Labor Force Increases When You Come to Another World

Thud. Thud. Thud.

Sunghyun dropped thick stacks of paper onto the table.

Nakamoto swallowed hard as he stared at the piles.

What the hell is all that?

What was written on those pages?

"All right, everyone. We've got work."

Sunghyun smiled.

"Take a look at the first page."

The lawyers examined the first page of the papers Sunghyun had handed out.

An account was listed there.

"Sunghyun-nim, what on earth is this…?"

"The explanation's on the next page. Read it carefully."

After that, the only sound was the quiet turning of pages.

Within a few minutes, the lawyers lifted their heads.

"Understood. So we need to draft a strategy for earning these coins."

The lawyers would review the materials and submit reports; Sunghyun would inspect those reports and make the final call.

It was the same workflow SH Group had always used.

Familiar with the process, the lawyers' eyes lit up.

This work truly suited them.

Nakamoto and the lawyers loosened their ties, settled into their seats, and began carefully combing through Sunghyun's materials.

They fidgeted, glancing sideways — clearly needing something to write with.

"Notebooks and pens are right here."

He had specially ordered products sold on Earth.

The lawyers found Earth's goods a little awkward to handle in another world. But considering Sunghyun's abilities, it wasn't particularly surprising.

The most important part of getting work done was division of labor.

The lawyers quickly scanned the materials and assigned roles among themselves — filtering dummy information, figuring out how to use Sunghyun's coins most efficiently, planning the process for earning the next batch of coins.

Every one of those tasks needed someone responsible for it.

This was not going to wrap up in an instant.

"I'd like it finished by tomorrow. Think you can manage?"

Nakamoto pushed up the glasses he was wearing.

"We'll have the full review completed and delivered by the end of today."

When it came to getting work done, every one of them was known for excellence — so it wasn't empty talk.

"Good. Appreciate it."

With mana flowing through them and their physical abilities improved, the office workers' efficiency had climbed even higher.

As a CEO, he was laughing all the way to the bank.

Free labor, free labor.

Ah — wait, they're not engineers, so that meme doesn't quite fit.

"Anyway. This is good. Really good."

Armin tugged at Sunghyun's collar.

"Sunghyun-nim, Sunghyun-nim — is Korea a country full of nothing but monsters?"

What was she talking about?

A web novel dangled from Armin's left hand.

"Ah, that's from a web novel. Those are all fi—"

Then a thought struck him.

Wait a second… wasn't that in Earth's description?

Earth received coins from the gods of other dimensions by serving as a medium for Hero summoning.

It wasn't just cultural products that earned them coins.

"Whoa, hold on — does that mean some of the stuff in those novels might not actually be fake?"

Now that was genuinely interesting.

I should look into that later. The protagonists I used to read about might have been right next to me?

That's actually…

"That's awesome. Armin! When we head back to our dimension later, want to go treasure hunting?"

"Treasure hunting? Aha… I'd like that."

Armin wore the same sly smile as Sunghyun.

They say people who love each other start to look alike…

"So what do we do in the meantime?"

Ah, right.

"Armin, let's head to the training grounds."

Armin tilted her head, but Sunghyun only smiled.

"Just come. You'll see when we get there."

By the time they arrived at the training grounds, dusk was settling in — unlike earlier.

"Let's go to the center. We need space."

Perhaps because it overlapped with evening hours, the training grounds were empty.

Armin and Sunghyun faced each other in the middle.

"Sunghyun-nim, what did you bring us here for?"

"That technique you used back then — do it again."

He meant the Naturalization she had used when protecting him.

"Yes."

Crackle— Whooosh.

Lightning and flame refused to merge, interfering with each other instead.

"Not working, is it?"

Armin nodded, breathing hard.

"Back then, you definitely heard my voice. In that state of extreme focus, the teaching I gave you must have reached you."

"That's right. I've been trying to find that sensation again, but right now I feel nothing."

"Yeah, that makes sense. What you pulled off then was only a half-success — you forced it through by exploding your emotions."

Watch closely.

Sunghyun ignited a flame with his Fire skill, which no longer grew any further.

"Fire is destructive, but it also has the nature of warmly embracing something."

Crackle—

"Lightning is free — unpredictable, never knowing where it'll go. The most important thing is that freedom."

Fire embraces freedom, and lightning accepts fire's embrace on the foundation of that freedom.

"Combine the two like this."

A luminous fire-lightning appeared before Armin's eyes.

It was utterly different from what she had made — far too beautiful.

"See?"

"But Sunghyun-nim… the fire you used looked like ordinary fire. How does it wrap around your lightning?"

"Good question."

"All right, student! Here's your first assignment. Figure out how the fire I made can merge with lightning. You're allowed to touch it."

"Touch it?"

Armin reached her hand toward Sunghyun's fire-lightning.

Contrary to her expectations, all she felt was warmth.

Through that fire, Armin understood.

"Ah."

The natures of lightning and fire were identical.

"Finally figured it out? Why do you think I stopped using flame as my lightning grew?"

"Because the firepower wasn't coming out…"

Correct.

"So if you just make the two powers equal, do they mix?"

"No. What I felt when I touched it wasn't that."

"Then?"

"The lightning also felt warm, like fire. As if the two had been one from the very beginning…"

Armin's instincts really are sharp. She's a joy to teach.

"I use black lightning, right? Could that mix into this?"

Armin shook her head.

