A teacup had fallen and shattered on the floor.
But Jay Ruddel did not move.
Even the butler—who normally would have rushed to clean it—remained frozen.
“…Is that truly the truth?”
“Yes. This is what I obtained after defeating him.”
Do-hyeon revealed the half key that had not yet fused—
the yin energy of the Dark King.
“This…!”
Jay Ruddel gasped in shock as he felt the chilling energy.
How could he forget that aura?
The energy that slaughtered countless people,
that sickened him,
and that killed the Knight Commander.
“So it’s really…”
“Yes. The Outlaw is gone now. The city is safe.”
“Ah…”
Perhaps words would not come out.
Jay Ruddel’s mouth remained open as his eyes slowly reddened.
Tears streamed down his face,
showing just how much suffering he had endured.
“Thank you. Truly… thank you. I don’t know how I could ever repay this debt…”
He simply kept bowing his head.
Watching him quietly, Do-hyeon stepped closer and placed a hand on his shoulder.
Then he smiled gently while meeting his eyes.
“…Hero?”
“Gratitude is nice, and I have something to say too—but we don’t have much time.”
“What do you mean…?”
Before the question could fully leave his lips, Do-hyeon spoke first.
“There’s someone I’d like to introduce.”
“…Introduce?”
“He talks a lot… but he’s someone you know well, Lord.”
Jay Ruddel blinked several times.
Then his eyes widened in shock.
Disbelief mixed with a fragile hope.
His gaze asked Do-hyeon a silent question.
Is it really who I think it is?
“Yes. Please hold this for a moment…”
Do-hyeon handed him the yin energy fragment.
The moment Jay Ruddel carefully took it—
—Hey, is this really the only way? Even if it’s temporary, the kid’s already sick and you’re making him hold that thing… I mean, yeah, I asked you to help, but still… huh?
“…Uncle?”
—…Jay.
A ghost was talking nonstop toward Do-hyeon.
It was a very familiar face.
One he had dearly missed.
