Chapter 34
The meeting officially began.
A middle-aged man sat near the center of the circular table.
He had neat features.
Thin eyes.
And a gentle smile.
“I understand everyone is frustrated because we still have no clear information about Lee Suhyeok.”
He looked toward Suhyeok.
“Has Taesan made any progress?”
The man was Choi Wonseok.
Guild Master of Glory.
One of the Five Great Guilds.
On the surface...
He looked gentle and full of leadership.
But the truth was completely different.
[Target available for Trait Plunder.]
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Cult Leader (S)
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Guild (A)
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Speaker (B)
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Clone (C)
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[Condition: Destroy Glory Guild.]
While the other guilds openly robbed and exploited Players...
Choi Wonseok stood behind them.
He manipulated them.
In reality...
He ruled them like a king.
And the reason was obvious.
The Trait called Cult Leader.
[Cult Leader (S)]
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If the target has lower Mental Power than the user, ideological control becomes possible.
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Targets with sufficiently high Mental Power can resist.
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The user may consume a certain amount of followers’ life force to heal injuries.
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Mental Power increases in proportion to the number of followers.
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[Current followers: 712]
That Trait was the reason Glory Guild had become the largest.
But something was strange.
The number of followers was far too high.
It wasn’t like this before I regressed.
At most, he had around two hundred followers.
Suhyeok narrowed his eyes.
Did Uji cause this?
No.
Something did not fit.
Administrators could not directly help Players like that.
Whatever the reason...
Suhyeok could not allow Choi Wonseok’s influence to grow any further.
He cursed openly and acted irritated.
“Fuck, why does everyone keep sticking their noses into my business?”
Suhyeok crossed his arms.
“I’ll handle it myself.”
He glared around.
“So stay out of it.”
It was exactly the kind of unreasonable answer Jang Youngho would give.
No one could argue logically with him.
They simply stared in disbelief.
One Guild Master scoffed.
“Look at this bastard.”
He pointed at Suhyeok.
“This muscle pig is deliberately refusing to catch him because he wants the reward all to himself.”
Choi Wonseok calmly raised one hand.
“Haha. Let’s settle down.”
He smiled.
“As everyone knows, the real reason we gathered today is the Hidden Dungeon on the 14th Floor.”
The tense atmosphere eased slightly.
Choi Wonseok continued.
“Unfortunately, if we want to enter that place...”
He looked around.
“We’ll have to leave Lee Suhyeok behind.”
His smile remained gentle.
“You’ve all visited it, so you know this already.”
His eyes narrowed.
“Unless everyone here participates, entering is meaningless.”
The Hidden Dungeon on the 14th Floor had a special requirement.
At least four people with the Guild Trait were required to enter.
That was the real reason Suhyeok had not simply eliminated these people together with Yoo Taeseong.
Choi Wonseok continued.
“We still don’t know what’s inside.”
He spread his hands.
“But surely it’s better than wasting our time like this?”
No one answered.
No one wanted to be the first to leave for the Hidden Dungeon.
The instant someone left...
They would be removed from the current competition.
Then...
Oh Sooyoung, Guild Master of Purgatory, scratched his head aggressively.
“Then what are we doing about Lee Suhyeok?”
He looked frustrated.
“That bastard alone is worth more than 1.4 million Coins.”
He slammed one hand onto the table.
“Isn’t that why we’re all still sitting on the 11th Floor?”
Silence followed.
Everyone understood.
A guaranteed reward of 1.4 million Coins was more attractive than the uncertainty of a Hidden Dungeon.
Then...
The Guild Master of Seven Stars spoke.
“Why don’t we just send everyone into Taesan’s territory?”
He smiled.
“We capture Lee Suhyeok first.”
His eyes gleamed.
“Then we split the Coins.”
He shrugged.
“Or whoever kills him keeps the reward.”
He looked around.
“At this point, what other choice do we have?”
Several immediately agreed.
“Ahem. That’s not a bad idea.”
“It’s better than continuing like this.”
Yoo Myungseop nodded.
“Myth Guild also supports Seven Stars’ proposal.”
His smile was calm.
“I would prefer a peaceful solution.”
The atmosphere naturally shifted toward agreement.
Choi Wonseok waited patiently.
Then he smoothly regained control of the conversation.
“It appears everyone agrees.”
He nodded.
“Then each guild will select members to join Taesan’s search...”
Suhyeok suddenly stood.
BOOM!
His fist smashed into the round table.
The table split in half.
He grabbed part of it and threw it aside.
CRASH!
“Ha!”
Suhyeok glared around.
“You’re all sitting here talking like everything’s already decided.”
His expression became violent.
“If I can catch him myself...”
He pointed at the others.
“Why the hell should I split the reward with you?”
The entire meeting froze.
Suhyeok breathed heavily and glanced around.
Anger.
Disgust.
Contempt.
Most of them reacted exactly as expected.
Yoo Myungseop tried to argue logically.
“Aren’t you overreacting?”
His voice remained calm.
“If Taesan had handled this properly from the beginning, we wouldn’t be in this situation.”
But logic was useless against Jang Youngho.
Suhyeok pointed at him.
“Hey.”
He narrowed his eyes.
“Spiky-head.”
Then he said,
“Shut up.”
The room became even colder.
“No one moves without my permission.”
Suhyeok’s grin turned violent.
“If you do...”
He leaned forward.
“Forget Lee Suhyeok.”
“It’ll be war.”
No one immediately responded.
Starting a war would guarantee massive losses.
No guild wanted to risk that.
After a long silence...
Choi Wonseok stood.
“Now, now.”
He smiled gently.
“Everyone calm down.”
His voice remained smooth.
“We can continue discussing this another time.”
He looked around.
“Let’s end today’s meeting here.”
Then he bowed slightly.
“We’ll meet again in one week.”
After everyone left...
At the edge of the western forest, not far from the Central Portal...
There was the territory of Serim Guild.
Lee Serim looked toward Suhyeok.
“...So.”
Her eyes narrowed.
“Why did you call only the three of us?”
She crossed her arms.
“I never expected Taesan...”
Then corrected herself.
“Or rather, Jang Youngho, to be the one asking for a private meeting.”
Beside her stood Jang Haksu of Haegwang Guild.
And Kang Dongwoo of Baekho Guild.
These were the three guilds that had resisted the Five Great Guilds in Suhyeok’s previous life.
Jang Haksu spoke coldly.
“If this is pointless, I don’t even want to waste words with you.”
Kang Dongwoo shrugged casually.
“Same here.”
He smiled.
“I don’t know about the other two, but...”
His expression hardened.
“Jang Youngho, I have nothing to discuss with you.”
Their hatred was understandable.
Every one of these three guilds despised Taesan’s merciless killings.
Suhyeok smiled.
“Then that’s good.”
They frowned.
Suhyeok continued.
“Jang Youngho isn’t here.”
Lee Serim froze.
“...What does that mean?”
“Before we begin...”
Suhyeok’s appearance slowly changed.
“Let me properly introduce myself.”
His disguise disappeared.
The three Guild Masters’ eyes widened.
Whoosh!
All three instantly stood.
Weapons appeared in their hands.
Then they froze again.
“W-What...?”
Something else shocked them even more.
Taesu.
Yumi.
Hyuna.
The three people who should have been standing behind them...
Were now standing behind Suhyeok.
