novelThe Threshold They Have Created (1)
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A Southern District quest.
It is a difficult quest. Almost close to impossible. That is why people consider any quests with the words, 'Southern District, ' to be a SSS-grade quest.
But they would change their thoughts if they knew the reason that it was rated as a SSS-grade.
Nobody has yet to step foot into the Southern District. A ton of people have tried time and time again, and they are still trying, but all of them have failed.
That was it. Looking past easy or hard, it was a matter that nobody had ever succeeded in doing.
But me?
I went there in the game. I developed a base there, and even fought against the Demon King there.
I even had a guide for the Southern District. My slave, Chief.
I also have the Royal Roader draft plan.
I know the levels of the monsters in the Southern district, and I also know the dangers that lurk in the different areas.
Which means, if I raise my level high enough, and go with highly talented teammates, it would be a super easy quest.
I already knew when I would go there as well.
First, I will meet the dwarves and go to the Magman continent. After that, I will immediately head to the Southern District. Following that, I will return to Titan Valley, just before the Jeppi Invasion.
I should be able to complete the blessing quest by then.
If I can't, there will be many chances in the future. As soon as I take care of the Jeppi issue, I plan on making the entire Southern District mine.
I barely managed to prevent my lips from ripping from smiling too hard.
I don't know whether the bishop knows what is going through my mind right now, but he had a heavy expression.
"As expected, it is a quest related to the Southern District. I wish you luck."
The bishop must also thinks it is an impossible quest to complete.
Kaicher also had a heavy expression.
What? Is Kaicher concerned about me?
No need to do that my friend. I plan on taking you with me when I go to the Southern District. So just keep your sword nice and clean.
Anyways, I need to make sure I take everything I can.
"I will bet Guard Points."
"Alright. This quest is also S-grade. The pay rate is 50%, and you can bet a total of 50 points. How many guard points will you bet?"
"I will bet 50 points."
The bishop put his hand on my head and said a simple prayer.
"I have confirmed your 50 point bet. Now go take care of the quest."
"Thank you bishop-nim."
I left the Ares Temple.
Kaicher walked me out to the main gate.
There is not much time left until the day I go to the Southern District with Kaicher.
Although Kaicher will have no idea about it.
Should I give him a hint? Although he may not believe me.
Well, he might believe me since I've proven a lot of things already.
Shall I test it out?
"Do you believe the things I say now?"
"What do you mean?"
"The fact that if I say something will happen, it will happen."
"Hoho, I guess it did end up that way."
Kaicher lightly laughed.
I wonder if he can continue to laugh after I say the next thing.
"Then shall I predict one more thing?"
Kaicher just silently looked at me.
"The contents of this blessing quest is to find the Warrior's Ring. The ring of the Archbishop Kamal-nim who disappeared in the Southern District.
Kaicher's eyebrows flinched. It might be because it was a harder quest than he imagined, or because the term, 'Warrior's Ring, ' made something light up inside of him.
I pray that it is the latter. That is the only way for him to grumble less in the future.
"I will take you with me when I head to the Southern District to find the Warrior's Ring. How is it? Aren't you glad I am prophesying it like this?"
"That is what I want as well. But that is something for the bishop-nim to decide."
He still doesn't believe me. I told you, everything I prophesize becomes reality.
Anyways, I've done my part to tell him.
"Just be ready. You will have to work hard when we go to the Southern District."
I think I could kind of see Kaicher smiling.
"See you again later."
I said goodbye to Kaicher and left the Ares Temple.
Then I immediately headed toward Golan Park. Once I raise my level a good amount over there, I will cross over to the other side to meet with the Dwarf Chief.
In order to safely cross Golan Park, I should be at least level 250. It's going to take a long time even in Golan Park which is known as the, 'Level up heaven'
Maybe I'll need around 2 years? I'm already getting bored of hunting.
But I still need to do it. I need to happily do it.
"The weather is nice. It is the perfect weather to hunt."
