Chapter 108 – Tanker Recruitment ‘Climbing The Tower Of Trials’ (1)

The super popular program called ‘Climbing the Tower of Trials’ boasted viewership ratings of 40%.

This program covered various topics, from officials from the Awakened Association to showcasing various guilds to the public. It was truly a program loved by all.

That was how amazing it was.

‘Certainly… we have to succeed.’

Kim Daun bit her lip.

People were now enjoying internet broadcasts more than watching TV with the prevalence of Viewtube and similar sites. The market portion of the broadcasting would inevitably decline.

In the modern market, if a show hits 10% ratings, it would already be called a jackpot.

However, with the Tower of Trials, an opportunity came to turn the situation around.

With great support from the government and the Awakened Association, it was possible to create a special program related to the Tower of Trials.

A once in a lifetime chance.

KDS had to somehow make use of this chance.

And the hidden card that could continue to carry that spark of hope…

Was the man in front of them.

“The mint chocolate tastes good. Does the toothpaste taste good? No, did you actually put it in?”

Kang Jin-hyuk.

The 16th S rank player in Korea who gathered the attention of many people. To be honest, they didn’t think casting him would be easy.

Surprisingly, the other party seemed willing to meet.

‘Please… I hope he doesn’t ask for some outrageous fees.’

Kim Daun gulped.

“Excuse me… player Kang Jin-hyuk?”

“Uh?”

Jn-hyuk lifted his lips from the straw.

“As I said over the phone, tomorrow at 7 pm. All you have to do is appear on a live talk show.”

“Ah. I understand. Simply talk about myself and what I have done, is that all?”

“Right. Scenes of your major achievements and other scenes will be played together, along with our edits of Kang Jin-hyuk’s viewtube videos. We also plan for Player Kang Jin-hyuk to give some comments in the middle too.”

Basically, they were asking him to do what a director would do when they comment on their movies, right?

Well, it was somewhat sensitive, so he would have to be careful.

After a Q&A session, they would then broadcast other things.

Nice.

That was what he was told anyway.

“Now, should we talk about remuneration?”

Right.

This was one of the reasons why he decided to appear on a TV show. The most important thing was the appearance fee. He accepted the offer immediately because of this.

Jin-hyuk smiled brightly, and a nervous expression flashed on the face of Kim Daun.

“In the case of B-rank players, it is 10 million won per session, and those at A-rank are paid 50 million, and for S-ranks, the fee is set at 500 million won, and if you want to, we can raise it a bit more.”

500 million won.

This was an unexpected amount for just one appearance.

However, Kang Jin-hyuk shook his head.

It didn’t mean that money was lacking.

It was just that he didn’t need this money.

“Was it lacking?”

“No. It isn’t that… I would prefer to be paid in magic stones rather than money.”

“Uh?”

“There is something that I need to extract from magic stones. Even if not that, I heard that the broadcasting station is investing in a magic stone-related business.”

“That… sounds fine, but can I talk with our director? The method of payment isn’t something I can decide.”

… caught them!

“Sure. Take it easy and come back.”

Jin-hyuk leaned back on the sofa.

And Kim Daun immediately left the coffee shop with her phone.

‘The answer will come right away.’

They were not in a position to say no. No matter what he asked, they would have to nod their head.

How long was he sipping his drink for?

Kim Daun came back in with a dark expression.

“Did something go wrong?”

“Ah…the magic stone was rejected. As soon as the broadcast ends, we will settle the bill in the storage room. And you can handle them there.”

“I see.”

“But, I… have something more to tell you.”

Kim Daun began to speak quietly as if it was something that bothered her.

“I am listening.”

“I think someone else has an appointment tomorrow to broadcast. So may I ask if you can appear with them?”

“Someone else is coming?”

Wait a minute…

Didn’t they say they were in trouble because no one wanted to come to their channel?

“Yes. Sorry. My higher-ups decided it, so I didn’t know until now.”

“First, let me point out one thing. That I prefer that people be honest rather than confusing.”

“Uh?”

Kim Daun was shocked. She tried to control her expression, but it was too late.

As expected.

A surprise added request.

No matter how far-fetched their skills were, they were still people who likely couldn’t handle something like this.

Then…

“Who is it? The other person coming?”

“… T-that…”

This was frustrating. Didn’t she realize who was holding the sword’s hilt even now?

Weren’t their station going downhill because of such incompetent people?

“Fine. If you don’t tell me, I can leave.”

Jin-hyuk got up to leave, which made her urgently say.

“President Hong Deok-pyo. It is him! After hearing that we were trying to cast you, their representative called saying that he wanted to join in at all costs…”

Hong Deok-pyo?

Jin-hyuk narrowed his eyes as he remembered.

The master of the Black Cloud Guild had been beaten down in front of everyone. The unlucky man who had his spotlight taken.

Right. It was that guy.

‘He put pressure on the broadcasting station to appear on the show with me…’

Seeing this man was doing this much, he must have had some plan.

Well, there were always people in this world who didn’t readily come to their senses right away after just one hit.

Don’t they know that this was something that shouldn’t be done?

‘… no!’

Jin-hyuk immediately realized something.

