The Poison Demon and the Chaebol Subordinates (2)
I returned to the grand mansion with the brothers.
They were excited, recounting their tales of valor.
"We were passing through the Plank Road, you see. When we were entering through the secret passage, there was a Demon Wind Manor warrior right at the entrance!"
"Oh my!"
"We hid behind a corner and held our breath."
"And then?"
"Even after waiting a long time, he wouldn't disappear. We wasted a lot of time there."
Well, well. So that's what happened.
That's why it took so long.
Then the older brother, Choi Jae-jun, stood up abruptly with a meaningful expression.
"But then, the warrior suddenly turned and began walking toward us!"
"Hmm!"
"We were incredibly tense. The distance was closing, and it was obvious we'd be discovered if we fought—what were we supposed to do!"
"And then?"
"Whoosh! Thwack! Done!"
…What?
Choi Jae-jun stood up and mimicked drawing a bow.
"Just like you taught us, Senior! Whoosh! shot it, thwack! hit it, then done! finished."
Choi Jae-jun lightly swept his hand sideways like a blade.
……Did I really do it like that?
The younger brother, Choi Jae-hwa, clapped.
"It was a complete success! We gained so much confidence right there and charged in!"
"Remarkable! Truly remarkable!"
I clapped. Honestly, it wasn't very entertaining.
It felt something like watching children with far inferior skills show off their tricks.
But the notification messages were telling me to shower them with praise.
Thanks to that—
[Choi Jae-jun is overjoyed. +1,000 Happiness]
[Choi Jae-hwa feels proud. +1,000 Happiness]
I earned quite a few points.
Ahh, praise makes even chaebol heirs dance.
These two had achieved Scarlet Rank for the very first time.
And having achieved it just the two of them, they were enormously pumped up.
"Now then……"
When I opened my mouth, the brothers perked their ears up and focused.
What brilliant scheme would he offer next to help them achieve Red Rank on the 23rd floor.
Their eyes were sparkling.
I opened my mouth slowly.
"Let's run."
Bwoong—
The brothers' sports car raced along the highway and arrived at a quiet villa.
Villa was putting it mildly.
A single room was the size of our entire home.
The brothers followed my words well.
Thanks to the result of achieving Scarlet Rank on the 22nd floor.
[Breaking news. The color of the 22nd floor of the Republic of Korea's Murim Tower has changed. From the existing Yellow to Scarlet Rank—]
The news kept rolling.
Everyone would be searching for whoever was responsible.
Their sect, the Goryeo Sword Sect, along with Gukmubon, would surely be in an uproar.
By now they'd be confirming identities, but soon they'd find out the brothers had succeeded.
Then they'd eat away at the training time needed to conquer the 23rd floor.
So the moment we succeeded, we grabbed what we needed and immediately fled.
"Is this really a place no one knows about?"
Choi Jae-jun answered.
"Yes, it's a place only our family uses."
"Even our family rarely comes here."
Literally, cloths to keep the furniture from gathering dust were draped all over everything.
First command.
"Take them all off."
"Yes!"
The second-generation chaebol heirs cleaned the villa for me.
They looked ready to make up my bedding too if I asked.
In the meantime, I called Mother.
"Mom, I've come on a short trip with some friends."
"Friends…… A trip?"
"Yes."
"If you've been kidnapped right now, tell me you want to eat pizza!"
Mother suddenly on the verge of tears.
"I—I do have friends, and I can go on trips too!"
The one who was flustered was me.
After a lengthy call, I explained to Mother that I was not with bad people.
Kim Tae-yang.
……Apparently something like this had happened in the past too.
After dinner, I talked with the brothers.
The most pressing question first.
"Why did second-generation chaebol heirs become Tower Climbers?"
Choi Jae-jun scratched his head and told me—
When the Murim Tower appeared, he had an instinct.
'The Murim Tower is exactly the new money-making venture of the age!'
It had started as climbing for experience.
