Martial Arts Returnee's Game Broadcast-Chapter 384: A Shrimp Caught Between Whales
1.
After hearing from Min Woo-seong about the secret gathering of the Top Ten Guilds, Ha Eung Eung immediately realized—
This was not something she could handle alone.
[Summon all executives immediately.]
A crisis meeting was convened in the Haenam Sect.
"Let’s start with the most crucial question. Is it really possible to use spirit power in reality? Even for those who aren't Murim warriors like us?"
At Baek So-cheon’s question, Ha Eung Eung nodded.
[If they form an individual contract instead of a standard one, then yes.]
[However, most spirits would never accept such a dangerous contract, where they are bound to a single person and could be dragged into an unknown dimension.]
Even the Haenam Sect executives were visibly shaken.
"Mark 2’s been rampaging like crazy lately."
"And now you’re saying we could obtain spirits like that in reality?"
"No wonder the Top Ten Guilds are getting involved."
The Black Cloak Army executives, always eager to counter their long-time enemy—the Top Ten Guilds—were immediately fired up.
"Whatever it is, I can’t stand seeing those bastards succeed."
"We’ll get involved too."
"How do we stop them?"
Min Woo-seong, recalling everything he had learned, laid out the enemy’s plans.
"Their ultimate goal is to use the power of a high-level spirit in reality."
"To do that, they plan to evolve low-grade spirits, ❀ Nоvеlігht ❀ (Don’t copy, read here) strengthen them, and wait 48 days until Minotaurus evolves into the Demon King of Beasts."
"If they win, they’ll claim it, securing the power of a World Boss-tier spirit in reality."
That meant their points of attack were clear.
"We can either block spirit contracts entirely, cut off their supply of evolution materials, defeat Minotaurus before the 48-day mark, or subjugate the Demon King of Beasts first."
The high-ranking Black Cloak Army executive, Whisper, spoke in his usual ominous tone.
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"Or... the Guild Leader could just rampage on her own instead of letting Mark 2 do it."
The room fell silent.
One by one, the executives nodded.
"Now that you mention it... that actually makes sense."
"If the Guild Leader steps in, wouldn't that solve everything?"
"Why were we even called here?"
"Was this just an excuse to brag about Mark 2?"
"Let’s just watch Mark 2’s rampage and call it a day."
"Should we clap or something?"
All tension evaporated in an instant.
Ha Eung Eung sighed. She knew she had to explain.
Of course, she could wipe everything out by force—
But she had been holding back.
She only rampaged before because Mark 2’s survival was at stake.
Right now, she was letting Mark 2 fight freely as a test of strength.
Others might think, "Could you say that in front of the people you massacred?"
But honestly, she had no interest in mass slaughter.
[That would cut into my training time.]
She was too busy training for all this nonsense.
"Training is important."
"As expected of the Guild Leader. Never neglecting training."
"If you want to beat up annoying people, you have to get stronger first."
"Wise words, Guild Leader."
The three training fanatics—Yang Gui-ho, Iron Thorn, and Kim Je-cheol—along with the newly converted Ujiwoo, all nodded in approval.
"...?"
"What’s wrong with him?"
"No idea. Maybe he skipped lunch and lost it."
Everyone found it strange that Ujiwoo had suddenly become obsessed with training.
Some of the more mischievous executives wanted nothing more than to roast him, but they kept their mouths shut—
Ha Eung Eung was watching.
"The Top Ten Guilds’ wealth far surpasses our VIP trainees’ personal funds."
"They also monopolized all stat-enhancing items, so they’re actually stronger than most Murim warriors—people like Kang Tae-baek of the Taebaek Guild."
Even Jang Hwa-ryeon and Go Dong-jun, the high-ranking VIP training officers, felt the pressure.
Min Woo-seong glanced at his smartwatch.
"I have a message from So Gyeong-seok. Even if we sell off all Haenam Corporation’s subsidiaries, it would only amount to 7% of the Top Ten Guilds’ total assets."
The room went dead silent.
"...7%?"
"That’s actually a lot."
"When did our sect get this rich?"
"How good is our business?!"
"I mean, So Gyeong-seok is always too busy to even see his own reflection..."
So Gyeong-seok, the Haenam Sect’s business magnate, had expanded the corporation to rival the Top Ten Guilds.
At this point, he seemed more like a CEO than an executive.
"Enough. Back to the main topic."
Baek So-cheon refocused the conversation.
"Most of our members and executives don’t even play Gladiator Growth, unlike the Top Ten Guilds. We’re essentially at a disadvantage."
"We lack the means to block spirit evolution, stop material farming, or counter them with our own spirit investments.
But what we do have... is martial arts."
"So our best bet is to rapidly boost our in-game specs using martial arts, then challenge the Labyrinth City and defeat Minotaurus."
