Chapter 191
Chapter 191
Chapter 191: Human Greed Knows No Bounds... (1)
Translation: godtl
"It's not that I don't trust you, Si-mun. It's just that business is business... I'm sure you understand."
The voice coming through the phone was cautious. And polite.
"I know, I know. This isn't a personal transaction—we should definitely be clear about these things."
Si-mun nodded as he responded.
"I haven't forgotten how Yu-jeong helped with that matter. Nor the conditions I set at the time."
"So the renewed Growth Buff lease will be for three months, then?"
"Of course! Ah—and we've upgraded the buff this time. Plus, we'll be accepting more guild members soon."
The moment Si-mun finished speaking—
"No matter how many slots open up! We'll lease every single one!"
The immediate, eager response came so quickly it would have made anyone familiar with the Winter Queen gasp.
"Just name your terms like during the last recruitment. American Dream is always prepared!"
Olivia Denson's voice rose in pitch as the words poured out.
Si-mun's eyes momentarily widened at her fervor before he responded gently,"I'm sorry, Olivia, but I can't give you all the slots."
"Si-mun, do you still doubt our sincerity? If you wish it, we could even transfer guild leadership to you immediately—"
Uncharacteristically excited, Olivia began rapid-firing offers.
"That's not what I meant, Olivia."
Si-mun spoke calmly, as if soothing her.
"If I'd intended to allocate slots to just one group, I would've leased them exclusively to Korean players from the start."
"Though I doubt they could match our financial capabilities..."
"Olivia. You know what I'm trying to say."
"...Ah. My apologies."
A brief sigh followed by contrition.
"I got carried away by the changes you mentioned. I sincerely apologize."
"No need for apologies—I completely understand. Even as the holder of the Growth Buff, I find this situation astonishing."
Si-mun smiled faintly.
"Dad!"
At that moment, Si-yeon came barreling over and burrowed into his arms. Whether she understood this was an important call or not—
"Mmm."
—she made no other demands, simply nuzzling her face against his chest.
As Si-mun gently stroked the child's head, he continued,"You've probably guessed by now, but I intend to share the Growth Buff with promising talents across various nations."
The Earth of his past life—and the brink of annihilation he'd witnessed—had taught him one thing:
'No matter how much I grow alone, I can't solve everything.'
No matter how strong he became, he couldn't prevent destruction by himself. That much was obvious.
'Even the mighty Si-hyeok and Mal-suki ultimately died.'
Whether by human hands or transcendent beings, even the most powerful High-rankers who once dominated the world had met their end.
No matter how strong one became alone—they couldn't stop Earth's annihilation.
And above all else—
"Hehe."
Si-yeon giggled brightly from within his embrace.
It wasn't just about Si-yeon. All the children in the world, the parents who raised them, their relatives, acquaintances, friends—everyone organically connected in this world of living people—he wanted to protect it all.
In other words, he wanted to preserve the Earth as it was now.
To do that—
'Things like the Growth Buff should be shared with as many nations as possible.'
Of course, not everyone would survive.
In his past life, hadn't many nations—starting with smaller ones like Vatican City and Monaco—fallen to the Outbreaks?
But even so—
'The damage will be less than before.'
After all, those leasing the Growth Buff would be each nation's most promising talents—future Rankers whose value would undoubtedly yield different results than in his past life.
"Well, this is..."
Suddenly, a wry chuckle escaped him.
Si-mun voiced the reason for that laugh outright:
"Pretty ridiculous, right? A guy leasing out buffs for money, pretending to care about saving the world."
A somewhat self-deprecating laugh.
But—
"Not at all?"
The voice on the other end immediately rejected that notion.
"Honestly, I still don't fully understand your intentions, Mr. Si-mun, but there's one thing I can say with certainty."
"And what would that be?"
"No matter which faction it is—if they had obtained such a Growth Buff, they would never have shared it with other nations or guilds."
"Even if they were selling it for money like this?"
"Of course! Since when has money ever been the issue?"Olivia cut in sharply.
