Chapter 1292 |
‘Why is he calling me all of a sudden?’
Tae-Sung had no idea why Lee Geon, of all people, was calling him.
‘What kind of bullshit is he going to spew this time?’
He hesitated for a moment and wondered if he should even take the call.
The head of security asked, “What should we tell him, sir? Should we tell him you are not available at the moment?”
Tae-Sung shook his head and replied, “No, I’ll take the call.”
In the end, he decided to hear out whatever nonsense Lee Geon had to say.
“Hello?”
— Hey, Han Tae-Sung.
— You saw my press conference, right?
“Yeah, just now. I didn’t even know there was one until people around me mentioned it.”
— …
“I’m not really following you these days.”
It was a clean hit.
This was Tae-Sung’s way of telling Lee Geon that he was a nobody, someone unworthy of his time and attention. Of course, being the sharp person he was, Lee Geon did not miss what Tae-Sung was trying to say.
— Still talking shit, are you?
“Hang up if you don’t like it.”
— …
“What do you want? It’s not like we’re on speaking terms.”
— What do you think I want? You should already know why I called.
“Am I a mind reader? How the hell would I know?”
— You saw the press conference, so don’t you think you owe me an answer?
“Ah, it’s about that.”
— Quit playing dumb, Han Tae-Sung. Let’s fight, publicly.
“And why should I? I won’t gain anything even if I win, so why bother?”
— I’ll give you one hundred percent of the prize money. I’ll even throw in all of the ad revenue and license deals. You could walk away with a minimum of two—no, three hundred billion won from this.
“Eh? I don’t need money.”
— …
“I’ve already got more than enough to last a few lifetimes. I can afford to do nothing for three generations and still have enough left. Do you honestly think I’d bother fighting you for a few hundred billion?”
— …
“And who would that even benefit? Me? Nope!”
— Fight me, damn it! Are you scared? You just got lucky last time! Are you scared you won’t be so lucky this time?
“Nah, that’s not it.”
— Then fight me, you son of a bitch!
‘Hm?’
Tae-Sung finally understood why Lee Geon had called out of the blue.
‘So that’s what this is about. He still can’t get over losing to me.’
Lee Geon was not proposing this live match out of some grand reason like being the Executor of Destiny or for money. His reason was much simpler than that—pride.
One of the words that described Lee Geon the best was the word "proud." He was born a genius blessed with extraordinary gaming talent, so his confidence and pride in his skills were far greater than others.
In his eyes, he was someone special—and, in truth, he was indeed.
Countless people had already acknowledged him as a genius, so there was no doubt that he was indeed special. However, he actually lost to Tae-Sung twice. The first defeat was behind closed doors, and the second was broadcast live for everyone to see.
Thus, it was only inevitable that his pride would be shattered beyond repair.
‘I’m sure he wants to get back at me. He could just destroy the world and make the game restart, but he will never restore his pride if he does that. Knowing how proud that guy is, he won't consider that a win. In fact, he'd think that he ran away from me.’
Tae-Sung saw right through Lee Geon.
‘He wants to defeat me fair and square before destroying the world as the Executor of Destiny. He wants to stand before the whole world and prove that he’s still the best. I’m sure that’s all there is to it.’
Lee Geon was cunning and sly, but this time, he was aching for a straightforward fight.
“You really want this rematch that badly?” Tae-Sung asked, emphasizing it as a rematch.
— Damn right I do.
“But what do I get if I win? I don’t see any merit in it.”
— I’ll delete my character.
“Hm?”
— You know what will happen if I delete my character, right? The Creator can’t descend without me. Accept my proposal, defeat me, and the ritual ends right then and there.
“Hmm…”
— I’ll delay the ritual if you accept my offer.
“Deal.”
Tae-Sung accepted the deal without hesitation.
Well, it was an offer with no downside for him.
Even if he somehow lost, it would only hurt his reputation a little, but that was about it.
On the other hand, just agreeing to the fight would delay the Creator’s descent, and winning against Lee Geon would mean banishing him from BNW for good.
As far as Tae-Sung was concerned, it was an offer with huge upside potential for him.
“Let’s do it.”
— You’re on, you fucking bastard.
