CH 287

Eden was now fully restored. It was no longer quarantined, and its connection to the outside world was back. While Eden was still under reconstruction before, they could communicate with Heo Sung-Hoon and Rohan, who were outside, but the connection was limited. Now, they could speak freely with each other.

“I apologize for having to leave so suddenly.” Tao Chen gave Gi-Gyu a fist-in-palm salute. “And I would like to thank you as well, Bodhidharma, for teaching me so much.”

Bodhidharma returned the salute and replied, “You have also helped me greatly.”

Gi-Gyu bowed slightly toward Tao Chen.

Tao Chen added, “Once China regains stability, I will return.”

“Please take your time. And you don’t have to return if you don’t want to.” Gi-Gyu smiled a little.

He was only joking, but a serious look appeared on Tao Chen’s face. “How could I do that? This war has become so much bigger now, and… this is no longer something you must handle on your own. China is your neighbor and ally, and I truly believe the entire world should help you with this.”

Gi-Gyu looked at him in surprise.

Tao Chen must have realized he was being too serious, so he laughed and continued, “But of course, I’m not saying you can’t handle this on your own. I just want to share your burden.” Then, he laughed loudly before turning serious. “So please… trust us, humans.”

“All right.” Gi-Gyu also performed the fist-in-palm salute. “I will remember what you said today, Tao Chen.”

Tao Chen was happy with Gi-Gyu’s answer. “I suppose a lot of things will change from now on… Anyway, I’ll get going now.” With that, he left.

Watching him leave, Bodhidharma spoke under his breath, “He’s truly a great man.”

Gi-Gyu couldn’t deny this. Tao Chen wasn’t synced with him, but he was still one of the few Gi-Gyu trusted.

“Ranker Kim Gi-Gyu!” a familiar voice called out to him. It had been so long since Gi-Gyu saw this man that he couldn’t help but grin.

Heo Sung-Hoon ran toward Gi-Gyu while waving his hand.

“Sung-Hoon!” Gi-Gyu greeted him.

“Huh?! Did Tao Chen leave already?!” Sung-Hoon asked in disappointment. “That’s too bad. I should have gotten acquainted better with the next Chinese president.”

Gi-Gyu smiled at Sung-Hoon. He already knew that Tao Chen was planning to take over the president position. His smile became wider as Gi-Gyu replied, “Congratulations on becoming the new president of the KPA.”

Not too long ago, Gi-Gyu heard the news that Rohan and Heo Sung-Hoon had successfully negotiated with the Korean government. With their help, the duo created a new Korean Players Association, and Heo Sung-Hoon was to be its president.

“It won’t be called KPA. It's now named Eden.”

“Pardon?”

Sung-Hoon smiled. “KPA is an old concept now. We wanted a new beginning for Korea, and we decided to come up with a different name. So the new association was named after this place.”

Gi-Gyu still looked confused.

Sung-Hoon chuckled. Then, noticing the monk, he asked, “And who is this gentleman…? Ah!” Sung-Hoon had already heard about Bodhidharma. “He does look like the portrait I have seen before…”

Bodhidharma was a legend, so seeing him in person seemed to amaze Sung-Hoon.

The monk gave a fist-in-palm salute to Sung-Hoon. “Pleased to meet you.”

Sung-Hoon seemed flustered.

Gi-Gyu said, “He would like to work as an instructor in the new association.”

“What? Bodhidharma, the Bodhidharma, wants to be an instructor…?” Sung-Hoon couldn’t believe his ears. Bodhidharma was a legendary figure who had created the famous Shaolin Temple. He could have never even dreamed that such a legendary figure would want to become an instructor in Eden.

Gi-Gyu asked, “I hope I have at least that much authority to offer him this job. After all, you used the name of my place, so you owe me, Sung-Hoon.”

“...!” Sung-Hoon seemed surprised before he smiled widely.

Gi-Gyu grinned back.

***

A meeting began in Eden. All the relevant figures in Eden had gathered in the Sephiroth Tree. In fact, most Eden creatures were present.

However, the Hwang family was strangely and notably absent.

Soo-Jung sat down next to Gi-Gyu and asked, “I don’t see Old Man Hwang and his minions here.”

“Yes,” whispered Gi-Gyu.

“Well… I guess their presence isn’t necessary.” Soo-Jung shrugged when Gi-Gyu didn’t explain further.

The situation with the Hwang family was the talk of the town in Eden.

‘Not only that, but the Hwang family will be a huge part of what is to come,’ Gi-Gyu thought. This was precisely why the Hwangs weren’t here for the meeting.

“Hyung! Long time no see.” Kim Sun-Pil, the head of the Morningstar-Child Guild, arrived. His guild had grown the most since its alliance with Eden.

“I heard everything from Rohan. I heard you did amazing, huh? Good job, Sun-Pil.” Gi-Gyu praised him.

Kim Sun-Pil scratched his cheek shyly.

‘Thank goodness.’ Gi-Gyu was relieved to see Sun-Pil looking better.

After Kim Dong-Hae had lost his body to Leviathan, Sun-Pil was forced to betray Gi-Gyu in the worst way. This incident had tormented Sun-Pil terribly, especially because he idolized Gi-Gyu.

But thankfully, Kim Sun-Pil looked much better now.

“Greetings to Master.” A man with a familiar voice bowed deeply to Gi-Gyu.

Gi-Gyu scratched his cheek awkwardly. “Hello, Rohan…” He was still uncomfortable with Rohan, but he added, “Good job.” He had to admit that Rohan had done some excellent work.

Rohan blushed, happy that his master had praised him. He then coughed awkwardly before taking a seat.

