A man who looked well over sixty was flipping through TV channels in a dark, shabby office.
His body was so thin it looked wretched, all skin and bones, hidden beneath a worn-out, oversized shirt.
With deep, weary eyes and bony hands, he kept changing the channel until it stopped on one place.
- Following the death of President Petrov in the great tragedy at Moscow’s Red Square, Russia, President Alexei Markov, newly inaugurated and in the midst of trying to stabilize the chaotic political situation, has made a shocking decision. Citing the protection of ethnic Russian residents in northern Kazakhstan, President Markov has declared military intervention in Kazakhstan. Tensions in the international community are rising as a result. Reporter Jo Minhui has the story.
- Yes, the results of an emergency meeting held at the Kremlin in Russia are now being broadcast. In his inaugural address, President Markov had already signaled a new hardline course for Russia, and today he has taken the first step. President Markov has characterized the Kazakh government’s strengthening cooperation with the West as a challenge to Russia, using the protection of Russians as his justification. Northern Kazakhstan is home to a large population of ethnic Russians, and this decision has effectively brought the sensitive history surrounding borders from the former Soviet era back to the surface.
- How is the Kazakh government responding?
- The Kazakh government immediately protested and appealed to the international community for support. The United States and the European Union have also strongly condemned Russia’s military intervention and urged Russia to halt such actions. With movements of Russian troops detected near the Kazakh border, concerns are growing that the situation may lead to an actual military clash. As tensions reach a flash point, the world is watching closely to see what consequences President Markov’s actions will bring. This has been Jo Minhui, KBC News.
- Yes, our government has also expressed deep concern and regret over Russia’s decision and called for a diplomatic resolution. We will bring you further updates as related news comes in...
As ominous news of war flowed from the television, his already furrowed eyes twisted even more.
It was then.
“Grandpa, Grandpa. Someone’s here to see you.”
His grandson, now a middle school student, came running into his office.
“Who...?”
The only people who would come looking for him now that he had completely fallen into ruin were creditors. Who could it be?
When creditors came, even his young grandson was busy hiding his grandfather, not guiding them in like this.
Curious, he raised his frail body and asked.
“Who did they say they were?”
The grandson’s face, as he led in the unknown guest, was filled with excitement and joy.
“Good day, Doctor. My name is Jeong Suho.”
An unimaginable big shot had come to visit.
* * *
“It is all over now...”
As Suho asked in detail about his research over the years, the doctor calmly poured out his bitter, grief-laden reflections.
“Doctor, I’m interested in that research.”
Choe Byeongcheol stared quietly at Suho, whose eyes were shining, and read in them the passion he himself had once possessed.
But it was different from his own, which had burned solely with revenge. Suho’s eyes shone with curiosity, drive, and hope.
“Suho Admittee-nim... or should I call you President?”
“Please call me whatever you find comfortable.”
“Yes. Suho Ad-nim, I’m grateful for your interest and goodwill, but... it is finished research. This is not a problem that can be solved with investment money alone. I knew full well it would not work, and yet I pushed it too far...”
“What was the biggest obstacle?”
“Haha, obstacle, you say... There were far too many obstacles. Let’s see... First, to fight monsters—transcendent beings—with androids, you need an absurd level of output. Hydrogen cells and the like could not handle that output. The same went for weapons. To inflict effective damage on monsters, you need aether weapons, and to make aether weapons, whose output inevitably falls short compared to mounted Aetherium, meaningful in actual combat, high-grade Aetherium was required. But as you know, the price of high-grade Aetherium is enormous, isn’t it? And even if one had the money, acquiring it is another problem altogether.”
Choe let out a deep sigh.
“Even if we solved both the output and the weapons, one attack from a monster turned the android into a rag. There was no armor plating capable of withstanding attacks that defied common sense. Do you have a rough idea now? Unfortunately, even that is only part of it. The problems were complex.”
He thought that should be enough for Suho to understand, but when Choe looked at him again, Suho’s eyes were still shining.
“Doctor, how much debt did the research institute incur?”
“It completely collapsed, and we filed for bankruptcy. Everything has now been settled. Since it wasn’t a public research institution, and because the research was deemed ineffective, we couldn’t receive government funding and couldn’t even enter court receivership.”
