Martial God Regressed to Level 2

[Translator - Asura]

[Proofreader - Gun]

Side Story 12

=Dungeon Portals Show Potential for Conquest for the First Time.

=Who Is the Dungeon Breaker Calling People to Korea?

=Over 80% of Those Summoned Are BattleNet Players.

="Lee Hayeon" and "Ito Shizuru": The Non-Players Capturing Public Attention.

In recent days, Seong Jihan has been continuously making headlines that shake the world.

The media has begun to call him the "Dungeon Breaker."

-Seong Jihan... Who is this guy? Feels like he just dropped from the sky.

-He completely transformed Yoon Seah's image... I thought it would be hard for her to shake off that negative image.

-I've always thought the witch hunt against her was over the top, haha.

-Look at people switching sides after bashing her so much before, lol.

-Seriously, were the 'Sword King's Family' the only ones bashing her? Do you know how many likes the articles about her stabbing had?

-All those top comments have been deleted now, haha.

After the Sword King left for Japan, people who vented their anger on the innocent Yoon Seah were now doing a complete about-face, saying, "The Sword King's Family went too far."

-But we have to give credit this time.

-Seriously, she might actually get attacked... haha.

-Members of the Sword King's Family are wiping their social media clean right now; it's chaos.

-If Seong Jihan hadn't said he'd reveal how to resolve dungeon portals, terror organizations might have already entered Korea to hunt down the Sword King's Family, haha.

With humanity's consecutive defeats in the Space League, dungeon portals were becoming the most critical issue in human society.

If Seong Jihan was the only solution to the dungeon portal problem, terror organizations might have made extreme moves to appease him.

At least, because he said he would reveal how to eliminate dungeon portals, things were quiet for now.

But the criticism against Yoon Seah hadn't entirely subsided.

-Guys, did you see the list of 30 people?

-Yeah, Seong Jihan even called out deceased people, narrowing it down to about 30.

-Honestly, I'm curious about his criteria. He didn't just call top rankers like Baron or Sophia; he included ordinary people too.

-I'm most curious about Ito Shizuru... Is she the one who seduced the Sword King?

-Isn't it weird how silent the Japanese media are? You'd think they'd be the first to report on this.

People's interest was focused on those whom Seong Jihan had called out.

Top BattleNet rankers like Barren and Sophia were well-known, so there wasn't much curiosity about them.

But attention was drawn to cases like "Ito Shizuru," who were entirely unknown to the public.

-By the way, who is Lee Hayeon?

-I've seen pictures of her online. She's known as a beauty from a chaebol family.

-But I heard she's marrying a divorced man?

-??? Why???

-There's a rumor she's an illegitimate child, haha.

-Huh? That seems so random... Did he call someone with the same name?

-Is that so?

While not as much as Ito Shizuru, Lee Hayeon also sparked people's curiosity.

"Well... It would be better if it was someone with the same name."

In the office of the Divergent guild.

"Why on earth did he call me?"

With dark circles under her eyes, Lee Hayeon muttered to herself as she looked at the comments on her monitor.

The "Dungeon Breaker" Seong Jihan.

A man who seemed to have dropped from the sky was consuming global attention these past few days.

[Ms. Lee Hayeon, what's your relationship with Seong Jihan?]

[Be honest. We're getting married, right? Was he your ex-boyfriend?]

[Didn't you say you didn't have any ex-boyfriends before?]

[I don't like lies.]

[Did you reject physical affection because of your ex-boyfriend?]

Beep. Beep.

Messages kept popping up on her monitor.

This chapter upload first at NovelUsb.Com

Seeing them, Lee Hayeon frowned deeply.

"Ugh, that crazy jerk. He's the one who's divorced, so why is he acting like this to me?"

Being forced by her family to marry a divorced man was bad enough.

Realizing his personality was strange only worsened her mood.

'Didn't he say he divorced because his ex-wife was insanely obsessive?'

As she frowned, looking at the messages that kept coming, there was a knock at the door.

Knock. Knock.n/o/vel/b//in dot c//om

The door to her office opened.

"Oh my, Gayeong, you're here?"

"Miss, when did you date someone?"

Lim Gayeong asked, looking at her with curious eyes.

Lee Hayeon shouted in frustration.

"If I had dated someone, I wouldn't be so upset! You were watching me all the time!"