And just like that, the match between Han Tae-Sung and Lee Geon was set. Of course, there were still contracts and legal formalities to work out, but those were not a problem.
Both Tae-Sung and Lee Geon had top-tier law firms at their backs, so the negotiations would be handled quickly and cleanly.
***
After the call…
“So you finally lost it, huh?”
“Are you really going to fight him?”
“Will Lee Geon delete his character if he loses, hyung-nim?”
Everyone was stunned when they heard that Tae-Sung had agreed to a live match against Lee Geon.
“I don’t really have much to lose. It’s not like I’ve ever claimed to be the world’s greatest pro gamer or something. I just got lucky and ended up here, so even if I lose and my reputation takes a hit, it doesn’t matter that much. Besides, it’s not like I’ll lose anyway,” Tae-Sung replied with a shrug.
Then, he sat on the couch and added, “Relax, guys. It’s nothing worth worrying about.”
“...”
“...”
“...”
The way he acted as if it was truly nothing and put on a comedy show left his friends speechless.
Even if he had beaten Lee Geon before, it was still the Lee Geon he was up against. Just the thought of having a live broadcast match against him was more than enough to keep even the most seasoned pro gamer awake at night.
But Tae-Sung?
“Bwahahaha!”
He was completely relaxed and even burst out laughing while watching TV.
Indeed, he had nerves made of solid steel—no, titanium.
Whatever the case, the match between Tae-Sung and Lee Geon was now officially on.
And unsurprisingly, it did not take long—barely just a few hours—before the news exploded across the entire world.
Both Tae-Sung and Lee Geon’s camps leaked the information to the press to hype things up even more.
[BREAKING NEWS: Han Tae-Sung vs. Lee Geon Confirmed!]
[BREAKING NEWS: Clash of Titans! The Duel of the Century!]
[BREAKING NEWS: Han Tae-Sung Accepts Lee Geon’s Challenge!]
The gaming world was turned upside down, set ablaze in a frenzy.
This was the match of the century, a duel that would draw attention never before seen in the history of gaming. Hundreds of millions of BNW players worldwide and even non-gamers would be tuning into it.
With interest in the match growing hotter, the cost to acquire the broadcasting rights hit record highs, figures never before seen in the industry. Not only that, major conglomerates scrambled to get an ad slot, bidding as much money as it took to get a few minutes of exposure.
Naturally, the bidding frenzy sent the prize pool skyrocketing to unimaginable levels.
Since Lee Geon had renounced his share of the match fees and sponsorship profits, some speculative articles claimed that Tae-Sung’s payout from this match alone would be more than eight hundred billion won[1].
Of course, money was the last thing on Tae-Sung’s mind. He did not care how much money he stood to earn from this match, as the only thing on his mind right now was—BNW.
“Let’s go.”
“Yes, sire.”
Siegfried and Michael headed toward the pillar of white light that had erupted in the Jukai Jungle.
The Creator would descend once six pillars have formed, so they needed to investigate the pillars first in order to find a solution, but…
“Space and time are distorted here. We can’t get any closer than this.”
“Yes, I think so too.”
The Jukai Jungle had already become a restricted zone due to the interference of the pillars.
“In that case, exploring it is no longer an option. We will need to identify where the next ones might appear,” Siegfried said.
“But with only two pillars revealed… finding the remaining ones will not be easy.”
Michael had a point. If three pillars had appeared, then they could somehow triangulate the areas and deduce where the next pillars could appear.
Unfortunately, two pillars were not enough to make any guesses.
‘It’s a good thing Lee Geon suspended the ritual,’ Siegfried thought.
Of course, he couldn’t relax one hundred percent.
The Executor of Destiny was akin to a natural disaster stirred up by the system itself. Even if they somehow got rid of Lee Geon, there was no guarantee that the threat of the Creator’s descent would completely disappear.
“Let’s go back for now…” Siegfried said reluctantly.
“Yes, Siegfried,” Michael replied with a nod.
Siegfried decided to fully focus on the upcoming battle with Lee Geon. After all, there was little he could do for the moment, as the locations of the other pillars were still a mystery.
***
A few days later…
“Okay, let’s go with that plan.”
