The Ruined World Was Mistaken for a Game-Chapter 7. FS Games (1)

Translator: Dreamscribe
After finishing the video shoot, Jinwoo returned to the Magic Tower.
The video was extremely long and extensive. He had to newly add or refine the magical elements. Moreover, since he was going to take it to Earth, he had to compress it drastically.
Tiris approached Jinwoo.
Her face was full of questions as she had watched everything he was doing.
“Master.”
Tiris had been saved by Jinwoo when she was a child.
That day was still vivid, as if it had happened just yesterday.
When the forest was burning and her entire body was engulfed by erosion, plunging her into despair and pain, Jinwoo sacrificed his own soul to save her. As a result, Jinwoo suffered from terrible agony for a whole year, but he never once showed it.
That was the kind of existence her master was.
When everyone else fell into despair and gave up, he experienced thousands of deaths to erect the Magic Barrier.
Tiris let out a small breath, then spoke while looking at him with a blank expression.
“What is this about this time?”
“It might be something that saves Arsilan.”
“You mean the Knight Commander Heina wearing a shameless suit of armor, and a Succubus dressed as a nun?”
“Yes! That’s fantasy! That’s romance!”
Arsilan is the weird one!
“...Excuse me?”
Tiris tried to understand her master.
A wrinkle formed between her brows, but her doubts were not resolved.
Regardless, Jinwoo only smiled as he looked at the Magic Stone containing the video.
“Tiris, call all the disciples.”
“All of them?”
“Yes.”
“Understood.”
Tiris bowed her head and immediately summoned all the mages of the Magic Tower. The moment she called them, all the mages scattered across Arsilan arrived at the Magic Tower.
Jinwoo moved to the middle floor of the tower.
There, a wide space was available, and a map displaying the remaining land of Arsilan and the Magic Barrier was floating in the air.
All the mages lined up behind Jinwoo.
Jinwoo turned his head and looked at them.
All 130 mages knelt in respect. Each one of them was a formidable mage.
Their faces were filled with tension. The only time Jinwoo had gathered all of them like this was when he was setting up the Magic Barrier.
“I awakened recently. I have opened the Soul Gate, allowing me to contact another world.”
“Congratulations!”
“Finally!”
The mages rejoiced as if it were their own achievement.
“I’m going to summon Brave Warriors who are immune to erosion.”
Hero Summoning?
At Jinwoo’s words, everyone's eyes widened.
Jinwoo explained the conversation he had with Tia in detail.
It didn’t matter if they didn’t understand. Everyone here would follow Jinwoo unconditionally.
“Your job is to make sure the Brave Warriors fall into Arsilan.”
Jinwoo grinned as he looked at the mages.
He had 130 disciples... no, slaves who would keep working tirelessly without breaking. Even if they died from overwork, as long as it wasn’t in the land of erosion, he could resurrect them with a new body.
Jinwoo started planning the game development.
He intended to set it up as a virtual reality world controlled by an ultra-intelligent AI, like something from a web novel. This was to make it believable that the game developer couldn’t control everything.
‘There’s a lot to do in many ways.’
He had to incorporate game elements like UI, Character Customization, Status Window, Growth System, Post-Death Resurrection, and so on. It would be a massive undertaking, but it could be solved by grinding down the mages.
‘The game company’s development capability is also crucial.’
Once the game company developed the game, he would transfer that information to the Magic Tower, where the mages would implement it with the tower’s support. The mages didn’t understand what a game was, so they couldn’t properly assist Jinwoo on their own.
For composing direction scripts, NPC settings, mission writing, and detailed scenarios, Jinwoo’s power alone was not enough. That was why he had requested a game company from Lee Woon-sung.
“From now on, forget all your positions and duties.”
Game development was the top priority.
“What is our task?”
“First, take this.”
One of the mages politely asked, and Jinwoo nodded before handing over the Magic Stone containing the video.
“Add a bit of a grand and sacred feeling. Enrich it with various sounds, adjust the screen composition to make it visually appealing, and enhance the immersion and engagement. Ah! Add more Skeletons and make the background more detailed.”
“Huh?”
“And while keeping everything in the video exactly as it is, compress it enough to fit into a small Magic Stone.”
“Ah….”
“It’s possible, right?”
The mages couldn’t bring themselves to say it was impossible.
That’s just what mages are.
If you push and pressure them, something will come out. That’s why they are mages.
The mages of the Magic Tower were dressed in blue robes. Seeing that, something popped into Jinwoo’s mind.
“Doraemon.”
Help me! Doraemon!
And just like that, the disciples of the Magic Tower became Doraemons.
*
By grinding down the Doraemons, the work was completed quickly.
Checking the results, they were quite decent. Returning to the mansion, Jinwoo examined the Soul Gate.
“I can transfer at least one Magic Stone.”
He could use the subspace to move objects, but the gate was still narrow, limiting him to Magic Stones of a reasonable size. The more souls passed through, the more the Soul Gate would grow.
“Well then….”
