Become Overpowered CEO of Hero Clan

Become Overpowered CEO of Hero Clan – 145

“I need to rest well.”
Returning home, Isaac switched to ‘serious relaxation mode.’
The aftereffects of using Unlimited Mode briefly had not yet subsided.
Immersed in laziness, Isaac emptied his mind by binge-watching games, web novels, webtoons, Netflix, and YouTube content.
Even on the last night of April, when cherry blossoms were falling and the scent of colorful spring flowers filled the air, he was enjoying an online game with Gunggi on his lap.
Recently, Isaac had become addicted to a hack-and-slash game with a rich history and tradition, mindlessly repeating the same type of farming.
Cutting off contact with people and alternating between reading, gaming, and watching video content was Isaac’s optimal stress relief method these days.
Bang― Bang bang bang―
Ba-ba-ba-bam― Ba-ba-ba― Ba-ba-bam!
“…?!”
At exactly midnight, as the date changed to May 1st, holographic fireworks exploded above Isaac’s head.
This was a phenomenon he had experienced once before.
[Quest completed.]
The congratulatory effect indicated the completion of a quest.
This meant that the Harmony Clan had just been administratively classified as a ‘medium-sized enterprise’ under corporate law.
“May already.”
In fact, the time-limited quest to make the Harmony Clan a medium-sized enterprise within a year had a critical flaw.
Even if the asset scale of 500 billion won, a condition for a medium-sized enterprise, was achieved within the year, the financial statements would only be prepared and disclosed at the end of the year.
Moreover, this wasn’t the end.
Next, the relevant institutions, such as the Ministry of SMEs and Startups, had to conduct audits, considering various factors, making it a quest that could only be cleared by mid-next year at the earliest.
Had Isaac not realized this fact belatedly and used his authority as a world-class award recipient to skip the formalities and push through, he might have failed the quest and met a tragic end.
[Receiving quest rewards…]
[You have earned 20,000 points.]
[You have obtained 1 Premium Growth Package.]
[Your lifespan has increased by 1 year.]
“Is that all?”
20,000 points were now practically meaningless to him.
The Premium Growth Package contained items to boost the breakthrough gauge of team members, stress reduction boosters, and potions that increased experience gain.
These items were not particularly useful since he had begun mass-producing Tier 1 elixirs.
“It seems to be calibrated for a typical user.”
Of course, the Premium Growth Package offered very useful benefits based on Season 1 standards. However, for Isaac, who had traversed the Land of Screams and the Ark of Trials with his skills, the rewards were not particularly exciting.
Isaac felt that his progress and the quest’s standards were misaligned.
“Tsk. When will these time-limited quests end?”
However, the lifespan increase was desperately needed.
Since he had cleared the quest early, his remaining lifespan was now about 1 year and 5 months.
No matter how strong he became, the moment his lifespan was exhausted, his life would end.
Isaac’s next goal, having significantly improved his precarious survival mechanism, naturally became the desire to live longer.
‘This can’t just be a simple natural phenomenon.’
Someone had transported him, a person living a modest life, into a mobile game. Isaac broadly defined this mysterious entity as the ‘system.’
The system must have a purpose for bringing him into this world.
Judging by the pattern so far, the system’s intention seemed to be to rapidly grow the Harmony Clan and transform the cowardly office worker Lee Gun-ha into a true hero.
The content of the time-limited quests given by the system so far suggested as much.
Clearly, the system wanted Isaac and his clan to grow. The problem was that he didn’t know how to contact the system’s will, even if he wanted to.
‘Should I exploit some kind of bug or something?’
[Quest triggered!]

