Reputation 30
Reputation 30.
Lee Shin’s reputation stat had grown so dramatically and so suddenly thanks in part to the wave resonance method, but also because of the overseas recognition he had unknowingly accumulated.
It all began with a single photograph.
Some time ago, right when the Yongwanggung project had broken ground and demolition was underway, a snapshot had been taken: Lee Shin sitting atop a pile of cash, gazing up at the rising steel-and-concrete skeleton. Between the most modern, achromatic concrete and the natural blue horizon of the sea, a soft sunset glow spread across the sky, expressing nature’s grandeur, while the stacks of money below represented human desire. At the boundary between them sat the very incarnation of beauty, poised precariously.
There was no doubt. This was the ultimate modernism…!!
Chae Dong-ha, who had taken the photo, had muttered, “What? Modern? Nature? Mo-what? What kind of nonsense is this?” but… who cared? It was still insanely cool.
The photo was posted on the guild’s SNS for promotional purposes and instantly became the banner of Korea’s top fan club, “Yongbung Era.”
The Yongbungs who saw the ridiculous photo were electrified.
“I pray again today. Please let me get a perfect score on the CSAT.”
“Every single day is new and thrilling. Good looks really are the best.”
“Whoa, how is light coming through the monitor? How handsome must he be in real life?”
Chills ran down their spines; goosebumps rose on their arms. It was so overwhelming. This was the incarnation of beauty, someone whose existence had to be protected for the sake of humanity’s peace.
In that moment, the Yongbungs felt a tremendous sense of mission.
“Isn’t it a loss for humanity if only we get to see something this good…?”
“Korea is too small. Overseas… the answer is overseas…”
“Mission. (in old-style calligraphy)”
Yes. Lee Shin’s overseas expansion, which even he himself didn’t know about, was being carried out under the leadership of the fan club “Yongbung Era.”
The action-oriented Yongbungs spread Lee Shin’s golden words and photos far and wide.
Let’s see how far this goes. Try it, try it.
Of course…
“WTF! Stop spamming, you bastards! Which country’s IP is this from?”
“Is this some new kind of Rickrolling? You covered twenty pages in one go!”
The Yongbungs’ usual… well, their missionary methods were somewhat extreme, so they were often misunderstood. Normally, people would have taken it as some unknown overseas IP causing trouble or a large-scale DDoS attack, but fortunately the Yongbungs managed to achieve part of what they wanted.
Not because they were particularly good at it, but because…
“Oh…… god. sosososo LOVELY!!”
“K-pop is dominating the world! I’ve been dominated ;─)”
The ultimate look-obsessed girl, Yu Ri-ra, always emphasized one thing: true handsomeness transcended everything! Age, gender, even national borders!!
Thus, the visual shockwave caused by Lee Shin flowed through foreign communities until it reached a certain destination and reached its peak…
@kylierose
Wow. What is this photo? The atmosphere is insane. Is this guy a movie star? He’s so handsome! Someone tell me which movie he’s in right away. :D
@kylierose
What a…… You guys are messing with me, right? He’s the guild representative with that face? You need to send me the link right now. Right this second―!!
Kylie Rose, the top actress known as the Rose of England, posted Lee Shin’s photo on her Instagram, and all 420 million of her followers became aware of his existence.
Perhaps because the first wave of Lee Shin’s beauty had prepared the soil, the second wave—the wave resonance method—could spread so rapidly.
[A new concept from Korea, the “wave resonance method”!!]
[British academia: “This actually works?” “What?!!” upon hearing success stories]
[Cambridge University mana studies professor: “It’s definitely worth researching!”]
Remarkably, the second success case emerged in Britain, turning it into a full-blown syndrome.
[Real!! It really works! Success case appears in Britain too!!]
[Cambridge Professor Bernard: “There are variables, but the effect is real! We’ve touched the secret of awakening!!”]
[Korea’s 2nd Division guild representative Lee Sin shocks the world!]
Korea was entering an era of massive national pride.
