32. Kim Emperor (2)
Emperor of Parasite. It was one of the 12 Emperors, but its existence had never been confirmed. Even the other Emperors had never seen it. That was one of its powers.
The Emperor of Parasite was calling itself Emperor of Gluttony. It had devoured countless souls in its starvation. Sticking to Emperor of Corruption was the best choice. All it had to do was enjoy the souls that Emperor of Corruption had left after destroying the dimension.
‘That Emperor of Corruption…’
It opened its eyes as the Emperor of Corruption screamed and struggled. It originally only awoke when the dimension collapsed and disappeared. Then it ate the delicious souls and fell asleep again. However, this time it was different. The Emperor of Corruption’s cry became like a morning alarm.
Seeing the always arrogant Emperor of Corruption in pain, it felt terrified for the first time in its life. Before the Emperor of Corruption was devoured by Emperor of Gold, it quickly withdrew itself in surprise. The Emperor of Parasite was able to save its life, but most of its strength was lost.
‘Emperor of Gold…’
He was known to have killed the Emperor of Greed and absorbed its power. That was all it knew. It tried to cling to the Emperor of Gold but failed.
‘That darkness…’
It couldn’t stand the darkness. The Emperor of Gold was a predator. His soul itself was like that, so he must be avoided at any cost! What if the Emperor of Gold became aware of its existence? The Emperor of Parasite could see that the Emperor of Corruption was suffering. It was trapped in a human body and lived in hell every day.
Bhrrrrrr!
He was an evil Emperor that was impossible to talk to, let alone negotiate with. The Emperor of Gold enjoyed torturing and devouring even other Emperors.
‘I-I must leave the Middle World.’
Thus, the Emperor of Parasite couldn’t help but be nervous. It was so anxious that it couldn’t stay in the Middle World. His golden eyes seemed to be able to find it.
‘The Maze travels through all dimensions… if I hide well there…?’
The Emperor of Parasite had no power beyond the dimension. It planned to come up with a way to cross the dimension together as a parasite in the Maze. It crawled straight into the Maze. If it was the lowest-level dungeon, the Emperor of Parasite should be able to parasitize and take control of everything even with its current power.
After holding its breath and waiting, the Maze dungeon finally recovered, and it could cross the dimension. Only then did it come out with ease.
‘This is the Maze’s main body. It’s all right.’
It was a very good choice to settle in the Maze. The Maze was famous for its large number of intruders. It seemed okay to live a peaceful life by devouring those intruders. This way wasn’t like when the Emperor of Corruption fed it, but the Emperor of Parasite was still expecting a comfortable life in its way.
Munch-munch!
It devoured the dungeon and moved on. The Emperor of Parasite settled in the Maze’s body. Thanks to this, there was a problem with the Maze’s immune system, but it was none of its business. A comfortable life had just begun!
‘Oh-oh! There are intruders. And also so many of them…!’
It sensed thousands of them. Emperor of Parasite was so ready to devour any soul it could reach.
‘I’m going to binge eat after a long time. Hehehe.’
It could say that it was a blessing in disguise. But was that true?
* * *
Jin-woo looked around the ruined dungeon and returned to the central control room. Se-yeon and Yoo-na were watching the raid’s situation from there.
Clap-clap-clap!
General Manager was also there, but when Jin-woo appeared, he and Se-yeon clapped. General Manager was wiping away his tears. It was said that he started to weep during the highlight scene where Jin-woo jumped towards the middle boss.
“What’s the matter?”
“Master, your part! It was so dazzling. Well, that noble spirit of sacrifice will be an example to everyone. Why don’t we designate today as our second Easter?”
“…Is there a first Easter?”
“Of course.”
The first Easter was said to be his revival in China. It was something that Jin-woo was unaware of, but G&P, JW Gate, and the jurisdiction area held a festival on Easter. Jin-woo barely stopped General Manager. Fortunately, he was able to prevent the second Easter from happening. The first one was already established, so it was impossible to stop.
“Sir! You’re hugely popular! No one’s talking about anything but you.”
Se-yeon was also excited. There were a lot of articles to browse, too.
Title: A Film that Is Being Made Over and Over Again! Who the Hell Is Kim Emperor?’
The Maze: New World, developed and serviced by G&P, is a hot topic every day. It was broadcast live as a special program on SBC and currently has a viewer rating of 21.3%, and it continues to rise. Foreign media also introduced Bread Jam, an Internet broadcaster that aired the live-streaming of the Maze: New World during its beta.
