Chapter 260: Official Announcement (2)
Anyone could see that one of the three persons, who came in right after Yuno Kasugano, also came from Japan. Naturally, I began to assess them with Mind’s Eye.
‘Ibuki Suzumiya.’
His class name was Twilight Assassin. He was clearly someone powerful who was in charge of Celia, succeeding Ito Souta. I’ve heard about him from Yuno Kasugano before.
He had been here for three years now and was one of the people who was considered a talent.
Overall, his selected stats caught my eye, but the most striking one was his agility. Considering that his class and attribute were also legendary-grade, I knew his base stats were enough to garner him a place within the Eight Seats of the Empire.
‘He must be strong.’
Kim Hyunsung nodded at him, which meant he had been impressive even in the first round, where it was presumed that Ito Souta had been alive.
He must’ve been famous even back then.
His disposition wasn’t bad, and his unique characteristic was normal. He seemed a little timid, but his skills were more than good enough.
The two people who came in after him were a man and a woman.
‘Taiwanese…’
They were both Guild Masters in charge of the giant guild representing the Free City of Dawan.
One of them was known as Cheon Gwan-wi. Seeing that he was tall and was holding a cane, I could tell which class he had.
‘Wizard?’
He was a Fog Summoner ranked at the legendary-grade.
Reading the description, I think I knew what kind of magic he was using. Even though he didn’t have a legendary item, seeing that he had 96 magic power, I could see just how much time he invested in magic. Considering that there weren’t many decent wizards on the continent, this man’s achievements were tremendous.
Nevertheless…
‘It’s lower than Hayan’s…’
Of course, his stats weren’t negligible.
I knew it would be difficult to determine superiority and inferiority by considering only experience, skill level, and magic power.
Of course, considering the monstrous things Jung Hayan had shown so far, I couldn’t imagine her falling behind. There must be a few cards hidden up Gwan-wi’s sleeve as well.
The woman that came in with him had long hair tied to one side.
‘Wi Ran.’
Wi Ran was your typical archer. I had a strong feeling that she was the type of strong woman who behaved according to her mood. Her class was a heroic-grade Ranged Sniper.
Although she had good stats, what stood out to me was the legendary-grade attribute Perfect Marksmanship. I could understand what her attribute was about without bothering with its description.
What was interesting was that the woman’s equipment and accessories were pretty expensive. I was able to recognize it at a glance because I was wearing the same brand.
‘The combination is good.’
Although each one of them was strong, I felt that the synergy between the two could not be ignored. I could definitely imagine the Fog Summoner obscuring the opponent’s view and the Ranged Sniper blowing their head off with an arrow.
If I used them on the battlefield, they would undoubtedly lead us to new victories. Perhaps they were aware of their worth as well.
‘That’s why the two guilds were able to reach the top.’
Kim Hyunsung’s reaction towards them seemed to reinforce this fact.
Looking at him greeting with a smile this time, there didn’t seem to be any problem with the people who had gathered here. Though I didn’t know what criteria they used when they selected the Eight Seats, no one here seemed to be ineligible for the spot. If I were to pick one…
I was most definitely the least deserving.
In the meantime, Yuno Kasugano had quietly bowed her head to me, and I reciprocated her actions. She seemed to be aware that she needed to act normally in a place where all the important people were present. Her eyes were still closed, and she wore the same style of neat clothing she usually wore.
However, it was still a little embarrassing to see her so attuned to me.
“I’m Ibuki Suzumiya.”
“I’ve heard a lot about you.”
“Cheon Gwan-wi.”
“Oh, Lee Kiyoung.”
“Wi-ran. I am from Dawan.”
“It’s nice to meet you.”
What followed afterward were the awkward introductions. Though most of the people here already knew each other, Kim Hyunsung and I were newcomers, so we had to undergo this torturous form of socialization. I wasn’t nervous, but the atmosphere felt pretty heavy to me.
‘Is this natural?’
The ones who had already settled down here and had gained fame and strength in their own way were now all gathered in one place. Naturally, a strange atmosphere was created.
Amidst the silence, the first one who opted to speak was the Taiwan prodigy, Fog Summoner Cheon Gwan-wi.
He had on a little sullen expression from the time he entered, depicting his dissatisfaction with the selection’s results.
“Four, two, two…”
“Why? Do you have any complaints?”
“No, Cha Hee-ra-nim. Rather than being dissatisfied, the selection was a little bit… I wonder if it was being biased towards one side.”
“So, you’re complaining.”
“Of course, I admit that the newcomers from Lindel are exceptional… I guess I’m just disappointed. There are many talents in Dawan as well…”
“So you think we’re undeserving.”
“No, no, please don’t think that way…”
“How can we not when you say it like that? Aren’t you complaining?”
“You don’t really have to do this, Cha Hee-ra.”
“Hey… Look at her glaring. You look like you’re going to hit me, how funny. It still seems like yesterday when you couldn’t even look me in the eyes.”
“That was a long time ago…”
“Why? You didn’t do that when you went down on your knees, asking me to save you.”
“Cha Hee-ra-nim…”
Though they quarreled in this manner, Gwan-wi didn’t seem like a bad person. They must have shared history the rest of us weren’t aware of, probably a conflict with Hee-ra in the past.
In an attempt to hide her embarrassing past from the rest of us, Cha Hee-ra smiled, cleared her throat, and spoke once more.
