In a large mansion in Tokyo, Japan.

How annoying.

Ito Shizuru furrowed her brows at the changes in the world caused by Seong Jihan.

If only my Gift rank went up too

Shizurus Gift was the SSS-rank Edit.

It had originally started at S-rank, but she had barely reached SSS after using countless Akashic Pages.

Seeing how Supporting Gifts were getting mass upgrades, she had hoped that maybe her gift would go up another rank from SSS, but

There were no signs of its rank going up.

Instead, peoples attention was focused on the previously looked down upon Supporting Gifts, shaking up the supply chain of Akashic Pages.

Until now, I could purchase Akashic Pages while evading regulations by offering more money

To keep Shizuru in check, the Korean government worked with various entities to block SZ Corporations purchases of Akashic Pages, but

This countermeasure didnt work everywhere in the world.

Being on the opposite side of the planet, they didnt care if Shizuru brainwashed others, they were fine as long as more money was offered.

While expenditures had increased compared to normal, the supply chain of the Akashic Pages itself had been maintained.

But

Now that the use of Supporting Gifts has been discovered and demand for them has increased, the price of the Akashic pages will skyrocket too.

While it was still affordable for now, if the price of Akashic Pages rose any higher, even the illustrious Ito Shizuru wouldnt be able to handle it.

She could only hope the revealed uses of Supporting Gifts wouldnt be too significant.

Shizuru observed the market situation.

At that time

[Everyone~ My Nurturing gift has reached SS-rank~]

A video uploaded by the Daegi Guild Master known to be Seong Jihans girlfriend became the latest trending video on BattleTube.

That girl had Nurturing gift!? While he may be Seong Jihan, she didnt think he would just randomly make some girlfriend the Guild Master of his guild. She had no idea that girl possessed the Nurturing supporting Gift.

If I had known, I wouldve brainwashed her when infiltrating Daegi Guild!

Shizuru clicked the video with regret and

[Hello everyone~ Im Daegi Guild Master Lee Hayeon. Since the might and strength of Supporting Gifts have been revealed, I want to give you some tips~]

Hearing she would give tips made Shizuru feel uneasy.

-Did the Guild Master have a Level SS Supporting Gift? Wow.

-Yeah, it always seemed odd that he made his girlfriend the guild master, haha.

-If her Supporting Gift is SS-grade, doesnt that mean it was originally S-grade?

[Ah! My nurturing gift was A-rank earlier, but thanks to my boyfriend I mean Boss using Akashic Pages, It went up to S-rank!]

-Wow, so the Akashic Page enhances Supporting Gifts?

-Isnt the Akashic Page worth 300 billion won? Our guild must be loaded, lol.

-No, recently it went up even more, someone bought it for 400 billion. Isnt SZ there, too? Regulations are useless, damn it.

With the talk of Akashic Pages, SZ Corporation also came up.

The public knew as well that despite regulations, it hadnt been very effective as you could still purchase them if you paid more.

But then, Lee Hayeon dropped a bomb.

[Come, look everyone! This is the effect of my Gift!]

As the effects of her Nurturing Gift were revealed to the world, people were shocked and speechless.

-Whats with that insane growth rate?

-Is Daegi Guild just filled with monsters? From the guild master to the owner, or the recently victorious Yoon Seah, why is everyone in Daegi like that?

-No way with that growth rate, isnt it just a monster nurturing guild?

-Wait shouldnt this be kept confidential?

-With an ability like that, I wonder who shell become in the future

Bam! Bam! Bam!

[R.E.Gates has sponsored 100,000GP.]

[We formally propose a scouting offer to the Guild Master of the Daegi Guild. Well offer a 2% AF stake for a $1 billion contract fee.]

[Oh, no! Ive received a recruitment proposal from Mr. Gates too!]

Hayeons Growth effect was something that would make anyone involved in guilds take notice. Even when she was A-grade, she was the 2nd division Guild Master of the American First. Now, as an SS-grade, she was worth much more.

As soon as Lee Hayeons Gift was revealed, Robert Gates immediately made a lavish offer, but

[Ive decided to dedicate myself to Daegi Guild. I appreciate the offer, but Im sorry!]

