Bizarre Monster Story (BMS)

The next day, Sunghyun took the report Nakamoto had prepared.

Beyond that, the report laid out A, B, and C plans for how Sunghyun ought to allocate his coins — a risk-bearing option, a safe option, and an extreme-risk option, respectively.

The choice was his alone.

"We'll go with C. That one's my favorite."

C: risk maximized. And for that very reason, the plan with the highest projected returns.

The outline was as follows. First, use five hundred thousand coins to move into the BMS Dimension, whose market capitalization currently sat at eight million coins. Hunt or capture the anomalous life-forms there to earn coins while stabilizing the dimension itself.

As it turned out, the BMS Dimension's primary source of revenue was technology developed from its peculiar monsters. The market cap had once exceeded a billion coins, but the consensus now held that the monsters would soon go berserk — and a considerable crash had already followed. Which meant that the moment Sunghyun stepped into that world and subdued those creatures himself, he would earn coins. Repeat the process, stabilize the dimension, and once the market cap climbed again, exit and cash out.

In theory, it was a perfect plan.

Looking it over, Sunghyun wondered whether other gods couldn't simply do the same. A few clauses in the Dimension Exchange quickly disabused him of the idea. Those who owned dimensions — the ones casually called gods — could not fully enter a dimension once their stake exceeded five percent. They could go if they restrained their power, but the moment they did, BMS would tear them apart.

And someone had tried. That god had abandoned his power and crossed over. The result: contact was lost at some point, and no one ever saw him again. Something must have gotten him. The incident had helped drive the dimension's price down further, and after that, no one challenged the BMS Dimension again.

Which was why this operation was only possible for Sunghyun.

As for the remaining 1.1 million coins — that would depend on the new listings that appeared once he purchased the BMS Dimension.

Sunghyun began buying BMS Dimension shares at two coins apiece.

The volume was large enough that the trades didn't all clear at once. As Sunghyun's bulk buying began, the price ticked slightly upward. Securing a five-percent stake would take roughly a week. He needed to earn coins as fast as possible, but there was no helping it.

The reason for the urgency lay in how Hermes made coins through this dimension. Hermes would certainly be struggling because of Sunghyun's presence, and he would have made some kind of arrangement with his clients. That was the opening to exploit. A signal would come before long.

"Haa…"

Sunghyun set the BMS Dimension purchases to auto-buy and checked the Coin Shop. There it was. Through the listings that had appeared with the BMS Dimension purchase, he finally identified the strange sensation that had been nagging at him.

Even for Sunghyun, who owned no dimension of his own, the moment he crossed over, his power would be restricted. If he'd gone in blind, he would have been finished.

Even now, dimension purchases were still going through, steadily draining the balance. How he spent the remaining roughly eight hundred thousand coins would decide everything that followed.

Opinions on that spending had split several ways.

Nakamoto's take: "You need to strengthen your own abilities. If something happens to you there, sir, the whole plan is worthless."

Saika's take: "You've already decided to take the risk, so commit fully. Keep a hundred thousand coins as a contingency and pour everything else into the BMS Dimension."

The other two's opinions were similar. In the end, both camps settled on holding four hundred thousand coins in reserve and investing the rest in BMS.

"Hmm. So the choice is between transferring to the dimension once I hit five percent and continuing to buy after that, or waiting until all the buying is finished before launching the plan."

The decision was mine. I followed my gut.

"I'll hold onto the coins until I transfer. If the price drops further after that, I'll buy more then."

Sunghyun was already buying the dimension in bulk, yet the sell wall wasn't shrinking.

"At this rate, it'll probably fall further with time."

Then he'd buy when it did.

Now — how to spend the coming week…

Nakamoto offered a suggestion.

"What about training the Hero, sir?"

Training the Hero… Until Sunghyun arrived, they couldn't afford to lose ground against the Demon King. It was a solid idea.

"All right. Let's go with that. We'll wrap for today. I'm heading back to my room."

He couldn't devote the entire remaining week solely to training the Hero, after all.

Time to go cuddle with Armin.

Researching BMS would be a bonus.

After a ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠meal with Armin, Sunghyun arrived at the training grounds. Spotting Hayato, he raised one hand high.

"Hey, friend. Come here a second."

The Hero broke off his sparring match with the Knight Commander and came running, panting hard. Fortunately, yesterday's ordeal hadn't broken his spirit.

"Huff… huff… What is it, President!"

"President?"

"Everyone around here calls you President, so… If you'd prefer a different title, I'll correct it right away."

Hayato finished speaking and bowed until his head nearly touched the ground.

"President's fine. Now lift your head and draw your sword. Let's see what you've got."

After yesterday's lesson, there ought to be at least a little improvement.

"Yes, sir!"

Hayato's eyes lit up as he raised his blade. He drew a long, steady breath, and his ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠eyes flooded with gold — proof that he was flooding his entire body with mana. Even so, Sunghyun could see the waste leaking out.

