Chapter 71
There are duels among the collectors.
Just like the tellers compete with each other in art exhibitions, the collectors also settle their disputes or conflicts by dueling with each other.
It was a permitted way for the collectors who fought with weapons and risked their lives in the modern world, and the method of requesting a duel was very simple.
It was enough to just express their opinion that they wanted to challenge the other party to a duel.
[Wait a minute. Is that valid?]
‘It’s enough. It’s better than leaving here with nothing and not knowing what dirty tricks they will do later.’
Yu-hyun muttered with a displeased expression on his face.
‘It’s actually a part that the government recommends.’
[No. Why? The government should usually discourage such fights.]
‘What if there is a problem between the collectors? Ordinary people might end up with a fist fight in anger, but what do you think will happen if the collectors who are much stronger than ordinary people fight?’
[There will definitely be a big problem. The aftermath of the fight alone will be a nuisance.]
‘That’s not all. It might be better if they fight in front of everyone. What if they hold a grudge against each other and secretly follow them into their worldviews and cause trouble in a deserted place?’
That would inevitably result in death.
There were actually several cases like this.
There were cases where they secretly followed and killed someone they didn’t like, and there were many more cases where the crime was not revealed and buried.
Rather, it was common for such incidents to be attributed to the scavenger’s deeds.
‘They don’t care what happens to low-ranking guys, but if something like this happens between mid-rankers, the government has to be alert. Mid-rank collectors and above are important human resources.’
So what came out was a duel that allowed them to solve their problems amicably under strict rules.𝚗𝗼𝘷𝙚𝒍𝚋𝓲𝖓.𝑛ℯｔ
‘It’s the best solution for collectors who fight with weapons. They’re holding swords in the first place, so how can they fight with words in court? Just cut it out comfortably.’
[Don’t you think there are some people who think it’s better to solve it with words?]
‘You don’t know what you’re talking about, but there’s no way someone who wants to solve everything with words would be a collector. In the end, they all became collectors because they were ready to fight, and especially those who reached the mid-rank level would rather find it easier to fight because their minds were somewhere weird. Their basic way of thinking is clearly different from ordinary people. It’s no different from arguing for democracy to medieval nobles.’
[…Now that I think about it, that’s true.]
‘First of all, they solve the problem by dividing the victory or defeat on the surface, but also because the confrontation or duel between collectors of a certain level is a big spectacle for the spirits. The tellers can’t help but get involved in the disputes between collectors. It makes money.’
[The so-called show for show? Like sports such as martial arts?]
‘Yeah. The more spirits gather, the more points are circulated there. From the teller’s point of view, it’s rather grateful that these issues increase. It increases their pay.’
[But you don’t look very happy about it?]
‘Of course. It’s not what I wanted in the first place, but they’re unilaterally coming at me. And I don’t want to accept his arbitrary proposal either.’
That was why Yu-hyun was angry.
It was clear that Ju Kyung-soo was more at fault for unilaterally acting as if he was picking a fight with this side and being rude.
He just pointed out that part, but no matter how he looked at it, requesting a duel was Ju Kyung-soo’s fault.
‘The problem is…’
“Oh my God! A duel!”
“The artist challenged the sword master to a duel!”
“Wow! Ju Kyung-soo! Please win!”
The reactions around him were not as cold as Yu-hyun’s.
It was partly because of Ju Kyung-soo’s power of [Casanova], but also because of his strong image as an entertainer that he had built up until now.
‘If someone who doesn’t know the situation sees this situation, they might even take Ju Kyung-soo’s side.’
The image that people have can have a surprisingly big impact.
‘Ju Kyung-soo must have had a good reason for acting like that.’
People would mistakenly think so.
From here, some people might even exaggerate and interpret that Ganghyerim was rude first.
‘That’s how the public is.’
People didn’t care why or how Ju Kyung-soo requested a duel.
What mattered was that an artist who was popular among the mid-rank collectors challenged a rookie sword master who had recently shown rapid growth.
