Chapter 197
Chapter 197
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Translator: penny
Chapter: 198
Chapter Title: The Mysterious JWK
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“Shall we support the students participating in this Seongmuje special training with elixirs and various recovery potions?”
“Yes, do that. Make sure to explain it well to the PR team too.”
In the office of the director at Hanseong Pharmaceuticals' headquarters.
At Han Se-yeon’s words, Team Leader Jeong nodded.
“Understood.”
“But the Seongmuje special training is tomorrow, right?”
“Yes, that’s correct.”
Han Se-yeon turned her gaze to the calendar on the table.
It had been nearly two weeks since winter break began at the Wizard Academy.
There was still plenty of time before the new semester started, but it was about time to start looking for new scholarship students along with the grants.
“How about this year’s prospective first-years? Any with potential?”
“There are always students with potential every year. This time, it’s the granddaughter of the Silver Moon House entering as top scholar.”
At Team Leader Jeong’s words, Han Se-yeon showed a slight surprised reaction.
“The Silver Moon House... you mean Seol-ah?”
“Yes, Eun Seol-ah. Do you have a personal connection with her?”
“I do. Haven’t met lately because I’ve been busy, but the Silver Moon and Hanseong Houses have been close for a long time.”
Beyond that, the Hanseong House had also provided some help with the Silver Moon House’s mysterious fever issue.
“Oh ho.”
Team Leader Jeong reacted as if he hadn’t known.
“And to think Seol-ah is already 17... amazing. She used to follow me around so well.”
Han Se-yeon briefly recalled memories, a faint smile on her lips.
But that lasted only a moment.
Her expression darkened again.
She was thinking of the mysterious fever that Eun Seol-ah had suffered from.
‘I hope it doesn’t hurt.’
She wanted to help with her knowledge, but the mysterious fever couldn’t be cured with medicine.
Because the Hanseong House’s conclusion was that illnesses involving ‘mysteries’ required the same ‘mystery’ to cure.
Han Se-yeon gave a wistful smile, thinking she should at least send a greeting soon.
“Oh, and Director.”
“Yes, go ahead.”
“With wizards focusing more on conquering towers and ruins instead of monster hunting lately, haven’t we been seeing shortages in mana stone supply?”
“That’s right. It’s even shaking the entire Hanseong Group.”
Mana stones were the energy source used in all sorts of magic tools and magitech devices.
Since they were also used in potion production, rising mana stone prices were bad news for Hanseong Pharmaceuticals.
“But recently, someone’s been dumping large quantities of mana stones on the exchange for three days straight. About 10 billion worth.”
“10 billion?”
Team Leader Jeong nodded and handed documents to Han Se-yeon.
She examined them. The name ‘JWK’ was written there.
JWK.
It felt oddly familiar.
“It’s not a formal company; it’s an individual.”
“......An individual?”
Han Se-yeon showed a slightly surprised reaction.
What method allowed an individual to supply that much mana stone?
“I’m curious about the source of these mana stones. Doesn’t seem like just hunting monsters.”
“Right. Even large guilds would struggle with that volume. We’re speculating some special method other than hunting.”
“Other companies must be very interested.”
“They’re just watching for now. It’s only been three days, so we don’t know if they can keep supplying that amount.”
“True. Let’s keep observing.”
Saying that, Han Se-yeon looked over the documents again.
JWK.
It almost looked like a name at first glance.
“Hmm.”
Someone’s name kept flickering in Han Se-yeon’s mind.
Vroom!
Humming along to the mechanical engine sound filling the space.
“Heh heh.”
Seeing the piling mana stones made him grin involuntarily.
A week since starting the mining machine.
Without proper facilities yet, he’d already earned 10 billion.
Even considering the recent mana stone shortage driving up prices, making 10 billion in such a short time was impressive.
“Ngah.”
Then Gretel’s voice came.
He looked at Gretel and pointed to the right with his finger.
“Ah, that goes over there.”
At his words, Gretel nodded and summoned wooden vines.
Vroom.
