CH 338

Days passed by quickly as everyone inside Eden kept busy.

Sung-Hoon explained, “We must make an official arrangement with the Italian government since you have created a landmark in the Colosseum.”

An official meeting was taking place inside Eden after a long time. Since Gi-Gyu couldn’t undo a landmark proclamation, he had unintentionally made Italy a gateway for Eden’s army. Well, there was a way to undo it, but that would require the absolute annihilation of Eden—not really an option.

Most Italian citizens liked the idea, but there was a problem.

“The newly assembled Italian government isn’t too keen on this,” Sung-Hoon added. The recent event in Rome had almost destroyed the Italian government. Since their government’s numerous figures had been addicted to God’s Tears, they had turned into monsters and had subsequently been killed.

But enough time had passed, and fresh blood now held the bureaucratic positions.

‘Maybe it’s a good thing. All the corruption has been removed.’ 

Most Italians were happy with the result. The dirty politicians were finally gone, and the new talents swarmed to build a clean government.

“The Italian government’s request is a fair one. They aren’t obligated to accept us blindly just because Eden helped them before.” Sung-Hoon looked at Alberto before turning toward Gi-Gyu. Sung-Hoon seemed afraid Gi-Gyu might get upset by the Italian government’s demand.

Alberto had selected the current head of the Italian government, but he hadn’t used his influence or power to place this figure at the top.

‘Alberto just recommended someone he knew was ambitious but ethical.’ Gi-Gyu was relieved to know this. All in all, Alberto’s influence was at its peak despite him not being the new political chief. Numerous Italians considered him a hero, and the populace had even nicknamed him “Golden Saint” because he had saved Rome. The Italians had also given Gi-Gyu several nicknames, but Alberto’s popularity in Italy was just as high as Gi-Gyu’s. This proved how influential he was.

And that was probably why Alberto was worried that Gi-Gyu might think the demand had come from him.

Gi-Gyu replied, “I know that. You’re making me sound so bad.”

“Umm… That’s not it. I was just making sure you knew.” Sung-Hoon coughed awkwardly. “And as a matter of fact, their proposed agreement includes a lot of favorable conditions for us.”

Sung-Hoon turned serious and asked, “Do you know the Vatican?”

“...?”

“I’m not talking about the one you destroyed. I meant the original one, the one that S-Class gate ruined.”

“Ah.” Gi-Gyu nodded. “I do know about it.”

The Vatican used to be located in Italy, but it still maintained a semi-independent state.

Sung-Hoon answered, “They would like us to take a similar format.”

“You mean…” Gi-Gyu couldn’t hide his shock. “They’re giving us the Colosseum?”

The Colosseum was the symbol and pride of Rome. Currently, Eden’s landmark was inside the Colosseum.

“That’s right, but our arrangement with them will differ from how it was with the Vatican. The Italian government would like to share the Colosseum with an independent organization, Eden. If you agree, the Italian government will help maintain the entrance and control the tourists,” Sung-Hoon replied.

“Hmm…”

“And…” Sung-Hoon added, “They suggested that with Eden’s permission, the inside of Eden could even be a part of the tourist attraction.”

Alberto nodded in agreement.

‘I guess this was Alberto’s idea,” thought Gi-Gyu. After what had happened in Rome, numerous Roman citizens had to reside in Eden temporarily. To accommodate them, Gi-Gyu had many buildings constructed hurriedly. It turned out that the new buildings had unique architecture, making them a perfect tourist attraction.

‘And there is something else…’ Gi-Gyu had been informed that the Romans who had resided in Eden could acclimate back to their normal lives faster than those who hadn’t. Those residents had actually been sad to leave Eden.

Alberto explained, “We have many people requesting to revisit Eden. They want to see Eden’s special features again.”

It looked like Alberto was speaking on behalf of many Roman citizens.

Gi-Gyu asked, “Are you talking about Old Man Hwang’s collections?”

“Yes,” Alberto promptly answered. “Old Man Hwang’s collections are incredible. We, the Italians, adore cars, and just looking at them relieves our sadness!”

