Chapter 06

As soon as Kim Jinwoo finished speaking in front of the reporters, reactions immediately exploded everywhere.

The response to the Random Skill Book and mana stones was especially beyond imagination.

“A B-rank Random Skill Book?! Isn’t this the world’s first?”

“Probably. You can only get it by achieving SSS rank.”

“This is insane! So Kim Jinwoo is actually planning to sell something that valuable instead of using it himself?”

The value Kim Jinwoo placed on a B-rank Random Skill Book and the value rankers placed on it were completely different.

A Random Skill Book was exactly what its name implied. Everything about it was random.

Even the rank itself was random, meaning a B-rank book could still produce a much lower-ranked D-rank skill.

Of course, there was also around a 1% chance of getting an A-rank skill instead.

Anyway, to Jinwoo, a B-rank Random Skill Book that relied entirely on luck did not seem all that valuable.

Especially because he considered himself unlucky.

But from the perspective of current rankers, a B-rank Random Skill Book was an item worth buying even for tens of billions, no, hundreds of billions of won.

At a time when even one D-rank skill could completely change rankings, obtaining a B-rank skill was incredible.

And if someone were lucky enough to obtain an A-rank skill, then it would truly become a game changer.

“Contact Kim Jinwoo immediately! Tell him we’ll give him anything he wants, whether it’s dungeons or items, as long as he exchanges the Skill Book with us!”

The Guild Master of the White Tiger Guild shouted loudly.

And almost as if they had planned it beforehand, similar conversations were happening inside Black Phantom, the White Tiger Guild’s rival.

“We absolutely cannot let those White Tiger bastards get the Skill Book. Offer fifty billion if necessary and buy it!”

“Will fifty billion even be enough?”

“If not, offer a hundred billion! No, I’ll allow up to two hundred billion, so bring it back no matter what!”

If someone could obtain a B-rank skill at this stage, then two hundred billion was nothing.

Not just double that amount, even triple would be worth spending.

Of course, most people simply did not have that kind of money.

As the situation developed like this, even Hunters who had been hostile toward Kim Jinwoo hurriedly changed their attitudes.

“C-Captain. The atmosphere inside the raid team is chaotic right now. It looks like several members already went to Kim Jinwoo’s office.”

“Damn it! Those traitorous bastards!”

The Hunters who had betrayed Kim Jinwoo and transferred to Park Jinsu’s raid team were now secretly showing signs of wanting to return to Jinwoo’s team.

Anyone could see that the winner of the competition between the two raid teams was Kim Jinwoo.

People wanted to stand with the winner, not the loser.

Meanwhile, major corporations also reacted immediately after seeing Jinwoo’s announcement.

“He obtained several hundred kilograms of mana stones? Our group absolutely must get our hands on them!”

The large corporations immediately began emergency meetings.

Even Oseong Group, the number one corporation in Korea, was no exception.

It was not only Korea reacting intensely.

Ever since the Great Cataclysm began, Tower raids had become the most important issue everywhere in the world.

To fall behind in Tower progression?

That did not simply mean being treated as weak or falling behind the leading countries.

Dungeon breaks would occur, causing monsters to pour out and devastate entire nations.

Falling behind practically meant death.

“We must bring Jinwoo Kim to America no matter what! Offer him any conditions necessary! America needs his information!”

America had already valued Kim Jinwoo highly.

Now that Jinwoo had achieved such miraculous success, America’s movements naturally became even more urgent.

And America was not alone.

Two hundred kilograms of mana stones and a B-rank Random Skill Book?

At the national level, those things were not actually the most important.

Kim Jinwoo himself was more important.

After all, Jinwoo had practically cleared the 19th floor by himself.

If someone like him were given a proper team, just how high could he climb?

Not only America, but also Japan, China, Russia, Germany, and many other countries all came to Korea hoping to recruit Kim Jinwoo.

The presidential office in Yongsan, Seoul.

On television, Kim Jinwoo’s interview with reporters replayed over and over again.

• At the moment, I don’t have any plans. Including whether I’ll continue climbing the Tower in Korea.

President Lee Minjae’s expression looked visibly uncomfortable.

Considering the relationship between him and Kim Jinwoo, that was only natural.

Of course, from a national perspective, this should have been a joyful event.

Not only had Korea finally broken through the stagnant 17th floor after months and reached the 18th floor, but they had even become the first to clear the 19th floor.

For the time being, Korea was now effectively free from the fear of dungeon breaks.

But human emotions were not so simple.

“What exactly happened?”

Lee Minjae looked at his aides and asked coldly.

“I asked you just now, didn’t I? How did Kim Jinwoo suddenly return to the Tower?!”

Kim Jinwoo had become a national hero after becoming the first person in the world to clear the 19th floor and reach the 20th floor.

But at the same time, he openly hinted that he could leave Korea whenever he wanted.

Naturally, his words became an enormous issue, and for President Lee Minjae, that issue was clearly bad news.

Chief Secretary Jung Hyunwoo cautiously stepped forward and spoke.

“Mr. President, we also never expected Kim Jinwoo to return this quickly. According to our information, we believed he would immigrate to America…”

“You believed he would immigrate? Do you seriously think that’s an acceptable explanation?”

Lee Minjae continued shouting.

Then Senior Secretary Kim Taesung spoke in a low voice.

“Mr. President, public opinion is extremely favorable toward Kim Jinwoo right now. It would not be an exaggeration to say he has completely recovered his image as a national hero.”

Lee Minjae frowned after hearing that.

“Do you think I don’t know that? The problem is that Kim Jinwoo is basically threatening us by saying he might leave for America!”

