Chapter 43: Insane Value (1)
The Awakener board on GateNet was buzzing hot. It was due to the string of bizarre posts popping up one after another.
―(Proof) Holy shit, I scored an insane item lol Ilsung Gear Shop actually has +weapons for real lolol
―They're really selling weapons like that? How much did you pay?
―9 million won lol Run to the gear shop right now lol They say only 20 per shop per day on special sale
―What the hell? Is Ilsung trying to go bankrupt on purpose? That stuff would start at 20 million at auction;;
―(Proof) The armor is nuts too? Got mine for 7 million lol Wanna buy more but it's one per person ffs.
―Ah fuck I ran over right away and it's sold out wtf;;
―Shit's going crazy at this shop too. Like ten Awakeners showed up in five minutes;;
―Anyone heard from Lee Seoyoon? She's been way too quiet lately…
―Probably clearing some hidden gate lol Is that important right now? +items are flooding out?
―Why are plus items dropping like this? Aren't these the ones even top crafters can't make consistently even if they bust their asses?
―Yeah. I'm a mid-level blacksmith with some experience and I hardly ever see plus items. Might get two or three if I craft all day. It's basically a lottery.
―Doesn't make sense? Ilsung has 100 gear shops nationwide. 20 each means they're dumping 2,000 a day;;
―They're really doing it? The guy in front of me just bought a plus item;
―How do they even supply 2,000? Are they finally unloading their stockpile?
―Nah lol Ilsung homepage just posted a notice. Event lasts at least a month?
―… A month is 60,000 items? How is that even possible?
―No idea. But the notice says even after the event, plus items will be on display regularly, so come often? Gonna make it thrilling like a treasure hunt lol
―… Are they really hell-bent on bankruptcy?
―Guys, bankruptcy isn't the issue right now? How the hell are they supplying that many plus items lol Did they hire some famous artisan?
―Nah, you don't know crafting, but even top artisans can't churn out that many plus items. Best case maybe 50 a day?
―And that's just for basic-grade stuff?
―Told you it's a lottery lol You can't just make them whenever you want?
―Yeah. Plus, if they had artisans that good, why waste time on low-level crap? Real-time money shredder lol
―???? Anyone see the potions on the shelf in the corner? Those are + too?
―… Huh?
* * *
Domestic conglomerate number two, Dorim Group, held a meeting of all its subsidiary presidents. Dorim Chairman Jo Choong-hoon glared at the presidents with a flushed face.
“… Report.”
One of the presidents, sweating bullets, staggered to his feet.
“… This month's home appliance sales are down over 50%. Overseas exports have plummeted too…”
“Hey, President Kim.”
“… Yes, Chairman.”
“What do you think the problem is?”
“… From our analysis, the main culprit seems to be the ads from that Spendthrift channel. The replay views exceeded 100 million, and it's a massive hit even overseas…”
“No, I know that already. So, you just sat there with your eyes wide open and let them steal our entire home appliance market share? Not just domestic, but overseas too?”
“N-No, sir! We fought back by throwing a ton of A-list celebrities into our own ads…”
“You think slapping celebrities on ads will catch up to that Spendthrift guy's NewTube views?”
“Th-That is…”
The president's face turned ashen.
100 million views couldn't be achieved domestically alone.
They needed overseas attention.
Would using A-list celebs work abroad?
Fat chance.
That was just domestic advertising.
Ads that worked overseas?
If they knew that, Dorim would already be number one in global home appliance market share.
Reality was, they were number one domestically but barely scraping into the global top ten.
“Can you catch up or not, you bastard!”
“P-Probably not. It's just such a unique video…”
The president looked on the verge of tears.
Ilsung's ad model was too strong.
The firstborn son of the nation's top conglomerate.
Plus a world record holder.
Overseas, he'd already built a massive fandom with his bad boy image.
Cedric, who appeared with him, was riding peak popularity under the nickname “Real Knight.”
‘How the hell are we supposed to counter this?’
The ripple effect was already enormous.
Word was, Ilsung's brand was starting to carry a premium.
Kim Minwoo, the rich kid who splurges money. With him in the ads, Ilsung products were getting branded as rich people's toys.
“What the hell are you gonna do about it! Ilsung's going all out, making premium versions of their products and selling out like hotcakes, and what are you doing?”
“W-We made premium versions too to ride the wave…”
“If you're just gonna chase Ilsung's ass, why are you even sitting there? Come up with a solution!”
President Kim felt deeply wronged.
Ilsung right now wasn't something you could take down just because you wanted to.
To fight them, you needed some trump card of your own.
Sure, quality was a bit ahead, but the image gap was massive.
Home appliances domestically were definitely Dorim, but now Dorim was seen as tacky.
How were they supposed to overcome this?
Even the chairman's grandfather couldn't fix this.
It wasn't just President Kim of home appliances trembling.
Kim Minwoo's ads covered more than one or two products.
Sales across related subsidiaries had been in freefall for ages.
President Kim was just an example. A sacrificial lamb to warn the others.
“Pack your shit and get out. Now!”
“… Thank you for everything, Chairman.”
The ashen-faced President Kim was booted from the meeting.
As good as fired.
Chairman Jo's tirade didn't end there.
He slammed a newspaper down.
[Ilsung Group Goes Berserk in Gear Market! Massive Plus Item Release! Daily Visitors Up Over 1,000%!]
