Chapter 164
Chapter 164
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Translator: penny
Chapter: 163
Chapter Title: An Awesome Elixir
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"It's an awesome elixir."
"An awesome elixir...? "
My skin felt like it was burning. Not because any actual heat was being applied.
It was just a reaction to my heightened senses picking up on the destructive power contained within that tiny bead.
If I'd seen it before getting my Dimensional Awl Heart surgery, I probably would've just thought it was a red gemstone.
"Here, read the description on this."
At his words, I examined the glowing gem closely. But no item window popped up or anything like that.
"...No window's appearing."
"That's because it's not an item. The fact that a non-item object made it into the inner world says a lot."
His explanation sparked a hunch. Wasn't the Zero Sum on my left arm exactly like that?
"Is it a transcendent weapon?"
Not an object, but a consumable? As I stared in disbelief, Merlin answered.
"To be precise, it means it possesses one of absoluteness, invariance, or divinity. This one's invariance infused with divinity—specifically, it's Geralt with added divinity."
Geralt, the universal cosmic currency.
It wasn't actually a unit of credit; it was the name of a rare metal. In other words, the cosmic currency called Geralt meant the greater universe operated on a sort of gold standard.
'Oh, so my Zero Sum must be Geralt too... Makes sense, since it's a required material for transcendent weapons.'
A sudden curiosity hit me.
"So, how much Geralt is this worth?"
"It's been processed multiple times, so not exact, but... roughly around 220 billion Geralt."
I did the math for a moment as he spoke. One Geralt was currently worth about 3,000 won.
Which meant 220 billion Geralt was...
"..."
My brain froze for a second. The number didn't make sense. It was on the level of a national budget.
660 trillion won.
Merlin nodded at my shocked expression.
"It's expensive, yeah. Geralt is so rare that production facilities were invented for it, but they cost way too much in labor."
"Expensive...? "
I let out an incredulous laugh. No matter how you sliced it, this couldn't be right.
Swapping seven half-baked legendary cards for something like this?
'Not that I'm complaining.'
Still, I asked cautiously.
"Um... could I maybe not eat it and just sell it for cash instead?"
"..."
Merlin gave me a look of utter disbelief, but I held his gaze steadily.
It was only natural.
Sure, this elixir was awesome.
'No, it has to be.'
There was no way a 660-trillion-won elixir wouldn't be. It was probably beyond awesome—completely insane levels of power.
But... with 660 trillion won in spending power, I could wield something far more tremendous. Swallowing my embarrassment, I protested.
"But it's 660 trillion won! That's enough to buy the game company outright!"
Merlin looked startled at my words.
"What? Only 660 trillion!? Wait, so... your place values one Geralt at 3,000 won?"
His math was quick.
"Yeah, about that much."
"No way. Geralt prices have skyrocketed lately—how's it only 3,000 won? How much does a meal cost you guys? 100 won? 120?"
It sounded like something a chaebol heir would say, but I answered anyway.
"A jjajangmyeon and tangsuyuk set is around 10,000 won."
"...Nah, maybe food prices are off. What's the minimum hourly wage?"
"About 12,000 won..."
"Whoa, insane! You can earn four Geralt in an hour at minimum wage? Is this the paradise I've only heard about? Man, the rumors didn't do it justice."
Merlin shook his head in amazement.
"Wow. No wonder you're obsessed with spending power instead of popularity. You hit the jackpot with your world. And the game? Total god game."
"G-God game?"
To me, who'd cursed it daily as a trashy pay-to-win game, it was shocking.
But Merlin just seemed annoyed.
"You don't appreciate your blessings. If I'd gotten into that game, I'd be flying around at mid-tier godhood by now... Argh! Why a card game? Why did I even make this crap...?"
He grumbled softly, then explained.
"I deal in popularity. You deal in spending power. That guy's got ranking power or whatever he calls it... but it all boils down to the same thing."
"The root is the same..."
"Yeah. It's all karma. Industry. Making a game popular so tons of people play it. Fighting opponents and racking up wins. And..."
"Spending money to make more money..."
Money was everything in civilization. It made people laugh, cry, and put a price on the entire world. It moved billions, even made transcendent beings work!
"It's just different circumstances leading to different methods. Clear the conditions, and you can build karma your way. For example, winning sieges in Revenge boosts spending power too. Even I started out building popularity with spending."
"Then why not keep doing that?"
"You think you could infinitely farm spending power that way? This is my game to begin with."
"Oh."
Yeah, that made sense. Dark Star was his creation—he ran the service.
If he poured money in, it just came back to his pocket. Spend it again, back to his pocket...
"It caps out at about five million won. Spending in-game only generates spending power up to the game's total popularity. Circulating money inside just boosts spending power while chipping away at popularity."
I paused at his words.
'Huh? Isn't that...'
A realization hit me.
'Wasn't my latest ad exactly that?'
The 30-billion-won ad from Nemesis was the 'internal circulation' he mentioned. It padded spending power short-term, but eroded overall popularity.
' Gotta hold back from now on.'
Revenge had so much built-up popularity that repeating those ads could make spending pointless.
"So being a god game means..."
"My popularity is measured in Geralt, but yours is probably in won, right?"
