The Break Room Awakening

"Fuck... you bastard... ngh... you... tricked me... haaah."

"Hah... hah... Are you seriously cursing out the CEO right now?"

"Yeah... ngh... you said you'd... awaken me... and then... haaah! Th-there..."

The second Lee Sanghie decided she'd been deceived, her true nature came pouring out. She spat curses, but she made no attempt to escape. This girl was one hundred percent enjoying herself. For someone this hungry for a man, she sure put on a show of playing coy.

You little pervert. Go on and savor that cock.

"Hah... hah. For someone who got tricked, you seem to be feeling it pretty hard."

"Nngh... you fucking pervert!! Haaah. Th-there feels so... hyaaah—!!"

The break room filled with wet, squelching sounds. Her moans grew loud enough that I started worrying they'd leak outside. But the pleasure shooting up from my lower half made it impossible to stop the snap of my hips.

"Hah, hah... You've done this with other guys at the company too, haven't you? Hah..."

"No... I... never... nnngh."

"Spit it out already! Ugh!"

I drove into her harder, slamming against the mouth of her womb. Sound cracked not just from inside her, but every time her ass met ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠my body. Her flesh rippled as if my hips were beating her.

The weather was getting hotter by the day; in no time my whole body was slick with sweat.

"Nngh... nn... too... hard. I've never... haaah... wow... I'm already—comingggg!"

And then, finally—

"Ugh!"

"Hyaaaaah!! Y-you came inside... nngh... it's so hot, it keeps..."

I filled her completely. Exhausted, Lee Sanghie slumped over the table, upper body braced against it, gasping for air. I leaned over her the same way, both of us panting for a long while.

"Y-you're heavy. Move already."

"Ahem... s-sorry."

She snapped back to reality in an instant. Fast recovery. A cold wind was already blowing through her tone and expression, as if none of it had ever happened.

"I was really... looking forward to it... I genuinely thought I was going to become an Awoken..."

"You enjoyed yourself plenty, didn't you? You were clamping down hard."

"Ugh, whatever! You're taking responsibility now."

"Excuse me? Responsibility for what?"

"I didn't become an Awoken, but you're the CEO, so you can at least take me on, right? I'm good at office work. Consider it punishment for lying."

"Ah... is that all..."

I'd thought she was about to blackmail me. A demand that mild was cute enough to accept. She'd given her body after being deceived—she had every right to ask for something.

Wait. She hadn't been deceived. The part afterward was the lie; the promise to awaken her had been real.

My reason for lying hadn't been complicated. I'd just wanted to see her true nature surface. I don't claim to be a morally perfect man, but ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠I had zero intention of awakening garbage. So I'd tested her. She had a healthy amount of ambition, sure—but she didn't seem like trash.

"Sanghie, come here."

"Why... are you going again? Was it that good?"

"No. Just come here. I've got a reward for you."

Grumbling, she finally stepped closer. Her pride looked as sharp as her face and figure, but that kind of pride only worked among ordinary people. In front of a Transcendent—and the company CEO—pushing back only cost her.

I took the wet wipe from her hand and gently wiped the cum still dripping from her pussy. That kind of thing needed to be cleaned properly.

"Nngh..."

"Feeling it again?"

"N-no, I'm not."

Synchronization Rate: 11 percent. An awkwardly modest climb. She'd enjoyed herself, but as a first meeting it hadn't reached emotional connection. Still, eleven points was more than enough to awaken her.

I bestowed a miracle worth a fortune upon her.

"G-gently... that hurts... wait—!?"

"YES..."

"Hyaaah—! M-my body is... suddenly... khah... so hot..."

A far more violent reaction than when I'd awakened Senior An. Individual differences, maybe? Or was she just being dramatic? Either way, she was becoming an Awoken right now.

Scorching heat poured into the hand still resting against the pussy I'd been wiping. Before, I'd flinched back in fear; feeling it up close was even more intense. Her body, which had been boiling like a kettle, gradually cooled, and before long an Awoken's physique was complete.

Potential 5. A thoroughly ordinary Awoken. Type: the most common swordswoman. Still, she had the raw material to grow as strong as Hong Eunyoung someday. Getting her there would mean a lot more sex to raise the Synchronization Rate, though, and that sounded like a hassle. For now I'd bump her to about E-10 next time and use her as a pack mule. Depending on how she performed, I could always give her another shot later.

The ones I intended to raise properly all had Potential 7 or higher. If I tried to cultivate every random person who came along, my lower back wouldn't survive.

A little harsh to say to someone who'd just become an Awoken, but it couldn't be helped.

"Congratulations, Sanghie."

"Hah... hah... m-my body..."

"This is my ability. How does it feel? From your new CEO."

"...The... the best... our CEO..."

"S-Sanghie! Hey!"

Light suddenly burst from her entire body, and she crumpled. She was still breathing. Just a faint. Hong Eunyoung had mentioned it—people often passed out during awakening. Had that light show been her mana erupting?

What a pain... If she sprawls out like this, what am I supposed to do?

"Haa..."

I let out a long sigh and started dressing her piece by piece. I managed to get the rest of her clothes on, but the stockings were hopeless. I stuffed them into my pocket for now.

How long was this woman planning to stay out, anyway? She wasn't going to sleep for days like Kim Isol, was she?

I pushed two break-room tables together into a makeshift bed. Surely a fainting woman wouldn't thrash in her sleep hard enough to roll off. She was an Awoken now—a fall from this height wouldn't hurt her.

Ugh... what a hassle. I had no choice but to call for help, and I ordered the woman I could summon most easily to get over here immediately. For this kind of cleanup, it was always Hong Eunyoung.

