Chapter 90 Homecoming (4)

“Wow, impressive,” Seo Junho muttered as he checked the time. As expected of the big-names, all of them had sent him the materials perfectly on time. Seo Junho checked each one and grinned. “The smart ones are always the trickiest to deal with.”

He sat at the edge of his bed, scrolling through the six hologram files.

On the Fiend Association – Dokkaebi

Power Dynamics in the Ruben Empire – Silent Moon

Survey of Cities – Hallem

History of Religions – Silver Constellation

A Guide on Frontier Monsters – Labyrinth

Most Important Families and Nobles – Sky Soul

Just as he’d requested, they’d all sent information about different subjects. He smiled, satisfied.

The Big 6 were the strongest out of the tens of thousands of guilds that existed. Their leaders weren’t stupid; even Seo Junho knew that much.

So he put himself in their shoes. It had taken him much longer to clear the Winter Castle than he’d expected. Three months was a long time, which gave the Big 6 plenty of time to meet up and come to an agreement. He was 100% sure that they’d decided on the level of information they would send him and took full advantage of that.

If he made it look like he was testing their competence, the greedy executives would catch on and send higher-grade information than they promised in order to stand out from the other guilds.

And thus, these were the results.

“Heh, the Guildmasters must be rolling in their graves.”

It had never been a test in the first place. He’d simply decided that this was the best way to get as much information as possible. Thanks to that, he now had information that couldn’t even be bought. He’d also compared them to the Association’s data that Deokgu had given him, but the Big 6 was clearly superior.

“You guys still have a long way to go.” He laughed as he thought about the Big 6 Guildmasters with all the information before him.

* * *

Starting the next day, Seo Junho and the Frost Queen went straight to work. Seo Junho started to memorize the information while the Frost Queen binged dramas and movies.

“…Why does it feel like I’m the only one who’s working?” Seo Junho muttered.

The Frost Queen looked up from her kernel of caramel popcorn, which was a little smaller than her fist. “What nonsense.”

“You’re just playing around while I’m studying.”

“I am studying as well.”

Pew! Pew! The Oscar-winning movie ‘Independence Day’ played on the TV.

“You’re obviously not.”

“I am. I’m studying the arts and culture of Earth.”

“Wow…” Seo Junho shook his head, rolling his stiff shoulders. Even though he’d spent the entire afternoon studying, the pages didn’t seem to decrease.The amount of documents he had were enough to make an encyclopedia. “It’ll take me at least four days to get through all this…”

His mind and body were exhausted, but his heart was strong. The Big 6’s information network is super impressive. He felt sorry for Deokgu, but the Association’s network wasn’t even comparable.

He was currently reading about Duke Yulin in <Power Dynamics in the Ruben Empire>. Even though a Duke was an important figure, the Association only knew his name, status, and duties. On the other hand, Silent Moon’s report included his personality, relationships, family members, political weaknesses, and even his personal tastes.

“We can’t compete with this…” Seo Junho laughed bitterly. It was like watching a child trying to compete with an adult. He let out a frustrated sigh and kept reading.

I don’t know about the rest, but I have to memorize everything about the nobility.

The Frontier was different from Earth. Specter was a hero that saved Earth and Seo Junho was a rising star, but they would be newbies in the Frontier.

“I wonder what kind of place it’ll be…” Just thinking about it made him smile.

He’d decided. He would go up to the Frontier in ten days.

There was a knock at the door. Shim Deokgu looked up. “Come in.”

His eyes widened as he saw who it was. “Miss Cha Si-eun? What brings you here?”

He was confused by her sudden visit. The only time she’d ever come to the President’s office was the day she was hired.

“I had something to tell you.” She bowed politely, and Shim Deokgu hurriedly led her to a seat. He took out two cans of orange juice and sat down on the sofa.

“Thank you.”

“Yes, of course. What do you wish to tell me? Did Seo Junho send you?”

“No.” She shook her head. She reached into her jacket and pulled out an envelope. Shim Deokgu laughed nervously.

“I don’t see why you’d want to bribe me… Is this what I think it is?”

“Yes. It’s a letter of resignation.”

“Hm.” He cleared his throat and began again. “Please tell me if I or anyone else in the Association has made you uncomfortable. I’ll try to fix it.”

“No! It’s nothing like that.”

“Then, is Seo Junho bothering you…?” If that were the case, he’d go and strangle him.

Cha Si-eun smiled faintly and shook her head. “No. On the contrary, I always feel indebted because he treats me so well.”

“Then what’s the reason?”

“…Do you happen to remember the first time I came here?”

“Of course I do.” It had been one of the most memorable days ever since he became President.

“I felt like something was broken inside of me.”

“I understand.”

“I had no goals or aims when I came here.”

“It was raining a lot that day, wasn’t it? You were completely drenched. To be frank, I was a little scared of you.”

They chuckled as they reminisced.

“President, you know how much I respect Specter-nim.”

“Of course.”

“I’ve never told you this, but I respect you as much as I do him.”

“…I didn’t know. I’m honored.” Shim Deokgu was genuinely surprised by her words.

“You were the only person who helped me when I was struggling. The only reason I came here was because I wanted to work under you. I always admired how you tried to improve how players were treated.”

“Haha… I feel embarrassed by all your compliments.” He scratched his neck. Cha Si-eun smiled as she continued.

“I had a short conversation with Seo Junho-nim yesterday. He gave me a lot of good advice, and I feel like someone had hit my head with a hammer.”

“What in the world did he say?”

“He spoke with the same confidence and determination that he always does. But… it helped me realize a lot of things. I realized how childish my thinking had been.”

“Of course not. You’re one of the most mature people I know.”

“Thank you. Anyways, after I spoke to him, I went home and thought for a long time about what had motivated me before.”

Shim Deokgu nodded quietly. The sparkle in her eyes was similar to Seo Junho’s. Those are the eyes of someone who knows what they want and where to get it.

“Congratulations. You’ve finally found your path.”

“…Thank you.”

“May I ask what you plan to do?”

“It’s really nothing big,” she said shyly, staring at her orange juice. “I want to try again—with a different mindset from before.”

“For yourself, rather than others?”

“It’s quite selfish, isn’t it?”

“Of course not. Actually, I wish you’d be more selfish.”

Cha Si-eun looked grateful as she fiddled with the ring on her hand. “I wish to work under Junho-nim until he advances to the 2nd Floor. Please keep our conversation a secret.”

“Alright.”

“And… can I return this artifact when I resign?”

“Let’s do that.”

“I’m really sorry.”

“No. I was always worried because you looked like you were trapped. I’m glad that you want to spread your wings again.” His words were sincere. Shim Deokgu looked at the Magic Sealing Ring on Cha Si-eun’s finger. “I suppose I’ll be hearing about the Schumern Saintess again soon enough.”

“…P-please don’t tease me.”

Several years ago, there had been a famous healer in the Schumern region in the 2nd Floor. She had lived her whole life helping others. But when she truly needed aid, no player or guild had answered her call.

They even manipulated her so that they could make money. The only one that had helped her in earnest had been Shim Deokgu. He hadn’t even been able to do that properly because the Korean Player Association had no influence on the 2nd Floor. She retired after that, full of betrayal and regret.

That day, it had rained as if a hole had pierced through the sky.

He gave her a big smile and took her letter of resignation. “Congratulations on your return, Player Cha Si-eun.”