It was also a general notice.
Strategy for Level 65 S++.
As expected, the media expressed their anxiety.
“I finally made it to the 65th floor. Tomorrow is the 66th floor?”
“I wonder if we’ll end up on the 70th floor.”
“Keep in mind the possibility of a climbing rampage.”
“Repeated attacks are enough. Gobang, stop running.”
But then, a follow-up article was published.
“According to officials from the Awakening Management Agency, it is unlikely that Gobang will climb to the 67th floor. He will likely stop at the 66th floor.”
“The Awakening Management Office, which seems to have knowledge of the matter, remains silent when asked for a detailed explanation.”
“Was there prior communication between Gobang and the Awakening Management Office?”
“Experts say there’s no need to be surprised. This was entirely predictable.”
So, the N Management Office knew about Gobang’s existence? Am I the only one surprised?
Alright then, I won’t be attacking the 67th floor.
Those two could be people who were meticulously trained by the Awakening Management Agency.
We decided to call them elite players.
No, not just elite—more like special forces soldiers who have undergone rigorous training since childhood.
Hmm, maybe super soldiers?
Wouldn’t they have the level of scientific technology necessary to create and inject medicine using magic stones or herbs obtained from the N-top?
Hahaha, drug-enhanced superhumans—a movie script? Captain Korean?
Well, it’s credible. That giant is the Korean Hulk.
Jeon Gwang-il of the Awakening Management Office carefully read and analyzed the articles and comments.
As expected, public anxiety was subsiding.
‘Just right.’
He deliberately hinted at knowing something without giving away too much.
He cut it off at just the right moment.
But it was too early to feel relieved.
For now, Bong Joo-hyuk’s presence was hidden thanks to Gobang and the White Man Summoner, but he could be exposed at any moment.
One must always be aware of and prepare for the many potential risks that arise when a player is revealed.
Because the Awakening Management Agency exists to protect players.
Especially if you are one of the country’s best players, that goes without saying.
By the way…
Jeon Gwang-il read the documents on his desk.
A monthly statement for leather goods from HG Fashion.
The financial statements were accurate.
The amount of leather used per product, production costs, marketing expenses, and sales revenue were all detailed.
Yet, the quantity being sold wasn’t that high.
It felt like they were deliberately limiting production.
He understood the strategy of increasing the product’s value.
‘I don’t like it.’
Currently, Wildflower & Vasily products were out of stock and unavailable.
They were people’s most wanted items.
However, HG Fashion seemed more interested in other areas than selling bags.
Leather products were, in a word, bait.
And that too, only for a specific class of people.
Ordinary citizens couldn’t even see the bag, not even the cheapest, lower-quality versions.
‘They’re clearly manipulating the sales.’
They were pre-selling the bags to influential figures—businesspeople, politicians—placing them on exclusive reservation lists while securing other benefits behind the scenes.
“Please buy other products from our company too.”
“Change your supply contract to an HG Group affiliate.”
“Then, we will sell you the bag—just for you.”
As a result, HG Group’s status and overall sales skyrocketed.
So did its stock prices.
Of course, there was nothing illegal in the contracts.
The proceeds from leather sales would also be coming in soon.
Still, I just don’t like it.
Why are they so greedy for side income when they could be increasing profits by focusing on bag sales for Bong players?
And is that all?
I had already decided that the wyvern leather supply would also go to HG Fashion.
HG Fashion had already completed the trademark registration for ‘Wildflower & Why.’
They weren’t even considering who else might be in the running.
‘CEO Koh Yeon-ha… I didn’t expect this from you.’
They say people act differently when they’re inside and outside of business.
It was time to bring him to his senses.
If he kept messing around like this, he could lose his supply of basilisk hides, let alone wyvern hides.
Anyway, the authority to supply wyvern leather was granted to player Bong Joo-hyuk.
Monopolies have many downsides.
It would be wiser to sign a contract with another company for the supply of wyvern leather.
That way, there would be competition.
‘Would Daehyun or Ilseong be better?’
Honestly, there was another solution.
Player Bong Joo-hyuk could just start his own company.
How simple is that?
But due to certain circumstances, he couldn’t.
‘It would be a good idea to gauge each company’s interest first.’
Jeon Gwang-il picked up the phone and pressed the call button.
Knock knock.
An employee entered the office.
“Is CEO Jeong Dong-hoon of Ilseong Apparel available? Call his secretary’s office. Can I speak with him for a moment?”
“Yes, I’ll do it right away.”
A few moments later.
The door opened again with a knock.
“Vice Minister, I have a call with CEO Jeong Dong-hoon’s office. Would you like me to connect you now?”