Jinwoo let out a light breath and reached out his hand.
Above his palm, a blue gemstone engraved with a magic circle floated up.
It was a small Magic Stone containing the video, but it held not only the footage but also magic power.
Even with just this, he could cast fairly usable spells. If he focused purely on firepower, he could cleanly obliterate an entire building.
‘That one should be good.’
Looking around, Jinwoo spotted an old console gaming device. When he raised his hand, the console floated into the air and was completely disassembled.
The Golden Age.
During Arsilan’s prime, the technology of magitech had also reached its peak. Due to the destruction brought by erosion, most of that technology was lost, but Jinwoo and his disciples were the only ones keeping it alive.
The disassembled parts floating in the air fused with the Magic Stone, turning a shade of blue. Through precision processing using alchemy, multiple magic circles were engraved onto them.
‘It should at least look convincing.’
As the magic circles activated, the components transformed into a black box, slightly smaller than a palm. The surface of the black box was embossed with the logo of Ohsung Group.
It was a video output device powered by a small Magic Stone. Since it operated on a completely different principle from anything on Earth, Earth’s technology could never analyze it.
Thanks to Illusion Magic, it would adjust its output to match the surrounding environment, making it feel as if one were experiencing the scene firsthand.
“This is way too advanced….”
But to establish the feasibility of a virtual reality game, he had to show at least this much.
Lee Jin-woo was a universally recognized genius.
His laboratory was filled with all sorts of cutting-edge machines, so that alone should provide enough credibility, right?
Of course, it would still require some creative storytelling.
‘An alien is locked up in the basement of Ohsung Group’s headquarters!’
‘They torture the alien to create their products!’
Back when Ohsung Group was at its peak, such rumors were rampant.
‘Turns out, the alien was a liberal arts major.’
These days, jokes like that were more common.
Ohsung Group was still doing well, but they were falling behind when it came to advanced technologies like overseas AI developments.
Anyway, with the chairman of Ohsung Group personally handling things, all the necessary procedures were completed quickly, and Jinwoo became the CEO of FS Games. He was also set to inherit all the company’s shares through a future process.
News about Jinwoo spread rapidly.
Even though he hadn’t started his first day at work yet, countless articles had already been published. His name shot to the top of various community forums.
The youngest of Korea’s top chaebol family.
The genius who once shook the world.
It was impossible for him not to become a hot topic.
[The downfall of a genius? Choosing money over devotion to the future.]
[Korea’s STEM field has lost hope.]
[FS Games, now just a chaebol’s playground, has hit rock bottom.]
[Insider says: “FS Games is practically disbanded.”]
[Why the Korean gaming industry is failing.]
There were a few favorable articles, but most were not.
Jinwoo read one of them.
[...The appointment of Lee Jin-woo as the new CEO has sparked controversy in both the gaming industry and academia. Professor Kim Hak of S University stated, “Lee Jin-woo has achieved outstanding results in fields such as neuroengineering and AI semiconductors, but whether he can demonstrate his capabilities in the gaming industry is questionable. Specialty and hobby are different matters.”
Additionally, some experts have pointed out, “A reckless personnel policy that relies on a chaebol’s financial power may actually hinder the diversity and growth of the industry.”
.
...
....
Industry experts emphasize that for sustainable growth, it is essential to recruit talents who possess not only financial resources but also expertise and creativity. Ultimately, all eyes are on FS Games to see how its future moves will impact the Korean gaming industry.]
FS Games had suffered repeated failures, but it was still a fairly large company. It was well-known partly because it was backed by Ohsung Group.
The reaction from online communities was also not favorable. Jinwoo’s age wasn’t just young, it was considered childish in the professional world. It was understandable that people found it odd for someone in their early twenties to suddenly become the CEO of FS Games.
Jinwoo simply chuckled.
Public reaction didn’t matter to him. Even if the entire world cursed him, he would do his best to prevent Arsilan’s destruction.
When Jinwoo stepped out of his room to head to his first day at work, he found his entire family waiting for him, including Chairman Lee Woon-sung. Jinwoo tilted his head in confusion.
“Uh… what’s going on?”
“Ahem!”
At Lee Woon-sung’s deliberate cough, the secretaries standing nearby hurriedly unfolded something.
[The pride of Korea and the hope of Ohsung Group! Congratulations on Lee Jin-woo-nim’s first day at work!]
The secretaries took out party poppers and set them off.
“Oh…”
“As expected of Grandpa.”
His older brother and sister nodded in satisfaction.
Clap, clap, clap!
Lee Woon-sung started clapping first, and soon, his siblings and everyone around them joined in. Even for Jinwoo, who had faced countless experiences while fighting against destruction, this was an embarrassing sight.
As the applause died down, everyone’s attention turned to Jinwoo.
“.......”
A brief silence fell.
“Uh, um….”
Looking at their sparkling eyes, he had no idea what to say.
“…Thank you.”
That was all he could manage.
Lee Woon-sung smiled warmly.
