Horizon (1)

Before my regression, I had almost never set foot in my father's office.

There was never anything good waiting for me there—only scoldings that made my ears bleed.

Who would have thought I'd be the one walking into that place of my own accord.

And to talk about business, no less—the very thing I'd assumed would never concern me.

People really do live long enough to see anything. Might as well regress while they're at it.

"Father."

"There you are, Tae-hyun."

When I stepped into the office, my father greeted me with that familiar smile of his.

These days, that warm face felt far more familiar to me than the stern one he used to wear when yelling.

We exchanged a few light greetings and pleasantries before getting down to business.

"I've read the proposal you sent me."

The warmth drained from his voice, replaced by the sharpness of a businessman.

"To be honest with you, I'm not entirely convinced this is actually possible."

"You mean the manufacturing of magic tools?"

"That's right. It's the one technology every corporation on earth craves and none of them can produce."

Unlike ordinary equipment, which anyone could manufacture, magic tools and artifacts could only ever be sourced from gates.

Naturally, every major corporation had attempted to produce their own, and every single attempt had ended in failure. The best anyone had managed was modifying or refitting existing artifacts.

In other words, no company in existence professionally manufactured, distributed, or sold magic tools.

"If this works, it's effectively a monopoly over the entire market for Cheonseong."

This went beyond mere profit—it would be a historic corporate achievement.

Cheonseong was already sprinting ahead at full tilt thanks to the Gate Recorder and Dungeon Streaming. But if we could actually manufacture magic tools on top of that…

We'd ascend to a height no other company could ever hope to reach.

Which was exactly why I intended to build it.

A dedicated magic tool manufacturer under the Cheonseong umbrella. An artifact brand of our own.

Horizon.

"Horizon…!"

My father murmured the name, letting it roll over his tongue.

His eyes had sharpened to a keen glint—I felt as though I were watching Lee Jin-sung the businessman, standing right beside me.

"If you can make it possible, then this is a project I want to execute. No—it's a project we must execute. But I don't think we can afford to move rashly just yet."

I understood. Since this was a matter of Cheonseong stepping directly into the arena, he couldn't very well charge in blind.

"Then how about this?"

I brought out the words I'd prepared.

"Within the near future, I will personally produce a magic tool bearing the Horizon logo."

My father still had no concrete faith in the "technology to manufacture magic tools." And the surest way to prove it was to simply show him a finished product, made by my own hands.

"Once you see it, Father, you'll have confidence in this business too."

There would be plenty of time to hash out the details afterward.

"Hoho."

A faint smile crossed my father's face.

"Now that's interesting. I'll be waiting."

We had obtained three copies of the Magic Crafting skill book from this gate.

One went to Ji Yeon-ha, and the remaining two to me. One of those was technically Ah Seo-ah's share, but she'd transferred ownership to me.

I'll hold onto one for now.

I'd briefly considered using it myself, but quickly abandoned the idea. Things were only going to get busier—I had no spare hours to while away in a workshop crafting magic tools.

Hanging onto it for the future was simply the more valuable call.

The other one, however, already had an owner.

"F-for real?!"

The man with the modest, unassuming face gaped in disbelief as I explained Magic Crafting to him. Then he stared at the skill book in his hand and began to tremble all over.

"B-but… why would you give something this precious to someone like me…?"

"Why? Isn't it obvious."

I shrugged as if it were the most natural thing in the world.

"Because that skill belongs to you, Gi-hyun."

Gong Gi-hyun.

The man who would one day be called the Magic King, and who would possess craftsmanship in magic tool creation beyond anyone else in the world.

Before my regression, one of the three copies of Magic Crafting released into the world had been Gong Gi-hyun's.

And in this life, it would be his as well.

"Wha—?!"

Gong Gi-hyun jolted and nearly leapt out of his skin.

"S-still, isn't this way too valuable? Manufacturing magic tools, of all things…!"

"All the more reason it should be you, Gi-hyun."

He'd been racking up achievements at Cheonseong day after day.

And now, at Horizon, he would spread those wings to their fullest.

After my repeated coaxing, Gong Gi-hyun finally, reluctantly, used the skill book.

Truthfully, he'd always been interested in this kind of work. It was the dream of every production-type awakened—one every one of them had dreamed at least once.

"Ooooh…! It's incredible! It feels like knowledge about mana circuits is pouring into my head!"

Eyes shining with awe, Gong Gi-hyun began to pore over the knowledge contained within Magic Crafting.

It was the moment the Magic King once again announced his own birth.

"Now then, to celebrate your new skill—let's take a little trip somewhere together."

"Huh?"

"Hold on tight, now."

"Huh?!"

Gripping Gong Gi-hyun firmly from behind, I summoned Moss.

Flap!

Enormous wings unfurled, and in an instant we were airborne, soaring into the open sky.

"Whooooa!"

"GYAAAAAAAHHH?!!"

Gong Gi-hyun screamed his lungs out, but instead of slowing down, Moss only flew faster.

"Kyaaah?! Wh-what is that thing in the sky!"

"A monster…?!"

"There are people riding on it?"

"It's so fast!"

Exclamations of wonder erupted from the crowd below at the sight of Moss.

And praise makes even a dragon dance. Moss lifted his head with needless pride and beat his wings all the harder.

"FAAAAST! Ughhhaaack!"

