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Season 2: Chapter 63. The Best Among The Wanderers(2)

“Director, a fax arrived.”

“Hmm? A fax?”

Song Ha-Na received a fax that day.

“Really. These guys...”

The medical community in the U.S. was surprisingly conservative and still preferred fax communication, especially when the data was so important.

Song Ha-Na personally found it embarrassing to use such means of communication in this day and age.

‘The research results have arrived.’

She knew what the fax was likely about and skillfully flipped through the paper. Then, her eyes fixated on the document for a while and thoroughly scanned through it.

She nervously bit her nails. This habit always came out when she saw something interesting, felt scared, or whenever her heart raced.

“This...”

She entered her research lab and scattered the documents on her desk. The first page of those documents featured two faces.

[Choi Sa-Rang]

[Yu Sang-Hyeon]

***

‘Let’s enter the game.’

Bang!

A fairy suddenly popped out.

“Hello there! Wandering mercenary!”

She was a very small fairy about the size of Almond's fist.

“I’ve been assigned to guide the wandering mercenary...”

She stopped speaking as a message appeared.

[Please name the fairy!]

Almond hadn't even named himself yet and hadn’t thought about naming a fairy beforehand, but he quickly came up with a name.

“Peanut.”

— LOL

— That’s too much LOL

— Really? LOL

[That name is currently unavailable.]

“Ah...”

Unfortunately, the name Peanut wasn’t available. It would have been fitting.

Almond found it hard to give up on Peanut and tried similar variations.

“Peanut Butter.”

[That name is currently unavailable.]

“Peanut Jam.”

[That name is currently unavailable.]

“Peanut Allergy.”

[That name is currently unavailable.]

— Is he crazy LOL

— Madness LOL

— Going that far...

“Nut.”

[That name is currently unavailable.]

— Just compromise with Macadamia LOL

— His dedication to the Nutpunk universe...

— Is he playing scrabble?

Almond thought of something after pondering for a while.

“Ah... this one seems like it’ll work.”

He said it slowly as if savoring the word, “Peeeanuuuut.”

It was a bit of a workaround to the name.

— LOL

— Got it LOL

— Peeeeanuuut LOL LOL

— Hard to call

— Peeee LOL LOL

Ding!

[The fairy's name has been set to Peeeeanuuut.]

“Wow. It worked!”

Almond clenched his fist in triumph.

— Can’t believe it LOL

— I want to hit him with a peanut

— Force level increased LOL

— Congratulations!

— Peeeeanuuut!

The previously frozen fairy resumed her cheerful demeanor and introduced herself.

“... I’m the fairy guide Peeeeanuuut! Could you please tell me your name!?”

— It sounds terrible

— Now she has to say her name like it’s lagging LOL

— Sorry, fairy...

“Almond.”

[That name is currently unavailable.]

As expected, the name Almond was already taken. Simple objects or food names were often hard to secure as nicknames.

“Ah...”

— Dude, seriously LOL

— Buy that ID

— Lazy Soldier again?

— Zombie School go

— Kim Ju-Hyeok go

The viewers offered various ideas, but Sang-Hyeon didn’t need any help.

“Aaalmond.”

[Nickname Aaalmond has been created.]

“... Aaalmond! Nice to meet you!”

— Wow...

— Versatile LOL

— Not Aamoonde, luckily LOL

— Aaalmond LOL LOL

— Aah...

The fairy fluttered her wings and landed on Almond’s shoulder.

“Throughout many battles, there have always been heroes.”

— Suddenly?

— Starts reciting lines LOL

— ??? Ah, right, gotta work

“They dominated the battlefield with just their presence, leading their comrades to victory. Even those heroes were once wandering mercenaries like you.”

Shriik.

Several war scenes featuring heroic acts and the fierce survival of soldiers passed by as she stretched her hand forward.

“Heroes aren’t born from the heavens. They are the ones who reach for the skies themselves.”

Shwoosh!

She fluttered around sprinkling golden dust.

“May the mercenary I serve, Aaalmond, one day become a hero who dominates the battlefield!”

As the fairy waved her tiny wand, the golden dust she sprinkled gathered together. A swirling golden vortex formed and turned into an oval door.

Fizzzzz...!

Everyone instinctively knew that stepping through it would lead to another world. It signified the start of the game.

“Ambition and vigor fill wandering mercenaries. All they need is an opportunity! Go forth and roam the battlefield you desire!”

Swoosh.

Almond stepped into the portal and was swiftly sucked in. The scenery changed instantly.

***

A large beer mug slammed onto the rough wooden table.

Thud!

“Ah!”

A burly man with a scruffy beard savored the beer and exclaimed, “Damn mercenary life! Who’s gonna handle my funeral if I suddenly kick the bucket!?”

‘Mercenary?’

Almond looked around upon hearing the voice. He was in a tavern and his gaze dropped to check his attire.

‘Armor. It’s cheap, but still armor.’

He wore scruffy leather armor and possessed a short dagger. That was all he had.

Almond glanced around again with curiosity. The medieval tavern reminded him of his days playing Kingdom Age. Come to think of it, he had never been to a tavern in Kingdom Age.

