The Divine Voice Phishing Scam
Bukjin felt exactly like a victim of those voice phishing scams he’d only ever heard about. "Four thousand gold... vanished in the blink of an eye!"
He frantically opened the Storage app to check his remaining balance.
Current Assets: 110 Gold
He checked the payment tab in the Messenger app as well. It was the same: 110 gold. If there were such a thing as the cyber police in this world, he would have reported the fraud immediately. It was a staggering amount of money—the fortune he had spent months painstakingly accumulating through blood, sweat, and shamelessness had evaporated in a single moment. It was a loss no rational person could endure.
There was no reply. He tried again, his desperation mounting.
A notification window popped up in response.
The recipient has blocked all messages from you.
She... she blocked me?
He really had been played. "Aaaaagh!"
A wave of pure despair crashed over Bukjin. Do gods really commit fraud? His entire concept of divinity was being rewritten in real-time. The pain in his heart was so sharp it was actually getting difficult to breathe. But then—
A faint, ethereal blue light began to emanate from within his body. The glow seeped out of his pores, spreading through the temple and dyeing the surrounding space in a soft azure hue. A moment later, the light was sucked back into him, vanishing as quickly as it had appeared.
Even in the depths of his financial mourning, Bukjin felt a profound shift in the Mystic Energy circulating through his veins.
"My boy! You've done it! You've successfully awakened your attribute!"
Cho Heun, sensing the phenomenon, rushed over with a jubilant shout to inspect Bukjin's condition. "A blue radiance? What kind of power is this? Quickly, manifest your energy!"
Bukjin looked dazed. Did I really awaken an attribute? He focused, drawing the energy from his core and pooling it into his right palm. As he did, a fine mist of water began to swirl around his hand.
"This is... the Water Attribute?"
Bukjin felt faint. I got scammed out of four thousand gold... only to end up with the weakest attribute in existence? He felt like he might actually pass out.
In another realm, within a dilapidated palace, sat a beautiful goddess dressed in tattered, grimy robes. She disconnected the transmission and immediately activated a formation to seal off all external energy. Then, she burst into a fit of raucous laughter.
"Hahaha! I can't believe there's a god that stupid! He was so easy to trick! And such a huge amount! I can finally go to the Divine Market and buy all the Mystic Crystals and wine I want! Long live the scam!"
She paused, tapping her chin. "Though, that male god was seriously handsome... His face was on a whole different level compared to those old fogies in the Divine Realm. And that was his natural look! It's almost unfair how good-looking he was. My heart actually fluttered for a second... I guess I was feeling generous because of that face. A single drop of Undying Spring Water is a more than fair trade! I hope he enjoys the attribute I awakened for him!"
The goddess, Geomseol Mumeong, stood up and walked out of her crumbling palace. Outside lay a garden choked with weeds. The ponds were bone-dry, and the small artificial hills were covered in blackened moss. Despite her ragged clothes, her legs were long, smooth, and white as snow. She possessed a perfect, voluptuous figure with a full bust and long, raven-black hair. She was a peerless beauty—a classic 'bagel girl' with the body of a twenty-eight-year-old and the face of an eighteen-year-old.
As she walked away from the garden, her footsteps slowed to a halt. "Wait! I think I missed something. Hmm... I shouldn't have cut the connection so abruptly! It wouldn't be a bad idea to keep him as a long-term partner. There are countless mortals in the lower realms, but most of their faith can't be absorbed directly. Cases like that idiot's offering, which can be converted into Faith Points instantly, are incredibly rare..."
She sighed. "If I’d stayed in touch, I could have scammed him a few more times! Ugh, no wonder the other gods call me 'all chest and no brains.' I was definitely too hasty. What should I do? What should I do? Eh, whatever. Let's go buy the crystals and wine first!"
At the thought of delicious wine, the goddess shook off her regrets and began running toward the village, humming a tune. As she passed, other minor deities began to whisper.
"Who's that? Isn't that the lazy scammer, Geomseol?"
"Why does she look so happy?"
"Did she squeeze Faith Points out of someone again?"
"What a stroke of luck. I wonder which fool fell for her tricks this time?"
The divine citizens continued their gossip as Geomseol disappeared into the distance.
My name is Im Bukjin. I am a transmigrator. I obtained a mysterious smartphone that allows me to cultivate. Just when I was on the fast track to success in this new world, I fell victim to a divine voice phishing scam and went bankrupt. If anyone is listening to my story, remember this: Never trust a woman!
