Chapter 29
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Translator: 8uhl
Chapter: 29
Chapter Title: Driver's License
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[You have used a Random Gold Pouch.]
[Congratulations! You received 9,999 Gold!]
Ryu Min was taken aback for a simple reason.
He had received a number he'd never gotten before.
'9,999 gold... That's the maximum amount, isn't it?'
His surprise was fleeting.
A smile soon spread across Ryu Min's face.
'This feels even better than winning the lottery five times in a row.'
The better-than-expected result made the corners of his mouth lift on their own.
'Getting that bless was definitely worth it.'
*My luck is insane,* he thought, checking his current gold.
'16,249 gold... At this rate, I'll have more than enough to buy the epic item in two weeks.'
With the 50% discount coupon, I'll even have gold left over.
I can use the remaining gold to get other items.
Ryu Min smiled happily and headed home.
As soon as he opened the front door, his younger brother came out to greet him.
"Bro, did you have a good date?"
Ryu Min looked at his grinning brother with a baffled expression.
"A date? What are you talking about?"
"Didn't you just go on a date with that girl you're into?"
"Stop talking nonsense. What did you have for lunch?"
"I ordered jajangmyeon."
"You should've gotten something nice."
"What's wrong with jajangmyeon? I've been craving it for so long."
"True."
A dry laugh escaped Ryu Min's lips.
It was just a month ago that they were scraping by with no money.
'Before, I used to know how much was in my bank account down to the last won...'
But now, I've lost track of the amount.
I don't even have to think twice when buying things or ordering food.
I can just get whatever I want.
That's how much money I have.
Besides, with 150 billion won in Bitcoin, I won't have to worry about money from now on.
'And even that will keep growing. At least for the next two weeks.'
Ryu Min was confident because he hadn't done anything to significantly alter the future.
He was sure it would double in two weeks.
'Until then, I should take a break and get my driver's license. I'm an adult now, after all.'
Not having a car was inconvenient in many ways, so he needed to get one.
Ryu Min decided to apply for the test right away.
He didn't need to study.
He had more driving experience than anyone else in the world.
* * *
[Ryu Min's score on the written exam is 95. Congratulations on passing.]
After quickly checking his answers on the computer, he stood up.
"Y-You're already finished?"
The proctor was surprised, and then even more so after seeing the result.
It seemed to be because he had finished the fastest and passed.
'I just breezed through it, but I passed without any trouble.'
He hadn't studied at all.
There was no need for a textbook or driving school.
His basic knowledge was more than enough to pass.
With the passing stamp on his application, Ryu Min went to the counter.
After receiving his learner's permit, he left the test center.
Now, all he had to do was pass the skills test and the road test to get his license.
'The practical tests are a piece of cake.'
Ryu Min registered for the practical tests with a confident expression.
* * *
Four days passed.
Ryu Min stared at something in his hand with a smile.
It was his driver's license, complete with his picture.
'Easy, so easy.'
He'd gotten his license in just four days.
The practical tests weren't difficult at all.
A perfect 100 on the skills test and a perfect 100 on the road test—those were Ryu Min's results.
'Passed the practicals without a hitch, too.'
He passed without a single practice run.
It was only natural, given his driving skills were so polished they surpassed even a veteran's.
'If I'd done better on the written exam, I would have had a perfect score all around.'
The wide-eyed look on the proctors' faces when he got a perfect score was still vivid in his mind.
'Now that I have my license, should I go buy a car?'
Without a second thought, Ryu Min headed to a direct-import supercar dealership.
Foreign cars, especially supercars, were easier to drive than domestic ones.
People automatically kept a safe distance and yielded the right of way.
'I could buy from a showroom, but that would take too long.'
Buying direct import was cheaper and faster.
*Whoosh—*
As the dealership's automatic doors opened, a dealer looked at Ryu Min.
'Huh? A young customer?'
The dealer, Choi Tae-guk, quickly sized him up.
'He looks so young. Probably just became an adult and is here to buy his first car...'
In his experience, customers who came in to buy their first car were one of two types.
'Either a car-poor who loves to show off, or the son of a chaebol family?'
Having finished his assessment, Choi Tae-guk put on his salesman's smile.
"Welcome, sir. Are you here to look at some cars?"
"Yes. I'd like the most expensive Lamborghini model you have."
'The most expensive one?'
"Car-poor" was a term for someone who was broke but drove an expensive car.
If he was asking for the most expensive one, he wasn't car-poor.
'A chaebol! A second-generation chaebol!'
Choi Tae-guk's smile widened.
He much preferred a chaebol over a car-poor.
"Haha, you've come to the right place, sir. We just happen to have a similar model in stock. Would you like to take a look? Right this way."
Subtly changing his address to "sir," Choi Tae-guk led him to the parking lot where the supercars were displayed.
The place was filled with cars worth a fortune.
"This is a Lamborghini Aventador model awaiting delivery. It's a lower trim ordered by another customer, but the design is the same, so it should give you a good idea."
"How long does it take to get one through direct import?"
"If you sign the contract and we place the order today, you can receive it within a month. Ah, the price for the highest trim is over 900 million won. If that's too much..."
"I like it. Let's skip the talk and sign the contract right now."
He had plenty of money, so there was no need to hesitate.
"Indeed, sir! You have excellent taste! Hahaha!"
The dealer's face bloomed with a wide smile.
