abcnovels
Chapter 66
Chapter 66
Chapter 66: Kim Jinah (4)
A week later, a large crowd gathered at the store’s opening in front of Demir’s Workshop in a prime spot in the Apgujeong area.
“Please, sell it to me!”
“I’ll pay 10 million won more! I’ll buy it!”
“Excuse me! Owner of Demir’s Workshop! Can you produce more stock?”
As soon as the doors opened, the people who had been waiting since even earlier rushed in. All they had to do was choose a weapon within their turn and pay the skeleton clerk to complete the transaction.
“Haha, no need to rush, everyone! Please come in slowly!”
“Will you be paying by card or cash? Sorry, but we don’t support interest-free installment plans.”
Demir’s minions had fully adapted to their work. They understood the concept of credit cards and even installment plans.
Seeing a skeleton swiping a credit card was so strange that many journalists had come just to capture it.
“What? Only 20 items again today?”
“How are people supposed to buy anything like this?”
“I walked in right at open, and it’s already sold out? Shouldn’t you have enough stock if you’re starting a business?”
The hunters grumbled, but the skeleton clerks were the only ones there to hear their complaints.
“Haha. We only do what we’re told.”
“Don’t blame it on us!”
They knew that complaining to the grinning skeletons was meaningless.
“Hmm.”
Kim Jinah and I were watching the scene unfold from the rooftop.
“Business is still going well, I see.”
I enjoyed the sweet feeling of earning 400 million won* in revenue in less than a minute as I sipped on my caramel macchiato. Nothing beats caramel when you want something sweet.
* ? $308,000 USD
At this rate, I’d be able to pay back the 10 billion won loan in no time and become rich soon.
The best part? There were no actual expenses. The mineral reserves in my bag were still plentiful, the employees were skeletons, and my minions handled the production process. There was no sweeter deal.
Kim Jinah, smiling next to me, remarked, “See? This is the power of marketing.”
She was right. The performance of Demir’s mass-produced items was only slightly above the average B-rank. Regarding raw performance, they were inferior to the highest-quality B-rank items White Swine or other workshops produced. Although, the overall design was flashy enough to stand out, of course.
“Teehee, I knew this workshop would succeed. I have a great sense for these things, you know. Oh, did you hear?”
“What is it?”
“Demir’s products are selling for two or three times their original price on the black market.”
“Oh, really?”
“Yes, that’s why people are flocking to this place. Even if they don’t need a weapon for themselves, they can resell it for a profit. There’s even a new term going around: ‘D-investment.’”
“D-investment, huh…”
“It’s a combination of ‘Demir’ and ‘investment.’ Your products will become a high-end brand soon.”
“Wow.” I clapped my hands in amazement.
I had expected some level of success, but I couldn’t help but feel elated. My workshop was on its way to becoming a global luxury brand.
“…”
Of course, Kim Jinah still didn’t know that I had the ability to create S-rank weapons. Nor did she realize that I had much bigger goals than merely making money with these B-rank items.
I looked down at the bustling scene below where hunters were still crowded outside the store.
“Did anyone successfully buy something?”
“Did anyone get the spear? I’ll buy it off you! I’ll pay extra!”
“I got the spear. How much are you willing to offer?”
“Name your price.”
“You first.”
The black market was forming right in front of the store.
Some might think I was losing money by not raising prices, but I had no intention of doing so. What I was selling now was just “standard” items. Selling to a wide customer base at a lower price would yield greater long-term profits.
But the real profit for Demir’s Workshop wouldn’t come from these small fry.
“Ha.” A week later, Kim Jinah let out an exasperated sigh. “They’re really making a mess of things outright, huh?”
The reason for her sour mood was simple: as expected, the Ohsung Workshop had started to interfere.
But…
Shin Jongoh, that jerk was even more of a thug than I thought.
I didn’t expect him to stoop this low.
It was one thing for them to buy a nearby building and open a shop selling higher-performance B-rank items at a promotional price. After all, the world operated on the principles of a market economy.
Even if they sold cheap, they were the ones losing out, not me. The popularity of Demir’s Workshop remained unchanged, with items selling out every time the shop opened.
Then, a few days later…
“We’re taking over this road!”
“Pay a toll if you want to pass!”
“Did we buy this place out, you ask? Yeah, we sure did, so what are you gonna do? If you don’t like it, come at us!”
A group of hunters in suits began illegally occupying the space in front of the store. It was obvious who had sent them.
Kim Jinah was flustered. As smart as she was, she had only studied lawful, market-driven strategies, and this kind of thuggish behavior was new to her.
“Dirty, shameless scoundrels.” She gritted her teeth on the rooftop, frustrated.
I walked up to her, much more relaxed than she was.
The reason I could stay so calm in situations like this was simple. After a couple of trips through ‘Immeasurable’ dungeons, everything else seemed like child’s play.
“Ms. Jinah, there’s no need to respond to this.”
“Pardon? But we’ve already lost two days of sales… We should resolve this through the Hunter Association. But the problem is that we’re dealing with a major corporation…”
The world of capitalism could be filthy. The moment they bribed a judge, they could twist the law however they wanted to make me lose. Or they could just assassinate me to make the case disappear altogether.
“There’s no need for that.”
“…How can you be so calm, dear customer?”
She looked at me confused as I grinned.
