[Again? The disappearance of the Uncleared Gate, ⟪Leuf’s Garden⟫, confirmed.]

[Various internet tabloids have named player ‘Seo Jun-ho’ as the sole raider.]

[Who is player Seo Jun-ho?]

Shim Deok-gu slowly nodded while reading the articles. 

“It’s as you said. We didn’t say a thing, but everyone knows that it was you.”

“I told you so.”

Jun-ho was lying across the sofa in the president’s office. 

“Damn, this sofa’s so comfortable… Can I eat one of these chocolates?”

“…Go for it, why dontcha,” Deok-gu said with a sigh. He continued, “By the way, you got a thank you message from the Indian Government. Tushar’s family couldn’t stop crying after receiving his diary.”

“That’s good.”

“I’m glad they at least got a keepsake thanks to you… though it is a shame.”

“What is?”

Deok-gu shook off the regret from his face before speaking, “Nope. If I tell you, you’ll chew me out for being a dirty, greedy bastard.”

“Pssh. I already know you’re a dirty, greedy bastard. Why would I bother chewing you out for that?”

“…Geez, thanks.”

“So what do you think is such a shame?”

Pressured by Jun-ho, Deok-gu eventually spilled the beans. 

“…Well, the Tempest. The famous bow used by Tushar Vishi. It’s a shame it couldn’t be recovered.”

“Oh, that? Right… I forgot to tell you.”

While nibbling on some chocolate, Jun-ho pulled out the Tempest from his inventory.

“Here.”

“…Huh?”

After looking back and forth between the bow and Jun-ho, Deok-gu exclaimed with a dumb look on his face, “You! Y-you…!”

“You scared me. You’re going to burst my eardrums.”

“You idiot! Why did you keep this?! How are you going to solve the diplomatic issues when you’re found with this in your possession?”

The Tempest was an item that was discovered inside an Indian Gate. Despite being lent to Tushar Vishi, it was still the property of the Indian Government. 

Jun-ho smirked while staring at Deok-gu. 

“I have a friend who specializes in taking care of these problems.”

“Please tell me that friend isn’t me.”

“That friend is also pretty quick at understanding the situation.”

“…Sigh. You’re driving me nuts.” 

Deok-gu flopped down onto the sofa. He looked like he aged a month in just a few seconds. Jun-ho held out the Tempest to his tired friend. 

“Wanna take a look at my bow?”

“Now isn’t the time to…”

The Tempest was such an amazing bow, it was classified as a national treasure by the Indian Government. It would be strange if it didn’t pique someone’s curiosity. 

After scratching his head through his wig, Deok-gu carefully picked up the Tempest. After carefully taking a closer look, he couldn’t hold back his compliments, “…Damn. It really is something. No wonder it’s an Indian national treasure.”

“Right? It’s a shame I won’t be able to openly use it.” 

“Well, of course. Publicly, it’s been acknowledged as a weapon that dematerialized inside Tushar Vishi’s inventory.”

“Oh, no. I’m not worried about the Indian Government. It’s the fiends that concern me.”

“…Fiends?” 

Deok-gu wasn’t following Jun-ho, but that was only for a second. After finally understanding the situation, Deok-gu’s face went grim.

“You’re worried about Kal Signer, aren’t you?”

Jun-ho nodded.

Demon Bow, Kal Signer. He was a fiend that collected bows like a maniac.  

He even publicly announced before that he would steal the Tempest. The fiend that went inside the Gate with Tushar was probably following his orders.

That’s why, no matter what, Jun-ho couldn’t risk getting caught having the bow in his possession. The moment he’s caught, Signer’s arrow would point towards him. 

That guy’s probably seen the articles by now.

Jun-ho released an official statement that he wasn’t able to find the Tempest. However, as previously stated, Kal Signer had a maniac-level obsession when it came to bows. There was a chance he didn’t believe the reports.

If he suspects me of having the bow…

He will surely send in a fiend when Jun-ho attempts to raid the last Uncleared Gate in South Korea, which has a level requirement of 13.

Just like what he did to Tushar.

Jun-ho gently caressed the Tempest with his hand. If he played his cards right, he’d be able to keep his promise to Tushar sooner than he had hoped. 

* * *

Becoming famous overnight. It was something that most people would never get to experience in their life, and those who do end up with a face of disbelief. However, Jun-ho has already experienced similar events so many times, he wasn’t the least bit surprised. If anything, he was annoyed. 

“…The reporters are here?”

“Yeah! After finally confirming that you were the one that cleared the Uncleared Gate, they gathered like flies to manure.”

Having come to Jun-ho’s room first thing in the morning, Deok-gu already looked flustered. 

“By reporters… do you perhaps mean the tabloid scumbags I met in front of the Gate?”

“No. The major news networks finally got their heavy asses moving.”

“Hmm.”

After hearing that, Jun-ho finally peeked his head out of his thick, blanket burrito. 

“What about the guilds?”

“Of course they’re here. They’re not ones to miss out on a juicy meal.”

“…Does that include the Big 6?”

“Hold your horses. You’re not quite there yet,” Deok-gu shook his head. 

The Big 6 were the six guilds that possessed the greatest might and achievements in the world. They were famed for only being interested in big fries.

“Of course, if you keep raising your name value… You’ll eventually catch their interest.”

“If I can woo all of the Big 6…”

“Your value will shoot through the roof.”

Jun-ho smirked as he spoke, “Well, well, well. They’re fussing about when I still got a long journey ahead of me.”

“I mean, you’ve made quite the impression. You’re the player that cleared not one but two South Korean Uncleared Gates.”

Getting up from his seat, Deok-gu continued while fixing his tie, “Anyways, I wanted to let you know ASAP.”

