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Chapter 120: Star, The Team Formation (1)

The tabloid’s front page article had the header ‘The Genius Who Became a Ranker in Half a Year.’ The featured article was about the Tyrant Lee Chang-Sun, whom the Illuminati had recently taken interest in. At first glance, the writer seemed to be sending high praise to the genius of the century who appeared in the small eastern country, but they concluded the article by stating, ‘It is difficult to tell if the rumor is true yet.’

The sentence implied a very simple meaning. Korea was considered one of the countries with the strongest Players, but unlike Europe, America, or China, Korea had no ‘king.’ Therefore, the writer reached a doubtful conclusion that the Korean government could have fabricated their star.

In other words, the Korean government was putting up a show and creating rumors about the ‘Tyrant,’ the super rookie who had set the world on fire. However, Joachim lightly snorted as he read the speculative article. “Idiots”

As one of the Illuminati’s proud Senate, he had a variety of sources, so he knew that every rumor about the Tyrant was true.

‘The genius of the century.’?Joachim remembered.

That was the Senate’s assessment of the Tyrant. Even if the Tyrant was the protagonist of a show that the Korean government had meticulously planned, the fact that he had been selected as the protagonist was enough evidence of his value.

Germany had a ‘king’ but no super rookie like the Tyrant. In contrast to Korea, which incessantly developed outstanding Players, the Players in Europe refused to retrospect why they hadn’t grown stronger than they had been 20 years ago. Rather, they busied themselves by badmouthing others… That aside, while the public knew many facts about the Tyrant, the biggest issue was something they didn’t know.

Just then, Joachim’s secretary, Ernest Mach, who was standing across from Joachim, held his hands behind his back and concisely said, “This happens often, so I hope you don’t take it so seriously.”

Joachim lightly nodded, picked up the microfiber cloth on the table, and wiped his glasses. “I know. I’m just frustrated. The reporters should be covering what’s happening around the world, but they don’t know what’s actually happening.”

“How did the Senate meeting go, by the way? Did they reach a resolution?” Joachim asked Ernst, putting on his shining glasses.

With a heavy heart, Ernst nodded. “Yes, they’ve decided that we can contact him.”

“The elders are really annoying. If that was going to be their resolution anyway, they should have announced it much earlier. They delayed it as if they had all the time in the world, so now we’re left picking up leftovers of what had already happened. Tsk!”

Joachim had proposed two simple agendas to the Senate. One was to visit Korea, and the other was to contact Chang-Sun. Externally, it probably seemed as if Joachim was just going on a business trip to Korea to recruit a super rookie, but the truth was different.

“Are you really sure about this? The Tyrant is our Guardian’s apostle candidate.” Joachim changed the subject.

“I’m sure.” Ernst nodded.

“Phew…! Our goddess has surely given her followers too big of a burden.” Joachim sighed.

Unlike the White Tiger Clan, the Illuminati was more like a religious group, meaning most members were followers whose Guardian was the ‘Twilight-Piercing Owl,’ but it didn’t mean the Illuminati was a closed and powerless Clan. In fact, there was no other Clan that was as influential as the Illuminati in Southern Germany—no, in Southern Europe.

It was all due to the characteristics of the ‘Twilight-Piercing Owl.’ The ‘Twilight’ in the Guardian’s divine name meant ignorance and darkness, and the ‘Owl’ that pierced the twilight symbolized the pioneers who sought the truth hidden in the darkness.

The Guardian didn’t only symbolize wisdom and civilization but also oversaw the big concept named war as she fought the darkness, which was why many people who were terrified by Dungeons were inspired by her doctrines. As a result, the Illuminati naturally got bigger day by day and eventually became one of the biggest Clans in the world.

Although they seemed to be prospering, they had an issue that could turn into a big problem—their Guardian didn’t have an apostle. Since the Illuminati worked more like a religious group, their Guardian should have a spokesperson who interpreted and spread her doctrines, but she didn’t have an apostle within the Illuminati.

