After Ten Millennia in Hell

Khadgar tilted his head and looked at the other mages. It seemed no one knew what that meant.

Most of the mages' knowledge was passed down from one generation to the next, so most of them had lived locked in the tower since they were kids and had spent their time studying and dedicating their lives to research.

Hence, there was no way they would know about things like credit loans.

The mages looked at each other, confused.

"What's that?"

"It's my first time hearing of it. What about you?"

"It's also my first time…"

There were thirty mages, but no one knew what a loan was.

Kang-Woo's eyes shone, and he smiled.

"A credit loan is lending you money based on your credibility."

"Credibility?"

"Lending money?"

"Yes," Kang-Woo said. "The details are quite complex… but that's the easiest possible explanation. They lend you money, and in exchange, they receive interest."

"Oh! Like a bank."

"Exactly." Kang-Woo nodded while smiling.

A mage said in a worried voice, "But would we be able to borrow money? Our credibility is…"

He trailed off at the last part of the sentence.

It was obvious that they didn't have a single penny to their name, nor did they have a house to return to or a job. There was no way someone in a situation similar to that of a homeless person would have the credibility to borrow money.

"Kuh."

"Damn Demon Cultists…!"

The mages clenched their fists in frustration. The Magic Tower had been selling magic items to members of high society since before the Day of Calamity.

After Players had appeared, magic had become quite common, but that hadn't always been the case. They had used to earn quite a lot of money just by selling simple artifacts with protection magic against bullets.

Thanks to that, they had earned quite a lot of money throughout the years and had become free from financial struggle. However, the Demon Cult had destroyed the Magic Tower, and all of the money they had amassed had been taken away.

"There is no need to worry."

Kang-Woo handed them documents as if he had been prepared for such a situation. It had even been translated into their language so that they could read it.

Third-party Finance, Garrosh & Cash was written at the top.

"Garrosh & Cash?"

"What does third-party finance mean?"

The mages tilted their heads in confusion.

Kang-Woo explained to them in a very kindly manner, "Third-party financing is similar to a circle in terms of magic. You can borrow more money with third-party financing compared to first-party and second-party."

"Ohhh."

"A third circle isn't that high…"

"Ah, I'm not saying it's completely the same as magic. In financing, the third party is the highest stage," Kang-Woo said.

"Oh, I see."

The mages nodded and then looked at each other. Although Guardians had freed them from slavery, they realized that they hadn't even properly thanked them. They bowed their heads in embarrassment.

Khadgar stepped forward.

"Thank you for… introducing us to a third-party financing group," Khadgar said as if he had been truly moved.

He had initially thought only of using Guardians to gain freedom and to continue to focus on studying the truth through the Book of Hecate. Not only that, but when he had discovered that the Book of Hecate had been burned, he had acted very rudely. Even if he was a mage who wasn't used to society, he knew that grabbing the person who had saved him by the collar was rude.

'And even after all that…'

He started to tear up.

It wouldn't be an exaggeration to say that they were bankrupt, yet seeing Kang-Woo do his best to help them had moved him. Kang-Woo was helping them so they could resume their research and had helped them acquire the necessary funds to do it.

Khadgar was ashamed of having thought of Guardians as a group of pushovers.

"Thank you… so very much," Khadgar said while extending his hand.

"Not at all."

Kang-Woo shook Khadgar's hand with a smile.

It was a warm exchange between people.

A smile appeared on Khadgar's face.

Kang-Woo sighed and said, "I should be the one to apologize. If I had more authority, I would have been able to get you the money that you needed right away…"

"No, it's okay. I'm just glad that we can borrow the money."

"Do you know how interest works?"

"Mmm… We have to give back more money than the amount we borrowed, right?"

"That is correct. It's easiest to think of it as the payment for having borrowed money." Kang-Woo sighed. "Third-party Finance Garrosh & Cash allows you to borrow more money compared to the credibility you possess, but there is a problem."

"Problem?"

"Yes. The interest rate is high."

"Ah…"

There was a short silence.

Khadgar looked at the other mages and then opened his mouth.

"But we will get the research funds from Guardians later on, will we not?"

"Yes, as soon as the funding is approved."

"Then there shouldn't be a problem."

"But if you do not pay the interest back quickly, issues regarding your credibility will arise… Oh, how about we do this?" Kang-Woo smiled. "You just have to increase your magic item production hours a little. In Korea, we call this overtime."

"Mmm."

"I will take measures so that you will be able to make money from the magic items that you produce and sell before your research funding is approved."

"Wow."

"You would go so far for us…" they exclaimed in surprise.

The mages nodded in succession.

The magic items they made were expensive. Of course, the money they would make couldn't be compared to the money they had earned before Players appeared, but magic items were still valuable.

The mages were also confident in terms of their quality.

Some Players could create magic items, but they couldn't be compared to the ones made by the Magic Tower's mages, who have been studying magic since the day they were born.

"How much is that interest rate?"

"The monthly interest rate is 24%. Each month that passes, the interest is compounded."

"Compounded? What does that mean?" they asked in confusion.

Kang-Woo laughed and said, "It's not that important. You can just think of it as a type of interest."

"Hmm."

There was a short silence.

"Can you give us some time to think?"

"Of course."

Khadgar turned around. The thirty mages gathered for a group meeting.