***
[Balance: 102, 785, 605, 490 won]
'Wow! There are even days like this!'
I almost shouted. I had less than 90 billion won in the morning. But it had instantly gone over 100 billion.
That means I made over 10 billion in a day. My gains were over 14%.
This is the largest profit I've made in a day since I started doing stocks.
I'm sure the topics that my friend Jong Suk's AI picked out helped, but it was probably because the stock index price went up.
Honestly speaking, my gains were up and down lately. On a good day, I could make over 10% in profit, but on a bad day, I even had some losses. Of course the losses were only around 2%.
On average, I get about a 5% profit every day.
But the more time went along, the less my profits became. It was because the luck index on my Jewels of Luck were falling, while the amount I invested went up quickly.
'I need to hurry up and raise Jewel Alchemy to Intermediate level 5."
Then I will start merging the Jewels of Luck. Then the luck index should go over 10, I haven't been able to use any jewels like that in a while.
"You're in trouble if I catch you!"
"Kekeke."
I could hear children laughing outside.
When I looked outside the window, Hayeon's younger siblings were running around in the yard.
My mom was also out there smiling at the children. Oh, Minji seems to be laughing at my mom.
The atmosphere feels nice. I really enjoy seeing my mom so happy.
At first, I was a bit worried. When you deal with people, there are good times and bad times. There would be nothing worse than things going bad right after letting them move in based on the joy from when things were going well.
But Hayeon's family knew to be cautious.
I especially liked Hayeon's mom's attitude. I could see how thankful she was about what we did and that she was trying to repay the giant favor we did for them.
But most importantly, I liked making a connection with someone like Lee Man Bok.
Lee Man Bok!
At first, I thought he was just a Food Researcher who liked children.
But the more I got to know about him, I learned that he was much bigger than that.
When I asked him a simple question, 'What is hyung-nim's dream?' this is how Lee Man Bok responded.
[I don't have much greed toward money. My dream is to create a new boom for Korean food. Just watch. One day, I will make that happen with my own hands. ]
I still can't forget the gaze he had when he said that.
There was an unwavering will inside the gaze. I felt like with that type of gaze, you could achieve anything.
That moment made me certain.
[Lee Man Bok is someone who needs to go with me. ]
I had money but I did not have any knowledge, experience, or connections.
Lee Man Bok has it all, but does not have money.
Is there any greater partnership than this?
If Lee Man Bok and I work together, the dream will become reality in the near future.
That was why I made a suggestion to Lee Man Bok right there.
[That Dream. Can I share that dream with you?]
Lee Man Book was willing to listen to my story.
I told him a bunch of things, as if I was revealing everything that I had been hiding in my mind. Things that I didn't even tell my younger sister Minji.
Well, of course, it was only about things related to making the greatest school in the world. I didn't say anything about Royal Roader.
Lee Man Bok was cautious. At first, he looked at me like I was a scammer.
[There are many people in the world who look nice but their hearts are completely black. How can I trust that Mr. Hwi Ram is not that type of person?]
He had a reason to be like that.
Lee Man Bok and his parents had used all of their money to create the, 'One Love Scholarship Foundation. ' It was the moment their dreams became a reality.
But they did not take part in the daily operations of the foundation. They left it up to the experts, saying that they were just stupid chefs who did not know anything about running a scholarship foundation.
That ended up being the root of the problem. The so-called experts left the family in the dark as they slowly embezzled the money from the foundation. The money was gone in less than 5 years.
They were not experts, but actually scammers.
The memory of that incident is making him question whether I was such a scammer as well.
We had a really long discussion.
In the end, I managed to convince Lee Man Bok. As I expected, the core issue was money.
[I will provide all of the necessary funds.
I leave the operations to you. Since it is a Culinary School, Hyung-nim will be in charge.
I will not take part in the daily operations, as long as the mission of the establishment is maintained. ]
I also planned on hiding the identity of the founder.
