Gladiator Training. Eastern Industrial District of Daehan Cheolguk.
The owner of Metal Golem Corporation, one of the armored production companies, Hwang Geum-gang was focusing all his attention on the movements of the Silent Swordsman.
"Games make money! Lee Hyeon is greedily spreading his money everywhere after being too ambitious. I can’t let this opportunity slip by and be wasted!"
Guilds or companies with slow responses still didn’t understand the market value of the game world, but Hwang Geum-gang of the Golden Guild, one of the teen guilds, was different. He had seen the funds flowing into the virtual reality world, and he had figured out which content would make the most money. He also had guild members who followed him.
Hwang Geum-gang’s father, Hwang Geum-hyeon, the guild master of the Golden Guild, one of South Korea's top ten guilds, had a secret. He was a returnee and had come back from an unknown world called Murim Bimangnok 10 years ago.
“Father, I don’t think there is only one path to inherit the guild. I will create my own business in the virtual reality game world.”
Having severe trauma from Murim Bimangnok, Hwang Geum-hyeon strongly opposed his son’s enthusiastic opinion.
Hwang Geum-gang willingly chose to stand on his own.
‘Father was a businessman before being dragged into Murim Bimangnok and returning as a changed man. The blood I inherited is not that of a martial artist, but of a businessman.’
Those who understand their talents find life’s difficulties much easier. They achieve great results with minimal effort. For Hwang Geum-gang, his ability to control the money flow in the virtual world was just such a talent.
‘It wasn’t an easy path.’
In a game where top streamers and skilled players from around the world are present, standing out was difficult. There were always people waiting to stomp on you if you weren’t under someone’s wing. He needed a stable environment to secure assets for the game. That’s how he began playing Gladiator Training.
‘You guys didn’t know. There was a merchant steadily growing while streamers were causing chaos in the arena.’
Having consistently accumulated assets since the days of the Ponies’ Thousand-Year Kingdom, he got inspiration from Eom Gil-dong's war merchant play.
‘People cheer for visible players like streamers. They face a lot of competition. That’s why I must never reveal my presence.’
Thanks to his silent profit-making in the shadows, after Lee Hyeon's Daehan Cheolguk was established, he was able to take charge of one of the armored production factories. Due to thorough division of labor and individual part requests, he never obtained the complete design of the final product, but the trust built over the years gave him the opportunity.
“Hwang Geum-gang, we’ll give you 20% of the northeastern industrial district. Can you handle the defense?” “Without armored power, it’s just land I’ll lose anyway. I’m not interested in taking poison.” “...Hoo. You’re clever, unlike the others. Fine. What if I give you the armored production method?”
Hwang Geum-gang seized the opportunity. Through negotiation, he made 50% of the factory land his, had all taxes waived for one year, and obtained the armored production blueprints. It was obvious that the goal was for him to make the armor himself and buy time against the Silent Swordsman.
‘Your shallow tricks are strangling you, Lee Hyeon.’
Lee Hyeon didn’t know. How much capital Hwang Geum-gang had steadily accumulated. How many armors could be produced once he decided to manufacture them.
“Secretary Lim, what’s the status on armored production?” “We’ve achieved 200% of this week’s forecast.” “Good. Really good.”
Hwang Geum-gang was confident. The day when he would show his success to his family was near.
“Defense army status report.” “I’ll bring it up on the panel right now.”
[Daehan Cheolguk Eastern Industrial District Defense Army Status] [Infantry] [Players: 5,500] [NPC: 87,250] [Golems] [Regular Golem: 3,200] [Combat Golem: 820] [Artillery Golem: 120] [Siege Golem: 12] [Armored] [3rd Generation Armored Owners: 552] [4th Generation Armored Owners: 37] [Rankers] [Gastro (4th), Prisoner No. 502 (9th), and 7 others]
Infantry: 92,750, Golems: 4,152, Armored: 589. With 9 rankers, the army was nearly equivalent to a force of 100,000. It was a sufficient strength to call itself a warlord. Considering the steadily increasing number of armors, it wouldn’t be an empty dream to invade the capital and become the new ruler of Daehan Cheolguk within this year.
“Supply status?” “It’s coming in.”
