Chapter 20
Chapter 20
Translation: godtl
Heavenly Demon Divine Art (2)
"Lies...!"
A voice trembling with weakness.
Given Don King's current state, the fact he could still speak at all was nothing short of a miracle.
His armor, which could be considered top-tier even among so-called "school uniforms," was made of leather renowned for its exceptional shock absorption.
Yet it hung in tatters, as if ravaged by a typhoon.
And then there was—
Plip. Plip.
Like water droplets falling from a stalactite,
his right hand, dripping with blood, wasn't even worth mentioning.
It had vanished without a trace,
as if a grenade had detonated in his bare grip.
Meanwhile—
-......Holy shit!
-What the hell was that just now?!
-The screen distorted so badly I couldn't see anything!
-I've seen that before. Back when Don King was grinding to Diamond, his Fist Energy looked exactly like that.
-No way. Don King's stats are too low to use Fist Energy. How the hell would he pull that off in the Abyss tier?
-Then it must've been an item or trait, dumbass! Can you even explain what that was?
For a brief moment, only the blazing chat stream confirmed Don King's survival.
But even that didn't last long.
Thud.
As the broadcast's host collapsed, the screen itself flickered out.
And with it—
[First Blood has been achieved.]
[Clear rewards for this arena have increased.]
A series of notifications floated before Si-mun's eyes.
'Hah. Executing the technique itself is still exhausting.'
It felt like suffering from a severe flu.
Shaking his head slightly at the full-body fatigue weighing him down, Si-mun exhaled.
Then—
[The Constellation Heavenly Demon expresses immense satisfaction with your hegemonistic actions.]
[The Constellation Heavenly Demon has sponsored you with 500 Achievement Points.]
A sponsorship notice from the Heavenly Demon appeared before him.
"Even outside the mission, you're giving me all this..."
The fatigue seemed to melt away.
Of course, it was largely thanks to his 7-point Stamina and overwhelming Transmutation Power recovery speed, both boosted by the Spirit Elixir.
But mental fatigue couldn't be ignored either, right?
"I'll work hard to ensure the mission you've given me is completed to your satisfaction."
[The Constellation Heavenly Demon nods in satisfaction.]
Si-mun responded with a pleased smile.
'As expected of a high-ranking Constellation. They're incredibly generous.'
But before he could savor the joy of the sponsorship any longer—
[Galaxy Arena applauds you for receiving sponsorships from three high-ranking Constellations.]
[You have earned 1,000 Achievement Points as a reward.]
[You have earned the title 'Pick of Kings' as a reward.]
A cascade of notifications flooded his vision.
'Huh? There was an achievement like this?'
Si-mun immediately opened his Status Window to check the 1,000 Achievement Points he'd just acquired,
then scrutinized the title section.
[Pick of Kings] - Dynamic
You, who have drawn the attention of high-ranking Constellations.
As their interest grows, so too shall your future.
-All stats +3
-Options refresh each time you receive a sponsorship from a high-ranking Constellation.
Registered Constellations: Zeus, Black Goat, Heavenly Demon
"Holy shit..."
The curse slipped out before he could stop it.
Naturally.
'A dynamic title?!'
Dynamic titles were similar to growth-type titles in that their effects changed based on specific conditions.
But true to the word "dynamic,"
they differed distinctly from growth-type titles.
'Growth-type titles don't have stat decreases.'
As the name implied, they were titles that "grew."
Unless afflicted by a status ailment or penalty, their effects never diminished.
But dynamic titles were different.
Their effects could weaken based on conditions.
Si-mun carefully examined the details of [Pick of Kings].
'That's it.'
His gaze locked onto one line.
Options refresh each time you receive a sponsorship from a high-ranking Constellation.
An insane effect that increased all stats by +1 with every sponsorship.
But conversely—
'If the Constellations sponsoring me withdraw, the stats will drop accordingly.'
Closing the title tab, Si-mun checked his stats in the Status Window.
Level: 7
Affiliation: South Korea
Strength: 6 (+3)
Agility: 6 (+3)
Stamina: 7 (+3)
Transmutation Power: 17 (+3)
-Demonic Energy: 10
Remaining Stats: 0
"Hah... These are insane buffs."
Total Strength and Agility: 9.
Stamina had reached a staggering 10, and Transmutation Power was now 20.
Who would believe this was the Status Window of a Level 7?
Just as Si-mun's jaw was about to drop, he noticed the Demonic Energy stat and clicked his tongue.
"Tch. Looks like it doesn't apply to Demonic Energy."