“Gwan-wi, don’t feel bad and listen. The Empire was considerate to you and not us. We could have taken at least one more seat for Lindel. They were considerate for you not to feel bad. Do you understand me?”
“Even though…”
“Why? Do you think I’m lying?”
As Cha Hee-ra glanced at Jung Hayan, the expression on Cheon Gwan-wi’s face hardened in realization.
“This is our little honey… It’s been a little over a year since you came in, right?”
“No… way…”
“Why doesn’t it make sense? Our honey and our honey’s Guild Master Kim Hyunsung, as well as Jung Hayan over there, are the players who’ve cleared the tutorial dungeon in the shortest time. I knew immediately that they had potential, but honestly, I wasn’t expecting them to achieve this much, either. Well… they were lucky, and they have the skills… Anyway, that’s it.”
“Huh…”
“There is one more, but… She’s still a little bit insufficient to fit in here… Still, she seemed to be useful.”
“That’s unfair.”
“I feel that way sometimes. What do you think? In the eyes of the most famous wizard in the Empire…”
“I will not comment any further.”
Jung Hayan seemed aloof to the situation, but most of the people’s eyes were now on her.
In particular, Wi Ran, the archer, looked at her more explicitly.
“There are so many talented people at Lindel. There are two new recruits in the continent’s Eight Seats, which have only been here for a year. I didn’t know that they might even have an amazing wizard… In fact, I thought the Empire might be giving too much preferential treatment to Lindel until I checked it with my own eyes. Seeing you all in person is a different experience.”
“You’re overpraising us.”
“No. I was simply telling you what it is, Blue Guild Master. I can tell that you’re strong without having to confirm… The other one has a non-combat job, so it’s even harder to judge, but he must have got a high score for having a dragon choose him.”
‘Right on point.’
She was pretty direct. Kim Hyunsung smiled and spoke once more.
“He is actually an excellent alchemist.”
“I know that. We’re using the potion well coming into Dawan. Thanks to that, the surviving rate of players has also increased a lot, although the price is a little high… I think it would be right to say thank you. Oh, do you have any plans to sell those items in your arms?”
It looked like she was talking about my Dragon Breath potion. I thought she would have a good eye for being an archer, but she was more perceptive than I was expecting.
“If I have the opportunity, I would like to, but it is an item that cannot be mass-produced. It’s a legendary-grade potion, so the cost to craft it even once is already too high.”
“That’s unfortunate. Well, it’s nice to meet you all anyway. It’s been a long time since our last meeting. I’m glad that the Red Mercenary Guild Master and the Yozora Guild Master have been doing well.”
“You still talk too much.”
“You’re saying that again. Cha Hee-ra-nim still has a mean mouth. I understand that she upset you, but don’t get me involved in this, too… That person’s will is not Dawan’s. Although we move together, I have never been dissatisfied with this selection, really. Oh! Again, I’m changing the topic, but… this newcomer has a pretty good eye.”
“What are you talking about?”
Perhaps she was talking about the brand of clothes I was wearing?
Seeing Cha Hee-ra nodding, I knew she understood why Wi Ran had said that.
“It must be fate, seeing us all gathered like this… Shall we have dinner after this is over? What do you think? Yuno Kasugano-nim, too…, Oh, and…”
“I’m Ibuki Suzumiya.”
“Oh. And what about Ibuki-ssi?”
“That’s fine with me. If we have time to do that, I mean.”
“Perhaps we’ll be too busy with the party.”
“You’re right. Oh. I think I haven’t prepared a dress…”
The atmosphere was more harmonious than I thought.
After Ito Souta died, Celia and our side got close, so there would be no other problems, but the people from Taiwan were also quite peculiar. Though they openly quarreled with Cha Hee-ra, there seemed to be no real animosity between the two parties.
‘It may be because it feels like we’re in the same boat…’
Obviously, our positions were different, but in any case, Lindel, Celia, and Dawan were in the same boat, known to all of us as the Holy Empire.
If there was no crazy guy like Ito Souta present, this was a perfectly normal gathering.
“By the way, isn’t the Holy Empire really funny? They haven’t even thought about doing something like this, but as soon as the Republic announced about the Five Tiger Generals or something along those lines, they hurried to create the Eight Seats of the Empire. Anyway, when they announce this, I know the Republic will be releasing a new zodiac.”
“I’m afraid they’ll really do that.”
“I don’t think the atmosphere between them is good these days… I don’t know if a war will break out soon. Has our shaman seen anything?”
“You say the atmosphere is bad?”
“Originally, the Chinese guys and our guys hate each other, but these days, it seems a little too hostile. Lindel is in the center, so I’m not entirely sure, but in Dawan, which is adjacent to the Republic, the circumstances are visible.”
“…”
“There have been several fights.”
“You always fight.”
“I’m just saying this, but… I’ve definitely felt something different than usual.”
Seeing that he was talking quite seriously, it felt like it wasn’t just a theory.
‘Why would a war happen so suddenly?’
At this, I glanced towards Kim Hyunsung, who wore a calm expression.
“Can you tell us a little more about this?”
However, upon hearing the serious tone in his voice, I knew we weren’t necessarily safe.
I didn’t know when it would be, but the possibility of war seemed to be high.
‘Hyunsung will protect me, right?’
I knew I would be safe in his arms.