Chapter 118
The world’s best hotel. Among them, the Grand Ballroom Hall located at the very top.
Beneath the glittering chandelier, VVIPs from all over the world were beginning to appear one by one.
At the entrance, security guards in black suits were thoroughly checking everyone’s identities.
Anyone without an invitation couldn’t enter, no matter how much money or status they had.
It was truly a seat reserved only for the chosen.
“Phew....”
The broker standing in a corner of the banquet hall let out a deep sigh.
He was wearing an expensive custom-made suit he’d normally never even dream of, and his hair had been neatly styled.
But he didn’t seem able to hide his tension.
Beads of sweat dotted his forehead.
“You’re awfully nervous. Didn’t they say the presentation would be handled by a professional? Why are you sweating so much?”
The broker jerked in surprise and replied in a low voice.
“Boss, please don’t suddenly talk to me while you’re invisible. You’ll give me a heart attack.”
“You’ll need some courage training, then. We’ve only just started.”
I snickered.
I was in perfect invisibility.
To be safe, I hadn’t relied on magic alone; I’d also gotten items that suppressed my presence and erased my scent and sound.
Security layered three times over.
No matter how sharp the senses of the S-rank Hunters gathered here were, detecting me would be nearly impossible.
And maybe Makkano’s VPN magic could help too.
“How could I not be nervous? Do you know how much money we poured into this? We spent the company’s entire fortune preparing this event. If it fails, we’re done for.”
“What do you mean, done for? If it goes bust, we can just go back to the tower and mine more money, I guess.”
“Is it really that easy....”
“Well? Even if I sold just one-tenth... no, one-hundredth of the information I have, I could recover in no time.”
I wasn’t bluffing.
All kinds of hidden pieces, methods for using magic, materials, and more....
The value of the information I possessed was beyond anything you could even begin to calculate in money.
Every last bit of it was information on par with state secrets.
The broker swallowed dryly, no longer finding any way to argue.
I turned my gaze and looked around the banquet hall.
The banquet hall was already getting fairly crowded.
The attendees were clustered in small groups, each holding a glass and chatting away.
They were smiling on the surface, but an undercurrent of tension flowed beneath that.
Sharp, probing looks that searched one another’s strength and abilities, subtle gestures meant to flaunt one’s own influence.
It was clearly no ordinary social gathering.
“Huh?”
Within that scene, there was a group that stood out.
I widened my eyes in delight.
“They’re here.”
They were the Korean mages.
Kim Suho and Eun Mirae.
And when I saw the last person, I was surprised inwardly.
“They really came?”
Shin Seha.
I never imagined she’d come to a place like this, dressed up like that, no less.
After telling the broker I’d be back in a moment, I quietly approached them.
***
“This tie is strangling me....”
Kim Suho complained, tugging at his tie with his fingers.
For Kim Suho, who usually only wore comfortable tracksuits, a tailored suit that fit snugly to his body was nothing short of torture.
“Stay still. If other people see you acting like that, you’ll look ridiculous.”
Eun Mirae, standing next to him, gave him a cold rebuke.
Eun Mirae was wearing a deep navy evening dress. The color matched her hair.
Her naturally cool expression only added to the elegant atmosphere she gave off.
Though she drew plenty of attention from those around her, Eun Mirae didn’t care and just fiddled with her champagne glass.
“There really are a lot of people. Are they all free or something?”
“As if. That just means they’re that interested in the shield.”
Kim Suho clicked his tongue softly.
“I never thought she’d go this big.... I’m worried whether she can actually pull this off.”
“She was always big-scale to begin with, wasn’t she? She just hadn’t made a public move yet.”
“That worries me too. What’s going to happen once she really starts acting seriously?”
Kim Suho rubbed his forehead.
Didn’t she already clear the 41st floor?
The day she steps onto the world stage isn’t far off now.
Maybe planning an event this huge is her way of foreshadowing that.
“What are you worried about?”
“No, it’s just... lately I keep seeing people with similar personalities....”
Newbie, Kim Hanbyeol was satisfied for now with the attention she got from the gallery, but would she keep that up?
To Kim Suho, the answer was clearly no.
The Korean internet was far too small to hold her.
Kim Suho was terribly afraid of the day Kim Hanbyeol revealed her identity and stepped onto the world stage.
Because he had no idea what she’d do.
‘I don’t know. As long as she doesn’t suddenly go and try to conquer the world or something....’
That was when Shin Seha, standing between the two of them, gave a small shiver.
In her pure white dress, she looked like a little rabbit.
Every time people’s gazes landed on her, she hunched her shoulders and her eyes wandered, not knowing where to look.
Even so, Shin Seha didn’t run away. She stayed where she was.
She toyed with the ring on the ring finger of her left hand like it was a charm.
“Are you okay?”
