Chapter 38: How a Veteran Grows (5)
Translator: RaidenTL
Chapter 38: How a Veteran Grows (5)
Was Jinhyuk's voice too loud?
The old man ended up hearing it too.
Immediately, a roar stained with rage erupted.
"W-what? Osteo... osteoporosis? Did you just dare say that to my summons?!"
Hmm.
Was I too harsh for a first meeting?
But what can I do if that's what they look like?
They might look formidable to mediocre players, but to a veteran, they just looked cute.
"Stop hiding behind the screen and showing only your voice! Show yourself this instant!"
Because video calls only show the caller's face to the recipient, third parties could only hear his voice.
Of course, if the parties agreed, it could be switched to a public call.
"Will you be okay?" Teresa asked cautiously.
"It's fine. It looks like I called at a rather troublesome moment, but this should be fun."
Jinhyuk nodded.
[The video call is being switched to a public call.]
Along with a brief message, a man wearing a mask with a bizarre pattern appeared.
A brief silence.
What followed was a massive uproar.
"T-that mask!"
"The ruins! He's the one who cleared the ruins!"
"My goodness. I thought absolutely no one had any contact with him, but you knew him personally, Teresa?"
It was only natural for everyone to shout.
A player who completely hid his identity behind a mask.
So many had searched for him without finding a single clue, and now he was right before their eyes.
They had to recruit him. Faster than anyone else.
That was the unanimous thought of everyone present.
'Since Teresa is a solo player, there's a high chance he isn't affiliated with a guild either.'
'Which means finders keepers.'
'We must pour in everything—Coins, items, money—without holding back.'
'Of course. The entire caliber of our guild will change. Nothing is too expensive.'
'This might be our last chance.'
The representatives of each guild swallowed hard.
They sized each other up, waiting for the perfect moment to make their offers.
Right then.
"Ridiculous."
The old man stepped forward.
"Sure, I've heard of you. The player who made a name for himself in the 1st-floor ruins, or whatever. But this boss raid is different from that place."
In the ruins, each monster was powerful, but their numbers were few.
On the other hand, the path to the 3rd-floor boss monster featured weaker individual monsters but boasted overwhelming numbers.
It was a completely different ballgame.
"Hmm. So you're saying you can do it? No matter how many enemies there are?"
Jinhyuk scratched his mask with his index finger.
"Indeed. Commanding a vast army of summons is my specialty."
Commanding a vast army of summons, huh...
By summons, he must mean these skeletons here.
I'll admit there are quite a few of them.
But well...
"It's going to be tough with that knockoff staff of yours."
"W-what?"
"It's incomplete, isn't it? Looks like you fused it without the 'Heart of a Saint' and the 'Shroud Drenched in Holy Oil'."
"H-how... how do you know that?!"
How do I know?
"Because it looks different from the real Staff of Greed. The completed version, with all the materials, has a red jewel embedded beneath the right skull. And above all, the quality of your skeleton soldiers is way too low."
"You've... seen the completed version?" the old man muttered in disbelief.
Seeing his jaw tremble, the shock seemed to be quite severe.
"Curious? If you want, I can even tell you where to find the remaining materials."
"Really? Where on earth... Urgh!"
For a split second, the old man almost begged for the information.
He barely managed to swallow the words that had risen to his throat.
If he uttered even a single word here, it would be tantamount to admitting defeat.
Watching this, Jinhyuk smirked, as if he had expected nothing less.
Empty vessels really do make the most noise.
'No doubt he was planning to squeeze a fortune out of the guilds with some plausible-sounding words.'
His intentions were glaringly obvious just from the way he bluffed with that half-baked staff.
The shallow scheme of pocketing Coins or items as a down payment and then vanishing into thin air.
As the situation took an awkward turn, the old man finally grit his teeth.
"Fine. I shall withdraw for today. And you... whoever you are, I will surely repay this humiliation."
"Wow... that line. This is the first time I've heard someone actually say that in real life."
"......What?"
"I mean, aren't you embarrassed saying that? 'I will surely repay this humiliation.' Even in a 90s anime, if you used a line like that, the broadcasting station president would slap you across the face."
If he had just vanished quietly, he wouldn't have had to create such an embarrassing memory.
But of course, his petty pride and big mouth had to ruin it.
"You bastard...!"
The old man glared at Jinhyuk with murderous intent.
But it was only for a brief moment.
Surge!
Shadows surged upward.
"We shall see if you can remain this relaxed when we meet in person next time. And... the rest of you, keep this in mind. We are the only faction that possesses an army of legion-level strength."
With those words, the old man was swallowed by the darkness.
* * *
The banquet hall fell into a heavy silence.
So much had happened in such a short span of time that everyone needed a moment to process reality.
"If you want to entrust this to such a clumsy fellow and fail yet again, I won't stop you, but personally, it doesn't seem like a very wise choice."
Jinhyuk shrugged at Patrick.
"......I am well aware. However, we have no other choice."
What do you mean, no other choice?
Jinhyuk spoke up once more.
"Leave it to me. I will give you both the justification to avoid holding hands with the Demonic Humans, and the practical benefit of clearing the tower."
"A-are you saying it's actually possible?"
Patrick's pupils dilated rapidly.
Clearing it alone.
If the speaker hadn't been the very player who cleared the ruins, he would have dismissed it as a joke.
Jinhyuk nodded without hesitation.
"It is."
Of course it was.
After all, that was exactly why he was on the 1st basement floor right now.
"T-then, how much should we offer for the down payment and reward...?"
"You don't have to pay me."
"Pardon?"
"Just let me enter alone. If you block off the entire area so other players can't even come near, I won't take any reward."
