Chapter 68
“Sir. No, Donghoon.”
“Yes?”
“Please take me in.”
“Huh?”
Kim Jina’s sudden declaration, made just as she walked into the workshop, caught me completely off guard.
And of all times, it had to be right when I’d just finished massage training with the old man.
“Hmph, this brat.”
The old man narrowed his eyes beside me.
“I thought your mind had been wandering lately. So this is why—you’ve been dallying with a woman?”
‘That’s not it!’
I didn’t know what she meant at first, but I had a hunch.
From the very first time we met, she’d looked at me with the eyes of someone evaluating a prospect.
I shrugged.
“What do you mean, take you in?”
“I’m talking about your Dmir Workshop that’s about to take off. Let’s grow it together! I’ll turn it into something beyond a company—beyond a guild!”
“Excuse me?”
“What you need right now, Donghoon, is talent. Someone capable, efficient—like me.”
“……”
My lips parted slightly.
I was speechless.
Wasn’t that a bit too confident?
Or was this some new, bold job application trend—just barge in and declare yourself indispensable?
You know, those dramatic success stories—“You’ve got guts, kid! I like that spirit! Work for me!”
“How amusing.”
Even the old man looked intrigued.
“She’s gifted, no doubt. Not one suited for martial growth, but blessed with business talent—sharp with numbers and quick to foresee the future. Had she lived in my world, she’d have become a grand chancellor.”
‘That much?’
“If one seeks to be a king of the world, having someone like her on your side would only bring advantage. Not that I ever needed such help.”
‘Huh.’
I couldn’t help but be impressed.
I already knew she was exceptional from her insight alone, but hearing such praise from this old man, who rarely gave it, was proof enough.
“So, you’re saying you’ll turn Dmir Workshop into something beyond a guild? What do you mean by that?”
Guilds, huh.
I’d never even considered it.
My goal was simply to create the best workshop in the country and make money.
The workshop itself was just a stepping stone—fuel to help me ascend to the ranker level.
“It’s the trend these days, Donghoon. Whatever business you start, it inevitably grows into a guild. Take White Boar for example—they started as a workshop too, and now they’re a major merchant guild. As Dmir grows, you’ll face more competition and interference. To fight that, you’ll eventually need power—both financial and physical. That’s how all workshops evolve.”
“Hmm. I guess that makes sense.”
Perhaps it was like how all arts, when perfected, converged into one truth.
“So, it won’t be easy alone. Money, manpower, paperwork, legal matters—you’ll have to handle all of it. Plus, social gatherings, inter-guild politics, lobbying with associations, trade unions, and even the government.”
“Ugh.”
Just hearing it made my head hurt.
“I thought I only had to focus on crafting weapons.”
“Well, yes, that’s the main part!”
She nodded enthusiastically.
“But that’s exactly why I’m here—to make sure you can focus solely on that.”
“Now that’s appealing.”
Not bad at all.
Having someone the old man himself praised as extraordinary under my wing—it’d be foolish to turn her away.
“Alright then. How about salary?”
“Nothing big. Just pay me according to what I prove I’m worth. Stock options, cash—it doesn’t matter.”
“Really?”
“Though, to be honest, most employers end up regretting not being able to pay me more. Hehe. I’m confident you’ll feel the same.”
“Ha, good mindset.”
That confidence was ranker-level in itself.
“Well, as long as you’re competent, I can pay as much as you deserve.”
As I said before, I wasn’t obsessed with money itself.
Money was just a tool—to build the environment I needed to reach higher.
If she could help with that, the cost didn’t matter.
I smiled and extended my hand.
“Then let’s work together. We can discuss the details later.”
“It’s an honor, President.”
She bowed respectfully and shook my hand firmly.
Then she added with a sly smile, “By the way, if you’re the President, then I suppose I should be…”
“Want a title?”
“Of course. Vice President. I left my career behind for this—you’ll give me that much, won’t you?”
“Sure, let’s go with that.”
A small workshop could afford that kind of flexibility.
—
“Wow. What is all this?”
As she made her inspection, Jina’s eyes went wide.
“My goodness, look at all these mineral piles… Are these all for weaving materials?”
“Haha, miss, what you see here is just the tip of the iceberg.”
Dmir chuckled as he hammered away.
She flinched, still unaccustomed to talking skeletons, but quickly steadied herself.
After all, she was the Vice President now.
And aside from me, the person she had to get closest to was the hammer-wielding skeleton himself.
“The tip of the iceberg, huh…”
“At least a hundred times more sits in this bag here! Hahaha!”
“Wow.”
Mouth agape, she pulled out her smartphone and began typing rapidly.
“Hm? What are you doing?”
“Inventory management. These are all valuable assets, aren’t they?”
“You’re going to organize all that?”
“The more there is, the better! It just means we’re that much more resource-rich.”
“…Remarkable woman.”
She sat in the corner, tapping away while tallying the ores in the spatial bag.
Her eyes moved like a high-speed scanner.
Now I understood why the old man said she was quick with numbers.
‘It finally feels like a real operation now.’
Watching her work, I smiled contentedly and turned to Dmir.
“Alright, shall we get started too?”
“You mean the weapon for that Jang Daewoong fellow?”
“Yeah.”
“He uses gauntlets. Among my latest alchemy blueprints, there’s one that might fit.”
“Let’s see.”
He handed me a design from the corner.
