Chapter 49
Chapter 49
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Translator: uly
Chapter: 49
Chapter Title: Being a Guild Master Isn't Enough with Just the Game
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Before even entering the gate, my schedule was packed solid with guild duties, along with umbrella ad shoots and sports commercial schedules.
On top of that, Kim Dowon.
"Oh, oppa."
["You've been super busy lately."]
"Still, I have to make time to see Kim Dowon no matter what."
Kim Dowon laughed.
Kim Je-hyun had freaked out, wondering how I could dare call his big bro by name like that, but Kim Dowon actually seemed to secretly like it when I did.
["You're basically the boss lady now."]
He knew the situation without me even saying it. That was intriguing in its own way.
"It's not really a business yet. The company isn't making any money, so I'm doing ads myself this time. More like the guild's little landlady, honestly."
["Ahaha!"]
He burst out laughing again.
"Why'd you call?"
["I figured you're swamped with shoots, and if you're too busy, we could just wrap this up over the phone. I heard you have a gate exploration scheduled too."]
"No matter how busy I am, I always make time for you, oppa."
["Then see you on the promised day."]
"Yeah."
["There's a lot to talk about too."]
"......"
Hearing Kim Dowon say he had a lot to tell me made me uneasy for no reason.
It wasn't about Mom, was it?
["By the way, no company investments? Starting a business takes a ton of initial capital."]
I hadn't expected him to offer first.
"Not from relatives."
["Why? Afraid of them bossing you around?"]
He hit the nail on the head, leaving me speechless, and Kim Dowon laughed like he'd known it all along.
["Smart thinking. Can't stand seeing your uncles invest just to control you. Take a fat severance package instead of my investment money. You quit because of the business, right?"]
"!"
Wow, Kim Je-hyun, you spineless punk. You handled it like that?
Genius.
I hope that news got back to my mom in full.
["About the company... we'll talk in person. Good work holding down the fort till now."]
It was way more than just "good work."
I was dying from exhaustion.
["Hit me up anytime you need anything. I'm always on your side."]
A bittersweet feeling washed over me.
That was something Kim Dowon used to say a lot.
You meant it sincerely, but I'm not naive enough anymore to take those words at face value.
"......Yeah."
I knew what I wanted.
I no longer wished to stand on equal footing with Kim Dowon.
Higher up.
No, now I wanted to carve out something of my own in a completely different world from theirs.
* * *
Hyunwoo, guild master of Gentle Knights.
Real name: Shin Nokhyeon.
It had been over a week already, but the person Nokhyeon was waiting for hadn't sent even a single text—total radio silence.
"What can I say... I wasn't expecting much, but it still feels a bit disappointing."
"Can't be helped."
Mura—Kang Muhan—said.
"Kaisha-nim doesn't know who you are in real life."
"That's true, but I thought I'd appealed enough that I'm loaded."
"......"
Muhan thought to himself.
Maybe Hyunwoo didn't stand out because Goldbunker's Gilgamesh and Credit flashed their cash too hard.
If Goldbunker's money came from Gilgamesh and Credit, Spaceking's was spread across multiple people, and Fullminak's was obviously Hyunwoo.
"I figured she'd contact me to use me as her money line."
His face was full of regret.
Nokhyeon tapped the desk with his fingertips, then flipped open a file.
"You have a YouNike ad shoot tomorrow, right? Showing up unannounced on set would probably annoy her. She hated it when you were hovering around her, Muhan-hyung."
Muhan flinched.
Nokhyeon's sudden jab at his sore spot darkened Muhan's expression.
"......Maybe say we heard from Kali-nim and bring lunch boxes for the staff on set?"
"Together with you?"
Nokhyeon smirked crookedly.
"Even if I go, not with you."
"Why?"
"You asking because you don't know?"
Shin Nokhyeon leaned back in his chair, arms crossed, scanning Muhan from head to toe.
Muhan scratched his temple lightly under the intense gaze.
"......"
Truth be told, Muhan was extremely popular with women.
Tall stature, impressive physique.
A former pro baseball player with a rare Korean build and rugged good looks.
During his active days, Muhan had been a legend, showered with love from male and female fans nationwide for his flashy stats and striking appearance—until injury forced his retirement.
That was exactly why Muhan chased after Kaisha's heels, begging for just one meeting.
He had confidence, after all.
"Ahem. You're no slouch yourself."
Nokhyeon scowled at Muhan's lame consolation.
"Whatever."
Anyway, Nokhyeon had no desire to go meet Kaisha with Muhan tagging along.
Why give anyone the satisfaction.
From countless experiences, having that physique monster next to him meant getting sidelined.
Nokhyeon swallowed his inner regret.
He'd savored the refreshing thrill of watching Kang Muhan get roasted by Kaisha-nim in-game all that time.
But now that the game had become reality, it wasn't the time for emotional decisions.
"Whoever among us, we need to win Kaisha-nim's favor as much as possible and keep good relations. And no petty jealousy or sowing discord. Let's promise."
"Yeah. Promise."
Nokhyeon's annoyance spiked at how casually relaxed he sounded, but there was nothing for it.
Muhan was hot, after all.
"Our goal right now is to get the rankers from Fullminak and the other two guilds to unlock their in-game abilities as fast as possible."
"They're already catching on and starting to move."
"Yeah."
It was a given.
