Tomb Raider King
chapter-31

Translator: miraclerifle

‘What did he just say? Rotten tone?’

Yoon Shi Woo could not even laugh in disbelief. What was this young bastard saying to him right now?

Yoon Shi Woo had no plans to chat nicely with Ju-Heon who had ridiculed Chairman Kwon.

He was planning on taking care of Ju-Heon and stealing the almond tree as he had done until now. His artifact was a curse-type artifact that could easily take care of people.

Furthermore, this was the United States. Why would a foreign nature put any effort into what happened to an Asian foreigner?

However, he had been kicked by that opponent he had been looking down on.

“Hey! Are you crazy? How dare you hit me!”

Ju-Heon just casually smiled without caring whether Yoon Shi Woo was screaming or not.

“Weren’t you the one who came to see me?”

“......You bastard!”

“Then fix your tone and sit straight. Then I will listen to what you have to say.”

“......!”

‘Is he really crazy?!’

Yoon Shi Woo continued to frown at this indignity but Ju-Heon was sneering internally.

‘He probably came here thinking that he would kill me and take the Herb of Eternal Youth.’

The Yoon Shi Woo he knew was that kind of bastard. Furthermore, it was obvious Yoon Shi Woo was mistaking him as a regular person.

It made sense why he would make that mistake and this was the time when only people like Chairman Kwon were monopolizing artifacts.

It was also the time this bastard started to get stuck up. Artifacts tended to make people arrogant as well.

However...

‘He’s still a useless fool who complained about being inferior to me.’

Yoon Shi Woo, age 29 years old.

He was someone who tried to bring Ju-Heon down with everything he had and made things entertaining for Ju-Heon. In that regard, for Ju-Heon who was the Captain of the tomb raiding team, he was a subordinate who hated him.

That was why Ju-Heon started to smile while thinking about the past.

‘How great. Let's teach this bastard a lesson like I used to.’

Ju-Heon was riling this bastard up on purpose.

Why?

Making people feel shamed was a way to weaken their dominance, allowing Ju-Heon to steal his weapon.

‘Those with more pride are bound to feel more shame.’

However, Yoon Shi Woo did not know this as he started to grind his teeth before responding.

“We met at the auction house, right? I came to see you for that reason.”

“I don’t recall.”

“Stop joking! We definitely saw each other!”

Ju-Heon then chuckled.

“Ah, the useless guy hanging onto that old man.”

It was at that moment. A message window popped up in front of Ju-Heon's eyes.

[The other party has lost his cool and his dominance is temporarily weakening.]

Ju-Heon chuckled as he read that.

This truly was Yoon Shi Woo’s weakness.

He was the young master of a large corporation who was stripped of his successor title after causing an incident.

He narrowly escaped his terrible fate by being a special admit into TKBM's excavation team but he continued to feel shame at the fact that he had to suck up to Chairman Kwon.

Ju-Heon squinted knowing that was the case.

“Now that I think about it, I did get a call from Chairman Kwon Tae Joon. I guess he really needs that sexual enhancer. Does he have a new mistress or something?”

Yoon Shi Woo questioned if he heard correctly before getting angry.

‘This rude bastard.’

Of course, he wasn't angry because Ju-Heon was talking shit about someone who was like a father to him, it was the result of the Pavlovian conditioning that he needed to look good for Chairman Kwon.

However, Ju-Heon didn't stop there.

“It looks like you came all this way to deliver that tree to Chairman Kwon. What a good loyal dog.”

[The other party has lost his cool and his dominance is temporarily weakening.]

Yoon Shi Woo glared and put his hand in his pocket.

‘Do I get rid of him right now with this?’

His hand touched his artifact. It was the artifact he brought with him to take care of Ju-Heon.

However, Yoon Shi Woo ground his teeth and shook his head.

‘There are still people watching.’

There was also something he wanted to confirm as well.

“I will get right to the point. What is your relationship with Irene Holten?”

Ju-Heon just laughed loudly instead of responding.

“Hey useless. Didn’t I tell you to fix your tone first?”

