Dokkaebi Kingdom — Part 3
Seong Huiyeong looked intrigued.
“Real estate? Not a bad idea. But do you really think there’s any land out there as valuable as this? To compensate for our entire corporate headquarters, those Dokkaebi would have to sell off everything they own.”
The Dokkaebi blinked in confusion.
“We don’t own any land…”
“If we did, we’d be living there!”
“Not even a tiny rice field or farm!”
What nonsense.
I wagged my finger at them and gestured toward the Dokkaebi Kingdom.
“Chairman Seong, you’re aware of this, right? Magical beings and other races often establish their own pocket dimensions to live in.”
“Yes. I’ve heard about it from the mages.”
“The Dokkaebi are no different. They’ve had their own pocket dimension since ancient times. And now, that dimension has merged with this place.”
Essentially, a dimensional bridge had formed.
Through what was once Geumo Group’s headquarters, one could now enter Dokkaebi Kingdom.
And not just at certain times—
24/7, all year round.
No need for the Dasan Gun set, no need for the Three Treasures—
Just walking upwards would naturally lead you there.
Like climbing the invisible slopes of Sky Olympus.
Seong Huiyeong’s eyes gleamed.
“We can enter the pocket dimension? Anytime?”
“Yes. Anytime.”
“How big is it?”
“It’s roughly the size of the Korean Peninsula.”
A new landmass, the size of the Korean Peninsula, appearing right in the middle of Gangnam?!
If just a Seoul-sized land expansion would have been mind-blowing, then this was on a whole other level.
This was an entirely new world.
Seong Huiyeong smirked.
“At that scale… yes, I’d say that’s fair compensation for our headquarters.”
“Oh, come on, Chairman. You’re trying to get a free meal here.”
“Weren’t you just offering it to me?”
“Dokkaebi might be ignorant of human society, but they’re not fools. If you try to take it all for yourself, don’t be surprised when their version of a protest involves haunting every building and covering every product in Dokkaebi dung. Handle this reasonably.”
“Tch.”
So she was planning to take it all for herself.
No matter how expensive Gangnam real estate was, claiming an entire pocket dimension was absurd.
The Dokkaebi, finally catching on, started grumbling.
“Wow, this is outrageous.”
“‘Close your eyes, and they’ll steal your nose,’ huh?”
“Seoul’s Kim Wests are really stingy!”
“Our land is ours!”
“We protect our own village!”
They jumped up and down, shouting at the top of their lungs—
But they weren’t truly angry.
Their mana remained calm, and the guns they had drawn earlier were now tucked away at their waists and thighs.
Still, I couldn’t let my guard down.
I had to push the negotiation forward.
“Let’s settle this with a compromise. The Dokkaebi will lease out part of their land—specifically, the forested areas—along with a reasonable share of mining rights and an exclusive trade agreement.”
“I don’t understand. What are mining rights and an exclusive trade agreement?”
“Exactly what they sound like. You have sheep-clouds, fur-covered land, fairy winds, and Ink Mountains, right?”
“Yeah.”
“Mining rights mean that someone has permission to harvest and sell those resources.”
“What would humans even do with that stuff?”
“They’re valuable magical materials. Highly sought-after.”
Immediately, Seong Huiyeong’s ears perked up.
Her mana circuits activated.
I could see text rapidly scrolling across the lens of her smart glasses—but I pretended not to notice.
I had said it loud enough for her assistants, who were listening from behind, to pick up on it too.
“And an exclusive trade agreement means you have the right to sell what you produce. But this deal will need a time limit—both sides need to benefit. If only one side profits while the other suffers, it will inevitably collapse.”
I gestured toward the dimensional bridge above us.
“Now that this place has become a gateway to Dokkaebi Kingdom, any deterioration in relations will be a loss for both sides.”
“Hmm…”
“But we don’t make anything.”
“The Kim Wests like gold and silver, right? Should we just start crafting that?”
“Ugh… sounds like a hassle.”
The Dokkaebi looked unimpressed.
Understandable.
These were Dokkaebi who lived to have fun.
The entire concept of an economy—making things, selling them, and using the profits to buy necessities—was completely foreign to them.
With a Dokkaebi Club, they could just conjure up whatever they needed.