The aftermath of this incident was too big to argue about the trivialities.
‘He covered up the whole situation with an issue. That bastard. He did it on purpose.’
Yu-hyun was sure as he saw Ju Kyung-soo’s confident attitude.
Ju Kyung-soo had been aiming for this situation from the beginning.
‘He looked like a vain and stupid person, but he knows how to use his head, huh?’
As Yu-hyun expected, Ju Kyung-soo was smiling inwardly at the situation.
‘Look at that surprised little bastard.’
He was not a stupid person, if anything.
He was rather cunning and smart.
Ju Kyung-soo knew very well how popular he was right now, and he knew better than anyone how to use this popularity.
He had risen to the mid-rank collector even though he had two traits that were not related to combat out of three traits, and that was also because of this influence.
‘Why do collectors have to fight and raise their ranks? I can raise my rank just by getting a lot of popularity from the public. Stupid bastards.’
More than anything, Ju Kyung-soo felt a huge power rising in his body whenever his name came out of people’s mouths.
The fact that his name came out of people’s mouths meant that Ju Kyung-soo’s story spread.
In the mixed world, stories have power, so those who have a huge reputation can gain more power from the stories.
‘Besides becoming stronger with points, you can also become stronger like this. You don’t have to bother with the hassle of going to places like the World of Ideas, do you? If you’re smart, you don’t have to suffer with your body. You can also do whatever you want on the side.’
He was able to rise to this position through this method.
And as his rank and social status increased, Ju Kyung-soo used his power to exploit and manipulate the people under his feet as he pleased.
‘Especially women. They’re so easy it’s ridiculous. All I have to do is smile and say some sweet words and they fall for me like flies.’
Ju Kyung-soo was a very lecherous man. He had a history of laying his hands on not only ordinary people, but also celebrities and idols who were active in the entertainment industry, as well as low-rank collectors who had low self-esteem due to their rank.
It was all thanks to his brilliant appearance, speech, and the power of his traits.
The reason why it didn’t become a social problem beyond that was because of his social reputation.
‘Well, I didn’t expect that this swordmaster girl would be immune to my charm.’
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Sometimes, there are people like that.
People who are mentally strong and don’t budge no matter how hard he tries.
Swordmaster Kang Hye-rim was one of them.
‘Well, most collectors were like that. But that doesn’t mean I can’t woo them.’
Ju Kyung-soo chuckled.
If this one-dimensional method doesn’t work on someone, he just uses another method.
That is, using his social status to pressure them.
The duel he applied for now was one of the typical examples.
He deliberately spread rumors by applying for a duel in front of everyone.
Even if the other party was dumbfounded, it was hard to refuse outright when there were many eyes around.
‘Collectors are more conscious of the eyes around them than anyone else.’
Popularity is a very important factor for collectors.
They need to be famous to make money, and they need to be famous to become stronger.
That’s how the society has changed since the era of transformation.
Above all, Kang Hye-rim was a rising rookie. If she refused a duel in front of everyone, she would be branded as a coward or a runaway.
The shock would be great if she fell after running non-stop. Collectors were especially sensitive to this part.
She must have realized all the disadvantages she would face if she refused.
Kang Hye-rim had no choice but to accept this duel.
‘Well, of course I’ll win.’
He only had one trait related to combat, but he was still a mid-rank collector. He didn’t think he would lose to Kang Hye-rim, who was still lower than him in rank.
He applied for the duel because he was sure he would win.
If the opponent was at least equal to him, he wouldn’t have applied for the duel.
‘Well, there will be some complaints that the duel itself is unfair or something like that. But in the first place, the public will just ignore it, and for the association side, I just have to pay some money, right?’
Ju Kyung-soo belonged to one of the giant clans, Hesiodos.
Naturally, he had the glory of the clan on his back and he could handle any trivial problems with the power of authority.
Above all, he had a huge fandom called fan club.