However, there is another person who has become the most talked about. He is Kim Emperor, who appeared on Maze & Luna TV. The image of sacrificing himself while saving the popular broadcaster Luna caused a lot of discussions. It currently monopolizes Diver’s real-time search keywords and is drawing keen attention.
[Image: Sacrificing Kim Emperor.jpg]
Netizen Amant said, “I fell in love with him. I wonder who he is, and I have a foreboding: this is the birth of a new star.”
On the other hand, Dame Choi Hee-yeon, the youngest Knight and head of the Choi Family’s Sword School, said, “I think The Maze: New World can be used for Knight training. It should be reviewed at the Association level.”
Daily New Star Intern Reporter Kim Hye-mi hm[email protected] / Photo courtesy of Maze & Luna TV, SBC
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drak****
It was no joke. I felt like watching a movie.
cho8****
He’s a real man. If I see a huge back, I think it’s you, Kim Emperor.
Jin-woo confirmed his popularity rank. The popularity that had been stagnant was now rising sharply. Lee Jin-woo’s name had clear limits, but he showed a completely different attitude as he played his role as Kim Emperor. His actions so far seemed to be in vain.
‘Lee Jin-woo is the worst…’
He didn’t know if it was because of the name, but wasn’t it because of the debuff? Kim Emperor was also Lee Jin-woo, but strangely, he was treated as a completely different person. At this rate, it was only a matter of time before he completed all the Ordeals of Greed. Se-yeon looked at the struggling expedition party over the screen and nodded.
“There is one thing that made me unsatisfied. It’s something I can’t do anything about, though.”
“What is it?”
“It’s about the monster. Far from being able to speak, they don’t have a distinct ego, right?”
“I guess so.”
The monsters in the Maze were like that. Being close to a doll, the boss, the middle boss, and even the floor master didn’t have a distinct ego. They moved like machines only for slaughter without reason. This was a huge advantage against intruders, but not in the game. There was a fear that the game would be fairly bland.
Rundalf bribed the Skeleton Boss because it was a decorated space, not a part of the Maze.
“A villain with a story! A unique boss! If there is such a thing, I don’t think there is a flaw in this. I can’t do anything about artifacts and programs, but…”
Yoo-na, who was listening next to her, nodded.
“I think so. Shall we deploy the demons?”
“No, they could lose their life if something went wrong.”
Yoo-na nodded at Jin-woo’s words and smiled. Jin-woo had no intention of forcing those who belonged to him to sacrifice themselves. He didn’t have a clear goal, but he just wanted everyone to live happily ever after.
“Sob, I’ll risk my life! Leave it to me!”
“…You don’t have to.”
Jin-woo had no choice but to stop him when General Manager stepped up. No one could surpass him if he stepped up, and the Maze would suffer from constipation forever. To be honest, Jin-woo wasn’t confident that he could win if he were fighting against General Manager purely with swordsmanship. Until recently, he was shaking the limits of human beings, but he was already breaking through little by little.
It was all thanks to his burning loyalty to Jin-woo. If that loyalty could be quantified, Jin-woo was sure that another Big Bang might soon occur.
‘It’s a little scary.’
Jin-woo decided to watch the raid. Luna’s party also joined the expedition party through the hidden route. Rundalf sprinkled money on the village to buy a lot of basic equipment and gave it to those resurrected for free. After a while, they arrived in front of the middle boss room.
“Young Master, the current situation is being broadcasted at Gwanghwamun.”
“At Gwanghwamun? Did people gather?”
“Yes, it is quite a crowd. There was also a place prepared to commemorate Kim Emperor.”
“The Earth is more chaotic than I thought.”
It wasn’t even during an international competition or the World Cup. He couldn’t believe that even at Gwanghwamun…
Jin-woo didn’t understand. Maybe it was his grandfather’s doing? Anyway, a lot of people were watching right now.
‘It’s a shame that there is no directing.’
Without the Emperor of Gold, it was hard to expect directing. There was only the middle boss monster in the room, and the battle would start right away. Jin-woo couldn’t create such things one by one. After all, there were countless dungeons. The door to the middle boss room opened slowly, and the expedition party slowly went inside.
The middle boss of the main dungeon was a giant skeleton. It was only high in rank and size, so it would be easy to target. There were also Luna, Crazy Demon, and Rundalf…
‘James Dean…’
There was also James Dean and the knights. Were their hobbies playing games, too? Anyway, Jin-woo thought they could get rid of it easily with those competent people. That was when he thought there was no need to watch the situation.
