Chapter 14

Chapter 14

14. I Became a Boss

If I wanted to open a gate and pump out the oil, that meant I’d have to personally go down there in a submarine.

Or own an offshore drilling rig.

Those had to be insanely expensive.

I doubt even eighty billion won would buy one.

‘This won’t work.’

I don’t have a submarine.

I don’t have an oil rig either.

I can’t even swim.

I once got scared of an aquarium and turned around at the entrance.

Granted, I was a kid.

Anyway!

‘I should leave this to a professional.’

I took out my phone and called the loan shark.

“Boss. Can I come to your office right now?”

-Why?

“I have something to talk about.”

-About what?

“Oil.”

-Oil? You planning to trade futures with it or something?

“Huh? Why would I give oil as a gift? To who?”

-...Never mind. Pretend you didn’t hear that. So what about oil?

“What would you say if I knew where there was land with oil under it?”

Silence lingered on the other end.

-...Come over. Let’s talk in person.

* * *

Friends Capital office.

“Like I said, I know where there’s land with oil.”

The loan shark, ‘Friend,’ stared at me with a cigar in his mouth.

“Let’s say you do. But is this an oil company?”

“No.”

“This is a lending business.”

“I know.”

“Then why are you talking to me about oil?”

“Because you’re the only person I can talk to about this.”

The loan shark’s eyebrow twitched.

“I’m the only one?”

“Yes.”

Silence passed for a while.

Cigar smoke curled toward the ceiling.

“Do you own the land?”

“Not yet.”

“Source of the information?”

“That’s a secret.”

His eyes sharpened.

They practically said, ‘Well, look at this.’

“Is the information reliable?”

“Absolutely.”

“Based on what?”

“I confirmed it myself.”

He stared at me for a moment.

As though weighing something.

Truthfully, I hadn’t confirmed anything.

But the system said it, so it had to be right.

“How much is there?”

I recalled the information the system had shown me.

[Searching...]

[Search complete.]

[Approximately 15 billion barrels of crude oil are buried in the ‘Endless Desert,’ 25th Floor of the Tower of Fate.]

“Fifteen billion barrels.”

The cigar slipped from the loan shark’s fingers.

Tap.

“...What?”

“Fifteen billion barrels. What’s the current price per barrel?”

“Wait, wait.”

He raised a hand to stop me.

It was the first time I had ever seen that expression on his face.

He hadn’t even looked like this when I mentioned 1.06 trillion won.

“Fifteen billion barrels would be...”

He tapped on a calculator.

His fingers trembled slightly.

“Even at only a hundred dollars per barrel...”

He stopped tapping.

Stared at the calculator screen, then calculated again.

And stopped once more.

“1.5 trillion dollars.”

The office went silent.

“Dollars.”

I emphasized it once more.

The loan shark slowly raised his head.

“...You’re serious?”

“I told you. I confirmed it myself.”

“How?”

“I said that part’s a secret.”

“Fine, let’s say you’re telling the truth. Why not report it to Korea Gas Corporation? Why are you trying to do this yourself? You’re already rich.”

“I want to live like a dragon.”

“A dragon?”

He stared at me for a while, then gave a dry laugh.

“Forget it. I don’t know anything about oil. Do whatever you want.”

“Hmm. I thought you’d do anything if there was money in it.”

“That’s not entirely wrong, but this is a different field. It isn’t my specialty. Go home.”

With the loan shark kicking me out, I had no choice but to leave.

He seemed to think I was spouting nonsense.

‘Well, I guess it is hard to believe. Still...’

I really want an oil company.

It’s not like I have some grand ambition.

‘You dig into the ground and money literally pours out.’

Why wouldn’t I want to do it?

Assuming I could.

But once I thought about setting up and running an actual company, doing all sorts of work and learning everything involved.

‘I don’t think I can.’

Naturally, I knew nothing about running a corporation.

Honestly, I didn’t want to learn either.

Why?

‘It’s annoying.’

My plan had been to put the loan shark forward as a professional manager while I sat back and collected money.

But that plan had collapsed before it even began.

So what now?

‘No idea. I’ll just play a game.’

I went home and launched my game.

I opened the game community to check the strategy for the newly updated raid.

Then a best post on the Free Board caught my eye.

[Title: Aren’t games way too expensive these days???]

-Content: Feels like I spend a fixed 200,000 won a month just on packages. Add costumes and all the little extra things you end up buying and it’s probably close to 500,000 a month. Come on, guys, make some noise, games are way too expensive!!!

As expected, the comment section was a battlefield.

-Did someone hold a knife to your throat and force you to buy packages?

┗yeah if you don’t buy them you get left behind as fuck. Fact is it basically is like being threatened with a knife lol...

┗Then play at your own level, or if you hate that too just fucking quit already

┗fr these bottom-feeder bastards can quit if they hate it so much but all they do is whine

‘Brings back memories.’

Not exactly ancient memories.

I remembered what had first made me start gold farming in online games.

‘I really played hard back then.’

I never missed any content that generated currency.

And reinvested every bit of it into my character.

Then, after all that suffering, when I finally obtained a Legendary weapon.

