UTC 08

Chapter 8

Recognizing Eclipse is basically not difficult.

The attire of the men occupying the first-floor lobby right now.

Red coats with black snakes drawn on them.

That was the symbol of Eclipse, an international terrorist and criminal organization.

Once I understood the situation, I summoned the Hunter Drone inside.

My head was burning.

“Was the Mir Guild the target? Why on earth…?”

I couldn’t make sense of the situation. A notoriously dangerous criminal group from North America? And why Korea…?

And of all times, they chose to strike when I had come for a trade.

The event was so absurd I half-wondered if someone was filming it secretly, but the scene I saw through the projection device hadn’t changed.

Was the universe balancing out because my luck had been too good recently?

“Ha… What am I supposed to do with this….”

Still, I didn’t waste time complaining further.

If there were time for that, simply thinking about surviving here would be enough.

“Should I take refuge in the pocket space for a while?”

The first thing that came to mind was escape.

Eclipse.

Honestly, I had no confidence in handling them.

99.9% of my power was in the drones.

The problem was, however, that the drones weren’t very defensively strong.

Even stupid monsters like goblins had successfully attacked them, and if someone more cunning tried, they could be completely destroyed despite relying only on the drone’s firepower.

Maybe a few could be dealt with by ambush.

But escaping this place alive? Impossible…

So the first thought was to hide in the pocket space for a while…

“No, this has problems too.”

I quickly shook my head and erased the thought.

After entering the pocket space and closing the gate, reopening it didn’t guarantee it would open where it had closed.

Going back and forth to the core center every time to open and close gates was not pointless.

As I was sulking, searching for another way to survive, sounds came from the corridor.

“They might be hiding here too, search everywhere!”

“Unbelievable. Are you lecturing me? Mind your own business, idiot. Let’s go.”

The voices of the conversation were followed by footsteps in the corridor.

Thud thud thud thud. Kwang—

Then the sound of doors opening came soon after.

They weren’t close enough to rush in immediately, but it would happen soon.

My position being discovered was only a matter of time. A truly life-or-death situation.

“In the end, no choice?”

Fight. That was the only option.

The sounds gradually reached the door.

“Hunter Drone, please.”

The moment the Eclipse guy opened the door and saw me, a vile smile spread across his face.

Fshhh.

Faster than him, the Hunter Drone reacted.

His head exploded.

The single-shot beam from the Hunter Drone was more powerful than I expected.

Thud—

The body fell, and simultaneously, the footsteps from the corridor vanished.

They must have found the corpse of their comrade whose head had been blown off.

I left only the Hunter Drone and temporarily retreated into the pocket space.

To prepare for the possibility that the Hunter Drone might fail, I also positioned combat drones at the gate entrance.

Even if they somehow entered the gate, I could turn the tide with immediate bombardment.

“Phew… Let’s see what’s happening.”

Watching the Hunter Drone via the projection device’s screen.

The stealthy intruders suddenly entered the reception room.

There were three enemies.

They quietly checked the empty room and exchanged hand signals upon seeing the gate in the corner.

The Hunter Drone, which had been hiding, moved the moment they turned their backs, distracted by the gate.

Breaking stealth, the Hunter Drone fired its beam repeatedly.

Thud thud.

The enemies collapsed to the floor, riddled with holes.

The drone’s rapid-fire ability shone.

After confirming all enemies were eliminated, I finally exited the pocket space.

I picked up a weapon from the bodies of the Eclipse guys.

【Cursed Dagger】

-Grade: Rare
Agility: +20

A weapon that increases agility by 20.

If sold, it could fetch millions of won.

It was tempting, but I put it down without hesitation.

Selling the Eclipse guys’ weapons could make me a target for their revenge, so restraint was wise.

It was a shame because looting is usually satisfying.

Phew…

I straightened up and pondered.

“Now what?”

With the group’s communication cut off, additional Eclipse reinforcements were only a matter of time.

We were lucky this time with few attackers, but the future looked bleak.

There was no guarantee we could handle more coming in.

At that moment, an explosion was heard.

Boom. Loud voices.

The direction seemed to be the lobby.

I ordered the Hunter Drone to scout again.

It stealthily approached and showed the lobby scene.

And simultaneously, I saw hope.

“This… might be possible?”

A fierce battle between Eclipse and the Mir Guild was underway.

Bodies burning, limbs severed, the smell of blood—a brutal fight.

A battlefield perfect for the Hunter Drone to shine.

Of course, the Mir Guild’s main strength was its high-level players.

High-level players focusing on tower progression over real-life matters is natural.

They move to handle trials with the Player Association, so staying in the real-life guild is rare.

