Chapter 21

Chapter 21.

 

Ha-kyung could not help but wonder.

Why was a reporter suddenly sticking to him like this?

He did not stream or make media appearances.

He was the kind of man who had spent his life quietly buried in the Abyss.

When Ha-kyung looked at him with clear confusion, Moon Jeong-hoon scratched the back of his head.

“Haha! It is not like there has been some special incident. I just came by to do a little coverage on a celebrity.”

Ha-kyung had a rough idea of what this was about.

Immortal Demon King, was it?

That was the nickname the Great Sage had given him.

To be fair, Ha-kyung’s name had started to spread in the industry.

He had performed well every time he joined as a guest member.

And he was an awakened one the guild masters were keeping an eye on.

Still, he was not famous enough for the general public to know him.

Shaking his head, Ha-kyung said, “I am not that famous.”

“Oh, no, that is not true. You would not believe how many gossip posts about Lee Ha-kyung are circulating in the industry right now.”

“Gossip posts?”

“Haha! Let me correct that. Rumors. Rumors. Here, take a look.”

Moon Jeong-hoon pulled out a tablet.

Then he showed him several posts.

They had been uploaded to one of the Abyss communities that was famous enough for even Ha-kyung to know about it.

[Recruitment] A massive free-agent prospect who burst onto the scene like a comet—where will Lee Ha-kyung go?

—Black Water, Chang-un, Iron Heart Guild, Thousand Crimson Guild, what else? More than one place has its eye on this guy. There are even rumors going around that he is about to land a record-breaking contract.

└Wait, who is this for even the four major guilds to be involved? His nickname is Immortal Demon King? Is that not a little over the top?

└Seriously. Aside from Black Water, the others are just upper-mid-tier guilds, but even taking that into account, those are some pretty heavyweight names.

└I heard Sharp Force and Death Hound have been talking too.

└Do not make me laugh. Then why are the Raiders, who supposedly try to recruit everyone, not on the list?

└He had friction with them in the Fusion Abyss. They probably did not even try.

Ha-kyung only blinked.

‘How is this this detailed?’

What had happened in the dungeon was not exactly a secret.

Even so, he had never expected even the private conversations to start making the rounds.

Then, after thinking it over, Ha-kyung felt like he understood why.

‘The guild masters would not have leaked it. The awakened ones standing nearby must have spread it around.’

Guest members, in particular, could gossip as much as they wanted.

In any case, it seemed there was a great deal of talk about Ha-kyung from all sides.

In truth, that was only natural.

The awakened industry was desperate for manpower.

And it was especially sensitive to the appearance of someone powerful.

Why else would guild masters offer such enormous signing bonuses?

Because the stronger their forces became, the better their survival rate would be.

Ha-kyung gave a small shrug.

“Let me wash up first, and then we can talk. It is dangerous for an ordinary person to be exposed to Abyss energy.”

“Ah, right! Yes, of course.”

Moon Jeong-hoon backed away with an exaggerated alarm.

Even so, he did not forget to hand over his business card.

It really could have been dangerous.

In a way, he was an impressive man.

He was that persistent.

After showering, Ha-kyung changed into his regular clothes.

As he loaded his equipment into the vehicle, Moon Jeong-hoon approached him.

“It looks like you are finally done.”

Ha-kyung had been planning to leave if the man was gone by then.

As expected, he really was persistent.

In the end, Ha-kyung had no choice but to turn back.

“Keep it short. I have to go settle up.”

“Haha! Thank you.”

The two headed to a nearby café.

In truth, Ha-kyung did not have much to say.

What was the person involved supposed to say about rumors spreading behind the scenes in the industry?

So Moon Jeong-hoon spoke first.

“Have you received recruitment offers from any guilds?”

“Let us skip to the important part. What you really want to know is whether the four major guilds made a move, is it not?”

“Heh! You are sharp.”

“They kept coming up in the comments earlier. You just need confirmation.”

