Chapter 128: Veteran Corporation Shareholders' Meeting (1)
Translator: RaidenTL
Chapter 128: Veteran Corporation Shareholders' Meeting (1)
"Yaaawn..."
"Damn. I'm so freaking sleepy."
The Demonic Humans on guard duty at the cathedral entrance yawned deeply.
They were bored.
This place was so notorious for its traps that players never set foot here.
On top of that, with the upper floors of the Tower opening one after another, the large guilds were focusing all their strength on exploring the unidentified dungeons and labyrinths on the 4th and 5th floors.
But then.
Crackle...
Red sparks crackled in the darkness.
Someone had arrived.
And without making a single sound.
Normally, they should have paid attention to the fact that someone had bypassed all those traps in absolute silence.
However, the guards, who had been spending weeks in tedious monotony, completely overlooked that fact.
"Ho. We have a guest for once."
"Come out right now! It's useless trying to hide your mana, we can find you anyway!"
Shring! Clank!
The Demonic Humans immediately drew their weapons, pointing their sharp swords forward.
"Hehe. Quite the loyal soldiers."
"More like foolish. Baring their fangs without knowing their place."
It was a woman and a man with long silver hair and crimson eyes.
Though both possessed breathtakingly beautiful appearances, the aura they exuded was so chilling it sent goosebumps down one's spine.
The man's eyebrows furrowed. Having swords pointed at them seemed to have displeased him quite a bit.
"Shall we skip the talking?"
"There's no need to explain things to underlings."
Along with his cold words, the rapier at his waist was drawn. A dark red energy rose from the blade, which was engraved with a unique pattern.
"True. If we kill enough of them, the person in charge will eventually show up."
The woman merely shrugged, making no move to stop him.
"What the hell are these bastards babbling about? Can't you see how outnumbered you are?"
"I'll cut off your arms right now and lock you in a cage like pigs!"
"Don't kill them by mistake. I want to see those two crying and begging for their lives."
Nearly twenty Demonic Humans rushed forward, spewing curses.
However.
None of the trajectories cutting through the air could reach the silver-haired man.
Instead, a flash of sword light gleamed a beat later, spraying thin streams of blood.
Thuck! Squish! Thud!
The only sound to be heard was the gruesome tearing of flesh.
With a simple act of 'thrusting,' holes the size of a child's fist were blown through the hearts of the Demonic Humans.
Every single one of them, without exception.
"Ugh... argh..."
"How..."
"Cough!"
They couldn't even see it, let alone react. The attack was just that fast and precise.
The twenty Demonic Humans collapsed to the ground one by one.
The man lightly licked the blood on his sword with the tip of his tongue. He closed his eyes gently, as if savoring its scent and flavor.
But soon, his expression distorted into a grimace.
Ptooey!
"Cheap blood, fitting for vulgar humans."
"Even these guys are better than livestock, but humans with truly delicious blood are really hard to find, isn't it?"
The two raised their voices as if they were at a food tasting.
It was right then that another voice cut in.
"How rude of us..."
Slide...
"I must apologize for serving you such a meager meal."
Hosenbelt emerged from the swaying shadows.
"Oh? Shadow teleportation...?"
"Quite useful. It seems you are the one in charge here."
His crimson pupils shook slightly in mild surprise.
For it was extremely rare to find someone who could use a teleportation skill so stealthily.
"Well, you could say that. But what brings the Nobles of the Night down to a place as low as this? I trust you two didn't come all this way just to pick a fight with us..."
Hosenbelt smiled faintly.
He didn't seem tense at all, despite knowing that his opponents belonged to one of the strongest races in the Tower.
It meant he was confident.
Yet, despite his audacity, the vampires did not show any displeasure at Hosenbelt's attitude.
Rather, as if they liked his relaxed demeanor, they dispersed the murderous intent they had built up.
A completely different response from before.
Then again, it made sense in a way.
The two members of the Blood Clan here weren't looking for lapdogs who didn't know their place; they wanted capable hunting dogs.
"I'll take it that you have no intention of fighting."
