Chapter 421. Leader (2)

Steel, Bronze, Silver, Gold, Platinum, Diamond, Master, Grand Master, and Challenger. That was the growth system that differentiated heroes into different tiers. In short, one could say that the higher a hero’s tier was, the more active they had been in this world. The way to raise one’s tier was simple. They needed to make achievements, accumulate merits, and offer them to the god they served. Each tier was divided into four ranks, and the first step to rising in tiers was moving up from rank IV to I. The next step was to accumulate enough merits to make the jump from rank I to the next tier. Only then would they be eligible for a promotion, and they would reach the next tier after passing a test.

Yet this process only applied until the Diamond Tier. This was because the Diamond Tier was the highest tier that a hero could reach simply by accumulating and offering merits. In other words, the conditions for promotion changed starting from the Master tier. To be specific, the original conditions remained, but a new one was added. If one dove into what a ‘master’ meant, it held the meanings of a controller and administrator. A master ruled over others with their own will and exerted considerable influence over their surroundings.

Thus, when gods judged whether a hero was eligible to be promoted to Master tier, they discussed if the hero in question had the ability to rule over an organization, business, or something in the same vein; and if they were capable of actively exerting influence over society. That was why merits weren’t the only thing that mattered starting from the Master tier.

Even if a hero participated and contributed in every event while steadily accumulating merits that way, they couldn’t rise to Master tier without the necessary qualifications. Perhaps they could zip through the Diamond tier, but if they didn’t do anything particularly memorable and significant, they would not be promoted further. In other words, a hero would not be acknowledged by hard work alone. Thus, the system was structured in a way that there were very few heroes who could rise above Diamond tier, and most didn’t even dream of reaching Master tier.

If Chi-Woo hadn’t made the accomplishments he made a couple of days ago, some of the gods might have felt a bit more conflicted. During the war, however, Chi-Woo had firmly established himself as a great influential figure not only for humanity and the Cassiubia League, but the entire Liber. Thus, all the gods showed a positive response to Chi-Woo’s promotion. Of course, this didn’t mean that Chi-Woo was promoted to Master tier on the spot. He had merely passed the first test—a very strict screening process where one god’s opposition would be enough to disqualify one; for the second test, he needed to prove himself.

—You have the qualifications…hm.

—Is there a problem?

—I don’t really know. His rise to Diamond tier is under La Bella’s jurisdiction, so there’s nothing I have to say about that, but it might be too early for us to promote him to Master tier in this instance.

—Isn’t it all right? He already proved himself well enough. He defeated that poor child twice.

While surrounded by several gods, Chi-Woo heard many voices debating among themselves.

—It’s hard to say that he won with his own strengths and capabilities both the first and the second time. Luck played too great a part in his achievements.

—Luck is also a skill.

—It seems that he relies on luck heavily on every occasion. There’s a part of me that wants him to win with certainty just like how one particular hero does it.

—I can’t agree with you. One can’t rise to Master tier with skills alone. They need luck too.

—Do you say that knowing who I’m talking about?

—Why would you even make that comparison? The hero you are talking about is at Grand Master tier, not Master tier. Do you not get it?

—…Am I imagining things, or is your tone getting hostile?

The White Horse General and Miho seemed to be seconds away from raising their voices.

—Stop, you two. Please stop now.

A soft, low voice interrupted them. It was Mamiya.

—This is a place for us to make a fair judgment, not a place for argument.

That calmed White Horse General and Miho before they could get into an argument. Eventually, several gods turned to Mamiya. They seemed to be asking for his opinion with their gazes.

—If I may present my opinion… I’m more sympathetic to Sir General’s viewpoints.

—Hm, as expected, you have good sense.

The White Horse General sounded pleased by Mamiya’s response.

—Why…

By contrast, Miho appeared shocked that Mamiya didn’t take her side, and her voice wavered.

—Please calm down. I acknowledge the achievements that this man has made. Considering them, it’s no wonder we are discussing whether we should raise him to Master tier here.

Mamiya continued in a calm voice.

—If the subject in question was an ordinary hero, I would’ve also agreed to the promotion without much hesitation. But because this man is no ordinary hero, it leaves me conflicted.

—Reaching Master tier means that one will be surpassing a standard of sorts. But the standard for this man is on a different level than that of an ordinary hero. It’s in a completely different dimension, in fact. Knowing this, I understand that’s the reason Sir General wants to wait it out to assess the situation a bit more.

When Mamiya turned to the general for confirmation, the White Horse General nodded eagerly.

