Chapter 144
Translator: uly
Chapter: 144
Chapter Title: Guild Master Isn't Enough with Just the Game
Muhan glanced at her cautiously as he spoke.
"Still, you're the guild master, and I wanted to get along well. I thought if I treated you right in person, maybe you'd reward me."
Ga-hyun swallowed a hollow laugh.
"...Well, whatever."
She didn't know much about baseball, but she could tell just by looking at his face what he was banking on.
But overly blatant advances like that tended to make the other person think, 'Is this jerk looking down on me right now? Do I seem that easy to you?'
Ga-hyun felt annoyed and angry, but she'd put up with it this far because Muhan was so obedient and useful as a tank in combat situations.
Now she saw it wasn't about disrespecting Kaisha—it was just faith in his own looks and specs. Even after getting utterly wrecked in-game, he'd tried to make a move because of her guild master position. That eased her irritation a bit.
Seeing it wasn't because he looked down on her and that their relationship could improve going forward, Ga-hyun decided to lighten the mood.
She'd already expressed her displeasure plenty and punished him directly, so there weren't any real lingering grudges.
Ga-hyun opened her mouth.
"I don't think Mura-nim is someone who deserves that kind of treatment from me. You were a famous tank in Bipa, and now you're a world-class ranker."
"!"
At the unexpected words, Muhan lifted his head, and Ga-hyun continued.
"I hope I never treat Mura-nim carelessly again. Having to watch someone like that is a huge stress for me too."
"...Yes. Yes, I understand."
Muhan straightened his back, looking at Ga-hyun with eyes full of surprise and emotion.
Nokhyeon's eyes widened a little too.
Because, just like always in the game, Kaisha—calmly expressing respect for Mura and urging better behavior ahead—looked really cool to him.
As the atmosphere thawed the moment Ga-hyun hinted at forgiveness, Nokhyeon bit his inner lip while keeping his smile.
He'd hoped she wouldn't let it go.
Petty and narrow-minded as it was, Nokhyeon had felt good knowing he was more loved than Muhan in front of Ga-hyun.
Kang Muhan was handsome, after all. Wouldn't Ga-hyun start favoring him soon too?
Nokhyeon wiped away invisible tears in his mind as he thought that.
"Your ordered meals have arrived. This is the 'Soy Sauce Shrimp Butter Bibimbap'—where should I place it?"
"Right here, please."
As the food came out one after another, the table fell quiet for a moment.
The conversation resumed when Nokhyeon, having tasted his own order, opened his mouth in pure admiration.
"It's delicious!"
Ga-hyun smiled proudly at Nokhyeon's words.
"Good thing."
"Next time, can I take you to my favorite restaurant?"
For a split second, Ga-hyun instinctively sensed something in Nokhyeon's tone as he said it and hesitated.
Was he finally about to reveal the things he'd been hiding?
"...."
As Ga-hyun didn't answer right away, a strange silence stretched between them.
Muhan, who'd been watching Kaisha's mood, chimed in slyly.
"That's right."
Nokhyeon shot a quick glare at Muhan for butting in uninvited but didn't contradict him.
It was silent agreement.
Ga-hyun smiled satisfactorily and continued eating.
"I'm looking forward to it."
She'd heard some things from Yu Geon beforehand, so she didn't assume it'd all be good news, but she was still curious what story awaited her.
During the rest of the meal, talk turned to the value and trade prices of magistones—core gate resources—and how they were processed overseas.
Lenox listened to their conversation, occasionally showing an intrigued expression, but he didn't speak up.
Store staff, who surely knew the identities of Kaisha, Hyun-woo, Mura, and Lenox, stole excited glances at them while pretending not to look.
* * *
Just as the Dark Constellation faction was in an uproar over Babel Tower's clear display of Kaisha's prowess, the Light Constellations were in the same boat.
"Nokhyeon, really..."
A doll-like girl smiled.
It wasn't coincidence that Korea had gathered so many strong hunters.
"What stars did he find, I wonder?"
It must've been hard to find volunteers.
Constellations who truly understood Earth usually shuddered at the mere mention of 'Earth.'
To aid the 'Third Faction' dying amid the split good-vs-evil Constellation War on Earth, outsiders had intervened six times over 30,000 years.
"This makes the seventh, right?"
"Yes."
The young man standing before the girl bowed his head in affirmation.
The current Third Faction—the first-generation hunters deliberately nurtured via VR games—were the seventh force.
Of course, how long those first-gen hunters would remain the Third Faction was anyone's guess.
The Third Faction was small and weak.
That was why they'd never revealed themselves until now.
If their position got exposed, the other two massive factions would tear them apart without mercy.
Newly awakened hunters were still protected under human 'Human Protection Laws' as humans, but the awakened Third Faction, as a Constellation force, had no such shield from good-evil attacks.
In history, all six previous Third Faction allies had been effectively wiped out.
And the current Third Faction consisted of the tiniest handful of survivors from those six waves who hadn't lost their divinity.
"Nokhyeon is so cruel. Just to extend the lifespans of mere sinners, he gathers innocent lambs to this land that's like a tomb for Constellations."
A tomb for Constellations.
In this world, 'incarnation' for Constellations wasn't something anyone could do.
