MDPS 43🔐

Chapter 43

 “My Dark History Is Too Strong – Assault on the Castle Entrance (1)”:

After that, I had a long conversation with Oh Hyun-ah.

About money, fame, and a stable life—what she wanted to aim for as an adventurer.

“Do you really want to become a top-ranked player?”

“Yes! Totally! I’ve already gotten the perks from you once in my life, so I want to earn my keep properly!”

I didn’t know Hyun-ah had such ambition. Well, she’s smart enough to play in the top ranks of the school, so talent shouldn’t be an issue.

The fact that she didn’t know anything about games at all was worrying, but that’s something I could handle.

So, first step: contract with Ascend Management!

Learning the basics of the Legend Seven from my disciple, Go In-soo!

I could teach her myself, but my principle is that family shouldn’t tutor each other in competitions. Anyone who’s seen a couple learning to drive, or siblings playing a game once, would understand.

And someone like In-soo could take care of Hyun-ah perfectly. He’d been in her position, starting from zero, so he’d understand her perspective well.

“…This is how it’s going to go. It might be tough, but are you ready for it?”

“Yeah! Absolutely! You know me, once I get into something, I stick with it!”

“Just like when you only focused on Miracle Boys?”

For a moment, I flinched at the murderous gleam in Hyun-ah’s eyes.

“…Just kidding. I’ll trust you and proceed as planned.”

“I’ll really do my best! I’ll definitely show results!”

“Okay. But no backing out or regrets later.”

“Got it!”

Hyun-ah’s determined eyes showed her resolve. Good. With this, she shouldn’t resent me later, even if I have to play Lucifer’s subordinate, the villainess Astaroth.

And besides, this isn’t her first time doing something like this, right?

‘No matter what anyone says, “Villainess Astaroth” is modeled after 13-year-old Oh Hyun-ah.’

Web novel kid Hyun-ah. You’ve been obsessed with romance-fantasy, especially villainess stories, since you were 13. You’ve got a dark history almost as intense as mine, so you should be able to handle this.

Of course, when you face your own dark history, you won’t go easy on me.

‘But if she can handle it herself, then…’

A verbal agreement is still an agreement. Even with perks, now you have to accept the karma you spoke of.

“Thanks! Really, thank you! Want something to eat? I’ll pay for it all.”

“Isn’t that technically my money?”

“Ah, whatever! Buy whatever you want at the convenience store! I’ll pay!”

Hyun-ah acted overly excited, as if everything had gone perfectly. She didn’t realize she had just drunk a poisoned chalice.

Seeing her so happy, it wouldn’t be right to dampen her mood.

“Then, shall we raid my little sister’s wallet today?!”

“Anything at your command.”

“Let’s start with the expensive stuff first?”

“Okay!”

While Hyun-ah and I were filling up with food at the convenience store, my phone vibrated.

It was none other than CEO Son Tae-ha.

‘Calling me all of a sudden?’

He usually only texts so as not to disturb my life, so why call now? It must be urgent. I answered.

“Yes, CEO Son. What’s the matter?”

• Ah, Hyun-woo! I have something to tell you. Are you busy right now? Can you talk?

“Yes. I can talk.”

• If it’s okay with your schedule, could you come to Inje-gun?

“Inje-gun?”

• We think you need to see the castle situation in person.

The castle situation? Only about five hours had passed since the assault began. Did something happen?

“Isn’t the situation being broadcast live?”

• We believe you need to see it in person. It’s a topic that’s hard to share over the phone…

It seemed like a matter requiring security. If it’s important enough to call me directly, I should at least hear the story.

“Understood. I’ll come shortly.”

I had planned to spend the day with my family, but now there was work.

As soon as I hung up, Hyun-ah asked,

“Something came up?”

“Yes. I guess I have to go now.”

“Go ahead if you’re busy! I’ll explain to our parents!”

“Thanks! And don’t eat the snacks I bought!”

“I won’t!”

The location CEO Son Tae-ha mentioned was a large parking lot.

It was bustling with base camps of major guilds and merchants attracted by the money.

Ascend Management had parked a large bus slightly away from the lot and was using it as their base. Hollywood actors’ personal trailers, they said, but it really was like a moving house.

‘No wonder. Taepyeong Group as the parent company. The capital is solid.’

