Second Life Ranker

“Why are you in such a hurry to leave? We still have a lot to talk about. Why don’t you leave after resting here for a while?” The Gluttony Emperor looked at Yeon-woo disappointedly. He hated taking even a few steps outside of the palace, but since he was outside with Yeon-woo, it was clear he was being sincere.

“I’m grateful for the exemplary treatment you’ve given me, but I had to carve time out to visit you. I’ll stay longer here during my next visit.”

“Bahahaha! Well, your life is busier and more violent than anyone else’s, and that is your charm. I’ll cheer you on from far away.” The Gluttony Emperor patted Yeon-woo’s hand. When he licked his lips, he looked like someone who was losing out on something delicious. 

At that moment, Duke Tuan Tien walked over carrying a small chest and offered it to Yeon-woo. “This is a gift that His Majesty is bestowing upon his friend.”

Yeon-woo looked at it and asked the Gluttony Emperor. “What is this?”

“Open it.” The Gluttony Emperor smiled, his face filled with large pores. 

Yeon-woo took the chest from Duke Tuan Tien and carefully opened it. He found a sword that was the length of an arm inside. It had a curved blade and was decorated with jewels that made it look more like an ornamental sword rather than one used for battle.  

[Moonlight of Blessed Ones][Category: Knife, Amulet][Rank: S][Description: The moonlight shines on those walking in the darkness. The path that you walk will always be blessed with bright light.][*Moonlight Leading LuckA great amount of luck will accompany the user’s actions. The probability of success will increase as long as it doesn’t challenge the rules and laws surrounding it. It will raise combat and defensive power. If the user creates something, the item will be blessed.]

The concept of luck wasn’t set in stone in the Tower. There were always unknown variables, but because the knife affected the probabilities in a positive way, the Gluttony Emperor’s gift was extremely priceless. 

“Didn’t you say you were working hard on something? I don’t know what it is, but I hope you succeed. This item is something I cherish, too. Wear it around your neck. It’ll be very effective. Hahaha!”

Yeon-woo closed the chest. He looked at the cheerful Gluttony Emperor and bowed in gratitude. ‘What a giving tree. Is this a bribe to talk to the Martial King on his behalf?’

With the alliance against White Dragon, Jamshid Liquor, all kinds of elixirs, and now the Moonlight of Blessed Ones, Yeon-woo was beginning to feel sorry for the Gluttony Emperor. ‘Not that anything will change.’

「If only that pig knew what you’re thinking.」

‘Shut up.’ He ignored Shanon’s teasing and left Blood Land’s Outer Space. 

* * *

Creutz carefully approached Yeon-woo and asked, “Are you planning on allying yourself with the Gluttony Emperor?”

If the rest of the Tower learned about the alliance with Blood Land and Black Dragon, it would be turned upside down by the force that had the ability to oppose the great White Dragon. Also, it hadn’t been that long since the River of Souls incident. 

Yeon-woo’s decision could change the outcome of the war. 

There wasn’t anything left to say about the One-horned tribe, which had a special relationship with Yeon-woo, and the souls he commanded were destructive enough to stand against an entire emerging clan. On top of this, the Fantasy Regiment looked at Yeon-woo favorably. 

Yeon-woo was a looming storm. The tiniest of his actions would ripple out and cause mayhem in the Tower. Naturally, Creutz would be sensitive to this since he needed to understand Yeon-woo’s relationship with the Gluttony Emperor. He was feeling uncharacteristically rushed.

However, Yeon-woo didn’t say anything and just looked at Creutz with an indifferent expression. Creutz came to his senses and sighed. “Sorry. That’s none of my business.”

The Fantasy Regiment might think it had a special relationship with Yeon-woo but the feeling wasn’t mutual. It seemed like Yeon-woo had already gone out of his way by letting Creutz tag along. However, if Creutz was beginning to push things too far, Yeon-woo had to put some distance between them.

Creutz realized he had broken his promise and apologized before departing on the Flying Dragon. He would return after organizing his thoughts. 

Yeon-woo looked at Creutz’s departing back and opened his quest window. 

[Materials for ‘Kynee’]– Apophis’ Scale (45/45)

……

– Magic Sword Stone (2/2)– Jamshid’s Liquor (12/5)– Adamantine Nova (0/1) 

‘Now, only the Adamantine Nova is left.’ Yeon-woo’s eyes narrowed.  ‘I still managed to collect them faster than I expected.’ If he had tried to search for them piece by piece, he would have wasted months without a guarantee that he would even find them since most of the materials were found only on the higher floors.

