Chapter 158

**CHAPTER_TITLE: The Secret of Youth**The opening match concluded in spectacular fashion.The Mir Guild took the grand opening event that the *Yongbung-i* fans had poured their hearts into creating, received full sponsorship from the Lee Do Group, and announced it to the world with a dazzling opening showcase. On top of that, they infused it with the desperate longing of the citizens of this city who had long been ignored.Having inherited that soul-stirring will, the Mir Guild once again turned the world upside down and repaid everyone’s expectations in their usual overwhelming style.

While praise poured in without end, the overseas reaction was just as explosive as Korea’s. The most notable point was how sharply opinions differed by country.

America, which loved stars, and ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠Europe, which valued teamwork and management, were in a festive mood, applauding the Mountain King’s revival.

The countries of the Asia League all trembled at once.Especially intense were the reactions from China and Japan, who had only recently overtaken Korea to claim the title of Asia’s leader.Because during his prime, both nations had been the Mountain King’s favorite “hunting grounds.”Anyway, while domestic and international media were making a huge fuss, the *Yongbung-i* fans were on another level.

These were the *Yongbung-i* who had poured everything into getting their guild chosen for the opening match.With 1.12 million registered members in the Yongbung Era community, and an estimated total of over 1.5 million including unregistered fans, the power of this mega fandom was terrifying.Translators, webtoon artists, video editors, and even unnamed drama writers.Professionals like them created promotional content with a single goal: to make the opening match happen.And those without technical skills? They went ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠even harder on the manual labor.They pooled their money to plaster Mir goods overseas. The amount of Choco Pies they stuck on packages was so ridiculous that just seeing the wrappers now made them nauseous.Their own guild had achieved a fantastic victory in the opening match they had created with their own hands. Could there be a better day than this?Even now, just thinking about that moment made the *Yongbung-i* grin like idiots and see the world as a flower garden.Amid this frenzy, there were two main points of excitement.The first was Baek Yeon-woo, the third of Lee Shin’s children, who had made a historic debut in the opening match.

What stood out once again was the Mir Guild’s insane visual potential.The confirmed bread-lover Yu Ri-ra, the impossibly perfect church oppa Kim Yu-shin.We raised Park Su-bin, and now we’re raising Baek Yeon-woo.Some YouTubers were seriously starting to question Lee Shin’s player selection criteria.

Of course, looks were a double-edged sword in this industry.This was a business where faces were put on display. Appearance mattered.But if that was all you had, people would call you “T-shirt sleeve material.”Balance was always key.Fortunately, every single member of the Mir Guild was not only ridiculously skilled but also had outstanding character.Naturally, the representatives of rival guilds were rolling on the floor in jealousy. They didn’t even need a calculator to see how much business performance the Mir Guild would generate this year.Given the situation, the fans were no different.

While other guilds spent 100 billion or 200 billion won in transfer fees to bring in starters for the rivalry matches, these kids were being pulled straight out of the fields? And they were young. And insanely talented.It would be stranger if people *weren’t* drooling.Of course, the hyenas who drooled without fear were said to have received proper punishment from a million *Yongbung-i*…And the second point of excitement was, of course, *that person*.The protagonist who had received the brightest spotlight in this historic opening match.The Mountain King, Kim Jong-pil.

In truth, fans had already seen the Mountain King’s rejuvenated appearance in photos and the opening ceremony, but most had simply thought, “He looks cool,” or “Nice directing.”

No one had taken it too seriously.They assumed it was either heavy CG, or that he had undergone procedures like the Ten Thousand Kings to change his image.But that wasn’t the case at all.The moment the Mountain King stepped onto the stage, fans instinctively sensed something was different. And when he tore apart the enemy jungler alive in the first set, they understood completely.He was back. The legend they all knew had returned.

