Chapter 152

- Why hasn't Mr. Sung been streaming lately?

- Ah, his streams stopped after Sofia arrived in Korea… I'm worried ㅠㅠ

- You don't think he'll go to the United States, right?

It had been three days since Sofia arrived in South Korea, and JiHan hadn't streamed even once since then.

In the meantime, the media discussed JiHan's offer from the United States and even interviewed some people from America First.

[JiHan is priceless. He can play in any position and dominates the game by himself. The more we analyze his matches against China, the more we realize he's already among the top five players in the world.]

[What's even more astonishing is that he's still Gold, so he has room to grow! I really hope he comes to the United States. I wouldn't want to face him as an opponent in the Champions League!]

- Ah, fuck. What's all the fuss about? JiHan's going nowhere!

- Isn't it already a lost cause? I heard rumors of them giving 10% of the guild's shares and the guild master position to him.

- They're offering 10% of their shares? Have they lost their minds?

- If that's the case, then isn't it a lost cause? Fuck.

- Seriously. He might already be on a plane.

Rumors of him being offered 10% of the guild's shares further fueled public anxiety.

Meanwhile…

Tsss-

Sae-ah exited the Battle Net connector room and shook her head. "Ugh. Today's donations almost stopped me from finishing 1st."

"Why?" JiHan asked.

"They kept donating and asking if you were going to the United States. I told them I didn't know, but they were really persistent…"

"They've turned their attention to you since I haven't been logging in."

"GaYeong has also been receiving a lot of donation bombs and questions. Uncle… how long are you going to keep this up for?"

She was roughly aware of JiHan's plans, so she thought he was just avoiding Battle Net to make a show of things.

"Me?" he asked. "Why should I keep playing? I've already reached level 100."

"Eh? Already?"

"Yes. The Chinese players were worth a lot of experience."

Since they'd all been Diamonds of the highest level, killing them in the game had boosted his level more than any of his matches against Russia. It'd only taken a few more games after that to reach level 100 faster than he'd ever expected.

"What about you, Sae-ah?"

"I'm level 47."

"It looks like you'll be able to participate in this month's promotion match," he said.

"Yes. I've been consistently ranking 1st since I accepted the Void Archer class."

As the name indicated, the class wielded the power of the void. She'd only gained a single new skill called 'Void Arrow' from it, but it was pretty overpowered.

"Do you want to try using Void Arrow on me again?" he asked.

"Uncle, I've grown, so it might be dangerous."

JiHan chuckled upon seeing the confidence of a level 47. "I hope so."

"Ugh," Sae-ah grumbled. "So confident…! Alright, I'll shoot."

She immediately took her bow from her inventory and, without bothering to notch an arrow, placed her hand on the bowstring.

"Void Arrow."

Sssh-

A purple glow shimmered on the empty bowstring, and she pulled it back as if preparing to fire an arrow.

Ting—!

An outsider might have just thought she was testing the string, but JiHan gave her a bright smile.

'She's gotten better.'

Swoosh—!

A cluster of purple lights appeared in front of him. The 'Void Arrow' itself only appeared briefly before becoming completely invisible.

Paf—!

Of course, it harmlessly dissipated when it reached his Martial Soul's area of influence.

Sae-ah nodded. "As expected. I still can't break through."

"Can't you just create it inside your opponent's body?" JiHan asked. "That would instantly kill just about anyone."

"I've tried, of course… but it didn't work. It might look like it's teleporting, but it's still traveling through a parallel world."

"Can it shoot through shields?" he asked.

"Yes, but it can be blocked by skin enhancements such as Stone Skin. At least it's still effective if it explodes nearby. In that case, it'll inflict a debuff called 'Void Erosion'."

Sae-ah had achieved 1st place in every game she played after acquiring the skill. Her base stats were already excellent due to her Gift, and Void Arrow had a cheat-like effect, so other Silvers simply couldn't fight back.

"Hmm. Is everything good with your body?"

"Yes."

"I'm glad."

"Uncle, if you've reached level 100, then why haven't you evolved your class?"

"I've been putting it off."

"Come on. What kind of Third-rate Warrior fights against China alone?"

Since he'd reached level 100, he could change his class again. He'd been putting it off in case a better option showed up, but it was probably better to just take one of the evolutions.

When he opened his status window and tapped on his class, four available options appeared for the second evolution.

[Warlord]

[Martial Saint]

[Servant of the Wandering Martial God]

[Fourth-rate Warrior]

'Warlord and Martial Saint are supposed to be options for the third evolution, but I can already pick them.'

He'd hesitated between the two in his past life before picking Martial Saint. Since he was already familiar with those options, he looked over the other two.

[Servant of the Wandering Martial God]

- Become the sixth servant of the Wandering Martial God.

- You return 'Martial Soul' to its original owner and obtain eternal life as a servant of the Wandering Martial God in exchange.

- A special class provided by Dongfang Shuo, the Cosmic Heavenly Demon. You can only obtain it during the second evolution.

'Dongfang can even interfere with class selections…?'

His expression stiffened when he read the class's description. He knew Dongfang was an extraordinary person, but he never imagined the man could even offer a special class. It was as if he were as strong as a constellation.

'I'll pass on this one.' He dismissed the option and looked at the final selection.

[Fourth-rate Warrior]

- A regression from a Third-rate Warrior to a Fourth-rate Warrior.

- Instead of acknowledging his limits and growing, the Fourth-rate Warrior believes that his limits as a martial artist are boundless and only aims to elevate his ideals.