Bukjin walked out of the Sword Lord Temple with tears streaming down his face.
"Look at that! A new swordsman has successfully awakened his attribute and is weeping with gratitude!"
"To receive the blessing of the Sword Lord... what a lucky man!"
"He's so happy he can't stop crying!"
The people in the plaza watched him with admiration, completely misinterpreting his despair.
A short while later, Bukjin returned to the 3rd Academy. Cho Heun, who had escorted him all the way to the gates of Juk-won, spoke with encouraging sincerity.
"Even though the attack power of the Water Attribute isn't the highest, an awakening is an awakening. Practice hard. I still have high hopes for your talent. We leave for special training the day after tomorrow. Give it your all until the very end of the Academic & Martial Arts Competition!"
Bukjin, his face a mask of misery, merely waved a hand without saying a word. Cho Heun took his leave, and the Bamboo Garden fell into a heavy silence.
"Young Master, you're finally back! You succeeded in the awakening, didn't you?"
Wang Chung came out to greet him with a beaming smile. "Didn't I tell you? With your talent, awakening is child's play! Let me guess... you must have awakened the Gold Attribute, the one with the strongest offense, right? Or perhaps... the Fire Attribute for pure destruction? Or maybe the Lightning Attribute for ultimate combat power?"
A surge of white-hot rage boiled up from Bukjin's gut. He delivered a swift, powerful kick to Wang Chung's backside.
"Oof!" Wang Chung went tumbling across the ground.
"Ah! Young Master has finally kicked me again! I, Wang Chung, am so happy!" The butler cried out, looking genuinely intoxicated by the abuse.
Bukjin didn't even have the energy to respond to the man's antics. "I want to be alone. Get out of my sight. If you bother me, I'll kill you."
He slumped into a chair in the garden, his voice devoid of life. Whoosh! Wang Chung vanished instantly.
"God... how could I be so stupid? I knew voice phishing existed on Earth, but I never imagined the same tactics would exist in this world. I should never have gone to that temple."
He still couldn't believe four thousand gold was gone. The nest egg that had given him so much confidence was completely depleted. He had 110 gold left—just enough to keep his phone powered for about twenty-two days. He had to find a way to make money again.
As he sat there staring blankly into space, a sudden splash broke the silence. A large carp in the garden's small pond had seemingly lost its mind, leaping out of the water and landing on the muddy bank. The fish flopped frantically, trying to find its way back, but its luck was rotten; every jump only took it further from the water. Soon, its body was coated in mud, and its movements grew sluggish. It lay there, mouth agape, gasping for life.
"Hah... my life is just like that stupid carp's. I got dropped into this world from Earth and I've been struggling and flopping around, but in the end, I'm just destined to die here without ever going back..."
Bukjin continued his self-pitying monologue for a while before finally standing up and approaching the fish. "You stupid carp. What are you doing out here?"
He picked up the motionless fish with one hand and tossed it back into the pond. However, the carp remained belly-up on the surface, showing no signs of life.
"Did it die that fast?" Bukjin frowned, scooping the fish back out. "Did it lose too much moisture and pass out? Fine, I decided to save you, so let's see this through. My attribute is Water, so I'll give you a little boost. If this doesn't work, you're on your own."
Bukjin wasn't actually sure if this was the right way to use the Water Attribute. He gathered his energy into his right hand, and a soft blue light began to swirl. Then, something miraculous happened.
The moment the blue light touched the carp, the fish's eyes snapped open. Moisture began to bead on its scales, saturating its body at a visible rate.
"Huh?" Bukjin blinked in surprise.
The half-dead carp suddenly regained its vigor, thrashing its tail with immense strength. It wriggled out of Bukjin's grip and dove back into the pond with a powerful splash.
"Wait... was it faking it?"
Suddenly, a new wave of anger hit him. It's one thing for a goddess to scam me, but now even a fish is playing me for a fool?
Enraged, Bukjin lunged into the pond and snatched the carp back out. "You stupid fish! You'll pay for making me look like an idiot with your life!" he growled.
A short while later, Wang Chung, who had been waiting outside the garden for his master's mood to improve, caught a whiff of something incredibly savory drifting through the air.
"Hmm? Is the Young Master... eating something?"