The Investment and the Mechanic Monarch
Ellen picked up her phone.
It was a direct line that connected straight to William Rockefeller, the Guild Master of Gold Moon.
She stared at the device for a long moment before pressing the call button with a firm thumb.
Beep— beep— beep—.
"Looks like the conversation didn't go well?"
“Did you plant someone here?”
"The reason you'd call me in a hurry is obvious, isn't it?"
Ellen relayed the current situation.
William listened in silence before finally speaking.
"Even a broken clock is right twice a day, they say."
“Pardon?”
"I mean, who would've thought our offer would come back to bite us like this?"
“That’s…”
"Ah, sorry. I wasn't trying to pin the blame on you. The situation is just funny."
William’s laughter flowed through the speaker.
Ellen bit her lip hard.
Karla’s contract conditions had been simple.
‘Turn me into the strongest player.’
Born an orphan and exposed to the logic of power rather than good and evil, Karla possessed an ethical code different from most people.
Gold Moon had recognized her potential and aggressively recruited her.
Ellen, the strongest player in Gold Moon and America’s number one ranked player, was more than qualified to become Karla’s mentor.
"I was the one who offered Karla those terms. I'm not scolding you."
“It’s because my abilities were lacking, Master.”
"Come on, that's not it at all."
William laughed for a long while before suddenly stripping all humor from his voice.
"Yeokcheon Guild, was it?"
“Yes.”
"Any chance we can acquire them?"
“None. Mister Yu turned out to be quite the ambitious man. He’s already recruited two Korean rankers.”
"Mister Hong and Shin?"
“You already knew.”
"I knew those two were close with Mister Yu, at least."
“It seems persuading Karla will be difficult for the time being.”
"To think we might lose one of our own guild members instead. How ironic."
William fell silent.
The sound of fingers tapping rhythmically on an armrest echoed through the phone.
Ellen held her breath and waited for her Guild Master to reach a decision.
A moment later—
"We can't swallow the entire Yeokcheon Guild, can we?"
“If that were possible, they wouldn’t have founded it in the first place.”
"Tell Mister Yu that Gold Moon would like to invest in the Yeokcheon Guild."
“While I stay attached to the investment talks, I can try to persuade Karla as well.”
"And while you're at it, why not plant a favorable impression?"
Ellen immediately understood William’s intentions.
After the first Great Erosion, the value of players had skyrocketed even further.
Since Karla was a talent Gold Moon had invested heavily in, they couldn’t simply let her go.
They had tried to recruit Jinho only to end up at risk of losing one of their own.
This was a dual-purpose plan: buy time to persuade Karla while earning goodwill from Jinho.
‘Impressive, Mister Yu. You know your own worth far too well.’
On the other side of the planet.
William, who had just ended the call with Ellen, clicked his tongue and leaned back in his chair.
He had already reviewed Jinho’s combat capabilities through the guild’s power analysts.
‘They called it Gold to Platinum, but I bet it’s higher than that.’
It wasn’t that he distrusted the analysts’ judgment.
But the relaxed attitude Jinho had displayed while facing the War Golem told a different story.
From his expressions, breathing rhythm, and tone of voice, William instinctively knew Jinho hadn’t gone all out.
‘Once Mister Yu reaches Diamond rank, the global rankings will be completely rewritten.’
A conviction he could share with no one!
William never doubted his own intuition.
The fact that Jinho had founded a guild at this exact moment meant he himself was fully aware of his value.
"Just one question, Director Ellen."
“Yes.”
"Does Mister Yu seem like the kind of person who would stand in my way?"
A chill lingered in William’s voice.
His goal was to establish Gold Moon as the world’s greatest guild.
Ellen thought for a moment before answering.
“It seems Mister Yu is looking in a completely different direction from what you envision, Master.”
"That’s good enough."
William replied in a light tone.
"Since we’ve decided to invest anyway, offer whatever he asks—fifty million or a hundred million dollars. Ask for about ten percent equity in return."
“Understood.”
After ending the call, Ellen set out to find Jinho with a determined expression.
“You want to invest?”
“Yes. It’s an offer from William Rockefeller, Guild Master of Gold Moon.”
Unexpected.
I never thought that old man would give up on recruiting me so easily.
Offering to invest in Yeokcheon essentially meant exactly that.
“Aren’t you curious how the investment funds will be used?”
“If you accept the investment, Guild Master Yu, I’ll need to stay here for a while.”
“So you’ll be acting as a supervisor.”
“Yes. I believe you can understand that much.”
Ellen smiled brightly.
She wasn’t saying she’d interfere with guild operations, so that much was acceptable.
In truth, she planned to stay here and persuade Karla.
From my perspective, recruiting Karla was important, but I also didn’t want to make an enemy of Ellen, who had been my comrade in the previous timeline.
Her upright character had never faded, even in the age of destruction.
Alright then…
“How much did you negotiate for?”
I rubbed my hands together.
I had plenty of places to spend money anyway. This was perfect timing.
“The Guild Master mentioned one hundred million dollars. We could probably go higher if needed.”
“That’s exactly the amount I need.”
“Does a newly founded guild really need such a massive sum?”
“I’m planning to recruit one guild member.”
I told Ellen about the secret conversation I’d had with Ping Lei.