* * *
Two weeks after ordering the car.
Ryu Min was looking at his Bitcoin account on his phone.
'It went up to 300 billion.'
The time had finally come.
Time to sell off his Bitcoin.
Ryu Min sold it all without a second thought.
Just as he secured 300 billion won in cash, his brother walked into the room.
"Bro, let's have lunch together."
"Okay."
"But why are you smiling like that? Did something good happen?"
"Ah, I just sold all my Bitcoin a moment ago."
"Huh? Really? How high did it go?"
"300 billion."
At Ryu Min's words, Ryu Won could only blink.
The number felt unreal.
"Whaat? Three... 300 billion?!"
Reacting belatedly, Ryu Won recalled the prize money his brother had won.
"The money you won from the lottery was only about 70 billion, right?"
"That's right."
"And that became 300 billion? You multiplied it that much?"
"I told you."
Ryu Won exclaimed in disbelief again and again.
"Wow... I wanted to stop you when you invested in Bitcoin, but to hit it this big...!"
"I didn't expect it to rise this much either."
Ryu Min was also satisfied with the 300 billion won result.
In his previous life, it had only quadrupled to about 280 billion.
"So you're pulling out now because it's getting risky?"
"I have to."
He couldn't make any more profit from Bitcoin.
Starting tomorrow, Bitcoin would plummet and become worthless as scrap paper.
"Good thinking, bro. Just watching from the sidelines made my heart pound. It's better to earn a decent amount and get out."
"Now I'm thinking of investing in stocks."
"Haha, right. Stocks would be safe and goo— What? Stocks?"
Ignoring his surprised brother, Ryu Min opened a stock account on his phone.
Seeing this, his brother jumped in protest.
"Wh-what are you doing, bro! Isn't this enough? Now you're going to dabble in stocks?"
"I have to grow it while I can."
"If you'd always dreamed of being a fund manager and studied up on it, I wouldn't stop you. But you don't know the first thing about stocks!"
"I don't. But my dream pointed the way."
"Your dream?"
Ryu Won fell silent with a dazed expression.
It was the same dream that had led him to win the lottery five times in a row.
If anyone else had said it, he would have scoffed and tried to stop them, but since it was his brother, he couldn't help but believe him.
"D-did the dream tell you this time, too? To buy a specific stock?"
"Yeah. It said if I buy it now, I'll hit the jackpot."
Hearing it would be a jackpot, Ryu Won couldn't argue any further.
"Do what you want, bro. It's your money, so it's not my place to tell you what to do..."
"Don't worry. It'll work out this time, too."
With that, Ryu Min looked at the stock market status.
He saw a company ranked 150th on KOSDAQ with a market capitalization of 550 billion won.
[Cheonma Consulting] Inc.
It was none other than the company owned by Ma Kyung-rok.
'Right now, it's a decent enough company that consults in various fields, but...'
After the 4th round, it builds a special system and begins to ride a wave of rapid growth.
This was an unchanging future he knew from dozens of experiences.
'Knowing it's going to be a jackpot, there's no reason not to invest.'
Of course, it wasn't just about the money.
What if he could take over Ma Kyung-rok's company shares and gain control of its management?
'As the majority shareholder, I can exert enormous influence and reap the benefits.'
This was why Ryu Min had secured funds through the lottery and multiplied them with Bitcoin.
To gain control over Ma Kyung-rok's company.
'First, I'll invest 280 billion to acquire a 51% stake.'
Ryu Min unhesitatingly pressed the buy button.
Now, while the company was still small, was the perfect chance to take a majority stake and become the largest shareholder.
"Bro? What are you doing?"
"Investing in stocks."
He poured the massive sum of 280 billion won into Cheonma Consulting.
He left the remaining 20 billion as living expenses.
"All done. Let's go get something to eat."
Ryu Min smiled leisurely, but Ryu Won couldn't shake his worry.
'I hope my brother's dream comes true this time, too...'
Losing the money wasn't the important part.
He was worried his brother would fall into despair if the results were different from his expectations.
'I should pray every night for my brother's success.'
Ryu Won resolved to do so, but there was no need.
It was already a foregone conclusion that Cheonma Consulting's stock would hit the upper limit.
* * *
*Tick-tock—*
The ticking of the wall clock's second hand sounded unusually loud.
'Five minutes left.'
Ryu Min sat in his room, waiting for midnight.
The reason was simple: tomorrow was the day the epic item he wanted would appear.
'I've been saving up gold for this day.'
The Random Gold Pouch had also hit the jackpot, so he had plenty of gold.
That wasn't all.
Ryu Min reached into his inventory.
A fluttering piece of paper landed in his grasp.
[Today's Item 50% Discount Coupon]
-Classification: Consumable
-Grade: Rare
-Effect: Purchase Today's Item for 50% of its price.
-Usage Restriction: Until the next round, Beginner grade or higher.
-Description: A limited-time item given to those who complete the 2nd Round's sub-quest. The item will be automatically destroyed upon entering the next round.
'Plus, with the discount coupon, I can save a lot of gold.'
Ryu Min smiled as he waited for midnight.
A moment later.
*Tick-tock— Tick!*
The moment it turned midnight, Ryu Min opened the shop window.
As expected, an epic item was listed in the Today's Item section.
However...
'Ah... what should I do?'
There was an unexpected problem.