The Final Boss Has Returned 9

Chapter 9

Holy City Pantheon.

The capital of the Holy Nation of Lightness and a metropolis housing the Grand Temple where the gods of the Pantheon are enshrined.

Today, in the eastern district of this bustling, sacred city filled with countless users and NPCs, stood a grand mansion, its splendor evident at first glance.

It was the Guild House of Lightwing Guild, the guild of the Hero Eugene.

Inside the conference room on the first floor of Lightwing Guild’s Guild House.

Eugene and his guild members sat around a large, white round table.

Hero Eugene.

Martial Artist MuscleMan.

Elf Archer Sharp.

Saintess Elena.

Sorceress Verda.

These five were the entirety of Lightwing Guild, and all five members were currently gathered around the round table.

“Eugene, are you really going to let Drakan go like this?”

The first to speak was Sharp, the beautiful Elf Archer with long, golden hair and a quiver and bow strapped to her back.

Eugene slowly responded to Sharp’s question.

“He promised in front of the crowd. He promised not to repeat his evil deeds.”

“And you believe that?”

“Yes. I believe him.”

Sharp grumbled at Eugene’s words.

She always thought, he was good in every way, but his excessive kindness was a problem.

She couldn’t bring herself to believe Drakan’s words.

His actions and manner of speech seemed far from those of a reformed person, no matter how she looked at it.

Moreover, just thinking about six years ago made Sharp’s blood boil.

Drakan and the Iron Blood Alliance, and the Guild Alliance!

Although they ultimately won the war against them, the process was arduous and difficult.

If luck hadn’t been on their side, the victor would have been Drakan. Drakan was never an easy opponent.

He was an extremely dangerous opponent.

Dangerous enough that he shouldn’t be let go.

“And since he made a promise to me in front of the users, if he breaks it, the users will judge him before I even have to step in.”

Of course, Eugene wasn’t as naive as he was six years ago, back in his high school days.

There was a calculated reason why he deliberately met with Drakan in front of a large crowd.

“I’m glad you’ve thought this through.”

“Besides, I don’t want to harm someone who hasn’t done anything wrong yet.”

Eugene said, looking at Sharp.

“Because that would be an evil act.”

Sharp’s face flushed as she met Eugene’s gaze.

He was so oblivious that he didn’t even realize her feelings for him, yet he was so stubborn in these matters that she couldn’t sway him.

But Sharp thought, even that stubbornness was part of the reason she liked him. She quickly pulled her hood over her head to hide her blushing face.

Just then.

Verda, the silver-haired witch with a pointed hat sitting opposite Sharp, spoke in a calm voice.

“Then how about we continuously gather information on Drakan, just in case?”

If eliminating him beforehand isn’t an option, let’s keep him under surveillance and eliminate him quickly if necessary.

Verda suggested this to Eugene in a roundabout way.

“That would be…… acceptable.”

Eugene also agreed with Verda’s opinion.

Gathering information on Rankers and Named Players was something they were already doing.

Adding Drakan to the list wouldn’t change anything, so Eugene accepted Verda’s suggestion without much resistance.

“Thank you.”

Hearing Verda’s thanks, Eugene clapped his hands.

“Alright, is there anything else to discuss?”

Everyone seated at the round table nodded at Eugene’s question.

“Then let’s go back to dungeon raiding.”

The faces of the Sorceress, the Archer, and the Saintess flushed at Eugene’s words, but the oblivious Eugene remained unaware.

Thus, the Lightwing Guild meeting concluded.

▄ ▄ ▄

[The Sea Demon King smiles and sponsors you 200 points.]

[The Demon King of Hatred sponsors you 300 points for refusing the Hero’s handshake.]

[The Demon King of Despair looks at you and lets out a sinister laugh.]

As soon as Eugene left, messages from the Transcendent Beings popped up in front of me.

They were notification windows indicating that the Demon Kings of the Demon Court were pleased with my actions.

It seemed that the reason the message window was unusually quiet earlier was because they were waiting to see how I would handle Eugene.

[The Demon King of Destruction expresses dissatisfaction, asking why you didn’t provoke the Hero more aggressively.]

