Chapter 103
Chapter 103
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Translator: penny
Chapter: 102
Chapter Title: My Conclusion
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"Wow."
Even seeing it again, I couldn't help but gasp in admiration.
"Wow, for real."
It was an overwhelmingly vivid red.
"End."
Worried someone might see, I turned off the screen, and Cheda's fur smoothed down with a rustle, returning to its brown color. I strode into the hotel, deep in thought.
'What should I do? How should I handle this?'
Forty billion won.
An amount I'd never even dreamed of in my lifetime. Even now, as my abilities improved and I earned incomparably more than before, it still felt unreal.
"Just... just... just!"
My heart pounded wildly.
'Sell... should I sell it all?'
Every wild idea raced through my mind. With forty billion, I could snag a Mythic class, guardian spirit, pet, not to mention Mythic gear and skills.
I already dominated the auction house, so I didn't need all forty billion. I could probably manage with ten billion or less.
Of course, there were issues.
'If I do that and Revenge shuts down, losing all my game abilities, I'd be totally screwed.'
Money gone, abilities gone—the worst-case scenario.
There were other options, though.
'Sell all the stock now and pocket the forty billion in cash.'
Couldn't enter Ardenia anymore?
I'd still have forty billion.
Game abilities disappear?
I'd still have forty billion.
"Haha. What am I even thinking?"
For most people, this wouldn't even be a dilemma. With forty billion, you wouldn't need to invest—just park it in the bank, and the monthly interest alone would top sixty million won.
What did monthly interest of sixty million mean?
'It means I never have to work again until I die.'
A luxurious life in a nice house, wearing fine clothes, eating delicious food. The dream life so many people yearned for.
But I shook my head.
"...That's ridiculous."
A purely comfortable life, lounging around eating without working.
If that's what I wanted, I wouldn't have felt such immense joy when thrown into the hellish medieval world of Land.
'Hah. Lately I've been too obsessed with money. Lost my head for a moment.'
The old me placed no value on money. I never envied the rich or obsessed over how to make more.
Funny how things worked.
Now, slaving away every day earned me more than when I was broke and jobless, yet money felt even more valuable.
'In that sense, using this forty billion to protect Revenge is an option. Support CEO Bae Sarang or something.'
Worth considering. These abilities and Ardenia meant too much to me.
But problems there too.
'Even pouring all this money in might not save Revenge.'
Forty billion was impossible for an individual to earn in lifetimes, but to a mega-corp, it might not even cover one project.
Adding my support to Nemesis Soft might not sway whether Revenge lives or dies.
"Hello, sir. Do you have a reservation?"
A bright-faced staffer at the counter spoke up.
"No. I'm here for the Nemesis Soft user meet-and-greet."
"Right this way."
As I followed the staffer, my thoughts wandered.
'What if... I convert the whole forty billion to diamonds and hole up in Ardenia?'
Time in reality froze when entering Ardenia. More precisely, while the greater universe's time marched on, my personal pocket universe accelerated infinitely.
In other words.
'If I enter Ardenia and never come out, I won't worry about Revenge shutting down.'
Even when I lived twenty years in Ardenia, Earth time hadn't budged. Probably the same after a hundred years.
And with forty billion, over a hundred years... I might unify the continent and reach transcendence.
Then return to Earth.
"And then... return."
My thoughts stalled there. What would a transcendent do back on Earth?
The 34th Earth was a demon realm where even transcendent beings got arrested for breaking the law.
Once transcendent, you dominated planets and were worshipped as gods in lower civilizations—that was a whole different level.
Plus, Sky Soft's CEO Shining was a transcendent too. This situation needed money, not force.
'Besides, I'm a promising actor and high-rank ability user now. Even without a big hit like this movie or encyclopedia, I can hold a yearly salary of ten billion.'
Yeah. Abandoning Earth entirely felt wasteful.
'Right! No matter how much forty billion is, if it were me! If it were me...'
My thoughts halted again.
'Damn. Forty years to earn that.'
Forty billion really was too much.
The elevator doors opened, and a waiting staffer bowed politely.
"Welcome, Mr. Han Jaeyeon. This way to your seat."
Following the handoff staffer to my spot, Seongjae, already seated, raised a hand in greeting.
"Jaeyeon!"
Female staffers whispering and stealing glances at him caught my ear.
[Oh my. They must be close.]
[But the game he plays is kinda lame. They say it's for old guys.]
[Money lets you do anything! What's not possible?]
[True. Ah... Seongjae is so handsome.]
Even without investing in agility stats, collection rewards made me overly sensitive.
"You made it too."
"Of course. Revenge is on the line here."
As he said, the gathered users buzzed with unease. They'd all seen Sky Soft CEO Shining's interview.
"...The worst is that he made a Declaration of Truth."
"He'll push his goals no matter the losses..."
"No way. Shutting down a perfectly fine game just 'cause he doesn't like it? Isn't that offending the God of Justice?"
"But stocks are up, so profit."
Some confused, some angry, some thrilled.
⤷YouandMe: Ah! Should've bought early! It's skyrocketing like crazy.
⤷GonnaBeMajorShareholder: 25 million, go go!
⤷WiseInvestor: This is still climbing, but no sellers.
⤷ImMeAfterAll: Sky really eating Nemesis? For real?
⤷GonnaBeMajorShareholder: Who cares, go go! Go go!
The stock board blazed hot.
In the 34th Earth, where Truth God and Justice God prevented scams or manipulations, such stock frenzy was rare.
