Chapter 70 : Chapter 70

Chapter 70 - Transaction

Let's talk a bit about the guy named Batan Gilius.

First, the superficial information.

He was a Climber who served as the Master of the Valhalla Guild, and his grade was A-class. His nickname was ‘Berserker’.

In the game, he was the main villain who played the role of introducing players to the world of Conqueror, which began to expand in earnest from the Second Ordeal.

Well, compared to the truly powerful Western guilds, he was still a far cry, but his personal strength was by no means lacking for such a title.

The reason the Valhalla Guild, which was almost a chaotic mess as you could see from Gale and Riman who we passed by earlier, was recognized as a ‘lower-tier guild’ and not just a ‘trash group’ was simply because of Batan.

‘Elevating the level of a guild single-handedly is by no means an easy feat...’

A single strong person could never overcome the power of a group. In the first place, the ones forming that group were also superhumans.

Of course, the SS-grade Climbers who went beyond the ‘standard’ were another exception, but there were only about 10 of them in the whole world, so even discussing them was a special case.

In that respect.

Batan, who was single-handedly boosting the entire guild's evaluation, might be an A-grade Climber in terms of rank, but he was not a guy to be ignored anywhere.

One might ask if being A-grade wasn't just the same level as Ms. Seo Hye-in, but considering that Climber ranks from the high grade of A-class and above were usually ‘allocated’ by region, it meant that even with the same grade, the military power could vary greatly.

In fact, if Batan had been in the Asian sphere, he would have easily taken an S-grade.

Truly.

It meant that he was ridiculously strong.

To the extent that even if I gathered all the party members who were probably screaming and rolling around in the Renegade guild house right now, I could never guarantee victory.

“...”

So it was a good situation to be told why I picked a fight with such a guy, but.

Imprinting my existence on that guy in advance was a very important task.

Especially considering his personality, it was even more so.

The more he became ‘obsessed’ with me, the easier it became to roll things along.

In fact, even that might not be enough.

To have him in the palm of my hand, I needed to pump him up even more severely.

That was the reason I visited this place now.

Because this was a place that could satisfy all the ‘preparations’ I needed to do such a thing.

“Let's see...”

On the outside, it was a place that was falling apart.

A derelict building that felt like it could have a good match with the guild building we used to use.

One might wonder what kind of valuable person would be in a place like this, but there were also guys who preferred to hide in places like this.

Guys who ran a business where there was nothing to be gained from standing out.

‘...As expected.’

As soon as I entered the building, the thick smell of old paper that stung my nose. The occasional mix of perfume.

It perfectly matched the characteristics of the person I knew.

“Hello. Is this Ms. Seo Ji-an's residence?”

I said that as I skillfully dodged the mountains of documents piled up like mountains.

It was exactly as set up.

Hated cleaning. Hated troublesome things. Hated meeting people.

She was a person who preferred to meet people through letters rather than face-to-face.

I could tell just by looking at the middle-aged woman who was sluggishly raising her body from the desk as I forced my way in.

Hmm. Yes.

This haggard-looking middle-aged woman was the best ‘information broker’ in the world of Conqueror, Ms. Seo Ji-an.

She was also the aunt of Seo Ah-in and Seo Hye-in.

In fact, the reason the Hunting Alliance's information power was suspiciously strong compared to its guild size was entirely due to this person's skills.

It wasn't just that she ‘handled’ information; the realm of inference this person possessed was almost on the level of foresight.

A tiny rumor. A pile of information that could be treated as junk or trash, but she was a monster who could create a jewel from the glitters pieced together from within.

Even though on the outside she was just a career woman who had had too much to drink yesterday.

“...Who?”

“Didn't I make an appointment? I'm Kim Gyu-sik.”

“Ah, there was a guy like that. Wait a minute. Kim Gyu-sik. Kim Gyu-sik...”

As she said that, Ms. Seo Ji-an's eyes wandered in the air for a moment.

The directory of names in her head was probably flipping through.

“...You're the one who's hitting on both my nieces?”

“...”

The standard by which she remembered was a bit strange.

For now, should I be grateful that she remembered me at all?

The fact that this person remembered the name on the spot without looking up any data was a peculiar thing in itself.

“How could I not know. You're the talk of the town right now, you know?”

“Me?”

“Yes. You broke the unwritten rule that had been passed down in the guild society for decades, didn't you?”

“I thought there would be repercussions.”

“Repercussions? Do you think it's just that? Right now, there probably isn't a single person who's even a little interested in the current situation who doesn't know about the guild called Renegade.”

As she said that, Seo Ji-an, who yawned widely, turned her languid gaze towards me.

“Should I be honest? You're half-dead right now. Do you have any idea how many Western Climbers are sharpening their knives, saying, ‘he has no power but is too rude’?”

“So did you contact me for that reason too?”

“No. Just out of pure curiosity. What kind of guy is the one who caused such an accident- something like that.”