"Right. It can't."

"Why do you think that is?"

"The directions they aim for seem different."

That was also correct.

"Then the last question. Why do you think you can't combine fire and lightning right now?"

Armin's eyes went wide.

"Ah!"

Flames surged from Armin's body.

At the same time, lightning swallowed those flames, and the two collided as if trying to devour each other.

"What do you need to do here?"

"What I need to do…"

Make their mental images identical.

In Sunghyun's case, the lightning had adjusted itself to the fire.

In Armin's case, the fire had adjusted itself to the lightning.

In short —

the fire had taken on lightning's destructive power and freedom.

Armin's eyes deepened into a rich orange.

Drawn by the heat, people began gathering at the training grounds one by one.

Armin closed her eyes for a moment.

The fire that embodied freedom gradually became lightning.

At the instant when it was no longer possible to ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠tell whether it was lightning or fire —

Armin's eyes snapped open.

The fused form of fire and lightning composed her body.

She had succeeded at Naturalization.

And she had done it of her own will, without any emotional outburst.

It was perfect.

The people watching let out gasps of admiration.

The flames moved like lightning.

Crackle-crackle-crackle—

Sunghyun clapped at the sight.

"Good. Well done. Then how about a spar? Your body's itching for a fight right now, isn't it?"

Armin gave a small nod.

"I won't hold back."

If the opponent was Sunghyun, there was no need to go easy.

Crackle-crackle—

Armin shot toward Sunghyun as a single line of light.

No — she moved in front of him as if she had always been standing there.

The moment she threw a punch —

Sunghyun's form vanished like a mirage.

Crack—

The quiet sound of lightning.

A combination of mental images born from the insight of the previous battle.

This time he used a different combination.

Unity and Separation.

The world is me, and I am the world.

Sunghyun's form dazzled Armin's eyes.

Front, back, side — close in from the front and he was behind her.

She couldn't keep up at all.

If I can't catch him, I'll attack every direction!

"Hyaaaaah!"

Armin roared and fired fire-lightning in every direction.

The moment Sunghyun's trait evolved and Thunder Purification [S+] was born —

he had realized something.

What he lacked in wielding lightning now was only his own imagination and individuality.

What an S-rank meant even among the gods' shops.

That it was a special tier even to them.

Thoth's Book at SS+-rank was, strictly speaking, the entirety of a single god.

SS+ was a god's very identity; the tier two steps below that — S+ — was originally a power never meant to be bestowed upon humans.

At Sunghyun's gesture —

the fire-lightning moved.

KWAOOOO—

Armin made a ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠deflated sound at the sight.

"Haha… that's cheating. How are you even supposed to…"

Sunghyun clenched his fist, and the gathered fire-lightning crashed down toward Armin.

Armin gathered every scrap of mana into her body and blocked the lightning.

In doing so, all her mana was exhausted.

In the end —

Thud—

"I lost. And thoroughly, at that."

Sunghyun held out his hand.

"That's because your opponent was me. At your current level, you could probably wipe out those lizards from back then without much trouble."

She had grown stronger than that blue dragon whose name he couldn't even remember.

In just a few days.

So —

"You should actually be proud."

At those words, Armin licked her lips.

"Then give me a reward."

"A reward? What kind?"

"Come a little closer."

Sunghyun leaned forward.

In that instant, Armin grabbed his collar and pulled.

Smack—

"Huh?"

Armin's soft lips pressed against Sunghyun's cheek.

"Marking."

Armin wore a mischievous expression and stretched out her arms.

"Carry me. I can't put any strength in my body. Wonder whose fault that is."

The moment Sunghyun scooped Armin up —

"Heh-heh! Heh-heh-heh!"

A middle-aged man's laugh rang out.

Euclid.

He had come because an enormous clash of mana had erupted at the training grounds, and what did he find?

What was this?

His daughter had perfectly succeeded at Naturalization. That Kim Sunghyun over there was using techniques Euclid couldn't even begin to comprehend.

Up to that point, fine!

He was a god's disciple, after all!

But he would never give away his daughter — not even if dirt filled his eyes!

"Hm?"

The moment Sunghyun's eyes slowly settled on Euclid —

Euclid's ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠resolve crumbled to dust.

Ahem! My son-in-law is quite the strapping fellow. Yes, indeed.

Euclid had originally intended to deliver a sharp word or two.

But crushed by Sunghyun's presence, all he could do was laugh.

"Truly a splendid spectacle. I never imagined Sunghyun-nim's power was at this level…"

Euclid's gaze lingered on Hayato and the knight commander, who stood at the edge of the training grounds with their mouths hanging open.

"It seems this level of power is still premature for them."

Sunghyun had gotten a little carried away with Armin's growth himself, so he had nothing to say.

Just as he was about to glance at the empty air for a moment —

"Boss!"

Right on cue, Nakamoto came running at full speed.

"What is it?"

"Here's the report. It's finished."

Perfect timing.

"Haha — well then, Father-in-law, we've got work to do, so we'll head in first."

Sunghyun ran off with Armin held in his arms like a princess.

Euclid watched them go, swallowing back tears.

"Ha……"

A figure that had been watching Sunghyun and Armin's spar rose to its feet.

"Well, I'll be…… This is a problem."

The thing in human form slipped into the darkness.

"So that's the Demon King's army? Peculiar."

It still had no idea it had already been noticed by Sunghyun.