‘T-the contract….’

Kwak-jung was startled.

After ripping the soul-contract in half, it vanished into thin air, burning itself with flames.

“I think you understand what this means.” Kang Chul-in spoke.

‘Trust, it’s trust. This man, he really wants me to work for him.’

Kwak-jung could understand what Kang Chul-in was trying to tell him.

 Of course, why wouldn’t he.

Who wouldn’t feel a powerful message stemming from Kang Chul-in after he had ripped the soul-binding contract? 

“I’ve done everything I could have. If you still don’t work under me… it seems like we don’t have fate together.”

Kang Chul-in wanted loyalty that came from true respect, instead of ‘duty and responsibility’ that came from the contract.

If what Kang Chul-in forced Kwak-jung to do some labor work from the soul-contract, then he would just be a slave; and it would just be someone with their servant.

But what Kang Chul-in wanted wasn’t something that the contract would cover, and wasn’t something that you could force on someone.

After all, Kang Chul-in’s goal was to conquer all of Pangaea. And would he drag along someone that he had forced as a tactician for him?

….There was no way that would happen.

Although Kwak-jung may work for him quite enthusiastically at first because he had found his little sister for him, as time went by, Kwak-jung probably wouldn’t use his full ability on attacking a single territory for Kang Chul-in, let alone conquering all of Pangaea.

Kang Chul-in didn’t want Kwak-jung to work under him using these shameless strategies.

The contract was just to send a message that Kang Chul-in truly valued and wanted Kwak-jung, and it really didn’t mean anything else at all.

Soul-Contract? A4 Paper? Or newspaper?

All of these things worked.

“Well, I will give you some space here.” And saying that, Kang Chul-in moved out of the hospital room.

Whether he would follow him, or not. The choice was up to Kwak-jung himself.

‘Why…. Why does a man like him want someone like me….!’

Feeling Kang Chul-in’s manliness and boldness, Kwak-jung temporarily forgot about his sister, and was confused.

“Jung-mi, Jung-mi.”

Kwak-jung held the shoulders of his little sister who was in his embrace.

“Huk… Huk huk… Why, you bastard! Why! Why!”

And Kwak Jung-mi tried to fight back from the pain she had felt until now.

“Wait. wait just a little bit here.”

“W-where are you going? Are you going to follow that scary person from earlier?” 

“Yes, I have to say my thanks at least, as that big brother (it is respectful to call one that in Korea) was the one that let us meet.”

Kwak-jung unknowingly had changed how he called Kang Chul-in from a monster-like bastard, to ‘the big brother.’

Kang Chul-in’s magnanimous actions had truly captured Kwak-jung’s rebellious heart.

“Sniff! D-do you have to go right now?”

“Of course. That big brother paid for my operation, and bought me a house and a car. He even got me a workplace too.”

“R-really? That big brother?”

“Jung-mi. He said he’ll even send you to college. And if you wanted to, you could even go abroad to study. If I don’t go now to thank him, I wouldn’t be human.”

“Although I am thankful… I… D-don’t really want to study… I get sleepy if I look at a book…Uhh…Can I just not… Go?”

Because she had some family problems since a long time ago, she had disliked studying from a young age. Even if she could go to a good college, she still wouldn’t want to go.

“… W-we’ll talk about this at a later date.”

Kwak-jung said, and covered his face with his palms. Although he himself was a mess, his little sister had also been a troublemaker since a young age.

“Just stay here for now. I’ll be back soon/”

“M-me too! I’ll go too.”

“It’s because we have an adult to adult talk to do. Okay?”

“… As if your an adult?” 

“Kwak Jung-mi!”

“Go! Go, you bastard of an older brother! Hmph!”

Although she made a ruckus, it was nothing more than the tantrum of a cute little sister.

“Oi, where’s big brother Kang Chul-in?”

Kwak-jung asked to the guard who was in front of the door. It was one of the guards he had knocked out yesterday.

“You goddamned… Kuhuk.”

“Hey, I’m talking right now. Where is big bro Kang Chul-in right now.”

Kwak-jung grabbed the guard by the collar.

“Kuk…Kuhuk…!”

“Bastard, do you have something up your nose, huh?”  “Kuk…P-please…Let…go…”

The guard struggled to breathe.

“Oh…”

Realizing the situation right now, he let go of the guard. Although he was locked up, he was an adventurer, and had some fighting skills.

‘This f*cker! What did I ever do to him! Why does he always have to do something to me! Why!’

The guard swore in all sort of curses. Of course, he didn’t really say that to Kwak-jung, as he was still afraid right now.

“Oh, sorry.”

