Chapter 72: Episode 72

Peace quickly returned to Korea. Aside from the fact that the Korean peninsula had nearly been turned into a monster-infested land, the rewards from the Labyrinth Dungeon were significant. Many players had achieved remarkable growth through the incident, and rumors were rampant that the pass rate for the upcoming rank 5 certification exam would be the highest in history. The economic benefits from magic stones and monster byproducts went without saying.

As they say, what doesn’t kill you makes you stronger. The Korean hunter industry was once again experiencing an unprecedented boom.

Of course, I was also enjoying the fruits of that boom.

“Byproducts from plant-type monsters are being sold off cheaply,” Seojin said from the driver’s seat. “The market for high-value byproducts has remained somewhat rigid, but it seems cheap plant-type monster materials are an exception.”

I grinned and nodded. “That makes sense. It’s not like holding onto them would make a huge difference in price, and there’s the issue of shelf life.”

“They’re just piling them up and selling them at a discount.”

“Great. Let’s stock up on potion ingredients while we have the chance.”

“Yusin, Yusin! What’s a discount?”

Eunsol and I were in the back seat. She was full of questions, and when we went over a speed bump, she dropped the doll she was holding. She couldn’t move because of her seatbelt and just flailed her arms, so I picked it up for her.

“Thank you!” she said, hugging the doll tightly. I had won the bizarre dinosaur doll for her at a claw machine after breakfast, and she seemed to love it. She had already given it the uninspired name ‘Dino.’

I stroked her hair and said to Seojin in a low voice, “She’s probably not going to have much fun tagging along with us.”

“She’ll be asleep soon.”

Seojin’s prediction was spot on. After playing with Dino for a bit, Eunsol started dozing off and soon fell fast asleep. She was always sleepy, a side effect of her rare trait, Dreamscape. She would doze off while eating, while making golems, and even while watching her favorite videos. When she was asleep like this, Dreamscape would activate, maximizing the range of her Unique Ability, ‘Remote Control.’

According to Eunsol, instead of dreaming, she enters a state where she can see the real world without spatial constraints, almost like an out-of-body experience. It was thanks to this ability that she had been able to protect so many people by herself during the incident in the slums.

Mumbling in her sleep, the limp Dino doll suddenly stood up and started toddling around. It was startling at first, but now it was a familiar sight.

“Tower Master, we’ve arrived at the Paju hunting ground.”

When the car stopped, I spoke to the sleeping Eunsol. “Eunsol, we’re here. Should I wake you?”

Instead of Eunsol, Dino shook its head.

“You want to sleep more?”

Dino nodded.

“Then wait in the car for a little bit. We’ll be back soon.”

I covered her with a blanket and got out of the car.

“Let’s go, Tower Master.”

“Alright.”

The parking lot was quite full, a clear sign of the hunting ground’s popularity. We slowly looked around the commercial area: two hunter supply stores, two byproduct facilities, four restaurants, and various cafes and convenience stores.

’It’s got everything.’

More stores were preparing to open, and a new building was under construction next to them. The thought that this was all my money made me smile.

“Ah! Welcome, Mr. Kim!”

A middle-aged man in a vest hurried over. I recognized him as Choi Jeongdong, a manager from Vanjef Planning, the company that had won the management contract for our Paju hunting ground against dozens of competitors.

“I trust you’ve been well, Mr. Choi.”

“Hahaha! Thanks to your concern, I’ve been great! It must have been a long drive. This way, this way!”

We followed Mr. Choi as he guided us around the site. The makeshift earthen wall from our first visit had been replaced with a sturdy concrete barrier, flanked by control towers and barbed wire fences.

We entered the ‘Emergency Management Office’ building next to the hunting ground. From its top floor, we had a panoramic view of the entire area through large glass windows.

“This is the command and control room.”

Inside, we could see the situation in even greater detail on a bank of monitors. Players ran busily among old, crumbling gray buildings, fighting zombies. It looked like watching actors on a movie set.

“There are so many people here, even though the Disaster just ended.”

At my question, Mr. Choi laughed heartily. “Don’t even get me started! You know how diligent our people are. Now that the Disaster’s over, they’re all in a frenzy preparing for the certification exam.”

“…Haha.”

He gave us a detailed explanation of the facilities. Even to a layman like me, the hunting ground seemed to be exceptionally well-managed. Then, a thought occurred to me.

“Mr. Choi.”

“Yes! Is there something you’re curious about?”

“It’s just a personal question, but would it be possible to turn a restricted area into a hunting ground like this?”

