Chapter 326
Translator: Vine
Chapter: 326
Chapter Title: 73. Negotiation (1)
“What? Why are you so surprised?”
Song Ji-seon was startled by her son’s expression instead.
What on earth could make this monster of a kid look so flustered?
It seemed like something only the market lord could see had appeared again, so Ji-seon asked once more.
“Don’t keep it to yourself—discuss it with your parents. You planning to fight the war alone?”
At that, Young-woo couldn’t tear his eyes away from the naked proxy’s profile until he finally turned to look at his mother.
“They say she’s completely naked.”
“What?”
Ji-seon’s voice twisted immediately.
“I don’t know why, but Remu’s proxy is buck naked. Is it because they’re a porn company?”
Even so, they produced cosmic-level smut—could they really be that one-dimensional?
Young-woo couldn’t quite buy it.
“Naked? So no gear at all? They’re fighting the war like that?”
As expected, Ji-seon reacted with the same confusion, leaving Young-woo to scratch his chin.
“Who knows. Anyway, from the proxy’s perspective, if the sponsor says strip, they strip…”
“What? So if those Dogo bastards told you to strip right now, you’d do it? Hell, you might even do worse?”
“…”
Faced with the blatantly malicious question, Young-woo shot his mother a look of disgust.
But it was a pretty sharp question, too.
Truth be told, he’d never even considered something like that.
The humiliations he’d endured working with Dogo so far amounted to reciting their sponsorship to his duel opponents.
Even that had become routine enough that it wasn’t humiliating anymore.
“Stripping…? Well, the first time’s the hardest. But if they keep up the financial treatments, I might end up doing it.”
“…You lunatic.”
“Of course, if it actually came to that, I wouldn’t know what I’d do. But one thing’s for sure—I’d consider it as positively as possible.”
Young-woo figured Remu’s proxy might have chosen to “strip” in the same context.
Just as Dogo had their somewhat violent business philosophy, Remu probably had their own unique thing.
‘Well… best to summon them and ask directly.’
Young-woo recalled the phrase from the initial notification.
「Register your proxy profile and select the company to invite to the first negotiation table.」
‘Doesn’t that mean once the profile’s registered, I can call one company? I’ll just pick Remu then.’
He planned to smash both Mara and Remu anyway, so the order didn’t matter. But now that he knew Remu’s proxy was fully naked, he had to meet them.
Why were they waiting for war in the nude, and what was the payoff?
‘Hmm. Kinda curious where a freak like that lives, too.’
As Young-woo rubbed his temples from the headache-inducing curiosity—
Ping!
A short signal sounded, and his keyword extraction completed.
「Extraction complete. Please review your proxy profile below and select the first company to invite to the negotiation table.」
‘Oh…’
Profile finally done.
Curious what the system thought of him, Young-woo quickly shifted his gaze to it.
His agency “Dogo” caught his eye first.
『Dogo』
|Proxy Type: Demon
|Dogo’s proxy is insane! Doesn’t even have a [heart] like humans do. [Unpredictable] and [cosmic] entity. He’s after all your [money]. Avoid contact if possible.
“…What.”
Young-woo blinked at his own profile.
He couldn’t tell if it was an insult or a compliment.
Of course, the profile’s purpose was to help rivals pick their first negotiation target.
‘So compliments don’t really matter…’
Still, it stung a bit that the system called him “insane.”
‘Am I insane even by cosmic standards?’
As Young-woo pondered that, a real-time alert popped up.
Flash!
「Mara’s proxy has viewed your profile.」
「Remu’s proxy has viewed your profile.」
“Whoa.”
Both Mara’s heavily armed proxy and Remu’s naked war-prepper were awake right now.
‘Makes sense—address reveal’s not far off, so sleeping would be weirder.’
Only then did Young-woo pull himself out of bed, and the negotiation table options appeared.
「Please select one proxy to meet at the negotiation table.」
「If both proxies select each other, a portal to the negotiation table will open. The table allows relatively safe conversation and can formalize official agreements.」
It was exactly that—a real negotiation venue.
