Episode 93.
At that moment, questions were pouring in from all over the room.
“What do you mean?”
“An Ant Cave? What is that? Are there other players?”
“Jung Si-woo, please clarify. So you’re not a player of the Sky Castle?”
“Whoo.”
Jung Si-woo lifted his tail and lightly hit the table. The table turned into dust, and everyone quieted down. It was easy to predict that even if a player were hit with it, not a table, they would meet the same ending.
“The Ant Cave is a different place from the Sky Castle. I’m guessing that the mana from the dungeon may have seeped into the underground…I need to introduce a few people to explain the Ant Cave in detail.”
“Introduce?”
“People? There’s no one there.”
Then Soo Ah-rin and Yong Se-ha crawled out of his arms. Of course, no one noticed because they were using a hiding spell, but they were all surprised when they released the spell and returned to human size.
“Soo Ah-rin!?”
“That’s Yong Se-ha! Come to think of it, both of them had their names engraved on the guardian stone!”
“But why are they with Mr. Jung Si-woo…”
“Ah-rin!”
Kim Ha-ryong jumped up from his seat. When he tried to hug Soo Ah-rin, Soo Ah-rin screamed and hid behind Jung Si-woo.
“Ah-rin…!”
“So you are his fiancé?”
“No, I’m not! I swear I never even held his hand once. Don’t misunderstand this!”
When asked by Jung Si-woo, Soo Ah-rin shouted and stayed near to him. Kim Ha-ryong, who saw her like that, looked like a man that lost his lover and somehow had the impression that he was a bad guy with a relatively calm appearance. Jung Si-woo felt a little better.
“Mr. Jung Si-woo, I must explain this to you.”
Kim Ha-ryong ground his teeth.
“Before, Ah-rin and Se-ha used to be members of my guild. I want to talk about getting them back.”
“That’s what he said.”
Soo Ah-rin looked at Jung Si-woo, who seemed like he was about to return them. However, Yong Se-ha took a step forward and bowed at Kim Ha-ryong.
“I never had a chance to ask your wellbeing after my retirement. Master, thank you so much.”
“Se-ha…”
“But Soo Ah-rin and I were saved by Si-woo Hyeong-nim and decided to serve him. Therefore, we are no longer members of the Soaring Tempest Guild.”
Kim Ha-ryong’s expression turned sour from their clear and obvious refusal.
“Did he cast psychological magic on you guys?”
“No way. It’s obvious that Hyeong-nim focuses on physical strength.”
Yong Se-ha replied with a smirk. Kim Ha-ryong’s eyes turned to Soo Ah-rin, who was right next to Jung Si-woo.
“And you…”
“I’m staying with Oppa. And don’t come near me because you’re pressuring me.”
“What?”
Kim Ha-ryong stared at her while gently biting his lip. Soon, his anger was aimed at Jung Si-woo, but Si-woo had already expected this was going to happen. Jung Si-woo was delaying the announcement of Soo Ah-rin and Yong Se-ha’s existence as not to be pushed around by his opponent. No matter how firm Soo Ah-rin and Yong Se-ha’s determination was, Kim Ha-ryong wouldn’t let Jung Si-woo take away his “things.”
“Mr. Jung Si-woo, you…”
“I’m going to explain that now. So sit down for a while.”
“Hmph.”
His patience paid off. Jung Si-woo grew stronger at an absurdly fast pace, and his performance after the tectonic shift, especially in the Grand Canyon, quickly attracted Korea’s attention and even the world.
“I’ll talk to you…after the meeting.”
Even if he were part of the best elite guild in Korea and the head of Soaring Tempest, who succeeded in clearing the 32nd stage of the Dungeon for the first time in the world, he couldn’t do anything right now.
“So I’ll explain. How a retired player is alive and what an Ant Cave is.”
Jung Si-woo made Kim Ha-ryong return to his place and slowly began to talk about his discovery of Soo Ah-rin, who was falling because she retired, how he rescued her and went underground together, how the dungeon exploded, and even the fact that if you clear the dungeon before it’s too late, you can root out the monsters.
“I can’t believe it. You rescued a retired player? You don’t think we’ve ever tried that?”
“If it were easy, there would have had another underground player before me.”
“Even the players can’t rescue them!”
