Chapter 145

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The Guild Master's Office at the Daegi Guild.

Lee Hayeon reported to Seong Jihan with a serious expression, "Boss, the Chinese players in our guild are suddenly terminating their lease contracts."

Seong Jihan asked, "How many are there?"

"Because we had some new recruits this time... it's about six of them."

Due to the unique effect of the Phoenix Flag, the guild's capacity had increased to 30 members. With six Chinese players among them, it accounted for about 20 percent.

"Quite a few Chinese players, huh." Seong Jihan said with a perplexed expression.

"With the recent open positions, most of them were won in auctions. They are each being paid around 10 billion won per month."

"So, every month, we are losing 60 billion won?"

"Wang Lin joined us for 5 billion won. So, it's exactly 55 billion won."

"Well, we'll send them off and find replacements."

"If we recruit new members... it might reduce our profits compared to last time. Are you okay with that?"

When Lee Hayeon cautiously raised this concern, Seong Jihan nodded confidently.

"Yes, it's okay. No need to worry."

Seong Jihan smiled.

Even if they suffered a little financial loss, Seong Jihan wasn't the kind of person to blink an eye to monetary loss.

"Please inform the People's Association right away about our intention to cancel the contracts."

"Of course, I understand."

Lee Hayeon made a phone call on the spot to inform the People's Association of the contract cancellations. Afterward, she chatted with Seong Jihan.

Observing her like this, it seemed she wasn't too concerned about the situation.

"Our chat manager suddenly has a lot of work to do. He's been overwhelmed with the workload. The hate comments are suddenly pouring into the guild channel, not just Seong Jihan's channel."

"They are persistent." Seong Jihan grinned.

"Yes, they are. Is it really that important to find out the name of a martial art?"

She shook her head in confusion. Then, she sipped her coffee and suddenly her eyes widened when she saw a message on her tablet.

"Huh? Wang Lin wants to talk to you. He really wants to have a conversation with you, sir."

"Is that so?"

"If you're going to have a conversation, I can be the interpreter in the middle."

"...Can you speak Chinese?"

"Yes, I've studied it."

She was quite talented. He wondered why she only gambled so much in her previous life.

"Then, please."

Seong Jihan readily entrusted the interpretation to Lee Hayeon. Through a tablet PC connected to a video call, there was a middle-aged man with a beard, Wang Lin, who had a somewhat regretful expression.

[Seong Jihan, you've accepted the contract termination... Wouldn't it be better to resolve this amicably?]

"We did what you guys wanted."

[Well, I actually want to stay in the Daegi Guild... But according to the government's policy, I had no choice...]

Wang Lin subtly brought up the main point.

[In life, being too stubborn often leads to more losses than gains, don't you think? Right now, the government is quite angry, saying that Seong Jihan won't yield at all. If we go all the way here, it will only harm you. I can mediate to make sure things are resolved smoothly.]

"Mediate?"

[Yes. Even if you don't want to tell me about your martial art or its origins, just give me the name of the martial art. I'll talk to the National Intelligence Bureau to make sure there's no further pressure.]

Is this a good cop, bad cop strategy that combines persuasion and coercion? Instead of losing good players and facing such pressure, it seemed he was suggesting they come to an agreement now.

"But if it's just the name of the martial art..."

Seong Jihan chuckled to himself.

Come to think of it...

I can tell the name of my martial art, can't I?

"Alright. If you're curious about the name of the martial art, I'll show it to you."

[Oh... really! You've thought it through very well!]

"Here it is."

Seong Jihan, who opened the skill window, changed the display to show only the name of the skill.

"My martial art's name is 'Nameless Divine Arts.'"

[...Nameless Divine Arts, you say?]

"Yes. It's only for you, Wang Lin. If the Chinese Information Bureau and the mediator can help, would you mind looking into the true meaning of this martial art? I'm curious too."

[Heeee! A martial art with no name, what is this...!]

"And, I will proceed with the contract termination right away. I need to add new members as soon as possible."

[Wait a minute! That's...!]

"Then, I'll see you next time."

Click!