“Yes, thanks. Connect me.”
The phone rang. Deputy Director Jeon Gwang-il picked up.
“Hello. This is Jeon Gwang-il. Is this CEO Jeong Dong-hoon?”
Jeon Gwang-il tilted his head.
Weird.
CEO Jeong Dong-hoon’s voice was trembling uncontrollably.
What’s going on?
And then—
While still on the phone, Deputy Director Jeon Gwang-il stormed out of the office, his face flushed.
“Get the car ready! I’m heading to Ilseong Apparel.”
Ten minutes before the call with Deputy Director Jeon Gwang-il.
Ilseong Apparel CEO Jeong Dong-hoon sighed, as if the ground beneath him was collapsing.
It was all in the documents.
Bong Joo-hyuk, an elite player suspected to be the supplier of basilisk leather, and possibly the real owner of the Holy Sword.
There was, of course, evidence.
A sudden increase in cash flow.
A luxury penthouse in Cheongdam-dong bought in cash.
‘Why did my grandfather give me this document?’
This was something that required direct handling.
His grandfather wasn’t just anyone.
He was the chairman of a massive corporation.
A powerful figure with connections spanning politics, law, prosecution, and even the National Intelligence Service.
Even if people didn’t know the president’s name, everyone knew the Ilseong Group chairman.
His grandfather could do anything.
But there was one thing even he had difficulty touching.
The Awakening Management Office.
The elite players they controlled.
Of course, it wasn’t impossible, but if he fell out of favor with the Awakening Management Office, he’d face serious trouble.
Even though he had received valuable information with the scent of money, he hesitated.
But, coincidentally, there was a convenient scapegoat.
His younger sibling’s child—someone not biologically related—who controlled an affiliate company.
So he threw the documents at them.
If they succeeded, great. If they failed, it wouldn’t be his burden.
He could simply cut them off.
Say he didn’t know anything.
Claim it was the first time he had seen the document.
Bow his head, apologize for not managing his nephew well, and everything would be fine.
Only they would take the fall.
Perhaps that was the intention.
‘This is a poisoned apple.’
No, not even an apple.
Just pure poison.
If handled carelessly, it would be deadly.
Even if it meant losing his position as CEO of Ilseong Apparel.
Jeong Dong-hoon closed the file.
This was something that shouldn’t see the light of day.
‘Should I seal it away?’
I’m already out of favor with my grandfather.
All that’s left is for me to be kicked out.
‘Anyway, I think it’s time to start organizing things.’
I’ve been under a lot of stress from taking on a representative position that doesn’t suit my abilities, so I think it would be a good idea to take this opportunity to move to a quiet rural area and settle down.
That was when—
Drip.
A secretary knocked on the office door.
“Come in. What’s going on?”
“Sir, we have a call from the Awakening Management Office.”
Stop!
Jeong Dong-hoon’s face turned pale.
Cold sweat ran down my spine.
My heart pounded loudly.
“Wh-what’s going on?”
“Vice President Jeon Gwang-il wants to speak to the CEO.”
Suddenly? Does he really know everything?
“…Tell them I’m not here. I’m out.”
“Ah! Hey, um… I already told them you were in the office.”
No choice.
“Fine. Connect me.”
“All right.”
Jeong Dong-hoon took the call, his voice trembling.
“Uh, yes… yes, I’m Jeong Dong-hoon.”
Please, let it be nothing serious.
“Well, what happened?”
— “I have a question regarding the supply of top-quality leather.”
Top-quality leather?
This…
It’s over. They know everything.
But I can’t go down like this.
Reflexively, Jeong Dong-hoon shouted.
“Oh, I haven’t met him yet. I just received information about player Bong Joo-hyuk.”
— …
Silence filled the call for quite some time.
— “Where are you now?”
“Well, I’m at the company office.”
— “Stay there. I’ll be right over.”
Bang! The call ended without another word.
Jeong Dong-hoon leaned back in his chair and wiped his face as if washing it.
Should I run away?
I don’t even know where I’d go.
Joohyuk’s penthouse.
Everyone who had been summoned had returned.
I didn’t reattempt the 65th floor.
It wasn’t an ideal environment for Rajix to explore either.
Well, I got a rune to increase the summoner’s level, so that’s good enough.
Veronica is up for promotion.
Once she’s promoted, everyone else will be above average.
The first summoned being, Cossack,
At the time of summoning, his rank was Super Rare (SR).
Then, after consuming a leveling-up rune, he became SSR.
The high-ranking official was Rare (R).
His nickname used to be Algobang.
With the blessing effect, he jumped two ranks.
When Gyeondalrae first appeared, she was self-conscious.
