Bargaining with the President
That man was clearly smarter than me.
He almost certainly had no shortage of people around him offering advice, either.
But the most important thing in a negotiation was guts.
And the guts of a newly minted Transcendent were practically scraping the sky.
"Mind if I smoke a cigarette? It's not as if the smoke is going to transmit through the screen anyway."
The President's expression hardened into something severe.
He probably thought I was insulting him. I didn't care.
"K-Kang Junghyeok. What do you think you're doing in front of the President—"
The chief instructor glared at me from behind the monitor as if he wanted to devour me whole.
I ignored him appropriately.
Not that I could light up right away. I was naked under a single gown, and neither the staff nor the instructor were smokers.
"Ah. No cigarettes. Running upstairs to grab one would be terribly rude, wouldn't it? Our President has already waited so long because of me. Instructor, would you mind fetching them for me instead?"
"…You little bastard. I've been putting up with you, but—!"
The instructor stormed over and seized me by the collar without warning.
The man had a temper of his own, and once he got hot, he clearly couldn't rein it in.
What the hell are you doing in front of the President?
Not that I had any right to say that.
I casually caught his wrist and snuffed out his mana.
A-5. If he'd attended the Academy, he would have been elite material.
Judging by his age, he'd probably Awakened before the Academy even existed.
"Go fetch my cigarettes and lighter, would you? Instructor who's just lost his magic. Bring them back and I'll restore what disappeared. Stop glaring at me—you're scaring me."
"Th-this… I knew about it, but I never thought the mana would actually vanish…"
"A little faster, please?"
He ground his teeth, then kicked the door open and stormed out.
I made a point of announcing, for the President on the other side of the screen, that the instructor had lost his magic through my ability.
The President's reaction, however, was nothing like what I'd expected.
"Heh heh. No need to put on a show. I'm already well aware of your ability, Mr. Kang Junghyeok."
"Don't tell me… you've been surveilling me?"
"Surveillance? A young man shouldn't say such dangerous things. We merely gathered some information. Nothing more than hearing statements from people like Academy instructors. Your private life holds neither interest nor curiosity for us."
"Ah, is that so? Then this conversation will go faster. I have no intention of using my ability just to follow government orders. I like my freedom."
"…I understand."
"Still, since we've already made contact like this, I'll hear you out. Exactly what does the current government of the Republic of Korea want me to do?"
I listened calmly as the government laid out its demands.
I asked them to be more specific, more detailed, while sorting everything in my head.
Requests I could accept without issue.
And, on the other side, the deeply uncomfortable ones I could never agree to—separating them one by one.
All the while, I wore an extremely grave expression.
"That's practically slavery. So—have you prepared adequate compensation for it?"
"Of course. Are you aware? The current government has four Transcendents under its banner. If the compensation weren't sufficient, those people would have no reason to remain affiliated with us."
"I'd like to hear the details of that compensation."
"Hmm… Very well. Give me a moment."
On the muted screen, the President spent a long while exchanging words with someone else.
Consulting with his secretaries, no doubt.
How much to disclose.
Or what level of compensation to offer me.
I leaned deep into the chair back and watched at my leisure.
Sorry to them, but I was going to refuse anyway.
No matter what conditions they proposed, nothing would satisfy me.
The government budget was limited, and tax benefits had already started the moment I entered the Academy—so they hardly had any cards left to play.
This wasn't a socialist communist state, after all.
Then the sound returned.
"Well… not every government-affiliated Transcendent receives the same treatment. For example, the Transcendent couple Choi Minwoo and Na Hyunhee, who live on Jeju Island, have an arrangement that they need not leave the island except for critical matters. By contrast, Transcendent Park Yuri spends most of her time within the capital region, deploying whenever emergencies arise. She alone covers not only the capital area but the entire central region. That is why we need a Transcendent who can become immediate combat power for us."
"Yes. And?"
"If you would work for the nation in the same capacity as Transcendent Park Yuri, we offer an annual salary of five billion won. That includes all loot proceeds generated during rescue operations or raid participation…"
Five billion—was that a lot or a little?
I'd received over fifty billion in sponsorships over the past two weeks alone.
Had my sense of money gone completely haywire?
Either way, it still wasn't enough to satisfy me.
