Chapter 66: 1st Players Convention

September 13. The day of the 1st Players Convention.

It was the first formal gathering of Players held by the 'Korean Players Association' established with Sungshin's massive support. You could call it a symbolic event.

'The president of Sungshin knows me.'

I could guess he had done a lot of background research on me. I knew that, and it was also something I had induced.

'That's why I knew he would make contact with me, but…'

I just didn't know the person who would come would be 'Kim Kangchul'. I still remembered all too clearly. On the night of April 26, 2028, he was the person who came to my door and personally delivered my results.

–No Talent.

He said the following:

–"I'm sorry to be the bearer of bad news. We performed your re-examination, but it was determined that you had no talent."

Giving me a slightly pitying look, he told me to study hard for my civil service exam and gave me a box of luxury drinks.

'But the Players Association in its early days was almost like a subsidiary of Sungshin…'

After some time passed, the Players Association became independent from Sungshin, becoming a government-affiliated institution. It was the majority opinion that a single company could not monopolize the enormous value that 'Players' and 'new tech' held. As such, a new Players Association was established with the same name as a government agency through talks with Sungshin.

'Kim Kangchul was the Head of Personnel of the Players Association back then.'

Something was a little weird.

'It was announced that civil service employees with career experience were picked out specially to hold positions in the Players Association.'

A position in the Players Association gave better annual salary and treatment than other civil service jobs. In any case, you were supposed to be from civil service to get a Players Association position.

'But at this point in time, Kim Kangchul is a team leader in Sungshin?'

The public was told that civil service employees with experience were picked out for positions in the Players Association, but a person working as a current employee of the conglomerate Sungshin became the Head of Personnel in the Players Association ten years later?

'It doesn't add up.'

Kim Kangchul came to see me. That fact alone was enough for me to come to a conclusion.

'It was all a big fat lie.'

Both the current Players Association and the one ten years later were under Sungshin's control. It was like people said; there really was no one you could trust but yourself.

"Hello, I am Team Leader Kim Kangchul."

Right now, he called himself the leader of the newly created 'Player Scouting Team'. He also said he was part of the 'New Tech Division', or something like that. I checked his information.

[Unawakened]

Name: Kim Kangchul

Age: 38

State: Curious / Dubious / Confident / Fascinated

Disposition: Ordinary / Ambitious / Full of Drive

Summary:

Ordinary Person Hungry for Success

Pillar of the Household

Is unawakened.

The disposition/state/summary only show the most representative and can change according to the situation.

Because Eye of Perception's proficiency is not high enough, viewing more detailed information is impossible.

'Curious, dubious, fascinated, huh.'

He was definitely curious about me.

'An ordinary person hungry for success.'

According to his summary, for now, he didn't seem like a bad person. I also didn't remember him having committed any evil acts.

'Also, he's the pillar of the household.'

He was one of countless Korean breadwinners working hard to provide for their family. The man who gave me a great amount of information with his appearance alone had something very shocking to say.

"...And so, the President would like to offer you the guildmaster position of Taeguk Shield."

He offered me the guildmaster position of 'Taeguk Shield', of all guilds. In the early days of Playing, Taeguk Shield was a guild that experienced a crazy amount of growth thanks to being carried by Sungshin.

"He must have had a very good impression of me."

"Yes, he did. He thinks very highly of you."

According to the current standards, the proposal itself wasn't bad.

"He has offered you an annual salary of $200k. The terms regarding item and Coin acquisition are written in detail in the contract."

Only then did I realize why Kim Kangchul was feeling confident.

State: Curious / Dubious / Confident / Fascinated

He came offering a staggering $200k annual salary. Even by the standards of ten years later, even if you passed the civil service exam, your initial salary would begin at $30k. The salary he was offering was almost a whopping 7x the civil servant salary, and this was just the initial pay.

"Of course, benefits are also included, and even though it is a little tricky to give you exact numbers now, the rate of salary increase will be very high." Continuing, Kim Kangchul said, "I can tell you right now that such an outstanding offer is the first and last of its kind. What would you like to do?"

"Do I have to make a decision right now?"

"No. However, we would like you to make a decision as fast as possible."

Team Leader Kim Kangchul seemed to have thought I would accept the offer, no questions asked. To be fair, for the standards of ordinary folk, the conditions were indeed incredible. People hadn't quite figured out what 'new tech' really was yet, so a $200k annual salary was ahead of its time.

Before leaving, he informed me that a gathering of Players was being held tomorrow and gave me an invitation ticket. With that, my meeting with Kim Kangchul ended.

"Goodbye. I will contact you shortly."

After seeing Kim Kangchul off, I chuckled.

'Just $200k?'

Kim Kangchul aside, I was sure that Song Kiyoung had already seen the value of 'new tech'. And yet, $200k was all he could offer. There was probably no malice in it, but it felt like he was taking me a little too lightly.

'Though, well, I wouldn't have accepted even if it were $2 million and not $200k.'

I already had an 'Amplification Mana Crystal' in my possession, an object that would command a $10 million price tag in three years. Actually, it wasn't a matter of money. My decision also had to do with my class, as well as my contracted Guardian.

'The Nameless Guardian… doesn't want me to do things in the limelight.'