“…You should have just texted me.”

“It’s polite to deliver news like this in person.”

“You know what’s not polite? Waking up someone who was sleeping peacefully…”

He was moaning and groaning but had already gotten 6 hours of sleep. With his fatigue having long been washed away, he slowly crawled out of his blanket burrito. 

“Yawn. I guess I need to do a press conference.” 

“Okay. When do you wanna do it?”

“Right now.”

“…Right now, right now?”

Deok-gu looked up and down at Jun-ho before asking again, “Are you sure you don’t need a bit of time to wash up?”

“Nah. I’ve had enough of pretending to be cool and awesome to the public as ‘the Specter’.”

Even though he didn’t like it, back then, he had to put on an act. It would have been unbefitting of the hero of humanity, the hope of mankind.

“I’m Seo Jun-ho now, not Specter.”

“…Well, if that’s your stance.”

Deok-gu promptly nodded.

“I keep telling you this, but you’ve earned the right to live however you want.”

“And what if I cause trouble living like that?”

“Immediately fired from the Association.”

“That’s not fair…”

Knowing that Deok-gu was joking, Jun-ho smiled as he got up. 

“Head on down first. I’ll come after I wash my face.”

“I’ll get everything set up. Be down in 30 minutes.”

After Deok-gu left the room, Jun-ho went into the bathroom. He looked into the mirror and saw that his hair was messy like a bird’s nest.

“My life, you say…”

When he was the Specter, he charged forward non-stop. He neither had the time nor reason to look around. The Specter only needed monsters to unleash his anger on. That berserk anger subsided thanks to his comrades.

Fast but not rushed. Calm but not slow.

After giving himself a reminder, Jun-ho washed his face and straightened out his pajamas. 

“Hey, good-looking.”

In his reflection, he could neither find the charisma nor the impeccable appearance of the Specter. 

But I don’t really need them, do I?

A life of freedom, not caring what anyone thinks. That was the life that Jun-ho desired when he was the Specter. 

* * *

Clamor, clamor.

Countless reporters and guild intelligence agents filled the Association’s press hall. 

“His first Gate was the Curse of Dawn. Next was Leuf’s Garden… He seems like the real deal.”

“You’ll see guys like these every once in a while. They’re wildcards, purposely choosing the road less travelled.”

“He’s one of those geniuses, huh?”

The eyes of the crowd were filled with great expectations. Seo Jun-ho was like a gemstone to them.

Among the countless gemstones, few shine bright on their own.

Korea could have another star player on their hands—just like Kim Woo-joong or Shin Sung-hyun.

More than anything, he has a talent for attracting attention.

We’ve been short on news about players on the 1st floor… What a great turn of events.

Carrying all their hopes and expectations, Jun-ho appeared after exactly 30 minutes had passed.

“He’s coming!”

“Take a picture!”

Click, Snap!

“Huh?”

“Wha—?”

The reporters and intelligence agents paused their flurry of snapshots. Their pause came from Jun-ho’s extremely oddball outfit. 

What the? How is that public-appropriate clothing?

Is that a new trend, perhaps?

That guy… He does know that he’s at a press conference, right?

He was the first person ever to appear at a press conference wearing pajamas and slippers. And the disheveled, unkempt hair was the cherry on top. Of course, that wasn’t the only reason for the crowd’s hesitation. 

…Wait, is he actually a player? He looks even weaker than me.

Is that really the player who conquered two Uncleared Gates?

This can’t be right. Did he accidentally sleepwalk into the press conference instead of his room…?

Setting his outfit aside, Jun-ho’s appearance was far from what they’ve been expecting. They were all dumbfounded. Their expectations of a strong, muscular man or even a cold-faced killer shattered to pieces. 

While everyone was unable to hold back their shock, Jun-ho got on his seat and spoke while yelling out a huge yawn, “Huaaaam. I am Seo Jun-ho. I’ll be holding a press conference for 30 minutes starting now. Anyone wanna ask the first question?”

Snapping out of their shock, all of the reporters raised their hands.

“Please tell us in detail about your experiences in the Gate!”

“What was your resolve when you challenged these Gates?”

“Is there any particular reason why you debuted with the Uncleared Gates?”

To the crowd that squawked like a nest of birds asking for food from their mother, Jun-ho answered their questions one by one.

“Let’s start with the Curse of Dawn. The inside of the Gate was a graveyard. As I’m sure you’re all aware, the Clear Condition was to survive till sunrise…”

They wrote their article in real-time, writing down everything he said. Though none of them dared to say it, they all had the same thought. 

He’s definitely exaggerating, saying he defeated 50 zombies by himself inside an Uncleared Gate…

A level 1 novice took down all those zombies and a Tricker? Who’ll believe this crap?

Shim Deok-gu is definitely behind this. He probably came up with this story for the masses and made him memorize it.

I guess it doesn’t matter since the public is going to eat this up.

The barrage of questions and answers flowed smoothly like water. Jun-ho’s veteran-level control over the press conference surprised the reporters. 

Is this actually his first-ever press conference? This doesn’t feel like it’s his first-ever rodeo.

Most players end up stuttering from how nervous they are during their first press conference… He’s slyer than he lets on.

He’s a natural. There’s no other way to explain this.

They were fully mistaken. Jun-ho had been in this exact situation more times than he could count. However, their misunderstanding only benefited Jun-ho.

A player that looks weak at first sight accomplished something incredibly remarkable…

With a loose-screw personality, coming to a press conference in pajamas.

I kind of dig it.

He’ll be a great subject for stories for now.

For reporters that were desperate for news, Jun-ho became the sweet rain in the midst of a drought.