Chapter 74

Chapter 74. Scramble (2)

Jason immediately proposed an idea for his next video after seeing through my intentions.

Until now...

Jason had been uploading commentary videos about the videos I released.

For example...

When Kang Yujin destroyed Taotie with one punch...

Jason publicly revealed that he had used an Awakening Skill.

Jason's role was to amplify the audience's interest...

And maintain attention.

He also helped manipulate public opinion...

Through provocative and irresponsible comments.

Apparently...

He had become comfortable with that role.

This time...

Before I even said anything...

Jason suggested the concept himself.

There wasn't much I needed to change.

So I immediately ordered production to begin.

Number 49 worked all night...

And completed the video.

"Nice to see you, everyone."

In the video uploaded to Constellation Tube...

Jason began with a relaxed smile.

"I am your eternal comrade."

"Your reliable commentator."

"Your hero..."

"'Leader of the Expedition.'"

"There was a battle yesterday that became a major topic."

"The Jiaolong subjugation in Korea's Capital Region."

"A gigantic dragon species suddenly appeared in the Han River!"

"Eight Guardian Lee Hyeonje and Kang Yujin stepped forward to defeat it!"

"Anyone who watched it live was extremely lucky."

"If you missed it, go watch the recording on Constellation Tube."

"It was genuinely entertaining."

"Now..."

"Shall we talk about that battle?"

"There should be plenty to analyze."

"I'm sure everyone wants commentary."

Jason had been speaking smoothly...

Just like usual.

Then suddenly...

He stopped.

He leaned forward.

"But that isn't what's important."

"If you want battle analysis, watch someone else's video."

"These days there are copycat channels too."

Just as Jason said...

More Constellations had recently begun uploading commentary videos...

Imitating Jason.

Of course...

Compared to Jason's videos, which used my source material and Number 49's editing...

They were extremely poor.

"If all you thought was..."

'Kang Yujin defeated another giant dragon species! Amazing!'

"Then you're really, really foolish."

"You still don't know how to read the trend."

"That's why you're still stuck at that level."

Jason continued...

Deliberately provoking the viewers.

"The important thing isn't the Jiaolong."

"It's what happened to Kang Yujin after the Jiaolong died."

"Watch this."

Another clip played inside the video.

Cheon Sangwoon and Lee Hyeonje...

Bickering over Kang Yujin.

"You all know these two, right?"

"Cheon Sangwoon and Lee Hyeonje."

"The strongest two members of the Eight Guardians."

"And now..."

"They're fighting over Kang Yujin."

"Did you just laugh and move on?"

"Did you say it looked like some love triangle and forget about it?"

"No."

"That's not what this means."

"Cheon Sangwoon and Lee Hyeonje already had a history of clashing."

"But this is different."

"They are seriously confronting each other because both want Kang Yujin on their side."

"Do you understand what that means?"

"Through this Jiaolong subjugation, Kang Yujin forced his way directly into the center of the power structure ruled by the Eight Guardians."

Jason continued for a long time after that.

He mixed exaggeration into his explanation...

And claimed that Kang Yujin had become a central figure of the Capital Region almost overnight.

Eventually...

He began wrapping up.

"Everyone."

"Watch the Capital Region carefully from now on."

"The balance among the Eight Guardians may collapse because of one man named Kang Yujin."

"Change is about to begin in the Capital Region."

"Look forward to it."

The broadcast seemed to end there.

But Jason grinned...

And delivered one final line.

"And while you're watching..."

"Try imagining what role the 'Nameless Constellation' behind him is playing."

It was an empty statement.

There was no real information in it.

But it was more than enough...

To stimulate the viewers' imagination.

After Jason's video...

The Constellations began paying even more attention to Kang Yujin.

They no longer saw him as merely a promising newcomer.

They began seeing him...

As the eye of the storm that could shake the entire Capital Region.

And the more attention Kang Yujin received...

The more curiosity grew toward me...

The Constellation who remained completely silent behind him.

One week after Jason's video was uploaded...

My Origin Power exceeded 1.5 billion.

"Haaap!"

With Lee Jukheon's shout...

The sword in his opponent's hand flew into the air.

"Next!"

"Come at me!"

