Chapter 84: Master of the Stage

"What the?!"

At the enormous explosion and the white flames streaking across the surroundings, Levan instinctively raised his shield, covering the manager first.

The others reacted the same way.

Was it a surprise attack?

But one second later, seeing the scene unfolding in the sky, Levan couldn't help but let out a hollow laugh.

"Hah?"

The reason for Levan's hollow laugh.

The reason was none other than the words "Baekhwa Guild" floating in the sky.

Kim Cheolsucheolsu, who had climbed up to the spire, scratched his head with an awkward smile and said,

"Ah, I told those brats not to do stuff like this, seriously..."

"...Is it a guild you know?"

"Yup. I'm actually the master of Baekhwa Guild. That thing is an item called 'Sky Pen.' It's usually used for guild promotion, but I guess they used it to advertise in celebration of winning the Symbiotic Pendant auction. Haha, I told them not to, but those punks..."

The sudden explosion.

It was actually a surprise event prepared by Baekhwa Guild, Kim Cheolsucheolsu's own guild.

After Kim Cheolsucheolsu's explanation, the people finally relaxed.

- Wow, I thought a war was breaking out.

- What kind of attention seekers do something like that?

- That size of Sky Pen must be pretty expensive ㄷㄷ.

- Must be rolling in money if they’re buying stuff like the Symbiotic Pendant.

- That's definitely some next-level aggro.

- Bet this goes on Hot Pick.

- Ma! This is true muarketing! Muarketing!

- Are you all joining Baekhwa Guild now?

Looking at the guild name displayed in the sky, Levan thought Baekhwa Guild had played their cards well.

'Well, it’s not just any old necklace—spending a fortune like this is mostly for publicity.'

There are tons of guilds in Warlord.

Only a few are actually talked about by players.

That's why, in Warlord, a guild becoming famous is almost like winning the lottery.

A guild with solid reputation in a worldwide game is no longer just a guild, but could even be called a company.

So even though Baekhwa Guild's Sky Pen event hadn't been prearranged, Levan understood.

After all, the customer is king—and Baekhwa Guild's master had bought Levan’s necklace.

"Master Kim Cheolsucheolsu of Baekhwa Guild. Congratulations on winning the auction. I hope you put it to good use. Since this is a live broadcast auction, may I show the exchange window on stream?"

"Oh, of course. But, um, could I also say a few words later…"

"You're planning to promote the guild, right? I'll make sure you have plenty of time for that, so don't worry."

"As expected of you, Levan. You always know just what to say."

A warm and friendly exchange of compliments.

Soon, as previously arranged, the exchange window was displayed in front of the camera, with the Symbiotic Pendant in Levan's window and the massive sum of 1.78 billion gold in Kim Cheolsucheolsu’s.

- Whoa ㄷㄷㄷ 1.78 billion ㄷㄷㄷ.

- That’s like 178 million won in real money, right?

- Insane, they’re just raking in cash... Some people work a month for 2 million, but ㅠㅠㅠㅠㅠ.

- Just god.

- Just light.

- (Insert meme of someone begging for ice cream)

'Kuh… This is it!'

Levan felt an intense sense of triumph watching the chat go wild.

Just a few weeks ago, he’d been a quiet gamer, moving like a shadow.

But now, everything had changed as if by magic.

So many people were envious of him.

Just like back when he got into SkyU and was congratulated by his classmates, Levan once again felt a deep thrill from being envied.

[Would you like to exchange?]

"Of course."

[Exchange completed.]

[You have obtained 1,780,000,000 gold.]

The moment he accepted the exchange, a simple message popped up, and a fortune of 1.78 billion gold was deposited in his inventory.

Kim Cheolsucheolsu, looking satisfied, held up the Symbiotic Pendant for all to see.

After checking his new balance, Levan spoke to Kim Cheolsucheolsu.

"Please, say a few words to the camera."

"Thank you, then."

Kim Cheolsucheolsu cleared his throat.

He put the Symbiotic Pendant around his neck and then produced several rings he’d prepared ahead of time, showing them to the camera.

- Huh? Isn’t that the Ring of the Desert King?

- Wow, that’s the Egg of the Flame Dragon!

- He’s got the Ring of Water and Land too ㄷㄷㄷ.

- He’s really going to wear all that at once?

- Crazy. Totally crazy.

The chat exploded once again.

The reason: the rings that Kim Cheolsucheolsu showed off to the camera.

He attached all the rings to the Symbiotic Pendant at once, then turned the pendant for the camera to see.

Now the necklace was colorful and dazzling.

Its value was unimaginable.

Kim Cheolsucheolsu exclaimed, almost like a declaration,

"This is great! A necklace that allows you to stack rings! How wonderful! I’m Kim Cheolsucheolsu, master of Baekhwa Guild. And I...!"

He had only bought an expensive item through auction from a celebrity.

But Kim Cheolsucheolsu spoke as if he’d received a medal, sharing his feelings instead of just promoting his guild.

It was a rather funny sight.

'Is that how you show off your style?'

It was something Levan couldn’t quite understand.

But since he’d promised to give him plenty of time to speak, Levan stepped back and quietly waited for him to finish.

"And so, our Baekhwa Guild is always open. Don’t hesitate—please apply to join our guild. We promise strong support based on your performance. Isn’t the proof right here?"

Kim Cheolsucheolsu shook the Symbiotic Pendant as proof.

Indeed, there was no clearer evidence.

After finishing his guild promotion, Kim Cheolsucheolsu bowed toward the camera and then approached Levan.

"Could we be friends?"

"Of course. I’ll send a request."

[Kim Cheolsucheolsu has been added as your friend.]

