REAPER SCANS

The Martial God Who Regressed to Level 2

[Translator – SCM]

[Proofreader –  ilafy]

Chapter 523

'I didn't expect to meet them here.'

HaYeon, who possessed the Gift of 'Nurture', had handled the guild's affairs in place of JiHan.

Externally, she was known to be his lover. Of course, in reality, it was merely a means to avoid being forced into marriage.

'Come to think of it, what happened to the Bloom Guild shares after the record erasure? Did they go to my sister?'

Back when he was part of it, the Bloom Guild was the world's top guild; the value of its shares exceeded that of the Sword Palace.

Of course, it was only so valuable thanks to JiHan being part of it, so he imagined the shares were much cheaper than in the past.

"Please, delete that photo." GaYeong, having stepped out of the elevator, again demanded that the photo be deleted.

"I didn't take any."

"Could you show me?"

"Of course." JiHan nonchalantly handed over his phone.

HaYeon, being carried, slapped GaYeong's back. "Hey! Stop it! I'm sorry… She's been sensitive toward the paparazzi lately."

GaYeong found no images on the phone.

"Apologize to him."

"I'm sorry." She bowed her head.

JiHan pointed to the elevator. "Can I take it now?"

"Yes, yes. I'm really sorry."

He entered the elevator.

"We should have rented the entire floor like before."

"We only come here for guild certifications, so it's a waste."

"You have so much money, yet you're so stingy. You collapse every time we do a certification, so why not spend a little?"

"Guilds are struggling these days… I can't afford to waste money."

He faintly heard them speaking beyond the elevator.

'What's a guild certification?'

Such things didn't exist before, but was it bad enough to make a guild master collapse from exhaustion?

'If it were the old Bloom Guild, she wouldn't have struggled with finances.'

Their financial situation had taken a turn for the worst.

'I'll have to look into this.' There were many things he needed to catch up on over the next three days.

JiHan entered a convenience store. The interior of the store wasn't much different from before, save for one thing…

'All of the advertisement models are half-elves.'

Whether it was alcohol or snacks, every product with an advertisement model had faces of half-elves plastered all over them. Male half-elves, in particular, were the latest trend—the main advertisement spots were all occupied by those who vaguely resembled JiHan.

'Seeing these faces is starting to annoy me…'

He instinctively moved toward the alcohol section. There, seeing a male half-elves face plastered all over the alcohol labels, he frowned.

They really were all over the place.

'I should buy the ones that don't have any faces on them.'

Finishing his shopping with only faceless products, JiHan turned on the TV as soon as he got home.

A male half-elf immediately popped up on the screen.

"Ugh, seriously? Stop showing up.”

Beep. Beep—

He quickly changed the channel, and a news channel appeared. The anchor at the desk, accompanied by an expert, looked quite serious.

[The Alliance's Governor-General recently warned that South Korea's species conversion rate is below the standard, and if the numbers don't improve within the first half of the year, 'special measures' will be taken.]

Was it something like the half-elf conversion rate?

[We have the Battle Net Administration Office's Research Department Head here… To think the conversion rate is poor… Doctor, is the situation in Korea really that bad?]

[Yes. Although a male half-elf appeared just three months ago, compared to other countries, our frequency is too small for comparison, and the number of female half-elves has always been low.]

The Research Department Head showed some statistics. Indeed, compared to other countries, Korea's conversion rate was noticeably low.

[I see… have you heard anything about the 'special measures' the Governor-General warned about?]

[I heard that the Governor-General is considering deactivating the dungeon portal suppressors.]

[You mean…]

[Yes. If the conversion rate doesn't improve, dungeon portals might appear much more frequently than they do now.]

‘What does the portal frequency have to do with the conversion rate?’ JiHan tilted his head in confusion and picked up his phone to read real-time reactions.

- Why can't Koreans become elves like others?

- What does dungeon portal frequency have to do with the conversion rate?

- Statistically, countries with more dungeon portals have a higher conversion rate, but the reason is still unknown…

- So they're turning off the suppressors?

- Ah, that will make the price of houses drop…

- I heard the Governor-General's headquarters is in Seoul, so it was considered the safest place. I guess that's no longer the case.

'Their headquarters is in Seoul?' Why would they set their base in Korea instead of the USA, the top-ranking country?

Was it because of him?

JiHan searched for the location of the Governor-General's headquarters and saw an image of a massive tree that stretched from the top of Namsan to the sky.

'Is this a type of World Tree…? So it replaced the Namsan Tower.'

The giant tree was home to the Governor-General and several other elves, and it had become a must-visit landmark for foreigners visiting Korea.

It was hard to believe colonial subjects were taking commemorative photos at the office of the one overseeing them.