“Then converting it into rehabilitation proceedings is already out of the question.”
“That’s right.”
“That’s actually better. Then we can start again as a new corporation.”
“Well, now...”
As Choe wondered again how he was supposed to explain “impossible” to this spirited, wealthy young man, he opened his mouth, but Suho cut him off.
“Doctor, I’ll invest. When you first began this research before, how much did it cost?”
“The initial investment alone easily exceeded thirty billion won...”
“I see. Then I’ll invest one hundred trillion won as start-up costs for now.”
“O-o-o... one hundred trillion?! Did you say one hundred trillion...?”
“Not only money, but technical support as well. I have some related technologies. And materials. I’ll also provide Aetherium and transcendental materials needed for armor plating. You’re aware, at least, that I’m a major player at the OnTower Auction House and that I operate TDM, aren’t you?”
Money, technology, and materials.
The things that had been like ancient walls to the doctor—Suho presented them all at once, and on top of that, he gave him justification.
“Your research is not meaningless, Doctor. Limited androids that can barely be used only when a Tower Break occurs? I don’t think so. Because I can take them into the Tower. That means we can create an additional Tower attack team that won’t be subject to the entry personnel limit.”
He had raised its versatility from worthless to useful.
“And look at the situation with the Towers right now. Admittee Awakeners are appearing slowly. High-grade Admittees—needless to say S-rank, but even A-rank are in short supply—while increasingly high-level Towers keep appearing. At this rate, we’ll soon face our limit.”
And he had even provided an indispensable necessity.
Faced with an offer that left no reason to refuse, Choe’s eyes trembled violently.
Suho asked one more thing.
“Was that child earlier your grandson?”
“Yes... the only blood relative I have left...”
“How is he attending school here?”
“...Until elementary school, there was a school over in Okcheon-ri, so he went there, but now I’m homeschooling him...”
“Mm... This is a delicate question, but do you perhaps have any special attachment to Yangpyeong, or any other reason you can’t leave this place?”
The doctor quietly shook his head.
“There is nothing like that... It’s just that, since I don’t have anything...”
Only then did Suho’s cautious expression brighten.
“Then please come to my home. There are many empty rooms—no, empty houses—so I’ll assign a house for the two of you. And we’ll look for a school for your grandson in Songpa-gu. It would also be good to build a research institute near Elysium.”
Suho took the doctor’s wrinkled, faintly trembling hands firmly in both of his.
* * *
On the day Choe’s move was carried out,
It was clear just how hard things had been. The furniture in the abandoned-house-like office was rotting away, and many of the appliances were broken.
At Suho’s advice to throw them away since furniture and appliances were already fully provided, the doctor and his grandson packed only their clothes.
But in Suho’s eyes, even those clothes were the sort of things that would be better off placed in a clothing donation bin.
“You should throw away the clothes as well and buy new ones. Please take only what is truly personal and absolutely necessary.”
At that, the doctor packed only the storage devices containing his research data, while his grandson packed only items that held memories of his former family into a bag.
Their moving luggage was, quite literally, simple.
Still, in case there was anything they might later come looking for, all the remaining items except the furniture and appliances were gathered into one container and put into long-term storage.
Suho, who had brought three octocopters expecting there to be a lot of moving cargo, sent two of them back first, leaving only one.
Shweeeeeeeeeeng—
At last, the octocopter carrying Choe, his grandson, and Suho rose into the air, and Choe fell into thought as he looked down at the old research lab filled with his regrets.
His grandson, on the other hand, could not hide the joy on his face at his quality of life soaring overnight.
Piririririri—
During the flight to Elysium Heights, calls kept coming in.
Suho glanced at the screen and hung up.
When the caller stubbornly called again anyway, he switched it to silent.
Watching him quietly, Choe smiled and asked.
“You look as if you’re avoiding a creditor.”
Suho smiled bitterly.
“Ha... I know. It really does feel like that.”
The person calling was someone who called himself the Chief Secretary of Cheonghwa Group.
He said he was contacting him to arrange a meeting with Chairman Baek Seungjae of Cheonghwa Group.
When the first call came in, the man had spoken in a rather high-handed tone, as if Suho absolutely had to attend this meeting, so Suho had hung up immediately.
In the call that followed, the Chief Secretary’s voice had become much more obedient, but nothing changed.
