Translator: rainbowturtle
Editor: LD & Jyazen
Hyeonu sat in the square of Etono where no one was present. He was waiting for someone.
âWhen is Baler coming?â
To be precise, Hyeonu was waiting for a demon king, not a human. He was waiting for this demon kingâBaler.
âHe said he will make the magic circle, so he should make it.â
Hyeonu couldnât express his impatience because he didnât know when Baler would come, so he just struggled with it inwardly. There was currently only one magic circleâthe one that moved people from Phinis to the demon world. In other words, it was one way. There was no magic circle for the return route. This was definitely what Baler had promised to make.
âIt has to be handled so they can go back...â
Hyeonu still had a minimum of conscience. He thought that if the players came, he should take responsibility for them to be able to go back.
âOnly then can they buy potions to restore magic power...â
Hyeonu laughed slyly.
âWhat? Are you crazy? Where did you go that you got hit silly?â The two-meter-tall Baler appeared behind Hyeonu and clicked his tongue.
Hyeonu quickly erased the smile from his face and turned to greet Baler: âYouâre here, Baler.ân/ô/vel/b//in dot c//om
âGreetings. Is that the magic circle? It goes from the middle world to Etono?â Baler raised his finger to greet Hyeonu, using the magic power from his hand to force Hyeonuâs head to tilt up. Then he pointed to the collection of bizarre shapes and characters carved on one side of the square as he questioned it.
âYes, that is the magic circle created by dragons. It can only be used to come to Etono.â
âIt was quite good. It also contains magic power amplification... Yet judging from the lousy proportions, they donât intend to use it themselves.â Baler stared at the magic circle and clicked his tongue again. It wasnât Hyeonu but a dragon, Leon Meyer, who had created the magic circle.
âWhat does that mean?â Hyeonu asked.
âIt is literally what I said. Magic circles that require a large amount of magic power require magic power amplification. Otherwise, it is even hard to activate. But... this is too lousy. It is only 10 times.â
âBaler, how much magic amplification can the magic circle you create have?â
âMe? Around 30 times?â Baler said.
Hyeonu shook his head roughly. 30 times... It couldnât be done.
âCan you make it 5 times? 30 times is too much.â
Baler didnât know Hyeonuâs intentions and cocked his head. âIf it is 5 times, wonât many adventurers be needed to use the magic circle?â
âIt doesnât matter. I would appreciate it if it is 5 times.â
âI see. If that is your intention, Iâll do it. It is also convenient for me.â
***
Hyeonu exited Arena and contacted Kale straight away: âKale, can we talk now?â
The time was just right. It was currently nighttime in South Korea, so it was daytime in the United States. If there was one problem, it was that Kale was busy.
-Yes, the meeting has just finished.Has something happened?
The timing was good as Kale had just finished attending a meeting. Naturally, the subject of the urgent meeting had been Hyeonu due to the video heâd sent to Kale.
âI didnât expect things to proceed this way...â Kale thought.
No one in the planning room had expected Hyeonu to change the demon king to protect Etono. No, in the first place, it was unexpected for Hyeonu to be related to such a strong NPC.
âAdministrators are required,â Hyeonu stated.
Kale shook his head. He couldnât understand Hyeonuâs abrupt words.
-Administrators?Isnât the situation already stable in Phinis?As far as I know, the number of NPC administrators is high, and our employees are pulling out one by one.
Phinis was already perfect. This was why Nikeâs employees were slowly exiting after having their positions taken by NPCs.
âThe NPCs will go to the demon world. I want Nike to re-fill their positions.â
-Arenât there administrators in Etono?Isnât it a revived city?
âRight now, Etono is empty. It is literally a ghost city.â
-Huh?A ghost city?! Kale couldnât help shouting.
It took him by surprise that Etono had become a ghost city. Just based on what he saw from the video in the meeting room, Etono had been a gorgeous city filled with numerous demons and demonic creatures...
-What happened, Mr. Gang?
âKale, you know how I announced the demon world on my stream?â
-Of course, I know.
âThen it is easy to talk about. The magic circle will take people to Etono. But what if Etono were filled with demons and demonic creatures running around?â
No matter how strong the rankers were, they werenât a match for the demons and demonic creatures in terms of numbers. They could have put up a good fight, but it would just end up as meaningless propaganda if all of the demons and demonic creatures werenât defeated.
âIt might be possible if it is Mr. Gang,â Kale thought.
-Itâs impossible for them. The players will die.
âThat is why I asked John Blake and Baler to vacate Etono. So, there are naturally no administrators there now. However, if Nikeâs employees go to the demon world, it might raise the suspicions of other people.
âRaise suspicions?â Kale wondered inwardly.
Although it was a secret that Etono was Hyeonuâs territory, this wasnât so important. It would merely be surprising if Alley Leader had a territory in the demon world. So what suspicions were Hyeonu talking about? Then Kale realized something. It was one of the things that had emerged on the stream. This was definitely it.
-Perhaps the fee...Mr. Gang did it?
