"Well… We don't have the type of relationship to greet each other with a “long time no see”, Right?" KangWoo asked her calmly.
Just like he’d said, they didn't know each other at all.
KangWoo kept talking while looking at the girl that had short, red hair.
"So, what do you need from me?"
"Chae YeonJoo…"
The girl with short, red hair turned to KangWoo and walked toward him.
"My name is Chae YeonJoo."
"Chae YeonJoo?"
He thought that he had heard that name somewhere.
KangWoo tried to remember where he had heard it.
'Ah, she's one of the people they were talking about in the waiting room.'
He remembered hearing about a player who had gotten an S-rank attribute since the first awakening.
'I remember hearing she's the master of one of the top five guilds of the country.'
The Five Guilds…
It was what they called the biggest guilds of Korea.
Hanul, Red Rose, Onnuri, Mir, and Sanarae.
He remembered reading her name among the list of the leaders of those guilds.
"Red Rose...?"
"Yes, I'm the master of the Red Rose Guild."
"…"
The master of one of the top five guilds…
She was one of the strongest players in Korea.
The player he had met just by chance in the internet cafe was one of the top players in Korea…
'No wonder she's so strong.'
She was so strong that she made KangWoo doubt his abilities.
It was normal for him to think that. Since, on that day at the internet cafe, he had just completed the third awakening and had gone through the ceremony. Thanks to both of those things, he obtained strength two steps ahead of the rest.
'Is this how I'd feel if the fat old man from next door was, in reality, the CEO of a huge corporation?'
He wasn't sure if the comparison made sense, but it felt similar.
KangWoo looked at Chae YeonJu with slightly wary eyes.
Her clothes were completely different from the ones she was wearing that day—she was wearing hot pants and a tight t-shirt.
Although she was wearing comfortable clothes, thanks to her beauty, her attractiveness couldn't be compared to before.
'She took her time to get ready.'
Based on her clothes, it may not have looked like it, but considering that she had also applied some makeup, she had definitely taken time to get ready.
Basically, she hadn't approached him with any ill intentions.
'She wouldn't have taken the time to apply makeup if she came here searching for problems.'
After he finished checking out Chae YeonJu, he calmly spoke.
"So, what does the Red Rose Guild’s master want with me?"
"To be honest, I've been searching for information about you."
After saying that, she took out a piece of paper.
"Name: Oh KangWoo. Born in 1995, 29 years old. You grew up in the CheongSeong orphanage, but since no one adopted you, you were forced to leave and live alone. Am I right?"
"I don't know why you searched for information, but yes. What you said is correct."
"You registered as a player on May 23rd. That means… It's been two weeks."
"…"
With his mouth closed, KangWoo waited for her next words.
"At the player management office, according to the test, you got an F-rank attribute after the first awakening. Well, they probably got the results wrong. If you really had awakened an F-rank attribute, you wouldn't be farming a C-rank gate after two weeks."
"Hmm."
KangWoo nodded as if asking her to continue.
"To be honest, at first I thought you were a criminal who had bought the identity of Oh KangWoo from a broker," Chae YeonJoo said calmly.
"But your face, fingerprints, everything matched your previous records."
"How did you get my fingerprints?"
"From your registry files."
"It seems like big guilds have more authority than I thought..."
A piece of information the government should protect had entered their hands too easily.
"Well, it did cost us a lot of money. Those congressmen were acting and were playing hard to get."
Chae YeonJoo shrugged her shoulders and then kept talking.
"First, I ensured that you hadn't taken another person's identity. Then that means…"
She looked at KangWoo intensely.
"You're a player with incredible talent. Maybe even more than Baek KangHyun or me."
"Thank you for your high consideration."
KangWoo smirked and continued talking.
* * *
"So, what is it that you want?"
He asked, relaxed.
'Well, although I more or less know what she wants to say…'
As for why someone as important as Chae YeonJoo had come to see him personally…
There was no need to think about it too deeply.
On the current Earth, strength and talent are incredibly valuable—that's why someone like him had an overwhelming value.
He had no intentions of hiding that or not using it.
'I was also thinking about trying to make a connection with a big guild, so this was just in time.'
He had no intentions of joining a guild, but he wanted to have a good relationship with one.
"As the master of Red Rose, I want to sponsor you."
"What…?"
KangWoo hugged his body and looked at her with wary eyes.
"Were you after my body?"
"…"
There was a heavy silence between the two.
Chae YeonJoo looked at him as if she was looking at some trash.
'You shouldn't look at people with those kinds of eyes.'
