Emperor of Solo Play Chapter 91:

Chapter 91 - Elf’s Keepsake (1)

1 .  

- Hahoe Mask! What the **** are you doing? 

The voice rang in his ear, but Hyrkan ignored it .  He was focused solely on one thing .  He concentrated on the being with pointy ears, who was running away with great agility .

- Hahoe Mask! 

As if he was trying to interfere with Hyrkan, Pelato kept yelling out his name .  In the end, Hyrkan spoke in a low voice as if he was mumbling .

“Hey, you aren't in a position to yell at me .  Just clean up the situation over there for now . ” 

- What? What are you talking about? 

Hyrkan's words were short on explanation .  Pelato had a very natural reaction .

However, Hyrkan didn't have the time to give a long explanation .  Moreover, there was no reason to .  He wasn't required to do so .

“If you don't like that option, I can reveal how you tried to **** me over after being hired by the Apollo guild .  Why don't you think about what would occur if that happens?” 

Pelato finally closed his mouth .  Silence finally descended upon Hyrkan, and he once again put in all his effort to chase after the Elf .

The Elf was much slower than he thought it would be .  The really swift Elves were impossible for users to follow in the forest .  Hyrkan had prior experience in chasing after Elves, so he was well aware of this fact .

Hyrkan had a hunch .

‘It wants to be caught . ’ 

Warlord was cooperating with him, so he could smoothly progress in his Quest .  It was very rare to receive cooperation from the game, since Warlord was usually an inhospitable game .

Of course, Hyrkan wasn't going to refuse the help . This kind of cooperation from the game was rare .  If he refused such help here, a chance like this would never present itself to him again .

Still, it wasn't an easy task to catch the Elf .  An average user would never be able to catch it .  The speed wasn't the problem .  The problem was the location .  When one ran full force inside a forest,  it was like running an obstacle course with a blindfold on .

‘All right .  I'll catch you . ’ 

Hyrkan was experienced in running away from various people for his survival, so this wasn't a problem for him .

The distance between the two was steadily getting narrower .  

Of course, the Elf realized this fact, and it suddenly turned its head .  This was the first time Hyrkan had seen this Elf's face .

‘I knew it . ’ 

The escaping elf's face was different from the faces of Elves he had seen before . There was a black tattoo on his face…… No, it looked more like a scar than a wound, and there was something black within it .  The sense of beauty one felt when seeing an Elf couldn't be felt from this one .

Still, the Elf's eyes were striking .  The Elves usually had emerald colored eyes, but its eyes were dyed black now .  The contrast was too stark .  

He knew the definition of the word, but this sight made him clearly feel what the word, Corrupted, meant .

It also meant he had gotten close enough to be able to confirm the color of its eyes .

If things progressed along this line, Hyrkan would catch the Elf .  This was Hyrkan's intention and choice .

Now it was up to the Elf to make its own choice .

Will it just let itself be caught?  Or will it fight?

The Elf made a decision .

Poo-hoop! 

Suicide .  This was the decision made by the Corrupted Elf .  The Elf showed the intention of taking the truth to the grave .  It wasn't going to tell anyone about his master's secrets .

The result of its choice became immediately apparent .  The Elf threw up blood, and it fell like a puppet with its string cut .  Its momentum made him roll couple dozen times across the ground, and his body was in rough shape .

Hyrkan bit his lips when he saw the sight .

It was an unpleasant sight .  Moreover, he didn't like what he had to do now .  He took out a pouch from his bosom .  He had carried it around like a treasure .

The Elf glared at Hyrkan when he approached it .  Hyrkan avoided the Elf's gaze .  The Elf was sprawled out like a corpse, and Hyrkan poured the silver liquid on the Elf's head .

When the silver liquid touched the Elf's head, it took shape to fit around the Elf's head .

The Circlet of Purification! 

The item started purifying the power of Corruption that had been dominating the Elf's nature and intellect .

There must have been a recoil .  The corpse-like body of the Elf started to shake as if there was an earthquake .

Kool-luhk, kool-luhk! 

The Elf suddenly threw up black liquid .  Then it closed its eyes tight, and it let out a moan .

