Chapter 200
Chapter 200
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Translator: penny
Chapter: 199
Chapter Title: Facing the Hype Power
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Yes, finally, I've faced it too.
The hype power that Merlin had faced...
"By the way, under 0.1%?"
Thinking about it, it's pretty much spot on. Nemesis Soft's outstanding shares are around 23.92 million, so my 20,000 shares come just shy of 0.1%.
'Plus usable points at 8,771. Assuming this is after applying the value... that means Revenge's total hype power is around 8.77 million.'
Still, I have no idea if that's a high number or a low one. It'd be great if I knew the hype power for Dark Star, where Merlin invested, or Blade & Magic, with its Lump Sack.
Struck by a sudden thought, I glanced at the watch on my left wrist.
[Zero-Sum]
Gains and losses add up to zero.
[Drop Adjustment Stage 3] When acquiring hero-grade or higher items, you can nullify it and save the probability instead.
Saved probabilities can be triggered at any desired time.
99,988 points needed to rise to Stage 4.
[Event Adjustment Stage 2]
When a mid-sized event occurs, you can nullify it and save the probability instead.
100 million points needed to rise to Stage 3.
[Variable Adjustment Stage 1]
[1 million points needed to unlock.]
The transcendent weapon from Game God Gwandaeha, Zero-Sum.
Even during my 10-year rest in Ardania, I never fully utilized it. After maxing Event Adjustment at Stage 2, growth had stalled.
But regardless.
I'd stacked up stacks like crazy.
[Drop Adjustment Stage 3]
Saved Hero: 700.
Saved Legend: 311.
Saved Mythic: 1.
"Heh."
Just looking at it fills my belly. Why else would I bother dragging myself to the Temple of the Death God up top to fight those inefficient mythic trash mobs?
All for these stacks.
'And stacking even one mythic was pure luck. I don't think I caught 100,000 of them, but a mythic dropped anyway.'
Mythic regular monsters' drop tables include stuff like Elder Skeleton's Humerus (Legend), Elder Skeleton's Spine (Legend), or Elder Skeleton's Core (Mythic), which has users complaining left and right, but the key is that they include legend and mythic grades.
Anyway, since I farmed them to stack these... next time I meet a mythic monster, I can snag at least one mythic item for sure.
'And events.'
[Event Adjustment Stage 2]
Saved Large Event: 1
Saved Mid-sized Event: 2
Whenever busy work triggered events, I'd saved them all.
Haven't used any yet... but one of them has to be the type that lets me meet Merlin or Lump Sack.
"Well, I'll think about it step by step."
I organized my thoughts, then sank deep into the Landworm's seat and gazed at the rock strata visible beyond the transparent scales on its forehead.
"Hell Tower patch... no, not quite."
Then I said it.
"Update."
Wooong!
In an instant, the ground rippled like spreading waves.
The hole the Landworm had dug beforehand crumbled with a roar.
8,771 → 4,112
Hype power decreases. For a world dungeon, updating just one dungeon consumes quite a bit.
But even so.
Having 'this dungeon' in 'this location' holds tremendous significance.
The All-Poisons Citadel in the upper-left quadrant is a castle perched on a lake so vast you can see the horizon.
"Landworm, carve a waterway to the lake."
[No problem.]
The Hell Tower, located 500 meters underground, sits right up against that lake.
Kurrr...!
As the Landworm bored through with its building-sized body, a menacing roar echoed, and water poured into the underground.
"The Hell Tower's pretty big, so it'll take a while for the water to fill it completely. The deepest level is five floors down, after all."
Each floor is city-sized, so no need to head down right away.
'If they're antsy, they'll come up themselves.'
I returned to the All-Poisons Citadel, issued orders for the Hell Tower, and activated the defense systems including the Giggas.
This much should prevent any breaches.
Worst case—even if the mythic monsters on underground levels 4-5 of the Hell Tower break out... it should buy enough time until I step out from the Guild Tower.
'Now then... more importantly.'
I returned to the Guild Tower.
'Hype power, huh.'
Revenge shines as the world's top-grossing game, run by Nemesis, but its market cap isn't all that high.
'Not just not high... it's low.'
High revenue doesn't always mean a proportionally high market cap, but Nemesis is excessively low.
Several reasons.
'First off... it's domestic-only.'
Stock prices aren't solely determined by a company's revenue. Vision, future prospects, scalability, and influence are crucial too.
In that regard, games like Blade & Magic and Great War boast fame not just on the 34th Earth but across the greater universe, with top rankings alone making them prized training simulators that companies beg to acquire.
But Revenge?
A game where you dump money into the 34th Earth's one-trick pony and call it a day.
This pay-to-win game was never meant to expand into the greater universe. What reason would other civilizations have to play such an insane cash-grab?!
'Full-dive VR? That's not a huge draw for other civs either.'
Civilizations where over 99% of humanity has psychic powers like the 34th Earth are rare even scouring the universe. For most sapients, overlaying sight, sound, and touch suffices for VR, so Nemesis's full-dive tech loses much of its appeal.
You could ask if it's good for psychic training.
'Training doesn't need 100% realism.'
I'd trained my chakra just fine in partial-dive simulators myself.
"Hmm."
I tapped my office desk rhythmically with my fingers, sorting my thoughts.
My ownership is 0.1%. Meaning I can only tap a tiny fraction of Revenge's total hype power.
To boost my hype power here.
"Buy a ton of stock to become a major shareholder... or make Revenge a game known across the greater universe."
Obviously, the latter's beyond my control. Aren't they already reinvesting 90%+ of profits at max effort?
So first, buy stock.