And just like that, we arrived at the Magic Tower ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠on Yeouido.

"Thanks, Moss. You feel even faster than before, somehow."

"Krrung!"

"Urp…! Huurgh…!"

After barely calming the man as he braced himself against the wall and fought down the urge to vomit, we stepped into Ji Yeon-ha's laboratory.

"Oh… you're here?"

A lifeless greeting drifted over the moment we entered.

She was sprawled across her desk, dark circles hanging heavy under her eyes.

Her once fair, supple skin had gone dull and parched, and her hair stuck out stiff as a broom.

"…Don't tell me you haven't slept since we came out of the gate?"

"Ahem… juggling my personal research and the magic tool work at the same time, it just sort of happened."

No, even so—what kind of person stays up for days on end, you absolute lunatic?

She really was a stubborn woman in the strangest of ways.

"And behind you…?"

"Gi-hyun, whom I mentioned before. He'll be the backbone of magic tool production alongside you in this venture."

"Ah, nice to meet y—huurk!"

His motion sickness apparently hadn't worn off, because Gong Gi-hyun clamped a hand over his mouth.

"…Do I smell or something?"

Watching him fight back nausea, Ji Yeon-ha went pale and began sniffing at herself.

"W-well, I haven't properly bathed in days, so…."

"That's not it, so would you just come over here."

She didn't smell at all. Knowing her personality, she'd have been casting deodorizing magic on ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠a schedule anyway.

Now, then.

Everyone was gathered in one place.

Alongside Sinseong Guild, this would be another collective of my own making—

The people who would become the key figures of Horizon.

"First, let's go over everything once more before we begin."

I explained Horizon to the two of them again from the top.

Setting aside all the small details and the mechanics of corporate operations, the core was simple:

The first and only magic tool manufacturer in existence. An artifact brand.

The launch of a revolutionary company unlike anything the world had ever seen.

"Horizon's overall operations will be handled by my father—that is, by Cheonseong directly. Which means the two of you can devote yourselves entirely to crafting."

Cheonseong had already branched deep into the manufacture of ordinary equipment, and with the know-how accumulated from running countless other enterprises, operations would be the least of our worries.

Nothing in the world was as comfortable as the shadow of Cheonseong.

"Once again… you're setting something enormous in motion."

Gong Gi-hyun smiled awkwardly—but in his eyes burned a fierce, unmistakable passion.

"I'm sorry for springing this on you so suddenly, Gi-hyun."

"Not at all. Honestly, this skill is so extraordinary that it almost feels too good for the likes of me."

There was no way the current him could know that no one in the world was a better ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠match for Magic Crafting than he was.

"But you saw my worth, Tae-hyun. You believed in me. So this time too, I want to trust you and follow wherever you lead!"

"Gi-hyun…!"

To think he could dress up a recruitment that was half outright coercion into such a beautiful memory.

Just as a tidal wave of emotion was about to crash over us—

"There's a problem."

Ji Yeon-ha cut in, severing the moment.

"What is it?"

"…Faster to show you than to tell you."

She snapped her fingers, and the steel wand resting on the table floated up and drifted over to us.

"This is a magic tool I made myself."

"I see."

Had she already reached the point of understanding and applying Magic Crafting?

As expected of Ji Yeon-ha.

"Would you care to give it a try?"

"Sure, why not."

Gripping the wand, I channeled mana into it.

Wind gathered at the tip, coalescing into a small vortex.

"What I engraved into this wand is wind-attribute magic."

"Seems to be working fine?"

At least so far, everything was unfolding exactly as she intended. The mana flowed smoothly, circulating cleanly into wind.

And then came the problem.

Whiiiiiiiine! KRUMBLE!

"Hm?"

It didn't take long.

"Whoa—what the—?!"

The wind grew steadily more violent, whipping into a wild frenzy entirely against my will.

WHOOOOOOSH—!

Startled, I cut off the mana supply, and the wind immediately died down.

So this is the "problem" she meant….

Past a certain output threshold, the wind simply slipped its reins and started rampaging on its own.

"That's not all, either."

I tested several more of the magic tools she'd made to date, and every single one had a defect. Like something subtly misaligned and broken, none of them could deliver their proper performance.

"How am I supposed to sleep like this?"

Ji Yeon-ha had always been a proud woman. There was no way she could close her eyes watching her own creations sputter like this.

"The circuits are clearly fine, and yet I simply cannot figure out why they behave this way…."

Personally, I thought it was far more impressive that she'd managed this much with a skill she'd only acquired days ago.

"Don't be too impatient. They say it takes at least a few months of practice before an awakened crafter can produce even a properly functional piece of ordinary equipment."

"That's ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠the standard for average awakened, dear. My circumstances are rather different."

…Ah. Yes, of course.

She's not wrong, but she's insufferable about it.

Muttering a small grumble under my breath, I picked up the wand from before.

"On the outside, it doesn't look any different from the others, though."

A faint flicker of disappointment passed through me.

Still, we had time. Working through the flaws slowly with Gong Gi-hyun, we would eventually produce magic tools good enough to sell.

I need to get them up to at least C-rank.

The moment I set that goal in my mind—

Wiz raised a message before my eyes.

Then the circuits engraved into the wand surfaced within my vision.

Scattered throughout the mana circuit, several sections glowed red, as if slightly out of alignment.

I had forgotten for a moment.

Just where Wiz had come from.