Chapter 21

<Chapter 21: The God of Martial Arts Who Regressed to Level 2>

- What was that just now...?

- This time, it's definitely not magic.

- How can someone have such power in reality?

- Seong Jihan, didn't you use a weapon before?

- What kind of gift do you possess?

A player's abilities are constrained in reality.

At the very least, 50 percent, and at most, 90 percent.

To those who knew this, the power Seong Jihan displayed was shocking.

'That power... to turn a business card into powder in just ten seconds in reality...'

'In-game, it could burst an opponent's vital point in one go.'

'No, even without bursting it, just a hole would be a fatal wound.'

The representatives from the ten guilds that participated in the auction were deep in thought as they watched Seong Jihan's display of power.

Seong Jihan, a Bronze Leaguer.

Although he had shown remarkable performance in the league, guilds had hesitated to recruit him due to the risk of him being the brother-in-law of the Sword King.

But that unique ability was so attractive that it was worth taking the risk.

'Seong Jihan, even if he is a Bronze who doesn't reveal his status window...'

'His past performance is good, and he has a special ability. We must recruit him.'

The guild representatives, who had come to the auction, were now more interested in Seong Jihan than the auction items.

But among them, the one who was most eager was...

'That power... it's real.'

Takeda, who had just seen his business card torn to pieces right in front of him.

- Hey, the fourth-ranked guild. The leader of the recruitment team for the Self-Defense Force was just humiliated by a Bronze?

- The bald guy is furious.

Takeda, with a beet-red face, was sweating profusely.

From the back view captured by the camera, it seemed like he was angry about his business card being torn to pieces by Seong Jihan.

"Aaaah..."

But that wasn't the case.

He was cheering with joy as he watched Seong Jihan turn the business card to powder.

'Not just lifting the paper, but completely destroying it.'

From his display of incredible power, the aura of a big break was palpable.

'Seong Jihan... you will be recruited by me, by us in Japan.'

Takeda's eyes gleamed with desire.

'I'll find a way to have a private meeting. Then, I can have you... hehe.'

If he could just get a chance, he was confident he could bring Seong Jihan under Japan's control.

Takeda was certain of this.

To do that, he needed to win Seong Jihan's favor.

Hehe.

As Takeda turned and walked back to his seat, the chat in Seong Jihan's channel started to fill up.

- Ugh, why does his face look like that?

- He seems like a pervert...

- Get rid of that guy.

- He's gathered all the creepy ones...

When the camera captured Takeda's sinister smile as he walked down, the chat window united in disgust.

But the chat room in Seong Jihan's channel, which had briefly become peaceful...

[★☆Takeda☆★ has sponsored 10,000GP.]

[Seong Jihan, it was great to meet you today. ^ω^; I hope to see you face-to-face one-on-one next time. ★☆! If you unblock my private messages, I'll sponsor more...! Your eternal fan, Takeda☆]

When 'Takeda☆' sent a sponsorship message, the chat room turned into chaos again.

- Takeda☆? Could it be...

- That bald guy from earlier?

- Wow, he's sending ten million won.

- A Japanese person sending the first sponsorship message in this channel.

- Why is this old man's message so creepy?

Seong Jihan, who had received the sponsorship, paused in his steps.

Although he had blocked general users from chatting in his channel, he could see the sponsorship messages.

He could see the message Takeda had written while sending 10,000GP.

[Received 10,000GP in sponsorship.]

[Completed general achievement, 'Steadfast Support (1)'.]

[Earned 1,000 achievement points as a reward.]

He had gained both GP and achievement points.

In terms of results, it could be considered a win-win situation.

'But my channel's first sponsorship is from Takeda☆, no, Takeda...'

Seong Jihan's brows furrowed slightly.

Such a first sponsorship would be recorded for a long time.

Especially for a player like Seong Jihan, who was aiming to be the world's number one.

'I should have set a lower limit.'

Seong Jihan regretted his decision for the first time that day.

* * *

After the auction ended.

"Mr. Seong Jihan, I'm Kim Jin-hwan, a scout from Turtle Guild. May I have a moment to talk?"

"Mr. Seong Jihan."

"I was deeply impressed by your performance earlier."

The auction participants, who had originally intended to buy Yun Se-jin's items, now flocked to him.

Impressed by his performance of turning the business card to powder, they wanted to recruit Seong Jihan.

Among them were scouts from the top ten guilds and quite famous players.

If another Bronze player were in this situation, they would be excited.

'But I have no intention of joining a guild, and this is annoying.'

Seong Jihan found it bothersome.

However, he couldn't reject them as harshly as he had Takeda.

"Thank you."

"As you can see, I'm still a bit confused, so joining a guild is..."

Seong Jihan tried to gently decline the guild offers.

"Ah."

Yun Se-ah, who had taken the camera from Park Yun-sik, saw the scene and smiled inwardly.

Her uncle's expression.

He was trying to look polite, but it was clear he was annoyed.

'I need to help him.'

She approached Seong Jihan with a slightly teary face.

"Uncle..."

Trailing off, she looked like she was about to cry.

Seong Jihan, seeing her, was startled and approached her.

