Chapter 222
Chapter 222
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Translator: penny
Chapter: 221
Chapter Title: The Dragon Elder's Confusion
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* * *
"No, Elder! Why on earth did you just let him go? You said you were definitely going to teach him a lesson!"
Despite Chernein's outburst, the head handmaiden remained silent.
In truth, she was a bit confused herself.
"Right? Why did she let him go just like that?"
"What!?"
The head handmaiden sipped her tea, quietly replaying her encounter with Jaeyeon.
Naturally, she had no intention of letting him leave unscathed.
He was a pest who dared tarnish the lofty name of the Chromatic Dragon, revered even across the cosmos. As the Emperor's attendant, she had every reason to deal with him.
He was a top-tier god, an apostle of the Game Master, so killing him was off the table... but whether he accepted her terms or not, she planned to give him a thrashing he wouldn't forget, ensuring no one would dare mock the dragonkin again.
Yet she hadn't.
'Why?'
The moment she laid eyes on him, an inexplicable fondness welled up from the depths of her heart. It wasn't the kind of infatuation dragons swooned over with so-called Dragon Lovers.
She had lived with a Dragon Lover for a long time and would never mistake it for that.
'Though he only lasted 200 years despite all that effort before dying.'
After a brief reminiscence of her past lover, she turned her thoughts back to Jaeyeon.
He was definitely not a Dragon Lover.
The feeling he stirred in her was more like...
"...Heh. What a crazy thought."
"Elder? Elder!"
"Chen, don't get so worked up. Go."
"But..."
"Didn't you hear me?"
The head handmaiden's eyes flashed. Chernein flinched and backed away.
"Y-Yes, Elder."
"Tsk tsk. And you're over 5,000 years old."
After sending Chernein away, the head handmaiden gathered her thoughts.
'Yeah. It's nonsense. It's been ages since I went through menopause.'
Dragons typically lived around 10,000 years before passing. Living longer required exceptional talent, fortune, or external enhancements.
She had lived nearly 20,000 years thanks to her outstanding gifts and insights, but she had hit the wall of mid-tier transcendence and was nearing the end of her life.
It had been over 3,000 years since her body could bear children.
"He was extraordinary, that's for sure. That must be why I felt that fondness. It's statistically proven that we dragonkin are drawn to that type of lesser being."
She decided to chalk it up to that and move on.
Because it was impossible.
To feel fondness for a mere human.
To see him as a male and feel that way.
* * *
You have purchased 10 ★☆4000 Diamond Boxes☆★!
You have purchased 10 ★☆4000 Diamond Boxes☆★!
You have purchased 10 ★☆4000 Diamond Boxes☆★!
"Ah, how many more do I need to buy? I should've added the 100 million diamond box when I requested the 10 billion one..."
Grumbling, I bought more diamonds. I'd already snapped up every package available—daily, weekly, monthly, event packs, gear packs, skill packs, character, pet, guardian spirit packs—so only straight diamond packs were left.
No matter what, I couldn't bring myself to buy gold packs.
"Let's see. 98 million... Perfect. 100 million."
And just like that, once my spending crossed 100 million...
-Pledge your loyalty to the Empire and dedicate your life as its shield!-
[Imperial Knight (Hero)]
"Whoa, a dud."
I'd spent 100 million to pull a single hero-grade card.
For a normal person, it'd be enough to go insane with joy.
But not me. Pulls like this were a dime a dozen, and I'd gotten plenty of duds before.
"Another 100 million..."
I hit the ceiling again. Transferring Revenge diamonds to Ardenia consumes spending power, but I still had tons of uses for them there.
A few hundred billion was more than enough for me alone—practically overflowing.
But for bankrolling all of humanity's empire? Not so much.
[Praise him all. The 9th Myth has elevated its stature.]
[His name is Killians.]
[For the next 24 hours, all hunting grounds receive a 100% EXP buff.]
[Once again: The 9th Myth has elevated its stature.]
Revenge got a patch. Continuous myths from one account no longer count as new ones; instead, it boosts the myth's [stature].
'Well, they had to patch it.'
Myths kept popping up—31st Myth, 33rd Myth—what a joke. They couldn't let that slide. Myths were getting too common, and from announcements alone, no one could gauge how many myth-rank players there were.
Who could've predicted this when they made Revenge? Not the devs, that's for sure.
That some lunatic would cash-shop every single myth class, which should be unique...
⤷FirstGenRedBear: Why... just why keep pulling? It's a dupe...
⤷ArmyMage: Chakra training, he says.
⤷SleekStallion: What kinda chakra training burns cash like this...? Give me 100 mil instead.
⤷HeeHeeHingPurung: Han Jaeyeon must be raking it in as a merc lately. Still popping up on TV all the time. And shooting a movie too?