[Kh-Khehehehe, cute prey has rolled in.]
A gloomy voice that evoked fear could be heard. Jin-woo, who had turned his head away from the screen, had no choice but to look again. He wanted to know what was wrong. At first, the middle boss appeared as expected. It was a common skeleton with a large scythe. The appearance of starting the attack immediately was also rather bland.
It was when the expedition party members looked nervously at the skeleton the oddity happened then. Other skeletons spewed out from all directions and began to merge into one. They were skeletons surrounded by a black aura. As they merged, hundreds of skeletons joined together to form one gigantic skeleton. Reaching out, it grabbed the middle boss and devoured it. Some players dropped their weapons in response to its overwhelming appearance.
Of course, the chat window was a mess.
ChocoCookieChips: What is that?
Lanto: Wow, the directing is crazy.
Lee Kun-woo: Look at the design details.
Pooled: LOL, I think I would pee if I saw it in reality. It’s so scary.
NewSupreme: We should give the design team an award. Damn it.
[Fall into fear and despair! And give me your soul! Hahaha!]
When it opened its arms, the entrance door closed, and the bricks moved as if they were alive and piled up in front of the entrance. There was no exit. It was an admirable production.
“Umm?”
“Ah?”
“Huh?”
Jin-woo, Se-yeon, and Yoo-na, who were watching in admiration, raised a question mark above their heads at the same time. This was because they had never prepared such a directing, and it didn’t make sense for the middle boss to speak from the beginning.
“As expected, Master must have prepared it in advance.”
“I-I see. I’ve said something impudently like that…”
Se-yeon panicked at General Manager’s words and said so. Of course, it wasn’t something Jin-woo prepared.
‘What is that?’
He tried to check it with the Magic Eye of Information, but he couldn’t see it properly because it was beyond the screen. The monster that ate the middle boss emitted a great force. It seemed to have a much higher rank than the middle boss.
[Wow! The pose is freaking awesome! It’s very disgusting.]
[Is that the middle boss?]
[Um, how do we get rid of that?]
Players’ conversations were heard. As the players stared calmly, there was a slight sense of embarrassment from the giant skeleton.
[C-cough! This is the end for you all!]
It was certainly strange. A sleek sword was summoned from the giant skeleton’s two hands.
[Avoid the sword!]
As the giant skeleton swung it lightly, the huge sword shot out its force and blew away several players. Then, black tentacles flung out of the giant skeleton’s body and caught the fallen players.
[U-Uwaaaaa! I’m being eaten! I’m dying!]
[Oh, oh! This… why do I rather feel good about it?]
The player was eaten. It wasn’t a judgment that the monsters in the Maze could make. Did someone break-in? However, no intrusion was detected in the Sanctuary. Jin-woo guessed he would have to go and see it himself.
‘It would be nice if I could raise my popularity rank as I go.’
Jin-woo thought so and took out his armor. It was the moment when Kim Emperor reappeared. The concept this time was Kim Emperor, who climbed up from hell.
* * *
[Be my prey!]
Luna was running around using divine magic. It was the most difficult boss monster she had ever seen. When she got close, it shot out a wave of sword energy, and when she was far away, it spewed tentacles from its chest and grabbed the players. What was different from reality was that everyone here was having fun.
‘Did the Emperor do it for us?’
No matter how much Luna thought about it, that was all she could think of. She didn’t know what happened, but the middle boss was full of personality. When she looked at the chat window, it was well-received.
Rodin: The middle boss of Stage 1 is like this, then how about the boss?
7thGrader: My whole family got together and watched this, LOL. It seems to be more fun than an international game.
I’m Leaving Tomorrow: Watch it on hologram TV if you have one. It feels like being there.
SchorchedRiceFlavoredCoffee: Oh? Can it be connected to hologram TV?
I’m Leaving Tomorrow: Yeah. I did it an hour ago, LOL. The technology is crazy.
Thanks to that, the donations had also exploded. It was spectacular to see thousands of people rushing to the giant skeleton monster. Every time the sword was swung, dozens flew away, so it was thrilling. Having seen a sight like this, was it possible to be satisfied with anything else? It looked like the death of the movie industry.
UglyBreadJam: Whoa! Bread Jam got eaten!
BreadBreadJamJam: Bread Jam, no!
