The Novel’s Villain

6. The Case and the King (1)

To get out of the Gate and enter the JW Center, people had to go through the intensive identification process and receive approval from the judges. The waiting time was quite long, but the people who came in followed all the instructions without saying a word. It was because they would be permanently expelled and not allowed re-entry if they caused even a small disturbance.

Here, the law of JW Gate took precedence over the law on Earth. Miraculously, it was a place where rules that went beyond the laws recognized in Korea were applied.

‘The line is long.’

guilds were waiting. Every one of them had to be checked, but it seemed to be a very long wait time. It was interesting to see them standing in line wearing their fantasy-like clothes like it was a renaissance festival. Jin-woo paused for a moment to watch.

“Rachel, right? You managed to get in here.”

“…”

“The last offer is still valid. If you join us, we will pay off all your debts, right? Hey, look at your equipment. Where did you get a sponsor? Oh, there’s even Kim Moo-jin. Is it a beggar combo?”

A typical bully character was grinning at them. He seemed to have not noticed Jin-woo’s existence because a thick wall of bodyguards surrounded him.

“Don’t approach any further.”

“Haha, what did you say? Did you eat something wrong?”

As Kim Moo-jin made a gesture to quietly back down, that guy shrugged and spread his shoulders, then spat on the floor with a glare. It was interesting. Rather than feeling threatened, something seemed to be missing. Jin-woo was watching with interest, and Yoo-na didn’t push forward. After all, it wasn’t worth taking part in.

“This is our place, so get lost in that corner. Don’t go in and do anything. After all, you could be buried here. Do you know? Whining doesn’t work here.”

“Hahaha!”

“Wow, Kim Moo-jin, your equipment looks good? Did you sell your guild? Or did you lick your sponsor’s ass?”

It seemed like there were a few factions in the queue, ones with a fair bit of money. He was wearing a crest with a snake and a shield on his shoulder. He had seen it somewhere before, but he couldn’t place it where. Jin-woo glanced over it with the Magic Eye of information.

[-]Snake Shield Alliance

An alliance created by guilds ranked 9th, 12th, and 14th in the Korean Mercenary Guild Rankings. It has grown by absorbing many small and medium-sized guilds through an aggressive alliance policy. The guild masters and executives are competent Japanese people and are known for their huge Japanese-funded usury.

Recently, they were washing their image with friendly s. It had several lending companies, such as Happy Ending Capital and Sakura Loans.

*9th place in the Mercenary Guilds

It was the alliance to which the Golden Creed Guild, which had put pressure on the Laiden Guild, belonged. That alliance didn’t catch any attention because they kept things close to their chest, but it was quite annoying. The Snake Shield Alliance sealed an oath that they would never do anything offensive again. It was a huge compensation for the Laiden Guild.

‘Well, there were quite a few extras with that kind of personality in the original story.’

Wouldn’t that be the only way to develop something? He might have been a little disappointed if it wasn’t for this situation. It was when Jin-woo was thinking about saying something that suddenly a murmur was heard from the front. It was small at first but gradually grew louder.

“What, what is it?! Has the admission screening been suspended today?”

“Huh? We must wait until tomorrow?”

“Why? It was our turn! I’ve been waiting for two days! I can’t wait any longer!”

The front was noisy.

It seemed that the admission screening had been suspended. Complaints erupted everywhere, and it looked like there was going to be a riot, but they could barely express their dissatisfaction. Everyone knew well that they would be kicked out if they acted out. Their hot air was quickly swallowed as they shut their mouths.

“O-oh, my! Master!”

An old man with gray hair came running at a breakneck speed. Behind the old man were the judges in charge of screening, all running after the old man. They weren’t ordinary judges but high-ranking ones with impressive and flamboyant outfits. They were dressed like high priests. At first glance, they almost looked like the pope.

“T-the high-ranking judges….”

“G-general Manager?”

The old man was the general manager of JW Gate. He was in charge of the entrance and operation of the Gate, and he was a true loyal follower who called Jin-woo master. There was no way that Lee Jin-woo could let a useless person be the manager of the JW Gate. Of course, it was the first time Jin-woo was seeing him.

