Chapter 152
-Why hasn’t Jihan been streaming lately?
-Yeah, he stopped right after Sophia arrived… it’s making me anxious ㅠㅠ
– He’s not really going to the US, is he?
It had been three days since Sophia arrived in Korea, and Seong Jihan’s channel hadn’t hosted a single stream during that time. Meanwhile, the media was abuzz with stories about Seong Jihan’s offer from the US, and interviews with American First Guild representatives kept appearing.
-He can play in any position, and the value of Seong Jihan, who dominates the game by himself, is absolute. The more we analyze the data from the China match, the more it becomes clear that he’s a player who’s already on a sure shot road to the top of the world.
-What’s even more amazing is that he’s only in Gold. There’s still so much room for growth! Please, come to the US. We don’t want to face you as rivals in the Champions League!
-Why is everyone going crazy because Jihan isn’t going!!!!
-Isn’t it already a confirmed fact? I heard they even offered him a 10 percent stake in the guild.
-They’re offering him a stake too? 10 percent?? Isn’t that insane?
-Yeah, at this point, he must have already left, right? Damn, lol.
As the rumor spread that Seong Jihan had been offered a 10 percent stake in American First, people’s anxiety grew. Meanwhile…
“Ugh, I almost lost my 1st place today because of donation messages.”
Chi-yi-yi-yik-
Yoon Seah, who had just left the BattleNet connector room, shook her head excitedly.
“Why?”
“They kept asking me if uncle is really going or not, sending donations and all. I said I don’t know, but they were so persistent…”
“Your sister Gayeong going through the same thing? She’s in the same guild, so they think she might know something. But Jihan… how long is he going to stay offline?”
Yoon Seah had a rough idea of Seong Jihan’s plans. She thought he was just putting on a show by not logging in while conducting transfer negotiations. But…
“Me? I don’t need to. I reached level 100 already.” Jihan said nonchalantly
“What? Already?”
“Yeah, the Chinese guys helped me level up a lot.”
To be precise, it was the influence of the five matches against China. Since all his opponents were in the Diamond tier, with some of them being national level-tier, his level increased more than it did during the Russian match. He kept playing BattleNet to make up for the level difference. As a result, he achieved level 100 sooner than expected.
“What about you, Seah?”
“I’m at level 47.”
“You could get into the promotion match this month.”
“Yeah, ever since I became a Void Archer, I’ve been consistently in the top spot.”
Seong Jihan recalled Yoon Seah’s transition to a Void Archer. Handling the Void’s power was the specialty of a Void Archer. After her transition, she had gained a single skill, “Void Arrow,” but that one skill was an incredible game-changer.
“Void Arrow, could you use it on me one more time?”
“Uncle, I’ve also grown. It could be dangerous.”
Seeing her level 47 determination, Seong Jihan chuckled.
“I hope it’s dangerous.”
“Eek. It is… Alright, I’ll shoot, okay?”
Yoon Seah immediately took out her bow from her inventory and, without loading an arrow, pointed the bow at Seong Jihan.
“Void Arrow.”
Swoosh!
For a moment, a purple light flickered at the bow. Yoon Seah pulled the bowstring all the way back.
Ping!
To an outside observer, it looked like she was just testing her bow. Seong Jihan, the target, smiled faintly.
“She’s made more progress.”
Shoo!
In front of Seong Jihan’s chest, a purple cluster of light appeared. Void Arrow had the unique property of being invisible until it materialized and flew, but when Seong Jihan used his power, it fizzled out helplessly.
Watching the disappearing purple cluster, Yoon Seah nodded approvingly.
“Uncle, I really can’t break through your aura, can I?”
“Can’t you just make it appear inside the opponent’s body? If the Void Arrow shows up inside someone’s body, it’s instant death, isn’t it?”
“Of course, I’ve tried it, but it didn’t work that way. It’s a concept of shooting arrows across the inner world, so I couldn’t insert it into the body.”
“Can it penetrate protective barriers?”