That’s why responding to today’s Eclipse raid was difficult.

Korea had been classified as an Eclipse-free country.

Ironically, that made it vulnerable to this kind of surprise attack.

Mir Guild director Gu Byung-hoon frowned and spoke to handle the situation, even belatedly.

“Everyone gathered?”

“Yes, all players except those on the occupied first floor are present.”

He checked the assembly on the 5th floor.

The number was decent, but quality was lacking.

The only usable forces were a few team leaders and some mid-tier players.

Still, he prepared for full confrontation.

Even if retreating later, sitting out entirely would be shameful.

The potential embarrassment of other top ten guilds mocking Mir Guild and the humiliation upon the return of leadership made fleeing without fighting impossible.

“Wipe them out, every last one. Show them what it means to invade the Mir Guild’s home!”

“Yes!”

Following the plan, they descended via central and emergency staircases to ambush Eclipse in the lobby.

The ambush succeeded, giving them the upper hand.

“Die! You filthy criminals!”

“How dare you enter here!”

“Don’t think you’ll walk out alive!”

Byung-hoon coordinated the battle and subdued five Eclipse members.

But as he moved to take the next, a spell suddenly struck.

Pew—

Despite his near-superhuman reflexes, he couldn’t avoid it—because it came from behind.

Someone he thought was an ally attacked. He collapsed, bleeding.

Cough.

Byung-hoon glanced around helplessly.

It was someone who had earlier joined them in the ambush, wearing a red coat like Eclipse.

“Damn it… not an ally?”

A cognitive-disrupting accessory. Even he was tricked—quite a high-grade one.

“Krkrkr… always watch your back.”

Byung-hoon struggled to rise, but the situation was grim.

The snake on that coat marked them as an Odusa-level—an executive rank in Eclipse.

Even uninjured, he wouldn’t stand a chance. Ambushed and wounded, it was hopeless.

…

Other team leaders fared no better.

They were surrounded, gasping, with initial momentum gone.

Retreat impossible.

The early advantage was a trap, luring them in.

“Enjoyed yourselves? Now close your eyes in peace.”

At the moment he realized his life would end here.

Fshhh. Thud.

The executive’s arm was blown off.

Not only that—attacks continued in the same direction.

Unbelievable rate of fire.

Fshhh fshhh.

The executive collapsed like a puppet with threads cut.

Byung-hoon stared, stunned, at the source—something flying in the air.

It was a drone.

“W-what….”

It was hard to believe that a roughly 1-meter drone had taken down an Eclipse executive.

The question was answered immediately—the drone began attacking other Eclipse members.

“Biscus was taken out?”

“Urgh…”

“Damn it!”

“Deal with that drone first!”

Eclipse panicked.

Those capable of long-range attacks tried to target the drone.

Byung-hoon shouted at the guild to protect it.

“Use any means to defend it!”

Eclipse forces were decimated by the Hunter Drone.

Alone, it couldn’t have done it.

But with Mir Guild protecting it, the battle became one-sided.

With its defensive weakness covered, it was the Hunter Drone’s stage.

In less than a minute, the tide turned completely. They chased down fleeing enemies, killing them.

When everything was over, I retrieved the Hunter Drone and quietly left Mir Guild.

Loot came along.

【Ring of Refraction】

-Grade: Supreme
+Mana: 10
+Magic: 10
+[Mirage of Refraction]
-Forces others to perceive a distorted image, concealing the wearer.

“Jackpot!”

I had taken the Eclipse executive’s ring while retrieving the drone.

I’d coveted it from the start.

A cognitive-disruption accessory was no small matter.

“Worth at least billions, I’d say.”

Cognitive disruption is highly desired worldwide.

Even if I couldn’t sell it, I was very satisfied.

It was mine to use.

“Perfect timing; I needed cognitive disruption anyway.”

Soon I would clear the last tutorial floor, the 10th.

From 11th floor onwards, open-field missions exposed me inevitably.

Deciding to keep my identity as Neia hidden was wise, but tower structure worried me.

Thankfully, that problem was solved.

“I’ll buy magic stones from Baekho Guild anyway.”

I didn’t even attempt a trade, wary of suspicion after pocketing the ring.

Mir Guild was in shambles; trade was impossible.

I went straight to Baekho Guild, gathered many magic stones, and returned home by evening.

News reported the Eclipse terror incident from earlier.

People were panicking, calling it the end times.

I ignored that and headed to Neia.

“Lord Sunwoo, you’re here again.”

“Neia, don’t be surprised.”

“Yes, I won’t be.”

I placed a huge pile of mid-grade magic stones like a mountain. Neia’s eyes widened, and she covered her mouth.

“Is this… a proposal?”