"From the National Tournament to Guild Wars and other event battles—in the end, everyone is an enemy. What reason would they have to nurture their competitors?"
At her words, Si-mun let out a hollow laugh.
Yeah, this is the current Earth's mindset.
Thinking only of oneself and one's own faction.
Not that it was necessarily wrong or evil, but—
It was precisely this mindset that led to nations falling while everyone hesitated to lend a hand.
In his past life on Earth, everyone had kept each other in check based on selfishness.
Naturally, unless it directly affected their own country,
they merely stood by and watched as others perished.
And as countless histories had proven,
they inevitably became the next targets, steadily losing humanity's foothold on Earth.
Of course—
They did eventually provide aid, but by then, nearly half of Earth was no longer human territory.
They fought desperately, even resorting to nuclear strikes, but those were only temporary measures.
They couldn't possibly nuke every Outbreak that kept appearing due to Arena failures,
and in the end, it only amounted to self-destructive acts that further devastated Earth.
As Si-mun lost himself in reminiscing about his past life—
"From that perspective, honestly, your method of renting out these buffs is hard to comprehend."
Olivia's voice pulled him back.
"If, as you say, Mr. Si-mun, you're truly doing this for the sake of global progress..."
Olivia trailed off, and Si-mun chuckled, finishing her sentence for her.
"Then I just look like a complete fool?"
"...I won't lie, that's what I thought at first. But after watching your Arena match with Leoni Wolf, my opinion changed."
Though they were only on a call and he couldn't see her face—
"I thought, 'This person is just genuinely good.'"
Was it an illusion, or did the Winter Queen sound like she was smiling warmly?
A little awkwardly.
"That's... a bit embarrassing to hear."
Si-mun scratched his cheek sheepishly.
Then—
"But even if you say that, I won't increase your recruitment quota."
He replied playfully.
"Hoho. You really aren't an easy man to deal with, are you?"
Olivia's voice, too, was laced with amusement.
"Anyway, Olivia? Don't worry—I'll keep my promise to you."
"Understood. Just in case, I recorded this conversation, though..."
"Good call. If I ever go back on my word, feel free to use it."
"I certainly will. Then, I'll see you in two days."
The call ended.
"......"
A brief silence.
But the corners of Si-mun's lips remained softly curved.
Who would've thought I'd hear something like that from someone I least expected.
The Winter Queen, Olivia Denson.
He had prided himself on knowing better than anyone
just how cold and calculating she was.
I guess past-life memories aren't entirely reliable after all.
Si-mun chuckled to himself.
Then—
"Daddy, happy?"
Si-yeon, who had been squirming in his arms, asked.
"Yeah, I guess so."
"If Daddy happy, Si-yeon happy too!"
Si-mun hugged the beaming child tightly.
"Our little princess. Who did you take after to be this pretty?"
"From Daddy!"
"Ack! How is even the way you talk this adorable?"
"Hehe!"
Si-mun nuzzled his face against Si-yeon's soft cheeks.
After rolling around the lab's lounge with her father for a while,
"Si-yeon~, help me out here~."
"Okay! Unnie!"
At the Philosopher's Stone's call, she dashed off to the workbench.
Watching her go with warm eyes, Si-mun rose from his seat.
"I should start preparing too."
He flicked his fingers lightly in the air.
Then—
[Achievement Shop]
Guild Member Expansion - 1,000p
Inventory Expansion - 500p
A modest achievement shop window appeared.
"Since it's still a non-standard arena, there's really nothing worth buying."
The Achievement Shop contained not a single item related to specs.
One.
'Still, if I keep clearing titles and quests, stat sales should get added here eventually.'
Just as Si-hyeok and Mal-suk from his past life had told him.
The moment a player's unquantified achievements accumulated to a certain point.
Stats—the most direct path to spec growth—would become available for purchase.
Moreover.
'By next week, I should have a Death Exemption Ticket to prevent death penalties.'
And once I enter the standard arena, a few more things should be added.
'First, let's expand the member limit.'
