Chapter 74
Chapter 74
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Translator: Ryuma
Chapter: 74
Chapter Title: Forged Bonds and Upgrades
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Myth Forge.
Originally, it was a fairly ordinary(?) forge that used a single massive high-rise building as its base. But ever since Shin-hyeok took over, the Myth Forge had grown day by day.
One building wasn't enough, so they bought up the surrounding structures. Even that wasn't sufficient, so they snapped up nearby commercial districts one by one.
Before long, an entire commercial zone had formed, turning the area around the Myth Forge into a self-sustaining little complex—a miniature town run solely by the forge itself.
Of course, even so, access to the main Myth Forge building and its satellite structures was strictly off-limits to civilians.
Anyway, upon arriving at this place, Shin-hyeok headed straight underground.
It had originally been built as storage for key materials and for final inspections of equipment before shipment. But not today.
"Ughhh!!!"
"Ughhhh!!!"
"Guhhhh!!!"
A sea of crimson blood.
To be precise, the blood was flowing from assassins dressed in black, bound in the basement.
"You've arrived, young master. I went ahead and started the interrogation before you got here. Was that unnecessary?"
"No, our suspicions are solid, but we lack hard evidence, so we needed to create some like this. You did well, Director Hong. Right?"
"Yes, well. Just looking at their assassination techniques makes their affiliation obvious."
Director Hong, who had been personally torturing the assassins, shrugged lightly in his spotless suit, not a drop of blood on him.
The fact that he could identify an assassin's organization from their techniques alone hinted at just how high up he was in the assassin world.
'Grandpa's impressive too. Keeping someone like him as his chief secretary. Or maybe it's the other way around. Director Hong might have gained his current shadow thanks to Grandpa.'
As Shin-hyeok pondered whether it was his grandfather Cheol-ho who was remarkable for having Director Hong at his side, or Director Hong who was remarkable for earning his grandfather's trust and staying by his side all these years, he tossed Jin Zhaoping—whom he'd dragged here from the limousine—onto the floor.
Thud!
"Guhhh..."
"A division leader, huh. I had my suspicions when I saw the ones dispatched to my side, but you really caught a division leader yourself, young master?"
"Yes. He was easy, actually. After dealing with someone like you, Director Hong, this guy felt anticlimactic."
"Haha, laying on the flattery, are we?"
Director Hong, who had instantly gauged Jin Zhaoping's power level, marveled before breaking into a gentle smile at Shin-hyeok's candid words.
He knew it was gold-plating, but that didn't stop it from feeling good.
True praise held real meaning only when it came from those in high positions—from the strong.
And since Shin-hyeok qualified on both counts, it was only natural for Director Hong to be pleased.
"Shall we scrape this one too?"
"It's all for show anyway. We've got the basics already, so it's time to hand him off elsewhere."
"Elsewhere meaning...?"
"The Player Affairs Minister. The one we met recently should be able to swallow this whole. Oh, and since he's tied to the Chinese side, let's call in the NIS too."
"You're planning to blow this up big, aren't you?"
"Yes. Everyone knows about China's talent poaching and forced naturalizations, but they've been sweeping it under the rug. We can't keep doing that forever. And I think now's the perfect time to let it all out. Don't you agree, Director Hong?"
"Hm... No, you're right. It's timely. The NIS and Player Affairs would love to sink their teeth into anything China-related, so this could be the spark they need. Especially if we back them up. The only issue might be the diplomatic fallout between Korea and China..."
"State affairs are for the state officials to handle."
"Haha, exactly. Folks like us don't need to meddle in national matters. Spot on."
Director Hong, who had been about to torture Jin Zhaoping as well, readily agreed with Shin-hyeok.
A significant number of players under the Myth Group had defected to China in the past, so he shared the dislike for them.
In this situation, landing a solid hit on China?
It was worth whatever losses they might incur.
"And it won't be pure loss for us either."
"Pardon? Why's that?"
"In the end, players call the shots in everything. Combat or production—it doesn't matter. Take production: Myth Forge and Paracelsus are already crushing or poised to crush China's forges and pharma. Combat: There's a huge gap with their Twin Emperors and Twin Kings, but that's changing now."
"...No way, young master?"
"I've got a solid read from this incident. Nothing below king-level is my match anymore. Kings are about the same. Anything below emperor-level is manageable. Hell, even scraping the bottom of emperor-level might not be out of reach."
Above all, Shin-hyeok's own power had skyrocketed upon reaching Platinum, so there was no real downside.
For player gear production: forges.
For player elixirs: pharma.
These two fields had propelled Korea to top emperor status via Myth Forge and Paracelsus.
In combat, the gap with the Twin Emperors and Twin Kings was vast, but adding Shin-hyeok's weight tipped the scales toward Korea.
Especially—
"Doesn't the idea of me hitting Diamond excite you?"
