Chapter 151 - Declaration of War (3)

An electronic sound. And the logo of a public broadcasting station filling the entire screen.

It was the traditional opening of Daily Climber, the most popular Climber information program on weekend evenings.

“Good evening, viewers. This is Chris Adler, host of ‘Today’s Climber?’”

And Chris Adler, who had been the host for over 10 years, barely managed to suppress his immense irritation while delivering the opening remarks with a broad smile.

There were hundreds of thousands of people watching this broadcast worldwide. It was to the point where more than a few politicians had declared themselves fans of this show.

And as the face of such a broadcast, Chris could never let his professional demeanor crumble.

“Today, we have a very special guest. I’m sure you’ve all heard his name at least once. It’s the Eastern Comet, Climber Kim Gyu-sik!”

The rotating lights, the applause of the audience. And the curtains parting to reveal an Eastern Climber. He was the main reason for the irritation welling up in Chris’s heart right now.

‘...What a nobody, showing off.’

Muttering to himself, Chris flipped through his cue cards.

There was no particular reason why he disliked this Climber named Kim Gyu-sik.

It was simply because this man had crushed, one after another, the Climbers Chris had always held in near-admiration since he entered this business.

Batan Gilius was a madman, but he was undoubtedly a promising talent who had shown fierce skill, and Edgar was a measure of a ‘strongman,’ showing just how far such a promising talent could grow with experience.

But hadn't both of them been easily crushed by this man?

Not to mention Damian Lancester, who had participated in the same Ordeal and disappeared altogether.

“It’s an honor for us to have Climber Kim Gyu-sik, whose stock has been soaring in the Asian region recently.”

“I’m the one who should be grateful for the invitation.”

Invitation, my ass.

He had no desire to see this guy in the slightest.

The producer upstairs, who was obsessed with ratings, had forced him to host this.

The next question seemed to have a slight touch of that resentment.

“Do you feel that anything has changed since you became famous? Like your treatment in the West?”

A subtle put-down.

In fact, it had been quite some time since this man named Kim Gyu-sik had become famous.

But the question implied that no matter what, the East, the lowest rung in Climber society, was bound to be crushed by the West.

“...”

And he wasn’t an idiot, as Kim Gyu-sik, who had been looking at him with a strange expression at his words, finally took the microphone and gave an answer.

It was a safe answer, saying that things had gotten better than before.

It was such a calm attitude that it even made Chris tilt his head.

‘...Hmm.’

He couldn’t be unaware of the fact that he was being eyed by some Western figures, so there must be a hidden agenda for him to appear on a broadcast like this.

Chris himself had intended to reveal and refute all of those hidden circumstances in this interview, but so far, there was no sign of him plotting anything.

Considering his past actions, he thought he would commit some kind of conspicuous eccentricity in some way.

‘...’

And that question was gaining more and more momentum as the show went on.

In the Q&A that followed, he was strangely calm. Chris continued to make subtly sarcastic or belittling remarks, but Kim Gyu-sik continued to handle them all nonchalantly.

‘...What is this guy?’

The seasoned skill of evading all the questions that he, who had survived in the broadcasting world for over 10 years, was throwing at him with all his might to make him misspeak, was not something that could come from a young man who looked to be in his 20s.

It was as if he was the one being dragged into the other’s pace.

‘Has this guy ever been involved in politics before?’

Of course, it was a well-known fact that Kim Gyu-sik was an orphan from the slums with no notable social experience before entering the boot camp.

But, without even setting up such a ridiculous hypothesis, he couldn’t explain the sense this young man was showing right now.

He had never failed to make any celebrity flustered if he set his mind to bury them, but this guy, what the hell?

“...Last question.”

And that bewilderment finally became the catalyst for Chris to ask a hasty question without even realizing it.

“After Damian Lancester went missing in the last Ordeal, the Lancester family expressed deep regret to you.”

He could see the face of a staff member holding a cue card in the distance turning pale.

It was a question that wasn't anywhere on the script, so such a reaction was to be expected.

“May I ask what your opinion is on that situation?”

He could feel not only the staff but also the audience go quiet for a moment.

It was probably because they all vaguely realized the weight of this question.

After Damian, a member of the family and guild, went missing, Lancester had officially released several statements of protest against Kim Gyu-sik.

Of course, no direct sanctions had been imposed yet, but they were words with a very strong intention of ‘we’re this angry, so you’d better crawl on your own.’

And throwing that in this man’s face was to see this strangely relaxed man get even a little flustered and lose his composure.

“...Ah, that.”

In fact, as soon as he heard that question, Kim Gyu-sik’s attitude did change.

The problem was that it looked as if he had been waiting for this question all along.

***

[ Gyu-sik-jwa! Gyu-sik-jwa! Gyu-sik-jwa! Gyu-sik-jwa! ]

[ Where are all those Western and Japanese fanboys who said Gyu-sik-jwa would get his ass kicked on a broadcast program and be ruined? lolololol ]

[ America is watching him, China is wooing him, and Europe is on pins and needles lololol ]

[ Landlaaaaaady!!!!!!!!!! Burn all your remaining lifespans!!!!!!!!!!!!! ]

“...”

Hmm.

It’s burning well.

The internet space was burning so fiercely that there wouldn’t be a shortage of warmth even in the middle of winter, to the point where even I was bewildered.