-Wow, she rejected it so decisively.

-Whats so good about the Daegi Guild?

-She probably has a significant stake as the guild master.

-2% stake of AF is probably much more valuable than the Daegi Guild stake, lol.

[Instead, since you made such a good offer, let me give you a tip. If you raise your nurturing gift with Akashic Pages, while it may not reach this extent, you can achieve quite similar effects. Just reaching S-rank allows Focused Growth on 3 people~]

Hayeon advised others to train the gifted individuals using the Akashic Page.

-By revealing such methods, isnt she decreasing the value of the Daegi Guild?

-Yeah, other guilds might start operating their own growth guilds.

-Well, its not like theres an unlimited number of spots available in the Daegi Guild. Top players might go there because of the higher growth rate.

-Still, its nice of her to share those tips.

Viewers wondered why Lee Hayeon was pushing for raising the status and strength of supporting gift users, but

Seeing this, Shizurus face stiffened.

This will make the Akashic Page price rise

No, it wasnt just a matter of price. It might have been possible to buy it at a high price before, but now due to its high demand it could become difficult to obtain.

And

[Oh, and I know a lot of you are wondering why Im giving you these tips.]

In the broadcast, Hayeon smiled meaningfully.

[The Guild owner seems concerned that the regulation of the Akashic Page hasnt been properly enforced which has led to an increase in their price. Someone from overseas may be trying to make it harder for others to obtain these pages.]

Shizuru bit her lip, then held up her phone.

Akashic Pages. Buy them now, even if you have to pay double.

[Ah, okay. Shizuru-nim!]

Following Shizurus order, one of SZ Corporations members hurried to purchase Akashic Pages, But

[The regulations of the opposing government have become stricter. In addition, because the price has skyrocketed, even the goods that have already been contracted are not being delivered. Even if we offer to pay them more, they say theyll just hand it over to their national guild!]

[BattleNets management bureau came after receiving an illegal trade report and confiscated Akashic Pages. It was a place that had been bribed.!]

[The price of Akashic Pages has skyrocketed by over twice recently, so our proposal is being met with deaf ears. Even without that, theres hardly any supply these days, and the price is soaring!]

These guys are really

Listening to the reports coming in from all over, Shizurus anger flared. Although Shizuru was infuriated by the actions of various governments that were quick to move in on matters related to BattleNet, she had to remain calm and assess the current situation.

Whoa.

After taking a deep breath, she made a cold judgment on the current situation.

With the current scale, it may not be sustainable to maintain submission and enthrallment.

Even if the edit was SSS-Rank Gift it would be impossible to keep the brainwashing on such a large scale without the help of Akashic Pages.

If the continued supply of Akashic Pages stopped, the brainwashing would collectively collapse at any moment.

Shizuru checked the people she currently controlled, separating important and unimportant cases.

Drawing a circle and dividing individuals mesmerized into five categories, she thought about the most important group, the next group, and so on.

And then, The most important figure to me is

In the very center, she wrote down the Sword Kings name.

Even if all the brainwashing on the figures in Japans political and business circles were to be broken, she had to keep the Sword King, Ito Ryuhei, firmly within her grasp. That way, even if her influence in Japan wavered, she could maintain her position as the owner of the Sword King.

Her eyes shone ominously.

Even if everyone betrays me, you must remain mine, Only mine. Sword King.

Speaking of which, she should reinforce the brainwashing once more.

She received fruits and drinks from the housekeeper and headed to the training hall located within the mansion where the Sword King was.

Swish! Swish!

The twin swords, Ganjang and Makya flew in the sky.

And following behind were the swords laid on the training hall floor.

The Sword King was displaying his swordsmanship by wielding not just two, but a hundred swords.

With his eyes closed, completely immersed in training, a sharp aura, like that of a sword flowed out from him.

Ryuhei, Ive come.

Shizuru gently spoke as she placed a tray on the desk located to the side of the training hall, but

Shizuru, could you wait a moment? I think Ive found a clue to complete the hundred swords.

