Chapter 107
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Chapter 107: Saudi (1)
Gate Hunter is challenging.
Even if you’ve entered the late-game story with each character, one mistake can start a new round.
And the terrifying 1:1 time ratio between reality and the game.
Make one mistake and die?
You have to raise that character all over again.
That’s at least close to 1-2 years.
‘It’s a nightmare.’
But what can you do?
That’s what the game company decided.
If you don’t like it, you can leave, but unfortunately, in the early days of Gate Hunter, even if you wanted to leave, you couldn’t.
With graphics that seem 10 years ahead of the competition and a vast open world.
Even NPCs that react like real people.
You need a game that can replace that to play something else.
There wasn’t one available.
A game like that.
But they have to play it, and it’s daunting to start all over again if you die.
Was there a shortcut strategy or something?
It’s not strange that users’ thoughts lead in this direction.
If there’s demand, there will be a strategy.
Many users began searching for the shortest route in the game.
How can one clear it quickly?
You just have to get strong quickly, right?
That means strengthening skill books, buying equipment, and taking potions…
Ultimately, it’s about money, right?
But Park Siwoo, the first clear character, was an orphan with his younger sister.
He only gets a little settlement support, so how can he make money quickly with that?
Many methods were suggested, but none provided a clear solution to the dilemma of eager users.
‘Then we found it.’
The collective intelligence of the team came up with a brilliant solution.
—Then if you don’t have money, just get it from a rich person, right?
And there was a perfect candidate.
The King of Saudi Arabia.
He’s always been the richest person in this world.
But he didn’t awaken until his mid-40s.
If only they could find out the conditions for the King’s awakening…
Many Park Siwoos volunteered to be the King’s guard, and eventually, they managed to figure out the conditions for his awakening.
After that, a fixed strategy route emerged.
Start early and awaken.
Achievement ranks may vary depending on the mental fortitude, but it doesn’t matter.
Once you awaken, you can get a good loan.
Even if Park Siwoo, a low-rank orphan, is in the first financial sector, he can get at least 4-5 thousand.
Withdraw and head straight to Saudi Arabia.
Dress decently and persistently linger near the palace until the King of Saudi Arabia goes to give a speech.
If you happen to catch a glimpse from afar?
Users shouted the Arabic they memorized with all their might.
—Oh, Great King! May Allah’s blessings be upon you soon!
Becoming an Awakened in Saudi Arabia was no small feat.
In this context, an Awakened referred to a warrior who utilized mana, the energy overseen by Allah. In other words, they were warriors blessed by Allah.
So, when users shouted such phrases, it roughly meant:
“You seem destined to Awaken soon, don’t you?”
Saudi Arabia was a monarchy.
Usually, in such places, the emergence of Awakeneds was a cause for concern. However, it wasn’t something they could simply suppress entirely.
Going against the tide of the times entirely.
Suppressing Awakeneds too much could lead to a situation akin to North Korea.
Moreover, even among the royal family, it was common for individuals to Awaken suddenly overnight.
Eventually, there was a societal consensus reached on that front as well.
Whether it was a member of the royal family or a commoner, Awakening was welcomed as a blessing, and there was joy in it.
The intensity of the blessing (achievement rank) was not an important issue at all.
Having a higher rank didn’t mean receiving more of Allah’s blessings, nor did having a lower rank mean receiving fewer blessings.
What mattered was how much one contributed to society and what role one took on.
Roughly speaking, that’s how it was.
So, when users said such words, it was also a form of praise for the king.
However, usually, such explicit statements weren’t made directly.
In a world where not Awakening by your 20s meant there was almost no chance of Awakening, saying to a king in his 40s that he seemed about to Awaken?
In essence, it was tantamount to making fun of him.
To the point where there was nothing to say even if the enraged king took swift action.
Knowing this, the people of Saudi Arabia didn’t casually bring up such matters.
But why bring it up then?
‘Because we need to attract attention.’
Just saying something like that without a reason wouldn’t catch the king’s interest. You had to poke where he was most sensitive to get even a drop of attention.
Regardless of how much money one had, everyone wanted to live a healthy and long life.
Moreover, Awakening wasn’t just about ensuring good health; it was a means to turn people into superhumans.
Once Awakened, it was a breeze to take potions and increase levels and abilities.
Of course, in exchange, they might become empty Awakeneds, but a king of a country wasn’t going to go around smashing Gates just because he Awakened.
Just becoming a bit of a superhuman was enough.
A Saudi king who hadn’t Awakened until his mid-40s.
The king never let that comment slide.
Before long, a discreet summons came, and then the users were informed of the conditions.
The Saudi king, who successfully Awakened, a lifelong dream come true, treated the users as heroes and generously rewarded them with a prize.
Usually in the range of billions.
‘It’s impossible to earn that much money in the early stages.’
Starting as the eldest son of the Ilsung Group, he easily pocketed it.
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For the Park Siwoo group, with poor social foundations and abilities, it was usually an amount they couldn’t earn.
Even achieving ranks from A to S made no difference.
Guilds or countries usually didn’t distribute money like that in the early stages.
Even for the king, throwing such a trivial amount wasn’t a burden, but for the users, it was enough to make their heads spin.
Units in the billions?
Wouldn’t that be enough to spend extravagantly up to the mid-game stage?
‘Well, things went pretty well until the mid-game.’
In the truly challenging late-game stages, he eventually stumbled and fell, but…
Anyway, it was a pretty useful strategy, one that even Kim Minwoo acknowledged.
‘The Middle Eastern wealth boom really took off around then.’
Figuring out the Awakening conditions not just for the Saudi king but also for wealthy individuals across the Middle East, and then making the most of it.
