Chapter 39
Within a small, famous beef restaurant in Gangnam, JiHan shook hands with someone in one of the private rooms.
It was Diego Massid, whom he’d met in the defense game.
JiHan wanted to foster a friendship with him and would have liked to have met him earlier, but due to his busy schedule, he could only set an appointment for that day, a public holiday.
‘I originally intended to watch the game with Sae-ah.’
Their meeting was also possible because Sae-ah continued to commute to the Academy in hopes of her Gift.
“I’m sorry for being late. The cost of living in Korea is expensive, so I can’t get by teaching soccer. I’ve been doing some part-time jobs.”
“You were teaching soccer?”
“Yes. In a place owned by Mr. Chae, a supporter of mine. He said he used to have a lot of students but that not many remain due to the declining popularity of soccer.
“…”
JiHan felt strange. ‘Massid was bound to become a legendary figure in soccer… To think he’d end up teaching soccer in Korea.’
Massid was among those most affected by the disappearance of professional sports after Battle Net appeared.
He’d been a member of one of the most prestigious soccer teams and had been on the path to becoming a legend in the world’s most popular sport, yet…
He was struggling to get by in the world of Battle Net.
“It’s been a while since I had beef.”
Tsss-
Massid started to grill the beef as soon as it arrived.
He looked at JiHan. “Alcohol. Can I drink?”
“Of course.”
“Oh!” Massid began ordering right away. “Auntie-! Soju! Beer! Please!”
* * *
Massid skillfully mixed soju and beer in a ratio of 1:2. It was a true drinker’s strong blend.
“Cheers?”
“Cheers.”
Their glasses clinked.
“Ah… this is the best thing about being in Korea.”
Massid looked the happiest as he drank the mixture of soju and beer.
He glanced at the empty glass in disappointment and began preparing another round of drinks.
“Let’s have another round.”
“Sounds good.”
“Talk to me casually. Informal language is easier to understand.”
“Okay.”
Cheers!
The two men drank four cups without saying a word.
Massid gazed at his empty glass, his face slightly red. “So… how much do you know about me?”
“I know you were considered a living legend at one point.”
“A living legend… That’s an old story.”
Massid poured himself another drink with a distant look in his eyes.
Gulp- Gulp-
“Haa… Auntie-! Two more bottles of soju and four bottles of beer, please.”
After that, Massid went silent again.
JiHan recalled the information he’d read about Massid. He’d been set to become a legend on one of Spain’s most prestigious soccer teams, and then the sudden appearance of Battle Net had shaken his future.
‘Did FIFA disband in 2013?’
The international soccer association, FIFA… Even that huge organization disbanded just three years after the appearance of Battle Net.
It was the last professional sports league to do so. After the dissolution of FIFA, the only professional sport was Battle Net.
“Haa…!” Massid had already emptied one more bottle of soju and two bottles of beer.
His face was bright red, and he looked up at JiHan.
“Okay… JiHan, could we move to the main topic?”
“Why don’t you drink a bit slower?”
“You should drink when you can.”
“Tell me… Why does my Gift go well with the Mage class?” Massid asked, slurring his words.
Pang. Pang.
Massid began kicking around his soccer ball as he continued to sit at the drinking table.
He hadn’t even let go of the ball before entering the restaurant.
– What? Is he crazy?
– A soccer ball?
Despite how others looked at him, Massid never let his soccer ball leave his feet.
No matter how much of a legendary player he used to be and how much he missed his past glory, his obsessive behavior seemed like too much.
Still, there was a reason behind his actions.
‘It’s because of his Gift.’
Massid had revealed his Gift, ‘God of Soccer,’ to receive support.
[Gift – God of Soccer (Rank SSS)]
– All of your stats greatly increase when you have a soccer ball near your feet.
– Soccer-ball-shaped equipment becomes 300% stronger.
– The longer you continue to handle soccer-ball-shaped equipment, the higher the ability enhancement will become.
It was a Gift that was all about soccer. Thanks to that last condition in particular, Massid basically had to live with his soccer ball, be it in a game or in real life.
He had to keep a soccer ball with him to increase the Gift’s enhancement.
“My stats… don’t go well with the Mage class.”
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“Are you talking about your initial stats?”
“Yes. Strength, Agility, and Vitality were 10… but only Magic Power was five.”
Initial stats on Battle Net were considered indicators of what future class you should choose, so Massid’s saying that he wasn’t suited for Mage due to his higher physical abilities made sense.
Thanks to that, he’d only considered choosing the Warrior or Archer classes. With a Magic Power stat of five, he never considered becoming a Mage.
“I lived three years as a Warrior. Made it to Silver. But fighting with a soccer ball was too inconvenient. I thought the class wasn’t right for me and gave up on it.”
