The bet was placed.
Yoo Soo-yeon of Yeon Sanghoe stared straight ahead.
In front of her, Jin Hyuk sat with a demure posture.
After taking a deep breath, she parted her lips.
"So... asking to borrow money is the whole reason you wanted to talk?"
"Yep. That's right."
"Nothing else at all?"
"Nope."
"Come on, just tell me now. Not even this much? Not even a speck? Nothing else?"
"Not even a speck of dust."
She stared at Jin Hyuk blankly for a moment.
"Haaaaaah!!"
She let out a huge sigh of relief.
Jin Hyuk had approached her with a face that was suddenly strict, solemn, and serious.
He'd even sat down politely, saying he had something to say, and her heart had dropped.
"I was so startled, I thought you were going to say something else."
"Something else?"
"For example..."
Yoo Soo-yeon put on an arrogant and cocky expression.
"Hey, Yeon Sanghoe! You've been spoon-fed enough, right? I'm going with a global corporation from now on, so you can just get lost, you little hole-in-the-wall shop! Something like that?"
"Was I really that ungrateful of a person? You even remodeled my house for free!"
"Oh, absolutely not. I'm just feeling guilty and projecting."
Soo-yeon chuckled and scratched her head.
Even though they were close, she had never once forgotten that he was the owner of Yeon Sanghoe.
That the Jin Hyuk in front of her was not only a monster with ridiculous power, but also a superstar the whole world wanted.
What if a global corporation or a country found out Jin Hyuk's true identity?
They would offer astronomical conditions to recruit him by any means necessary.
In contrast, Yeon Sanghoe was in a position where it couldn't do anything significant for him right now.
So she had just been unnecessarily scared.
"What a relief. It was just borrowing money. You could have said that comfortably! Like, 'Hey! Go bring all the money in the safe!' Like that."
"Soo-yeon, have you been reading a lot of martial arts novels lately? That sounds like something you'd say to an inn clerk."
"Hehe. I do enjoy them a bit. Anyway, next time, really just say it comfortably! I mean it! I'm ready to give you the whole Yeon Sanghoe!"
Yoo Soo-yeon said, her eyes sparkling.
Isn't that not okay?!
Knowing she was serious made it even scarier.
She pulled out a tablet, tapped it a couple of times, and opened her mouth.
"This is the current cash Yeon Sanghoe has. Sales have been going up since collaborating with Generos, but it hasn't been long since we started, and we're still in a growth phase, so we don't have much saved up. So I brought this. My personal account and the account my grandfather entrusted me to manage!"
Seeing Soo-yeon's bright smile, he swallowed dryly.
If he asked, she looked ready to give him even her soul.
"I appreciate the sentiment, but I can't touch your grandfather's account..."
He was about to say he couldn't do that.
But the amount was too tempting.
"I can't touch it, but I think he'd be happy to see the account has grown."
She gave a thumbs up.
It wasn't like she was betting on something dangerous.
He just had to win and pay it back with generous interest.
"I'll transfer it right now. In total, it's 5 billion won."
His pupils shook.
Soo-yeon's personal account instantly turned to zero.
"Yeon Sanghoe has plenty of food, you know. And I'm going to make a lot of money from now on anyway."
Soo-yeon smiled, then stood up.
"Well, I'll head back to finish up work!"
Watching her walk away, he covered his mouth.
She gave him such a huge amount without even asking what he was going to use it for.
He firmly resolved to live up to this infinite trust.
"Let's see, let's see."
The money he already had, plus the salary coming in the day after tomorrow, plus the 5 billion he just borrowed.
He now had a total of 20 billion won in ammunition.
Ding.
He checked the message that arrived.
It was from Yoon Mi-ri of the Player Hunter Agency.
This is the information you requested. I got it through unofficial channels, so you know it's a secret from the team leader, right?
He sent a reply thanking her, then stretched.
With this, the preparations for the jackpot were complete.
Pok, pok, pok, pok, pok.
He lifted the hidden Kancho onto his shoulder.
"The hag is looking for the Head General. In the backyard garden."
"Let's go, let's go. What happened to your face?"
One side of his fur was flattened, like he'd been hit somewhere.
"I dared to tell the hag Head General to come and go, so I kicked her in the face to establish discipline."
"Then why are *you* the one who's flattened?"
"The hag made something weird. A hand shot out like a counterattack."
Their fights were getting more and more intense.
It's fine, right? They're getting closer by fighting.
Thud.
Guided by Kancho, he went to the backyard.
His friends were sitting under a large zelkova tree.
'It's been a while since I've been here.'
The sacred tree where the village's guardian spirit was said to live.
If you got caught playing here, you'd get properly scolded, so he rarely came.
'I wonder if there really is something here?'
A question suddenly popped into his head.
He couldn't do it back then, but he could check now.
He opened his spiritual sight.
And then, he couldn't help but stop walking.
Swaaaaah...!
A golden energy was emanating from the zelkova tree, spreading throughout the entire Guun Village.
He knew it without anyone telling him.
That energy was protecting Guun Village.
Thick smoke billowed into his vision.
"You see it."
Camilla, standing beside him, smiled.
"The sacred tree is a pillar connecting the village and the sky. The pillar allows the breath of the sky and the earth to meet. And this breath feeds on prayers, accumulates time, and transforms into an energy that protects the village. That tree must have stayed here for over a thousand years, watching over the village."