KangWoo couldn't believe he was receiving such a scornful gaze for making a joke.
"That's unexpected."
"What did you think that I was going to say?"
"I thought you were going to ask me to join the Red Rose Guild."
"Hngh."
Chae YeonJoo snorted after hearing KangWoo's answer.
"There's no way someone hiding his attribute's ranking would join a guild. If you wanted to join one, you wouldn't have hidden your strength from the beginning."
"Hmm…"
KangWoo put out a troubled expression at her words.
'It's not like I've hidden it on purpose.'
He had gotten an F-rank because the testing device couldn't judge his Authority of Predation correctly.
'Well, it's more comfortable for me for her to think that.'
He did not intend to join a guild, so he did not need to clarify the misunderstanding.
"So, how are you going to sponsor me?"
"To simplify the explanation, we'll support you so you can grow faster than you are now."
"What are you going to ask in return? Maybe to help you with that video game?"
"You son of a b…! Ah. Oof. Oof."
Chae YeonJoo put her hand on her chest and tried to calm down.
"Hahaha, I'm just kidding. I've never played games, so I wasn't sure about what I had to do."
"Oof. I failed to ascend to the silver tier because of you…"
"Hmm? Does that mean you're bronze? Hmm. I'm not sure why, but that seems to be the lowest tier…"
"N-no! My skills are beyond the bronze tier! It's just that I have bad luck in regards to teammates!"
KangWoo laughed at Chae YeonJoo's reaction.
She was one of the strongest players in Korea. Not only that, but she was the master of one of the biggest guilds in the country. Her getting angry because of her game made her feel a bit more friendly.
"Well, leaving jokes aside… Why do you want to support me?"
"Because you're going to become stronger."
"You probably know it since you've searched for information on me, but I'm just a newbie who became a player two weeks ago."
"And in those two weeks, you became strong enough to solo hunt in a C-rank Gate. I know that you're going to become stronger… Way stronger than now."
"…"
KangWoo looked at her with great interest.
'She isn't the master of a big guild for nothing.'
He didn't think lowly of himself.
…But she probably didn't know that he was the demon king who had returned after ten thousand years or that he had an abnormal power called Authority of Predation.
For her to say that without not knowing those details probably meant she was really sure about his talent.
"Can you give me more details on how you will support me?"
"First, you'll be able to access any gate up to A-rank freely. Then, if you need a party, we'll pick players from our guild and support you. Also, if you sell the mana stones through us, we can reduce the tax money the government takes from the sale."
"Oh."
"We're also going to give you equipment. Although you need a security deposit for unique items, you can freely take those with a lower ranking than that. If you need, we'll also get you a house and a car."
'Why is the treatment so good?'
The treatment was so good that one could think she was asking him to officially join the Red Rose Guild.
No, receiving that kind of treatment was probably even impossible for guild members.
"What are you thinking…?"
"It's an investment for the future."
"Even so, I think that the conditions are too good."
It wasn't like he was being asked to join the Red Rose Guild.
If KangWoo received the benefits and acted as if the deal had never taken place, they wouldn't be able to do or say anything.
'And also…'
From the point of view of the guild, for their master to go and make a proposal like that was probably humiliating.
It wasn't just a matter of pride—it could harm the image of the guild.
'Did something happen to her?'
He thought the conditions were too good, even considering that he was a talented player.
Of course, it would be understandable if she knew about his real strength—then she'd probably do everything possible to maintain a good relationship with him, but right now, that wasn't the case.
"Later on… I'm going to ask you to do something. I hope you accept it once the time comes."
It seemed like all that treatment was because of that request.
"So can you tell me more details?"
Chae YeonJoo smiled bitterly at KangWoo's question.
“…"
It was such a sad smile that it was hard to believe it was the same person who had just gotten angry because of a game.
KangWoo remained silent after seeing her sad smile.
He felt that he was seeing her real face for the first time.
Chae YaenJoo erased that sad expression from her face and spoke.
"I can't tell you right now."
"Hmm."
KangWoo slowly nodded.
He still hadn't accepted her proposal.
If that request was so important to her, it was understandable that she hadn't told him the details about it.
'If it's something ridiculous, I can always refuse it later.'
It wasn't like he was signing a contract where he was promising to fulfill that request.
Later on, once he heard the details of the request, he would accept it if it was something he could do, but if it was something ridiculous, he could refuse it and cut the relationship with the Red Rose Guild.
He didn't need to think about it for long.
It was the perfect chance to create a connection with a big guild and receive a wide variety of support.
KangWoo wasn't stupid enough to let such an opportunity go.
"I accept."
