Chapter 102

“Wow.”

I was impressed even after seeing it again.

“Wah, really.”

The overwhelming red color…

“End.”

Afraid someone might see, I turned off the screen and Cheeda’s fur returned to its normal brown hue. As I strode briskly towards the hotel, thoughts raced through my mind.

‘What should I do? How can I handle this?’

Four hundred billion won.

It was an unimaginable sum, far beyond anything I’d ever considered in my lifetime. Despite earning exponentially more now due to enhanced abilities, the sheer magnitude of this amount still felt unreal.

“Just…just…just!”

My heart pounded rapidly.

‘Should I…sell everything?’

Various ideas flooded my head. With four hundred billion won, one could acquire not just mythical-class pets, gatekeepers, or skills but also mythical-grade equipment.

I already dominated the flower shop, so I didn’t need 400 billion won. It could be resolved with less than 100 billion won. Of course, there was a problem.

‘If Revenge ends its service and my game abilities disappear, it will be completely disastrous.’

In the worst-case scenario, both the money and abilities would vanish. Fortunately, there were other options.

‘Sell all the stocks now and just keep the 400 billion won in cash.’

Can’t enter Ardenia? Still, I have 400 billion won left. Game abilities disappear? Still, I have 400 billion won remaining.

“Haha. Seriously.”

For most people, this wouldn’t even be a question to ponder. With 400 billion won, investing isn’t necessary; simply placing it in a bank would yield over 60 million won in monthly interest.

What did it mean to have interest of 60 million won per month?

‘It means there is no need to work until death.’

One could live a luxurious life with good houses, clothes, and food. It was a dream that many people in this world desired. However, I shook my head immediately.

”…It isn’t even funny.”

A comfortable life, just playing without working, a life where you don’t have to labor. If I wanted such a thing, I wouldn’t have been so happy when thrown into the hellish Land of Midgard.

‘Hah. Have I become too obsessed with money lately? For a moment, I lost my rationality.’

In the past, I was someone who didn’t value money at all. I never envied rich people or worried about how to make lots of money.

It was quite interesting.

When he had been unemployed without a penny to his name, money didn’t feel as valuable compared to now. He worked hard everyday yet he felt more attached to money than before.

‘In that regard, I can use this 40 billion won to protect Revenge. Maybe, I should support Bae Sarang’s company.’

It was something worth considering. His ability and Ardenia were too precious for him. However, there was another problem.

‘Even if I pour all my money into it, I might not be able to save Revenge.’

The amount was too large for an individual to earn even after being reborn several times. Still, it wasn’t enough capital to start a project within a large corporation.

Even if I used all my wealth to bolster Nemesis Soft, it wouldn’t affect whether Revenge would be shut down or not.

“Hello sir. Do you have reservations?”

The cheerful employee stationed behind the counter spoke towards him.

“No. I’m here for the Nemesis Soft meeting.”

“I’ll take you there right away.”

As he followed the employee, he had this thought.

‘Shouldn’t I just change the 40 billion won into diamonds and spend them on Ardenia?’

When one entered Ardenia, time stopped in reality. Of course, time didn’t stop within the macrocosm. It was more accurate to say that time infinitely accelerated within his small universe.

In other words,

‘I don’t need to worry about Revenge Service ending if I stay in Ardenia.’

When I lived for 20 years in Ardenia, no time passed on Earth at all. It would probably be the same even after 100 years. And with 40 billion won and 100 years of time… Perhaps I could unify the continent and reach the Transcendent realm.

Then after that, return to Earth…

“Return…” That’s where my thoughts stopped. What can a Transcendent do upon returning to Earth? In Magic World-34, even Transcendents were arrested by the police if they broke the law. Once becoming a Transcendent, dominating the entire planet and being revered as a god was beyond comparison to lower civilizations.

Above all, wasn’t Shining, the representative of Sky Soft, also a Transcendent? In this situation, it had to be resolved with money, not force.

‘Furthermore, I am now a prominent actor and high-level ability user. Even without big hits like this movie or the encyclopedia, I can maintain an annual salary of around one billion won.’

Yes, it would be a waste to simply abandon Earth.

‘That’s right! No matter how much 40 billion won is, if it were me! If it were me…’

My thoughts stopped at that point.

‘Shit. It takes 40 years.’

Indeed, 40 billion won was just too large an amount.

As the elevator door opened, a waiting staff member greeted me courteously.

“Welcome, Mr. Killian. Please follow me to your seat.”

We were guided to our seats by another employee. Sungjae was already seated there, and he waved at me as we approached.

“Jae-yeon!”

I could hear female employees whispering while stealing glances at him.

