The Magician’s Memorial - Chapter 247



Only Krnovel

247. New genre (1)

Ten months have already passed in 2005.

A team leader visited Korea for a while amidst the cool breeze.

“Team Leader Han! You look very nice. I guess the in-flight meal suited your taste.”

“Every time I fly first class, it’s great because I feel like I’ve succeeded.”

“It’s been a long time since I last saw you. You’ve aged a lot.”

Captain Kang also greeted Team Leader Han warmly.

We met at a restaurant run by Captain Kang, so naturally Captain Kang joined us.

It was also a restaurant where Captain Kang’s employees were on guard in all directions, and the food was very delicious, so it was the perfect place for a secret meeting.

“Captain Kang, ah! Should I call you President Kang now? I heard that you run a security company, a taxi company, an agency company, and even a rental company. You can call me chairman, not president.”

“I’m embarrassed. Isn’t it all thanks to the CEO? I ended up like this because I just followed the CEO diligently.”

A team leader looks at me with envy.

If you calculate only one year’s salary, Team Leader Han receives dozens of times more than Captain Kang.

People who earned more than a certain level tended to be sensitive to their rank.

“Don’t be too jealous. You will be able to come to Korea with a bigger position in 2-3 years.”

“I am holding on to life in America while waiting for that time.”

“In order to come to Korea quickly, the U.S. real estate market needs to shake up. How is the situation?”

It was a team leader who corrected his posture.

Captain Kang quickly got up from his seat and went outside.

“The U.S. real estate market has risen more than 10% this year alone. If this continues, it is expected to rise more than 15% within this year.”

“The bubbles are getting more and more inflated.”

“Not only we but many other institutions are raising concerns about the overheating of the real estate market, but the banking sector is still offering real estate loan products, whether they are pretending not to know or if they really don’t know.”

It wasn’t long before a huge explosion exploded.

Before the regression, bombs began to explode sequentially in 2007.

The bomb could have exploded sooner because SAVE Investment Bank and Dimon’s fintech bank had intervened.

“How about signing up for an insurance product? Nowadays, even banks will no longer accept insurance products if they have brains.”

“I thought so too, but so far it’s okay. And in the case of the highest level mortgage loan insurance, the bank is even recommending that I sign up first.”

“You’re confident that AAA grade will never fail.”

“So we signed up for a large number of AAA-rated insurance products from SAVE investment company and fintech.”

AAA rating literally means the highest credit rating.

In the banking world, of course, there was trust in AAA ratings.

Even the institutions that set credit ratings were rotten, so the AAA rating was nothing more than pretty packaging.

“No matter how pretty the packaging is, you can’t turn rotten meat into fresh meat.”

“By next year, the bubble in the U.S. housing market will exceed $2 trillion. If a $2 trillion bomb explodes, a chain reaction may occur that could increase to more than $4 trillion.”

4 trillion dollars.

The amount was over 4 trillion won.

It was a huge amount, two-thirds of the US annual budget of approximately $6 trillion.

It was an amount that could only be prevented by investing most of the budget into the real estate market, so even the U.S. government would have no way to do anything.

“How much revenue can we make if the insurance works properly?”

“If we set it as the maximum, it would be over $200 billion. However, the possibility of receiving all that money is close to 0%, and it looks like we will be able to receive about $50 billion.”

“50 billion dollars, that’s over 50 trillion won.”

“This is the combined amount of SAVE investment company and fintech bank.”

It is a plate worth at least 50 trillion won.

If it could be taken at face value, up to 200 trillion won was possible.

However, I should not have been greedy because it was impossible based on common sense to accept it that way.

“It’s not a bad thing because you can use the insurance money you didn’t receive as a negotiating tool.”

“That’s why I keep signing up for insurance even though I know I can’t get it back.”

The U.S. real estate bubble was going as planned.

And since there was still a year or two left until the bubble burst, I quickly moved on to other topics.

“Do you continue to do so with insurance, and how is the development of electric vehicles going?”

“The development of the first prototype is almost complete. An official announcement will be possible around March next year.”

“It’s going well even though Musk lives in the Marshall Islands.”

“This is partly due to the large number of personnel deployed on our part, and also thanks to Musk providing assistance via phone or video conference in the Marshall Islands.”

Musk was definitely a great person.

They are developing rockets and developing electric vehicles at the same time in the distant Marshall Islands.

“It’s good to see that electric vehicle development is progressing rapidly.”

“It is also thanks to the CEO’s investment in the battery business from an early age. We can be said to be the only company that can make batteries for electric vehicles.”

“The hippopotamus that eats money will finally get his money’s worth.”

