Become Overpowered CEO of Hero Clan

Become Overpowered CEO of Hero Clan – 075

Where advanced magic engineering technology coexists with rugged wilderness. On the workbench, strange byproducts of monsters were plentiful, and the anvils and hammers, bearing the marks of time, seemed to contain the souls of warriors.
In the central part of the workshop, a large and hot blast furnace was melting metals to refine weapons, while the process of repeated heating, tempering, and cooling was in full swing.
Meanwhile, supervisors watched over the work of novice warriors, offering advice generously. On the walls of the workshop hung splendidly decorated swords, hand cannons, and shiny hero suits, eagerly awaiting their owners.
The warriors in the workshop, sweating and toiling, sneaked glances at a middle-aged man dressed in a suit. Next to him stood a handsome young man in casual attire, who was none other than Isaac, an S-class hero who was diligently being introduced to the workshop.
“The facilities seem fine.”
“Haha! Of course. We’re a company with a 30-year history. Even though our chief Armorsmith, Han Chang-il, is famous for being picky, he will surely accommodate your request, sir.”
“Yes. I’ve seen enough of the workshop. Let’s discuss the specifics in a quieter place.”
“Yes! Please follow me inside.”
As Isaac casually surveyed the completed equipment, he followed the middle-aged man to the reception room. His face remained expressionless, making it impossible to tell if he liked the workshop or not.
Although the sales manager accompanying him felt uneasy inside, he always maintained a professional demeanor with a smile on the outside.
“I’m not well-versed in magic engineering. Could you briefly explain the principles and manufacturing methods of hero suits?”
“Of course! Haha, since you’re interested, sir, I’ll explain in detail. First and foremost, selecting a good base is crucial for a hero suit. We call the suit itself that can equip a ‘core’ a ‘base’. Setting up a core that synergizes well with the effects of the base is key. May I ask how many-core base you are considering, sir?”
“I’m considering either a 6-core or an 8-core.”
“Ah, I see. Then you won’t be using it yourself, sir. Honestly, an 8-core base is expensive, even A-class heroes find it difficult to purchase outright. 8-core bases are usually crafted by skilled artisans or made to order. But since you’ve personally visited the workshop, are you perhaps considering renting equipment?”
The sales manager, with a hint of concern, glanced at Isaac, gauging his intentions.
It was customary in the industry for heroes to purchase their equipment privately, including hero suits and weapons. That way, they could continue using the same equipment even after terminating contracts with clans.
However, to prevent incidents where affiliated heroes are deceived or hastily purchase useless equipment, clans typically handled everything from consulting on which equipment to purchase to commissioning their production.
However, today, with a CEO who was worth S-class visiting the workshop in person, it was inevitable for the sales manager to feel nervous. The smell of money was thick in the air.
“That’s correct.”
“Ah, indeed, as expected.”
The sales manager desperately wanted to seize the opportunity in front of him. ‘Equipment rental,’ which was provided by large clans, was usually a system used to provide expensive equipment to special heroes they wanted to nurture.
The discussion hinted that the heroes affiliated with Isaac might purchase expensive equipment that were beyond their means.
“Here, take a look. These are the bases we can produce.”
The sales manager enthusiastically compared the performance of 6-core and 8-core bases, trying to impress Isaac.
“If you intend to use it for renting… This is not just a sales pitch, but generally, an 8-core would be better. The base’s performance improves significantly, and the difference of two cores cannot be ignored.”
“Then, could you recommend which cores to combine with this 8-core base, assuming it’s for a dodging melee dealer?”
“Of course. Please wait a moment.”
The sales manager took out his laptop and launched a program where he could compare the performance of various bases and cores equipped with different types of equipment.
“The base you’ve chosen aims for an incredible high-spec, where the effects of ‘hero-grade cores’ are doubled when equipped with three or more and tripled when equipped with six or more…”
His passionate explanation continued for the next two hours.
Cores, which were created by synthesizing magic stones and various magical materials into cores, absorbed into bases to create hero suits, containing various abilities such as stats, defense, physical damage, and elemental damage. Due to this complexity, setting up a hero suit optimized for a specific hero was very difficult. Therefore, constantly changing the setup of bases and cores to improve the performance of hero suits was one of the key elements for heroes to grow.
After all the explanations from the sales manager, Isaac nodded a few times before posing another question.
“Is there a way for ordinary people without magic power to wear hero suits?”
“Ordinary people? Of course, it’s possible. There are rechargeable suits available on the market. They’re not as powerful as those for combat, but they serve for self-defense.”
“Yes. Thank you for the explanation. I will consider it and get back to you.”
Isaac left the equipment workshop with the same expressionless demeanor as when he first arrived.
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After looking around and setting up bases and cores, Isaac decided to purchase products from Forgefront, a renowned equipment workshop boasting 30 years of experience, which I had visited last.
Of course, I didn’t follow the recommended settings from their staff. Instead, I had already prepared custom combinations tailored for the members. While it was regrettable that they couldn’t afford legendary-grade cores with explosive performance even with their current funds, I composed combinations that synergized with the members’ special magic circuits and abilities.
“Director, isn’t this spec… a bit abnormal?”
