The Emperor's Recruitment Offer
The dark, dimly lit dock smelled of rust and seawater.
“Team Leader. Still no contact?”
“Yeah. The director’s gone completely silent.”
“That’s strange. Is it even possible for a response to be this delayed? Shouldn’t we be hiding by now?”
“······.”
Unlike state-run ports such as Incheon or Songdo New Port, the small harbors established by hunters had become breeding grounds for every kind of illegal activity imaginable.
After all, what these ports usually stored were ominous blades, foul-smelling monster corpses, and their hides.
So it wasn’t particularly surprising to find a man beaten to a pulp and tied to a chair amid such unpleasant merchandise.
“Has it really gotten this late?”
The young man who had been diligently “working” glanced out the window. The sun was sinking low on the horizon.
“Ha, this bastard’s tough.”
As was typical for the thugs who rented out these dockside warehouses, the four-man crew had tied up their pitiful victim in the gloomy storage building and were now waiting for instructions.
But with all communication cut off from their powerful backer, even these four felt their hearts pounding.
Arranging boats or flights was their responsibility, but paying the final balance for this job fell to the director of Gaya Group’s External Cooperation Office.
Leaving empty-handed simply wasn’t an option.
“Let’s wait until midnight. After that, we dump him and go.”
It seemed like a satisfactory enough conclusion.
In any case, he needed to reassure his subordinates. While they nodded in understanding, the president of White Solar—still bound to the chair—swallowed a mouthful of resolute saliva.
This was the end.
He might not have his life left, but he would at least keep his pride.
After all the years he’d poured into developing that technology, he would rather die than hand it over!
He had already smuggled his entire family abroad. He felt sorry for his children, but if he took the secret with him to the grave, it would all be over…
Just then, the team leader’s phone began ringing loudly.
Beep—beep—
The team leader picked it up and opened the message. It was a text from the director, written in the same cold, rude tone as always.
The team leader closed the phone, his suspicions eased.
“Contact’s come through. He says he’s coming in person to inspect the goods.”
“The director?”
“Yeah.”
At that moment, the low rumble of an engine echoed from afar.
Only people with nothing to fear would drive a car like that to such a remote place.
How did he get here so fast?
Anyway, when they opened the warehouse door, the sleek headlights of a supercar flooded the interior.
The team leader removed his gloves and approached the supercar.
As he bowed his head in his usual subservient manner and reached for the door handle for the notoriously ill-tempered director—
‘Wait… bare feet?’
The man who had never been seen without his shiny dress shoes—why was he…?
The moment he lifted his head to shout something, a heavy blow struck the team leader’s skull.
Before he could even register whether it was a fist or something else, a disgusting stench—body odor—assaulted his nose.
Fortunately, the team leader lost consciousness in a single strike.
The foul-smelling giant, known as “Thick-Fingered Bandit,” cracked his neck with a loud pop.
“Khhhhrrrrrrgh. You human trafficking bastards. You’re caught red-handed.”
“Fire!”
The men drew their Glocks and opened fire on the giant, but he simply pulled an axe from his coat and hurled it without mercy.
There wasn’t the slightest hint of hesitation in his throw.
In an instant, four axes flew through the air and split the heads of the four traffickers clean open.
Having finished the job, the bandit spoke politely toward the inside of the car.
“Your Majesty. It’s done!”
His booming voice was the kind only someone with zero fear would dare use.
“Yes, Your Majesty. The area is secure.”
From the shadows, the hunter finally revealed himself. He scanned the surroundings one final time to confirm there were no problems.
A foul-smelling giant and a hunter wearing an eyepatch.
Both were shirtless, their bodies covered in bulging muscles and glowing magical tattoos.
At first glance, they looked like the worst kind of criminals imaginable.
White Solar’s President Jeong Han-taek barely managed to open his swollen eyes between the bruises and peered at them.
What kind of terrifying figure would emerge from the car to command these two…?
But the person who stepped out was a well-built young man with a surprisingly gentle, almost dopey face.
“Ugh, hey, clean all this up…”
He couldn’t even bear to look at the corpses?
The bandit quickly rushed over, hoisted the bodies onto his back one by one, carried them outside, and hurled them into the sea. He even meticulously scooped up the spilled blood with his hands.
