The day after JiHan's stream…
[Did the Sword King go to Japan because of a woman?]
[Sword King's daughter announces that she'll donate the Sword Palace!]
[The Dual Sword Statue destroyed by the brother-in-law.]
Korean news talked about things related to the stream.
'The impact of Battle Tube is indeed incredible.'
Since it was about Sword King Yoon Sae-jin, the public's interest was huge.
[You've obtained 50,000 dislikes.]
[You've cleared the normal achievement 'Even if The World Hates You (3)'.]
[You've earned 5,000 achievement points.]
[You've obtained 50,000 likes.]
[You've cleared the normal achievement 'I… I Love You (3).']
[You've earned 5,000 achievement points.]
Even after the broadcast ended, the video's view count kept increasing due to the articles, and thanks to their likes and dislikes, he kept clearing normal achievements.
'I've earned 33,000 achievement points thanks to the broadcast.'
He'd been earning some points from clearing quests within the games, but he'd managed to earn a large amount of points all at once from the broadcast.
'Thanks to this momentum, I might be able to get 100,000 likes and dislikes.'
The number of viewers coming from the articles was huge.
[It became breaking news in Japan…]
[Japanese netizens wonder who the Sword King fell for…]
Viewers were also flowing from Japan, the country Sword King Yoon Sae-jin had naturalized to, so breaking 100,000 seemed to be a matter of time. It seemed like he could even aim for more.
"Woah, this is amazing," Sae-ah said in a worried voice while reading articles on her phone. "Uncle… there are a lot of people criticizing you. Maybe you shouldn't watch the news for a while."
"Haha… I find it amusing," JiHan giggled while reading the comments.
Even though people who were most likely from the Sword King Fan Club were insulting him, he happily accepted them.
After all, that was proof that the public's attention was on him and not Yoon Sae-ah.
"These Sword King Fan Club members are sending me messages. They somehow got my phone number."
JiHan frowned at her words and thought, 'Around this time, people often said that half of the Korean people were members of the Sword King Fan Club… So I guess it's natural for her phone number to leak.'
Since 2010, when all professional sports disappeared, Sword King Yoon Sae-jin's status had become more famous than all of the Korean sports stars in history combined.
Battle Net wasn't only the world's professional sport; it was also a game that could determine the fate of a country.
'The only reason Korea could do well in the hellish East Asian League was because of Sae-jin.'
Battle Net East Asian League included Korea, Japan, Eastern Russia, Eastern China, and Taiwan. The League was known to be one of the world's most competitive, along with the Western European League.
Korea had been able to hold on as well as it had thanks to Sword King Yoon Sae-jin, who was ranked 3rd in the world. Thanks to that, there was a time when a petition was made to erect a statue dedicated to the Sword King in Gwanghwamun, and it almost got accepted.
That's why, even though the Sword King had announced that he would go to Japan, people couldn't let go of their attachment.
"What did those guys say?"
"They ask me to try and persuade my dad… and they say I shouldn't trust you, Uncle. They're calling you a scammer."
"It seems like this is what happens when you're dumb. Even hearing such a recording doesn't have any effect."
"Anyways! I obviously believe in you, Uncle, but…"
Sae-ah looked at JiHan. "Uncle, why have you changed so much?"
JiHan smirked. "How was I before?"
"Hmm… Well…"
"Are you curious about why such a pathetic person who used to spend time gambling at home changed this much?"
"Hey, I never saw you like that. Okay? Hehe."
JiHan recalled how he used to be at that age.
Back then, he was just an ordinary man, unlike his noona or brother-in-law, who had special Gifts and succeeded in the Battle Net world.
He wasn't good at studying, nor had he shown outstanding abilities as a player. Instead, he'd just wasted his life while living with his successful noona.
- Do you want to take over a business?
His noona, Ji-ah, tried to give him a job after seeing how he always stayed at home predicting Battle Net games, but…
- This is my calling.
That's what JiHan had said, and he kept playing and eating while staying home.
