Surviving Restructuring

The office, lavishly decorated with glittering jewels and expensive furniture, was steeped in quiet luxury. HR Manager Il-Ji carefully polished a freshly taken-out monocle as a memory surfaced.

“The new employee, Lee Eun-Ho, passed out?

Sarah’s voice, shaking with fear, rang clearly in his mind. “Yes! A-and he’s having trouble breathing now! What should I do? If something goes wrong with this event, I won’t have a chance!”

“Well, I don’t know what happened, Sarah, but leave it to me for now. I’ll look for a solution.”

“T-thank you, Manager!”

From the looks of it, things were proceeding smoothly, just as planned. He had soothed her well enough that she would stay quiet for the time being. All he had to do was stall and pretend to search for a solution. Meanwhile, the needle-like spikes would harden inside Lee Eun-Ho, piercing through his stomach lining and tearing him apart from within.

“Tsk.”

He thought it was natural for a nail that sticks out to get hammered down. In the end, the boy had hastened his own execution.

Still, I expected Sarah to press harder.

That part was mildly surprising, but then again, wasn’t this exactly how junior employees were supposed to be? They were expected to follow orders without complaint anyway. Eun-Ho was the odd one, always talking back.

In that case, this should wrap things up, thought Il-Ji.

All the necessary paperwork had been filed, and the loose ends tied. Now, all that remained was to wait for the outcome.

Creeeak.

Just as the manager wore a satisfied smile, the office door slowly opened.

“Oh, perfect timing. Connect me to the Division Chief,” he said.

He had to share this good news right away. If he told the Division Chief everything had been resolved, his anger would surely subside.

Maybe he’ll even overlook my previous mistake.

Holding onto that faint hope, he called out, “Secretary?”

However, no answer came back. He called again but only silence responded. “Hm? What was it then? Didn’t someone come in?”

Did the door open because of the wind?

He stood up, intending to tell the secretary to make sure the corridor windows were closed. Suddenly, the manager was shoved back into the chair he’d just left.

Thud!

“W-what the hell?!”

There was no one there and yet there had been. Someone had just grabbed his shoulder and forced him down. A chill shot down his spine. For a split second, he wondered if an invisible specter had appeared.

“Ptooey.”

Then, with the sound of something being spat out, a figure revealed itself.

“Y-you are!”

The black-haired rookie, Eun-Ho, stood there. He remarked casually, “This room has quite a few rare pieces.”

“You—no, h-how did you get in here?!”

“You seem to be living rather comfortably.”

Il-Ji was completely flustered. “Huh?!”

The boy who should have collapsed long ago was standing perfectly fine in his office.

“I was told you’d passed out!”

Eun-Ho curled his lips into a smile. “Are you disappointed?”

“What?”

His eyes gleamed sharply, radiating menace. “You shouldn’t have tampered with the food at least.”

Did he notice?

The manager grasped the situation immediately. He himself had clawed his way into the company through a brutal process, rising to this position alone and unaided. Having survived that long, he was a thoroughly seasoned employee who was quick to read a situation.

“I have no idea what you’re talking about,” the HR manager said. He played dumb, calmly fiddling with the staff hidden beneath his desk.

“Of course you don’t,” Eun-Ho replied evenly.

“If you’re done here, I’d like you to leave. If you have business, make a proper appointment through my secretary next time.”

“Speaking of which,” Eun-Ho said, taking a step closer, “about your secretary.”

The manager’s eyes flickered.

“Her fingers were badly swollen. Both hands,” Eun-Ho continued in what sounded like a nonsensical remark, “just like someone who’s handled poison.”

Only someone who knew poison existed would react to that word.

“And the poison detector reacted to a vial your secretary had hidden,” Eun-Ho added calmly, “care to explain that?”

Cold sweat ran down the manager’s spine. “T-that’s!”

He knows. He’s asking because he already knows, the manager thought.

However, there was no need to panic. At the end of the day, the boy was just a rookie and there was no definitive proof. He could simply cut off the tail.