And not just talk; if they reached some accord, it could be made official.
‘But both sides have to pick each other to meet.’
That meant negotiations might not happen depending on choices.
If Dogo picked Remu, Remu picked Mara, and Mara picked Dogo, no one picked each other.
‘For me… Remu?’
Mara’s intro sounded stronger, but he was sick of powerhouses.
He’d met plenty of them, inside and outside Earth, to the point of boredom.
So he was more interested in the “weirdo” than the strong guy.
‘Remu… yeah, Remu it is.’
As Young-woo muttered internally, the system responded right away.
「Dogo proxy Jeong Young-woo07 has invited Remu faction to the negotiation table.」
Then it revealed who had invited him.
「Remu’s proxy has invited you.」
「Mara’s proxy has invited you.」
‘Huh? Unanimous vote?’
Both Remu and Mara picked Dogo’s proxy.
The table promised “relatively” safe talk, so votes went to the riskiest-looking one from the profiles.
「You can now negotiate with Remu’s proxy. Open the portal?」
“Now? Right away?”
Young-woo blurted it out loud, and Ji-seon, standing beside him, tilted her head.
“What’s now?”
“They say we can do the pre-negotiation right now.”
“Negotiate what? We’re all just gonna war each other anyway, right?”
“Yeah. Guess we’ll see once we sit down.”
Like his mother said, Young-woo had no clue what they were supposed to negotiate.
No way they’d suggest fighting the war but not killing each other.
When Young-woo approved the table opening, a massive portal really did appear in one corner of the bedroom.
Whoosh!
Unlike any he’d seen before, this one was a huge navy-blue light ring.
“That the negotiation entrance?”
“Yeah.”
“This is our turf, and they just open a tunnel like that with no restrictions?”
Classic view from a global corp head.
Even now, Ji-seon felt a sense of threat and irritation.
“They asked my permission first.”
But depending on the case, they could probably open portals without asking.
Hadn’t the system and alien forces invaded this planet on whims before?
Probably because the planet’s owner hadn’t been decided yet.
“I’ll be back. Take care of Dad and the missus.”
Young-woo entrusted his mom with the rest and stepped into the portal toward the negotiation table.
* * *
Cold.
The first thing Young-woo felt passing through was the chill.
Not biting cold, but enough for an unpleasant shiver.
“Seriously, call a guy over and this is what you do? At least match the temperature.”
Beyond the navy-blue portal was a narrow room about 8 meters across.
In the center sat a table roughly 2 meters wide, with chairs arranged facing each other.
In other words…
‘If someone starts a fight here, no dodging it.’
Too cramped for two top fighters from warring nations on the eve of war.
And sure enough.
≪This space is a public asset managed by the Planetary Court. Destruction of property, assault, murder, etc., strictly prohibited.≫
A warning message appeared as if on cue.
Then…
≪If you experience any discomfort during use, press the side button to open the exit.≫
“Exit?”
Only now did Young-woo notice the room had no separate exit.
And that tiny buttons were on each side wall.
‘So if you block those, you trap the other guy.’
But no murder or even assault allowed, so subdue without hitting.
‘What counts as assault in here exactly…?’
As Young-woo mulled that while waiting, a navy-blue portal finally appeared opposite him.
Whoosh!
“...!”
Remu’s proxy was entering.
Clack.
Young-woo instinctively reached for his bastard sword but barely stopped.
And in that moment.
Shoo.
Someone really emerged from the portal depths.
‘Holy shit.’
Young-woo’s pupils reflected a pale, fleshy mass.
Remu’s proxy was utterly naked, not a stitch on.
A bare man about 2 meters tall.
Looked early 40s, but body reinforcement gave him hefty muscle.
Yet his sunless pale skin, hollow eyes, and wild beard created massive dissonance.
Face and body totally mismatched, like.
Of course, Young-woo wasn’t much different himself, but at least he wore clothes.
“Oh, an Oriental.”