Seeing this pristine site reminded me of the restricted area around the Magic Tower. Accessing the tower was a huge pain. You had to climb over walls, cross barbed wire fences, and cut through a forest while avoiding monsters. I’d figured out a rough shortcut, but it was still inconvenient.

For now, the area’s seclusion served to hide the Magic Tower. But thinking long-term, I needed to deal with it. The tower would only grow, and I wanted to develop the surrounding land to match.

Mr. Choi considered for a moment. “It’s not without precedent. For an overseas example, there was a case in Singapore where an important port was dungeonized. The Singaporean authorities personally intervened and redeveloped the restricted area into a divided hunting ground and port facility. That’s probably the most successful model.”

“Hmm.”

So it wasn’t entirely impossible.

“However, creating a hunting ground is often on a case-by-case basis. I’d need to see the area to make an accurate assessment.”

“Then what about here?”

I showed him the Sanggye restricted area on my phone’s map. He nodded in recognition.

“Ah, I know this place! It’s the place with that strange tower. Let me see.”

He led us to an office in the next room. After awkwardly pecking at the keyboard, he let out a thoughtful “hmm.”

“What do you think is the biggest reason a restricted area can’t become a hunting ground?”

I answered with what I already knew. “The danger and volatility, I suppose?”

“That’s part of it! But the biggest problem is…” Jeongdong Choi made a circle with his thumb and index finger. “This. The costs are astronomical.”

“…Aha.”

“The construction cost is one thing, but the maintenance fees are insane. To maintain all the advanced facilities and equipment needed to contain the monsters, you have to charge players, but people don’t want to come to a restricted area. Like you said, Mr. Kim, the danger and volatility are high. You’ve got rank-1 and rank-4 monsters all mixed up in one place. It’s a mess. And it’s not like those places are efficient for farming magic stones, either. So, in conclusion…” He snapped his laptop shut. “It’s not impossible, but it costs a fortune, so you need to find a way to cover the unsustainable maintenance costs. That’s the long and short of it.”

I nodded. “Thank you for the detailed explanation.”

“Hahaha! Customer consultation is part of my job! Now, let’s move on to the next area!”

As I followed him, I nudged Seojin’s elbow. “Seojin. Find out who first discovered the restricted area around our Magic Tower.”

“That shouldn’t be too difficult, but…” Seojin pushed up his glasses. “Are we buying it?”

“Yes.”

With that one word, the decision was made. Real estate really was the best investment. Seeing the Paju hunting ground had given me several ideas. I planned to start large-scale development of the Magic Tower, the restricted area, and the entire Sanggye-dong area. The restricted area was worthless land, so it should be easy to acquire, and Sanggye-dong had the lowest property values in Seoul. Once the mass production system for potions was complete, the whole picture would come together.

Our tour of one of our most important revenue streams came to an end. After receiving polite farewells from Mr. Choi and the Vanjef staff, we returned to the parking lot.

“Yusiiin!” Eunsol saw us and came running over. “You’re late!”

“Sorry. It took longer than I thought. Up you go!”

I lifted her into my arms, bringing us eye to eye. She giggled and gave me a peck on the cheek. Eunsol, who had once been like a wary, wounded cat, had changed so much since coming to the Magic Tower.

“You should have called if you woke up. We would have come back sooner.”

She shook her head. “It’s okay! You were working.”

I silently stroked her hair. It pained my heart a little, knowing that her strange, adult-like maturity was a defense mechanism she had learned just to survive.

“Shall we go to the next place?”

“Yeah!”

We returned to Seoul and headed for Hunter Street Station. Apparently, this area hadn’t always been a major hub. But when the nearby Haneul Park became a dungeon, and a rare permanent field dungeon was discovered near Mangwol Mountain, it became flooded with players. With countless hunter supply stores and related shops moving in, it had become a mecca for players.

Our first Alchemia Store was located right here.

Part of the street was pedestrian-only, so we parked and walked to the store.

“By the way, Seojin, how did you get a storefront in a hot spot like this?”

I had been shocked when he first reported securing a shop on Hunter Street. The rent must have been insane.

“I was lucky. A good property came up, so I snatched it.”

“Is the rent very expensive?”

“It’s manageable. To the extent that if the business fails, we’ll have to close down the very next month.”

“Ugh.”

As we chatted, we arrived at the store. This was the front line of our potion sales. The sign had ‘Alchemia’ written in a stylish font.

’Wow, this is nice.’

It was a one-story building just off the main intersection. The location was good, and I liked the clean exterior. So this was my first store. Overcome with emotion, I stared blankly at the shop.

“Let’s go inside.”