The manager tried to justify himself. “I had nothing to do with whatever the secretary did—”

Eun-Ho cut him off. “You were going to say it was the secretary acting alone and that you knew nothing, weren’t you?”

The manager flinched.

“Then what about this?”

Pop!

The manager froze the instant he saw the screen unfold behind Eun-Ho.

“A half-hearted attempt won’t do. One or two people collapsing isn’t enough.”

“All right sir.”

“Use Ermeden’s Spittle.”

It was a conversation that the boy should never have known.

“And you can be generous with that impudent bastard.”

It was a conversation that should not have existed anymore. Yet there it was, perfectly recorded.

“What do you think?” Eun-Ho asked.

“H-how did you get that?” The manager understood instantly how dangerous the card Eun-Ho was holding. Still, that was not what was important. Light drained from his eyes. He muttered quietly, “You haven’t made it public yet, did you?”

“Not yet,” Eun-Ho replied.

Then there was still a chance—a chance to kill the boy and erase the evidence.

Thunk!

The manager yanked out the staff hidden beneath his desk, leveling it at Eun-Ho’s throat. His movement was smooth, flowing like a river. The motion should have ended with Eun-Ho’s head rolling across the floor.

“Fi—”

“Acceleration.”

Whooosh—

The wind moved. It wasn’t so fast that the eye couldn’t follow it, but it was fast enough.

“... re...”

Between those two sounds lay a gap that he couldn’t erase.

Swish—!

The blade launched from the tip of the staff tore through the air but struck nothing.

Thunk.

Having lost its target, the blade embedded itself uselessly in the floor.

Swoosh—

Then, the manager’s arm, now ownerless, followed. “M-my arm! W-when did it—”

Splurt!

Blood erupted belatedly but he had no time to examine the wound. A black blade, with dark-blue light rippling along its edge, hovered at his throat.

Swoosh—!

“What do you want?” the manager asked.

Eun-Ho wanted many things. If he were to spell it out, they’d be here all night. Given they were both busy people, it was better to start with what mattered most.

“I need an office,” he said.

Whenever a new department was created, there was one mandatory step: assigning an office where the team members could actually work. In the old world, it had been rare for a single team to get its own dedicated office. Yet in this place, whether large or small, nearly every department he had seen so far had its own space.

“Well, you may not know this, Mr. Eun-Ho, but the company is short on space,” the manager said. “We can’t provide a separate office for a newly created department.”

Unfortunately, that part was true.

There were plenty of posts on the internal board complaining about the lack of proper office space, Eun-Ho thought.

He didn’t know how old this company was, but as the number of employees grew, it seemed to have reached saturation.

People keep coming in, but no one ever leaves, Eun-Ho thought.

That was why the Sales Department mentor had once been locked away in that punishment-like solitary room, and why he’d been so grateful to Eun-Ho for helping him escape it.

“That said, there is one place I can offer you,” the manager said.

“Show me. I’ll choose,” Eun-Ho replied.

“Normally, offices are assigned, not chosen—”

“Do you still not understand your situation?”

“Very well.”

Fwoosh—

[Audit Bureau Stairwell Janitor’s Closet]

- Size: 2 x 1

- Facilities/Furniture: Table (1), Bed (1), Cleaning tools (39)

- Features: There are no external threats. However, the old wooden stairs above often creak. Can be used to train one’s senses by distinguishing the footsteps of passersby.

A janitor’s closet under the stairs? Are you serious? I’m not going to draw some lightning-shaped scar on my forehead, Eun-Ho thought.

“How are people supposed to work in a place like this?” Eun-Ho asked flatly. “There are going to be multiple team members.”

“This wasn’t my choice. These were the remaining options—”

“Enough. I’ll pick myself.”

”That’s a violation of HR guidelines...” muttered the HR manager while opening a massive system window.

Fwoosh—!

Then, a long, human-sized system screen appeared. Displayed within were photos and descriptions of the available office options.

