Chapter 88
Chapter 88
-----------------------------------------------------------------
Translator: uly
Chapter: 88
Chapter Title: Guild Master Isn't Enough with Just the Game
-----------------------------------------------------------------
What I wanted to talk about was work-related stuff, but Hyunwoo-nim kept insisting on a café, which was secretly putting me in a tough spot.
In any case, I ended up coming to a café.
I went home, changed clothes, and diligently searched for a decent room café nearby. Turns out there was a good one.
It was my first time here, so I sat down, looked around, and then pulled down my mask.
Hyunwoo-nim spoke up.
“As expected, cafés are the best.”
He looked so proud of himself for coming to a café like a regular person, the picture-perfect chaebol heir, completely oblivious to it. It was kind of funny.
He’s really cute.
It’s what I think every time I see him—Hyunwoo-nim is totally my type.
His real name’s Shin Nokhyeon, after all.
The name has this fresh, vibrant, green vibe that suits him perfectly.
On the other hand, the beefy guy next to him…
“…”
An awkward tension flowed between the famous former pro baseball player Mura-nim and me.
He was ridiculously handsome.
I could see why Mura-nim kept nagging me to meet in real life, but that didn’t erase the sticky, uncomfortable feelings built up in-game.
Of course, as guild master, he was such a capable talent that I kept up appearances.
Hyunwoo-nim said,
“I originally wanted to come alone, but Muhan-hyung insisted on tagging along.”
“Yeah.”
And then silence.
Mura-nim seemed somehow deflated.
The quiet dragged on as we eyed each other, so I switched topics.
“I’ll order real quick.”
I got one of each type of cake and picked drinks for everyone.
Before the server arrived, I pulled my mask back up and lowered my gaze—no one recognized me.
I asked Hyunwoo-nim,
“How are the heroes doing?”
“Yes, of course. They’re all extremely grateful for Kaisha-nim’s mercy.”
Thankfully, the heroes Fullminak had captured alive during the city war were being managed by Hyunwoo-nim.
I’d figured there wouldn’t be much trouble since they’d been pretty quiet.
We planned to send them back when we returned from Midgard, using the gate that had spawned then.
Without a reverse summon function, we were sending back our guild’s bound heroes in one go too.
Summoning them was easy, but sending them back wasn’t up to us.
“Kali will be back soon, so no worries about returning the heroes, but has the hero reverse summon system really disappeared for good?”
Hyunwoo-nim replied to my words.
“Ah, this is from our side’s own analysis, but the Babel Tower system doesn’t seem completely fixed.”
“Really? How so?”
“From what we speculate, the Babel Tower is like a highly advanced AI, so it doesn’t seem impossible that the reverse summon system could get patched in the future.”
“…Yeah, the Babel Tower actually spoke to me. It felt like it had a will of its own.”
Hyunwoo-nim’s eyes widened at my words.
“You talked to the Babel Tower?”
“Not sure if you’d call it talking, but a message window popped up from the Babel Tower.”
I’d even gotten a quest.
Seeing Hyunwoo-nim look surprised, I smoothly shifted the conversation and tossed out the main topic.
“I happened to help Spaceking this time and got dungeon access rights to northern Midgard, so I think it’d be good to send more guild members and try opening the return gate right away.”
For reference, once you enter the Babel Tower, electronic devices and game chats cut off, so the only way to relay messages is to send people.
Hyunwoo-nim’s eyes went wide.
“From Dart?”
“Yeah. I wheedled him hard, and he gave it as a reward.”
“Even as thanks for helping, I can’t believe Dart of all people would allow another guild dungeon access with that personality of his.”
I couldn’t help but laugh.
“Right? He brought it up first, and I was shocked too.”
Honestly, getting exactly what I wanted from Dart felt amazing. That’s why I’d called Hyunwoo-nim right away to set up a meeting.
Even if it ended up as an impromptu one without prior plans.
I sensed the server approaching and shut my mouth for a moment. Drinks and desserts were placed on the table.
Once the server left, I spoke again.
“Anyway, if additional patches are possible, that’d be great. Without a separate reverse summon system, summoning heroes is a huge hassle even if we have them.”
“That’s probably…”
“Hm?”
“Ah, nothing.”
He seemed about to say something but brushed it off.
I was about to ask again, but threw out a different question instead.
“Do you happen to know what a holy relic-grade weapon is?”
“!”
“!”
Hyunwoo-nim and Mura-nim both flinched and looked at me. I set down the cup I’d been bringing to my lips and stared at them.
They knew.
Mura-nim spoke first.
“Where did you hear that?”
“…The, constellations? Incarnated constellations.”
“!!”
Did I say something I shouldn’t have?
Hyunwoo-nim and Mura-nim froze, faces stiff.
Mura-nim asked again.
“Was your neck injury from that too, by any chance?”
How did they know I was hurt?
Were they watching me online too?
Well, Abyss had been spectating me in real time, got surprised, and rushed to the scene.
Though I still don’t get why they were all dolled up so pretty.
“That was from a hero I thought was dead suddenly jumping up and swinging his sword. It has nothing to do with constellations or whatever.”
Mura-nim and Hyunwoo-nim glanced at each other at my words.
I continued.