“To be honest, yes.”

“It is true that I received an offer from Black Water, but I turned it down.”

“What about the other guilds?”

“Chang-un and the Raiders brought up similar things.”

“From the sound of it, you turned them all down as well?”

“That is correct.”

“Huh...”

Moon Jeong-hoon let out a hollow laugh.

The community gossip had been surprisingly accurate.

Of course, not everything in it had been right.

After finishing his notes, Moon Jeong-hoon asked his second question.

“Then do you have no plans to join a guild?”

“It is not as though I believe I absolutely have to stay alone forever. Someday, I will need comrades too.”

The battle against the Abyss Ruler would not be easy.

Even Axis Prime’s elite forces had been defeated.

Building a force stronger than that one had been back then would not be simple.

He would probably need roughly one hundred twenty people on Ha-kyung’s level.

It sounded absurd, but he had to make it happen.

That was why he had been maintaining good relationships with certain awakened ones.

People like Ma Do-hyuk and the Great Sage.

Still, founding a guild was something he could only do once he felt a certain degree of confidence.

Quietly, Ha-kyung ground his teeth.

‘I am still lacking. I need to become stronger.’

A brief silence followed.

Once Moon Jeong-hoon had finished organizing his thoughts, he opened his mouth again.

“Then I will ask just one last question.”

“All right.”

“The Association recently announced that it intends to introduce a ranking system soon.”

“What?”

The topic had come entirely out of nowhere.

On top of that, it was something Ha-kyung had never heard before.

What ranking system was this all of a sudden?

From his perspective, it sounded like nothing more than pointless nonsense.

Just surviving in the Abyss was hard enough.

What would be left after awakened ones started beating on each other?

But Moon Jeong-hoon’s expression was serious.

“The Abyss is, after all, a space that belongs only to awakened ones, is it not? What happens inside it is only passed along by word of mouth.”

“That is true.”

“The public cannot help but be curious about how awakened ones fight and what abilities they possess. That is why internet broadcasts on the subject are thriving.”

“So they are holding a tournament simply for popularity?”

“The Association says it plans to use the money earned from it to support new awakened ones.”

“......”

Ha-kyung fell silent.

If the goal was to raise newcomers, what was he supposed to say against that?

He stared straight at Moon Jeong-hoon.

“So that is your question. Whether I plan to participate or not.”

“Haha! Exactly.”

“It has not even opened yet, so I cannot give you a definite answer. But the idea behind it seems good.”

“Thank you for agreeing to the interview.”

“Yes, then.”

Ha-kyung rose from his seat at once.

His answer had been deliberately vague, but in truth, he had no intention of participating whatsoever.

What was the point of that kind of lineup ranking?

He would get far more out of spending that time exploring the Void.

Soon afterward, Ha-kyung headed for the Exchange.

As it happened, the Great Sage had just turned away from the counter.

“Ah, you are here, Ha-kyung.”

“You already finished registering everything?”

“Yes, I put up both the artifacts and the spoils. Since they are going to public auction, it will take a little time.”

The Overgrowth Ring was an artifact useful for summoner-type awakened ones.

Naturally, neither Ha-kyung nor the Great Sage nor anyone else on the team could use it.

So they had simply put it up for public auction.

Ha-kyung pulled out the Titan Mace.

This artifact would probably bring in more money if he put it up for public auction as well.

But he had no intention of doing that.

“First, I should ask whether anyone is interested in a private sale.”

“You are really going to do that?”

“I may have killed it almost by myself, but it is true that Mr. Kim Sang-woo drew its attention.”

“Oh! Then I will make a call right away.”

The Great Sage immediately called someone.

There was only one person on this raid team who could make proper use of the Titan Mace.

That was Kim Sang-woo, the tank.

“Huff, huff! Y-you are willing to do a private sale?”

“Yes, as long as the price is reasonable.”

“The current market price is... just a moment.”

