frightfiction Chapter 220
Chapter 220
Sword Palace's Guild Office.
"Owner-nim... It's been a long time since we last met."
Ha-yeon, with dark circles under her eyes, greeted Sung JiHan with a tired face.
"Since you're here, I'll leave early today..."
"Sure. Come in, Ga-yeong."
"Yes..."
Behind Ha-yeon, holding documents, was Im Ga-yeong with an equally tired face.
She opened the door to the lounge next to the guild master's office and collapsed onto the bed inside.
"No way. Can a bodyguard be like that?"
Sung JiHan looked at the lounge, which was still open, with a bewildered expression.
But Ha-yeon defended her.
"Ga-yeong stayed up for me for several nights. Owner-nim, please understand."
"Oh, I see. But what happened? Why did things get so busy?"
"What happened... you ask?"
Ha-yeon sighed.
"After entering that damn game on BattleNet, the level cap expanded."
"Right."
"And from the world ranking's top spot to the top players, everyone has entered the growth stage again."
"Hmm."
"Now everyone is trying to join the waiting guild. The promising positions have already been taken by the rankers, and people are coming from all directions with requests, persuasion, and even threats because there are no more spots left."
Knock, knock, knock.
Ha-yeon went to the desk in the guild master's office and tapped on the keyboard.
Then an email from Ha-yeon appeared on the monitor.
"In addition, I'm receiving sweet persuasion from all directions. From the US, they're offering me 100 pages of Akashic records. China called for 80 pages."
An email from Robert Gates of American First.
It contained an offer of a huge salary that would make one suspect their eyes, and even national support for Akashic records.
"People really value nurturing abilities."
Guilds around the world have started actively utilizing the Support Gift Nurturing.
However, the number of nurturing ability users was far from sufficient compared to the demand, even though Sung JiHan had lowered the world's difficulty.
So, each guild could only cast their eyes on Ha-yeon, the existing top ability user.
"And they even said that if I knew about the workload bomb, they would just mention my name and let me relax in Hawaii."
"Hmm. Wasn't Ha-yeon-ssi eager to showcase her abilities? If you want, I can do that for you anytime."
"No. Well... I don't just want to play around. But..."
Ha-yeon pointed her finger behind her.
There, a pile of documents was partially blocking the window of the guild master's office.
"I don't want to work myself to death like this!"
Ha-yeon seemed like she might actually run away.
Sung JiHan decided to organize the guild's tasks.
"Alright. What exactly is the problem? I've given you the authority."
"Authority... yes. I've been delegated authority for all guild tasks. However..."
Ha-yeon stood up from her seat and brought the documents from behind.
Applications from players who wanted to join the waiting guild.
Ha-yeon placed them one by one on the desk.
"Take a look at this. Every single world ranker has submitted an application. Not a single one missing! Even the rankers from the Chinese People's Congress, who clashed with you, have all submitted theirs. It's not collusion or anything, it's just...!"
From the world ranking's 1st to 100th place.
No, including the rankings beyond that.
Every single player, without exception, had submitted an application to join the waiting guild.
And not only that.
There were also official letters requesting cooperation from their original guilds and the national BattleNet association.
"This is too much for the guild master to handle alone."
The situation where the superpowers, the United States and China, are joining forces and asking us to include our players.
No matter how much Lee Hayeon was delegated authority by Sung JiHan, it was difficult for her to handle it alone.
"...Originally, the positions that were occupied by the promising players of each guild were switched through mutual agreement within their guilds."
"Except for the promising player of American First, they put the 1st place instead?"
"Yes. That's how Oliver, the 1st place player from the United States, became a member of our guild. But... there are still positions that couldn't be switched, and there's still a lot of talk about it."
It didn't matter how much they switched the promising players and core players within their own guild.
The problem was the positions assigned to other guilds.
The argument that they needed to redistribute the growth effects of the standby guild to the top rankers for the sake of humanity, and the argument that they couldn't give up their share, clashed with each other, causing continuous conflicts.
"These people... they didn't even leave their positions."