In fact, the Guardian had never chosen an apostle ever since the Dungeon Era had begun. She occasionally chose bishops called ‘senators,’ like Joachim, so the Illuminati members didn’t have a big problem in running the order. However, the Illuminati didn’t have an actual leader, so they were eventually met with a limit in making decisions within the Clan.

The Clan had almost disappeared multiple times now because they split up into several factions and fought among themselves, a weakness of the Illuminati that Joachim couldn’t help but feel sad about. Their normal members felt the same, thinking that the order was becoming more like the Senate’s private property.

However, a rumor began to go around within the Illuminati one day.

―The goddess has chosen a new apostle from this world!

Everybody initially thought it was just a groundless rumor because some tried to take over the Illuminati by claiming they were the apostle of the ‘Twilight-Piercing Owl’ after they had found out about their weakness. Fortunately, the Guardian always delivered oracles to contradict their claims, but whenever those imposters showed up, the members couldn’t help but wonder if it could be true this time. The people had been using the same method to try to take over the Illuminati for so long now that most of the members thought this rumor could just be another attempt of someone trying to take over the order. However…

―The goddess’ apostle candidate is from a small eastern country!

The rumor gradually included more and more details like their nationality, age, and gender.

―The goddess was touched by how he tries to execute justice in spite of tribulations and peer pressure!

―Although the goddess blessed the candidate with the opportunity to become her apostle, the candidate politely refused the offer, worrying the position would change him and that he would fail to achieve his current goal. Greatly moved by the candidate, the goddess began to favor him.

The Illuminati members even came across an unbelievable and ridiculous rumor about how the apostle candidate… rejected the Guardian’s offer because the position did not fit his goal. Moreover…

―She favors him so much that the candidate was given [Kalokagathia]. Moreover, he can use the Authority perfectly!

The moment the rumor included a detail that the Illuminati members could actually check, they could no longer sit still. While investigating who the apostle candidate actually was, they also tried to verify whether they could really use [Kalokagathia].

[Kalokagathia] was the foundation of the doctrine the Guardian always emphasized, which was about uniting one’s mind and body. If a person had reached that level, then there was nothing impossible in this world.

The senators secretly believed they were the ones who practiced the Guardian’s doctrine to the fullest, so they inevitably hurried to verify the rumor. On the other hand, most of the other Illuminati members wanted to see the face of the person who dared reject the Guardian’s offer, if the rumor was true.

Becoming the apostle of the ‘Twilight-Piercing Owl’ meant being the closest to the Guardian and the leader of the Illuminati, which had tens of thousands of members if non-Player candidate members were included.

After investigating it, the rumor turned out to be true.

―The Tyrant Lee Chang-Sun.

Even in Europe, he was famous for being the super rookie with SSS+++ Magic Grade. Now, he turned out to be the famous apostle candidate as well. The problem was that the senators were reluctant to take action even though they should immediately get to the bottom of this matter. Joachim urged them several times to reach a resolution that would allow him to meet Chang-Sun himself, but the senators came up with ridiculous excuses and postponed it.

While they dragged things out, Chang-Sun became a ranker-leveled Player in less than half a year. Only after hearing that news did the senators start to act.

‘Those damned bastards.’ Joachim vaguely knew why the senators reacted that way. ‘They were afraid of losing their powers since they would never have thought one of the?Asians, whom they had been belittling, could threaten their positions.’

What would happen if someone filled the apostle position that had been empty until now? The senators wouldn’t sit still as someone became their boss overnight, so all of this was just a cliche powerplay.

‘The so-called followers of the goddess are behaving in a way our goddess hates! Those parasites!’ Joachim swallowed his anger on the senators several times before he could finally calm down and heave a long sigh.

Regardless of what had happened, Joachim was finally allowed to contact the Tyrant and now had the full authority to decide if he was going to recruit him or continue to keep his distance. However, even though his reason was a little different, Joachim also didn’t look at the Tyrant in a good light.