Eventually, the Elf opened its eyes again, and its emerald eyes were revealed .  The power of Corruption that had been controlling the Elf was gone .  This was the surest evidence that proved the Elf had regained its sanity .

The Elf's eyes looked at Hyrkan .  Hyrkan didn't say anything .  He waited for the Elf to speak .  

However, the Elf couldn't speak .  It opened its mouth, but the sound of its voice never made it past its throat .

At that moment, it was as if the Elf had suddenly remembered something .  The Elf squeezed out the last strength it had left to tap its left chest region with its hand .

That was it .  After performing the minor movement with his hand, the Elf closed its eyes, and its body slumped .  Its body immediately started to shrivel up like an old tree .

Hyrkan laughed bitterly as he saw this sight .

‘The game is quite romanticized .  It really is a romanticized game . ’ 

After letting out his bitter laugh, Hyrkan took out a note and map from the Elf's pocket .

 2 .  

‘Shit . ’ 

After ending the conversation with Hyrkan, Pelato looked around his surrounding .  The nearby party members were staring at him .  They were requesting for an answer from Pelato .

Pelato couldn't come up with anything .

‘What's should I say?’ 

The current situation was a mess .

An arrow had suddenly killed the Cockatrice when the group was about to kill it .  Moreover, when the arrow flew in, Hyrkan had immediately chased after the being, who had shot the arrow .

In this situation, the rest of the party could only look on .  

Moreover, wasn't Hyrkan the one who had been commanding the party up until now?

‘What does he want me to do?’ 

Anyways, the ball was in Pelato's court now .  He was the one, who had planned this Raid .  If there was a problem, he had to take the responsibility .

Moreover, he was in a bad spot . Hyrkan knew his weak point .  If this business became known to the Golden Brothers, Pelato would be unconditionally kicked out from the guild .

If it ended at an expulsion, he would be quite fortunate .  

However, if he was involved in a scandal, no guild would take him in .  He would basically have to give up on this game .  Without the help of a large guild, one couldn't progress in this world . This was the reality of Warlord these days .

At the very least, he had to bark when Hyrkan said for him to bark .  Hyrkan said Pelato had to take care of this matter, so he had to take care of this matter .

“Didn't everyone get their EXP?” 

At Pelato's words, everyone checked whether they gained their EXP or not .

“We got it . ” 

“Isn't this much more than expected?  I received a considerable amount . ” 

Their EXP had increased . It basically meant everyone there had a claim to the monster .

“Since we gained the EXP, the monster's corpse is owned by us . ” 

The rights to the Cockatrice's corpse was reserved for the Raid party .

They received EXP and the Items .  They hadn't lost either one of them .

Pelato reinforced this point .  There were some hiccups along the way, but the benefit they had targeted had been earned .

“What about the Hahoe Mask?” 

Of course, he had to answer for the sudden disappearance of Hyrkan .  The people gathered here weren't common users .  Hyrkan had immediately responded to the situation .  It meant Hyrkan had expected this to happen .

In other words, the party members wanted to know why they hadn't been told about the situation if Hyrkan knew events would turn out like this .

They wanted an explanation .

“He has a Quest . ” 

After a brief brainstorm, Pelato came up with a short answer .

“Hahoe Mask joined the raid in the first place, because it was part of his Quest .  He is currently progressing in the Quest right now . ” 

The answer was plausible .  After hearing the explanation, all the users nodded their head, and it seemed they had accepted it .

‘Now that I think about it the Hahoe Mask is quite far along the Main Scenario Quest . ’ 

‘Wait a moment .  Does this mean this monster was related to the Main Scenario Quest?  It is a Corrupted monster, so the possibility is high . ’ 

‘If I chase after the Hahoe Mask right now, will I be able to join his Main Scenario Quest?  Should I chase after him?’ 

The party members started to think about how they could interject themselves into the current scenario .  The commotion within the group lessened .

Pelato, who had been looking at the party members, swallowed the sigh that was about to come out .

‘This is all tangled up . ’ 

He had given the obvious answer, but the answer he had given wasn't advantageous to Pelato .