For instance, Hwang Man-deuk’s cores focused heavily on defense and regeneration. Additionally, they planned to purchase an 8-core base where attack power was proportional to defense, and the cores were composed of four hero-grade and four rare-grade ones.
‘I’ve been saving up for a proper purchase for a long time.’
Their previous suits only had 4-core bases with cores that were merely rare-grade. It could be considered an innovative upgrade.
“Eight cores? Everyone, even Unni, Oppa, and Jin-soo, all have eight cores?! Director, we don’t have that much money…”
“Of course, it’s a rental. You can consider it as around 5 billion won per person.”
“Huuee!”
They seemed shocked to the point of suffocation. From my perspective, it was obvious. They would accept it with radical benefits. It was unprecedented for a clan to rent equipment worth tens of billions to a B-class hero.
“It seems like you value us highly. Hmm.”
Yes. Rather than looking clueless, act casually as if you’re worth a lot. Stop looking at me like you’re clueless every time; it’s embarrassing.
“Dir… Dire… Director.”
“Breathe.”
“Yes, yes… Umm… Then, you’ve made an investment, right…? Looking into the future.”
“That’s right.”
“S… So, that means… You want us to continue… together… right?!”
Jin-soo, you’re stumbling quite a bit. It’s not a recurrence of your dysphasia, it’s probably because your heart is overflowing.
‘And I was going to talk about this later.’
Even in the Clan Office, if you don’t manage stress and don’t show favoritism, affiliated heroes tend to leave for other clans. Seo Eun-ha was sent away like that at first and was barely recovered.
Moreover, this is reality. Hero contracts last for a year. Every January, just like the transfer market in pro sports, this industry moves around here and there.
“That’s an obvious statement. But let’s save that talk for after this year. Confirm the details, convey any doubts or complaints through the management team, and the production request will be submitted in two days. Does everyone understand?”
As soon as he finished speaking, everyone nodded eagerly. Grow well, my children. You have a long way to go.
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The landscape of early November featured a bleak gray sky, bare trees, piles of fallen leaves, and thickened clothing. The chill of winter loomed ahead.
However, the growing interest in the complete demise of Aqua Shaper and the hero Isaac, who purified him, became increasingly heated, turning into an international controversy.
China and Japan, both of which had suffered greatly from Aqua Shaper’s aggression in East Asia, denounced the Korean Hero Association for deceiving everyone by announcing that Aqua Shaper had been completely purified 30 years ago.
Indeed, the purification of Aqua Shaper in the past was one of the greatest achievements of the Korean Hero Association, leading to substantial economic gains.
Compared to other countries that had fallen victim to Aqua Shaper, Korean heroes were significantly stronger, and Korea gained an image of having abundant hero training infrastructure.
However, the past was in the past.
[Japanese Prime Minister to Visit Korea Mid-next Month, “We Are Solid Allies”]
[Attention from the Martial Arts Alliance, Focus on the Hero ‘Isaac’]
While both China and Japan found Isaac’s swift suppression of Aqua Shaper in the pouring rain daunting, they also felt burdened. Having recently signed a mutual defense treaty against the world’s largest villain union, DRR, the top leadership of both countries adopted a cautious attitude.
For decades, the three East Asian countries, which had to join forces to fight external enemies such as villains and monsters, had maintained friendly relations, making such a situation possible.
However, within China, there was turmoil as the hero ‘Qingyunzi’ aimed to become the next leader and criticized the laidback attitude of the current Martial Arts Alliance, using the national sentiment of Korea being treated as a vassal of China. Whether such a radical political strategy of Qingyunzi would succeed was known only to the heavens.
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‘It seems like it’s roughly true.’
To clear my head and broaden my current affairs knowledge, I read an issue of a current affairs magazine titled [Rapid Changes in East Asian Politics]. It wasn’t directly about me, but it did mention my actions. The volume wasn’t much, so I finished it in no time.
Seems like Aqua Shaper was quite the troublemaker. The international community is buzzing just because one villain got purified after wreaking havoc across East Asia.
If I keep getting attention, the effect of the temporary activity suspension due to the downpour will fade away. I wonder if there will be any impactful events happening soon.
‘Worrying won’t help, time will solve everything.’
Shaking off my distractions, I checked my schedule. Tomorrow, I was meeting FarmerMan after a long time. His goodwill might still be low, so he might not accept an elixir crafting request. But I can still get quite a few top-grade herbs.
‘Let’s just try and see.’
The gauge for breakthroughs among the members was constantly building up. It felt rewarding to rotate missions. I plan to prepare them for successful breakthroughs whenever a significant event stirs their souls.
– Knock, knock, knock, knock! –
Right at that moment, a loud knocking on the door was heard. The only person who could knock so frantically in front of the director’s office was Secretary Hwang.
“Uh.”
– Bam! –
“Director!”
Prepare yourself. It’s definitely not going to be good news. From her expression and urgent tone, a sense of unease washed over.
“Jin-soo…”
Is it about Jin-soo again? Has another mental health issue arisen? His stress levels seemed fine. And we recently got his hero suit perfectly tailored, didn’t we?
“…apparently hit a classmate!”
“What?”