Watching this, Jeong Han-taek was horrified.
To obey a single word so thoroughly…
Despite his gentle appearance, this person was undoubtedly terrifying.
The young man walked straight toward him.
The closer he came, the more violently Jeong Han-taek’s body trembled.
“Oh dear… those injuries look quite severe.”
A warm voice.
As Jeong Han-taek cautiously raised his eyes, the man’s hand began glowing with pure white light.
“This should feel refreshing.”
The light flashed, and Jeong Han-taek felt his body grow lighter.
The swelling from his bruises rapidly subsided, and the torn flesh knit back together, new skin blooming in its place.
This was the heal spell he had only ever heard about from hunters!
“H-hunter…?”
“Mister. I have one proposal for you.”
“······.”
Kim Hwang-je smiled and said,
“Let’s live together.”
“Pardon?”
Kim Hwang-je absorbed Jeong Han-taek into his body.
* * *
Alice in Wonderland!
No—Uncle in Wonderland!
“This is…”
Jeong Han-taek found himself standing atop the ramparts of a medieval royal castle straight out of a movie.
The surrounding soldiers wore sleek armor and held spears, but the tags with barcodes were still attached to the necks of the armor and the tips of the spears.
“Armor selling for 135,000 won… Spear selling for 115,000 won…”
Jeong Han-taek rubbed his eyes.
The soldiers showed no reaction to his sudden appearance. They looked as if they were seeing something completely ordinary.
And why hadn’t they removed the tags?
The reason was simple.
To them, the tags on items bestowed by the Emperor were proof of loyalty in themselves.
Next, Jeong Han-taek touched the castle wall.
Beneath the neatly cut bricks of the ancient-looking rampart,
Rows upon rows of supercars were parked.
The variety of sleek vehicles was astonishing.
Most were worth hundreds of millions of won each, ranging from massive models to two-seaters.
It looked exactly like someone had transplanted an entire chaebol’s collection here.
With supercars occupying half the castle courtyard, Jeong Han-taek rubbed his eyes again in disbelief.
“No way…”
The more he looked, the more his mind spun.
Maybe he had been beaten so badly that he had finally lost his mind.
This could be a mental hospital, or perhaps a hallucination flashing before his eyes at the moment of death.
BOOM—!
“Aaaah!”
Then a luxurious yacht suddenly descended beside the cars, and Jeong Han-taek screamed.
Helicopters, light aircraft, and motorboats followed one after another, stacking up neatly within the castle grounds. His mind grew increasingly numb.
Yet even amid this chaos, the soldiers didn’t bat an eye.
Just who were these people?
Jeong Han-taek turned his head to look at the other side of this bizarre world.
Below the hill stretched a medieval city.
The buildings looked newly constructed and orderly, and new structures were being built endlessly in every direction.
In what appeared to be a marketplace, medieval folk were busily selling dried fish, fruits, and other goods.
The sewers weren’t buried underground but ran exposed along the streets!
There was naturally no running water system; instead, aqueducts carried water throughout the city.
No matter how he looked at it, this was the Middle Ages.
The inside and outside of the castle walls were so vastly different.
“Interesting, isn’t it?”
“Aaaah!”
Startled, Jeong Han-taek whipped his head around. The man who had healed him with that refreshing light was standing right beside him, flanked by the two terrifying subordinates.
“Come. Let’s walk and talk.”
As the man passed, the soldiers on the ramparts raised their spears to their chests in salute.
Every soldier they passed lined up on both sides to pay their respects. Even as he followed, Jeong Han-taek’s head continued spinning.
“I-is this a dream? My hallucination? Are you showing me the things I’ve always wanted?”
“Hmm. It seems you wanted supercars and a luxury yacht, huh?”
Kim Hwang-je said, noticing how Jeong Han-taek couldn’t tear his eyes away from the dazzling white yacht below the wall.
“The chairman called that one ‘Haetae.’”
“Haetae… Haetae?”
Only then did Jeong Han-taek realize who the true owner of that extravagant three-story yacht was.
The cruel and vicious chaebol chairman—Jo Chun-ki.
It was one of his luxury yachts!
Jeong Han-taek looked around in shock.