“…Considering public opinion, we absolutely must keep him here. If he leaves for America, it will greatly affect the administration’s approval ratings.”

Now that public opinion toward Kim Jinwoo had become positive again, it meant the government had to repair its relationship with him somehow.

Otherwise, he really could immigrate to another country, whether America or somewhere else.

And of course, Lee Minjae understood that too.

“But Kim Jinwoo ignored me, the president of this country. He refused to acknowledge me, the man chosen by the majority of the people!”

Strictly speaking, Kim Jinwoo had never ignored Lee Minjae.

He simply did not help with Lee Minjae’s election campaign because he was busy raiding the Tower.

Likewise, he skipped the inauguration ceremony because he was busy raiding the Tower.

But Lee Minjae believed Jinwoo’s obsession with his own work meant he was disregarding presidential authority.

Jung Hyunwoo sighed and said,

“Mr. President, you must let go of old grudges. At this rate, Kim Jinwoo really may leave for America.”

“I heard America’s reaction has been intense. But is it truly that serious?”

“Yes, Mr. President. We’ve heard the American government is preparing offers worth tens of trillions of won in order to recruit Kim Jinwoo. We cannot rule out the possibility that he might accept.”

After hearing that, Lee Minjae let out a hollow laugh.

“Tens of trillions? Does that even make sense?”

“The other side is America.”

“……”

“Mr. President, what matters right now is keeping Kim Jinwoo here. We need to consider offering benefits greater than what America proposed.”

The thought of lowering his pride for a mere Hunter irritated him deeply.

And the fact that this was happening at the very beginning of his term, when presidential authority was supposedly strongest, made it even worse.

But Lee Minjae could not deny reality.

Kim Jinwoo had once again become a national hero, and right now, he was far more important to the country than the president himself.

In the end, Lee Minjae’s decision was practically already made.

‘But is it even possible to offer benefits better than America’s?’

America had declared that it was willing to spend tens of trillions to recruit Kim Jinwoo.

Thinking about what kind of offer could possibly beat America’s was overwhelming.

A reception room at Oseong Group headquarters in Gangnam, Seoul.

Jinwoo had come there to speak with Oseong Group Chairman Park Junhyung.

“It is an honor to meet Korea’s national hero, Hunter Kim Jinwoo, in person.”

Even though he was the chairman of Korea’s top corporation, Park Junhyung’s attitude toward Jinwoo was extremely respectful.

It was not because he truly admired Jinwoo as a national hero.

Rather, it was because he wanted the information and items Jinwoo possessed.

As long as Jinwoo was the only person who had reached the 20th floor, the one in the superior position was clearly Jinwoo.

“Hunter Kim Jinwoo, we would like to purchase your 200 kilograms of mana stones for thirty billion won.”

“Thirty billion, huh.”

Park Junhyung immediately got to the point.

He offered to buy all the mana stones at 150% of market value.

Jinwoo smiled and nodded.

“At that price, there’s no reason to refuse.”

As soon as he answered, Jinwoo pulled out the mana stones from his subspace inventory.

Park Junhyung looked surprised.

“You’re giving them to us immediately?”

“Yes. Is there a problem? It’s not like the chairman would scam me.”

Park Junhyung repeatedly admired Jinwoo’s attitude.

“Thank you very much. We’ll transfer the money directly to your account immediately.”

Jinwoo nodded and then suddenly brought up something unexpected.

“By any chance, could you arrange a meeting with the president of Oseong Bio?”

Park Junhyung looked confused.

“The president of Oseong Bio? What for?”

“I obtained a medicine from the 20th floor that has a major effect on hair growth. If researched properly, I think it could lead to something interesting.”

Park Junhyung’s eyes widened.

“Something interesting… Are you talking about a hair-loss cure?”

“Yes.”

“A h-hair-loss cure…”

“You probably find it hard to believe, so I’ll hand over enough for testing first.”

As Jinwoo said that, he looked toward Park Junhyung’s head.

“Or perhaps the chairman would like to use it personally.”

“H-Haha…”

After briefly looking flustered, Park Junhyung nodded repeatedly.

“Understood. If you hand over the material, we’ll immediately send it to Oseong Bio.”

Jinwoo pulled out Mana Bella from his subspace and handed it over to Park Junhyung.

“If you successfully create a hair-loss treatment as I described, then I’ll receive ten percent of the sales.”

“Ten percent of the sales…”

Park Junhyung spoke with a troubled expression.

“It would be difficult to share that much revenue. There are research costs, manufacturing costs, distribution costs, advertising costs, and much more. Even if development succeeds, selling the product will require enormous expenses.”

“I’m the only person capable of supplying this ingredient in large quantities.”

“…In other words, it’s a monopoly product.”

Even if other raid teams reached the 20th floor, they would not be able to obtain much Mana Bella.

And cultivating it at this stage was practically impossible.

‘Unless someone creates a cultivation site inside a special dungeon environment capable of growing Mana Bella, I’m the only person who can monopolize production.’

Jinwoo possessed exactly that kind of “special environment” within his subspace.

Using the properties of the subspace, cultivating Mana Bella was not difficult at all.

‘Not just Mana Bella. I should cultivate spiritual medicines too.’

Park Junhyung fell into deep thought.

Then, as though making a decision, he nodded.

“Very well. If Hunter Kim Jinwoo truly has exclusive access to the ingredients for the hair-loss medicine, then I believe these terms are acceptable.”

The two shook hands and finalized the deal.

Jinwoo left the reception room with a satisfied expression and departed from Oseong Group headquarters.

‘The government should start approaching me soon. I wonder what kind of card they’ll play.’