All the shelves in the huge library were filled with books as thick as arms. In the center was a small platform with barbells and dumbbells. The room was completely dark, but that didn't change anything.
Soohyun had completely lost his eyes.
He was listening to an audiobook as he lifted and lowered the dumbbells. Even though he couldn't see, he didn't give up. He practiced disciplined physical training every day and did research through Ashborne. He had already accepted his condition and decided to continue at his life.
He wanted to follow in his father's footsteps. He would become a competent magical engineer and try to do what no one else could. After all, there were many such figures in history.
After the training was over, he stopped at the audiobook.
[There is a table number three where you can drink water and take supplements.]
"Thank you."
Soohyun wiped the sweat from his forehead with a towel and took the water Ashborne had placed through a compartment. It had been two years since the Namsan Tower Tragedy. He was now 14 years old and not seeing was no longer a big problem for him.
When he was at home, he used Ashborne, his virtual assistant. Thanks to Ashborne, he was very comfortable at home. He also didn't need to wear a helmet anymore. Because his senses were much stronger.
Since his eyesight was no longer functioning, the other senses had more work to do. This necessarily meant that they had to be even more sensitive. Soohyun was now able to do simple tasks on her own. He could understand the people around him with his ears, and the sensory data he received allowed him to draw conclusions close to vision.
The only problem was the tasks that required full vision.
So he relied entirely on Ashborne's competent artificial intelligence.
[Shall I start your Advanced Mechanical Engineering course?]
"Uh, no. I want to rest for today and just focus on the software."
[Then I'll postpone Low-Level Ophthalmology, Intermediate Level Magical Engineering, and the core courses.]
"Please."
Since he couldn't go to school anymore, he was taking classes online with 100% narration. Of course, these were private courses and some money was inevitable. But he was able to make it up in another way.
[Raytheon's stock today is up 30%. According to reports on the web, Raytheon Research Unit claims that they have discovered a new way of using mana and that it is of great importance for humanity].
"Raytheon?"
[laughs] Yeah. They're being lynched on social media for saying they've found a new way to use it. But despite that, their stock is going up like crazy.]
"What do they mean by a new use case?"
[I've seen some speculation on social media. Most people think it's manipulation. There are some who think that the information agencies on the Deep Web are colluding for self-interest. Very few are convinced that it is real].
"Hm... Look at the TV channels. They must be doing a press release if they're making so much noise. The Mana Reactor Project a few years ago was suspended because of the Namsan Tower Tragedy. The deaths of two critical Korean scientists led to the cancellation of the project. There may be news about that."
[KHTV has a press release.]
"Raytheon is not a big company. But it was making enough money for me to survive. So the money we put into circulation was not small. What is it now?"
[Right now, Raytheon is very complicated. The trades are constantly shifting. Right now, Raytheon stock is experiencing historic declines. The $5,000 we invested is down 87.5%.]
"They're intervening. What's the amount of money we can put into circulation right now? And didn't you turn on the news channel? I can't hear anything."
[The amount of money we can circulate immediately is only $3,000. The channel for the press release seems to be under attack. The signal is very unstable.]
"Why do we have so little money?"
The money he inherited from his father was $150,000. He also owned a plot of land on the corner of Seoul. With that, he had a total of $200,000. His hospital bills were paid by the government. He also received $50,000 in compensation.
He had a card that allowed him to use public services for free. And he could use the virtual services offered by the state to the public at a 50% discount.
This was the state's way of apologizing.
Soohyun gritted his teeth again when he thought of that scene.
[You spent 74.5% of the $250,000 in your bank account, or $186,750, on online courses. Among these, Advanced Mechanical Engineering and Intermediate Magical Engineering account for 40% of the money spent. The remaining 25.5% was spent on weights, audiobooks, nutritional supplements, and failed attempts].
After Soohyun regained consciousness, he decided to use everything he had to educate himself. He put everything he had into becoming a competent engineer like his father. Even though he couldn't see, he used his mental imagery to design things and explain them to Ashborne.
Of course, it took him hours to explain even a simple design.
"I see. That's $8,000 in total assets."
He had spent a lot more money than he thought. There were very few people in the world who spent that much money at the age of 14.
[No. Your total assets are about $4,000.]
