Chapter 108
Chapter 108
Chapter 108: Production Golem (2)
Translation: godtl
Silky black hair cascading down like fine silk.
The sharply upturned eyes typical of East Asians, complete with a beauty mark beneath.
"Hehe. Surrounded by too many beauties, are we? I didn't expect to see that kind of expression from you~."
A woman whose appearance perfectly embodied the phrase "a fox that ensnares people."
As her eyes curved even more bewitchingly—
"Ah...... uh......"
The Night Hunter, Park Jin-uk's face went blank.
But only for a moment.
"Wh—when did you—?!"
His face flushed slightly as he hurried toward the door, his expression a mix of embarrassment and fluster.
"I clearly guided you to the waiting room, didn't I?!"
"You did guide me. But you never said to stay there, did you?"
Grin.
The woman parried his words with unnerving ease.
"......"
Perhaps too stunned to respond, Jin-uk's mouth hung slightly open, unable to utter a word.
"Sigh. It's fine, Jin-uk."
Si-mun let out a small sigh and patted the frozen Jin-uk on the shoulder.
Then, with a slight furrow of his brow, he turned his gaze toward the smirking beauty.
"What brings someone as busy as you all the way here?"
"My, my. This is the first time I've been looked at like that by a man."
"Enough with the lies."
"So sharp~. That hurts, you know?"
"Tch......"
This woman... she's a formidable opponent.
Si-mun let out a dry laugh and roughly swept his bangs back.
"Lin, I just finished an Arena match. I'm exhausted."
"I actually watched your broadcast on my way here. You were as incredible as the rumors say~. Made the trip much less boring. But speaking of which......"
Lin, the Nine-Tailed Fox in her past life.
Now known as the owner of the Black Market, her eyes curved even more slyly.
"Care to say it again?"
"I just finished an Arena match. I'm tired."
"No, not that~."
"Then what else— Oh."
It seemed he'd realized what she was hinting at.
'Is she seriously asking me to say her name? For no reason?'
Si-mun sighed even deeper and shook his head.
'This woman is exhausting every single time.'
The owner of the Black Market.
A woman who could deduce countless pieces of information from a single word.
Even without that, every word she spoke was nerve-wracking, and now she was playing games just to hear her name?
'Did she figure out that I know her real name?'
Or maybe she was just testing him.
Even in her past life, she had been a master at this kind of psychological warfare.
'Can't let myself get swept up in her pace.'
Steeling his resolve, Si-mun fortified his mental defenses.
"Hmm~ So this is Si-mun's research lab."
"Wh—when did you—?! Hey! You can't just barge in there!"
Completely bypassing the senses of Park Jin-uk, a Diamond-ranked Assassin.
Somehow, Lin had already slipped into the lab uninvited.
"So this is where you make the cure."
Her eyes brimming with curiosity, she scanned the interior of the lab.
Normally, barging into the workspace of an alchemist or any Production-class player like this would be considered highly disrespectful, but—
"Oh-ho~ Using only Mithril Golems for the work? No humans at all. Well, humans are unreliable. As expected of Si-mun~. We really are on the same wavelength."
Lin strolled around the lab as if it were her own, examining everything with ease.
Watching this, Jin-uk cautiously whispered to Si-mun.
"Uh... Si-mun? Is it really okay to just let her do that?"
As someone who knew the unspoken rules of a Player's workspace, Jin-uk couldn't help but ask.
"It's fine."
Si-mun merely shrugged lightly.
"It's not like she can replicate anything just by looking."
Renowned Production-class players each had their own unique systems in place.
And since Si-mun was an alchemist classified under the Magic Class, the differences were even more pronounced.
On top of that—
'Most of the cure production relies on future technology anyway.'
Arena Disease cures.
Originally, these were only mass-produced after the official Arena began, using materials gathered from it.
But the majority of the Arena Disease cures Si-mun was currently producing—from processing to refinement to completion—
Were all being manufactured using future production techniques.
Even fellow Production-class players or alchemists wouldn't dare claim they could decipher it.
No matter how sharp Lin was, there was no way she could figure it out.
And most crucially—
'Ugh, that damn fox. She's scrutinizing everything like a hawk.'
The owner of the grumbling voice.
'What's she think she'll see? She doesn't know jack about alchemy, so why's she eyeing everything like that?'
Without the Philosopher's Stone, mass-producing the cure would be outright impossible.
The Philosopher's Stone, now a homunculus thanks to [Paracelsus's Flask].
Without that guy, maintaining this massive cure production system would be impossible.
Just as Si-mun expected—
"Ah~ This is too much for me."
Lin, who had been scanning the lab with sharp, curious eyes, finally raised the white flag.
"The workshops of famous alchemists—I've visited quite a few in my time—but Sir Si-mun's? I can't make heads or tails of it."
Her ever-present playful smile remained, yet her gaze held an unusual seriousness as she studied Si-mun.