Except the ones who arrived were three: Senior An and Kim Hyunjoo as well. Their sharp stares felt like they were drilling holes through my body.

"...Haa."

Senior An just sighed without a word.

"You really do the most, don't you."

Hong Eunyoung was mouthing off again, but with Senior An and Hyunjoo present I had to hold back. Later I'd spank her until her ass turned bright red.

"So the rumors about you being a pervert weren't just rumors. In that short a time, of all things..."

Don't look at me like that, Hyunjoo. Once you see Sanghie as an Awoken, you'll want me just as badly.

The three women figured out in seconds what had happened between me and the unconscious Lee Sanghie. The whole break room must have reeked of sex. And yet I was the only one catching hell for it. Maybe I should have fainted in her place...

While the three of them were still glaring at me, the Awoken who'd been part of Shinbaram Corporation's dungeon expedition division started filtering in one by one. I had no choice but to spread cardboard boxes across the break-room floor and lay Lee Sanghie on top of them. Hong Eunyoung cast a Heal once, and we left the unconscious woman where she was and headed for the conference room. The break room was temporarily sealed off so no one could approach.

And then the afternoon meeting began.

"What did you just say!? Why!?"

"Who exactly do you think you're raising your voice at?"

I looked down on the male Awoken the way you look at something stuck to your shoe, working off the stress from earlier.

"I-I'm sorry. I-I just spoke without thinking... b-but suddenly telling us to go find other companies..."

"He's right. Even if a Transcendent has become our CEO, this is a bit much."

"Can I stay with the company?"

"Yes. Kang Mira, you'll continue working with me. Stick close to my side... ah!?"

Senior An pinched my side. Auto Shield kept it from hurting, but I still lost 0.1 percent energy. How hard had she pinched me? Were you trying to tear the flesh off, Senior...?

"Ahem... Anyway, the male Awoken among you should look for companies you want. If nothing particular comes to mind, I can look into options for you myself."

I intended to keep every female Awoken. The ones short on mana, ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠I'd raise. The ones short on Potential, I'd convert into Supporters. The male Awoken, on the other hand—Potential be damned, current strength be damned—all of them had to go.

The problem was that D-rank... and especially C-rank team Awoken came with enormous signing bonuses and even more enormous penalty fees. I didn't have the cash to pay all of that out right now. So my proposal was simple: go shop yourselves around.

This industry didn't have transfer fees the way pro sports did, but there was a way to offset the penalties—contract succession. Transfer the contracts they'd signed with Shinbaram straight over to another company. From the receiving company's perspective, they only had to honor the existing terms and wouldn't waste money on a new signing bonus. As a bonus, they'd secure mid-tier Awoken they'd otherwise struggled to recruit. We wouldn't have to pay termination penalties for the people we let go. How beautifully happy a solution was that?

"We're shifting our focus to A-rank dungeons from now on. You're not up to that. Digging in your heels won't change anything."

"But..."

"......"

Even if I wanted to take them into A-rank dungeons, I couldn't. Their mana wasn't enough. Too dangerous. From my perspective, they'd only get in the way.

"Or would you rather work as Supporters? Naturally your incentive rates would drop dramatically. You could handle equipment transport full-time, though..."

"Kh..."

They must have had plenty they wanted to say, but every one of them just clenched their teeth. I was a Transcendent—what were they going to do about it? Even the ones who swaggered around on ordinary days went quiet in front of overwhelming power. That was how this industry worked.

"Those of you who already have a company in mind, I'll send you off as is. Those who don't, I'll set ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠the board for you. You might even negotiate a higher incentive rate when you move. Look on the bright side."

In the end, they agreed to do as I said. With my attitude this firm, clinging wouldn't help them. Following orders was better for their health. If they dug in and refused to leave, the company simply wouldn't put them on dungeon expeditions—and then they'd only receive the base salary written in their contracts. Not a small sum, but to an Awoken it was toilet paper. Over ninety percent of the money they'd been making came from incentives on selling loot. Better to go elsewhere and earn a hundred million than sit around collecting a base salary that might or might not hit ten million.

"All right! From this point on, our female Awoken will each have a private one-on-one interview with me."

"You—don't tell me you're about to—"

"Senior, Hong Eunyoung—please look after Lee Sanghie for me. I'm busy..."

I was going to catch looks like this a lot from now on. I'd have to get used to it. You had to be shameless if you wanted to live out your romance.

I sent everyone out and closed the blinds. Inside the conference room, I received the female Awoken one by one. I brushed their hands, massaged their shoulders, stroked their hair, building rapport—and while I was at it, I checked every one of their Potentials.

"You have wonderful qualities."

"C-CEO-nim... that tickles."

"Ah-ah. I'm doing all of this for your sake."

"Aing..."

"Do you know other people pay five hundred million, a billion, and still can't get this?"

"But still..."

"This is only the beginning. Relax... relax..."

"CEO-nim, your face is... creepy!"

Heh heh heh. At last, the harem I'd dreamed of was beginning.

"C-CEO-niiim... the sound is going to leak completely outside..."

"I prepared for that."

I rummaged through my pocket.

"S-stockings?"

"Ah, why did those come out."

"CEO-nim, you pervert..."

"No—this is what I meant."

I activated the anti-eavesdropping device Ananna had given me.

"With this, not a single sound will escape."

It blocked wiretaps; it ought to block every other kind of sound too.

"Haaah... does this really raise my mana?"

"Of course. Trust your CEO."

From here on out, this was my world.