“Your impression?”

“...You, I know you're planning something. But honestly, I can't figure out what it is.

From the way she rested her chin on her hand, an aura of worldly annoyance was emanating from her entire body, but the sparkling intelligence melted within was the kind that couldn't be disguised even if one wanted to.

She was a smart person. She was not someone who would be easily swayed by mere words.

“Well, it's not really a plan.”

“Huh?”

I left Seo Ji-an, who was tilting her head in puzzlement, and approached the map that was inside the office.

It was a quite detailed world map.

“Here.”

I drew a large circle on both sides of Asia on the map.

To encompass the ‘Western sphere’, including Europe and America.

“I'm going to weed out all the unlucky bastards. Me.”

“...What?”

“You heard me clearly, so don't ask again.”

So.

“Honestly, we've been taking it for too long, haven't we? Don't you think? It's about time we gave it back.”

To receive cooperation, let's try pushing a little harder.

***

Seo Ji-an was a seasoned information broker.

In fact, contrary to common perception, being an information broker was by no means a safe profession.

Information, by its nature, was a resource with severe variability and fluidity, and there were very many instances where one could get entangled in dangerous relationships with both the buying and selling customers. It meant that if one sold wrong information or dealt with the wrong person, there was a high chance of getting stabbed or shot.

And as a wise information broker who had overcome all those crises until now.

Seo Ji-an could easily see that the young man in front of her was by no means an easy opponent.

“First of all, well. You said there are many people after my life?”

“...I did.”

“You shouldn't just say half of it. There must be quite a few people who support me, right?”

That was true.

The Eastern guilds, which had been holding their breath and could only bow their heads when the Western guilds pressed down on them, were all paying attention to this incident.

There were probably many people who were secretly cheering for this small guild called Renegade, which had done what they couldn't do until now.

For now, they would stay quiet because if they expressed it directly, they would get beaten up by the Western guilds as well.

“If you pull all those people out, it's not such a far-fetched story. Everyone is entangled in their own interests and can't make a move right now. If there's just a catalyst, they'll all be dragged in anyway. We might even be able to take on the Western sphere, you know? Anyway, the ones who are mad at me right now are only the lower-tier ones on their side, and the upper-tier ones aren't even interested, right?”

He was filled with conviction.

An F-grade Climber from a small guild with nothing. A man who would be no different from dust in the entire Climber market.

As if he knew everything, and as if he was right about everything.

“I'll create that catalyst. You just handle the follow-up measures well.”

While bringing up this far-fetched story.

“...Follow-up measures?”

“You, of all people, should know what this means.”

Then, the man grinned.

“Collusion. Fraud. Threats. False information. Concealment. Manipulation. For a seasoned information broker like you, it would be no trouble at all.”

What on earth was this guy?

That thought continuously pounded at her brain.

“...So.”

To summarize this guy's story.

“You, by yourself.”

“Not by myself, with my guild.”

“Right. With your guild, you'll subdue all the Western wolves that are rushing to tear you apart, unite all the oppressed Eastern guilds, and completely overturn the Climber market where the West has been holding the advantage?”

“Yes.”

“...”

Suddenly, Seo Ji-an began to worry about her nieces.

Was it okay to let those kids hang out with a madman who spouted such things so confidently?

Of course.

“...How are you going to do that?”

And yet, that's what she ended up saying.

She couldn't help but be drawn in.

Inside her head, a voice was echoing, telling her to kick out the madman immediately.

But her instincts, honed by walking on a knife's edge for a long time, were making a slightly different judgment.

That perhaps, it would be okay to at least listen to his story.

This man seemed to have a kind of magic that could draw in even someone like her.

To this, the man left an enigmatic answer.

“The stage will be set. I'll show you something good there.”

“The stage?”

“You have a TV, right?”

-Make sure to turn it on tomorrow evening.

Those words echoed meaningfully.

***

When I returned to the guild house, the item I had been waiting for had arrived.

An elegant letter with a black cover and silver foil.

Even though there was no way a delivery person could have come to the guild house set up inside the Tower, it was nonchalantly stuck on the bed where I slept.

“...”

I chuckled, picked it up, and immediately moved to another floor.

When I burst into Lee Si-yeong's office without a word, the girl, worn out from working overtime, looked back at me with eyes stained with dark circles.

“Get out.”

“Don't want to.”

“Then just state your business and get out. What is it this time?”

“The invitation came.”

I said that and waved the letter in my hand.

Well, as I just said, this was an invitation.

One that only a select few could receive.

“Where is it from?”

“Upstairs.”

“...Huh? Isn't my office on the top floor?”

“Not our guild house, you idiot.”

When I said that, Lee Si-yeong had a blank expression for a moment.

She was trying hard to understand what I had just said.

So I decided to help a little.

“It's from the upper floors of the Tower, this thing.”

To be precise, it was from the 12th floor.

This.

Was the signal for the ‘Second Ordeal’.

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