Chapter 205: That Was But a Misconception
Chapter 205: That Was But a Misconception
“I am Sung Hyunmin of the Han Clan, representing the small southeastern city of Dana. I hold the position of Clan Lord and have been in the Hall Plain for about four years.”
The moment I heard Sung Hyunmin’s introduction, I finally understood why he had caught my attention. Sung Hyunmin, the Lord of the Han Clan. A man who had left his mark on the history of the Hall Plain in my first playthrough. Although he eventually stepped back in the later stages, he was a User who had exerted an immense influence on the Hall Plain’s history until then.
Upon hearing his name, the Matriarch seemed to recall something as well. She slapped her knee and spoke.
“Ah. Now I remember. The rising star of the east, was it? I heard you were quite a capable operator.”
“Hahaha. I am simply grateful for your kind words, Matriarch.”
“I only said what I heard. In any case, you said you had something to say.”
“Then, if I may… Ah, this might take a while. You told us to speak our minds, Matriarch, and the recent incident has already brought everything out into the open. As such, I too will speak frankly. My words may be uncomfortable for those sitting across from me, but this is an issue that must be addressed, so I ask for your understanding in advance.”
Sung Hyunmin offered a friendly smile and slowly rose from his seat. It was a simple act—pulling his chair back and standing up—but when he did it, it somehow seemed incredibly dignified. His gaze swept across the entire conference room before his well-defined lips slowly parted.
“I will be direct. We, the representative clans of the east and their subordinates, can no longer stand by and watch the Golden Lion’s dictatorship.”
Sung Hyunmin’s words were concise, but the shockwave they sent through the room was impossible to ignore. The representatives of the Goryeo and Moonlit Night clans, who were also from the east, remained relatively calm. It seemed they had coordinated beforehand. However, the other clans all stared at each other in utter bewilderment. For a moment, a loud murmur filled the conference room.
The noise only subsided after the Matriarch raised a hand to calm them.
“You can no longer watch the Golden Lion’s dictatorship… Tell me more. I don’t mind if this one takes a while.”
“I will not rehash how you excluded other clans starting with the Vagabond Extermination Plan. Everyone is already aware of that fact. What I wish to speak of are the lives of the 5,000 Users who died in this expedition. And who were those Users? While some had less experience, the vast majority were the elites of their respective clans, averaging four or more years of experience.”
“Allow me to say a word. What you say is not wrong, but that alone cannot support the declaration of the Han Clan and the other eastern clans. In truth, the non-participating clans suffered no real damage. Your justification is weak.”
A User wearing the emblem of the Northland Clan interjected in a gentle voice, challenging Sung Hyunmin. But not a flicker of agitation showed on Sung Hyunmin’s face. Instead, he maintained a gentle expression and continued in the tone of a teacher instructing a child.
“Weak justification? No damage? That is incorrect. For the four years since the conquest of Barbara, new Users have been monopolized by the Golden Lion and its allied clans. Clans that could not participate in the User Academy were forced to recruit Users who received no offers from anyone else after the graduation ceremony. At least, that has been the case until now. We have struggled to raise Users with relatively less talent and potential to get this far. In contrast, you have consistently strengthened your clans by recruiting Users with great talent and deep potential. Let me give you an example. While some may have reached the Ten Strong before that, the ratio of the Ten Strong before the expedition was a mere 7:3. And if you exclude the ‘Shadow Queen,’ who has always remained neutral, the clans that were unable to participate in the expedition possessed only two of the Ten Strong.”
Sung Hyunmin emphatically stressed the words “unable to participate in the expedition.” His point about the Ten Strong certainly lent weight to his argument. In essence, he was using the distribution ratio of the Ten Strong between participating and non-participating clans to criticize the corrupt monopoly over the User Academy.
The Northland Clan representative who had first spoken, along with the allied clan Users beside him, all fell silent. They looked like they wanted to say something, but they had nothing to say. In the past, they might have suppressed such complaints by joining forces with the Golden Lion Clan, a single, unrivaled power. But now, the tables had turned.
Even as he spoke, Sung Hyunmin never became agitated. He maintained his own pace, articulating his opinions in a clear voice. His silver tongue is as good as ever, I thought, continuing to focus on his words. He wasn't finished yet.
“Five thousand Users, with an average of over four years of experience, lost their lives. Consequently, the average experience level of the Northern Continent’s Users has dropped, and their overall quality has significantly declined. I am not speaking from the narrow perspective of a single clan. Breaking through the Steel Mountains and discovering a New World was a massive project that all Users of the Northern Continent had been eagerly awaiting. You ruined it with your own petty greed and inflicted damage upon the entire Northern Continent. Fortunately, the Mercenary Clan appeared at just the right time, so we haven’t lost all hope yet. But to march on the Steel Mountains again… no, just to recover from the damage of this expedition, how many more years must we wait? I cannot even begin to fathom it.”
