Chapter 45 - Chapter 45

Chapter 45

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Translated by Jinmu

Read more at hivetoons.org

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Jeon Kwang-il fell deep into thought.

Setting aside how Player Bong had managed to bring whole pieces of leather out, the problem was pricing.

He couldn't get a feel for it at all.

The quantity was also enormous.

This single whole hide right here amounted to more than a month's worth of leather that the Awakening Management Agency's Player Shop purchased in total.

And there were 7 such whole hides.

Although it didn't quite reach the level of Wyvern leather, publicly acknowledged as the highest quality, the one known to be the second-best right after was exactly Basilisk leather.

It even had an automatic scratch-repair function.

Would everyday scratches even occur in the first place?

Top-tier durability; not even bullets could pierce it.

It was difficult to process, so cutting was only possible with a knife forged from tower metal.

Furthermore, the very sheen was completely different from the leather received as clear rewards.

Touching it made it even more apparent.

At what price should he evaluate it per piece?

And what about the herbs?

The quantity was plentiful, and the varieties were diverse.

There were even a few he was seeing for the first time.

'I'll hand the herbs over to the research institute and have them analyzed.'

Jeon Kwang-il asked Joo-hyuk.

"Did you perhaps receive all this stock at once?"

"Umm, yes, well, something like that."

"If so, the probability of this amount coming out again must be slim."

"It's not, though?"

What?

Jeon Kwang-il doubted his ears.

"What do you...?"

"I can bring even more than this."

"Gasp!"

Could it be true?

Naturally, it had to be real.

There was no way Player Bong Joo-hyuk would lie.

"A steady and continuous supply is also possible."

"..."

Just how, exactly?

His desire to ask in detail was immense, but.

Let's not be curious.

Let's just accept it.

Starting from the fact that he was a 41-consecutive S++ clear record holder, that itself was already incomprehensible.

Things like this could also be rewards for S++ clear grades.

In any case, the Awakening Management Agency could not digest an amount like this.

Jeon Kwang-il, who had pondered for a moment, opened his mouth.

"Let's do this. We will purchase all the herbs. At double the existing herb price, since they seem necessary for research purposes."

"Yes."

"Instead, how about releasing these whole Basilisk hides to the private sector? Assuming a continuous supply is possible, that is."

He had come with that thought anyway.

It might be different if it ended with these 7 pieces, but a considerable amount of Basilisk leather would be supplied from now on.

Truthfully, what would the Awakening Management Agency do with this leather?

They'd likely use it for crafting player armor.

Or they might make bulletproof vests.

There were no real uses other than those.

On the other hand, private enterprises had extremely diverse utilization purposes.

Especially fashion companies.

"Excuse me, regarding private sales, the Awakening Management Agency will..."

"Yes! We will act as an agency for you."

"Oh! Thank you. I'll give you a commission. Please take 1 whole leather piece as the Awakening Management Agency's share."

"I, it's fine."

"No, calculations should be made precisely."

Now for the final business.

"And about that... penthouse, right?"

"Yes, it is still vacant. Are you thinking of moving in?"

"I'll move in. However! I will buy it. With money."

Jeon Kwang-il sighed purely inwardly.

"Although we can transfer the registration to you free of charge."

"Ay, can I really just receive it for free? I will pay the proper price for the apartment. Just deduct it from the Holy Sword rental fee and deposit the rest."

He was burning with anxiety.

Why was Player Bong Joo-hyuk constantly trying to distance himself from the Awakening Management Agency?

They had successfully concluded an elite contract, but knowing the truth, it was just a half-measure.

Minimum annual salary, loose security, no bodycam worn, exemption from mandatory attendance at the Awakening Management Agency; it was practically no different from a regular contract.

That's why he strongly wished to solidify their relationship, even if it meant showering him with various benefits.

This free penthouse registration transfer was a proposal originating from this very thought.

And yet he was insisting on buying it with money again.

It couldn't be helped.

He had no choice but to hand it over as cheaply as possible according to the officially assessed land price.

They'd also put in new furniture and home appliances for him.

