◇ Kai’s Perspective

Lin: 『Did… did I lose?』

Kai: “Thank you for the match, Lin-san.”

I extend my hand to Lin-san, who’s fallen down. It seems that he had only fainted momentarily and was instantly recovered by the healing magic of a S-Ranked healer from the Battle God Guild.

Lin-san stares at my hand, closes his eyes as if understanding something. He might be wrestling with something, but he still took my hand.

Lin: 『…I apologize for my earlier disrespectful behavior. It might seem odd coming from the loser, but you’ve passed. You were much stronger than I imagined.』

Kai: “Um…”

Hao: “Kai-san! You were strong, he’s acknowledging you!”

Kai: “Is that so? I’m glad then…”

I certainly felt it. I’m getting stronger, surviving through numerous deadly situations has definitely made me stronger as a warrior. I’m getting used to the timing of activating my lightning, and as for the Eye of God, it’s still as cheat-like as ever.

I can foresee what the opponent wants to do and deliver damage exceeding my attack power to their vital points.

While my magic power is still lower ranking within the S-Rank, as I clear A-Rank Cubes, I will eventually become even stronger…

Wang: 『Hey, you lot, pay up quick!』

Battle God Member: 『How savage!! A complete sweep!』

Battle God Member: 『What are you going to do with even more winnings!』

Battle God Member: 『Damn!! I lost against the Hail Mary!!』

Hao:  “Kai-san, everyone was betting on your victory or defeat. Hehe, it ended up being a solo win for Wang-san.”

Kai: “Is, is that so…”

Battle God Member: 『Kai! That was amazing, let’s get along from here on!』

Battle God Member: 『Hey, teleport me too! Just once is fine!!』

Battle God Member: 『Was that really martial arts!? It looked like the moves of a master!!』

Guild members surround me, patting my shoulders and making a fuss. Having little experience in this kind of atmosphere, I felt a little embarrassed. It reminded me of the extroverted characters at school that I was never a part of.

In the midst of all this, Wang-san, clapping his hands, is walking towards me.

Wang: 『Kai-kun, you passed the test. Well, we haven’t heard your feelings about it yet. For now, congratulations. How about it, I’m getting hungry, want to grab some food with me? Thanks to you, I’ve made quite a profit, so I’ll treat you.』

Upon having those words translated by Hao-san, I gladly agreed. With this, my entrance exam to the Battle God Guild is temporarily over. I still haven’t decided to join yet, but I don’t dislike the atmosphere.

Everyone has a solid professional mindset, and even Lin-san, who seems like a fighter, admits his defeat gracefully when he loses. This guild has that kind of atmosphere, which is probably propagated by the character of the top members.

From there, for the sake of interpretation, Hao-san, Wang-san, and I decided to go out for a meal.

Wang: 『Please enjoy the authentic Shanghai cuisine, there’s a great restaurant I know. Hao-san, can you make a call?』

Hao: 『Understood!』 “Kai-san, you’re okay with Chinese food, right?”

Kai: “Yes! I love it!!”

Wang: 『Then, shall we go?』

We, driven by Hao-san, head to a Chinese restaurant claimed to be the best in Shanghai. The restaurant we arrived at has a distinctively ‘Chinese’ atmosphere, it must be a high-end place – the ambiance is superb.

It has a castle-like demeanor, with a dominant color of red, reminding me of Shuri Castle in Okinawa.

Hao: “This place is fully booked six months in advance! However, they always have seats reserved for VIPs. Or more accurately, Wang-san always has it reserved so he can come anytime, I don’t know how much he spends daily… but it’s enviable.”

Hao-san tells me this with a delighted look, he must be happy he gets to eat here too. I’m also excited, I’ve never had real Chinese cuisine before, my experience doesn’t go beyond Gyoza from some chain restaurant, which along with beef bowl, is my usual stamina meal.

Wang: 『The shark fin here is top-notch, Kai-kun.』

Wang-san steps out of the car and enters the restaurant. The moment he does, the inside of the restaurant erupts like a concert venue.