Once I had my own company, five billion would be nothing. In a year I'd be raking in a hundred times that.
And loot? That was something I'd have to earn from the monsters I hunted myself. They were calling that an offer?
"You did investigate me, correct? Do you have any idea how much sponsorship money I've received from corporations over the past two weeks?"
"Yes. We have a rough idea. However, the government budget has its limi—"
Bang—!
The security office door flew open and the chief instructor stomped back in, huffing and puffing.
He hadn't even run the errand himself—why the theatrics?
He'd clearly foisted the job onto the man who'd come to fetch me from my room earlier.
"There. Happy now?! Give me my mana back this instant."
He slammed the cigarettes and lighter down on the table.
Apparently both of us considered the President something less than sacred.
His own business was urgent, so manners and protocol had evaporated completely.
I was doing this deliberately for the negotiation. But for the Academy's chief instructor to behave like this?
A promise was a promise, and I wanted the nuisance gone quickly, so I restored his mana.
What mattered right now was the negotiation with the President.
"Sorry, but we're in the middle of something important, so please be quiet… Actually, just go outside entirely."
"……"
With his mana returned, the instructor looked like he had plenty left to say, but he only glared at me for a long moment.
Then he walked out the door without another word.
He must have realized that saying anything more wouldn't get him anywhere against me.
Still, he had some backbone. Most people, the moment they lost their mana, started clinging and begging.
Only then could I finally put a cigarette between my lips.
I lit it.
Drew a deep lungful, then exhaled with satisfaction.
"My apologies for the interruption. Where were we?"
"……"
"Ah! You were saying the government has no money?"
"What is it… that you want, Mr. Kang Junghyeok?"
Spitting out what I actually wanted right here would be the lowest of amateur moves.
I needed to throw out absurd conditions—just enough to make clear how vast the gap in our expectations was.
"If you can put the entire military under my feet, I'll consider it. I'm not the type to work under anyone. I have no intention of touching the presidency you were elected to, of course. Minister of National Defense? Opposition there would be fierce. If that's too difficult, you have a dedicated gate response team in the government, don't you? I'll need the top seat there. Attach Park Yuri under me as well. In exchange, I don't even need the salary. I'll cover my income selling loot anyway."
"Transcendent Park Yuri has been with this government since its founding—"
"I know. But isn't this administration about meritocracy? Your motto. No regard for age, education, or regional ties—judgment based solely on ability. Was that a lie? I guarantee you I'm stronger than Park Yuri."
My rhetoric wasn't landing with the President.
I knew that even as I said it.
My demands were absurd on their face.
If he actually accepted them, that alone would be grounds for impeachment.
"Heh heh. Doesn't ability also include experience and know-how? Especially for a critical post like the Awakened response team, where citizens' lives are directly at stake—we must be all the more careful. Of course we've heard of Transcendent Kang Junghyeok's remarkable abilities, but we must carefully examine what kind of person you are, your values, whether you prioritize the lives of the people above all else when making decisions. Simply possessing powerful mana or abilities is an entirely separate question from whether one has leadership…"
Long-winded.
He had no intention of giving me anything and was just talking in circles.
Handing over Park Yuri—the woman who'd made him President—to serve under me would be difficult, of course.
I already knew all that. How long was he going to keep making excuses?
Before I knew it, the cigarette between my lips had burned down to the filter.
"Hoo… Let's call the negotiation a failure, then."
"Mr. Kang Junghyeok… You're aware that the gates have been acting strangely of late, aren't you?"
"Of course. You're talking about the dual-layer gates, right? Hmm? Why so surprised? It's already all over the internet."
"Even so, that remains classified information—"
"I experienced it firsthand, so don't bother hiding it. I also know this administration's policies are shifting because of it. Which brings me to what I wanted to say—I'm thinking of starting a company. I hear the government has decided not to issue permits?"
"A company?"
"Yes. You know—the kind of enterprises like Dragon Guild, Diamond Guild, Daehan Support."
"I understand what you mean. However, even for a Transcendent, we cannot make exceptions to established policy. Agreements have already been reached with the Awakened community and industry stakeholders. If you still wish to proceed, you would need to personally persuade those corporate figures and the community. Only then could the government, from its position…"
"No. I'm not asking for a special permit. We should be fair about it."