Especially for a mega-corp, not some small fry.
"Hello. I'm Bae Sarang, CEO of Nemesis."
Then CEO Bae Sarang appeared.
Gone was last year's vibrant confidence—her face etched with fatigue and fury.
She stood before the crowd with shining eyes.
"Is Nemesis okay right now?"
"They say Sky Soft grabbed 25% shares!"
"Is Revenge done for?"
Suits fired questions.
Businessmen first, gamers second. No fooling them with vague words.
"Of course we're fine. Revenge is still number one in revenue, and we're the developers of Second Life, patented by Ouroboros!"
Sarang answered calmly.
Questions and responses sharp as a hearing, not a casual meet-and-greet.
Surprisingly, she handled it well.
'No gaps logically. Even a giant like Sky Soft can't swallow Nemesis.'
Nemesis wasn't some dime-a-dozen mid-tier; they made the top revenue game. No excessive debt—hostile takeover? Absurd.
'But the problem... is that things stopped being sensible long ago.'
Nemesis stock tanking despite top game and world-shocking tech? Nonsense.
Not just me—many realized Nemesis's situation was off.
"This makes no sense. Did we piss off a game master? Over aggressive monetization?"
"No way. Game masters wouldn't care about trivial stuff."
"This is top secret, but among transcendents..."
Whispers spread.
A chill hit me.
'Ah, this... the vibe is seriously bad.'
Seongjae looked uneasy too, whispering.
"Wow. This feels heavy. Revenge really closing?"
Sarang tried persuading users and shareholders with poise and reason, but the murmurs persisted.
No logical holes, all true—yet no convincing.
"Thank you all."
After her deep bow, I left the hotel.
Seongjae tempted me with a actors' Christmas party, but I had prior plans.
"With this! The 53rd! Sky Soft user--! Meet-and-greet--! Begins--! Now---!"
The MC's roar triggered fireworks.
Boom boom boom!
"Woooaaah!"
Sky Soft's rented amusement park swarmed with over a hundred thousand users.
Even more—five times that—joined via connectors without coming.
"Wow... the atmosphere's totally different."
Nemesis's event was invite-only for big-spending VVIPs: luxury hotel, lavish gifts, services.
Sky Soft's was open chaos.
Countless users tried Sky Soft's past games, joined history quizzes, competed in versus matches, demoed upcoming titles.
Rides spun nonstop.
People laughed and enjoyed.
[Everyone ready to have fun---!]
"Oh, guest performers too."
A stage in one corner hosted a singer even I recognized.
The "Little Prince," nickname cute but over a century old.
[My weary heart~ can't pull itself together~]
His voice boomed, laced with spirit waves shaking ability users.
Riding the vibe, he held out the mic.
[Come on, everyone together!]
"Hmmmmm~ hmm~"
"Fine~~ hmm~~"
"Too muuuuch~~~ hmmmmm~"
Dazed fans mumbled garbled words. The Little Prince's face stiffened.
[...Wait, you guys don't know my song?]
"Now it's~ hmmmmm~"
"No matter~~ hmmmmm~"
Humming everywhere. Famous tune, but lyrics forgotten.
Snap.
Suddenly, the park darkened.
And.
[LOST]
Giant letters hovered center park.
[World]
"Woooaaah!"
"Here it is! Finally!"
"Love you, Shining hyung!"
Indifferent to the elder's song—geimers who'd hummed politely out of pity—exploded.
Earth-shaking cheers, ground quaking stomps.
The Little Prince on stage looked deflated amid the frenzy.
"Hah, you wouldn't budge no matter what... Fine! Got paid, that's what counts! Sky Soft forever!"
"Sky Soft forever!"
"Woooaaah!"
Amid the mania, I stood still.
'I see. This... is an unwinnable fight.'
Revenge shone as global revenue king.
But players, fame, rep? Nowhere close.
No—honestly, it was downright bad.
'No joke. Sky Soft could pull dirty, unjust moves, and judgments might flip.'
Even if Sky Soft broke laws against Nemesis, masses might cheer it as 'teaching greedy leeches a lesson.'
That gap.
I made my choice.
"Welcome to Nemesis Soft. How may I help?"
"Stock sale. Can I see the CEO?"
"Stocks... how many..."
"About 2,000 shares."
"Uh, hmm. I'll pass it up."
Normally impossible.
2,000 or 20,000 shares—showing up unannounced to see the CEO?
But Nemesis now treasured even 100 shares, teetering on collapse.
I soon met CEO Bae Sarang.
"We've met before. Long time no see, Mr. Han Jaeyeon. Became a famous actor in the meantime?"
She greeted with a tired face.
Straight to the point.
"I'll sell all my Nemesis shares back to you."
"Thank you. But our cash flow's tight, so payment might take time..."
"No need for cash."
"...Pardon?"
Suspicion crossed her face, then wariness. Deep in her eyes, disgust flickered.
"Your shares... convert to cash, over forty billion. Could rise more. You're forfeiting that... for something else?"
Her kind smile vanished, despair settling in.
To her, I said.
"Yes. Diamonds instead."
"How could you ask... Pardon? What?"
Stunned, uncomprehending, I repeated to her blank expression.
"Diamonds. For my shares. Selling to you for diamonds."
"Ehhh?"
Disgust and wariness gone, replaced by bafflement. Trash-stare turned to lunatic-stare.
Ignoring it, I told her.
"But ten times the value."
Push as far as possible; if fails, bolt to Ardenia.
This was my conclusion.