Chapter 206

Even falling stocks couldn’t dampen my spirits. Though still on a downward trend, the graph’s slope was relatively gentle.

This time felt like the true bottom, signaling it was high time to buy.

“I’m going all out now!”

I opened the stock app again and checked the discussion boards:

: Weeping Graduate School Spike: Thanks for letting me know about the lowest price today! ^^ I almost forgot again without you.

Hearts: 113 Comments: 9

Then I looked at other stock communities:

: Ant Queen On the shrinkage of the stock market

Don’t be sad that your stocks have plummeted. As you’ve already noticed, this is an issue with the entire market.

This enormous wave binds together gods and transcendent beings alike.

Capital invested in the stock market is leaving the market. Though this isn’t the destruction of capital but merely its relocation, it might as well be for investors.

In some ways, it’s akin to a total war.

Earth-34 is peaceful, but… such cases are extremely rare even in the Macrocosm. There are civilizations of the third tier, occupying certain regions of the universe; those of the lower tiers (1-2) under the protection of the Palace Gods; and even the few civilizations of the fourth tier, all engaged in wars of varying scales. As part of this interconnected Macrocosm, Earth-34 is inevitably affected by these conflicts.

A storm is brewing.

The stock market, at the mercy of surplus capital, isn’t a place to make money through investments right now. Your options are limited: either look far ahead and focus on value investing, or wait for the perfect opportunity to buy at rock-bottom prices. The answer, it seems, is to hold onto your money and Geralt—the great garage sale of the universe awaits.

Likes: 2,155. Dislikes: 1,688.

“Hmm.”

I read through the posts before looking at the stocks.

I felt heartache as I watched Nemesis’s fall, but it wasn’t the only stock plummeting.

Of course, Nemesis is falling more dramatically than the others.

After more deliberation, I eventually closed the stock app.

“I need to harvest more money.”

If I held onto money, I could choose whether to buy more shares if they fell further or start other things instead.

“Jaeyeon, reading Muwong’s netizen comments again?”

“Jaeyeon, let’s exercise. Exercise! How about upper body today?”

“Jaeyeon, please eat!”

Under the care of five dragons, I progressed my work. I appeared on variety shows, exercised, and copied down novels. Sleep and rest were taken care of in Ardenia.

And then…

I plunged into the mission.

This time, our objective was within the domain of the duchy family of the Leonhardt Empire—specifically, in the territory of the Sunlit Aristocracy. Our task involved eradicating mythical monsters that had scattered due to the bombardment of warships. We accomplished it without a hitch.

The reward: 35 billion won.

Missions are truly the best.

But once we completed the mission and returned, my entertainment career continued as before. While working as a space mercenary on missions was the most lucrative way to earn money in a given timeframe, assignments weren’t always available. More importantly, my physical condition rendered me incapable of undertaking long-term missions.

If I cross over into an area where Revenge Online isn’t serviced… my account will be locked.

It wasn’t a problem to stop playing the game. Couldn’t I just leave my account with acquaintances on Earth? But how could I accept not being able to use the dozens of inventories at my fingertips whenever I wanted? And on top of that, there was also the issue of upsetting the dragons working on Earth-34 whenever there was a long-term mission.

Since Ruby didn’t even come from Earth-34, nonetheless, she wanted to go for mercenary registration.

If the money he made selling records couldn’t keep up, that would be another story, but the Prodigy was also very generously paid. That meant it was best to center his activities around the Leonhardt Empire.

And that was why…

They had added another show.

“Great! We’re glad to have you back, Jaeyeon-ssi! Let’s make this filming go well too!”

“It’s in good hands.”

The name of the new program they began filming was “Top Class.”

It was a program that meticulously observed the people at the pinnacle of each field, documenting where they lived, how they spent their time, and what activities they engaged in.

In essence, it was a docu-reality show.

Natae Seok, the Producer, explained:

“Well, we’ll start with your waking up. As a Transcendent, I’m sure you can sense our hidden cameras, but… please pretend they’re not there.”

“Ah, that won’t work for me,” I replied.

At my words, Natae Seok chuckled, his tail wagging playfully.

