Chapter 18

18. Explosive Growth, and Opportunity – 3

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“Haaah!”

Lee Hyun-wook exhaled roughly.

Each time he exhaled, gray smoke billowed out, much like it did for Gwak Jin-cheol.

The room was already filled with thick smoke.

However, the fire alarm didn’t go off because he had taped over the sensors.

‘Almost done.’

He rolled off the bed and began to crawl toward something.

His target was the refrigerator.

He finally reached it and, with trembling hands, pulled out a bottle of water.

Glug, glug, glug, glug—

As the cold water slid down his throat and into his stomach, white steam rose.

The furnace was functioning, melting and boiling everything that entered his body, and then completely absorbing it.

‘I feel like I’m going to die.’

This thought crossed his mind countless times, but he knew very well that he wouldn’t.

He had experienced this pain several times before.

He slowly scanned the message that appeared before his eyes.

– Current controllable metal weight: 17,499g

It was now a whopping 17.5kg.

If he were to move a 300g dagger, he could move about 60 of them simultaneously, and the force applied to each dagger would be roughly equivalent to what he could wield with one hand.

His metal detection ability had also improved, allowing him to detect a 500g piece of metal 135 meters away.

‘36 hours...’

This was the time he had spent locked in the room, absorbing only metal. As a result, the 11kg of metal that had been piled on the floor had completely disappeared.

However, the aftereffects were not trivial.

Green lines stood out on his skin, as if the color of his blood vessels had changed.

– Warning! You have been ‘poisoned’ by various toxins.

“Grrrr...”

Numbness, pain, dizziness, and disorientation wracked his entire body.

These symptoms were caused by ingesting metal enchanted with poison.

However, this was a kind of adaptation process.

– Poison resistance level 2 is being generated (81%)

‘It’s progressing properly.’

Resistance had three levels, from 1 to 3. The higher the level, the less damage and status effects from poison. Beyond that, ‘immunity’ would make him invulnerable to most poisons.

Of course, that would require ingesting an unimaginable amount of poison.

‘...For now, level 2 should be enough.’

That wasn’t all.

– Congratulations! You have successfully achieved the first potential breakthrough and obtained a ‘special skill.’

Every time his metal control ability broke through certain thresholds—10kg, 100kg, 1,000kg—he would receive a ‘special skill.’ He had just broken through the first threshold.

The skill he gained was...

– Name: Metal Shattering

– Level: D

– Effect: Consumes mana to ‘shatter’ a certain amount of metal.

* The amount of mana consumed varies depending on the quantity of the target.

‘I got just what I needed at the right time.’

He took a deep breath and stood up.

He then stretched out his hand toward a nail clipper on the table in one corner of the room.

Hum—

The nail clipper floated into the air.

‘...Shatter.’

At that moment,

Crack—crack—crack!

With a series of cracking sounds, the nail clipper exploded.

Like wood shavings being shredded by a saw, the fragments scattered in all directions, scratching the wallpaper, table, and bed.

Crack—crack—crack!

Some pieces even flew toward Lee Hyun-wook’s face.

Swoosh!

Just as they were about to tear his face,

Hum—

The fragments stopped mid-air.

They flew in a circle, following his gaze, and began to stack neatly on the table.

If this had been a small nail clipper, imagine the destructive power if he were to shatter a sword several times larger, or even apply it to tens of kilograms of metal. The result would be unimaginable.

“Phew, good...”

He smiled, enduring the pain that felt like his body was about to shatter.

***

Lee Hyun-wook stood at Yeongdeungpo Station.

– AM 11:31

19 hours until his leave ended,

14 hours until ‘that incident’ would occur.

‘There’s one more thing to do before then.’

During this leave, Lee Hyun-wook had two main goals.

The first was to drastically increase his ‘metal control ability’ and secure a stable supply of metal, which he achieved by smoothly negotiating with the blacksmith, Kang Jeong-doo.

The second was...

‘...Money.’

Money, a simple yet crucial word, was what he needed.

‘There are many reasons why we lost to the villain, but the most critical one is money.’

Gordon Price’s ‘black money’ moved behind the scenes, buying power, hiring players, and purchasing items.

In this way, he slowly but perfectly took control of everything.

‘It’s impossible to have more wealth than Gordon Price, but at least I need to be immune to his financial manipulation.’

Lee Hyun-wook calculated his assets.

‘I have about 7 million won in my bank account...’

And three 5th-grade orbs exchanged for reward points, plus one 3rd-grade orb obtained from the orc, which roughly amounted to 11 million won.

‘A total of 18 million won...’

It was a meager amount.

Even if he gathered all his assets, it was nothing compared to Gordon Price, who had assets worth tens of trillions of won at this point.