I didn't know what the 'Nameless Guardian' wanted from me. But for now, I knew they wanted me in the back rather than the front, to Play while maintaining the position of an 'observer'.

'For now, I'll go along with that.'

The guildmaster of 'Taeguk Shield' would command a great deal of authority, but the position would also come with many responsibilities. I would be tied to Sungshin. It might help with the things I was trying to achieve, but it was more likely that the position would hinder me.

'I'm going to Play at my pace, my way.'

I decided to participate in the 1st Players Convention tomorrow. I already knew what would happen. I would also be able to meet the Typhoon, Jo Sunghyun, at the convention.

'If things go like in the past… I'll also be able to decide exactly how to proceed with my Playing.'

I started preparing for tomorrow.

"Senia. Senia. Senia. Senia. Senia."

No matter how much I called her, she didn't answer. The darned angel wasn't streaming me at the moment, it seemed. There was something I absolutely had to tell her before going to the convention, but I couldn't reach her. I had no choice but to make an appointment with Yeonseo, since Yeonseo said she was with her Streamer, Roa.

'In that respect, Senia should learn a little from Roa.'

Roa was marvelously diligent. It wasn't like Yeonseo was doing a dungeon clear or anything, but Roa was still streaming her. It's because Roa was so earnest that she was successful later.

It was 11 p.m. We agreed to meet in front of Hongdae University Station, Exit 9. Even though it was pretty late and it was Wednesday night, the place was bustling. But among the crowd, one person was radiating an obviously overwhelming presence.

"Hyuuuuungnimmmmm!"

That person was So Yoohyun. With his nearly 2-meter tall massive frame and biceps the size of an average adult's head, the sight of him barreling towards me was almost like a furious wild boar's charge.

'Ah, shit.'

Getting a bad feeling that he would pull me into a crushing bear hug, I dodged him ever so slightly. Though I managed to barely avoid him, I ended up in another minefield.

"I thought you died!"

I dodged Yoohyun, but Yeonseo appeared out of nowhere next to him. She had come up to me extremely quickly, so I guessed she used 'Heavenly Demonic Flying Step'. As true as it was that I'd had my guard down, she found an opening all too easily. Simply put, I was hugged by Yeonseo. Against my will.

"...Oi. Not letting go?"

"I was super worried, okay? I thought you died. Do you know how nervous you made me by being unreachable for three months?"

And then, she broke into a bright grin, like she could finally feel relief after physically confirming I was alright. I felt extremely strong feelings from her.

State: Relieved / Happy / Joyful

Hold on, we were honestly not that close. We weren't even lovers, nor were we blood-related. Why in the world was she so happy? But I was certain that Yeonseo's feelings weren't a pretense or a lie. What I was feeling through Eye of Perception was her sincerity. Her sincerity… wasn't all that bad.

'Feels strange.'

I never would have thought that there would be people other than my family who would be so happy about my life or death.

'She's already gone up to level 32?'

She made it to level 32 without any strats, increasing her level twice in three months. Two level ups in the Hell Phase in just three months was actually a lot, since the stretch between level 30-40 was extremely difficult to break through.

'Yoohyun is also level 32.'

Geniuses were certainly geniuses, alright. Sunhwa was also level 31. All three of them would be able to level up much faster if they used the strategy with me.

'But first, I have to get through tomorrow well.'

At around 11 p.m. at night, we went to a small bar near Hongdae.

The time I spent with Yoohyun and Yeonseo wasn't that bad. No, it wasn't just 'not bad', but enjoyable.

'It feels pretty great.'

I hadn't been able to enjoy this kind of leisure before. Yeonseo, whose face was a little red from drinking beer, laughed from the belly.

"Ah, I dunno. It just happened, ok!"

They were telling me about when Yoohyun fell flat on his face, and both of them looked truly happy. I didn't have to look with Eye of Perception. Even with my bare eyes, they looked really happy.

'This is nice.'

It wasn't anything special, just a casual drink with friends. This trivial and ordinary experience was completely new to me.

"Hold on, hyungnim. It wasn't like that. There just so happened to be a slippery trap right there…"

After some time, Senia finally showed up. Seeing as Yeonseo and Yoohyun didn't react, she set it so that only I could see her.

'Roa is probably working hard to stream, even now.'

It seemed Senia came over after seeing that. Take notes from Roa. The more diverse your content, the better. There are definitely viewers out there who want to see not just bloody Playing, but also this sort of trivial everyday life. Watch and learn, Senia.

Yeonseo waved at us.

"You don't have to drop me off! See you tomorrow!"

The sight of her walking off humming to herself in perfectly good cheer was a bit cute, but it didn't even occur to me that she would need to be dropped off. Even though this was a beginner Shin Yeonseo, Shin Yeonseo was still Shin Yeonseo. What could possibly endanger her?

"Hyungnim! See you tomorrow!"

"See you tomorrow."

I turned around. Senia was there. Actually, the reason why I met up with Yeonseo was to call Senia. Now that the fun times were over, it was time to get down to business.

"Senia."

From here on out, this was the real issue at hand.

"Listen carefully. Tomorrow, I'm going to participate in the formal convention hosted by the Players Association."

Just as our business talk began, Senia opened her mouth.

"Player Kim Hyukjin."

Senia brought up something I hadn't even hoped to hear from her, in very commendable fashion.

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