“Wow…” Heo Sung-Hoon was the last to enter. He greeted some Grigories who had stayed behind in Eden and also shook hands with Choi Chang-Yong and the other famous players. These players explained to him what had happened in Eden during his absence.

When Sung-Hoon heard about Ha Song-Su’s attack and retreat, he shuddered. “Wow, this is crazy… The people here alone are probably enough to conquer the world and then some.”

Sung-Hoon quickly scanned everyone gathered in Sephiroth Tree. There was a fair number of them, and…

‘Every single one of them is so powerful,’ Heo Sung-Hoon thought grimly. Everyone in the room was stronger than him.

Choi Chang-Yong muttered, “That’s an understatement. I’m sure Ranker Kim Gi-Gyu alone can conquer the world.”

Choi Chang-Yong, the guild master of a top ten Korean guild and high ranker, now had a favorable opinion of Gi-Gyu.

The room was noisy, with the undead, monsters, and humans chatting. They exchanged news and information while discussing what was to come. After Ha Song-Su’s recent attack, Hal and the other Eden creatures started interacting with Choi Chang-Yong and the other humans.

Just then, someone clapped loudly for attention. The room became dead silent.

Gi-Gyu stood up and greeted, “Now, thank you all for coming.”

Gi-Gyu had a lot of important things to do, but this meeting was vital. He explained, “Many things have happened in such a short period.”

China had a successful coup, Gi-Gyu had learned a lot about Andras, and he had even synced with Paimon and gained much information from him, not to mention the stuff that had happened outside Eden. And then there was Ha Song-Su’s attack on Eden.

Everyone became quiet, reminiscing about the hard time they had suffered together.

“Thank you so much for all of your hard work. You all did very well. I called for this meeting because everyone here has the right to know what has happened so far. It will be a short meeting, but I still want to thank you for coming.”

Not everyone knew everything that had happened. Only Gi-Gyu, Old Man Hwang, and a few others knew all the details. Everyone needed to be on the same page so that they could develop their next plan.

Sung-Hoon was the first one to report. “The negotiation with the Korean government was a success. From now on, the Korean government will cooperate with Eden wholeheartedly.”

And it just wasn’t the Korean government. There wasn’t a Chinese representative in the room, but there was no doubt that the Chinese government would be a powerful ally to Eden from now on.

Rohan was the next to stand up. He gave them the minutes of their discussion with the Korean government. He also described the new association titled Eden. “The Korean government and the rest of the world don’t know the details of what happened inside Eden. But they know that a powerful enemy attacked it, and Eden fought it off.”

This was a huge deal. Eden had participated in the Chinese coup and defended itself against a powerful enemy. The world now knew how powerful Eden was.

After Rohan and Heo Sung-Hoon finished their reports, Kim Sun-Pil and a few others also gave their own briefings. Some news was big, while others were minor details. They mostly talked about how the guilds and players outside perceived Eden.

When everyone was done, there was just one more thing to discuss.

“One last thing.” Gi-Gyu stood up again. He was about to reveal the reason for this meeting. He announced the obvious, “Eden was attacked.”

Everyone knew about this, but some didn’t know exactly what had happened.

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“Ha Song-Su attacked us.”

Those previously unaware began to murmur among themselves.

“And… Ha Song-Su ran away after being defeated.” A smile appeared on Gi-Gyu’s face as he added, “To be precise, after being defeated by me.”

“...!” Many gasped.

***

Gi-Gyu waited nervously. The meeting ended long ago, and everyone enjoyed a well-deserved rest.

Everyone except Gi-Gyu.

“Master.” El walked up to him, worried about Gi-Gyu looking so concerned. She reassured him, “I’m sure he’ll do fine.”

Gi-Gyu brightened a little. “I did the right thing, didn’t I?”

He had been questioning his decision since he made it. He wasn't sure if he could handle the consequences of his decision.

‘I just don’t know…’ Gi-Gyu genuinely felt troubled. Would he regret his decision? He didn’t know, and that was exactly what worried him.

“Heo Sung-Hoon asked me to tell you that you must attend it,” El said.

“Ah, okay. Thanks, El,” Gi-Gyu replied.

El sat down next to him to wait with Gi-Gyu.

Heo Sung-Hoon had asked Gi-Gyu to attend a meeting with the Korean government. Gi-Gyu didn’t like the idea, which was why he felt troubled. The truth was that he didn’t need to negotiate with the government at all. After all, Gi-Gyu didn’t need Korea to do what he needed to do.

But the situation was very different for the player who had allied with Gi-Gyu.

“Haa…” Gi-Gyu had a lot to think about. All the stuff that required his immediate attention was mounting, and he desperately needed the Hwang family’s help to devise plans and carry them out.

Just then, a fairy flew in.

“Master!” Brun sat down on Gi-Gyu’s shoulder. She had been one of the busiest figures during Eden’s restoration. In addition, she had to undergo much healing after the battle with Ha Song-Su.

Dragon Hunter absorbed much of Gi-Gyu’s sorcerous energy during the battle, which almost hurt Brunheart.

Brun rubbed herself against Gi-Gyu’s cheek. “Don’t worry about a thing, Master.”

Gi-Gyu patted Brun. Lou appeared with a pout and sat beside him.

“Lou,” Gi-Gyu called out. “Are you okay now?”

Lou missed the meeting because he was still reeling from the recent news. The fact that he was one of God’s swords shook him badly. And then there was the possibility that Paimon had betrayed him.

But Lou was here now. He muttered, “I want to hear the truth…”

Gi-Gyu grinned. If Lou was here for the truth, it meant that Lou wanted whatever the Hwangs were busy with to succeed.

Creak.

The door opened, and Old Man Hwang exited as if he were leaving an operation room. The elderly blacksmith looked exhausted.

Gi-Gyu asked, “How did it go…?”