Hyeon-woo's offer had truly struck the old man's stance and conscience hard.
As a professional player who has been involved in this game for years, I certainly recognized Sung-hoo and his nature as one of the NPCs who plays a significant role in every event if recruited.
This was an offer he couldn't refuse.
Closing his eyes and pondering for a moment, the old man finally loosened his grip and made a seat for me.
Looking at me seriously, he asked in a heavy voice.
"Can you keep your promise?"
"Hmmm….?? Of course. After all, who am I?"
I replied with a light grin.
"Hahhh…."
He sighed wearily as he walked back to his bed.
"Don't you know that I'm not in my prime anymore? It would make sense if you recruited me when I was at the peak of my power, but now I'm just an old man with a weak body; you see it, right?"
He lifted his thin, dry hand and shook it.
I realized that, I was very much aware of it, but it wasn't his prime that I was after from the old man.
Rather, it was his Unique Talent that made him a Legendary Assassin.
"It doesn't matter. All I need is for you to be my protector in the shadows; surely you can do that?"
This old man's talent was no ordinary skill; it was the ability to blend with darkness, controlling the darkness itself, with a 100% immersion level with shadows, making it truly impossible to be tracked by anyone, even any hunter in this world. I even doubted that my father could track him or even realize his existence.
That was what I needed, at least for now until I became strong enough to fight against ranks that exceeded my level.
Hearing such a simple request, Park Sung-hoo nodded his head wearily.
"Alright, I accept your offer, and don't regret spending a lot of money to hire me."
The old man raised his left hand as if asking for a handshake, and I smiled and shook it with my left hand.
"Of course, I won't regret my choice."
With that, I gained a backup life that would be impossible to detect by anyone and could save me when I was in danger.
******
As per our initial agreement, I paid him 100 million credits and an initial allowance of about 50 million credits.
Also, I asked the Butler to send a list of people that Sung-hoo had written down to be sent to companies near Grimeville to recruit them all and provide them and their families with decent housing in the residences around the factory.
With just one command, I resolved all the problems and concerns that the old man had.
Park Sung-hoo, who was watching all this from the shadows, could only take a cold breath as all of this happened before his eyes.
(Damn, that's the style of a rich kid. Everything is easy for you.)
'Yeah, I always hear that; it's just who I am~'
I only chuckled at the telepathic voice that contained a tone of jealousy.
I asked the servant to bring 3 high-level healing potions and 1 revitalization potion, which I then gave to the old man to heal and rejuvenate himself.
Of course, the old man wouldn't always follow me; that would violate my privacy, so I allowed him to choose his own room to rest in around the house or wherever he wished. After all, he could move places quickly, so there was no need to worry about him being late because of distance.
With that much money, the old man didn't need to worry about accommodation, clothing, weapons, food, or anything else he desired.
Lying down on my bed after taking a shower, I activated my phone and opened the popular social media app called Rhyme.
A rather unique name, perhaps it reflects the developer's taste in creating an app that is fun and appeals to the youth market.
There were plenty of news and funny entertainment there. Of course, as a former streamer with 5.09 million subscribers, I was already quite familiar with the world of social media.
I browsed through the news and interesting current issues.
"Hmm…. The Crown Prince from the Middle East will be attending Mighters Academy? Oh, and the Princess from the Luo Clan too? And others…."
Quite interesting. They are heirs from influential families and organizations in the world; it's rather surprising that they would be attending Mighters Academy, though it's not completely unexpected.
I was just a bit shocked that they would definitely be in the same batch as me, a Mob, along with those Top Rank Characters?
I couldn't help but smirk. Well, it didn't mean I was scared or on guard or anything. If this were the old Hyeon-woo, he might have felt intimidated even though his father was Do-hyun, but this is the current Hyeon-woo, which is me. So, I was actually getting more excited about this.
"There's still 1 month before the entrance exam starts, huh….?"
Placing my phone on the table next to the bed, I stared at the ceiling and decided, "Maybe I should start practicing to gain experience and try visiting the gate before going to the entrance exam at the academy."
"Yeah, let's do that…."
******
Starting from the first day of my preparations to enter the academy, I practiced using my ability to manipulate all of my poker cards, because ever since I mentioned that I had awakened, my father sent one of his strongest subordinates, Han Sen, to train me and become my assistant from now on.
Of course, I greatly appreciated my father's goodwill. I planned to use Han Sen as my assistant and guardian on the light side, while Sung-hoo would be my guardian on the dark side.
Ahhh…. I'm not so foolish as to waste my life for the pride of a main character or whatever. At least not when I know that there are many opponents who are far stronger and out of my reach at the moment.
This man was quite young, perhaps around 35 years old? He had dark green hair and it was very long, as if he had just stepped out of a Xiaxia world in China.
Eewwww…. Is everyone from China like this?
My days continued. Contrary to my initial expectations that this would be enjoyable, it turned out to be a path filled with torment and hell!!
Damn, Han Sen was truly heartless for making me use all my strength just to fly all my cards as fast and as long as possible, then telling me to meditate under a waterfall and run up and down the mountain dozens of times a day.
Searching for a needle in a haystack and untangling threads that were as thick as a house, smashing down walls with a punch, and even dancing to the rhythm alongside butterflies in the garden.
What kind of crazy training is this?!!
Is Han Sen sure this isn't training to become a monk? I don't have that much patience!!
Demon, you wretched demon!
However, I was ordered by my father and even Sung-hoo to obediently follow Han Sen's instructions, and I didn't argue with that advice, as they might see my growth even though I was completely unaware of it because I had spent all my energy training and had no energy left to think about the results.
Three weeks passed like that….