Chapter 156: Prospects of the Seven Great Guilds
Translator: RaidenTL
Chapter 156: Prospects of the Seven Great Guilds
'A Junior Manager, huh...'
Things are getting interesting.
Jinhyuk glanced out of the corner of his eye.
Seeing the dwarf manager huddled together with the China and Samurai Guilds, they were definitely up to no good.
And as if to prove his suspicion.
Step, step.
Kaman slowly approached Jinhyuk.
"Haha. So, are you thoroughly enjoying the ball we've hosted?"
Kaman smiled brightly.
Just looking at him, he seemed like an innocent, adorable kid.
As a member of the Unicorn tribe, even the sharp horn poking out from between his wavy hair looked cute.
However, his bright yellow eyes, laced with cruelty, were far from pure.
"Yes. Thanks to you, I'm having a great time."
"I'm glad to hear that. Truly glad."
Kaman nodded.
But Jinhyuk knew.
Those words were by no means sincere.
"However, we are not pleased at all, thanks to you. I heard you crippled one of my guests' companions so badly they can't even walk."
"Oh dear. Was he hurt that badly? I should send some flowers later. I hear Mexican cacti are all the rage these days..."
Jinhyuk gasped dramatically, clasping his hands together.
At that, the playfulness vanished from Kaman's eyes.
"Now I see why those two view you as such a thorn in their side. Meeting you in person, I feel like ramming my horn right into that smirking face of yours as well."
Hearing a mere human play word games was bound to make his blood boil.
If they weren't in this venue, he would have torn him to shreds on the spot.
Zzzzt! Zzzzt! Zzzzt!
A prickling mana stung Jinhyuk's skin.
As expected...
Even a Junior Manager was still a Manager.
"I understand you're upset, but don't you think it's a bad look for a Manager to threaten a guest?"
"You... knew I was a Manager?"
"Well, yeah."
"And yet you still acted so insolently?"
"Is there any reason I shouldn't?"
"Hahaha! Sigh... This is utterly ridiculous. Do you even know who the hell you're talking to? If I wanted to, someone like you would—!"
As Kaman's rant dragged on, Jinhyuk cut him off flatly.
"Junior Manager Kaman. I know you're feeling proud of yourself after racking up a few minor achievements, but if you get too cocky over just that, you're going to get hurt."
"You...! How... how do you know my name?"
Kaman took a sharp breath.
His true name was known only to a select few within the China and Samurai Guilds.
How on earth did a human he was meeting for the first time know it?
Shocked as if struck on the head with a hammer, Kaman was temporarily lost for words.
"Why are you so surprised over just a name?"
If he wanted to be truly shocked.
If he wanted to be truly flabbergasted, it should at least be...
"Something like knowing which floor of the Tower the Unicorn tribe's sacred relic, the 'Lost Horn', is located on."
Yes.
It had to be at least this much to make a Manager lose his composure.
"You filthy monkey! Spit out how you know that right now!"
Rumbleeee!
Kaman unleashed his mana.
A massive storm raged inside the hall.
The atmosphere grew so rapidly hostile that every Player in the vicinity turned to look.
"Speak! Where is our tribe's sacred relic?!"
The Lost Horn was a sacred relic symbolizing their tribe's power.
At the same time, it was a scar of defeat from failing to climb the Tower.
Though the entire tribe had now given up on climbing and lived as Junior Managers, they hadn't given up on finding the horn.
That was how much the 'Lost Horn' meant to Kaman and the Unicorn tribe.
'Just as I thought.'
The corners of Jinhyuk's mouth twitched upward.
No matter how high-and-mighty a Manager was, everyone had at least one weakness.
For Jinhyuk, who already knew and had experienced everything, exploiting his opponent's vulnerability was child's play.
"If you try to kill me, you'll be the one in trouble, you know?"
"Nothing major will happen just because a guy without a decent faction backing him disappears. You don't need to worry about that."
"I beg to differ. No matter how I look at it, you're making an enemy out of someone you can't handle."
"Puhaha! Who do you think is backing me?! There is nothing we cannot handle!"
Kaman's confidence was not without reason.
Murim.
A massive faction that wielded overwhelming influence on the 20th floors of the Tower.
Even if he half-killed a Player here, he could easily sweep it under the rug as long as he had his own status and the backing of Murim.
After all, this masquerade was a stage entirely dominated by the factions of the Tower's middle floors.
Rumble!
The storm of mana grew even fiercer.
The Players watching nearby, and the 'massive factions' observing the situation with interest from the second floor rather than the banquet hall—everyone anticipated how this would end.
"Things have gotten messy. Do you really never think about the consequences?"
Alice let out a soft sigh.
Though she grumbled, crimson blood swirled in her palm.
It meant she would fight alongside him if a battle broke out.
Someone who would take his side without asking questions, no matter the situation.
Having an ally like that was certainly reassuring.
But not this time.
There was no need to fight.
From the very beginning, he had anticipated that the other side would pick a fight, including the Manager's intervention, so he had prepared a card to counter it.
Right then.
"What is this mess?"
A familiar voice echoed from the second-floor stairs.
* * *
Before coming here, Jinhyuk had filed a complaint with the tailor shop, claiming there was a defect in the finished product.
[One of the buttons on the suit jacket is about to fall off. Please repair it quickly. If ignored, I will post a long review on the Tower of Trials community. Of course, a 1-star rating will be included as a bonus.]