"That's right. But the opponents are so strong... I can't handle it anymore. At first, I thought the owner was watching, but these days, the owner's involvement has decreased."
Saying that, Lee Hayeon pointed at herself.
"I've also been trying to leave."
"Are you going to leave?"
"Well, I don't know. I might want to go to Hawaii instead of working to death..."
When Lee Hayeon spoke with half-closed eyes, Sung JiHan felt the urgency to resolve this matter quickly.
If things continued like this, she didn't know if Lee Hayeon would really leave.
"Alright. I'll take care of it right away. First of all."
Tap.
When Sung JiHan flicked her finger,
The piles of applications on the desk and by the window turned into dust and disappeared.
"Ah..."
"Cut off all the guild members from other guilds. Leave only... SeA and me. And also, Maehyeong, Sofia, and Baeran. And the people who were assigned to Haeyeon's share, like Gayoung."
"Even if you say it's my share, there's only Gayoung. But you're cutting off everyone else... Oh, you left Baeran?"
"His gifts are outstanding. He has value to cultivate for the sake of humanity."
Baeran, who was ranked 1st in the world rankings in his previous life.
Although he was a bit reckless, his two gift slots were truly outstanding.
He was an individual with potential to be developed in the long run.
"But if we cut off everyone like this, there will be objections from all sides..."
"Haeyeon, remember this. We are the superiors."
"But the opponents are from the United States and China?"
"If they keep saying something, I'll boycott the Space League."
Lee Hayeon blinked.
Ah, right.
Sung JiHan was in this position.
A player who awakened as a core player less than a year ago and became a key player for humanity.
If it weren't for his precognition in the previous Space League match, many players would have been executed.
If it were any other ordinary player.
When Sung JiHan shook her guild, declaring that she would not participate in the Space League, it carried a weight that could be a practical threat to everyone.
"And from now on, every month, we will randomly select a player from the top 200 players in the world rankings and bring them into the guild."
"A random... selection?"
"Yes. The selected person will receive a reasonable amount of money and stay as a guild member for a month."
"And then they will be kicked out and selected again next month?"
"Yes. Will that work?"
"The players who were already affiliated will surely object..."
"We'll send them away with a penalty fee. I made quite a bit of money this time."
Ugh.
Sung JiHan showed his GP balance to Yi Ha-yeon on his status screen.
"...1, 100 billion GP?"
"It seems like the Space League has a lot of wealthy people."
The GP exchange rate that was $1 during the tutorial.
Since the opening of the Space League, it has been fluctuating heavily, going back and forth between $2.5.
What is 100 billion GP worth?
"It keeps increasing...."
Perhaps because Sung JiHan was active throughout the universe as a hidden boss.
The number of GP continued to rise.
Just by staying still, his wealth was growing.
Yi Ha-yeon, with a wide awake face, looked at Sung JiHan.
"Owner... With this much, do you really need to run a guild?"
"I'm running a guild because of the growth bonus. Even if Ha-yeon takes all the money earned from the guild, it's fine."
"M-Me?"
"Yes, whatever amount."
The owner seemed completely uninterested in how much the guild was making.
"Hire more people. Spend money freely. I can sell as much as I want too."
"But how can I..."
"It's better for Ha-yeon to take a flight to Hawaii due to overwork."
Sung JiHan asserted.
He opened the guild management window in the system.
"Then I'll handle cutting off guild members."
"Ah..."
Sung JiHan's finger moved quickly.
[Player 'Oliver' has been expelled from the guild.]
In front of Yi Ha-yeon, a guild system message appeared.
Oliver, the number one player in the world from the United States, was the first to be expelled from the guild.
Following that, all the players were expelled from the standby guild at once.
Then.
Buzzzzz....
Yi Ha-yeon's multiple phones started vibrating from all over the place.
"Hello? You were expelled from the guild? Please wait a moment. I will confirm the truth."
Even outside the guild master's office, the sound of phones ringing continued to spread.
There was an immediate reaction to Sung JiHan expelling all the guild members.
"...People react quickly."
