Max Talent Player - Chapter 250

–Let’s have a quick chat.

Hyukjin and Jo Sunghyun met up.

Sunghyun was taciturn by nature. Only in front of Choi Sung-gu and Kim Hyukjin did he become talkative, although naturally, his attitude in front of Sung-gu and Hyukjin were day and night apart.

Their meeting place of choice was Giantgod Guild’s office. Offices of guilds like Taeguk Shield or Blood and Iron Lion had formally dressed secretaries or attendants to escort visitors or brew tea, but Giantgod didn’t have anything like that.

It was just the two of them in the office.

“Here’s the contract, Hyung.”

Sunghyun took out the contract from his Inventory. Inside the yellow manila envelope was the agreement Sunghyun was making with the government.

Hyukjin read through the document.

“To sum it up… In exchange for getting the government’s support, you must immediately respond to the government’s requests for assistance.” He looked up from the contract. “What support are they offering?”

“Lending me special transportation means like helicopters, as you saw before. Allowing me to use the bus-exclusive lane on the highway. The right to direct civilians in an emergency. Stuff like that.”

Hyukjin’s brow furrowed a little.

“Is that all?”

“Yes.”

“Listen to me, Sunghyun. Needing a helicopter would mean it’s an emergency situation, right?”

“Yes, it would.”

“In an emergency situation, do you want the helicopter more urgently, or does the government?”

“…”

When Sunghyun thought about it for a bit, the government was more pressed to use the helicopter than him—they had to put out the fire quickly.

“The government is the one pressed for time. Same goes for the bus-exclusive highway lane or whatever. And the right to direct the civilians, can you even call that a right?”

Sunghyun might think of it as one, considering how much value he put on the ‘public good’ and ‘justice’. That was how some people might see it, and Hyukjin didn’t think that was a bad thing.

“They call it a right, but it’ll actually become an obligation, a liability. What do you think will happen if you fail to exercise your directing rights and an unfortunate accident occurs? You’ll be the one held responsible.”

“…Is that so?”

“All the government has to do is put the blame on you. An outstanding Player like yourself failed to properly control the situation, resulting in an accident. Case closed.”

Hyukjin scoffed.

‘Just look at these jerks.’

There wasn’t a single “privilege” that deserved to be called a privilege. No matter how early they were in the days of Playing, the government was trying to have their cake and eat it.

“I didn’t want to get involved in your contracts if at all possible, but…”

Sunghyun had thoughts of his own, and those decisions were entitled to respect.

“You said this contract is still provisional, right?”

“Yes.”

“Have you gotten any contract money?”

“No.”

Other than using the helicopter once during the recent Immortal Fleet Gate incident, Sunghyun didn’t owe the government a single thing.

“Then go ahead and just annul it.”

“Okay.”

Hyukjin was caught off-guard by Sunghyun agreeing so readily.

“You’re not going to ask why?”

“I believe the reason isn’t important.”

But Hyukjin was still baffled—he had expected Sunghyun to at least ask why.

“If you say so, Hyung, it must be so.”

Sunghyun was a taciturn person. Except when he was with Sung-gu, he didn’t say much, and he wasn’t the type to joke.

Hyukjin’s Eye of Perception captured Sunghyun’s status.

Summary: Little Brother Obeying His Hyung

That meant at least in this moment, he wasn’t a ‘wind mage’ obeying his hyung, but a ‘little brother’ obeying his hyung.

Hyukjin was a little confused.

‘Hold on, is this a good thing?’

It was hard to say. Sunghyun was an amazing Player in his own right. In Hyukjin’s past, he was one of the 8 Heroes. A titan like the Typhoon changing his mind at a single word from Hyukjin, was that really a good thing?

“Sunghyun.”

“Yes, Hyung.”

“I’m grateful that you trust me, but it’s okay for you to give greater weight to your thoughts. It’s not like I’m a god or anything, and I’ll support and help you with your Playing outside of the guild wherever I can.”

“Yes. I’ll do so in the future.” Sunghyun nodded, and his next words showed that he had accurately grasped Hyukjin’s feelings. “You’re not telling me to completely sack the agreement, right?”

“Yeah, that’s right.”

Hyukjin was telling him to reject the current contract and come up with a new set of conditions, not completely give up on it.

‘Yeah, so Sunghyun did have thoughts of his own when he answered me.’

That reassured Hyukjin a little. It wouldn’t be right if one of the 8 Heroes of his past were to be reduced to a puppet.

“What conditions should I make sure are included?”

“For now, tax exemption.”

In the future, a huge amount of taxes would be levied on Players. They would be categorized as ultra-high earners and made to pay 50% of their income in taxes. Put simply, if a Player earned $1000, $500 would be taken as taxes.