“Young Master, then let’s go.”

As Yoo-na took a step forward, Rachel and Moo-jin’s guild members stepped aside. There was a very long queue and crowd in front, but it didn’t matter. There was no one to slow Jin-woo’s steps.

Jin-woo nodded and walked forward. Rachel and Kim Moo-jin stood behind him. There was silence the moment Jin-woo appeared. The men who had shown somewhat harsh words a while ago hardened in place. The General Manager fell to his knees on the floor as he sprinted. He seemed to slide for about two meters before coming to a halt.

“Cough, it’s been a long time. I didn’t expect you to grow up so handsome and powerful…sob-sob, this old man can die without regret now.”

The high-ranking judges also knelt and bowed. It was those high-ranking judges who showed cheeky attitudes toward the guild master of the No. 1 guild in Korea and even to the Knights without blinking an eye.

The general manager of JW Gate reigned at the apex of those high-ranking judges. Here he was a judge, a prosecutor, and a lawyer. He was, in a word, the king’s substitute. This was because he was managing the inside of JW Gate on behalf of Lee Jin-woo.

“Lee…Lee Jin-woo.”

“Ugh!”

Only then did those who saw Jin-woo falter. Outside the Gate, it was okay to say that he was a third-generation conglomerate who had overwhelmingly deep pockets and rudeness, but not inside the JW Gate. Lee Jin-woo’s presence came very differently to those competent people. When Rachel and Moo-jin stood by Jin-woo’s side, the faces of the Mercenaries of the Snake Shield Federation, who ignored them a while ago, all turned a pale shade of blue.

“Can’t you get out of the way?”

“How dare you stand there! Get out of the way!”

“It’s rude!”

The crowd quickly split as the high-ranking judges shouted. Jin-woo sighed quietly. The judges seemed to lose their sense of reality, perhaps because they lived in the Gate for too long. For some reason, it was like seeing a typical corrupt high-ranking official. What if such a corrupt high-ranking official was on his side? He had complicated thoughts on the subject.

“Umm…”

Although the General Manager had a strong attitude, wouldn’t he have common sense in his way? Being devoted to Lee Jin-woo and common sense were different things. After all, he was the general manager of JW.

“You bastards! How dare you hold your neck upright? Why don’t you lower your head before I pluck out your eyes!! These cheeky bastards! Hit him right now!”

Jin-woo had no choice but to cancel that thought. The General Manager shouted more vehemently than all the others combined. If the preaching of Buddha existed in real life, it would be like that. All those who were staring blankly at Jin-woo hesitated and bowed their heads.

The sight of thousands of people bowing at once was truly spectacular.

‘Ah…’

Jin-woo wanted to hold his head. It was a sight that he could hardly believe happened in the 21st century. Fantasy was, after all, only a fantasy. The admission screening was quickly passed. No one dared to stop Lee Jin-woo. No, it made no sense to judge Lee Jin-woo from the start.

Because this place was a strange place where Lee Jin-woo’s words became law, he couldn’t believe it was happening in South Korea in the 21st century. Even though technically, it wasn’t South Korea.

“It’s a setting that makes sense in its way, but…”

Still, there were some settings that he looked into because he was skeptical about them. The World Association of Competent People enacted a law, and the competent people had to follow the laws of the competent people rather than the laws of their own country. When laws conflicted with each other, competent people had priority. The law for competent people was stricter, and the punishment was stronger. If right and wrong weren’t covered, duels were the primary outcome, and in some cases, people had to sacrifice their lives.

Among those laws, there was a provision that within the Gate, the competent people were subject to the rules inside the Gate. Usually, Gates were operated on a national level. Some Gates were owned by companies, but most were state-owned. The only company that owned Gates entirely was the Frontline Group.

And Lee Jin-woo was the only individual who owned a Gate by himself. In the case of Lee Min-woo, although he had a stake, technically, it belonged to Frontline Group. So, according to the World Association of Competent People law, the competent people had to follow the rules set by Lee Jin-woo at JW Gate. They were absolute.