“We’ve been doing this for a few years now. We have a monopoly on more than 70% of the batteries used in smartphones. Other companies are quickly investing in the battery business, but they still have a long way to go to follow us. And we have patents on our hands. “Because we own it, even if we succeed in developing it, we have to pay a huge royalty.”

The battery market is only just beginning.

As soon as smartphone penetration increases and electric vehicles become commercialized, the battery market will grow dramatically.

It was also an attempt to secure raw materials in advance in preparation for that time.

“You can only earn greater profits if you continue to bridge the technology gap. So, continue to make bold investments.”

“A virtuous cycle is already underway. Researchers and university graduates who want to develop battery technology are choosing our company as their first choice. We are paying the best salary in the industry, so top talent are flocking to us.”

“Expand more factories. It doesn’t matter since Taewoo Battery dominates Korea, but make plans to build new battery factories in China, Southeast Asia, the United States, and Europe.”

“The risks are too great to proceed simultaneously.”

The money spent to build one factory was at least 500 billion won.

Just building four new factories required an investment of 2 trillion won, but the money did not have to be paid right away, and since a certain amount is paid out every year, it was enough to start now.

“If you look for a site and negotiate with the government or local government, a year will pass quickly. It will probably be after the U.S. real estate bubble bursts that a formal contract will be signed. By then, the money will be overflowing.”

“I finally understand what you mean. We will now start the preliminary work for the new battery factory.”

“Oh! And I’d like to invite someone to Korea, so please ask David.”

A team leader flinched as if surprised.

This was probably because I rarely invited anyone to Korea.

“Among the games of Bliad Games, in which we hold a majority stake, there is a system that allows users to create new genres of games through Use Map.”

“I know, too. I occasionally enjoy playing Stark by betting with my employees.”

“There are developers who create use maps for other games other than Starck, and I would like to invite them to Korea. There is already a large game show being held in Busan this time, so there would be enough justification to invite them.”

Cultural projects also included games.

Rather, games had a greater impact than movies, dramas, or music.

Therefore, it was not a bad thing that Taewoo Group holds the IP of a game that will be number one in the gaming industry for the next 20 years or more.

* * *

Stark’s popularity was still unrivaled in Korea.

Rather, its popularity has increased every year, and more than 100,000 people flocked to the finals held in Gwangalli this time, further solidifying its position as a national game.

Especially Daejeon, a telecommunications company.

Because it was the final match between the Taewoo Telecommunications game team and the KS Communications game team, more spectators came to watch the game.

I was watching the scene from the VIP section with the guests I invited.

“How do you feel? It’s a very different atmosphere from America, isn’t it?”

“I think I understand why Korea is called the home of E-sports. In the United States, games are still treated as a subculture played by nerds, but in Korea, it seems like they are treated as a main culture, which is great.”

The person I was talking to was UseMap developer Elion.

Since he was still a college student who had not graduated from school, he was even more excited about the Stark finals.

And next to him, the developer who created a similar use map was cheering and enjoying the Stark broadcast.

“I’m very interested in the new genre of games you guys have created.”

“I’m truly honored that Kim thinks so. Oh! And I enjoyed the iPhone product presentation with Steve.”

Game developers were naturally interested in IT.

That’s why I knew very well that I had a product presentation with Steve.

“Would you like to officially make the Use Map game we are currently making together with me?”

“To make a full-fledged game, you have to start completely from scratch. If Bliad Games does not support you, it could take years.”

“Regarding that, we have already received a promise from Bliad Game Company that they will provide all support. Would you like to proudly become the creator of a new game as a game developer, rather than as a Use Map?”

I was the largest shareholder of Blyard.

Because David had already visited Bliad’s headquarters and received a promise, they were able to create a new genre of game without copyright issues.

“Did Blyard really promise support?”

“Yes, I can show you the contract if you want.”

“…Then, can I also receive funding for game development? I was concerned because I didn’t make a single penny while making Use Map.”

“You are right. I will support you with $10 million as an initial investment. In return, you must share a portion of the game’s shares between me and Bliyard Games.”

The developers had already turned their attention to the $10 million story.

When would they have seen more than 10 billion won in money while they were still students?

Therefore, they did not pay much attention to the equity issue.

“Of course I have to give a stake. I’m satisfied as long as I can create a new game.”

“I will own 40% of the shares and Blyard will own 20%. The remaining 40% of the shares will be shared equally among all developers.”

“You’re giving us that much stake? We’ll do it no matter what!”

A historic contract was signed on the day of the historic Stark finals.

It was a contract signed with developers who would make a new genre of games called AOS popular.