Scammer’s Strategy to Victory I

—A neatly organized office room.

A young man with a neat pomade hairstyle dropped his head with an appalled expression.

"Is that… really the only method available?"

"There are, naturally, other methods, but in order to get our hands on the Association as fast as possible…"

"Sacrifices… you're saying that sacrifices are needed."

Cheon Woosung put on a bitter smile and clenched his fist.

"We need to act quickly, Sir Woosung."

Park Gunwoo continued to persuade Cheon Woosung, who was in the middle of contemplation.

"At this rate, we'll be the ones suffering instead from that old venomous snake… Han Taeho."

Association Chairman Han Taeho.

It seemed like he wasn't doing much on the surface lately, but they had heard that several Black Star Organization branches had caught him on the move with several Special Officers.

They were in a situation where they were already certain that the Association was taking action to find something that linked Cheon Woosung to the Black Star Organization.

If the Association found that evidence, its plan of taking over the Association would go down the drain.

"…You're probably right."

Cheon Woosung chewed his lips.

"We need sacrifices… it's something that can't be helped."

"It is all in order for the will of the Black Stars."

"I'm already aware, however…"

Tears welled up in Cheon Woosung's eyes.

In a voice filled with worry, he clenched his fist so roughly that his veins popped out.

"When I think of the innocent people who will die from this incident…!"

Bang!!—

The table split in half.

"No matter how many Awakeners die, it doesn't matter! But… but the ones dying this time are…!"

Deep sorrow was contained in Cheon Woosung's distorted face.

"…Sir Woosung."

Park Guneoo looked at Cheon Woosung with regret.

He knew well how much Cheon Woosung hated Awakeners and how much he loved and cherished the unawakened.

"It is a noble sacrifice for the majority. If we're able to take over the Association, we'll be able to save the lives of even more unawakened."

"…"

Cheon Woosung shut his mouth tightly and nodded.

"I already know. No matter how much my heart feels like it's tearing apart… this is something that can't be helped."

Exhaling out a deep breath, he took out a black drinking glass from his pocket.

"This is a star relic that can control demon beasts."

"Yes, sir!"

Park Gunwoo received the black drinking glass and bowed his head.

"You already know that there mustn't be casualties outside Guro-dong, correct?"

"Of course."

"I trust that you'll complete your task well."

Cheon Woosung smiled in a way that nearly felt innocent and pat Park Gunwoo's shoulder.

"Fufu. Please leave it to me, Sir Woosung! If you just give me the order, I'll start the operation immediately!"

"The opportunity will come soon. I'll leave it to you when that time comes."

"Yes, sir!"

Park Gunwoo shouted out in a voice filled with confidence as he got back on his feet.

"For the grace of the Black Stars."

"For the grace of the Black Stars."

And then—

-Zzzzzzzzzzzt!!!

—the scene changed.

-Ring!

[Part of the records of Awakener 'Park Gunwoo' have been successfully inherited!]

[Your understanding of spearmanship has risen!]

[Following the increased understanding of spearmanship,"Spearmanship of Pyxis Lv7"has increased to "Spearmanship of Pyxis Lv8".]

Blue messages showed up with the sound of a familiar alarm bell.

"Phew."

Ohjin let out a short breath after confirming all of the memories.

With the message of the increased understanding of spearmanship, the spearmanship that Park Gunwoo used flowed into his head, but…

'That isn't what's important right now.'

Ohjin organized the information that was obtained from his memories.

"…They ambushed Guro-dong in order to take over the Association?"

How did letting demon beasts loose and massacring the unawakened connect to taking over the Association? Rather, it was an extremely risky move that could cause them to lose everything they built up if the fact that Cheon Woosung was the culprit of the incident was revealed.

'Are they planning to make the Association chairman seem like the culprit?'

No.

If that happened, the entire group known as the 'Association' would disappear even before they were able to take it over.

—Imagine a massacre of civilians occurring in the middle of Seoul due to the chief of police's orders.

'The entire police agency would get pulled out by their roots.'

Even if it didn't disappear completely, the governmental authority that the Association possessed would completely disappear.

'And if that happens, taking over the Association has no meaning.'

They would be gaining control of an organization that had already been turned to ashes.

"That must mean that they're planning something else."

Ohjin narrowed his eyes and rubbed his chin.

'Wait…'

At that moment, the conversation that took place in the tteokbokki restaurant resurfaced.

-They say that there were supposed to be two centers built in Guro-dong and Daerim-dong, but due to the chairman's opposition, the board members spent their own money to construct one of them.

The Unawakened Safety Management Centers.

They were protection facilities that were being built under Cheon Woosung's instructions.

"Aha, so that's what's going on."

Snap!—

Ohjin snapped his fingers as if he understood Cheon Woosung's plans.

"So you're going to make a self-fabricated scenario?"

He didn't know the reason why, but the Association chairman had opposed the construction of an Unawakened Safety Management Center in Guro-dong.

'It was probably due to budget.'

Ohjin had heard that Team Leader Han didn't have many funds, as the board members' expenditure was excessive.

