Normalizing South Korea
I knew she wasn't an ordinary kid.
'The equipment I lent her....'
There wasn't even a single scratch on the equipment.
As if she hadn't even worn it.
But that little kid brought back Magic Stones and monster loot.
'I guess she had other teammates.'
Because the chance of an ordinary little kid taking out a group of goblins alone is close to 0 percent.
The Tower is a place where even adults can get stabbed and die by a goblin if they let their guard down.
It's hard to explain without teammates.
I just moved on, thinking she must have had other teammates besides her.
After handing me the monster loot, the girl dashed off like an arrow.
If it were the usual me, I would've just thought I met an interesting girl and gone back to my day job, but.
"She said she's going to sell Magic Stones...."
The last thing the girl said bothered me.
Because there have been a lot of people going missing lately while trading Magic Stones.
That's why I followed her.
Whenever I see a child around that age, I'm reminded of my daughter who died 3 years ago.
My daughter, who entered the Tower out of mere curiosity on the day it first appeared and never returned.
Losing a girl I had a connection with was an experience I only needed to have once.
However.
"...W-what."
At first, I doubted the situation, and the second time, I mistook it for a dream.
Because something incomprehensible was happening right before my eyes.
When the girl extended her index finger, a fireball appeared there.
And soon, it burned all the men who were threatening the girl to a crisp.
It was a scene I couldn't believe even after seeing it with my own two eyes.
And that girl is slowly approaching me.
'...Am I going to die?'
Am I going to be burned to death just as cruelly?
I squeezed my eyes shut at that thought, but.
"Ahjussi, do you happen to know any Magic Stone brokers?"
"...?"
The question I heard contained no malice.
That's why the man immediately changed his posture.
Prostrating on the ground.
"I'm sorry."
**
I heard the whole story from the ahjussi.
"So, you followed me because you were worried about me?"
"U-uh...."
"...Don't do that kind of thing carelessly from now on. I almost shot a fireball at you thinking you were an enemy lying in ambush."
"S-sorry...."
The ahjussi stood up, dusting off his knees.
And he looked back and forth between me and the piles of ash.
"...What was that earlier?"
"Ah."
This guy really saw everything from start to finish.
Judging by his reaction, it didn't look like he'd believe me if I tried to deny it.
In that case.
"It'd be faster to show you than to explain."
I extended my index finger and summoned a fireball.
The ahjussi flinched at the fireball floating above my hand, but soon started showing interest.
The ahjussi's eyes sparkled like a child who just saw a magic trick where a dove is pulled from an empty hand.
'I was like that when I first saw it too.'
Everyone gets excited when they see magic for the first time, huh.
Anyway.
"Now we're accomplices."
"...Huh?"
"You saw my magic. So now we're accomplices."
"D-does it work like that?"
"Yup. So let's hurry back. It'll be a big problem if other organization members show up."
Judging by what that guy said earlier, the organization seemed pretty big.
Seeing as they have someone called a boss, it probably isn't just a group of ordinary third-rate thugs.
I dashed over and sat in the driver's seat of the van.
'I may look like this, but I actually got my Class 2 Ordinary driver's license.'
It's been a 20-year "closet license," but things like this are usually remembered by the body even if the mind doesn't recall them.
I turned the ignition, stepped on the accelerator—.
"Ah."
It was too short.
"...I'll leave the driving to you, ahjussi."
Now that I've become this body, the restrictions are quite significant.
It was a moment where I felt it once again.
**
First, I drove the van to the ahjussi's shop.
Because I don't have a place to keep that many Magic Stones at my house.
"Oof, this is the last sack."
"There's so many...."
If it weren't for the ahjussi, I wouldn't have been able to lift the Magic Stone sacks out of the van.
Thank you, ahjussi!
By the way.
"The amount is huge."
I opened a sack to test it out.
It was filled with colorful jewels.
Judging by the size, they all look like lowest-grade Magic Stones.