The secretary’s report was so satisfying. The preparations were perfect. He wasn’t afraid of the Silent Swordsman attacking at any time.
“Hwang Geum-gang, don’t get too excited. The Silent Swordsman is stronger than you think.” “He’s just a streamer. They like to show off and are always anxious because they can’t reveal every move to the audience. Look at this mess.”
Hwang Geum-gang sneered openly as the screen on his hand turned, stopping in front of Gastro.
[Silent Swordsman - Streaming] [Current Viewers: 87,225]
With a tremendous number of 80,000 viewers, she was now playing poker with Apple Girl and Eom Gil-dong's right-hand man in a room.
"When are you going to stop playing poker? You idiot. Can't you tell? Just wait, and they’ll start fighting on their own.”
"Why are you so good at poker? You’re strangely good at it, Silent Swordsman."
The complaint of Eom Gil-dong's right-hand man made the Silent Swordsman flinch. Gastro paused the broadcast and rewound the time. In the slowed-down frame of 0.01 speed, Ha Eung Eung's hand technique in changing cards was captured.
“Look at her. This woman is a real con artist. Isn’t it pathetic how she’s showing off these little tricks because her defense level has risen so much that it’s become a burden?”
As Hwang Geum-gang openly ridiculed the Silent Swordsman, Gastro shook his head.
“I wasn’t looking at the cards. Look carefully at the screen, especially the cup on the table.”
“The cup? It’s water. No, is it tea because of the color?”
“It doesn’t matter. Didn’t you notice? The liquid in the cup was shaking.”
"Vibration?"
“This isn’t just a one-time shake.”
Gastro was meticulous. He made the dice heavier on one side or flicked the Yut sticks in the air, all while the Silent Swordsman continued her subtle tricks. Despite the confusing little tricks, Gastro didn’t let his attention wander from the main focus. The water in the cup continued to ripple.
‘Internal power? No, artificial shaking due to internal power or mana doesn’t create irregular waves like that.’
Gastro grabbed his radio.
“Prisoner No. 502. Check the status of each unit immediately.”
Gastro was ranked 4th in Gladiator Training. His judgment was beyond question.
“Checking the disturbance in the water and inspecting the units, isn’t that over-cautious?” “We’ll find out soon enough.”
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After a short while, Hwang Geum-gang realized that Gastro's warning was correct.
“Of course, she used a technique!”
[You were quick to notice. It’s not an easy trick to catch.] “Did you train under a con artist for 10 years or something? I can’t believe it even after seeing it with my own eyes.”
Eom Gil-dong's right-hand man, reading Ha Eung Eung’s timing while she was changing cards, grabbed her hand, and accurately guessed the card number, successfully catching her in the act.
At that moment, as the viewers began to relax, Apple Girl spoke up with a significant comment.
“Hehe. Pathetic ♡. If you’re going to deceive someone, you should’ve done it until the very end. Like this ♡.”
Beep. She pressed the remote control button, and the walls of the building descended, revealing the outside scenery.
“That place!! Isn’t that our territory!!” “Gotcha. Prisoner No. 502! The supply cart! They were hiding inside the cart...”
Boom!
With the explosion, flames erupted from all sides of the territory. Streamers are fools who reveal their every move. It wasn’t just Hwang Geum-gang who thought that. Sa-gwa-bad-chi-jo, someone who had suffered countless assassination orders from foreign players in Epic Fantasy, knew exactly how big a weakness the streamers' broadcasts were. The fact that enemies used the broadcast screen like a map hack and fought cowardly battles. Someone like her would surely have prepared a countermeasure. That’s what she showed now: a folk game in the mobile waiting room.
“Hehe~ Foolish people who just watch streams and lurk ♡. They don’t even know everything’s already been figured out, just staring at the outside ♡. Wasting their food money~ ♡”
Her teasing was increasing their blood pressure. Beyond it, three people already started their operation, rising from their armored cockpits. The streets, filled with production facilities and residential areas inside the defense line, began to be destroyed.
“This is Prisoner No. 502! We’ve been properly ambushed. The city is already...”
Gastro turned off his radio and opened the door.
“Run. Right now.”