Chapter 78 …
What about Kaiser?
In the past, he was called a god, reclaimed first place in Raven, and was the center of endless controversy. But in the end, he was alone.
A foolish man who rejected every guild’s offer and chose to walk a thorny path by himself.
No matter how amazing he was, levels still existed. If people gathered and ganged up on him, what could he really do?
“He’d get beaten, obviously.”
“Still… it’s Kaiser. Wouldn’t he do something?”
“Is Kaiser not human? Even at graduation level it’d be tough, and right now he’s, what, barely level 26? What’s he supposed to do if higher-level guys charge at him on purpose?”
“……”
As unfortunate as it was, that was reality.
Reality was cold. A lone hero defeating countless enemies and standing proud—that only happened in movies.
“I like Kaiser too, but… this time he overdid it. The guilds aren’t even the real problem. They might still want to recruit him, and with everyone watching, they’ll at least keep some limits. But what about the users?”
“Yeah… there are way too many scumbags.”
“Not just scumbags. I keep seeing posts on the community like, ‘If I catch Kaiser, will I become a star too?’ At this rate, he’s got enemies everywhere— huh?”
They were passionately gossiping about the situation when—
“Kaiser! Kaiser’s here!”
“Where? Where?!”
The commotion from the front made them stop talking and turn their heads.
As they had said, someone was coming out through the entrance.
A figure with the height and build of a boy around ten years old. A fashion choice of a deep black robe that covered even the face.
“Keuruk.”
It was the companion who always traveled with Kaiser.
Naturally, people threw their gazes past the entrance. If that one had come out, Kaiser would surely appear soon as well.
But…
“…?”
“What? Why isn’t he showing up?”
“What’s going on? Did that guy just come out alone first?”
And that wasn’t the strangest part.
Swoosh.
Suddenly, the companion raised both hands and struck an incomprehensible pose.
As if worshipping the sun—or savoring something?
“Keuruk!”
An odd sound came out too, but it was faint, and with the massive crowd’s noise, it was quickly drowned out.
After enjoying(?) the attention for a moment, the companion started walking.
Then boldly headed somewhere.
“What? That’s not the field.”
“Just follow him! There’s gotta be something. He definitely got a hidden quest!”
“What about Kaiser?”
“He’s not coming out! You just gonna let him slip away? You stay here—I’ll follow!”
And so the users split in half. Half stayed behind; half chased after the companion.
He straightened his back, glanced behind him, and walked like he was on a runway. For some reason, it irritated them—but they didn’t give up.
And soon enough, they saw it.
Shuk—
“…Huh?”
“What? Where’d he go?”
“He just disappeared.”
“Wait. Don’t tell me… did he log out?”
Right in the middle of town, the companion vanished in a flash.
Disappearing like that in the city meant one of two things:
Warp—or logout.
The warp point was far away, so in this case, it was clearly the latter.
“What about Kaiser?”
“…He never came out. Doesn’t even look like he will.”
“Ah, what the hell. Did he just log out?”
“Damn it, total waste of time…”
The users who realized the truth made bitter expressions.
They had been waiting for this exact moment, and now this?
They never imagined he would log out.
“Well… with this much attention on him, I guess it makes sense?”
“I thought Kaiser wouldn’t log out.”
“You never know. If it’s Kaiser, maybe he just went to eat. He seems pretty indifferent about worldly matters.”
“That sounds ridiculous, but why does it feel kind of plausible?”
The onlookers who had been watching with anticipation dusted off their hands and left.
A few stubborn ones held out, unwilling to give up—but after about an hour, even they finally abandoned their posts.
And thus, Brion returned to peace.
Meanwhile, Dohyun…
[You have entered the Briny Rock Forest.]
[Tip. Excessive mob hunting will summon a thick fog.]
[‘Minor Stealth’ effect is currently applied.]
“Wow. We actually broke through like this.”
He had successfully escaped Brion and entered the Briny Rock Forest.
Behind Dohyun, a flash of light appeared as someone emerged.
[Leaving the field. Guardians ‘Jihad Black’ and ‘Eliza’ are being transferred to their master’s side.]
—Master, I’m here.
—Riza!
It was Jihad and Eliza, who had been hiding in the robe pocket.
Jihad, looking unusually pleased, stepped forward and raised his hand into the air—
Clap!
This time, Dohyun returned the high-five.
It was flawless teamwork.
The plan had been simple.
Jihad would draw attention. While the crowd thinned, Dohyun—hidden in stealth—would slip out.
If Dohyun safely reached the field, success.
What about Jihad and Eliza?
Didn’t matter.
If their master changed fields, the guardians would automatically be summoned.
[Leaving the field. Guardians ‘Jihad Black’ and ‘Eliza’ are being transferred to their master’s side.]
And the plan had worked perfectly.
Now inside the Briny Rock Forest, Dohyun grinned.
“If I hadn’t experienced that with Eliza before, I’d never have thought of this.”
Experience really was important.
