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[Translator - Prøks]
[Proofreader - Prøks]
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Chapter 110
0.
For barely a full day.
No, perhaps a bit longer if you include giving up their weekend, Assistant Manager Lee Wonsong and Associate Oh Jinhyeok had pulled an all-nighter.
The two returned to their usual seats, looking utterly exhausted.
Honestly, it had been a sudden event.
They seriously thought they might die.
Anyone seeing the dark circles beneath their eyes would likely feel pity.
But no one welcomed the two back to the User Management Team, a place that felt like their hometown.
Well, it couldn't be helped.
"Wh-what else could he have possibly gained this time?"
How many users would grow stronger from the event rewards?
This event, after all, had been launched by Assistant Manager Lee Wonsong, not Seonghyun.
They could only receive resentful glares.
Perhaps sensing those glares?
"...How would I know."
While Associate Jinhyeok trembled, practically shaking with fear, Assistant Manager Lee Wonsong offered no real reply.
He was more concerned about the inevitable fallout that was sure to follow.
Naturally, Seonghyun had taken 1st place in this event.
And he had leveled up a staggering 21 times.
It wouldn't be strange if he gained even more.
Skills and items activated from surpassing Level 100.
Three Legendary Boxes received as event rewards.
On top of that, two new skills gained from leveling up.
Just a moment's thought brought this many rewards to mind.
But was this really the end of it?
'Hmm...'
Assistant Manager Lee Wonsong, having already suffered greatly because of Seonghyun before.
Was certainly not letting his guard down.
If anything, there would be more.
Not less.
Hadn't he already witnessed enough of Seonghyun's underlying potential?
The ending was a bit disappointing, though.
'Echo Willow, those guys with no grit...'
Villains were inevitably a headache from the User Management Team's perspective.
But this instance was particularly so.
Just seeing them retreat without any perseverance was incredibly infuriating.
If they had just pushed harder.
Even someone like Seonghyun would surely have lost.
"Ahem."
Still, perhaps cheering for the villains was going a bit too far.
Regardless.
Considering the rewards Seonghyun was about to receive.
He was confident he wouldn't be surprised, no matter what Seonghyun did next.
There were now extremely few who could stop Seonghyun among those at the same level.
It was disappointing, but it couldn't be helped.
Still, if there was one consolation.
‘His growth rate has been insane lately, but that should finally be over.’
He might hunt mobs using AoE skills and multiple legions.
But just how many subordinates were attached to Seonghyun now?
Starting with the Demon Knight type, his pet Fiora, the Dark Fortress Nocturnium, and the newly acquired Leonik.
All of them were factors that shared Seonghyun's experience points.
Leveling up would inevitably become increasingly difficult.
Especially now, at his level in the 110s, no matter how much he hunted at the farthest reaches of the Dune Wild Trail.
‘It should take him at least a month.’
As Assistant Manager Lee Wonsong thought this, he felt a little more at ease.
So, wondering what Seonghyun might have actually gained, Assistant Manager Lee Wonsong returned to his station to check.
Through some unknown power yet again, Seonghyun's stats had surged by a staggering 22 points.
"Wow, it's that unknown power again! What on earth is this, really?"
“…….”
Too exhausted even to reply, Assistant Manager Lee Wonsong just stared blankly at the screen.
Sometime after Seonghyun had received all his rewards.
While he was checking through them, there was a moment where he seemed paused, contemplating something.
‘Why is he doing that?’
A creeping sense of unease washed over Assistant Manager Lee Wonsong.
However, among the things Seonghyun could currently do, there wasn't anything that could cause a major disruption.
Discovering some massive bug, or obtaining an unexpected new reward.
There was nothing like that.
Really.
‘There shouldn't be, right?’
No, there must not be.
As Lee Wonsong anxiously checked various parameters, one thing eventually caught his attention.
Anemor, Guardian of the Wind.
Seonghyun would likely try using Transcended Death on that one.
‘It won't work, right?’
Summoning an extra via Add More.
Wasn't that impossible when he transcended the demonic beast Barpur last time?