"Hmm... They're trying to postpone the press conference. They're also trying to buy out the stockholders on the cheap. It's a carefully crafted plan. Ashborne, try to get as much of Raytheon as we can. And where's my headset?"
[On your right.]
"Oh..."
Soohyun took the headset from the table and put it in his right ear.
"I want you to give me an instant update on the changes in the stock. Raytheon is planning to buy back the shares it offered to the public cheaply. It's obvious that many people are getting scared and pulling back. We're going to take advantage of that and pick up as many shares as we can. I want you to let me know when the volume passes 100 million."
[Do you want me to sell your shares in Kenmar?]
"No, keep them."
The shares were constantly changing hands.
This sharp decline would end the lives of a few people.
But it was also an opportunity. A chance for those who could control their emotions to rise and those who couldn't to crash.
[Press conference started on KHTV Social Media].
"Turn up the volume. Turn down the volume on the headphones but keep passing on information. Hm? Got it. There are two sides in this game. The one who sells the shares at a low price and the one who buys what he sells..."
[Streaming live.]
Soohyun focused most of his attention on the press conference.
{The amount of energy in the world is increasing day by day, but we still can't get the efficiency we want with energy like electricity. It is my great honor to introduce a new technology developed in collaboration with Raytheon and the Mystic Sword Guild}.
"Mystic Sword Guild? Describe the two people who stood out the most at the Ashborne press conference. Now!"
[Microphones pointed at Constantine Bruno, founder of Raytheon Company. He has 7-centimeter ears. His hair is black, military style, three centimeters long. He has blue eyes and wears a black suit. The other is a white-haired man standing next to him. He is 191.2 centimeters tall, broad-shouldered and looks like a swordsman. His eyes are black, and although he has a stern expression, he looks at me with a smile. Paired with Choi Young-ho, the leader of the Mystic Sword Guild].
Soohyun clenched his fists. His heart was filled with grief. This man was the one who killed the Green Dragon. He hated him for not making it in time.
{Because we couldn't collect enough mana, we couldn't protect our cities with large barriers, so we lost many of our loved ones in sudden monster raids. But with this new technology, we will be able to create barriers the size of a city. I can take questions}
The earpiece in Soohyun's right ear never stopped as he said his last sentence.
[Raytheon's trading volume surpassed a hundred million dollars. The stock is skyrocketing.]
[It'll take a minute to cross two hundred million.]
"Big players are getting involved."
The press conference continued with questions.
Soohyun heard the masculine voice of one of the reporters.
{The similarities with the Mana Reactor introduced by Circle Military Corp. years ago are striking. What do you say about that? How is it right for Raytheon to steal Circle Military Corp's invention?}
When Soohyun heard this, he realized that those were bought reporters. This was not a real press conference. It was just a show.
{You've all heard of the Namsan Tower Tragedy. The Green Dragon's attack claimed the lives of many of our citizens. Among them were two important scientists who attended the festival to demonstrate the prototype of the Mana Reactor. Without Si Chong-su and Sok Chihu, the reactor would be impossible to complete. That's why Raytheon bought the rights to the Mana Reactor to help the collapsing Circle Military Corp...}
Soohyun continued to grit his teeth in disgust, but when he realized there was nothing he could do, he took a deep breath and calmed himself down. The Namsan Tower Tragedy is still a topic of discussion on social media today.
There were even times when it was used as a meme.
But Soohyun hadn't been able to touch anything hot since that incident.
When he touched something hot, it was as if his whole body was on fire. He didn't even want to go out just because of that.
But right now, there were people trying to gain power using the Namsan Tower Tragedy.
How could he stay calm?
"You can disconnect the headset. I don't want anything but daily reports from now on. We will protect our assets until the summit."
[It will be turbulent until the end of the day.]
"Now the big players have joined. The small ones like us need to step aside. Right now, we'll protect the shares we have. What percentage belongs to us?"
[We own 0.5%.]
"It's too high. Let me know when the company value is calculated. Let's get rid of some of it, otherwise, we'll draw attention to ourselves."
He knew that a low profile would save his life. If there was no Mana in this world, he could try to become famous, but once he was famous, he absolutely had to have some Authority. Otherwise both his life and his fame would be destroyed.
After Ashborne cut off all the data flow, he asked a question.
[Do you want me to open the terminal?]
"No, leave it. I'm in a bad mood."