'No matter how good the cause, it can't be helped when they go over the limit.'

When there was no money left in the bank, they couldn't continue donating to the public by taking out loans.

Well, it could depend on one's personal beliefs…

'But the leader of a large organization such as the Association can't make that choice.'

In addition, Daerim-dong and Guro-dong were located quite close to each other. The Association would've likely chosen to avoid making another one at Guro-dong when one was already established in Daerim-dong.

'And Cheon Woosung spread rumors that it was because of the chairman's self-centeredness.'

The unawakened Ohjin met in the tteokbokki restaurant had been busy criticizing the chairman without knowing a thing about the Association's internal matters.

It was right to assume that Cheon Woosung had intentionally spread information that was disadvantageous to the chairman.

'Then what if demon beasts ran amok in only Guro-dong?'

The answer was obvious.

'The cancellation of the Unawakened Safety Management Center in Guro-dong due to the Association chairman's opposition… Hundreds of sacrifices for the price of his complacency… News articles like that would probably appear.'

That would also explain why they limited the casualties to Guro-dong.

They had to make it so that the only damaged area was the place where the 'Association chairman opposed the center's construction'.

"Hah," Ohjin chuckled.

"Is that why they went on about bullshit like 'noble sacrifice'?"

Cheon Woosung had crushed the lives of hundreds like they were bugs, and they deemed it a 'noble sacrifice' needed in order to take over the Association.

"What a funny guy."

Ohjin covered his face with his hand and cackled.

"What a very—"

A frightening blue fen fire burned on the pupil exposed through the gaps of his fingers.

"—funny piece of shit."

Honestly, Ohjin didn't care much about the fact that hundreds of people had died.

How miserably they died, how wretchedly they died: It was none of his business.

However…

"He gets on my nerves."

That's right.

An unbearable disgust was riled up from the human 'Cheon Woosung' itself.

'A little child wearing the mask of an adult.'

That mere entity was the one called the King's Delegate, who practically led the Noctua faction.

"When you look at things like this, the Black Star Organization really is nothing much."

Ohjin could understand how the world's destruction in the 1st Round wasn't due to them but the 'Heavenly Demon'.

He couldn't be sure of the other factions, but he was certain that the Noctua faction didn't have the capabilities to achieve the tremendous feat of destroying a world.

"Is this the star relic that controls demon beasts?"

Ohjin took the black drinking glass out of Park Gunwoo's pocket.

—A drinking glass half-filled with black mana.

'Stop.'

Owoong!—

As Ohjin gave down an order containing his will to the drinking glass, he could feel the black mana fluctuating and spreading out in all directions.

'The demon beasts' movements stopped.'

After using his wires to climb up to the rooftop of a nearby building, Ohjin confirmed the fact that the demon beasts that had been fighting with Lee Woohyuk, Ha-eun, and Han Joonman had suddenly stopped moving.

Everyone stared at the demon beasts that had suddenly froze and then looked around with confused expressions.

"A star relic that controls demon beasts…"

The Star rank was impossible to determine on the spot, but it seemed to be a high-rank star relic judging from the shocking amount of mana that it contained.

'Should I absorb it?'

Ohjin thought for a moment.

'No, I might have a use for it later.'

He shook his head and put the black star relic into his pocket.

"Well, then… How should I solve this?"

Ohjin went back down where Park Gunwoo's corpse was and crossed his arms while lost in thought.

'The situation can't be worse.'

Using chess as an analogy, it was already a checkmate.

The chairman's lineup would go into ruins as soon as Cheon Woosung showed up and said, "I knew this would happen," while shedding tears.

'It was game over the moment a casualty appeared due to the incident.'

The amount of damage that took place wasn't the main point. The main point was the appearance of a 'casualty' itself and finding who would bear the blame.

'At this rate, the chairman's lineup will get completely destroyed, and the Association will be handed over to Cheon Woosung.'

—A game with a decided winner.

He couldn't change the victor with ordinary methods.

'Yeah.'

—with 'ordinary methods'—

"Kuhuhuhu!"

Ohjin's shoulders shook up and down as he cackled.

He rummaged through Park Gunwoo's pockets and took out a small marble.

It was a star relic that was supplied in large amounts.

Whether the opposing side was in a gate or on the other side of the globe, the star relic dedicated to communication could make it possible to freely send and receive information.

'It's much better at security compared to phones.'

As the information was transmitted at a specific mana frequency, no records remained.

"Well, then."

Ohjin turned his head to face in the direction of the Association building located in Yeouido.

He couldn't see Cheon Woosung, but he was certain that he would be in that tall building…

Convinced of his victory.

"You think it's all over?"

Ohjin smiled slyly.

"No, I can't let that be."

'If that's what you wanted, you should have killed me first.'

Owooong!—

The communication marble vibrated in his hands.

He didn't even need to confirm who it was coming from.

'Transformation.'

His face changed.

His voice changed.

"Yes, Sir Cheon Woosung."

He raised the marble and continued.