The Strongest in the Game by Dominating Monster - Chapter 20

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This chapter was translated by Lunox Team. To support us and help keep this series going, visit our website: LunoxScans.com
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Monster Domination: Game’s Strongest Episode 20

Could the sundae soup have been that amazing?

Jin-woo, who had been concentrating on his meal as if burying his head in the bowl, suddenly looked up.

“Ah. Right. Baek Jin. Do you know what happened when we were gaming?”

Jin-woo’s eyes sparkled with a complex mix of longing, jealousy, and pure admiration.

Yu Baekjin seemed to know the reason but silently picked up his spoon.

“There was an event in Beginner Village this time. Ah, what an event is…”

Countless grains of rice flew from his mouth beneath his sparkling eyes.

“Hey. Hey. You’re spitting rice everywhere.”

“Ah. Sorry. But you probably don’t know, but the event winner really hit it big. Hah. I wonder how good it must feel. I wasn’t even envious of perfect SAT scorers, but I’m so envious of the event winner.”

Sincere jealousy burst out with a deep sigh.

His shoulders shrugged at that pure emotion.

This must be why internet broadcasters do so-called ‘bragging’.

“Is it really that good?”

When he asked pretending not to know, Jin-woo’s voice rose a tone.

“Of course! Free pass to large mercenary groups! Guaranteed ranker status! That person’s life is set. Set.”

“Is that so? It’s just a game after all, isn’t it?”

“Just a game! You’ve played it too! Is this just a game? It’s a second life. It’s like winning the lottery, no, the Super Bowl in that life!”

Yu Baekjin’s lips curled up involuntarily at the pouring praise.

“I don’t know what the rewards are, but since it’s the first event in Beginner Village, it’s widely believed to be legendary. Here, take a look at this. This is that person’s gameplay video? It’s really amazing. They’re really good.”

On the mobile phone screen Jin-woo held out, his mosaic-processed self was battling the Goblin Lord.

So this is how it looks in Mosaic Mode.

The jagged pixels that perfectly hid his appearance were quite satisfactory.

Since even his best friend Jin-woo couldn’t recognize him, no one watching the broadcast would be able to identify him.

“Wow! Isn’t this really amazing? How can they shoot a bow like that? What do you think as an archery elite? Are they pretty good? Better than you?”

“They’re pretty good.”

He answered in a dry voice while frowning.

‘My posture was off here. I shot too hastily.’

Unlike his friend’s admiration, his eyes kept seeing only the disappointing aspects, including bad habits from his athlete days.

“Right? I wonder if it’s someone you know? If you ever meet them later, introduce me. Wow. I’m really envious. What could the reward be? A hidden job? Items? Ah! I don’t even hope to win an event. I just want to participate. Just participate.”

As if his envy wouldn’t fade no matter how much he admired, regretful sighs kept bursting from Jin-woo’s mouth.

Watching such a friend, he scratched his head for no reason.

Hmm. Should I reveal it now? Or should I hold back?

Actually, this had been his dilemma since leaving the Capsule Room.

Should he tell Jin-woo that he had become a Monster Lord?

The answer to his brief contemplation came quickly.

Let’s reveal it.

Anyway, wouldn’t he find out eventually while gaming together?

And seeing Jin-woo’s current state, it seemed like something big would happen if he didn’t reveal it now.

What if he kept hiding it and told him later?

To put it crudely, he’d obviously throw all kinds of fits.

Are you really my friend?

How could you do this to me? And so on.

He could clearly picture him whining with all sorts of complaints.

‘Ugh. Disgusting.’

He clicked his tongue at the aftermath that made him sick just imagining it.

“Hey. Jin-woo.”

“Huh? What?”

Jin-woo, who had been staring at Kairen’s gameplay as if his eyes would pop out, glanced over.

“Don’t be surprised and listen.”

“Huh? What?”

