Chapter 34
Chapter 34
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Translator: Ryuma
Chapter: 34
Chapter Title: Paradise (1)
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The day after the Seoul Station incident.
Oh-jin finished his light morning training and headed to the Association.
*Knock, knock.*
"Yes, come in."
When he entered Team Leader Han Jun-man's office, he saw a pile of documents that looked to be twice the usual size.
"This is...?"
"Haha! Wasn't there quite the commotion yesterday?"
Despite the clear signs of fatigue on his face, Team Leader Han Jun-man had a bright smile on his lips.
*True.*
Revealing he was a member of the Association yesterday must have caused quite a stir.
"Wow, the internet is buzzing with talk about you, Mr. Oh-jin. Have you seen it?"
"I haven't looked it up."
He chuckled and sat down.
Team Leader Han Jun-man, grinning from ear to ear, made two cups of coffee and placed them on the table.
"This morning alone, we've already received calls from sixteen guilds. Eight of them even sent donations to the Association."
"What, in just one day?"
"Haha! In this business, the quick ones survive."
Team Leader Han Jun-man let out a hearty laugh and took a sip of his coffee.
"...But."
His voice lowered slightly.
"Because of this incident... the fact that you're the Apostle of Polaris has spread like wildfire."
*Of course.*
No matter how much they tried to control the media, there was no way rumors wouldn't spread after he took down a giant monster in front of so many people.
"Well, I expected that."
"I'm sorry. We did our best to keep the fact that you're the Apostle of Polaris from getting out, but..."
"Heh. It's fine."
Hiding the fact he was the Apostle of Polaris was just a temporary measure to buy time until he could build up some strength anyway.
*It would have been better if I could have hidden it until I became a 5-star, or at least a 4-star, but...*
What's done is done.
*Now it's time to capitalize on the name of the Apostle of Polaris.*
The sole Apostle of Vega.
With this title, he would never be looked down on anywhere he went.
"By the way... uh... I saw in the articles that you demanded money from the people you saved..."
Team Leader Han Jun-man began, his voice cautious.
"Ah. That, that was..."
He had nothing to say about that.
The truth was that Vega had demanded it, not him, but to others, it probably looked like his summon or guardian spirit was ordered to demand money.
*I'm probably getting dragged through the mud for that, right?*
That was why he'd deliberately avoided looking up any articles yesterday.
"—That was a truly brilliant move."
"Huh?"
*What the hell is he talking about?*
"It's like you're a tsundere? You've gotten incredibly popular for that sort of thing."
"Huh?"
*A 'dere,' what the fuck is that?*
"Hm? You didn't see the article from the Cheonrian Daily yesterday?"
"I haven't, no..."
"Take a look at this."
Team Leader Han Jun-man held out a tablet and clicked on an article.
The front page of the article featured a dramatically framed photo of him saving a child who had fallen to the ground.
*When the hell did they take this?*
Oh-jin's jaw dropped.
A picture of himself, wreathed in blue lightning, landing in front of the fallen child with his clothes fluttering.
No joke, you could believe it was a scene from a movie.
"What you said while saving this child became a huge topic."
"What did I say?"
*All I said was to run for it.*
"What? As you saved the child, you said, 'It's not like I was trying to protect you,' right?"
*No.*
*I didn't say that.*
"And then you even draped your coat over the fallen child!"
*I wasn't wearing a coat, so how could I have draped it over them?*
*I mean, you can tell just by looking at the photo.*
"And at the end, as you turned away, you whispered, 'Hurry... run away'!!!"
*Please, write an article, not a novel.*
"Anyway, because of all that, your demand for money at the end also got a huge reaction."
"......"
"It gave off this vibe, like, 'I only saved you all for the money'..."
"Ah, yes. I understand perfectly."
*Wow. Damn.*
*My god.*
*I'm always the one pulling scams, so being on the receiving end like this is fucking baffling.*
His head spun thinking that this must be how the people he scammed felt.
*Well, in this case.*
Even if it was a scam, it actually worked in his favor.
"...What's the name of the reporter who wrote that article?"
"It's reporter Go Gwang-hyun."
*It was that bastard?*
*No.*
*Come to think of it, it could only be him.*
*...I should go see him later.*
It was a bit bewildering, but...
Thanks to him, he'd successfully navigated a crisis that could have solidified an unfavorable image.
*If I handle him well, he could be very useful in the future.*
In any case, having a connection in the media would be convenient in many ways.
Whether he liked it or not.
The title of Apostle of Polaris was bound to attract public attention.
"By the way, because of this incident, things are in an uproar in 'Paradise' too. Since a monster suddenly popped out from under the city center..."
Paradise.
Hearing that word reminded him of his original purpose for coming to the Association.
*Thud.*
He took out the Sacred Stone collected from killing the flesh monster and all the variant Sacred Stones he had gathered so far, placing them on the table.
"This is..."
"These are the Sacred Stones I got from killing the giant and the Reptilians."
"That's quite a lot."
Team Leader Han Jun-man examined the black Sacred Stones piled high on the table.
Except for the one taken from the flesh giant, most of the Sacred Stones were only about the size of a coin, but there were a great number of them.
"I want to sell these."