Bystander: 『Ah, isn’t that the Battle God!!』

Bystander: 『It’s Wei Wang !! Kyaaa!!』

Bystander: 『Hero! Hero! Hero!』

Wang-san, seeming used to this, casually waves his hand and smiles. Just that smile sends the middle-aged women into such a frenzy they fall over, reminds me of an idol concert.

This man named Wang is much more of a national hero, a real hero, than I imagined.

Handsome, wealthy, one of the world’s strongest.

And moreover, generous. I’ve only spoken to him a bit, but he gives off a sense of being a larger-than-life person. Despite being as strong as Arnold, there’s something about Wang that exudes righteousness and warmth, and even a sense of familiarity.

Well, it’s not that Arnold is evil, but I don’t like him.

We are guided to a private room. There, we order an omakase course* and are served dishes with eye-popping prices. The food is so refined and exquisite that it makes me question what the Chinese food I’d been eating until now really was.

*An omakase is when you allow the chef to serve you whatever he wants.

Especially Wang-san’s recommended shark fin. I remember eating an empty shark fin with my family long ago, but that probably wasn’t shark fin. It was probably vermicelli or something, because the texture was totally different.

Kai: “This is incredibly delicious, Hao-san!”

Hao: “I feel like I’m a scout just for this, it’s truly the best.”

Wang: 『I’m glad you like it. Shall we get to the main topic?』

With our stomachs somewhat filled, we moved on to the main topic. Basically, Hao-san had been translating all along, so I could converse with Wang as if I were speaking.

Wang: 『How was it? The Battle God Guild. The atmosphere wasn’t bad, was it?』

Kai: “Yes! Everyone was nice. And they’re incredibly strong. There are even some who are close to transcendents, right?”

Wang: 『You know well. There’s one with nearly 900,000 magic power, although I’m stronger. Now, about the conditions… Hao, that.』

Hao: 『Yes!』

Hao took a PC out of his bag and showed me some documents. They contained various information about the Battle God Guild, which was in a close race with the USA in last year’s sales-Ranking. The figures were too high for me to calculate in an instant, with units in millions of dollars… just how much do they earn?

Hao: “Firstly, there is no fixed salary in the Battle God Guild, everyone is making an absurd amount of money, so it makes no sense to provide a fixed salary now. Instead, we give you one duty and many privileges. The first of these duties is…”

Wang: 『Dealing with the collapse of S-Rank Cubes. You know, right? Our country has an S-Rank Cube, and it’s collapsing. About once a week, an S-Rank monster comes out. Hunting it. That’s the duty.』

The duty of the Battle God Guild, that is, to protect the country. The only mission given is to hunt S-Rank monsters for that purpose. Since S-Rank monsters seem to come out of the Cube at a pace of about once a week, 5 or 6 people hunt them. It seems that it’s their duty to take turns doing this.

With nearly 30 people, it’s practically like going to work once a month.

That’s all it is. There is some time commitment, but if I use my power, they can call me as soon as it happens, so it’s almost nonexistent. But only S-Rank can do that, monsters that no amount of powerless people can match, those are S-Rank monsters. That’s why China is gathering S-Rank with a huge amount of money to counter it.

Hao: “And for the privileges, they are amazing. We are a privileged class in this country, so we can do pretty much anything, so much so that we would like to know what we can’t do. Among them, the condition that you, Kai-kun, are most likely to latch onto is…”

Wang-san looked at me with a grin and declared. What I want most right now, that is…

Wang: 『Freedom to clear the Cubes. You can clear any Cube in this country as you wish. The others occasionally go with a few people to an A-Rank and make a fortune. That’s the privilege.』

The right to freely enter the Cubes. The point system set by the Dungeon Association, only the Battle God Guild is exempted from it. Rather than being exempted, it’s more accurate to say they’re ignoring it.

Since it’s the country that is giving permission, there’s no way to penalize them.

Wang: 『How about it? Are you getting a little motivated? Solo clearing specialist, Kai-kun.』

Hao: 『Wang-san, that’s…』

Wang: 『It’s fine, translate it for me, Hao-san. As it is. From here on out, no more secrets…from either of us…right?』

Wang said, smiling brightly, but his eyes were seriously looking at me.

Wang: 『Clearer of the Golden Cube, Kai Amachi.』