Several wooden vines rose from the ground, effortlessly lifting a massive box containing over 300kg of mana stones and moving it aside.
He marveled again at the sight.
“Wow.”
No matter how many times he saw it, it was amazing.
Gretel’s hidden talent.
Gretel had an incredible talent(?) for loading and unloading.
Weights that would require machines or super-strong reinforcement wizards, Gretel handled effortlessly with just wood summoning magic.
How far did Gretel’s rediscoveries go?
Like an onion, peeling layers endlessly. So cute.
“Good job, Gretel.”
At his praise, Gretel beamed happily.
Patting her back, he rubbed his chin and sank into thought again.
“Anyway, I should probably set up a company soon and hire some staff.”
Handling everything personally had its limits.
And he had his main job(?) of following the original story to see the world’s ending.
He couldn’t always focus on this side.
“......Should I post a job listing?”
He was pondering future plans when.
Ding ring.
The Outsider’s Blessing activated, and his smartphone message alarm rang.
[Mr. Kim Jin-woo, the item you requested is complete. - Yang Tae-min, Shin Cheol Workshop]
Yang Tae-min of Shin Cheol Workshop.
The craftsman who would first create an SS-rank weapon, and far in the future, craft Lee Seo-jun’s sword.
He had entrusted Yang Tae-min with crafting the ‘Giant Mana Crystal’ obtained as a dungeon reward into an item.
Because among craftsmen he knew—no, among all craftsmen, none surpassed Yang Tae-min’s skill.
“Gretel, I’ll be right back outside.”
“Ngah.”
He immediately shifted to Kim Jin-woo’s appearance and headed to Seoul.
Thanks to the portal gate, he arrived in under 30 minutes.
Upon reaching the location, a small factory came into view.
A shabby sign read [Shin Cheol Workshop].
“Mr. Kim Jin-woo, welcome!”
From the entrance afar, Yang Tae-min smiled and extended his hand.
“Yes, good to see you.”
Shaking hands, he followed Yang Tae-min inside the workshop.
The interior resembled a typical small factory.
Shabby, with poor facilities.
“Haha, it’s pretty rundown, right? And yet you entrusted such precious materials to me. Truly grateful. Haha.”
“No problem. No matter how good the facilities, a craftsman’s skill is what matters.”
At his words, Yang Tae-min gave him a strange look.
“You talk like you’ve seen my work.”
“I did some basic research. Top scholar admission to the workshop academy...”
“Top scholar admission... yes, that’s true. But I got expelled and didn’t graduate.”
Yang Tae-min muttered in a voice mixed with embarrassment.
Since he didn’t know Yang Tae-min’s personal story well, he decided to stay quiet.
Not that curious anyway.
“Here’s the item you commissioned.”
Yang Tae-min handed him a necklace embedded with a blue gem.
[Superior Mana Crystal Pendant (A)]
Classification: Necklace
Description: Stores mana.
[Passive Effect]
> Flowing Mana Crystal
Mana regeneration speed increased by 80%.
[Active Effect]
> Mana Storage
Can store mana in the crystal. Stored mana can be used anytime desired.
Durability: A
“Oh...... this is really good.”
It exceeded expectations.
High durability, and even a mana recovery effect he hadn’t anticipated.
“I haven’t even shown you the quality certificate yet...”
“Ah, I meant it looks great at a glance.”
Yang Tae-min looked at him oddly, nodded, and handed over the quality certificate.
As expected, the effects matched what the Outsider’s Blessing showed.
“As you see, it can hold mana equivalent to an average B-Grade wizard. Plus, I used the flowing mana in the crystal for the recovery effect.”
“Impressive. Good choice entrusting it. You could’ve charged more.”
“No way! I’m grateful just for the commission. Haha.”
He gave Yang Tae-min a light smile and infused mana into the pendant’s central gem.
Vrrrr......
The gem’s pale blue light gradually deepened.
“......Done?”
He turned the blue gem this way and that. Feeling the faint mana, he knew it was properly charged.