—Yes, it is just as you say. Did everyone hear him? Do you think I’m arguing because I don’t like this man? I want to help him. But shouldn’t I at least make the minimum effort to keep up my duty to other planets?

The White Horse General squinted and looked up as if he was looking warily at somebody else. Mamiya made a bitter smile. Mamiya already knew that some great being was watching over this space with wide and eager eyes, yet he still needed to say everything that needed to be said.

—I share the same opinion as Sir General. This is why I’m hesitant to agree and think we have to use a different standard for our friend here.

The other gods grew quiet at Mamiya’s claim. Most of them seemed to be agreeing with him.

—Well…if you say so…

In the end, Miho seemed to have become convinced despite disagreeing with the White Horse General earlier. Then, Mamiya’s gaze shifted to another god.

—It looks like we’ve organized our opinions somewhat. What do you think about all this?

—Spell out the ways he should prove himself.

Like she usually did, La Bella got to the point in a flat voice.

—I like how clear-cut you are. That’s good. I don’t have any more complaints. Then, let us go one by one on what we want to see from our friend here.

Mamiya smiled and looked around the space.

—Hm, should I start?

The White Horse General coughed, cleared his throat, and spoke.

—Become stronger, much stronger than he is right now.

The White Horse General emphasized this point one more time while stroking his long beard.

—All things succumb to stronger power in the end. Become so strong that the things that dared to push you back can no longer even look up at you.

In short, the White Horse General was saying that Chi-Woo should become so strong that he could overwhelmingly beat a great demon like Bael. Then, as soon as the White Horse General finished speaking, a voice fierce as the rushing whirlwinds rang.

—You still only have three stars. Quickly find the other four and complete the Seven Stars. That’s all I will ask.

Shahnaz considered both reason and her emotional attachments to Chi-Woo and stopped at an appropriate level.

—Your decision when fighting the Sky Castle was rational, but it wasn’t interesting.

Mamiya spoke next.

—I hope that you’ll act differently this time and embrace the darkness. That is my condition.

Perhaps this was expected of Mamiya. Rather than talking clearly and succinctly, he gave an ambiguous condition. It was impossible to know what Mamiya meant yet.

—Excluding yourself, put at least three among the Celestial Lights under your command.

The voice infused with mystical mana spoke this time. It appeared to be the god that Alice had established, and though this was Chi-Woo’s first time meeting the god, the god seemed to have positive feelings for him.

—Hm~ Well…

Then, the owner of a sensual and seductive voice spoke.

—Ah, I will place that child’s awakening as my condition.

The god said while clapping as if she had just come up with something good. She was referring to Hurodvitniru’s cub. It would be such a waste to just leave them on the side.

—Though still a cub, with proper guidance, they will be of great help in spreading your influence in the future.

With this, five gods had stated their conditions.

—You guys are…too much.

In response to MIho’s condition, Mamiya chuckled sadly.

—Hmph, isn’t it up to the person what kind of condition they will place?

Miho retorted sharply, and Mamiya looked away.

—Well, that’s true. Then….

There was only one god remaining: La Bella. Chi-Woo turned to stare at her, and the two met each other’s eyes.

—…Regain balance.

A low and strong voice rang inside the space. Chi-Woo wanted to ask more about it, but La Bella was already raising the balance in her hands.

—As the backbone of humanity!

The white space shook with La Bella’s shouting.

***

“I see,” Chi-Hyun said after listening to everything Chi-Woo described. “They already decided on it. Seriously, they…”

“Decided on what?” Chi-Woo asked, and Chi-Hyun sighed.

“It means that the gods already agreed to raise you to Master tier in their hearts.”

“That didn’t really seem to be the case… Why do you think that?”

“It’s clear from the conditions they gave,” Chi-Hyun said carefreely. “Neither easy nor hard. It’s not some unbelievable condition like telling you to defeat a three-faction alliance or something.”

“Well, that will be a bit much.”

Thinking about what Chi-Hyun said, it was true. Compared to his previous experience with promotion tests, these conditions weren't that difficult to fulfill.

“From the gods’ point-of-view, you’ve already fulfilled the most important condition. The other conditions are just extras they put forth for the sake of it. Furthermore, they are all things you need to do anyway.”

“Is that so…? That seems to be the case too.”

“If another hero is facing evaluation to reach Master tier, you should ask them about the conditions they received and compare theirs with yours.” Chi-Hyun snorted and leaned into his chair. “Anyways, if you are going to do it, do it properly. Furthermore, you don’t have much time. Quickly finish organizing your internal ranks first.”