“Heh-heh. Many have said as much. How can one pretend the cameras aren’t there when they clearly are present…”

“No, that’s not it. I simply don’t have any designated sleep time… in my schedule.”

”…?”

Natae Seok paused, clearly not grasping my explanation. I calmly elaborated:

“Sleeptime isn’t a part of my daily routine. If we were to start filming with me waking up, it would be dishonest.”

“No, of course I don’t sleep often.”

“I don’t even have sleep in my schedule.”

I couldn’t say “I don’t sleep at all.” It would be a lie because in Ardenia, I did rest and sleep. However, it was true that there was no sleep time in my schedule for Earth-34.

Taesuk found my words absurd. ”…No, even if you’re a Transcendent, you don’t sleep at all? If that schedule continued for a long time, mental and physical burdens would accumulate.”

“I don’t want to waste time.”

“Uh… Well. I’ll take some photos first.”

I nodded and let it pass. From then on, Taesuk started following all my schedules.

“Hello!”

“Wow! Jaeyeon-ssi! It’s an honor to meet you!”

“I never thought I’d see a Transcendent in person…”

I had participated in a reading for Alan, Director [Beyond the Abyss]. As I watched the actors greet me and then casually ignore Taesuk behind me, they suddenly paused. Realizing that he wasn’t just another smart pet but transcended his species, they couldn’t believe it.

“Wait, Director Natae Seok?!”

“Are you filming right now?”

“Now, now, I’m not really here. Just pretend I’m one of those smart pets you see all the time.”

“But it’s obvious you’re not one—how can you think that?”

“Why hasn’t Director Natae Seok called for actors recently?! Wake up! Wake up!”

Taesuk effortlessly conversed with the actors. Everything happening here would end up on television, depending on his choices.

“Jaeyeon-nim, next shot is coming up~”

“Please hold the product and take this pose~”

The commercial shoot continued.

“Today’s guest is truly outstanding, isn’t he? Han Jaeyeon, who has achieved the realm of ‘triple transcendence’ at the tender age of twenty!”

I was on a variety show. Taesuk followed me around, filming every step of the process, including instances where I received help from the Shadow Dragon Eddusuni’s darkness.

“Good work.”

“Don’t talk to the camera.”

After completing the schedule, we returned to the headquarters of the Star Dragon. It was originally time for ‘philosophy’ - a contemplative practice involving the stack - but I couldn’t do it with the camera watching. Anyway, there was a pile of manuscripts, so I had plenty of time. I read a martial arts book in the library prepared by the Star Dragon. Black Dragon Hwakyu sat next to me, politely explaining it to me.

“Look at this. Although the Instantaneous Light Sword Technique and the Dawning Sky Sword Manual both deal with the domain of ‘light’, the underlying mental state forming their basis is completely different.”

She whispered into my ear, her chin resting on my shoulder. Her understanding of the art of war was solid, each word building upon the last like flesh and bone, unlike my forced transcendence to the next stage. As I received her instruction, I poured martial knowledge into my dantian—no, it had become a sea. Whenever studying the art of war made my head spin, Sapphire would place her forehead against mine, resonating our chakras. The increased energy flow would realign my neural pathways, embedding the martial knowledge within my mind.

After studying the art of war came physical training.

“Haaah! The gravity intensifies! More! More, more, more!”

Red dragon Ruby aided my physical training. When she activated her bio-energy while riding on my back, an incredible pressure evenly weighed down across my entire body.

But that wasn’t all.

Whenever Ruby made contact with my body, I’d heat up and activate all too easily—of course, this meant my workout was incredibly effective.

Fssssh…!

Steam rose from the flesh of my extreme being. After working out for three hours straight, I’d practically be on the brink of death.

And then…

“L-lie down on your bed.”

White Dragon Snow massaged my body. The mysterious divine power that flowed from her hands guided my ravaged flesh back toward equilibrium.

And after that?

“C’mon! You must be tired! Have something to eat!”

Flower prepared a meal. It was impossible to compare these elixirs and spiritual medicines with the simple, abundant fare of Ardenia!

