Translator: Hong | Editor: Darling

 

Yeom Junyeol’s main skill was in controlling fire. 

‘Targeted ignition’ was a skill Yeom Junyeol was the diversified and personalized version of the fire controlling skill. 

The effect was to ignite a potential flame he had planted to his own discretion. 

The silver coin which everyone was smitten over was the best tool and opportunity to burn everyone’s hand. 

‘I had planted the flames while I had to put up with greeting those people.’

Just by planting these small flames, it was enough to heat up the silver that was as big as a coin. 

“Arghhh!”

“Argh, Arghhh! My hand, my hand!”

Screams filled up the hall. 

The seal of the crow and the Cidelintium emblem scorched the hands of these greedy people. 

It was one of the top-ranked pains a human felt; burning. 

Those dressed in tuxedos and dresses were having a taste of this painful sensation. 

They forgot their ranks and titles and rolled shamelessly on the floor crying in pain. 

“Kyah, ambulance, call an ambulance!”

“It hurts…argh, argh.”

“Heek! Hand, my hand!”

The entire place was experiencing a communication failure. 

All they could do was jump around in pain surrounded by their own cries. 

‘Why don’t they just let it go.’

The guests despite the burning sensation used their clothes or handkerchief to hold on to the coin prop. 

They were obviously overly attached to the SR+++item that only served to silence their mouths. 

“Small Red dragon Yeom Jun Yeol! Is this your doing!”

Of course, it was my doing,

‘Who else would do something like this.’

Currently, my targeted ignition skill was level 100. 

Those able to identify these hidden flames were those of the same level or higher. 

Players skilled with a 10 would be in an ambiguous position to attend this party and they had no reason to enter disguised as a security guard. 

The only person who could have fooled everyone in this party was myself disguised as Yeom Junyeol. 

In this world, the real Yeom Jun Yeol was not yet a level 100.

“Yes, it was me.”

I had no reason to hide so I answered them honestly. 

The security guards and players were tolerant to pain and still standing their ground. The only sign of pain was their sweat covered face. 

They hesitated for a while before shouting. 

“Ar-arrogant bastard!”

“Don’t you even dream about leaving this place alive…!”

They stanced themselves ready to attack with their weapons and power yielded but none of them dared to launch an attack. 

They may outnumber me but those who attacked me first would have to prepare to sacrifice themselves to be roasted to death by me. 

The morals of the security company that agreed to do a job for this trash like place, the grit of players attending this trashy auction were only of that standard. 

“The public people are coming over here right this minute so you all should prepare your excuse.”

I changed my tactic and focused on attacking their weak mentality. 

“Ha, the public? Not everyone can enter this place! There is no communication device here. Even the police are on our side! Even if they did manage to come in the 100 over security guards here will use you as a hostage….”

<Using skill of chosen character, ‘Calling forth the red dragon’>

<Using skill of chosen character, ‘Targeted ignition’>

Fwahhhh –

At my mark, all the velvet curtains were set aflame. 

The fires went out after burning off the curtains. 

After the curtains disappeared you could see through the windows….the flames had covered the entire building structure outside and was burning it. 

“What in the….!”

When I paired the targeted ignition skill with the esteemed ability of the red dragon the coverage parameters were higher than before. 

Before entering the convention center. 

I looked around and had laid potential flames out of sight from the security guard’s line of sight. 

“Those out celebrating the New Year are still out and about. Those in the air hotels above the han river will see these burning flames right now. The number of reports being made to the fire station this minute should already have passed hundreds.”

Byeon Soon Hui’s face turned pale. 

The report on the fire should be coming up on the security guard’s intranet. 

The fire has only thinly blanketed the convention center.

‘From outside due to the flames and smoke it would look like a large fire”

And this entire place had blocked all means of external communications so they’ll think that it is an emergency. 

Of course, it was an emergency to a certain extent. 

‘Even if the communication channels are cut off it doesn’t stop me from calling for help.”

The bad ending of the world was not avoidable by changing one specific bad event. 

The countless evil, greed, rage, misfortunes, coincidence, and miscommunications came together to one big end result which was the bad ending of the world. 

‘I will not solely rely on the esteemed ability and skill.’

Even with the esteemed ability of the ‘player history’ there would eventually come a point when I would reach a limit. 

Like how in chess even the queen, the strongest piece on the board, was not able to win the game alone. 

While missing out on school I had researched this world to find and expand the number of pieces to use in the game. 

To find out the things unmentioned in the game setting such as politics, tradition, laws, and such. 

During which I realized. 

‘Even in this world, the fire response teams were top-notch.’

Estimated casualties more than 2 digit figures.

Estimated Ending Time to be around 8 hours. 

A fire response of this scale is categorized as stage 2 fire. 

The respective fire station will respond to fires of stage 2 and above by calling pre-identified players as backup to assist with the situation. 

“Total forces able to reach in less than 5 minutes are estimated to be more than 400, with more than 2 professional players. Also, the press will be in a hurry to film the first fire of the year.”