The one representing Remu at the table opened with that, eyeing Young-woo.
Young-woo tried to check his title, only to realize nothing floated above this freak’s head.
“No title, huh.”
Pointing at the guy’s head with a Besedel-armored finger, Young-woo noted it. The man nodded as if intrigued.
“Indeed. You’re the same.”
“…”
“You.”
First time he’d heard someone say it out loud.
“Looks like our homeworld titles don’t work here.”
Then the guy extended one arm sideways, folded it to his chest, and bowed his head.
An exaggerated greeting.
“Proxy of Dogo, the mad one. I am Tokyo Sword Emperor, Kawachiya Yuuto03 from Japan.”
“…”
On second look, the guy’s fingers were freakishly long.
Watching this underwear-less giant do a bizarre bow just 7 meters away sent chills down Young-woo’s spine.
‘Wanna kill him right now.’
Like how humans instinctively want to squash a big gross bug, Young-woo just wanted this Yuuto out of sight ASAP.
But this was Planetary Court turf.
Killing meant jail.
“I’m Jeong Young-woo07 from Korea. Dogo’s proxy, as you know.”
Young-woo kept his intro short and pointed to the negotiation table.
“No idea what this is, but let’s sit first.”
Sitting would at least half-block that pale flesh blob.
Scrape.
Young-woo pulled out a chair and sat. Yuuto paused thoughtfully before grabbing his late.
“Why.”
“...?”
“Why does your type read as Demon?”
|Proxy Type: Demon
Referring to Young-woo’s profile.
Mara and Remu both showed “Human,” but Dogo’s proxy was “Demon.”
“You look human enough.”
Yuuto’s gaze hit Young-woo’s chest—heart area.
Recalling the profile: “Doesn’t even have a human [heart].”
Young-woo shrugged and placed his hand on the table.
Thud.
“Dunno. Guess you’ll find out. Anyway, why are you naked?”
As Young-woo asked, Yuuto finally dragged his chair over and sat, starting to speak.
“Actually, everything I’m doing right now is…”
But before he finished—
Piiing!
A sharp signal rang out. The table under their hands and elbows lit up entirely.
Flash!
“Huh?”
“What the—.”
≪Welcome to the negotiation table.≫
Hologram text appeared before each proxy.
Then the true nature of this “negotiation” revealed itself.
Fsssh!
Light beams shot down from above their heads, forming five face-down cards before each.
“What is this?”
Even Young-woo, veteran of all things bizarre, hadn’t seen this. Yuuto—this embodiment of bizarre—seemed equally stumped.
“Card game or something?”
He muttered in his creepy tone, and the guide appeared.
≪You will now negotiate up to five agenda items.≫
≪Each proxy receives five cards reflecting their actual combat power. Per agenda, flip one card to compete on ‘power’ score.≫
‘No way.’
Young-woo glanced at his cards on the table, confirming the explanation.
Five rounds of card-flipping, basically.
Winner per round based on ‘power,’ and could demand something from the loser…
‘That right? My take?’
As he wondered internally, the next guide hit right on time.
≪Now beginning the first negotiation.≫
≪Each proxy, pick a card to check, then state the negotiation demand for a power contest win.≫
‘Gotta try it to know.’
Per the explanation, check card before setting demand.
So Young-woo picked the center one.
A help text popped with it.
「You selected your first card. Cards remain hidden until all demands are finalized.」
Demands first, then reveal cards to decide winners.
‘So if you’re confident, throw out insane demands?’
As Young-woo thought that holding his first card, help replied instantly.
「Loser of each round must accept opponent’s demand—and loses their own demand to the opponent.」
‘Ah.’
In short: Start a round demanding “suicide at war start,” lose, and you have to do it.
‘So we gotta probe each other’s card levels somehow.’
Rules not fully clear yet, Young-woo got cautious.
‘Let’s see my first card. No clue what got card-ified.’
He flipped the card in hand. Tiny hail-like bits poured over it, forming blue text.
―You drew the [Mother Returned from the Heavens] card!