“...What is all this?”

“What do you think it is, you bastard...”

On a peaceful weekend afternoon after finishing the broadcast and returning to the guild house, Lee Si-yeong, who had suddenly summoned all the guild members, replied to me with a voice dripping with killing intent.

The PPT she had put up was a collection of community reactions since I had been on the broadcast.

“Honestly, I’ve known you for a long time now, so I’m getting used to it to some extent? But still.”

Lee Si-yeong, who let out a deep sigh, played the video attached to the PPT.

The words I had said during the broadcast yesterday flowed out one after another.

[ Well, I don’t know how to react when they condemn me for him being weak enough to go missing during the Ordeal. If you’re so salty about it, you should have come in first place yourself, right? ]

A cartoonish reaction of the audience collectively gasping followed.

[ If you have a complaint, tell them to come themselves. There’s going to be a large conference hosted by the Association soon, so we can talk there. ]

“...What do you mean by declaring war on Lancester like this? Huh?”

“What? You called everyone here when they were resting for just that?”

“Just that? Did you say just that?!”

As Lee Si-yeong was on the verge of foaming at the mouth and having a seizure, Chang Meirin-ssi, who had been smiling stiffly, carefully opened her mouth.

“By the way, despite causing such a mess, public opinion about Gyu-sik-ssi is surprisingly good. Lancester is the overwhelming top in this field, so it’s natural for people who dislike him to appear...”

“That’s what’s so amazing.”

Lee Si-yeong sighed and swiped through the PPT a few times.

“During the broadcast, the host kept throwing rude questions, and that prodigy over there just smoothly brushed them off, and then at the end, he dropped that kind of answer. So the situation was framed as him teaching a lesson to an opponent who constantly crossed the line.”

“...Oh?”

“Yes, yes. There are people who are surprised by what he did, but no one is saying that our Gyu-sik is in the wrong.”

“...”

Chang Meirin-ssi shut her mouth with a speechless expression.

“The situation, the timing of his words, and even the person he was talking to were perfect. On the contrary, public opinion is forming in such a way that if Lancester doesn't respond to this, they'll become cowards.”

“...By any chance, did this person calculate all of that and go there to do that?”

Chang Meirin said, looking at me, who was staring at the ceiling with a sleepy expression.

Well.

Do I really need to say it out loud for you to know?

It’s about time you got used to it.

“Oh no...!”

And the one who should have been most used to it reacted as if she had been hit hard on the back of the head and bit her lip.

Seo Ah-in soon clutched her head with a frustrated expression.

“...What are you doing?”

“Our Gyu-sik...! I hadn’t thought of giving him a nickname until now...! A blunder...!”

“...”

Right.

I don’t know what it is, but I can tell she’s very disappointed.

“Guild Master-nim, I get that he caused trouble again, but is there a reason you had to call us all here to tell us everything?”

Yoo Ho-jun asked, yawning just like me.

“You two are just alike, so laid-back, you’re not even friends for nothing... Lancester are basically bastards with terrible personalities. If he’s provoked them like that, the sparks could fly to those around him. So you have to be especially careful.”

“...Ah, what? Is that what it was?”

Yoo Ho-jun, who yawned indifferently and nodded, soon shot up from his seat.

“Huh? Where are you going?”

“It’s not like we don’t have enough lives to spare when we’re around that guy. Why bother being careful now?”

“...”

Yoo Ho-jun, who nodded at Lee Si-yeong, who had an expression that said she couldn't refute it, went back up to his room, saying he would catch up on his sleep.

I did stop him once before he went up, though.

“By the way, Ho-jun.”

“Yeah?”

“You haven’t been feeling strangely unhealthy or getting sick recently, have you?”

“...No. What’s with the sudden question? It's creepy.”

“No, just wondering.”

“...”

Seeing Yoo Ho-jun, who was tilting his head with a suspicious expression and going up the stairs, I also nodded my head in satisfaction.

“Hmm, I’m glad you’re healthy.”

“...What are you plotting now?”

“Can’t I just ask about your health? Does that necessarily mean I’m plotting something?”

“Yes.”

“Yep.”

“100 percent.”

“...”

The chorus of responses that poured in like a fire made me realize once again what my reputation was like.

Well, to be honest, they were right this time.

The words the Guild Master just said, ‘the sparks could fly to those around him.’

It starts with that guy.

According to my memory...

“No, that guy is going to be kidnapped and tortured soon. It would be a big problem if he got seriously ill in the middle because he wasn’t healthy, right?”

“...”

A heavy silence fell over the living room.

“...You know that, but why isn’t there any mention of stopping it in advance?”

“Because I’m not going to stop it.”

“Why on earth not?!”

“Because using that guy as bait will get good results.”

Well, he’s Yoo Ho-jun-sensei, who has already claimed the King of Survival title a long time ago.

As bait to be used in my plan, he possessed more than enough capabilities.

“...Honestly, I’m not one to talk, but.”

“Yeah?”

“Is this for real, how you treat Ho-jun-ssi?!”

Seo Ah-in’s shriek rang in my ears.

Next chapter will be updated first on this website. Come back and continue reading tomorrow, everyone!

If you find any errors ( broken links, non-standard content, etc.. ), Please let us know < report chapter > so we can fix it as soon as possible.