“One hundred million dollars seems excessive for recruiting a single prospect.”
“Think of it as poaching someone who could become a core asset for the Guryong-bang.”
The Guryong-bang, which had established itself as China’s top guild.
William, who wanted Gold Moon to stand tall above the entire world, would likely find this proposal quite appealing.
I immediately called for Ping Lei.
“You called for me, Team Leader?”
“Prepare to transfer.”
“P-pardon?”
“I’ve secured one hundred million dollars.”
Ping Lei’s eyelids trembled violently.
“It’s not just a transfer fee. Half of it will be listed as your market value.”
Since I’ve shown my hand first, you need to show me something in return, don’t you?
I waited leisurely for Ping Lei’s answer.
After some time passed, he seemed to have made up his mind. He closed his eyes tightly for a moment, then slowly opened them.
“You remember the contract with the Monkey King, yes?”
“I keep my promises.”
“Then I will follow you, Team Leader.”
You little brat.
You hesitated even though I’m giving you a bridge to a Constellation on the level of the Monkey King for a hundred million dollars?
I’ll squeeze out more value than what I invested.
“Bring your family over first.”
“Ah. Of course.”
The Guryong-bang, or even the Chinese government, might retaliate.
“Contractor, can you truly trust that child?”
“Of course not.”
“Yet you’re sending him away so readily.”
“I have my own information network.”
The Korean Player Association.
Their intelligence capabilities were a step behind even the three major domestic guilds, let alone the Guryong-bang, but they were still useful.
I had already gathered basic personal information on Ping Lei’s parents.
“You truly leave no openings.”
Nyx smiled lightly and stroked my head.
Now that the guild was established, it was time to start recruiting future rankers one by one.
There weren’t any particularly standout players in Korea worth recruiting right now.
And relying solely on memories from before the regression limited my options when looking abroad.
“Ah.”
A short exclamation slipped out.
That guy should have started making a name for himself around this time.
I immediately called Team Leader Han Suchang.
“Could you look into something in Argentina for me?”
"It's possible, but..."
“Check if there’s a Mechanic-class player who’s been gaining recent fame.”
"Understood."
The Machine Monarch, Enrique Deltoro.
Like me, he was one of the six Monarchs who rose to the top as a late bloomer.
He should be starting his activities around now.
If I’m lucky, I might be able to rehabilitate him and turn him into a valuable asset.
“Are you heading out to clear a Gate again today?”
“No way. I won’t even look at one for a while.”
I climbed up to the building’s rooftop.
A large tent had been set up there.
It was a temporary space I’d created because I felt bad using the entire training facility every time I did personal training.
Fusion Qigong
Please select fusion target.
“I will fuse Shadow Dominion and Liquefaction.”
Normally, fusing a divine blessing would be impossible.
However—
Thanks to Nyx infusing it, Shadow Dominion had been reclassified from a ‘blessing’ to a ‘skill,’ allowing it to be fused freely.
The essence of Shoggoth and Nyx’s power intertwined.
Body of Darkness has been registered in Fusion Qigong.
Fusion Skill - 3/5
Fusion skill can be registered again after 168 hours.
If the skill list is full, one must be deleted. The same cooldown applies when deleting an already registered skill.
◈ Active
Reconstructs the body using the power of Polar Night. Can pass through physical force.
Using Body of Darkness blocks light, granting an effect similar to always walking through night.
Consumes a small amount of Polar Night.
“Partner, why do you engage in such impure acts?”
“Just bear with it a little longer even if it displeases you.”
I couldn’t keep the level-up bonus stats buried forever.
The power of Polar Night belonged to the goddess who ruled over the concept of ‘night’—Nyx.
Mastering it completely would take quite a long time.
I had adapted to it fairly quickly at first, but as more powers I hadn’t handled before the regression piled up, training time had become relatively scarce.
In that case, wasn’t it fine to use a little trick?
“If I materialize Polar Night like this, I might get a better feel for it.”
“Hmph.”
Nyx let out a displeased snort.
She really was a difficult goddess.
Body of Darkness activated.
Shaaaaah!
My hair, skin, and even the clothes I wore turned pitch black.
Polar Night energy poured out—not by my will, but as a skill effect.
The power spreading from the crown of my head enveloped my entire body and began reconstructing its components.
Blessing of the Goddess of Night applied.
Recovery rate increased by 50%.
It overlapped with the blessing of the Earth Mother Goddess.
And that wasn’t all.
Because I was judged to be dwelling in darkness, I could also use the stealth skill Nocturnal Stride.
“It’s not enough to fill an entire Fusion Qigong slot.”
Compared to Solar Explosion or Shrink, its performance was lacking.
But—
I wasn’t particularly disappointed.
This was enough.
Sssst!
I observed my body, now unified with Polar Night.
Cells, blood droplets, muscles, and bones.
Every single element composing my body had become one with Polar Night.
I accepted the Polar Night itself that had synchronized throughout my entire being.
“So this is what night feels like.”
Realization could come from even the smallest trigger.
Just as Shin Junseok had gained enlightenment on how to counter his weakness after it was exploited during a spar, I too began advancing to the next stage by understanding the true nature of night.
You have partially realized the essence of Polar Night.
Bonus stats can now be invested into the Polar Night stat.
Huh?
Realizing the truth of Polar Night was this easy?!