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Chapter 200
“Let’s make a trade.”
CEO Song responded like he had already predicted I would propose a trade and was waiting for me to say the words. “What kind of trade, exactly? What I want from you is already clear. What do you want from me?”
“I believe you already know what that is.”
We may have not said it aloud, but we both knew very well what we wanted from one another. CEO Song nodded.
“You’re getting Sungshin’s support from Taeguk Shield anyway, so I won’t bother rehashing that.”
So basically, ‘Sungshin’s support’ was a given. Both CEO Song and I were well aware of that.
“In which case, is it my power as the Golden Sovereign after all?”
“Yes.”
Song Junghye as she was now could not possibly become the Blood and Iron Queen. That was only possible if she herself gained a tremendous enlightenment or received outside help.
‘By my assessment… it’s impossible for her to grow by her own will.’
Her vessel was too small. It was absolutely not a body that could become the Blood and Iron Queen.
That left one possibility: she had outside help, be it from the explorer Jackson or her grandfather Song Kiyoung.
“If you use that power on me, I will assist Taeguk Shield with all my heart and find the Predator Seeds.”
“But using this ability requires an astronomical fortune.”
“I will handle the cost.”
“You will? Without even knowing how much it is?”
“I can guess that it is an amount I can handle.”
If not now, then in the near future. I thought it was well within my capability. Why? Because the ‘Gardens by the Bay Dungeon’ that would appear in Singapore in the near future would welcome me with open arms.
“That’s some impressive ambition you have there. I’m sure you’re aware that if I’m calling it astronomical, it really is an enormous sum.”
“I think it will require a fortune of multi-millions, at the very least.”
“You wish to use my ability even knowing that?”
I asked back, “If I can earn twenty million by investing ten million, isn’t it an obvious thing to do?”
“Haha,” laughed CEO Song as he gazed at me with a half-surprised, half-satisfied look. “A man has to wonder just where a monster like you popped out of.”
I heard a notice.
[The ‘Merchant of Venice’ is satisfied with the trade between the two parties.]
As I thought.
‘My prediction was correct.’
I had met CEO Song three times. During the second meeting, the Merchant of Venice was watching me.
‘CEO Song must have caught his eye back then.’
There was a very high possibility that the Merchant of Venice liked CEO Song as well. That was why I didn’t try to create a situation favorable only for me—I still didn’t know who the Merchant of Venice liked and treasured more between Song Kiyoung and me.
‘Let’s start with this, for now.’
We had to write out the terms of our trade in black and white. The conditions we were both satisfied with were on the table. When those conditions were fulfilled, who would hold the initiative?
‘That would be me.’
“If I am able to save your life, CEO Song,” I began, “I trust that you will be generous with your compensation.”
If he managed a full recovery thanks to my help, that would change things. I would become CEO Song’s ‘life savior’, so to speak.
“The price of my life, huh.”
“I’m sure it’s more valuable than money.”
“Shameless, aren’t you?”
“This isn’t shamelessness, but a matter of fact.”
CEO Song laughed with mirth.
[The ‘Merchant of Venice’ is very pleased by your mutually beneficial and cooperative relationship.]
[The ‘Merchant of Venice’ sends you a 300 Coin sponsorship.]
I made one last demand.
“Please find someone for me.”
With Sungshin’s abilities, finding a person or two was no problem.
“He is an Italian Player in his mid-20s. It is presumed that he is a sovereign class, non-combat Player, and his name is Salvatore. That may also be an alias.”
* * *
Reaper Scans
Translator - Lei
Proofreader - Ash
* * *
Yeonseo’s cheeks were slightly flushed.
“Cheers!”
She hadn’t even drunk much. Her cheeks turned that red after two sips of beer.
“Our boss is finally back.”
The full cast of Giantgod Guild was gathered in a fried chicken restaurant in downtown Seoul. That being said, the full cast was just a few people.