"Over twenty percent each month… Isn't that too expensive?"

"But it's the best option we have, considering our current situation."

"Won't we be able to pay it back easily once we begin selling magic items?"

"I guess…"

They nodded.

Khadgar opened his mouth.

"How about we do this, then? We'll do that overtime thing to create magic items until the funding is approved."

"Ohh. I see…"

"But if we do that, we wouldn't have much time to recreate the Book of Hecate, would we?"

"That's true."

"Recreating the Book of Hecate takes priority above all else…"

The mages fell into thought.

One of them clapped.

"Oh! Come to think of it, that Oh Kang-Woo man said he would respect the normal working hours of Korean corporations, didn't he?"

"He did."

"But we don't know how long that is…"

"Huhuhu. I have heard about the working hours of corporations before."

"You have?"

They looked at the mage, surprised.

The mage who mentioned it crossed his arms and nodded.

"Although it was Germany and not Korea… they usually work six hours per day. If you add overtime, it will probably be about eight hours in total."

"Mmm… It's not quite enough time for our research."

"But we will have weekends."

"Ah, you're right. I hadn't thought of that."

The mages nodded.

It was worth doing it if they were given a work shift between six and eight hours per day and if their weekends were guaranteed.

"It'll at least be better than what we went through here."

"Haha, there's no way it will be comparable to being enslaved by demons."

The mages reached an agreement.

Khadgar stepped forward as their representative.

"We accept the proposal."

"You have made the right decision," Kang-Woo said. "Please sign these documents. I will borrow three hundred billion won in your name for the initial research funds as soon as we get to Korea."

"…"

Before signing, Khadgar extended his hand out toward Kang-Woo.

"Thank you. I will never forget about you."

"Hahaha." Kang-Woo laughed. "Let us do our best for world peace."

Kang-Woo shook his hand once again.

* * *

Time passed.

A factory in Korea dedicated to making magic items was set up, and the magic items made by the mages of the Magic Tower were swiftly supplied to Guardians.

The mages made everything from defensive artifacts to tons of armaments that had all sorts of enchantments. The Players had even been supplied with scrolls and potions to use for emergencies.

The high-quality magic items the mages created raised the overall strength of Guardians.

Thunk.

Khadgar collapsed in the middle of making a magic item.

"K-Khadgar!!"

"Are you okay?!"

The other mages quickly went to him. They were more haggard than when they were enslaved by demons.

Khadgar, who had collapsed from overwork, extended his trembling hand.

"I-I must make more… I-If not, the interest…"

"Khadgar!!!"

"Get a hold of yourself!!"

Cries were heard.

Click.

The door opened.

Kang-Woo walked in while illuminating the dark factory.

"How is everyone doing?"

"Y-You…!"

"You scumbag!!!"

They looked at Kang-Woo with anger and resentment.

Kang-Woo smiled brightly.

"What's wrong? You're the ones who signed the documents. I never forced you to do it."

"This is fraud!!"

"It's not fraud. I explained everything to you beforehand." He laughed out loud.

"Y-YOU BASTAAAAAARD!!!!"

Stomp. Khadgar, who was on the ground, sprang up and ran toward Kang-Woo like a madman.

Tap.

"Kurgh!"

He'd rushed forward without using magic, so the result was obvious. His neck was grabbed in a flash, causing him to groan in pain.

"Please relax, Khadgar. Have you still not had enough since your last attempt?"

"U-Urghh."

Fear appeared on Khadgar's face.

"The restoration of the Book of Hecate… the truth…" he mumbled in a weak voice. He felt like the truth was slipping away.

"You don't need to struggle so much to find the truth, Khadgar. The truth is always simpler than you think."

"…"

Kang-Woo turned to the mages inside the factory.

The inside of the factory resembled a dumping ground, and there was a pungent smell of rotten food.

"Everyone, a person must eat. Unless you're a demon, you need sustenance."

Kang-Woo grabbed a pack of instant ramen on the floor.

"To buy food, you need money."

The tips of his mouth went up.

"To earn money, you must work."

He patted Khadgar's shoulder.

"Hahaha. What do you think, Khadgar? The truth is always simpler than you think, don't you agree?"

"Y-You son of a…"

"If you want to eat at least one meal a day, please work." Kang-Woo kept talking as if he were having fun. "There is no food for those who don't work."

"You scammer…!"

"How could you force us to work for the entire day, do overtime, and even work on weekends?!"

"You said our working hours would be the same as any corporation!!"

Kang-Woo heard people cursing him.

"I didn't lie." He extended his arms. "Did I not promise you working hours on par with any corporation in Korea?"

"Yes! You definitely—"

"This is how much they work. Ah, of course, you have been working a little more than them since you have so much debt to pay, but it can't be helped, can it? After all, this is the path you have chosen."

There was silence.

"Oh, right. I forgot to tell you all something. Haha, it's funny that I'm saying this now after you've been in Korea for months now, but…"

He bowed and smiled.

"Welcome to Korea."

'Strangers, I welcome you to the palace of Korea.'

Welcome↗ to the↘ Palace of→ Joseon(Hell)↗, Strangers↘.[1]

1. This is a reference to King Sejong in the game Civilization V. The Korean dub of his introduction is so bad that it has basically become a meme in Korea. ☜