Kwak-jung apologized dryly. He was still bitter that he had been locked up before.

“Is it okay to tell me now? Where. Is. He.” 

“Kuk… Cough! T-there, in the VVIP floor drinking coffee…”

And Kwak-jung left the spot straight away, walking towards the VVIP floor, looking for Kang Chul-in.

Plop!

And kneeled in front of him.

“Big brother!”

Kwak-jung lowered his head.

“Your words, I think I know what you mean.”

“Is that so.”

After taking some espresso from the coffee machine, Kang Chul-in sat down on the sofa as Kwak-jung kneeled in front of him.

“The word big brother, it makes me uncomfortable.”

The only gangster he needed around him was Park Doo-sik.

“Then big boss…”

“That too.”  “……”

“Address me as a Lord.”

“……?” 

“I am the Lord of Laputa, located in the Southwest area of the Pangaea continent, in the chaotic region called ‘Pandemonium’.”

“Lord…”

Kwak-jung remembered when he had heard of the existence of Lords.

Although Lords weren’t very well known because there were so little of them, people still knew that there were some people that had gotten territories during the Great Summoning.

“Yes, milord. But…. can I ask just one thing?”

“Of course.”

Kang Chul-in nodded his head.

“I wouldn’t dare ask why milord was looking for me, or how milord knew about my existence. I honestly don’t think that those details are very important.”

“Yes.”

“However… there really isn’t a reason to treat me so well although I am an adventurer.”

“That’s something that I choose, not you.”

Kang Chul-in drew the line.

“I decided that you had potential, and wanted you to work under me. That’s it.”

Telling him only the reason simply, that was Kang Chul-in’s style.

“Yes, milord.”

Kwak-jung nodded his head.

“This Kwak-jung although I am just a gangster from a piss-poor family, since milord wants me, I will use my utmost to serve milord. There will be no occasions where the trust that milord gives me will be given away.”

‘Good.’

Looking at the Kwak-jung swearing loyalty to Kang Chul-in, he smiled. He had finally gotten his hands on the master tactician that was equal to Lee Gong-myung.

“He has potential. I can feel it.”

The Kwak-jung that Kang Chul-in saw truly had potential,  felt like diamond, though coarse and rough around the edges right now.

Although it was hard to expect some significant contributions immediately, Kang Chul-in felt that as Kwak-jung got used to how the Pangaea continent worked, as well as learnt some of the tactics and troops as well as their traits, he would be invaluable.

‘Black and white, righteousness and trickery. Lee Gong-myung, how would an elite like you feel if you were outsmarted and beaten by some unknown backstreet gangster like Kwak-jung?”

Just imagining the scene made Kang Chul-in joyful.

“Good.”

Kang Chul-in patted Kwak-jung’s shoulders.

“I will say this again, I believe that you have hidden potential within you. No, I know that you do.”

“Milord… Ku…Huk…”

Kwak-jung started crying abruptly.

“T-to think that… a gangster like me… stupid… not knowing anything… the trash of society…”

This was the regrets and pain that had Kwak-jung had felt until now. It was definite that Kwak-jung felt depressed and sad that he couldn’t leave a normal social life like the ‘others’.

“Kwak-jung.” And Kang Chul-in called the crying Kwak-jung.

“Kuhuk…Yes, mi…milord.”

“Clench your teeth.”

“……!” 

“You shouldn’t cry here.”

To Kang Chul-in, tears were something that were useless and shouldn’t come out, unless they were celebrating with happiness.

Of course, someone like Kang Chul-in wouldn’t normally cry, no matter what emotions he felt.

“The day that you and me finally accomplish our grand goal. That’s when both of us will cry.”

“Your goal?”

“My final goal is to take total control and dominance over all of the Pangaea continent.”

“…..!”

“Of course, I don’t think I need to talk about the value that Pangaea has.”

He definitely didn’t need to talk about that.

In Pangaea was mana, and due to mana there were many kinds of special powers and magic. There were unique medicine as well as monsters, and different types of energy and resources too.

To take total control of a place like that didn’t mean that he would only take control there, but also gain a lot of influence of Earth too.

“Kwak-jung.” Kang Chul-in spoke again.

“Do you remember what you mumbled back in Park Doo-sik’s office?”

Out of all of the things that Kwak-jung had said, the one that Kwak-jung had said back them was his favorite by far.

“Taking Gangnam… is that what you were talking about?”

“That’s the kind of thing I want from you.”

“… You want me to think on a large scale?”

Kwak-jung could understand what Kang Chul-in was saying.

“Even if you take some places in Gangnam, it wouldn’t be much. Think about taking total control of all of Pangaea. Wouldn’t that be much better?”

