The Academy’s Unrivaled Professor - Chapter 94
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This chapter was translated by Lunox Novels. To support us and help keep this series going, visit our website: LunoxScans.com
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Academy Absolute Professor 094
Black again? Really?
On a lazy afternoon, just as Kang Hyun finished drafting the Secret Walking Technique Manual and was stretching, his phone rang.
Whirrrr!
His phone was ringing.
[Kim Hyung-seok, Director]
The Director?
Kang Hyun glanced at Lee Se-ah, who was sitting beside him.
“What is it?”
“…Your superior’s calling you?”
“What?”
Lee Se-ah’s eyes went wide.
“Wait, why isn’t he calling me?”
He answered the phone, and a strained voice crackled through.
— Listen here, Professor Kang! What in the world is this? Space Expansion? The National Intelligence Service is in an uproar, the Ministry of Trade is in chaos, Korea Customs is losing their minds — everyone’s turned upside down!
“They seem quite pleased, then?”
— Pleased? They’re panicking about how to authorize it!
“I see.”
Kang Hyun swirled his whiskey glass unhurriedly.
“Well then, Director, could you secure that authorization for me? I’m counting on you.”
— Wait, hold on! What do you—
Kim Hyung-seok’s bewildered voice came through the receiver.
— You don’t understand administrative procedure. This isn’t simple work. It’s a technology that could shake national security itself. Do you have any idea how complicated it is to convince each ministry’s commissioner?
His point wasn’t entirely wrong.
In modern bureaucracy, unlocking a single regulation required hundreds of documents and dozens of meetings.
And yet.
“Director.”
Kang Hyun’s otherwise casual tone dropped slightly.
— Y-yes?
“Every time something major erupts, you come looking for me with regretful excuses, and now you’re telling me that getting this authorization is that difficult?”
Besides, the backpack was only an initial business item.
His mind held the boundless ideas of his grandfather.
He couldn’t afford to start out like this.
— Ah, no… it’s just that…
Kim Hyung-seok faltered.
Cold sweat ran down his spine.
He’d thought they’d grown closer through recent conversations, but who exactly was the man on the other end of the line?
The monster who’d torn Leviathan apart, the one whose very name made the Special Forces Team tremble — Black himself!
— Ahem, well, I certainly want it authorized. But other ministries might be lukewarm about it, is what I meant…
At the hesitation in his voice, Kang Hyun let out a soft laugh.
“Well, if it’s truly that difficult, there’s no need to force it.”
— Hmm?
“It doesn’t matter if you can’t get authorization.”
A question mark seemed to hover over Kim Hyung-seok’s head.
— It doesn’t matter?
“No, I mean — I can just take it to a country that will authorize it and sell it there.”
— …!
In that instant, Kim Hyung-seok’s heart sank.
What did those words mean?
Black wasn’t making a plea. He was issuing a warning.
If this prototype fell into the hands of America or Britain?
Never mind security concerns — they’d roll out the red carpet with both hands raised to welcome Kang Hyun and monopolize this insane technology.
They’d hand over blank checks, state support, immunity privileges, and carry him off like royalty.
Kang Hyun wasn’t asking for sympathy.
He was asking whether the nation would receive the national interest he was offering, or whether it would pass.
— I-I never said it couldn’t be done!
“Right. You said it was difficult, but.”
— Hah, fine. I’ll twist my ministers’ arms and get it through, so just wait a bit!
“And if it takes too long, I’m taking it elsewhere?”
— I said I’d do it!
Click.
The phone hung up abruptly.
“Well, fear’s the only language some people understand.”
Kang Hyun muttered, and Lee Se-ah, who’d been listening beside him, nodded in agreement.
“I imagine he was hoping to quietly owe you a favor from this, but it didn’t work out that way.”
“……Isn’t he your superior?”
“What are you talking about? My superior is the state—I’m drawing government salary. And strictly speaking, you pay me the most, Kang Hyun. Whoever pays the most is always the boss.”
She had tilted entirely toward Kang Hyun’s side now, leaving the Management Bureau behind.
* * *
A few days later, at the Government Complex Building.
Kim Hyung-seok had assembled the nation’s heavyweight officials.
Cabinet ministers, the Korea Customs Service director, federation heads, the Management Bureau chief—everyone.
Their eyes were fixed on Yun Tae-jeong, standing at the podium.
That was right.
