Level 0 Master

She had seen his capabilities. She had also tested his abilities. Sungjin was a man who could go against the creator of this world. Although he had lost to Varka and was currently trapped, he was of a different cut from them. He was a one-time opportunity that had come to their unsuccessful resistance.

But there was also the fact that he was the only choice they had. Sungjin... is worth the risk, but... They couldn’t determine whether he could win for sure. But still, he’s the only one. The single man who seemed as if he could fulfill their wish for freedom.

Sungjin was different from the men around her. How should I put this... He’s cool. No, that’s not it. He’s a man. His capability is different.

She twisted and turned in her bed while thinking of different descriptions. Her mind was currently like that of a besotted fan who had lived among middle-aged men but was liberated in idolizing.

Although she didn’t realize that herself.

I wonder what Sungjin’s women look like in his world. He was an amazing man, so his women wouldn’t be ordinary, either.

Were they prettier than her? How were they loved? She was curious and jealous.

Sigh, there’s no point in thinking about such things. She wasn’t going to be by his side when he returned to his world, anyway. For herself and Sungjin, they were only fated to fight together this once. That was all. Why was she thinking about such things when she had already resolved herself?

But I am curious about how strong Sungjin’s secret power might be. How he might beat the five guardian robots.

No, she was curious about a lot of other things, like his favorite color, his favorite food. What he thought of her. Whether he had folded his interests away after she had asked him to leave the bath. Things she wished to know but couldn’t ask.

While she was turning in her bed, sounds started up outside. What’s going on? She sat up immediately.

“The sub-commander has...!”

At the shouts outside, she immediately opened the door and stepped out. “What of the sub-commander?”

The subordinate stumbled over his words in panic, but it was clear that something bad had happened. “He took the dragon ball and headed towards the enemy...”

“I will head over.” Sooryun ran out immediately.

“Something happened.” Sungjin, too, headed out of his room, and they saw... the moment her sub-commander grabbed onto a flying robot with the dragon ball in his hand as he rose to the sky.

“Sub-commander! What is the meaning of this!”

“Hahahha. This is farewell! I will finally reap the rewards of my labour.” Dungpyung laughed refreshingly.

“That dragon ball is the only hope for our freedom. What are you doing!?”

“What am I doing? Hahah. I will continue onto the capital. I have already been promised a life of abundance on earth if I deliver this there. Hahahaha. I’ve been promised a better reward than what you could possibly offer.”

“Are you... betraying me? You... you... us... me?” Sooryun’s voice started wavering.

Had he been convinced to become a spy? That thought briefly passed through her mind. The other side also had the information that he was a member of the resistance. It was entirely possible that, with such information, one could be convinced by the promise of a leisurely and abundant life. But what she had failed to consider... was that out of everyone... Dungpyung would be the one to betray her. If it had been anyone else of the resistance, she would have believed it possible for them to be blinded by riches, but aside from Dungpyung being a butler and a sub-commander... for someone who she had considered family...

“How could you...!? You... said that you were honored... to serve me!” She had trusted him.

Him.

“Betray? Honored to serve? Ha, that’s a story of the past since I could attain a high-income job due to a rich family’s lady taking me in.”

“That...” Sooryun’s body shook violently.

She had no exact memory of who Dungpyung had been in the previous world, but the feeling of warmth that had grown from his protecting her by her side had remained to that day. But all that... was because of money?

“That’s a lie! You’ve protected me even after we landed in this world, even if I wasn’t a rich lady!”

“Ahh, yes, since there were several advantages for me from the vision you’ve received from your family.”

“Everything... everything... was some calculation to you? After saying that you’d repay me for saving you...”

“Ha, my life? Yes, that was in the previous world. I do thank you for saving me from that poverty of the lower slums, but that should have been repaid by serving you for so long. You still wish to order me around?”

Sooryun fell to the ground. “It’s... It’s impossible...” Had it been her own imagination that they were like a family? Was she only some advantageous person for Dungpyung to make use of? Was their relationship something that could be abandoned so easily for gain? If they had the relationship of lady and employer, that would have been expected—if they had been strangers, that was.

But... had he really thought of their relationship as such?

“We... Didn’t we care for one another, heart-to-heart...?”

“Well, if you who had grown to be a beauty and had given me your heart, I would have thought otherwise, but, after watching you fall for another guy and leaving me, who had kept by your side for so long, it caused all of my remorse to disappear.”

“No...”

“This is farewell. I will take the dragon ball as compensation for my servitude.”

“No, not that! That’s our only hope!”

The other resistance members lamented amidst Sooryun’s cries. To think our sub-commander would betray us... Had his loyalty been an act all this time?

Sungjin frowned. Was he such a person? Had it been his mistake to see Rittier in this guy? He had thought Dungpyung might cause trouble against him but not fundamentally betray Sooryun. Had he misjudged him?

Well, he hadn’t been acquainted with Dungpyung for a long time, but...

Ultimately, he had been someone who could betray Sooryun.

And that had been revealed by his presence.

But this is problematic.

He didn’t have much time. He was certain there wouldn’t be enough time for them to create another dragon ball or the likes of it.

He looked at the back of his hand. There were six “wings of light” tattooed on it. The tattoo had appeared after he had landed in this world. And there, two wings had been folded, and a third was in the process of being folded. The other two had been completely open when I was rescuing Sooryun.

He felt it instinctively: this was the last hope the six women in Valhalla had made for him. When all six were folded, his chances of escaping would also cease.

