Chapter 142

A movie that was too predictable wasn't fun.

Even if you took the straightforward path when you needed to, it was nice to throw in some unexpected twists and directing changes. However, those twists and changes couldn't be something that stressed out your audience. Adequately meeting your audience's hopes while pulling the story into an unexpected direction was best, and even better if the scenario was one your audience could interact with, if possible.

"The ability I'm choosing is…"

This one—Conductor's Song.

[Favor Granted by the Conductor of Sound]

Type: Special skill

Name: Conductor's Song

Effect:

Low chance to cure abnormal statuses of party members in a group battle (duration: 120 seconds)

+3% crit chance of party members in a group battle (duration: 120 seconds)

+20% increase in effect of consumable items of the same effect when used in a group battle

Cooldown: 360 seconds

Proficiency: [1]

"...Conductor's Song. I will upgrade Conductor's Song."

A notice came in.

[An Ability Potion is taking effect on 'Conductor's Song'.]

[The grade of 'Conductor's Song' has increased.]

['Conductor's Song' has changed to 'Conductor's Hymn'.]

The grade went up.

[Favor Granted by the Conductor of Sound]

Type: Special skill

Name: Conductor's Hymn

Effect:

Medium chance to cure abnormal statuses of party members in a group battle (duration: 120 seconds)

+6% crit chance of party members in a group battle (duration: 120 seconds)

+30% increase in effect of consumable items of the same effect when used in a group battle

Effectiveness of abilities like 'Pressure' or 'Mettle' will be increased when used in combination with Conductor's Hymn. (However, requires a separate fusion control ability)

Cooldown: 360 seconds

Proficiency: [1]

It wasn't that the proficiency increased to [2], but that the increase in grade resulted in an entirely new skill, a far more encouraging result than a simple proficiency increase.

'Every effect has improved.'

And on top of that, I got a new effect, the fourth point. Happily, I already had a special ability called Mettle.

"Conductor's Hymn."

I read out the description of the new skill. It looked like I was telling Senia what I got, but I was actually telling the Guardians.

"And I have the higher version of Pressure, Mettle." I continued my acting. "The ability specially granted to me by the Courageous Lion King."

That would surely be a boost to the Courageous Lion King's ego. I had mentioned his name in front of a lot of Guardians, and plus, he was a real attention whore.

"That Mettle will mesh with the ability given to me by the Conductor of Sound, making it even more effective."

In addition—

"Conductor's Hymn will also have a synergistic effect with the ability granted to me by my contracted Guardian."

I intentionally left out their name. They were the 'Nameless Observer', after all.

Essentially, what I was saying right now was this:

The Courageous Lion King.

The Conductor of Sound.

The Nameless Observer.

Mettle.

Conductor's Hymn.

Observer's Eye's Unique Ability Fusion.

All these different abilities were brought together and made to shine by the Player that was me. I would create content by combining all these different elements.

[The 'Courageous Lion King' gives a dignified nod.]

[The 'Conductor of Sound' respects your outstanding choice.]

[The 'Nameless Observer' observes.]

It seemed all three of them were quite pleased with the situation.

'In a situation where the Conductor of Sound is getting this much attention, the White Hunter won't be able to sit still.'

If they were irritated, they would just leave Senia's channel and that would be that, but in this sort of situation, they wouldn't want to lose.

'Because there's no one who can replace me.'

That left the White Hunter with no other choice but to obsess over me more.

'What kind of message will they send?'

Without ever mentioning the White Hunter, I would drag them onto the stage.

"I wish to once again express my gratitude to the Conductor of Sound, whose generosity has allowed me to harness even greater strength in battle."

At that moment, the notices came in.

[The 'White Hunter' wishes to grant you a favor.]

I only prodded them a little, but they were going all out with a favor, of all things.

[The 'White Hunter' bestows you with a quest.]

A note arrived.

[Note from the White Hunter]

The 'White Hunter' wishes to bestow you a favor. However, you must complete a quest in order to obtain said favor.

* Quest: Qualifications of a Hunter

Prove that you have overwhelming skills in a 1 vs. 1 PVP with a combat Player over level 30.

* Reward: Grade increase of 'Hunter's Song'.

'My oh my.'

I could see the White Hunter's intention like it was written in black and white. Was this Guardian truly unaware that it wouldn't be hard for me to prove that I had overwhelming skill in 1 vs. 1 PVPs with level 30 Players?

'No, they know.'

If they had paid close attention to Senia's channel, there was no way they'd be in the dark about my abilities. I had taken down thousands of Polluted Lifeforms.

'The fact they gave me a quest like this despite that means…"

This was a formality of sorts. There was a high chance just giving me a favor without good reason would draw unwanted looks or break the rules, so they were giving it to me in the form of a quest reward. Since I was technically a non-combat class Player, overwhelming a combat class Player of level 30 and up wouldn't constitute a major infraction of the rules.

'I've achieved everything I intended.'

To begin with, the reason I chose to upgrade Conductor's Song was because I also wanted to upgrade Hunter's Song. My current situation was one where I had to continuously clear the Gyeonghoeru. That gave me justification to upgrade Conductor's Song. And through that justification, I snagged a buy one, get one free deal.

'In the end, the White Hunter also moved according to my will.'

[The 'Merchant of Venice' is impressed.]

[300 Coins have been sent as a sponsorship.]

For now, I finished the upgrading.

'So now… it's time to meet President Song.'

I decided to do business with President Song before starting the Gyeonghoeru clears in earnest.