Thanks to that past incident, he avoided becoming the Pied Piper of players.
“Keuruk. That was so fun, Master. Tell me anytime you need it again.”
“Riza riza!”
“Eliza had fun too?”
“Riza!”
With Jihad and Eliza both in high spirits, it was a win-win strategy.
The atmosphere had lightened—but they still couldn’t let their guard down.
“There are still too many people here. Let’s go further in.”
“Okay.”
“Riza!”
The Briny Rock Forest was vast, but it was also a popular hunting ground—so there were still plenty of players.
Only when the fog grew thick enough to hinder vision would the numbers thin out.
They needed to at least reach that point to feel at ease.
The impaired visibility would work in Dohyun’s favor if anything happened.
“Let’s go.”
“Roger!”
“Riza!”
Maintaining stealth, Dohyun led the way. Jihad followed behind him.
Not to be outdone, Eliza stuck her head into Jihad’s pocket.
It looked like children playing train—but to the other users, it didn’t.
“Hm? Hey, look over there.”
“Ah, what— huh?”
“That robe… isn’t that the one who’s always with Kaiser?”
“Yeah? Why’s he alone today?”
To them, it simply looked like Jihad was strolling alone.
Thanks to NewTube videos, Jihad had become fairly well known.
Naturally, questions arose.
“If he’s walking around without Kaiser, maybe he’s not a guardian after all. People were arguing whether he was a guardian or just a party member.”
“Yeah. But I heard he logged out earlier. Why’s he here? Did he log back in?”
“Wait—then maybe Kaiser too?”
“…Nope. Don’t see him. Guess he logged in alone this time?”
The hopeful players scanned the surroundings but shook their heads.
There was no sign of anyone resembling Kaiser.
It hadn’t even been that long since he logged out. If he’d come here, he would’ve been swarmed before even arriving.
“Wasn’t he just a porter? Looks like he hunts too.”
“Who has the job ‘porter’ in God of All Ages? He just plays that role. If he’s gonna travel together, he’s gotta level up.”
“Hunting alone here? So even Kaiser’s ‘porter’ has that kind of specs…?”
“…Now that you mention it…”
Back in the Demrock days, Kaiser’s party had been full of monsters.
Rank 1 party leader. Rank 3, 4, and 5 party members.
Each of them stood at the pinnacle of their respective fields.
If Kaiser kept someone by his side, they were unlikely to be ordinary.
“Maybe he’s heading to a party he already arranged?”
“I’m curious… should we follow?”
“Don’t. This is a field. If we tail him and he kills us for being annoying, we can’t even complain.”
“True… plenty of people died stalking stars.”
Just like in reality, stalking was frowned upon.
In fact, it had an even worse reputation than PK.
Partly because it was lowly behavior—but also because some players were doing hidden pieces or quests and didn’t want interference.
It wasn’t Kaiser. There was no need to risk it over a porter.
“Or maybe Kaiser’s in stealth? Maybe he’s actually walking around with him right now.”
One user voiced the theory.
The group paused, then let out impressed sounds.
“Oh…? That actually sounds plausi—”
“Bullshit. At that point, you could have a conversation with my dog Poppy. Everyone knows Kaiser’s a swordsman. How would a swordsman use stealth?”
Laughter erupted.
The man flushed red and tried to defend himself.
“Well, with the Weapon Master trait, if he uses something with stealth attached—”
“Do you think the AI’s brainless? Weapon Master only removes weapon restrictions. Where would you even get a weapon with a stealth option? Those are on other gear pieces, and they come with wear restrictions.”
“High-level stuff might exist, but… not in this level range.”
“Enough nonsense. Focus on what we’re doing.”
“…Yeah.”
It was a baseless argument.
The man shut his mouth, and the group lost interest in Jihad.
Most other players did the same.
Thanks to that, Jihad could move without major trouble—just attracting glances.
But not everyone was harmless.
—The stares are piercing, Master.
“Endure it.”
Some watched out of curiosity.
Others stared with open hostility.
Though no one attacked outright, their sticky malice was unpleasant—even for Jihad, who enjoyed attention.
From greedy gazes to looks that seemed to say, “Should I try jumping him?”
“If they’re like this just seeing Jihad, it would’ve been chaos without stealth.”
Dohyun chuckled.
He wouldn’t have had time for quests—he’d be too busy dealing with players.
Actually, that might have been easier. If they attacked openly, he could just kill them. It was the ambiguous stalking—following from a distance—that was truly annoying.
“Tch.”
“Let’s go.”
Even now, some followed for a bit before giving up when nothing happened.
Eventually, even those stopped.
At most, people would glance from afar.
That level of attention wasn’t worth worrying about.
“Almost there.”
“Riza!”
But Dohyun didn’t know.
Among the many gazes, there was one particularly sinister pair of eyes.
The man neither showed hostility nor revealed himself.
He simply watched Jihad from behind a rock, at a distance.
Rustle—
After standing still for a long while, once Jihad disappeared from view, he began to move quietly.