Naturally, there was no defect in the product. He had simply created one on purpose.
However, due to this cute threat, the creator of the product had no choice but to come here.
Well, to be precise, it was closer to Hastings being curious about what kind of scheme Jinhyuk, who had planned all of this, was cooking up.
"I am asking you. What is this mess?"
A goblin walked down the stairs.
One slow step at a time.
Yet, simply walking down caused the air in the room to shift drastically.
The mana Kaman had unleashed had long since vanished, replaced by a foreign mana that dominated the hall.
Everyone watching couldn't help but shudder.
The one who had arrived was an existence at the absolute pinnacle of the Manager hierarchy.
It was none other than High Manager Hastings.
And beside him, as if acting as his aide, was Intermediate Manager Rick.
[A High Manager has manifested!]
[Certain system restrictions have been activated!]
Since he rarely showed himself to Players, let alone the heavyweights of the Tower, the hall fell into a commotion once again.
The agitation was especially severe among the residents on the second floor.
Several voices rang out from the Murim side.
"A-A High Manager is here..."
"My goodness... It's my first time seeing one too."
"He looks surprisingly ordinary. I thought they'd be monsters dozens of meters tall."
"Fool. Don't judge by appearances. An ordinary look like that is actually far more terrifying."
In fact, most only realized Hastings was a High Manager after seeing the system message.
"H-Huh...?"
Kaman's eyes shook with terror.
Tremble, tremble!
His arms and legs shook uncontrollably.
Even an Intermediate Manager was a rare sight on these lower floors.
But the one before him was a High Manager, who could erase such Intermediate Managers with a single word.
The absolute beings who established the lofty rules of the Tower.
He was the 'sky'—an existence so high up that a mere low-ranking manager like Kaman dared not even look at him.
"Mr. Kaman."
"Yes? Yes! High Manager!"
Kaman was so startled he almost bit his tongue.
Actually, he did bite it a little.
Blood seeped along his lip, but he had no time to worry about such things.
Even if the world were to end right now, answering the question was far more important.
"Please explain why you were treating a guest I invited so disrespectfully."
"A g-guest invited by the High Manager...? Surely not?"
Kaman looked to the side.
He saw Jinhyuk humming a tune.
"That human... was invited by you...?"
"You heard correctly. Player Kang Jinhyuk was personally given an invitation to this ball by the High Manager himself," Rick chimed in.
Only then did everything make sense.
Why that human had been acting so confidently.
'I-Is this... is this reality?'
Because lower-ranking managers had strictly restricted access to information, they had no way of knowing about Jinhyuk's meeting with Hastings.
Kaman, too, had focused solely on winning over the China Guild, overlooking just how high Jinhyuk's connections reached.
And those minor oversights had accumulated to produce this result.
But no matter how much he regretted it, it was too late.
Now, begging for mercy was the only way to avoid eternal annihilation.
"I-I didn't know..."
"Does not knowing solve everything?"
"N-No, sir."
Kaman clenched his teeth so hard they nearly shattered.
"We are Managers who must maintain fairness at all times. Yet, some receive bribes and various benefits from factions behind the scenes to do them favors."
Hastings clicked his tongue.
"Of course, I am not trying to blame only you. You are not the only one, and it would be misleading to pin all the responsibility on you. Besides, as long as a certain line isn't crossed, I can overlook it to some extent."
Hastings continued.
"However, this case is an exception. If a Manager harms guests who came at a Manager's invitation, who would ever accept our invitations in the future?"
"You are entirely correct."
"I'm glad you reflect on your actions. Now, apologize."
"Pardon?"
"If you've done wrong, shouldn't you naturally apologize to the party involved? Or were you merely pretending to agree with my words?"
"O-Of course not. How could I dare..."
Bowing his head, Kaman slowly turned around.
In front of him stood Jinhyuk, arms crossed, smiling triumphantly.
"There we go. Come on, let's hear a nice, heartfelt apology."
"I am... sorry. Please forgive me just this once."
A crawling voice squeezed out.
A Manager begging a human for forgiveness.
This humiliation would be remembered forever, alongside the very existence of the Tower.
But Jinhyuk wasn't about to stop there.
Oh, absolutely not.
[Video recording is now in progress.]
A public execution, so to speak.
He planned to kindly make sure everyone, both inside and outside the Tower, could watch this.
Since even Managers could tell when a recording function was active, Kaman's face contorted even more miserably than before.
But what could he do?
If he refused here, he would directly incur the wrath of the High Manager.
"I can't hear you."
"I'm sorry."
"Did you skip a meal? Louder!"
"I'm sorry!"
"That's it! A little louder! Put some back into it!"
"I'm sorryyyyy!"
Only after a scream bordering on a wail echoed through the hall...
...was Kaman finally able to escape this nightmare.
* * *
"To think he'd play a Manager like a fiddle."
"That man is quite something. No wonder everyone is paying attention to him."
"But they say his relationship with Murim isn't good."
"If we approach him carelessly, we must be prepared to make an enemy of Murim."
Various voices buzzed.
Most of the reactions were identical.
To recruit Jinhyuk, one had to be prepared to fall out with Murim, one of the giant factions on the 20th floor.
Because of that.
'As expected... we must recruit that man at all costs.'
The other giant faction of the middle floors, which stood as a rival to Murim.
The 'Empire' began to make its move.