Chapter 237
Chapter 237
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Translator: penny
Chapter: 236
Chapter Title: Hardworking Pay-to-Win Knight
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“……Yeah, of course you could come too.”
I let out a hollow laugh as I looked at the man whose voice sounded oddly excited. He was someone I had far more to discuss with than Geumnang.
“Merlin.”
“Oh, nice to meet you. That one next to you must be your Servant character.”
Merlin nodded and tapped at the air. I couldn’t help but chuckle at how he dove straight into manipulating the system UI without a word.
‘Looks like even he finds the current state of Revenge intriguing.’
Meanwhile, Cheongik, who was attached to Geumnang, whispered.
“What’s that guy, Captain?”
“Honestly, I don’t know much. Just that he’s a mage on the level of a god……”
Pop!
At that moment, a Servant character with the ID [Emris] appeared next to Merlin. She was a beautiful woman, as game characters often are.
But even with her stunning looks, she didn’t strike me as pretty. It was because of her default outfit.
“No way, why is she in rags…… Oh, right, I’m in rags too.”
I muttered and gestured in the air.
“Ah, you buy clothes with money. New user package? Guess I need this too…… No, this is insanely expensive lol.”
Merlin burst into incredulous laughter, and my jaw dropped.
‘No way, he’s typing in initial consonants while in full dive?’
It wouldn’t be hard in PC or mobile mode, but full immersion was a different story.
Humans face many hurdles adapting to the system’s sensory feedback.
That display was proof he was a veteran who’d spent a vast amount of time adapted to virtual reality.
Even as everyone stared blankly, Merlin kept moving his hands.
“Hmm, effects are fine, so looks first…… This’ll do.”
Pop! Pop! Pop!
Just like other new players in their rags, Merlin’s outfit changed in an instant.
The red robe, wide-brimmed hat, and long staff screamed “mage” to anyone who saw it.
‘Cloak of the Fire Dragon and Archmage’s Hat…… He said looks first.’
Despite complaining about the price, his casual spending showed just how wealthy he was.
Finally, with his outfit complete, I asked him.
“Anyway, what happened? Thanks to you, I survived.”
“Oh, the game clear? I saw that Dark Messiah guy had gone your way on an outing. So I raided his temple right away. Thanks to that, I’m now Dark Star’s [Grand Duel Master]. Snagged two mythic cards too.”
“Well, as the final boss, the rewards are good.”
I’d only gotten one mythic, but in exchange, I scored 40 legendaries. The golden amplification loaded into Hyperion made sure I lacked for nothing at legendary tier.
“By the way…… You know the monsters have vanished, right?”
“Seems like clearing the game cut off the path to reality. There are some issues, though.”
“Issues?”
“……What? You haven’t been back there once since clearing?”
“There” had to mean Ardenia. I nodded.
“I passed out and then just rested up.”
“Passed out? Ah…… Yeah, that makes sense.”
Merlin accepted my words without further questions and moved on. He clearly didn’t want to dwell on the topic.
‘He saw her too.’
Makes sense—he cleared first. He must’ve surpassed the limits of the Infinite Sphere Palace too, naturally glimpsing the [outside] at the end of the inner world.
“Anyway, let’s gloss over that. Just don’t stay logged out too long.”
“Hm?”
“You’ll get it eventually. By the way…… Mana Bank with Astral Network…… 34th Earth tech is impressive. It needs tech from the four civilizations mixed with magic from the four mage civilizations…… Tech side’s covered by the Legion pact, but does 34th Earth have emperor-tier mages?”
“You know the tech?”
Merlin nodded at my question.
“You can tell at a glance. Astral system. Uses Geralt shuttling between worlds as a medium to pull standardized mana patterns from anywhere.”
“……What does that mean?”
“It means you can use mana and magic as currency. Probably…… Yep, it’s in the currency.”
Following Merlin’s words, I opened the cash shop.
Next to Revenge’s currencies—gold and diamonds—a new item had been added.
[Mana Coin.]
Currency stored in the Mana Bank.
Can be used in the Mana Shop.
“What’s this?”
Puzzled, I opened the Mana Shop.
[Level 1. Mana Shop]
Ignition (1 Mana Coin): Creates fire.
Moisture Condensation (10 Mana Coins): Gathers ambient moisture to produce 0.1~4L of fresh water.
Magic Bread Production (15 Mana Coins): Absorbs nearby materials to produce 0.1~8kg of mana bread.
Compost Production (20 Mana Coins): Absorbs nearby materials to produce compost.
Wound Treatment (25 Mana Coins): Treats external injuries.
Lock (Unlock: 100 Mana Coins)
Lock (Unlock: 100 Mana Coins)
……
“What are these…… everyday-life magic spells……”
Dumbfounded, as I scanned the list, I noticed other menus.
Things like [Coin Production], [Coin Exchange], [Mana Shaping], and so on.
I selected Coin Production. The guide said to inject mana into a specific part of the capsule, but instead of following, I circulated my internal energy and focused it into the [Revenge] channel.
[1 Internal Energy Coin created.]
[2 Internal Energy Coins created.]
[3 Internal Energy Coins created.]
“……It actually works.”
I let out a disbelieving chuckle. Geumnang, who’d been quietly watching, spoke up.
“That’s why we logged into this game. To buy mana…… more precisely, magic.”
The new players weren’t here just to play—they were here to earn money in Revenge to buy magic.