He had become young again.He had broken free from the shackles of time.This miraculous reversal drew the attention of not only fans who supported the Mir Guild, but also rival guild representatives who cursed them, and even people who had no interest in the league at all.And it was right then that Lee Shin’s broadcast turned on.“The Mountain King’s rejuvenation? Oh, I did that.”The result?Ten million.That was the number of viewers who tuned into Lee Shin’s live stream.* * *The chat window was shooting up like crazy.He had only lightly touched on the topic of rejuvenation and it had already reached this level.What was interesting was that it wasn’t just Korean. English, Chinese, Japanese, and even characters from countries he had never seen before were popping up frequently.“Oh, there are a lot of people. Nice. My exhibitionist stat seems to be rising.”This was the kind of audience that made streaming worth it.Lee Shin smiled brightly at the camera.“Alright everyone, before we take questions, I have one announcement. You all know I normally don’t take Super Chats, right? Sorry, but I’m changing that. Our broadcast team staff have been working too hard. So from now on…”Questions will be taken through Super Chat!And the money collected that way?“I’ll use it for a good cause. I’ll donate it under the name ‘Yongbung-i.’ How’s that? Nice, right? Then please send in your questions!”Bang!As if shot by Lee Shin’s finger gun, money rained down from the sky on screen.“While I’m taking questions, let’s just chat. Did everyone watch the match? Anyone who didn’t, raise your hand. I’m jealous. You guys are the real winners in life. You’ve saved up a huge amount of happiness. Wow~ The old man was cool, right? It was insane. Yeon-woo was so good. As expected of our fans. Our Yeonu really has that charm, doesn’t he?”The fans’ reaction was beyond imagination.Honestly, they had been worried. They were afraid Lee Shin might have changed.You know how it is. When guilds were in the lower leagues, they communicated like they would give you their liver and gallbladder. But once they rose up, they suddenly acted like they had the dignity of a major and went full mysterious recluse.Honestly, among the nineteen major guilds right now, there probably wasn’t a ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠single one free of that behavior.So the *Yongbung-i* had been worried that the Mir Guild might change too…“…Oh look at this! I took it in a hurry! Ta-da!! These are keyrings of our kids. Want them? Want to buy them? Sadly we don’t have enough to sell. Instead, after the broadcast ends, I’ll give away 100 per hunter. Just so you know, it’s random. Oh? It doesn’t matter if you’re in America. Huh? I just translated what I said. I’m pretty good at English, seriously.”It had been a needless worry.Look at Lee Shin grinning like an idiot while holding SD character keyrings of the raid team in both hands. He was still the same immature youngest member they knew. The same youngest who had confessed his love to them during the promotion match.While the *Yongbung-i* felt their hearts warm, the compiled questions arrived.“Wait, wait, since they’re here, let’s look at these first.”As expected, the number one ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠question was exactly what Lee Shin had predicted.The corner of his mouth naturally rose. Time to start acting.“As expected, the number one question is how the Mountain King rejuvenated. Hmm, this is a bit hard to tell you.”He pretended to hesitate.Then, as if making a big decision!“Fine, I’ll tell you. But don’t tell anyone else. The truth is, during the Stove League period, we went up to North Korea. Uh, the gate danger zone. We set up spring camp there.”“Before that, I had already looked into a Level 7 gate related to the Mountain King. What comes to mind when you think of the Mountain King? Trees and spirits, right? When those two combine—boom! The World Tree! Can you picture it? Inside, the terrain was first of all a grassland formation…”At that moment, every fan whose head had been filled with ??? suddenly switched to !! and tried to stop Lee Shin.

Lee Shin was speaking casually, but this was a *Gate Journal*. It was walkthrough information for a ‘Level 7 unauthorized gate.’Why were guilds’ raid levels higher than public raids? Because guilds recorded and kept this kind of information.All of it was intangible assets. That was precisely why no guild ever opened up their gate raid information.But.“Ah, I know what you’re worried about, but it’s fine. It’s not some super important secret. Good things should be shared.”Lee Shin revealed it without hesitation. He even added that since there would be a replay, they didn’t need to bother recording it themselves.The fans became incredibly excited as well.“Why? Is it boring? Should I skip ahead?”

“Ah, right. Where was I?”

“Ah, yes. The terrain was grassland. Elves lived there and they were all archers. The special thing was the Elder Elf…”When would an ordinary person ever get to hear a live account of clearing a Level 7 unauthorized gate?And from the person who had actually cleared it, in real time! Only someone like their representative could do this.Their hearts warmed at their representative’s generosity, and just thinking that this was *their* representative made their shoulders rise with pride.The thrilling story combined with Lee Shin’s unstoppable eloquence captured the attention of every viewer.Especially during the explanation of the Elder Elf kiting method and the battles against each mid-boss, no one could even breathe. The chat window of a broadcast with over ten million viewers had gone completely silent.Of course, while Lee Shin seemed to be speaking casually, his mind was working at full speed.Timing, atmosphere, what he could say and what he shouldn’t.‘Gate fusion, Level 8, and the loopholes are off limits. I can skip some of the World Tree’s patterns.’When the atmosphere had reached its peak, Lee Shin wrapped up the story and dropped the final climax.“Anyway, among the items we got after defeating the boss there was a spiritual medicine called the ‘Fruit of the World Tree.’”

“Yeah, this thing had insane synergy with the Mountain King. Boom~! He exploded. That’s how the New Mountain King was born~”Waaaaaaaaah!!The moment he finished speaking, a tidal wave crashed into the previously frozen chat window.They never expected him to reveal *everything*! The gracious lecture that covered monster tendencies, characteristics, strategies, and even the boss’s patterns moved the viewers to tears.And Lee Shin’s eyes flashed.This was it.When the atmosphere had reached its absolute peak. When the nerves of more than ten million people were all focused on him!This was the perfect timing to drop the bomb.“But!!”“Then you might ask this. Are you saying the miracle of becoming more than thirty years younger happened just because of one spiritual medicine pill? Don’t talk nonsense.”He preemptively cut off any controversy.He drew all their attention to himself.When every single person was hanging on his every word.The true purpose of today’s broadcast, the highlight, finally arrived!“Of course there is a secret method. Did you really think I would say something like this without any special technique?”Watching the wave of question marks filling the chat window, Lee Shin smiled arrogantly. He crossed his legs and leisurely continued.“Let’s be honest. You all wanted the secret to youth, the secret to strength, and the secret to growth, didn’t you?”Lee Shin smirked and raised his hand.“I’ll show you. That very secret!”Snap!At the sound of his fingers, a banner dropped down behind him.“This is the youth you have been looking for.”I will be waiting.In the coolly vacated spot, the broadcast had already exploded.