Inside the bus were CEO Son Tae-ha and Record Tower staff member Team Leader Lee Jung-yul.

“Ah! Hyun-woo! You’re here!”

“Yes. Sorry I’m late. I didn’t realize it had gotten this late.”

“No worries. In fact, there’s more information to share now.”

Though he said there was more info, his expression wasn’t bright. It was full of worry and concern.

“Please have a seat.”

“Thank you.”

I sat at the table in the middle of the trailer and asked the question on my mind.

“What’s the matter? The assault hasn’t even been a full day, and you’re already looking for me?”

CEO Son lowered his head silently, and Team Leader Lee also looked grim.

“First, let me show you the materials we prepared.”

Lee showed me the global status of the “Elf Castle” assault.

Clearly, this wasn’t material to share with an individual, but it indicated urgency.

Looking at the data, major powers were advancing steadily. They had already breached the castle entrance hours ago.

Even the second-tier nations had breached the entrance.

But our country was still stuck at the entrance.

“Why are we so slow? Even with limited power, we can’t even break the entrance?”

CEO Son displayed the KR server castle map and guild distribution on his laptop.

But something was off. Most guilds were heading for the entrance, but a few faced the opposite direction.

“Why are these guilds facing away from the entrance?”

“…They’re blocking the castle entrance from Deathside, hindering the assault teams.”

“…So it’s internal conflict?”

“I’m embarrassed to admit it… but yes.”

‘You again?’ I thought.

What are these idiots thinking? They’ve caused chaos before, but this is like daring the dungeon to break itself. Or maybe they think they can assault the castle alone.

“Even a strong guild like Deathside alone can’t handle the coalition assault teams, right?”

“Geom-gye and Hwa-shin are also working with Deathside. Their forces are evenly matched, so they’re in a stalemate.”

Not only Deathside, but Geom-gye and Hwa-shin too? Are they crazy?

No… they must have some “trusted backup.” Just like the previous 100-floor clear competition, they probably believe they can push through the castle alone.

Their excuse for controlling the entrance is probably “only strictly selected assault teams allowed” to minimize adventurer casualties. In reality, they want all the rewards and glory for themselves.

‘They’re speeding up their own demise, idiots.’

Honestly, I thought, “These guys are lucky I noticed.”

I hadn’t touched them before because the upper guilds’ cohesion made them strong. But with internal conflict now…

‘This is a fight worth trying.’

Thanks to their greed, a good opportunity appeared. The problem was that, even with weakened forces, I’d need to deploy my true self—the villain—to make it worth it. Luckily, I had the perfect skill to hide my identity.

[Star Leading the Shepherd]

Description: Allows summoning and controlling minions even from a distance.

※Current radius: 5 km. Range increases with skill growth.

The current range was 5 km. I could use this skill to move my villains from afar to destroy Deathside.

Though 5 km was a bit tight. But I had plenty of resources to level it up!

《Use 100 Mystic Crystals to level up ‘Star Leading the Shepherd’.》
《Use 200 Mystic Crystals to level up ‘Star Leading the Shepherd’.》
《Use 400 Mystic Crystals to level up ‘Star Leading the Shepherd’.》

It cost a lot, but it was worth it. To move secretly and stealthily, this investment was necessary.

[Star Leading the Shepherd Lv 5]

Description: Allows summoning and controlling minions even from a distance.

※Current radius: 10 km. Range increases with skill growth.

Now the distance was sufficient. No one would suspect me.

“…Anyway, that’s the situation. There’s no concrete plan yet, but I thought you should know.”

“Thanks for sharing.”

“Shall we continue monitoring?”

I nodded in response.

“Please. I… will take a walk nearby for a bit. I feel dizzy from sitting in the car too long.”

“Ah! Would you like to go in first?”

“No, I’ll just walk.”

“Then at least take a security guard with you.”

“I’m fine. I want to clear my thoughts alone.”

Acting all serious, pretending to ponder something important, I got off the trailer.

‘Now, how shall I play with these idiots?’

Yes, a fun idea came to mind. I opened the UI, spread out the map, and used the skill.

《‘Star Leading the Shepherd’ skill activated.》
《Click the desired area to designate the summoning location.》

At the Elf Castle entrance, right behind the Deathside members.

《Area selection complete.》
《Select the minion to summon.》

The first one was obvious.

《Summoning Doomsday Witch Hertia.》