Aftermath
Aftermath
The cheers and screams that seemed ready to blow the stadium apart left my eardrums stinging.
I thought to myself. Why is everyone making such a fuss?
No matter how good the options turned out, I wondered if it was really something to get this wildly enthusiastic about.
Then a realization suddenly flashed through my mind.
Ah. These people are seeing a Legendary grade for the first time, aren't they?
I had already grown too accustomed to it, with two Legendary grade classes myself and my crafting skills improving to the point where I was churning out Legendary grades one or two at a time.
Just then, from the opposite side, Kim Dal-gak, his face alternating between red and blue, shouted at the top of his lungs without even a microphone.
"That's ridiculous! This is clearly fraud!"
He tore at his own hair and began denying the match itself.
"This match is invalid!"
But his desperate struggle didn't last long. An enormous wave of jeers poured down from the audience seats.
"Go home!"
"Shameful!"
"Even if you'd won, I wouldn't trust you with my equipment!"
Losing his reason in the face of the pouring criticism, Kim Dal-gak grew even louder, lashing out at the jeering spectators.
In the end, he was restrained by two association staff members who had been standing by and was dragged out in a thoroughly disgraceful state, kicking and flailing.
The host hurriedly cleared his throat into the microphone with an "Ahem," trying to dispel the chaotic atmosphere.
"Yes!! Hunter Kim Si-woo-nim has won the match with overwhelmingly superior results!!"
With the host's declaration, another thunderous roar erupted.
The host handed the microphone to me as well and proceeded with a victory interview in a Q&A format.
"You have shattered the conventional framework of creating items through crafting skills and directly created a Legendary grade, a grade higher than Unique! Since you've won the competition, could we hear a few words?"
I took the microphone and spoke calmly.
"Ah... yes. I'm happy that luck was on my side again this time and a Legendary grade came out. Honestly, I was quite nervous and worried about making a mistake."
That was my honest impression. But as soon as I finished speaking, the host and the crowd felt something slightly off about my words. The host's eyes widened, and he carefully asked again.
"This time...? Then, pardon me, but are you saying this isn't the first time you've produced a Legendary grade piece of equipment?"
I nodded as if it were the most obvious thing and said.
"Yes."
At my answer, the hall was enveloped in silence once again, as if doused with cold water. The host, with a dumbfounded expression, slightly sweated and swallowed dryly.
"Do you have any plans to sell the equipment you've made?"
I shook my head firmly and said.
"That will probably be difficult."
People nodded at my response, understanding. After all, everyone knew that since I was continuously climbing the tower and updating the first-place record under the name Barcode, each and every piece of equipment was incredibly precious at this time.
Just then, I heard a man in the audience swallow and mutter.
"But how much would that sell for?"
"I don't know, probably whatever price you name."
"If I commission equipment from that person, does that mean I can become a Legendary grade owner too?"
As the murmuring grew, the host asked me a question as if to scratch the audience's curiosity.
"Everyone seems eager to commission Hunter Kim Si-woo-nim. How might one go about commissioning equipment from Hunter Kim Si-woo-nim?"
I adjusted my grip on the microphone, looked at the audience, and said.
"My guild will be established very soon. Since we can't afford another Cypher terrorist attack, we will require personal information to verify that applicants are not involved with criminal organizations, and I plan to craft items so that they can only be used by the owner."
The host tilted his head slightly and asked.
"I understand the part about Cypher. However, I don't quite grasp what you mean by making items unusable by anyone other than the owner."
I calmly continued my explanation. It was a good opportunity to imprint the characteristics of my Custom Production skill on people's minds.
"Ah, I can set the usage restriction condition to apply only to the owner. Therefore, if you commission a custom production from me, it will be difficult to buy it and then resell it. Additionally, while a Legendary grade came out this time, as you can see, since I craft directly, mistakes can happen. Of course, I will do my best, but please note that the commission you entrust to me could result in a Normal grade. If you have no ties to criminal organizations and are okay with what I've mentioned, you can submit a commission to the guild."
I gave a very realistic warning to lower people's expectations in advance. I thought that if I drove the point home that a Normal grade could come out, there would be fewer complaints later.
I would come to regret this action, which was essentially promotion without calling it promotion, in the not-so-distant future.
After the competition ended and time passed, posts praising me poured down like rain on the internet and in online communities.
Meanwhile, Kim Dal-gak's reputation plummeted to rock bottom.
If he had just admitted defeat and withdrawn cleanly when the results came out, it wouldn't have been this bad.
But the price for his desperate flailing and disgraceful behavior in front of tens of thousands of spectators was severe.
Unable to withstand the flood of criticism and mockery, Kim Dal-gak eventually posted an apology video online. On screen, he looked like someone who hadn't slept in days, with a shaggy beard and dark circles reaching down to his chin. Standing in a crumpled suit before a shoddy green chroma-key background, he knelt down, trembling, and pleaded.