"Yeah."
"What's the ratio of cash spent to spending power?"
"About one-to-one."
"See what that means?"
"..."
As I stared blankly, Merlin said it.
"Nemesis reinvests over 90% of Revenge's earnings."
"!"
It was mind-blowing in hindsight. Everyone trashed it as a trashy pay-to-win game, but they weren't pocketing the profits? I'd heard implementing Grade-1 immersion cost a fortune.
Merlin dropped another bombshell.
"And Nemesis only runs Revenge. Imagine if they used those earnings to make a new game. What happens then?"
"It'd deduct popularity?"
"By the amount the company spends."
"!"
"Get it now? God game. Absolute god game. They grind hard, rake in insane cash, and reinvest every bit. I'd carry the dev around on my back daily if they ran my game like that."
"Revenge is a god game..."
Unbelievable. Was this really reality?
Merlin shook his head at my stunned face and changed the subject.
"And you can't sell this elixir to anyone else. If you could, no amount of popularity-infused cards—even seven legendaries—would trade for it. Not even seven mythics."
It rang too true to argue. Merlin explained.
"This elixir... in game terms, it's a bugged item. Try taking it to the physical world, and it triggers a ban."
"...A ban?"
"Yeah. And in the physical world? That's basically death."
I tilted my head, confused.
'No bugs in reality, right?'
A ban in real life? The only ones who could pull that off...
"Wait a sec."
My wild guess made Merlin confirm it.
"Yup. It's tied to the Creator God. It's like pulling ultimate aggro with a setting-destroying nuke—you can't even duplicate it for trade. Only you two, outside [His] gaze, can handle it. And even then, only consumable—not equippable."
"Item duping in reality..."
As I reeled, Crushed Sack—who'd been left out of our chat—raised his hand.
"Wh-what about me? I want awesome elixir too!"
Merlin chuckled.
"Oh yeah? What're you offering me then?"
"Uh, what I can give is..."
Poof!
A sword appeared in Crushed Sack's hand.
[Shein's Sword (Lv. 3)]
Physical Coefficient: 0.7
[Spellblade (Common)]
Merlin and I shook our heads in unison.
"Junk."
"No popularity on it either."
Crushed Sack looked crestfallen at the cold reception.
"I-I don't have much now, but I'll repay the favor somehow!"
Bold, but it fell flat.
"Even if you're the only ones who can take it off our hands, you can't just demand it for free."
"But Killians gave me a class card! I climbed to Bronze 5 with that power!"
"A class card for this? Come on."
Merlin snorted and raised his right hand.
"Mind if I pull out my deck?"
Curiosity struck me.
"Wait, do you actually need permission for that?"
"Nah, it's duelist etiquette... Damn, I've picked up their habits."
Grumbling, he grabbed one of seven floating decks; the rest vanished. Five cards lined up before him, deck fixed to the left.
Hum!
In one second, he infused mana into a mana orb. But unlike before, he made a second, then a third.
No enemies around, so turns didn't matter. Cards auto-drew from the deck with each orb.
I raised my hand.
"Wait, if you can do that, couldn't you just stockpile mana orbs for ten turns in an empty area and start spamming ten-turn spells?"
"Mana orbs aren't that easy. Plus, no [enemy] for 30 seconds? They reset. Problem is, some cheese players exist."
"Cheese?"
"Ugh, monsters pulling that crap drives me nuts. Mana Growth! Dr. Dwyn's Operating Table! Rain of Mana Recovery!"
Ten mana orbs formed instantly, and a fancy operating table appeared. Merlin gestured lightly, and Crushed Sack floated onto it.
"Merlin?"
"Enchant! Astral Body!"
Roooar!
All ten mana vanished as a divine aura settled over Crushed Sack. Then:
"Rain of Mana Recovery!"
Full mana restore.
"Enchant! Marrow Cleansing!"
Flash!
"Urgh... Ack!"
A brilliant light hit, twisting Crushed Sack's face in pain. Merlin said:
"Head out and tough it out till the spell finishes. Your body's a mess—this alone will change everything."
"Ugh... Th-thanks... Bro! I-I'll kiss your... feet... big time!"
I was shocked.
'Talking through Marrow Cleansing? Delayed application?'
But Merlin seemed impressed too.
"...Tough bastard. It's even used as an attack card in a pinch."
"Heh. My toughness is sticky, chewy, tasty, and fun..."
Merlin eyed his rambling, then smirked.
"Weird talk... Whatever. Just don't pass out. Spell cancels if you do."
Poof!
Crushed Sack vanished from the inner world.
Merlin stared at the spot.
"Clockwork Galaxy Pharaoh Realm native. Dwarves rule the world, enslaving all other races—a low civilization."
"You figured that out already?"
"Not hard. Two-civ level, no intervention worth it. Not fighting a holy world god over it."
From his words, I realized Merlin had pinpointed not just Crushed Sack, but my world—maybe even me personally. I'd dropped plenty of hints in our talk.
Didn't matter, though.
'Earth has a game master scarier than any holy world god. I'm not some pushover either.'
Anyway, not the point.
"If I can't sell it, I'll consume it. Just swallow it?"
Time to down the awesome elixir.