Seong Jihan ended the video call.

"Do we have replacements?"

"Yes, we do, but we can't charge them as high as the People's Association does for rent."

"It's okay. Instead of making more money in this turmoil, let's earn a bit less. From now on, try to get players from outside the Northeast Asian League if possible."

"Understood."

Lee Hayeon nodded.

"It's definitely more comfortable to accept players from different regional leagues rather than those from the same league. For now, it's for the immediate profit, but if the owner is willing to take a loss, she doesn't mind it in the end."

"Oh, and for this upcoming match against China, feel free to place bets. I'm a bit uncertain about it too."

During the Russia match, he was confident of a 100% victory. But in the case of China, Seong Jihan couldn't guarantee a win. The opponent was the 2nd-ranked country in the world. Furthermore, if they really had the 108 Arhat Formation, even winning in the league matches would be uncertain, let alone a 3:0 sweep like in the Russia match.

"Betting, you say..."

Upon hearing Seong Jihan's words, Lee Hayeon gave a wry smile and shook her head.

"I... won't bet anymore."

"Could it be that you lost all your money during the Russia match?"

"No, I didn't! I followed what you told me, and I made a lot of money back then! I even paid off my debts!"

"Really? You made money?!"

Seong Jihan was surprised after a long time. Zero earned money? The self-proclaimed God of Reverse Betting?

"Why are you so surprised?"

"Well, because you made money."

"Heh! Do you think I always lose?" Lee Hayeon looked incredulous.

"To be honest, that's what I thought. It's really surprising."

"Anyway, these days, I'm not doing it anymore. I'm doing chores at home."

"I-I'm looking for a husband..."

With a somber expression, Lee Hayeon spoke.

"Husband? Is it going well?"

"We have one date scheduled for next week and two for the following month."

Standing behind Lee Hayeon, Lim Gayeong added with a stern face.

"One with a 20-year-old man with a bald head. One weighs 120kg. One is a person who has two unofficial children."

Speaking even more coldly than usual, Lim Gayeong continued.

Upon hearing this, Seong Jihan tilted his head and smiled.

"Why would you see such people? If it were Hayeon, you could easily find a better husband."

The daughter of the Lee family, a chaebol's daughter. Her appearance is outstanding, possibly even comparable to other celebrities. Her personality is decent. To be honest, apart from gambling, she's a top-tier bride even within the chaebol families.

"Is gambling addiction that deadly in a chaebol family?"

Well, even if it is, he couldn't understand why she would meet with such people.

In response to Seong Jihan's question, Lim Gayeong let out a small sigh.

"There are some family matters."

"Hmm, I see."

Up until that point, Seong Jihan had only been answering without thinking too much. However...

"Um... Sir, but what if I get married after seeing someone, what happens to the guild?"

"...Can't you do both?" asked Seong Jihan

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"I-I'm not sure if I can do both at the same time. Chaebol families are quite old fashioned."

When Lee Hayeon's choices became connected to the Daegi guild (MC's Guild), the seriousness of the problem changed.

"Where can we find another person as dedicated as Lee Hayeon?"

Her gift 'Nurturing', it was a unique ability that couldn't be found anywhere else. On top of that, she had been managing the Daegi guild as the guild master.

But if she gets married, could she leave the guild?

Seong Jihan immediately said, "Don't get married."

"...Huh?"

"Frankly, I don't want you to marry, Do you want to?"

"Well, it's just that at home..." Hayeon was saying something but...

"What's the point of introducing only those kinds of men to you? Bad family! Just pack up and come live with me."

Lee Hayeon looked at Seong Jihan with an incredulous expression. Just a little while ago, he was nodding his head as if he were looking at someone's wife, but his attitude changed completely when she mentioned the possibility of stepping down from the position of Stand-by Guild Leader.

"Ugh... Then what, you think it's easy as you say?"

At that moment, Lim Gayeong, who had been standing there, suddenly spoke with a significant meaning.

"If Seong Jihan helps with this, it's possible."

"Hey! Wait! That's..." Lee Hayeon started blushing.

"How can I help?" Jihan asked seriously.

