Chapter 100. Guild Buff (6)
“…the enrollment of 15 members has been completed.”
Despite his rugged, gangster-like appearance, the report was delivered neatly. Shimun nodded as he received the report from Park Jinwook.
“Good work. Was there anything unusual?”
“There was a significant protest from Continental… but as you instructed, we relayed the incident involving Kang Hwawi exactly as it happened. After that, the protest completely subsided.”
“Haha. That figures.”
From Kang Hwawi’s rudeness to his disgraceful behavior, and even his defeat. If the eyes witnessing these events were only located in Korea, they might have aggressively protested.
‘With so many eyes watching, how could they possibly argue?’
The American Dream from United States and Masamune from Japan. World-renowned guilds all observed the event. Even Continental, running parallel to the world’s two strongest, found itself in an inevitable position of weakness.
“Did the auction for Kang Hwawi’s position go smoothly?”
“Yes. There was a fierce battle with American Dream, but in the end, Continental secured it.”
Hearing this, Shimun went through the report and his eyes widened.
“This is… the price?”
“Yes. It was won by Continental for a total of 4.3 trillion won.”
Shimun chuckled.
‘A deal that should have ended with 400-500 billion ended up costing 4.3 trillion.’
Originally, Shimun had given Continental two guild slots. Hence, even a high estimate should have been under 1 trillion won.
Yet, a single mistake by Kang Hwawi led to a staggering loss of 4.3 trillion won.
Moreover, “It might not be my place to say, as I’m just renting it out, but isn’t 4.3 trillion won too much for a monthly buff for a mere prospect, not even a ranker?”
Not rankers, but having to fork out this amount monthly. Any amount would be a significant burden for Continental, despite their wealth. Park Jinwook nodded in agreement and responded, “Indeed. In fact, after the auction, Continental’s Vice Guild Master personally contacted me. He asked if we could negotiate the entrance fee when renewing the contract period in the future.”
The corners of Shimun’s mouth curved up, not because of Continental’s low stance.
‘The Vice Guild Master contacted…’
Before returning to the penthouse. This was because of the conversation he had with Seo Wiryong.
‘It appears that the administrative part of Continental has fully transferred to Zhang Liqiu, just as Seo Wiryong said.’
It was a natural progression. Following Continental tradition, the Guild Master’s constellation was lost in a duel, meaning the guild’s overall authority had to change hands.
However, ‘If the dethroned Guild Master’s faction gains power again, the story changes.’
Even if removed from the Guild Master position, their base doesn’t disappear overnight. Recalling the proposal he made to Seo Wiryong, Shimun said, “Jinwook, when the time comes to renew the contract with Continental in a month, please take your time.”
“Do you mean to suggest you will adjust the entrance fee for Continental?”
Park Jinwook’s expression filled with doubt.
“Shimun-ssi. Although Continental is one of the world’s two strongest, this issue was their fault, wasn’t it? They will firmly continue to pay the monthly 4.3 trillion won. They would think that it is better than giving the TO to American Dream.”
As Park Jinwook said, with the justification on their side, there was no need to negotiate the entry fee. Given that it was better than the overspending to keep the TO from a rival like American Dream.
However, “No, please negotiate.”
Shimun lightly shook his head, causing one of Park Jinwook’s eyebrows to slightly raise.
“Shimun-ssi usually does not speak without reason… Do you have something in mind?”
“Indeed, Jinwook-ssi. You cannot be fooled easily. That’s right.”
Putting down the report, Shimun continued, “If we take our time, someone from Continental will come to us. You can negotiate with that person when the time comes.”
As Shimun finished speaking, bak Jinwook’s eyes quickly moved.
Then, “Don’t tell me that someone would be Seo Wiryong?”
Park Jinwook pinpointed the answer, and Shimun simply smiled lightly.
“Aah! Now I finally see the picture Shimun-ssi is drawing.”
Kang Hwawi and Seo Wiryong. Park Jinwook was well aware of their interrelation within the Continental.
“You plan to incite division within the Continental, to ensure that Spear King’s side cannot easily seize power.”
“I have nothing to say but ‘as expected’. You are correct,” Kim Shimun said with a guffaw.
“After the duel ended, we had a chat. That Seo Wiryong, he’s a better man than I thought.”
“Of course. Seo Wiryong is aligned with the guild master, and the current guild master of the Continental is quite the moderate, isn’t he?”
“Exactly. Supporting him would benefit us in many ways. While we’re at it, it also keeps Spear King in check.”
Though checking Spear King, Zhang Liqiu, was the primary goal. Park Jinwook seemed to have other thoughts.
“Damn… How did that wretch manage to gain such an impressive brother…”
He sighed deeply and shook his head in disapproval.
“Zhang Liqiu, that bastard, has crossed the line too many times when facing Kim Shihyuk in the arena… But I never expected you to avenge him so directly.”
“Um… Is that how it is?”
“You don’t have to hide it from me. You should be proud, really. Ah, if only I had a brother like you…”
Was he deeply moved?