"Tell the people who contacted you to watch the guild battle tube."
"The guild battle tube?"
"Yes. Show the guild battle tube after a long time. I will definitely announce this incident."
After expelling all the guild members like that, not long after, the official guild battle tube started playing.
-Players were expelled from the standby guild?
-What on earth happened?
Viewers who had already heard about the incident started flocking in.
* * *
"...Like this, the standby guild will change the method of selecting guild members to all random from now on."
-All random, wow. It's a big change.
-How many spots are there in the standby guild?
-Including the expansion of the number of people distributed to the top 10 guilds... It'll be around 5-60 spots if we exclude the remaining people, right?
-Roughly a 1/4 chance.
"If that's the case, wouldn't it be better to just cut based on the world rankings?"
In the waiting room of the guild office, Sung JiHan made a sudden declaration to change the guild member selection process.
His statement received various reactions from the viewers.
Many people in particular questioned why they didn't just cut based on the rankings.
"Why go random? That way, certain countries will receive too many benefits. We will go with random selection."
Within the top 50, most of the players are from the United States and China.
To prevent the waiting guild positions from being concentrated only in these two countries, Sung JiHan insisted on a random selection approach.
"And also, please stop sending recruitment offers to our guild master. If you send another email, we will not accept it. American First. Be especially careful."
"American First, he mentioned it so boldly."
"As expected of Sung JiHan... He doesn't even consider the world's top guild."
"They should be the ones considering us, not the other way around."
He sent a clear warning message to Ha Yaeon, telling her not to make any more recruitment offers.
"[R.E.GATES has sponsored 100,000 GP.]"
"Understood, Sung JiHan owner. We won't make any more offers."
Immediately, a sponsorship message appeared on the guild's battle tube window.
Robert Gates, one of the influential figures in American First, immediately expressed his apologies.
"He's bowing down right away."
"The waiting guild must have been so attractive..."
"In terms of growth, there's nowhere else to compare. It's the best."
"After entering the Space League, they're making great efforts to reconcile with the waiting guild in China."
"Who would have thought the world would turn out like this when they were bullying others."
"Oh, Sung JiHan, does that mean you'll randomly select players from the People's Council too?"
There was a player from the People's Council in the waiting guild who was practically boycotting.
If they were to randomly select one from the top 200, it was impossible to exclude a player from the People's Council.
"Hmm... They did behave in a way that bothered me. But China has many key players."
Since the start of the Space League, in order to strengthen the power of humanity, it was necessary to also develop Chinese players with SSS-level gifts.
But before settling old matters, they couldn't just accept them.
"Alright. I have to get that."
Sung JiHan slowly raised his luck.
"The People's Council... I have a bad history with them, so I don't plan on selecting them."
"Haha, for real. We shouldn't accept them. Who knows if they'll stab us in the back again?"
"Well, it makes sense to develop players like Jegal Heon or Joo Ryeong Ryeong to prepare for the Space League..."
"Sung JiHan, I urge you to make a decisive decision. The Space League matches will soon begin. Are you planning to exclude one-fifth of humanity?"
"Yes, that's right. How long are we going to drag on the problems caused by Wang SooChong's personal actions?"
"Sung JiHan, think about the greater good!"
"Haha, did they get our coordinates?"
"Wow, there are a lot of Chinese flags in the usernames."
Chinese flag usernames flooded the chat window.
Sung JiHan smirked at the sight and opened his mouth.
"However, as you all suggested, it wouldn't be right to exclude only one country at this point of entering the Space League... So, if one condition is met, we will also accept Chinese players."
"A condition?"
"What's the condition?"
"Are you really going to accept players from the People's Council in the waiting guild?"
Now, the guild chat was filled with Chinese flags, with only O Seong HongGi's flag visible.
"The 'Guild of the Year' selected by the World Battle Net Federation. Please have China propose that our waiting guild be selected. If this is approved, we will also accept the People's Council."
But as Sung JiHan was about to reveal the condition, the people who had been flooding the chat with demands for a decisive decision fell silent for a moment.