Episode 91.
On the day of the Korean player representative meeting, Jung Si-woo finished his training in the morning and washed up. He wasn’t the type to care about clothes, but he decided to wear a suit so that he wouldn’t get hit by his mother’s radar. Of course, for Jung Si-woo, the permissible line of a suit was a white shirt.
“A long sleeve shirt will be fine.”
“It’s a good thing you bought some clothes in advance…but are you really going to wear those jeans?”
“Doesn’t it look like suit pants because it’s black?”
“Not at all.”
When he first became a player, he always felt hot in the afternoons, but after two months had passed, he felt that it was quite livable since there were cool winds in the mornings and evenings. Moreover, as he became resistant to heat, Jung Si-woo had no reason to sweat anymore.
“Whoa. The last time I wore something like this was when I was in high school.”
“What about in college, Hyeong-nim?”
“Short-sleeved shirts every day.”
“So you understand that your other parts were being emphasized, not the short sleeves.”
“Oh, ughhh.”
Soo Ah-rin couldn’t look at his sleeveless shirt underneath his white shirt. His body was already excellent, but after the repeated level-up, it looked like a piece of art. In fact, she wanted him to wear a tie, but he didn’t like the feeling of being strangled, so it was a fail.
“Hoo, ties…I think you’d look cool in one.”
“You’re delusional to think of something that appears in old comics, Seonbae…”
“Shut up.”
“My patience is already near the limit even with this shirt. Ties must’ve been made by the devil. The reason why each company is forcing ties is to emphasize that we are bound by a leash.”
“That’s enough of your self-interpretation…”
He even cooled down his excitement over his overly creative remarks. However, Jung Si-woo didn’t mind Soo Ah-rin’s expression and wondered whether he had left anything behind or if there was anything he should do before emptying the resting place. Then he found a surprising artifact in his inventory that he had forgotten about.
“Oppa, what’s that?”
“Caina’s head.”
“Ahhh!
Caina’s features had become clearer than before. Or should it be said that it was more vivid? It might be his mood, but the pale skin had a slight hue of color, the silvery hair looked healthier, and the large purple eyes seemed to be in focus.
“I’m scared. I’m scared! Why does it look like it’s focusing on something!”
“Oh, I think it’s following me.”
“I’m scared!”
“Why have I forgotten about Caina all this time? Oh, is it because of my dream of the dragon?”
He was stuck on the idea of strengthening himself, so he wasn’t that interested in loot or artifacts. The accumulation of mana stones acquired in this battle made him realize his mistake.
‘I was so indifferent to the other things because I was so focused on training…let’s check the information first.’
At that moment, a message popped up in front of Jung Si-woo’s eyes.
[Death Knight Caina’s Core]
[Rank – S-]
[Magic Completeness – 54%]
[After mass absorption of Mana possessed by the undead’s divine nature, it now has the potential of a higher undead. It is the potential of the death knight who has both a soul and a body and contradicts reason only with their existence, unlike a zombie with no soul and only a body and instinct.]
[In order to complete the Death Knight, several new bodies and a large number of mana stones are needed to complete the core. Strong mana, and finally, a strong spirit is also needed. Since Death Knight’s control only establishes over the soul, it is very dangerous to start production without ensuring ownership of the soul.]
Jung Si-woo was so surprised when he saw the artifact’s rank that he almost dropped the head on the floor.
“S!?”
“There’s a minus, but…I’ve never seen a rank S before!”
“And there are more requirements for completion!”
Everyone was so excited. Of course, he thought Setnak would be able to use Dullahan’s essence to gain strength as he was the god of undead effectively, but he didn’t expect it to come back with this result! Although this rank S item would be less valuable than the rank A++ items like the rifle or phantom bike for now because it was still incomplete. The moment it was completed and reborn as a death knight, it might be worth rank S or higher. It meant that the level of death knight would be completed at a minimum of level 300!
“I’m nervous about it needing Mana stones…”
Jung Si-woo picked up some of the mana stones in his inventory and pounded them into the head. They were absorbed instantly, so the method must be correct? However, there was no change. The percentage didn’t move. Jung Si-woo, who felt slightly feverish, absorbed about twenty more, but it was barely 55%. He could now realize how great Setnak’s mana was, but at the same time, he was deeply annoyed.
“This situation is holding me back again.”
“Yesterday, I was so happy that I was able to use ghosts to collect a lot of mana stones.”
“But that was yesterday.”
Jung Si-woo grumbled and fed all the remaining Mana stones in his inventory to the core of the death knight. As long as they got weapons, they had no need to make a death knight. So he had no hesitations. Watching the percentage rise to 58 percent, Jung Si-woo smiled bitterly. It was hard to tell how many mana stones he had to use in the future. At that time, there was an idea that suddenly came to his mind, and it was related to the Grand Canyon, the place where it evolved into the core of the death knight.
“There may be signs of a passage to a world ruled by Setnak. I couldn’t do any additional searching before because Marina was there.”
“Setnak seems to be a stronger god than Laia. Maybe there’s something awaiting that is much stronger than the both of them.”
“But it would be better to find the power of Setnak than to carelessly pour in Mana stones. All right, we’ll set a priority after this.”
The mere traces of him on earth was so terrible, but Jung Si-woo was thinking of going to the other world without any hesitation. If someone knew Jung Si-woo’s personality and made him an underground player, it was an excellent choice. Soo Ah-rin sighed, grabbed him, and shook him.
