Chapter 2: Mage (5)
News came out on the internet that Gentak had been transferred to the Investigation Bureau of the Magic Association.
The matter of Gebock’s restaurant was left to Section Chief Lee Gi-hwan.
Section Chief Lee Gi-hwan was an employee of Ilshin Group who was doing favors for Jin-woo.
To climb the ladder of success to that extent as a commoner, one couldn’t be ordinary.
Section Chief Lee Gi-hwan was also not an ordinary employee. He had learned martial arts, had good physical strength, and was quite capable, having graduated from a famous overseas university.
It wasn’t for nothing that the Magic Association or government-related departments separately distinguished the name “corporate.” Those who did all sorts of work under corporations were called “corporate people” or “agents.” To those who had bad relations with corporations, they were known as “executioners.” Because those who sold corporate secrets or caused such harm disappeared the next day as if they had been executed.
They were well-versed in the law and moved under enormous capital, so if they became enemies, it would be a real headache.
‘Section Chief Lee Gi-hwan.’
Since he entered Ilshin Group’s Future Strategy Office became the second-in-command with his abilities alone, his skills were well-known.
An agent who moved solely for Ilshin Group.
He was the chairman’s loyal servant and a dagger.
With such a person watching his back, it was perhaps natural for Lee Jin-woo to run wild without fear of the world.
Jin-woo chuckled.
He was a very difficult person to deal with, but if they were on the same team, there couldn’t be a more reassuring ally.
‘A successor…’
Jin-woo had no intention of succeeding the chairman.
Because his current position was just right. It was easy to move around, and he had a lot of money. Above all, if he officially became the successor, there would be a lot of bothersome things like management lessons.
Normally, he would do this and that to improve his image, but Jin-woo didn’t.
It made sense for a madman to do crazy things.
Because the things he would do in the future were all crazy.
“Hmm…”
Lee Jin-woo.
He definitely had a blessed body.
He was the one who felt it the most right now.
Mana could be felt as if he were breathing through his skin. When he focused, his senses were so sharp that he could even move the external mana particles.
This must be what real talent is.
Moreover, he had a background that was second to none.
Why was he in a state as if he had filled his body with filth, not only turning to black magic but also causing unbelievable situations?
Jin-woo shook his head.
Jin-woo’s routine after visiting the special residential district was very simple.
Training and eating.
Only two things.
Sleep was just about 2 hours. It was thanks to the deep sleep magic he had developed, which had revolutionized the all-nighter industry.
During his time as a magic civil servant, he was always short on time, so he created this magic as a countermeasure for sleep. When deep sleep magic was cast, one would sleep like the dead for 2 hours, but it had the same effect as getting 8 hours of sound sleep.
After his superior found out about this magic, it was adopted as a mandatory magic in the Magic Association, and the resentment and curses from those around him were tremendous. On the day he forcibly received a bonus and a vacation as a reward for the deep sleep magic, he almost died sincerely.
Thanks to the tremendous backlash, it was designated as a forbidden magic, but everyone used it while being cautious.
‘If it spreads to corporations…’
Just imagining it was terrible.
Jin-woo maintained Lee Jin-woo’s image externally.
Even Harmu, who was closest to him, knew only a small part of his crazy training.
Jin-woo assigned Harmu the role of a secretary. Calling her a secretary was a stretch; the term graduate student was more appropriate.
Jin-woo was an Archmage.
Developing new magic was his hobby, and he was always short on manpower. Talented people who could approach from different angles, with different perspectives and thoughts, were rare, and Harmu was such a talent.
“The calculation is wrong.”
“Ah…”
“It seems there are stray thoughts in the formula. Calculate it again.”
“Ugh…”
Jin-woo got up from his seat.
It was time to go and directly check how much his mischief had paid off.
He wanted to avoid a situation where his image improved and he was summoned by the chairman. Fortunately, since the time Lee Jin-woo dropped out of school, it was said that he didn’t even attend family gatherings.
It was certain that he had fallen out of favor with the chairman.
‘Good. Good. It’s going smoothly.’
Thanks to focusing only on training, he had now reached a level that could be called a perfect 9th-grade mage.
His body had also completed the basics.
‘Martial arts optimized for magic.’
Jin-woo was integrating all the martial arts he knew and optimizing them for magic. A way for the body’s movements to become magic circles and exert the highest power and efficiency.
If combined with the existing combat magic techniques, it would exhibit tremendous power.
It was a method he had thought of even in the past.
He laughed it off and gave up before even establishing the theory.
Because the prerequisite for that was multicasting. If he used the authority of time, he could sufficiently complete a combat technique that integrated magic and martial arts.
‘To deal with those monsters, the masters…’
Masters were almost like natural enemies to mages.
Even after becoming an Archmage, he couldn’t guarantee victory against them. Even though he had thoroughly prepared.
He had to become such a monster himself.
Jin-woo went outside.
It had been about a month since his last outing. This time too, Harmu was behind the wheel.
The destination was the building he had purchased. It was a building near the department store.
It was a place he had purchased to make an excuse.
For now, he had given Gebock’s restaurant space there.
There were many restaurants nearby, so it was obvious it would fail. Restaurants run by orcs were rarely visited by other species besides orcs.
That’s how bad the perception of orcs was.
It was thanks to the fake news pouring out for profit.
It was perhaps natural since the tempting land of the special residential district was at stake. It was much more convenient to make orcs the villains when conducting business.
‘It’s obvious it will fail, but that’s not bad either.’
That was his intention from the beginning.
Gebock’s dream was to live comfortably in a detached house with a yard.
He would give him money under the pretext of compensation.
He wanted Gebock to at least live the rest of his life comfortably.
In the future he would change.
