Chapter 120
*Final Survivor – Bae Dohyun (South Korea) 80 kills
*Sculptor – Han Seohyun (South Korea) 4 kills, Lee Jaehyun (South Korea) 3 kills
*Most kills:
1st place, Park Sungjun (South Korea) 11 kills
2nd place, Gao Liang (China) 11 kills
3rd place, Zhang Weilong (China) 8 kills
4th place, Deng Zoyan (China) 7 kills
5th place, Mao Wian (China) 7 kills
After the unexpected results of the H group preliminaries, various articles popped up on the main portals and heated discussions took place in the community forums.
[The true predator who emerged in the final preliminaries, Bae Dohyun]
[The unparalleled skills of the top-ranked player]
[Bae Dohyun. Captivating the attention of people worldwide with overwhelming skills.]
[Victorious reports of Korean players emerging on the last day of the combat preliminaries. Leading the South Korean team, Bae Dohyun.]
While the previous preliminaries had already been successful, the H group preliminaries surpassed all preceding matches.
-Exactly! This is what I was hoping for. Individual and team matches were fine, but we needed these clear and overpowering combat scenes!
-Honestly, the previous matches weren’t without a hint of boredom. It felt like a breath of fresh air. Cheering for Bae Dohyun!
-It’s like downing a whole bottle of soda in one shot. Even in a fantasy setting, there should be this refreshing taste.
-With the heatwave and sunspots, it’s scorching hot outside, so this was a welcome relief.
-They say it’s so pleasant inside the Connect capsules. Even to avoid the heat, let’s log into Connect ASAP.
-The national pride is blazing! With Bae Dohyun around, the victory is definitely Korea’s. Can’t wait for the rankings to update and dive into Connect.
-Honestly, it’s true. Bae Dohyun is the obvious winner. But the question is, how far will he go in the round of 16?
-With the tournament arranging matchups without countries facing each other, Korea has a great advantage.
-Bae Dohyun, sir. I’m your fan from today onwards! So, could you please pick me…?
-Even if you’re the top-ranked player, isn’t the skill gap too significant? This feels like the game balance is completely shattered. Or could it be…?
-Yes, next conspiracy theorist~
-Honestly, I think it’s not about the level but rather that Bae Dohyun’s skills are incredibly remarkable. It felt like a special forces operative fighting against an elementary school student.
– There’s a combat analysis report on Bae Dohyun on overseas portals. According to experts, they say his combat sense is incredible, surpassing skills and physical abilities. They mention his proficiency in handling weapons is at the highest level in each field.
– Surely in reality, unless he’s a martial artist or a special forces operative. Watching him fight shows that he’s not someone with just one or two fighting experiences.
Those who have witnessed Bae Dohyun’s gameplay were amazed by his skills and were convinced that he would become the final winner of the tournament.
While some had doubts due to his overwhelming skills, after seeing the analyses presented by the so-called experts, they seemed somewhat convinced.
And there was one question that captivated people.
– What exactly is Bae Dohyun?
No matter if it’s a game, most opinions were that someone with that level of skill couldn’t be an ordinary person.
Speculations varied from martial artist, active duty soldier, special forces member, to secret intelligence agent, but no one could determine the correct answer.
* * *
Thud.
“What do you mean? It’s untraceable!”
“That’s correct. With our team’s abilities, further investigation seems impossible.”
Director Chae Ilhwan threw the report on the desk and glared at the information team leader. However, the information team leader seemed to have nothing more to say and simply kept his lips tightly shut.
“Ugh. Explain in detail. How come we can’t track the information of the player using our capsules?”
“As you know, Director, all of Connect’s information is managed by the AI system administrator, D. Unless it’s a special case, we cannot obtain the personal information of the members ourselves.”
Chae Ilhwan clicked his tongue. What on earth was upper management thinking by entrusting all information management to AI?
Even the players’ payments and earnings were managed through administrator D, making it difficult for them to obtain accurate data on this end.
While the employees may find it convenient that their workload has decreased, from a managerial standpoint, having an AI in control made them uneasy.
“Besides that obvious explanation. Anyway, if they’ve connected to the game, they must have received the capsules! Do you mean to say that the damn AI messed up and did the delivery itself?”
Capsules are shipped from the factory directly to the player’s home for self-delivery. Considering the price of the capsules, and that Connect’s employees deliver them directly without involving a delivery service, it’s not difficult to check the list and addresses.
“That’s correct. However, the name ‘Bae Dohyun’ was not on that list. He is definitely a player associated with ‘VIPs.'”
“Damn it. How could such words come from the information team leader? Even if he’s a VIP, the information team should have taken care of related information!”
The tone of Chae Ilhwan’s rebuke made the information team leader’s expression stiffen. He responded with a slightly dissatisfied tone.
“Even though you are aware of VIPs, are you saying such words, Director? In any case, there’s nothing more our team can do on this matter. If you wish, please investigate personally. That’s all then.”
With a lowered head, the information team leader left the director’s office. Chae Ilhwan’s hands trembled with discomfort, but he soon suppressed his anger.
The head of the information team was right.
“Seriously, how can such a crappy company exist?”
Despite being promised a hefty salary and bonus upon joining, there were quite a few aspects that he honestly didn’t like. Even though it was advertised as the headquarters, the work here was solely related to game operations.
He had never seen where the amazing capsules and virtual reality games developed by the development and research teams were located.
And the CEO he reported to, Mok Jaewoo, was just a puppet in the true sense. All decisions were made by the upper echelon referred to as “Chairman” and through AI.