Through chaebol connections, they entered the Goryeo Sword Sect, said to be the finest in the Republic of Korea.
With the Goryeo Sword Sect's help as they climbed the Tower, they came to realize they had quite a talent for it.
Just around that time, the brothers' father, Chairman Choi, began to fall ill.
And they were able to obtain information that Onon Grass was the cure, and so they had challenged up to the 21st floor.
Something doesn't quite add up……
It seemed like there was more to the story, but I didn't ask.
Next, I checked the Tower conquest rewards.
The reward for Scarlet Rank on the 22nd floor was—
'Secret Manual of Demon Wind Archery Arts.'
None other than an archery secret manual.
The brothers offered to give it to me as a gift, but I declined.
This wasn't the reward for my mission.
On top of that, there was also an unexpected gain.
Namely—
Boom!
When Choi Jae-jun shattered the Demon Wind Ghost King's Treasure Orb—
A considerable amount of energy flowed out and became attributed to the older brother, Choi Jae-jun.
And it was absorbed not into an Artificial Dantian, but into Choi Jae-jun's own Dantian.
A stroke of fortune.
I took Choi Jae-jun's pulse and nodded.
"Remarkable. Your internal energy has doubled."
The Choi brothers, being second-generation chaebol heirs, had consumed many medicinal herbs and elixirs over the years, so their Dantians were already well-stocked—yet even in that state, it had doubled.
Had it been an ordinary climber, it would have multiplied several times in an instant.
Choi Jae-jun smiled brightly, then caught sight of his brother and suppressed his joy.
"But this is through mine and my brother's effort……. Without Jae-hwa, it wouldn't have been possible."
"No, big brother. You were the one who took down the warrior in the secret passage, and you're the one who hit the Treasure Orb and made it happen."
"You shoot on the 23rd floor. Your internal energy will grow enormously then."
Choi Jae-hwa shook his head.
"Big brother should shoot. If big brother, with your increased internal energy, uses the Secret Manual of Demon Wind Archery Arts, the success rate will be much higher."
The brotherly bond between these two is admirable.
Aren't chaebol families supposed to fight each other?
I had assumed that people with things to lose not having good brotherly bonds would be the same in the Murim world as here.
I said to them.
"Choi Jae-hwa should be the one to shoot on the 23rd floor."
"B-but……"
"Are you worried about insufficient internal energy? What's the problem? Since older brother Jae-jun succeeded on the 22nd floor, Jae-hwa can do it too."
And I placed something on the table.
"This should supplement Choi Jae-hwa's internal energy."
What I placed down was an Artificial Dantian.
It was Park Jeok-sa's—which had served as excellent fertilizer.
The brothers looked up at me with eyes full of reverence.
"This grace…… How shall we repay it?"
How, indeed.
Pay it back in money, of course.
Isn't it obvious? Don't you know?
One of those sports cars outside won't be enough.
I trained them solidly for three days.
The part I focused on most was—
None other than the Storm Pear Blossom Needles.
The reward I received from their success.
My Storm Pear Blossom Needles totaled 600.
[The Storm Soul-Crushing Needle Tube is given to you. (Single-use)]
A Storm Soul-Crushing Needle Tube capable of firing needles.
It was clearly something the Tower had placed in my hands for the success of this mission.
The Pear Blossom Needles that could be loaded into the tube numbered 200.
One third of what I had.
Just right.
Storm Pear Blossom Needles are area-of-effect hidden weapons.
Capable of taking down dozens of people at once.
And the Storm Soul-Crushing Needle Tube was what converted this area-of-effect hidden weapon into a single-target concentrated one.
Which meant that as long as it hit—the Demon Wind Ghost King could be killed.
……As long as it could hit.
I showed them the Storm Soul-Crushing Needle Tube.
"This is my treasure. The most precious one I have."
Of course, a lie.
But the brothers had no way of knowing.
Upon hearing I would lend them a treasure, the brothers became so moved their eyes welled with tears.
Well then, that's enough erasing the debt of gratitude in their hearts—
Now it was time for training.