Without even wiping the sweat from his forehead...

Lee Jukheon shouted again.

"He's training hard again today."

Joo Minha watched Lee Jukheon continuously spar against members of the Hwaseong Sect.

"His training intensity has increased significantly over the last few days."

"Why do you think that is?"

"Who knows."

"You don't have to pretend you don't know, Kang Yujin."

Joo Minha looked toward him.

"Lee Jukheon sees you as a rival."

"And now that you've become someone even the Eight Guardians are paying attention to..."

"He probably feels jealous."

"Who knows..."

"And during the recent Jiaolong battle..."

"Lee Jukheon wasn't able to do anything."

"From his perspective, that must have been extremely frustrating."

Joo Minha looked toward Lee Jukheon...

Who was sparring as if it were a real battle.

"But he isn't expressing those negative emotions in a harmful way."

"Instead..."

"He's throwing himself into intense self-training."

"That's very positive."

"..."

"Lee Jukheon will become even stronger."

"Because he has you as both a rival and a goal."

"Who knows..."

"You've been saying nothing but 'who knows' for a while."

"I don't know what else to say."

Kang Yujin frowned and turned away.

Joo Minha smirked.

"Fine."

"If he needs emotional care, Seok Taejun or I can handle that."

"Kang Yujin..."

"Just focus on your own training."

"My own training..."

Kang Yujin looked toward the side.

Wooden training dummies lay scattered everywhere.

All of them...

Had been smashed apart by Kang Yujin's training.

"Those aren't supposed to be destroyed like that."

"I know."

"I'll apologize to the person in charge later."

"What exactly were you practicing?"

"..."

Kang Yujin fell silent for a moment.

"Somun Gwang."

"Lee Hyeonje."

"Cheon Sangwoon."

"They all had one thing in common."

"What?"

"They were faster than me."

Somun Gwang had toyed with Kang Yujin using the movement Skill [Instant Step].

Lee Hyeonje surrounded himself in lightning...

And moved literally like lightning.

Cheon Sangwoon...

Had appeared in the blink of an eye and cut off the Jiaolong's front claw.

"I probably can't obtain an SS-rank level attack technique immediately."

"Correct."

"But at the very least..."

"I need to become fast enough to respond to their movements."

Even when Kang Yujin fought Somun Gwang...

He only won by trading flesh for bone.

He had never truly adapted to Somun Gwang's speed.

"No matter how fast I run..."

"I can't match the Chimera's flight speed."

"Even when it comes to attack speed..."

"Lee Jukheon is faster than me."

"..."

"Footwork."

"Movement arts."

"I want to become faster in that area."

From that perspective...

Somun Gwang's movement was ideal.

He moved forward, backward, left, and right...

As if teleporting.

Because of that...

Kang Yujin struggled to land attacks.

Meanwhile...

Somun Gwang could constantly attack from Kang Yujin's blind spots.

"Aren't you learning from Jegal Geum?"

"I am."

"But apparently it'll take a lot of training to really learn it."

"So it's different from when you learned [Fa Jin]."

"Maybe every Skill is different."

"Or perhaps..."

Joo Minha answered calmly.

"You're lacking desperation."

"What?"

"When you learned [Fa Jin] in a short time..."

"The Hwaseong Sect pursuers were approaching."

"But right now..."

"There isn't any urgent danger."

"What am I supposed to do then?"

"Create an urgent situation on purpose?"

"Who knows."

Joo Minha remained calm.

"For now, things are relatively peaceful."

"We're rejecting all kinds of requests from the surrounding factions."

"So you should focus on training for a while."

"What requests?"

"The Eight Guardians have been sending deployment requests."

"I told you before."

"Ah..."

After the Jiaolong subjugation...

The number of messages from the other Eight Guardians increased.

Won Pilso shamelessly contacted them whenever anything happened...

Asking for help.

Shin Minyu suggested that he knew a good hunting ground...

And that they should all hunt monsters there together.

Lee Hyeonje was the most persistent.

He kept inventing reasons to request Kang Yujin's deployment to Gangbuk.

Meanwhile...

There were no requests from Cheon Sangwoon's side.

Perhaps he was confident because they had already promised to form a party.

"Keep refusing them."