Confident in this, he nodded, reassured.
Just as Assistant Manager Lee Wonsong was feeling relieved that it wouldn't work.
"Sunbae-nim. If that Anemor corpse becomes two through Add More, what happens?"
"It's impossible. Don't worry about it and focus on other tasks."
"Ah! Okay, that's a relief then."
"Right."
"But what if, just by some one-in-a-million chance, it does work?"
Associate Jinhyeok, true to his nature, persistently asked these irritating questions.
Assistant Manager Lee Wonsong replied, sounding slightly annoyed.
"Then you and I will be pulling another all-nighter together."
"Ahaha! Since you said it's impossible, that won't happen then!"
Associate Jinhyeok replied with a laugh.
He had definitely just checked moments ago if it was possible.
And it had come back as impossible.
Why, then?
‘Why does his laughing make me so damn anxious?’
Assistant Manager Lee Wonsong trembled slightly with unease.
‘M-must be just my nerves.’
1.
Legion of Calamity.
The biggest beneficiary of this event was, undoubtedly, Seonghyun.
And the next entity most talked about was, naturally, his guild, the Rapid Guild.
People were saying in unison that the Rapid Guild was about to enter its golden age.
With the existing Single Ranker Yuna already among their members, plus the rapidly rising star Seonghyun.
Everyone could see their ascent was inevitable.
Especially Seonghyun's performance this time – it had surpassed all imagination.
Necromancers are often called one-man armies.
That description fit Seonghyun better than anyone else.
- The Demon King was seriously awesome this time.
- Ah, it would've been perfect if they'd also live-streamed him taking down Echo Willow at the end.
- Can't be helped, it wasn't planned.
- Still, I heard they filmed it? Seems like the video will be out soon.
- Lmfaooooo, It's gonna be epic. Can't wait to watch it. Watching those bastards get wrecked might cure my insomnia.
- Fr lol.
These were the reactions of the excited users.
The Rapid Guild was embracing all of it, promoting themselves as much as possible.
As the Rapid Guild channel grew steadily, they also openly acknowledged the help they had received.
[Rapid Guild: 'We learned of Echo Willow's planned attack thanks to Sick Brothers. We take this opportunity to express our sincere gratitude.']
[Sick Brothers Guild: 'We only did what was obviously necessary. If anything, we were astonished by the power we witnessed.']
This further solidified their relationship with Sick Brothers.
And seeing this exchange, users couldn't help but buzz about it.
- Oh!?? I wondered why Sick Brothers didn't move, turns out Rapid Guild asked them to stay put?
- Wait, then what about the other guilds who were there besides Sick Brothers????
- Can't you tell from Rapid Guild not saying anything? It's obvious.
- Ah!! Trying to keep him in check!!! Lmao.
- Wow, their reputations are gonna plummet.......
- Seriously Trying to use villains to get what they want without lifting a finger... How pathetic.
The criticism shifted towards the guilds other than Sick Brothers.
It was no exaggeration to say their guilds' honor was significantly tarnished by this incident.
The consequent drop in subscribers and rankings was also unavoidable.
In corporate terms, it was akin to suffering consecutive limit down days on the stock market.
But Rapid Guild didn't stop there; they were frantically pushing forward with various initiatives.
Though only a few hours had passed since the event ended, inquiries were flooding in.
It was a time when everything from membership applications to various other matters was pouring in.
Barely keeping her head above water amidst piles of documents, the Guild Master, Rapid, adjusted her monocle and stared at the paper right in front of her.
“Is this correct?”
She scratched her cheek disbelievingly, looking at the two documents before her.
The phrase written at the very top was simple.
Guild Membership Inquiry.
Both were guild membership inquiries.
Taken alone, this might not seem like much.
But the individuals who wrote the applications were significant.
None other than.
“Meiran and Kurosawa Ren.”
Weren’t they both rookies whose stock had been soaring recently?
If Seonghyun was considered on a whole other level entirely.
These two were comparable to Luna, making the decision a difficult one.
