Chapter 130
Time goes by fast.
The labyrinth exploration, the ninth game of the Olympiad, ended in great success.
The winner is, of course, our Korean team.
Starting with the subjugation of the named monsters in District 3, he won first place with an overwhelming score by acquiring everything that could be obtained in District 3.
You can see how overwhelming it was by looking at the score.
[1st place – Korea 5863 points]
[2nd place – US 1244 points]
[3rd place – UK 1102 points]
A double score for a double score.
He won the championship with a whopping 2nd place and 4 times the score.
For reference, this is a record high.
The highest record ever for labyrinth exploration was 22 years ago, when the Argentine team, which was called the best ever, scored 2130 points.
It set a crazy record that more than doubled the highest score ever.
Perhaps this record will not be broken until the Olympiad is abolished.
‘Even though it’s a minor record-breaking, it feels good.’
The adjective “the best” always excites me whenever I hear it.
I thought about that and looked in the mirror.
The neatly trimmed hair stands out.
hmm. That should be enough.
smart-
Then someone knocked on the door.
“Player Shin Ha-yul. Are you ready?”
At the same time, a woman’s voice was heard from beyond the door. I opened the door after checking my clothes one last time.
“yes. I’m ready.”
A woman standing in front of the door.
The reporter who was in charge of my interview today greeted me with a bright expression.
“and. awesome. Your hair was also neatly trimmed.”
“Because it’s good to go out neatly, since we decided to do an interview.”
I closed the door and stepped out into the hallway.
“Where did you set the interview location?”
“Oh, you can come this way.”
The reporter moved quickly and took a seat in front of me.
Then, after making a gesture with his hand to follow me, he walked forward.
I slowly followed the woman.
After moving about 2 minutes like that, I arrived at a nearby private room.
It was a multi-purpose room often used for these interviews.
“Come on in.”
“Excuse me.”
The first thing that greeted me when I entered the room was the numerous staff and cameras.
I don’t know why there are 10 cameras installed.
If I’m interviewing myself, isn’t it just one camera?
I don’t think there will be a need for so many staff members.
“You can sit over here.”
“yes.”
I sat down in the prepared seat.
“I’ll fill in the mic for a moment.”
As I sat in my seat, a male staff member approached me and filled the microphone.
Then, he sent an OK sign to the person who appeared to be the main PD and returned to his original position.
“Well, don’t you have camera anxiety or need to prepare your mind or something like that?”
“yes.”
“Then can we start right away?”
“Sure. I also like to finish quickly and go to rest.”
The reporter smiled broadly at my answer.
“Did you hear? You can start right away!”
The main PD gave an OK sign with his finger.
The people who seemed to be the camera directors were busy moving, and a red light came on the camera.
It looks like they started filming.
“ruler. A precious person came today.”
The reporter who received the call sign started the interview with a skillful comment.
“The supernova of the wizard world. storm core. Korean giraffe. Currently in Korea, if you don’t know this person, you’re a spy. The best prospect of this era who is loved by Koreans. We welcome Shin Ha-yul!”
Along with the reporter’s comment, the staff clapped vigorously.
“Player Shin Ha-yul. please introduce yourself.”
“hello. I am Shin Ha-yul, an ordinary student at Obelisk Academy in Korea. i look forward to.”
“uh… … . I don’t know when the modifier ordinary started to mean awesome, but yes. welcome!”
The reporter clapped with a smile on his face.
“Anyway, Shin Ha-yul. You finally agreed to the interview.”
The reporter said so after properly examining the cue sheet that appeared to be an interview questionnaire.
“Something seems to have a bone in it. Am I mistaken?”
“Ah, it can be. We’ve made 38 requests in total and have all been rejected, but we don’t take them to heart at all!”
I’m laughing, but I feel something alive.
“No matter how you look at it, it seems like you have it in your heart?”
“Not at all! haha!”
That’s what he said, but it didn’t seem like he actually had it in his heart.