[Potions Also + Versions, Long Lines Forming…]
“President Lee.”
“… Yes! Chairman.”
“You heard about this too, right?”
“Yes. They're really grinding their teeth on this. Selling gear at nearly half price means massive losses for them.”
“Even accounting for that, killing off competitors like us is a win. Can't you already picture it? Every other shop flying empty.”
“That's right.”
“What are you gonna do about it? You the same type as President Kim? Just take the hits?”
“No, sir! To secure plus items, I contacted artisans and begged them to make as many low-end gears as possible. Also releasing our stockpiled plus items at low prices…”
“That's it?”
At that moment.
President Lee's face turned serious.
“… Chairman. The volume Ilsung's putting out isn't something you can match even with multiple artisans.”
“Exactly. So?”
“There has to be a special artisan leading this. Their skill is probably related to plus item crafting. We'll scout them, even if it kills us.”
“Good. You get to the root of it! No winning a volume war. We need to snag the guy behind this.”
Chairman Jo's face finally eased a bit. If he'd suggested a dumb volume showdown, he'd have been axed too. This wasn't something you could force out of artisans.
Ilsung definitely had a special card up their sleeve.
“Billions if needed. Full support. Just find and grab that guy.”
“Yes. We'll find them no matter what. Whatever they demand, we'll pay. Snagging that artisan means we win everything.”
“That's it! That's the Dorim spirit!”
Chairman Jo's face finally relaxed.
He'd charged ahead like a bulldozer until now.
Thanks to his tear-jerking efforts.
The last 20 years had been Dorim's leap forward.
They'd closed the market cap gap from nearly double to a third.
With a bit more push in his generation, number one was in sight.
Chairman Jo had no intention of slipping here.
‘This is the turning point.’
He had to crush Ilsung's momentum. Otherwise, they might never catch up.
Lately, Ilsung's moves were downright ominous.
Then.
One of the presidents shot his hand up.
“Uh, President Choi. Something to say?”
“Chairman. The board right now favors Ilsung. Simple reason. They've built a sleek brand image through that Kim Minwoo.”
“True.”
Kim Minwoo's ads.
Spreading Ilsung's brand worldwide—the value could be tens of trillions.
The effects kept rolling. Every move he made drew spotlights from domestic to overseas.
One walking superstar shaking the board.
“Then the solution is simple. We make our own star. And we have an excellent son like Executive Director Jo…”
President Choi glanced at Executive Director Jo.
Jo Pilwook.
A-rank achievement Awakener.
One of Chairman Jo's two sons.
But despite solid achievements and a level near 300, he wasn't given big roles. Simple reason.
Jo Pilwook was in the same irredeemable spendthrift category as Kim Minwoo.
They gave him a guild affiliation and a fancy title, but no real company duties.
Exactly that position.
“… Ahem! Use our Executive Director Jo?”
“Yes. Sure, he had some wild moments in his fiery youth, but which young man doesn't have one mishap?”
“Hmm…”
Chairman Jo pondered.
Normally, no question.
Fiery youth?
Jo Pilwook's rap sheet went way beyond that.
Without money and power to cover it up, he'd be in prison.
Parading him in public wasn't ideal.
But now was different.
Kim Minwoo had already debuted spectacularly as the trailblazer.
Why couldn't Jo Pilwook?
With public sentiment so favorable to spendthrifts, he could brand himself as a lovable rascal.
Chairman Jo eyed his son.
“… Think you can do it without scandals?”
“… Father! I've changed a lot! Just give me a chance, and I'll go all out, no holds barred!”
Jo Pilwook lit up.
He'd thought being overshadowed by his brother meant no return to the company.
But opportunity knocked.
All thanks to that Kim Minwoo precedent.
“How you planning the debut?”
“Gotta make a big splash. Clear an A-rank Gate, then launch a NewTube channel. I'll put Dorim's name out there properly!”
“Hmm… I'll talk to the guild master.”
“Thank you! Father!”
That would pull all the gate-clearing spotlight his way.
‘This time, I'll definitely return to the company.’
Even a level 1 made explosive buzz. Why not him? Jo Pilwook's confidence swelled.
The one thing he hadn't foreseen…
* * *
[Breaking: Copycat Syndrome After Kim Minwoo? Conglomerate Scions All Buddying Up to Launch NewTube Channels!]
[Breaking: Over 50% of Top 100 Conglomerate Heirs Open NewTubes! All Handpicked Irredeemable Spendthrifts, Accused of Laundering Image…]
[Breaking: Old Habits Die Hard? Some Channels Resort to Gambling Giveaways, Soy Sauce Splashes, and Other Trash Tactics to Draw Viewers…]
[Breaking: Disastrous Backfire! Boycotts Erupt, Sales Plunge for Companies Whose Heirs Launched Channels…]
“What are you idiots doing?”
Kim Minwoo let out a hollow laugh watching the news.
All following the exact same pattern.
Turn some random low-rank Awakener heir into a gate clearer for debut.
Even including the worst irredeemables.
Old habits die hard—guys whose daily conduct was already off the rails weren't gonna excel at NewTube.
No way in hell.
In the end, they all got lumped together in backlash, worse off than not doing it.
‘They think you can just copy it.’
If so, everyone and their dog would be a star.
Original and knockoff were leagues apart.
―Grooo.
“Yeah, yeah. Total morons, right? Daddy thinks so too.”
They tripped over themselves on the street. Couldn't ask for better.