‘In other words, it’s the kingdom of Lee Jin-woo.’

JW Gate was the kind of place Lee Jin-woo dreamed of. In a way, it was natural for the General Manager and judges to treat Jin-woo like a king. It wouldn’t be strange to call him a king. Jin-woo clearly understood why lawmakers and high-ranking figures bowed their heads to him.

The Frontline Group was huge, but aside from the title, what the individual had was also massive. In the center of the town was a hotel where the General Manager and judges resided. Along with the building for Gate operation, it was now said to be a symbol of the JW Gate. It was more like a medieval castle than a modern hotel, however.

Competent people called it the Castle of Gold and Silver due to it shining yellow and silver depending on the light. Only important people could stay. Of course, there was a place for Jin-woo. Rather, except for one floor, everything was for Jin-woo. With or without him, though, it was always maintained in the best condition.

‘I can see what Lee Jin-woo’s tastes are.’

Jin-woo sat down in a magnificent chair and looked down at the General Manager and judges. It was a chair designed by Lee Jin-woo’s taste, but it was very burdensome for him. Lee Jin-woo unconditionally liked big and flashy things, so it had plenty of large jewels embedded within.

‘A chair like this in his office…’

It wasn’t a chair but a throne. The admission screening that was completely suspended lingered in Jin-woo’s mind as he sat.

“Um, it would be difficult if the admission screening was delayed because of me, so I think it would be better to proceed with the screening.”

“A heart like rivers and seas…I can’t help but admire you! Sob-sob…”

The General Manager shed genuine tears. The Chancellor had some acting mixed in, but the General Manager was sincere. It was truly from his heart. The trembling, excitement, and emotion that came up from deep within his heart, shook him, and came out of his mouth wasn’t something that could be expressed by simple acting. It was scary to respond to.

Jin-woo thought he would faint if he even spoke with honorifics, so he naturally spoke without any formality. Yoo-na, who was standing next to him, coughed and spoke out.

“The Snake Shield Guild Alliance made a pretty sarcastic remark. They treat the people the Young Master hired himself poorly…”

“Wh-what did you say?! Those cheeky bastards, how come they are here?!”

“Isn’t it the General Manager who permitted those cheeky bastards?”

“Ugh, sob…”

The general manager fell flat on the floor, as did the high-ranking judges. He even smashed his head on the floor. Jin-woo was genuinely embarrassed. Who could think of that figure as that cold-blooded General Manager?

The General Manager was a symbol of fear for those who knew JW Gate. His ability was enormous, and he was thought to be an emotionless robot, so the way he handled things in a measured way gave people goosebumps.

“Sob, don’t forgive this foolish old man for his disloyalty! Please kill me!”

“Please kill us!”

The high-ranking judges shouted, following the General Manager. Jin-woo sighed and put his hand on his forehead.

“It’s okay, so don’t overreact.”

“Ooh! Thank you for giving me another chance! I’ll risk my life to deal with it.”

The eyes of the General Manager looked like a demon’s. Murderous intent was running wild through them. Jin-woo could feel that he was much stronger than Yoo-na at once.

Lv.90

Name: General Manager (Alfred)

Title: Jin-woo’s True Loyalist, Loyal Blood Demon, Cruel Agent, Knight Slayer, JW’s Great Devil

Age: 64

Ability Rank: A+

Potential Rank: B- [Limit: Lv 80]

[Loyalty: Max (Complete Integrity)]

Special Note

[A] Loyalty of Burning Passion

‘I have only one God.’

With his loyalty, he breaks through his limits. No calamity or suffering can stop him. His burning loyalty makes him forget even his pain and transcend his limits. Loyalty is the basis of physical and mental strength. As long as his loyalty doesn’t decline, his body will not age or be shaken by any temptation.

[C] Eyes of Bondage

‘You who have sinned, fear him.’

He can subdue his opponent and bind them.

His eyes were strangely twisted by loyalty. The General Manager was a great guy, more than well-qualified to manage JW Gate.

The General Manager’s body trembled with anger. Seeing the blood in his eyes, it was clear he was about to beat some to death.