Alberto passionately continued, “And don’t forget all the amazing structures like the Sephiroth Tree. And those monsters! This place allows us to meet, touch, and even talk with monsters and undead.”

“And most importantly…” Alberto looked very excited. “I’m talking about the Sticks River!”

Gi-Gyu somehow knew this was what Alberto wanted to talk about.

‘I can’t believe the waterway Old Man Hwang dug up is so popular,’ Gi-Gyu thought in awe. Rogers Han had started digging up the river as punishment during his imprisonment. And that was just the beginning. All the future prisoners, including the Iron Guild and the Caravan Guild players, had then been assigned to dig up the river.

It was a marvelous sight to behold when it had finally been completed.

“Dragons! I still can’t believe it! The citizens of Rome are begging to revisit this place,” Alberto exclaimed.

The dragons living in this river were Leviathans.

“Ha.” Lou laughed. “I guess Leviathan is very popular now.”

They needed a lot of water to utilize the Leviathan clones’ full potential. Thankfully, the completion of Old Man Hwang’s river had coincided with the arrival of the clones, so they had placed the Leviathan clones in the river.

‘Could it be…’ Gi-Gyu wondered. Old Man Hwang had begun creating this waterway around the time Leviathan had appeared. Did Old Man Hwang predict that this would happen?

‘I don’t doubt it.’ Gi-Gyu felt certain of it, knowing what a strange man Old Man Hwang was.

In the end, Gi-Gyu smiled and replied, “I’ll think about it.”

“Please, consider it with an open mind—” Alberto begged.

“Got it.” Gi-Gyu interrupted him, worried Alberto might go on and on about it again. “Now, is that all?”

They had already finished discussing the other important matters happening inside Eden. Their main topics were training methods and preparing for future battles.

“We still have two more things to discuss,” Sung-Hoon answered.

“Ah, you’re right.” Gi-Gyu scratched his head, realizing there were still two crucial things to discuss. Alberto’s request was so unexpected that Gi-Gyu had forgotten about them.

Sung-Hoon began, “It’s about the Caravan Guild’s power structure, which Mammon told us about.”

Mammon used to be the main figure who took care of the entire Caravan Guild. He had recently surrendered to Eden and had brought important information regarding the Caravan Guild and how it worked. This was what Mammon had been counting on to guarantee his safety.

“Hmm…” Gi-Gyu looked at the giant screen that summarized the Caravan Guild’s internal structure. “How… Just how many are being controlled by the Caravan Guild?”

“Based on what we know so far… a total of 100 countries are involved. It has reached various guilds and associations. And Korea, too, of course.”

A hundred countries were under the Caravan Guild’s influence—how mind-boggling of a fact was that? The appearance of the Tower and the gates saw the destruction of many countries. Currently, there were only about 130 countries in the world, meaning the Caravan Guild had more than half the world in the palm of their hand.

This novel is available on bit.ly/3iBfjkV.

“The situation is the worst in the developing and underdeveloped countries,” said Sung-Hoon.

“It’s just hard to believe… I don’t even know where to start,” Gi-Gyu muttered. It would have been manageable if only Korea and a few other countries had been involved. But there was no way Gi-Gyu could deal with this many countries with countless people in them. It was impossible to tell how long it would take to accomplish something like this.

Tao Chen chimed in. “That’s where we can help.”

Tao Chen had meant himself, Sung-Hoon, Alberto, and all the other players who had taken Gi-Gyu’s side. There were also Choi Chang-Yong and many other guild masters and their guilds.

Tao Chen continued, “We can’t ask you to do everything, Gi-Gyu. We have been shamelessly making you do all the work…”

As Tao Chen had stated, everyone had been getting used to Gi-Gyu’s power. They had unintentionally expected Gi-Gyu to take care of everything.

“We will slowly but surely defeat the Caravan Guild and gather more help. Someday, I’m sure we’ll completely eliminate the Caravan Guild,” Tao Chen added.

