Chapter 67
Taejong Group (1)
Click, click—!!
“How did you manage to resolve the rift that almost caused a major disaster?!”
“Please tell us about how you saved all the remaining survivors!”
“This is from Players Report! We’d love an interview for the front page…”
At one side of the huge rift, reporters and news crews from all kinds of media gathered, firing flashes and thrusting microphones forward.
The man standing on the stage remained silent for a moment.
The rift hadn’t been completely resolved yet.
Even though the boss had been defeated, for some reason, the rift had not closed.
The labyrinth remained intact as well.
Meanwhile, the Foundation had officially deployed a recovery team, led by Rachel.
The person currently standing on the stage had been identified as the top contributor in preventing the disaster.
And that person was none other than…
“Director Atlan! As the savior of the rift, please say a few words!!”
“You flatter me. None of this would have been possible without the cooperation of the survivors…”
Atlan continued the interview with a confident demeanor.
Meanwhile, away from the noisy media frenzy, Sehyun was taking a brief rest under a tent.
Of course, it was still too early to truly relax.
The boss had been defeated, but the rift remained wide open, and the labyrinth hadn’t been solved either.
Moments earlier, Rachel and the recovery team had been redeployed to check the situation inside the rift.
As a result, Yeoksam Station Intersection would remain under control for some time, and the Foundation was busy running back and forth.
But that was only the Foundation’s concern.
No one bothered Sehyun, so he could relax safely.
Seongcheol, who was with him, glanced at Atlan and remarked,
“That Knight Commander… he talks like a smooth-talker, even though he owes his life to you.”
“Better someone impressive be in the spotlight, right? It sets the mood. And with his fame, it makes for good material for the press.”
After defeating the boss, Sehyun had revisited the rift at the priest’s request.
It was obvious the vanguard had been wiped out by the Minotaur, but they went to pay respects and provide protection for the group checking the site.
Surprisingly, most of them were still alive.
Considering the nature of the Minotaur and the labyrinth, it made sense.
They were trapped in the labyrinth, unable to escape, essentially prey.
From the Minotaur’s perspective, there was no need to reduce their freshness.
In the end, only a dozen or so had died.
Compared to the hundreds wiped out in a previous life, it was hardly significant.
“Still, the real hero of this incident is you, Sehyun.”
“Geez, how can I handle such a grand title? Give it to whoever wants it.”
Seongcheol shook his head at Sehyun’s answer.
“…Are you really okay with giving all the credit to someone else?”
“Don’t worry. I didn’t give it away without a reason.”
“…What?”
Sehyun grinned.
This guy still doesn’t know me.
Surely, I wouldn’t give away such a coveted title without reason.
Sehyun had made a backroom deal with Atlan.
He wanted something from Atlan… or more precisely, from Saint Union.
“Condition? What is it?”
“Remember what I said before? About popularizing the artifacts.”
“…Right. But why bring that up now?”
It was a necessary step for the next plan.
For that, he had even built a community and procured materials from Cheonjigongbang.
The question now was: what should be popularized?
And most importantly, what did the players commonly desire?
“Given the situation, there’s no other choice.”
Even with various equipment, preferences naturally shifted with trends.
Especially in situations like this, where a mass player casualty could have occurred, tension would have been heightened.
So whenever they stepped into the rift, what they ultimately wanted was one thing.
“Absolute survival. In other words… absolute defense.”
“…!!”
Seongcheol realized what Sehyun meant and looked at the item at his feet.
A long silver pole, roughly wrapped with an old white cloth marked with a cross—a war banner.
An artifact capable of deploying the priests’ Sanctified Barrier.
[Banner of the Holy War]
“You don’t mean to… popularize that?”
“It’s still under review, but for now, yes. That’s why I made a deal with Atlan. And of course, it’s not a bad deal for them either.”
Even leaving aside handing over the title of hero of the catastrophe, popularizing a banner with barrier skills could justify their stance.
They could present it to the media as: “Having witnessed their deaths, we’ve decided that if many lives can be saved using this barrier, we’re willing to share it.”
That would elevate their credibility considerably.
Anyway, even if temporary, the business item had been selected.
What was now needed was a minimal business foundation.
Sehyun could produce the item, but had no distribution channels, so he needed to plan for that as well.
“Well, I still need to think about the approach… huh?”
At that moment, someone lifted the tent flap and entered.
It was Rachel’s colleague, Kyle.
“What brings you here? Not following Rachel inside?”
“I’m handling the site cleanup. But…”
Her request was simple.
She needed Sehyun’s name on the survivor list.
“I already said, if there’s a list like that, I want to be excluded.”
“But because there were fatalities and media attention, it’s grown in importance. If it was just for internal reporting, we could skip it…”
“…Ah.”
Right, it was the Players Report.
They were known as the Clerks of the People, a media outlet focusing on actual data-based reports.
Trying to dodge them would likely provoke them to investigate the truth of the incident.