He had made another mess .  Pelato had implied there was a prior agreement with Hyrkan, yet that wasn't true .  If Hyrkan disputed his words, Pelato would be labeled a liar .

‘Now I'm at the mercy of the Hahoe Mask no matter what . ’ 

A equals B .  

Their relationship crystallized at that moment .

 

3 .  

When Hyrkan returned, the Cockatrice's body had been dismantled, and it had already melted away .

Hyrkan immediately held a conversation with Pelato at an isolated location .

“You received consumable items from the Apollo guild .  How much do you have left?” 

“Quite a lot . ” 

“Since you tried to **** me over, you should give that to me as a repayment . ” 

Pelato let out a sigh inside as he heard Hyrkan's words . There were a lot of consumable items left, because Hyrkan had directed the Raid .  If one put a price on those items, it was quite a lot . Yet Hyrkan wanted it all?

It was a waste, but he had no choice .

“All right .  I'll agree to that . ” 

Currently, Hyrkan was holding Pelato's life line .  Pelato fervently wished Hyrkan wouldn't ask for anything bigger .

“Also…… . ” 

However, Hyrkan wasn't done speaking .  Pelato bit his lips before he even heard what Hyrkan was going to say .

“You can keep all the merits regarding this Raid, Pelato . ” 

“What?” 

At that moment Pelato couldn't believe what he had just heard .

“Are you saying you will allow me to take credit for the result of today's Raid?  Is that what you mean?” 

Hyrkan nodded his head .

“H . . . how come?” 

This was most definitely to his advantage, yet Pelato started asking questions in suspicion instead of thanking Hyrkan .

He expected to be beat, yet a sweet piece of chocolate had been put into his mouth .  In some aspect, his reaction was to be expected .

“I have no reason to ruin everything for you .  I'll summarize it for you . You tried to kill me at the request of the Apollo guild, and I found out about it mid-raid .  During the raid, you did nothing, and I commanded the Raid .  Now that I have your weak-point I don't have a reason to blab about it . ” 

From Pelato's perspective, the arrangement wasn't that ideal .  However, Pelato didn't frown .

Hyrkan added more to the explanation .

“As you probably know by know, I have a lot of enemies .  In such a situation, what would I gain by embarassing a skilled user from the Golden Brothers?” 

“I . . . I guess so . ” 

“Moreover, it isn't as if I'll make any money from embarrassing you .  It'll just created a rift between the Golden Brothers and me . ” 

Pelato quickly nodded his head .

At that moment . . .

“All right .  You can keep the footage of this raid . ” 

Hyrkan had given him a big present .

‘Huhk!’ 

Pelato forgot about the mess he was in, and he had a surprised expression on his face .  He looked ridiculous from an outside point of view .

This demonstrated how big of a present he had been given by Hyrkan .

No matter how you looked at it the Boss Monster Raid footage had a lot of value .  Most footage brought in small amount of money, but it one was lucky, it could net a lot of money .  Moreover, the Corrupted Gray Cockatrice that had appeared at the Red Lake was an attractive Boss monster .

Also, this footage could be put into his resume .  This Raid wasn't done with the experienced members of a large guild .  This was an attack party made out of random volunteers .  He had formed the party, and he had shown off his ability to lead such a party .  This could be a feather in Pelato’s cap .  

Of course, the latter half of the Raid was commanded by Hyrkan .  

If Hyrkan asked for the rights to the footage, Pelato would have handed it over .  It was a given .  

Yet Hyrkan was willing to just give him the rights?

“Really? I can put the footage of this Raid on my page . ” 

“Of course .  However, it isn't for free . ” 

“What do you want?” 

“You made a wise decision . ” 

Hyrkan answered in a vague manner .  However, Pelato was able to see through to the meaning behind Hyrkan's words .

“Of course . From this day forward, I won't participate in any ventures that would cause you harm .  I promise on my character . ” 

It seemed Hyrkan was satisfied with the answer .  He nodded his head .  Pelato also had a satisfied smile as he looked at Hyrkan .

“Ah . ” 

At that moment, it seemed Hyrkan had remembered something .  He immediately handed over a note to Pelato .