[Oh my. They seem close.]

[The game they play is quite surprising though. It’s more of a game for older men.]

[I guess money can buy anything! What else would explain it?]

[Well… Ah…Sungjae looks too handsome.]

Despite not investing much into his Agility stat, he still seemed overly sensitive due to collection rewards alone.

“You’re here too.”

“Of course. Revenge stands at a crossroads whether it will be shut down or not.”

As Sungjae mentioned, the atmosphere among the gathered users was unsettled. This was likely because they had also seen Shining’s interview from Sky Soft.

”…The worst is that he made this declaration.”

“He will try to achieve his goal despite any losses…”

“No, why end the service for a game running fine just because it doesn’t meet your taste? Won’t this be caught by the God of Justice?”

“Still, the stocks have risen so there is profit.”

There were those who were confused, angry or happy about the situation.

Togetherwithyou: Ah! I should’ve bought earlier! It’s rising like crazy. >

Willbeabigshareholder: 25 million kazua! >

Wiseinvestor: Ah, nobody is selling as it will rise further. >

Thisisme: Is Sky really going after Nemesis? Seriously? >

Willbeabigshareholder: Who knows? Kazua! Kazua!

The stock market was also on fire.

Due to the influence of God of Truth and God of Justice, there were no scams or misinformation within district 34. It was rare for stocks to fluctuate this much here. Moreover, it wasn’t some small mid-sized company that was affected by this event. A large corporation had been targeted.

“Hello everyone. I am Bae Sarang, the president of Nemesis Corp.”

At that moment, President Bae Sarang appeared. Last year, she looked full of vigor and confidence. However, her face now showed signs of fatigue and anger. Despite this, her eyes shone brightly as she faced numerous people.

“Is everything alright with Nemesis Corp?”

“It is said Sky Soft holds 25% stake in your company!”

“Is the Revenge service over?”

Men dressed in suits asked these questions.

These people were businessmen before they became users. They couldn’t be persuaded with vague words.

“Of course, we are fine. Revenge is still the number one game in terms of revenue. We also received the patent rights from Ouroboros to develop Second Life!”

Sarang calmly answered the questions posed by the users. It felt as if she was testifying at a congressional hearing instead of answering questions during a user meeting. Surprisingly, Sungyoon handled it well.

‘Well, her logic has no holes. No matter how big Sky Soft becomes, it doesn’t make sense for them to acquire Nemesis.’

Nemesis wasn’t some small and medium sized company that could be easily acquired. It was a large corporation that had developed the top grossing game. The company didn’t have excessive debt either. Did it make sense to perform hostile takeover?

‘However, the problem is…the situation has already gone beyond common sense.’

Nemesis had invented technology that surprised the world with their number one revenue generating game called Revenge. It didn’t make any sense for its stocks to plummet like this. I wasn’t alone in thinking something abnormal was happening within Nemesis Soft.

“This really doesn’t make any sense. Did they get on the bad side of the Game Master? Is it because of their excessive monetization policy?”

“That can’t be true. The Game Master wouldn’t care about such trivial matters.”

“This is top secret information. Amongst Transcendents…”

People were whispering amongst themselves. I felt unnerved by the atmosphere.

‘Ah, this truly…this atmosphere is quite serious.’

Sungjae looked uneasy too. He seemed to have reached a similar conclusion as me.

“Wow. This is serious. Revenge might really shut down its servers.”

Sungyoon tried to persuade the users and shareholders with his calm demeanor. However, despite his efforts, it didn’t lessen their anxiety. His argument was logically sound, yet he couldn’t convince them of the truth.

“I’ll leave this matter in your hands.”

This was Sungyoon’s last sight before leaving the hotel. He deeply bowed towards Sungyoon.

Sungjae had invited him to attend a Christmas party for actors, but Sungyoon already had prior commitment.

“This is it! The 53rd meeting! Sky Soft’s users…! I will now start…the general meeting!”

The host roared loudly, and fireworks exploded in the sky.

Boom Boom Boom!

“Wooooooohhh!”

Sky Soft rented out the entire amusement park, and more than hundred thousand users were present at the location.

Even if one couldn’t come to this location physically, five times more users were connected through their access devices.

“Wow…the atmosphere is really different here.”

Nemesis Soft’s user meeting wasn’t open to everyone. Only those who spent a lot of money on microtransactions received invitations as VVIPs. They stayed at luxurious hotels where they received extravagant gifts and services.

However, Sky Soft’s user meeting was completely different.