When he mentioned the Mercenary Clan, our eyes met for a moment. He bowed his head to me mid-speech, and I returned the gesture with a slight nod. A complicated feeling stirred within me.
In the first playthrough, he and I had been clear adversaries. But we hadn't been enemies from the start. In fact, it was fair to say we had maintained a rather good relationship at first. I recall that our falling out was over something very trivial.
“The Matriarch seems to be getting bored, so I will conclude with this. From the planning of the expedition to its outcome, the entire process was fundamentally flawed. To reiterate my conclusion, the Golden Lion Clan is the main culprit behind this disaster. We can no longer stand by and watch this corruption.”
“You first said you couldn't watch the dictatorship. So that was the reason. I think I understand what you’re saying.”
“Thank you for your understanding.”
“Enough. Hearing you say it so plainly is a relief for me. In any case, you’ve defined the Golden Lion Clan’s actions as a dictatorship and said you can’t stand by. That means there’s something you want, but I haven’t heard what that is yet.”
Sung Hyunmin, who had been about to sit down, awkwardly stood up again. He then began to look at the Users seated around him. Soon, I saw Jo Seongho of the Goryeo Clan nod. From that, I gathered that the Goryeo Clan was originally supposed to present the main point, but since the atmosphere was favorable, they decided to let Sung Hyunmin continue.
“I acknowledge the Golden Lion Clan’s achievement in stabilizing the Northern Continent after conquering Barbara, and I personally respect them for it. Hmm… Although I said we can’t stand by, to put it more mildly, I could say we can no longer trust you. What we want is for large-scale plans that determine the fate of the Northern Continent to no longer be decided unilaterally by the Golden Lion Clan. We want all clans to be given a fair chance and equal opportunity to participate. And the first step to that…”
Sung Hyunmin paused and looked around. Without exception, everyone waited for his next words with tense expressions. His Adam’s apple bobbed, and then his lips slowly parted.
“I believe the first step can be equal participation in this User Academy.”
From one side of the room came a long sigh; from the other, a heavy groan. Barbara was valuable as a major city, but its greatest value lay in housing the User Academy. Sung Hyunmin was undoubtedly right. But the fact that they would now have to share the pie they had monopolized with their allies for so long would be a bitter pill to swallow.
“Hmm…”
Only after saying his piece did Sung Hyunmin finally sit down. The Matriarch stared at him with an intrigued expression, then let out an amused snort. She began to fiddle with the golden necklace around her neck and closed her eyes, seemingly lost in deep thought.
The argument presented by Sung Hyunmin and the non-participating clans was not limited to just this User Academy. It was a demand to be involved in all future plans. And from the Golden Lion Clan’s perspective, that was not a welcome proposition.
Because in the Hall Plain, power was authority. They could wrap it in fine words for now, but if their power waned, they would have no choice but to concede their rights. He spoke of equal participation for all clans, but having done the same thing themselves, they couldn't possibly be ignorant of the inner workings.
In any case, with the eastern clans’ declaration, the die was cast. All that remained was the Matriarch’s decision.
An awkward silence fell as she kept her eyes closed, but it didn't last long. Soon, the Matriarch’s eyelids fluttered open. She raised her right hand and beckoned to Park Hyunwoo with a crooked index finger.
“Hyunwoo.”
“Yes, Matriarch.”
“When do you think the User Academy’s portal transfer will be complete?”
“At the earliest, tonight. At the latest, by dawn tomorrow, I believe.”
Park Hyunwoo answered in an extremely polite voice, but it was laced with an undeniable anxiety. “Not much time, then,” the Matriarch said with a heavy sigh. She then raised her staff and tapped it lightly on the table a couple of times.
Tap, tap-tap…
“So what you’re all asking for is an equal opportunity in all matters, big and small, concerning the Northern Continent.”
“Yes, that is correct.”
“On the surface, there’s nothing to fault in your words…”
“……”
The Matriarch wore a troubled expression for a while. But then, as if she had made a decision, she spoke in a firm tone.
“Very well. I, Son Bunrye, the User entrusted with full authority over the Golden Lion Clan, hereby grant your request.”
“Matriarch!”
“A-Are you serious?”
“However, there is one condition.”
The moment the Matriarch spoke, shouts from Park Hyunwoo and Jo Seongho erupted simultaneously. But Son Bunrye silenced them with her next words.