“That person who appears with mosaic…”

“Whoa! What? Someone you know? An acquaintance? I knew it! I thought so…”

“It’s me.”

“…What?”

“It’s me. Not an acquaintance, I’m that player.”

Instantly, Park Jinwoo’s movements froze like a statue.

He blinked several times before barely squeezing out his voice.

“Re, really?”

“Yeah. Really.”

“Swear on me? Swear on our friendship?”

“I’ll swear a hundred times over.”

“…”

At the repeated confirmation, Park Jinwoo squeezed his eyes shut.

Baek Jin’s personality is certain.

He’s absolutely not the type to play such light pranks.

In other words, it was true.

At that unbelievable fact, Park Jinwoo briefly lowered his head and silently wailed.

Oh God.

The handsome guy is also good at sports.

I could accept that much, but he’s also good at studying.

And now he’s good at games too?

This is really. This is really… isn’t this too much?

The sorrow of having a perfect friend washed over him like waves.

But an even greater emotion followed immediately like a tsunami, bigger than those gentle waves.

Instead of sadness, a sincere smile appeared on his face.

“I really congratulate you. Baek Jin.”

In Park Jinwoo’s heart, his friend’s success was a thousand times greater than his own sorrow.

* * *

“So, the final reward of the hidden event was a hidden job called Monster Lord? Plus legendary items and even territory?”

After moving to a cafe, Jin-woo summarized and asked back.

“Yeah. That’s it for now. I think there was something more, but you called me before I could check, so I logged out and came out.”

The cafe they stopped by after eating.

Unlike Yu Baekjin who spoke casually while gulping down his iced Americano, Park Jinwoo clicked his tongue.

“Wow… I only heard rumors that the event winner’s rewards were amazing. It’s really an insane jackpot.”

“How good is it? Explain it to me.”

Yu Baekjin scratched his head.

The admiration and praise felt good, but being a newbie made it hard to clearly understand what was so great about it.

Park Jinwoo, who had been pondering how to explain that question, rested his chin on his hand and slowly opened his mouth.

“Um. To give you an idea of how much this is, you’re the first user to own personal territory in New World. Right now, the top mercenary groups are at war trying to claim one revealed territory, but you just got one for free.”

“I’m the first? Was territory that precious?”

When surprised Yu Baekjin blinked his big eyes, Park Jinwoo continued.

“Plus, your job’s potential is amazing too. You know what a Necromancer is, right?”

“I know. Those guys who go around with undead, right?”

“Yeah. Right. They’re also considered a pretty good job in New World. I met one once, and it was really awesome. Wow, I wondered if there could be another overpowered job like that.”

Park Jinwoo’s brow furrowed as he recalled an unpleasant memory, but it immediately smoothed out brightly when he looked at his friend.

“But from what I see, your class is a hundred times better than a Necromancer.”

“That much of an upgrade?”

“Of course. Even though Necromancers are good, they have clear weaknesses. Except for specific monsters, individual units are very weak, and they’re stupid so they’re hard to command. But you? Even if goblins are stupid, are they dumber than empty-headed skeletons?”

“No way.”

“Right. Plus, there’s no comparison for individual units. Necromancers are limited to Dark Knights and Dullahans at best. But you? You could even ride dragons, couldn’t you?”

“Theoretically possible.”

“Right. And most importantly…”

Park Jinwoo’s smile deepened.

“You’re a Monster Lord. Whether it’s skeletons or Dark Knights, aren’t they all monsters you can tame too?”

“…! That’s right, isn’t it?”

Yu Baekjin’s eyes widened as he nodded vigorously.

“Exactly. Your class has much better versatility. You’ve even already obtained a legendary monster, right? Wow. Taming a legendary monster. Where else can you find such an overpowered class?”

Repeated admiration and praise. Yu Baekjin’s shoulders rose endlessly, but just in case, he asked.

“Then what are the weaknesses?”

“There are weaknesses. Really big ones too.”

