I’M A Max-Level Regressor [EN]: Chapter 122

Episode 122

The planned three-person dungeon raid with Shin-hwa, Yoon-byeol, and Choi Ji-hyuk was canceled.

This was due to the sudden appearance of assassins, which required a follow-up investigation.

Shin-hwa told Yoon-byeol and Choi Ji-hyuk to rest and promised to meet them again in the afternoon.

On February 29th, they planned to hold a small signboard unveiling ceremony to officially launch ‘Team Mystic.’

The office had already been secured.

Although expensive, its Gangnam Station location offered unparalleled accessibility.

The office was a significant expense.

Each team member had their own personal space, and rest and recovery facilities were meticulously prepared.

The only downside was the lack of training facilities, but this was resolved through negotiations with the Yanghwa Guild.

They requested fixed reservations at set times each week, rather than direct assistance.

Since they were requesting priority during times when outsiders, i.e., guests, were already being received, the Yanghwa Guild had no reason to refuse, and the negotiations concluded smoothly.

Thanks to this, they secured about 10 hours of fixed training time each week, though the usage fee was a bit expensive.

After wrapping up the discussion about meeting in the afternoon, Shin-hwa returned home to prepare for sleep.

The battles against Lee Yeon, Kang Ja-hee, and Black Snake had been a continuous series of tense moments.

Therefore, he felt extreme fatigue from the moment the battles ended, which even artifacts couldn’t alleviate.

‘It puts a strain on my body every time.’

The battles themselves were executed cleanly, but his physical condition was the problem.

If his opponent was an Awakened person at the same B-rank level, he wouldn’t be particularly tired.

However, the opponents he faced due to past conflicts were always at least A-rank or higher, no matter how he estimated.

As a result, he needed power exceeding his body’s average output several times over.

Thanks to continuous body modifications, he was holding up, but he didn’t know when he would collapse.

Overpower, overheat.

For Shin-hwa, every moment was a continuous push beyond his limits.

-I’m bored. Play with me.

Shami eagerly tapped Shin-hwa’s face with her front paws, asking him to play.

“I’m tired… Kuh.”

He fell asleep instantly, a complete knockout.

* * *

Morning of February 29, 2020.

Korim Chemical finally made a public announcement about developing a new product.

Although it was a weekend when the market was closed, it was a major issue that attracted great attention.

It received even more attention because information gathering was active with no trading taking place.

Stock-related communities unanimously covered Korim Chemical’s announcement as the top priority.

The explosive interest turned into expectations that Korim Chemical’s stock would skyrocket when the market opened on March 2nd.

[On February 29th, Korim Chemical announced it had completed the development of a special drug that reduces all physical abilities of the F-rank monster, Kobold, by 37%.]

[Korim Chemical’s secret research completed over 500 effectiveness verifications in dungeons, with a 100% realization rate.]

[In particular, the product reduces the kobold’s main sense, smell, by 89%, along with an average reduction of 37%.]

[The emergence of this drug is expected to greatly change the F-rank Awakened ecosystem.]

“Good. Very good.”

Clap, clap, clap. Clap, clap, clap.

Waking up with puffy eyes and checking the announcement, Shin-hwa clapped and danced.

-What is it? What’s so good?

“There’s something.”

-Tell me too! Are you going to be happy all by yourself?

“Okay, let’s dance together!”

-Ah! If you lift my feet like that, my legs will stretch like rubber bands!

Shin-hwa grabbed Shami’s front legs with a happy heart and danced joyfully.

With just a little knowledge and prepared investment funds, he would realize an expected profit of nearly 250 billion won [approximately $200 million USD] in three weeks.

Looking at it differently, he thought he shouldn’t be so happy.

It would be strange if he couldn’t make money with future knowledge.

‘If you can’t take it when it’s given to you, you’re a fool.’

He sincerely thought so.

This is why everyone makes the assumption of what if I went back to those days.

“I made a lot of money. No, to be exact, I’m going to make it.”

-What are you going to do with all that money?

“I’m going to build a paradise on earth. A heaven on earth only for me, with everything except people.”

-Is that possible?

“It’s possible if you have money. If you don’t, you can only dream about it.”

-Shin-hwa! Then are you going to take me to that paradise too?

“I’ll see how you do.”

-Hmph…….

Seeing Shami making a sulky face, Shin-hwa took out a special treat from his subspace [a personal storage dimension].

It was Churu, a drug-like snack she had tasted once before and had been begging for at every mealtime.

“Let’s think about that later. Here! How about Churu since I’m in a good mood, call?”

-Coooool……!

Slurp, slurp.

As soon as he finished speaking, Shami put her tongue to the entrance of the Churu that Shin-hwa had torn open.

She started eating like crazy, even rolling her eyes back.

‘Is this the joy of a butler?’

Shin-hwa watched Shami’s meal with a prouder expression than when he ate something delicious.

He had always wondered why everyone couldn’t escape the magic once they became a butler.

After raising Shami himself, he felt like he knew.

Even if I eat cheap kimbap [Korean seaweed rice rolls], I can’t help but want to treat my cat to expensive snacks.