“I wasn’t a player back then.”
“Then how!”
One person cried out with astonishment and doubt in this space. Jung Si-woo replied very naturally.
“Because I’m freaking special.”
“What…”
“If you’re going to argue, explain first how a player is born. Shut up if you can’t even explain that. You think that everything in this world can be explained?”
“Gasp…”
The master of another guild, who was speaking informally, had shut his mouth. Jung Si-woo smiled with his teeth showing.
“I don’t care if you don’t believe it, and I don’t care if you guys try to rescue a retired player. I don’t take responsibility for it. Anyway, my environment is very special. Now you can understand that the quests and artifacts have different reward systems.”
“It’s not so easy to understand…”
“You, are you human?”
Someone even asked that kind of question. Jung Si-woo smirked.
“I’m pretty sure I’m human. I’m sorry I can’t answer everyone’s questions, but I’ve told you everything I know. So I guess that’s it.”
“What’s your relationship with Marina Bissett?”
It was Kim Ha-ryong this time as well. The flame in his eyes was a clear feeling of anger and jealousy. Jung Si-woo didn’t expect it but soon noticed it. No, this guy was even after Marina! He seemed to master the flirt skill, which was an essential element of the modern villain.
“She’s just a friend.”
“A friend…alright.”
“Oh, what a jerk.”
Kim Ha-ryong flinched at Soo Ah-rin’s murmur. Jung Si-woo looked at her with fresh eyes before patting her head.
“If you have any other questions, just ask right now. But you probably won’t get the answer you want.”
Despite Jung Si-woo’s kind words, no one asked any more questions. They’d be picking a fight with him if they asked a question he didn’t want to answer. The players were filled with the desire to reject Jung Si-woo, who apparently had various powers, but at this point, Jung Si-woo wasn’t only a force they couldn’t easily touch but was also the most famous player.
The U.S. government was already sending a love call to Jung Si-woo just because of his performance, and other countries weren’t that different. If they quickly antagonized him for the unclear identity of his power here, if they led the Korean atmosphere in that direction, they could cause public outrage around the world. But above all, there was a decisive reason. That was, Jung Si-woo appeared with Soo Ah-rin and Yong Se-ha.
Those who had been paying attention to Jung Si-woo’s pure strength, Phantom Bike, and special ability to get rid of monsters felt like they were struck by lightning. They could see his greatest abilities there! The power to save a retired player reduced the fear of “retiring” that all players have in their minds. Jung Si-woo’s presence was uniquely and heavily established by everyone in the room.
Jung Si-woo sat down after confirming that no one was bothering him anymore. Soo Ah-rin and Yong Se-ha returned to their mini-size again, but since the hiding spell was released, the eyes of the people in the conference room were constantly drawn to them. Of course, they didn’t care anymore.
“You were so confident and cool, Si-woo.”
Lee Seo-hee tilted her head to him with a very excited look as she whispered. Soo Ah-rin was sitting on Jung Si-woo’s shoulder and opened her eyes, replying instead of him.
“My Oppa is always cool.”
“Yes, I know that…by the way, I heard something very interesting from you.”
“Huh!?”
At the moment when Soo Ah-rin faced the biggest crisis of her life, Jung Si-woo stopped both of them by flicking Lee Seo-hee and Soo Ah-rin’s foreheads.
“That’s not all, you guys.”
The meeting lasted another half hour. However, everyone in the room was distracted by Jung Si-woo, so no one could focus properly. The only salvation was the fact that there were no more agendas to discuss.
“Then…next, we will select three players to represent Korea at the World Players Conference.”
“Three? Only that many?”
Someone complained. However, the fact was that just three people from South Korea were able to attend the event, which was enough. The number of players at the World Player Representative Conference was only 80, and 3 of them are from Korea, so it was clear how well Korea was being treated compared to the rest of the world’s population.
“But now we have Jung Si-woo and Soaring Tempest Guild Master Kim Ha-ryong. It’s practically no different than picking only one person!”
“But that’s what the UN has been telling me…it’s a very important matter, so I don’t think a decision can be made immediately. If necessary, we can have two more days to choose a player that can represent Korea…”
At that time, a person wearing a neat suit jumped in and whispered something to the host. As soon as the host heard it, his expression became subtle, and he looked back at the players who were about to go wild.