Lee So-hye scoffed.
"You’re giving them the disease and then offering the cure?"
"It may seem ridiculous, but the Guild Leader doesn’t want to waste her training time. So we have no choice but to handle this ourselves."
"I wasn’t complaining. But how do we increase our specs?"
Dashman raised his hand.
"I can explain."
"What does Eve’s butler know about this?"
"Uh, excuse me? I’m a streamer first and foremost."
Baek So-cheon nodded solemnly.
"I forgot."
"......."
"It just means you suit the role of Eve’s butler too well. Don’t take it personally."
Jessica, an executive of the Black Cloak Army, smirked with satisfaction.
Meanwhile, Min Woo-seong was mentally exhausted—he had just mind-read a human relationship he never wanted to know about.
"The fastest way to grow strong in Gladiator Growth is simple—
Dominate the Arena."
"The Arena? That exists?"
"Never heard of it."
"You’ve all forgotten—this game isn’t about raising a Demon King.
It’s a game where you train disciples and send them to the Arena to earn points and rewards."
"Oh."
"Wait... that was the point of the game?"
"I thought it was a giant mecha battle game."
"I assumed it was an animal care simulator."
"I thought it was a cloud-riding simulation."
To be fair, anyone who had only seen Ha Eung Eung’s gameplay could be forgiven for misunderstanding.
As the unchallenged #1 ranked player,
she never participated in the Arena—
so nobody remembered it was even a feature.
"So, for the next three weeks, you all need to use martial arts to either recruit strong NPCs as disciples or become disciples of strong NPCs—
Then grind the Arena to increase your in-game stats."
It was a realistic plan.
And with a clear goal, motivation skyrocketed.
"Should we bet on the rankings?"
"Whoever places higher? Fine, let’s do it."
"Let’s each wager one favor.
If I win, you’re setting me up on a date."
Iron Thorn and Kim Je-cheol’s faces fell.
"...You’re still trying to date someone?"
"Dude, you should’ve given up by now. Even if you did get a girlfriend, you’d be a simp."
"S-shut up! What does it matter to you whether I date or get simped on?!"
"Well, even if you lose, it’s not like there’s a girl willing to date you anyway."
"There are plenty, but none who’d like you."
"......."
Even Lightning Man, out of pity, patted Iron Thorn on the shoulder.
And with that—
the Haenam Sect executives logged in to Gladiator Growth, ready for war.
2.
The players of Gladiator Growth prayed desperately.
"Please, for the love of god, BAN THESE CHEATERS!"
"Where the hell did all the auction house materials go?!"
Out of nowhere, Murim players and suspiciously wealthy pay-to-win players flooded the game.
In the Arena, they dominated with sheer strength, crushing the rankings.
In the market, they hoarded all the resources, driving prices sky-high.
"I heard the Murim guys are from the Haenam Sect."
"And the ones hoarding materials? That’s the Top Ten Guilds."
Just when things had been calm in reality, suddenly, Korea’s Awakened players invaded Gladiator Growth.
Like a shrimp caught between battling whales, it was the casual players who suffered the most.
"How the hell is my weapon, with +50% accuracy, missing EVERY hit?!"
"Who the hell is buying materials for ten times the price with instant buyouts?!"
They were outmatched in combat,
outmatched in economy,
and now, forced to manually farm materials in the field.
Even the spirits had become an issue.
"Why haven’t you fed me yet?"
"Hurry up and bring my daily tribute."
"Where are my seven dewdrop pomegranate seeds?"
"Why do you look so annoyed?"
"Are you mad at me?"
Someone had jokingly taught the spirits to speak like cats,
and now, the entire Spirit Realm had been infected with "neko-speak."
And these spirit cats weren’t just annoying—
they were far more expensive to maintain.
[I swear this is unfair. I just wanted to raise disciples peacefully, but now even my cute little baby spirit is talking like this. 😭]
You picked that spirit. Now suffer in silence.The spirit speech thing is bad, but honestly, it’s nothing compared to what’s happening with NPCs.We should’ve stopped the Murim players during the Battle Mines event. Now we’re the ones suffering.These damn Murim players stole our instructor from the Knight Academy. Now our entire training facility is in self-study mode.Why are they so serious about this game?No idea.By the way, where’s the village chief? He’s supposed to give me my quest reward...Oh, he’s fighting in the Gold-tier Arena right now.???Excuse me?WHAT?! GIVE US OUR CHIEF BACK!LMAOThe worst part is... the chief is actually INSANELY STRONG in the Arena.Him being strong just makes this even more infuriating.
The entire game was in chaos.
With Murim warriors and corporate-backed elites waging war inside Gladiator Growth,
the ordinary players could do nothing but suffer.