Yeom Jun Yeol’s esteemed ability appeared in the form of a large red dragon after sensing the presence of a large fire. 

The dragon circled around me slowly and placed its head on my shoulder and let out a breath of fire. 

As per the legend of the dragon tribe, ‘The fire will not burn you’ applied for me and I was unaffected by the flame. 

Weeeeowwwww-

Countless air, land fire extinguisher alarm sirens from outside mixed with the cries of the burnt participants were shaking up the convention center. 

“Now do you understand the situation?”

Even as I added on to provoke them further, Byeon Sunhui and the other security guards remained silent. 

As I jumped on stage Byeon Sunhui slowly backed up. 

“Now shall I collect my payment for the dragon show I’ve exhibited?”

I collected the cards on the item boxes one by one. 

Paat – 

I melted the box with flames and opened the box which transferred the ownership of the cards to me. 

Byeon Soonhui looked like he was about to pass out but was unable to stop me in fear of the red dragon that was by my side. 

<You have collected the fan of angles, caller of the east wind>

<You have collected the lens of sacred doors>

<You have collected the bubble of a mermaid’s breath>

<You have collected the rusted tiara of a loyal guard>

<You have collected the folding fan of the blind god>

….

….

….

The list of items collected increased line after line.

With multiple notifications of a newly added item, the cards disappeared as it settled into my item library. 

“Hahahaha!”

I laughed loudly as I looked at Byeon Soonhui. 

The best feeling was the feeling of kicking a villain’s ass. 

‘Even then in the game, it felt good to kick ass the villain of the dream auction.’

Even in the dream auction of the game version, after wiping out the function it was possible to collect the items once you inspected the stage. 

Unlike the game version, I ignored the strategy of the top, dungeon, castle, and garden and simply acted as the sole golden piece. 

“You, you thief!”

“Oh, are we doing self-introductions?”

Byeon Soonhui replied sarcastically with a scoff

Most of the auctionable items were item cards related to one’s mental or physical powers. 

‘Some of them were not in a card collectible version.’

Some of the actual items on sale were unbelievable.

Not only was Byeon Soonhui a thief he was a tomb raider. 

“Why are there national heritage items classified missing but the government? Wow, you’ve raided a lot. I’ll make sure I return them where they came from.”

I should confiscate these and return it to the national museum or cultural heritage administration. 

As I selected store items in the menu window even items that were not in the form of cards went in to be stored. 

Byeon Soohui who seemed furious but not surprised must think that I was doing this to steal the skill items or items for my own needs. 

After all, I did use the main battle skill. 

Byeon Soonhui spoke in a strained voice. 

“Do you really think the bear lineage will let you get away with this….!”

Of course, I had thought of a plan to deal with the bear lineage. 

After splitting up with Saeum of April. 

I returned to the party hall and was scanning with my information window when I saw it in the corner of my eyes. 

A royal lineage that stood out due to an ‘unidentifiable’ database. 

Her eyes were full of boredom. 

It seemed like she had little interest in the upcoming dream auction. 

‘I know the attitude of the seller and a spectator when I see one.’

After seeing her myself I was confident that this whole scene would not upset her at all. 

“You are finished.”

Byeon Soonhui, having understood the deeper meaning behind my sentence, looked despaired. 

“Arghhh”

Byeon Soonhui who lost his mind came running right at me. 

I was about to turn him into ash with the red dragon when. 

SMACK!

“Argh!”

“Serves you right you scum!”

The female security guard who had freed herself kicked Byeon Soonhui between the legs. 

She must have pretended to be tied up and waiting for the right opportunity., 

Kick, kick!

“Arghggg, ugh!”

The female stepped and kicked Byeon’s stomach repeatedly with her heels. 

Unlike the female who had stayed silent just now, Byeon cried like a wild pig about to be slaughtered. 

“I’d rather become a rat than become a swine like you.”

While she was beating Byeon up, I used the red dragon to melt away Saeum’s birdcage. 

Clank-

The door opened and Saeum of April threw the loose cuff away and dragged himself heavily to Saemin of April. 

Saemin whose face was covered in blood bruises was still unconscious amidst the uproar. 

“Uncle…”

Saeum carefully seated Saemin up. 

“Uncle…I am sorry….I don’t need to go to a school…please don’t die….”

As though in atonement Saeum bowed his head deeply and mumbled to Saemin who slowly opened his eyes. 

Despite his half awoken consciousness the moment Saemin saw Saeum the life in his eyes returned. 

Saemin blinked his eyes continuously as though doubting his own vision then finally smiled brightly. 

“….Saeum, I’m so glad you’re safe. What a relief.”

Saemin used his unbroken arm to gently pat Saeum. 

Saeum smiled at those words with his eyes full of tears. 

The sound of sirens grew louder in the background. 

‘Seems like everything is over.’

I had collected my items so my job was done. 

If I stayed, help would arrive shortly but revealing my appearance was an issue. 