If a wealthy guild master wanted to be friends, there was no reason to refuse.

Levan accepted easily, and after checking his new friend list, Kim Cheolsucheolsu left the stage with a satisfied expression.

"Alright, shall we continue with the next auction? The next item is..."

- If the Symbiotic Pendant was first, isn’t it basically over now?

- Nah, there might be more.

- Don’t let your guard down—it’s Levan we’re talking about!

- Wasn’t the Symbiotic Pendant the highlight?

- 5252! We believe in you, Levan-kun!

Everyone’s attention turned to the next auction item.

The number of viewers had already exceeded 100,000.

News spreads fast, and the live auction was setting the Warlord official forums ablaze.

As all eyes focused, Levan brought out the second auction item.

And the second auction item was none other than—

"This is Amthosrin’s Symbiotic Pendant!"

- What?

-!?!

-???????

- Nani?

-???????????

-?!!!???!!?????????

The chat exploded all over again.

***

This was during a conversation with Bae Hyunwoo about the auction event.

The order of auction items had come up.

"…You want to put the Symbiotic Pendant up for auction first?"

"Yes."

"But why start with such a precious item right away…?"

When Levan said he’d auction the Symbiotic Pendant first, Bae Hyunwoo looked troubled.

That’s because the standard practice was to save the best items for last.

Sungwoo answered plainly.

"It’s not that precious to me."

"But Sungwoo, didn’t you say that was your best item? That’s worth over 100 million won! I don’t know how rich you are, but an item that traded for ten billion gold… Wait. Sungwoo, don’t tell me…?"

A brief silence.

Bae Hyunwoo was the planning department head of Open World.

Meaning, he hadn’t gotten his position by luck.

In other words, his intuition was much sharper than most.

After a moment, Bae Hyunwoo asked,

"…Is it possible you have more than one Symbiotic Pendant?"

"Yes."

"Wow…"

It’s always the things you don’t expect.

Bae Hyunwoo was genuinely impressed.

'Just what is this guy’s deal?'

He’d watched most of the videos Sungwoo had sent him.

Among them was footage of defeating the fully formed Amthosrin and acquiring the Symbiotic Pendant.

So he’d been surprised as soon as he saw the video.

'Wow, Sungwoo was the one who took it down?'

The fully formed Amthosrin was a special boss monster first summoned by Levan.

There was a time it had been a hot topic thanks to a video uploaded by a couple in Busan—Bae Hyunwoo had seen it too.

Of course, he’d also heard rumors about how Amthosrin was defeated, but the only information available was that a masked warrior appeared, completed the raid alone, and vanished.

So he never would have dreamed that mysterious man was Sungwoo.

'Wait, then the Symbiotic Pendant that showed up in the Hot Pick auction...'

A new question formed.

After watching Sungwoo’s videos, Bae Hyunwoo learned that Sungwoo was the one who defeated Amthosrin.

And he also knew a Symbiotic Pendant had been sold in the Hot Pick auction.

But now Sungwoo had another Symbiotic Pendant.

When he got to that thought, Bae Hyunwoo just had to ask.

"Um… Sungwoo."

"Yes?"

"I just wanted to check. The Symbiotic Pendant you have now—was it the one from the Hot Pick auction?"

"Nope. You saw for yourself, right? I got this one myself by defeating the fully formed Amthosrin."

"Right? You’re the first, right?"

"Of course. I was the first. Oh, are you asking about the one that went up on Hot Pick?"

"Yeah, exactly. What was the deal with that? And you have more than one Symbiotic Pendant? How…"

As Bae Hyunwoo pressed for answers, Sungwoo smirked and began to speak slowly.

"Well, that is…"

"Yeah, that!"

"I’ll answer on stream, not now."

"Huh?"

He was going to reveal it on stream instead of now?

Bae Hyunwoo looked like the world’s most aggrieved man.

"Why? You don’t need to do that!"

"Just a little surprise for you, chief."

"Come on! I don’t need surprises, just tell me!"

"Hehe, but that wouldn’t be fun. Trust me, this is going to be a really fun event. So, I have one favor to ask in return."

"A favor?"

"Yeah. It’s something I really need to make this work."

Sungwoo never did reveal his secret to Bae Hyunwoo.

And now.

Levan held up the second Symbiotic Pendant before the crowd, and people erupted in utter confusion in the chat.

- What is this?????

- What did I just see?

- Item duplication?

- How is there another super expensive one?

- Is he crazy?

- Wowㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋ.

- Wait, was the Hot Pick one also Levan’s?

- The aggro is insane ㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋ.

- Breaking news) Kim Cheolsucheolsu, who just bought the Symbiotic Pendant, collapses...

- What’s happening right now?

The chat raged out of control, and the crowd still hadn’t figured out what was going on.

After watching the runaway chat for a while, Levan finally spoke slowly.

"Shocked, aren’t you?"

Levan continued calmly.

A faint smile played on his lips.

It was the smile of a dragon toying with the human world.

Levan continued.

"This isn’t some item duplication or bug. This is a genuine Symbiotic Pendant. And with that said, I have something to tell you all about this pendant."

- What now?

- Why does this sound so ominous?

- What is it?

- Drumroll, drumroll.

- Man, the mood just got heavy. It’s scary.

- Is it a tragic item or something?

- That pendant… is actually your long-lost brother!

- Whaaaat?!

- Lol, this is turning into a morning drama.

What could it be?

What is it that he has to say?

When Levan put on that meaningful expression, the viewers grew tense as well.

Once he had built enough suspense, Levan spoke in a composed voice.

"I will simply give this Symbiotic Pendant to you all. For free, at that."