Then, one of the players following Geumnang approached cautiously.
“……Captain.”
“Time’s up. Go rest.”
“Yes.”
He bowed and logged out. Starting with him, everyone vanished except Geumnang and Cheongik.
I quickly realized what was happening. Their chakra levels couldn’t sustain the connection any longer.
“They can’t last long, huh.”
“They’re all still novices, after all. Even these guys I brought here are the ones who can hold out the longest. The rest are working in the cities.”
“……Working in the cities?”
That wasn’t everyone.
Geumnang nodded.
“The cities have jobs prepared. Most who log in work there. We only hunted to get info on normal gameplay.”
“No way, what jobs are there in the cities?”
If this were reality, even low-civ manpower would have uses, but in a game? In a digital world where data lets you build a 1,000-story skyscraper in seconds, what jobs?
But Geumnang nodded.
“There are service jobs, for starters.”
“Sure, but spots are limited……”
“Yeah. Not just anyone can do them. But labor’s possible. There’s ‘Mana Shaping.’ It converts external mana into Mana Bank-compatible mana…… Anyone with enough chakra to log in can do it.”
“How’s the pay?”
“Varies by workload, but right now about 10 Mana Coins per hour.”
“…….”
I checked the deferred Coin Exchange menu.
[Coin Exchange]
1 Diamond: 1,013 Mana Coins
One diamond is just 100 won in real money. And that equals 1,000 Mana Coins, with their hourly wage at 10.
Meaning their hourly wage…… is 1 won.
“No way, that’s insane.”
Unbelievable. Labor boards would faint, justice paladins would kick down doors.
But coldly thinking…… would it really?
‘……No.’
This isn’t a workplace—it’s a game. 34th Earth labor laws and welfare are for 34th Earth people, not those hundreds of millions of light-years away in lower civs.
If word got out, people would be shocked, but it wouldn’t tank Nemesis’s image or bring punishment.
Their image was never spotless…… Nemesis is infamous for being money-grubbing, right?
Even Geumnang, the one getting 1-won-an-hour wages, said.
“I’m grateful.”
“……Grateful?”
I turned at the unexpected response, and Geumnang nodded.
“Our continent’s in the worst state right now. Cities destroyed, civilization regressed. Starvation everywhere, people unable to work…… And now this opportunity.”
“…….”
Worse than I thought.
‘Wait, doesn’t that make Nemesis the good guys?’
Then it hit me.
‘Hold on…… This isn’t a game anymore?’
Merlin voiced the exact same realization, as if reading my mind. I nodded.
“Yeah. The [Player] title feels off.”
They didn’t come to Revenge to play—they came to work. More terrifying: Nemesis deliberately [integrated] them into Revenge’s world.
They could’ve isolated them from 34th Earth players, made them work in separated spaces—but instead, they scattered them across cities!
Merlin laughed.
“Interesting system. I misunderstood.”
“Misunderstood?”
“Yeah. I thought this Revenge game was meant to draw in lower civs and masses for training.”
But no. Revenge wasn’t developed with corporate might out of goodwill.
“This isn’t training or a game. Feels like…… intent to create a new society with classes.”
Hearing Merlin, I recalled Nemesis’s long-planned project name.
‘Second Life Project. Yeah. Maybe it was from the start.’
“Anyway, just know the situation.”
As Geumnang wrapped up, I asked.
“Leaving? You’re different from the other players.”
Sure, compared to me or Merlin, Geumnang’s level was low. Chakra around 3~4th layer at best.
But that was plenty to log in without strain. No body issues in reality? He could live here forever.
“Haha. True, but reality has work too. Unlike Blade & Magic, time doesn’t stop here.”
“Right, you’re leading the independence army.”
He nodded, and Merlin suddenly said.
“Well, since the chance arose, how about a gift?”
“A gift……?”
Merlin extended his hand toward puzzled Geumnang.
Woooong—!
A massive mana wave. I whipped around in surprise, but Merlin lowered his hand.
“Sent you two ultimate spells. Already purchased, so grab ’em from the Mana Shop.”
“What the hell, Merlin? You can just send magic?”
Normal mana can’t cross hundreds of millions of light-years. That’s why [Mana Shaping] exists, right?
Merlin shrugged.
“How? Using Revenge’s path, obviously. It’s magic completed with shaped mana.”
“When did you……”
“What, just now.”
“No way.”
His casual tone left me speechless.
But that wasn’t the only issue.
“More importantly, Nemesis just lets you send ultimate magic?”
Impossible. Adding unlisted shop items arbitrarily?
But Merlin brushed it off.
“Hacked it, obviously. No one’ll know, so don’t worry.”
“…….”
I chuckled in disbelief.
‘No way, is this guy an emperor-class mage?’
But I’d never heard of him. If a 10th-class mage existed in Uroboros, the universe’s top academy, rumors would fly……
“What spells…… Whoa! Th-this magic…… Thank you, brother!”
Geumnang, gesturing in the air, bowed in shock. Must’ve been exactly what he needed.
‘Well, ultimate spells, duh.’
Of course, I couldn’t give the same. I didn’t even know mana shaping well, let alone send magic.
So I went with something else.
“Well, I’ll give a gift too.”
With that, I manipulated the system UI and sent mail.
[Sent 100,000 Diamonds to Geumnang (Eta)!]
Gifts…… nothing beats cash, after all.