Jo Seongho looked more excited than ever. He had apparently considered the demand unreasonable and expected them not to accept it easily, so now that matters were resolving so unexpectedly smoothly, he seemed almost impatient.
“A c-condition…?”
“It’s simple. I will take responsibility for this User Academy and grant you an equal opportunity. Go ahead, do as you see fit. And I will be watching.”
“Watching?”
“Yes. To see if your words are just empty rhetoric or if you spoke with sincerity. Seeing is believing, as they say. It’s hard to judge based on words alone, so it’s better to see it in action. If you show me a satisfactory performance at this User Academy, I promise that the Golden Lion’s dictatorship you’ve experienced until now will be no more.”
After finishing her statement, she struck the table once, hard, signifying that her decision was final and would not be reversed. A formidable aura began to emanate from her entire body, a silent declaration that she would not tolerate any defiance. Those who had been about to rush toward the Matriarch flinched and halted at the wave of Magic Power bursting from her staff.
The atmosphere split in an instant. The Golden Lion and its allied clans bit their lips with expressions of disbelief, while the non-participating clans were all beaming with joy.
“Let me be clear, I have set a condition. If you repeat the very abuses you just condemned, keep in mind that we will have no choice but to find another way.”
“Of course. We will not disappoint you.”
“Hmph. You talk a good game. We’ll see about that. In any case, aside from my boys here, if any other User has a different opinion, speak now.”
There was no one. The eastern clan Users had taken the lead and achieved their goal. They cast proud glances around, while the southern clan Users looked at them appreciatively. If Jo Seongho and Sung Hyunmin’s arguments hadn’t worked, the southern representative clans would likely have backed them up, but things had gone almost too well.
“Good. Then let’s conclude the matter of the User Academy here.”
“M-Matriarch.”
“I’m putting my foot down. I have no intention of reversing my decision. No matter how I try to see it in your favor, there were no flaws in their logic. If they had simply demanded you step down from Barbara, it would be one thing, but they came in with a reasonable compromise. What can I do? I have to accept it.”
“……”
Park Hyunwoo, who had called out to the Matriarch in a desperate voice, ground his teeth upon hearing her confirmation. As if hearing the sound, she let out a dry laugh and continued.
“You dragged me here when I didn’t want to come, and now you’re grinding your teeth at me? I’m sure I told you before I came: in exchange for resolving this matter, I would be given full authority over the Golden Lion Clan. Are you saying you intend to change your tune now?”
“N-No, ma’am.”
“Tsk, tsk. You pitiful fool, can’t even see what’s right in front of you. Don’t forget. Our deal still stands. If you break your promise, I won’t grant your request either.”
“…I understand.”
Park Hyunwoo finally stepped back with a gloomy face. Confirming this, Son Bunrye chuckled and rose to her feet. As she tapped her staff and crossed the conference room, Ko Yeonju called out to her in a sweet voice.
“Oh? Matriarch, where are you going?”
“Where do you think? The summons is over. My role here is done. There isn’t much time left before the new Users arrive, so you all need to coordinate things for the User Academy, don’t you? Surely you’re not asking me to do that too?”
“Ah~. That’s true. Are you going back, then?”
“Going back? Like hell I am. Where would I go? I have to save that half-dead old geezer. He’s always been such a handful, then and now.”
The Matriarch clicked her tongue and started walking again. This time, Sung Yubin stopped her once more.
“M-Matriarch. You can’t leave already.”
“What do you mean, I can’t, you little brat.”
“But your body isn’t well either… At least take an escort…”
“Sung Yubin!”
Just as Sung Yubin was about to continue in a careful voice, Park Hyunwoo’s thunderous shout shook the conference room. Startled by his voice, she quickly covered her mouth with her hands. But Son Bunrye replied as if it were nothing.
“You’ll deafen me, boy. Hehe. Anyway, don’t you worry about me. There’s something in the eastern mountains I had my eye on, and I plan to go there. Now that I’m out and about again, I need to move quickly. Besides, I doubt you all have time to just sit around celebrating, do you?”
“Of course not. Regarding the User Academy, we will grant every clan a thoroughly equal opportunity according to fair rules and principles. I’m sure you won’t be disappointed.”
The Matriarch snorted at Jo Seongho’s words. Then she warned, “This time you can do as you please, but remember that the result is what matters most. If nothing has changed by the time I return, as I said before, I will have no choice but to devise another method.”
On one side, cheerful voices offered her their thanks. On the other, gloomy voices bade her farewell.
It was then. As I watched her leave the room, barely acknowledging the farewells, I quickly activated Third Eye. A moment ago, I had caught something strange in Sung Yubin’s words.