However, knowing the future meant knowing where and when money would accumulate.

‘I know what industry will rise after the 4th wave.’

If he invested in such ‘stocks’ early, even a small amount would grow exponentially.

‘But I won’t be able to manage the entire process myself.’

He could manage a few thousand won through the internet, but as the amount grew, the time required for management would also increase.

Moreover, many events would unfold in the future, most of which would require risking his life, so he needed to focus on improving his abilities and training.

In other words, he needed someone to manage his assets professionally.

Someone sensitive to the flow of money, diligent in their work, and, most importantly, trustworthy...

‘...There’s only one person who comes to mind.’

His name was Park Chul-soo, Lee Hyun-wook’s high school senior.

‘He may be running a small guild now, but he will become the best player agent in the future.’

Moreover, as an ‘analyst’ player who would lead the game, he had even found a method to improve Lee Hyun-wook’s abilities, which he had been unaware of for 10 years.

‘After Kang Hee-sul, he is the second human resource I need to secure.’

People might be more important resources than money.

***

When Lee Hyun-wook stood in front of the office of a small, old commercial building near Sinjeong Station on the second floor,

Clang!

A sound of something breaking came from inside.

“Damn it! Bro! Really, stop making me hit you!”

It was a threatening voice.

‘That voice... It’s Yi Won-cheol.’

He was a high school classmate of Lee Hyun-wook, a troublemaker.

And the person he was threatening was none other than... the guild master, Park Chul-soo.

‘He was one of Park Chul-soo’s right-hand men.’

Park Chul-soo was a senior to both Lee Hyun-wook and Yi Won-cheol.

Though a senior, he was 8 years older, and by the time Lee Hyun-wook and Yi Won-cheol graduated high school, Park Chul-soo was already working as a manager in a famous guild.

One day, through the introduction of a vice-principal who was once Park Chul-soo’s homeroom teacher, he decided to help the much younger junior players, and their connection began.

‘Among the people I know, no one is as selfless as Chul-soo...’

He helped the juniors he had connected with until the end. One of the reasons he decided to start a guild was to take care of the juniors who had nowhere to go.

‘But, Yi Won-cheol repaid such kindness with betrayal.’

Lee Hyun-wook took another step toward the office door.

Then, Park Chul-soo’s voice, unlike that of a guild master, sounded meek.

“That’s... Won-cheol, you know, we didn’t get many requests this month... I had to break into my savings to pay your salaries. I’m really sorry, please bear with it a little longer.”

“No, I don’t care about that. If the master doesn’t bring in good jobs, how can the guild members work hard and earn money? Who are you blaming for not doing your job properly?”

Lee Hyun-wook peeked through the slightly open door.

The bulky Yi Won-cheol, wearing a leather jacket, blew cigarette smoke over the desk, which landed on Park Chul-soo’s face, who was wearing a wrinkled shirt. It was a scene devoid of any respect.

“Cough! Cough! I’ve been trying to find jobs, but you guys keep refusing...”

“Damn it, really!”

Yi Won-cheol’s shout made Park Chul-soo flinch.

“Bro! Is a security job even a request? Huh? It’s really embarrassing...”

“...”

“A request should be something that makes us and the juniors feel motivated to work! Damn, is a security guard a joke? What do you think, guys?”

When Yi Won-cheol said this and looked around, the three men sitting on the sofa nodded in agreement.

“Yeah, that’s right! I want to do something like a ‘gate operation’ like other guilds.”

“Really, working these days is no fun at all.”

“I’m honestly considering joining another guild.”

These three were guild members recruited by Yi Won-cheol and were essentially his subordinates.

‘From this point on, Park Chul-soo was the guild master in name, but Yi Won-cheol was the real power behind the scenes.’

At that time, Yi Won-cheol was a player with considerable potential, reaching C-grade in just three years after awakening.

And thus, the arrogant Yi Won-cheol, blinded by greed, decided to betray the kindness he had received.

‘His methods were truly despicable and dirty.’

He secretly bullied guild members he didn’t like, forcing them to quit, and then filled their positions with his own acquaintances, gradually taking control of the guild.

All of this happened while Park Chul-soo was preoccupied with various personal matters, and in the end, he sold the entire guild to another guild.

Without waiting any longer, Lee Hyun-wook opened the door and entered.

Ding, ding—

The bell on the office door rang, and Park Chul-soo instinctively stood up.

“Ah, welcome... Huh?”

“Eh? Hyun-wook!”

“What the...”

Three people recognized Lee Hyun-wook.

Park Chul-soo, Yi Won-cheol, and a female classmate working as an administrative staff member in the guild office, Kim Ji-yeon.

“Hey, tin can pilot, what brings you here?”