Only relying on land leasing and resource extraction felt too shallow.
The Dokkaebi needed a deeper connection to this deal.
It would benefit me as well.
Instead of running to the Dokkaebi individually whenever I needed something, I could create a supply chain where their goods were mass-produced and readily available.
Tap, tap.
With that in mind, I used my [Command] trait to send a message via smartphone.
To none other than Choi Sunsoo.
This was exactly the kind of situation where he was useful.
A walking cheat code, the ultimate errand-runner.
“Before anything else, we should survey Dokkaebi Kingdom. We need to assess its market potential, don’t we?”
“Right now?”
“I think it would be best. If we wait even a day, outsiders will start swarming in.”
Seong Huiyeong scanned the area.
Sure enough, people were already peeking in.
Geumo Group employees had set up a perimeter, but cameras were already flashing.
This was definitely all over social media by now.
“Fine. Let’s go.”
As expected, Seong Huiyeong’s decisiveness was her strongest trait.
She was the type to personally visit and place an order rather than just send subordinates.
She immediately started walking upward.
And as she did—
As if stepping onto an invisible staircase, as if following a gently sloping ramp—
She naturally ascended toward Dokkaebi Kingdom.
Chief Kim and the security team scrambled to follow.
“Sword Star. Isn’t this a bit reckless?”
“If this deal goes well, Geumo Group has a chance to become the No.1 conglomerate. Chairman Seong knows this.”
“No.1? That’s a stretch…”
“If Chairman Seong reaches Level 8, it won’t be. I heard Geumo Group and Shinwha Group are currently neck-and-neck.”
“Khmm.”
Chief Kim cleared his throat.
“There’s no absolute need for the Chairman to reach Level 8.”
“Oh? Then what do you suggest?”
“Well, she could always marry a Level 8 superhuman…”
I just laughed.
So now they were pushing this on a corporate level?
Keep dreaming.
I admit Seong Huiyeong is attractive, but anyone who sees me as nothing more than a stepping stone for their career doesn’t even register as a woman in my eyes.
Before long, we arrived in Dokkaebi Kingdom.
The elements that had seemed to disappear—sheep-clouds, fur-covered ground, fairy winds, and ink-wash mountains—greeted us once more.
Seong Huiyeong, Chief Kim, and the security team all widened their eyes in shock as they took in the landscape.
“Wow… what is this?”
“This is… Dokkaebi Kingdom?”
“It looks like something out of a fairy tale.”
“Living here would be amazing.”
“Sniff, sniff! There’s zero pollution here! The air is crystal clear!”
“You’re right!”
“Even the southernmost tip of Haenam isn’t this fresh!”
“Not even Marado!”
“If we built a hospital here, we’d attract tons of patients.”
“We could even rival Seoul Shinwha Hospital!”
It would make a great resort.
It could also house an amusement park.
Even a massive industrial complex—
Right in the middle of Gangnam, with no land costs, and perfect accessibility.
The only issue was building stable infrastructure on the dimensional bridge, but that was Seong Huiyeong’s problem to solve.
“I like the location.”
“Right? It’d be unreasonable to lease out the entire dimension, but an area the size of Seoul should be feasible.”
“Seoul, huh…”
“Don’t get too greedy. Even managing a Seoul-sized area will take immense time and resources. But we can place it close by—right next to the village. Right, Dangoma?”
“Huh? Oh, yeah. Anywhere outside the village is fine.”
Where we had arrived was Dokkaebi Village, the heart of Dokkaebi Kingdom.
Naturally, this place couldn’t be handed over.
But how big was Dokkaebi Village?
It only housed about 200 Dokkaebi.
And they crammed together, sharing homes—one house could fit dozens of them.
Seong Huiyeong smiled.
“Alright. That sounds like a reasonable compensation plan. How much resource mining will we be allowed?”
“You can extract freely from the land and sky leased to Geumo Group.”
“That much?”
“They regenerate over time. But you can’t mine outside the leased area. If you overharvest, it might disrupt the recovery process.”
“Understood.”
Dokkaebi Kingdom’s four primary resources:
Sheep-clouds, fur-covered ground, fairy winds, and ink mountains.
Each of them contained unique magical properties, making them highly valuable materials.
