Chapter 117

Chapter 117

In the midst of an ever-expanding world, Cha Jin-Hyeok found himself basking in the vivid sensation of being alive each day. It was a testament to his personal growth that had become more noticeable recently.

He had evolved in multiple facets, not only as a Swordsman but also as a Streamer and even as a Ruler. His growth as a Ruler, in particular, felt immensely pronounced, akin to how teenagers shoot up in height during puberty.

‘It’s probably because I was such a novice as a Ruler, the growth seems hugely apparent.’

The initial phase of growth in any venture was always great. Being a novice Ruler, Jin-Hyeok was savoring that greatness to its fullest extent.

‘The reward was too stingy.’

He had only leveled up once for killing the Queen Ant. This could not possibly be the reward.

‘There’s definitely something forcibly delaying the rewards. Probably an issue with System balancing.’

In a small country like Korea, even events like the college entrance exams received flak if not properly balanced. In a universe-level Server, the repercussions of a lack of balance were incomparable to any exam. The GMs had to be frantically delaying rewards while discussing countermeasures.

‘I can’t believe I thought of that.’

Jin-Hyeok was getting goosebumps. The Cha Jin-Hyeok from his previous life would have muttered. “What the hell? What a shitty reward,” and just moved on, but not anymore. While things like these did not appear before the eyes of the Swordsman Jin-Hyeok, they were crystal clear before the Ruler Jin-Hyeok.

In any case, it didn’t take long before Kihael visited him. He too had been through a lot.

“...So that’s what’s going on.”

Surprisingly, Kihael did not beat around the bush. He disclosed most matters candidly. Just like when Jin-Hyeok faced Choi Gap-Soo and Jang Michelle with sincerity without resorting to trivial Skills, it seemed Kihael chose to confront him with genuine methods.

[You have activated the Latent Skill 「Master of Negotiation」.]

For reference, they were inside Jin-Hyeok’s home, a domain where all his abilities were amplified. As soon as Kihael stepped into his house, Jin-Hyeok boosted his Level by 20 using the effect on the back of the Mythic-Grade Card. Though Jin-Hyeok’s experience as a Ruler was still in its infancy according to his standards, various effects made it seem like he had transformed into a remarkable Ruler. Jin-Hyeok instinctively felt how to grill Kihael to get what he wanted.

“You’re right. Balancing is indeed crucial. Due to the GMs’ mistake in management, if all of the rewards are acquired by one Player, it would be problematic. Those rewards were probably created to be distributed among several Players, like the protection of the Guardian Tree, the Rule Breaker, or the Guardian Ring, custom-designed defensive-type Mystery, and so on,” Jin-Hyeok said.

As he spoke, Kihael’s expression progressively worsened. It seemed the bleak reality was becoming more perceptible as he listened.

“I understand the predicament of the GMs.”

“...Really?” Kihael asked while looking at Jin-Hyeok with a hint of skepticism.

Jin-Hyeok found himself feeling dubious too. He was articulating his arguments too well.

“I also understand that the GMs are employing every means to delay the rewards. So it’s alright to postpone it further. I also know that if I’m on the same side as you, it would be a lot easier for you guys to delay the rewards. Am I wrong?” Jin-Hyeok said.

“...”

Kihael’s eyes widened slightly. It was a very subtle change, but in Jin-Hyeok’s eyes, it appeared significantly pronounced. This too, was the effect of Master of Negotiation.

“What do you want?” Kihael asked.

“Now why would you say that? I just wish for your convenience.”

“...”

The combination of the Broadcaster’s Clairvoyance and Master of Negotiation demonstrated an excellent collaboration. Jin-Hyeok could real Kihael’s mind much better than before.

[...#I don’t believe it. #He is a capitalistic monster! #Devoid of blood and tears.] The debut release of this chapter happened at Ñòv€l-B1n.

Jin-Hyeok lowered his voice a bit.

“What is done is done.”

While delaying the rewards might be possible, denying them entirely was not. It was a fact known both to Jin-Hyeok and Kihael. And Jin-Hyeok had no intention of refusing the rewards at all.

“Someone has to clean up the mess, but...” Jin-Hyeok said and paused at the perfect moment, amusing himself by watching Kihael’s reaction.

Kihael seemed to gulp nervously and his ears twitched, not literally, but that was how it appeared to Jin-Hyeok, thanks to the effect of the Master of Negotiation.

“...You just don’t want to be the one responsible, right? Jin-Hyeok asked.

Through Broadcaster’s Clairvoyance, a symbol visible only to Jin-Hyeok appeared above Kihael’s head.

[!]

It seemed like Kihael had an epiphany.

