Chapter 123
Chapter 123
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Translator: penny
Chapter: 123
Chapter Title: Dreamer III
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Shin Noah
“But before we could even dig the first spade for the revolution, we got nabbed by the arch-reactionary Undertaker…”
“Hoeek. Tears, tears…”
Drip.
The fairies’ bodies sagged.
To state the obvious, fairies were anomalies that directly challenged human physics.
It wasn’t just a simple slumping of shoulders like a human. Their entire bodies melted like slime, flowing and sticking to the ground.
“Why do the attempts of those who dream of world revolution always end in tragedy?”
“Failure, yet another failure…”
“From the moment we left our homeland, we abandoned wealth and honor, but seeing every seed of revolution turn to ashes… even I’m getting weary…”
Dark clouds began to gather over the fairies’ slime bodies.
Hm.
There were more than a few points I wanted to tackle, but first, I needed to address the critical misunderstanding.
“Excuse me. I have to ask because I really don’t get it.”
“Hoe…?”
“Why am I a reactionary?”
Blink, blink.
The fairies tilted their heads.
“Well, you caused chaos at Busan Station and wrecked Baekhwa Girls’ High School, so of course you’re our enemy. And our enemies are enemies of the revolution.”
“That binary thinking suits revolutionaries, but consider the opposite: didn’t I actually help you?”
“Hoeek?”
At that moment, I felt what they call a “eureka.”
I could also call it sensing infinite possibilities.
The first blade humanity ever forged wasn’t stone—it was the tongue. I swung an intangible sword.
“At Busan Station, you fairies were oppressing humans first, so you should be grateful to me for stopping your evil deeds before they happened. Right?”
“…Is that how it is?”
“Of course. And at Baekhwa Girls’ High School, I defeated Mugan, which led to the Fairy Lord’s demise. Thanks to that, you were freed from your chains. In fact, doesn’t that make me your liberator?”
“…”
“…”
The fairies exchanged glances.
“Hoe?”
“Listening to it, that does sound plausible…”
“If self-salvation is impossible, then aim for salvation by others. As a methodology of revolution, it’s acceptable.”
“But wouldn’t that just mean accepting another new oppressor?”
Whisper, whisper.
Suddenly, a revolutionary debate broke out. For revolutionaries, debate was like a coliseum. The loser faced nothing but purge. I jumped into the heated argument.
“No, that’s not right. After I subjugated Mugan, did I try to rule over you fairies? I left you alone.”
“Hoe.”
Truth be told, I’d left them alone thinking Mugan had taken them out too, but in the face of revolutionary ideals, minor details didn’t matter. Only the linear progress of history did.
“Even when you gathered like this and set up a casino, I didn’t interfere at all. How could someone like me be a reactionary or oppressor?”
“Certainly…”
“There’s… merit to it!”
“Wait! Then why did you just slash our casino to pieces?”
It was a sharp question, but far too feeble to dent my thick skin.
“Because you kidnapped our management corps member first.”
“Hoeek, kidnapping? We didn’t…”
“More importantly, even if the ends justify the means, opening an illegal gambling den like this—how is that revolutionary? Why not sell drugs too? You’ve become a fine mafia cartel.”
“Hoe eeek…”
“So… are you really our race’s savior, Undertaker?”
Sparkle, sparkle.
The fairies looked up at me with shining eyes. Suspicion. Expectation. This mix of emotions proved it was time for the finishing blow.
I flashed the kindest smile imaginable.
“You. Stop with that distant title, comrades. We may have been born on different days, but aren’t we comrades sworn to die together?”
“Huuuuh!”
“Comrade Undertaker…!”
The fairies sprang to their feet.
“To think! We misunderstood Comrade Undertaker’s true intentions all this time!”
“Every word rings true! Comrade eliminated the Fairy Lord and that vile master, then demanded nothing from us!”
“Liberator!”
“Torch of freedom! Our savior!”
“Ah, revolution! Vanguard to lead the foolish masses! Comrade Undertaker is the avant-garde of this world!”
It was over.
What’s there to hide? From that moment, using my subjugation of Mugan as pretext, I ascended to the position of the fairies’ clerk.
The driving force behind mobilizing fairies en masse for the “Canned Hotel” where I tamed writers in the 560th cycle stemmed from this very status.
“But even if it was a misunderstanding between comrades, I’m sorry for smashing your hideout.”
“It’s fine, Comrade Undertaker!”
“We’re the ones sorry for luring your subordinate and dragging him to the baccarat table!”
“Hm. No, no. Knowing how earnestly you comrades think of revolution, I can’t just pretend it didn’t happen. So, here’s the thing…”
I grinned widely.
“If you really want to complete the revolution, stop idling in this backwater. Head to the cities. What do you say, comrades? Care to taste some urban life with me?”
“…Hoe?”
5
One month later.
