Become Overpowered CEO of Hero Clan

Become Overpowered CEO of Hero Clan – 044

With an uneasy expression, I questioned the management team leader who appeared in my office. Meanwhile, Man-deuk kept glancing between me and the management team leader, showing concern that he might be fired because of him.

‘Hey, foolish bear.’

He came to me out of frustration, but somehow ended up in a twisted situation, feeling guilty. It’s something he shouldn’t even be aware of.

“… Yes. That’s all. I’m sorry!”

The manager team leader, who had briefly summarized the main points, bowed his head deeply. The story was that Hwang Man-deuk had requested help from the clan, but according to what he knew, it was an unreasonable request, and so he stopped it because he thought Man-deuk would be disliked by the clan.

‘I understand why he did that.’

His grandmother’s health problems are definitely a personal matter. It’s not strange that he would be shocked and try to stop a hero he manages from going to the Director’s office to borrow a large sum of money, considering that he doesn’t know how I view the members.

“The system was established not long ago.”

Aside from the company loan, we have also provided various welfare benefits, but they are not yet being actively utilized. I know that feeling of not wanting to be the first to take on the responsibility. I think they will start using the company loan and the condo usage rights to their fullest after a while.

The management team leader made a mistake in communicating the wrong knowledge about the hero welfare system. It was a mistake that occurred because he had never dealt with the issue of whether the grandmother was a dependent

‘It’s not a big deal.’

It’s not the best approach to scold a society newcomer who hasn’t been in the workforce for long. The team leader will handle it.

I demanded the management team leader to improve the workflow and instructed to transfer his grandmother to Seoul Seongsan Hospital for specialized treatment.

Man-deuk’s expression, emotionally charged in real-time, was truly surreal.

“Thank you! Really, thank you! I’ll dedicate my life to you, Leader! Ughh.”

He repeated his gratitude to me, and eventually, tears welled up in his eyes. All I did was correct misinformation, but… it seems to be quite moving.

Certainly, even though Man-deuk has a sturdy physique, internally, he’s like a 25-year-old innocent bear cub.

“It’ll be okay.”

– Tap. Tap.

–

After giving a firm pat on the back as a gesture of encouragement, I sent them back with the management team leader.

They’ll need some time to resolve the misunderstandings between them.

“Is it okay now? What did you say?”

“Really? Is it true?”

Outside the door, familiar voices were heard, and it seemed that the worried members had all come and were waiting together.

‘Hey, brats, if you came, say hello and leave.’

That’s how the incident seemed to be easily resolved. Soon, Man-deuk’s [slump] condition would disappear within a few weeks, especially with his grandmother recovering.

====

***

====

The next day at noon.

Training center.

After a brief reading to lift my spirits, I manipulated the device and summoned a holographic troll into the air.

– Ziiing –

‘How did it feel?’

I slowly reflected on the past disaster site. No matter how important management is, it is meaningless if I cannot properly protect my own life. If I summarize it, there were about three special abilities that I utilized.

‘It felt like time was slowing down.’

The first abnormality occurred when I had a traffic accident with a cement truck. My head rotated abnormally, and for a moment, everything seemed to slow down.

If I could intentionally reach that state, it would be a significant help in dealing with everyday situations. Like suddenly being targeted by an assassin’s sniper or when a stranger on the street approaches like a madman wielding a knife.

[Initiating combat.]

First, I recreated an environment similar to that situation. I hypothesized that when experiencing a strong impact or feeling a life-threatening situation, the brain’s processing speed would increase.

– Grrr –

– Thud.

–

“Ugh!”

Struck by the troll’s club, my body floated and then slammed into the wall. Despite wearing protective gear, my breath was cut off.

[Life gauge has been fully depleted.]

[Combat terminated.]

“Ha.”

The first attempt ended in a disappointing failure. Instead of time slowing down, it just hurt horribly.

‘If this is the reality of a non-talent.’

Hwang Man-deuk took dozens of attacks similar to the before and remained unharmed. Experiencing it firsthand, I could clearly feel the difference in toughness between a sturdy hero and an ordinary person.

I’ll have to try again…

Trusting in emergency life-recovery potions and sturdy protective gear, I continued to repeat experiments with a similar pattern.

– Grrr –

– Thud.