“Oppa, the meeting! We’re going to be late. Let’s get out of here.”
“Oh, yeah.”
He had a lot of work to do right now, but he couldn’t cling to uncertain things. Jung Si-woo put the core back into his inventory and left the resting place with Soo Ah-rin and Yong Se-ha. The world was still moving somehow. The earth’s environment had changed dramatically due to the repeated refinement and erosion of the ground, but humans were still transplanting civilizations back on the reversed land. Gangnam’s land was still expensive, and traffic jams were more common. One of the most active constructions happening now was the cutting and moving of the ground that rose in the center of the city.
“It makes me realize that humans are amazing. I heard that the network had been restored.”
“Maybe sooner or later, it’ll fall again.”
However, Jung Si-woo was able to see through the weakness and loss of the world that was being restored.
“Unless modern technology and magic engineering are combined, it is a fragile structure that will collapse again and again until civilization is protected with mana.”
“That’s why each company is recruiting players that know how to use magic.”
It wasn’t just companies; countries around the world were now eager to attract strong players. Korean players were also scouted by other countries at a rapid pace, especially the United States. A large amount of money, rights, and welfare could be secured if you were a player. This country only satisfied those who had abilities.
“That’s why it’s important to go to the representative meeting now. It’s the last chance for our country to hold onto players. If we don’t establish a public works structure and compensation system for the changing society, that will be the end of our country.”
“You look very knowledgeable, Oppa.”
“I’m just saying what I heard. Be careful not to be fooled by a man who talks this.”
“I won’t be fooled, never.”
“Huh…?”
Jung Si-woo tilted his head and explained, not knowing why she was so adamant.
The meeting was supposed to be attended by representatives of players and government officials, as well as representatives of many companies. In terms of capability or scope, the government wasn’t able to deal with it on its own. Most companies in Korea may not have been able to research alone because they didn’t have the same enormous capabilities as B&Y, so a system of cooperation with the government and other companies should be established.
“Hyeong-nim, I’ve given up on understanding. Please summarize the key points.”
“It’s the moment when skilled players were reborn as the best players.”
“That’s very intuitive!”
How many groups of humans would it take to create such a mess? He didn’t want to intervene even if it was expected, but he couldn’t help it now. Jung Si-woo checked Soo Ah-rin and Yong Se-ha again, then moved on. The meeting was supposed to be held at Seoul City Hall.
“Ah, there’s a lot of people here.”
The front of City Hall was crowded. It was a time when the strongest players in Korea gathered in one place, and at the same time, it was a moment when the heads of companies gathered, so it was inevitable that people’s attention was focused.
“There comes the master of the Soaring Tempest Guild and his bodyguards.”
“Kim Ha-ryong, the master of the Soaring Tempest Guild, is known as the strongest player in Korea. I don’t think we need to talk more about his strength, but what are the criteria for selecting the rest of the representative players?”
Just in time, a man with a broadcasting camera and a woman with a microphone were talking to another man. He looked familiar, and they soon realized out that he was a government figure that had already been in the news before.
“The higher the sky castle level, the more difficult it is to play solo. Even if you enjoy the solo play, you can’t help but seek a party, so the list of strong players will be sorted out to some extent. Some of them are known as emerging powers. So this meeting will focus on the players who are eligible to challenge the 31st stage of the dungeon or players that have cleared the 30th stage of the dungeon.”
“I don’t know how great it is because I’m not given any information about the dungeon!”
“It’s hard to judge everything by level, but it’s about a level 200. A level 200 warrior has enough stamina to stay healthy even if he’s shot with a machine gun at point blank. And that’s even if they don’t have any defenses.”
“It’s no exaggeration to call them tanks.”
He wanted to keep listening to the story because it was interesting, but he thought he would end up running into the Soaring Tempest Guild. They seemed to have gone crazy because they wanted to draw everyone’s attention to themselves by purposely flying slowly. He didn’t want to bump into someone he didn’t like from now on, so he decided to rush into the conference room. As it was a very important servants were blocking the entrance.
“Excuse me. You need to identify yourself to enter.”
“I’m Jung Si-woo.”
His mother said his real name would be enough.
“Jung Si-woo, let me check the list.”
“Huh? Mr. Jung Si-woo?”
But when he just had to check the list and let him in quietly, some of the people who were gathered at the entrance flinched when they heard his name. It was a little funny to see their faces so surprised.
“Wait, Jung Si-woo, so you must be that Jung Si-woo?”
“There isn’t anyone else with the same name, is there? Then the person who was added to the list the day before yesterday is really…?”
Oh, he was done with this. At the time when Jung Si-woo raised his head and sighed with the sense of trouble that was approaching every minute, he ran into Kim Ha-ryong, the head of the Soaring Tempest Guild, who was coming down from the air. The next moment…
“Kim Ha-ryong is coming down…”
“Chinese restaurant rider! It’s the Chinese restaurant rider!
“Gildong, the armor guy?”
“Wow, awesome! I heard the Chinese restaurant rider appeared!”
“Hmm.”
At the moment when the spotlight in front of the city hall was supposed to pour on Kim Ha-ryong, everyone’s eyes were on Jung Si-woo instead. Jung Si-woo smiled in vain as he looked back at those who called him by the nicknames he wanted to shred and abolish. If this happened, it wasn’t worth asking his mother beforehand!
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