Today was the day of Taejeong Space’s unofficial demonstration!
“Well then, let us begin the demonstration.”
Yun Tae-jeong calmly showcased the performance of the Geonkun models from C-grade up to S-grade, and murmurs of admiration rippled through the room.
Though their eyes were sharp and discerning, none could sit in that room without recognizing how extraordinary this technology truly was.
‘All of that fits inside?’
‘This could be an industry worth not tens of trillions, but possibly hundreds of trillions.’
‘I’d love to get this into the military’s hands quickly.’
‘Hell, this is a headache. If they roll something like this out recklessly, airports will be even more swamped.’
The ministers and senior officials each began calculating according to their own interests.
Their thoughts diverged completely, but they all had to admit the technology was exceptional.
Once the demonstration concluded, Yun Tae-jeong turned the tables with a proposal of his own.
“Taejeong Space is indeed aware of this technology’s risks. Accordingly, we propose the following measures.”
Beep.
He pressed a button, and a plan appeared on the screen.
1. Domestic sales only for the first year
2. Purchases limited to government agencies and authorized major guilds
3. All products issued with government-approved certification numbers; registered name-based purchase system implemented
4. Secondary transactions between individuals prohibited; immediate seizure if linked to criminal activity
“Furthermore, regarding smuggling and security concerns—our greatest worries—we plan to cooperate closely with the Management Bureau and contribute funds toward oversight.”
Yun Tae-jeong’s presentation was polished.
He had offered a clever compromise that soothed the nation’s concerns while securing Taejeong’s interests firmly.
Here, Management Bureau Director Kim Hyung-seok smoothly added his voice.
“Above all, wouldn’t it be a hundred times more advantageous to our nation to keep this technology in our hands and monopolize it, rather than let it slip to foreign countries? Once they leave for another nation, we’ll have no grounds to stop them.”
The ministers’ expressions shifted subtly at this veiled threat.
After all, they were still bureaucrats of the Republic of Korea.
No fool would kick away a goose laying golden eggs with his own feet.
“……Hmm, if the conditions are that reasonable…”
“If the Management Bureau oversees and guarantees it, then I see no problem.”
The atmosphere in the conference room gradually warmed, and at last, approval was granted.
* * *
That day, in the conference room of Taejeong Mulsan Headquarters.
“Yesssss!”
“Woooooo!”
Yun Tae-jeong tossed the business license onto the table, and the executives and newly formed team members erupted in cheers.
“Don’t get too excited. The real work starts now.”
Yun Tae-jeong loosened his tie slightly as he spoke.
“First, get the launch news and demonstration footage out to the press.”
“Yes, sir!”
“And tell everyone to leave early today and either have a celebration dinner or get some proper rest. Tomorrow’s going to get hectic again.”
“Yes, siiiir!”
Within moments, the articles went live.
[Exclusive] Taejeong Space Develops Skyland, World’s First Space Expansion Equipment!
[Issue] A Logistics Revolution! Tenfold Cargo Capacity in a Single Backpack? The Scientific Community in Uproar!
[Politics] Government Grants Conditional Approval to Taejeong Space: “A Fusion of National Security and Innovation”
[Economics] Taejeong Holdings’ announcement sends company valuation soaring by tens of trillions of won!
…….
└ Wow, doesn’t that mean all the porters become unemployed?
└ No, it means one porter gets to drive a truck instead.
└ But how much does it cost?
└ According to the article, ordinary citizens can’t buy it yet. Only major domestic guilds and government agencies can bid. ㅠㅠ
└ Hope it gets commercialized soon;;>
The domestic reaction was fierce.
As expected, pre-order inquiries poured in relentlessly, and the company servers even went down temporarily.
“Chairman! The Cheonrang Guild wants to pre-order ten Grade A units right now!”
“The Ministry of Defense just contacted us requesting at least five Grade S units!”
But Yun Tae-jeong simply shook his head while sipping his coffee.
“Put all orders on hold for now. Just display the price list.”
“Pardon? Aren’t you rowing while the tide is coming in?”
As the executive asked in surprise, Yun Tae-jeong counted off on his fingers and recited the prices.
“Geonkun C is 100 million, B is 500 million, A is 5 billion, and S is 25 billion. These are the starting prices.”
“Gasp…….”
Considering that low-grade Magic Stones went for around 10 million won and mid-grade ones around 1 billion, this was an enormous markup over cost.