The look in Park Jinwook’s eyes as he gazed at Kim Shimun was absolutely gleaming. Of course, combined with his fierce appearance, it slightly seemed menacing.
“Ha, haha! You flatter me too much. Anyway, about the black market distribution volume…”
Kim Shimun quickly shifted the topic.
* * *
A plane adorned with a red emblem. Inside the private jet of the Continental, a tall man chewed his lip thoughtfully.
‘Seo Wiryong-ssi, let’s make a deal.’
The voice lingered in his head. Seo Wiryong mulled over the conversation he had with Kim Shimun. The content was lengthy, but the conclusion was simple.
‘To support me…’
The statement implied full backing. As a mere Gold player, he hadn’t asked what that support entailed. In fact, it seemed there was no need to.
‘I never would have guessed he was the Sword Saint’s brother…’
Sword Saint Kim Shihyuk. A renowned ranker, famous not just in South Korea but globally. To think he was the brother of Kim Shihyuk, who stood shoulder to shoulder with the strongest in Continental, Spear King Zhang Liqiu?
‘So, that’s why the Iron Maiden and the Night Hunter treated Kim Shimun-ssi that way.’
Lee Yujeong and Park Jinwook, though fellow nationals and guild members, seemed to show him special treatment. Especially Yujeong, famously nicknamed the Iron Maiden for her aversion to men, seemed peculiarly warm towards Kim Shimun.
There was a reason after all. Seo Wiryong looked out at the clouds through the window.
‘Even without the backdrop of being the Sword Saint’s brother… he possesses enough capability to help.’
From financial support to future contract renewal influence and more. He had promised various kinds of support, proposing just two conditions. One was.
‘Just continue acting as you have been. Grow as a promising player.’
Simply to continue devoting himself to growth as a player. Why he cared about the growth of a player from another country didn’t cross his mind.
‘Probably to counter the Spear King’s forces.’
Since he is a promising player from the moderate faction, which is opposed to Spear King.
The second condition was the problem.
‘Do you know about the secret research happening in Continental?’
To find out about the clandestine research being conducted in Continental. The first condition made sense considering the relationship between his brother Sword Saint and Spear King. But the latter did not.
‘Research? Are there studies within Continental that I’m unaware of?’
A promising player of Continental.
Moreover, a promising player from the current guild master’s faction not knowing about such experiments?
It was a condition Seo Wiryong had even hesitated to question.
‘Ahh, so you’re unaware as well. Then Zhang Liqiu’s unilateral action is certain.’
As if it was an interrogation meant to lead. He had nodded to himself alone.
‘It was truly humiliating.’
That someone outside the guild knew about the affairs of the guild, which even he, a promising player from the guild master’s faction, did not? He felt completely inept, like a hopeless fool.
At the same time, “Such a fearsome person. Even more so than the Sword Saint.”
Unlike the Sword Saint, who flaunted his existence through sheer overwhelming force, the realization hit that Kim Shimun should not be judged merely by his rank.
“Ha…”
Seo Wiryong pressed his throbbing forehead. Anyway, “Now more than ever, I need to think simply. Especially, I must find out about the second condition.”
The secretive research happening in Continental was something Seo Wiryong needed to uncover for himself.
Not just because it concerned the guild affairs that the current guild master, his faction, was completely unaware of, “Surely Shimun-nim said that Kang’s sudden increase in strength during the duel must be related to that research.”
Seo Wiryong’s eyes sharpened suddenly.
He had a hunch.
“Dragon Blood Elixir. If one is a promising candidate of the Spear King, they must have received the Dragon Blood Elixir.”
It was well-known that Zhang Liqiu of the Spear King faction granted his people this precious elixir. Wasn’t that why the factions under Zhang Liqiu were even more zealously loyal and active?
“It’s likely that the Dragon Blood Elixir has something to do with the research Shimun-nim mentioned.”
No, it was certain. The Dragon Blood Elixir wasn’t produced by the alchemists of Continental but had started appearing exclusively from Zhang Liqiu’s side at some point.
“First, I should start with the Dragon Blood Elixir…”
“What are you grumbling about on your own?”
“Whoa!”
Startled by the sudden voice, Seo Wiryong jumped. Seeing his reaction, “You scared me! Why are you like that? I even made my presence known.”
The woman who had spoken recoiled as if she were the one surprised.
“Ah. Sorry, junior sister. I was just lost in thought.”
“Well, that’s understandable.”
The woman called junior sister sighed deeply, placing a teacup that almost spilled in front of Seo Wiryong.
“Some people always cause trouble and leave others to clean up, but it’s always my brother who gets the cold shoulder.”
“Don’t say that. Kang’s condition isn’t good…”
“That so-called ‘condition’ of his is always not good? And what do you mean ‘elder brother’? He’s just a fool.”
“Junior sister.”
“Hmph.”
Despite Seo Wiryong’s somewhat stern gaze, the woman crossed her arms and turned her head away sharply. Seeing that, Seo Wiryong chuckled and asked, “Did any message come from headquarters?”
“Yes. The medical team from Korea says he needs to be hospitalized for at least three more days, so headquarters will send a private plane after three days.”
