The Martial God who Regressed Back to Level 2 Novel

"Hahaha. Long time no see. Sung JiHan, do you remember me? We greeted each other when you came to find the Sword King, right?"

A middle-aged man with a large build, Kim Nam Tae, the head of the Battle.net administration department.

As soon as he entered the penthouse, he reached out to Sung JiHan in a friendly manner.

"Long time no see."

"Hello, sir."

"Yeah. Yeah. Our SeA has grown up so beautifully. Let's go inside and talk."

Kim Nam Tae smirked at Yoon SeA and walked past them into the living room.

Park Yoon Sik, the manager who followed behind, slightly bowed his head to Sung JiHan.

"I saw your great performance today. You're truly amazing."

"Thank you. But it hasn't been long since the game ended, why did you come to visit... What's the matter?"

"Oh. Well, the head of the department said he had something to tell you today..."

The head of the administration department himself?

"Haha. This house is really nice!"

Sung JiHan frowned as he watched Kim Nam Tae shouting in his living room, which was already his own.

Why would a typical opportunist, who is weak to the strong and strong to the weak, suddenly come for some business?

"To donate this house. That's quite impressive."

The head of the administration department, who was already sitting at the table in the living room, gestured towards them.

Sung JiHan's frown deepened at the attitude that completely treated him as a subordinate.

"Ah, sir, you have a very easygoing personality... I would appreciate it if you could understand."

"...Sure."

Sung JiHan looked at Park Yoon Sik's face, relaxed his expression, and took a seat.

"Hmm. I came all the way here and I'm thirsty. Is there anything to drink?"

"Ah, sir. Would you like orange juice or coffee?"

"Ah, SeA. Then give me orange juice with some ice. The weather is so hot these days. Hahaha."

"Yes. What about the manager and uncle?"

"I'm fine."

"I'm fine too."

With that, the situation became Sung JiHan, Yoon SeA, the head of the administration department, and the manager facing each other at the table, with only the juice placed in front of the head of the administration department.

Gulp gulp-

After leisurely drinking the orange juice once, the head of the administration department opened his mouth towards Sung JiHan.

"Sung JiHan. You did a great job this time. In a situation where the Sword King rose and the country was in decline, even though it's just Bronze, the fact that you made it to the top 100 promotion match and won the championship has made the people very happy."

For some reason, it seemed like the head of the administration department emphasized 'just Bronze', but praise is praise anyway.

"Thank you for your kind words."

"To someone like you, there is good news."

"...What news is it?"

"At the Battle.net administration level, it has been decided to award you a commendation for outstanding performance."

"..."

Sung JiHan was dumbfounded.

A commendation for outstanding performance.

'Was it all for this, to come here and make a fuss about it?'

He even thought about not accepting it, as it was nothing more than a piece of paper.

But Sung JiHan, who thought that since they were giving it, he might as well accept it, lightly nodded his head.

"A commendation... Thank you."

"Hahaha. Yeah. A commendation for a player who just made it to the Silver League, it's truly an unprecedented event. It's a great honor."

With an undeserving certificate of commendation in hand, Kim Namtae put on a show of all sorts of pretenses.

Listening to this, Sung JiHan, of course, as well as Manager Park Yoonshik who had followed along, were uncomfortable with how much glory this certificate of commendation held, to the point where he gave a long speech about its significance.

"But let me tell you something."

Suddenly, he changed the subject.

"There seems to be a problem with receiving this certificate of commendation."

"A problem, you say?"

"Yes. I heard there's some trouble with Daehan Ilbo..."

Sss-

Kim Namtae smirked and continued speaking.

"We should, well, resolve the issue with them, shouldn't we? The Daehan Ilbo family still holds a lot of influence in the business world."

Regarding this, Kim Namtae, the head of the Battle.net management department, recalled an incident from a few days ago.

* * *

"Director! Our son was assaulted by Sung JiHan."

At a gathering hosted by the CEO of an advertising agency affiliated with Daehan Ilbo.

As the alcohol flowed and the atmosphere heated up, the CEO made a suggestion to Kim Namtae.

"No, what are you talking about? Assault?"

"My son is a Silver-ranked Warrior, and his leg was completely shattered. They say it will take months for him to recover. I want to press charges, but..."

The CEO sighed deeply.

"This author named Sung JiHan has a very promising reputation. I'm worried that if we go around filing lawsuits against him, it won't reflect well on the company's image."

"Hmm... that could be true."

"So, here's what I'm thinking. To reach a peaceful agreement, how about we handle Sung JiHan's management on our side?"

Upon hearing those words, Kim Namtae widened his eyes.

"What are you talking about? Even if there's an assault case, trying to manage Sung JiHan like that..."

At that moment, Kim Namtae was determined to defend Sung JiHan.

Who is Sung JiHan?

This player, who had never missed first place since joining Battle.net, had the potential to become a Star Player.

In other words, he was like a goose that laid golden eggs.

But now, just because of this one gathering, he was going to push Daehan Ilbo's side?

From Kim Namtae's perspective, that was absolutely impossible.

However...

"Of course, we're not just asking for your help, Director."

"Hmm... what do you mean?"

"We'll share the profits with you."

Share the profits?

That changes the story.

"That Sung JiHan. He's an audacious guy."

When he went to bow down to Geomwang Yoon Sejin, Sung JiHan, whom he had occasionally seen at the penthouse.

In Kim Namtae's eyes, he was just a young man who clung to Geomwang's fame and had no other significance.

"A guy like him. Of course, he'll follow along when an adult speaks."

Kim Namtae was confident in his ability to persuade Sung JiHan.