Kwak-jung felt his chest swelling with pride from those words.

‘Pangaea… The alternate world connected with Earth… Take control of it? By helping milord?’

It was a dream. It was encouragement for Kwak-jung, who just wanted to live a comfortable and rich life.

‘Milord gave me a life, a house, a car. And not only that… he has even found me my only family left. Not only that… he has given me a dream…’

Remembering the scene when Kang Chul-in had ripped the Soul-Contract in half, Kwak-jung felt loyalty, an emotion he had never experienced before in his life.

“Milord.” Kwak-jung spoke.

“I will do it. I will follow you, and definitely help you take control of all of Pangaea!”

Although this was a common saying, a man would give their life to those who recognized them.

This was like that.

Kang Chul-in had given Kwak-jung a chance to show his prowess and given him another life, as well as unpayable debt.

Even if Kwak-jung had some rebellious spirit, at this point, it would be just stupid not to feel undying loyalty.

“Very good, I like that sort of spirit.”

Kang Chul-in laughed, and felt greatly satisfied.

“Kwak-jung, I hereby name you as a soldier of our Laputa territory.”

This was the moment that Kwak-jung had entered the Laputa territory.

A few days later.

Kang Chul-in was looking at himself in a mirror, taking care of his suit.

The brand he chose was called ‘Ermenegildo Zegna’, a suit that he thought was trendy, yet also fit him well at the same time.

‘This should be enough…’

And after putting on a Breguet (a watch company that sold their watches to nobles and royalty since a long time ago), Kang Chul-in looked at himself again, and nodded.

Although the styling wasn’t perfect, it was still enough to let him look presentable for today.

“Mother.”

Kang Chul-in called for his mother, Park Sun-ja.

“Wow… Son, look at you. You could be a celebrity. It seems like your suit aren’t your wings, but you yourself are the wings.”

Park Sun-ja couldn’t hide her shock when she saw her son dressed so well like this, especially because she herself hadn’t worn a high-end, luxurious suit like this. Of course, until now.

“Ahh… I’d bet when you pass by, women would go crazy over you. Hoho!”

Listening to his mother’s compliments, he didn’t get happy, and his face stiffened instead. He wasn’t used to these kind of compliments. Especially when they came from his own mother. He would rather ride into the battlefield than be complimented like this.

“… The car, it’s here.”

“Alright. Husband, I’ll be back. Our son has finally gotten himself a job.” Park Sun-ja spoke to a picture of Kang Chul-in’s father.

“Oh, are we riding that car over there?” Park Sun-ja asked, surprised.

Was it because Kang Chul-in’s car was the jaguar f type coupe?

…Of course not.

Kang Chul-in wasn’t rude enough to driving with his mother in a sports car like that.

“Miss, please come sit here.”

The driver greeted her politely, and asked her to move to one of the back seats. The car that was waiting for them was a XJ Jaguar Sedan.

“S-son… Is it okay for mother to ride in a car like this?”

“Our president has prepared it.”

Kang Chul-in told her about Old man Kwon.

“Huu… you said his name was Old man Kwon, right? It seems like he has seen you in a very good way.”

Park Sun-ja was completely unaware that the situation was the exact opposite. It was Kang Chul-in that chose Old man Kwon, not Old man Kwon that chose Kang Chul-in.

“Manager Kang, shall we go now?”

And as Kang Chul-in nodded his head, the car rushed off smoothly into the heart of Seoul, Gangnam.

The destination was Yeoksamdong, Tehran street.

Ever since 2010, a lot of the IT company’s buildings that were located around this area had moved to the new area: Pangyo, and thus there were a lot of empty buildings here. And thanks to that, Old man Kwon was able to cheaply (?) purchase a corporate building that connected Pangaea to Earth.

Yes.

Kang Chul-in and Park Sun-ja was heading towards the official opening ceremony of Old man Kwon’s new business, called the Galaxy Corporation.

‘Is it finally beginning.’

Although there were many things in Pangaea, the trade between Earth was also an unimaginably important resource to a Lord.

After all, the only thing that you could bring to Pangaea from Earth was gold, and it was the most effective way to bring gold into Pangaea.

Therefore, Kang Chul-in’s plan was to take all of his share of profit from the Galaxy Corporation and change it all into gold.

‘The talking-tree sap, we’ll definitely spread it across the country in a month.’

Using this talking-tree sap, Kang Chul-in was planning on conquering and dominating the whole of the East Pandemonium region.

It was pretty ironic.

Kang Chul-in was going to destroy the foreign language education system, to bring a great battle into Pangaea.