"I was wondering when you managed to avoid my surveillance..."

"Ugh, seriously. Seong Jihan? Why did that guy call my name? Can't you find out?"

"Even the Administration Bureau says they have no idea. They said they were just notified."

Listening to her reply, Lee Hayeon held her head in her hands.

What is going on?

"Are you sure you've never met him before?"

"Never. Oh, could it be that he saw me somewhere and got lovesick because he couldn't forget me? Your sister is quite a beauty, you know."

"...If you truly don't know him, that might be the most likely scenario."

Lim Gayeong looked at the dark circles under Lee Hayeon's eyes as she said that.

"Did you place bets again yesterday?"

"Yeah, I did. Why? I'm getting married soon; I should enjoy myself while I can."

"Didn't you plan to continue even after marriage?"

"Seeing how my fiancé is acting, I don't think I can."

At that, Lee Hayeon pointed to the messenger window on her monitor.

"He's sent... so many messages."

"Indeed. It feels like he'll be very controlling after marriage."

As Lee Hayeon sighed deeply, Lim Gayeong approached and pulled her out of her chair.

"...Why all of a sudden?"

"It's time to go."

"Go? Where?"

"Seong Jihan has called for us."

"He called us first? You and me?"

Since the 30 people Seong Jihan had named were from various nationalities and it would take time for them to come to Korea, they had agreed to meet at Korea's BattleNet Administration Bureau three days later.

But why would he specifically call them before that?

"...Did he call any other Koreans?"

"According to the Administration Bureau, only the two of us have been summoned."

"Uh... Gayeong, could this be real? Did I unknowingly seduce a man?"

"I'm curious as well. Let's go."

"Alright, wait. Let me get ready! I look terrible right now."

The "Dungeon Breaker" Seong Jihan was currently the most important figure among humanity's players.

She couldn't meet someone like that in such a state.

Putting on her best face, Lee Hayeon went with Lim Gayeong to meet Seong Jihan.

But—

“Train this kid from now on.”

"...What?"

What came out of his mouth was entirely unexpected.

* * *

At the BattleNet Center.

Originally, it was a building where the national BattleNet team players gathered for joint training.

Since there were no matches currently, it was vacant, and Seong Jihan and Yoon Seah were staying there at the Administration Bureau's invitation.

When they were guided to the VIP room of the BattleNet Center—

"I've been to the center lobby before, but it's my first time in the VIP room."

"Same here."

Lee Hayeon was somewhat excited.

She'd heard that only someone like the Sword King had used the VIP room before.

'What does that man want to talk to me about?'

No matter how much she thought on the way here, she couldn't figure out any connection with Seong Jihan.

She even started to think maybe he really had called her because he was interested in her.

However—

"Lee Hayeon. Your Gift is 'Nurture,' right?"

"H-how did you... know that?"

"There are ways to find out."

Thanks to her 'Nurture' Gift, he'd been able to pull ahead during the early stages of growth.

Recalling past events, Seong Jihan remembered the sub-quest 'Reach Diamond League with Yoon Seah.'

'With less than 100 days left, reaching Diamond seems nearly impossible... But I should support her as much as I can.'

Even if he gathered 10 acquaintances and increased the stat 'Blue' to 3, it wouldn't give him a significant chance against the Martial God Dongbang Sak.

It would be better to carry out all the items listed in the sub-quest.

Swoosh.

Thinking that, Seong Jihan pointed his finger at Yoon Seah.

[Translator - Asura]

[Proofreader - Gun]

"Create a guild and train her. I'll reward you generously."

"You want me... to create a guild?"

"Yes. You have to be the guild master."

"But... Setting up a guild isn't that simple..."

"Don't worry about the details; the Administration Bureau will handle everything."

Saying that, Seong Jihan offered her an incentive.

"As compensation, I'll destroy 10 dungeon portals per month."

"T-ten portals?"

"Yes. I'll prioritize demolishing the dungeons in the locations you want. Oh, and..."

Looking at her, he continued as if a thought had occurred to him.

"If you help me with my work, I'll destroy 5 more per month."

"Wh-what kind of work... are you talking about?"

"It's nothing too difficult. I'd like you to handle various miscellaneous tasks."

In the original world, Lee Hayeon had skillfully managed all sorts of tasks for him.

When Seong Jihan gave examples of the kind of work he needed, she quickly understood what he wanted.