“This is the list of candies I had to eat, because of the magic thrown by your magician .  It is quite a lot . ” 

Pelato's face stiffened when he received the note .  The consumable items listed were very expensive .  These consumable items had great effect, and not even members of the raid teams of large guilds used it readily .

“Of course, you should be willing to shoulder the burden .  Right?” 

Pelato put on an awkward smile .

This was how the Corrupted Gray Cockatrice Raid came to an end .

 

4 .  

‘You son of a bitch, Apollo .  If you aren't going to use the knife yourself, then you should just **** off .  Why are you causing me so much trouble?’ 

The man was skin and bones . He had sunken eyes, and there were dark circles under them .

His entire body screamed out the fact that he was someone addicted to a game .  The item essential to a game addict, caffeine, was in front of Ahn-jaehyun .  He was drowned within his thoughts .

‘Apollo is greedy, and he is an ill-tempered pig .  Still, he isn't dumb enough to put in this much effort and capital to catch me . ’ 

This thoughts centered around Apollo .

Before he returned to the past, he had been deeply involved with Apollo .  At the time, Apollo had frothed at the mouth to catch Ahn-jaehyun, but he could understand the reasoning behind it .

However, that was before he returned to the past .  Currently, he didn't have a good relationship with the Apollo guild, but he hadn't thought it was this bad .

It was true that Ahn-jaehyun had **** over the guild members of the Apollo guild .  However, it should have been minor damage from the perspective of Apollo .

Of course, if one considered Apollo's dirty personality, one could see why he was pursuing his revenge .  Still, Apollo was spending a lot of money .  It was money worth the annual salary of a new employee .  Ahn-jaehyun couldn't understand it .

‘Still, where did that pig get all those decent Unique items? 

What especially vexed Ahn-jaehyun was the part where the Apollo guild had loaned out the Unique Items .

At first, when he heard about Pelato loaning out the Unique items, he thought Golden Brother or an affiliated guild was loaning the items out .

Only a guild of that size had the capacity to do it .  

‘He said Apollo guild had directly loaned those Items out .  That's impossible . ’ 

It basically meant Apollo guild wasn't at a level where they could pull this off .

Apollo guild wasn't small .  They also had financial backing .  If one looked at the users affiliated with the guild, their level were on the high side compared to the entire population of Warlord .  

However, they weren't a guild with enough in-game supply to be able to loan Items out to others .

In the end, it meant there was someone else that had loaned out the Items to the Apollo guild .

‘What a troublesome **** . ’ 

Ahn-jaehyun stopped worrying at this point .

In truth, he couldn't find out what the Apollo guild had done unless he could capture and torture Apollo for answers .

Ahn-jaehyun could only do one thing .  He could prepare .

‘The Big Smile **** were also like this .  I haven't done anything big yet, but they are already messing with me .  Do I have honey rubbed all over my body?’ 

Slowly, the larger guilds were trying to keep Ahn-jaehyun in check .

Ahn-jaehyun's goal was to fight them by himself .

‘All right .  Just wait for me a little bit .  Even if you guys don't want to, I'll fight you guys . ’ 

However, it would be impossible for him to fight them right now .  Until he could grow his strength, he needed forces that would help him .

He had won over Red Bulls and Pelato to his side . If it was the Golden Brothers, it was big enough that the Apollo guild wouldn't mess with them .  Unexpectedly, Pelato might turn into a decent shield .

Of course, his main intention was to grow his strength .

Ahn-jaehyun thought about the Elf's keepsake .

There had been a map, and a note . He couldn't decipher the content .  He probably had to visit Ahimbree, Chieftain Drah or Maeung to find out more about it .

However, he could guess at the identity of the map even if he couldn't verify it right now .

‘There is a great chance that this is a Dungeon Map . ’ 

The map would lead him to something .  Of course, he had no idea if this something was a monster or a treasure .

“If something big appears this time . . . . If something like a Corrupted Destroyer's Necklace drops, I would go to the streets of Myeongdong, and dance in my underwear . Will this lead to something big?”  

The only thing he wished for was a treasure .