SWNOVELXO Chapter 55
Shemarin’s proposal seemed to be referring to a friendly match hosted by guild leaders at the PK arena.
I couldn’t say I wasn’t interested, but… I probably shouldn’t be interested.
The reason was simple: we didn’t have enough manpower to participate in a non-official round.
Our guild’s member count was already extremely low compared to others. Lilith was incapable of combat, and PK was a one-on-one event, making the supporter-type Kanel unsuitable as well.
Unahar’s transformation ability was still too unstable to reveal, and I needed to reserve Gio’s strength for the 2nd round.
No matter how I looked at it, we had no one fit for a PK match.
In such a situation, there was no way I could honestly say, ‘I’m interested.’
Of course, I’d be a hundred percent in favor of just spectating other guilds’ PK matches, but would Shemarin ever agree to that?
“Why? What are you planning?”
Let’s try to probe her plan. If she thinks of me as an ally, she might reveal a bit.
[“So, are you interested in PK or not?”]
She wasn’t giving me any openings.
Fine, let’s be straightforward.
“We have too few guild members. If we participate in PK, we’d be revealing our full strength of five members. No matter how trustworthy you are, isn’t that risky?”
I spoke indirectly, but Shemarin immediately came up with her next proposal, as if anticipating my hesitation.
In fact, this seemed to be her true intent from the start.
[“As expected— I thought you wouldn’t be easily tempted. So instead, can you mediate a PK match between Ice Castle and us?”]
Shemarin’s unique, seemingly casual and nonsensical request.
I realized that this had been her true agenda all along.
She wanted me to arrange a friendly match between her guild and Aleon’s Ice Castle Guild?
“What’s in it for me?”
Both Shemarin and I were very calculative individuals. It was always a give-and-take with us.
The only reason I’d consider such a deal was because we were allies; otherwise, I’d have rejected it outright.
Instead of worrying about whether I could persuade Aleon, I was more interested in hearing what Shemarin would offer in return.
[“Well—? I’d like to know what you want first.”]
So she wanted me to make the first offer. Fine.
“If I arrange the friendly match between your guild and Ice Castle, I want to be allowed to spectate the match.”
A brief silence followed. I wasn’t sure if it was fortunate or not that I couldn’t see Shemarin’s expression.
[“You mean you want to watch without participating in a single match, just to observe the combat strategies of my guild and Ice Castle?”]
“I’ll handle getting Ice Castle’s agreement myself.”
[“So, you want to watch all the matches without participating in any of them??”]
“Not just me. My condition includes bringing one of my guild members along as well.”
The more Shemarin pressed, the more audacious I became. Her astonishment was almost tangible, and she responded without her usual drawn-out speech.
Seeing Shemarin so flabbergasted was amusing, and it was hard to suppress my laughter when I asked to bring an additional guild member.
But I was completely serious. Clearing my throat, I stifled my grin.
“Take it or leave it.”
If Shemarin could see my confident expression, she might have been irritated enough to refuse just out of spite.
Nevertheless, I was confident she’d accept my terms.
Shemarin’s voice came through again.
[“You wicked negotiator. You cunning little thing.”]
I nodded calmly, as if to say, ‘Go ahead, vent all you want.’
Just as expected, the answer I’d been waiting for followed.
[“But I don’t dislike it. Rudel, you really know how to read your opponent. Fine, I accept—.”]
“Alright, I’ll try to persuade Aleon. Though there’s always a chance it might not work out.”
[“You’re so adorable, bargaining for the benefits even knowing the risk of failure—.”]
I wondered if I’d misheard ‘adorable’ as something more derogatory.
Shemarin didn’t stop there.
[“Ah, Rudel. I wish you were a man—.”]
“If I were, things would be much more complicated.”
Shemarin sounded wistful, almost licking her lips at the end.
I responded calmly, but in truth, I was a bit nervous.
After ending the call with Shemarin, I decided not to delay and immediately tried to contact Aleon.
Aleon was a man of strict routines, so I wondered if he’d already be asleep.
