Labyrinth Ramen and Record-Breaking Ranks

"What the hell is this? For real? This is actual food?"

"Kerrrk, eat up, kerrrk."

"C-can I really eat ramen?! Can I have two?!"

"Three's fine too, krrrk."

"Proper food inside the Labyrinth… what kind of luxury is this."

"Hey, what's going on?"

"You a Hyeolma Guard member too? Come sit down!"

"W-what exactly is this?"

"Reactions are solid."

Warm broth and delicious food melted even the Awakened's wariness like snow under the sun.

This was the positive side of the Hyeolma Guard!

Even if they were goblins, just knowing there were beings protecting me eased the mental burden.

Mongmo, who had been watching the third-person view from my shoulder, puffed out his cheeks in clear displeasure.

"Master. This is far too inefficient!"

"What is?"

"The Hobgoblin is currently the strongest among our familiars! Using that kind of manpower just to sell food? And it's not even proper business!"

Mongmo hopped down onto the desk with a patter and jabbed his finger at the Hobgoblin on the screen.

"This is volunteer work! Even if we receive goods in exchange from non-members, it's a loss when you consider the Hobgoblin's value! A loss!"

"Hmm, I suppose you're right."

"If you know that, then why start something like this?!"

"First off, it has to be a Hobgoblin. That's the main reason."

Obviously, if an ordinary goblin pulled a cart around, every blind Awakened would attack it on sight. But the items wrapped around its body and the imposing presence from its larger frame than a normal Hobgoblin made the difference.

Any Awakened who had graduated from ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠the first floor would feel it.

That's no ordinary monster. Mess with it and you'll die.

So they wouldn't even think of attacking in the first place. An injury in the Labyrinth could easily lead to death. Risking your life for a few bowls of ramen and dumplings? On top of that, the gear was custom-fitted for the Hobgoblin's physique—humans couldn't even use it, so it wasn't worth the trouble.

"And second. We're already making plenty of money, aren't we?"

"What does that have to do with anything? No matter how much money we make, it's never enough!"

"Mongmo, what are you even planning to do with all that money?"

"…Buy peanuts?"

"Haven't we already earned enough to last a lifetime?"

"Expand the business?"

"And if we expand and make even more money?"

"Expand the business even further?"

"…If we keep expanding like that, what then?"

"World domination?"

"…"

What the hell, this flying squirrel's ambitions are huge.

"Anyway, what's the point of just hoarding money? We should share some customer benefits with what we've earned."

"…Benefits or whatever, we should just focus on making money!"

"We're already making good money elsewhere, right?"

Seven thousand Hyeolma Guard members. The Hyeolma Gentleman equipment business.

And finally—

"We've got the Golden Goblin, so this much is nothing."

The Golden Goblin, unable to sortie and itching to move, was huffing roughly back at the base.

"Eheheh… eheheh…!"

These days, the area in front of Hyeolma Building was always noisy from 9 a.m. to 6 p.m., except during lunch.

"…They sure keep their lunch break on schedule even during commute hours."

Park Bok-hae was looking down at the scene from the president's office.

To think he'd end up seeing something like this after becoming the president of a large corporation.

In the past, when he passed protests on the street, he never gave them a second thought. But now it felt different.

Those protests were happening because of his son, weren't they?

Park Bok-hae had been studying hard about the Labyrinth to become a proper CEO.

No matter how he looked at it, those people weren't starving to death, were they? Couldn't they just lower their prices a bit?

Where did fair competition and market principles go?

Or they could create a differentiated premium market.

"Sigh… Honestly, isn't Magic grade already considered civilian-tier? Crafters don't even accept Magic requests that well."

Awakened discontent was through the roof, with crafter power abuse always trending in related searches.

Then Hyeolma Gentleman appeared.

An equipment store that treated customers like customers instead of forcing them to grovel? Of course the Awakened's eyes would spin.

"Still, it's a bit scary…"

At first he tried to brush it off, but the protests had been getting more intense lately.

Just this morning on his way to work, Park Bok-hae got hit with a raw egg.

Scary… Being CEO is tough…

"Maybe I should just quit…"

Being CEO was cool, but he never expected things like this to happen. Last time it was reporters, now protests.

Park Bok-hae's timid nature wasn't suited for the lofty status of the Hyeolma Group.

"…Well, it seems like things have stabilized now, so I might as well just live off my son's success."

Park Bok-hae ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠picked up his phone.

Tap tap.

Ring ring ring.

The call connected.

"Hello?"

"Hey, son."

"Yes, Dad. I was just about to call you. Is work going okay?"

"Ah, that's why I'm calling. Actually, you see… I've been tired lately, so maybe I should stop working—"

"Right. Did you check your salary?"

"…Salary?"

"Yes. It should have been deposited today. Please check."

Park Bok-hae, as if possessed, opened the banking app on his phone.

The deposit history on the screen.

"One, ten, hundred, thousand, ten thousand, one hundred thousand… ten million… huh?"

