Balhut Cult (5)
Lee Hyun-ah let out a sigh as she pored over the stack of reports Jeong Dong-gun had submitted. They detailed the latest divine weapon development.
At first glance, she wondered if she'd received the wrong documents. But every single report from Jeong Dong-gun concerned the currency issued by Bahamut.
"This... all of it is a new weapon made from coins minted by Bahamut himself?"
"Yes. We only had a handful of prototype coins, so this covers everything for now. But since they can engrave various spells onto weapons or armor, their potential applications are endless, as noted in the report."
Flame bullets. Lightning bullets. Water bullets. Special rounds etched with all sorts of elemental magic. Vests infused with protective spells. Knives granted cutting enchantments. Even magic weapons capable of imprinting specific spells, like those special rounds.
Their power and effects had been thoroughly tested at the Gyeongju Ironworks, complete with video footage.
"Wow. It feels just like a mage casting spells firsthand."
"The prototypes were extremely limited in number, so field deployment and mass production aren't feasible yet. But they absolutely hold immense potential. This power lets ordinary folk or awakeners without magic skills wield spells."
"I can tell. It's... more valuable than I imagined."
Lee Hyun-ah marveled at the weapons developed in the Gyeongju Ironworks, her eyes wide with Jeong Dong-gun's report brimming with anticipation. The new arms, forged by melting down coins, brimmed with extraordinary promise.
These are just prototypes. If we pour real effort into research, incredible weapons could emerge! And if we reclaim the steel mills in Pohang... we could craft even mightier ones!
Indeed, the potential was boundless. They were merely prototyping makeshift weapons to gauge the coins' worth, yet she suspected the Gyeongju Ironworks had barely scratched the surface—less than half, even.
With access to Pohang Steelworks, one of Korea's three great steel mills right near Gyeongju, instead of a humble workshop? The sky would be the limit.
Jeong Dong-gun pictured hunting those loathsome variant zombies with magic arms born from melted coins, his chest swelling with fervor.
"With this, we can push forward with currency-driven economic revival."
For Lee Hyun-ah, it was proof positive of the Balhut Cult coins' value to Gyeongju's citizens. Their credibility was already underwritten directly by Bahamut.
All that remained was breathing life back into a monetary economy via these coins. Daily wages could flow efficiently to workers; trade in goods would flourish through currency.
Citizens could sell unneeded items to the cult for coins, then buy what they required. History's economic annals proved the efficiencies and gains from that alone.
"Best of all, this currency can keep circulating indefinitely."
"You mean inflation's unlikely?"
"Exactly. We can melt it down into magic weapons. The coins hold intrinsic value. Though deflation could hit if circulation dries up."
The standout virtue? Minted coins doubled as consumable weapons. In this apocalypse, self-defense arms were vital, and these coins could forge or upgrade them.
In short, Balhut Cult coins had endless utility, spendable anywhere, anytime—curbing inflation from surplus cash.
"Worse side effects loom, too. Deflation aside, this currency will spark nonstop incidents. People will die."
"But we lack the time to dodge them."
Of course, deflation's risk made it double-edged. And as Jeong Dong-gun cautioned, abuse would breed chaos—inevitable.
Yet Lee Hyun-ah insisted the Balhut Cult couldn't afford to flinch; Jeong Dong-gun nodded gravely in accord.
"At least only awakeners with smelting and blacksmithing skills can craft them—our last safeguard. We've cornered the market on such artisans in Gyeongju."
"Unawakened-made bullets pack far less punch."
"...Good enough. Production secrets won't leak soon, and latecomers lack Bahamut's hints like us. Quite promising, I'd say."
The silver lining: every weapon demoed was skill-forged by awakeners. Fortune smiled; all South Gyeongju Bahamut Bullet smiths belonged to the Balhut Cult.
True, North Gyeongju outliers might exist beyond cult reach, but these coins were South Gyeongju exclusives.
Acquiring them or cracking recipes would take ages. By then, the cult could harvest first-mover perks unchecked.
Lee Hyun-ah, itching to yank the ladder on pursuers, grinned in satisfaction at impending minting.
"...Hoo. Way more valuable than expected. Tempted to hoard 'em for building materials myself."
"Yoo, isn't it? How'd you know?"
Then an interloper crashed the coin discussion mid-meeting. Yu Su-seong, Gyeongju reconstruction chief, strode into Jeong Dong-gun and Lee Hyun-ah's chamber.