After finalizing the match date with Lee Geon, Tae-Sung was resting at home when he received an invitation from the Vice President of Hive Games Entertainment, Oppenheimer.
“Huh? Why is he asking to meet?”
Tae-Sung had no idea what it was about, but he still headed to the hotel where Oppenheimer was staying.
“Ah, welcome, Mr. Han Tae-Sung. You must be busy preparing for your match. Thank you so much for taking the time to come,” Oppenheimer greeted.
“It is my pleasure. Besides, I don’t live far from here, so it was not that big of a hassle,” Tae-Sung replied with a shrug. Then, he asked, “But what did you want to see me about?”
“There is something I wanted to tell you.”
“What is it?”
Oppenheimer lowered his voice and said, “It is just a precaution, but I advise you not to sell any of your shares right now.”
“Huh? What do you mean by—”
“Since you are now an executive of our company, there is some information you should be aware of.”
“And that is?”
“For starters, we will be launching new servers soon.”
“What?!”
“Not just one. We are planning to open two servers simultaneously.”
“Whoa…”
“One will be based on an Eastern world setting, while the other will follow the current setting. Once those go live, then—”
“...The stock price will skyrocket.”
BNW had already flipped the entire global gaming market upside down with just one server. If that was taken into consideration, then it was highly likely that two entirely new servers, each with different world concepts, would send the company’s stock price surging once they were released.
“So don’t sell your shares. Hold onto them,” Oppenheimer advised.
“Okay, I understand,” Tae-Sung replied with a nod.
“Oh, and one more thing. If you successfully complete the scenario you’re currently working on, you will receive a very special reward.”
“A special reward? What is it?”
“I’m afraid I can’t disclose that yet.”
“Well, I won’t force you then.”
After chatting a bit more about various things, Tae-Sung returned home.
‘A server based on an Eastern world setting… could that mean the martial arts world where the Blue Dragon had come from?’ he wondered.
It was possible.
After all, Tae-Sung had already learned during his time with Deus that BNW’s lore was not confined to a single world. Therefore, it would not be strange at all if a new server based on martial arts ended up being opened.
***
Time passed quickly, and the match with Lee Geon was now just a week away.
“Huff… Huff…”
Siegfried was training with Bruce, pushing himself to his limits while refining his combat senses and skills. Most importantly, he was trying to get used to wielding the Universal weapon, the Annihilation’s Grasp.
Unfortunately, handling the weapon was anything but easy. The more he used the Annihilation’s Grasp, the harder it became to control its violent temperament.
To make things worse, whenever his HP, Primordial Force, or Stamina dropped a bit low, the weapon’s predatory instincts would kick in and try to seize control of his body.
Rumble!
The energy unleashed by the Annihilation’s grasp was so fierce that even Siegfried struggled to withstand it. Each time the weapon unleashed a surge of energy, violent sparks would inflict severe damage on him.
‘This thing is too dangerous to use,’ Siegfried thought.
He realized he couldn’t let things go on like this. If the Annihilation’s Grasp consumed him in the middle of his fight against Lee Geon, then the result would be disastrous.
‘I'd better have a word with that third-rate evil spirit.’
With that thought, Siegfried focused on his consciousness and dove into the Annihilation’s Grasp.
“What do you want?”
The Annihilation’s Grasp greeted him curtly, its tone sharp and rude.
However, Siegfried could sense the trace of fear in its voice. The Ego within the Universal weapon was most likely suffering from PTSD and was scared of being dragged back into the World of Despair.
“Ha! What brings you here now? You blocked my voice and wouldn’t listen to anything I say, yet you’re here?”
“Are you really asking me that right now?”
Siegfried flashed an evil grin and cracked his knuckles as he walked toward the third-rate evil spirit.
1. Roughly $560m USD.
Tokki's Thoughts
Tokki’s Thoughts:
Bro. Author-nim isn’t even done with this novel, yet he’s already hinting at his next work.
Would y’all be interested in reading a Debuff Master-esque novel that’s wuxia/murim based?
Also, I’m very sure the VP of a company telling someone not to sell their shares can be considered insider trading. Can anyone confirm this?
Veela's thoughts:Beehive to the MOON!