Chapter 190
Chapter 190
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Translator: penny
Chapter: 189
Chapter Title: Distribution Ratio 10:0.
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‘Crazy, just crazy. Must have a ton of money.’
There was no way I wasn’t going to accept this. Of course, it was suspiciously generous.
‘I thought Flower was the odd one, but the rest of the members give off the same vibe.’
If a small-time agency with middling talent had brought this contract, it would’ve been understandable as an absurd condition.
I was a Transcendent and an Apostle of the Game God.
Any ambitious agency would see value in a 10:0 split. Especially now, with the monster outbreaks.
But the other party was an agency with only one act under its banner. Dragon Star changed the equation.
If their goal wasn’t profit but F·D’s idol activities, then this contract was pure kindness.
‘If someone else had brought this, I’d feel a bit uneasy…….’
Worrying about dragons was the most useless thing in the world.
Accepting it eagerly was the obvious choice.
“We’ve coordinated with all the targets you mentioned: 17 TV appearances, one movie shoot, and three mercenary missions at the same location. Contracts are complete. We’ve received 27 ad requests, and we’ll compile and send the details later.”
Cheda sat at the desk, explaining in a calm voice. Naturally, it was the person on the other end of the call speaking through her.
He had contacted everyone I’d been reaching out to, rescheduled everything, and handled all negotiations with networks and advertisers.
Thanks to him, I just sat back, and in half a day, I had a lineup of shows ready to appear on.
“The detailed schedule will be continuously updated in Dragon Star’s exclusive app, so just follow that.”
“Got it. Thank you, Audukserni.”
My call partner was a rare breed among the Noblesse, close to royalty. The Shadow Dragon Audukserni. He didn’t seem thrilled, but he’d promised to handle everything except personally shadowing me.
“I…… sigh. It’s just work, no need to thank me.”
“Still, thanks.”
“Yeah. Hanging up now.”
Once the call ended, I couldn’t help but marvel.
“Wow, having an agency sure is convenient.”
I got why celebrities joined agencies. I could’ve handled contacts, meetings, and negotiations myself, but the convenience was on another level.
Dragon Star’s care didn’t end there.
“Guess that’s the last of it here.”
I tidied up the studio apartment. The only clothes worth keeping were the suit from Bae Sarang and the two from Flower; the rest were rags I could toss. No other belongings, so everything crammed into the 30-cubic-meter inventory in my mercenary ID.
Click.
I locked the door and left. Dragon Star would handle the legalities, so I just walked away.
“Arf! Arf arf!”
Standing at the elevator, I heard a dog bark.
“Ugh! What’s got you so excited, bouncing like…… Huh?”
A woman walking a live dog spotted me and froze in surprise.
Her familiar voice made me smile faintly as I greeted her.
“Hello.”
“Y-Yes! Hello! I thought you’d be gone by now…….”
Her face screamed, *Why’s a Transcendent living in a studio?* She was Song Hana, the SWAT combat officer. Not close acquaintances, but we’d crossed paths several times.
“Today’s my last day. I heard you prevented a disaster when I reached the Transcendent realm…… Thank you so much.”
She’d been on my floor as a combat officer and stopped the catastrophe. If she hadn’t risked it all to hurl me into the Backworld, I’d still be drowning in lawsuits.
I bowed deeply, and Hana shook her head in startled refusal.
“It was just my job! I even got promoted because of it.”
“Still, thank you. If I can ever help you out, just call.”
I exchanged contacts on impulse. Probably because I was feeling sentimental about the encounter.
Maybe it was something I should’ve done anyway.
“Take care.”
“Oh, take care!”
The woman who’d once shocked me as a Sword Master gazed after me with eyes full of awe.
‘A lot happened here.’
I had no attachment to the building itself. It was just a place to sleep. I ate mostly in Ardania, so no favorite local spots or acquaintances.
But since moving in…… my life had transformed. The guy who rented this on a soldier’s pay was a world away from me now.
‘It was non-stop hard work, alright.’
I worked and fought like mad. Honestly, it wasn’t that tough because the future was clear.
Lost in those thoughts, a voice cut in.
“Stop.”
“……?”
I halted at the sudden command. Turning, I saw a burly man staring at me.
He spoke.
“Long time no see. Heard you’ve skyrocketed in the meantime.”
His suppressed tone made me think.
‘Oh no, big trouble.’
This was a serious crisis.
‘Who is this guy?’
I lived in two worlds alternately. Completely separate timelines with no overlap, so a moment on 34th Earth could be decades in Ardania, and vice versa.
If it hadn’t been long, no issue. But years? Problems piled up. Recent events in one world were ancient history in the other.
I racked my brain desperately.
“Oh, long time no see. Has it really been that long since we worked that part-time job…….”
“What’re you talking about? Part-time?”
‘Damn, wrong.’
I thought he was the guy from the convenience store gig who applied to Steel Giant Mage Tower with me. Nope.
“Uh, my bad. Not part-time, full-time. At Wungnyeo Steel…….”
“What the hell? Why keep bringing up jobs?”
‘Wrong again? Not a coworker?’
Anxiety surged. This could turn into a personality controversy.
No helping it. Recent to them might be ten years to me.
‘Who is it? Staff from a shoot? No, seems like a work acquaintance…… Military senior/junior?’
No certainty. Army buddies I loathed back then? Names and faces now fuzzy.
‘No way, middle or high school classmate?’
If so, even worse. Not ten years—thirty. Or forty, counting Earth time.
As I reflected on my life.
The man couldn’t stand my silence and bellowed.
“How dare you! How can you so utterly disrespect your home planet and people? Have you no patriotism?”
His words chilled my head. Relief washed over me too.