"...Ah. Right. You're still Platinum, young master. Ha, hahaha!"
Shin-hyeok was still Platinum.
A fresh-out-of-the-box, squeaky-clean Platinum at that.
He'd accomplished so much that even Director Hong had momentarily forgotten and lumped him in with Diamonds—Shin-hyeok's prowess was that extraordinary.
A Platinum pulling this off, now ascending to Diamond?
'There might even be a new rank above emperor...'
The global player power structure could flip entirely.
Director Hong shuddered with anticipation at the thought—but only briefly.
"Let's call the Player Affairs Minister and NIS Director first."
"Yes, sir. They'll be crawling here on all fours in under an hour."
At Shin-hyeok's quiet words, Director Hong nodded with a tense, determined expression and pulled out his phone.
Director Hong hadn't exaggerated one bit.
With a chaotic clatter, the NIS Director and Player Affairs Minister truly arrived on all fours in the basement. They grimaced at the blood-soaked surroundings but soon flashed bright smiles as they carted off Director Hong's assassins.
They knew the cards now in their hands were a royal flush—enough to pummel every dirty secret China had ignored up to now.
"Brother's upstairs, right?"
"Moved him to the top floor right after the attack. Security's layered thick below."
"Hm, guess I'll go fetch him. I'll crash here tonight. Bringing him home might just freak him out."
"Understood."
To meet Se-jin, the target of the attack, Shin-hyeok left the basement and boarded the secret elevator to the top floor.
Arriving at the pinnacle in an instant, dozens of stories up, he cautiously opened the firmly locked forge door and stepped inside.
"Hey, Shin-hyeok! You okay?"
"I'm fine, obviously. You?"
"Director Hong, security, and the guards kept me safe—no issues. I'm more worried about you, jumping into the fray yourself."
Fortunately, Se-jin was unharmed.
Sitting haphazardly in the darkened forge's center, dazedly sipping instant coffee, Se-jin tossed his cup aside the moment Shin-hyeok entered and rushed over, groping him all over.
Se-jin prodded Shin-hyeok's entire body for a good while, checking for injuries, before finally letting go.
"Ugh, getting manhandled by another grown man feels kinda weird."
"Hey, do you know how worried I was? Sigh, seriously worried."
"...That much?"
"Shin-hyeok, we've only known each other a few months, but you're like blood to me. Thanks to you, the guy who couldn't even swing a hammer properly in a leaky shack by Cheonggyecheon is now hammering away worry-free on the top floor of a skyscraper."
"Brother, that's—"
"Bound to happen eventually? Sure, maybe. But you sped it up big time, right?"
"...Yeah."
"And that's just the start of what I owe you. In-gyun and So-yeon treat me like their own son. Shin-woo treats me like a big brother. Su-ah and Hye-rin feel like grown little sisters. It's like I finally have a family."
"..."
"Haha, though Hye-rin calling you 'daddy' still makes me flinch... Eh, kinda fun in its own way."
Shin-hyeok, who'd been squirming under Se-jin's hands, couldn't keep up the playfulness in the face of his brother's earnest words.
Se-jin's heartfelt truth—something Shin-hyeok had never heard before.
Even the smile at the end didn't dilute the sincerity within.
Family.
How precious that word, which stung just to hear, must be to Se-jin.
Perhaps it meant more to him than even picking up the hammer again—more than the family he'd gained through Shin-hyeok.
And so, Shin-hyeok—the one who'd made that family possible—was undoubtedly Se-jin's most vital anchor and center.
The thought of losing him.
Not even the fact that the odds were less than 0.1% would matter to Se-jin.
"...Sorry. I'll be more careful."
"Good, you get it. But you don't need to hold back. Playing it safe often backfires. And you know players better than I do anyway—no lectures from me."
"Hm..."
Even so, Se-jin didn't impose his views on Shin-hyeok.
Families worrying over warriors heading to battle might wish for safety and caution, but that could become a noose tightening around the warrior's neck.
Of course—
"But there's one area where I can advise: your gear. Pull it all out. Today, I'm upgrading your equipment to the max of what I can do."
"...Brother?"
"You need upgrades on armor, holy sword, and bow, right? Good. With your materials plus the unique and legend-grade stuff in the Myth Forge vault, we can push them all to legend-grade."
"Wait, hold on—"
"Oh, and hitting Platinum bumped your Metallurgy skill to A-rank, yeah? Perfect. Use that Plus Ultra Ring from last time to transcend it to S-rank. That'll sync perfectly with me."
"Hm..."
Se-jin resolved to do what he could in his own way.
Weapon crafting and upgrading.
Knowing he couldn't fight at Shin-hyeok's side, Se-jin decided to pour everything into what he could do.
Before this mad fervor, Shin-hyeok could only nod with a groan.
Whoosh!
Flames erupted in the darkened forge.
Fires lighting up the night sky from within the skyscraper.