“My grandson’s first day at work of course, I have to see you off. I’ll personally drive you to the company. Hohoho!”
Jinwoo didn’t think that was necessary, but seeing his grandfather’s enthusiasm, he decided to stay quiet. The moment Lee Woon-sung finished speaking, the secretaries busily sprang into action.
Jinwoo got into a luxury sedan with Lee Woon-sung.
It wasn’t a foreign car but a limited-production vehicle from Hyunsung Motors. Ten years ago, Ohsung had merged with Hyunjin, leading to the combined brand now known as Hyunsung Motors.
‘I remember struggling to decide whether to buy a small compact car….’
Back when he was a poor developer, owning a car was out of the question. Even after becoming a director, he had agonized over the decision for months. Looking back now, even those worries seemed like happiness, at least back then, there was no looming destruction.
“Jinwoo, don’t mind what others think.”
Lee Woon-sung looked at him with gentle eyes.
“The best thing about having wealth is having many opportunities. You are still young and have countless chances ahead. Even if you fail, consider it a small success. It will all become part of your assets.”
“Failure… I don’t plan on that.”
Jinwoo smiled slightly and shook his head.
For a hundred years, he had faced countless failures. Perhaps, as Lee Woon-sung said, those failures were actually small successes. After all, they had all accumulated to create the opportunity now before him.
Jinwoo met his grandfather’s gaze.
“You might be in for a surprise.”
“This old man has never been surprised by business. If you manage to surprise me, I’ll do anything for you. Hohoho!”
“You’re promising that?”
Jinwoo shrugged at his grandfather’s hearty laughter.
“Let’s go fishing together sometime.”
“Fishing?”
“The LS Group chairman keeps bragging about hiking with his grandson….”
As they chatted about various things, they arrived at the FS Games headquarters.
FS Games was large enough to own a decent office building. Chairman Lee Woon-sung had called it a small-scale company, but that was only by his standards.
FS Games belonged to Jinwoo.
No one could stop him from becoming its CEO.
In front of the building, a truck with an electronic display was parked.
[Korea’s gaming industry cancer!]
[Rest in peace, FS Games.]
[FS Games, stay away from Garden Tale! Withdraw immediately!]
[FS Games, stop the lawsuit against ShineSoft!]
It was a protest truck.
“Hah, what a mess. I’ll make a call and have it removed.”
“It’s fine.”
Back when he was a developer, protest trucks like this appeared quite frequently. Compared to those times, this was a rather mild demonstration.
“This just shows they have an interest in FS Games.”
“Hoho! Well, it’s your company now, so do as you please.”
Lee Woon-sung looked at Jinwoo with adoration in his eyes.
Jinwoo stepped out of the car and stood in front of the office building.
Chairman Lee Woon-sung didn’t get out, instead rolling down the window to look at Jinwoo.
“Secretary Kim will be assisting you for the time being. Ah, here he comes now.”
A burly man approached.
His rough, masculine appearance was striking, and his sharp, intense gaze was particularly memorable.
“Greetings! My name is Kim Han-soo! I look forward to working with you.”
He immediately bowed his head and shouted loudly. At the same time, men dressed in black suits appeared behind him and lined up in formation. Jinwoo blinked and looked at Lee Woon-sung.
“Grandpa?”
“Ahem, the world is dangerous these days. There have been random stabbing incidents, after all. This is your personal security team, so don’t worry about them.”
“Wait, hold on-”
“Hohoho! Do your best!”
Afraid that Jinwoo might refuse, Lee Woon-sung quickly closed the car window and drove off.
Jinwoo watched the car disappear into the distance before turning to look at Kim Han-soo and his team.
Rather than bodyguards, they felt more like a special operations unit.
‘Not bad.’
The eyes of an Archmage could see through the truth. He could even perceive the taint within one’s soul, there was no human who could deceive him.
Since they were personally assigned by Lee Woon-sung, they were all trustworthy.
If trained well, they might even be useful in Arsilan.
“Well... I’ll be counting on you.”
“Yes! It is an honor, sir. Give us any command, and we will carry it out with our lives.”
That seemed a bit excessive, but their loyalty was exceptional.
They probably had their own reasons, but Jinwoo didn’t ask. As long as the company operated properly, that was all that mattered.
“Let’s head inside. The employees must be waiting.”
“Yes. Everyone, take your positions.”
Slide!
The security team swiftly positioned themselves around Jinwoo.
“The CEO-nim is heading up. Prepare.”
At Kim Han-soo’s command over the radio, the doors were immediately opened from the inside. The lobby was filled with congratulatory flower arrangements. Someone had even cut down an entire tree and placed it upright as decoration.
The security team moved as if they were sweeping for landmines, thoroughly inspecting the area. Their agile and synchronized movements resembled the execution of a special operation.
‘This is a bit much, no matter how you look at it….’
Jinwoo tightly shut his eyes at the overwhelming scene.
“......”
This was all to save Arsilan.
He would endure it.
*****
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