Chapter 186
Chapter 186
-----------------------------------------------------------------
Translator: penny
Chapter: 185
Chapter Title: Nemesis Shares Plummet
-----------------------------------------------------------------
[StockN: The stock you care about has plummeted!]
[Nemesis (↓10%)]
My heart sank in an instant. That was because I held a fair amount of Nemesis stock. Of course, it wasn't a huge amount—just enough to summon NPCs or for board patches—but with Nemesis shares being so expensive lately, even that was worth billions.
"No way, what the hell? Did some scandal break about the monster incident?"
I had my suspicions. After all, monsters from the games were pouring into reality, and a good number of them had even been identified as coming from specific games.
'Honestly, it wouldn't be surprising if people lashed out in anger.'
If this weren't the 34th Earth ruled by the Game God, the victims of the monster crisis would've burned down the game companies and lynched their CEOs ages ago.
Of course, grilling them or causing havoc wouldn't improve the situation at all, but humans aren't exactly rational creatures.
Even if there's zero gain, they'll still do it just to vent their frustration.
'In other words... it might actually be happening in other civilizations right now.'
Out of the eleven games tied to the monster crisis, three were released on the 34th Earth.
Revenge, the MMORPG I played.
Blade & Magic, the skill-based god-game AOS.
The Darkest Despair, a roguelike hardcore game.
Of the remaining eight, four weren't made on the 34th Earth but were at least serviced here, or their identities were known.
'Like the card game made by Merlin, or Dark Star.'
The last four were complete mysteries—no one knew where they came from. Their styles were obvious enough, but no concrete info.
My guess was that developers or service providers for those games from civilizations outside the 34th Earth were facing all sorts of ordeals.
"Anyway, the priority right now is Nemesis."
I patted Cheda's belly and scoured the internet.
Amid the chaos of articles and news about the monster crisis, I found the info I wanted.
[Steel Realm activates the First Armory, sealed for 15 years.]
[Korean government approves use of 150 quintillion 6 quadrillion in government reserves...]
[United States launches Tera-class battleship Death Star... Crush Hunter President. Looking forward to the elders' performance...]
News galore, stocks soaring and crashing. Government announcements and public reactions.
As a socialite obsessed with money and the CEO of Humanity Empire, I quickly grasped the situation.
'Capital is shifting.'
A significant chunk of capital invested in the gaming industry was moving to war-related companies and figures.
It wasn't that Revenge had a problem.
The entire global capital structure was being reshaped.
'Too orderly. This isn't something individuals could pull off.'
It was just like when I summoned NPCs to combat gold inflation by flooding the market with items or selectively releasing player jobs and skill books to balance things.
I could clearly sense the will of the [Above].
In other words, all this was...
'War preparations.'
Until now, the 34th Earth had been at peace.
Its power was so overwhelming that even this cosmic disaster of a monster crisis felt like someone else's problem. A combat ogre appearing in the middle of a city would just get beaten to death by civilians—what incident could possibly happen?
But even on such a 34th Earth... the raid by eleven level-22 Transcendent-grade monsters was a shock.
Surfing the net, I saw playful posts.
[Ah! On our divine Transcendent Earth, it's a 3-minute meal?]
[Just 11 Transcendents here!]
[Transcendent-grade monster: Wait, where the fuck am I?]
They mocked the Transcendent-grade monsters. And not just that.
[Transcendent wiped out instantly without a single one of our own.GIF]
[The majesty of the 34th Earth that shocks the entire universe.]
[11 reasons why our military can handle Transcendents easily.]
[Choco's too cute ㅠㅠ Can we keep him at our house?]
└Choco (Assets: 3 quadrillion): Butler, go fetch some Puwa Gra.
[The story behind new Transcendent Han Jaeyeon's light-speed charge?]
Earth pride that was rare before was rampant, praising and lauding the Transcendents.
Paradoxically, this happened because people felt a sense of crisis. The default vibe on peaceful, laid-back 34th Earth was to stay cool about everything.
'Honestly, we blocked it too perfectly.'
Yes. The Transcendents' attack had been defended so flawlessly that no one could nitpick. In other words, even with that perfect defense, thousands had died.
What if the Transcendents hadn't responded so aggressively?
What if we hadn't predicted the attack locations accurately?
What if the battles had lasted 10 or 20 minutes instead of 3?
'If that had happened... it wouldn't have been thousands dead, but hundreds of thousands.'
The people of the 34th Earth, accustomed to peace, were shocked and terrified by that fact, and it became [public opinion] as is. With the [Above] even taking the lead, it wouldn't take long for the already pent-up might of the 34th Earth to gain direction.
"I can't tell if this is good or bad. Feels like something massive is about to go down."
Still, the immediate priority was stocks.
I'd already lost over ten million from the 10% drop... but maybe this was an opportunity.
On the bright side, wasn't it a discount sale?