“......Ugh!”

Yoon Shi Woo's eyes opened wide.

This damn thug should be feeling thankful that he was even willing to talk to him!

Ju-Heon looked at him and smiled again.

“I will say this again but you are the one who came here to see me, I have no reason to listen. Why don't you think things through properly?”

“Ugh.”

“Well, I might just hand that tree over to you depending on how you act. I just received it as a gift as well.”

Yoon Shi Woo's gaze changed at this unexpected offer.

Using an artifact with limited use to forcibly take it or to get it for free. Even children would know which was the better option.

Yoon Shi Woo thought for a moment before thinking he could swallow his pride a bit for that.

“...My deepest apologies. Mr. Seo Ju-Heon. I will rephrase my question. Uhh, I wish to ask about your relationship with Irene Holten.”

‘It should be fine now, right?’

However, Ju-Heon was not one who would give the answer Yoon Shi Woo was seeking that easily.

“Your tone sounds much better. But you are still lacking common sense. Shouldn't you introduce yourself first? Or hand over a business card or something?”

‘Damn it, this bastard!’

Yoon Shi Woo crunched his teeth as he handed a business card over.

‘This is all for the Chairman-nim!”

“I am this kind of person.”

However, Ju-Heon just laughed without receiving the business card.

“Put it away. I don't need it.”

Yoon Shi Woo almost swore after hearing Ju-Heon laugh.

‘Then why the hell did you ask for it?!’

Ju-Heon then laughed and answered Yoon Shi Woo's question in a way that seemed as if he was praising a subordinate. It might have been an old habit.

“I met Irene Holten for the first time in the auction house. She kept following me around after I told her she was pretty.”

“Then what about that tree?”

“I got annoyed with her following me so I said I'll give her my number if she buys that for me.”

It wasn’t the truth but he wasn’t going to sell them any information about Irene.

However, Yoon Shi Woo who had no way of knowing that was extremely shocked.

‘She paid 500 million dollars for the tree for that reason?’

It could be shocking, but the fact that it was announced in the past that Irene liked Asian men and that Ju-Heon was handsome made it sound believable. Why else would a celebrity like that hang around a thug like this?

That resolved most of his curiosity.

‘I guess I don’t need to pay much attention to it.’

They had the secretary do a good amount of investigation into Ju-Heon already, but he had thought Ju-Heon might have a connection with a celebrity because he was hanging out with Irene.

Yoon Shi Woo sighed in relief as he continued to speak.

“Then are you willing to hand that tree over, sir?”

“Are you crazy?”

“Excuse me? But you said earlier that you would hand the tree over......”

“Hey idiot, did you really believe that?’

Yoon Shi Woo instantly started to frown.

[The other party's cool has been severely shaken. The other party's dominance has temporarily fallen from A-Grade to D-Grade(Antique-Grade).]

[The artifact that has been repressed is starting to rampage.]

Yoon Shi Woo couldn’t hold back anymore and took out his artifact. He couldn't deal with it anymore.

“You motherf*cking bastard! Good, I should have done this from the beginning! I'll use it to turn you into a slave and make you die a dog's death, you bastard!”

Ju-Heon who had his arms crossed tilted his head and laughed.

“It’s probably best you stop.”

“You son of a bitch!”

Yoon Shi Woo then activated the artifact in his hand.

However...

“Huh?”

Yoon Shi Woo instantly started to frown. It was because the artifact he used showed no reaction.

“Uhh, uhh?”

Yoon Shi Woo became anxious.

He definitely used his dominance but the artifact did not activate!

“W, what is going on?!”

Yoon Shi Woo had taken out a glass bottle. The item inside the cosmetic bottle looked like women's powder or flour.

However, this was a curse-type artifact.

“Why isn't it activating?!”

However, at that moment...

Yoon Shi Woo's head was forcibly grabbed and he fell toward the table.

Boom!

Yoon Shi Woo could not help but scream as his head was slammed on the table and his arm was twisted back.

“Aaaaaaaaaak!”