Of course, it will only be for a while. It will be used to make people curious. Wouldn't their curiosity get even bigger about the founder of the culinary school whose identity is covered by a veil the more the culinary school starts to shine?
I will appear at that time. Then my image will shine even more.
Then I will officially create the, 'Kang Hwi Ram division. ' I will start my path of being the best, not just in Royal Roader, but in the real world.
Of course, I didn't tell Le Man Bok all of that.
And the most important thing
[I will put a two-step safety measure to make sure nobody can embezzle the funds of the foundations. ]
I told him about the safety measure right then and there.
That was the final blow. Lee Man Bok finally shook my hand. We created our partnership right there.
[Let's give it a try. ]
[We can do it. ]
We immediately started to gather people.
Honestly, I expected us to have some problems. I didn't think people would easily agree to be a part of something like this.
But that was my mistake.
People were already ready. As soon as I brought it up, they were gathered almost in an instant. Almost like they were waiting for someone to pull the trigger all this time.
The first to run to us were, of course, Lee Soo Bong and Bae Gum Jah, Lee Man Bok's parents. Even with the shock from the One Love Scholarship Foundation, the passion in their hearts was still burning hot.
Following them were the people in charge of the, 'Upright Teachers. ' I asked for their help through Minji, and they came as soon as they could.
In addition, we had a lawyer, an accountant, as well as professionals in the field. In less than fifteen days since Lee Man Bok and I agreed to work together, we had gathered 33 people.
I thought my heart was going to burst from seeing all of them.
I was filled with emotion. I thought that the world was only full of terrible people because of the difficult life I had as a kid, but it was not that way.
With these people, creating the greatest school in the world was not impossible. No, I was certain that it will succeed.
I created the 'Dandelion Foundation, ' in that spot.
Since I transfered 100, 000, 000, 000 won from Royal Roader, we had plenty of funds. Even after taking out the taxes and the fee for the professionals to wash it clean, we still had about 80 billion won left.
I considered giving all 80 billion won to start the foundation, but thinking that we should start smaller, I put 50 billion to stocks and only gave 30 billion to the foundation.
Minji was so surprised.
"Oppa, how the heck do you have so much money?"
"A sponsor who does not want to reveal himself provided it."
I just brushed it off like that.
After that, I took my hands off the operations, as promised. The rest was left for Lee Man Bok and the Upright Teachers, working together with the professionals in the culinary field.
Of course, I made sure to confirm the safety measures were in place. All of this was only possible because we were certain that nobody could embezzle the money from the foundation.
Once the foundation was created, everything happened like a storm.
Lee Man Bok must have had a place in mind, as he quickly rented two buildings. One for the academic instruction, and one as the dormitory.
The Upright Teachers instantly gathered 36 students as well. Teachers from all over the country recommended students they had been watching with sad eyes because they had the talent, but lacked the funds to continue their education, and the foundation had selected the ones talented in cooking from those students.
That was the situation about 15 days ago.
And tomorrow, the first lessons start. They will finish a simple orientation, after which they will live and learn at the Culinary School.
Of course, everything will be free for the students.
Lee Man Bok asked me to come to the Dandelion Culinary School tomorrow. He wanted me to say something to those students as the founder.
Of course, I declined. That is not a fitting role for me.
Then do I just watch without doing anything?
Of course not.
Although it was not visible to the outside, my role was the most important.
First, I was in charge of the funds. I deposited close to 50, 000, 000 won daily into the foundation's account. I will continue to do that.
Of course it was done anonymously.
Second, was that I was helping with promotion. They created many ways to promote the school, but I will find my own promotion method and make it happen.
"Minji!"
I opened the window about half way and shouted.
Minji looked toward me. I motioned for her to come over, and she skipped toward me. Her ponytail, that was swaying left and right, made her seem really young and full of life.
"What is it oppa?"
"Did you contact the sunbae[1] who is writing a novel?"
"Yes. They said, of course they will do it. But they won't take any money. Since they are part of the Upright Teachers as well, they can't take money for something done to help the students."