Is that why?

‘Should I come up with an awakening recipe that can awaken Shami’s own talent? Make it similar to Churu so it’s easy to eat.’

Shin-hwa’s thoughts naturally expanded.

There was an awakening combination that could be made by mixing a few ingredients and a flower obtainable from the dungeon.

Of course, it has no effect on people, but it was a recipe that had quite an effect on animals in his previous life.

If that happens, he might gain special abilities such as communicating with animals of completely different species.

‘If I make sure to create a use for it, Shami’s lowered self-esteem will also recover a lot.’

He was going to kill two birds with one stone.

It was a perfectly feasible plan.

* * *

That afternoon.

“Let’s see… Then I can sell all of Korim Chemical’s stock on March 20th and immediately switch to Lycon.”

Swish, swish.

He wrote down the next stock purchase plan on the calendar.

There was a next opportunity on the date when the gears meshed perfectly.

On March 20th, Lycon, a security system development company, would release a management program.

It was a program that analyzes data from various angles and determines dungeon stability with 95% probability.

The best program currently on the market has a 75% accuracy rate, so there were quite a few cases where the prediction was wrong.

‘Sudden outbreaks that have not disappeared.’

These are caused by the 25% probability, which can be drastically reduced to 5% with Lycon’s program.

“There aren’t many trading volumes here either, so it’s better to buy in installments. The budget is about 50 billion won [approximately $40 million USD].”

A rough plan was established.

He would be moderately greedy so he wouldn’t get sick from trying to take too much at once.

Of course, ‘moderately’ meant realizing a profit of hundreds or thousands of billions of won [hundreds of millions or billions of USD].

“Shall we go now?”

He had already packed his clothes and left the house to head to Gangnam Station.

It was to hold a small signboard unveiling ceremony to announce the launch of Team Mystic.

In his previous life, Nicholas had held a small event when he launched Nine Road.

It wasn’t a signboard unveiling ceremony; Shin-hwa remembered sipping soda with a few crackers. Nicholas was such a miser that he saved money to prepare for the Great Disaster, even thinking about it again.

20 minutes later.

Shin-hwa, who had left the mansion in Sadang Station, arrived at the office near Exit 9 of Gangnam Station.

Seoul is convenient.

The fact that you can travel anywhere easily and conveniently by public transportation is a major plus.

In addition, unlike the Red Zone or Black Zone [dangerous areas with high monster activity], where you have to worry every time you take the subway, the Seoul Subway Line 2, where all areas are in the White Zone [safe zone], is a route with nothing to worry about.

As always, he arrived at the office 30 minutes earlier than the promised time.

“Huh? Are you already here?”

“Shin-hwa! You’re here? I’ve been so nervous since this morning!”

“I was also nervous because it was my first time trying to stand alone after leaving KSA [Korean Special Association], so I hurried over.”

The priest and Yoon-byeol had arrived much earlier.

It wasn’t a grand event, just a small signboard unveiling ceremony.

The two people’s expressions were excited and nervous, like a child receiving an award from the principal in front of the entire school for the first time.

“Now is the official launch of Team Mystic. As a leader, I promise you for sure, the two of you will grow faster than you can imagine.”

He could say it for sure.

He knew the potential of the two people from his previous life.

Now that he knew everything, it wasn’t difficult to fuel their growth.

“I will also work hard to help Shin-hwa.”

“I will try not to betray Shin-hwa’s trust.”

“Shall we unify the titles a bit? Calling each other ‘Mr.’ looks polite, but it doesn’t feel friendly.”

“Leader? Master?”

“Let’s keep it simple. I want to call the priest ‘hyung’ [older brother] and Byeol-i ‘nuna’ [older sister], how about it?”

“……”

“……”

There was a moment of silence.

It seemed they realized they were ‘older’ than him.

He was twenty-four.

The priest was thirty-four.

Yoon-byeol was twenty-five.

Rather than getting the family tree ambiguously twisted later, it was cleanest and most comfortable to line up by age.

“But Byeol-i and I……”

“Just call me Shin-hwa. All the words like leader and master are embarrassing.”

He waved his hand.

“Hyung, nuna, Shin-hwa. This is how we unify it. I don’t accept any objections! You two should call each other oppa [term used by females to address older brothers or male friends] and Byeol-i, too.”

He drove a wedge.

Title arrangements and casual speech can only be finished quickly when one person takes the lead and sets the standard.

After finishing the conversation, they completed the signboard unveiling ceremony with a ‘small’ commemorative photo and entered the office.

As soon as he entered, he pointed to a dungeon map attached to the whiteboard.

“Shin-hwa… No, Shin-hwa, what is this map?”

“Shin-hwa, where are you going?”

The two people were awkward but worked hard to use casual speech.

Shin-hwa answered their questions about the destination indicated on the map with a bright smile.

“It’s the K-10004 dungeon in LA, USA. Team Mystic’s first dungeon raid is an overseas expedition.”

The only flower in the world is waiting for him!

He was aiming right at it.