“Ha, you really have no business sense at all. An orc restaurant in a shopping district full of restaurants. And using an entire building at that? It’s obvious it won’t last even a month. You’re going to throw money on the ground.”
“I agree with that too. My business sense is really…”
The worst.
Everywhere he touched turned into a mess.
He had no doubt it would be the same this time as well.
The fortunate thing was that Ilshin Group was behind him. Let them do what needs to be done while causing as much trouble as possible.
Wouldn’t it be a better result than Ilshin Group going bankrupt like in the future?
“Of course it will fail.”
“You look like you’re in a good mood?”
“Yes, I’m in a good mood. If I always feel like this, the formulas will flow smoothly.”
Jin-woo laughed it off.
He had found out something about Harmu.
She had a younger sister who seemed to have a disability. When she was carefully choosing a gift for her younger sister at the department store, he just bought everything.
Since then, it seemed they had grown a bit closer.
Her attitude of nitpicking while carefully observing his expression was quite cute.
Anyway, Jin-woo was also in a good mood. Because he could do these things for Gebock.
They arrived at the destination.
“…?”
“…?”
Jin-woo and Harmu, who got out of the car, froze at the sight unfolding before their eyes.
For a moment, neither of them could say anything.
“…Young master? Is that the right place?”
“It seems so.”
Jin-woo closed his eyes and opened them again.
‘Gebock’s Traditional Orc Restaurant Main Branch’
He had no choice but to acknowledge it since he saw that sign.
No matter how he looked at it, it was definitely the building he had purchased. The only difference was that the exterior was too neatly organized and,
“Customer number 232! Come in!”
“Line up. If you cut in line, your head will fly off.”
“How long will it take?”
“From here, it’s two hours.”
There was a long waiting line in front of it.
Orcs in staff uniforms were managing the waiting line. The customers were not orcs. There were humans, beastmen, dwarves, and even elves, although a minority.
“Ugh!”
Harmu clenched her fists tightly, gritted her teeth, and looked at Jin-woo.
Because she imagined how much he would ridicule her. However, Jin-woo was just blinking his eyes.
“Did you anticipate it would go this well…”
Jin-woo couldn’t answer.
‘If it turns out like this, it’s going to be a headache…’
It would have been right to give him money and have him open a personal restaurant. For now, it was a restaurant created for various procedures at the point when he purchased the intellectual property rights.
It was a restaurant owned by the corporation he would receive in the future.
Currently, Section Chief Lee Gi-hwan was operating it as his proxy.
Harmu was already holding her stomach as if it hurt.
‘Why? Why is it going well?’
Originally, he was going to console Gebock and have a meal, but the 3-story large building was packed with customers.
Jin-woo approached the building for now.
There were cameras from broadcasting stations, and many individuals were doing personal broadcasts.
The orcs managing the waiting line recognized Jin-woo.
“Oh! You’re finally here!”
“Oh, young master!”
Harmu tilted her head and looked at Jin-woo.
“Do you know each other?”
“Hmm, where have I seen them… Ah!”
They were the orcs he had seen in A-Area.
To run a restaurant of this scale, a considerable workforce was needed, and all the orcs from A-Area were working here.
Jin-woo remembered the rough instructions he had given to Gi-hwan.
‘You mean the intellectual property rights of the orc restaurant in A-Area?’
‘Yes, ah, I bought a building next to that department store, so move it there for now.’
‘Hmm, that’s a good idea. As expected… What direction do you want?’
‘What? Anyway, just do it in a roundabout way? It’s okay if it goes out of business.’
That was the content of the phone call.
Honestly, Jin-woo himself didn’t understand what he was saying even after saying it.
“Hey, young master! Come this way.”
“I’ll guide you, so you distribute the waiting numbers. Young master, please come!”
A large orc guided Jin-woo.
The staff uniforms worn by the orcs felt like suits. The problem was that they looked more like big brothers from the underworld than staff. They exuded an aura as if they could be smoking cigars.
Huge orcs were seen guiding customers to their seats.
The interior of the building was just like Gebock’s restaurant. It had an old yet wild and rough feeling.
It was certainly a unique appearance that couldn’t be easily found.
As he approached the kitchen, Gebock came out. His son Havoc was also cooking under Gebock.
“Oh! You’re here?”
“Yes, well… Business is good? Why is that?”
Gebock looked at Jin-woo as if asking what he was talking about.
“It’s all thanks to you preparing everything well.”
“Me?”
“Like I said before, you only say things I can’t understand. Hahaha! Are all geniuses like that? Well, that’s why you’re a genius!”
Gebock laughed heartily, patting Jin-woo’s shoulder. His laughter was so loud that the building seemed to shake.
Gebock’s face, whom he saw after a month, looked much better than before. He had tidied his hair and shaved his beard neatly. He had a very manly and dignified charm.
“You’re here?”
Jin-woo looked to the side.
A man in a neat suit with a corporate badge symbolizing Ilshin Group bowed his head towards Jin-woo.
It was Section Chief Lee Gi-hwan.
“Section Chief is here too.”
“Yes, I was waiting for you, knowing you would come.”
How?
The question came out naturally, but Jin-woo just accepted it.
Harmu flinched slightly at the sharp atmosphere emanating from Section Chief Lee Gi-hwan. Harmu instinctively knew that this man named Lee Gi-hwan was an extremely dangerous person.
The smell of blood.
The smell of blood was too strong. Beneath the thick-framed glasses, a chilling three-eyed gaze was present.
It was as if looking at a snake.
The huge orc Gebock next to him even looked gentle in comparison. Harmu finally understood what kind of people the corporate humans were.
“Young master, may I give you a brief report?”
“Let’s hear it for now.”
“Yes, please follow me this way.”
Section Chief Lee Gi-hwan guided them with a disciplined walk.
