Chapter 72
Chapter 72
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Translator: Ace
Chapter: 72
Chapter Title: The 16th Roundtable Meeting
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“Thank you all for attending the 16th Roundtable Conference.”
A man in a pristine white robe bowed toward the more than thirty people gathered there.
“Personally, I’m thrilled that the number of participants in this regular meeting is exactly the same as last time.”
It was a joke he’d prepared with some ambition, but the reactions from those seated at the round table were ice-cold.
“Haha… Sorry about that.”
Alteron, the emissary from the Third Papal Court devoted to the God of Light, Rasheen, scratched his forehead awkwardly.
Continent Unified Ranking 89th.
He was third among healers, but the overwhelming presence of everyone assembled in the hall was no small pressure.
“It was just a joke, so give the host a reaction, at least. He’s not wrong, though. Last meeting, three people got replaced, after all.”
The one breaking the ice was a hulking man.
He was Continent Unified 48th, the number one Berserker, Barkman.
“Two of those three were trashed by you, so it’s not like they’re off-base.”
“Trashed my ass… They came at me like they wanted to die, so I obliged. They were acting tough without a care for their XP.”
Acting tough… You’re the one who started the fight.
That monster wiped out three clans and snatched the magic stone mine rights. Getting runes just got even harder.
Tsk tsk…
Thorny glares stabbed toward Barkman from all directions as he laughed boisterously.
“What? Got a problem? Settle it with me later, one-on-one.”
Sensing the stares, Barkman growled as he glanced over his shoulder.
“Don’t stir up needless trouble. I know it’s your first Roundtable, but the admins must have explained the rules clearly.”
A woman spoke up to him.
“Do we all look like a joke to you?”
“Ahem… Not particularly.”
Though her slender frame was less than half his bulk, Barkman’s attitude shifted dramatically at her words.
As expected… The leader of Moon Shadow lives up to her reputation.
No one here dared underestimate her delicate appearance.
Continent Unified Ranking 8th, Kanae.
The top Assassin and head of the assassin group Moon Shadow, she was the highest-ranked player at this gathering.
“Ahem, the agenda for this Roundtable is simple.”
As the mood settled, Alteron launched into the topic as if he’d been waiting.
“You all know about the Phoenix Unit conquering the 10th floor of Labyrinth Tower not long ago.”
Thud.
He paused to catch his breath, then pulled something from his robes.
Oh ho… Finally.
Is this the thing he mentioned in that solo interview?
Revealing it at the Roundtable, huh.
Keruga, you sly fox…
Their inner thoughts varied, but all eyes locked onto the item now on the table.
“The Phoenix Unit said they’d reveal one of the three reward items exclusively to the Roundtable.”
“It’s a quest item related to Veraden, one of the continent’s Seven Great Spiritual Beasts. From the intel we’ve gathered, it’s tied to a Unique class.”
David, the Phoenix Unit representative at the meeting, picked up the explanation.
“You all know the value of a Unique class. Starting bid is 1,000 gold.”
“1,500.”
“2,000.”
“2,500.”
The people in the hall began raising bids immediately after David’s words.
“Ugh, if it’s an auction, why not just use the exchange? Why bother doing it here…?”
Jane muttered to herself, staring at them in confusion.
“First Roundtable for you, huh?”
The old man beside her spoke up.
“I came once with my uncle.”
“Uncle? Ah, right. You’re the one who snagged this World Quest.”
The old man glanced at the [Uldia Union] nameplate in front of her and acted familiar.
“Yes. Thanks to that, I’m here as a representative way above my station.”
“Heh heh, what interesting folks.”
The old man, eyeing Jane with interest, extended his hand first.
“Name’s Galahad.”
“……!!”
Jane couldn’t hide her shock at his name.
“Rage Master?!”
“Embarrassing as it is, yeah, that’s one of my nicknames.”
“It’s an honor to meet you!”
“An honor… Don’t flatter this old man.”
Rage Master.
It was the moniker given to Galahad, who wielded light-element magic rather than the standard five elemental affinities.
Light magic was notoriously hard to control and limited in variety, making it an extremely niche attribute.
Continent Unified Ranking 178th.
Mage Ranking 23rd.
Not weak by any means, but compared to the others at this meeting, he fell short.
Even so, no one dared look down on him.
The reason? He was one of only three players to defeat Keruga—the so-called strongest in Evil Tail—in the Colosseum arena.
Unlike his appearance, he was an arena fanatic who shattered the prejudice that mages were weak in PvP.
“Anyway… I’m getting bored. We can’t skip the auction, but I was hoping the talk about uncharted zones would come first.”
“Huh?! You too, Galahad?”
“You as well, eh.”
The two nodded at each other, pleased to share the sentiment.
“Auctions happen every time, right?”
“Afraid it’s unavoidable. A few more items will come up, so hang in there.”
“What’s the difference from the exchange?”
“The scale of the bids, for one.”
“10,000!!!”
True to his word, the bids had already jumped units.
“T-Ten thousand gold? How much is that even?”
“Heh heh, truth is, those prices aren’t what they’re shouting out.”
“……Huh?”
“It’s their sponsors behind them.”
Large clans inevitably had sponsors.
At these semiannual meetings, sponsors invested directly in items like this.