Something was wrong with the amount. There were way too many zeros.

Park Bok-hae rubbed his eyes and stared at the phone again at the number he'd never seen before.

"Huh? Hahaha. This must be a mistake. Son! You sent it wrong! Looks like an extra zero got added."

"Huh? No, I sent it correctly."

"You sent it correctly? This is salary, right? Not annual pay?"

"That's right. Five hundred million won per month."

"…What?"

"Monthly salary of five hundred million. You're the president of a company with over a hundred billion in revenue, so you should be getting at least that much, right?"

"What? This isn't annual salary, this is monthly?!"

"Yes! Dad—no, Father! Thank you for your hard work this past month! Please continue to take care of things!"

"…"

Park Bok-hae's brain froze at the astronomical sum he'd never touched in his life.

Five hundred million a month… annual salary… six billion?

"And performance bonuses are separate, of course."

Even without the bonus?!

"By the way, what were you saying earlier? Something about being tired and quitting?"

"T-tired? Work is going great!!!"

"…Yes?"

"Ah? Ahahaha? Mwahahaha! I guess this is just my constitution! When I'm tired, work goes even better!!!"

"Ah… I see. That's good to hear."

"Yeah, son! If you need anything, just say the word!!"

"Yes! Thank you. If it's too hard, please tell me! Once things stabilize, I'll hire a professional manager."

"Professional manager, my foot! I can work until retirement! All I have to do is get hit with eggs and sign papers, right?!"

"Eggs…?"

"Never mind! Anyway, Dad's off to sign more papers! Son! ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠I love you!!!"

"Yes? Y-yes… Take care…!"

Click!

"Ha, haha? Mwahahahahaha!"

Park Bok-hae hung up and started laughing like a madman.

"Five hundred million… Get hit with an egg on the way to work, watch YouTube and Netflix all day, and just sign whatever I'm told—five hundred million a month!"

Wasn't this a dream job?

Nothing could possibly go wrong.

His son owned 99% of the shares as chairman. What could anyone do?

"What should I do with this? Buy a whole new set of fishing rods! No, maybe save up for a few months and buy a boat? Mwahahaha!"

The gloomy Park Bok-hae who had been weighed down by CEO responsibilities was gone.

"I'm so happy! Having a son like that lets me live this kind of life!!!"

The man standing here now was Park Bok-hae, who had been considering resignation just moments ago but had his motivation fully recharged on payday.

"Ughhh!! Aaaagh!! What the hell are these bastards doing in the Labyrinth!!!"

Kim Dan tore at his hair while scrolling through the community forums.

He had poured everything into worsening public opinion about Hyeolma Gentleman and Shut-in Blood Demon.

Thousands of people had been mobilized. Crafters, and even companies Kim Dan frequently used, had been paid off.

Every community, internet news site, news comments, YouTube, and personal blogs were flooded with posts about Hyeolma Gentleman and Shut-in Blood Demon.

They were evil! Awaken, fellow Awakened!

But the new Hyeolma Guard business had flipped public opinion once again.

"Food business inside the Labyrinth? Free distribution for members? These bastards!! Are they camping in the Labyrinth now?!"

Awakened who had to fight desperately while breaking their equipment were now living easy in the Labyrinth.

Conditions improved. Combat became easier. Equipment broke less often.

A high-ranker raising the nation's prestige was also looking after the livelihood of ordinary first- and second-floor Awakened?

A business genius with a human touch.

Even though he'd never shown his face, the community already called him "our bro."

Kim Dan, trembling with rage, shouted at his assistants outside.

"What are you doing!! Post more comments right now!! Get people to post as many as possible!!!"

"Y-yes sir!"

The assistants fled the room to escape the furious Kim Dan.

Still seething, Kim Dan grabbed a nearby ceramic vase and hurled it against the wall.

Crash!

"What's the big deal about ten Ether!!! Even on the world ranking, that's below 100th place!!!"

Shut-in Blood Demon, number one on the national monthly Ether ranking.

He had achieved the incredible feat of gathering ten Ether in just two days after the reset, but globally it was nothing special.

But there was one thing he overlooked.

The monthly ranking was measured over a full month.

"At this ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠rate, the second-floor users should be finishing their farming and getting out, right?"

With two days left until the second floor's reset, I entered the Labyrinth and called for him.

By now, there shouldn't be any users left on the second floor.

Of course, the Ether count would have decreased a bit after being found.

"We'll split it. It's not like finding one or two more will make me eat garlic tomorrow."

"U-uhih??"

"Yeah, same as last time. You know what to do?"

"Uheheheheh!! Uheeeeeh!!!"

"Go."

Shhhk.

The moment I gave the order, the Golden Goblin vanished, leaving only an afterimage.

The national monthly ranking measured the total Ether collected over one month.

One month was four weeks.

The Labyrinth's second floor reset every two weeks.

That meant—

"There's still one more chance."

Korea stirred once again.