Episode 8.
Fortunately, the enhancement did not fail.
It couldn't have.
I had used a whopping eight Transcendence Orbs.
The base probability for Transcendence Enhancement is ten percent.
Since each orb raises it by five percent, that makes a whopping fifty percent probability.
It is a fifty-fifty chance for an ordinary person, but I have a trait called Extreme Luck.
To me, fifty percent is a probability no different from one hundred percent.
Ssss—
The Jangnoesam emitted a faint aura.
It was an evolved Jangnoesam that had completed Transcendence Enhancement.
『(★) The Jangnoesam Imbued with the Blood and Sweat of Herb Digger I Chun-sam
Classification: Consumable (Herb)
Durability: None
Unique Effect: Recovers a small amount of Stamina, slightly increases Stamina for one week. Transcendence Effect: ??? (Inactive) Description: A Jangnoesam carefully cultivated by Herb Digger I Chun-sam. Having undergone its first transcendence, this Jangnoesam has evolved into a special herb with permanent effects.』
A star marking the proof of transcendence had been attached.
Because obtaining the orbs that serve as the material is usually quite difficult, it was a very precious star that one could rarely see.
‘The rarer something is, the more dramatic the change.’
The temporary effect had changed to a considerably long duration of one week.
Though not a permanent effect, it was enough to serve as a invigorating boost to a tired body.
But then.
Zing—
A sudden bout of dizziness.
That *ping—* sensation was something I had not experienced in quite a long time.
‘So even if it is one-star, transcendence is still transcendence, huh.’
Traits are not something that can be used infinitely.
It is an act that gnaws away at a kind of mental energy called ‘Specialization.’
Of course, the me of the past would not have suffered from such depletion symptoms from a mere 1-star transcendence, but right now my trait is in a reset state.
To think I am staggering from a single transcendence enhancement.
Well, nothing I can do about it.
“But the enhancements won’t stop.”
Transcendence Enhancement is not my final destination.
Flash!
Enhance.
A whopping 99 times.
Thanks to that, tinnitus and dizziness came upon me, but looking at the completed Jangnoesam, I could smile.
『+99(★) The Jangnoesam Imbued with the Blood and Sweat of Herb Digger I Chun-sam
Classification: Consumable (Herb)
Durability: None
Unique Effect: Recovers a small amount of Stamina, slightly increases Stamina for one week. Enhancement Effect (9/99): Changes Stamina increase duration to 15 days
Enhancement Effect (15/99): Slightly increases Stamina recovery amount
Enhancement Effect (20/99): Temporarily changes health status to ‘Good’......
Enhancement Effect (99/99): Temporarily increases Stamina by 150%
Max Enhancement Effect (Max): Grants strong resistance against the disease ‘Dementia’ (No effect if already in that state) Transcendence Effect: Cure Disease: Dementia (Active) Description: A Jangnoesam carefully cultivated by Herb Digger I Chun-sam. Through repeated transcendence and evolution, this Jangnoesam displays the miracle of completely curing the disease dementia.』
The Transcendence Effect had been activated.
That effect was the complete cure of the disease called dementia.
Of course, along with the treatment, various additional effects were attached, so not only would it cure the disease, but it would also restore the vitality lost to old age.
And of course, Chairman Gang, having regained his health, would become my steadfast sponsor.
*
Ssss—
Inside a sedan with almost no noise, akin to an engine’s hum.
In the back seat, a middle-aged man in a neat gray suit is visible.
Though the signs of aging are visible here and there, he has the handsome looks of someone who must have made many women cry in his youth.
*Click.*
But he was showing signs of anxiety, incessantly biting his nails as if something were troubling him.
‘Why all of a sudden...?’
The reason for his anxiety.
It was because his father had summoned him.
Having watched his father for many years, a sudden summons could only mean a stern reprimand.
They said his symptoms had been getting worse lately; perhaps he was having a manic episode.
‘He’s lived long enough; it should be his time to go.’