–

“Grr!”

– Eung! –

– Eung! –

“Kyeok!”

…all the results were failures.

“Ha.”

There was no special trouble. Only a lingering pain in my stomach and back remained. Although the hypothesis didn’t seem wrong, proving it with artificial experiments like this seemed difficult.

‘Let’s try the next one.’

Alongside magic engineering, I had discreetly learned a martial art that fell into the very easy category through books and videos. The martial art was called ‘Harvesting Fist’, a technique consisting of movements similar to those used by farmers when growing or harvesting fruits and vegetables.

Even though it looked like something farmers would use for self-defense, it fundamentally dealt with manipulating Magic to move the body. The term ‘martial art’ itself encompasses hand-to-hand combat techniques used by heroes.

The composition was quite good. There were attack techniques such as ‘Sprout’, which kicks the opponent’s lower body, ‘Pound’, which strikes hard with the palm of the hand, and ‘Watermelon Cut’, which makes the palm sharp and cuts.

The defense and movement techniques are also a comprehensive set of martial arts with everything you need. Of course, it is a technique that non-talented people without magic cannot learn.

The first step of Harvesting Fist is to sense and control magic to enhance physical abilities. Therefore, I didn’t learn it to use it in everyday life.

– Swish –

– Pop! Chuck.

–

I tried the movements of the Harvesting Fist to get a feel for it. My goal was to control the final finish with this.

The second special ability I used during the last mission wasn’t about covering a long distance in an instant. I had thrown myself with all my might, fearing I might be slashed by the monster.

If the first special ability was a phenomenon caused by the rapid increase in the brain’s information processing speed, the second ability was closer to a space jump based on powerful physical abilities or extensive Magic.

In this passage, you could hypothesize that my body, in the activated state of the final finish, would be enhanced to the level of an S-class hero. Otherwise, such a mysterious phenomenon of distancing myself from a monster in an instant wouldn’t have occurred.

‘Gather Magic in the form of a belt around the lower body and roll your feet forcefully.’

Following what I learned, I tried using ‘Harvesting Fist – Field Treading.’

Only the sound of rolling feet echoed. I went through the other movements in sequence about six times. Certainly, my learning ability was good enough that I got the basics. The problem seemed to be the lack of Magic circuits in my body.

Instead, I had the Final Finish.

‘I somehow need to address this issue.’

Actually, activating the leadership skill made me uneasy. After using it, I would be restless for the next 12 hours, making it difficult to sleep.

If I were to be attacked by a villain or caught up in a disaster before the combat gauge filled up again, I might not be able to counter properly and could even die.

I plan to improve this unreasonable structure with weapons and accessories that have options that are effective in combat gauges and time-limited skills, but since these options are not often used, there were no good items on the market.

This means that I need to either commission a master-class Armorsmith or Jeweler who surpasses a craftsman, or make it myself. Even finding the right materials is like finding a needle in a haystack.

‘Anyway, let’s focus.’

The time given was only 1 minute and 13 seconds.

[Used ‘Final Finish’.]

[The next attack is strengthened with the power of a finishing blow.]

Within that time, the goal is to successfully execute the movements of Harvesting Fist in any way possible.

– Vroooom! –

My body was filled with an unknown force. I concentrated my mind, putting all my effort into detecting what was called ‘Magic’.

They say to approach it with the feeling of concentrating your mind while doing complex breathing and detecting the subtle blood circulation in your body… whether I learned it from text or video, I wasn’t sure.

‘I just don’t get it.’

I couldn’t grasp the feeling at all.

During that time, several tens of seconds had passed like golden moments. Fearing I might waste the opportunity, I tried taking steps in the air and swinging my fists.

– Thud.

–

‘Hmm.’

Nothing happened at all. I had already wasted 40 seconds.

‘If this isn’t the feeling of Magic, then what is it?’

Although it felt like a vast amount of Magic had filled my body, I couldn’t control it at all.

– Vroom─Pah! –

“Kwaaaah!”

In desperation, I summoned the ultimate skill. At that moment, I felt a subtle sensation in my chest. It was similar to a refreshing feeling, and it also felt like a parasite crawling inside my body.

‘Is this it?’

However, this was only detectable by concentrating my mind to the best of my ability, and I couldn’t feel any difference if I didn’t pay attention.

