The Power of God
I suddenly remembered something. Was this like that Space Ring X thing? I’d heard it felt pretty similar. Apparently, just by wearing it on your finger, a high-performance AI could monitor your health, heart rate, and over twenty other minor functions. ‘That thing was insanely expensive.’ Even selling it used would bring in serious cash….
[I’m truly sorry to interrupt your happy fantasy, Master, but I am not an AI. And even if you wanted to sell me used, that would be impossible.]
[You’re not even wearing earbuds, and there’s no speaker here, yet you can hear my voice. Didn’t it strike you as strange at all?]
“…Huh?”
Only after hearing that did I finally sense a faint sense of unease. Honestly, it wasn’t that surprising for an AI to speak this fluently. By 2026, technology had already advanced to the point where you could play campaign games with AI. What actually shocked me was that this thing had read my mind. And perfectly, at that. I was genuinely astonished that it had read my thoughts so cleanly.
[…Hmm. This feels like it might have been attached to the wrong person.]
“That’s what I was going to say.”
[Why on earth would the God give me to a guy like…]
“Did you just get rude all of a sudden?”
[…Ahem. My apologies, Master. I seem to have committed a momentary blasphemy.]
The voice itself was pleasant, like ASMR, but the words coming out of it were pretty blunt. It seemed like this thing had a serious headache. Or maybe it was defective?
[I can’t help but feel disappointed that you still think I’m an AI.]
[If you’re that suspicious, why don’t you try taking the ring off your finger?]
“I was planning to do that anyway.”
If I just took the ring off, everything would go back to normal. Or so I thought as I tried to pull it from my finger.
“Ugh… huh? What the…?”
It wouldn’t come off. Fuck. It wasn’t just stuck—it was fused to me. It clung so tightly to my finger that it felt like it had become one with my flesh. There wasn’t even the slightest give.
[There’s no way a mere human could discard a divine power at will, is there?]
“……”
[It’s simply been given the convenient form of a ‘ring’ for easy viewing. In reality, it is not a ring. It is divine power.]
It didn’t need to emphasize it twice. I got the general idea. And more than that, thinking back to the chill I’d just felt, this… didn’t seem like a dream at all.
“……”
Divine power? Divine power? What the hell even is that…?
[To put it simply, my role is to provide you with money, Master.]
“…Money?”
[Yes. Didn’t you tell the God that you wanted to work?]
In that instant, a memory from yesterday flashed through my mind.
“Yes, Grandfather… I… I really, really want to work…”
A grown-ass man getting a little soju in him and immediately tearing up while saying shit like that…
“Aaaaaagh!”
I reflexively screamed and kicked my blanket. Damn it. This was going to haunt me for the rest of my life. What the hell was I thinking…?
[Your sincerity at that moment must have moved the God’s heart.]
But if I was going to regret it, the fact remained that I’d gained divine power because of what I did back then… so maybe it was actually a good thing?
“Anyway… um, so I can get money, right?”
[Yes, that’s correct. And why are you suddenly speaking formally and using honorifics?]
[No matter what, I am a divine power that has already been given to you, Master. I would appreciate it if you treated me comfortably.]
“Sorry. I’ve been stressing so much about money lately that I just slipped into it without thinking.”
[Well, I understand.]
[But you don’t have to worry anymore. Now that I’m by your side, you won’t have to stress about money ever again.]
It was an incredibly reliable and sweet thing to say. Still, it was hard to fully trust the words of this mysterious ring right away.
[I understand that as well. Please don’t worry too much.]
[From now on, I’ll clearly show you exactly what kind of power I possess.]
The moment Ring finished speaking, a clear ding sounded, and a translucent window appeared before my eyes.
Help your mother carry her heavy luggage to the bus stop.
Reward: 30,000 won
“…What the hell is this? VR?”
A few years ago, VR rhythm games had been all the rage. I’d gone crazy playing a game called Laser Saber and lost ten kilograms because of it, so I wasn’t completely thrown off. But considering I wasn’t even wearing a VR headset, I couldn’t help but be a little shocked.
[It is not VR. This is reality.]
[I’m simply presenting it in a familiar format so that you can accept it more easily, Master.]
“Ah… I see…”
This wasn’t going to be easy to get used to. Anyway, help my mom carry her heavy luggage to the bus stop? My mom usually didn’t even bother bringing a bag when she went to work…
[Just trust me completely for now.]
“Alright.”
I nodded half-heartedly and stepped outside. There was my mom, yawning as she came out of the master bedroom. I glanced inside—looks like Dad had already left for work.
“Mom, what time do you start today?”
“Eleven.”
No wonder she was taking it easy and even made breakfast for Kim Hyun-ah. My mom shuffled over to the cup with a sleepy face and poured herself some water.
“Son, things have been tough for you lately, haven’t they?”