That’s just a kind of joke to purify the atmosphere of the interview. I know that too, so I’m adjusting it appropriately to the atmosphere.
I continued to play tiki-taka, adjusting to the mood.
“and. Since you kept refusing interviews, I wondered if you weren’t confident in your wit. Not at all. You can watch the MC instead of me.”
“Oh, is that so?”
I was handed over the cue sheet as if I had jumped over a wall.
“Hmmmm. I am Shin Ha-yul, the new MC from today. i look forward to.”
Then, pretending to be an MC moderately, he trembled.
“hello. My name is Jo Ha-yoon, who became unemployed this time. I am looking for a new job.”
“ha ha ha!”
As our conversation continued, the atmosphere in the room grew brighter and brighter.
“Oh, it’s already time. Stop having so much fun… … . We should start the interview before it is too late.”
The conversation that lasted for about 7 minutes was over.
Finally, the real interview began.
“Let’s start with a question that everyone is curious about.”
A tear flowed from the reporter’s eyes.
“Did you intend to subdue Devil Ape from the beginning?”
Before being a reporter, as a human being, it was a look that I would die of curiosity.
For reference, this question was selected based on prior agreement.
“yes. That’s right. We planned to deal with Devil Ape from the beginning.”
“Wow, the speculation floating around the Internet turned out to be true! Then, may I ask how you came up with that idea?”
Why did you go so far as to subdue Devil Ape?
It was a question with meaning.
“Because it’s something no one has ever done.”
“Is it like the feeling of a mountaineer trying to be the first to climb a mountain that no one has conquered?”
“yes. It is an accurate expression.”
Of course, there was no such romantic reason at all.
Originally, I was thinking of winning the championship by getting a high score safely and reliably.
The reason I decided to deal with Devil Ape was because my father asked me to stand out as much as possible in the labyrinth exploration. nothing more, nothing less.
“Then, passing the 1st and 2nd districts and quickly entering the 3rd district was also a strategy?”
This was also one of the questions that we agreed to ask.
“no. That’s not it. Originally, I was planning to slowly attack the 1st and 2nd areas and enter the 3rd area.”
“It was an improvised strategy. What is the reason for the change in strategy?”
“Everyone hates us so much.”
“If you hate it… … ?”
“You’ve seen it, don’t you know? Everyone teamed up to attack us. Even in a row.”
“ah… … .”
“At that time, we had the feeling that each team was intentionally sabotaging us. That’s why we changed our strategy to quickly enter District 3.”
“I thought it would have been difficult to get a proper score in Districts 1 and 2 in that state. This is it.”
“yes. There’s no better way to score points by avoiding crowds than District 3.”
“okay.”
The reporter turned over the cue sheet.
“Certainly, there were suspicions that other teams might have reached an agreement in advance to interfere with Korea.”
This is also a scheduled message.
“It is definitely a problem that Shin Ha-yul also felt that way. Shouldn’t this be formally commissioned for an investigation?”
“haha. I don’t think there’s any need for that. Seeing as the raid stopped after we entered District 3, I think it was just a coincidence.”
I smiled and made eye contact with the main camera.
“And I don’t think there would have been such injustice at the World Academy Olympiad.”
It was a kind of message with many meanings.
First of all, it is a message to the shameless US government that has been cheating on creating an alliance against Korea.
I’ll be patient this time, but if I do something like this again in the next game, then I won’t stand still.
It was such a warning message.
At the same time, by saying this, you can instill suspicion among citizens around the world.
If you raise the suspicion once like this, the eyes of the citizens will be focused on the suspicion of infidelity.
If another suspicious situation arises in the next game, there will be 100% trouble.
Just saying this will make the next game much easier.
From the perspective of the US government, there will be more eyes to care about, so you won’t be able to do anything stupid.
It’s because it means nothing if Olympiad’s stock price goes down while trying to keep records.
“this. The atmosphere became heavy because I said strange things. So, let’s move on to the next question for a change of pace.”
The reporter quickly turned over the cue sheet.