'They don't seem to have any resentment about having become a colony.'

He'd already visited a convenience store, so he should thoroughly investigate what human society was like under colonial rule.

'I should also investigate what happened to the Bloom Guild.'

Turning on his computer, JiHan began collecting information in earnest.

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Translator - SCM

Proofreader - ilafy

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Three days later…

"No wonder why they like being a colony…" JiHan smiled after gathering information.

'All of my achievements were credited to Yggdrasil.'

After going from a lowest-ranking species to a low-middle one and rapidly rising from Bronze to Silver, they'd been put at risk of demotion, so she accepted them as a colony to save them.

All of it was attributed to Yggdrasil's care for humanity.

'Moreover, after becoming a colony, the number of dungeon portals decreased, and the world became more stable.'

Before becoming a colony, when they were at the bottom of the Silver League, humanity found itself in significant danger due to the simultaneous appearance of dungeon portals in various regions, especially in countries with a low national rank.

Some of the lowest-ranked countries struggled to function as nations, but after becoming a colony, the frequency of dungeon portal appearances reduced by more than half.

'And in Seoul and the metropolitan area, where the Governor-General is located, no dungeon portals appeared.'

The World Tree elves had evolved their species and guaranteed safety. With so much given and little taken after becoming a colony, it was no wonder humanity was content under colonial rule.

'The World Tree elves aren't a peaceful species.'

The species, following Green Administrator Yggdrasil, was the most notorious group in Battle Net. If something bad happened, they were usually involved and were the furthest from being peaceful.

There had to be a reason for their relative gentleness with humanity, and half-elves seem to be their primary focus.

The recent male variants, which the World Tree Alliance showed immense interest in, even affected how they treated certain countries.

With the Governor-General showing so much interest, the male half-elves became wildly popular in human society.

Whether it was in Korea or abroad, the advertising market was dominated by those who vaguely resembled JiHan.

'I'll have to investigate the reason behind such a treatment after becoming one.'

There was only so much information available to the general public; that's why JiHan decided to become a male half-elf himself to uncover their motives.

'Well, since I have some time left… Should I look into the guild's situation?'

He recalled meeting HaYeon a few days prior and searched for information about the Bloom Guild.

[Bloom Guild falls seven positions in guild rankings. Falls out of top five.]

[Bloom Guild left behind by the times. What's the problem?]

[Rumors of Sword King Yoon Sae-jin's transfer appear.]

[Twin Star Group reiterates intent to acquire the Bloom Guild.]

Only negative articles started pouring out, and based on the comments below the articles, he grasped the situation.

- Why is the Bloom Guild collapsing? I invested 100,000 GP in it…

- Maybe because you invested?

- They keep losing in the half-elf recruitment battles.

- The Nurture-type guilds have fallen out of favor. Nowadays, the most important thing is the number of half-elves a guild has.

- Why was the guild's evaluation so high in the first place?

- Although the guild master's skill is OP, it wasn't enough to be the world's number one or two.

- Just join the Twin Star group again. I heard the guild master was originally from there.

'So half-elves have become the standard for a guild's evaluation.'

Back when players wanted to join the Bloom Guild, it was because of HaYeon's unparalleled Nurture Gift. However, in a world where the number of half-elves took precedence over growth, that advantage diminished.

Moreover, the Bloom Guild's high evaluation was largely thanks to JiHan's presence. Without him and Sae-ah, who had become the world's ranked 1st and then been subjected to record erasure, it was no wonder the guild's evaluation plummeted.

'They must have made a lot of money. Why couldn't they recruit half-elves?'

People said that if a rich person collapsed, their fortune could last for three generations.

The Bloom Guild had made a lot of money during its peak; if times had changed, why not use that money to recruit half-elves?

Puzzled, JiHan looked into it.

- Are they still investing in the Nurture effect?

- That's all they have left.

- To maintain the buff, they have to do monthly guild certifications, and the GP cost is no joke.

- Yes. People began leaving during the investment briefing because of that.

- Ah, my money… Just sell it to Twin Star, please…

'Guild certification… That didn't exist in my time.'

Was it related to him, the owner, having left the position? The guild was on the lower floor anyway. 

JiHan thought about looking into it.

[The Battle Net Tutorial map will soon start.]

[This is under the jurisdiction of the Green Administrator. The tutorial will be replaced by an 'Aptitude Test’.]

Before he knew it, a green message window popped up before him.

'First, I'll have to become a half-elf.'

[If you're ready, respond to the summoning.]

[If you do not respond, you will be forcibly summoned in five minutes.]

JiHan responded to the summoning.

Flash—!

Green light engulfed him, and he vanished.

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