Of course, factoring in Min Seo-jun’s genius and the product’s inherent rarity, it was truly priceless.
“Since Grade S is banned from civilian sales anyway, I can slowly hand those over to the Ministry of Defense or the Management Bureau. The real bottleneck is quantity.”
The biggest barrier to this business was that mass production was impossible.
These weren’t mass-manufactured goods rolling off a factory line—they were masterpieces that could only be completed when Min Seo-jun, a single genius, painstakingly drew Array Formations into each one by hand, cottage-craft style.
“Min Seo-jun said he’d work on them whenever he has free time, making one of each grade per day. Stock up about a month’s worth for now.”
“Then how do we sell them…….”
“When supply is scarce, auction is king. Once the market is hungry enough, we’ll release a limited quantity through VIP bidding. We need to set the tone ourselves.”
This was the moment Yun Tae-jeong’s business acumen flashed brilliantly.
While Min Seo-jun continued crafting backpacks in his spare time, steadily building inventory.
Buzz!
Yun Tae-jeong’s direct line rang.
“Yes, this is Yun Tae-jeong.”
– Good afternoon, Chairman. We’re from the Asia division of Goldman Sachs, a global investment bank.
“……Ah, yes.”
– Your announcement of Taejeong Space’s technology has impressed our headquarters greatly. If it’s not too presumptuous, we’d like to participate as the lead underwriter for Taejeong Space’s Initial Public Offering.
‘So it begins.’
Yun Tae-jeong let out a wry laugh.
A single demonstration video had been released and the company hadn’t even logged its first revenue yet, but they were already catching the scent and dangling the IPO bait.
“We appreciate the offer, but we have no plans for a public listing at this time.”
– Chairman? To expand Space Expansion technology on a global scale, you’ll need enormous capital. We can promise funding in the tens of trillions of won.
They tried to lure him with money, but Yun Tae-jeong remained firm.
‘Go public? That’s insane. Not now.’
The moment he went public, outside shareholders would start meddling.
Especially when the company hadn’t even been properly valued yet.
‘It’s still uncertain whether the government will even grant export permission.’
For now, they’d be swamped just fulfilling domestic pre-orders.
“We’ll pass for now. Our plan is to focus solely on stabilizing the technology without outside capital interference.”
– Ah, Chairman! Wait a moment……!
Click.
Yun Tae-jeong hung up and gave his secretary instructions.
“From now on, politely decline all calls from investment banks and funds. But—”
His eyes gleamed with cunning.
“Collect all their business cards, and keep updating the estimated company valuations they propose.”
When the time came to truly expand globally, he’d choose whoever valued Taejeong the highest.
* * *
Management Bureau Director’s Office.
“Phew.”
Kim Hyung-seok rubbed his stiff neck.
“I can finally breathe easy.”
The political maneuvering with the ministers had been grueling, but at least South Korea would maintain its overwhelming technological advantage—as Director, he’d done his duty.
‘Black should stay quiet for a while now.’
He was just settling in to savor his coffee in peace when the door burst open.
Bang!
“Director!”
“What now? What is it?”
Kim Hyung-seok sprang to his feet in alarm.
“It’s not that—just now, a stack of guild registration applications came in from the Hunter Registration Office.”
“Guild registrations? Just process them normally.”
“The thing is, the list looks… off. You should see this.”
Tiger Research Institute: Ma Chul-ung
Myelma Brigade: Gwak Do-jin
Twin Dragon: Yun Hyun-jong
Irang: Cha Yu-sik
Team Blossom: Han Tae-ho
Changgui Brigade: Gye Mu-jin
Kim Hyung-seok let out a hollow laugh as he read the list.
“What is all this? Ma Chul-ung and Gye Mu-jin—aren’t they both under Special Forces Team management?”
Something smelled wrong.
He knew these two had been hanging around Black lately.
And weren’t all the other guild masters Academy students too?
“All six of these guilds have entered into exclusive service contracts with one specific company. It’s called White Management.”
“Don’t tell me—you’re not saying Black owns 100 percent of that management company, are you?”
“How did you know?”
“What?”
A deep furrow carved itself across Kim Hyung-seok’s brow.
“Again?”
What scheme was he pulling now?
Thump.
Kim Hyung-seok slumped back in his chair, the light draining from his face.
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This chapter was translated by Lunox Novels. To support us and help keep this series going, visit our website: LunoxScans.com
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