Chapter 42
Please! I want the First Evil’s skill! Please!
The first challenger box gave me the chance to go back in time, and the second one offered me the skills of the Number Six of the Eight Virtues. I didn’t care which of the Eight Virtues’ skills I received since each of their skills was the best of best.
[You have opened the challenger box.]
What will come out from the third box?! Light from the box poured out at once.
Cling -
[You have obtained the insignia ‘Revival’.]
It was too bright, but I could see the light clearly, and it had gathered instead of spreading, then landed on my chest. The ray of light was connecting me to the opened box, and I took off my jacket and shirt as soon as the light vanished. My urgency got in the way, causing me to rip my shirt and pop out the buttons. However, I had no time to even worry about it. When I lowered my head, I could see something slightly above the middle of my chest.
It was just a tattoo a bit bigger than my thumbnail, but I was overjoyed that I had received an insignia from a challenger box. While lower class boxes from bronze to gold gave out insignias, it was rare to see them from platinum, diamond and master boxes.
The insignia!
Moreover, it was so precious that it couldn't be valued since it came out from the challenger box. I had never heard of one that merited a challenger box, and it was even called ‘Revival’! I could guess its effect without checking the information on the status window! Well, but I should still check it out.
[Revival (Insignia)
Effect: One time only, it will revive the dead.
Class: S]
“Yes…”
The insignias were also special because anyone could bear them, including the Awakened and ordinary civilians! People could trade it in the market due to its unique nature, and the prices they fetched were great. In other words, I could save one person I wanted.
I was deeply moved because of the past hardships I experienced. I had hunted in dungeons thousands of times, lost massive amounts of blood, and waited for a cruelly long time to even see the challenger box. I didn’t feel victimized for easily acquiring the insignia this time. Instead, my joy soured because I was thinking of my parents when the insignia popped out of the challenger box.
***
[Would you like to unseal the dungeon?]
I refused because the Awakened currently didn’t exist, and the military authorities were not ready yet. Opening the dungeon could endanger the villagers’ lives despite the fact that it was only F-class. Just as there was an infinitesimal possibility that my paper companies would be revealed, there was also a tiny chance that monsters could’ve crawled out of the opened dungeon. The higher the dungeon class, the more the risk existed.
I took out a three hundred foot long fishing line that I bought on the way here, divided it up into four sections, and marked them with a pen. Then, I took out my cell phone. I breathed in deeply to calm my excitement.
<Seon-Hu: Where are you?>
<Mr. Choi: I’m about to enter the intersection. Should I go back?>
<Seon-Hu: Yes.>
<Mr. Choi: Okay, I’ll turn the car right away!>
Mr.Choi came back and entered the area I marked with fishing?line. I watched him to see if he got any notifications. If he showed any signs of surprise, then he would be a pre-Awakened. However, they were very rare, especially in Korea.
“It seems a little over a thousand square yards. You’ll need to flatten the ground to raise a building. Where are you going to put it up, though? What about the scale?”
Mr. Choi asked in a desperate tone.
“You would never have done this type of job before, so I’m not sure if you can do it…” I hesitated.
“Please tell me,” he said.
I relented and responded, “The ground shouldn’t be touched at all, and we have to raise a building where the walls are according to the marks on the fishing lines.”
“Oh…Without a floor or basement? Ah…Umm…Okay. Why not?” he said.
“The problem is the walls. We want something as strong as reinforced concrete but it has to be at least five meters thick and high,” I replied.
For a moment, Mr. Choi became silent because I was requesting something only used for the border wall.
I explained, “The next plan is to raise a double concrete wall along the perimeter of the hill. We want to use layers of wire mesh fences and install surveillance cameras to prevent access from residents. As I said, it’s a large-scale construction.”
“W…Why?” Mr. Choi questioned.
“Huh?” I asked him back.
“What is the point…? Is…Is it…an order from the government?” He mumbled.
I shook my head. “Then, I would’ve asked someone else. I don’t know the details since I just do as I’m told.”
“Has it been approved? It seems to be a dangerous facility,” he asked.
“I suppose so, and the company is considering the relevant legislation at the moment,” I answered.
He begged, “I can do anything you want, sir! If you let me do it, please just let me do it. I won’t bother you at all, and I’ll risk my entire life to create a masterpiece.”
“Do you have any plans?” I asked.
“All I have is my friends, sir. Please listen to me. There are so many places tipping over every night. Even Daehoo and Daehyun are about to die, so how do small shops like us survive?” Mr.Choi started pouring out his words in tears.
He seemed as if he would haunt me down if I cut him off there and denied him the contract.
“I have so many good friends who would’ve done much better if they had been born in different times. They would’ve built apartments and factories even if it’s not as great as Daehoo and Daehyun. I’ll gather them if you help me,” Mr. Choi said.
“You’ve done the same thing this time, right? But the next one is too big in size. I don’t think subcontractors can do it,” I responded.
“That’s why I’m saying that I’ll be the leader,” he said desperately.
I replied, “You’re saying that you’ll come in with more people, right? Mr. Choi, what if something goes wrong during the procedure? I won’t be able to deal with the fallout if anything goes wrong.”
“I will never blame you if you let me take the project. I will actually owe you until I die. I’m serious,” he said.
“You know that big firms like Daehoo and Daehyun are crumbling like this, right?” I questioned.
“Of course!” he answered.
“I’m saying this because you remind me of my father, so don’t get me wrong,” I said gently.
“Okay,” he replied.
I explained, “I know what you’re thinking and how motivated you are. You said that you’ll purchase your friends’ firms with borrowed money, but do you know how much the interest rates are these days? You’ll be bled dry, and you won’t be able to hold out. If things go wrong, you’ll be in billions of debt.”
However, Mr. Choi didn’t even blink and instead became more miserable. This was the first time I had seen such a gaze after I returned because those eyes were the same as the people who desperately jumped in for just one point or to kill a F-class monster.
This wouldn’t be the last project I would fund, and constructions like this were difficult to proceed by just buying an existing construction firm. The larger the company was, the more people were involved, so it was hard to keep secrets.
But…Ugh! I must have become weak seeing that I was thinking of excuses to make him feel less downhearted. I wasn’t like this before… People who reminded me of my father made me remember how he had been like a friend and a teacher to me, especially after being fired.
I suddenly remembered the family photo of Mr. Choi in his driver’s seat.
“Are you sure you want to take this despite the risks?” I asked.
“I’ll take responsibility,” Mr .Choi replied.
“Mmm…Then, let’s do this,” I said.
“Huh?” His eyes widened.
“I know a foreign firm, and I’ll introduce and endorse you so you can borrow as much as they’re willing to lend to you,” I continued.
Mr. Choi rushed in and hugged me as if he couldn’t let me go, and he smelled like wet dirt. However, I couldn’t push him away since he had actually begun sobbing. I felt his weight, and it reminded me of the burden he had suffered throughout his life.
Damn it.
My father had hugged my mother and cried like this on the day he had gotten fired.
“Mr. Choi,” I called him.
“I…I’m so…sorry,” he sobbed.
“I’m not done talking yet. The foreign firm will ask for more than fifty-one percent of the share in return for the investment, and it means your management rights won’t be guaranteed. It’s up to you. Well, of course, that’s only possible if the companies you’re going to buy pass the investment firm’s standards,” I said.
He wept, “Just giving me the opportunity alone…”
“I hope it goes well. I’d like to see your company become one of the major firms. I wish you luck, Mr. Choi,” I responded.
“Yes! I’ll never forget this until I die. I’m dead serious! Really…”
Mr. Choi couldn’t finish his sentence because his tears didn’t stop even when he looked up at the sky.
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