"...Yes, we will do so. We will contact you after going through the procedures."

The business was over.

However, Jeon Kwang-il still seemed to have something left to say.

"Excuse me, Player Bong-nim, may I ask you just one thing?"

"It's fine, you can just ask anything."

"If we proceed with supplying the whole Basilisk leather this time, people's attention might be drawn again. We will try to block it, but in the worst case..."

He understood what he was saying.

It was the same when the Holy Sword was rented out.

Several high-ranking individuals already knew the fact that he was the actual owner.

On top of that, if it became known that he was also the one selling the leather?

It implied that eventually, his identity as the S++ record holder could also be revealed.

"Well, I also know there is no eternal secret, but still, if possible, I wish it to be known as late as possible."

"We will exert every effort. Even if such a situation occurs, please do not worry. We will do our absolute best for Player Bong-nim's safety."

Safety, as if.

He was born a coward, but lately, he wasn't even afraid.

Rather, he was worried for the other party.

If it was a threat directed at a player whose identity had been revealed, it would be around the level of blackmail or kidnapping. Who would dare do that to him?

Swoosh! He might just unleash Gwangma.

Was that too severe?

"...And you have no thoughts of naturalizing to another country besides the Republic of Korea, correct?"

Huh?

Out of nowhere?

"I absolutely do not."

"Ha ha ha, that's a. That's a relief."

Naturalizing, what naturalizing.

What was he going to do going to a country where he didn't even know anyone.

He might as well conquer the world instead.

* * *

Joo-hyuk, returning from the Awakening Management Agency, summoned Cossack, Gobang, Gyeon Dal-rae, and Rajix in order.

And seated them closely huddled together facing the TV hung on the living room wall.

The round Rajix with an astoundingly dizzying back view; seen from behind, he looked like a gym ball.

When Joo-hyuk signaled with his eyes, Cossack puffed out his chest and stepped forward, positioning himself next to the TV screen.

He had said he would prepare a briefing, and it seemed he had worked hard at it.

"Hello, sir. I am Summoner Bong's first summoned entity and right-hand man, his trusted confidant, the artist of the red ribbon, John Cossack, sir."

When Joo-hyuk clapped his hands, the summoned entities clapped along too.

However, their expressions were somewhat unenthusiastic.

Who did he think he was to call himself the right-hand man?

Moreover, a confidant?

"Then I will begin the briefing on our future tower climbing, sir."

Skillfully connecting the laptop to the TV.

"First, I will explain the missions we must complete from the 42nd floor to the 45th floor, sir."

Click!

The screen enlarged.

A photo of a basilisk with a long tail appeared.

"The monster we caught on the 41st floor was the Ironclad Basilisk, and this one on the 42nd floor is the Long-Tailed Basilisk, sir. It's the one we will clear tomorrow, sir. Nothing special, sir. Just watch out for the tail blade, sir."

Flash.

"Ho-e?"

Rajix raised his short arm briefly as if he had a question.

"Worker Rajix, please speak, sir."

"Do I definitely peel the long tail leather?"

"Of course you peel it, sir. However, we'll skip the first time and peel it on the second, sir. There's no leeway to peel leather during the first clear, sir. It's an unconditional S++ clear, sir."

Click!

Next.

"It's the 43rd and 44th floors, sir. Ironjaw Basilisk and Thorn-Scaled Basilisk. The Ironjaw we peel, and the Thorn-Scale we pass, sir. There are sharp thorns on the leather, sir. It's too cumbersome to pry off every single thorn, sir. Any questions?"

It seemed there weren't any.

"I will move on to the next, sir."

Click!

A brightly and colorfully hued basilisk appeared on the screen.

"This is the core, sir. The Rainbow Basilisk, the boss of the 45th floor where we will park and proceed with repetitive missions for the time being, sir."

At that, Gyeon Dal-rae spoke.

"I have something to ask. Why specifically at the 45th floor..."

"Hold it! Princess, please obtain the right to speak first, sir."

At Cossack's words, her face was dyed with astonishment.

"...The right to speak? Are you saying I can only speak after obtaining the right to speak? You are crossing the line."