This sacred tree friend was more grateful than he thought.
"Compared to the past, its energy is much weaker now. Because faith isn't what it used to be. But, Master."
"Yeah?"
"I was wondering where I felt that evil energy."
Camilla looked at Kancho on his shoulder with narrowed eyes.
"You've brought a demon with you."
"I'm not a demon, I'm a yordle. And don't blow cigarette smoke at the Head General. Before I roundhouse kick you."
"I'll let it slide since we're in front of the sacred tree. I can't show an ugly sight."
He slowly nodded.
This chicken game of them hitting each other with slingshots and pipes.
It certainly wasn't a good look for an outsider.
"Anyway, I got some help from the sacred tree to hide that."
Camilla drew a line on the ground with her foot.
"This is where the barrier begins. For those without permission, the tree will guide them down a different path."
He was curious about what she was trying to hide.
But as soon as he stepped inside, he understood.
"Kuhuh...!"
A giant frog positioned next to the sacred tree.
It looked at least 5 meters tall.
Its width was also enormous.
"Heh heh. What a great reaction! How is it? A magnificent work of art whipped up by the Star Alchemist?"
"It looks bad."
"Yordles whose eyes are just for decoration, get lost. I was asking the Master."
While Kancho and Elia were hitting each other as per their usual routine, he approached and examined the frog.
A single giant eyeball embedded in the center of its body.
It belonged to the Black Dragon, Drakkan.
Gulp!
Its appearance was certainly too grotesque to show anyone.
No wonder Camilla had borrowed the power of the sacred tree.
"Now you can get from your place to here in one second, you know?"
Elia, her hair a mess, gave a thumbs up.
He gave a thumbs up back in response.
As expected of the Star Alchemist.
He patted Elia's head firmly and asked carefully.
"Does this frog also get me covered in slime every time I ride it?"
"Nope? That was just in case of a possible attack, you know? The sacred tree and Camilla's barrier are protecting this place."
He was worried he'd have to shower every time he rode it, but what a relief.
'I've got myself a high-speed pass.'
He planned to place the other one at the Pangyo house.
A super-fast portal was now open between Pangyo and Yesan, the places he frequented most.
Nice!
He sat down among his friends and pulled out his phone.
"That's a flashy site."
"My eyes hurt."
"Betting sites usually look like this."
"Is Head General gambling?"
"Eheh. Gambling? No way. With a 100% win rate, it's just free money."
He smiled calmly and finished creating an account.
Of course, his hand trembled when he pressed the deposit button.
Sending 20 billion won to a site like this.
No matter how much his annual salary was 100 billion, his heart was still the size of a bean, so he couldn't help but be nervous.
Deposit complete!
"A weird chip appeared a lot!"
Bet placed!
"It disappeared!!!"
He fiddled with the fluffy Kancho, calming his pounding heart.
Quick bet placed for the jackpot!
Ding!
He checked his KakaoTalk.
He was worried the person might have already run off with the money, but thankfully, no.
Sorry for the delay. I secured the 5 enhancement scrolls you mentioned.
He threw an uppercut into the air.
The person had said it might take a while because there were no items on the market.
As expected of Team Leader Jin Yoon-ho.
He'd found them in less than half a day.
I'll come pick them up! Thank you!
"I'm going to take the Yeon Sanghoe truck to the Player Hunter Agency, so you guys play here until I get back."
"Got it! Can we roast sweet potatoes?"
Kancho pulled out a large bundle of sweet potatoes from his bag.
"Oh? Where'd you get those?"
"I snuck them from Lord Torong."
So he stole them.
He offered a silent apology to Lord Torong in his heart.
He'd buy him something delicious later.
"Momo wants roasted sweet potatoes too!"
"Momo will cook them. If I do it, they might explode."
"Sweet potatoes can't explode!"
Great Master Momo quickly started preparing a campfire.
He told them to enjoy their meal and then walked towards Yeon Sanghoe.
Better hurry.
He had a lot to do.
* * *
"Pfft!!"
The Cambodia branch of Crown Jackpot.
Branch manager Chenda spat out the coffee he was drinking.
He rubbed his eyes and checked the monitor again.
"What is this? Is it real? It's not an error, is it?"
"No, sir. It was deposited through a normal channel."
"Who is it?"
"They deposited through a coin account, so we don't know their real name. The ID they created on Crown Jackpot is WinnerWinnerChickenDinner."
"Pfft...!!"
Chenda, unable to hold it in, burst into laughter.
It wasn't just because of the old-fashioned ID.
The funniest part was the items that this chicken guy had bet a huge sum of 20 billion won on.
A game predicting the number of attempts needed to clear the Citadel and which country would clear it first.
The guy had bet 10 billion each on 0 attempts and South Korea.
"Isn't this guy completely insane? Is he a chaebol? He's just throwing money away."
The moment the Citadel of Rakshasa opened and even one person entered, the attempt count becomes 1.
Furthermore, South Korea had already given up on clearing it at the national level.
The proof was that instead of buying necessary supplies like other countries, they were selling them.
This was so pathetic it was embarrassing to even call it an underdog bet.
Chenda, laughing until tears streamed down his face, wiped his eyes.
He didn't know what level of a sucker this guy was, but anyway.
"I'll be enjoying this."
He just made 20 billion won for free.
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T/N:
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