Chapter 64

<Chapter 64: The God of Combat Regressed to Level 2>

* * *

[The guild is now open.]

Sung Jihan’s channel, which had already reached 650,000 subscribers, saw a surge of viewers as soon as he announced the start of the broadcast.

- Number 1!!!!

- Is this Jihan Sung’s announcement of his transfer, since neither the Korean Herald nor the association has issued an apology?

- No, didn't you see the title? It says it's a guild opening broadcast.

- Wow, even with a 30 billion won contract, he’s not going to America? Haha - If I were in his shoes, I would have already moved to the U.S.

The viewers, who were amazed by the financial incentives that failed to lure him to America, felt relieved that he was staying in Korea to open a guild.

- He could have opened the guild in America, you know.

- Turns out the broadcast location is New York~

- What if it was Tokyo?

- Just imagining it is terrifying, hahaha.

Perhaps due to the sponsorship messages from Robert Gates and Takeda, who offered to help with the guild opening, there was a sense of unease.

But such chat messages were short-lived.

“Hello, everyone.”

Suddenly, a woman in a neat suit appeared, and the chat window lit up as if the anxiety and worry had vanished.

Her appearance was striking at first glance.

- O_O...

- My eyes!!!! I’m dying!!!!

- Is she a celebrity? Who is she?

- Did I enter the wrong female streamer’s channel?

- Actually, I like it.

“I am Lee Hyeon, the guild master of the Standby Guild, appointed directly by Owner Jihan Sung.”

- Guild master? Appointed by Jihan Sung?

- Her beauty is insane...

- I’m so envious of Jihan Sung T_T

- I feel like I’ve heard the name Lee Hyeon somewhere.

- I think she was the goddess of the management department in the dating special broadcast of the Love Guild - I remember it, hahaha. I even saved a screenshot.

The Love Guild, one of the top 10 guilds in Korea.

When a video was posted on the Love Guild’s official channel last year, announcing their recruitment plans for the year, it caused a huge stir.

This was because Lee Hyeon, who briefly appeared in the broadcast, looked incredibly beautiful.

- What happened to you, ma’am?

- Could she be his girlfriend?

In response to the questions, Lee Hyeon laughed and waved her hands.

“No, not my girlfriend~ Owner recognized my abilities and appointed me.”

- What kind of abilities?

- If she was a department head before, isn’t she a player?

- It seems they chose her based on her looks.

The questions were relentless.

While some responses seemed rude, they were understandable given the sudden appointment of Lee Hyeon as guild master.

“Perhaps explaining our guild’s concept will help prove my abilities.”

- Concept?

- Isn’t a guild just a guild? Does it have a concept?

- A troll guild, maybe? Haha

To address the viewers’ questions, Lee Hyeon immediately displayed a screen.

[Standby Guild Buff List]

- Receives a growth rate increase effect. The growth rate increases by 220%.

- Experience points gained increase by 30%.

The screen showed a capture of the guild buffs received by a player who joined the Standby Guild yesterday.

- ...220%?

- And 30% more experience points?!?!?!

- What is this? Does this make sense?

- Are you using a cheat key!!!!!!

A 220% growth rate and a 30% experience point buff.

These overwhelming buffs, unseen in other guilds, caused a stir among the viewers.

Especially, the Battle.net industry insiders were completely baffled.

- Could they have invested guild points in growth rate increase? But how did they get such numbers?

- A 30% increase in experience points... There’s no such clause, right?

- The maximum experience point buff you can buy with GP is 10%...

While they had some analysis, no one could figure out how these numbers were achieved.

“The nature of these buffs is a corporate secret, but I can say that my abilities are partly involved.”

Lee Hyeon dismissed the questions about her abilities and introduced the guild.

“Our Standby Guild is a cultivation-type guild that accepts only 10 members. The guild members include our owner, Jihan Sung, and...”

She introduced each member one by one.

Jihan Sung and Yun Se-a were introduced first.

Next were Diego Machado and Lim Ga-young.

“And me. Our Standby Guild currently consists of 5 members.”

- What, only 5 members?

- The guild master doesn’t seem to be a player. So, it’s one silver and three bronze members, huh? Haha - No one would have watched if another guild introduced such players. Already 60,000 viewers, hahaha - It’s the trickle-down effect, hahaha.

So many people watched because Jihan Sung, now a top prospect, was broadcasting. Otherwise, a guild introduction video with 10 members wouldn’t have been seen.

But perhaps due to the shocking buffs revealed by Lee Hyeon, people started to take interest in the Standby Guild itself.

- But the concept is really unique.

- The buffs are unrealistic?

- Even if growth rate is useless, 220%... doesn’t that mean you can get a few more stats?

- Yeah, if you naturally grow 5 stats, it’s a big deal. It’s like getting 5 levels for free.

