Chapter 65

“I have to buy stocks too?”

It seemed hopeless for now.

Ding-dong!

I turned at the notification sound. It turned out that the gift delivered to my hotel room wasn’t just stocks. Next to the table stood a well-dressed mannequin with another note attached:

[P.S.]

Ah! I noticed that your attire doesn’t match the dress code for the meeting. Many of our clients value appearances… This is also a gift.

As I put away the note, I looked straight at the mannequin.

“Wow, they really want to impress their customers.”

The suit draped over the mannequin exuded luxury. Its dark gray color was versatile and suitable for any occasion. The lines fell neatly from the shoulders, and the fabric felt both soft and resilient.

I took it off the mannequin and put it on. It fit snugly like it was tailored for me, making me feel satisfied. Then I removed the smartwatch from the mannequin’s wrist and strapped it onto mine. This watch came with permanently engraved spells: Energy Shield and Blink—the Revenge Smartwatch.

“Wait, this clothes…it seems familiar?”

Surprised, I checked the label. Inside the jacket, there was a logo subtly embroidered in gold thread.

“Oh, Black Lightning? Really?”

It might seem pretentious to give such a flashy name to clothing, but these weren’t ordinary garments. As a Class 2 magic tool, they featured automatic repair and protective spells along with attribute resistance capabilities.

“This costs 7,500,000 won…”

I knew very well why this item had such a cool name. I saw it being advertised on home shopping network. They showed footage of the clothes taking a beating from a barrage of magic attacks.

Suddenly, an idea popped into my mind. I raised Cheeda into the air as I searched for Nemesis online.

“The stock price rose by one week…what? 1.5 million won?!”

It was unbelievable. The president of Bae Sarang gave me a gift worth 22.5 million won.

This went beyond impressing a customer.

‘No. Maybe she really knows something about me?’

However, when I thought deeply about it, there were many reasons why this couldn’t be true. If she knew about my ability, there would be no reason to disseminate information like this. Thanks to her, I now knew that items made with dummies couldn’t be used in Ardenia. Moreover, I learned stocks could be used to interfere with the system.

This was important information that one couldn’t come across by simply playing hard at this game.

‘No matter how I think about it, there is no reason for her to do such a thing. It seems too strange to attribute this as part of some bigger picture.’

All kinds of thoughts ran through my mind, but as always, I decided to give my best within the confines of what I could control. If there really was a bigger picture beyond my comprehension, worrying over it would be a waste of time.

“Meow meow meow.”

At that moment, Chegga cried out. It meant the time had arrived for the meeting with the developers. In reality, I spent only one night and two days here. However, it felt like I stayed in this room for a month. I followed the directions written on the invitation, so I moved towards the location where the meeting would take place.

“No way…this is the venue for the meeting?”

The Nemesis user meeting was prepared in a completely different atmosphere than I had thought. There were no stages for idol singers, cheering users, small events or gifts. Instead, it had a calm and serious mood, resembling more of an academic conference rather than a user meeting. In reality, most people sitting at tables divided by one, two or four individuals were middle-aged men dressed neatly in suits.

“You arrived just on time! This way, this way!”

Yes, except for this person…

“I see you came early, Mr. Lee Seong-jae.”

“Haha. It is quiet here since breakfast was skipped. We had a bit of a vigorous fan meeting until morning.”

”…”

My mouth dropped open at the words ‘fan meeting’.

‘Am I old-fashioned? Have I been too long in Middle Age Land?!’

I was momentarily confused but quickly composed myself and sat down next to him. As I took my seat, the tables moved together like they were alive, without disturbing the drinks on top of them.

‘Nano machines… truly top-class.’

Sungjae opened his mouth as soon as I sat beside him.

“Wow, there are more people than usual today. Normally, it is around 100 users, but now it seems close to 200. With better gifts compared to before, Nemesis must’ve paid special attention this time.”

The user meeting progressed while he whispered.

“Hello everyone. This is Director Gwon Hyungjun from Nemesis. Before we officially start the meeting, I would like to express deep gratitude for your participation in the 2089 Revenge Meeting. Today’s agenda includes…”

Director Gwon Hyungjun calmly started his presentation. First of all, it was about the game: new updates, items and skills, detailed balancing, etc.

“Cheeda.”

I sat Cheeda at the table and noted down important or useful information from Director Gwon Hyungjun’s presentation. He smoothly continued explaining while throwing in jokes and presenting charts, as if he had experienced many such occasions before.

After some time passed, he began to talk about slightly different resolutions.

“As you all know, our revenue has increased significantly due to a surprising miracle. It is said to be the era of myths? Frankly speaking… I thought this content didn’t exist, so I was surprised.”

As he spoke these words, I felt several gazes directed towards me.

‘Indeed, those who know will understand.’

However, I hadn’t done anything wrong so I didn’t care. The people looking at me just glanced once before turning away. In this situation, Director Gwon Hyungjun continued speaking.

“And with the revenue earned…the chairman has reinvested more than 99%. No, it isn’t just that. He poured in company funds and even his own personal money.”

The unexpected words caused some commotion among the people present. A few of them had wide eyes, as if they knew something.

Sungjae whispered softly next to me, “Wow, is that rumor really true?”

“What rumor?”

“Well, I heard something circulating within my family… Nemesis has formed a regional and technological alliance with Reisen using this time’s profits. It sounded too unbelievable, so I ignored it.”