“Yes, if there’s something like a Stone Skin that enhances the skin or armor, it can block it. Still, even if it explodes nearby, it has a good effect because it applies the Debuff of Void Erosion.”
The Void Arrow, which allows Yoon Seah to shoot arrows through the inner world, closing the distance to opponents without interference. Since acquiring this skill, Yoon Seah hadn’t missed first place in any game. With her innate stats being excellent due to her waiting stance and the skill’s simple yet incredibly powerful effects, it was impossible for Silver-tier opponents at her level to withstand her.
“Hmm, no issues with your body?”
“No, not really.”
“That’s a relief.”
“But Uncle, you reached level 100, why haven’t you evolved your class?”
“I postponed it.”
“Come on, where can you find a third-rate warrior who can take on China alone?”
With reaching level 100, it was time for the second class evolution. He had delayed it just in case, but Seah’s suggestion made it seem like evolving the class was the better choice.
When Seong Jihan opened his status window and touched the class, four second-class evolution classes were displayed.
[Warlord]
[Mute/Voiceless]
[Seed of the Nameless God]
[Wandering Warrior]
“Warlord and Mute are third-class jobs, and they’re available now. In my past life, I chose Mute during the third-class job selection. Seong Jihan passed on the first two classes and looked at the last two classes.
[Class – Seed of the Nameless God]
-The sixth disciple of the Nameless God, a wandering deity.
-In exchange for returning the ability of the star’s to its original owner, you receive eternal life as a servant of the Nameless God.
-A class specially unlocked by the Great Eastern Chaos, only available during the second-class evolution.
“DongBangsak, he’s involved in class evolution as well…,” Seong Jihan muttered with a frozen expression. He knew he wasn’t a simple person, but he didn’t know they could offer such special classes.
Seong Jihan couldn’t help but feel like it was almost a power akin to the papacy. ‘Let’s discard this.’ Seong Jihan rejected Dong Bang-sak’s offer and looked at the fourth class, Wandering Warrior.
[Class – Wandering Warrior]
-A demoted Wandering Warrior from a Third-Rate Warrior.
-This martial artist doesn’t grow at all, believing there are no limits to martial arts.
-Instead of training the body, they are busy reciting the Dao of Heaven and Earth. Occasionally, such meditations touch the pulse of martial arts.
*Evolution Bonuses:
-Strength, Agility, and Stamina growth rate -10%.
-10% increase in experience points.
-Increased chance of inspiration during martial arts research.
‘A Wandering Warrior…’.
The evolution bonuses were so bad that it couldn’t even be considered a second-class evolution. Especially when compared to the Seed of the nameless god, which guarantees eternal life, even though it is becoming a servant of the Nameless God.
However, ‘Increased chance of inspiration’ caught Seong Jihan’s attention. In his current situation where he needed to modify martial arts to raise his Incorporeal, a -10% growth rate in strength, agility, and stamina was not much of a penalty. If there was a way to improve martial arts further, this class was the best option.
Seong Jihan chose to evolve into a Wandering Warrior.
[Class ‘Third-Rate Warrior’ has evolved into ‘Wandering Warrior.’]
[With the effect of the Orb of All, class efficiency increases fourfold.]
[Class – Wandering Warrior +3]
-A demoted Wandering Warrior from a Third-Rate Warrior.
*Evolution Bonuses:
-Strength, Agility, and Stamina growth rate 40%.
-40% increase in experience points.
-Increased chance of inspiration during martial arts research.
-Additional increase in the chance of inspiration for SS-grade or higher skills.
With the addition of the Orb of All’s effect, the negative growth rate increased fourfold, but it also included an additional increase in the chance of inspiration for SS-grade or higher skills. ‘Strength, Agility, and Stamina aren’t in the stat window anyway, so it doesn’t matter.’ Seong Jihan thought it was a worthwhile class evolution and smiled.
Seeing his uncle’s expression, Yoon Seah asked, “What class did you change to that’s making you smile so much?”
“Wandering Warrior.”
“…Huh? Third-rate? They give you that choice for the second evolution?”
