Chapter 112

As the meal was nearing its end and dessert was about to be served, Seong Jihan earnestly considered the Gift called 'Exploration'.

'I currently have no means to make Christopher mine.'

With Lee Hayeon, who had a growth ability, there was a connection.

By leveraging Zero's characteristics to provide sure-win bets, she could be persuaded.

But for Christopher, who is currently making a splash as a top commentator in the US, there was no carrot enticing enough.

'That said, I don't necessarily need to secure Christopher.'

This was the conclusion Seong Jihan reached while contemplating on persuading Christopher.

While Lee Hayeon's growth was a necessary ability for the individual growth of Seong Jihan, Christopher's Exploration was perhaps a gift needed on a 'national' scale to eradicate dungeons.

'Of course, there are benefits in monopolizing the information and making him mine… but spreading this information widely is more valuable.'

Thus, Seong Jihan decided to release all the information about the Exploration at once.

If he provided information to a foreign country without any compensation for it, there would be almost no backlash…

Besides, he had recently gained significant income from various places, so he wasn't lacking financially.

Moreover, there was a more critical reason.

It was more important to end the dungeon phenomenon that pushed the world to the brink and elevate the player level globally.

'And to relay such information, Ariel would be needed.'

A Shadow Elf like Ariel was perfect to explain that the Exploration had the ability to find dungeon cores.

"I need to use the restroom."

As Yoon Seah was about to leave her seat, Seong Jihan summoned Ariel.

"Go with Ariel."

"Huh… Why?"

"It might be dangerous."

"Come on, how can the restroom inside a restaurant be dangerous?"

"True. Master, this is a bit much."

"Just go and come back. Ariel will tell you an interesting story."

"…What? Me? What story?"

Seong Jihan forcibly sent a confused Ariel with her.

'I'll be in full protective mode until October.'

Watching this, Sophia, who was observing from the side, commented as if she was envious of Yoon Seah.

"Seah is really lucky."

"Why?"

"She's drawing all of Jihan's attention."

"She's my niece."

"I have a niece at my older brother's too. She's cute, but not to that extent."

"If she was your only remaining family, you'd think differently."

Preparing for the worst-case scenario often brings the best outcome.

'Just in case.'

That's why Seong Jihan had to be even more meticulous.

"That's it! I want to receive that kind of attention from Jihan!"

"Given this, I do care quite a bit…"

"Not enough, don't you think?!"

Despite Seong Jihan's explanation, Sophia seemed utterly unsatisfied.

"Jihan, what if I officially join the Daegi Guild?"

"It's fine. You're paying rent as part of AF."

"Why? Don't you need supporters? I am quite capable, you know!"

Of course, Seong Jihan knew better than anyone that Sophia was an exceptional talent.

Due to her simple yet powerful effect of tripling buff efficiency, she was considered the world's best supporter in his past life.

Any normal guild would have welcomed her with open arms.

"We're a nurturing guild, so we don't really… have plans to expand the guild."

Seong Jihan seemed disinterested.

The answer that he had no plans to expand the guild was a public reason, but in truth, the US wouldn't let it happen.

The US pays utmost attention to BattleNet players.

Unless Seong Jihan's Daegi Guild completely relocates to the US, they will never allow Sophia to go to Korea.

"What were you guys talking about?"

Just then, Yoon Seah returned to her seat.

"Seah… Jihan rejected my request to join the guild."

"Wait, what? Uncle! Why did you reject Sophia?"

"There's an adult situation."

"I'm an adult too! My birthday has passed."

When Yoon Seah sat down with a sulky expression, Ariel, who followed her, spoke as if she was bored.

"There was nothing unusual."

"Yeah, Uncle. What could be strange here?"

"Master. So what's this 'interesting story' you mentioned?"

Facing the question from the very person who was supposed to tell the interesting story, Seong Jihan responded lightly.

"It's about the Exploration Gift."

"Exploration? Why?"

"That… I plan to reveal it on BattleTube."

"Why would you go so far as to reveal that?"

Ariel tilted his head in confusion, but Sophia, who had been listening to their conversation, exclaimed in surprise.

"Jihan! Don't tell me you're revealing that my brother has the Exploration Gift?"

"No, of course, we must keep that secret."

"Oh, then…? Is there something special about the Exploration Gift?"

Seeing the puzzled expression on Sophia's face, Seong Jihan looked at her thoughtfully.

Sophia's appearance might attract more attention.

"Are you curious? Want to film together for BattleTube?"

* * * * *

In a corner of the Daegi Guild office.

With lighting and cameras set up, Seong Jihan began a live broadcast.

"Hello, everyone. Today, I'm planning to broadcast with a guest."

Seong Jihan's channel had grown into a massive channel with over 3 million subscribers.

Thanks to his recent performance in the TOP 100 games, an unexpected surge of viewers flocked to his sudden broadcast.

– So many viewers even for a surprise broadcastㅎㅎ;

– Jihan's channel has really grown. Is it still the old small channel? Lol

– It's only been a short time since he started, right? How can one grow this fast in just two months?

– And his form is even more insane these days. He's growing every day. But suddenly a guest?

Responding to the viewers' questions, Seong Jihan gestured to one side.

Then,

"Hello~!"

– OMG, Sophia?

– She really came, lol.

