How to Prove It (2)
"You’ve got to make the most of whatever situation you’re given."
"So this is what happened when you kept Baron Brandt breathing after all."
The news that came back was gratifying. Enough so that even Agares was willing to acknowledge it.
We hadn’t fully occupied Baron Brandt’s lands. Instead, we had weakened them to the point that they could be cut down at any time, and now the results of that choice were beginning to show.
The locals, having completely misunderstood our intentions, were now full of nothing but plans to use us—as long as they themselves weren’t the ones being attacked. It was the old saying in action: use an enemy to deal with your rival. To them, we were just a pack of beasts they could point at someone else.
"They don’t know how much power we’re gathering, or what we’re aiming for. In that case, this is enough."
For now, it seemed we still weren’t being watched that closely. That meant I could keep going like this: sowing discord among them, slipping in quietly, and taking only what I needed.
But once we’d stockpiled enough power to satisfy ourselves, everyone in this world would regret not having crushed us before we had the chance to grow.
"What matters most is time, then. If we keep feeding on them like this, will we really have enough time to grow stronger?"
"Are you making a call?"
Just as I was frowning at the screen and muttering to myself, another voice came from outside the door.
"Yeah. I just finished a quick call."
I answered calmly, looking at Im Chan-gyu standing there. This wasn’t my place. It was a dormitory shared with the other players who had become part of the team.
I’d gotten used to it, but now that I was talking to Agares out loud, I had to keep a careful eye on my surroundings.
"That call’s over, right?"
"Yeah."
"Then let’s go. Coach said all the contract stuff’s done."
Im Chan-gyu said it bluntly, then turned and left before me. Since that day, he’d stopped openly showing his hostility, but it didn’t feel like he trusted me completely yet.
"Isn’t he adorable? If that kid were to come face-to-face with your other self in Pandemonium... I wonder if he’d do any better than that spy who ended up losing his mind."
"Quit talking nonsense. I’ve already got enough weirdness to deal with."
After I heard Im Chan-gyu’s footsteps fade, Agares spoke in a voice full of mocking amusement. But I stiffened at the sound of it.
At the end of the day, I was Lee Hajin the retired pro gamer, not a giant spider commanding a horrifying horde. And yet I could feel it myself: the more I focused on Pandemonium, the more I immersed myself in it, the more I started to think and act as if I really were the Grand Lord.
If I start acting like that in real life, a guy like me would be one step away from becoming a complete lunatic. It’s one thing if I’m just playing shadow ruler in my room, but now that I’m back in society, I can’t let that happen.
"Is that so? Well, it does depend on your own will, of course."
"Just keep your eyes on the game. What you said before is definitely true, right? If the Grand Lord’s rank itself rises, the entire faction can evolve beyond its limits. That means it can start producing Minions on its own."
"Seeing is better than hearing a hundred times. Why don’t you just try it? I’m a splendid guide, after all—I don’t lie when it comes to games."
Agares said it with complete confidence, as if the matter were obvious.
There was no way to verify it even if I doubted him. And in any case, he was on my side, so he wasn’t going to lead me anywhere that would harm me.
"Looks like I’ve got even more reason to keep moving."
After grabbing my things, I left the dormitory. It was only a five-minute walk to the company building anyway—practically right around the corner.
"Ah. Finally, everyone’s here. The whole lot of us on the same boat, huh."
The mood inside the building was lively. Around Coach Park Yong-bin, the atmosphere hovered somewhere between awkwardness and excitement, taut and expectant.
"There have already been articles and all, so you probably at least know each other a little... but this is your first proper introduction, isn’t it?"
As before, Park Yong-bin stepped forward as the representative and took charge of the room. The three other team members, who had already heard of me, still had youthful faces just like Im Chan-gyu.
Unlike Im Chan-gyu, I already knew who they were. I’d dug up information on them online based on what I’d been told.
Kim Seung-chan.
The oldest of the three, twenty years old, was a fresh recruit joining the team for the first time.
Jo Seong-hyeon, Park Chan-hyeok.
The other two, both still minors, were promising players who had been training with other teams. Fortunately, unlike Im Chan-gyu, they didn’t seem to have any particular resentment toward me. That said, they didn’t exactly look friendly, either.
"Nice to meet you. Let’s do well together."