I was planning on giving her around 10, 000, 000 won for helping us.
I guess I can donate it to the foundation under that sunbae's name.
"Tell her to emphasize Mr. Lee Man Bok's story. Talk about how he has nine children, gave money to the orphanage, and that, even after his business failed, he finally managed to succeed in building a culinary school. Tell her to talk about his persistence. If we can wrap it up nicely, a decent image will be created."
"I told the sunbae about all of it."
"You're looking for a student with a good story too right?"
"I am, but that is a bit touchy subject so I am not rushing you. Oppa, you said it wasn't very urgent right?"
It wasn't very urgent. I plan on using it a year or two later.
My plan was simple. Promotion through mass media.
Then, even without me spend any money, the foundation will get funds from all over the place.
So if I add my money on top of that, Dandelion can grow to be even bigger and better than I imagined.
In order to do that, what I needed was the network of people related to broadcast networks.
I already finished my investigation through Blue Sky Enterprises. It is much easier to befriend people if you know who they are. MBS station's Director of Cultural Affairs Han Sung Tak, and Director of Entertainment, Ji Sung Joon.
It wasn't because they had something special to offer. It was just because it would be easy for me to get close to them.
Both of them were known to be golf fanatics, and they were in the same golf club with Han Min Gyu, the original owner of our house.
I felt like we were meant to get to know each other.
"Then I will be heading to Seoul."
"Okay."
I picked up my suitcase that was already packed and headed out.
"Mom, I'm heading to Seoul now."
"I guess you won't be back until the new year if you go up now."
"I'll come down often."
"Okay. Take care of yourself."
"Bye bye, uncle."
"Bye."
I put the bag in the car and started the engine.
Brrroooooooom-
The engine noise was pretty strong. I felt like it was signaling the start of a slightly different life.
***
A korean restaurant in Gangnam.
They said it was a pretty big Golf Club, and they were right. There were a lot of people. I felt like at least 50 people gathered today, and that wasn't even all of the members.
"First, come over here."
"Yes, hyung-nim."
I had been meeting with Han Min Gyu from about half a month ago. I used the fact that we were both doing stocks to call him, 'hyung-nim, ' and act all cheesy. He must have liked it, since we were quickly in a brotherly relationship.
Of course the connection from the, 'house, ' was big.
I followed Han Min Gyu to the front of the restaurant first. I needed to first greet the president of the club.
"This is our president."
He seemed to be in his mid-60s. His well-balanced salt and pepper hair was the first thing I noticed. The vibe he was giving off was one of a corporation's president.
It is probably because of what he does for a living. I heard he was the president of a mid-sized company.
"Hello, my name is Kang Hwi Ram."
"Ah, Mr. Kang Hwi Ram. I heard a lot about you from Han pro-nim. Welcome. My name is Kim Dong Suk. By the way, how did you say you two know each other?"
"This friend bought the house I used to live in down in Daejeon. Then I found out that he is a stock expert like me."
"I am not an expert. I just do it for fun."
"Either way, nice to meet you."
"Over here is Lee Han Sung-nim, our secretary. This is Jung Hee Sung pro-nim......."
Han Min Gyu introduced me to each person, one by one.
But there were a couple people who looked familiar.
Of course, my face would not be foreign to them as well. But my style is just completely different from back then, so they did not recognize me right away.
But there were a few observant people. They had expressions of, 'Who was this again?' before realizing, 'Ah! That friend!' and slapping their knees.
They were customers who tipped me well. When I was working at the car wash, they seemed to be really nice customers.
But today, their expressions when seeing me didn't seem to be that friendly.
"Hold on! Isn't that friend the one from the car wash?"
____________________________
[1] Korean term for people from your school in higher grades or those who have graduated already
Just a reminder, I may not be able to do the 5 for the week, but I'll do my best to get as many as I can this week.
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Translator: Miraclerifle
Proofreader: Borderline Masochist
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