"Just once. It's only possible just once."
I warned them repeatedly.
They knew it too.
That the moment they failed, their heads would be taken by the Demon Wind Ghost King's hands.
"It's far more difficult than last time. Because you need to approach within close range of the Ghost King."
The sequence was as follows.
I drew a detailed interior map of Demon Wind Manor from my memory, and—
"From here, to here. And then from there, to there!"
I laid out the brothers' movements and Plan A, Plan B, and Plan C.
And so, three days of planning and repeated training were carried out.
After all that, I returned home.
Because—
Tring tring!
"Mom, I'm already on my way home."
"Hurry up! I'm worried."
"I'm really with good friends, I'm telling you."
Calls had been coming in at full speed from Mother throughout those three days.
If she's going to worry, not making her worry is filial piety.
I stepped out of the taxi.
"Tae-yang!"
Mother, waiting outside the house.
"I'm back."
"Are you safe?"
Mother examining my face and entire body.
Checking whether there were any injuries anywhere.
……My heart aches.
I ate at home, and Mother asked me this and that.
I answered as I'd thought out in advance.
Fortunately, it went over well.
In the meantime, the Bungeoppang business had been doing far better than expected even without me.
Our now-famous 'Handsome Bungeoppang'.
Mother held something out to me.
[Miraejegwa General Manager Kim Tak-gu]
It was the business card of a confectionery company's general manager.
"Tae-yang, a person like this came by. Says they want to buy our Bungeoppang."
"How many?"
"No, the store itself."
Miraejegwa wanted to acquire the Bungeoppang brand, technology, and reputation exactly as they were.
The amount they proposed was 200 million won.
Ahh, the miracle of a business started with a mere 500,000 won turning into 200 million.
The business genius, Kim Dok-ma.
But this was not to be.
For one, the offered price was far too low, and above all, the Bungeoppang technique was not mine.
It belonged to the master grandmother.
"First, the Grandmother's permission is needed."
"The grandmother says we can do as we like, but still, how could we?"
She'd already asked?
Mother seemed to have her heart swayed by the 200 million won the company proposed.
Even though we were already earning well over a million won every day—
Bungeoppang is a seasonal business.
With February already almost over now—
The days left to do business were few, and 200 million was an enormous sum Mother had never had her hands on before.
"What do you think?"
"I think no."
I could have listed ten or more reasons. Just as I was about to open my mouth—
"Understood."
Riiip—
The moment my answer was out, Mother tore the business card in two.
……Was she angry?
Contrary to my worried expression, Mother's face was bright.
"I trust you, Tae-yang. If you say no, then it's no."
"Mom."
"All the money we've earned so far, I've been saving it. In an account under your name."
"……"
"Winter hasn't ended yet, so let's work hard."
"……"
"What? Don't you believe I've been saving it? Should I show you?"
She is angry.
"I do believe you."
"'I believe you', he says. Show me then. Look."
Pressed by Mother, I opened my banking app on my phone.
"Give it here. Look at this."
Her checking my balance.
"See this. It's all right here. The money saved up until now, 1,030,124,000 won……. Huh?"
Mother's eyes went wide.
She checked the balance several times.
"1…… 1 billion?"
"Yes."
"1 billion?"
"Yes."
Her hands trembled uncontrollably.
"……Why?"
"I helped some wealthy friends out a bit, and they said thank you and gave it to me."
"Tae, Tae-yang! Is, is this okay?!"
"Because of the daily transfer limit it's 1 billion for now, and another 1 billion will come in tomorrow."
"Tae-yang……!"
Grumble.
Mother fainted.
Oh my. This, this……
I can't tell her that if the 23rd floor conquest succeeds—
I'll become the owner of a ten-story building in a bustling commercial district.
Jangle.
In my pocket—
The key to a 340-million-won Porsche that was now my possession jingled pleasantly.
* * *
[Mission Success!]
[Second-generation chaebol heirs, the Choi brothers, achieve Red Rank on the 23rd floor of the Tower!]