[Item: Fist of the Colossus]
[Rank: A]
[Type: Blueprint]
[Description: Blueprint for crafting the ‘Fist of the Colossus.’]
[Effect 1: Allows crafting of ‘Fist of the Colossus.’]
[Effect 2: Requires 200 Iron Ingots, 20 Silver Ingots, and 2 Mithril.]
[Effect 3: Difficult to craft but yields exceptional performance.]
“Ooh, Fist of the Colossus? Sounds badass.”
“What do you think, Master? Everything else is B-rank.”
“Not bad. Suits Jang Daewoong’s style too.”
“Then this it is. Hah, been a while since I worked with Mithril.”
He hadn’t handled Mithril since making the Titan’s Thunder Hammer back in his prime.
Now, here on Earth, it would be his first time working with it.
“Not bad indeed.”
Time to take weapon quality up another notch.
Eventually, I’d need to arm my skeletons too.
“Alright then, Master.”
“Yeah.”
“Think of that Jang Daewoong fellow.”
“Got it.”
The crafting method was the same as before—visualize the person and forge with them in mind.
A true, custom-made weapon.
I pictured Berserker Jang Daewoong in my mind.
Boom! Boom!
He pounded the ground, shouting [Hahaha!] after every blow.
Each punch radiated the destructive force of a small nuclear blast.
“Master, this Jang Daewoong—he’s really like that?”
“He’s something else.”
“To put it bluntly, he’s a lunatic. Like a giant dragon tearing up a mountain just to squash a bug.”
“…Isn’t that an insult?”
“Hmm.”
Dmir rubbed his chin.
“A weapon for a madman, huh? We’ll need to add more materials.”
“Materials?”
“Artifacts or catalysts with insane properties—the crazier, the better.”
“Oho.”
My eyes gleamed.
Adding extra, unlisted materials to the blueprint?
I was a bit nervous, but this was Dmir—the legendary blacksmith himself.
“Alright, I’ll see what I can find.”
—
The Hunter Forum exploded with buzz over a certain new post.
— Buying items for Dmir Workshop.
— This is the Dmir Workshop President. I’m looking for artifacts or catalysts with ‘insane’ magic effects. I’ll pay one billion won each.
— I only need ten of the best submissions.
— The more absurd the item’s effect, the higher the chance of selection.
— Thank you for your cooperation.
The post came directly from the hottest workshop of the moment—Dmir.
And the content? Utterly hilarious.
▶ “Insane effects”? So he’s buying garbage nobody wants—and paying a billion each?
▶ Lol, genius. I’ve got one, should I try selling it?
▶ Oh, I’ve got a sword that makes me stronger when I eat poop.
▶ Reply above—you’re that famous ‘Sh*t Eater,’ aren’t you?
▶ What is this, an event? A charity drive?
Hunters knew well that dungeon drops weren’t always desirable.
For every god-tier weapon, there were just as many utterly useless ones.
So they were intrigued.
Who had the worst item?
Who had it worse than them?
The curiosity spread fast.
▶ “I don’t know why he wants them, but this sounds fun.”
▶ “At one billion apiece, he’s gonna collect every weird item in the country.”
Soon, the post went viral across every social media platform.
—
Knock, knock.
Oseong Group Director Shin Jongoh rapped on the door of a Gangnam hotel suite.
Click.
The door opened to reveal a foreign man.
“Director Shin Jongoh. To what do I owe the pleasure?”
“Good to see you, Shadow Walker.”
The man before him was a French Hunter ranked 720th worldwide, known by the alias Shadow Walker—
a mercenary affiliated with Oseong Group.
“I’m here as a company director with a personal request.”
“Hm.”
Shadow Walker frowned slightly.
Though employed by Oseong, he wasn’t obliged to answer to a mere third-generation executive.
In the company’s hierarchy, a ranker like him wasn’t exactly beneath someone like Shin Jongoh.
“You could’ve made an official request through the company.”
“I’ll be blunt. There’s a man—Dmir Workshop’s Master. Kill him.”
“Hm?”
“He’s just a rookie B-rank Hunter. Hardly a challenge for someone like you, Shadow Walker.”
The mercenary smirked.
He wasn’t wrong.
“Even so, I can’t act without the chairman’s order.”
“Triple your usual pay.”
Jongoh’s expression hardened.
“You know I manage Oseong Workshop, right? It’s the company’s most promising division. Meaning, I’m first in line to inherit the group.”
“Interesting.”
A glint of amusement flickered in Shadow Walker’s eyes.
‘Honestly…’
He didn’t believe for a second this brat would inherit Oseong Group.
Chairman Shin Jooyong might be old, but he wasn’t senile.
No way he’d hand over the empire he built to a fool like this.
‘Still…’
Triple pay was tempting.
Killing a B-rank Hunter quietly? Child’s play.
“Director, do you even know how much I charge?”
“Your annual fee’s a hundred billion, isn’t it?”
“Oh?”
“Complete the job, and I’ll wire you three hundred billion on the spot.”
“Isn’t that a bit excessive?”
Even for a rich heir, that was an insane sum.
But Jongoh’s face didn’t flinch.
“Oseong Workshop’s profits aren’t weak. Plus, I’ve got personal reserves. You don’t need to worry about that.”
“Hm.”
Shadow Walker stroked his chin.
“So all I need to do is kill this Dmir Workshop President, yes?”
“Yes.”
“Three hundred billion for one life…”
He smiled coldly.
“Not a bad deal.”