"How should I put it... It's like glimpsing knowledge from the future, isn't it?"
Si-mun flinched internally at her words, though outwardly, he maintained an utterly indifferent expression.
"Hoho! That doesn't sound like me at all. What an unrealistic thing to say."
Lin herself seemed to find the statement far-fetched, waving her hand dismissively with a laugh.
Then—
"All of this is because of our esteemed customer, isn't it?"
She stepped closer with a smile both infuriating and charming.
"With such an incredible workshop at your disposal, how could I possibly keep my wits about me~?"
"Yes. I suppose so."
Si-mun's reply was dry and unemotional. Anyone else might have taken offense, but—
"Hoho. Was I being a bit too much?"
Lin, as always, maintained her unwavering smile.
Of course—
"A bit? You were excessively so."
"Haah..."
Her facade crumbled the moment Si-mun countered.
Lin shot him a sharp glare.
"The owner of the Black Market personally delivers your goods, and this is how you treat me?"
"You haven't actually delivered them yet, have you?"
Si-mun didn't back down an inch. Lin pursed her lips in irritation.
"Honestly, you're the first man to treat me like this, Sir Si-mun."
"As I said earlier, quit the nonsense."
"My, and so perceptive too."
Chuckling dryly at Si-mun's ironclad demeanor, she opened her inventory.
Lin pulled out two hefty sacks—visibly weighty just by their appearance.
"I packed a little more than you requested. Go ahead and check."
Thud.
With a single hand, she casually dropped both sacks onto the table.
For the first time, Si-mun's previously indifferent eyes gleamed with interest.
"How did you manage this? I expected shortages, not an increase in quantity."
"Got lucky. Some stock surfaced in America and Europe not long ago."
She placed a hand dramatically on her forehead, as if exhausted.
"I had to call in every favor I had just to secure it~! So, how about a little gratitude? Just once—'Lin~! Thank you!'"
Si-mun ignored her theatrics and opened the sacks.
"Hooh."
An involuntary exclamation escaped him at the pristine luster.
He checked the information windows for each mineral.
[Adamantium Ore]
Grade: SS
Ore from the Demon Realm.
Possesses formidable resistance and flexibility.
[Orichalcum Ore]
Grade: SS
Ore from the Celestial Realm.
Possesses formidable durability and compatibility.
Unlike mithril, these two SS-grade minerals.
In terms of raw specs, there wasn't a significant difference, but their esoteric acquisition routes—celestial and demonic—and their unique properties more than justified their SS-rank.
Moreover—
'If I refine them properly, they could even reach SSS-grade.'
That was the key difference between adamantium, orichalcum, and mithril.
Clink.
Rummaging further through the sacks, Si-mun inspected each mineral carefully.
"Good."
A satisfied smile crossed his lips.
CRASH!
A high-end table, crafted from Arena timber, shattered into splinters.
"What did you just say?"
The words were spat out like they'd been chewed first.
The burly middle-aged man shook off the wooden fragments clinging to his fist.
The man prostrating before him flinched but didn't dare hesitate.
"T-The Moderate Faction has regrouped under the former Guild Master's leadership..."
He answered swiftly, praying that fist wouldn't turn toward him next.
"Guild Master?"
The burly man's eyes narrowed sharply at the term.
"Huh? Ah!"
Realizing his mistake, the subordinate hastily corrected himself.
"F-Former Guild Master! I meant the former Guild Master!"
"That's right. That's what you should mean."
The burly man's raised brows relaxed slightly—but the dangerous glint in his eyes didn't fade entirely.
"Vice Guild Master Jong Wan-ji remains in his position, but the Guild Master's seat has already been relinquished, hasn't it?"
"Y-Yes, Vice Guild Master!"
One of the two guilds hailed as the world's strongest.
The Continent Guild's Vice Guild Master, Jong Wan-ji, stroked his thick jaw with a heavy hand.
"Still, the scattered Moderate Faction regrouping...?"
It wasn't entirely unexpected.
"Perhaps due to our young prodigy Seo Wi-ryong's efforts?"
Seo Wi-ryong.
Among the Continent Guild's rising stars, he stood out as exceptionally skilled.
Unfortunately—
He was one who shared the former Guild Master's ideals.
"Exceedingly irritating."
From Jong Wan-ji's perspective—a staunch supporter of the current Guild Master—he was nothing short of a thorn in their side.
"W-Well, Seo Wi-ryong hasn't actually done anything yet..."
The man who had been prostrating himself cautiously began to speak.
"That's correct."
Jong Wan-ji, who nodded in agreement, curled up one corner of his mouth.
"Though Young Master Seo Wi-ryong is exceptional, he's not capable enough to sway the hearts of the scattered Moderate Faction."
"......"
The prostrating man couldn't bring himself to say anything more.
And for good reason—he knew.
In fact, it wasn't just him. Every member of the Continent Guild knew.