A sharp drop like this for Revenge, which had been soaring, was extremely rare.
Nemesis – 11,133,110 won (-1,253,200 won) ↓
It had fallen over 10%, but still expensive.
"Ah... I should've bought a ton when it was 1.22 million."
Unfortunately, I was broke back then.
If I'd had the 15 billion I just earned from a mere 3-minute fight, I could've snagged 10,000 shares...
"Yeah. Better to earn more money now... but the web novel views won't drop, right?"
Feeling uneasy, I sat down and started working.
The stockpile of manuscripts built up over ten years was enormous—releasing it all at once would cause issues—so instead of dumping one work, I serialized multiple ones simultaneously, typing all day.
"Login."
"Logout."
One day, two days, three days, four days.
I kept typing nonstop. Of course, I didn't just transcribe all day.
⤷SupremeLawyer: Killy, floor boss appeared on 3rd floor of Infinite Tower!
⤷Killians: On my way!
⤷Ares (Guild Master): Jaeyeon, you're busy, but mind joining the raid?
⤷Killians: Just popping in between, it's fine!
⤷Ares (Guild Master): Haha. A raid with a Transcendent—my heart swells.
The guild [big bros] no longer saw me as a little bro. Fair enough—even if a known little bro suddenly became a congressman, it'd be awkward; now that I was something beyond existence itself, it'd be weirder if they weren't burdened.
But I didn't cut ties in the game. These connections helped me too.
⤷Ares (Guild Master): Jaeyeon, might be awkward, but the chief keeps asking...
⤷Killians: Oh, the broadcast thing? Here's the number—pass it on.
⤷Ares (Guild Master): For real? Oh, thanks!
⤷SupremeLawyer: Bro lololol look at you pulling strings lololol
⤷Killians: Strings? It's networking. Just match the pay right and it's all good ^^!
⤷Ares (Guild Master): Haha! That guy's not stingy, so expect good news.
I subtly leaked contact info. No worry about randos calling—even on wild 34th Earth, a Transcendent wasn't a joke.
Even cabinet ministers hesitated to contact one, let alone someone with actual power.
Thud thud thud.
Thud thud thud thud!
I ran the game 24/7 while typing. My now-familiar transcription speed hit over 40 books a day!
But at some point.
Thud thud... Crack!
"Ah."
The keyboard finally shattered, unable to withstand the typing.
It was a carefully chosen one, but it couldn't handle 40 books daily every day.
"Since it's broken... time for a break."
Four days of writing had stocked over 150 books. I had way more manuscripts, but web novels aren't magic wands that endlessly churn cash from stockpiles.
'The market needs time to digest!'
Slow releases made readers beg for more, speeding up boosted sales.
But infinite speed-up for infinite sales? No.
Even one book a day, eventually readers couldn't keep up.
Above all, readers pay to read, so they only buy what they can consume.
Readers have lives; no one reads multiple books daily forever.
Only a tiny fraction could.
"Gotta earn through other means besides novels."
I opened the stock app and checked Nemesis.
Nemesis – 9,886,330 won (+11,200 won) ↑
Down over 15% from peak, but the decline stopped, slowly rebounding.
No major bad news for Nemesis, so this was already a big drop.
"First... let's buy 1 billion worth. Cheda."
At my call, Cheda mewed softly and met my eyes.
Iris scan.
Lick!
I extended my hand; it licked my finger.
DNA confirmed.
"Meow!"
1 billion in funds turned to stock. Including what I already held, I now had 1,050 Nemesis shares. Thinking back to buying 2,000 with pocket change hurts... but Revenge's status changed, so unavoidable.
'We'll see how far this goes later...'
For now, the key was...
Earn more money.
I used Cheda to make calls.
First, director Allen.
[Oh! Finally got time? Spot's open! Prep and talks are almost done! Can start in 2 weeks!]
As expected, not immediate, but anticipated.
Next, Mercenary Management Agency.
[Missions now assignable. 17 available. Sending details...]
Mercenary work finally underway.
But not the end.
[What? Broadcast!? I'd be honored! Jaeyeon, tomorrow works! What? Want max pay on as many shows as possible? Heh, thug talk... but of course!]
Sorting schedule while listening to excited PD Na Taeseok.
"Ah... should I get a manager?"
The thought crossed my mind, but salary's a waste.
Better handle it myself and buy one more share.
"And finally, ads..."
"Meow!"
Then Cheda suddenly mewed.
"What? Broadcast station calling already?"
Puzzled, I looked at Cheda. Text appeared on its forehead—not a station rep.
Or maybe it was.
[Flower.]
The name of Green Dragon, one head of the Chromatic Dragon.
"No, what's up suddenly..."
"Meow!"
Cheda mewed again. My expectation of few calls was off. Checked the name.
Definitely not a station rep this time.
[Bae Sarang.]