And that wasn’t all.
When daylight arrived, the sun would shine down, releasing powerful holy-attribute mana.
Even just collecting that mana could enable solar-powered mana generation, producing high-level mana cores.
Considering how rapidly magitech consumed mana cores, this deal was a goldmine for Geumo Group.
“Sword Star! I’m here!”
“Ah, Director Choi. Another busy day?”
“Not at all! I do this because I enjoy it! Chairman Seong, it’s been a while.”
“It has. I assume Sword Star called you?”
“Yes. Haha, the moment he summoned me, I rushed over.”
“Huh. I expected you to take at least three hours.”
“I recently hired a teleportation superhuman as my assistant. Cut my travel time drastically.”
A teleportation superhuman?
Their salaries are insanely high—he must’ve invested heavily.
In exchange, what I had ordered arrived perfectly:
Hundreds of premium buckwheat jelly sets, stored in an expanded storage bag.
“Sniff, sniff. What’s that smell?”
“A gift. Try some.”
“Wait… is this buckwheat jelly?”
“Buckwheat jelly?”
Dokkaebi’ absolute favorite food.
They loved alcohol, rice cakes, and meat, but if they had to pick one favorite, it was buckwheat jelly.
What I had specifically ordered were sets containing ten different types, each from a top-tier artisan in Korea.
Choi Sunsoo had personally sprinted to gather them—finishing in just 30 minutes.
If this wasn’t superhuman ability, then what was?
The Dokkaebi sniffed the air, intrigued.
They could make buckwheat jelly too—
Or rather, they magically conjured it with their Dokkaebi clubs.
And it was always the best in Korea.
But here’s the thing—
No matter how good a food is, eating only that food gets boring.
If you love soy sauce chicken, would you eat it every single day?
Even if you loved fried chicken, wouldn’t you crave something else after a while?
Sometimes you’d want pizza, sometimes pork belly, sometimes even spicy chicken.
And the same applied to buckwheat jelly.
“Alright then…”
“Let’s have a taste.”
“Kim West got this for us, so we have to enjoy it!”
The Dokkaebi eagerly grabbed pieces and devoured them.
Their jaws stretched wide like crocodiles.
Watching them eat, you could clearly tell—
They might look human, but they definitely weren’t.
As they chewed, their hands trembled.
“T-This… this is delicious!”
“This is the greatest buckwheat jelly I’ve ever tasted!”
“Try this one! It tastes like chestnuts!”
“Buckwheat jelly… with a chestnut flavor?”
“This one smells like strawberries!”
“And what the hell is this flavor? It’s rich, creamy, and sweet but amazing!”
Fusion is king.
Apparently, Choi Sunsoo figured traditional buckwheat jelly alone wasn’t enough, so he brought flavored varieties—
Chestnut, strawberry, blueberry, cream cheese, and more.
A symphony of new flavors had the Dokkaebi completely hooked.
As soon as they finished their portions, their eyes turned red with hunger, and they all glared at me.
“Kim West! Just one more!”
“One more! One more! One more!”
“Dokkaebi are hungry!”
“More! More! Give us more!”
I glanced at Choi Sunsoo.
With a confident grin, he gave me a firm nod.
Moments later, a line of superhumans ascended, each carrying enchanted storage bags.
From the bags, an endless stream of food and alcohol poured out.
Herbal braised pig’s feet, herbal boiled pork, cold pig’s feet, cold boiled pork, spicy pig’s feet, spicy boiled pork, makgeolli, chestnut makgeolli, black raspberry makgeolli, peach makgeolli, banana makgeolli…
“Kuaaah!”
“Kyaaah!”
“This is real makgeolli!”
“The real makgeolli is the one we’ve been drinking!”
“Oh? So, you’re not gonna try the chestnut makgeolli? Good, more for me.”
“Hell no! I’m drinking it all!”
The Fatal Flaw of Dokkaebi Clubs
When it came to taste, Dokkaebi clubs could replicate the best version of a dish from Korea.
But only one kind.
They couldn’t create a variety of flavors.
“You guys can’t make this stuff, can you?”
“We can!”
“Hah! Of course, we can!”
“Fine! Buckwheat jelly, appear! Poof!”