Now that he thought about it, some of those supercars definitely belonged to Jo Chun-ki. No doubt about it.
Actually… maybe all of them?
Watching Jeong Han-taek’s face harden and his lips press tightly together, Kim Hwang-je chuckled.
“They all belong to me now. If you want any, I’ll give you a few.”
“…What you’re saying is…”
“That’s right. I killed Jo Chun-ki and stole all his possessions.”
Thud.
Jeong Han-taek’s legs gave out. He collapsed right in front of Kim Hwang-je.
Only now, as his mind began to clear, did he finally notice the crown on the man’s head, the red imperial mantle draped over his shoulders, and the golden scepter in his hand.
He had been beaten so badly that he hadn’t properly registered the sight until now.
But what the man had just said was nothing short of a bolt from the blue.
The revenge he had only dared to dream about—the man had accomplished it in one fell swoop?
At the same time, an overwhelming terror crashed over Jeong Han-taek.
The realization that the true powerhouse who had slain even the monstrous Jo Chun-ki was standing before him left him trembling so violently he couldn’t even straighten his back.
“Are you alright?! You’re sweating buckets! Did he hit your head too hard?!”
The giant’s thunderous voice rang out, and Jeong Han-taek promptly fainted on the spot.
“Aigoo, you idiot. Why are you yelling at a sick man?”
When the eyepatch-wearing man beside him scolded him, the giant hung his head in shame.
At Kim Hwang-je’s gesture, attendants brought chairs and placed them in front of him and Jeong Han-taek.
Kim Hwang-je sat the man down beside him, handed him a cup of fruit-infused water, and spoke while gazing down at the castle courtyard from the ramparts.
“Let me introduce myself properly. This is the castle of my vassal kingdom, and I am the Emperor, Kim Hwang-je.”
In all his life, Jeong Han-taek had never heard such an absurd introduction.
Yet looking at the situation, it clearly wasn’t nonsense.
“Then… Your Majesty…? What is it you want from me…?”
The bandit whistled.
To understand so quickly—this human from the outside world was actually useful.
Kim Hwang-je continued,
“You’re the president of White Solar, the company that manufactures power suits, correct?”
“Yes, that’s right.”
“Why were you kidnapped by Jo Chun-ki?”
“He demanded the mass-production technology for carbon nanosheets… I couldn’t possibly hand it over. It’s a technology I devoted my entire life to…”
Kim Hwang-je only had a vague understanding of the subject. From the side, Seo Jun-seo quietly whispered in his ear.
“Sir. It’s a technology capable of mass-producing a special material called graphene. It’s used to manufacture solar cells and the special plastic components for high-performance power suits.”
What the hell is graphene?
Still, in front of Jeong Han-taek’s bright, intelligent eyes, Kim Hwang-je nodded knowingly.
Did he look dignified?
Of course he looked dignified.
Jeong Han-taek was trembling with awe at the [halo] radiating from Kim Hwang-je’s crown.
For some reason, an irresistible urge to stand by this man’s side surged within him!
“Exactly. With this technology, we could cut the production cost of current power suits in half while making them twice as durable and long-lasting. If only Jo Chun-ki hadn’t interfered!”
“You said it existed?”
His resentful tone was almost comical.
That was understandable. Having just been brutally beaten, Jeong Han-taek still couldn’t fully accept that this was reality.
Feeling a touch of pity for him, Kim Hwang-je leaned back in his chair and said,
“Jo Chun-ki is dead, and I want to hire you. So now, can’t you make whatever you want however you want?”
“…!”
As Jeong Han-taek’s eyes widened, Kim Hwang-je added one more thing.
“Also, can you mount guns on supercars? What do they call those again…”
“…You mean technicals, sir.”
Normally one mounted magical wands on rotting used pickup trucks, not guns on supercars.
But Seo Jun-seo had given up on pointing out every little absurdity days ago.
“Yes. That’s the one.”
If the boss was satisfied, that was enough.
Jeong Han-taek would simply have to follow along.
Seo Jun-seo accepted the situation cleanly.
He looked at Jeong Han-taek—whose complicated emotions were written plainly across his face—with sympathetic eyes.
Kim Hwang-je cleared his throat and continued.
“Why? I want to put power suits on cars, and power suits on monsters too, you know?”