Inside, he name-dropped the coins like he'd caught every whisper; Jeong Dong-gun shot back, astonished.
"Y-Jeong. Heard the ruckus at Choi's Ironworks. Came straightaway."
"You too?"
"Yup. Choi boasted like a proud papa."
Jeong Dong-gun frequented Choi's shop for troop armaments; Yu Su-seong hit it often for rebuild supplies. Gossip on new weapons and coins flowed from Choi, sparking Yu's curiosity: building material viable?
"Coins as construction filler? Future talk. Housing compromises now."
"Shame. Fair enough—variant zombies swarm from outside."
Lee Hyun-ah deferred it to distant days. Yu Su-seong pouted but nodded; zombies trumped creature comforts.
"So, daily wages in these from now?"
"Yes. Daily this month, monthly next."
Lee Hyun-ah confirmed to Jeong Dong-gun: cult workers get dailies now, salaries later.
"Coins as our pay, eh? Haha, like decades back."
"No pre-apocalypse digital bliss yet."
"Got it."
Lagging the old electronic era? Sure—but bearable.
"Feels like 10, 20 years ago. Age unchanged."
"Ahahaha."
Regress to cash-dominant yesteryear? Manageable mindset.
"Hmm. Buy stuff at official stores?"
"Of course. Goods scaled to coin value, prepped. Bahamut's mass minting kicks off the monetary era."
Lee Hyun-ah assured Yu Su-seong: cult shops stocked for members. Mass production? Economy ignites.
"Settles right, small traders and shops revive."
"...And cull barter-holdout camps."
"You get it."
"How not? Coins stick, barter's hassle fades. Camps sans steady coin-earn? Join or die."
Lee Hyun-ah's prime hope: currency weeds out barter camps. No more trading necessities away; cult coins only—killer blow.
"Can't they sell us goods for coins?"
"Sure, we'll buy their wares. Below our rates."
Cult coins? Earn via cult labor only. Want in? Work for Balhut—or dump goods cheap.
"Will folks grasp the value?"
This hinged on recognition as money. Ignorance sustains barter? Failure.
Post-dollar-collapse world: would Gyeongju buy cult coin worth?
"Editing Jeong Dong-gun's vids into ads. Cult site gets full value breakdowns. Plus..."
Anticipating, Lee Hyun-ah eyed promo edits from his footage, explanatory posts on the all-member Balhut Cult site.
"Bahamut vouches personally—cultists will trust."
"Bahamut eternal? Heh. His word? Undeniable for us."
Bahamut, city-saver, backs it. Citizens could bite once.
Yu Su-seong wryly grinned at the name: Him? Bankable.
"Quantity no issue?"
"None. Bahamut mints to order. We source copper, nickel though."
"Rough go."
Supply fine. Her go-ahead floods mints; materials pinch instead.
"Oh—and taxes on members from next month."
Taxes last! Lee Hyun-ah decreed resident levies.
"Power and water fees?"
Residences ran free juice and H2O now. Disaster grace—but rebuild demands infra tolls.
"Yes. Not endless freebies. Bahamut's boundless energy, but we're all on His charity. Normalized? Cult collects fair shares—proper."
Cult power/water: Bahamut's gift. Time for self-reliance prep.
"Reactivate water/power plants; tax as ops costs."
"Obvious. No free lunch."
Jeong Dong-gun, eavesdropping, smiled: "Hope glimmers."
"Pardon?"
"Just... future-planning after so long feels novel."
"True. Zombie terror, barricade scraps—no discourse then."
No Bahamut, no cult? Mere survival grind, fight-die cycle.
"Late realization? Change swept us ages ago, Yoo."
"Age heaps worries, eh Jeong?"
Jeong Dong-gun: mid-flow already. Yu couldn't refute, just old-man griped.
"Full talents shine now, but pre-cult? Feeble awakener, day-by-day."
Lee Hyun-ah chimed kindred amid their banter.
"So I won't shatter Yu-na and Bahamut's order."
Resolve hardened: safeguard it.
"Damn right. Guard it fierce."
"Post-rebuild... what's next?"
Yu pondered ahead.
"That... Bahamut and Yu-na's call."
"Aye. Theirs."
"Then—our duties await."
"Under Bahamut's name."
All this, under Bahamut's name.