Everyone curses others in their mind, but this was crossing the line—clear filial impiety.
A man known to the outside world as quiet and graceful—Gang Cheol-jun.
As the youngest son of Taewang Group Chairman Gang Seong-hyeon, his insides were filled with malice, a dark mass seemingly lurking within.
“We have arrived.”
“….”
Without answering the chauffeur, he hurriedly got out.
Arriving at the mansion, he tried his utmost to maintain his composure despite his immense inner anxiety.
*Knock, knock—*
He knocked on the study door where his father stayed, announcing his presence.
“Come in.”
A calm voice, yet one that made the listener cower.
*Creak—*
Opening the door and entering, the smell of old books stung his nose.
It was the smell Gang Cheol-jun hated most, but he dared not show it.
The act of having a different exterior and interior had already continued for decades.
Pretending to be as composed as possible, he looked straight ahead at the person sitting in the study, reading a book.
The sight of his father, somehow hale and hearty—utterly impossible to think of as a dementia patient—caught his eye immediately.
“I trust you have been…”
*Thud—*
The book being read was placed on the desk.
“Spare me the hollow pleasantries.”
Gang Cheol-jun thought his inner thoughts had not been noticed, but not at all.
Chairman Gang knew his son’s dark inner thoughts, his twisted heart.
But he tolerated it.
Because he was his son.
As they say, there are no parents who can defeat their children; Chairman Gang was a parent before he was the chairman of Taewang Group.
But today, Chairman Gang decided to pick up the rod he had not wielded until now.
“Yes? What do you mean…?”
While he was voicing his doubt at those sharp words.
*Swish.*
Something came flying.
Perhaps his reflexes were quite sharp, as he immediately snatched the flying object with his hand.
“What is this…?”
What was visible on the smartphone screen was a recorded video.
Knowing what it meant, he immediately played the video.
「Let go, I said let go!」
「Die!」
“….”
A short video.
Gang Cheol-jun’s complexion turned dark as death upon confirming its contents.
‘H-how is this…?’
Inside the video, he saw faces more familiar than any others.
It could not be otherwise—the protagonists of the video were the twin siblings, Gang Ji-hwan and Gang Ji-eun.
“You certainly raised your children well.”
Glinting eyes.
Under the overwhelming pressure that felt like being stared at by a tiger stalking its prey.
*Thud.*
He fell to his knees.
“I-I apologize. I failed to properly educate my children.”
And he admitted his fault.
The fact that Chairman Gang had even prepared the video meant all preliminary preparations were already complete.
Denying it here for no reason would only make the punishment harsher.
“The old saying that no parent can beat their child is not wrong in the slightest.”
“I’m sorry. Now that I am a father myself, my heart….”
“I was not talking about you.”
It was self-mockery.
Words directed at himself—he had raised Taewang Group to be sound and sturdy, yet failed to properly raise his actual children.
“Quite a lot has happened in the meantime.”
He had mobilized his information network and thoroughly combed through Gang Cheol-jun’s surroundings.
Starting from minor things like tax evasion, to embezzlement, slush funds, organized crime, and even terrible acts such as contract killings.
Of course, Chairman Gang had not run his company completely cleanly either.
But there are lines that must not be crossed; yet his youngest son had acted without hesitation like a car with broken brakes.
‘It is all my sin.’
How could this be only the son’s fault?
It was also his own fault for tolerating and neglecting him despite knowing he was going wrong.
But now he would correct that wrong.
*Tap.*
He threw what he had prepared in front of his kneeling son.
It was a bankbook.
One that had just been opened in Gang Cheol-jun’s name.
“Look at it.”
“Yes? Y-yes, sir.”
He did not dare refuse.
Gang Cheol-jun hurriedly picked up the bankbook and checked the amount stamped on it.
『1,000,000,000』
One line only.
The amount of one billion won was printed there.
“You may or may not know, but your father built the current Taewang Group with ten thousand won in his hands.”
It was not an exaggeration.