“Janitor’s closet, supply storage... Tool shed?”

“That’s all that’s left. The company is at full capacity.”

“There isn’t even a multipurpose room?”

“Those are essential facilities. They can’t be reassigned.”

[Sales Department Annex Restroom]

- Size: 25 x 20

- Facilities/Furniture: Toilets (50), Sinks (5), Toilet paper (99), Lounge sofas (6)

- Features: A luxury public restroom with a waiting lounge. Classical music plays to relax the mind and promote stamina recovery. Rarely used, but intoxicated customers may occasionally cause trouble.

Most of the available spaces belonged to specific departments, but some did not. There were lands that had yet to be claimed by the company.

[Loss Island]

An island?

Claiming an entire island as an office sounded interesting at first. However, even a moment’s thought brought up far too many logistical restrictions.

Pass.

“Oh.”

The next option that caught his eye had an overwhelmingly large size of 3,000 x 5,000.

[Lamentation Desert]

The office was built in the middle of a desert, which was not a bad choice. It would be difficult for ordinary people, but during an Investigation Bureau trial, the Corrupted Monarch had transformed into the Desert Monarch and bestowed a blessing.

[The Desert Monarch bestows his blessing upon the wanderer of the sands.]

[You will not lose your way in the desert.]

[Your movement speed will not decrease in desert terrain.]

[Your chances of discovering an oasis have increased.]

[Your resistance to heat has slightly improved.]

If he could share that blessing with his team using his skill Puppet Master, it was feasible. However, once the shared effect expires, it would become a headache. Besides, sharing every advantage he possessed was a separate issue entirely.

[Wailing Forest]

Therefore, the only option left was the Wailing Forest. The name alone suggested monsters crawling everywhere, but he still chose it. “We’ll take this one.”

With a reasonable size and level of difficulty, it was the best possible option for the team.

“You’re choosing that?” the manager asked, disbelief plain as he adjusted his monocle.

“I want this approved immediately under your authority. And the next condition is to accept Sarah into the Personnel Department.”

The manager adjusted his monocle again at the unexpected demand. “What?”

“I heard she applied for a transfer to the Personnel Department, so place her there as requested.”

Eun-Ho hadn’t done so to help her out of pure goodwill. He didn’t know her well enough for that, nor did he like her that much. However, he knew one thing for sure: If he was going to move the pieces on the board, it was better to make sure they ended up in the right places.

In fact, being affiliated with the Personnel Department would make her far more useful to him. She could do as she pleased, and he would secure the Personnel Department connections he most required. Basically, it was killing two birds with one stone.

“It’s not even personnel season!”

“If you don’t want to, that’s fine.”

“Ugh! I’ll do it! I said I’ll do it!”

Season or not, someone at the level of an HR manager could make it happen. If it were truly impossible, the manager wouldn’t have caved this quickly.

Reluctantly, the manager did as he was told. Stamping his seal onto Sarah’s document, he sent it through the system, as if feeding it into a system-generated fax machine. Only after confirming the document had vanished did he say, “It’s done. It’s approved.”

“Well done.”

“That’s it, right? We’re finished now?” the manager lifted his head and asked, having forcibly granted two outrageous requests. “I’ll have to hurry up and get treatment—”

“You know what?”

I might as well satisfy a bit of personal greed too, Eun-Ho thought.

[Throwing Sword Stick]

- A disguised blade crafted by embedding a thin sword within a cane.

- A masterpiece born from the collaboration of a prideful blacksmith and artisan, praised for both function and elegance.

- When fired while aiming at a target, the concealed blade is launched.

- Owner: Il-Ji

“A sword disguised as a cane. What a clever idea.”

The manager’s remaining shoulder jerked as he flinched. “Y-you don’t mean... Eun-Ho, that’s excessive. It’s already soul-bound!”

Seeing from that desperate refusal, Eun-Ho could tell that the manager clearly didn’t want to give up his weapon. “Release the binding.”