▷ Objective: Achieve the title ‘Global Clan’ within your remaining lifespan.
▷ Reward: Encounter with the Heavens, 3 years of lifespan
No sooner had he thought about it than the next main quest appeared.
Global hero, encounter with the heavens, and 3 years of lifespan.
Three major keywords were packed into just a few sentences.
“What the…”
First, achieving the ‘Global Clan’ title was an extremely challenging feat.
The conditions required success in more than 10 international missions of Class 1 or higher and achieving the sub-achievement ‘I LOVE KOREA’ in at least three different countries.
This cringe-worthy sub-achievement required purifying at least one special-grade disaster in each country and earning a public favorability score of 80 or higher.
In other words, he had to be active globally while also managing the clan’s image.
“At least I’ll finally learn something.”
The quest rewards were ‘Encounter with the Heavens’ and ‘3 years of lifespan.’
The lifespan reward was straightforward.
It seemed he had finally acquired the minimum qualifications to meet the omnipotent system’s will.
Unless the ‘heavens’ in the reward referred merely to the celestial realm within the Claw Hero universe.
Even though the celestial beings and angels were Tier 3 entities, they couldn’t be the ones running the system. Angels and celestial beings were just incredibly powerful ethereals.
‘Things are becoming clearer.’
In any case, the quest had provided a direction. With his lifespan being held hostage, he had no choice but to comply.
His remaining lifespan was 1 year and 5 months. Within that time, he had to transform the Harmony Clan into a ‘Global Clan.’
‘Wait, wasn’t my trip to America scheduled for two days from now?’
It seemed his next destination was set.
He had rested enough. It was time to step out from under the covers.
====
***
====
A grand cathedral in Gothic style.
The high ceiling created smooth curves with elegant arches, and the sunlight streaming through the stained glass windows spread warm, rainbow-colored hues throughout the space.
Whoosh―
As the stone door deep within opened, a silent aura drew the frosty air into the room.
The office exuded a secretive atmosphere, like the innermost sanctum of a quiet sanctuary.
Stacks of documents on the desk lay buried in the tranquil silence.
Sunlight filtered through the heavy curtains, softly caressing the quiet room like a gentle touch.
Swoosh.
Tap.
As the sky became overcast and the light dimmed, an elderly man with immaculate white hair closed the high-quality ink bottle on the brass table.
“What do you think, The One? Has he surpassed the awakening stage as Korea claims?”
At the old man’s question, a large middle-aged white man, who had been lounging on the sofa, stood up with a thump.
“Stand Tall, Stand True! If it’s false, it will shatter, and the true will shine. In the end, everything will return to its natural order.”
“…That’s a very American hero-like answer. Vanguard, what’s your take? I’d like to hear the opinion of America’s second-ranked hero.”
The old man’s gaze shifted to the seat opposite the large middle-aged man. There, a young white man with a sharp demeanor exuded a wild aura like an untamed beast.
The young man with fierce eyebrows scoffed and spoke.
“Hmph, it’s obviously nonsense. At best, he’s probably on par with an average awakened being.”
“Your reasoning?”
“It’s logically impossible. You, as the association president, Robert, should know this better than anyone. It’s all just a ridiculous play.”
The old man nodded slightly at the young man’s response.
This aligned with the views of the elderly man with the white pomade hairstyle, Robert Stonewall, the newly appointed president of the American Hero Association.
‘It’s a ridiculous claim.’
Another awakened being had emerged in the allied nation of South Korea. However, it was said that this awakened being had surpassed the awakening stage.
There were two pieces of video evidence.
One showed Isaac purifying an Emperor-class demon and a mechanic that had put the Sword Emperor in a crisis, and the other showed him easily defeating the Sword Emperor in a duel.
‘Is this a diplomatic bluff? What are they trying to achieve?’
Both pieces of evidence were closely related to the Sword Emperor.
This meant there was no cross-verification. The notion that Isaac was an irregular who had surpassed the awakening stage was practically impossible, leading to the conclusion that the Sword Emperor had deliberately acted.
Robert, known as a master strategist, had already finished his calculations.
The Korean Hero Association, led by the Sword Emperor, had orchestrated the birth of a supernova named Isaac. They even went so far as to spread false propaganda that Korea’s supernova had surpassed the awakening stage.
This was the conclusion reached by Robert Stonewall, the president of the American Hero Association.
‘They will face international repercussions later. There must be a reason they’re willing to take that risk.’
Hero Isaac’s power was likely on par with or even greater than the Sword Emperor’s. Lies needed to be mixed with truth to be convincing.
Of course, even this was a significant issue.
The number of awakened beings in the world had increased from four to five, and astonishingly, the new awakened being had emerged from the Korean Peninsula at the edge of East Asia.
This was also beyond common sense.
The United States had invested astronomical resources to nurture ‘The One,’ the strongest awakened being.
The investment costs alone were over 30 times that of Korea’s.
Yet, Korea had produced another awakened being… It seemed like a prank by the goddess of fate.
‘I had prepared a manual, but this is unexpected.’
Of course, the United States didn’t have just one awakened being, The One. They had nurtured a total of three awakened beings, who held the top three ranks in the U.S.: ‘The One,’ ‘Vanguard,’ and ‘Queen.’
Until now, for various reasons, they had only promoted The One as the sole awakened being. However, with two awakened beings emerging from another country, they had to reveal their hidden cards.
“Vanguard, we will soon announce that you and Queen are awakened beings. The United States must not fall behind other countries.”
“Kuhuhuhu! So the day has come when I will receive help from an inferior Asian. Hey, The One, I’ve finally stood on the same level as you. How about a congratulatory message?”
A wicked smile crept onto the lips of the white young man, the hero known as Vanguard, shining as the second-ranked hero in America. Despite being a hero, he was a man who did not hesitate to make racially discriminatory remarks and exhibit white supremacist behavior.
His peculiar personality and actions always stirred controversy, but his abilities were genuine. And the hero culture in America was quite different from that in Korea.
American citizens somewhat admired Vanguard’s character of being self-willed and acting autonomously without regard for others. His image was perceived as masculine and pleasantly independent.
On the other hand, ‘The One’ was a symbol representing the superhero powerhouse, the United States.
“Endure, Embrace, Elevate!”
If Asia and Oceania’s disasters were covered by the awakened nations of China, Japan, and Korea, the United States had been preventing the destruction of the American, European, and African continents.
Furthermore, in cases of large-scale disasters that the three East Asian powers could not purify on their own, the United States always stepped in to lend a helping hand.
And at the center of it all was always the hero ‘The One.’
He was the world’s strongest hero who would always stand firm even amidst profound despair.
However, Vanguard seemed to have no respect for The One, as he angrily retorted.
“Don’t act like an old man! How long do you think you can stay on top? Soon, very soon, I will be the one to take you down.”
“No. That will never happen. As a hero, you should endure and embrace, Vanguard. With that attitude, you will never surpass me!”
“Hey! Cut the crap with the lessons. Am I your child?!”
Woooom―
Szzzzzzzt!
Differing auras of magical energy surged and collided in the middle of the office.
Had Robert not activated a defensive spell in advance, the president’s office would have been blown to smithereens in an instant.
‘Even if they are allies, there must be a line.’
The two men before him were powerful, although Vanguard had a foul temper.
If Korea were to attempt such an unfounded bluff, they would taste the formidable power of the USA.
The power of the man called the world’s strongest and the power of a grown child consumed by jealousy.