With By the Table’s help, he had progressed much more quickly. Atran said they were in negotiations to buy the Adamantine Nova, so he would have it soon. 

‘Shouldn’t the negotiations be done by now?’ Yeon-woo blew his Consciousness into Freesia’s Mirror. “Atran.”

A hologram popped up over the bead, and Atran turned around in surprise. However,  he only twisted his upper body towards Yeon-woo and couldn’t look him in the eye. He looked like someone who’d been caught hiding something. 『Wh-what?』

What was he doing? Yeon-woo looked at him suspiciously. Atran usually spoke formally to his customers even though he also talked to them with contempt. However, he looked stressed at the moment.

“I was wondering how the Adamantine Nova was going. You said you’re in the final stage of negotiations.”

『Ah, it’s going fine, don’t worry. I’m busy right now, so I’ll contact you later.』 Atran quickly ended the call. Although he had tried his best to hide it, Yeon-woo’s sharp eyes had caught his appearance.

‘It looks like he has a black eye.’ Had someone beaten him up? Yeon-woo’s eyes narrowed. 

* * *

It was evening when Atran showed himself again. He didn’t contact Yeon-woo through the communications device but arrived through the portal himself. His shoulders were dropping, as though he were depressed about something.

“What’s wrong with your eye?” He even had a patch on it.

“Huh? Oh, I tripped.” Atran couldn’t meet Yeon-woo’s eyes and turned his head away. 

Yeon-woo looked him over. “Did someone beat you up?”

“Why would anyone do that?! I’m Atran! I’m a big fish of By the Table who doesn’t have much longer to go until the Flower rank! Who would dare touch me?!”

「Looks like someone really beat the crap out of him.」

「It’s not easy to touch a mysterious merchant, though.」

Shanon and Hanryeong nodded as they looked at Atran, who was jumping up and down. They were surprised since mysterious merchants were aware of the dangers they faced from robbers and thieves and had formed unions for protection and called on mercenaries or the Bureau to help them exact revenge. Although Yeon-woo considered Atran a sucker, he was actually well known, which meant that only someone really confident or really skilled would dare assault him.

Yeon-woo sighed softly. “I guess someone beat you up during a deal.”

“Are you some kind of psychic?” Atran looked at Yeon-woo with a scared expression. 

「He really has harsh feelings towards our master.」

「It seems like he lost during the negotiations.」

Yeon-woo snorted and ignored Shanon and Hanryeong’s gossiping. It was easy to guess what had happened to Atran. Those who possessed an Adamantine Nova had to be strong, and the greedy Atran had probably stuck to the owner like a leech even after they rejected his offer. The consequences were obvious since players mostly had cold or hair-trigger personalities.

Atran sighed, thinking he couldn’t hide it anymore. “Fine. You’re right. The negotiations fell through.”

“What did they say?”

“That they would never sell it.” Atran frowned. “At first, I thought they were just trying to negotiate a better deal, so I continued to raise the offer. But then, I got hit with a pipe! Argh, that granny!” Atran muttered to himself about unnecessary violence and how the seller was unmarried despite her advanced age likely due to her violent temper. He looked wronged. 

‘Pipe? Granny?’ Yeon-woo cocked his head in curiosity. “Who is the owner?”

“I can’t…tell you that.” It was By the Table’s rule to keep any information on its customers a secret. “Do you really need that Adamantine Nova? If you have time, I’ll try to gather adamantium and get someone to make…”

“No. I need it now.”

It wasn’t easy to make Adamantine Nova. Gathering sufficient adamantium alone would waste a lot of time, and one needed a few years just to condense it. Even if an artisan worked on it, it would take at least a year. With the situation in Tartarus growing worse, they couldn’t afford to waste any time.

“What kind of quest did you receive that requires that stuff?” Atran didn’t know what Yeon-woo was planning on making, so he sighed.

“Are you interested in selling information about the owner? I’ll try convincing her.”

“No.”

“Why? Can’t I purchase information?”

“That’s true…but it’s a bit complicated.” Atran frowned. “First, the owner is one of the top VIPs of our union, and she pays us every year not to sell her information. These types of customers are rare.”

