Chapter 36 – Choice and Investment

“What’s going on?”

“If I go, she’ll definitely make me do something weird again. Please just tell her you didn’t see me today.”

Waving his hands dismissively, Ghost sank into the floor and vanished.

Clueless, Il-hyeon scratched his head and headed down.

He took the elevator in the left building down to the underground research facility.

Inside the massive facility, countless researchers bustled about, busy with their work amidst rows of cutting-edge equipment and computers.

The place was so vast and complex that he had to stop a passing employee to ask for directions.

“I heard you were looking for me. Where should I go?”

“Ah, the Team Leader is over there.”

The research team member, recognizing Il-hyeon’s face, pointed the way.

Glancing in the indicated direction, Il-hyeon spotted a familiar face.

Choi Eun-chae, the research team leader of Aegis.

Dressed in a white lab coat, she was inspecting an experiment site, accompanied by four other researchers.

“Ah, you’re here!”

Choi Eun-chae gestured as she saw Il-hyeon approaching, and the researchers who had been reporting to her stepped aside.

They had met a few times since their memorable first encounter and exchanged brief greetings.

When Il-hyeon asked why she had suddenly summoned him here, she grinned and spoke with confidence.

“I have good news.”

“Good news…?”

“Yes! For all of us. Um… but where’s Ghost?”

“He said he’s sick and couldn’t make it.”

Il-hyeon offered a vague excuse for Ghost.

But Choi Eun-chae saw through the lie instantly.

Only a fool would fall for that.

“Hmph, tell him if he doesn’t show up by tomorrow, I’ll set off an EMP shell in his face. He should keep his promise, especially after winning that new coat from me.”

Hearing her words, Il-hyeon burst out laughing as he pieced together what must have happened.

It seemed Ghost had made another strange bet and lost.

In fact, Ghost was always making bets not just with Choi Eun-chae, but with all the team members, including Il-hyeon. His win rate was astonishingly low.

Of course, in a bad way.

From Il-hyeon’s perspective, the problem was his tendency to wager recklessly based on uncertain information.

According to Ghost himself, the rare times he did win felt so good that it was all worth it.

“Anyway! First, we need to talk about the people here.”

Choi Eun-chae said, leading the way.

Her voice was slightly excited, and she seemed to be in high spirits.

After a short walk, the two entered an area enclosed by a large screen.

Among the various complex pieces of equipment that he couldn’t possibly identify, one particularly dazzling object caught Il-hyeon’s eye.

A thin, slender object, looking at first glance like a glass rod, rested on a device, glowing and emitting a white light.

Il-hyeon instinctively knew what it was.

“This is…”

“That’s right. It’s a core fragment.”

It was a fragment of an Ether Core, which Il-hyeon had been providing to the research team in small amounts upon their request.

The long rod, formed from fused core fragments, glowed brightly as it received Ether from a supply device.

It looked just like a core freshly pulled from a monster’s insides.

“Cores were thought to be physically indestructible. That is, until you came along. I don’t know how it’s possible, but once broken, these core fragments lose their internal power source, Ether, becoming weak and easily malleable.”

Il-hyeon nodded at Choi Eun-chae’s explanation.

He already knew that much.

“And if we inject Ether into it again like this… would you mind striking it with your sword?”

Il-hyeon hesitated at her sudden request.

“It’ll break, won’t it?”

“It doesn’t matter.”

As Choi Eun-chae spoke nonchalantly, Il-hyeon drew his sword and raised one arm high.

Then he brought it down with force.

*Clang!*

“What the…?”

The slender rod was completely unscathed.

His sword, which could easily slice through iron, let alone the hide of a monster, had no effect.

If anything, Il-hyeon’s hand tingled slightly from the impact.

“Amazing, right? The more Ether we inject, the more extreme the hardening reaction becomes. Its shock absorption is outstanding, and its strength and weight are superior to any substance ever discovered.”

“This… is incredible.”

Il-hyeon said, genuinely impressed.

It was a tremendous discovery.

Honestly, at first, he had thought that even if they researched it, there wouldn’t be much practical use for it.

But they had found an unexpected application.

And in such a short amount of time.

It was no wonder they were called the world’s top research team in this field.

“But we still have a long way to go. No matter how much Ether we pump into a broken core piece, it only lasts for a moment before dispersing. It’s unstable and can’t hold onto the Ether like it used to. It’s like pouring water into a shattered jar.”

Choi Eun-chae stated calmly.

It was an amazing discovery, but it still had many problems.

A complete core could perfectly contain a large amount of Ether, but a broken piece could not.

“Even if we continuously supply Ether with a device like this, the forced fusion makes it unstable, causing it to shatter easily from the inside. There are still countless problems to solve before it can be practical.”

As she spoke, the rod suddenly shattered into pieces, scattering across the floor.