Looking back, that was the best choice.
The same applies to Rajix and Gobang.
From an ordinary servant to a self-made elite, the world’s best worker—Rajix.
Lucius Bardin is… um.
Let’s not discuss him.
Because he’s a holy sword.
Now, all I have to do is wait.
I just want Veronica to come back.
It usually takes about a day, so I should be able to summon her again tomorrow evening.
Something good happened, so how can I just sit still?
I should celebrate with a drink.
By myself?
No.
I have a new drinking buddy.
A summoned being who constantly talks about world domination as if it were a habit—one with unwavering conviction.
A Legend Special Super Rare (LSSR) grade…
“Summon the Mad Demon.”
Hwaaaak! Papat!
“Oh! You summoned me again.”
“You told me to call you whenever I wanted to drink.”
“Hahaha, thank you. This is the first time a summoner has thought of me like this. Everyone else feared me.”
I see.
It wasn’t just him—everyone found Mad Horse annoying.
“I prepared Chinese liquor today, but I’m not sure if you’ll like it.”
“…China?”
Mad Horse’s expression changed strangely.
And then—
“Is China a troublemaker in this world, by any chance?”
“…Uh, uh, kind of.”
“As expected. Problems everywhere. Tsk, tsk. No matter how different the world is, where did it all go wrong with that country?”
It seems that in the multiverse and parallel worlds, China has problems too.
“Summoner, if you want to conquer the world, you must attack China first. It has a large population, so it wouldn’t matter if tens of millions of people died.”
“…”
“Especially those with political power. It’s best to kill them all without exception. Keeping them alive will only cause trouble.”
“…”
What madness.
In some ways, China is the place most similar to the world he lived in.
Well, didn’t they kill people in the martial arts world?
Even the emperor was killed.
Mad Horse’s reputation—
The greatest achievement in martial arts, the most dangerous existence in the world, the bloodiest in history.
“…Let’s just drink.”
“Hahaha, I’ll gladly accept.”
His laughter was terrifying.
And so, the second drinking party began.
Most Chinese liquors are meant to be consumed alone.
Almost all have an alcohol content of over 40%.
We talked about various things.
There was a story about a fanatic who was randomly summoned and was now wielding a holy sword.
“Very well done. Perfect for the job. That Cossack guy is smarter than I thought.”
“I feel a little sorry.”
“No. Those guys are the most dangerous. The ones who impose their values on summoners… Hmm… Caution!”
“…”
A sudden silence.
Mad Horse looked like he had just been struck by his own words.
Is this what they call spitting into the wind?
“Well, of course, I’m no different from Bardin.”
If I catch a mad horse and swing it, would it become a magic sword?
Probably not.
To change the mood, I brought up the fact that I learned madman-style skills using the system’s power.
“Wow! It is an honor to have someone learn my skills. Blood Jade Sword—it’s a decent martial art. Once mastered to a certain level, it will be useful.”
“I sent a few undead back to hell yesterday. Haha.”
“That’s a shame. I wish I could’ve seen it with my own eyes, but… this is reality.”
“You could go into the tower and check.”
“Really? Hehehe.”
We also talked about the HG Hotel terrorist incident.
I told him how I used the top exit ring to go to China and rescue the kidnapped players.
But—
“You ripped me to pieces! I knew it! How dare you, summoner!”
His reaction was much stronger than expected.
“I’m fine, but thanks to our summoned beings…”
“You idiots! You went all the way there and just rescued the players? You don’t even know the basics of cutting grass and pulling out the roots! How can I trust you?”
Mad Horse was enraged.
“You should have wiped them all out. What a great opportunity that was! Why didn’t you? Let’s go again.”
“…I don’t like it.”
“Hmm.”
He closed his eyes for a moment, deep in thought.
“Your identity may be revealed soon.”
“Well, eventually. There’s no such thing as an eternal secret.”
“Tsk, tsk. This is serious.”
What’s the big deal?
I might be alone, but I have strong summons.
Mad Horse’s expression became increasingly grim.
“Summoner.”
“Yes?”
“Do you know when players die the most? They say the inside of the tower is dangerous, but in reality, that’s not true at all—it’s…”
“Yes, yes. Most people die outside the tower because, even if a nuclear bomb explodes, it’s safe inside.”
“…”
Mad Horse, who had been trying to be dramatic, looked embarrassed.
Still, he wasn’t giving up.
“Let’s just do it. Let’s take over China and Japan first. They’re close, right? I’ll minimize casualties. Just use the top exit ring…”
“Oh, come on. Here we go again. Have a drink.”
“…”
Even a madman knows when to be frustrated.
luna-cave
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