<The Demon Lord of the Swordsmanship Family Chapter 66>
Now, talking about it, there was no one who truly believed the Investigation Team would succeed when they entered the Gate.
Not just a few, but none. While there might have been hope, there wasn’t anyone who seriously took this investigation seriously.
Think about it. Wasn’t the entire Investigation Team comprised of Academy students?
Not even graduates but students.
No matter how promising they were as the top students of the 4th year, a prospect still needs to be proven. After all, an unscratched lottery ticket isn’t called that for nothing.
No one truly believes the lottery will be a winner. They simply ‘hope.’
This tendency was also evident in the mission assigned to the Investigation Team.
The prediction of ecological collapse and ultimately finding a way to minimize damage.
It sounds reasonable, but those in the know all understand there’s no real substance to it. Just like the vague target suggests, this wasn’t a study that began with clear objectives.
A study without confidence or purpose.
Then why even bother with such a study?
Why not? Everyone does it for their records.
It’s the 4th year students, the graduating class; all thirsty for achievements.
They need to build their resumes.
They aren’t much different from ordinary young professionals at that age.
To receive good benefits, a high salary, and a better job, one needs such achievements. They had to take various exams and obtain certificates to add just one line to their resumes.
Sad as it is that we, humans, are judged by dry letters on A4 paper, that’s the reality of the world.
For the Superhumans, these achievements were their specs—sort of a resume to flaunt their appeal in the recruitment market.
Consequently, both the realistic signing bonuses and the salaries vary, and it would be more unusual if they weren’t desperately chasing these records, eyes bloodshot.
Given this fact, the answer becomes simple now.
Why are you doing such a study?
To give them achievements to stack.
The 4th year students use achievements to increase their value in the recruitment market.
The Academy boosts its value by producing outstanding graduates.
And the Organizations enhance their worth by having remarkable prospects among their ranks.
A mesh of various interests.
This was the hidden purpose behind the Investigation Team.
But here’s the thing.
The bottom line is, this Investigation Team, thus composed, succeeds.
No, they even achieve historical results far beyond what could be called success.
They manage to regulate the collapse phenomenon.
They unexpectedly succeed in this absurd task.
“…The Investigation Team succeeded? Is this real?”
“What, am I dreaming? Is it even possible to control collapse phenomena?”
“Okay! Min-sik, isn’t this a world-first? Haven’t heard the society talking about it being possible? Check on it quickly. Ah, no, it’s probably better if I do it. You, just quietly stay there.”
Everyone involved was stunned by this unexpected success.
But as adults, they already knew not to rejoice purely over their accomplishment.
Joy also has its shares.
Funny as it may sound, this is the reality.
It’s the ideal world where everyone can equally share happiness. Now is the time to differentiate who’s more joyous and who’s less.
The first voice to speak up was The Korean Superhuman Association.
“What did I say! Didn’t I say at the start, this investigation was going to go well! Haha! Look, here we are with clear-cut results! This is clearly the result of our association’s successful ‘planning,’ isn’t it?”
It’s true that the association was the one to initially request the investigation from the Academy.
However, calling it a “plan” might be a stretch. A plan requires actual designs, and for them, the plan was simply to ensure good records for the promising So-i Jeong they themselves have been nurturing.
But the Association, fully committed to laying down the steel plate on their faces.
Anyway, we started it, right? Most of the credit is ours. In any case, it’s a lot.
They claimed the largest share of this accomplishment.
The Hunter Alliance objects to this.
“Plan? Plaaan?? Looks like the Association’s conscience got shoved out through the back door. Talking about shares because you sent a single document? Hah, it’s laughable. If you were like us and spent a ton of money, that might be different. But these beggars have no conscience.”
The Hunter Alliance, more so than anyone, actively supported the investigation team.
True, this was also aimed at supporting Park Jin-yong, who they wanted to push through for four years, but they did pour money without hesitation, which was a fact.
Indeed, more than half of the materials used in the Kingmaker operation came from the Hunter Alliance’s coffers.
They were supporting so actively, and you guys want to take all the good outcomes for yourselves? No way.
While the Association and the Alliance were reddening their faces, Management quietly slid a spoon into the mix.
While it was a formal document, summarized simply, it was straightforward.
“You all know, right? I issued the approval. You couldn’t have done anything without my approval, right?”
Claiming that without their approval, the operation itself would not have been possible.