Wolong’s behind-the-scenes work was truly beyond imagination, and I could feel myself growing stronger each day. It was on a completely different level from the struggles other Transcendents faced in their growth, even after having the good fortune to elevate to the Transcendent Realm.

Every day, I made a fortune, and on top of that, I was steadily progressing. It was truly a best of both worlds scenario.

As soon as I received the message, I headed to the Mercenary Command Center. Naturally, Taesuk followed me.

While most ordinary directors would never dare ride the Galaxy Railroad, Natae Seok wasn’t an ordinary director—he was Transcendent Pranya, a being of a higher dimension.

As we joined the elderly passengers boarding the Galaxy Railroad, I secured my usual seat, with Taesuk following suit next to me.

“Off the record…” Taesuk began hesitantly, “have you perhaps discovered a weakness in F·D?”

“A weakness?”

My question seemed to catch Taesuk off guard, and he muttered to himself:

“No, that couldn’t be it. But then why… I still don’t understand. What’s going on here?”

“They’re all very nice people, you know. So courteous.”

At my words, Taesuk’s round eyes grew even wider.

“Courteous? That arrogant dragon… Especially F-D, the ‘Space Star’?”

He looked utterly bewildered.

This puzzled me, so I asked:

“Is there some bad gossip about them?”

“Oh, it’s not that they’re doing anything harmful. It’s just… they’re called ‘hellhounds’—or no, ‘hellions,’ I mean.”

”…That sounds like plenty bad to me.”

To call that lovely and kind dragon a ‘hellion’? What kind of malicious nickname was that?

“Ah, well. I suppose it’s just dragons being dragons—you know, as transcendent beings.”

“But aren’t you, Producer Natae Seok, also a Transcendent being of the Prajapati race?”

Taesuk shook his head at this absurd proposition. “While we are both classified as Transcendent beings, it’s not that simple. The situation is entirely different for dragons and the Prajapati.”

In the Macrocosm, there exists a noble force known as the Nobles. True to their name, they are a race of beings born with a transcendental bloodline, possessing a strength on a completely different level from those of lesser species.

Dragons. Prajapati. Candelie. And my kind, the stone goblins, I suppose.

“Hmm. So you’re saying that, unlike dragons, transcendence isn’t naturally achieved just by aging?”

When I think about it, not all Transcendents naturally become transcendent merely with age. It’s a special attribute of the highest noble race, the dragons.

Taesuk shook his head. “No. A member of the Prajapati race only becomes a Transcendent upon reaching old age.”

“Oh, I see. So—”

“In contrast to dragons, who become Transcendents at adulthood, Prajapati become Transcendents in their twilight years, just before death.”

The Prajapati race had an alias: [Super Cat]. They were born with powerful psychic abilities, reaching a terrifying level of psionic power that allowed them to slay most ordinary monsters from a young age.

“But… I’ve seen Prajapati transcendentals living for quite some time.”

The most famous example was [Choco], the global food company Nuval’s CEO from Earth-34. This Prajapati Transcendent was over 600 years old.

Taesuk began his explanation. “The average lifespan of a member of the Prajapati species is about 300 years. As their life comes to an end… the psychic power sealed within their blood becomes fully unleashed. Whether they like it or not, they become Transcendents… Usually, they live as Transcendents for a short period of one week to a month before succumbing to death.”

“What about Choco-nim?”

“If, during that brief time, they manage to control their psychic power and stabilize the state of Transcendence, they can gain a second life as a Transcendent. Their lifespan would also greatly increase. The problem is, such cases are exceedingly rare.”

“I see.”

This process differed from that of dragons, which reached the pinnacle of their growth at 1,000 years and almost always achieved Transcendence. Taesuk shrugged his shoulders nonchalantly.

“Well, it’s true we don’t quite measure up to dragons. Unlike those elusive creatures, our numbers are far more substantial, making us somewhat comparable.”

As the announcement suddenly came on, Taesuk remarked, “Ah, I suppose you’ll get to see it for yourself soon, Jaeyeon-ssi.”

I nodded, thinking about our destination.

“Ah, indeed, that’s true.”

“Yes.”

Tae Suk nodded his little head, adding, “You’ll see what a dragon looks like.”

A new mission was beginning.