Was it because Demonic Energy was tied to Transmutation Power?
The Demonic Energy, which had been at 8, had only changed to 10—half of the newly increased Transmutation Power of 20.
Additionally, the +3 stat bonus from [Pick of Kings] wasn't applied.
"Let's look on the bright side. At least the Demonic Energy stat didn't stay completely stagnant."
Thanks to the increase in Transmutation Power, the Demonic Energy stat had still gone up by 2.
The power of the Heavenly Demon Divine Art he'd used earlier would likely be even stronger now.
'Pick of Kings. It's definitely a finicky title, but it's worth managing.'
An all-stat increase option was undoubtedly an incredible perk.
Just think about it.
To raise every single stat by +3 purely through level-ups, he'd need a total of 12 stat points.
That directly translates to twelve whole level-ups.
And yet, with just a single title—
Si-mun was essentially seeing the efficiency of +12 levels' worth of stats.
The proportional increase in Demonic Energy from Transmutation Power was just a bonus.
'I don't know how picky the Constellations can be, but I should try to accept as many of their missions as possible from now on.'
And respond appropriately, of course.
Just as Si-mun finished that thought and was about to take a step—
"Don King... lost?"
"N-no way, that's a lie...?"
Trembling, terrified voices reached his ears.
'Ah, right. Those guys were still here.'
Don King's passengers.
After briefly glancing at them, Si-mun clenched his fist and approached.
"Eeek!"
"D-don't come any closer! I'll stab you if you do!"
The words made him scoff involuntarily.
The sight of the passengers shivering as they raised their weapons was downright ridiculous.
'How the hell did they even clear the Tutorial...? No, wait. I was a special case, wasn't I?'
Before regression, his Mana had been 10.
After regression, his Transmutation Power was 10.
He'd started with stats at the maximum possible level for a Level 1—10 in each—so the Tutorial he'd gone through was incomparable to what ordinary players experienced.
Still—
'This is a bit much.'
These were players who'd supposedly cleared the Placement Test.
"Eek!"
"I-I'll shoot! I swear I'll shoot!"
What the hell were those trembling sword tips and arrowheads supposed to accomplish?
'And it's because of people like these that decent players in the regular Arena...'
The regular Arena hadn't even started yet.
But just witnessing this absurd behavior made his blood boil.
Si-mun didn't bother hiding his disgust.
Whoosh.
He didn't even need to transmute [Ogre's Body Tissue].
All it took was a single Demonic Energy-infused punch.
"Gahk!"
"Urk!"
The two passengers wielding a sword and a bow collapsed pathetically.
With his current stats alone—
There was no shortage of power to deal with these bus-riding freeloaders.
Thud.
Even as the two passengers fell, Si-mun's footsteps didn't stop.
The last remaining passenger—a middle-aged player—stood with his arms crossed, silently observing the situation.
Unlike the two who'd been trembling earlier, this man showed no trace of agitation.
His eyes scanned Si-mun up and down as if appraising merchandise.
"You're strong. Exceptionally so."
"Your natural stats seem superior, and I quite like that you don't go easy on the weak."
Si-mun responded with a disbelieving tone.
"Excuse me, but I think you've got the wrong idea. This is the Arena. There's no such thing as 'going easy on the weak' here."
"Exactly. That's why I like you even more. As you know, there are plenty who can't utilize their superior specs, no?"
"Well..."
He wasn't wrong.
Before the regular Arena began, it was practically structured like a game.
The pain experienced in the Arena wasn't even half of real-life pain.
And even that could be reduced further through connection devices.
Yet, because of this peculiar realism—
There were quite a few who couldn't bring themselves to participate in the Arena at all, repulsed by the idea of taking lives.
Not to mention those who received stats or traits far beyond their actual talent.
Si-mun flexed his fingers with a sharp tuk-tuk sound.
"If you're trying to buy time, you're mistaken. I have no intention of letting you live."
"Haha! I like your audacity. Of course—you're the strong one, and I'm clearly the weak one here, no?"
The middle-aged man's hearty laugh made one of Si-mun's eyebrows twitch.
'What's up with this guy?'
His calm demeanor gave Si-mun an instinctive feeling.
This man wasn't just some passenger riding on a carry.
As if to prove it—
"But let me tell you, young man—the world doesn't run on brute strength alone."
The middle-aged man reached into his coat and pulled something out.
He hesitated for a moment before unfolding his palm.
"Come to think of it, you had your broadcast on earlier, didn't you? Would you mind turning it off?"
