TRGBM 80

Episode 80

080: The Seasoned Negotiator

‘The Eye of Insight’ no longer slept.
It only saw the present, only the enemy before it.
It grasped the opponent’s strategy, found the optimal path to raise the allies’ survival rate by even 1%, and created miraculous moves to strike the enemy’s weak points and turn the tide, time and again.
It saved allies in crisis.
And saved them again.

The momentary balance found on the battlefield thanks to Megan.
Though she didn’t participate in combat directly, she fought more fiercely than any warrior. Even when everyone slept, she alone watched over the battlefield like a lighthouse. Until her two eyes went blind.

“Rather than seeing a ruined future… this, this darkness is better. Geumson, can I… rest a little now? No, I want to rest now. I’m sorry. That I’m the only one resting…”

The price for overusing her ability.
Her vision gradually lost its light, and in the final battle, she was plunged into complete darkness. And Megan, who fell into a deep sleep never to open her eyes again. A peaceful appearance, as if catching up on long-postponed sleep. That was her final moment.

‘If I had said even a few warmer words to her then… would things have been different?’

golden hand still regretted it.
Because of her sacrifice, humanity could hold onto hope. They could hold on a little longer. The end was ultimately the predetermined defeat she spoke of. But if he had been a little more mature then, perhaps her final moments would have been a little less lonely. Such futile thoughts weighed heavily on his chest.

“Pleased to meet you, Mr.Golden Hand.”
Megan extended her hand first to greet him. A voice brimming with confidence and grace, completely different from the voice steeped in despair in Geumson’s memory. Suppressing his complex thoughts, Geumson shook her hand.

“Pleased to meet you, Megan.”

In the brief moment of the handshake. golden-handed pupils and her blue eyes collided in the air. Just like that day in the command center.

However, it was Megan’s intelligent, sharp gaze, still unaware of despair. golden hand wanted to protect this light in her eyes from ever going out. Unlike that day.

“I believe I can guess why you’ve come.”
Sitting down, Geumson immediately got to the point. Clumsy probing would only waste time. With Megan’s abilities, she must have long since figured out that golden hand had indeed exhausted all of the ‘Ancient Void Iron Ore’. The only reason she came here personally was for one thing.

‘The Ancient Giant Heartstone and the Seal Chain Fragment.’

The two Ancient-grade materials surfaced in Geumson’s mind. Simultaneously, the image of the ‘Lich King’, acting as a ceiling preventing the US server’s growth, also came to mind.

‘The key to piercing the Lich King’s absolute magic barrier. With Megan’s abilities, she must have seen the potential of those two materials.’

The material names broadcast via world messages. With Megan’s ability in 《Lepione》, she must already know their properties, even if Geumson hadn’t disclosed the info.

As expected, Megan showed no surprise. Instead, she looked at golden hands and raised the corner of her mouth as if intrigued.

“More insightful… than I thought. Feels like meeting someone I can finally have a proper conversation with.”
She placed a tablet PC on the table and deftly brought up information about the two materials on the screen. The information she had compiled far surpassed the level floating around Repinet, almost akin to internal system data. Likely, she had organized information obtained through her ability in 《Lepione》。

“We determined these materials would be the sole key to breaking down the wall named the Lich King. What are your thoughts, Mr.Golden Hand?”
Her gaze turned to Geumsom. Golden Hand also nodded. He had thought the same as Megan from the moment he first obtained the materials.

“Please state your price. Panteria is prepared to pay a price that will satisfy you.”

The serious negotiation began. Cha Yu-kyung, listening quietly beside them, was inwardly tense. In her view, Geumson was just a young man who knew little of the world, having only operated within the game until now.

On the other hand, Megan was the core brain of the giant guild Panteria, a veteran who had led countless business negotiations to success. It seemed an unfavorable fight—no, a one-sided negotiation that could hardly be called a fight—was about to begin. Megan could manipulate golden hand like a child to suit her tastes.

So, Cha Yu-kyung was preparing. Planning to step in and mediate if golden hand was driven into an unreasonable corner. But her worry turned out to be needless.

