IBMATG 55

chapter 55

The Mirinae Group is a conglomerate in South Korea under the Beombaeksan family, but they don’t involve themselves in any business related to Awakeners.

It doesn’t make sense for a company that provides services to customers to handle weapons.

As a result, the only Awakener in the family, Lee Jin-yoon, is treated like an outcast.

Even though he has some business acumen, the problem is that the field he’s interested in is precisely that Awakener-related business.

From his perspective, being recognized by his family is something he desperately craves.

From my perspective, this is the perfect opportunity to take advantage of that situation.

“Wow… I can’t believe this exists…”

Lee Jin-yoon couldn’t stop marveling as he looked around Alford Castle.

He had seen similar scenery in raid dungeons before, but what amazed him this time was something else entirely.

“All of this… belongs to… you?”

“Yes. Look around.”

I gestured to manipulate the system, and the blacksmiths who had been busy crafting weapons all stopped their work.

Then, I manipulated the system again to resume their work.

“Wow… this is unbelievable…”

He had probably never seen anything like this in his life.

The information about the castle’s conquest hasn’t been made public yet.

“This is just for you. No one else should know. Although it wouldn’t hurt you either, so I know you wouldn’t tell anyone.”

“…Yes!”

I had two reasons for bringing him here.

The first reason is that this is a basic requirement for running a weapon trading business.

This is fundamentally different from the previous sale of a unique sword—it’s a business.

For a distributor like Lee Jin-yoon, it’s only natural to inspect the manufacturing process.

No investor would pour massive capital into a business without seeing how the products are made.

This would have been something he would have requested even if I hadn’t shown it first.

That’s the first reason.

The second reason wasn’t planned—it came about because of today’s events.

“Jin-yoon.”

“Yes?”

“I’m going to transfer ownership of this castle to you.”

“Whaaaat?”

I was giving the castle to him.

“Brother, what does that mean…”

“You’re going to become the Clan Master of the Alford Clan, which owns this castle.”

After meeting Lea, I had decided to join the Belgrave Clan.

But now, I’m the head of the clan I founded, the Alford Clan.

Just like Patrick, it’s impossible to join another clan while belonging to one.

So I must leave my own clan.

The problem is that every other member of this clan is an NPC.

NPCs cannot be Clan Masters, so if I leave, the clan will dissolve, and Alford Castle would become ownerless territory.

It would be a shame to throw away the military strength and manufacturing capabilities of Alford Castle, which I had painstakingly built.

So, I chose Lee Jin-yoon as the person to maintain the clan in my place.

“You’re suddenly asking me to take responsibility for this…”

“It’s not much different from what we originally planned. You just need to manage not only distribution but also weapon production.”

He’s capable of handling the castle and is in a situation where he must do so.

For me, he was the perfect candidate to take over the clan.

Of course, it’s not just a simple handover.

“In return, start a weapon trading company and give me half of its shares.”

While having control, I also plan to profit passively.

“…Understood. I’ll do that.”

He had no choice but to accept. Essentially, it’s like directly owning a magical weapon factory that can produce infinite weapons without production costs.

“I’ll supply the gold you need to operate the castle, so come to me whenever necessary.”

As a precaution, I left only 500 million gold in the castle and took the rest.

Alford Castle currently operates as a zero-tax community, entirely dependent on the gold I provide.

Food production has been stopped, and all resources are focused solely on military and manufacturing power.

If the castle runs out of gold, weapon production—and even self-sufficiency—would be impossible.

In other words, Lee Jin-yoon owns the castle, but to maintain it, he must regularly get gold from me.

“Gold… is needed too? Like the gold from raids?”

“Yes. I’ll handle that, so just focus on selling the weapons produced here.”

“Got it.”

This way, I handed over the Alford Clan while keeping it fully under my control.

I can just sit back and collect dividends—management is actually easier.

It took less than a day to complete all the previous tasks.

“Hero…”

Meanwhile, Adel escorted me as I prepared to leave the castle.

“I’ll be back soon. Don’t worry and wait for me.”

Of course, this is just a temporary event.

At the right time, I’ll leave the Belgrave Clan and reclaim my own clan.

Above all, I will definitely come for Adel.

‘…Why am I thinking about this?’

For a moment, she and Mona overlapped in my mind.

Ahri has long been gone, yet now I feel a confusion about my identity.

“No. I am Yushinwoo.”

I shook my head to regain focus.

“Then, let’s go.”

“Yes. Be careful.”

I left Alford Castle and headed to the Belgrave Clan.

My unexpected encounter with Lea, the Sword Saint, further strengthened my confidence.

I was certain that Belgrave had not found any connection between me and the patch notes.

If that’s the case, there’s no need to avoid them.

It might even be more advantageous to observe them up close and expand my perspective.

‘Moreover, since the Sword Saint himself is interested in my power, I couldn’t be safer than being here.’

Vrrrrrr…

As I meditated on these thoughts, I suddenly felt a shaking sensation throughout my body.

It was entirely different from anything I had felt before.