"There are ten sacks of these...?"
It's at least over ten thousand.
In cash value, it would easily exceed ten billion won.
"Ahjussi, do you happen to know any Magic Stone brokers?"
"I do. But even they wouldn't be able to handle this amount."
I guess that's true.
I've seen cases of trading small amounts of Magic Stones, but this quantity is not something an ordinary person can handle.
"Maybe one sack would be possible, but all ten sacks won't work."
"Hmm, what should I do...."
I didn't intend to trade all ten sacks for money in the first place.
I didn't need that much money right now, and even if I just traded one sack, I could slack off for months.
But the problem is, I didn't get these through a legitimate route.
These aren't Magic Stones I earned by climbing the Tower honestly, but ones I got by robbing the lackeys of a criminal organization.
'It'll be troublesome if I don't get rid of them quickly....'
A white elephant that I can't get rid of, but can't keep either.
Let's settle up first.
"I'll take one sack, so you take one sack too, ahjussi."
"...Me?"
"Yup. You helped me move them."
Usually, manual labor gets paid the most.
If it weren't for the ahjussi, I wouldn't have been able to drive the van, let alone load and unload the sacks.
It's a fair distribution.
'Now there are 8 sacks left....'
What should I do with those.
"Ughhh...."
I tried wringing my small brain like a dry dishcloth, but no particular ideas came to mind.
In times like this, I should ask them.
I took out my phone right away.
"...Just how many years old is that phone you're using?"
"It was the latest model when I bought it."
Leaving the ahjussi behind, who was counting the exact number of Magic Stones, I immediately opened the gallery.
[If you suddenly got tens of thousands of Magic Stones, what would you do?]
It's not high-grade Magic Stones or anything, just lowest-grade ones.
You have tens of thousands of those.
So what would you do first?
Comments started to be posted quickly.
ㄴ Rent a luxury cruise and have a bunny girl party on board
ㄴ(OP) Holy crap, that's insane
"...Not that. I can't do something like that."
Pass for now.
...Maybe I should just write it down just in case.
No fresh comments were posted after that either.
A car-camping enthusiast who said they'd line up high-end foreign cars and spend some intense time.
And even people confessing desires that are a bit too much to put into words.
Okay, conclusion.
"Is there... no normal person in the Tower Minor Gallery?"
No matter how I look at it, it's just one-eyed freaks wearing human skin and mimicking speech, right?
Maybe I shouldn't have asked the community after all.
Just when I was sighing deeply at my rash actions.
A comment caught my eye.
ㄴ I'd probably start by normalizing South Korea? Honestly, the state of things lately is a mess
ㄴ (OP) ? What's wrong with Korea
ㄴ Do you live abroad? So jealous
ㄴ (OP) What's wrong with Korea? Explain pls
ㄴ Just click this and read it (Link)
Looking at the link the anonymous user sent, it led to a top-rated post.
[F*ck lol Hell Joseon has arrived]
(A graph that looks super complicated)
Hell Joseon being Hell Joseon again
You know how developed countries dumped all their existing fossil fuels and renewable energy and switched to Magic Stone fuel, right?
Korea tried to follow suit and now we're f*cked
(Another graph appears)
Do you see this?
The amount of Magic Stones held by the nation is hitting rock bottom day by day
Other countries have good population numbers and infrastructure, so Hunters manage to survive in their own way, right?
So the country runs well even when collecting taxes in Magic Stones instead of money
But our country is totally f*cked
Tried to follow suit half-assed, and the congressmen embezzled everything
Infrastructure is going to sh*t day by day, and taxes are rising.
So, there are a f*cking lot of Hunters dying because they're pushing themselves to enter the Tower
Since Magic Stones aren't being collected as taxes, power generation isn't working properly either
An expert said recently that Korea has less than a year left until it collapses.
And the blackout is less than a month away
Just start studying now and let's emigrate go go
"...What is this."