Fact Broadcaster: Another SBC broadcasting accident, LOL. It’s terrible. Won’t those at Gwanghwamun scream and go crazy? LMAO.
About half of the players who entered the middle boss room turned out to be already dead. The ones that stood out the most were Luna, Rundalf, and Crazy Demon. As Luna’s divine magic unfolded, the fallen players rose and rushed in like zombies.
[K-kugh… what is it? I keep eating and eating, but I don’t get full… why… should I eat more?]
The gigantic skeleton wriggled as if in agony. It dropped the sword and grabbed its stomach. Cracks began to form in its body.
“It must be Phase 2!”
Luna shouted. Black tentacles sprang out of the giant skeleton’s stomach and wrapped around its body. Black energy spurted out in all directions, melting the players around it. It looked a lot more powerful than before. It was a really exciting Phase 2.
Tentacles spouted all over the place, devouring players. In an instant, the number of players dropped from thousands to hundreds.
[T-this is… no way… avatar?]
“Huh?”
It was when Luna was startled by the giant skeleton’s words.
Boom!
Something on fire fell on the giant skeleton. His figure was like a comet.
* * *
Jin-woo arrived near the middle boss room. He took a shortcut, so he arrived just above them. There was a hole in the ceiling after the giant skeleton blocked the entrance with the stones from the roof. Thanks to this, Jin-woo was able to see the middle boss room very well.
‘It’s still the same, though?’
He could only feel the Maze’s energy. He looked with the Magic Eye of Information, focusing more than usual.
[-E] Lowest Skeleton Captain (Parasite)
‘I’m a binge eater!’
The Emperor of Parasite is clinging onto the Skeleton Captain. The Emperor of Parasite was originally parasitic on the Emperor of Corruption, and it devoured the souls of the dimensions it destroyed.
It has the power to parasitize an Emperor, so the Emperors cannot detect its existence. It has lost most of its power and is stuck in the Maze. It eats souls and can starve to death if it cannot receive nutrients. The current Emperor of Parasite can parasitize up to Rank E.
It was like seeing an invisible man. However, it couldn’t escape the Magic Eye of Information, the best cheat key in the original story. It was able to detect even the Emperor of Parasite.
“Umm, I see.”
The Emperor of Parasite was very hungry, thus explaining its eagerness to eat players with tentacles like that. However, it couldn’t absorb their soul because it was only an avatar. The avatar was like a plastic model in front of a restaurant. Maybe it tasted like chewing sand? The question wasn’t fully resolved yet, but it was roughly understandable.
Ultimately, it didn’t feel that dangerous. When Jin-woo checked the broadcast, the number of viewers was huge. It was broadcasting on almost all platforms. The players were also enjoying it a lot.
‘Is it perfect for a boss mob?’
What was lacking in the Maze: New World seemed to have been put together! Fantastic directing, shocking visuals, and even a distinct ego. It was incomparable to the AI of a typical game.
Jin-woo raised his shield, then fastened his helmet. Then, he waited for the right time.
‘Am I also an attention whore?’
He seemed to resemble the Emperor of Gold. They spent quite a lot of time together so that it could be due to that. The Emperor of Parasite was running wild with hunger below him. The Emperor of Gold looked up.
It told him that this was the right time. After stretching for a while, he jumped right off. His armor caught fire and created a long tail.
Boom!
Jin-woo’s shield slammed on top of the Emperor of Parasite. Dust rose as the floor shook, and a pillar of fire soared. It was certainly not an impact enough to shake the surroundings, but let’s just move on.
[K-keaaarrrrgh!]
The giant skeleton screamed. All the players around stood blankly and looked at the giant skeleton. As the dust slowly cleared, someone appeared. He was enveloped in flames as if he had risen from hell. The fire slowly disappeared, and hot smoke rose above his armor.
He raised himself. Heavy armor collided against each other, creating a loud metallic sound.
“K-Kim Emperor?!”
Someone who recognized him called out the name.
Rodin: Oh LOL
BeyondPigeon: Gosh, LOL, Emperor!
GoodGameLostGame: What a mess. LOL, he’s blazing!
ChocoCookieChips: He rose from hell!
MissLunaSoNice: Emperor Big Bro, the demon has returned with a bang.
Routine: Crazy, he came through the ceiling, lol.
acde1233: That’s awesome. See how masculine he was.
OxBoneSoupMan: He broke the skeleton’s bones, lol. That was dope.
The chat rooms burst, and the ratings exploded!
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