Eun Mirae asked in a worried voice.
She had already driven off a few reporters who had recognized Shin Seha and tried to approach her.
But if the attention kept piling on, she might not be able to hold out.
“Mm-hmm, I’m okay.... I can do it.”
Shin Seha muttered it like she was hypnotizing herself.
She had improved quite a bit since meeting Kim Hanbyeol, but places like this were still overwhelming.
Just then.
An all-too-familiar, playful voice reached the three of them.
“You’re all dressed up.”
“?!”
At once, the three of them startled and looked around.
However, the owner of the voice was nowhere to be seen.
“It’s me, me. Good, I really do seem to be invisible.”
“Newbie?”
“Hanbyeol?”
“What? Since when are you on a first-name basis with the newbie?”
“Uh, uhh?”
“What is this? Did you use invisibility magic or something? Even so, you should still be visible to me. I’ve got a skill for that....”
The three of them were talking to the empty air.
I chuckled and answered.
“I’ve put up a lot of safeguards to block skills like that too. Anyway.... Seha?”
“...!”
“I sent you an invitation, but I didn’t actually think you’d come. Thanks. Your dress is pretty too.”
At my praise, Shin Seha’s face instantly turned bright red.
Seha lowered her head and muttered in a tiny, barely audible voice.
“....Thank you.”
“Does the ring help a bit?”
“Mm.... Thanks to it.”
Shin Seha raised the ringed hand to her chest and smiled faintly.
‘But why on the ring finger... no, it must be a coincidence.’
I let the thought pass without caring much.
It made me happy. It was proof once again that something I made could give such great strength to a comrade.
“By the way, Ma.... I don’t see Jung Taeyeon?”
I nearly called Magic Is Firepower by her nickname, but stopped myself.
It was awkward to say a nickname while looking at someone in real life.
If it were something simple like Beetle or Fridge, that would be one thing.
‘Am I glad my name is Yudong?’
Names like Newbie or Yudong are easy to say, and they spare the listener some embarrassment too.
I was truly, deeply grateful I hadn’t made a vulgar 13-character nickname with game-like sensibilities.
Back when I first entered Mage Gallery, I never imagined I’d be having an in-person meetup like this, so I was really lucky.
You could say my usual habit of using Yudong also brought me some good fortune.
When I looked for Jung Taeyeon, the only one among the members I’d never met in real life, Eun Mirae shrugged.
“She went to greet some people on the other side for a bit. Seems like she knows a lot of people.”
“Because she’s a guild master?”
“Probably because of her personality. I don’t go around greeting people unless I have to. Unless they come to me.”
“Hmm.... Is that really okay?”
At Eun Mirae’s words, I swallowed a low groan.
“She’ll be back soon. Want to wait and greet her before you go?”
“No, it’s fine. Come to think of it, the way I look right now is a little too much for a first meeting.”
“You’re wearing a dress right now, aren’t you? I’m kind of curious.”
“I, I want to see it too. Your dress....”
A strange heat flickered through Eun Mirae’s and Shin Seha’s eyes.
Unfortunately, I wasn’t wearing anything like a dress.
I had tried to wear one, but all it did was confirm once again that such flowy clothes were still too much of a challenge for me.
‘How am I supposed to go around with my back and legs feeling that bare?’
Chances are, the day I wear a skirt will never come.
Right now, I was just wearing the loose T-shirt and shorts I always wore.
What if I dropped the invisibility while dressed like this?
I’d be dragged out by security on the spot.
Besides, a kid wandering around alone would stand out way too much.
“I’m not wearing a dress or anything.... We’ll see it next time, then. Anyway, enjoy the event.”
After quickly greeting them, I returned to the corner where the broker was standing.
That was when it happened.
The entrance suddenly erupted into commotion.
Naturally, everyone’s attention turned that way.
Camera flashes burst as if they’d been waiting for it.
A man stood at the center of the light.
A blond man swaggered in arrogantly, his hair slicked back extravagantly and sunglasses on.
It was the Demigod.
“At least he didn’t show up today wearing that tacky cloak.”
Unlike usual, the Demigod was dressed in a white suit.
He waved to the crowd as he entered with effortless ease.
He looked as if he were the main character.
“Tch.”
I clicked my tongue without meaning to.
I still didn’t particularly like him, but I decided to let it slide today.
After all, thanks to him, the showcase had been able to open successfully.
“...He really came.”
The broker said solemnly as he straightened his tie.
It all felt surreal.
To think we’d make a venue where the world’s rankers and celebrities would gather.
It was time to start the event.
The lights gradually dimmed.
As the entire banquet hall sank into darkness, the crowd’s murmuring also quieted.
A silent space.
Suddenly, blue flames bloomed on the stage.
Kuoooooo—!
With a tremendous roar, a giant shape surged up from within the flames.
