/
Seo Jun-ho emerged from the Gate. He tilted his head. The caretaker, Jampa, was looking at him as if he were a ghost.
“Have you been well?”
“Huh? Ah, y-yes.” He responded belatedly and nodded eagerly. “I have been as well as always…” He shut his mouth, swallowing his question. He wanted to ask if Seo Jun-ho had really cleared the 10th floor—if it wasn’t some sort of mistake—but he didn’t think it appropriate to ask the traveler who’d suffered inside the Cave for an entire month.
Instead, he brought his hands together and congratulated him. “I hope you found what you sought in the Cave of Trials.”
“It was very generous.” He grinned and turned to the ranking list.
Seo Jun-ho – 10th level Specter – 9th level
To others, it was an incredible feat, but to him, it was more than that. He’d broken his own personal record.
“I will escort you to your room if you wish to rest.”
“Alright. But before that.” Seo Jun-ho looked at the subordinate standing behind Jampa. “Can I buy those sunglasses on your shirt?”
“Huh? This? If you need it, you can just have it. It’s really cheap…”
“Doesn’t matter.” Seo Jun-ho received the sunglasses and gave a satisfied look. “I’ll need them soon, you see.”
* * *
A massive amount of reporters and cameramen were waiting in front of Incheon Airport’s gate.
“Is this the correct gate?”
“Yeah, I’m sure of it.”
They were all crowded behind the gate to catch a glimpse of Seo Jun-ho.
“People really are unpredictable.”
“Yeah. A month ago, he was only a world-famous rookie…”
“That’s incredible in itself, but he’s on a completely different level now.”
‘Only’ a world-famous rookie. He was one of many who seemed to have a bright future ahead of him. But after this incident, the whole world was watching him.
“This is the first time Specter’s record has been broken, right?”
“Yeah. Not only that, but the record stood for thirty years before Seo Jun-ho broke it.”
“None of Specter’s other records have been broken yet?”
This was the first time the legendary player’s official record was broken.
“Most of the players on the 2nd floor have higher levels and higher stats than Specter… But that doesn’t mean they can break his records.”
Anyone could reach a high level as long as they had time and some amount of talent, so the Cave of Trials’ ranking list served as a symbol of Specter’s power. It had been his first official record; no one had broken it in the 25 years after he ‘died’.
“Damn, who knew that it would be another Korean.”
“I swear, it’s a conspiracy or something.”
“When Specter returns, I want to ask him what he thinks about this.”
“Ooh, that would be fun.”
A legend of the past vs a new star. This kind of topic was always popular with the masses.
“Hey, he’s coming!”
“Take a picture!”
The reporters started to scramble. Seo Jun-ho emerged from the gate, escorted by Association employees.
Click! Click!
With his shabby sunglasses, Seo Jun-ho scanned the gate and smiled.
Man, this reminds me of the old days. Wherever he went, he’d be greeted by fans, cameras, and reporters. Most players got tired of all the attention, but that wasn’t the case for him.
“Hm, there’s less than I expected…”
“Stop trying to act cool! We have to go!” Cha Si-eun said wearily, trying to guide him. The Association had sent a fair number of employees, but they weren’t nearly enough to handle the crowd.
I didn’t think that there would be so many people… What if something happens…? She felt dizzy thinking about all the things that could go wrong. Meanwhile, Seo Jun-ho himself looked relaxed. He didn’t look the least bit scared of the mob—he even waved to them from time to time.
“This way, please!”
“Let’s slow down a bit. You’re gonna hurt yourself if you trip.”
He was too relaxed.
Seo Jun-ho nodded to himself, feeling satisfied. Yes, this is the treatment I should be receiving.
He’d been too comfortable until now. Earning the title of a ‘Super Rookie’ was no easy feat, but it wasn’t enough to rile up the people like this. But once they heard that he’d beat Specter, everything had changed. Close to a thousand people were following him around in the airport. That means my name still holds that much weight.
I’m gonna live more freely this time. He didn’t need to become a symbol of hope and strength again. Thinking of that made him happy.
“Secretary Cha, they’ve waited so long to meet me. Can’t I just have a short autograph session?”
“Now’s not the time to be saying that!” She cried.
* * *
“Aww, my little lucky charm~”
As soon as he entered the office, Shim Deok-gu ran over to him with a creepy expression on his face.
“Fuck off before I hit you.”