“Price… fine. But I’m not interested in simply selling the materials.”

golden hand’s calm voice. Yet, it carried a weight that overwhelmed Megan’s momentum. He began stating his conditions in fluent English, without a single hitch.

“A deal will be made. With the Panteria Guild.”

For a moment, Megan’s eyes widened slightly. Seeing golden hand’s answer so readily made her uneasy instead. Dozens of scenarios rapidly formed in her mind. But golden hand’s didn’t give her time to organize her thoughts and continued.

“However, there are conditions.”

He raised one finger.

“First, any item made from these materials must pass through my hands. Panteria isn’t buying materials; they’re buying the ‘finished product’ completed through my skill. To draw out 100% of the potential, appropriate understanding and skill are needed. That skill… you know, right? It’s me, golden hands.”

Megan’s eyebrow twitched. It meant ownership would be transferred, but the production process would be kept completely secret. This was closer to a technical service contract than a material trade.

golden hand extended a second finger.

“Second, the material cost and my crafting fee will be set separately. Material cost: 3 million gold. And you know how much the Moonshadow Venom Sword I crafted recently sold for, right?”

5 million gold.
With it being reported daily on broadcasts, she couldn’t not know. golden hand continued, reminding her of that.

“This time, there are two materials, so I should receive double. 10 million gold. How about it? By the way, it’s all upfront payment.”

Cha Yu-kyung, listening quietly beside them, unconsciously swallowed hard. Total: 13 million gold. A massive sum equivalent to 1.3 billion KRW.

She was confused by the huge gap between golden hand shabby appearance and the unimaginable sum coming from his mouth. Did golden hand even know what he was saying? But the astonishing part was that even with such conditions, golden hand’s demands weren’t over.

golden hand extended a final third finger, staring straight into Megan’s eyes.

“Third, I will not answer any questions about the final product. Regardless of what form it takes or what abilities it has, Panteria must accept and use the product I provide as is. If the result is certain, you will not question or scrutinize the process. Of course, I guarantee it will definitely be helpful in hunting the Lich King.”

golden hand’s demands were each beyond common sense, incredibly selfish conditions. Even Cha Yu-kyung, listening beside them, was dumbfounded. This wasn’t negotiation; it was a one-sided announcement. No, it was closer to extortion.

‘Does he intend for this not to be a one-off transaction?’

Though the demands seemed like extortion, looking closely, the content was different. It was a solution-providing contract based on exclusive technology, beyond raw material sales. That’s what golden hand was demanding.

In other words, golden hand knew his own value precisely, exploited the opponent’s weakness to structure the situation to his advantage. He was playing the long game. This wasn’t a strategy someone holed up at home playing games could employ. It was the demeanor of a seasoned negotiator who had done this countless times. Cha Yu-kyung began to see Geumson with different eyes.

‘He doesn’t look it, but does he manage himself steadily? Surprisingly, his body…’

Golden Hands body, strangely well-balanced. The outline of firm muscles glimpsed through his loose clothes and clear skin without a hint of fatigue. It was so different from the gamers she knew. The data on the person named ‘Golden Hand’ began to be reconstructed in Cha Yu-kyung’s mind.

Megan was silent for a long while. Her blue eyes moved rapidly as she analyzed Golden Hand’s proposal. Then, she only said one thing.

“1.3 billion KRW… that’s cheap. And the conditions are clean, too.”

Indeed, the monetary sense in the US seemed a bit different from Korea. She quickly input the contract terms into her tablet PC and spoke.

“But with that much confidence, you should be okay with a penalty clause, right? How about tenfold for conditions if the item creation fails?”

Megan proposed a penalty clause that could kill a person, all with a smiling face. Ten times 1.3 billion, 13 billion KRW, to cough up in case of failure. Moreover, Megan subtly slipped in a condition for the return of any remaining Ancient materials upon failure. But golden hand chuckled softly.

Truthfully, there was no need for such tedious negotiations. What golden hand ultimately desired was for Panteria to defeat the Lich King. That way, Kang Moo-jin’s ‘Yeokcheon’ Guild and Panteria would plunge into endless competition.

But he had no intention of giving it away for free either. Fruits gained without any effort would only be taken for granted.