TRGBM 98

Episode 98

098. In the End, Like That

Just as Geumson was recalling A.Asura’s Choi Jin-woong, Crown Prince Bellian approached and spoke. His voice was leisurely. But golden hand, looking at the crimson rift Bellian had opened—the Gate—asked:

“That is… what?”

Geumson feigned ignorance, asking about the Gate. Bellian looked at him and chuckled lightly.

“Hmm, considering I am supposedly of royal blood… I should have something special, shouldn’t I?”

The Crown Prince deflected the question half in jest, half in earnest. He didn’t seem to intend to give a proper answer. golden hand gritted his teeth secretly.

If it were any ordinary NPC, he would have pressed for an answer about the Gate. But his counterpart was the kingdom’s Crown Prince. Not someone from whom he could extract information by pushing. Rather…

‘I should build rapport.’

That is clearly a Monster Gate. The Monster Gates that led Earth, humanity, to ruin. And Crown Prince Bellian uses it freely. He couldn’t just let this pass.

But golden hand held back. He planned to build rapport with Crown Prince Bellian first, then slowly find out. Now was not the time to satisfy curiosity, but to focus on the battle before him.

“Well then, I suppose I should go and perform my own role. I entrust this place, the south, to you, ‘Inheritor of Gears’. Ah, or is it ‘Inheritor of Stars’ here?”

Bellian, who knew about golden hand in considerable detail. It was unclear if he came for Airtos or to test golden hand. But there was no hesitation in Bellian’s steps. He simply walked elegantly toward the northern wall where the Royal Knights were stationed.

Thud-
Clang!
Clang-clang-

Geumson focused again on his own task. The hammer sparked flames as enhancements continued. Like those sparks, his contribution ranking climbed at a fearsome speed.

[Airtos Defense Battle Contribution Ranking]

1st: Kang Moojin (Yeokcheon) – 3,415,900P
2nd: Golden Hand – 2,988,700P
3rd: Red Lion (Yeokcheon) – 2,154,200P
4th: Choi Jin-woong (Asura) – 1,899,500P
.
.
.

Unfortunately, the contributions of Asura guild members among the Crown Prince’s reinforcements were not counted. They participated in the quest as players, so their points were not tallied for Golden Hand. What was astonishing, however, was Kang Moojin. Despite Golden Hand fierce pursuit, he still maintained first place.

‘Kang Moojin… that guy is truly a monster.’

Golden Hand clicked his tongue. While he was raising his points by enhancing hundreds of players’ equipment, Kang Moojin was overwhelming it all with his power alone. The destructive force of his ‘Moonlight Venomous Serpent Sword’ was truly calamitous.

‘Right, he should be at that level. Still, sorry, Kang Moojin. First place is mine.’

A satisfied smile spread across golden hand’s lips. He felt he would catch up soon. It was only a matter of time. Just as he was about to raise his hammer once more, a familiar voice wormed into his ear.

“Hey, Super Ace! Did you set up a blacksmith shop here? You’re practically raking in money with a pitchfork!”

Ravi, dressed in her grease-stained work clothes, was standing beside him before he knew it. It had been a while since he’d seen Ravi. But exchanging pleasantries was mere formality. Her gaze wasn’t fixed on golden hand.

Only on Iron Worker. She was scrutinizing Iron Worker’s combat scenes as if fascinated. Ravi’s eyes shone sharply. However, it wasn’t long before her expression turned blank.

“That… is that the ego golem you made back then? It’s already grown that much?”

She seemed greatly surprised by the growth of Iron Worker’s ‘Ego’. An atypically fast rate. Even for an ego golem, continuous commands were necessary.

But Iron Worker had become almost autonomous. With a simple command from golden hand, it judged on its own, eliminated surrounding threats, and organized player ranks. It was even handing water to tired players.

“It’s already moving independently outside the command system? Insane… How on earth did you do it? Did you use some special component? Or…”

Unable to hide her excitement, Ravi observed Iron Worker and poured out questions. Geumson smiled wryly at her passion and answered.

“I just… talked to it a lot.”
“Talked? Talking to a hunk of scrap metal, even if it’s an ego golem… Are you sure you’re okay in the head?”

Ravi looked incredulous, but upon realizing golden hand’s eyes were sincere, she fell into thought for a moment. She was a genius. Prodigious enough to become the youngest branch head. She didn’t miss the possibility, hidden in golden hand’s words, that transcended common sense.