By the Table had a strong influence in the entire universe, not just in the Tower. If she was a VIP to them, then…‘Is she one of the Nine Kings?’ It had to be someone at that level. He was suspicious. 

“And more than anything.” Atran told him the most important reason, “The owner is our master’s best friend. I can only tell you this, you know?”

Yeon-woo nodded and clucked his tongue. Atran was forbidden from revealing more, and Yeon-woo didn’t realize the Adamantine Nova would prove to be the biggest challenge. He’d initially believed that it would be the easiest item to get. “I’ll have to talk to Freesia.”

“What? Hey? Hey!” Fearing that Yeon-woo was going to speak to his boss because of his apparent incompetence, Atran began shouting. 

However, Yeon-woo was already calling Freesia through the jade mirror. It was the first time he’d contacted her after receiving the jade mirror. Atran’s face turned pale. 

『Cain? Why are you calling me in the middle of the night?』 She had a wooden mask on her face, and her short red hair looked like flames. Freesia must have been in the middle of feeding her White Wolf because she had a piece of meat in her hand.

“Y-you really contacted her…” Atran covered his face with his hands. His superior would hear about his incompetence directly. He wondered how many customers had direct access to Freesia. Yeon-woo was probably on the same level as the owner of the Adamantine Nova. 

Although Atran was in charge of Yeon-woo, he didn’t know what Yeon-woo’s exact status was in the union. 

“I think you know why I contacted you.”

『If it’s about the owner of the Adamantine Nova, I cannot tell you anything about her.』

So she knew. 

『This is her condition. Even if I didn’t take our friendship into consideration, we can’t lose a customer like her. 』

“Still, there’s a saying that there’s no deal that can’t be done.”

『There’s no deal that can’t be done.』 Freesia repeated and smirked, not because she thought it was funny but to prod him to show her what he would trade. 『That’s true. What item do you have in mind? Also, we’ve never spent as much money on a sponsorship as we have with you. You know that most people wouldn’t even get a chance to get any of the items on your list, right?』

From the reconstruction of their Outer Space to Brahm’s experiments, Yeon-woo was like a money pit to By the Table.

“Information on why Hades is missing, the situation in Tartarus with the Titans and Giants, and the object I’m trying to create. Don’t you think that sounds good?”

Freesia’s eyes widened. Although the hologram wasn’t entirely clear, Yeon-woo could tell that he had piqued her interest. 

『Please continue.』

Yeon-woo began to describe what he’d seen and heard in Tartarus. The information about the rebellion of the Titans and Giants could be sold at an exorbitant price since it was something that even the gods and demons of the ninety-eighth floor didn’t know.

Although it was easy to assume that players in the lower world didn’t care what happened in the heavenly world, the gods and demons were beings who made up the laws, and they were crucial to the Tower’s system. Anything that happened to them would affect players, too.

If they managed this information well, By the Table could earn a huge profit. All merchants wanted these types of intelligence reports. Atran’s eyes widened. What did this human do that he’d not only overturned Red Dragon but also the world of the gods?

『Hm. So that’s what happened.』 Freesia stroked her chin and nodded. Just as Yeon-woo suspected, the information was priceless. 『However, it’s still not enough. Do you have anything else?』

He didn’t think she would ask for so much. Yeon-woo clucked his tongue and added a bonus. “If I can create Kynee, I’ll obtain the title of Artisan. Don’t you want to be the first to receive an item created by an Artisan?”

『It’s tempting, but we already have an Artisan customer. Also, you’re not an Artisan yet…』

“What if it’s an item that’s created with the help of Brahm, Henova, and these beings?” Yeon-woo snapped his fingers. The Cyclopes Brontes and Steropes appeared behind him, frowning in displeasure. However, with the current situation, they had no choice but to follow Yeon-woo’s orders.  

Freesia’s eyes widened when she recognized the two Cyclopes. Then, she grinned. 『I’ll say that it’s tempting to get an item touched by two blacksmiths equal to Hephaestus—in fact, were his teachers. How about an exclusive supply contract?』

“That’s too much, but we can give you priority.” This time, Yeon-woo was the one who stepped back, repeating Freesia’s own words back to her. She clucked her tongue to herself, but the deal wasn’t bad at all.  

『The owner of Adamantine Nova...』 The name that came next was familiar to Yeon-woo. 『Is someone named Anastasia.』