A Mountain of Steel
“Please accept this.”
In his hand was an invitation to the auction house on the top floor of Gaya Hotel.
“The weapons, armor, and arrows you requested have been prepared at the warehouse in Incheon. Here is the location map and the key.”
Along with the invitation, the butler handed over the map and key.
Thinking about it, fifty thousand spears, ten thousand suits of armor, and a million arrows was no small quantity. Moreover, since they were all made of solid steel, their weight would be no joke either.
‘Ah, I really did make an absurd request.’
Even with 25.5-ton trucks, he couldn’t begin to imagine how many would be needed. Jung Da-yeon, who had said she would send them to his house, must have assumed Kim Hwang-je lived in some large mountain villa. But reality was nothing of the sort, so the butler had secured an enormous warehouse at the Incheon docks and moved the supplies there.
“If you require anything else in the future, please let me know. I will procure whatever quantity is possible and keep it ready at that warehouse.”
With such consideration being shown, Kim Hwang-je could no longer remain seated. He rose from his chair.
“Thank you. I’ll be counting on you from now on as well. By the way, how did you find me?”
“The clash of mana was quite powerful. Do not worry. We did not report it to the police. Even if they are international criminals, the paperwork for murder is quite tedious.”
Kim Hwang-je had not killed them. But the butler had clearly seen him devour the two men with shadows. It had been a terrifying sight, and even now the memory made his throat crawl with goosebumps. He finally understood why Miss Jung Da-yeon treated Kim Hwang-je with such caution.
The butler glanced around before speaking again.
“We at Lost will handle this place… but Howling specializes in taking hostages and making threats. Might any of your acquaintances be in danger?”
So they had done this sort of thing often. Through World Observation, Kim Hwang-je could see Sirius and Baekju, captured by soldiers and thrown into an underground prison. They would probably be sent to some mine the moment they woke up.
“No. I resolved it before it came to that. Ah, but…”
“Yes, is there anything I can assist you with?”
The butler was extremely courteous. Even knowing he was trying to earn points, Kim Hwang-je felt grateful.
“Yes. The construction foreman, Mr. Park Jo-woon, has a daughter named Su-ah who is a retaker. She should be studying at a boarding academy in the provinces.”
“Is that so? If you wish, I can escort her and her father to a safer location.”
“Where would that be?”
“Gaya Hotel.”
The butler pointed at the invitation. A short line of text was written on it.
Gaya Hotel, 136th Floor.
Always there, unchanging.
Lost Dream.
* * *
Once Kim Hwang-je had departed in the car the butler had arranged, Lee Min-ah appeared on the mountainside. She was still wearing her office suit. Her brown hair was slightly disheveled, and the dark circles under her languid eyes made her look strangely tired.
“Yes, confirmed. Two Howling members who entered the country illegally. Kim Hwang-je devoured both of them. No, I’m not joking. He swallowed them with shadows. Yes. I don’t believe it either, but it’s true.”
Water trickling from above had soaked her blouse. Frowning, she stepped out from behind the rock.
“You detected seismic waves? Yes, he split the mountain with his sword. No, this isn’t a joke either. The mountain is split open and water is leaking out everywhere.”
She swept her wet hair back.
“Is he a swordsman? Well… honestly, I don’t know. He used a sword, magic, and even shot arrows at a master craftsman’s level.”
Lee Min-ah looked to the side. A massive boulder had been divided by an extremely thin line. She furrowed her brow slightly.
“Please stop asking if I’m joking. It’s the truth. Anyway, if this were a novel, it would be an absurdly overpowered one. Well, that last part was a joke, just like you said.”
She had been only a little to the left, and she would have been sliced clean through. Of course, the cut mark was so thin it was invisible unless one looked closely. Yet the mountain itself—trees, soil, even the fallen leaves—had been cut in half. Even the sky still looked like a mess of swirling paint where the clouds had been violently mixed.
“We still can’t determine his identity. He might actually be an Ancient.”
Water seeped from where she stepped, soaking Lee Min-ah’s black stockings. She paid no attention to her wet stockings and continued watching the construction site through her telescope.
“There’s no need to reposition the satellite. Both Sirius and Baekju used Heavenly Wolf Star and were confirmed destroyed. The battle is over. Moreover, Lost intervened first and secured the perimeter, so there were no civilian casualties.”
She smiled faintly.
