Chapter 129: Allies and Motives
The flames grew so large that they completely swallowed the enemy plant whole.
They almost reached the Ancient Ginkgo Tree itself.
BlessedByRNG stared nervously.
If the enemy still couldn’t be killed under these circumstances, he genuinely had no idea what else he could possibly do.
While BlessedByRNG anxiously waited for the results, Joo Joowon had already stopped paying attention to him after handing over the items.
Based on his own experience dealing with the Spider Zombie, depending on the size of a boss’s health bar, it would probably take at least half an hour or more for the flames to finish the job.
There was no way he would receive the results tonight.
Since that was the case, there was no reason for him to keep watching.
He had already moved on to chatting with someone else.
[ @TheMadScientist ]: I see. Looks like I don’t stand a chance then. Boss, after you establish your territory, would it be possible for me to come and join you?
TheMadScientist wasn’t particularly ambitious.
Nor did he believe he was suited to becoming some great leader.
He simply wanted to find a safe place to stay and spend his time researching all sorts of interesting "machines of war."
Ever since the first time he used firecrackers to blow up a manure pit as a child, he had fallen hopelessly in love with explosions.
Now, after the apocalypse, he loved them even more.
Even the apocalypse game itself acknowledged his actions and had even awarded him the achievement title [Arson Maniac].
[ @Ashfall ]: I might not even be able to complete the quest myself.
He didn’t explain that he had no intention of recruiting anyone into his territory.
After all, the territory hadn’t even been established yet.
The whole thing was still little more than an idea.
There was no need to say so much this early.
[ @TheMadScientist ]: Boss, you’re way too humble. Thanks for answering my questions! This is the consultation fee!
The other party then sent over an Earth Bomb.
Perhaps because Joo Joowon hadn’t asked what new inventions he had created, TheMadScientist tactfully chose not to advertise his products and simply ended the conversation.
A moment later HighlyCultured also replied.
[ @HighlyCultured ]: I see. Then I wish you success in becoming a Lord.
[ @Ashfall ]: Thank you.
HighlyCultured sent back an emoji before adding.
[ @HighlyCultured ]: I believe you’ll definitely succeed. You don’t need to care about the comments outside. They’re just people blindly following the crowd.
As he said this, HighlyCultured even attached a screenshot of himself defending Joo Joowon in the comment section.
The content consisted of words: I believe Ashfall.
As the second player to kill a Lord Boss, HighlyCultured possessed a certain level of popularity among players.
However, because of that same popularity, his own comment section had already become a battlefield as well.
HighlyCultured honestly didn’t want to speak up at all.
The main reason he did so was because he knew that within a few days, reality itself would prove who was right and who was wrong.
However, Ashfall’s [Harbinger of Endless Misfortune] was an indiscriminate ability.
Recently, he had been farming extremely important materials.
Under those circumstances, he absolutely did not want bad luck attaching itself to him.
Because of that, he would rather shoulder a little goodwill from Ashfall instead.
At the very least, when it came to the effects of Harbinger of Endless Misfortune, assuming the target possessed emotional preferences, the people who disliked the user the most would almost certainly be the first to suffer.
Back in his previous life, people had constantly speculated that Ashfall’s talent wasn’t purely passive and could also be actively controlled.
Otherwise, it was impossible to explain why his territory had contained so many living creatures.
After all, it couldn’t possibly be that every single one of them simply possessed incredibly powerful destinies.
Some people even suspected that the effect of [Harbinger of Endless Misfortune], which harmed others while benefiting its owner, could actually be "contagious."
In other words, Ashfall might not only be capable of bringing disaster to others.
He might also be capable of granting blessings.
However, despite those theories, nobody had ever tried to verify them.
Very few people were willing to become involved with causal weapons of that nature unless they possessed absolute confidence in the strength of their own fate.
HighlyCultured had only reborn.
His birth date and time had not changed.
Because of that, he certainly didn’t believe
that his destiny had suddenly become especially powerful.
At the very least, the great figures of the previous timeline were still great figures in this one.
Meanwhile, he was merely doing everything he could to squeeze his way into their ranks and become one of them.
Seeing this, Joo Joowon couldn’t help feeling surprised.
They had only spoken a handful of times, hadn’t they?
Why was this person’s attitude so good?
Was he trying to help him during difficult times in order to build a relationship?
There hadn’t been any signs of that before.
Unable to understand the reasoning behind it, Joo Joowon eventually decided not to think about it anymore.
Even if the other party had some hidden purpose, it didn’t really matter.
After all, someone approaching him with goodwill was still far preferable to someone approaching him with hostility.
[ @Ashfall ]: I don’t mind.
In his eyes, this wasn’t really any different from the internet before the apocalypse.
The internet was the internet.
Unplug the cable and suddenly none of it mattered anymore.
Joo Joowon firmly believed that if these people were standing in front of him in real life, then instead of condemning him, they would be far more likely to flatter him and act politely.
[ @HighlyCultured ]: That’s good then. If you ever get any information, we can exchange it. Maybe our knowledge will happen to complement each other?
Reading that message, Joo Joowon’s eyes narrowed slightly.
At that moment, he finally understood why HighlyCultured had chosen to stand on his side.
The reason was very simple.