"The way to help is..."

***

Three days before the match against China, at the BattleNet Center's operations room, the South Korean national team coach, Noh Youngjun, furrowed his brow deeply.

"China... They're just too strong..."

If Russia had the most powerful Warriors, China boasted the world's top players in every class except Warriors. In particular, China had SSS-level gift users among their mages and supporters. Even during the reign of the Sword King, South Korea's win rate in the Korea vs. China matches couldn't surpass 40 percent.

"So, in the end, I had no choice but to pick these guys..."

Noh Youngjun glanced at the player roster. The lineup for the Korea vs. China match included first-team Warriors who had been cut from the national team roster in the previous selection, except for the player who assaulted Ha Yoori. The pressure from their respective top-ten guilds to bring back these players played a part in their selection, but it was Coach Noh Youngjun's determination to somehow counter China that was the most significant factor.

He hoped that by creating synergy with Seong Jihan, there might be a slight increase in the chances of winning, even if it was still close to zero. Netizens' reactions aligned with Coach Noh Youngjun's expectations.

-Ugh, Do we really need those trashes of society?.

-It's unrelated to this case, right? Let's work hard~^0^

-Isn't this too lenient of a punishment?

-Well, at least they didn't call the guy who assaulted Ha Yoori. Having them might give us a fighting chance against China, don't you think?

-I guess.

This was because China's intense pressure to reveal Seong Jihan's gift had offended Korean pride.

They must win against those Chinese guys this time, even if they have to call these trashes to society.

-For real, did you see what they were doing to Seong Jihan? They're making a big fuss trying to find out his gift, and it's so ridiculous, ㅋㅋㅋ.

-Well, if it's a Chinese thing, what can you do?

-But why do they want to know that? What's going to change if they do?

-I don't know, the Chinese guys are causing a big fuss about Seong Jihan's gift, even though they criticize him. They're curious. Call up those 1st team warriors again, and let's somehow win against China!

Currently, Koreans had this kind of mindset.

'Hmm. It's good to be back.'

Kim Dongwoo, who was the leader of the Warriors first-string, arrived at the BattleNet Center operations room, whistling cheerfully.

"Like they say, the Center has a good smell!"

Lee Yoongi, who always accompanied him, followed with a grin.

"Just because the public backlash is less due to China. Don't you dare cause any trouble again!" Coach told them off angrily.

"Haha, got it. Coach, Is Seong Jihan not here?"

"Why?"

"I want to apologize for the last incident." Kim Dongwoo said with a slight wry smile.

Coach Noh Youngjun blinked his eyes.

He was chased out and now he wanted to apologize? Was he really going to apologize?

"Oh. Of course I want to... But he should tell us if he has a girlfriend first, right?"

"...Girlfriend?" Coach asked with a weird expression.

"Yes, Coach. Oh, don't tell me you don't know? It was all over the news today."

Kim Dongwoo took out his smartphone and showed the article.

Spotted: Seong Jihan's Girlfriend!

The article featured a picture of a young man and a woman sitting closely together on a bench in Han River Park.

The photo boldly captured the moment just before they kissed.

"Th-That girl... isn't she the Guild Master of the Divergent Guild?"

A face that anyone in the industry would recognize.

Coach Noh Youngjun immediately identified the woman.

"Seong Jihan doesn't have a way out. He got caught by patch kids."

"To be honest, I found that woman suspicious when she became a guild master. She wasn't even a player, but she became a guild master, right?"

"She's pretty, though. She didn't come out even when they called celebrities. There's a reason she's from the Lee family of Lee Sangjin."

The two Warriors had no shortage of criticism for Lee Hayeon, but Coach Noh Youngjun's expression hardened as he read the article.

"Hmm... I wonder if Seong Jihan can handle this."

With all the issues surrounding China and now even a dating scandal, Seong Jihan's mental state might be too shaky, right?

The coach was worried about Seong Jihan, and that's why he called him to the BattleNet Center immediately upon his arrival.

"Oh. I actually set that up."

Seong Jihan, who was called in, seemed utterly unfazed.

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