“Yes. This should have pulled out half of Lord Gardner’s teeth. We can expel Howling from the country.”
She gazed at the distant taillights of the departing car.
“No, I can’t hand the phone over. He’s not here. Where did he go? Well…”
The red taillights of the limousine carrying Kim Hwang-je grew smaller, then turned right and disappeared.
“Jung Da-yeon’s butler took him. Yes. It seems Agent Jin-woo’s sister has already made her move. Oh, and don’t light that cigarette. How long are you going to keep doing that every time her name comes up?”
Lee Min-ah sounded as if she knew exactly what Jung Jin-woo was doing on the other end of the call.
* * *
Kim Hwang-je sat in the back seat of the limousine and picked up the champagne the butler had prepared. Contrary to the butler’s expectation that they would head straight to the hotel, Kim Hwang-je directed the car toward the warehouse in Incheon. He judged that the time it would take Park Su-ah to arrive from the provinces and the time it would take him to stop by Incheon before heading to the hotel would be roughly the same. Besides, Poyu would let him know if anything happened.
“Our young lady also holds considerable grudges against Howling. She will likely be very pleased when she hears the news today.”
“Is that so?”
Kim Hwang-je nodded at the butler’s words. Realizing that Kim Hwang-je was concentrating on something, the butler stopped speaking. In truth, Kim Hwang-je was currently focused on World Observation.
Park Jo-woon, who had briefly fled, had been invited to the king’s banquet and was enjoying himself immensely. In fact, the man’s sociability was so extraordinary that he was now singing arm-in-arm with the king. Not satisfied with that, the king kept laughing heartily while mixing and serving enormous quantities of bomb shots—foolishly taught to him by Park Jo-woon—and forcing everyone to drink. The ministers and the retainers who had not yet fled were all slumped over the table, drooling. Gemini was also seated nearby, delivering a passionate speech to her subordinates. Though those subordinates consisted of bags, magic books, staffs, chicken, and bowls, they looked quite serious.
‘Wow, that uncle’s sociability is no joke.’
And those two were definitely heavy drinkers. Dancing and singing—they would become fast friends in no time. Both the king and Gemini, who usually looked exhausted and weary, now radiated energy. On top of that, Park Jo-woon even showed the drunken king photos of his daughter on his phone, proudly boasting with spit flying everywhere. The king kept nodding along. Whether his flushed face was due to the alcohol or something more was unclear.
But when should he show it?
“Your Majesty.”
The butler suddenly spoke. When Kim Hwang-je looked at him, the butler handed over a phone.
“I have connected you with Miss Park Su-ah in the provinces. Would you like to speak with her? If you prefer, I can also connect you via video.”
“You already found her? Video, please.”
Park Su-ah’s face appeared on the screen mounted in the limousine. She was a beautiful girl with long straight hair and a puppy-like appearance. She was wearing her academy uniform on screen and looked at Kim Hwang-je with wide eyes.
“Hwang-je Oppa?”
“Ah, Su-ah. Nothing happened, right?”
“I’m just eating school lunches for another year—what could possibly happen? These people are the ones causing trouble. What’s going on?”
“They’re bodyguards. People from Lost.”
She narrowed her eyes.
“Don’t tell me you’re being kidnapped right now, Oppa? Did you offend some chaebol?”
Park Su-ah whispered while looking around Kim Hwang-je. No matter how charitably she tried to view it, she couldn’t exactly call the butler’s impression “friendly.” When Kim Hwang-je glanced over, the butler’s expression really did look like the kind that would make even gangsters turn tail and run. There was definitely something about him.
“Well, the situation has become rather dangerous. Mr. Park Jo-woon is with me heading to Gaya Hotel right now, so why don’t you come over too?”
“Gaya Hotel? It’s dangerous?”
Park Su-ah looked startled.
“Yeah. There seem to be hunters targeting people close to me. It would be best to move to the safest place possible. I’ll explain the details when you get here.”
“Is my dad safe? He told me you awakened, but I didn’t think something like this would happen so soon.”
“So soon?”
“Oppa, you’re always sticking your nose where it doesn’t belong.”
Sorry, Su-ah. That nose-sticking had been replaced by the lives of ten thousand people.
“What about my dad? Is he safe?”
Kim Hwang-je had no choice but to briefly borrow Park Jo-woon, who was currently downing bomb shots in World Observation. The man was still busy boasting about his pretty daughter to the king. Click, summon.
