Chapter 190: Chapter 189: Bring Me Your Best Treasure Part II
Translator: HunterW
Editor: RED
I completely understood why Song Haechang had such a shocked expression. Hell, even I checked the King-Emperor’s Commitment every day because I couldn’t believe an item like that could ever exist. In my past life, there were seven items called The Seven Treasures, and one of them was the Lightning Boots of Azazel. The King-Emperor’s Commitment wasn’t one of them, however.
The one I had right now was completely different than the one of the past. This one was in the form of earrings, but the past one was in the form of a bracelet and belonged to one of Cheng Long’s unexceptional healers. It only had three effects, which were made specifically for healers.
The past one was nothing compared to mine. While I didn’t know what the other six treasures were, I was confident in saying that my Commitment was strong enough to become one. I was sure that in this life, there could even be eight treasures instead of seven. It was that powerful.
“…I see it’s a King-Emperor item.”
“Yes, it is,” I said.
“Hah. Wow. Before I came here, we at Sunbin believed that we could compete for the top three places since we had a Rank 10 item of our own. We did have our sights on first place as well, but realized that would be too difficult, even for us.” Song Haechang took a sip of his tea before continuing, “Now, the reason I came today was that if you registered the King-Emperor’s Mantle, you could at least get into the top 50s, no, into the top 30s. But I can see now that we’ve needlessly butted in. I feel ashamed.”
“Please, don’t worry about it,” I said, waving my hand. To be honest, it was thanks to the Sunbin Guild’s help that I was able to create the King-Emperor’s Commitment, after all. If it weren’t for them, I would have had to deal with the greedy Wai Chung on my own and he probably would have got in the way of my plan. The Sunbin Guild had even given me its King-Emperor’s Helm and Mantle willingly. In the end, it was through Sunbin that I managed to complete the King-Emperor’s Set.
After that, we discussed what to expect in the next thirty days. Right now, the top players were being careful, but eventually, they were going to lay down their cards. While they would do that for the quest reward, they would also be confident they could protect their treasures from grabby hands. Song Haechang didn’t ever mention the King-Emperor’s Commitment ever again, and I didn’t bring it up. Once he left, I sat back on my sofa and took out the Dungeon Mole again to pet, while lost in thought.
Thirty minutes later…
“The item that took first place was Broken Spacetime, right?” If I recalled correctly, the Lightning Boots of Azazel hadn’t appeared in this quest. Wakaba had assembled it after this quest. Like the Lightning Boots, Broken Spacetime was also one of the Seven Treasures. That meant if I kept the Commitment hidden and registered the Boots, I could place in the top three. However…
“Each person can register up to three items…” All solo players, organizations and guilds technically had a chance to place in the top three. If it weren’t for that, I would have kept the Commitment hidden and just registered the Boots instead. Actually, if Kazunari hadn’t attacked me in first place, I would have been content with registering the Boots. The reason he had attacked me at all was that he was afraid of me. He didn’t want me getting any stronger and wanted to get rid of me, kind of like how I wanted to get rid of the Blood Prince and the Predator Duke. That told me was that I was pretty threatening to some people, and I was kind of happy with that.
“But that doesn’t mean I should give up on this quest. The reward is too great to do that!” The reward I got from the Time Attack quest was the Rank 10 Infinite Space Ring. If there was even a slight chance this quest would give me a similar reward, then I was going to get first place no matter what!
“If people are going to care about whatever I do half-assed or earnestly, then I might as well give it my all, so that no one will ever be able to catch up!” That was what it all boiled down to. Pretty much everyone in the world knew about me and wanted to know what I did, just like how Cheng Long and Nayuta cared about what Sunbin did and how the Shire Guild cared about what the Spencer Guild did. I had three Rank 10 items as well, so I decided that if I was going to do this quest, then I would give it my all and live up to my reputation.
“And if anyone tries to take them away from me… I’ll make sure to teach them what that means.”
-Banana candy!-
“Haha. I’m busy trying to figure out how to win, and all you want is candy,” I said to it for butting in at such a weird time. The mole got up on its hind legs and squeaked for more candy, so I took out another one and placed the candy in front of it. “Here, eat up. You’re going to be pretty busy soon, too.”
Soon, some nameless person was going to get a treasure that would become the harbinger of disaster, just like it had in the past. When that happened, I was going to need the Dungeon Mole’s help.