"The low market cap is actually a good thing. If it were Blade & Magic, Real Stage, or Great War... it'd be way harder than now."
For example, while Revenge tops revenue, Sky Soft's market cap is eight times Nemesis's.
And games like Great War are directly run by the Leonhardt Empire's imperial family, dominating hundreds of planets and galaxies, so buying stock is impossible. Better off that Nemesis only runs Revenge.
Plus, with stocks dropping, that's not bad either.
'Yeah. If I gotta buy indefinitely... better if they're cheap.'
Immediate losses hurt, but I'm just buying the stocks I wanted.
A company doesn't go bankrupt just because stocks hit bottom.
Of course, if they drop too far, some whale might swoop in and buy them up, flashing warning lights for management control... but with me scooping them up as a friendly shareholder, no issue.
Just means giving up on profiting from stocks.
"Well, money's for earning through work."
No more personal spending needed now. Collections nearly complete, top cash-grab content applied.
With excess spending power, buying stocks for a while makes sense.
"Log out."
Back on Earth, I discussed and sorted my schedule with the manager.
Fortunately, filming wrapped, and variety shows were guest spots, not fixed, so no big issues.
"Hello!"
Arriving at the Mercenary Management Agency's mission waiting room and greeting, the elders checking gear spotted me and lit up.
"Oh! The maknae's here!"
"Explains the low headcount—surprise visit!"
"Get to see the rumors in action, huh."
Five mercenaries assigned to the mission.
Frontline: Nagano Gatsu (118).
Low strike and scouting: Tom Holiday (135).
Healing and buffs: Shin Ji-yeon (127).
Barrier: Han Seok-du (121).
And me (26).
'Whoa. The ages...'
Cosmic mercenaries full of elders, average age is insane.
'Is this a human party? Elves?'
But all top-tier ability users, no signs of strain. Feels like their peak life.
"Alright! Checks done! Train time—let's move!"
At Seok-du's words, everyone stood.
Unfamiliar with the process, I trailed behind.
Soon, we entered a vast room covered in dense spellwork.
"But you okay?"
Gatsu, standing center, asked. A bio-force trainer, he looks late 30s despite 118.
"Ah, sir. What do you mean?"
"No Giggas. Gonna be space combat..."
Agency mercenaries are 100% Giggas pilots. Main battlefield's space—why go barehanded?
Giggas are overwhelmingly powerful weapons.
No matter your training or beliefs, Giggas are always the answer. Skipping them in modern war's like ditching guns in WW2.
If I weren't transcendent, no Giggas would've severely limited mercenary work.
"Ah, no worries. I go to space often."
"What? Personal Giggas or ship?"
I grinned at Gatsu.
"I can leap through the atmosphere."
The four elders gaped.
"Whoa, jump through atmo?"
"Damn, nuts?"
"Transcendents are no joke."
"Yeah, why worry over a transcendent."
Mid-chatter.
Trollllling—!
A bizarre melody rang out. Glancing, mages operating complex machines in the corner waved.
Announcement blared.
[Leonhardt Empire Heavenly Wood Star. Heavenly Wood Star train approaching. Passengers, lower resistance and brace for warp shock.]
[Repeating. Leonhardt Empire Heavenly Wood Star. Heavenly Wood Star train approaching. Passengers, lower resistance and brace for warp shock.]
With the announcement, the floor's magic circle glowed. I followed the elders to the center.
Then, at some point.
[Leonhardt Empire Heavenly Wood Star. Heavenly Wood Star train has arrived.]
[Commencing warp. 3. 2. 1...]
Flash!
Background shifted instantly, like log in/out.
We were now in a luxurious train car.
"Ah, finally here..."
"Heh, our transcendent maknae looks green now. Stick with merc work, you'll get sick of it."
"Come on! No dawdling—seats!"
"Ugh, need a nap..."
Elders headed to seats and lay down. I stuck to the transparent window.
Vast cosmos unfolded.
"Amazing..."
Space is vast.
Not just vast—'insanely' vast and boundless.
This cosmos holds hundreds of billions of galaxies, and crossing even within one can take 100,000 years at lightspeed, or millions, even tens of millions in worst cases.
Not just for lower civs or mortals—even gods, Untouchables, need massive sacrifices and investment to traverse end to end.
'And from that came Star Gates and Astral Drives.'
Star Gates require emperor-class mages—10th class archmages—for creation and maintenance, so not mass-market. That's where Astral Drives shine.
Astral Drive.
A super-science/magic fusion from pinnacle Candler saints of the four civilizations. To escape lightspeed's [hard-to-break physical limit].
Matter needs infinite energy to exceed light.
But if not matter?
Astral Drive shifts the ship to the astral plane for stacked acceleration. Once sped up, the astral plane—outside physical laws and resistance—lets speed soar unhindered.
Initial acceleration is glacial.
Like a mere airship, painfully slow.
But as stacking builds—week, fortnight, month, even years—it accelerates relentlessly.
Thus, ships casually exceed lightspeed, which demands insane energy in material realm.
Finally hitting tens, hundreds, thousands times lightspeed.
Theoretically, infinite stacking possible—with energy—but enables crossing dozens of galaxies sans Star Gates.
'Of course, limits exist.'
Stacking allows hundreds/thousands times lightspeed once going, but buildup takes time.
Who waits months for acceleration?
Tech advanced past that, and Game Master Gwandaeha popularized it with his authority.
Tech and authority details lengthy, but principle simple.
Pre-accelerated [trains] exist in astral.
Passengers warp onto them.
That's the astral regular service letting 34th Earth wield huge greater-universe influence.
Nicknamed [Galaxy Railroad].