Yi Won-cheol said this while flicking cigarette ash onto the floor.

The relationship between Lee Hyun-wook and Yi Won-cheol had never been good.

In fact, it was quite bad.

“Hyun-wook, it’s been a long time... How have you been?”

Kim Ji-yeon asked, trying to ease the awkward atmosphere.

Yi Won-cheol snorted.

“What can a soldier have been doing? Probably not much.”

“...”

“I don’t know much about the military, but I can imagine...”

Lee Hyun-wook said nothing, walking in and sitting on one side of the sofa. He then glanced around the office and met Park Chul-soo’s eyes.

“Bro Chul-soo, I came to talk to you. Are you busy?”

“Ah, well, Hyun-wook, right now...”

“-Hey!”

Yi Won-cheol’s sudden shout drew everyone’s attention except Lee Hyun-wook.

“...What’s this talk and nonsense? When you see an old friend after a long time, you should greet them first, right? You’re a real piece of work... I’ve been talking to you, and you’re ignoring me, how rude...”

Lee Hyun-wook’s gaze, which had been on Park Chul-soo, slowly shifted to Yi Won-cheol.

“...Yi Won-cheol.”

“What, you little punk! Why are you talking so seriously?”

“I’m not your classmate, I’m a guest asking the guild master a question, so shut up.”

Instantly, a vein popped on Yi Won-cheol’s forehead.

The three men sitting on the sofa, Yi Won-cheol’s loyal subordinates, glared at Lee Hyun-wook with hostility, and a heavy tension filled the office.

“Hahaha... This F-grade punk, did he lose his memory after getting beaten up in the military... I was already in a bad mood, and now— You’re going to be in deep trouble.”

“...”

“Our Hyun-wook, did you come here to get beaten up like in middle school? Right?”

Yi Won-cheol spewed out all kinds of insults and then extinguished his cigarette in the ashtray on the desk.

“I’ve already laid it all out. It’s too late to run, you little punk.”

He then lifted the ashtray to his mouth and cleared his throat.

“Cough! Hack!”

But...

“...Huh? What? What’s going on!”

Although he spat into the ashtray, the phlegm landed on his own thigh. And the aluminum ashtray he was holding...

Hum—

...floated in the air, detached from his hand.

Yi Won-cheol’s left face twitched.

It was clear to everyone that this was Lee Hyun-wook’s doing.

“...Lee Hyun-wook, you, you little...”

Yi Won-cheol kicked his chair and approached Lee Hyun-wook aggressively.

“...You’re really in deep trouble!”

As a ‘fighter’ type player, he could handle himself even without a weapon. He was confident he could win even in a bare-handed fight with an orc.

“Hey, Won-cheol, don’t!”

“Hey! Stop it!”

Park Chul-soo stood up in shock, and Kim Ji-yeon shouted, but the boy didn’t stop.

At that moment, something strange happened.

Swish—

Yi Won-cheol’s belt, with a skull pattern, came undone in an instant,

“Huh?”

and fell to the floor, pulling his pants down with it.

Thus, Yi Won-cheol’s yellow teddy bear underwear was exposed to everyone, and even more...

“...Ugh!”

He tripped on his own pants and fell flat on his face, a ridiculous scene.

“...Bro!”

That wasn’t the end.

The belt moved like a snake, wrapping around his buttocks and thighs, and then binding his ankles together.

Swish—

Without lifting a finger, he had bound Yi Won-cheol’s legs in an instant.

“Ugh, you, you little... Hey! What are you doing! Grab that punk!”

Yi Won-cheol’s angry shout,

But the three loyal subordinates sitting on the sofa could do nothing.

“Eh, eh...”

They just stood up awkwardly, staring wide-eyed at Lee Hyun-wook and Yi Won-cheol.

“Eh...”

Throughout all this, Lee Hyun-wook remained seated on the sofa, not moving an inch.

Without even looking at Yi Won-cheol, he said calmly,

“Bro Chul-soo, I don’t have much time, but can we talk for a moment right now?”

Meanwhile, a bizarre scene continued to unfold.

Sss—sss—sss—sss—

Gray threads emerged from the black bag Lee Hyun-wook had set down, wriggling like living snakes and moving toward Yi Won-cheol, who was struggling on the floor.

These were commonly known as wire ropes, or steel cables.

Sss—sss—sss—sss—

“Ugh! What’s this! S, save me!”

The thick steel cables moved like living things, rushing toward Yi Won-cheol.

He tried to escape, but he didn’t even have time to put his pants back on.

Four steel cables wrapped around Yi Won-cheol’s body like anacondas.

“...Ugh!”

Watching Lee Hyun-wook subdue the C-grade level 21 player Yi Won-cheol without lifting a finger, the Hope Guild members could only