"Ah, there's no need to mince words. What can we possibly do about the mess created by that incompetent trash, Kang Hwa-wi?"
The reason the current power dynamics within the Continent Guild had shifted so drastically.
"Because of that fool, we've suffered a staggering loss of 2.3 billion yuan per month."
2.3 billion yuan.
Approximately 430 billion won in Korean currency.
Even for the Continent Guild, hailed as one of the world's top two guilds,
a monthly expenditure of 430 billion was a significant hemorrhage.
And to think they were spending that much on the very Gold-tier Rising Star who had caused this disaster?
Jong Wan-ji let out a hollow laugh and shook his head.
"Well, it doesn't matter. There are plenty of Rising Stars to replace him, and we've already held him accountable and punished him."
As if it were nothing.
Waving his hand dismissively, Jong Wan-ji spoke lightly, causing the prostrating man to flinch slightly.
But the man was of no concern to him.
'But all of this...'
Jong Wan-ji, his flesh buried in rolls of fat, glared through the open window with sharp eyes.
'...must be the machinations of the Sword Saint, Kim Si-hyeok.'
A player who, despite being in his early twenties,
was revered as the Continent Guild's strongest, rivaling even the Fist King, Jong-ri Chu.
'To think he's been monopolizing a Growth Buff of that caliber all this time... That cunning little brat.'
With a Growth Buff like that, even the Sword Saint's unbelievable rise made sense.
At least,
that had been the assumption until yesterday.
"The report from this morning—it's definitely true, right?"
"Of course, Vice Guild Master. Riko, the Rising Star from Masamune, claims she saw Seo Wi-ryong and Kim Si-mun conversing for quite some time."
"Hmm. So that's the case, is it?"
Back when that imbecile Kang Hwa-wi had caused the incident,
the only witnesses to that spar were players from four countries: Korea, China, Japan, and the U.S.
So there was no way the intel from Japan's Masamune Guild could be wrong.
Though, considering their usual relationship with Masamune, trusting their words was laughable.
'Kim Si-mun...'
The name Kim Si-mun kept circling in Jong Wan-ji's mind.
Naturally.
'The man who survived assassinations from both Desperado and our side.'
And when you considered that Kim Si-mun had only been Gold-tier at the time,
surviving two assassination attempts was downright impossible.
Which was why Masamune's intel couldn't be dismissed outright.
'Could Kim Si-mun have joined forces with Seo Wi-ryong out of spite?'
It was a stretch.
Even if he knew the Continent Guild was behind the assassinations,
what could a mere Gold-tier possibly do to help Seo Wi-ryong?
All Kim Si-mun had done was beat up that idiot Kang Hwa-wi.
The real reason the previously silent Moderate Faction had rallied was because the Sword Saint had appointed Seo Wi-ryong as the mediator...
"Wait."
Jong Wan-ji's eyes, buried in fat, snapped open.
'Come to think of it, the name Kim Si-mun... Where have I heard it before?'
Where was it? Definitely somewhere...
His pupils, barely visible between folds of flesh, darted back and forth.
Then—
"Ah! That's right! Over ten years ago, back then!"
"Vice Guild Master?"
The prostrating man tilted his head in confusion, but Jong Wan-ji was lost in his own thoughts.
Though the world didn't know it,
the Continent Guild had also played a hand in the incident that occurred in Korea a decade ago.
And the man who had reached out to them back then was—
'Kim Mu-yeol.'
A First Generation Ranker known as the Iron Wood King.
Jong Wan-ji turned his gaze back to the prostrating man.
"These days, our Korean Association President has been quiet, hasn't he?"
"Well... After the last assassination attempt, contact has been sparse. It seems he's lost some trust in us."
"Ah, understandable. The Iron Wood King is a rather sensitive man. Then that avenue is closed..."
Jong Wan-ji tilted his head slightly and made a subtle gesture.
Whoosh.
His inventory materialized in the air.
"Young Master Seo Wi-ryong is going to Korea tomorrow, correct?"
"Yes. As designated by the Sword Saint, he's traveling as the negotiator for next month's rental fees."
"Then give him this. Tell him to deliver it to the Korean side as a token of apology."
Jong Wan-ji held out a glass vial filled with a deep crimson liquid.
"D-DS, you mean?!"
The man's eyes bulged, but Jong Wan-ji merely nodded with a genial smile.
"Only something of this caliber will appease the Sword Saint's wrath, don't you think?"
"U-Understood. I'll deliver it immediately."
The man who received the DS left the room.
Silence descended upon the chamber.
Jong Wan-ji, who had been sitting with his eyes closed, savoring the quiet, finally exhaled deeply and opened his eyes.
'If this gift were to reach not the Sword Saint... but Kim Si-mun instead...'
Then all these doubts and speculations would be confirmed.
At the same time.
"I could fasten the leash that failed to bind the Sword Saint... around his neck instead."
Jong Wan-ji curled the corners of his lips into a sly smile.