"I don't see any reason to..."
Si-mun trailed off as his eyes briefly scanned the chat window.
Despite having left the stream on for quite some time,
not a single message had appeared.
It was only natural.
There were only three viewers, and all of them were high-ranking Constellations.
"No need to worry. It's not like anyone's watching anyway."
"Hah! So that mission talk earlier was just bluster, huh?"
"It wasn't bluster, though..."
"Kehaha! I get it. In battle, momentum is half the fight!"
Though the middle-aged man seemed to have completely misunderstood,
Si-mun didn't bother correcting him.
He was too curious about what the man was thinking.
And that curiosity—
"Here. Take this."
—completely dissipated the moment he saw the slip of paper the man handed him.
"What's this?"
"My business card."
[HR Department Manager, Hu Yeon-ryong]
Beside it were Chinese characters that presumably spelled his name,
and below that, his phone number and email address were listed.
The problem was—
'+86? Isn't that a Chinese number?'
A number he'd once received in a message before.
He couldn't remember the rest of the digits, but the prefix +86 was impossible to forget.
Because—
'Most of them were either spam or voice phishing numbers.'
But since no idiot would try that kind of scam inside the Arena,
there was only one answer.
"You're a Chinese scout, aren't you?"
"Oh-ho, you figured that out too? You're quite the sharp one."
Even more impressed,
Hu Yeon-ryong gazed at Si-mun with eyes brimming with greed.
"Originally, this offer was meant for the streamer Don King. It's a shame to see someone of his talent stuck playing the role of a mere Bus Driver."
"Then why not just give it to Don King?"
"Of course, that was the plan—if he ever turned his stream back on."
With a sly, businesslike smile, Hu Yeon-ryong waved the card teasingly.
Si-mun simply stared at it.
Or rather—
'I didn't expect to see this here...'
His eyes were fixed on the familiar Chinese characters printed at the very top of the card.
'Continent Guild.'
The Continent Guild.
China's largest guild, standing shoulder-to-shoulder with America's top guilds.
A guild that truly began its meteoric rise when the Fist King, Jong-ri Chu, ascended as its Guild Master.
He'd already suspected they'd start making moves soon, but—
'Guess they've been poaching talent for a while now.'
"You must be suspicious. I understand."
Perhaps sensing Si-mun's hesitation as he stared at the card without taking it,
Hu Yeon-ryong smoothly withdrew the card and spoke.
"I'm well aware of China's image in Korea."
"I'd imagine so. You even naturalized just to access Korea's Arena matchmaking."
"Haha! What choice do I have? Global matchmaking only unlocks at Platinum-rank."
Hu Yeon-ryong shrugged.
Then, eyeing Si-mun carefully, he asked,
"Does it bother you that I'm scouting this aggressively?"
"Not exactly pleasant, but not enough to be bothered."
"Oh-ho? You're the first player I've met who'd say that."
"Because it's a common practice worldwide."
Truthfully, it wasn't just China.
Since as early as 2020,
major powers like the U.S. and others had been covertly scouting players from other countries.
Of course, recruiting top-tier players or high-ranking ones was incredibly difficult,
so they mainly targeted promising low-rankers.
This Hu Yeon-ryong guy was probably one of those scouts.
"Common practice, huh..."
Hu Yeon-ryong's eyebrow twitched slightly.
"You're not just strong—you're sharp."
Had Si-mun's perceived value risen further?
The man's gaze deepened as he studied him.
"How did you know? There aren't many countries that go as far as naturalizing scouts like me."
"Do I have any reason to tell you that?"
"Fair enough."
He could've pressed further,
but Hu Yeon-ryong simply nodded.
Then—
"Need to reassess his value... usable conditions... Hmm, good. This should suffice."
After muttering to himself with his chin resting on his hand,
he suddenly extended all five fingers toward Si-mun.
"What are you doing?"
"Five million yuan."
Hu Yeon-ryong spoke with absolute confidence.
"At the current exchange rate, that's roughly 920 million won. I'll pay it upfront."
"Hey—"
"Wait. I'm not done yet."
Before Si-mun could react, Hu Yeon-ryong pulled out a rod and began scribbling terms midair like a checklist.
"A sort of artifact, perhaps."
"This is merely a token of our sincerity. Should you join our Continent Guild, we'll provide additional payments."
"Weapons worth 500 million won and armor pieces valued at over 100 million won per piece will also be provided."
"The contract terms are renewable every three years. Of course, even after the contract ends, the items provided will remain your property."