He was able to do that thanks to his F-rank Gift, 'Wanderer's Eye', which allowed him to accurately read other players enough to enable his freeloading lifestyle.
Sae-ah grew up watching JiHan's behavior, so she knew how irresponsible he was.
'It's understandable that she has many questions.'
Still, he couldn't tell her everything.
'Should I tell her about the Martial Power stat? She's going to find out later anyway.' As JiHan was thinking that…
Beep- Beep- Beep-
The bell started to ring.
"Who is it?"
As Sae-ah tried to stand up, JiHan stopped her. "Sae-ah, stay there. It could be someone from the Sword King Fan Club."
"Ah…"
During his previous life, countless people from the Sword King Fan Club had caused all sorts of nuisances, including ringing the bell, which was why they eventually cut the power to it.
'I'll have to do some work in advance.' JiHan walked toward the wall pad when he saw a middle-aged man in a suit.
The man seemed familiar.
"Who is it?"
[Hello, I'm the manager of Battle Net's Administration Office, Park Yoon-sik.]
Upon hearing his name, JiHan remembered who he was.
'He was a good person.'
He'd visited all the time when Sword King Yoon Sae-jin was in Korea but had stopped doing so when the Sword King left for Japan.
He had always sympathized with JiHan and Sae-ah's situation and often helped them.
'He's visiting a day after the stream ended. That's quick.'
He had things he needed to discuss with the government anyway.
"Come in." JiHan opened the door.
* * *
Battle Net Administration Office Manager Park Yoon-sik stared at JiHan.
'He's changed.'
He'd seen him several times when visiting the Sword Palace with the director, and the image he had of JiHan was that he was a lazy bum who stayed in his room.
The director also had the same impression of him, so they often made fun of him whenever they were on their way back to the car.
- Tsk, tsk. Why does the Sword King keep trash like him at home? He should just get him a room and kick him out.
He saw JiHan as a parasite that leeched off his noona and brother-in-law, but based on the day before's broadcast…
"Please, take a seat."
Also, based on how he'd received him, he was completely different—unlike before, he seemed more relaxed; there was an inexplicable sense of confidence coming from him.
'JiHan's Gift should be F-rank… He must have gained some special ability.'
Park Yoon-sik had done some research on JiHan before heading there. According to the government's records, his Gift was F-rank, but considering he'd achieved 1st place in the famous Gangnam Area 1, it seemed like there was something special about him.
Yoon-sik decided that he would try to figure that out later and opened his mouth.
"We were quite shocked by yesterday's stream. We thought that the government hadn't treated the Sword King poorly… but hearing the recording made us realize that the Sword King has indeed left for Japan."
As JiHan nodded, Yoon-sik kept talking. "Regarding the 'Japanese woman' mentioned in the call… There's someone we're suspecting."
"Yes? Who's that?!" Sae-ah, who'd been silently listening, asked.
Yoon-sik replied in a serious manner. "Battle Net's Administration Office collects information on players from all around the world, not just our country. That being said, we put special care into information regarding other East Asian countries."
"I suppose you do."
"We heard a certain rumor while we were gathering information on Japanese players that said that there's a Japanese user with an SSS-rank Gift."
"Huh? I thought that SS was the highest rank in Japan. There was a controversy with that just a month ago…"
The controversy Yoon Sae-ah was talking about was comedic. Some Japanese users provoked Korean Battle Net users, so in retaliation, they began mocking Japan as a country with no SSS-rank users, and the Japanese government made an official protest regarding that comment.
Korea's pride, Yoon Sae-jin, had an SSS-rank Gift, 'Twin Sword Peak', and Japan didn't have any users with an SSS-rank Gift.
"The rumored name of the SSS-rank Gift is… 'Beauty'."
"Beauty…?"
Beauty so amazing that it could shake a country's balance? To think that such a Gift would be SSS-rank!
Yoon Sae-ah looked at him in disbelief. "Being beautiful is an SSS-rank Gift?"
