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Chapter 58




<Chapter 58: The God of Martial Arts Who Regressed to Level 2>
* * *
“Hahaha. It’s been a while, Seong Jihan. Do you remember me? I greeted you when you came to see the Sword King back then.”
A middle-aged man with a large body, Kim Namtae, the BattleNet Management Bureau Director.
As soon as he entered the penthouse, he extended his hand to Seong Jihan in a friendly manner.
“It’s been a while.”
“Hello, Director.”
“Yeah, yeah. Our Seo-a has grown up to be such a pretty young lady. Let’s go inside and talk.”
Kim Namtae smiled at Yoon Seoa and walked into the living room, passing by them.
Park Yoonshik, the section chief who followed behind, slightly bowed to Seong Jihan.
“I saw your excellent performance today. You’re truly remarkable.”
“Thank you. But I didn’t expect you to visit so soon after the match
 Is there something going on?”
“Ah, the Director said he had something important to tell you today
.”
The Director himself?
“Wow, your home is really nice!”
Seeing Kim Namtae shouting as if he were at his own home, Seong Jihan frowned.
What could a typical small-minded person, who is weak to the strong and strong to the weak, want this time?
“To think you’re willing to donate this house. That’s really impressive.”
Already seated at the table in the living room, the Management Bureau Director waved his hand at them.
Seong Jihan’s frown deepened at the Director’s condescending attitude.
“Sigh, the Director has a rather outgoing personality
 I appreciate your understanding.”
“
Sure.”
Seong Jihan relaxed his expression for Park Yoonshik’s sake and sat down.
“Hmm. I’ve come all this way, but my throat is dry. Is there anything to drink?”
“Ah, Director. Would you like orange juice or coffee?”
“Ah, Seo-a. How about some orange juice with ice? It’s been so hot lately. Hahaha.”
“Yes. And what about you, Section Chief and Uncle?”
“I’m fine.”
“I’m fine too.”
Thus, only the Director had a glass of juice in front of him as Seong Jihan, Yoon Seoa, the Director, and the section chief faced each other at the table.
* * *
After leisurely drinking the orange juice, the Management Bureau Director spoke to Seong Jihan.
“Seong Jihan, you did a great job this time. In the situation where the Sword King left the country and the nation was in decline, even though it’s just Bronze, you made it to the TOP 100 promotion match and even won. The people are very pleased.”
For some reason, the Director seemed to emphasize “just Bronze,” but it was still a compliment.
“Thank you for your kind words.”
“I have some good news for you.”
“
What news?”
“The BattleNet Management Bureau has decided to award you a commendation for outstanding performance.”
“
.”
Seong Jihan was speechless.
A commendation for outstanding performance.
‘Is that all he came here for, just to give me this piece of paper?’
It wasn’t even a GP, just a piece of paper.
Seong Jihan thought about not accepting it, but decided to take it since it was being offered.
“A commendation
 Thank you.”
“Hahaha. Yes. Awarding a commendation to a player who just reached the Silver League is unprecedented. It’s a truly honorable thing.”
Kim Namtae made a big deal out of the commendation, which couldn’t even be sold.
Seong Jihan, who listened to this, and even Park Yoonshik, who came with him, felt uncomfortable as the Director went on about how honorable this commendation was.
“By the way.”
He suddenly changed the topic.
“There’s an issue with accepting the commendation.”
“An issue, you say?”
“Yes. I heard you have some trouble with the Korea Times
.”
Kim Namtae smiled sardonically and continued.
“Don’t you think you should smooth things over with them? The Korea Times family is one of the top ten influential families in the business world.”
Recalling the events of a few days ago, Kim Namtae, the BattleNet Management Bureau Director, thought back.
* * *
“Director! My son was assaulted by Seong Jihan.”
At a reception hosted by the CEO of a Korea Times-affiliated advertising agency.
As the atmosphere heated up with drinks, the CEO pleaded with Kim Namtae.
“What do you mean? Assault?”
“My son, a Silver-grade Warrior, had his leg completely broken by some method used by that guy. It’s going to take months just for rehabilitation. I want to file a lawsuit, but
”
The CEO sighed deeply.
“Seong Jihan is a promising player with a great reputation. I’m worried that filing a lawsuit might damage our company’s image.”
“Hmm
 That’s a possibility.”
“So, I think it would be better if we manage Seong Jihan from our side to reach a smooth agreement
.”
Kim Namtae glared at him.
“What do you mean? Even if there was an assault, you want to manage Seong Jihan?”
At that moment, Kim Namtae was thoroughly defending Seong Jihan.
Who is Seong Jihan?
A player who had never lost first place since entering BattleNet, he had the potential to become a star player.
In other words, a goose that lays golden eggs.
To push the Korea Times side just for a reception like this?
From Kim Namtae’s perspective, that was absolutely impossible.
However.
“Of course, we’re not just asking for your help without offering anything in return.”
“Hmm
 What do you mean?”
“We’ll share the revenue with you.”
Share the revenue?
That changes things.
‘Seong Jihan. A spineless guy, huh.’
When he went to bow to Sword King Yoon Sejin, Kim Namtae often saw Seong Jihan in the penthouse.
To Kim Namtae, he was just a mediocre young man who clung to the Sword King’s shadow.
‘A guy like that. He’ll naturally follow if an adult tells him to.’
Kim Namtae was confident he could persuade Seong Jihan.
Especially, the tip he heard from the advertising agency CEO added to his confidence.
“That
 I’m telling you this to help with the persuasion. Isn’t there Yoon Seoa? I heard her Gift didn’t turn out well. So bad that she can’t even be a player.”