“Why?”

“Guests are going to visit in a couple of days.”

That was all Chi-Hyun said before going back to his documents. He waved a hand at Chi-Woo like he was going to focus on his work again. Chi-Woo wanted to tell his brother to finish what he started, but in the end, Chi-Woo didn’t say what was on his mind. It was because Chi-Hyun seemed to have no intention of telling Chi-Woo what it was, and for some reason, his brother seemed preoccupied with various matters.

In the end, Chi-Woo shrugged and turned around. With the sound of the door closing, Chi-Hyun’s face turned serious. He let out the sigh he had been holding in, glanced at the window, and murmured to himself.

“Already a Master…”

***

After leaving the official residence and returning to the Seven Stars headquarters, Chi-Woo thought about the condition that La Bella gave him. It was to regain balance as a central figure of humanity. He was at a loss of what to do when he first heard it. Rather than something like, ‘Find all the Seven Stars’, this was a rather ambiguous condition.

He had had no clue what La Bella wanted from him. But after talking to Eval Sevaru and his brother, he had an inkling as to what that could be, as well as the reason his class was changed to the Cardinalis and how that connected to his promotion to Master tier. One needed to strike when the iron was hot, but a thousand-mile journey started with one step. Chi-Woo reaffirmed his resolve and sought Eval out as soon he returned to Seven Stars. Then he asked, “Eval, I’m planning to reorganize Seven Stars from today. Is there something that I should know first and foremost?”

Eval looked a bit taken aback by the sudden question, but he immediately responded, “I think it would be wise to consult the first team first.”

“Why?”

“Like all organizations, the bond between team members is essential,” Eval continued while clearing his throat. “With the exception of Ru Hiana, the first team is made up of superb elites, each possessing great and special skills. However, the bond between the members is not as strong as one would expect. It’s almost nonexistent.”

“Why do you think that’s the case?”

“I don’t know the exact reason, but from what I heard before, the first team seems to think more highly of you, boss, than anyone else. Rather than Ru Amuh’s team, you could say it’s your team instead.”

If that was the case, the team wasn’t fulfilling its original purpose—to act independently as a team with their own authority and autonomy. It could be considered a positive for Chi-Woo that the team was serving only him, but it was a weakness for Seven Stars in the grand scheme of things. This was because the moment Chi-Woo disappeared, the team would lose its purpose, and its members would soon disperse.

“That can’t happen. The first team needs some bonding with Captain Ru Amuh. Thus, exempting Ru Hiana, I suggest you move La Hawa, Salem Eshnunna, and Onorables Evelyn out of the first team.”

“Do you think I should move those three to another team?”

“That could be a solution, but it’s not one I would recommend. Since those three have a deep connection to you and are Liber natives, I think it would be hard to expect them to adopt a professional mindset like heroes from the Celestial Realm.” Eval continued after collecting his breath for a bit, “So even if you move them to different teams, nothing much will change. Thus, I think you should think about managing them yourself.”

“Me? In my team?”

“I’m sure you can’t always move on your own, boss. Of course, you could pull out members whenever you need them, but rather than doing that, it would be more organized if you just form a new team for yourself.”

Chi-Woo understood what Eval was saying. What he had been doing until now was akin to a country’s national team calling back the country’s players from foreign teams when the Olympics came. This inevitably resulted in confusion and gaps, and it seemed Eval was pointing this part out.

“I understand what you’re saying. Then, we should get new members for the first team.”

“Yes, well, that’s probably the case. And on that…” Eval trailed off to glance at Chi-Woo.

Chi-Woo said without hesitation, “Let Ru Amuh take care of that on his own. This is his team we’re talking about, so he should pick his members himself.”

Hearing this, Eval’s face instantly brightened. If Chi-Woo had chosen the members and put them on the first team again, it would only result in the same dynamic as before, and Eval would’ve suspected that Chi-Woo was perhaps wary of Ru Amuh. If Ru Amuh personally picked out his members as the first team’s leader, on the other hand, the team’s dynamic would change. A team for Ru Amuh would be completed, and a special bond between only the members of the first team would form.

Eval didn’t know why Chi-Woo wanted to suddenly reorganize the teams, but he had essentially declared that he would keep his interference with the teams’ arrangement to the minimum. This was the start of a new beginning for Seven Stars.

“Okay, so let’s do that for the first team. Then…”

“Yes, there’s one more thing I'd like to point out…”