Countless users experienced games released by Sky Soft up until now. There was even a quiz show centered around the history of Sky Soft. A tournament decided winners amongst its participants, and there were demos for upcoming games. The rides continued to operate, and people laughed happily as they enjoyed themselves.

[Are you ready for some fun—!?]

“Ah, there is even an invited singer.”

On a stage set up at one corner of the amusement park, a famous singer was performing songs that even I recognized. He was nicknamed ‘The Young Prince’, but unlike his cute nickname, he was actually over 100 years old.

[Already tired heart~ Can’t control it~]

He sang loudly with excellent vocal skills and spiritual waves that stirred the hearts of ability users. As if getting excited while singing, he held out the microphone to the audience.

[C’mon, everyone together!]

“Wuuuuh~ wuh~”

“It’s okay~~ wuh~”

“Not too~~~wuuhh~”

The face of The Young Prince hardened at the mumbling response from the seated spectators.

[…No, don’t you know my song?]

“Now~~~hmmmmmng.”

“No matter how much~~~ hmmmmng.”

There was humming coming from all around him. It was such a famous song that everyone had heard it before, but no one knew its lyrics. Of course, this was to be expected. The people gathered here weren’t fans of the singer. They were hardcore gamers of Jin Sung’s game. No matter how famous the song might be, they wouldn’t know about it.

It was an awkward moment for both the singer and his audience when suddenly darkness fell over the amusement park.

Then…

[LOST]

Huge letters appeared at the center of the amusement park.

[WORLD]

“Waaaaaaaah!”

“It is finally here! Finally!”

“I love you, Shining hyung!”

The gamers, who had been indifferent towards the Prince’s song, erupted with excitement. Earlier, some good natured gamers had hummed along out of pity for Elder Lee’s effort. Now, their cheers shook the heavens and earth.

The fervent reaction caused the young prince to look crestfallen on stage.

“Ha…even if I tried so hard, they wouldn’t react until now… Yes! All that matters is getting paid! Sky Soft forever!”

“Sky Soft forever!”

“Waaaaah!”

Everyone was going wild with excitement.

I stood quietly amidst these people.

‘Ah. This is…a battle that can’t be won.’

Without a doubt, Revenge was shining as the number one game worldwide based on revenue. However…the number of players, recognition and reputation couldn’t match up to the other game. To put it bluntly, it wasn’t just a matter of not matching up. It was very unfavorable for me.

‘This isn’t a joke. If Sky Soft acts cowardly or unjustly, the public might still side with them. The judgement might swing towards their favor.’

If Sky Soft used illegal methods against Nemesis, many would see it as teaching a lesson to the evil money grubbers. There was such a disparity between the two companies.

If Sky Soft used illegal methods to attack Nemesis, many people might view it as teaching a lesson to those evil money grubbers. The difference was that big.

In the end, I made my decision.

“Welcome to Nemesis Soft. What brings you here today?”

“It is regarding selling stocks. Can I meet with your chairman?”

“How much stock…?”

“I have around 2,000 shares.”

“Uh, hmm. Let me see if she can meet with you.”

Normally, this wouldn’t be possible. Whether one had 2,000 or 20,000 shares, there would be no way for someone without any prior arrangement to meet with the chairman of Nemesis Soft. However, at present, even 100 shares were precious to Nemesis Soft. They were in dire straits.

Soon, I met with Bae Sarang, who was the chairman of Nemesis Soft.

“You are someone I’ve seen before. It has been awhile, Han Hae-yeon-nim. You’ve become quite famous since we last met.”

She greeted me with a tired face.

I got straight to the point.

“I’ll sell all my stocks to Nemesis.”

“Thank you for your kind words. However, our cash flow isn’t good right now, so it will take some time to pay you…”

“I don’t need money.”

“…pardon?”

Doubt appeared on her face, and she became guarded towards him. He wasn’t sure what she was thinking, but he could see disgust swirling deep within her eyes.

“If we convert your stock holdings into money, it is worth more than 40 billion won. There is also a high probability that its value might rise further. Yet, you want to give up this opportunity…and ask for something else?”

Her friendly smile disappeared as sadness filled her face.

He spoke towards her.

“Yes. Please give me diamonds.”

“How can you make such a request…what? What did you say?”

For a moment, she looked dumbfounded as if she didn’t understand what I had just said.

“I’m asking for diamonds. Give me your stocks in exchange for diamonds.”

“What?”

Her wariness and disgust disappeared from her face. She now looked incredulous. Her eyes had been looking at trash, but now they were looking at someone crazy. Despite this change, I continued to speak towards her.

“In return, I’ll give you ten times more.”

I would do everything within my power. If it failed, then I’ll run away to Ardenia. This was my conclusion.