“Oh, right.”

We entered. The staff, who were in the middle of final opening preparations, looked at me with puzzled expressions. Then Seojin must have given them some kind of signal, because their eyes went wide and they bowed at a ninety-degree angle.

“It’s a pleasure to meet you, sir!”

I’d been called ‘sir’ a lot today. I greeted them back and told them to continue with their work. The staff scattered and moved with perfect discipline, though they kept glancing my way, probably surprised that the boss looked so young.

I left them to it and looked around the store. The interior was modern and clean, with a white color scheme that created a perfect sense of unity, from the lighting and wallpaper to the shelves and storage. On top of that, there were eye-catching potion-shaped props and fantasy-style decor reminiscent of an alchemist’s workshop. It had exquisitely brought to life the concepts I had requested before the store opened.

This is my store!

“Tower Master.”

“Huh?”

“It would be troublesome if you were to get lost in thought here.”

…Are you treating me the same as Bora now? When I glared at him, he gave a faint smile and turned away.

“By the way, did you design the store yourself?” I asked.

“Of course not. This was the work of a professional. I have no sense for this kind of thing. Do you like it?”

“Yeah. A lot.”

“I’m glad. If you have any more ideas, please let me know.” Seojin replied.

At the word ‘ideas,’ I glanced around. The interior was generally satisfactory, but it felt like something was missing. Then my gaze landed on a frame hanging on the wall. It was a certificate indicating our company’s affiliation with the Association’s Research Foundation.

“Seojin.”

“Yes.”

“See this Association Research Foundation mark? I’d like to make it bigger and put it on the outside of the store, on the window, so people can see it.”

I learned something when I sold ‘Heat Resistance Gear’ with Bora in the Lava Cave. I was confident in the quality, but people questioned its reliability. Whether it’s magic equipment or potions, these are still unfamiliar items to most people.

Back then, Bora’s solution was to leverage a well-known affiliation: the Academy Student Council. This was no different. Our status effect potions were fairly well-known among hunters and guilds, but many regular players had never heard of them. While our brand recognition was still low, we needed to appeal to people with a familiar image to earn their trust. That was the whole reason we’d joined the research foundation in the first place.

Seojin agreed with my proposal and immediately made a call. “Yes, Assistant Manager Gam. There’s something I’d like to discuss. We want to emphasize our affiliation with the research foundation more at the store. Yes, that’s right. We’ll need vinyl decals or coated stickers. I’ll stop by this afternoon, so please have some samples ready. We need to send them to the printer by tomorrow.”

Afterward, whenever I presented an idea, Seojin would immediately translate it into practical terms and implement it. He was ruthlessly efficient, as always.

“Hey. You’re not just agreeing with everything because it’s me, are you?”

“I agreed because I felt your points were valid and necessary. You have a surprisingly good sense for this kind of work.”

…I couldn’t tell if he was being sincere or just flattering me.

“Aaaah!”

A scream suddenly tore through the store. ’What’s going on?’ I headed toward the sound.

“Oh my gosh! Sooooo cute! What’s your name, little one?” a clerk gushed.

“…Eunsol,” she mumbled.

“Aaaah! She looks like an angel! Look at those chubby cheeks!” another chimed in. “Seriously! Doesn’t she look like a little model from Northern Europe?”

Eunsol, who was painfully shy, fidgeted under the attention. The moment she spotted me, she scurried over and ducked behind my back.

“Oh, Mr. Kim!” one of the clerks said. “A child just wandered into the store. Is her guardian…?”

“Don’t worry,” I said. “I’m her guardian.”

Their jaws dropped.

“What? No way! You look so young… huh?” The two of them stopped, their eyes darting back and forth between me and Eunsol. “Could it be…!”

“It’s not what you’re thinking,” I cut in, shutting down any strange rumors before they could start.

“You’re not her father?”

“…I’m just her guardian.”

They both nodded, then clasped their hands together in what looked like sheer delight.

“Yesss!”

“What a relief!”

I had no idea what, exactly, was a relief. Just then, the manager strode over and shot them a look, sending them scattering back to their posts.

“Tower Master, it’s time for us to head to the banquet hall,” Jeong Seojin said, glancing at his watch.

“Is it that time already?”

“Yes. We spent more time in Paju than expected.”

The awards ceremony for meritorious service during the Labyrinth Calamity, hosted by the Hunter Association, was about to begin. It was a significant event for me, and for good reason.

“Allow me to offer my congratulations in advance, Kim Yusin.”

At that ceremony, before the eyes of countless people, I was set to become a certified hunter.

* * *

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