Hosenbelt also withdrew the mana he had subtly gathered.
The tense atmosphere gradually subsided.
Then, the vampires spoke.
"We are members of the Decasus Family, serving Lord Amuram."
"We came down here because a prisoner locked in the 1st-floor ruins has escaped."
They stated their purpose for coming here.
And then.
"...We heard a rumor that you are gathering sacred relics. Specifically, the sacred relic on the 11th floor."
"Ah, don't be so guarded. We have no interest in your cult's sacred relics. On the contrary, we came to propose a deal: if you help us, we will make sure you get what you want."
The two vampires promised a fitting reward.
A strange smile played on Hosenbelt's lips.
"...Now that is an interesting offer."
* * *
Ninety days had passed since the 6th floor opened, and finally, the 7th floor was unlocked.
And it was about a week after that.
[The shareholders' meeting of Veteran Corporation is scheduled to be held. All applicable employees are requested to gather beneath 'Turtle Rock' behind 'Lake of the Moon' on the 1st floor of the Tower of Trials by 14:00.]
[If you pretend not to see this, I will personally come find you. And if you dare to read and ignore this... well, you had better watch your back at night starting today. Hehe.]
A polite and courteous notice was sent out.
The recipients were those who had been enslaved with the 'Brand of the Flame Soul' or those who owed Jinhyuk a massive debt of gratitude.
Six hours later.
The announced time of 2:00 PM was finally just around the corner.
Beneath Turtle Rock behind Lake of the Moon, several men and women began to gather one by one.
Jinhyuk, who had arrived early and was waiting, welcomed them with open arms.
"Everyone, thank you for arriving on time. Thanks to you, I was spared the trouble of tracking you down individually!"
He had planned to give them a fitting punishment if they were even a second late.
Unfortunately, everyone kept to the schedule perfectly.
What a shame.
He had thought up some truly exquisite punishments that would make them wish they were dead, but now he couldn't use them.
"How are there so many slaves? Just what on earth have you been doing all this time..."
Melena, who stood at the very front, let out a sigh.
Although she was also one of the notorious Demonic Humans, she couldn't help but feel a pang of sympathy seeing how many players had fallen victim to Jinhyuk.
She scanned the surroundings with a pitiful gaze.
Men, women, young, and old.
It was quite a diverse crowd.
"Ah. You probably don't know each other very well. Let's have a brief round of introductions so you can take this opportunity to get closer."
Jinhyuk brought up a status window in front of him.
The profiles of the shareholders belonging to Veteran Corporation appeared in the air one by one.
Park Ha-na, an early employee, was excluded since she had given up climbing the Tower after the fall of the Black Crow Guild.
Ho Taesik, a low-level employee of the Awakeners Association who had helped falsify his awakening test results, was Slave No. 2... no, Shareholder No. 2.
"P-pleased to meet you. I'm Assistant Manager Ho Taesik from the Human Resources Department of the Awakeners Association."
Ho Taesik bowed with a dazed expression.
Next was... the pair of a man and a woman standing beside him.
Min Jung-woo and Lee Yu-ri, whom he had known since the National Museum of Korea, didn't have the brand engraved on them, but they had agreed to cooperate voluntarily.
Though their faces were stiff and they were breaking out in cold sweats, they hadn't been threatened.
It was entirely of their own free will. They had wanted to come here very, very eagerly.
'They really are... grateful people.'
In a bleak era like this, they were rare talents hard to find anywhere.
Since they had grown steadily in the meantime, there would surely be a suitable place to put them to use.
"Sigh. I don't know what it is about that Daedongyeojido, but you've really got us cornered."
"We even stayed up all night making the Tutankhamun mask and the chess pieces for you. Can't you please just let us go now?"
The two added their complaints.
"Of course. According to our company policy, you can resign if you wish."
"R-really?"
"I want to! I want to resign! Please let me resign, please...!"
Hmm.
Since they were pleading so desperately.
"It is possible upon death, along with a small condolence payout. So, how about it? Shall I process it for you right now?"
