Chapter 178
Chapter 178
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Translator: Vine
Chapter: 178
Chapter Title: 40. Master of the Myth (4)
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Backroom deals, bribes, kickbacks.
No matter what you called them, it seemed the universe had similar concepts.
—Ah… Aah, of course!
Kubu quickly hid his bewilderment and blinked its massive eyes.
—Jeong Yeong-woo07, you’ve granted me an honor that money couldn’t buy. So in return, I’ll give you a gift that can’t be bought with money!
Pwoosh!
Suddenly, its pupils glowed bright yellow as it stared blankly into the distance.
It felt like it was summoning something.
‘Uh…? What’s with going all out like this? I was just thinking of asking for a discount on transaction fees.’
Of course, if it was taking backroom money anyway, the bigger the amount, the better.
In any case, Yeong-woo looked around cautiously, a bit flustered.
That was when he noticed the people from the bedroom emerging into the living room amid the sudden commotion.
“What is it this time?”
Seo-ok appeared, kids in tow, asking with a worried look.
Yeong-woo forced a smile toward her and the children.
“Ah, it’s nothing.”
“…Nothing?”
Seo-ok’s face said she absolutely disagreed. She was staring at the massive eye taking up the center of the living room.
“Ahh, first time seeing it? This is the one who’ll handle my tax affairs from now on.”
As Yeong-woo said that, Kubu finished whatever summoning ritual it was performing and widened its eyes again.
—Jeong Yeong-woo07! Please accept this backroom payment I’ve prepared!
With that, a portal emitting yellow light opened beneath Kubu’s yellow-tinted pupils.
Pwaaah!
It looked like something was being brought in through that portal.
“Nooo, Kubu! Backroom money has to be given secretly later…!”
While Yeong-woo scolded it for bringing the bribe through the front door, something groped through the air and stepped out from inside the yellow portal.
‘Stepped…?’
The moment Yeong-woo saw the so-called “backroom money,” he instinctively knew something was seriously wrong.
And right after.
-Ubabaat…!
The backroom money that walked out on its own feet from the portal made a babbling sound.
The bribe Kubu had prepared was none other than a living creature.
—Top-grade Tenta tribe slave! Popu Tenta!
Kubu, the guardian of Daro, the Tenta tribe’s master, proudly introduced the slave meant as a bribe.
Yeong-woo’s jaw dropped, just like the people behind him.
‘Don’t aliens have any common sense? What’s the point of bringing a slave in front of the kids?’
By then, Popu Tenta had fully emerged from the portal and placed its broad feet on the floor of Room 3233’s living room.
Chub, chub!
“What…?”
Seeing the webbed feet on the creature, Yeong-woo let out a deflated sound.
What Kubu had brought as payment for its status upgrade was a 70-centimeter-tall bipedal frog.
-Baba!
True to its amphibian nature, its face was mostly mouth.
Popu Tenta opened its massive mouth wide and looked around the room.
It was probably taking in its new home planet, where it would toil as a slave, with both eyes and heart.
“…My god. Yeong-woo, are you in the slave trade now too?”
Sure enough, Seo-ok asked while covering her mouth.
Yet Yeong-woo couldn’t bring himself to respond.
He couldn’t say that the golden goblin he’d seen before—and even her husband—were essentially slaves too.
And right on cue.
-Keeek!
The senior slave resting on the living room sofa charged at the new slave.
Tataht!
-Kikik!
As the goblin swung its arms and said something, Popu Tenta moved its arms in sync and responded.
-Babaat!
Then the two turned to stare at Yeong-woo in unison.
Swoosh.
‘…I don’t know what it is, but it doesn’t feel good.’
As Yeong-woo made a uneasy face, Kubu blinked again and spoke.
—Popu Tenta is a Unique-grade special slave. It will be a great help on Jeong Yeong-woo07’s journey.
“Unique-grade?”
Yeong-woo paused, about to send the alien frog back.
‘The golden goblin was Relic-grade…?’
That meant this Popu Tenta was an even higher-grade slave than the goblin.
‘Is that why it has a name? The golden goblin was just “golden goblin.”’
「Golden Goblin」 - Relic Slave
【Stores items in sub-space.】
【Picks up valuable things.】
Now that he knew the details, it somehow felt sad.
Slaves got unique names once their grade was high enough.
—This is Popu Tenta’s ownership orb.
With that, Kubu floated a small yellow orb in front of Yeong-woo’s eyes.
Touching that orb would probably make him the official owner of Popu Tenta.
‘At this rate, am I going to end up leading a whole squad of slaves like some slave trader?’
Yeong-woo slowly reached out toward the orb.
Then.
Tap.
The moment his fingertips touched it, a new item tooltip appeared before his eyes.
「Popu Tenta」 - Unique Slave
【Plays the trumpet.】
【Iron Chain Orchestra】
|Increases trumpet play effects by 10% per adjacent slave.
“Trumpet play…?”
Seeing the tooltip, Yeong-woo muttered unconsciously, and Popu Tenta reached into the pouch-like side of its bulging belly and pulled out a small golden trumpet.
-Babaat!
“Its belly was a pouch?”
Did that make Popu Tenta some kind of bard?
Maybe it buffed its owner with trumpet performances or something…
—Popu is the Tenta tribe’s greatest trumpet player.
Kubu’s follow-up explanation came.
But it wasn’t the important part at all.
“No… Of course it plays well, but isn’t the performance effect what matters?”