"I was arrogant and thoughtless... I'm sorry... Please, just this once, spare me..."
I watched that apology video with indifferent eyes and thought. I wasn't nice enough to spare any concern for someone who had malicious intent and picked a fight with me first. In my standards, the line between ally and enemy was drawn clearly, and Kim Dal-gak was a definite enemy.
Without any lingering attachment, I flipped my phone face down onto the desk. Just then, Hong Chae-yeon, who had been reviewing documents beside me, spoke up.
"Now, Si-woo, if you just make your decision, the guild will be formed by tomorrow. But there is one problem."
"What is it?"
At my question, Hong Chae-yeon replied with a serious expression.
"Confirming personal information can't filter everything out. There could very well be members of criminal organizations like Cypher who deliberately hide or disguise their identities to infiltrate. We need a solid countermeasure for this."
"Hmm......."
I stroked my chin and rummaged through my inventory. While checking if there was anything useful, one item among the many I had looted from the old empire's imperial secret vault caught my eye.
[Orb of Truth]
Grade: Unique
[A mysterious orb that was stored deep within the imperial secret vault. It holds a clear and transparent light and possesses an aura that sees through the inner thoughts of those who face it.]
*Weight of Truth: Cannot answer the caster's questions falsely.
I grinned, took out the brilliantly shining orb from my inventory, and handed it to Hong Chae-yeon.
"Would this work?"
Hong Chae-yeon checked the information of the orb in my hand, and her eyes widened in surprise.
"You... can you make things like this too? Wow... this will be more than enough!"
At Hong Chae-yeon's admiring reaction, I swallowed a fake cough internally.
Um... it's not something I made, but there's no need to correct her, I suppose.
Instead of explaining in detail, I just wore a good-natured smile and kept silent.
The next day, the guild creation process was completed. The guild name was, as planned, the SW Guild.
But I immediately realized that I had made a fatal mistake. Even though I had laid that groundwork by saying a Normal grade might come out, people's fervor far surpassed my imagination.
As soon as the guild officially began operations, commissions started flooding in to the point where it was impossible to even check them all. From the entrance of the building where the guild was located to the distant, unseen end of the road, a ceaseless line of people stretched on. They were all hunters who had flocked to entrust me with custom production commissions.
I stared blankly out the window at the procession of clients swarming like a black mass of ants. Cold sweat trickled down my forehead.
"...All of these are clients?!"
A man with narrow eyes and a snake-like face was waiting in the seemingly endless line in front of the SW Guild building. He was someone who operated alone in the shadows. Although his combat power wasn't high, he was an unrivaled person when it came to infiltration, intelligence gathering, and covert maneuvers.
He was the one who had secretly siphoned off SW equipment to Cypher this time.
As he looked at the endless waiting line and the guild's notice stating that identities would be meticulously verified, he sneered inwardly. He twisted the corner of his mouth and smirked, as if finding these procedures utterly foolish.
'Personal information and such can be changed as much as you want if you know how. How stupid.'
While he was acting relaxed internally, overconfident in his perfectly disguised identity, his turn finally came.
"Next client, please come in."
"Yes~"
The man answered cheerfully and stepped inside. Entering the room, he saw Hong Chae-yeon sitting in front of the desk. His gaze naturally drifted to the object placed on the desk in front of her.
It was a brilliantly shining white orb, about the size of a human face.
The man brushed it off inwardly, thinking it was just a decoration, and was casually preparing to answer questions with his perfectly fabricated identity. Hong Chae-yeon, sitting in front, smiled at the man with a businesslike expression and said.
"Due to the excessive number of waiting clients, we will proceed with the questions and answers quickly. They are simple questions, so please answer directly with yes or no. Please be aware that if you cannot answer, there may be disadvantages to you."
The man smiled, his eyes narrowing like a snake's, and answered confidently.
"Yes~"
Hong Chae-yeon glanced at the documents in her hand and asked the first question.
"Are you indeed Kim Seok-woo-ssi?"
It was a very basic and simple question. The man was about to answer yes confidently, as if it were the most natural thing.
But the man couldn't say anything.
'Huh...?'
His lips wouldn't part, as if glued shut. His voice wouldn't come out, as if a large invisible hand was choking his throat.
Seeing the man freeze like a stone Buddha, unable to answer, Hong Chae-yeon's amber eyes glinted coldly. In an instant, red magic power emanated fiercely from around her body like a heat haze, raising the temperature in the room. Hong Chae-yeon opened her mouth again.
"I'll ask you once more. Are you indeed Kim Seok-woo-ssi?"
The man, greatly flustered, struggled to force his mouth open. The moment he tried to utter a lie, his breath choked up. He screamed internally, asking why he couldn't speak, but only ragged breaths escaped. With his mouth clamped shut, thick cold sweat poured down his forehead like rain.
In that silence, Hong Chae-yeon stared at the man who was sweating profusely and unable to answer, her eyes cold and chilling, and said.
"What are you?"