"They don't actually need me anyway."

"Yes."

"That's probably best."

Joo Minha nodded.

"Right now, it's better to remain still and make the other factions wait."

"The longer they wait, the higher your value becomes."

"My value..."

"Your value will continue rising as the days pass."

That kind of thinking didn't resonate much with Kang Yujin.

He wasn't acting while considering things like personal value.

"I said this before..."

"But I don't like being too relaxed."

"I know."

"If something happens that feels like I need to act..."

"I'll move immediately."

"Yes."

"You will."

"Come to think of it..."

Kang Yujin suddenly remembered something.

"When exactly is that Scenario supposed to begin?"

"At present..."

"It's still difficult to predict."

"We don't know what kind of Scenario it is either."

"Just sitting around waiting feels unpleasant."

"The other Eight Guardians also only know that it will probably require a small elite party."

"Nobody has any real information."

"I see..."

"No."

"There is one more thing."

"What?"

"I heard this from Seok Taejun."

"Cheon Muhyeok tried to secure a Chimera to participate in the Scenario."

Kang Yujin remembered that.

"But we still don't know why he needed the Chimera."

"I've checked in several places..."

"But found nothing."

"Then..."

"Cheon Muhyeok must have possessed some kind of information nobody else had."

Why would a Chimera be necessary?

It seemed that question would remain unanswered...

Until the Scenario actually began.

"Kang Yujin!"

"Joo Minha!"

Someone suddenly came running toward them while shouting.

It was Lee Sion...

An officer of the Hwaseong Sect.

"Lee Sion."

"What's wrong?"

"Joo Minha."

"You've been refusing all the requests from the other Eight Guardians, right?"

"Yes."

"That seems to have been a mistake."

Lee Sion looked tense.

"Lee Hyeonje came here himself."

"He didn't bring a single subordinate."

"...!"

"He says he came to meet Kang Yujin."

"What should we do?"

"That's a bit much, Lee Hyeonje."

"My apologies, Elder."

Jegal Geum sighed while Lee Hyeonje answered coldly.

"If you suddenly appear like this..."

"Our people can't help but become unsettled."

"It would be different if you secretly came and left."

"But walking around openly announcing that Lee Hyeonje has arrived..."

"That's troublesome."

"I have nothing to be ashamed of."

"I didn't want to hide myself."

"That's not what I mean..."

Jegal Geum sighed again.

"I know your purpose."

"You want to somehow pull Kang Yujin to your side."

"That's correct."

"But you should consider my position too."

"Kang Yujin is currently staying with the Hwaseong Sect."

"If you keep doing this..."

"It'll look like you're trying to take him away to Gangbuk."

"..."

"The Hwaseong Sect desperately needs Kang Yujin's group right now."

"If you take them to Gangbuk..."

"We'll be in serious trouble."

"Do you understand?"

"I know the situation of the Hwaseong Sect."

"Then..."

"Elder."

Lee Hyeonje cut him off.

"I didn't come here simply to ask you to give me Kang Yujin."

"What?"

Lee Hyeonje looked around.

"Is security here reliable?"

"Constellations can't observe this place."

"Unless an Apostle has entered, but I can't sense one."

"Yes."

"That seems correct."

"What kind of secret are you planning to discuss?"

"Actually..."

"I came here to deliver a message."

"A message?"

"From Ha Mina."

Ha Mina.

At the name of the Eight Guardian based in Hanam...

Jegal Geum flinched.

"Ha Mina?"

"Why?"

"Ha Mina wants to invite Kang Yujin to Hanam."

"Ha Mina wants to invite Kang Yujin?"

Jegal Geum tilted his head.

"For what reason?"

"There is no special reason."

"It's simply an invitation."

"Would Kang Yujin accept something like that?"

Recently...

No matter how many times Lee Hyeonje, Won Pilso, or Shin Minyu called him...

Kang Yujin had refused.

There was no reason he would accept an invitation from Ha Mina...

Someone with whom he had no connection.

"Elder."

Lee Hyeonje spoke calmly.

"Kang Yujin will definitely accept."

"Why?"

"Because Ha Mina is also the leader of the Church of the Morning Star."

"Kang Yujin cannot ignore this invitation."