Weapon seller in the world of magic

”You just don’t listen to me and impose your will on me... All you care about is Vera’s dreams. Just admit that you hate me because I resemble my dad. Had we stayed with my mom, I swear my life would have been a lot better...” Theo stomped his foot and shouted at Tianzhu in frustration, then turned, retreating to the house. The front door slammed moments later.

”Theo...” Vera rushed after her brother.

Tianzhu sighed as his gaze lingered on the closed door. ”I don’t want to act like this,” he murmured, almost to himself. ”I just... I wish you both could live in peace, surrounded by comfort and safety. That’s all I want. I will attain everything I can give you in this world, but I cannot let you push yourselves into danger... Theo and Vera are no longer young. I highly doubt I could stop them from doing what they want. I have to do something...”

**Meanwhile, at Krasinostok in Eastern Siberia;**

Coming out of the shower, Sungjun took the smartphone and opened Pavel Text, a private messaging app not found in any app store, exclusive for members only.

Opening the inbox, Sungjun browsed through the new messages sent by a couple of his trusted subordinates: Tempest and Pyro, the North East guardian and the South guardian of Pavel, respectively. Basically, Sungjun had 8 guardians in Pavel, each responsible for one direction. And each of them, while they don’t carry a hunter license to stay out of the system, they are as strong as an S-rank hunter.

He tapped on Tempest’s message first.

[Tempest]: Boss, this month’s first batch of Mana Ores has reached the refinery. Total shipment: 124.4 tonnes. Grade-2 Mana Ores: 15.6 tonnes. Grade-3 Mana Ores: 108.8 tonnes

[Tempest]: No losses during transit. Surveillance logs and seal-authentication reports are attached.

Sungjun raised an eyebrow. ”Hmm... According to the memories of Alex, a Grade-3 Mana Crystal typically sold for 10,000 credits per kg. And a Grade-2 Mana Crystal is sold as high as 200,000 credits per kg. Considering the efficiency is typically around 10-12%, in refining them into mana crystals, the monthly revenue just on these two alone would be around 400-500 million credits. But then again, the costs will be just as high... typically, I would get 100 million, but seeing that this time yield is higher, I guess I might get 150 million credits of profits this time... if I calculate on 1996 year... it would be equivalent to 60-70 million dollars... Man, and I used to earn 7000 credits a month...”

Letting out a sigh, Sungjun shook his head, getting rid of useless thoughts, and focused on the matter.

”Since Eva is no longer there to support me, and neither my ocular powers were working, I have to fully depend on this new power, Overlord’s Authority, which basically improves as Mana particles increase. But, what’s with this weird quest...”

His eyes slid down to the quest log. There was a quest that appeared in front of him, after one week of his transmigration.

Daily Mission: Burn 5,000 kcal

Progress: 942/5000

Reward: +1 Skill Point

He scoffed. ”To burn 5000 calories... that’s like five-six hours of non-stop workout.”

”Forget it. Skill points only work on active skills, and I have none either way.” He minimized the quest log with a flick of his finger and turned back to the message list.

Sungjun put aside Tempest’s report with a flick and clicked on Pyro’s name.

The message opened instantly.

Pyro: ”Lord Pavel, urgent report. The Shen Triad attacked Cargo-77 en route to Vladivostok. The entire vessel submerged. No survivors. Estimated time of incident: 0420 hours.”

”The Shen Triad?” Qin Tianzhu’s expression hardened. His fingers curled slowly around the edge of the armrest, the fake leather creaking beneath the pressure. ”Those damn basards...”

Even hearing the name again sent a spike of cold rage through his veins. He couldn’t help but remember Alex’s memory of his wife and unborn baby’s death.

The screen dimmed slightly as his mind drifted, accessing his memories of Shen Triad’s information.

The only reason why he had yet to exterminate this rival group, even with so much power and authority, is mainly because the Shen Triad is a part of a broader power bloc called the God Axis, a hellish alliance between the Shen Triad and the Okoro Brotherhood from Novus Mundus, forming the Shen-Okoro Nexus.

