The Labyrinth Bid

Shinbaram Corporation’s Labyrinth Hotel.

Given that dungeon item auctions formed their core business, everything from the hotel’s name to its décor dripped with mystery.

Today the public bidding for the Dungeon Expedition Division they owned would take place right here.

“Wow… there are so many fascinating things. Look at that hanging on the wall. That’s a Mana Mirror from the Nazca Ruins. To hang something that expensive right out in the hotel lobby. Ah, really, where are you even looking?”

“So who told you to wear something cut that low?”

“I’m coming to a place like this—of course I have to dress up.”

“And yet someone like that didn’t even bother shaving down there… mmmph…”

“Please! Are you seriously planning to torment me even here?”

“What kind of place is this supposed to be? Just think of it as a shop a customer walked into to buy something. Or since we went to the trouble of coming to a hotel, shall we head upstairs together?”

“…After work’s finished. You said you’d give me a reward.”

I had arrived with Hong Eunyoung in a sexy party dress.

She was less my secretary than a CEO in all but name. She handled far more work than I did. I played the role of the exacting founding chairman, constantly nitpicking. A slightly perverted old man, you could say.

Senior Ahn had left on her trip, and I had been celibate for the past week. Maybe that was why, these last few days, my head had been full of nothing else.

“You’ve arrived, Transcendent Kang Junghyeok.”

“Ah, welcome. Thanks to you I’ve made it this far. Nayeon’s father.”

“I’m Lee Sangsoo.”

“Of course I know. Nayeon’s father.”

The man assisting with the corporate acquisition had also arrived. He seemed displeased that I kept bringing up his daughter’s name and asked to be addressed by his own. I stuck with “Nayeon’s father” anyway. It made it far easier to work him however I liked.

One hour remained until the public bidding. The headache-inducing documents would be handled by the person beside me. My job was to identify the competitors and eliminate them in advance. So I had entered the hotel conference hall early.

Let’s see who showed up.

The preferred negotiation targets selected were three companies. I was an individual, but I had set up a temporary corporation and, with government influence behind me, managed to get onto the list. Shinbaram had not disclosed the ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠three companies—including me—until today. I didn’t know the reason, but there was nothing good about word getting out that I was participating in the bid, so I had kept quiet.

They were probably afraid that if the pervert took them over, the employees would revolt. Public opinion about me was growing uglier by the day. A fool who carelessly froze the ocean, a pervert bastard who ought to die to a monster—every curse imaginable was flung at me online. Who would be happy about a guy who got raked over the coals on the internet becoming their company president? If it went public, there would probably be opposition campaigns. Of course there were voices defending me on the other side, but those never caught my eye. Those comments were few anyway.

So we had proceeded in secret until today.

“Oh, Transcendent…”

“It’s Kang Junghyeok! Why is Kang Junghyeok here?”

Quite a few people were visible, including some reporters. The industry had been noisy lately. After the government policy announcement, articles about small-company mergers and acquisitions poured out every day. But among them, this one drew the most attention. Shinbaram Corporation’s fame played a part, and they were pouring money into advertising—trying to squeeze every last coin out of what they were selling. Of course, as a publicly traded company, the whole thing started from the desire to drive up the stock price.

The moment I entered, a barrage of flashes exploded, and people everywhere recognized me and raised their voices.

“Why is Transcendent Kang Junghyeok here?”

“Why is that pervert Kang Junghyeok showing up at a place like this? Who invited him?”

Some were chatting with hands behind their backs from a distance.

“Hello. I’m Reporter Jeong from Gate Daily. I’ve tried every route and still couldn’t get through. Would an interview be possible?”

“I’m Reporter Park from Today’s Dungeon. What’s your purpose in coming here today? Can we know which company you’re affiliated with? I heard you graduated from the Academy in the shortest time recently. How do you feel about that?”

“I’m Reporter Kim from Gate Today. You’re being called a pervert all over the internet. Do you have any intention of explaining yourself?”

The reporters were exercising their professional instincts. These annoying bastards. I wanted to shout Get lost if you don’t want to die! but that would only backfire on my current image.

Fuck…

“I’ll do an interview soon. I came for a different purpose today. There’s something I want to buy.”

As expected of reporters—they were quick on the uptake. Everyone knew what I was trying to buy and was already busy contacting people left and right. Within minutes, articles with my three-character name would start flooding the internet.

“Then I’m busy, so I’ll be going. Once I buy what I’m buying today, I’ll hold a press conference soon. Save the questions you want for then.”

What mattered right now wasn’t managing my image in front of reporters. I needed to identify the other two preferred negotiation targets and get ahead of them first. Fail that, and I would have to compete—and the purchase price would naturally climb. That was what Shinbaram wanted, but my ammunition had limits.

72 billion won.

If it went over that, the plan I had been preparing for so long would collapse. According to the calculations of the man named Lee Sangsoo—Nayeon’s father—the value of Shinbaram’s Dungeon Expedition Division sat at roughly 110 billion. Other participating companies would almost certainly judge it similarly, with only minor differences. They must have prepared at least 100 billion, right? Meaning the money I had was nowhere near enough. So preliminary under-the-table work was critical.

Even if only a week or two passed, the value would drop sharply. Seeing them rush a public sale at this timing—it was just like Shinbaram.

“……”

I scanned the faces in the conference hall, trying to confirm which companies were competing with me. Then I saw a face I knew. Of course, this was the first time seeing it in person. But I had spoken with him on the phone before.

Don’t tell me… are they planning to block my path again?

Dragon Guild.