Because Suho simply could not find any reason why he had to meet Chairman Baek Seungjae.
He was in a position where he would refuse even if the president of the United States flew in asking to meet him, and now Chairman Baek? Laughable.
He had made it clear that he was busy and told them not to contact him, but this Chief Secretary fellow did not know how to give up.
When he blocked the number, calls began coming from other contacts. It had already happened several times.
Shoooooooooohooohoohoo—
Before long, the octocopter arrived and landed at the rooftop vertiport of Elysium Heights,
and the androids came over to receive the doctor and his grandson’s luggage.
Since the doctor adamantly refused, saying a large house would only be inconvenient to maintain, Suho gave them a small home of 158 square meters.
Then he handed them a tablet and VR device containing an overall guide to the facilities of Elysium Heights and stepped outside.
Pipip—
A message from the fourth-floor welcome lobby came through his wearable device.
“What is it?”
Then he heard an AI response in a firm yet clear voice
come through.
- Reporting that there is an individual attempting repeated access, insisting that he must see Master.
“Who?”
- He says he is the Chief Secretary of Cheonghwa Group.
“Ha... that guy... So did you let him in?”
- We did not. As he is neither scheduled nor authorized, we are restricting him from approaching the Elysium Heights building. At present, no threat has been detected, but as the purpose of his visit is unclear, we are monitoring him. Should he pose an actual threat, we will open fire immediately.
“Hey, firing... is not allowed. No matter who it is, if you’re going to open fire, you must ask me first. So that guy is outside the building right now?”
- Understood. Correct.
The android sent Suho live footage being recorded from CCTV cameras at various angles.
On the marble floor some distance away from the building entrance, a man could be seen kneeling and sitting there endlessly.
“This is driving me crazy... What is he doing, seriously? I’ll go out, so tell him to come in. Set up a meeting spot in the corner of the welcome lobby.”
- Understood. Switching him to an individual approved for entry.
* * *
“Chief Secretary, this man is truly remarkable. I came because of him.”
That was the first greeting Suho offered as soon as he met Chairman Baek.
The chairman had expected some empty pleasantries, at least—thank you for inviting me, it is an honor to meet you, and the like. But for Suho to praise Chief Secretary Park right off the bat instead,
it was utterly absurd. Even so, Chairman Baek wore a broad smile and did not lose his composure.
The one in need right now was him, not Suho.
He was not a man incapable of making that simple calculation.
“Hohoho, is that so? Thank you for looking kindly upon our Chief Secretary Park. Please, have a seat here.”
Chairman Baek personally guided him to his seat, seated Suho, then sat across from him.
And the dishes that began to be served were quite decent.
It seemed he had summoned a host of first-rate chefs to prepare the banquet.
By now, Suho had quite a few acquaintances in political and business circles, so he had looked into why Chairman Baek had sought him out through indirect channels.
As expected, the reason did not stray far from Suho’s prediction.
Over the meal, Chairman Baek spent a long time going on about the limits of an individual and the power of a group, then enthusiastically talked about his ambition to make the Cheonghwa Clan the greatest clan in the world. Suho could only yawn.
He had eaten his fill, and he could no longer bear to listen. Cutting Chairman Baek off, Suho asked,
“So, Chairman.”
“Yes?”
“How much of a budget did you say you were allocating to establish the Cheonghwa Clan?”
“Hoho, for now, we are gathering funds with the intention of investing at least five hundred billion won—no, one trillion won.”
“I see. I’m thinking of at least five hundred trillion won to establish the Ultimate Line Clan.”
A difference in capital of a staggering five hundred to one thousand times.
“...Ahem. However, as a veteran yourself, Ad Jeong Suho, you know very well that running a clan is not something done with money alone.”
“That’s true. You’re absolutely right. A clan is people. So how many S-rank Admittees is the Cheonghwa Clan currently contacting to secure?”
“...For now, there is my granddaughter.”
“I see. Our Ultimate Line Clan currently has over 1,200 S-rank applicants from around the world. But accepting and operating all of them wouldn’t be efficient, and it would also harm tower raids in each country, so we’re going to cut it off at exactly 40. We intend to keep only 40 elite S-ranks.”
A difference of forty times in S-rank personnel.