Of course, not all Transcendent Beings were satisfied.

The Demon King of Destruction.

This Demon King, known for his violent, impulsive, and fiery nature, grumbled about why I didn’t push harder, but I simply ignored the message.

If I had been more aggressive, I might have been beaten to death by the users.

Eugene’s popularity was sky-high.

[The Dark God observes you.]

The notification window fell silent again, ending with the Dark God’s cryptic message.

‘This is just the right amount.’

I reviewed my encounter with Eugene and my response to it.

This level was just right – enough to maintain my position to some extent while not overly provoking Eugene and his group, as well as the users.

Even though I thought so, I couldn’t help but feel the anger boiling up inside me.

I took several deep breaths, trying to calm my pounding heart.

If I were still a top-ranked player like I used to be, that bastard Eugene wouldn’t have been able to use public opinion to force a promise out of me.

Even if he had, I could have blatantly ignored his promise and thrown even stronger provocations his way without any consequences.

But now, I had nothing.

The Iron Blood Alliance, the massive guild that used to move at my command, the backing of the Guild Alliance, the various Legendary grade items I used to wear, my level, stats, and all the titles and achievements!

Because I had none of that, I had to accept his promise.

‘I’ll endure this humiliation for the future!’

I gritted my teeth.

My current situation, which was practically nothing compared to the past, was pathetic.

I had no power, no influence.

Therefore, I had to endure and move on for now.

But I will never forget this humiliation!

Thinking so and trying to control my emotions, I looked around.

The countless users that had filled the plaza earlier were now almost gone.

Since Eugene, who had brought them here, was gone, there was no reason for them to stay.

Of course, not everyone had disappeared.

“Drakan-nim. How about joining our Red Moon Guild? We’ll offer you the best treatment.”

“Join our guild. Our Cyrus Guild always welcomes Drakan-nim!”

“Drakan-nim. I’ve admired you since the previous game! If you join our Urena Guild……”

Users wearing impressive equipment flocked around me.

They were a group of scouts trying to recruit me to their guilds.

They were moths drawn to the flame, attracted by the Legacy I might possess, my notoriety, and my skills that placed me 6th in the tutorial rankings.

In the previous game, recruiting a beginner user to a guild would have been unthinkable, unless it was through personal connections.

However, unlike the previous game, characters in Ard Saga Second only had one life.

This meant that if a guild member lost their life during a dungeon raid, siege, or faction war, it was equivalent to permanently losing that much power.

Therefore, guilds in Ard Saga Second were always focused on recruiting talent and strengthening their forces. They dispatched scouts even to Stronghold to recruit successors with high-grade Legacies or users with good Unique Traits.

‘Of course, most of the guild scouts who come all the way here are insignificant.’

Due to the Hardcore System, the guild rankings fluctuated greatly up to the mid-high ranks.

It wasn’t for nothing that scouts came all the way to Stronghold to solicit.

However, the rankings of the top guilds rarely changed, so they didn’t bother sending scouts to Stronghold.

In any case, unlike the previous game, where level was king and skill proficiency and items came second, Ard Saga Second introduced various variables that affected character performance, such as contracts with Transcendent Beings, Legacies, and Unique Traits assigned to each character.

And the strength of Rankers who possessed all these variables was incomparably powerful compared to ordinary users.

As a result, not only did power inflation occur upon entering Second, but the power gap between ordinary users and Rankers became significantly wider than in the previous game.

The existence of Rankers was like a nuclear bomb, and the top guilds possessed these nuclear bomb-like Rankers, so even if ordinary guild members died, their overall power wasn’t significantly affected.

Moreover, due to the recognition and fame of the top guilds, there was an overflow of users wanting to join them, so there was no need to send out scouts.

“I’m not joining any guild, so get out of my way.”

I said in a cold voice to the scouts crowding around me.

I’d rather operate alone than join a mediocre guild.

The scouts frowned at my words, and I tried to slip away through the crowd.

Just then.

“If not a guild, how about management?”

Someone said from behind me.

I turned around.

And there, a beautiful woman with short, dark blue hair was looking at me with a confident expression.