⤷SnackMunchingGapdong: And blowing all that cash on gacha... Ugh! My head...
Players had gotten used to my spending sprees by now.
At first, everyone freaked out, but even the wildest, most unbelievable things become routine when they repeat.
'If I swept the casuals with storm spending, it'd be different.'
But I didn't. Despite holding the top spending title on Revenge, I played so mildly I didn't even own a single shop lot.
[Praise him all. The 9th Myth has elevated its stature.]
[His name is Killians.]
[For the next 24 hours, all hunting grounds receive a 200% EXP buff.]
[Once again: The 9th Myth has elevated its stature.]
I pulled. Kept pulling.
[For the next 24 hours, all hunting grounds receive a 300% EXP buff.]
[For the next 24 hours, all hunting grounds receive a 400% EXP buff.]
...
[For the next 24 hours, all hunting grounds receive an 800% EXP buff.]
[For the next 24 hours, all hunting grounds receive a 900% EXP buff.]
⤷FirstGenRedBear: Can't hunt without these buffs anymore...
⤷ArmyMage: Where's your sense of reality...?
Ignoring the chatter, I finished my pulls.
Myth cards all via ceiling—most efficient in cash and spending power.
"Ah... And the rates are pretty good too."
The 100 mil ceiling myth rate is 1%, but I'm hitting nearly 7%, enough for 15 myth-rank players.
"Come to think of it... Who do I give these to now?"
I hadn't planned to go this far.
No choice, really.
"Let's see... Is it about time?"
I tapped Cheda to connect the call.
[...Yes. This is Senior Tax Priest Cheong-ah of the National Tax Service.]
"Hello. Sorry to bother you, but could you check how much tax I have left?"
[All... complete.]
"Thank you."
Hanging up, I nodded.
"Taxes for this year: Done!"
And this time, I even had cash left over after paying. Going solo on merc gigs boosted income big-time, plus the side cash from the Grotesque Prince.
That wasn't all.
"Vids sold pretty well too..."
The escape footage I'd planned to sell to PD Na Taeseok got bought by director Allen instead.
He lit up seeing me fight transcendents, escape the planet, and spot the Terra-class Chromatic.
Our chat popped into my head.
"Breaking through transcendent monsters to escape and run into a Terra battleship! Killer setup. I can weave it in without ruining the storytelling!"
"Um... Isn't using real footage as movie scenes a bit too fun for you?"
"If the footage works, that's all that matters."
"Plus, that dinosaur and the others have likeness rights..."
"No problem! Can't create what doesn't exist, but erasing what's there? Easy edit. Overlay CG of actors performing separately."
"What about the Chromatic? No likeness since it's not human, but it's Dragonian property—okay to feature in a movie?"
"CG overlay! Cr...! The footage even conveys spiritual pressure. Tint it blood-red with purple accents, and it'll keep the vibe while looking like a totally different ship."
"...Whatever. Cash in hand, good enough."
No scenes of me negotiating with the Prince since the dimensional rift blocked it, and ship interiors had security spells, so no problematic footage.
If Dragonians sue, Allen can handle it.
"Time to buy stocks."
I opened the stock app.
Nemesis – 14,888,120 won (+122,310)↑
"Ah..."
A sigh escaped.
"Why'd it moon like this..."
Amid the monster crisis tanking the market, only Nemesis Soft's stock was surging like mad.
I knew it was reclaiming true value, but as a buyer? Heartbreaking.
Not total loss, though.
[Spike Securities Total Assets]
701,224,766,080 (+42.8%).
"Money... duplicating itself."
Portfolio hit 700 billion. Billions in losses? Ancient history. Now trillions added! Even after taxes (just gacha, but still).
'Well, holding 0.2% of Nemesis during this boom...'
0.2%.
Seems tiny.
Lower odds than rare cards from packs.
But 0.2% of a whole company? Massive.
If I'm an ant, I'm a super ant.
'But I'm not buying stocks to make money.'
No. Not for profit. My goal is the stocks themselves, not gains!
Biggest target? The Emperor class to eventually hit Revenge.
'And not just that.'
Emperor pets, guardians too.
Then... how much hype to [update] them to me?
'No clue, but 0.2% ain't cutting it.'
Sure, Emperor class won't make me mid-transcendent. Got myth job, still not transcendent, right?
But clear fact: Any Emperor—class, pet, guardian—boosts my power insanely.
Free Savings Deposit (G-Bank 1173-5511)
7,274,200 won.
Bought stocks till bank was empty. Shares so pricey, over 7 mil left over.
Clicking my tongue, I pushed through the schedule.
Revenge auto-hunt, webnovel copying, variety show, movie shoot, workout, CF filming.
Finished it all, then met the Five Dragons for dinner.
And.
"What!? They gave you money to break up!?"