"Here. Here. And here. Focus."

Sunghyun jabbed a finger into several points on Hayato's body, and the flow of mana suddenly felt smoother.

As expected… He's on a completely different level from the Knight Commander. Overwhelming, even.

"Your mana's moving too fast. You don't need that right now — try for more precision."

Hayato concentrated on the movement of his mana. He raised his sword. And brought it down.

Swaaash—.

A cleaner downward cut than he had ever managed before.

"President…!"

"That's one."

Sunghyun looked at Hayato and counted the number off, indifferent. Do it again. Hayato raised his sword once more.

Swaaash—.

"Your focus broke. Again."

And so Hayato swung his sword for three straight hours. Of course, those three hours were the greatest period of growth he had ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠ever experienced. His physical level rose by three — what more needed saying?

"Hayato. When you rest, regulate your mana through your breathing."

Sunghyun drove the point home at Hayato, who had simply collapsed in place, gasping for air.

"Don't waste even a second. The weight of the sweat you shed now will lighten the weight of the blood you shed later."

Hayato nodded so hard that by this point, if Sunghyun had told him eating dung was good for his health, he would have believed it. In. Out. In. Out.

Sunghyun glanced around and found the other knights concentrating on their breathing as well. The lessons he gave Hayato were turning the knights back into boys.

The Knight Commander approached with glittering eyes.

"Teacher! I've been waiting for the lesson to end! Might I… possibly… inquire as to whether I might also… inquire about receiving instruction as well?"

Is this guy a marine?

Faced with those shining, earnest eyes, Sunghyun pressed a hand to his forehead.

"Haa… A promise is a promise, so I suppose I have to. Draw your sword. But it won't be easy."

Under Sunghyun's watch, the Knight Commander settled into his stance. Years of living by the blade hadn't been wasted — the form alone was excellent. But Sunghyun's senses were the kind that chewed up decades of experience and spat them out.

"The tip of your sword is wavering. Here. And here. Put power into those."

As the Knight Commander redistributed his strength to the points Sunghyun indicated, his blade went still as stone, as if by magic. A habit that years of swinging had never corrected — spotted and fixed after a single glance!

As expected, Lord Sunghyun is a god!

Sunghyun frowned at that impure gleam in the man's eyes, but it hardly mattered. He had no intention of teaching gently.

"Swing."

The Knight Commander's sword plunged ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠downward.

"What was your name again — Hadad?"

"Yes, that's correct!"

"Come here."

Hadad sprinted to stand before Sunghyun.

"Here. And here. Did you put power into them properly?"

The spots Sunghyun had indicated were places where applying force mid-swing was genuinely difficult.

"I… I'm sorry. My strength gave out at the end."

"Right. That's why the tip of your sword wobbled like that. You practicing Drunken Fist or something? Why do you keep making your blade shake?"

Hadad had nothing to say. There was nothing he could say.

"You keep forgetting, so I'll make sure you never forget again."

Sunghyun extended a single finger the same way as before and pressed it to Hadad's body. But the result was nothing like last time.

"Ugyagyagyagyagyagyaak!"

Hadad's body thrashed like a frog hit with an electric current. What was the easiest way for a human body to remember something? Pain. Sunghyun had layered the image of agony into his mana. No real damage — but every nerve would feel as though it were being stabbed by a red-hot needle.

"That's one. Come here."

Hadad swallowed his tears. If this was what it took to grow stronger…

He pressed forward.

"Ugyagyagyagyagyagyagyagyaak!"

Maybe I shouldn't get stronger…?

"Four left?"

But at the sound of Sunghyun calling him, Hadad's body moved forward on its own. Press. Press. Press. Press. The ordeal ended. Hadad had wailed like an infant in front of every other knight the entire time. Shame didn't enter into it. When you hurt this badly, what was there to be ashamed of?

"Hadad. Stop zoning out and pick up your sword again."

Hadad gripped it with far more care than before.

"You remember, right? If your strength gives out halfway, we start over."

At those words, cold sweat began pouring down Hadad's back and forehead.

Remember. Remember. Remember. Remember — I don't want to die!

Hadad set his stance with a rigid face. And the moment he thrust his sword — a bolt of lightning crashed down behind him.

His form wavered.

Huh?

He looked ahead to find Sunghyun smiling in a distinctly unsettling way.

"You wavered."

Wh-wh-wh-wh-what?

Is he even allowed to do that?

"My dear Hadad. No matter the situation, the tip of your sword must never waver. Understood? Looks like my teaching was insufficient."

Hadad wore the expression of a man being led to the slaughterhouse. Watching him, Hayato could only raise one arm in solidarity.

You got this…!

Still, he was growing quickly, wasn't he?

"This is all~ for your own good, you know."

It was absolutely not stress relief. Not at all.

"One."

Press.

"Kieeeeeeeek!"

For quite some time after that, bizarre noises continued to echo across the training grounds.