“C-contractor. That human’s eyes are so disturbing.”
“I agree.”
Shim Deok-gu’s eyes were filled with affection, but he stopped in his tracks. “Geez, is it so weird that I want to hug my friend?”
“You’re acting super creepy. What happened?” Seo Jun-ho asked, taking a seat on the sofa.
“Hehe, you’ll understand why I’m acting like this when you see this.” Deok-gu tapped on his Vita. A list appeared before them, and Seo Jun-ho blinked.
“What is this?”
“A list of donations.” There were hundreds of pages of huge donations. “They’ve been trickling in for a few months, but they started flooding in two days ago.”
“Why?”
“Why do you think?”
Seo Jun-ho met his eyes and pointed at himself. “Because of me?”
“Of course. You’re the only reason they’ve been making these donations. They want to make a connection.”
“…But why? There are tons of good players on the 2nd floor.” He looked confused. Even if he broke Specter’s record, he was still a level 30 newbie.
“From their perspective, you’re a completely different commodity. The players on the 2nd floor have already gotten all their certificates and awards, and they can’t just wriggle in. You, on the other hand, are brand-new and unlisted.”
“…Am I a stock or something?”
“It’s just a metaphor. Anyways, if they make a connection to you now, they’ll be able to ask you for favors when you go even higher.”
“Ahh, so they’re trying to buy my favor,” he said flatly. Basically, they were saying something like, ‘I’ll give you a lot of money, so please remember me! Hehe.’
“Yes, exactly.”
“How much have you received in total?”
Shim Deok-gu shook his head. “I don’t even know the exact amount.”
“…Why not?”
“How would I? I get new donations every time I refresh the page.” He smiled happily and refreshed the window. “Let’s see, two seconds ago, it was 454,070,473 USD… Oh, the smaller numbers keep changing so I can’t count it.”
(TN: For easier reading, I’ll be converting currency directly.)
“Wow, a lot of people want to be my friend.”
“Of course. If you start using social media, you’ll probably get 5 million followers in a day. Do you want to try YouTube? ‘Seo Jun-ho’s Survival Guide’ or something.”
“Nah, it’s too much work.” Seo Jun-ho shrugged and laid down on the sofa. He looked at the Frost Queen.
“…Why do you have such a pathetic expression?”
“Don’t you see? I’m too important.”
“Hah? Listen closely. I am the monarch…”
“So what’re you gonna do with the money?” Seo Jun-ho asked, ignoring the Frost Queen’s ramblings.
“I don’t know. Do you remember the stipulations of the contract?”
“Yeah. All donations are gonna be split 7 to 3.”
“Yeah, 70% of all this is yours. Of course, the taxes will be high.”
“What a waste…” Seo Jun-ho sighed. “I used to be exempt from taxes.”
In the past, the government had exempted him from taxes, begging him not to go to another country. Of course, that wasn’t the case anymore.
“Hm…” Seo Jun-ho thought for a second, then pointed his finger. “I got it. I’ll invest the money into the Association.”
“…What are you saying?” Shim Deok-gu tilted his head.
“I said I’ll invest it into the Association. Recruit some people with the money.”
“What people? Employees?”
“No, players. Players who can work on the 2nd floor. Make them your agents.”
“Hey, do you know how expensive they are? It would be better to train players on the 1st floor…”
“Until when? If you keep this up, the Big 6 and the other guilds are gonna control the 2nd floor forever.”
“……” Shim Deok-gu had nothing to say. He scratched his head. “But do you think that can really change with just one Association…?”
“Of course. You’d be stupid not to try, at least.” Seo Jun-ho’s voice was full of confidence. “After all, the Korean Player Association has two things no other country has.”
“Two…? I know one of them is you, but what’s the other one?”
Seo Jun-ho grinned. “What do you think? It’s Specter.”
“……?” Shim Deok-gu’s eyes widened. His face became serious. “You want Specter to enter the Association?”
“No. It’ll just be a simple working relationship. But that in itself will be enough.”
“Of course… It’s more than just ‘enough’.” Specter was practically a religious figure. The reason that the people were still living was because of him and the rest of the Five Heroes.
“We’ve gotten hundreds of millions in donations with just your name.”
Then how much would they earn with Specter? And what if they could use the money to expand the Association to the 2nd floor?
“For now, keep ‘em coming.” Seo Jun-ho crossed his legs and laughed. “The donations, I mean.”