Chapter 397: Theme Park on the 1st Floor (2)
Translator: RaidenTL
Chapter 397: Theme Park on the 1st Floor (2)
"Y-You... There are things you should and shouldn't say! What kind of absurd nonsense is that?"
It was only natural for him to react so violently.
But.
"It's fine. It seems Player Kang Jinhyuk just wants to tease us."
Oh Ji-won held back his bodyguard.
"I've heard rumors that you can be quite mischievous, but this is a bit hurtful. The media just loves to tear us apart, you see. The rumors floating around the internet aren't true."
At his calm response, Jinhyuk curled the corners of his mouth in amusement.
Wow. He's holding back even after that?
Jinhyuk had poked him on purpose, but seeing how Oh Ji-won maintained his composure despite the provocative tone, it seemed the saying was true: a tiger doesn't breed a puppy.
"I doubt busy people like you came all this way just for a leisurely sightseeing trip... Well, putting that aside, what business do you have with us? I didn't think we'd have any reason to get involved with corporations."
"It's nothing major. To be honest, we've put a lot of effort into this event, and with two major celebrities here, it'll be hard for us to get the spotlight. We'll support you with whatever you need, so we'd appreciate it if you could yield this one to us."
Jinhyuk had heard rumors through the grapevine, but...
As expected, corporations are showing interest in the Tower too.
He could easily guess their intentions.
Their participation in this event was undoubtedly just laying the groundwork for a spectacular debut.
"I'm sorry, but we also have something we absolutely must obtain here. We welcome friendly competition, but anything beyond that is out of the question."
"Hmm. I'm not that inflexible of a person either. Surely, there's nothing to lose for you by staying on good terms with us, Player Kang Jinhyuk?"
He was implying that it was better to build a connection rather than make an enemy of a powerful conglomerate.
Oh Ji-won looked at the players lined up on either side of him as if showing them off.
"Yes, Executive Director."
"Player Kang Jinhyuk... I've wanted to meet you in person at least once."
Dressed in neat, high-end black suits and matching black leather gloves, a woman with short bobbed hair and another with long, straight hair stepped forward.
...They were strong. Quite strong, at that.
Ho.
Jinhyuk's eyes narrowed.
"They are rankers from our Friend-or-Foe Guild. Although they have no experience climbing the Tower of Trials, we selected the most talented individuals from across the country and put them through special training."
The next generation of prospects.
Backed by systematic and scientific support, they were truly royal roaders.
The two standing here were likely the cream of the crop, geniuses handpicked from among those royal roaders.
"And?"
Jinhyuk chuckled.
"Am I supposed to bow my head and go, 'Oh my, what magnificent people you are,' just because you're putting on a show of force with some greenhorns?"
"G-Greenhorns?"
"Unni. Was he talking to us just now?"
Indignant reactions immediately erupted.
If their opponent hadn't been Jinhyuk, they might have drawn their swords right then and there.
That was how intense the anger radiating from the two women was.
As the atmosphere grew tense, Oh Ji-won stepped in.
"...It seems we won't be sailing in the same boat. However, there's no need for ships heading in different directions to collide with each other."
It wouldn't do any good to have this kind of noise on the debut day of Korea Motors and the Friend-or-Foe Guild.
Especially when their opponent was Jinhyuk, who was hailed as a hero.
Unless we can make it look like he started the fight, provoking him further here will only make us look bad.
In matters like this, public perception was everything.
Depending on the angle, the outcome could be entirely different.
Oh Ji-won knew this better than anyone.
...Since things have turned out this way, I might as well exploit this situation a bit more.
There was no figure more buzzworthy than Jinhyuk to serve as a stepping stone for the Friend-or-Foe Guild's debut.
There was no doubt that Jinhyuk was strong, but victory and defeat were always determined by more complex factors.
A sly smile played on Oh Ji-won's lips.
Variables.
Creating them was the specialty of someone like him, whose daily life was filled with political maneuvering and backstabbing.
* * *
Thanks to the Friend-or-Foe Guild and the two BJs, this round's event had become a hot topic.
It garnered more views and attention than most guild raids.
When the Veteran Corporation joined the fray, the hype exploded even further.
-Self-Directed: Did you guys see the Friend-or-Foe Guild's homepage?
-AreYouCrazy: Yeah. Wow, they openly targeted the Veteran Corporation. They said they're going to sweep all seven high-tier events and the final main event.
-Raccoon: Lmao. I guess that's what happens when desk jockeys try to play. They've lost their minds. How dare they even think of challenging Kang Jinhyuk?
-Off-White: Still, the rankers Oh Ji-won brought along are no joke.
-Revolution: Well, a major conglomerate is basically trying to crush everyone with sheer capital.
-Bae Mu-hyeok: They're basically the Mansour and Manchester City of the Hunter world.
-Lee Un-ha: I don't think anyone could let this slide.
-Kim Tae-yang: Ah, I can't wait to see the main event.
Hmm. Look at these guys...?
Watching the chat window, Jinhyuk stroked his chin.
He had come to this event with a relatively light heart, but things were escalating far more than he had anticipated.
Normally, he would have just laughed off such a petty provocation, but...
Well.
Since they had drawn this much aggro, staying quiet was out of the question. They had already crossed the line by a mile.
"I was going to hold back because sweeping all the rewards might make me look like a thief, but why does the world keep forcing me to play the bad guy? Sigh. The world really just won't leave me in peace, will it?"
Jinhyuk turned his gaze to the side.
Rumble, rumble, rumble!
There stood a massive, rapidly spinning amusement ride. No, it was more like a torture device.
[Event Zone 14: Endure the High-Speed Carousel]
Challengers: 1,058 – Eliminated: 994
Reward: 500g of Mermaid Shell Pearl Powder (Rank AA)
A wheel of hell spinning at a whopping 750 km/h.