Jinhyuk pulled out his newly acquired Fang from his subspace inventory.
A dagger with a blade tinged in green revealed itself.
"Haha. No, no. It's hard to find a new job these days anyway. We should be grateful if you extend our retirement age."
"...M-me too. I'll work hard with company loyalty!"
"Thank you. If there are no more prospective retirees, I'll continue with the introductions. If anyone has anything they'd like to say, please feel free to speak up now."
I'm busy, so don't drag it out.
Speak up now if you have a complaint.
"..."
"..."
Naturally, no one raised a hand.
Good.
"Our third shareholder is this fellow. He is currently serving as the master of the Black Crow Guild."
"My name is Kim Hee-woong. Thanks to the CEO, I am undeservedly able to stand in this position. I look forward to working with you!"
Since he genuinely wanted to follow Jinhyuk, Kim Hee-woong was quite pleased to be here.
It was because he felt a sense of camaraderie, knowing they would be companions moving forward.
However, as the introduction of the fourth shareholder followed...
The faces of those introduced earlier froze solid.
They had no choice but to freeze.
"Next, our fourth is Ms. Melena, who is active in the Demonic Human Association."
The Demonic Human Association.
A name that was practically synonymous with the enemy of humanity had just been uttered.
"The D-Demonic Human Association?"
"That woman is a member of that place?"
"C-CEO?"
It was only natural for everyone to tense up.
However, Melena, the person in question, merely shrugged as if she had expected this reaction.
"I believe it is my turn now. I am Takeshi, a member of the Japanese Samurai Guild. To be with Jinhyuk-sama... whew. Excuse me. I consider it an infinite honor to be working alongside Jinhyuk-sama."
Takeshi, who believed Jinhyuk to be one of the deities, was equally overwhelmed with gratitude to be here.
His voice trembled slightly, as if he was overcome with emotion just by looking at him.
...I guess I lied a bit too hard back at the Gray Temple.
If I tell him later that I'm just a normal human, is he going to lose his mind?
'Did I go too far?'
Jinhyuk wore a slightly apologetic expression.
Of course, it only lasted for a brief moment.
'Well, I can just buy him a drink later or something.'
Indeed. That's how life goes—you down a bitter shot of soju and forget about it.
Everyone is having a hard time, so they shouldn't collapse over a little setback, right?
"Now, I will introduce our fifth and final shareholder. Please give us a brief self-introduction."
At Jinhyuk's words, a short-haired girl spoke.
"Nice to meet you. I'm Andrea, and I'm in charge of the 5th floor."
There was something off about her introduction.
Melena, chewing over the words slowly, immediately asked back.
"In charge of the 5th floor? What does that mean?"
What else could it mean?
"It means she's one of the boss monsters of the 5th floor. She must have been busy managing the psychiatric ward, but I had her make the long journey here with some difficulty."
Jinhyuk added an explanation about Andrea.
His tone was nonchalant, but the reaction to it was so violent it was on the verge of exploding.
"H-heck!"
"W-why is a boss monster here?!"
"T-this is crazy."
This time, everyone leaped back like coiled springs, putting a massive distance between themselves and her.
Some were even gasping for breath while clutching their weapons.
"No wonder... I thought her mana felt strange..."
"Ah, I'm getting dizzy. Grandpa Jung-woo! I told you we shouldn't have come!"
"Haha. My apologies. I didn't expect something like this to happen either."
When the Demonic Human Association was mentioned, they were shocked, but it was still within their threshold of tolerance.
Since Jinhyuk was such an insane veteran, they had figured they should just roll with whatever he did.
But.
A boss monster.
This was on a completely different level.
Though their reactions differed slightly, they all shared one common thought:
What kind of crazy company is this...?
"I believe that concludes our brief introductions."
Jinhyuk clapped his hands together.
There were outside directors like Alice, Goguma, Cheon Yu-seong, Yu Yeon-hwa, and Lee Tae-min, but he decided to skip them for now.
Because it was time to begin the long-awaited shareholders' meeting.