I took the initiative and greeted them first, while they watched me with cautious eyes. That, after all, was probably the role the team expected me to play.
Apparently satisfied, Park Yong-bin stepped back and nodded with a benevolent expression while we exchanged introductions.
"You’re all probably busy wrapping things up, but I was thinking we could at least eat together tonight."
Right after that, the coaching staff suggested a company dinner. It would be awkward, sure, but there was no reason to refuse.
***
"So you did look into it. Who the other team members are."
"Of course. You didn’t hear the story, but those kids already did, so I needed to know at least a little about them."
That night, only Im Chan-gyu and I had returned to the dormitory, the other three still not back.
I’d had less to drink than most, but I was still holding back the slow, creeping warmth of the alcohol when Im Chan-gyu’s words made me snort softly.
"How many times do you think we can win from here?"
"Who knows. Looks like you don’t like the others much either."
"N-no, that’s not it. I just wondered whether this is actually good for all of us..."
"I don’t care. That’s a perfectly reasonable thought to have."
I set my phone down and looked over at Im Chan-gyu, who was flustered.
He was still just a kid. He’d even neglected school to throw himself into training so he could become a player.
And now I understood why he was worrying so much. Fear of failure, fear of the world, resentment toward losing things—I’d already felt all of that myself.
"No matter how much you complain, no matter how unfair it is, no matter how miserable it gets, reality won’t change. In this huge world, we’re just one gear among many, not the main character. But does that mean we just give up? Isn’t it only natural to struggle and try to do something, anything?"
"And you think that changes anything?"
Even while avoiding my eyes, Im Chan-gyu shot back the question. Of course he would doubt me. I hadn’t proven a single thing yet.
"We’ve got our first scrim in two days. It won’t be too late to see then. How far our team can go."
All I had to do was prove it. It wasn’t like I lacked confidence, either. At the very least, I was certain I could show something better than what I’d shown so far.
Maybe my answer had been firm enough, because Im Chan-gyu didn’t press any further and just went back to his room.
"I think I see why Chan-gyu’s so uneasy. He should really quit internet communities, but that’s never easy."
"What a fragile little creature."
While Im Chan-gyu was in the shower, I shut the door to my room, turned on the computer, and browsed the internet. Of course, as Agares had pointed out on the phone in front of me, the biggest issue was probably my own state of mind.
But there was no doubt the outside world had its influence, too.
There were online communities where fans of the team were brutally honest about what they thought. With our team thrown together on a shoestring budget because of the organization’s worsening finances, there was no reason to expect good reviews. If anything, the reactions were harsh enough that I honestly thought it might be better not to look at them at all.
The negative assessments of me were especially abundant. If it were only distrust, that would be one thing, but there were plenty of insults saying I was trash even in the second division, or that I was the kind of player who threw games at the drop of a hat.
"Are humans really that stupid? If they knew what you were, just like Im Chan-gyu does now, do you think they’d dare even meet your eyes?"
"I told you to stop saying things like that."
Clicking my tongue at Agares’s nonsense, I picked up my phone again. On the screen, my soldiers were moving along smoothly. Among them were soldiers dragging living prey toward the Grand Lord.
Human, beast, monster—it didn’t matter what it was. Once the finest food had been carefully selected and delivered to the Grand Lord like this, the Grand Lord would Devour it and steadily build experience.
[AvatarAscalasGrand Lord(D)’s stats have reached their limit]
And that was how it happened. Without ever having to wander outside dangerously, the Grand Lord, still deep within the safety of the underground nest, was given another chance to grow—and before long, it began wrapping its body in a hard cocoon.
[Martial Power 1000] [Insight 1000] [Dominion 500] [Sensory 500] [Rank 800]
Among the Grand Lord’s stats, the ones I’d been investing in most heavily were Insight and Martial Power. But after finally hearing from Agares about the level I could reach by raising Rank now, I decided that Rank would be my top priority, all the way to 1000.
"Is that my fault? From where I’m standing, mass-producing Minions doesn’t seem like a power anyone would care about in the first place."
"That’s what makes it even more annoying—you’re not wrong."
He wasn’t wrong, and that was the infuriating part. Even if he’d told me this from the beginning, I probably still wouldn’t have focused on it while I was busy building up the Grand Lord and establishing a foundation.