I can’t let the dragon ball escape like this. “Let me borrow this.” Sungjin took the short sword of the resistance member beside him.

“This is revenge! You guys can all live in poverty here! I will gain the blessing of lord Varka! Hahahah. Be jealous of my success! Revere me! You’re all below me anyways!” The robot began to rise with Dungpyung.

“Ahh, what should I do?”

Sungjin made Sooryun hold the short sword in her hands. “Can you throw this as hard as you can?”

“What? Yes, but he’s too far...” The enemy was flying up, the wind was howling, and the distance was growing. The short sword was bound to fall to the wayside.

“It’s okay. Throw according to the angle and timing I indicate. I’ll direct you with your back, since words can’t do justice.”

Sungjin hugged Sooryun from the back and grabbed her wrists to lean her forward. “Yes, like this... In this angle... Now throw.”

Sooryun did. The short sword flew through the air quickly.

“Ha, you thought that would hit me?” According to his words, the short sword had been thrown too high.

Suddenly, Sungjin ordered another throw. “Now, once more right here.” And the second sword was thrown accurately.

“Kuk?”

The first throw had been for predicting the wind and Sooryun’s strength, and was this the actual attack? The sub-commander had one hand on the robot and the other on the dragon ball.

In the split second, the sub-commander shouted. “Fall!” It was a human’s shout, but there was power in his words. The air vibrated with a strength of a shockwave, and a fire shot out to wind around the sword. At the same time, the robot flew up higher. “Kuku, you scared me.”

“Ah...” Sooryun rolled her feet in anxiousness. We’re too late.

“Kuk.” Suddenly, the sub-commander’s eyes flew open. Blood spilled out.

“Whe... When?”

“That’s?”

Everyone finally understood that the first sword being a test and the second being the real attack wasn’t true. Instead of what they had initially thought, Sungjin’s first sword was constructed to head towards the sub-commander’s head from the back by shooting up leftwards and falling. The second had been the dummy, and the first had been the real attack.

The robot’s speed, air resistance, gravity, the weight of the sword, Sooryun’s strength: this was an attack with everything considered.

Sungjin’s eyes saw things they didn’t, and Sungjin’s brain calculated things beyond them: everyone felt that truth again.

“Uck...” The dragon ball slid from the sub-commander’s hands. “Ah... No...” With those words, he fell to the ground.

Good. Sungjin cheered. It was according to his pan: punish the betrayer and retrieve the dragon ball. That would give him time to advance toward the central’s control tower.

“Hooray!” those who were watching shouted in exclamation the moment the dragon ball returned to them.

Whiirl.

Then, the robot dropped the sub-commander without hesitation, and a hand appeared from the middle with a huge suction. The dragon ball was sucked upwards and attached to its hand.

Kuk?

The robot flew upwards with the dragon ball in hand.

Crash.

The sub-commander shattered with a large impact.

This was far from his expected betrayal.

Although he would respawn somewhere in this world, as was the designated rule, there was no way he would receive better treatment, but that wasn’t the problem.

“Sooryun! Again!” Sungjin frantically ordered Sooryun to throw another sword.

Sooryun, who failed to understand the sight before her, threw the sword instinctively. But... Sungjin could read the robot’s movements. But the sword could not pierce the robot’s skin.

Tatatatata.

The robot flew higher into the air as the propeller worked harder. It left with their only hope: the dragon ball.

“Kuk...” Sungjin no longer ordered anything. His brain had accurately predicted that the robot had fled to an unreachable height. The betrayer had been punished, but the dragon ball had not been retrieved.

Sooryun stared at the disappearing robot with an empty gaze. There was nothing she could do about the far dot in the sky. She couldn’t even chase after it to the central where thirty million robots awaited.

Hope... disappeared...

Completely.

“Ah...” Sooryun sat as her legs lost their strength.

The other resistance members also sat powerlessly. “Our... long preparation...” Their only hope had disappeared before their own eyes. It had happened in a blink of an eye. They had not believed that their sub-commander would sell their freedom for riches and pleasure. What should we do?

It had not been five minutes since they had been celebrating the fact that they had a chance of getting through the second obstacle with Sungjin’s help. Now there was no way for them to break through the first obstacle.

“Uu... Uuu...” Even though she tried not to cry, tears sprang into her eyes. Even when she knew she couldn’t reveal a weak side of her before the resistance, she couldn’t suppress her emotions.

Everyone had worked toward this day for ten years with all their hopes on that one dragon ball. Even if they hadn’t figured out a solution for the second obstacle, they could tolerate the wait knowing they were headed in the right direction with that dragon ball in hand. But now... everything was gone.

“Ah...” It was not only Sooryun. Other resistance members also cried on the floor.

Regardless of if they were man or woman, everyone had fallen to their knees from overwhelming despair. Now they had no hope of freeing themselves. There were thirty million robots in the capital and one hundred million altogether from all the regions in this world.

Before that overwhelming number, a reckless resistance only meant their capture, beheading, and chip implantation to become a “respected citizen.”

Even if the sky was clear, their days ahead were dark.

Ahh, this is all because of me. Sooryun clawed at her chest and couldn’t raise her head. Why hadn’t she realized that there was a spy among them? Even if she hadn’t known, why hadn’t she set up countermeasures for such a person?

Everything she had worked for was gone. She had destroyed their hope.

It was then a strong and firm hand landed on her shoulder. The hand grasped her, as if to haul her up from the depths of her mind.