And it didn’t end there. The fervent reaction finally stirred even the proud “Seekers of Mana”…
[Finally, Olympus Magic Tower has responded!]
[“Wave resonance method!” selected as a research topic!]
The holy land of mages.
Olympus Magic Tower.
* * *
Mir Guild.
Chae Dong-ha, who had stopped by the district office for work, arrived at the office a little late. Adjusting his cap, he entered the main building and greeted the staff.
“Good morning, Ji-hye.”
“Vice Guild Master, you’re here.”
“Where’s the representative?”
“He’s inside.”
As Chae Dong-ha reached for the doorknob to the representative’s office, laughter drifted out from within.
“Kk-kk-kk, so that’s what happened. I was wondering why my reputation suddenly went up. Ah, sorry. Something just occurred to me. Where were we? Ah, research! So what exactly is the research about?”
Chae Dong-ha gave a nearby employee a questioning look.
Who’s on the line this time?
“Vice Chairman Lee Young-bin called. He said he wanted to speak with the representative.”
“Ah……”
It was like this every day lately.
Ever since Lee Shin had dropped the bomb called the wave resonance method, his phone had been ringing nonstop—not even for a single second.
“Ah, so the experiment results came out like that? Well, of course…… Ah, hyung, you’re here?”
Lee Shin covered the receiver with his hand and mouthed the words. Chae Dong-ha waved his hands and whispered, “Please don’t mind me, just take the call,” then, as usual, brewed coffee while perking up his ears. He was curious, after all.
As expected, the topic was the wave resonance method.
By the way, because of it, the front of the Korea Mana Corporation was now lined with mothers trying to obtain magic stones. On top of that, the prices of gem cutters had skyrocketed to astronomical levels.
“Even the Bureau called yesterday, saying we were sucking up too much attention during the season.”
Chae Dong-ha adjusted his cap for no reason and placed the brewed coffee in front of Lee Shin.
Lee Shin responded with a smile instead of thanks and focused back on the call.
“Hmm, Vice Chairman, I think you’re under a huge misunderstanding. When did I ever say my theory would work on everyone?”
“!!”
Chae Dong-ha’s hand, which had been fiddling with his cap, froze.
“You should know this too, Father, if you’ve ever tried making phones or electronics. Creating something from nothing is close to a miracle. If the resonance method worked on every Tom, Dick, and Harry, that would be a miracle, not a theory.”
So if he wanted to make money off this and show off, he would need a lot of preparation. He also had to keep his greed in check.
After declaring this, Lee Shin took a sip of coffee and wrapped up the call.
“Then take care. I’ll come up when I have time.”
Keep your promise, please.
When the call ended and Lee Shin looked up, he saw Chae Dong-ha’s haggard face. His eyes looked as if he had lost all hope.
“……Is it true?”
“It is.”
“I……”
“Want to hear it?”
“……”
“Want me to take it off? The cap?”
With a completely deflated expression, Chae Dong-ha removed his cap.
Inside the cap was a magic stone. A fragmented magic stone.
Today, Dong-ha’s world had collapsed.
* * *
『Olympia Magic Tower was the first magic tower built by the First Mage, Merlin. From concepts like mana and circles to magical tools such as scrolls and potions, they had led humanity’s magical civilization from the Middle Ages to the 20th century—the holy land of mages.
Until the appearance of the Savior, Jamal Popper……』
— From the book “Why Did Olympus Magic Tower Become So Stubborn?”
* * *
“Son of a bitch―!!”
Olympus Magic Tower.
In a research lab cluttered with all kinds of magical tools, F- and S-words flew in rapid succession.
“Fuck! Fuck! Fuckkk!! Why! Why the hell!!”
If furious swearing was coming from a research lab, one might naturally assume an experiment had failed. But no.
“Why is it working! Why can I see the possibility!!”
The mage Porter’s research had succeeded.
Through various experiments, Porter had found meaningful potential in the “wave resonance method” that had been causing such a stir lately.