At the entrance to the Inunaki Tunnel off the coast of Busan, colorful banners hung.
[Cafe Azit Event!]
[New entertainment facility ‘Dream Casino’ opens!]
[Welcome to the Grand Amusement Park run by dream demons! Dream Peach Source Path!]
It was an era where you could call it the age of advertising. Naturally, banners alone weren’t enough to appeal to customers.
“Huh? What’s this?”
“Was there a billboard like this…?”
For the first time, SG Net featured ‘advertising.’ Whether surfing the site or posting, a sparkling ‘Dream Casino’ ad appeared in the corner of the screen.
It was practically a monopoly ad.
Clickers got 100 coins as a first-time bonus. And while less fun than visiting in person, they added an ‘internet casino’ for simple online play.
Of course, it was just light entertainment. A bait product, you might say.
This would make people curious enough to visit the main branch—the ‘real casino’ in Busan.
And that was just the start.
“Undertaker, do we really need to go this far?”
“Trust me, Saintess. This casino business will be a massive hit.”
“…Alright.”
The Saintess sighed but reluctantly went along with my insistence.
Soon, a constellation message went out to all awakeners active on the Korean Peninsula.
[The Grand Amusement Park’s Dream Demon will manage the casino.]
That’s right.
A new constellation’s debut!
Previously, when creating the ‘Library Society Anomaly Dictionary’ board, I forged the constellation ‘Librarian of the Great Library’ and left it to Sim A-ryeon.
This time, setting up a casino in the Inunaki Tunnel, I forged the ‘Grand Amusement Park’s Dream Demon.’
[The Grand Amusement Park’s Dream Demon is the lord ruling all fairies.]
[The Grand Amusement Park’s Dream Demon hopes you indulge in dreams. Play. That is how to praise and glorify the Grand Amusement Park’s Dream Demon.]
[The deeper your faith in the Grand Amusement Park’s Dream Demon, the more varieties of play you can enjoy at the casino.]
Librarian of the Great Library. Grand Amusement Park’s Dream Demon.
Gradually, the site was expanding to match the name ‘SG Net’—that is, ‘Constellation Net.’
Constellations that merely borrowed names from historical greats were starting to gain substance and approach awakeners.
No Do-ha, who’d heard my plan in advance, furrowed her brow.
“Undertaker Awakener. Is there really a reason to push this casino business? Even if the currency is just ‘time’ and ‘dreams,’ a casino is a casino. Won’t it have a bad influence…?”
“It will.”
I didn’t deny it.
“Some awakeners might get hooked on gambling. They could even pawn their entire life’s time to the fairies.”
“And yet…?”
“And yet, we must proceed. It’s not just because entertainment facilities are scarce these days. Corps Leader No Do-ha. Look at this.”
“Hmm…?”
I lifted a transparent box. Inside the glass case were rows of coin-like objects.
Casino chips.
“We’ve finally discovered it. What does this look like to you, Corps Leader?”
“Uh. Casino chips…?”
“Yes. Money.”
Clink.
I grabbed a handful of casino chips and dropped them on the table.
“Currency. Money, Corps Leader. Think about it. If we make Dream Casino a success, we can finally circulate ‘money’ guaranteed safe even in this damned apocalyptic era.”
“…!”
No Do-ha’s eyes widened behind her glasses.
Our gazes sparked like electricity.
“Until now, we’ve barely maintained exchange vouchers backed by food, in extremely limited ways. But this is different. Fairy coins—casino chips usable at Dream Casino—can literally be exchanged for ‘any good’ people want.”
“In dreams…”
“Yes, even if just dreams. Dreams you set yourself aren’t much different from reality. And look at the final product. With ten billion coins, you can turn all those dreams into perfect lucid dreams. With a hundred billion? You can even control time in the dream.”
“Aha. Aha…”
“In practice, only a tiny few will ever hold ten or a hundred billion coins. But it doesn’t matter. Currency is originally illusion, fantasy, a fetish. The difference from mere personal delusion is—”
“Not one person’s dream, but a dream everyone shares and desires… Thus gaining weight equal to real matter…”
“Exactly.”
“Huu. A true Dream Casino. The dream demons’ playground…”
No Do-ha picked up a casino chip from the desk with her slender fingers.
“Excellent…”
Her monocle gleamed. Her slightly parted lips let out a breath.
“Not gold standard, petrodollar, or bitcoin, but in short, a ‘dream standard’… Aha. Currency, born from civilization’s dreams since ancient times, returns to its original form at the end. What an irony…”
“What do you think?”
“Huu…”
No Do-ha adjusted her monocle. Then she stared straight at me.
“The answer…”
“Pardon?”
“It suits you. Isn’t this just an evolved form of your ability? Time Seal or whatever…”
“…”
“I know you see Time Seal not as a power but a curse. But in my view, you’re a kind of dream demon too, Undertaker Awakener. And you’ve just pulled in subordinate dream demons to strengthen your forces…”
No Do-ha pressed the casino chip with her fingertip.