"The problem isn't that she's just 'beautiful'…"
Yoon-sik glanced carefully at Sae-ah before continuing. "It wasn't that the Sword King didn't have other women. After Sung Ji-ah passed away, he had several meetings with famous actresses, among others; that's why we helped him not get caught by the media by providing him with private places."
"Is that so…?"
As Sae-ah sat on the sofa with a hardened expression, Yoon-sik kept talking. "He was freely dating numerous women in Korea, but since he decided to be naturalized because of a foreign woman… We concluded that the rumored user with 'Beauty' was sent to try to naturalize the Sword King."
The woman with the SSS-rank Gift 'Beauty'...
JiHan thought of the past. 'I heard this story before, but in the end, her identity wasn't revealed.'
Even when Korea collapsed, the identity of the Sword King's woman remained a mystery. Not long after that, the Sword King's whereabouts became unknown.
"An SSS-rank Gift, Beauty…"
"Nevertheless, we haven't lost hope and are planning to try and persuade the Sword King, so there's something the government wanted to propose regarding this donation."
"What is it?"
"Instead of accepting the Sword Palace as a donation, the government would like to operate it under a contract because this must be returned when the Sword King returns."
"…"
"And we hope you continue living in this penthouse."
The government's position was that they wouldn't accept the donation, and upon hearing that, Sae-ah tilted her head in confusion.
JiHan couldn't help but smirk. "It seems like your higher-ups don't want to be criticized."
"…"
"Having heard about the SSS-rank Gift, it's even clearer now that you don't have confidence in persuading him, right?"
"It does seem hard…"
"But if you accept this donation, it would be like confessing to the people that you cannot persuade the Sword King, so you're trying to evade responsibility."
Yoon-sik felt chills at JiHan's words.
They were suffering because of the sheer number of protest calls at the moment that stated that, despite operating with taxpayers' money, they weren't doing anything to bring back the Sword King.
Accepting the donation in such a situation would be like announcing that the government would give up on the Sword King.
'If they do that, their approval rate will plummet.'
If they couldn't convince the Sword King, then they had to ensure the people gave up on him.
"The Korea-Japan match will take place in less than a month, right?"
"…"
"You're hoping that the public's opinion will change once the Sword King appears with his new name, Ito Ryuhei, so until then, you want to operate the Sword Palace under contract, right?"
Cold sweat ran down Yoon-sik's back at JiHan's precise analysis. His guess was too accurate.
Still, he tried to deny it.
"No, that isn't the case. We're going to do our best to persuade the Sword King."
"I understand your position." JiHan crossed his legs. "I don't want to have a bad relationship with the government, but I have one condition…"
"I'd be thankful if you could tell me what it is…"
"You said I could keep living in this penthouse, right?"
Before he knew it, Yoon-sik was swept up in JiHan's pace. He just nodded at his words.
"Since we're going to consider the government's position, we'd appreciate it if you could do us a small favor."
"What favor…?"
"It's simple," JiHan said as he smiled. "We want to sell some of the Sword King's belongings, so please arrange an auction for us."
"An auction?
"Yes, and make sure foreigners can also participate."
"Don't tell me…!"
Yoon-sik's eyes widened in surprise.
'Is he trying to sell 'that'…?!'
"That's right, the connector."
It was a special Battle Net connector that reduced the pain you received by 99%, and the price of the thing alone was comparable to an apartment in Gangnam, but it had a certain premium since it belonged to the Sword King.
And since Sword King Sae-jin had been using it until then, there was also his data within it.
'If he doesn't want to hand out his data to others, he will definitely participate in the auction.'
The government had seized the Sword Palace in the past, and when the penthouse items were put up for auction, the Japanese ambassador in Korea bought them all, probably on behalf of Sae-jin.
"I'm going to sell this, so please ask the government to make a guarantee. Also, the money will go to Sae-ah's bank account. Ah, one more thing…" JiHan drew a square in the air. "This auction must be broadcast exclusively through my Battle Net channel."
Taking as much as possible would be best.
JiHan's smile deepened as he thought about earning more achievement points.