At Jinhyuk's words, Patrick gaped like a goldfish.
As if asking, 'For just those conditions?'
"Why on earth are you going to such lengths for us?"
"Well, that's because..."
Jinhyuk glanced toward Teresa.
"I am simply doing what is natural for humanity, and for a comrade I hold dear."
The moment the words left his mouth, Jinhyuk pinched his thigh.
Ah, damn it.
'Even I'm cringing at my own words.'
He even thought, 'So this is how that old man felt earlier...'
But unlike the shuddering Jinhyuk, the faces of those who heard this statement were painted with an indescribable emotion.
"……."
Teresa bit her lower lip.
Her dimples twitched repeatedly at the phrase "a comrade I hold dear."
"Haha. Well... as a guild representative, I am utterly speechless."
"How admirable."
"A true hero. We ought to reflect on ourselves."
"Sigh. I started out with that kind of mindset too, but I don't know how I ended up like this."
Admiration and sighs of awe.
The representatives of the giant guilds even began to reflect on their own shortcomings.
He had only said one line, and they were jumping to conclusions all on their own.
'This should be enough window dressing.'
The reason he refused the down payment wasn't out of love for humanity.
And it certainly wasn't to do the giant guilds a favor.
Jinhyuk glanced at the camera on his shoulder.
[All video and conversation are currently being recorded.]
A player who even gives up rewards for the sake of humanity.
How much benefit could he reap from just this one headline?
Though he couldn't say for sure, it would undoubtedly be several times more than any reward the guilds could offer.
Only fools would eagerly snatch up a down payment.
'I am no idiot who loses the big picture by chasing after small gains.'
Think about it.
How much could a down payment from these early-stage guilds possibly be?
At best, a low-grade relic?
Or a handful of Coins and cash?
'I can get as much of that stuff as I want, as long as I have time.'
However, a solid public image and the benefits derived from it... would undoubtedly wield immense influence later on.
Besides.
'The first broadcast feature. If I successfully solo a raid that everyone else failed in my very debut...!'
Just imagining it sent a shiver of excitement down his spine.
Thump! Thump! Thump!
Like knowing next week's lottery numbers in advance, Jinhyuk's heart began to beat with a pleasant rhythm.
"And if I succeed this time, I'd love to meet up and have a meal with everyone sometime."
"O-of course."
"We look forward to it as well."
"I truly hope that day comes."
Everyone added a word with expectant faces.
They looked genuinely delighted.
But no matter how delighted they were...
'...could they possibly be as thrilled as I am?'
Jinhyuk licked his lips, salivating.
Was this what a young chicken felt like, tap-dancing in front of boiling water while holding ginseng and jujubes in its beak?
'Wow! If I can copy the abilities of just two or three of those rankers...'
This is an absolute jackpot.
* * *
[The video call has ended.]
As soon as Jinhyuk disappeared, everyone's eyes turned to Teresa.
Naturally, they glared like wolves eyeing a flock of sheep.
"Teresa, could you perhaps tell us about that man?"
"His name, age, nationality... anything, no matter how trivial, is fine."
"Haha, didn't the European side just recruit a new prospect? Why don't you let us have this one?"
"Can you even call someone who barely scraped past A-rank a prospect? If you want, we'll give you a truckload of them, so back off this time instead."
"What? Do you hear yourself right now?"
"Oh my. Why so defensive? Ah... well, it's always the ones losing the argument who raise their voices first."
"Arghhh!"
The venue instantly heated up with a new topic of debate.
Right in the middle of it all.
Teresa made a troubled face, looking on the verge of tears.
'Jinhyuk... you idiot.'
She had absolutely no idea how to deal with the aftermath.
* * *
'Things went even better than I expected.'
Jinhyuk stretched, looking satisfied.
Thanks to the Demonic Humans making a fuss, he had successfully left a strong impression on the giant guilds.
By now, they were probably fighting over him, counting their chickens before they hatched.
'Hmm. I feel a bit bad leaving Teresa to clean up the mess...'
He'd have to buy her a delicious meal later.
It was then.
"Pant, pant, pant. Are... are you trying to kill me?"
Alice, her face pale, gasped heavily.
Ah, right.
I forgot about her.
While he was on the video call with Teresa, he had pushed her a bit hard to deal with the crawling bugs.
Telling her to block them all by herself.
As a result, Alice, who had completely depleted her remaining mana, was on the verge of fainting.
"Seeing as you can still complain, you're fine. If you were really about to die, you wouldn't even have the strength to speak."
"Is... is that supposed to be comforting? Are we... in a partnership, or is this a slave contract?"
Alice hung her head weakly.
What?
Why is she suddenly being so serious?
Making me feel guilty.
"Tsk! What do you take me for? Do you think I only know how to exploit you? I was actually planning to buy you a 'Mana Supplement' from the Coin Exchange."
Though he had bought the cheapest one, it didn't matter since Alice couldn't access the Coin Exchange anyway.
What could she do if he insisted it was the most expensive one? It wasn't like she could become a player.
However.
"I'm sorry, but those kinds of supplements don't work on me."
Alice shook her head.
"What?"
"You said you don't just exploit me, right?"
"W-well, I did say that..."
"Fufu. Don't worry. I'll make sure to collect the mana I spent."
Alice smiled brightly.
The sharp fangs at the corners of her mouth gleamed.
Somehow, he had a bad feeling about this.
Clearly.
The words she said when they first met...
'Appetizing,' 'delicious-smelling blood.' Yes, it was a sentence containing those two keywords.
Damn it. This is dangerous.
Jinhyuk unconsciously took a few steps back.