“Verification 1. Each magic stone possesses a unique wavelength. This wavelength never changes, even if the stone is altered or broken—just like human DNA.”
“Verification 2. It is already proven that unawakened individuals possess a minuscule amount of mana in their mana holes. Can this tiny amount of base mana resonate? Verification result: ‘It can.’”
“Verification 3……”
As if reviewing his own research results one by one, Porter flipped through the research papers along with the verification outcomes.
When he reached the final page, the conclusion was clear.
“Using the fact that each magic stone has its own unique wavelength, resonate the mana within the body. Through the formation of the mana road connected to the spine and the amplification of mana via resonance, detonate the base mana.”
And when that mana goes Boom!
“Awakening!!”
Aaaagh―!!
Bang―! Bang―!
Porter slammed both fists onto the lab table.
The research results were good, so why was he acting like this?
Because he was furious!
“Why couldn’t Olympus Magic Tower make such a great discovery first!!”
From Merlin’s time until the early 20th century, Olympus Magic Tower had monopolized all glory, but everything changed with the appearance of the most genius great mage since the world’s creation—the Savior Jamal Popper, who rescued humanity from the terror of gates and monsters. His emergence marked the end of an era and caused even the seemingly eternal sun to set.
From that moment on, Olympus Magic Tower became obsessively devoted to research, desperate to reclaim the mainstream of academia from Popper’s American followers.
Yet such a great discovery! A theory that seemed to touch upon truth itself! It had been snatched away not by a professor, not by a mage, not by a rival tower—but by some mere guild representative! As the chief mage of Olympus Magic Tower, Porter found this utterly humiliating and unbearable.
“Hoo, hoo, calm down, Porter. There’s still a chance left, Porter.”
Even though he had praised it, the wave resonance method clearly had gaps.
Flipping through the papers irritably, he stopped at a certain section—the results of clinical trials conducted on volunteers.
“Variable 1. It does not work on all subjects.”
Only 20% of the clinical trial subjects experienced mana resonance.
“Variable 2. Even if resonance succeeds, not all mana is amplified.”
Of that 20%, only one person showed an increase in mana level due to amplification.
“Conclusion.”
The theory holds. That much is fact.
The success cases appearing one or two at a time around the world were proof enough.
However, for some unknown reason, there existed an inexplicable “blank” in this theory—something secretive, as if a hole had been punched through the middle.
Did Porter realize that he had just brushed against the world’s most hidden secret—the System? Unfortunately, the unaware Porter saw that blank not as an insurmountable wall, but as an El Dorado reachable through long effort—a dream paradise where reaching it would make one great.
It was the inevitable nature of researchers.
“If I can uncover this secret, Olympus Magic Tower will once again lead the paradigm of this awakening world.”
If so, reclaiming the glory stolen by Jamal Popper might not be impossible!
“Hmm……”
Porter crossed his arms, seemingly deep in thought, and paced around the lab.
The peculiar thing was how he kept glancing repeatedly at the clock. After pondering for a long while, he reached a single conclusion.
“As expected, there’s only one way.”
If it had come to this, he had to go. He had to meet him. He had to exchange knowledge.
If Lee Shin was the future of this field, then he would gladly ride that wave.
“Then, first step―.”
In an instant, a book flew out from one corner of the messy lab and landed perfectly in Porter’s hand.
[Easy Korean for Our Children]
“―Learn Korean.”
At the very least, when it came to research like this, he was a perfectionist. He obviously couldn’t trust translations done by amateurs. No, even if he trusted them, he couldn’t entrust it to them.
What if a single nuance or slight difference in pronunciation changed the theory entirely!
He had to communicate directly, himself!
With a determined expression, Porter opened his mouth and spoke the sentence he had practiced all day yesterday.
“Hello. I am Porter, chief mage of Olympus. I want to see Lee Shin, the representative.”
The awkward Korean seemed to say:
Lee Shin, show me the future……
Is there still a seat left in that future? hehe;;