And the VIPs.
The shares of Connect Inc. were divided among the Chairman and the VIPs. Surprisingly, these VIPs were government officials from G20 nations and top executives from global corporations.
Of course, the shares with voting rights were all owned by the Chairman, while the shares held by the VIPs were non-voting stocks, so they couldn’t interfere in the company’s management.
However, besides profit sharing, they were given a few privileges, and one of them was “capsule distribution.”
Players believed that everyone received capsules fairly through a random draw, but the world didn’t operate so simply.
The real power holders and privileged class were receiving special treatment without their knowledge.
And those capsules were supplied directly from the “real headquarters.”
“Yes. The real headquarters.”
The headquarters of Connect Inc. located in Seoul was a mystery. The actual location of the headquarters, its members, and how it operated were kept completely confidential.
Chae Ilhwan was frustrated by this. He had joined expecting good treatment and a vision, but in the end, he had become a mere spectator without any real authority.
“If I really want to climb the ranks, I need to be a part of that real headquarters.”
And for some reason, he had a gut feeling that Bae Dohyun held the key to that.
“Bae Dohyun. There must be some connection with the Chairman. It doesn’t seem like I accessed through the typical VIP route.”
While his plan to use the head of the information team had hit a snag, chae Ilhwan was not ready to give up.
“I’ll have to dig deeper, even if it means going through private companies. And it seems like there’s a connection with the First Knight Order, so I’ll have to reveal my true colors through an event.”
It didn’t seem like a bad idea to use his authority to show favors and fake camaraderie.
Looking at the situation unfolding, it seemed highly likely that Bae Dohyun would rise to prominence within Connect in one way or another.
“I don’t really know what your true identity is, but let’s go on nicely,” flames of ambition and greed burned in Chae Ilhwan’s eyes.
* * *
Clack, clack.
“Has it been almost six months?”
Raul slowly spoke as he looked around Ashen Baron’s capital, conford Castle.
Tall castle walls, wide streets, well-maintained buildings.
Everything didn’t look much different from before.
But the number of people wandering around the castle and the bustling atmosphere were incomparable to the past.
It was because when the Gate Incident broke out, the residents of remote villages moved to the castle for shelter, and the mercenaries, who had more job opportunities, were constantly flocking here.
Even now, you could see large mercenary groups being formed going outside the city gates for monster hunting or those returning with carts full of monster corpses after a hunt.
As Conford Castle, the central hub of the Baronate, was often passed through on long-distance expeditions or short-range travels, the area near the castle gate was bustling with people.
Even amidst the disaster of the Gate Incident, the fact that the residents’ faces were bright and the city was lively was also a testament to how well the Baron was handling the situation.
“Hmm. It’s been a while since I’ve been here too.”
Passing through the two outer gates to the inner castle road.
A large training ground for knights and soldiers and a huge stadium where knight ceremonies and tournaments were held came into sight.
The memories of Raul struggling to participate in the tournament with his frail body after waking up as Raul were still vivid, but now it was just a small nostalgic place for him.
“So much has changed and I’ve been through so much, but this place remains the same.”
The youngest son of the frail baron who couldn’t even display proper swordsmanship had become an expert-level swordsman.
The boy who had just come of age had become the lord of hundreds of knights and owned four fiefs. But as he looked at this place welcoming him unchanged, Raul felt a new sense of nostalgia.
“So this is what it feels like to come back home.”
Raul’s face, gazing at his new starting point and the sanctuary of his heart, was now adorned with a warm smile.
“Here we are.”
Gazing at the slowly setting red sun, Raul hurried towards the mansion. He had lost track of time admiring the castle.
“Welcome back, young master Raul.”
“Ivan! How have you been? Anywhere hurting?”
Raul spread his arms and embraced his butler Ivan tightly, a wide smile on his face.
“I’ve been well as always, sir. But please, let me go now.”
“Oh, sorry. I was just so happy to see you.”
Initially awkward and stiff, but in reality, ivan was the one person Raul felt closest to from his memories. Perhaps overflowing with emotions today, Raul found himself embracing Ivan without even realizing it.
Ivan seemed taken aback at first, but then just smiled and spoke up.
“I’m truly relieved to see you return safely. You have no idea how happy I was to hear news of you from afar. How pleased would the late countess have been to see the flourishing appearance of the esteemed young master Raul if she were still with us.”
‘Mother…’
Even though he was reborn in Raul’s body, thoughts of his mother from his past life somehow still touched his heart.
“Oh, I’ve spoken too much. The Viscount has been waiting for you since earlier. Shall we head to the study?”
“That’s what we should do, right? Lead the way.”
Today, he returned home because his father, Count Melvin, had summoned him. Though his father suggested a family dinner after a long time, Raul couldn’t help but wonder if there was another reason behind it.
Knock, knock.
“Come in.”
As they entered the study, Count Melvin was organizing papers on his desk. It was fascinating to watch him deftly move the thin papers with his bear-like hands.
“Raul, please have a seat there, and Ivan, you can leave now.”
However, there was something unsettling in the Count’s voice.
“Yes, Count. Have a pleasant time in here.”
As Ivan left with a subtle smile, the Count pushed aside the paperwork and took brisk steps towards Raul sitting on the couch.
Feeling a vague sense of pressure, Raul flinched, and before he knew it, the Count stood beside him and called out loudly.
“Raul!”
“Yes, sir!”
Surprised, Raul instinctively responded.
“Do you confess your sins?”
Cold sweat trickled down Raul’s forehead.
(To be continued.)