I resumed petting the mole as it licked the piece of candy.
The next night at the Sunbin Guild headquarters…
“Dig in.”
“Thank you.” I had received a invitation from Song Daechul to have dinner with him, Song Myungsoo, Song Haechang, Song Haein, and four other high-ranking officers. I could tell this was about what I showed Song Haechang yesterday. He had to have reported it, since it was a Rank 10 item and an unusual one at that.
“You know, the older I get, the more I can’t hold back my curiosity. If this meeting makes you feel too uncomfortable, feel free to let me know,” Song Daechul said to me in the middle of dinner.
“No, I’m fine sir,” I replied with a small smile. It didn’t seem like they were trying to interrogate me, and I wasn’t a criminal or anything. Yeah, I did use the Sunbin Guild a little, but only I needed to know that.
“I heard something strange from Haechang yesterday.”
“Yes sir,” I said with a nod.
“I didn’t ask you here to interrogate you. As I said before, I’m just curious, which was why I had rewatched the video of that day. I had thought that when you were sacrificed, that was the end to the quest. But… that wasn’t it, was it?”
“No, sir, it wasn’t.” The King-Emperor’s quest was over anyway, so there was no need to keep everything about it a secret.
Song Daechul let out a booming laugh, while Song Myungsoo and Song Haein blinked in confusion, since they were the ones who were with me in the Tomb.
“Could you explain what happened after?”
“I can.”
“Haha! Thank you!”
Just then, Song Myungsoo cut in. “By chance, were the irreversible seventy death penalties…?”
“Yes, sir. That part was a lie. I didn’t receive a single one.”
“Ha…” That was the one reason neither Sunbin nor Cheng Long could volunteer any one of their members to be sacrificed. Those other six people in that room were the future of their respective guilds. They had naturally shifted their attention to me, expecting me to become the sacrifice instead and that was how I got to squeeze 1.4 billion golden rings out of the two guilds.
“When I stepped onto the altar, I was transported to an identical room. A message appeared, telling me I had passed the test and was taken to the King-Emperor’s true treasure room.” After that, I explained how I was able to create the King-Emperor’s Commitment with the effects of my choice and what the requirements were for each effect. I didn’t tell them everything, but I told them enough so that they could understand.
“And that was how I got the King-Emperor’s Commitment. Reveal King-Emperor’s Commitment.”
==[The King-Emperor’s Commitment (Rank 10)
The King-Emperor’s true treasure.
All Stats increased by 450 points
Increase Mana Conversion skill level by 2
Add Blink Skill
Increase CRIT rate by 9%
Increase CRIT damage by 500%
Increase Penetration by 240 points
Increase EXP gain from monsters by 15%
DEF 1000, MDEF 1000]==
I revealed the Commitment for all to see, just like I had shown Song Haechang, and the others ended up with the same expression he had yesterday.
Song Daechul burst out laughing again. “We were all too greedy! And that part about the sacrifice; it was all to a trap to pit us against one another,” he said to no particular person. “You were properly rewarded for your selflessness, it seems.”
“No, I was just lucky. I was the only solo player there, after all. It only made sense that I had to be the sacrifice. I believed getting paid 200 million by the members of both guilds was enough restitution,” I said, playing it off as if I had gotten lucky. No one had any suspicions, it seemed, and they had all bought my story.
“Fortune favors the prepared mind and you, Jiwon, were prepared in mind, heart, and soul.”
“I apologize for not telling you sooner.”
“Don’t worry about it. You made that item all on your own. You had no reason to tell anyone.”
Song Myungsoo had a bitter expression at what his father said. I understood how he felt, because he made the best decision he could considering his circumstances.
“Leave it. You don’t need to worry about anything. You made the best decision you could make. There was nothing else you could have done,” Song Daechul said. He felt the same as me.
“Yes, sir.”
We talked a little bit more about the King-Emperor’s Commitment.
“By the way…” Song Daechul began. “I feel like the King-Emperor’s Commitment isn’t all you have. We all have three chances, which was why I sent Haechang. I was sure you had a few Rank 9 items in your possession. But… it would seem I have underestimated you once more.”
I didn’t say anything back and only smiled.
“Hahaha! I thought Sunbin stood a chance this time, but I’m reminded of the Time Attack quest once more.” Song Daechul saw right through me.
I was going to do exactly like I had during the Time Attack quest!
