Jo-won shouted outside.
"Outside! Is anyone out there!"
Jo-won, realizing that he himself had ordered all employees to evacuate the office, stopped shouting.
Gulp.
Jo-won swallowed hard and said to Jeong-min,
"So... Mr. Jeong-min? How about we have a calm, calm conversation? You've probably noticed to some extent, but the real power in this shelter is me, Gwak Jo-won. What good would come of being on bad terms with someone like me? Let's talk this out nicely—"
"You shouldn't have used 'Brainwash' on me if you were going to say that."
Jeong-min stepped forward and slapped Jo-won across the cheek.
A couple of teeth flew out of Jo-won's mouth along with blood.
"Kuh-erk!"
Jo-won, sprawled on the sofa, clutched his cheek and glared at Jeong-min, yelling at the top of his lungs.
"You! You! You think you'll get away with this? No matter how strong you are, you think you can take on this entire shelter alone!"
"I don't know. That's a problem for later... Shouldn't we worry about the HR Manager's safety first?"
"Your friend in this shelter! You think he'll be safe?! Him and his family! If I just say the word...!"
Jo-won stopped speaking, reading the murderous intent in Jeong-min's eyes.
"...So that's why Leia said that... That's why..."
Jeong-min muttered, grabbing Jo-won by the collar and lifting him up.
Slap. Slap. Slap.
As his cheeks were mercilessly struck, Jo-won slumped.
Blood flowed from his mouth, and several teeth fell out.
Jeong-min threw the slumped Jo-won onto the sofa.
Gwak Jo-won, sprawled on the sofa with a thud, groaned through his broken teeth and said to Jeong-min in a low voice,
"You... you son of a bitch... How dare you... How dare you treat me, the owner of this shelter, like this..."
Jeong-min raised his hand again, then lowered it and said coldly,
"...I don't think I'm ready to kill anyone yet, even if they're an enemy. Consider yourself lucky."
Hearing Jeong-min's words, Jo-won, sprawled out, chuckled.
"I never thought I'd say this... You... just you wait... Things are going to get very interesting..."
"I said I wouldn't kill you, not that I wouldn't leave any loose ends."
Jeong-min opened his inventory and took out the 'Ring of Effort' he had received from Leia.
"I never thought I'd use this so soon... It's a good thing you're an Awakened One. I can use this ring."
Jeong-min put on the ring and approached the sprawled Jo-won.
"W-what are you doing..."
"Shut up and stay still."
Jeong-min held Jo-won's neck down, pressed the patterned part of the ring against his forehead, and pressed hard.
Tzzzzz
"Keeeeaaaaaaak!!"
A burning sound was heard, and Jo-won let out a painful scream.
When Jeong-min removed the ring, a clear slave mark was engraved on Gwak Jo-won's forehead, and then it slowly sank inward, disappearing from view.
Jeong-min left Jo-won, who was writhing in pain, and stood up.
At that moment, a message appeared before Jeong-min's eyes.
['Ring of Effort' has been used. A master-slave relationship is established with the Awakened One who has been marked with the slave mark by the ring. The slave cannot harm the master in any way and must unconditionally obey the master's commands.
The master can give the slave any command except for growth restrictions.
The master-slave relationship will be reversed the moment the slave's total stats exceed the master's total stats. So work hard. Remember that your slave can become your master at any time!]
Jeong-min slowly read the message that appeared before his eyes and muttered.
"He who lives by the Brainwash, dies by the Brainwash... I guess that's the idea."
"W-what is this! What did you do to me!"
Jo-won, as if a message had appeared to him as well, trembled while staring ahead.
"A slave? I'm a slave? Gwak Jo-won is a slave?"
Jo-won turned his head and glared at Jeong-min.
"What the hell is th—Keeeeaaaaaaak!!"
Jo-won, who had been glaring at Jeong-min, clutched his forehead and writhed in pain.
Jo-won couldn't come to his senses because of the burning pain he felt in his forehead.
He had felt a lot of pain in his life, and he was feeling a great deal of pain in his mouth, which had been beaten to a pulp, but it was an immense pain that made him forget all of that.
Tears flowed from his eyes, and saliva dripped from his mouth.
"S-stop! Stooooop!!!"
The pain disappeared in an instant.
Jo-won, his face covered in blood, tears, and saliva, raised his head and looked at Jeong-min.
Jeong-min sat on the sofa, looked at Jo-won, and said,
"The effect seems to be quite good. From now on, if you have bad thoughts or actions towards me, your master, you will always feel that pain. You better be careful."
Hearing Jeong-min's words, Jo-won frowned and tried to grind his teeth, but he could only roll on the floor and writhe in pain as the pain rushed in again.