“Fuck! Hyukjin! I missed you! Playing without you was like dog shit!”
Sung-gu came at me with an embrace, which I nimbly evaded.
Crash!
He tumbled pathetically onto the ground, but I didn’t give a damn.
“This isn’t even pain. Dude, my head was almost blown apart by a Troll Soldier in the Gran Seoul Dungeon. The tank was a class-A moron.”
He dusted himself off and got up, then tried to accost me again, but Sunhwa stepped in the middle.
“I won’t allow you to get any closer to my oppa.”
“Fudge. Sunhwa. At least if you were there, I’d have been fine.”
Sung-gu held back from hugging Sunhwa.
‘If he had…’
The ‘Beat ‘em, Beat ‘em, Beat ‘em More’ ability of the transcendent item Isabel slumbering in my Inventory may have seen the light of day.
“In any case, good work, everyone. You guys went to clear the Gyeonghoeru now and then, yes?”
I could tell from their levels that everyone had worked hard. Most of them had reached level 39 all of a sudden. This speed was really fast for the Hell Phase.
Only Jo Sunghyun’s level was a bit low. He was level 37. It was only a 2 level difference, but in this period where leveling was so hard, a 2 level difference was huge.
“I heard you didn’t participate a few times because you had something to do, Sunghyun?”
“Yes. There were some things I had to take care of.”
Whatever he went to do must have been very important. This was a kid who disliked falling behind more than anyone. Everyone who had what it took to become a Ranker was fundamentally like that.
“What happened?”
“There’s someone I’ve been Playing with recently.”
“Who?”
“You probably won’t know her. Her name is Hyun Junghwa, an archer. She’s not famous, and her level isn’t that high.”
Hyun Junghwa. Archer.
‘I know her all too well, Sunghyun.’
For now, I listened to what he had to say.
“And?”
“She happens to be doing a scenario related to the Wind Temple right now.”
“Really?”
Ara. Hyun Junghwa was doing a scenario related to the Wind Temple at this point in time? It could be that she had a ‘Sylphid’s Wing’ and had found a secret related to the bow, as I surmised.
“Tell me when you guys are further along. I’m interested in the Wind Temple, too.”
“Hyung is, too?”
“Yeah. I have an item called Sylphid’s Wing, and it’s linked to the Wind Temple.”
“Understood. I’ll tell you when we get further.”
Yeonseo was still as flushed as ever. “Boss Hyukjin. Just when are you gonna have a date with me? You promised, didn’t you?”
“Did I?” What I promised was to have a cup of coffee with her. “I don’t remember that.”
“Hey, you scammer!”
And then, she brandished her sword. That was no ordinary sword. It was the transcendent item ‘Asura’.
“If you aren’t gonna have a date with me, then do a PVP with me.”
“How did you come to that conclusion?”
But thinking about it, a PVP was probably better than a date. After all, I didn’t feel attracted to Yeonseo. A PVP with her wasn’t actually a bad idea. She must have grown quite a lot as well, and there was much to gain from sparring with a PVP specialist of Yeonseo’s level.
“What’s it gonna be? A date?”
“No.”
“A PVP, then?”
“Yeah, let’s do a PVP.”
“Really?”
Yeonseo’s eyes grew wide. I had to admit, the way she blinked in surprise was pretty cute. Her face scrunched into a scowl.
“Aw man, I feel all weird.” She scratched her ear. “I feel bad, but also happy. What is this?”
She followed up with big gulps of beer. What she was feeling was simple. She felt bad because I was refusing to go on a date with her, because I didn’t think of her as a woman. But as a Player, she liked PVPing.
‘Seriously, these Rankers are one and the same.’
They were all humans crazy about Playing. Only people like this could become Rankers. I felt that truth down to my bones while Playing with them. Because I, myself, enjoyed Playing. I periodically found myself smiling without realizing it while Playing.
“Hyungnim. Let me pour you a drink!”
