It’s an Academic Fact That Rankers Are Model Students – Chapter 174

Chapter 174: Befriending a Bear (1)

“Is there something you’re worried about? What is it?”

“The more we educate these silvas, the more they’ll likely lean towards research and development, right?”

“Well, yeah.”

“Then, while the research and development of fertilizer will be accelerated, the actual management of the arliv colony and the construction of the silvas’ habitat will slow down significantly.”

“So, you’re saying there’s going to be a labor shortage?”

Labor force!

One of the most important and essential elements in any business!

Without securing it properly, even the best business will fail.

“That’s right. Labor shortage. Silvas aren’t physically suited for manual labor in the first place. And they’ll be exhausted just from supplying all the arlivs with mana.”

Ceram had a point.

Asking the silvas to supply over a thousand arlivs with fertilizer and mana every day, manage them, and build their own habitat on top of that?

It was too much to ask, and it was clear from the start that it wouldn’t be efficient.

“It’s alright.”

But there’s no need to worry.

“I actually anticipated this and roughly secured the labor force.”

“Oh, really……?”

“Of course. Have you ever seen me lie?”

Kyung-joon doesn’t lie.

He may have omitted the truth, but he never lied.

As Kyung-joon muttered those words casually, Teemo reacted.

< ( •᷄⌓•᷅ )>

<What kind of nonsense is that? Isn’t that the same thing?>

No.

Not telling the truth and lying are two different things.

There is a big difference, as big as the difference between distortion and concealment.

For example, what Kyung-joon just said, 『I anticipated this and roughly secured the labor force.』

This was certainly not a lie from Kyung-joon’s perspective.

But this was actually 『cover-up』.

“Oh. Looks like it’s coming. The labor force.”

“What? Where?”

“Over there. Up in the sky.”

Kyung-joon raised his hand to his forehead, blocking the sunlight and pointed to the sky.

“Hmm…….”

Ceram also raised his hand to his forehead, mimicking Kyung-joon and looked in the direction he was pointing.

His eyebrows furrowed, and when the wrinkles became like cobwebs…..

“Huh? That’s……?”

Ceram spotted a dot twinkling in the sky.

Soon, it grew bigger and bigger……

And crashed right in front of them, in a wide-open space!

KABOOM!

“Gasp?!”

Ceram lost his balance and fell from the sudden meteorite impact.

“Eek!”

“W, WWhat was that?!”

The silvas working behind Kyung-joon and Ceram were also startled and focused their attention on where the meteorite had fallen.

However, it wasn’t a meteorite that had fallen.

“Wha……?!”

Ceram’s eyes widened as he recognized the familiar face.

It was a living person who had fallen from the sky.

A Caucasian man was creating a crater by slamming a giant axe into the ground.

<Ruski Komrade>

▼AngerManagementVodka

“…….Who are you? What kind of bastard are you to touch my precious source of income?”

The fact that the labor force Kyung-joon had secured was actually AngerManagementVodka.

Kyung-joon didn’t mention that part.

< ( -᷅_-᷄)>

<But he hasn’t agreed to be the labor force yet, so isn’t that technically a lie?>

“It’s fine.”

One of the most honest ways to deal with a lie.

“Because it won’t be a lie soon.”

That is, to change the truth.

In other words, the fact that AngerManagementVodka wasn’t Kyung-joon’s labor force yet will soon become false.

🔷🔷🔷🔷🔷🔷

The reason why AngerManagementVodka came to Kyung-joon’s arliv and silva business.

And the reason why he was so angry right now.

It was all because of Kyung-joon, and it was all orchestrated by Kyung-joon.

‘…..Blin. Don’t tell me this blue brat planned all of this from the start?’

First, let’s go back about ten days.

The mutant outbreak that occurred during their arliv farming operation.

They tried everything, but they couldn’t overcome the strengthened corrupted arlivs and other monsters that started using full-fledged strategies and equipment, so they had to stop farming.

Although the mutant outbreak subsided for some reason afterward, they were driven to a situation where they couldn’t resume farming.

‘That Broki bastard……! He disappeared like this was his chance!’

Immediately after the arliv mutant outbreak, Broki, who had been bringing money to AngerManagementVodka, suddenly disappeared.

They thought he would return soon as things returned to normal, but Broki never showed up again.

It was as if the arliv farming had completely ended!

‘Nothing good has been happening lately……!’

As if it wasn’t frustrating enough that he had to give up on Ceram’s epic quest, now even his source of income, the arliv farming, was cut off!

Moreover, after SurvivalKing’s YouTube channel extensively promoted Whale Forest, other players started flocking in, making it impossible to monopolize the area like before.

Even if it wasn’t arlivs, he heard that selling equipment obtained from hunting the recently changed Whale Forest monsters was quite profitable, but in the end, if they couldn’t monopolize it, it was no different from losing its meaning as a farming ground.

It was a complete mess.

And at that very moment, a letter arrived from World’s Best.

AngerManagementVodka had a business relationship with World’s Best, such as selling them farmed items, but they weren’t close enough to exchange letters.

But a sudden letter from them?

At first, he wondered what it could be.