- Instead of advancing through physical training, the Fourth-rate Warrior recites the Way of Heaven and Earth. Such daydreaming sometimes leads to a deeper understanding of martial arts.

Evolution Bonus: Warrior-related stat growth decreased by 10%. / Experience Bonus: 10% increase. / Increased probability of inspiration when researching martial arts.

'Fourth-rate Warrior…'

The bonus was pitiful for a second class evolution, especially compared to Martial Saint and Warlord, which were considered the strongest third evolutions. It was even pitiful compared to 'Servant of the Wandering Martial God', which would at least give him eternal life.

'An increased probability of inspiration toward martial arts research is intriguing…'

If he wanted to raise the level of Martial Soul, he needed to modify his techniques to suit himself anyway, so a 10% decrease in Warrior-related stat growth wasn't much of a penalty.

He needed to use any method possible to develop his martial arts and decided to pick the final evolution.

[Class 'Third-rate Warrior' has evolved to 'Fourth-rate Warrior' for its second evolution.]

[Thanks to the effect of Master of One, the class efficiency increases fourfold.]

[Class - Fourth-rate Warrior +3]

- A regression from a Third-rate Warrior to a Fourth-rate Warrior.

Evolution Bonus: Warrior-related stat growth decreased by 40%. / Experience Bonus: 40% increase. / Increased probability of inspiration when researching martial arts. / Additional chance of inspiration with SS-rank skills and higher.

'I don't have any Warrior-related stats in the stat window anyway, so that doesn't matter.'

He smiled at what looked to be a useful evolution.

"Which class evolution did you select to be smiling like that?" Sae-ah asked when she saw his face.

"Fourth-rate Warrior."

"Huh…? Fourth-rate? They put something like that in the second evolution?"

"Yes. I like it."

She looked confused. 'He probably has his reasons for choosing that, but still… a Fourth-rate Warrior? He won't become something like a Fifth-rate Warrior for his third evolution, right?'

Vrrr—

JiHan's phone vibrated.

[Mr. Sung, the government's negotiation team has arrived with full authority from the government itself. I'll handle basic negotiations as you've already instructed.]

It was a message from HaYeon.

"The government officials are here. I'm going down to the guild offices. Do you want to come?"

"Yes. Isn't Sofia gaming over there as well?"

A Battle Net connector room had been built in the Bloom Guild's offices, and Sofia had extended her stay for a few more days under the pretense of negotiation while she continued to play in Battle Net.

Thanks to that, she hadn't immediately returned to her country like last time. That's also why people were entering her stream to ask about the negotiation process.

"Uh… Uncle. She keeps saying to expect good news. Are we going to America?"

"No. I just told her to say that negotiations were going well."

Sae-ah showed him Sofia's latest stream.

- Korean viewers! Regardless of how things turn out, please, keep supporting Mr. Sung!

She kept saying things that could be misunderstood and was more than fulfilling his request.

"Uh… Should I tell her to restrain herself a bit?" Sae-ah asked.

"It's okay. We'll soon be done with the negotiation team, after all."

The government's team had come faster than he expected due to Sofia's remarks.

JiHan smirked as he walked toward the elevator.

* * *

"Are you sure this is enough…?" the representative asked.

"Yes. Mr. Sung told me not to be too greedy," HaYeon replied.

The government representative blinked in surprise. 'This is all he wants…?'

JiHan wasn't asking for much. All he wanted was for the Sword Palace to be returned to Sae-ah and for the Bloom Guild's taxation rate to be more reasonable.

"We were already prepared to completely exempt him from taxes…" the representative said.

"I would have liked that, but Mr. Sung insists on still paying taxes."

"Huh…"

Since he wanted to pay taxes anyway, the government's offer was even less valuable. Of course, they were also prepared to give him a huge amount of money and bonuses, but nothing they could offer came anywhere close to the value of 10% of America First's shares.

'I was even ready to kneel down and cry!'

They knew they couldn't match the Americans' offer and were ready to appeal to his patriotism, and the entire negotiation team had even undergone a harsh, tearful acting lesson from a skilled instructor the day before. They never imagined JiHan would ask for so little.

They wouldn't have delayed for so long if they knew it was going to be so easy.

"We're grateful, but… are you certain this is all he wants?"

"I'm also disappointed, but there's nothing I can do. Oh…"

"Oh…?"

"Mr. Sung has one more condition."

"P-please just tell us!"

"Well… He said he wanted to be the one to personally request it. Ah, here he is."

Click-

The conference room door opened as JiHan and Sae-ah entered.

"Hello." As soon as JiHan greeted the negotiation team, they all quickly stood and bowed at 90 degrees.

'Should I kneel now?'

'Should I cry?'

'No, wait a minute!'

The team exchanged glances with each other as they agonized over what to do next before JiHan started talking about what else he wanted from them.

"I heard the top 10 guilds in our country receive special buffs from the government," he said.

"Yes, that's correct." The negotiation team nodded.

Countries could give buffs to their guilds. In China's case, they concentrated their buffs on the People's Assembly, and in the United States, a leading guild from each state was chosen to receive the buffs.

Some buffs could even be given according to the central government's policies, and every single one of South Korea's top 10 guilds equally shared the bonuses.

'Don't tell me…' They began feeling uneasy when he mentioned the country-specific buffs.

Their uneasy feeling soon became a reality.

"Among the national options… we want you to give us the growth and member expansion buffs."