"Se-ah, what's wrong? Is something the matter?"

"Uncle, I... I'm so tired today. Can we go home now?"

She winked slightly.

Seong Jihan, realizing she was acting, smiled and played along.

"Is that so? Scouts, I'm sorry, but my niece isn't feeling well today."

"Oh, I see."

"Today has been busy..."

"Yes, let's talk another time. I'm sorry."

Seong Jihan quickly excused himself and led Yun Se-ah out of the event hall.

"Uncle, did I do well? I saw you were annoyed, so I acted specially."

"...Yes, you did well."

He recalled her teary face.

Her acting was so restrained and realistic that he almost thought something had really happened.

'Acting... I guess.'

Seong Jihan patted her head.

"Still, I was worried."

"...Really? You worry too much. I'm the student council president at school, you know."

Yun Se-ah looked at his hand patting her head, as if she didn't like it, but didn't ask him to stop.

"Be careful, Uncle. Women can make you fall for them with just a few tears."

"Don't worry. I've mastered women's hearts."

"Hmph, after just watching Battle.net at home... I won't give you credit for what you learned from games."

As they walked to the elevator together,

Click, click.

Two women approached them in front of the elevator.

"You two seem to have a good relationship."

"...?"

A beautiful woman and a tall female bodyguard behind her.

Seong Jihan's eyebrows twitched.

One of them was a familiar face.

'Lim Ga-young was a bodyguard back then.'

Yun Se-ah, looking puzzled, asked,

"...Who are you?"

"Hello. Miss Yun Se-ah and Mr. Seong Jihan. I'm Lee Ha-yeon, the director of the personnel department at Lee Sung Guild."

"Director... Lee?"

"Doesn't she look too young to be a director?"

"Yes..."

"Hehe, I'm a parachutist."

In response to Yun Se-ah's question, she casually referred to herself as a parachutist.

If she had entered Lee Sung Guild as a parachutist, she must have connections to the parent company, Lee Sung.

From her surname, Lee, it was reasonable to assume she was related to the Lee family of the Lee Sung conglomerate.

'But...'

Seong Jihan stared at Lee Ha-yeon.

A face more beautiful than most celebrities on TV.

Lee Ha-yeon, with her beauty, wealth, and social status, exuded confidence.

However, what caught Seong Jihan's attention was not her confident beauty.

'I've seen her somewhere before.'

Lee Ha-yeon.

Her name and face were unfamiliar, but her confident attitude and voice were familiar.

If her impression was this strong, she must have been someone he met during his time in the U.S...

'Who is she?'

Meanwhile,

As Seong Jihan stared intently at her, Lee Ha-yeon's smile deepened.

She spoke softly,

"Mr. Seong Jihan, I was deeply impressed by your performance earlier. Especially since I was a subscriber to your channel before, it felt like a new experience."

"You were a subscriber to my old channel?"

"Yes, I've been a long-time fan since you started predicting Battle.net matches. I was amazed by your sharp judgment many times... I never imagined you would become such an excellent player."

Battle.net match predictor, Mr. Seong.

This channel was the lifeline that helped Seong Jihan in his previous life when he was in a dire situation.

With a win rate of 62 percent, Seong Jihan had boasted a record-breaking success rate.

People flocked to watch his predictions, and he used this to make a comeback.

'But at this time, almost no one would know about this channel.'

Unless someone was a hardcore fan of match predictions, they wouldn't even know the channel existed.

To be a subscriber...

Seong Jihan thought of someone.

Someone who loved gambling more than anyone but always failed.

One of the few rare 'gifts' in the world.

'Could it be...?'

Seong Jihan stared intently at Lee Ha-yeon.

"Aah, Uncle!"

Yun Se-ah nudged him with her elbow, giving him a hint.

Just a moment ago, he had claimed to be a master of women's hearts, yet now he couldn't pull himself together.

"Hehe, it's okay."

Lee Ha-yeon smiled calmly and touched her face slightly.

That gesture, 'hers' was the same.

'I need to test this once.'

Seong Jihan slowly spoke.

"When the world is full of possibilities, it's hard to ignore them."

"...Yes?"

A famous quote by Dostoevsky, a great writer and gambling addict.

When Seong Jihan suddenly said this, Lee Ha-yeon's smile froze.

"Isn't that your motto, Miss Lee Ha-yeon?"

"Oh... Hehe. What are you saying? I'm not a gambling addict."

Lee Ha-yeon forced a smile.

"...How did you know?"

Lim Ga-young, standing behind her, stepped forward protectively.

"How did you know what the young lady always says?"

"Ga-young, no, I didn't say that."

"Are you... a stalker?"

"Ga-young... I didn't say that."

Ignoring her, Lim Ga-young glared at Seong Jihan.

Seeing this, Seong Jihan felt his guess was becoming more accurate.

It was still too early to be certain, but if Lee Ha-yeon really was 'her'...

Seong Jihan's eyes sharpened.

'She is someone I must recruit.'

Manager Zero.

An immigrant who, due to her unique gift, became the leader of the second team of the American First Guild.

The Lee Ha-yeon Seong Jihan knew was none other than Zero, a person with unparalleled abilities.