Park Jinwoo answered immediately while sucking down the last of his coffee, as if there was nothing to think about.

Yu Baekjin, who had been imagining a perfectly flawless class, smiled bitterly.

Right. Where in the world is there anything perfect?

Even if it’s a game, expecting something without weaknesses was…

“The bow. The weapon is the biggest weakness.”

Park Jinwoo mimicked shooting a bow while aiming at Yu Baekjin.

“Huh?”

“The bow is the most difficult trash weapon to handle in New World. The developers probably tried to balance the class with that weapon.”

“Ah…”

Yu Baekjin nodded slowly, recalling the beginners who had been hitting scarecrows at Kal’s blacksmith shop.

Come to think of it, most of them couldn’t even hit accurately with melee weapons.

Those people had to hunt monsters and tame them with a bow?

It wasn’t an easy task.

“However, that story doesn’t apply to you at all. In other words, for you specifically, even the biggest weakness doesn’t exist.”

Park Jinwoo’s lips danced as he reached his conclusion.

How could everything fit together like a perfect puzzle?

Everything seemed perfectly arranged for his friend.

“Of course, this is just my speculation. There might be weaknesses I don’t know about. Still, it’s definitely a top-tier class.”

“Oho…”

At the objective evaluation, Yu Baekjin stroked his chin and smiled with satisfaction.

Jin-woo had been enjoying games for quite a long time, and he was a Tiballom who gave rational evaluations.

If he said that much, it was reasonable to think that was the level of evaluation.

“Jin-woo. If you’re saying that much, this means money, right?”

At the sudden question, Park Jinwoo let out a small laugh.

As expected. His friend’s insight was amazing.

He hadn’t mentioned anything about money, but he caught on immediately.

“Yeah. Absolutely. Once you start in earnest, you’ll literally make tons of money.”

“What’s the risk?”

“The in-game risk is low. All event winners became rankers, and rankers’ income is in the hundreds of millions.”

“Hundreds of millions? That’s less than I thought?”

When Yu Baekjin frowned and spoke, Park Jinwoo stuck out his tongue at his friend’s scale.

“I’m just guessing too. If you become one of the top handful of rankers, the first digit might change.”

“Oho. Then according to you, it’s completely low risk, high return?”

“That’s certain. What you’ve obtained now is that kind of once-in-a-lifetime opportunity. However, you have to consider real-world risks too.”

“Real-world risks?”

“Time and effort. You’d have to pretty much give up living a normal life.”

“I have to return to school in two months though?”

“That’s why. You’d have to give that up. You haven’t applied for readmission yet, have you?”

“That’s true, but. You’re telling me to take a whole semester off?”

“If you’re going to do this professionally? Honestly, attending school while playing games deeply? Hey. That doesn’t make sense.”

Park Jinwoo waved his hands dismissively.

Rankers’ game connection time was tongue-wagging.

For Baek Jin to earn that level of income, he’d have to invest as much time as they did.

“It worked out well actually. Since you haven’t applied for readmission yet, just take one more semester off…”

When Park Jinwoo was continuing to speak at length as if drawing up life plans, Yu Baekjin raised his hand to stop him.

“No. Jin-woo.”

“Yeah? Why?”

“You know what.”

Yu Baekjin’s lips curved into a deep arc.

“I’m thinking of doing both studying and gaming.”

“No way…!”

Instantly, Park Jinwoo’s mouth stopped as he was about to shout in frustration.

He was a self-acknowledged Tiballom.

He was a Fact Gangster who said no when it was no, impossible when it was impossible.

That’s why he was about to immediately shout that it didn’t make sense.

But…

Looking at his friend who was shining brilliantly with a confident smile, Park Jinwoo couldn’t get the words out.

That friend beloved by god had grasped everything he thought was impossible until now.

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This chapter was translated by Lunox Team. To support us and help keep this series going, visit our website: LunoxScans.com
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