“Tower raids require an enormous amount of supplies and resources. How do you plan to expand those? Surely you don’t mean to scour the OnTower auction house for them, do you? For one, I’m an item collector myself, and I run TDM, so the supply of those things is relatively smooth on my end.”
A difference of α times in supplies for raids as well.
Each time Suho asked a question, Chairman Baek found himself unable to answer, his expression stiffening more and more.
He had intended to propose recruitment into the Cheonghwa Clan under unprecedented conditions and even suggest that Suho meet his granddaughter, but he had not even been able to bring those topics up.
Wanting to end the aimless conversation, Suho took something out of his subspace and held it between his index finger and thumb.
A golden stone shining brilliantly.
It was clearly not gold, but some kind of transparent, gleaming jewel—a mysterious gem tinged with gold.
“Have you ever seen one of these?”
Chairman Baek was not an Admittee, but he possessed considerable knowledge regarding Etherium and important high-grade items.
Even so, the object in Suho’s hand was something he could not recognize at all.
“That is... a stone I’ve never seen before. Is it a jewel?”
“No. It’s Etherium.”
From yellow E-rank, to green D-rank, blue C-rank, purple B-rank, orange A-rank, and red S-rank—among the Etherium Chairman Baek knew, there was no color like this.
But even he could tell that it was no ordinary stone. The energy radiating from that bewitching golden light was enough to make even an unawakened person shrink back.
“Hmm... I’ve never seen Etherium of such a color before... You’re saying it isn’t S-rank?”
Click.
Suho set the Etherium down on the table and said,
“This is SSS-rank Etherium.”
“SSS-rank?! Are you saying such a thing exists in this world?”
“It doesn’t exist in the world. Only I have it.”
“Huh...”
For an instant, greed flickered in Chairman Baek’s eyes.
“If you measure it, the value will come out quickly, but if it’s SSS-rank, its output is roughly fifty to a hundred times that of S-rank. Now then, how much do you think this object that doesn’t exist in the world would be worth?”
“That... that cannot be priced...”
“Would one of these be more expensive than Cheonghwa Group’s total annual operating profit, or cheaper? And...”
Thud, thudududuk, clatter...
Around twenty SSS-rank Etherium piled up on the table.
Snap—
When Suho flicked his finger once, they all vanished as if by magic.
“Do you think I have only one of those?”
Thock.
This time, Suho placed something in a transparent glass bottle on the table.
A liquid shining with a brilliant rainbow light filled the bottle.
“Do you know what this is? An elixir of anti-aging... no, a potion.”
There was no way Chairman Baek would not know. It was the thing billionaires all over the world were desperate for.
Chairman Baek himself had participated in the auction when that item appeared.
The insane bidding war had buried his own bid of three hundred million points at truly light-like speed.
At the time, Chairman Baek had been certain that most of the heads of conglomerates around the world had participated in the auction.
In the end, that item had been sold for three billion points—in other words, thirty trillion won.
A mysterious elixir that immediately restored the body’s condition to its prime and extended one’s lifespan by ten years.
Chairman Baek, nearly eighty years old, found his hands trembling. The look in his eyes as he stared at the anti-aging potion could no longer be controlled.
“S-sell that... that item to m-me.”
“Pardon? Are you saying that knowing how much this is worth? Well, as for me, as long as I can receive its proper value.”
Gulp.
He knew. Thirty trillion won.
But even Chairman Baek Seungjae could not simply purchase a single bottle of potion for thirty trillion won.
That unbelievable, miraculous elixir was right before his eyes.
Snap—
Again, when Suho flicked his finger once, it vanished.
Only then did Chairman Baek’s eyes finally return to normal.
Suho spoke in a cold voice.
“Please continue what you were saying earlier. What was that about the limits of an individual?”
“Ahem......”
“Let’s just do this. Will you come under me, together with the entirety of Cheonghwa Group?”
“W-what? You...”
Chairman Baek’s body trembled at those insulting words, and yet—
‘If I go under him together with Cheonghwa Group... will he give me the anti-aging elixir? And can he place my granddaughter, Baek Yuri, in that clan?’
On the other hand, he gritted his teeth and held back the urge to ask just that.
Grit—
With the sound of his clenched teeth grinding, Chairman Baek lowered his head.