Chapter 181

Chapter 181

Seo Ji-Soo was surprised.

‘Huh? That’s the famous Navigator?’ she thought.

He was very short and hunched over. It would not be easy to find anyone else who suited the name Gollum so well.

‘Even for an alternative character, he looks so ugly!’

The Seo sisters and Cha Jin-Hyeok had intended to search for a Navigator named Gollum from the beginning of their visit here. However, they had not expected to meet him so easily, nor had they expected him to be so unimpressive.

“I heard you were looking for me,” Gollum said as he swept his few strands of hair to the side and looked at Jin-Hyeok.

Jin-Hyeok nodded.

“What’s your Level?” Gollum asked.

“Around 150, but I can bump it up to 170.”

“Ah, you’re the Player with the Mythic-Grade Card, right? Your name was... Kim Chul-Soo.”

This was unexpected for Jin-Hyeok. “You know me?”

“Of course! You’re the most famous Player on the Earth Server.”

Jin-Hyeok was pleased. A universally known Player like Golumberum often did not pay much attention to rookie Players. It was like how seniors in high school didn’t really care about freshmen.

“If that’s the case, I think this conversation is going to go easier than expected. I want your guidance while I Play here,” Jin-Hyeok said.

“My fee is high.” Gollum sneered and looked at Lucia. “Lucia, how many have I rejected recently?”

“Around thirty Players?”

Gollum nodded and turned his gaze to Jin-Hyeok. “Make an offer. How much will you use me for?”

“Five hundred million Dias.”

Gollum burst out laughing. “Only five hundred million to hire me? You must be crazy.”

Lucia sighed. She had known this would happen.

‘Actually, five hundred million Dias isn’t a small amount, but...’

When another Player had offered him seven hundred million Dias before, Gollum had sneered at it. He had scolded Lucia, saying, ‘What do you take me for?’ and she had sweated bullets.

‘He’s definitely an alternative character of a ranker from another Server.’

Lucia assumed Gollum was leveling up an alternative character on the Earth Server, as he could not Play as his main self here. Usually, top-rankers from other Servers did this. For rankers who had nowhere else to grow, Playing an alternative character in a weaker Server was a kind of entertainment culture.

Gollum’s Level was relatively low at around 130, but Lucia’s seduction skills had no effect on him. He had probably worn all kinds of items that resisted mental attacks.

‘If this keeps up, my reputation is going to go down the drain,’ Lucia sighed.

“What the hell are you talking about?” Jin-Hyeok said with a frown.

“I told you. My fee is high. Did you really think you could hire me with only five hundred million Dias?”

“Isn’t five hundred million per hour reasonable?”

“...What?”

“How can someone use a Navigator of your caliber for just five hundred million Dias?” Jin-Hyeok earnestly asked.

Those words moved Gollum.

***

Gollum heartily laughed with a slightly reddened face, clearly pleased with the deal. “Lucia! Why didn’t you introduce me to such a noble person sooner?”

The beer tasted exceptionally refreshing and good today. The atmosphere of the table was quite pleasant. Lucia seemed overjoyed, probably thinking about the hefty referral fee she would receive.

‘Good thing that it all worked out,’ Jin-Hyeok thought.

Some Players referred to Gollum as a ranker who did not care about money, but Jin-Hyeok knew that was not the case.

‘He is quite starved for money.’

Not all top rankers are wealthy. The real rich ones were usually Merchant-class or Streamer-class Players. Excluding those with such extraordinary Jobs, the real top rankers often lived in a state of poverty.

‘Just clearing a Dungeon once costs billions.’

‘Activate Broadcaster’s Barrier.’

Jin-Hyeok used Broadcaster’s Barrier to block all of his attacks.

“You’re quite skilled at operating Broadcaster’s Barrier. You would have achieved much more if you were a combatant-class Player.”

Suddenly, Jin-Hyeok felt irritated. Kayn’s words somehow felt like an insult, as if he were saying, ‘You are not cut out to be a Streamer.’

“Seems like you haven’t watched my livestreams. I have improved a lot in livestreaming.” Anyway, Jin-Hyeok focused on his defense, and Kayn relentlessly attacked him.

“How long are you going to keep cowering behind your defense?” Kayn said.

“...”

Kayn’s attacks were not dull. Jin-Hyeok was accumulating more and more minor wounds, and it was lucky that he had experienced fighting Kayn before. Otherwise, he would have had suffered more severe injuries.

‘He’s definitely from the Arvis Server.’

It was said that even the kids walking on the streets of Planet Arvis could be rankers in other Servers. Though Kayn’s Level was only around 180, he was by no means an easy opponent.

‘I’m just blocking his attacks, and it’s taking a toll on me.’

Usually, defending was easier than attacking. If a Player just decided to defend, they could somewhat hold their own even against those with superior skills.

Before Jin-Hyeok knew it, he had reached a dead-end alley. When his back hit the wall, he extended his hand.

“Wait, I will give you five hundred million Dias. That’s all I have right now.” Jin-Hyeok took out a leather pouch full of Dias from his inventory.

“Now you’re talking sense.”

“It’s five hundred million Dias. If you spare my life, I will add another five hundred million to make it an even one billion.”

“Make it five billion.”

“...”

“Aren’t you rich enough to spend five hundred million per hour hiring a Navigator?” Kayn chuckled. “How can someone as insignificant as you earn such a huge sum of money? Isn’t that strange?”

“...”

Jin-Hyeok quietly placed the leather pouch on the ground and raised his hands. When Kayn smirked and bent down to pick it up, a translucent silver thread wrapped around his wrist.

‘Perfect timing.’

It was Ji-Ah. Assassins could prove weak in a direct confrontation, but they exhibited tremendous power in surprise attacks.

‘And now it’s Ji-Soo’s turn.’

Ji-Soo released her poison attack. It emitted a much more concentrated form of the venom she had used when she bit Jin-Hyeok earlier, now in a gaseous form.

Kayn was calmer than expected. “What a pitiful attempt.”

He easily got out of Ji-Ah’s binding skill and formed a thin mana barrier around him to prevent the poison fog from reaching him. Just as he was about to gather mana to create a Sword Wind, Jin-Hyeok, who had been ready to draw his sword at any moment, swung it. “This is how you set up.”

It was rare for someone to fall for a trick right away. Jin-Hyeok had to mix feints and disturbances one, two, or three times in a row to execute the attack he wanted. The blade of his Greatsword of La’kan, now covered in sword energy and sharpened to the extreme, swiftly decapitated Kayn.

‘That was easier than I thought.’

The reason Jin-Hyeok had been testing Kayn until now was to make sure the latter was truly unaware of his livestreams.

If Kayn had watched even a bit of them, he would have known about the Berklev Necklace and that it could reflect fatal attacks.

‘I didn’t even have to use the Berklev Necklace.’

Kayn’s eyes flickered as his head lay on the ground, making Ji-Soo scream.

“Oh, he’s from the Arvis Server. They’re tough, so they don’t die easily even when severed,” Jin-Hyeok said.

‘Typical of an Arvis native.’

“...How did you know? Do you know about me?” Kayn asked.

Jin-Hyeok leaned close to his face and whispered in his ear, “Not telling.”

Kayn’s eyes widened in anger, turning red.

“When you meet a Player from Arvis, you must make sure to confirm the kill.” Jin-Hyeok lifted his Greatsword of La’kan and stabbed Kayn in the heart several times. It was not because he wanted to feel the satisfaction of killing.

But then, he heard someone clapping. Someone was approaching them.