—A deep connection is forged with the large corporation Baekgyeong.
—The Choi brothers regard you as their lifelong benefactor.
—Happiness Points +20,000
One week later.
A notification message of congratulations appeared.
Woong.
The 23rd floor of the Murim Tower glowed red.
"Heh heh heh."
Mmm, now that a building would be coming my way too, I could say things were quite comfortable.
Plenty of resources, and both parents alive.
It somewhat brought back memories of the old Sacheondang Family days.
I felt quite satisfied.
"Senior!"
The brothers came running to me, looking disheveled, and threw their arms around me.
"Senior! Seniooor!"
The brothers crying tears of joy.
"Let's have a look."
"Yes!"
In the brothers' hands, a single root of Onon Grass was radiating light.
[The brothers are greatly overjoyed. +5,000 Happiness]
Three days later.
I watched the news on my phone in my room.
"We have with us the climbers from the Goryeo Sword Sect who succeeded in conquering the 23rd floor!"
A glamorous-looking news anchor interviewed the Choi brothers.
"It's an incredible achievement accomplished by just the two of you. What was the secret?"
Choi Jae-jun's answer, dressed in a suit.
"Our father is ill. The Red Rank reward was absolutely necessary!"
"Your father being…… The Chairman of Baekgyeong Corporation?"
"That's right!"
And then at the bottom of the news screen—
[Baekgyeong Corporation stock hits upper limit for consecutive days!]
A subtitle that appeared as if prepared in advance.
Ha, as expected! Chaebol families are different.
Tap tap.
I opened my stock app. Heh heh.
Red everywhere!
I'd bought in advance knowing this would happen.
Brothers.
Fight on!
Wishing them the best—
Woong—
I returned to my medicinal and poisonous herb field.
Jangle, clatter.
I set the things brewing decoctions down on the ground too.
I made a makeshift furnace.
I planned to brew medicine here today.
From my bag, I took out something wrapped in silk.
'Onon Grass.'
The one the brothers had brought.
I had said to the brothers—
"Please give the Onon Grass to me. I'll prepare the medicine for you."
The brothers entrusted the Onon Grass to me without a word of protest.
I'm grateful for their trust, and I pay respects to their choice.
Pharmaceutical preparation and compounding.
Honestly, I'm confident that in this world, I would do this best.
I lit the fire and set the decoction on the flame.
If I brew it through the night like this—
"Decoction complete."
The image of the brothers embracing their awakened father and rejoicing in their reunion was clear in my mind's eye.
Now then—
Shall I get to work for my own happiness as well.
I carefully set the Onon Grass down on the ground. Cautiously reaching out my hand—
Tick.
I plucked the Onon Grass's berries.
Twelve in total.
The fragrance of the red berries was sweet.
Since the berries weren't needed to treat the brothers' father—
I would plant and grow these myself.
Well, the Ice Energy cure for 4.3 billion won?
Absolutely ridiculous.
I'll sell mine for 5 billion. Heh heh.
Oh, you might ask if Onon Grass doesn't only grow on snow-capped mountains?
Correct.
I can't grow it in my poisonous and medicinal herb field.
It needs poor sunlight, almost no humidity, and a steady temperature of at least minus 60°C.
But—
"If it can't be done, make it happen."
In front of me—
Woong—
[This is a cutting-edge energy-powered refrigerator. It can be set down to minus 120°C.]
There was a 68-million-won happiness right there.
First time for you to carry soil and grow seeds, refrigerator?
And after connecting the Artificial Dantian I received from Choi Jae-hwa—
The refrigerator itself hummed along happily at full capacity.
Not electricity, but energy.
It ran perfectly well even in my poisonous herb field.
I'm counting on you.
Tap tap.
Woong—
Master, is this right?
Yes, yes.
[68,000,000 won of happiness +50 Happiness]
I am—
A martial artist utilizing cutting-edge science and technology.
The Science Poison Demon.