Chairman Gang, who had been poor, worked at factories and saved up ten thousand won to start his business, giving birth to the enterprise known as Taewang Group.
“Ten thousand won back then would be about one million won today, but since you are my child, I put in a bit more.”
“Father. What do you mean by that?”
To his son’s question, unable to grasp the situation.
“From this moment on, I will take all properties and businesses you possess.”
“Yes?”
“After all, everything came from my hand, so you have no complaints, do you?”
“No, what do you mean all of a sudden. S-stealing my property?”
“I am not stealing; I am taking it back. If there is anything among them that you built with your own hands, I shall leave that to you, so speak up if there is any such thing.”
“That is….”
Nothing readily came to mind.
No, it was not that nothing came to mind—there was nothing.
Everything he was enjoying now had come from Chairman Gang’s pocket.
“It has been a whopping 15 years since you became independent. You ran your business with a seed fund others could not even dream of, yet you are saying there is not a single thing you can claim to have built yourself.”
He had not handed over any of the group’s major businesses like he did with the first or second son.
But to think there had been no growth despite receiving amounts and business outlets that others could not imagine.
He had already heard the stories about it, but he could not help feeling disappointed anew.
“I should have taught you how to fish instead of handing you fish. It is all my fault.”
Knowing that incompetence had originated from himself, he let out a short sigh.
“I will not say more. One billion.”
Chairman Gang pointed at the bankbook with his finger.
“Use that money and start anew. And if you believe you have achieved something noteworthy, come find your father.”
It was not too late even now.
He was trying to teach a son accustomed only to being handed caught fish how to catch fish for himself.
“Father!”
Gang Cheol-jun, unable to hold back any longer, raised his voice.
“I will give you one last chance. Persuade me as to what is wrong with my current actions.”
A tiger’s eyes swept over the son.
“….”
Stiffening like prey exposed to a predator, he could not easily open his mouth.
‘Truly pathetic.’
He was now approaching his fifties.
Yet he could not withstand even a single cold glance from his father and was fumbling about.
In the end, Gang Cheol-jun failed to seize even the last chance his father had given him.
“Leave.”
There would be no more chances.
He returned his attention to the book on his desk, shutting off all interest in his son.
“….”
Gang Cheol-jun rose powerlessly, bowed courteously, and left the room.
*Trudge, trudge.*
His steps, so weak he might collapse at any moment, when he had exited the mansion.
“Fuck!”
Changed with a burst of cursing.
“You bastard. I’ll kill you.”
Eyes burning red.
The one person who came to mind now was Sin Yun-chan, who had quarreled with his children.
It was all because of that bastard.
If it were not for him, the video would never have surfaced, and he would not have been stripped bare like this.
*Ring, ring, ring—*
He immediately made a call.
“Yes. Call received.”
It was answered almost before the first ringtone finished.
“Gather all the guys.”
“…We will have them ready.”
Not a single question.
When an order is given, it is only to be executed.
“You fucking bastard. I will definitely kill you.”
Even though Chairman Gang had warned him, he paid no heed.
Because Gang Cheol-jun was an irredeemable villain filled with more malice than he could imagine.
*
“No matter how much of a tiger you are, you can’t help but go soft when it comes to your children.”
Chairman Gang was certainly a titan worthy of being called a tiger, but when it came to disposing of his child, he likely could not make a bold decision.
I can assure you that by now, Gang Cheol-jun has had fire dropped on his feet.
His next destination, with only malice and guts left, is obvious.
“Well, taking care of him now would not be so bad either.”
I had no intention of leaving him in one piece anyway.
Because I clearly know what he will do in the near future.
My relationship with Chairman Gang?
There is no need to worry about that.
When he learns that his son struck first, he has iron in his veins enough to abandon even his own offspring.
The problem is preparing to stop the guy who has set his mind on it.
Flash!
And right now, I am diligently enhancing items for that preparation.
The Transcendence Enhancement of the item that will make them pay—it was the preliminary preparation to greet him.