“Amazing.”
So much mana in this small gem.
With just ten of these, he’d never run out of mana in any battle.
He was marveling at the gem’s storage capacity when.
By chance, his eyes met Yang Tae-min’s.
Yang Tae-min still wore a pleased smile.
“Mana stone prices have risen a lot lately. Must be tough.”
“Haha, yes. Especially crafting requires tons of mana stones. It’s killing me these days.”
Yang Tae-min’s smile faded as he complained.
“......I might be able to help with that.”
“Huh?”
“Want to go into business together?”
January 2033.
Despite the new year beginning, news and the internet were filled with articles about the coldest cold wave on record.
Choi Seo-yoon, trembling in the biting cold for the Seongmuje special training, slowly made her way to the Wizard Academy’s main gate, hugging herself.
“It’s Choi Seo-yoon.”
“Seo-yoon!”
Upon reaching the gate, familiar faces greeted her warmly.
They were all her classmates participating in today’s Seongmuje special training.
“Hey, everyone.”
“Ugh, Seo-yoon, it’s freezing today, right?”
“Yeah, insanely cold.”
Choi Seo-yoon briefly returned their greetings and looked around.
“The seniors haven’t arrived yet?”
“Yeah, still about 15 minutes till the appointed time.”
Choi Seo-yoon nodded.
As she scanned the surroundings, she spotted a few unfamiliar faces.
Judging by their youthful looks, they were the incoming prospective first-years.
Having only seniors before, now having juniors felt novel.
Then, one of her classmates poked her shoulder.
“Hm? What?”
“Look at that lone prospective first-year over there.”
Her classmate pointed somewhere. Choi Seo-yoon followed with her eyes.
At the end of the finger was a silver-haired girl standing alone, exuding a lofty aura.
“Wow......”
The moment she saw the silver-haired girl, Choi Seo-yoon let out an involuntary gasp of admiration.
Her silver hair, lightly shimmering with sunlight, was stunningly beautiful.
Not just that. It wasn’t merely pretty silver hair; it suited her pale skin perfectly, and her doll-like face was gorgeous too.
“......Who is she?”
“The top scholar this year.”
“Really? Wow.”
Choi Seo-yoon gazed at the silver-haired girl with curious eyes.
Sensing her gaze, the girl looked up, met her eyes.
Then, with an ‘Ah,’ she averted her gaze and bowed her head deeply.
‘She’s really shy.’
Choi Seo-yoon found her endearing.
And being sociable, Choi Seo-yoon wanted to befriend her.
Smiling, she approached the silver-haired girl.
“Hello. Are you one of the new students?”
“Ah, y-yes!”
The silver-haired girl stuttered, flustered by the sudden greeting.
Then, embarrassed, she bowed her head again before peeking up at Choi Seo-yoon.
“Um, Senior Choi Seo-yoon?”
“You know me?”
At Choi Seo-yoon’s words, Eun Seol-ah’s eyes sparkled.
“I’ve seen you in articles and videos.”
“Aha. What’s your name?”
“Ah! I’m Eun Seol-ah. Feel free to speak casually.”
Having chattered excitedly, she felt shy again and bowed her head deeply.
Choi Seo-yoon watched her and smiled softly.
“Got it. Ask me anytime if you don’t know something about the school!”
“Ah! Yes!”
And so, Choi Seo-yoon chatted lightly with Eun Seol-ah. About the cold, if silver hair was natural.
What’s your specialty magic, etc.—casual chit-chat.
About 10 minutes passed.
Choi Seo-yoon and Eun Seol-ah had grown close, and Eun Seol-ah no longer acted shy around her.
Then, Choi Seo-yoon spotted a familiar male face approaching from afar.
Dressed warmly, yet his calm face showed no sign of feeling the extreme cold.
Excited, Choi Seo-yoon waved at him.
“Sen......”
“Senior! Hello!”
At that moment, Eun Seol-ah beside her dashed forward toward Kim Sun-woo first.
The Regressed Extra Becomes a Genius