“I’ve heard there are various paths for awakeners to develop their abilities. So, didn’t you grow stronger by subjugating anomalies this time? Huu, congratulations. What’s it called? Ability upgrade…?”
“I only make an already existing day repeat infinitely. The fairies’ dreams are mere simulations. No matter how much power they wield, they can’t calculate every variable in reality to craft dreams.”
I looked at No Do-ha too.
We probed each other’s gazes.
“No Do-ha Workshop Master. Just like the sword Do-ha you made, which the outsider god Mugan couldn’t predict.”
“…”
“I’ll head toward reality. As always. Forever.”
Silence fell.
With a long “Hm,” No Do-ha nodded.
“…Fine. No worries then. It’s a brilliantly devious plan, so let’s push currency reform right away…”
That was the highest praise No Do-ha could give.
“Ah, damn. So, what’s the name of this new key currency for our world? Fairy coin…?”
“No. I considered ‘Dream Currency,’ but ‘Won’ is better.”
“Hoo? Why’s that…?”
“It’ll feel familiar to people, making it easier all around.”
I flicked a casino chip—no, the money that would become the new world’s currency—to No Do-ha.
She caught my money deftly.
“In this endlessly repeating circular world, flowing dreams—hence Won (circle). Currency feeding on human desires and dreams—hence Won (wish). And it’ll be equally cursed and lamented—hence Won (resentment). Coincidentally, Japan uses ‘Yen,’ China ‘Yuan.’ Open to interpretation. True powerful spells must hide behind multiple names.”
“Hmm… Whatever.”
No Do-ha pocketed the money with her signature twisted smile.
“Not bad. I’ll leave the spellcraft to you, Undertaker Awakener…”
6
Epilogue.
Soon after, the National Highway Management Corps took on the role of a ‘bank’ too.
They supplied 9 billion Won worth of ‘Won currency’ gratis to major guilds in various cities. No interest.
The guild leaders visited Busan, used the casino, and left glowing reviews on both reality and SG Net.
-[Three Thousand]Witch Trial Judge: It was a midsummer night’s dream. How long since I savored fine omakase? A glass of wine. A warm partner. Just that makes life enough—rediscovering that truth… Though no photos, isn’t that beauty too? Word of the day: Linger, moment. You are truly beautiful.
-[Baekhwa]High School 7th Year: Totally recommend!! Got to enjoy normal school life! Achieved my bucket list of holding hands under cherry blossoms on the way home! >_<;;
Rave reviews.
Naturally, the guild leaders’ reviews spurred their members, and ultimately piqued interest across the peninsula’s awakeners.
Less than two years later, Won became the official key currency.
On the Korean Peninsula-Japan Archipelago-China Continent, Japan Archipelago-China Continent-Korean Peninsula, China Continent-Korean Peninsula-Japan Archipelago (varied to accommodate those still sensitive about fallen nations’ order), you could trade goods with just Won, almost no issue.
In a sense, the 205th cycle was a major turning point.
Of course, Dream Casino and Won sparked all sorts of incidents… But those can unfold slowly later.
So, to wrap this episode, here’s a glimpse of a dream I once bought at the casino.
“Lord Hyundeok!”
“Oho! Brother Physician! You—you’ve done great things for this Yoo Hyundeok’s brother!”
“How could it be my merit alone? It’s thanks to Brother Unjang leading the troops with me, the people’s resentment turning from Jojeok, and ultimately Lord Hyundeok gathering the scattered folk of the realm.”
“Ehahaha. I can’t match Brother Physician’s eloquence.”
I—no, the sworn brothers Yoo Bi, Jang Bi, Gwan Woo, and Physician (Undertaker) of the Peach Garden Oath founded Shu Han in the dream. Naturally, we lopped off Cao Cao’s head and dunked it in the Wei River.
Justice fulfilled. True history. A moving Romance of the Three Kingdoms you couldn’t watch without tears.
It was thrilling.
How could I hog this thrill alone?
Right after waking, I hammered the keyboard (that reincarnation laptop from the outsider god). Days later, a full-length Three Kingdoms novel was done.
I handed this ‘masterpiece’ to my self-proclaimed editor.
“Read this novel and include it in the main text no matter what. Wow, even I think it’s a gem. A monumental Three Kingdoms parody that draws the line. I’ll serialize it on SG Net too. So, in the main text…”
“Wait. Main text meaning your story—the novel I’m editing right now—shove a whopping 600-chapter Three Kingdoms parody right in the middle?”
“Exactly. Solves your volume issue perfectly. Readers will cheer through tears of emotion.”
“Uncle, are you seriously insane?”
“…?”
…Sadly, due to some noob who knows zilch about novels, my masterpiece won’t make the main text. End.
-Dreamer. The End.