“Ahem… Sure, the prices are insane, but do they really need to gather just to auction?”
“Truth is, all these deals tie into their sponsors’ money laundering.”
“W-What?”
Jane couldn’t believe her ears.
It was the last thing she’d expected.
“Exchange auctions get logged directly in the system. But not like this.”
Galahad continued, understanding her reaction.
“Plus, if you’re spending, might as well get the best items. The Roundtable itself was proposed by sponsors in the first place.”
“……What a letdown. I thought this was some grand conference. It’s just a money-laundering club?”
“Don’t think too badly of it. Without their backing, even conquering Labyrinth Tower wouldn’t be possible.”
But Jane pouted, clearly dissatisfied.
“Games should stay games.”
“Haha, you’re right. Mixing in real-world crap turned it into this. Lucky for us, someone like you got the World Quest.”
Galahad chuckled.
“Or maybe it only became possible because it was you.”
“What do you think about the one who cleared the Black Mist? Feels like a rookie who smashed Keruga’s records to me.”
“High chance it’s them.”
“How many titles do they have, then? If they topped not just the old dungeons but the new ones too…”
“Heh heh, who knows.”
Galahad stroked his chin and smirked.
“Might even be stronger than me.”
“Come on, even as a joke. They’ve barely hit level 50.”
“You must not grasp the power of titles yet. Back in the day, before Keruga arrived, there was this massive guild on the Central Continent called True Dragon Gate.”
“True Dragon Gate?”
“Eight years ago, so you wouldn’t know. When Keruga crossed to the Central Continent, he clashed with them.”
Galahad looked a bit flushed, reminiscing fondly.
“Over thirty True Dragon Gate players faced off against freshly level 50 Keruga.”
“No way…?”
“He won decisively.”
Jane’s eyes trembled at his words.
“Keruga was unstoppable with the three Dark Forest dungeon titles. What about this guy?”
Gulp.
Unlike Jane, who was just vaguely curious, Galahad had already foreseen the upheaval coming to the Central Continent.
…Huh?
In that moment, Jane sensed something off.
The auction area, noisy with bids moments ago, had fallen utterly silent.
No one spoke, but all were hyper-aware of him.
She recalled what Gareth had said.
“See? Not easy people.”
Galahad patted her shoulder with an amused expression.
“They’re all waiting. For the new wind.”
Whether it’d be a bloodbath or a tailwind, who knew.
Boom―――!!!!!
Red blood sprayed everywhere.
“……Gah!!!”
Ricky’s body flew straight into the cage bars.
“You bastard…! Have you lost your mind!!!”
“You’re the crazy ones. What? Locked up for not paying tribute? What kind of bullshit is that?”
Woojin grabbed the collapsed Ricky by the collar and hoisted him up.
W-What strength…
“Open the cell door. Now.”
“I-I can’t!! That guy borrowed gear from the vigilantes and lost it! We even have the contract!”
“Fine, let’s say that’s true. Then what about the wounds all over his body?”
Chill.
Ricky’s face went deathly pale in that instant.
“T-That was… just a lesson…”
“A lesson?”
“Pain feedback’s adjustable anyway…”
“Pain aside, didn’t you think beating him that bad would break his mind?”
“I-I didn’t…”
“Then experience it yourself.”
Thwack――!!!!
Woojin smashed his scabbard into Ricky’s shin as he lay fallen.
“A-Arghhh!!!”
A dull thud echoed as his leg bent unnaturally.
“W-Wait, hold on…!”
“What? Or did you know and do it anyway?”
Shing.
The sharp blade pressed against Ricky’s throat.
“Then I’ll really kill you.”
“H-Hiiiik!!!”
Ricky tried to flee, dragging his broken leg.
“Gaaaah…!!!”
Woojin stabbed his sword into Ricky’s thigh as he crawled, sending him rolling in agony.
Bang――!!!
In that moment, the prison door burst open violently.
“Stop!!!”
“You punk!! Do you even know where you are!!”
The mob of vigilantes rushed in, weapons trained on Woojin as they shouted.
“Where’s that?”
Slash.
Woojin demonstratively slit Ricky’s throat right in front of them.
“Some amazing place that throws people in cells and imprisons them?”
Step— step— step—.
Stepping past Ricky’s corpse, Woojin advanced on the vigilantes.
“Raaahhh!!!”
The frontmost vigilante swung his sword at Woojin.
“……!!”
His blade lodged in Woojin’s shoulder.
It was a full-force strike, yet Woojin stood unmoved, staring down the man.
Thud――!!!
Woojin gripped the embedded blade, yanked it free, and slowly pushed it back toward the vigilante.
“Wh-What…?”
As his own sword inched toward his throat, the vigilante’s face twisted in bewilderment.
Thump—!!
His stance crumbled under Woojin’s strength, and he collapsed to the floor.
“Grk!!”
He strained with all his might, but the blade crept closer like a guillotine.
“Gaaaaah!!!”
He flailed and screamed, but
Stab――!!!
the blade plunged straight down.
Thud.
Woojin kicked the severed head toward the stunned vigilantes.
Sizzle…
The rolling head dissolved into smoke and ash.
“Not all that impressive.”
The air grew heavy, pressing down with the weight of his fury.
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