I put another cigarette between my lips and lit it.
Time to casually float what I actually wanted, and then tell the government what it wanted to hear.
"Since the permit wasn't coming through, I decided to buy an entire related company. But apparently even acquisitions require government approval? Or so a friend of mine tells me."
Among the parents Hong Eunyoung had contacted, some had offered to help.
But acquiring a gate-related company also required government approval, they'd said.
That part had to be resolved before they could do anything for me—government permits were beyond even their reach.
I'd been wondering what to do about it, and now a man of power had conveniently appeared.
When the water comes in, you row. What else was I supposed to do?
"Could I get that approval? I am a Transcendent, after all—it'd be a bit awkward if I got eliminated at the bid application review stage, wouldn't it? I have the money, but I'm an individual. I've heard the gate industry has extremely strict government screening just to participate in an acquisition."
"Hmm… That's not something I can decide and tell you on the spot…"
Time to drive the stake home?
"I'd really appreciate your help, Mr. President. I absolutely want my own company. Think about it. If I start a company and want to make serious money, I'll have to dive into gates hard, won't I? But which gates would I enter? C-rank? D-rank? A Transcendent like me, grinding through dungeons that don't pay? No. I don't know what the other Transcendents are doing, but I love money. I plan to storm into A-rank dungeons and wipe out every last monster."
"That… as a member of the government and a citizen of the Republic of Korea, is a story I'm grateful to hear, but…"
This was where I needed to land the killing blow.
"If things are difficult domestically, I'll have no choice but to leave for another country. A regrettable situation. I didn't want to go to Japan of all places, but they've made such an excellent offer that turning it down is rather awkward…"
I'd said enough—he ought to grab me right now.
Or did he actually want to lose a Transcendent to Japan?
If he wanted to get impeached, he was welcome to keep this up!
"Mr. Kang Junghyeok. You need not worry. Even if it means staking my presidency, I will ensure that matter is approved. Which company do you intend to acquire?"
He took the bait!
"Ah, will you really? Oh my, thank you so much. For now, the target is Shinbaram Corporation's Dungeon Expedition Division. If everything goes the way I want, I can't quite call it a trade, but I will give the government a very, very nice gift."
"A gift… you say?"
"Yes. Actually, among my acquaintances there's one more Transcendent, and I fully intend to scout that person into my company. So they can't leave for another country."
"A-another Transcendent… exists? Besides you, Mr. Kang Junghyeok, and the seven who are already known?"
"Yes. Actually, there are several. But they're friends who go to extreme lengths to avoid being known… They all seem to want to go overseas where they can live quietly. Still, once I have a company, they'll trust me and stay in Korea. Hahaha."
"I-I see. Heh heh. You've truly saved us. The dual-layer gate problem has been a grave concern of late—if two, no, three or more new Transcendents appear and help stop the gate reverse flows, the people will be able to sleep with both feet stretched out in peace."
"That's truly fortunate. As a citizen of the Republic of Korea myself, it's a great honor to be of help. However, those friends are extremely uncomfortable with being known. If someone starts digging into their backgrounds and they get angry, there's nothing I can do about it either. You understand, don't you? How strong Transcendents are."
"Such a thing will absolutely never happen. Even if any suspicion arises, I hope you'll firmly believe it is never something the government is behind."
What? Why is he suddenly wrapping things up?
My demands aren't finished yet.
"I have one more… no, a few more requests…"
"I-is that so?"
"Nothing major. I'm twenty-two years old and still attending school, which feels a bit off. I'd like to graduate a little faster… Of course, I'm not asking for special treatment. Given the era of dual-layer gates, I'd like you to establish the means and systems for early Academy graduation. And since I'm a Transcendent, a license to freely enter and exit A-rank dungeons…"
"Ah… We'll review that promptly."
I hurriedly flicked the cigarette under the table, crushed it out with my foot, and showed as much courtesy as I could manage.
I was satisfied—and the President, unlike the beginning, wore a reasonably content expression of his own.
Wasn't this what they called a win-win?
Granted, I'd won a bit more heavily.
Now, as long as the money was sufficient, it looked like I'd have a company of my own before long.