The moment the dimensional barrier lifted, VFA's operations team faced immediate external attacks.
The constellations' intervention had begun.
More precisely, the 'constellation factions' involved in the war had finally individually recognized the 'Korean channel.'
Of course, they hadn't zeroed in solely on the Korean channel.
Nokhyeon said,
"Trying to attack now is too late—it's all over."
A satisfied smile played on his lips as he spoke.
VFA.
A project uniting remnant forces scattered worldwide.
Shin Nokhyeon's faction had massively expanded Korea's VR game market, flooding it with games like VFA to distract the eye.
They'd branded status window seers as mentally ill, stifling the rumors.
It hadn't been time yet.
But now...
"The time has come."
Countless constellation factions existed on this land, locked in endless war for ages.
Constellation factions mainly split into two major camps, with others labeled third forces or remnants.
Shin Nokhyeon, who participated in VFA's siege as Gentle Knights' guild master 'Hyunwoo,' led the Korean faction among the third forces.
Young in body, but not in memory.
"This time, we'll succeed for sure. We have to. And for us..."
Nokhyeon and Muhan turned simultaneously to a massive real-life map hanging on one office wall.
Midgard.
Plastered across it were faces of Kaisha, Dart, Gilgamesh, and countless game characters.
Detailed explanations, relationships, combat power, personality, behavior patterns—all analyzed.
Nokhyeon and Muhan stared intently at Kaisha's photo, the largest one pinned in southern Midgard.
"Because we have a hidden card."
Nokhyeon grinned widely, and Muhan nodded.
And so,
The strategically nurtured seeds from the game were sown into the world.
* * *
Residents living a good distance from the gate were flooding in with complaints demanding hunter guards.
Of course, those right next to the gate had evacuated ages ago.
On the phone with Kali.
["Are they insane? We're not public servants—what, we do a few raids and suddenly we're public property?"]
The absurd requests were naturally ignored, leaving guild morale low.
The date for the third rampage had been announced.
After cleaning up the surroundings during the second raid, the next rampage's cooldown timer showed in the alert window—no accident worries there.
And the gate that had opened now was estimated at mere F-rank.
["Even if they paid hourly, no way."]
At this point, the country should recruit hunter civil servants separately.
"I'm pissed too, but calm down. Thinking about the game system, gates matter to us too. They're pretty much our only way to level up."
["......True."]
"You already turned down the request?"
Accepting gate guard duty could've secured first dibs—not a bad idea.
Kali sounded flustered.
["Huh? Yeah, I did. Should I have checked with you first before refusing?"]
"Nah, it's fine."
We'd enter the gate soon anyway—no need for guard duty.
The other guilds were indifferent too.
But I had a feeling guilds might start fiercely competing for gate priority from here on.
"You know Spaceking owns a massive trove of high-quality dungeons in northern Midgard."
["Right. That's why they were ranking 1 from the start."]
If Goldbunker's lands were treasure troves of mines and natural resources, Spaceking's were packed with top-tier dungeons.
Spaceking could endlessly train users and heroes with those.
"Gates might turn out the same."
["Ah. Yeah, makes sense."]
No one was greedy since this one was pegged as a mere F-rank gate, but we needed to stay alert.
Ye-rin, who had been quietly gazing outside, turned to me.
"We're almost there."
I nodded, and she continued.
"But we still don't know exactly how gates make money."
["Yeah. Can't we sell items from monsters? Even if there's a market, it's all junk right now."]
Market? Now that I thought about it, if the game system transferred over, there should be a market—why wasn't there one?
Had I been too immersed in the game?
"I'm here."
["Okay. Good luck with the shoot."]
I'd been reviewing documents with earbuds in when I opened the door—and nearly toppled from the explosion of screams.
Kyaaaah—!!
["W-What? What's that noise? Did something big happen?"]
"I-I don't know either......"
I stumbled, accidentally hitting the end call button.
"Unni, hold my hand."
Ye-rin, following behind, supported me with a relaxed, amused expression and took my hand.
Kiyaaahhh—!!!
......What the hell.
I couldn't make sense of the cloud of people gathered, and then cheers erupted from some random point.
Unable to hide my panic as I stepped out of the car, Ye-rin came out too and said,
"Unni, sorry. I tweeted the schedule once, but I didn't think it'd blow up like this."
"What kinda cute bullshit is that."
Not my words.
Ye-rin's face stiffened slightly as she whipped her head around.
"......"
Towering height, bright yellow hair, round sunglasses drawing eyes instantly.
First time seeing him in person.
As Gilgamesh—Kwon Ho-seong—approached, people screamed and snapped photos like crazy, but somehow I was the only one flustered by it all.
'This... doesn't feel real.'
The two top rankers in front of me exchanged glances like they'd been celebrities since birth.
Kwon Ho-seong said,
"Without exhibitionist vibes, that face is wasted spec. Right, Joo Ye-rin?"
Ye-rin crossed her arms silently.
Kwon Ho-seong grinned at the displeased glare from Joo Ye-rin, then turned to me.
He stuck out his hand.
"First time meeting?"
Even as I shook it, I couldn't find words with Kwon Ho-seong right there.
Look at that face.
"......Whoa, sync rate."
"Yeah. Totally matches the in-game look, huh? Hear that a lot. Face like luxury goods—no reason to hide it."
"......"
Gilgamesh......
His self-obsession was so casual, it slipped out naturally.