“Yeah, isn’t it good?” Yoon Seah had a strange expression on her face. ‘It’s probably because Uncle has his reasons for what he’s doing….’ But even so, a third-rate warrior?
Buzzzzz!
Just then, Seong Jihan’s phone vibrated.
[Boss, the government’s negotiation team that received the full authority has arrived. I will handle the basic negotiations as you instructed.]
It was a message from Guild Master Lee Hayeon.
“The government officials have arrived. The guild will be going down, do you want to come too?”
“Sure. Sophia is playing games there, right?”
In the waiting room inside the guild, where the Battlenet connector was located, Sophia pretended to negotiate while staying a few more days in Korea and connecting to Battlenet. As a result, Korean fans were worried about Sophia’s movements, showering her with supportive donations during her broadcasts and asking about the negotiation process.
“Um… Uncle, Sophia keeps telling me to expect good news. Are we going to the United States?”
“No. I just told her to make a good impression during the negotiations.”
Seong Jihan checked Sophia’s broadcast, where she was talking meaningfully.
“Korean folks! Regardless of what happens later, please continue to support Jihan, as always!”
With Sophia repeatedly speaking in a suggestive manner, she was fully complying with Seong Jihan’s request.
“Uh… Should I tell her to tone it down a bit?”
“It’s okay. Once we talk with the negotiation team, it’ll be over.”
In fact, with Sophia talking like that, it’s probably why the government’s negotiation team came quickly. Seong Jihan chuckled and walked towards the elevator.
* * *
“…Are you really okay with this?”
“Yes. Boss advised me not to be too greedy.”
The government’s negotiating team representative, trying to hold Seong Jihan back, blinked.
‘…This is really not much, is it?’
Seong Jihan’s demands were not very substantial. He asked for the return of the Sword Palace to Yoon Seah and a reasonable adjustment of the tax rate that Daegi guilds would pay to the government.
“We prepared it as a basic measure for tax exemptions…”
“I wish it were like that for me too, but boss insists on paying taxes.”
“Oh…”
‘Of course, we went in with tax exemptions as the baseline…’
At this level, the 1st phase negotiation proposal prepared by the government was worth much more. It included not only tax exemptions but also substantial government support for the Daegi guild. Additionally, various reward funds were set up for Seong Jihan personally.
Even so, it fell far short of the 10% American First Guild share.
The entire negotiation team, under the guidance of a seasoned coach, had even finished a severe tear-inducing performance the day before. It was a surprise that the offer from the other side was so unimpressive.
If this was the case, they should have come forward sooner.
“We are truly thankful, but… Are you really okay with these conditions?”
“Well, I’m also disappointed, but there’s no other choice. Boss is quite firm. However…”
“However…?”
“He has one more condition to present here.”
“W-What, please tell us!”
“Um… He said he’ll tell you directly. Ah, they’re here now.”
The door to the meeting room suddenly opened, and Seong Jihan and Yoon Seah entered the room.
“Hello.”
As Seong Jihan greeted the negotiating team, everyone in the room quickly stood up and bowed at a 90-degree angle.
‘Are we supposed to kneel now?’
‘Should we cry?’
‘No, wait a bit!’
While the negotiating team exchanged silent signals with their eyes, Seong Jihan, after discussing the return of Sword Palace, proceeded to state his true demands.
“I’ve heard that the top ten guilds in our country are receiving additional guild buffs from the government.”
“Yes… that’s correct.”
In response to Seong Jihan’s question, the head of the negotiating team nodded.
Additional guild buff effects supervised by the country. China had entrusted all of these to the People’s Association, and the United States had granted them to one major guild from each state. Additional buffs that could be adjusted based on the central government’s policies.
In South Korea, if a guild was part of the top ten, all of them had equally received additional guild buffs.
‘Could it be…?’
The head of the negotiating team felt a sense of unease when he heard Seong Jihan mention national buffs. Instead of asking for money, could he be…
And soon, that uneasy hunch turned into reality.
“Of the additional guild buffs, give us two… Specifically, focus on increasing the growth rate for expanding guild membership.”