He had nothing to fear when he had people who would die for him no matter what he did.
‘It’s easy to crush them with my fandom.’
He always won by using this method.
He never considered how cowardly it was. Ju Kyung-soo thought that as long as he won by any means, it was enough.
‘Hehe. Now I’ll just break her spirit in front of everyone and then make her fall for me when I comfort her. Ahh. I’m already drooling.’
“That’s what he’s thinking.”
Yu Hyun muttered as he looked at Ju Kyung-soo who was already intoxicated with the sense of victory.
[…How are you going to stop him?]
‘I don’t need to do anything special. The more famous a collector is, the easier it is to know how they will move in this situation. Why? Because that’s the most convenient way.’
Yu Hyun knew very well what method Ju Kyung-soo would choose because he knew how cunning he was.
More than anything, he knew what kind of personality and ideology he had, and what background he had for doing such things.
‘I can see it all clearly.’
Yu Hyun closed the book in his hand that belonged to Ju Kyung-soo.
In that short time when Ju Kyung-soo was lost in his own delusions of victory, Yu Hyun had speed-read his book.
‘So that’s why he did this. He had some background after all.’
This incident might seem like Ju Kyung-soo did it on his own, but there was a hidden hand behind it.
First of all, the Hesiodos clan that Ju Kyung-soo belonged to was wary of the rising swordmaster.
Second, the teller who had a contract with Ju Kyung-soo was trying to check Yu Hyun.
[He said he was an agent. He must have been surprised when his junior suddenly raised his head. In the end, the clan didn’t like the swordmaster who was eliminating the World of Ideas, and the teller also found him annoying, so they decided to step on him at this opportunity.]
Ju Kyung-soo was the best choice for this job.
Of course, he also volunteered for this because he wanted to. For Ju Kyung-soo, who went crazy for beautiful women, Kang Hye-rim was a very attractive prey.
Personal desire, clan rivalry, teller’s caution.
All these things intertwined and led to this situation.
[So what are you going to do? Your lady seems quite flustered?]
As Baekryeon pointed out, Kang Hye-rim was unable to accept the situation when she received the glove.
She couldn’t decide on her own whether to accept or reject the proposal, but she couldn’t refuse it because there were many eyes around her.
If she refused the duel here, she would be marked as a coward or a runaway.
Especially.
‘I hate it.’
Kang Hye-rim hated nothing more than being branded as a loser.
‘I don’t want to run away.’
If she had been alone, she would have accepted the duel without hesitation. But she was not alone. If she made a rash decision here, it would be the same as harming Yoo Hyun.
Kang Hye-rim looked at Yoo Hyun, hoping for an answer.
She was ready to follow his choice, whatever it was.
‘I hate running away more than anything.’
But if that was Yoo Hyun’s decision, she was prepared to endure the bitter taste.
‘Right. This is definitely a situation that they provoked. It would be foolish to agree to it so easily.’
Kang Hye-rim convinced herself as she looked at Yoo Hyun.
She thought he would also shake his head and say that it was better to refuse.
But Yoo Hyun’s reaction was the opposite.
‘…!’
Yoo Hyun was smiling. And he moved his lips to say this to her.
‘Accept it.’
The moment she saw him, Kang Hye-rim forgot even the thought of keeping a poker face, and unwittingly smiled brightly.
“Huh?”
“Huh…”
“Crazy.”
And the people around them, who were watching the scene with anticipation, felt an illusion of flower petals fluttering when they saw Kang Hye-rim’s smile.
She was already a picture of beauty just by standing there with a blank expression, but now she added a sincere smile to it.
The women who were smitten by Joo Kyungsoo stared blankly at Kang Hye-rim, and the men’s reactions were even more extreme.
Some blushed, and some turned their heads away from Kang Hye-rim, unconsciously avoiding her.
“I accept.”
Kang Hye-rim didn’t care about the reactions around her, and answered with a sweet voice.
