Chapter 25
Chapter 25
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Translator: Ryuma
Chapter: 25
Chapter Title: The Scale of Absurdity
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Phone-Addicted Master 25
“Are you telling me… I can use souls as currency, just like the gods? Through the scale?”
“Yes. The Cells residing in Barathrum. They are the souls you have reaped.”
“…So you’re saying I can place beings like Ogong or Anetium on the scale.”
“That is correct. However, the scale only accepts human souls, so they will not suffice. Ah, but my Lord. Are you not curious? People often believe the value of a life can never be converted into money. But what about a soul, which is not even a life? What might its value be?”
Did he think the value of a soul could not be measured?
The faceless mask, devoid of any craft or expression, stared intently at the silent Lee Si-woo.
From within the mask, the Butler’s voice echoed.
“The Scale of Absurdity requires five souls to create a Circle Potion.”
150 billion points, or 500 mana stones.
That was the market price for a Circle Potion on the All-Things Market, a colossal sum that the average middle-class person could never dream of affording.
Yet, Lee Si-woo could obtain such a potion by simply taking the lives of five humans.
However, instead of rejoicing, he asked something else.
“What happens to the human souls that enter the scale?”
“A soul swallowed by the scale is eternally annihilated. It will not belong to any cycle of reincarnation or rebirth. Its very existence is erased.”
“The very definition of absurdity. I can obtain things that good people strive for their entire lives and never get, just by committing a few vile acts.”
“The world is often like that. Where there are haves, there are have-nots; where there are takers, there are those who are taken from.”
“I suppose so…”
“Hmm, using souls as currency is a privilege only the gods can enjoy. With this alone, my Lord can reap immense benefits. For instance, you could shake the market economy if you so wished. And yet… you do not seem pleased at all.”
“I know. I know what a great opportunity I’ve been given. But that’s precisely why I’m trying not to be happy.”
In truth, he knew.
He knew this mindset was hypocrisy, a pretense.
Because if necessary, he would surely cast aside ethics and conscience like a worn-out shoe and abuse the scale.
Yet, even so, he reveled in his vile hypocrisy.
Brushing off his guilt with pretense, comforting himself that he still hadn’t crossed the line.
That was the wretched nature of the man named Lee Si-woo.
“You are wise and merciful, my Lord.”
Did the compliment sound sarcastic because of his own foul mood, or was it the Butler's intended inflection?
The question briefly crossed his mind, but Lee Si-woo paid it no heed.
It didn't matter either way.
Just then, Lee Si-woo’s skin began to be coated in a silver sheen.
The completion of the silver mining had triggered the Mineral Body phenomenon.
「Lee Si-woo」 ★★☆☆☆☆☆☆☆
Level: 101 > 121
Race: Human
Talents: [1] Danger Sense (Anetium) [2] Mana’s Blessing (Will)
Technique: None
Inherent Ability: Mineral Body (Copper) > Mineral Body (Silver)
Lee Si-woo confirmed that his level had jumped by 20 as soon as the silver mining was complete.
Considering that a 1st Circle Beginner’s level is typically between 100 and 130, and only those who break through the expert wall can reach level 131, this was an astonishing feat.
Although Lee Si-woo had only recently become a Beginner and his magic proficiency was still poor, the physical enhancement from the Mineral Body phenomenon had given him a level comparable to most other Beginners.
Savoring the surging vitality, Lee Si-woo spoke.
“Well then, the silver mining is done, and I’ve checked the new facility, so I’ll be on my way.”
As Lee Si-woo turned to leave Barathrum, the Butler’s voice stopped him.
“I am aware that your current situation is not favorable, my Lord.”
“Yes. Well, it seems my situation has never been particularly good since I came to this world.”
“Do not worry. The Death-Ground Fortune has not yet arrived, so things are not at their worst. However… I would ask that you secure a new energy source as soon as possible. The Castle and the Sky Corridor. Once these two facilities are constructed, they will be of great strength to you, my Lord.”
“To complete those two facilities, how many beings like Ogong must I devour?”
“Monsters of Ogong’s caliber will no longer suffice. They are only enough to maintain Barathrum’s minimum functions; an upgrade is out of the question. Therefore… we require those who possess a Circle.”
An incredulous, dry laugh escaped Lee Si-woo’s lips.
“A Circle? You mean I have to devour a mage.”
“For now, a 1st Circle will do… I know that this is a very difficult task. But I believe. What may be difficult for an ordinary person will be a trivial matter for you, my Lord.”
At the Butler's blatant attempt to pressure him, Lee Si-woo chuckled and replied.
“You have too much faith in me. Well, if it’s necessary, I have no choice. I’ll give it a try.”
The Butler’s mask rattled as he laughed in delight.
“That is more than enough. In this world, there is nothing my Lord cannot achieve through effort.”
* * *
After leaving Barathrum, Lee Si-woo checked the smartphone Wasp had given him.