The heavy, viscous blood-dragon energy that had only allowed slight movement before now surged violently like a whirlwind.

‘Could this… be that sensation?’

Kugugugugu…

The immense force was far beyond what I expected.

Compared to my previous power, this was incomparably massive.

‘What is that…?’

Kwah-rung!

Within my mental world, a storm of blood, thunder, and lightning condensed.

The gathered storm formed into a shape.

‘A black dragon… with three heads…’

It was my guardian spirit, Azidahaka.

-Kuoooooo!

Azidahaka roared, rampaging through my mental world.

It seemed as if it wanted to break through to the outside.

If that happened, its energy might be released outside my body.

‘No. Not here.’

I reached out and grabbed Azidahaka to stop it.

It bit my arm.

“Ugh.”

I felt pain, but I had to hold on.

My hand, formed by will, regenerated.

Azidahaka bit again, but each time I endured the pain and regenerated my hand, holding the dragon firmly.

Gradually, its power weakened.

Thud.

Finally, I grabbed its three heads with one hand and its wings with the other, slamming it to the ground.

Kwah-rung!

The three-headed black dragon was now fully under my control.

-Damn…

Flash.

“Huff… huff…”

At that moment, light flashed as I opened my eyes.

I was gasping for air.

“Sir, are you alright?”

A flight attendant approached, concerned.

“Are you feeling unwell anywhere?”

“…No. I’m fine.”

“Alright. If you ever feel unwell, don’t hesitate to call us.”

I was on a passenger plane.

I had been meditating to pass the time, and things almost went terribly wrong.

Azidahaka’s uncontrolled power was barely restrained from escaping my body.

If I hadn’t stopped it, it would have led to a disaster.

‘That was…’

I summoned Azidahaka in my mental world again.

It tried to rage once more, but having been subdued once, I could restrain it easily this time.

‘This is it.’

Now, the heavy, viscous blood-dragon energy moved according to my will.

‘It’s not just about manipulating mana. The key is contacting and controlling Azidahaka.’

Vrrrrrr…

By holding Azidahaka in my mental world and letting its energy circulate within me, it obeyed my will.

At the same time, my previously weak arms and legs surged with power.

It was a euphoric sensation, similar to when I first activated the Evil Dragon Spell.

Of course, now the scale of amplification was tens of times greater.

‘Status.’

I opened my status window to check the numbers.

<Status>
Title: Orc Slayer (Rank 9)
Name: Yushinwoo
Guardian Spirit: Evil Dragon Azidahaka (Legendary)
HP: 4,785 / 4,785
Mana: 8,880 / 8,880
Strength: 1,522
Vitality: 1,595
Reflexes: 1,601
Concentration: 1,713
Willpower: 1,475 (+5)

‘Insane…’

Last time my all-stats were in the 800s.

Compared to that, these stats are nearly double.

‘The mana… is insane.’

Previously, due to the mechanics of my traits, my mana wasn’t particularly high.

But now, my pure willpower has increased so much that I can access the full amount of mana.

The trait “Vast Mana” finally lives up to its name.

‘With this, I can freely use skills that consume massive mana.’

High-mana skills or divine powers—I can finally experiment with them.

‘Feels like something has finally unlocked.’

I finally resolved the limitations of my abilities.

Before meeting the Belgrave Clan, I solved this issue—perfect timing.

“Phew.”

I leaned back, feeling relieved.

Just as I was about to fall asleep, eyes closed…

-You! Did you really think you could kick me out and relax?!

The lost nuisance reappeared.

Detroit Wayne County International Airport, USA

Having joined the Belgrave Clan, I received a message from Lea to come here.

She explained the “important task” I had to do here.

It would take quite some time, so she advised wrapping up my current affairs.

-This… bastard…

Meanwhile, Ahri’s voice started again on the plane:

‘Why don’t you calm down? You can’t beat me anyway.’

-Ughhh!

Unlike before, it had no effect on me.

It tried to attack to steal my body, but it only agitated my mind slightly.

Apparently, it couldn’t defeat me now that I could control even the blood-dragon power.

-Just you wait! I’ll take your body right now!

‘Bring it on.’

-Then I’ll kill everyone around you! Family or friends!

‘Ha, and this is coming from someone who has a son?’

-Shut up!

I’ve seen this one’s memories. I know it used to cherish people and love his son dearly.

No matter how angry he got over Mona’s death, what could have happened afterward for him to become this twisted?

‘Fine, do as you like. If you can.’

-Grrr!

Honestly, I’m not exactly a humanitarian type either, so it’s funny for me to criticize him.

Anyway, that aside…

I have to meet Belgrave Clan officials now.

Following the instructions in the message, I was checking transportation options to reach my destination.

“Excuse me.”

In this foreign land, someone approached me speaking fluent Korean.

“You… are you Yushinwoo?”

“Huh? Who…?”

A Korean woman with long black hair down to her shoulders, looking very gentle.

I didn’t recognize her at first, but when she introduced herself, I realized who she was.

“It’s me… Choi Yuna.”