Especially after hearing the rumors from the CEO of the advertising agency, it further solidified his conviction.

"That... I thought it might help with the persuasion. Isn't Yoon Se-ah there? I heard the gift didn't turn out well. To the point where they can't possibly deal with the player."

...

"Daehan Ilbo is the victim of the assault, but they made you a generous offer. They want to manage you for five years and handle all the advertising. You know the influence of the Daehan Ilbo family, right? It'll be a win-win if you leave it to them."

"Daehan Ilbo..."

"Yes. They say you broke the leg of that CEO's son, right? And they're willing to settle it by handling your advertising. Ha, truly magnanimous, aren't they?"

"...Haha."

Upon hearing those words, Sung JiHan burst into laughter.

At the time when he was in the United States, he had no recollection of a company's fortune-telling or anything of the sort. The fact that he had wasted his time and emotions like this was absurd.

And for such a trivial reason?

"Well, it worked out well."

Sung JiHan decided to abandon the concept of "etiquette" at this point.

"Hey, could you at least keep your nonsense to a minimum?"

"...What?"

Manager Kim NamTae blinked his eyes.

The sudden change in the situation caused cognitive dissonance.

Setting aside the informal speech, the disdainful gaze that he had never received since becoming the manager was so unfamiliar.

"What did you just say..."

"I was trying to let it slide, but you've crossed the line."

"...!?"

"Anyway, how much did you receive from Daehan Ilbo?"

Momentarily taken aback by Sung JiHan's sudden change in attitude.

Kim NamTae regained his composure and his whole body trembled with anger.

"You...you...you conceptless brat!"

"You're the one who lacks concept. I don't want to see your face, so leave quickly."

Swish.

At Sung JiHan's gesture, Kim NamTae's face turned as red as a tomato.

No, how dare a mere player who is only a silver rank be so rude to him, the manager of BattleNet?

Kim NamTae puffed up his cheeks and spoke.

"You, you. This brat...I've been thinking about you and donated to Sword Palace. But I haven't taken care of it yet!"

"That's right. Does that bother you?"

"Of course it does! I've gained attention in the silver division, even in the bronze division!"

"Why did someone who can't even reach the bronze division use the title of manager? If you have a parachute, act like it and stay quiet. I don't like mixing words."

"This!"

Kim NamTae couldn't contain his anger and picked up the orange juice glass in front of him.

But.

Splat!

"Kuh!"

Before Kim NamTae could throw the glass at Sung JiHan.

The contents of the juice glass moved on their own and splattered on Kim NamTae's face.

"Calm down."

Sung JiHan kindly expressed concern for the manager's condition.

"Ugh...this crazy brat! Are you using your abilities?"

"What abilities do you think I have in the silver division? I don't understand what you're saying."

"Hah! I was even trying to cover up the fact that Yun SeA's gift failed!"

"SeA...?"

Momentarily bewildered, Sung JiHan looked at Yun SeA next to him and smiled.

"Se-ah, did you fail?"

"No, I did really well, didn't I?"

"Don't brag! You said you were going to take the college entrance exam because you were failing!"

In the director's office, Sung JiHan could roughly guess where he got the information from.

Did he interrogate the security guard who was watching them?

"Don't worry, I did well despite your concerns. Shouldn't you go home now?"

Whoosh-

When Sung JiHan gestured, the director's body floated in the air this time.

"Uh... uh! Let go of me! Are you not letting go?!"

At that moment, Manager Park Yoon-sik, who had been unable to do anything next to them, suddenly stood up.

"I-I will escort him out first!"

"Park Yoon-sik! What are you doing right now? Are you scared of him!?"

"D-Director! But, for now, you should leave...!"

"Ugh!"

Park Yoon-sik bowed quickly, making sure Kim Nam-tae didn't notice, and quickly left the penthouse with him.

Watching that scene, Yoon Se-ah looked at Sung JiHan with a worried expression.

"Uncle... did something big happen?"

"Me? What?"

"You fought with someone who is the director of the BattleNet management department. If he's the director, he must be an administrator in the BattleNet industry..."

"Ah, what does that guy know about being an administrator?"

Sung JiHan smirked.

"He's not even a player. He's just a politician who parachuted into the industry."

"Is that so...? But still, isn't it a problem to provoke him like this?"

"Well, in the old days, maybe."

In the old world where BattleNet didn't exist.

In the past, when money and power were used as dominant means of ruling, it might have been a problem. But now, the world was different.

In this era, the players themselves were the ones who held the power and controlled the world.

It was just that the older generation couldn't accept it.

But because they couldn't resist the huge current called BattleNet, they made a compromise, which was the 'Association' and the 'Guild'.

"Anyway, if it goes like this, the Daehan Daily will release an article about Se-ah."

Based on the words of the security guard, they would extensively cover the story that Se-ah's gift was a failure.

Before unnecessary misunderstandings arose, they had to take the initiative.

"Se-ah."

"Yes? Why?"

"I need to do an interview on my channel."

"Ah~ Are you going to reveal my gift before the article comes out?"

"That's right."

"Ugh. That's a method for the lower class."

Yoon Se-ah raised the corner of her mouth and tilted her head instead.

"Let's do the gift reveal after the article comes out. It'll be more fun that way."

"Hmm. But won't you get stressed because of that article?"

In fact, Yoon Se-ah's method was more effective in terms of results, but it was obvious that she would receive ridicule and criticism in the comments while the article spread widely.

Sung JiHan was worried about that, but...

"Uncle? Sometimes, sweet potatoes taste better when you eat them with soda, you know?"

He smiled.

Yoon Se-ah was becoming more and more like Sung JiHan.