“Look down there. They’re the ones blocking the road, not us. People aren’t stupid; they can see these thugs are from Ohsung. Who do you think their anger will be directed at?”
“Ah… So you’re saying that this will just damage their reputation?”
“Exactly. Furthermore…” I pulled up a fresh news article on my phone and handed it to her.
“Breaking News! Assassin Ranker Gi Soyul Reveals Her Weapon Information to the Public!”
“‘A Dagger for an Assassin’ (S-rank). A weapon with a 500% damage increase—who is its lucky owner?”
“Gi Soyul: ‘I’m deeply grateful to Demir’s Workshop for crafting this S-rank weapon for me.’”
“Demir’s Workshop: Is it capable of producing S-rank weapons?”
Even I had just found out about this. For some reason, Gi Soyul had decided to promote the workshop through the media, and her timing couldn’t have been better.
“This is…” Kim Jinah’s eyes widened as she scrolled through the articles on the phone. “…Huhhhh? An S-rank weapon?”
She was shocked. S-rank weapons were so rare that their value was essentially priceless. And now it was revealed that Demir’s Workshop could make them.
“Let me be honest with you.” I looked at her and continued, “I don’t care about selling mass-produced items. I’m really focused on making VIP, limited-edition items—S-rank weapons. The rest of my time will be spent training.”
“R-Really? Why didn’t you say that earlier?!” Kim Jinah looked bewildered. “If you had shown proof earlier, I wouldn’t have offered a 10 billion loan. I would have emptied the bank for you…!”
“I don’t need that much money anyway. From now on, I’ll make all the money I need.”
“Ah…”
“I think the real rush is about to start.”
“Y-Yes.”
A hunter capable of producing S-rank weapons emerging in Korea was headline-worthy news, enough to make the front page.
And sure enough…
“There it is!”
“This is Demir’s Workshop!”
“Mr. Joo Donghoon! Please come out!”
“You were recently certified as a B-rank hunter! How can you craft S-rank weapons? When did you first awaken as a production-class hunter?”
The thugs blocking the road were soon overwhelmed by a flood of reporters and onlookers.
“Wh-What the hell? What’s going on?”
“G-Get out of here!”
The hunters in suits panicked but couldn’t stop the waves of people crashing down on them. Not to mention that they didn’t have the authority to.
Alright.
I clapped my hands.
Now, it was time to raise the stakes.
* * *
“Hello, reporters. This is Joo Donghoon, the owner of Demir’s Workshop.”
Using Demir’s enchanted scroll from my time facing the dragon, I amplified my voice with the ‘Amplify’ (A-rank) spell so it could be heard loud and clear.
“Wow, it’s Joo Donghoon!”
“He looks younger than I thought!”
“I know that guy! He was briefly in the spotlight three years ago when he awakened as a necromancer!”
The reporters and customers murmured amongst themselves.
I stood on the rooftop, looking down at them as they pointed their smartphones and cameras at me.
“That’s right. I’m a necromancer. But as the articles have pointed out, I’m an unusual type of necromancer. My skeletons are production-class.”
The crowd buzzed with excitement.
“N-No way! So it was true that the skeletons were making weapons?”
“Wow, that’s a new one. Isn’t necromancer already an overpowered class? And now it’s overpowered as a production class, too?”
“Hold on, so mere skeletons are crafting S-rank weapons?”
“That’s very intriguing.”
The hunters’ eyes sparkled with interest.
Then a question rang out from one of the reporters.
“I have a question!” a loud voice boomed from the crowd.
“Yes, go ahead.”
“There have been illegal blockades in front of your store for the past two days. Do you know who’s responsible? If so, can you explain the reason?”
“I don’t know. I’m not even interested. I’m just here to sell items. I have no concern beyond that.”
“I see. Thank you.”
I didn’t bother mentioning Shin Jongoh. He wasn’t worth my time anymore. After all, my sights weren’t set on the Ohsung Workshop. Maybe the Ohsung Group, but not the workshop.
But, of course, I had no intention of letting them get away with it. Anyone who messed with me would pay the price, one way or another. That was my creed.
Another question followed from a different reporter.
“This is Daetong Daily. How often can you produce S-rank weapons? Will you gift them like you did with Gi Soyul or sell them?”
Ah, this was the question I’d been waiting for.
“Demir’s Workshop will produce VIP, custom-made, limited edition weapons. As for the production rate, it’ll vary. It could be once a month or once a year, depending on my availability.”
At the mention of S-rank weapons, the previously noisy crowd fell silent. Everyone was keen to listen.
“So when will the next S-rank weapon be made?” the reporter from Daetong Daily asked next.
“The dagger I gifted to the Dark Empress was the first. I’ll be starting on the second one tomorrow.”
“…!”
“A second one?”
“Is he saying he can make another S-rank weapon right away?”
“Then who will be the next owner?”
“I’ll be holding a bidding competition until tomorrow. Anyone interested—rankers or merchants—can submit their maximum bid to one of the skeleton clerks. The second S-rank weapon will go to the highest bidder.”
This time, I was targeting the wealthy. Of course, I’d change the theme for each new weapon. After all, Demir’s Workshop wasn’t just driven by money; it was about prestige.
“…!”
“A bidding war…!”
My announcement quickly spread through news outlets and hunter forums, generating explosive interest. But it didn’t stop there—it was now spreading globally.