More than three hours had passed, but there was still no message from the Gray Fox. Lee Si-woo clicked his tongue and turned on the TV.
Since there was nothing to do until the Gray Fox made a move, he decided to take a rest.
A hologram projected from the lens in the ceiling summoned a TV screen right before his eyes.
—This is a breaking news report. A random massacre has occurred at a café in downtown Granada. The murderer, who brutally killed over a dozen elves and beastmen, strangely did not harm a single human inside the café. The city police are therefore certain the killer is a member of the vicious criminal organization ‘Racist’ and have begun their investigation…
Not wanting to watch depressing news during his break, Lee Si-woo changed the channel.
Perhaps because of the hologram shifting right before his eyes, he felt a sense of presence, as if he were at the center of every scene he watched.
Quite pleased with this otherworldy artifact, Lee Si-woo tuned to a documentary channel endlessly replaying vast natural landscapes and closed his eyes.
It was the first sound sleep he’d had since coming to this world.
* * *
After a long, restful sleep, Lee Si-woo stretched and was greeted by a blue portal.
A hand of white mist dropped a letter in front of him.
A 3-star quest had arrived.
[3-Star Quest]
※Kill a being of level 100 or higher within one week.
The infamous murder quest. But the difficulty was insane.
For a 3-star quest, it demanded the murder of a being on par with a 1st Circle mage.
Considering Ogong was a 3-star monster, this was by no means a normal situation.
Then again, the 2-star quest to survive in a pit for 24 hours hadn't been easy either, given the circumstances.
‘They say quests are tailored to the person… Could it be that I’m getting these high-difficulty quests because I’m the owner of a Black Ticket? Ha, whatever the reason, this is driving me crazy. I already have to devour one mage for Barathrum… and now I have to kill another? This is basically telling me to hunt down two mages.’
The pleasure of his deep sleep had long since vanished.
As Lee Si-woo racked his brain over how to catch two mages, the smartphone beside him rang.
—This is Gray Fox. I accept your proposal. I would appreciate it if you could contact me when you have time.
Receiving the long-awaited message, Lee Si-woo immediately launched the app, the All-Things Market.
He needed to prepare before meeting the Gray Fox.
The All-Things Market was also known as the All-Things Encyclopedia.
It was a nickname earned for providing detailed information on items, not just their market prices.
‘First, I need a weapon… The problem is they’re too expensive.’
He suddenly missed the Hawk he had abandoned in the pit after emptying its magazine.
It had been a decision to lighten his load in the urgent situation with Jeoji on his tail, but considering the steep price of magi-tech weapons, he couldn't help but feel regret.
‘A weapon…’
In terms of familiarity, a gun was the obvious choice.
But while he was familiar with them, Lee Si-woo was far from a marksman.
More importantly, it was rare for mages to use guns as their primary weapon.
Since they were essentially walking machine guns themselves, there wasn't much of a merit.
At best, they might use pre-charged mana bullets in a firefight when they were out of mana.
Of course, that was useful enough, but it was lacking as a primary weapon.
‘That’s why Magic Treasures are so important, but…’
Magic Treasures.
Artifacts that amplified mana to boost the power of magic.
The presence or absence of a Magic Treasure made a world of difference in a spell’s power, to the point where there was a joke that ‘a mage without a Magic Treasure is no mage at all.’
These Magic Treasures varied widely in type and power, but they all had one thing in common.
They were ridiculously expensive.
‘Let’s see… Whoa, even a cheap Magic Treasure costs over a billion points. And that’s just the average price, so getting something usable right away would cost several billion.’
His current budget was 325 million points, secured by selling ten World Tree Branches at 30 million points each, along with some beastmen fangs and claws as material items.
It was nowhere near enough to buy a Magic Treasure, making it a pie in the sky for now.
One might think he’d regret giving away dozens of World Tree Branches to Rei, but Lee Si-woo wasn’t bothered.
Though it was merely for his own satisfaction, he felt it had been necessary, so he had no regrets.
‘If I pass on a Magic Treasure… what would be good?’
Lee Si-woo thought his greatest strength right now was his physical ability.
After his Mineral Body ability reached the silver stage, his physical capabilities had surpassed the human realm.
As a result, he was confident he could take on most beastmen with one hand even without reinforcing his body with mana, so it was only natural for him to look for a way to utilize this physical prowess.
‘I never learned any professional combat skills on Earth, aside from self-defense, so I should rule out anything difficult to handle…’
After an hour of searching the All-Things Market, Lee Si-woo found an item that fit his abilities and budget.
‘300 million. Perfect. I’ll go with this.’
Seemingly quite pleased with his choice, Lee Si-woo smiled contentedly.
* * *
In the dead of night, when the streets were deserted.
People began to gather one by one at the Granada outskirts portal terminal.
A potbelly that couldn’t be fully concealed by a black leather jacket adorned with a skull.
Green, gleaming scales and a snake’s head.