Revealing Saeum of April was an issue as well. 

‘No.’

The last messenger of this country’s king. 

The descendant of the messenger, the king he himself had freed. 

One day he would show himself to the public.

‘But now he was too young.’

Also revealing Saeum in such a weakened state was not an option. 

“Let’s run away.”

Crash!

At my command, the red dragon broke the window. 

I placed a finger and marked the heads of Saeum, Saemin, and the female guard whose name I did not know, to prevent them from being affected by the red dragon’s flames. 

By sharing the mark on others shortened the usage period of the esteemed ability but I had no choice if I wanted to escape along with these three. 

“I will share 10 minutes of my esteemed ability. Now hop on.”

The remaining time I had with Yemo Junyeol’s ability was 30 minutes. 

I decided to speed things up. 

As I got on the dragon, the three supported one another to climb on. 

I surrounded the four of us in flames of disguise and protection and flew the dragon into the night sky. 

Fwahhh-!

At the same moment, the fires extinguished from the convention center. 

From outside it would look as though the flames came together and shot up into the sky. 

As we reached high into the clouds we saw through the flames the moon shining more brightly than ever before. 

“Where do you live.”

“Oh, The westgate district Yeonhuidong….”

Saeum answered straight away. 

It was nice to know that he trusted me but was it alright for the lineage of the royal king’s messenger to expose his address so easily.

‘Even though I had already known it was around Yeonhuidong from the game.’

With my lead, the red dragon quickly arrived at the location identified by Saeum. 

There was a secluded entrance door in the palace. 

“Thank you for saving me! You’re Yeom Junyeol right?”

“I am not Yeom Junyeol”

The real Yeom Junyeol would probably be celebrating the new year in an air hotel somewhere with his ‘red lion’ team and alliance. As well as investors and societies leading figure of S ratings. 

I had intentionally chosen a character with a perfect alibi and an untouchable so that even if the dream auction organizers tried to get back they wouldn’t be able to. 

And….

‘Today’s job was also for Yeom Junyeol.’

There was one person from the dream auction committee, under the influence of a promising figure who managed to successfully enter the national assembly. 

That assemblyman would then be responsible for the death of Junyeol. 

“All of you were never there, and you saw nothing. Miss security guard, you too, please don’t return to your house yet and hide out here for a while.”

“What? But those swines…..!”

“They will receive lawful punishment. The remaining evidence, the number of people at the scene, the pro players witness and the press, the seals on their hands. There are plenty of eyewitnesses and evidence. You need not involve yourselves in it further.”

And I had also laid out a trap. 

Not only did I lay a trap I had provoked Byeon Soonhui sufficiently. 

‘He will try to take it out on someone he should not mess with.’

After hearing my explanation the female security guard nodded with a look of understanding. 

Saeum seemed to have had no intention of getting involved from the start, as he continued to look up at me in a tired manner. 

Saemin who was barely able to keep his eyes open continuously thanked me with a breaking voice. 

“…Thanks, thank you. Please let me pay you back one day.”

I was about to leave with the red dragon when Saeum of April approached me. 

Repayment.

From today’s job, I was able to remove certain leading factors of the bad ending. 

And including the cards I’d gathered today, it was already worth millions so he really didn’t need to repay me…

I replied Saeum who stood waiting for my reply. 

“You don’t have to repay me. But do reconsider dropping out of Eunkwang high.”

In the game, Saeum enjoys a school life for a short period after being rescued.

Since it’s his first encounter with the outside world he enjoys himself wholeheartedly. 

The small jokes from the teacher during lessons. 

The conversations he held with his classmates during breaks.

The menu of the day for his school lunch. 

I recall that he had these details in the storyline of the game that he really enjoyed. 

The descendant of the King’s messenger Saeum of April smiled easily and appreciated the small things in life. 

I never want him to be trapped in the likes of a cage again. 

“If you intend to join, talk only to Jegal the department head. You can trust him.” 

I shared Jegal’s device code with him, 

There were a few other trustworthy professors but I only had Jegal’s contact details. 

‘I don’t have much time left with this esteemed ability.’

Once I had finished sharing the device code I hopped on the red dragon. 

Saeum’s parting words to me were. 

“I’ll see you at school.”

***

Some stories have a  lump in their storylines. 

There are the non-harmful ones that may seem to get in the way at times but don’t cause you any trouble no matter how long you leave them unattended. 

But there are also harmful ones that are like cancer. 

The longer you leave those there, they spread and lead you to death. 

‘If I remove this cancer cell now I might get an unthinkable cancer from another cause in the future!”

Some may come up with a conspiracy theory like the one above…..

Should you just leave it?

That is being suicidal. 

In this world, there are certain factors that must be removed like cancer cells, no matter how much effort it requires. 

And I am about to conduct a dangerous transaction to just find out how to get rid of these factors. 

“You’ve arrived as expected, human child.”

The 8 deities of the bear tribe are known to be their strongest powers. 

The sad bear goddess being one of them was waiting for me.