"Yes, sir! I received full delegated authority over the briefing from Summoner Bong, sir."

"Hm."

After a brief, spark-flying staring contest, when Gyeon Dal-rae raised her hand.

"I grant you the right to speak, sir. Princess."

"What is the reason we must park at the 45th floor? There is also the 50th floor. Would gathering not be more efficient as the floor numbers go up?"

"I shall give you an answer, sir."

Click!

"This is the monster appearing from the 46th floor, sir."

It was a giant scorpion. A scorpion type.

"It has no leather, sir. Although it has an exoskeleton shell, it's divided into distinct segments so dismantling it takes time, sir. Is that right? Worker Rajix?"

"Ho-e-e, that is correct."

"The exoskeleton is light and sturdy, so it is used for armor or shields, etc., but most importantly... leather sells for more, sir. Its versatility is also greater, sir. Simply speaking, it sells better, sir."

Cossack spoke well.

He must have practiced a lot.

"On the 45th floor, all types of basilisks appear, sir. Especially, look at the boss, Rainbow Basilisk, sir. Is it not beautiful, sir?"

It was truly flashy, indeed.

The leather of the beast where seven colors were whimsically blended.

"We must peel this thing's leather and sell it, sir. Our Summoner Bong overexerted himself buying a house and is in a state of being house poor, sir. Money needs to forcefully strike his account, sir."

Joo-hyuk nodded with a pleased smile.

Gyeon Dal-rae hung her head deeply.

An expression as if she had raised her hand for nothing.

"The problem is that killing this thing ends the clear, forcing us to exit the tower, but we must peel the leather and come out in an extremely short time, sir. Worker Rajix, can you do it, sir?"

"Ho-eng!"

Rajix's expression was full of resolve.

Saying he would try.

Then applause again.

Clap clap clap clap!

"For the time being, we only dismantle leather, sir. There's absolutely no need to gather anything else, sir. Don't dig herbs either, sir. Just throw away things like Mana Stones, sir."

Gobang raised his hand too.

"What must the warrior do?"

"Gobang just needs to be a meat shield as usual, sir."

"Understood."

Clap clap clap!

Joo-hyuk sending applause once again.

The others followed suit as expected.

"There's still one left, sir. The most important agenda, sir."

Click!

The screen changed.

There wasn't anything like a photo.

Just the word 'Privilege' written in huge letters.

"We cannot miss the 45th-floor privilege, sir. That right-hand man Cossack still remembers, sir. The click from the 40th floor!"

Joo-hyuk also closed his eyes gently and reminisced about that time.

Click, it was truly thrilling.

"Trait Enhancement! Now is the time a gut (shamanic ritual) performance is needed, sir. We received plenty of Gyeryongsan's essence, and the next gut performance candidate location is the spiritually potent Manisan in Ganghwa-do..."

Right at that moment!

Gyeon Dal-rae raising her hand again.

"...Please speak, sir."

"My thoughts are different. A prayer gut for the 45th floor is too early."

"We skipped it once, sir. Do you know how much Summoner Bong suffered while staring at the wall for two days, sir?"

"That is why Lord Rajix came to us."

"How will you explain Gwangma, sir?"

"..."

Gyeon Dal-rae remained silent for a moment before parting her lips.

"No matter how I think about it, a privilege prayer gut on the 45th floor is not right. Postponing it safely to the 50th-floor privilege is..."

At those words, Cossack smirked and said.

"Are you lacking confidence, sir?"

"...What?"

"Someone claiming to be the supreme shrine maiden of the Heavenly Empire, fearing holding a gut performance..."

"You rascal!!!"

The moment!

Joo-hyuk raising his hand to restrain them.

"I also agree to postpone the gut performance."

"...Yes, sir?"

"Mr. Cossack is entirely ignorant about gut, isn't he? The Princess, the supreme shrine maiden, knows gut best. So let's listen to the Princess."

A suddenly dispirited Cossack.

"Uh-er, u, understood, sir. The gut performance is p, postponed, sir."

When Joo-hyuk empowered Gyeon Dal-rae, this time she turned and looked at Cossack and sneered.

