Chapter 102
Chapter 102
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Translator: penny
Chapter: 101
Chapter Title: Stock Market Madness
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“ What the hell is this bullshit!?”
I bellowed.
But the blonde man, who had ascended to the Transcendent Realm yet still worked on game development, wore an unyielding expression.
“No, rather than this...”
A sudden thought struck me, and I hurriedly opened the stock app.
Nemesis – 1,786,230 won (+615,030 won)↑
“...As expected.”
The stock was skyrocketing. It had to be because Sky Soft was aggressively buying up Nemesis Soft shares.
“No, if you’re going for a hostile takeover, you do it quietly. Why so publicly... Ah.”
In that moment, I realized.
“Shining was a priest of the God of Truth.”
He had even risen to the rank of apostle of the God of Honor. He’d wanted to become a priest of the God of Justice too, but apparently failed.
Even for a transcendent being, catching the eye of the God of Justice while running a business wasn’t easy.
“Then... that interview earlier must have been a [Declaration of Truth].”
The abilities of a priest of the God of Truth went beyond simply discerning truth from lies. If that was all, they’d just be a top-notch lie detector, right?
The foundation of truth is words.
Priests of Truth build karma by speaking truth and discerning it, but there’s an even more powerful method of cultivation.
It’s like how priests of Justice gain greater karma by punishing the wicked rather than merely upholding justice.
The key is simple.
‘Speak it first, then make it true afterward.’
Make declarations like “I’ll jog 10 kilometers every day,” “I’ll raise my exam score by 10 points,” or “I’ll get this certification,” and then fulfill them to grow as a priest. The harder the task, the greater the growth.
And as this process of turning words into truth repeats?
‘The linguistic power of a priest of the God of Truth strengthens as well.’
Once a priest reaches a sufficient level, their declarations are no longer mere words. They become speech-acts, receiving a form of [adjustment].
It’s as if the world itself helps out. Subtle coincidences favor the declaration, and if there are good or bad events, the good ones are more likely to occur. It’s not enough to turn the impossible into possible, but the presence or absence of this adjustment makes all the difference in the world.
“So his public outbursts weren’t just a foul temper.”
Everything had a reason. Of course a transcendent wouldn’t act so simplistically.
“Ah, so what now?”
I calmed my chaotic mind and calmly assessed the situation.
Then, one cold, hard truth became crystal clear.
“I... can’t do a damn thing about it.”
I’d scraped together every won I could to buy Nemesis stock. My actor’s guarantee fee, my royalties as a writer, my fight money as an athlete, my daily wage as a laborer. The plummeting stock price early on had even helped me accumulate more shares day by day.
But even so.
‘Only 2,000 shares.’
Nemesis Soft had about 23.92 million shares outstanding.
Meaning the stake I could wield with 2,000 shares didn’t even reach 0.01%—not 1%, not 0.1%.
With this much stock, I couldn’t be a white knight or black knight in this sudden stock war. I was just one of the many ants, albeit a slightly bigger one. If anything, maybe a single foot soldier.
“Well, it’s only natural...”
Who was Nemesis’s CEO, Bae Sarang?
She was the daughter of Bae Jaeseok, head of the world’s largest corporation Ilseong, who had struck out on her own to found Nemesis with a mere(?) 100 billion won in pocket money.
Plenty mocked it as impossible without her background or credited it to her crass philosophy of just raking in cash hand over fist, but nothing could hide her extraordinary talent. Being the top-grossing game on a planet ruled by game masters was no small feat.
And Shining.
If Bae Sarang was a singular maverick, he was a titan of the era.
Follower of the game master Gwandaeha, apostle of the God of Honor, high priest of the God of Truth—he was a 9th-class archmage and one of the world’s top ten billionaires. The being most optimized for 34th Earth.
Sure, I was earning amounts ordinary people couldn’t dream of through my own efforts, but that still made me just another citizen.
Compared to those two, my available funds and influence were laughably insignificant.
Nemesis – 2,809,430 won (+1,023,200 won)↑
“...No buying stocks for a while.”
Staring at the insanely rising stock, I thought I’d have to switch to buying Diana shares from now on.
“Kid! Quit staring at those damn stocks and come help with construction! How long you gonna slack off!?”
The bellow echoing through the spaceship made me get up.
As I suited up in my spacesuit for work, I paused and looked at the screen floating behind Cheda.
[We will gradually refund the resources used by players and then terminate service.]
“...No way?”
There was nothing I could do.
I could only watch... and worry.
“They won’t really shut down service, right?”
I couldn’t even imagine what would happen if Revenge’s service ended. Maybe I’d lose all my game abilities and revert to normal. Or maybe Ardania, now existing, would stay but I’d lose the ability to pay-to-win.