“Huh? Uh… yeah, but you don’t have to worry too much. I’ve been sending out resumes nonstop, so something will work out eventually.”
I’d meant to say I was fine. But the more I spoke, the more it felt like my throat was closing up. If I was being honest, the biggest source of stress for me lately might have been worrying about how other people—including my family—saw me. If it had just been me, I might’ve just lived like an idiot without a care.
“That’s right. Our son is definitely going to do well. You’re kind and smart. Still, don’t push yourself too hard. Your mom and dad are both still working, after all.”
“…Yeah, I know. I told you not to worry. I’ve got a perfectly healthy body. If it comes down to it, I can always get a factory job.”
“They say factories aren’t hiring much these days because they’re bringing in AI robots.”
“Then a distribution center…”
“I heard it’s the same there?”
Was this woman trying to comfort me or give me a stress-induced heart attack? Is she really my mom?
“I’m just kidding. Hang in there.”
“Yeah…”
I was already completely drained, you damn auntie. A little while later, I watched my mom head back into her room and let out a deep sigh. She probably meant it as encouragement. But it wasn’t just me—most people my age felt the exact same way. Everyone knew our parents were still working hard. The real problem was that even older parents were grinding away while younger people just stayed shut up in their rooms doing nothing.
“If it was going to be like this, why the hell did I even go to college?”
I should’ve gone into the sciences… Fucking English Literature degree and nowhere to go with it. As I was thinking that, my mom came out of her room carrying a heavy gift set.
…Huh?
I looked at her with a suspicious expression, and when our eyes met, she asked me,
“Son, could you carry this to the bus stop for me later? I got it yesterday evening, but nobody in our family likes this kind of thing. I was planning to take it to work and share it with my coworkers.”
“Thanks, son. I’m off to work.”
“Have a good day.”
I ended up carrying that heavy gift set all the way to the bus stop, and I still couldn’t shake off my daze. Even up until the moment the game-like translucent window appeared and the thirty thousand won actually got deposited into my account.
You have earned 30,000 won as a reward!
No, if anything, I was even more confused.
“What the hell is going on here…”
[What do you mean, what?]
[Master, you’ve just dug up a wild ginseng. No, wait. Should I really compare a divine power to something as trivial as wild ginseng?]
Wild ginseng, my ass… Only something like Ring could say that. If it really was divine power, then it had every right to say it.
Current balance: 60,129 won
Combined with the money my little sister had sent me that morning, my account now held a total of sixty thousand won. The words “I dug up wild ginseng!” almost slipped out of my mouth. My heart was beating irregularly, almost painfully. I wasn’t even sure if I was breathing properly. One thing was certain—this situation felt way too unfamiliar and bewildering.
I was so shocked that I actually searched the internet: [What should I do if I picked up something called divine power?]
> Divine power is something that cannot realistically exist.
> However, it would make for an excellent fantasy element. It would pair well with currently popular genres such as future foresight stories or regression/reincarnation tales.
As expected, the AI’s answer was exactly what I’d anticipated, and I let out a hollow laugh. Even the AI that was supposedly shaking the world had no idea what divine power was.
“Is this really okay?”
I’d only cleared a simple quest that the Money Ring had given me, yet I’d received thirty thousand won. It had actually been deposited into my account. I was briefly worried that it might be suspicious money and that the Financial Supervisory Service would call me, but there was no way they’d bother over thirty thousand won.
“So from now on, am I just supposed to live by doing whatever quests Ring gives me?”
[What kind of nonsense is that?]
[The Money Ring is nothing more than ‘divine power.’]
[That doesn’t mean I’m going to completely control your life.]
“Ah…”
I finally understood what Ring was trying to say. In other words, I should use it when it was useful, but I shouldn’t let it control me.
[People these days certainly have a lot of information, so their comprehension and judgment are quite good.]
[If this had been someone from the old days, it would have taken them a long time to realize something like this.]
“Haha… The problem is that everyone’s too smart these days.”
What was the point of everyone’s average comprehension going up? In the end, the only ones who succeeded in getting jobs were the ones who stood out with truly exceptional abilities.
That was when a notification sound came from my phone. For a second I thought it might be a message from one of the companies I’d applied to, inviting me for an interview. But instead—
> A good job posting has been uploaded in the ‘Cafe’ category you’ve shown interest in. Would you like to check it now?
It was a text from the part-time job site I’d signed up for recently. I’d set it to notify me automatically whenever a job opening came up near our house, and sure enough, one had.
“…I can’t stay unemployed forever.”
I immediately pulled up the resume I was sick of writing and applied. At the same time, another quest arrived from the Money Ring.
Save a person at the crosswalk in front of Cheonsa Bank at Dongcheon Intersection.
Reward: 200,000 won
Time Remaining: 03 : 59 : 59