It was the phantom of the Bone Dragon I had faced on the 39th floor.
‘The authenticity is a little lacking.’
I muttered to myself.
It didn’t carry the same overwhelming pressure as when I’d faced the real thing.
So in the end, a phantom was just a phantom?
But the audience’s reaction was different from what I’d expected.
“Gasp!”
“A dragon?!”
A few Hunters reflexively took a combat stance, only to realize belatedly it was just a projection and cough awkwardly.
“The Bone Dragon, huh. I heard it only shows up in gates occasionally.... So that was the material?”
“It’s an S-rank monster, after all. If that’s the case, the performance shown in the video makes sense.”
“But who hunted it? I never heard there was a party like that....”
Even the people who watched the phantom with interest and drew their own conclusions.
The response was better than I’d expected.
When the murmuring died down, the Bone Dragon roared once more and opened its mouth.
A single object slowly appeared within its mouth.
An elegant, sturdy shield made of pure white bone.
On its surface, a golden hourglass emblem, added as a finishing touch, gleamed brightly.
Flash!
The hall’s only spotlight shone on the shield.
At the same time, the Bone Dragon’s phantom scattered into specks of light and was absorbed into the shield.
It was staged as if the dragon’s soul were dwelling within the shield.
“Ooh....”
Gasps burst from the audience.
It was truly a grand entrance that overwhelmed people.
The host walked out to the center of the stage.
A pin spotlight followed him.
“Good evening, ladies and gentlemen.”
He continued, pointing at the shield.
“No long explanation is needed, right? This is the very shield that recently shocked the world.”
His gaze briefly rested on Kim Suho and the Demigod in the special seats at the very front row.
Everyone else’s attention naturally followed there.
“No attack can leave even a scratch on this surface. At the same time, it was perfectly weightless. Despite that defensive power, anyone can use this item. I dare say this is the most advanced form of armor!”
With every explanation, greed flashed through people’s eyes.
With that shield, climbing the tower was no problem.
Climbing the tower meant wealth and fame were directly on the line.
Not only the new aristocrats of the modern age, the S-rank Hunters, but also people from various fields who maintained close ties with them.
It was truly an item everyone wanted.
Money was no longer the issue.
That was when.
“Wait!”
Someone in the middle of the audience shoved back their chair and sprang to their feet.
It was Yang Tai, an S-rank Hunter from China.
“How am I supposed to believe the performance just from words? That video might be fake, for all we know!”
Yang Tai’s booming voice echoed through the banquet hall.
People started whispering.
“Isn’t that Yang Tai?”
“That ignorant fool doesn’t know his place and is at it again.”
“Why did they even invite someone like that?”
“What can they do? He’s the only S-rank from China active overseas.... They’d catch flak if they left China out entirely.”
Though the criticism poured in, Yang Tai marched toward the center of the stage without caring.
Yang Tai wasn’t thoughtless, either.
‘Damn it, of course they’d make me do something like this.’
Naturally, Yang Tai knew he’d get criticized for doing this.
But there was no helping it. All Hunters in China had to follow the Communist Party’s orders.
Yang Tai had been given one order.
The incident that took place in the Demigod’s dream team, which didn’t include a Chinese member, had caught the Communist Party’s attention.
If that shield was real, then China obviously had to possess it.
China was not satisfied with simply buying items.
Things like this had to be monopolized by them.
It didn’t matter how much money it took.
That was the way to widen the gap between China and other nations.
Given their huge population and tiny number of S-ranks, they were already seething—what if S-ranks in other countries got their hands on items like this too?
For China, which had no friends on the international stage, it was something that absolutely had to be stopped.
Besides, after investigating, what do you know? It turned out to be a company that had started in Korea, the tiny country right next door.
A small company in the neighboring country, easy to target whenever they wanted.
First, it was important to crush their momentum from the very start.
China’s first plan was to ruin the showcase and then take over the company once it was on the brink of bankruptcy.
Yang Tai was essentially an operative sent to wreck the whole thing.
“How about it? I’ll test it myself. If that shield blocks my attack, I’ll acknowledge it. But if it doesn’t, you’ll have to pay the price for deceiving the entire world.”
An absurdly shameless demand.
And vulgar, too.
To suddenly show off strength at an event like this?
It was behavior that was utterly, completely out of place.
But at the same time, it was exactly the sort of thing people were curious about.
Seeing it through video and seeing it in person were different things.
The host, maintaining his professionalism, hid any sign of panic from the sudden turn of events and shot a glance at the broker, who was watching the stage from the far side.
I whispered my acceptance to the old man.
This was actually better. We’d be able to show everyone clearly.
If we had staged this event ourselves, the formality of the setting would have been lower, but the one causing the trouble now was Yang Tai.
All the blame was going to end up on him anyway.
“Very well, I accept.”