Unlike his usual demeanor, where he would strangle her as soon as he saw her, the Sword King didnt even look at her. He was entirely dedicated to his training.

Has he been training so hard because he was inspired by Seong jihans video? It seems like hes making progress already

Indeed, the undisputed Warrior Rank 1.

While Seong Jihan was fiercely catching up with formidable momentum, the undisputed strongest Warrior on Earth was still the Sword King.

He was doing his utmost to trample over Seong Jihan, who had been fiercely chasing after him, in the upcoming Korea-Japan match.

Then, Ill wait for you to finish training.

As such, the hundred swords floated in the air.

An hour passed like that. However, while she appreciated his reliable dedication, Shizuru, who watched him from the side, became increasingly restless.

How can he just keep training like this with me right here?

Normally, the Sword King would embrace her, saying that he couldnt focus on training if she was watching him., but

He was far too focused now compared to normal.

He was now concentrating more than expected, and even though Shizuru usually admired the Sword Kings dedication to train, but

.I cant stand this.

With the current situation of the Akashic Pages price fluctuating due to Hayeons broadcast, and with Japan set to lose a considerable amount of influence, Shizuru, who was now sure of this, wasnt pleased with the Sword King in front of her, who was only focusing on training without even looking at her.

So

Swish!

After taking off a layer of clothing

Ryuhei, look at me.

.Shizuru? Didnt I ask you to wait a moment?

No, I cant wait.

She amplified the brainwashing once more.

Ha.

The Sword King sighed heavily. He was so close to completing the hundred swords.

Why couldnt she wait a bit longer?

However, his regret gradually faded away when he saw Shizurus pristine skin.

I need to teach you a lesson, Shizuru.

Yes, punish me quickly.

Before he knew it, a twisted smile formed on his lips.

He had completely forgotten the enlightenment from earlier and once again succumbed to the brainwashing, becoming completely captivated by her.

* * *

After Lee Hayeons broadcast.

Upon returning home, Seong Jihan was able to see system messages related to Brahma.

[The sponsoring Constellation Brahma has found a suitable way of supporting you.]

Is it finally here?

Brahma had gone into contemplation about what to sponsor, so it took a while for him to find a suitable ability for Seong Jihan.

[Brahma bestows upon you the rare stat Hellfire.]

.?

Seong Jihan blinked his eyes in confusion.

Hellfire was an ability that was completely unrelated to Brahmas name.

[Brahma adds that this ability was obtained by paying a huge price to God of Fire.]

Brahma boasted about getting it from the God of Fire.

Could it be related to the Crimson Thunder?

The Crimson Thunder was created by the fusion of Phoenix Flame and Divine thunder together.

Seeing the power that can further enhance the Celestial Judgment, Brahma seemed to have taken an interest and was pushing him in that direction.

And as Seong Jihan expected

[The Constellation Brahma requests you to combine Divine Thunder and Hellfire to complete Crimson Thunder.]

Brahma had his eyes on the Crimson Thunder.

[If you complete Crimson Thunder, tremendous rewards including the unique stat Crimson Thunder will be given.]

[Will you accept this request?]

Brahma was ready to offer gifts if he just completes Crimson Thunder.

Seong Jihan, however, rejected it outright.

I dont want to.

[Brahma is perplexed by your response.]

[Brahma is angry, saying you are arrogant.]

[He threatens to immediately stop the sponsorship.]

Seong Jihan snorted when he saw Brahma threatening system messages.

What arrogance? If you dont like it, you shouldnt have sponsored me in the first place.

[Brahma is furious, saying he has never seen such a reckless player.]

Are you mad? Then scram!

Swish! Swish!

He made a dismissive gesture towards the empty air as if chasing away a fly. He remained unfazed even when dealing with the sponsoring constellation.

Crimson Thunder is something Im going to complete; its not something youre granting. But you offer Crimson Thunder as a reward? Are you trying to scam me?

Brahma wanted Crimson Thunder, but Seong Jihan had the upper hand in this deal. And his judgment was spot on.

[Brahma asks what you want.]

The first one to give up was Brahma.

*****

*****