“Hey, you there! Judging by your attire, you seem like a wandering mercenary!” someone called out to Almond.

It wasn’t the man who had been drinking and lamenting earlier. This one looked more genteel and didn’t quite fit in with the surroundings. There was always one who used their brains even among a band of brigands. It seemed like he played that role.

He tapped on a large blackboard.

“Put your name here! That way, you might get something at least!”

On the board was a waiting list that changed in real time as if by magic. Apparently, it was a list of users who had queued for deployment. Names were categorized into E, D, and C ranks. These seemed to be the rank of the missions they were assigned.

“What’s your name?”

“Aaalmond.”

“Aaalmond! Got it!”

He wrote Almond’s name on the E rank section of the board. That was when it happened.

Thud.

Someone pushed Almond from behind and entered the scene. Three men with large builds and fierce looks appeared.

“What’s this? A newbie? You think you can survive as a mercenary? Go back and drink your mother's milk.”

Laughter erupted. This typical provocation was followed by an all-too-common laughter.

The two others with him chimed in.

“You gotta greet the C rank guys first, newbie~.”

“Not all mercenaries are the same, kid~”

Despite their attempts to look threatening, neither Almond nor the viewers found them intimidating.

— What’s with that tone LOL

— Dumb and Dumber LOL

— LOL, extras are cute

However, the other NPCs in the tavern seemed threatened.

“It’s the Troll Trio in C rank...!”

“Why are they here...?”

“There’s trouble.”

Almond asked the viewers, “Is C rank good?”

By the sound of it, C rank didn’t seem very good. It was better than E or D, but C wasn’t great in terms of overall ranks.

— Nope, it’s just low

— Compared to your current state, it's good. You're E, after all. LOL

— Among wandering mercenaries, it's the best.

Ding.

[CivilMaster has donated 2,000 won.]

[Wandering mercenaries max out at C. You need to be an experienced mercenary to reach B~A and an elite mercenary for A+ to S rank missions.]

“Oh... thanks for the explanation, Civil... Master.”

— CivilMaster? LOL

— The username sounds terrible LOL

— LOL

“So C rank is the highest here in a tavern for wandering mercenaries?”

Almond gestured toward the tavern's sign.

[Wandering Mercenary’s Romance]

It specifically mentioned wandering mercenaries to signify this was their exclusive space.

— Yes

— Correct

— Yeah

“So the toughest guys here are picking a fight...”

The highest ranked mercenaries were picking a fight with him.

‘All three of them.’

Three of the highest ranked mercenaries provoked him first.

“Hey, lackey. What are you daydreaming about? Can’t you hear me? Kid~”

“Did you pee your pants? Kid~”

— Why do they talk like that LOL

— Are they Pokémon? LOL

— Hilarious LOL

They approached while spewing out scripted threats.

“Just leave the armor you have and get lost. That’s how rookies respect their seniors.”

Despite the clearly dishonorable and absurd demand, none of the other men in the tavern intervened. In fact, they egged them on.

“Yeah! Rob him!”

“That’s the Troll Trio for you!”

“Give him a smack!”

— So these are the medieval alpha males?

— Crazy LOL

— They’re like people who throw feces out the window...

‘Ah, so this is the vibe.’

Almond quickly grasped the atmosphere.

Flitter.

The fairy Peeeeanuuut landed on his shoulder to clarify any possible misunderstanding.

[The Troll Trio are known for their notorious behavior. Fight them to prove your worth as a mercenary!]

Only Almond could hear the fairy’s voice.

[The Troll Trio is very strong and bulky, close the distance...]

And so on.

Almond casually nodded and drew his dagger. By then, he was no longer listening to anyone else.

“Phew...”

His shallow breath conveyed a mix of slight tension and deep focus. His gaze seemed to bore into the forehead of his opponent.

The leader Troll in the middle with his hand on his crude sword spoke, “Oh? Drawing a knife? If you’ve drawn it, you better be ready to—”

Thunk!

The dagger lodged itself in the forehead of the middle Troll.

“!?”

Thud...

The large figure collapsed lifelessly and a moment of stunned silence followed.

— ???

— Are you allowed to kill like that? LOL

— Wow LOL

— Did he just execute him? LOL

Only then did the sounds reach him again and he saw the chat.

“Ah...”

Almond realized he made a mistake. It was just a duel, but he had killed the Troll because he was too immersed.

“I got too used to Zombie School...”

He wondered what to do next and awkwardly scanned the tavern. Was everyone going to attack him now? He was mistaken.

Several men began to raise their arms. Soon, all the patrons waved their arms in the air, shouting at the top of their lungs.

“Woaaaaaaaah!”

The vibrations were so intense that the ground seemed to tremble.

“Wow! Did he just kill him?!”

“He literally killed him! Bro!”

“I didn’t even see the throw!!”

The man in charge of writing names on the board pushed through the crowd and extended his hand.

“Aaalmond! You! Among all the newbies I’ve seen, you’re the best! Start from here!”

Bang!

He pointed emphatically to the C rank section.

— Wow.

— Starting at C rank, impressive.

— ??? Aaalmond... he was the best wandering mercenary I knew.