And there’s no arguing with this since the key materials for this operation were ‘high-grade magic gems’ and ‘recognition interference-blocking equipment,’ classified as ‘strategic materials’ due to the risk of misuse, requiring government approval, handled by Management.
Besides, for regions classified as Level 6 Gates or higher, Management’s jurisdiction fully kicks in, and they provided large-scale material support, which logically required Management’s approval.
In such a way, Management argues that since they handled multiple aspects promptly, they indeed had a significant role in the success.
“There’s an old saying: beginning is half the battle! Therefore, starting off right, making the first move is important, isn’t it? This success can be said to be at least half the achievement of the Association, not too much of an exaggeration.”
“That’s correct.”
“Don’t talk nonsense since you got lucky. Sending a tiny amount of money and then talking about the accomplishment, isn’t that embarrassing? Not like you’re some beggar…”
“That’s not entirely wrong.”
“What? Calling me a beggar?! You’ve said your piece!”
“You old man, you haven’t changed since before. Just being loud makes you think you’re right. What! Calling a beggar a beggar, huh?!”
“Hehe. You’re both right.”
“…Whose side are you on?”
“Our Management Office is on the side of the winner. Hehe.”
The three organizations arguing with their own logic about their shares.
But there is one aspect they all agreed upon.
It concerns Optimum and Jin-ryong.
“Even if we’re disputing, we should definitely settle this. Especially since this negotiation leaking out should be avoided. Especially to Optimum and Jin-ryong.”
“Of course! I have no intentions of handing over the credit to those two!”
“Well, realistically, hiding it completely is impossible, right?”
“Let’s just delay it as much as possible. Anyway, those here know the situation inside the Gate, right? After delaying the information as much as possible, we’ll time it perfectly when the Investigation Team returns and BOOM, let the news out. How would they know then?”
“What a good idea! Life is all about timing!”
“Not bad.”
They aren’t fools.
They know the abilities of Park Jin-yong and So-i Jeong, and they understand well the strength of the investigation team.
This innovative idea, the decisiveness to execute it.
Objectively speaking, this operation wasn’t possible without them.
Not knowing all the details, but certainly Park Ki-hyuk and Jin Yu-ri must have played crucial roles. If not, this kind of tremendous success wouldn’t make sense.
But if these two come running out, shedding all inhibitions and claiming a share from their affiliations with Optimum and the Jin-ryong family…?
The pie, which was already being contested by three, will have to be split among five. It’s clear that each portion will naturally shrink.
Hence, their conclusion.
Cleverly withholding the information, stretching the time for as long as possible, and using the advantage of having information to reveal it all at once.
But an unforeseen variable erupted.
“Administrator of Management Office, Park Ki-hyuk has come out!”
“What, what?! Why is he coming out now? Try to stop him, do something!”
“…It’s too late. He left a document behind.”
With Spring in mind, Park Ki-hyuk emerged, disregarding the records.
Through this, Kim Yeon-hee got the news that the operation was already a success, and the astute representative of Optimum immediately understood the flow of events the moment this call came in.
“Looks like they were quietly doing some rather cute things while remaining silent?”
Kim Yeon-hee, who brought a newborn agent to world-class status. Would she not understand such childish games? It was something she had already anticipated.
Regardless of failure or success, she had foreseen that they would package the investigation team’s achievements as if they were their own.
Despite that, she tried to understand their perspective.
The investigation team’s main characters were the 4th years. For them, they had limited time left. On the other hand, her own son had another year, so she had no plans to be greedy for achievements since he would naturally end up affiliated with Optimum anyway.
It didn’t really matter that much.
But now, it’s different.
Kim Yeon-hee’s plan was all about showing leniency.
However, they were outright trying to plunder it.
Should I endure this?
She asked herself, and the answer quickly became clear.
“Secretary-General, please tell ‘Prism’ that we agree with the broadcast we previously discussed.”
Kim Yeon-hee just couldn’t let herself be bullied.
Since they tried to make her eat dirt, they will have to endure the same.
Look forward to how I show up.
*
Even among the 5 Great Agents, Optimum is well-known.
The start of Optimum was extremely humble.
Starting from a warehouse attached to a shabby building, Optimum had only three founders.
Kim Yeon-hee, Yoo Hae-ryun, and Park Geon. That was all.
The era when Optimum had neither tradition, history, nor background.
The only thing they had was ‘Park Geon the Sword Master,’ but as mentioned before, the Sword Master, like Jin-ryong, was a highly secretive organization, and for unavoidable reasons, they couldn’t even use the resources of the Sword Master.