I already know that if one wanted, even an established binding could be undone.

“B-but the power will drop if I do!”

“Thank you. And also...”

Leaving the anxious manager behind, Eun-Ho slowly swept his gaze around the room.

“There’s more?!”

Beside the display case lined with dozens of monocles, one stand caught his eyes. A lavish woman’s bust-shaped stand, with only the neck left bare.

Found it.

The moment he saw it, the final puzzle piece clicked into place.

Eun-Ho stood without hesitation, leaving behind nothing but a full stomach and a clean sense of satisfaction. “No. That’s all. Let’s go.”

***

“Haaa...”

After the damned rookie disappeared, Il-Ji immediately summoned a healer to restore his severed arm. Apparently, it had been cut so cleanly that they were able to reattach it before the tissue necrotized.

He was even told that he should be grateful it had been done by such a skilled swordsman, or some nonsense like that. Anyway, with his arm fixed, he was just starting to wonder how on earth he was supposed to report this lunatic and this lunatic incident.

Thud!

Suddenly, a group of men in black suits kicked the door open and stormed in. They had short-cropped hair, each of them holding a vivid blue box. “We’re from the Audit Bureau.”

“W-what?!”

Damn it! Haven’t we agreed to let this slide without filing a report if I did what I was told?! That damn brat! the manager thought.

He’d given up land, approved a personnel transfer, and even handed over the cane, for god’s sake! After gobbling up everything and wiping his mouth clean, the bastard still stabbed him in the back?!

“About the Ermeden—” a man said.

Grinding his teeth in fury, the manager shouted, “The Ermeden poison incident was settled! The event ended safely, and we agreed mutually that it never happened!”

“Huh? What are you talking about? Ermeden poison?” The Audit Bureau agent corrected him, frowning. “We’re referring to the Ermeden necklace that Cheong Jeong of the Investigation Bureau siphoned off. You were identified as the intended buyer, Manager.”

What?

“We are placing you under arrest for violation of the Prohibition of Stolen Goods Trade Act.”

The grinding of Il-Ji’s molars slipped awkwardly out of rhythm. “T-this is all so sudden, I just don’t understand!”

The Ermeden necklace was something Cheong Jeong, that little devil from the Investigation Bureau, was supposed to retrieve!

It was the final treasure required to complete the Ermeden, meant to be delivered to the division chief, only for it to disappear midway. Hence why the division chief had been so irritable lately. Ever since an anonymous whistleblower tipped off the Audit Bureau about it, he’d braced himself for the day someone would step on his tail.

But why now? And why right now of all times?! I really do have the worst luck!

The gaze of the Audit Bureau agent had turned razor-sharp. “And now we’ll also be adding charges of illegal administration of hazardous substances and deliberate obstruction of an official event.”

“Heeik!” Il-Ji hadn’t just dug his own grave, but also built the coffin and laid himself inside it. This was an emergency. If he wanted to minimize the damage somehow, he required his last resort to help him out. “L-let me make one phone call!”

“If you mean the HR Division Chief, you can meet him in the Audit Office. He’s already been detained.”

The last rope he reached for had long since rotted away, leaving Il-Ji stranded. Moreover, if he was taken in like this, he’d be looking at the maximum sentence.

Then I’ll have to at least get the additional poisoning charge off my back.

“T-then call Lee Eun-Ho!”

“Lee Eun-Ho, you say?”

“Yes! The new employee Lee Eun-Ho!”

After all the kid had wrung out of him, surely he would have the conscience to give testimony in Il-Ji’s favor? Thinking that, he tried to make contact.

[Connection Failed!]

[He is currently in Focused Work Hours.]

Focused Work Hours was a function that was unlocked only for teams with cumulative benefits exceeding five hundred Points. For two full hours, work efficiency was to be doubled, but all external communication was completely blocked.

He’s already using it?! Right after founding the department?!

[Please try again in two hours.]

“Just what the hell are you doing on your first day?!”