Korea is collapsing? Blackout? Magic Stone power generation?
They're all things I'm hearing for the first time.
But who am I?
The world's one and only, Secret-Jju-Jju-Limited Edition difficulty climber.
I can understand that much if I set my mind to it!
I stared at the phone screen for a while, and as a result, I succeeded in understanding it.
The part I need to focus on is.
"National Magic Stone shortage."
Currently, South Korea is running on the existing Magic Stone power generation.
But the problem right now is that there's a shortage of Magic Stones.
Since there are no Magic Stones, power generation can't work properly, and that soon leads to the destruction of infrastructure like blackouts.
"But, if Magic Stone power generation doesn't work, can't we just use existing stuff like coal?"
My thought that hit the core, enough to make an AI cry.
However.
They sold off the previous infrastructure to other countries to forcibly introduce the Magic Stone power generation system.
'Are they actually idiots?'
Just as written in the post above, the end of a country that tried to forcibly follow infrastructure.
In other words, our country is in a situation where it has to rely on Magic Stones, but there are no Magic Stones.
But are there any Hunters to mine Magic Stones?
There aren't any of those either.
The situation is that they can't even collect Magic Stones as taxes because more Hunters are dying in the Tower.
"But, how much is needed for power generation?"
I searched the internet and was able to find related materials without difficulty.
The amount of Magic Stones needed to operate a large Magic Stone power plant for one day is 1,000.
They say this is exactly the borderline.
"No, just how f*cked is this country...."
1,000 lowest-grade Magic Stones, roughly calculated, is 1 billion won.
If you invest 1 billion won, you can run all the infrastructure in major cities, though rural areas would be a stretch.
"But they're in a situation where they can't even do this?"
'Wait then, how did these guys collect this much?'
I turned my head toward where the Magic Stone sacks were.
If that much came out from robbing just one van, there must be Magic Stones piled up at their headquarters.
'A criminal organization with more money than the country, that's ironic.'
Why were those guys collecting Magic Stones?
Just when I was thinking deeply, the ahjussi ran over.
"5,000 lowest-grade Magic Stones per sack, 50,000 in total."
"50,000...."
If I take out the ahjussi's share and mine, 40,000 are left.
"Ahjussi."
"Yeah?"
"I have a good idea, do you want to hear it?"
**
Magic Stone power generation, which is responsible for all of South Korea's infrastructure.
Among them, the Seoul Magic Stone Power Plant, known to be the largest.
On the surface, it looks like it's running fine.
But the reality is.
[Magic Stone fuel remaining: 4.8%]
[Estimated operational time: 7 days]
Red warning messages popped up endlessly on the large electronic display in the control room.
"......What about additional input?"
"...There is none."
The employee's voice answering powerlessly seemed already resigned.
"We have already exhausted all reserves."
"...What about the Hunter Association?"
"We requested help as much as possible, but it's impossible anymore."
"This is driving me crazy."
The man in the suit rubs his face dryly.
This fact hasn't been made known to civilians yet.
He had boasted and guaranteed that all infrastructure in major cities would run properly for at least a year.
However.
'Only a week...?'
He couldn't even fathom what kind of riots would break out if this fact reached the public's ears.
In a week, all of South Korea's infrastructure will collapse.
Even if they collect as many Magic Stones as possible, from then on it'll be a case of living day to day.
South Korea can never prosper.
"Haa...."
The country I've been a part of since I was born is collapsing in the era I'm living in.
Was it such a despairing feeling?
The man continued to rub his face.
At that moment.
"Team Leader!!"
Someone ran in.
They were gasping for breath, as if they had come in a hurry.
"...What is it."
The man had already resigned himself.
He was sure he would maintain this attitude unless he heard that his family had died on the street.
"An anonymous person has contacted us saying they want to donate 40,000 Magic Stones?"
"What!?"
Until that anonymous person contacted them.