– Wow… An angel has descended ㅠㅠㅠㅠㅠㅠㅠ

– I heard Jihan's channel often features beautiful women.

– Right, Shizuru was the best.

– We should exclude her. She used charm after all.

– Then let's exclude Shizuru and vote for the most popular later!

"What vote? We're not doing that."

Seong Jihan quickly dismissed the viewers' suggestions and had a light conversation with Sophia.

"Sophia, what brought you to Korea?"

"Of course, to see Jihan! And I loved Korean food!"

"I'm glad you liked it."

"But I couldn't taste the dessert. It was rejected!"

– Woah, he rejected Sophia…

– Did he reject her confession on the same day? Lol. Why so fast?

– Glad he rejected her lol.

"What do you mean 'rejected'?"

"You told me not to join the guild. That's a rejection."

"Won't the viewers misunderstand if you say it that way?"

"So, can I be straightforward and say I like you?"

Sophia leaned closer to Seong Jihan.

She seemed even bolder than before.

"…No, it's okay."

"See!"

When Seong Jihan swiftly declined, Sophia looked at the camera as if she was wronged.

– Ugh… I never hated the BattleNet real-time translation system this much…

– I'm so thirsty for the drama…

– Did he turn on the broadcast to stir up drama?

– Christopher. Are you watching?

– I'm watching. Sophia is an adult, she can handle her life. I don't know why she's doing this on the broadcast though… 🙁

– Wait, is that the real Christopher??

– Seems like it lol.

'If I keep talking to Sophia like this, I'll lose my composure.'

Before the broadcast could spiral further, Seong Jihan decided to steer the conversation back.

"Alright, that's not the main point. Today, we're going to talk about… you know my summon, right?"

As Seong Jihan gestured, Ariel, who had been waiting, approached.

"The tutorial's restrictions have loosened a bit, so I heard you have an interesting story to share."

"Was the Exploration gift such an interesting story?"

"If it can close the dungeons, it becomes interesting."

"Wait, you mean Exploration can eliminate a dungeon?"

Sophia, who didn't know about the true capability of the Exploration gift until the broadcast, was greatly surprised.

– Exploration? Is there such a gift?

– What does that have to do with dungeons?

– How can a dungeon be closed? I thought once it appears, it's over.

The atmosphere was one of confusion among the viewers when Seong Jihan suddenly dropped this bombshell.

To this, Ariel calmly provided an additional explanation.

"Players can locate the dungeon core inside the dungeon using a support gift called 'Exploration'. Depending on the dungeon's difficulty, the required grade for exploration differs… but yes. For a low-difficulty dungeon, if you have exploration of grade C or above, you can locate the dungeon core."

"So if you do that, the dungeon really disappears?"

"Yes. If the league ranking is low, it might reappear after some time, but there's a gap."

"Really? With Exploration? The dungeon?"

– Wow, dungeons could be eliminated? Even if you wiped out all the monsters inside, the portal didn't disappear.

– If we had this method, North Korea wouldn't have collapsed…

– So, is unification with the North possible now?

– There are too many dungeon portals there, so it seems impossible.

– This really needs to be verified, right? But have you ever seen someone with the Exploration gift?

– I have a friend who received the exploration gift and became a private detective. I heard he's grade C. I should tell him.

When Ariel explained that dungeons could be located through exploration, the chat window quickly turned chaotic.

Dungeon portals appear in the bottom 10% of countries.

Many nations had collapsed due to this.

North Korea, just above, was one such example, and several regions in Africa had become uninhabitable lands due to dungeon portals.

Now it's only the bottom 10%.

What would happen to the world if this increased to 20%, or 30%?

– Isn't this groundbreaking information?

– People with the Exploration gift hit the jackpot.

– I feel like this information could be sold separately…

– Why are you revealing this? You should sell it at a high price!

"It's not even information that's been cross-verified. Since dungeons are a shared problem for humanity, I didn't intend to ask for a fee for this information."

Seong Jihan added with a kind smile on his face.

"So, I would appreciate it if the World BattleNet Association could verify this information. Do you have any other good info, Ariel?"

"Hmm…"

Ariel seemed to think for a moment.

"How about this? ———."

Something was said, but only a beep was heard.

At this, Seong Jihan said with a hint of disappointment,

"Oh… It seems to have been censored again."

"Oh, is that so? That's too bad!"

Perhaps because of Ariel's impeccable voice filtering, everyone thought it was a system limitation, not realizing that the Shadow Elf was playing tricks.

'Let's reveal only this much for now.'

There was no need to reveal too much knowledge.

They would use the system as an excuse and control the information appropriately.

Later, Seong Jihan had a brief conversation with Sophia before ending the broadcast.

"Ah, it's over already?"

"It's not good to drag on for too long. Let's go. You said you booked that hotel for accommodation, right?"

"Yes. Let's meet again tomorrow!"

"I have an award ceremony tomorrow, so it might be tough."

"Darn…"

Seong Jihan, brushing off Sophia's suggestion lightly, said to Yoon Seah,

"Seah, let's go together to drop her off."

"Okay, uncle."

On their way back after dropping Sophia at a hotel next to Sword Palace,

[Master, I didn't mention it earlier because I wasn't sure. But the woman I saw earlier in the restaurant bathroom…]

Ariel, who was back in Seong Jihan's arm,

[From a distance, she's secretly tailing us.]

informed him that they were being followed.