Ju-Heon was pushing down on Yoon Shi Woo's head like a cop arresting a thief.

“Hey bastard, that hurts! Aaah! Let go!”

However, Ju-Heon just smiled at him.

“That’s why I asked if you were crazy. You moron. How can you use an artifact when your dominance has fallen?”

Yoon Shi Woo questioned his ears for a moment.

‘Artifact?

Did this bastard just say artifact?’

“You bastard! So you do know about artif......!”

Yoon Shi Woo flailed and tried to use his artifact. However, the artifact still did not activate.

‘!’

Ju-Heon used that opening to easily take the bottle away from Yoon Shi Woo's hand.

“Hey!”

Ju-Heon then easily channeled his dominance into the bottle.

“Obey my orders.”

The powder inside the cosmetic bottle slowly started to move and Yoon Shi Woo turned pale after seeing what was going on.

“F*ck, why is that listening to that bastard?!”

That was the case.

The item that Yoon Shi Woo had taken out was a powder-type curse artifact. It was not a consumable artifact but a possession artifact contracted to an owner.

[Voodoo Priest’s Zombie Powder (A-Grade(Treasure-Grade) - Possession Artifact)]

The Voodoo belief that originated from the Black slaves of Africa. They were said to use this zombie powder to turn believers into zombies to punish them.

This artifact was born from those rumors that had filled the media and solidified itself in people's minds.

In simple terms, if you touch the powder or swallow it, an evil spirit possesses your body and you become a zombie slave with no rationality.

‘But you need enough dominance to use a good artifact.’ Dominance was related to a person's mental strength, so people like Yoon Shi Woo who could not control their minds often saw their dominance stagger.

That was why even a Possession artifact like this instantly betrayed its master.

Ju-Heon smiled brightly.

“That’s why I always told you not to be useless and feel inferior.”

Yoon Shi Woo who was pinned down by Ju-Heon ground his teeth. He thought Ju-Heon was mocking him.

“You son of a bitch, what bullshit are you saying now?! I'm going to kill you!”

Ju-Heon smiled with his eyes before tipping the bottle.

“I guess you haven't learned your lesson yet.”

The powder that seemed to be alive charged toward Yoon Shi Woo and covered him.

A desperate screech echoed from this corner bar.

“That idiot!”

Chairman Kwon’s hands were shaking as he could not control his anger.

How did the punk who arrogantly said he would go get the artifact yesterday return in such a mess?!

And lo and behold. In front his eyes was a naked Yoon Shi Woo flailing around in a cell.

“Are you his guardian?”

“.........”

That was the case.

Chairman Kwon had shown up to the police station after receiving a call.

Yoon Shi Woo had supposedly walked around Las Vegas naked chasing after women and sexually harassing them.

Pictures were already being printed in articles! It was extremely shameful as the Korean news was reporting that he was TKBM's Chairman Kwon’s future son-in-law.

How would he deal with this mess?!

However, Yoon Shi Woo seemed to be seeing an illusion and unable to realize what was going on.

He was just groaning like a zombie even while being in solitary confinement.

The cops were just treating him as a junkie.

However, the secretary peeked toward Chairman Kwon in shock after taking a look at Yoon Shi Woo’s condition.

“Umm, C, Chairman-nim. This seems to be......”

Chairman Kwon touched his forehead as if he had a headache.

“I'm certain of it. This is the effect of this bastard's artifact.”

‘This stupid bastard.’

He had a headache because of this son-in-law who was causing him all sorts of embarrassment.

Chairman Kwon did not have a left arm or right arm person during this time.

He would have pushed Yoon Shi Woo to the curb if he didn’t have a useful level of dominance.

“C, Chairman-nim. What do we do?”

“Leave the punk here but go recover the artifact he had on him.”

The secretary looked scared after hearing that question.

“That, you see.”

“Now what?!”

“That......he had nothing on him when they found him. Chairman-nim, your artifacts that he took with him are all missing as well.”

Chairman Kwon frowned before his eyes opened wide in shock.

“WHAT?!”