"So... Basically, you want me to be your secretary?"

"That's right."

At his confirmation, Lee Hayeon blinked.

Offering to destroy 10 dungeon portals per month in exchange for being a guild master was already enormous.

Now, by adding some secretarial work, he'd increase it by 5 more dungeons.

'The compensation is way too big for the work involved...'

Dungeon portals were spreading like a cancer across the world.

The right to eliminate them held immense value.

Of course, once Seong Jihan revealed how to destroy dungeon portals, it might not be as valuable as now.

'But even so, the reward doesn't make sense for the work...'

He was offering something so huge that she began to suspect there was some hidden agenda.

As Lee Hayeon hesitated to answer immediately,—

"Miss, but... don't you have to start preparing for your wedding soon?"

Suddenly, Lim Gayeong brought up her marriage.

"Ah... Getting married?"

At that, Seong Jihan widened his eyes.

So Lee Hayeon was engaged.

'Then back in the American days, was Zero already married?'

Even when they drank together, she never mentioned a husband, so this was unexpected.

As Seong Jihan pondered in surprise,—

-Boss, Boss! You know that's not me, right? You know I only have eyes for you, right???

-Ugh, seriously, what's this! Why does she look so haggard here with dark circles... What has she been doing instead of taking care of herself!!

-Is that person the guild master of the Daegi guild?

-Seems like it, yep.

-The real Lee Hayeon is prettier, haha. She looks kind of lifeless here.

-True, but isn't the Lee Hayeon here actually younger...?

-Don't mention age, geez.

As the real Lee Hayeon tried to emphasize that the in-mission version of herself was different—

With an expressionless face, Lim Gayeong spoke.

"Yes. You have a scheduled marriage that won't be happy with a man 12 years your senior who's been divorced once."

"...So unhappiness is guaranteed?"

As Lee Hayeon sighed and retorted, Seong Jihan, who was watching their conversation, spoke up.

"Seems like you don't want to get married? Is your family forcing you?"

"Well..."

"Then, just postpone it for six months and help me out."

"Postpone...?"

"Yes. If I say so, your family won't be able to object."

Anyway, there were about 90 days left until the descent of Martial God Dongbang Sak.

He figured he could grant her some leniency until then, thinking of his loyalty to the real Lee Hayeon.

As Seong Jihan offered favorable conditions, Lee Hayeon and Lim Gayeong exchanged glances.

'Even though she's getting married... He's accommodating her so much?'

'Could he really know me?'

His offer was unreasonably generous.

Thinking perhaps he did know her, they had brought up the marriage to test him.

But since he was even more accommodating than expected, it felt rather odd.

Why is he being so generous?

"Um... Just to confirm..."

"...?"

"Have we met before...? You're being so kind that I'd really like to remember if we have..."

As her eyes sparkled, Seong Jihan smirked.

"I've never met you. And for the record, I don't see female gambling addicts as women."

"Ex... excuse me?! Why are you suddenly talking about gambling..."

"Just because. Why? Does it bother you?"

"N-not really, but..."

Swoosh.

Then, pointing behind the blushing and bewildered Lee Hayeon, Seong Jihan continued.

"Then I'll take it as a yes to our deal. Go ahead and set up the guild. Everything's arranged."

"...Alright."

After bringing up her gambling addiction, Lee Hayeon lost her momentum, and they left the room.

Watching the conversation, Yoon Seah looked at Seong Jihan with curious eyes.

"Martial God-nim... Is she really a gambling addict?"

"Yes."

"Whoa... How did you know?"

"Your uncle was also a gambling addict. I sensed a kindred spirit."

"What? Someone who looks so normal?"

"Normal? She's just covering it up with makeup."

As he said that, Seong Jihan added one thing he acknowledged.

"Still, her nurturing ability is genuine. She'll be a big help for your growth."

"Yes..."

"If there's anything else you need, don't hesitate to ask. Whether it's equipment or items, we can get them from the Korean government."

Considering how many dungeons he'd demolished for them, he could demand that much.

As Seong Jihan confidently declared this, Yoon Seah hesitantly spoke.

"Um... Then, if it's not too much trouble, could I ask for one thing?"

"Sure. Go ahead."

"Is it possible... for me to learn martial arts as well?"

[Translator - Asura]

[Proofreader - Gun]