The conditions Hu Yeon-ryong wrote in the air shimmered even in the dim light of the abandoned mine.
"And if you choose to naturalize in China—"
Without pausing, he continued scribbling terms midair.
"—we'll provide an additional 50 million yuan, ten times the initial advance payment. That amounts to approximately 9.2 billion won. Naturally, the amount may increase depending on your performance."
Finishing with a period, Hu Yeon-ryong looked directly at Si-mun with overflowing confidence.
'He can't possibly refuse. Not even that pretentious Seongsam Guild offers such terms to low-rank players.'
It was already common knowledge that the Seongsam Guild provided C to B-rank equipment to new recruits.
Though even that was an enormous investment.
It couldn't possibly compete with the financial power of a major nation.
As proof—
'This offer has never been rejected before.'
Though changing nationalities didn't happen frequently,
99% of those he'd scouted had accepted these terms and now operated under the Continent Guild's banner.
Moreover, the majority of players whose three-year contracts had expired chose to renew.
'Well, it's only natural. These are conditions you couldn't even dream of in a small country like this.'
There's no way he'd refuse.
Having driven the final nail, Hu Yeon-ryong naturally added,
"I'm not asking for an immediate decision. Having lived abroad myself, I fully understand what kind of resolve this requires."
He extended the business card he'd previously withdrawn.
At this, Si-mun let out a hollow laugh and shook his head vigorously.
"These are certainly staggering terms."
"Haha! We've put special care into crafting these conditions for talents like you. How about it? Tempting, isn't it?"
"Yes. I imagine many would jump at this."
"Indeed. In fact, over 90% of those I've approached have accepted."
"Mmm, I can see why."
Si-mun nodded.
If they were specifically targeting low-rank players classified as deep-sea tier,
these were terms that would naturally make people flip their eyes back in excitement.
There wasn't even a single shackling condition in the three-year contract, was there?
Plenty would think,"I'll just suck out the honey and come back without naturalizing!"
But.
'I know the Continent Guild's methods all too well.'
Disgustingly, nauseatingly well.
Those who take the bait gradually get caught in their schemes without even realizing it.
The routes were varied—from framing traitors through media and internet, to dual fraudulent contracts,
and in extreme cases, even brainwashing through drugs or mental-type abilities.
Most crucially—
'Maybe before awakening, but abandoning your country after awakening is madness.'
A player's affiliation is determined by their country of residence at the moment of awakening.
There are even cases where people awaken while traveling abroad and become affiliated with foreign nations.
'Naturalizing won't change your affiliation.'
Even if you naturalize in another country beforehand, it's only on Earth's paperwork.
The affiliation set by the Galaxy Arena at awakening never changes.
You could see this just by looking at the affiliation field in your Status Window.
The real reason people naturalize is—
'Because once you naturalize in a country, your matches start being assigned to that nation.'
Rather than the affiliation text in the Status Window, the tangible money feels more real.
When good terms come along, they just naturalize in that country.
There's also covert scouting operations like this Hu Yeon-ryong fellow.
'Well, I get it. They've probably never experienced the penalty of losing national affiliation.'
The penalties for losing affiliation only start applying in official Arenas.
Si-mun fell deep into thought.
Did his silence appear as hesitation?
"Won't you accept soon? At my age, my arm's starting to ache."
Hu Yeon-ryong gave a slight shake to his card-extending arm.
"Ah, my apologies. When I get lost in thought, I become oblivious to my surroundings."
Si-mun grinned and clasped Hu Yeon-ryong's offered hand.
"But you know what, Manager Hu?"
Then, perfectly naturally—
Swish.
He pulled Hu Yeon-ryong's hand toward him.
"For someone who's supposedly a personnel department manager, you really should sharpen your eye for people."
Thud.
A fist wreathed in black energy slammed into his solar plexus.
"Ghk...!"
Eyes bulging, Hu Yeon-ryong couldn't even properly scream.
"How...?"
The bloodshot eyes staring back held more shock than physical pain.
His eyes were filled with bewilderment toward Si-mun, who had rejected his offer.
As for Si-mun—
"Ah, it's nothing special."
Crrack!
Maintaining his smile, he simply drove another fist into Yeon-ryong's solar plexus.
"Your terms just didn't sit right with me. And besides—"
Thud.
Yeon-ryong collapsed, his sternum caved in.
Si-mun murmured words the man could no longer hear:
"I know exactly what kind of scum you people are—because I've experienced it firsthand."
Step.
He turned and walked deeper into the shadowed depths of the Abandoned Mine.