Even though the comments were kissed in advance, there is no acting appearance at all.
Are you really a pro?
“I think not only Koreans but also people around the world are curious about this. The magic you used to deal with Devil Ape this time. What is that magic?”
“hmm. To put it simply, it’s a brigade.”
“brig. You mean casting?”
“yes.”
“It was very different from the Young Chang we know.”
“The chant is an outdated technique that only increases the power by 0.5 circles at most. You want to say that?”
“So far… … .”
The reporter broke into a cold sweat.
“Was my expression too harsh? Anyway, it’s not like I said anything wrong. No matter who sees it, Young Chang is an old-fashioned technique.”
“Then Shin Ha-yul is such a good guy… No, with old technology, how could you build such a reputation… … .”
“It’s simple.”
I grinned.
“The chant I used is not an ordinary chant.”
“This is not an ordinary chant… … .”
“yes. I can’t go into detail, but… … .”
As I had thought of beforehand, I continued to explain the chant.
* * *
The interview, which lasted about 30 minutes, was over.
Returning to the hotel with Mr. Seokhyun’s devoted escort, I left the room without even changing my clothes properly.
[Sender: Father]
[I have something to tell you. Please come to my room.]
This is because as soon as he arrived at the room, he received a call from his father to come to his room.
I went straight to the suite where my father was staying on the top floor.
smart-!
“Come in.”
There was no time to say, ‘I’m here.’
At the same time as he knocked, he heard his father’s voice.
It was an expression of urgency that was uncharacteristic of a father.
I entered the room feeling such a strange subtlety.
“Sit down.”
“yes.”
My strange sense grew even more from the moment I met my father face to face.
‘Why are you so excited?’
There is something vivid about the father’s expression.
His expression was completely different from his usual blunt expression, like a child receiving a long-awaited gift.
It is the first time in my life that I see my father who looks so happy.
‘Is it because of my permafrost?’
Permafrost, the magic used to deal with Devil Ape.
Did he react like that because he admired the magic?
‘No, no matter how much, there’s no way he’ll feel that high.’
Even if you feel good in the first place, you are not the one who makes a tee in front of me.
Perhaps there is something more than permafrost. Something that made my father feel excited.
“I enjoyed the interview. It was an excellent interview that sent a warning message without turning the US government into an enemy. It was great.”
“thank you.”
“His ability to conduct interviews was excellent. Your leadership has been shown.”
“… … yes. thank you.”
“It is also worthy of praise for breaking the new record of labyrinth exploration. It hurts to say two things about subduing Devil Ape.”
“… … yes. that… … . thank you.”
It’s strange no matter how you look at it.
You’re not the kind of person who would compliment me like that.
What the hell happened to raise the tension that much?
“Ha Yul-ah.”
My father smiles lightly and looks straight into my eyes.
“Before, after things happened with Baekga. Do you remember what you asked for in return for that job?”
“yes. I remember.”
I can’t forget to forget
I still wear the master’s robe I got back then.
“It was Ray Bell Bytenor’s robe.”
“yes.”
It was a very nonsensical statement.
Why did that story come out all of a sudden?
“At that time, I said that ancient heritage is a fiction, and that Ray Bell Bytenor is also a mythological fiction. Do you remember?”
“… … yes.”
My heart raced.
“And then you said All the stories in mythology are true, and the ancient heritage is also real.”
“… … .”
I seemed to know what you were trying to say.
“I thought that was just a stroke. I thought you were stupid.”
In the flow of this conversation, my father has only one thing to say.
“But it seems it was me who was foolish, not you.”
My father brought the glass to his mouth and tilted it.
I lightly took one shot and put the glass down on the table again.
thud-!
The sound of a glass hitting the table echoed with a moderate sound.
“I will ask. The arcane magic you got. The magic system you have inherited. that… … .”
My father looked at me with a worldly pleasing expression and said,
“The first archmage in mythology. Was it by Ray Bell Bytenor?”