“Well, I guess I’ll have to be on it. But the name…”
“Even just the community name is fine.”
“Ah… the community name?”
He had forgotten.
Even though the community had been approved and created, he hadn’t named it amid everything else going on.
“Hmm…”
What do I want to do with this community?
Why did I make it?
Though it was created impulsively, there was still a purpose.
“…That’s the only reason.”
Naming it wasn’t difficult.
Scratch, scratch—
He scribbled the community name on the list and handed it over.
“…You’re really going with this name?”
“Yes, submit it. Every part has meaning.”
Kyle tilted her head in confusion and left, while Sehyun closed his eyes.
Saint Union’s First Knight Commander, Atlan.
Having led multiple major raids in Europe, Saint Union is expected to return with another great achievement.
Although many lives were lost due to the boss’s ambush, quick response prevented greater casualties.
Moreover, his instantaneous cleverness and outstanding leadership allowed him to successfully defeat a star-class boss.
Yet Atlan humbly stated, “I didn’t do anything.”
The Saint Knight Commander, Atlan, embodies both skill and humility.
“This man’s future actions will be closely watched…”
Thunk—
The middle-aged man, Hailhwan, put down the newspaper he was reading.
He swallowed a steaming cup of coffee and exhaled the hot steam.
“Players Report seems outdated now, putting out articles like this.”
A cold-looking woman in a suit refilled his cup.
“In what way do you think that, Congressman?”
“Do you think Atlan is capable of that?”
She was just an aide, not the one making the judgment.
Still, she provided a minimal answer.
“The public certainly admires him. He has leadership and a respectable appearance. Plenty of qualities to draw attention. But—”
“But?”
“His abilities lie in thorough battlefield analysis, preparation, and executing predetermined strategies. In crises needing improvisation, he has no proven track record.”
“Then?”
“…I’m just stating what I know; I won’t give an evaluation.”
“Hmm… not a bad stance.”
Hailhwan rubbed his coffee cup casually.
“Exactly. He’s not capable. They use excuses, but ultimately, the Saint guys just loot empty houses after investigations are done.”
But this incident was different.
No prior information had been revealed, and prepared forces were insufficient.
He must have forced things to make up for past failures in regular raids.
“Since Players Report investigated, the achievements are not false. Clearly, someone else’s merits were traded.”
They had to exaggerate achievements to prevent news of the overreach from leaking, so buying someone else’s credit was easy.
Furthermore, as the commander, he could even aim for Chief of the Gun Knights.
“If any survivor could achieve such merit… yes, maybe it could be him.”
Hailhwan recalled several named survivors mentioned in the report.
The one standing out was definitely “Choi Seongcheol.”
A small, cohesive team, unmatched in solo strength.
Except for his tendency to restrain his power for the sake of team harmony, he was an extremely desirable talent.
“Of course, he still needs to mature a bit more.”
Unfortunately, he wasn’t yet ready to fulfill his plans.
Previously, his sister’s disappearance had driven him, but lately he had calmed down.
“So you’ve been watching him closely, Congressman.”
“You know me well enough. I always keep an eye on talent.”
“Truly insightful.”
She gave a slight nod, but her face remained nearly expressionless.
For her, his praise didn’t matter.
She acted only because necessary.
His judgments had never been wrong.
“But you know, he was a bit unexpected.”
“You mean the Collector?”
The Collector.
A major figure in both the light world’s elite circles and the black market underground.
Almost every flow of funds in the player society passed through him.
And yet, he showed interest in artifacts.
“Yes. I don’t know when he got curious about artifacts… but it’s a bit early, unfortunately.”
Hailhwan clicked his tongue.
It would have been better if he’d encountered artifacts already realized.
Hailhwan had only ever theorized; he had never seen one in person.
The closest was a relic he glimpsed decades ago at a workshop near Baekdu Mountain.
“I’ll have to visit Halman again.”
Of course, with a substantial gift prepared.
Hailhwan schemed another plan in his mind.
“Here’s the survivor list. Would you like to see?”
It had already been resolved, nothing particularly interesting, but he gestured again.
“Leave it.”
“Yes, Congressman.”
Surviving a star-class rift indicated they weren’t ordinary players.
Most names on the list were familiar.
Since the rift appeared suddenly in Seoul, most personnel were Korean players.
As a Korean politician, he knew the names of most communities.
However…
“…Hmm?”
One name stood out. It was rather jarring.
“Pandemonium…?”
Literally: Hall of Ten Thousand Demons.
A chaotic temple crawling with monsters.
A place where all filth gathers and flows.
He couldn’t believe someone would adopt such a disturbing name.
It was the polar opposite of the world they aspired to.
Besides being just two people, there was no other information—suspicious indeed.
“Need further investigation?”
“No, it’s fine.”
Crunch—
Hailhwan crumpled the survivor list and tossed it into the trash.
Now wasn’t the time to worry over small instincts.
With the Collector backing him, the plan had to move quickly.
Fortunately, everything necessary was ready.