- Haha, is that easy?

- Really, how hard is it to train to increase stats?

While the viewers were debating the growth rate, those familiar with the Love Guild raised another question.

- But why is Lim Ga-young here? Wasn’t she the top prospect in the Love Guild?

- Exactly.

Lim Ga-young, who possessed an S-grade gift and was considered the most promising prospect in the Love Guild, was unexpectedly in the Standby Guild.

Lee Hyeon, who was monitoring the chat on a monitor next to the camera, answered the question as if she had been waiting for it.

“Lim Ga-young is a player temporarily borrowed from the Love Guild for cultivation.”

- Cultivation? Borrowed???

- So it’s a cultivation-type guild?

- Ah... I see something now!!!

“Yes, that’s correct. Our Standby Guild focuses on cultivating the best players.”

Lee Hyeon then revealed the guild’s point investment status.

[Guild Member Expansion (1/10) - LV.1]

[Stat Increase (All Stats +1) - LV.1]

[ Growth Rate Increase (+110%) - LV.11]

“Our guild doesn’t accept just anyone. We only accept the best prospects to achieve our goal of creating great players, as our guild name suggests.”

- But if the stat increase is only at level 1, doesn’t that mean there’s no growth?

- Haha, true. First, they need to win.

“Of course, we are aware that the stat increase effect, which applies from silver, cannot be enjoyed. However, consider the nature of our guild.”

“The best prospects who can fully contribute in the silver league and rise to gold. That’s who we target.”

The stat increase option.

This is a common investment for all guilds, along with guild member expansion.

Although it doesn’t apply to bronze,

the all-stats + effect, which applies at 50% for silver and 100% for gold, is highly efficient.

However, the Standby Guild invested all its points in growth rate increase, without any stat increase.

“And once their cultivation is complete, we will return them to their original guilds. Helping to cultivate the best players through buffs is our goal.”

Lee Hyeon confidently reached out to the screen.

Then, the stat points of the three Standby Guild members, Diego Machado, Lim Ga-young, and Yun Se-a, were revealed.

“We will observe the stat changes of the guild members for one month. The owner’s stats are not public because his subscribers haven’t reached 1 million, so please understand~!”

- Reveal them! Reveal them!

- I want to see Jihan Sung’s stat window T_T

- Jihan... I lost 500 million because of you... Please... reveal them...

“Sigh... I also lost a lot of money... You’re not the only one.”

- Haha, the guild master also invested in the baron.

- That’s because it was a sure bet (nod)

- Who knew a Korean would become the top baron in America~

- So, you need to be just good enough, huh - I’ve been one with Jihan Sung since the promotion match!!!

As the chat about betting started to flood, Lee Hyeon changed the topic at an appropriate time.

“Let’s stop talking about losing money, it’s sad... Please look forward to one month from now. In the meantime, let’s watch the stat increase results of our guild members.”

With the additional explanation, the PR for the guild ended.

* * *

- So, Jihan Sung is still in Korea?

└ Yes, but we don’t know how long he’ll stay. The guild doesn’t receive national support, so they can move to another country anytime.

└ What is the management bureau doing? They haven’t issued an apology.

└ According to a friend who works at the management bureau, they made an apology but were ignored.

└ Haha, they still don’t understand the situation - I subscribed to the guild channel because of Hyeon. Please stream more often...

└ You too? Hahaha

└ Are you ignoring Yun Se-a and Lim Ga-young? -_-

└ Why are there only women in the guild?

└ Are you ignoring Masido?

In the community, there was a mix of relief that Jihan Sung was still in Korea and a focus on the beauty of guild master Lee Hyeon.

The discussion about the Standby Guild’s impressive stat buffs was still early, so it was pushed down in the topic rankings compared to the stories about Jihan Sung and Lee Hyeon.

However, unlike the general public,

Battle.net industry insiders were highly focused on the numbers.

“Oh, Owner!”

Not long after the broadcast ended,

Lee Hyeon approached Jihan Sung with a surprised look.

“American First contacted us through the guild’s official channel, saying they want to know the secret to increasing the growth rate! We also received inquiries from China’s People’s Assembly!”

“Hmm, from China too?”

“Yes. American First is willing to pay 100 million GP.”

100 million GP is 1 billion won.

The fact that they were willing to pay such a large sum suggested that Robert Gates had made the proposal.

‘The secret to increasing the growth rate...’

A simple method: having someone with the supporting gift ‘Cultivation’ as the guild master.

Eventually, everyone would figure it out.

While receiving 1 billion won immediately was a tempting option...

‘Other guilds might try to poach Hyeon.’

American First was willing to pay 1 billion won just to learn the method.

If Hyeon’s secret was revealed, it was unknown how much they would offer her.

Moreover, she was crucial for