I flinched at his words.

‘What? A regional alliance?’

Once upon a time, Reisen fought against all civilizations of the universe and was considered the enemy of the Alliance. Even now, as a neutral force, they remained a terrifying existence. The civilizations of the universe were forced to impose self-restrictions due to Reisen’s advanced AI technology—needless to say, their influence was immense.

Regardless of how much money Revenge had, it was hard to believe that such a company could form a technical alliance with Reisen. Moreover, what technology did Revenge possess that would interest Reisen?

Shhhk. Shhhk.

Swoosh!

A sudden change occurred within the banquet hall. The chairs and tables automatically moved, repositioning people accordingly.

Sungjae muttered, “Ah, the guild meeting is starting.”

“Guild meeting?”

“Yes. Do you see that middle-aged man over there? That’s Chairman Kim Youngchan from Sky Pharmaceuticals, who also serves as the guild master. And that gentleman next to him is Yoo Sungmin, CEO of Sungmin Entertainment… Over there, Mr. Kangwon from Fast Three Academy… They’re all members of Snowpiercer Guild.”

“They seem quite close even outside the game.”

“It isn’t just being close in reality but also closely intertwined business-wise. How could they be in the same guild if they weren’t completely trustworthy?” Director Gwon Hyungjun continued speaking while I was bewildered by this different mindset compared to typical online game guilds. He talked about creating a massive data center with a Terra-class battleship as its core, installing over 30 ultimate magic spells, and staffing it with 110,000 personnel.

As I listened, I couldn’t grasp what this meant.

‘What is he talking about? Is he aiming to expand their business even further?’

Unlike my confusion, others seemed to understand the implications. The previously silent crowd now buzzed with excitement.

“I-I’ll let her explain the rest of it to you all. I introduce to you the representative of Nemesis guild. It is Ms Bae Sarang.”

Gwon Hyungjun bowed his head then he stepped back. The woman named Bae Sarang appeared before them just as she had this morning.

“Chairwoman Bae Sarang! Is this true? Are we really doing this?”

“I thought you gave up on this goal?”

“You look beautiful, Chairwoman Bae Sarang!”

“Woooh! Give me access to the Volcano Castle of the Flame Monarch! Giiiive iiiit tooo mee! My Mythical class is locked away!”

“Director Gwon. Please mute that loser over there. He is being loud.”

Despite the fervent cheers from the crowd, Sarang calmly waved her hand with a smile. Considering everyone present here were middle aged or older, her attitude could be considered brash.

However, I knew she had every right to act this way.

‘She looks young, but…she is seventy years old. She might be the oldest person here.’

Of course, no matter how old one was, it would be considered overkill towards customers gathered here… However, her flushed face showed just how excited she was at this moment. The people gathered here could sense her excitement too.

“Chairwoman! Are you really going through with it…the Second Life Project? You said we wouldn’t do it during the shareholders meeting!”

“When did I say that we won’t do it? I merely stated that we haven’t done it yet.”

“No, not like tha-”

“So it is true? Did you really call forth Reisens to do this? H-how many Reisens did you connect with?”

“116 individuals.”

“Oh my god! It exceeded 100 Giga…”

People groaned.

In front of them, Bae Sarang waved her hand like a conductor. A hologram appeared in midair, and it showed the image of a giant castle.

“As everyone knows, Revenge was designed much larger than real life. The distance between castles is 100 kilometers apart. Similarly, these castles aren’t just castles. They are fortress cities.”

“All this was done for virtual reality?”

“That’s right. Now, Revenge isn’t just another game that can be played or discarded at will. It has transcended beyond such boundaries!”

I felt numb as I listened to her eloquent speech. I felt detached from all the people present here.

‘What is she talking about? Why are they so excited by virtual reality? Isn’t it just another form of virtual reality when you connect using the access device?’

For some reason, others didn’t think like me. At first glance, one might mistake them for hardcore nerds, who were excited over something only they knew. However, these people weren’t ordinary individuals. They were CEOs and influential figures that appeared on news outlets.

One of them calmed himself down amidst the commotion. He raised his hand as he asked a question.

“Then…then…what level of depth does Revenge have?”

It was spoken by a middle aged man wearing a suit. Sungyoon answered him.

“It has a depth of 1st rank.”

“Wow, amazing… What? A 1st rank depth?”

“No way! It doesn’t matter if there are more than hundred Reisen dungeons. How can it have a depth of 1st rank? Doesn’t this mean it surpasses even the Completed Beings!?”

“My god!”

Screams erupted from different parts of the room. Moreover, several of them rushed out somewhere. Those left behind started making urgent phone calls.

“What is going on…wait a minute.”

I still couldn’t understand the situation. I didn’t know what ‘depth’ meant, so how could I understand its significance when it was labeled as level 1? However, based on people’s reaction, I suddenly felt ominous foreboding.

“Wait, wait a moment… Cheeda.”

I hastily placed my Cheeda back onto the table then I searched for Nemesis.

Nemesis – 2,131,000 won (+612,000 won) ↑

“Oh, wait a moment…”

Nemesis – 2,251,000 won (+732,000 won) ↑

“W-wait a moment…”

Nemesis – 2,601,000 won (+1,082,000 won) ↑

“Wait, Wait! Stop!”

My frightened shout was drowned out by the excited voices of other people present here. As expected, the rise didn’t stop.