“Also, guaranteed priority pick for items.”

Sunghyun had to secure first pick on the items acquired when clearing dungeons and gates with regular party members who weren’t contracted with the government.

“And erase any terms like patriotism and devotion altogether.”

‘Patriotism’ and ‘devotion’ were noble values, but they were unconditionally unfavorable to Sunghyun. As soon as abstract words like that wormed their way into the contract, they would drag Sunghyun down. Because whatever the situation, Sunghyun would be made to sacrifice himself on the grounds of ‘patriotism’ or ‘devotion’. It was better to have concrete terms in a contract.

“Lastly, put in a special clause that states your Giantgod Guild work takes priority over your government work.”

“Will they really accept?”

“Probably not.”

Because once there was a precedent, the government’s perceived losses would be significant.

Sunghyun grinned, his expression somewhat reminiscent of Hyukjin’s smile.

“If they don’t accept, then I need to make them accept.”

His summary changed.

Summary: Little Brother Who Wants to Become Like His Beloved Hyung

And one day later, their proposal was rejected, just as Hyukjin and Sunghyun had expected.

* * *

* * *

CEO Song Kiyoung was a man of great repute not just in Korea, but in the whole world. He was the leader of the global conglomerate Sungshin, as well as the true owner and sponsor of Taeguk Shield. It was even said that he ruled Korea.

There weren’t many who could meet a giant like him willy-nilly. Random people might have had the chance to meet him back when he was still searching for a hair loss cure, but not anymore.

“I think you must be pretty much the only person who can spring a visit on me like this and still get a meeting with me.”

CEO Song laughed breathily. He didn’t look particularly displeased.

“Ah. Is the young lad next to you the famous wind magician, Jo Sunghyun?”

They exchanged simple greetings. CEO Song seemed to know why Hyukjin had come to see him.

“If this is about the contract with the government, you should be talking to the government officials, not me. Why did you come to me?”

Hyukjin smiled. “Because you are the CEO of the Korean Players Association. Don’t you think you need to protect the interests of the Players?”

“…” Song Kiyoung was speechless for a moment. “You aren’t wrong.”

Hyukjin continued. “Players came to meet the CEO of the KPA, but the CEO of the KPA spoke to us not as the leader of the KPA, but as the leader of a conglomerate possessing financial power and authority.”

“It was my mistake.”

“It must be because you have the real financial power and authority.”

Hyukjin hadn’t forgotten the fact that the personnel department head of the second gen KPA—which publicly announced it had no connection to the government—was Kim Kangchul. That meant they weren’t completely unrelated to the government.

Even after CEO Song’s death, Korea remained in Sungshin’s clutches.

‘I guess it’s a bit of a stretch to put it like that.’

That might be an exaggeration, but in any case, it was a definite fact that Song Kiyoung was capable of exerting his influence on the government.

“That’s quite a dangerous thing to say so nonchalantly. If you say that in public somewhere, you’ll get me stoned for being a businessman in bed with politics.”

“Sometimes, the truth is uncomfortable for the public to hear.”

Sunghyun watched the conversation between Kim Hyukjin and Song Kiyoung in silence. Truth was, Sunghyun was on tenterhooks right up until they entered the room. In front of him was the leader of a chaebol conglomerate, a legend he had only seen on TV. But as soon as they arrived, his nervousness faded.

‘Hyukjin hyung isn’t at all cowed by CEO Song Kiyoung.’

That realization soothed his nerves. The big and mighty CEO Song now felt like a mountain he could surmount. It was amazing, and it renewed one of Sunghyun’s convictions.

‘Deciding to work with Hyukjin hyung was a stroke of genius.’

He decided to learn Hyukjin’s speech, actions, even the look in his eye. Sunghyun had the feeling that everything about Hyukjin was nourishment for his growth.

“Whether the truth is uncomfortable or not, whether there are businessmen who are in bed with politics or not, none of that is important to me,” said Hyukjin. “What’s important to me is that I have the ability to open a field where plenty of Predator Seeds can be acquired.”

“So you want to make a deal.”

“Yes. I’m sure you know that Taeguk Shield has successfully advanced into the Boracay server.”

“Indeed. I hear a lot of mana crystals are dropped there. You were right.”

Taeguk Shield’s Squad 2 was active in Boracay.

“Aren’t you making a pharmaceutical facility based on those mana crystals?”

“Did Kiyeol tell you that?”

“No, of course not. That would have earned him a harsh reprimanding from you. If someone with an eye on Sungshin’s reins were to make such a mistake, I would have cut ties with Guildmaster Song Kiyeol.”

Song Kiyoung smiled happily.