Click.
To my surprise, the call connected in less than five seconds, leaving me taken aback.
[“Rudel, it’s you. I’m so glad I answered. If I had missed your call, I would’ve regretted it all day tomorrow.”]
Aleon’s voice, still soft from sleep but quickly gaining clarity, continued.
[“What’s the matter? Is there something I can help with? Would you grace me with your voice as well?”]
His enthusiastic response and exaggerated compliments were almost over the top.
Despite having an excellent confidante like Ifrea and numerous admirers in the guild, Aleon remained anchored to the serious conversations we had in the cave during the 1st round.
Like a duckling imprinted on its first sight.
Of course, Aleon would do just fine without me, but knowing I’m part of his life surely brings him happiness.
I had a strong feeling that I could successfully arrange this PK match.
However, I then heard Aleon talking to someone else on the other side.
[“…Oh, Ifrea? What brings you to my room? …You heard voices and came to check? Perfect timing, Rudel contacted me!”]
So, if I could manage to win over Ifrea, who’s standing in front of Aleon?
[“Rudel, Ifrea wants to say hello to you. Can I pass the communication to her?”]
Of course, things can’t be too easy.
I adjusted my posture and steeled my resolve, then said it was okay to transfer the call.
* * *
**Reality.**
Scheduled for 9 AM on July 23rd.
There is a viewing fee for this extra round game.
‘When I searched for this game and saw it was partially paid, I wondered what that meant.’
‘So they’re charging for these side matches, lol.’
‘Hey, the game company needs to make a living too.’
‘Just grateful they’re releasing extra footage.’
‘Hahaha, my wallet is crying!’
‘Ice Castle, Red Monarch, Agasa… that’s three of the top five popular guilds.’
‘Already sounds fun.’
‘Drumroll, please!’
‘They said not to expect too much action. Just five one-on-one matches to test the waters.’
‘That’s still something.’
‘Separate from the 2nd round.’
‘But isn’t it amazing?’
‘The game character AIs are arranging these matches themselves.’
‘Lol, is it a challenge?’
‘The announcement said Shemarin initiated it, Aleon declined, and Rudel mediated to make it happen.’
‘Figured as much.’
‘Kinda scary… Characters organizing this without developer commands?’
‘If you think too deeply, you’ll get paranoid. Just enjoy it. They’ve been saying AI could replace humans in the future for ages.’
‘True that.’
Ten minutes before the friendly match began, the concurrent VR virtual reality users almost reached 60,000.
During the roughly hour-long match, the total number of viewers nearly hit 200,000.
After the edited pay-per-view video was uploaded, its purchases skyrocketed to twice the initial number.
This achievement was all the more remarkable considering it was accomplished without any developer intervention, purely through game data.
* * *
**[Guild Master Rudel]**
**[Approved]**
I was the first to arrive.
The PK arena was empty, its polished yellow floor, multiple rings, and seating arrangements reminiscent of an Olympic stadium.
“Let’s go sit over there. As the guild master, I’ll take the head seat. You can sit to my right.”
The arena was circular, with seven sections, indicating it could host up to seven guilds simultaneously.
I picked one of the sections and turned around.
The one guild member I decided to bring along for this rare opportunity to watch the PK match was…
“When does this end?”
Gio, yawning with a bored expression.
“It hasn’t even started yet. I won’t interfere much with what you do during the match, but you need to behave. Understand?”
“Mm.”
His response was noncommittal, barely acknowledging my instructions.
Hopefully, he wouldn’t cause any trouble.
I hoped bringing Gio instead of the potentially more insightful Kanel or Unahar would pay off.
At this moment, I noticed several figures gathering at the entrance.
According to the agreed-upon rules for this friendly match, the participants were set as follows:
The spectator guild ‘Agasa’ could bring up to two members, including the guild master.
The competing guilds ‘Ice Castle’ and ‘Red Monarch’ could bring up to seven members, including the guild master and combatants.
The first guild to arrive at the entrance was Red Monarch.