"Hmm."
Team Leader Han Jun-man narrowed his eyes and spread out the black Sacred Stones piled on the table.
"Except for these two, the quality of the rest isn't that great."
One was the Sacred Stone from the flesh giant he'd just killed, and the other was from the black slime giant he'd killed at the Mok-dong Gate before.
Of course, the Sacred Stone from the flesh giant was overwhelmingly larger.
"How much do you think they'll go for?"
"Well..."
Team Leader Han Jun-man picked up a black Sacred Stone and continued.
"Actually, the price of variant Sacred Stones has dropped a lot recently."
"Dropped a lot?"
"Yes. The number of variants has suddenly surged lately, so the supply has increased."
This was the first he'd heard of it.
"We're still investigating it on our end, so there hasn't been an official announcement... but rumors say the supply has increased by nearly ten times."
"......"
*Are the constellations of the Black Star involved?*
The question crossed his mind, but he didn't voice it.
"Still, the quantity is large, and these two in particular are excellent in size and quality... Hmm. At the very least, over 4 billion? You might even get more."
"I see."
That's more than enough.
It even exceeds the amount he was aiming for.
"I want to sell these quickly."
"Quickly?"
"Yes. Within a few days, if possible."
"Hmm... With this amount, it'll be difficult to do it in a few days. The market for variant Sacred Stones is volatile, so purchases have slowed down recently."
"Then how about you give me a 3 billion advance, and the Association can keep the difference?"
"What?"
Team Leader Han Jun-man's eyes widened.
No matter how badly he needed the cash, the difference was at least 1 billion. He was going to give all of that to the Association?
*Mr. Oh-jin... isn't the type of person to do this.*
They hadn't known each other long, but seeing how he acted when signing with the Association or taking requests, it wasn't hard to tell how fanatically obsessed with money he was.
But.
Why on earth.
"Can you do it?"
"Ah, yes... of course. With those terms, we'd be the ones begging you."
"Then please do so."
"......"
He had a mountain of questions, but he didn't press the issue.
"Then I'll wire 3 billion directly to your account by lunchtime tomorrow, Mr. Oh-jin."
"Thank you."
Oh-jin nodded with a faint smile.
"Oh, right. And could you repair this for me?"
He took out a wire shooter and placed it on the table.
"Don't tell me it's not working?"
"No. One of the wires snapped."
"Ah. If it's just that, it won't take long."
"Heh. I feel a bit bad asking for repairs just a day after you went to the trouble of making it."
"Hahaha! Not at all. Considering what happened yesterday."
Team Leader Han Jun-man shook his head and took the wire shooter.
"Is there anything else?"
"No. That's all."
Oh-jin nodded and stood up from his seat.
"Ah, wait a moment. I have something for you."
"Huh?"
"You know, the thing you mentioned before."
"Ah."
Come to think of it, he had made another request when he asked for the equipment.
"I've prepared the finest quality."
*Clack.*
Team Leader Han Jun-man placed a luxurious, meter-long black case on the table.
"How much was it?"
"It came out to around 17 million Won."
"One moment."
Oh-jin took out his smartphone to wire the money.
"No. I'll deduct the cost from the difference you're giving us this time."
"Hmm..."
After a moment of thought, Oh-jin gave a small nod.
"Yes. Understood. Let's do that."
Since giving away the entire profit was already a calculated loss, it was practically the same as buying it with his own money.
Oh-jin carefully took the black case that Team Leader Han Jun-man offered.
"Well then..."
"Oh, right. I have one more thing for you."
"Again?"
He tilted his head and looked at Team Leader Han Jun-man.
Team Leader Han Jun-man held out a card stamped with the Association's emblem toward Oh-jin.
The card had Oh-jin's photo along with some basic personal information.
"This is..."
"It's an Association Special Officer ID."
"Huh? A Special Officer?"
An Association Special Officer.
To put it simply, they were like special agents belonging to the Association.
*Crazy? They're giving me this?*
The Association might get pushed around a lot, but its Special Officers were an exception.
That was because the ID was only issued to Awakeners within the Association whose skills had been verified.
Most importantly, Special Officers were granted powerful investigative authority.
To put it bluntly, it was possible to stop and question any random person on the street.
*Of course, if I ever did something like that, I'd be fired on the spot.*
In any case, it meant they held immense power.
"This is... quite unexpected."
"Haha. It's a bit early, but thanks to the Association President's strong support, we were able to get it issued quickly."
He'd become famous overnight because of this incident, so it seemed they were making a move to prevent him from leaving for another major guild.
Still, he hadn't been with the Association for that long. A Special Officer ID already?
*Just how desperate are they?*
"Well... I'll take it for now."
There was no reason to refuse when they were offering it themselves.
"Well then, I'll be on my way."
"Yes. Take care."
After a brief farewell, he left the Association building.
The fresh sunlight was pouring down.
"Haa."
He let out a low breath and lifted his smartphone.
He opened his banking app and checked his balance.
*7 billion.*
With 3 billion coming in tomorrow, he would have a total of 10 billion.
"I've... gathered it all."
His voice trembled.
He turned his head and started walking.
He had reached his target amount.
*To Paradise.*
Just one step left.