It was one of the methods Kim Minwoo himself had used quite effectively.
‘The users only received a few hundred billion at most.’
He was different.
For the users, to put it bluntly, they had no foundation, no talent, no ability, so they simply received what the king gave them.
After all, isn’t the price of an item often determined by the situation and context?
The power to decide the price doesn’t lie with the king.
‘It’s up to me to decide.’
He had no intention of selling Awakening methods at exorbitant prices.
Among the wealthy, there were plenty of people who would pour all their assets into returning to their youth, so to speak.
And here he was, offering a method to turn them into superhumans, yet he was being stingy?
It was quite amusing.
Within Ilsung Group’s luxurious private jet, he entered Saudi airspace.
In the distance, fighter jets were seen escorting.
‘Well, the treatment isn’t bad.’
Chairman Kim’s connections had gotten him a phone call with the king before he arrived.
The conversation was simple.
— Do you wish to Awaken? I can help you with that. And it would be good to discuss various business matters as well.
That was roughly the gist of it.
Although the king responded with a somewhat skeptical tone, the reception was akin to that of a state visit.
‘Because you’re eager.’
But even though the king held a high status, it wasn’t a one-sided affair.
Aside from being a direct descendant of Ilsung, this is a world where the most prominent Awakened are treated well.
With the value he had shown through this guild battle, showing such a remarkable power after only three months of Awakening, if he weren’t respected, that would be even more peculiar.
As the plane landed smoothly.
Kim Minwoo slowly descended the stairs.
In the distance, Saudi fighter jets emitted red, blue, and white smoke symbolizing the Korean flag, welcoming him.
And as if that wasn’t enough, key figures from the royal family came out to the airport to personally welcome him.
The fluent English-speaking foreign minister.
“It’s a pleasure to meet you. We’ve heard a lot about Mr. Kim Minwoo’s reputation here.”
“Thank you for the warm welcome.”
“It’s nothing. His Majesty insisted. He wants to meet you. Please, this way. His Majesty is waiting.”
They treated him with such courtesy.
If it were a lie, it could also be seen as a warning that it wouldn’t be fun.
Well, it didn’t matter.
He had brought a genuine present from the start.
“But those reporters over there, they look Korean, don’t they?”
“Yes. They are. I’ve been leaving them alone since they said they were filming Kim Minwoo, but…”
He quietly nodded and said to the foreign minister.
“Can they accompany you to the palace? Just to enter and film.”
“Well… that’s… normally a bit difficult…”
“I’d like to ask a favor.”
“…Fine. They can accompany us from a distance. But entering the palace itself is difficult.”
“That’s understandable.”
* * *
Saudi Arabia.
Even here, there were Korean reporters.
Right now, they were in a state of disbelief, unsure if what they were witnessing was a dream or reality.
They had heard the news of Kim Minwoo’s departure to Saudi Arabia.
They managed to get some information through their contacts with the Ilsung Group.
Was meeting the king his purpose?
The Saudi king boasted immense wealth, to the extent that there were stories of him inviting all the heads of Korean conglomerates to Korea in the past, discussing business with each one of them.
Even if it were Chairman Kim from Ilsung, arranging a meeting was not an easy task.
That was the Saudi king for you.
So, he shook his head in amusement.
Kim Minwoo meeting the king?
Why on earth?
But even more so…
‘What’s this about?’
‘What kind of discussion could warrant such high security?’
‘Isn’t this level of security something that even the South Korean president doesn’t receive?’
No matter how successful Kim Minwoo was as an Awakened, this level of security was excessive.
But it was happening.
That meant there was a good reason for it. It was driving them crazy with curiosity.
At that moment, one of the Saudi officials approached and whispered something.
The reporters’ faces lit up.
‘Is it true? Can we really film at the palace?’
They could barely manage to film from a distance at the airport.
What on earth was going on?
“Yes. Mr. Kim Minwoo specifically requested it. However, it’s only for the exterior.”
“O-Of course! Everyone, get your equipment ready!”
Broadcast teams, with mouths agape, began to follow the vehicle Kim Minwoo was in from a distance, filming.
* * *
The scenery of the vibrant streets unfolded before them.
Saudi Arabia.
A renowned oil-producing country.
Both in reality before entering Gate Hunter and here.
‘There’s a lot of money here.’
In a world where Magic Stone had become a new energy resource, the demand for oil had decreased somewhat compared to the past.
But it hadn’t drastically decreased.
There were many reasons for that.
‘Because oil is used in the process of refining Magic Stone.’
Using oil in the processing stage improves efficiency.
Furthermore, although electric cars were emerging with the advent of Magic Stone cars, they hadn’t completely replaced internal combustion engine cars yet.
The reason why the Magic Stone battery industry is the future’s food source is because its growth potential is still overflowing.
‘There are many other uses for it as well.’
Oil is used in a wide range of fields, more than one might think.
It’s difficult to find items in daily life that don’t use oil.
In conclusion, Saudi Arabia, as an oil-producing country, is still wealthy. And here, there’s an incredibly impressive figure.
‘King Abdullah.’
Now it was time to meet him.
As we entered the palace, the Saudi royal cavalry surrounded the vehicle, escorting it.
Soon, when the vehicle came to a stop, we could see the king himself.
“Pleased to meet you, Your Majesty.”
“Pleased to meet you. My heart has been racing today, I had trouble sleeping.”
The king spoke English fluently.
He responded to him in English.
“You can look forward to it.”
“Let’s go. To the palace.”
After passing through the ranks of guards, they entered the palace together.
It was time to extract money from the potentate.
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