“Is that so? That’s good to hear.”
“Good my foot! I always say this, but it’s really his personality that’s the problem! Being too nice to people also…”
Junior sister’s nagging continued naturally. Listening to her familiar nagging like background music while drinking his tea, Seo Wiryong glanced out the window where clouds were gathering.
Perhaps it was the effect of the top-quality tea from the Arena. Seo Wiryong’s cluttered mind quickly cleared.
“Let’s just uncover the research the Spear King is secretly conducting.”
Then all these questions would be resolved.
“Kim Shimun, I’ll be able to figure out his intentions as well.”
With that resolution, Seo Wiryong was, “Elder brother! Are you listening to me?!”
“Of, of course! Junior sister, I was all ears.”
He hurriedly snapped back to reality.
* * *
Ting.
A clear sound.
The source of the sound, slender and white fingers, stopped moving after a few more flicks.
“Phew… This is almost complete.”
A handsome man with distinct facial features wiped his forehead. Shimun looked over the sculpture before him with satisfaction. The sculpture, shining in palladium, unlike a human skeleton, it was exceptionally delicate and beautiful.
-“Great work. The circuit is being made from Dragonium, right?”
A voice resounded from the very center of his chest. Kim Shimun nodded in response to the Philosopher’s Stone’s inquiry.
“Yes, but I won’t make it purely out of Dragonium.”
-Mixing Adamantium and Orichalcum in balance then? Those two shouldn’t provoke conflict with the Dragon’s Power, after all.
“Right. Well, I’ll need to run some tests to be sure.”
-What about the limbs and torso then?
“Yep. I’ll make them all out of alloy.”
-Wow! The process is going to be hell, but with that kind of alloy, something truly incredible could emerge, huh?
The Philosopher’s Stone whistled with a voice full of anticipation. Kim Shimun chuckled.
“I’m looking forward to it too. But… Mimir’s Water, you’re sure about that?”
-Of course. Don’t you trust me, oppa?
“It’s not that. It’s just such an unbelievable story that I had to ask.”
Mimir’s Water, a reward from the special arena event “Nature’s Demise,” was a material item of S-rank without any description.
“To think it could endow a golem with self-awareness… Sounds impossible.”
The Philosopher’s Stone had mentioned it could be used to imbue golems with self-awareness. To a golem, self-awareness meant…
It was akin to giving a machine its own artificial intelligence.
-I get where you’re coming from. Normally, you’d have to input commands and corresponding action patterns manually.
“Or I’d have to control it from start to finish like the traditional golems.”
Such an elaborate golem, now with self-awareness?
Kim Shimun’s gaze shifted to the Mithril golems busily at work around him.
‘Thanks to being made of Mithril, those guys could be programmed with detailed behavior patterns…’
The delicate tasks performed by the Mithril golems for arena disease cure formulation. Though mostly packaging and menial tasks, it was only possible because Kim Shimun had programmed detailed action patterns into them.
Yet, even with the ability to insert various action patterns depending on the material, the creation of self-awareness was unthinkable.
‘Now I understand why she was so thrilled about getting Mimir’s Water.’
Kim Shimun nodded slightly and looked at the Mithril skeletal framework.
“Let’s halt the work until the materials from the black market arrive. We’ve done everything we can with what we have.”
-Mhm, mhm. You’ll work on the head then too?
“Yes. The head will mix all four metals. It’ll undergo special polishing and a few other processes as well.”
No matter if Mimir’s Water could generate self-awareness, ‘If the body doesn’t support it, the produced self-awareness could be worthless.’
With a flick of his fingers, Kim Shimun turned around.
Drrr.
The lab walls moved, swallowing the Mithril framework. Kim Shimun took off his white lab coat and laid down on the bed in one corner of the lab. Then he picked up the arena goggles from the bedside.
-Huh? Oppa, you just finished working and now you’re jumping into the arena?
The Philosopher’s Stone quickly asked.
Kim Shimun nodded.
“I haven’t done that much work today, so I’m not really tired.”
-But you were busy with guild registrations and such.
“Ah, it’s not like I did much. Jinwook-ssi takes care of all the practical tasks.”
Kim Shimun himself was responsible for setting the broad directions and making final approvals. The detailed work of the guild ‘Shimdrasil’ was all handled by the Night Hunter, Park Jinwook.
-Well, that’s true. That guy is quite pitiful. Didn’t he just clean up after your younger brother in the past life? Quite the same in this aspect, huh, oppa?
“Haha! Guess so.”
Whether in his past life or present, only the guild master had changed. Park Jinwook’s role in handling various guild tasks remained the same.
“But I take better care of him than Shihyuk did. Whether it’s business or elixirs.”
-Hmm~ Classic ‘I’m better than my younger brother’. Well, it’s cute, so I’ll let it slide.
“This little…”
Kim Shimun’s lips twitched into a smile. Shaking his head, he then put on the goggles.
As he connected to the arena, [Player Kim Shimun can no longer be matched based on Gold Rank MMR.]
[You will be placed in a Platinum Rank promotion match.]
A series of system messages appeared.