I happened to see another character passing by.

Weapon, armor, accessories.

Every single item was Legendary.

The game had only recently launched, so there was absolutely no way anyone could normally have a full Legendary set yet.

Back then, I messaged that character.

-Me: Hey.

-Other Player:?

-Me: How did you get full Legendary gear?

-Other Player: Paid for it

-Me: What if you don’t have money?

-Other Player: Then be a floor mat

-Me: Floor mat?

-Other Player: Just enjoy the game casually and gold farm. Don’t overreach if you’re broke

-Other Player: Speaking of which, if you want to sell your gold, send me your bank account

-Other Player: I’ll buy all of it for 5,000 won per 1,000 gold

‘These days it’s only 200 won per 1,000 gold.’

Back then, 3,000 to 4,000 won per 1,000 gold was the going rate.

Simply put, around 100:350.

But that player offered to buy all my gold at 100:500.

I sold every item I owned and, for the first time in my life, held the huge sum of five million won.

That money became the deposit for the studio I still lived in.

That was when I realized one thing.

‘Right. Someone like me is supposed to be a floor mat and gold farm.’

When a wren tries to follow a stork?

Its legs split apart.

And I still remembered that player’s nickname.

Because it was only one character.

‘Dragon.’

I’d heard only certain imugi were born destined to become dragons.

‘Is that right? Whatever.’

Anyway!

‘Back then, I thought we lived in different worlds.’

Not anymore.

I was an imugi.

And I had the makings of a dragon.

The world had simply been unable to afford my worth or recognize me.

‘But it doesn’t matter.’

Because now I’ve found the Dragon Pearl known as ‘Gate Keeper.’

‘I’m going to live like a dragon too.’

Above the clouds!

* * *

Gangnam-gu, Seoul.

A hostess bar owned by SJ Capital & Holdings.

The loan shark, ‘Friend,’ stepped out of his car and adjusted his tie.

‘Filthy day.’

Once a month.

Without fail, this day left a bitter taste in his mouth.

He carried two shopping bags.

One contained bundles of cash.

The other held a diamond ring in a case.

Three carats.

Appraised at 420 million won.

‘He said it was for his son’s wedding gift.’

He had at least made an effort.

Not that effort meant anything here.

The moment he entered, the manager bowed in greeting.

“Welcome. He’s waiting for you.”

The innermost room at the end of the hallway.

When the door opened, a heavy atmosphere washed over him.

Smack, smack!

A steady rhythm.

Then.

“Gah! Aagh!”

Someone’s groans followed.

The first thing he saw was two B-Rank hunters lying face-down on the floor.

A burly man in a suit had rolled up his sleeves and was beating them with a baseball bat.

His expression was utterly emotionless.

Beside them, an A-Rank hunter already past his limit lay bloodied on the floor, groaning.

The suited man set the bat on the sofa, slipped brass knuckles from his fingers, and wiped them with a handkerchief.

Like folding a napkin after a meal.

In the seat of honor sat Im Seokjun, chairman of SJ Capital & Holdings.

Despite being over sixty, his back remained perfectly straight.

Two women sat pressed tightly against either side of him.

Chairman Im Seokjun sipped his drink and looked at ‘Friend.’

“You’re here?”

“Yes, Chairman.”

The loan shark bowed politely and placed the shopping bags on the table.

“This month’s payment. And I prepared something for your son’s wedding.”

“Really?”

Im Seokjun opened the case.

The three-carat diamond glittered beneath the room’s lights.

“Hmm.”

For the briefest instant.

Boredom flickered across Im Seokjun’s eyes.

The loan shark did not miss it.

‘He already bought one.’

For his son and daughter-in-law.

A better one.

Just as Chairman Im Seokjun was about to close the case, the woman beside him brightened and wrapped herself around his arm.

“Oh my, oppa. How many carats is this? It’s gorgeous.”

Im Seokjun looked down at her and chuckled.

“You like it?”

He immediately picked up the case and placed it in the woman’s hand.

Just like that, a 400-million-won ring changed owners in five seconds.

“Oh my! You’re really giving it to me? I knew you were the best, oppa!”

The woman happily slipped the ring onto her finger.

The loan shark kept his expression unchanged.

Only his brow tightened for the briefest instant before smoothing again.

Then Im Seokjun spoke with a displeased look.

“Still, every time I see you, you’re damn tall. Your head’s going to hit the ceiling.”

The loan shark immediately knelt beside Im Seokjun.

Im Seokjun smirked and picked up the whiskey bottle.

The loan shark quickly raised an empty glass respectfully with both hands.

Chairman Im Seokjun poured him a drink.

Glug, glug.

“Doing well?”

“Thanks to you.”

“Glad you went independent?”

“Yes.”

Im Seokjun grinned.

“I told you not to back then.”

“I remember.”

“If you’d stayed under me, you’d probably be living more comfortably by now.”

The loan shark said nothing.

“Well, you seem to be doing all right for yourself.”

Chairman Im Seokjun lifted his glass and continued.

“Anything interesting these days?”

“Nothing much.”

“Nothing much? Once you get old, everything becomes nothing much.”