“The Korea Times, though they are the victims of the assault, have made a generous offer to you. They’re willing to manage you for five years and handle all your advertising. You know the influence of the Korea Times group. It would be a win-win situation if you let them handle it.”
“The Korea Times.”
“Yes. You broke the CEO’s son’s leg, right? To settle this, they’re willing to handle your advertising! Haha, they’re really broad-minded, aren’t they?”
“
Haha.”
Seong Jihan laughed bitterly at this.
It was absurd that he had wasted his time and emotions on a company he didn’t even remember from his time in the U.S., and for such a petty reason.
‘This might actually be a good thing.’
Seong Jihan decided to drop the pretense of politeness.
“Hey, how about you stop barking and get out?”
“
What?”
Management Bureau Director Kim Namtae blinked.
The sudden change in the situation caused cognitive dissonance.
Not only the informal speech, but the contemptuous look he had never received since becoming the Director was too unfamiliar.
“What did you just say
.”
“I was going to deal with you politely and send you off, but you’re overstepping.”
“
!?”
“Let’s cut to the chase. How much did you get from the Korea Times?”
For a moment, Kim Namtae was taken aback by Seong Jihan’s sudden change in attitude.
Regaining his composure, Kim Namtae trembled with anger.
“You
 You insolent brat!”
“You’re the one who lost your principles. I can’t even stand to look at you, so get out of my house.”
Swish.
Seong Jihan’s gesture made Kim Namtae’s face turn as red as a persimmon.
How dare a mere Silver League player, just a regular player, be so rude to the BattleNet Management Bureau Director?
Kim Namtae’s cheeks twitched as he spoke.
“You, you
 I only didn’t process the donation of the Sword Palace because I was thinking of you!”
“Really? Trying to use that as leverage?”
“Fine! Get out of this house right now!”
Kim Namtae thought this was an effective threat, but Seong Jihan remained calm.
“I was already planning to leave, so don’t act like a child.”
“Grr
! Just because you got some attention in Bronze, you’re getting cocky!”
“What about you? How did you get the Director’s position when you can’t even be a Bronze player? If you’re a parachute, act like one and stay quiet. I don’t even want to talk to you.”
“Argh!!!”
Unable to control his anger, Kim Namtae picked up the orange juice glass in front of him.
But.
Swish!
“Gasp!”
Before Kim Namtae could throw the glass at Seong Jihan, the contents of the glass moved on their own and splashed onto Kim Namtae’s face.
“Calm down.”
Seong Jihan kindly expressed concern for the Director’s condition.
“Grr
 You crazy brat! Using your ability?”
“What ability? I don’t understand what you’re talking about.”
“Hah! I was going to quietly handle the rumor that Yoon Seoa’s Gift failed!”
“Seoa
?”
Seong Jihan, who suddenly looked puzzled, smiled when he looked at Yoon Seoa.
“Seoa, did it fail?”
“No, I did really well.”
“Bragging! You said it was a complete failure and you were going to take the college entrance exam!”
From the Management Bureau Director’s tirade, Seong Jihan could roughly guess where he got the information.
He must have interrogated the security guard who was watching them.
“Don’t worry. It turned out well, contrary to your concerns. Why don’t you go home now?”
Swish.
With Seong Jihan’s gesture, the Management Bureau Director’s body floated up.
“Wh
 What? Put me down! Put me down?!”
At that moment, Section Chief Park Yoonshik, who had been fidgeting, suddenly stood up.
“I’ll take him out!”
“Park Yoonshik! What are you doing? Are you afraid of him!?”
“Director! Still, it’s better to leave for now
!”
“Grr!”
Park Yoonshik bowed discreetly so Kim Namtae wouldn’t notice and quickly led him out of the penthouse.
Watching this, Yoon Seoa looked worriedly at Seong Jihan.
“Uncle
 Did you cause a big problem?”
“Me? What?”
“You challenged the BattleNet Management Bureau Director. As a Director, he’s a manager of the BattleNet industry
.”
“Pfft, what kind of manager is he?”
Seong Jihan chuckled.
“He’s not even a player. He’s just a political appointee.”
“Is that so
? But won’t it cause problems if you treat him like this?”
“Well, in the old days, it might have.”
If it were the old world before BattleNet, where money and power were the dominant means of control, it might have been different. But now, the world was different.
In the current era, players themselves were the main actors shaping the world.
It was just that the older generation couldn’t accept this.
However, they couldn’t go against the massive tide of BattleNet, so they compromised with the ‘Association’ and ‘titles.’
‘In this case, the Korea Times will probably release an article about Seoa.’
Based on the security guard’s words, they would widely publicize the story that Yoon Seoa’s Gift was a failure.
To prevent unnecessary misunderstandings, they needed to take the initiative.
“Seoa.”
“Yeah? What’s up?”
“I need to do an interview on my channel.”
“Oh, you want to reveal your Gift before the article comes out?”
“Yeah.”
“Pfft. That’s a method for amateurs.”
Yoon Seoa, instead, slightly raised her lips and shook her head.
“Let’s reveal the Gift after the article comes out. It’ll be more interesting.”
“Hmm. Won’t you be stressed by the article?”
Actually, Yoon Seoa’s method was more effective, but it was clear that she would receive mocking and critical comments while the article was spreading.
Seong Jihan was worried about this, but

“Uncle? Sometimes, you need to eat sweet potatoes to make the soda taste better, you know?”
It was a groundless worry.
Yoon Seoa was already becoming more like Seong Jihan.