Above all, both were still affiliated with Eclipse Order and Tempest Wing.
There was also the ethical issue of poaching them.
A matter of propriety, perhaps?
Under normal circumstances, this would definitely be problematic.
‘But this might actually be the perfect time.’
Since their actions were tantamount to attacking Seonghyun.
Even if Rapid Guild poached the two, Eclipse Order and Tempest Wing lacked the moral high ground or justification to complain.
They were the ones who had abandoned propriety first.
Moreover.
‘If we cover their contract termination fees, that can serve as their signing bonus.’
Both had proposed such conditions themselves in their inquiries.
So, this part wasn’t an issue either.
In other words, they could snap up two highly-valued rookies without spending much money.
Rapid Guild absolutely had to seize this opportunity.
‘What a relief.’
Especially since they had invested heavily in Seonghyun recently.
She was worried if they’d lack the funds for cultivating or recruiting new talent.
But not only had they raked in huge profits from the recent live stream, they could also bring these two over with minimal expense.
This would secure sufficient new talent.
‘Alright then, let’s move forward with this.’
Poaching the two would undoubtedly keep her busy.
Rapid pushed onward with renewed vigor.
If they skillfully leveraged the public sentiment, the process could likely be handled relatively quickly.
As she was about to start processing the paperwork, she paused.
Her gaze shifted to the membership inquiry forms.
Looking at their desired positions, she mused.
‘A backup team… that’s unexpected.’
She had assumed they would want to form their own team, even if it was just a B-team.
Then again, it was understandable that their perspective might have shifted after the recent incident.
And Luna's team could essentially be considered Seonghyun's backup team.
They had just arrived at the Dune Wild Trail.
The timing was perfect too.
‘If we manage this well…’
Wouldn't this be a decent setup for helping them catch up towards Seonghyun's level?
2.
Seonghyun, having secured 1st place, prepared to leave the area.
It was time to sort through the various rewards he'd earned and the skills that had been activated.
Just as he was about to move off to check on them.
“I heard the Demon King was around here!?”
“Seriously!? Wh-where? I need to get his autograph!?!”
"Exactly!!! Let's all find him!!!"
"Uwahaha!!! I'm gonna get ten autographs!!!"
The surrounding users were in an uproar, searching frantically for Seonghyun.
This was getting a bit troublesome.
However, everyone merely glanced at Seonghyun's party and walked right past.
Users loudly proclaiming they would find Seonghyun were blatantly passing him by without a second look.
How was this happening?
"Saved by Fiora."
-Indeed it is so, my Lord.
-Uwahaha, Fiora's ability is highly specialized for infiltration
"We owe you one, Fiora,"
Seonghyun said gratefully.
-H-hyaa? N-no, it was nothing...
Fiora stammered, flustered.
Fiora's Shapeshifter ability was applying a kind of perception filter to everyone nearby, making Seonghyun's group blend in as ordinary, unremarkable users.
He needed to get out of this crowded area before opening his rewards anyway.
As Seonghyun moved away, the density of users thinned out considerably.
He reached a spot where numerous caravans were clustered together, forming a makeshift village.
Wouldn't a place like this be better for checking his gains?
He had quite a lot to get through now.
The very first thing Seonghyun chose to check was none other than.
『Summon Demon Knight』
→《Almighty》
→[Lv Max][Complete Type]
[Instant Effect][Active]
[Currently summonable number: 1]
[Owned Demon Knights: 1]
The Demon Knight, who walks out of hell at the behest of the Overlord, shall be the instrument of judgment that carries out the Overlord's will.
→Overlord exclusive skill.
→Summons a Demon Knight from hell.
→The Demon Knight, a faithful servant and sword, is the same level as its master.
→One additional Demon Knight can be summoned for every 100 levels.
*Currently, a new Demon Knight can be summoned upon reaching level 100.
*Demon Knights can also enter the Netherworld.
Balthar was clearly excited.
-Uwahahaha! Finally, a junior is arriving!!!
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[Translator - Prøks]
[Proofreader - Prøks]
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