When Yeong-woo asked Popu for a trumpet demonstration, Kubu refused on its behalf.
—Not here.
“…Why?”
—Popu’s trumpet play is for offense.
***
Offensive trumpet play… What kind of performance could that be?
Loaded with questions, Yeong-woo decided to accept Kubu’s “backroom money” for now.
“Then shall we get down to business?”
As Yeong-woo looked at Kubu, now officially his first tax accountant, it blinked once more.
—Yes. First, let’s calculate Jeong Yeong-woo07’s business income.
—Over the past two days, Jeong Yeong-woo07’s total business income amounts to 34 million karma, of which 28 million karma was paid in full cash.
The people still lined up like a gallery at the back of the living room couldn’t close their gaping mouths.
“What? How much…?”
“Thirty million?”
Gathered here were everyone from Dobong First Sword Jeong Gu to Jong-su and Tae-yeong working as monster hunters in Gangnam, and even Kim Tae-jun’s family, who were inevitably lower in income.
Yet daily income in the tens of millions was something they’d never even dreamed of.
On the other hand, Yeong-woo noticed something off in Kubu’s income calculation and pointed it out.
“Cash is 28 million, so why’s the total 34 million?”
Kubu rolled its eyeball and quickly provided the answer.
—Part of the income from advertising activities was paid in physical goods.
“Ah.”
Yeong-woo realized immediately that it referred to Dogo’s equipment modification fees.
◇ Dogo: Hidden Arrow
◇ Dogo: Ability Damage
The special Dogo functions attached to the narrative bow “White Saturation.”
‘So that option is valued at 6 million karma? No matter how you look at it, that’s retail, not wholesale.’
Well, Dogo was a profit-making organization, after all. It wouldn’t do losing business.
‘At least the special contract items aren’t counted as business income. Thank goodness.’
If they converted the weapon codex and Mythic-grade weapon into actual income, who knows how much that would be.
Yeong-woo probably couldn’t handle even the taxes on that.
“Um… so how much tax do I have to pay tonight?”
Yeong-woo’s voice grew quieter for some reason.
It made sense—hadn’t Chairman Dogo said it?
In this universe, the only way to avoid taxes was to transcend death.
In other words, if you didn’t want to die, you had to pay.
—Jeong Yeong-woo07, currently a general taxpayer, has a base calculated tax amount today of 3.4 million karma.
Calculated tax amount.
That meant before applying any deductions.
“…What?”
Yeong-woo yelped without realizing it.
“No way, paying 3.4 million in taxes in one day? Does that even make sense?”
He instantly lost his composure, turning into a raging taxpayer.
But it really was an enormous sum.
“Business owners must have a 10% tax rate. Actually, compared to Earth, it’s not that high.”
Jeong Gu chimed in from the corner of the living room.
But Yeong-woo couldn’t easily agree.
“No, on Earth, business owners could at least reduce income with expense deductions. This is just taking 10% off the total revenue, right?”
Yeong-woo fumed, then suddenly remembered something and asked Kubu.
“What about the single-person household deduction? Until yesterday, that halved my taxes.”
Kubu replied in a regretful tone.
—The single-person household deduction is a special deduction applied only to simplified taxpayers during the protection period right after market opening. It does not apply to Jeong Yeong-woo07, who has switched to general taxpayer status.
“Argh, damn…!”
He barely swallowed the “fuck” at the end for the kids’ sake.
“So you’re saying I have to pay the full 3.4 million? Who the hell is taking my money?”
As Yeong-woo spoke like he’d go kill the tax collector himself, Kubu’s eyelids trembled.
Because.
—Jeong Yeong-woo07.
“Yes.”
—Separate from the base calculated tax amount, there is also one acquisition tax.
“What? Holy shit, tell me all at once!”
The rage of Joseon First Sword pierced the living room ceiling as he received the tax bomb.
“Tax on illegitimate children, right? That acquisition tax.”
—Yes.
‘Fuck, I’m screwed.’
How much would the acquisition tax on Mythic-grade gear be?
Yeong-woo even felt dizzy now.
‘Did Chairman trick me? He didn’t mention acquisition tax when giving me the Mythic weapon.’
Fortunately, he’d kept a large amount of cash just in case.
* Available Karma: 8,954,500
8.95 million karma.
But the ad-related tax alone was 3.4 million karma.
Could he even cover the acquisition tax on the Mythic gear with that?
‘Plus the weapon codex will have acquisition tax too…?’
Bankruptcy. This meant bankruptcy.
And the consequence of that was.
‘Death…?’
Being threatened by taxes instead of mutants— he’d never imagined a life like this.
“Then did the chairman pay transfer tax or something? Technically, he gave me the sword unilaterally!”
Kubu replied without even blinking this time.
—It was a recorded business transaction, so the chairman properly paid transfer tax.
“Ha.”
That left him speechless.
So Yeong-woo asked in a dazed voice again.
“Then is there no other way? I’ll really go bankrupt like this.”
Kubu rolled its massive pupil.
Deruk.
—According to the training received from Dogo for handling Jeong Yeong-woo07’s tax agency duties…
“Oh, there is something?”
Yeong-woo perked up his ears like he was grasping at straws, and Kubu rolled its eyeball toward Jeong Gu.
—The tax-saving strategy I can recommend for Jeong Yeong-woo07 right now is dependent family deduction, single-parent household special deduction.