‘I don’t know who you are, Lee Chang-Sun, but I promise you one thing. You’ve disrespected our goddess by rejecting her generous offer, so if you’re not worthy...’ Joachim’s eyes shone coldly. ‘I’ll retaliate.’

* * *

For successfully clearing ‘Yeti Hill,’ Chang-Sun received a handsome bonus and a week-long vacation as rewards from the White Tiger Clan. Chang-Sun and Baek Gyeo-Ul looked for a place Gyeo-Ul could stay during the vacation until they eventually found an officetel near Chang-Sun’s home. The subway station was a five-minute walk from the officetel, and it was also near a taxi stand. It was a good place to live in, too, since it was a duplex and had two rooms.

“It has a great view, too. We’ll take the place.” Chang-Sun told the real estate agent with a contended smile.

However, Gyeo-Ul became antsy. “H-hyung…”

“What?” Chang-Sun asked.

“Th-this place is too expensive…!” Gyeo-Ul quietly whispered.

“Deposit, rent… I’m paying for everything, so what’s the problem? You’ve also been making a good amount of money nowadays anyway and even just got a bonus.”

“Still…!” Gyeo-Ul trailed off. Having lived in underground studio after underground studio, the officetel seemed too expensive in his eyes.

But Chang-Sun didn’t care. He signed the contract on the spot and even wrote himself as the tenant to prevent Gyeo-Ul from voiding it.

After Chang-Sun deposited the money, Gyeo-Ul, who was now only half-conscious, muttered, “The deposit is 100 million won… The rent is over one million won per month…”

Chang-Sun lightly chuckled when he looked at Gyeo-Ul, finding it quite funny to see a big guy floundering at a small bit of money.

“Don’t worry too much,” Chang-Sun said.

“S-still… It’s too big for me alone…!”

Still smiling, Chang-Sun joked, “I didn’t say you were going to use this place alone, though?”

“Huh? Huhhh? So there’s another tenant?” Gyeo-Ul lit up.

Having this large officetel all to himself made Gyeo-Ul uncomfortable, so he’d be completely fine with it if Chang-Sun chose this place because another person was staying with him. Even though Gyeo-Ul thought of Chang-Sun as his real brother, he still felt uneasy about receiving too much kindness.

“If you’re okay with it, I want to use this as the team’s headquarters,” Chang-Sun explained.

“The team’s headquarters…?” Gyeo-Ul’s eyes widened. “Are you building a team?”

Chang-Sun nodded. “Yeah.”

“Woah…!” Gyeo-Ul was genuinely impressed.

Forming a team was never simple. After all, it meant building their own Raid unit. Chang-Sun’s reputation was enhanced after clearing the recent Dungeon, so his raid unit was bound to be on a totally different level than the ones built by amateurs.

Choosing this place as his team’s headquarters meant Chang-Sun was also going to clear Dungeons on his own, not just as a White Tiger Clan member. Since he would hold Dungeon Raid meetings here, Gyeo-Ul assumed he was also a member of Chang-Sun’s team.

“But will the higher-ups allow that? They might assume you’re planning to resign and become an independent Player…” Gyeo-Ul asked. That question had been bugging him.

“Don’t worry. I’ve already talked about this with Executive Director Oh and got his approval. Our team is going to be a part of the Future Strategy Department,” Chang-Sun explained.

“Ah.” Gyeo-Ul nodded, finally understanding what was going on. He was still shocked, though.

‘Team leader… Even if we aren’t a part of the RaidDepartment, it’s ridiculous considering it’s only been less than a year since hyung joined the Clan. He’s amazing,’?Gyeo-Ul thought.

Assuming Executive Director Oh decided to openly support Chang-Sun, Gyeo-Ul became curious.

“Then it means there are other members aside from me. Who—?” the bell suddenly rang, interrupting Gyeo-Ul.

Turning his head to the front door, Chang-Sun faintly smiled. “They’re here.”

1. This is a multi-purpose building that is used for commercial and residential purposes in Korea, but it is considered more of a fancy studio nowadays.