The rod that had been unharmed by Il-hyeon’s sword had broken without warning, sharp fragments flying in all directions like broken glass.

“Ugh! It just had to break now.”

Frowning at the impeccable timing of the rod’s destruction, she brushed a tiny glass shard off her clothes.

Choi Eun-chae turned off the Ether supply and continued.

“We’re still a long way from seeing any tangible results. But if we can stabilize it and maintain the Ether output… we’ll have something truly amazing. Just you wait. I’m going to snag another Nobel Prize with this within the next year.”

“Haha, please mention me in your acceptance speech, then.”

“If you wish.”

Her confident declaration made him think she was truly remarkable.

“Anyway, because these core fragments are so unstable, we need quite a few samples to continue the research.”

She hadn’t called him just to show him their ongoing research.

The good news she mentioned for both of them depended on what she was about to say.

Choi Eun-chae brought out a large box from a corner.

Seeing her lift it with ease, it seemed lighter than its size and appearance suggested.

She placed the metal box, which was even locked with a code, on the table, then promptly opened it and pushed it in front of Il-hyeon.

“My god…”

Il-hyeon rubbed his eyes at the unexpectedly beautiful sight.

The box was filled with rectangular objects, all glowing with a white light.

An enormous number of Ether Cores appeared before his eyes.

“The Daepyo suddenly increased our budget for this. I tried hard to persuade him, but I didn’t expect this much. It seems he’s taken an interest. He’s backing us far more than I anticipated.”

Choi Eun-chae said, watching his astonished expression with a smile.

“The core ranks aren’t high; they’re all E-rank. For now, stabilization is the top priority, so using high-rank cores is a bit burdensome. Both in terms of funding and usability.”

“Don’t tell me you want me to eat… no, break all of these?”

“Yes. Is that a problem?”

“No, not at all!”

Il-hyeon waved his hands.

How could it be a problem? If anything, he was grateful.

An unconscious smile had crept onto his lips.

Leaving Il-hyeon to excitedly examine the cores, Choi Eun-chae turned around and retrieved another item.

*Thud!*

Another box was placed in front of Il-hyeon.

“Uh… don’t tell me this is also…?”

“There’s still one more.”

At Choi Eun-chae’s words, Il-hyeon stared at her in near-disbelief.

*Bzzzt!* To make matters worse, another text message arrived on his phone.

The settlement for the B0 Gate’s cores was finally complete, and it was a notice to come and collect his share.

‘Ugh… I won’t get indigestion from eating all this, will I?’

For the first time in his life, Il-hyeon began to worry about overeating.

***

Before Il-hyeon’s arrival, Daepyo Ryu Jin-tae and Lee Soo-yeon were facing each other.

*Thwack!* A file was placed on the desk.

Lee Soo-yeon picked up the document laid before her.

“This is…”

“Yeah, I did some digging. I know you’re not fond of this kind of thing, Team Leader Lee, but in a situation like this, we need to be sure.”

Ryu Jin-tae said.

Il-hyeon’s summon had completely ignored Jeong Jin-seong’s stasis ability.

And there were other incidents as well.

After hearing about all of it, Ryu Jin-tae had ordered a background check.

He gazed at Lee Soo-yeon for a moment before continuing.

“Just as was publicly known, it’s completely clean. No affiliations, no suspicious parts. And no signs of forgery either.”

“Well… that’s a relief.”

“It’s a relief for now, but the problem is what comes next.”

Ryu Jin-tae said, scratching his head.

“The Ace Monster’s ability nullification had no effect, and his summon completely ignored Team Leader Jeong’s ability. A little mouse, was it? That alone is interesting, but he also requested his ability rank be kept private. He even worked as a Scavenger to hide his rank, and seeing him go to such lengths… it could mean he’s far beyond what we can imagine.”

Silence fell for a moment in the conference room where the two sat alone.

Kang Il-hyeon, the first person to appear with three abilities simultaneously.

And all of them were peculiar.

“What do you think? Does he seem trustworthy?”

Lee Soo-yeon pondered his question for a moment.

Was Il-hyeon truly someone who possessed an incredible ability that defied common sense?

And was it right to nurture someone with the potential to become such a monster?

Quickly making up her mind, Lee Soo-yeon nodded.

“I believe he can be trusted.”

“Good, then there’s no need to overcomplicate things.”

Ryu Jin-tae brushed his hands together and stood up, looking relieved.

“First, change his contract and increase his core share percentage. An ability like Predation needs to be put to good use. The company will also provide him with extra Ether Cores under the guise of research, and we’ll assign the tough jobs to Alpha Team. He’ll get that many more cores… Any objections?”

“I don’t know. The other team members will probably complain a lot.”

“Haha, that can’t be helped.”

Ryu Jin-tae said leisurely, looking at Lee Soo-yeon, who had also stood up.

“Let’s see if we can really develop his potential. I hope our instincts are right.”