Baba, a Lizardman who, unlike his kin, possessed a perfect pear-shaped figure, opened his mouth.
“This is the third expedition already, right? Hmph, that Gray Fox bastard. If he makes us come all this way for nothing again, I won’t let him off easy.”
A woman with the face of a sparrow, who had been looking at Baba’s fat body with disdain, spoke as she irritably flapped the white wings on her back.
“Hey, piggy, can you suck in that gut of yours before you talk? Your damned chunk of flesh is blocking half my view, and it’s pissing me off.”
At the jab from the Avian woman, Lime, the fat Baba raised his middle finger.
“You should move that bird brain of yours aside, you bitch. Every time I see your ugly mug, I feel like I’m getting uglier too.”
Infuriated at being criticized for her looks by such a fatty, Lime shot back.
“This pig must have a death wish… You want a good beating today?”
As Lime flapped her wings wide, the steel pauldrons covering her shoulder blades blasted out a fierce wind.
The elemental magic, a cutting gale carrying a sharp edge, slammed into the ground right next to Baba, cracking the concrete and carving a long furrow.
Knowing her threat was a bluff, Baba sneered.
“Ooh? Getting feisty? Huh? This is starting to piss me off.”
As Baba raised his chubby index finger, it became wreathed in flames as if a candle had been lit.
The red flames licked the air like a snake’s tongue, trying to singe her wings. Lime shrieked in horror.
“Hey! You almost burned my feathers! You really want to go all out right now?!”
“You’re the one who commented on my belly first! Do you have any idea how expensive this belly is? Huh? Do you know how much I have to spend on food to maintain this figure?!”
“Hilarious! You’re not maintaining it, you’re fattening it up!”
“Oh yeah? Then let’s see what you’ve got.”
Just then, the Gray Fox, who had arrived in a white SUV, got out of the car and spoke.
“Are you two fighting again? How many times have I asked you not to fight on this expedition?”
At the Gray Fox’s appearance, Baba’s yellow eyes flashed as he spoke.
“Once we raid Aman’s lair, or whatever it is, you and this bitch will go your separate ways, so why should I hold back? If I’m pissed, we fight. If not, we don’t.”
“That’s my line. More importantly, Gray Fox. Is it true? That you found the entrance?”
At Lime’s question, the Gray Fox nodded and replied.
“Yes. The original owner of the map I met this time knew the exact location of the entrance.”
Baba rubbed his belly and said.
“Is that so? Hey, fox bastard. Tell us about this owner.”
The Gray Fox sighed inwardly at Baba’s crude language.
Whether it was his figure or his nature, this uneducated reptile was nauseating every time he saw him.
As expected of a wandering tribe that shunned city life, he practically reeked of ignorance.
But what could he do?
Talent was king. Although he was a 1st Circle Beginner, challenging Baba, a mage, was something only a person with a death wish would do.
“First, the owner is a Wasp VIP… but they’ve requested their information be kept private, so I don’t know their exact identity.”
Startled to hear the owner was a VIP, Baba let out a string of curses.
“A Wasp VIP? Shit, you got rocks in your head? Huh? Don’t you know that messing with a VIP from a major corporation will get wandering mages like us killed in an instant?”
The Gray Fox said in a somber voice.
“Then it’s not too late to give up. We haven’t been discovered yet.”
At those words, both the silent Lime and the agitated Baba fell quiet.
No amount of worry or concern was enough to swallow their greed.
As if guessing their inner thoughts, the Gray Fox revealed what was on his mind.
“Still, we’ve avoided the worst-case scenario. The VIP is human.”
The face of the white-haired man, Jin, who had a strange aura about him, flashed through his mind, but the Gray Fox forced the unease away.
Although his beastman sense of smell couldn't identify his race, the fact that he called the clearly human Lee Si-woo his brother meant he was likely nothing special.
At the Gray Fox’s words, Baba burst into a hearty laugh.
“What? Human? Hah, you stupid fool! You should have said that first! Good, good. A human VIP… Even if things go south, we’ll avoid the worst. There aren’t many powerful humans in Granada. Well, the retired old geezer Harman is the most threatening… but that old fossil is cooped up in his room and never comes out.”
Lime showed her interest.
“A human VIP… Is he a mage, by any chance? That would make more sense.”
“Yes. Judging by the dense mana emanating from his body, I’m certain he’s a mage. His level… is most likely around a 1st Circle Beginner.”
Lime let out a clear laugh, befitting an Avian, and said.
“A 1st Circle human Beginner? What, so he’s even more worthless than that pig over there?”
The moment she finished speaking, a taxi arrived at the terminal.
The three pairs of eyes quickly turned to the taxi.
There was only one other person who would come here at this ungodly hour.
A man with a friendly face got out of the taxi, wearing a warm smile that instantly made one feel at ease.
“Good evening. I apologize for being a bit late. My name is Lee Si-woo.”