The muscular horses foaming at the mouth and the carriages made of skulls were even enchanted with motion-sickness-inducing magic.
"Ughhh..."
"K-Kill me..."
Naturally, the players inside were far from sane.
Covered in a mixture of vomit and tears, the carousel itself was the very picture of hell.
But it was fine.
Because there was someone who had already experienced this kind of hell.
"Kyaaaah!"
Alice screamed at the top of her lungs.
Yet, perhaps because of her past experience spinning around while trapped inside Braham's Ring, she was holding up.
Even as everyone else threw in the towel, Alice was stubbornly holding on.
"...Grrit."
The magic-class player from the Friend-or-Foe Guild had a decent amount of grit, but that was all.
No matter how hard they tried, they couldn't possibly defeat Alice, who had been tempered in real combat.
Looks like the others are sailing smoothly too...
Jinhyuk looked around.
The members of the Veteran Corporation were participating in various other events.
Over at the punch game, Yu Yeon-hwa was dominating.
"Phew..."
She regulated her breathing and poured all her mana into her fist.
Having completed her second awakening class change to 'Hwarang', Yu Yeon-hwa was already a globally recognized ranker when it came to close combat.
Whoosh!
Her fist was enveloped in blue flames.
Her surging mana instantly condensed into a single point.
Boom!
The punching machine was half-shattered, and the score easily blew past the previous record.
-twi: Damn. Is that even a human punch?
-MAESTRO: Pretty sure that's what it looks like when a 10-ton truck collides head-on. Shiver.
-Jo Hyeon-woo: There's a reason why videos of her beating up monsters with her bare hands are so popular.
On the other side, the wooden block stacking event was a one-man show for the drones summoned by Lee Tae-min.
Whirrrr!
[Lee Tae-min activates Lv.16 'Carpet Construction'!]
The precision of the machines easily surpassed the unique abilities of the other players.
While even magic-focused players struggled, the spectacle of drones reminiscent of a massive construction site left everyone in awe.
-Han Jae-hui: There are really only a handful of rankers capable of clearing a dungeon solo, and Lee Tae-min is one of them.
-Jong-min: Agreed, agreed. He uses drones to deal with the mobs, and when fighting the boss, he rides some Gundam-like thing.
-SeojunLove: They're literally sweeping all the rewards from this event, lmao.
The atmosphere grew increasingly heated.
In dodgeball, Andrea, who controlled the 'Fox Bead', held the upper hand, while in tag, 'Wolyeong', who possessed shadow movement techniques, dominated.
In clay shooting, Frey threw short spears against players armed with guns, shattering every single clay target.
-kil: Truly overwhelming. They're all insane.
-Darano: Dodgeball against a gumiho? That's just unfair, lol.
-mirra: Frey is my future wife.
-dark: ?
Of course, rankers from the Friend-or-Foe Guild did secure rewards in a few places, but those were strictly limited to areas Jinhyuk had no interest in.
High effort, low return.
In short, only the worthless events.
However.
-test: Ohhh! Huge news!
-Cheongangi: No way.
-Cell: Everyone, go to channel 13. Quick.
An unexpected turn of events had occurred in one corner of the venue.
* * *
"Ugh..."
Cheon Yu-seong clenched his teeth.
A complete defeat.
There were no excuses to be made.
-Cash: Is this for real right now?
-Lsymon: This isn't the Whack-a-Mole game I know.
-bky: Looking at them, it's like they did nothing but whack moles their entire lives.
-Inagye: Still, for Cheon Yu-seong, who even has the title of Sword Saint, to lose...
-Gisang: Probably because he held a hammer instead of a sword?
-SsangSsangBar: There are two S-rank rewards in this event, and the Veteran Corp just lost one of them.
[The final victors of 'Whack-a-Mole' are players Lee Ye-ji and Kim Da-hee of the Friend-or-Foe Guild.]
An event requiring exceptional dynamic visual acuity and rapid hand movements.
On top of that, it offered a 'Limited Enhancement Stone', one of the core rewards of this event.
Because of these conditions, Cheon Yu-seong had been specifically assigned here.
They had played a reliable card they could fully trust.
"Discard what needs to be discarded and take just one. It went exactly as the Executive Director said."
"We knew you'd show up for Whack-a-Mole, if nothing else."
Lee Ye-ji and Kim Da-hee smiled brightly.
Even if they had to give up everything else, if they could target just one event and seize something their opponent desperately wanted...
If they could do that, they would be able to drag them into the mud during the final main event.
Under that grand premise, Oh Ji-won had thoroughly decided what to take and what to abandon.
He had analyzed the strengths and weaknesses of Jinhyuk and his members, matching them with the characteristics of each event.
He had predicted in advance who would be deployed where.
"I'm sorry. This was my mistake."
"It's fine."
"What?"
"It's not easy to hear an apology from your mouth, so if you're saying it, you must really mean it. Besides, I didn't expect the opponent to just stand there and take a beating like a scarecrow anyway."
Jinhyuk pulled Hongryeon out of his subspace.
Enhancing Hongryeon was absolutely necessary for the battles ahead.
To do that, he had to reclaim the enhancement stone that Cheon Yu-seong had lost.
And.
In the upcoming main event, players would form teams and be given the opportunity to steal the rewards others had obtained.
'Pillage Battle'.
No holds barred.
Under specific rules, they would simply snatch each other's rewards.
"I'll have to show them exactly what happens when they touch what's mine."
He had wanted to own a slave with a deep bank account for a while now anyway.
He already had more than enough reason to fight.
[The Pillage Battle will begin tonight at 12:00 AM.]
The status window glowed with an exceptionally deep shade of red.