These bastards I’d like to chew up and spit out…

The exact same face I had confirmed online. Dragon Guild’s Guild Master, Lee Jongwon. Our eyes met. He had been staring at me the entire time since I entered this place. Without avoiding that gaze, I walked straight toward him. Flashes popped dazzlingly, stinging my eyes. Mindful of the reporters watching, I opened my mouth lightly so as not to show emotion.

“What’s this? Don’t tell me Dragon Guild was also a preferred negotiation target? Except for the first week, you cut off all sponsorship completely—and this is disappointing? Though I’ll put the six billion I already received to good use.”

“Mr. Kang Junghyeok…”

Lee Jongwon looked at me with narrowed eyes. Sparks seemed ready to fly from his pupils. He wasn’t showing it openly, but he was clearly furious.

What. Is he trying to get revenge for Ahn Jihyun or something? She ended up leaving fully satisfied. I even raised her magic by one rank. Is he her boyfriend or something? If so, he should have stopped her from attempting something like kidnapping from the start. How dare he, without fear, against whom.

“Nice to meet you.”

I smiled and held out my hand. Want to shake? Scared? Afraid your mana will disappear.

“Thank you for safely returning Jihyun.”

Huh? Unexpectedly, he lightly took my hand. Of course. He was wearing gloves. Ones that looked like A-rank mana-coated gloves at that.

“You’re thoroughly prepared. Did you know I would come here?”

“…You’re a Transcendent. And one who uses the same skill as our Vice Representative.”

“Wow, how did you know that? As expected of Dragon Guild. Amazing information network. Is Ms. Ahn Jihyun doing well? Didn’t she say she misses me?”

At my sarcasm, a vein on his forehead twitched once. Lee Jongwon, much shorter than me, looked straight up at me and left a solemn line.

“Without using cowardly methods, I will torment you. Legally.”

This guy seemed thoroughly pissed off. Ahn Jihyun had never said she had a boyfriend… well, I hadn’t been curious and hadn’t asked either. The only information I had heard about this guy from her was that he was a Transcendent. Dragon Guild with two Transcendents not publicly revealed. Are all the top companies in South Korea like this? Then how many Transcendents are there in total?

“Are you Ms. Ahn Jihyun’s boyfriend? What on earth did you hear from her to get this angry?”

“I’m not angry. It’s just that seeing the great Mr. Kang Junghyeok set his eyes on something, I suddenly want it very much. If you’re eyeing what’s mine, then can’t I do the same?”

What the hell did Ahn Jihyun tell this guy? Did she run off and snitch about getting fucked by me? She didn’t seem like that type.

“So you’re saying that even though you don’t need it, you participated in this bid just to screw me over?”

“I didn’t go that far. Don’t get ahead of yourself. We plan to select only some Awoken who show talent and resell.”

“Then won’t the remaining employees’ backlash be big?”

“So what. From Shinbaram shareholders’ perspective, selling as expensively as possible is enough. So we’ve prepared generously.”

Lee Jongwon, who had seemed angry throughout, showed a sneering smile for the first time.

This is bad. I only have 72 billion. This bastard definitely knows my financial situation… did you think I’d flinch? You stupid bastard. If you tip off so clearly in front of me what you cherish, what am I supposed to do.

I immediately called Ahn Jihyun. Right under Lee Jongwon’s nose.

Lee Jongwon was eavesdropping on the call. He must have used mana to enhance his hearing further. Manage your expression, you bastard. Your insides are completely visible. You didn’t tell Ahn Jihyun about this bid matter, huh?

There are people who try to kill with their eyes. Right in front of me now. His face was flushed red enough to notice at a glance, and his bloodshot eyes—as if about to tear up—were even terrifying. His complexion was gradually turning blue.

“Kh… this cowardly…”

On the other hand, seeing that, I became very calm. I regained my composure. From the moment he exposed a weakness to me, he could never beat me. Of course, from the start I had never thought I was inferior in physical strength or abilities in even one aspect. From now on, look at your opponent before charging, you bastard.

“Hey, Mr. Lee Jongwon.”

Provoking further here was forbidden. If I did, he might charge in without regard for anything, so I decided to quietly soothe him. If an incident happened in a place like this, even if I were the victim, I would end up getting cursed. I needed to avoid that as much as possible now. I had to shed the pervert title quickly too.

I brought my face close to him and whispered in his ear.

“If you want me to never touch Ahn Jihyun again, stay quiet. In the first ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠place, the ones who tried kidnapping first were you guys, right? Aren’t I right? Consider it punishment and reflect. Then that Ahn Jihyun you think of so affectionately—I won’t lay a finger on her from now on.”

“……”

Of course, even though I said that, I would use Ahn Jihyun many times going forward. As long as she remained head of the Awakened Community. But sex was fine not to do anymore. How many women were lined up now? I had already had all the fun and even hit 100% synchronization rate.

I patted the shoulder of Lee Jongwon, who stood without answering, only cold sweat flowing, and said,

“Haha, thank you for yielding this. As expected of a large corporation, your generosity is huge! I’ll work hard too and try to grow into a large corporation like Dragon Guild once.”

“……”

The reporters were far away, so they couldn’t have heard the conversation between Lee Jongwon and me. They would just keep popping camera flashes like now. And if the story leaked, the ones in trouble wouldn’t be me but Lee Jongwon and Dragon Guild. If problems arose, they would handle the cleanup well themselves.

Leaving Lee Jongwon, who was still pale and motionless, I moved to find another company. Now I just needed to deal with one more place somehow. Then I would become the sole negotiator for this deal. And how to coax that one remaining opponent was already calculated in my head.

But.

But of all things, that one remaining competing company was far too different from my expectations. The scenario in my head was ruined.

How could this be.

What should I do about this?

“Hi, nice to meet you.”

“Ha… hi…”

The remaining one happened not to be a domestic company.