“Hmmm……. Ugh.”

The duration of the Final Finish ended.

Since I didn’t perform a ‘direct attack’, my combat gauge was only half depleted and remained at 50%.

I could recharge it to 100% in half a day with the self-healing mechanism of my accessory, but I couldn’t even properly understand how to use my body, let alone what magic was. Today’s training was a failure.

‘Still, it seems like magic circuits are being formed in my body.’

When summoning Gunggi, in other words, when using skill ‘Spectral Arts’, it seemed like a tiny amount of Magic was used. The slight tingling sensation might be due to the circulation of Magic.

If that’s an achievement, then it was an achievement.

‘Let’s go home right away. Safety first.’

Wandering around in this state might lead to unforeseen trouble. I’ve probably finished urgent tasks, so I’ll finish work and go home to read books to my heart’s content.

“Kraaah!”

As I was about to walk out into the lobby, Gunggi grabbed the hem of my clothes again.

“…. Gunggi, let’s take a walk next time.”

The little one ran around.

====

***

====

Late September, nearing the end of the third quarter.

Clans began to focus their efforts on the fourth quarter, where the achievements of the year would be determined. They increased the intensity of hero training and poured massive budget into marketing.

Especially in this year’s Hero Grand Battle, the Hero Association policy, conscious of the DRR invasion, dramatically increased the benefits for injuries, stimulating competition among large clans.

On the other hand, the stagnation of small clans and the market dominance of large clans became a social issue. Some criticized the association’s attitude for not stopping the high-handedness of large clans but rather pushing them forward.

Another major news was related to the mutual defense treaty between South Korea, Japan, and China.

Each government announced the signing of the world’s largest villain coalition, the ‘Dark Redemption Regiment’, which was expected to invade the Korean Peninsula and expand its influence to Japan and China.

Hero Association of South Korea and Japan, and the Martial Arts Alliance in China, which equivalent to the Hero Association, declared their commitment to maintaining peace and security for the citizens of East Asia and collective defense against DRR terrorism.

The dynamic situation of DRR had a significant impact on the international community. At this point, isaac, a key figure who could be considered at the center of this turmoil, was staring at the system window that had suddenly appeared, pressing his temples.

====

***

====

Stay calm. It’s just because it’s right after waking up, so if I think a little, it’s not a bad situation. This could be an opportunity to gain more significant benefits if the problem is resolved.

– Puh-puh-puh.

–

After refreshing my dizzy mind with cold water, I carefully examined the pop-up characters that had appeared a while ago.

[Quest – Sub]

▷ Content: Heal Hero Hwang Man-deuk’s grandmother with the elixir ‘Gentle Embrace’.

▷ Reward: Hero Hwang Man-deuk’s breakthrough and removal of negative status effects / 1,000 points

Another sub-quest had appeared. Compared to the previous ones, the scale was smaller, but it was still perplexing.

“It says it hasn’t been resolved.”

It seemed that even at Seoul Seongsan Hospital, the most renowned in South Korea, there was no progress. It probably meant that there were limitations to the restoration ability of the purification.

‘But why?’

If such events were to occur as sub-quests, then shouldn’t the previous scandal involving Seo Eun-ha have been a quest as well? Even though this involved a matter of life and death, there seemed to be no significant difference in context.

“Hmm.”

It seemed like there might be a specific reason why the sub-quest feature had been activated after clearing the first main quest. Or maybe, well, it could be something the system administrator decided on a whim.

– Swoooosh. –

After finishing the shower, I bought the recipe for the elixir ‘Gentle Embrace’ from the drugstore where I used to trade. The recipe contained the unique know-how and tips for each pharmacist, and it emphasized the importance of purchasing it officially from the drugstore due to the certification of authenticity.

You might end up wasting precious ingredients if you use recipes that are randomly shared without a proper source.

The goods were delivered in half a day and arrived on my office desk.

‘The auxiliary ingredients are things I can get right away, the problem is the main ingredient.’

The main ingredient for the elixir was the ‘Moonlight Deer Antler’ obtained from the ‘Wendia’ variant, which deer that had turned into a monster. Unfortunately, there was currently no product on the market, and Wendia’s habitat was almost abandoned due to the poor return on investment.