‘I suppose he heard the news that we’re investing heavily in pharmaceutical development and made the connection to mana crystals.’

Kim Hyukjin was definitely no ordinary fellow. A pharmaceutical industry using mana crystals was a path no one had attempted yet, at least publicly. It certainly wasn’t information available to regular people.

“Continuing your research on mana crystals will be of great help to you, CEO Song.”

“I’m of the understanding that our discussions on mana crystals and Predator Tree Seeds are already resolved. Bringing them up again now is a little lacking to serve as a trade condition, don’t you think?”

“Miracle will be quite helpful.”

“Miracle?”

“Guildmaster Song Junghye should know about it. About Miracle.”

Miracle was originally known as a hangover cure. But later on, Miracle’s uses surpassed being a simple cure for hangovers. It was used as an assist item for the production of all kinds of drugs. The prices of the same two drugs would vary depending on whether Miracle was in the ingredients list or not. In time, Miracle would be called ‘the miraculous item without side effects’.

“Predator Tree Seeds. Mana crystals. And Miracle. These three things should be a big help to you. In addition, I will try to find out about the Golden-Horned Dokkaebi by my own means.”

“Hm.”

Song Kiyoung stroked his chin. Kim Hyukjin had managed to get his hands on new info—this time about something called Miracle. Saying he knew about Sungshin’s investment in a mana crystal-based pharmaceutical facility was Kim Hyukjin showing off his info-gathering prowess.

In other words, the young man in front of him was saying this: I have this much info-gathering prowess, and I’ve also given you a hint about Miracle. I’ll use my skills to find out about the Golden-Horned Dokkaebi for you, so talk things over with the government using your qualifications as the CEO of the Players Association.

It was fun. He enjoyed himself every time he had a conversation with Kim Hyukjin.

“Very well.”

“Oh, right. One more thing. I don’t know who drafted this contract, but…”

“As far as I know, it was drafted by the Office of National Security.”

It didn’t matter who it was, as long as Hyukjin’s intentions reached them.

“We have close ties with Italy and the US as well.”

Right now, Hyukjin was thinking of two people. The US sovereign Michelle, and the Italian info merchant Pietro.

“Giantgod Guild picking up camp and moving elsewhere is one option available to us.”

Of course, he didn’t actually intend on leaving the country. Both his older sister and mother liked Korea. He also hadn’t asked the members of Giantgod what they thought, but that was because he didn’t really intend on emigrating.

Song Kiyoung smiled again.

“The higher ups will have a fit when they hear that.”

“I trust you will smooth things over to prevent any fits from happening.”

Song Kiyoung didn’t agree or refuse. Instead, he said, “I have a request.”

“Please speak.”

“I need a flower that looks like this.”

Hyukjin took a picture from CEO Song, then nodded. “I will get it for you in the near future.”

“You know what this is?”

“I think so, yes.”

“Hahaha. Even explorers didn’t know. You really know what it is?”

Hyukjin shrugged. “One flower delivered to your doorstep will mean far more than a hundred words now.”

“That’s true. I look forward to it.”

Song Kiyoung was a little surprised. This young man seemed to become more and more fascinating by the day. It seemed Kim Hyukjin knew the location of a ‘flower’ even explorers didn’t know about. It was possible that Hyukjin was just bluffing to show off his intel-gathering ability, but somehow, CEO Song got the feeling that wasn’t the case. Hyukjin seemed to really know it.

‘He’s truly fascinating.’

As he watched Kim Hyukjin walk away, Song Kiyoung once again recalled his dead son. If his son was alive, would he have grown to be like Hyukjin?

‘No.’

He loved his son, and thought of his son as a true talent. But he was suddenly struck with the thought that even his son wouldn’t have been equal to Kim Hyukjin.

‘They say heroes are made by the times.’

If Song Kiyoung had to guess, the hero of this irrevocably changed world… would probably end up being Kim Hyukjin.

* * *

Hyukjin and Sunghyun left the CEO’s office. As they waited for the elevator, Sunghyun asked, “Are negotiations… usually this easy?”

“Depends on who does them, I guess. Negotiations are all done by people, after all.”

“Will the CEO of the KPA really assist us?”

“He will.”

He wasn’t certain, but Hyukjin guessed there was a deep relationship between the government and Sungshin. The government would definitely accept their offer.

“Thank you. I learned a lot today. What are you going to do now, Hyung?”

“Me?”

Hyukjin glanced behind him. Senia happened to appear right as he did.

“I’m going to open the Sky Gate. In a safe place.”

His party members were mostly good to go. Now, it was time for Hyukjin to advance his own ‘true scenario’.

‘I’m going to the sky.’