“The Open Beta service will end soon and the official launch will begin, right? You just have to transfer to another department before the official launch. I will wait until then.”

What Jin-Hyeok had just said was half true and half false. Jin-Hyeok found Kihael likable. It was almost certain that the GMs assigned to manage Jin-Hyeok exclusively would include Kihael, who had been observing him for a long time. Consequently, Kihael would not be able to transfer and would have to continue accompanying Jin-Hyeok, but Jin-Hyeok didn’t mention that.

“B-But...!”

“It’s well known that the mess created by the predecessor is cleaned up by their successor, who also takes the blame.”

“...”

“It’s a pretty good idea, don’t you think?”

The predecessor could not avoid taking some blame, but it was much better than being the successor. This would undoubtedly be a sweet proposal for Kihael, who had the spirit of a weary office worker.

‘I can read all these psychological nuances!’

[What is the New World?]

[Rankers Unable to Avoid Struggles at the Threshold of the New World.]

Numerous Players had already ventured into the New World, yet none had witnessed its end.

[Infinite Resurrection. Is It a Blessing or a Poisoned Chalice?]

The New World had an infinite resurrection setting. In unfortunate circumstances, one might face death continuously, resulting in a number of Players succumbing to a state of exhaustion. Also, relying heavily on infinite resurrection during Play could push them beyond a mental breaking point, plunging them into a vegetative state.

The New World was a Dungeon that was both kind and unkind to the Players. It was the first Dungeon where the save and load settings were implemented! It was also a Dungeon where Players could freely enter or exit and even establish save points. Once dead, they could resurrect at the save point, retaining all progress made prior to establishing the save point.

‘New World...’

Jin-Hyeok’s heart pounded heavily.

‘I’ve struggled quite a bit in there in my past life...’

It was a Dungeon that he had cleared in his previous life. He knew every detail and strategy to clear it.

‘Back then, my party’s average Level was around 120.’

In his past life, for a long time after the official release, the New World remained an unexplored Dungeon. Only when a substantial amount of time had passed, when the average Level of Jin-Hyeok’s party members reached around 120, did they manage to clear it. At that time, having achieved a personal Level of 124, Jin-Hyeok finally managed to clear the Dungeon.

‘Can I clear it now? Probably not, right? But what if I proceed with the Solo Mode setting?’

Entering with the Solo Mode would slightly reduce the difficulty of the Dungeon.

‘The content won’t change even if I go with the Solo Mode activated.’

That was a fact he already knew very well. In fact, before clearing with his party, he had entered the New World several times on his days off.

‘I think I died more than two hundred times back then.’

The number wasn’t that accurate since he had stopped counting after the tenth death.

‘My Level was around 115 when I attempted the Solo Mode, probably.’

Thus, the New World could be considered a great benchmark to compare the past and the present Cha Jin-Hyeok.

‘’I really hope the content hasn’t changed.’

The likelihood of improvements in rewards or experience gains was high, probably because the GMs would have begun efforts to uplift the average skill level of the Earth Server. However, altering the content of a Dungeon created by the System itself was not an easy task.

‘My current Level is 93.’

With the effect of At the Summit of That Path, One Shall Look Down applied, he would be Level 113. Moreover, he had the same weapon as his past life, the Greatsword of La’kan.

‘I can Play at a Level similar to my past self.’

His heart throbbed excitedly. He believed that the ultimate competition was the one with oneself. If it could be proven that his current self, who had awakened as a Streamer and discovered more joy and fun, was stronger than his past self who was self-obsessed solely with the sword, then he felt he would be able to savor a great sense of accomplishment.

It seemed like he would be able to fully relish being alive.

‘I absolutely have to go to that Dungeon.’

The gate to the New World in Korea was located on the forty-fourth floor of the Lotte World Tower.

[1st floor]

[2nd floor]

[3rd floor]

The elevator ascended rapidly and his heart began to beat increasingly faster. As the elevator door would open on the forty-fourth floor, so would the gate to the New World.

“I will now venture into the New World, the talk of the town these days. Just for reference, I am going in by myself.”

After confirming the flood of viewers streaming in like a tidal wave, he set it to Solo Mode.

[30th floor]

[31st floor]

‘Uhm, but wait a second.’

[41st floor]

[42nd floor]

‘Ah...’

[42nd floor]

[43rd floor]

Jin-Hyeok had forgotten about something.

[44th floor]

The door opened, but he could not step out.

[The door is closing.]

Jin-Hyeok got off not on the forty-fourth floor, but on the forty-fifth floor. Before satisfying his ambition and quenching his thirst, there was an issue that absolutely needed to be addressed.