Kim Sang-woo came running over in a rush and hurriedly operated his tablet.

Judging by the way his fingertips trembled, he was thoroughly excited.

Unknown-grade artifacts usually sold in the tens of billions of won.

Since the Titan Mace had excellent practical value, it was bound to be expensive.

At the very least, it would probably go for around fifty billion won.

The moment Kim Sang-woo checked the amount, his face turned pale.

Even for a high-level awakened one, it was still an enormous sum.

That was probably why he was anxiously biting his nails.

After watching him for a moment, Ha-kyung gave a light shrug.

“Since it is a private sale, I can lower it to around forty billion won.”

“R-really?”

“Yes.”

“I will buy it right now!”

“Good. Let us proceed with the transaction.”

Ha-kyung immediately drew up the artifact sale contract.

Then, through the Association’s guaranteed payment system, he received the money.

That was how Kim Sang-woo came to own the Titan Mace.

“Thank you! Thank you so much.”

“It is nothing. We fought together with our lives on the line. I can certainly give you a modest benefit.”

“Ugh! A-and after all that, I gave a person like you such pathetic, petty attitude... I am sorry.”

Kim Sang-woo burst into tears.

He seemed deeply moved by Ha-kyung’s generosity.

Of course, Ha-kyung had not wanted this kind of reaction at all.

‘I only did it because capable tanks are hard to find.’

Tanks and healers were positions treated almost like nobility.

The more skilled awakened ones he knew, the better.

Kim Sang-woo was only somewhat lacking when it came to taunt abilities.

His tanking, sense of responsibility, and combat instincts were all quite solid.

That was why Ha-kyung had readily given him a discount.

He had not expected him to react that strongly.

As Ha-kyung smiled awkwardly, the Great Sage quickly stepped in and smoothed things over.

“Everyone must be tired, so let us call it a day. I hope we can work together again next time, Ha-kyung.”

“Yes. I hope so too.”

It seemed the post-raid procedures were finally coming to an end.

But just as the Great Sage turned to leave, they suddenly came back toward Ha-kyung.

“Just a moment, Ha-kyung.”

“Yes?”

“Did you happen to do an interview with a media outlet?”

“Ah, yes. I spoke with someone for a moment just now.”

“Uh... this was posted.”

The Great Sage immediately showed him the screen of a phone.

A single internet article had gone up there.

And it painted a rather different picture from what Ha-kyung had actually said.

[Exclusive] Lee Ha-kyung, the hottest free agent in the awakened industry, ‘Immortal Demon King,’ expected to make a surprise bid in the ranking tournament.

—Lee Ha-kyung, a melee damage dealer drawing interest from major guilds, is reportedly planning to participate in the official ranking tournament hosted by the Association. Given that he has not yet accepted any recruitment offers, interpretations are pouring in that this may be an attempt to drive up his market value. Meanwhile, the Association says it plans to offer various rewards for the ranking tournament in an effort to attract participants and boost public interest.

From Ha-kyung’s point of view, it was utterly absurd.

He had never said he was going to enter in the first place.

And the part about driving up his price was complete nonsense.

He was not going to join a guild anyway.

What use would there be in raising a signing bonus?

Seeing the look of disbelief on his face, the Great Sage flared up.

“I think I can guess what happened. I will take it up with him. Fortunately, he is someone I know.”

The Great Sage immediately moved to call Moon Jeong-hoon.

But Ha-kyung lightly waved a hand.

“No. Just a moment.”

He focused on the contents of the article.

The part about the Association preparing various rewards in order to stir up interest.

There, in plain text, was something tempting enough to catch Ha-kyung’s eye.

Truth be told, he did not care in the slightest about artifacts.

Only one line stood out to him.

‘The Ultimate Abyss Fragment is going to be offered as a prize?’

It seemed Moon Jeong-hoon’s false report was about to become the truth.

Because if the ranking tournament was held, Ha-kyung would absolutely participate.