Before I met President Song, I got footage from Senia. Normally, Intermediate Administrators were reluctant to give their footage to Players. But Senia didn't put up much resistance.

"Thanks."

"..."

With that footage in hand, I met President Song. The fact that I was able to meet the boss of the global conglomerate Sungshin so easily struck me with amazement once again.

"Mr. Kim Hyukjin. I heard that you have brought footage to prove your strategy."

"Yes. Since there needs to be trust between us."

President Song took the footage I gave him.

"I am not a Player, so I cannot accurately determine the worth of this footage."

[Player]

Name: Song Kiyoung

I could see it clearly, but I feigned ignorance.

State: Surprise / Awe

His state, too, I pretended not to see.

"May I call in Kiyeol for a moment?"

"Of course."

Song Kiyeol examined the footage I brought together with his grandfather. After seeing it, he said, "No way… Did you level up again?"

"Yes. You can call that place a level up haven. Though of course, my leveling will slow down over time."

"But I've never seen such fast leveling speed. Isn't it supposed to sharply decrease when you hit level 30?"

That was why you needed this Gyeonghoeru strategy. I nodded and continued. "It's best if you have damage absorption items, but even without them, you should be able to defeat them by virtue of numbers. Of course, you'll need to get Noah's Helm."

Noah's Helm would guarantee the Players' safety. President Song took one step back and simply watched over my conversation with Kiyeol.

The Guildmaster of Taeguk Shield, Song Kiyeol, murmured, "By Noah's Helm, you mean…"

We intentionally shared the U-Plex Dungeon strat. Even with the strategy, the people who could clear it were limited. There weren't many Players who could keep their calm in front of those terrifying Big Black Dogs on the 1st floor. They needed both the strategy and the nerves to get through it.

"Yes. You can get it by clearing the U-Plex Dungeon. On the 4th floor field, the Hyundai Department Store connected to the U-Plex, is an NPC named Noah. You can obtain Noah's Helm through an appropriate trade with him."

Not having Noah's Helm didn't make the Gyeonghoeru impossible to clear. It would just be a bit more dangerous. I was just telling them the ideal way.

"You don't always have to go the ideal way."

Taeguk Shield was more than strong enough. They could mobilize a lot of manpower.

"If the U-Plex Dungeon is too high a hurdle, we can also sell Noah's Helm, but…"

"..."

Just then, the watching President Song spoke up. "If possible, I would like to buy it. May we be the ones to propose the trade condition? I would like to purchase it together with the Gyeonghoeru Dungeon strategy."

Things were progressing in a very amusing way. With President Song personally coming to bat, I would be able to sell Noah's Helm for a far better price. Meanwhile, Song Kiyeol had to be feeling the burn right now. His grandfather had personally stepped in, unable to keep watching, so he was probably getting eaten alive by the tacit rebuke.

'If it were me, I would have cut off my grandfather's words and taken charge again.'

From what I had seen of President Song, that was what he wanted. When stepping forward, step forward decisively. When negotiation is necessary, negotiate with courage. In the process, take what there is to take and give up on what should be given up. That was what he wanted to see.

Song Kiyeol stepped forward.

"Grandfather. May I take charge of this deal?"

Okay, well done. This was likely what President Song wanted to see—his grandson being more proactive than before. Kiyeol had done well. Senia was growing by leaps and bounds, and so was Kiyeol. It was good for me. He had to grow like this to make bleeding him dry all the more enjoyable.

I gave him a boost. "Since this is a matter related to Playing, I'll negotiate first with Guildmaster Song Kiyeol."

However, I also had a warning.

"I believe it's only right to discuss things with the President if the negotiations have broken down."

Basically, if I didn't like it, I would go to the President, so do things right.

[The 'Merchant of Venice' is having fun.]

[The 'Whispering Devil' is also having fun.]

I could almost see the cold sweat running down Kiyeol's back, but that was no concern of mine. I had a hunch that our trade would be a very happy one.

* * *

Song Kiyeol asked me to give him one more day, and I accepted.

"Boss Hyukjin! Over here, over here!"

Far in the distance, Yeonseo was waving her hand. All of my teammates were gathered in front of the Gwanghwamun Dungeon. Sung-gu shook his head.

"I heard you just met President Song? Awesome."

Sung-gu seemed floored by the fact I had a casual meeting with Korea's living legend.

Sunhwa's voice took on a boastful air. "I heard it takes $100k just to eat one meal with that grandpa! The right to have lunch with him gets sold in auctions!"

It looked like she barely swallowed the words, 'But my oppa just went and had a meeting with him.'

'Well, it's not important.'

The fact I had a meeting with President Song wasn't all that important to the task at hand, clearing the Gyeonghoeru.

"We're gonna start grinding. We'll receive and complete suitable quests or missions from each of our Intermediate Administrators in the process."

For now, our goal was level 40. Before we entered the dungeon, Sunghyun spoke up. "Hyung."

"Hm?"

"You know, right?"

He glanced in a certain direction. I smirked.

"Of course I know."

Someone was watching us. It seemed there was an issue I had to settle before we started clearing the Gyeonghoeru.

'This is for the better.'

Someone was staring at us. I stared back.

'She isn't particularly trying to hide the fact she's watching us.'

It was a very familiar face, belonging to one of the people I didn't choose in this life: the person who was originally supposed to swallow Taeguk Shield and become the successor of Sungshin.

Song Junghye, the Blood and Iron Queen, no, the Blood and Iron Witch, walked towards us.

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