But when AngerManagementVodka checked the letter, he couldn’t help but……

『(Screenshot of Kyung-joon doing a V pose at the arliv and silva business)』

『Content: Hello, AngerManagementVodka. This business is mine now. I’m writing this letter just in case you come looking for me. If you wish to talk, please come to the location written below……』

…….He couldn’t help but be enraged.

[Unique Skill 『Rageful Descent (Lv.4)』]

[Consumes all rage to leap to great heights. Then, rapidly descends to the desired location.]

KABOOM!

AngerManagementVodka descended from the sky and landed in front of Kyung-joon’s arliv and silva business.

He used the axe embedded in the ground, creating a crater, to prop himself up.

He glared at Kyung-joon in front of him with eyes filled with rage.

“…….Who are you? What kind of bastard are you to touch my precious source of income?”

Judging by his entrance, it seemed like he would immediately swing his axe, but surprisingly, AngerManagementVodka spoke first.

In fact, he had just consumed all his rage with his skill, so he was surprisingly calm.

And as his nickname suggested, he was quite good at controlling his anger.

“Source of income?”

Kyung-joon played dumb on purpose.

He already knew through the internet that AngerManagementVodka and his group had been farming arlivs.

But Ceram, unaware of this fact, whispered to Kyung-joon with a serious expression.

“…..They’ve been roaming the arliv colony and hunting arlivs for the past six months.”

Seeing Ceram clearly on Kyung-joon’s side, AngerManagementVodka, who had already met him before, clicked his tongue.

“Huh, as expected. It is the hidden piece I saw back then.”

There was no longer any trace of his previous friendliness in AngerManagementVodka’s demeanor as he referred to Ceram as a hidden piece.

He asked Kyung-joon.

“Looks like you’ve already claimed the hidden piece. Am I right?”

He had already guessed it to some extent when he saw the dark-skinned silva in the screenshot Kyung-joon sent.

“Hidden piece?”

“Don’t play dumb. I received a quest fragment too.”

AngerManagementVodka activated status window sharing and flung it towards Kyung-joon.

[『AngerManagementVodka』’s Status Window]

[Quest Fragment, the First]

▶Ceram seems to have a deep trauma about his skin color being different from other silvas.

“Aha. This.”

Kyung-joon nodded as he saw the familiar content and flung his status window back.

“Tsk.”

AngerManagementVodka clicked his tongue and turned off his status window.

Then he turned his gaze towards Ceram.

“Hey, you, Charcoal.”

“……!”

Ceram’s biggest trauma, his dark skin.

He flinched at the derogatory term that directly targeted it.

But he quickly composed himself,

“….That’s a very fitting name for me. However, AngerManagementVodka, my name is not Charcoal, it’s Ceram. I also have the alias Black Manager.”

Ceram retorted back to AngerManagementVodka.

“Hmph, is that so.”

AngerManagementVodka found Ceram’s response uninteresting.

“They say you can only find unchanging friends in the graveyard. You’ve changed.”

“I’m not sure when we were ever friends. But I have definitely changed. A little.”

“……”

Looking at the changed Ceram, AngerManagementVodka thought.

The ‘trauma’ of Ceram mentioned in the first quest fragment was gone.

He had overcome his trauma and grown.

Though remnants of it remained, they were just that, remnants.

‘Judging by his state, I guess the opportunity is already gone……’

AngerManagementVodka was convinced that Kyung-joon had already completed Ceram’s hidden piece quest by his reaction just now.

Kyung-joon, who had been watching their short but meaningful conversation unfold in real-time,

‘Oh……’

His eyes widened slightly, impressed.

‘……He’s quite the thinker, isn’t he?’

Unlike his nickname and the image he projected online, AngerManagementVodka was a more intelligent character than he expected.

‘Then there’s a higher chance.’

“Mr. Ceram, I’ll handle this.”

“Yes, I understand.”

Giving a slight smile to Ceram, who had shown growth, Kyung-joon stepped forward.

“So, what brings you to my business?”

“Huh….!”

Crack!

[Rage has increased by 5.]

AngerManagementVodka’s rage flared at Kyung-joon’s words, ‘my business’.

However, AngerManagementVodka controlled his anger and responded in a low voice, like a warning.

“This is not your business. This was my business, my farming ground. I’m holding back my anger right now.”

Thud! Thud!

AngerManagementVodka slammed his giant axe twice on the ground.

Swoosh! Swoosh!

As if on cue, hundreds of his subordinates emerged from the surrounding bushes and took their positions.

The fact that all their nicknames were like a12b1234, a12b48233, a12b4778 sent chills down one’s spine.

In an instant, AngerManagementVodka, who was alone just moments ago, now had the backing of hundreds of men.

“If you leave now, I’ll let you go unharmed.”

He slightly raised his chin, looking down at Kyung-joon.

His tone implied that he should imagine what would happen if he didn’t listen.

There was no need to imagine; it was all too obvious.

In short, war.

It was war.

Despite that, Kyung-joon’s reaction was……

“This is no longer your farming ground. This is my business, my farming ground. I’m holding back my anger right now.”

……In other words, a complete and utter no-holds-barred, my-way-or-the-highway response.

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