‘Interaction… Not simple command transmission, but promoting an Ego’s growth through emotional sharing? No way! The only time that was possible was…’

The origin of Magical Engineering. The first Master Magical Engineer, Akarna, who laid the foundation for all current magical engineering. Now, not even records remained.

But from her teacher’s teacher. That teacher’s teacher. No, perhaps from the generation before that—a mythical tale passed down. Ravi recalled that.

Ravi’s eyes shone once more. For some reason, the way she looked at golden hand became burdensome. Perhaps because that gaze was burdensome, Geumson cleared his throat and asked.

“So, is this the favor you mentioned? Fighting here in Airtos?”
“No, that’s excluded because of the Crown Prince. The real favor is still a long way off.”

Ravi waved her hand dismissively, changing the subject. Her expression turned serious for the first time.

“More importantly, you, be careful of that Crown Prince. Don’t be fooled by that handsome face!”
“You mean Crown Prince Bellian?”
“Yes. He looks flashy and competent on the outside, but he’s black inside. He doesn’t care about means or methods to get what he wants. He’s also famous for mercilessly discarding things once they lose their use value.”

Ravi seemed genuinely worried. But golden hand shrugged nonchalantly.

“Is that so? I see…”

Instead, a smile formed on golden hand’s lips. Perhaps building rapport with Crown Prince Bellian might be easier. At least, if he desired golden hand.

Seeing that expression on golden hand face, Ravi felt inexplicably uneasy. Because golden hand’s face right now was one she had seen somewhere before.

“It’s exactly the expression you had before entering a dungeon… Anyway, I warned you, okay? Don’t blame me later! Got it?”

After a brief farewell, Ravi left. It seemed Ravi had deliberately sought him out to warn him about Bellian. Watching her retreating back, Geumson sank into thought for a moment.

‘Crown Prince Bellian…’

His mysterious power and inscrutable attitude. He was undoubtedly someone to be wary of. But at the same time, Geumson felt a strange sense of unease.

Because Bellian’s leisurely smile and seemingly all-seeing eyes overlapped with a person he had coincidentally met during the age of ruin.

‘Surely not… It can’t be.’

Geumson shook his head, brushing away the ominous thought. Now was the time to focus on the battle before him. Although he had narrowed the contribution gap with Kang Moojin, it would be meaningless if the quest failed.

But his foreboding wasn’t wrong. As the battle dragged on, the balance on the battlefield gradually began to crumble.

“Ugh, sleepy. I can’t take it anymore. I’m going to catch a nap!”
“How long do we have to do this? Does this even end? Dammit…”
“I have to go to work! Sorry! I’m leaving first!”

The initial fervor was gone, and players began leaving the battlefield one by one. Fatigue from days of all-night hunting, real-life responsibilities, and above all, disgust for a seemingly endless battle held them back. The number of players physically opposing the monsters began to dwindle.

Other areas were still holding firm. The Royal Knights and the Golem Legion maintained the frontline without showing signs of fatigue, and the Yeokcheon and Asura guilds efficiently continued the battle by organizing shifts. Only the alliance of individual players at the South Gate was collapsing rapidly.

“Damn it, we’ll be breached at this rate!”

golden hand finally firmly gripped the ‘Forgotten Void Hammer’. He could no longer remain solely in the role of a blacksmith.

“Worker! Tia! Hold the front line as much as possible! I’ll clean up the rear!”

golden hand personally joined the fight. Each time his hammer split the air, monsters fell like autumn leaves. But it wasn’t enough. The number of surging monsters surpassed what could be handled by his individual martial prowess.

“Graaaaaah!”
“Hold! Hold it somehow!”
“wizards! When is the magic support from the wizard corps coming! Wizards!”
“Hold on! Players! We’re replenishing magic! Just hold on a little longer!”

Though the remaining few struggled, in the end, the South Gate’s defensive line completely collapsed. The surviving handful of players and Golden Hand had no choice but to retreat to the top of the wall and prepare for a desperate last stand. Looking down at the endless red sea of monsters below the wall, Geumson gritted his teeth.

‘In the end… it comes to this.’

The monsters that had invaded Seoul. Their image overlapped. A sense of powerlessness weighed on his shoulders. Just as Geumson was anxiously preparing for the siege defense, a warm touch was felt on his shoulder. And a voice whispering into his ear.