“Looking at how confident he is, it seems like there should be other people besides President Hong.”

There was no way this man held such a grudge over one mishap.

Some ruins and labyrinths allowed rapid growth, but no message showed such a ruin being conquered until now.

Then…

‘It must mean that they hired talented people.’

There was no other way to explain it.

“That’s right. I heard that some rankers from large overseas guilds are also coming.”

Well, as expected, that was what happened.

An excellent chance to show off himself to an overseas audience.

Even if it wasn’t due to Hong Deok-pyo’s pressure on the station, this temptation would be hard to refuse.

Was this what Korea talked about when they meant networking?

It was fun.

The corner of Jin-hyuk’s lips turned to a smile.

“Then, can I also call my acquaintance as a guest?”

The next evening.

Hong Deok-pyo arrived at the broadcasting station an hour earlier than the scheduled time.

“This day has finally come.”

Anticipation and excitement were on his face.

Of course, he was excited to pay back the humiliation he had suffered that day.

‘Today is the last time I wake up at night screaming.’

Whenever he ate outside and the name Kang Jin-hyuk came up, he would get angry. To Hong Deok-pyo, the day of their fight was a nightmare he couldn’t shake off.

However, that was now over.

The time had come to pay back that humiliation a thousandfold.

At that moment.

“Damn it, I know you are excited because you are in a delusion, but because of you, we had to come all the way to this stupid land?”

“Player Kang Jin-hyuk is a person who observes everything, so there is nothing else we can do. President Hong. Do not forget to pay us. You called us all the way to this corner of the world so we would go live for the payment.”

A few exotic-looking people approached Hong Deok-pyo.

It was a man with a sharp impression and a woman whose long black hair reached her waist.

The pair’s tone indicated they didn’t want to come to Korea.

Right…

Lastly, the third person spoke.

“Be quiet, both of you. The reporters are coming here. If you raise your voice, the guild’s image would be tarnished…”

A pause.

What followed was a notice delivered without emotions.

“I will kill you both with my hands if that happens.”

This was no joke.

“… ah, yes.”

“Yes.”

The complaining duo decided to back down after they heard his words.

Right.

This was it.

For this revenge, he had brought in 3 S-rankers from the Chinese People’s Republic Guild.

People who could single-handedly wipe out any guild had arrived. Their individual power was important. The main thing was that the guild’s players had come here directly.

There were tens of thousands of players in the guilds.

In addition, Namgung Cheol stood as a beast with a strength that no one could even touch. His power was to the extent of him being called the Walking Boss Monster.

As long as such a strong line-up was out there, a single player who insisted on being solo could not win.

‘Come on, let us cool you down by bringing you down.’

Hong Deok-pyo’s smile on his face would look suspicious to any who saw it.

Those who were beaten should be hit back.

The reporters here would highlight this stage for them. A large-scale discussion that pitted knowledge would be held for the eyes of many to see.

As Hong Deok-pyo struggled to hold back his laughter.

“What is this? Why are they all gathering like this?”

A familiar figure appeared among the crowd.

It was Jin-hyuk.

He was here!

Hong Deok-pyo’s eyes twinkled.

The players from the Chinese guild were also interested.

Now that they were meeting a ranker who was at the center of everyone’s attention, it was inevitable that they would become curious.

The leader went and approached Jin-hyuk.

“You are Kang Jin-hyuk…”

“I don’t buy stuff from China.”

Jin-hyuk immediately cut the conversation.

“W-what was that?”

The leader’s face contorted in anger.

“You must be insane! Do you know who you are talking to! You are talking about a ranker of the People’s Republic Guild!”

Hong Deok-pyo tried to rectify the situation.

Ah.

He had wondered about the quality of players he had believed in.

“These are the ones you believed in?”

This was…

When he heard that Hong Deok-pyo had hired rankers, he thought that they would be from somewhere famous. Instead, he had bought them from the homeland of mass production.

He expected it for clothing and other items, but this was quite upsetting.

‘Three people…’

Jin-hyuk looked at their status windows and became sad.

Their abilities and skills he reviewed one after another.

Should he have just called Chun Yuseong for this?

‘They are below my expectations.’

Anyway, if Namgung Cheon had come himself, then maybe it would have been a good fight. Of course, that would be the story if he grew up better than when he played the Tower of Trials.

“Enough. President Hong. Let me handle this.”

The leader stopped Hong Deok-pyo. Perhaps he cared about the reporters who were all around them.

Despite the anger on his face, he tried to speak calmly.

“Player Kang Jin-hyuk. I know it is good to be confident. That is because you did a good job. But don’t think that you can face a large guild all by yourself. We are the Chinese, not a guild from another region.”

“Um. Honestly, I think I alone would be more than enough.”

It wasn’t always fun to take people down by force.

He was instead more confident in taking them down in a way that they least expected.

Anyway, the time should be near.

The moment he thought that.

Woong!

A black foreign car appeared.

A Rolls Royce Phantom.

One of the top three best cars you could find in Gangnam was approaching them and stopping right in front of the station.

“W-what?”

“Who is coming here?”

“I didn’t think this car would stop here?”