And perhaps... the godgame replacing Revenge would become my new game power.
‘But now, even that feels wrong.’
I’d lived over 20 years in Ardania and become an emperor leading countless people.
Change itself was a massive threat to me, yet I could do nothing.
“Just take away virtual reality... that’s all...”
As I prayed, they called me back to the workshop.
“Kid! You stock-obsessed punk!”
“Yeah, coming! Hold on!”
I yelled back irritably and headed to the workshop.
For now, it was time to focus on my work.
* * *
A new structure, [Fairy of the Moon], had been built on the Moon. Dwarven Construction’s CEO Kim Seong-sik beamed as he praised his employees.
“Everyone, great job! Final payments and dismissed!”
I stuffed myself full on the mountain of food, then stood up. Beside me, the giantkin Mamoru, who’d eaten with me, turned his head.
“Oh! Stock boy heading back to Earth now?”
“Hey, you make it sound like I was obsessed just from glancing occasionally.”
Mamoru was a half-giant, half-human. Apparently, a Japanese space mercenary had rescued his giantkin mother, and they’d gotten together.
Since most of Dwarven Construction’s laborers were pure giantkin, he was especially friendly to me, a human.
‘Come to think of it, that’s impressive. Giants over 4 meters tall—how’d that even happen?’
Every time I saw him, I marveled at his nameless father. Seemed like an extraordinary man all around.
Well, a space mercenary wouldn’t be ordinary.
“Haha! That’s ‘cause you couldn’t focus on work. Still, impressive. Didn’t expect a pure human to be as strong as you. Stronger than an ogre, with that build.”
Mamoru laughed good-naturedly, then asked as if remembering something.
“Oh, right. You act in movies or something? My little sis knows you.”
The professor-aspirant film that broke 60 million domestic viewers had done well overseas too. Not all-time top, but close. Thanks to it, I’d earned a fortune.
Now all turned to stock, though.
“Yeah, something like that.”
“Why’s a movie star doing construction?”
“What kinda dumb question is that? To make money, obviously.”
Sure, movies paid more, but I couldn’t pin everything on one film.
No need to look far—upgrading my Mythic Castle alone was bottomless. I had to keep earning.
“Hmm, no next project lined up?”
“There are talks.”
Talks aplenty, actually. Not just movies, but dramas and variety show regulars too.
‘The pay’s not great. More restrictions than expected. Might as well do construction gigs or fights for better returns.’
Fixed salaries were mediocre, and running guarantees rare, so the more I looked, the more I realized how sweet Alan’s deal had been.
Investors choking talent didn’t sound like a joke.
“Hmm, wanna come to our Christmas party then? My sis is in film too—lots to talk about.”
I shook my head at Mamoru’s offer.
“Nah, can’t. Got plans.”
“As expected of a celeb. How about New Year’s Day?”
“That might work. Won’t stay long with my schedule.”
Busy modern life.
Work here done, time to line up the next.
“You live jammed-packed. The cash from this gig alone could let you coast months.”
“It’s not just for food and shelter.”
In the end, after finishing all tasks, I warped back to Earth via gate. No time for leisure with my packed schedule.
“Blue Corner! The terrifying rookie charging toward pro at breakneck speed! The Emperor! Han Jaeyeon!”
Opponents were still weak.
I’d outgrown amateur, but semis meant middling foes. The strongest barely reached completion.
No license needed in this free league, but pros required minimum matches, so I fought steadily whenever possible.
“What a cocky nickname. A green rookie calling himself Emperor.”
My opponent taunted me.
My only reply was my fist.
Boom!
“Down! Down! Blue Corner wins!”
After the match, I headed home.
“But he always pondered. What is the way of the sword? Is the meaning in this motion more valuable than life and death? Shine Light, in the midst of the battlefield...”
Kept filming videos too.
And slept.
“Ah, time’s wasting...”
Hated sleeping on Earth if possible. Every hour asleep was lost earning time.
But with Ardania’s time critical too, what could I do?
Anyway, after sleeping and waking.
I donned my usual suit and headed to the hotel.
“No stay voucher like last year?”
Revenge’s sales were steady, yet VVIP perks had thinned. Not shoddy Nemesis customer service—probably meant their cash was drying up from the stock war.
“Well, can’t be helped.”
I stopped mid-stride to the hotel.
“Meow.”
Locking eyes with Cheda, I knew what it wanted and leaped it onto the nearby railing, pulling up the stock screen.
‘Totally automatic. No wonder Mamoru griped about me being a stock nut.’
Not selling or buying, yet checking every spare moment—inevitable.
But who wouldn’t?
Nemesis – 20,459,430 won (+2,011,800 won)↑
“Whoa.”
Still breathtaking.
“Whoa, for real.”
An overwhelmingly red tide.