With full control over the largest desert in the world, they had an abundant amount of mana veins and dungeons under their control with little opposition.

Back when Eva was still functional, Alexander had made their financial lives a nightmare. He had siphoned billions of credits from their hidden vaults, broken through their offshore ledgers, and constantly exposed their false fronts to the Interpol.

But now...

Eva was gone.

So were the satellite surveillance hacks that used to monitor Siberia’s unguarded stretches for activity. As a result, he could now barely focus on his own territory and did not have enough time to focus on theirs. As a result, Pavel couldn’t anticipate an attack on their shipment from their rivals and lost in the end.

His jaw clenched as he re-read the message. After all, this wasn’t just an attack on Pavel’s supply line. Because the cargo they destroyed wasn’t filled with gold, minerals, weapons, or ores.

It was actually filled with medicines. Shipments Alexander himself had arranged months ago, imported quietly from the Zuania’s Vedraya, the mystical country of Hindus, and also the pharma hub of the world.

While Alexander didn’t do it for charity or have this special care for the unfortunate or anything, and those medicines were nothing but a medium for Pavel to find footing in the nothern region of Novus Mundus continent, which is frequently destabilized by dungeon breaks, Sungjun himself decided at the last minute of not making money out of it but instead, he planned to donate through his charity group and gain good faith over there.

And when such a noble deed was destroyed by the rival group, Sungjun’s eyes glinted coldly. His mind raced with thoughts on how to get back at this rivaling group.

Then, with a sharp exhale, he started typing a command to Pyro.

Commander: [Prepare a decoy cargo ship. Fill it with wooden crates—each box must be sealed and packed with nothing but cotton. Nothing that scanners can pick up. Layer the entire cargo bay with anti-sensor barrier fields. I want no human crew. Let the ship be manned by the combat bots. Load them with mana cannons.]

His fingers paused for a second, then he added the final detail.

Commander: [Each box will also carry one of our new special devices, you know which ones. The Ship’s destination this time will be Kalaallit Nunaat, that icy island near the southern pole where fewer than 10,000 live and are basically cut off from the rest of the world. I’m sure with such a destination and such defense on the ship, they will indeed take action this time with even a bigger fanfare. Also, I will need you to lead this alone, but I don’t want you to engage the enemies. Instead, I need you to...]

A thin, wicked smile curled across his lips as he hit send.

Message Delivered.

He tossed the phone onto the table and muttered, ”Ren Tianyu... this is just a sample gift for your Christmas.” Sungjun chuckled under his breath, voice sharp with venom. ”This is going to be my new year for you. Let’s see how you will respond.”

He then rose from the couch, walked silently toward the window, and looked out into the endless Siberian night. The wind blew strongly, but his heart was heavier.

”Hyung,” he murmured, barely audible, ”What kind of mess did you leave behind? You went missing. Your wife ended up marrying someone else. Your kids were being raised by their uncle. I don’t even know whether I should intervene in their lives, and even if I want to, how should I do it... The reality you left behind is quite different from my expectations... Sigh...” he shook his head as he watched the moon.

Later that night;

The time was around 23:55 in Krasinostok.

Sungjun was in a deep sleep on his bed, unaware of the translucent holographic screen floating above him, blinking as a five-minute timer started in scarlet color.

Down below the timer, a notification popped up on its own.

[System Notification]

Daily Mission: Burn 5000 kcal

Progress: 1267 / 5000 kcal

Reward: +1 Skill Point

Punishment (if failed): Activation of Compulsory Physical Trial

Time Remaining: 00:05:00

The message blinked silently in the air as the remaining time reduced, unseen and unread by Sungjun.

And then, the clock hit 00:00.

The screen vanished in a sharp flash of light, and the world around him changed instantly.

THUD

Sungjun’s body suddenly slammed onto dry, cracked earth.

He groaned, wincing at the sting along his shoulder, then blinked rapidly to adjust to the sharp sun beating down on him.

”What the...”