“I think the news of Jung Si-woo’s appearance at the meeting has been made public. The UN’s New Environment Management Headquarters has sent a message that they will invite Jung Si-woo separately from representatives of players from each country. Therefore, we will choose three people except for Jung Si-woo.”
“…”
“…”
All the people were staring at him. Kim Ha-ryong, who was the master of the guild that cleared the 32nd stage of the dungeon for the first time, wasn’t invited separately, so his eyes were fuming. Jung Si-woo was well-known for ignoring people’s gazes, but he felt pressured right now.
“We are accepting volunteers…”
“Hpmh.”
The host, who couldn’t stand the heavy atmosphere, desperately proceeded with the selection of the representative. With everyone else’s eyes falling, Kim Ha-ryong was staring at Jung Si-woo until the end, but he had no choice but to turn his eyes as he took out popcorn that he had kept in his inventory.
“Seo-hee, you’re not interested?”
“No matter how fast I grow, I can never be in the top three of Korea. I don’t think I’ll be recruiting parties to challenge the dungeons during the meeting.”
Lee Seo-hee was planning on giving Jung Si-woo a vote rather than her own, but then he was already selected as representative. He shrugged his shoulders and handed some popcorn to her. For dozens of minutes, people who wanted the proud title of a Korean representative had a bloody competition and verbal fights that made them forget the friendly atmosphere from earlier.
However, as Kim Ha-ryong recommended someone, the competition was sorted out to some extent, and eventually, the two masters of the guild, who were usually friendly with him, were selected separately, ending the skit.
“That was fun. It would’ve been perfect if I could set fire here. Ugh.”
Jung Si-woo gave a small burp while wiping his hands with a wet towel. Soo Ah-rin flapped her wings and grumbled, hitting him on the back of his hand.
“That’s nasty, Oppa.”
“But It was cute, though.”
“Do you want me to introduce you to an ophthalmologist I know?”
As soon as the heavy atmosphere was relieved, Lee Seo-hee and Soo Ah-rin, who start arguing, had decided to leave each other alone. He then yawned while watching the other players stand up from their seats as they weren’t selected as one of the representatives.
“Is the meeting over now? Then let’s go.”
“You’ve managed to stay in your seat all this time.”
“Si-woo, do you want to go eat lunch? There’s a great place in Gwanghwamun.”
However, when the group was about to leave, there was a voice that caught him from behind.
“I don’t think we’re done talking yet.”
“We aren’t done yet?”
Jung Si-woo turned around smiling as if he was waiting for this moment! Kim Ha-ryong clenched his teeth at his expression.
“I still have something to say to Ah-rin.”
“Well, I don’t have anything to say to you.”
“Even if you don’t, I still have something to say! Ah-rin, you weren’t like that before!”
“Heeeekkk.”
Soo Ah-rin looked disgusted as she stood next to Jung Si-woo. Naturally, people’s eyes focused on them. Jung Si-woo had been through this a few times in the past, so he knew it well, but the problems of a love triangle were fun only for those who watched. It was annoying for the people involved, especially the longer the argument grew! Moreover, Jung Si-woo learned from his mother. Why would you fight with words when you can use your fist?
“Why don’t you just walk away? She’s saying she doesn’t want to talk to you.”
“Jung Si-woo, you…what the hell did you do to Ah-rin? You’d better look me in the eye and answer precisely. I am not subjected to any mental magic…”
“Oh, there’s a fly.”
“What?”
Jung Si-woo, who was listening to him seriously, suddenly opened his eyes wide and pointed at the other side with his fingers. As Kim Ha-ryong’s reflexively turned to the other side, Jung Si-woo took a straight punch right at Kim Ha-ryong.
“I’m saying that your face looks like a fly, motherfucker!”
“Kkkkkk!
Kim Ha-ryong didn’t know that he was going to be attacked. He flew away with a boom, smashing the table behind him!
“Oppa!?”
“Si-woo!”
“Uh, uh…stop, Mr. Jung Si-woo,”
People around him tried to stop him, but Jung Si-woo didn’t quit.
He used cruel charge against the guild master of the world’s first elite guild that cleared the 32-stage dungeon.
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