“Oh, it’s just the Celestial Society? Wasted my worry, you…….”
“P-Planet? Planet?! You bastard! You doomed the Celestial Society, and that’s your attitude…….”
“Yeah, it was you.”
I smirked and stepped forward. He flinched but snarled, refusing to back down like it was his last pride.
“Y-You, if you dare assault me!”
“Dare?”
“I’ll report you to the police right away!”
Pitiful for a Transcendent threat, but that’s 34th Earth’s reality.
‘Knows one thing, not two. Makes sense—Transcendents aren’t common encounters.’
I chuckled dryly.
“Whatever. What do you mean I doomed the Celestial Society? Sounds good, but I know nothing about it.”
I approached step by step. He trembled and yelled instead of answering.
His spirit was already crushed by mine.
I was a Transcendent.
Just my presence could kill lesser beings.
“I-I won’t, absolutely won’t agree!”
He screamed pathetically, tears-worthy. He and the Celestial Society behind him…… too small to fight or scheme against me.
Not worth a chapter.
“Agree to what? I’m not touching you.”
“What?”
“Hoo!”
I blew hard.
“Gahhhhhh!?”
The gust swept him skyward. He was a psychic, unleashed his ability, but couldn’t escape.
“Ugh— Ah— Ahhh—!”
He vanished in seconds.
“Bae Sarang was right.”
I recalled her words.
“Better get a new place if you don’t want lowlifes bothering you.”
No more such encounters now. Wasn’t that why I left the studio?
I watched him fade from view, then turned.
Time to work again.
* * *
The joy of labor.
First stop: Nemesis’s [Surreality Lab], pre-scheduled.
‘Huge…… A game company running this?’
Nemesis Soft poured every credit from Revenge back in, no profits spared. 34th Earth’s sole hyperdimension system built on such investment.
“Please take this. It lets the device observe mana flow…….”
“Starting access device calibration.”
“Could you lower your resistance temporarily?”
“Wow, you really booked a Transcendent…….”
Five or six researchers attached, hung, and even fed me things.
I asked Sarang, coordinating them.
“What’s that?”
One side held a massive metal sphere, auditorium-sized. Thousands of intertwined parts pulsed with spirit and electrical power even I couldn’t ignore.
“A tool to build components for a perfect virtual world. Every bit of Revenge’s earnings went into it.”
I lay in the access device, far larger than standard, following their guidance.
Sarang said.
“Activate it.”
“World Creator activating. Three. Two. One.”
Snap.
With a resonance, I stood amid the giant machine.
“Oh…… More realistic than ever.”
Beyond Grade 1 hyperdimension. Focusing, I knew my body was fake—but only because I was Transcendent.
The issue?
‘Just my body.’
Only me in World Creator. A normal human body, no replication of my real extreme will physique.
I closed my eyes. Sensed my distant real body, eyes shut.
Raised my hand.
“Huh!?”
“He moved!”
“Jaeyeon? Can you hear us?”
“Yes, I can.”
“As expected of a Transcendent! Maintains real control even in full immersion!”
As researchers buzzed.
“Oh, new face. Who’re you?”
A little girl approached my character in World Creator.
‘NPC? No, different.’
Shiny blonde hair. Delicate features, irresistibly cute—but not human cute.
Just over a meter tall.
Her perfect proportions evoked figurines or dolls, not kids.
“Here for tech application testing.”
I responded politely. Old me with trash mana affinity would’ve said, *What’re you doing here, kiddo?* But now I knew.
‘This one’s stronger than me.’
Not just stronger—much more. Even with my mind in the character, she didn’t restrain her power.
“Tech application testing? Ah! You’re that human Transcendent?”
She circled me curiously.
Her expression grew weirder.
“How many Paths? Nine…… ten…… eleven? And this thickness…… Are you a great artist?”
“Huh?”
Baffled by nonsense.
[Elis! Why’re you in there during testing?]
Sarang’s voice over speakers. Elis replied.
“Just taking a peek.”
[This costs 70 million a minute. Pay up, and we’re good.]
“……Cheapskate.”
She grumbled.
Flicker.
Elis vanished. I sensed her shift to reality via my real body.
‘……What?’
Confused. Looked like teleport, but impossible. My ‘character’ was in a virtual world; outside was reality.
Moving from virtual to real?
‘What’s her deal?’
As I puzzled, Sarang spoke.
[Sorry for the delay. Starting now.]
“Okay.”
Whummm—!
The mysterious giant machine hummed deeply, fully activating. I focused, accepting the mana torrent washing over me.
Speaker activated.
But I heard her real voice anyway.
“What’s this guy’s name?”
“Han Jaeyeon.”
“Han Jaeyeon. What kind of Transcendent?”
“Vitality Transcendent.”
“Aw, wish it was Chakra.”
Elis sounded disappointed.
‘Chakra’s at level 9, though.’
No need to say it.
Claiming Chakra Transcendent at level 9 was near-fraud.
What good was level 9 Chakra?
‘Not a single heavenly gate open.’
Like a mage with genius mana at 9th class power but 6th class realm. Stronger than peers, sure—tons of mana for spell spam.
But calling that 9th class equal? No.
Whummm—
Resonance intensified. Mana thickened visibly, swirling.
Sarang said.
[Jaeyeon, imagine a flower.]
[Sarang, full flower on first try’s impossible.]
[Aim for flower to at least get color. Jaeyeon, think of a vividly red flower. A bright red rose…….]
Listening, I thought.
‘Flower.’
Her words conjured an image naturally.
‘Flower.’
Not a flower.
A woman named Flower.
Pop!
[……What?]
[What is this?]
Gasps everywhere.
Flower stood before me.