In every sense, Optimum started as an agent with absolutely nothing, from the ground up.
A type of startup agency that would appear over ten times a day, but five agencies would mysteriously vanish within a week.
In such a desperate environment, Kim Yeon-hee successfully pulled Optimum up.
From the absolute bottom to the global top, she achieved vertical growth without a single slip and currently competes with the reputation of the 5 Great Agents as one of the best in the world.
Her weapons for these miracles were two things: investment and communication.
– Hello, hello, everyone! Greetings, this is Bit-na! Long time, no see! I’ve missed you all. I’ve also missed broadcasting, but I’m the vice chairman of the White Tiger organization, so I’m super busy. Hmm! Uh? What have I been doing? I went hunting. At the gate near Pyongyang…
She was naturally gifted with analytical skills, had brilliant foresight, and an almost supernatural ability to receive information when it came to ‘investments.’
Through this, Kim Yeon-hee wrote the legend of being undefeated and within a decade surpassed Korea to firmly place her name among the world’s best investors.
And it was at this time, while she was becoming famous as an investor, that she orchestrated a historical deal that would be talked about for years to come:
Prism.
A bold investment in a small IT company that was involved in video streaming.
This decision, naturally, had many stories surrounding it.
Would the person spending money that could reach into the hundred billions on a video site that no one had even heard of be in their right mind?
Kim Yeon-hee’s success story was over. Drunk on the sweetness of success, she’d gone to dreamland, etc.
People, after all, enjoy hearing about others’ failures more than their successes, and thus everyone expected Kim Yeon-hee to fail.
However, defying all of this, Kim Yeon-hee was soaring.
Who would have guessed that this Prism, which seemed to have no value, would come to dominate the world market?
Under the leadership of Prism’s 2nd president, ‘Duncan,’ the smartphone ‘Stack’ was released. This ‘Stack’ caused a massive hit and made Prism a sudden key player in the global market.
As a result, Kim Yeon-hee effortlessly became a billionaire.
That’s how her godlike investments continued and eventually made her a big player in the IT sector.
But, this wasn’t the end.
– …So Min-ji went berserk. Who is Min-ji, you say? Just a moment, everyone. Don’t be rude. You might not know her, right?! Why are you killing our newbie friend’s vibe? Newbie friend, Min-ji is…Park Min-ji, known as the White Tiger, a disciple of the Sword Master. Know the Sword Master?
Back in the day, when Kim Yeon-hee was still active in the field, tensions between superhumans and civilians had reached an extreme point.
Civilians despised how superhumans, who became such thanks to sheer luck, acted as though they were something special, while superhumans were disgruntled that they had to put their lives on the line to protect the public and had to give up nearly half of their gem income from hunting.
An invisible wall.
Though no one would acknowledge it, there was an invisible wall between civilians and superhumans.
And it was Kim Yeon-hee’s Optimum that shattered this invisible wall.
Regular broadcasts through Prism’s streaming platform.
Providing the information and curiosities the masses wanted, while continuously promoting the positive image of superhumans.
For reference, it was also this show that propelled the Sword Master’s recognition to new heights.
Park Geon himself would appear and teach martial arts, creating enough buzz on its own. And as you know, this human Park Geon is quite unique?
A fervent individual, a fool for justice, the spirit of competition incarnate.
Various nicknames followed, and he officially became Optimum’s highest-ranking streamer. Though Park Geon himself thoroughly denied this title.
In this way, Optimum grew in size through ‘investment,’ and boosted its awareness through ‘communication.’
As of now, Optimum has become the representative agency not just for Korea but for the world.
– Cough, cough, I think I may have talked too much. My throat’s sore, and I’m getting tired too. But if I go off-topic here… Hee~ Look at the chat’s firepower. You all want me to continue, right? But my sore throat is real. Talking by myself is also exhausting, so I’ve prepared something. Today’s surprise guest!
Optimum’s future, Optimum’s crown prince, Optimum’s gentleman, representing the era’s genius, monster by the name of Sword Master…
All sorts of superlatives flow out rhythmically, and the moment the figure reveals themselves.
– Allow me to introduce you to Park Ki-hyuk!
Park Ki-hyuk appears.
– Hello, I am Park Ki-hyuk.
And Kim Yeon-hee, watching her son from behind the camera.
How dare they mess with us?
Fine, I do not back down from a fight that comes to me first. Whether it’s achievements or anything else, I will create a commotion.
This competitive spirit runs in the family.