“I would be grateful for your help.” Gi-Gyu nodded. He could feel how determined Tao Chen and others were. He was already busy enough preparing for his battle with Kronos. Any help he could get would be greatly appreciated.

The meeting was almost over. But before everyone left, Sung-Hoon announced, “So let’s talk about the last thing. We must figure out what to do with Mammon and his demons.”

It was one of the main agendas of the meeting. Gi-Gyu couldn’t believe he had forgotten about it.

“...” Gi-Gyu scratched his head and began.

***

Accepting Mammon as an ally was more complex than it sounded.

“Mammon didn’t get too heavily involved in the Caravan Guild’s misdeeds, but he sat in the enemy camp and watched everything unfold,” Gi-Gyu muttered.

Mammon had committed many sins against humans. Of course, if Gi-Gyu weren’t here, no one could have asked a demon king like Mammon to pay for his crimes. Mammon had surrendered himself, but it was still necessary to discuss his past crimes.

Then, there was also the matter of his demons. Most of them hadn’t committed too many crimes since reaching the earth, but many of the powerful demons in this group had killed and stolen players' bodies.

“But we must keep in mind that Mammon surrendered and provided us with much useful information regarding the Caravan Guild,” Gi-Gyu added. It was time to consider all the facts. “In addition, he has brought many young, innocent demons and even older ones who haven’t committed any crimes against humans. We can’t ask them to pay for other demons’ sins.”

Not all demons were evil. As a matter of fact, they were very similar to humans. On the one hand, there were evil demons, but on the other hand, there were some demons more innocent than angels.

“To be honest, this discussion is meaningless,” Sung-Hoon began. He was right. There was no point in considering the demons’ past crimes and what they had brought to them now. They had held this meeting to inform everyone about this.

Sung-Hoon continued, “Considering Ranker Kim Gi-Gyu’s unique ability, we have no choice but to accept them. We can have them repent later by volunteering to help humans somehow. But at this moment, these demons will bring much-needed power to our army. Their presence will no doubt be helpful.”

Gi-Gyu’s sync ability forced the subject to obey him unconditionally. As soon as Sung-Hoon had finished, someone entered the room.

“Sorry, I’m late.” The newcomer was Paimon, who had been experimenting on Botis lately and was, therefore, rarely seen. He asked, “Do you know the ratio of the different energies inside Eden?”

It was such a random question, and before anyone could even answer, Paimon continued, “The abundant sorcerous energy you brought has filled this place. Death, Chaos, Life, and divine energy are also present, but not as much as sorcerous energy.”

Gi-Gyu remembered the time he had brought the Roman evacuees into Eden. Non-players couldn’t survive in a space saturated with energies only players could utilize, so Brunheart had to work extra hard to force the energies to one corner of Eden. She had spent herself because Gi-Gyu had asked her to do that task.

“The sorcerous energy in this place is already too much. If you accept all those demons, then…” Paimon smiled awkwardly and said, “This place might explode.”

“...”

“The sorcerous energy density wasn’t this much even in hell. The sorcerous energy has the power to expand. Holding those extra demons alone has put too much burden on this place. If those demons sync with you and their sorcerous energy is added to Eden, it will get very dangerous.”

With a nod, Gi-Gyu asked, “Then what should we do?”

Paimon had named the problem. Now, it was time for him to suggest a solution. And if he didn’t have one, Gi-Gyu would have no choice but to reject these demons. However, he couldn’t just release thousands of demons into the world. It was too dangerous for them to live on Earth, so he needed to find another way.

On top of this, Gi-Gyu coveted these demons’ power.

Paimon, who had been watching Gi-Gyu, smiled. “I already gave you a solution.”

Paimon pointed at the corner where Old Man Hwang, smiling, Hwang Chae-II, awkward, Min-Su, dazed, and Hart, confused, were standing.

Old Man Hwang began, “We’ll have to organize another compartment and…”

Old Man Hwang’s smile widened as he added, “Could you please allow tourists to visit Eden?”

Old Man Hwang’s smile couldn’t have looked any naughtier.