Where do you get off acting up when you don't even know anything?

"Ho-e-e-eng?"

Rajix looking at Joo-hyuk.

Towards Joo-hyuk, who had settled the situation with just a few words.

"You're cool."

Of course, I'm cool. Unquestionably cool.

This right here is exactly what a true man is.

Anyway, let's start according to the briefing.

Run up to the 45th floor, park there, and earn money by selling leather.

* * *

Commissioner Park Kyung-soo, upon receiving Jeon Kwang-il's call, rushed quickly to the Awakening Management Agency's material warehouse.

As soon as he arrived, he flinched upon seeing the objects laid out on the floor!

"Insane! So it was real. Genuine whole hides."

Seven pieces of Ironclad Basilisk leather with the shapes of the head, tail, and legs remaining entirely intact.

He couldn't help but be surprised.

He had never heard of leather in this form coming out as clear rewards.

"How on earth did this... what did Player Bong say?"

"I didn't ask at all. It didn't seem necessary."

Park Kyung-soo nodded.

Since he was a player whose very existence was unfathomable.

"Didn't you say one piece here was our share?"

"Yes, we plan to craft equipment and supply it to the players in our team."

"Good."

Commissioner Park Kyung-soo spoke while stroking the Ironclad Basilisk's leather with his hand.

"If you plan to sell the 6 pieces to the private sector..., by what method do you plan to release them? Auction? Open bidding?"

"We plan to proceed as privately and secretly as possible."

"Hmm, yes, that would be better than public methods. The targets?"

"Shouldn't we contact Korean companies first?"

Commissioner Park Kyung-soo also agreed.

"Then you handle this too, Deputy Commissioner Jeon."

"...I am not a Deputy Commissioner yet. I have not even received the letter of appointment."

"It's practically a done deal anyway. The announcement will come within a week."

The next day.

Jeon Kwang-il sent official documents under the name of the Awakening Management Agency's Deputy Commissioner to famous Korean fashion companies.

Only to large corporations capable of accepting the stock.

Stating that they planned to proceed with a public-private collaboration project regarding the utilization of tower materials, and that they would like to hold a joint discussion with the company CEOs.

He emphasized 'Company CEO' specifically.

For a project of this magnitude, a person capable of making immediate decisions had to come.

* * *

CEO Go Yeon-ha of HG Fashion.

She was a third-generation chaebol from the HG Group.

Although HG Fashion was under the group's umbrella, the company's size was on the smaller side compared to the other affiliates.

Rather than recklessly dragging in this brand and that brand in a diversified octopus-like expansion to grow the company, she wanted to create one properly made luxury brand.

Miscellaneous business divisions were liquidated, and the rest were integrated into one.

During that process, she ambitiously launched a domestic native brand called 'Wildflower,' but this didn't go as planned.

Receiving recognition as a luxury brand, is that an easy task?

Because it was still in its early stages, making the name known was difficult as well.

Anyway, Go Yeon-ha had also read the official document that came from the Awakening Management Agency.

The content was a public-private collaboration project regarding the utilization of tower materials.

What tower materials could there potentially be that were related to a fashion company?

The most representative one was monster leather.

Tower leather, where the quantity was extremely small, and the supply was also erratic.

Go Yeon-ha had seen it before.

Even if she had never done anything with it.

It was that rare.

It was used entirely just for making player armor or combat boots.

Was there anything for the public and private sectors to collaborate on?

Could they perhaps be asking her company to make fashion leather armor?

Then again.

If leather armor was pretty, it was even better, of course.

There would be a brand advertising effect.

For instance, imagine Player Nam Ga-eun wearing leather armor stamped with the Wildflower brand.

The brand value would skyrocket.

'But does the CEO specifically have to go?'

Could they possibly be trying to demand rebates or bribes?

She didn't exactly feel the desire to go, but if Player Nam Ga-eun would just wear Wildflower brand's fashion armor...

'Well, since my schedule happens to be entirely empty anyway, I can just go and see for myself.'

Would there really be anything special?

Honestly, she didn't even anticipate anything.