Each time the pain worsened, his hatred for Jeong-min boiled over, and the pain became even more severe.
As the increasing pain was repeated, Jo-won, exhausted by the pain, had no choice but to let go of his animosity towards Jeong-min.
"I'm sorry, I won't have bad thoughts about my master... I'm sorry, I'm sorry..."
Jo-won muttered blankly.
It seemed that the pain had subsided because it was effective.
Jeong-min looked at Jo-won sprawled out with his messed-up face and said,
"Don't be too discouraged. As you read in the message, the master-slave relationship will be reversed the moment the HR Manager's total stats exceed my total stats. Who knows? If you work hard, you might be able to make me your slave."
Jo-won made a dumbfounded expression.
'How am I supposed to surpass the stats of the 4th Team Leader who easily subdues people using the Super Strength skill...'
Jo-won shook his head and said to Jeong-min in slurred pronunciation.
"I... I lost. What do you want? Do you want this shelter? Master...?"
Jeong-min shuddered and took out a low-grade potion from his inventory, handing it to him, and said,
"Ugh, that's creepy... Tsk... You're forbidden from calling me master from now on. Just call me Mr. Jeong-min like before. And I can't understand a word you're saying. Keep this in your mouth for a while."
Jo-won took the low-grade potion, opened the lid, and took a sip.
Tzzzzz
A burning sound was heard from inside his mouth, where he was holding the potion, and Jo-won's face contorted in pain.
Just as Jo-won was about to spit out the potion,
"Don't spit it out. It's painful because you're being healed."
Jo-won, unable to disobey Jeong-min, couldn't spit out the potion.
He endured the pain in his mouth for a while, and soon a cool sensation came over him, and he felt no pain at all.
Gulp.
Jo-won swallowed the potion and looked at Jeong-min with surprised eyes.
"As expected... It's a potion with amazing effects..."
A presence stirred in a corner of the office.
Sang-do, who had been hit in the face by Jeong-min and knocked out, was getting up groggily.
"Give the remaining potion to that person."
Jo-won silently handed the remaining potion to Sang-do.
"Apply it to your face. It'll heal you."
Sang-do took the potion and said to Jeong-min,
"Um... Instead of using it on my wounds... Can I keep this potion...?" "...?"
Jeong-min stared at Sang-do for a moment and said,
"Do whatever you want."
Sang-do's messed-up face brightened.
Sang-do carefully put the potion in his arms.
"Take those people who are lying there out."
When Jeong-min spoke, Sang-do looked at Jo-won.
When Jo-won nodded, Sang-do picked up Gi-chan and Yun-gu, who were lying down, and left the office.
In the office where only the two of them were left, Jo-won looked at Jeongmin again and said,
"I'll ask again... What do you want from me?"
Jeong-min laughed as if he was dumbfounded and said,
"That's ridiculous. Do you think I branded you with the slave mark because I wanted something from you? Isn't this what happened because you pulled unnecessary tricks?"
"Ahem..."
Jeong-min looked at Jo-won, who was clearing his throat as if he had nothing to say, and said,
"Let's hear the story. Why did you do that to me? Were you that curious about the items I had? No, even so, do you do something like that? Brainwash? Ha..."
Jo-won, who was anxiously looking at Jeong-min, who was speaking as if he was dumbfounded, said,
"Of course I was curious about the items that Master... No, Mr. Jeong-min, had. It hasn't been long since the [Trial of God] started, but such potions and items... Anyone would be curious and covet them. With just those, our shelter could become the strongest in Korea, and even the strongest in the world."
"Just for that reason..."
"Just for that reason?! Now that the [Trial of God] has begun, the world has become a world where power is law. The idiots with the title of executive who are ordering people around from above seem to think that the [Trial of God] will end if they just destroy all the gates outside, but it will never be like that. In my judgment, those gates are not the end. Rather, they are the beginning. If that's all there is, there's no need for items of the level that Mr. Jeong-min has. Seeing that... We'll need even more power in the future. In order to survive, we have to prepare as much as we can!"
'Hoo... Look at this?'
Jeong-min was impressed by Jo-won.
'Putting aside the fact that he's a jerk and sneaky... He's quite smart, isn't he? He even predicted that the gates outside are just the beginning...' Jo-won's words continued.
"So... In order to have power, you have to do anything! Whether it's oppressing others! Or using Brainwash!"
Jo-won, who had been speaking passionately, looked at Jeong-min and said in a hollow voice,
"Well... It's all messed up now, though."
Jeong-min looked at Jo-won indifferently and said,
"That 'Brainwash' skill you mentioned. Tell me what kind of skill it is. In detail."