Massid filled his glass with beer with a cloudy look on his face.
“To give up on it, I decreased my level to 2. I kept dying and finishing last… Then I changed to Archer class, but this was also hard. Even if my stats increased, I couldn’t defeat enemies with a soccer ball.”
“A ball is a ball, so it isn’t suitable as a weapon.”
“That’s why I tried shooting an arrow with the ball at my feet. It wasn’t very effective. I tried all sorts of things and was scammed by some people… The money I got from playing soccer gradually disappeared, and I fell into desperation.”
Massid wasn’t eating meat anymore, but he kept drinking alcohol.
He opened a new bottle of alcohol and said, “Unable to bear it anymore, my wife left me. She took our son and returned to Argentina. I gave most of my remaining wealth to her… I promised to return once I achieved success… That I would make good use of my SSS-rank Gift. It’s been five years since I said that…”
One could feel the resignation in Massid’s voice. He’d fallen to the bottom after being a top athlete. There didn’t seem to be any hope in his eyes, only deep despair.
JiHan nodded. He could empathize with those emotions.
‘But I know better than anyone how brilliantly he’ll change in the future…’
Massid would end up finding his path on his own. That’s how he became Argentina’s hero and the world’s strongest Mage.
‘And if that’s going to happen anyway…’
He had to help him escape that pit and shine as soon as possible. Not just for Earth but for himself as well.
“Massid…”
“…”
“Take a look at this.”
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* * *
JiHan grabbed his smartphone and showed Massid the Battle Net market page.
“This is…”
“I’ve searched for ‘Orb’.”
An orb was a piece of magic support equipment shaped like a crystal ball. People usually used them to enhance their magic power by putting them in their extra slot.
“Are you suggesting I use it like a soccer ball…?” Massid looked at the screen and then laughed. “My Gift only recognizes things shaped like soccer balls… It should be exactly the same size. The orbs are too small. I can’t use those.”
“Right. That’s if we’re talking about the ones used on Earth.”
“Then why—?”
“But what about this?” JiHan changed the search to ‘Other Worlds’ Orbs’.
Then, unlike the orbs that had appeared before, orbs of different shapes and sizes appeared.
“This…?”
“You need to search for them specifically to find items from other worlds in the market.”
The relics JiHan used had all sorts of shapes and sizes. Some were as small as a fingernail, and others were so big that they were intimidating.
“I didn’t know there were things like this, but the condition ‘soccer-ball-shaped’ doesn’t just refer to its size.”
“Right. The material should also be similar, and the item should be used with the feet.”
“H-how do you know that?”
It wasn’t the time to be drinking!
“W… wait!”
Slap-!
Massid put down his glass and slapped himself. It was time to pull himself back to reality.
“Ugh… Please, continue.”
Seeing Massid was ready to listen, Sung JiHan added extra keywords.
“How about we add the keyword ‘Arachne’ to the search?”
The Arachne were a race of giant, spider-like aliens. By adding that keyword, Arachne orbs appeared in the Battle Net market.
“This is…”
“It’s from the spider-race called the ‘Arachne’. The orbs they use are often wrapped in spider webs. Yes… just like a soccer ball.”
Massid couldn’t take his eyes off of the screen.
Arachne orbs were made of white threads that formed a sphere, and the center shone red.
As JiHan had said, they resembled soccer balls in size and appearance.
“There are also no problems regarding usage. After all, the Arachne naturally use the orbs with their feet.”
“H… How did you…?”
How did JiHan know about a specific piece of equipment from the race of another world?
It was a natural question for Massid to ask, but JiHan had already prepared an answer.
“I found this while I was searching for other worlds’ relics.”
“Ah… now that I think about it, you do use weird weapons.” Massid nodded. He’d seen JiHan using many strange weapons. Not only the bizarre combination of a kitchen knife and a club but also a weapon urks often used, among others.
All of the equipment JiHan used was unique.
After receiving a satisfactory answer, Massid looked at the price, which was the most important thing.
There were only three for sale, and they started at B-rank with a price of 500K GP.
“Hmm… 500K GP…!”
Massid gulped. If he’d found it 10 years prior, it might not have been such a daunting price… but it was too expensive for him at the moment.
“Even if other worlds’ relics are cheap, that doesn’t mean the price is low. Maybe it’s because it’s rank B.”
“…”
“Massid, let me get to the point.”
Tap. Tap.
JiHan added the 500K orb to his shopping list.
“I’ll buy this for you.”
“You will…?”
To think he’d offer to buy something that expensive…
“What… do you want from me?”
“One year.” Sung JiHan held up his index finger. “Sign a contract with me for just one year.”
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