Chapter 8: Now I Am Rich – 'But Where on Earth Do I Spend All This Money?'
That was the practical dilemma that hit me after finishing a delicious meal.
Normally, with this kind of sum, the sensible thing would be to deposit it in the bank first.
Absolutely not.
I shook my head.
A 22-year-old non-awakener—no job, unemployed orphan—suddenly having tens of billions drop into their account? That was a hundred percent guaranteed to attract an investigation.
Especially if the National Tax Service started asking about the source of funds. An unregistered awakener like me had no defense against that.
"Where did this money come from? My familiar ground up some dark guild thugs and looted it, milord?"
I couldn't exactly tell the truth like that. And of course, I had no clue about professional money laundering methods.
So the answer was obvious. Just use the cash as-is.
For starters... maybe spend a little to spruce up the room?
I opened the notepad app on my smartphone and jotted down the shopping list I'd only dreamed of before.
I braindumped everything that came to mind, no holds barred.
Now I had more than enough money to make it happen.
Premium gaming PC tower, 4K monitor, H Company high-end chair, 100% blackout curtains, 1++ Hanwoo beef (lots of blood!), top-tier mattress, and women's size clothes…
"Katarina."
"Yes, my lord."
I showed her the smartphone screen and declared sternly,
"Gather the finest tributes befitting my domain."
"As you command."
Katarina scanned the shopping list with her eyes, grabbed the cash bag, and headed out.
In the heart of Gangnam stood a department store.
A beauty with an otherworldly appearance appeared in the luxury goods and premium electronics sections.
A woman with black-and-pink twintail ponytail, dressed in a black maid-style uniform.
"Whoa... she's insanely pretty. An idol? Influencer?"
"Drama shoot?"
Murmurs rippled through the crowd.
Her unique outfit and stunning looks drew every eye.
Her red eyes indifferently swept over the displayed luxury items.
"Uh, welcome, customer. Looking for something specific?"
A store clerk approached, startled by Katarina's untouchable aura.
Instead of answering, Katarina opened the bag she carried.
As the zipper parted, bundles of 50,000-won bills burst into view, stuffed to the brim.
"Gasp...?!"
"I shall recite the list. Provide only the rarest and finest. Deliver them to my lord's domain at once."
The clerks' eyes bulged.
No bank transfer or black card—just straight-up dumping this much cash in a department store?!
And that haughty, condescending tone flowed so naturally from her arrogant, aloof demeanor.
Wh-which chaebol heiress is she?!
S-rank hunter's agent?!
Even the branch manager came rushing down, bowing at a perfect 90 degrees.
"W-we'll handle the fastest, safest VVIP premium delivery!!"
That afternoon.
An absurd sight unfolded in front of Yujin's studio apartment building: a line of delivery trucks.
Oooh...!
I sank into the god-tier high-end chair, marveling.
The millions-of-won H Company luxury gaming chair, known as the king of chairs. With this, I could game for hours without back pain.
And it wasn't just the chair.
On the desk sat a 4K monitor and a ten-million-won high-end PC gleaming with iridescent LED lights.
100% blackout curtains sealed the door and windows from any light, while the floor hosted a top-tier bed and assorted luxury furniture.
The new cute fridge brimmed with 1++ Hanwoo beef and fresh blood.
The cheap studio hadn't even had AC before, but I'd installed one out of pocket.
Ding-a-ling-!
Basking in the cool breeze from the brand-new AC, I popped premium Hanwoo raw beef into my mouth. Delicious!
This was the taste of capitalism...! Insane. Money is the best. Always fresh. Thrilling!
Lost in emotion, I swung my legs back and forth in the chair when Katarina, standing rigidly beside me, asked cautiously,
"My lord, are you pleased?"
"Hmph. Well, 'tis a somewhat tolerable nest now."
Thanks to Noble Bearing, an arrogant, haughty voice emerged.
Internally, it was Katarina, you're the best! I love you! on repeat.
Katarina smiled faintly, relieved despite my lofty praise.
"Compared to your exalted nobility, it remains woefully humble and inadequate, yet your words fill this creation with joy."
"Yes, yes. Well done. Now rest well thyself."
"As you command."
I donned my headset and fired up a game, feeling great.
No Tower of Trials for a week now. Money worries solved. Unemployed life with top gear was pure paradise.
I hoped this peace lasted forever.
But contrary to Yujin's wishes, the world wouldn't unfold so easily.
At that moment. Black Cow headquarters, overlords of Seoul's underworld.
"Boss! Found them!!"
The organization's chief sorcerer burst in urgently.
The boss, chewing a cigar in the head seat, flashed sharp eyes.
"Located their base?"
"Yes! Luckily, one of the stolen slush fund items had my location-tracking curse on it. Top-secret sorcery even S-rank hunters can't detect, heh heh heh!"
"Excellent! So where? Who attacked us—rival dark guild? Government?"
The sorcerer pulled up a map on the tablet.
A red dot blinked.
"It's... a rundown studio apartment district on Seoul's outskirts."
"...What?"
The executives in the meeting room furrowed their brows in unison.
A shabby studio district?
For the ones who looted their massive slush fund and shredded forty members in a minute? Way too pathetic.
The executives voiced doubts.
"Their base is there?"
"You sure?"
But the boss sneered coldly.
"Tch. You idiots. Obviously a camouflage outpost."
The executives jolted and nodded.
"Brilliant...!"
"Looks rundown outside, but packed with barriers inside."
"Whose name's on the deed?"
The boss asked, and the sorcerer replied swiftly.
"On paper... a 22-year-old non-awakener male named 'Yujin'."
"Hmph. Ghost name, naturally."
The boss scoffed.
"High chance those monsters who pulverized our forty guys yesterday without a trace are holed up in that cramped fake outpost."
Not one, but multiple elites.
The most logical conclusion by common sense.
"They hunkered down close by, dead set on biting us. We got hit first, so time to go all out."
The executives held their breath amid the boss's murderous intent.
"Deploy the 'Black Calves.' All five."
Black Calves.
Black Cow's secretly raised, flawless elite five-man assassin squad.
"They're monsters. No mercy—ambush and snap their necks in one go."
Days later.
The silent predawn.
Five pitch-black shadows appeared silently at the rundown studio building on Seoul's edge.
Perfectly suppressing their presence, they scaled the walls.
Black Cow's elite five-man assassin squad: the Black Calves.
Each rivaling an A-rank hunter.
They boasted they could even kill an S-rank with a group ambush.
Their target: one spot. A curtained, shut window in the corner of the third floor.
Bringing up the rear was the smallest, a slender girl with jet-black hair.
Her face held zero emotion.
Her dark eyes gleamed dully, lifeless.
Kidnapped to the underworld as a child, she'd been brutally brainwashed into a human-killing machine.
When orders came, she obeyed.
That single rule filled her mind. No matter the pain. Willing or not, irrelevant.
Climbing the wall, the girl thought.
Target: monsters who trashed a major branch in one minute.
A death trap, potentially.
Yet her empty eyes held no fear, no tension.
Only deep resignation.
-Count of three, then breach.
At the window, the squad leader signaled, flashing three fingers.
Just before smashing it open.
Please.
The nameless black-haired girl whispered from her heart's depths. Her sole wish.
...Please, someone kill me on this mission.
She yearned to escape this hellish life.