Si-mun invested his Achievement Points to increase the guild's member capacity.
With 1,000 points, the guild could accommodate 50 more members.
Next, 3,000 points would raise the limit by another 100.
A small frown creased Si-mun's forehead.
"If we include unrecognized nations, there are roughly 206 countries..."
Si-mun tapped his chin lightly.
"This is going to eat up quite a few Achievement Points, isn't it?"
Given that the Achievement Shop's inventory consisted of items like these.
Most players wouldn't even think of them as expensive.
But for Si-mun, whose power was directly tied to Achievement Points, the cost stung.
But what could he do?
If he wanted to recruit members from all over the world, he had no choice but to expand.
"With this minor regulation, interest in Growth Buffs should rise too. Let's invest about 10,000 points."
Si-mun expanded the guild capacity to match 10,000 points.
He checked the new member limit.
'That's about 800 more members I can take in.'
Enough for roughly 3 to 4 members per country, based on 206 nations.
"If it's not enough, I can always expand more later."
Si-mun nodded in satisfaction.
Tap.
Immediately, he transmuted a World Tree Seed Fragment.
[Your Transmutation Power is insufficient to meet the required transmutation threshold.]
[To compensate for the lack of a Philosopher's Stone and establish Equivalent Exchange, 20,000 Achievement Points are required.]
[Do you accept? (Yes / No)]
A familiar message popped up.
Si-mun's hand, about to naturally select "Yes," froze mid-air.
The reason was simple.
"What? 20,000 points all of a sudden?"
Equivalent Exchange.
When he had transmuted a World Tree Seed Fragment before, it had only cost 10,000 Achievement Points.
Yet now, the message clearly demanded 20,000.
At that moment.
—Oppa, you know this too. Permanent transmutation items get more expensive the more you make them.
A bright voice echoed in his mind.
—It's about time the World Tree Seed Fragment's price went up too.
The Philosopher's Stone inside the flask had drawn near without him realizing.
To that.
"Yeah, I guess."
Si-mun scratched his head.
"Once I transmute this, the experience gain will jump to 50%."
With the Heavenly Demon Art and the Obsidian Tablet growing stronger as well.
Wasn't it only natural for the cost to rise?
Si-mun selected "Yes" and began the transmutation immediately.
Charrrluk.
A clear chime rang out as a dense emerald light coalesced at his fingertips.
The transmutation's impact felt noticeably different from before.
'Could there be a new option added?'
A glimmer of anticipation flickered in Si-mun's eyes.
[A certain amount of World Tree Seed Fragments has been gathered.]
[The seed's form has stabilized to some extent.]
[A new option has been added to the title 'Companion of the World Tree.']
That anticipation soon became reality.
Si-mun immediately opened the title window.
[Companion of the World Tree] - Growth Type
A title bestowed upon those who walk alongside the World Tree.
- Guild member experience gain increased by 50%.
- Guild member stat growth rate increased by 110%.
- Once every 7 days, nullifies one death penalty (excluding specific judgments).
"Wha—?!"
Si-mun's eyes widened like a startled rabbit.
And for good reason.
A 40% to 50% jump in experience gain.
Not to mention the stat growth rate leaping from 90% to 110%.
But most of all—
"It nullifies one death penalty for free every week?!"
Once a week.
The option to nullify a death penalty was the real shocker.
And it seemed Si-mun wasn't the only one stunned.
Drrrrrrr.
The phone beside him buzzed incessantly.
The caller ID displayed "Kim Si-hyeok" in bold letters.
And above it—
[Lee Yu-jeong: O-oppa! What in the world...?!]
[Go Mal-suk: Hey, fucker! Pick up the damn phone!]
[Park Jin-uk: Lord Si-mun! If you pull this without warning, I'll die...!]
[Uncle Kim Mu-yeol: You bastard! What the hell have you done now...?!]
[Aunt Lee Yeong-hui: Si-mun, sweetie. Have you been eating well? Last time you said...]
[Olivia: Unread Messages +18]
Countless message notifications popped up without pause.