Pure incarnation required achievement points earned in this world. Those points had to be accumulated by being born as some lifeform on this land—human or otherwise.
In other words, current 'incarnated Constellations' weren't just random drops from the sky.
They were beings who'd challenged and contributed to history on this land since eras predating modern humanity's memory, birthing the Earth as it was now.
Mythical, legendary existences, remembered or not by today's humans.
"But now I can gaze at my beloved Nokhyeon to my heart's content, and that makes me so happy. Hehe. I want to kidnap him soon and shower him with love."
The young man ahead let the girl's words go in one ear and out the other as he glanced at the screen.
"...."
On the display, Gilgamesh was finishing off the error code.
Its oppressive divinity aura was low, but with absurdly overwhelming inaction, this error code—the very youth standing here—had driven countless hunters from China, Japan, and Korea to death.
Though he'd gotten distracted and ultimately died by Gilgamesh's hand.
Hunters in Babel Tower had ultimately triumphed over the six error codes sent by Constellation forces.
Now, the Third Faction would start revealing itself to the world bit by bit.
* * *
["Following the 'Hunter Association' recently established in the US, Korea plans to set up a similar organization. From now on, like America, we'll formally introduce a 'Hunter Ranking System' for national management."]
Kim Je-hyun, who'd just gotten home from work and turned on the TV, muttered.
"What, treating hunters like beef grades."
The news screen showed the US-proposed 'Hunter Ranking Chart' based on brainpower.
S-rank: 100 million+.
A-rank: 70 million+.
B-rank: 50 million+.
C-rank: 10 million+.
D-rank: 1 million range.
F-rank: 100,000 and below.
The US had swiftly registered hunters by promising benefits and rewards to those who signed up with the state.
Even foreign hunters could register as US hunters, complete with citizenship—it was seriously aggressive.
Plus, the perks by rank were pretty solid, so Je-hyun figured at this rate, hunters worldwide would flock to America.
Of course, other countries would scramble to do the same, starting with the US.
'Korea needs to move fast too.'
Je-hyun's thoughts mirrored those of the Korean public.
But right now, with the rankers' Babel Tower feats putting Korea in festival mode, it didn't seem like hunters would bolt just yet.
"...."
Kim Je-hyun glanced sideways.
Yu Geon and Helcannon had been holed up talking in the same room since yesterday—who knew what about—and Lenox sat by the high-rise penthouse window, gazing at the outside world.
Je-hyun stared at Lenox for a moment, then got up and brewed tea in the kitchen.
Chulurok.
"...What am I even doing."
Grumbling though he was, Je-hyun prepared some suitable snacks and tea.
The guy's prisoner status felt kinda pitiful, and Lenox's vibe overlooking the world from up high was so poignant he couldn't just sit still.
'If I put that limited-edition Royal Paragon I snagged from the UK right there, the picture would be just...'
Insane. Totally insane.
Of course, that warm gesture included a spoonful of otaku heart—small but crucial for a tea fanatic.
Beep, beep—
Suddenly, the front door password chime rang out.
"Huh? Yu Ga-hyun?"
As Je-hyun poked his head out from the kitchen, Yu Geon and Helcannon were already bursting from their room to greet Ga-hyun.
"Come on in, noona."
"You've arrived."
Je-hyun, peeking at the scene, stuck out his tongue.
'They could start a family right now.'
Anyone would think those two were Yu Ga-hyun's husband and son.
Lenox, having roughly grasped the household dynamic, rose from his seat and stood by the shoe cabinet, watching them just like Je-hyun.
"Everyone doing well? You two started training or something?"
Je-hyun perked his ears at the entryway chatter while slipping back to the kitchen to finish up.
So that's why Yu Geon and Helcannon had been stuck together—training.
Ga-hyun kicked off her shoes, scooped up Yu Geon in a hug, kissed his cheek, and plopped onto the sofa. Yu Geon settled on her lap and asked,
"Busy stuff done now?"
"No way. But the urgent stuff's over, so I can rest a bit for the time being."
Ga-hyun laughed wearily.
"I thought I'd get at least a few days off after Babel Tower, but nope—that was all wishful thinking...."
Kim Je-hyun emerged from the kitchen.
"No matter how busy, take a break. Planning business while resting counts as work too."
E&H.
Enter & Hero. Netizens were already calling it 'Enhero.'
The company was brand new, but between Korea and abroad, it seemed harder to fail than succeed.
Sure, the 'entertainment' side hinged entirely on content quality, but the 'hero' side had just gotten worldwide validation from Babel Tower.
"Gates blew up big time too. Yu Ga-hyun's a chaebol now."
"What're you saying. Youngest chaebol heir."
Ga-hyun and Je-hyun laughed.
Gate internals' uses and value had been hinted at by YM, but the US bulk-buying magistones from their own gates had solidified it.
"Come have some tea."
At Je-hyun's words, Ga-hyun set Yu Geon down, got up, and headed to the terrace table.
"Kim Je-hyun brewing tea? What's the occasion."
"Obviously to show off my new fancy dishware."
"Yeah, looks exactly like your taste—filthy luxurious and expensive. Everyone sit and have tea. Lenox too."
Je-hyun loved this about Ga-hyun showing up.
Fancy tea sets shone brightest when shared with someone to drink with, and tea time was most fun laughing over little stories with close ones.