“So, how do you get a holy relic-grade weapon? That arrogant jerk sliced my sword clean off and told me to bring one next time.”
Arrogant bastard.
He’d let his guard down mid-fight, and that condescending look from the start really got under my skin.
But Hyunwoo-nim and Mura-nim, who’d been startled and acted like they knew all about holy relic-grade weapons the moment I mentioned them, now just exchanged glances without answering.
“…What?”
Only then did they speak.
“That’s… holy relic-grade… isn’t something you can just get easily…”
“Asking you to bring a holy relic-grade weapon that’s hard for them to obtain themselves is basically just taunting Kaisha-nim.”
Mura-nim and Hyunwoo-nim said in turn.
Once they finished, a heavy silence settled over the table.
“…”
Should I just kill that guy?
He underestimated me mid-fight, let his guard down, and now toys with me over weapons?
As my anger simmered, something had been nagging at me during my chat with Hyunwoo-nim.
“But it’s amazing how you two know about stuff like that. Now that I think about it, figuring out Babel Tower system patches is impressive too.”
Hyunwoo-nim and Mura-nim flinched.
“R-Rather than that, I’d like to talk about the gates…”
Hyunwoo-nim blatantly changed the subject. He looked so flustered and at a loss that I let it slide—he was cute.
Well, if we keep up the rapport, I’ll find out eventually.
“Sure. Go ahead.”
“You know we have plenty of analysts in Gentle Knights handling all sorts of things.”
That’s how you figured it out?
Hyunwoo-nim tried to add some plausibility, but it was like covering your eyes and shouting “peekaboo.”
Our Fullminak alliance guilds had searched hard for hero reverse summon info too, but found no real hope.
Honestly, the idea that it could be improved through the Babel Tower felt foreign to me.
Is Hyunwoo-nim really on my side?
Even today, there were so many suspicious things.
I swallowed more questions and nodded as if agreeing.
Hyunwoo-nim continued.
“Do you remember what you saw inside the gate? Like the glowing stones, or the plants growing in there—there were all sorts of things.”
“…Yeah.”
I hadn’t looked closely, but there really was all kinds of stuff.
“Among the heroes our side captured alive this time, some had put gate contents into their inventories and brought them out.”
Hero inventories.
A special function that guild-bound heroes get—regular NPCs don’t have them.
Not many slots, but handy for porters, so Goldbunker, with all their mines, used them the most.
Hyunwoo-nim said exactly that.
“Goldbunker’s heroes habitually mined them.”
“That makes sense.”
“Our YM researchers are analyzing those resources right now, and they’re turning out to be highly valuable.”
“…Really?”
I couldn’t help leaning forward at the irresistible hook, staring at Hyunwoo-nim.
It was urgent business for Fullminak.
After nonstop wars in Midgard and managing countless nations, guild masters all think alike.
Wars and nation-running guzzle insane amounts of money and manpower.
Reality was the same.
Even borrowing Goldbunker’s infrastructure, making a proper music video starring Abyss as idols to promote Fullminak would cost a fortune.
“Yes. For that reason, our company wants to propose an investment to Kaisha-nim—or more precisely, to Fullminak.”
It was sudden.
“An investment?”
“Gates will definitely spawn again, so it’s about securing resources early.”
Hearing the suspicious Hyunwoo-nim say that made me certain gates would keep appearing.
Gilgamesh was pretty sure too, but Hyunwoo-nim’s tone felt different somehow.
What’s Hyunwoo-nim’s real deal?
No wonder Gilgamesh’s questions about him felt off—there’s something there.
Anyway, investment for early securing.
I’d need more specifics to know the details, but it didn’t sound bad.
We needed cash now.
I asked Hyunwoo-nim,
“Upfront payment?”
“Yes, of course.”
“How much were you thinking?”
“We’re still testing resource potential, so not a huge amount…”
Yeah, fair enough.
Unclear how useful the resources are, or how much one gate can yield.
I nodded and sipped my tea when Hyunwoo-nim suddenly said,
“For starters, how about a modest 10 billion?”
“?!”
Cough! Cough!
I wasn’t a real chaebol by blood—just a regular person—and that “modest” sum went down the wrong way, making me choke. Mura-nim quickly handed me tissues.
Hyunwoo-nim panicked.
“I-Is it too little? Then we can bump it to 30 billion…”
Cough! Cough cough!!
I shook my head while coughing to signal that wasn’t it, but Hyunwoo-nim, looking troubled at me, suddenly hardened his resolve.
“Got it. It won’t be easy, but I’ll convince the old folks in my family as much as possible.”
Mura-nim chimed in from the side.
“Gotta save face for Kaisha-nim—at least tear 100 billion out of them.”
“Yeah, have to. They’ve been nagging me lately anyway and stressing me out—might as well make them compensate.”
“Those old timers will be thrilled to finally have something useful to do for you.”
“They’ve been nothing but a burden to me all this time, totally useless. If they don’t obey me nicely, I won’t forgive them.”
I sat there dumbfounded listening to their exchange.
From the sound of it, Hyunwoo-nim had serious pull in YM Group, but I wondered what the internal company and family dynamics were like.
“…Cough.”
Anyway, the moment to say “that’s not what I meant” had flown far away.