Flash!
Park Jo-woon, reeking of alcohol, appeared in the middle of the spacious limousine. With his tongue twisted, he looked at Kim Hwang-je and slurred.
“Eeeh~ Our Emperor Your Majesty~ Aigoo, where’ve you been~ Everyone’s been looking for youuu—”
“Dad. You drank way too much again.”
Park Jo-woon’s expression turned to ice as he turned his head. His speech returned to normal at lightning speed.
“Ah, aigoo, my daughter. Uh, well. I drank a little. Heh heh—His Majesty offered…”
“Hwang-je Oppa. Even so, you gave him way too much.”
“Huh?”
Why was the blame coming to him?
“You said he received it from His Majesty.”
Ah, this was going to be difficult to explain. That “His Majesty” wasn’t that “His Majesty.” It had been a business associate offering hospitality. Fortunately, Park Jo-woon clasped his hands together first and said, “This useless father is truly sorry!” It was the image of a father who had lost his wife and was now imprisoned.
“I mixed some bomb shots to help him relax after the attack, but he got drunk right away. We’re heading to the safe Gaya Hotel now.”
“Understood. I’ll go up with these people.”
“Yeah. I’ll explain everything in detail when we meet.”
Surrounded by Lost bodyguards, Park Su-ah boarded the limousine. Kim Hwang-je sent the drunken Park Jo-woon, who could no longer hold himself up and had collapsed into the butler’s arms, back to the castle using Workforce Deployment.
“A remarkable spell.”
The butler merely wiped away the sweat that should have been pouring down with a handkerchief. As expected, not just anyone could become a butler.
“Ah… I’m sorry. He’s drunk right now.”
“Not at all. I’m glad your acquaintance is safe.”
***
The limousine sped along and finally arrived at the warehouse. It was one of the largest warehouses in Korea, practically the size of an entire building.
“Before the monster incident, this warehouse was filled with grain. Now, of course, we can’t store that much grain in one place. Instead, we rented it and filled it with the items you ordered.”
The butler spoke as he opened the door. So it used to be a grain warehouse?
“Is that not possible these days? I’d like to buy a lot of food too.”
The butler nodded.
“After the monster incident, the government controls all food in the country. To prevent hoarding, individuals cannot make large-scale purchases. Much farmland was lost, making food production difficult.”
Ah, this was a serious problem. But he would find a way somehow. For now, he needed to check the weapons. Kim Hwang-je stood up.
“Please take your time looking around. I will wait here.”
The butler said. Kim Hwang-je unlocked the door with the key and entered the warehouse. When he turned on the lights inside, a magnificent sight unfolded before him. Containers were stacked high, still in their boxed form.
“Whoa… This is insane…”
Kim Hwang-je’s body trembled. It was a different kind of emotion from when he had seen Jung Da-yeon’s massive underground workshop. That had been someone else’s property. This was his. It was truly different from a bank balance that only existed as numbers on an app. The sheer presence of “physical assets” towering all the way to the ceiling was overwhelming.
Kim Hwang-je placed his hand on a metal container box. It was incredibly cold and heavy. He pulled open the container door. Inside wooden crates were packed full of spears. Other containers were filled with armor. And there were containers packed with arrows as well. How had they managed to acquire all this so quickly? Of course, there had been Jung Da-yeon’s invisible efforts as she desperately tried to earn his favor.
‘Wait, if I just stack these containers in front of the castle walls, they could serve as barricades.’
A first line of defense. Just hearing about it sounded incredibly useful. Something this good had to be shared immediately. Through World Observation, he looked at the royal castle. The king was happily dancing with the returned Park Jo-woon. Gemini was singing again. Kim Hwang-je pressed both of them at once. The two looked up at the sky. Their eyes were sparkling brightly. Kim Hwang-je called out to Poyu, who was fluttering around the warehouse.
“Poyu! Can you translate for me?”
“Yeah~~”
Poyu flew over with a flutter and looked at the World Observation window. Seeing Gemini and Dave looking up at the sky with sparkling eyes, she burst into laughter.
“Emperor Ahjussi! Did you promise snacks to Gemini and Dave too? Their eyes are sparkling so much!”
“No, I’m going to give them something much better than snacks.”
“Weally? What is it?”
Kim Hwang-je gazed at the mountain of weapons.
“Power.”
The power to survive and see tomorrow.