âYes, I did it. In return, most of the fee will be paid to the emperor, but... isnât it still a profitable business?â Hyeonu replied positively.
Upon hearing that, Kaleâs expression changed to one of astonishment.
âWhen it comes to work related to Arena, he is really...â
Hyeonu was unrivaled. He was the most suitable person for this sentence. Kale knew this better than anyone. It was just perfect.
âIn particular, things that are relevant to him...â
The best thing was naturally Hyeonu himself. No matter what method Hyeonu used, he led things in a direction advantageous to him or somehow made damages beneficial to himself. The benefits were larger, and the damages were gains.
-Then Iâll put my employees back into the position of administrators of Phinis.Do you have anything else?
âThatâs fine, thereâs nothing else. Then Iâll see you next week, Kale.â
-It is already the last one.Iâll go with the boss to see Alley Leader win the championship.
There was only a week left until the end of the Winter League.
***
There were two men inside a neat office. One man sitting in a chair was wearing black-red armor while another man was standing in front of the armored man with folded hands.
âJohnny, ask the administrators for their opinions. Is there anyone who wants to go to the demon world? The salary will be five times more. Moreover, the work is half of what it is here now. The duration of the dispatch is six months,â Hyeonu, the man in black-red armor, quickly conveyed what he wanted to say to Johnny.
âHuh? My Lordâs words are too fast...â
âFind people who want to be sent to do a comfortable job! Bring at least ten! Donât worry about the empty positions. Iâll fill them up!â
âI understand, My Lord.â
At Hyeonuâs words, Johnny exited the office in a swift manner that didnât fit his large body. Then a brown-haired man entered through the door that Johnny had opened.
âCan such pushing solve everything? Sometimes you have to know how to take care of your people...â The man who appeared through the door was Lebron. The moment he stepped inside, he looked at Hyeonu and clicked his tongue.
âMaster!â Hyeonu got up from the chair and walked toward Lebron. In fact, Hyeonu had been feeling doubtful that maybe Lebron wouldnât come.
âItâs because he hates troublesome things...â
It didnât really matter if Lebron came. Etono wouldnât collapse in Lebronâs absence, but his existence was a sense of stability in itself. In short, Lebron was a type of guardian god.
âWhy do you look like youâve seen a ghost? Itâs not like Iâve entered somewhere Iâm not allowed to...?â
âI didnât know you would be here so early. There is still a bit of time before the magic circle is activated.â
âI heard a lot about it. It needs quite a bit of magic power, right? Your magic power probably isnât enough. You are still lacking.â
Frowning at Lebron who just casually uttered spiteful words, Hyeonu said, âEven if this is true, arenât you speaking too firmly? It hurts me.â
âHurts? This guy... You can take it.â
âAre you here to tease me?â
âNo? Letâs go to the demon world. I have to go see that old man,â Lebron said with a wide smile.
âNo matter how I look at it, he is here to tease me,â Hyeonu thought.
He raised his hand and pointed to the door with a bitter smile. âLetâs go see the magic circle first. I donât think youâve seen it yet.â
Lebron nodded cheerfully. âBy the way, I want to hear the story of that old man. Iâm curious about how he is doing in the demon world.â
Hyeonu walked ahead, and Lebron followed him. While walking, Hyeonu constantly moved his mouth. It was because Lebron had too much he was curious about.
âDuke Blake is now one of the seven demon kings of the demon world. He became the demon king recently.â
âHe is a demon king? It seems to fit him well... Still, I wonder how much stronger he has become in the meantime...âLebronâs expression became very strange the more he listened to Hyeonu talk about John Blakeâs life. âBy the way, that old manâs personality means he must now want to stay in the demon world? After he retired, he wandered around the continent...â
âHe is doing all of this to get back to this world. He has to clean up the demon world so he can leave.â
âYes, I guessed it would be like this. He is a man who wouldnât move voluntarily, but his ability is better than anyone elseâs. His ability to struggle for freedom is really great. This is what Iâve learned...â Lebronâs eyes narrowed as he stared at Hyeonu.
He was saying with his eyes, âTake my place quickly.â
Hyeonu smiled. He had no such intentions at all. After all, Hyeonu also hated troublesome things. Otherwise, he wouldâve spent more time investing in Phinis.
âWhy donât you raise a new disciple? Or you can hand over your position to the vice-captain. You already have two of them. Iâm too busy to be in charge of the Knights of Keon.â
âBad guy. If that were possible, I wouldnât have stayed here for so long.â Lebron sighed.
He needed the emperorâs permission to step down from leading the Knights of Keon. This meant he could never step down from his post unless the emperor was satisfied with his successor.
âOnce you come back from the demon world, youâll have to raise another disciple, Master.âHyeonu made fun of Lebron like this.
He was persistent in targeting his masterâs weakness.
âHuhu...â Lebron burst out laughing.
The price for making a slip of the tongue was disastrous. Hyeonu was hit on the top of the head by Lebronâs fist.