"...It's a skill that literally brainwashes the target. Actually, it's only called 'Brainwash', but it doesn't have such a dramatic effect. Suggestion... That's a more appropriate name. It only slightly, very slightly, induces the target's mind to be more favorable to what I'm doing... Or something like that? The higher the intelligence stat, the more control you have over the Brainwash target... But since it's hard to raise the intelligence stat..."
"Even so, it seems like too much of a cheat skill... Aren't there any other restrictions?"
"...First of all, the 'Brainwash' skill can only be used on two people. I don't know if it will increase if the skill level goes up, but so far, that's all there is. And since it's a skill that affects the mind, there are considerable restrictions. Even if you use Brainwash, if the target's intelligence stat is higher than mine, they will never be guided as I want. It means that using Brainwash is useless. And if you fail to use the skill, you can never use the Brainwash skill on that target again, and my body will be damaged just by the failure itself. That's why I had a nosebleed earlier."
"Two people... So that's what you meant by one spot left. Then someone must already be under the HR Manager's Brainwash. Who is it?"
Jo-won sighed softly and said to Jeong-min,
"The shelter leader of the [Daesung] shelter... It's Chairman Yoon Dae-sung, the chairman of the Daesung Group."
Jeong-min nodded.
'I guess that's why he's able to interfere in everything with just that position...'
"Is that shelter leader... An Awakened?"
"No. He's just... A normal person. So there was no difficulty in using Brainwash on him."
"I see..."
Jo-won stared at Jeong-min and said,
"So... What are you going to do now? Are you going to make me confess that
I brainwashed the shelter leader and then kick me out of the shelter? That doesn't sound like a bad idea. If I, who don't have any combat skills, am kicked out, I'll wander around outside and die a miserable death... You won't have to get your hands dirty..."
"Oh... That doesn't sound like a bad idea."
Jo-won flinched at Jeong-min's words.
"Come to think of it, it's a really good method? Since I'm not using my hands directly, I don't think I'll feel much guilt... You're really smart. Thank you for coming up with such a good method."
"..."
Jo-won was silently looking down at the floor with his head bowed.
"...Well, let's stop joking around here. Why would I kick out the HR Manager? If the person in power of the shelter who brainwashed the shelter leader is my slave, it's the same as this shelter being mine... Isn't that right?"
The corners of Jo-won's mouth twitched at Jeong-min's words.At the same time, a pain shot through his forehead, and he quickly clutched it.
Jo-won took a few deep breaths while holding his forehead, and then lowered his hand as if the pain had subsided.
Jeong-min, watching Jo-won, said,
"Goodness, your hatred for me seems to pop up at the slightest thing. The personnel manager needs to get a grip on their emotions. What are you going to do if you're in pain every time you see me?"
"....."
Jeong-min sighed lightly and said to Jo-won.
"Well... I don't really have any intention of doing anything to the personnel manager anymore. You're my slave now anyway. I hope you'll work hard for me from now on."
Jo-won stared at Jeong-min expressionlessly.
Jeong-min smiled at Jo-won.
"That's right, you can do it, can't you? Always try to control your emotions like that." "..."
"Well, it seems like a good opportunity. I can't do everything alone anyway... I'll try to get a large shelter on my side. I hope the personnel manager will continue to run this shelter well. And help me in every way possible when I need something."
"Yes... I understand..."
"Well, I'm just here today... to make a deal with Daesung. The deal went well today, so I plan to visit with various items in the future. Do you understand?"
Jo-won's eyes sparkled.
"...Are you saying you'll trade normally?"
"Did you think I'd just raid the shelter's supplies because the personnel manager is my slave? Well, I could if I wanted to... but I'd be in trouble if this shelter collapsed. As you know, my friend and his family live in this shelter."
"....."
"As you might have guessed, the gates outside right now... that's just the beginning. They're just D-rank gates. In the future, C-rank, B-rank, A-rank, and even S-rank gates will appear... gates that spew out increasingly stronger and more vicious monsters. As the personnel manager said, you'll collapse quickly if you don't have power."
"....Pardon?"
"Just listen. Anyway, as the personnel manager said, try to build up the shelter's strength as much as possible. Raise the level of the Awakened in the combat unit as much as possible, and kill as many monsters as possible to collect gold. You'll be able to use the gold in the Store that will open soon. You'll be able to buy all the supplies you need there. It would be good to receive a certain percentage of the gold that individuals have as a tax and operate it as shelter funds. I don't know if you can give and receive gold... but figure it out on your own."
Jo-won was staring at Jeong-min with his mouth wide open.
"I... I don't understand what you're saying at all. D-rank gates? There are that many ranks of gates above that? A Store, what's that... No, where did you get that information?"
Jeong-min sank into the sofa and said.
"It's a trade secret."