Yoohyun energetically lifted the three liter pitcher full of beer, only to crush the handle into pieces.
“Aw, man.” He hadn’t adjusted his strength well. “Why’d this thing go and break on me?”
It was probably because this was the transition period. Yoohyun still hadn’t fully adjusted to his own strength. No, it was more accurate to say the cups and items used in everyday life were far too weak in comparison to Yoohyun’s strength.
‘I remember him saying he struggled a lot with stuff like this in the beginning.’
He accidentally crushed car handles and bent spoons. He once said he struggled with minor inconveniences like that in his early days.
“Oppa. Are we going to Play with you now?”
Sunhwa sat down next to me.
Summary: Excited Brocon
Just when was this kid’s weird summary going to change? Was it going to take a few years still?
“Yeah. You and I are going to Italy.”
“Italy?” The mention of Italy seemed to remind her of something. She pulled out her phone, turning the screen towards me. “Oppa. This is you, right?”
A Youtube video was playing on the phone, showing the scene where I toppled Beratto’s gate authority and beat him black and blue with Isabel.
“Yeah, that’s me.”
“It was uploaded with the title, ‘The dignity of a Korean archer’. The comments say you use the sword, but your true class is definitely archer.”
“...Where did you find a video like this?”
“Huh? It just appeared with some diligent browsing.”
Diligent browsing wasn’t enough to find a video like this. Wasn’t this more on the level of obsessed browsing?
I had no idea what kinds of videos were taken of me in Italy, and there weren’t that many ‘Play videos’ on Youtube yet. It wasn’t like I did anything super flashy, either. It wasn’t even a video taken in Korea, but in Italy. Just how hardcore had she searched in order to find me in a video so obscure? It made me a little fearful of Sunhwa’s radiant smile.
‘There are more than a few views.’
There were about 100,000 views. A middling view count that was neither super high nor super low.
Sunhwa smiled wide. “As expected of Oppa, you’re good at everything. Since when did you get so good at the bow?”
“I just learned it on the side. By watching how others do it.”
“Hihihi.”
For whatever reason, that seemed to make Sunhwa really happy. She ripped into her drumstick.
Anyway, we concluded our “reunion”.
“Sunhwa. And Sung-gu. The three of us will be going to Italy.”
“Hyungnim! What should your right arm, me, do?!”
“Level up. You can stop with the Gran Seoul Dungeon now. Clear the Gyeonghoeru. Just grind.”
Sunghyun would be playing with Hyun Junghwa.
“Boss Hyukjin! What about me? When are we gonna PVP?”
“You level with Yoohyun. I’ll PVP you later.”
“Hng. I wanna go with the Boss, too.”
“I’ll PVP you as soon as we’re back.”
“You mean it, right?” The promise of PVP made a smile bloom on Yeonseo’s face. “You’re really gonna PVP me? Really? Yippee! Prepare yourself. I’ll be honing my blade.”
You’d think I was giving her a million dollars or something, she was so happy. Only Sung-gu looked like he was going to cry.
“Fuck. You’re gonna make me do something dangerous again, right?” Without even getting an answer, he shook his head. “No, it’s still better to go into a ruthlessly hard hell gate with you than to Play with idiot tanks.”
“...”
He was very good at rambling on his own. “I hath received a great enlightenment!”
One day passed. Sunhwa, Sung-gu, and I ported to Italy. We left Italy’s Tutorial Building. First, we would go to Pompeii, where Salvatore first cleared a Predator Tree Colony in the past.
But as we left the building, someone approached me… almost as if they had been waiting for me.
“Are you Kim Hyukjin?”
I stared at him. As soon as I saw his face, I knew who he was. The famed information merchant of Italy, a merchant class Player bearing the moniker ‘Info Peddler’. He had an item very rare for this time period, a Translation Marble.
‘The Player most cherished by the Merchant of Venice.’
It was Pietro, the merchant Ranker contracted to the Merchant of Venice.
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