Poof!
A plain buckwheat jelly appeared.
Of course, it was the best buckwheat jelly in Korea, but still… just one type.
The Dokkaebi who swung his club stared at it in shock, his pupils trembling.
“Wait… that’s not right.”
Dangoma, now fired up, brandished his club dramatically.
“Strawberry buckwheat jelly, appear! Poof!”
Poof!
A buckwheat jelly popped out—alongside a separate strawberry.
The Dokkaebi club had recognized them as two distinct objects.
“H-Huh?”
Even Dangoma’s eyes quivered.
“This isn’t right…”
Seong Huiyeong was watching all of this very closely.
That should be enough proof for her.
“Trade is about exchanging what each side doesn’t have.”
I laid the groundwork for my next move.
“Humans have foods, alcohol, and clothing that Dokkaebi would enjoy. Female Dokkaebi might like fashionable bags and accessories, while male Dokkaebi would probably be into human games and entertainment. Chairman Seong and Geumo Group can supply those things to you. In exchange, the Dokkaebi can provide rare materials that are difficult for humans to obtain.”
The Dokkaebi Advantage
Dokkaebi could materialize rare goods in an instant.
Mana cores? Poof!
Heavenly gold? Poof!
Spirit eggs? Poof!
As long as they had a clear image of something, they could create almost anything.
And all Geumo Group had to do was build houses for them—which Dokkaebi would go crazy for.
Even in the game, Dokkaebi abandoned their own homes to live in destroyed apartment complexes, just for the luxury of hot baths.
“I like it. Bartering instead of money, right? Just name whatever you want. If it exists on Earth, I’ll get it for you.”
“Uh…”
Dangoma’s eyes darted around.
He turned to me, silently pleading for help.
I met his gaze—then looked around at the Dokkaebi—and gave him a firm nod.
This wasn’t just for Seong Huiyeong’s benefit.
This deal would bind Geumo Group to one crucial responsibility—
Protecting the Dokkaebi
Dokkaebi had no legal rights in human society.
They needed a guardian.
I would support them, but I alone wouldn’t be enough.
They needed protection from one of the Four Major Powers.
Preferably a corporation or a legion.
“Alright. Should we draft the contract?”
“Good! This time, it won’t be a scam! We won’t be fooled again! Hmph!”
“The Republic of Korea does not recognize Dokkaebi as legal persons. So, a lawyer’s notarization would be meaningless. Instead, I’ll be the guarantor. Anyone who breaks this contract should be prepared to make an enemy of me.”
“We trust Kim West!”
“With Sword Star watching, we’ll have to stick to the deal.”
A Contract Sealed in Good Spirits
For once, Geumo Group didn’t try to exploit the Dokkaebi.
Under normal circumstances, they would’ve found a way to squeeze them dry.
But I was here.
I had practically put Seong Huiyeong in the Chairman’s seat.
She wanted to stay on my good side.
And more importantly—
I was slowly becoming a key player in the emerging superhuman cartel.
“Thanks, Kim West.”
A Gift in Return
After the contract was signed, the Dokkaebi swarmed around me.
“We never thought we’d rejoin the human world…”
“I figured it’d take at least another hundred years!”
“Exactly!”
“Who would’ve guessed the Manpasikjeok was in the Arctic?!”
“If it weren’t for our legendary Kim West, it would’ve taken a hundred—no, two hundred years!”
“True, true.”
“Which brings us to…”
The Dokkaebi, who had been chattering excitedly, finally got to the point.
All eyes turned to me.
Their gazes shone like dewdrops, their pupils round and eager.
“Do you want anything?”
“Maybe some land?”
“We’d even give you half of Dokkaebi Kingdom!”
A sharp gasp echoed.
Half of Dokkaebi Kingdom?!
That was a damn good deal.
Just harvesting a fraction of the resources would put me on a mountain of wealth.
But honestly, money didn’t matter.
I already had plenty.
“There is something I want.”
“What is it? Just say the word!”
“How about ten Dokkaebi sets?”
“We’d give you a hundred!”
“If that’s not enough, take mine too!”
None of that interested me.
There was only one thing I truly wanted.
“The Bottomless Pouch.”
–TL Notes–
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another op item for kim